I -. CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM THE DISCOVERY OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT, TO THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC. BY J. LOSSIN'G, LL.D., AUTHOR OF "PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION," OF THE "WAR OF 1812," AND OF "THE CIVIL WAR;" "HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR SCHOOLS;" "LIVES OF EMINENT AMERICANS;" "HOME OF WASHINGTON," ETC., ETC. ILLUSTRATED BY FOUR HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS. HARTFORD: THOMAS B ELK NAP. W. E. BLISS, TOLEDO; WATSON GELL, SYRACUSE; A. L. BANCROFT, SAN FRANCISCO; F. A. HUTCHINSON & Co., ST. Louis, CINCINNATI, AND CHICAGO. 1875. Entered acoording to Act of Congress, tn the year 1867, by BENSON J. LOOSING, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by BENSON J. LOSSING, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. aniel Webster.... . 503 267. Portrait of J oseph Smith . . 504 268. Mormon Emigration .606 269. Portrait of S. F. B. Morse . . 507 270. Portrait of K. K. Kane. 509 S71. Portrait of Franklin Pierce 513 272. Portrait of Santa Anna 273. An Ocean Steamship ".'..'.'. 515 516 274. Crystal Palace, New York 275. Portraitof James M. Mason.... 276. Portrait of James Buchanan. . . . 277. Portrait of John Slldell 273. South Carolina Institute. . 279. " Wigwam " at Chicago 980. Palmetto Cockade 281. Portrait of Jefferson Davis. Portrait of Robert Andersor 283. Fort Sumter in 1861 . 284. The Confederate flag 285. Harper's Ferry in 1861 286. Portraitof Salmon P. Chase 287. Seal of West Virginia 288. Portrait of R. E. Lee 289. Ellsworth Zouave 290. Arsenal at St. Louis 29J. Portrait of S. Price 29T>. Portrait of Winfield Scott 293. Ruins of the Stone-bridge 294. Defenses of Washington 295. Portrait of Leonidas Polk 296. Fort Hatteras. . 297. Fort Pickens. . .*. 29J. Portrait of S. F. Dupont 299. Port Royal Ferrv 300. Fort Latavette. 301. Portrait of C. Wilkes. 302. Portrait of W. H. Seward 303. Portrait of A. E. Burnside 304. Portrait of S. A. Curtis. 305. Texas Ranger 30*. Portrait of Lewis Wallace 309. Island Number Ten 310. Portrait of U.S. 311. Burning horses at Shiloh 312. Portrait of Beauregard .- Br8. A Mortar Boat 314. Portraitof O. M. Mitchel S16. Colyer'a Head -Quarters 316. Fort Pulasli breached 317. Portrait of D. D. Porter 318. Ram Ma 319. The Levee at New Orleans.. , 320. Portrait of G. B. McClellau.. 321. Monitor and Me 12-2. Portrait of J. E. Johnston 323. Portrait of T. J. Jackson 324. View on the Chickahominy 325. Harrison Mansio 326. Thoroughfare Gap 327. Monument at Groveton 328. Portrait of Philip Kearney 329. Battle-Field of South Mountain 330. Antietain Battle-ground 331. Fredericksbnrg on fire 332. View at Nashville, 333. Portrait of D. C. Buell 334. Graves at luka 335. Confederate flag 336. Portrait of D. G. Farragut 337. Portrait of W. S. Roseornns 338. Monument at Stone's River 339. Portrait of R. Sen 340. Portrait of J. C. Pcmberton 341. A Louisiana Swamp 342. Cave-Life in Vicksburg. . . . 343. Corps Badges 344. Portrait of J. Ho 345. Ruins of Chancellors ville. ... 346. Portrait of G. G. Meade Gettysburg. 348. Drafting. 349. Abatis... 350. Libby Pi 351. Pack Mules 35-2. Portrait of G. H. Tho 353. The Chattanooga ulpit 355. Missionaries' Ridge. 356. Portrait of J. Longstreet.. 357. AParrottGun 358. Torpedo. 359. The Swamp Angel. . . 360. Fort de Russy 161. New Era.. 362. Red River Dam. 363. Place where Sedgwick was killed. 364. Portrait of P. H. Sheridan :65. Pontoon Bridge 366. Belle Isle 367. The Butler Medal. 368. View at Cedar Cn 869. Portrait of W. T. ISIiurm: 370. Kcnesaw Mountain Portrait of J. 372. Sherman's Quarters in Atlanta. 373. Sherman's Quarters in Savannah The - 375. Franklin Battlc-g 376. Portrait of J. A. \ 377. Bio 378. Portrait of C. L. Vallamii s ham 379. Interior of Fort Fisher 3iO. Interior of Fort Steadinan :1. Capitol at Richmond S8i. McLean's House S33. Portrait of A. Johnson Davis's Prison, Fortress Monroe 385. The Capitol at Washinirton K86. The Senate Chamber, in which President Johnson was tried. f. Founding New States. 388. Portrait of Judge Story. 543 650 K52 555 557 560 56-2 564 565 566 566 572 577 580 681 582 593 595 596 597 509 601 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 614 6J6 617 620 622 625 626 6-27 628 630 631 632 C33 635 635 636 637 638 641 642 644 645 647 649 651 653 655 657 660 670 673 673 674 677 68* 685 702 703 704 706 708 709 711 713 717 719 720 HISTORY THE UNITED STATES. ABORIGINALS, CHAPTER I. EVERY cultivated nation had its heroic RED JACKET. a S e a P 6 " ^ when its first physical and moral conquests were achieved, and when rude society, with all its impurities, was fused and refined in the crucible of progress. When civilization first set up its standard as a permanent ensign, in the western hemisphere, northward of the Bahamas and the great Gulf, and JO THE ABORIGINALS. the contests for possession began between the wild Aboriginals, who thrust no spade into the soil, no sickle into ripe harvests, and those earnest delvers from the Old World, who came with the light of Christianity, to plant a new empire, and redeem the wilderness bj cultivation then commenced the heroic age of America. It ended when the work of the Revolution in the eighteenth century was accomplished when the bond of vassalage to Great Britain was .severed by her colonies, and when thirteen confederated States ratified a Fed- eral Constitution, and upon it laid the broad foundation of our Republic. 1 Long anterior to the advent of Europeans in America, a native empire, little inferior to old Rome in civilization, flourished in that region of our Con- tinent which now forms the south-western portion of our Republic, and the adjoining States of Central America. The Aztec Empire, which reached the acme of its refinement during the reign of Montezuma, and crumbled into frag- ments beneath the heel of Cortez, when he dethroned and destroyed that mon- arch, 2 extended over the whole region from the Rio Grande to the Isthmus of Darien ; and when the Spaniards came, it was gradually pushing its conquests northward, where all was yet darkness and gloom. To human apprehension, this people, apparently allied by various ties to the wild nations of North America, appeared to be the most efficient instruments in the hands of Provi- dence, for spreading the light of dawning civilization over the whole Continent. Yet, they were not only denied this glorious privilege, but, by the very race which first attempted to plant the seeds of European society in Florida, and among the Mobilian tribes, 3 and to shed the illumination of their dim Chris- tianity over the dreary region of the North, was their own bright light extin- guished. The Aztecs and their neighbors were beaten into the dust of debasement by the falchion blows of avarice and bigotry, and nothing remains to attest their superiority but the magnificent ruins of their cities and temples, and their colossal statuary, which has survived the fury of the Spanish icono- clast and the tooth of decay. They form, apparently, not the most insignificant atom of the chain of events which connects the history of the Aboriginal nations of America with that of our Republic. The position of the tribes of the North is different. From the beginning of European settlements, they have maintained, and do still maintain, an important relation to the white people. The first inhabitants of a country properly belong to the history of all sub- sequent occupants of the territory. The several nations of red or copper- colored people who occupied the present domain of the United States, when Europeans first came, form as necessary materials for a portion of the history of our Republic, as the Frenchmen 4 and Spaniards, 8 by whom parts of the territory were settled, and from whom they have been taken by conquest or purchase. The history of the Indian* tribes, previous to the formation of settlements among them, by Europeans, 7 is involved in an obscurity which is penetrated 1 Page 360. . * Page 43 3 p age 29. < Page 180. * Page 61. Page 40. 1 Before the year 1607. THE ABORIGINALS. H only by vague traditions and uncertain conjectures. Whence came they ? is a question yet unanswered by established facts. In the Old World, the monu- ments of an ancient people often record their history. In North America, such intelligible records are wanting. Within almost every State and Terri- tory remains of human skill and labor have been found, 1 which seem to attest the existence here of a civilized nation or nations, before the ancestors of our numerous Indian tribes became masters of the Continent. Some of these appear to give indisputable evidence of intercourse between the people of the Old World and those of America, centuries, perhaps, before the birth of Christ, and at periods soon afterward.* The whole mass of testimony yet discovered does not prove that such intercourse was extensive; that colonies from the eastern hemisphere ever made permanent settlements in America, or remained long enough to impress their character upon the country or the Aboriginals, if they existed ; or that a high degree of civilization had ever prevailed on our Continent. The origin of the Indian tribes is referred by some to the Phoenicians and other maritime nations, whose extensive voyages have been mentioned by ancient writers, and among whom tradition seemed to cherish memories of far- off lands beyond the sea, unknown to the earlier geographers. Others per- ceive evidences of their Egyptian or Hindoo parentage ; and others find their ancestors among the "lost tribes of Israel," who "took counsel to go forth into a further country where never mankind dwelt," 8 and crossed from north- eastern Asia to our Continent, by way of the Aleutian Islands, or by Beh- ring's Straits. 4 These various theories, and many others respecting settlements of Europeans and Asiatics here, long before the time of Columbus, unsupported as they are by a sufficiency of acknowledged facts, have so little practical value ' Remains of fortifications, similar in form to those of ancient European nations, have been discovered. An idol, composed of clay and gypsum, representing a man without arms, and in all respects resembling one found in Southern Russia, was dug up near Nashville, in Tennessee. Also fireplaces, of regular structure ; weapons and utensils of copper ; catacombs with mummies ; ornaments of silver, brass, and copper ; walls of forts and cities, and many other things which only a people advanced in civilization could have made. The Aboriginals, themselves, have various traditions respecting their origin each nation having its distinct records in the memory. Nearly all have traditional glimpses of a great and universal deluge ; and some say their particular pro- genitor came in a bark canoe after that terrible event This belief, with modifications, was current among most of the northern tribes, and was a recorded tradition of the half-civilized Aztecs. The latter ascribed all their knowledge of the arts, and their religious ceremonies, to a white and bearded mortal who came among them ; and when his mission was ended, was made immortal by the Great Spirit. 2 A Roman coin was found in Missouri ; a Persian coin in Ohio ; a bit of silver in Genesee county, New York, with the year of our Lord, 600, engraved on it ; split wood and ashes, thirty fee.t below the surface of the earth, near Fredonia, New York ; and near Montevideo, South America, in a tomb, were found two ancient swords, a helmet and shield, with Greek inscriptions, showing that they were made in the time of Alexander the Great, 330 years before Christ. Near Marietta, Ohio, a silver cup, finely gilded within, was found in an ancient mound. Traces of iron utensils, wholly reduced to rust, mirrors of isinglass, and glazed pottery, have also been discovered in these mounds. These are evidences of the existence of a race far more civilized than the tribes found by modern Europeans. 3 2 Esdras, xiii. 40-45. 4 The people of north-eastern Asia, and on the north-west coast of America, have a near resemblance in person, customs, and languages ; .and those of the Aleutian Islands present many of the characteristics of both. Ledyard said of the people of Eastern Siberia, " Universally and circumstantially they resemble the Aborigines of America." 12 THE ABORIGINALS. for the student of our history, that we will not occupy space in giving a deline- ation of even their outlines. There are elaborately-written works specially devoted to this field of inquiry, and to those the curious reader is referred. The proper investigation of such subjects requires the aid of varied and exten- sive knowledge, and a far wider field for discussion than the pages of a volume like this. So we will leave the field of conjecture for the more useful and important domain of recorded history. The New World, dimly comprehended by Europeans, afforded materials for wonderful narratives concerning its inhabitants and productions. The few natives who were found upon the seaboard, had all the characteristics common to the human race. The interior of the Continent was a deep mystery, and for a long time marvelous stories were related and believed of nations of giants and pigmies ; of people with only one eye, and that in the centre of the fore- head ; and of whole tribes who existed without eating. But when sober men penetrated the forests and became acquainted with the inhabitants, it was dis- covered that from the Gulf of Mexico to the country north of the chain of great lakes which divide the United States and the British possessions, the people were not remarkable in persons and qualities, and that a great similarity in manners and institutions prevailed over that whole extent of country. The Aboriginals spoke a great variety of dialects, but there existed not more than eight radically distinct languages among them all, from the Atlan- tic to the Mississippi, and westward to the Rocky Mountains, namely : AL- GONQUIN, HURON-lROQUOIS, CHEROKEE, CATAWBA, TJCHEE, NATCHEZ, MOBILIAN, and DAHCOTAH or Sioux. These occupied a region embraced within about twenty-four degrees of latitude and almost forty degrees of longi- tude, and covering a greater portion of the breadth of the north temperate zone. All the nations and tribes were similar in physical character, moral senti- ment, social and political organization, and religious belief. They were all of a copper color; were tall, straight, and well-proportioned^ their eyes black and expressive; their hair black, long, coarse, and perfectly straight; their constitutions vigorous, and their powers of endurance remarkable. Bodily deformity was almost unknown, and few diseases prevailed. They were indo- lent, taciturn, and unsocial ; brave, and sometimes generous in war ; unflinch- ing under torture; revengeful, treacherous, and morose when injured or offended ; not always grateful for favors ; grave and sagacious in council ; often eloquent in speech ; sometimes warm and constant in friendship, and occasion- ally courteous and polite. The men were employed in war, hunting and fishing. The women per- formed all menial services. In hunting and fishing the men were assiduous and very skillful. They carried the knowledge of woodcraft to the highest degree of perfection ; and the slightest indication, such as the breaking of a twig, or the bending of grass, was often sufficient to form a clew to the pathway of an enemy or of game. The women bore all burdens during journeys ; spread the tents; prepared food; dressed skins for clothing; wove mats for THE ABORIGINALS. 13 A WIGWAM. beds, made of the bark of trees and the skins of animals ; and planted arid gathered the scanty crops of corn, beans, peas, potatoes, melons, and tobacco. These constituted the chief agri- cultural productions of the Aboriginals, under the most favorable circumstances. In these labors the men never engaged; they only manufactured their implements of war. Their wigwams, or houses, were rude huts, made of poles covered with mats, skins, or bark of trees ; and all of their domestic arrangements were very simple. And simple, too, were their implements of labor. They were made of stones, shells, and bones, with which they prepared their food, made their clothing and habitations, and tilled their lands. Their food consisted of a few vegetables, and the meat of the deer, buffalo, and bear, generally roasted upon the points of sticks; sometimes boiled in water heated by hot stones, and always eaten without salt. Their dress in summer was a slight covering around the loins. In winter they were clad in the skins of wild beasts, 1 often profusely ornamented with the claws of the bear, the horns of the buffalo, the feathers of birds, and the bones of fishes. Their faces were often tat- tooed, and generally painted with bright colors in hideous devices. Their money was little tubes made of shells, fastened upon belts or strung in chains, and called wampum? It was used in traffic, in treaties, and as a token of friendship or alliance, belts constituted records of public transactions in the hands of a chief. There was no written language in all the New World, except rude hieroglyphics, or picture writings. The history of the nations, consisting of the records of warlike achievements, treaties of alliance, and deeds of great men, was, in the form of traditions, carefully handed down from father to son, especially from chief to chief. WAMPUM. \Vampum INDIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 3 Children were taught the simple 1 The engraving at the head of this chapter represents some Sioux Indians, in their winter and fanciful costumes. 8 Wampum is yet in use, as money, among some of the "Western tribes, and is manufactured, we believe, as an article of commerce on the sea-shore of one of the counties of New Jersey. It is made of the clear parts of the common clam-shell. This part being split off, a hole is drilled in it, and the form, which is that of the bead now known as the bugle, is produced by friction. They are about half an inch long, generally disposed in alternate layers of white and bluish black, and valued, when they become a circulating medium, at about two cents for three of the black beads, or six of the white. They were strung in parcels to represent a penny, three pence, a shilling, and five shillings, of white; and double that amount in black. A fathom of white was worth about two dollars and a half, and black about five dollars. They were of less value at the time of our war for independence. The engraving shows a part of a string and a belt of wampum. 3 This is part of a record of a war expedition. The figures on the right and left one with a gun and the other with a hatchet denote prisoners taken by a warrior. The one without a head, and holding a bow and arrow, denotes that one was killed ; and the figure with a shaded part below the cross indicates a female prisoner. Then he goes hi a war canoe, with nine companions, denoted by the paddles, after which a council is held by the chiefs of the Bear and Turtle tribes, indicated by rude figures of these animals on each side of a fire. INDIAN WEAPONS. 3 THE ABORIGINALS. . practiced among them, such as making wampum, constructing bows, arrows, and spears, preparing matting and skins for domestic use, and fashion- ing rude personal ornaments. Individual and national pride prevailed among the Aboriginals. They were ambitious of distinction, and therefore war was the chief vocation, as we have said, of the men. 1 They generally went forth in parties of about forty bowmen. Sometimes a half-dozen, like knights- errant, 2 went out upon the war-path to seek renown in combat. Their weapons were bows and arrows, hatch- ets (tomahawks) of stone, and scalping-knives of bone. Soon after they became acquainted with the Euro- peans, they procured knives and hatchets made of iron, and this was a great advance in the increass of their power. Some wore shields of bark ; others wore skin dresses for protection. They were skillful in stratagem, and seldom met an enemy in open fight. Ambush and secret attack were their favorite methods of gaining an advantage over an enemy. Their close personal encounters were fierce and bloody. They made prisoners, and tortured them, and the scalps* of enemies were their trophies of war. Peace was arranged by sachems 5 in council ; and each smoking the same "pipe of peace," called calumet* was a solemn pledge of fidelity to the contract. With the Indians, as with many oriental nations, women were regarded as inferior beings. They were degraded to the condition of abject slaves, and they never engaged with the men in their amusements of leaping, dancing, target- shooting, ball-playing, and games of chance. They were allowed as spectators, with their children, at war-dances around fires, when the men recited the feats of their ancestors and of themselves. Marriage, among them, was only a tem- porary contract a sort of purchase the father receiving presents from the 1 It was offensive to a chief or warrior to ask him his name, because it implied that his brave deeds were unknown. Red Jacket, the great Seneca chief (whose portrait is at the head of this chapter), was asked his name in court, in compliance with a legal form. He was very indignant, and replied, " Look at the papers which the white people keep the most carefully" (land cession treaties) " they will tell you who I am." Red Jacket was born near Geneva, New York, about 1750, and died in 1830. He was the last great chief of the Senecas. For a biographical sketch of him, see Lossing's " Eminent Americans." 3 Knights-errant of Europe, six hundred years ago, were men clothed in metal armor, who went from country to country, to win fame by personal combats with other knights. They also engaged in wars. For about three hundred years, knights-errant and their exploits formed the chief amusement of the courts of Europe. It is curious to trace the connection of the spirit of knighthood, as exhibited by the one hundred and thirty-five orders that have existed, at various times, in the Old World, with some of the customs of the rude Aboriginals of North America 3 a, bow and arrow; 6, a war club; c, an iron tomahawk: d, a stone one; e, a scalping- knife. 4 They seized an enemy by the hair, and by a skillful use of the knife, cut and tore from the top of the head a large portion of the skin. Sachems were the civil heads of nations or tribes ; chiefs were military leaders. Tobacco was in general use among the Indians for smoking, when the white men came. The more filthy practice of chewing it was invented by the white people. The calumet was made of pipe-clay, and was often ornamented with feathers. CALU1LETS. THE ABORIGINALS. 15 husband, in exchange for the daughter, who, generally, after being fondled and favored for a few months, was debased to the condition of a domestic servant, at best. The men had the right to take wives and dismiss them at pleasure ; and, though polygamy was not very common, except among the chiefs, it was not objectionable. Every Indian might have as many wives as he could purchase and maintain. The husband might put his wife to death if she proved unfaithful to him. The affections were ruled by custom, and those decorous endearments and attentions toward woman, which give a charm to civilized society, were wholly unknown among the Indians ; yet the sentiment of conjugal love was not always wanting, and attachments for life were frequent. There was no society to call for woman's refining qualities to give it beauty, for they had but few local attachments, except for the burial-places of their dead. From the frozen "North to the tropical South, their funeral ceremonies and methods of burial were similar. They laid their dead, wrapped in skins, upon sticks, in the bottom of a shallow pit, or placed them in a sitting posture, or occasionally folded them in skins, and laid them upon high scaffolds, out of the reach of wild beasts. Their arms, utensils, paints, and food, were buried with them, to be used on their long journey to the spirit-land. By this custom, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul was clearly and /. . . . . , J BURIAL-PLACE. forcibly taught, not as distinctively spiritual, but -as possessing the two-fold nature of matter and spirit. Over their graves they raised mounds, and planted beautiful wild-flowers upon them. The Algon- quins, especially, always lighted the symbolical funeral pyre, for several nights, upon the grave, that the soul might perceive and enjoy the respect paid to the body. Relatives uttered piercing cries and great lamentations during the burial, and they continued mourning many days. Like that of the earlier nations of the world, their religion was simple, with- out many ceremonies, and was universally embraced. They had no infidels among them. The duality of God is the most ancient tenet of Indian faith a prominent tenet, it will be observed, in the belief of all of the more advanced oriental nations of antiquity. They believed in the existence of two Great Spirits : the one eminently great was the Good Spirit, 1 and the inferior was an Evil one. They also deified the sun, moon, stars, meteors, fire, water, thun- der, wind, and every thing which they held to be superior to themselves, but 1 They believed every animal to have had a great original, or father. The first buffalo, the first bear, the first beaver, the first eagle, etc., was the Manitou of the whole race of the different crea- tures. They chose some one of these originals as then* special Manitou, or guardian, and hence arose the custom of having the figure of some animal for the arms or symbol of a tribe, called totum. For example, each of the FIVE NATIONS (see page 12) was divided into several tribes, designated The "Wolf, The Bear, The Turtle, etc., and their respective totums were rude representations of these animals. When they signed treaties with the white people, they sometimes sketched outlines of their totums. The annexed cut represents the totum of Teyenda- gages, of the Turtle tribe of the Mohawk nation, as affixed by him to a deed. TOTPM. It would be a curious and pleasant task to trace the intimate connection of this totemic system with the use of symbolical signet-rings, and other seals of antiquity, and, by suo the heraldic devices of modern times. IQ THE ABORIGINALS. they never exalted their heroes or prophets above the sphere of humanity. They also adored an invisible, great Master of life, in different forms, which they called Manitou, and made it a sort of tutelar deity. They had vague ideas of the doctrine of atonement for sins, and made propitiatory sacrifices with great solemnity. All of them had dim traditions of the creation, and of a great deluge which covered the earth. Each nation, as we have observed, had crude notions, drawn from tradition, of their own distinct origin, and all agreed that their ancestors came from the North. It can hardly be said that the Indians had any true government. It was a mixture of the patriarchal and despotic. Public opinion and common usage were the only laws of the Indian. 1 All political power was vested in a sachem or chief, who was sometimes an hereditary monarch, but frequently owed his elevation to his own merits as a warrior or orator. While in power, he was absolute in the execution of enterprises, if the tribe confided in his wisdom. Public opinion, alone, sustained him. It elevated him, and it might depose him. The office of chief was often hereditary, and its duties were sometimes exer- cised even by women. Unlike the system of lineal descent which prevails in the Old World, the heir to the Indian throne of power was not the chief's own son, but the son of his sister. This usage was found to be universal through- out the continent. Yet the accident of birth was of little moment. If the recipient of the honor was not worthy of it, the title might remain, but the in- fluence passed into other hands. This rule might be followed, with benefit, by civilized communities. Every measure of importance was matured in council, which was composed of the elders, with the sachem as umpire. His decision was final, and wherever he led, the whole tribe followed. The utmost decorum prevailed in the public assemblies, and a speaker was always listened to with respectful silence. We have thus briefly sketched the general character of the inhabitants of the territory of the United States, when discovered by Europeans. Although inferior in intellectual cultivation and approaches to the arts of civilization, to the native inhabitants of Mexico 2 and South America, and to a race which evidently occupied the continent before them, they possessed greater personal manliness and vigor than the more southern ones discovered by the Spaniards. They were almost all wanderers, and roamed over the vast solitudes of a fertile continent, free as the air, and unmindful of the wealth in the soil under their feet. The great garden of the western world needed tillers, and white men came. They have thoroughly changed the condition of the land and the people. The light of civilization has revealed, and industry has developed, vast treas- ures in the soil, while before its radiance the Aboriginals are rapidly melting like snow in the sunbeams. A few generations will pass, and no representa- tive of the North American Indian will remain upon the earth. 1 It was said of McGillivray, the half-breed emperor of the Creeks, who died in 1793, that, not- withstanding he called himself "King of kings," and was idolized by his people, "he could neither restrain the meanest fellow of his nation from the commission of a crime, nor punish him after ho had committed it. He might persuade, or advise all the good an Indian king or chief can do s * Page 43. THE ALGONQUINS. 17 CHAPTER II. THE ALGONQUIN'S. THE first tribes of Indians, discovered by the French in Canada, 1 were in- habitants of the vicinity of Quebec, and the adventurers called them'Mon- tagners, or Mountain Indians, from a range of high hills westward of that city. Ascending the St. Lawrence, they found a numerous tribe on the Ottawa River, who spoke an entirely different dialect, if not a distinct language. These they called ALGONQUINS, and this name was afterward applied to that great collection of tribes north and south of Lakes Erie and Ontario, who spoke dialects of the same language. They inhabited the territory now included in all of Canada, New England, a part of New York and Pennsylvania, the States of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, eastern North Car- olina above Cape Fear, a large portion of Kentucky and Tennessee, and all north and west of these States, eastward of the Mississippi. The ALGONQUIN nation was composed of several powerful tribes, the most important of which were the'Knisteneaux and Athapascas, in the far north, the Ottawas, Chippewas, Sacs and Foxes, Menomonees, Miamies, Piankeshaws, Pottowatomies, Kickapoos, Illinois, Shawnees, Powhatans, Corees, Nanticokes, Lenni-Lenapes, or Delawares, Mohegans, the New England Indians, and the Abenakes. There were smaller, independent tribes, the principal of which were the Susquehannocks, on the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania ; the Manna- hoacks, in the hill country between the York and Potomac Rivers, and the Monocans, on the head waters of the James River in Virginia. All of these tribes, were divided into cantons or clans, sometimes so small as to afford only a war party of forty bowmen. The KNISTENEAUX yet [1867] inhabit a domain extending across the con- tinent from Labrador to the Rocky Mountains, and are the hereditary ene- mies of the ESQUIMAUX, their neighbors of the Polar Circle. The Athapascas inhabit a belt of country from Churchill's River and Hudson's Bay to within a hundred miles of the Pacific coast, and combine a large number of tribes who speak a similar language. They, too, are the enemies of the Esquimaux. The extensive domain occupied by these tribes and the Esquimaux, is claimed by the British, and is under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company. The orginal land of the OTTAWAS was on the west side of Lake Huron, but they were seated upon the river in Canada bearing their name, when the French dis- covered them. They claimed sovereignty over that region, and exacted tribute from those who passed to or from the domain of the Hurons. 2 They assisted 1 Page 48. 2 Between the Ottawas and Hurons, was a tribe called Mississaguiea, who appear to have left the ALGONQUINS, and joined the FIVE NATIONS, south of Lake Ontario. Remnants of this tribe are . still found in Canada. 18 THE ABORIGINALS. the latter in a war with the FIVE NATIONS' in 1650, and suffered much. The Hurons were almost destroyed, and the OTTAWAS were much reduced in num- bers. Some of them, with the Huron remnant, joined the Chippewas, and, finally, the whole tribe returned to their ancient seat [1680] in the northern part of the Michigan peninsula. Under their great chief, Pontiac, they were confederated with several other ALGONQUIN tribes of the north-west, in an attempt to exterminate the white people, in 1763. 2 Within a fortnight, in the summer of that year, they took possession of all the English garrisons and trading posts in the West, except Detroit, Niagara, 3 and Fort Pitt. 4 Peace waa restored in 1764-5, the confederation was dissolved, and Pontiac took up his abode with the Illinois, where he was murdered. 5 " This murder/' says Nicol- let, " which roused the vengeance of all the Indian tribes friendly to Pontiac, brought about the successive wars, and almost extermination of the Illinois na- tion." His broken nation sought refuge with the French, and their descendants may yet [1867] be found in Canada. Those two once powerful tribes, the CHIPPEWAS and POTTAWATOMIES, were closely allied by language and friendship. The former were on the southern shores of Lake Superior ; the latter occupied the islands and main land on the western shores of Green Bay, when first discovered by the French in 1761. These afterward seated themselves on the southern shore of Lake Michigan [1701], where they remained until removed, by treaty, to lands upon the Little Osage River, westward of Missouri. They are now [1867] the most numerous of all the remnants of the ALGONQUIN tribes. The Chippewas and the Sioux, west of the Mississippi, were, for a long time, their deadly enemies. The Sacs and Foxes are really one tribe. They were first discovered by the French at the southern extremity of Green Bay, in 1680. In 1712 the French garrison of twenty men at Detroit, 6 was attacked by the Foxes. The French repulsed them, with the aid of the Ottawas, and almost destroyed the assailants. They joined the Kickapoos in 1722, in driving the Illinois from their lands on the river of that name. The Illinois took refuge with the French, and the Kickapoos remained on their lands until 1819, when they went to the west bank of the Missouri in the vicinity of Fort Leav- enworth. The Sacs and Foxes sold their lands to the United States in 1830. Black Hawk, a Sac chief, who, with his people, joined the English in our second war with Great Brit- ain, 7 demurred, and commenced hostilities in 1832. 8 The In- dians were defeated, and Black Hawk, 9 with many of his war- j . BLACK HAWK. riors, were made prisoners. Among the very few Indian tribes who have remained upon their ancient 1 Chapter III., p 23. a Page 205. 3 Page 200. < Page 198. 5 He was buried on the site of the city of St Louis, iti Missouri. "Neither mound nor tablet," says Parkman, " marked the burial-place of Pontiac. For a mausoleum, a city has risen above the forest hero, and the race whom he hated with such burning rancor, trample with unceasing foot- steps over his forgotten grave." Page 180. 7 Page 409. 8 Page 463. s This picture is from a plaster-cast of the face of Black Hawk, taken when he was a prisoner in New York, in 1832. See page 463. THE ALGONQUINS. 19 territory, during all the vicissitudes of their race, are the MEXOMONEES, who were discovered by the French, upon the shores of Green Bay, in 1699. They yet [1867] occupy a portion of their ancient territory, while their southern neighbors and friends, the Winnebagoes, have gone westward of the Mississippi. 1 The MIAMIES and PIANKESHAWS inhabited that portion of Ohio lying be- tween the Maumee River of Lake Erie, and the ridge which separates the head waters of the Wabash from the Kaskaskias. They were called Twightwees by the FIVE NATIONS, and English. Of all the Western tribes, 'these have ever been the most active enemies of the United States. 2 They have ceded their lands, and are now [1867] far beyond the Mississippi. The ILLINOIS formed a numerous tribe, twelve thousand strong, when dis- covered by the French. They were seated upon the Illinois River, and consisted of a confederation of five families, namely, Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Tamaronas, Michigamias, and Peorias. Weakened by internal feuds, the confederacy was reduced to a handful, by their hostile neighbors. They ceded their lands in 1818, when they numbered only three hundred souls. A yet smaller remnant are now [1867] upon lands west of the Mississippi. It can not properly be said that they have a tribal existence. They are among the many extinct commun- ities of our continent. The once powerful SHAWNOESE occupied a vast region west of the Alleghan- ies, 3 atid their great council-house was in the basin of the Cumberland River. At about the time when the English first landed at Jamestown 4 [1607], they were driven from their country by more southern tribes. Some crossed the Ohio, and settled on the Sciota, near the present Chilicothe ; others wandered eastward into Pennsylvania. The Ohio division joined the Eries and Andastes against the FIVE NATIONS in 1672. Suffering defeat, the Shawnoese fled to the country of the Catawbas, but were soon driven out, and found shelter with the Creeks. 5 They finally returned to Ohio, and being joined by their Penn- sylvania brethren, they formed an alliance with the French against the En- glish, and were among the most active allies with the former, during the long contest known in America as the French and Indian War. They continued hostilities, in connection with the Delawares, even after the conquest of the Canadas by the English. 6 They were subdued by Boquet in 1763, 7 and again by Virginians, at Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great Kenawha, in 1774. 8 They aided the British during the Revolution, and continued to annoy the Americans until 1795, when permanent peace was established. 9 They were the enemies of the Americans during their second war with Great Britain, a part of them fighting with the renowned Tecumtha. Now [1867] they are but 1 The "Winnebagoes are the most dissolute of all the Indian remnants. In August. 1853, a treaty was made with them to occupy the beautiful country above St. Paul, westward of the Mississippi, between the Crow and Clear Water Rivers. 1 Page 408. 1 The Alleghany or Appalachian Mountains extend from the Catskills, in the State of New York, in a south-west direction, to Georgia and Alabama, and have been called " the backbone of the country." Some geographers extend them to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 4 Page 64. * Page 30. Page 203. T Note 7, page 205. 8 Note 4, page 237. Page 374 20 THE ABORIGINALS. a miserable remnant, and occupy lands south of the Kansas River. The road from Fort Independence 1 to Santa Fe passes through their territory. 2 The POWHATANS constituted a confederacy of more than twenty tribes, in- cluding the Accohannocks and Accomacs, on the eastern shore of the Chesa- peake Bay. Powhatan (the father of Pocahontas 3 ), was the chief sachem or emperor of the confederacy, when the English first appeared upon the James River, in 1607. He had arisen, by the force of his own genius, from the po- sition of a petty chief to that of supreme ruler of a great confederacy. He gov- erned despotically, for no man in his nation could approach him in genuine ability as a leader and counselor. His court exhibited much barbaric state. Through fear of the English, and a selfish policy, he and his people remained nominally friendly to the white intruders during his lifetime, but after his death, they made two attempts [1622, 1644] to exterminate the English. The Powhatans were subjugated in 1644, 4 and from that time they gradually di- minished in numbers and importance. Of all that great confederacy in Lower Virginia, it is believed that not one representative on earth remains, or that one tongue speaks their dialect. On the Atlantic coast, south of the Powhatans, were the Corees, Cheraws, and other small tribes, occupying the land once inhabited by the powerful Hat- teras Indians. 5 They were allies of the Tuscaroras in 1711, in an attack upon the English, 6 suffered defeat, and have now disappeared from the earth. Their dialect also is forgotten. Upon the great peninsula between the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, were the NANTICOKES. They were early made vassals, and finally allies, on com- pulsion, of the FIVE NATIONS. They left their ancient domain in 1710, occu- pied lands upon the Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania, until the Revolutionary War commenced, when they crossed the Alleghanies, and joined the British in the west. They are now [1867] scattered among many tribes. The Original People, 7 as the LENNI-LENAPES (who are frequently called Del- 1 United States fort on the Missouri. Santa Fe is in New Mexico, 765 miles south-west of Fort Independences 2 One of the most eminent of the Shawnoe chiefs, was Cornstalk, who was generally friendly to the Americans, and was always ready to assist in negotiating an honorable peace between them and his own people. But he cordially united with Logan, the Mingo chiefj against the white people in 1774; and during the same battle at Point Pleasant, his voice, stentorian in volume, was frequently heard, calling to his men, "Be strong! be strong!" He made his warriors fight without wavering, and actually sunk his tomahawk deep into the head of one who endeavored to escape. He was murdered by some exasperated soldiers at Point Pleasant "When he perceived their intent, he calmly said to his son, who had just joined him, " My son, the Great Spirit has seen fit that we should die together, and has sent you hither for that purpose. It is His will ; let us submit." Turning to the soldiers, he received the fatal bullets, and his son, who was sitting near him, was shot at the same time. The celebrated Tecumtha meaning a tiger crouching for his prey who endeavored to confederate all the Western tribes in opposition to the white people, was also a Shawnoe chief. See page 408. s Page 66.- 4 Page 108. This tribe numbered about three thousand warriors when Raleigh's expedition landed on Roanoke Island in 1584; when the English made permanent settlements in that vicinity, eighty years later, they were reduced to about fifteen bowmen. e Page 168. This name has been applied to the whole ALGONQUIN nation. The Lenni-Lenapes claimed to have come from beyond the Mississippi, conquering a more civilized people on the way, who inhabited the great valleys beyond the Alleghany Mountains. THE ALGONQUINS. 21 awares) named themselves, comprised two powerful nations, namely, the Minsi and the Delawares proper. The former occupied the northern part of New Jersey, and a portion of Pennsylvania, and the latter inhabited lower New Jer- sey, the banks of the Delaware below Trenton, and the whole valley of the Schuylkill. The FIVE NATIONS subjugated them in 1650, and brought them under degrading vassalage. They gradually retreated westward before the tide of civilization, and finally a portion of them crossed the Alleghanies, and settled in the land of the Hurons, 1 on the Muskingum, in Ohio. Those who remained in Pennsylvania joined the Shawnoese, 2 and aided the French against the En- glish, during the French and Indian War. 3 In 1768, they all went over the mountains, and the great body of them became friends of the British during the Revolution. They were at the head of the confederacy of Western tribes who were crushed by Wayne in 1794, 4 and the following year they ceded all their lands on the Muskingum, and seated themselves near the Wabash. In 1819, they ceded those lands also, and the remnant now [1867] occupy a territory north of the Kansas River, near its mouth. The MOHEGANS were a distinct tribe, on the Hudson River, but the name was given to the several independent tribes who inhabited Long Island, and the country between the Lenni-Lenapes and the New England Indians. 5 Of this family, the Pequods, 6 inhabiting eastern Connecticut, on the shores of Long Island Sound, were the most powerful. They exercised authority over the Montauks and twelve other tribes upon Long Island. Their power was broken by the revolt of Uncas against his chief, Sassacus, 7 a short time before the ap- pearance of the white people. The Manhattans were seated upon the Hudson, in lower Westchester, and sold Manhattan Island, whereon New York now stands, to the Dutch. 3 The latter had frequent conflicts with these and other River Indians. 9 The Dutch were generally conquerors. The Mohawks, one of the FIVE NATIONS, 10 were pressing hard upon them, at the same time, and several of the Mohegan tribes were reduced to the condition of vassals of that confederacy. Peace was effected, in 1665, by the English governor at New York. In the mean while, the English and Narragansets had smitten the Pequods, 11 and the remaining independent Mohe- gans, reduced to a handful, finally took up their abode upon the west bank of the Thames, five miles below Norwich," at a place still known as Mohegan Plain. Their burial-place was at Nor- r wich, and there a granite monument rests upon the grave of Uncas. The tribe is now almost extinct " the last of the Mo- S' MOMENT, hicans rfft ^^ sleep ^ ^ fathers. 18 1 Page 23. * Page 19. s Fourth Period, Chap. XII. * Page 374. 6 Page 22. Page 86. 7 Page 87. 8 Page 139. 9 Page 140. 10 Page 23. " Page 87. w Note 4, page 340. 13 The last known lineal descendant of Uncas, named Mazeon, was buried in the Indian cemetery, at Norwich, in 1827, when the remnant of the Mohegan tribe, then numbering about sixty, were present, and partook of a cold collation prepared for them by a lady of that city. The most noted leaders among the New England Indians known to history, are Massasoit, the father of the re- nowned King Philip, Caunbitant, a very distinguished captain; Hobomok; Canonicus; Mianto- nomoh ; Ninigret, his cousin, ; King Philip, the last of the Wampanoags ; Canonchet, and Anna- wan. We shall meet them in future pages. 22 THE ABORIGINALS. The Aboriginals who inhabited the country from Connecticut to the Saco River, were called the NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. The principal tribes were the . Narragansets in Rhode Island, and on the western shores of Narraganset Bay ; the Pokonokets and Wampanoags on the eastern shore of the same bay, and in a portion of Massachusetts ; the Nipmucs in the center of Massachusetts ; the Massachusetts in the vicinity of Boston and the shores southward; and the Pawtuckets in the north-eastern part of Massachusetts, embracing the Penna- cooks of New Hampshire. These were divided into smaller bands, having petty chiefs. The Pokonokets, for example, were divided into nine separate cantons or tribes, each having its military or civil ruler, but all holding alle- giance to one Grand Sachem. They were warlike, and were continually engaged in hostilities with the FIVE NATIONS, or with the Mohegans. The English and Dutch effected a general peace among them in 1673. Two years afterward [1675], Metacomet (King Philip) aroused most of the New England tribes against the English. A fierce war ensued, but ended in the subjugation of the Indians and the death of Philip, in 1676. 1 The power of the New England Indians was then completely broken. Some joined the more eastern tribes, and others took refuge in Canada, from whence they frequently came to the border settlements on errands of revenge. 8 These incursions ceased when the French dominion in Canada ended in 1763.* When the Puritans came 4 [1620], the New England Indians numbered about ten thousand souls ; now [1867] probably not three hundred representatives remain; and the dialects of all, excepting that of the Narragansets, are forgotten. Eastward of the Saco River were the Abenakes. The chief tribes were the Penobscots, Norridgewocks, Androscoggins, and Passamaquoddies. These, with the more eastern tribes of the Micmacs and Etchemins, were ma.de nom- inal Christians by the French Jesuits ; 6 and they were all firm allies of the French until the conquest of Canada by the English, in 1760." Most of the ABENAKES, except the Penobscots, withdrew to Canada in 1754. A few scattered families of the latter yet [1867J dwell upon the banks of the Penob- scot River, and wanderers are seen on the St. Lawrence. Like other New England tribes, they are rapidly fading, and will, doubtless, be extinct before the dawn of another century. CHAPTER III. THE H U E N-I R Q U I S. WE now come to consider the most interesting, in many respects, of all the aboriginal tribes of North America, called IROQUOIS by the French. The pre- fix " Huron" was given, because that people seemed, by their language, to form '- Page 128. * Page 130. Page 202. 4 Page 114 * Page 130. Page 203. THE HURON-IROQUOIS. 23 a part of the IROQUOIS nation, and like them, were isolated in the midst of the ALGONQUINS, when discovered by the Europeans. The great body of the IROQUOIS occupied almost the whole territory in Canada, south-west of the Ottowa River, between Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron ; a greater portion of the State of New York, and a part of Pennsylvania and Ohio along the south- ern shores of Lake Erie. They were completely surrounded by the ALGON- QUINS, in whose southern border in portions of North Carolina and Virginia, were the Tuscaroras and a few smaller Iroquois tribes. 1 The Hurons occupied the Canadian portions of the territory, and the land on the southern shore of Lake Erie, and appeared to be a distinct nation ; but their language was found to be identical with that of the Iroquois. The Hurons consisted of four smaller tribes, namely, the Wyandots or Hurons proper, the Attiouandirons, 2 the Eries, and the Andastes. The two latter tribes were south of the lake, and claimed jurisdiction back to the domains of the Shawnoese. 8 Those "Romans of the Western World," the FIVE NATIONS, or IROQUOIS proper, formed a confederacy composed of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk tribes, all occupying lands within the present State of New York. They fancifully called their confederacy the Long House. The eastern door was kept by the Mohawks ; the western by the Senecas ; and the Great Council fire was with the Onondagas, at the metropolis, or chief village, near the present city of Syracuse. The French, as we have observed, gave them the name of Iroquois ; the ALGONQUINS called them Mingoes. 4 At what time the confederacy was formed, is not known. It was strong and powerful when the French discovered them, in 1609, and they were then engaged in bloody wars with their kinsmen, the Wyandots. 5 1 The Southern Iroquoia were the Tuscaroras, Chowans, Meherrins, and Nottoways. The three latter were upon the rivers in lower Virginia, called by their respective names, and were known under the general title of Tuscaroras. 4 Neutral Natioa "When the Hurons and FIVE NATIONS were at war, the Attiouandirons fled to the Sandusky, and built a fort for each of the belligerents when in that region. But their neu- trality did not save them from internal feuds which finally dismembered the tribe. One party joined the Wyandots ; the other the Iroquois. 3 Page 19. Mingoes, Minquas, and Maquas, were terms more particularly applied to the Mohawk tribe, who called themselves Kayingehaga, " possessors of the flint." The confederation assumed the title of Aquinuschioni, " united people ;" or as some say, Konoshioni, " cabin builders." s The time of the formation of the confederation is supposed to have been at about the year 1539. According to their own tradition, it was about two generations before the white people came to trade with them. Clarke, in his history of Onondaga county, has given, from the lips of an old chief of the Onondaga tribe, that beautiful legend of the formation of the great confederacy, which forms the basis of Longfellow's Indian Edda, " HI-A-WAT-HA." Centuries ago, the story runs, the deity who presides over fisheries and streams, came from his dwelling-place in the clouds, to visit the inhabitants of earth. He was delighted with the land where the tribes that afterward formed the confederacy, dwelt ; and having bestowed many blessings on that land, he laid aside his Divine character, and resolved to remain on earth. He selected a beautiful residence on the shore of Te-ungk-too (Cross lake), and all the people called him Hi-a-wat-ha, " the wise man." After a while, the people were alarmed by the approach of a ferocious band of warriors from the country, north of the great lakes. Destruction seemed inevitable. The inhabitants thronged around the lodge of Hi-a-wat-ha, from all quarters, craving his wise advice in this hour of great peril. After solemn meditation, he told them to call a grand council of all the tribes. The chiefs and warriors from far and near, assembled on the banks of Lake Oh-nen-ta-ha (Onondaga). The council-fire blazed three days before the venerable Hi-a-wat-ha arrived. He had been devoutly praying, in silence, to the Great Spirit, for guidance. Then, with his darling daughter, a virgin of twelve years, he entered his vkite canoe, and, to the great joy of the people, he appeared on the Oh-nen* 24 THE ABORIGINALS. In the year 1649, the FIVE NATIONS resolved to strike a final and decisive blow against their western neighbors, and, gathering all their warriors, they made a successful invasion of the Wyandot, or Huron country. Great num- bers of the Wyandots were slain and made prisoners, and the whole tribe was dispersed. Some of the fugitives took refuge with the Chippewas ; others fled to Quebec, and a few were incorporated into the Iroquois confederacy. Yet the spirit of the Wyandots was not subdued, and they claimed and exer- cised sovereignty over almost the whole of the Ohio country. They had great influence among the ALGONQUIN tribes, 1 and even as late as the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, the principal cession of lands in Ohio to the United States was made by the Wyandot chiefs in council. 8 They, too, are reduced to a mere remnant of less than five hundred souls, and now [18 67] they occupy lands on the Neosho River, a chief tributary of the Arkansas. Being exceedingly warlike, the FIVE NATIONS made hostile expeditions against the New England Indians 3 in the East, the Eries, Andastes, and ta-ha. A great shout greeted him, and as he landed and walked up the bank, a sound like a rushing wind was heard ; a dark spot, every moment increasing in size, was descending from the clear sky. Fear seized the people ; but Hi-a-wat-ha stood unmoved. The approaching object was an immense bird. It came swiftly to earth, crushed the darling daughter of Hi-a-wat-ha was itself destroyed, but the wise man was unharmed. Grief for his bereavement prostrated him in the dust for three days. The council anxiously awaited his presence. At length he came : the subject of the peril from invaders was discussed, and after deliberating a day, the venerable Hi-a-wat-ha arose and said : "Friends and Brothers You are members of many tribes and nations. You have come here, many of you, a great distance from your homes. We have met for one common purpose to pro- mote one common interest, and that is, to provide for our mutual safety, and how it shall best be accomplished. To oppose these foes from the north by tribes, singly and alone, would prove our certain destruction. We can make no progress in that way. We must unite ourselves into one common band of brothers ; thus united, we may drive the invaders back ; this must be done, and we shall be safe. "You, the MOHAWKS, sitting under the shadow of the 'Great Tree,' whose roots sink deep into the earth, and whose branches spread over a vast country, shall be the first nation, because you are warlike and mighty. "And you, ONEIDAS, a people who recline your bodies against the 'Everlasting Stone,' that can not be moved, shall be the second nation, because you give wise counsel. "And you, ONONDAGAS, who have your habitation at the 'Great Mountain,' and are over- shadowed by its crags, shall be the third nation, because you are greatly gifted in speech, and mighty in war. "And you, CAYUGAS, a people whose habitation is the 'Dark Forest,' and whose home is every- where, shall be the fourth nation, because of your superior cunning in hunting. "And you, SENEGAS, a people who live in the 'Open Country,' and possess much wisdom, shall be the fifth nation, because you understand better the art of raising corn and beans, and making cabins. " You, five great and powerful nations, must unite and have but one common interest, and no foe shall be able to disturb or subdue you. If we unite, the Great Spirit will smile upon us. Brothers, these are the words of Hi-a-wat-ha let them sink deep into your hearts. I have said it." They reflected for a day, and then the people of the " Great Tree," the " Everlasting Stone," the "Great Mountain," the "Dark Forest," and the " Open Country," formed a league like that of the Amphyctioni of Greece. The enemy was repulsed, and the FIVE NATIONS became the terror of the Continent. Then Hi-a-watha said, " The Great Master of Breath calls me to go. I have patiently waited his summons. I am ready farewell I" Myriads of singing voices burst upon the ears of the multitude, and the whole air seemed filled with music. Hi-a-wat-ha, seated in his white canoe, rose majestically above the throng, and as all eyes gazed in rapture upon the ascending wise man, he disappeared forever in the blue vault of heaven. The music melted into low whispers, like the soft summer breeze; and there were ..pleasant dreams in every cabin of the FIVE NATIONS on that blessed night. 1 17 - 2 Page 374. 3 p age 22. THE HURON-IROQUOIS. 25 Miamies in the West, 1 and penetrated to the domains of the Catawbas" and Cherokees 3 in the South. They subjugated the Eries in 1655, and after a con- test of twenty years, brought the Andastes into vassalage. They conquered the Miamies 4 and Ottawas 5 in 1657, and made incursions as far as the Roanoke and Cape Fear Rivers to the land of their kindred in language, the Tuscaroras, in 1701." Thirty years afterward, having been joined by the Tuscaroras, and the name of the confederacy changed to that of the Six NATIONS, they made war upon the Cherokees and Catawbas. 7 They were led on by Hi-o-ka-too, a Seneca chief. The Catawbas were almost annihilated by them, after a battle of two days. So determined were the FIVE NATIONS to subdue the southern tribes, that when, in 1744, they ceded a part of their lands to Virginia, they reserved a perpetual privilege of a war-path through the territory. In the year 1712, the Tuscaroras having been signally defeated by the Carolinians, 8 came northward, and in 1714 joined the FIVE NATIONS. From that time the confederacy was known as the Six NATIONS. They were gen- erally the sure friends of the English and inveterate foes of the French." They were all friends of the British during the Revolution, except a part of the Oneidas, among whom the influence of the Rev. Samuel Kirkland 10 was i Page 17. 3 Page 26. 3 Page 27. Page 17. Page 17 6 Page 168. 7 Page 17. 8 Page 168. 9 Page 192. 10 Samuel Kirkland was one of the most laborious and self-sacrificing of the earlier missionaries, who labored among the tribes of the Six NATIONS. He was born at Norwich, Connecticut, in December, 1741. He was educated at Dr. "Wheelock's school, at Lebanon, where he prepared for that missionary work in which he labored forty years. His efforts were put forth chiefly among 26 THE ABORIGINALS. very powerful, in favor of the Republicans. The Mohawks were the most active enemies of the Americans ; and they were obliged to leave the State and take refuge in Canada at the close of the Revolution. The others were allowed to remain, and now [1867] mere fragments of that great confederation exist, and, in habits and character, they are radically changed. The confederacy was forever extinguished by the sale of the residue of the Seneca lands in 1838. In 1715, the confederacy numbered more than forty thousand souls ; now [1867] they are probably less than four thousand, most of whom are upon lands beyond the Mississippi. 1 CHAPTER IV. THE CATAWBAS. IN that beautiful, hilly region, between the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers, on each side of the boundary line between North and South Carolina, dwelt the CATAWBA nation. They were south-westward of the Tuscaroras, and were generally on good terms with them. They were brave, but not warlike, and their conflicts were usually in defense of their own territory. They expelled the fugitive Shawnoese in 1672," but were overmatched and desolated by the warriors of the FIVE NATIONS* in 1701. They assisted the white people of South Carolina against the Tuscaroras and their confederates in 1712 ; 4 but when, three years afterward, the southern tribes, from the Neuse region to that of the St. Mary's, in Florida, and westward to the Alabama, seven thousand the Oneidas; and, during the Revolution, he was active in restraining them from an alliance with the rest of the confederacy against the Patriots. He was exceedingly useful in treaty-making ; for he had the entire confidence of the Indians. He died at Paris, in Oneida county, in February, 1808, in the 67th year of his age. See Lossing's ''Eminent Americans" for a more elaborate sketch. 1 The chief men of the FIVE NATIONS, known to the white people, are Garangula, who was distinguished toward the close of the seventeenth century for his wisdom and sagacity in council, and was of the Onondaga tribe. Logan, whose celebrated reply to a white messenger has been preserved by Mr. Jefferson, was of the Cayuga tribe. To the messenger he said: ''I appeal to any white man to say if he ever entered Logan's cabin hungry, and lie gave him no meat ; if ever he came cold and naked and he clothed him not." Then speaking of the cruelty of the white people, who, in cold blood had murdered his family, he said : " They have murdered all the relations of Logan not even sparing my women and children. This called on me for revenge ; I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fiilly glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor the thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan ? Not oue I" Joseph Brant (Thayendanega), was the most celebrated of the Mohawk tribe ; and Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha), was a very renowned Seneca, greatly distinguished for his eloquence. Cornplanter, who lived till past a century in age, was also a distinguished Seneca chief. Red Jacket was very intemperate toward the latter part of his life. On one occasion a lady inquired after hia children. He had lost fourteen by consumption. Bowing his head, he said: "Red Jacket was once a great man, and in favor with the Great Spirit. He was a lofty pine among the smaller trees of the forest. But after years of glory, he degraded himself by drinking the fire-water of the white man. The Great Spirit has looked upon him in anger, and His lightning has stripped the pine of its branches!" Page 19. 3 Page 23. < Page 168. THE CHEROKEES. 27 strong, confederated in an attempt to exterminate the Carolinians, 1 the 'Cataw- bas were among them. They were again the active allies of the Carolinians in 1760, when the Cherokees made war upon them," and they remained true friends of the white people afterward. They joined the Americans during the Revolution, and have ever since experienced the fostering care of the State, in some degree.* Their chief village was upon the Catawba River, near the mouth of the Fishing Creek, in Yorkville district, South Carolina; and there the remnant of the nation, numbering less than a hundred souls, were living upon a reservation, a few miles square, when the late Civil War began. CHAPTER V. THE CHEROKEES. OF all the Indian tribes, the CHEROKEES, who dwelt westward and adjoining the Tuscaroras 4 and Catawbas, 5 among the high hills and fertile valleys, have ever been the most susceptible to the influences of civilization. They have been properly called the mountaineers of the South. Their beautiful land extended from the Carolina Broad River on the east, to the Alabama on the west, includ- ing the whole of the upper portion of Georgia from the head waters of the Ala- tamaha, to those of the Tennessee. It is one of the most delightful regions of the United States. These mountaineers were the determined foes of the Shawnoese, 6 and after many conflicts, they finally drove them from the country south of the Ohio River. They joined with the Catawbas and the white people against the Tus- caroras in 1712, 7 but were members of the great confederation against the Carolinians in 1715, s which we shall consider hereafter. The FIVE NATIONS and the Cherokees had bloody contests for a long time. A reconciliation was finally effected by the English about the year 1750, and the Cherokees became the allies of the peace-makers, against the French. They assisted in the capture of Fort Du Quesne in 1758, 9 but their irregular- ities, on their return along the border settlements of Virginia, gave the white people an apparent excuse for killing two or three warriors. Hatred was en- gendered, and the Cherokees soon afterward retaliated by spreading destruction 1 Page 170. s Page 204. * In 1822, a Catawba warrior made an eloquent appeal to the legislature of South Carolina for aid. "I pursued the deer for subsistence," he said, "but the deer are disappearing, and I must starve. God ordained me for the forests, and my ambition is the shade. But the strength of my arm decays, and my feet fail me in the chase. The hand that fought for your liberties is now open to you for relief." A pension was granted. < Page 25. 5 Page 204. Page 19. * Page 168. 8 Page 170. Page 186. 28 THE ABORIGINALS. along the frontiers. 1 Hostilities continued a greater portion of three years, when peace was established in 1761, and no more trouble ensued. During the Revolution the Cherokees adhered to the British ; and for eight years afterward they continued to annoy the people of the upper country of the Carolinas. They were reconciled by treaty in 1791. They were friends of the United States in 1812. and assisted in the subjugation of the Creeks. 2 Civili- zation was rapidly elevating them from the condition of roving savages, to agri- culturists and artisans, when their removal west of the Mississippi was required. They had established schools, a printing press, and other means for improve- ment and culture, when they were compelled to leave their farms for a new home in the wilderness. 3 They are in a fertile country, watered by the Arkansas and its tributaries, and now [1867] number about fourteen thousand souls. They were in a prosperous condition when the late Civil War began. 4 CHAPTER VI. UCHEBS. IN the pleasant country extending from the Savannah River, at Augusta, westward to Milledgeville, and along the banks of the Oconee and the head waters of the Ogeechee and Chattahooche. the Europeans found a remnant of the once powerful nation of the UCHEES. Their language was exceedingly harsh, and totally unlike that of any other people on the continent. They claimed to be descendants of the most ancient inhabitants of the country, and took great pride in the fact ; and they had no tradition of their ever occupy- ing any other territory than the domain on which they were found. They, too, have been driven beyond the Mississippi by the pressure of civilization, and have become partially absorbed by the Creeks, with whom less than a thousand souls yet [1867J remain. They are, in fact, an extinct nation, and their language is almost forgotten. 1 Page 204. Page 428. 3 A native Cherokee, named by the white people, George Guess (Sequoyah), who was ignorant of every language but his own, seeing books in the missionary schools, and being told that the characters represented the words of the spoken English language, conceived the idea of forming a written language for his people. He first made a separate character for each word, but this made the whole matter too voluminous, and he formed a syllabic alphabet of eighty-five characters. It was soon ascertained that this was sufficient, even for the copious language of the Cherokees, and this syllabic alphabet was soon adopted, in the preparation of books for the missionary schools. In 182.6, a newspaper, called the Cherokee Phoenix, printed, in the new characters, was established. Many of the native Cherokees are now well educated, but the great body of the natives are in ig- norance. * Note 4. page 32. THE MOBILIAN TRIBES. 29 CHAPTER VII. THE NATCHEZ. OF this once considerable nation, who inhabited the borders of the Missis- sippi, where a modern city now perpetuates their name, very little is known. When first discovered by the French, they occupied a territory about as large as that inhabited by the Uchees. It extended north-easterly from the Missis- sippi along the valley of the Pearl River, to the upper waters of the Chickasa- haw. For a long time they were supposed to belong to the nation of Mobilian tribes, by whom they were surrounded, but their language proved them to be a distinct people. They were sun-worshippers; and from this circumstance, some had supposed that they had once been in intimate communication with the adorers of the great luminary in Central and South America. In many things they were much superior to their neighbors, and displayed signs of the refinement of a former more civilized condition. They became jealous of the French on their first appearance upon the Mississippi, and finally they con- spired, with others, to drive the intruders from the country. The French fell upon, and almost annihilated the nation, in 1730. They never recovered from the shock, and after maintaining a feeble nationality for almost a century, they have become merged into the Creek confederacy. They now [186YJ number less than three hundred souls, and their language, in its purity, is unknown. CHAPTER VIII. * THE MOBILIAN TRIBES. LIKE the Algonquins and Iroquois nations, the MOBILIAN was composed of a great number of tribes, speaking different dialects of the same language. Their territory was next in extent to that of the Algonquins. 1 It stretched along the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, more than six hundred miles ; up the Mississippi as far as the mouth of the Ohio ; and along the Atlantic to Cape Fear. It comprised a greater portion of the present State of Georgia, the whole of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, and parts of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The nation was divided into three grand confederacies of tribes, namely, Muscogees or Creeks Choctaws, and Chick- asaws. 1 Page 17. 30 THE ABORIGINALS. The Creek Confederacy extended from the Atlantic westward to the high lands which sep- arate the waters of the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers, including a great portion of the States of Alabama and Georgia, and the whole of Florida. Ogletliorpe's first interviews 1 with the natives at Savannah, were with people of this confederacy. SOUTHERN INDIANS. mi TT a r p n j The xamassees, or savannahs ot Georgia and South Carolina, and the Seminoles of Florida, were of the Creek confederacy. The latter were strong and warlike. They were at the head of the Indian confederacy, to destroy the white people, in 1715. 2 When the general dis- persion followed that abortive attempt, the Yamassees took refuge with the Spaniards of Florida. Small bands often annoyed the white frontier settle- ments of Georgia, but they were not engaged in general hostilities until the Revolution, when the whole Creek confederacy 3 took part with the British. The most inveterate and treacherous enemy of the white people, have ever been the Seminoles. Bands of them often went out upon the war-path, with the Yamassees, to slay the pale-faces. They joined the British in 1812-14; and in 1817 they renewed hostilities. 4 They were subdued by General Jack- son, and afterward remained comparatively quiet until 1835, when they again attacked the white settlements. 5 They were subjugated in 1842, after many lives and much treasure had been sacrificed. 6 A few of them yet [1867] remain in the everglades of Florida, but a greater portion of the tribe have gone west of the Mississippi, with the other members of the Creek confederacy. The Creeks proper now [1867] number about fifteen thousand souls. The number of the whole confederacy is about twenty-four thousand. They occupy lands upon the Arkansas and its tributaries, and are among the most peaceable and order-loving of the banished tribes. In the beautiful country bordering upon the Gulf of Mexico, and extending west of the Creeks to the Mississippi, lived the Choctaws. They were an agri- cultural people when the Europeans discovered them ; and, attached to home and quiet pursuits, they have ever been a peaceful people. Their wars have always been on the defensive, and they never had public feuds with either their Spanish, French, or English neighbors. They, too, have been compelled to abandon their native country for the uncultivated wilderness west of Arkansas, between the Arkansas and Red Rivers. They now [1 867] number about thirteen thousand souls. They retain their peaceable character in their new homes. The Chickasaw tribe inhabited the country along the Mississippi, from the borders of the Choctaw domain to the Ohio River, and eastward beyond the Ten- nessee to the lands of the Cherokees 7 and Shawnees. 8 This warlike people were the early friends of the English, and the most inveterate foes of the French, 1 Page 102. 2 page 170. 3 This confederacy now [1867] consists of the Creeks proper, Seminoles, Natchez, Hichittiea, and Alabamas. The Creeks, like many other tribes, claim to be the Original People. * Page 448. Page 466. Page 468. 1 Page 27. s Page 19. THE DAHCOTAH OR SIOUX TRIBES. 31 who had twice [1736-1740] invaded their country. They adhered to the British during the Revolution, but since that time they have held friendly rela- tions with the Government of the United States. The remnant, about four thousand in number, are upon lands almost a hundred leagues westward of the Mississippi. Thus, with almost chronological brevity, we have given an outline sketch of the history of the Aboriginal nations with whom the first European settlers in the United States became acquainted. They have now no legal habitation eastward of the Mississippi ; and the fragments of those powerful tribes who once claimed sovereignty over twenty-four degrees of longitude and twenty degrees of latitude, are now [1867] compressed within a quadrangle of about nine degrees, between the Red and Missouri Rivers. 1 Whether the grave of the last of those great tribes shall be within their present domain, or in some valley among the crags of the Rocky Mountains, expediency will hereafter determine. CHAPTER IX. THE DAHCOTAH OR SIOUX TRIBES. THE French were the earliest explorers of the regions of the Middle and Upper Mississippi, and they found a great number of tribes west of that river who spoke dialects of the same language. They occupied the vast domain from the Arkansas on the south, to the western tributary of Lake Winnipeg on the north, and westward to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. These have been classed into four grand divisions, namely, the WINNEBAGOES, who inhabited the country between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, among the Algonquins ; 2 the ASSINNIBOINS and Sioux proper, the most northerly nation ; the MINETAREE GROUP in the Minnesota Territory, and the SOUTHERN Sioux, who dwelt in the country between the Arkansas and Platte Rivers, and whose hunting-ground extended to the Rocky Mountains. The most uneasy of these tribes were the Winnebagoes, who often attacked the Sioux west of the Mississippi. They generally lived on friendly terms with the Algonquins, after their martial spirit was somewhat subdued by the Illinois, who, in 1640, almost exterminated them. They were enemies to the 1 Mr. Bancroft [II., 253] after consulting the most reliable authorities on the subject, makes the following estimate of the entire Aboriginal population in 1650' Algonquins, 90,000; Eastern Sioux, less than 3,000; Iroquois, including then- southern kindred, about 17,000; Catawbas, 3,000, Cherokees (now more numerous than ever), 12,000; Mobilian tribes, 50,000; Uchees, 1,000; Natchez, 4,000 in all, 180,000. These were the only nations and tribes then known. With the expansion of our territory westward and southward, we have embraced numerous Indian nations, some of them quite populous, until the number of the estimate ,above given has been almost doubled, according to the late census. & 3 Page 11 32 THE ABORIGINALS United States during the second war with Great Britain, 1 and they confeder- ated with the Sacs and Foxes in hostilities against the white people, under Black Hawk, in 1832. 2 The tribe, now [1867] less than four thousand strong, are seated upon the Mississippi, about eighty miles above St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota. Fear of the white people keeps them quiet. In the cold, wet country of the North, the Assiniboins yet inhabit their na- tive land. Having separated from the nation, they are called " rebels." Their neighbors, the Sioux proper, were first visited by the French in 1660, and have ever been regarded as the most fierce and warlike people on the continent. They also occupy their ancient domain, and are now [1867] about fifteen thousand strong. Further westward are the Minetarees, Mandans, and Crows, who form the MINETAREE GROUP. They are classed with the Dahcotahs or Sioux, although the -languages have only a slight affinity. The Minetarees and Mandans num- ber about three thousand souls each. They cultivate the soil, and live in vil- lages. The Crows number about fifteen hundred, and are wanderers and hunters. The Mandans are very light-colored. Some suppose them to be descendants of a colony from Wales, who, it is believed, came to America under Madoc, the son of a Welsh prince, in the twelfth century. 3 There are eight in number of the SOUTHERN Sioux tribes, namely, the Arkansas, Osages, Kansas, lowas, Missouries, Otoes, Omahas, and Puncahs. They are cultivators and hunters. They live in villages a part of the year, and are abroad upon their hunting-grounds during the remainder. Of these tribes, the Osages are the most warlike and powerful. All of the Southern Sioux tribes are upon lands watered by the Missouri and the Platte, and their tributaries. CHAPTER X. THE EXTREME WESTERN TRIBES. WITHIN a few years, our domain has been widely expanded, and in our newly-acquired possessions on the borders of Mexico and the Pacific coast, and the recently organized Territories in the interior of the continent, are numer- ous powerful and warlike tribes, 4 of whom little is known, and whose history 1 Page 260. 2 Page 287. 9 It is said that Madoc, son of Prince Owen Gwignedd, sailed from "Wales, with ten ships and three hundred men, at about the year 1170, on an exploring voyage, and never returned. Many learned conjectures have been expressed, and among them the belief that the expedition reached the American continent, and became the progenitors of the Mandans, or White Indians, of our western plains. 4 The whole number of Indians within the present limits of the United States, in 1867, accord- Ing to official estimates, was a little more than 300,000. There are about 15,000 in the States east- ward of the Mississippi, principally in New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin ; the remainder, consist- ing of Cherokees, Choctaws, and Seminoles, being in North Carolina..Mississippi, and Florida, The THE EXTREME WESTERN TRIBES. 33 has no connection with that of the people of the United States, except the fact that they were original occupants of the soil, and that some of them, especially the California and Oregon Indians, yet [1867] dispute our right to sovereignty. Of these, the Comanches and Apaches of California are the most warlike. The Pawnees upon the Great Plains toward the Rocky Mountains are very numer- ous, but not so warlike ; and the Utahs, among the Wasatch and neighboring ranges, are strong in numbers. Further northward and westward are the Blackfeet, Crow, Snake, Nezperces, and Flathead Indians, and smaller clans, with petty chiefs, whose domains stretch away toward the Knisteneaux and Esquimaux on the extreme north. These tribes are rapidly fading in the light of modern civilization, and are destined to total annihilation. The scythe of human progress is steadily cut- ting its swathes over all their lands ; and the tima is not far distant when the foot-prints of the Indians will be no more known within the domain of our Re- public. In future years, the dusky son of an exile, coming from the far-off borders of the Slave Lake, will be gazed at in the streets of a city at the mouth of the Yellow Stone, with as much wonder as the Oneida woman, with her blue cloth blanket and bead-work merchandize is now [1867] in the city of New York. So the Aboriginals of our land are passing away, and even now they may chant in sorrow : ""We, the rightful lords of yore, Are the rightful lords no more; . Like the silver mist, we fail, Like the red leaves on the gale Fail, like shadows, when the dawning "Waves the bright flag of the morning." J. McLELLAN, JR. "I will weep for a season, in bitterness fed, For my kindred are gone to the hills of the dead ; But they died not of hunger, or lingering decay The hand of the white man hath swept them away." HENRY ROWE SCHOOLCRAPT. number in Minnesota and along the frontiers of the "Western States and Texas (most of them emi- grants from the country eastward of the Mississippi), is estimated at 80,000. Those on the Plains and among the Rocky Mountains, not within any organized Territory, at 50,000; in Texas, at 25,000; in New Mexico, at 30,000; in California, at 78,000; in Utah, at 10,000; in Oregon and Washington Territories, at 20,000; total, 308,000. For more minute accounts of the Indians, see Heckewelder's "History of the Indian Nations;" Schoolcraft's "AJgic Researches;" M'Kinney's " History of the Indian Tribes ;" Drake's " Book of the Indians ;" Catlin's " Letters and Notes;" Schooloraft's "Notes on the Iroquois." To the Department of the Interior of the National Government is intrusted the administration of Indian affairs. At this time [1867] the stocks and bonds held by the Department in trust for the Indians, from the income of which annuities are paid to them, amount to more than threw millions of dollars. COLUMBUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF SALAMANCA SECOND PERIOD. DISCOVERIES. AMERIGO VESPUCCI. CHAPTER I. SCANDINAVIAN VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 'ONE of the most interesting of the un- solved problems of history, is that which re- lates to the alleged discovery of America by mariners of north- ern Europe, almost five hundred years before Columbus left Palos, in Spain, to accomplish that great event. The tales and poetry of Iceland abound with intimations of such discoveries ; and records of early voyages from Iceland to a continent south- westward of Greenland, have be3n found. These, and the re- sults of recent investigations, appear to prove, by the strongest circumstantial evidence, that the New England 1 coast was vis- ited, and that settlements thereon were attempted by Scandi- navian navigators, 2 almost five centuries before the great Genoese undertook his first voyage in quest of a western passage to India. NORTHMAN. The States of our Union eastward of New York are collectively called New England. P. 74. 8 The ancients called the territory which contains modern Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Lapland, Iceland, Finland, etc., by the general name of Scandinavia. SCANDINAVIAN VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 35 KORMAN SHIP. The navigators of northern Europe were remarkable for their boldness and perseverance. They discovered Iceland in the year 860, and colonized it. In 890 they colonized Greenland, and planted colonies there also. There was traffic, friendly and lucrative, between the colonists of Iceland and .Greenland, and the parent Norwegians and Danes, as early as the year 950, and no mar- iners were so adventurous as these Northmen. In the year 1002, according to an Icelandic chronicle, a Norwegian vessel, commanded by Captain Lief, sailed from Iceland for Greenland. A gale drove the voy- agers to the coast of Labrador. They explored the shores southward to the region of a genial climate, where they found noble forests and abundance of grapes. This, it is supposed, was the vicinity of Boston. Other voyages to the new-found land were afterward made by the adventurous Scandinavians, and they appear to have extended their explorations as far as Rhode Island perhaps as far south as Cape May. It is further asserted that settlements in that pleas- ant climate were attempted, and that the child of a Scan- dinavian mother was born upon the shore of Mount Hope Bay, in Rhode Island. 1 In the absence of actual charts and maps, to fix these localities of latitude and longitude, of course they must be subjects of conjecture only, for these explorers left no traces of their presence here, un- less it shall be conceded that the round tower at New- port, 2 about the origin of which history and tradition are silent, was built by the Northmen. The period of this alleged discovery was that of the dark ages, when ig- norance brooded over Europe, like thick night. Information of these voyages seems not to have spread, and no records of intercourse with a western conti- nent later than 1120, have been found. The great discovery, if made, was for- gotten, or remembered only in dim traditionary tales of the exploits of the old " Sea-Kings" 3 of the North. For centuries afterward, America was an un- TO\VER AT NEWPORT. 1 The old chronicle referred to says that Gudrida, wife of a Scandinavian navigator, gave birth to a cMld in America, to whom she gave the name of Snorre ; and it is further asserted that Ber- tel Thorwalsden, the great Danish sculptor, was a descendant of this early white American. The records of these voyages were compiled by Bishop Thorlack, of Iceland, who was also a descendant of Snorre. 2 This structure is of unhewn stone, laid in mortar made of the gravel of the soil around, and oyster-shell lime. It is a cylinder resting upon eight round columns, twenty-three feet in diameter, and twenty-four feet hi height It was originally covered with stucco. It seems to have stood there when the white people first visited Rhode Island, and the Narraganset Indians, it is as- serted, had no tradition of its origin. There can be little doubt, all things considered, of its having been constructed by those northern navigators, who made attempts at settlement in that vicinity. 3 This name was given to bold adventurers of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, who rebelled against Gorm the Old of Norway, and Harold Fairhair of Denmark, their conquerors, forsook their country, settled upon the islands of the North Sea, and Greenland, and from thence went forth upon piratical expeditions, even as far south as the pleasant coasts of France. They trafficked, as well as plundered ; and finally sweeping over Denmark and Germany, obtained possession of some 36 DISCOV-ERIES. [1492. known region. It had no place upon maps, unless as an imaginary island without a name, nor in the most acute geographical theories of the learned. When Columbus conceived the grand idea of reaching Asia by sailing westward, no whisper of those Scandinavian voyages was heard in Europe. CHAPTER II. SPANISH VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. THE first half of the fifteenth century was distinguished for great commer- cial activity. Sluggish Europe was just awaking from its slumber of centuries, and maritime discoveries were prosecuted with untiring zeal by the people inhabiting the great south-western peninsula covered by Spain, Portugal, and France. The incentives to make these discoveries grew out of the political condition of Europe, and the promises of great commercial advantages. The rich commerce of the East centered in Rome, when that empire overshad- owed the known world. When it fell into fragments, the Italian cities con- tinued their monopoly of the rich trade of the Indies. Provinces which had arisen into independent kingdoms, became jealous of these cities, so rapidly outstripping them in power and opulence ; and Castile and Portugal, in par- ticular, engaged in efforts to open a direct trade with the East. The ocean was the only highway for such commerce, toward which the rivals could look with a hope of success. The errors of geographical science interposed great obsta- cles. Popular belief pictured an impassable region of fire beyond Cape Baja- dor, on the coast of Africa ; but bold navigators, under the auspices of Prince Henry of Portugal, soon penetrated that dreaded latitude, crossed the torrid zone, and, going around the southern extremity of Africa, opened a pathway to the East, through the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese court at Lisbon soon became a point of great attraction to the learned and adven- turous. Among others came Christopher Columbus, the son of a wool-carder of Genoa, a mariner of great experience and considerable repute, and then in the prime of life. In person he was tall and commanding, and, in manners, exceedingly winning and graceful, for one unaccustomed to the polish of courts, or the higher orders in society. The rudi- ments of geometry, which he had learned in the of the best portions of Gaul. They finally invaded the British Islands, and placed Canute upon the throne of Alfred. It was among these people that chivalry, as an institution, originated ; and back to those " Sea-Bongs" we may look for the hardiest elements of progress among the people of the United States. 1609.] SPANISH VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 37 university of Pavia, had been for years working out a magnificent theory iu his mind, and he came to Lisbon to seek an opportunity to test its truth. Fortune appeared to smile beneficently upon Columbus, during his early residence in Lisbon. He soon loved and married the daughter of Palestrello, a deceased navigator of eminence, and he became possessed of nautical papers of great value. They poured new light upon his mind. His convictions respecting the rotundity of the earth, and the necessity of a continent in the Atlantic Ocean, to balance the land in the eastern hemisphere ; or at least a nearer approach of eastern Asia to the shores of western Europe, than geo- graphical science had yet revealed, assumed the character of demonstrated realities. He was disposed to credit the narratives of Plato and other ancient writers, respecting the existence of a continent beyond the glorious, but long- lost, island of Atlantis, in the waste of waters westward of Europe. He was convinced that Asia could be reached much sooner by sailing westward, than by going around the Cape of Good Hope. 1 He based his whole theory upon the fundamental belief that the earth was a terraqueous globe, which might be traveled round from east to west, and that men stood foot to foot at opposite points. This, it should be remembered, was seventy years before Copernicus announced his theory of the form and motion of the planets [1548], and one hundred and sixty years [1633] before Galileo was compelled, before the court of the Inquisition at Rome, to renounce his belief in the diurnal revolu- tion of the earth. A deep religious sentiment imbued the whole being of Columbus, and he became strongly impressed with the idea that there were people beyond the waste of waters Avestward, unto whom he was commissioned by heaven to carry the Gospel.* With the lofty aspirations which his theory and his faith gave him, he prosecuted his plans with great ardor. He made a voyage to Iceland, and sailed a hundred leagues beyond, to the ice-fields of the polar cir- cle. He probably heard, there, vague traditions of early voyages to a western continent, 8 which gave strength to his own convictions ; and on his return, he laid his plans first before his countrymen, the Genoese (who rejected them), and then before the monarchs of England 4 and Portugal. The Portuguese monarch appeared to comprehend the grand idea of Colum- bus, but it was too lofty for the conceptions of his council and the pedantic wise men of Lisbon. For a long time Columbus was annoyed by delays on the part of those to whose judgment the king deferred; and attempts were meanly and clandestinely made to get from Columbus the information which he pos- sessed. While awaiting a decision, his wife died. The last link that bound him to Portugal was broken, and, taking his little son Diego by the hand, he 1 This point was first discovered by Diaz, a Portuguese navigator, who named it Stormy Cape. But King John, believing it to be that remote extremity of Africa so long sought, named it Cape of Good Hope. Vasco de Gama passed it in 1497, and made his way to the East Indies beyond. 2 His name was suggestive of a mission. Christo or Christ, and Colombo, a pigeon carrier- pigeon. By this combination of significant words in his name, he believed himself to be a Christ, or Gospel-bearer, to the heathen, and he often signed his name Christo-ferens, or Christ-bearer. 3 Page 34. 4 Page 46 38 DISCOVERIES. [1492. departed on foot to lay his proposition before Ferdinand and Isabella, 1 the monarchs of Spain occupants of the united thrones of Arragon and Castile. Very poor, and greatly dispirited, Columbus arrived at the gate of the monastery of Rabida, near the little port from whence he afterward sailed, and begged food and shelter for himself and child. The good Father Marchena received him kindly, entered warmly into his plans, and was of essential service to him afterward. Through him Columbus obtained access to the court ; but the war with the Moors, then raging, delayed an opportunity for an audience with the monarchs for a long time. Yet he was not idle. He employed him- self in the alternate pursuits of science, and engagements in some of the military campaigns. He was continually treated with great deference by the court and nobility, and at length his importunities were heeded. A council of the learned men of the nation was convened at Salamanca, to consider his plans and propo- sitions." The majority pronounced his scheme vain and impracticable, and unworthy of the support of the government. But a minority of the council, wiser than the rest, did not acquiesce in this decision, and, with Cardinal Men- doza and other officers of government, they encouraged the navigator by prom- ises of their continual support. But he became disgusted by procrastination, and abandoning the hope of royal aid, he applied to two wealthy dukes for assistance. They refused, and he left with a determination to lay his plans before the King of France. Columbus had been encouraged by Father Mar- chena (who had been Isabella's confessor), 3 and through his intercession, the navigator was recalled before he had entered France. He sought and obtained a per- sonal interview with the queen. To her he revealed all his plans ; told her of the immense treasures that lay hidden in that far distant India 4 which might be easily reached by a shorter way, and pleaded eloquently for aid in his pious design of carrying the Gospel to the heathen of unknown lands. The last appeal aroused ISABELLA. the religious zeal of Isabella, and with the spirit of the Crusaders, 6 she dismissed Columbus with the assurance 1 Isabella was a sister of the profligate Henry the Fourth of Castile and Leon. She was a pious, virtuous, and high-minded woman, then almost a phenomenon in courts. She was of middle size, and well formed, with a fair complexion, auburn hair, and clear, blue eyes. 2 See the picture at the head of this chapter. The Council was composed of the professors of the university, various dignitaries of the Church, and learned friars. They were nearly all preju- diced against the poor navigator, and he soon discovered that ignorance and bigotry would defeat his purposes. 3 All Roman Catholics are obliged to confess their sins to a priest. Rich and titled persons often had a priest confessor for themselves and their families exclusively. 4 Marco Polo and other travelers had related wonderful stories of the beauty and wealth of a country beyond the limits of geographical knowledge, and had thus inflamed tho avarice and ambition of the rich and powerful. The country was called Zipangi, and also Cathay. It included China and adjacent islands. 5 About 700 years ago, the Christian powers of Europe fitted out expeditions to conquer Palestine, with the avowed object of rescuing the sepulcher of Jesus, at Jerusalem, from the hands of the Turks. These were called crusades holy wars. The lives of two millions of people were lost in them. 2609.] SPANISH VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 39 that he should have her aid in fitting out an exploring expedition, even if it should require the pawning of her crown jewels to obtain the money. And Isabella was faithful to her promise. She fitted out two caravels (light coasting ships), and Columbus, by the aid of friends, equipped a third and larger one. With this little fleet, bearing one hundred and twenty persons, he left Palos, on the Tinto River, in Andalusia, on Friday, the 3d of August, 1492, to explore the stormy Atlantic. 1 Columbus started on that perilous voyage without a reliable chart for his guidance, and no director in his course but the sun and stars, and the imperfect mariner's compass, then used only by a few in navigating the pleasant seas of the Old World. After various delays at the Canary Islands, they left them in the dim distance behind, on Sunday, the 9th of September. The broad At- lantic, mysterious and unknown, was before them. A voyage of great trial for the navigator was now fairly entered upon. His theory taught him to believe that he would reach Asia in the course of a few days. But weeks wore away the needle 1 became unfaithful; alarm and discontent prevailed, and severai times his followers were on the point of compelling him to turn back. One pleasant evening (the llth of October), the perfumes of flowers came upon the night breeze, as tokens of approach to land. The vesper hymn to the Virgin was sung, and Columbus, after recounting the blessings of God thus far manifested in the voyage, assured the crews that he confidently expected to see land in the morning. Yet they hesitated to believe, for twice before they had been mocked by other indications of land being near. 3 On the high poop of his vessel the great navigator sat watching until midnight, when he saw the glim- mer of moving lights upon the verge of the horizon. He called others to con- firm his vision, for he was fearful of mistake. They, too, perceived blazing torches, and at dawn the next morning their delighted eyes saw green forests ^ FLEET OF COUJMBUS . stretching along the horizon; and as they approached, they were greeted by the songs of birds and the murmur of human voices. 1 Columbus was appointed high-admiral of all seas which he might discover, with the attendant honors. Also viceroy of all lands discovered. He was to have one-tenth of all profits of the first voyage, and by contributing an eighth of the expense of future voyages, was to have an eighth of all the profits. Although Isabella paid the whole expense, the contract was signed, also, by her husband. 2 Needle, or pointer, of the mariner's compass. This instrument was first known in Europe, at Amalti, about 1302. The Chinese claim to have possessed a knowledge of it more than 1100 years before the birth of Christ. The needle was supposed to point toward the north star at all times. There is a continual variation from this line, now easily calculated, but unknown until discovered by Columbus. It perplexed, but did not dismay him. 3 They had seen birds, but they proved to be the petrel, an ocean fowl. Bits of wood and sea- weeds had also been seen. These had undoubtedly been seen on the outer verge of the Gulf Stream, north-east of the Bahamas, where, according to Lieutenant Maury [Physical Geography of the Sea], there may always be found a drift of sea-weed, and sometimes objects that have floated from the land. DISCOVERIES. [1492. BANNER OF THE EXPEDITION. Arrayed in scarlet, and bearing his sword in one hand, and the banner of the expedition in the other, Columbus landed, with his followers, and in the midst of the gorgeous scenery and the incense of myriads of flowers, they all knelt down and chaunted a hymn of thanksgiving to God. The natives had gathered in wonder and awe, in the grove near by, regarding the Europeans as children of their great deity, the Sun/ 1 Little did they comprehend the fatal signif- icance to them, of the act of Columbus, when, rising from the ground, he displayed the royal standard, drew his sword, set up a rude cross upon the spot where he landed, and took formal possession of the beautiful country in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella. 8 The land first discovered by Colum- bus was one of the Bahamas, called by the natives Guana- hama, but since named by the English, Cat Island. The navigator named it San Salvador (Holy Saviour) ; and believing it to be near the coast of further India, he called the natives Indians. This name .was after- ward applied to all the natives of the adjacent continent, 3 and is still retained. The triumph of Columbus was now complete. After spending some time in examining the island, becoming acquainted with the simple habits of the natives, and unsuccessfully searching for "the gold, and pearls, and spices of Zipangi," 4 he sailed southward, and discovered several other small islands. He finally discovered Cuba and St. Domingo, where he was told of immense gold- bearing regions in the interior. Impressed with the belief that he had dis- covered the Ophir of the ancients, he returned to Spain; where he arrived in March, 1493. He was received with great honors, 5 but considerations of State policy induced the Spanish government to conceal the importance of his dis- covery from other nations. This policy, and the jealousy which the sudden elevation of a foreigner inspired in the Spaniards, deprived him of the honor of having the New World called by his name. Americus Vespucius, 6 a Flor- entine, unfairly won the prize. In company with Ojeda, a companion of Colum- 1 Almost all the natives of the torrid zone of America worshiped the sun as the chief visib'e deity. The great temples of the sun in Mexico and Peru were among the most magnificent struc- tures of the Americans, when Europeans came. 8 It was a common practice then, as now, for the discoverer of new lands to erect some monu- ment, and to proclaim the title of his sovereign to the territories so discovered. The banner of the expedition, borne on shore by Columbus, was a white one, with a green cross. Over the initials F. and Y. (Ferdinand and Ysabella) were golden mural crowns. s Chapter I, page 9. * Note 4, page 38. 6 Columbus carried back with him several of the natives, and a variety of the animals, birds, and plants of the New World. They excited the greatest astonishment. His journey from Palos to Barcelona, to meet the sovereigns, was like the march of a king. His reception was still more magnificent. The throne of the monarch was placed in a public square, and the great of the king- dom were there to do homage to the navigator. The highest honors were bestowed upon Colum- bus: and the sovereigns granted him a coat of arms bearing royal devices, and the motto, "To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a new world." 6 See the protrait of Vespucius at the head of this Chapter. The Italians spell his name Amer- igo Vespucci [Am-e-ree-go Ves-pute-se]. He died while in the service of the king of Spain, in 1514. He had made several voyages to South America, and explored the eastern coast as far southward as the harbor of Kio Janeiro. 1609.] SPANISH VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 41 bus during his first voyage, Americus visited the West Indies, and discovered and explored the eastern coast of South America, north of the Oronoco, in 1499. In 1504, he published a glowing account of the lands he had visited, 1 and that being the first formal announcement to the world of the great discov- ery, and as he claimed to have first set foot upon the Continent of the West, it was called AMERICA, in honor of the Florentine. This claim was not founded on truth, for Columbus had anticipated him ; and two years earlier, Cabot, in command of an expedition from England, discovered Labrador, New- foundland, and portions of the New England coast. Columbus made three other voyages to the West Indies, 2 established settle- ments, and in August, 1498, he discovered the continent at the mouth of the Oronoco. This, too, he supposed to be an island near the coast of Asia, and he lived and died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his discoveries. Before departing on his third voyage, he was appointed Viceroy and High Admiral of the New World. During his absence, jealous and unscrupulous men poisoned the minds of the king and queen with false statements concerning the ambitious designs of Columbus, and he was sent back to Spain in chains. The navigator was guilty of serious wrongs, but not against his sovereign. He made slaves of the natives, and this offended the conscientious Isabella. But she was soon undeceived concerning his alleged political crimes, and he was allowed to depart on a fourth voyage. When he returned, the queen was dead, his enemies were in power, and he who had shed such luster upon the Spanish name, and added a new hemisphere to the Spanish realm, was allowed to sink into the grave in obscurity and neglect. He died at Valladolid on the 20th of May, 1506. His body was buried in a convent, from whence it was afterward carried to St. Domingo, and subsequently to Havana, in Cuba, where it now remains. It was an unlucky hour for the nations of the New World when the eyes of Europeans were first opened upon it. The larger islands of the West India group were soon colonized by the Spaniards ; and the peaceful, friendly, gen- tle, and happy natives, were speedily reduced to slavery. Their Paradise was made a Pandemonium for them. Bending beneath the weight of Spanish cruelty and wrong, they soon sunk into degradation. The women were com- pelled to intermarry with their oppressors, and from this union came many of the present race of Creoles, who form the numerical strength of Cuba and other West India Islands. The wonderful stories of gold-bearing regions, told by the natives, and ex- aggerated by the adventurers, inflamed the avarice and cupidity of the Span- iards, and exploring voyages from Cuba, St. Domingo, and Porto Rico, were undertaken. The eastern coast of Yucatan was discovered in 1506 ; and in 1510, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, with a colony, settled upon the Isthmu3 1 First in a letter to Lorenzo de Medici, and then [1507] in a volume, dedicated to the Duke of Lorraine. These publications revealed what the Spanish Government wished to conceal. Note 4, page 4f. 2 In his second voyage [1493], Colunxbus took with him several horses, a bull, and some cows. These were the first animals of the kind taken from Europe to America. 42 DISCOVERIES. [1492. of Darien. This was the first colony planted on the continent of America. Crossing the Isthmus in search of gold in 1513, Balboa saw the Pacific Ocean in a southerly direction from the top of a high mountain, and he called it the " South Sea." In full costume, and bearing the Spanish flag, he entered its waters and took possession of the ' : seas, lands,'' etc., "of the South," in the name of his sovereign. In the year 1512 Florida was discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon, an old visionary, who had been governor of Porto Rico. With three ships he sailed for the Bahamas in search of a fountain which unlettered natives and wise men of Spain believed to exist there, and whose waters possessed the quality of restoring old age to the bloom of youth, and of making the recipient immortal. It was on Easter Sunday,* March 27, 1512, the Pasquas de Flores 3 of the Spaniards, when the adventurer approached the shores of the great southern peninsula of the United States and landed near the site of St. Augustine. 4 The forests and the green banks were laden with flowers ; and when, soon after landing, Ponce de Leon took possession of the country in the name of his sov- ereign, this fact and the holy day were regarded, and he called the beautiful domain, FLORIDA. He continued his searches for the Fountain of Youth all along the coast of the newly-discovered country, and among the Tortugas (Tor- toise) Islands, a hundred miles from its southern cape, but without success ; and he returned to Porto Rico, an older if not a wiser man. He soon afterward went to Spain, where he remained several years. While Ponce de Leon was absent in Europe, some wealthy owners of plant- ations and mines in St. Domingo, sent Lucas Vasquez d r Ayllon, one of their number, with two vessels, to seize natives of the Bermudas, and bring them home for laborers. It was an unholy mission, and God's displeasure was made manifest. A storm drove the voyagers into St. Helen's Sound, on the coast of South Carolina, and after much tribulation, they anchored [1520] at the mouth of the Combahee River. The natives were kind and generous ; and, judging their visitors by their own simple standard of honor, they unsuspectingly went upon the ship in crowds, to gratify their curiosity. While below, the hatches were closed, the sails were immediately spread, and those free children of the forest were borne away to work s.3 bond-slaves in the mines of St. Domingo. But the perpetrators of the outrage did not accomplish their designs. One of the vessels was destroyed by a storm ; and almost every prisoner in the other refused to ta'ce food, and died. The fruit of this perfidy was a feeling of hos- tility to white people, which spread throughout the whole of the Mobilian tribes, 5 and was a source of much trouble afterward. 1 This little picture gives a correct representation of those armed Spaniards who attempted con- quests in the New World. Balboa's fellow-adventurers became jealous of his fame, and on their accusations he was put to death by the Governor of Darien, in 1517. 2 The day in which is commemorated in the Christian Church the resurrection of Jesus Christ. * Feast of flowers. Page 51. * Chapter VIII.. page 29. ;609.] SPANISH VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES. 43 Ponce cle Leon returned to the West Indies soon after D'Ayllon's voyage, bearing the commission of Governor of Florida, with instructions to plant settle- ments there. In his attempts to do so, the angry natives, who had heard of the treachery of the Spaniards, attacked him furiously. He was mortally wounded, and almost all of his followers were killed. D' Ayllon was then appointed governor of the country which he had discovered and named Chicora. He went thither to conquer it, and was received with apparent friendship by the natives on the banks of the Combahee, 1 near the spot where his great crime of man-stealing had been perpetrated. Many of his men were induced to visit a village in the interior, when the natives practiced the lesson of treachery which D' Ayllon had taught them, and massacred the whole party. The commander himself was attacked upon his own ship, and it was with difficulty that he escaped. He died of his wounds at St. Domingo. Another important discovery was made in 1517, by Francisco Fernandez de Cordova, who commanded an expedition from Cuba : the rich and populous domain of Mexico was revealed to the avaricious Spaniards. Cordova's report of a people half civilized, and possessing treasures in cities, awakened the keen- est cupidity of his countrymen ; and the following year Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, sent another expedition to Mexico, under Juan de Grijalva. That captain returned with much treasure, obtained by trafficking with the Mex- icans. The avarice, cupidity, and ambition of Velasquez were powerfully aroused, and he determined to conquer the Mexicans, and possess himself of their sources of wealth. An expedition, consisting of eleven vessels, and more than six hundred armed men, was placed under the command of Fernando Cortez, a brave but treacherous and cruel leader. He landed first at Tobasco, and then at San Juan de Ulloa, 2 near Vera Cruz [April 12, 1519], where he received a friendly deputation from Montezuma, the emperor of the nation. 3 By falsehood anoT duplicity, Cortez and his armed companions were allowed to march to Mexico, the capital. By stratagem and boldness, and the aid of native tribes who were hostile to the Mexican dynasty, Cortez 4 succeeded, after many bloody contests during almost two years, in subduing the people. The city of Mexico surrendered to him on the 23d of August, 1521, and the vast and populous empire of Montezuma became a Spanish province. Florida continued to command the attention of the Spaniards, in whose minds floated magnificent dreams of immense wealth in cities and mines within its deep forests ; and seven years after the conquest of Mexico [1528], Pamphilo 1 D' Ayllon named this river, Jordan, for he regarded the country as the new Land of Promise. 2 Pronounced San-\vhahn-da-Ooloo-ah. 3 The Mexicans at that time were making rapid advances in the march of civilization. They were acquainted with many of the useful arts of enlightened nations, and appear to have been as far advanced in science, law, religion, and domestic and public social organization, as were the Romans at the close of the Republic. 4 Born at Medellon, in Estramadura, Spain, in 1485. He went to St. Domingo in 1504, and in 1511 accompanied Velasquez to Cuba. Me committed many horrid crimes in Mexico. Yet he had tlie good fortune, unlike the more noble Columbus, to retain the favor of the Spanish monarch until his death. "When, on his return to Spain, he urged an audience with the emperor, and was asked who he was, the bold adventurer replied, " I am the man who has given you more provinces than your father left you towns." He died in Estramadura, in 1554, at the age of 69 years. 44 DISCOVERIES. [1492. de Narvaez having been appointed governor of that region, went from Cuba, with three hundred men, 1 to conquer it. Hoping to find a wealthy empire, like Mexico, he penetrated the unknown interior as far as the southern borders of Georgia. Instead of cities filled with treasures, he found villages of huts, and the monarch of the country living in a wigwam. 4 Disappointed, and con- tinually annoyed by hostile savages, who had heard of the treachery at the Com- bahee, 3 he turned southward, and reaching- the shores of Apallachee Bay, near St. Marks, he constructed rude boats and embarked for Cuba. The commander and most of his followers perished ; only four escaped, and these wandered from tribe to tribe for several years before reaching a Spanish settlement in Mexico. Yet the misfortunes of Narvaez did not suppress the spirit of adventure, and Florida (the name then applied to all North America) was still regarded by the Spaniards as the new Land of Promise. All believed that in the vast interior were mines as rich, and people as wealthy as those of Mexico and Yu- catan. Among the most sanguine of the possessors of such an opinion, was Ferdinand de Soto. a brave and wealthy cavalier, who had gained riches and military honors, with Pizarro, in Peru. 4 He obtained permission of the Spanish emperor to conquer Florida at his own expense, and for that purpose, was appointed governor of Cuba, and also of Flor- ida. With ten vessels and six hundred men, all clad in armor, he sailed for the New World early in 1539. Leav- DE SOTO. ing his wife to govern Cuba, he proceeded to Florida, and on the 10th of June landed on the shores of Tampa Bay. He then sent most of his vessels back, and made his way, among hostile sav- ages, toward the interior of the fancied land of gold. 5 He wintered on the banks of the Flint River, in Georgia, and in the spring crossed the Appal- lachian Mountains, and penetrated the beautiful country of the Cherokees. 6 This, all things considered, was one of the most remarkable expeditions on record. For several months, De Soto and his followers wandered over the hills and valleys of Alabama, in vain searches for treasure, fighting the fierce Mo- bilian tribes, 7 and becoming continually diminished in number by battle and disease. They passed the winter of 1541 on the banks of the Yazoo River, in the land of the Chickasaws. 8 In May of that year, they discovered and crossed the Mississippi River, probably not far below Memphis ; and there, in the pres- ence of almost twenty thousand Indians, De Soto erected a cross made of a huge pine tree, and around it imposing religious ceremonies were performed. 1 They took with them about forty horses, the first ever landed upon the soil of the present United States. These all perished by starvation, or the weapons of the Indians. 1 Page 13. Page 42. * Pizarro was a follower of Balboa. He discovered Peru in 1524, and in connection with Al- magro and Lucque, he conquered it in 1532, after much bloodshed. He was born, out of wedlock, in Estramadura, Spain, in 1475. He could neither read nor write, but seemed eminently fitted for the field of effort in which he was engaged. He quarreftd with Almagro, civil war ensued, and he was murdered at Lima, in Peru, in 1541. 5 De Soto had a large number of horses. He also landed some swine. These rapidly increased in the forests. They were the first of their species seen in America. 6 Page 27. 7 Chapter VIII., p. 29. 8 Page 30. Dra-wu try- H L S 1609.] ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 45 To De Soto belongs the honor of first discovering that mighty river of our wide continent. After resting two days, the adventurers went up the western shore of the Mississippi as far as New Madrid. The ensuing summer and winter were spent by them in the wilderness watered by the Arkansas and its tributa- ries, and in the spring of 1542 they returned to the Mississippi, at the mouth of the Wachita, where De Soto sickened and died, after appointing his succes- sor. 1 In these painful and perilous journeyings, they had marched full three thousand miles. The death of their leader was a terrible blow to the followers of De Soto. They were now reduced to half their original number ; and, abandoning all hopes of finding gold, or a wealthy people, they sought for Spanish settlements in Mexico. For many months they wandered over the prairies, and among the tributary streams of the Red River, as far as the land of the Comanches, 11 when impassable mountain ranges compelled them to retrace their steps to the Mis- sissippi. At a little below Natchez they remained until the following July [1543], engaged in constructing several large boats, in which they embarked. Reaching the Gulf of Mexico, they crept cautiously along its coast ; and, on the 20th of September, the little remnant of De Soto's proud army, half naked and starving, arrived at a Spanish settlement near the mouth of the Panuco, thirty miles north of Tampico. This was the last attempt of the Spanish cotempo- raries of Columbus to explore, or to make settlements within the present terri- tory of the United States, previous to the appearance of the English 3 in the same field. They were impelled by no higher motive than the acquisition of gold, and treachery and violence were the instruments employed to obtain it. They were not worthy to possess the magnificent country which they coveted only for its supposed wealth in precious metals ; and it was reserved for others, who came afterward, with loftier aims, better hearts, and stronger hands, to cultivate the soil, and to establish an empire founded upon truth and justice. The Spaniards did finally become possessors of the southern portion of the Con- tinent ; and to this day the curse of moral, religious, and political despotism rests upon those regions. CHAPTER III. ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. WITH all its zealous vigilance, the Spanish court could not conceal the fact that a New World had been discovered, 4 and over Continental Europe and the 1 De Soto'a followers sunk the body of their leader deep in the Mississippi, so that the Indians should not find it * Page 33. 1 Page 46. While De Soto was engaged in this expedition, another, no less adventurous, was undertaken by Coronada, at the command of Mendoza, Viceroy of Mexico. He took with him, from the south-eastern shore of the Gulf of California, three hundred and fifty Spaniards, and eight hundred Indians. He penetrated the country to the head waters of the Rio del Norte, and onward into the great interior desert, aa far as the fortieth degree of north latitude. It was a perilous, but Iruitless expedition. 4 Page 40. 46 DISCOVERIES. [1492. British Isles, were spread the most extravagant tales of gold-bearing regions beyond the Atlantic Ocean. By means of a papal bull, 1 Portugal and Spain vainly attempted to secure to themselves a monopoly of oceanic navigation. But in all maritime countries, cupidity and curiosity urged men to brave both the perils of the sea and the thunders of the Vatican, in search of the western paradise and the regions of gold. Monarchs and wealthy subjects projected new expeditions. Among those whose zeal in the cause of maritime discovery was newly awakened, was Henry the Seventh of England, who had turned a deaf ear to the appeals of Columbus before his great first voyage." The town of Bristol, in the west of England, was then one of the most important sea-ports in the realm ; and among its adventurous mariners who had pene- trated the polar waters, probably as far as Greenland, was Sebastian Cabot, son of a wealthy Venetian mer- chant of Bristol, whose father sought the aid of the king in making a voyage of discovery. Willing to secure a portion of the prize he had lost, Henry read- ily yielded to the solicitations of Cabot, and gave him SEBASTIAN CABOT. an( l n ^ s sons a commission of discovery, dated March 16, 1496, which was similar, in some respects, to that which Columbus had received from Ferdinand and Isabella; 8 but unlike his Spanish cotemporaries, the English monarch did not bear the expenses of the voyage. The navigators were permitted to go, at their own expense, " to search for islands or regions inhabited by infidels, and hitherto unknown to Christen- dom," and take possession of them in the name of the King of England. They were to enjoy the sole right of trading thither paying to the King, "in lieu of all customs and imposts," a fifth of all net profits, and the same proportion of the products of all mines. According to recent discoveries made in searching the ancient records of England, it appears to be doubtful whether the elder Cabot, who was a mer- chant and a scientific man, ever voyaged to America. It is certain, however, that his son, Sebastian, accompanied, and, doubtless, commanded, the first expedition, which consisted of two vessels freighted by his father and others of Bristol and of London, and which sailed from the former port in May, 1498. They steered north-westerly until they encountered immense fields of ice west- ward of Cape Farewell, when they turned to the south-west, and on the 3d of July, of that year, discovered the rugged coast of Labrador. Passing Cape Charles, they saw Newfoundland ; and, after touching at several points, prob- ably as far southward as the coast of Maine, they hastened to England to announce the fact that they had first discovered a great western continent. 1 This is the name of special edicts issued by the Pope of Rome. They are written on parch- ment, and have a great seal attached, made of wax, lead, silver, or gold. The name is derived from the Bcal, butta. On one side, are the heads of Peter and Paul, and on the other, the name of the Pope and the year of his pontificate. The seal of the celebrated golden bull of the Emperor Charles IV., was made of gold. That bull became the fundamental law of the German Empire, at the Diet of Nuremburg, A. D. 1536. 2 Page 37. 3 Note 1, page 39. J609.] ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 47 The skill and energy of young Cabot secured the confidence of his father and friends in his ability to command successfully; and the following year, although he was only twenty-one years of age, he was placed in charge of another expedition, fitted out by his family and some Bristol merchants, for the purpose of traffic, and of discovering a north-west passage to India, a' desire for which had now taken hold upon the minds of the commercial world. Ice in the polar seas presented an impassable barrier, and he was compelled to go south- ward. He explored the coast from the frozen regions of Labrador to the sunny land of the Carolinas. Nineteen years afterward [1517] he navigated the northern waters, as far as the entrance to Hudson's Bay ; and nine years later [1526], while in the service of the monarch of Spain, 1 he explored the coast of Brazil, discovered and named the great Rio de la Plata, and penetrated the southern continent, in boats, upon the bosom of that river, almost four hundred miles. To the Cabots, father and son, belong the imperishable honor of first discovering the coast of the United States, through at least ten degrees of lati- tude. Italy may claim the glory of having given birth to the two great discov- erers, Columbus and Americus Vcspucius, whose name our continent now bears ; while Sebastian Cabot drew his first breath in England. 2 The immense numbers and commercial importance of the cod fishes in the vicinity of Newfoundland, were first discovered and made known by the Cabots ; and within five or six years after their first voyages, many fishermen went thither from England, Brittany, and Normandy, for those treasures of the deep. Every French vessel that went to America, was on a com- mercial errand only, until 1523, when Francis the first fitted out four ships, for the purpose of exploring the coasts of the New World. He gave the command to John Yerrazani, an eminent Florentine navigator. Verrazani sailed in Decem- ber, 1523, but a tempest disabled three of his ships, and he was compelled to go with only one. He proceeded due west from the Madeiras on the 27th of January, 1524, and first touched the American Continent, in March following, near TERRAZAXI. the mouth of the Capo Fear River, in North Carolina. After seeking a good harbor for fifty leagues further south, he sailed northward, and 1 Sebastian Cabot was born at Bristol, in 1467. He was invested with the honorable title of Chief Pilot of both England and Spain : and to him England is indebted for her first maritime con- nection with Russia, by the establishment of the Russian Trading Company, of which he was appointed governor for life. He published a map of the world, and also an account of his southern voyages. He died in 1557, at the age of 90 years. 2 King John of Portugal, like Henry of England, had refused to aid Columbus, and lost the great prize. After the return of the navigator, he felt a desire to fit out an expedition for dis- coveries in the New "World, but the Pope having given to Spain the whole region westward, beyond an imaginary line three hundred leagues west from the Azores, he dared not interfere with the Spanish mariners. But when the northern voyages of the Cabots became known, King John dispatched an expedition in that direction, under Gasper Cortoreal, toward the close of the year 1500, for the ostensible purpose of seeking a north-west passage to India. Cortoreal coasted along the shores of Labrador several hundred miles, and then freighting his ship with fifty natives whom he had caught, he returned to Portugal, and sold his living cargo, for slaves. Finding the adven- ture profitable, he sailed for another cargo, but he was never heard of afterward. Almost sixty years later some Portuguese settled in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and first imported cattle and swine there. 48 DISCOVERIES. [1492. CARTIEU'S.SHIP. explored the coast from the Carolinas to Newfoundland. He anchored in the Bays of Delaware and New York, 1 the harbor of Newport, and probably that of Boston, and held intercourse with the natives, who were sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile. Verrazani gave the name of NEW FRANCE to the vast regions within the latitudes of the coasts which he had discovered. But at that o time the French King was too much engrossed and impoverished by war with the Spanish monarch, to pay much attention to the important discoveries of Verrazani, or to listen to plans for future expeditions. Ten years elapsed before Admi- ral Chabon induced Francis to encourage another explor- ing enterprise, when a plan for making settlements in NEW FRANCE was arranged [1534], ancLJames Cartier, a mariner of St. Malo, was appointed to the command of an expedition. He reached Newfoundland early in June, 1534. After exploring its coasts, he passed through the Straits of Belle- isle, into the Gulf beyond, planted a cross with the arms of France upon it, on the shore of Gaspj inlet, and took possession of the whole country in the name of his king. After discovering the mouth of the great river of Canada, he sailed for France, in time to avoid the autumn storms on the American coast. There was great joy at the French court, in the capital, and throughout the whole kingdom, because of the success of Cartier. He was commissioned for another voyage ; and in May following [1535] he sailed for Newfoundland with three ships, accompanied by several young noblemen of France. They passed the Straits of Belleisle, and entered the Gulf on the day dedicated to St. Lawrence ; and, on that account, Cartier gave the name of the martyr to the broad sheet of water over which they were sailing. They passed up the river which afterward received the same name, and mooring their ships at Que- bec, 4 proceeded in a pinnace and boats to Hochelaga, where Montreal now stands, then the capital of the Huron king. 8 The natives were everywhere friendly and hospitable. The land in all that region was very level, except a high mountain in the rear of the Indian town. Cartier ascended to its summit, and was so impressed with the glorious view that he called it Mont-Real (royal mountain), which name the fine city at its base yet retains. After exchanging presents and friendly salutations with the Indians, they returned to Quebec, and passed the severe winter on board their ships. In the spring, after setting up a cross, and ARMS OF FRANCE. 1 Some authors say that Verrazani landed where the lower extremity of New York city is, and giving the natives some spirituous liquors, made many of them drunk. The Indians called the place Mannarha-ta, or "place of drunkenness," and they were afterward called Manna-ha-tans. But this scene of intoxication probably occurred on board the Half-Moon, the exploring ship of Hendrick Hudson. See page 59. 2 Pronounced Ke-bec, 3 Page 23. 1609.] ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 49 FRENCH NOBLEMAN IN 1540. taking formal possession of the country, they returned to France, having lost twenty-five seamen with the scurvy, a disease until then unknown. Their de- parture was disgraced by an act of treachery, which planted the seeds of hatred of the white people among the natives of the St. Lawrence. Cartier, under pretense of friendship, decoyed the hospitable Huron king on board one of his vessels and carried him off to France. The results of this voyage were little else than a series of disappointments. Cartier's report of the rigors of the win- ter and the barrenness of the land in precious stones and metals, was discouraging, and four years elapsed before an- other expedition was planned. At length, Francis de la Roque, better known as lord of Robertval, in Picardy, ob- tained permission of the king to make further discoveries, and to plant settlements in NEW FRANCE.' The king invested him with the empty title of Viceroy of the whole country. Cartier's services being indispensable, he, too, was commis- sioned, but for subordinate command. He was ready long before Robertval's extensive preparations were completed, and being unwilling to bow to the new Viceroy's authority, he sailed, with five ships, in June, 1541, some months before the departure of his official superior. He had intended to take the Huron king back with him, but the broken-hearted monarch had died in France. It was an unfortunate occurrence. The natives received Cartier first with coldness, and then showed open hostility. Fearing the Indians, the French built a fort upon the island of Orleans, a little below Quebec. There they passed the winter without accomplishing any important achievement, and in June following [1542], de- parted for France, just as Robertval arrived at Newfoundland, with two hun- dred persons. Robertval passed up the St. Lawrence, built two more forts near Quebec, endured a winter of great distress, and, abandoning the idea of settlement, returned to France in the spring of 1543. Six years afterward, he attain sailed for the St. Lawrence, and was never heard of again. The discov- O ' O eries of Verrazani and Cartier, and also of French fishermen, served as the found- ation for a claim by France to the northern portion of the American continent. France was now convulsed by the conflicts of religious opinions. It was the era of the Reformation there. 2 The doctrines and the teachings of Calvin and others, in opposition to the faith and practice of the Roman Catholic Church, had already arrayed great masses of the people in violent hostility to each other. The religious war was an absorbing idea, and for fifty years the French government made no further attempts at discovery or colonization. But private enterprise sought to plant a French settlement in the land discovered by D' Ay lion. 3 The Huguenots, or French Protestants, who maintained the faith of early Christianity, were the weaker party in number, and felt the heavy heel of oppression. They had a powerful friend in Jasper Coligny, admiral of France, but a weak protector in the reigning monarch, Charles the Ninth. ' Page 48. 2 Note 14, page 62. Page 42 50 DISCOVERIES. [1492. The fires of persecution were continually burning, and at length Coligny conceived the noble idea of providing a place of refuge for his Protestant brethren, beyond the Atlantic. The king granted him a commission for that purpose; and early in 1562 [Feb. 28 J, a squadron, under John Ribault, sailed for America. The little Huguenot fleet touched first near the harbor of St. Augustine, in Florida. 1 Sailing northward, they saw the mouth of the beautiful St. John's River [May, 1562], and, it being the fifth month of the year, they named it the " River of May." Making their way along the coast, they discovered Port Royal entrance, were charmed with the beauty of the scene, chose the spot for their future home, and built a small fort, which they named Carolina, in honor of the king. Leaving a garrison of twenty-six men to defend it, Ribault went back to France with the ships, for reinforcements. Bitter disappointment ensued. Civil war was raging in France, and Coligny was almost powerless. The reinforcements were not supplied, and the little garrison, though treated with hospitality by the Indians, became very discon- tented. Despairing of relief, they built a frail vessel, and, with insufficient stores, they embarked for France. Tempests assailed them, and famine was menacing them with death, when they were picked up by an English bark, and conveyed to Great Britain. Thus perished the first seeds of religious freedom which the storms of persecution bore to the New World. The noble Coligny was not discouraged ; and, during a lull in the tempest of civil commotion, another expedition was sent to America, under the com- mand of Laudonniere, who had accompanied Ribault on his first voyage. They arrived in July, 1564, pitched their tents on the banks of the St. John's River (River of May), and built another Fort Carolina. But there were ele- ments of dissolution among these immigrants. Many were idle, vicious, and improvident ; and provisions soon became scarce. Under pretext of returning to France, to escape famine, quite a large party sailed, in December, in one of the vessels. They turned pirates, and depredated extensively upon Spanish property in the West Indies. The remainder became discontented, and were about to embark for France, when Ribault arrived with immigrants and sup- plies, and took command. 3 Spanish jealousy and bigotry were now aroused, and when the monarch of Spain, the narrow Philip the Second, heard of the settlement of the French Protestants within his claimed territory, and of the piracies of some of the party, he adopted measures for their expulsion and punishment. Pedro Melen- dez, a brave but cruel military chief, was appointed Governor of Florida, on condition that he would expel the Frenchmen from the soil, conquer the natives, and plant a colony there within three years. That was an enterprise exactly suited to the character of Melendez. He came with a strong force, consisting of three hundred soldiers furnished by the king, and twenty-two hundred vol- 1 Page 42. 2 James Le Moyne, a skillful painter, was sent with this expedition, with instructions to make colored drawings of every object worthy of preservation. His illustrations of the costume and cus- toms of the natives are very interesting, because authentic. 1609.] ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 51 unteers priests, sailors, mechanics, laborers, women, and children. The fleet was scattered by storma, and with only one third of his original number, Me- lendez landed in a fine harbor on the coast of Florida. There he laid the foundations of a city, which he named St. Augustine [Sept. 17, 1565], and formally proclaimed the king of Spain to be monarch of all North America. On hearing of the arrival of the Spaniards, a large party of the French, under Ribault, proceeded from the St. John's, by water, to attack them. A tempest wrecked every vessel ; and most of the survivors, who fell into the hands of the Spaniards, were put to death. In the mean while, Melendez made his way through the swamps and forests with a strong force, to the defenseless French settlement, where he massacred about nine hundred men, women, and children, and over their dead bodies placed an inscription, avowing that he slew them, not "because they were Frenchmen, but Lutherans." 1 Upon that field of blood the monster erected a cross, and laid the foundation of a Christian church to commemorate the deed ! Charles the Ninth of France was not only a weak monarch, but an enemy to the Huguenots. He therefore took no steps to avenge the outrage, per- petrated under the sanction of the bigot of Spain. But one of his subjects, a fiery soldier of Gascony, named Dominic de Gourges, obtained permission to inflict retribution. He had suffered Spanish bondage and Spanish cruelty, and panted for revenge. He fitted out three ships at his own expense, and with one hundred and fifty men, sailed for Florida. He attacked the Spaniards upon the St. John's, surprised and captured Fort Carolina, which they occupied, made two hundred prisoners, and hanging his captives upon the trees almost upon the spot where his countrymen had been murdered, he placed over them the inscrip- tion " I do not this as unto Spaniards or mariners, but unto traitors, robbers, and murderers." Too weak to brave the vengeance of Melendez, who was at St. Augustine, De Gourges immediately left the coast, and returned to France. The natives were delighted at seeing their common enemies thus destroy- ing each other. The Spaniards, however, held possession, and a Spanish settlement was ever afterward maintained at St. Augustine, except during a few years. It was now more than three quarters of a century since Columbus discov- ered the West India Islands, and yet no real progress toward a permanent European settlement, within the domain of the United States, had been made. Although the English seem not to have wholly relinquished the idea of plant- ing settlements in America, it was not until the twentieth year of the brilliant reign of Queen Elizabeth, and almost eighty years after the discovery of the continent by Cabot, 2 that healthy efforts to found colonies in the New World, were made. Sir Martin Frobisher 3 (an eminent navigator) and others had 1 The Protestants were often called by the general name of Lutherans, because the later Reform- ation was commenced by the bold opposition of Martin Luther to the corrupt practices of the Romish Church. Note 14, page 62. 2 Page 46. 3 Bom in Yorkshire, England ; was trained in the navigator's art ; made several voyages for discovery ; and died of wounds received in a naval battle near Brest on the French coast in 1594. 52 DISCOVERIES. [1492. explored the north-western coast of North America, to the dreary region nortli of Hudson's Bay, 1 in search of precious metals and a north-west passage to India, 3 but without beneficial results. Newfoundland was visited every year by numerous English and French fishing- vessels, and the neighboring continent was frequently touched by the hardy mariners. Yet no feasible plans for col- onization were matured. Finally, when the public mind of England was turned from the cold regions of Labrador and the fancied mineral wealth in its rugged mountains, to the milder South, and the more solid benefits to be derived from plantations than mines, a new and brilliant era in the history of civilization began. This change was produced incidentally by the Huguenot adventurers.* The remnant of Coligny's first colony, who were picked up at sea and taken to England, informed the queen of the glory of the climate, and the fertility of the soil of Carolina. When De Gourges returned from his foray upon the Spaniards, 4 Walter Raleigh, then a young man of much promise, was learning the art of war with Coligny, in France, and he communicated to his friends in England that chevalier's account of Florida, which was yet a wilderness free for the sons of toil. Enterprise was. powerfully aroused by the promises of that warm and beautiful land, and the Protestant 3 feeling of England was strongly stirred by the cruelties of Melendez. These dissimilar, but auxiliary causes, produced great effects, and soon many minds were employed in planning schemes for colonizing the pleasant middle regions of North America. The first healthy plan for settlement there was proposed by the learned Sir Humph- rey Gilbert, a step-brother of Walter Raleigh. He had served with honor in the wars of Ireland, France, and the Low Countries, and then was not only prac- tically engaged in maritime affairs, but had written and published a treatise on the north-west passage to India. Having lost money in a vain endeavor to transmute baser metals into gold, he resolved to attempt to retrieve his fortune by planting a colony in the New World. In June, 1578, he obtained a liberal patent or grant from the queen. Raleigh gave him the aid of his hand and for- tune ; and early in 1579, Gilbert sailed for America, with a small squadron, accompanied by his step-brother. Heavy storms and Spanish war- vessels com- pelled them to return, and the scheme was abandoned for a time. Four years afterward [1583] Gilbert sailed with another squadron ; and after a series of disasters, he reached the harbor of St. John's, Newfoundland. There he set up a pillar with the English arms upon it, 6 proclaimed the sovereignty of his queen, and then proceeded to explore the coast southward. After being ter- ribly beaten by tempests off the shores of Nova Scotia and Maine, and losing his largest ship, he turned his vessel toward England. At midnight, in Sep- tember, during a gale, his own little bark of ten tons went down, with all on board, and only one vessel of the expedition returned to England to relate the dreadful narrative. The melancholy fate of the second expedition did not dismay the heart of 1 Note 8, page 59. a Page 47. * Page 50. Page 51. Note 14, page 62. Note 2, page 40. KALEIGH'S EXPEDITION AT ROANOKE. 1609.] ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. RALEIGH. Raleigh. He was a young man of great spirit, " the most restless, and am- bitious, as he was the most versatile and accomplished, of all Elizabeth's court- iers." He now obtained a patent for himself [April, 1584], which made him lord proprietor of all lands that might be discovered by him in America, be- tween the Santee and Delaware Rivers. He dis- patched Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow, with two well-furnished ships, to explore the American coast. They approached the shores of Carolina 1 in July, and landing upon the islands of Wocoken and Roanoke, which separate the waters of Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds from the Atlantic, they took possession of the country in the name of Elizabeth. They remained a few weeks, exploring the Sounds and trafficking with tho natives, and then returned to England with two sons of the forest.* The glow- ing accounts of the newly-discovered country filled Raleigh's 3 heart with joy ; and the queen declared the event to be (what it really was) one of the most glorious of her reign. In memorial of her unmarried state, she gave the name of VIRGINIA to the enchanting region. Raleigh was knighted, his patent was confirmed by act of Parliament, and the queen gave him a monopoly in the sale of sweet wines, as a means for enriching him. The ardent and ever hopeful Raleigh now indulged in brilliant dreams of wealth and power to be derived from the New World, and he made immediate prepar- ations for planting settlements on his trans-Atlantic domains. He dispatched a fleet of seven vessels on the 19th of April, 1585, under the command of Sir Richard Grenville. He was accompanied by Ralph Lane, the appointed governor of the colony, with learned companions ; and also by Manteo, the native chief. They narrowly escaped shipwreck on the Caro- lina coast, in June, and in consequence of that danger, they named the land where their peril was greatest, Cape Fear. Entering Ocracock Inlet, they landed upon the island of Roanoke, in Albemarle Sound, and there prepared for a permanent residence. 4 RALEIGH'S SHIPS. 1 The French Protestants had given the name of Carolina to the region whe.ro *.hey attempted settlement, and it has ever since retained it. See page 50. 2 Manteo and Wanchese, natives of the adjacent continent : probably of the Hatteras tribe. 3 Born in Devonshire, England, 1552. He was one of the most illustrious men of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, which was remarkable for brilliant minds. His efforts to plant colonies hi Amer- kia, were evidences of a great genius and indomitable courage and perseverance. He was also a fine scholar, as well as a statesman, mariner, and soldier. His name will ever be held in reverence by all who can appreciate true greatness. He wrote a History of the World, while in prison under a false charge of high treason, and was beheaded in London, October 29, 1628. 4 The picture of the meeting of the English and natives of Roanoke, on page 53, exhibits truthful delineations of the persons and costumes of the Indians found there. They were copied and grouped from Harriot's " Brief and True Report of the new found land of Virginia," which was published in 1590. Harriot accompanied the expedition as historian and naturalist, remained a 56 DISCOVERIES. [1492. The English made some fatal mistakes at the outset. Instead of looking to o o the fruition of seed-time for true riches, they turned from the wealthy soil upon which they stood, and went upon vain searches for gold in the forests of the adjoining continent. Instead of reciprocating the hospitable friendship of the natives, they returned harshness for kindness, and treachery for confidence, until a flame of revenge was kindled among the Indians which nothing but the blood of Englishmen could quench. Schemes for the destruction of the white intruders were speedily planned, and tribes in the interior stood ready to aid their brethren upon the seaboard. As soon as Grenville departed with the ships, for England, the natives withheld supplies of food, drew the English into perilous positions by tales of gold-bearing shores along the Roanoke River, and finally reduced the colony to the verge of ruin. At that moment, Sir Francis Drake arrived from the West Indies, with his fleet, and afforded them relief. But misfortune and fear made them .anxious to leave the country, and the emi- grants were all conveyed to England, in June, 1586, by Drake. A few days after their departure, a well-furnished vessel, sent by Raleigh, arrived ; and a fortnight later, Grenville entered the inlet with three ships well provisioned. After searching for the departed colony, Grenville sailed for England, leaving fifteen men upon Roanoke. The intrepid Raleigh was still undismayed by misfortune. He adopted a wise policy, and instead of sending out mere fortune-hunters, 1 he collected a band of agriculturists and artisans, with their families, and dispatched them [April 26, 1587], to found an industrial State in Virginia. He gave them a charter of incorporation for the settlement ; and John White, who accompanied them, was appointed governor of the colony. They reached Roanoke in July ; but instead of the expected greetings of the men left by Grenville, they encoun- tered utter desolation. The bones of the fifteen lay bleaching on the ground. Their rude tenements were in ruins, and wild deer were feeding in their little gardens. They had been murdered by the Indians, and not one was left. Manteo 3 did not share in the Indian hatred of the white people, and like Massa- soit of New England, 3 he remained their friend. By command of Raleigh, he received Christian baptism, and was invested, by White, with the title of Lord of Roanoke, the first and last peerage ever created in America. Yet Manteo could not avert nor control the storm that lowered among the Indian tribes, and menaced the English with destruction. The colonists were conscious that fear- ful perils were gathering, and White hastened to England toward the close of the year for reinforcements and provisions, leaving behind him his daughter, Eleanor Dare (wife of one of his lieutenants), who had just given birth to a child [August 18, 1587], whom they named Virginia. VIRGINIA DARE was the first offspring of English parents born within the territory of the United States. 4 year in Virginia, and had correct drawings made of the inhabitants, their dwellings, their gardens, and every thing of interest pertaining to their costumes, customs, and general characteristics. The picture may be accepted as historically correct. ' Page 52. . a Note 2, page 55. 3 Page 114. < Note 6, page 78. 1609.] ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 57 The great Spanish Armada 1 was preparing for an invasion of Great Britain, when White reached England ; and Raleigh, Grenville, and others, were deeply engaged in public affairs. It was not until the following May [1589 J, that White departed, with two ships, for Virginia. According to custom, he went by the way of the West Indies, and depredated upon Spanish property found afloat. He was beaten in an engagement, lost one of his vessels, and was obliged to return to England. Raleigh's fortune being mate- rially impaired by his munificence in efforts at colonization, he assigned his proprietary rights to others ; and it was not until 1590 that White was allowed to return to Roanoke in search of his daughter and the colony he had left. Both had then disappeared. Roanoke was a desolation ; and, though Raleigh, who had abandoned all thoughts of colonization, had five times j j , i f ,1 ENGLISH GENTLE. sent mariners, good and true, to search tor the emigrants, MAN 1580 they were never found. 2 Eighty years later, the Corees 3 told the English settlers upon the Cape Fear River, that their lost kindred had been adopted by the once powerful Hatteras tribe, 4 and became amalgamated with the children of the wilderness. The English made no further attempts at colo- nization at that time ; and so, a century after Columbus sailed for America, there was no European settlement upon the North American Continent. Sir Francis Drake had broken up the military post at St. Augustine [1585], and the Red Men were again sole masters of the vast domain. A dozen years after the failure of Raleigh's colonization efforts, Bartholo- mew Gosnold, who had been to America, and was a friend of the late proprietor of Virginia, sailed in a small bark [March 26, 1602] directly across the Atlan- tic for the American coast. After a voyage of seven weeks, he discovered the Continent near Nahant [May 14, 1602], and sailing southward, he landed upon a sandy point which he named Cape Cod, on account of the great number of those fishes in that vicinity. Continuing southward, he discovered Nan- tucket, Martha's Vineyard, and the group known as Elizabeth Islands. Upon one of them, which he named Elizabeth, in honor of his sovereign, Gosnold and his company prepared to found a settlement. Upon an islet, in a tiny latfe, they built a fort and store-house. 6 Becoming alarmed at the menaces of the Indians and the want of supplies, they freighted their vessel with sassafras 1 This was a great naval armament, fitted out by Spain, for the invasion of England, in the summer of 1588. It consisted of one hundred and fifty ships, two thousand six hundred and fifty great guns, and thirty thousand soldiers and sailors. It was defeated [July 20] by Admirals Drake and Howard. 2 While Raleigh was making these fruitless searches, the Marquis de la Roche, a wealthy French nobleman, attempted to plant a French colony in America. He was commissioned by the King of France for the purpose, and in 1598 sailed for America with a colony, chiefly drawn from the prisons of Paris. Upon the almost desert island of Sable, near the coast of Nova Scotia, La Roche left forty men, while he returned to France for supplies. He died soon afterward, and for seven years the poor emigrants were neglected. "When a vessel was finally sent for them, only twelve survived. They were taken to France, their crimes were pardoned by the knig, and thek immediate wants were supplied. 3 Page 20. 4 Note 5, page 20. 5 Dr. Jeremy Belknap, the historian of New HampsMre, discovered the cellar of this storehouse, m 1797. 58 DISCOVERIES. [1492. roots, and returned to England in June, 1602. The glowing accounts of the country which Gosnold gave, awakened the enterprise of some Bristol mer- chants, 1 and the following year [1603] they fitted out two vessels for the pur- pose of exploration and traffic with the natives. The ^command was given to Martin Pring, a friend of both Raleigh and Gosnold. Following the track of the latter, he discovered the shores of Maine, near the mouth of the Penobscot [June], and coasting westward, he entered and explored several of the larger rivers of that State. He continued sailing along the coast as far as Martha's Vineyard, trading with the natives ; and from that island he returned to En- gland, after an absence of only six months. Pring made another voyage to Maine, in 1606, and more thoroughly explored the country. Maine was also visited in 1605, by Captain George Weymouth, who had explored the coast of Labrador, in search of a north-west passage to India. 4 He entered the Saga- dahock, and took formal possession of the country in the name of King James. There he decoyed five natives on board his vessel, and then sailed for England. These forest children excited much curiosity ; and the narratives of other mari- ners of the west of England, who visited these regions at about the same time, gave a new stimulus to colonizing efforts. The French now began to turn their attention toward the New World again. In 1603, De Monts, a wealthy French Huguenot, 3 obtained a commission of viceroyalty over six degrees of latitude in New France,* extending from Cape May to Quebec. He prepared an expedition for settlement, and arrived at Nova Scotia, 5 with two vessels, in May, 1604. 6 He passed the summer there, trafficking with the natives ; and in the autumn he crossed over to the mouth O * of the St. Croix (the eastern boundary of Maine), and erected a fort there. He had left a few settlers at Port Royal (now Annapolis), under Poutrincourt. These De Monts joined the following spring [1605], and organized a perma- nent colony. He named the place Port Royal ; and the territory now included in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the adjacent islands, he called ACADIE/ His efforts promised much success; but he was thwarted by jealous men. In 1608, he was deprived of his vice-royal commission, when he obtained a grant of the monopoly of the fur trade upon the St. Lawrence, for one year, and another commission, to plant a colony elsewhere in New France. The new expedition was placed under the command of Samuel Champlain (who accom- panied the viceroy on his first voyage), and on the 3d of June, 1608, he arrived, with two vessels, at the mouth of the Saguenay, on the St. Lawrence. They ascended the great river, and on the site of Quebec, near where Cartier built his fort almost seventy years before, 8 they planted the first permanent 1 Page 46. * Page 510. 3 Page 49. < Page 48. 5 Note 2. page 80. 6 De Monts first brought swine, and other domestic animals, into this portion of America. Some were also taken from thence to French settlements planted in Canada a few years later. The company of which he was chief, fitted out four vessels. De Monts commanded the two here men- tioned, assisted by Champlain and Poutrincourt. 7 In 1613, Samuel Argall made a piratical visit to these coasts, under the direction of the gov- ernor of the Virginia colony. He destroyed the remnant of De Monts' settlement at St. Croix, broke up the peaceful colony at Port Royal, and plundered the people of every thing of value. See page 72. * Page 49. 1609.] ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 59 HENRY HUDSON. French settlement in the New World. The following summer, Champlain ascended the Richelieu or Sorel River, the outlet of Lake Champlain, with a war party of Huron 1 and Algonquin* Indians, and discovered the beautiful lake which bears his name, in the north-eastern part of the State of New York.' The English were not idle while the French were exploring, and making efforts at settlement in the direction of the St. Lawrence. Several private enter- prises were in progress, among the most important of which was that of a company of London merchants who sent Henry Hudson, an intimate friend of Captain Smith,* to search for a supposed north-eastern ocean passage to India. He made two unsuccessful voyages to the regions of polar ice [1607-8], when the attempt was abandoned. Anxious to win the honor of first reaching India by the northern seas, Hudson applied to the Dutch East India Company 5 for aid. The Amsterdam directors afforded it, and on the 4th of April, 1609, Hudson departed from Amsterdam, in com- mand of the Half-Moon, a yacht of eighty tons. He sought a north-eastern passage ; but after doubling the capes of Norway, the ice was impassable. Turning his prow, he steered across the Atlantic, and first touching the continent on the shores of Penobscot Bay, he arrived in sight of the capes of Virginia in August, 1609. Proceeding northward, he entered the mouths of several large rivers, and finally passed the Narrows" and anchored in New York Bay. He proceeded almost sixty leagues up the river that bears his name, and according to the formula of the age, took possession of the country in the name of the States General of Holland. 7 He returned to Europe 8 in November 1 Page 22. a Page 17. 3 Champlain penetrated southward as far as Crown Point ; perhaps south of Ticonderoga, It was at about the same time that Hudson went up the river that bears his name, as far as Water- ford, so that these eminent navigators, exploring at different points, came very near meeting in the wilderness. Six years afterward Champlain discovered Lake Huron, and there he joined some Huron Indians in an expedition against one of the Five Nations in Western New York. They had a severe battle in the neighborhood of the present village of Canandaigua. Champlain published an account of his first voyage, in 1613, and a continuation in 1620. He published a new edition of these in 1632, which contains a history of New France, from the discovery of Verrazani to the year 1631. Champlain died in 1634. < Page 65. 5 Dutch mariners, following the track of the Portuguese, opened a successful traffic with East- ern Asia, about the year 1594. The various Dutch adventurers, hi the India trade, were united in one corporate body in 1602, with a capital of over a million of dollars, to whom were given the exclusive privilege of trading ha the seas east of the Cape of Good Hope. This was the Dutch East India Company. 6 Entrance to New York Bay between Long and Staten Islands. 7 This was the title of the Government of Holland, answering, in a degree, to our Congress. 8 Hudson, while on another voyage hi search of a north-west passage, discovered the great Bay in the northern regions, winch bears his name. He was there frozen in the ice during the winter of 1610-11. While endeavoring to make his way homeward in the spring, his crew became nfuti- nous. They finally seized Hudson, bound his arms, and placing him ana his son, and seven sick companions, in an open boat, set them adrift upon the cold waters. They were never heard of afterward. THE HALF-MOOX. 60 DISCOVERIES. [1492. 1609, and his report of the goodly land he had discovered set in motion those commercial measures which resulted in the founding of a Dutch empire in the New World. With these discoveries commenced the epoch of settlements. The whole Atlantic coast of North America had been thoroughly or partially explored, the general character and resources of the soil had become known, and henceforth the leading commercial nations of Western Europe England, France, Spain, and Holland regarded the transatlantic continent, not as merely a rich garden without a Avail, where depredators from every shore might come, and, without hinderance, bear away its choicest fruit, but as a land where the permanent foundations of vast colonial empires might be laid, from which parent states would receive almost unlimited tribute to national wealth and national glory. When we contemplate these voyages across the stormy Atlantic, and con- sider the limited geographical knowledge of the navigators, the frailty of their vessels 1 and equipments, the vast labors and constant privations endured by them, and the dangers to which they were continually exposed, we can not but feel the highest respect and reverence for all who were thus engaged in opening the treasures of the New World to the advancing nations of Europe. Although acquisitiveness, or the desire for worldly possessions, was the chief incentive to action, and gave strength to resolution, yet it could not inspire courage to encounter the great dangers of the deep and the wilderness, nor fill the heart with faith in prophecies of success. These sentiments must have been innate ; and those who braved the multitude of perils were men of true courage, and their faith came from the teachings of the science of their day. History and Song, Painting and Sculpture, have all commemorated their deeds. If Alexander the Great was thought worthy of having the granite body of Mount Athos hewn into a colossal image of himself, 2 might not Europe and America appropriately join in the labor of fashioning some lofty summit of the Alleghanies" into a huge monument to the memory of the NAVIGATORS who lifted the vail of forgetful- ness from the face of the New World ?* 1 The first ships were generally of less than one hundred tons burden. Two of the vessels of Columbus were without decks ; and the one in which Frobisher sailed was only twenty-five tons burden. 2 Dinocrates, a celebrated architect, offered to cut Mount Athos into a statue of Alexander the Great, so Large, that it might hold a city in its right hand, and in its left a basin of sufficient capa- city to hold all the waters that poured from the mountain. 3 Note 3, page 1 9. 4 Page 47. There has been much discussion concerning the claims of certain navigators, to the honor of first discovering the Continent of America. A " Memoir of Sebastian Cabot," illustrated by documents from the Rolls, published in London in 1832, appears to prove conclusively that he, and not his father, was the navigator who discovered North America. John Cabot was a man of science, and a merchant, and may have accompanied his son, in his first voyage in 1497. Yet, in the patent of February, 1498, in which the first voyage is referred to, are the words, " the land and isles of late found by the sa,id John, in our name, and by our commandment." The first commission being issued in the name of John Cabot, the discoveries made by those employed by him, would of course be in his name. A little work, entitled "Researches respecting Americus Vespucius, and his Voyages," prepared by Viscount Santarem, ex-prime minister of Portugal, casts just doubts upon the statements of Vespucius, concerning his command on a voyage of discovery when, he claims, he discovered South America [page 41] in 1499. He was doubtless an officer under Ojeda; and it is quite cer- tain .that he got possession of the narratives of Ojeda and published them as his own. The most accessible works on American discoveries, are Irving's "Life of Columbus;" Prescott's "Ferdinand and Isabella;" Lives of Cabot and Hudson, in Sparks's "American Biography," and Histories of the United States by Graham, Bancroft and Hildreth. [RD PERIOD CHAPTER I. TEERE is a distinction to be observed in considering settlements and colonies. The act of forming a settlement is not equivalent to the establishment of a colony or the founding of a State. It is the initiatory step toward such an end, and may or may not exhibit permanent results. A colony becomes such only when settlements assume permanency, and organic laws, subservient to those of a parent government, are framed for the guidance of the people. It seems proper, therefore, to consider the era of settlements as distinct from that of colonial organization. The period of settlements within the bounds of the thirteen original colonies which formed the Confederacy in the War for Independence, 1 extends from 1607 to 1733. For fifty years previous to the debarkation [1607] at Jamestown, 2 fishing stations had been established at various points on the Atlantic coast : and at St. Augustine, 3 the Spaniards had kept a sort of military post alive. Yet the time of the appearance of the English in the James River, is the true point from which to date the inception or beginning of our great confederacy of Page 229. 2 Page 64. 3 Page 51. 62 SETTLEMENTS. [1607. free States. Twelve years [1607 to 1619] were spent by English adven- turers in efforts to plant a permanent settlement in Virginia. 1 For seventeen years [1609 to 1623] Dutch traders were trafficking on the Hudson River, before a permanent settlement was established in New York. 2 Fourteen years [1606 to 1620] were necessary to effect a permanent settlement in Massachu- setts - 3 and for nine years [1622 to 1631] adventurers struggled for a foothold in New Hampshire. 4 The Roman Catholics were only one year [1634-5] in laying the foundation of the Maryland colony. 5 Seven years [1632 to 1639] were employed in effecting permanent settlements in Connecticut ; 6 eight years [1636 to 1643] in organizing colonial government in Rhode Island ; 7 and about fifty years [1631 to 1682] elapsed from the landing of the Swedes on South River, 8 before Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania (whose several histo- ries of settlements are interwoven), presented colonial features.' Almost sixty years [1622 to 1680] passed by before the first settlements in the Carolinas became fully developed colonies ; 10 but Georgia, the youngest of the thirteen States, had the foundation of its colonial government laid when Oglethorpe, with the first company of settlers, began to build Savannah in the winter of 1733." The first permanent settlement within the bounds of the original colonies, was in VIRGINIA. [16071619]. A century had not elapsed after the discoveries of Columbus [1492], ia before a great social and political revolution had been effected in Europe. Commerce, hitherto confined to inland seas and along the coasts, was sending its ships across oceans. The art of printing had begun its wonderful work ; 13 and, through its instrumentality, intelligence had become generally diffused. Mind thus acting upon mind, in vastly multiplied opportunities, had awakened a great moral and intellectual power, whose presence and strength had not been suspected. The Protestant Reformation 14 had weakened the bonds of spiritual dominion, and allowed the moral faculties fuller play ; and the shadows of feudal institutions, 15 so chilling to individual effort, were rapidly disappearing before 1 Page 71. 2 Page 73. 3 Page 79. Page 80. 5 Page 82. Page 89. ' Page 91. 8 Page 92. 9 Page 97. 10 Page 99. " Page 103. M Page 40. 13 About the year 1450. Rude printing from engraved blocks was done before that time ; but when Peter Schoeffer cast the first metal types, each letter separately, at about 1450, the art of printing truly had birth. John Faust established a printing-office at Mentz, in 1442. John Gutten- berg invented cut metal types, and used them in printing a Bible which was commenced in 1445, and finished in 1460. The names of these three men are usually associated as the inventors of printing. '* Commenced by "Wickliffe, in England, in 1360 ; by Huss, in Bohemia, in 1405 ; by Luther, in Germany, in 1517. From this period until 1562, the movement was general throughout Europe. It was an effort to purge the Christian Church of all impurities, by reforming its doctrine and ritual. The Reformers protested against some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church, and the movement received the title of the Protestant Reformation. The name of Protestants was first given to Luther and others in 1529. The nature of feudal laws may be illustrated by a single example : William, the Norman conqueror of England, divided the land of that country into parts called baronies, and gave them to certain of his favorites, who became masters of the conquered people on their respective estates. For these gifts, and certain privileges, the barons, or masters, were to furnish the king with a stipu- 1619.] VIRGINIA. 63 the rising sun of the new era in the history of the world. Freedom of thought and action expanded the area of ideas, and gave birth to those tolerant princi- ples which lead to brotherhood of feeling. The new impulse developed nobler motives for human action than the acquisition of wealth and power, and these soon engendered healthy schemes for founding industrial empires in the New World. Aspirations for civil freedom, awakened by greater religious liberty, had begun the work, especially in England, where the Protestants were already divided into two distinct parties, called, respectively, Churchmen and Puritans. The former supported the throne and all monarchic ideas; the latter were more republican ; and from their pulpits went forth doctrines inimical to kingly power. These religious differences had begun to form a basis of political parties, and finally became prime elements of colonization. Another event, favorable to the new impulse, now exerted a powerful influ- ence. A long contest between England and France ceased in 1604. Soldiers, an active, restless class in England, were deprived of employment, and would soon become dangerous to the public peace. While population and general prosperity had greatly increased, there was another large class, who, by idle- ness and dissipation, had squandered fortunes, and had become desperate men. The soldiers needed employment, either in their own art, or in equally exciting adventures ; and the impoverished spendthrifts were ready for any thing which promised gain. Such were the men who stood ready to brave ocean perils and the greater dangers of the Western World, when such minds as those of Fer- nando Gorges, Bartholomew Gosnold, Chief Justice Popham, Richard Hakluyt, Captain John Smith, and others, devised new schemes for colonization. The weak and timid James the First, 1 who desired and maintained peace with other nations during his reign, was glad to perceive a new field for restless and adventurous men to go to, and he readily granted a liberal patent [April 20, 1606] to the first company formed after his accession to the throne, for planting settlements in Virginia. The English then claimed dominion over a belt of territory extending from Cape Fear, in North Carolina, to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and indefinitely westward. This was divided into two districts. One extended from the vicinity of New York city northward to the present southern boundary of Canada, including the whole of New England, and westward of it, and was called NORTH VIRGINIA. This territory was granted to a company of "knights, gentlemen, and merchants" in the west of England, called the Plymouth Company? The other district extended from the mouth of the Potomac southward to Cape Fear, and was called SOUTH VIRGINIA. It was lated amount of money, and a stated number of men for soldiers, when required. The people had no voice in this matter, nor in any public affairs, and were made essentially slaves to the barons. Out of this state of things originated the exclusive privileges yet enjoyed by the nobility of Europe. Except in Russia, the people have been emancipated from this vassalage, and the ancient forms of feudal power have disappeared. 1 He was the Sixth James of Scotland, of the house of Stuart, and son of Mary, Queen of Scot- land, by Lord Darnley. The crowns of England and Scotland were united by his accession to the throne of the former kingdom, in March, 1603. 8 The chief members of the company were Thomas Hanham, Sir John and Raleigh Gilbert (sons of Sir Humphrey Gilbert), "William Parker, George Popham, Sir John Popham (Lord Chief Justice f England), and Sir Fernando Gorges, Governor of Plymouth Fort. (54 SETTLEMENTS. [1607. granted to a company of " noblemen, gentlemen and merchants," chiefly resi- dents of London, called the London Company. 1 The intermediate domain of almost two hundred miles, was a dividing line, so broad that disputes about territory could not occur, as neither company was allowed to make settlements more than fifty miles beyond its own boundary. The idea of popular freedom was as yet the heritage of a favored few, and the political character of the first colonial charter, under which a permanent settlement was made within the territory of the United States, was unfavorable to the best interests of all. The king reserved to himself the right of appoint- ing all officers, and of exercising all executive and legislative power. The colonists were to pay homage to the sovereign, and a tribute of one fifth of the net products of gold and silver found in Virginia ; yet they possessed no rights of self-government. They were to be governed by a council of seven appointed by the king, who were allowed to choose a president from among themselves. There was also a Supreme Council in England, appointed by the king, who had the general supervision of the colonies, under the direction of the monarch. That charter was the conception of a narrow mind, and despotic temper, and proved totally inadequate as a constitution of government for a free people. The North Virginia, or Plymouth Company, made the first attempt at set- tlement, and failed." The South Virginia, or London Company, sent Captain Christopher Newport, with three vessels and one hundred and five emigrants [Dec., 1606 J, to make a settlement upon Roanoke Island, 3 where Raleigh's colony had perished almost twenty years before. Among them was Bartholo- mew Gosnold, the projector of the expedition. They possessed very poor materials for a colony. There was no family among them, and only "twelve laborers and a few mechanics." The remainder were " gentlemen," 4 many of whom were vicious, dissolute men, totally unfit for such an enterprise, and quite unworthy to be actors in the glorious events anticipated by Gosnold and his enlightened associates at home. The voyage was a long and tedious one. Newport pursued the old route by the Canaries and the West Indies, and did not arrive upon the American coast until April, 1607, when a storm drove his vessels into Chesapeake Bay, where he found a good harbor. He named the capes at the entrance, Charles and Henry, in honor of the king's sons. A pleasant point of the Virginia peninsula, between the York and James Rivers, which they next landed upon and enjoyed repose, he named Point Comfort ; and the noble Powhatan River which he soon afterward entered he called James. Sailing up the broad stream about fifty miles, the immigrants landed upon a beautiful, shaded peninsula, 5 where they chose a site for the capital of the new empire, and called it JAMESTOWN. 1 The chief members of the company were Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Richard Hak- luyt (the historian), and Edward Maria Wingfield, who was the first governor of Virginia. * Page 13. 3 p a ge 55. * This name was given to wealthy men, who were not engaged in any industrial pursuit, and often spent their lives in idleness and dissipation ; a class which, in our day and country, number, happily, very few. Labor is worthily honored as more noble than idleness. 5 This may be called an island, for the marsh which connects it with the mainland is often over- flowed. The currents of the river have washed away large portions of the original island. 1619.] VIRGINIA. 65 111 feelings had been engendered before they reached the Canary Islands, and violent disputes had arisen during the long voyage. As the silly king had placed the names of the colonial council in a sealed box, with instructions not to open it until their arrival in Virginia, there was no competent authority on board to restore harmony. Captain Smith, 1 who was the most able man among them, excited the envy of his companions ; and being charged with a design to murder the council, usurp government, and proclaim himself king, he was placed in confinement. On opening the sealed box, it was discovered that Smith was one of the council. He was released from confinement; but, through the influence of Wingfield, an avaricious, unprincipled, but talented man, he was excluded from office. Smith demanded a trial upon the absurd charges. The accusation was withdrawn, and he took his seat in the council, over which Wingfield was chosen to preside. Soon after landing, Newport, Smith, and twenty others, ascended the James River to the Falls at Richmond, and visited the emperor of the Powhat- ans, 4 whose residence was a mile below the foot of the rapids. The title of the emperor was Powhatan, which signified supreme ruler, as did Pharaoh in the antient Egyptian language the chief nfan in Egypt. He was a man of great ability, and commanded the reverence of the whole confederation. He appeared friendly to the English, notwithstanding his people murmured at their presence ; and the visitors returned to Jamestown much gratified. Early in June, 1607, Newport sailed for England, to obtain more settlers and provisions. The little band of emigrants soon perceived the perils of their situation. A large portion of their provisions had been spoiled during the voyage. They had not planted, therefore they could not reap. The neighboring tribes evinced hostility, and withheld supplies. Poisonous vapor arose from the marshes ; and before the close of summer, one half of the adventurers per- ished by disease and famine. Among the victims was Gosnold. The settlers, in their despair, reproached themselves and the leaders of the expedition, and longed to depart for the Old World. In the midst of their despondency, the survivors discovered that president Wingfield was living on choice stores, and was preparing to abandon the colony and escape to the West Indies in the pin- nace 3 left by Newport. Their indignation was thoroughly aroused, and he was deposed. Ratcliffe, a man as weak and wicked as Wingfield, was chosen his successor. He, too, was speedily dismissed ; and the settlers, with one con- sent, wisely turned to Smith as ruler. It was a happy hour for the Virginia settlers when Captain Smith took the reins of government. All was confusion ; but he soon restored order ; and by his courage and energy, inspired the Indians with awe, and compelled them to bring him supplies of food. In October, wild game became plentiful ; and at the beginning of November, the abundant harvest of Indian corn was gathered 1 See portrait at the head of this Chapter. Smith was one of the most remarkable men of hia time. He was born in Lincolnshire, England ; and after many adventures in Europe, went to- America. He died in 1631. He wrote a History of Virginia, and several other works. * Page 20, ' A small, light vessel, with sails and oars. 5 66 SETTLEMENTS. [1607. by the natives, and they supplied the settlers with all they needed. Having established a degree of comfort and prosperity, Smith started, with some com- panions, to explore the surrounding country. He ascended the Chickahomminy River fifty miles from its mouth, and then, with two companions, penetrated the vast forest that covered the land. His companions were slain by the na- tives, and he was made a captive. After being exhibited in several villages, he was taken to Opechancanough, 1 the eldest brother of Powhatan, who, regarding Smith as a superior being, spared his life, and conducted him to the emperor, then at Weroworomoco, on the York River. 2 A solemn council decided that the captive must die, and Smith was prepared for execution. His head was placed upon a stone, and the heavy clubs of the executioners were raised to crush it, when Pocahontas, a child of "ten or twelve years," 8 the favorite POCAHONTAS. daughter of Powhatan, rushed from her father's side, and casting herself upon the captive, besought the king to spare his life. Powhatan consented, and Smith was conducted in safety to Jamestown by a guard of twelve men, after an absence of seven weeks. God, in his providence, overrules every thing for good. It is seen in this event, for Smith's captivity was a public benefit. He had acquired a knowl- edge of the Indian character, and of the country and its resources, and also had formed friendly relations with the sachems and chiefs. Had his companions 1 Note 5, page 106. 2 At Shelly, nearly opposite the mouth of Queen's Creek, Gloucester County, Virginia. 3 Page 70. 1619.] VIRGINIA. 67 possessed half as much energy and honesty as Smith, all would have been -well. But they were idle, improvident, and dissolute. As usual, he found every thing in disorder on his return from the forest. Only forty men were living, and a greater portion of them were on the point of escaping to the West Indies in the pinnace ; but the courage and energy of Smith compelled them to re- main. Conscious of the purity of their ruler and the wickedness of themselves, they hated him intensely, and from that time they plotted for his destruction, or the overthrow of his power. Captain Newport arrived with supplies and one hundred and twenty im- migrants, early in 1608. These were no better than the first adventurers. Instead of agriculturalists and mechanics, with families, they were idle "gentle- men," "packed hither," as Smith said, "by their friends, to escape ill destin- ies." There were also several unskillful goldsmiths, the very men least needed in the colony. Some glittering earth in the vicinity of Jamestown, was by them mistaken for gold ; and in spite of the remonstrances of Smith, the whole indus- try of the colony was directed to the supposed treasure. " There was no talk, no hope, no work, but dig gold, work gold, refine gold, load gold." Newport loaded his vessel with the worthless earth, and returned to England, believing himself exceedingly rich ; but science soon pronounced him miserably poor in useful knowledge and well-earned reputation. The gold-fever had taken strong hold upon the indolent dreamers, and Smith remonstrated against idleness and pleaded for industry, in vain. He implored the settlers to plow and sow, that they might reap and be happy. They refused to listen, and he turned from Jamestown with disgust. With a few sensible men, he went to explore the Chesapeake in an open boat, and every bay, inlet, and creek, received his attention. He went up the Potomac to the falls above Washington city ; and then, after exploring the shores of the Rappahannock to the site of Fredericsburg, he returned to Jamestown. A few days afterward he returned again to the Chesapeake, carefully explored each shore above the mouth of the Potomac, and entered the Patapsco, and ate Indian corn on the site of Baltimore. He also went up the Susquehannah to the beautiful vale of Wyoming, 1 and penetrated the forests even to the territory of the Five Nations, 2 and established friendly relations with the dusky tribes. Within three months he traveled full three thousand miles. It was one of the most wonderful of exploring expeditions, considered in all its aspects, ever re- corded by the pen of history ; and the map of the country, which Smith con- structed on his return, is yet in existence in England, and is remarkable for its general accuracy. Captain Smith returned to Jamestown on the 7th of September, 1608, and three days afterward he was formally made president of the settlement. New- port arrived soon afterward, with seventy immigrants, among whom were two females, the first English women ever seen upon the James River. 3 To the soil they were compelled to look, chiefly, for their food, and Smith exerted all Page 290. a Page 23. Page 105. 68 SETTLEMENTS. [1607. his energies to turn the little industry of the settlers to agriculture. He suc- ceeded, in a degree, but he had poor materials out of which to form a healthy, self-sustaining commonwealth. He wrote to the Supreme Council 1 to send over a different class of men. "I entreat you," he said, <: rather send but thirty carpenters, husbandmen, gardeners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons, and diggers of trees' roots, well provided, than a thousand such as we have." Yet, with all his exertions, idleness and improvidence prevailed. At the end of two years from the first landing at Jamestown, and when the settlement numbered two hundred strong men, not more than forty acres were under cultivation. To the Indians the white people were compelled to look for their chief supply of food. The London Company were disappointed, for the anticipations of sudden wealth, in which they had indulged, were not realized, and they sought and ob- tained a new charter [June 2, 1609], which gave them more ample privileges. The territory of SOUTH VIRGINIA** was extended northward to the head of the Chesapeake. The Supreme Council was vested with power to fill vacancies in its own body, and to appoint a governor for Virginia, whose rule was made ab- solute. The lives, liberties, and property of the settlers were at his disposal, and they were compelled to contribute a certain share of their earnings to the proprietors. Thus they were mere vassals at will, under a petty despotism, without any inherent power, then recognized, to cast off the yoke. Under that charter, Lord De la Warr (Delaware), an enlightened peer, was appointed governor of Virginia, for life, and soon afterward Newport sailed for America [June 12, 1609], with nine ships, and more than five hundred emigrants.' Sir Thomas Gates, the governor's deputy, embarked with New- port, accompanied by Sir George Somers. Gates, Newport, and Somers, were commissioned to administer the government until the arrival of Delaware. When near the coast, a hurricane dispersed the fleet, and the vessel bearing the commissioners was wrecked on one of the Bermuda Islands. Seven vessels of the squadron reached the James River in safety. The colony would have been the gainer had these never arrived, for a greater portion of the new immigrants were more profligate, if possible, than the first. They were dissolute scions of wealthy families, and many of them came to avoid punishment for crimes at home. They regarded Virginia as a paradise for libertines, and believed the colony to be without a head until the arrival of the governor or his deputy. Smith, on the contrary, boldly asserted his authority as president, and main- tained it until an accident in autumn compelled him to go to England for sur- gical aid, 4 when he delegated his authority to George Percy, brother of the duke of Northumberland. When the idle and profligate settlers were released from the control of 1 Page 64. a Page 63. 3 Domestic animals were now first taken to Virginia. They consisted of six mares, one horse, gix hundred swine, a few sheep and goats, and five hundred domestic fowls. Two years later one hundred cows and some other cattle were brought over. While passing down the James River, hi a boat, from the Falls, Smith's bag of powder ignited, and the explosion almost killed him. His wounds were so severe as to require the most skillful surgery. 1G19.] VIRGINIA. 69 Smith, they gave themselves up to every irregularity of life. Their ample stock of provisions was rapidly consumed. The Indians had great respect for Smith, and were friendly while he remained, but after his departure, they openly showed their contempt for the English, withheld supplies of provisions, and conceived a plan for the total extermination of the white intruders. Fam- ine ensued, and the winter and spring of 1610 were long remembered as "the starving time." Those who went to the cabins of the Indians, for food, were treacherously murdered ; and finally a plan was matured by the natives for striking a blow of utter extermination. Again Pocahontas performed the part of a guardian angel. 1 On a dark and stormy night she hastened to Jamestown, revealed the plot, and was back to her couch before the dawn. Thus, she saved the colonists by placing them on their guard. Yet death hovered over them. The horrors of destitution increased, and the settlement which numbered five hundred persons when Smith left, was reduced to sixty within six months after his departure. The commissioners 1 finally arrived. They constructed a rude vessel upon the barren island where they were wrecked, and in it reached Virginia, in June, 1610. Instead of being greeted by a flourishing people, they were met by a mere remnant, almost famished. There appeared no way to obtain food, and Gates determined to sail immediately for Newfoundland, 3 and distribute the immigrants among the English fishing vessels there. James- town was utterly abandoned, and toward Hampton Roads 4 the dejected settlers sailed in four pinnaces. Early the next morning white sails greeted their vision. Lord Delaware had arrived with provisions and immigrants ; and that very night, Jamestown, abandoned to pagans in the morning, was made vocal with hymns of thanksgiving to the true God, by the returned settlers. Governor Delaware was a virtuous and prudent man, and under his admin- istration the colony began to prosper. Failing health compelled him to return to England the following spring [March, 1611 J ; and Ke left the government in the hands of Percy, Smith's successor, who managed with prudence until the arrival of Sir Thomas Dale, with supplies.* Dale was an experienced soldier, and, assuming the government, he ruled by martial law. Early in September following, Sir Thomas Gates arrived with six well-furnished ships, and three hundred immigrants. With this arrival came hope for the colony. A large portion of the new settlers were sober, industrious men, and their arrival gave great joy to the four hundred colonists at Jamestown. Gates assumed the functions of governor, and Dale went up the river to plant new settlements at the mouth of the Appomattox and near the Falls. 6 And now a wise change in the domestic policy of the colony was made. Hitherto the land had been worked in common, and the product of labor was deposited in public storehouses, for the good of the community. The industrious created food for the indolent, and an incentive to effort was wanting. That incentive was necessary ; and it was found in the plan of making an assignment of a few acres of land to each 1 Page 66. Page 68. 3 Pago 47. 4 Note 3, page 297. 5 Delaware afterward sailed for Virginia, to resume the reins of government, but died on tho voyage. Near the present City Point, and Richmond. 70 SETTLEMENTS. [1607. man, to be cultivated for his own private benefit. This regulation gave a pow- erful impulse to industry. Larger assignments were made, and soon the com- munity system was abandoned, and industry on private account created an ample supply of food for all. 1 A third charter was obtained by the London Company, on the 22d of March, 1612, by which the control of the king was annulled. The Supreme Council was abolished, and the whole company, sitting as a demo- cratic assembly, elected the officers, and ordained the laws, for the colony. Yet no political privilege was granted to the settlers. Their very exist- ence as a body politic, was completely ignored. They had no voice in the choice of rulers and the enactment of laws. Yet they were contented ; and at the beginning of 1613 there were a thousand Englishmen in Virginia. At about this time an event occurred, which proved of permanent benefit to the settlement. Powhatan had continued to manifest hostile feelings ever since the departure of Smith. For the purpose of extorting advantageous terms of peace from the Indian king, Captain Argall (a sort of buccaneer), 2 bribed an Indian chief, with a copper kettle, to betray the trusting Pocahontas into his hands. She was induced to go on board his vessel, where she was detained as a prisoner for several months, until Powhatan ransomed her. In the mean while, a mutual attachment had grown up between the maiden and John Rolfe, a young En- glishman of good family. He had instructed her in letters and religion ; and, with the consent of Powhatan, she received the rite of Christian baptism, and became the wife of Rolfe, in April, 1613. This union brought peace, and Powhatan was ever afterward the friend of the English. Prosperity now smiled upon the settlement, yet the elements of a perma- nent State were wanting. There were no families in Virginia, and all the settlers indulged in anticipations of returning to England, which they regarded as home. Gates went thither in March, 1614, leaving the administration of government with Sir Thomas Dale, who ruled with wisdom and energy for about two years, and then departed, after appointing George Yeardley deputy- governor. During Yeardley 's administration, the culture of the tobacco plant 3 was promoted, and so rapidly did it gain in favor, that it soon became, not only the principal article of export, but the currency of the colony. And now [1617] Argall, the buccaneer, was appointed deputy-governor. He was a des- pot in feelings and practice, and soon disgusted the people. He was succeeded by Yeardley, who was appointed governor in 1619 ; and then dawned the natal morning of Virginia as a Republican State. Yeardley abolished martial law, 1 A similar result was seen in the operations of the Plymouth colony. See page 116. 8 Note 7, page 58. 3 This plant, yet very extensively cultivated in Virginia and the adjoining States, was first discovered by Sir Francis Drake, near Tabaco, in Yucatan : hence its name. Drake and Raleigh first introduced it into England. King James conceived a great hatred of it, and wrote a treatise against its use. He forbade its cultivation in England, but could not prevent its importation from Virginia. It became a very profitable article of commerce, and the streets of Jamestown were planted with it. Other agricultural productions were neglected, and while cargoes of tobacco were preparing for England, the necessaries of life were wanting. The money value of tobacco was about sixty-six cents a pound. 1619.] NEW YORK. 71 released the planters from feudal service to the colony, 1 and established repre- sentative government* The settlement was divided into eleven boroughs, and two representatives, called burgesses, were chosen by the people for each. These, with the governor and council, constituted the colonial government. The burgesses were allowed to debate all matters pertaining to the good of the colony ; but their enactments were not legal until sanctioned by the company in England. The most important event of that year occurred on the 28th of June. On that day, the first representative assembly ever convened in Amer- ica, met at Jamestown. Then and there, the foundations of the VIRGINIA commonwealth were laid. The people now began to regard Virginia as their home, and "fell to building houses and planting corn." Within two years afterward, one hundred and fifty reputable young women were sent over to become wives to the planters, 3 the tribe of gold-seekers and "gentlemen" was extinct, for "it was not the will of God that the new State should be formed of such material ; that such men should be the fathers of a progeny born on the American soil, who were one day to assert American liberty by their eloquence, and defend it by their valor." * CHAPTER II. NEW YORK [1609 1623]. IN a preceding chapter, 5 we have considered the discovery and exploration of the river, bearing his name, by Henry Hudson, then in the service of the Dutch East India Company. On his return to England [Nov. 1609], he for- warded to his employers in Amsterdam, 6 a brilliant account of his discoveries in America. Jealous of the maritime enterprise and growing power of the Dutch, the British king would not allow Hudson to go to Holland, fearing he might be employed in making further discoveries, or in planting settlements in America. This narrow and selfish policy of James was of no avail, for the ocean pathway to new and fertile regions, once opened, could easily be traversed by inferior navigators. This fact was soon demonstrated. In 1610, some wealthy mer- chants of Amsterdam, directors of the Dutch East India Company, 7 sent a ship from the Texel, laden with merchandise, to traffic with the Indians upon the Mauritius, 8 as the present Hudson River was then called. Hudson's ship (the Half-Moon?) was also sent hither the same year on a like errand ; and for three 1 Page 68. " Yeardley found the people possessed with an intense desire for that freedom which the English constitution gave to every subject of the realm, and it was impossible to reconcile that feel- ing with the exercise of the arbitrary power which had hitherto prevailed. He, therefore, formed a plan for a popular assembly as similar to the English parliament as circumstances would allow. 3 Page 105. 4 Bancroft. s Page 59. Page 59. 7 Note 5, page 59. 8 So named, in honor of Prince Maurice, of Nassau. ' Pago 59. 72 SETTLEMENTS. [1609. years afterward, private enterprise dispatched many vessels from Holland, to traffic for furs and peltries. Among other commanders came the bold Adrian Block, the first navigator of the dangerous strait in the East River, called Hell-Gate. Block's vessel was accidentally burned in the autumn of 1613, when he and his companions erected some rude huts for shelter, near the site of the Bowling Green, at the foot of Broadway, New York. These huts formed the germ of our great commercial metropolis. During the ensuing winter they constructed a vessel from the fine timber which grew upon Manhattan Island, and early in the spring they sailed up Long Island Sound on a voyage of discovery which extended to Nahant. Block first discovered the Connecticut and Thames Rivers, and penetrated Narraganset Bay to the site of Provi- dence. Intent upon gain, Dutch trading vessels now frequently ascended the Mau- ritius, and a brisk trade in furs and peltries was opened with the Indian tribes, almost two hundred miles from the ocean. The traders built a fort and store- house upon a little island just below Albany, in 1614, which they called Fort Nassau ; and nine years later, Fort Orange was erected near the river, a little south of the foot of the present State-street, in Albany, on the site of Albany. There is a doubt about a fort being erected on the southern extremity of Man- hattan Island, at this time, as some chroniclers have asserted. It is probable the .trading-house erected there was palisaded, as a precautionary measure, for they could not well determine the disposition of the Indians. On the llth of October, 1614, a special charter was granted to a company of Amsterdam merchants, giving them the monopoly of trade in the New World, from the latitude of Cape May to that of Nova Scotia, for three years. The territory was named NEW NETHERLAND, in the charter, which title it held until it became an English province in 1664. ' Notwithstanding it was included in the grant of James to the Plymouth company, 11 no territorial jurisdiction being claimed, and no English settlements having been made northward of Richmond, in Virginia, the Dutch were not disturbed in their traffic. The popular story, that Argall entered the Bay of New York on his return from Acadie in 1613, and made the Dutch traders promptly surrender the place to the English crown, seems unsusceptible of proof.* Success attended the Dutch from the beginning. The trade in furs and peltries became very lucrative, and the company made an unsuccessful applica- tion for a renewal of their charter. More extensive operations were in contem- plation; and on the 3d of June, 1621, the States General of Holland* incorporated the Dutch West India Company, and invested it with almost regal powers, for planting settlements in America from Cape Horn to New- foundland ; and in Africa, between the Cape of Good Hope and the Tropic of Cancer, The special object of its enterprise was New Netherland, and espe- cially the region of the Mauritius. 5 The company was not completely organized 1 Page 144. 2 Page 63. 3 See Brodhead's " History of the State of New York," Appendix E, where the matter is dis- cussed at some length. 4 Note 7, page 69. 5 Page 71. 1620.] MASSACHUSETTS. 73 until the spring of 1623, when it commenced operations with vigor. Its first efforts were to plant a permanent colony, and thus establish a plausible pretext for territorial jurisdiction, for now the English had built rude cabins on the shores of Massachusetts Bay. 1 In April, 1623, thirty families, chiefly Wal- loons (French Protestants who had fled to Holland), arrived at Manhattan, under the charge of Cornelius Jacobsen May, who was sent to reside in New Netherland, as first director, or governor. Eight of the fam- ilies went up the Mauritius or Hudson River, and settled at Albany ; the remainder chose their place of abode across the channel of the East River, and settled upon lands now cov- ered by the eastern portions of Brooklyn, and the Navy Yard. 2 Then were planted the fruitful seeds of a Dutch colony then were laid the foundations of the future com- monwealth of NEW YORK.* The territory was erected into a province and the armorial distinction of a count was granted. 4 SEAL OP NEW NETH- ESLAND. CHAPTER III. MASSACHUSETTS [16061620]. SOON after obtaining their charter, in 1606, the PLYMOUTH COMPANY* dispatched an agent in a small vessel, with two captive Indians, to examine North Virginia. This vessel was captured by a Spanish cruiser. Another ves- sel, fitted out at the sole expense of Sir John Popham, and commanded by Martin Pring, was sent, and reached America. Pring confirmed the accounts of Gosnold and others, 'concerning the beauty and fertility of the New England region. The following year [1607], George Popham 7 came, with one hundred immigrants, and landing at the mouth of the Sagadahoc or Kennebec [August 21], they erected there a small stockade, a storehouse, and a few huts. All but forty-five returned to England in the vessels ; those remained, and named their settlement St. George. A terrible winter ensued. Fire consumed their store-house and some of their provisions, and the keen frosts and deep snows 1 Page 78. a The first white child born in New Netherland was Sarah Rapelje, daughter of one of the "Walloon settlers. Her birth occurred on the 7th of June, 1625. She has a number of descendants on Long Island. 3 Page 144, 4 Several hundred years ago, there were large districts of country in England, and on the con- tinent, governed by Earls, who were subject to the crown, however. These districts were called counties, and the name is still retained, even in the United States, and indicates certain judicial and other jurisdiction. New Netherland was constituted a county of Holland, having all the individual privileges appertaining to an earldom, or separate government. The armorial distinction of an earl, or count, was a kind of cap, called coronet, seen over the shield in the above engraved repre- sentation of the seal of New Netherland. The figure of a beaver, on the shield, is emblematic of the Hudson River regions (where that animal then abounded), and of one of the grand objects of settlement there, the trade in furs. 5 Page 63, 6 Page 58. 1 Note 2, page 63. 74 SETTLEMENTS. [1606. locked the waters and the forests against the fisherman and hunter. Famine menaced them, but relief came before any were made victims. Of all the com- pany, only Popham, their president, died. Lacking courage to brave the perils of the wilderness, the settlement was abandoned, and the immigrants went back to England [1608] at the very time when the Frenchmen, who were to build Quebec, 1 were upon the ocean. Traffic with the Indian tribes was continued, but settlements were not again attempted for several years." Only the coast of the extensive country was seen by the several navigators who visited it. The vast interior, now called NEW ENGLAND, was an unknown land, until Captain John Smith, with the mind of a philosopher and the courage of a hero, came, in 1614, and explored, not only the shores but the rivers which penetrated the wilderness. Only himself and four London merchants had an interest in the expedition, which proved highly successful, not only in discoveries, but in trade. With only eight men, Smith examined the region between Cape Cod and the Penobscot, constructed a map of the country, and after an absence of less than seven months, he returned to England, and laid a report before Prince Charles (afterward the unfortunate king who lost his head), the heir apparent to the throne. The prince, delighted with the whole account, confirmed the title which Smith had given to the territory delineated on the map, and it was named NEW ENGLAND. Crime, as usual, dimmed the luster of the discovery. Hunt, commander of one of the vessels of the expedition, kidnapped twenty-seven of the Indians, with Squanto, 3 their chief, as soon as Smith had departed, took them to Spain and sold some of them into slavery.* And now, at various points from Florida to Newfoundland, men-stealers of dif- ferent nations, had planted the seeds of hatred and distrust, 5 whose fruits, in after years were wars, and complicated troubles. At the close of 1614, the Plymouth company employed Smith to make further explorations in America and to plant a colony. He sailed in the spring of 1615, but was driven back by a tempest. He sailed again on the 4th of July following. His crew became mutinous, and finally his vessel was cap- tured by a French pirate, and they were all taken to France. Smith escaped to England, in an open boat, and arousing the sluggish energies of the Ply- mouth company and others, they planned vast schemes of colonization, and he was made admiral for life. Eager for gains, some of the members, joining with others, applied for a new charter. It was withheld for a long time. Finally, the king granted a charter [November 3, 1620] to forty of the wealth- iest and most powerful men in the realm, who assumed the corporate title of THE COUNCIL OP PLYMOUTH, and superseded the original PLYMOUTH COMPANY. 8 The vast domain of more than a mi'mon of square miles, lying between the fortieth and forty-eighth degree of north latitude, and westward to the South Sea, 7 1 Page 49. * The celebrated Lord Bacon, and others, fitted out an expedition to Newfoundland in 1610, but it was unsuccessful. 3 Page 114. 4 When some benevolent friars heard of Hunt's intentions, they took all of the Indians not yet sold, to instruct them as missionaries. Among them was Squanto. 6 See pages 42 and 49. Page 63. 7 Page 42. 1620.] MASSACHUSETTS. 75 was conveyed to them, as absolute owners of the soil. It was the finest portion of the Continent, and now embraces the most flourishing States and Territories of our confederacy. This vast monopoly was unpropitious, in all its elements, to the founding of an empire. It was not the will of God that mere speculators and mercenary adventurers like these should people this broad land. The same year when that great commercial monopoly was formed [1620], a company of devout men and women in Holland, who had been driven from England by a persecuting government, came to the wilderness of the New World, not to seek gold and return, but to erect a tabernacle, where they might worship the Great God in honest simplicity and freedom, and to plant in the wilderness the found- ation of a commonwealth, based upon truth and justice. Who were they? Let History answer. Because the pope of Rome would not sanction an important measure desired by a greater part of the people, King Henry the Eighth of England defied the authority of the head of the Church, and, by the Act of Supremacy? Parliament also cast off the papal yoke. Yet religious freedom for the people was not a consequence, for the king was virtually pope of Great Britain. Heresy was a high crime ; and expressions of freedom of thought and opinion were not tolerated. The doctrines and rituals of the Romish church were enforced, while the authority of the pope was denied. The people discovered that in exchanging spiritual masters, they had gained nothing, except that the thunders of excommunication 3 had lost their effect upon the public mind, and thus one step toward emancipation was gained. Henry's son, Edward, estab- lished a more liberal Protestantism in England [1574], and soon the followers of Luther and Calvin 4 drew the tangible line of doctrinal difference which existed between them. The former retained or allowed many of the ceremonials of the church of Rome ; the latter were more austere, and demanded extreme simplicity in worship, and great purity of life. For this they were called PURITANS, in derision ; a name which soon became honorable. When Parliament established a liturgy for the church, the Puritans refused conformity, for they acknowledged no authority but the Bible in matters of religion. They became a distinct and influential party in the State [1550], and were specially commended by the con- A PURITAN> tinental reformers. 1 The people, whose proclivities were toward Protestantism, deprecated the influence of the queen (Catharine of Arragon), who was a zealous Roman Catholic, and desired her divorce from the monarch. The king was very willing, for he wished to marry the beautiful Anne Boleyn. Pope Julius the Third refused to sanction a divorce, when the king, on whom had been conferred the title of li Defender of the Faith." quarreled with the pontiff, and professed Protestantism. a An Act of Parliament, adopted in 1 534, which declared the king of England the superior head of the Church in that realm, and made Protestantism the established religion of England. s The Pope of Rome assumes the right to excommunicate, or expel from Christian communion, whomsoever he pleasea In former times, even kings were not exempt. An excommunicated person lost social caste ; and for centuries this was an iron rod in the hand of ecclesiastics to keep the people in submission to spiritual authority. Happily for mankind, this species of despotism haa lost its power, and commands the obedience of only the ignorant and enslaved. 4 See note 14, page 62. Calvin was the leading French Reformer. 76 SETTLEMENTS. [1606. Romanism was re-established in England in 1553, by Mary, the (laughter and successor of Henry the Eighth, who was a bigoted persecutor of Protestants of every name. Lutherans and Calvinists were equally in peril. The fires of persecution were lighted, and the first Protestant martyrs were consumed at the stake. 1 Her reign was short, and she is known in history as the bloody Mary, She was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth, in 1558, who was a professed Protestant, and the flames were extinguished. Elizabeth was no Puritan. She endeavored to reconcile the magnificent rituals of the Romish Church with the simple requisitions of the gospel. There was no affinity, and trouble ensued. The Puritans, struggling for power, asserted, in all its grandeur, the doctrine of private judgment in religious matters, and of untrammeled religious liberty. From this high position, it was but a step to the broad rock of civil freedom. The Puritan pulpits became the tribunes of the common people, and the preachers often promulgated the doctrine, that the sovereign was amenable to public opinion when fairly expressed. This was the very essence of demo- cratic doctrine, and evinced a boldness hitherto unparalleled. The jealousy and the fears of the queen were aroused ; and after several years of effort, the Thirty-nine Articles of belief, which constitute the rule of faith in the Church of England, were confirmed [1571] by an Act of Parliament. And now bigotry in power began its wicked work. In 1583, a court of high commission was established, for the detection and punishment of Non- Conformists," with powers almost as absolute as the Roman Inquisition. Per- secution began its work in earnest, and continued active for twenty years. The Puritans looked to the accession of James of Scotland, which took place in 1604, 3 with hope, but were disappointed. He was the most contemptible mon- arch that ever disgraced the chair of supreme government in England. A brilliant English writer 4 says, "He was cunning, covetous, wasteful, idle, drunken, greedy, dirty, cowardly, a great swearer, and the most conceited man on earth." The pure in heart could expect no consideration from such a man. When he was fairly seated on tho English throne, he said of the Puritans, " I will make them conform or I will harrie them out of the land." There were then more than thirty thousand of them in England. During the first year of James's reign, three hundred of their ministers were silenced, imprisoned, or exiled. The long struggle of the established church with the Roman Catholics on one hand, and the Puritans on the other, was now decided. It had been a struggle of three quarters of a century, not so much for toleration as for supremacy ; and the Church of England was the final victor. During these trials, England lost some of her best men. Among the devout ones who fled 1 John Rogers, a pious minister, arid John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, were the first who Buffered. * This was the title of all those Protestants in England who refused to conform to the doctrines and ceremonials of the Established Church. This name was first given in 1572. Ninety years afterward [1662], 2,000 ministers of the Established Church, unwilling to subscribe to the Thirty- nine Articles, seceded, and were called Dissenters ; a name yet applied to all British Protestants who are not attached to the Church of England. 3 See note 1, page 63. Charles Dickens. 2620.] MASSACHUSETTS. 77 from persecution, was the Reverend John Robinson, pastor of a flock gathered in the northern counties. Informed that there was " freedom of religion for all men in Holland," he fled thither, with his people, in 1608, and established a church at Leyden. They were soon joined by others from their native country. Their purity of life and lofty independence commanded the admiration of the Dutch ; and their loyalty to the country from which they had been driven, was respected as a noble virtue. There they learned many of those sound political maxims which lie at the foundation of our own government ; for there those principles of civil liberty, which lay almost dormant in theory, in England, were found in daily practice. At Leyden, the English exiles were charmed by the narratives of the Dutch voyagers to America. They felt that they had now no home, no abiding place that they were only PILGRIMS and they resolved to go to the New World, far away from persecutions, where they might establish a colony, with religious freedom for its basis. A deputation Avent to England in 1617, ' and through the influence of powerful friends, 2 obtained the consent of the Plymouth Company to settle in North Virginia, 3 and also a promise from the king that he would wink at their heresy, and let them alone in their new home. They asked no more. Some London merchants formed a partnership with them, and furnished capital for the expedition. 4 Captain John Smith, the founder of Virginia and explorer of New En- . gland, oifered his services, but on account of his aristocratic notions, they were declined. Two ships (Speedwell and May-Flower} were pur- chased and furnished, 5 and in the summer of 1620, a portion of the Pilgrims in Holland "the youngest and strongest" embarked from Delft- Haven for England." Robinson and the larger portion of his flock remained at Leyden till a more MAT-FLOWER. convenient season, 7 and elder Brewster accompanied the voyagers as their spiritual guide. The two ships left Southampton, in England, on the 5th of August, 1620. The courage of the captain and company of the Speedwell failed, and the vessels put back to port. The sails of the May-Flower were again spread, in the harbor of Plymouth, on the 6th 1 John Carver and Robert Cushman. * Sir Edward Sandys [page 105] was one of their chief advocates in England. ' Page 63. 4 The services of each emigrant were valued as a capital of ten pounds, and belonged to the company. All profits were to be reserved till the end of seven years, when all the lands, houses, and every production of their joint industry, were to be valued, and the amount divided among the shareholders, according to their respective interests. This was a community of interest, similar, in character, to those which have been proposed and attempted in our day, under the respective titles of Communism, Fourierism, and Socialism. It failed to accomplish its intended purpose, and waa abandoned. 6 The Speedwell was a vessel of 60 tons; the May-Flower of 180 tons. * See engraving on page 104. This is a copy of a picture of Tite Embarkation of the Pilgrim^ in the Rotunda of the National Capitol, painted by Professor Robert W. Weir, of the Military Academy, at West Point, New York. 7 Mr. Robinson was never permitted to see America. Notes 3, and 5, page 116. 78 SETTLEMENTS. [1606. of September, and forty-one men, most of them with families 1 (one hundred and one in all) the winnowed remnant of the PILGRIMS who left Delft-Haven crossed the stormy Atlantic. These were they who came to the New World to enjoy liberty of conscience and freedom of action, and to lay, broad and deep, a portion of the foundations of our happy Republic. After a boisterous passage of sixty-three days, thee May-Flower anchored within Cape Cod. 2 Before proceeding to the shore, the PILGRIMS agreed upon a form of government, and committed it to writing. 3 To thai first constitution of government ever sub- scribed by a whole people, the forty-one men affixed their names, and then elected John Carver to be their governor. 4 In the cabin of the May-Flower the first republican government in America was solemnly inaugurated. That vessel thus became truly the cradle of liberty in America, rocked on the free waves of the ocean. The May-Flower was tossed about on the ocean for two long months, and / o J the approach to land was a joyful event for the settlers. Exploring parties were sent out, 5 and after many hardships, they selected a place for landing. It was on the 22d day of December, 1620, that the PILGRIM FATHERS first set foot upon a bare rock on the bleak coast of Massachusetts Bay, while all around, the earth was covered with deep snow. 6 They called the landing-place 1 The following are their names: John Carver, "William Bradford, Edward Winslow, "William Brewster, Isaac Allerton, Captain Miles Standish, John Alden, Samuel Fuller, Christopher Martin, William Mulling, William White, Richard Warren, John Rowland, Stephen Hopkins, Edward Tilly, John Tilly, Peter Brown, Richard Britteridge, George Soule, Richard Clark, Richard Gardiner, Francis Cook, Thomas Rogers, Thomas Tinker, John Ridgdale, Edward Fuller, John Turner, Fran- cis Eaton, James Chilton, John Crackston, John Billington, Moses Fletcher, John Goodman, Degory Priest, Thomas Williams, Gilbert Winslow, Edward Margeson, John Allerton, Thomas English, Ed- ward Dotey, Edward Leister. Howland was Carver's servant ; Soule was Winslow's servant ; and Dotey and Leister were servants of Hopkins. 8 The foolish statement has often been made, that the PILGRIMS intended to land at Manhattan Island (New York), but the commander of the May-Fl&axr, having been bribed by the Dutch to do so, landed them further east beyond the Dutch possessions. The story is a fable. Coppin, the pilot, had been on the coast of New England before, and, in navigating the May-Flower, he only followed his old track. 3 The following is a copy of the instrument: "In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord, king James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, etc., ha ving undertaken, for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid ; and by virtue hereof, to enact, constitute, and frame just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and. offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony ; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof wo have hereto subscribed our names, at Cape Cod, the llth of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign Lord, King James of England, France, and Ireland, the Eighteenth, and of Scotland the Fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620." 4 John Carver was born in England, went with Robinson to Holland, and on the 3d of April, 1621, while governor of the Plymouth colony, he died. 6 Their leader was Miles Standish, a brave soldier, who had served in the Netherlands. He was very active in the colony as military commander-in-chief, in both fighting and treating with the Indians, and is called "The Hero of New England." He was a magistrate many years, and died at Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 1656. 8 While the explorers were searching for a landing-place, the wife of William White, a bride but a short time before leaving Holland, gave birth to a son, "the first Englishman born in New En- gland." They named him Peregrine, and the cradle in which he was rocked is yet preserved. He died ha Marshfield in 1704. 1630.] NEW HAMPSHIRE. 79 New Plymouth, and there a flourishing village is now spread out. 1 Dreary, indeed, was the prospect before them. Exposure and priva- tions had prostrated one half of the men before the first blow of the axe had been struck to erect a habitation. Faith and hope nerved the arms of the healthy, and they began to build. One by one perished. The governor and his wife died on the 3d of April, 1621 ; and on the first of that month, forty- six of the one hundred immigrants were in their graves. Nine- ,. , , . ,, f, ... , . . , , . GOV. CARVER'S teen 01 these were signers to the Constitution. At one time CHAIR.* only seven men were capable of assisting the sick. Fortun- ately, the neighboring tribes, weakened by a pestilence, 3 did not molest them. Spring and summer came. Game became plenty in the forest, and they caught many fishes from the waters. They sowed and reaped, and soon friends from England joined them. 4 The settlement, begun with so much sorrow and suffer- ing, became permanent, and then and there the foundations of the common- wealth of MASSACHUSETTS were laid. CHAPTER IV. NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1622-1680.] THE enterprising Sir Fernando Gorges, who, for many years, had been engaged in traffic with the Indians on the New England coast, projected a set- tlement further eastward than Plymouth, and for that purpose became associ- ated with John Mason, a merchant, afterward a naval commander, and always "a man of action." Mason was secretary to the Plymouth Council, for New England, 6 and was well acquainted with all matters pertaining to settlements in the New World. Gorges and Mason obtained a grant of land in 1622, extend- ing from the Merrimac to the Kennebec, and inland to the St. Lawrence. They named the territory LACONIA. Mason had obtained a grant the previous year, extending from Salem to the mouth of the Merrimac, which he had named MARIANA. The same year, a colony of fishermen, under David Thompson, seated themselves at Little Harbor, on the Piscataqua River, just below Ports- mouth. Another party, under two brothers named Hilton, London fishmong- ers, commenced a settlement, in 1623, a few miles above, at Dover ; but these were only fishing stations, and did not flourish. 1 "Plymouth Rock" is famous. It is now [1867] in two pieces. One part remains in its orig- inal position at Hedge's Wharf; Plymouth ; the other is in the center of the town, surrounded by an iron railing. It was dragged thither, in 1774, by twenty yoke of oxen, and over it the Whigs [note 4, page 226] erected a liberty-pole. 8 This was the throne upon which sat the first Christian monarch of New England. Governor Carver was at the head of a new State, and, as chief magistrate, held the same relative position as king James of England, whose seat was richly ornamented and covered with a canopy of silk and gold. s Page 114. 4 Page 115. B Page 74 30 SETTLEMENTS. [1634. In the year 1629, the Rev. Mr. Wheelwright (a brother-in-law of the cele- brated Anne Hutchinson, who was banished from the Massachusetts colony on a charge of sedition, in 1637) purchased from th~e Indians the wilderness be- tween the Merrimac and the Piscataqua, and founded Exeter. The same year Mason obtained from Gorges exclusive ownership of that same portion of LA- CONIA. He named the domain NEW HAMPSHIRE, and in 1631 built a house upon the site of Portsmouth, the name which he gave to the spot. 1 Other set- tlements upon the Piscataqua, and along the present coast of Maine, as far as Portland, were attempted. At the latter place a company had a grant of land forty miles square, and formed an agricultural settlement in 1631, called LIGONIA." Pemaquid Point was another settlement, which remained an inde- pendent community for almost forty years. Trading houses were established as far east as Machias, but they were broken up by the French, and the west- ern limits of Acadie were fixed at Pemaquid Point, about half way from the Penobscot to the Kennebec. The several feeble and scattered settlements in New Hampshire formed a coalition with the flourishing Massachusetts colony in 1641, and remained dependencies of that province until 1680, when they were separated by order of the king, and New Hampshire became a royal prov- ince. Its first government consisted of a governor and council appointed by the king, and a house of representatives elected by the people. Then was founded the commonwealth o f . NEW HAMPSHIRE. CHAPTER V. MARYLAND. [1634.] A LARGE portion of the American colonies were the fruitful growth of the seeds of civil liberty, wafted hither by the fierce gales of oppression in some 1 Mason had been governor of Portsmouth, in Hampshire County, England, and these names were given in memory of his former residence. 2 The people of these eastern settlements, which formed the basis of the present commonwealth of MAINE, did not like the government attempted to be established by the proprietor, and, taking political power into their own hands, placed themselves under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts in 1652. The territory was erected into a county, and called Yorkshire. In 1621, king James, as sovereign of Scotland, placed the Scottish seal to a charter granting to Sir William Alexander, after- ward [1633] earl of Stirling, the whole territory eastward of the State of Maine, under the title of Nova Scotia, or New Scotland. The French had already occupied places along the coast, and called the country Acadie. The Scotch proprietor never attempted settlements, either in this territory or in Canada which Charles the First had granted to him, and the whole country had passed into the hands of the French, by treaty. The earl died in 1640, and all connection of his family with Nova Scotia ceased. His title was held afterward by four successors, the last of whom died in 1739. In 1759, William Alexander (General Lord Stirling during our War for Independence) made an unsuccessful claim to the title. The next claimant was Alexander Humphrey, who commenced operations in the Scottish courts in 1815, and by forgeries and frauds was partially successful. The whole was exposed in 1833. Humphrey was in this country in 1852, pressing his claims to the monopoly of the Eastern Fisheries, by virtue of the grants of kings James and Charles more than two hundred years ago 1 1634.] MARYLAND. gl form. Maryland, occupying a space between North and South Virginia, 1 was first settled by persecuted Roman Catholics from England and Ireland. While king James worried the Puritans on one hand, for non-conformity, 2 the Roman Catholics, at the other end of the religious scale, were subjected to even more severe penalties. As the Puritans increased in numbers and influence, their cry against the Roman Catholics grew louder and fiercer ; and, while defend- ing themselves from persecution with one hand, they were inflicting as severe a lash upon the Romanists with the other. Thus subjected to twofold opposition, the condition of the Roman Catholics became deplorable, and, in common with other sufferers for opinion's sake, their eyes were turned toward free America. Among the most influential professors of Catholicism was George Calvert, an active member of the London Company, 3 and Secretary of State at the time when the PILGRIMS* were preparing to emigrate to America. He was so much more loyal in action to his sovereign than to his faith, that he did not lose the king's favor, although frankly professing to be a Roman Catholic ; and for his services he was created an Irish peer in 1621, with the title of Lord Baltimore. He also obtained from James, a grant [1622] to plant a Roman Catholic colony on a portion of Newfoundland. He called the territory AVALON, but his scheme was not successful. The barren soil, and French aggressors from Acadie, were too much for the industry and courage of his colonists, and the settlement was abandoned. Foiled in his projects in the east, Lord Baltimore went to Virginia in 1628, with a view of establishing a colony of his brethren there. But he found the Virginians as intolerant as the crown or the Puritans, and he turned his back upon their narrow prejudices, and went to examine the beautiful, unoccupied region beyond the Potomac. He was pleased with the country, and applied for a charter to establish a colony there. The London Company was now dis- solved, 8 and the soil had become the property of the monarch. King Charles the First, then on the throne, readily granted a charter, but before it was com- pleted, Lord Baltimore died. This event occurred on the 25th of April, 1632, and on the 20th of June following, the patent was issued to Cecil, his son and heir. In honor of the queen, Henrietta Maria, 6 the province was called MARYLAND. The territory de- fined in the charter extended along each side of Chesapeake Bay, from the 30th to the 45th degree of north latitude, its western line being the waters of the Potomac. It is believed that the Maryland charter was drawn by the first Lord Baltimore's own hand. It was the most liberal one yet granted by an English monarch, both in respect of the proprietor and the settlers. The government of the province was inde- CECILi SECOND LORD BALTIMORE 1 Page 63. a Note 2, page 76. Page 63. 4 Page 77. Page 107 6 She was a Roman Catholic, and sister of Louis the Thirteenth of France. 6 82 SETTLEMENTS. [1632. pendent of the crown, and equality in religious rights and civil freedom was secured to every Christian sect. Unitarians, or those who denied the doctrine of the Trinity, as well as all unbelievers in Divine revelation, were not covered by this mantle of toleration. The king had no power to levy the smallest tax upon the colonists, and all laws were invalid until sanctioned by a majority of the freemen, or their deputies. Under such a wise and liberal charter the colony, when planted, flourished remarkably, for those persecuted by the Puritans in New England, and the Churchmen in Virginia, there sought refuge, and found peace. Emigration to Maryland commenced in 1633. The first company, mostly Roman Catholics, sailed for America on the 2d of December of that year, under Leonard Calvert, brother of the proprietor, and appointed governor of the province. They arrived in March, 1634, and after sailing up the Potomac, as far as Mount Vernon, they descended the stream, almost to its mouth. They landed upon an estuary of the Chesapeake, purchased an Indian village, and laid the foundation of a town [April, 1634 J, which they named St. Mary. 1 The honesty of Calvert, in paying for the land, secured the good will of the Indians ; and, unlike the first settlers of most of the other colonies, they experi- enced no sufferings from want, or the hostilities of the Aboriginals. Popular government was first organized in Maryland on the 8th of March, 1635, when the first legislative assembly was convened at St. Mary. Every freeman being allowed to vote, it was a purely democratic legislature. As the number of colonists increased, this method of making laws was found to be in- convenient, and in 1639, a representative government was established, the people being allowed to send as many delegates as they pleased. The first rep- resentative assembly made a declaration of rights, defined the powers of the proprietor, and took measures to secure to the colonists all the civil liberties enjoyed by the people of Old England. Then was founded the commonwealth of MARYLAND. CHAPTER VI. CONNECTICUT. [16321639.] ADRIAN BLOCK,* the Dutch navigator, discovered and explored the Con- necticut River, as far as the site of Hartford, in 1614, and named it Versc/ie, 1 Trading posts were established a little earlier than this, within the Maryland province. In 1631, William Clayborne obtained a license from the king to traffic with the Indians; and when Calvert and his company came, he had two settlements, one on Kent Island, nearly opposite An- napolis, and another at the present Havre de Grace, at the mouth of the Susquehannah. He refused to acknowledge the authority of Baltimore, and trouble ensued. He collected his people on the eastern shore of Maryland in 1635, with a determination to defend his claims by force of arms; and in May quite a severe skirmish ensued between his forces and those of the colonists. Clayborne'3 men were taken prisoners, and he fled to Virginia. He was declared guilty of treason, and sent to England for trial. His estates were forfeited ; but, being acquitted of the charge, he returned to Maryland and incited a rebellion. See page 151. a Page 72. HOOKER'S EMIGIT.TIOX TO CONNECTICUT. 1639.] CONNECTICUT. 85 or Fresh Water River. 1 Soon afterward Dutch traders were upon its banks, and might have carried on a peaceful and profitable traffic with the Indians, had honor and honesty marked their course. But the avaricious agent of the Dutch, imprisoned an Indian chief on board his vessel, and would not release him until one hundred and forty fathoms of wampum 2 had been paid. The exasperated Indians menaced the traders, and near the site of Hartford, at a place yet known as Dutch Point, the latter commenced the erection of a fort. The Indians were finally conciliated, and, at their request, the fort was abandoned for awhile. A friendly intercourse was opened between the Dutch of New Netherland and the Puritans in 1627.* With the guise of friendship, but really for the purpose of strengthening the claims of the Dutch to the Connecticut valley, by having an English settlement there under the jurisdiction of New Netherland, Governor Minuit 4 advised the Puritans to leave the barren land of Massachusetts Bay, and settle in the fertile region of the Fresh Water River. In 1631, a Mohegan chief, then at war with the powerful Pequods, 6 desirous of having a strong barrier between himself and his foes, urged the English to come and settle in the Connecticut valley. The Puritans clearly perceived the selfish policy of both parties, and hesitated to leave. The following year [1632], however, Governor Winslow, of the Plymouth colony,' visited that fertile region, and, delighted with its appearance, resolved to promote emigration thither. In the mean while, the Council of Plymouth 7 had granted the soil of Connecticut [1630] to the Earl of Warwicke, who, in 1631, transferred his interest to Lord Say-and-Seal, Lord Brooke, John Hampden, and others. The eastern bound- ary of the territory was " Narraganset River," and the western (like all other charters at that time) was the South Sea, or Pacific Ocean. 8 The Dutch became apprised of these movements of the English ; and perceiving no advan- tage (but detriment) to themselves, they purchased of the Indians the land at Hartford and vicinity, completed their fort, and placed two cannons upon it, in 1633, with the intention of preventing the English ascending the river. Although the Plymouth people were aware of the preparations made by the Dutch, to defend their claim, they did not hesitate, and in October, 1633, Captain William Holmes and a chosen company arrived in the Connecticut River, in a sloop. Holmes bore a commission from Governor Winslow to make a settlement, and brought with him the frame of a house. When he approached the 'Dutch fort, the commander menaced him with destruction if he attempted to pass it. Holmes was not intimidated, and sailing by unhurt, he landed at the site of Windsor, and there erected his house. Seventy men were sent by the Dutch the following year, to drive him from the country. They were kept at bay, and finally a parley resulted in peaceful relations.* Holmes's colony flourished, and in the autumn of 1635, a party of sixty men, women, and chil- dren, from the Puritan settlements, commenced a journey through the wilder- 1 Connecticut is the English orthography of the Indian word Quon-eh-ta-cut, which signifies "the long river." * Probably about four hundred dollars. See note 2, page 13. ' Page 75. 4 Page 139. * Page 21. ? Page 79. ' Page 74. Page 42. * See note 2, page 142. 8(5 SETTLEMENTS. [1632. ness [Oct. 25] to join him. With their cattle, 1 they made their slow and dreary way a hundred miles through dark forests and dismal swamps ; and when they arrived upon the banks of the Connecticut [Nov. 25], the ground was covered with deep snow, and the river was frozen. It was a whiter of great trial for them. Many cattle perished. 2 A vessel bearing food for the colony was lost on the coast, and the settlers were compelled to subsist upon acorns, and scanty supplies of Indian corn from the natives. Many of them made their way to the fort, then just erected at Saybrook, near the mouth of the liver, and returned to Boston by water. Spring opened, and the necessities of those who remained were supplied. They erected a small house for worship on the site of Hartford, and in April, 1686, the first court, or organized government was held there. At about the time when this company departed, a son of Governor Winthrop, 8 of Massachusetts, Hugh Peters, and Henry Vane, arrived at Boston from England, as com- FIRST MEETING-HOUSE, missioncrs for the proprietors of Connecticut, with instruc- tions to build a fort at the mouth of the river of that name, and to plant a colony there. The fort was speedily built, and the settlement was named Saybrook, in honor of the two peers named in the charter. 4 Another migration of Puritans to the Connecticut valley, more important, and with better results, now took place. In June, 1636, Rev. Thomas Hooker, the "light of the western churches," 6 with other ministers, their families, and flocks, in all about one hundred, left the vicinity of Boston for the new land of promise. It was a toilsome journey through the swamps and forests. They subsisted upon berries and the milk of their cows which they took with them, and on the 4th of July, they stood upon the beautiful banks of the Connecticut. On the 9th, Mr. Hooker preached and administered the communion in the little meeting-house at Hartford, and there a great portion of the company settled. Some chose Wethersfield for a residence ; and others, from Roxbury, went up the river twenty miles, and settled at Springfield. There were now five dis- tinct English settlements upon the Connecticut River, yet they were scattered and weak. Clouds soon appeared in the morning sky, and the settlers in the Connecti- cut valley perceived the gathering of a fearful storm. The powerful Pequod Indians 6 became jealous of the white people, because they appeared to be the friends of their enemies, the Mohegans on the west, and of their more powerful foes, the Narragansetts, on the east. They first commenced petty annoyances ; then kidnapped children, murdered men in the forests, and attacked families on 1 This was the first introduction of cattle into Connecticut. 9 The loss in cattle was estimated at about one thousand dollars. * Page 117. 4 Page 85. 6 Thomas Hooker was a native of Leicestershire, England, where he was born in 1586. He was silenced, because of his non-conformity, in 1630, when he left the ministry, and founded a grammar school at Cambridge. He was compelled to flee to Holland, from whence he came to America with Mr. Cotton, in 1633. He was a man of great benevolence, and was eminently use- fill. He died in July, 1647, at the age of sixty-one years. * Page 21. 1639.] CONNECTICUT. gf the outskirts of the settlement at Saybrook. Their allies of Block Island 1 cap- tured a Massachusetts trading vessel, killed the captain" [July, 1636 J, and plundered her. The Puritans in the east were alarmed and indignant, and an inefficient expedition from Boston and vicinity penetrated the Pequod country. It did more harm than good, for it resulted only ia increasing the hatred and hostility of the savages. The Pequods became bolder, and finally sought an alliance with their enemies, the Narragansetts, in an effort to exterminate the white people. At this critical moment a deliverer appeared when least expected. Roger Williams, who for his tolerant opinions had been banished from Massachusetts, 3 was now a friendly resident in the country of the Narragan- setts, and heard of the proposed alliance. Forgetting the many injuries he had received, he warned the doomed people of the Bay colony, of impending danger. At the risk of his own life, he descended Narraganset Bay in an open canoo, on a stormy day, and visited Miantonomoh, the renowned sachem, at his seat near Newport, while the Pequod embassadors were there in council. The latter menaced Williams with death ; yet that good man remained there three days, and effectually prevented the alliance. 4 And more he induced the Nar- ragansetts to renew hostilities with the Pequods. By this generous service the infant settlements were saved from destruction. Although foiled in their attempt at alliance, the Pequods were not dis- heartened. During the ensuing winter they continued their murderous depre- dations. In the spring, the authorities of the English settlements on the Connecticut declared war against the Pequods [May, 1687], and the Massachu- setts and Plymouth colonies agreed to aid them. Soon, Captain Mason, who was in command of the fort at Saybrook, " and Captain John Underbill, a brave and restless man, sailed in some pinnaces, with about eighty white men and seventy Mohegan Indians under Uncas, 6 for Narraganset Bay. There Mian- tonomoh, with two hundred warriors, joined them, and they marched for the Pequod country. Their ranks were swollen by the brave Niantics and others, until five hundred "bowmen and spearmen'' were in tlie train of Captains Mason and Underbill. The chief sachem of the Pequods, was Sassacus, a fierce warrior, and the terror of the New England tribes. 7 He could summon almost two thousand warriors to the field ; and feeling confident in his strength, he was not properly vigilant. His chief fort and village on the Mystic River, eight miles north- east of New London, was surprised at dawn the 5th of June, 16S7, and before sun-rise, more than six hundred men. women, and children, perished by fire and sword. Only seven escaped to spread the dreadful intelligence abroad, and arouse the surviving warriors. The Narragansetts turned homeward, and the English, aware of great peril, pressed forward to Groton on the Thames, 1 This island, which lies nearly south from the eastern border of Connecticut, was visited by Adrian Block, the Dutch navigator, and was called by his name. At the time in question, it was thickly populated with fierce Indians. * John Oldham, the first overland explorer of the Connecticut River. * Page 89. 4 Page 91. * Page 85. ' Page 21. ' Page 22. 88 SETTLEMENTS. [1632. and there embarked for Saybrook. They had lost only two killed, and less than twenty wounded. The brave Sassacus had hardly recovered from this shock, when almost a hundred armed settlers, from Massachusetts, under Captain Stoughton, arrived at Saybrook. The terrified Pequods made no resistance, but fled in dismay toward the wilderness westward, hotly pursued by the English. Terrible was the destruction in the path of the pursuers. Throughout the beautiful country on Long Island Sound, from Saybrook to New Haven, wigwams and cornfields were destroyed, and helpless women and children were slain. With Sassacus at their head, the Indians flew like deer before the hounds, and finally took shelter in Sasco swamp, near Fairfield, where, after a severe battle, they all surrendered, except Sassacus and a few followers. These fled to the Mohawks, 1 where the sachem was treacherously murdered, and his people were sold into slavery, or incorporated with other tribes. The blow was one of extermination, relentless and cruel. " There did not remain a sannup or squaw, a warrior or child of the Pequod name. A nation had disappeared in a day." The New England tribes 2 were filled with awe, and for forty years the colonists were unmolested by them. With the return of peace, the spirit of adventure revived. In the summer of 1637, John Davenporf, an eminent non-conformist 3 minister of London, with Theophilus Eaton and Edward Hopkins, rich merchants who represented a wealthy company, arrived at Boston. They Were cordially received, and urgently solicited to settle in that colony. The Hutchinson controversy 4 was then at its height ; and perceiving the religious agitations of the people, they resolved to found a settlement in the wilderness. The sagacious Puritans, while pursuing the Pequods, had discovered the beauty and fertility of the country along the Sound from the Connecticut to Fairfield, and Davenport and his companions heard their report with joy. Eaton and a few others explored the coast in autumn, and erecting a hut 5 near the Quinipiac Creek (the site of New Haven), they passed the winter there, and selected it for a settlement. In the spring [April 13, 1638] Davenport and others followed, and under a wide-spreading oak, 6 the good minister preached his first sermon. They pur- chased the lands at Quinipiac of the Indians, and, taking the Bible for their guide, they formed an independent government, or " plantation covenant," upon strictly religious principles. Prosperity blessed them, and they laid the found- ations of a city, and called it NEW HAVEN. The following year, the settlers at Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield, met in convention at Hartford [Jan- uary 24, 1639]j and adopted a written constitution, which contained very liberal provisions. It ordained that the governor and legislature should be elected annually, by the people, and they were required to take an oath of allegiance to the commonwealth, and not to the king. The General Assembly, alone, 1 Page 23. Page 22. Note 2, page 76. 4 Page 120. * On the corner of Church and George-streets, New Haven. * At the intersection of George and College-streets, New Haven. 1636.'] RHODE ISLAND. 89 could make or repeal laws ; and in every matter the voice of the people was heard. This was termed the CONNECTICUT COLONY ; and, notwithstanding it and the New Haven colony were not united until 1665, now was laid the found- ation of the commonwealth of CONNECTICUT, which was governed by the Hartford Constitution for more than a century and a half. CHAPTER VII. RHODE ISLAND. [16361643.] THE seed of the Rhode Island commonwealth was planted by brave hands, made strong by persecution. The first settler in Rhode Island was William Blackstone, a non-conformist minister, 1 who was also the first resident upon the peninsula of Shawmut, where Boston now stands. 2 Not liking the " lords brethren" in Massachusetts any more than the "lords bishops" of England, from whose frowns he had fled, he withdrew to the wilderness, and dwelt high up on the Seekonk or Pawtucket River, which portion of the stream still bears . his name. There he planted, and called the place Rehoboth.* Although he was the first settler, Blackstone was not the founder of Rhode Island. He always held allegiance to Massachusetts, and did not aspire to a higher dignity than that of an exile for conscience' sake. Roger Williams, an ardent young minister "at Salem, 4 became the instru- ment of establishing the foundations of a new commonwealth in the wilderness. When he was banished from Massachusetts, toward the close of 1635, s he crossed the borders of civilization, and found liberty and toleration among the heathen. After his sentence, 6 his bigoted persecutors began to dread the influ- ence of his enlightened principles, if he should plant a settlement beyond the limits of existing colonies, and they resolved to detain him. Informed of their scheme, he withdrew from Salem in the dead of winter [Jan., 1636], and through deep snows he traversed the forests alone, for fourteen weeks, sheltered only by the rude wigwam of the Indian, until he found the hospitable cabin 7 of 1 Note 2, page 76. * Page 118. 3 Room. The name was significant of his aim he wanted room outside of the narrow confines of what he deemed Puritan intolerance. 4 Roger Williams was born hi Wales, in 1599, and was educated at Oxford. Persecution drove him to America hi 1631, when he was chosen assistant minister at Salem. His extreme toleration did not find there a genial atmosphere, and he went to Plymouth. There, too, he was regarded with suspicion. He returned to Salem in 1634, formed a separate congregation, and hi 1635, the general court of Massachusetts passed sentence of banishment against him. He labored zealously in founding the colony of Rhode Island, and had no difficulty with any people who came there, except the Quakers. He died at Providence, in April, 1683, at the age of eighty-four years. 6 Page 119. * Williams was allowed six weeks after the pronunciation of his sentence to prepare for his departure. 7 Massasoit had become acquainted with the manner of building cabins adopted by the settlers at fishing-stations on the coast, and had constructed one for himseJf. They were much more com- fortable than wigwams. See page 13. SETTLEMENTS. [1636. Massasoit, the chief sachem of the Wampanoags, 1 at Mount Hope. There he was entertained until the buds appeared, when, being joined by five, friends from Boston, he seated himself upon the Seekonk, some distance below Blackstone's plantation. He found himself within the territory of the Plymouth Company.* Governor Winslow 3 advised him to cross into the Narragansett country, where he could not be molested. With his companions he embarked in a light canoe, paddled around to the head of Narraganset Bay, and upon a green slope, near a spring, 4 they prayed, and chose the spot for a settlement. Williams obtained a grant of land from Canonicus, chief sachem of the Narragansetts, and in com- memoration of " God's merciful providence to him in his distress," he called the place PROVIDENCE. The freedom enjoyed there was soon spoken of at Boston, and persecuted men fled thither for refuge. Persons of every creed were allowed full liberty of conscience, and lived together happily. The same liberty was allowed in politics as in religion; and a pure democracy was established there. Each settler was required to subscribe to an agreement, that he would submit to such rules, "not affecting the conscience," as a majority of the inhabitants should adopt for the public good. Williams reserved no political power to himself, and the leader and follower had equal dignity and privileges. The government was 1 Page 22. * Page 63. * Page 85. This spring is now [1867] beneath some fine sycamores on the west side of Benefit street, in Providence. 1643.] RHODE ISLAND. 91 entirely in the hands of the people. Canonicus, the powerful Narragansett chief, became much attached to Williams, and his influence among them, as we have seen, 1 was very great. He saved his persecutors from destruction, yet they had not the Christian manliness to remove the sentence of banishment, and receive him to their bosoms as a brother. He could not compress his enlarged views into the narrow compass of their creed ; and so, while they rejoiced in their deliverance, they anathematized their deliverer as a heretic and an outcast. But he enjoyed the favor of God. His settlement was entirely unmolested during the Pequod war, 2 and it prospered wonderfully. Roger Williams opened his arms wide to the persecuted. Early in 1638, while Mrs. Hutchinson was yet in prison in Boston, 3 her husband, with Wil- liam Coddington, Dr. John Clarke, and sixteen others, of concurrent religious views, 4 accepted the invitation of Williams to settle in his vicinity. Mianto- nomoh gave them the beautiful island of Aquiday 5 for forty fathoms of white wampum. 6 They called it Isle of Rhodes, because of its fancied resemblance to the island of that name in the Levant, and upon its northern verge they planted a settlement, and named it Portsmouth. A covenant, similar to the one used by Williams, 7 was signed by the settlers ; and, in imitation of the Jewish form of government under the judges, Coddington was chosen judge, or chief ruler, with three assistants. Others soon came from Boston ; and in 1639, Newport, toward the lower extremity of the island, was founded. Liberty of conscience was absolute ; love was the social and political bond, and upon the seal which they adopted was the motto, Amor vincit omnia " Love is all-powerful." Although the Rhode Island and the Providence plantations were separate in government, they were united in interest and aim. Unwilling to acknowledge allegiance to either Massachusetts or Plymouth, 8 they sought an independent charter. For that purpose Roger Williams went to England in 1643. The whole parent country was then convulsed with civil war. 9 After much delay, he obtained from Parliament (which was then contending fiercely with the king) a free charter of incorporation, dated March 24, 1644, and all the settle- ments were united under the general title of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Then was founded the commonwealth of RHODE 1 Page 87. * Page 87. s Page 120. Note 2, page 120. * This was the Indian name of Rhode Island. It is a Narragansett word, signifying Peaceable Isle. It is sometimes spelled Aquitneck, and Aquitnet * Note 2, page 13. They also gave the Indians ten coats and twenty hoes, on condition that they should leave the island before the next winter. T Page 90. The following is a copy of the government compact : " We, whose names are underwritten, do swear solemnly, in the presence of Jehovah, to incorporate ourselves into a body politic, and, as Ho shall help us, will submit our persons, lives, and estates, unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, and Lord of Hosts, and to all those most perfect and absolute laws of His, given us in His holy Word of truth, to be guided and judged thereby." 8 This unwillingness caused the other New England colonies to refuse the application of Rhode Island to become one of the Confederacy, in 1643. See page 121. * Note 3, page 108. 92 SETTLEMENTS. [1631. CHAPTER VIII. DELAWARE, NEW JERSEY, AND PENNSYLVANIA. [16311682.] IT is difficult to draw the line of demarcation between the first permanent settlements in the provinces of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, for they bore such intimate relations to each other that they may be appropriately considered as parts of one episode in the history of American colonization. We shall, therefore, consider these settlements, in close connection, in one chapter, commencing with . DELAWARE. It was claimed by the Dutch, that the territory of New Netherland 1 ex- tended southward to Cape Henlopen. In June, 1629, Samuel Godyn and others purchased of the natives the territory between the Cape and the mouth of the Delaware River. The following year, two ships, fitted out by Captain De Vries and others, and placed under the command of Peter Heyes, sailed from the Texel [Dec. 12, 1630] for America. One vessel was captured ; the other arrived in April, 1631 ; and near the present town of Lewiston, in Delaware, thirty immigrants, with implements and cattle, seated themselves. Heyes returned to Holland, and reported to Captain De Vries.' That mariner visited America early the following year [1632], but the little colony left by Heyes was not to be found. Difficulties with the Indians had provoked savage vengeance, and they had exterminated the white people. Information respecting the fine country along the Delaware had spread northward, and soon a competitor for a place on the South River, as it was called, appeared. Usselincx, an original projector of the Dutch West India Company, 3 becoming dissatisfied with his associates, visited Sweden, and laid before the enlightened monarch, Gustavus Adolphus, well-arranged plans for a Swedish colony in the New World. The king was delighted, for his attention had already been turned toward America ; and his benevolent heart was full of desires to plant a free colony there, which should become an asylum for all persecuted Christians. While his scheme was ripening, the danger which menaced Protestantism in Germany, called him to the field, to contend for the principles of the Reformation. 4 He marched from his kingdom with a strong army to oppose the Imperial hosts marshaled under the banner of the Pope on the fields of Germany. Yet the care and tumults of the camp and field did not make him forget his benevolent designs ; and only a few days before his death, 1 Page T2. ' De Vries was an eminent navigator, and one of Godyn's friends. To secure his valuable services, the purchasers made him a partner in their enterprise, with patroon [page 139] privileges, and the first expedition was arranged by him. He afterward came to America, and was one of the most active men iu the Dutch colonies. On his return to Holland, he published an account of * Page 72. * Note 14, page 62. 1682.] NEW JERSEY. 93 at the battle of Lutzen [Nov. 6, 1632], Gustavus recommended the enterprise as " the jewel of his kingdom." The successor of Gustavus was his daughter Christina, then only six years of age. The government was administered by a regency, 1 at the head of which was Axel, count of Oxenstierna. He was the earliest and most ardent sup- porter of the proposed great enterprise of Gustavus ; and in 1634 he issued a charter for the Swedish West India Company. Peter Minuit," who had been recalled from the governorship of New Netherland, and was also dissatisfied with the Dutch West India Company, went to Stockholm, and offered his serv- ices to the new corporation. They were accepted, and toward the close .of 1637 he sailed from Gottenburg with fifty emigrants, to plant a colony on the west side of the Delaware. He landed on the site of New Castle, in April, 1638, and purchased from the Indians 3 the territory between Cape Henlopen and the Falls of the Delaware, at Trenton. They built a church and fort on the site of Wilmington, called the place Christina, and gave the name of New Sweden to the territory. The jealousy of the Dutch was aroused by this "intrusion," and they hurled protests and menaces against the Swedes. 4 The latter contin- ued to increase by immigration ; new settlements were planted ; and upon Tin- icum Island, a little below Philadelphia, they laid the foundations of a capital for a Swedish province. 8 The Dutch West India Company 6 finally resolved to expel or subdue the Swedes. The latter made hostile demonstrations, and defied the power of the Dutch. The challenge was acted upon ; and toward the close of the summer of 1655, governor Stuyvesant, with a squadron of seven vessels, entered Delaware Bay. 7 In September every Swedish fort and settle- ment was brought under his rule, and the capital on Tinicum Island was destroyed. The Swedes obtained honorable terms of capitulation ; and for twenty-five years they prospered under the rule of the Dutch and English pro- prietors of New Netherland. NEW JERSEY. All the territory of NOVA C.ESAREA, as New Jersey was called by the English, was included in the New Netherland charter, 8 and transient trading settlements were made [1622], first at Bergen, by a few Danes, and then on the Delaware. Early in 1623, the Dutch built a log fort near the mouth of Timber Creek, a few miles below Camden, and called it Nassau. 9 In June, 1 A regent is one who exercises the power of king or emperor, during the absence, incapacity, or childhood of the latter. For many years, George the Third of England was incapable of ruling on account of his insanity, and his son who was to be his successor at his death, was called th Prince Regent, because Parliament had given him power to act as king, in the place of his father. In the case of Christina, three persons were appointed regents, or rulers. 2 Page 139. s The Delawares. See page 20. 4 Page 143. B This was done about forty years before William Penn became proprietor of Pennsylvania. Page 72. ' Page 143. 8 Page 72. 9 It was built under the direction of Captain Jacobus May, who had observed attempts made by a French sea-captain to set up the arms of France there. The fort was built of logs, and was little else than a rude block-house, with palissades. [See note 1, page 127.] A little garrison, left to protect it, was soon scattered, and the fort was abandoned. 94 SETTLEMENTS. [1631. 1623, four couples, who had been married on the voyage from Amsterdam, were sent to plant a colony on the Delaware. They seated themselves upon the site of Gloucester, a little below Fort Nassau, and this was the commence- ment of settlements in West Jersey. Seven years later [1630] Michael Pauw bought from the Indians the lands extending from Hoboken to the Raritan, and also the whole of Staten Island, and named the territory Pavonia. 1 In this purchase, Bergen was included. Other settlements were attempted, but none were permanent. In 1631, Cap- tain Heyes, after establishing the Swedish colony at Lewiston,' 2 crossed the Delaware, and purchased Cape May 3 from the Indians ; and from that point to Burlington, traders' hut3 were often seen. The English became possessors of New Netherland in 1664, and the Duke of York, to whom the province had been given, 4 conveyed to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret [June 24, 1664], all the territory between the North and South (Hudson and Delaware) Rivers, and northward to the line of forty-one degrees and forty minutes, under the title of Nova Cccsarea or NEW JERSEY. Soon afterward several families from Long Island settled at Elizabethtown, 5 and there planted the first fruitful seed of the New Jersey colony, for the one at Gloucester withered and died. The following year, Philip Carteret, who had been appointed governor of the new province, arrived with a charter, fair and liberal in all its provisions. It provided for a government to be composed of a representative assembly 6 chosen by the people, and a governor and council. The legislative powers resided in the assembly; the executive powers were intrusted to the governor and his council. Then [1665] was laid the foundation of the commonwealth of NEW JERSEY. PENNSYLVANIA. A new religious sect, called Quakers, 7 arose in England at about the com- mencement of the civil wars [1642 1651] which resulted in the death of Charles the First. Their preachers were the boldest, and yet the meekest of all non-conformists. 8 Purer than all other sects, they were hated and perse- cuted by all. Those who came to America for " conscience' sake" were perse- cuted by the Puritans of New England, 9 the Churchmen of Virginia and Maryland, and in a degree by the Dutch of New Amsterdam ; and only in Rhode Island did they enjoy freedom, and even there they did not always dwell in peace. In 1673, George Fox, the founder of the Quaker sect, visited all his brethren in America. He found them a despised people everywhere, and his 1 Until the period of our "War for Independence, the point of land in Pavonia, on which Jersey City, opposite New York, now stands, was called Paulus' Hook. Here was the scene of a bold exploit by Americans, under Major Henry Lee, in 1779. See page 298. * Page 92. Named in honor of Captain Jacobus Mey, or May. 4 Page 159. 6 Page 159. e Note 3, page 159. 7 This name was given by Justice Burnet, of Derby, in 1650, who was admonished by George Fox, when he was cited before the magistrate, to tremble and quake at the Word of the Lord, at the same time Fox quaked, as if stirred by mighty emotions. See page 122. 8 Note 2, page 76. Page 75 1682.J PENNSYLVANIA. 95 heart yearned for an asylum for his brethren. Among the most influential of his converts was William Penn, 1 son of the renowned admiral of that name. Through him the sect gained access to the ears of the nobility, and soon the Quakers possessed the western half of New Jersey, by purchase from Lord Berkeley.' 1 The first company of immigrants landed in the autumn of 1675, and named the place of debarkation Salem. 3 They established a democratic form of government ; and, in November, 1681. the first legislative assembly of Quakers ever convened, met at Salem. While these events were progressing, Penn, who had been chief peace-maker when disputes arose among the proprietors and the people, took measures to plant a new colony beyond the Delaware. He applied to Charles the Second for a charter. The king remembered the services of Admiral Penn, 4 and gave his son a grant [March 14, 1681] of " three degrees of latitude by five degrees 1 William Penn was born in London, in October, 1644, and was educated at Oxford. He was remarkable, in his youth, for brilliant talents ; and while a student, having heard the preaching of Quakers, he was drawn to them, and suffered expulsion from his father's roof, in consequence. He went abroad, obtained courtly manners, studied law after his return, and was again driven from home for associating with Quakej-s. He then became a preacher among them, aud remained in that connection until his death. After a life of great activity and considerable suffering, he died in England, in 1718, at the age of seventy-four years. 8 Page 119. 3 Now the capital of Salem county, New Jersey. 4 He was a very efficient naval commander, and by his skill contributed to the defeat of the Dutch in 1664. The king gave him the title of Baron for his services. Note 15, page 62. 96 SETTLEMENTS. [1631. of longitude west of the Delaware," and named the province Pennsylvania, in honor of the proprietor. It included the principal settlements of the Swedes. To these people, and others within the domain, Penn sent a proclamation, filled with the loftiest sentiments of republicanism. William Markham, who bore the proclamation, was appointed deputy-governor of the province, and with him sailed [May, 1681] quite a large company of immigrants, who were members or employees of the Company of Free Traders,* who had purchased lands of the proprietor. In May, the following year, Penn published a frame of gov- ernment, and sent it to the settlers for their approval. It was not a constitu- tion, but a code of wholesome regulations for the people of the colony." He soon afterward obtained by grant and purchase [Aug. 1682] the domain of the present State of Delaware, which the Duke of York claimed, notwithstanding it was clearly not his own. It comprised three counties, Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, called The Territories. Penn had been anxious, for some time, to visit his colony, and toward the close of August, 1682, he sailed in the Welcome for America, with about one hundred emigrants. The voyage was long and tedious ; and when he arrived at Newcastle, in Delaware [Nov. 6], he found almost a thousand new comers there, some of whom had sailed before, and some after his departure from En- gland. He was joyfully received by the old settlers, who then numbered almost three thousand. The Swedes said, "It is the best day we have ever seen;" and they all gathered like children around a father. A few days afterward, he proceeded to Shackamaxon (now Kensington suburbs of Philadelphia), where, under a wide-spreading elm, as tradition declares, he entered into an honorable treaty with the Indians, for their lands, and established with them an everlast- ing covenant of peace and friendship. " We meet," said Penn, " on the broad pathway of good faith and good will ; no advantage shall be taken on either side ; but all shall be openness and love." And so it was. "Thou'lt find," said the Quaker, " in me and in mine, But friends and brothers to thee and thine, Who abuse no power and admit no line Twist the red man and the white. And bright was the spot where the Quaker came, To leave his hat, his drab, and his name, That will sweetly sound from the trump of Fame, Till its final blast shall die." On the day after his arrival, Penn received from the agents of the Duke of York, 8 in the presence of the people, a formal surrender of The Territories ; 1 Lands in the new province were offered for about ten cents an acre. Quite a number of pur- chasers united, and called themselves The Company of Free Traders, with whom Penn entered into an agreement concerning the occupation of the soil, laying out of a city, &c. * R ordained a General Assembly or court, to consist of a governor, a council of seventy, chosen by the freemen of the colony, and a house of delegates, to consist of not less than two hundred members, nor more than five hundred. These were also to be chosen by the people. The proprietor, or his deputy (the governor), was to preside, and to have a three-fold voice in the council ; that is, on all questions, he was to have three votes for every one of the councillors. * Page 144. 1682.] THE CAROLINAS. and after resting a few days, he proceeded to visit his brethren in New Jersey, and the authorities at New York. On his return, he met the General Assembly of the province at Chester, 1 when he declared the union of The Territories with Pennsyl- vania. He made a more judicious organization of the local government, and then were permanently laid the foundations of the commonwealth of PENNSYLVANIA. 97 THE ASSEMBLY HOUSH. CHAPTER IX. THE CAROLINAS. [1622 1680.] UNSUCCESSFUL efforts at settlement on the coast of Carolina, were made during a portion of the sixteenth century. These we have already considered.* As early as 1609, some dissatisfied people from Jamestown settled on the Nansemond; and in 1622, Porey, then Secretary of Virginia, with a few friends, penetrated the country beyond the Roanoke. In 1630, Charles the First granted to Sir Robert Heath, his attorney-general, a domain south of Virginia, six degrees of latitude in width, extending from Albemarle Sound to the St. John's River, in Florida, and, as usual, westward to the Pacific Ocean. No settlements were made, and the charter was forfeited. At that tune, Dis- senters or Nonconformists 3 suffered many disabilities in Virginia, and looked to the wilderness for freedom. In 1653, Roger Green and a few Presbyterians left that colony and settled upon the Chowan River, near the present village of Edenton. Other dissenters followed, and the colony flourished. Governor Berkeley, of Virginia, 4 wisely organized them into a separate political commu- nity [1663], and William Drummond, 5 a Scotch Presbyterian minister, was appointed their governor. They received the name of Albemarle County Colony, in honor of the Duke of Albemarle, who, that year, became a proprietor of the territory. Two years previously [1661], some New England 8 adventur- ers settled in the vicinity of Wilmington, on the Cape Fear River, but many of them soon abandoned the country because of its poverty. Charles the Second was famous for his distribution of the lands in the New World, among his friends and favorites, regardless of any other claims, Abo- 1 The picture is a correct representation of the building at Chester, in Pennsylvania, wherein the Assembly met. It was yet standing in 1860. Not far from the spot, on the shore of the Dela- ware, at the mouth of Chester Creek, was also a solitary pine-tree, which marked the place where Penn landed. a Pages 55 to 57 inclusive. * Note 2, page 76. * Page 78. 6 Drummond was afterward executed on account of his participation in Bacon's revolutionary acts. See note 5, page 112. Page 108. 7 98 SETTLEMENTS. t 1622 - riginal or European. In 1663, he granted the whole territory named in Sir Robert Heath's charter, to eight of his principal friends, 1 and called it CARO- LINA.* As the Chowan settlement was not within the limits of the charter, the boundary was extended northward to the present line between Virginia and North Carolina, and also southward, so as to include the whole of Florida, except its peninsula. The Bahama Islands were granted to the same proprie- tors in 1667. 3 Two years earlier [1665], a company of Barbadoes planters settled upon the lands first occupied by the New England people, near the present Wilmington, and founded a permanent settlement there. The few settlers yet remaining were treated kindly, and soon an independent colony, with Sir John Yeamans 4 as governor, was established. It was called the Clarendon County Colony, in honor of one of the proprietors. Yeamans managed prudently, but the poverty of the soil prevented a rapid increase in the popula- tion. The settlers applied themselves to the manufacture of boards, shingles, and staves, which they shipped to the West Indies ; and that business is yet the staple trade of that region of pine forests and sandy levels. Although the settlement did not flourish, it continued to exist ; and then was founded the commonwealth of NORTH CAROLINA. The special attention of the proprietors was soon turned toward the more southerly and fertile portion of their domain, and in January. 1670, they sent three ships with emigrants, under the direction of William Sayle 5 and Joseph West, to plant a colony below Cape Fear. They entered Port Royal, landed on Beaufort Island at the spot where the Huguenots built Fort Carolina in 1564,' and there Sayle died early in 1671. The immigrants soon afterward abandoned Beaufort, and sailing into the Ashley River, 7 seated themselves on its western bank, at a place a few miles above Charleston, now known as Old Town. There they planted the first seeds of a South Carolina colony. West exercised authority as chief magistrate, until the arrival of Sir John Yeamans, in December, 1671, who was appointed governor. He came with fifty families, and a large number of slaves. 8 Representative government was instituted in 1672 9 under the title of the Carteret County Colony. It was so called in honor of one of the proprietors. 10 Ten years afterward they abandoned the spot ; 1 Lord Clarendon, his prime minister ; General Monk, just created Duke of Albemarle ; Lord Ashley Cooper, afterward Earl of Shaftesbury; Sir George Carteret, a proprietor of New Jersey; Sir "William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia; Lord Berkeley, Lord Craven, and Sir John Colleton. 9 It will be perceived [note 1, page 55] that the name of Carolina, given to territory south of Virginia, was bestowed hi honor of two kings named Charles, one of France,, the other of England. 3 Samuel Stephens succeeded Drummond as governor, in 1667 ; and in 1668, the first popular Assembly in North Carolina convened at Edenton. 4 Yeamans was an impoverished English baronet, who had become a planter in Barbadoes, to mend his fortune. He was successful, and became wealthy. 6 Sayle had previously explored the Carolina coast. Twenty years before, he had attempted to plant an "Eleutharia," or place dedicated to the genius of Liberty [see EleiUheria, Anthon's Class- ical Dictionary], in the isles near the coast of Florida. 6 Page 50. i Page 166. 8 This was the commencement of negro slavery in South Carolina. Yeamans brought almost two hundred of them from Barbadoes. From the commencement, South Carolina has been a planting State. Note 5, page 165. 10 He was also one of the proprietors of New Jersey. See page 119. 3680-J GEORGIA. 99 and upon Oyster Point, at the junction of Ashley and Cooper Rivers, 1 nearer the sea, they founded the present city of Charleston. 3 Immigrants came from various parts of Europe ; and many Dutch families, dissatisfied with the English rule at New York,' went to South Carolina, where lands were freely given them; and soon, along the Santee and the Edisto, the wilderness began to blossom under the hand of culture. The people would have nothing to do with a government scheme prepared by Shaftesbury and Locke, 4 but preferred simple organic laws of their own making. Then were laid the foundations of the com- monwealth of SOUTH CAROLINA, although the history of the two States, under the same proprietors, is inseparable, until the period of their dismemberment, in 1729.5 CHAPTER X. GEORGIA. [1733.] GEORGIA was the latest settled of the thirteen original English colonies in America. When the proprietors of the Carolinas surrendered their charter 6 to the crown in 1729, the whole country southward of the Savannah River, to the vicinity of St. Augustine, was a wilderness peopled by native tribes, 7 and claimed by the Spaniards as part of their territory of Florida. 8 The English disputed this claim, and South Carolina townships were ordered to be marked out as far south as the Alatamaha. The dispute grew warm and warlike, and the Indians, instigated by the Spaniards, depredated upon the frontier English settlements. 9 But, while the clouds of hostility were gathering in the firma- ment, and grew darker every hour, it was lighted up by a bright beam of be- nevolence, which proved the harbinger of a glorious day. It came from England, where, at that time, poverty was often considered a crime, and at least four thousand unfortunate debtors were yearly consigned to loathsome prisons. The honest and true, the noble and the educated, as well as the ignorant and the vile, groaned within prison walls. Their wailings at length reached the ears of benevolent men. Foremost among these was James Edward Oglethorpe, 19 a brave soldier and stanch loyalist, whose voice had been heard often in Parlia- ment against imprisonment for debt. A committee of inquiry into the subject of such imprisonments, was ap- 1 These were so called in honor of Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury. The Indian name of the former was Ke-a-wah, and of the latter E-ti-wan. 8 Charleston was laid out hi 1680 by John Culpepper, who had been surveyor-general for North Carolina, See page 166. s Page 164. 4 Page 184. 6 Page 171. Page 171. 7 Page 29. 8 Page 42. " Page 170. 10 See portrait, page 104. General Oglethorpe was born in Surrey, England, on the 21st of De- cember, 1698. He was a soldier by profession. In 1745, he was made a brigadier-general, and fought against Charles Edward, the Pretender, who was a grandson of James the Second, and claimed rightful heirship to the throne of England. Oglethorpe refused the supreme command of the British army destined for America in 1775. He died, June 30, 1785, aged eighty-seven yeara. 100 SETTLEMENTS. [1733. pointed by Parliament, and General Oglethorpe was made chairman of it. His report, embodying a noble scheme of benevolence, attracted attention and admiration. He proposed to open the prison doors to all virtuous men within, who would accept the conditions, and with these and other sufferers from pov- erty and oppression, to go to the wilderness of America, and there establish a colony of freemen, and open an asylum for persecuted Protestants 1 of all lands. The plan met warm responses in Parliament, and received the hearty approval of George the Second, then [1730] on the English throne. A royal charter for twenty-one years was granted [June 9, 1732] to a corporation " in trust for the poor," to establish a colony within the disputed territory south of the Sa- vannah, to be called Georgia, in honor of the king. 4 Individuals subscribed large sums to defray the expenses of emigrants hither ; and within two years after the issuing of the patent, Parliament had appropriated one hundred and eighty thousand dollars for the same purpose. 3 The sagacious and brave Oglethorpe was a practical philanthropist. He offered to accompany the first settlers to the wilderness, and to act as governor of the new province. With one hundred and twenty emigrants he left England [Nov., 1732], and after a passage of fifty-seven days, touched at Charleston [Jan., 1733], where he was received with great joy by the inhabitants, as one who was about to plant a barrier between them and the hostile Indians and Spaniards. 4 Proceeding to Port Royal, Oglethorpe landed a large portion of his followers there, and with a few others, he coasted to the Savannah River. Sailing up that stream as far as Yamacraw Bluff, he landed, and chose the spot whereon to lay the foundation of the capital of a future State. 5 On the 12th of February, 1733, the remainder of the immigrants arrived from Port Royal. The winter air was genial, and with- cheerful hearts and willing hands they constructed a rude fortification, and commenced the erection of a town, which they called Savannah, the Indian name of the river. 6 For almost a year the governor dwelt under a tent, and there he often held friendly intercourse with the chiefs of neighboring tribes. At length, when he had mounted cannons upon the fort, and safety was thus secured, Oglethorpe met 1 Note 14, page 62. * The domain granted by the charter extended along the coast from the Savannah to the Ala- tamaha, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. The trustees appointed by the crown, possessed all legislative and executive power ; and, therefore, while one side of the seal of the new province expressed the benevolent character of the scheme, by the device of a group of toiling silkworms, and the motto, Non sibi, sed aliis ; the other side, bearing, between two urns the genius of " Georgia Augusta," with a cap of liberty on her head, a spear, and a horn of plenty, was a false emblem. There was no political liberty for the people. 8 Brilliant visions of vast vintages, immense productions of silk for British looms, and all the wealth of a fertile tropical region, were presented for the contemplation of the commercial acumen of the business men of England. These considerations, as well as the promptings of pure benev- olence, made donations liberal and numerous. 4 Page 99. 6 Some historians believe that Sir "Walter Raleigh, while on his way to South America, in 1595, went up the Savannah River, and held a conference with the Indians on this very spot. This, probably, is an error, for nothing appears in the writings of Raleigh or his cotemporaries to warrant the inference that he ever saw the North American continent. 8 The streets were laid out with great regularity; public squares were reserved; and the houses were all built on one model twenty-four by sixteen, feet, on the ground. OQLETHOEPE'S FIEST INTERVIEW WITH THE INDIAN-*- 1733.] GEORGIA. 103 fifty chiefs in council [May, 1733], with To-mo-chi-chi^ the principal sachem of the lower Creek confederacy." at their head, to treat for the purchase of lands. Satisfactory arrangements were made, and the English obtained sover- eignty over the whole domain [June 1, 1733] along the Atlantic from the Sa- vannah to the St. John's, and westward to the Flint and the head waters of the Chattahoochee. The provisions of the charter formed the constitution of gov- ernment for the people ; and there, upon Yamacraw Bluff, where the flourishing city of Savannah now stands, was laid the foundation of the commonwealth of GEORGIA, in the summer of 1733. Immigration flowed thither in a strong and continuous stream, for all were free in religious matters ; yet for many years the colony did not flourish.* Wonderful, indeed, were the events connected with the permanent settle- ments in the New World. Never in the history of the race was greater hero- ism displayed than the seaboard of the domain of the United States exhibited during the period of settlements, and the development of colonies. Hardihood, faith, courage, indomitable perseverance, and untiring energy, were requisite to accomplish all that was done in so short a time, and under such unfavorable circumstances. While many of the early immigrants were mere adventurers, and sleep in deserved oblivion, because they were recreant to the great duty which they had self-imposed, there are thousands whose names ought to be per- petuated in brass and marble, because of their faithful performance of the mighty task assigned them. They came here as sowers of the prolific seed of human liberty ; and during the colonizing period, many of them carefully nur- tured the tender plant, while it was bursting into vigorous life. We, who are the reapers, ought to reverence the sowers and the cultivators with grateful hearts. 1 To-mo-chi-chi was then an aged man, and at his first interview with Oglethorpe, he presented him with a buffalo skin, ornamented with the picture of an eagle. " Here," said the chief, " is a little present : I give you a buffalo's skin, adorned on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle, which I desire you to accept, because the eagle is an emblem of speed, and the buffalo of strength. The English are swift as the bird, and strong as the beast, since, like the former, they flew over vast seas to the uttermost parts of the earth ; and like the latter, they are so strong that nothing can withstand them. The feathers of an eagle are soft, and signify love ; the buffalo's skin \a warm, and signifies protection ; therefore I hope the English will protect and love our little fam- ilies." Alas I the wishes of the venerable To-mo-chi-chi were never realized, for the white people more often .plundered and destroyed, than loved and protected the Indians. To-mo-chi-chi died on the 5th of October, 1739, at his own town, four miles from Savannah, aged about ninety-seven years. He loved General Oglethorpe, and expressed a desire that his body might be laid among tlie English at Savannah. It was buried there with public honors. See the Gentleman's Magazine, 174.0, page 129. * Page 30. * Pages 171 and 173. EMBARKATION OF THE PILGRIMS FOURTH PERIOD. THE COLONIES CHAPTER I. HAVING briefly traced the interesting JAMES EDWARD OGLETHOHPE. events which resulted in the founding of sev- eral colonies by settlements we will now con- sider the more important acts of establishing permanent commonwealths, all of which still exist and flourish. The colonial history of the United States is comprised within the period commencing when the several settlements along the Atlantic coasts became organized into political communities, and ending when representatives of these colonies met in general congress in 1774, 1 and confeder- ated for mutual welfare. There was an earlier union of interests and efforts. It was when the several English colonies aided the mother country in a long war against the combined hostilities of the French and Indians. As the local histories of the several colonies after the commencement of that war have but little interest for the general reader, we shall trace the progress of each colony only to that period, and devote a chapter to the narrative of the French and Indian war. 8 Page 228. 9 Page 179. 1619.] VIRGINIA. 105 . As we have already observed, a settlement acquires the character of a colomj only when it has become permanent, and the people, acknowledging allegiance to a parent State, are governed by organic laws. 1 According to these conditions, the earliest of the thirteen colonies represented in the Con- gress of 1774, was VIRGINIA. [1619.] That was an auspicious day for the six hundred settlers in Virginia when the gold-seekers disappeared, 2 and the enlightened George Yeardley became governor, and established a representative assembly [June 28, 1619] the first in all America. 3 And yet a prime element of happiness and prosperity was wanting. There were few white loomen in the colony. The wise Sandys, the friend of the Pilgrim Fathers,* was then treasurer of the London Company, 6 and one of the most influential and zealous promoters of emigration. During the same year when the Puritans sailed for America [1620], he sent more than 1 twelve hundred emigrants to Virginia, among whom were ninety young women, "pure and uncorrupt," who were disposed of for the cost of their passage, as wives for the planters. 6 The following year sixty more were sent. The fam- ily relation was soon established ; the gentle influence of woman gave refine- ment to social life on the banks of the Powhatan ; 7 new and powerful incentives to industry and thrift were created ; and the mated planters no longer cherished the prevailing idea of returning to England. 3 Vessel after vessel, laden with immigrants, continued to arrive in the James River, and new settlements were planted, even so remote as at the Falls, 9 and on the distant banks of the Poto- mac. The germ of an empire was rapidly expanding with the active elements of national organization. Verbal instructions would no longer serve the pur- poses of government, and in August, 1621, the Company granted the colonists a written Constitution^ which ratified most of the acts of Yeardley.' 1 Pro- vision was made for the appointment of a governor and council by the Company, and a popular Assembly, to consist of two burgesses or representatives from each borough, chosen by the people. This body, and the council, composed the General Assembly, which was to meet once a year, and pass laws for the 1 Page 61. a Page 71. s Page 71. 4 Page 77. 6 Page 64. 6 Tobacco had already become a circulating medium, or currency, in Virginia, The price of a wife varied from 120 to 150 pounds of this product, equivalent, in money value, to about $90 and $1 12 each. The second " cargo" were sold at a still higher price. By the king's special order, one hundred dissolute vagabonds, called "jail-birds" by the colonists, were sent over the same year, and sold as bond-servants for a specified time. In August, the same year, a Dutch trading vessel en- tered the James River with negro slaves. Twenty of them were sold into perpetual slavery to the planters. This was the commencement of negro slavery in the English colonies [note 4, page 177]. The slave population of the United States in 1860, according to the census, was about 4,000,000. 7 Page 64. 8 Most of the immigrants hitherto were possessed of the spirit of mere adventurers. They came to America to repair shattered fortunes, or to gain wealth, with the' ultimate object of returning to England to enjoy it The creation of families made the planters more attached to the soil of Vir- ginia. ' Near the site of the city of Richmond. The fells, or rapids, extend about six miles. 10 The people of the May-flower formed a written Constitution for themselves [page 78]. That of Virginia was modeled after the Constitution of England. u .Pago 70 106 THE COLONIES. [1619. general good. 1 Such laws were not valid until approved by the Company, neither were any orders of the Company binding upon the colonists until ratified by the General Assembly. Trial by jury was established, and courts of law conformable to those of England were organized. Ever afterward claim- ing these privileges as rights, the Virginians look back to the summer of 1621 as the era of their civil freedom. The excellent Sir Francis Wyatt, who had been appointed governor under the Cojtstitiitiotij and brought the instrument with him, was delighted with the aspect of affairs in Virginia. But a dark cloud soon arose in the summer sky. The neighboring Indian tribes" gathered in solemn council. Powhatan, the friend of the English after the marriage of his daughter, 3 was dead, and an enemy of the white people ruled the dusky nation. 4 They had watched the increasing strength of the English, with alarm. The white people were now four thousand in number, and rapidly increasing. The Indians read their des- tiny annihilation upon the face of every new comer ; and, prompted by the first great law of his nature, self-preservation, the red man resolved to strike a blow for life. A conspiracy was accordingly formed, in the spring of 1622, to exterminate the white people. At mid-day, on the 1st of April, the hatchet fell upon all of the more remote settlements ; and within an hour, three hun- dred and fifty men, women, and children, were slain. 5 Jamestown 6 and neigh- boring plantations were saved by the timely warning of a converted Indian. 7 The people were on their guard and escaped. Those far away in the forests defended themselves bravely, and when they had beaten back the foe, they fled to Jamestown. Within a few days, eighty plantations were reduced to eight. The people, thus concentrated at Jamestown by a terrible necessity, pre- pared for vengeance. A vindictive war ensued, and a terrible blow of retalia- tion was given. The Indians upon the James and York Rivers were slaughtered by scores, or were driven far back into the wilderness. Yet a blight was upon the colony. Sickness and famine followed close upon the massacre. Within three months, the colony of four thousand souls was reduced to twenty-five hundred ; and at the beginning of 1624, of the nine thousand persons who had been sent to Virginia from England, only eighteen hundred remained. These disheartening events, and the selfish action of the king, discouraged the London Company. 8 The holders of the stock had now become very numer- ous, and their meetings, composed of men of all respectable classes, assumed a 1 This was the beginning of the Virginia House of Burgesses, of which we shall often speak in future chapters. a The Powhatans. See page 20. 3 Page 70. 4 Powhatan died in 1618, and was succeeded in office by his younger brother, Opechancan- ough [see page 66]. This chief hated the English. He was the one who made Captain Smith a prisoner. * Opechancanough was wily and exceedingly treacherous. Only a few days before the mas- sacre, he declared that "sooner the skies would fall than his friendship with the English would be dissolved." Even on the day of the massacre, the Indians entered the houses of the planters with usual tokens of friendship. 8 Page 64. T This was Chanco, who was informed of the bloody design the evening previous. He desired to save a white friend in Jamestown, and gave him the information. It was too late to send word to the more remote settlements. Among those who fell on this occasion, were six members of the council, and several of the wealthiest inhabitants. 8 Page 64. 1688.] VIRGINIA. 107 political character, in which two distinct parties were represented, namely, the advocates of liberty, and the supporters of the royal prerogatives. The king was offended by the freedom of debates at these meetings, and regarded them as inimical to royalty, and dangerous to the stability of his throne. 1 He deter- mined to regain what he had lost by granting the liberal third charter 11 to the company. He endeavored first to control the elections. Failing in this, he sought a pretense for dissolving the Company. A commission was appointed in May, 1623, to inquire into their affairs. It was composed of the king's pliant instruments, who, having reported in favor of a dissolution of the Com- pany, an equally pliant judiciary accomplished his designs in October following, and a quo warrant^ was issued. The Company made but little opposition, for the settlement of Virginia had been an unprofitable speculation from the be- ginning ; and in July, 1624, the patents were cancelled. 4 Virginia became a royal province again, 5 but no material change was made in the domestic affairs of the colonists. King James, with his usual egotism, boasted of the beneficent results to the colonists which would flow from this usurpation, by which they were placed under his special care. He appointed Yeardley, 8 with twelve councillors, to administer the government, but wisely refrained from interfering with the House of Burgesses. 7 The king lived but a few months longer, and at his death, which occurred on the 6th of April, 1625, he was succeeded by his son, Charles the First. That monarch was as selfish as he was weak. He sought to promote the welfare of the Virginia planters, because he also sought to reap the profits of a monopoly, by becoming himself their sole factor in the manage- ment of their exports. He also allowed them political privileges, not because he wished to benefit his subjects, but because he had learned to respect the power of those far-off colonists; and he sought their sanction for his commercial agency. 8 Governor Yeardley died in November, 1627, and was succeeded, two years later [1629], by Sir John Harvey, a haughty and unpopular royalist. He was a member of the commission appointed by James ; and the colonists so despised him, that they refused the coveted monopoly to the king. After many and violent disputes about land titles, the Virginians deposed him [1635] and appointed commissioners to proceed to England, with an impeachment. Harvey accompanied the commission. The king refused to hear complaints against the 1 These meetings were quite frequent : and so important w^re the members, in political affairs, that they could influence the elections of members of Parliament. In 1623, the accomplished Nicholas Ferrar, an active opponent of the court party, was elected to Parliament, by the influence of the London Company. This fact, doubtless, caused the king to dissolve the Company that year. 1 Page 70. 3 A writ of quo warranto is issued to compel a person or corporation to appear before the king, and show by what authority certain privileges are held. 4 The Company had expended almost $700,000 in establishing the colony, and this great sum was almost a dead loss to the stockholders. 6 Page 63. 6 Page 70. T Note 1, page 106. 8 In June, 1628, the king, in a letter to the governor and council, asked them to convene an assembly to consider his proposal to contract for the whole crop of tobacco. He thus tacitly acknowledged the legality of the republican assembly of Virginia, hitherto not sanctioned, but only permitted. 108 THE COLONIES. [1619. accused, and he was sent back clothed with full powers to administer the gov- ernment, independent of the people. He ruled almost four years longer, and was succeeded, in November, 1639, by Sir Francis Wyatt, who administered gov- ernment well for about two years, when he was succeeded [1641] by Sir William Berkeley, 1 an able and elegant courtier. For ten years Berkeley ruled with vigor, and the colony prospered wonderfully. 2 But, as in later years, commo- tions in Europe now disturbed the American settlements. The democratic revolution in England, 3 which brought Charles the First to the block, and placed Oliver Cromwell in power, now [1642] began, and religious sects in England and America assumed political importance. Puritans 4 had hitherto been tolerated in Virginia, but now the Throne and the Church were united in interest, and the Virginians Jbeing loyal to both, it was decreed that no minister should preach except in conformity to the constitution of the Church of En- gland. 6 Many non-conformists 6 were banished from the colony. This was a dark cloud upon the otherwise clear skies of Virginia; but a darker cloud was gathering. The Indians were again incited to hostilities by the restless and vengeful Opechancanough, 7 and a terrible storm burst upon the English, in April, 1644. For two years a bloody border warfare was carried on. The king of the Powhatans 8 was finally made captive, and died while in prison at Jamestown, and his people were thoroughly subdued. The power of the con- federation was completely broken, and after ceding large tracts of land 'to the English, the chiefs acknowledged allegiance to the authorities of Virginia, and so the political life of the Powhatans passed away forever.' During the civil war in England [1641 1649], the Virginians remained loyal ; and when republican government was proclaimed, they boldly recognized the son of the late king, although in exile, as their sovereign. 10 The republican parliament was highly incensed, and took immediate measures to coerce Vir- ginia into submission to its authority. For that purpose Sir George Ayscue was sent with a powerful fleet, bearing commissioners of parliament, as repre- sentatives of the sovereignty of the commonwealth, and anchored in Hampton Roads in March, 1652. 1 "William Berkeley was born near London ; was educated at Oxford ; became, by travel aud education, a polished gentleman; was governor of Virginia almost 40 years, and died in July, 1677. 8 In 1648, the number of colonists was 20,000. " The cottages were filled with children, as the ports were with ships and immigrants." 3 For a long time the exactions of the king fostered a bitter feeling toward him, in the hearts of the people. In 1641 they took up arms against their sovereign. One of the chief leaders of the popular party was Oliver Cromwell. The war continued until 1649, when the royalists were sub- dued, and the king was beheaded. Parliament assumed all the functions of government, and ruled until 1653, when Cromwell, the insurgent leader, dissolved that body, and was proclaimed supreme ruler, with the title of Protector of the Commonwealth of England. Cromwell was a son of a wealthy brewer of Huntingdon, England, where he was born in 1599. He died in September, 1658. 4 Page 75. B Page 75. 6 Note 2, page 76. 7 Note 5, page 106. 8 Page 20. 9 They relinquished all claim to the beautiful country between the York and James Rivers, frorar the Falls of the latter, at Richmond, to the 'sea, forever. It was a legacy of a dying nation to their conquerors. After that, their utter destruction was swift and thorough. 10 Afterward the profligate Charles the Second. His mother was sister to the French king, and to that court she fled, with her children. It was a sad day for the moral character of England when Charles was enthroned. He was less bigoted, but more licentious than any of the Stuarts who governed Great Britain for more than eighty years. 1688.] VIRGINIA. 109 The Virginians had resolved to submit rather than fight, yet they made a show of resistance. They declared their willingness to compromise with the invaders, to which the commissioners, surprised and intimidated by the bold attitude of the colonists, readily consented. Instead of opening their cannons upon the Virginians, they courteously proposed to them submission to the authority of parliament upon terms quite satisfactory to the colonists. Liberal political concessions to the people were secured, and they were allowed nearly all those civil rights which the Declaration of Independence, 1 a century and a quarter later, charged George the Third with violating. Virginia was, virtually, an independent State, until Charles the Second was restored to the throne of his father [May 29, 1660], for Cromwell made no appointments except that of governor. In the same year [1652] when the par- liamentary commissioners came, the people had elected Richard Bennet to fill Berkeley's place. He was succeeded by Edward Digges, and in 1656, Crom- well appointed Samuel Mathews governor. On the death of the Protector [1658], the Virginians were not disposed to acknowledge the authority of his son Richard," and they elected Mathews their chief magistrate, as a token of their independence. Universal suffrage prevailed ; all freemen, without excep- tion, were allowed to vote ; and white servants, when their terms of bondage ended, had the same privilege, and might become burgesses. But a serious change came to the Virginians, after the restoration of Charles the Second. When intelligence of that event reachod Virginia, Berkeley, whom the people had elected governor in 1660, repudiated the popular sover- eignty, and proclaimed the exiled monarch ' ' King of England, Scotland, Ire- land, and Virginia." This happened before he was proclaimed in England.* The Virginia republicans were offended, but being in the minority, could do nothing. A new Assembly was elected and convened, and high hopes of favor from the monarch were entertained by the court party. But these Avere speed- ily blasted, and in place of great privileges, came commercial restrictions to cripple the industry of the colony. The navigation act of 1651 was re-enacted in 1660, and its provisions were rigorously enforced. 4 The people murmured, 1 See Supplement 4 Cromwell appointed his son Richard to succed him in office. Lacking the vigor and ambition' of his father, he gladly resigned the troublesome legacy into the hands of the people, and, a little- more than a year afterward, Charles the Second was enthroned. " When informed that Parliament was about to send a fleet to bring them to submission, the Virginians sent a message to Charles, then in Flanders, inviting him to come over and be king of Virginia. He had resolved to come, when matters took a turn in England favorable to his restora- tion. In gratitude to the colonists, he caused the arms of Virginia to be quartered with those of England, Scotland, and Ireland, as an independent member of the empire. From this circumstance Virginia received the name of The Old Dominion. Coins, with these quarterings, were made aa . late as 1773. 4 The first Navigation Act, by the Republican Parliament, prohibited foreign vessels trading to the English colonies. This was partly to punish the sugar-producing islands of the West Indies, because the people were chiefly loyalists. The act of 1660 provided that no goods should be carried to or from any English colonies, but in vessels built within the English dominions, whose masters and at least three fourths of the crews were Englishmen ; and that sugar, tobacco, and other colonial commodities should be imported into no part of Europe, except England and her dominions. The trade between the colonies, now struggling for prosperous life, was also taxed for the benefit of England. HO THE COLONIES. [1619. but in vain. The profligate monarch, who seems never to have had a clear perception of right and wrong, but was governed by caprice and passion, gave away, to his special favorites, large tracts of the finest portions of the Virginia soil, some of it already well cultivated. 1 Week after week, and month after month, the Royalist party continued to show more and more of the foul hand of despotism. The pliant Assembly abridged the liberties of the people. Although elected for only two years, the members assumed to themselves the right of holding office indefinitely, and the repre- sentative system was thus virtually abolished. The doctrines and rituals of the Church of England having been made the religion of the State, intolerance began to grow. Baptists and Quakers 2 were compelled to pay heavy fines. The salaries of the royal officers being paid from duties upon exported tobacco, these officials were made independent of the people. 3 Oppressive and unequal taxes were levied, and the idle aristocracy formed a distinct and ruling class. The "common people" the men of toil and substantial worth formed a republican party, and rebellious murmurs were heard on every side. They desired a sufficient reason for strengthening their power, and it soon appeared. The menaces of the Susquehannah Indians, 4 a fierce tribe of Lower Pennsylva- nia, gave the people a plausible pretense for arming during the summer of 1675. The Indians had been driven from their hunting-grounds at the head of the Chesapeake Bay by the Senecas, 6 and coming down the Potomac, they made war upon the Maryland settlements.' They finally committed murders upon Virginia soil, and retaliation 7 caused the breaking out of a fierce border war. The inhabitants, exasperated and alarmed, called loudly upon Governor Berkeley to take immediate and energetic measures for the defense of the col- ony. His slow and indecisive movements were very unsatisfactory, and loud murmurs were heard on every side. At length Nathaniel Bacon, 8 an energetic and highly esteemed republican, acting in behalf of his party, demanded per- mission for the people to arm and protect themselves. 9 Berkeley's sagacity perceived the danger of allowing discontented men to have arms, and he refused. The Indians came nearer and nearer, until laborers on Bacon's plantation, near Richmond, were murdered. That leader then yielded to the popular will, and placed himself at the head of four or five hundred men, to drive back the enemy. Berkeley, jealous of Bacon's popularity, proclaimed him a traitor 1 In 1673, the king gave to Lord Culpepper and the Earl of Arlington, two of his profligate favorites, "all the dominion of land and water called Virginia," for the term of thirty years. * Note 7, page 94. s One of the charges made against the King of England in the Declaration of Independence, more than a hundred years later, was that he had " made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries." 4 Page 17. 6 Page 23. , e Page 82. 7 John Washington, an ancestor of the commander-in-chief of the American armies a century later, commanded some troops against an Indian fort on the Potomac. Some chiefs, who were sent to his camp to treat for peace, were treacherously slain, and this excited the fierce resentment of the Susquehanuahs. 8 He was born in England, was educated a lawyer, and in Virginia was a member of the coun- cil. He was about thirty years of age at that time. 9 King Philip's war was then raging in Massachusetts, and the white people, everywhere, were alarmed. See page 124. 1688.] VIRGINIA. HI [May, 1676J, and sent troops to arrest him. Some of his more timid followers returned, but sterner patriots adhered to his fortunes. The people generally sympathized with him, and in the lower counties they arose in open rebellion. Berkeley was obliged to recall his troops to suppress the insurrection, and in the mean while Bacon drove the Indians 1 back toward the Rappahannock. He was soon after elected a burgess," but on approaching Jamestown, to take his seat in the Assembly, he was arrested. For fear of the people, who made hos- tile demonstrations, the governor soon pardoned him and all his followers, and hypocritically professed a personal regard for the bold republican leader. Popular opinion had now manifestly become a power in Virginia ; and the pressure of that opinion compelled Berkeley to yield at all points. The long aristocratic Assembly was dissolved ; many abuses were corrected, and all the privileges formerly enjoyed by the people were restored. 8 Fearing treachery in the capital, Bacon withdrew to the Middle Plantation, 4 where he was joined by three or four hundred armed men from the upper counties, and was pro- claimed commander-in-chief of the Virginia troops. The governor regarded the movement as rebellious, and refused to sign Bacon's commission. The patriot marched to Jamestown, and demanded it without delay. The frightened governor speedily complied [July 4, 1676], and, concealing his anger, he also, on compul- sion, signed a letter to the king, highly commending the acts and motives of the "traitor." This was exactly one hundred years, to a day, before the English colonies in America declared themselves free and independent, the logic of which the King of Great Britain was compelled, reluctantly, to acknowledge, a few years later. The Virginia Assembly was as pliant before the successful leader as the governor, and gave him the commission of a general of a thousand men. On receiving it, Bacon marched against the Pamunkey Indians. 6 When he had gone, Berkeley, faithless to his professions, crossed the York River, and at Gloucester summoned a convention of royalists. All the proceedings of the Republican Assembly were reversed, and, contrary to the advice of his friends, the governor again proclaimed Bacon a traitor, on the 29th of July. The indignation of the patriot leader was fiercely kindled, and, marching back to Jamestown, he lighted up a civil war. The property of royalists was confis- cated, their wives were seized as hostages, and their plantations were desolated. Berkeley fled to the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. Bacon proclaimed his abdication, and, dismissing the republican troops, called an Assembly in his own name, and was about to cast off all allegiance to the English Crown, when 1 Page 40. * The chief leaders of the republican party at the capital, were William Drummond, who had been governor of North Carolina [page 97], and Colonel Richard Lawrence. s This event was the planting of one of the most vigorous and fruitful germs of American nationality. It was the first bending of power to the boldly-expressed will of the people. 4 Williamsburg, four miles from Jamestown, and midway between the York and James Rivers, was then called the Middle Plantation. After the accession of William and Mary [seepage 113], a town was laid out in the form of the ciphers WM., and was named Williamsbutg. Governor Nicholson made it the capital of the province in 1698. 6 This was a small tribe on the Pamunkey River, one of the chief tributaries of the York River. THE COLONIES. [1619. intelligence was received of the arrival of imperial troops to quell the rebellion. 1 Great was the joy of the governor, when informed of the arrival of the hoped- for succor, for his danger was imminent. With some royalists and English sailors under Major Robert Beverley, he now [Sept. 7] returned to Jamestown. Bacon collected hastily his troops, and drove the governor and his friends down the James River. Informed that a large body of royalists and imperial troops were approaching, the republicans, unable to maintain their position at James- town, applied the torch [Sept. 30] just as the night shadows came over the village." When the sun arose on the following morning, the first town built by Englishmen in America, 3 was a heap of smoking ruins. Nothing remained standing but a few chimneys, and that old church tower, which now attracts the eye and heart of the voyager upon the bosom of the James River. This work accomplished, Bacon pressed forward with his little army toward the York, determined to drive the royalists from Virginia. CHURCH TOWER. But ne was smitten by a deadlier foe than armed men. The malaria of the marshes at Jamestown had poisoned his veins, and he died [Oct. 11, 1676] of malignant fever, on the north bank of the York. There was no man to receive the mantle of his ability and influ- ence, and his departure was a death-blow to the cause he had espoused. His friends and followers made but feeble resistance, and before the first of Novem- ber, Berkeley returned to the Middle Plantation 4 in triumph. The dangers and vexations to which the governor had been exposed during these commotions, rendered the haughty temper of the baron irascible, and he signalized his restoration to power by acts of Avanton cruelty. Twenty-two of the insurgent leaders had been hanged, 5 when the more merciful Assembly im- plored him to shed no more blood. But he continued fines, imprisonments, and confiscations, and ruled with an iron hand and a stony heart until recalled by the king in April, 1677, who had become disgusted with his cruel conduct. 6 There was no printing press in Virginia to record current history, 7 and for a f 1 This was an error. The fleet sent with troops to quell the insurrection, did not arrive until April the following year, when all was over. Colonel Jeffreys, the successor of Berkeley, came with the fleet. a Besides the church and court-house, Jamestown contained sixteen or eighteen houses, built of brick, and quite commodious, and a large number of humble log cabins. 8 The church, of which the brick tower alone remains, was built about 1620. It was probably the third church erected in Jamestown. The ruin is now [1856] a few rods from the encroaching bank of the river, and is about thirty feet in height. The engraving is a correct representation of its present appearance. In the grave-yard adjoining are fragments of several monuments. 4 Note 4, page 111. 6 The first man executed was Colonel Hansford. He has been justly termed the first martyr in the cause of liberty in America. Drummond and Lawrence were also executed. They were con- sidered ringleaders and the prime instigators of the rebellion. 8 Charles said, "The old fool has taken more lives in that naked country than I have taken for the murder of my father." 7 Berkeley was an enemy to popular enlightenment. He said to commissioners sent from En- gland in 1671, "Thank God there are no free schools nor printing press; and I hope we shall not have these hundred years ; for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has divulged these, and libels against the best government." Despots are always afraid of the printing press, for it is the most destructive foe of tyranny. 1688.] VIRGINIA. H3 hundred years the narratives of the royalists gave hue to the whole affair. Bacon was always regarded as a traitor, and the effort to establish a free gov- ernment is known in history as BACON'S REBELLION. Such, also, would have been the verdict of history, had Washington and his compatriots been unsuc- cessful. Too often success is accounted a virtue, but failure, a crime. Long years elapsed before the effects of these civil commotions were effaced. The people were borne down by the petty tyranny of royal rulers, yet the prin- ciples of Republicanism grew apace. The popular Assembly became winnowed of its aristocratic elements ; and, notwithstanding royal troops were quar- tered in Virginia, 1 to overawe the people, the burgesses were always firm in the maintenance of popular rights." In reply to Governor Jeffreys, when he ap- pealed to the authority of the Great Seal of England, in defense of his arbitrary act in seizing the books and papers of the Assembly, the burgesses said, " that such a breach of privilege could not be commanded under the Great Seal, be- cause they could not find that any king of England had ever done so in former times." The king commanded the governor to " signify his majesty's indigna- tion at language so seditious ;" but the burgesses were as indifferent to royal frowns as they were to the governor's menaces. A libertine from the purlieus of the licentious court now came to rule the liberty-loving Virginians. It was Lord Culpepper, who, under the grant of 1673, 3 had been appointed governor for life in 1677. He arrived in 1680. His profligacy and rapacity disgusted the people. Discontents ripened into insur- rections, and the blood of patriots again flowed. 4 At length the king himself became incensed against Culpepper, revoked his grant' in 1684, and deprived him of office. Effingham, his successor, was equally rapacious, and the people were on the eve of a general rebellion, when king Charles died, and his brother James 6 was proclaimed [Feb. 1685] his successor, with the title of James the Second. The people hoped for benefit by the change of rulers, but their bur- dens were increased. Again the wave of rebellion was rising high, when the revolution of 1688 placed William of Orange and his wife Mary upon the- throne. 7 Then a real change for the better took place. The detested and detestable Stuarts were forever driven from the seat of power in Great Britain. That event, wrought out by the people, infused a conservative principle into, the workings of the English constitution. The popular will, expressed by Par- 1 These troops were under the command of a wise veteran, Sir Henry Chieheley, who managed with prudence. They proved a source of much discontent, because their subsistence was drawn from the planters For the same cause, disturbances occurred in New York ninety years afterward. See page 218. a Page 71. * Note 1, page 110. 4 By the king's order, Culpepper caused several of the insurgents, who were men of influence, to be hanged, and a " reign of terror," miscalled tranquillity, followed. * Arlington [note 1, page 110] had already disposed of his interest in the grant to Culpepper. ' James, Duke of York, to whom Charles gave the New Netherlands in 1664 See page 144. 7 James the Second, by his bigotry (he was a Roman Catholic), tyranny, and oppression, ren- dered himself hateful to his subjects. William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, who had married Mary, a Protestant daughter of James, and his eldest child, was invited by the incensed people to come to the English throne. He came with Dutch troops, and landed at Torbay on the 5th of November, 1688. James was deserted by his soldiers, and he and his family sought safety in flight William and Mary were proclaimed joint monarcha of England on the 13th of February, 1689. This act consummated that revolution which Voltaire styled " the era of English liberty." 8 114 THE COLONIES. [1620. liament, became potential ; and the personal character, or caprices of the mon- arch, had comparatively little influence upon legislation. The potency of the National Assembly was extended to similar colonial organizations. The powers of governors were denned, and the rights of the people were understood. Bad men often exercised authority in the colonies, but it was in subordination to the English Constitution ; and, notwithstanding commercial restrictions bore heav- ily upon the enterprise of the colonies, the diffusion of just political ideas, and the growth of free institutions in America, were rapid and healthful. From the revolution of 1688, down to the commencement of the French and Indian war, the history of Virginia is the history of the steady, quiet prog- ress of an industrious people, and presents no prominent events of interest to the general reader. 1 CHAPTER II. MASSACHUSETTS. [1620.] "WELCOME, Englishmen! welcome, Englishmen!" were the first words which the Pilgrim Fathers' 1 heard from the lips of a son of the American forest. It was the voice of Samoset, a Wampanoag chief, who had learned a few English words of fishermen at Penobscot. His brethren had hovered around the little community of sufferers at New Plymouth 3 for a hundred days, when he boldly approached [March 26, 1621], and gave the friendly saluta- tion. He told them to possess the land, for the occupants had nearly all been swept away by a pestilence. The Pilgrims thanked God for thus making their seat more secure, for they feared the hostility of the Aborigines. When- Sam- oset again appeared, he was accompanied by Squanto, 4 a chief who had recently returned from captivity in Spain ; and they told the white people about Mas- sasoit, the grand sachem of the Wampanoags, then residing at Mount Hope. An interview was planned. The old sachem came with barbaric pomp, 5 and he and Governor Carver 8 smoked the calumet 7 together. A preliminary treaty of friendship and alliance was formed [April 1, 1621], which remained unbroken 1 The population at that time was about 50,000, of whom one half were slaves. The tobacco trade had become very important, the exports to England and Ireland being about 30,000 hogs- heads that year. Almost a hundred vessels annually came from those countries to Virginia for tobacco. A powerful militia of almost 9,000 men was organized, and they no longer feared their dusky neighbors. The militia became expert in the us of fire-arms in the woods, and back to this period the Virginia rifleman may look for the foundation of his fame as a marksman. The province contained twenty-two counties, and forty-eight parishes, with a church and a clergyman in each, and a great deal of glebe land. But there was no printing press nor book-store hi the colony. A press was first established in Virginia in 1729. 9 Page 77. ' Page 78. 4 Page 74. * Massasoit approached, with a guard of sixty warriors, and took post upon a neighboring hill. There he sat in state, and received Edward Winslow as embassador from the English. Leaving "Winslow with his warriors as security for his own safety, the sachem went into New Plymouth and treated with Governor Carver. Note 5, page 14. 6 Page 78. T Page 14. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 115 for fifty years. 1 Massasoit rejoiced at liis good fortune, for Canonicus, the head of the powerful Narragansetts, 8 was his enemy, and he needed strength. Three days after the interview with the Wampanoag sachem [April 3], Governor Carver suddenly died. William Bradford," the earliest historian of the colony, was appointed his successor. He was a wise and prudent man, and for thirty years he managed the public affairs of the colony with great sagacity. He was a man just fitted for such a station, and he fostered the colony with parental care. The settlers endured great trials during the first four years of their sojourn. They were barely saved from starvation in the autumn of 1621, by a scanty crop of Indian corn/ In November of that year, thirty-five im- migrants (some of them their weak brethren of the Speediceliy joined them, and increased their destitution. The winter was severe, and produced great suffer- ing ; and the colonists were kept in continual fear by the menaces of Canonicus, the great chief of the Narragansetts, who regarded the English as intruders. Bradford acted wisely with the chief, and soon made him sue for peace.' The power, but not the hatred, of the wily Indian was subdued, yet he was com- pelled to be a passive friend of the English. Sixty-three more immigrants arrived at Plymouth in July, 1622. They had been sent by Weston, a wealthy, dissatisfied member of the Plymouth Com- pany, 7 to plant a new colony. Many of them were idle and dissolute ;* and after living upon the slender means of the Plymouth people for several weeks, they went to Wissagusset (now Weymouth), to commence a settlement. Their improvidence produced a famine ; and they exasperated the Indians by begging and stealing supplies for their wants. A plot was devised by the savages for their destruction, but through the agency of Massasoit, 9 it was revealed [March, 1623] to the Plymouth people'; and Captain Miles Standish, with eight men, hastened to Wissagusset in time to avert the blow. A chief and several war- riors were killed in a battle ; 10 and so terrified were the surrounding tribes by 1 Page 124. a Page 22. 8 William Bradford was born at Ansterfield, in the north of England, in 1588. He followed Robinson to Holland ; came to America in the Mayflower [see page 77] ; and was annually elected governor of the colony from 1621 until his death in 1657. * While Captain Miles Standish and others were seeking a place to land [see page 78], they found some maize, or Indian corn, in one of the deserted huts of the savages. Afterward, Samoset and others taught them how to cultivate the grain (then unknown in Europe), and this supply serv- ing for seed, providentially saved them from starvation. The grain now first received the name of Indian corn. Early in September [1621], an exploring party, under Standish, coasted northward to Shawmut, the site of Boston, where they found a few Indians. The place was delightful, and for a while, the Pilgrims thought of removing thither. 6 Page 77. 8 Canonicus dwelt upon Connanicut Island, opposite Newport. In token of his contempt and defiance of the English, he sent [Feb., 1622] a bundle of arrows, wrapped in a rattlesnake's skin, to Governor Bradford. The governor accepted the hostile challenge, and then returned the skin, filled with powder and shot. These substances were new to the savages. They regarded them with superstitious awe, as possessing some evil influence. They were sent from village to village, and excited general alarm. The pride of Canonicus was humbled, and he sued for peace. The example of Canonicus was followed by several chiefs, who were equally alarmed. T Page 63. 8 There was quite a number of indentured servants, and men of no character ; a population wholly unfit to found an independent State. * In gratitude for attentions and medicine during a severe illness, Massasoit revealed the plot to Edward Winslow a few days before the time appointed to strike the blow. 10 Standish carried the chiefs head in triumph to Plymouth. It was borne upon a pole, and was placed upon the palissades [note 1, page 127] of the little fort which had just been erected. The 116 THE COLONIES. [1620. the event, that several chiefs soon appeared at Plymouth to crave the friendship of the English. The settlement at Wissagusset was broken up, however, and most of the immigrants returned to England. Social perils soon menaced the stability of the colony. The partnership of merchants and colonists 1 was an unprofitable speculation for all. The commu- nity system" operated unfavorably upon the industry and thrift of the colony, and the merchants had few or no returns for their investments. Ill feelings were created by mutual criminations, and "the capitalists commenced a series of annoyances to force the workers into a dissolution of the league. 3 The partner- ship continued, however, during the prescribed term of seven years, and then [1627J the colonists purchased the interest of the London merchants for nine thousand dollars. Becoming sole proprietors of the soil, they divided the whole property equally, and to each man was assigned twenty acres of land in fee. New incentives to industry followed, and the blessings of plenty, even upon that unfruitful soil, rewarded them all. 4 At about the same time, the govern- ment of the colony became slightly changed. The only officers, at first, were a governor and an assistant. In 1624, five assistants were chosen ; and in 1630, a deputy -governor and eighteen assistants were chosen by the freemen. This broad democracy prevailed, both in Church and State, for almost fifteen years, when a representative government was instituted [1639], and a pastor was chosen as spiritual guide. 5 James the First died in the spring of 1625 ; and his son and successor, Charles the First, inherited his father's hatred of the Nonconformists. 6 Many of their ministers were silenced during the first years of his reign, and the un- easiness of the great body of Nonconformists daily increased. Already, White, a Puritan minister of Dorchester, in the west of England, had persuaded sev- eral influential men of that city to attempt the establishment of a new asylum for the oppressed, in America. They chose the rocky promontory of Cape Anne for the purpose [1624], intending to connect the settlement with the fish- ing business ; but the enterprise proved to be more expensive than profitable, good Robinson [page 77], when he heard of it, wrote, " Oh, how happy a thing it would have been, that you had converted some before you killed any." 1 Page 77. s Note 1, page 70. 8 The merchants refused Mr. Robinson a passage to America ; attempted to force a minister upon the colonists who was friendly to the Established Church ; and even sent vessels to interfere with the infant commerce of the settlers. 4 The colonists unsuccessfully tried the cultivation of tobacco. They raised enough grain and vegetables for their own consumption, and relied upon traffic in furs with the Indians, for obtaining the means of paying for cloths, implements, etc., procured from England. In 1627, they made the first step toward the establishment of the cod fishery, since become so important, by constructing a salt work, and curing some fish. In 1624, Edward Y^inslow imported three cows and a bull, and soon those invaluable animals became numerous in the colony. 6 The colonists considered Robinson (who was yet in Leyden), as their pastor; and religious exercises, in the way of prayer and exhortation, were conducted by Elder Brewster and others. On Sunday afternoons a question would be propounded, to which all had a right to speak. Even after they adopted the plan of having a pastor, the people were so democratic in religious matters, that a minister did not remain long at Plymouth. The doctrine of " private judgment" was put in full practice ; and the religious meetings were often the arena of intemperate debate and confusion. In 1629j thirty-five persons, the remainder of Robinson's congregation at Leyden, joined the Pil- grims at Plymouth, among whom was Robinson's family ; but the good man never saw New En- gland himself. * Note 2, page 76. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 117 and it was abandoned. A few years afterward, a company purchased a tract of land [March 29, 1628] defined as being " three miles north of any and every part of the Merrimac River," and "three miles south of any and every part of the Charles River," and westward to the Pacific Ocean. 1 In the summer of 1628, John Endi- cot, and a hundred emigrants came over, and at Naumkeag (now Salem) they laid the foundations of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. The proprietors received a charter from the king the following year [March 14, 1629J, and they were incorporated by the name of " The Governor and Com- pany of the Massachusetts Bay in New England* The colony at Salem increased rapidly, and soon began to spread. In July, 1629. "three godly ministers" (Skelton, Higginson, and Bright) came with FIBST COLONY SEAL. two hundred settlers, and a part of them laid the foundations of Charlestown, at Mishawam. A new stimulus Avas now given to emigration by salutary arrange- 1 Tliis was purchased from the Council of Plymouth. The chief men of the company were John Humphrey (brother-in-law to the earl of Lincoln), John Endicot, Sir Henry Roswell, Sir John Young, Thomas Southcote, Simon Whitcomb, John Winthrop, Thomas Dudley, Sir Richard Salton- stall, and others. Eminent men in New England afterward became interested in the enterprise. * The administration of affairs was intrusted to a governor, deputy, and eighteen assistants, who were to be elected annually by the stockholders of the corporation. A general assembly of the freemen of the colony was to be held at least four times a year, to legislate for the colony. The king claimed no jurisdiction, for he regarded the whole matter as a trading operation, not as the founding of an empire. The instrument conferred on the colonists all the rights of English subjects, and afterward became the text for many powerful discourses against the usurpation of royalty. 118 THE COLONIES. [1620. ments. On the 1st of September, the members of the company, at a meeting in Cambridge, England, signed an agreement to transfer the charter and govern- ment to the colonists. It was a wise and benevolent conclusion, for men of for- tune and intelligence immediately prepared to emigrate when such a democracy should be established. John Winthrop 1 and others, with about three hundred families, arrived at Salem in July [1630] following. Winthrop had been chosen governor before his departure, with Thomas Dudley for deputy, and a council of eighteen. The new immigrants located at, and named Dorchester, Roxbury, "VVatertown, and Cambridge ; and during the summer, the governor and some of the leading men, hearing of a spring of excellent water on the pen- insula of Shawmut, went there, erected a few cottages, and founded Boston, the future metropolis of New England. 2 The peninsula was composed of three hills, and for a long time it was called Tm-MouNTAiN. 3 As usual, the ravens of sickness and death followed these first settlers. Many of them, accustomed to ease and luxury in England, suffered much, and before December, two hundred were in their graves. 4 Yet the survivors were not disheartened, and during the winter of intense suffering which followed, they applied themselves diligently to the business of founding a State. In May, 1631, it was agreed at a general assembly of the people, that all the officers of government should thereafter be chosen by the freemen 8 of the colony ; and in 1634, the pure democracy was changed to a representative government, the second in America. 6 The colony flourished. Chiefs from the Indian tribes dined at Governor Winthrop's table, and made covenants of peace and friend- ship with the English. Winthrop journeyed on foot to exchange courtesies with Bradford at Plymouth, 7 a friendly salutation came from the Dutch in New Netherlands and a ship from Virginia, laden with corn [May, 1632], sailed into Boston harbor. A bright future was dawning. The character of the Puritans 9 who founded the colony of Massachusetts Bay, presents a strange problem to the scrutiny of the moral philosopher. Vic- tims of intolerance, they were themselves equally intolerant when clothed with power. 10 Their ideas of civil and religious freedom were narrow, and their prac- 1 He was born in England in 1558, and was one of the most active men in New England from 1630 until his death in 1649. His journal, giving an interesting account of the colony, has been published. a The whole company under Winthrop intended to join the settlers at Charlestown, but a pre- vailing sickness there, attributed to unwholesome water, caused them to locate elsewhere. The fine spring of water which gushed from one of the three lulls of Shawmut, was regarded with great favor. 3 From this is derived the word Fremont. * Among these was Higginson, Isaac Johnston (a principal leader in the enterprise, and the wealthiest of the founders of Boston), and his wife the "Lady Arabella," a daughter of the earl of Lincoln. She died at Salem, and her husband did not long survive her. 6 None were considered freemen unless they were members of some church within the colony. From the beginning, the closest intimacy existed between the Church and State in Massa- chusetts, and that intimacy gave rise to a great many disorders. This provision was repealed in 1665. 6 Page 71. T Page 115. 8 Page 72. 8 Page 75. 10 Sir Richard Saltonstall, who did not remain long in America, severely rebuked the people of Massachusetts, in a letter to the two Boston ministers, Wilson and Cotton. " It doth a little grieve my .spirit," he said, "to hear what sad things are reported daily of your tyranny and persecutions in New England, as that you fine, whip, and imprison men for their consciences." Thirty years later [1665], the king's commissioner at Picataqua, in a manuscript letter before me, addressed to 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 119 tical interpretation of the Golden Rule, was contrary to the intentions of HIM who uttered it. Yet they were honest and true men ; and out of their love of freedom, and jealousy of their inherent rights, grew their intolerance. They regarded Churchmen and Roman Catholics as their deadly enemies, to be kept at a distance. 1 A wise caution dictated this course. A consideration of the prevailing spirit of the age, when bigotry assumed the seat of justice, and super- stition was the counselor and guide of leading men, should cause us to "Be to their faults a little blind, And to their virtues, very kind." Roger Williams, himself a Puritan minister, and victim of persecution in England, was among those who first felt the power of Puritan intolerance. He was chosen minister at Salem, in 1634, and his more enlightened views, freely expressed, soon aroused the civil authorities against him. He denied the right of civil magistrates to control the consciences of the people, or to withhold their protection from any religious sect whatever. He denied the right of the king to require an oath of allegiance from the colonists ; and even contended that obedience to magistrates ought not to be enforced. He denounced the charter from the king as invalid, because he had given to the white people the lands of other owners, the Indians. 8 These doctrines, and others more theological, 3 he maintained with vehemence, and soon the colony became a scene of great com- motion on that account. He was remonstrated with by the elders, warned by the magistrates, and finally, refusing to cease what was deemed seditious preaching, he was banished [November, 1635] from the colony. In the dead of Avinter he departed [January, 1636] for the wilderness, and became the founder of Rhode Island. 4 Political events in England caused men who loved quiet to turn their thoughts more and more toward the New World; and the year 1635 was remarkable for an immense immigration to New England. During that year full three thousand new settlers came, among whom were men of wealth and influence. The most distinguished were Hugh Peters 5 (an eloquent preacher), the magistrates of Massachusetts, say, " It is possible that the charter which you so much idolize may be forfeited until you have cleared yourselves of those many injustices, oppressions, violences, and blood for which you are complained against." 1 Lyford, who was sent out to the Pilgrims, by the London partners, as their minister, was re- fused and expelled, because he- was friendly to the Church of England. John and Samuel Browne, residents at Salem, and members of Endicot's council, were arrested by that ruler, and sent to En- gland as " factious and evil-conditioned persons," because they insisted upon the use of the Liturgy, or printed forms of the English Church, in their worship. * See page 22. This was not strictly true, for, until King Philip's war [page 124], in 1675, not a foot of ground was occupied by the New England colonists, on any other score but that of fair purchase. 8 He maintained that an oath should not be tendered to an unconverted person, and that no Christian could lawfully pray with such an one, though it were a wife or child ! In the intem- perance of his zeal, "Williams often exhibited intolerance himself, and at this day would be called a bigot. Yet his tolerant teachings in general had a most salutary effect upon Puritan exclusiveness. 4 Page 89. 8 Peters afterward returned to England, was very active in public affairs during the civil war, and on the accession of Charles the Second, was found guilty of favoring the death of the king'* father, and was executed in October, 1660. 120 THE COLONIES. [1620. and Henry Vane, an enthusiastic young man of twenty-five. In 1636, Vane was elected governor, an event which indirectly proved disastrous to the peace of the colony. The banishment of Roger Williams had awakened bitter relig- ous dissensions, and the minds of the people were prepared to listen to any new teacher. As at Plymouth, so In the Massachusetts Bay colony, religious questions were debated at the stated meetings. 1 Women were not allowed to engage in these debates, and some deemed this an abridgment of their rights. Among these was Anne Hutchinson, an able and eloquent woman, who estab- lished meetings at her own house, for her sex, and there she promulgated peculiar views, which some of the magistrates and ministers pronounced sedi- tious and heretical. 2 These views were embraced by Governor Vane, several magistrates, and a majority of the leading men of Boston. 3 Winthrop and others opposed them, and in the midst of great excitement, a synod was called, the doctrines of Mrs. Hutchinson were condemned, and she and her family were first imprisoned in Boston, and then banished [August, 1637] from the colony.* Vane lost his popularity, and failing to be elected the fol- lowing year, he returned to England. 8 Some of Mrs. Hutchinson's followers left the colony, and established settlements in Rhode Island. 8 The great abatement of danger to be apprehended from the Indians, caused by the result of the Pequod war, 7 was favorable to the security of the colony, and it flourished amazingly. Persecution also gave it sustenance. The non- conformists in the mother country suffered more and more, and hundreds fled to New England. The church and the government became alarmed at the rapid growth of a colony, so opposed, in its feelings and laws, to the character of both. Efforts were put forth to stay the tide of emigration. As early as 1633, a proclamation for that purpose had been published, but not enforced ; and a fleet of eight vessels, bearing some of the purest patriots of the realm, was detained in the Thames [Feb. 1634], by order of the privy council. 8 Believing that the colonists "aimed not at new discipline, but at sovereignty," a demand was made for a surrender of the patent to the king. 9 The people were silent, 1 Note 5, page 116. 8 She taught that, as the Holy Spirit dwells in every believer, its revelations are superior to the teachings of men. It was the doctrine of " private judgment" in its fullest extent. She taught that every person had the right to judge of the soundness of a minister's teaching, and this was consid- ered "rebellion against the clergy." She taught the doctrine of Ekction, and averred that the elect saints were sure of their salvation, however vicious their lives might be. * Her brother, Rev. John Wheelwright, was an eloquent expounder of her views. The theo- logical question assumed a political phase, and for a long time influenced the public affairs of the colony. * Mrs. Hutchinson and her family took refuge within the Dutch domain, near the present village of New Rochelle, in New York There she and all her family, except a daughter, were murdered by the Indians. Note 2, page 141. ' Vane was a son of the Secretary of State of Charles the First. He was a republican during the civil war [note 3, page 108], and for this, Charles the Second had him beheaded in June, 1662. * Page 91. ' Page 87. * [Note 1, page 400.] It was asserted, and is believed, that Oliver Cromwell and John Hamp- den were among the passengers. There is no positive evidence that such was the fact. * The general patent for New England was surrendered by the Council of Plymouth, in June, 1635, without consulting the colonists. The inflexible courage of the latter prevented the evil that might have ensued by this faithless act of a company which had made extensive grants ; and they firmly held the charter given to them by the king. 1755.] - MASSACHUSETTS. 121 but firm. When a rumor reached them [September 18, 1634] that an arbitrary commission/ and a general governor was appointed for all the English colonies in America, the Massachusetts people, poor as they were, raised three thousand dollars to build fortifications for resistance. Even a quo warranto [April, 1638]" did not affect either their resolution or their condition. Strong in their integrity, they continued to strengthen their new State by fostering education, 1 the " cheap defense of nations," and by other wise appliances of vigorous efforts. The civil war 4 which speedily involved the church and the throne in disaster, withdrew the attention of the persecutors from the persecuted. The hope of better times at home checked immigration, and thereafter the colony received but small accessions to its population, from the mother country. The ties of interest and warmest sympathy united the struggling colonists of New England. Natives of the same country, the offspring of persecution alike exposed to the weapons of hostile Indians and the depredations of the Dutch and French,* and alike menaced with punishment by the parent govern- ment they were as one people. They were now [1643J more than twenty thousand in number, and fifty villages had been planted by them. The civil war in England" threatened a total subversion of the government, and the Puri- tans began to reflect on the establishment of an independent nation eastward of the Dutch dominions/ With this view, a union of the New England colonies was proposed in 1637, at the close of the Pequod war. It was favorably received by all, but the union was not consummated until 1643, when the colonies of Ply- mouth, 8 Massachusetts, 9 Connecticut and New Haven 10 confederated for mutual welfare. Rhode Island asked for admittance into the Union [1643], but was refused, 11 unless it would acknowledge the authority of Plymouth. Local juris- diction was jealously reserved by each colony, and the fatal doctrine of State Supremacy was thus early developed. It was a confederacy of States like our early Union. 12 The general affairs of the confederacy were managed by a board of commissioners, consisting of two church-members from each colony, who were to meet annually, or oftener if required. Their duty was to con- sider circumstances, and recommend measures for the general good. They had no executive power. Their propositions were considered and acted upon by the several colonies, each assuming an independent sovereignty. This confed- 1 The Archbishop of Canterbury and associates received full power to establish governments and laws over the American settlements ; to regulate religious matters ; inflict punishments, and even to revoke charters. a Note 3, page 107. * In 1636, the General Court at Boston appropriated two thousand dollars for the establishment of a college. In 1638, Rev. John Harvard bequeathed more than three thousand dollars to the institution which was then located at Cambridge, and it received the name of " Harvard College," now one of the first seminaries of learning in the United States. In 1647, a law was passed, requiring every township, which contained fifty householders, to have a school-house, and employ a teacher ; and each town containing one thousand freeholders to have a grammar-school 4 Note 3, page 108. * The Dutch of New Netherland [page 72], still claimed jurisdiction upon the Connecticut Biver, and the French settlers in Acadie, eastward of New England, were becoming troublesome to the Puritans. 8 Note 3, p. 108. 7 Page 72. e Page 78. Page 11*. 10 Page 89. " Page 91. 1S Page 267. 122 THE COLONIES. [1620. FIRST MONEY COINED IN TUB UNITED STATES. eracy remained unmolested more than forty years 1 [1643 1686], during which time the government of England was changed three times. The colony of Massachusetts Bay was always the leading one of New En- gland, and assumed to be a " perfect republic." After the Union, a legislative change took place. The representatives had hitherto held their sessions in the same room with the governor and council ; now they convened in a separate apartment ; and the distinct House of Representatives, or democratic branch of the legislature, still existing in our Federal and State Governments, was established in 1644. Unlike Virginia, 2 the colonists of New England sympa- thized with the English republicans, in their efforts to abolish royaky. Ardently attached to the Parliament, they found in Cromwell, 3 when he assumed supreme authority, a sincere friend and protector of their liberties. No longer annoyed by the frowns and menaces of royalty, the energies of the people were rapidly developed, and profitable commerce was created between Massachusetts and the West Indies. This trade brought bullion, or uncoined gold and silver, into the colony ; and in 1652, the authorities exercised a prerogative of in- dependent sovereignty, by establishing a mint, and coining silver money, 4 the first within the territory of the United States. During the same year, settlements in the present State of Maine, imitating the act of those of New Hampshire, 6 eleven years earlier [1641], came under the juris- diction of Massachusetts. And now an important element of trouble and perplexity was introduced. There arrived in Boston, in July, 1656, two zealous religious women, named Mary Fisher and Ann Austin, who were called Quakers. This was a sect recently evolved from the heaving masses of English society, claiming to be more rigid Puritans than all who had preceded them. Letters unfavorable to the sect had been received in the colony, and the two women were cast into prison, and confined for several weeks. 7 With eight others who arrived during 1 When James the Second came to the throne, the charters of all the colonies were taken away or suspended. "When local governments were re-established after the Revolution of 1688, there no longer existed a necessity for the Union, and the confederacy was dissolved. a Page 108. 3 Note 3, page 408. 4 In October, 1651, the general court or legislature of Massachusetts ordered silver coins of the values of threepence, sixpence, and a shilling sterling, to be made. The mint-master was allowed fifteen pence out of every twenty shillings, ibr his trouble. He made a large fortune by the busi- ness. From the circumstance that the effigy of a pine-tree was stamped on one side, these coins, now very rare, are called pine-tree money. The date [1652] was not altered for thirty years Mas- sachusetts was also the first to issue paper money in the shape of treasury notes. See page 132. 5 Page 80. 6 The founder of the sect was George Fox, who promulgated his peculiar tenets about 1650. He was a man of education and exalted purity of character, and soon, learned and influential men became his co-workers. They still maintain the highest character for morality and practical Chris- tianity. See note 7, page 94. 7 Their trunks were searched, and the religious books found in them were burned by the hang- man, on Boston Common. Suspected of being witches [note 7, page 132], their persons were examined in order to discover certain marks which would indicate their connection with the Evil One. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 123 the year, they were sent back to England. 1 Others came, and a special act against the Quakers was put in force [1657], but to no purpose. Opposition increased their zeal, and, as usual with enthusiasts, precisely because they were not wanted, they came. They suffered stripes, imprisonments, and general contempt ; and finally, in 1658, on the recommendation of the Federal Com- missioners, 3 Massachusetts, by a majority of one vote, banished them, on pain of death. The excuse pleaded in extenuation of this barbarous law was, that the Quakers preached doctrines dangerous to good government. 3 But the death penalty did not deter the exiles from returning ; and many others came because they courted the martyr's reward. Some were hanged, others were publicly whipped, and the prisons were soon filled with the persecuted sect. The sever- ity of the law finally caused a strong expression of public sentiment against it. The Quakers were regarded as time martyrs, and the people demanded of the magistrates a cessation of the bloody and barbarous punishments. The death penalty was abolished, in 1661 ; the fanaticism of the magistrates and the Quakers subsided, and a more Christian spirit of .toleration prevailed. No longer sufferers for opinion's sake, the Quakers turned their attention to the Indian tribes, and nobly seconded the efforts of Mahew and Eliot in the propa- gation of the gospel among the pagans of the forest. 4 On the restoration of monarchy in 1660, the judges who condemned Charles the First to the block, were outlawed. Two of them (William Goffe and Edward Whalley) fled to America, and were the first to announce at Boston the acces- sion of Charles the Second. Orders were sent to the colonial authorities for their arrest, and officers were dispatched from England for the same purpose. The colonists effectually concealed them, and for this act, and the general Sym- pathy manifested by New England for the republican party, the king resolved to show them no favor. They had been exempt from commercial restrictions during Cromwell's administration ; now these were revived, and the stringent provisions of a new Navigation Act 5 were rigorously enforced. The people vainly petitioned for relief; and finally, commissioners were sent [August, 1644] "to hear and determine all complaints that might exist in New England, and take such measures as they might deem expedient for settling the peace and security of the country on a solid foundation." " This was an unwise 1 Mary Fisher went all the way from London to Adrianople, to carry a divine message to the Sultan. She was regarded as insane ; and as the Moslems respect such people as special favorites of God, Mary Fisher was unharmed in the Sultan's dominions. a Page 121. 3 The Quakers denied all human authority, and regarded the power of magistrates as delegated tyranny. They preached purity of life, charity in its broadest sense, and denied the right of any man to control the opinions of another. Conscience, or "the light within," was considered a suf- ficient guide, and they deemed it their special mission to denounce "hireling ministers" and "per- secuting magistrates," in person. It was this offensive boldness which engendered the violent hatred toward the sect hi England and America. 4 John Eliot has been truly called the Apostle to the Indians. He began his labors soon after his arrival in America, and founded the first church among the savages, at Natic, in 1660, at which time there were ten towns of converted Indians in Massachusetts. Thirty-five years later, it waa estimated that there were not less than three thousand adult Christian Indians in the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket> alone. 6 Note 4, page 109. These were Colonel Richard Nicolls, Sir Robert Carr, George Cartwright and Richard Maver- ick. They came with a royal fleet, commanded by Colonel Nicolls, which had been sent to assert English authority over the possessions of the Dutch, in New Netherland. See page 144. 124 MASSACHUSETTS. [1620. movement on the part of the mother country. The colonists regarded the measure with indignation, not only as a violation of their charters, but as an . incipient step toward establishing a system of domination, destructive to their liberties. Massachusetts boldly protested against the exercise of the authority of the commissioners within her limits, but at the same time asserted her loyalty to the sovereign. The commissioners experienced the opposition of the other New England colonies, except Rhode Island. Their acts were generally disre- garded, and after producing a great deal of irritation, they were recalled in 1666. The people of Massachusetts, triumphant in their opposition to royal oppression, ever afterward took a front rank in the march toward complete freedom. The licentious king and his ministers were too much in love with voluptuous ease, to trouble themselves with far-off colonies ; and while Old England was suffering from bad government, and the puissance of the throne was lessening in the estimation of the nations, the colonies flourished in purity, peace, and strength, until Metacomet, the s'on of the good Massasoit, 1 kindled a most disastrous Indian war, known in history as KINQ PHILIP'S WAR. Massasoit kept his treaty with the Plymouth colony 3 faithfully while he lived. Metacomet, or Philip* resumed the covenants of friendship, and kept them inviolate for a dozen years. But as spreading settlements were reducing his domains acre by acre, breaking up his hunting grounds, diminish- ing his fisheries, and menacing his nation with servi- tude or annihilation, his patriotism was aroused, and he willingly listened to the hot young warriors of his tribe, who counseled a war of extermination against KING PHILIP. the English. At Mount Hope 4 the seat of the chief sachems of the Wampanoags, in the solitudes of the primeval forests, he planned, with consummate skill, an alliance of all the New England tribes, 5 against the European intruders. At this time, there were four hundred " praying Indians," as the converts to Christianity were called, firmly attached to the white people. One of them, named John Sassamon, who had been educated at Cambridge, and was a sort of secretary to Philip, after becoming acquainted with the plans of the sachem, 1 Page 114. 3 Page 114. 8 Massasoit had two sons, whom Governor Price named Alexander and Philip, in compliment to their bravery as warriors. Alexander died soon after the decease of his father ; and Philip became chief sachem of the "Wampanoags. 4 Mount Hope is a conical hill, 300 feet hi height, and situated on the west side of Mount Hope Bay, about two miles from Bristol, Rhode Island. It was called Pokanoket by the Indians. 6 The tribes which became involved in this war numbered, probably, about twenty-five thousand souls. Those along the coast of Massachusetts Bay, who had suffered terribly by a pestilence just before the PILGRIMS came [page 77], had materially increased in numbers ; and other tribes, besides the New England Indians proper [page 22], became parties to the conflict. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 125 revealed them to the authorities at Plymouth. For this he was slain by his countrymen, and three Wampanoags were convicted of his murder, on slender testimony, and hanged. The ire of the tribe was fiercely kindled, and they thirsted for vengeance. The cautious Philip was overruled by his fiery young men, and remembering the wrongs and humiliations he had personally received from the English, 1 he trampled upon solemn treaties, sent his women and chil- dren to the Narragansetts for protection, and kindled the flame of war. Mes- sengers were sent to other tribes, to arouse them to co-operation, and with all the power of Indian eloquence, Metacomet exhorted his followers to curse the white men, and swear eternal hostility to the pale faces. He said, in effect : " Away 1 away I I will not hear Of aught but death or vengeance now ; By the eternal skies I swear My knee shall never learn to bow ! I will not hear a word of peace, Nor clasp in friendly grasp a hand Linked to that pale-browed stranger race, That works the ruin of our land. ****** And till your last white foe shall kneel, And in his coward pangs expire, Sleep but to dream of brand and steel; "Wake but to deal in blood and fire!" Although fierce and determined when once aroused, no doubt Philip com- menced hostilities contrary to the teachings of his better judgment, for he was sagacious enough to foresee failure. " Frenzy prompted their rising. It was but the storm in which the ancient inhabitants of the land were to vanish away. They rose without hope, and therefore they fought without mercy. To them, as a nation, there was no to-morrow." The bold Philip struck the first blow at Swanzey, thirty-five miles south' west from Plymouth. The people were just returning from their houses of worship, for it was a day of fasting and humiliation [July 4, 1675], in antici- pation of hostilities. Many were slain and 'captured, and others fled to the surrounding settlements, and aroused the people. The men of Plymouth, joined by those of Boston and vicinity, pressed toward Mount Hope. Philip was besieged in a swamp for many days, but escaped with most of his warriors, and became a fugitive with the Nipmucs, 2 an interior tribe of Massachusetts. These espoused his cause, and with full fifteen hundred warriors, he hastened toward the white settlements in the far-off valley of the Connecticut. In thf mean while the little army of white people penetrated the country of the Narra' gansetts, 3 and extorted a treaty of friendship from Canonchet, 4 chief sachem of 1 In 1671, Philip and his tribe being suspected of secretly plotting the destruction of the En- glish, were deprived of then- fire-arms. He never forgot the injury, and long meditated revenge. a Page 22. s Page 22. 4 Son of Miantonomoh, whose residence was upon a hill a little north of the city of Newport, R. I. That hill still bears the name of Miantonomoh, abbreviated to " Tonomy Hill." Page 91. 126 THE COLONIES. [1G20. that powerful tribe. Hearing of this, Philip was dismayed for a moment. But there was no hope for him, except in energetic action, and he and his followers aroused other tribes, to a war of extermination, by the secret and efficient methods of treachery, ambush, and surprise. Men in the fields, families in their beds at midnight, and congregations in houses of worship, were attacked and massacred. The Indians hung like the scythe of death upon the borders of the English settlements, and for several months a gloomy apprehension of the extermination of the whole European population in New England, prevailed. 1 Dreadful were the scenes in the path of the Wampanoag chief. From Springfield northward to the present Vermont line, the valley of the Connecti- cut was a theater of confusion, desolation, and death, wherever white settle- ments existed. Almost the whole of a party of twenty Englishmen 8 sent to treat with the Nipmucs, were treacherously slain by the savages in ambush [Aug. 12, 1675], near Quaboag, now Brookfield. That place was set on fire, when a shower of rain put out the flames, and the Indians were driven away by a relief party of white people. 8 The village was partially saved, but imme- diately abandoned. Soon afterward a hot battle was fought near Deerfield 4 [Sept 5], and a week later [Sept. 12] that settlement also was laid in ashes. On the same day (it was the Sabbath), Hadley, further down the river, was attacked while the people were worshiping In the midst of the alarm and con- fusion, a tall and venerable-looking man, with white, flowing hair and beard, suddenly appeared, and brandishing a glittering sword, he placed himself at the head of the affrighted people, and led them to a charge which dispersed and defeated the foe. He as suddenly disappeared, and the inhabitants believed that an angel from heaven had been sent to their rescue. It was Goffe, the fugitive English judge, 5 who was then concealed in that settlement. The scourge, stayed for a moment at Hadley, swept mercilessly over other settlements. On the 23d of September, the paths of Northfield were wet with the blood of many valiant young men under Captain Beers ; and on the 28th, " a company of young men, the very flower of Essex," under Captain Lathrop, were butchered by almost a thousand Indians on the banks of a little stream near Deerfield, which still bears the name of Bloody Brook. Others, who came to their rescue, were engaged many hours in combat with the Indians until crowned with victory. Yet the Indians still prevailed. Philip, en- couraged by success, now resolved to attack Hatfield, the chief settlement of the 1 The white population in New England, at this time, has been estimated at fifty-five thousand. Haverhill, on the Merrimac, was the frontier town in the direction of Maine ; and Northfield, on the borders of Vermont, was the highest settlement in the Connecticut valley. "Westfield, one hundred miles west of Boston, was the most remote settlement in that direction. a Captains Wheeler and Hutchinson were sent from Boston to endeavor to reclaim the Nipmucs. Apprised of their coming, the Indians lay in ambush, and fired upon them from the deep thickets of a swamp. * Under Major Willard. The Indians set fire to every house except a strong one into which the people had secured themselves, and were besieged there two days. The Indians set fire to this last refuge, when rain extinguished the flames. 4 Between 180 white people and 700 Indians. [See, also, page 135.] 8 Page 123. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 127 white people above Springfield. The Springfield Indians joined him, 1 and with almost a thousand warriors, he fell upon the settlement, on the 29th of Octo- ber, 1675. The English were prepared for his reception, and he was repulsed with such loss, that, gathering his broken forces on the eastern bank of the Connecticut," he marched toward Rhode Island. The Narragansetts, in viola- tion of the recent treaty, 3 received him, became his allies, and went out upon the war path late in autumn. A terrible,, retributive blow soon fell upon the savages, when fifteen hundred men of Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecti- cut, marched to punish Canonchet and his tribe, for their perfidy. The snows of early winter had fallen, and at least three thousand Indians had collected in their chief fort in an immense swamp, 4 where they were supplied with provi- sions for the winter. It was a stormy day in December [Dec. 29], when the English stood before the feeble palissades of the savages. These offered but little opposition to the besiegers ; and within a few hours, five hundred wig- wams, with the winter provisions, were in flames. Hundreds of men, women, and children, perished in the fire. A thousand warriors were slain or wounded, and several hundreds were made prisoners. The English lost eighty killed, and one hundred and fifty wounded. Canonchet was made prisoner, and slain ; but Philip escaped, and with the remnant of the Narragansetts, he took refuge again with the Nipmucs. The fugitive Wampanoag was busy during the winter. He vainly solicited the Mohawks 5 to join him, but he was seconded by the tribes eastward of Mas- sachusetts, 6 who also had wrongs to redress. The work of desolation began early in the spring of 1676, and within a few weeks the war extended over a space of almost three hundred miles. Weymouth, Groton, Medfield, Lancas- ter, and Marlborough, in Massachusetts, were laid in ashes; Warwick and Providence, in Rhode Island, were burned ; and everywhere, the isolated dwell- ings of settlers were laid waste. But internal feuds weakened the power of the savages ; and both the Nipmucs 7 and the Narragansetts 3 charged their misfor- tunes to the ambition of Philip. The cords of alliance were severed. Some surrendered to avoid starvation ; other tribes wandered off and joined those in Canada ; 9 while Captain Benjamin Church, 10 the most famous of the partisan I They had been friendly until now. They plotted the entire destruction of the Springfield settlement; but the people defended themselves bravely within their palisaded houses. Many of the strong houses of frontier settlements were thus fortified. Trunks of trees, eight or ten inches hi diameter, were cut in uniform lengths, and stuck in the ground close together. The upper ends were sharpened, and the whole'were fastened together with green withes or other contrivances. II Page 82. * p a ge 125. PALISA'DED BUILDINGS. 4 This swamp is a small distance south-west of the village of Kingston, in Washington County, Ehode Island. The fort was on an island which contains about five acres of tillable land, in the north-west part of the swamp. The Stonington and Providence railway passes along the northern verge of the swamp. 5 Page 23. 6 Page 22. The tribes of Maine were then about four thousand strong. 7 Page 22. 8 Page 22. Page 22. Benjamin Church was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1639. He continued hostilities against the eastern Indians until 1704. He fell from his horse, and died soon afterward, at Little Compton, Jan. 17, 1718, aged 77 years. 128 THE COLONIES. [1620. officers of the English colonies, went out to hunt and to destroy the fugitives. During the year, between two and three thousand Indians were slain or had submitted. Philip was chased from one hiding-place to another, but for a long time he would not yield. He once cleft the head of a warrior who proposed submission. But at length, the " last of the Wampanoags" bowed to the press- ure of circumstances. He returned to the land of his fathers 1 [August, 1676], and soon his wife and son were made prisoners. This calamity crushed him, and he said, " Now my heart breaks ; I am ready to die. 1 ' A few days after- ward, a faithless Indian shot him, and Captain Church cut off the dead sachem'*, head. 9 His body was quartered ; and his little son was sold to be a bond-slave in Bermuda.* So perished the last of the princes of the "Wampanoags, and thus ended, in the total destruction of the power of the New England Indians, the famous KING PHILIP'S WAR." The terrible menaces of the Indian war, and the hourly alarm which it occasioned, did not make the English settlers unmindful of their political posi- 1 Note 4, page 124. a The rude sword, made by a blacksmith of the colony, with which Captain Church cut off Philip's head, is in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 3 The disposal of the boy was a subject of serious deliberation. Some of the elders proposed putting him to death ; others, professing more 'mercy, suggested selling him as a slave. The most profitable measure appeared the most merciful, and the child was sold into bondage. The head of Philip was carried in triumph to Plymouth, and placed upon a pole. 4 The result of this war was vastly beneficial to the colonists, for the fear of savages, which prevented a rapid spread of settlements, was removed. From this period may be dated the real, unimpeded growth of New England. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 129 tion, nor hopeless respecting the future. While the Massachusetts colony was yet weak in resources, from the effects of the war, 1 and the people were yet engaged in hostilities with the eastern tribes, 2 it made territorial accessions by purchase, and at the same time boldly asserted its chartered rights. For many years there had been a controversy between the heirs of Sir F. Gorges 3 and John Mason, and the Massachusetts colony, concerning a portion of the present territory of Maine and New Hampshire, which, by acts of the inhabitants, had been placed [1641 and 1652] under the jurisdiction of the authorities at Bos- ton. 4 The judicial decision [1677] was in favor of the heirs, and Massachu- setts immediately purchased [May 1, 1677] their interest for six thousand dol- lars. 5 New Hampshire was detached three years afterward [1680], and made a royal province - the first in New England ; but Maine, which was incorpo- rated with Massachusetts in 1692, continued a part of that commonwealth until 1820. i Now rapidly budded that governmental tyranny which finally drove all the American colonies into open rebellion. The profligate king continued to draw the lines of absolute rule closer and closer in England, and he both feared and hated the growing republics in America, especially those in the East. They W3re ostensibly loyal portions of his realm, but were really independent sover- eignties, continually reacting upon the mother country, to the damage of the " divine right" of kings. Charles had long cherished a desire to take their governments into his own hands, and he employed the occasion of the rejection: of Edward Randolph (a custom-house officer, who had been sent to Boston, [1679] to collect the revenues, and otherwise to exercise authority 6 ), to declare the Massachusetts charter void. He issued a quo warranto in 1683, 7 and pro- cured a decision in his favor in the High Court of Chancery, on the 28th of June, 1684, but he died on the 26th of February following, before his object , was effected. Charles's successor, James the Second, 8 continued the oppressive measures of his brother toward the New England colonies. The people petitioned and remonstrated, and were treated with contempt. Their hardships in conquering a wilderness, and their devotion to the English constitution, had no weight with the royal bigot. 9 He also declared the charter of Massachusetts forfeited, and appointed Joseph Dudley president of the country from Rhode Island to Nova Scotia. Sir Edmund Andros arrived at Boston soon afterward [Dec. 1 During the war, New England lost six hundred men ; a dozen towns were destroyed ; six hundred dwellings were burned ; every twentieth family was houseless; and every twentieth man, who had served as a soldier, had perished. The cost of the war equaled five hundred thousand dollars a very large sum at that time. 8 Page 22. s Page 79. * Page 80, and note 2, page 80. B The portion of Maine then purchased, was the tract between the Piscataqua and the Kenne bee. That between the Kennebec and the Penobscot belonged to the Duke of York, and the teni tory between the Penobscot and the St. Croix, was held by the French, pursuant to a treaty. 8 Randolph appears to have been a greedy adventurer, and was,. consequently, a faithful servant of his royal master in oppressing the colonists. He exaggerated tbe number and resources of the people of New England, and thus excited the king's fears and, cupidity. Previous to Randolph's appointment, the colonies had dispatched agents to England, te settle impending difficulties ami- cably. They failed, and Randolph came in the same vessel in, which, they returned. 7 Note 3, page 107. s Page 113.. Note 7, page 113. 9 130 THE COLONIES. [1620: 80, 1686], clothed with authority to govern all New England. He came with a smiling face, and deceitful lips. He appears to have been a tyrant by nature, and came to execute a despot's will. He soon made bare the rod of oppression, and began to rule with a tyrant's rigor. 1 The people were about to practice the doctrine that "resistance to tyrants is obedience to God,"* when intelli- gence reached Boston [April 14, 1689], that James was driven from the throne [1688] and was succeeded by William and Mary, of Orange. 3 The inhabitants of Boston seized and imprisoned Andros and fifty of his political associates [April 28, 1689], sent them to England under a just charge of mal- administration of public affairs, and re-established their constitutional govern- ment. Again republicanism was triumphant in Massachusetts. The effects of the revolution in England were also sorrowful to the Amer- ican colonies. That revolution became a cause of war between England and France. James (who was a Roman Catholic) fled to the court of Louis the Fourteenth, king of France, and that monarch espoused the cause of the fugi- tive. Hostilities between the two nations commenced the same year, and the quarrel extended to their respective colonies in America. The conflict then commenced, and which was continued more than seven years, is known in his- tory as KING WILLIAM'S WAR. The colonists suffered terribly in that contest. The French Jesuits, 4 who had acquired great influence over the eastern tribes," easily excited them to renew their fierce warfare with the English. They also made the savages their allies ; and all along the frontier settlements, the pathway of murder and des- olation was seen. Dover, a frontier town, was first attacked by a party of French and Indians, on the 7th of July, 1689, when the venerable Major Waldron 5 and twenty others of the little garrison were killed. Twenty-nine of the inhabitants were made captive, and sold as servants to the French in Canada. In August following, an Indian war party, instigated by Thury, a Jesuit, fell [August 12] upon an English stockade 7 at Pemaquid (built by Andros), and captured the garrison. A few months later, Frontenac sent a 1 Among other arbitrary acts, Andros laid restraints upon the freedom of the press, and mar- riage contracts; and, to use a modern term, he "levied black mail;" that is, extorted money, by menaces, whenever opportunity offered. He advanced the fees of all officers of the government to an exorbitant degree ; and finally threatened to make the Church of England the established relig- ion in all America a This was Cromwell's motto ; and Thomas Jefferson had it engraved upon his private seal. 3 Note 7, page 113. * This was a Roman Catholic religious order, founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spaniard, in 1539. They have ever been remarkable for their great devotion to their cause, their self-denial, and mas- terly sagacity in the acquirement and maintenance of power. Their missionaries preached Chris- tianity in every part of the habitable globe. They came with the first French adventurers to Amer- ica, and under their influence, whole tribes of Indians eastward of Massachusetts and in Canada were made nominal Christians. This was one of the ties which made the savages such faithful allies to the^French in the contests between them and the English, previous to ] 763. 6 Page 22. * Waldron was eighty years of age. He had played false with the New Hampshire Indiana during King Philip's war, and they now sought revenge. They tortured him to death. 7 Note 2, page 183. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 131 party of three hundred French and Indians from Montreal, to penetrate the country toward Albany. On a gloomy night in winter, when the snow was twenty inches in depth, they fell upon Schenectada [Feb. 18, 1690], a frontier town on the Mohawk, massacred many of the people, and burnt the village. Early in the spring, Salmon Falls [March 28], Casco [May 27], and other eastern villages, were attacked "by another party of the same mongrel foe, the natural ferocity of the Indians being quickened by the teachings of the Jesuits concerning the proper fate of heretics. 1 All the colonies were aroused, by these atrocities, to a sense of their danger in having such foes intent upon their destruction ; and the New England people resolved on speedy retaliation. In May, Massachusetts fitted out an expedi- tion, under Sir William Phipps, a native of Pemaquid, consisting of eight or nine vessels, with about eight hundred men. Phipps seized Port Royal, 2 in Acadie, and obtained sufficient plunder from the inhabitants to pay the expenses of the expedition. In June, Port Royal was again plundered by English pri- vateers from the West Indies. Encouraged by these successes, the colonies of New England and New York coalesced in efforts to conquer Canada. 3 It was arranged to send a land expedition from New York, by way of Lake Cham- plain, against Montreal, 4 and a naval expedition against Quebec. 5 The com- mand of the former was intrusted to the son of Governor Winthrop of Connect- icut,' and the expenses were borne jointly by that colony and New York. 7 Sir William Phipps commanded the latter, which Massachusetts alone fitted out. It consisted of thirty-four vessels, with two thousand men. Both were unsuc- cessful. Some of Winthrop's troops, with Indians of the FIVE NATIONS, 8 under Colonel Schuyler, pushed toward the St. Lawrence, and were repulsed [Aug., 1690] by Frontenac, the governor of Canada. The remainder did not go be- yond Wood Creek (now Whitehall), at the head of Lake Champlain, and all returned to Albany. 9 Phipps reached Quebec about the middle of October, and landed the troops ; but the city was too strongly fortified 10 to promise a successful siege, and he returned to Boston before the winter set in." Massa- I In these massacres, instigated by the Jesuits?, we may find a reason for the seeming intoler- ance of the Protestant majority in Maryland [page 152], the disabilities of Roman Catholics in Virginia, New York, and New England, and their exclusion from the privileges of freemen in tol- erant Rhode Island. The most potent operations of the Jesuits were in secret, and the colonists were compelled to regard every Roman Catholic as the natural enemy of Protestants, and as labor- ing to destroy every measure tending to human freedom. 4 Page 58. 3 Page 204. 4 Page 48. 8 Page 48. " Page 86. 7 Milborne, son-in-law of Jacob Leisler, the democratic governor of New York [page 148], un- dertook to provide subsistence for the army, which marched from Albany early in July. 8 Page 23. 9 Leisler was so much incensed at this failure, that he caused the arrest of Winthrop, at Albany. There had ever been a jealous rivalry between the people of New York and Connecticut ; and the feud which continually prevailed among the mixed troops, was the chief cause of the miscarriage of the enterprise. 10 Phipps, having no chart to guide him, was nine weeks cautiously making his way around Acadie and up the St Lawrence. In the mean while, a swift Indian runner, from Pemaquid, sped across the country, and informed the French, at Quebec, of the approach of Phipps, in tune for them to well prepare for defense. II This repulse was considered so important by the French, that king Louis had a commemor- ative medal struck, with the legend " FBANCE VICTORIOUS IK THE NEW WORLD." 132 THE COLONIES. [1620. chusetts was obliged to issue bills of credit, or paper money, to defray the expenses of this expedition. 1 Sir William Phipps was sent to England soon after his return, to solicit aid in further warfare upon the French and Indians, and also to assist in efforts to procure a restoration of the charter of Massachusetts, taken away by King James. 2 Material assistance in prosecuting the war was refused ; and King William instead of restoring the old charter, granted a new one, and united under it the colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nova Scotia, 3 by the old name of Massachusetts Bay Colony, and made it a royal province. Phipps was appointed governor by the king, and returned to Boston with the charter, in May, 1692. But the new constitution was offensive to the people, for they were allowed scarcely any other political privileges than they already possessed, except the right to choose representatives. The king reserved the right to appoint the governor, his deputy, and the secretary of the colony, and of repealing the laws within three years after their passage. This abridgment of their liberties produced general dissatisfaction, and alienated the affections of the people from the mother country. It was one of a series of fatal steps taken by the English government, which tended toward the final dismemberment of the empire in 1776. 4 Yet one good resulted from the change. The theocratic or religious element in the government, which fostered bigotry and intolerance, lost its power, for toleration was guarantied to all Christian sects, except Roman Catholics ; and the right of suffrage was extended to others than members of Congregational churches. 5 A very strange episode in the history of Massachusetts now occurred. A belief in witchcraft destroyed the peace of society in many communities, and shrouded the whole colony in a cloud of gloom. This belief had a strong hold upon the minds of the people of old England, and of their brethren in America. Excitement upon the subject suddenly broke out at Danvers (then a part of Salem), in March, 1692, and spread like an epidemic. A niece and daughter of the parish minister exhibited strange conduct ; and under the influence of their own superstitious belief, they accused an old Indian servant-woman in the family of bewitching them. Fasting and prayer, to break the "spell," were of no avail, for the malady increased. The alarm of the family spread to the 1 Note 4, page 122. The total amount of the issue was $133,338. a Page 129. 8 New Scotland, the name given to the country which the French called Acadie. See note 2, page 80. 4 Page 251. B Note 5, page 118. 6 A belief in witchcraft, or the exercise of supernatural power, by men and women, has been prevalent for ages. Punishment of persons accused of it, was first sanctioned by the Church of Rome a little more than three hundred years ago. Certain tests were instituted, and thousands of innocent persons were burned alive, drowned, or hanged, in Europe. "Within three months, in 1515, five hun- dred persons were burned in Geneva, in Switzerland. In the diocese of Como, one thousand were burned in one year. In 1520, an incredible number, from among all classes, suffered death in France. And within fifty or sixty years, ' during the sixteenth century, more than one hundred thousand persons perished in the flames in Germany alone. Henry the Eighth of England made the practice of witchcraft a capital offense; and a hundred years later, " witch-detectors" traversed the country, and brought many to the stake. Enlightened men embraced the belief; and even Sir Matthew Hale, the most distinguished of England's judges, repeatedly tried and condemned persons accused of witchcraft. The English laws against witchcraft were adopted in New England ; and as early as 1648, four persons had suffered death for the alleged offense, in the vicinity of Boston. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 133 community ; and soon a belief prevailed throughout the colony, that evil spirits, having ministering servants among men, overshadowed the land. Old and ill- - favored women were first accused of practising the art of witchcraft; hut at length neither age, sex, nor condition afforded protection from the accuser's tongue. Even the wife of Governor Phipps did not escape suspicion. Magis- trates were condemned, many pious persons were imprisoned, and Mr. Bur- roughs, a worthy minister, was executed. Men of strong minds and scholarly attainments were thoroughly deluded. Among these was the eminent Cotton Mather, whose father before him had yielded to the superstition, and published an account of all the supposed cases of witchcraft in New England. Cotton Mather, on account of his position as a leading divine, and his talents, prob- ably did more than any other man to promote the spread of that fearful delusion, which prevailed for more than six months. During that time, twenty persons suffered death, fifty-five were tortured or frightened into a confession of witch- craft, and when a special court, or legislature, was convened in October, 1692, one hundred and fifty accused persons were in prison. A reaction, almost as sudden as the beginning of the excitement, now took place in the public mind. The prison doors were opened to the accused, and soon many of the accusers shrunk abashed from the public gaze. 1 Standing in the light of the present century, we look back to " Salem witchcraft," as it is called, with amazement. 1 The belief in witchcraft did not cease with the strange excitement; and Cotton Mather and ' other popular men, wrote in its defense. Calef, a citizen of Boston, exposed Mather's credulity, which greatly irritated the minister. He first called his opponent "a weaver turned minister;' 1 but as his tormentor's blows fell thick and last, in a series of letters, Mather called him " a coal from THE COLONIES. [1620. "King William's war" 1 continued until 1697, when a treaty of peace, made at Ryswick, in the west of Holland, on the 20th of September of that year, terminated hostilities. 8 Up to that time, and later, the New England people suffered greatly from their mongrel foe. Remote settlements in the direction of Canada and Nova Scotia continued to be harassed. Almost a hun- dred persons were killed or made captive [July 28, 1694] at Oyster River (now Durham), ten miles from Portsmouth, in New Hampshire. Two years later [July 25, 1696J, Baron St. Castine, and a large force of French and Indians, captured the garrison at Pemaquid, and exchanged the prisoners for French soldiers in the hands of the English. 3 In March, 1697, Haverhill, thirty miles from Boston, was attacked, and forty persons were killed or carried into captivity ; 4 and during the following summer, more remote settlers were great sufferers. A respite noAV came. The treaty at Ryswick produced a lull in the storm of cruel warfare, which had so long hung upon the English fron- tiers, continually menacing the colonists with wide-spread destruction. 5 It was very brief, however, for pretexts for another war were not long wanting. James the Second died in September, 1701, and Louis the Fourteenth, who had sheltered the exile, 8 acknowledged his son, Prince James (commonly known as the Pretender), to be the lawful heir to the English throne. This offended the English, because the crown had been settled upon Anne, second daughter of James, who was a Protestant. Louis had also offended the English by placing his grandson, Philip of Anjou, upon the throne of Spain, and thus hell," and prosecuted him for slander. The credulous clergyman was glad to withdraw the suit. Cotton Mather was born in Boston, in February, 1633, and was educated at Harvard College. Ho was very expert hi the acquirement of knowledge, and at the age of nineteen years, he received the degree of Master of Arts. He became a gospel minister at twenty-two, and holding a ready pen, he wrote much. Few of his writings have survived him. With all his learning, he was but a child in that which constitutes true manhood, and he is now regarded more as a pedant than as a scholar. He died hi February, 1728. For the benefit of young men, we will here introduce an anecdote connected with him. It was thus related by Dr. Franklin, to Samuel, a son of Cotton Mather: "The last time I saw your .father was in the beginning of 1724, when I visited him after my first trip to Pennsylvania. He received me in his library ; and on my taking leave, showed me a shorter way out of the house through a narrow passage, which was crossed by a beam overhead. We were still talking as I withdrew, he accompanying me behind, and I turn- ing partly toward him, when he said hastily, 'Stoop! stoop!' I did not understand until I felt my head hit against the beam. Ho was a man that never missed an occasion of giving instruction, and upon this he said to me, ' You are young, and have the world before you ; stoop as you go through, and you will escape many hard thumps.' This advice, thus beat into my head, has fre- quently been of use to me; and I often think of it when I see pride mortified, and misfortunes brought upon people by carrying their heads too high." * Page 130. a This war cost England one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, in cash, besides a loan of ono hundred millions more. This loan was the commencement of the enormous national debt of En- gland, now [1867] amounting to about four thousand millions of dollars. 8 They also took the English fort of St. John's, Newfoundland, and several other posts on that island. 4 Among their captives was a Mrs. Dustan, her child, and nurse. Her infant was soon killed, and she and her nurse were taken to Canada. A little more than a month afterward, Mrs. D., her companion, and another prisoner, killed ten of twelve sleeping Indians, who had them hi custody, and made their way back to Haverhill. 6 Just before the conclusion of this treaty, a Board of Trade and Plantations was established by the English government, whose duty it was to hare a general oversight of the American colonies. This was a permanent commission, consisting of a president and seven members, called Lords of Trade. This commission was always an instrument of oppression in the hands of royalty, and, as will be seen, was a powerful promoter of that discontent which led to the rebellion of the colonies in 1775. Page 130. 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 135 extended the influence of France among the dynasties of Europe. These, and some minor causes, impelled England again to declare war against France. 1 . Hostilities commenced in 1702, and continued until a treaty of peace was con- cluded at Utrecht, in Holland, on the llth of April, 1713. As usual, the French and English in America were involved in this war ; and the latter suf- fered much from the cruelties of the Indians who were under the influence of the former. This is known in America as QUEEN ANNE'S WAR. It was a fortunate circumstance for the people of New York that the FIVJS NATIONS had made a treaty of neutrality with the French in Canada [Aug. 4, 1701], and thus became an impassable barrier against the savage hordes from the St. Lawrence. The tribes from the Merrimac to the Penobscot had made a treaty of peace with New England, in July, 1703, but the French induced them to violate it ; and before the close of summer, the hatchet fell upon the people of the whole frontier from Casco to Wells. Blood flowed in almost every valley; and early the next spring [March, 1704], a large party of French and Indians, under Major Hertel de Rouville, attacked Deerfield, on the Connecticut River, applied the torch, 2 killed forty of the inhabitants, and car- ried one hundred and twelve away to the wilderness. Among these was Rev. John Williams, the minister, whose little daughter, after a long residence with the Indians, WJLLIAMS'S HOUSB. became attached to them, and married a Mohawk chief. 3 Similar scenes occurred at intervals during the whole progress of the war. Remote settlements were abandoned, and the people on the frontier collected in fortified houses, 4 and cultivated their fields in armed parties of half a dozen or more. This state of things became insupportable to the English colonists, and in the spring of 1707, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, determined to chastise the French on their eastern borders. Connecticut refused to join in the enterprise, and the three colonies alone prepared an arma- ment. Early in June, a thousand men under Colonel Marsh, sailed from Nan- tucket for Port Royal, 5 in Acadie, convoyed by an English man-of-war. The French were prepared for them, and nothing was effected except the destruction of considerable property outside the fort. Three years later, an armament left 1 It is known in European history as the War of (lie Spanish Succession. a The only house that escaped the flames was that of the Rev. John Williams, represented in the engraving. It stood near the centre of the village, until within a few years. 8 Mrs. Williams and other captives, who were unable to travel as rapidly as the Indians, were murdered. On his arrival in Canada, Mr. Williams was treated with respect by the French, and after two years of captivity, was ransomed, and returned to Massachusetts. The chief object of the expedition to Deerfield, appears to have been to carry off the bell that hung in Williams's church. That bell was purchased the year previous for the church of Saut St. Louis, at Caughnawaga, near Montreal The vessel in which it was brought from Havre was captured by a New England pri- vateer, and the bell was purchased for the Deerfield meeting-house. Father Nicolas, of the church at Caughnawaga^ accompanied the expedition, and the bell was carried in triumph to its original destination, where it still remains. * Note 1, page 127. * Page 58. 136 THE COLONIES. [1620. Boston [September, 1710], and. in connection with a fleet from England, under Colonel Nicholson, demanded and obtained a surrender of the fort and garrison [Oct. 13 J, at Port Royal. The name of the place was then changed to Anna- polis, in honor of the Queen, Anne, and Acadie was annexed to the English realm under the title of Nova Scotia, or New Scotland. In July, the following year [1711], Sir Hovendon Walker arrived at Bos- ton with an English fleet and army, designed for the conquest of Canada. New England promptly raised additional forces, and on the 10th of August, fifteen men-of-war and forty transports, bearing almost seven thousand troops, departed for the St. Lawrence to attack Quebec. Walker, like Braddock," haughtily refused to listen to experienced subordinates, and lost eight of his ships, and almost a thousand men, on the rocks at the mouth of the river, on the night of the 2d of September. Disheartened by this calamity, Walker returned to England with the remainder of his fleet, and the colonial troops went back to Boston. On hearing of this failure of the naval expedition, a body of troops marching from Albany to attack Montreal, retraced their steps. 3 Hostilities were now suspended, and in the spring of 1713, a treaty of peace was concluded [April 11] at Utrecht. The eastern Indians sent a flag to Bos- ton, and sued for peace ; and at Portsmouth the Governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire entered into a pacific compact [July 24] with the chiefs of the tribes. A long peace now ensued, and for thirty years succeeding the close of Queen Anne's War, the colonists enjoyed comparative repose. Then, again, the selfish strifes of European monarchs awakened the demon of discord, and its bloody footsteps were soon apparent along the northern frontiers of the English colonies in America. The interim had been a period of much political agitation in Massachusetts, during which a great stimulus had been given to the growth of republican principles. Disputes, sometimes violent, and sometimes in a con- ciliatory spirit, had been carried on between the royal governors and the repre- sentatives of the people ; the former contending for prerogatives and salaries which the people deemed inadmissible. 4 These internal disputes were arrested when they heard that France had declared hostility to England [March 15, 1744]. and the colonists cheerfully prepared to commence the contest known in America as KING GEORGE'S WAR. 6 This war was not productive of many stirring events in America. The principal and very important one was the capture of the strong fortress of 1 King "William had no children ; and Anne, the daughter of James the Second (who was mar- ried to Prince George of Denmark), succeeded him as sovereign of England in 1702. a Page 186. * These were four thousand in number, under the command of General Nicholson. They were furnished by New York and Connecticut. 4 The chief topic of controversy was the payment of salaries. Governors Shute, Burnet and Belcher, all contended for a permanent salary, but the people claimed the right to vote such salary, each year, as the services of the governor appeared justly to demand. A compromise was finally effected by an agreement to vote a certain sum each year. The subject of salaries was a cause of contention with the royal governors, until the Revolution. 6 The husband of Queen Anne died several years previous to her death, which occurred in August, 1704. George, Elector of Hanover, in Germany, was immediately proclaimed King of 1755.] MASSACHUSETTS. 137 Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton. It had been constructed by the French after the treaty of Utrecht, at an expense of five and a half millions of dollars, and because of its strength, was called The Gibraltar of America. William Shirley, 1 a soldier and energetic statesman, was Governor of Massa- chusetts when hostilities were proclaimed. He immediately perceived the importance of Louisburg in the coming contest, and plans for its capture were speedily perfected by the Legislature of Massachusetts. 2 Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut furnished their proper quota of troops. New York sent artillery, and Pennsylvania provisions. Thus common danger was extending the idea of a necessity for a union of the Anglo-American colonies, long before it assumed a practical form in 1754. 3 After vainly waiting for some time in the expectation of aid from Commodore Warren (then in the West In- dies), the colonial forces, thirty-two hundred strong, under the general command of William Pepperell, 4 sailed [April 4, 1745J for Louisburg. 6 At Canseau they were un- expectedly joined by the fleet of Warren [May 9], and on the llth of May the combined forces, four thousand strong, landed at Gabarus Bay, a short distance from their des- tination. The sudden appear- ance of this formidable arm- ament, was the first intimation to the French, that an attack was meditated, and great consternation prevailed in the fortress and town. A CAPTUEB op IN 1745. England, by the title of George the First. His son George succeeded him in 1727, and also retained the title and privileges of Elector of Hanover. A contest arose between Maria Theresa, Empress of Hungary, and the Elector of Bavaria, for the throne of Austria. The King of England espoused the cause of the empress, in 1743, and the King of France took part with her opponent This led France to declare war against England a contest known in America as King George's War, but in Europe, the War of the Austrian Succession. 1 William Shirley was born in England; made governor of Massachusetts in 1741; was after- ward made governor of one of the Bahama Islands, and died at Roxbury, near Boston, in 1771. He appears conspicuous in history during a portion of the contest known in America j.s Tlie French and Indian War. 8 Shirley proposed an expedition, but the Legislature hesitated. The measure was finally agreed upon by a majority of only one vote. s Page 183. 4 Pepperell was a native of Maine, and a wealthy merchant. He was afterward made a bar- onet. He died in 1759. 5 Louisburg is on the cast side of the island of Cape Breton, with a fine, deep harbor. The land- ing-place of the British, position of the camp, etc., will be seen by reference to the map. The Royal Battery was taken by four hundred men. When they approached, the French thought the whole English army was upon them. They immediately spiked their guns (that is, drove iron spikes into the touch-holes of the cannons, so as to make them useless), and fled In the upper part of the map is a profile of the fortifications at Louisburg. It is given here so as to illustrate certain terms which may be used hereafter : a, the glacis, is the extreme outside slope of the works ; b, the banquet, or step upon which the soldiers stand to fire over the parapet ; c, a covered way into the fort, under the banquet; d, counterscarp, a bank or wall, outside the ditch, e;f, the parapet, a protection for the men and guns from balls from without ; g, the inner banquet ; h, ramparts the most solid embankment of the fortress ; t the last slope in the interior of the fort, called talus. 138 THE COLONIES. [1620. direct approach was difficult on account of a morass, and a combined attack by sea and land was carefully arranged. The land forces encamped in a curve in rear of the town, and detachments secured the French outposts, one after an- other. Cannons were dragged on sledges over the morass, 1 trenches were dug, batteries were erected, and a regular siege was commenced, on the 31st of May. In the mean while, Commodore Warren captured a French ship of seventy-four guns, and secured, as prisoners, over five hundred men, with a large quantity of military stores. While the siege was in progress, other English vessels of war arrived, and the fleet and army agreed to make a combined attack on the 29th of June. Despairing of successful resistance, the French surrendered the fortress, the city of Louisburg, and the island of Cape Breton, on the 28th of June, 1745. 2 The pride of France was greatly mortified by this daring and successful expedition, and the following year [1746] the Duke D'Anville was sent with a powerful naval armament 3 to recover the lost fortress, and to desolate the En- glish settlements along the seaboard. Storms wrecked many of his vessels, and disease soon wasted hundreds of his men ; and D'Anville, thoroughly dispirited, abandoned the enterprise without striking a blow. 4 Two years afterward a treaty of peace was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, in western Germany, when it was agreed that all prisoners should be released, and all acquisitions of prop- erty or territory, made by either party, were to be restored. Both of the principal parties were heavy losers by the contest ; 5 while the strength of the colonists, yet to be called forth in a more important struggle, was revealed and noted. Old national animosities, religious differences, and recent causes for irrita- tion, had inspired the English and French with intense mutual hatred, when the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed on the 18th of October, 1748. The allegiance of Massachusetts and its sister colonies to the British crown, and the acknowledged duty of obedience, restrained the resentment of the American people, while England and France were at peace. Soon, disputes about local boundaries began, 8 and it was not long before preparations for war between the two races, were visible in America. Then came that final bloody struggle be- tween the English and French, for dominion in the New World, known as the French and Indian War." 1 This we shall consider hereafter. 1 The artillery was commanded by Richard Gridley, \vlio was the engineer of the continental army at Boston in 1775 and 1776. See page 234. a The prizes and stores obtained by the English amounted, in value, to little less than five mil- lions of dollars. 8 It consisted of forty ships of war, fifty-six transports, thirty-five hundred men, and forty thou- sand muskets for the use of the French and Indians in Canada. 4 D'Anville, with two or three vessels, anchored at Chebucto (now Halifax, Nova Scotia), where he died, it is believed, by poison. His lieutenant also committed suicide, in consequence of morti- fied pride. These disasters to the French fleet were regarded by the people of New England as spe- cial manifestations of Providence in their favor. Public thanksgivings were offered; and no one doubted the right of the English to the whole of Acadie. 6 Parliament afterward reimbursed to the colonies the cost of their preparations against Canada, amounting to more than a million of dollars. See page 199. Page 180. T Page 179. 1755.J NEW YORK. 139 CHAPTER III. NEW YORK. [1623.] THE State of New York commenced its political career when Peter Minuit, 1 recently appointed Governor of New Netherland," arrived at New Amsterdam (as the germ of the present city of New York was called), in May, 1626. He immediately purchased of the Indians, for about twenty-four dollars, the whole of the island of Manhattan, 3 on which the city of New York now stands, and began vigorously to perfect the founding of a State similar to those of Holland. He erected a strong fortification near the site of the present Battery, and called it Port Amsterdam* By conciliatory measures, he gained the confidence of the Indians ; and he also opened a friendly correspondence with the Puritans at Plymouth. 5 The English reciprocated the friendly expressions of the Dutch ; at the same time, they requested the latter not to send their trappers quite as far eastward as Narraganset Bay, to catch otters and beavers. 6 For the purpose of encouraging emigration to New Netherland, the Dutch West India Company 7 offered, in 1629, large tracts of land, and certain priv- ileges, to those persons who should lead or send a given number of emigrants to occupy and till the soil. 8 Directors of the company 9 availed themselves of the privilege, and sent Wouter (Walter) Van Twiller to examine the country and select the lands. Immigrants came ; and then were laid the foundations of the most noted of the manorial estates of New York. 10 The proprietors were called patroons (patrons), and held a high political and social station in the New World. The agent of the Patroons seems to have performed his duty well, and he was appointed governor of the colony, in 1633. The beginning of Van Twil- ler 's administration was marked by difficulties with the English on the Con- 1 Page 93. a Page 72. 3 Note 1, page 48. * See picture on page 144. 5 Page 78. * Trade in furs was the chief occupation of the Dutch of New Netherland at this time. They became expert trappers, and were seen as far east as Nantucket, and even Cape Cod. The trade soon became profitable to the Company. The first year's remittance of furs to Amsterdam was yalued at $11,000. This trade greatly increased; and before the troubles with the Indians in 1640, the value of furs sent to Holland, annually, was more than $60,000. 7 Page 72. 8 The land was to be fairly purchased of the Indians, and then the title was to be confirmed by the Dutch government. The privileges granted to the purchasers made them, in a degree, feudal lords [note 15, page 62], yet they were exempted from paying tribute to supreme authority. 8 Killian Van Rensselaer, who purchased a tract at Fort Orange (Albany) ; Samuel Godyn and Samuel Bloemart, who selected lands in West Jersey, on the Delaware ; and Michael Pauw, whose domain included Jersey City and vicinity. See page 94. 10 Van Rensselaer. Large tracts of land in Albany and Rensselaer counties, portions of the first Patroon's estates, are yet [1867] in possession of the family. After 184.0, many scenes of vio- lence and bloodshed were witnessed on those lands, growing out of disputes with tenants, when they were called upon to pay even the almost nominal rent which was demanded. Social and political questions arose and produced two strong parties. The opposition of the tenantry was termed Anti-Rentism. Conciliatory measures were finally proposed by a purchaser of a large portion of the ancient manor, in Albany county, by which the tenants were allowed to buy the land, and obtain a title in fee-simple. In time, the whole estate will thus pass into the hands of numerous new owners. These angry disputes have already become items of past history. 140 THE COLONIES. [1623. necticut River. 1 He was more distinguished for his marriage connection with Van Rensselaer, one of the Patroons, than for any administrative qualities. Yet circumstances favored the advancement of the colony, and he ruled quite satisfactorily, especially to the company, whose interests he faithfully served. He was succeeded in office, in May, 1638, by Sir William Keift, at the mo- ment when the Swedish colony 3 were seating themselves upon the banks of the Delaware. Keift was a bold, rapacious, and unscrupulous man, and soon brought serious trouble upon the people. He began a tyrannous rule by con- centrating executive power in his own hands ; and his administration was a stormy and unfortunate one. The sum of its record is a tale of continual strife with the Swedes on the Delaware, 3 the English on the Connecticut, 4 the Indiana all around him, and the colonists at his door. His difficulties with the Indiana proved the most disastrous of all, and finally wrought his own downfall. Pre- vious to his arrival, the intercourse of the Dutch with the natives had been quite friendly. 5 The fur trade was extending, and trappers and traders were ^all abroad among the native tribes. These carried a demon of discord with them. They furnished the Indians with rtcrn, and quarrels and murders en- sued. The avaricious Keift also demanded tribute of wampum 3 and beaver- skins from the River tribes ; and in a short time their friendship for the Dutch became weakened. A crisis came. Some Raritan 7 Indians in New Jersey were accused of rob- bery. Keift sent an armed force to punish them [July, 1640], and blood flowed. Several Indians were killed, and their crops were destroyed. Savage vengeance did not slumber long. The Raritans murdered four planters on Staten Island [June, 1641 J, and destroyed considerable property. 8 An expe- dition sent to punish the offenders was unsuccessful. Soon afterward, a young "VVestchester Indian, whose uncle had been murdered by a Hollander, near where the Halls of Justice now stand, 9 revenged the murder, according to the customs of his people, 10 by killing an inoffensive Dutchman living at Turtle Bay. 11 His tribe refused to surrender him on the demand of Keift, and the governor determined to make war upon all the offending savages. The people of New Netherland had already begun to murmur at Keift's course, and they charged the troubles with the Indians directly upon him. Un- willing to assume the entire responsibility of a war, himself, the governor called a meeting [Aug. 23, 1641] of the heads of families in New Amsterdam for consultation. They promptly chose "twelve select men" [August 29], with De I Page 85. * Page 93. s Page 93. * Page 85. 6 The Dutch had made a settlement, and built a fort at Albany [page 72], and made a- treaty of friendship with the Mohawks [page 23]. This the River Indians, in the vicinity of New Amster- dam, did not like, for the Mohawks were their oppressors. 8 Note 2, page 13. 7 A tribe of the Lenni-Lenapes. Page 16. 8 Tli is plantation belonged to De Vries [note 2, page 92], who was a friend of the Indians. On Center street, New York city. There was once a fresh-water pond there, surrounded by the forest. 10 The Indians had a custom concerning an avenger ofblood, similar to that of the Jews. It was the duty and the privilege for the next of kin to the murdered man, to avenge his blood by killing the murderer. The Indians took the life .of any of the tribe of the offender. II At the foot of Forty-fifth street, on the East River. 1755.] NEW YORK. Vries 1 at their head, to act for them; and this was the first representative assembly ever formed among Europeans on Manhattan Island. They did not agree with the governor's hostile views ; and Keift finding them not only op- posed to his war designs, but that they were also taking cognizance of alleged grievances of the people, dissolved them, in February, 1642. Finally, the commission of other murders by Indians, and the presence of a body of Mo- hawks, who had come down to exact tribute from the River tribes, concurred with the changed opinions of som2 leading citizens of New Amsterdam, to make Keift resolve to embrace this opportunity to chastise the savages. A large number of them had fled before the Mohawks, and sought shelter with the Hackensacks, near Hoboken, and there craved the protection of the Dutch. Now was offered an opportunity for a wise and humane governor to make a covenant of peace and friendship ; but Keift could not be satisfied without a flow of blood. At midnight, in February, 1643, a body of Hollanders and Mo- hawks crossed the Hudson, fell upon the unsuspecting fugitives, and before the dawn, they massacred almost a hundred men, women, and children. Many were driven from the cliffs at Hoboken into the freezing flood ; and at sunrise the bloody marauders returned to New Amsterdam with thirty prisoners, and the heads of several Indians. The fiery hatred and vengeance of all the surrounding tribes were aroused by this massacre, and a fierce war was soon kindled. Villages and farms were desolated, and white people were butchered wherever they were found by the incensed Indians. 2 The Long Island tribes, 3 hitherto friendly, joined their kin- dred, and the very existence of the Dutch colony was menaced. Fortunately for the settlers, that eminent peace-maker, Roger Williams, 4 arrived [1643], to embark for England, 6 and he pacified the savages, and secured a brief repose for the colony. But the war was soon renewed, and for two years the colony suf- fered dreadfully. Having no competent leader, they employed Captain John Underbill, 6 who successfully beat back and defeated the Indians, and hostilities ceased. The Mohawks came and claimed sovereignty over the River Indians, made a treaty of peace with the Dutch, and the hatchet was buried. The conduct of Governor Keift was so offensive to the colonists and the Company, that he was recalled, and he sailed for Europe in 1647, in a richly laden vessel. It was wrecked on the coast of Wales, and there he perished. He had already been succeeded in office [May, 27, 1647], by Peter Stuyvesant, lately governor of Cura^oa, a soldier of eminence, and possessed of every requis- ite for an efficient administration of government. His treatment of the Indians was very kind and just, and they soon exhibited such friendship for the Dutch, that Stuyvesant was falsely charged with a design to employ them in murder- ing the English in New England. 7 Long accustomed, as a military leader, to 1 Note 2, page 92. * It was during this frenzy of revenge that Mrs. Hutchinsoa. who had been banished from Mas- sachusetts, and had taken up her residence near the present New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York, was murdered, with all her family. The stream upon which she lived is yet known as Hutchinson's River. 8 Page 21. ' 4 Page 87. 6 Page 91. Page 87. 7 See page 121. This idea prevailed, because during almost the entire winter of 1652-3, Ninigret 142 THE COLONIES. [1623. arbitrary rule, he was stern and inflexible, but he had the reputation of an honest man. He immediately commenced much needed reforms ; and during his whole administration, which was ended by the subjugation of the Dutch by the English, 1 in 1664, he was the faithful and energetic defender of the integ- rity of the province against its foes. By prudent management he avoided col- lisions with the English, and peaceably ended boundary disputes' 2 with them in the autumn of 1650. This cause for irritation on his eastern frontier being removed, Stuyvesant turned his attention to the growing power of the Swedes, on the Delaware. Governor Stuyvesant built Fort Casimir, on the site of the present New and two other Narragansett sachems had been in New Amsterdam, and on very friendly terms with Stuyvesant These sachems, who were true friends of the English, positively disclaimed all bad intentions on the part of Stuyvesant, and yet historians of the present day repeat the slander. 1 Page 144. a See page 85. He went to Hartford, and there made a treaty which fixed the eastern bound- ary of New Netherland nearly on the line of the present division between New York and Connecti- cut, and across Long Island, at Oyster Bay, thirty miles eastward of New York. The Dutch claims to lands on the Connecticut River were extinguished by this treaty. From the beginning of diffi- culties, the Dutch were clearly in the right This was acknowledged by impartial and just New Englanders. In a manuscript letter before me, from Edward Winslow to Governor Winthrop, dated at "Marshfield, 2d of 6th month, 1644," in which he replies to a charge of being favorable to the Dutch, in some respects, he says that he had asserted in substance, that he " would not defend the Hartford men's cause, for they'had hitherto (or thus long) wronged the Dutch." 1755.] NEW YORK. 143 Castle, in Delaware, in 1651. This was soon seized by the Swedes, and the garrison made prisoners. The States-General 1 resolved to prevent further trouble with these enterprising neighbors of the Dutch, and for this purpose, gave Stuyvesant full liberty to subjugate the Swedes. At the head of six hun- dred men, he sailed for the Delaware, in August, 1655, and by the middle of October, he had captured all the Swedish fortresses, and sent the governor (Risingh) and several other influential men, to Europe. Some of the settlers withdrew to Maryland and Virginia, but the great body of them quietly sub- mitted, took an oath of allegiance to the States-General of Holland, and con- tinued in peaceable possession of their property. Thus, after an existence of about seventeen years [1638 1655J, NEW SWEDEN* disappeared by absorp- tion into NEW NETHERLAND. New trouble now appeared, but it was soon removed. While Stuyvesant and his soldiery were absent on the Delaware, some Indians, who were not yet reconciled to the Dutch, menaced New Amsterdam.* The return of the gov- ernor produced quiet, for they feared and respected him, and, for eight years. the colony was very little disturbed by external causes. Then the Esopus Indians suddenly fell upon the Dutch settlements [June, 1663J at Wiltwyck (now Kingston, in Ulster County), 4 and killed and captured sixty-five of the in- habitants. Stuyvesant promptly sent a sufficient force to chastise them ; and so thoroughly was the errand performed, that the Indians sued for peace in May, 1664, and made a treaty of friendship. External difficulties gave Stuyvesant little more trouble than a spirit opposed to his aristocratic views, which he saw manifested daily around him. While he had been judiciously removing all cause for ill-feeling with his neighbors, there was a power at work within his own domain which gave him great uneasiness. The democratic seed planted by the Twelve, in Keift's time, 6 had begun to grow vigorously under the fostering care of a few enlightened Hollanders, and some Puritans who had settled in New Netherland. The latter, by their applause of English institutions, had diffused a desire among the people to partake of the blessings of English liberty, as they understood it, and as it appeared in New England. Stuyvesant was an aristocrat by birth, education, and pursuit, and vehemently opposed every semblance of democracy. At the beginning he found himself at variance with the people. At length an assembly of two deputies from each village in New Netherland, chosen by the inhabitants, convened at New Amsterdam [December, 1653], without the approbation of the governor. It was a spontaneous, and, in the eyes of the governor, a revolutionary move- ment. Their proceedings displeased him ; and finding argument of no avail, he exercised his official prerogative, and commanded obedience to his will. The people grew bolder at every rebuff, and finally they not only resisted taxation, but openly expressed a willingness to bear English rule for the sake of enjoying English liberty. The opportunity for a change of rulers was not long delayed. A crisis in J Note 7, page 59. Page 93. Page 139. Page 283. 6 Page 140. 144 THE COLONIES. [1623. the affairs of New Netherland now approached. Charles the Second, of En- gland, without any fair pretense to title, gave the whole territory of New Netherland [March 22, 1664 J to his brother James, Duke of York, 1 The duke sent an English squadron, under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls,' to secure the gift ; and on the 3d of September, 1664, the red cross of St. George 3 floated in triumph over the fort, and the name of New Amsterdam was changed to New York. 4 It was an easy conquest, for, while the fortifications and other means of defense were very weak, the people were not unwilling to try English rule. Stuyvesant began to make concessions to the people, when it was too late, and when his real strength, the popular will, had departed from him. He hesitated long before he would sign the articles of capitulation ; and thus, until the end, he was faithful to his employers, the Dutch West India Company.* With the capital, the remainder of the province passed into the hands of the English; and early in October, 1664, New Netherland was acknowledged a part of the British realm, and Nicolls, the conqueror became governor." Let us now consider NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. Very soon after the conquest the people of New York 7 perceived that a change of masters CITY OF NEW YORK IN 1664. did not enhance their prosperity and happiness. They were disappointed in their hopes of a representative government; and their taxes', to support a government in which they had no voice, wer'e increased. Lovelace, the vile successor of Nicolls, in 1667, increased their burdens ; and when they sent a respectful protest to him, he ordered the paper to be burned by the common hangman, He was a petty tyrant, and declared that the peo- ple should have " liberty for no thought but how to pay their taxes." But the people did think of something else, and were on the eve of open rebellion when 1 Page 94. a Note 6, page 123. ' The royal standard of England is sometimes so named because it bears a red cross, which is called the "cross of St. George," the patron saint of Great Britain. After the union with Scotland [note 1, page 63], the cross of St. Andrew (in the form of an X), was added, and is now seen on the British flag. In the centre are the royal arms. This Union, as the figure is called, was borne upon the American flags, sometimes, until after the ^Declaration of Independence, in 1776. It was upon the flag of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, which "Washington caused to be unfurled at Cambridge, on the first day of that year. See page 245. 4 The name of Fort Orange settlement [note 9, page 139], was changed to Albany, one of the duke's titles. 6 Page 72, 6 We have elsewhere noticed the fact, that before Nicolls was dispatched, the duke, being cer- tain of victory, sold that part of New Netherland now included in New Jersey, to other parties. [See page 94.] Long Island, which had been previously granted to the Earl of Stirling, was pur- chased by the Dutch, in total disregard of the claims of Connecticut. The colonies on the Delaware remained under the jurisdiction of New York, and were governed by deputies. The above picture is a correct view of the city of New York two hundred years ago It is now [1867] the largest city on the American continent. On the left of the picture is seen Fort Amster- dam, with the church and governor's house within it, and a windmill The point of Manhattan Island, from the present Battery Place to the foot of Wall-street, is here seen. 10 STUYVESANT SURRENDERING TEK FOBT TO TIIK ENGLISH. 1755.] NEW YORK. 147 the clouds of national war overshadowed local difficulties. War again com- menced between England and Holland in 1672, and in July the following year, a Dutch squadron sailed up the Bay of New York, and, in the absence of the governor, took possession of the fort and town [August 9th, 1673] without giving a shot. The easy conquest was the work of treason ; yet, as the royal libertine (Charles the Second) on the throne of England doubtless shared in the bribe, the traitor went unpunished. ' New Jersey and the Territories of Dela- ware 1 yielded, and for sixteen months [from July, 1673, to November, 1674] JSew York was again New Netherlands. When the two nations made a treaty of peace, the province was restored to the English, and remained in their pos- session until our Independence was declared in 1776.* These changes raised some doubts concerning the validity of the duke's title, and the king gave him another grant in July, 1674. Sir Edmond Andros 4 was appointed governor under the new charter, and continued arbitrary rule with increased rigor. 5 At the close of 1683, Governor Andros returned to England, when the duke (who was a Roman Catholic) appointed Thomas Dongan, of the same faith, to succeed him. In the mean while, the duke had listened to the judicious advice of William Penn, and instructed Dongan to call an assembly of repre- sentatives. They met [October 17, 1683], and with the hearty concurrence of the governor, a CHARTER OF LIBERTIES was established, 6 and the permanent foundation of a representative government was laid. The people rejoiced in the change, and were heartily engaged in the efforts to perfect a wise and liberal government, when the duke was elevated to the throne, as James the Second, on the death of Charles, in February, 1685. As king, he refused to confirm the privileges which, as duke, he had granted ; and having determined to intro- duce the Roman Catholic religion into the province as the established church, he commenced by efforts to enslave the people. A direct tax was ordered ; the printing press the right arm of knowledge and freedom was forbidden a place in the colony ; and the provincial offices were filled by Roman Catholics. These proceedings gave pain to the liberal-minded Dongan ; and when the king, in his religious zeal, instructed the governor to introduce French priests among the FIVE NATIONS, 7 he resisted the measure as highly inexpedient. 9 His firm- 1 The traitor was Captain John Manning, the commandant of the fort. He was, doubtless, bribed by the Dutch commander ; and the feet that the king screened him from punishment, gave the color of truth to the charge that the monarch shared in the bribe. a Page 96. * Page 251. 4 Page 129. * The duke claimed the country from the Connecticut River to Cape Henlopen. Andros attempted to exercise authority eastward of the line agreed upon by the Dutch and the Connecticut people [note 2, page 142], and went to Saybrook in the summer of 1676, with an armed party, to enforce the claim. He met with such resistance, that he was compelled to return to New York without accomplishing his design. See page 116. * The Assembly consisted of the governor and ten councillors, and seventeen deputies elected by the freeholders. They adopted a Declaration of Rights, and asserted the principle, so nobly fought for a hundred years later, that taxation and representation are inseparable ; in other words that taxes can not be levied without the consent of the people, expressed by then* representatives. At this time the colony was divided into twelve counties. 7 Page 23. 8 This measure would have given the French, in Canada, an influence over the Indians that might have proved fatal to English power on the Continent. The FIVE NATIONS remained the fast friends of the English, and stood as a powerful barrier against the French, when the latter twice invaded the Iroquois territory, in endeavors to reach the English, at Albany. THE COLONIES. [1623. ness gave the people confidence, and they were again on the eve of open rebel- lion when the intelligence of the flight of James, and the accession of William and Mary 1 reached them. They immediately appointed a committee of safety, and with almost unanimous voice, sanctioned the conduct of Jacob Leisler (an influential merchant and commander of the militia), who had taken possession of the fort in the name of the new sovereigns, and by order of the inhabitants. Afraid of the people, Nicholson, the successor of Dongan, fled on board a vessel and departed, and the people consented to Leisler's assuming the functions of governor until a new one should be appointed. The aristocracy and the magis-. trates were offended, and denouncing Leisler as a usurper, they accused him of treason, when Governor Sloughter arrived, in 1691. Leisler, in the mean while, conducted affairs with prudence and energy. Having the sanction of the people, he needed no further authority ; and when a letter from the British ministers arrived [December, 1689], directed to Gov- ernor Nicholson, "or, in his absence, to such as, for the time being," conducted affairs, he considered it as fairly addressed to himself. Milborne, his son-in-law, acted as his deputy, and was included in the accusations of the magistrates, who had now retired to Albany. They held Fort Orange 2 until the invasion of the French, in February, 1690, 3 when they felt the necessity of claiming the protection of the government at New York. They then yielded, and remained comparatively quiet until the arrival of Richard Ingoldsby, S lough ter's lieutenant, early in 1691. That officer announced the appointment of Henry Sloughter as governor ; and without producing any credentials of authority, he haughtily demanded of Leisler [February 9, 1691] the surrender of the fort. Of course Leisler refused compliance ; but as soon as Sloughter arrived [March 29], he sent a messenger to announce his desire to surrender all authority into his hands. Leisler's enemies had resolved on his destruction ; and when he came forward to deliver the fort, in person, he and his son-in-law were seized and cast into prison. They were tried on a charge of treason, found guilty, and condemned to suffer death. Sloughter withheld his signature to their death warrant ; but, when made drunk at a dinner party prepared for the pur- pose, he put his name to the fatal instrument. Before he became sober, Leisler and Milborne were suspended upon a gallows on the verge of Beekman's swamp May 26, 1691], where Tammany Hall fronting on the City Hall Park, New York now stands. These were the proto-martyrs of popular liberty in America. 4 Henry Sloughter was a weak and dissolute man, yet he came with an earn- est desire to promote the welfare of the colonists. He convened a popular assembly, and formed a constitution, which provided for trial by jury, arid an exemption from taxes, except by the consent of the representatives of the peo- ple. Light was thus dawning hopefully upon the province, when delirium 1 Note 7, page 113. a Note 9, pago 139. * At this time, Schenectada was desolated. See page 131. 4 Their estates were confiscated ; but after a lapse of several years, and when the violence of party spirit had subsided, the property was restored to their families. 1755.] NEW YORK. 149 tremens, at the close of a drunken revel, ended the administration and the life of the governor [August 2, 1691], in less than three months after the murder of Leisler and Milborne. He was succeeded bj Benjamin Fletcher, a man of violent passions, and quite as weak and dissolute, who became the tool of the aristocracy, and was hated by the people. Party spirit, engendered by the death of Leisler, burned intensely during the whole administration of Fletcher ; and at the same time the French and Indians, under the guidance of Frontenac, the able Governor of Canada, 1 were traversing the northern frontiers of the province. Fletcher prudently listened to the advice of Major Schuyler,* of Albany, respecting the Indians; and under his leadership, the English, and their unwavering allies, the FIVE NATIONS, successfully beat back the foe to the St. Lawrence, and so desolated the French settlements in 1692, in the vicinity of Lake Champlain, 3 that Frontenac was glad to remain quiet at Montreal. A better ruler for New York now appeared. The Earl of Bellomont, an honest and energetic Irish peer, succeeded Fletcher in 1698 ; and the following year, New Hampshire* and Massachusetts 5 were placed under his jurisdiction. He commenced reform with great earnestness, and made vigorous efforts to sup- press piracy," which had become a fearful scourge to the infant commerce of the colonists. With Robert Livingston 7 and others, he fitted out an expedition under the famous Captain Kidd, to destroy the buccaneers. Kidd, himself, was afterward hung for piracy [1701], and the governor and his sons were charged with a participation in his guilt. At any rate, there can be little doubt that wealthy men in the colony expected a share in the plunder, and that Kidd, as a scape-goat for the sins of the others, was the victim of a political conspiracy. 8 Unfortunately for the colony, death removed Bellomont, on the 16th of March, 1701, when his liberal policy was about to bear fruit. He was suc- ceeded by Edward Hyde (afterward Lord Cornbury), 9 a libertine and a knave, who cursed the province with misrule for seven years. He was a bigot, too, and persecuted all denominations of Christians, except those of the Church of England. He embezzled the public moneys, involved himself in heavy debts, and on all occasions was the practical enemy of popular freedom. The people 1 From 1678 to 1682, and again from 1689 to 1698, when he died, at the age of 77. * Peter Schuyler. He was mayor of Albany, and acquired unbounded influence over the FIVE NATIONS of Indians. See page 23. 1 Schuyler's force was about three hundred Mohawks, and as many English. They slew about three hundred of the French and Indians, at the north end of the lake. * Page 79. * Page 117. 8 Because Spain claimed the exclusive right to the "West India seas, her commerce in that region was regarded as fair plunder. Privateer commissions were readily granted by the English, French, and Dutch governments ; and daring spirits from all countries were found under their flags. The buccaneers, as they were called, became very numerous and powerful, and at length depredated upon English commerce as well as Spanish. Privateers, or those legally authorized to seize the prop- erty of an enemy, became pirates, or sea robbers. Privateering is only legalized piracy. 7 An immigrant from Scotland, and ancestor of the Livingston family in this country. He was connected, by marriage, with the Van Rensselaer and Schuyler families; and in 1685, he received from governor Dongan a grant of a feudal principality (see patroon, page 139) on- the Hudson, yet known as Livingston's Manor. 8 King William himself was a shareholder in the enterprise for which Kidd was fitted out. Kidd appeared publicly in Boston, where he was arrested, then sent to England, tried, and executed. 9 Page 161. 150 THE COLONIES. [1623. finally demanded and obtained his recall, and the moment his official career ceased, in 1708, his creditors cast him into prison, where he remained until his accession to the peerage, on the death of his father. 1 From this period until the arrival of William Cosby, as governor [1732], the royal representatives, 8 unable to resist the will of the people, as expressed by the Assembly, allowed democratic principles to grow and bear fruit. 3 The popular will and voice now began to be potential in the administration of public affairs. Rip Van Dam, "a man of the people," was acting governor when Cosby came. They soon quarreled, and two violent parties arose the democratic, which sided with Van Dam, and tho aristocratic, which supported the governor. Each party had the control of a newspaper, 4 and the war of words raged violently for a long time. The governor, unable to compete with his opponent, finally ordered the arrest of Zenger [November, 1734], the pub- lisher of the democratic paper, on a charge of libel. After an imprisonment of thirty-five weeks, Zenger was tried by a jury, and acquitted, in July, 1735. He was defended by Andrew Hamilton, of Philadelphia, who was presented by the magistrates of the city of New York with a gold box, as a token of their esteem for his noble advocacy of popular rights. Then was distinctly drawn the line of demarcation between republicans and royalists (Whigs and Tories). 5 which continued prominent until the war of the revolution was ended in 1783. From the arrival of Cosby until the commencement of the French and Indian war, 8 the history of New York is composed chiefly of the records of party strife, and presents very little matter of interest to the general reader. Only one episode demands special attention, namely, the excitement and results incident to a supposed conspiracy of the negroes, in 1741, to burn and plunder the city, murder the inhabitants, and set up a government under a man of their own color. Several incendiary fires had occurred in rapid succession, and a house had been robbed by some slaves. The idea of a regular and horrid con- spiracy at once prevailed, and, as in the case of the Salem Witchcraft, 7 an intense panic pervaded all classes, and many innocent persons suffered. 8 This is known in history as The Negro Plot. 1 According to an unjust law of England, a peer of the realm (who is consequently a member of the House of Lords [note 2, page 218]) can not be arrested for debt. This law, enacted in tho reign of Henry the Eighth, still prevails. 9 Lord Lovelace, Ingoldsby, Hunter, Schuyler, Burnet, and Montgomerie. * "We have already noticed (page 135) the breaking out of Queen Anne's War, in 1702, and tho successful expeditions fitted out and sent in the direction of Montreal in 1709 and 1711. The debt which these expeditions laid upon New York, was felt for many years. *. The New York Weekly Journal (democratic), by John Peter Zenger; The New York Gazette (aristocratic), by William Bradford. The latter owned the first press ever set up in the province. He commenced printing in New York hi 1696. See note 3, page 179. 8 Note 4, page 226. ' Page 179. 7 Page 132. 8 Before the panic was allayed, four white people were hanged; and eleven negroes were burned, eighteen were hanged, and fifty were sent to the West Indies and sold. 1755.] MARYLAND 151 CHAPTER IV. MARYLAND. [1630.] WHEN the first popular assembly convened at St. Mary, for legislative pur- poses, on the 8th of March, 1635, * Maryland had then its colonial birth. Its sturdy growth began when, in 1639, the more convenient form of representa- tive government was established. It was crude, but it possessed the elements of republicanism. The freemen chose as many representatives as they pleased, and others were appointed by the proprietor. These, with the governor and secretary, composed the legislature. At this first session a Declaration of Rights was adopted, the powers of the governor were defined, and all the privi- leges enjoyed by English subjects were guarantied to the colonists. 8 Very soon the Indians in the vicinity, becoming jealous of the increasing strength of the white people, began to evince hostility. Frequent collisions occurred ; and in 1642, a general Indian war commenced in the region between the Potomac and the Chesapeake. It was terminated in 1645, but the quiet of the province was soon disturbed again. Clayborne had returned from England 3 [1645], and speedily fanned the embers of discontent into a flame of open rebellion. He became too powerful for the local authorities, and Governor Calvert 4 was obliged to flee to Virginia. During a year and a half, the insur- gents held the reins of government, and the horrors of civil war brooded over the colony. The rebellion was suppressed in the summer of 1646, and in August, Calvert resumed his office. In the year 1649, a very important law, known as The Toleration Act, was passed by the Assembly. Religious freedom was guarantied by the charter, 6 yet, as much animosity existed between the Protestants 8 and Roman Catholics, the Assembly' thought proper to give the principle the solemn sanction of law. By that act every professed believer in Jesus Christ and the Trinity, was allowed free exercise of his religious opinions, and no man was permitted to reproach another on account of his peculiar doctrines, except under the penalty of a fine, to be paid to the person so insulted. Thither persecuted Churchmen of New England, and oppressed Puritans of Virginia, fled and found an asylum. This act, short of full toleration as it was (for it placed Unitarians beyond the pale of its defense), is the pride and glory of the early legislature of Maryland; yet it was not the first instance in America, as is often alleged, when religious toleration received the sanction of law. 8 Rhode Island has that honor. 1 Page 82. * Page 82. * Note 1, page 82. 4 Page 81. 6 Page 81. Note 14, page 62. 7 Bozman, in his History of Maryland (II. 350 356), maintains that the majority of the mem- bers of the Assembly of 1 649, were Protestants. The records of Maryland prove it. 8 In May, 1647, the General Assembly of Rhode Island, convened at Portsmouth, adopted a code of laws which closed with the declaration that " all men might walk as their consciences per- suaded them, without molestation every one in the name of his God." This was broader tolera- tion than the Maryland act contemplated, for it did not restrict men to a belief in Jesus Christ 152 THE COLONIES. [1639 Being favored by events in the mother country, republicanism grew steadily in the new State. Royalty was abolished in England [1649], and for more than ten years the democratic idea was prevalent throughout the realm. Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of Maryland, professed republicanism on the death of the king, but he had been too recently a royalist to secure the confidence of Parliament. Stone, his lieutenant, was removed from office [April 16, 1651] by commissioners (of whom Clayborne was one), who were sent to administer the government of the colony. He was soon afterward [July 8] restored. On the dissolution of the Long Parliament [1653] ' Cromwell restored full power to the proprietor, but the commissioners, who withdrew to Virginia, returned soon afterward, and compelled Stone to surrender the government into their hands. The colonial government had been re-organized in the mean while. The legislative body was divided into an Upper and Lower House in 1650 ; the former consisting of the governor and his council, appointed by the proprietor, and the latter of representatives chosen by the people. At the same session a law was passed prohibiting all taxes, unless levied with the consent of the free- men. Political questions were freely discussed by the people ; and soon the two chief religious sects were marshaled in opposition, as prime elements of political parties. So great had been the influx of Protestants, that they now [1654] outnumbered the Roman Catholics as voters and in the Assembly. They acknowledged the authority of Cromwell, and boldly questioned the rights and privileges of an hereditary proprietor. 2 The Roman Catholics adhered to Lord Baltimore, and bitter religious hatred was fostered. The Protestants finally disfranchised their opponents, excluded them from the Assembly, and in Novem- ber, 1654, passed an act declaring Roman Catholics not entitled to the protec- tion of the laws of Maryland. This unchristian and unwise act of the Protestant party, was a great wrong as well as a great mistake. Civil war ensued. Stone returned to St. Mary, 3 organized an armed force composed chiefly of Roman Catholics, seized the colo- nial record's, and assumed the office of governor. Skirmishes followed, and finally a severe battle was fought [April 4, 1655] not far from the site of Annapolis, in which Stone's party was defeated, with a loss of about fifty men, killed and wounded. Stone was made prisoner, but his life was spared. Four other leading supporters of the proprietor were tried for treason and executed. Anarchy prevailed in the province for many months, when the discordant ele- ments were brought into comparative order by the appointment of Josiah Fen- dall [July 20, 1656] as governor. He was suspected of favoring the Roman Catholics, and was soon arrested by order of the Protestant Assembly. For two years bitter strife continued between the people and the agents of the 1 When Charles the First was beheaded [note 3, page 108], the Parliament assumed supreme authority, and remained in permanent session. Cromwell, with an army at his back, entered that assembly in the autumn of 1653, ordered them to disperse, and assumed supreme power himself) under the title of Lord Protector. That British legislature is known in history as the Long Parlia- ment. 9 According to the original charter, the heirs and successors of Lord Baltimore were to be pro- prietors forever. * Page 82. 1755.] MARYLAND. 153 proprietor, when, after concessions by the latter, Fendall was acknowledged governor, on the 3d of April, 1658. His prudence secured the confidence of the people, but the death of Cromwell, in September, 1658, presaging a change in the English government, gave them uneasiness. After long deliberation, the Assembly determined to avoid all further trouble with the proprietor, by asserting the supreme authority of the people. They accordingly dissolved the Upper House [March 24, 1660], * and assumed the whole legislative power of the State. They then gave Fendall a commission as governor for the people. The restoration of monarchy in England took place in June, 1660," and the 'original order of things was re-established in Maryland. Lord Baltimore, hav- ing assured the new king that his republican professions 3 were only temporary expedients, was restored to all his proprietary rights, by Charles. Fendall was tried, and found guilty of treason, because he accepted a commission from the rebellious Assembly. Baltimore, however, wisely proclaimed a general pardon for all political offenders in Maryland ; and for almost thirty years afterward, the province enjoyed repose. A law, which established absolute political equal- ity among professed Christians, was enacted ; and after the death of the second Lord Baltimore [Dec. 10, 1675], his son and successor confirmed it. Under that new proprietor, Charles Calvert, Maryland was governed mildly and pru- dently, and the people were prospering in their political quietude, when the Revolution in England 4 shook the colonies. The deputy governor of Maryland hesitated to proclaim William and Mary," and this was made a pretense, by a restless spirit, named Coode, 8 for exciting the people. He gave currency to the absurd report that the local magistrates and the Roman Catholics had leagued with the Indians 7 for the destruction of all the Protestants in the colony. A similar actual coalition of Jesuits 9 and savages on the New England frontiers 9 gave a coloring of truth to the story, and the old religious feud instantly burned again intensely. The Protestants formed an armed association [Sept., 1689], and led on by Coode, they took forcible possession of St. Mary, and by capitu- lation, received the provincial records and assumed the government. They called a Convention, and invested it with legislative powers. Its first acts were to depose the third Lord Baltimore, and to re-assert the sovereign majesty of the people. Public affairs were managed J)y the Convention until 1691, when the king unjustly deprived Baltimore of all his political privileges as proprietor [June 11], and made Maryland a royal province. 10 Lionel Copley was appointed the first royal governor, in 1692. New laws were instituted religious toleration 1 Page 152. * Note 2, page 109. * Page 152. 4 Note 7, page 113. * Page 113. * Coode had been a confederate in a former insurrection, but escaped conviction. 7 A treaty with the Indians had just been renewed, and the customary presents distributed among them. These things Coode falsely adduced as evidences of a coalition with the savages. 8 Note 5, page 130. " Page 130. 10 King William had an exalted idea of royal prerogatives, and was as much disposed as the Stuarts (the kings of England from James the First to James the Second) to suppress democracy in the colonies. He repeatedly vetoed (refused his assent) to Bills of Rights enacted by the colonial Assemblies ; refused his assent to local laws of the deepest interest to the colonists ; and instructed his governors to prohibit printing in the colonies. Note 7, page 112. THE COLONIES. [1639. was abolished the Church of England was made the established religion, to bo supported by a tax on the people ; and in the State founded by Roman Cath- olics the members of that denomination were cruelly disfranchised, with the consent of their sovereign. A few years later [1716], the proprietary rights of Lord Baltimore (now deceased) were restored to his infant heir, and the original form of government was re-established. Such continued to be the poli- tical complexion of the colony, until the storm of the Revolution in 1776, swept away every remnant of royalty and feudalism, and the State of Maryland was established. CHAPTER Y. CONNECTICUT. [1639.] THE CONNECTICUT COLONY* formed a political Constitution on the 24th of January, 1639, and in June following, the NEW HAVEN COLONY performed the same important act." The religious element was supreme in the new organ- ization j and, in imitation of the Constitution of the Plymouth settlers, none but church members were allowed the privileges of freemen 3 at New Haven. They first appointed a committee of twelve men, who selected seven of their members to be " pillars" in the new State. These had power to admit as many others, as confederate legislators, as they pleased. Theophilus Eaton was chosen governor, 4 and the Bible was made the grand statute-book of the colony. Many of the New Haven settlers being merchants, they sought to found a com- mercial colony, but heavy losses by the wreck of vessels' discouraged them, and they turned their special attention to agriculture. Prudence marked the course of the magistrates of the several colonies in the Connecticut valley," and they were blessed with prosperity. But difficulties with the Dutch respecting terri- torial boundaries/ and menaces of the neighboring Indians, gave them uneasi- ness, and made them readily join the New England confederation in 1643. 8 The following year the little independent colony at Saybrook 9 purchased the land of one of the proprietors of Connecticut, 10 and became permanently annexed to that at Hartford. 11 The future appeared serene and promising. The treaty made with Gov- ernor Stuyvesant, at Hartford, in 1650," gave token of future tranquillity. But the repose was soon broken by international war. England and Holland drew the sword against each other in 1652 ; and because it was reported that Nini- gret, the wily sachem of the Narragansetts, 13 had spent several weeks at New 1 Page 89. 4 Pago 89. The people assembled in a barn to form a new Constitution. 1 Note 5, page 118. 4 He was annually chosen to fill the office, until his death, which occurred in 1657. 8 In 1647, a new ship belonging to the colony foundered at sea. It was laden with a valuable cargo, and the passengers belonged to some of the leading families in the colony. 8 Page 86. ' Page 85, and note 2, page 142. 8 Page 121. Page 86. M Page 85. Page 88. B Note 2, page 142. Note 7, page 141. 1755.] CONNECTICUT. 155 Amsterdam in the winter of 1652-3 1 the belief prevailed in New England, as we have already observed, that Stuyvesant was leaguing with the Indians for the destruction of the English. 2 Great excitement ensued, and a majority of the commissioners decided, 3 in 1653, upon war with the Dutch. Immediate hostilities were prevented by the refusal of Massachusetts to furnish its quota of supplies. The Connecticut colonies (who were more exposed to blows from the Dutch than any other) applied to Cromwell for aid, and he sent four ships of war for the purpose. Before their arrival, 4 a treaty of peace was concluded between the two nations, and blood and treasure were saved. The Assembly at Hartford took possession of all property then claimed by the Dutch ; and after that the latter abandoned all claims to possessions in the Connecticut valley. On the restoration of Charles the Second, in 1660, the Connecticut colony expressed its loyalty, and obtained a charter. At first, Charles was disposed to refuse the application of Winthrop, 6 the agent of the colony, for he had heard of the sturdy republicanism of the petitioners. But when Winthrop presented his majesty with a ring which Charles I. Lad given to his grand- father, the heart of the king was touched, and he granted a charter [May 30, 1662] which not only confirmed the popular Constitution of the colony, but contained more liberal provisions than any yet issued from the royal hand." It defined the eastern boundary of the province to be Narraganset Bay, and the western, the Pacific Ocean. It thus included a portion of Rhode Island, and the whole Neio Haven Colony. , 7 The latter gave a reluctant consent to the union in 1665, but Rhode Island positively refused the alliance. A charter given to the latter the year after one was given to Connecticut [1663], 8 covered a portion of the Connecticut grant in Narraganset Bay. Concerning this boundary the two colonies disputed for more than sixty years. The colony of Connecticut suifered but little during KING PHILIP'S WAR,' which broke out in 1675, with the exception of some settlements high up on the fresh water river. 10 Yet it furnished its full quota of men and supplies, and its soldiers bore a conspicuous part in giving the vigorous blows which broke the power of the New England Indians." At the same time, the colonists were obliged to defend their liberties against the attempted usurpations of Ed- mund Andros, then governor of New York. 13 He claimed jurisdiction to the 1 This report was set afloat by Uncas, the mischievous Mohegan sachem [page 87], who hated the Narragansetts. It had no foundation in truth. See, also, page 21. 4 Page 141. * Page 121. 4 Roger Williams, then in England, managed to delay the saih'ng of the fleet, and thus, again, that eminent peace-maker prevented bloodshed. Page 87. 5 John Winthrop, son of Governor Winthrop, of Massachusetts. He was chosen governor of Connecticut in 1657, and held the office several years. Such was his station when he appeared in England to ask a charter of the king. Hopkins (who was one of the founders of the New Haven colony) was chosen the first governor of the Connecticut colony, and for several years he and Haynes were alternately chosen chief magistrates. 8 This original charter is now [1867] in the office of the Secretary of the State of Connecticut. It contains a portrait of Charles the Second, handsomely drawn in India ink, and forming part of an initial letter. This was the instrument afterward hidden in the great oak mentioned on the next page. 7 Page 88. Thus the several settlements were united under the general name of Connecticut. 8 Page 156. ' Page 124. J0 Page 85. u Page 22. w Page 147. 156 THE COLONIES. [1639. mouth of the Connecticut River, and in July, 1675, he proceeded to Saybrook with a small naval force, to assert his authority. He was permitted to land ; but when he ordered the garrison in the fort to surrender, and began to read his commission to the people, Captain Bull, the commander, ordered him to be silent. Perceiving the strength and determination of his adversary, Andros wisely withdrew, and greatly irritated, returned to New York. During the next dozen years, very little occurred to disturb the quiet and prosperity of Connecticut. Then a most exciting scene took place at Hartford, in which the liberties of the colony were periled. Edmund Andros again ap- peared as usurper of authority. He had been appointed governor of New England in 1686, * and on his arrival he demanded a surrender of the charters O ' of all the provinces. They all complied, except Connecticut. She steadily refused to give up the guaranty of her political rights ; and finally Andros pro- ceeded to Hartford with sixty armed men, to enforce obedience. The Assem- bly were in session when he arrived [Oct. 31, 1687], and received him court- eously. He demanded the surrender of the charter, and declared the colonial government dissolved. Already a plan had been arranged for securing the safety of that precious instrument, and at the same time to preserve an appearance of loyalty. The debates were purposely protracted until the candles were lighted, at evening, when the charter was brought in and laid upon the table. Just as Andros stepped forward to take it, the candles were suddenly extinguished. The charter was seized by Captain Wadsworth, of the mil- itia, and under cover of the night it was effectually concealed in the hollow trunk of a huge oak, standing . not far from the Assembly chamber. 8 When the can- dles were relighted, the members were in perfect /Y ^^^- -w HH^90K^ir order, but the charter could not be found. Andros THE CHARTER OAK. ' . . . was highly incensed at being thus foiled, but he wisely restrained his passion, assumed the government, and with his own hand wrote the word FINIS after the last record of the Charter Assembly. The gov- ernment was administered in his own name until he was driven from Boston in 1689,' when the charter was taken from the oak [May 19, 1689], a popular Assembly was convened, Robert Treat was chosen governor, and Connecticut again assumed her position as an independent colony. Petty tyrants continued to molest. A little more than four years later, the Connecticut people were again compelled to assert their chartered liberties. Colonel Fletcher, then governor of New York, 4 held a commission which gave him command of the militia of Connecticut. 5 As that power was reserved to 1 Page 129. 1 That tree remained vigorous until ten minutes before one o'clock in the morning, August 21, 1856, when it was prostrated during a heavy storm, and nothing but a stump remains. It stood on the south side of Charter-street, a few rods from Main-street, in the city of Hartford. The cavity in which the charter was concealed, had become partially closed. " Page 130. . * Page 14T. 6 The declared object of this commission was to enable Fletcher to call forth the Connecticut militia when proper, to repel au expected invasion of Northern New York, by the French and Indians. 1755.] RHODE ISLAND. 157 the colony by the charter, the Legislature refused to acknowledge Fletcher's authority. In November, 1693, he repaired to Hartford, and, notwithstanding the Legislature was in session, and again promptly denied his jurisdiction, he ordered the militia* to assemble. The Hartford companies, under Captain Wadsworth, 1 were drawn up in line; but the moment Fletcher attempted to read his commission, the drums were beaten. His angry order of " Silence!" was obeyed for a moment ; but when he repeated it, Wadsworth boldly stepped in front of him, and said, " Sir, if they are again interrupted, I '11 make the sun shine through you in a moment." Fletcher perceived the futility of a parley, or further assumption of authority ; and, pocketing his commission, he and his attendants returned to New York, greatly chagrined and irritated. The mat- ter was compromised when referred to the king, who gave the governor of Con- necticut militia jurisdiction in time of peace, but in the event of war, Colonel Fletcher should have the command of a certain portion of the troops of that colony. And now, in the year 1700, Connecticut had a population of about thirty thousand, which rapidly increased during the remainder of her colonial career. During Queen Anne's War* and the stirring events in America from that time until the commencement of the French and Indian War, 3 when her people numbered one hundred thousand, Connecticut went hand" in hand with he*r sis- ter colonies for mutual welfare ; and her history is too closely interwoven with theirs to require further separate notice. CHAPTER VI . RHODE ISLAND. [1644.] WHEN the Providence and Rhode Island plantations were united under the same government in 1644, the colony of Rhode Island commenced its inde- pendent career. 4 That charter was confirmed by the Long Parliament 5 in October, 1652, and this put an end to the persevering efforts of Massachusetts to absorb " Williams's Narraganset Plantation." That colony had always coveted the beautiful Aquiday, 6 and feared the reaction of Williams's tolerant principles upon the people from whose bosom he had been cruelly expelled. 7 A dispute concerning the eastern boundary of Rhode Island was productive of much ill feeling during the progress of a century, when, in 1741, commission- ers decided the present line to be the proper division, and wrangling ceased. 1 Page 156. a Page 135. 3 Page 179. 4 Page 91. A general assembly of deputies from the several towns, met at Portsmouth on the 29th of May, 1647, and organized the new government by the election of a president and other offi- cers. At that time a code of laws was adopted, which declared the government to be a democracy, and that "all men miglit walk as their conscience persuaded them." Page 151. 6 Note 1, page 15t ' Note 5, page 91. T Page 91. 158 THE COLONIES. [1644. Nor was Rhode Island free from those internal commotions, growing out of relig- ious disputes and personal ambition, which disturbed the repose of other colonies. These were quieted toward the close of 1653, when Roger Williams was chosen president. Cromwell confirmed the royal charter on the 22d of May, 1655, and during his administration the colony prospered. On the accession of Charles the Second, 1 Rhode Island applied for and obtained a new charter [July 8, 1663], highly democratic in its general features, and similar, in every respect, to the one granted to Connecticut. 3 The first governor elected under this instrument, was Benedict Arnold ; 3 and by a colonial law, enacted during his first administration, the privileges of freemen were granted only to free- holders and their eldest sons. Bowing to the mandates of royal authority, Rhode Island yielded to Andros, in January, 1687 ; hut the moment intelligence reached the people of the acces- sion of William and Mary 4 [May 11, 1689], and the imprisonment of the petty tyrant at Boston, 6 they assembled at Newport, resumed their old charter, and re-adopted their seal an anchor, with Hope for a motto. Under this charter, Rhode Island continued to be governed for one hundred and fifty-seven years, when the people, in representative convention, in 1842, adopted a constitution. 8 Newport soon became a thriving commercial town ; and when, in 1732, John Franklin established there the first newspaper in the colony, it contained five thousand inhabitants, and the whole province about eighteen thousand. 7 Near Newport the celebrated Dean Berkeley purchased lands in 1729 ; and with him came John Smibert, an artist, who introduced portrait painting into Amer- isa. 8 Notwithstanding Rhode Island was excluded from the New England confederacy, 9 it always bore its share in defensive efforts ; and its history is identified with that of New England in general, from the commencement of King William's War. 10 1 Page 109. * Page 154. This charter guarantied free toleration in religious matters, and the legislature of the colony re-asserted the principle, so as to give it the popular force of law. The assertion, made by some, that Roman Catholics were excluded from voting, and that Quakers were outlawed, is erroneous. 8 He was governor several times, serving hi that office, altogether, about eleven years. He was chief magistrate of the colony when he died, in 1678. * Page 130. 6 Page 130. 6 Page 477. 7 Of these, about one thousand were Indians, and more than sixteen hundred were negroes. 8 Berkeley preached occasionally in a small Episcopal church at Newport, and presented the congregation with an organ, the first ever heard in America Smibert was a Scotchman, and married and settled at Boston. His picture of Berkeley and his family is still preserved at Yale College [page 178], in New Haven. Berkeley (afterward made bishop of a diocese in Ireland) made great efforts toward the establishment of the Arts and Learning, in America. Failing in his project of founding a new University, he became one of the most liberal benefactors of Yale College. In view of the future progress of the colonies, he wrote that prophetic poem, the last verse of which contains the oft-quoted line "Westward the course of Empire takes its way." 9 Page 12L Page 130. 1755.] NEW JERSEY. 15. year. Congress, we have observed, 1 delegated all military power to Washing- ton, and he used it with energy and discretion. We left him at Trenton, pre- pared to act offensively or defensively, as circumstances should require. There he was joined by some troops under Generals Mifflin and Cadwalader, who came from Bordentown and Crosswicks, on the night of the 1st of January. Yet with these, his effective force did not exceed five thousand men. Toward the evening of the 2d of January, 1777, Cornwallis, with a strong force, ap- proached from Princeton, and after some skirmishing, the two armies encamped on either side of a small stream which runs through the town, within pistol- shot of each other. Washington commenced intrenching his camp, and Corn- wallis, expecting reinforcements in the morning, felt sure of his prey, and deferred an attack for the night. The situation of Washington and his little army was now perilous in the extreme. A conflict with such an overwhelming force as was gathering, appeared hopeless, and the Delaware becoming more obstructed by ice every hour, rendered a retreat across it, in the event of a surprise, almost impossible. A retreat down the stream was equally perilous. An escape under cover of the night, was the only chance of safety, but the ground was too soft to allow the patriots to drag their heavy cannons with them ; and could they withdraw unob- served by the British sentinels, whose hourly cry could be heard from the camp ? This was a question of deep moment, and there was no time for long deliberation. A higher will than man's determined the matter. The Protector of the righteous put forth his hand. While a council of war was in session, toward midnight, the wind changed, and the ground was soon so hard frozen, that there could be no difficulty in conveying away the cannons. Instantly all was in activity in the American camp, while Cornwallis and his army were soundly sleeping perhaps dreaming of the expected sure victory in the morn- ing. Leaving a few to keep watch and feed the camp-fires, to allay suspicion, Washington silently withdrew, with all his army, artillery, and baggage ; and at dawn [January 3, 1777], he was in sight of Princeton, prepared to fall upon Cornwallis's reserve there * The British general had scarcely recovered from his surprise and mortification, on seeing the deserted camp of the Americans, when the distant booming of cannons, borne upon the keen winter air, fell ominously upon his ears. Although it was mid-winter, he thought it was the rumbling of distant thunder. The quick ear of General Erskine decided other- wise, and he exclaimed, "To arms, general! Washington has out-generaled us. Let us fly to the rescue at Princeton !" Erskine was right, for, at that moment, Washington and the British reserve were combating. Owing to the extreme roughness of the roads, Washington did not reach Princeton as early as he expected, and instead of surprising the British, and then pushing forward to capture or destroy the enemy's stores at New Bruns- wick, he found a portion of the troops already on their march to join Corn- 264. s A brigade, under Lieutenant-colonel Mawhood, consisting of three regiments and three troopa of dragoons, were quartered there. 1777.] THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 269 BATTLE AT PRINCETON. wallis at Trenton. A severe encounter occurred, when the American militia giving way, the British, with a victorious shout, rushed forward, expecting tr produce a general rout. At that moment Washington advanced with a select corps, brought order out of con- fusion, and leading on his troops with waving sword and cheering voice, turned the tide of battle and achieved a victory. The brave General Mercer, 1 while fighting at the head of his men, was killed, and many other be- loved officers were lost on that snowy battle-field. 2 Nor was the conflict of that morning yet ended. When Corn- wallis perceived the desertion of the American camp, and heard the firing at Princeton, he hastened with a greater portion of his troops, to the aid of his reserve, and to secure his stores at New Brunswick. The Ameri- cans, who had not slept, nor scarcely tasted food for thirty-six hours, were compelled, just as the heat of the first battle was over, to contest with fresh troops, or fly with the speed of strong men. Washington chose the latter alternative, and when Cornwallis entered Princeton, not a "rebel" was to be found.' History has no parallel to offer to these events of a few days. Frederic the Great of Prussia, one of the most renowned com- manders of modern times, declared that the achievements of Washington and his little band of compatriots, between the 25th of December and the 4th of January following, were the most brilliant of any recorded in the annals of military performances. The Americans were too weak to attempt the capture of the British stores at New Brunswick, so, with his fatigued troops Washington retreated rapidly toward the hill country of East Jersey. 4 Allowing time only to refresh his little army at Pluckemin, he pressed forward to Morristown, and there estab- lished his winter quarters. But he did not sit down in idleness. After plant- ing small cantonments 6 at different points from Princeton to the Hudson Highlands, he sent out detachments to harass the thoroughly perplexed British. These expeditions were conducted with so much skill and spirit, that on the first 1 Mercer's horse had been shot under him, and he was on foot at the head of his men, when a British soldier felled him with a clubbed musket [note 4, page 236]. At first, the British believed it to be JVashington, and, with a shout, they cried, " The rebel general is taken." Hugh Mercer was a native of Scotland. He was a surgeon on the field of Culloden, and was practicing medicine in Fredericksburg, Virginia, when the Revolution broke out. He was with "Washington in the French and Indian War. He was made commander of the flying camp in 1776, and at the time of his death was about fifty-six years of age. The picture of a house in the corner of the map of the battle at Princeton, is a representation of the house in which General Mercer died. It is yet [1867] standing. 8 The chief of these were Colonels Haslett and Potter, Major Morris, and Captains Shippen, Fleming and Neal. The loss of the Americans in this engagement, was about thirty, including the officers above named. * We have mentioned, on page 210, the planetarium, at Princeton, constructed by David Ritten- house. This excited the admiration of Cornwallis, and he intended to carry it away with him. It is also said that Silas Deane [page 264] proposed to present this work of art to the French govern- ment, as a bonus for its good will. Cornwallis was kept too busy in providing for his own safety, while in Princeton, to allow him to rob the college of so great a treasure. * Page 160. * Permanent stations for small bodies of troops. 270 THE REVOLUTION. [1771 of March , 1777, not a British nor a Hessian soldier could be 'found in New Jersey, except at New Brunswick and Amboy. 1 Those dreaded bat- talions which, sixty days before, were all-powerful in New Jersey, and had frightened the Continental Congress from Philadelphia, were now hemmed in upon the Raritan, and able to act only on the defensive. Considering the attending circumstances, this was a great triumph for the Americans. It revived the martial spirit of the people, and the hopes of all good patriots ; and hundreds in New Jersey, who had been deceived by Howe's proclamation, and had suffered Hessian brutality, openly espoused the Whig cause. Congress had returned to Philadelphia, 2 and commenced its labors with renewed vigor. It was almost the first of June before the main body of the two armies com- menced the summer campaign. In the mean while, smaller detachments were in motion at various points. A strong armament was sent up the Hudson-, in March, to destroy American stores at Peekskill, at the southern entrance to the Highlands. The Americans there, under the command of General McDougal, perceiving a defense of the property to be futile, set fire to the stores and retreated to the hills in the rear. The British returned to New York the same evening [March 23, 1777]. Almost a month afterward [April 13], Corn- wallis went up the Raritan from New Brunswick, to surprise the Americans under General Lincoln, at Boundbrook. The latter escaped, with difficulty, after losing about sixty men and n part of his baggage. Toward the close of April [April 25], Governor Tryon, 3 at the head of two thousand British and Tories, went up Long Island Sound, landed at Compo [April 26], between Nonvalk and Fairfield, marched to Danbury, destroyed a large quantity of stores belonging to the Americans, burned the town, and cruelly treated the inhabitants. Perceiving the militia to be gathering in great numbers, he retreated rapidly the next morning, by way of Ridgcfield. Near that village, he had some severe skirmishing with the militia under Generals Wooster, Arnold, 4 and Silliman. Wooster was killed, 5 Arnold narrowly escaped, but Silliman, keeping the field, harassed the British all the way to the coast. At Compo, and while embarking, they were terribly galled by artillery under Lamb." Tryon lost almost three hundred men during this expedition, and killed or wounded about half that number of Americans. His atrocities on that 1 The Americans went out in small companies, made sudden attacks upon pickets, out-posts, and foraging parties, and in this way frightened the detachments of the enemy and drove *them in to the main body on the Raritan. At Springfield, a few miles from Elizabethtown, they attacked a party of Hessians who were penetrating the country from Elizabethport [January 7, 1777], killed between forty and fifty of them, and drove the remainder in great confusion back to Staten Island. A larger foraging party was defeated near Somerset court house [January 20] by about five hundred New Jersey militia under General Dickinson ; and Newark, Elizabethtown and "Woodbridge, were taken possession of by the patriots. a Page 262. * Page 223. 4 Page 234. For his gallantry at Ridgefield, Congress ordered a horse, richly caparisoned, to be presented to him. 6 David Wooster was born in Stratford, Connecticut, in 1710. He was at Louisburg in 1745 [page 137], became a captain in the British army, and was in the French and Indian War. He was in Canada in the spring of 1776 [page 243], and gave promise of being one of the most efficient of the American officers in the war for Independence. His loss, at such a critical period of the conflict^ was much deplored. The State of Connecticut erected a monument to his memory, in 1854. 6 Page 240. THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 271 occasion were never forgotten nor forgiven. The name of Tryon will ever bo held in detestation by all lovers of justice and humanity. He had already, while governor of North Carolina, been named by the Indians, The Great Wolf, and in his marauding expeditions during the earlier years of the war for Independence, his conduct confirmed the judgment of the Red Men. We shall meet him again. The Americans did not always act upon the defensive : they were some- times the aggressors. Toward the close of May [May 22, 1777J, Colonel Meigs, with one hundred and seventy men, crossed Long Island Sound in whale- boats, from Guilford, Connecticut, and at two o'clock in tho morning of the 23d of that month, attacked a British provision post at Sagg Harbor, near the eastern extremity of Long Island. They burned a dozen vessels, and the store- houses and contents, secured ninety prisoners, and reached Guilford at two o'clock the next day, without losing a man of their own party. For this exploit, Congress voted thanks to Colonel Meigs and his men, and a sword to the com- mander. A little later in the season, an equally bold exploit was performed on Rhode Island. On a dark night in July [July 10], Colonel William Bar- ton, with a company of picked men, crossed Narraganset Bay in whale-boats, in the midst of the British fbet, stole cautiously to the quarters of General Prescott, 1 the British commander on Rhode Island, seized him while in bed, and carried him in triumph across the bay to Warwick. There a carriage was in waiting for him, and at sunrise he was under a strong guard at Providence. From thenco he was sent to the headquarters of Washington, at Middlebrook, on the Raritan," and was exchanged, in April, the next year, for General Charles Lee. 3 For Colonel Barton's bravery, on that occasion, Congress voted him an elegant sword, and he was promoted to the rank and pay of a colonel in the continental army. The American commander-in-chief continued his head quarters at Morrisr town until near the last of May. During the spring he had inoculated a large portion of his troops for the small-pox ; 4 and when the leaves put forth, a fair degree of health prevailed in his camp, and his army had increased by recruits, to almost ten thousand men. He was prepared for action, offensive and defens- ive ; but the movements of the British perplexed him. Burgoyne was assem- bling an army at St. John, on the Sorel, 5 and vicinity, preparatory to an invasion of New York, by way of Lake Champlain, to achieve that darling object of the British ministry, the occupation of the country on the Hudson. 8 1 Page 240. Prescott's quarters were at a house yet [186?] standing, a short distance above Newport, and about a mile from the bay. 8 While on his way, his escort stopped at Lebanon, Connecticut, to dine. Prescott was a morose, haughty, and violent- tempered man. At the table, a dish of succotash (beans and corn) was brought to him. Not being accustomed to such food, he regarded it as an insult, and taking the dish from the hands of the hostess, he strewed its contents upon the floor. Her husband being informed of it, flogged the general severely, with a horsewhip. 8 Note 4, page 248 ; also page 288. 4 The common practice of vaccination at the present day was then unknown in this country. Indeed, the attention of Jenner, the father of the practice, had then just been turned to the subject It was practiced here a year after the close of the war. 6 Page 240. 6 Page 283. 272 THE REVOLUTION". [1777. But whether Howe was preparing to co-operate with Burgoyne, or to make another attempt to seize Philadelphia, 1 Washington could not determine. He prepared for both events by stationing Arnold with a strong detachment on the west side of the Delaware, concentrating a large force on the Hudson, and moving the main body of his army to Middlebrook, within ten miles of the British camp at New Brunswick. Washington was not kept in suspense a great while. On the 12th of June [1777], Howe passed over from New York, where he made his head quarters during the winter, concentrated the main body of his army at New Brunswick, and tried to draw Washington into an engagement by a feigned movement [June 14] toward the Delaware. The chief, perceiving the meaning of this movement, and aware of his comparative strength, wisely remained in his strong position at Middlebrook until Howe suddenly retreated [June 19], sent some of his troops over to Staten Island [June 22], and appeared to be evacuating New Jersey. This movement perplexed Washington. He was fairly deceived ; and ordering strong detachments in pursuit, he advanced several miles in the same direction, with his whole army. Howe suddenly changed front [June 25], and attempted to gain the rear of the Americans ; but, after Stirling's brigade had maintained a severe skirmish with a corps under Cornwallis [June 26], the Americans regained their camp without much loss. Five days afterward [June 30], the whole British army crossed over to Staten Island, and left New Jersey in the complete possession of the patriots. Washington now watched the movements of his enemy with great anxiety and the utmost vigilance. It was evident that some bold stroke was about to be attempted by the British. On the 12th of July, Burgoyne, who had been moving steadily up Lake Champlain, with a powerful army, consisting of about seven thousand British and German troops, and a large body of Canadians and Indians, took possession of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, 2 and spread terror over the whole North. At the same time the British fleet at New York took such 'a position as induced the belief that it was about to pass up the Hudson and co-operate with the victorious invader. Finally, Howe left General Clinton in command at New York, and embarking on board the fleet with eighteen thousand troops [July 23], he sailed for the Delaware. When Washington comprehended this movement, he left a strong force on the Hudson, and with the main body of his troops pushed forward to Philadelphia. There he was saluted by a powerful ally, in the person of a stripling, less than twenty years of age. He was a wealthy French nobleman, who, several months before, while at a dinner with the Duke of Gloucester, 3 first heard of the struggle of the Americans, their Declaration of Independence, and the preparations made to crush them. His young soul was fired with aspirations to give them his aid ; and quitting the army, he hurried to Paris. Although he had just married a young and beautiful girl, and a bright career was opened for him in his own 1 Page 261. Page 234. * The duke was the brother of the king of England, and at the time in question, was dining with Borne French officers, in the old town of Mentz, in Grennan7. 1777.] THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 273 country, he left all, and hastened to America in a vessel fitted out at his own expense. He offered his services to the Continental Congress, and that body gave him the commission [July 31] of a major-general. Three days afterward [Aug. 3] he was introduced to Washington at a public dinner ; and within less than forty days he was gallantly fighting [September 11], as a volunteer, for freedom in America, on the banks of the Brandy wine. That young general was the Marquis de LA FAYETTE/ whose name is forever linked with that of Washington and Liberty. GENERAL LA FAYETTE. The British fleet, with the army under Sir William Howe, 4 did not go up the Delaware, as was anticipated, but ascended Chesapeake Bay, and at its head, near the village of Elkton, in Maryland, the land forces disembarked [Aug. 25], and marched toward Philadelphia. Washington had advanced be- yond the Brandywine Creek, and took post a few miles from Wilmington. Howe's superior force compelled him to fall back to the east side of the Brandy- wine ; and at Chad's Ford, several miles above Wilmington, he made a stand for the defense of Phila- delphia. At that point, the Hes- ians under Knyphausen 3 attacked the left wing of the Americans [Sept. 11, 1777], commanded by Washington in person ; while Howe and Cornwallis, crossing the stream several miles above, fell upon the American right, under General Sullivan, near the Birmingham meeting-house. 4 The contest raged fearfully during the whole day. At night the shattered and defeated battalions of patriots retreated to Chester, and the following day [Sept. 12] to Philadelphia. Many brave men were killed or disabled on that sanguinary field. La Fayette was severely wounded ; 6 and the patriots lost full twelve hundred men, killed, wounded, and 1 He was born on the 6th of September, 1757. He married the daughter of the Duke de Noailles, a beautiful heiress, at the age of eighteen years. He first landed on the coast of South Carolina, in Winyaw Bay, near Georgetown, and made a land journey to Philadelphia. His appli- cation was not received at first, by the Continental Congress ; but when his true character and designs were known, they gave him a major-general's commission. He was afterward an active patriot in his own country in many perilous scenes. He visited America in 1824-5 [page 453], and died in 1834, at the age of seventy-seven years. The Baron de Kalb [page 316] and eleven other French and Polish officers, came to America in La Fayette's vessel. a After the battle near Brooklyn [page 254], the king conferred the honor of knighthood upon General William Howe, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. The ceremony was performed by several of his officers, at his quarters in the Beekman House, Turtle Bay, East River. * Page 259. 4 This was a substantial Quaker meeting-house, situated a few miles from Chad's Ford, on the road from Jefferis's Ford (where Howe and Coruwallis crossed) to Wilmington. 6 A bullet passed through his leg. He was conveyed to Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania, where 18 BATTLE AT THE BRANDYWINE. 274 THE REVOLUTION. [1777. made prisoners. The British lost almost eight hundred. Washington failed of success more on account of false intelligence, by which he was kept in igno- rance of the approach of the British on his left, than by want of skill or force. 1 Washington did not remain idle in the Federal capital, but as soon as the troops were rested, he crossed the Schuylkill, and proceeded to confront Howe, who was making slow marches toward Philadelphia. They met [Sept. 16] twenty miles west of that city, and some skirmishing ensued ; but a heavy rain prevented a general battle, and the Americans withdrew toward Reading. General Wayne, in the mean while, was hanging upon the rear of the enemy with about fifteen hundred men. On the night of the 20th, he was surprised by a party of British and Hessians, under General Grey, near the Paoli Tav- ern, and lost about three hundred of his party. 2 With the remainder he joined Washington, then near Valley Forge, and vigilantly watching the movements of Howe. As these indicated the intention of the British commander to attempt the seizure of a large quantity of ammunition and military stores which the Americans had collected at Reading, Washington abandoned Philadelphia, and took position at Pottsgrove, thirty-five miles distant, to protect those indispens- able materials for his army. Howe crossed the Schuylkill [Sept. 23, 1777], near Norristown, and marched to the Federal city 3 [Sept. 26], without oppo- sition. Congress fled at his approach, first to Lancaster [Sept. 27], and then to York, where it assembled on the 80th, and continued its session until the fol- lowing summer. The main body of the British army was encamped at Ger- mantown, four miles from Philadelphia, and Howe prepared to make the latter place his winter quarters. 4 Upon opposite sides of the Delaware, a few miles below Philadelphia, were two forts of considerable strength (Mifflin and Mercer), garrisoned by the Americans. While the British army was marching from the Chesapeake 5 to Philadelphia, the fleet had sailed around to the Delaware, and had approached to the head of that bay. The forts commanded the river ; and chevaux-de- frise* just below them, completely obstructed it, so that the army in Philadel- phia could obtain no supplies from the fleet. The possession of these forts was the Moravian sisters nursed him during his confinement. Count Pulaski began his military career in the American army, on the field of Brandywine, where he commanded a troop of horse, and after the battle he was appointed to the rank of Brigadier. He was slain at Savannah. See note 3, page 350. 1 The building seen in the corner of the map, is a view of the head quarters of "Washington, yet [1867] standing, a short distance from Chad's Ford. 5 The bodies of fifty-three Americans, found on the field the next morning, were interred in one broad grave ; and forty years afterward, the " Republican Artillerists" of Chester county, erected a neat marble monument over them. It stands in the center of an inclosure which contains the ground consecrated by the burial of these patriots. 3 Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, have been, respectively, federal cities, or cities where the Federal Congress of the United States assembled. 4 Note 2, page 285. 6 Page 273. 8 Cheoaw&de-frise are obstructions placed in river channels to prevent the pass- age of vessels. They are generally made of a series of heavy timbers, pointed with iron, and secured at an angle in a strong frame filled with stones, as seen in the engraving. Figure A shows the position under water; figure B shows how the tim- bera are arranged and the stones placed in them. 1777.] THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 275 important, and on the 22d of October, they were attached by detachments sent by Howe. Fort Mercer was assailed by two thousand Hessian grenadiers under Count Donop. 1 They were repulsed by the garrison of less than five hundred men, under Lieutenant- Colonel Christopher Greene, of Rhode Island, after los- ing their commander, 11 and almost four hundred soldiers. The garrison of Fort Mifflin, under Lieutenant- Colonel Samuel Smith, also made a gallant defense, but after a series of assaults by land and water, it was abandoned [Nov. 16, 1777]. Two days afterward, Fort Mercer was also abandoned, and several British ships sailed up to Philadelphia. 3 When Washington was informed of the weakened condition of the British army, by the detachment of these forces to attack the Delaware forts, he resolved to assail the camp at Germantown. He had moved down the Schuylkill to Skippack Creek [Sept. 25], and from that point he marched, silently, on the even- ing of the 3d of October [1777], toward the camp of the enemy. He reached Chestnut Hill, beyond Germantown, at dawn the following morning, and the . * BATTLE AT GERMANTOWN. attack soon commenced near there. Alter a severe battle, which continued almost three hours, the patriots were repulsed, with a loss, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, about equal to that at Brandy wine. 4 The British lost only about six hundred. On the 19th, Howe broke up his encampment at Germantown, and three weeks afterward, he proceeded to place his whole army in winter quarters in Philadelphia. Washington retired to his camp on Skippack Creek ; and on the 29th of November, he prepared to go into winter quarters at White Marsh, fourteen miles from Philadelphia. Let us now turn for a while from these scenes of conflict and disaster in which the beloved commander-in-chief was personally engaged, to the consider- ation of important events which were transpiring on the waters and banks of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. Burgoyne, with more than ten thousand men, invested Ticonderoga on the 2d of July. The fortress was gar- risoned by General St. Clair, with only about three thousand men. Upon 1 Page 263. 9 Donop was terribly wounded, and taken to the house of a Quaker near by, where he expired three days afterward. He was buried within the fort. A few years ago his bones were disinterred, and his skull was taken possession of by a New Jersey physician. 1 In the defense of these forts, the Americans lost about three hundred men, and the enemy almost double that number. 4 Washington felt certain of victory at the beginning of the battle. Just as it commenced, a dense fog overspread the country ; and through the inexperience of his troops, great confusion, in their movements, was produced. A false rumor caused a panic among the Americans, just as the British were about to fall back, and a general retreat and loss of victory was the result In Germantown, a strong stone house is yet [1867] standing, which belonged to Judge Chew. This a part of the enemy occupied, and from the windows fired with deadly effect upon the Ameri- cans. No blame was attached to Washington for this defeat, when victory seemed easy and certain. On the contrary, Congress, on the receipt of Washington's letter, describing the battle, passed a vote of thanks to him for his " wise and well-concerted attack upon the enemy's army near G-erman- town ;" and " to the officers and soldiers of the army, for their brave exertions on that occasion." A medal was also ordered to be struck, and presented to Washingtoa 2Y6 THE REVOLUTION. [1777. Mount Independence, on the opposite side of the lake, was a small fortifica- tion and a weak garrison. 1 These composed the entire force, except some feeble detachments of militia, to op- pose the invaders. On the approach of Burgoyne, St. Clair' left his outworks, gathered his forces near the fortress, and prepared for an assault ; but when, on the evening of the 5th, he saw the scarlet uniforms of the British on the top of Mount Defiance, 3 and a battery of heavy gun& planted there, 4 more than five hundred feet above the fort, he knew resistance would be vain. That GENERAL ST. CLAIR. . , , . ... j , , , evening he sent his ammunition and stores up the lake to Skenesborough, 5 and under cover of the darkness, silently crossed over to Mount Independence, and commenced a retreat to Fort Edward, 6 the head- quarters of General Schuyler, who was then in command of the northern army. The retreating army would have been beyond the reach of pursuers by dawn, had not their exit been discovered. Contrary to express orders, a build- ing was fired on Mount Independence, and by its light their flight was discov- ered by the enemy, and a strong party, consisting of the brigade of General Eraser, and two Hessian corps under Riedesel, was immediately sent in pursuit. At dawn, the British flag was waving over Ticonderoga ; and a little after sun- rise [July 7, 1777], the rear division of the flying Americans, under Colonel Seth Warner, 7 were overtaken in Hubbardton, Vermont, and a severe engage- ment followed. The patriots were defeated and dispersed, and the victors returned to Ticonderoga. 8 Before sunset the same evening, a flotilla of British vessels had overtaken and destroyed the Americans' stores which St. Clair had sent up the lake, and also a large quantity at Skenesborough. The fragments of St. Glair's army reached Fort Edward on the 12th, thoroughly dispirited. Disaster had followed disaster in quick succession. Within a week, the Amer- icans had lost almost two hundred pieces of artillery, and a large amount of provisions and military stores. 1 During the previous years, the Americans constructed a picketed fort, or stockade [note 2, page 183], on that eminence, built about three hundred huts or barracks, dug several wells, and placed batteries at different points. The remains of these are now [1867] everywhere visible on Mount Independence. That eminence received this name because the troops took possession of it on the 4th of July, 1776. Page 250. 8 Arthur St. Clair was a native of Scotland, and came to America with Admiral Boscawen, early in May, 1755. He served under Wolfe [page 281] ; and when the Revolution broke out, he en- tered the American army. He served during the war, and afterward commanded an expedition against the Indians in Ohio, where he was unsuccessful. He died in 1818, at the age of eighty-four years. 3 This is a hill about 750 feet in height, situated on the south-west side of the outlet of Lake George, opposite Ticonderoga. 4 With immense labor, Burgoyne opened a road up the northern slope of Mount Defiance, and dragged heavy artillery to the summit. From that point, every ball might be hurled within the fort below without difficulty. The position of that road may yet [1867] be traced by the second growth of trees on its line up the mountain. 8 Now Whitehall It was named after Philip Skene, who settled there in 1764. The narrow part of Lake Champlain, from Ticonderoga to Whitehall, was formerly called Wood Creek (the name of the stream that enters the lake at Whitehall), and also South River. 6 Page 188. ' Page 232. The Americans lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, a little more than three hundred ; the British reported their loss at one hundred and eighty-three. 1777.] THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 277 The force under General Schuyler was very small, and even with this rein- forcement by the fugitives from the lake, he had only about four thousand effect- ive men a number totally inadequate to combat with those of Burgoyne. He therefore sent a strong party toward Skenesborough to fell huge trees across the roads, and to destroy all the bridges, so as to obstruct the march of the invaders, while he slowly retreated down the Hudson valley to the mouth of the Mohawk, and there established a fortified camp. 1 His call for aid was nobly responded to, for the whole country was thoroughly aroused to a sense of peril. Detachments were sent from the regular army to strengthen him ; and soon General Lincoln came with a large body of New England militia. When General Gates arrived, to take the chief command, 2 he found an army of thir- teen thousand men, ready to meet the invader. The progress of Burgoyne was slow, and he did not reach Fort Edward until the 30th of July.* The obstructions ordered by Schuyler, and the de- struction of the bridges, were great hinderances. 4 His army was also worn down by fatigue, and his provisions were almost exhausted. To replenish his stores, he sent five hundred Germans, Canadians, and Tories, and one hundred Indians, under Colonel Baume, to seize provisions and cattle which the Americans had collected at Bennington, thirty-five miles distant. Colonel John Stark had called out the New Hampshire militia ; and near Hoosick, within five miles of Bennington, they met [Aug. 16] and defeated the marauders. And toward evening, when another German party, under Colonel Breyman, approached, they also were defeated by a continental force under Colonel Seth Warner. 6 Many of the enemy were killed, and a large number were made prisoners. Bur- goyne's entire loss, in this expedition, was almost a thousand men. The Amer- icans had one hundred killed, and as many wounded. This defeat was fatal to Burgoyne's future operations 6 this victory was a day-star of hope to the 1 Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish refugee, who came with Lafay- ette [page 273], was now attached to Schuyler's army, as engineer. Under his direction, the intrenchments at the mouth of the Mohawk River, were constructed ; also, those at Stillwater and Saratoga The camp at the mouth of the Mohawk was upon islands just below the Great or Cohoes 1 Falls. 8 General Schuyler had superseded Gates in June, and had been skillfully confronting Burgoyne. But Gates, seeing a chance for gain- ing laurels, and having a strong party of friends in Congress, sought the chief command of the northern army. It was ungenerously taken from Schuyler at the moment when, by great exertions and through great hardships, he had a force prepared to confront Burgoyne, with some prospect of success. 3 It was while Burgoyne was approaching that point, that Jane KOSCIUSZKO. M'Crea, the betrothed of a young Tory in the British army, was shot, while being conveyed by a party of Indians from Fort Edward to the British camp. Her death was untruly charged upon the Indians, and it was made the subject of the most bitter denunciations of the British ministers, for employing such cruel instrumentalities. Tho place of her death is a short dis- tance from the village of Fort Edward. The pine-tree which marked the spot, decayed a few years since, and in 1853, it was cut down, and converted into canes and boxes for the curious. 4 Burgoyne was obliged to construct forty bridges on the way, and to remove the many trees which lay across the roads. To estimate the amount of fatigue which the troops must have endured during that hot month, it must be remembered that each soldier bore a weight of sixty pounds, in arms, accoutrements, and supplies. 6 Pages 234 and 240. * It dispirited his troops, who were worn down with the fatigue of the obstructed march from Skenesborough to Fort Edward. It also caused a delay of a month at that place, and in the mean 278 THE REVOLUTION. [1777. Americans. Applause of the New Hampshire militia rang through the land, and Stark was made a brigadier in the continental army. During Burgoyne's approach, the Mohawk valley had become a scene of great confusion and alarm. Colonel St. Leger and his savages, joined by the Mohawk Indians, under Brant, 1 and a body of Tories, under Johnson 2 and Butler, had arrived from Oswego, and invested Fort Stanwix, on the 3d of August [1777]. The garrison was com- manded by Colonel Gansevoort, and made a spirited defense. General Herkimer rallied the militia of his neighborhood and while marching to the assistance of Gansevoort, he fell into an Indian ambuscade [Aug. 6] at Oriskany. 3 His party was totally defeated, after a bloody conflict, and himself was mortally wounded. On the same day, a corps of the garrison, under Colonel Willet, made a successful sortie, 4 and broke the power of the besiegers. Arnold, who had been sent by Schuyler to the relief of the fort, soon afterward approached, when the besiegers fled [Aug. 22], and quiet was restored to the Mohawk valley. The disastrous events at Benriington and Fort Stan- wix, and the straitened condition of his commissariat, greatly perplexed Burgoyne. To retreat, advance, or remain inactive, seemed equally perilous. With little hope of reaching Albany, where he had boasted he would eat his Christmas dinner, he crossed the Hudson and formed a fortified camp on the hills and plains of Sara- toga, now the site of Schuylerville. General Gates advanced to Bemis's Heights, about four miles north of JOSEPH BRANT. GENERAL BURGOYNE. while their provisions were rapidly diminishing. "While at Fort Edward, Burgoyne received intel- ligence of the defeat of St. Leger at Fort Stanwix. 1 Joseph Brant was a Mohawk Indian, and a great favorite of Sir William Johnson. He ad- hered to the British, and went to Canada after the war, where he died hi 1807, aged sixty-five years. 2 Sir "William Johnson [page 190] (then dead) had been a sort of auto- crat among the Indians and Tories in the Mohawk valley. He flattered the chiefs in various ways, and through them he obtained almost un- bounded influence over the tribes, especially that of the Mohawks. He was in the habit of giving those chiefs who pleased him, a diploma, certi- fying their good character, and faithfulness to his majesty. These con- tained a picture, representing a treaty council, of which the annexed engraving is a copy. His family were the worst enemies of the Ameri- cans during the war, in that region. His son, John, raised a regiment of Tories, called the Johnson Greens (those who joined St. Leger) ; and John Butler, a cruel leader, was at the head of another band, called Butler's Rangers. These co-operated with Brant, the great Mohawk sachem, and for years they made the Mohawk valley and vicinity truly a "dark and bloody ground." These men were the allies of St. Leger on the occasion in question. 3 The place of the battle is about halfway between Utica and Rome. The latter village is upon the site of Fort Stanwix, built by Bradstreet and his troops in 1758 [page 197]. It was repaired and garrisoned in 1776, and its name was changed to Fort Schuyler. Another Fort Schuyler waa built during the French and Indian War, where Utica now stands. 4 Note 7, page 241. A TREATY. BCEGOTJfE SCRBEXDEUIXG HIS SffOBD TO GATES. 1777.] THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 281 SEMIS'S HEIGHTS. Stillwater (and twenty-five from Albany), and also formed a fortified camp. 1 Burgoyne perceived the necessity for immediate operations, and advancing toward the American camp, a severe but indecisive action ensued, on the 19th of September [1777]. Night terminated the conflict, and both parties claimed the victory. 1 Burgoyne fell back to his camp, where he resolved to await the arrival of expected detach- ments from General Clinton, who was to attack the posts on the Hudson Highlands, and force his way to Albany.* But after waiting a few days, and hearing nothing from Clinton, he prepared for another at- tempt upon the Americans, for the militia were flock- ing to Gates's camp, and Indian warriors of the Six NATIONS 4 were gathering there. His own force, on the contrary, was hourly diminishing. As his star, which arose so brightly at Ticonderoga, 5 began to decline upon the Hudson, the Canadians and his Indian allies deserted him hi great numbers. 8 He was compelled to fight or flee. Again he advanced ; and after a severe battle of several hours, on the 7th of October, and almost on the same ground occupied on the 19th of September, he was compelled to fall back to the heights of Saratoga, and leave the patriots in the possession of the field. Ten days afterward [October 17], finding only three days' provisions in his camp, hearing nothing of Clinton, and perceiving retreat impossible, he was compelled to surrender his whole army prisoners of war. 7 Of necessity, the forts upon Lake Champlain now fell into the hands of the patriots. 1 The remains of some of the intrenchments were yet visible in 1850, when the writer visited the locality. a The number of Americans engaged in this action, was about two thousand five hundred ; that of the British was about three thousand. The former lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, three hundred and nineteen; the British loss was rather less than five hundred. * Page 283. 4 Page 25. ' Page 276. * The Indians had been disappointed in their expectations of blood and plunder ; and now was their hunting season, when provisions must be secured for winter use. The Canadians saw nothing but defeat in the future, and left the army in whole companies. 7 The whole number surrendered was five thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, of whom two thousand four hundred and twelve were Germans or Hessians [page 183], under the chief com- mand of the Baron Riedesel, whose wife accompanied him, and afterward wrote a very interesting account of her experience in America. Burgoyne did dine at Albany, but as a prisoner, though a guest at the table of General Schuyler. That noble patriot, though smarting under the injustice of Congress and the pride of Gates, did not abate his zeal for the good cause when he had surrendered his command into the hands of his successor, but, as a private citizen, gave his time, his labor, and his money freely, until he saw the invader humbled ; and then, notwithstanding Burgoyne, without the show of a just excuse, had destroyed Schuyler's fine mansion, his mills, and much other prop- erty, at Saratoga, he made the vanquished general a guest at his own table. When Burgoyne said, "You are very kind to one who has done you so much injury," the generous patriot replied, "Thai was the fate of war ; let us say no more about it." Burgoyne's troops laid down their arms upon the plain in front of Schuylerville ; and the meeting of the conqueror and the conquered, for the latter to surrender his sword, was a very significant scene. The two came out of Gates's marquee together. Without exchanging a word, Burgoyne, according to previous arrangement, stepped back, drew his sword, and, in the presence of the two armies, presented it to General Gates. The latter received it with a courteous inclination of the head, and instantly returned it to the vanquished general. They then returned to the marquee together. The British filed off, and took up their line of march for Boston : and thus ended this important act in the great drama, upon the heights of Saratoga. Burgoyne's troops were marched to Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the view of sending 282 THE EEYOLUTION. [1777. Glorious, indeed, was this victory for the Americans. It gave them a fine tram of brass artillery, five thousand muskets, and a vast amount of munitions of war. Its moral effect was of greater importance. All eyes had been anxiously turned to the army of the North, and Congress and the people listened eagerly for every breath of rumor from Saratoga. How electric was the effect when a shout of victory came from the camp of Gates I 1 It rolled over the land, and was echoed from furrows, workshops, marts of commerce, the halls of legislation, and from the shattered army of Washington at White- marsh. 3 Toryism stood abashed ; the bills of Congress rose twenty per cent, in value ; 8 private capital came from its hiding-places for public employment ; the militia flocked to the standards of leaders, and the great patriot heart of Amer- ica beat with strong pulsations of hope. The effect in Europe was also favor- able to the Americans. The highest hopes of the British ministry rested on this expedition, and the generalship of Burgoyne justified their expectations. It was a most severe blow, and gave the opposition in Parliament the keenest weapons. Pitt, leaning upon his crutches, 4 poured forth eloquent denunciations [December, 1777] of the mode of warfare pursued the employment of German hirelings 6 and brutal savages. 6 "If I were an American, as I am an English- man," he exclaimed, " while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms never, never, never !" In the Lower House, 7 Burke, Fox, and Barr6 were equally severe upon the government. When, on the 3d of December, the news of Burgoyne' s defeat reached London, the latter arose in his place in the Commons, 8 and with a serene and solemn countenance, asked Lord George Germain, the Secretary of War, what news he had received by his last expresses from Quebec, and to say, upon his word of honor, what had become of Burgoyne and his brave army. The haughty secretary was irritated by the cool irony of the question, but was compelled to acknowledge that the unhappy intelligence of Burgoyne's surrender had reached him. He added, " The intelligence needs confirmation." That confirmation was not . . slow in reaching the ministry. Mightily did this victory weigh in favor of the Americans, at the French them to Europe, but Congress thought it proper to retain them, and they were marched to the interior of Virginia. John Burgoyne was a natural son of Lord Bingley, and was quite eminent as a dramatic author. On his return to England, he resumed his seat as a member of Parliament, and opposed the war. He died hi 1792. 1 General Gates was so elated with the victory, which had been prepared for him by General Schuyler, and won chiefly by the valor of Arnold and Morgan [page 331], that he neglected the courtesy due to the commander-in-chief, and instead of sending his dispatches to him, he sent his aid, Colonel Wilkinson, with a verbal message to Congress. That body also forgot its dignity in the hour of its joy. and the young officer was allowed to announce the victory himself, on the floor of Congress. In his subsequent dispatches, Gates did not even mention the names of Arnold and Morgan. History has vindicated their claims to the honor of the victory, and placed a just estimate upon the ungenerous conduct of their commander. Congress voted a gold medal to Gates. a Page 275. * Note 3, page 245. 4 Note 1, page 231. * Note 3, page 246. * A member justified the employment of the Indians, by saying that the British had a right to use the means "which God and nature had given them." Pitt scornfully repeated the passage, and said, "These abominable principles, and this most abominable avowal of them, demands most decisive indignation. I call upon that right reverend bench (pointing to the bishops), those holy ministers of the gospel, and pious pastors of the church I conjure them to join in the holy work, and to vindicate the religion of their God." T Note 2, page 218. 8 Note 2, page 218. 1777.] THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 9g3 court. Unaided by any foreign power, the Americans had defeated and cap- tured a well -trained army of about six thousand men, led by experienced com- manders. " Surely such a people possess the elements of success, and will achieve it. We may now safely strike England a severe blow, 1 by acknowledging the independence, and forming an alliance with her revolted colonies," argued the French government. And so it did. Intelligence of the surrender of Bur- goyne reached Paris on the 4th of December, 1777. King Louis then cast off all disguise, and informed the American commissioners that the treaty of alliance and commerce, already negotiated, would be ratified, and "that it was decided to acknowledge the independence of the United States." Within a little more than a hundred days after Burgoyne laid down his arms at Saratoga, France had formed an alliance with the confederated States [Feb. 6, 1778], and pub- licly avowed it. The French king, in the mean while, wrote to his uncle, the king of Spain, urging his co-operation ; for, according to the family compact of the Bourbons, made in 1761, the king of Spain was to be consulted before such a treaty could be ratified. While these events were in progress at Saratoga, General Clinton was making hostile demonstrations upon the banks of the lower Hudson. He attempted the concerted co-operation with Burgoyne, but he was too late for success. He ascended the Hudson with a strong force, captured Forts Clinton and Montgomery, in the Highlands 2 [October 6, 1777], and sent a marauding expedition above these mountain barriers, to devastate the country [October' 13], and endeavor to draw off some of the patriot troops from Saratoga. 3 These marauders burned Kingston, and penetrated as far as Livingston's Manor, in Columbia county. Informed of the surrender of Burgoyne, they hastily retreated, and Clinton and his army returned to New York. Some of Gates' troops now joined Washington at White Marsh, 4 and Howe made several attempts to entice the chief from his encampment, but without success. 5 Finally 1 France rejoiced at the embarrassments of England, on account -ef her revolted colonies, and from the beginning secretly 'favored the latter. She thought it inexpedient to aid the colonies openly, until there appeared some chance for their success, yet arms and money were secretly pro- vided [note 3, page 266], for a long time previous to the alliance. Her motives were not the benevolent ones to aid the patriots, so much as a selfish desire to injure England for her own bene- fit. The French king, in a letter to his uncle, of Spain, avowed the objects to be to " prevent the union of the colonies with the mother country," and to " form a beneficial alliance with them." A Bourbon (the family of French kings) was never known to be an honest advocate of free principles. 2 These forts were situated on opposite sides of a stream which forms the dividing line between Orange and Rockland counties. Fort Indpendence, near Peekskill, and Fort Constitution, opposite West Point, were abandoned on his approach. Fort Putnam, at West Point, was not yet erected. 3 While the garrison of the two forts (who escaped) were re-gathering, back of New Windsor, a man from the British army was arrested on suspicion of being a spy. He was seen to swallow something. An emetic brought it up, and it was discovered to be a hollow silver bullet, containing a dispatch from Clinton to Burgoyne, written on thin paper. That bullet is yet in the family of George Clinton, who was the first republican governor of New York. The dispatch was as follows: "Now y void [Here we are], and nothing between us and Gates. I sincerely hope this little success of ours will facilitate your operations. In answer to your letter of the 28th of Sep- tember, by C. C., I shall only say, I can not presume to order, or even advise, for reasons obvious. I heartily wish you success. Faithfully yours, H. CLINTON." The prisoner was taken to Kingston, and there hanged as a spy. * Page 275. s Howe marched out to attack Washington on the 4th of December, expecting to take him by surprise. A Quaker lady of Philadelphia, at whose house some British officers were quartered, had 284 THE REVOLUTION. [1778. Washington moved from that position [December 11], and went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, where he might easier afford protection to Congress at York, and his stores at Reading. 1 The events of that encampment at Valley Forge afford some of the gloomiest as well as some of the most brilliant scenes in the records of American patriotism. CHAPTER V. FOURTH TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. [1778.] IF there is a spot on the face of our broad land wherein patriotism should delight to pile its highest and most venerated monument, it should be in the bosom of that rugged gorge on the bank of the Schuylkill, twenty miles north- west from Philadelphia, known as Valley Forge, where the American army was encamped during the terrible winter of 1777-'78." In all the world's his- overheard them talking about this enterprise, gave Washington timely information, and he was too well prepared for Howe, to fear his menacea After some skirmishes, in which several Americans were lost, Howe returned to Philadelphia. ' Page 274. a That was a winter of severe and protracted cold. The waters of New York Bay were so firmly frozen, that the British took heavy cannons from the city to Staten Island, on the ice. 1778.] FOURTH TEAR OP THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 85 ENCAMPMENT AT VALLEY FOEGE- tory, we have no record of purer devotion, holier sincerity, or more pious self- immolation, than was then and there exhibited in the camp of Washington. Many of the soldiers had marched thither from Whitemarsh, bare-footed, and left bloody foot-prints in the snow on their dreary journey. 1 There, in the midst of frost and snow, half- clad and scantily fed, they shivered in rude huts, while the British army was indulging in comforts and luxuries within a large city." Yet that freezing and starving army did not despair ; nor did the com- mander-in-chief, who shared their privations and suf- fered injury at the hands of intriguing men, 3 lose con- fidence in the patriotism of the people or his troops, or doubt the wisdom of Providence.* The winter wore away, and when the buds began to burst, a cheering ray of glad tidings came from Europe. The intelli- gence of the treaty of alliance with France, 6 was a hopeful assurance of success, and when the news spread through the camp, on the 1st of May [1778], shouts loud and long shook the forests which shrouded the hills around Valley Forge. 6 Nor was that a solitary gleam of hope. Light also emanated from the TJ _._ TI __ _. _ _ _ --.._..-, - ' 1 Gordon, the historian, says, that while at Washington's table in 1784, the chief informed him that bloody foot-prints were everywhere visible in the course of their march of nineteen miles, from Whitemarsh to Valley Forge. * The power of t'~e British army was much weakened by indulgence, during that winter. Prof- ligacy begat disease, jrime, and insubordination. The evil effects produced upon the army led Dr. Franklin to say, " Howe did not take Philadelphia Philadelphia took Howe." General Howe took leave of the army in May, and the officers gave him a splendid farewell fete, which was called a Mischianza, signifying a medley. For a full description, see Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution. During their occupation of the city, the enemy were annoyed by the patriots in various ways. In January, some Whigs at Bordentown, where Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declara- tion of Independence, resided, sent a number of kegs down the Delaware, which were filled with powder, and furnished with machinery, in such a manner, that on rubbing against any object in the stream, they would explode. These were the torpedoes invented by Bushnell of Connecticut, already mentioned on page 252. The British vessels, hauled into the docks to keep clear of the ice, escaped receiving any injury from these missiles. One of them exploded near the city, and pro- duced intense alarm. Not a stick or a chip was seen floating, for twenty-four hours afterward, but it was fired at by the British. This circumstance afforded the theme for that remarkable poem from the pen of Hopkinson, entitled The Battte of the Kegs. Hopkinson [see page 284] was a native of Philadelphia and married and settled in Bordentown, New Jersey. He was an elegant writer, a great wit, a good musician, and a thorough-bred gentleman. He was a warm and active patriot, became eminent as a jurist after the war, and died in 1791, at the age of forty-seven years. His son, Joseph Hopkinson, was the author of our national song, Sail Columbia. 3 During this season a scheme was formed among a few officers of the army, and members of Congress, for depriving Washington of his command, and giving it to Gates or Lee. Both of these ambitious men sought the honor, and the former was fully identified with the clandestine move- ments toward that end. One of the chief actors hi the plot, who was more the instrument of others than a voluntary and independent schemer, was General Conway, an Irishman, who belonged to the continental army. The plot was discovered and defeated, and Conway was led to make a most humble apology to Washington, for his conduct. 4 On one occasion, Isaac Potts, whose house was Washington's head-quarters at Valley Forge, discovered the chief in a retired place, pouring out his soul in prayer to his God. Potts went home to his wife, and said, with tears in his eyes, " If there is any one on this earth to whom the Lord will listen, it is George Washington." ' Page 283. 8 On the 7th day of May the army fired salutes hi honor of the event, and by direction of the chief, they all shouted, "Huzza for the king of fiance I" THE REVOLUTION. [1778. British throne and Parliament. The capture of Burgoyne, and the general failure of the campaign of 1777, had made the English people, and a powerful minority in Parliament, clamorous for peace and reconciliation. Lord North, the prime-minister/ was compelled to listen. To the astonishment of every body, he proposed [Feb. 17] a repeal of all the acts of Parliament obnoxious to the Americans, which had been enacted since 1763 ; and in the course of his speech in favor of his conciliatory plan, he actually proposed to treat the Con- tinental Congress as a legal body. 2 Two bills, expressing these conciliatory measures, were passed after much opposition, 3 and received the signature of the king, on the llth of March. Commissioners 4 were appointed to proceed to America to negotiate for peace with Congress, and the British government seemed really anxious to offer the olive branch, without qualification. But the Americans had been too often deceived to accept any thing confidingly from that source, and as soon as these bills reached Congress [April 15], and it was found that they made no mention of the independence of the colonies, that body at once rejected them as deceptive. When the commissioners came [June 4], Congress refused to negotiate with them until Great Britain should withdraw her fleets and armies, or unequivocally acknowledge the independence of the United States. After unsuccessfully appealing to the American people, and one of them endeavoring to bribe members of Congress, 6 the commissioners returned to England, and the war went on. The alliance with France gave the patriots greater confidence in their ulti- mate success. It was immediately productive of action. The first movement of the French government, in compliance with the requirements of that treaty, was to dispatch a squadron, consisting of twelve ships of the line, and four large frigates, under Count D'Estaing, to blockade the British fleet in the Del- aware. When, a month before he sailed, the British ministry was officially informed [March 17, 1778] of the treaty, and it was considered equivalent to a declaration of war, a vessel was dispatched with a message to the British com- manders, ordering them to evacuate Philadelphia and the Delaware, and to con- centrate their forces at New York. Fortunately for Lord Howe, he had left 1 Page 224. a Note 2, page 253. * Pitt was favorable to these bills, but when a proposition was made to acknowledge the independ- ence of the colonies, and thus dismember the British empire, he opposed the measure with all his might. He was in favor of reconciliation, not of separation. It was during his speech on this sub- ject, that he was seized [April 7] with the illness which terminated his life a month afterward. Pitt was born in November, 1708, and died on the llth of May, 1778, when almost seventy years of age. * The Earl of Carlisle, George Johnstone, formerly governor of Florida, and "William Eden, a brother of Sir Robert Eden, the last royal governor of Maryland. Adam Ferguson, the eminent professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburg, accompanied them as secretary. * Among those who were approached was General Joseph Reed, a delegate from Pennsyl- vania. Mrs. Ferguson, wife of a relative to the secretary of the commissioners, then residing in Philadelphia, and who was intimate with Mr. Reed, was employed to sound him. Mr. Reed had been suspected by some of his compatriots of rather easy virtue as a republican, and the fact that he was approachable in this way, confirmed their suspicions. Mrs. Ferguson was authorized to offer him high official station and a large sum of money, if he would use his influence in favor of peace, according to the submissive terms offered by the commissioners. Her mission became known, and General Reed alleged that he said to her, " I am not worth purchasing; but such as I am, the king of England ia not rich enough to do it" 1778.] FOURTH TEAR OP THE "WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 287 the Delaware a few days before the arrival of D'Estaing 1 [July 8, 1778], and found safety in the waters of Amboy or Raritan Bay, into which the heavy French vessels could not enter over the bar that stretches northward from Sandy Hook toward the Narrows. A little earlier than this, there had been a change in the command of the British army. Sir Henry Clinton,* a more effi- cient officer than Howe, had succeeded him as general- in-chief, toward the close of May, and on the 18th of June, he withdrew his whole army from Philadelphia. With eleven thousand men, and an immense baggage and provision train, he started for New York, by the way of New Brunswick and Amboy. Washington, sus- pecting some important movement, was on the alert, and breaking up his encampment at Valley Forge, he pur- sued Clinton with more than equal force. 3 By adroit ,, r 4.1, A -4. GENERAL CLIXTOX. movements, detachments of the American army so inter- cepted Clinton's march, as to compel him to change his course in the direction of Sandy Hook, while New Jersey militia continually harassed his flanks and rear. 4 Finally, a general engagement took place [June 28, 1778] on the plains of Monmouth, in the present village of Freehold, in New Jersey. The 28th of June, 1778, a day memorable in the annals of Freedom, was the Christian Sabbath. The sky was cloudless over the plains of Monmouth, 6 when the morning dawned, and the sun came up with all the fervor of the sum- mer solstice. It was the sultriest day of the year one of the warmest ever known. On that calm Sabbath morning, in the midst of paradisal beauty, twenty thousand men girded on the implements of hellish war, to maim an(? destroy each other to sully the green grass and the fragrant flowers with human blood. Nature was smiling in her summer garments, and in earth and air there was fullness of love and harmony. Man, alone, was the discordant note in the universal melody. He, alone, the proud "lord of creation," dis- turbed the chaste worship of the hour, which ascended audibly from the groves, the streams, the meadows, and the woodlands. The two armies began to prepare for action at about one o'clock in the morning, and at day-break they were in motion. Before nine, detachments met 1 Silas Deane [page 266] returned to America in D'Estaing's flag-ship, and Gerard, the first French minister to the United States, came in the same vessel. Congress was now in session in Philadelphia, having returned from York [page 274] on the 30th of June, twelve days after the British had left for New York. a Henry Clinton was a son of George Clinton, governor of the province of New York in 1743, and a grandson of the Earl of Lincoln. After the war he was made governor of Gibraltar [1795], and died there the same year. * Arnold was yet quite lame from the effects of a severe wound in the leg, which he received in the battle on Bemis's Heights [page 278], and at his solicitation, "Washington left him in command of a corps at Philadelphia, with the powers of a military governor. Washington crossed the Delaware in pursuit of Clinton, with a little more than 12,000 mea * "Washington was anxious to attack Clinton when he was in the vicinity of AUentown, but Lee and others overruled his opinions, in a council of war. Greene, La Fayette, and "Wayne agreed with the chief, and supported by these able officers, he resolved on a general engagement. 6 The battle of Monmouth was fought in the immediate vicinity of the present village of Free- hold, New Jersey, chiefly within the space of two miles north-west of the town. 288 THE REVOLUTION. [1778. BATTLE AT MONMOUTH. in deadly conflict, and from that hour until dajk, on that long summer day, the terrible contest raged. It was commenced by the advanced division of the American army, under Gen- eral Charles Lee. 1 His apparent want of skill or courage, and a mis- understanding of orders on the part of some of his officers, pro- duced ^ general and tumultuous retreat of his division. The fugitives were met by the approaching main body, under Washington, 5 and being speedily checked and restored to order by the chief, they were led to action, and the battle became general. Many fell under the excessive heat of the day, and when night came, both parties were glad to rest. The Americans slept on their arms 3 during the night, with the intention of renewing the battle at dawn, but when light appeared, the British camp was deserted. Clinton had silently withdrawn [June 29 J, and was far on his way toward Sandy Hook/ Washington did not follow, but marching to New Brunswick, and thence to the Hudson River, he proceeded to White Plains, 8 where he remained until late in autumn. Then he crossed into New Jersey, and made his winter quarters at Middlebrook, on the Raritan, where he was 1 Page 248. This command was first given to La Fayette, but when Lee, who had opposed the measure in council, signified his readiness to lead it, it was given to him, as he was the senior officer. 9 Washington was greatly irritated when he met the fugitives, and riding up to Lee, he addressed him with much warmth of language, and directed him to assist in restoring order. Lee promptly obeyed, but the sting of Washington's words rankled in his bosom, and on that day, after the battle, he addressed an offensive letter to the chief. Lee was arrested and tried by a court- martial, on the charges of disobedience of orders, misbehavior before the enemy, and disrespect to the commander-in-chief. He was found guilty, and was suspended from command for one year. He never entered the army again, and died in obscurity, in Philadelphia, in October, 1782. He was brave, but bad in manners and morals, profane in language, and a contemner of religion. It is believed that he was willing to have Washington lose the battle of Monmouth, because he (Lee), was opposed to it, and at the same time was seeking to rise to the chief command upon the ruins of Washington's reputation. We have already alluded to the conspiracy toward that end, on page 285. The hottest of the battle occurred a short distance from the Freehold Presbyterian Church yet [1867] standing. Near it is a board, with an inscription, showing the burial-spot of Colonel Monckton, of the British army, who was killed in the battle. ' This expression is used respecting troops who sleep with all then* accoutrements on, and their weapons by their side, ready for action in a moment The British left about three hundred killed on the field of battle. They also left a large number of the sick and wounded to the mercy of the Americans. The Americans lost in killed, wounded, and missing, two hundred and twenty- eight. Many of the-missing afterward rejoined the army. They had less than seventy killed. 4 In his dispatch to the Secretary of War, General Clinton said, " I took advantage of the moon- light to rejoin General Knyphausen," &c. As, according to an almanac of that year, the moon was quite new, and set two hours before Clinton's march, this boast of leaving in the moonlight occa- sioned much merriment. Trumbull, in his JPMngal, alluding to this, says, " He forms his camp with great parade, While evening spreads the world in shade, Then still, like some endanger' d spark, Steals off on tiptoe in the dark ; Yet writes his king, in boasting tone, How grand he march' d by light of moon \ Go on, great general, nor regard The scoffis of every scribbling bard, Page 305. " Who sings how gods, that fearful night, Aided by miracle your flight ; As once they used, in Homer's day, To help weak heroes run away ; Tells how the hours, at this sad trial, "Went back, as erst on Ahaz' dial, While British Joshua stayed the moon On Monmouth' s plain for Ajalon. Heed not their sneers or gibes so arch, Because she set before your march." 1778.] FOURTH Y.EAR OP THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 289 encamped in the spring and summer of the previous year. 1 Clin ton's shattered forces went on board the British fleet at Sandy Hook, and proceeded to New York, where the head quarters of the royal army continued until the close of the war. 2 And when D'Estaing appeared off Sandy Hook, the British fleet was safe in Raritan Bay. As we have already mentioned, the bar from Sandy Hook to Staten Island would not allow the heavy French vessels to pass, and D'Estaing therefore relinquished his design of attacking Howe's flset, and on the solicitation of Washington, he proceeded to Newport, to assist the Americans in an attempt to drive the British from Rhode Island. 3 General Sullivan had been sent to supersede General Spencer in command there ; and Washington also dispatched La Fayette, with two continental regiments (accompanied by General corat D'ESTAING. Greene, then quartermaster general), to aid in the expe- dition. John Hancock 4 came at the head of Massachusetts militia, and similar troops gathered at Tiverton, from Connecticut and Rhode Island. 5 On the' 9th of August, [1778], the whole American force crossed from Tiverton to the north end of Rhode Island, and the British guards fled to the camp of General Pigot, at Newport. Several ships of war came from England at about this time, to reinforce the British fleet at New York, and a few days after D'Estaing sailed for Newport, a large squadron under Howe, proceeded to the relief of Pigot. It appeared off Rhode Island on the same day [Aug. 9] when the Americans landed on the northern end of it. D'Estaing, who was then within the harbor, went out to meet Howe, but before they came to an engagement, a terrible storm arose [Aug. 12], and scattered and disabled both fleets. The French squadron returned to Newport [August 20], and immediately sailed for Boston to be repaired. The Americans had then advanced almost to Newport, with every prospect of making a successful siege. They had been promised four thousand land troops from the French fleet. These were denied them; and refusing to listen to entreaties or remonstrances, D'Estaing sailed for Boston and abandoned the Americans. 7 The latter hastily withdrew to the north end of the island 1 Page 272. a Page 350. * Page 2G1. 4 Page 231. 6 The people of Rhode Island had suffered dreadfully from the brutality of the British troops. There had been some amelioration of their condition since the capture of Prescott [page 271], and under the rule of Pigot, the present commander. "When success seemed possible, thousands of volunteers flocked to the standards of Sullivan and La Fayette. John Hancock was appointed a general of some of these volunteers. But his term of service was short Like Dr. Franklin [page 193], Hancock was better fitted for a statesman than a soldier. * Very old people on Rhode Island, who remembered this gale, spoke of it to the writer in 1850, as " the great storm." So violent was the wind, that it brought spray from the ocean a mile distant, and encrusted the windows of the town with salt. 7 This conduct was warmly censured by the American commanders, because it hud no valid excuse. It deprived them of a victory just within their grasp. Congress, however, afraid to offend the French, uttered not a word of blame. The matter was passed over, but not forgotten. Once again [page 305], the same admiral abandoned the Americans. D'Estaing was a native of Auvergne, France. He became involved in the French Revolution, in 1792, and in the spring of 1793, he was guillotined. The guillotine was an instrument for cutting off the head, invented by M. Guillotine, who was eventually beheaded by it himself. 19 290 THE REVOLUTION. [1778. [August 28], pursued by the British, and a severe engagement took place [August 29] at Quaker Hill. Sullivan repulsed the British, and on the night of the 30th, withdrew his whole army to the main, near Bristol, in time to avoid an interception by Sir Henry Clinton, who had just arrived with four thousand troops, in light vessels. 1 The Americans lost in this expedition, thirty killed, and one hundred and seventy-two wounded and missing. The British loss was about two hundred and twenty. While these events were transpiring on the sea-board, a dreadful tragedy was enacted in the interior, when the Wyoming, Mohawk, Schoharie, and Cherry Valleys, were made the theaters of terrible scenes of blood and devasta- tion. Tories from distant Niagara, 2 and savages upon the head waters of the Susquehanna, gathered at Tioga early in June ; and at the beginning of July, eleven hundred of these white and dusky savages, under the general command of Colonel John Butler, 8 entered [July 2, 1778] the lovely valley of Wyoming, in northern Pennsylvania. Most of the strong men were then away on distant duty, and families and homes found defenders only in aged men, tender youths, resolute women, and a few trained soldiers. These, about four hundred strong, under Colonel Zebulon Butler, 4 marched up the valley [July 4], to drive back the invaders. But they were terribly smitten by the foe, and a large portion of them were slain or made prisoners. A few escaped to Forty Fort, near Wilkesbarre, wherein families, for miles around, had sought safety. Uncertain of their fate for the invaders were sweeping like a dark storm down the Sus- quehanna the night of the battle-day was a terrible one for the people in the fort. But their agony of suspense was ended the following morning, when the leader of the invaders, contrary to the expectations of those who knew him, agreed upon humane terms of surrender. 5 The gates of the fort were thrown open, and most of the families returned to their homes in fancied security. They were doomed to terrible disappointment and woe. Brant, the great Indian 1 "When Clinton was assured of the security of Rhode Island, he detached General Grey on a marauding expedition upon the southern shores of Massachusetts, and among the adjacent Islands, and then returned to New York. Grey burned about seventy vessels in Buzzard's Bay, near New Bedford, and in that vicinity destroyed property valued at more than three hundred and twenty- three thousand dollars. He then went to Martha's Vineyard [page 57], and carried away, for the army in New York, about three hundred oxen, and ten thousand sheep. On the first of October, Clinton sent a successful expedition to capture American stores at Little Egg Harbor, on the New Jersey coast. 2 Page 200. s Note 2, page 278. 4 Zebulon Butler was a native of Connecticut, and was born in 1731. He was in the French and Indian "War, and was one of the earlier settlers in Wyoming. In 1778 he was appointed colonel, and was with Sullivan in his memorable expedition against the Senecas [page 304] the fol- lowing year. He was in active service thoughout the war, and died in "Wyoming in 1795, at the age of sixty-four years. 5 All our histories contain horrible statements of the fiend-like character of John Butler, and his unmitigated wickedness on this occasion. They also speak of the "monster Brant" [page 278] as the leader of the Indians, and the instigator of the crimes of which they were guilty. Both of these men were bad enough ; but recent investigations clearly demonstrate that Brant was not there at all ; and the treaty for surrender, which is still in existance, granted most humane terms to the be- sieged, instead of the terrible one reported in our histories. The fugitives who fled over the mount- ains, and made their way back to their native Connecticut, crossed the Hudson, many of them at Poughkeepsio, where John Holt was publishing a weekly paper. Their fears had magnified events, and their tales of terror were published in Holt's journal, and thus became records for future his- torians. Among other things, it was related that when the question was asked, on what terms the fort might be surrendered, Colonel John Butler, with more than savage cruelty, replied, The Hatchet! This is wholly untrue, and yet the story is repeated in all our histories. 1778.] FOURTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 291 leader, was not there to restrain his savage bands, 1 and their thirst for blood and plunder soon overcame all their allegiance to their white contmander. Be- fore sunset they had scattered over the valley ; and when night fell upon the scene, the blaze of more than twenty dwellings cast its lurid glare over the paradise of yesterday. The cries of the murdered went up from almost every house and field ; and when the moon arose, the terrified inhabitants were fleeing to the Wilkesbarre mountains, and the dark morasses of the Pocono beyond. In that vast wilderness between the valley and the Delaware, appropriately called the Shades of Death, many women and children, who escaped the hatchet, perished by hunger and fatigue. That " Wyoming Massacre," as it has been appropriately called, stands out in bold relief as one of the darkest crimes per- petrated during the War for Independence. In the mean while, Brant 2 was leading or sending war parties through the country south of the Mohawk River ; and the Johnsons 3 and their Tory adher- ents were allies of the savages in the Mohawk valley. On the llth and 12th of November [1778J, a party of Tories, under Walter N. Butler, 4 accompanied by Indians, under Brant, fell like lightning upon the settlement of Cherry Val- ley. Many of the people were killed, or carried into captivity ; and for months no eye was closed in security at night, within an area of a hundred miles and more, around this desolated village. Tryon county, as that region of New York was then called, was a " dark and bloody ground" for full four years, and the records of the woes of the people have filled volumes. 5 Our space allows us to mention only the most prominent events of that period. And now, when the year 1778 the fourth year of the war drew to a close, the British army had accomplished very little more in the way of conquest, than at the end of the second year. The belligerent forces occupied almost the same relative position which they did in the autumn of 1776, while the Amer- icans had gained strength by a knowledge of military tactics," naval operations, 1 The Indians were led by Gi-en-gwa-tah (he who goes in the smoke), a celebrated Seneca chief. * Page 278. 3 Note 2, page 278. 4 He -was a son of Colonel John Butler, and one of the most brutal of the Tory leaders. In the attack upon the defenseless people at Cherry Valley, on the 10th of November. 1778, he was the most conspicuous for cruelty ; in fact, he was the head and front of all the villainy perpetrated there. Thirty-two of the inhabitants, mostly women and children, and sixteen soldiers of the little garrison there, were killed. The whole settlement was then plun- dered, and every building in the village was fired. Among the pris- oners carried into captivity, were the wife and children of Colonel Campbell, who was then absent. One of the children (Judge James S. Campbell of Cherry Valley), then six years of age, still [1867J sur- vives, and during the summer of 1855, after an absence of seventy- five years, he visited the Indian village of Caughnawaga, twelve miles from Montreal, where he resided some time with his captors. Walter Butler was shot by an Oneida Indian, in West Canada Creek, and his body was left to be eaten by wild beasts. * See Campbell's Annals of Tryon County, Simm's History of Scho- Tuvrie County, Stone's Life of Brant, etc. 8 Among the foreign officers who came to America in 1777, was the Baron Steuben, who joined the Continental army at Valley Forge [page 285]. He was a veteran from the armies of Frederic the BARON STEUBEN. Great of Prussia, and a skillful disciplinarian. He was made Inspector- General of the army ; and the vast advantages of his military instruction were seen on the field of Monmouth [page 287], and in subsequent conflicts. Steuben died at Steubenville, in the interior 292 THE REVOLUTION". [1178. and the art of civil government ; and they had secured the alliance of France, the powerful European rival of Great Britain, and the sympathies of Spain and Holland. The British forces occupied the real position of prisoners, for they were hemmed in upon only two islands, 1 almost two hundred miles apart, and each about fourteen miles in length; while the Americans possessed every other stronghold of the country, and, unlike the invaders, were warring for the dearest rights of common humanity. Tha scene of the most active military operations now changed. In the autumn [Nov. 3, 1778], D'Estaing sailed for the West Indies, to attack the British possessions there. To defend these, it was necessary for the British fleet on our coast to proceed to those waters." This movement would prevent any co-operation between the fleet and army in aggressive movements against the populous and now well-defended North ; they could only co-operate in act- ive operations against the sparsely-settled South. These considerations caused a change in the plans of the enemy; and late in November [Nov. 27], Sir Henry Clinton dispatched Colonel Campbell, with about two thousand troops, to invade Georgia, then the weakest member of the Confederacy. They pro- ceeded by water, and landed at Savannah, the capital of the State, on the morning of the 29th of December. General Robert Howe 3 was there, with only about a thousand men, and these were dispirited by the failure of a recent expe- dition against Florida in which they had been engaged. 4 They defended the city nobly, however, until an overwhelming force, by power and stratagem, com- pelled them to retire. They then fled, in confusion, up the Savannah River, and took shelter in the bosom of South Carolina. The capital of Georgia be- came the head-quarters of the British army at the South ; and the enemy re- tained it until near the close of the contest [1782], even when every foot of soil in the State, outside the intrenchments around the city, was possessed by the patriots. CHAPTER VI. FIFTH TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. [1779.] THICKLY mottled with clouds of evil forebodings for the Republican cause. Was the political firmament at the dawn of the year 1779. The finances of the of New York, in 1795, and his remains rest beneath a slab in the town of Steuben, about seven miles north-west of Trenton Falls. * Manhattan, or York Island, and Rhode Island. a Admiral Hotham sailed for the "West Indies on the 3d of November ; and early in December, Admiral Byron, who had just succeeded Lord Howe in chief naval command, also sailed for that destination. 3 Page 244. 4 A great number of Tories were organized in Florida, and committed so many depredations upon the settlers on the Georgian frontiers, that Howe, during the summer of 1778, went thither to dis- perse them. He penetrated to the St. Mary's River, in June, where he awaited reinforcements, and supplies, by water. "Want of co-operation on the part of the governor of Georgia and the naval commander, produced much disunion ; and sickness soon reduced the number of effective men so much, that the enterprise was abandoned. 1779.] FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 293 country were in a most wretched condition. Already, one hundred millions of dollars of continental money 1 were afloat without the security of even good public credit ;" and their value was rapidly depreciating. While the amount of the issues was small, the credit of the hills was good ; but when new emis- sions took place, and no adequate measures for redemption were exhibited, the people became suspicious of those frail representatives of money, and their value began to depreciate. This effect did not occur until eighteen months after the time of the first emission. 3 Twenty millions of the continental bills were then in circulation, besides a large amount of local issues by the several States. It was perceived that depreciation was inevitable, and Congress proposed, as a substitute for further issues, a loan of five millions, at an interest of four per cent. A lottery had been early authorized, and was now in operation, designed to raise a like sum, on loan, the prizes being payable in loan-office certificates. 4 Although these offices were opened in all the States, and the interest raised to six per cent., the loans came in slowly. The treasury became almost exhausted, the loan-offices were overdrawn upon by the commissioners' drafts, and the issue of bills was reluctantly recommenced. The financial embarrassments were increased by the circulation of an immense amount of counterfeits of the continental bills, by the British and the loyalists, which rapidly depreciated the currency. They were sent out from New York, literally, by " cart-loads." 6 Congress felt the neces- sity of making some extraordinary efforts for redeeming the genuine bills, so as to sustain their credit. The several States were taxed, and on the 2d of Janu- ary, 1779, it was, by Congress, " Resolved, That the United States be called on to pay in their respective quotas of fifteen millions of dollars, for the year 1779, and of six millions of dollars annually for eighteen years, from and after the year 1779, as a fund for sinking the emissions," &c. ; yet all was in vain; prices rose as the bills sank in value, and every kind of trade was embarrassed and 1 Page 245. 8 At this time, when Congress could not borrow a dollar upon its own credit, Robert Morris [page 264] found no difficulty in raising millions upon his own. For a long time he, alone, furnished the " hard money" used by that body. 8 Note 3, page 245. * On the first of November, 1776, the Continental Congress "Resolved, That a sum of money be raised by way of lottery, for defraying the expenses of the next campaign, the lottery to be drawn in Philadelphia." A committee was appointed to arrange the same, and on the 18th, reported a scheme. The drawer of more than the minimum prize in each class, was to receive either a treasury bank note, payable in five years, with an annual interest at four per cent., or the preemption of such billets in the next succeeding class ; this was optional with the adventurers. Those who should not call for their prizes within six weeks after the end of the drawing, were considered adventurers in the next succeeding class. Seven managers were appointed, who were authorized to employ agents in different States to sell the tickets. The first drawing was decided to be made at Philadelphia, on the first of March, 1777; but purchasers were comparatively few and tardy, and the drawing was postponed from time to time. Various impediments continually presented themselves, and the plan, which promised such success at the beginning, appears to have been a failure. Many purchasers of tickets were losers ; and this, like some other financial schemes of the Revolution, was productive of much hard feeling toward the Federal Government. 6 It was no secret at the time, as appears by the following advertisement in Games' New York Mercury : " ADVERTISEMENT. Persons going into other colonies, may be supplied with any number of counterfeited Congress notes, for the prica of the paper 'per ream. They are so neatly and exactly executed, that there is no risk in getting them off, it being almost impossible to discover that they are not genuine. This has been proven by bills to a very large amount, which have already been successfully circulated. Inquire of Q. E. D., at the Coffee-house, from 11 A. M., to 4 P. M., during the present month." 294 THE REVOLUTION. [1779. deranged. The federal government was thoroughly perplexed. Only about four millions of dollars had been obtained, by loan, from Europe, and present negotiations appeared futile. No French army was yet upon our soil, to aid us, nor had French coin yet gladdened the hearts of unpaid soldiers. A French fleet had indeed been upon our coasts, 1 but had now gone to fight battles for France in the West Indies, after mocking our hopes with broken promises of aid. 3 Gloomy, indeed, appeared the firmament at the dawn of 1779, the fifth year of the War for Independence. In the autumn of 1777, a plan for invading Canada and the eastern British provinces, and for seizing the British posts on the western lakes, had been matured by Congress and the Board of War, 8 but when it was submitted to Washington, his sagacious mind perceived its folly, and the influence of his opinions, and the discovery, by true patriots, that it was a part of the secret plan, entered into by Gates and others, to deprive Washington of chief com- mand, caused an abandonment of the scheme. Others, more feasible, occu- pied the attention of the Federal Legislature ; and for several weeks the com- mander-in-chief co-operated with Congress [January, 1779], in person, in preparing a plan for the campaign of 1779. It was finally resolved to act on the defensive, except in retaliatory expeditions against the Indians and Tories in the interior. 4 This scheme promised the most beneficial results, for it would be safer and less expensive, than offensive warfare. During the entire year, the principal military operations were carried on in the two extreme sections of the confederacy. The chief efforts of the Americans were directed to the con- finement of the British army to the seaboard, and chastising the Indian tribes. The winter campaign opened by Lieutenant-colonel Campbell 5 [December 29, 1778], continued until June, and resulted, as we have mentioned [page 292], in the complete subjugation of Georgia to British rule. When Campbell had garrisoned Savannah, and arranged for its defense, he prepared to march against Sunbury, twenty-eight miles further south, the only post of any consequence now left to the Americans on the Georgia seaboard. He treated the people leniently, and, by proclamation, invited them to join the British standard. These measures had their desired effect, and timid hundreds, seeing the State under the heel of British power, proclaimed their loyalty, and rallied be- neath the standard of King George. At the same time, General Prevost, who was in command of the British and Indians in east Florida, marched northward, captured Sunbury [January 9, 1779], and assumed the chief com- mand of the British forces in the South. With this post GENERAL LINCOLN. f e n the hopes of the Republicans in east Georgia. In the 1 Page 289. * Page 289. * On the 12th of June, 1776, Congress, appointed a committee, to be styled the "Board of War and Ordnance," to have the general supervision of military affairs. John Adams was the chairman, and Richard Peters was secretary. Peters was the real " Secretary of War" under the old Confed- eration, until 1781, when he was succeeded by General Lincoln. General Gates was chairman in 1778. * Page 291. * Page 293 1779-] FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 295 mean while, General Benjamin Lincoln, of Massachusetts, had been appointed [September, 1778], commander-in-chief of the southern army of patriots. 1 He made his head-quarters at Purysburg [January 6], twenty-five miles above Savannah, and there commenced the formation of an army, composed of some con- tinental regiments, new recruits, and the broken forces of General Howe. s While Lincoln was collecting his army on the Carolina bank of the Savannah, Camp- bell marched up the Georgia side to Augusta, 3 for the purpose of encouraging the Tories, opening a communication with the Creek Indians 4 in the West (among whom the British had active emissaries), and to awe the Whigs. At the same time a band of Tories, under Colonel Boyd, was desolating the Carolina fron- tiers, while on their march to join the royal troops. When within two days' march of Augusta, they were attacked 5 [February 14, 1779] and utterly defeated by Colonel Pickens, at the head of the militia of Ninety-six. 6 Boyd and seventy of his men were killed, and seventy-five were made prisoners. 7 Pick- ens lost thirty-eight of his men. This defeat of Boyd alarmed Campbell and encouraged Lincoln. The latter immediately sent General Ashe, of North Carolina, with about two thousand men, 8 to drive Campbell from Augusta, and to confine the invaders to the low, sickly sections near the sea, hoping for aid from the deadly malaria of the swamps, when the heats of summer should prevail. The British fled [February 13, 1779] at the approach of Ashe, and were pursued by him [February 16] as far as Brier Creek, about forty miles bejow Augusta, where he halted to establish a camp. There Ashe was surprised and defeated [March 3] by Gen- eral Prevost, who, with quite a large force, was marching up the Savannah to the relief of Campbell. Ashe lost almost his entire army by death, captivity, and dispersion. Some were killed, others perished in the morasses, and many were drowned in attempting to escape across the Savannah. 9 This blow deprived Lincoln of one. fourth of his army, and led to the temporary re-establishment of royal government in Georgia. 10 1 Benjamin Lincoln was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1733. He was a farmer, yet took an active part in public affairs. He joined the continental army in 1777, and rose rapidly to the station of major-general. He commanded the militia against Shay's insurgents [See 5, page 353.] in 1786. He was also a useful public officer in civil affairs, and died in 1810. * Page 292. 8 When Campbell departed for Augusta, Prevost sent Colonel Gardiner with some troops, to take possession of Port Royal Island, pome sixty miles below Charleston, preparatory to a march upon that city. Gardiner was attacked by General Moultrie [page 249], with Charleston militia, on the morning of the 3d of February. Almost every British officer (except the commander), and many privates, were killed. Gardiner and a few men escaped in boats, and Moultrie, whose loss was trifling, joined Lincoln at Purysburg. * Page 30. 6 The place of the skirmish was upon Kettle Creek, in Oglethorpe county, Georgia. 8 Page 336. 7 Seventy of them were tried and found guilty of treason, and sentenced to be hung. Only five were executed. 8 Lincoln was joined by Generals Ashe and Rutherford, with North Carolina regiments, about the first of February, and his army now amounted to little more than three thousand men. John Ashe was born in England in 1721, and came to America when a child. He was engaged in .the Regulator War [page 223], and was one of the most active of the North Carolina patriots. He died of small-pox in 1781. * About one hundred and fifty were killed and drowned, eighty-nine were made prisoners, and a large number, who were dispersed, did not take up arms again for several months. 10 At the beginning of 1776, the bold Whigs of Savannah had made the royal governor, Sir James Wright, a prisoner in his own house ; and the provincial Assembly, assuming governmental 96 THE REVOLUTION. [1779. Preyost now prepared for an invasion of South Carolina. Toward the last of April, he crossed the Savannah [April 27] with two thousand regulars, and a large body of Tories and Creek Indians, and marched for Charleston. Lin- coln had recruited, and was now in the field with about five thousand men, preparing to recover lost Georgia, by entering the State at Augusta, and sweep- in^ the country to the sea. But when he discovered the progress of Prevost, and that even the danger of losing Savannah did not deter that active general from his attempts upon Charleston, Lincoln hastened to the relief of the men- aced city. The people on the line of his march hailed him as a deliverer, for Prevost had marked his progress by plunder, conflagration, and cruelty. For- tunately for the Republicans, the invader's march was so slow, that when he arrived [May 11] before the city, the people were prepared for resistance. Prevost, on the morning of the llth of May, approached the American intrenchments thrown across Charleston Neck, 1 and demanded an immediate surrender of the city. He was answered by a prompt refusal, and the remain- der of the day was spent by both parties, in preparations for an assault. That night was a fearful one for the citizens, for they expected to be greeted at dawn with bursting bomb-shells, 2 and red-hot cannon-balls. When morning came [May 12, 1779], the scarlet uniforms of the enemy were seen across the waters upon John's Island, and not a hostile foot was upon the Charleston peninsula. The cause of this was soon made manifest. Prevost had been informed of the approach of Lincoln, and fearing his connection with Savannah might be cut off, he commenced a retreat toward that city, at midnight, by way of the islands along the coast. For more than a month some British detachments lingered upon John's Island. Then they were attacked at Stono Ferry, ten miles below Charleston [June 20] by a party of Lincoln's army, but after a severe engage- ment, and the loss of almost three hundred men in killed and wounded, they repulsed the Americans whose loss was greater. Prevost soon afterward established a military post at Beaufort, on Port Royal Island, 3 and then retreated to Savannah. The hot season produced a suspension of hostilities in the South, and that region enjoyed comparative repose for several months. Sir Henry Clinton was not idle while these events were in progress at the South. He was sending out marauding expeditions from New York, to plunder and harass the people on the sea-coast. Governor Tryon* went from Kings- bridge 6 on the 25th of March [1779], with fifteen hundred British regulars and powers, made provisions for military defense [February, 17 7G], issued bills of credit, &c. "Wright escaped and went to England. He returned in July, 1779, and resumed his office as governor of the "colony." 1 Charleston, like Boston [note 3, page 229], is situated upon a peninsula, the neck of which is made quite narrow by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, and the marshes. Across this the Americans had hastily cast up embankments. They served a present purpose, and being strengthened, were of great value to the Americans the following year. See page 310. * Hollow balls or shells of cast iron, filled with gunpowder, slugs, &c. In an orifice communi- cating with the powder, is a slow match. This is ignited, and the shell is hurled from a mortar (a short cannon) into the midst of a town or an army. When the powder ignites, the shell is bursted into fragments, and these with the slugs make terrible havoc. They are sometimes the size of a man's head. Note 5, page 166. 4 Page 248. 8 The passage across the Harlem River (or as it is sometimes there called, Spuyten Duyvil Creek), At the upper end of York or Manhattan Island. 1779.] FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 97 Hessians, 1 to destroy some salt-works at Horseneck, and attack an American detachment under General Putnam, at Greenwich, in Connecticut. The Amer- icans were dispersed [March 26], and Putnam barely escaped capture by some dragoons. 3 He rallied his troops at Stamford, pursued the British on their return toward New York the same evening, recaptured a quantity of plunder in . their possession, and took thirty-eight of them prisoners. On the 9th of' May, Sir George Collier entered Hampton Roads, 3 with a small fleet, bearing General Mathews, with land troops, destined to ravage the country in that vicinity. They spread desolation on both sides of the Elizabeth River, from the Roads to Norfolk and Portsmouth. After destroying a vast amount of property, they withdrew ; and at the close of the month, the same vessels and the same troops were up the Hudson River, assisting Sir Henry Clinton in the capture of the fortress at Stony Point, and also the small fort on Verplanck's Point, opposite. Both of these posts fell into the power of the British, after a spirited resistance ; the first on the 31st of May, and the latter on the 1st of June. These achievements accomplished, Collier, with a band of twenty-five hundred marauders, under Governor Tryon, sailed on the night of the 4th of July [1779J, for the shores of Connecticut, to plunder and destroy the towns on the coast. They plundered New Haven on the 5th, laid East Haven in ashes on the 6th, destroyed Fair field in the same way on the 8th, and burned and plundered Norwalk on the 12th. Not content with this wanton destruction of property, the invaders insulted and cruelly abused the defense- less inhabitants. While Norwalk was burning, Tryon sat in a rocking-chair, upon an eminence near by, and viewed the scene with great complacency, and apparent pleasure a puny imitation of Nero, who fiddled while Rome was blazing. 4 The Hessian mercenaries generally accompanied these expeditions, for, unlike the British soldiers, they were ever eager to apply the torch and abuse the inhabitants. They were the fit instruments for such a warfare. When Tryon (whom the English people abhorred for his wrong-doings in America), had completed the destruction of these pleasant villages, he boasted of his ex- 1 Page 246. 8 On this occasion he performed the feat, so often related, of descending a steep hill on horse- back, making his way, as common history asserts, down a flight of stone steps, which had been constructed for the convenience of people who had to ascend this hill to a church on its summit. The whole matter is an exaggeration. An eye-witness of the event says that Putnam pursued a zig-zag course down the hill, and only descended four or five of the steps near the bottom. The feat was not at all extraordinary when we consider that a troop of dragoons, with loaded pistols, were at his heels. Thes?, however, dared not follow the general. In 1825, when a company of horsemen were escorting La Fayette the " Nation's Guest" along the road at that place, some of them went down the same declivity on horseback. The stone steps are now [1867] visible in some places, among the shrubbery and overlying sod. 8 Page 69. This is a body of water at the conjunction of the James and Elizabeth Rivers, and communicating with the sea. It is one of the most spacious harbors in the world. The village of Hampton lies upon its northern border. See page 243. 4 Alluding to these outrages of Tryon, and the burning of Kingston [page 283] by Vaughau, Trumbull, in his AFFingal, says : " Behold, like whelps of British lion, Our warriors, Clinton, Vaughan, and Tryon, March forth, with patriotic joy, To ravish, plunder, and destroy. Great generals ! Foremost in their nation The journeymen of desolation!" 298 THE REVOLUTION. [1779. STONY POINT. treme clemency in leaving a single house standing on the New England coast. While these marauding forays were in progress, the Americans were not idle. They were preparing to strike the enemy heavy and unexpected blows. Only three days after the destruction of Norwalk [July 15], General Anthony Wayne was marching secretly to attempt the re-capture of Stony Point, on the Hud- son. The fort stood upon a rocky promontory, sur- rounded by water and a marsh, and was very strong in its position. So secretly was the whole movement conducted, that the British garrison were unsuspicious of danger. At midnight, the little army of patriots crossed the morass in the rear, and attacked the fort with ball and bayonet, at two separate points, in the face of a heavy cannonade from the aroused garrison. At two o'clock in the morning [July 16, 1779], Wayne, though so badly wounded in the head by a glancing blow of a bullet, as to fall senseless, wrote to Washing- ton, " The fort and garrison, with Colonel Johnson, are ours. Our officers and men behaved like men who are determined to be free." This was considered one of the most brilliant events of the war. 1 The British lost, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, about six hundred men ; the loss of the Americans was fifteen killed, and eighty-three wounded. The spoils were a large amount of military stores. The post was abandoned by the Americans, for, at that time, troops sufficient to garrison it could not be spared. 2 The capture of Stony Point was followed by another brilliant achievement, a month later [August 19], when Major Henry Lee, 3 at three o'clock in the morning, surprised a British garrison at Paulus' Hook (now Jersey City), 4 op- posite New York, killed thirty soldiers, and took one hundred and sixty pris- 1 Wayne was highly complimented by all. General Charles Lee [page 248], who was not on the most friendly terms with "Wayne, wrote to him, saying, " I do most seriously declare that your assault of Stony Point is not only the most brilliant, in my opinion, throughout the whole course of the war, on either side, but that it is the most brilliant I am acquainted with in history. The as- sault of Schiveidnitz, by Marshal Laudon, I think inferior to it." Dr. Rush wrote, saying, "Our streets rang for many days with nothing but the name of General Wayne. You are remembered constantly next to our good and great Washington, over our claret and Madeira. Tou have estab- lished the national character of our country; you have taught our enemies that bravery, humanity, and magnanimity are the national virtues of the Americans." Congress gave him thanks, and a gold medal ; and silver medals were awarded to Colonels Stewart and De Fleury, for their gallantry on the occasion. Anthony Wayne was born in Pennsylvania in 1745. He was a professional sur- veyor, then a provincial legislator, and became a soldier in 1775. He was very active during the whole war; and was efficient in subduing the Indians in the Ohio country, in 1795 [see page 374]. He died at Erie, on his way home, near the close of 1796. a After the Americans had captured Stony Point, they turned the cannons upon Fort La Fay- ette, upon Verplanck's Point, opposite. General Robert Howe [page 292] was directed to attack that post, but on account of some delays, he did not reach there before Sir Henry Clinton sent up relief for the garrison. 8 Note 2, page 133. * Note 1, page 94. GENERAL WAYNE. 1779.] FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 299 oners. This gallant act was greatly applauded in the camp, in Congress, and throughout the country, and made the enemy more cautious and circumspect. The hero was honored by Congress with thanks and a gold medal. These and some smaller successes at about this time, elated the Americans ; but their joy was soon turned into sorrow, because of disasters in the extreme East. Massa- chusetts had fitted out almost forty vessels to attempt the seizure of a British post on the Penobscot River. The assailants delayed more than a fortnight after their arrival [July 25] before determining to carry the place by storm. Just as the troops were about to land for the purpose, a British fleet arrived, destroyed the flotilla, took many of the soldiers and sailors prisoners, and drove the remainder into the wilderness [Aug. 13]. These, after great hardships in the forests, reached Boston toward the close of September. The storm of war was not confined to the Atlantic settlements. It burst over the lofty Alleghanies, and at an early period, even while it was gathering, a low, muttering peal of thunder came from clouds that brooded over the far- off wilderness of the great valleys of the West. Pioneers from the sea-board colonies were there, and they were compelled, almost at the moment of arrival, to wage war with the Indian, and hunt savage men as well as savage beasts. Among the earliest and most renowned of these pioneers, was Daniel Boone, the great " Hunter of Kentucky," of whom Byron wrote, " Of all men, saving Sylla, the man-slayer, Who passes for, in life and death, most lucky, 800 THE REVOLUTION. [1770. Of the great names which in our faces stare, The General Boone, backwoodsman of Kentucky, "Was happiest among mortals anywhere." ' He went west of the Blue Ridge as early as 1769, and in 1773. his own and a few other families accompanied him to the paradise lying among the rich valleys south of the Ohio River. 2 From that period until the power of the western Indians (who were continually incited to hostilities by the British and Tories) was broken by George Rogers Clarke, Boone's life was one of almost continual warfare with the children of the forest. Nor did Boone and his companions measure strength with the Indians alone ; 1 Don Juan, VIII., Ixi. a The wife and daughters of Boone were the first white females that set foot in the valleys west of the Alleghanies. Daniel Boone was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1734. While he was a small boy, his parents settled on the Yadkin, in North Carolina. When in the prime of life, he went over the mountains, and became a famous hunter. He planted the first settlement on the Kain-tuck-ee River, yet known as Boonsborough. During the Revolution he fought the Indians bravely, and was a prisoner among them for some time, but escaped. He was active in all matters pertaining to the settlement of Kentucky, until it became an independent State. Yet he was, by the technicalities of law, doomed to be disinherited of every foot of the soil he had helped to redeem from the wilderness, and, at almost eighty years of age, he was trapping beaver upon the Little Osage River, beyond the Mississippi. He died in Missouri, when almost ninety years of age, in September, 1820. V CLARK'S EXPEDITION ACROSS THE DROWNED LANDS. 1779.] FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 303 but in time they confronted white leaders and white followers. These conflicts, however, were only a series of border forays, until 1778, when Major George Rogers Clarke 1 led a regular expedition against the frontier posts of the enemy, in the wilderness in the far north-west, now the States of Indiana and Illinois. His little army rendezvoused at the Falls of the Ohio, where Louisville now stands, where he was joined by Simon Kenton, and other pioneers. From thence they penetrated the country northward, and on the 4th of July [1778]. they captured Kaskaskia. 8 On the 9th, they took the village of Cahokia, sixty miles further up the river ; and finally, in August, the stronger British post of Vincennes, on the Wabash, fell into their hands. Acting in the capacity of a peace-maker, Clarke was working successfully toward the pacification of the western tribes, when, in the month of January, 1779, the commander of the British fort at Detroit retook Vincennes. With one hundred and seventy-five men, Clarke penetrated the dreadful wilderness a hundred miles from the Ohio. For a whole week they traversed the "drowned lands" of Illinois, suffering every privation from wet, cold, and hunger. When they arrived at the Little Wabash, at a point where the forks of the stream are three miles apart, they found the intervening space covered with water to the depth of three feet. The points of dry land were five miles apart, and all that distance those hardy soldiers, in the month of February, waded the cold snow-flood 3 in the forest, sometimes arm-pit deep! They arrived in sight of Vincennes on the 18th [February, 1779], and the next morning at dawn, with their faces blackened with gunpowder, to make them- selves appear hideous, they crossed the river in a boat, and pushed toward the town. On the 20th, the stripes and stars were again unfurled over the fort at Vincennes and a captured garrison. Had armed men dropped from the clouds, the people and soldiers at Vincennes could not have been more astonished, than at the apparition of these troops, for it seemed impossible for them to have traversed the deluged country. The indignation of the people was fiercely aroused by the atrocities at Wyoming and upon the head waters of the Susquehanna ; and in the summer of 1779, General Sullivan 4 was sent into the heart of the country of the Six NA- TIONS, B to chastise and humble them. He collected troops in the Wyoming 1 George Rogers Clarke, was born in Albemarie county, Virginia, in 1752, and first appears in history as an adventurer beyond the Alleghanies, twenty years afterward. He had been a land- surveyor, and first went to the Ohio region in 1772. He was a captain in Dunmore's army [note 4, page 237] in 1774, and hi 1775, he accompanied some emigrants to Kentucky. Pleased with the country, he determined to make it his home ; and during the war for Independence, he labored nobly to secure the vast region of the west and north-west, as a home for the free. Under his leadership, what afterward became the North-west Territory, was disenthralled, and he has been appropriately styled the Father of that region. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier, after serving under the Baron Steuben against Arnold, in Virginia, hi 1781, and at the close of the war he remained in Kentucky. He died near Louisville, in February, 1818, at the age of sixty-six years. * Page 180. * Note 3, page 241. 4 John Sullivan was born in Maine, in 1740. He was a delegate hi the first Continental Con- gress [1774], and was one of the first eight brigadiers in the Continental Army. After being in act- ive service about four years, he resigned his commission in 1779. He was afterward a member of Congress, and governor of New Hampshire, and died in 1795. * Page 25. British emissaries had gained over to the royal interest the whole of the Six NA- TIONS except the Oneidaa. These were kept loyal to the republicans, chiefly through the instru- 304 THE REVOLUTION. [1779. Valley ; and on the last day of July, marched up the Susquehanna, with about three thousand soldiers. At Tioga Point, he met General James Clinton, 1 on the 22d of August, who came from the Mohawk Valley, with about sixteen hundred men. On the 29th, they fell upon a body of Indian and Tory savages, strongly fortified, at Chemung (now Elmira), and dis- persed them. Without waiting for them to rally, Sulli- van moved forward, and penetrated the country to the Genesee River. In the course of three weeks, he de- stroyed forty Indian villages, and a vast amount of food growing in fields and gardens. One hundred and sixty GENERAL SULLIVAN. j \. \ i p -t. / i j j thousand bushels of corn in the fields and in granaries were destroyed ; a vast number of the finest fruit-trees, the product of years of tardy growth, were cut down ; hundreds of gardens covered with edible vegetables, were desolated ; the inhabitants were driven into the forests to starve, and were hunted like wild beasts ; their altars were overturned, and their graves trampled upon by strangers ; and a beautiful, well-watered country, teeming with a prosperous people, and just rising from a wilderness state, by the aid of culti- vation, to a level with the productive regions of civilization, was desolated and cast back a century in the space of a fortnight. 5 To us, looking upon the scene from a point so remote, it is difficult to perceive the necessity that called for a chastisement so cruel and terrible. But that such necessity seemed to exist we should not doubt, for it was the judicious and benevolent mind of Washington that conceived and planned the campaign, and ordered its rigid execution in the manner in which it was accomplished. It awed the Indians for the moment, but it did not crush them. In the reaction they had greater strength. It kindled the fires of deep hatred, which spread far among the tribes upon the lakes and in the valley of the Ohio. Washington, like Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, received from the savages the name of An-na-ta-kau-les, which sig- nifies a taker of towns, or TOWN DESTROYER.* mentality of one or two Christian missionaries. After the war, those of the Six Nations who joined the British, pleaded, as an excuse, the noble sentiment of loyalty. They were the friends of the En- glish, and regarded the parent country as their ally. When they saw the children of their great father, the king, rebelling against him, they felt it to be then* duty, in accordance with stipulations of solemn treaties, to aid him. . 1 General James Clinton was born in Ulster county, New York, in 1736. He was a captain in the French and Indian "War, and an active officer during the Revolution. He died in 1812. 3 The Seneca Indians were beginning to cultivate rich openings in the forests, known as the " Genesee Flats," quite extensively. They raised large quantities of corn, and cultivated gardens and orchards. Their dwellings, however, were of the rudest character, and their villages consisted of a small collection of these miserable huts, of no value except for winter shelter. * At a council held in Philadelphia in 1792, Corn Planter, the distinguished Seneca chief, thus addressed Washington, then President of the United States : " FATHER The voice of the Seneca nation speaks to you, the great counselor, in whose heart the wise men of all the thirteen fires have placed their wisdom. It may be very small in your ears, and, therefore, we entreat you to hearken with attention, for we are about to speak to you of things which to us are very great. When your army entered the country of the Six Nations, we called you The Town Destroyer ; and to this day, when that name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling close to the necks of their mothers. Our counselors and warriors are men, and can not be afraid ; but then- hearts are grieved with the fears of our women and children, and desire that it may be buried so deep that it may be heard no more." 1779.] FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 3C5 SIEGE OP SAVANNAH. 1779. While these events were in progress at the North, the Southern army, under Lincoln/ was preparing to attack Savannah, in concert with the French fleet, then in the West Indies. During that sum- mer, Count D'Estaing had battled successfully with Admiral Byron there, and early in Septem- ber, he appeared off the coast of Georgia with a powerful fleet, prepared to co-operate with Lincoln. D'Estaing landed troops and heavy battery cannon a few miles below Savannah ; and on the 23d of September, the combined armies commenced the siege. It was soon perceived that the town mut be taken by regular approaches, and to that end all energy was directed. On the morning of the 4th of October, a heavy can- nonade and bombardment was opened upon the Britsh works. It continued for five days, but with very little effect upon the strong British intrenchments. D'Estaing became impatient of delay, 2 and proposed an attempt to take the place by storm. It was reluctantly agreed to, for there seemed a certainty of final victory if the siege should continue. D'Estaing would listen to no re- monstrances, and the assault commenced on the morning of the 9th of October. After five hours of severe conflict, there was a truce for the purpose of burying the dead. Already, nearly a thousand of the French and Americans had been killed and wounded. 8 The standards of France and Carolina, which gallant men had planted upon the parapet, had been torn down. Yet important breaches were made, and another assault promised a sure triumph. But D'Estaing, strangely perverse, was unwilling to renew the assault, and made preparations to withdraw. Lincoln yielded a reluctant assent to the movement, and the enterprise was abandoned at the moment when the American commander felt certain of victory. 4 Ten days afterward, the French fleet had left the coast, and Lincoln was re- treating toward Charleston. Thus closed the campaign for 1779, at the South. The repulse at Savannah was a severe blow to the hopes of the patriots of Georgia, and spread a gloom over the whole South. Toward the Georgia sea- board, every semblance of opposition to royal power was crushed, and only in the interior did armed resistance appear. 1 Page 294. a D'Estaing expressed his fears, not only of the arrival of a British fleet, to blockade his own in the Savannah River, but of the autumn storms, which might damage his vessels before he could get to sea. 1 Among the mortally wounded, was Count Pulaski, the brave Pole whom we first met in the battle on the Brandywine [note 5, page 273]. He died on board a vessel bound for Charleston, a few days after the siege. Serjeant Jasper, whose bravery at Fort Moultrie we have not- iced [note 5, page 249], was also killed, while nobly holding aloft, upon, a bastion of the British works which he had mounted, one of the beauti- ful colors [note 5, page 249] presented to Moultrie's regiment by ladies of Charleston. The colors were beautifully embroidered, and given to the regiment, in the name of the ladies of Charleston, by Mrs. Su- sanna Elliott. Just before he died, Jasper said, " Tell Mrs. Elliott I lost my life supporting the colors she presented to our regiment" These colors, captured during this siege, are among British trophies in the tower of London. Savannah honors both these heroes by having finely- shaded parks bearing their respective names. * Page 289. 20 COUNT PULASKI. 306 THE REVOLUTION. [1772. After the close of Sullivan's campaign against the Senecas, very little of general interest transpired at the North, except the withdrawal of the British troops from Rhode Island, on the 25th of October, 1779. La Fayette had been in France during the summer, and chiefly through his efforts, the French government had consented to send another powerful fleet, 1 and several thousand troops, to aid the Americans. When informed of this intended expedition, the British ministry ordered Clinton to cause the evacuation of Rhode Island, and to concentrate, at New York, all his troops at the North. This was accom- plished with as little delay as possible, for rumors had reached Rhode Island that the new French armament was approaching the coast. So rapid was the retreat of the British, caused By their fears, that they left behind them all their heavy artillery, and a large quantity of stores. Clinton sailed for the South at the close of the year [December 25], with about five thousand troops, to open a vigorous campaign in the Carolinas. Washington, in the mean while, had gone into winter quarters at Morristown, 8 where his troops suffered terribly from the severity of the cold, and the lack of provisions, clothing, and shelter. 3 Strong detachments were also stationed among the Hudson Highlands, and the cavalry were cantoned in Connecticut. During this fifth year [1779] of the war for Independence, difficulties had gathered thick and fast around Great Britain. Spain had declared war against her 4 on the 16th of June, and a powerful French and Spanish naval armament had attempted to effect an invasion of England in August. American and French cruisers now became numerous and quite powerful, and were hovering around her coasts ; and in September, the intrepid John Paul Jones 5 had conquered two of her proud ships of war, after one of the most desperate 1 Page 286. 2 Page 269. ' Dr. Thacher, in his Military Journal, says, " The sufferings of the poor soldiers can scarcely be described ; while on duty they are unavoidably exposed to all the inclemency of storms and severe cold ; at night, they now have a bed of straw upon the ground, and a single blanket to each man ; they are badly clad, and some are destitute of shoes. "We have contrived a kind of stone chimney outside, and an opening at one end of our tents gives us the benefit of the fire within. The snow is now [January 6th, 1780] from four to six feet deep, which so obstructs the roads as to prevent our receiving a supply of provisions. For the last ten days we have received but two pounds of meat a man, and we are frequently for six or eight days entirely destitute of meat, and then as long without bread. The consequence is, the soldiers are so enfeebled from hunger and cold as to be almost unable to perform their military duty, or labor in constructing their huts. It is well known that General Washington experiences the greatest solicitude for the suffering of his army, and is sensible that they, in general, conduct with heroic patience and fortitude." In a private letter to a friend, "Washington said, " "We have had the virtue and patience of the army put to the severest trial. Sometimes it has been five or six days together without bread, at other times as many without meat, and once for two or three days at a time without either. * * * At one time the soldiers ate every kind of horse food but hay. Buckwheat, common wheat, rye, and Indian corn composed the meal which made their bread. As an army, they bore it with the most heroic patience ; but sufferings like these, accompanied by the want of clothes, blankets, &c., will produce frequent desertions in all armies ; and so it happened with us, though it did not excite a single mutiny." * Hoping to regain Gibraltar, Jamaica, and the two Floridas, which Great Britain had taken from her, Spain made a secret treaty of peace with France in April, 1779, and in June declared war against Great Britain. This event was regarded as highly favorable to the Americans, because any thing that should cripple England, would aid them. . 6 John Paul Jones was born in Scotland in 1747, and came to Virginia in boyhood. He entered the American naval service in 1775, and was active during the whole war. He was afterward very active in the Russian service, against the Turks, hi the Black Sea, and was created rear-admi- ral in the Russian navy. He died in Paris in 1782. 1779.] FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. SOT naval fights ever known. These were the Serapis and Countess of Scar- borouyh. The conflict occurred in the evening, off Flamborough Head, on the east coast of Scotland. Jones's ship was the Bonhomme Richard, which had been fitted out in France. After much maneuvering, the Serapis and Richard came alongside of each other, their rigging intermingling, and in this position they poured heavy broadsides from their respective guns. Three times both ships were on fire, and their destruction appeared inevitable. A part of the time the belligerents were fighting hand to hand upon the decks. Finally, the commander of the Sera^ ris was obliged to yield, and ten minutes afterward, the Countess of Scarborough, which had been fighting with another vessel of Jones's little fleet, struck her colors. The Richard was a perfect wreck, and was fast sinking when the conflict ended ; and sixteen hours afterward, she went drrrn into the deep waters of the North Sea, off Bridlington Bay. Jones, with fiis prizes, sailed for Holland, having, during that single cruise, captured prop- erty to the value of two hundred thousand dollars. 1 1 The naval operations during the war for Independence, do not occupy a conspicuous place in history, yet they were by no means insignificant. The Continental Congress took action on the subject of an armed marine, in the autumn of 1775. Already Washington had fitted out some armed vessels at Boston, and constructed some gun-boats for use in the waters around that city. These were propelled by oars, and covered. In November, the government of Massachusetts established a Board of Admiralty. A committee on naval affairs, of which Silas Deane [page 266] was chairman, was appointed by the Continental Congress in Octo A GUN-BOAT AT BOSTON. THE REVOLUTION. [1179. On the land, in America, there had been very little success for the British arms ; and sympathy for the patriots was becoming more and more manifest in Europe. Even a great portion of the intelligent English people began to reo-ard the war as not only useless, but unjust. Yet in the midst of all these difficulties, the government put forth mighty energies energies which might have terminated the war during the first campaign, if they had been then executed. Parliament voted eighty-five thousand seamen and thirty-five thou- sand troops for general service, in 1780, and appropriated one hundred millions of dollars to defray the expenses. This formidable armament in prospective, was placed before the Americans, at this, the gloomiest period of the war, yet they neither quailed nor faltered. Relying upon the justice of their cause, and the favor of a righteous God, they felt prepared to meet any force that Great Britain might send to enslave them. ber 1775. Before the close of the year, the construction of almost twenty vessels had been ordered by Congress ; and the Marine Committee was so re-organized as to have in it a representative from each colony. In November, 1776, a Continental Navy Board, to assist the Marine Committee, was appointed; and in October, 1779, a Board of Admiralty was installed. Its Secretary (equivalent to our Secretary of tli3 Navy) [page 382] was John Brown, until 1781, when he was succeeded by General McDougal. Robert Morris also acted as authorized Agent of Marine ; and many privateers were fitted out by him on his own account. In November, 1776, Congress determined the relative rank of the naval commanders, such as admiral to be equal to a major-general on land : a commodore equal to a brigadier-general, &c. The first commander-in-chief of the navy, or high admiral, was Esek Hopkins, of Rhode Island, whom Congress commissioned as such in December, 1775. He first went against Dunmore [page 244] on the coast of Virginia. He also went to the Bahamas, and captured the town of New Providence and its governor. Sailing for home, he captured some British vessels off the east end of Long Island, and with these prizes, he went into Narraganset Bay. In the mean while, Paul Jones and Captain Barry were doing good service, and New England cruisers were greatly annoying English shipping on our coast. In 1777, Dr. Franklin, under the authority of Congress, issued commissions to naval officers in Europe. Expeditions were fitted out in French sea-ports, and these produced ADMIRAL HOPKINS. great alarm on the British coasts. While these things were occurring in European waters, Captains Biddle, Manly, M'Neil, Hinman, Barry, and others, were making many prizes on the American coasts. Finally, in the spring of 1779, an expedition was fitted out at L'Orient, under the auspices of the French and American governments. It consisted of five vessels under the command of John Paul Jones. They sailed first, in June, for the British waters, took a few prizes, and returned. They sailed again in August, and on the 23d of September, while off the coast of Scotland, not far above the mouth of the Humber, Jones, with his flag-ship (the Borihomme Richard), and two others, fell in with and encountered a small British fleet, which was convoying a number of merchant ves- sels to the Baltic Sea, when the engagement took place which is described in the text. Congress gave Jones a gold medal for his bravery. Many other gallant acts were performed by American seamen, in the regular service and as privateers, during the remainder of the war. The " whale- boat warfare" on the coast, was also very interesting, and exhibited many a brave deed by those whose names are not recorded in history men who belong to the great host of " unnamed demi- gods," who, in all ages, have given their services to swell the triumphs of leaders who, in real merit, have often been less deserving than themselves. For a condensed account of the whole naval operations of the Revolution, on the coast, see sup- plement to Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution, ,Y80.] SIXTH YEAR OF r ^HE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. $09 CHAPTER VII. SIXTH TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. [1780.] WHEN, on Christmas day, 1779, Sir Henry Clinton sailed for the South, with the main body of his army, he left the Hessian general, Knyphausen, 1 in command at New York. To aid the southern patriots, Washington sent thither the Baron De Kalb" and others the following spring [1780], and thus the two armies were so much weakened at head-quarters, that military operations at the North almost ceased during that year. The Carolinas became the chief theater of war, and many and bloody were the acts upon that stage. Invasions from without, and the cruelties of Tories* in their midst, made 1780 a year of great woe for the patriots and their families below the Roanoke, for they also suffered all the horrors of civil war. At no time, during the whole conflict, were the Tories, or adherents of the crown, more active throughout the whole country, than in 1780. They fa* /-%* were the most inveterate enemies of the patriots, and the lead- V Q^ ers were in continual correspondence with each other, with the f| ^// z^- British government, and with the royal commanders in Amer- j^ * ~*_ Their correspondence was carried on chiefly in cipher "f- *w /^ ca. writing, understood only by themselves, so that in the event of ^9 ,^_ ~/ their letters falling into the hands of the Whigs, their contents * ^r would remain a secret. These characters sometimes varied, and L^ C> ^fi^ it was a frequent occurrence for two persons to invent a cipher Si/ ** alphabet, for their own exclusive use. The engraving shows the alphabet of the cipher writing of some New York Tories. A fleet, under Admiral Arbuthnot, with two thousand ma- . ^ ^ rines, bore the forces of Sir Henry Clinton to the southern t ^~" . - , , . , , CIP1IEH ALPHABET. waters. After encountering heavy storms, they arrived on the coast of Georgia in January ; and early in February [Feb. 10], turned north- ward, and proceeded to invest Charleston. Clinton's troops were landed [Feb. 11] upon the islands below the city, on the shores of the Edisto Inlet, thirty miles distant ; but instead of marching at once to make an assault upon the town, the British commander prepared for a regular siege. General Lincoln was in Charleston with a feeble force 5 when Clinton landed ; and he was about to evacuate the city and flee to the interior, when intelligence of the tardy plans of the British reached him. He then resolved to remain, and prepare for de- 1 Page 259. * Page 316. ' Note 4, page 226. * 4 During a severe storm off Cape Hatteras, one vessel, carrying heavy battery cannons, was lost, and almost all the cavalry horses of Tarletou's legion, perished at sea. Tarleton supplied himself with others, soon after landing, by plundering the plantations near the coast * During the preceding winter, Lincoln's army had dwindled to a mere handful. The repulse at Savannah had so disheartened the people, that very few recruits could be obtained, and when Clin- ton arrived, Lincoln's army did not exceed fourteen hundred men in number. The finances of the State were in a wretched condition, and the Tories were everywhere active and hopeful. 310 THE REVOLUTION. [1780. fense. John Rutledge, 1 the governor of South Carolina, was clothed with all the powers of an absolute dictator ; and so nobly did the civil and military 'authorities labor for the public good, that when the invaders crossed the Ashley [March 29, 1780], and sat down before the American works on Charleston Neck, 3 the besieged felt strong enough to resist them. In the mean while, the intrenchments had been greatly strengthened, and works of defense had been cast up along the wharves, and at various points around the harbor. Fort Moultrie" was strongly gar- GOVERNOR RUTLEDGE. risoned, and Commodore Whipple 4 was in command of a flotilla of small armed ships in the harbor. On the 25th of March, Admiral Arbuthnot crossed Charleston bar, drove Whipple' s little fleet to the waters near the town, and cast anchor in Five 1 John Rutledge was born in Ireland, and came to South Carolina when a child. He was one of the most active patriots of the South. After the war he was made a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, and also chief justice of South Carolina He died in the year 1800. 5 Note 1, page 296. s Note 5, page 249. 4 Abraham Whipple was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1733. His early life was spent chiefly upon the ocean, and, in later years, he was long engaged in the merchant service. At the age of twenty-seven, he was commander of a privateer, and during a single cruise, in 1760, he took twenty-three French prizes. He was engaged in the destruction of the Gaspe, in 1772 [page 223]. In 1775, he was appointed to the command of vessels to drive Sir James Wallace from Narragan- sett Bay. He was active in naval service until the fall of Charleston, when he was taken prisoner. 1780.] SIXTH YEAR Of THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. Fathom Hole, not far from St. John's Island. On the morning of the 9th of April, he sailed up the harbor, and sustaining but trifling damage from the guns of Fort Moultrie, anchored within cannon-shot of the city. As Whipple could not contend with the strong ships, he sunk several of his vessels near the mouth of the Cooper River, and formed a chevaux-de-frise^ to prevent the en- emy's ships passing beyond the town, so as to enfilade the American works on the Neck. Clinton, in the mean while, had erected batteries* in front of these works, and both commanders joined in a summons for the patriots to surrender. Expecting reinforcements from the interior, the people of the beleagured city refused compliance, and for more than a month the siege went on. 3 In the mean while, American detachments sent out between the Cooper and Santee Rivers to keep open a communication with the interior, were attacked and de- feated by parties of British horsemen ; and at the close of the month [April, 1780], the city was completely environed by the foe Cornwallis had arrived [April 18], from New York, with three thousand fresh troops, and all hopes for the patriots faded. The night of the 9th of May was a terrible one for Charleston. That day a third summons to surrender had been refused, and late in the evening a gen- eral cannonade commenced. Two hundred heavy guns shook the city with their thunders, and all night long destructive bombshells 5 were hailed upon it. At one time th3 city was on fire in five different places. Nor did morning bring relief. The enemy hod deter- mined to take the city by storm. The cannonade continued all the day, and the fleet moved toward the town to open a bombardment. Further resistance would have been sheer madness, for the n _ . - ' SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. 1780. destruction or the town and the people seemed inevitable. At two o'clock on the morning of the 12th, a proposition for surrender was made to Clinton, and his guns were all silenced before day- light. At about noon on the 12th [May, 1780], the continental troops marched out, and laid down their arms, after a gallant and desperate defense for forty days. Lincoln and his army, with a large number of citizens, were made pris- oners of war. The citizens, and a great number of soldiers, were paroled." He was the first who unfurled the American flag In the Thames, at London, after the war. Accom- panying settlers to Ohio, he became a resident of Marietta, from which he sailed, in 1800, down the Ohio, with pork and flour, for Havana. He died in 1819, at the age of eighty-five years, 1 Note 6, page 274. 1 On Saturday morning, the first of April, the British first broke ground in the face of eighty cannons and mortars on the American works. ' General Woodford had just arrived with seven hundred Virginians, and others from North Carolina were reported on their way. 4 On the 14th of April, Tarleton defeated Colonel Huger on the head waters of the Cooper River, and killed twenty-five Americans. On the 6th of May. a party under Colonel White, of New Jersey, were routed at a ferry on the Santee, with a loss of about thirty in killed, wounded, and prisoners. These British detachments overran the whole country below the Cooper and Santee, in the course of a few days. * Note 2, page 236. ' A prisoner on parole is one who is left free to go anywhere within a prescribed space of coua. 312 THE REVOLUTION. [1780. Altogether, the captives amounted to between five and six thousand; 1 and among the spoils of victory were four hundred pieces of cannon. The fall of Charleston, and the loss of this southern army, was a severe blow for the Republicans. It paralyzed their strength ; and the British com- manders confidently believed that the finishing stroke of the war had been given. It was followed by measures which, for a time prostrated South Caro- try, or within a city, under certain restrictions relative to conduct. Prisoners taken in war are often paroled, and allowed to return to their friends, with' an agreement not to take up arms. It is a point of honor, with a soldier, to "keep his parole," and when such a one is again taken in battle, during the period of his parole, he is treated not as a prisoner, but as a traitor. 1 In violation of the solemn agreement for surrender, Clinton caused a great number of the lead- ing men in Charleston to be seized, and carried on board prison-ships, where hundreds suffered ter- ribly. Many were taken to St. Augustine, and immured in the fortress there. Among other prominent citizens thus treated, were Lieutenant-Go vernor Christopher Gadsden, and David Ram- say, the historian, who, with about twenty others, remained in prison at St. Augustine almost eleven months, before they were paroled. Both of these men were exceedingly active patriots. Ramsay was a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1749. He was educated at Princeton ; studied medicine, and became an eminent physician at Charleston. He was an efficient member of the Council of Safety when the Revolution broke out, and was also an esteemed legis- lator. He was also a member of the Continental Congress. In 1790, he published his History of the American Revolution. He wrote and published a Life of Washington, in 1801 ; a History of South Carolina, in 1808; and when he died, from a shot by a maniac, in 1815, he had almost com- pleted a History of the United States, Soon after the assembling of the first National Congress, under the new Constitution, in 1789, Dr. Ramsay sent in a petition, asking for the passage of a law for securing to him and his heirs the exclusive right to vend and dispose of his books, re- spectively entitled, History of the Revolution in South Carolina, and A History of the American Revolution. A bill for that purpose was framed and discussed. Finally, in August, it was " post- poned until the next Congress." A similar bill was introduced in January, 1790, and on the 30th of April following, the first copyright law recorded on the statute books of Congress, was passed. 1780.] SIXTH YEAR OP THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. lina at the feet of royal power. With an activity hitherto unusual for the British officers, Clinton took steps to extend and secure his conquest, and to re-establish royal power in the South. He sent out three strong detachments of his army to overrun the country. One under Cornwallia marched up the Santee toward Camden ; another under Lieutenant-colonel Cruger, was ordered to penetrate the country to Ninety-six/ and a third, under Lieutenant-colonel Brown, marched to Augusta, 4 in Georgia. A general truce was proclaimed, and a pardon to all who should accept British protection. The silence of fear overspread the whole country ; and mistaking this lull in the storm of war for permanent tranquillity, Clinton and Arbuthnot, with a large body of troops, sailed, on the 5th of June [1780], for New York. The last and most cruel blow struck by the British, was that which almost annihilated an American detachment under Colonel Abraham Buford. He had hastened toward Charleston for the relief of Lincoln ; but when he heard of the disasters therej he commenced retreating toward North Carolina. His force consisted of nearly four hundred Continental infantry, a small detachment of Colonel Washington's cavalry, and two field-pieces. He had evacuated Camden, and, in fancied security, was retreating leisurely toward Charlotte, in North Carolina. Cornwallis resolved to strike Buford, if possible, and, for that purpose, he dispatched Tarleton, with seven hundred men, consisting of his cavalry and mounted infantry. That officer marched one hundred and five miles in fifty-four hours, and came up with Buford upon the Waxhaw. Impa- tient of delay, he had left his mounted infantry behind, and with only his cavalry, he almost surrounded Buford before that officer was aware of danger. Tarleton demanded an immediate surrender upon the terms granted to the Americans at Charleston. These terms were humiliating, and Buford refused compliance.. While the flags for conference were passing and re-passing, Tarle- ton, contrary to military rules, was making preparations for an assault, and the instant he received Buford s reply, his cavalry made a furious charge upon the American ranks. Having received no orders to defend themselves, and supposing the negotiations were yet pending, the Continentals were utterly dismayed by this charge. All was confusion ; and while some fired upon their assailants, others threw down their arnn and begged for quarter. None was given^ and men without arms were hewn in pieces by Tarle ton's cavalry. One hundred and thirteen were slain ; one hundred and fifty were so maimed as to be unable to travel ; and fifty- three were made prisoners, to grace the triumphal entry of the conqueror into Camden. Only five of the British were killed, and fifteen wounded. The whole of Buford's artillery, ammunition, and baggage, fell into the hands of the enemy. For this savage feat, Cornwallis eulogized Tarleton, and commended him to the ministry as worthy of special favor. It was nothing less than a cold-blooded massacre ; and Tarleton 1 s quarter became proverbial as a synonym to cruelty.' The liberal press, and all right-minded 1 Page 336. * Page 336. 1 Stedman, one of Cornwallis's officers, and afterward an eminent English historian of the war, says, "On this occasion, the virtue of humanity was totally forgot." 314 THE REVOLUTION. [1780. men in England, cried Shame ! After the battle, a large number of the wounded were taken to the log meeting-house of the Waxhaw Presbyterian Congregation, where they were tenderly cared for by those who had courage to remain. This blow, however, was so terrible, that fear seized the people, and women and children fled from their homes in dismay, to avoid falling in the track of the invader. 1 Brief was the lull of the storm. Do Kalb Q did not reach the borders of South Carolina until midsummer, and then not an American was in arms in the lower country. Although Congress had confidence in the skill of De Kalb (who by the capture of Lincoln, became the commander-in- chief at the South), yet it was thought best to send General Gates 3 thither, because of the influence of his name. The prospect before him was far from flattering. An army without strength; a military chest without money ; but little public spirit in the commissary department ; a climate unfavorable to health ; the spirit GENERAL GATE?. of the Republicans cast down ; loyalists swarming in every direction; and a victorious enemy pressing to spread his legions over the territory he had come to defend, were grave obsta- cles in the way of success. Yet Gates did not despond ; and, retaining De Kalb in command of his division, he prepared to march into South Carolina. When it was known that he was approaching, southern hearts beat high with hope, for they expected great things from the conqueror of Burgoyne. 4 Many patriots, who, in their extremity, had signed "paroles" and (: protections, "' seeing how little solemn promises were esteemed by the conqueror, disregarded both, and flocked to the standard of those brave partisan leaders, Sumter, Marion, Pickens, and Clarke, who now called them to the field. While Gates and his army were approaching, these partisans were preparing the way for conquest. They swept over the country in small bands, striking a British 1 Among those who fled, was the widowed mother of Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, who, with her two sons, Robert and Andrew, took refuge in the vicinity of Charlotte, North Carolina* The dreadful scenes of that massacre, was the first lesson that taught Andrew to hate tyranny. It fired his patriotism ; and at the age of thirteen years, he entered the army, with his brother Robert, under Sumter. They were both made prisoners ; but even while in the power of the British, the indomitable courage of the after man appeared in the boy. When ordered to clean the muddy boots of a British officer, he proudly refused, and for his temerity received a sword-cut. After their release, Andrew and his brother returned to the Waxhaw set- tlement with their mother. That patriotic matron and two sons perished during the war. Her son Hugh was slain in battle, and Robert died of a wound which he received from a British officer while he was prisoner, because, liko Andrew, he refused to do menial service. Th 3 heroic mother, while on her way home from Charleston, whither she went to carry some necessaries to her friends and relations on board a prison-ship, was seized with prison-fever, and died. Her unknown grave ia somewhere between what was then called the Quarter House and Charleston, Andrew was left the sole survivor of the family. s Page 316. * Horatio Gates was a native of England, and was educated for military life. He was the first adjutant-general of the Continental army [note 5, page 238], and was made major-general in 1776. He retired to his estate in Virginia at the close of the war, and finally took up his abode in New Tork, where he died ia 1806, at the age of seventy-eight years. 4 Page 281. * Note 6, page 311. 1780.] SIXTH TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 315 GENERAL SCMTER. detachment here, and a party of Tories there ; and soon, they so effectually alarmed the enemy in the interior, as to check the onward progress of invasion. General Sumter 1 first appeared in power on the Catawba River. Already Whigs, between that and the Broad River, led by local officers, had assailed the enemy at different points. In the mean while Sumter had collected a considerable force, and on the 30th of July, he attacked a British post at Rocky Mount, on the Catawba. He was repulsed, but not disheartened. He immediately crossed the river, and at Hanging-rock, a few miles eastward, he fell upon and dispersed a large body of British and Tories, on the 6th of August. Through the folly of his men, he did not secure a victory. They commenced plundering, and drinking the liquors found in the camp, after they had secured it, and becoming intoxicated, were unable to complete the triumph. Yet the British dared not follow Sumter in his slow retreat. Marion, at the same time, was smiting the enemy, with sudden and fierce blows, among the swamps of the lower country, on the borders of the Pedee. Pickens was annoying Cruger in the neighborhood of the Saluda ; and Clarke was calling for the patriots along the Savannah, Ogee- chee, and Alatamaha, to drive Brown* from Augusta. General Clinton left Earl Cornwallis in the chief command of the British army at the South, and his troops on the Santee were intrusted to Lord Raw- don, an active and meritorious officer. When that general heard of the approach of Gates, he gathered all his available forces at Camden, where he was soon joined by the earl. Rumor had greatly magnified the number of the army under Gates. The loyalists became alarmed, and the patriots took courage. He came down from the hill country, through Lancaster district, and took post at Clermont, a few miles north of Camden. Feeling certain of victory, he marched from his camp on the night of the 15th of August, to surprise the British at Camden. Without being aware of this movement, Cornwallis and Rawdon advanced at the same hour to surprise the Americans. A little after midnight the belligerents met [August 16, 1780], near San- ders' s Creek, about seven miles north of Camden, on the Lan- caster road. The sand was so deep that the footsteps of the approaching armies could not be heard by each other. They came together in the dark, almost noiselessly, and both were equally surprised. A slight skirmish between the vanguards ensued, and early in the morning a general battle began. After a desperate struggle with an overwhelming force, the Americans were compelled to yield to the British bayonets in SANDEHS'S CREEK. 1 Thomas Sumter was a native of South Carolina, and was early in the field. Ill health com- pelled him to leave the army just before the close of the war. in 1781. He was afterward a mem- l^er of the National Congress, and died on the High Hills of Santee [page 337], in 1832, a the *& of ninety-eight years- * Page 336. 316 THE REVOLUTION. [1780. BARON DE KALB. front, and the sabres of Tarleton's dragoons on their flanks. The rout became general. The militia fell in great numbers, under the heavy blows from the British cavalry ; and for more than two miles, along the line of their retreat, the open wood was strewn with the dead and dying. Arms, artil- lery, horses, and baggage, were scattered in every direction. More than a third of the continental troops were killed ; and the entire loss of the Americans, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was about a thousand men, besides all of their artillery and ammunition, and a greater portion of their baggage and stores. 1 The British loss was three hundred and twenty- five. Among the killed was the brave Baron de Kalb, 8 whose remains were buried at Camden, and there they yet lie, under a neat monument, the corner-stone of which was laid by La Fayette in 1825. 3 Having vainly endeavored to rally his flying troops, Gates fled to Charlotte, 4 eighty miles distant. There he continued to be joined by officers and men, and he began to hope that another army might be speedily collected. But when, a few days after his own defeat, he received intel- ligence that Suniter's force had been nearly annihilated by Tarleton 5 near the Catawba, he almost despaired. That event was a sad one for the republicans. Sumter had been ordered, by Gates, to intercept a British detachment which was conveying stores for the main army, from Ninety-Six. He was joined by other troops sent to assist him, and they cap- tured forty-four wagons loaded with clothing, and made a number of prisoners. On hearing of the defeat of Gates, Sumter continued his march up the Catawba. and on the 18th [August, 1780] he encamped near the mouth of the Fishing Creek. There he was surprised by Tarleton, and his troops were routed with great slaughter. More than fifty were killed, and three hundred were made prisoners. All the booty captured by the Americans fell into the hands of Tarleton. Sumter escaped, but was stripped of power. With the dispersion of Gates's army, and Sumter's brave band, the victory of the British was again complete ; and at the close of summer, there were no COLONEL TARLETON. 1 General Gates had felt so certain of victory, that he had made no provisions for a retreat, or the salvation of his stores in the rear. His troops were scattered in all directions, and he, appar- ently panic-stricken by the terrible blow, fled, almost alone, to Charlotte. Even now [18G7] bul- lets are found in the old pine-trees on the route of their retreat Gates did indeed, as General Charles Lee predicted he would, when he heard of his appointment to the command of the south- ern army, "exchange his northern laurels for southern willows." 8 De Kalb was a native of Alsace, a German province ceded to France. He had been in Amer- ica as a secret French agent, about fifteen years before. He came to America with La Fayette in 1777, and Congress commissioned him a major-general He died of his wounds at Camden, three days after the battle. s Page 453. 4 Page 237. 6 Tarleton was one of the most active and unscrupulous officers of the British army. He was distinguished for his abilities and cruelties during the southern campaigns of 1780-'81. He was born in Liverpool, in 1754. He married a daughter of the Duke of Ancaster, in 1798, and was afterward made a major-general * Page 336. 1780.] SIXTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 317 republicans in arms in South Carolina, except Marion and his men. Within three months [May 12 to August 16 J, two American armies had been annihil- ated, and one of the most formidable partisan corps (Sumter's) scattered to the winds. The exploits of Marion 1 and his men, form the materials of one of the most interesting chapters in the history of our War for Independence. He was in Charleston during the long siege, but having been disabled by an accident,* ha had retired to the country, and was not among the prisoners when the city passed in the possession of the British. 3 He was therefore untrammeled by any parole, and as soon as he was able, he mounted his horse, and took the field. With a few ragged followers, equal in grotesque appearance to any Falstaff 1 Francis Marion was a descendant of a Huguenot [p'age 49] settler, and was born near George- town, South Carolina, in 1732. His first military lessons were learned in the war with the Chero- kees [page 204], in 1761. He entered the array at the commencement of the Revolution, and wag one of the bravest and most useful of all the partisan officers at the South. He was also a member of the South Carolina Legislature, during, and after the war. He died at his home, near Eutaw Springs, on his beloved Santee, in 1795, in the sixty-third year of his age. 8 Marion was dining with some friends at a house in Tradd-street, Charleston, when, on an at- tempt being made to cause him to drink wine, contrary to his practice and desire, he leaped from a window, and sprained his ankle. The Americana yet kept the country toward the Santee, open, and Marion was conveyed to his home. * Page 31L 318 THB REVOLUTION. [1780. ever saw, 1 he was annoying the Tories in tho neighborhood of the Pedee, when Gates was moving southward ; and just before the battle at Camden, he ap- peared in Gates's camp. The proud general would have treated him with con- tempt, had not Governor Rutledge, 5 then in the camp, known the sterling worth of the man before them. While Marion was there, the people of the Williamsburg district, who had arisen in arms, sent for him to be their com- mander. Governor Rutledge gave him the commission of a brigadier on the spot ; and soon afterward, Marion organized that noted brigade, which per- formed such wonderful exploits among the swamps, the broad savannahs, and by the water-courses of the South. It was this motley brigade, only, that appeared in the field, and defied British power, after the dispersion of Gates's army at Camden. Had Cornwallis been governed by good judgment and humanity, the con- quest of South Carolina might have been permanent, for the State swarmed with Tories, and the Republic- ans were wearied with the unequal contest. But he was governed by a foolish and wicked policy, and pro- ceeded to establish royal authority by the most severe measures. Instead of winning the respect of the people by wisdom and clemency, he thought to subdue them by cruelty. Private rights were trampled under foot, and social organization was superseded by the iron rule LORD CORNWALLIS of military despotism. 3 His measures created the most bitter hatred; and hundreds of patriots, who might have been conciliated, were goaded into active warfare by the lash of military power. Everywhere the people thirsted for vengeance, and only awaited the call of leaders, to rally and strike again for homes and freedom. Now, feeling confident of his power in South Carolina, Cornwallis 1 prepared to invade the North State. Early in September he proceeded with his army to Charlotte, 6 while detachments were sent out in various directions to awe thD Republicans and encourage the loyalists. While Tarleton, with his legion, I Colonel Otho H. "Williams said of his appearance then, that his followers were " distinguished by small leathern caps, and the wretchedness of their attire. Their number did not exceed twenty men and boys, some white, some black, and all mounted, but most of them miserably equipped. Their appearance was, in fact, so burlesque, that it was with much difficulty the diversion of tho regular soldiery was restrained by the officers ; and the general himself [Gates] was glad of an op- portunity of detaching Colonel Marion, at his own instance, toward the interior of South Carolina, with orders to watch tho motions of the enemy, and furnish intelligence." II Pago 310. * Ho issued cruel orders to his subaltejns. They were directed to hang every militia-man who had once served in Loyalist corps, but were now found in arms against the king. Many who had submitted to Clinton [page 313], and accepted protection, and had remained at home quietly during the recent revolt, were imprisoned, their property taken from them or destroyed, and their families treated with the utmost rigor. See note 3, page 337. 4 Charles?, Earl Cornwallis, was born, in Suffolk, England, in 1738. He was educated for mili- tary life, and commenced his career in 1759. After the Revolution in America, he was made gov- ernor-general of India [nota 2, page 224], then lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and again governor of India. He died near Benares, East Indies, in 1805. 6 His advanced corps were attacked by tho Americans under Colonel Davie, on their arrival at Charlotte, but after a S3vere skirmish, tho patriots were repulsed. 1730.] SIXTE TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 319 was operating on the east side of the Catawba, Major Patrick Ferguson was sent to embody the militia who favored the king, among the mountains west of the Broad River. Many profligate and worthless men joined his standard, and on the first of October, 1780, he crossed the Broad River at the Cherokee ford, in Yorkville district, and encamped among the hills of King's Mountain, with about fifteen hundred men. Several corps of Whig militia united to oppose him, 1 and on the 7th of October, they fell upon his camp on King's Mountain, there, a cluster of high, wooded, gravelly hills, about two miles below the southern line of North Carolina. A very severe engagement ensued, and the British were totally defeated. Ferguson was slain. 2 and three hundred of his men were killed and wounded. Tfre spoils of victory, which cost the Americans only twenty men, were eight hundred prisoners, and fifteen hundred stand of arms. This defeat was to Cornwallis, what the affair at Bennington 3 was to Burgoyne, and it gave the Republicans hope. Nearer the sea-board, in the mean while, the patriots were daily gaining strength. Marion and his men 1 were striking the banding Tories here and there, and annoying British outposts continually ; while Colonel Pickens and Clarke were hourly augmenting their forces in Georgia and south-western Carolina. Sumter, too, undismayed by his recent defeat, again appeared in the field ; 5 and other leaders were coming forth between the Yadkin and Broad Rivers. Alarmed by the defeat of Ferguson, and these demonstrations on flank and rear, Cornwallis withdrew [October 14] to South Carolina, and toward the close of October [27th], made his head quarters at Winnsborough, midway between the Broad and Catawba Rivers, in Fairfield district. Here he remained until called to the pursuit of Greene, 6 a few weeks later. Victory after victory was achieved by Marion and his brigade, until late in October, when they pushed forward to assail the British post a Georgetown, for the purpose of obtaining necessary supplies. Hitherto Marion had confined his operations to forays upon British and Tories; now he undertook a more 1 These were commanded by Colonels "William Campbell, Isaac Shelby, Benjamin Cleveland, John Sevier, Joseph Winston, Charles McDowell, and James Williams. Their united forces amounted to nearly eighteen hundred men. 8 On the spot where Ferguson was slain, a plain stone has been erected to the memory of that officer, and of Americans who were killed. The following inscriptions upon the stone, give the names: North side. "Sacred to the memory of Major WILLIAM CHRONICLE, Captain JOHN MAT- TOCKS, WILLIAM ROBB, and JonN BOYD, who were killed here fighting in defense of America, on the ssventh of October, 1780." South side. " Colonel FERGUSON, an officer belonging to his Britan- nic majesty, was here defeated and killed." Ferguson's rank is incorrectly given, on the monument. He was only a major ; but his good conduct was placing him in the way of speedy promotion. He was a son of the eminent Scotch jurist, James Ferguson, and came to America in 1777. He was in the battle on the Brandywine, in the autumn of that year [page 273], and accompanied Sir Henry Clinton to South Carolina [page 306] at the close of 1779. a Page 277. * Page 317. 6 Sumter collected a small force in the vicinity of Charlotte, and returned to South Carolina. For some weeks he annoyed the British and Tories very much, and Lord Cornwallis, who called him The Carolina Game Cock, used great endeavors to crush him. On the night of the 12th of Novem- ber, Major Wemyss, at the head of a British detachment, fell upon him near the Broad River, but was repulsed. Eight days afterward he had a severe engagement with Tarleton, at Blackstock's plantation, on the Tyger River, in Union district. He had now been joined by some Georgians under Colonels Clarke and Twiggs. The British wore repulsed, with a loss, in killed and wounded, of about three hundred. The Americans lost only three killed and five wounded. Sumter was among the latter, and he was detained from the field several months, by his wounds. 8 Page 332. 320 THE REVOLUTION: [1780. serious business. The garrison was on the alert, and in a severe skirmish with a large party near the town, the Partisan was repulsed. He then retired to Snow's Island, at the confluence of Lynch's Creek and the Pedee, where he fixed his camp, and secured it by such works of art as the absence of natural defenses required. It was chiefly high river swamp, dry, and covered with a heavy forest, filled with game. From that island camp, Marion sent out and led detachments as occasion required ; and for many weeks, expeditions which accomplished wonderful results, emanated from that point. Their leader seemed to be possessed of ubiquitous powers, for he struck blows at different points in rapid succession. The British became thoroughly alarmed, and the destruction of his camp became, with them, an object of vital importance. 1 That work was accomplished in the spring of 1T81, when a party of Tories penetrated to Marion's camp, during his absence, dispersed the little garrison, destroyed the pro- visions and stores found there, and then fled. The Partisan was not disheartened by this misfortune, but pursued the marauder some distance, and then wheeling, he hastened through the then overflowed swamps to confront Colonel "Watson, who was in motion with a body of fresh troops, in the vicinity of the Pedee. While these events were progressing at the South, others of great import- ance were transpiring at the North. As we have observed," military operations were almost suspended in this region during the year, and there were no offens- ive movements worthy of notice, except an invasion of New Jersey, in June. On the 6th of that month (before the arrival of Clinton from Charleston), Knyp- hausen 3 dispatched General Matthews from Staten Island, with about five thousand men, to penetrate New Jersey. They took possession of Elizabeth- town [June 7], and burned Connecticut Farms (then a hamlet, and now the village of Union), on the road from Elizabethtown to Springfield. When the invaders arrived at the latter place, they met detachments which came down from Washington's camp at Morristown, and by them were driven back to the coast, where they remained a fortnight. In the mean while Clinton arrived, and joining Matthews with additional troops [June 22], endeavored to draw Washington into a general battle, or to capture his stores at Morristown. Feigning an expedition to the Highlands, Clinton deceived Washington, who, with a considerable force, marched in that direction, leaving General Greene in command at Springfield. Perceiving the success of his stratagem, he, with Knyphausen, .marched upon Greene, witn J}out five thousand infantry, a con- siderable body of cavalry and almost twenty pieces of artillery. After a severe 1 Here was the scone of the interview between Marion and a young British officer from George- town, so well remembered by tradition, and so well delineated by the pen of Simms and the pencil of White. The officer who came to treat respecting prisoners, was led blindfolded to the camp of Marion. There he first saw the diminutive form of the great partisan leader, and around him, in groups, were his followers, lounging beneath magnificent trees draped with moss. "When their business was concluded, Marion invited the young Briton to dine with him. He remained, and to his utter astonishment he saw some roasted potatoes brought forward on a piece of bark, of which the general partook freely, and invited his guest to do the same. " Surely, general," said the officer, "this can not be your ordinary fare!" "Indeed it is," replied Marion, "and we are fortunate on this occasion, entertaining company, to have more than our usual allowance." It is related that the young officer gave up his commission on his return, declaring that such a people could not be, and ought not to be subdued. a Page 309. 3 Page 259. 21 MARION'S ENCAMPMENT ox THE PEDEE. 1780.] SIXTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 323 skirmish at Springfield, the British were defeated [June 23, 1780], and setting fire to the village, they retreated, and passed over to Staten Island. Good news for the Americans came from the East, a few days after this invasion. It was that of the arrival, at Newport, Rhode Island, on the 10th of July [1780], of a powerful French fleet, under Admiral Ternay, bearing six thousand land troops under the Count de Rochambeau. This expedition had been expected for some time, it having sailed from Brest early in April The whole matter had been arranged with the French government by La Fay- ette, who had returned from France in May, and brought the glad tidings to the Americans. With wise forethought, the relation between Washington and Rochambeau had been settled by the French government. In order to prevent any difficulties in relation to command, between the American and French offi- cers, the king commissioned Washington a lieutenant-general of the empire. This allowed him to take precedence of Rochambeau, and made him commander- in -chief of the allied armies. Soon after his arrival, Rochambeau, by appoint- ment, met Washington at Hartford, in Connecticut, to confer upon their future movements. The season being so far advanced, that it was thought imprudent for the French army to enter upon active duties during the current camcai?n. it THE REVOLUTION. [1780. was determined to have the main body of it remain in camp, on Rhode Island, while the cavalry should be cantoned at Lebanon, in Connecticut, the place of residence of Jonathan Trumbull, governor of that State. That eminent man was the only chief magistrate of a colony who retained his office after the change from royal to Republican rule ; and throughout the war, he was one of the most efficient of the civil officers among the patriots. 1 The arrival of the French caused Clinton to be more circumspect in his movements, and he made no further attempts to entice Washington to fight. Yet he was endeavoring to accomplish by his own strategy, and the treason of an American officer, what he could not achieve by force. At different times during the war, the British officials in America had tampered, directly or indirectly, with some Americans, supposed to be possessed of easy virtue, but it was late in the contest before one could be found who was wicked enough to be a traitor. Finally, a recreant to the claims of patriotism appeared, and while the French army were landing upon Rhode Island, and were preparing for winter quarters there, Clinton was bargaining with Benedict Arnold for the strong military post of West Point, 2 and its dependencies among the Hudson Highlands, and with it the liberties of America, if possible. Arnold was a brave soldier, but a bad man. 3 He fought nobly for freedom, from the beginning of the war, until 1778, when his passions gained the mas- tery over his judgment and conscience. Impulsive, vindictive, and unscrupu- lous, he was personally unpopular, and was seldom without a quarrel with some of his companions-in-arms. Soon after his appointment to the command at Philadelphia, 4 he was married to the beautiful young daughter of Edward Shippen, one of the leading loyalists of that city. He lived in splendor, at an expense far beyond his income. To meet the demands of increasing creditors, he engaged in fraudulent acts which made him hated by the public, and caused charges of dishonesty and malpractices in office to be preferred against him, before the Continental Congress. A court-martial, appointed to try him, con- 1 Jonathan Trumbull was born at Lebanon, Connecticut, in June, 1710, and was educated at Harvard College. He prepared for the ministry, but finally became a merchant. He was a mem- ber of the Connecticut Assembly at the age of twenty-three years. He was chosen governor of Connecticut in 1769, and for fourteen consecutive years he was elected to that office. He died at Lebanon, in August, 1785, at the ago of seventy-five years. See page 323. 2 During the spring and summer of 1778, the passes of the Hudson Highlands were much strengthened. A strong redoubt called Fort Clinton (in honor of George Clinton, then governor of New York), was erected on the extreme end of the promontory of West Point. Other redoubts were erected in the rear; and upon Mount Independence, five hundred feet above the Point, the strong fortress of Fort Putnam was built, whose gray ruins are yet visible. Besides these, an enormous iron chain, each link weighing more than one hundred pounds, was stretched across the Hudson at West Point, to keep British ships from ascending the river. It was floated upon timbers, fciked together with iron, and made a very strong obstruction. Two of these floats, with the con- tacting links, are preserved at Washington's Head Quarters, at Newburgh ; and several links of the great chain may be seen at the Laboratory, at West Point. 3 While yet a mere youth, ho attempted murder. A young Frenchman was an accepted suitor of Arnold's sister. The young tyrant (for Arnold was always a despot among his play-fellows) disliked him, and when he could not persuade his sister to discard him, he declared lie would shoot the Frenchman if he ever entered the house again. The opportunity soon occurred, and Arnold discharged a loaded pistol at him, as he escaped through a window. The young man left the place forever, and Hannah Arnold lived the life of a maiden. Arnold and the Frenchman afterward met at Honduras, and fought a duel, in which the Frenchman was severely wounded. 4 Note 3, page 287. 1780.] SIXTH YEAR OP THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 325 victed him, v but sentenced him to a reprimand only. Although Washington performed that duty with the utmost delicacy, Arnold felt the disgrace. It awakened vengeful feelings which, operating with the pressure of debt, made him listen with complacency to the suggestions of a bad nature. He made treason- able overtures to Sir Henry Clinton, and by a correspondence of several months (under an assumed name, and with propositions couched in commercial phrases) with the accomplished Major Andre, 1 Clinton's adjutant-general, he bargainee! with the British commander to betray West Point and its dependencies into his hands. For this service he was to receive a brigadier's commission, and fifty thousand dollars in cash. The traitor managed the affair very adroitly. For a long time, Washington had been suspicious of Arnold's integrity, but was unwilling to believe him capable of treason. Under pretense of having private business in Connecticut, Arnold left Philadelphia, passed through Washington's camp on the Hudson, and on his return, he suggested to the chief that he would be glad to have com- mand of West Point. He made many patriotic professions, and his desires were gratified. He was appointed to the command of that post, in August, 1780, and then all his thoughts were turned to the one great object of the betrayal of 1 Arnold's hand-writing was disguised, and he signed his letters Gustavus. Andre's letters were signed John Anderson. A correspondence was carried on between them for more than a year. 326 THE REVOLUTION. [1780. his trust. The time chosen for the consummation of his treasonable designs, was when Washington was absent, in September, in conference with the French officers at Hartford, Connecticut. 1 Up to the time of his taking command of West Point, Arnold and Andre had negotiated in writing. They had never met, but now a personal conference was necessary. For that purpose, Andre went up the Hudson in the sloop of war, Vulture, which anchored off Teller's Point, just above the mouth of the Croton River. Andre was taken ashore, near Haverstraw, on the west side of the Hudson, where, bj previous appoint- ment, he met Arnold. Before they parted [Sept. 22, 1780], the whole matter was arranged. Clinton was to sail up the river with a strong force, and after a show of resistance, Arnold was to surrender West Point and its depend- encies into his hands. But all did not work well. Some Americans dragged an old iron six-pound cannon (yet preserved at Sing Sing) to the end of Teller's Point, and with it so galled the Vulture, that she was driven from her anchor- age, and, dropping down the river, disappeared from Andre's view. He was consequently compelled to cross to the eastern side of the Hudson in disguise, and make his way toward New York, by land. At Tarrytown, twenty-seven miles from the city, he was stopped [Sept. 23] and searched by three young militia men, 8 who, finding papers concealed in his boots, 8 took him to the near- est American post. Colonel Jameson, the commander, could not seem to com- prehend the matter, and unwisely allowed Andre to send a letter to Arnold, then at his quarters opposite West Point. The alarmed and warned traitor im- mediately fled down the river in his barge, and escaped to the Vulture in safety, leaving behind him his young wife and infant son, who were kindly treated by Washington.* The unfortunate Major Andre was tried and found guilty as a spy, and was hanged on the 2d of October, 1780, at Tappan opposite Tarrytown, while the real miscreant escaped. Strenuous efforts were made to gain possession of Arnold, and save Andre, but they failed, 5 and that accomplished officer, betrayed by circum- stances, as he said in a letter to Washington, " into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise," suffered more because of the sins of others, than of his own. Washington would have spared Andre, if the stern rules of war had permitted. 1 Page 323. a John Paulding, David "Williams, and Isaac Van "Wart, all residents of Westchester county. AndrS offered them large bribes if they would allow him to pass, but they refused, and thus saved their country from ruin. ' These papers are well preserved. After being in private hands more than seventy years, they were purchased, and deposited in the New York State Library, in 1853. 4 Washington returned from Hartford on the very morning of Arnold's escape, and reached hia quarters (yet standing opposite "West Point) just after the traitor had left. The evidences of his treason were there, and officers were sent in pursuit, but in vain. "Washington sent the wife and son of Arnold to New York, whither the traitor was conveyed by the Vulture. That infant, who was named James Robertson Arnold, was born at "West Point He became a distinguished officer in the British army, having passed through all the grades of office, from lieutenant. On the accession of Queen Victoria, in 1835, he was made one of her aids-de-camp, and rose to the rank of major- general, with the badge of a Knight of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. 6 Serjeant Champe, of Lee's legion [page 333], went into New York City, in the disguise of a deserter, joined the corps which had been placed under Arnold's command, and had every thing arranged for carrying off the traitor, in a boat, to the New Jersey shore. On the very day when he was to execute his scheme, at night, Arnold's corps were ordered to Virginia, and Champe was compelled to accompany it There he escaped, and joined Lee in the Carolinaa 1781.] SEVENTH TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 327 The young soldier has always been more pitied than blamed ; while the name of Arnold will ever be regarded with the bitterest scorn. 1 Although he did not accomplish his wicked schemes, he received the stipulated reward for his treason- able services. And history, too, has given him its reward of recorded shame, while those who were instrumental in securing Andre, and with him the evidences of the foul treason, are honored by the nation with its ever- lasting gratitude. Thankful for deliverance from the dangers of treason, Congress voted [Nov. 3, 1780] each of the three young militia men, a sil- ver medal and a pension of two hundred dollars a year, for life. And marble monuments have been * . . ., CAPTORS MEDAL. 4 erected to their memories ; while the sentiment of sympathy for the unfortunate Andre, has also caused a memorial to him, to be erected at Tarrytown, upon the spot where he was executed. And now another year drew to a close, and yet the patriots were not sub- dued. England had already expended vast treasures and much blood in en- deavors to subjugate them ; and, on account of the rebellion, had involved herself in open war with France and Spain. Notwithstanding all this, and unmindful of the fact that a large French land and naval armament was already on the American shores, 4 she seemed to acquire fresh vigor as every new ob- stacle presented itself. And when the British ministry learned that Holland, the maritime rival of England, was secretly negotiating a treaty with the United States for loans of money and other assistance, they caused a declaration of war against that government to be immediately proclaimed [Dec. 20, 1780], and procured from Parliament immense appropriations of men and money, ships and stores, to sustain the power of Great Britain on land and sea. CHAPTER VIII. SEVENTH TEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. [1781.] ONE of the noblest displays of true patriotism, for which the war for Inde- pendence was so remarkable, signalized the opening of the year 1781. Year 1 Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut, in January, 1730. He was bred to the business of an apothecary, and for some time carried on that, with bookselling, in New Haven. We have already met him in his career during the war, up to the time of his treason. We shall meet him again, in Virginia [page 330], with the enemy. At the close of the war, he went to En- gland, then to Nova Scotia, but he was everywhere despised. He died in London, in June, 1801, where, just three years afterward, his wife also died. * On one side is the word "FIDELITY," and on the other, "ViNcrr AMOR PATRLS" "The love of country conquers." ' To Paulding, in St. Peter's church-yard, about two miles from Peekskill, and to Van Wart in Greenburg church-yard, a little more than that distance from Tarrytown. Williams was buried in Schoharie county, where a monument is about to be erected to his memory. 4 Page 323. 328 THE REVOLUTION. [1781. after year the soldiers had suffered every privation, from lack of money and clothing. Faction had now corrupted the Continental Congress, and the public welfare suffered on account of the tardiness of that body in the performance of its legitimate duties. Continental money had become almost worthless, 1 and the pay of officers and men was greatly in arrears. The frequent promises of Congress had been as frequently unfulfilled, and the common soldiers had cause to be dissatisfied with the illiberal interpretation which their officers gave to the terms of enlistment. 3 They had asked in vain for aid; and finally, on the first day of January, 1781, thirteen hundred of the Pennsylvania line, whose time, as they understood it, had expired, left the camp at Morristown, 3 with the avowed determination of marching to Philadelphia, and in person demanding justice from the national legislature. General Wayne 4 was in command of the Pennsylvania troops, and was much beloved by them. He exerted all his influ- ence, by threats and persuasions, to bring them back to duty until their griev- ances should be redressed. They would not listen to his remonstrances ; and, on cocking his pistol, they presented their bayonets to his breast, saying, "We respect and love you ; often have you led us into the field of battle, but we are no longer under your command ; we warn you to be on your guard ; if you fire your pistol, or attempt to enforce your commands, we shall put you instantly to death." Wayne appealed to their patriotism ; they pointed to the impo- sitions of Congress. He reminded them of the strength their conduct would give to the enemy ; they exhibited their tattered garments and emaciated forms. They avowed their willingness to support the cause of freedom, for it was dear to their hearts, if adequate provision could be made for their comfort, and then boldly reiterated their intention to march directly to Philadelphia, and demand from Congress a redress of their grievances. Finding threats and persuasions useless, Wayne concluded to accompany the mutineers. When they reached Princeton, they presented the general with a written programme of their demands. It appeared reasonable ; but not being authorized to promise them any thing, the matter was referred to Congress. That body immediately appointed a commission to confer with the insurgents. The result was a compliance with their just demands, and the disbanding of a large part of the Pennsylvania line, for the winter, which was filled by new recruits in the spring.' 1 Pago 245. Thirty dollars in paper were then worth only one in silver. * The terms, as expressed, were, that they should " serve for three years, or during the war;" that is, for three years if the war continued, or be discharged sooner if the war should end sooner. The officers claimed that they were bound to serve as long as the war should continue. 9 The head-quarters of Washington were now at New Windsor, just above the Hudson High- lands. The Pennsylvania troops were cantoned at Morristown, New Jersey ; and the New Jersey troops were at Pompton, in the same State. * Page 298, 6 Intelligence of this revolt reached Washington and Sir Henry Clinton on the same day, Washington took measures immediately to suppress the mutiny, and prevent the bad influence of its example. Sir Henry Clinton, mistaking the spirit of the mutineers, thought to gain great advantage by the event. He dispatched two emissaries, a British sergeant, and a New Jersey Tory named Ogden, to the insurgents, with the written offer that, on laying down their arms and marching to New York, they should receive their arrearages, and the amount of the depreciation of the Conti- nental currency, in hard cash ; that they should be well clothed, have a free pardon for all past offenses, and be taken under tho protection of the British government ; and that no military service 1781.] SEVENTH YEAR OP THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. On the 18th of January, a portion of the New Jersey line, at Pompton, followed the example of their comrades at Morristown. The mutiny was soon quelled [January 27], but by harsher means than Wayne had employed. Gen- eral Robert Howe 1 was sent by Washington, with five hundred men, to restore order. Two of the ringleaders were hanged, and the remainder quietly sub- mitted. These events had a salutary effect. They aroused Congress and the people to the necessity of more efficient measures for the support of the army. Taxes were imposed and cheerfully paid ; a special agent, sent abroad to obtain loans, was quite successful, 3 and a national bank 3 was established at Philadel- phia, and placed under the charge of Robert Morris, 4 to whose superintendence Congress had recently intrusted the public Treasury. To his efforts and finan- cial credit, the country was indebted for the means to commence offensive opera- tions in the spring of 1781. He collected the taxes, and by the free use of his ample private fortune, and his public credit, he supplied the army with flour and other necessaries, and doubtless prevented their disbanding by their own act. Let us now turn our attention to events in the South. While half-starved, half-naked troops were making such noble displays of patriotism amid the snows should be required of them, unless voluntarily offered. Sir Henry requested them to appoint agents to treat with his and adjust the terms of a treaty ; and, not doubting the success of his plans, he went to Staten Island himself, with a large body of troops, to act as circumstances might require. Like his masters at home, he entirely misapprehended the spirit and the incentives to action of the American soldiers. They were not mercenary not soldiers by profession, fighting merely for hire. The protection of their homes, their wives and little ones, and the defense of holy principles, which their general intelligence understood and appreciated, formed the motive-power and the bond of union of the American army ; and the soldier's money stipend was the least attractive of all the induce- mants which urged him to take up arms. Yet as it was necessary to his comfort, and even hia existence, the want of it afforded a just pretext for the assumption of powers delegated to a few. The mutiny was a democratic movement ; and, while the patriot felt justified in using his weapons to redress grievances, he still looked with horror upon the armed oppressors of his country, and regarded the act and stain of treason, umier any circumstances, as worse than the infliction of death. Clinton's proposals were, therefore, rejected with disdain. " See, comrades," said one of the leaders, " he takes us for traitors. Let us show him that the American army can furnish but one Arnold, and that America has no truer friends than we." They immediately seized the emissaries, who, being delivered, with Clinton's papers, into tho hands of Wayne, were tried and executed as spies, and the reward which had been offered for their apprehension was tendered to the mutineers who seized them. They sealed tho pledge of their patriotism by nobly refusing it, saying, " Necessity wrung from us the act of demanding justice from Congress, but we desire no reward for doing our duty to our bleeding country !" A committee of Congress, appointed to report on the condition of the army, said, a short time previous to this event, that it was " unpaid for five months ; that it seldom had more than six days' provisions in advance, and was, on several occasions, for sundry successive days, without meat ; that tho medical department had neither sugar, coffee, tea, choco- late, wine, nor spirituous liquors of any kind, and that every department of the army was without money, and had not even the shadow of credit left." * Page 292. * Colonel John Laurens [See page 348], a son of Henry Laurens [page 348], had been sent to France to ask for aid. While earnestly pressing his suit, with Vergennes, the French minister, one day, that official said, that the king had every disposition to favor the United States. This patronizing expression kindled the indignation of the young diplomatist, and he replied with. empha- sis, " Favor, sir ! Tho respect which I owe to my country will not admit the term. Say that the obligation is mutual, and I will acknowledge the obligation. But, as the last argument I shall offer to your Excellency, the sword which I now wear in defense of France, as well as my own country, unless the succor I solicit is immediately accorded, I may be compelled, within a short time, to draw agaiust France, as a British subject." This had the effect intended. The French dreaded a recon- ciliation of the colonies with Great Britain, and soon a subsidy of one million two hundred thousand dollars, and a further sum, ag a loan, was granted. The French minister also gave a guaranty for a Dutch loan of about two millions of dollars. 3 This was called the Bank of North America, and was the first institution of tha kind estab- lished in this country. * * Page 264. 330 THE REVOLUTION. [1781. of New Jersey, Arnold, the arch-traitor, 1 now engaged in the service of his royal master, was commencing a series of depredations upon lower Virginia, with about sixteen "hundred British and Tory troops, and a few armed vessels. He arrived at Hampton Roads 3 on the 30th of December. Anxious to distin- guish himself, he pushed up the James River, and after destroying [January 5, 1781] a large quantity of public and private stores at Richmond, and vicinity, he went to Portsmouth [Jan. 20], opposite Norfolk, and made that his head- quarters. Great efforts were made by the Americans to seize and punish the traitor. The Virginia militia men were collected in great numbers, for the purpose ; and Jefferson, then governor of that State, offered a reward of five thousand guineas for his capture. 8 La Fayette was sent into Virginia, with twelve hundred men, to oppose him ; and a portion of the French fleet went [March 8, 1781] from Rhode Island, to shut him up in the Elizabeth River, and assist in capturing him. But all these efforts failed. He was brave, vigil- ant, and exceedingly cautious. Admiral Arbuthnot 4 pursued and attacked the French fleet on the 16th of March, and compelled it to return to Newport ; and General Phillips soon afterward joined Arnold [March 26], with more than two thousand men, and took the chief command. In April, the traitor accom- panied Phillips on another expedition up the James River, and after doing as much mischief as possible between Petersburg and Richmond, he returned to New York. 5 We shall meet Arnold presently on the New England coast. 6 During the year 1781, the southern States became the most important theater of military operations. General Greene 7 was appointed, on the 30th of October, 1780, to succeed General Gates in the direction of the southern army. He first proceeded to Hillsborough, to confer with Governor Nash, and other civil oificers of North Carolina, and arrived at the head-quarters of the army, at Charlotte, on the second of December. On the following day he took formal command, and Gates immediately set out for the head-quarters of Washington, in East Jersey, to submit to an inquiry into his conduct at Camden, 8 which Congress had ordered. Greene, with his usual energy, at once prepared to confront or pursue the enemy, as occasion might require. He arranged his little army into two divisions. With the main body he took post at Cheraw, east of the Pedee, and General Morgan was sent with the remainder (about a thousand strong) to occupy the country near the junction of the Pacolet and Broad Rivers. Cornwallis, who was just preparing to march into North Car- 1 Page 325. * Page 243. 8 Page 326. 4 Page 310. 6 General Phillips sickened and died at Petersburg. Lord Cornwallis, who arrived from North Carolina soon afterward [page 338] took the chief command. In a skirmish, a short distance from Petersburg, on the 27th of April [1781], in which Arnold was engaged, he took some Americans prisoners. To one of them he put the question, " If the Americans should catch me, what would they do to me?" The soldier promptly replied, "They would bury with military honors the leg which was wounded at Saratoga, and hang the remainder of you upon a gibbet." Page 340. 7 Nathanial Greene was born, of Quaker parents, in Rhode Island, in 1740. He was an anchor- smith, and was pursuing bis trade when the Revolution broke out. He hastened to Boston after the skirmish at Lexington, and from that time until the close of the war, he was one of the most useful officers in the army. He died near Savannah, in June, 1786, and was buried in a vault in that city. His sepulchre can not now be identified. No living person knows in what vault hia remains were deposited, and there is no record to cast light upon the question. * Page 315. 1781.] SEVENTH YEA.R OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 331 olina again, 1 when Greene made this disposition of his army, found himself in a dangerous position, for he was placed between the two divisions. Unwilling to leave Morgan in his rear, he sent Tarleton to capture or disperse his com- mand. The Americans retreated before this superior force, but were overtaken at the Cowpens, in Spartanburg district, and compelled to fight.* There, well posted upon an eminence, Morgan 3 and his brave follow- ers turned upon their pursuers. Tarleton was discon- certed by this movement, for he expected to overtake the Americans while on the wing ; yet, feeling confident of an easy victory, he quickly arranged his line in battle order. It was now nine o'clock in the morning [January 17, 1781]. At a signal from Tarleton, his advance gave a shout, and rushed furiously to the contest, under cover of artillery, and an incessant discharge of musketry. GENTERAL MORGAN- 1 Page 318. s The scene of the battle is among the Thicketty Mountains, west of the Broad River. It was called Cowpens from the feet, that some time before the Revolution, some traders at Camden kept herds of cows in that fertile region. ' Daniel Morgan, commander of the famous rifle corps of the Revolution, was born hi New Jer- eey, in 1738, and was in the humble sphere of a wagoner, when called to the field. He had been a soldier under Braddock, and joined Washington at Cambridge, in 1775. He served with distinc- tion in the army of the Revolution, and was a fanner in Virginia after the war, where he died in 1802, gg2 THE REVOLUTION. [1781 The Americans were prepared to receive them, and combatted with them for more than two hours, with skill and bravery. The British were defeated, with a loss of almost three hundred men in killed and wounded, five hundred made prisoners, and a large quan- tity of arms, ammunition, and stores. It was a brilliant victory ; and Congress gave Morgan a gold medal, as a token of its approbation. Colonels Howard 1 and Wash- ington, 2 whose soldierly conduct won the battle, received each a silver medal. When the battle was ended, Morgan pushed forward COLONEL WASHINGTON. . r i , J U, rt A i, J with his prisoners, intending to cross the Catawba, and make his way toward Virginia. Cornwallis started in pursuit of him, as soon as he heard of the defeat of Tarleton. He destroyed his heavy baggage, and hastened with his whole army toward the Catawba to intercept Morgan and his prisoners, before they should cross that stream. But he was too late. He did not reach that river until in the evening, two hours after Morgan had crossed. Then feeling confident of his prey, he deferred his passage of the stream until morning. A heavy rain during the night filled the river to its brim ; and while the British were detained by the flood, Morgan had reached the banks of the Yadkin, where he was joined by General Greene and his escort. One of the most remarkable military movements on record, now occurred. It was the retreat of the American army, under Greene, from the Catawba, through North Carolina, into Virginia. When the waters of the Catawba had subsided, the next day, Cornwallis crossed, and resumed his pursuit. He reached the western bank of the Yadkin on the 3d of February [1781], just as the Americans were safely landed on the eastern shore. There he was again arrested in his progress by a sudden swelling of the floods. Onward the patriots pressed, and soon again Cornwallis was in full chase. At Guilford Court-house, the capital of Guilford county, Greene was joined [February 7], by his main body from Cheraw, 8 and all continued the flight, for they were not strong enough to turn and fight. After many hardships and narrow escapes during the retreat, the Americans reached the Dan on the 13th of February, and 1 John Eager Howard, of the Maryland line. He was born in Baltimore county in 1752. He went into military service at the commencement of the war. He was in all the principal battles of the Revolution, was chosen governor of Maryland in 1778, was afterwad United States Senator, and died in October, 1827. 9 "William Washington, a relative of the general. He was born in Stafford county, Virginia. He entered the army under Mercer, who was killed at Princeton [page 269], and greatly distin- guished himself at the South, as a commander of a corps of cavalry. Taken prisoner at Eutaw Springs [page 338], he remained a captive till the close of the war, and died in Charleston, in March, 1810. In a personal combat with Tarleton in the battle at the Cowpens, Washington wounded his antagonist in his hand. Some months afterward, Tarleton said, sneeringly, to Mrs. Willie Jones, a witty American lady, of Halifax, North Carolina, " Colonel Washington, I am told, is illiterate, and can not write his own name." "Ah I colonel," said Mrs. Jones, "you ought to know better, for you bear evidence that he can make his mark." At another time he expressed a desire to see Colonel Washington. Mrs. Ashe, Mrs. Jones's sister, instantly replied, " Had you looked behind you at the Cowpens you might have had that pleasure." Stung by this keen wit, Tarleton placed his hand upon his sword. General Leslie [page 347], who was present, remarked, " Say what you please, Mrs. Ashe ; Colonel Tarleton knowa better than to insult a lady in my presence." Page 330. 1781.] SEVENTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 333 crossed its rising waters safely into the friendly bosom of Halifax county, in Virginia, When Cornwallis arrived, a few hours later [February 14], the stream was too much swollen to allow him to cross. For the third time the waters, as if governed by a special Providence, interposed a barrier between the pursuers and the pursued. Mortified and dispirited, the earl here aban- doned the chase, and moving sullenly southward through North Carolina, he established his camp at Hillsborough. General Greene remained in Virginia only long enough to refresh his troops, and receive recruits, 1 and then he re- crossed the Ban [February 23], to oppose Cornwallis in his efforts to embody the loyalists of North Carolina under the royal banner. Colonel Lee, 3 with his cavalry, scoured the country around the head waters of the Haw and Deep Rivers, and by force and stratagem foiled the efforts of Tarleton, who was recruiting in that region. On one occasion he defeated and dispersed [March 2] a body of three hundred loyalists under Colonel Pyle, 3 near the Alamance Creek, after which the Tories kept quiet, and very few dared to take up arms. Greene, in the mean while, had moved cautiously forward, and on the first of March [1781], he found himself at the head of almost five thousand troops. Feeling strong enough now to cope with Cornwallis, he sought an engagement frith him, and on the 15th they met, and fiercely contended, near Guilford Court-house, about five miles from the present village of Greensborough, in Guilford county, North Carolina. That battle, which continued for almost two hours, was one of the severest of the war. Although the Americans were repulsed and the British became masters of the field, the victory was almost as destructive for Cornwallis as a defeat. " Another such victory," said Charles Fox in the British House of Commons, " will ruin the British army." 4 Both parties suffered severely ; and, in some degree, the line of the Scotch ballad might be applied to them : COLONEL HENRY LEE. BATTLE OF GUILFORD. " They baith did fight, they baith did beat, they baith did rin awa" 1 On his way south, to take command of the southern army, he left the Baron Steuben [page 291] in Virginia, to gather recruits, provisions, &c., and forward them to him. This service the Baron performed with efficiency. a Henry Lee was born in Virginia, in 1756. He entered the military service as captain of a Virginia company in 1776, and in 1777 joined the continental army. At the head of a legion, ho performed extraordinary services during the war, especially at the South. He was afterward gov- ernor of Virginia, and a member of Congress. He died in 1818. * Lee sent two young countrymen/ whom he had captured, to the camp of Pyle, to inform that leader that Tarleton was approaching, and wished to meet him. Pyle had never seen Tarleton, and when he came up he supposed Lee and his party to be that of the renowned British officer. Friendly salutations were expressed, and at a word, the Americans fell upon the loyalists, killed almost a hundred of them, and dispersed the remainder. This event took place two or three miles from the scene of the Regulator battle mentioned on page 223. 4 That statesman moved in committee, " That his majesty's ministers ought immediately to take every possible means for concluding peace with our American colonies." Young "William Pitt, the 334 THE REVOLUTION. [1781. The battalions of Cornwallis were so shattered, 1 that he could not maintain the advantage he had gained ; while the Americans retreated in good order to the Reedy Fork. Thoroughly dispirited, he abandoned Western Carolina, and moved [March 19] with his whole army, to Wilmington, near the sea-board. Greene rallied his forces and pursued the British as far as Deep River, in Chatham county. There he relinquished the pursuit, and prepared to re-enter South Carolina. Lord Rawdon, 2 one of the most efficient of Cornwallis' s chief officers, was now in command of a British force at Camden. On the 6th of April, Greene marched directly for that place, and on the 19th, he encamped on Hobkirk's Hill, about a mile from Rawdon's intrenchments. Six days afterward [April 25. 1781], he was surprised 3 and defeated by Rawdon, after a sharp battle for several hours, in which the Americans lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, two hundred and sixty-six men. The British lost two hundred and fifty-eight. 4 The British retired to their works at Camden, and Greene, with his little army, encamped for the night on the north side of Sanders' s Creek. 5 Greene conducted his retreat so well, HOBKIRK'S HILL. ,1,1 j i . ,.-,, j -, .,, that he carried away all his artillery and baggage, with fifty British prisoners, who were captured by Colonel Washington. 8 This defeat was unexpected to Greene, 7 yet he was not the man to be successor of his father, the Earl of Chatham, inveighed eloquently against a further prosecution of the war. He averred that it was " wicked, barbarous, unjust, and diabolical conceived in injust- ice, nurtured in folly a monstrous thing that contained every characteristic of moral depravity and human turpitude as mischievous to the unhappy people of England as to the Americans." Yet, as in former years, the British government was blind and stubborn still 1 The Americans lost in killed and wounded, about four hundred men, besides almost a thousand who deserted to their homes. The loss of the British was over six hundred. Among the officers who were killed was Lieutenant-Colonel Webster, who was one of the most efficient men in the British army. On this occasion, Greene's force was much superior in number to that of Cornwallis, and he had every advantage of position. Events such as are generally overlooked by the historian, but which exhibit a prominent trait in the character of the people of North Carolina, occurred during this battle, and deserve great prominence in a description of the gloomy picture, for they form a few touches of radiant light in the midst of the sombre coloring. While the roar of cannon boomed over the country, groups of women, in the Buffalo and Alamance congregations, who were under the pastoral charge of the Reverend Dr. Caldwell, might have been seen engaged in common prayer to the God of Hosts for his protection and aid ; and in many places, the solitary voice of a pious woman went up to the Divine Ear, with the earnest pleadings of faith, for the success of the Americans. The battling hosts were surrounded by a cordon of praying ivomen during those dread- ful hours of contest a Page 315. 8 Greene was breakfasting at a spring on the eastern slope of ITobkirk's Hill, when Rawdon's army, by a circuitous rout through a forest, fell upon him. Some of his men were cleaning their guns, others were washing their clothes, and all were unsuspicious of danger. 4 The number killed was remarkably small Only eighteen of the Americans, and thirty-eight of the British, were slain on the battle-field. B Page 315. 6 He had captured two hundred, but hastily paroling the officers and some of the men, he took only fifty with him. T Greene had some desponding views of the future at this time. To Luzerne, the French min- ister at Philadelphia, he earnestly wrote : " This distressed country cannot struggle much longer without more effectual support. * * * We fight, get beaten, rise, and fight again. The whole country is one continued scene of blood and slaughter." To La Fayette. he wrote : " You may depend upon it, that nothing can equal the sufferings of our little army, but their merit." To Gov- ernor Reed, of Pennsylvania, he wrote : " If our good friends, the French, cannot lend a helping hand to save these sinking States, they must and will fall." At that time, the French army had remained for several months inactive, in New England. 1781.] SEVENTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 335 crushed by adversity. On the morning succeeding the battle, he retired as far as Rugeley's Mills, and then crossing the Wateree, he took a strong position lor offensive and defensive operations. The two armies were now about equal in numbers, and Greene's began to increase. Alarmed by this, and for the safety of his posts in the lower country, Rawdon set fire to Camden and retreated [May 10, 1781] to Nelson's Ferry, on the Santee. He had ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger 1 to abandon Ninety-six* and join Brown at Augusta,' and had also directed Maxwell, the commander of Fort Granby, 4 to leave that post, and retire to Orangeburg,* on the North Edisto. But his orders and his movements were made too late. Within the space of a week, four important posts fell into the hands of the Americans," and Greene was making rapid marches toward Ninety-six. Lee had pressed forward and co-operated with Pinckney in 1 Page 313. 9 So called because it was ninety-six miles from the frontier fort, Prince George, on the Keowee River. Its site is occupied by the pleasant village of Cambridge, in Abbeville District, one hundred and forty-seven miles north-west from Charleston. * Page -313. 4 On the western side of the Congaree, two miles from the present city of Columbia, South Carolina. 5 On the east bank of the North Edisto, about sixty-five miles south of Columbia. * Lee and Marion were the principal leaders against these posts. Orangeburg was taken on the llth of May ; Fort Motte on the 12th ; the post at Nelson's Ferry on the 14th, and Fort Granby on the 16th. Fort Watson, situated on the Santee, a few miles above Nelson's Ferry, was taken on the 16th of April. Nelson's Ferry is at the mouth of Eutaw Creek, on the Santee, about fifty miles, from Charleston. Fort Motte was near the junction of the Wateree and Congaree Rivers, and was, because of its geographical position, the most important of all these posts. It was composed of tha fine residence of Rebecca Motte (a widowed mother, with six children), and temporary fortifications constructed around it. Mrs. Motte, who was an ardent Whig, had been driven to her farm-house upon an eminence near by. Marion and Lee appeared before Fort Motte with a considerable force, but having only one piece of artillery, could make but slight impression. The expected approach 336 THE REVOLUTION. [1781. holding the country-between Ninety-six and Augusta, to prevent a junction of the garrisons at either of those places ; and thus, by skillful operations, the Americans completely paralyzed the lately potent strength of the enemy. At the beginning of June [1781], the British possessed only three posts in South Carolina, namely, Charleston, Nelson's Ferry, and Ninety-six. On the 22d of May [1781], Greene commenced the siege of Ninety-six, 1 with less than a thousand regulars and a few raw militia. Koseiuszko, 2 the brave Pole, was his chief engineer, and the post being too strong to be captured by assault, the Americans commenced making regular ap- proaches, by parallels. 3 Day after day the work went slowly on, varied by an occasional sortie. For almost a month, the efforts of the Americans were unavailing. Then hearing of the approach of Rawdon, Avith a strong force, to the relief of Cruger, they made an unsuccessful effort, on the 18th of June, to take the place by storm. They raised FORT NINETY-SIX. the siege the following evening [June 19], and retreated beyond the Saluda. Rawdon pursued them a short distance, when he wheeled and marched to Orangeburg. Although unsuccessful at Ninety-six, detachments of the Republican army were victorious elsewhere. While this siege was pro- gressing, Lee and Pickens, with Clarke and others of Georgia, were making successful efforts on the Savan- nah River. Lee captured Fort Galphin, twelve miles below Augusta, on the 21st of May, and then he sent an officer to that post, to demand of Brown an instant surrender of his garrison. Brown refused, and the -|| siege of Augusta was commenced on the 23d. It- continued until the 4th of June, when a general as- GENERAL PICKEXS. of Rawdon, would not allow them to make the slow process of a regular siege. Lee proposed to hurl some burning missile upon the building, and consume it. To this destruction of her property, Mrs. Motte at once consented, and bringing out a bow and some arrows, which had been brought from the East Indies, these were used successfully for the purpose of conveying fire to the dry roof. The house was partially destroyed, when the British surrendered. The patriotic lady then regaled both the American and British officers with a good dinner at her own table. Colonel Horry (one- of Marion's officers), in his narrative, mentions some pleasing incidents which occurred at the table of Mrs. Motte, on this occasion. Among the prisoners was Captain Ferguson, an officer of consider- able reputation. Finding himself near Horry, Ferguson said, "You are Colonel Horry, I presume, sir." Horry replied in the affirmative, when Ferguson continued, " Well, I was with Colonel "Wat- son when ho fought your General Marion on Sampit. I think I saw you there with a party of horse, and also at Nelson's Ferry, when Marion surprised our party at the house. But," he con- tinued, " I was Kid in high grass, and escaped. You were fortunate in your escape at Sampit, for "Watson and Small had twelve hundred men." "If BO," replid Horry, "I certainly was fortunate, for I did not suppose they had more than half that number." "I consider myself," added the cap- tain, "equally fortunate in escaping at Nelson's Old Field." "Truly you were," answered Horry dryly, " for Marion had but thirty militia on that occasion." The officers present could not suppress laughter. "When Greene inquired of Horry how he came to affront Captain Ferguson, he replied, " He affronted himself by telling his own story." 1 The principal work was a star redoubt [note 3, page 192]. There was a picketed inclosure [note 1, page 127] around the little village; and on the west side of a stream running from a spring (a) was a stockade [note 2, page 183] fort. The besiegers encamped at four different points around the works. 2 Page 277. 1 These are trenches, dug in a zig-zag line in the direction of the fortress to be assailed. The 1781.] SEVENTH YEAR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 337 sault was agreed upon. Brown now proposed a surrender ; and the following day [June 5, 1781] the Americans took possession of that important post. They lost fifty-one men, killed and wounded ; the British lost fifty-two killed, and three hundred and thirty-four (including the wounded) were made pris- oners. At the close of the siege, Lee and Pickens 1 hastened to join Greene before Ninety-six, and all, on the approaoh of Rawdon, retreated beyond the Saluda, as we have observed. The two chief commanders of the belligerent forces now changed relative positions. When Rawdon retired toward Orangeburg, Greene became his pur- suer, and sent a message to Marion and Sumter, then on the Santee, to take a position in front of the enemy, so as to retard his progress. 2 Finding Rawdon strongly intrenched at Orangeburg, Greene deemed it prudent not to attack him. The Americans crossed the Congaree, and the main body encamped on the Hlyh Hills of ISantee, in Santee district, there to pass the hot and sickly season. Leaving his troops at Orangeburg, in the command of Colonel Stew- art (who had come up from Charleston with a reinforcement), Rawdon went to the sea-board and embarked for England. 3 Early in August, Greene was reinforced by North Carolina troops, under General Sumner ; and at the close of that month he crossed the Wateree and Congaree, and marched upon Orangeburg. Stewart (who had been joined by earth is cast up in such a way that the workmen are shielded from shots from the assailed works, and in this way they get near enough to undermine a fort, or erect a battery, so as to have a power- ful effect 1 Andrew Pickens was born in Pennsylvania, in 1739. In childhood he went to South Car- olina, and was one of the first hi the field for liberty, in the upper country of that State. He was a very useful officer, and good citizen. He died in 1817, at the age of seventy-eight years. 8 It is related that the message to Sumter from Greene was conveyed by Emily Geiger, the daughter of a German planter in Fairfield district. He prepared a letter to that officer, but none of his men appeared willing to attempt the hazardous service, for the Tories were on the alert, as Rawdon was approaching the Congaree. Greene was delighted by the boldness of a young girl, not more than eighteen years of age, who came forward and volunteered to carry the letter to Sum- ter. With his usual caution, he communicated the contents of the letter to Emily, fearing she might lose it on the way. The maiden mounted a fleet horse, and crossing the Wateree at the Camden Ferry, pressed on toward Sumter's camp. Passing through a dry swamp on the second day of her journey, she was intercepted by some Tory scouts. Coming from the direction of Greene's army, she was an object of suspicion, and was taken to a house on the edge of the swamp, and con- fined in a room. With proper delicacy, they sent for a woman to search her person. No sooner was she left alone, than she ate up Greene's letter piece by piece. After a while, the matron ar- rived, made a careful search, but discovered nothing. With many apologies, Emily was allowed to pursue her journey. She reached Sumter's camp, communicated Greene's message, and soon Raw- don was flying before the Americans toward Orangeburg. Emily Geiger afterward married Mr. Thurwits, a rich planter on the Congaree. 3 A short time before he sailed, Rawdon was a party to a cruel transaction which created a great deal of excitement throughout the South. Among those who took British protection after the fall of Charleston in 1780 [page 311], was Colonel Isaac Hayne, a highly respectable Carolinian. When General Greene, the following year, confined the British to Charleston alone, and their pro- tection had no force, Hayne considered himself released from the obligations of his parole, took up arms for his country, and was made a prisoner. Colonel Balfour was then in chief command at Charleston, and from the beginning seemed determined on the death of Hayne. Without even the form of a trial, that patriot was condemned to be hanged. Not one, not even the prisoner, supposed that such a cruelty was contemplated, until the sentence was made public, and he was informed that he had but two days to live. The men of the city pleaded for him ; the women signed peti- tions, and went in troops, and upon their knees, implored a remission of his sentence. All was in vain. Rawdon had exerted his influence to save the prisoner, but finally he consented to hi^ execution, as a traitor, and he became as inexorable as Balfour. Greene was inclined to retaliate, but, fortunately, hostilities soon afterward ceased, and the flow of blood was stopped. 22 338 THE REVOLUTION. [1781. Cruger from Ninety-six), immediately retreated to Eutaw Springs, near the south-west bank of the Santee, and there encamped. Greene pursued ; and on the morning of the 8th of September [1781], a severe battle commenced. The British were driven from their camp ; and Greene's troops, like those of Sum- tcr at Hanging Rock, 1 scattered among the tents of the enemy, drinking and plundering. The British unexpectedly renewed the battle, and after a bloody conflict of about four hours, the Americans were obliged to give way. Stewart folt insecure, for the partisan legions were not far off, and tbat night the Brit- ish retreated toward Charleston. The next day [Sept. 9, 1781], Greene ad- vanced and took possession of the battle-field, and then sent detachments in pursuit of the enemy. Both parties claimed the honor of a victory. It be- longed to neither, but the advantage was with the Americans. Congress and the whole country gave warm expressions of their appreciation of the valor of the patriots. The skill, bravery, caution, and acuteness of Greene, were highly applauded ; and Congress ordered a gold medal, ornamented with emblems of the battle, to be struck in honor of the event, and presented to him, together with a British standard, captured on that occasion. The Americans lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, five hundred and fifty-five. The British lost six hundred and ninety-three. While these events were transpiring upon the upper waters of the Santee, 2 Marion, Sumter, Lee, and other partisans, were driving British detachments from post to post, in the lower country, and smiting parties of loyalists in every direction. The British finally evacuated all their interior stations, and retired to Charleston, pursued almost to the verge of the city by the bold American scouts and partisan troops. At the close of the year [1781] the British at tho South were confined to Charleston and Savannah ; and besides these places, they did not hold a single post south of New York. Late in the season [November] Greene moved his army to the vicinity of Charleston, 3 placing it between that city and the South Carolina Legislature, then in session at Jack- sonborough ; while Wayne, at the opening of 1782, was closely watching the British at Savannah. We left Cornwallis, after the battle at Guilford Court-house, making his way toward Wilmington, 4 then in possession of a small British garrison, under Major Craig. Cornwallis arrived there on the seventh of April, 1781, and remained long enough to recruit and rest his shattered army. Apprised of Greene's march toward Camden, and hoping to draw him away from Lord Rawdon, then encamped there, 5 he marched into Virginia, joined the forces of Phillips and Arnold, at Petersburgh, 6 and then attempted the subjugation of that State. He left Wilmington on the 25th of April, crossed the Roanoke at 1 Page 315. * At Columbia, tho Saluda and Wateree join, and form the Congaree. This, with other and smaller tributaries, form the Santee. The Wateree, above Camden, is called the Catawba. 8 After the battle at Eutaw Springs, Greene again encamped on the High Hills of Santee, from whence he sent out expeditions toward Charleston. These were successful, and the enemy was kept close upon the sea-board during the remainder of the war. * Page 334. 6 Page 315. Page 330. 1781.] SEVENTH YEAR OP THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 339 Halifax, and on the 20th of May, reached Petersburg. La Fayette was then in Virginia, 1 but his force was too small effectually to oppose the invaders, and the State seemed doomed to British rule. For the purpose of bringing La Fayette into action, Cornwallis penetrated the country beyond Richmond, and destroyed an immense amount of property. 4 He also sent out marauding parties in various directions, 3 and for several weeks the whole State was kept in great alarm. He finally proceeded [June, 1781] slowly toward the coast, closely pursued by La Fayette, Wayne, and Steuben. While lying at Williamsburg, he received [June 29] orders from General Clinton, to take post near the sea, in order to reinforce the garrison at New York, if necessary, which was now menaced by the combined American and French armies. He crossed the James River [July 9] at Old Jamestown, where he was attacked by Wayne before he could embark his troops. Wayne struck a severe blow, and then skillfully and hastily retreated back to the main army under La Fayette, then only two miles distant. His loss was inconsiderable, but the attack damaged the British seriously. After crossing the river, Cornwallis proceeded by land to Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk ; but disliking that situation, he went to Yorktown, on the York River, and com- menced fortifying that place and Gloucester Point, opposite. The French army under Rochambeau, 4 in the mean while, had left New England, and made its way to the Hudson River, where it joined [July 6, 1781] that of the Americans, in the vicinity of Dobbs' Ferry. 5 At that time, Washington, who had the immediate command of the American forces, contemplated an attack upon the British in New York city. For six weeks the two armies remained in Westchester waiting for the arrival of the Count De Grasse, an eminent French naval commander, to co- operate in the attack. While preparing to strike the blow, Clinton was reinforced [August 11] by nearly three COUNT thousand troops from Europe; and intelligence came from De Grasse that he could not then leave the West Indies. Thus foiled, Washington turned his thoughts to Virginia ; and when, a few days afterward, he learned from De Barras, the successor of Ternay, 6 in command of the French 1 Page 330. 5 The principal object of Cornwallis in marching beyond Richmond, was to prevent a junction with La Fayette of troops under "Wayne, then approaching through Maryland. But the marquis was too expert, outmarched the earl, and met Wayne on the 10th of June. ' Colonel Simcoe, commander of an active corps called the Queeris Rangers, was sent to capture or destroy stores at the junction of the Fluvanna and Rivanna Rivers. Cornwallis also dispatched Tarleton to attempt the capture of Governor Jefferson and the Legislature, who had fled from Rich- mond to Charlottesville, near the residence of Mr. Jefferson. Seven members of the Legislature fell into his hands [June 4], and Mr. Jefferson narrowly escaped capture by fleeing from his house to the mountains. 4 The Count Rochambeau was born at Vendome, in France, in 1725. He was a distinguished officer in the French army, and after his return from America, was made a Field Marshal by his king. He was pensioned by Bonaparte, and died in 1807. * Page 257. 6 Admiral Ternay died at Newport, soon after the arrival of the fleet there, in the summer of 1780. His remains were deposited in Trinity Church-yard there, and a marble slab was placed over his grave. 340 THE REVOLUTION. [1781. fleet at Newport, that De Grasse was about to sail for the Chesapeake, he resolved to march southward, and assist La Fayette against Cornwallis. He wrote deceptive let- ters to General Greene in New Jersey, and sent them so as to be intercepted by Sir Henry Clinton. 1 He thus blinded the British commander to his real intentions ; and it was not until the allied armies had crossed the Hudson, passed through New Jersey, and were marching from the Delaware toward the head of Chesapeake Bay, 2 that Clin- ton was convinced that an attack upon the city of New York was not the object of Washington's movements. It was then too late for successful pursuit, and he endeavored to recall the Amer- icans by sending Arnold to desolate the New England coast. Although there was a terrible massacre perpetrated by the invaders at Fort Griswold 3 [Septem- ber 6, 1781], and New London, opposite (almost in sight of the traitor's birth- place), 4 was burned, it did not check the progress of Washington toward that goal where he was to win the greatest prize of his military career. Nor did reinforcements sent by water to aid Cornwallis, effect their object, for when Admiral Graves arrived off the Capes [September 5], De Grasse was there to guard the entrance to the Chesapeake. 6 He went out to fight Graves, but after a partial action, both withdrew, and the French fleet was anchored [September 10] within the Capes. 8 While Cornwallis was fortifying Yorktown and Gloucester, and the hostile fleets were in the neighboring waters, the allied armies, twelve thousand strong, 7 were making their way southward. They arrived before Yorktown on the 28th of September, 1781 ; and after compelling the British to abandon their out- works, commenced a regular siege. The place was completely invested on the 30th, the line of the allied armies extending in a semi-circle, at a distance of almost two miles from the British works, each wing resting upon the York River. Having completed some batteries, the Republicans opened a heavy can- nonade upon the town and the British works on the evening of the 9th of Oc- 1 These letters directed Greene to prepare for an attack on New York. a This is generally called in the letters and histories of the time, "Head of Elk," the narrow, upper part of the Chesapeake being called Elk River. There stands the village of Elkton. 8 Arnold landed at the mouth of the Thames, and proceeded to attack Fort Trumbull, near New London. The garrison evacuated it, and the village was burned. Another division of the expe- dition went up on the east side of the Thames, attacked Fort Griswold at Groton, and after Colonel Ledyard had surrendered it, he and almost every man in the fort were cruelly murdered, or badly wounded. There is a monument to their memory at Groton. 4 He was born at Norwich, at the head of the Thames, a few miles north of New London. See note 1, page 327. 6 Graves intended to intercept a French squadron, which was on its way with heavy cannons and military stores for the armies at Yorktown. He was not aware that De Grasse had left the "West Indies. * The place of anchorage was in Lynn Haven Bay. The hostile fleets were in sight of each other for five successive days, but neither party was anxious to renew the combat. T Including the Virginia militia, the whole of the American and French forces employed in the siege, amounted to a little over sixteen thousand men. Of the Americans, about seven thousand were regular troops, and four thousand militia. .The French troops numbered about five thousand, including those brought by De Grasse from the West Indies. 1781.] SEVENTH TEAR OP THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 34} tober. On the following evening they hurled red-hot balls among the British shipping in front of the town, and burned several vessels. Hour after hour, disasters were gathering a fearful web of difficulty around Cornwallis. De- spairing of aid from Clinton, and perceiving his strong fortifications crumbling, one by one, under the terrible storm of iron from a hundred heavy cannons, he attempted to escape on the night of the 16th, by crossing to Gloucester, break- ing through the French troops stationed there, and making forced marches to- ward New York. When the van of his troops embarked, the waters of the York River were perfectly calm, although dark clouds were gathering in the horizon. Then a storm arose as sudden and as fearful as a summer tornado, dis- persed the boats, compelled many to put back, and the attempt was abandoned. 1 Hope now faded ; and on the 19th, Corn- wallis surrendered the posts at York- town and Gloucester, with almost seven thousand British soldiers, and his ship- ping and seamen, into the hands of Wash- ington and De Grasse." The ceremony, on the occasion of the surrender, was exceedingly impos- ing. The American army was drawn up on the right side of the road lead- ing from Yorktown to Hampton (see map), and the French army on the left, mile in length. Washington, upon his white charger, was at the head of the American column ; and Rochambeau, upon a powerful bay horse, was at the head of the French column. A vast concourse of people, equal in number, ac- cording to eye-witnesses, to the military, was also assembled from the sur- rounding country to participate in the joy of the event. Universal silence pre- vailed as the vanquished troops slowly marched out of their intrenchments, with their colors cased, and their drums beating a British tune, and passed between the columns of the combined armies. All were eager to look upon Lord Corn- wallis, the terror of the South, 8 in the hour of his adversity. They were dis- 1 Note 4, page 247. * The British lost one hundred and fifty-six killed, three hundred and twenty-six wounded, and seventy missing. The combined armies lost, in killed and wounded, about three hundred. Among the spoils were seventy-five brass, and one hundred and sixty iron cannons ; seven thousand seven hundred and ninety-four muskets ; twenty-eight regimental standards ; a large quantity of musket and cannon-balls ; and nearly eleven thousand dollars in specie in the military chest. The army was surrendered to Washington, and the shipping and seamen to De Grasse. The latter soon after- ward left the Chesapeake, and went to the West Indies. Rochambeau remained with his troops in Virginia during the winter, and the main body of the American army marched north, and went into winter quarters on the Hudson. A strong detachment, under General St. Clair [page 276], was sent south to drive the British from Wilmington, and reinforce the army of General Greene, then lying near Charleston. 8 The conduct of Lord Cornwallis, during his march of over fifteen hundred miles through the Southern States, was often disgraceful to the British name. He suffered dwelling-houses to be plundered of every thing that could be carried off ; and it was well known that his lordship's table SIEGE OP YORKTOWN. Their lines extended more than a THE REVOLUTION. [1781. appointed; he had given himself up to vexation and despair, and feigning illness he sent General O'Hara with his sword, to lead the vanquished army to the field of humiliation. Having arrived at the head of the line, General O'Hara advanced toward Washington, and, taking off his hat, apologized for the absence of Earl Cornwallis. The commander-in-chief pointed him to General Lincoln for directions. It must have been a proud moment for Lincoln, for only the year before he was obliged to make a humiliating surrender of his' army to British conquerors at Charleston. 1 Lincoln conducted the royal troops to the field selected for laying down their arms, and there General O'Hara. delivered to him the sword of Cornwallis. Lincoln received it. and then po- litely handed it back to O'Hara, to be returned to the earl. The delivery of the colors of the several regiments, twenty-eight in num- ber, was next performed. For this purpose, twenty-eight British captains, each bearing a flag in a case, were drawn up in line. Opposite to them, at a distance of six paces, twenty-eight American sergeants were placed in line to receive the colors. An ensign was appointed by Colonel Hamilton, the officer of the day, to conduct this interesting ceremony. 2 When the ensign gave the order for the British captains to advance two paces, to deliver up their colors, and the American sergeants to advance two paces to receive them, the former hesitated, and gave as a reason, that they were unwilling to surrender their fla^s to non-commissioned officers. Hamilton, who was at a distance, observed this hesitation, and rode up to inquire the cause. On being informed, he will- ingly spared the feelings of the British captains, and ordered the ensign to receive them himself, and hand them to the American sergeants. The scene is depicted in the engraving. Clinton appeared at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay a few days afterward, with seven thousand troops, but it was too late. The final blow which struck down British power in America had been given. The victory was complete ; and Clinton returned to New York, amazed and disheartened. Great was the joy throughout the colonies when intelligence of the capture of the British army reached the people. From every family altar where a love of freedom dwelt from pulpits, legislative halls, the army, and from Congress, 3 was furnished with plate thus obtained from private families. His march was more frequently that of a marauder than an honorable general. It is estimated that Virginia alone lost, during Corn- wallis's attempt to reduce it, thirty thousand slaves. It was also estimated, at the time, from the best information that could be obtained, that, during the six months previous to the surrender at York- town, the whole devastations of his army amounted in value to about fifteen millions of dollars. 1 Page 311. * Ensign Robert Wilson, of General James Clinton's New York Brigade. He was the youngest commissioned officer in the army, being then only eighteen years of age. He was afterward a magis- trate in central New York for a number of years, and was for some time postmaster at Manlius, in Onondago county. He died in 1811. 1 A messenger, with a dispatch from "Washington, reached Philadelphia at midnight. Soon the watchmen in the streets cried, ' Past twelve o'clock, and Cornwallis is taken." Before dawn the exulting people filled the streets ; and at an early hour, Secretary Thomson [page 227] read that cheering letter to the assembled Congress. Then that august body went in procession to a temple of the living God [Oct. 24th, 1781], and there joined in public thanksgivings to the King of kings, for the great victory. They also resolved that a marble column should be erected at Yorktown, to commemorate the event ; and that two stands of colors should be presented to "Washington, and two pieces of cannon to each of the French commanders, Rochambeau and De Grasse. SURRENDER OF FLAGS AT YOBKTOWN. 1782.] CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 345 there went up a shout of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord God Omnipotent, for the success of the allied troops, and these were mingled with universal eulo- gies of the great leader and his companions -in arms. The clouds which had lowered for seven long years, appeared to be breaking, and the splendors of the dawn of peace burst forth, like the light of a clear morning after a dismal night of tempest and woe. And the desire for peace, which had long burned in the bosom of the British people, now found such potential expression, as to be heeded by the British ministry. The intelligence of the fate of Cornwallis and his party, fell with all the destructive energy of a bomb-shell in the midst of the war-party in Parliament; 1 and the stoutest declaimers in favor of bay- onets and gunpowder, Indians and German mercenaries, 2 as fit instruments for enslaving a free people, began to talk of the expediency of peace. Public opinion soon found expression 'n both Houses of Parliament ; and Lord North 3 and his compeers, who had mis^ 1 the nation for twelve years, gave way under the pressure of the peace sentiment, and retired from office on the 20th of March, 1782. The advocates of peace then came into power ; and early in the following May, Sir Guy Carleton* arrived in New York, with propositions for a reconciliation. CHAPTER IX. CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. [17821789.] GENERAL GREENE, with the main body of the Southern army, was yet on the High Hills of Santee, when, on the 30th of October [1781], intelligence of the capture of Cornwallis reached him. The day of its arrival was made jubilant with rejoicings by the army. The event seemed to be a guaranty for the future security of the Republicans in the South, and Governor Rutledge 5 soon called a Legislative Assembly, to meet at Jacksonborough, to re-establish civil authority. An offer of pardon for penitents, brought hundreds of Tories from the British lines at Charleston, to accept the clemency. The North Caro- lina Tories were dismayed, for immediately after the surrender of Cornwallis, St. Clair 8 had marched upon Wilmington, when the frightened enemy imme- diately abandoned that post, and Major Craig, the commander, and a few followers, took post upon St. John's Island, near Charleston. Yet the vigilance of the Americans was not allowed to slumber, for a wary foe yet occupied the capitals of South Carolina and Georgia. Marion and his men kept '' Tratch and ward" over the region between the Cooper and the Santee, 7 while Greene's main 1 Lord George Germaine said that Lord North received the intelligence " as he would have done a cannon-ball in his breast" He paced the room, and throwing his arms wildly about, kept exclaiming, " 0, God 1 it is all over, it is all over I" " Page 246. * Page 224. * Page 240. * Page 310. Page 276. ' On one occasion, Marion's brigade suffered a severe defeat, while the commander was attend- 346 THE REVOLUTION. t 1782 - army lay near the Edisto ; and Wayne, always vigilant, kept the enemy as close within his intrenchments at Savannah. Washington, who returned to he North immediately after the surrender, was, at the same time, keeping C and his army close prisoners in New York. While the theater of war was thus narrowing, British statesmen of all parties, considering the capture of Cornwallis and his army as the death-blow to all hope for future conquests, turned their attention to measures for an honorable termination of the unnatural war. General Conway, the firm and long-tried friend of the Americans, offered a resolution in Parliament in Febru- ary [1782], which was preliminary to the enactment of a decree for command- ing the cessation of hostilities. It was lost by only one vote. Thus encouraged, ing his duties as a member of the South Carolina Legislature. He left his men in command of Colonel Horry, and near the Santee, Colonel Thompson (afterward the eminent Count Rumford) attacked the corps, with a superior force, and dispersed it. Marion arrived during the engagement, rallied his brigade, and then retired beyond the Santee, to reorganize and recruit. Benjamin Thompson wis a native of Massachusetts, and was born in March, 1753. He became a school- master, and while acting in that capacity, he married a rich widow. Already his mind was filled with scientific knowledge, and now he pursued his studies and investigations with energy. When the Revolution broke out, he refused to take part in political matters. The Whigs drove him to Boston for British protection, and he was sent to England by Lord Howe, with dispatches. Toward the close of the war, he commanded a corps of Tories at New Tork and Charleston. He returned to^Europe, became acquainted with the sovereign of Bavaria, made himself exceedingly useful, was raised to the highest dignity, and was created a count. After suf;-ing many vicissitudes, he died, near Paris, in August, 1814. Hia daughter, the Countess of Rumford, who was born in America, died at Concord, New Hampshire, in 1852. See Lossing's Eminent Americans. 1789.] CLOSING EYENTS OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 347 the opposition pressed the subject warmly upon the attention of the House of Commons and the nation, and on the 4th of March, Con way moved "That the House would consider as enemies to his majesty and the country all those who should advise, or by any means attempt, the further prosecution of offensive war on the Continent of North America." The resolution was carried without a division, and the next day the attorney-general introduced a plan for a truce with the Americans. Orders for a cessation of hostilities speedily went forth to the British commanders in America, and preparations were soon made for evacuating the cities of Savannah and Charleston. When General Leslie, the British commander at Charleston', was apprised of these proceedings in Parliament, he proposed to General Greene a cessation of hostilities. Like a true soldier, Greene referred the matter to Congress, and did not for a moment relax his vigilance. Leslie also requested Greene to allow him to purchase supplies for his army, at the same time declaring his intention to evacuate Charleston. Greene was unwilling thus to nourish a viper, until his power to injure was destroyed, and he refused. Leslie then resorted to force to obtain provisions. Already he had made several efforts to penetrate the country for the purpose, and now, late in August, he attempted to ascend the Combahee, 1 when he was opposed by the Americans under General Gist, of 1 Page 42. ^g THE REVOLUTION. [1782. the Maryland line. Colonel John Laurens 1 volunteered in the service ; and in a skirmish at day-break, on the 25th of August, he was killed. He was greatly beloved by all, and his death was mourned with real sorrow. His was almost the last life sacrificed in that glorious old war. The blood of one other was shed at Stono Ferry," a few weeks afterward, when Captain Wilmot was killed in a skirmish with a British foraging party. Several weeks previous to this, the British had evacuated Savannah. That event occurred on the llth of July, when General Wayne, in consideration of the eminent services of Colonel James Jackson, 3 appointed him to " receive the keys of the city of Savannah" from a committee of British officers. He per- formed the duty with great dignity, and on the same day the American army entered the city. Royal power then ceased in Georgia, forever. On the 14th of December following, the British evacuated Charleston, and the next day, the Americans, under General Greene, took possession of it, greeted from windows, balconies, and even house-tops, with cheers, waving of handkercniefs, and cries of "God bless you, gentlemen! Welcome! Welcome!" The British remained in New York almost a year longer (until the 25th of November, 1783), under the command of Sir Guy Carleton, who had succeeded Sir Henry Clinton, because the final negotiations for peace were not completed, by ratifi- cation, until near that time. Measures were now taken by Congress and the British government to arrange a treaty of peace. The United States appointed five commissioners for the purpose, in order that different sections of the Union might be represented. These consisted of John Adams, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jef- ferson, and Henry Laurens. These met Richard Oswald, the English com- missioner, at Paris, and there, on the 30th of November, 1782, they signed a preliminary treaty. 4 French and English commissioners also signed a treaty of peace on the 20th of January following. Congress ratified the action of its commissioners in April, 1783, yet negotiations were in progress until September following, when a definitive treaty was signed [September 3, 1783] at Paris. 6 In that treaty, England acknowledged the Independence of the United States ; allowed ample boundaries, extending northward to the Great Lakes, 1 Note 2, page 329. a Page 296. * James Jackson was one of the most eminent men in Georgia He was born in England, in September, 1757, and came to America in 1772. He studied law'at Savannah, and was an active soldier during the whole war for Independence. When a little past thirty years of age, he was elected governor of Georgia, but declined the honor on account of his youth. He was a member of the United States Senate for some time, and was governor of his State for two years. He died, while at "Washington, as United States senator, in 1808, and his remains are in the Congressional burial-ground. See his portrait on page 347. 4 Vergennes, the French minister, was dissatisfied with the manner in which the matter had been conducted. It was understood, by the terms of the alliance between the United States and France (and expressly stated in the instructions of the commissioners), that no treaty should be signed by the latter without the knowledge of the other. Yet it was done on this occasion. A portion of the American commissioners doubted the good faith of Vergennes, because he favored Spanish claims. Dr. Franklin, however, trusted Vergennes implicitly, and the latter appears to have acted honorably, throughout. The cloud of dissatisfaction soon passed away, when Franklin, with soft words, explained the whole matter. 'It was signed, on the part of England, by David Hartley, and on that of the United States, by Dr. Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay. 1789.] CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR FOE INDEPENDENCE. 349 and westward to the Mississippi, and an unlimited right of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. The two Floridas were restored to Spain. At the same time, definitive treaties between England, France, Spain, and Holland, wer signed by their respective commissioners, 1 and the United States became an active power among the nations of the earth. 3 A great work had now been accomplished, yet the joy of the American people, in view of returning peace and prosperity, was mingled with many gloomy apprehensions of evil. The army, which, through the most terrible sufferings, had remained faithful, and become conqueror, was soon to be dis- banded; and thousands, many of them made invalids by the hard service in which they had been engaged, would be compelled to seek a livelihood in the midst of the desolation which war had produced. 3 For a long time the public treasury had been empty, and neither officers nor soldiers had received any pay for their services. A resolution of Congress, passed in 1780 [October 21], to allow the officers half pay for life, was ineffective, because funds were wanting. Already the gloomy prospect had created wide-spread murmurings in the army, and there were many men who sighed for a stronger government. They ascribed the weakness of the Confederation to its republican form, and a change, to be wrought by the army, was actually proposed to Washington. Nicola, a foreign officer in a Pennsylvania regiment, made the proposition, in a well-written letter, and not only urged the necessity of a monarchy, but endeavored to persuade Washington to become king, by the voice of the army. The sharp rebuke of the commander-in-chief [May, 1782], checked all further movements in that direction. The general discontent soon assumed another shape, and on the llth of March, 1783, a well-written address was circulated through the American camp (then near Newburg), which advised the army to take matters into its own hands, make a demonstration that should arouse the fears of the people and of Congress, and thus obtain justice for themselves. 4 For this purpose a meeting of officers was called, but the great influence of Washington prevented a response. The commander-in-chief then summoned all the officers together, laid the matter before them [March 15], and obtained from them a patriotic expression of their faith in the "justice of Congress and the country." In a few days the threatening cloud passed away, and soon after this event Congress made arrangements for granting to the officers full pay for five years, instead of half pay for life ; and to the soldiers full pay for four months, in partial liquidation of their claims. This arrangement was not satisfactory, and'discon- 1 That between Great Britain and Holland was signed on the second. 9 John Adams was the first minister of the United States to Great Britain. He was politely received by King George the Third ; and that monarch was faithful to his promises to preserve inviolate the covenant he had made by acknowledging the independence of the new Republic. * The army, consisting of about ten thousand men, was then encamped on the Hudson, near Newburg. 4 This address was anonymous, but it was afterward acknowledged to be the production of John Armstrong, then a major, and one of General Gates's aida It is believed that Gates and other officers were the instigators of the scheme, and that Armstrong acted under then- direction. He was an accomplished writer, and was much in public life after the war. He was United States min- ister to France for six years, from 1804. He was Secretary of War in 1814 ; and died in Dutchesa county, New York, in 1843, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. 350 THE REVOLUTION. [1782. tent still prevailed. 1 In the mean while [March 2] the preliminary treaty had arrived. On the eighth anniversary of the skirmish at Lexington [April 19, 1783 J, a cessation of hostilites was proclaimed in the army, and on the 3d of November following, the army was disbanded by a general order of Congress. A small force was retained under a definite enlistment, until a peace establishment should be organized. 1 These were now at "West Point, under the command of General Knox. The remainder of that glorious band of patriots then quietly returned to their homes, to enjoy, for the remnant of their lives, the blessings of the liberty they had won, and the grateful benedictions of their countrymen. Of the two hundred and thirty thousand Continental soldiers, and the fifty-six thousand militia who bore arms during the war, the names of only two are now [1 867] on the pension list I 3 And the average of these must be full ninety years. The British army evacuated the city of New York on the 25th of Novem- ber, 1783. With their departure, went, forever, the last instrument of royal power in these United States. On the morning of that day a cold, frosty, but clear and brilliant morning the American troops, under General Knox, 4 who had come down from West Point and encamped at Harlem, marched to the Bowery Lane, and halted at the present junction of Third Avenue and the Bowery. Knox was accompanied by George Clinton, 5 the governor of the State of New York, with all the principal civil officers. There they remained until about one o'clock in the afternoon, when the British left their posts in that vicinity and marched to Whitehall." The American troops followed, and GOVERNOR CLINTON. 1 In May, 1783, a portion of the Pennsylvania troops, lately arrived from the South, marched to Philadelphia, where they were joined by others, and for three hours they stood at the door of the State House, and demanded immediate pay from Congress. St. Glair, then in command there, pacified them for the moment, and Washington soon quelled the mutiny. See page 328. a A great portion of the officers and soldiers had been permitted, during the summer, to visit their homes on furlough. The proclamation of discharge, by Congress, was followed by Washing- ton's farewell address to his companions in arms, written at Rocky Hill, New Jersey, on the 3d of November. He had already issued a circular letter (Newburg, June 8th, 1783) to the governors, of all the States on the subject of disbanding the army. It was designed to be laid before the sev. eral State Legislatures. It is a document of great value, because of the soundness of its doctrines, and the weight and wisdom of its counsels. Four great points of policy constitute the chief theme of his communication, namely, cm indissoluble union of the States; a sacred regard for public justice; the organization of a proper peace establishment ; and a friendly intercourse among the people of the several States, by which local prejudice might be effaced. " These," he remarks, "are the pillars on which the glorious fabric of our independency and national character must be supported." No doubt this address had great influence upon the minds of the whole people, and made them yearn for that more efficient union which the Federal Constitution soon afterward secured. * Great Britain sent to America, during the war, one hundred and twelve thousand five hun- dred and eighty-four troops for the land service, and more than twenty-two thousand seamen. Of all this host, not one is known to be living. One of them (John Battin) died in the city of New York, in June, 1852, at the age of one hundred years and four months. * Henry Knox, the able commander of the artillery during the Revolution, was born in Boston, in 1740. He entered the army at the commencement of the war. He was President Washington's Secretary of War, and held that office eleven years. He died at Thomaston, in Maine, in 1806. ' Like Governors Trumbull [page 323] and Rutledge [page 310], Clinton, in a civil capacity, was of immense service to the American cause. He was born in Ulster county, New Tork, in 1739. He was governor about eighteen years, and died in 1812, while Vice-President of the United States. See page 404 Now the South Ferry to Brooklyn. 1739.] CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR FOB INDEPENDENCE. 351 before three o'clock General Knox took formal possession of Fort George amid the acclamations of thousands of emancipated freemen, and the roar of artillery upon the Battery. On Thursday, the 4th of December, "Washington met his officers, yet re- maining in service, at his quarters, corner of Broad and Pearl-streets, New York, for the last time. The scene, as described by Marshall, 1 the best of the early biographers of Washington, was one of great tenderness. The commander- in-chief entered the room where they were all waiting, and taking a glass of wine in his hand, he said, " With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take 1 John Marshall, the eminent Chief Justice of the United States, was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, in 1755, and was the eldest of fifteen children by the same mother. He entered the mil- itary service, in the Virginia militia, against Dunmore [page 244], in 1775, and was in the battle at the Great Bridge [see page 243]. He remained in service, as an excellent officer, until early in 1780, when he studied law, and became very eminent in his profession. He was again in the field in 1781. In 1782 he was a member of the Virginia Legislature. He was chosen Secretary of War hi 1800, and the next year was elevated to the Chief Justiceship of the United States. His Life of Washington was published in 1805. Judge Marshall died at Philadelphia in 1835, in the eightieth year of his age. He was an exceedingly plain man, in person and habits, and always carried his own marketing home in his hands. On one occasion, a young housekeeper was swearing lustily because he could not hire a person to carry his turkey home for him. A plain man, standing by offered to perform the service, and when they arrived at the door, the young man asked, " What shall I pay you?" "Oh, nothing," replied tha old man; "you are welcome; it was on my way, and no trouble." " Who is that polite old gentleman who brought home my turkey for me ?" in- quired the young man of a bystander. " That," he replied, " IB John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States." The astonished young man exclaimed, " Why did he bring home my turkey 1" " To give you a severe reprimand," replied the other, " and to learn you to attend to your own bus- iness." The lesson was never forgotten. 352 THE REVOLUTION. [1782. GENERAL MIFFLIN. leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable." Having drank, he continued, "I can not come to each of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged to you if each will come and take me by the hand." Knox, who stood nearest to him, turned and grasped his hand, and, while the tears flowed down the cheeks of each, the commander-in-chief kissed him. This he did to each of his officers, while tears and sobs stifled utterance. Washington soon left the room, and passing through corps of light infantry, he walked in silence to Whitehall, where he embarked in a barge for Elizabethtown, on his way to Annapolis, in Maryland, where Congress was in session. There, on the 23d of December, he resigned into its custody the com- mission which he received [June 16, 1775] from that body more than eight years before. 1 His address on that occasion was simple and touching, and the re- sponse of General Mifflin, 11 the president, was equally affecting. The spectacle was one of great moral sub- limity. Like Cincinnatus, Washington, having been instrumental, under Providence, in preserving the lib- erties of his country and achieving its independence, laid down the cares of State and returned to his plow. A few months before the final disbanding of the army, many of the officers, then at Newburg, on the Hudson, met [June 19, 1783] at the head-quarters ot the Baron Steuben, situated about two miles from the Fishkill Ferry, and there formed an association, which they named the SOCIETY OP THE CINCINNATI. The chief objects of the Society were to promote cordial friendship and indissoluble union among themselves ; to commemorate, by frequent re-unions, the great struggle they had just passed through ; to use their best en- deavors for the promotion of human liberty ; to cherish good feeling between the respective States; and to extend benevolent aid to those of the Society whose circumstances might require it. They formed a General Society, and elected Washington its first president. They also made provision for the formation of auxiliary State societies. To perpetuate the Association, it was provided, in the constitution, that the eldest male descend- ant of an original member should be entitled to bear the ORDER, and enjoy the privileges of the Society. The Order 3 consists of a gold eagle, suspended upon a ribbon, on the breast of which is a medallion 1 Page 238. At the same time "Washington rendered the account current of his expenditures, for reconnoitering, traveling, secret service, and miscellaneous expenses, amounting to about $74,480. He would receive nothing in compensation for his own services as commander-in-chie a Thomas Mifflin was born in Philadelphia in 1744. He was a Quaker [note 7, page 94], but joined the patriot army in 1775, and rapidly rose to the rank of major-general He was a member Congress after the war, and also governor of Pennsylvania. He died in January, 1800. An order is a badge, or visible token of regard or distinction, conferred upon persons for mer- ipus services. On the breast of Baron Steuben on page 291, is the order of Fidelity, presented to him by Frederic the Great of Prussia, for his services in the army of that monarch. Some of the ORDER. ^msm: IH iE r 1789.] CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 353 with a device, representing Cincinnatus receiving the Roman senators. 1 Sev- eral State societies are yet [186 7J in existence. The war was ended, and peace was guarantied, but the people had much to do in the adjustment of public affairs, so as to lay the foundations of permanent prosperity, and thus secure the liberty and independence proclaimed and acknowledged. The country was burdened with a heavy debt, foreign and do- mestic, 2 and the Articles of Confederation 3 gave Congress no power to dis- charge them, if it had possessed the ability. On its recommendation, however, the individual States attempted to raise their respective quotas, by direct tax- ation. But all were impoverished by the war, and it was found to be impos- sible to provide means even to meet the arrears of pay due the soldiers of the Revolution. Each State had its local obligations to meet, and Congress could not coerce compliance with its recommendations. This effort produced great excitement in many of the States, and finally, in 1787, a portion of the people of Massachusetts openly rebelled. Daniel Shays, who had been a captain in the continental army, marched at the head of a thou- sand men, took possession of Worcester, and prevented a session of the Supreme Court. He repeated the same at Springfield. The insurrection soon became so formidable, that Governor Bowdoin was compelled to call out several thou- sand militia, under General Lincoln, to suppress it. Lincoln captured one hun- dred and fifty of the insurgents, and their power was broken. A free pardon was, finally, offered to all privates who had engaged in the rebellion. Several leaders were tried, and sentenced to death, but none were executed, for it was perceived that the great mass of the people sympathized with them. This epi- sode is known as Shays's Rebellion. We have already noticed the fact that the Pope was unfriendly to England, 4 and looked with favor upon the rebellious movements of her colonies. Soon after the treaty of peace was concluded [Sept. 3, 1783], the Pope's Nuncio at Paris made overtures to Franklin, on the subject of appointing an apostolic vicar for the United States. The matter was referred to Congress, and that body properly replied, that the subject being purely spiritual, it was beyond their control. The idea of entire separation between the State and spiritual governments the full exercise of freedom of conscience was thus early enun- orders conferred by kings are very costly, being made of gold and silver, and precious stones. The picture of the order of the Cincinnati, given on the preceding page, is half the size of the original. 1 Cincinnatus was a noble Roman citizen. "When the Romans were menaced with destruction by an enemy, the Senate appointed delegates to invite Cincinnatus to assume the chief magistracy of the nation. They found him at his plow. He immediately complied, raised an army, subdued the enemy, and, after bearing the almost imperial dignity for fourteen days, he resigned his office, and returned to his plow. How like Cincinnatus were "Washington and his compatriots of the "War lor Independence ! * According to an estimate made by the Register of the Treasury in 1790, the entire cost of the "War for Independence, was at least one hundred and thirty millions of dollars, exclusive of vast sums lost by individuals and the several States, to the amount, probably, of forty millions more. The treasury payments amounted to almost ninety-three millions, chiefly in continental bills. The foreign debt amounted to eight millions of dollars ; and the domestic debt, due chiefly to the officers and soldiers of the Revolution, was more than thirty millions of dollars. * Note 1, page 267, and Supplement. * Page 266. 23 THE REVOLUTION. elated. The Pope accordingly appointed the Reverend John Carroll, of Maryland, to the high office of Apostolic-Vicar. 1 At about the same time, the Church of England in the United States sought a re-organization. In compliance with the wishes of the Churchmen of Connecticut, the Rev- erend Samuel Seabury went to England in 1784, to obtain ordination as bishop. The English bishops hesitating to act in consequence of the refusal of Seabury to take the oath of allegiance to the king of England as head of the Church, lie obtained ordination by Scotch bishops at ' n. 9 /^^-z> ^ Three years later, the Reverend William White, who had been elected bishop of the diocese of Pennsylvania, was consecrated, (with Bishop Provoost, of New York,) by the Archbishop of Canterbury ; 3 and a few years later, the independent " Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America," was established. Such was the commencement of two of the most prominent prelatical Churches in this country. The Methodist Church, which has since flourished so wonderfully, was then just taking firm root. 1 John Carroll was a native of Maryland. He was ordained to the ministry in the Roman Catholic Church in 1769 ; was consecrated a bishop in 1790, and made archbishop in 1808. 2 Samuel Seabury was a native of Connecticut. He entered the ministry in 1758, and became the first bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in this country, in 1784. 'William White entered the ministry by ordination in London, in 1770; and at one time he was chaplain to the Continental Congress. He was consecrated a bishop in 1787, and in 1789 he presided over the convention called to consider the organization of an American Church. He wrote the constitution of that Church; and with the assistance of Bishop Seabury, he revised the Book of Common Prayer, so as to adapt it to the new order of things. 1789.] CLOSING EVENTS OP THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 355 For a long time it had been clearly perceived that, while the Articles of Confederation formed a sufficient constitution of government during the prog- ress of the war, they were not adapted to the public wants in the new condition of an independent sovereignty in which the people found themselves. There appeared a necessity for a greater centralization of power by which the general government could act more efficiently for the public good. To a great extent, the people lost all regard for the authority of Congress, and the commercial affairs of the country became wretchedly deranged. In truth, every thing seemed to be tending toward utter chaos, soon after the peace in 1783, * and the leading minds engaged in the struggle for Independence, in view of the increas- ing and magnified evils, and the glaring defects of the Articles of Confedera- tion, were turned to the consideration of a plan for a closer union of the States, and for a general government founded on the principles of the Declaration of Independence, from which the confederation in question widely departed. The sagacious mind of Washington early perceived, with intense anxiety, the tendency toward ruin of that fair fabric which his wisdom and prowess had helped to rear, and he took the initial step toward the adoption of measures which finally resulted in the formation of the present Constitution of the United States. 2 At his suggestion, a convention, for the purpose of consulting on the best means of remedying the defects of the Federal Government, was held at Annapolis, in Maryland, in September, 1786. Only five States (Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York) were represented. They met on the llth of that month, and John Dickenson* was chosen chairman. They finally appointed a committee to prepare a draft of a report to be made to the Legislatures of the several States, then represented. The committee reported on the 14th, but there not being a representation from a majority of the States, it was thought advisable to postpone further action. They adjourned, after recommending the appointment of deputies to meet in convention at Philadelphia, in May following. The report was adopted and transmitted to Congress. On the 21st of February, 1787, a committee of that body, 4 to whom the report of the commissioners was referred, reported thereon, and strongly recommended to the different Legislatures to send forward delegates to meet in the proposed convention at Philadelphia. Propositions were made by delegates from New York and Massachusetts, and finally the following resolution, sub- mitted by the latter, after being amended, was agreed to : " Resolved, That in the opinion of Congress, it is expedient that on the second Monday in May next, a convention of delegates, who shall have been appointed by the several States, be held at Philadelphia, for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation^, and reporting to Congress and the several Legislatures such alterations and provisions therein as shall, when agreed to in Congress, and confirmed by the States, render the 1 Page 348. * Page 359. ' Page 219. 4 The committee consisted of Messrs. Dana, Varnum, S. M. Mitchell, Smith, Cadwalader, Irving N. Mitchell, Forest, Grayson, Blount, Bull, and Few. 356 THE REVOLUTION. [1782. Federal Constitution adequate to the exigences of the government and the preservation of the Union." This resolution, with a preamble, was immediately transmitted to the several Speakers of State Legislatives Assemblies, and they were laid before the repre- sentatives of the people in all the States of the Confederacy. While a feeling generally prevailed, that something must be done to avert the threatened anarchy, toward which governmental operations were rapidly tending, great caution was observed in the delegation of powers to those who should be appointed members of the proposed convention. 1 In May, 1787, 2 delegates from all the States, except New Hampshire and Ehode Island, 3 assembled at Philadelphia, in the room where Congress was in session when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. 4 Washington, who was a delegate from Virginia, was, on motion of Robert Morris, chosen President. Able statesmen were his associates, 5 and they entered earnestly upon their duties. They had not proceeded far, however, before they perceived that the Articles of Confederation were so radically defective, and their powers so inadequate to meet the Avants of the country, that, instead of trying to amend that old code, they went diligently to work to form a new Constitution. For some time they made but little progress. There were 1 The great question that came up before the members, at the very commencement of the session of the Convention, was, " "What powers do we possess ? Can the amendments to the Articles of Confederation be carried so far as to establish an entirely new system ?" 8 The day fixed for the assembling of the Convention, was the 14th of May. On that day, del- egates from only half the States were present. The remainder of the delegates did not all arrive before the 25th. 8 Ignorant and unprincipled men, who were willing to liquidate public and private debts by the agency of unstable paper money, controlled the Assembly of Rhode Island, and that body refused to elect delegates to the Convention. But some of the best and most influential men in the State joined in sending a letter to the Convention, in which they expressed their cordial sympathy with the object of that national assembly, and promised their adhesion to whatever the majority might propose. The following are the names of the delegates : New Hampshire. John Langdon, John Pickering, Nicholas Gilman, and Benjamin "West. Massachusetts. Francis Dana, Elbridge Gerry, Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King, and Caleb Strong. Connecticut. William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman, and Oliver Ellsworth. New York. Robert Yates, John Lansing, Jr., and Alexander Hamilton. New Jersey. David Brearley, "William Churchill Houston, William Paterson, John Neilson, William Livingston, Abraham Clark, and Jonathan Dayton. Pennsylvania. Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Jared Ingersoll, Thomas Fitz- simmons, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, and Benjamin Franklin. Delaware. George Reed, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickenson, Richard Bassett, and Jacob Brown. Maryland. James M 'Henry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll, John Francis Meroer, and Luther Martin. Virginia. George Washington, Patrick Henry, Edmund Randolph, John Blair, James Madison. Jr., George Mason, and George Wythe. Patrick Henry having dech'ned his appointment, James M'Clure was nominated to supply his place. North Carolina. Richard Caswell, Alexander Martin, William Richardson Davie, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Willie Jones. Richard Caswell having resigned, William Blount was appointed a deputy in his place. Willie Jones having also declined his appointment, his place was supplied by Hugh Williamson. South Carolina. John Rutledge, Charles Pinckey, Charles C. Pinckney, and Pierce Butler. Georgia. William Few, Abraham Baldwin, William Pierce, George Walton, William Houston, and Nathaniel Pendleton. * Page 250. The members who were most conspicuous as debaters in the Convention, were Randolph, Madison, and Mason, of Virginia; King, Gerry, and Gorham, of Massachusetts; Gouverneur Mor- ris, Wilson, and Dr. Franklin, of Pennsylvania ; Johnson, Sherman, and Ellsworth, of Connecticut; Lansing and Hamilton, of Now York; the two Pinckneys, of South Carolina; Paterson, of New Jersey; Martin, of Maryland; Dickenson, of Delaware; and Dr. Williamson, of North Carolina PRANKUN IN THE NATIONAL CONVENTION. 1789.] CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 350 great diversities of opinion, 1 and it seemed, after several days, that the conven- tion must, of necessity, dissolve without accomplishing any thing. Some pro- posed a final adjournment. At this momentous crisis, Dr. Franklin arose, and said to the President, "How has it happened, sir, that while groping so long in the dark, divided in our opinions, and now ready to separate without accom- plishing the great objects of our meeting, that we have hitherto not once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our understandings ? In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and graciously answered." After a few more remarks, he moved that " henceforth, prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business." The resolution was not adopted, as the convention, excepting three or four members, thought prayers unnecessary, because in this case they Avould be merely formal. Objections were also made, because there were no funds to defray the expenses of such clerical services. After long and animated debates, the Convention referred all propositions, reports, etc., which had been agreed to from time to time, to a Committee of Detail, consisting of Rutledge, Randolph, Gorham, Ellsworth, 5 and Wilson. The Convention then adjourned, and ten days afterward [August 6, 1787] it met, and that committee reported a rough sketch of the Constitution, as it now stands. Now, again, long and sometimes angry debates were had. Amend- ments were made, and all were referred to a committee for final revision. That committee submitted the following resolution on the 12th of September, which was adopted : 1 Edmund Randolph submitted a plan on the 29th of May, in a series of Resolutions, which was known as the " Virginia Plan." It proposed to form a general government, composed of a legislature, and an executive and judiciary department ; a revenue, and an army and navy, independent of the control of the several States ; to have power to conduct war, establish peace, and make treaties ; to have the exclusive privilege of coming money, and the general supervision of all national trans- actions. Upon general principles, this plan was highly approved ; but in that Convention there were many ardent and pure patriots, who looked upon the preservation of the State sovereignties as essential, and regarded this proposition as an infringement upon State Rights. Mr. Paterson also submitted a plan for amending the Articles of Confederation. It proposed to enlarge the powers of Congress, but left its resources and supplies to be found through the medium of the State governments. This was one of the most serious defects of the old League a dependence of the general government upon the State governments for its vitality. Other propositions were submitted from time to time, and the most intense solicitude was felt by every member. Subjects of the most vital interest were ably discussed, from day to day ; but none created more earnest debate than a proposition.^ the general government to assume the debts of the States contracted in providing means for carrying on the war. The debts of the several States were unequal. Those of Massa- chusetts and South Carolina amounted to more than ten millions and a half of dollars, while the debts of all the other States did not extend, in the aggregate, to fifteen millions. This assumption was finally made, to the amount of twenty-one millions five hundred thousand dollars. See page 370. * Oliver Ellsworth was one of the soundest men in the Convention, and was ever one of the most beloved of tho New England patriots. He was born in "Windsor, Connecticut, in April, 1745. He was educated at Yale College, and at Princeton, and at the age of twenty -five, he commenced the practice of law at Hartford. He was an eloquent speaker, and became very eminent in his profession. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1777, and in 1784 he was appointed Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut. He was the first United States senator from Connect- icut, under the new Constitution, and in 1796 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Utiita-l Suites. He was an embassador to the French court from 1799 to 1801. He died iu November 1807. jj the age of sixty-two years. See next page. 360 THE REVOLUTION". [1782. " Resolved .unanimous^, That the said report, with the resolutions and letters accompanying the same, be transmitted to the several Legislatures, in order to be submitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each State by the people thereof, in conformity to the resolves of the Convention, made and provided, in that case." The new Constitution, when submitted to the people, 1 found many and able opposers. State supremacy, sectional interests, radical democracy, all had nu- merous friends, and these formed the phalanx of opposition. All the persuasive eloquence of its advocates, with pen and sspeech, was needed to convince the people of its superiority to the Articles of Confederation, and the necessity for its ratification. Among its ablest supporters was Alexander Hamilton, 2 whose 1 The Convention agreed to the revised Constitution on the 15th of September, arid on the 17th it was signed by the representatives of all the States then present, except Randolph, Gerry, and Mason. The Constitution was submitted to Congress on the 28th, and that body sent copies of it to all the State Legislatures. State Conventions were then called to consider it; and more than a year elapsed before the requisite number of States had ratified it. These performed that act in tho following order: Delaware, Dec. 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, Dec. 12, 1787; New Jersey, Dec. 18, 1787; Georgia, Jan. 2, 1788; Connecticut, Jan. 9, 1788; Massachusetts, Feb. 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina, May 23, 1788; New Hampshire, June 21, 1788; Virginia, June 26, 1788; New York, July 26, 1788; North Carolina, Nov. 21, 1788; Rhode Island, May 29, 1790. 9 Alexander Hamilton was born on the Island of Nevis, British "West Indies, in January, 1757. He was of Scotch and French parentage. He became a clerk to a New York merchant at St. Croix, and ho was finally brought to New York to be educated. He was at King's (now Columbia) College, and was distinguished as a good speaker and writer, while yet a mere lad. "When the Rev- olution broke out, he espoused the Republican cause, entered the army, became Washington's favor- ite aid and secretary, and was an efficient officer until its close. He made the law his profession, and, as an able financier, he was made the first Secretary of the Treasury, under the new Constitu- 1789.] CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 361 pen and sword had been identified with the career of Washington during almost the whole War for Independence. He gave to its advocacy the whole weight of his character and power of his genius ; and, aided by Jay and Madison, he scat- tered broadcast among the people, those able papers called Ths Federalist. These, like Paine's Crisis, stirred the masses ; and soon eleven States,, in Con- vention assembled, gave the National Constitution their support, and ratified it. Congress then fixed the time for choosing electors for President and Vice- President, 1 and provided for the organization of the new government. On Wednesday, the 4th day of March, 1789, the old Continental Congress 2 ex- pired, and the NATIONAL CONSTITUTION became the organic law of the Republic. This was the crowning act of the War for Independence, 3 and then the UNITED STATES OP AMERICA commenced their glorious career as a powerful empire among the nations of the earth. tion. He was shot in a duel, by Aaron Burr, in July, 1804, at the early age of forty-seven years. His widow, daughter of General Schuyler, died in November, 1854, in the ninety-seventh year of her age. 1 These are men elected by the people in the various States, to meet and choose a President and Vice-President of the United States. Their number is equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the several States are entitled. So the people do not vote directly for the Chief Magistrate. Formerly, the man who received the highest number of votes was declared to be President, and he who received the next highest number was proclaimed Vice-President. Now these are voted for as distinct candidates for separate offices. See Article II. of the National Con- stitution, Supplement. The first electors were chosen on the first Wednesday in February, 1789. The inauguration of the first President did not take place [page 366] until the 30th of April following " Page 236. 3 For details of the history, biography, scenery, relics, and traditions of the War for Independ- ence, see Lossing's Pictorial Fidd Book of the Revolution. 362 THE BEYOLUTION. [1782. Congress was in session at New York while the Convention at Philadelphia was busy in preparing the National Constitution. During that time it disposed of the subject of organizing a Territorial Government for the vast region north- ward of the Ohio River, within the domain of the United States. 1 On the llth of July, 1787, a committee of Congress reported " An Ordinance for the Gov- ernment of the Territory of the United States North-west of the Ohio." This report embodied a bill, whose provisions in regard to personal liberty and distri- bution of property, were very important. It contained a special proviso that the estates of all persons dying intestate, in the territory, should be equally divided among all the children, or next of kin in equal degree, thus striking down the unjust law of primogeniture, and asserting a more republican prin- ciple. The bill, also, provided and declared, that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." This ordinance was adopted on the 13th, after adding a clause relative to the reclam- ation of fugitives from labor, similar to that incorporated in the National Con- stitution a few weeks later. 2 This ordinance, together with the fact that Indian titles to seventeen mil- lions of acres of laud in that region, had been lately extinguished IJy treaty 1 Page 390. * See the National Constitution, Article IY.. Section 2, Clause 3. 1789.] CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR FOB INDEPENDENCE. 363 with several of the dusky tribes, 1 caused a sudden and great influx of immi- grants into the country along the northern banks of the Ohio. Manasseh Cut- ler, Rufus Putnam, Winthrop Sargent, and other New Englanders, organized the " Ohio Company," and entered into a contract for the sale of a tract of five millions of acres, extending along the Ohio from the Muskingum to the Scioto.' A similar contract was entered into with John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey, for the sale of two millions of acres, between the Great and Little Miamis. These were the first steps taken toward the settlement of the vast North-west Territory, which embraced the present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mich- igan, and Wisconsin. It was estimated that, during the year following the organization of that Territory [1788], full twenty thousand men, women, and children had passed down the Ohio River, to become settlers upon its banks. Since, then, how wonderful has been the progress of settlement beyond the Alleghanies ! How wide and deep has been the ever-flowing tide of emigration thither! The original THIRTEEN STATES have now [1867] expanded into THIRTY-EIGHT, and vast territories, destined to become numerous other States, are rapidly filling with people. 3 1 The Six Nations [page 25], the Wyandots [page 23], the Delawares [page 20], and the Shawnees [page 19]. " Rufus Putnam, who had been an active officer during the War for Independence, was one of the most efficient of the Ohio settlers. He was born in Worcester county, Massachusetts, in 1738. He entered the provincial army in 1757, and continued in service during the remainder of the French and Indian War. He entered the army of the Revolution in 1775, and at near the close of the war, he was promoted to brigadier-general He went to the Ohio country, with about forty settlers, in 1788. They pitched their tents at the mouth of the Muskingum River, formed a settle- ment and called it Marietta, Suspicious of the Indians, they built a stockade, and called it Campus Martins. In 1780, President Washington commissioned General Putnam Supreme Judge of the North- west Territory; and in 1792, he was appointed a brigadier, under Wayne. He was appointed sur- veyor-general of the United States in 1796; helped to frame the Constitution of Ohio in 1802 ; and then retired to private life. He died at Marietta in 1824, at the age of eighty-six years. He is called the FATHER OF OHIO. 3 The following table gives the names, in alphabetical order, of the States that compose the Republic, at this tune [1867], with the area of each in square miles, and its population in 1860: STATES. AREA. POPULATION, j STATES. AREA. POPULATION. Alabama. ................ 50,722 .... 964,201 Arkansas ................ 52,198 .... 435,450 California ................ 188,981 .... 379,994 Colorado ................. 104,500 .... 84,277 Counecticut .............. 4,750 .... 460,147 Delaware ............... 2,120 .... 112,210 Florida .................. ,248 .... 140.424 GeorMa ....... 58,000 .... 1,057,286 Illinois.'.' ............... 55,410 .... 1,711,951 Indiana .................. 33,809 .... 1,350,428 Iowa ......... 55,045 .... 674,699 Kansas ................. 81,818 107,206 Kentucky ............... 37,680 .... 1,155,684 Louisiana ................ 41,846 .... 709,002 Maine ................... 35,000 . . 628.279 Maryland ................ 11,124 .... 687,049 Massachusetts ........... 7,800 .... 1,231,066 Miclii-in . 56,451 .... 749,113 Mississippi ......... ..... 47,156 .... 791,395 Missouri ................. 65,350 .... 1.182,012 Nebraska ............... 75,995 .... 28,841 Nevada .................. 81,539 .... 6.857 New Hampshire ....... . 9280 .... 826,073 New Jersey.... .......... 8,320 ... 672,035 New York ............... 47,000 .... 8,880,735 North Carolina ........... 50.704 .... 992.622 Ohio ............... 39.964 .... 2,339,502 Oregon .................. 95,274 .... 52,465 Pennsylvania. ............ 46,000 .... 2,906,115 Bhode' Island ............. 1,306 .... 174,620 South Carolina .......... 34.000 .... 703, 708 Tennessee ............... 45,600 .... 1,109.801 Texas ............... 274,356' .... 604,215 Vermont.... ............. 10,212 ____ 815,093 Virginia ................. 38,352} West Virginia. ........... 23.000 f "" Wiseousia ............... 53,924 ---- 775,871 Tota l ............................................... ... ................... 2,066,363 81,218,773 There are also eight organized Territories in which population is r-apidly increasing. These are Arizona, Dakotah, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington. Tha aggregate area of these Territories is 935.650 square miles; and the aggregate population, in 1860, was 211,113; making the grand total of the area of the Republic 3,002,013, and of population, 31 429,891. 'The population at this time [June, 1867] is probably about 40,000,000. GOUVERXEUR MOIUtlS. iOKO/Q-OMVifTT INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON: SIXTH PERIOD. THE NATION. CHAPTER I. WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 17891797. WHEN the National Constitution 1 had received the approval of the people, and was made the supreme law of the Repub- lic, all minds and hearts seemed spontaneously turned toward Washington as the best man to perform the* responsible duties of chief magistrate of the nation. On the 6th of April, 1789, he was chosen President of the United States by the unanimous vote of the electors, 3 and John Adams was made Vice-President. The journey of Washington from Mount Vernon to New York, was like a triumphal march. He had scarcely left his porter's lodge, when he was met by a company of gentlemen from Alexandria, who escorted him to that town. Everywhere the people gathered to see him as he passed along the road. Towns sent out committees to receive him, and public addresses and entertainments 1 "We have observed that Gouverneur Morris was one of the committee to make the final revision of the Constitution. The committee placed it in his hands, and that instrument, in language and general arrangement, is the work of that eminent man. Gouverneur Morris was born near New York, in 1752. He was a lawyer, and was always active in public life. In 1792 he was appointed minister to Franco, and after his return he was a legislator for many years. He died in 1816. ' Note 1, pago 361. 1739.] WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 65 were given in his honor, in many places. Militia companies escorted him from place to place, and firing of cannons and ringing of bells, announced his approach to the large towns. At Trenton, his reception was peculiar and gratifying. It was arranged by the ladies. Over Trenton bridge an arch was thrown, which was adorned with laurel leaves and flowers from the conservatories. Upon the crown, and formed of leaves and flowers, were the words, " DECEMBER 26, 1776 ;" 1 and on the sweep beneath was the sentence, also formed of flowers : "THE DEFENDER OF THE MOTHERS WILL BE THE PROTECTOR OF THE DAUGHTERS." Beneath that arch the President was met by a troupe- of females. As he approached, a group of little girls, bearing each a basket, commenced strewing flowers in the road, and the whole company, young and old, joined in singing the following ode, written for the occasion by Governor Howell: " Welcome, mighty chief, once more Welcome to this grateful shore. Now no mercenary foe Aims again the fatal blow Aims at THEE the fatal blow. Virgins fair and matrons grave, Those thy conquering arm did save, Build for THEE triumphal bowers Strew /our HERO'S way with flowers!" 1 Page 262. 366 THE NATION. [1789. Washington reached New York on the 23d of April, 1789. On the 30th he appeared upon the street-gallery of the old City Hall 1 in New York, and there, in the presence of an immense concourse of people assembled in front, the oath of office was administered to him by Chancellor Livingston.' After delivering an impressive address to the members of both Houses of Con- gress, the President and the representatives of the people went in solemn pro- cession to St. Paul's Church, and there invoked the blessings of the Supreme Ruler upon the new government just inaugurated. Men were never called upon to perform duties of greater responsibility, than those which demanded the consideration of Washington and his compeers. The first session of Congress* was chiefly occupied in the organization of the new government, and in the elaborating of schemes for the future prosperity of the Republic. The earliest efforts of that body were directed to the arrangement of a system of revenues, in order to adjust and regulate the wretched financial 1 It stood on the site of the present Custom House, corner of "Wall and Broad-streets. In the picture on page 364, a correct representation of its street-gallery is given. * One of the committee [note 2, page 251] to draft the Declaration of Independence. He was born in New York in 1747, became a lawyer, and was always an active public man. He was minister to France in 1801, when he purchased Louisiana for the United States. See page 390. He joined Robert Fulton in steamboat experiments [page 398J, and died in 1813. "Members of the House of Representatives are elected to seats for two years, and they usually hold two sessions or sittings during that time. * Each full term js called a Congress. There are usually two sessions of each Congress, both commencing on the first Monday in De- cember, and the last ending on the 3d of March. Senators are elected by the State Legislatures. 1797.] WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 367 affairs of the country. 1 This subject was brought forward by Madison, 9 the tacitly acknowledged leader in the House of Representatives, two days after the votes for President and Vice-President had been counted. Pursuant to his suor- o gestion, tonnage duties were levied, and also a tariff, or duties upon foreign goods imported into the United States. These duties were made favorable to American shipping. This was the commencement of our present, though con- siderably modified, rewnue system. Having made provision for the collection of revenue, Congress next turned its attention to the reorganization of the executive departments. Three Treas- ury, War, and Foreign Affairs were created, the heads of which were to be styled secretaries, instead of ministers, as in Europe. These the President might appoint or dismiss with the concurrence of the Senate. They were to constitute a cabinet council, always ready for consultation with the President, on public affairs, and bound to give him their opinions in writing, when required. It may be instructive to take a brief retrospective view of the progress of legislative action concerning the commerce of the United States from the close of the Revolution until the time in question. In March, 1783, the younger Pitt* proposed in the British Parliament, a scheme for the temporary regulation of commercial intercourse between Great Britain and the United States. Its chief feature was the free admission into the British West India ports of American vessels laden with the products of American industry the West India people, in turn, to be allowed like free trade with the United States. The proposition was rejected, and soon an order went forth from the Privy Council, 4 for the entire exclusion of American vessels from West India ports, and prohibiting the importation there of several products of the United States, even in British bot- toms. Notwithstanding this unwise and narrow policy was put in force, Mr. Adams, the American minister at the court of St. James, proposed, in 1785, to place the navigation and trade between all the dominions of the British crown and all the territories of the United States, upon a basis of perfect reciprocity. This generous offer was not only declined, but the minister was haughtily assured that no other would be entertained. Whereupon Mr. Adams imme- diately recommended the United States to pass navigation acts for the benefit of their commerce. Some individual States attempted to legislate upon commercial matters and the subject of duties for revenue, but their efforts were comparatively fruitless. The importance of having the united action of all the States, in framing general navigation laws, was clearly perceived, and this perception was one of the chief causes which led to the Convention that formed the National Constitution. 6 The new government was inaugurated in due time, and, as we have mentioned, the earliest efforts of Congress, under the new order of things, were the consideration of schemes fcr imposing discriminating duties. 6 These 1 Page 353. * Note 5, page 356. * Page 217. 4 Note 1, page 400. Page 356. Page 366. ggg THE NATION. [1789. measures immediately opened the blind eyes of British legislators to the neces- sity of a reciprocity in trade between the two countries. They saw that Amer- ican commerce was no longer at the mercy of thirteen distinct legislative bodies, as under the old Confederation, nor subject to the control of the king and his council. They perceived that its interests were guarded and its strength nur- tured, by a central power, of wonderful energy, and soon haughty Britain became the suppliant. Soon after the passage of the revenue laws by Con- gress, a committee of Parliament proposed to ask the United States to con- sent to an arrangement precisely the same as that suggested by Mr. Adams, six years before, which was so scornfully rejected. The proposition was met by generous courtesy on the part of the United States ; yet it was not until 1816, when the second war for Independence 1 had been some time closed, that reciprocity treaties fairly regulated the commerce between the two countries. During the period here referred to, another great commercial interest, then in embryo, was under contemplation and discussion, by a few men of forecast. It was that of the production of COTTON. Primarily it is an agricultural inte- rest, but now, when a large portion of the cotton used in Europe is grown in the United States, it has become a great commercial interest. Among the first and most powerful advocates of the cultivation of this plant, was Tench Coxe, a of Philadelphia, who, as early as 1785, when he was only thirty years of age, pub> lished the fact that he " felt pleasing convictions that the United States, in its extensive regions south of Anne Arundel and Talbot counties, Maryland, would certainly become a great cotton-producing country." And while the National Conven tion was in session in Philadelphia, in 178 7, 3 Mr. Coxe delivered a powerful publicaddress on that and kindred subjects, having'for his object the establishment of a society for the encouragement of manufactures and the useful arts. Before that time, not a bale of cotton had ever been exported from the United States to any other country, and no planter had adopted its cultivation, as a " crop." 4 The Senate was engaged upon the important matter of a National judiciary, while the House was employed on the Revenue bills. A plan, embodied in a bill drafted by Ellsworth of Connecticut, 5 was, after several amendments, con- curred in by both Houses. By its provisions, a national judiciary was estab- lished, consisting of a supreme court, having one chief justice, and five associate 1 Page 409. " Tench Coxe was born in Philadelphia, in May, If 55, and, as we have mentioned in the text, was one of the earliest advocates of the cotton culture. From 1787 until his death, there was never an important industrial movement in which he was not greatly interested, or in which his name did not appear prominent. In 1794, while he was the Commissioner of Revenue, at Phila- delphia, he published a large octavo volume, containing his views, as expressed in speech and writing, on the subject of the cotton culture. In 1806, he published an essay on naval power and the encouragement of manufactures. The following year he published an essay on the culti- vation of cotton, and from time to time thereafter, he wrote and published his views on these subjects. He died in July, 1824, at the age of more than sixty-eight years. See next page. * Page 356. * It has been estimated that the entire produce of cotton, in all countries, in 1791, was four hun- dred and ninety millions of pounds, and that the United States produced only one twenty-fifth of the entire quantity. In the years 1859-60, the ten cotton-growing States of the Union produced four millions, six hundred and seventy-five thousand, seven hundred and seventy bales, of four hundred pounds each, making an aggregate of 1,870,680,000 pounds. The whole world did not produce as much cotton as this, annually, previous to the year 1840. 6 Page 360. 1797J WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. ' 369 justices, who were to hold two sessions annually, at the seat of the National Government. 1 Circuit and district courts were also established, which had ju- risdiction over certain specified cases. Each State was made a district, as were also the Territories of Kentucky 2 and Maine. 3 The districts, except Kentucky and Maine, were grouped together into three circuits. An appeal from these lower courts to the Supreme Court of the United States, was allowed, as to points of law, in ajl civil cases when the matter in dispute amounted to two thousand dollars. A marshal was to be appointed by the President, for each district, having the general powers of a sheriff, who was to attend all courts, and was authorized to serve all processes. A district attorney, to act for the United States in all cases in which the National Government misrht be inter- o ested, was also to be appointed for each district. Such, in brief outline, and in general terms, was the National judiciary, organized at the commencement of the Government, and still in force, with slight modifications. The next business of importance that engaged the attention of Congress, 1 John Jay [page 379] of New York, one of the most active and acute lawyers in the country, was apppointed the first Chief Justice of the United States ; and Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, was made Attorney-General. Randolph succeeded Patrick Henry as governor of Virginia, in 1786, and was very active in the Convention of 1787. See note 1, page 359. He succeeded Jefferson as Secretary of State, and died in 1813. John Rutledge [page 210], of South Carolina ; James "Wilson, of Pennsylvania; William Gushing, of Massachusetts ; Robert H. Harrison, of Maryland; and John Blair, of Virginia, were appointed associate judgea " Page 377. * Page 462. 24 370 TIIE NATION. [1789. was the proposed amendments to the National Constitution, made by the minor- ities of the several conventions which ratified that instrument. This subject was brought forward bj Madison, in justice to these minorities, and pursuant to pledges which he had found it necessary to give, in order to secure its ratifi- cation in Virginia. These amounted, in the aggregate, to one hundred and forty-seven, 1 besides separate bills of rights proposed by Virginia and New York. Many of these amendments were identical in spirit, as, for example, the nine propositions by Massachusetts were repeated by New Hampshire. And it is a singular fact, that of all the proposed amendments, not one, judged by sub- sequent experience, was of a vital character. How well this illustrates the profound wisdom embodied in our Constitution ! Sixteen amendments were finally agreed to by Congress, ten of which were subsequently ratified by the States, and became a part of the Supreme Law/ After a session of almost six months, Congress adjourned, 8 on the 29th of September [1789], and Wash- ington, having appointed his cabinet council, 4 made a brief tour through the northern and eastern States, to make himself better acquainted with the people ind their resources. 5 On the 8th of January, 1790, the second session of the first Congress com- jaenced, daring which Alexander Hamilton, 8 the first Secretary of the Treasury, inade some of those able financial reports which established the general line of .rational policy for more than twenty years. On his recommendation, the gen- eral government assumed the public foreigi and domestic debt incurred by the late war, 7 and also the State debts contracted during that period. The foreign Jebt, including interest, due to France and to private lenders in Holland, with a small sum to Spain, amounted to $11,710,378. The domestic debt, regis- tered and unregistered, including interest, and some claims, principally the out- standing continental money, 8 amounted to $42.414,085. Nearly one third of Lhis was the arrears of interest. As the government certificates, continental 1 The minority of the Pennsylvania Convention proposed 14; of Massachusetts, 9; of Maryland, 28; of South Caroling 4; of New Hampshire, 12; of Virginia, 20; of New York, 32. 1 See Supplement. <* 8 A few days before the adjournment, a resolution was adopted, requesting the President of the United States to recommend a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by the people jf the nation, in acknowledgment of the many signal favors of the Almighty, in permitting them to establish, in peace, a free government. 4 Alexander Hamilton was appointed Secretary of the Treasury; Henry Knox, Secretary of -War; and Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Jefferson was then United States minister at the court of France, and did not enter upon his duties until March, 1790. The office of Secretary of the Navy was not created until the pres- idency of Mr. Adams. Naval affairs were under the control of the Secretary of War. General Knox was one of the most efficient officers of the Eevolution, having, from the beginning, the chief com- mand of the artillery. He entered the army as captain of artillery, and rose to the rank of major-general. Note 4, page 350. * "Washington was everywhere received with great honors ; and Trumbull, author of JtPFingal, wrote to his friend, Oliver Wolcott: GEXERAL KNOX. " "We have gone through all the popish grades of worship ; and the President returns all fragrant with the odor of incense." Note 2, page 360. 7 Note 2, page 253. In that note the amount given is the principal, without the interest 8 Page 245. 1797.] WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 371 bills, and other evidences of debt, were now held chiefly by speculators, -who had purchased them at reduced rates, the idea had been put forth bj prominent men, that it would be proper and expedient to apply a scale of depreciation, as in the case of the paper money toward the close of the war, 1 in liquidating these claims. But Hamilton opposed it as dishonest and impolitic, arguing, in sup- port of the latter objection, that public credit was essential to the new Federal Government. He therefore urged that all the debts of the government should be met according to the terms of the contract. He proposed the funding of the public debt, in a fair and economical way, by which the public creditors should receive their promised six per cent, interest, until the Government should be able to pay the principal, the Secretary assuming that, in five years, the United States might effect loans at five, and even at four per cent., with which these claims might be liquidated. He proposed to have the proceeds of the post-office' as a sinking fund, for the gradual extinction of the debt. After much debate, the propositions of Hamilton, in general, were agreed to by Con- gress, on the 9th of March, 1790. 8 A system of revenue from imposts and internal excise, proposed by Hamilton, was also adopted. A petition from the Society of Friends, or Quakers, presented on the llth of February, on the subject of slavery, caused long, and, sometimes, acrimonious debates. An act was also passed, during this session, making the District of Columbia the per- manent seat of the National Government, after the lapse often years from that date. The First Congress commenced its third session 4 in December, 1790, and before its close, measures were adopted which laid the foundations of public credit and national prosperity, deep and abiding. During the two years in which the new government had been engaged in the business of organization, a competent revenue had been provided for ; the public debt, national and State, had been funded, and the interest thereon had been provided for ; a national judiciary, wise in all its features, had been established; and the nation, in its own estimation and that of other States of the world, had taken a proud position in the great political family. North Carolina [Nov. 21, 1789] and Rhode Island [May 29, 1790], had already become members of the National Union, by ratify ing the Constitution ; 5 and during this session, Vermont 6 had been admitted [February 18, 1791] as a State. Settlements were now rapidly spreading beyond the Alleghanies, 7 and the subject of territorial organizations 1 Note 3, page 245. I"* a Page 373. 8 The President was authorized Jb borrow $12,000,000, if necessary, to pay off the foreign debt; and a new loan was to be opened, payable in certificates, of the domestic debt, at their par value, and in continental bills of credit, at the rate of one hundred for one. Congress also authorized an additional loan, payable in certificates of the State debts, to the amount of $21,500,000. These certificates were those which had been issued for services or supplies, during the war. A new board of commissioners was appointed, with full power to settle all claims on general principles of equity. 4 Note 3, page 366. * Page 360. * Vermont was originally called the New Hampshire Grants, and was claimed by both New York and New Hampshire. In 1777, the people met in convention, and proclaimed the territory an independent State. After purchasing the claims of New York for $30,000, it was admitted into the Union. 7 The first census, or enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, was completed in 1791. The number of all SBXCS and colors, was 3,929,000. The number of slaves was 695,000. 372 THE NATION. [1789. was pressed upon the consideration of Congress. Already the North-western Territory, as we have seen, 1 had been established [July, 1787], and Tennessee had been constituted [March 26, 1790] the Territory South-west of the Ohio* The subject of a national currency early engaged the attention of Congress, and at the commencement of the last session of the First Congress, a bill for the establishment of a national bank was introduced into the Senate, in accord- ance with the suggestion and plan of Hamilton. At that time the whole bank- ing capital in the United States was only $2,000,000, invested in the Bank of North America, at Philadelphia, established by Robert Morris ; 3 the Bank of New York, in New York city, and the Bank of Massachusetts, in Boston. The charter was limited to twenty years ; its location was to be in the city of Philadelphia, and its management to be intrusted to twenty-five directors. Although chartered in January, 1791, the National Bank did not commence its operations, in corporate form, until in February, 1794, when it began with a capital of $10,000,000. Early in the first session of the second Congress, the important subject of a national mint received the attention of the representatives of the people. That subject had been frequently discussed. As early as 1782, the topic of coins and currency had been presented to the Continental Congress, by Gouverneur Morris, in an able report, written at the request of Robert Morris. In 1784, Mr. Jefferson, as chairman of a committee appointed for the purpose, submitted a report, agreeing with Morris in regard to a decimal system, but entirely dis- agreeing with him in the details. 4 He proposed to strike four coins, namely, a golden piece of the value of ten dollars ; a dollar, in silver ; a tenth of a dol- lar, in silver; and a hundredth of a dollar, in copper. In 1785, Congress adopted Mr. Jefferson's report, and made legal provision, the following year, for a coinage upon that basis. This was the origin of our cent, dime, dollar, and eagle. Already several of the States had issued copper coins ; 5 but the National Constitution vested the right of coinage solely in the General Govern- ment. The establishment of a Mint was delayed, however, and no special action in that direction was taken until 1790, when Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of 1 Page 362. 8 The subject of the public lands of the United States has always been one of interest. The first act of Congress, on the subject of limited sales, was in accordance with a scheme proposed by Hamilton, in 1790, which provided in some degree for the protection of small purchasers. Previous to that, not less than a tract of four thousand acres could be purchased. This was calculated to make labor subservient to wealth, in new settlements. Hamilton's scheme was highly approved. The minimum price of public land, previous to 1800, was two dollars per acre ; since then, one dol- lar and twenty-five cents. The extent of the public domain has greatly increased, by accessions, within a few years. At the close of 1855, there remained unsold about 96,000,000 of acres of sur- veyed public domain, and of the unsurveyed, about 136,000,000 of acres, worth, in the aggregate, about $276,000,000. The average cost to the government, per acre, of acquiring title, surveying, selling, and managing, is about 22 cents per acre, while it sells at $1.25 per acre, or a net profit of 8 Note 3, page 263. Morris attempted to harmonize the moneys of all the States. Starting with an ascertained fraction as an unit, for a divisor, he proposed the following table of moneys : Ten units to be equal to one penny. Ten pence to one bill. Ten bills one dollar (or about seventy-five cents of our currency). Ten dollars one crown. * Note 4, page 122. 1797.] WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 373 State, urged the matter upon the attention of Congress. Still there was delay, until on the 2d of April, 1792, laws were enacted for the establishment of a Mint. During three years from that time, its operations were chiefly experi- mental, and long debates were had concerning the devices for the new coins. 1 The Mint was finally put into full operation, in 1795," and has continued to increase in its issues of coin, ever since.* v/ A bill for the organization of a post/office system, was passed during the same session that measures were adopted for the establishment of a Mint. Very soon after the commencement of the first session of the first Congress, a letter was received from Ebenezer Hazzard [July 17, 1789], then postmaster-general under the old Confederation, suggesting the importance of some new regula- tions for that department. A bill for the temporary establishment of the post office was passed soon afterward. The subject was brought up, from time to time, until the present system was organized in 1792. The postmaster-general was not made a cabinet officer until the first year [1829] of President Jack- son's administration. 4 British agents on the north-western frontier continued to tamper with the Indians, and excite them to' hostilities against the United States, for several years after the peace of 1783.* And, contrary to the terms of that treaty, the British held possession of western posts belonging to the United States. These facts caused a prevalent belief that the British government yet hoped for an opportunity to bring the new Republic back to colonial dependence. The pub- lic mind in America became excited, and the fact, that Sir John Johnston 6 was the British Indian agent on that frontier, and Sir Guy Carleton (then Lord Dorchester) was again governor of Canada, 7 strengthened that opinion and apprehension. Finally, in the spring of 1790, the fostered discontents of the Indians were developed into open hostilities. Attempts at pacific arrangements were fruitless, and General Harmer was sent into the Indian country north of the present Cincinnati, with quite a strong force, to desolate their villages and 1 The Senate proposed the head of the President of the United States who should occupy the chair at the time of the coinage. In the House, the head of Liberty was suggested, as being less aristocratic than that of the President having less the stamp of royalty. The head of Liberty was finally adopted. * The first mint was located in Philadelphia, and remained the sole issuer of coin, in the United States, until 1835, when a branch was established in each of the States of Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana in Charlotte, Dahlonega^ and New Orleans. These three branches went into oper- ation in the years 1837-38. (f From 1793 to 1795, inclusive, the value of the whole issue was less than half a million of dollars. 1 Previous to the year 1830, almost the entire supply of gold for our coinage was fur- nished 4>j foreign countries. North Carolina was the first State of the Union that sent gold to the Mint from its mines. Since then, almost every State has made contributions, some very small During the fiscal year ending in June, 1861, when the Civil War was kindling, the value of the entire issue of coin, by the Government Mint and its branches, was $84,000,000. The discovery of gold in California, in 1848. opened an immense treasury, and, up to the beginning of the war, that was the only great gold producing region within the Republic. Of the entire amount of gold, from domestic mines, deposited in the Mint up to 18GO, valued at $489,311,000, $469,406,003 was sent from California. Adjacent territories are now [1867] yielding largely. 4 Page 459. The operations of the post-office department increased very rapidly year after year. In 1795, the number of post-office routes was 453; over 13,207 miles of travel. The revenue of the department was $160,620. When the Civil War began, in 1861, the number of routes was about 9,000 ; the number of miles traveled, full 260,00; and the revenue nearly $9,000,000. 6 Page 348. Note 2, page 278. ' Page 240. 374 THE NATION. [1789: crops, as Sullivan did those of the Senecas in 1779. 1 In this he succeeded, but in two battles [Oct. 17 and 22, 1790], near the present village of Fort Wayne, in Indiana, he was defeated, with considerable loss. The following year, an expedition of Kentucky volunteers, under General Scott, marched against the Indians on the Wabash. General Wilkinson led a second expedition against them, in July following, and in September, General St. Clair, 2 then governor of the North-west Territory, marched into the Indian country, with two thou- sand men. While in camp near the northern line of Darke county, Ohio, on the borders of Indiana, he was surprised and defeated [N"ov. 4, 1791] by the Indians, with a loss of about nine hundred men, killed and wounded. The defeat of St. Clair produced great alarm on the whole north-western frontier. Even the people of Pittsburg 3 did not feel secure, and the border settlers called loudly for help. Fortunately the Indians did not follow up the advantage they had gained, and for a while hostilities ceased. Commissioners were appointed to treat with them, but through the interference of British officials, their negotiations were fruitless. General Wayne 4 had been appointed, in the mean while, to succeed St. Clair in military command, and apprehend- ing that the failure of the negotiations would be followed by an immediate attack upon the frontier settlements, he marched into the Indian country in the autumn of 1793. He spent the winter at Greenville, 5 near the place of St. Clair's defeat, where he built Fort Recovery. The following summer [1794] he pushed forward to the Maumee River, and built Fort Defiance ;" and on the St. Mary's he erected Fort Adams as an intermediate post. On the 16th of August he went down the Maumee, with three thousand men, and not far from the present Maumee City, 7 he fought and defeated the Indians, on the 20th of the same month. He then laid waste their country, and after a successful campaign of about ninety days, he went into winter quarters at Greenville. There, the following year, the chiefs and warriors of the western tribes, in all about eleven hundred, met [August 3, 1795] commissioners of the United States, made a treaty of peace, and ceded to the latter a large tract of land in the present States of Michigan 8 and Indiana. After that, the United States had very little trouble with the western Indians until just before* the breaking out of the war of 1812-15. 9 Party spirit, which had been engendered during the discussions of the National Constitution, 10 gradually assumed distinct forms, and during the second cession of the second Congress, it became rampant among the people, as well as in the national legislature. Hamilton and Jefferson, the heads of distinct departments' 1 in Washington's cabinet, differed materially concerning important public measures, and then, under the respective leadership of those statesmen, 1 Page 304. a Page 276. s Page 205. * Page 298. B In Darke county, Ohio. 6 At the junction of the Au Glaize with the Maumee River, in the south-east part of Williams county, Ohio. 7 In the town of "Waynesfield. The British then occupied a fort at the Maumee Rapids, near by. 8 The British held possession of Detroit, and nearly all Michigan, until 1796. See page 380. ' ?a stitutional, and they were finally repealed. The nation suffered a sad bereavement near the close of the last year of the century. Washington, the greatest and best-beloved of its military and civil leaders, died at Mount Vernon on the 14th of December, 1799, when almost sixty-eight years of age. No event since the foundation of the government, had made such an impression on the public mind. The national grief was sincere, and party spirit was hushed into silence at his grave. All hearts united in homage to the memory of him who was properly regarded as the FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY. Congress was then in session at Philadelphia, and when Judge Marshall* announced the sad event, both Houses 3 immediately adjourned for the day. On re-assembling the next day, appropriate resolutions were passed, and the President was directed to write a letter of condolence to Mrs. Washington,* in the name of Congress. Impressive funeral ceremonies were 1 Bonaparte, Cambaceres, and the Abbe Sieyes became the ruling power in France, with the title of Consuls, after the firat had overthrown the Directory. Bonaparte was the First Consul, and was, in fact, an autocrat, or one who rules by his own will. a Page 351. * Note 3, page 366. 4 Martha Dandridge, who first married Daniel Parke Custis, and afterward, while yet a young widow, was wedded to Colonel "Washington, was born in Kent county, Virginia, in 1732, about three months later than her illustrious husband. Her first husband died when she was about twenty-five years of age, leaving her with two children, and a large fortune in lands and money. She was married to Colonel Washington, in January, 1759. She was ever worthy of such a hus- band; and while he was President of the United States, she presided with dignity over the execu- tive mansion, both in New York and Philadelphia. "When her husband died, she said : " 'Tis well; all is now over; I shall soon follow him ; I have no more trials to pass through." In little less than thirty months afterward, she was laid hi the family vault at Mount Vernon. Her grandson,, and adopted son of Washington (also the last surviving executor of his will), G. W. P. Custis, died at Arlington House, opposite Washington City, October 10, 1857. 1801.] ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 387 observed by that body, and throughout the country. 1 General Henry Lee, 4 of Virginia, on the invitation of Congress, delivered [December 26, 1799] an eloquent funeral oration before the national legislature ; and the recommenda- tion of Congress, for the people of the United States to wear crape on their left arms for thirty days, was generally complied with. The whole nation put on tokens of mourning. The death of Washington also made a profound impression in Europe. To the people there, who were aspiring for freedom, it seemed as if a bright star had disappeared from the firmament of their hopes. Rulers, also, joined in demonstrations of respect. Soon after the event of his death was known in France, Bonaparte, then First Consul, 8 rendered unusual honors to his name. On the 9th of February [1800], he issued the following order of the day to the army : " Washington is dead ! This great man fought against tyranny ; he established the liberties of his country. His memory will always be dear to the French people, as it will be to all free men of the two worlds ; and especially to French soldiers, who, like him and the American soldiers, have combatted for liberty and equality." Bonaparte also ordered, that during ten days black crape should be suspended from all the standards and flags throughout the French Republic. Splendid ceremonies in the Champs de Mars, and a funeral oration in the Hotel des Invalides, were also given, at both of which 1 Congress resolved to erect a mausoleum, or monument, at "Washington City, to his memory, but the resolution has never been carried into effect. An immense obelisk, composed of white marble, is now [1867] in course of erection there, to be paid for by individual subscriptions. 9 Note 2, page 333. * Note 1, page 395. 388 THE CATION. [1801. the First Consul, and all the civil and military authorities of the capital were present. Lord Bridport, commander of a British fleet of almost sixty vessels, lying at Torbay, on the coast of France, when he heard of the death of Wash- ington, lowered his flag half-mast, and this example was followed by the whole fleet. And from that time until the present, the name of Washington has inspired increasing reverence at home and abroad, until now it may be said that the praise of him fills the whole earth. After the close of the difficulties with France, very little of general interest occurred during the remainder of Mr. Adams's administration, except the removal of the seat of the National Government to the District of Columbia, 1 in the summer of 1800 ; the admission into the Union [May, 1800] of the country between the western frontier of Georgia and the Mississippi River, as the Mis- sissippi Territory ; and the election of a new President of the United States. Now, again, came a severe struggle between the Federalists and Republic- ans, for political power." The former nominated Mr. Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 3 for President ; the latter nominated Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, 4 for the same office. In consequence of dissensions among the Federalist leaders, and the rapid development of ultra-democratic ideas among the people, the Republican party was successful. Jefferson and Burr had an equal number of electoral votes. The task of choosing, therefore, was trans- ferred to the House of Representatives, according to the provisions of the National Constitution. The choice finnlly fell upon Mr. Jefferson, after thirty- five ballotings ; and Mr. Burr was proclaimed Vice-President. During the year 1800, the last of Adams's administration, the second enu- meration of the inhabitants of the United States took place. The population was then five millions, three hundred and nineteen thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two an increase of one million, four hundred thousand in ten years. The National revenue, which amounted to four millions, seven hundred and seventy-one thousand dollars in 1790, was increased to almost thirteen millions in 1800. . CHAPTER III. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. [1801 1809]. THOMAS JEFFERSON," the third President of the United States, was in the fifty-eighth year of his age when, on the 4th of March, 1801, he was duly 1 Page 371. The District is a tract ten miles square on each side of the Potomac, ceded to the United States by Maryland and Virginia in 1790. The city of Washington was laid out there in 1791, and the erection of the Capitol was commenced in 1793, when [April 18] President Washington laid the corner stone of the north wing, with Masonic honors. The two wings were completed in 1808, and these were burned by the British in 1814. See page 436. The central portion of the Capitol was completed in 1827, the wings having been repaired soon after the conflagration. Altogether it covered an area of a little more than an acre and a half of ground. In course of time it became too small, and its dimensions were greatly extended. These were completed in 1865. The addition is in the form of wings, north and south, projecting both east and west beyond the main building. * Page 377. * Note 1, page 385. * Note 4, page 241, and page 397. 6 Thomas Jefferson was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, in April, 1743. He was educated 1809.] JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 389 inaugurated the Chief Magistrate of the Republic, in the new Capitol, at Wash- ington City. His inaugural speech, which was looked for with great anxiety, as a foreshadowing of the policy of the new President, was manly and conserv- ative, and it allayed many apprehensions of his opponents. From its tone, they imagined that few of the National office-holders would be disturbed ; but in this they soon found themselves mistaken. The Federal party, while in power, having generally excluded Republicans from office, Jefferson felt himself justi- fied in giving places to his own political friends. He therefore made many removals from official station throughout the country ; and then was commenced the second act in the system of political proscription, 1 which has not always proved wise or salutary. He retained, for a short time, Mr. Adams's Secretaries of the Treasury and Navy (Samuel Dexter and Bonjamin Stoddart), but called at William and Mary College, studied law with the eminent George Wythe, and had his patriotism first inflamed by listening to Patrick Henry's famous speech [note 1, page 214] against the Stamp Act. He first appeared in public life in the Virginia Assembly, in 1769, and was one of the most active workers in that body, until sent to perform more important duties in the Continental Congress. The inscription upon his monument, written by himself, tells of the most important of his public labors: "Here lies buried THOMAS JEFFERSON, Author of the Declaration of Independence ; of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom ; and Father of the University of Virginia," He was governor of his own State, and a foreign minister. He lived until the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence [July 4, 1826], and at almost the same hour when the spirit of Adams took its flight [page 457], his also departed from the body, when he was at the age of eighty- three yeara ' Page 461 390 THE NATION. [1801. Republicans to fill the other seats in his cabinet. 1 He set vigorously at work to reform public abuses, as far as was in his power ; and so conciliatory were his expressed views in reference to the great body of his opponents, that many Federalists joined the Republican ranks, and became bitter denouncers of their former associates and their principles. President Jefferson's administration was signalized at the beginning by the repeal of the Excise Act," and other obnoxious and unpopular laws. His sug- gestions concerning the reduction of the diplomatic corps, hauling up of the navy in ordinary, the abolition of certain offices, and the revision of the judiciary, were all taken into consideration by Congress, and many advances in jurisprudence were made. Vigor and enlightened views marked his course ; and even his political opponents confessed his forecast and wisdom, in many things. During his first term, one State and two Territories were added to the confederacy. A part of the North-western Territory 3 became a State, under the name of Ohio, 4 in the autumn of 1802 ; and in the spring of 1803, Louisi- ana was purchased [April] of France for fifteen millions of dollars. This result was brought about without much difficulty, for the French ruler was desirous of injuring England, and saw in this an excellent way to do it. In violation of a treaty made in the year 1795, the Spanish governor of Louisiana closed the port of New Orleans in 1802. Great excitement prevailed through- out the western settlements ; and a proposition was made in Congress to take forcible possession of the Territory. It was ascertained that, by a secret treaty, the country had been ceded to France, by Spain. Negotiations for its purchase were immediately opened with Napoleon, and the bargain was consummated in April, 1803. The United States took peaceable possession in the autumn of that year. It contained about eighty-five thousand mixed inhabitants, and about forty thousand negro slaves. When this bargain was consummated, Napoleon said, prophetically, " This accession of territory strengthens forever the power of the United States ; and I have just given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later humble her pride." Out of it two Territories were formed, called respectively the Territory of New Orleans and the Dis- trict of Louisiana. We have already adverted to the depredations of Algerine corsairs upon American commerce. The insolence of the piratical powers on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, 5 at length became unendurable; and the United States government resolved to cease paying tribute to them. The Bashaw of Tripoli thereupon declared war [June 10, 1801] against the United States ; and Captain Bainbridge was ordered to cruise in the Mediterranean to protect 1 James Madison, Secretary of State; Henry Dearborn, Secretary of "War; Levi Lincoln, Attor- ney General. Before tho meeting of Congress in December, he appointed Albert Gallatin [note 1, page 380, and note 6, page 443], Secretary of the Treasury, and Robert Smith, Secretary of the Navy. They were both Republicans. * Page 378. s Page 362. * No section of the Union had increased, in population and resources, so rapidly as Ohio. When, in 1800, it was formed into a distinct Territory, the residue of the North-western 'Territory remained as one until 1809. Then the Territories of Indiana and Illinois were formed. When Ohio was admitted as a State, it contained a population of about seventy-two thousand souls. * Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, in Africa. They are known as the Barbary Powers. 1809.] JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 391 American commerce. 1 In 1803, Commodore Preble was sent thither to humble the pirates. After bringing the Emperor of Morocco to terms, he appeared before Tripoli with his squadron. One of his vessels (the Philadelphia), com- manded by Bainbridge, a struck on a rock in the harbor, while reconnoitering ; and before she could be extricated, she was captured [October 31, 1803] DJ the Tripolitans. The officers were treated as prisoners of war, but the crew were made slaves. 1 Captain Bainbridge had been on that coast the previous year. He arrived at Algiers in September, 1800, in the frigate George Washing- ton, with the annual tribute money [page 381], The dey, or governor, demanded the use of his vessel to carry an ambassador to Constan- tinople. Bainbridga remonstrated, when the dey haughtily observed: " You pay me tribute, by which you become my slaves, and therefore I have a right to order you as I think proper." Bainbridge was obliged to comply, for the castle guns would not allow him to pass out of the harbor. He sailed for the East, and had the honor of first dis- playing the American flag before the ancient city of Constantinople, The Sultan regarded it as a favorable omen of future friendship, because Aisflag bore a crescent or half-moon, and the American a group of stars. * William Bainbridge was born in New Jersey, in 1774. He was captain of a merchant vessel at the age of nineteen years, and entered the naval service in 1798, He was distinguished during the second War for Independence [page 409], and died in 1833. TOOTED STATES FRIGATE. 392 TT H E NATION. [1801. LIEUTENANT DECATUR. The credit of the American navy was somewhat repaired, early in the following year, when Lieutenant Decatur, 1 with only sev- enty-six volunteers, sailed into the harbor of Tripoli, in the evening of February 16, 1804, and runing alongside the Philadelphia (which lay moored near the castle, and guarded by a large number of Tripolitans), boarded her, killed or drove into the sea all of her turbaned defenders, set her on fire, and under cover of a heavy cannonade from the American squadron, escaped, without losing a man." As they left the burning vessel, the Americans raised a shout, which was answered by the guns of the batteries on the shore, and by the armed vessels at anchor near. They A ent out into the Mediterranean unharmed, sailed for Syracuse, and were received there with great joy by the American squadron, under Com- modore Preble. This bold act humbled and alarmed the bashaw; 3 yet his capital withstood a heavy bombardment, and his gun-boats gallantly sustained a severe action [August 3] with the American vessels. In the following year, through the aid of Hamet Caramelli, brother of Jes- suff, the reigning bashaw (or governor) of Tripoli, favorable terms of peace were secured. The bashaw was a usurper, and Hamet, the rightful heir to the throne,* was an exile in Egypt. He readily concerted, with Captain William Eaton, American consul at Tunis, a plan for humbling the bashaw, and obtaining his own restoration to rightful authority. Captain Eaton acted under the sanction of his government ; and early in March [March 6, 1805], he left Alexandria, with seventy United States seamen, accompanied by Hamet and his followers, and a few Egyptian troops. They made a journey of a thousand miles partly across the Barcan desert, and on the 27th of April, captured Derne, a Tripolitan city ou the Mediterranean. Three weeks later [May 18], they had a successful battle with Tripolitan troops ; and on the 1 8th of June they again defeated the forces of the bashaw, and MOHAMMEDAN SOLDIEB. 1 Stephen Decatur was born in Maryland in 1779. He entered the navy at the age of nineteen years. After his last cruise in the Mediterranean, he superintended the building of the gun-boats. He rose to the rank of commodore ; and during the second War for Independence [page 409], he was distinguished for his skill and bravery. He afterward humbled the Barbary Powers [note 5, page 390] ; and was esteemed as one among the choicest flowers of the navy. He was killed, at Bladensburg, in a duel with Commodore Barren, in March, 1820, when forty-one years of age. 9 While the American squadron was on its way to Syracuse, it captured a small Tripolitan ves- sel, bound to Constantinople, with a present of female slaves for the Sultan. This was taken into service, and named the Intrepid, and was the vessel with which Decatur performed his bold exploit at Tripoli. This act greatly enraged the Tripolitans, and the American prisoners were treated with the utmost severity. The annals of that day give some terrible pictures of white slavery on the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. * Bashaw, or Pacha [Pas-shaw], is the title of the governor of a province, or town, in the do- minions of the Sultan (or emperor) of Turkey. The Barbary States [note 5, page 390] are all under the Sultan's rule. * The bashaw, who was a third son, had murdered his father and elder brother, and compelled Hamet to fly for hia life. With quite a large number of followers, he fled into Egypt. DECATTO BURMNO TEE PHILADELPHIA. 1809.] JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 395 pressed forward toward Tripoli. The terrified ruler had made terms of peace [June 4, 1805] with Colonel Tobias Lear, American consul-general 1 in the Mediterranean, and thus disappointed the laudable ambition of Eaton, and the hopes of Hamet. " While these hostile movements were occurring in the East, the President had, in a confidential message to Congress, in January, 1803, proposed the first of those peaceable conquests which have opened, and are still opening, to civil- ization and human industry, the vast inland regions of our continent. He rec- ommended an appropriation for defraying the expenses of an exploring expedi- tion across the continent from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. The appropriation was made, and presently an expedition, consisting of thirty indi- viduals, under Captains Lewis and Clarke, was organized. They left the banks of the Mississippi on the 14th of May, 1804, and were absent about twenty-seven months. It was very successful, particularly in geographical discoveries, and 1 A consul is an officer appointed by a government to reside in a foreign port, to have a general supervision of the commercial interests of his country there. In some cases they have powers almost equal to a minister. Such is the case with consuls within the ports of Mohammedan countries. The word consul was applied to Napoleon [page 387] in the ancient Roman sense. It was the title of the chief magistrate of Rome during the Republic. The treaty made by Lear provided for an ex- change of prisoners, man for man, as far as they would go. Jessuff had about two hundred more prisoners than the Americans held, and for these, a ransom of $60,000 was to be paid. It was also stipulated that the wife and children of Hamet should be given up to him. * Hamet afterward came to the United States, and applied to Congress for a remuneration for his services in favor of the Americans. He was unsuccessful ; but Congress voted $2,400 for his temporary relief. 396 THE NATION. [1801. furnished the first reliable information respecting the extensive country between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean. During the same year, the election for President of the United States recurred. Aaron Burr, having lost the confi- dence of the Democratic party, 1 was not re-nominated for Vice- President. George Clinton 3 was put in his place ; and Jefferson and Clinton were elected by a great majority 3 over their Federal opponents, Charles Cotesworth Pinck- ney, 4 of South Carolina, who was nominated for President, and Rufus King, 5 of New York, for Vice-President. A serious difficulty commenced in the "West during the second year [1805] of Mr. Jefferson's second administration. The fertile valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi were then very rapidly filling with adventurers, and the materials for new States, strong and ample, were gathering. Michigan was erected into a Territory in 1805 ; and all along the Mississippi, extensive settlements were taking root and flourishing. The tide of population was full and unceasing, and was composed, chiefly, of adventurous characters, ready for any enterprise that should offer the result of great gain. Taking advantage of the restless spirit of these adventurers, and the general impression that the Spanish population of Louisiana would not quietly submit to the jurisdiction of the United States, 8 Aaron Burr 7 thought to make them subservient to his own ambitious purposes. His murder of Hamilton in a duel, 9 on the 12th of July, 1804, made him everywhere detested ; and, perceiving his unpopularity in the fact of his having been superseded in the office of Vice-President of the United States, by George Clinton, 9 he sought a new field for achieving personal aggrandisement. In April, 1805, he departed for the "West, with several nominal objects in view, but chiefly in relation to pecuniary speculations. These seemed to conceal his real design of effecting a strong military organization, for the purpose of invad- ing the Spanish possessions in Mexico. General Wilkinson, 10 then in the West, and the commander-in-chief of the National army, became his associate. Wil- 1 Page 377. a Pago 350. s The great popularity of Jefferson's administration was shown by the result of this election. He received in the electoral college [note 1, page 361] one hundred and sixty-two votes, and Mr. Pinckney only fourteen. 4 Page 384. 6 Rufus King was born in 1755, and was in Harvard College in 1775, when hostilities with Great Britain commenced, and the students were dispersed. He chose the law for a profession, and became very eminent as a practitioner. He was in Sullivan's army, on Rhode Island [page 289], in 1778; and in 1784, the people, appreciating his talents and his oratorical powers, elected him to a scat in the Legislature of Massachusetts. He was an efficient member of the National Convention, in 1787, and nobly advocated the Constitutioruafterward. He removed to New York, was a mem- ber of the State Legislature, was also one of the first United States Senators from New York, and in 1796 was appointed minister to Great Britain. From 1813 to 1826 he was a member of the United States Senate, and in 1825 was again sent to England as minister plenipotentiary. He died, near Jamaica, Long Island, in April, 1827, at the age of seventy-two years. Page 390. 7 Aaron Burr was born in New Jersey, in 1756. In his twentieth year he joined the conti- nental army, and accompanied Arnold [note 4, page 241] in his expedition against Quebec, in 1775. His health compelled him to leave the army in 1779, and he became a distinguished lawyer and active public man. He died on Staten Island, near New York, in 1836, at the age of eighty years. 8 Note 2, page 360. A political quarrel led to fatal results. Burr had been informed of some remarks made by Hamilton, in public, derogatory to his character, and he demanded a retraction. Hamilton considered his demand unreasonable, and refused compliance. Burr challenged him to fight, and Hamilton reluctantly met him on the west side of the Hudson, near Hoboken, where they fought with pistols. Hamilton discharged his weapon in the air, but Burr took fatal aim, and hia antagonist fell Hamilton died the next day. Page 350. w Page 410. 1809.] JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 397 kinson had just been appointed governor of Louisiana, and his official position secured precisely the advantage which Burr sought. Burr went down the Ohio ; and one beautiful morning at the close of April [1805]j he appeared at the house of Blennarhasset, an Irishman possessed of fine education, a large fortune, and an accomplished and enthusiastic wife. 1 To him he unfolded his grand military scheme ; and the imaginations of Blennar- hasset and his wife ere fired. Dreams of immense wealth and power filled their minds ; and when Burr had departed from the quiet home of this gentleman, the sunshine of his house faded. Blennarhasset was a changed man. He placed his wealth and reputation in the keeping of an unprincipled dema- gogue, and lost both. At that time, the brave and noble Andrew Jackson 2 wag in command of the militia of Tennessee. In May, Burr appeared at the door of that stern patriot, and before he left it, he had won Jackson's confidence, and his promise of co-operation. He also met Wilkinson at St. Louis, and there gave him some hints of a greater scheme than he had hitherto unfolded, which, that officer alleged, made him suspicious that Burr's ultimate aim was damage 1 His residence was upon an island a little below the mouth of the Muskinpum River. There he had a fine library, beautiful conservatories, and a variety of luxuries hitherto unseen in that wilderness region. His home was an earthly paradise, into which the vile political serpent crawled, and despoiled it with his slime. Blennarhasset became poor, and died in 1831. His beautiful and accomplished wife was buried by the Sisters of Charity, in the city of New York, in the year 1842. Page 460. 398 THK NATION. [1801. to the Union. However, the schemer managed the whole matter with great skill. He made friends with some of the dissatisfied military and naval officers, and won their sympathies ;' and in the summer of 1806, he was very active in the organization of a military expedition in the West. The secresy with which it was carried on, excited the suspicions of many good men beyond the mountains, among whom was Jackson. Burr was suspected of a design to dis- member the Union, and to establish an independent empire west of the Alleg- hanies, with himself at the head. Those suspicions were communicated to the National Government, which, having reason -to suspect Burr of premeditated treason, put forth the strong arm of its power, and crushed the viper in its egg. Burr was arrested [February, 1807], near Fort Stoddart, on the Tombigbee River, in the present State of Alabama, by Lieutenant (afterward Major-Gen- eral) Gaines, 9 taken to Richmond, in Virginia, and there tried on a charge of treason. He was acquitted. The testimony showed that his probable design was an invasion of Mexican provinces, for the purpose of establishing there an independent government. While Burr's scheme was ripening, difficulties with Spain were increasing, and the United States were brought to the verge of a war with that country. 1 Many in the "West supposed the government was secretly favoring Burr's plans against Mex- ico, and, having no suspicions of any other designs, some of the truest men of that region became, ome more and some less, involved in the meshes of his scheme. f Page 46?. 1809.] JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 399 At the same time, the continued impressment of American seamen into the English navy, and the interruptions to American commerce by the British gov- ernment, irritated the people of the United States, and caused the President to recommend partial non-intercourse with Great Britain. This policy was adopted by Congress [April 15, 1806], the prohibition to take effect in Novem- ber following. This was one of the first of the retaliatory measures of the American government toward that of Great Britain. The following year [1807] is remarkable in American history as the era of the commencement of successful steamboat navigation. Experiments in that direction had been made in this country many years before, but it was reserved for Robert Fulton 1 to bear the honor of success. He spent a long time in France, partly in the pursuit of his profession as a portrait-painter, and in the study of the subject of steam navigation. Through the kindness of Joel Barlow, then [1797] in Paris (in whose family he remained seven years), he was enabled to study the natural sciences, modern languages, and to make experiments. There he became acquainted with Robert R. Livingston/ and through his influence and pecuniary aid, on his return to. America, he was enabled to construct a steamboat, and to make a voyage on the Hudson from New York to Albany, "against wind and tide," in thirty-six hours. 3 He took out his first patent in 1809. Within fifty years, the vast operations connected with steam- boat navigation, have been brought into existence. Now the puff of the steam-engine is heard upon the waters of every civilized nation on the face of the globe. And now the progress of events in Europe began to disturb the amicable relations which had subsisted between the governments of the United States and Great Britain since the ratification of Jay's treaty.* Napoleon Bonaparte was upon the throne of France as emperor ; and in 1806 he was King of Italy, and his three brothers were made ruling monarchs. He was upon the full tide of his success and conquests, and a large part of continental Europe was now 1 Robert Fulton was born in Pennsylvania, in 1765, and was a student of "West, the great painter, for several years. He had more genius for mechanics than the fine arts, and when he turned his efforts in that direction, he became very successful. He died hi 1815, soon after launch- ing a steamship of war, at the age of fifty years. At that time there were six steamboats afloat on the Hudson, and he was building a steamship, designed for a voyage to St. Petersburg, in Russia. 8 Page 366. * This was the Clermont, Fulton's experimental boat. It was one hundred feet in length, twelve feet in width, and seven in depth. The engine was constructed by "Watt and Bolton, in England, and the hull was made by David Brown, of New York. The following advertisement appeared in the Albany Gazette, September 1st, 1807: "The North River Steamboat will leave Paulus's Hook [Jersey City] on Friday, the 4th of September, at 9 in the morning, and arrive at Albany on Satur- day, at 9 in the afternoon. Provisions, good berths, and accommodations are provided. The charge to each passenger is as follows : "To Newburg, dollars, 3, time, 14 hours. " Poughkeepsie, " 4, " 17 " " Esopus, " 5, " 20 " " Hudson, " 5i, " 30 " " Albany, " 7, " 36 " 4 Page 380. 400 THE NATION. [1801. prostrate at his feet. Although England had joined the continental powers against him [1803], in order to crush the Democratic revolution commenced in France, and the English navy had almost destroyed the French power at sea, all Europe was yet trembling in his presence. But the United States, by maintaining a strict neutrality, neither coveted his favors nor feared his power ; at the same time American shipping being allowed free intercourse between English and French ports, enjoyed the vast advantages of a profitable carrying trade between them. The belligerents, in their anxiety to damage each other, ceased, in time, to respect the laws of nations toward neutrals, and adopted measures at once destructive to American commerce, and in violation of the most sacred rights of the United States. In this matter, Great Britain took the lead. By an order in council, 1 that government declared [May 16, 1806] the whole coast of Europe, from the Elbe, in Germany, to Brest, in France, to be in a state of blockade. Napoleon retaliated by issuing [November 21] a decree at Berlin, which declared all the ports of the British islands to be in a state of blockade. This was intended as a blow against England's maritime superiority, and it was 1 The British privy council consists of an indefinite number of gentlemen, chosen by the sover- eign, and haying no direct connection with the cabinet ministers. The sovereign may, under the advice of this council, issue orders or proclamations which, if not contrary to existing laws, are binding upon the subjects. These are for temporary purposes, and are called Orders in Council. 1809.] JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 401 the beginning of what he termed the continental system, the chief object of which was the ruin of Great Britain. The latter, by another order [January 7, 1807], prohibited all coast trade with France; and thus the gamesters played with the world's peace and prosperity. In spite of pacific attempts to put an end to these ungenerous measures, American vessels were seized by both English and French cruisers, and American commerce dwindled to a domestic coast trade. 1 The United States lacked a navy to protect her commerce on the ocean, and the swarms of gun-boats" which Con- gress, from time to time, had authorized as a substitute, A FELUCCA GUN-BOAT. were quite inefficient, even as a coast-guard. The American merchants and all in their interest, so deeply injured by the " orders" and "decrees" of the warring monarchs, demanded redress of griev- ances. Great excitement prevailed throughout the country, and the most bitter feeling was beginning to be felt against Great Britain. This was increased by her haughty assertion and offensive practice of the doctrine that she had the right to search American vessels for suspected deserters from the British navy, and to carry away the suspected without hinderance. 8 This right was strenu- ously denied, and its policy vehemently condemned, because American seamen might be thus forced into the British service, under the pretense that they were deserters. Indeed this had already happened. 4 Clouds of difficulty now gathered thick and black. A crisis approached. Four seamen on board the United States frigate Chesapeake, were claimed as deserters from the British armed ship Melampus* They were demanded, but Commodore Barron, of the Chesapeake, refused to give them up. The 1 In May, 1806, James Monroe [page 447] and "William Pinkney, were appointed to assist in the negotiation of a treaty with Great Britain, concerning the rights of neutrals, the imprisonment of seamen, right of search, &c. A treaty was finally signed, but as it did not offer security to American vessels against the aggressions of British ships in searching them and carrying off seamen, Mr. Jefferson refused to submit it to the Senate, and rejected it. The Federalists condemned the course of the President, but subsequent events proved his wisdom. Mr. Pinkney, one of the special envoys, was a remarkable man. He was born at Annapolis, Maryland, in March, 1764. He was admitted to the bar, at the age of twenty-two years, and became one of the most profound states- men and brilliant orators of the age. He was a member of the Maryland Senate, in 1811, when President Madison appointed him Attorney-General for the United States. He was elected a member of Congress, and in 1816 was appointed United States minister to St. Petersburg. After a short service in the Senate, his health gave way, and he died in February, 1822, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. 4 These were small sailing vessels, having a cannon at the bow and stern, and manned by fully armed men, for the purpose of boarding other vessels. * England maintains the doctrine that a British subject can never become an alien. At the time hi question, she held that she had the right to take her native-born subjects wherever found, and place them in the army or navy, even though, by legal process, they had become citizens of another nation. Our laws give equal protection to the native and adopted citizen, and would not allow Great Britain to exercise her asserted privilege toward a Briton who had become a citizen of the United States. * During nine months, in the years 1796 and 1797, Mr. King [page 395], the American minis- ter in London, had made application for the release of two hundred and seventy-one seamen (a greater portion of whom were Americans), who had been seized on the false charge of being desert- ers, and pressed into the British service. 8 A small British squadron, of which the Melampus was one, was lying in Lynn Haven Bay, at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, at this time. It was commanded by Admiral Berkeley. 26 402 THE NATION. [1801. Chesapeake left the capes of Virginia on a cruise, on the 22d of June, 1807, and on the same day she was chased and attacked by the British frigate Leopard. Unsuspicious of danger and unprepared for an attack, Barron sur- rendered his vessel, after losing three men killed and eighteen wounded. The four men were then taken on board the Leopard, and the Chesapeake returned to Hampton Roads. 1 Investigation proved that three of the seamen, who were colored men, were native Americans, and that the fourth had been impressed into the British service, and had deserted. Forbearance was no longer a virtue. The outrage upon the Chesapeake aroused the nation, and provoked retaliatory measures. All parties joined in one loud voice of indignation, and many were very anxious for a declaration of war with England. The President, however, proposed a pacific course, as long as any hope for justice or reconciliation remained. He issued a proclamation, in July [1807], ordering all British armed vessels to leave the waters of the United States immediately, and forbidding any one to enter until full satisfac- tion for the present insult, and security against future aggressions, should be made. Although the British government understood the attack on the Chesa- peake as an outrage, yet diplomacy, which is seldom honest, was immediately employed to mistify the plain question of law and right.* In the mean while, France and England continued to play their desperate game, to the detriment of commerce, unmindful of the interests of other nations, or the obligations of international law. A British order in council 3 was issued on the llth of November, 1807, forbidding neutral nations to trade with France or her allies, except upon payment of tribute to Great Britain. Napoleon retaliated, by issuing, on the 17th of December, a decree at Milan, forbidding all trade with England or her colonies ; and authorizing the confiscation of any vessel found in his ports, which had submitted to English search, or paid the exacted tribute. In other words, any vessel having goods upon which any impost whatever should have been paid to Great Britain, should be denationalized, and subject to seizure and condemnation. These edicts were, of course, destruct- ive to the principal part of the foreign commerce of the United States. In this critical state of affairs, the President convened Congress several weeks [Oct. 25, 1807] earlier than usual ; and in a confidential message [December 18], he recommended to that body the passage of an act, levying a commercial embargo. Such an act was passed [December 22], which provided for the de- tention of all vessels, American and foreign, at our ports ; and ordered Ameri- can vessels abroad to return home immediately, that the seamen might be 1 Page 29f. a The President forwarded instructions to Mr. Monroe, our minister to England, to demand im- mediate satisfaction for the outrage, and security against similar events in future. Great Britain thereupon dispatched an envoy extraordinary (Mr. Rose) to the United States, to settle the diffi- culty in question. The envoy would not enter into negotiations until the President should with- draw his proclamation, and so the matter stood until November, 1811 (more than four years), when the British government declared the attack on the Chesapeake to have been unauthorized, and pro- mised pecuniary aid to the families of those who were killed at that time. But Britain would not relinquish the right of search, and so a cause for quarrel remained. * Note 1, page 400. 1809.] JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 403 trained for the inevitable war. Thus the chief commerce of the world was brought to a full stop. The operation of the embargo law was the occasion of great distress, especi- ally in commercial communities, yet it was sustained by the great body of the American people. It put patriotism and firmness to a severe test. It bore extremely hard upon seamen and their employers, for it spread ruin throughout the shipping interest. It was denounced by the Federal party, chiefly for polit- ical effect ;' and as it failed to obtain from England and France any acknowl- edgment of American rights, it was repealed on the 1st of March, 1809, three days before Mr. Jefferson retired from office. Congress, at the same time, passed [March 1, 1809] a law which forbade all commercial intercourse with France and England, until the "orders in council" and the "decrees'' should O * be repealed. 1 Mr. Jefferson truly wrote to a friend : " The Federalists are now playing a game of the most mischievous tendency, without, perhaps, being themselves aware of it. They are endeavoring to convince England that we suffer more from the embargo than they do, and that, if they will hold out awhile, we must abandon it. It is true, the time will come when we must abandon it ; but if this is before the repeal of the orders in council, we must abandon it only for a state of war." John Quincy Adams, who had resigned his seat in the Senate of the United States, because he dif- fered from the majority of his constituents in supporting the measures of the administration, wrote to the President to the effect, that from information received by him, it was the determination of the ruling party (Federalists) in Massachusetts, and even throughout New England, if the embargo was persisted in, no longer to submit to it, but to separate themselves from the Union ; and that such was the pressure of the embargo upon the community, that they would be supported by the people. This was explicitly denied, in after years, by the Federalist leaders. 404 THE NATION. [1809. In the midst of the excitement on account of the foreign relations of the United States, another Presidential election was held. Who should be the Dem- ocratic candidate ? was a question of some difficulty, the choice lying between Messrs. Madison and Monroe, of Virginia. For some time, a portion of the Dem- ocratic party in that State, under the leadership of the eminent John Randolph, 1 of Roanoke, had differed from the Administration on some points of its foreign policy; yet, while they acted with the Federalists on many occasions, they studiously avoided identification with that party. Mr. Madison was the firm adherent of Jefferson, and an advocate and apologist of his measures, while Mr. Monroe rather favored the views of Mr. Randolph and his friends. The strength of the two candidates was tried in a caucus of the Democratic members of the Virginia Legislature, and also in a caucus of the Democratic members of Con- gress. Mr. Madison, having a large majority on both occasions, was nominated for the office of President, and George Clinton for that of Vice-President. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Rufus King were the Federalist candidates. Madison and Clinton were elected. At the close of eight years' service, as Chief Magistrate of the United States, Mr. Jefferson left office [March 4, 1809], and retired to his beautiful Monticello, in the bosom of his native Virginia. CHAPTER IV. MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. [1809 181 T.] WHEN James Madison, the fourth President of the Republic, took the chair of state, the country was overspread with gloom and despondency. Although somewhat highly colored, the report of a committee of the Massachu- setts Legislature, in January, 1809, gives, doubtless, a fair picture of the con- dition of affairs. It said: "Our agriculture is discouraged; the fisheries abandoned; navigation forbidden; our commerce at home restrained, if not 1 John Randolph was seventh in descent from Pocahontas [page 66], the beloved daughter of the emperor of the Powhatans. He was born at Petersburg, in Virginia, in June, 1773. He wag in delicate health from infancy. He studied in Columbia College, New York, and "William and Mary College, in Virginia. Law was his chosen profession ; yet he was too fond of literature and politics to be confined to its practice. He entered public life in 1799, when he was elected to a Beat in Congress, where he was a representative of his native State, in the lower House, for thirty years, with the exception of three intervals of two years each. During that time he was a member of the Senate for two years. He opposed the war in 1812. His political course was erratic. Jackson appointed him minister to St. Petersburg in 1830. His health would not permit him to remain there. On his return he was elected to Congress, but consumption soon laid him in the grave. He died at Philadelphia, in May, 1 833. Mr. Randolph was a strange compound of moral and intellectual qualities. He was at times almost an atheist ; at others, he was imbued with the deepest emotions of piety and reverence for Deity. It is said that, on one occasion, he ascended a lofty spur of the Blue Ridge, at dawn, and from that magnificent observatory saw the sun rise. As its light burst in beauty and glory over the vast panorama before him, he turned to his servant and said, with deep emotion, "Tom, if any body says there is no God, tell them they liel" Thus he expressed the deep sense which hia soul felt of the presence of a Great Creator. 8 Page. 447. 1817.] MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 405 'annihilated; our commerce abroad cut off; our navy sold, dismantled, or degraded to the service of cutters, or gun-boats; 1 the revenue extinguished; the course of justice interrupted; and the nation weakened by internal animos- ities and divisions, at the moment when it is unnecessarily and improvidently exposed to war with Great Britain, France, and Spain." This was the lan- guage of the opponents of the administration, and must be taken with some allowance. That party was strongly opposed to Mr. Madison, because they believed that he would perpetuate the policy of Mr. Jefferson. But when, dressed in a suit of plain black, he modestly pronounced his inaugural address [March 4, 1809], the tone and sentiment of which fell like oil upon the troubled waters, those of his most implacable political enemies who heard him, could not refrain from uttering words of approbation ; and hopes were enter- tained by the whole nation, that his measures might change the gloomy aspect of affairs. To all unbiassed minds, no man appeared better fitted for the office of Chief Magistrate of the Republic, at that time of general commotion, than Mr. Mad- ison. 8 He had been Secretary of State during the wt ole administration of Mr. 1 Page 401. 8 James Madison was born in Virginia, in March, 1751. He was educated at Princeton, New Jersey, and was diverted from the intended practice of the law by the charms and excitements of political life. He assisted in framing the first Constitution of Virginia, in 1776. He was a mem- ber of his State Legislature and of the Executive Council, and in 1780 was a delegate in the Conti- nental Congress. In public life, there, and in his State councils, he was ever the champion of popular liberty. As a member of the National Convention, and supporter of the Constitution, he 406 THE NATION. [1809. i Jefferson, and was familiar with every event which had contributed to produce the existing hostile relations between the United States and Great Britain. His cabinet was composed of able men, 1 and in the eleventh Congress, which convened on the 22d of May, 1809,' in consequence of the critical state of affairs, 2 there was a majority of his political friends. Yet there was a powerful party in the country (the Federalists) hostile to his political creed, and opposed to a war with England, which now seemed probable. At the very beginning of Madison's administration, light beamed upon the future. Mr. Erskine, the British minister, assured the President, that such portions of the orders in council 3 as affected the United States, should be repealed by the 10th of June. He also assured him that a special envoy would soon arrive, to settle all matters in dispute between the two governments. Supposing the minister to be authorized by his government to make these assurances, the President, as empowered by Congress, issued a proclamation [April 19, 1809], permitting a renewal of commercial intercourse with Great Britain, on that day. But the government disavowed Erskine' s act, and the President again [August 10] proclaimed non-intercourse. The light had proved deceitful. This event caused great excitement in the public mind ; and had the President then declared war against Great Britain, it would doubtless have been very popular. Causes for irritation between the two governments continually increased, and, for a time, political intercourse was suspended. France, too, continued its aggressions. On the 23d of March, 1810, Bonaparte issued a decree at Rambouillet, more destructive in its operations to American commerce, than any measures hitherto employed. It declared forfeit every American vessel which had entered French ports since March, 1810, or that might thereafter enter ; and authorized the sale of the same, together with the cargoes the money to be placed in the French treasury. Under this decree, many American vessels were lost, for which only partial remuneration has since been obtained. 4 Bona- parte justified this decree by the plea, that it was made in retaliation for the American decree of non-intercourse. 5 Three months later [May, 1810], Con- gress offered to resume commercial intercourse with either France or England, or both, on condition that they should repeal their obnoxious orders and decrees, before the 3d of March, 1811." The French emperor, who was always governed by expediency, in defiance of right and justice, feigned compliance, and by giving assurance [August] that such repeal should take effect in Novem- was one of the wisest and ablest; and his voluminous writings, purchased by Congress, display the most sagacious statesmanship. As a Republican, he was conservative. For eight years he was President of the United States, when he retired to private life. He died in June, 1836, at the age of eighty-five years. 1 Robert Smith, Secretary of State; Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury; "William Eustis, Secretary of War; Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy; Caesar Rodney, Attorney-General. Its session lasted only about five weeks, because peace seemed probable. 8 Note 1, page 400. 4 Page 468. * Page 402. * The act provided, that if either government should repeal its obnoxious acts, and if the other government should not do the same within three months thereafter, then the first should enjoy commercial intercourse with the United States, but the other should not. 1817.] MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 407 ber, caused the President to proclaim such resumption of intercourse. It was a promise intended to be broken at any moment when policy should dictate. American vessels continued to be seized by French cruisers, as usual, and con- fiscated ; and in March, 1811, Napoleon declared the decrees of Berlin 1 and Milan" to be the fundamental laws of the empire. A new envoy from France, who arrived in the United States at about this time, gave official notice to the government, that no remuneration would be made for property seized and con- fiscated. The government of Great Britain acted more honorably, though wickedly. She continued her hostile orders, and sent ships of war to cruise near the prin- cipal ports of the United States, to intercept American merchant vessels and send them to England as lawful prizes. While engaged in this nefarious busi- ness, the British sloop of war 8 Little Belt, Captain Bingham, was met [May 16, 1811], off the coast of Virginia, by the American frigate President, Com- modore Rogers. 4 That officer hailed the commander of the sloop, and received a cannon shot in reply. A brief action ensued, when Captain Bingham, after having eleven men killed and twenty-one wounded, gave a satisfactory answer to Rogers. The conduct of both officers was approved by their respective gov- ernments. That of the United States condemned the act of Bingham as an outrage without palliation ; arid the government and people felt willing to take up arms in defense of right, justice, and honor. Powerful as was the navy of Great Britain, and weak as was that of the United States, the people of the latter were willing to accept of war as an alternative for submission, and to measure strength on the ocean. The British navy consisted of almost nine hundred vessels, with an aggregate of one hundred and forty-four thousand men. The American vessels of war, of large size, numbered only twelve, with an aggregate of about three hundred guns. Besides these, there were a great number of gun-boats, but these were hardly sufficient for a coast-guard. Here was a great disparity ; and for a navy so weak to defy a navy so strong, seemed madness. It must be remembered, however, that the British navy was necessarily very much scattered, for that government had interests to protect in various parts of the globe. The protracted interruption of commercial operations was attended with very serious effect upon the trade and revenue of the United States, and all parties longed for a change, even if it must be brought about by war with European governments. The Congressional elections in 1810 and 1811, proved that the policy of Mr. Madison's administration was sustained by a large ma- jority of the American people, the preponderance of the Democratic party being kept up in both branches of the National Legislature. The opposition, who, as a party, were unfavorable to hostilities, were in a decided minority; and the government had more strength in its councils than at any tune during Jefferson's administration. For several years war with England had seemed inevitable, and now [1811] 1 Page 400. 8 Page 402. ' Page 415. 4 He died in the Naval Asylum, Philadelphia, in August, 1838. 408 THE NATION. [1809. many causes were accelerating the progress of events toward such a result. Among these, the hostile position of the Indian tribes on the north-western frontier of the United States, was one of the most powerful. They, too, had felt the pressure of Bonaparte's commercial system. In consequence of the exclusion of their furs from the continental markets, the Indian hunters found their traffic reduced to the lowest point. The rapid extension of settlements north of the Ohio was narrowing their hunting-grounds, and producing a rapid diminution of game ; and the introduction of whiskey, by the white people, was spreading demoralization, disease, and death among the Indians. These evils, combined with the known influence of British emissaries, finally led to open hostilities. In the spring of 1811, it was known that Tecumtha, a Shawnoe 1 chief, who was crafty, intrepid, unscrupulous, and cruel, and who possessed the qual- ities of a great leader, almost equal to those of Pontiac, 2 was endeavoring to emulate that great Ottawa by confederating the tribes of the north-west in a war against the people of the United States. Those over whom himself and twin-brother, the Prophet, 8 exercised the greatest control, were the Delawares, Shawnoese, Wyandots, Miamies, Kickapoos, Winnebagoes, and Chippewas. During the summer, the frontier settlers became so alarmed by the continual military and religious exercises of the savages, that General Harrison, 5 then governor of the Indiana Territory," marched, with a considerable force, toward the town of the Prophet, situated at the junction of the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers, in the upper part of Tippecanoe county, Indiana. The Prophet appeared and proposed a conference, but Harrison, suspecting treach- ery, caused his soldiers to sleep on their arms [Nov. 6, 1811] that night. At four o'clock the next morning [Nov. 7] the savages fell upon the American camp, but after a bloody battle until dawn, the Indians were repulsed. The battle of Tippecanoe was one of the most desperate ever fought with the Indians, and the loss was heavy on both sides. 7 Tecumtha was not present on this occa- sion, and it is said the Prophet took no part in the engagement. These events, so evidently the work of British interference, aroused the spirit of the nation, and throughout the entire West, and in the Middle and Southern States, there was a desire for war. Yet the administration fully appreciated the deep responsibility involved in such a step ; and having almost the entire body of the New England people in opposition, the President and his friends hesitated. The British orders in council 3 continued to be rigorously enforced ; insult after insult was offered to the American flag ; and the British press insolently boasted that the United States "could not be kicked into a 1 Page 19. Page 204. 9 In 1809, Governor Harrison had negotiated a treaty with the Miamies [page 19] and other tribes, by which they sold to the United States a large tract of land on both sides of the Wabash. The Prophet was present and made no objection ; but Tecumtha, who was absent, was greatly dissatisfied. The British emissaries took advantage of this dissatisfaction, to inflame him and his people against the Americans. 4 Page 17. Page 474. " Note 4, page 390. 7 Harrison had upward of sixty killed, and more than a hundred wounded. 8 Note 1, page 400. 1817.] MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 409 war." Forbearance became no longer a virtue ; and on the 4th of April, 1812, Congress laid another embargo 1 upon vessels in American waters, for ninety days. On the 1st of June, the President transmitted a special message to Congress, in which he reviewed the difficulties with Great Britain, strongly portrayed the aggressions inflicted upon us by that nation, and intimated the necessity of war. The message was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, in the House of Representatives, a majority of whom* agreed upon, and reported a manifesto [June 3], as the basis of a declaration of war. On the following day [June 4, 1812], a bill, drawn up by Mr. Pinekney, the Attorney-General of the United States, 3 declaring war to exist between the United States and Great Britain, was presented by Mr. Calhoun. During the proceedings on this subject, Congress sat with closed doors. The measure was- finally agreed to, by both Houses, by fair majorities. It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 79 to 49. On the 17th it passed the Senate by a vote of 19 to 13, and on that day it received the signature of the President. 4 Two days afterward [June 19], the President issued a proclamation which formally declared war against Groat Britain. 6 This is known in history as THE WAR OF 1812; or THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE." Congress, having authorized the President to declare war, took immediate measures to sustain that declaration. It passed an act which gave him author- ity to enlist twenty-five thousand men, to accept fifty thousand volunteers, and to call out one hundred thousand militia for the defense of the sea-coast and frontiers. Fifteen millions of dollars were appropriated for the army, and almost three millions for the navy. But at the very threshhold of the new order 1 Page 402. Four days after this [April 8] Louisiana was admitted into the Union as a State. a John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina ; Felix Grundy, of Tennessee ; John Smilie, of Pennsyl- vania ; John A. Harper, of New Hampshire ; Joseph Desha, of Kentucky ; and Ebenezer Seaver, of Massachusetts. 3 Page 400. 4 The following are the words of that important bill : "Be it enacted, efc., That war be, and the same is hereby declared to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and then- Territories ; and that the President of the United States is hereby authorized to use the whole land and naval force of the United States to carry the same into effect, and to issue to private armed vessels of the United States, commissions, or letters of marque, and general reprisal, in such form as he shall think proper, and under the seal of the United States, against the vessels, goods, and effects of the government of the said United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the subjects thereof." 6 The chief causes for this act were the impressment of American seamen by the British ; the blockade of French ports without an adequate force to sustain the act; and the British Orders in Council. The Federalists in Congress presented an ably- written protest, which denied the necessity or the expediency of war. 8 This is an appropriate title, for, until the termination of that war, the United States were only nominally free. Blessed with prosperity, the people dreaded war, and submitted to many acts of tyranny and insult from Great Britain and France, rather than become involved in another conflict. Socially and commercially, the United States were dependent upon Europe, and especially upon England ; and the latter was rapidly acquiring a dangerous political interest here, when the war broke out. The war begun in 1775 was really only the first great step toward independence; the war begun in 1812, first thoroughly accomplished it Franklin once heard a person speaking of the Revolution as the War of Independence, and reproved him, saying, " Sir, you mean the Revolu- tion ; the war of Independence is yet to come. It was a war for Independence, but not of Inde- pendence." 410 THE NATION. [1809. of things, the administration was met by .determined opposition. The Federal members of the House of Representatives published an address to their con- stituents, in which they set forth the state of the country at that time, the course of the administration and its supporters in Congress, and the reasons of the minority for opposing the war. This was fair and honorable. But outside of Congress, a party, composed chiefly of Federalists, with some disaffected Democrats, was organized under the name of the Peace party. Its object was to cast such obstructions in the way of the prosecution of the war, as to compel the government to make peace. This movement, so unpatriotic, the offspring of the lowest elements of faction, was frowned upon by the most respectable members of the Federal party, and some of them gave the government their hearty support, when it was necessary, in order to arry on the war with vigor and effect. The first care of the government, in organizing the army, was to select efficient officers. Nearly all of the general officers of the Revolution were in their graves, or were too old for service, and even those of subordinate rank in that war, who yet remained, were far advanced in life. Yet upon them the chief duties of leadership were devolved. Henry Dearborn 1 was appointed major- general and commander-in- chief; and his principal brigadiers were James Wilkinson, 2 Wade Hampton, 3 William Hull, 4 and Joseph Bloomfield all of them esteemed soldiers of the Revolution. Hull was governor of the Territory of Michigan, and held the commission of a brigadier-general. When war was declared, he was marching, with a little more GENERAL DEARBORN. than two thousand troops, from Ohio, to attempt the subjugation of the hostile Indians. 5 Congress gave him discretionary powers for invading Canada; but caution and preparation were necessary, because the British authorities, a long time in expectation of war, had taken measures accordingly. 8 Feeling strong enough for the enemy, Hull, on the 12th of July, 1812, crossed the Detroit River with his whole force, to attack Fort Maiden, a British post near the present village of Amherst- burg. At Sandwich, he encamped, and by a fatal delay, lost every advantage which an immediate attack might have secured. In the mean while, Fort 1 Henry Dearborn was a native of New Hampshire, and a meritorious officer jn the continental army. He accompanied Arnold to Quebec, and was distinguished in the battles which ruined Burgoyne [page 281]. He held civil offices of trust after the Revolution. He returned to private life in 1815, and died at Roxbury, near Boston, in 1829, at the age of seventy-eight years. ; Pages 396 and 426. * Note 3, page 427. Note 4, page 411. * Page 408. Canada then consisted of two provinces. The old French settlements on the St. Lawrence, with a population of about three hundred thousand, constituted Lower Canada ; while the more recent settlements above Montreal, and chiefly upon the northern shore of Lake Ontario, including about one hundred thousand inhabitants, composed Upper Canada These were principally the families of American loyalists, who were compelled to leave the States at the close of the Revolu- tion. Then each province had its own governor and Legislature. The regular military force, which was scattered over a space of more than a thousand miles, did not exceed two thousand men; hence the British commanders were compelled to call for volunteers, and they used the Indiana to good efiect, in their favor. IF 1817.] MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 411 Mackinaw, one of the strongest posts of the United States in the north- west, 1 was surprised and captured [July 17, 1812] by an allied force of British and Indians ; and on the 5th of August, a detachment under Major Van Home, sent by Hull to escort an approaching supply-party to camp, were defeated by some British and Indians near Brownstown, on the Huron River.* These events, and the reinforcement of the garrison at Maiden, by General Brock, the British commander-in-chief, caused Hull to recross the river on the 7th of August, abandon the expedition against Canada, and take post at Detroit, much to the disappointment of his troops, who were anxious to measure strength with the enemy. On the 9th of August, General Brock crossed the river with seven hundred British troops and six hundred Indians, and demanded an instant surrender of Detroit, threatening at the same time to give free rein to Indian cruelty in the event of refusal. Hull's excessive prudence determined him to surrender, rather than expose his troops to the hatchet. When the assailants approached, and at the moment when the Americans were hoping for and expecting a com- mand to fire, he ordered his troops to retire within the fort, and hung a white flag upon the wall, in token of submission. The army, fort, stores, garrison, and Territory, were all surrendered [August 16, 1812], to the astonishment of the victor himself, and the deep mortification of the American troops. Hull was afterward tried by a court-martial 3 [1814], on charges of treason v and cow- ardice. He was found guilty of the latter, and sentenced to be shot, but was pardoned by the President on account of his revolutionary services. The whole country severely censured him ; and the rage of the war party, increased by the taunts of the Federalists, because of the disastrous termination of one of the first expeditions of the campaign, was unbounded. The difficulties with which Hull was surrounded his small force (only about eight hundred effective men) ; the inexperience of his officers, and the rawness of his troops ; his lack of infor- mation, because of the interception of his communications ; and the number and character of the enemy were all kept out of sight, while bitter denunciations were poured upon his head. In after years, he was permitted fully to vindicate his character, and the- sober judgment of this generation, guided by historic truth, must acquit him of all crime, and even serious error, and pity him as a victim of untoward circumstances.* 1 Formerly spelled Michilimackinac. It was situated upon an island of that name, near the Straits of Mackinaw or Michilimakinac. * On the 8th, Colonel Miller and several hundred men, sent by Hull to accomplish the object of Yan Home, met and defeated Tecumtha [page 408] and his Indians, with a party of British, neai the scene of Van Home's failure. 3 He was taken to Montreal a prisoner, and was afterward exchanged for thirty British cap. tives. He was tried at Albany, New York. * Hull published his Vindication in 1824; and in 1848, his grandson published a large octavo volume, giving a full and thorough vindication of the character of the general, the material foi which was drawn from official records. Hull's thorough knowledge of the character of the foe who menaced him, and a humane desire to spare his troops, was doubtless his sole reason for surrender- ing the post. A good and brave man has too long suffered the reproaches of history. William Hull was born in Connecticut in 1753. He rose to the rank of major in the continental army, and was distinguished for his bravery. He was appointed governor of the Michigan Territory hi 1805. After the close of his unfortunate campaign, he never appeared in public life. He died near Boston in 1825. THE NATION. [1809. At about this time, a tragedy occurred near the head of Lake Michigan, -which sent a thrill of horror through the land. Captain Heald, with a com- pany of fifty regulars, occupied Fort Dearborn, on the site of the present large city of Chicago. 1 Hull ordered him to evacuate that post in the deep wilderness, and hasten to Detroit. He left the public property in charge of friendly Indians, but had proceeded only a short distance from the fort, along the beach, when he was attacked by a body of Indians. Twenty-six of the reg- ular troops, and all of the militia, were slaughtered. A number of women and children were murdered and scalped ; and Captain Heald, with his wife, though severely wounded, escaped to Michilimackinac." His wife also received six wounds, but none proved mortal. This event occurred on the day before Hull's surrender [Aug. 15, 1812] at Detroit, and added to the gloom that overspread, and the indignation that flashed through, the length and breadth of the land. "While these misfortunes were befalling the Army of the North-west, 3 the opponents of the war were casting obstacles in the way of the other divisions of the American troops operating in the State of New York, and preparing for another invasion of Canada. 4 The governors of Massachusetts, New Hamp- shire, and Connecticut, refused to allow the militia of those States to march to the northern frontier on the requisition of the President of the United States. They defended their unpatriotic position by the plea that such a requisition was unconstitutional, and that the war was unnecessary. The British government, in the mean time, had declared the whole American coast in a state of block- ade, except that of the New England States, whose apparent sympathy with the enemies of their country, caused them to be regarded as ready to leave the Union, and become subject to the British crown. But there was sterling patriotism sufficient there to prevent such a catastrophe, even if a movement, so fraught with evil, had been contemplated. Yet the effect was chilling to the best friends of the country, and the President felt the necessity of extreme cir- cumspection. Unmindful of the intrigues of its foes, however, the administration perse- vered; and during the summer of 1812, a plan was matured for invading Can- ada on the Niagara frontier. The militia of the Staje of New York were placed, by Governor Tompkins, under the command of Stephen Van Rensselaer, 5 1 Chicago is built upon the verge of Lake Michigan and the borders of a great prairie, and is one of the wonders of the material and social progress of the United States. The Pottawatomie Indians [page 18], by treaty, left that spot to the white people in 1833. The city was laid out in 1830, and lots were first sold in 1831. In 1840, the population was 4,470. Now [1867] it can not be less thanl80,0001 " Page 411. 8 The forces under General Harrison were called the Army of (he North-west; those under Gen- eral Stephen Van Rensselaer, at Lewiston, on the Niagara River, the Army of the Center ; and those under General Dearborn, at Plattsburg and at Greenbush, near Albany, the Army of the North. * Page 410. 6 Stephen Yan Rensselaer, a lineal descendant of one of the earliest and best known of the Patroons [note 10, page 139] of the State of New York, was born at the manor-house, near Albany, in November, 1764. The War for Independence had just closed when he* came into possession of his immense estate, at the age of twenty-one years. He engaged in politics, was a warm supporter of the National Constitution, and was elected Lieutenant-Governor of New York in 1795. He was very little engaged in politics after the defeat of the Federal party in 1800 [page 388]. After the Second "War for Independence, he was elected to a seat in Congress; and, by his casting vote In the New York delegation, he gave the Presidency of the United States to John Quincy Adams. 1817.] MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 413 who was commissioned a Major-General. Intelligence of the surrender of Hull 1 had inspired the Americans with a strong desire to wipe out the disgrace ; and the regiments were filled without much difficulty. These forces were concen- trated chiefly at Lewiston, on the Niagara frontier, under Van Rensselaer, and at Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain, and Greenbush, near Albany, under General Dearborn. The first demonstration against the neighboring province was made on the Niagara, in mid-autumn. In anticipation of such movement, British troops were strongly posted on the heights of Queenstown, opposite Lewiston ; and on the morning of the 13th of October [1812], two hundred and twenty-five men, under Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, " crossed over to attack them. The commander was severely wounded, at the landing ; but his troops pressed for- ward, under Captains Wool" and Ogilvie, successfully assaulted a battery near Here closed his political life, and he passed the remainder of his days in the performance of social and Christian duties. He was" for several years president of the Board of Canal Commissioners, and, while in that office, he died in January, 1840, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. 1 Page 411. * Solomon Van Rensselaer was one of the bravest and best men of his time; and to his efforts, more than to those of any other man, the salvation of the American army on the northern frontier, at this time, was due. He died at Albany on the 3d of April, 1852. ' John E. Wool, now [1856] Major-General in the army of the United States. 414 THE NATION. [1809. the summit of the hill, and gained possession of Queenstown Heights. But the victory was not yet complete. General Sir Isaac Brock had come from Fort George, and with six hundred men attempted to regain the battery. The British were repulsed, and Brock was killed. 1 In the mean while, General Stephen Van Rensselaer, who had crossed over, returned to Lewiston, and was using his most earnest efforts to send reinforcements ; but only about one thou- sand troops, many of them quite undisciplined, could be induced to cross the river. These were attacked in the afternoon [Oct. 13, 1812] by fresh troops from Fort George, and some of their Indian allies. Many were killed and the rest were made prisoners, while at least fifteen hundred of their companions-in- arms cowardly refused to cross to their aid. The latter excused their conduct by the plea, put into their mouths by the opponents of the war, that they considered it wrong to invade the enemy's country, the war being avowedly a defensive one. The enemies of the administration applauded them for their conscientiousness, while a victory that might have led to reconciliation and peace, was lost at the winning moment. General Van Rensselaer, disgusted with the inefficiency everywhere displayed, left the service, and was succeeded by General Alex- ander Smyth, of Virginia. This officer accomplished nothing of importance during the remainder of the season ; and when the troops went into winter quarters [Dec.], there appeared to have been very few achievements made by the American army worthy of honorable mention in history. While the army was suffering defeats, and became, in the mouths of the opponents of the administration, a staple rebuke, the little navy had acquitted itself nobly, and the national honor and prowess had been fully vindicated upon the ocean. At this time the British navy numbered one thousand and sixty vessels, while that of the United States, exclusive of gun-boats, 2 numbered only twenty. Two of these were unseaworthy, and one was on Lake Ontario. Nine of the American vessels were of a class less than frigates, and all of them could not well compare in appointments with those of the enemy. Yet the Americans were not dismayed by this disparity, but went out boldly in their ships to meet the war vessels of the proudest maritime nation upon the earth. 8 Victory after victory told of their skill and prowess. On the 19th of August, 1812, the United States frigate Constitution, Commodore Isaac Hull, 4 fought the British frigate Guerriere, 6 Captain Dacres, off the American coast, in the present track of ships to Great Britain. The contest continued about forty minutes, when 1 Sir Isaac Brock was a brave and generous officer. There is a fine monument erected to his memory on Queenstown Heights, a short distance from the Niagara River. 9 Page 401. * At the time of the declaration of war, Commodore Rogers [page 407] was at Sandy Hook, New York, with a small squadron, consisting of the frigates President, Congress, United States, and the sloop-of-war Hornet. He put to sea on the 21st of June, in pursuit of a British squadron which had sailed as a convoy of the West India fleet. After a slight engagement, and a chase of several hours, the pursuit was abandoned at near midnight. The frigate Essex [page 430] went to sea on the 3d of July; the Constitution, on the 12th. The brigs Nautilus, Viper, and Vixen were then cruising off the coast, and the sloop Wasp was at sea on her return from France. 4 Isaac Hull was made a lieutenant in the navy in 1798, and was soon distinguished for skill and bravery. He rendered important service to his country, and died in Philadelphia in February, 1843. * This vessel had been one of a British squadron which gave the Constitution a long and close chase about a month before, during which the nautical skill of Hull was most signally displayed. 1817.] MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 415 Dacres surrendered; 1 and his vessel was such a complete wreck, that the victor burned her. The Constitution, it is said, was so little damaged, that she was ready for action the following day. This victory had a powerful effect on the public mind in both countries. On the 18th of October, 1812, the United States sloop-of-war, Wasp, Captain Jones, captured the British brig Frolic, off the coast of North Carolina, after a very severe conflict for three-quarters of an hour. The slaughter on board the Frolic was dreadful. Only three officers and one seaman, of eighty-four, remained unhurt. The others were killed or badly wounded. The Wasp lost only ten men. Her term of victory was short, for the same afternoon, the British seventy-four gun ship Poicfiers captured both vessels. A week afterward [October 25], the frigate BLOOP-OF-WAB. United States, Commodore Decatur," fought the British frigate Macedonian, west of the Canary Islands, for almost two hours. After being greatly damaged, and losing more than one hundred men, in killed and wounded, the Macedonian surrendered. Decatur lost only five killed and seven wounded ; and his vessel was very little injured. A few weeks after- ward [December 29, 1812], the Constitution, then commanded by Commodore Bainbridge, 3 became a victor, after combatting the British frigate Java for almost three hours, off San Salvador, on the coast of Brazil. The Java had four hundred men on board, of whom almost two hundred were killed or wounded. The Constitution was again very little injured ; but she made such havoc with the Java, that Bainbridge, finding her incapable of floating long, burned her [January 1, 1813], three days after the action. The Americans were greatly elated by these victories. Nor were they con- fined to the national vessels. Numerous privateers, which now swarmed upon the ocean, were making prizes in every direction, and accounts of their exploits filled the newspapers. It is estimated that during the year 1812, upward of fifty British armed vessels, and two hundred and fifty merchantmen, with an aggregate of more than three thousand prisoners, and a vast amount of booty, were captured by the Americans. These achievements wounded British pride in a tender part, for England claimed the appellation of "mistress of the seas." They also strengthened the administration; and at the close of the year, naval armaments were in preparation on the lakes, to assist the army in a projected invasion of Canada the following spring. At the close of these defeats upon land, and these victories upon the ocean, the election of President and Vice-President of the United States, and also of members of Congress, occurred. The administration was strongly sustained by the popular vote. Mr. Madison was re-elected, with Elbridge Gerry 4 as Vice- President George Clinton having died at Washington in April of that year.* 1 On the Guerriere were seventy-nine killed and wounded. The Constitution lost seven killed and seven wounded. ' Page 392. Page 39L Note 1, page 385. Note 5, page 350. 416 THB NATION. [1813. A fraction of the Democratic party, and most of the Federalists, voted for De Witt Clinton 1 for President, and Jared Ingersoll, for Vice-President. Not- withstanding the members of Congress then elected, were chiefly Democrats, it was evident that the opposition was powerful and increasing, particularly in the eastern States, yet the President felt certain that the great body of the people were favorable to his war policy. CHAPTER V. THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. [1813.] DURING the autumn of 1812, the whole western country, incensed by Hull's surrender, seemed filled with the zeal of the old Crusaders. 2 Michigan had to be recovered, 3 and the greatest warlike enthusiasm prevailed. Volun- teers had gathered under local leaders, in every settlement. Companies were formed and equipped in a single day, and were ready to march the next. For several weeks the volunteers found employment in driving the hostile Indians from post to post, in the vicinity of the extreme western settlements. They desolated their villages and plantations, after the manner of Sullivan, in 1779,* and the fiercest indignation against the white people was thus excited among the tribes, which, under the stimulus of their British allies, led to terrible retaliations. 6 So eager were the people for battle, that the snows of winter in the great wilderness, did not keep them from the field. The campaign of 1813 opened with the year. Almost the entire northern frontier of the United States was the chief theatre of operations. The army of the West, under General Harrison, 7 was concentrating at the head of Lake Erie ; that of the Centre, 8 now under Dearborn, was on the banks of the Niagara River; and that of the North* under Hampton, was on the borders of Lake Champlain. Sir George Prevost was the successor of Brock 10 in command of the British army in Canada, assisted by General Proctor in the direction of Detroit, 11 and by General Sheaffe in the vicinity of Montreal and the lower portions of Lake Champlain. Brave and experienced leaders had rallied to the standard of Harrison in the north-west. Kentucky sent swarms of her young men, from every social 1 Page 456. 9 Note 5, page 38. s Page 411. 4 Page 304. * Harrison early took steps to relieve the frontier posts. These were Fort Harrison, on the "Wabash; Fort "Wayne, on the Miami of the lakes; Fort Defiance [Note 6, page 374]; and Fort Deposit, to which the Indians laid siege on the 12th of September. Generals Winchester, Tupper, and Payne, and Colonels Wells, Scott, Lewis, Jennings, and Allen, were the chief leaders against the savages. Operations were carried on vigorously, further west. Early in October, almost four thousand volunteers, chiefly mounted riflemen, under General Hopkins, had collected at Vincennes [page 303] for an expedition against the towns of the Peoria and other Indians, in the Wabash country. It was this formidable expedition, sanctioned by Governor Shelby, which produced the greatest devastation in the Indian country. * Note 3, page 412. T Page 474. 8 Note 3, page 412. Note 3, page 412. 10 Page 411. M Page 412. 1813.] THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 417 rank, led by the veteran Shelby, 1 and the yeomanry of Ohio and its neighbor- hood hastened to the field. So numerous were the volunteers, that Harrison was compelled to issue an order against further enlistments, and many a warm heart, beating with desire for military glory, was chilled by disappointment. General Harrison chose the west end of Lake Erie as his chief place of muster, with the design of making a descent upon the British at Maiden and Detroit, 9 and by securing possession of those posts, recover Michigan and the forts west of it. Early in January [10th, 1813], General Winchester, on his way from the southward, with eight hundred young men, chiefly Kentuckians, reached the Maumee Rapids. 8 There he was informed [January 13, 1813] that a party of British and Indians had concentrated at Frenchtown, on the river Raisin, 4 twenty-five miles south of Detroit. He immediately sent a detachment, 1 Isaac Shelby was born in Maryland, in 1750. He entered military life in 1774, and went to Kentucky as a land-surveyor, in 1775. He engaged in the War of the Revolution, and was dis- tinguished in the battle on King's Mountain [page 319] in 1780. He was made governor of Ken- tucky in 1792, and soon afterward retired to private life, irom which he was drawn, first in 1812, to the duties of Chief Magistrate of his State, and again, in 1813, to lead an army to the field against his old enemy. He died in 1826, when almost seventy-six years of age. s Page 412. ' Note 7, page 374. 4 Now a portion of the flourishing village of Monroe, Michigan, two or three miles from Lake Erie. The Raisin derived its name from the fact, that in former years great quantities of grapes clustered upon its banks. 27 418 THE NATION. [1813. under Colonels Allen and Lewis, to protect the inhabitants in that direction. Finding Frenchtown in the possession of the enemy, they successfully attacked [January 18] and routed them, and held possession until the arrival of Win- chester [January 20], with almost three hundred men, two days afterward. General Proctor, who was at Maiden, eighteen miles distant, heard of the advance of Winchester, and proceeded immediately and secretly, with a com- bined force of fifteen hundred British and Indians, to attack him. They fell upon the American camp at dawn, on the morning of the 22d of January. After a severe battle and heavy loss on both sides, Winchester, 1 who had been made a prisoner by the Indians, surrendered his troops on the condition, agreed to by Proctor, that ample protection to all should" be given. Proctor, fearing the approach of Harrison, who was then on the Lower Sandusky, immediately marched for Maiden, leaving the sick and wounded Americans behind, without a guard. After following him some distance, the Indians turned back [January 23], murdered and scalped 2 the Americans who were unable to travel, set fire to dwellings, took many prisoners to Detroit, in order to procure exorbitant ransom prices, and reserved some of them for inhuman torture. The indiffer- ence of Proctor and his troops, on this occasion, was criminal in the highest degree, and gave just ground for the dreadful suspicion, that they encouraged the savages in their deeds of blood. Oftentimes after that, the war-cry of the Kentuckians was, " Remember the River Raisin!" The tragedy was keenly felt in all the western region, and especially in Kentucky, for the slain, by bul- let, arrow, tomahawk, and brand, were generally of the most respectable fam- ilies in the State; many of them young men of fortune and distinction, with numerous friends and relations. Harrison had advanced to the Maumee Rapids, when the intelligence of the affair at Frenchtown reached him. Supposing Proctor would press forward to attack him, he fell back [January 23, 1813] ; but on hearing of the march of the British toward Maiden, he advanced [February 1] to the rapids, with twelve hundred men, established a fortified camp there, and called it Fort Meigs, 3 in honor of the governor of Ohio. There he was besieged by Proctor several weeks afterward [May 1], who was at the head of more than two thousand British and Indians. On the fifth day of the siege, General Clay* arrived [May 5] with twelve hundred men, and dispersed the enemy. A large POET MEIGS. portion of his troops, while unwisely pursuing the fugitives, were surrounded and captured ; and Proctor returned to the siege. The impatient Indians, refusing to listen to Tecumtha, 6 their leader, deserted 1 James Winchester was born in Maryland in 1756. He was made brigadier-general in 1812 ; resigned his commission in 1815; and died in Tennessee in 1826. * Note 4, page 14. Fort Meigs was erected on the south cide of the Maumee, nearly opposite the former British post [note 8, page 374], and a short distance from the present village of Penysburg. 4 Green Clay was born in Virginia in 1757, was made a brigadier of Kentucky volunteers early in 1813, and died in October, 1826. * Page 408. Tecumtha came with the largest body of Indians ever collected on the northern frontier. 1813.] THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. the British on the eighth day [May 8] ; and twenty-four hours afterward, Proctor abandoned the siege and returned to Maiden [May 9], to prepare for a more formidable invasion. Thus terminated a siege of thirteen days, during which time the fortitude and courage of the Americana were wonderfully dis- played in the presence of the enemy. The Americans lost in the fort, eighty- one killed, and one hundred and eighty-nine wounded. For several weeks after the siege of Fort Meigs, military operations were suspended by both parties. Here, then, let us take a brief retrospective glance. Congress assembled on the 2d of November, 1812, and its councils were divided by fierce party spirit,- which came down from the people. The Democrats had a decided majority, and therefore the measures of the administration were sus- tained. The British government now began to show some desire for reconcilia- tion. Already the orders in council had been repealed, and the Prince Regent 1 demanded that hostilities should cease. To this the President replied, that being now at war, the United States would not put an end to it, unless full provisions were made for a general settlement of differences, and a cessation of the practice of impressment, pending the negotiation. At about the same time a law was passed, prohibiting the employment of British seamen in American vessels. The British also proposed an armistice, but upon terms which the Americans could not accept. Indeed, all propositions from that quarter were inconsistent with honor and justice, and they were rejected. When these attempts at reconcilia- tion had failed, the Emperor Alexander of Russia offered his mediation. The government of the United States instantly accepted it," but the British govern- ment refused it ; and so the war went on. Congress made provision for prose- cuting it with vigor ; and the hope lighted by Alexander's offer, soon faded. The American troops in the West had remained at Fort Meigs and vicinity. Toward the close of July [July 21, 1813], about four thousand British and Indians, under Proctor and Tecumtha, 8 again appeared before that fortress, then commanded by General Clay. Meeting with a vigorous re- sistance, Proctor left Tecumtha to watch the fort, while he marched [July 28], with five hundred regulars and eight hundred Indians, to attack Fort Stephenson, at Lower San- dusky, 4 which was garrisoned by about one hundred and fifty young men, 5 commanded by Major Croghan, a brave soldier, FORT SAXDUSKY. 1 When, in consequence of mental infirmity, George the Third became incompetent to reign, in February, 1811, his son, George, Prince of "Wales, and afterward George the Fourth, was made regent, or temporary ruler of the realm. He retained the office of king, pro tempore, until the death of his father, in 1820. 3 The President appointed, as commissioners, or envoys extraordinary, to negotiate a treaty of peace with Great Britain, under the Russian mediation, Albert Gallatin, John Quincy Adams, and James A. Bayard. Mr. Adams was then American minister at the Russian court, and was joined by Messrs. Gallatin and Bayard in June following. 8 Page 408. 4 On the west bank of the Sandusky River, about fifteen miles south from Sandusky Bay. The area within the pickets [note 1, page 127] was about an acre. The fort was made of regular em- bankments of earth and a ditch, with bastions and block-houses [note 3, page 192] and some rude log buildings within. The site is in the Tillage of Fremont, Ohio. 5 The greater portion of the garrison were very young men, and some of them were mere youths 420 THE NATION. [1813. then only twenty-one years of age. 1 Proctor's demand for surrender was accom- panied by the usual menace of Indian massacre ; but it did not intimidate Croghan." After a severe cannonade 3 had made a breach, about five hundred of the besiegers attempted to rush in and take the place by assault [Aug. 2, 1813] ; but so terribly were they met by grape-shot 4 from the only cannon in the fort, that they recoiled, panic- stricken, and the whole body fled in confusion, leaving one hundred and fifty of their number killed or wounded. The Americans lost only one man killed, and seven wounded. This gallant defense was universally ap- plauded, 6 and it had a powerful effect upon the Indians. Proctor and Tecumtha left for Detroit, after this noble defense of Fort Stephenson, and the British abandoned all hope of capturing these western American posts, until they should become masters of Lake Erie. But while the events just narrated were in progress, a new power appeared in the conflict in the West and North, and complicated the difficulties of the enemy. In the autumn of 1812, Commodore Chauncey had fitted out a small naval armament at Sackett's Harbor, to dispute the mastery, on Lake Ontario, with several British armed vessels then afloat. 8 And during the summer of 1813, Commo- dore Oliver Hazzard Perry had prepared, on Lake Erie, an American squadron of nine vessels, 7 mounting fifty-four guns, to co-operate with the Army of the West. The British had also fitted out a small squadron of six vessels, carrying sixty-three guns, commanded by Commodore Barclay. Perry's fleet was ready by the 2d of August, but some time was occupied in getting several of his ves- sels over the bar in the harbor of Erie. The hostile fleets met near the west- ern extremity of Lake Erie on the morning of the 10th of September, 1813, and a very severe battle ensued. The brave Perry managed with the skill of an old admiral, and the courage of the proudest soldier. His flag-ship, the Lawrence, had to bear the brunt of the battle, and very soon she became an unmanageable wreck, having all her crew, except four or five, killed or wounded. Perry then left her, in an open boat, and hoisted his flag on the Niagara at the moment when that of the Lawrence fell. With this vessel he 1 George Croghan was a nephew of George Rogers Clarke [page 300]. He afterward rose to the rank of colonel, and held the office of inspector-general. He died at New Orleans in 1 849. a In reply to Proctor's demand and threat, he said, in substance, that when the fort should be taken there would be none left to massacre, as it would not be given up while there was a man left to fight. 3 The British employed six six-pounders and a howitzer, in the siege. A howitzer is a piece of ordnance similar to a mortar, for hurling bomb-shells. * Note 4, page 242. 6 Major Croghan was immediately promoted to the rank of lieutenant- colonel; and the ladies of Chillicothe gave him an elegant sword. 6 Chauncey's squadron consisted of six vessels, mounting thirty-two guns, in all. The British squadron consisted of the same number of vessels, but mounting more than a hundred guns. Not- withstanding this disparity, Chauncey attacked them near Kingston [note 5, page 180] early in November, damaged them a good deal, and captured and carried into Sackett's Harbor, a schooner belonging to the enemy. He then captured another schooner, which had $12,000 in specie on board, and the baggage of the deceased General Brock. See page 414. 7 Lawrence (flag-ship), 20 guns ; Niagara, 20 ; Caledonian, 3 ; shooner Ariel, 4 ; Scorpion, 2 ; Bomers, 2 guns and 2 swivels ; sloop Trippe, and schooners Tigress and Porcupine, of 1 gun eaca. PEBBY ON LAKE ERIE. 1813.] THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 423 passed through the enemy's line, pouring broadsides, right and left, at half pistol-shot distance. The remainder of the squadron followed, with a fair wind, and the victory was soon decided. At four o'clock in the afternoon, every British vessel had surrendered to him ;' and before sunset, he had sent a mes- senger to General Harrison with the famous dispatch, " We have met the enemy > and they are ours." This victory was hailed with unbounded demon- strations of joy. For a moment, party rancor was almost forgotten ; and bon- fires and illuminations lighted up the whole country. Perry's victory was followed by immediate and energetic action on the part of Harrison. The command of Lake Erie now being secured, and a reinforce- ment of four thousand Kentucky volunteers, under Governor Shelby, the old hero of King's Mountain,* having arrived [Sept. 17, 1813], the general pro- ceeded to attack Maiden and attempt the recovery of Detroit. The fleet con- veyed a portion of the troops across the lake [Sept 27], but on their arrival at Maiden, it had been deserted by Proctor, who was fleeing, with Tecumtha and his Indians, toward the Moravian village, on the Thames, eighty miles from 1 The carnage was very great, in proportion to the numbers engaged. The Americans lost twenty-seven killed, and ninety-six wounded. The British lost about two hundred in killed and wounded, and six hundred prisoners. Perry's treatment of his prisoners received the highest ap- plause. Commodore Barclay declared that his humane conduct was sufficient to immortalize him. That brave commander was bora at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1785. He entered the service as midshipman, in 1798. He continued in active service after the close of the Second War for Inde- pendence, and died of yellow fever, in the West India Seas, in 1819. It was his brother, Com- modore M. C. Perry, who, as we shall observe, effected a treaty with Japan. a Page 417. 424 THE NATION. [1813. Detroit. 1 A body of Americans took possession of Detroit on the 29th of Sep- tember ; and on the 2d of October, Harrison and Shelby, with Colonel Richard M. Johnson and his cavalry (thirty-five hundred strong), started in pursuit of the enemy. 8 They overtook them [Oct. 5] at the Moravian town, when a des- perate battle ensued. Tecumtha was slain ; 3 and then his dismayed followers, who had fought furiously, broke and fled. Almost the whole of Proctor's com- mand were killed or made prisoners, and the general himself narrowly escaped, with a few of his cavalry. Here the Americans recaptured six brass field- pieces which had been surrendered by Hull, on two of which were engraved the words, " Surrendered by Burgoyne at Saratoga." 4 These pieces are now at the United States military post of West Point, on the Hudson. 6 The battle on the Thames was a very important one. By that victory, all that Hull 8 had lost was recovered ; the Indian confederacy 7 was completely broken up, and the war on the north-western borders of the Union was termi- nated. The name of Harrison was upon every lip ; and throughout the entire Republic, there was a general outburst of gratitude. He was complimented by Congress, and by various public bodies ; and a member of the House of Repre- sentatives asserted, in his place, that his victory was "such as would have secured to a Roman general, in the best days of the republic, the honors of a triumph." Security now being given to the frontier, jGeneral Harrison dis- missed a greater portion of the volunteers ; and leaving General Cass, with about a thousand regulars, to garrison Detroit, proceeded [Oct. 23, 1813] to Niagara, with the remainder of his troops, to join the Army of the Center, 8 which had been making some endeavors to invade Canada. In the mean while, an Indian war had been kindled in the South ; 9 and on the ocean, the laurel wreaths of triumph won by the Americans during 1812, 10 had been interwoven with garlands of cypress on account of reverses. Let us turn a moment to the operations of the Army of the North." Hostilities were kept up on portions of the northern frontier, during the winter, as well as in the West. In February [1813], a detachment of British soldiers crossed the St. Lawrence on the ice, from Prescott to Ogdensburg, and under pretense of seeking for deserters, committed robberies. Major Forsyth, then in command of riflemen there, retaliated. This was resented, in turn, by 1 In the present town of Orford, West Canada. 2 Commodore Perry and General Cass (late United States Senator from Michigan) accom- panied General Harrison as volunteer aids. The Americans moved with such rapidity that they traveled twenty-six miles the first day. 3 Tecumtha was then only about forty years of age. He was a man of great ability, and had he been born and educated in civilized society, his powerful intellect would have made him one of the most distinguished characters of the age. He possessed great dignity, and always maintained it in his deportment. On one occasion he was to attend a conference held with Harrison. A circle of the company had been formed ; and when he came and entered it, there was no seat for him, Harrison's aid having taken the one by the side of the general, intended for him. Harrison per- ceived that Tecumtha was offended, and told his aid to invite the chief to the seat near him. The aid politely said to Tecumtha. "Your father requests you to take a seat by his side." The offended chief drew his blanket around him, and, with an air of great dignity, said, " The Great Spirit is my father, and I will repose on the bosom of my mother;" and then sat down upon the ground. Page 281. Note 2, page 324. Page 411. 7 Page 408. 8 Page 412. Page 428. w Page 415. " Page 412. 1813.] THE SECOND WAR FOB INDEPENDENCE. 425 a British force of twelve hundred men, who crossed on the 21st of February, and after a conflict of an hour, drove out the few military defenders of Ogdens- burg, plundered and destroyed a large amount of property, and then returned to Canada. 1 These events accelerated the gathering of the militia in that quar- ter. Bodies of new levies arrived, almost daily, at Sackett's Harbor, but these, needing discipline, were of little service; as a defense of the country between that point and Ogdensburg. Being unable to afford assistance to the exposed points in that region, Gen- eral Dearborn, the commander-in-chief, 3 resolved to attempt the capture of York (now Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada, and the principal depository of British military stores for the supply of western garrisons. He embarked seventeen hundred troops on board the fleet of Commodore Chauncey, 3 at Sack- ett's Harbor, on the 25th of April ; and two days afterward [April 27], they landed on the beach at York, about two miles west from the British works, in the face of a galling fire from regulars and Indians, under General Sheaffe. These were soon driven back to their fortifications, and the Americans, under General Pike, 4 pressed forward, captured two redoubts, and were advancing upon the main work, when the magazine of the fort blew up, 5 hurling stones and timbers in every direc- tion, and producing great destruction of life among the assailants. General Pike was mortally wounded, but he lived long enough to know that the enemy had fled, and . . - .'* GENERAL PIKE. that the American flag waved in triumph over the fort at York. 6 The command then devolved on Colonel Pearce ; and at four o'clock in the afternoon, the town was in possession of the Americans. General Dear- born, who had remained with the fleet, landed soon after the fall of Pike, but did not assume the immediate command until after the surrender of the town. When the victory was completed, the fleet and troops returned [May 1] to Sackett's Harbor, but soon afterward proceeded to attack Fort George, on the western shore of Niagara River, near its mouth. After a brief defense [May 27,. 1813], the garrison fled to Burlington Heights, at the western extremity of Lake Ontario, 7 thirty-five miles distant, closely pursued by a much larger force, 1 The Americana lost, in killed and wounded, twenty men. The British loss was about double that number. a Page 410. s Page 420. * General Dearborn had given the command of this expedition to Brigadier-General Zebulon M. Pike, a brave and useful officer, who had been at the head of an expedition, a few years earlier, to explore the country around the head waters of the Mississippi He was born in New Jersey, in 1779. He died on board the flag-ship of Commodore Chauncey, with the captured British flag under his head, at the age of thirty-four years. In the burial-ground attached to Madison barracks, at Sackett's Harbor, is a dilapidated wooden monument erected over the remains of General Pike and some of his companions in arms. When the writer visited the spot, in 1860, it was wasting with decay, and falling to the earth. Such a neglect of the burial-place of the illustrious dead, is a disgrace to our government. * The British had laid a train of wet powder communicating with the magazine, for the purpose, and when they retreated, they fired it. * General Sheaffe escaped, with the principal part of the troops, but lost all his baggage, book%, papers, and a large amount of public property. 7 At the head of Burlington Bay, in Canada. 426 - THE NATION. [1813. under Generals Chandler 1 and Winder.* In this affair, Colonel (now Lieutenant- General) Scott was distinguished for his skill and bravery. On the night of the 6th of June, the British fell upon the American camp, at Stony Creek, 3 but were repulsed. It was very dark, and in the confusion both of the American generals were made prisoners. A British squadron appeared before Sackett's Harbor on the same day [May 27] that the Americans attacked Fort George : and two days afterward [May 29] Sir George Prevost and a thousand soldiers landed in the face of a severe fire from some regulars* stationed there. The regular force of the Amer- icans consisted of only a few seamen, a company of artillery, and about two hundred invalids not more than five hundred men in all. General Jacob Brown, the commander at that station, rallied the militia, and their rapid gathering, at and near the landing-place, back of Horse Island, so alarmed Prevost, lest they should cut off his retreat, that he hastily re-embarked, leaving almost the whole of his wounded behind. Had he been aware of the condition of his opposers, he could have made an easy conquest of Sackett's Harbor. The raw militia had become panic-stricken at the first, and when Prevost retreated, they, too, were endeavoring to make their way to places of safety in the country. A change in the administration of military affairs occurred soon after the event at Sackett's Harbor. For some time, the infirmities of General Dearborn, the Commander-in-chief, 5 had disqualified him for active participation in the operations of the army, and in June [1813] he withdrew from the service. He was succeeded in command by General James Wilkinson, 8 who, like Dearborn, had been an active young officer in the War for Independence. General John Armstrong, 7 then Secretary of War, had conceived another invasion of Canada, "by the united forces of the armies of the Center and North. 8 For this purpose a little more than seven thousand men were concentrated at French Creek on the 5th of November, 1813, and on that morning went down the St. Lawrence in boats, with the intention of co-operating with about four thousand troops under Hampton, 9 in an attack upon Montreal. They landed the same evening, a few miles abave the British fort at Prescott, opposite Ogdensburg. It being foggy, Wilkinson attempted to pass down the river upon the flotilla commanded by General Brown. The fog cleared away, and the moon revealed the Amer- 1 John Chandler was a native of Massachusetts. Some years after the war he was United States Senator from Maine. He died at Augusta, in that State, in 1841. a Page 436. * In the present township of Saltfleet, Canada West. In this affair the Americans lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, one hundred and fifty-four. 4 Note 6, page 185. 6 Page 410. * James Wilkinson was born in Maryland, in 1757, and studied medicine. He joined the con- tinental army at Cambridge, in 1775, and continued in service during the war. He commanded the western division of the United States army at the beginning of the century, and became some- what involved, as we have seen [page 396], in Burr's scheme, in 1806. He died near the city of Mexico, in 1825, at the age of sixty-eight years. 7 Note 4, page 349. John Armstrong was a son of Colonel John Armstrong, of Pennsylvania [page 191], and was born at Carlisle, in that State, in 1758. He served in the War of the Revolu- tion; was Secretary of the State of Pennsylvania; minister to France in 1804; Secretary of War in 1813; and died in Duchess county, New York, in 1843. 8 Note 3, page 412. ' Page 410. 1813.] THE SECOND WAR FOB INDEPENDENCE. 427 icans to the garrison of the fort. The latter immediately opened a heavy fire, and being thus annoyed by the enemy on shore, and by gun-boats 1 in his rear, Wilkinson landed Brown and a strong detachment to go forward and disperse quite a large force near Williamsburg, and to cover the descent of the boats. A severe battle ensued [November 11] in which the Americans lost more than three hundred men in killed and wounded, and the British about two hundred. This is known as the battle of Chrysler's Field. The locality is on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence, a little more than thirty miles below Ogdensburg, and about ninety above Montreal. General Wilkinson arrived at St. Regis 2 the next day, with the main body, when he was informed that no troops from the army of the North would join him.' He therefore abandoned the expedition against Montreal, and went into winter quarters at French Mills (now Fort Covington, in St. Lawrence county), about nine miles east of St. Regis. A little later, some stirring events occurred on the Niagara frontier. General M'Clure, commander at Fort George, 4 burnt the Canadian village of Newark on the 10th of December. Two days later [December 12, 1813] he was compelled by the British to abandon Fort George. A strong force of British and Indians then surprised and captured [December 19] Fort Niagara, on the east side of the Niagara River, near its mouth ; 6 and in retaliation for FORT NIAGARA, the burning of Newark, they laid Youngstown, Lewiston, Manchester (now Niagara Falls), and the Tuscarora Indian village, in Niagara county, in ashes. On the 30th, the little villages of Black Rock and Buffalo 8 were also consumed, and a large amount of public and private property was destroyed. With these events ended the campaign of 1813, in the North. Affairs in the extreme South assumed a serious aspect during the summer of 1813. In the spring of that year, Tecumseh (who was slain on the Thames a few months later) 7 went among the Southern tribes, to arouse them to wage war upon the white people. The powerful Creeks 8 yielded to his persuasions ; and late in August [30th], a large party of them surprised and captured Fort Mimms, on the Alabama River, 9 and massacred about four hundred men, 1 Page 401. 3 This is an old French and Indian settlement on the St. Lawrence, at the mouth of the St Regis River, about fifty miles below Ogdensburg. The dividing line (45th degree) between the United States and Canada, passes through the center of the village. 8 There was an enmity between "Wilkinson and Hampton, and Armstrong resolved to command the expedition himself, to prevent trouble on account of precedence. He joined the army at Sackett's Harbor, but soon returned to Washington, for he and Wilkinson could not agree. To the jealousies and bickerings of these old officers, must the disasters of the land troops be, in a great degree, attributed. General Hampton did move forward toward Canada, but finally fell back to Plattsburg, and leaving the command with General Izard, returned to South Carolina. He died at Columbia, South Carolina, in 1835, aged eighty-one years. 4 Page 414. ' Page 200. 8 Buffalo was then a small village, containing about fifteen hundred inhabitants, and was utterly destroyed. It is now [1867] one of the stateliest commercial cities on the continent, with a popu- lation of not much less than one hundred thousand. T Page 424. " Page 30. * On the east side of the Alabama, about ten miles above its junction with the Tombigbee. 428 THE NATION. [1813. women, and children. This event aroused the whole South. General Andrew Jackson, 1 accompanied by General Coffee, marched into the Creek country, with twenty-five hundred Tennessee militia, and prosecuted a subjugating war against them, with great vigor. On the 3d of November, General Coffee, 4 with nine hundred men, sur- rounded an Indian force at Tallushatchee, 3 and killed two hundred of them. Not a warrior escaped. Within ten weeks afterward, bloody battles had been fought at Talladega 4 [November 8], Autossee 5 [November 29], and Emucfau 8 [January 22d, 1814], and several skirmishes had also taken place. The Americans were always victorious, yet they lost many brave soldiers. At length the Creeks established a fortified camp at the Great Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River, 7 and there a thousand warriors, with their women and children, determined to make a last defensive stand. The Americans sur- rounded them, and Jackson, with the main body of his army, attacked them on the 27th of March, 1814. The Indians fought desperately, for they saw no future for themselves, in the event of defeat. Almost six hundred warriors were slain, for they disdained to surrender. Only two or three were made prisoners, with about three hundred women and children. This battle crushed the power and spirit of the Creek nation, and soon afterward the chiefs of the remnant signified their submission. 8 It was a sad scene to the eyes of the benevolent and good, to see these ancient tribes of our land, who were then making rapid strides in the progress of civilization, so utterly ruined by the destroying hand of war. They found that might made right, in the view of their subjugators, and they were compelled to make a treaty of peace upon the terms dictated by their conquerors. Thus, time after time since the advent of the white people here, have the hands of the stronger been laid upon the weaker, until now nothing but remnants of once powerful nations remain. The naval operations upon the ocean, during the year 1813, were very im- portant. Many and severe conflicts between public and private armed vessels of the United States and Great Britain, occurred ; and at the close of the year, the balance-sheet of victories showed a preponderance in favor of the former. 9 Toward the end of February, the United States sloop of war Hornet, Cap- 1 Pago 460. 8 John Coffee was a native of Virginia. He did good service during the second War for Inde- pendence, and in subsequent campaigns. He died in 1834. a South side of Tallushatchee Creek, near the village of Jacksonville, in Benton county, Ala- bama. 4 A little east of the Coosa River, in the present Talladega county. * On the bank of the Tallapoosa, twenty miles from its junction with the Coosa, in Macon county. * On the west bank of the Tallapoosa, at the mouth of Emucfau Creek, in Tallapoosa county. 7 Called Tohopeka by the Indians. Near the north-east corner of Tallapoosa county. * Among those who bowed in submission was "Weathersford, their greatest leader. He appeared suddenly before Jackson, in his tent, and standing erect, he said: "I am in your power; do with me what you please. I have done the white people all the harm I could. I have fought them, and fought them bravely. My warriors are all gone now, and I can do no more. When there was a chance for success, I never asked for peace. There is none now, and I ask it for the remnant of my nation." 9 More than seven hundred British vessels were taken by the American navy and privateers, during the years 1812 and 1813. 1813.] THE SECOND "WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 429 tain Lawrence, fought [Feb. 24, 1813] the British brig Peacock, off the mouth of Demarara River, South America. The Peacock surrendered, after a fierce conflict of fifteen minutes, and a few moments afterward she sank, carry- ing down with her nine British seamen and three Americans. The loss of the Peacock, in killed and wounded, was thirty-seven ; of the Hornet only five. The generous conduct of Captain Lawrence, toward his enemy on this occasion, drew from the officers of the Peacock, on their arrival in New York, a public letter of thanks. 1 This, of itself, was a wreath of honor for the victor, more glorious than his triumph in the sanguinary conflict. On his return to the United States, Captain Lawrence was promoted to the command of the frigate Chesapeake ; and on the 1st of June, 1813, he sailed from Boston harbor, in search of the British frigate, Shannon, which had recently appeared off the New England coast, and challenged any vessel, of equal size, to meet her. Lawrence found the boaster the same day, about thirty miles from Boston light; and at five in the afternoon, a furious action began. The two vessels soon became entangled. Then the Britons boarded the Chesapeake, and after a desperate hand-to-hand struggle, hoisted CAPTAIN LAWEENCE - the British flag. Lawrence was mortally wounded at the beginning of the action ; and when he was carried below, he uttered those brave words of com- mand, which Perry afterward displayed on his flag-ship on Lake Erie, " Don't give up the ship /" The combat lasted only fifteen minutes ; but in that time, the Chesapeake had forty-eight killed and ninety-eight wounded ; the Shannon twenty-three killed, and fifty-six wounded. The body of Lawrence/ with that of Ludlow, the second in command, was carried to Halifax, in the victorious Shannon, and there buried with the honors of war. This event caused great sadness in America, and unbounded joy in England. 3 Another disaster followed the loss of the Chesapeake. It was the capture of the American brig Argus, Captain Allen, in August. The Argus, in the spring [1813], had conveyed Mr. Crawford, United States minister, to France, and for two months had greatly annoyed British shipping in the English Chan- 1 They said, "So much was done to alleviate the uncomfortable and distressing situation in which we were placed, when received on board the ship you command, that we can not better express our feelings than by saying, we ceased to consider ourselves prisoners ; and every thing that friendship could dictate, was adopted by you and the officers of the Hornet, to remedy the inconvenience we otherwise should have experienced, from the unavoidable loss of the whole of our property and clothes, by the sudden sinking of the Peacock." The crew of the Hornet divided their clothing with the prisoners. 9 Captain James Lawrence was a native of New Jersey, and received a midshipman's warrant at the age of sixteen years. He was with Decatur at Tripoli [page 392]. He died four days after receiving the wound, at the age of thirty-one years. A beautiful monument, in the form of a trun- cated column and pedestal, was erected to his memory in Trinity church-yard, New York. This, in time became dilapidated, and, a few years ago, a new one, of another form, was erected near the eouth entrance to the church, a few feet from Broadway. 3 A writer of the time observed : " Never did any victory not those of Wellington in Spain, nor even those of Nelson call forth such expressions of joy on the part of the British ; a proof that our naval character had risen somewhat in their estimation." 430 THE CATION. [1813. nel. Several vessels were sent out to capture her ; and on the 14th of August, the sloop of war 1 Pelican, after a brief, but severe action, defeated the Argus. In less than a month afterward [Sept. 10], Perry gained his great victory on Lake Erie; 8 and the British brig Boxer, Captain Blythe, had surrendered [Sept. 5, 1813], to the United States brig Enterprise, Lieutenant Burrows, after an engagement of forty minutes, off the coast of Maine. Blythe and Bur- rows, young men of great promise, were both slain during the action, and their bodies were buried in one grave at Portland, with military honors. A distressing warfare upon the coast between Delaware Bay and Charleston, was carried on during the spring and summer of 1813, by a small British squadron under the general command of Admiral Cockburn. His chief object was to draw the American troops from the northern frontier to the defense of the seaboard, and thus lessen the danger that hung over Canada. It was a sort of amphibious warfare on land and water and was marked by many acts of unnecessary cruelty. The British had talked of " chastising the Americans into submission," and the method now employed was the instrument. On the 4th of February, 1813, two ships of the line, three frigates, and other British vessels, made their appearance at the capes of Virginia. 8 At about the same time, another British squadron entered the Delaware River, destroyed the American shipping there in March, and in April cannonaded the town of Lewiston. In May, Frenchtown, Havre de Grace, Georgetown, and Frederick- town, on the Chesapeake, were plundered and burned ; and then the combined British fleet entered Hampton Roads, 4 and menaced Norfolk. While attempt- ing to go up to that city, the enemy were nobly repulsed [Jan. 22, 1813] by the Americans upon Craney Island, 5 under the command of Major Faulkner, assisted by naval officers. The British then fell upon Hampton [Jan. 25] ; and having surfeited themselves with plunder, withdrew. Cockburn 6 sailed down the North Carolina coast, marauding whenever opportunity offered, and carried away a large number of negroes and sold them in the West Indies. In pleas- ant contrast to this, was the deportment of Commodore Hardy, whose squadron was employed during the same season, in blockading the New England coast. Although he landed upon our shores frequently, yet his conduct was always that of a high-minded gentleman and generous enemy. 7 During the year 1813, the United States frigate Essex, Captain Porter, made a long and successful cruise in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It oc- cupied the time from April until October. The Essex carried at her mast- head the popular motto, "Free Trade and Sailor's Rights ;" and, while in 1 Page 41 5. a Page 423. s Page 64. * Note 3, page 297. 6 Craney Island is low and bare, and lies at the mouth of the Elizabetn River, about five miles below Norfolk. At the time in question, there were some unfinished fortifications upon it. These were strengthened and added to by the insurgents during the late Civil War. " Cockburn died in England in 1853, at an advanced age. 7 Congress had passed an act, offering a reward of half their value for the destruction of British ships, by other means than those of the armed vessels of the United States. This was to encourage the use of torpedoes. The cruel forays upon the southern coasts seemed to warrant this species of dishonorable warfare. It was employed against Hardy's squadron. He was justly indignant, and protested against it as unmanly. 1814.] THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 431 the Pacific, she captured twelve British whale-ships, with an aggregate of three hundred and two men, and one hundred and seven guns. The Essex was finally captured in the harbor of Valparaiso [March, 28, 1814], on the western coast of South America, by the British frigate Phoebe, and sloop of war Cherub, after one of the most desperately fought battles of the war. It is said that thousands of the inhabitants of Valparaiso covered the neighboring heights as spectators of the conflict. Perceiving the overpowering advantage of the British, their sympathies were strongly elicited in favor of the Essex. When any thing in her favor appeared, loud shouts went up from the multitude ; and when she was finally disabled and lost, they expressed their feelings in groans and tears. The Essex lost one hundred and fifty- four, in killed and wounded. Captain Porter 1 wrote to the Secretary of the Navy, " We have been unfortunate, but not disgraced." CHAPTER VI. SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE, CONTINUED. [1814, 1815.] DURING the year 1814, the war was prosecuted by both parties with more zeal and vigor than hitherto. The means for supporting it were much aug- mented by the government of the United States, notwithstanding the public credit was much depreciated, and treasury notes fell as low as seventeen per cent, below par. At the same time, Great Britain seemed to put forth increased energy, and her vessels of war hovered along our entire coast, and kept the sea- port towns in a state of continual alarm. Early in that year, the victorious career of Napoleon, in Europe, was checked by the allied powers. Almost all of the governments of continental Europe, with that of England, had combined to crush him, and sustain the sinking Bourbon dynasty. Their armies were allied in a common cause. These, approaching from different directions, reached Paris, at the close of March, 1814, when the Russian and Prussian emperors entered the city. 3 Hoping to secure the crown to his son, Napoleon abdicated in his favor on the 4th of April, and retired to Elba. Peace for Europe 1 Commodore David Porter was among the most distinguished of the American naval com- manders. He was a resident minister of the United States in Turkey, and died, near Constantin- ople, in March, 1843. 9 Russians, one hundred and fifty thousand strong, advanced from Switzerland; Blucher led one hundred and thirty thousand Prussians from Germany ; Bernadotte, the old companion-in-arms of Napoleon, was at the head of one hundred thousand Swedes, and marched through Holland ; and the English, in great power, advanced from Spain, under Wellington. A battle at Montmartre left Paris exposed to the enemy, and Alexander and Frederic took possession of the capital ozi the 31st. of March. 4.32 'THE NATION. [isu. seemed certain. British troops were withdrawn from the continent, and early in the summer of 1814, fourteen thousand of Wellington's veterans were sent to Canada 1 to operate against the United States. Considering the moral and material weakness of the American army, hitherto, the circumstance of the continual employment of the British troops on the continent, was highly favor- able to the United States. Had Europe been at peace, the result of this second War for Independence might have been quite different. The favorite project of the public authorities continued to be the invasion of Canada - a and to oppose it, was the chief solicitude of the British officers on our northern frontiers. The principal force of the enemy in Upper Canada, was placed under the chief command of Lieutenant-General Drummond, late in the season ; while the American army on the Niagara frontier was commanded by General Brown, at the same time. General Wilkinson was still in the vicinity of the St. Lawrence, and toward the close of February, he broke up his camp at French Mills, 3 and retired to Plattsburg ; while General Brown, with two thousand men, marched to Sackett's Harbor, prepara- tory to his departure for the Niagara. Late in March, Wilkinson proceeded to erect a battery at Rouse's Point, at the foot of Lake Champlain; and at La GENERAL BROWN Colle, three miles below, he had an unsuccessful engagement [March 30] with the British. The disas- trous result of this affair brought Wilkinson into disrepute, and he was tried by a court-martial, but acquitted of all charges alleged against him. He had been suspended from all command, in the mean while, and the charge of the troops was given to General Izard. Preparations had been making on Lake Ontario, during the winter and spring, by both parties, to secure the control of that inland sea. Sir James Yeo was in command of a small British squadron, and on the 5th of May [1814], he appeared before Oswego, accompanied by about three thousand land troops and marines. 4 Oswego was then defended by only about three hundred troops under Colonel Mitchell, and a small flotilla under Captain Woolsey. The chief object of the expedition was to capture or destroy a large quantity of naval and military stores, deposited at Oswego Falls, 6 but the gallant band of Americans at the harbor defeated the project. They withstood an attack, by land and water, for almost two days, before they yielded to a superior force. Afraid to penetrate the country toward the Falls, in the face of such deter- mined opponents, the British withdrew on the morning of the 7th [May, 1814], 1 These were embarked at Bourdeaux, in France, and sailed directly for the St. Lawrence, without even touching the shores of England. Page 410. ' Page 427. * The fort on the east side of the river was then in quite a dilapidated state, and formed but a feeble defense for the troops. It was strengthened after this attack. * At the present village of Fulton, on the east side of Oswego River, and about twelve miiea from the harbor. 1815.] THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 433 after losing two hundred and thirty-five men, in killed and wounded. The Americans lost sixty-nine. Toward the close of June, General Brown marched from Sackett's Harbor 1 to the Niagara frontier ; and on the morning of the 3d of July, Generals Scott and Ripley 1 crossed the river, with a considerable force, and captured Fort Erie, which was situated on the Canada side of the Niagara River, nearly opposite Black Rock. The garrison withdrew to the intrenched camp of the British General Riall, then at Chippewa,' a few miles below. On the morning of the 4th [July, 1814], Brown advanced, and on the 5th the two armies had a sanguinary battle in the open fields at Chippewa. The British were repulsed, with a loss of about five hundred men, and retreated to Burlington Heights, 4 where they were reinforced by troops under General Drummond, who assumed the chief command in person. The Americans lost a little more than three hundred. General Drummond was mortified by this discomfiture of his veteran troops by what he considered raw Americans, and he resolved to wipe out the stain. Collecting every regiment from Burlington and York, with some from Kingston and Prescott, he prepared for a renewal of combat. With a force about one third greater than that of Brown,' he immediately advanced to meet the Amer. icans. The latter had encamped at Bridgewater, near Niagara Falls ; and there, at the close of a sultry day, and within the sound of the great cataract's thunder, one of the most destructive battles of the war began.* It commenced at sunset and ended at midnight [July 25, 1814], when the Americans had lost eight hundred and fifty-eight men in killed and wounded, and the British twenty more than that. The Americans were left in quiet possession of the field, but were unable to carry away the heavy artillery which they had cap- tured.' Brown and Scott being wounded, 8 the command devolved on Ripley, and the following day [July 26] he withdrew to Fort Erie, where General Gaines, 9 a senior officer, who arrived soon afterward, assumed the chief com- mand. Having recovered from his wound, Drummond again advanced, with five 1 Page 432. 2 The late Winfield Scott was Lieutenant-General, and commander-in-chief of the army of the United States, in 1861, when he retired from the service. General James Ripley remained in the army after the war, and died on the 2d of March, 1839. * On the Canada shore, about two miles above Niagara Falls. * Pago 425. 8 Jacob Brown was born in Pennsylvania, in 1775. He engaged in his country's service in 1813, and soon became distinguished. He was made Major-General in 1814. He was General- in-chief of the United States army in 1821, and held that rank and office when he died, in 1828. * The hottest of the fight was in and near an obscure road known as Lundy's Lane. This battle is known by the respective names of Bridgewater, Lundy's Lane, and Niagara Fatts. 7 After the Americans had withdrawn, a party of the British returned and carried off their artillery. This event was so magnified, in the English accounts of the battle, as to make the victory to appear on the side of the British. 8 The British Generals Drummond and Riall were also wounded. General Scott led the advance in the engagement, and for an hour maintained a most desperate conflict, when he was reinforced. It was quite dark, and General Riall and his suite were made prisoners by the gallant Major Jesup. A British battery upon an eminence did terrible execution, for it swept the whole field. This was assailed and captured by a party under Colonel Miller, who replied, when asked by General Brown if he could accomplish it, "I'll try, sir." Three times the British attempted to recapture this bat- tery. In the last attempt, Drummond was wounded. * Page 398. 28 434 THE NATION. [1814 NIAGARA FROIfTIEE. thousand men, and on the 4th of August appeared before Fort Erie, and com- menced preparations for a siege. From the 7th until the 14th, there was an almost incessant cannonade- between the besiegers and the besieged. On the 15th, Drummond made a furious assault, but was repulsed, with a loss of almost a thousand men. Very little was done by either party for nearly a month after this aflair, when General Brown, who had assumed command again, ordered a sor- tie [Sept. 17] from the fort. It was successful ; and the Americans pressed forward, destroyed the advanced works of the besiegers, and drove them toward Chippewa. In- formed, soon afterward, that General Izard was approach- ing, 1 with reinforcements for Brown, Drummond retired to Fort George. 2 The Americans abandoned and destroyed Fort Erie in No- vember [November 5], and, crossing the river, went into winter-quarters at Buffalo, Black Rock, and Batavia. Let us consider the military operations in northern New York, for a mo- ment. Very little of interest transpired in the vicinity of Lake Champlain until toward the close of summer, when General Izard 3 marched [August, 1814] from Plattsburg, with five thousand men, to reinforce General Brown on the Niagara frontier, leaving General Macomb 4 in command, with only fifteen hundred men. Taking advantage of this circumstance, General Prevost, who led an army of fourteen thousand men, chiefly Wellington's veterans, to the invasion of the United States, marched for Plattsburg. During the spring and summer, the British and Americans had each constructed a small fleet on Lake Champlain, and those were now ready for operations ; the former under Com- modore Downie, and the latter under Commodore Macdonough. 6 General Prevost arrived near Plattsburg on the 6th of September, when 1 Note 3, page 42?. * Page 425. * George Izard was born in South Carolina, in 177?, and made military life his profession. After the war he left the army. He was governor of Arkansas Territory in 1825, and died at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1828. * Alexander Macomb was born in the fort in Detroit, in 1*782, and entered the army at the age of seventeen years. He was made a brigadier in 1814. In 1835, he was General-in-ehief of the armies of the United States, and died in 1841. 6 Thomas Macdonough was a native of Delaware. He was twenty-eight years of age at the time of the engagement at Plattsburg. The State of New York gave him one thousand acres of land on Plattsburg Bay, for his services. He died in 1825, at the age of thirty-nine years. Mac- donough was always remarkable for cool courage. On one occasion, while first lieutenant of a vessel lying in the harbor of Gibraltar, an armed boat from a British man-of-war boarded an Amer- ican brig anchored near, in the absence of the commander, and carried off a seaman. See page 401. Macdonongh manned a gig, and with an inferior force, made chase and recaptured the seaman. The captain of the man-of-war came aboard Macdonough's vessel, and, in a great rage, asked him how he dared to take the man from his majesty's boat. " He was an American seaman, would you have dared to commit such an act?" "I should have made the attempt, sir," was the calm reply. " What I" shouted the captain, " if I were to impress men from that brig, would you torforo 9" " Vr.ii havft onlv to trv it. sir." was Macdonouerh's tantalizing: reply. The haughty interfere ?" " You have only to try it, sir,'" was Macdonough's tantalizing reply. The haughty Briton was over-matched, and he did not attempt to try the metal of such a brave young man. There were cannon-balls in his coolness, full of danger. 1815.] THE SECOND "WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 435 Macomb's little army, and quite a large body of militia under General Mooers, retired to the south side of the Saranac, and prepared to dispute its passage by the invaders. On the morning of the llth, the British fleet came around Cumberland Head, with a fair wind, and attacked Macdonough's squadron in Plattsburg Bay. 1 At the same time, the British land troops opened a heavy cannonade upon the Americans. After a severe engagement of two hours and twenty minutes, Macdonough became victor, and the whole British fleet was surrendered to him. 2 The land forces fought until dark, and every attempt of the British to cross the Saranac was bravely resisted. During the evening, Prevost hastily retreated, leaving his sick and wounded, and a large quantity of military stores, behind him. The British loss, in killed, wounded, and de- serted, from the 6th to the llth, was about twenty-five hundred ; that of the Americans, only one hundred and twenty-one. The victory was applauded with the greatest enthusiasm throughout the land, and gave emphasis to the effect of another at Baltimore, which had been recently achieved. 1 TVhen the British squadron appeared off Cumberland Head, Macdonough knelt on the deck of the Saratoga (his flag-ship), in the midst of his men. and prayed to the God of Battles for aid. A curious incident occurred during the engagement that soon followed. A British ball demolished a hen-coop on board the Saratoga. A cock, released from his prison, flew into the rigging, and crowed lustily, at the same time flapping his wings with triumphant vehemence. The seamen re- garded the event as a good omen, and they fought like tigers, while the cock cheered them on with his Growings, until the British flag was struck and the firing ceased. * The Americans lost, in killed and wounded, one hundred and sixteen ; the British, one hun- dred and ninety-four. Among them was Commodore Downie, whose remains lie under a monu- ment in a cemetery at Plattsburg, with those of several of his comrades. 436 THE CATION. [1814. So wide was the theater of war, that in our rapid view of it, the shifting scenes carry us alternately from the northern frontier to the western and south- ern borders, and then upon the Atlantic and its coasts. The latter were expe- riencing much trouble, while the whole frontier from the Niagara to the St. Lawrence was in commotion. The principal ports from New York to Maine were blockaded by British war-vessels ; and early in the spring, a depredating warfare again 1 commenced on the shores of the Chesapeake. These were but feebly defended by a small flotilla, 3 under the veteran, Commodore Barney ; 3 and when, about the middle of August, a British squadron, of almost sixty sail, arrived in the bay, with six thousand troops, under General Ross, destined for the capture of Washington city, it proved of little value. Ross landed [Aug. 19, 1814] at Benedict, on. the Patuxent (about twenty-five miles from its mouth), with five thousand men, and marched toward Washington city. 4 Bar- ney's flotilla, lying higher up the stream, was abandoned and burned, and hia marines joined the gathering land forces, under General Winder. Ross was one of Wellington's most active commanders, and Winder had only three thou- sand troops to oppose him, one half of whom were undisciplined militia. A sharp engagement took place [Aug. 24] at Bladensburg, 5 a few miles from Washington city, when the militia fled, and Barney, fighting gallantly at the head of his seamen and marines, was made prisoner. 8 Ross pushed forward to Washington city the same day, burned the capitol, President's house, and other public and private buildings [August 24], and then hastily retreated [August 25] to his shipping. 7 The British ministry were greatly elated by the destruction of the public buildings and property at Washington, but their jubilant feelings were not shared by the best of the English people at large. The act was denounced, in severe terms, on the floor of the British House of Commons ; and throughout civilized Europe, it was considered a disgrace to the perpetrators and abettors. General Ross, however, seemed to glory in it as heartily as did the marauder, Cockburn ; and, flushed with success, he proceeded to attack Baltimore, where the veteran, General Smith, 8 was in command. That officer, in connection with 1 Page 430. 9 It consisted of a cutter (a vessel with one mast), two gun-boats [page 401], and nine barges, or boats propelled by oars. * He was born in Baltimore in 1759. He entered the naval service of the Revolution in 1775, and was active during the whole war. He bore the American flag to the French National Con- vention in 1796, and entered the French service. He returned to America in 1800, took part in the War of 1812, and died at Pittsburg in 1818. 4 Another small squadren was sent up the Potomac, but effected little else than plunder. Note 1, page 392. 6 Until the latest moment, it was not known whether "Washington or Baltimore was to be at- tacked. Winder's troops, employed for the defense of both cities, were divided. The loss of the British, in killed, wounded, and by desertion, was almost a thousand men ; that of the Americans was about a hundred killed and wounded, and a hundred and twenty taken prisoners. The Pres- ident and his Cabinet were at Bladensburg when the British approached, but returned to the city when the conflict began, and narrowly escaped capture. 7 Washington then contained about nine hundred houses, scattered, in groups, over a surface of three miles. The Great Bridge across the Potomac was also burnt. The light of the conflagra- tion was distinctly seen at Baltimore, forty miles distant. 8 Samuel Smith, the brave commander of Fort MifSin [page 275] in 1777. He was born in 1815.] THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 437 General Strieker, rallied the militia of the city and vicinity, and soon almost fif- teen thousand men were under arms, to defend the town. Ross landed [Sept. 12, 1814], with almost eight thousand troops, at North Point, fourteen miles from the city, while a portion of the fleet went up the Patapsco to bombard Fort M 'Henry. He immediately pressed forward, but was soon met by the advanced corps of General Strieker, and a slight skirmish ensued. Ross was killed, and the command devolved on Colonel Brooke, who continued to advance. A severe battle now commenced, which continued an hour and a quarter, when the Americans fell back, in good order, toward the city. In this engagement the British lost about three hundred men ; the Americans, one hundred and sixty- three. Both parties slept on their arms that night ; and the following morn- ing [Sept. 13], the British advanced, as if to attack the city. The fleet, in the mean while, had opened its bombs and cannons upon the fort, whose garrison, under Major Armistead, made a most gallant defense. The bombardment con- tinued most of the day and night, and no less than fifteen hundred bombshells were thrown. The people in the city felt in immediate danger of an attack from the land troops ; but toward the morning of the 14th, these silently em- barked, and the disheartened and discomfited enemy withdrew. 1 This defense was hailed as an important victory.* The whole Atlantic coast, eastward from Sandy Hook,* was greatly annoyed by small British squadrons, during the summer of 1814. These captured many American coasting vessels, and sometimes menaced towns with bombard- ment. Finally, in August, Commodore Hardy 4 appeared before Stonington, and opened a terrible storm of bombshells and rockets 5 upon the town. The attack continued four successive days [August 9-12], and several times land forces attempted to debark, but were always driven back by the militia. The object of this unprovoked attack seems to have been, to entice the American forces from New London, so that British shipping might go up the Thames, and destroy some American frigates, then near Norwich. The expedient sig- nally failed, and no further attempt of a similar kind was made on the Connecti- cut coast. Further eastward, that part of Maine which lies between the Penobscot River and Passamaquoddy Bay, became a scene of stirring events. On the first Pennsylvania in 1752 ; entered the revolutionary army in 1776 ; afterward represented Baltimore in Congress many years; and died in April, 1839. 1 General Smith estimated the entire loss of the British, in their attack upon Baltimore, at " between six and seven hundred." a An event, connected witli this attack on Baltimore, was the origin of the stirring song. The Star-Spangled Banner, which was written by Francis S. Key, of Georgetown, to the air of " Anacreon in Heaven." With another gentleman, Key went, with a flag of truce, to attempt the release of a friend on board the British fleet. They were not allowed to return, lest they should disclose the intended attack on the city. From a British vessel they saw the bom- bardment of Fort McHenry. They watched the American flag over the fort, all day, with great anxiety, until the darkness of the night hid it from view. With eager eyes, they looked in that direction at dawn, and, to their great joy, they saw the star-spangkd banner yet waving over the ramparts. It inspired the poet. ' Page 289. 4 Page 430. 6 Rockets used for setting fire to towns and shipping, are made similar to the common " sky- rockets," but filled with inflammable substances, which are scattered over buildings and the. rigging of ships. 438 THE NATION. [1814. of September [1814], the governor of Nova Scotia and Admiral Griffith entered the Penobscot River, seized the town of Castine, and, by proclamation, took possession of the country, then inhabited by about thirty thousand people. A few days afterward, the United States frigate John Adams entered the Penobscot after a successful cruise, and ran upon the rocks. While having her injuries repaired, she was attacked by several of the British sailing vessels and barges, manned by about a thousand men. Finding resistance to be vain, Captain Morris, her commander, fired her magazine, and blew her up. Difficulties again appeared in the south-west. We have already considered Jackson's successful warfare upon the Creek Indians. 1 In the course of the summer of 1814, he wrung from them a treaty, which completed their downfall, as a nation, and the war at the South was considered ended. They agreed to surrender a large portion of their beautiful and fertile country, as indemnity for the expenses of the war ; to allow the United States to make roads through the remainder ; and albo not to hold intercourse with any British or Spanish posts. But the common enemy, favored by the Spaniards at Pensacola, soon appeared, and the Creeks again lifted their heads in hope, for a moment. A British squadron, cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, took possession of the forts at Pensacola, by permission of the Spanish authorities, and there fitted out an expedition against Fort Bower (now Fort Morgan), at the entrance to Mobile Bay, 8 then commanded by Major Lawrence. General Jackson then had his head-quarters at Mobile. The enemy appeared off Mobile Point on the 15th of September, and commenced the attack, by land and water, at about four o'clock in the afternoon. Fort Bower was garrisoned by resolute men, and was armed with twenty pieces of cannon. Lawrence and his little band made a gallant defense ; and soon the British were repulsed, with the loss of a ship of war and many men. Among the British land troops on the occasion, were two hundred Creek warriors. Jackson, now a Major-General in the army, and commander of the south- western military district, assuming all the authority he was entitled to, held the Spanish governor of Florida responsible for the act of giving shelter to the enemies of the United States. Failing to obtain any satisfactory guaranty for the future, he marched from Mobile with about two thousand Tennessee militia and some Choctaw warriors, against Pensacola. On the 7th of November [1814J he stormed the town, drove the British to their shipping, and finally from the harbor, and made the governor beg for mercy, and surrender Pensa- cola and all its military works, unconditionally. The British fleet disappeared the next day [November 8], and the victor retraced his steps [November 9], His return was timely, for he was needed where extreme danger was menacing the whole southern country. On his arrival at Mobile, he found messages from New Orleans, begging his immediate march thither, for the British in the Gulf of Mexico, reinforced by thousands of troops from England, were about to invade Louisiana. Jackson instantly obeyed the summons, and arrived there 1 Page 427. * On the east side, about thirty miles south from Mobile. 1815.] THE SECOND WAR FOB INDEPENDENCE. 439 on the 2d of December. He found the people of New Orleans in the greatest alarm, but his presence soon restored quiet and confidence. By vigorous, and even rigorous measures (for he declared martial law), 1 he soon placed the city in a state of comparative security, 2 and when the British squadron, bearing General Packenham and about twelve thousand troops, many of them Welling- ton's veterans, entered Lake Borgne, he felt confident of success, even against such fearful odds. On the 14th of December, a British fleet of barges, about forty in number, and conveying twelve hundred men, captured a flotilla of five American gun- boats, in Lake Borgne, which were under the command of Lieutenant (late Com- modore) Thomas Ap Catesby Jones. In the engagement the Americans lost, in killed and wounded, about forty ; the British loss was about three hundred. The destruction of these gun-boats gave the enemy power to choose his point of attack ; and eight days afterward [Dec. 22], about twenty-four hundred of the British, under General Keane, reached the Mississippi, nine miles below New Orleans. An American detachment, led by Jackson in person, fell upon their camp the following night [Dec. 23, 1814], but withdrew to a stronger position, after killing or wounding four hundred of the British. The Americans lost about ene hundred. And now preparations were instantly made for the great battle which soon afterward ensued. Jackson concentrated his troops (about three thousand in number, and mostly militia) within a line of intrenchments* cast up four miles below the city of New Orleans, where they were twice cannonaded by the Brit- ish, but without much effect. Finally, on the morning of the 8th of January, 1815, General Packenham, the Brit- ish commander-in-chief, advanced with his whole force, numbering more than twelve thousand men, to make a gen- eral assault. Having been reinforced by about three thousand militia (chief- ly Kentuckians), Jackson now had six thousand expert marksmen con- cealed behind his intrenchments, or stationed at the batteries on his ex- tended line. A deep and ominous silence prevailed behind these defenses, until the British had approached within reach of the batteries, when the Americans opened a terrible cannonade. Yet the enemy continued to advance until within range of the American muskets and rifles. Volley after volley then poured a deadly storm of lead upon the 1 Note 8, page 170. 1 All the inlets, or bayous, were obstructed, and the banks of the Mississippi were so fortified as to prevent the ascent of vessels. A battery was erected on Chef Menteur, at the entrance to Lake Pontchartrain. 1 These intrenchments were a mile in length, extending from the river so far into the swamp, as to be impassable at the extremity. Along this line were eight distinct batteries, with heavy cannons; and on the opposite side of the river was a battery with fifteen cannons. BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 440 THE NATION. [1814. invaders. The British column soon wavered ; General Packenhani fell in front of his troops, with not less than a thousand dead and wounded lying around him ; and, utterly amazed by the terrible fire of the Americans, the entire army fled in confusion, leaving seven hundred dead, and more than a thousand wounded, on the field. The fugitives hastened to their encampment [Jan. 9], and finally to their ships [Jan. 18], and escaped. 1 The Americans were so safely intrenched, that they lost only seven killed and six wounded, in this victorious battle. It was the crowning victory, 2 and last land battle of moment, of the SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 3 While the victory of the Americans at New Orleans saved that city from plunder and destruction, 4 and the whole Southern country from invasion, the 1 While these operations were in progress on the Mississippi, the British fleet had not been in- active. Some vessels bombarded Fort St. Philip, below New Orleans, on the llth of January, and continued the attack for eight days without success. In the mean while, Admiral Cockburn [page 430] was pursuing his detestable warfare along the Carolina and Georgia coasts, menacing Charles- ton and Savannah with destruction, and landing at obscure points to plunder the inhabitants. 9 During 1814, the war continued on the ocean, yet there were no battles of great importance. The Peacock captured the British brig Epervier, on the 29th of April, off the coast of Florida. The Wasp, Captain Blakely, also made a successful cruise, but after capturing her thirteenth prize, dis- appeared, and was never heard of again. Probably lost in a storm. The President, Commodore Decatur, was captured off Long Island, on the 16th of January, 1815; and on the 20th of February following, the Constitution, Commodore Stewart, had a severe action with the British frigate Oyane, and sloop-of-war Levant, and captured both. Soon after this, the British brig Penguin was captured, but the proclamation of peace had then ended the war. * Page 409. 4 It is asserted, upon good authority, that Packenham's watchword, as he led his troops toward the city, was "Booty and Beauty," thereby indicating that plunder and ravishment should be the soldiers' reward 1 "We can hardly believe Sir Edward really contemplated such barbarity. 1815.] THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 443 brave Jackson, whose skill and prowess bad been chiefly instrumental in pro- ducing that result, was mercilessly assailed by some persons in official station, who could not appreciate his pure motives and sturdy patriotism. Perceiving the necessity of prompt and vigorous action, Jackson had taken all power into his hands, on his arrival at New Orleans, and declared martial law. 1 Governor Claiborne" wisely and generously seconded the measure, and surrendering all authority into the hands of General Jackson, led a large body of the militia of his State to the field. Three days after the battle, the news of peace arrived ; and Judge Hall immediately ordered the arrest of Jackson, on a charge of con- tempt of court. 3 He was tried ; and the judge fined him a thousand dollars. The people hissed the official ; bore the brave general upon their shoulders from the court-room to the street, and then the immense crowd sent up a shout, such as went over the land with emphasis thirteen years later, when he was a candi- date for the Chief Magistracy of the nation 4 "Hurrah for Jackson!" The blow aimed at him recoiled with fearful force upon his persecutors. The country was made vocal with rejoicings on account of the victory at New Orleans ; and Congress honored General Jackson with thanks and a gold medal. A little more than a month after the battle, a proclamation by the President [Feb. 18, 1815], that peace had been secured by treaty, spread a smile of tranquillity and happiness over the whole Union. 6 For more than a year, efforts toward that end had been put forth. As early as December, 1813, the British government had sent overtures of peace to that of the United States. They were forwarded by the British schooner Bramble, which arrived at Annapolis, in Maryland, on the 1st of January, 1814, bearing a flag of truce. The President at once informed Congress of the fact, and immedi- ate action was had. The overtures were promptly met, in a conciliatory spirit, by the government of the United States, and commissioners were ap- pointed by the two powers to negotiate a treaty." For a long time the Amer- ican commissioners were treated with neglect by the British government. They 1 Note 8, page 170. * William C. C. Claiborne was born in Virginia in 1775, and was educated at William and Mary College. He became an assistantclerk of the National House of Representatives at the age of six- teen years; and at the age of twenty-nine, President Jefferson appointed him governor of the Louisiana Territory. He had already become conspicuous as a lawyer in the West ; and at the age of twenty-two he was a judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. He was elected to Congress the following year, and was a distinguished man in that body. He was elected governor of Louisiana when it became a State in 1812, and was acting in that capacity when the British menaced New Orleans. He left that office in 1817, when he was elected to the United States Senate. But his death was near, and he never entered that assembly. He died in November, 1817, in the forty- Sicond year of his age. 1 A member of the Louisiana Legislature assailed Jackson by a newspaper publication. Jack- son ordered his arrest. Judge Hall granted a writ of habeas corpus. Jackson, in the proper exer- cise of Ms power under martial law, not only refused obedience to the mandates of the writ, but arrested the judge, and sent him out of the city. For this " contempt of court" Jackson himself was arrested. His noble defense was written by Edward Livingston. * Page 459. * As we have observed, intelligence of the signing of the treaty reached New Orleans three days after the battle. It was not formally proclaimed until more than a month afterward. * The United States commissioners were John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, John Russel, and Albert Gallatin. Those of Great Britain were Admiral Lord Gambler, Henry Gkiulbourn, and William Adams. These commissioners are all dead. Mr. Clay, who died in 1852, was the last survivor. 444 THE NATION. [1814. were suffered to remain in England unnoticed, for months, and then the ministry, proposing first one place, and then another, for the negotiations, exhibited a trifling spirit, derogatory to true dignity. For half a year the treaty was prolonged in this way, until, finally, the commissioners of the two governments met in the city of Ghent, in Belgium, in the month of August, 1814. On the 24th of December following, a treaty was signed, which both governments speedily ratified. It stipulated a mutual restoration of all places and possessions taken during the war, or which might be taken after signing the treaty ; declared that all captures at sea should be relinquished, if made within specified times there- after, in different parts of the world ; and that each party should mutually put a stop to Indian hostilities, and endeavor to extinguish the traffic in slaves. The boundaries, imperfectly adjusted by the treaty of 1783, * were all settled; but the subject of impressment of seamen, which was the chief cause of the war," of paper blockades, 3 and orders in council, 4 were all passed by without specific notice, in the treaty. With this treaty ended the war, which had been in prog- ress for tAvo years and eight months ; and the proclamation of the fact was an occasion of the most sincere rejoicing throughout the United States and Great Britain, for it was an unnatural contest a conflict between brethren of the same blood, the same religion, the same laws, and the same literature. During these negotiations, the war, as we have seen, was vigorously prose- cuted, and the opposition of the Federalists grew more intense. 5 It reached its culmination in December, when delegates, appointed by several New England Legislatures, 8 met [Dec. 15, 1814] in convention at Hartford, for the purposes of considering the grievances of the people, caused by a state of war, and to de- vise speedy measures for its termination. 7 This convention, whose sessions were secret, was denounced as treasonable by the administration party ; but patriot- ism appears to have prevailed in its councils, whatever may have been the de- signs of some. Its plans for disunion or secession, if any were formed, were rendered abortive soon after its adjournment, by the proclamation of peace, fol- lowed by the appointment of a day for national thanksgiving to the Almighty for the blessed event. That day was observed throughout the Union. The short time which remained of the session of Congress, after the proclam- ation of peace, was occupied by that body in adapting the affairs of the govern- ment to the new condition of things. The army was reduced to a peace ostab- ment of ten thousand men, and various acts, necessary for the public good during a state of war, were repealed. The naval establishment, however, was kept up ; and the depredations of Algerine cruisers caused Congress to author- 1 Page 348. * Note 5, page 409. 1 A port being blockaded by proclamation, without ships of war being there to maintain it This practice is no longer in vogue. * Note 1, page 400. 6 Page 410. * New Hampshire and Vermont were unrepresented, except by three county delegates. The Federalists in Vermont, especially, were now in a weak majority ; and Governor Oilman, of New Hampshire, the members of whose council were Democratic, could not call a meeting of the Legis- lature to appoint delegates. 7 George Cabot was appointed President of the Convention, and Theodore Dwight, a former member of Congress from Connecticut, and then editor of the Hartfvrd Union, was its secretary. The Convention was composed of twenty-six members. 1815.] THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 445 ize the President to send a squadron to the Mediterranean Sea. The results of the war, though apparently disastrous to all concerned at the time, were seen, subsequently, to have been highly beneficial to the United States, not so much in a material as in a moral aspect. The total cost of the war to the United States was about one hundred millions of dollars, and the loss of lives, by bat- tles and other casualties incident to the war, has been estimated at thirty thou- sand persons. The cost of blood and treasure to the British nation was much greater. During the war, the Americans captured, on the ocean and on the lakes, fifty-six British vessels of war, mounting 886 cannons ; and 2,360 mer- chant vessels, mounting 8,000 guns. There were also lost on the American coast, during the war, by wreck or otherwise, twenty-nine British ships of war, mounting about 800 guns. The Americans lost only twenty.-five vessels of war, and a much less number of merchant-ships than the British. 1 The clouds of an almost three years' war had scarcely disappeared from the firmament, when others suddenly arose. The contest with England had but just ended, when the United States were compelled to engage in a brief WAR WITH ALGIERS. As we have observed," the United States had paid tribute to Algiers since 1795. Every year, as his strength increased, the ruler of that Barbary State became more insolent,* and, finally, believing that the United States navy had been almost annihilated by the British in the late contest, he made a pretense for renewing depredations upon American commerce, in violation of the treaty. The American government determined to pay tribute no longer, accepted the challenge, and in May, 1815, Commodore Decatur 4 proceeded with a squadron to the Mediterranean, to humble the pirate. Fortunately, the Algerine fleet was cruising in the Mediterranean, in search of American vessels. On the 17th of June [1815], Decatur met and captured the flag-ship (a frigate) of the Al- gerine admiral, and another vessel with almost six hundred men, and then sailed for the Bay of Algiers. He immediately demanded [June 28] the instant sur- render of all American prisoners, full indemnification for all property destroyed, and absolute relinquishment of all claims to tribute from the United States, in future. Informed of the fate oj" a part of his fleet, the Dey 8 yielded to the humiliating terms, and signed a treaty [June 30] to that effect. Decatur then sailed for Tunis, and demanded and received [July, 1815] from the bashaw, forty-six thousand dollars, in payment for American vessels which he had allowed the English to capture in his harbor. The same demand, on the same account, was made upon the bashaw of Tripoli,' and Decatur received [August] twenty-five thousand dollars from him and the restoration of prisoners. This cruise in the Mediterranean gave full security to American commerce in those 1 For details, see Lossing's Pictorial Fidd-Book of the War of 1812. 4 Page 381. * Page 381. In 1812, the Dey compelled Mr. Lear, the American consul [page 395], to pay him $27,000 for the safety of himself, family, and a few Americans, under the penalty of all being made slaves. * Page 392. * Note 3, page 392. Page 392. 446 THE NATION. I [1817. seas, and greatly elevated the character of the government of the United States in the opinion of Europe. Now was accomplished, during a single cruise, what the combined powers of Europe dared not to attempt. Now the eventful administration of Mr. Madison drew to a close, and very little of general interest occurred, except the chartering of a new United States Bank, 1 with a capital of $35,000,000, to continue twenty years ; and the admis- sion of Indiana [December, 1816] into the union of States. On the 16th of March, 1816, a caucus of Democratic members of Congress, nominated James Monroe of Virginia (who had been Madison's Secretary of War for a few months), for President of the United States, and Daniel D. Tompkins 3 of New York, for Vice- President. The Federalists, whose power, as a party, was now rapidly passing away, nominated Rufus King 3 for President, and votes were given to several persons for Vice-President. Monroe and Tompkins were elected by large majorities. Mr. Monroe's election was by an almost unanimous vote of the electoral college. 4 Only one (in New Hampshire) was cast against him. CHAPTER VII. MONROE'S ADMINISTE ATION. [18171825]. ON the 4th of March, 1817, James Monroe, 5 the fifth President of the United States, was inaugurated at Washington City. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Marshall, 6 in the presence of Mr. Madison, the judges of the Supreme Court, and a large congregation of citizens. His address on that occasion was liberal and temperate in its tone, and gave general satis- faction to the people. The commencement of his administration was hailed as the dawn of an era of good feeling and national prosperity. 7 He selected his cabinet from the Republican party, and never since the formation of the gov- 1 Page 372. 9 Daniel D. Tompkins was born in 1774. He was a prominent Democrat when Jefferson was elected [page 389] President of the United States. He was chief justice of New York and also Governor of the State. He died on Staten Island, in 1825. 8 Page 395. Note 1, page 361. 6 James Monroe was born in "Westmoreland county, Virginia, in April, 1759. He was edu- cated at "William and Mary College, and his youth was spent amid the political excitements, when the "War for Independence was kindling. He joined the Continental army, under "Washington, in 1776, and during the campaigns of 1777 and 1778, he was aid to Lord Stirling. After the battle of Monmouth, he left the army and commenced the study of law under Jefferson. He was again in the field when Arnold and Phillips invaded his State, in 1781 [page 330]. The next year, he was a member of the Virginia Legislature, and at the age of twenty-five, was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was in active life as a legislator, foreign minister, Governor of Virginia, and President of the United States, until his retirement from the latter office in 1825. He died in the city of New Tork, on the 4th of July, 1831, when in the seventy-second year of his age. His remains lie unmarked by any monument, except a simple slab, in a cemetery on the north side of Second-street, in the city of New Tork. 8 Page 351. 7 President Monroe, soon after his inauguration, made a long tour of observation, extending to Portland, .in Maine, on the east, and to Detroit, on the west, in which he was occupied more than three months. He was everywhere received with the kindest attentions and highest honors, and hifi journey was conducive to the national good. 1825.] MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 447 eminent, had a President been surrounded with abler counselors. 1 Monroe was a judicious and reliable man ; and when we reflect upon the condition of the country at that time in a transition state from war and confusion to peace and order his elevation to the presidency seems to have been a national blessing. The administration of Mr. Monroe was marked by immense expansion in the material growth of the United States. During the war, a large number of manufacturing establishments had been nurtured into vigorous life by great demands and high prices ; but when peace returned, and European manufac- tures flooded the country at very low prices, wide-spread ruin ensued, and thousands of men were compelled to seek other employments. The apparent misfortune was a mercy in disguise, for the nation. Beyond the Alleghanies, millions of fertile acres, possessing real wealth, were awaiting the tiller's indus- try and skill. 2 Agriculture beckoned the bankrupts to her fields. Homes in 1 His cabinet consisted of John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State ; William H. Crawford, Sec- retary of the Treasury; John C. Calhoun, Secretary of "War; Benjamin Crowninshield, Secretary of the Navy ; and "William "Wirt, Attorney-General He offered the "War Department to the venerable Governor Shelby, of Kentucky [page 417], who declined it. Calhoun was appointed in December, 1817. Crowninshield, who was in Madison's cabinet, continued in office until the close of Novem- ber, 1818, when Smith Thompson, of New York, was appointed in his place. * The progress of the States and Territories west of the Alleghanies [note 3, page 19], in wealth and population, is truly wonderful A little more than sixty years ago, those immense lakes, Onta- rio, Erie, Michigan, Huron, and Superior, were entirely without commerce, and an Indian's canoe was almost the only craft seen upon them. In 1867, the value of traffic upon these waters and the navigable rivers, is probably not less than eight hundred millions of dollars. See note 4, page 537. Thirty-six years ago [1831] there were less than five thousand white people in the vast 448 TH E NATION. [1817. the East were deserted ; emigration flowed over the mountains in a broad and vigorous stream ; and before the close of Monroe's administration, four new sovereign States had started into being 1 from the wilderness of the great West, and one in the East. 2 The first year of Monroe's administration was chiefly distinguished by the admission [December 10, 1817] of a portion of the Mississippi Territory into the Union, as a State, 8 and the suppression of two piratical and slave-dealing establishments near the southern and south-western borders of "the Republic. One of them was at the mouth of the St. Mary's, Florida, and the other at Galveston, Texas. In addition to a clandestine trade in slaves, these bucca- neers, 4 under pretense of authority from some of the Spanish republics of South America, 5 were endeavoring to liberate the Floridas from the dominion of Spain. In November, 1817, United States troops proceeded to take pos- session of Amelia Island, the rendezvous of the pirates on the Florida coast, and the Galveston establishment soon disappeared for want of support. Other serious difficulties arose at about the same time. A motley host, composed chiefly of Seminole Indians,' Creeks dissatisfied with the treaty of 1814,' and runaway negroes, commenced murderous depredations upon the frontier settlements of Georgia and the Alabama Territory, toward the close of 1817. General Gaines 8 was sent to suppress these outrages, and to remove every Indian from the territory which the Creeks had ceded to the United States, in 1814. His presence aroused the fiercest ire of the Indians, who, it was ascertained, were incited to hostilities by British subjects, protected by the Spanish authorities in Florida. Gaines was placed in a perilous position, when General Jackson, with a thousand mounted Tennessee volunteers, hastened [December, 1817] to his aid. In March, 1818, he invaded Florida, took pos- session [April] of the weak Spanish post of St. Mark, at the head of Apa- lachee Bay, 9 and sent the civil authorities and troops to Pensacola. 10 At St. Mark he secured the persons of Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert C. Ambrister, who, on being tried [April 26] by a court martial, were found guilty of being the principal emissaries among the southern Indians, inciting them to hostilities. region between Lake Michigan and the Pacific Ocean ; now [1867] the number is probably five millions. Chicago was then a mere hamlet; now [1867] it is a fine city, with not less, probably, than one hundred and eighty thousand inhabitants. And never was the growth of the Great West more rapid than at the present. r Mississippi, December 10, 1817; Illinois, December 3, 1818; Alabama, December 14, 1819; and Missouri, March 2, 1821. * Maine, March 3, 1820. 8 The Territory was divided. The western portion was made a State, and the eastern was erected into a Territory, named Alabama, after its principal river. It included a portion of Georgia, given for a consideration. See page 455. * Note 6, page 149. * During the first quarter of the present century, nearly all of the countries in Central and South America, which, since the conquests of Cortez [page 43] and Pizarro [note 4, page 44], had been under the Spanish yoke, rebelled, and forming republics, became independent of Spain. It was the policy of our government to encourage these republics, by preventing the establishment of monarch- ical power on the American continent. This is known as the " Monroe doctrine," a term frequently used in political circles. Page 30. T Note 8, page 428. 8 Page 398. Edmund P. Gaines was born in Virginia, in 1777. He entered the army in 1799, and rose gradually until he was made Major-General for his gallantry at Fort Erie [page 433] in 1814 He remained in the army until bis death, in 1849. * Page 44. l Page 438. 1825.] MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 451 They were both executed on the 30th of the same month. 1 Jackson soon after- ward marched for Pensacola, it being known that the Spanish authorities there had encouraged the Indians in making depredations hi Alabama. The Spanish governor protested against this invasion of his territory ; but Jackson, satisfied of his complicity with the Indians, pushed forward and seized Pensacola on the 24th of May. The governor and a few followers fled on horseback to Fort Barrancas, at the entrance to Pensacola Bay. This fortress was captured by Jackson three days afterward [May 27], and the Spanish authorities and troops were sent to Havana. For this invasion of the territory of a friendly power, and his summary pro- ceedings there, General Jackson was much censured. His plea, in justification, was the known interference of the Spanish authorities in Florida, in our domes- tic affairs, by sheltering those who were exciting the Indians to bloody deeds ; and the absolute necessity of prompt and efficient measures at the time. He was sustained by the government and the voice of the people. These measures developed the necessity for a general and thorough settlement of affairs on the southern boundary of the Republic, and led to the important treaty 7 concluded at Washington City, in February, 1819, by which Spain ceded to the United States the whole of the Floridas, and the adjacent islands. That country was erected into a Territory in February, 1821 ; and in March ensuing, General Jackson was appointed the first governor of the newly-acquired domain. "We have observed that the vast region of Louisiana, purchased from France in 1803, was divided into two Territories. 3 The Louisiana Territory was admitted into the Union as a State, in 1812 ; 4 and while the treaty concerning Florida was pending, the southern portion of the remainder of the Territory extending westward of that State to the Pacific Ocean, which was erected into the "Missouri Territory" in 1812, was formed into a separate government in 1819, and called Arkansas. In December, the same year, Alabama was 1 Arbuthnot was a Scotch trader from New Providence, one of the Bermuda Islands. He had a store on the Suwaney River, where many of tho hostile Indians and negroes congregated. Am- brister was a young Englishman, about twenty-one years of age, who had borno a lieutenant's commission in the British service. He was also at the Suwaney settlements, and put himself at the head of the Indians and negroes. * Made by John Quincy Adams for the United States, and Don Onis, the Spanish embassador at "Washington. Hitherto, the United States had claimed a large portion of Texas, as a part of Louisiana. By this treaty, Texas was retained by the Spaniards. Tho cession was made as an equivalent for all claims against Spain for injury done the American commerce, to an amount not exceeding five millions of dollars. The treaty was not finally ratified until February, 1821. 1 Page 390. * The admirable penal code of Louisiana, which has ever stood the test of severe criticism, is the work of Edward Livingston, who was appointed the principal of a commission appointed to codify the laws of that State. The code, of which he was the sole author, was adopted in 1824. Mr. Livingston was born upon the "Manor," in Columbia county, New York, in 1764. He was educated at Princeton, studied law under Chancellor Lansing, and became eminent in his profession. He became a member of Congress in 1794, then attorney for the district of New York, and finally, he went to New Orleans to retrieve a broken fortune. He was an aid to General Jackson, in the battle at New Orleans, in January, 1815, and his pen wrote the noble defense of that soldier, when he was persecuted by civil officers in that city. See page 443. When the last page of his manu- script code of laws for Louisiana was ready for the press, a firo consumed the whole, and he was two years reproducing it That work is his monument. Mr. Livingston was Secretary of State under President Jackson ; and in 1833, he was sent to France, as the resident minister of the United States. He died in- Duchess county, New York, in May, 1837. 452 THE NATION. [1817. admitted into the Union; and at the same time, Missouri and Maine were making overtures for a similar position. Maine was admitted in March, 1820, l but the entrance of Missouri was delayed until August, 1821, by a violent and protracted debate which sprung up between the Northern and the Southern members of Congress on the subject of slavery, elicited by the proposition for its admission. It was during the session of 1818-19, that a bill was introduced into Con- gress, which contained a provision forbidding the existence of slavery or invol- untary servitude in the new State of Missouri, when admitted. Heated debates immediately occurred, and the subject was postponed until another session. The whole country, in the mean while, was agitated by disputes on the subject; and demagogues, as usual at the North and at the South, raised the cry of Dis- union of the Confederation ! Both parties prepared for the great struggle ; and when the subject was again brought before Congress [November 23, 1820], angry disputes and long discussions ensued. A compromise was finally agreed to [February 28, 1821], by which slavery should be allowed in Missouri and in all territory south of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude (southern boundary of Missouri), and prohibited in all the territory northerly and westerly of these limits. This is known as The Missouri Compromise? Under this compromise, Missouri was admitted on the 21st of August, 1821, and 1 Page 129. 9 Page 501. 1825.] MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 453 the excitement on the subject ceased. The Republic was now composed of twenty-four States. While the Missouri question was pending, a new election for President and Vice-President of the United States, took place. Never, since the foundation of the government, had there been an election so quiet, and so void of party virulence. Mr. Monroe was re-elected President, and Mr. Tompkins 1 Vice- President [November, 1820], by an almost unanimous vote the old Federal party, 2 as an organization, being nearly extinct. The administration had been very popular, and the country was blessed with general prosperity. Two other measures, besides those already noticed, received the warmest approbation of the people. The first was an act of Congress, passed in March, 1818, in pursu- ance of Monroe's recommendation, making provision, in some degree, for the surviving officers and soldiers of the Revolution. It was subsequently extended, so as to include the widows and children of those who were deceased. The other was an arrangement made with Great Britain, in October, 1818, by which American citizens were allowed to share with those of that realm, in the valuable Newfoundland fisheries. At the same time, the northern boundary of the United States, from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, was defined.' Few events of general importance, aside from the rapid progress of the country in all its industrial and governmental operations, occurred during the remainder of Monroe's administration, except the suppression of piracy among the West India Islands, and the visit of General La Fayette 4 to the United States, as the nation's guest. The commerce of the United States had been greatly annoyed and injured by swarms of pirates who infested the West India seas. A small American squadron, under Commodore Perry, 8 had been sent thither in 1819, to chastise the buccaneers. Perry died of the yellow fever in the performance of his duty, and very little was done at that time. About four years later [1822], a small American squadron destroyed more than twenty piratical vessels on the coast of Cuba; and the following year the work was completed by a larger force, under Commodore Porter. 8 The second-named event was of a more pleasing character. La Fayette, the companion-in-arms of Washington 7 during the Revolutionary struggle, arrived at New York, from France, in August, 1824, and during about eleven succeeding months, he made a tour of over five thousand miles, throughout the United States. He was everywhere greeted with the warmest enthusiasm, and was often met by men who had served under him in the first War for Independence. When he was prepared to return, an American frigate, named Brandywine, in compliment to him, 8 was sent by the United States government to convey him back to France. Mr. Monroe's administration now drew toward a close, and in the autumn 1 Page 446. * Page 374. s Page 479. 4 Page 273. * Page 423. ' Page 431. T Page 273. 8 La Fayette's first battle for freedom in America, was that on the Brandywine Creek, in Sep- tember, 1777, where he was wounded in the leg. See note 5, page 273. 454 THE NATION. [1825. of 1824, the people were called upon to select his successor. It soon became evident that a large proportion of the old politicians of the Democratic party had decided to support William H. Crawford, the Secretary of the Treasury, for the succession. Four candidates, representing the different sections of the Union/ were finally put in nomination. The result was, that the choice de- volved upon the House of Representatives, for the second time." That body, by an election held in February, 1825, chose John Quincy Adams for Presi- dent. John C. Calhoun had been chosen Vice-President by the people. The election and final choice produced great excitement throughout the country, and engendered political rancor equal to that which prevailed during the admin- istration of the elder Adams. Mr. Monroe's administration closed on the 4th of March ensuing, and he resigned to his successor the Chief Magistracy of a highly-prosperous nation. CHAPTER VIII. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. [18251829.] AT about half-past twelve o'clock, on the 4th day of March, 1825, John Quincy Adams, 3 son of the second President of the United States, entered the hall of the House of Representatives, and took his seat in the chair of the Speaker. He was dressed in a suit of black cloth, and, being small in stature, did not present a more dignified appearance than hundreds of his fellow-citizens around him. He appeared, as he really was, a plain Republican one of the people. When silence was obtained, he arose and delivered his inaugural ad- dress ; then descending, he placed himself on the right hand of a table, and took the oath of office, administered by Chief-Justice Marshall. The Senate being in session, Mr. Adams immediately nominated his cabinet officers, 4 and 1 John Quincy Adams in the East, William H. Crawford in the Soitfh, Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay in the West. a Page 388. 3 John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, was born at Quincy, Massa- chusetts, on the llth of July, 1767. He went to Europe, with his father, at the age of eleven years ; and, in Paris, he was much in the society of Franklin and other distinguished men. At the age of fourteen years he accompanied Mr. Dana to St. Petersburg, as private secretary to that em- bassador. He traveled much alone, and finally returned, and finished his education at Harvard College. He became a lawyer, but public service kept him from that pursuit. He was made United States minister to the Netherlands in 1794, and afterward held the same office at Lisbon and Berlin. He was a member of the United States Senate in 1803 ; and in 1809 he was sent as minister to the Russian court. After negotiating a treaty of peace at Ghent [page 443], he. was ap- pointed minister to the English court. In 1817 he was made Secretary of State, by Mr. Monroe. Having served one term as President of the United States, he retired; and from 1831, he was a member of Congress until his death, which occurred in the Speaker's room, at the Natioal Capitol, on the 22d of February, 1848, when in the eighty-first year of his age. 4 Henry Clay, Secretary of State ; Richard Rush, Secretary of the Treasury ; James Barbour, Secretary of "War ; Samuel L. Southard (continued in office), Secretary of the Navy ; and William Wirt (continued), Attorney-General. There was considerable opposition in the Senate to the con- firmation of Henry Clay's nomination. He had been charged with defeating the election of General Jackson, by giving his influence to Mr. Adams, on condition that he should be appointed bis Secro- 1829.] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 455 all but one were confirmed by a unanimous vote of that body. His political views were consonant with those of Mr. Monroe, and the foreign and domestic policy of his administration were generally conformable to those views. The amity which existed between the United States and foreign governments, and the absence of serious domestic troubles, made the administration of Mr. Adams a remarkably quiet one, and gave the executive opportunities for adjusting the operations of treaties with the Indian tribes, and the arrangement of measures for the promotion of those great staple interests of the country agriculture, commerce, and manufactures. Discords, which the election had produced, ex- cited the whole country during Mr. Adams's administration, with the agitations incident to excessive party zeal, and bitter party rancor ; yet the President, thoroughly acquainted with all the public interests, and as thoroughly skilled in every art of diplomacy and jurisprudence, managed the affairs of State with a fidelity and sagacity which command our warmest approbation. One of the most exciting topics, for thought and discussion, at the beginning of Adams's administration [1825], was a controversy between the National Gov- ernment and the chief magistrate of Georgia, concerning the lands of the Creek Indians, and the removal of those aboriginals from the territory of that State. When Georgia relinquished her claims to considerable portions of the Missis- sippi Territory, 1 the Federal Government agreed to purchase, for that State, tary of State. This, however, was only a bubble on the surface of political strife, and had no truth- ful substance. In the Senate, there were twenty-seven votes in favor, and fourteen against con- firming the nomination of Mr. Clay. * Note 2, page 447. 456 THE NATION. [1825. the Indian lands within its borders, "whenever it could be peaceably done upon reasonable terms." The Creeks, who, with their neighbors, the Cherokees, were beginning to practice the arts of civilized life, refused to sell their lands. Troup, the governor of Georgia, demanded the immediate fulfillment of the con- tract. He caused a survey of the lands to be made, and prepared to distribute them by lottery, to the citizens of that State. Impatient at the tardiness of the United States in extinguishing the Indian titles and removing the remnants of the tribes, according to stipulation, the governor assumed the right to do it him- self. The United States took the attitude of defenders of the Indians, and, for a time, the matter bore a serious aspect. The difficulties were finally settled, and the Creeks 1 and Cherokees 2 gradually removed to the rich wilderness be- yond the Mississippi. At about this time a great work of internal improvement was completed. The Erie Canal, in the State of New York, was finished in 1825. It was the most important and stupendous public improvement ever undertaken in the United States ; and, though it was the enterprise of the people of a single State, that originated and- accomplished the labor of forming the channel of a river through a large extent of country, it has a character of nationality. Its earli- est advocate was Jesse Hawley, who, in a series of articles published in 1807 and 1808, signed Hercules, set forth the feasibility and great importance of Buch a connection of the waters of Lake Erie and the Hudson River. 3 His 1 Page 30. 2 Page 27. 8 In a manuscript letter now before the writer, dated "Albany, 4th March, 1822," Dewitt Clin- ton says to Jesse Hawley, to whom the letter is addressed : "In answer to your letter, I have no 1829.] JOHN QUINCT ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 457 views were warmly seconded by Gouverneur Morris, 1 Dewitt Clinton, and a few others, and its final accomplishment was the result, chiefly, of the untir- ing efforts, privately and officially, of the latter gentleman, while a member of the Legislature and governor of the State of New York. It is three hun- dred and sixty- three miles in length, and the first estimate of its cost was $5,000,000. Portions of it have since been enlarged, to meet the increasing demands of its commerce ; and in 1853, the people of the State decided, by a general vote, to have it enlarged its entire length. That work is now [1867] in progress. A most remarkable coincidence occurred on the 4th of July, 1826, the fif- tieth anniversary of American Independence. On that day, and almost at the same hour, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson expired. They were both mem- bers of the committee who had framed the Declaration of Independence," both signed it, 3 both had been foreign ministers, 4 both ha.d been Vice- Presidents, and then Presidents of the United States, and both had lived to a great age. 6 These coincidences, and the manner and time of their death, produced a profound im- pression upon the public mind. In many places throughout the Union, eulogies or funeral orations were pronounced, and these, collected, form one of the most remarkable contributions to our historical and biographical literature. After the difficulties with Georgia were settled, the remaining years of Mr. Adams's administration were so peaceful and prosperous, that public affairs present very few topics for the pen of the general historian. 9 The most import- ant movement in foreign policy, was the appointment, early in 1826, of com- missioners 7 to attend a congress of representatives of the South American Re- publics, 3 held at Panama [July, 1826], on the Pacific coast. This appointment hesitation in stating that the first suggestion of a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson River, which came to my knowledge, was communicated in essays under the signature of Hercules, on Internal Navigation, published in the Ontario Messenger, at Canandaigua. The first number appeared on the 27th of October, 1807, and the series of numbers amounted, I believe, to fourteen. The board of Canal Commissioners, which made the first tour of observation and survey, in 1810, were pos- sessed of the writings of Hercules, which were duly appreciated, as the work of a sagacious in- ventor and elevated mind. And you were at that time, and since, considered the author." Dewitt Clinton was a son of General James Clinton, of Orange county, New York. He was born in March, 1769. He was mayor of New York ten years, and was elected governor of the State in 1817, and again in 1820 and 1826. He died suddenly while hi that office, in February, 1828. 1 Page 364. * Note 2, page 251. 3 Jefferson was its author, and Adams its principal supporter, in the Continental Congress. 4 Note 2, page 383, and note 5, page 388. 6 Mr. Adams died at Quincy, Massachusetts, at the age of almost ninety-one years. Mr. Jeffer- son died at Monticello, Virginia, at the age of almost eighty-three years. ' An event occurred in 1826 which produced great excitement throughout the country, and led to the formation of a new, and for a time, quite a powerful political party. William Morgan, of "Western New York, announced his intention to publish a book, in which the secrets of Free Masonry were to be disclosed. He was suddenly seized at Canandaigua one evening, placed in a carriage, and was never heard of afterward. Some Free Masons were charged with his murder, and the report of an investigating committee, appointed by the New York State Legislature, con- firmed the suspicion. The public mind was greatly agitated, and there was a disposition to exclude Free Masons from office. An Anti-Masonic party was formed, and its organization spread over several States. In 1831, a national anti-Masonic convention was held at Philadelphia, and William Wirt, of Virginia, was nominated for the office of President of the United States. Although the party polled a considerable vote, it soon afterward disappeared. T R. C. Addison, and John Sargeant, commissioners ; and William B. Rochester, of New York, then- secretary. 8 Note 5, page 448. As early as 1823, General Bolivar, while acting as President of Colombia, 458 THE NATIOST. [1825. produced much discussion in Congress, chiefly on party grounds. The result of the congress at Panama was comparatively unimportant, so far as the United States was concerned, and appears to have had very little influence on the affairs of South America. the administration of' Mr. Adams, the policy of protecting home manufactures, by imposing a heavy duty upon foreign articles of the same kind, assumed the shape of a settled national policy, and the foundations of the American System, as that policy is called, was then laid. The illiberal commer- cial policy of Great Britain, caused tariff laws to be enacted by Congress as early as 1816, as retaliatory measures. 1 In 1824, imposts were laid on foreign fabrics, with a view to encourage American manufactures. In July, 1827, a national convention was held at Harrisburg, in Pennsylvania, to discuss the subject of protective tariffs. Only four of the slave States sent delegates. The result of the convention was a memorial to Congress, asking an augmentation of duties on several articles then manufactured in the United States. The Sec- retary of the Treasury called attention to the subject in his report in Decem- invited the governments of Mexico, Peru, Chili, and Buenos Ayres, to unite with him in forming a general congress at Panama, and the same year arrangements between Colombia, Mexico, and Peru were made, to effect that object. In the spring of 1825, the United States government was invited to send a delegation to the proposed congress. The objects of the congress were, to settle upon some line of policy having the force of international law, respecting the rights of those repub- lics ; and to consult upon measures to be taken to prevent further colonization on the American continent by European powers, and their interference iu then existing contests. 1 Page 367. 1829.] JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 459 ber following. Congress, at an early period of the session of 1827-'28, took up the matter, and a Tariff Bill became a law in May following. The Amer- ican System was very popular with the manufacturers of the North, but the cotton-growing States, which found a ready market for the raw material in En- gland, opposed it. The tariff law, passed on the 15th of May, 1 828, was very obnoxious to the Southern politicians. 1 They denounced it as oppressive and unconstitutional, and became rebellious in 1832 and 1833." The Presidential election took place in the autumn of 1828, when the pub- lic mind was highly excited. For a long time the opposing parties had been marshaling their forces for the contest. The candidates were John Quincy Adams and General Andrew Jackson. The result was the defeat of Mr. Adams, and the election of General Jackson. John C. Calhoun, 8 of South Carolina, was elected Vice-President, and both had very large majorities. During the contest, the people appeared to be on the verge of civil war, so violent was the party strife, and so malignant were the denunciations of the candidates. When it was over, perfect tranquillity prevailed, the people cheerfully acquiesced in the result, and our sytem of government was nobly vindicated before the world. President Adams retired from office on the 4th of March, 1829. He left to his successor a legacy of unexampled national prosperity, peaceful relations with all the world, a greatly diminished national debt, and a surplus of more than five millions of dollars in the public treasury. He also bequeathed to the Republic the tearful gratitude of the surviving soldiers of the Revolution, among whom had been distributed in pensions,* during his administration^ more than five millions of dollars. CHAPTER IX. JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. [1829 183T] THERE were incidents of peculiar interest connected with the inauguration of Andrew Jackson, 5 the seventh President of the United States. President 1 The chief articles on which heavy protective duties were laid, were woolen and cotton fab- rics. At that tune, the value of annual imports of cotton goods from Great Britain was about $8,000,000 ; that of woolen goods about the same. The exports to Great Britain, of cotton, rice, and tobacco, alone the chief products of the Southern States), was about $24,000",000 annually. These producers were made to fear a great diminution of their exports, by a tariff that should almost wholly prohibit the importation of three millions of dollars' worth of British cotton and woolen fabrics, annually. 3 Page 463. 8 John C. Calhoun was born in South Carolina in 1782. He first appeared in Congress in 1811, and was always distinguished for his consistency, especially in his support of the institution of plavery and the doctrine of State supremacy. He was an able debater, and subtle politician ; and the logical result of his political teachings was the late Civil "War. He died at Washington (city, while a member of the National Senate, in March, 1850. * Page 453. 5 Andrew Jackson was born in Mecklenberg county, North Carolina, in March, 1767. His parents were from the north of Ireland, and belonged to that Protestant community known as Scotch-Irish. In earliest infancy, he was left to the care of an excellent mother, by the death of his father. He first saw the horrors of war, and felt the wrongs of oppression, when Colonel 460 THE NATION. [1829. Adams had convened the Senate on the morning of the 4th of March, 1829, and at twelve o'clock that body adjourned for an hour. During that time, the President elect entered the Senate chamber, having been escorted from Gadsby's Hotel, by a few surviving officers and soldiers of the old War for Independence. These had addressed him at the hotel, and now, in presence of the chief officers of government, foreign ministers, and a large number of ladies, he thus replied to them : " RESPECTED FRIENDS Your affectionate address awakens sentiments and recollections which I feel with sincerity and cherish with pride. To have around my person, at the moment of undertaking the most solemn of all duties to my country, the companions of the immortal Washington, will afford me satisfaction and grateful encouragement. That by my best exertions, I shall be able to exhibit more than an imitation of his labors, a sense of my own imper- Buford's troops were massacred [page 313, and note 1, page 314] in his neighborhood, in 1780. He entered the army, and suffered in the cause of freedom, by imprisonment, and the death of his mother while she was on an errand of mercy. He studied law, and became one of the most eminent men hi the Western District of Tennessee, as an advocate and a judge. He was ever a controlling spirit in that region. He assisted in framing a State constitution for Tennessee, and was the first representative of that State in the National Congress. He became United States senator in 1797, and was soon afterward appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of his State. He settled near Nashville, and for a long time was chief military commander in that region. When the War of 1812 broke out, he took the field, and in the capacity of Major-General, he did good service hi the southern country, till its close. He. was appointed the first Governor of Florida, in 1821, and in 1823, was again in the United States Senate. He retired to private life at the close of his presi- dential term, and died at his beautiful residence, The Hermitage, near Nashville, in June, 1845, at the age of seventy-eight years. 1837.] JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 461 factions, and the reverence I entertain for his virtues, forbid me to hope. To you, respected friends, the survivors of that heroic band \vho followed him, so long and so valiantly, in the path of glory, I offer my sincere thanks, and to Heaven my prayers, that your remaining years may be as happy as your toils and your lives have been illustrious." The whole company then proceeded to the eastern portico of the capitol, where, in the presence of a vast assembly of citizens, the President elect delivered his inaugural address, and took the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Marshall. 1 That jurist again adminis- tered the same oath to President Jackson on the 4th of March, 1833, and a few months afterward went down into the grave. President Jackson was possessed of strong passions, an uncorrupt heart, and an iron will. Honest and inflexible, he seized the helm of the ship of state with a patriot's hand, resolved to steer it according to his own conceptions of the meaning of his guiding chart, The, Constitution, unmindful of the inter- ference of friends or foes. His instructions to the first minister sent to England, on his nomination "Ask nothing but what is right; submit to nothing wrong" indicate the character of those moral and political maxims by which he was governed. His audacity amazed his friends and alarmed his opponents ; and no middle men existed. He was either thoroughly loved or thoroughly hated; and for eight years he braved the fierce tempests of party strife," domestic perplexities, 3 and foreign arrogance, 4 with a skill and courage which demands the admiration of his countrymen, however much they may differ with him in matters of national policy. The gulf between him and his political oppo- nents was so wide, that it was difficult for the broadest charity to bridge it. To those who had been his true friends during the election struggle, he extended the grateful hand of recognition, and after having. his inquiries satisfied, "Is he capable ? is he honest?" he conferred official station upon the man who pleased him, with a stoical indifference to the clamor of the opposition. The whole of President Adams's cabinet officers having resigned, Jackson immediately nom- inated his political friends for his counselors, and the Senate confirmed his choice. 5 Among the first subjects of general and commanding interest which occu- pied the attention of President Jackson, at the commencement of his administra- tion, were the claims of Georgia to lands held by the powerful Cherokee tribe of Indians, and lying within the limits of that State. Jackson favored the views of the Georgia authorities, and the white people proceeded to take possession of the Indians' land. Trouble ensued, and the southern portion of the Republic was 1 Page 351. a Following the precedent of Jefferson [page 389], he filled a large number of the public offices with his political friends, after removing the incumbents. These removals were for all causes ; and during his administration, they amounted to six hundred and ninety out of several thousands, who were removable. The entire number of removals made by all the preceding Presidents, from 1790 to 1829, was seventy-four. Page 464. * Page 468. 6 Martin Van Buren, Secretary of State ; Samuel D. Ingham, Secretary of the Treasury ; John H. Eaton, Secretary of War; John Branch, Secretary of the Navy; and John McPherson Berrian, Attorney-General It having been determined to make the Postmaster-General a cabinet officer, William T. Barry was appointed to that station. 462 THK NATION. [1829. again menaced with civil war. The matter was adjudicated by the Supreme Court of the United States, and on the 30th of March, 1832, that tribunal decided against the claims of Georgia. But that State, favored by the Presi- dent, resisted the decision. The difficulty was finally adjusted; and in 1838, General Winfield Scott 1 was sent thither, with several thousand troops, to remove the Cherokees, peaceably if possible, but forcibly if necessary, beyond the Mississippi. Through the kindness and conciliation of Scott, they were induced to migrate. They had become involved in the difficulties of their Creek neighbors, 3 but were defended against the encroachments of the Georgians during Adams's administration. But in December, 1839, they were crushed, as a nation, by an act of Congress, and another of the ancient communities of the New World was wiped from the living record of empire. The Cherokees 3 were more advanced in the arts of civilized life than the Creeks.* They had churches, schools, and a printing-press, and were becoming successful agriculturists. It appeared cruel in the extreme to remove them from their fertile lands and the graves of their fathers, to the wilderness ; yet it was, doubtless, a proper meas- ure for insuring the prosperity of both races. But now [1867], again, the tide of civilization is beating against their borders. Will they not be borne upon its powerful wave, further into the wilderness ? Another cause for public agitation appeared in 1832. In his first annual message [December, 1829] Jackson took strong ground against the renewal of the charter of the United States Bank, 6 on the ground that it had failed in the great end of establishing a uniform and sound currency, and that such an insti- tution was not authorized by the National Constitution. He again attacked the bank in his annual message in 1830, and his objections were renewed in that of 1831. At the close of 1831, the proper officers of the bank, for the first time, petitioned for a renewal of its charter. That petition was presented in the Senate on the 9th of January, 1832, and on the 13th of March, a select com- mittee to whom it was referred, reported in favor of renewing the charter for fifteen years. Long debates ensued ; and, finally, a bill for re-chartering the bank passed both Houses of Congress : the Senate on the llth of June, by twenty-eight against twenty votes ; and by the House of Representatives on the 3d of July, by one hundred and seven against eighty-five. Jackson vetoed 8 it on the 10th of July, and as it failed to receive the support of two thirds of the members of both Houses, the bank charter expired, by limitation, in 1836. The commercial community, regarding a national bank as essential to their prosperity, were alarmed; and prophecies of panics and business revulsions, everywhere uttered, helped to accomplish their own speedy fulfillment. An Indian war broke out upon the north-western frontier, in the spring of 1832. Portions of some of the western tribes, 7 residing within the domain 1 Page 485. a Page 427. 8 Page 27. Page 30. B Page 446. 8 That is, refused to sign it, and returned it to Congress, with his reasons, for reconsideration by that body. The Constitution gives the President this pmver, and when exercised, a bill can not become law without his signature, unless it shall, on reconsideration, receive the votes of two thirds .of the members of both Houses of Congress. See Article T, Section 7, of the Constitution, in the .Supplement. 7 Sacs, Foxes, and Winnebagoea. See page 18. 1837.] JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 463 of the present State of Wisconsin, 1 led by Black Hawk,* a fiery Sac chief, commenced warfare upon the frontier settlers of Illinois, in April of that year. After several skirmishes with United States troops and Illinois militia, under General Atkinson, 1 the Indians were driven beyond the Mississippi. Black Hawk was captured in August, 1832, and taken to Washington City ; and then, to impress his mind with the strength of the nation he had foolishly made war with, he was conducted through several of the eastern cities. This brief strife, which appeared quite alarming at one time, is known in history as the "Black Hawk War." 4 This cloud in the West had scarcely disappeared, when one loomed up in the South far more formidable in appearance, and charged with menacing thun- der that, for a while, shook the entire fabric of the Republic. The dis- contents of the cotton-growing States, produced by the tariff act of 1828, 5 assumed the form of rebellion in South Carolina, toward the close of 1832. An act of Congress, imposing additional duties upon foreign goods, passed in 1 That domain was not erected into a Territory until fonr years after that event ; now it is a rich, populous, and nourishing State. Page 18. 3 Henry Atkinson was a native of North Carolina, and entered the army as captain, in If He was retained in the army after the second War for Independence, was made Adjutant-General, and was finally appointed to the command of the "Western Army. He died at Jefferson Barracks, in June, 1842. 4 Black Hawk returned to his people, but was, with difficulty, restored to his former dignity of chief. He died in October, 1840, and was buried on the banks of the Mississippi * Page 459. 4(54 THE NATION. [1829. the spring of 1832, led to a State convention in South Carolina, in November following. It assembled on the 19th of that month, and the Governor of South Carolina was appointed its president. That' assembly declared the tariff acts unconstitutional, and therefore null and void. It resolved that duties should not be paid ; and proclaimed that any attempt to enforce the collection of duties in the port of Charleston, by the general government, would be resisted by arms, and would produce the withdrawal of South Carolina from the Union. The State Legislature, which met directly after the adjournment of the con- vention, passed laws in support of this determination. Military preparations were immediately made, and civil war appeared inevitable. Then it was that the executive ability of the President, so much needed, was fully displayed. Jackson promptly met the crisis by a proclamation, on the 10th of December, which denied the right of a State to nullify any act of the National Govern- ment ; and warned those who were engaged in fomenting a rebellion, that the laws of the United States would be strictly enforced by military power, if necessary. This proclamation met the hearty response of every friend of the Union, of whatever party, and greatly increased that majority of the President's supporters, who had just re-elected him to the Chief Magistracy of the Repub- lic. 1 The nullifiers* of South Carolina, though led by such able men as Cal- houn 3 and Hayne, 4 were obliged to yield for the moment ; yet their zeal and determination in the cause of State Supremacy, were not abated. Every day the tempest-cloud of civil commotion grew darker and darker ; until, at length, Henry Clay, 5 a warm friend of the American System, 6 came forward, in Con- gress [February 12, 1833], with a bill, which provided for a gradual reduction of the obnoxious duties, during the succeeding ten years. This compromise measure was accepted by both parties. It became a law on the 3d of March, and discord between the North and the South soon ceased, but only for a season. 7 4 Those who favored the doctrine that a State might nullify the acts of the National Govern- ment, were called nullifiers, and the dangerous doctrine itself was called nullification. 3 Page 458. Mr. Calhoun, who had quarreled, politically, with Jackson, had recently resigned the office of Vice-President of the United States, and was one of the ablest men in Congress. He asserted the State supremacy doctrine boldly on the floor of Congress, and held the same opinion until his death. 4 Robert T. Hayne was one of the ablest of southern statesmen. The debate between Hayne and Webster, in the Senate of the United States, during the debates on this momentous subject, is regarded as one of the most eminent, for sagacity and eloquence, that ever marked the proceedings of that body. Mr. Hayne was born near Charleston, South Carolina-, in November, 1791. He was admitted to the bar in 1812, and the same year volunteered his services for the defense of the sea- board, and entered the army as lieutenant. He arose rapidly to the rank of Major-General of the militia of his State, and was considered one of the best disciplinarians of the South. He had exten- sive practice at the bar, before he was twenty-two years of age, and it was always lucrative. He was a member of the South Carolina Assembly in 1814, where he was distinguished for eloquence. He was chosen Speaker in 1818. For ten years he represented South Carolina in the Senate of the United States; and he was chairman of the Committee of the Convention of South Carolina, which reported the "ordinance of nullification." He was soon afterward chosen Governor of his State. He died in September, 1841, in the fiftieth year of his age. 6 Page 500. Page 459. 7 Jit is known that Mr. Clay introduced the Compromise Bill with the concurrence of Mr. Calhoun. The latter had proceeded to the verge of treason, in his opposition to the general government, and President Jackson had threatened him with arrest, if he moved another step forward. Knowing 1837.] JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 465 President Jackson's hostility to the United States Bank was again mani- fested in his annual message to Congress, in December, 1832, when he recom- mended the removal of the public funds from its custody, and a sale of the stock of the bank, belonging to the United States. 1 Congress, by a decided vote, refused to authorize the measure ; but after its adjournment, the Presi- dent assumed the responsibility of the act, and directed William J. Duane, the Secretary of the Treasury, to withdraw the government funds (then almost $10,000,000), and deposit them in certain State banks. During a northern tour which the President had made in the summer of 1833, he had urged Mr. Duane (then in Philadelphia) to make the removal, but he would only consent to the appointment of an agent to inquire upon what terms the local banks would receive the funds on deposit. The President then ordered him, perem- torily, to remove them from the bank. The Secretary refused compliance, and was dismissed from office. His successor, Roger B. Taney*(who was after- ward Chief-Justice of the United States), obeyed the President; and in October, 1833, the act was accomplished. The effect produced was sudden and wide-spread commercial distress. The business of the country was plunged from the height of prosperity to the depths of adversity, because its intimate connection with the National Bank rendered any paralysis of the operations of that institution fatal to commercial activity. The amount of loans of the bank, on the 1st of October, was over sixty millions of dollars, and the amount of the funds of the United States, then on deposit in the bank, was almost ten millions of dollars. The fact, that the connection of the bank with the business of the country was so vital, confirmed the President in his opinion of the danger of such an enormous moneyed institution. A large portion of the government funds were removed in the course of four months, and the whole amount in about nine months. Intense excitement pre- vailed throughout the country ; yet the President, supported by the House of Representatives, persevered and triumphed. Numerous committees, appointed by merchants, mechanics, manufacturers, and others, waited upon him, to ask him to take some measures for relief. He was firm ; and to all of them he re- plied, in substance, that "the government could give no relief, and provide no remedy ; that the banks were the occasion of all the evils which existed, and that the firmness and decision of the President, Mr. Calhoun dared not take the fatal step. He could not recede, nor even stand still, without compromising his character with his political friends. In this extremity, a mutual friend arranged with Mr. Clay to propose a measure which would satisfy- both sides, and save both the neck and reputation of Mr. Calhoun. In the discussion of the matter in the Senate, the latter most earnestly disclaimed any hostile feelings toward the Union, on the part of South Carolina. The State authorities, he asserted, had looked only to a judicial decision upon the question, until the concentration of the United States troops at Charleston and Augusta, by order of the President, compelled them to make provision to defend themselves. Several of the State Legislatures hastened to condemn the nullification doctrine as destructive to the National Constitution. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, and Georgia, all thus spoke out plainly in favor of the Union. Georgia, however, at the same time, expressed its reprobation of the "tariff system, which had brought about the movement iu South Carolina, and proposed a convention of the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi, to devise measures to obtain relief from it 1 By the law of 1816, for chartering the bank, the funds of the United States were to be deposited with that institution, and to be withdrawn only by the Secretary of the Treasury. 30 466 THE NATION. [1829. those who suffered by their great enterprise had none to blame but themselves ; that those who traded on borrowed capital ought to break." The State banks received the government funds on deposit, and loaned freely. Confidence was gradually restored, and apparent general prosperity 1 returned. Now [1867], after the lapse of more than twenty years, the wisdom and forecaste of General Jackson, evinced by his distrust of the United States Bank, appears to be uni- versally acknowledged. 2 Our present National banking system possesses all of the better functions of that of the United States Bank, without, apparently, any of its dangerous ones. Trouble again appeared on the southern borders of the Union. Toward the close of 1835, the Seminole Indians, in Florida, guided by their head sachem, Micanopy, and led by their principal chief, Osceola, 1 commenced a distressing warfare upon the frontier settlements of Florida. The cause of the outbreak was an attempt to remove them to the wilderness bepond the Mississippi. In his annual message in December, 1830, President Jackson recommended the devotion of a large tract of land west of the Mississippi, to the use of the Indian tribes yet re- maining east of that stream, forever. Congress passed laws in accordance with the proposition, and the work of removal commenced, first by the Chick- asaws and Choctaws. 4 "We have seen that trouble ensued with the Creeks and Cherokees, 6 and the Seminoles in East Florida were not disposed to leave their ancient domain. Some of the chiefs in council made a treaty in May, 1832, and agreed to remove ; but other chiefs, and the great body of the nation, did not acknowledge the treaty as binding. In 1834, the President sent General Wiley Thompson to Florida, to prepare for a forcible removal of the Seminoles, if necessary. The tone and manner assumed by Osceola, at that time, dis- pleased Thompson, and he put the chief in irons and in prison for a day. The proud leader feigned penitence, and was released. Then his wounded pride called for revenge, and fearfully he pursued it, as we shall observe presently. The war that ensued was a sanguinary one, and almost four years elapsed before it was wholly terminated. Osceola, -with all the cunning of a Tecumtha, * and the heroism of a Philip, 7 was so successful in stratagem, and brave in conflict, that he baffled the skill and courage of the United States troops for a long time. He had agreed to fulfill treaty stipulations, 8 in December [1835], but instead 1 Page 470. 9 The course of President Jackson, toward the bank, was popular in many sections, but in the commercial States it caused a palpable diminution of the strength of the administration. This was shown by the elections in 1834. Many of his supporters joined the Opposition, and this combined force assumed the name of " Whigs" the old party name of the Revolution while the adminis- tration party adhered to the name of " Democrats." 3 Page 468. 4 Page 30. ' Page 2t. " Page 424. T Page 124. 8 Osceola had promised General Thompson that the delivery of certain cattle and horses belong- ing to the Indians should be made during the first fortnight of December, 1835, and so certain was Thompson of the fulfillment of this stipulation, that he advertised the animals for sale. 1837.] JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 467 SEAT OP SEMINOLK WAR. of compliance, he was then at the head of a war party, murdering the unsus- pecting inhabitants on the borders of the everglade haunts of the savages. At that time General Clinch was stationed at Fort Drane, 1 in the interior of Florida, and Major Dade was dispatched from Fort Brooke, at the head of Tampa Bay, with more than a hundred men, for his relief. That young commander, 2 and all but four of his detachment, were massacred [Dec. 28, 1835] near Wahoo Swamp. 3 On the same day, and only a few hours before, Osceola, and a small war party, killed and scalped General Thompson, and five of his friends, who were dining at a store a few yards from Fort King. 4 The assailants disappeared in the for- est before the deed was known at the fort. Two days afterward [Dec. 31], General Clinch and his troops had a battle with the Seminoles on the With- lacoochee; and in February [Feb. 29, 1836], General Gaines 5 was assailed near the same place, 6 and several of his men were killed. The battle-ground is about fifty miles from the mouth of the river. The Creeks aided their brethren in Florida, by attacking white settlers within their domain, 7 in May, 1836. Success made them bold, and they at- tacked mail-carriers, stages, steamboats, and finally villages, in Georgia and Alabama, until thousands of white people were fleeing for their lives from place to place, before the savages. General Winfield Scott 8 was now in chief command in the South, and he prosecuted the war with vigor. The Creeks were finally subdued ; and during the summer, several thousands of them were re- moved to their designated homes beyond the Mississippi. In October, Governor Call, of Georgia, marched against the Seminoles with almost two thousand men. A detachment of upward of five hundred of these, had a severe contest [Nov. 21] with the Indians at Wahoo Swamp, near the scene of Dade's massacre ; yet, like all other engagements with the savages in their swampy fastnesses, neither party could claim a positive victory. 9 The year [1836] closed with no prospect 1 About forty miles north-east from the mouth of the Withlacoochee Eiver, and eight south- west from Orange Lake. 8 Francis L. Dade was a native of Virginia. After the "War of 1812-15, he was retained in the army, having risen from third lieutenant to major. A neat monument has been erected to the memory of himself and companions in death, at West Point, on the Hudson. 8 Near the upper waters of the Withlacoochee, about fifty miles north from Fort Brooke. Three of the four survivors soon died of their wounds, and he who lived to tell the fearful narrative (Ran- Bom Clarke), afterward died from the effects of his injuries on that day. 4 On the southern borders of Alachua county, about sixty miles south-west from St. Augustine. Osceola scalped [note 4, page 14] General Thompson with his own hands, and thus enjoyed his re- venge for the indignity he had suffered. " Page 433. Edmund P. Gaines was born in Virginia in 1777, and entered the army in 1799. He was breveted a major-general in 1814, and presented by Congress with a gold medal for his gal- lantry at Fort Erie. He. died in 1849. 8 South side of the river, in Dade county. The place where Gaines was assaulted is on the north side, in Alachua county. 7 Page 30. 8 Page 433. * In this warfare the American troops suffered dreadfully from the poisonous vapors of the swamps, the bites of venomous serpents, and the stings of insects. The Indiana were inaccessible in theu- homes amid the morasses, for the white people could not follow them. 468 THE NATION. [1829. of peace, either by treaty or by the subjugation of the Indians. The "war con- tinued through the winter. Finally, after some severe encounters with the United States troops, several chiefs appeared in the camp of General Jesup 1 (who was then in supreme command) at Fort Dade," and on the 6th of March, 1837, they signed a treaty which guarantied immediate peace, and the instant departure of the Indians to their new home beyond the Mississippi. But the lull was temporary. The restless Osceola caused the treaty to be broken ; and during the summer of 1837, many more soldiers perished in the swamps while pursuing the Indians. At length, Osceola, with several chiefs and seventy warriors, appeared [Oct. 21] in Jessup's camp under the protection of a flag. They were seized and confined ; s and soon afterward, the brave chief was sent to Charleston, where he died of a fever, while immured in Fort Moultrie.* This was the hardest blow yet dealt upon the Seminoles ; but they continued to resist, notwithst mding almost nine thousand United States troops were in their territory at the lose of 1837. On the 25th of December, a large body of Indians suffered a severe repulse on the northern border of Macaco Lake, 6 from six hundred troops under Colonel Zachary Taylor. 8 That officer had succeeded General Jesup, and for more than two years afterward, he endured every privation in efforts to bring the war to a close. In May, 1839, a treaty was made which appeared to terminate the war ; but murder and robberies continued, and it was not until 1842 that peace was finally secured. This war, which lasted seven years, cost the United States many valuable lives, and millions of treasure. In the autumn of 1836, the election of a successor to President Jackson took place, and resulted in the choice of Martin Van Buren, of New York, Energy had marked every step of the career of Jackson as Chief Magistrate, and at the close of his administration, the nation stood higher in the esteem of the world than it had ever done before. At the close of his first term, our foreign relations were very satisfactory, except with France. That government had agreed to pay about $5,000,000, by instalments, as indemnification for French spoliations on American commerce, under the operation of the several decrees of Napoleon, from 1806 to 1811. 7 The French government did not promptly comply with the agreement, and the President assumed a hostile tone, which caused France to perform her duty. Similar claims against Portugal 1 Thomas S. Jesup was born in Virginia in 1788. He was a brave and useful officer during the war of 1812-15, and was retained in the army. He was breveted major-general in 1828, and was succeeded in command in Florida by Colonel Zachary Taylor, in 1838. He died at Washington city in 1858. * On the head waters of the "Withlachoochee, about forty miles north-east from Fort Brooke, at the head of Tampa Bay. See map on page 467. 3 General Jesup was much censured for this breach of faith and the rules of honorable warfare. His excuse was the known treachery of Osceola, and a desire to put an end to bloodshed by what- ever means he might be able to employ. 4 On Sullivan's Island, upon the site of Fort Sullivan of the Revolution [page 249]. Near the entrance gate to the fort is a small monument erected to the memory of Osceola. 6 Sometimes called Big Water Lake. The Indian name is 0-ke-cho-bee, and by that title the battle is known. The brave leader in the Mexican War [page 481], and afterward President of the United States. See page 498. 7 See pages 400 to 407, inclusive. 1837.] VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. 469 were made, and payment obtained. A treaty of reciprocity had been concluded sVith Russia and Belgium, and everywhere the American flag commanded the highest respect. Two new States (Arkansas and Michigan) had been added to the Union. The original thirteen had doubled, and great activity prevailed in every part of the Republic. Satisfaction with the administration generally pre- vailed, and it was understood that Van Buren would continue the policy of his predecessor, if elected. He received a large majority ; but the people, having failed to elect a Vice-President, the Senate chose Richard M. Johnson, of Ken- tucky, who had been a candidate with Van Buren, to fill that station. Much excitement was produced, and bitter feelings were engendered, toward President Jackson, by his last official act. A circular was issued from the Treasury department on the llth of July, 1836, requiring all collectors of the public revenue to receive nothing but gold and silver in payment. This was intended to check speculations in the public lands, but it also bore heavily upon every kind of business. The "specie circular" was denounced; and so loud was the clamor, that toward the close of the session in 1837, both Houses of Congress adopted a partial repeal of it. Jackson refused to sign the bill, and by keeping it in his possession until after the adjournment of Congress, prevented it becoming a law. On the 4th of March, 1837, he retired from pub- lic life, to enjoy that repose which an exceedingly active career entitled him to. He was then seventy years of age. CHAPTER X. VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. [1837 1841.] MARTIN VAN BUREN, ' the eighth President of the United States, seemed to stand, at the time of his inauguration on the 4th of March, 1837 at the opening of a new era. All of his predecessors in the high office of Chief Magistrate of the Republic, had been descended of Britons, and were engaged in the old struggle for Independence. Van Buren was of Dutch descent, and was born after the great conflict had ended, and the birth of the nation had occurred. The day of his inauguration was a remarkably pleasant one. Seated by the side of the venerable Jackson, in a phaeton made from the wood of the frigate Constitution, which had been presented to the President by his political 1 Martin Van Buren was born at Kinderhook, Columbia county, New York, in December, 1782. He chose the profession of law. In 1815, he became Attorney-General of his native State, and in 1828 was elected Governor of the same. Having served his country in the Senate of the United States, he was appointed minister to England in 1831, and was elected Vice-President of the United States in the autumn of 1832. Since his retirement from the presidency in 1841, Mr. Van Buren has spent a greater portion of his time on his estate in his native town. He visited Europe at the close of 1853, and was the first of the chief magistrates of the Republic who crossed the Atlantic after their term of office had expired. Ex-President Fillmore followed his example in 1855, and spent several months abroad. Mr. Van Buren lived at Kinderhook, alter his retire- ment from public life, until his death, on the 24th of July, 1862. 4TO THE NATION. [1837. friends in New York, he was escorted from the presidential mansion to the capitol by a body of infantry and cavalry, and an immense assemblage of citi- zens. Upon a rostrum, erected on the ascent to the eastern portico of the cap- itol, he delivered his inaugural address, and took the prescribed oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Taney. 1 At the moment when Mr. Van Buren entered the presidential mansion as its occupant, the business of the country was on the verge of a terrible convul- sion and utter prostration. The distressing effects of the removal of the public funds from the United States Bank, 2 in 1833 and 1834, and the operations of the " specie circular," ' had disappeared, in a measure, but as the remedies for the evil were superficial, the cure was only apparent. The chief remedy had been the free loaning of the public money to individuals by the State deposit banks ; 4 but a commercial disease was thus produced, more disastrous than the panic of 1833-34. A sudden expansion of the paper currency was the result. The State banks which accepted these deposits, supposed they would remain undisturbed until the government should need them for its use. Considering them as so much capital, they loaned their own funds freely. But in January, 1836, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to distribute all the public funds, except five millions of dollars, among the several States, according to their representation. The funds were 1 He appointed John Forsyth Secretary of State ; Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Treasury ; Joel E. Poinsett, Secretary of "War ; Mahlon Dickinson, Secretary of the Navy ; Amos Kendall, Postmaster-General ; and Benjamin P. Butler, Attorney-General. All of them, except Mr. Poinsett, held their respective offices under President Jackson. 9 Page 465. * Page 469. * Page 466. 1841.] VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. 47! accordingly taken from the deposit banks, after the 1st of January, 1837, and these banks being obliged to curtail their loans, a serious pecuniary embarrass- ment was produced. The immediate consequences of such multiplied facilities for obtaining bank loans, were an immensely increased importation of foreign goods, inordinate stimulation of all industrial pursuits and internal improve- ments, and the operation of a spirit of speculation, especially in real estate, which assumed the features of a mania, in 1836. A hundred cities were founded, and a thousand villages were " laid out" on broad sheets of paper, and made the basis of vast money transactions. Borrowed capital was thus diverted from its sober, legitimate uses, to the fostering of schemes as unstable as water, and as unreal in their fancied results as dreams of fairy-land. Overtrading and speculation, which had relied for support upon continued bank loans, was suddenly checked by the necessary bank contractions, on account of the removal of the government funds from their custody ; and during March and April, 1837, there were mercantile failures in the city of New York alone, to the amount of more than a hundred millions of dollars. 1 Fifteen months before [December, 1835], property to the amount of more than twenty millions of dollars had been destroyed by fire in the city of New York, when five hundred and twenty-nine buildings were consumed. The effects of these failures and losses were felt to the remotest borders of the Union, and credit and con- fidence were destroyed. Early in May, 1837, a deputation from the merchants and bankers of New York, waited upon the President, and solicited him to defer the collection of duties on imported goods, rescind the "specie circular," and to call an extra- ordinary session of Congress to adopt relief measures. The President declined to act on their petitions. When his determination was known, all the banks* in New York suspended specie payments [May 10, 1837], and their example was speedily followed in Boston, Providence, Hartford, Albany, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and in smaller towns throughout the country. On the 16th of May the Legislature of New York passed an act, authorizing the suspension of specie payments for one year. The measure embarrassed the general govern- ment, and it was unable to obtain gold and silver to discharge its own obliga- tions. The public good now demanded legislative relief, and an extraordinary session of Congress was convened by the President on the 4th of September. During a session of forty-three days, it did little for the general relief, except the passage of a bill authorizing the issue of treasury notes, not to exceed in amount ten millions of dollars. 2 During the year 1837, the peaceful relations which had long existed between the United States and Great Britain, were somewhat disturbed by a revolution- 1 In two days, houses in New Orleans stopped payment, owing an aggregate of twenty-seven millions of dollars ; and in Boston one hundred and sixty-eight failures took place in six months. a In his message to Congress at this session, the President proposed the establishment of an independent treasury, for the safe keeping of the public funds, and their entire and total separation from banking institutions. This scheme met with vehement opposition. The bill passed the Sen- ate, but was lost in the House. It was debated at subsequent sessions, and finally became a law on the 4th of July, 1840. This is known as the Sub- Treasury Scheme. 472 'THE NATION. [1837. ary movement in Canada which, at one time, seemed to promise a separation of that province from the British crown. The agitation and the outbreak appeared simultaneously in Upper and Lower Canada. In the former province, the most conspicuous leader was William Lyon M'Kenzie, a Scotchman, of rare abilities as a political writer and an agitator, and a republican in sentiment ; and in the latter province, Louis Joseph Papineau, a large land-owner, and a very influ- ential man among the French population. The movements of the Revolution- ary party were well planned, but local jealousies prevented unity of action, and the scheme failed. It was esteemed a highly patriotic effort to secure independ- ence and nationality for the people of the Canadas, and, as in the case of Cuba, at a later period, 1 the warmest sympathies of the Americans were enlisted, especially at the North. Banded companies and individuals joined the rebels ;* and so general became this active sympathy on the northern frontier, that peace between the two governments was jeoparded. President Van Buren issued a proclamation, calling upon all persons engaged in the schemes of invasion of Canada, to abandon the design, and warning them to beware of the penalties that must assuredly follow such infractions of international laws. In 1838, General Scott was sent to the frontier to preserve order, and was assisted by proclamations of the Governor of New York. Yet secret revolutionary associ- ations, called "Hunter's Lodges," continued for a long time. For about four years, that cloud hung upon our northern horizon, when, in September, 1841, President Tyler issued an admonitory proclamation, specially directed to the members of the Hunter's Lodges, which prevented further aggressive move- ments. The leaders of the revolt were either dead or in exile, and quiet was restored. While this excitement was at its height, long disputes concerning the bound- ary between the State of Maine and the British province of New Brunswick, ripened into armed preparations for settling the matter by combat. This, too, threatened danger to the peaceful relations between the two governments. The President sent General Scott to the theater of the dispute, in the winter of 1839, and by his wise and conciliatory measures, he prevented bloodshed, and produced quiet. The whole matter was finally settled by a treaty [August 20, 1842], negotiated at Washington City, by Daniel Webster for the United States, and Lord Ashburton for Great Britain. The latter had been sent as special minister for the purpose. Besides settling the boundary question, this agreement, known as the Ashburton Treaty, provided for the final suppression of the slave-trade, and for the giving up of criminal fugitives from justice, in certain cases. A new presidential election now approached. On the 5th of May, 1840, a 1 Page 502. * A party of Americans took possession of Navy Island, situated in the Niagara River about two miles above the Falls, and belonging to Canada. They numbered seven hundred strong, well provisioned, and provided with twenty pieces of cannon. They had a small steamboat named Caroline, to ply between Schlosser, on the American side, and Navy Island. On a dark night in December, 1837, a party of royalists from the Canada shore crossed over, cut the Caroline loose, set her on fire, and she went over the great cataract while in full blaze. It was believed that some persons were on board the vessel at the time. 1841.] HARBISON'S AND TYLER'S ADMINISTRATION. 473 national Democratic conventien assembled at Baltimore, and unanimously nom- inated Mr. Van Buren for President. No nomination was made for Vice-Pres- ident, but soon afterward, Richard M. Johnson 1 and James K. Polk were selected as candidates for that office, in different States. A national Whig 1 con- vention had been held at Harrisburg, in Pennsylvania, on the 4th of December previous [1839], when General William H. Harrison, of Ohio, the popular leader in the North-West, in the War of 1812, 3 was nominated for President, and John Tyler, of Virginia, for Vice-President. Never, before, was the country so excited by an election, and never before was a presidential contest characterized by such demoralizing proceedings. 4 The government, under Mr. Van Buren, being held responsible by the opposition for the business depres- sion which yet brooded over the country, public speakers arrayed vast masses of the people against the President, and Harrison and Tyler were elected by overwhelming majorities. And now, at the close of the first fifty years of the Republic, the population had increased from three and a half millions, of all colors, to seventeen millions. A magazine writer of the day, 6 in comparing several administrations, remarked that " The great events of Mr. Van Buren's administration, by which it will hereafter be known and designated, is the divorce of bank and State* in the fiscal affairs of the National government, and the return, after half a century of deviation, to the original design of the Con- stitution." CHAPTER XI. HARRISON'S AND TYLER'S ADMINISTRATION. [18411845.] THE city of Washington was thronged with people from every State in the Union, on the 4th of March, 1841, to witness the ceremonies of the inauguration of General William Henry Harrison, 7 the ninth President of the United States. He 1 Page 424. * Note 2, page 466. * Pages 416 to 424, inclusive. 4 Because General Harrison lived in the West, and his residence was associated with pioneer life, a log-cabin became the symbol of his party. These cabins were erected all over the country, in which meetings were held ; and, as the hospitality of the old hero was symbolized by a barrel of cider, made free to all visitors or strangers, who " never found the lateh-string of his log-cabin drawn in," that beverage was dealt out unsparingly to all who attended the meetings in the cabins. These meetings were scenes of carousal, deeply injurious to all who participated in them, and especially to the young. Thousands of drunkards, in after years, dated their departure from sobri- ety to the " Hard Cider" campaign of 1840. * Democratic Review, April, 1840. ' This is hi allusion to the sub-treasury scheme. Mr. Van Buren remarked to a friend, just previous to sending his message to Congress, in which he proposed that plan for collecting and keeping the public moneys : " "We can not know how the immediate convulsion may result ; but the people will, at all events, eventually come right, and posterity at least will do me justice. Be the present issue for good or for evil, it is for posterity that I will write this message." 7 William Henry Harrison, son of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born near the banks of the James River, in Charles City county, Virginia, in February, 1773. He was educated at Hampden Sydney College, and was prepared, by studies, for a physician, but en- tered the army as ensign in the United States artillery, in 1791. He was Secretary of the North- 474 'THE NATION. [1841 was then an old man, having passed almost a month beyond the age of sixty-eight years. Yet there was a vigor in his movements quite remarkable for one of that age, and who had passed through so many hardships and physical labors. From a platform over the ascent to the eastern portico of the Capitol, where Mr. Van Buren delivered his inaugural address, General Harrison, in a clear voice, read his. He was frequently interrupted by cheers during the reading. When it was concluded, Chief Justice Taney administered the oath of office, and three successive cannon peals announced the fact that the Republic had a new President. Harrison immediately nominated his cabinet officers, 1 and these were all confirmed by the Senate, then in session. President Harrison's inaugural speech was well received by all parties, and the dawn of his administration gave omens of a brighter day for the country. When his Address went over the land, and the wisdom of his choice of cabinet western Territory in 1797 ; and at the age of twenty-six years, was elected the first delegate to Congress from that domain. He was afterward appointed governor of Indiana Territory, and was very active during the War of 1812. See pages 416 to 424 inclusive. At its close he retired to "lis farm at North Bend, on the banks of the Ohio. He served in the national council for four years [1824 to 1828] as United States senator, when he was appointed minister to Colombia, one of the South American republics. He was finally raised to the highest post of honor in the nation. His last disease was pneumonia, or bilious pleurisy, which terminated his life in a few days. Hia last words were (thinking he was addressing his successor in office) : " Sir, I wish you to under- stand the principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more." 1 Daniel "Webster, Secretary of State ; Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Treasury ; John Bell, Secretary of "War ; George E. Badger, Secretary of the Navy ; Francis Granger, Postmaster-Gen- eral ; and J. J. Crittenden, Attorney-General 1845.J TYLER'S ADMINISTRATION. 475 counselors was known, prosperity was half restored, for confidence was re- enthroned in the commercial world. But all the hopes which centered in the new President were soon extinguished, and the anthems of the inaugural day were speedily changed to solemn requiems. Precisely one month after he uttered his oath of office, the new President died. That sad event occurred on the 4th day of April, 1841. Before he had fairly placed his hand upon the machinery of the government, it was paralyzed, and the only official act of general importance performed by President Harrison during his brief administration, was the issu- ing of a proclamation, on the 17th of March, calling an extraordinary session of Congress, to commence at the close of the following May, to legislate upon the subjects of finance and revenue. 1 In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Vice-President became the official successor of the deceased President ; and on the 6th of April the oath of office was administered to JOHN TYLER. 5 He retained the cabinet appointed by President Harrison until September fol- lowing, when all but the Secretary of State resigned. 3 The extraordinary session of Congress called by President Harrison, com- menced its session on the appointed day [May 31, 1841], and continued until the 13th of September following. The Sub-Treasury act* was repealed, and a general Bankrupt law was enacted. This humane law accomplished a material benefit. Thousands of honest and enterprising men had been crushed by the 1 The predecessors of Harrison had called extraordinary sessions of Congress, as follows : John Adams, on the 16th of May, 1797 ; Thomas Jefferson, on the 17th of October, 1808, to provide for carrying the treaty of Louisiana into effect ; James Madison, on the 23d of May, 1809, and also on the 25th of May, 1813; and Martin Van Buren, on the 4th of September, 1837. a On the 4th of April, the members of Harrison's cabinet dispatched Fletcher Webster, chief clerk in the State Department, with a letter to Mr. Tyler, announcing the death of the President. Mr. Tyler was then at "Williamsburg. So great was the dispatch, both by the messenger and the Vice-President, that the latter arrived in Washington on Tuesday morning, the 6th of April, at four o'clock. As doubts might arise concerning the validity of his oath of office as Vice-President, while acting as President, Mr. Tyler took the oath anew, as Chief Magistrate, before Judge Crunch, of Washington city. On the following day he attended the funeral of President Harrison. John Tyler was born in Charles City county, Virginia, in March, 1790. He was so precocious that he entered William and Mary College at the age of twelve years. He graduated at the age of seven- teen, studied law, and at nineteen he was a practicing lawyer. At the age of twenty he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature, where he served for several years. He was elected to Congress to fill a vacancy caused by death, in 1816, when only twenty-six years of age. He was there again in 1819. In 1825 he was elected governor of Virginia. He was afterward sent to the Senate of the United States; and he was much in public life until the close of his Presidential ca- reer. He took part with the enemies of the Republic in the late Civil War, and died in Rich- mond, Virginia, on the 18th of January, 1862. s He then appointed Walter Forward, Secretary of the Treasury ; John C. Spencer, Secretary of War; Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of the Navy; Charles A. Wickliffe, Postmaster-General; and Hugh S. Legare, Attorney-General Mr. Tyler had the misfortune to lose three of his cabinet of- ficers, by death, in the course of a few months. Mr. Legare accompanied the President to Boston, on the occasion of celebrating the completion of the Bunker Hill monument [page 235], in June, 1843, and died there On the 28th of February following, the bursting of a gun on board the steam- ship Princeton, while on an excursion upon the Potomac, killed Mr. Upshur, then Secretary of State ; Mr. Gilmer, Secretary of the Navy ; and several other distinguished gentlemen. The President and many ladies were on board. Among the killed was Mr. Gardiner, of the State of New York, whose daughter the President soon afterward married. * Note 2, page 471. 476 THE NATION. [1841. recent business revulsion, and were so laden with debt as to be hopelessly chained to a narrow sphere of action. The law relieved them ; and while it bore heavily upon the creditor class, for a while, its operations were beneficent and useful. When dishonest men began to make it a pretense for cheating, it was repealed, But the chief object sought to be obtained during this session, namely, the chartering of a Bank of the United States, was not achieved. Two separate bills' for that purpose were vetoed 2 by the President, who, like Jack- son, thought be perceived great evils to be apprehended from the workings of such an institution. The course of the President was vehemently censured by the party in power, and the last veto led to the dissolution of his cabinet. Mr. Webster patriotically remained at his post, for great public interests would have suffered by his withdrawal, at that time. The year 1842 (second of Mr. Tyler's administration) was distinguished by the return of the United States Exploring Expedition ; the settlement of the North-eastern boundary question; essential modifications of the tariff; and domestic difficulties in Rhode Island. The exploring expedition, commanded by Lieutenant Wilkes, of the United States navy, had been sent, several years be- fore, to traverse and explore the great southern ocean. It coasted along what ' t One was passed on the 16th of August, 1841 ; the other, modified so as to meet the Presi- dent's objections, as it was believed, passed September 9th. a Note 6, page 462. 1815.] TYLER'S ADMINISTRATION. is supposed to be an Antarctic continent, for seventeen hundred miles in the vicinity of latitude 66 degrees south, and between longitude 96 and 154 degrees east. The expedition brought home a great many curiosities of island human life, and a large number of fine specimens of natural history, all of which are now [1 867] well preserved in the custody of the National Institute, Smithsonian building, in Washington city. The expedition made a voyage of about ninety thousand miles, equal to almost four times the circumference of the globe. The modifications of the tariff were important. By the compromise act of 1832, 1 duties pn foreign goods were to reach the minimum of reduction at the close of 1842, when the tariff would only provide revenue, not protection to manufactures, like that of 1828." The latter object appeared desirable ; and by an act passed on the 29th of June, 1842, high tariffs were imposed on many foreign articles. The President vetoed it ; but a bill, less objectionable, received his assent on the 9th of August. The difficulties in Rhode Island originated in a movement to adopt a State Constitution of government, and to abandon the old charter given by Charles the Second, 3 in 1663, under which the people had been ruled for one hundred and eighty years. Disputes arose concerning the proper method to be pursued in making the change, and these assumed a serious aspect. Two par- ties were formed, known, respectively, as the "suffrage," or radical party; the other as the " law and order," or conservative party. Each formed a Constitu- tion, elected a governor and legislature, 4 and finally armed [May and June, 1843] in defense of their respective claims. The State was on the verge of civil war, and the aid of National troops had to be invoked, to restore quiet and order. A free Constitution, adopted by the " law and order" party in Novem- ber, 1842, to go into operation on the first Tuesday in May, 1843, was sus- tained, and became the law of the land. During the last year of President Tyler's administration, the country was much agitated by discussions concerning the proposed admission of the independ- ent republic of Texas, on our south-west frontier, as a State of the Union. The proposition was warmly opposed at the North, because the annexation would increase the area and political strength of slavery, and lead to a war with Mexico. 6 A treaty for admission, signed at Washington on the 12th of April, 1 Page 464. a Pago 459. ' Page 158. 4 The " suffrage" party elected Thomas "W. Dorr, governor, and the " law and order" party chose Samuel "W. King for chief magistrate. Dorr was finally arrested, tried for and convicted of treason, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. The excitement having passed away, in a meas- ure, he was released in June, 1845, but was deprived of all the civil rights of a citizen. These dis- abilities were removed in the autumn of 1853. 6 Texas was a part of the domain of that ancient Mexico conquered by Cortez [page 43]. In 1824, Mexico became a republic under Generals Victoria and Santa Anna, and was divided into States united by a Federal Constitution. One of these was Texas, a territory which was origin- ally claimed by the United States as a part of Louisiana, purchased [page 390] from France in 1803, but ceded to Spain in 1820. In 1821-22, a colony from the United States, under Stephen F. Austin, made a settlement on both sides of the Colorado River; and the Spanish government favoring immigration thither, caused a rapid increase in the population. There were ten thousand Americans in that province in 1833. Santa Anna became military dictator ; and the people of Texas, unwilling to submit to his arbitrary rule, rebelled. A war ensued ; and on the 2d of March, 1836. a convention declared Texas independent. Much bloodshed occurred afterward; but a final 478 THE NATION. [1845. 1844, was rejected by the Senate on the 8th of June following. To the next Congress the proposition was presented in the form of a joint resolution, and received the concurrence of both Houses on the 1st of March, 1845, and the assent of the President on the same day. This measure had an important bearing upon the Presidential election in 1844. It became more and more pop- ular with the people throughout the Union, and James K. Polk, of Tennessee, who was pledged in favor of the measure, was nominated for the office of Pres- ident of the United States, by the National Democratic Convention, assembled at Baltimore on the 27th of May, 1844. George M. Dallas was nominated for Vice-President at the same time ; and in November following, they were both elected. The opposing candidates were Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuy- sen. The last important official act of President Tyler was the signing, on the 3d of March, 1845, of the bill for the admission of Florida and Iowa into the Union of States. CHAPTER XII. FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. [1845 1849.] NEVER before had so large a concourse of people assembled at the National city, to witness the inauguration of a new Chief Magistrate of the nation, as on the 4th of March, 1845, when James Knox Polk, ' of Tennessee, the tenth President of the United States, took the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Taney. The day was unpleasant. A lowering morning preceded a rainy day, and the pleasures of the occasion were marred thereby. The address of the President, on that occasion, clearly indicated that energetic policy which distinguished his administration. On the day of his inauguration he nominated his cabinet officers, 2 and the Senate being in session, immediately confirmed them. Among the most important topics which claimed the attention of the admin- istration, were the annexation of Texas, and the claims of Great Britain to a large portion of the vast territory of Oregon, on the Pacific coast. The former battle of San Jacinto, in which the Texans were led by General Sam Houston, afterward a United States Senator from Texas, vindicated the position the people had taken, and terminated the strife. Texas remained an independent republic until its admission into our National Union in 1845. 1 James K. Polk was born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, in November, 1795. "While he was a child, his father settled in Tennessee ; and the first appearance of young Polk in public life, was as a member of the Tennessee Legislature, in 1823. He had been admitted to the bar three years before, but public life kept him from the practice of his profession, except at intervals. He was elected to Congress in 1825, and was in that body almost continually until elevated to the Presidential chair. He was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1835, and contin- ued in the performance of the duties of that office during five consecutive sessions. He was elected governor of Tennessee in 1839, and President of the United States in 1844. He retired to hia residence, near Knoxville, Tennessee, at the close of his term, in 1849, and died there in June of the same year. * James Buchanan, Secretary of State; Robert J. "Walker, Secretary of the Treasury; "William L. Marcy, Secretary of "War; George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy; Cave Johnson, Postmaster- General ; and John Y. Mason, Attorney-General. 1849.] FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 479 demanded and received the earliest consideration. On the last day of his offi- cial term, President Tyler had sent a messenger to the Texan Government, with a copy of the joint resolutions of the American Congress, 1 in favor of an- nexation. These were considered by a convention of delegates, called for the purpose of forming a State Constitution for Texas. That body approved of the measure, by resolution, on the 4th of July, 1845. On that day Texas became one of the States of our Republic. The other momentous subjevJt (the claims of Great Britain to certain portions of Oregon), also received prompt atten- tion. That vast territory, between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, had been, for some time, a subject of dispute between the two countries. 1 In 1818, it was mutually agreed that each nation should equally enjoy the privileges of all the bays and harbors on the coast, for ten years. This agreement was re- newed in 1827, for an indefinite time, with the stipulation, that either party might rescind it by giving the other party twelve months' notice. Such notice 1 The communication was made through A. J. Donelson, the " American" candidate for Yice- Fresident of the United States, in 1856, who was our Charge d' Affaires to the Texan Government * Captain Grey, of Boston, entered the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792, and Captains Lewis and Clarke explored that region, from the Rocky Mountains westward, in 1804-'5. In 1811, the late J. J. Astor established a trading station at the mouth of the Columbia River. The British doctrine, always practiced by them, that the entrance of a vessel of a civilized nation into the mouth of a river, gives title, by the right of discovery, to the territory watered by that river and its tributaries, clearly gave Oregon to 54 degrees 40 minutes, to the United States, for the dis- covery of Captain Grey, in 1792, was not disputed. 480 THE CATION. [1845. was given by the United States in 1846, and the boundary was then fixed by treaty, made at Washington city, in June of that year. Great Britain claimed the whole territory to 54 40' north latitude, the right to which was disputed by the United States. The boundary line was finally fixed at latitude 49 ; and in 1848, a territorial government was established. In March, 1853, Ore- gon was divided, and the northarn portion was made a separate domain, by the title of Washington Territory. The annexation of Texas, as had been predicted, caused an immediate rup- ture between the United States and Mexico ; for the latter claimed Texas as a part of its territory, notwithstanding its independence had been acknowledged by the United States, England, France, and other governments. Soon after [March 6, 1845] Congress had adopted the joint resolution for the admission of that State into the Union, 1 General Almonte, the Mexican minister at Wash- ington, formally protested against that measure, and demanded his passports. On the 4tb of June following, General Herrera, President of Mexico, issued a proclamation, declaring the rights of Mexico, and his determination to defend them by arms, if necessary. But, independent of the act complained of, there already existed a cause for serious disputes between the United States and Mexico. 3 Ever since the establishment of republican government by the latter, in 1824, it had been an unjust and injurious neighbor. Impoverished by civil wars, its authorities did not hesitate to replenish its Treasury by plundering American vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, or by confiscating the property of American merchants within its borders. The United States government remonstrated in vain, until, in 1831, a treaty was formed, and promises of redress were made. But aggressions continued ; and in 1840, the aggregate amount of American property which had been appropriated by Mexicans, was more than six millions of dollars. The claim for this amount remained unset- tled 3 when the annexation of Texas occurred [July 4, 1845], and peaceful relations between the two governments were suspended. The President being fully aware of the hostile feelings of the Mexicans, ordered [July] General Zachary Taylor, 4 then in command of troops in the South-West, to proceed to Texas, and take a position as near the Rio Grande, 5 as prudence would allow. This force, about fifteen hundred strong, was called the "Army of Occupation," for the defense of Texas. At the same time, a strong squadron, under Commodore Conner, sailed for the Gulf of Mexico, to protect American interests there. General Taylor first landed on the 25th of July on St. Joseph's Island,' and then embarked for Corpus Christi, a Mexican 1 Page 478. a Pronounced May-hee-co by the Spaniards. ' Commissioners appointed by the two governments to adjust these claims, met in 1840. The Mexican commissioners acknowledged two millions of dollars, and no more. In 1843 the whole amount was acknowledged by Mexico, and the payment was to be made in instalments of three hundred thousand dollars each. Only three of these instalments had been paid in 1845, and the Mexican government refused to decide whether the remainder should be settled or not * Taylor's actual rank in the army list was only that of Colonel. He had been made a Brig- adier-General by brevet, for his good conduct in the Florida War [page 468]. A title by brevet is only honorary. Taylor held the title of Brigadier-General, but received only the pay of a Colonel. ' Great or Grand river. Also called Rio Bravo del Norie Brave North river. ' There the flag of the United States was first displayed in power over Texas soil. 1849.] FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 481 village beyond the Nueces, and near its mouth. There he formed a camp [September, 1845], and remained during the succeeding autumn and winter. It was during the gathering of this storm of war on our south-western frontier, that the difficulties with Great Britain, concerning Oregon, occurred, which we have already considered. By a dispatch dated January 13, 1846, the Secretary of War ordered Gen- eral Taylor to advance from Corpus Christi to near the mouth of the Rio Grande, opposite the Spanish city of Matamoras, because Mexican troops were then gathering in that direction, with the evident intention of invading Texas. This was disputed territory between Texas and the Mexican province of Tamau- lipas ; and when, on the 25th of March, he encamped at Point Isabel, on the coast, about twenty-eight miles from Matamoras, General Taylor was warned by the Mexicans that he was upon foreign soil. Regardless of menaces, he left his stores at Point Isabel, under Major Monroe and four hundred and fifty men, and with the remainder of his army advanced [March 28, 1846] to the bank of the Rio Grande, where he established a fortified camp, and commenced the erection of a fort. 1 President Herrera's desire for peace with the United States made him un- popular, and the Mexican people elected General Paredes 2 to succeed him. That officer immediately dispatched General Ampudia* with a large force, to Matamoras, to drive the Americans beyond the Nueces. Ampudia arrived on the llth of April, 1846, and the next day he sent a letter to General Taylor, demanding his withdrawal within twenty-four hours. Taylor refused compli- ance, and continued to strengthen his camp. Ampudia hesitated ; and on the 24th of that month he was succeeded in command by the more energetic Arista, 4 the commander-in-chief of the northern division of the army of Mexico, whose reported reinforcements made it probable that some decisive action would soon take place. This change of affairs was unfavorable to the Americans, and the situation of the " Army of Occupation" was now becoming very critical. Parties of armed Mexicans had got between Taylor and his stores at Point Isabel, and had cut off all inter-communication. Arista's army was hourly gathering strength; and already an American reconnoitering party, under Captain Thornton, 6 had been killed or captured [April 24] on the Texas side of the Rio Grande. This was the first blood shed in THE WAR WITH MEXICO. When he had nearly completed the fort opposite Matamoras, General Tay- lor hastened [May 1], with his army, to the relief of Point Isabel, which was menaced by a large Mexican force 8 collected in his rear. He left a regiment 1 It was named Fort Brown, in honor of Major Brown, the officer in command there. It was erected under the superintendence of Captain Mansfield, and was large enough to accommodate about two thousand men. a Pronounced Pa-ray-dhes. 8 Pronounced Am-poo-dhee-ah. * Pronounced Ah-rees-tah. 6 General Taylor had been informed that a body of Mexican troops were crossing the Rio Grande, above his encampment, and he sent Captain Thornton, with sixty dragoons, to reconnoitre. They were surprised and captured. Sixteen Americans were killed, and Captain Thornton escaped by an extraordinary leap of his horse. * General Taylor waa apprised of this force of fifteen hundred Mexicans, by Captain Walker, 31 482 THE X ATT ON. [1845. of infantry and two companies of artillery, under Major Brown (in whose honor, as we have just observed, the fortification was named), to defend the fort, and reached Point Isabel the same day, without molestation. This departure produced great joy in Matamoras, for the Mexicans regarded it as a cowardly retreat. Preparations were immediately made to attack Fort Brown ; and on the morning of the 3d of May [1846], a battery at Matamoras opened a heavy cannonade and bombardment upon it, while quite a large body of troops crossed the river, to attack it in the rear. General Taylor had left orders that, in the event of an attack, and aid being required, heavy signal-guns should be fired at the fort. For a long time the little garrison made a noble defense, and silenced the Mexican battery ; but when, finally, the enemy gath- ered in strength in the rear, and commenced planting cannons, and the heroic Major Brown was mortally wounded, 1 the signals were given [May 6], and Taylor prepared to march for the Rio Grande. He left Point Isabel on the evening of the Tth, with a little more than two thousand men, having been reinforced by Texas volunteers, and marines from the American fleet then blockading the mouth of the Rio Grande. At noon, the next day [May 8], they discovered a Mexican army, under Arista, full six thousand strong, drawn up in battle array upon a portion of a prairie flanked by ponds of water, and beautified by trees, which gave it the name of Palo Alto. As soon as his men could take refreshments, Taylor formed his army, and pressed forward to the attack. For five hours a hot contest was maintained, when, at twilight, the Mexicans gave way and fled, and victory, thorough and complete, was with the Americans. It had been an afternoon of terrible excitement and fatigue, and when the firing ceased, the victors sank exhausted upon the ground. They had lost, in killed and wounded, fifty-three ; 5 the Mexicans lost a*bout six hundred. At two o'clock in the morning of the 9th of May, the deep slumbers of the little army were broken by a summons to renew the march for Fort Brown. They saw no traces of the enemy until toward evening, when they discovered them strongly posted in a ravine, called Resaca de la Palma, 3 drawn up in battle order. A shorter, but bloodier conflict than that at Palo Alto, the pre- vious day, ensued, and again the Americans were victorious. They lost, in killed and wounded, one hundred and ten ; the Mexican loss was at least one thousand. General La Vega 4 and a hundred men were made prisoners, and the celebrated Texas Ranger, who had been employed by Major Monroe to keep open a communi- cation between Point Isabel and Taylor's camp. Walker had fought them with his single company, armed with revolving pistols, and after killing thirty, escaped, and, with six of his men, reached Taylor's camp. 1 He lost a leg by the bursting of a bomb-shell [note 2, page 296], and died on the 9th of May. He was born in Massachusetts in 1788 ; was in the war of 1812 ; was promoted to Major in 1843 ; and was fifty-eight years of age when he died. * Among the fatally wounded was Captain Page, a native of Maine, who died on the 12th of July following, at the age of forty-nine years. Also, Major Ringgold, commander of the Flying Artillery, who died at Point Isabel, four days afterward, at the age of forty-six years. 1 Pronounced Ray-sah-kah day la Pal-mah, or Dry River of Palms. The ravine is supposed to be the bed of a dried-up stream. The spot is on the northerly side of the Rio Grande, about three miles from Matamoras. In this engagement, Taylor's force was about one thousand seven hundred ; Arista had been reinforced, and had about seven thousand men. 4 Lay Vay-goh. He was a brave officer, and was captured by Captain May, who, rising in his 1849.] FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 483 eight pieces of cannon, three standards, and a quantity of military stores, were captured. The Mexican army was completely broken up. Arista saved him- self by solitary flight, and made his way alone across the Rio Grande. After suffering a bombardment for one hundred and sixty hours, the garrison at Fort Brown were relieved, and the terrified Mexicans were trembling for the safety of Matamoras. When intelligence of the first bloodshed, in the attack upon Captain Thorn- ton and his party, on the 24th of April, and a knowledge of the critical situa- tion of the little Army of Occupation, reached New Orleans, and spread over the land, the whole country was aroused ; and before the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma [May 8, 9] were known in the States, Congress had declared [May 11, 1846] that, "by the act of the Republic of Mexico, a state of war exists between that government and the United States ;" authorized the President to raise fifty thousand volunteers, and appropriated ten millions of dollars [May 13] toward carrying on the contest. Within two days, the Sec- retary of War and General Scott 1 planned [May 15] a campaign, greater in the territorial extent of its proposed operations, than any recorded in history. A fleet was to sweep around Cape Horn, and attack the Pacific coast of Mexico ; an " Army of the West" was to gather at Fort Leavenworth." invade New Mexico, and co-operate with the Pacific fleet ; and an "Army of the Center" was to rendezvous in the heart of Texas, 3 to invade Old Mexico from the north. On the 23d of the same month [May], the Mexican government made a formal declaration of war against the United States. When news of the two brilliant victories reached the States, a thrill of joy went throughout the land, and bonfires, illuminations, orations, and the thunder of cannons, were seen and heard in all the great cities. In the mean while, General Taylor was in Mexico, preparing for other brilliant victories. 4 He crossed the Rio Grande, drove the Mexican troops from Matamoras, and took possession of that town on the 18th of May. There he remained until the close of August, receiving orders from government, and reinforcements, and prepar- ing to march into the interior. The first division of his army, under General Worth, 8 moved toward Monterey 6 on the 20th. Taylor, with the remainder (in all, more than six thousand men), followed on the 3d of September; and on the 19th, the whole army 7 encamped within three miles of the doomed city, then stirrups, shouted, "Remember your regiment 1 Men, follow!" and, with his dragoons, rushed for- ward in the face of a heavy fire from a batten-, captured La Vega, killed or dispersed the gunners, and took possession of the cannons. ' Page 485. 8 A strong United States post on the southern bank of the Missouri River, on the borders of the Great Plains. These plains extend to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. 3 At San Antonia de Bexar, the center of Austin's settlement [note 5, page 477], south of tho Colorado river. 4 On the 30th of May he was rewarded for his skill and bravery by a commission as Major- General, by brevet. See note 4, page 480. * William J. "Worth was born in Columbia county, New York, in 1794. He was a gallant soldier during the War of 1812-15; was retained in the army, and for his gallantry at Monterey, was made a Major-General by brevet, and received the gift of a sword from Congress. He was of great service during the whole war with Mexico. He died in Texas in May, 1849. 6 Pronounced Mon-tar-ray. It is the capital of New Leon. 7 The principal officers with General Taylor, at this time, were Generals Worth, Quitman, Twiggs, Butler, Henderson, and Hamer. 484 THE NAT I OX. [1845. defended by General Ampudia, 1 with more than nine thousand troops. It was a strongly built town, at the foot of the great Sierra Madre, well fortified by both nature and art, and presented a formidable obstacle in the march of the victor toward the interior. But having secured the Saltillo road, 2 by which supplies for the Mexicans in Monterey were to be obtained. General Taylor commenced a siege on the 21st of September. The conflict continued almost four days, a part of the time within the streets of, the city, where the carnage was dreadful. Amoudia surrendered the town and garrison on the fourth day* [September 24], and leaving General "Worth in command there, General Tay- lor encamped at Walnut Springs, three miles distant, and awaited furthef orders from his government.* When Congress made the declaration of war, and authorized the raising of an army from the great body of the people, General Wool 5 was commissioned to muster and prepare for service, the gathering volunteers. He performed this duty so promptly, that by the middle of July, twelve thousand of them had been inspected, and mustered into service. Nine thousand of them were sent to the Rio Grande, to reinforce General Taylor, and the remainder repaired to Bexar," in Texas, where they were disciplined by General Wool, in person, preparatory to marching into the province of Chihuahua, 7 in the heart of Mexico. Wool went up the Rio Grande with about three thousand men, crossed the river at Presidio, and on the last day of October, reached Monclova, seventy miles north-west from Monterey. His kindness to the people won their confidence and esteem, and he was regarded as a friend. There he was informed of the capture of Monterey, and guided by the advice of General Taylor, he abandoned the project of penetrating Chihuahua, and marched to the fertile dis- trict of Parras, in Coahuila, where he obtained ample supplies for his own and Taylor's forces. The armistice 8 at Monterey ceased on the 13th of November, by order of the United States government. General Worth, with nine hundred men, took possession of Saltillo [November 15, 1846], the capital of Coahuila, 9 and Gen- eral Taylor, leaving General Butler in command at Monterey, marched for Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, with the intention of attacking Tampico, 1 Page 481. * This road passed through the mountains along the San Juan river, and is the only commu- nication between Monterey and the fertile provinces of Coahuila and Durango. The command of this road was obtained after a severe contest with Mexican cavalry, on the 20th of May, by a party under General Worth. * The Mexican soldiers were permitted to march out with the honors of war ; and, being short of provisions, and assured that Santa Anna, now at the head of the Mexicans, desired peace, Gen- eral Taylor agreed to a cessation of hostilities for eight weeks, if permitted by his government. * The Americans lost in killed, wounded, and missing, five hundred and sixty-one. The number lost by the Mexicans was never ascertained, but it was supposed to be more than one thousand. 6 John Ellis Wool is a native of New Tork. He entered the army in 1812, and soon rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, for gallant conduct on Queenstown Heights [page 413]. He was breveted brigadier in 1826, and for gallant conduct at Buena Vista, in 1847. was breveted Major- General. He took an active part for his country in the late Civil War, and, in 1862, was appointed full Major-General. ' Austin's settlement. See note 5, page 477. 7 Pronounced Chee-wah-wah. 8 The agreement for a cessation of hostilities is so called. ' Pronounced Co-ah-weel-ah. 1849.] FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 485 on the coast. That place had already surrendered 1 [November 14], and being informed that Santa Anna was collecting a large force at San Luis Potosi," he returned to Monterey, to reinforce General Worth, if necessary. Worth was joined by Wool's division, near Saltillo, on the 20th of December, and Taylor again advanced and took possession of Victoria, on the 29th. And now the conquering Taylor was compelled to endure a severe trial of his temper and patriotism. General Scott 3 had arrived before Vera Cruz [January, 1847], for the purpose of invading Mexico from that point, and being the senior officer, took the supreme command. Just as Taylor was preparing for a vigorous winter campaign, he re- ceived an order from General Scott, to send him a large portion of his best officers and troops to assist against Vera Cruz, and to act thereafter only on the defensive.* Taylor was deeply mortified, but, like a true soldier, instantly obeyed, and he and General Wool were left with an aggregate force of only about . , , / 1 * if J J 1 "f * GENERAL SCOTT. live thousand men (only five hundred regulars) to op- pose an army of twenty thousand, now gathering at San Luis Potosi, under Santa Anna. They united their forces at Agua Nueva, 5 twenty miles south from Saltillo, on the San Luis road, early in February [Feb. 4, 1847], and weak as he was, Taylor determined to fight the Mexicans, who were now ad- vancing upon him. The opportunity was not long delayed. The Americans fell back [Feb. 21] to Buena Vista, 6 within eleven miles of Saltillo, and there, in a narrow defile in the mountains, encamped in battle order. At about noon the next day [Feb. 22] the anniversary of the birth of Washington the Mex- ican army approached within two miles of them ; and Santa Anna, assuring Taylor that he was surrounded by twenty thousand troops, and could not escape, ordered him to surrender within an hour. Taylor politely refused the request, and both armies prepared for battle. 7 There was some skirmising dur- 1 Commodore Connor, who commanded the " Home Squadron" in the Gulf) captured Tampico. Tobasco and Tuspan were captured by Commodore Perry [page 512], in October following. 8 Santa Anna was elected provisional President of Mexico, in December, and in violation of hia peace promises to Commodore Connor, he immediately placed himself at the head of the army. 3 Winfield Scott was born in Virginia in 1786. He was admitted to law practice at the age of twenty years. He joined the army in 1808, was made Lieutenant-Colonel in 1812, and passed through the war that ensued, with great honor to himself and his country. He was breveted major-general in 1814, and waa made general-in-chief of the army in 1841. His successes in Mex- ico greatly added to his laurels. On the 15th of February, 1855, he was commissioned a Lieu- tenant-General. Owing to infirmities, he retired from active duty in the autumn of 1861. He died at West Point, May 29, 1866, one of the greatest captains of the age. * The necessity for this order was as painful to General Scott as it was mortifying to General Taylor. Before leaving Washington, Scott wrote a long private letter to Taylor, apprising him of this necessity, expressing his sincere regrets, and speaking in highest praise of the victories already achieved in Mexico. * Pronounced Ag-wah New-vah, or New Water. 8 Pronounced Bwe-naw Ves-tah Pleasant View. This was the name of a hacienda (planta- tion) at Angostura. T Santa Anna wrote as follows: " CAMP AT ENCATADA, February 22d, 1847. " GOD AND LIBERTY ! You are surrounded by twenty thousand men, and can not, in any human probability, avoid suffering a rout, and being cut to pieces with your troops; but as you de- 486 THE NATION. [1845. ing the afternoon, when the battle-cry of the Americans was, "The Memory of Washington /" Early the following morning [Feb. 23] a terrible conflict commenced. It was desperate and bloody, and continued until sunset. Sev- eral times the overwhelming numbers of the Mexicans appeared about to crush the little band of Americans ; and finally Santa Anna made a desperate assault 1 upon the American center, commanded by Taylor in person. It stood like a rock before a billow ; and by the assistance of the artillery of Bragg, Wash- incton, and Sherman, the martial wave was rolled back, the Mexicans fled in O 7 ' ' confusion, and the Americans were masters of the bloody field. During the night succeeding the conflict, the Mexicans all withdrew, leaving their dead and wounded behind them. 2 The invaders were now in possession of all the northern Mexican provinces, and Scott was prepar- ing to storm Vera Cruz 3 and march to the capital. 4 In the course of a few months General Taylor left Wool in command [Sept., 1847], and returned home, every- where receiving tokens of the highest re- REGION OF TAYLOR'S OPERATIONS. f gard from his countrymen. Let us now consider other operations of the war during this period. The command of the " Army c^the West" 6 was given to General Kearney,* with instructions to conquer New Mexico and California. He left Fort Leaven- worth in June, and after a journey of nine hundred miles over the Great Plains and among the mountain ranges, he arrived at Santa Fe, the capital of New serve consideration and particular esteem, I wish to save you from such a catastrophe, and for that purpose give you this notice, in order that you may surrender at discretion, under the assurance that you will be treated with the consideration belonging to the Mexican character ; to which end you will be granted an hour's time to make up your mind, to commence from the moment that my flag of truce arrives in your camp. "With this view, I assure you of my particular consideration. " ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA. "To General Z. Taylor, Commanding the Forces of the U. S." General Taylor did not take the allotted tune to make up his mind, but instantly sat down and wrote the following reply : " HEAD-QCABTKES, AEMT or OCCUPATION, Near Buena Vista, Feb. 22d, 1847. "SiR: In reply to your note of this date, summoning me to surrender my forces at discre- tion, I beg leave to say that I decline acceding to your request. "With high respect, I am, sir, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, Major-General U. S. Army." 1 To deceive the Americans, Santa Anna resorted to the contemptible trick of sending out a flag in token of surrender, at the moment of making the assault, hoping thereby to cause his enemy to be less vigilant. Taylor was too well acquainted with Mexican treachery to be de- ceived. a The Americans lost two hundred and sixty-seven killed, four hundred and fifty-six wounded, and twenty-three missing. The Mexicans lost almost two thousand. They left five hundred of their comrades dead on the field. Among the Americans slain was Lieutenant-Colonel Clay, son of the distinguished Henry Clay, of Kentucky. Page 500. 3 Page 489. * On the day of the battle at Buena Vista, General Minon, with eight hundred cavalry, was driven from Saltillo by Captain "Webster and a small party of Americans. On the 26th of February, Colonels Morgan and Irvin defeated a party at Agua Frio ; and on the 7th of March, Major Gid- dings was victorious at Ceralvo. 5 Page 483. * Stephen "W. Kearney was a native of New Jersey. He was a gallant soldier in the War of 1812-15. He was breveted a Brigadier in 1846, and Major-General in December the same year, for gallant conduct in the Mexican "War. He died at Vera Cruz, in October, 1848, at the age of fifty- four years. 1849.] FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 487 Mexico, on the 18th of August. He met with no resistance ;' and having taken peaceable possession of the country, and constituted Charles Bent its governor, he marched toward California. He soon met an express from Commodore Stock- ton' and Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, informing him that the conquest of Cali- fornia had already been achieved. Fremont had been sent with a party of about sixty men to explore portions of New Mexico and California. When he arrived in the vicinity of Monterey, on the Pacific coast, he was opposed by a Mexican force under General Castro. Fremont aroused all the American settlers in the vicinity of San Francisco Bay, captured a Mexican post and garrison, and nine cannons, and two hun- dred and fifty muskets, at Sonoma Pass [June 15, 1846], and then advanced to Sonoma, and defeated Castro and his troops. The Mexican authorities were effectually driven out of that region of the country ; and on the 5th of July, the American Californians declared themselves independent, and placed Fre- mont at the head of their affairs. Two days afterward, Commodore Sloat, then in command of the squadron in the Pacific, bombarded and captured Mon- terey ; and on the 9th, Commodore Montgomery took possession of San Fran- cisco. Commodore Stockton arrived on the 15th, and with Colonel Fremont, took possession of the city of Los Angelos on the 17th of August. On receiv- ing this information, Kearney sent the main body of his troops to Santa Fe, and with one hundred men he pushed forward to Los Angelos, near the Pacific coast, where he met [Dec. 27, 1847] Stockton and Fremont. In company with these officers, he shared in the honors of the final important events [Jan. 8, 1847], which completed the conquest and pacification of California. Fremont, the real liberator of that country, claimed the right to be governor, and was supported by Stockton and the people ; but Kearney, his superior officer, would not acquiesce. Fremont refused to obey him ; and Kearney departed, sailed to Monterey, and there, in conjunction with Commodore Shubrick, he assumed the office of governor, and proclaimed [Feb. 8, 1847] the annexation of Cali- fornia to the United States. Fremont was ordered home to be tried for dis- obedience of orders. He was deprived of his commission ; but the President, valuing him as one of the ablest officers in the army, offered it to him again. Fremont refused it, and went again to the wilderness and engaged in explor- ation. 3 1 The governor and four thousand Mexicans troops fled at his approach, and the people, num- bering about six thousand, quietly submitted. a Robert F. Stockton is a son of one of the New Jersey signers of the Declaration of IndepencU ence. He entered the navy in 1811, and was appointed commodore in 1838, He left the navy in May, 1850, and has since been a member of the United States Senate from New Jersey. 3 John Charles Fremont was born at Savannah, Georgia, in January, 1813, His father was a Frenchman ; his mother a native of Virginia. He waa born while his parents were oo a Journey, and his infancy was spent among the wilds of the south-west. At tho age of thirteen he commenced the study of law, but was soon afterward placed in a good school for the enlargement of bis educa- tion. He waa very successful ; and after leaving school became a teacher in Charleston, and then instructor in mathematics on board a sloop-of-war. As a civil engineer, he had few equals, and in this capacity he made many explorations, in the service of private individuals and the government, as lieutenant His several explorations are among the wonders of the age. In 1846, the citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, presented him with an elegant sword, in a gold scabbard, as a testi- monial of their appreciation of his great services to the country ; and jn J850, the King of Prussia^ 488 THE NATION". [1845. Other stirring events were occurring in the same direction at this time. While Kearney was on his way to California, Colonel Doniphan, by his com- mand, was engaged, with a thousand Missouri volunteers, in forcing the Nav- ajo Indians to make a treaty of peace. This was accomplished on the 22d of November, 1846, and then Doniphan marched toward Chihuahua, to join Gen- eral Wool. At Braceti, in the valley of the Rio del Norte, they met a large Mexican force on the 22d of December, under General Ponce de Leon. He sent a black flag to Doniphan, with the message, " We will neither ask nor give quarter." The Mexicans then advanced and fired three rounds. The Mis- sourians fell upon their faces, and the enemy, supposing them to be all slain, rushed forward for plunder. The Americans suddenly arose, and delivering a deadly fire from their rifles, killed two hundred Mexicans, and dispersed the remainder in great confusion. Doniphan then pressed forward, and when within eighteen miles of the capital of Chihuahua, he was confronted [Feb. 28, 1847] by four thousand Mexicans. These he completely routed, 1 and then pressing forward to the city of Chihuahua, he entered it in triumph, raised the sent him the grand golden medal struck for those who have made essential progress in science. In 1851, he was elected the first United States senator for California; and, in June, 1856, he was nominated for the office c f President of the United States. He served as Major-General in the National army during a portion of the late Civil War. 1 The Americans lost, in killed and wounded, only eighteen men ; the Mexicans lost about sir .huudred. 1849.] FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 489 flag of the United States upon its citadel, in the midst of a population of forty thousand [March 2], and took possession of the province in the name of his gov- ernment. After resting six weeks he marched to Saltillo [May 22], where General Wool was encamped. From thence he returned to New Orleans, hav- ing made a perilous march from the Mississippi, of about five thousand miles. The conquest of all Northern Mexico, 1 with California, was now complete, and General Scott was on his march for the great capital. Let us now consider GENERAL SCOTT'S INVASION OF MEXICO. The Mexican authorities having scorned overtures for peace made by the government of the United States in the autumn of 1846, it was determined to conquer the whole country. For that purpose General Scott was directed to collect an army, capture Vera Cruz,* and march to the Mexican capital. His rendezvous was at Lobos Island, about one hundred and twenty-fjjre miles north from Vera Cruz ; and on the 9th of March, 1847, he landed near the latter with an army of about thirteen thousand men, borne thither by a powerful squadron commanded by Commodore Connor. 8 He invested the city on the 13th ; and five days afterward [March 18], having every thing ready for an attack, 4 he summoned the town and fortress, for the last time, to surrender A refusal was the signal for opening a general cannon- ade, and bombardment from his batteries and the fleet. The siege continued until the 27th, when the city, the strong castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, with five thousand prisoners, and five hundred pieces of artillery, were surren- dered to the Americans. The latter had only forty men killed, and about the same number wounded. At least a thousand Mexicans were killed, and a great number were maimed. It is estimated that during this siege, not less than six thousand seven hundred shots and shells were thrown by the American batteries, weighing, in the ag- gregate, more than forty thousand pounds. Two days after the siege [March 29, 1847], General Scott took possession of Vera Cruz, and on the 8th of April, the advanced force of his army, under General Twiggs, commenced their march for the interior by way of Jalapa. 8 Santa Anna had advanced, with twelve thousand men, to Cerro Gordo, a diffi- 1 Some conspiracies in New Mexico against the new government, ripened into revolt, in Janu- ary, 1847. Governor Bent and others were murdered at Fernando de Taos on the 19th, and mas- sacres occurred in other quarters. On the 23d, Colonel Price, with three hundred and fifty men, marched against and defeated the insurgents at Canada, and finally dispersed them at the mountain gorge called the Pass of Embudo. * This city was considered the key to the country. On an island opposite was a very strong fortress called the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa [pronounced San-whan-dah-oo-loo-ah], always cele- brated for its great strength, and considered impregnable by the Mexicans. i." fads*** -...--s o \ oc**" 11 ! INTUEXCIIHENTS AT VERA. CRCZ. 4 The engineering operations were performed very skillfully under the direction of Colonel Tot- ten, an officer of the War of 1812. For his bravery at Vera Cruz, he was made Brigadier-General, by brevet. He died at Washington City, April 22, 1864. * Pronounced Hah-lah-pah. 490 THE NATION. [1845. cult mountain pass at the foot of the eastern chain of the Cordilleras. He was strongly fortified, and had many pieces of cannon well placed for defense. Scott had followed Twiggs with the main body. He had left a strong garrison at Vera Cruz, and his whole army now numbered about eight thousand five hundred men. Having skillfully arranged his plans, he attacked the enemy on the 18th of April. The assault was successful. More than a thousand Mex- icans were killed or wounded, and three thousand were made prisoners. Hav- ing neither men to guard, nor food to sustain the prisoners, General Scott dis- missed them on parole. 1 The boastful Santa Anna narrowly escaped capture by fleeing upon a mule taken from his carriage. 3 The Americans lost, in killed and wounded, four hundred and thirty-one. The victors entered Jalapa on the 19th of April ; and on the 22d, General Worth unfurled the stars and stripes upon the castle of Perote, on the summit of the eastern Cordilleras, fifty miles from Jalapa. This was considered the strongest fortress in Mexico next to Vera Cruz, yet it was surrendered without resistance. Among the spoils were fifty-four pieces of cannon, and mortars, and a large quantity of munitions of war. Onward the victorious army marched ; and on the 15th of May [1847] it entered the ancient walled and fortified city of Puebla, 3 without opposition from the eighty thousand inhabit- ants within. Here the Americans rested, after a series of victories almost un- paralleled. Within two months, an army averaging only about ten thousand men, had taken some of the strongest fortresses on this continent, made ten thousand prisoners, and captured seven hundred pieces of artillery, ten thou- sand stand of arms, and thirty thousand shells and cannon-balls. Yet greater conquests awaited them. General Scott remained at Puebla until August, 4 when, being reinforced by fresh troops, sent by way of Vera Cruz, he resumed his march toward the cap- ital, with more than ten thousand men, leaving a large number sick in the hos- pital. 6 Their route was through a beautiful region, well watered, and clothed with the richest verdure, and then up the slopes of the great Cordil- leras. From their lofty summits, and almost from the same spot where Cortez and his followers stood amazed more 1 Note 6, page 311. 8 Before the battle, Santa Anna said, " I will die fighting rather than the Americans shall proudly tread the imperial city of Azteca." So precipitate was his flight that he left all his papers behind him, and his wooden leg. He had been so severely wounded in his leg, while defending Vera Cruz against the French, in 1838, that amputation became necessary, and a wooden one was substituted. * Pronounced Pweb-lah. * During this long halt of the American army, the government of the United States made un- availing efforts to negotiate for peace. The Mexican authorities refused the olive branch, and boasted of their patriotism, valor, and strength, while losing post after post, in their retreat toward the capital. * At one time there were eighteen hundred men sick at Puebla ; and at Perote seven hundred died during the summer, notwithstanding the situations of these places, on lofty table-lands, were considered exceedingly healthful BOUT OF TJIK U. 8. AU-MY FKOM YEUA CKL'Z TO MLX1CO. BOMBARDMKMT OF VERA CRUZ. 1849.] FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 493 than three centuries before, 1 Scott and his army looked down [August 10, 1847] upon that glorious panorama of intervales, lakes, cities, and villages, in the great valley of Mexico the capital of the Aztec Empire" the seat of " the Halls of the Montezumas." s General Twiggs 4 cautiously led the advance of the American army toward the city of Mexico, on the llth of August, and encamped at St. Augustine, on the Acapulco road, eight miles south of the capital. Before him lay the strong fortress ' of San (or St.) Antonio, and close on his right were the heights of Churubusco, crowned with embattled walls covered with cannons, and to be reached in front only by a dangerous causeway. Close by was the fortified camp of Contreras, containing six thousand Mexicans, under General Valencia ; and between it and the city was Santa Anna, and twelve thousand men, held in reserve. Such was the general position of the belligerents when, a little after midnight on the 20th of August [1847], General Smith 6 marched to the attack of the camp at Contreras. The battle opened at sunrise. It was sanguinary, but brief, and the Americans were victorious. Eighty officers and three thou- sand private soldiers were made prisoners ; and the chief trophies were thirty- three pieces ~ of artillery. In the mean while, Generals Pierce* and Shields, 7 with a small force, kept Santa Anna's powerful reserve at bay. General Scott now directed a similar movement against Cherubusco. Santa Anna advanced ; and the whole region became a. battle-field, under the eye and control of the American commander-in-chief. The invaders dealt blow after blow successfully. Antonio yielded, Churubusco was taken, and Santa Anna aban- doned the field and fled to the capital. It was a memorable day in Mexico. An army, thirty thou- sand strong, had been broken up by another less than one third its strength in numbers; and at almost every step the Americans were successful. Full four thousand of the Mexicans were killed or wounded, three thousand were made prisoners, and thirty seven pieces of cannon were taken, all in one day. The Americans lost, in killed and wounded, almost eleven OPERATIONS NEAR MEXICO. 1 Page 43. * According to the faint glimmerings of ancient Mexican history which have come down to us, the Aztecs, who occupied that country when it first became known to Europeans [page 43], came from the North, and were more refined than any other tribes, which, from time to time, had held possession of the country. They built a city within the borders of Lake Tezcuco, and named it Mexico, in honor of Mexitti, their god of war. Where the present great cathedral stands, they had erected an immense temple, dedicated to the sun, and there offered human sacrifices. It is related, that at its consecration, almost sixty thousand human beings were sacrificed. The temple was built about the year 1480, by the predecessor of Montezuma, the emperor found by Cortez. s This expression, referring to the remains of the palace of Montezuma in Mexico, was often used during the war. * David E. Twiggs was born in Georgia, in 1790. He served in the "War of 1812, and was retained in the army. He was breveted a Major-General after the battle of Monterey, in Mexico. He deserted his flag, and was dismissed from the army in 1861. Died September 15, 1862. 8 General Persifer F. Smith, of Louisiana. ' Page 514. 7 General James Shields, of Illinois, afterward a representative of that State in the Senate of the United States. 494 THE NATION.. [1845. hundred. They might now have entered the city of Mexico in triumph, but General Scott preferred to bear the olive branch, rather than the palm. As he advanced to Tacubaya, [August 21], within three miles of the city, a flag came from Santa Anna to ask for an armistice, preparatory to negotiations for peace. 1 It was granted, and Nicholas P. Trist, who had been appointed, by the United States government, a commissioner to treat for peace, went into the capital [August 24] for the purpose. Scott made the palace of the archbishop, at Tacubaya, his head-quarters, and there anxiously awaited the result of the con- ference, until the 5th of September, when Mr. Trist returned, with the intelli- gence that his propositions were not only spurned with scorn, but that Santa Anna had violato^i the armistice by strengthening the defenses of the city. Disgusted with the continual treachery of his foe, Scott declared the armistice at an end, on the 7th of September, and prepared to storm the capital. The first demonstration against the city was on the morning of the 8th of September, when less than four thousand Americans attacked fourteen thousand Mexicans, under Santa Anna, at El Molinos del Rey (the King's Mills) near Chepultepec. They were at first repulsed, with great slaughter ; but returning to the attack, they fought desperately for an hour, and drove the Mexicans from their position. Both parties suffered dreadfully. The Mexicans left almost a thousand dead on the field, and the Americans lost about eight hundred. And now the proud Chepultepec was doomed. It was a lofty hill, strongly fortified, and the seat of the military school of Mexico. It was the last place to be defended outside the suburbs of the city. Scott erected four heavy batteries to * bear upon it, on the night of the llth of September ; and the next day [Sep- tember 12, 1847], a heavy cannonade and bombardment commenced. On the 1 3th, the assailants commenced a furious charge, routed the enemy, with great slaughter, and unfurled the American flag over the shattered castle of Chepul- tepec. The Mexicans fled to the city along an aqueduct, pursued by General Quitman" to its very gates. That night, Santa Anna and his army, with the officers of government, fled from the doomed capital ; and at four o'clock the following morning [September 14], a deputation from the city authorities waited upon General Scott, and begged him to spare the town and treat for peace. He would make no terms, but ordered Generals Worth and Quitman 3 to move forward, and plant the stripes and stars upon the National Palace. The victorious generals entered at ten o'clock, and on the Grand Plaza,* took formal possession of the Mexican Empire. Order soon reigned in the capital. Santa Anna made some feeble efforts to regain lost power, and failed. He appeared before Puebla on the 22d of September, where Colonel Childs had been besieged since the 13th. The approach of General Lane frightened him away ; and in a battle with the troops of that leader at Huamantla, Santa 1 Note 1, page 242. a John A. Quitman was a native of New York. He led volunteers to the Mexican war, and was presented with a sword by Congress. He was Governor of Mississippi in 1851, and was a leader of secessionists. He died July 15, 1858. 3 The approach of each was along separate aqueducts. See map, page 493. 4 Place. This is the large public square in the city of Mexico. GEXEHAL SCOTT ENTERING THE CITY cr 1S49.] FOLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 497 Anna was defeated. On the 18th of October he was again defeated at Atlixco, and there his troops deserted him. Before the close of October, he was a fugitive, stripped of every commission, and seeking safety, by flight, to the shores of the Gulf. 1 The president of the Mexican Congress assumed provis- ional authority ; and on the 2d of February, 1848, that body concluded a treaty of peace, with commissioners of the United States at Gaudaloupe Hidalgo. This treaty was finally agreed to by both governments, and on the 4th of July following, President Polk proclaimed it. It stipulated the evacuation of Mex- ico by the American army, within three montbs ; the payment of three millions of dollars in hand, and twelve millions of dollars, in four annual instalments, by the United States to Mexico, for the territory acquired by conquest ; and in addition, to assume debts due certain citizens of the United States to the amount of three millions five hundred thousand dollars. It also fixed bound- aries, and otherwise adjusted matters in dispute. New Mexico and California now became Territories of the United States. During the same month that a treaty of peace was signed at Gaudaloupe Hidalgo, a man employed by Captain Sutter, who owned a mill twenty-five miles up the American fork of the Sacramento River, discovered gold. It was very soon found in other localities, and during the summer, rumors of the fact reached the United States. These rumors assumed tangible form in President Polk : s message in December, 1848 ; and at the beginning of 1849, thousands were on their way to' the land of gold. Around Cape Horn, across the Isthmus of Panama, and over the great central plains of the continent, men went by hundreds ; and far and wide in California, the precious metal was found. From Europe and South America, hundreds flocked thither ; and the Chinese came also from Asia, to dig gold. The dreams of the early Spanish voyagers,* and those of the English who sought gold on the coasts of Labrador, 3 and up the rivers in the middle of the continent, 4 have been more than realized. Emigrants yet [1867] continue to go thither, and the gold seems inexhaustible. 6 The war with Mexico, and the settlement of the Oregon boundary question* with Great Britain, were the most prominent events, having a relation to for- eign powers, which distinguished Mr. Polk's administration. Two measures of a domestic character, appear prominently among many others which mark his administration as full of activity. These were the establishment of an inde- pendent treasury system, 7 by which the national revenues are collected in gold and silver, or treasury notes, without the aid of banks ; and a revision of the tariff laws in 1846, by which protection to American manufacturers was lessened. It was during the last year of his administration that Wisconsin was admitted [May 29, 1848] into the Union of States, making the whole number thirty. At about this time, the people of the Union were preparing for another presidential election. The popularity which General Taylor had gained by his brilliant victories in Mexico, caused him to be nominated for that exalted sta- tion, in many parts of the Union, even before he returned home ; 8 and he was 1 Note 6, page 515. * Page 43. * Page 52. 4 Page 56. 8 Note 3, page 373. Page 479. T Note 2, page 471. Page 486. 32 498 THE NATION". [1843 chosen to be a candidate for that office, by a national convention held at Phila- delphia in June, 1848. His opponent was General Lewis Cass, of Michigan, now [1856] United States senator from that State. 1 General Taylor was elected by a large majority, with Millard Fillmore, of New York, as Vic- President. CHAPTER XIII. TAYLOR'S ADMINISTRATION. [18491850.] THE 4th of March, 1849, was Sunday, and the inauguration of Zachary Taylor, 8 the twelfth President of the United States, did not take place until the next day. Again people had gathered at the Federal city from all parts of the Union, and the day being pleasant, though cloudy, a vast concourse were 1 Note 2, page 424. a Zachary Taylor was born in Virginia, in November, 1784. He went with his father to Ken- tucky the following year, and his childhood was passed near the present city of Louisville. He entered the United States army in 1807. He was a distinguished subaltern during the war of 812-15, and attained the rank of major. He was of great service in the Florida War [page 468] ; id when hostilities with Mexico appeared probable, he was sent in that direction, and, as we have seen, displayed great skill and bravery. He died in July, 1850, having performed the duties of President for only sixteen months. 1850.] TAYLOR'S ADMINISTRATION. 499 assembled in front of the eastern portico of the capitol, long before the appointed hour for the interesting ceremonies. In a clear and distinct voice, he pro- nounced his inaugural address, and then took the oath of office administered by Chief Justice Taney. On the following day he nominated his cabinet officers, 1 and the appointments were immediately confirmed by the Senate. With the heart of a true patriot and honest man, Taylor entered upon his responsible duties with a sincere desire to serve his country as faithfully in the cabinet, as he had done in the field. 3 He had the sympathies of a large majority of the people with him, and his inauguration was the promise of great happiness and prosperity for the country. When President Taylor entered upon the duties of his office, thousands of adventurers were flocking to California from all parts of the Union, and ele- ments of a new and powerful State were rapidly gathering there. Statesmen and politicians perceived the importance of the new Territory, and soon the question whether slavery should have a legal existence there, became an absorb- ing topic in Congress and among the people. The inhabitants of California decided the question for themselves. In August, 1849, General Riley, the military Governor of the Territory, established a sort of judiciary by proclama- tion, with Peter H. Burnet as Chief Justice. Before that time there was no statute law in California. By proclamation, also, Governor Riley summoned a convention of delegates to meet at Monterey, to form a State Constitution. Before it convened, the inhabitants in convention at San Francisco, voted against slavery ; and the Constitution, prepared and adopted at Monterey, on the first of September, 1849, excluded slavery from the Territory, forever. Thus came into political form the crude elements of a State, the birth and maturity of which seems like a dream. All had been accomplished within twenty months from the time when gold was discovered near Sutler's Mill. Under the Constitution, Edward Gilbert and G. H. Wright, were elected delegates for California in the National House of Representatives ; and the State Legislature, at its first session, elected John Charles Fremont 3 and William M. Gwinn, United States senators. When the latter went to Washington, they carried their Constitution with them, and presented a petition [February, 1850] asking for the admission of that Territory into the Union as a free and independent State. 4 The article of the Constitution which excluded slavery, became a cause for violent debates in Congress, and of bitter sectional feeling in the South against the people of the North. The Union, so strong in the hearts of the pfeople, was shaken to its center, and prophets of evil 1 He appointed John M. Clayton, Secretary of State; William M. Meredith, Secretary of the Treasury; George W. Crawford, Secretary of "War; William B. Preston, Secretary of the Navy; Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Interior (a new office recently established, in which some of the duties before performed by the State and Treasury departments are attended to) ; Jacob Collamer, Postmaster-General ; and Reverdy Johnson, Attorney-General. 9 Page 481 to page 486, inclusive. * Page 488. 4 At this time our government was perplexed by the claims of Texas to portions of the Terri- tory of New Mexico, recently acquired [page 497], and serious difficulty was apprehended. Early in 1850, the inhabitants of New Mexico petitioned Congress for a civil government, and the Mor- mons of the Utah region also petitioned for the organization of the country they had recently settled, into a Territory of the United States. 500 THE NATION. [1849. predicted its speedy dissolution. As in 1832, 1 there were menaces of secession from the Union, by Southern representatives, and never before did civil war appear so inevitable. Happily for the country, some of the ablest statesmen and patriots the Kepublic had ever gloried in. were members of the national Legislature, at that time, and with consummate skill they directed and con- trolled the storm. In the midst of the tumult and alarm in Congress, and throughout the land, Henry Clay again 8 appeared as the potent peace-maker between the Hotspurs of the North and South ; and on the 25th of January, 1850, he offered, in the Senate a plan of compromise which met the difficulty. Eleven days afterward [February 5, 1850] he spoke nobly in defense of his plan, denounced secession as treason, and implored his countrymen to make 1 Page 381. a Page 464. Henry Clay was born in Hanover county, Virginia, in April, 1777. His early edu- cation was defective, and he arose to greatness by the force of his own genius. His extraordinary intellectual powers began to develop at an early age, and at nineteen he commenced the study of the law. When admitted to practice, at the age of twenty, he went over the mountains to tho fertile valleys of Kentucky, and there laid the foundations of his greatness as a lawyer and orator. The latter quality was first fully developed when a convention was called to revise the Constitution of Kentucky. Then he worked manfully and unceasingly to procure the election of delegates who would favor the emancipation of the slaves. He became a member of the Kentucky Legislature in 1803, and there he took a front rank. He was chosen to fill a vacant seat in the United States Senate in 1806, and in 1811 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, and became its Speaker. From that time until his death, he was continually in public life. He long held a front rank among American statesmen, and died, while a member of the United States Senate, in the city of Washington, at the close of June, 1852. 1850.] FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION. 501 every sacrifice but honor, in support of the Union. Mr. Clay's plan was warmly seconded by Daniel Webster; 1 and other senators approving of compro- mise, submitted propositions. Finally, on motion of Senator Foote of Missis- sippi, a committee of thirteen was appointed to consider the various plans and report a bill. The committee consisted of six northern and six southern sen- ators, and these chose the thirteenth. The Senate appointed Mr. Clay chairman of the committee, and on the 8th of May following, he reported a bill. It was discussed for four months, and on the 9th of September, each measure included in the bill having been thoroughly considered separately, the famous Compro- mise Act of 1850, having passed both Houses of Congress, became a law. Because several measures, distinct in their objects, were embodied in the act, it is sometimes known as the " Omnibus Bill." The most important stipulations of the act were, 1st. That California should be admitted into the Union as a State, with its anti-slavery Constitution, and its territorial extent from Oregon to the Mexican possessions ; 2d. That the vast country east of California, con- taining the Mormon settlements near the Great Salt Lake, 2 should be erected into a Territory called Utah, without mention of slavery ; 3d. That New Mex- ico should be erected into a Territory, within satisfactory boundaries, and with- out any stipulations respecting slavery, and that ten millions of dollars should be paid to Texas from the National treasury, in purchase of her claims ; 4th. That the slave-trade in the District of Columbia should be abolished; 5th. A law providing for the arrest in the northern or free States, and return to their masters, of all slaves who should escape from bondage. The last measure of the Compromise Act produced wide-spread dissatisfaction in the Free-labor States ; and the execution, evasion, and violation of the law, in several instances, have led to serious disturbances and much bitter sectional feeling. While the great Compromise question was under discussion, the nation was called to lament the loss of its Chief Magistrate. President Taylor was seized with a malady, similar in its effects to cholera, which terminated his earthly career on the 9th of July, 1850. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, 4 he was immediately succeeded in office by MILLARD FILLMORE, 6 who, on the 10th of July, took the oath to " preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." President Taylor's cabinet resigned; but the new President, with great delicacy, declined to consider their resignations 1 Page 503. a Page 503. 3 Article II., section 1, of the National Constitution. 4 Millard Fillmore was born in January, 1800, in Cayuga county, New York. His early edu- cation was limited, and at a suitable age he was apprenticed to a wool-carder. At the age of nine- teen, his talent attracted the attention of Judge Wood, of Cayuga county, and he took the humble apprentice under his charge, to study the science of law. He became eminent in his profession. He was elected to the Assembly of his native State in 1829, and in 1832, was chosen to represent his district in Congress. He was re-elected in 1837, and was continued hi office several years. In 1844, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the office of Governor of his native State, and in 1848 he was elected Vice-President of the United States. The death of Taylor gave him the presidency, and he conducted public affairs with dignity and skill. In the summer of 1856, he was nominated for the office of President of the United States, by the " American" party, with A. J. Donelson for Vice-President See Note 1, page 479. 502 THE NATION. [1850. until after the obsequies of the deceased President had been performed. At his request, they remained in office until the 15th of the month, when President Fillmore appointed new heads of the departments. 1 The administration of President Taylor had been brief, but it was distin- guished by events intimately connected, as we shall observe, by men and measures, with the late Civil War. One of these was an invasion of Cuba by a force under General Lopez, a native of that island, which was organized and officered in the United States, in violation of existing neutrality laws. It was said that the native Cubans were restive under the rule of Spanish Governor- Generals, 2 and that a desire for independence burned in the hearts of many of the best men there. Lopez was ranked among these, and, in forming this invading expedition, he counted largely upon this feeling for co-operation. He 1 Daniel "Webster, Secretary of State ; Thomas Corwin, Secretary of the Treasury ; Charles M. Conrad, Secretary of "War; Alexander H.H.Stuart, Secretary of the Interior; William A. Graham, Secretary of the Navy; John J. Crittenden, Attorney-General; Nathan K. Hall, Postmaster-Gen- eral. Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, in January, 1782, and was educated chiefly at the Phillips Academy at Andover, and Dartmouth College at Hanover. He studied law in Boston, and was admitted to the bar in 1805. He commenced practice in his native State, and Boon became eminent. He first appeared in public life in 1813, when he took his seat as a member of the National House of Eepresentatives. At that session his speeches were remarkable, and a southern member remarked, "The North has not his equal, nor the South his superior." Although in public life a greater portion of the time from that period until his death, yet he always had an extensive and lucrative law practice. He stood foremost as a constitutional lawyer ; and for many years he was peerless as a statesman. He died at Marshfield, Massachusetts, in October, 1852, at the age of almost seventy-one years. a Page 40. 1853.] FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION. 503 landed at Cardenas on the 19th of April, 1850, expecting to be joined by some of the Spanish troops and native Cubans, and by concerted action to overturn the Government. But the people and troops did not co-operate with him, and he returned to the United States to prepare for a more formidable expedition. We shall meet him again presently. During Taylor's administration, one State was formed and three Territories were organized ; and preparations were made for establishing other local governments within the domain of the United States. That State was California, and the Territories were of those of New Mexico, Utah, and Minne- sota. 1 The greater portion of the inhabitants of Utah are of the religious sect called Mormons, who, after suffering much in Missouri and Illinois, from their opposers, left those States in 1848, and penetrated the deep wilderness in the interior of our continent ; and near the Great Salt Lake, in the midst of the savage Utah tribes, they have built a large city, made extensive plantations, and founded an empire almost as large, in territorial extent, as that of 1 Minnesota (sky-colored water) is the Indian name of the river St. Peter, the largest tributary of the Mississippi, in that region. It was a part of the vast Territory of Louisiana, and was organ- ized in March, 1849. An embryo village, twelve miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, named St. Paul, was made the capital, and in less than ten years it contained more than ten thousand souls. Its growth was unprecedented, eveii in the wonderful progress of other cities of the West, and at one time it promised to speedily equal Chicago in its population. The whole region of Minnesota is very attractive ; and it has been called the New England of the West. THE NATION. [1850. Alexander the Great. 1 The sect was founded in 1827, by a shrewd young man named Joseph Smith, a native of central New York, who professed to have received a special revelation from Heaven, giving him knowledge of a book which had been buried many centurle.5 before, in a hill near the village of Palmyra, whose leaves were of gold, upon which were engraved the records of the ancient people of America, and a new gospel for man. He found dupes, believers, and followers; and now [1867] there are Mormon mission- aries in many portions of the globe, and the communion numbers, probably, not less than two hundred and fifty JOSEPH SMITH. thousand souls. There has long been a sufficient number in Utah to entitle them to a State constitution, and admission into the Union, but their social system, which embraces polygamy, sanctioned by authority, is a bar to such admission. Their permission of polygamy, or men having more than one wife, will be a serious bar to their admission, for Christianity and sound morality forbid the custom. Tho Mormons have poetically called their country Deseret the land of the Honey Bee but Congress has entitled it Utah, and by that name it must be known in history. The country inhabited by the Mormons is one of the most remarkable on the face of the globe. It consists of a, series of extensive valleys and rocky mar- gins, spread out into an immense basin, surrounded by rugged mountains, out of which no waters flow. It is midway between the States on the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean, perfectly isolated from habitable regions, and embracing a domain covering sixteen degrees of longitude in the Utah latitude. On the east are the sterile spurs of the Rocky Mountains, stretching down to the vast plains traversed by the Platte river ; on the west, extending nearly a thousand miles toward the Pacific, are arid salt deserts, broken by barren mountains ; and north and south are immense mountain districts. The valleys afford pe- 1 The Mormon exodus was one of the most wonderful events on record, when considered in all its phases. In September, 1846, the last lingering Mormons at Nauvoo, Illinois, where they had built a splendid temple, were driven away at the point of the bayonet, by 1,600 troops. In Febru- ary preceding, some sixteen hundred men, women, and children, fearful of the wrath of the people around them, had crossed the Mississippi on the ice, and traveling with ox-teams and on foot, they penetrated the wilderness to the Indian country, near Council Blufls, on the Missouri. The rem- nant who started in autumn, many of whom were sick men, feeble women, and delicate girls, were compelled to traverse the same dreary region. The united host, under the guidance of Brigham Young, who is yet their temporal and spiritual leader, halted on the broad prairies of Missouri the following summer, turned up the virgin soil, and planted. Here leaving a few to cultivate and gather for wanderers who might come after them, the host moved on, making the wilderness vocal with preaching and singing. Order marked every step of their progress, for the voice of Toung, whom they regarded as a seer, was to them as the voice of God. On they went, forming Tabernacle Camps, or temporary resting-places in the wilderness. No obstacles impeded their progress. They forded swift-running streams, and bridged the deeper floods ; crept up the great eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, and from the lofty summits of the Wasatch range, they beheld, on the 20th of July, 1847, the valley where they were to rest and build a city, and the placid waters of the Great Salt Lake, glittering in the beams of the setting sun. To those weary wanderers, this moutain top was a Pisgah. From it they saw the Promised Land to them a scene of wondrous interest. "Westward, lofty peaks, bathed in purple air, pierced the sky ; and as far as the eye could reach, north and south, stretched the fertile Valley of Promise, and here and there the vapors of hot springs, gushing from rocky coverts, curled above the hills, like smoke from the hearth-fires of home. The Pilgrims entered the valley on the 21st of July, and on the 24th the President and High Council arrived. There they planted a city, the Jerusalem the Holy City of the Mormon people. EMIGRATION. 1851.] FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION. rennial pasturage, and the soil is exceedingly fertile. Wild game abounds in the mountains ; the streams are filled with excellent fish ; the climate is delightful at all seasons of the year; and "breathing is a real luxury." Southward, over the rim of the great basin, is a fine cotton-growing region, into which the Mormons are penetrating. The vast hills and mountain slopes present the finest pasturage in the world for sheep, alpacas, and goats. The water-power of the whole region is immense. Iron-mines everywhere abound, and in the Green river basin, there are inexhaustible beds of coal. In these great natural resources and defenses, possessed by a people of such indomitable energy and perseverance as the Mormons have shown, we see the vital ele- ments of a powerful mountain nation, in proportions, in the heart of our conti- nent, and in the direct pathway from the Atlantic to the Pacific States, that may yet play a most important part, for good or for evil, in the destinies of our country and of the world. The most important measure adopted during the early part of Fillmore's administration was the Compromise Act, already considered. 1 During his offi- cial career the President firmly supported the measure, and at the close of his administration, in the spring of 1853, there seemed to be very little disquie- tude in the public mind on the subject of slavery. That calm was the lull before a tempest. The Fugitive Slave Law was so much at variance with the spirit of free institutions, Christian ethics, and the civilization of the age, that the hearts of the people of the free-labor States, and of thousands in the slave- labor States, burned with a desire not only to purge the National statute-books of that law, but to stay the further spread of slavery over the domain of the Republic. That desire, and a determination of the slave-holders to extend the area of their labor system, speedily led to terrible results, as we shall observe presently. In the spring of 1851, Congress made important and salutary changes in the general post-office laws, chiefly in the reduction of letter postage, fixing the rate upon a letter weighing not more than half an ounce, and pre-paid, at three cents, to any part of the United States, excepting California and the Pacific Territories. The exception was afterward abandoned. At the same time, electro-magnetic tele- graphing had become quite perfect ; and by means of the subtile agency of electricity, communications were speeding over thousands of miles of iron wire, with the rapidity of lightning. The establishment of this instantaneous communication between distant points is one of the most important achievements of this age of invention and discovery ; and the names of Fulton and Morse* will be forever indissolubly connected in the commercial and social history of our republic. T-k ^l f no-i \ S. P. B. MOKSE. During the summer of 1851, there was again con- 1 Page 501. * In 1832, Professor Samuel F. B. Morse had his attention directed to the experiments of Franklin, upon a wire a few miles in length on the banks of the Schttylkill, in which the velocity THE NATION. [185L siderable excitement produced throughout the country because other concerted movements were made, at different points, in the organization of a military force for the purpose of invading Cuba. 1 The vigilance of the government of the United States was awakened, and orders were given to its marshals to arrest suspected men, and seize suspected vessels and munitions of war. Pur- suant to these orders, the steamboat Cleopatra was detained at New York ; and several gentlemen, of the highest respectability, were arrested on a charge of a violation of existing neutrality laws. In the mean time the greatest excitement prevailed in Cuba, and forty thousand Spanish troops were concen- trated there,, while a considerable naval force watched and guarded the coasts. These hindrances caused the dispersion of the armed bands who were pre- paring to invade Cuba, and quiet was restored for a while. But in July the excitement was renewed. General Lopez, 2 who appears to have been under the control of designing politicians, made a speech to a large crowd in New Orleans, in favor of an invading expedition. Soon afterward [August, 1851], he sailed from that port with about four hundred and eighty followers, and landed [August 11] on the northern coast of Cuba. There he left Colonel William L. Crittenden, of Kentucky, with one hundred men, and proceeded toward the interior. Crittenden and his party were captured, carried to Havana, and on the 16th were shot. Lopez was attacked on the 13th, and his little army was dispersed. He had been deceived. There appeared no signs of a promised revolution in Cuba, and he became a fugitive. He was arrested on the 28th, with six of his followers, taken to Havana, and on the 1st of September was executed. In the autumn of 1851, more accessions were made to the vastly extended of electricity was found to be so inappreciable that it was supposed to be instantaneous. Pro- fessor Morse, pondering upon this subject, suggested that electricity might be made the means of recording characters as signs of intelligence at a distance: and in the autumn of 1832 he con- structed a portion of the instrumentalities for that purpose. In 1835 he showed the first com- plete instrument for tdegraphic recording, at the New York City University. In 1837 he completed a more perfect machinery. In 1838 he submitted the matter and the telegraphic instruments to Congress, asking their aid to construct a line of sufficient length " to test its practicability and utility." The committee to whom the subject was referred reported favorably, and proposed an appropriation of $30,000 to construct the first line. The appropriation, how- ever, was not made until the 3d of March, 1843. The posts for supporting the wires were erected between Washington and Baltimore, a distance of forty miles. In the spring of 1844 the line was completed, and the proceedings of the Democratic Convention,, then sitting in Balti- more, which nominated James K. Polk for the Presidency of the United States, was the first use, for public purposes, ever made by the telegraph, whose lines have been extended to all parts of the civilized world, the total length of which, at this time [1867], is about 225,000 miles. Pro- fessor Morse's system of Recording Telegraphs is adopted generally on the continent of Europe, and has been selected by the government of Australia for the telegraphic systems of that coun- try. A very ingenious machine for recording telegraphic communications with printing types, so as to avoid the necessity of copying, was constructed, a few years ago, by House, and is now extensively used. Professor Morse is the eldest son of Rev. Jedediah Morse, the first American geographer. Ho was born in Charlestovvn, Massachusetts, in 1791. and was graduated at Yale College in 1810. He studied painting in England, and was very successful. He was one of the founders of the National Academy of Design in New York, and he was the first to deliver a course of lectures upon art in America. He became a professor in the University of the city of New York, and there perfected his magnetic telegraph. Mr. Morse now [18G7] resides on his beautiful estate of Locust Grove, near Poughkeepsie, New York, but since the summer of 1866 has spent much, time in Europe. He has received many testimonials of appreciation from eminent individuals and societies beyond the Atlantic. 1 Page 502. . p age 502. 1851.] FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION. 599 possessions of the United States. Population was pouring into the regions of the Northwest, beyond the Mississippi, and crowding the dusky inhabitants of the Indian reservations in Minnesota. Negotiations for a cession of those lands to the United States were opened. These resulted in the purchase of many millions of acres from the Upper and Lower Sioux tribes of Indians, 1 their removal to another reservation, and the blooming of the wilderness they occupied under the hands of the white man. And while inter-emigration was seen flowing in a continuous stream in that direction, population was also flowing in large volume from Europe, increasing the inhabitants and wealth of the country. There had been for some time unwonted activity everywhere, and this was one of its many phases. States and Territories were growing. Additional representatives in the National Legislature were crowding its halls. 2 These were becoming too narrow, and Congress made provision for enlarging them. Accordingly, on the 4th of July, 1851, the corner-stone of the addition to the National Capitol was laid by the President, with appropriate cere- monies. 3 Circumstances at about the time we are considering, caused a remarkable American expedition to the polar regions. Sir John Franklin, an English navigator, sailed to that part of the globe, with two vessels, in May, 1845, in search of the long-sought northwest passage from Europe to the West Indies. 4 Years passed by, and no tidings of him came. Expe- ditions were sent from England in search of him; and in May, 1850, Henry Grinnell, a wealthy mer- chant of New York, sent two ships, in charge of Lieu- tenant De Haven, to assist in the benevolent effort. They returned, after remarkable adventures, in the autumn of 1851, without success. The effort was renewed by the opulent merchant, in connection with his government, in 1853, and in May of that year two vessels under the command of Elisha Kent Kane, M. D., the surgeon of the first expedition, sailed from New York, while a similar expedition was sent out from England. Kane and his party made valuable discoveries, among which was that of the " open polar sea," whose existence was believed in by scien- 1 Page 31. 2 Each State is entitled to two senators. The number 'of States now [1867] being thirty- eight, the Senate is composed of seventy-six members* The number of Representatives to which each State is entitled, is determined by the number of inhabitants and the ratio of representation. The present number of the members in the House of Representatives is two hundred and fifty- three, including delegates from nine Territories. 3 Note 1, page 388.. On the occasion of laying the corner-stone, an oration was pronounced by Daniel Webster, in the course of which he said: "If, therefore, it shall hereafter be the will of God that this structure shall fall from its base, that its foundations be upturned, and the deposit beneath this stone brought to the eyes of men, be it then known, that on this day the Union of the United States of America stands firm that their Constitution still exists unimpaired, and with all its usefulness and glory, growing every day stronger in the affections of the great body of the American people, and attracting, more and more, the admiration of the world." 4 Note 2, page 47, also page 52, and note 8, page 59. 5 Elisha Kent Kane was born in Philadelphia, in February, 1822, and he took his degree in the Medical University of Pennsylvania in 1843. He entered the American navy as assistant- THE NATION [18L1. tific men, but they failed to find Sir John Franklin. 1 They suffered much, and were finally compelled to abandon their ships and make their way in open boats to a Danish settlement in Greenland. . Their long absence created fears for their safety, and a relief expedition was sent in search of them. In the vessels of the latter they returned home in the autumn of 1855. 2 The public attention was directed to, and popular sympathy was strongly excited in behalf of Hungary, by the arrival in the United States, toward the close of 1851, of Louis Kossuth, the exiled Governor of that country, whose people, during the revolutions of 1848, 3 had sought independence of the crown of Austria. He came to ask material aid for his country in its struggle which then continued. The sympathy of the people with the Hungarians, and the eloquence of the exile, as he went from place to place pleading the cause of his nation and enunciating important international doctrines, 4 made his mission the chief topic of thought and conversation for a long time. The policy of our government forbade its giving material aid, but Kossuth received the expres- sion of its warmest sympathies. 5 His advent among xis, and his bold enuncia- surgeon, and was attached as a physician to the first American embassy to China. "While in the East, he visited many of the Islands, and met with wild adventures. After that he ascended the Nile to the confines of Nubia, and passed a season in Egypt. After traveling through Greece and a part of Europe, on foot, he returned to the United States in 1 846. He was immediately sent to the coast of Africa, where he narrowly escaped death from fever. Soon after his recovery he went to Mexico, as a volunteer in the war then progressing, where his bravery and endurance commanded universal admiration. His horse was killed under him, and himself was badly wounded. He was appointed senior surgeon and naturalist to the " Grinnel Expedition," men- tioned in the text; and after his return he prepared an interesting account of the exploration. He was appointed to the command of a second expedition, and he accomplished much in behalf of geographical science. Dr. Kane held an accomplished pencil and ready pen, and his scientific attainments were of a high order. The records of this wonderful expedition, prepared by himself, were published in two superb volumes, illustrated by engravings from drawings by his hand. The hardships which he had endured made great inroads on the health of Dr. Kane (who was a very light man, weighing only 106 pounds); and m October, 1856, he sailed for England, and from thence to Havana, where he died on the 16th of February, 1857. 1 In 1855, an overland exploring party, sent by the Hudson's Bay Fur Company, were informed by the Esquimaux that about four years before a party of white men had perished in the region of Montreal Island. They saw among the Indians articles known to have belonged to Sir John and his party, and the belief is that they perished on the northern borders of North America, so late as the year 1851. 8 In the mean time the great problem, which for three hundred years had perplexed the mari- time world, had been worked out by an English navigator. The fact of a northwest passage around the Arctic coast of North America, from Baffin's Bay to Behring's Straits, has been unquestionably demonstrated by Captain McClure, of the ship Investigator, who was sent in search of Sir John Franklin in October, 18o3. Having passed through Behring's Straits, and sailed eastward, he reached a point, with sleds upon the ice, which had been penetrated by navigators from the East (Captain Parry and others), thus establishing the fact that there is a water connec- tion between Baffin's Bay and those straits. " Already the mute whale had demonstrated this fact to the satisfaction of naturalists. The same species are found in Behring's Straits and Baffin's Bay, and as the waters of the tropical regions would be like a sea of fire to them, they must have had communication through the polar channels. 8 In February, 1848, the French people drove Louis Philippe from his throne, and formed a temporary republic. The revolutionary spirit spread; and within a few months, almost every country on the continent of Europe was In- a state of agitation, and the monarchs made many concessions to the people. Hungary made an effort to become free from the rule of Austria, but was crushed by the power of a Russian army. He asserted that grand principle, that one nation has no right to interfere with the domestic concerns of another, and that all nations are bound to use their efforts to prevent such interference. Matters connected with his reception, visit, and desires occupied much of the attention of Congress, and elicited warm debates during the session of 1852. The Chevalier Hulseraan, the Austrian minister at "Washington, formally protested against the reception of Kossuth by Con- 1852.] FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION. tion of the hitherto unrecognized national duties, are important and interesting events in the history of our republic. Some ill-feeling between Great Britain and the United States was ensren- o o dered during the summer of 1852, when the subject of difficulties concerning the fisheries 1 on the coast of British America Avas brought to the notice of Con- gress, and for several months there Avere indications of a serious disturbance of the amicable relations between the two governments. American fishers were charged with a violation of the treaty of 1818, Avhich stipulated that they should not cast their lines or nets in the bays of the British possessions, except at a distance of three miles or more from the shore. Now, the British govern- ment claimed the right to draAV a line from head-land to head-land of these bays, and to exclude the Americans from the waters within that line. 2 An armed naval force was sent to sustain this claim, and American vessels were threatened Avith seizure if they did not comply. The government of the United States regarded the assumption as illegal, and two steam-vessels of war (Princeton and Fulton) were sent to the coast of Nova Scotia to protect the rights of American fishermen. The dispute Avas amicably settled by mutual concessions, in October, 1853, and the cloud passed by. During the summer of 1853, another measure of national concern was ma- tured and put in operation. The great importance of commercial intercourse with Japan, because of the intimate relations which must soon exist between our Pacific coast and the East Indies, had been felt ever since the foundation of Oregon 3 and California. 4 An expedition, to consist of seven ships of war, under the command of Commodore Perry, a brother of the " Hero of Lake Erie," 5 was fitted out for the purpose of carrying a letter from the President of the United States to the emperor of Japan, soliciting the negotiation of a treaty of friendship and commerce between the tAVO nations, by which the ports of the latter should be thrown open to American vessels, for purposes of trade. The mission of Commodore Perry was highly successful. He negotiated a treaty, by which it was stipulated that ports on different Japanese Islands should be open to American commerce ; 6 that steamers from California to China should be furnished with supplies of coals; and that American sailors ship- Avrecked on the Japanese coasts should receive hospitable treatment. Subse- quently a peculiar construction of the treaty on the part of the Japanese authorities, in relation to the permanent residence of Americans there, threat- ened a disturbance of the amicable relations which had been established. The gress ; and, because his protest was not heeded, he retired from his post, and left the duties of his office with Mr. Auguste Belmonte, of New York. Previous to this, Hulseman issued a written protest against the policy of our government in relation to Austria and Hungary, and that protest was answered, in a masterly manner, in January, 1851, by Mr. Webster, the Secre- tary of State. 1 Pages 47 and 453. a This stipulation was so construed as to allow American fishermen to catch cod within the large bays where they could easily carry on their avocations at a greater distance than three miles from any land. Such had been the common practice, without interference, until the assumption of exclusive right to their bays was promulgated by the British. 8 Page 479. 4 Page 487. * Page 423. 9 Previous to this, the Dutch had monopolized the trade of Japan. See note 5, page 59. THE NATION. [1852. matter was adjusted, and in 1860, a large and imposing embassy from the empire of Japan visited the United States. The intercourse betAveen the two countries is becoming more and more intimate. The relations between the United States and old Spain, on account of Cuba, became interesting in the autumn of 1852. The Spanish authorities of Cuba, being thoroughly alarmed by the attempts at invasion, 1 and the evident sym- pathy in the movement of a large portion of the people of the United States, became excessively suspicious, and many little outrages were committed at Havana, which kept alive an irritation of feeling inconsistent with social and commercial friendship. The idea became prevalent, in Cuba and in Europe, that it was the policy of the government of the United States to ultimately acquire absolute possession of that island, and thus have the control over the commerce of the Gulf of Mexico (the door to California), and the trade of the West India group of islands, which are owned, chiefly, by France and England. To prevent such a result, the cabinets of France and England asked that of the United States to enter with them into a treaty which should secure Cuba to Spain, by agreeing to disclaim, " now and forever hereafter, all intention to obtain possession of the Island of Cuba," and "to discountenance all such attempts, to that effect, on the part of any power or individual whatever." Edward Everett, then Secretary of State, issued a response [December 1, 1852] to this extraordinary proposition, which the American people universally applauded for its keen logic and patriotic and enlightened views. He told France and England plainly, that the question was an American and not a European one, and not properly within the scope of their interference ; that while the United States government disclaimed all intention to violate existing neutrality laws, it would not relinquish the right to act in relation to Cuba independent of any other power ; and that it could not see with indifference " the Island of Cuba fall into the hands of any other power than Spain." 2 Lord John Russell, the English prime-minister, answered this letter [February, 1853], and thus ended the diplomatic correspondence on the subject of the proposed " Tripartite Treaty," as it was called. The most important of the closing events of Mr. Fillmore's administration was the creation by Congress of a new Territory called "Washington, out of the northern part of Oregon. 3 The bill for this purpose became a law on the 2d of March, 1853, two days before Fillmore's successor, Franklin Pierce, of New 1 Pages 502 and 508. 2 As early as 1823, when the Spanish provinces in South America were in rebellion, or forming into independent republics, President Monroe, in a special message upon the subject, promulgated the doctrine, since acted upon, that the United States ought to resist the extension of foreign domain or influence upon the American continent, and not allow any European government, by colonizing or otherwise, to gain a foothold in the New World not already acquired. [See note 5, page 448.] This was directed specially against the efforts expected to be made by the allied sovereigns who had crushed Napoleon, to assist Spain against her revolted colonies in America, and to suppress the growth of democracy there. It became a settled policy of our government, and Mr. Everett reasserted it in its fullest extent. Such expression seemed to be important and seasonable, because it was well known that Great Britain was then making strenuous efforts to obtain potent influence in Central America, so as to prevent the United States from acquiring exclusive property in the routes across the isthmus from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. 1 Page 479. Drawn "WE. L ' I Augustus Robin, NY. 1853.] PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 513 Hampshire, was inaugurated. The latter was nominated for the office by the Democratic convention held at Baltimore early in June, 1852, when William R. King, of Alabama, was named for the office of Yice-President. At the same place, on the 16th of June, Winfield Scott was nominated for President and William A. Graham for Vice-President, by a Whig convention. The Democratic nominees were elected, but failing health prevented the Vice- President taking his seat. He died in April, 1863, at the age of sixty-eight years. CHAPTER XIV. PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. [1853 1857.] A DRIVING sleet tilled the air on the 4th of March, 1853, when Franklin Pierce, 1 the fourteenth President of the United States, stood upon the rude platform of New Hampshire pine, erected for the purpose over the steps of tho eastern portico of the Federal capitol, and took the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Taney. The military display on that occasion was larger 1 Franklin Pierce was born at Hillsborough, New Hampshire, in November, 1804. He is the son of General Benjamin Pierce, an active officer in the old War for Independence, and one of the most useful men in New Hampshire. In 1820, when sixteen years of age, young Pierce became 38 THE NATION. [1853 than had ever been seen in the streets of the National city, and it was estimated that at least twenty thousand strangers were in Washington on the morning of the inauguration. Untrammeled by special party pledges, the new Chief Magistrate entered upon the duties of his office under pleasant auspices ; and his inaugural address, full of promises and patriotic sentiments, received the general approval of his countrymen. Three days afterward [March 7] the Senate, in special session, confirmed his cabinet appointments. 1 The most serious difficulty which President Pierce was called upon to encounter, at the commencement of his administration, was a dispute concern- inf the boundary-line between- the Mexican province of Chihuahua* and New Mexico. 3 The Mesilla valley, a fertile and extensive region, was claimed by both Territories ; and under the direction of Santa Anna, 4 who was again Presi- dent of the Mexican Republic in 1854, Chihuahua took armed possession of the disputed territory. For a time war seemed inevitable between the United States and Mexico. The dispute was finally settled by negotiations, and friendly relations have existed between the two governments ever since. Those relations were delicate during a large portion of the late Civil War in the United States, while French bayonets kept the Austrian Archduke Maxi- milian in the attitude of a ruler, with the title of emperor, over the Mexican people, whose liberties Napoleon the Third, emperor of France, was thereby trying to destroy. The republican government in power when Maximilian a student in Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Maine. He was graduated in 1824, chose law as a profession, and was admitted to practice at the bar in 1827. He became a warm politician, and partisan of General Jackson in 1828 ; and the next year, when he was twenty -five years of age, he was elected a member of the Legislature of his native State. There he served four years. He was elected to Congress in 1833, and served his constituents in the House of Representatives for four years. In 1837, the Legislature of New Hampshire elected him to a seat in the Federal Senate. He resigned his seat in June, 1842, and remained in private life until 1845, when he was appointed United States District Attorney for New Hampshire. He was commissioned a Brigadier-General in March, 1847, and joined the army in Mexico, under General Scott. After the war he retired from public life, where he remained until called to the highest office in the gift of the people. When, in the spring of 1857, he left the chair of state, he again retired into private life, and has never been in public employment since. 1 "William L. Marcy, Secretary of State ; James Guthrie, Secretary of the Treasury ; Robert McClelland, Secretary of the Interior; Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War; James C. Dobbin, Sec- retary of the Navy ; James Campbell, Postmaster-General ; Caleb Gushing, Attorney-General. 8 Note 7, page 484. 3 Page 497. 4 Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna is a native of Mexico, and first came into public life in 1821, during the excitements of revolution. He has been one of the chief revolutionists in that unhappy country. He was chosen President of the Republic in 1 833. After an exciting career as a commanding General, he was again elected President in 1841, but was hurled from power in 1845. After the capture of the city of Mexico by the Americans, under General Scott [page 494], he retired to the West Indies, and finally to Carthageua, where he resided until 1853, when he returned to Mexico, and was elected President again. In the summer of 1854, he was accused of a design to assume imperial power, and violent insurrections were the consequence. These resulted in his SANTA ANNA, being again deprived of power, and ho has never been able to regain it. . Much of the time since he was driven from public life he has lived in exile in Cuba, and in 1866 he was a resident of the United States. He went to Mexico during the earlier period of 1867, "when he was arrested, and thrown into prison. Few men have experienced greater vicissitudes than Santa Anna. 1853.] PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. came was steadily recognized by that of the United States as the legitimate government of Mexico, and, diplomatically, Maximilian was unknown to it. The earlier portion of Pierce's administration was distinguished by impor- tant explorations by sea and land, in the interest of American commerce. The acquisition of California, and the marvelous rapidity with which it was filling with an enterprising population, opened to the view of statesmen an immense commer- cial interest on the Pacific coast, which de- manded the most liberal legislation. Con- gress seems to have comprehended the importance of the matter, and under its authority four armed vessels and a supply- ship sailed [May, 1853] from Norfolk, under Captain Ringsrold, for the eastern coast of . I , _, f ~ TT Ti , . ,, , AN OCEAN STEAMSHIP. Asia, by the way ol Cape Horn. Its chief ob- ject was a thorough exploration of those regions of the Pacific Ocean which it was then evident would soon be traversed between the ports of our own western frontier and the East Indies ; also of the whaling-grounds of the Kamtchatka Sea and Behring's Straits, on the borders of which the United States pur- chased from Russia, in 1867, at the cost of $7,200,000 in gold, a large and important territory. Steamships had then just commenced making stated and regular voyages from California to China and Japan. "While the expedition just mentioned was away, plans were maturing for the construction of one or more railways across the continent, to connect, by a continuous line of transportation, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Congress authorized surveys for such road or roads, and by midsummer [1853] four expeditions were fitted out for the purpose one to explore from the upper waters of the Mississippi, at St. Paul, to Puget's Sound, on the Pacific ; another to cross the continent from the Mississippi, along a line adjacent to the thirty- sixth parallel of latitude ; another from the Mississippi, by way of the Great Salt Lake, in Utah ; and a fourth from some point on the Lower Mississippi to the coast of Southern California, at San Pedro, Los Angelos, or San Diego. These expeditions performed their duties well, in the midst of great hardships, 1 and over one of the routes then explored, called the Central, which trav- erses Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California, a railway was completed in May, 1869. Who can estimate the effect of these gigantic operations upon the destiny of our Republic, so connected in commercial relations with that "Farther India" whose wealth the civilized world so long coveted ? 1 At the time these explorations were going on, Colonel Fremont (see page 488) was at the head of a similar party among the Rocky Mountains. That exploring in the direction of the Great Salt Lake, was in chasge of Captain Gunnison, of the National army. He found the Indians hostile when he approached the Mormon country, and among the Wasateh mountains they fell upon the explorers and killed a number of them, including the leader. Fremont's party suffered dreadfully for want of food in the midst of deep snow. For forty-five days they fed on the meat of exhausted mules which they slew, and every particle was devoured, even the entrails 1 They were met and saved by another party in February, 1854. 516 THE NATION. [1853. While the government was putting forth its energies in preparing the way for the triumph of American commerce, private enterprise was busy in the promotion of general industry, and in the noble work of international fraternity in the great interest of Labor. In the year 1851, an immense building, com- posed of iron and glass, was created in Hyde Park, London, under royal patronage, for the purpose of giving an exhibition of the results of the industry of all nations. It was a World's Fair, and representatives of every civilized nation on the globe were there mingling together as brothers of one family, and all equally interested in the perfection of each other's productions. The idea was one of great moral grandeur, for it set an insignia of dignity upon labor, hitherto withheld by those who bore scepters and orders. There men of all nations and creeds received a lesson upon the importance of brotherhood among the children of men, such as the pen and tongue could not teach. For the conception and consummation of that noble work, mankind will forever revere its author, Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. The enterprise was repeated in this country in 1853, when, at the expense of the money and energy of private republicans, a " Crystal Palace " was built and a " World's Fair " was held in the city of New York. It was opened in July of that year, with imposing ceremonies, led by the Chief Magistrate of the nation. 1 The emperor of the French has twice imitated the act of the British queen and her consort. During the spring and summer of 1867, an immense "World's Fair" was open in Paris. These are important historical events, for they mark a new and most promising epoch in the annals of mankind. History often has better stories to tell than those of wars and military conquests, and the rise and fall of dynasties and empires. CRYSTAL PALACE IN NEW YORK. 1 On that occasion, a prayer was made by Dr. "Wainwright, provisional bishop of the Protest- ant Episcopal Church in the diocese of New York (since deceased) ; an address was pronounced by Theodore Sedgwick. president of the Association by which the building was erected ; and on the 16th of the month, a grand entertainment was given by the directors to distinguished guests, among whom were the President of the United States and members of his cabinet, Sir Charles Lyell, the eminent English geologist, and others. One of the speakers on that occasion [Elihu Burritt] said: "Worthy of the grandest circum- stances which could be thrown around a human assembly, worthy of this occasion and a hundred like this, is that beautiful idea, the coronation of Labor. * * * Not American labor, not British labor, not French labor, not the labor of the New World or the Old, but the labor of man- kind as one undivided brotherhood labor as the oldest, the noblest prerogative of duty and humanity." And Rev. E. H. Chapin closed with the beautiful invocation: "01 genius of Art, fill us with the inspiration of still higher and more spiritual beauty. 1 instruments of invention, enlarge our dominion over reality. Let iron and fire become as blood and muscle, and in this electric net-work let heart and brain inclose the world with truth and sympathy. And thou, ! beautiful dome of light, suggestive of the brooding future, the future of human love and divine communion, expand and spread above the tribes of men a canopy broad as the earth, and glorious as the upper heaven." 1853.] TIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 517 When the Thirty-third Congress assembled, on the first Monday in Decem- ber, 1853, a greater degree of good feeling seemed to prevail among the mem- bers than had been exhibited for the several preceding years, when the chief topics of their deliberations were connected with the subject of Slavery. The country was at peace and amity with all the world, as a general proposition, 1 and the people looked to their representatives for the conception and adoption of measures for the public welfare, which the circumstances of the nation required. The construction of a railway across the continent was expected to absorb much of their attention. Important treaties were pending between our government and those of Mexico and Central America, concerning territory and inter-oceanic communications across the Isthmus between North and South America ; also concerning boundary-lines in the region of New Mexico and California. There was an interest, too, far away in the Pacific, that demanded serious consideration. The government of the Sandwich Islands was then making earnest overtures for annexing that ocean empire to our republic. This was a matter of great moment, for these Islands are destined to be of vast impor- tance in the operations of the future commerce of the Pacific Oeean. A large majority of the white people there are Americans by birth ; and the govern- ment, in all its essential operations, is controlled by Americans, notwithstand- ing the ostensible ruler is a native sovereign. The consuls of France and England, when they perceived a disposition on the part of the reigning monarch to have his domain annexed to the United States, charged the scheme upon certain American missionaries, and officially protested against their alleged conduct. They declared that France and England would not remain indifferent spectators of such a movement. The missionaries, as well as the United States commissioner, disclaimed any tampering with the native authori- ties on the subject ; at the same time, the latter, in a published reply to the 1 There was a little feeling of hostility between our government and that of Austria for a while in 1853, but it soon subsided. It grew out of a circumstance connected with the exercise of the power of our government in defense of a citizen of foreign birth in a foreign port, as follows : When Austria, by aid of Russia, crushed the rebellion in Hungary, in 1848, many of the active patriots became exiles in foreign lands. A large number came to the United States, and many of them became naturalized citizens that is, after due legal preparation, took an oath to support the Constitution and laws of the United States, and to perform faithfully all the duties of a citizen. One of these, named Martin Koszta, a native of Hungary, had taken such steps. While engaged in business at Smyrna, on the Mediterranean, he was seized, by order of the Austrian consul- general, and taken on board an Austrian brig, to be conveyed to Trieste as a rebel refugee, not- withstanding he carried an American protection. Captain Ingraham, of the United States sloop- of-\var Si. Louis, then lying in the harbor of Smyrna, immediately claimed Koszta as an American citizen. On the refusal of the Austrian authorities to release the prisoner, Ingraham cleared his vessel for action [July 2], and threatened to fire upon the brig if Koszta was not delivered up within a given time. The Austrians yielded to the powerful arguments of forty well-shotted cannon, and Koszta was placed in the custody of the French consul, to await the action of the respective governments. Ingraham's course was everywhere applauded ; and Congress signified its approbation by voting him an elegant sword. The pride of the Austrian government was severely wounded, and it issued a protest against the proceedings of Captain Ingraham, and sent it to all the European courts. Mr. Hulseman. the Austrian minister at Washington, demanded an apology, or other redress, from our government, and menaced the United States with the dis- pleasure of his royal master. But no serious difficulty occurred. It was plainly perceived that the Austrians were in the wrong; and Koszta, under the protection of the United States flag, returned to this land of free opinions. THE NATION. [1854. protest, denied the right of foreign governments to interfere to prevent such a result, if it should be deemed mutually desirable. Preliminary negotiations were commenced, and a treaty was actually formed, when, on the 15th of December, 1854, King Kamehameha died, at the age of forty-nine years, and was succeeded by his son, Prince Alexander Liholiho. The new king imme- diately ordered the discontinuance of negotiations with the United States, and the subject of annexation was not revived until after the visit of Emma, Queen of the Islands, to England and the United States, in 1866. That such annexation will finally occur, seems to be prohesied by the history of the past and the teachings of the present. Just as the preliminaries were arranged in Congress for entering vigorously upon the business of the session, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories (Mr. Douglas, of Illinois) presented a bill [Jan., 1854] which dis- turbed the harmony in Congress, and the quietude of the people. In the center of our continent is a vast region, almost twice as large, in territorial extent, as the original thirteen States, 1 stretching between Missouri, Iowa, and Minne- sota, and the Pacific Territories, from the thirty-seventh parallel of north lati- tude to the British possessions, 2 and embracing one-fourth of all the public lands of the United States. The bill alluded to proposed to erect this vast region into two Territories, the southern portion, below the fortieth parallel, to be named UTansas, and the northern and larger portion, Nebraska. The bill contained a provision which would nullify the Compromise of 1820, 3 and allow the inhabitants of those Territories to decide for themselves whether they would have the institution of slavery or not. This proposition surprised Con- gress and the whole country, and it became a subject of discussion throughout the Union. The slavery agitation was aroused in all its strength and rancor, and the whole North became violently excited. Public meetings were held by men of all parties, and petitions and remonstrances against the measure, especially in its relation to Nebraska^ were poured into the Senate, 4 while the debate on the subject was progressing, from the 30th of January [1854] until the 3d of March. On the latter day the bill passed that body by the decisive vote of thirty-seven to fourteen. The measure encountered great opposition in the House of Representatives ; and by means of several amendments, its final defeat seemed almost certain, and the excitement subsided. At about this time a bill was reported in the Senate [March 10], providing for the construction of a railway to the Pacific Ocean ; and on the same day when the Nebraska Bill passed that body [March 3d], the House of Represen- tatives adopted one called the Homestead Bill, which provided that any free white male citizen, or any one who may have declared his intentions to become one previous to the passage of this act, might select a quarter section [one hundred and sixty acres] of land on the public domain, and on proof being given that he had occupied and cultivated it for five years, he might receive 1 Page 174.- Page 480. s Page 452. * A petition against the measure was presented to the Senate immediately after the passaga of the bill by that body, signed by three thousand clergymen of New England. 1854.] PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. a title to it in fee, without being required to pay any thing for it. This bill was discussed in both Houses for several weeks ; and finally an amendment, graduating the prices of all the public lands, was adopted in its stead. 1 The public mind had become comparatively tranquil when, on the 9th of May [1854], the Nebraska bill was again called up in the House of Representatives. It became the absorbing subject for discussion. During a fortnight, violent debates, with great acrimony of feeling, occurred, and on one occasion there was a session of thirty-six consecutive hours' duration, when an adjournment took place in the midst of great confusion. The country, meanwhile, was much excited, for the decision of the question was one of great moment in its relation to the future. While it was pending the suspense became painful. But it did not last long. The final question was taken on the 22d, and the bill was passed by a vote of one hundred and thirteen to one hundred. Three days afterward [May 25], the Senate agreed to it as it came from the House by a vote of thirty-five to thirteen, and it received the signature of the Presi- dent on the last day of May.* New difficulties with the Spanish authorities of Cuba 3 appeared, while the Nebraska subject was under discussion. Under cover of some pretense, the American steamship, Black Warrior, was seized in the harbor of Havana [February 28, 1854], and the vessel and cargo were declared confiscated. The outrage was so flagrant, that a proposition was immediately submitted to the lower House of Congress to suspend the neutrality laws, 4 and compel the Havana officials to behave properly. Under the provisions of such laws, any number of citizens of the United States, who may be engaged in hostilities against Spain, would forfeit the protection of their government, and become liable to punishment for a violation of law. It was on this account that Crit- tenden and his party were shot at Havana, 5 without the right of claiming the interference of the government of the United States in their behalf. The Presi- dent sent a special messenger to the government at Madrid, with instructions to the American minister to demand immediate redress, in the form of indem- nity to the owners of the Black Warrior. But the Spanish government justi- fied the act of the Cuban authorities, when such formal demand was made. In 1 It provided that all lands which had been in market ten years should be subject to entry at one dollar per acre ; fifteen years, at seventy-five cents ; and so on, in the same ratio those which had been in market for thirty years being offered at twelve and a half cents. It also pro- vided that every person availing himself of the act should make affidavit that he entered the land for his own use ; and uo one could acquire more than three hundred and twenty acres, or two quarter-sections. 2 A few days after the final passage of the Nebraska bill, the city of Boston was made a theater of great excitement, by the arrest of a fugitive slave there, and a deputy-marshal was shot dead, during a riot. United States troops from Rhode Island were employed to sustain the officers of the law, and a local military force was detailed, to assist in the protection of the court and the parties concerned, until the proceedings in the case should be completed. The United States Commissioner decided in favor of the claimant of the slave, and he was conveyed to Virginia by a government vessel. This commotion in Boston is known as the Burns Rial the name of the fugitive slave being Burns. 3 Page 502. 4 These are agreements (still existing) made between the governments of the United States and Old Spam, to remain neutral or inactive, when either party should engage in war with another. 4 Page 508. THE NATION. [1854. the mean while the perpetrators of the outrage became alarmed, and the Cap- tain-General (or Governor) of Cuba, with pretended generosity, offered to give up the vessel and cargo, on the payment by the owners of a fine of six thou- sand dollars. They complied, but under protest. 1 The matter was finally settled amicably between the governments of the United States and Spain,* and since then nothing has materially disturbed the friendly relations between the two countries. The irritation caused by the difficulties with Cuban officials was made the pretext, after the passage of the Nebraska bill, for a conference of three of the American ministers plenipotentiary in Europe. In August [1854], the Presi- dent directed Mr. Buchanan, then American embassador at London, Mr. Mason, embassador at Paris, and Mr. Soule, embassador at Madrid, to meet at some convenient place, to confer upon the best means of settling the difficulties about Cuba, and gaining possession of the island, by purchase or otherwise. They accordingly met at Ostend, a seaport town in Belgium, on the 9th of October, 1854. After remaining there three days, they adjourned to Aix-la-Chapelle, in Rhenish Prussia, and from thence, on the 18th of the same month, they addressed a letter to the United States government, which embodied their views. That letter is known in history as The Ostend Circular, and is regarded as one of the most disgraceful passages in the history of American diplomacy. Its arguments were the plea of the highway robber, enforced by the doctrine that " Might makes Right." It recommended the purchase of Cuba, if possible ; if not, the acquisition of it by force. " If Spain," said the authors of that infamous letter, " actuated by stubborn pride and a false sense of honor, should refuse to sell Cuba to the United States," then " by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting -it from Spain, if we possess the power." The bald iniquity of the proposition amazed honest people in both hemispheres. Why it should have been left unrebuked by the government at Washington was a mystery which the light of subsequent events revealed. It seems clear, in that light, that it was a part of the scheme of those conspirators, who, a few years later, attempted to destroy the Repub- lic, that they might establish that dazzling empire of Wrong, founded on Human Slavery, of which they dreamed, and which they promised their deluded followers an empire which was to be comprised within what they called The Golden Circle, whose center was Havana, the capital of Cuba. 3 1 Protesting against an act which a party is compelled to perform, leaves the matter open for a future discussion and final settlement. 8 The President of the United States, having been informed that expeditions were preparing in different parts of the Union, for the purpose of invading Cuba, issued a proclamation against such movements, on the 1st of June, 1854, and called upon all good citizens to respect the obligations of existing treaties, between the governments of our Republic and Spain. s The Golden Circle, as defined by the conspirators, had a radius of sixteen degrees of latitude and longitude, with its center at Havana. It will be perceived, by drawing that circle on a map, that it included the Slave-labor States of our Republic. It reached northward to the Pennsyl- vania line, and southward to the Isthmus of Darien. It embraced the West India Islands, and those of the Caribbean Sea, with a greater part of Mexico and Central America. The plan of the conspirators seems to have been, first, to secure Cuba, and then the other islands of that tropical region, with Mexico and Central America- and then to sever the Slave-labor and the Free-labor States of our Republic, making the former a part of the great empire, whose corner-stone, as one of the 1854.] PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 521 While the good name of the government was suffering at the hands of unfaithful citizens, who were plotting mischief against its weaker neighbors, some salutary measures were adopted which gs^e a little relief to the picture of that dark period in our history. While a Conspiracy for obliterating the boundary-line between the United States and Mexico, by blotting out the nationality of the latter, was fast ripening, the two governments successfully negotiated a treaty by which that boundary was defined and fixed. The treaty was ratified early in 1854, and it was agreed that the decision of the commis- sioners appointed to run the boundary should be final. By that treaty the United States were to be released from all obligations imposed by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1 to defend the Mexican frontier against the Indians, and as a consideration for this release, and for the territory ceded by Mexico, the United States agreed to pay to the latter ten millions of dollars seven millions on the ratification of the treaty, and the remainder as soon as the boundary-line should be established. These conditions were complied with, and a good understanding between the two governments has ever since existed. At about the same time, a reciprocity treaty was negotiated between the United States and Great Britain, which lowered, and in some instances effaced, the barriers to free commerce between the British provinces in America and our Republic. It provided that the fisheries of the provinces, excepting those of Newfoundland, 2 should be open to American citizens ; that disputes respect- ing fisheries should be settled by arbitration ; that the British should have a right to participate in the American fisheries as far as the 36th degree of north latitude, and that there should be free commerce between the provinces and the United States, in flour, breadstuffs, fruits, fisn*, animals, lumber, and a variety of natural productions in their unmanufactured state. It stipulated that the St. Lawrence River and the Canadian canals should be thrown open to American vessels ; and the United States government agreed to urge the respective States to admit British vessels into their canals, upon similar terms. This treaty was submitted to the provincial Legislatures, and to the govern- ments of the contracting powers, and was ratified by all. The arrangement was terminated, in accordance with the provisions of the treaty, early in 1 866. When the Fugitive Slave Law began to bear the bitter fruit which its author, James M. Mason, of Virginia, desired and expected ; 3 when the Kansas- less reticent of the conspirators avowed, was to be human slavery. A secret association, known as the Order of the Lone -Star, and another subsequently organized as its successor, whose mem- bers were called Knights of the Golden Circle, were formed for the purpose of corrupting the people and carrying out the iniquitous design. The latter played a conspicuous part in the Civil War which broke out in 1861, as the secret friends and efficient allies of the conspirators, who were making open war on the Republic. 1 Page 497. * Page 47. 3 Senator Mason, one of the most unscrupulous of the conspirators who brought about the late Civil War, was the author of this Act. The writer was informed by a personal acquaintance of Mason's, at Winchester, that the Senator declared to him that he made the law as obnoxious as possible to the people of the Free-Labor States, in order that it should excite universal disgust and opposition, and cause such violations of it, and a general refusal to comply with its unchristian, requirements, as to give a plausible pretext to tho slaveholders to revolt and attempt to dissolve the Union. 522 THE NATION. [1854. Nebraska bill had opened afresh the agitation of the Slavery question, and when the barbaric declaration of the " Ostend Circular " appeared to give no offense to the Chief Magistrate of the nation and his ad- visers, the conspirators plotted more actively and worked more boldly than ever. The " Great Idea of the Age," as they called it, was the extension of the area of slavery, by the con- quest and annexation of countries adjacent to our Republic. Their attempts on Cuba were baffled, and they turned their attention to Mexico and Central America. Their ope- rations at first assumed the form of emigra- tion schemes, and their first theater was a region on the great Isthmus, inhabited chiefly by a race of degraded natives, and belonging to the State of Nicai-agua, known as the JAMES M. MASON. -. T ., T . . , , , Mosquito coast. It promised to be a terri- tory of great importance in a commercial point of view. 1 Under the specious pretext that the British were likely to possess it, armed citizens of the United States, appealing to the Monroe doctrine 2 for justification, emigrated to that region. Already the great guns of the American navy had been heard on the Mosquito shore, as a herald of coming power. 3 It was in the autumn and early winter of 1854 that the first formidable " emigration " to the Mosquito country was undertaken. It was alleged that 1 A railway across the Isthmus of Panama has been constructed. The first trains passed over it, from Aspinwall to Panama, on the 28th of January, 1855. The project of a ship-canal across the Isthmus of Darien, or Panama, has occupied the attention of statesmen and commercial men for many years. The first actual exploration of the Isthmus, with a view to cutting a ship- canal across it, was made in 1853, by a party of twenty-three, under the direction of William Kennish, of New York. They were sent out by J. C. Prevost, commander of the British steam- ship Virago, in pursuance of orders from the commander of the British squadron then in the Pacific. They commenced on the Pacific coast, and traveled northward to the Atlantic shore. For ten days they traversed a dense forest, which covered a fine, fertile, and well-watered plain, which at no time rose more than fifty feet above the level of the sea. The party became short of provisions ; and having separated for some prudent purpose, a portion of them were murdered and plundered by the Indians. The survivors returned to the Virago, without accomplishing much. In January, 1854, Lieutenant Strain, of the United States Navy, with a party of twenty, started from the Atlantic side to explore the Isthmus. They suffered dreadfully; and as nothing was heard from them for several weeks, it was supposed that all had perished. Their provisions became exhausted, and some died from famitfe. The Indians, however, did not molest them, but fled to the mountains. "When Lieutenant Strain and the survivors reached the Pacific coast, they were destitute of both clothing and food. Since then no attempt has been made to explore that dreary region. 9 See note 2, page 612. " There was a little village on the Mosquito coast called Greytown, in which some American citizens resided. These alleged that they had been outraged by the local authorities, who professed to derive their poorer directly from the Mosquito king, or chief of the native tribes. An appeal was made to the commander of a vessel of the United States navy, then lying near. That shallow official, named Hollins, who waa always valiant when there was no danger, actually bombarded the little town, as a punishment for the acts of its authorities. This brought out the denuncia- tions of English residents, who alleged that, by arrangements with the Mosquito monarch, their government was the protector of his dominions. The British government itself assumed that position, and for a while the folly of Hollins caused expectations of serious difficulty. 1855.] PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 503 a large tract of the territory had been granted by the Mosquito king to two British subjects, 1 and upon this, by arrangement, the emigrants, led by Colonel H. L. Kinney, proceeded to settle. The government of Nicaragua protested against this invasion of that State, in violation of the neutrality laws of the United States. The Nicaraguan minister at Washington called the attention of our government to the subject [January 16, 1855], and especially to the fact of the British claim to political jurisdiction there, and urged that the United States, while asserting the " Monroe doctrine " as a correct political dogma, could not sanction the act complained of, as it was done under guarantees of British authority. Our government, as a matter of policy, interfered, but with a mildness that allowed the emigration scheme to go on, and assume more for- midable proportions and aspects. An agent of the conspirators, named William Walker, who had already, with a few followers, invaded the State of Sonora, Mexico, from California, and been repulsed, reappeared on the theater in connection with Kinney, who invited him to assist him "in improving the lands and developing the mineral resources" of his grant on Lake Nicaragua. Ostensibly for that purpose, Walker left San Francisco with three hundred men, and arrived on the coast of Nicaragua on the 27th of June. He cast off all disguise the next day, and attempted to capture the town of Rivas, believing that one of the factions opposed to the Nicaraguan government, which he proposed to unite himself with, would aid in his scheme. In this he was mistaken. Even one hundred and fifty Central Americans, who had joined him, under General Castillon, deserted when they saw the forces of Nicaragua approaching. It was with great difficulty that Walker and his followers retreated to the coast and escaped in a schooner. Walker, who appeal's to have been the special favorite of Jefferson Davis, the chief leader in the late attempt to destroy our Republic, and who was then the Secretary of War, and ruling spirit in President Pierce's cabinet, was not allowed to remain idle, for the scheme to open Central America to the slave system of our Southern States 2 was to be consummated as far as possible while Davis was in power in the government, and could procure official sanction to the practical operations of the doctrine of the " Ostend Circular." Walker accordingly made his appearance again on the soil of Nicaragua, with armed followers, in August; and on the 5th of September following [1855] the 1 For some time the British had been endeavoring to obtain a controlling influence in this region, and they had induced the chief of the Mosquito nation to assume authority independent of the State of Nicaragua. " While, so early as 1850, Davis and his fellow-conspirators were evidently fostering the scheme for seizing Cuba, that it might become a part of the slave empire already alluded to, they appear to have been plotting for the seizure of the Central American States for the same purpose, and iii this scheme the obsequious political friends of Davis and the slave-holding interests in the North were in complicity. A month before the sailing of the Cuban expedition under Lopez [see page 508], a Pennsylvanian, named John Broadhead, in a letter to Davis, expressed his desire to be appointed a minister to Nicaragua, saying: " I should like to go into that country and help open it to civilization and niggers. I could get strong recommendations from the President's (Tay- lor's) special friends in Pennsylvania for the place, were the mission vacant, and I think I would prove a live minister. I am tired of being a white slave at the North, and long for a home in the sunny South." President Taylor was Secretary Davis's father-in-law. 524 THE NATION. " emigrants " in the Mosquito country, assuming independence of Nicaragua, organized a civil government there by the appointment of Kinney as chief magistrate, with a council of five assistants. At that time the inhabitants of Nicaragua were in a state of revolution, and the government was weak. Taking advantage of this state of things, Walker pushed his scheme of armed occupation vigorously. He fought and vanquished [September 3, 1855] four hundred government troops at Virgin Bay, and marched triumphantly upon and captured Grenada [October 12], the capital of the State. Then he placed General Rivas, a Nicaraguan, m the Presidential chair ; treated Kinney with contempt, and drove him from his Mosquito domain, and busied himself in strengthening his military power by "emigrants" from the United States. A British consul recognized the new government of Nicaragua, and John H. Wheeler, 1 the American minister resident there, gave it the nurture of the sun- shine of his kindly regard. This attempt to establish a political power in Central America, by armed adventurers from the United States, created alarm among the other govern- ments on the Isthmus, and in the winter of 1856 an alliance of those States against Nicaragua under its foreign usurpers was attempted. Early in March Costa Rica made a formal declaration of war against that State ; and on the 10th of the same month Walker, who was the real head of the new govern- ment, made a corresponding declaration against Costa Rica. The latter called upon all the Central American States to " unite and destroy the invaders from the North," Avhile Walker shamelessly declared that he was there by invitation of the liberal party in Nicaragua. Hostilities commenced on the 20th of Mai-ch. The Costa Ricans marched into Nicaragua, and on the llth of April a sanguinary conflict occurred, in which Walker's troops were victorious, and the invaders were driven from the State. This made the usurper arrogant. He levied a forced loan on the people in support of his power. General Rivas, 2 becoming disgusted with him, finally abdicated the presidency, abandoned Walker, and proclaimed against him. This was followed on the 24th of June [1856] by a new election for President, when Walker received two-thirds of the popular vote. On the 12th of July he was inaugurated President of Nicaragua, and thus the first grand act of the conspiracy against our weak neighbors was accomplished. The government at Washington hastened to acknowledge the new nation, and Walker's embassador, in the person of a 1 John H. "Wheeler was a resident of western North Carolina, and while on his way to New Y/ork, to embark for Nicaragua, two of his slaves, who attended him, were detained in Philadel- phia [July 18, 1855], through the instrumentality of persons there who sought to make them free. One of these (Passmore Williamson) was ordered by Judge Kane (father of Dr. Kane, the Arctic explorer), of the United States District Court, to bring the slaves before him. Williamson declared that the slaves had never been in his custody, and of course he could not produce them. On motion of Colonel Wheeler, Judge Kane committed Williamson to prison, for contempt of court, where he remained for several months. This case, in connection with other questions in regard to slavery, produced great excitement throughout the country. Williamson, after his release, prosecuted Kane for false imprisonment. * Rivas, who, by Walker's power, had been made President of Nicaragua, as we have seen, had sent a minister to Washington named Parker H. French. The Government refused to receive him. Davis's scheme was not ripe, and would not be until Walker, his pliant instrument of mischief, was at the head of the government, with an army at his back. 1855.] PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 525 Roman Catholic priest named Vigil, was cordially received by President Pierce and his cabinet. Thus strengthened, Walker ruled with a high hand, offending commercial nations by his interference with trade. The other Cen- tral American States coalesced against him, when he declared all their ports in a state of blockade ; and he performed other acts which showed his innate weakness, and led to his ruin. For about two years Walker held possession of Nicaragua by hard strug- gling, but the combined power of the other states finally crushed him. On the 20th of May, 1857, he was compelled to surrender two hundred men, the remnant of his army, at Rivas, and by the interposition of Commodore Davis, of our navy, then on that coast, he and a few of his followers were brought away unharmed. So soon as he arrived at New Orleans, he commenced fit- ting out another Nicaraguan expedition. He left there in November, 1857, and on the 25th of that month he landed at Puenta Arenas, where Commodore Paulding, of our navy, seized him [Dec. 3] and two hundred and thirty-two of his followers, and took Walker to New York as a prisoner. James Buchanan was then President of the United States. He privately commended Pauld- ing's act, 1 but " for prudential reasons," he said that is, to avoid giving offense to the slavery propagandists he publicly condemned the Commodore, in a special message to Congress [January 7, 1858], for thus "violating the sove- reignty of a foreign country !" He declined to hold Walker as a prisoner, and then that willing agent of Davis and his fellow-conspirators were allowed to freely traverse the slave-labor States, preaching a new crusade against Cen- tral America, and collecting funds for the purpose of a new invasion. Walker sailed from Mobile with a third expedition, and was arrested off the mouths of the Mississippi, but only for having left port without a clearance ! He was tried by the United States Court at New Orleans and acquitted, when he recommenced operations, went again to Central America, made much mischief, and was finally captured and shot at Truxillo. Thus ended one of the first acts in the bloody drama of the late Rebellion. While these fillibustering movements were in progress on our Southern frontier, the attention of the government was called to other important matters. Among these was a war by the Indians upon the white settlers in the Territo- ries of Oregon and Washington, on the Pacific coast, toward the close of 1855, caused, in a great measure, by the bad conduct of government agents and speculators ; and probably in a measure by the machinations of their English neighbors. 2 United States troops were sent to suppress hostilities, but they failed to accomplish it. They were defeated in battle, and not long afterward 1 Oral statement to the author by Commodore Tatnall (late of the United States Navy), at Sackett's Harbor, New York, in July, 1860. Tatnall expressed much indignation at this dis- graceful conduct of the President, so calculated to demoralize the public service, and said : " Pew of us will be likely to do our duty hereafter for fear of punishment, by public censure, while the hand that inflicts it gives us a certificate of private approval." * Circumstances seemed to give the color of justice to the suspicion, that the savages were incited to war on the settlements by persons connected with the English Hudson's Bay Company, who had married Indian women, and who were desirous of monopolizing the fur-trade of that region. 526 THB NATION. [1855. several white families were murdered by the savages. Finally, Major-General Wool, 1 then stationed at San Francisco, proceeded to Portland, in Oregon, to organize a campaign against them. The Indians had formed a powerful com- bination, and during the winter and spring of 1855-'56, hostilities were so gen- eral in both Territories, that it appeared at one time as if the settlers would be compelled to abandon the country. This " Indian trouble," as it was called, was brought to a close in Oregon during the ensuing summer, but there was restlessness observed everywhere among the savage tribes westward of the Rocky Mountains. The friendly relations between our Government and that of Great Britain were slightly disturbed early in 1855, by the enlistment, in the United States, of recruits for the British army, then, in connection with a French army, at war with the Russians on the Crimean Peninsula. It was done under the sanction of British officials in this country, in violation of our neutrality laws. In this business the British minister at Washington was implicated, and our government demanded his recall. The British government refused compli- ance. After waiting patiently several months, while diplomatic correspond- ence was going on, the President dismissed the oifending minister ; also the British consuls at New York, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, who had been guilty of a similar offense. Irritation followed these measures for a while, but law and equity so clearly vindicated the action of the United States, that a new minister was soon sent to Washington, and friendly feeling was restored. The most prominent events to be considered in the history of the adminis- tration of President Pierce and his immediate successor, are what may be called the preliminary skirmishes before the late great and final battle waged between the slave power and its opponent. The former, made bold and trucu- lent by success, was rapidly bringing not only the government, the commerce, and the varied industries of the Republic in abject subserviency at its feet, but was making the conscience of the nation, as manifested in morals and religion, plastic in its hands, and giving it its own shape and proclivities. The Chief Magistrate at that time appeared to sympathize with its sentiments, and smile complacently upon its deeds ; and so, having disposed, as it thought, of all its serious opponents, it began to work its will with a high hand, apparently unconscious of the fact that there were moral forces at work in opposition, which, like those of the material universe, are sometimes, though invisible, intangible, and latent, more potent in action than those which are seen and felt. That such forces existed was speedily made manifest. The virtual repeal of the Missouri Compromise Act 1 and the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act 3 left all the territory of the Republic open to the social institutions of every section of the Union. The question immediately arose, Shall the domain of the Republic be the theater of all free or all slave labor, with the corresponding civilization of each as a consequence ? It was evident that one or the other of these social systems must prevail, for the antagonism was so pronounced that one or the other must immediately yield. That ques- 1 Pages 413 and 484. Pages 452 and 501. Page 518. 1855.] PIERCE'S ADMINISTBATION. 527 tion was scarcely uttered, when positive action proceeded to answer it. The slave power, complacently viewing its conquests, and the abjectness of its cap- tives in its presence, 1 had no doubt of its supremacy, for on the surface of society there seemed to be only slight ripples to indicate the agitation of serious opposition. So it sounded the trumpet for battle, and the newly organized Territory of Kansas was its chosen field of conflict. The iniquitous Fugitive Slave Act, and the aggressions and arrogance of the slave power, had aroused the Christian manhood of the nation, and the Champion of Wrong, to its utter astonishment, saw the gauntlet it had cast down immediately taken up boldly by the Champion of Right. The latter commenced the contest with the peaceful weapon of the ballot-box. Suddenly emigration began to flow in a copious stream from the free-labor States, and especially from New England, into the new Territory. It was obvious that the settlers there from those States would soon out-vote those from the slave-labor States, and the dominant power thus far, alarmed and exasperated, began to organize physical forces in Missouri, to counteract the moral forces of its oppo- nent, if necessary. Combinations were formed under various titles, 2 and both parties founded settlements and planted the seeds of towns. 3 The government put forth its strength in that direction in October, 1854, when A. H. Reeder, appointed Governor of the Territory, arrived, and took measures for the elec- tion of a territorial legislature. With the election of members for a legislature, at the close of March, 1855, the struggle in Kansas fairly commenced. The men from the Free-labor States plainly perceived that they must contend against fraud and violence in every form. The Missouri slave-holders were prepared to go into the Territory and secure the election of men in sympathy with them. Already in November [1854], when a delegate to Congress was elected, out of nearly twenty-nine hundred votes cast, over seventeen hundred were put in by Missourians who 1 Merchants having a large " Southern trade," have confessed that for some time before the breaking out of the late civil war, they were careful not to allow the New York Tribune, and sim- ilar publications that advocated the righteousness of freedom for all, to be seen in their stores when their "Southern" customers were there 1 8 They were respectively called "Social Band," "Friend's Society," "Blue Lodge," "The Sons of the South," et cetera. So early as the 24th of July, 1854, or about two weeks after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise Act, an " Emigrant Aid Society," under an act of incorpora- tion by the Legislature of Massachusetts, in April previous, when the cloud of difficulty was gathering, was formed in Boston, and was efficient in sending settlers to Kansas. This move- ment created great exasperation among the slave-holders, and at a meeting held at "Westport, Missouri, early in July [1854], it was resolved that Missourians, who formed the associations there represented, should be ready at all times to assist, when called upon by pro-slavery citizens in Kansas, to remove from the Territory by force every person who should attempt to settle the~^ " under the auspices of the Northern Emigrant Society." They recommended the slave-holders of other counties in Missouri to take similar action. 3 The settlers from Free-labor States founded the towns of Lawrence, Topeka, Boston (after- ward Manhattan), Grasshopper Falls, Pawnee, and one or two others. Those from the Slave- labor States founded Kickapoo, Doniphan, Atchison, and a few others on or near the Missouri River. A few days after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, hundreds of Missourians went over into Kansas, selected a tract of land, and put a mark upon it, for the purpose of establishing a sort of pre-emption right to it, and finally, at a public meeting, resolved as follows: " That we will afford protection to no abolitionist as a settler of this Territory. That we recognize the institution of slavery as already existing in this Territory, and advise slave-holdera to introduce their property as early as possible." 528 THE CATION. [1855. had BO business there. 1 Now, these Missourians were more open in their usur- pation of the rights of the citizens of Kansas. While only eight hundred and thirty-one legal electors voted for members of the Legislature, there were no less than six thousand three hundred and twenty votes polled. A thousand men came from Missouri, armed with deadly weapons, two cannon, tents, and other things that appear in time of war, and encamped around Lawrence. 8 These carried the election by the most shameful fraud and violence ; and in like manner such ruffians controlled every other poll in the Territory. Then a reisrn of terror commenced in Kansas, and actual civil war darkened that beau- ~ ' tiful land for more than a year. All classes of men carried deadly weapons, and a slight or accidental quarrel frequently produced unusual violence. The Legislature of Kansas, thus illegally chosen, was called by the Gov- ernor to meet at Pawnee City, on the Kansas River, nearly a hundred miles from the Missouri line. It immediately adjourned to Shawnee Mission, on the Missouri border, and there proceeded to enact the most barbarous laws for the upholding of slavery in the new Territory. These were regularly vetoed by the Governor, and as regularly passed over his veto. He was so obnoxious to the pro-slavery party, that they asked President Pierce to remove him. He did so, and sent ex-Governor Wilson Shannon, of Ohio, to fill his place. That official was acceptable to the Missourians, for he declared that he was for slavery in Kansas, and that the Kansas Legislature was legal, and its laws were bind- ing on the people ! The actual settlers in Kansas, the larger portion of whom were from the Free-labor States, held a mass convention on the 5th of September [1855], when they resolved not to recognize the laws of the Legislature, fraudulently chosen, as binding upon them. They refused to vote for a delegate to Congress at an election appointed by that Legislature, and they called a delegate conven- tion at Topeka on the 19th of October. By that convention Governor Reeder 1 A Democrat, named John "W. Whitfield, was elected. He was an officer in the Confederate army during a portion of the late rebellion. David R. Atchison, then a member of the United States Senate from Missouri, was one of the chief promoters of the frauds and ruffianism by which attempts were made to seize Kansas. He, too, was a leader in the rebellion. * This band of lawless men were led by Claiborne F. Jackson, who was elected Governor of Missouri by the Democrats in 1860. He took an active part in the rebellion against his Govern- ment, and died a refugee in Arkansas, in 1862. On the evening before the election we are con- sidering, his followers held a meeting at his tent ; near Lawrence, and took measures to crush any attempt to have a legal polling of the votes. They threatened to hang an honest judge of the election, should he appear, and compelled another, under similar threats, to receive every vote offered by a Missourian. Some of these voted several times ; and three of the men elected were residents of Missouri. Every man who did not sympathize with them, if known, was not allowed to vote. The result satisfied the slave-holders. The newspapers in their interest advised the Missourians who had thus "conquered Kansas" to "hold it, or die in the attempt;" and when Governor Reeder refused to give certificates to some of the men thus illegally elected, anc} ordered a new election on the 22d of May, to fill their places, he was threatened with death. " This infernal scoundrel," said a Missouri paper (The Brunswicker), " will have to be wiped out yet." No man was safe who dared to express his views in support of law and order. One example of the methods used by the slave-holders in conquering Kansas, cited by Mr. Greeley in his American Conflict (i. 239), will suffice : " "William Phillips, a Free-State lawyer of Leavenworth, saw fit to sign the protest against the wholesale frauds whereby the election at that place was carried. A few days thereafter, he was seized by a crowd of Missouri ruffians, taken by force to Weston, Missouri, eight miles distant, and there tarred and feathered, ridden on a rail, and finally sold at auction to a negro, who was compelled to purchase him." 1856.] PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 529 was nominated for delegate in place of Whitfield, and was elected by the legal votes of the Territory. On the 23d of the same month a convention of the same party, chosen by the settlers, assembled at Topeka and formed a con- stitution, which was approved by the legal votes of the Territory, whereby Kansas should become a Free-labor State, and under this they asked for the admission of their Territory into the Union as such. By this act a portion of the strife between freedom and slavery for supremacy in Kansas was now transferred to Washington Citv. There Reeder and Whitfield contested the o claim of each to a seat. In the mean time elections had been held [January 17, 1856] under the new State Constitution, and matters seemed dark for the pro-slavery party in that State, when President Pierce gave them comfort by sending in a special message to Congress [January 24], in which he represented the action of the legal citizens of Kansas in forming a State Constitution as rebellion ! All through the spring of 1856, violence and bloodshed prevailed in Kansas. Seeing the determination of the actual settlers to maintain their rights, armed men flocked into the Territory from the Slave-labor States, and, under pretext of compelling submission to the laws of the illegal Legislature, they roamed over the land, committing excesses of every kind. 1 Finally, Congress sent a committee of investigation 8 to Kansas, whose majority made a report on the 1st of July [1856], in which the political action of the legal voters of Kansas was fully vindicated, and the frauds by which the pro-slavery Legislature had been chosen, and Whitfield elected a delegate, had been fully exposed. The Missouri member of the committee dissented from the report, and the mission failed to produce positive action, to the great disappointment of the country. As the autumn advanced, and the time for the election of a President of the Republic drew nigh, that question so absorbed public attention, that troubles in Kansas almost ceased. There were now three distinct political parties, and three candidates for the Chief Magistracy were before the people. A new and powerful party, composed chiefly of the opponents of the extension and exist- ence of slavery, had lately appeared. It was formed of men of every political creed, who were willing to cut loose from old organizations for the purpose of opposing the scheme of the slave-holders, and the leaders of the party of which President Pierce was the head, to make slavery a national instead of a sectional institution. This was called the Republican party. In the autumn of 1856, it had assumed vast proportions in the Free-labor States, and was kindly regarded by large numbers of patriotic men in the Slave-labor States. There was another powerful political organization, known as the American we Know- Nothing party, whose proceedings were at first in secret. Its chief bond of union was opposition to foreign influence and the denunciation of Roman Catholicism in our political 1 A regiment of reckless young men, from South Carolina and Georgia, entered the Territory, under a man named Buford, in the spring of 1856, for the purpose, as they said, of making Kansas a Slave-labor State at all hazards. These, with armed men under Atchison, Stringfellow, and other ruffians, traversed the Territory, executing their wicked wills at pleasure, without even a rebuke from the Executive of the nation. * Composed of William A. Howard, of Michigan, John Sherman, of Ohio, and Mordecai Oliver, of Missouri. 34 530 THE NATION. [1S5G. affairs. The Democratic party, dating its modern organization at the election of General J.ackson, in 1828, 1 had been divided and weakened by the slavery question,' for many good men had left it when it became the avowed supporter of that institution, or had formed a new organization within its fold ; while the old Wfiig party 2 was virtually annihilated as a distinct one. On the 22d of February, 1856, a national convention of the American party, held at Philadelphia, nominated ex-President Fillmore 3 for the office of Chief Magistrate, with A. J. Donelson, of Tennessee, for Vice-President. On the 5th of June following, a national Democratic Convention 4 in Cincinnati nomi- nated for President of the Republic James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, one of the authors of the " Ostend Circular," 5 with John C. Breckenridge, of Ken- tucky, for Vice-President. This nomination was satisfactory to the Slave power, and the convention gave the coveters of Cuba and other territory within the Golden Circle 6 to understand that the party it represented was ir sympathy with their doctrines and schemes.' On the 17th of June [1856], a national convention of Republicans, assem- bled at Philadelphia, nominated John C. Fremont, of California, 8 for President, and William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, for Vice-President. That convention put forth strong resolutions, indicative of the creed of the new and powerful party it represented. 9 An exciting canvass followed these several nominations, and the vote [November 4, 1856] resulted in the choice of James Buchanan. After this, nothing of great importance occurred during the remainder of Presi- dent Pierce's administration, which expired on the 4th of March, 1857. 1 Page 459. * Note 2, page 466. 8 Note 5, page 501. * The two wingg of the Democratic party (that leaning toward the anti-slavery policy of the Republicans being called the "Free-Soil Democracy") had been reconciled, and the organization was nearly a unit at this time. Delegates from each wing met in this convention, and they gen- erally agreed upon measures that were adopted. 6 Page 520. Note 3, page 520. 7 In a series of resolutions, the convention took ground in favor of the efforts then makipg by jilibv,steros, as the Spaniards call small bodies of invaders, in Central America, saying, in allusion to Walker's outrages in Nicaragua : " The people of the United States cannot but sympathize with the efforts which are being made by the people of Central America to regenerate that portion of the continent which covers the passage across the inter-oceanic isthmus." They declared that the next administration would be expected to use every proper effort "to insure our ascendency in the Gulf of Mexico," and "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." A. G. Brown, Senator from Mississippi, who was one of a committee appointed to visit Buchanan at his home near Lancaster, and apprise him of his nomination, was so well satisfied that the nominee was in favor of the national policy of the slave-holders, that he wrote a cheerful letter to that effect [June 18, 1856] to S. R. Adams, which he closed by saying: "In my judgment, he is as worthy of Southern confidence and Southern votes as ever Mr. Calhoun was." Mr. Buchanan did not disappoint his most sanguine "Southern" friends. 8 Page 488. 9 In the matter of aggression upon weak neighbors, the convention took direct issue with the Democratic party, by resolving, "That the highwayman's plea that 'might makes right,' embodied in the Ostend Circular, was in every respect unworthy of American diplomacy, and would bring shame and dishonor on any government or people that gave it their sanction." 1857.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 531 CHAPTER XV. BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. [18571861.] JAMES BUCHANAN,' the fifteenth President of the Republic, took the oath of office at Washington City on the 4th of March, 1857. It was administered to him by the venerable Roger B. Taney, the Chief Justice of the United / States. Among the spectators on that occasion was a citizen who bore a near relationship to the great Washington, and who had been present at the inaugu- 1 James Buchanan \vas born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on the 23d of April, 1791. He was educated at Dickenson College, where he was graduated at the age of eighteen years. In 1809 he was admitted to the bar, and was soon in successful practice in his native State. In 1814, when only twenty-three years of age, he was elected to a seat in the Legislature of Pennsylvania. This was his first prominent appearance in public life. In 1815 he distinguished himself in his. State Legislature as an opponent of the United States Bank, and became one of the foremost men in the Democratic party. He was elected to CJongress in 1820, and there he soon became distin- guished as a speaker and debater. After en years' service, he retired from Congress in 1831, when President Jackson appointed him minister to Russia. In 1833 he was elected to the United States Senate, where he also served ten years. President Polk called him to his cabinet, as Sec- retary of State ; and hi 1849 he again retired to private life. In 1853 he was appointed minister to England ; and > JVjie, 1856, he was nominated for President of the United States. lu Noysm- 532 THE NATION. [1857. ration of every Chief Magistrate of the Republic. 1 Two days afterward, the Senate confirmed Mr. Buchanan's cabinet appointment. 4 The beginning of Buchanan's administration was marked by an event which greatly intensified the sectional strife concerning slavery. Dred Scott, a neo-ro, had been held as a slave In Missouri until 1834, when his master, Avho was a surgeon in the army, being ordered to a post in Illinois, took him into that Free-labor State. There Scott married the slave girl of another officer, with the consent of the masters. They had two children, born within Free- labor territory. The mother had been bought by the master of Scott, and when he returned to Missouri he held the parents and children in bondage. They were sold, and Scott finally sued for his freedom, on the ground of his involuntary residence for years in a Free-labor region. The State Circuit Court of St. Louis County, in which the case was tried, gave judgment in his favor. This was reversed by the Supreme Court of the State, and the question was carried to and heard by the Supreme Court of the United States, at Washing- ton, in May, 1854, Chief Justice Taney presiding. The decision was reserved, for alleged prudential reasons, until after the Presidential election, in the autumn of 1856. 3 That decision, uttered by the Chief Justice, was against Scott, the majority of the court agreeing with its head in denying to any per- son, " whose ancestors were imported to this country and sold as slaves," any right to sue in a court of the United States ; in other words, denying the right of citizenship to any person who had been a slave, or was the descendant of a slave. The legitimate business of the court was simply a denial of jurisdiction ; but the Chief Justice took the occasion to give the sanction and aid of that .august tribunal to the efforts of the slave-holders to nationalize the institution of -slavery. With a strange disregard of popular intelligence, he asserted, in opposition to testimony to the contrary, found in abundance in our records of legislation and social life, that the framers and supporters of the Declaration of Independence did not include the black race in our country in the great proclamation that " all men are created equal ;" that our Revolutionary fathers and their progenitors, " for more than a century before," regarded the black race among us as " so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect" and that they " were never thought or spoken of except ber following he was elected to that high office, and on the 4th of March, 1861, he again retired to private life at his seat, called " "Wheatland," near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he still [1867] remains. 1 George "Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of Mrs. "Washington, the adopted son of the patriot, and the last surviving executor of his will. Mr. Custis died at Arlington House, near "Washington City, in the autumn of 1857. a He appointed Lewis Cass, Secretary of State ; Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury ; John B. Floyd, Secretary of War; Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy ; Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior; Aaron V. Brown, Postmaster-General; and Jeremiah S. Black, Attorney- General. 1 The majority of the Judges of the Supreme Court at that time, whose sympathies were with the slave-holders, decided that, on account of the excitement produced by the Nebraska bill and events in Kansas, it was best to postpone the decision. "It is quite probable," says the author of Tte American Conflict, 5. 252, "that the action of the court in the premises, if made public at the time originally intended [Term of 1855-6], would have reversed the issue of that "Presidential election." 1857.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 533 as property" He further alleged that the framers of the Constitution " held the same views, as is equally evident from its provisions and language," when in that instrument slaves are always spoken of as " persons," and not as property. Having, with these and other statements, equally discordant with the facts of history, declared the colored people of our country incapable of being citizens, he proceeded to declare also that the Missouri Compromise Act, and all other acts of Congress restricting slavery, were unconstitutional, and that neither Congress, nor local Legislatures, had any authority for restricting the spread of the institution of slavery The majority of the court agreed with the Chief- Justice in these extra-judicial opinions, and the leaders of the dominant politi- cal party assumed that the nation was bound to acquiesce in the judgment of these five or six fallible men, who proposed to turn back the tide of Christian civilization into the darker channels of a barbaric age from which it had broken, and was making the desert of humanity " blossom as the rose." The conscience of the nation refused acquiescence. 1 The newly elected President, who appears to have been informed of this decision before its promulgation, regarded it with great favor, and acted accordingly. In his inaugural address, delivered two days before the decision was promulgated, he hinted at the measure as one that would " speedily and finally " settle the slavery question. 8 " The whole Territorial question," he said, " being thus settled upon the principle of popular sovereignty a principle as ancient as free government itself every thing of a practical nature has been decided," and he expressed a hope that the long agitation of the subject of slavery was " approaching its end." A council of priests could not stop the motion of the earth, and Galileo knew it, and said so ; the opinions of a few men could not prevent the great heart of the nation beating with strong desires to have our Republic in fact, as in name " The land of the free aiid the home of the brave." Kansas was still a battle-field on which Freedom and Slavery were openly contending. The energetic measures of John W. Geary, who had succeeded Shannon as governor of the Territory, had smothered the fires of civil war for a time. He \vas succeeded by Robert J. Walker, a Mississippian, who was Secretary of the Treasury under President Polk ; and Frederick P. Stanton, of Tennessee, was appointed Secretary of the Territory. The two parties were 1 Roger Brooke Taney was born in Maryland, on the 17th of March, 1777, and was admitted to the bar as a practicing lawyer in 1799. He served, at an early age, in the Senate and Assembly of Maryland. He was appointed Attorney-General of the United States in 1831, and Secretary of the Treasury in 1833. He was appointed Chief Justice of the United States on the death of Judge Marshall, and took his seat as such in January, 1837. He remained in that office until his death, in the city of Washington, on the 12th of October, 1864, when his place was filled by Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, the present [1867] incumbent. 2 Discussing the right of the citizens of a Territory to settle the question whether or not slavery should exist in such Territory, he said : " It is a judicial question, which legitimately belongs to the Supreme Court of the United States, before whom it is now pending, and will, it is understood, be speedily and finally settled. To their decision, in common with all good citizens, I shall cheerfully submit." It should be remembered that the subject of discussion was never- before the court for adjudication in any shape, and that the decision was an extra-judicial opinion- of the Chief Justice, supported by some of his associates, and of no more binding force in law than the opinion of any other citizen. That opinion was promulgated on the 6th of March, 1857. 534 THE NATION. [1858 working energetically for the admission of Kansas as a State, with opposing ends in view. The pro-slavery party, in convention at Lecompton early in September, 1857, formed a constitution, in which was a clause providing that " the rights of property in slaves now in the Territory shall in no manner be interfered with," and forbade any amendments of the instrument until 1864. It was submitted to a vote of the people on the 21st of December following, but, by the terms of the election law, no one might vote against that Consti- tution. The vote was taken " For the Constitution, with slavery," or " For the Constitution, icithout slavery ;" so that, in either case, a Constitution that protected and perpetuated slavery would be voted for. The vote for the Con- stitution with slavery was, of course, largely the majority. Meanwhile, an election for a Territorial Legislature was held. Assured by Walker that justice should rule, the friends of Free labor generally voted, and, notwithstanding enormous frauds, 1 they carried the Legislature and elected a delegate to Congress. The new Legislature, unquestionably legal, ordered the Lecompton Constitution to be submitted to the people of the Territory for their adoption or rejection. The result was its rejection by over ten thousand majority. 2 Regardless of this strong expression of the will of the people of Kansas, the President sent the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution to Con- gress [February 2, 1858], wherein was a large Democratic majority, with a message in which he recommended its acceptance and ratification. 3 It was accepted by the Senate (32 yeas, 25 nays), but in the House a substitute pro- posed by the venerable Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky, was adopted, which provided for the re-submission of the Lecompton Constitution to the people of Kansas. It was done, and that instrument was again rejected by about ten thousand majority. The political power in Kansas was noAV in the hands of the friends of freedom, and finally, at the close of January, 1861, that Territory was admitted into the Union as a Free-labor State, and the thirty-fourth member of the family. So ended one of the most desperate of the skirmishes before the great battle between Freedom and Slavery, which we shall consider presently. And in 1862, the opinion of Chief Justice Taney, that a descendant of a slave could not become a citizen of- the Republic, was practically rejected as unsound, by the issuing of a passport to one, by the Secretary of State, to travel abroad as a " citizen of the United States." While the friends of freedom were anxiously considering how they should save their country from the perils with which the institution of slavery threat- ened it, the friends of that system, emboldened by the sympathy of the government, formed plans for its perpetuity, and their own profit and aggran- dizement, which would practically disregard the plain requirements of the 1 One or two examples maybe given. In a little precinct on the Missouri border, where there were but forty-three legal votes, 1,600 votes were taken : and at another place, where no poll was opened, 1,200 were returned. * The vote was, for the Constitution with slavery, 138; for it without slavery, 24: against it, 10,226. 3 In that message he said, referring to the opinion of Chief Justice Taney, already considered : " It has been solemnly adjudged, by the highest judicial tribunal known to our laws, that slavery exists in Kansas by virtue of the Constitution of the United States. Kansas is, therefore, at this moment, as much a slave State as Georgia or South Carolina." 1857.] BUCHANAN'S AD MINISTE ATIO N. 535 National Constitution, and defy the laws of the land and the humane spirit of the time. They resolved to re-open the African slave-trade. In direct viola- tion of the laws, native Africans were landed on the coasts of the Southern States, and placed in hopeless bondage. In Louisiana, leading citizens engaged in a scheme for legalizing that horrid traffic, under the deceptive guise of what they called the " African Labor-supply Association," 1 and in Savannah, Georgia, a grand jury, who were compelled by lawjto find several bills against persons charged with complicity in the slave-trade, actually protested against the laws they were sworn to support. 4 Southern newspapers openly advocated the traffic ; s and a prominent Southern clergyman asserted his conviction that the horrible African slave-trade was " the most worthy of all missionary societies." 4 Southern legislatures and conventions openly discussed the subject of re-opening the trade. 5 John Slidell, of Louisiana, one of the arch-conspirators against the life of the Republic, urged in the Senate of the United States the propriety of withdrawing Ameri- can cruisers from the coast of Africa, that the traffickers in human beings might not be molested; and the administration of Mr. Buchanan was made to favor this scheme of the great cotton-planters, by protest- ing against the visitation of suspected slave-bearing vessels, carrying the American flag, by British cruisers.* The Fugitive Slave Act was now bear- JOHN SLIDELL. 1 The President of that association was the late Mr. De Bow, editor of De Bow's Review, pub- lished in New Orleans. That magazine was the acknowledged organ of the oligarchy of slave- holders, and was one of the chief promoters of the late rebellion. 1 "We feel humbled," they said, "as men, in the consciousness that we are freemen but In name, and that we are living, during the existence of such laws, under a tyranny as supreme as that of the despotic governments of the Old "World. Heretofore the people of the South, firm in their consciousness of right and strength, have failed to place the stamp of condemnation upon such laws as reflect upon the institution of slavery, but have permitted, unrebuked, the influence of foreign opinion to prevail in their support." 3 The True Southron, published in Mississippi, suggested the " propriety of stimulating the zeal of the pulpit by founding a prize for the best sermon in favor of free-trade in negroes.' 1 ' This proposition was widely copied with approval, and in many pulpits professed ministers of the gospel exhibited " zeal" in the service of the slave power, without the stimulus of an offered prize. 4 Doctor James H. Thornwell, President of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Columbia, South Carolina. Dr. Thornwell, who died at the beginning of the late rebellion, was distinguished as "the Calhoun of the Church" in the South. * The "Southern Commercial Convention," held at Yicksburg, Mississippi, on the llth of May, 1859, resolved, by a vote of 47 to 16, that "all laws, State or Federal, prohibiting the African slave-trade, ought to be abolished." There is ample evidence on record, that Jefferson Davis, Alexander H. Stephens, William L. Yancey, and other leaders in the late rebellion, were advocate! of the foreign slave-trade. ' By an arrangement between the governments of the United States and Great Britain, the cruisers of each were empowered to board vessels of either nation suspected of being engaged in the African slave-trade. When, in the summer of 1858, it was known that the trade was about to be carried on actively by men of the Slave-labor States, the British cruisers in the Gulf of Mexico were unusually vigilant, and in the course of a few weeks boarded about forty suspected American vessels. Our government, inspired by men like Slidell, protested THE NATION [1857. ing the fruit desired by its author. 1 The evident intention of the slave-holders, assisted by the President and the Chief Justice, to nationalize slavery, increased the sense of its offensiveness ; and the denial of the obvious meaning of the vital doctrine of the Declaration of Independence awakened in the breast of the people, especially in the Free-labor States, strong desires for removing from the national escutcheon the horrid stain of human bondage.* The Legis- latures of several Free-labor States adopted measures to prevent, by lawful means, its most injurious actions, and in a special manner to prevent the carrying away of free persons of color into slavery, the law denying the right of the alleged fugitive to trial by jury. The Legislature of New York re- affirmed the determination of the State authorities to make every slave free that should be brought involuntarily within its borders, and denounced the opinion of the Chief Justice, which denied citizenship to men of color. Ohio passed a bill of similar character; and Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin took strong ground in favor of the freedom of the slave, without assuming an attitude of actual resistance to the obnoxious Act, which all were bound to obey so long as it remained unrepealed. These " Per- sonal Liberty Laws," as they were called, exasperated the slave-holders, and they were used by the politicians as a pretext, as it was intended they should be, for kindling the flames of civil war. At about the same time a " National o Emancipation Society" was formed at Cleveland, Ohio [August 26, 1857] } having for its object the maturing of a plan for ending slavery by the purchase of the slaves by the National government. against what it was pleased to call the odious British doctrine of "the right of search," and the British government, for "prudential reasons," put a stop to it, and laid the blame on the officers of the cruisers. 1 See page 521. * When the Declaration of Independence was promulgated, its precepts struck at the root of human bondage in every form ; and efforts were made, in several States, to eradicate the institu- tion, sometimes in the form of propositions for immediate, and at others for gradual, emancipation. It had been expelled from England by the decision of Lord Mansfield, just before the kindling of the American Revolution. This decision was in the case of James Somerset, a native of Africa, who was carried to Virginia, and sold as a slave, taken to England by his master, and there induced to assert his freedom. The first case of a similar nature on record in England was in 1697, when it was held that negroes "being usually bought and sold among merchants, as mer- chandise, and also being infidels, there might be a property in them sufficient to maintain trover." This position was overruled by Chief Justice Holt, who decided that " so soon as a negro lands in England, he is free." To this decision Cowper alludes, when he says, "Slaves cannot breathe in England." In 1702, Justice Holt also decided that "there is no such thing as a slave by the law of England." In 1729, an opinion was obtained, that "negroes legally enslaved elsewhere might be held as slaves in England, and that baptism was no bar to the master's claim." This was held as good law until Mansfield's decision above mentioned. In the English colonies in America, the most enlightened men, regarding slavery with great disfavor, made attempts from time to time to limit or to eradicate it. The utterances and actions of George Washington, Henry Laurens, Thomas Jefferson, and other slave-holders, and of Dr. Franklin, John Jay, and many other leading patriots, directly refute the assertion of Judge Taiiey, that in their time Africans by descent " were never thought or spoken of except as property." Among the important public acts of those men so misrepresented, was the famous Ordinance of 1787 [see page 362], adopted before the National Constitution was framed, which was the final result of an effort commenced in the Continental Congress some years before [1784] to restrict slavery. That action was in relation to a plan for the government of the Western Territory, then including the whole region west of the old thirteen States, as far south as the thirty-first degree of north latitude, and embracing several of the late Slave-labor States. The plan was submitted by a committee, of which Thomas Jefferson was chairman. It contemplated the ultimate division of that territory into seventeen States, eight of them below the latitude of the present city of 1859.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 537 The attention of the public mind was somewhat diverted for a while from the absorbing topic of slavery by the movements of the Mormons in Utah, 1 early in 1857. Incensed because their Territory was not admitted as a State, they commenced revolutionary proceedings. They destroyed the records of the United States Court for the District ; and under the instructions of their Governor and spiritual head, Brigham Young, 4 they looked to him for all laws. The President determined to enforce those of the United States. He appointed Colonel dimming Governor of Utah, and sent an army to uphold his authority. Young issued a proclamation, declaring his intention to resist the troops ; but when Gumming arrived there, in April, 1858, while the army was at Fort Bridger, Young received him with courtesy, and surrendered to him the Seal of the Territory ; at the same time he and his people prepared to leave the country, declaring that they would emigrate to a new land rather than submit to military and Gentile rula The troops, who had lost a provision train, destroyed by the Mormons, were recalled ; the " Mormon War " ended, and Young and his people were soon again applying for the admission of their Territory as a State. 3 They are yet [1867] unsuccessful. Polygamy is the hindrance. The autumn of 1859 was the witness of a most extraordinary excitement on the subject of slavery. The feverishness in the public mind, produced by the discussions of that topic, had somewhat subsided, and there was unusual calmness in the political atmosphere. Utah was quiet ; difficulties which had arisen between our government and that of Paraguay, in South America, had been settled, and the Indian troubles on the Pacific coast were drawing to a close. 4 Walker's fillibustering operations against Nicaragua were losing much of their interest in consequence of his failures, 5 and the National Legislature, during its short session, had been much engaged in action upon the Pacific Railway, Homestead, Soldiers' Pension, and other bills of national interest. The summer had passed away in general quietude throughout the country, and the weary in the political field were hoping for rest, when the whole na- tion was startled, as by a terrific thunder-peal, by an announcement from Balti- Louisville, in Kentucky. Among the rules for the government of that region, reported by Mr. Jefferson, was the following : " That after the year 1 800 of the Christian era, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the said States, otherwise than in punishment of crimes, whereof *he party shall have been convicted to be personally guilty." This clause was stricken out [April 19, 1784], on motion of Mr. Spaight, of North Carolina, seconded by Mr. Read, of South Carolina. A majority of the States were against striking it out, but the Articles of Confederation required a vote of nine States to carry a proposition. See Journals of Congress. In the Ordinance of 1787 [see page 362], this rule, omitting the words, "after the year 1800 of the Christian era," was incorporated. 1 See page 504. * The successor of Joseph Smith [page 504], who was duly appointed Governor of Utah by President Filhnore in 1S50, and yet (1867) holds that position. * Early in 1862 they formed a new State Constitution, elected senators and representatives under it, and applied for admission when Congress assembled, near the close of the year. No action was had on the application : but Congress passed a law " to punish and prevent the prac- tice of polygamy in the Territories of the United States," and in other places, and disapproving and annuiling certain acts of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah. The law against polygamy is a dead letter in our statute-books. 4 Page 525. * Page 525. 538 THE NATION.. [1859. more [October 17, 1859] that "an insurrection had broken out at Harper's Ferry, 1 where an armed band of Abolitionists have full possession of the Gov- ernment Arsenal." This was the celebrated "John Brown's Raid," which kindled a blaze of intense excitement throughout the Slave-labor States, and revived the " slavery agitation " with fiercest intensity. The outline of the story of " John Brown's Raid " may be given in few- words. Brown* had acted and suffered much in Kansas during the civil war there, where he was a prominent anti-slavery man. He was enthusiastic, fanat- ical, and brave, and believed himself to be the destined liberator of the slaves in our land. He went into Canada from Kansas by way of Detroit, with a few followers and twelve slaves from Missouri, whom he led to freedom in the dominions of the British Queen. At Chatham he held a convention [May 8, 1859], whereat a "Provisional Constitution and Ordinances for the People of the United States " was adopted, not, as the instrument itself declared, for the overthrow of any government, " but simply to amend and repeal ;" adding, " and our flag shall be the same that our fathers fought under in the Revolu- tion." It was part of a scheme for an uprising of the slaves for the obtaining of their freedom. The summer of 1859 was spent in preparations for a decisive movement, and Brown finally hired a farm a few miles from Harper's Ferry, where he was known by the name of Smith. There a few followers stealthily congregated, and pikes and other weapons were gathered, and ammunition was provided, for the purpose of striking the first blow against slavery in Virginia. The appointed time for delivering that blow was Sunday evening, the 16th of October, when Brown, moving in profound darkness, with seventeen white and five colored men, entered the little village of Harper's Ferry, extinguished the public lights, seized the armory and the railway bridge, and quietly arrested and imprisoned in the government buildings citizens as they appeared in the streets, one by one, in the morning, ignorant of what had happened. The news soon went abroad. Virginia militia flocked to the rescue, and in the course of twenty-four hours Colonel Robert E. Lee was there with government troops and cannon. Struggles between the raiders and the militia and citizens resulted in several deaths. Two of Brown's sons were killed, and the leader was captured. He expected a general uprising of the negroes in that region, but was disappointed. He was indicted for exciting slaves to insurrection, 1 At the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, in Virginia, where the united streams burst through the Blue Ridge. There was a National armory, in which a large quantity of arms were stored at the time we are considering. a John Brown was born in Farmington, Connecticut, on the 9th of May, 1800. "When he was five years of age his family settled in Hudson, Ohio, and, as a cattle-driving boy, he was at the surrender of Hull at Detroit, in 1812. His school education was meager, and he learned the trade of tanner and currier. He commenced studying for the ministry, but weak eyes compelled him to desist. He worked at his trade and farming in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. He engaged extensively in wool dealing, and on account of that business went to Europe, incurring heavy loss, and returning a bankrupt. He moved from place to place, and finally went to Kansas with sons by his first wife, where he was active in public matters. He became an abolitionist in early life, and the conviction that he was to be a liberator of the slaves possessed him so early as 1839. He was twice married, and had seven children by his first wife and thirteen by his last, who yet [1867] survives him. 1859.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 539 and for treason and murder. He was tried and found guilty [October 29], and was executed on the 2d of December, under the laws of Virginia. The most exaggerated reports concerning this raid went abroad. Terror spread over Virginia. Its Governor (Henry A. Wise) was almost crazy with excitement, and incurred the pity and ridicule of the whole country. 1 Through- out the Slave-labor States there was a wide-spread apprehension of slave insur- rections, and every man there from the Free-labor States was suspected of being an emissary of the abolitionists. Attempts were made to implicate leaders of the Republican party, and the inhabitants of the Free-labor States generally, in this scheme for liberating the slaves. The author of the Fugitive Slave law, James M. Mason, 8 was chairman of a committee of the United States Senate appointed to investigate the matter; and Clement L. Vallandigham, of Ohio, then a member of the Lower House, volunteered to aid in proving the charge against the people of the North. The result was positive proof that Brown had no accomplices, and only about twenty follow- ers. Although Brown's mad attempt to free the slaves was a total failure in itself, it proved to be one of the important events which speedily brought about the result he so much desired. The elections in 1858 and 1859 indicated a remarkable and growing strength in the Republican party, and it was evident to the slave-holders that their dom- ination in the councils of the nation would speedily end. They saw no chance for the election of another President of their choice, and the leaders of that powerful oligarchy, who had been for years conspiring for the overthrow of the Republic by a dissolution of the Union, so as to establish the great slave empire of their dreams within the Golden Circle, 3 perceived that they must strike the blow during or at the immediate close of Mr. Buchanan's adminis- tration, or perhaps never. They must have a pretext for the crime, and they set diligently to Avork to create one more specious than the opposition to the Fugitive Slave law would afford. They were in full political alliance with the 1 The excited Governor was prepared, according to his own words, to make war upon all the Free-labor States, for the honor of Virginia. In a letter to the President [Nov. 25, 1859], after saying that he had good authority for the belief that a conspiracy to rescue John Brown existed in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and other States, he said : I protest that my purpose is peaceful, and that I disclaim all threats when I say, with all the might of meaning, that if another invasion assails this State or its citizens from any quarter, I will pursue the invaders wherever they may go, into any territory, and punish them wherever arms can reach them. I shall send a copy of this to the Governors of Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Autograph Letter. Before the close of the late civil war, of which Wise was one of the fomenters, a daughter of John Brown was a teacher of a school of colored children in the ex-Governor's house, near Norfolk, Virginia, then in possession of the government. Wise was willing to find victims to " punish " by secret and dishonorable means. In a let- ter to the President, written twelve days before [November 13] the one above cited, he asked the Executive and the Postmaster-General to aid him in a scheme for seizing and taking to Vir- ginia Frederick Douglas, an eminent and widely-known colored citizen, who had escaped from slavery many years before, and was then living in the western part of the State of New York, though Wise, as appears by the letter, supposed him to be in Michigan. Douglas was an elo- quent and influential pleader for the emancipation of his race, and was feared and intensely hated by the slave-holders. He was guilty of no crime no act that a slave-holder could complain of but escape from bondage. That was a crime quite sufficient for the crazy Governor of Virginia to have justified himself in hanging Douglas on the same gallows, with John Brown. 8 Page 621. s Page 520. 540 THE NATION. [1860. Democratic party then in power, and might, by acting with it in good faith, and electing a President of its choice in 1860, maintain its possession of the government for some time longer, but with no certainty of a lasting tenure, for a large faction of that party, under the leadership of Senator Douglas, showed tangible proclivities toward affiliation w T ith the opponents of slavery. So the leaders of the oligarchy resolved to destroy the supremacy of that party, and allow the Republicans to elect their candidate, whoever he might be and thus, Avith the pretext that he was a sectional President, and an enemy to the institution of slavery, they might, with plausible appeals to the domi- nating passions of their class, " fire the Southern heart," and make a success- ful revolution possible. This was a plan formed by conspirators like Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi ; John Slidell and Judah P. Benjamin, of Louisiana ; William L. Yancey, of Alabama; Robert Toombs and Howell Cobb, of Geor- gia ; the Rhetts, W. P. Miles, and L. M. Keitt, of South Carolina ; T. Cling- man, of North Carolina; D. L. Yulee, of Florida; Louis T. Wigfall, of Texas ; and James M. Mason and R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, who appeared most prominently as actors at the opening of the late rebellion. These men, as the ordeal to which their wickedness soon exposed them proved, were lacking in the true elements which constitute statesmen, but had for years assumed the character of such, and were self-constituted leaders of opinion and action in the more southern Slave-labor States, to the mortal hurt of the deceived people. Almost six hundred chosen representatives of the Democratic party assem- bled in convention in the hall of the South Carolina Institute, in Charleston, South Carolina, on the 23d of April, 1860, for the purpose of nomi- nating candidates for the Presidency and Vice- Presidency of the Repub- lic. It was evident from the first hour of the ses- sion that the spirit of the slave system was there, full of mischief, and as potential as Ariel in the crea'tion of elementary strife. For months there had been premonitions of a storm which might topple from its foundations the organization known as the Democratic party. Violent discordant elements were now in close con- tact, and all felt that a fierce tempest was impending. Caleb Gushing, of Massachusetts, was chosen the Chairman of the Conven- tion. The choice was in accordance with the wishes of the slave-holders. In his inaugural speech Mr. Gushing declared it to be the " high and noble part of the Democratic party of the Union to withstand to strike down and con- SOUTII CAEOLINA INSTITUTE. I860.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 541 quer " the " banded enemies of the Constitution," as he styled the anti-slavery Republican party. But those in the Convention most clamorous for the Con- stitution were not anxious, at that time, to " strike down " the Republican party. They were more intent upon striking down their own great party, for the moment, by dividing it ; and a greater portion of the delegates from the Slave-labor States came instructed, and were resolved to demand from the Convention a candidate and a platform which should promise a guaranty for the speedy practical recognition, by the general government and the people, of the system of slavery as a national institution. Senator Stephen A. Doug- las, 1 of Illinois, was the most prominent candidate of the party for a nomina- tion before the Convention. It was well known that he was committed to a course that would not allow him or his friends to agree to such a platform of principles. His rejection by the representatives of the slave-holders would split the Democratic party asunder, and then the first great and desired act in the drama of rebellion against their government would be auspiciously begun. They resolved to employ that wedge. The Democratic party throughout the Union had accepted the doctrine of " Popular Sovereignty," of which Douglas was the sponsor and exponent, and which was put forth in the resolutions of the Convention at Cincinnati that nominated Buchanan, 8 as the true solution of the slavery question ; but now it was rejected by the slave-holders as too dangerous to their interests. Their experience in Kansas taught them that positive law, and not public opinion, must thereafter be relied on for the support of slavery. So when the Conven- tion, by a handsome majority, reaffirmed the Cicinnati platform of principles adopted the " Douglas platform " of Popular Sovereignty preconcerted rebel- lion lifted its head defiantly. Le Roy P. Walker, who was Jefferson Davis's so-called " Secretary of "War " at the beginning of the late rebellion, declared that he and his associates from Alabama were instructed not to acquiesce in or submit to any such platform, and, in the event of such being adopted, to with- draw from the Convention. That contingency had now occurred, and the Alabama delegates formally withdrew. This action of the Alabamians was imitated by delegates from other States. They were followed out of the Convention by all the delegates from Missis- sippi, all but two from Louisiana, all from Florida and Texas, three from Arkansas, and all but two from South Carolina. On the following day twenty- six of the thirty-four delegates from Georgia withdrew. Two delegates from Delaware followed, and joined the seceders ; and all met that night in St. Andrew's Hall, to prepare for a new organization. The disruption of the Democratic party represented in the Convention was now complete, and the traitorous intentions of the seceders were foreshadowed by Glenn, of Missis- sippi, one of their number, who said to the Convention, before leaving it : " I tell Southern men here, and for them I tell the North, that in less than sixty days you will find a united South standing side by side with us." He was vehemently cheered, especially by the South Carolinians, and Charleston was Page 518. Page 530. THE NATION. [I860. the scene of great delight that night, because of this auspicious beginning of a rebellion by the arrogant oligarchy of slave-holders. The seceders, with James A. Bayard, of Delaware, as their chosen head, assembled the next day, organized what they called a " Constitutional Con- vention," sneeringly called the majority they had deserted a " Rump Conven- tion," and prepared for vigorous action. On the evening of the 3d of May, they adjourned to meet in Richmond, Virginia, in June, and invited the " Democracy " who sympathized with them to join them there. The original Convention adjourned to meet in Baltimore, Maryland, in June, to which time the nomination of a candidate was postponed. The latter reassembled in the Front Street Theater, in that city [June 18, 1860], with Mr. Cushing in the chair. There was a stirring time again, the subject of slavery being the exciting cause, and Cushing and most of the Massachusetts delegation with- drew. 1 The seceders, who had met at Richmond, were now in Baltimore, and these and the Cushing malcontents organized a Convention in the Maryland Institute. The regular Convention chose David Tod, of Ohio, for their presi- dent, and proceeded to nominate Mr. Douglas for the Chief Magistracy. 2 The seceders, calling themselves the National Democratic Convention, nominated John C. Breckenridge, then Vice-President of the Republic, for President. On the 9th of May [1860], representatives of a party then about six months of age assembled in convention in Baltimore, styled themselves the National Constitutional Union Party, and was presided over by the late Washington Hunt. They nominated for President John Bell, of Tennessee, 3 and for Vice- President, Edward Everett, of Massachusetts. They adopted as their platform the National Constitution, with the motto, THE UNION, THE CONSTITUTION", AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. A few days later, chosen representa- tives of the Republican party, and a vast concourse of people, assembled [May 16, 1860] in an immense building in Chicago, erected for the purpose, and called a " wigwam," to nominate a candidate for the Presidency. George Ashmun, of Massachusetts, presided. The Convention adopted a platform of principles in the form of seventeen resolutions, 4 and on the 19th nominated 1 Benjamin F. Butler, one of the Massachusetts seceders from the Convention in Baltimore, said before leaving it : " We put our withdrawal before you upon the simple ground, among others, that there had been a withdrawal, in part, of a majority of the States ; and, further (and that, perhaps, more personal to myself), upon the ground that I will not sit in a convention where the African slave-trade which is piracy, by the laws of my country is approvingly advocated." 9 James Fitzpatrick, of Alabama, was nominated for Vice-President. He declined, and Herschel Y. Johnson, of Georgia, was substituted. * "When the Rebellion broke out, in the spring of 1861, Mr. Bell was one of the earliest, if not the very first, of the professed Unionists of distinction who joined the enemies of his country, in their attempt to overthrow the Constitution, and destroy the nationality of the Republic. Breck- enridge, the candidate of the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic party, became a major-general in the army of the conspirators against the life of the Republic. * After affirming that the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence, and embodied in the National Constitution, is essential to the preservation of our Republican institutions ; congratulating the country that no Republican member of Congress had uttered or countenanced any threats of disunion, " so often made by Democratic members without rebuke, and with applause from their political associates," and denouncing such threats as " an avowal of contemplated treason," the resolutions made explicit declarations upon the topic of slavery, so largely occupying public attention. In a few paragraphs, they declared that each State had the absolute right of control in the management of its own domestic concerns ; that the I860.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 543 Abraham Lincoln, 1 of Illinois, for the Presidency, and Hannibal Haralin, of Maine, for the Vice-Presidency of the Republic. There, in that " wigwam," war was openly declared against the principles and purposes of the oligarchy of the Slave-labor States, and the standard of revolt was raised against the operations of a tyranny which was rapidly enslaving the nation, materially THE " WIGWAM " AT CHICAGO. and morally. In that " wigwam " Abraham Lincoln was made the standard- bearer in that revolt which resulted in the overthrow of slavery, and the puri- fication and strengthening of the nation. C3 O And now, in the early summer-time of 1860, the most important political campaign known in this country was opened with four parties in the field, but only two of them (the Republican, and the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic new dogma, that the Constitution, of its own force, carries slavery into any or all of the Terri- tories of the United States, was a dangerous political heresy, revolutionary in its tendency, and subversive of the peace and harmony of the country ; that the normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of freedom, and that neither Congress nor a Territorial Legislature, nor any individuals, have authority to give legal existence to slavery in any Territory of the United States, and that the reopening of the African slave-trade, then recently commenced in the Southern States, under the cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial power, was a crime against humanity, and a burning shame to our country and age. 1 Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky. February 12, 1809. His ancestors were Quakers in Pennsylvania. When he was seven years of age, his father settled, with his family, in Indiana. He received but little education. He worked hard for ten years on a farm, and, at the age of nineteen years, went to New Orleans as a hired hand on a flat-boat. In 1830 he settled in Illinois, became a clerk in a store, and was a captain of volunteers in the Black Hawk war, in 1832. He was elected to the Illinois Legislature in 1834, in which he served four years. He was licensed in 1836 to practice law, and commenced the profession in Spring- field in 1837. He rose to distinction. He was elected to Congress in 1846. He was named for the position in which Fremont was placed by the Republicans in 1856 [page 530]. He was always an anti-slavery man, but did not rank with "Abolitionists." In November, 1860, he was elected President of the United States, and performed the duties of his office with singular fidelity, zeal, and wisdom, during the terrible Civil "War that ensued. He was re-elected President in 1864, and was inaugurated for his second term on the 4th of March, 1865. On the evening of the 14th of April next ensuing he was shot by an assassin, and expired early the following morning, at the age of little more than fifty-six years. His remains repose in a vault in the Oak Ridgr* Cemetery, at Springfield, Illinois. THE NATION. [I860 party) exhibiting tangible convictions, as units, on the great topic which had so long agitated the nation, 1 and these took issue, squarely, definitely, and defiantly. It had been declared by the former, whose standard-bearer was Abraham Lincoln, that there was " an irrepressible conflict between Freedom and Slavery," " that the Republic cannot exist half slave and half free," and that " freedom is the normal condition of nil territory." It had been declared by the latter, whose standard-bearer was John C. Breckenridge, that no power existed that might lawfully control slavery in the Territories ; that it existed in any Territory in full force, whenever a slave-holder and his slaves entered it ; and that it was the duty of the National government to protect them. This was the issue. The conflict during the canvass, from July to November, was severe. The conspirators against the life of the Republic were with the Breckenridge faction, and they and their followers used every means in their power to excite the slave-holders, and the masses of the people in the Slave- labor States, against those of the Free-labor States. During the summer and autum of 1860, they traversed the latter States, everywhere vindicating the claims put forth by the extremists of the pro-slavery party. Among these orators, in the interest of the oligarchy, William L. Yancey, one of the most daring of the Conspirators, was the most conspicuous. He was treated kindly, and listened to patiently, and then he went back, with treason in his heart and falsehood upon his lips, to deceive and arouse into rebellion the confiding people he was about to betray. Like an incarnation of discord, he cried sub- stantially as he had written two years before :* " Organize committees all over the Cotton States ; fire the Southern heart ; instruct the Southern mind ; give courage to each other ; and at the proper moment, by one organized, concerted action, precipitate the Cotton States into revolution." Yancey, in principles and action, was a type of politicians in the other Slave-labor States who now worked in co-operation with him in bringing about a rebellion against the government, by the slave-holders. Their pretext was found in the doctrines and practices of the Republican party, as revealed in their convention, during the canvass, and at the election [November 6, 1860], which resulted in the choice of Abraham Lincoln for President. 3 Although Mr. Lin- coln had a large majority over each candidate, and was elected in accordance with the letter and spirit of the National Constitution, yet the fact that he received 979,163 votes less than did all of his opponents, gave factitious vigor to 1 The wing of the Democratic party led by Mr. Douglas, in its platform, assumed not to know positively whether slavery might or might not have a lawful existence in the Territories, without the action of the inhabitants thereof, but expressed a willingness to abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court in all cases. The National Constitutional Union party, led by John Bell, declined to express any opinion upon any subject. * In a letter to James Slaughter, June 15, 1858. * The electoral college [see Article XII. of the Amendments to the Constitution] then chosen was composed of 303 members. Mr. Lincoln received 180 votes, or 57 more than all of his oppo- nents. Bell received 39; Douglas, 12; and Breckenridge, 72. Of the popular vote, Lincoln received 491,295 over Douglas, 1,018.499 over Breckenridge, and 1,275,871 over Bell. The votes for the four candidates were, respectively: For Lincoln, 1,866,452; for Bell, 590,631 ; for Douglas, 1,375,141 ; and for Breckenridge, 847,953. A fair analysis of this popular vote shows that of the; 4,690,180 ballots cast, at least 3,500,000, or three-fourths of the whole, were given by men opposed to the further extension of the institution of slavery. I860.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 54.5 the plausible cry, which was immediately raised by the conspirators and their friends, that the President-elect would be a usurper when in office, because he had not received a majority of the aggregate vote of the people ; and that his antecedents, the principles of the Republican platform, and the fanaticism of his supporters, pledged him to wage relentless war upon the system of slavery, and the rights of the Slave-labor States. 1 When itwas known that Mr. Lincoln was chosen for the Presidency, there was great rejoicing among the politicians in the Slave-labor States. It was the pre-concerted signal for open rebellion. Making that choice and its alleged menaces a pretext, the conspirators and the politicians in their service at once adopted measures for precipitating "the cotton States into revolution.'" A system of terrorism was organized and put in vigorous operation, to crush out all active loyalty to the government. In it the hangman's rope, the incen- diary's torch, and the slave-hunter's blood-hound, were prominent features in the region below North Carolina ; and the promise of Senator Clingman, of the latter State, that Union men should be hushed by " the swift attention of vigi- lance committees," was speedily fulfilled. In this unholy work the Press and Pulpit became powerful auxiliaries, and thousands upon thousands of men and women, regarding these as oracles of truth and wisdom, followed them reverentially in the broad highway of open treason. "Perhaps there never was a people," wrote a resident of a Slave-labor State in the third year of the war, " more bewitched, beguiled, and befooled, than we were when we drifted into this rebellion." The conspirators, who "had been colleagues or were disciples of John C. Calhoun, 3 and had been for years plotting treason against their government, now organized rebellion. They were of one mind in regard to the overt act ; they differed somewhat as to time and manner. Those of South Carolina, who, by common opinion, were expected to lead in the great movement, were anxious for immediate action, and when they found those of sister States hesi- tating, they resolved not to wait for their co-operation. For a while this question divided the secessionists, but it was soon settled by general co-opera- tion. Every thing was favorable to their plans. The governors of all the Slave-labor States had been elected by the Democratic party, and were ready, w T ith the exception of those of Maryland and Delaware, to act in sympathy, if not in open co-operation with the conspirators. Three, if not four, of the leading conspirators were then members of President Buchanan's cabinet, 4 and the President himself and his Attorney-General (Jeremiah S. Black, of Penn- sylvania) were ready to declare that the Constitution gave the Executive no 1 The fact was kept out of sight, that in nine of the Slave-labor States the politicians had not allowed the people to have an electoral ticket, and thereby prevented an expression of the popular will. These States were North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas the States which the politicians of each attempted to sever from the Union. The electors of South Carolina were chosen by the Legislature, and not by the people. 2 Page 544. * Page 458. 4 The traitors and conspirators in the cabinet were Howell Cobb, of Georgia, Secretary of the Treasury ; John B. Floyd, of Virginia, Secretary of War ; and Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, Secretary of the Interior. Floyd and Cobb became general officers in the army of the con- spirators, and the former perished miserably. Thompson was charged with the most heinous 35 546 THE NATION. [I860. power to stay the arm of rebellion. Of the President, Jacob Thompson, of his cabinet, said : " Buchanan is the truest friend of the South I have ever known in the North. He is a jewel of a man." 1 Cobb, the Secretary of the Treasury, wished to hold back the blow until the close of Buchanan's term, but he was overruled by the other conspirators, who counted upon the President's passive, if not active, sympathy with them. According to agreement, the politicians of South Carolina took the first step toward open rebellion. For that purpose, an extraordinary session of the Legislature was held at the time of the Presidential election [November 6, 1860], and on the morning after, when the result was known, the Governor of that State was the recipient of many congratulatory electographs from officials in Slave-labor States, giving assurance of co-operation. 2 In Charleston, badges called Palmetto cockades 3 were everywhere seen, and they were freely worn even in Washington City. Members of both Houses of Congress, from South Carolina, made trea- sonable speeches at the capital of that State, 4 and the Legis- lature authorized a convention of delegates, for the. purpose of declaring the State separated from the Union, and taking measures for maintaining what they called the "Sove- reignty of South Carolina." The members of that Convention were chosen on the 3d of December, and on the 17th of that PALMETTO COCKADE, month they assembled at Columbia, when the prevalence of the small-pox in that city caused them to adjoum to Charles- ton. There, on the 20th [December, 1860], they adopted an Ordinance of Secession, 5 and that evening, in the presence of the Governor and his council, crimes during the rebellion, even of complicity in the assassination of President Lincoln. "William H. Trescot, the Assistant Secretary of State, was also one of the conspirators ; and of Mr. Bu- chanan's seven cabinet ministers, only two (General Cass, Secretary of State, and Joseph Holt, Postmaster-General) seem to have been wholly disconnected with the plotters against the Gov- ernment. 1 Autograph letter, November 20, 1860. 9 "The people are much excited. North Carolina will secede," said one. "Large numbers of Bell men," said another, from Montgomery, Alabama, "headed by T. H. Watts, have declared for secession since the announcement of Lincoln's election. The State will undoubtedly secede." "The State is ready to assert her rights and independence; the leading men are eager for the business," said a dispatch from the capital of Georgia. "If your State secedes," said another, from Richmond, "we will send you troops and volunteers to aid you," and so from other States came greetings and offers of aid. * Made of blue silk ribbon, with a button in the center bearing the image of a palmetto-tree. 4 James Chestnut, Jr., member of the United States Senate, spoke of the undoubted right of South Carolina to secede, and recommended its immediate action in that direction, saying: "The other Southern States will flock to our standard." "W. "W. Boyce, member of Congress, said: " I think the only policy for us is to arm as soon as we receive authentic intelligence of the elec- tion of Lincoln. It is for South Carolinar in the quickest manner, and by the most direct means, to withdraw from the Union. Then we will not submit, whether the other States will act with us or with our enemies." 6 Thus ordinance was drawn by John A. Inglis, and is as follows: "We, the people of Soutn Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the ordinance adopted by us in convention, on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States was ratified, and also all Acts and parts of Acts of the General Assembly of the State, ratifying Amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed, and the Union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved." 1861.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 547 the Legislature, and a vast concourse of citizens, it was signed in the great Hall of the South Carolina Institute, 1 by one hundred and seventy of the mem- bers. This action was speedily imitated by the politicians in the interest of the conspirators in the States of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. 2 On the 4th of February, 1861, delegates appointed by the secession conventions in six of the States in which there had been action on the subject, assembled at Montgomery, in Alabama, and formed a league, with the title of CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.* A provisional constitution was adopted ; Jefferson Davis, 4 of Mississippi, was chosen " Provisional President," and Alexander H. 1 See page 540. This building, and others identified with the treasonable movements of the conspirators and their followers in Charleston, were in ruins early in the Civil "War that ensued, and yet (1867) stand as ghastly illustrations of one of the blackest pages in the history of our Republic. On the occasion of the signing of the Ordinance of Secession, a significant banner was hung back of the chair of the president of the convention. Upon it was represented an arch composed of fifteen stars (each indicating a Slave-labor State) rising out of a heap of broken and disordered stones, representing the Free-labor States. The kej'-stone was South Carolina, on which stood a statue of Calhoun. This banner was a declaration of the intention of the convention to destroy the Republic, and to erect upon its ruins an empire whose corner-stone should be slavery. Beneath the design on the banner were the words: " BUILT FROM THE RUINS." a Secession ordinances were passed in the conventions in the eleven States named, in the fol- lowing order: South Carolina, December 20, 1860; Mississippi, January 9, 1861; Florida, January 10; Alabama, January 11; Georgia, January 19; Louisiana, January 26; Texas, February 1; Vir- ginia, April 17 ; Arkansas, May 6; North Carolina, May 20 ; Tennessee, June 8. The case of Arkansas is an example of the method of secession. The conspirators, by means of Knights of the Golden Circle [see page 520], procured the election of a disloyal Legislature and Governor, who called a convention to vote on secession. That convention voted for Union by a majority of over two-thirds. The foiled conspirators, by false promises, gained the consent of the Unionists to an adjournment, subject to the call of the President, who pretended to be a loyal man, but was really one of the traitors. It was agreed to refer the question back to the people, and that the convention should not reassemble before the vote should be taken in August. The President, in violation of that pledge, called the Convention in May, soon after Fort Sumter was taken. The hall in which the members met was filled by an excited crowd. When the roll had been called, a conspirator offered an Ordinance of Secession, and moved that the, "yeas" and " nays " on the question should be taken without debate. The President fraudulently declared the motion carried ; and when the vote on the Ordinance was taken, and it was found that there was a majority against it, he arose, and in the midst of cheers and threats of the mob, he urged the Unionists to change their votes to " ay " immediately. It was evident that the mob was prepared to execute their threats, and the terrified Unionists complied. There was one exception. His name was Murphy. He was compelled to fly for his life. He was the Union Governor of the State in 1846. Thus, by fraud and violence, Arkansas was placed in the position of a rebellious State. The conspirators at once commenced a system of terrorism. Unionists were murdered, imprisoned, and exiled. Confederate troops from Texas and Louisiana were brought into the State, and Arkansas troops, raised chiefly by fraud and violence, were sent out of the State. The voice of opposition was silenced; and the usurpers, with their feet on the necks of the people, proclaimed the unanimity of the inhabitants of Arkansas in favor of disunion ! 3 This name does not express the truth. No States, as States, had withdrawn from the Union, for the people, who compose a State in our Republic, had never been asked to sanction such change. Only certain persons in certain States were in rebellion against the National authority. They usurped the power and suspended the constitutions of several of the States ; but the con- federation formed at Montgomery was only a league of confederated rebels, not of States. With this qualification, the name of " Confederate " may be properly applied to the insurgents, and in the sense of that qualification it is used in the narrative of the Civil War that follows this intro- duction. * Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky, on the 3d of June, 1808. He was educated at the National Military Academy at West Point, where he was graduated in 1824. He remained in the army seven 3 r ears, and was in the "Black Hawk War" in 1832. He became a cotton-planter in Mississippi in 1835. He was a Democratic Presidential Elector in 1844, and was elected to a seat in Congress in 1845. He was a colonel of a Mississippi regiment in the war with Mexico. He was sent to the National Senate, to till a vacancy, in 1848, and was regularly elected to that post 548 THE NATION. [1861. JEFFERSON DAVIS. Stephens, 1 of Georgia, " Vice-President." And this organization of conspira- tors, wholly the work of politicians (for no ordinance of secession was ever submitted to the people), made war upon the Republic, by seizing forts, arsenals, ships, custom-houses, and other public property, and raising armies for the over- throw of the government. In the mean time Congress had assem- bled [December 3, 1860] at the National Capital, and the conspirators in both Houses were out-spoken, truculent, and defiant. The President's message pleased nobody. It was full of evidence of faint- heartedness and indecision, on points where courage and positive convictions should have been apparent in its treat- ment of the great topic then filling all hearts and minds ; and it bore painful indications that its author was involved in some perilous dilemma, from which he was anxiously seeking a way of escape. It contained many patriotic sentiments, which offended the conspira- tors, but it contained more that was calculated to alarm the loyal people of the land. It declared substantially, under the advice of the Attorney-General, that the Executive possessed no constitutional power to use the army and navy for the preservation of the life of the Republic ; and from the time of its promulgation until his term of office expired, three months later, the President sat with folded arms, as it were, while the conspirators were perfecting their horrid enginery for destroying the Xation. 2 Encouraged by his declaration of the weakness of the government, and the assurances of leaders of his party in the Free-labor States that they need not fear interference, 3 they worked in in 1851. President Pierce called him to his cabinet, as Secretary of "War, in 1853. He again entered the Senate, on his retirement from the War Department, in 1857, and was there con- spicuous as one of the conspirators against the life of the Republic. In February, 1861, he was elected "Provisional President of the Confederate States of America," and in 1862, "Permanent President." At the close of the Civil War he was captured, and confined in Fortress Monroe, charged with high crimes. See the closing chapter of this work. 1 Stephens, with an avowed false pretense, had made a plea for the Union, at the capital of Georgia, in November, 1860. By his own private confession it was only a political trick. He and Robert Toombs, one of the leading conspirators in Georgia, were aspirants for the supremacy as political leaders in that State. Toombs was an open rebel. Stephens expected to debase him by taking a stand for the Union, but was defeated ; and within the space of three months he was the second officer in the so-called " government " of the conspirators, and working with them in trying to destroy what he had declared to be the fairest political fabric on the face of the earth. " After arguing that even Congress had no constitutional right to do more than defend the public property, the Attorney-General intimated that if it should attempt to do more, the people of the Slave-labor States interested in the matter would be justified in rebelling " would be com- pelled to act accordingly." He wished to know whether, under such circumstances, all the States would "not be absolved from their Federal obligations." He virtually counseled the President to allow the Republic to be destroyed by its internal foes, rather than to use force for its preserva- tion ; and the Chief Magistrate followed his advice. * At a large political meeting in Philadelphia, on the 16th of January, 1861, one of the resolu- tions declared: "We are utterly opposed to any such compulsion as is demanded by a portion of the Republican party; and the Democratic party of the North will by all constitutional means, 1861.] BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 549 open sunshine with the avowed intention of overthrowing the government. They seized public property, and fired upon the National flag, even before they had formed their league at Montgomery ; and when their plans were fairly matured, the conspirators in Congress, after rejecting every peaceful proposi- tion that might be made, consistent with the dignity and safety of the govern- ment, 1 both in that body and in a peace convention held at Washington City 2 [February 4, 1860], they formally withdrew from the National Legislature, with the avowal that treason to their government was their object. And yet there sat the Chief Magistrate of the Republic in passive obedience to some malignant will, holding in his hands the lightning of power confided to him by the people, by which, in a moment, as it were, he might have consumed those enemies of the Constitution and violators of the law. Charleston harbor had now become the seething caldron of rebellion. Major Robert Anderson, a loyal Kentuckian, was in command of the fortifica- tions there. He had warned his government of the evident intention of the South Carolina conspirators to seize their strongholds, and had urged it to employ measures for their protection. Floyd, a Virginian conspirator, then Secretary of War, and who had stripped the arsenals of the North and filled those of the South, preparatory to rebellion, paid no attention to his entreaties. Finally, when it was evident to Anderson that the South Carolinians intended to seize the forts, and capture his little garrison of less than one hundred men, he took the latter from the weaker fort, Moultrie, and placed them, with his supplies, in stronger fort Sumter, Avhere he might defy all assailants. This act astounded and exasperated the conspirators. The traitorous Secretary of War rebuked the loyal commander, but the patriotic people blessed him for and with its moral and political influence, oppose any such extreme policy, or a fratricidal war thus to be inaugurated." On the 22d of February, a political State convention was held at Harris- burg, the capital of Pennsylvania, when the members said, in a resolution : " We will, by all proper and legitimate means, oppose, discountenance, and prevent any attempt on the part of the Republicans in power to make any armed aggressions upon the Southern States, especially so long as laws contravening their rights shall remain unrepealed on the statute-books of Northern States [Personal Liberty Laws, see page 536], and so long as the just demands of the South shall con- tinue to be unrecognized by the Republican majorities in these States, and unsecured by proper amendatory explanations of the Constitution." Such utterances in the great State of Pennsyl- vania, and similar ones elsewhere, by the chosen representatives of a powerful party in conven- tions assembled, encouraged the conspirators in a belief that there would be no war made upon them, and for that reason they were defiant everywhere and on all occasions. 1 In the House of Representatives, John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, offered amendments to the Constitution and a series of joint resolutions, known as the "Crittenden Compromise," which formed as perfect a guaranty for the protection and perpetuation of the slave system as the slave- holders had ever, hitherto, asked for. Had the conspirators not been determined on the destruc- tion of the Republic, this would have been satisfactory. But they rejected it; nor did it meet with any favor on the part of the Republicans. 2 For the purpose of gaining time to perfect their treasonable schemes, the conspirators of Virginia planned a conference of delegates from all the States, to consider measures for averting Civil War. The President favored the movement. Delegates from twenty-one States assembled in Washington City on the 4th of February, 1861. John Tyler, of Virginia [see page 476], was chosen president. A plan was adopted, having all of the essential features of the " Crittenden Compromise." Tyler and his associates from Virginia pretended to acquiesce in this result, and in his closing address, after solemn asseverations of satisfaction, he said : " So far as in me lies, I shall recommend its adoption." Thirty-six hours afterward, in a speech in Richmond, he cast off the mask of hypocrisy, and denounced the Peace Convention and its doings. He thereafter labored with all his might to precipitate Virginia into the vortex of Revolution, and was suc- cessful. 550 THE NATION. [1861. one. ROBERT ANDERSON. the glorious deed. The intelligence of it increased the excitement in the Na- tional capital, caused by the discovery of a heavy robbery of Indian Trust Bonds, held in the Department of the Interior a crime in which the Secretary of War was involved and a session of the cabinet on the 27th was a stormy The dismayed conspirators in that council discovered that the President was not disposed to follow them into paths of actual treason. Floyd, fearing the consequences of his exposed villainy, resigned the seals of his office and fled to Virginia, where his fellow- conspirators gave him a public dinner. He was succeeded in office by Joseph Holt. A recon- struction of the cabinet, with sounder materials, immediately followed, 1 and the loyal people felt some assurance of safety. The first two months of the year 1861 was a period of great anxiety and gloom. Business was prostrated. Cobb, the conspirator, had used his power as Secretary of the Treasury, in injur- ing, as far as possible, the public credit. Pre- parations for rebellion were seen on every side. The conspirators in Con- gress were withdrawing from that body, and the conspirators in conventions were declaring the secession of States. The President remained a passive spectator of the maturing mischief. The General-in-Chief of the Army (Lieu- tenant-General Scott) was feeble in mind and body, and as the time approached for the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, evidence appeared that the conspirators, in their desperation, had determined to assassinate him. Warned of this, he succeeded in passing through Baltimore, where the tragedy was to be per- formed, unnoticed, and, to the chagrin and even consternation of the traitors, he suddenly appeared in Washington City on the morning of the 23d of Feb- ruary, and remained there until his inauguration. 1 General Cass, the Secretary of State, who had discovered the treasonable designs of some of his associates, had resigned some time before, and his place was filled by the Attorney-General. Edwin M. Stanton was called to the Attorney-Generalship, and John A. Dix was made Secretary of the Treasury in place of Cobb, who had gone to Georgia to assist in plunging the people of that State into the vortex of rebellion. Holt, Dix, and Stanton were loyal men, and thwarted by their vigilance and energy the schemes of the conspirators to seize the government before the President-elect should be inaugurated. ""We intend," said one of the disunionists, "to take pos- session of the Army and Navy, and of the archives of the government ; not allow the electoral votes to be counted ; proclaim Buchanan Provisional President, if he will do as we wish, and if not, choose another; seize the Harper's Ferry Arsenal and the Norfolk Navy Yard simuJtam- tmsly, and, sending armed men down from the former, and armed vessels up from the latter, Ufe* possession of Washington, and establish, a new government." 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 55! CHAPTER XVI. LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. [1861 1865.] ABRAHAM LINCOLN/ the sixteenth President of the Republic, was inaugu- rated on the 4th day of March, 1861, under circumstances of peculiar interest. In expectation of open violence on the part of the conspirators and their adherents, General Scott had made ample provision for the preservation of order by the strong arm of military power, if it should be necessary. This fact was known, and no disorder occurred. The oath of office was adminis- tered by Chief Justice Taney as quietly as on former occasions ; and with a firm voice the new President read from the eastern portico of the Capitol to the assembled thousands his remarkable Inaugural Address. In it he expressed the most kindly feelings toward the people of every portion of the Republic, and his determination to administer the government impartially for the protec- tion of every citizen and every interest. At the same time he announced his resolution to enforce the laws, protect the public property, and repossess that which had already been seized by the insurgents. The vast multitude then dispersed, and in the evening the usual pageant of an Inauguration Ball was seen. On the following day the Senate, relieved of most of the conspirators, confirmed the President's cabinet nominations, 2 and the new administration began its memorable career. The first business of the new cabinet was to ascertain the condition of the nation, especially its resources, and its ability to meet the crisis of rebellion, evidently at hand. Cobb had deeply injured the public credit, but the loyal men in Congress had adopted measures for restoring it. The army and navy promised very little aid. The former was composed of only 16,000 men, and these were principally on the frontiers of the Indian country, 3 while sixteen forts had already been seized by the insurgents, with all the arsenals in the cotton-growing States. 4 The little navy, like the army, had been placed far 1 See note 1, page 543. 5 He nominated "William H. Seward, of New York, for Secretary of State ; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, for Secretary of the Treasury ; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, for Secretary of War; Gideon "Wells, of Connecticut, for Secretary of the Navy ; Caleb Smith, of Indiana, for Secretary of the Interior ; Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, for Postmaster-General ; and Edward Bates, of Missouri, for Attorney-General. 3 Many of the officers of the army were natives of Slave-labor States, and a greater portion of these not only abandoned their flag and joined the insurgents, but attempted to corrupt the patriotism of the common soldiers. Among the most flagrant acts of treason was the conduct of General David B. Twiggs, whom Floyd had placed in command of the troops in Texas, to assist in the work of rebellion. He first tried to seduce the troops from their allegiance. Failing in this, he betrayed them into the hands of the enemies of their country in February, 1861. His command included nearly one-half of the military force of the United States. They were surrendered to the rebellious "authorities of Texas," with public property valued at $1,250,000. 4 The defensive works within the " seceding States," as they were called, were about thirty in number, and mounting over 3,000 guns. The cost of these works and their equipment was at. least $20,000,000. It is estimated that the value of National property which the insurgents, seized before the close of Buchanan's administration was at least $30,000,000. 552 THE NATION. [1861. beyond the immediate use of the government. Only forty-two vessels were in commission, and the entire force immediately available for the defense of the whole Atlantic coast of the Republic was the Brooklyn, of twenty-five guns, and a store-ship. A large number of naval officers, born in Slave-labor States, had resigned ; and weakness and confusion in that arm of the public service were everywhere visible. The public offices were swarming with disloyal men. It was difficult to decide who were and who were not trustworthy, and as it was necessary for the President to have proper implements to work with, he was engaged for nearly a month after his inauguration in exchanging false for true men in the employment of the government. He knew that rising rebellion could not be suppressed by proclamations, unless the insurgents saw behind them the invincible power of the State, ready to be wielded by the President, with trusty instrumentalities. These he endeavored to find. FORT SUilTER IN 1861. Meanwhile rebellion was open and defiant, especially at Charleston. Soon after Major Anderson transferred his garrison to Fort Sumter, 1 the insurgents, who at once nocked to Charleston, began the erection of fortifications for the purpose of dislodging him. They seized the other forts that were for the defense of the harbor, and when, so early as the second week in January, a government vessel (Star of the West) attempted to enter with men and pro- visions for Fort Sumter, and with the National flag at her fore, she was fired 1 Page 549. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 553 upon by great guns and driven to sea. 1 "When the Confederation was formed at Montgomery, 2 they commissioned Major P. G. T. Beauregard, a Louisiana Creole, who had deserted his flag, a brigadier-general, and sent him to com- mand the insurgents at Charleston. Under his direction Fort Sumter was besieged; and when, early in April [1861], the government informed the authori- ties of South Carolina that supplies would be sent to Fort Sumter peaceably or forcibly, Beauregard was ordered by Davis and his fellow-conspirators to demand its immediate surrender. This was done [April 11], when Anderson, whose supplies were nearly exhausted, agreed to evacuate the fort within five days, if he should receive no relief from his government. Hoping to " fire the Southern heart " by bloodshed, the conspirators would not wait for so peace- able a way for gaining possession, and under their direction Beauregard, with thousands of armed men at his back, opened full thirty heavy guns and mor- tars upon the fort [April 1 2], which was defended by only about seventy men. 8 The little garrison gallantly responded, and fought bravely, with a hope that a naval expedition, which they knew had been sent for their relief, might arrive in time to raise the siege. A heavy storm prevented the suc"cor. Pro- visions were exhausted. The buildings in the fort were set on fire by the shells of the insurgents, and a greater portion of the gunpowder had to be emptied into the sea, to prevent its ignition by the flames. Finally, hopeless of aid, and almost powerless, Anderson agreed to evacuate the fort. This he did on Sunday, the 14th, and retired with the garrison to the government vessels hovering outside the harbor, bearing away the flag of Fort Sumter. Precisely four years afterward [April 14, 1865] he took it back, and raised it again over the fortress, then an almost shapeless mass of ruins. He evacuated^ but did not surrender Fort Sumter, and he and its flag, the emblem of the sovereignty of his government, were borne to New York. 4 Thus commenced CIVIL WAE, IN 1861. Twenty-four hours after the evacuation of Fort Sumter, the President issued a proclamation, in which he called out the militia of the country for three 1 This overt act of treason and of war was commended by the Legislature of South Carolina, which resolved, unanimously, "That this General Assembly learns with pride and pleasure of the successful resistance this day by the troops of this State, acting under the orders of the Governor, to an attempt to re-enforce Fort Sumter." The public press of Charleston said: " We are proud that our harbor has been so honored, " and declared that " if the red seal of blood was yet lacking to the parchment of their liberties," there should be " blood enough to stamp it all in red! For, by the God of our fathers," shouted the exultant journalist, " the soil of South Carolina shall be free!" 1 Charleston Mercury, January 9, 1861. * Page 547. 3 A Virginia Congressman, named Roger A. Pryor, made a speech in the streets of Charleston on the night of the 10th. A secession convention was then in session in Virginia, 'in which the Unionists were holding the conspirators in check. Pryor, in defending the seeming hesitancy of his State, said : " Do not distrust Virginia. Strike a blow ! The very moment that blood is shed, Old Virginia will make common cause with her sisters of the South." This cry for blood was telegraphed to Montgomery the next morning. It was consonant with the diabolical spirit of the more zealous conspirators everywhere. Gilchrist, a member of the Alabama Legislature, said to Davis, "Walker, Benjamin, and Memminger: "Gentlemen, unless you sprinkle blood in the face of the people of Alabama, they will be back in the old Union in less than ten days." And so Davis and his " Cabinet " ordered Beauregard to shed blood, and " fire the Southern heart." 4 F. W. Pickens, then Governor of South Carolina, made the evacuation of Sumter the occa- THE NATION. [1861. months' service, to the number of seventy-five thousand men, to suppress the rising rebellion. 1 The Secretary of War simultaneously issued a requisition upon the several States for their prescribed quota." 2 These calls were received with unbounded favor and enthusiasm throughout the Free-labor States. In the six Slave-labor States included in the call, they were treated with scorn and defiance, the Governors sending insulting responses to the President, while Davis and his fellow-conspirators at Montgomery received the Proclamation with " derisive laughter." In the Free-labor States there was a wonderful uprising of the people. Nothing like it, in sublimity of aspect, had been seen on the earth since Peter the Hermit and Pope Urban the Second filled all Christian Europe with religious zeal, and sent armed hosts, with the cry of " God wills it ! God wills it !" to rescue the Sepulcher of Jesus from the hands of the infidel. The Republic was to be rescued from the hands of the assassin. Men, women, and children felt the enthusiasm alike ; and, as if by preconcert- ed arrangement, the National flag was everywhere displayed, even from the spires of churches and cathedrals. In cities, in villages, at way-side inns, all over the country, it was unfurled from lofty poles in the presence of large assemblies of people, who were addressed frequently by some of the most eminent orators in the land. It adorned the halls of justice and the sanctua- ries of religion ; and the " Red, White, and Blue," the colors of the flag in combination, became ornaments of women and tokens of the loyalty of men. The uprising in the Slave-labor States at the same time, though less general and enthusiastic, was nevertheless marvelous. The heresy of State supre- macy, which Calhoun 3 and his disciples adroitly called State rights, because a right is a sacred thing cherished by all, was a political tenet generally accepted as orthodox. 4 It had been inculcated in every conceivable form, and on every conceivable occasion ; and men who loved the Union and deprecated secession were in agreement with the conspirators on that point. Hence it was that, in the tornado of passion then sweeping over the South, where reason was dis- sion for an exultant speech in the streets of Charleston, on that Sunday. " Thank God." he exclaimed, " the war is open, and we will conquer or perish. We have humbled the flag of the United States." Alluding to his State as a sovereignty, he said, " That proud flag was never lowered before to any nation on the earth It has been humbled to-day before the glorious little State of South Carolina." The churches of Charleston that day were filled with treasonable harangues. In old St. Philip's the venerable and blind Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church cried out : " Your boys were there, and mine were there, and it was right that they should be there." And in the Roman Catholic Cathedral Bishop Lynch had a Te Deum chanted in grati- tude to God for the beginning of the most horrid civil war on record 1 1 The President's authority for this act may be found in the second and third sections of an act of Congress approved February 28, 1795. That law would not allow the President to hold them to service for more than three months. * The quota of each State was as follows, the figures denoting the number of regiments : Maine, 1 ; New Hampshire, 1 ; Vermont, 1 ; Massachusetts, 2 ; Rhode Island. 1 ; Connecticut, 1 ; New York, 17; New Jersey, 6; Pennsylvania, 16; Delaware, 1; Tennessee, 2; Maryland, 4; Virginia, 3 ; North Carolina, 2 ; Kentucky, 4 ; Arkansas, 1 ; Missouri. 4 ; Ohio. 13 ; Indiana, 6 ; Illinois, 6 ; Michigan, 1 ; Iowa, 1 ; Minnesota, 1 ; Wisconsin, 1 ; 3 See note 3, page 459. 4 This was in the form of a political dogma, which declares that each State is a sovereign ; that the Union is only a league of sovereign States, and not a nationality ; that the States are not sub- servient to the National government ; were not created by it, do not belong to it, and that they created that government, whose powers they delegate to it, and that to them it is responsible. Such was the essential substance of the old Confederation, before the National Constitution was 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 555 carded, thousands of intelligent men, deceived by the grossest misrepresenta- tions respecting the temper, character, and intentions of the people of the Free-labor States, flew to arms, well satisfied that they were in the right, because resisting what they believed to be usurpation, and an unconstitutional attempt at the subjugation of a free people on the part of the National gov- ernment. Within a week after the attack on Fort Sumter the insurrection assumed the huge proportions of a great rebellion. Its forces were at work in all the Slave-labor States, and the most extraordinary exertions were immediately put forth by the conspirators to execute the first and most important part of their plan, namely, the seizure of the National Capital. Thousands of their follow- ers, armed with weapons stolen from their government, were pressing into Vir- ginia for that purpose. At the time of his inauguration at Montgomery 1 Jef- ferson Davis had said : " We are now determined to maintain our position, and make all who oppose us smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel /" and he now began to carry out that threat with a high hand, while his lieuten- ant, Alexander H. Stephens, who a few months before had declared and proven that rebellion against the government would be a monstrous crime, 8 now hur- ried toward Richmond, making Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia ring with his cry of " On to Washington /" Le Roy Pope Walker, Davis's " Secretary of War," 3 had prophesied on the day when Fort Sum- ter was attacked [April 12, 1861], saying: "The flag that now flaunts the breeze here will float over the dome of the old capitol at Washington before the first of May. Let them try Southern chivalry, and test the extent of Southern resources, and it may float eventually over Faneuil Hall, in Boston." The most intense desire to seize Washington City pre- ., j ., iii 3 ii. i THE CONFEDERATE FLAG.* vailed among the insurgent leaders, and the people of the cotton-planting States soon realized the promise uttered by Governor Pickens : " You may plant your seed in peace, for Old Virginia will have to bear the brunt of battle." Virginia did, indeed, bear much of the brunt of battle. It was now in an uproar, and its people was soon made to feel the terrible effects of the treason of some of their leading politicians. They had assembled a convention to consider the subject of secession from the Union. The Unionists were the framed. That Constitution refutes this heresy of State sovereignty and supremacy, in terms and spirit: ""We, the People," says its preamble," " do ordain and establish," THE NATION. [1861 The government perceived the necessity of affording aid to the "Western Virginia loyalists, and General George B. McClellan, who had been placed in command of the Department of the Ohio, was ordered to assist Kelley in driving out the Confederate troops. Thus encouraged, the Virginia commander moved on Grafton, when the Confederate leader, Porterfield, fled to Philippi. Thither he was followed by Kelley, and also by Ohio and Indiana troops, under Colonel Du- mont. They drove Porterfield from Philippi [June 3] after a battle (the first after war was proclaimed), in which Kelley was wounded, and for a while matters SEAL OF WEST VIRGINIA. were quiet in i}i&i res i o ^ Qrafton was made the head-quarters of the National troops in Western Virginia. Meanwhile Confederate troops under Colonel Magruder, who had aban- doned his flag, 1 had been moving down the peninsula between the James and York Rivers, for the purpose of attempting to seize Fortress Monroe. General Butler, in command at the latter post, informed that the insurgents were in a fortified camp at Big Bethel, a few miles up the peninsula, resolved to dislodge them, for the two-fold purpose of making Fortress Monroe more secure, and for carrying out a plan he had conceived of seizing the railway between Suffolk and Petersburg, and, menacing the Weldon road which connected Virginia with the Carolinas, draw Confederate troops back from the vicinity of Wash- ington. He sent a force under General E. W. Peirce for the purpose, one column moving from Fortress Monroe, and the other from Newport-Newce, on the James River. Meeting in the gloom before dawn, they fired upon each other, alarmed the Confederate outposts, and caused a concentration of all the insurgent forces at Big BetheL There a conflict occurred [June 10, 1861], in which Lieutenant J. T. Greble, a gallant young artillery officer, was killed. He was the first officer of the regular army who perished in the Civil War. The expedition was unsuccessful, and returned to Fortress Monroe. The misfortune at Bethel was atoned for the next day [June 11], when Col- onel (afterward Major-General) Lewis Wallace, with a few Indiana troops, dis- persed five hundred Confederates at Romney, in Hampshire County, Virginia. It was a most gallant feat. Its boldness and success so alarmed the insurgents at Harper's Ferry, that they fled to Winchester [June 15], eighteen miles up the Shenandoah Valley, and there, under the direction of their accomplished commander, Joseph E. Johnston, 3 they made preparations for resisting the threatened invasion of that region. The evacuation of Harper's Ferry was followed by its speedy occupation by National troops. On the day after 1 " Mr. Lincoln," said Magruder to the President, at the middle of April, " every one else may desert you, but / never will." The President thanked him. Two days afterward, having done all in his power to corrupt the troops in Washington, he fled and joined the insurgents. See Greeley's American Conflict, i. 506. 3 Johnston was a veteran soldier, and had been a meritorious officer in the National army. He had taken command of the Confederates -at or near the confluence of the Potomac and Shenan- doah Elvers, late in May, and had about 12,000 men under his command. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. Johnston's flight, General Robert Patterson threw 9,000 men, from the Penn- sylvania militia, across the Potomac at Williamsport, but was compelled to recall them in consequence of a requisition from the General-in-Chief to send his most efficient troops to Washington, then in peril. On the 2d of July Patterson crossed with about 11,000 troops, and took post at Martinsburg. His advance, under General Abercrombie, met, fought, and conquered at Falling Waters a considerable force under the afterward famous " Stonewall " Jackson. In the mean time stirring events were occurring in Western Virginia. For a time it seemed as if Wallace, near Cumberland, must be cut off, and the Bal- timore and Ohio Railway pass into the possession of the insurgents. But that vigilant officer gallantly maintained his position against great odds, while General McClellan, advancing southward from Grafton, was striking the Con- federates in the Tygart River region severe blows. Porterfield had 1 been suc- ceeded by General Garnett, whose head-quarters were at Beverly, in Randolph County; and the notorious Henry A. Wise, 2 bearing the commission of a Brigadier-General, was with a force in the Valley of the Great Kanawha River, where he was confronted by General J. D. Cox. McClellan's entire command was composed of about 20,000 troops. A portion of these, under General W. S. Rosecrans, fought and conquered a force under Colonel Pegram on Rich Mountain, not far from Beverly, on the llth of July. This alarmed Garnett, who, with a portion of his force, fled into the wild mountain region of the Cheat River, pursued by General T. A. Morris, of McClellan's command. Morris overtook Garnett at Carricksford, on a tribu- tary of the Cheat River, where a sharp conflict ensued. Garnett was killed and his troops were dispersed. Another portion of his followers, who fled from Beverly toward Staunton, had been pursued to the summit of the Cheat Moun- tain range, where an outpost was established under the care of an Indiana regiment. General Cox, in the mean time, had driven Wise out of the Kanawha Valley, and the war in Western Virginia seemed to be at an end. McClellan was called to the command of the Army of the Potomac [July 22], as the forces around Washington were designated, and his own troops were left in charge of General Rosecrans. While these events were occurring beyond the Blue Ridge and the Alle- ghany Mountains, 8 others of great moment were attracting public attention to the National capital and its vicinity. Toward the close of May, it was evident that the Confederates were preparing to plant batteries on Arlington Heights, which would command Washington City. Robert E. Lee, of Arling- ton House, 4 an accomplished engineer officer in the army, had lately abandoned his flag and joined the insurgents under circumstances of peculiar perfidy. 5 He 1 Page 562. 8 Page 539. ' These are nearly parallel ranges of mountains which divide Virginia between the Ohio and the Atlantic slopes. 4 This was for more than fifty years the residence of the late George "Washington Parke Custis [see note 1, page 532], who was the father-in-law of Colonel Lee. It overlooked the Potomac, "Washington City, and Georgetown, and batteries on the range of hills on which it stood, called Arlington Heights, would command the National capital completely. 8 Lee was tjien a lieutenant-colonel in the cavalry service, stationed in Texas, and, after the THE NATION. [1861. was now chief of the Virginia forces, knew the value of batteries on Arling- ton Heights, and had, it is believed, been there with engineers from Rich- mond. To prevent that perilous move- ment, troops were sent over from Washington City [May 24, 1861] to take possession of Arlington Heights and the city of Alexandria, on the river below. The troops for the occupation of the Heights crossed the bridges from Washington and Georgetown, while those sent from Alexandria went by water. The New York Fire Zouaves 1 were the first to enter Alexandria, where their gallant young commander, Colonel Ellsworth, was speedily killed. 2 At. the same time, fortifications were ROBERT E. LEE. commenced on Arlington Heights, where Fort Corcoran was speedily built by an Irish regiment [Sixty-ninth], and named in honor of their commander, Colonel Corcoran. This and Fort Runyon, near the Long Bridge, built by New Jersey troops, were the first regular works erected by the Nationals at the beorinninsr of the Civil War, and the first over which the flag of the Re- O O * * ' public was unfurled. A few days later a flotilla of armed vessels, under Captain Ward, after encountering a battery erected by the insurgents on SewelPs Point, not far from Norfolk, moved up the Potomac, and at Aquia Creek, sixty miles below Washington, had a sharp but unsuccessful engage- ment [May 31 and June 1] with Confederate batteries constructed there. election of Mr. Lincoln, he was permitted to leave his regiment and return home, when he was cordially greeted by General Scott, who loved him as a son, and gave him his entire confidence. In this relation Lee remained, making himself conversant with all the plans and resources of the government for the suppression of the rebellion, and at the same time keeping up a continual communication with its enemies, until more than a week after the attack on Fort Sumter, and six days after the conspirators at Richmond had promised him the position of commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces. Then [April 20] he resigned his command, hastened to Richmond with his important knowledge of affairs at the National capital, joined the conspirators against his government, and speedily rose to the position of geueral-in-chief of the Rebel army. 1 These composed a regiment under the command of Colonel B. E. Ellsworth, who were uni- formed in the picturesque costume of a French corps, first organized in Algiers, and bearing the name of Zouave. These were famous in the war on the Crimea [page 526], and their drill, adopted by Ellsworth, was exceedingly active. The first Zouave organization in this country was that of a company at Crawfordsville, Indiana, under Captain (afterwards Major-General) Lewis "Wallace, in I860. A few weeks later, Captain Ellsworth organized a company at Chicago. There were many Zouave regiments at the beginning of the war, but the gay colors of their cos- tume made them too conspicuous, and that uniform soon fell into disuse. See next page. 8 Ellsworth's death, and the circumstances attending it, produced a profound impression. Over an inn in Alexandria, called the Marshall House, the Confederate flag [page 555] had been flying for several days, and, immediately after landing at the city, Ellsworth proceeded to remove it. He went to the roof, took it down, and, while descending a flight of stairs, the proprietor of the inn, waiting for him in a dark passage, shot him dead. The murderer was instantly killed by one of Ellsworth's companions. On the day previous to the invasion of Virginia [May 23], William McSpeddon, of New York City, and Samuel Smith, of Queen's County, New York, went over from Washington and captured a Confederate flag. This was the first flag taken from the insurgents. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 565 ELLSWORTH ZOUAVE. About a month later [June 27] Captain Ward attacked the Confederates at Matthias Point, farther down the Potomac, where his force was repulsed and he was killed. At this place, and in its vicinity, the Confederates established batteries that defied the National vessels, and for many months that river, a great highway for supplies for the Army of the Potomac, was effectually blockaded by them. While these stirring events were occurring east- ward of the Alleghanies, others equally important were observed in the Mississippi valley. In May and June, 1861, Civil War was kindling furiously wherever the slave-system prevailed, for it was Avagcd iu the interest of that institution. In the border Slave-labor States of Kentucky and Mis- souri, the contest began early. The governor of each (Beriah Magoffin, of Kentucky, and Claiborne F. Jackson, of Missouri) was in complicity with the conspirators; and in Kentucky, Simon B. Buck- ner, a captain of the National army, who had been placed at the head of a military organization known as the Kentucky State Guard, was em- ployed by them, through its potential means, for corrupting the patriotism of the young men of that commonwealth. His work was facilitated by the leading politicians of that State, who claimed to be Union men, but who, at the outset, resolved to withhold all aid to their government in sup- pressing the rising rebellion. 1 They succeeded in placing their State in a position of neutrality in the conflict, and the consequence was that it suffered terribly from the ravages of war, which might have been averted had the great majority of the citizens, who were loyal, been allowed to act in accordance with their feelings and judgments. In Missouri the loyalists were the majority, but the disloyal governor and leading politicians, in their endeavors to unite its destinies with the slave- holders' Confederation, caused that State, too, to be desolated by war. So early as at the close of February [1861], a State convention was held at the capital, in which not an openly avowed disunionist appeared. It reassembled at St. Louis [March 4], when Sterling Price, a secret enemy to the government, but pretending to be its friend, presided. The loyal men gave a loyal tone to the proceedings, and the Governor, despairing of using that body for his trea- 1 The Louisville Journal, the organ of the so-called Unionists of Kentucky, said of the Presi- dent's proclamation calling for troops to put down rebellion: "We are struck with mingled amazement and indignation. The j>olicy announced in the proclamation deserves the unqualified condemnation of every American citizen. It is unworthy, not merely of a statesman, but of a man. It is a policy utterly harebrained and ruinous. If Mr. Lincoln contemplated this policy in his inaugural address, he is a guilty dissembler; if he conceived it under the excite- ment aroused by the seizure of Fort Sumter, he is a guilty Hotspur. In either case he is miserably xinfit for the exalted position in which the enemies of the country have placed him. Let the people instantly take him and his administration into their own hands if they would rescue the land from bloodshed, and the Union from sudden and irretrievable destruction." 566 THE NATION. [1861. ARSENAL AT ST. LOUIS. sonable purposes, turned to the more disloyal Legislature for aid. The latter yielded to his wishes, and, under the inspiration of Daniel M. Frost, a native of New York, and a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, they made arrangements for enrolling the militia of the State, and placing in the hands of the governor a strong military force, to be used against the power of the National government. Arrangements were also made for seizing the National Arsenal at St. Louis, and holding pos- session of that chief city of the Mississippi valley. For this purpose, and with the pretext of dis- ciplining the militia of that district, Frost, com- missioned a brigadier- general by the Gover- nor, formed a camp near the city. But the plan was frustrated by the vigilant loyalists of St. Louis and Captain Nathaniel Lyon, commanding the military post there. When it became evident that Frost was about to seize the arsenal, Lyon, with a large number of volunteers, surrounded the traitor's camp, and made him and his followers prisoners. The government and the authorities of Missouri now took open issue. Sat- isfied that the conspirators had resolved to secure to their interest that State and Kentucky, the National authorities took possession of and fortified Cairo, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and of Bird's Point, a low bluff opposite, on the Missouri side of the " Father of Waters." It was a timely movement, for Governor Jackson spee'dily called [June 12, 1861] into the service of the State of Missouri fifty thou- sand of the militia, " for the purpose of repelling invasion," et cetera, and at Jeffer- son City, the capital of the common- wealth, he raised the standard of revolt, with Sterling Price 1 as military commander. At the same time the authorities of Tennes- see, who, led by the disloyal Governor, Isham G. Harris, had placed that State in a military relation to the Confederacy simi- lar to that of Virginia, 8 were working in harmony with Jackson, their troops being under the command of General Gideon J. Pillow. That officer was making earnest efforts for the seizure of Cairo, when, early in July, Leonidas Polk, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of STERLING PRICE. Page 565. Page 556 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 55(7 the Diocese of Louisiana, and a graduate of West Point Academy, succeeded him in command. Meanwhile, Lyon, who had been promoted to Major-General, and placed in command of the Department of Missouri, moved a strong force against the insurgents at the State capital. With 2,000 men he went up the Missouri River in two steamers. When he approached Jefferson City the insurgents fled. He hotly pursued, and overtook, fought, and dispersed them near Booneville. The vanquished Missourians again fled, and halted not until they had reached the southwestern borders of the State. Lyon now held military control of the most important portions of it. 1 There was now great commotion all over the land. War had begun in earnest. Confederate pirate-ships were depredating upon the ocean. The fife and drum were heard in every hamlet, village, and city, from the St. Croix to the Rio Grande. Compromises and concessions seemed no longer possible. The soothing lullab'y of the last " Peace Convention " 3 was lost in the din of warlike preparations, and it was evident that the great question before the people, whether the retrogressive barbarism of slave institutions or the progressive civilization of free institutions should prevail in the Republic, could only be settled by the arbitrament of the sword, to which the friends of the former and the enemies of the Union had appealed. A mighty army of defenders of the Republic was rapidly gathering and earnestly drilling at its capital, and was animated by an intense desire (shared by the loyal people) to go forward, disperse the army of the conspirators, and drive their chief and his counselors from Richmond, where, with great energy, they were devising and putting into execution plans for the overthrow of their government. The gratification of that desire was promised when, at the middle of July, the General-in-Chief gave orders for the movement of the army upon the foe at Manassas, then commanded by Beauregard. 3 Lieutenant-General Scott was too feeble to take command of the army in the field, 4 and that duty was assigned to General Irwin McDowell, then at the head of the Department of Virginia. Already Ohio and South Carolina troops 1 He so held the whole region north of the Missouri River, and east of a line running south from Booneville on that stream to the Arkansas border, thus giving the government the control of the important points of St. Louis, Hannibal, St. Joseph, and Bird's Point, as bases of opera- tions, with railways and rivers for transportation. s The Virginia conspirators repeated the trick of a "Peace Convention" [see page 549] on a more limited scale after they had dragged their State into the Confederation. They proposed a convention of delegates from the border Slave-labor States, to be held in Frankfort, Kentucky. The 27th of May was appointed as the day for their assembling. There were present no dele- gates from Virginia, and only five beside those appointed in Kentucky. Those present professed to be eminently "neutral," and talked of "wrongs endured by the South," and the "sectional- ism of the North," and regarded the preservation and National protection of the slave-system as "essential to the best hopes of our country." The trick was too apparent to deceive anybody, and had no effect It was the last ' peace conference " of ita kind. * Page 553. On taking command of that army, at the beginning of June, Beauregard, who was noted throughout the war for his official misrepresentations, ludicrous boastings, and signal failures as a military leader, issued a proclamation so infamous and shameless, considering the conduct of himself and his superiors at Richmond, that honorable Confederate leaders like John- ston, Ewell, and Longstreet blushed for shame. * He was afflicted with dropsy and vertigo, and for four months previously he had not been.' able to mount a horse. THE NATION. [1861. had measured strength at Vienna, a few miles from Washington, in an encounter [June 17th] concerning the possession of the railway between Alexandria and Leesburg; 1 and now the National army was eager to repeat the contest on a larger scale. The opportunity speedily offered. A little more than 30,000 troops moved from Arlington Heights and vicinity 2 toward Manassas at the middle of July, and on the 18th a portion of these, under General Tyler, had a severe battle at Blackburn's Ford, on Bull's Run, not far from Centreville, in Fairfax County. The Nationals were re- pulsed and saddened, and the Confederates were highly elated. The loss of men WINFIELD SCOTT is I865. 3 was about equally divided between the combatants, being about sixty on each side. McDowell's plan was to turn the righ't flank of the Confederates, and com- pel both Beauregard and Johnston to fall back ; and Tyler's movement near Blackburn's Ford was intended as a feint, but ended in a battle. The result of that engagement, and his observations during a reconnoissance on the fol- lowing day [July 20], satisfied McDowell that his plan was not feasible. He therefore resolved to make a direct attack on the foe. It was important that it should be done speedily, because the terms of enlistment of his " three months men " 4 were about to expire, and Patterson, yet at Martinsburg, was in a position to give him instant assistance, if necessary. The latter had been ordered to so menace Johnston as to keep him at Winchester and prevent his re-enforcing Beauregard, or to go to the support of McDowell, if necessary. Such being the situation, the commander of the Nationals felt confident of success, and at two o'clock on Sunday morning, the 21st of July [1861], he set his army in motion in three columns one under General Tyler, marching to menace the Confederate left at the Stone Bridge over Bull's Run, on the War- renton road, while two others, under Generals Hunter and Heintzelman, taking a wide circuit more to the left, were to cross the stream at different points, and 1 The National troops were commanded by Colonel A. McD. McCook, who had been sent out to picket and guard the road. They were accompanied on this occasion by General Robert C. Schenck. The Confederates were in charge of Colonel Maxcy Gregg, who had been a leading member of the South Carolina Secession Convention. 3 At this tune the main body of McDowell's troops, about 45,000 strong, occupied a line, with the Potomac at its back, extending from Alexandria, nine miles below Washington, almost to the Chain Bridge, six miles above the capital. The remainder of the National army, about 18,000 strong, was at or near Martinsburg, under General Patterson. Both armies were liable to a sud- den decrease, for the terms of enlistment of the ' : three months men " were about expiring. The main Confederate army, under Beauregard, wag at and near Manassas Junction, in a very strong defensive position, about half way between the more eastern range of the Blue Ridge and the Potomac at Alexandria. Johnston's force at Winchester was larger than Patterson's, and was in a position to re-enforce Beauregard without much difficulty. He made his position quite .strong, by casting up earthworks for defense. 8 See page 485. 4 Page 551. 1S6L] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 569 make the real attack on Beauregard's left wing, menaced by Tyler. At the same time troops under Colonels Richardson and Davies were to march from near Centreville, and threaten the Confederate right. 1 These movements were duly executed, but with some mischievous delay, and it was well toward noon before the battle was fairly begun. Beauregard had planned an attack on McDowell at Centre- ville, the same morn- ing. The authori- ties at Richmond, informed of the lat- ter's movements, had ordered Johnston to hasten to the aid of Beauregard, who was now compelled to act on the defensive. Af- ter several hours' hard fighting, with varying fortunes on both sides, and the mutual losses dread- f 1 it, AT A- 1 EONS OF THE STONE BRIDGE. ful, the Nationals, with superior numbers, were on the point of gaining a complete victory, when from the Shenandoah Valley came six thousand of Johnston's fresh troops, and turned the tide of battle. Johnston had managed to elude Patterson, and had O ' hastened to Manassas, followed by his troops, and there, as senior in rank, he took the chief command. Patterson, awaiting promised information and orders from the General-in-Chief (which he did not receive), failed to re-enforce McDowell, and when, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, Johnston's troops swelled the ranks of Beauregard to a volume greater than those of his foes, the Nationals were thrown back in confusion, and fled in disastrous rout toward Washington City. 8 Jefferson Davis had just arrived on the battle- field when the flight began. He sent an exultant shout by telegraph to his 1 The Confederate army lay along a line nearly parallel to the general course of Bull's Run, from Union Mills, where the Orange and Alexandria railway crosses that stream, to the passage of the Warrenton turnpike, t the Stone Bridge several miles above. 8 A large number of civilians saw the smoke of battle from Centreville and its vicinity. Sev- eral members of Congress, and many others, went out from Washington to see the fight, as they would a holiday spectacle, not doubting the success of the National troops. These were seen flying back in the greatest terror, while Congressman Alfred Ely, and one or two other civilians, were captured, and held as prisoners in Richmond for several months. Among the fugitives was W. H. Russell, correspondent of the London Times, who, notwithstanding he had not seen the battle, wrote an account of it the same night, while in an unfit condition, as he acknowledged, to write any thing truthfully. It was very disparaging to the Nationals, and filled the enemies of the Republic in Europe with joy, because of the assurance it gave of the success of the conspirators. THB NATION. [1861. fellow-conspirators at Richmond, 1 and the whole Confederacy speedily rang with its echoes ; while the remnant of the vanquished army hastened back in fragments to the defenses of Washington, and the gloom of deepest despond- ency overshadowed the loyal heart of the nation for a moment. While one section of the Republic was resonant with sounds of exultation, the other was silent and cast down for a moment. The extraordinary session of Congress* had not yet closed, when the disas- ter at Bull's Run occurred. That event did not disturb the composure or the faith of that body. Friends of the Confederates who yet lingered in the National Legislature were using every means in their power to thwart legisla- tion that looked to the crushing of the rebellion ; 3 but the patriotic majority went steadily forward in their efforts to save, the Republic. When the battle occurred, they had under consideration a declaratory resolution concerning the object of the war on the part of the government, and while the capital was filled with, fugitives from the shattered National army, and it was believed by many that the seat of government was at the mercy of its enemies, Qongress deliberated as calmly as if assm-ed of perfect safety, adopted the Declaratory Resolution, 4 and made thorough provisions for prosecuting the war vigorously. The same faith and patriotic action were soon visible among the loyal people. Their despondency was momentary. Almost immediately they recovered from the stunning blow to their hopes and desires. They awakened from the delusive and dangerous dream that their armies were absolutely invincible. There was at once another wonderful uprising of the Unionists, and while the Confederates were wasting golden moments of opportunity in celebrating their victory, thousands of young men were seen flocking toward the National capi- tal to join the great Army of Defense. Within a fortnight after the battle just recorded, when the terms of service of the " three months men " had 1 From Manassas Junction lie telegraphed, saying: "Night has closed upon a hard-fought field. Our forces were victorious. The enemy was routed, and fled precipitately, abandoning a large amount of arms, ammunition, knapsacks, and baggage. The ground was strewn for miles with those killed, and the farm-houses and the grounds around were filled with the wounded." " Our force," he said, " was 1 5,000 ; that of the enemy estimated at 30,000." This was not only an exaggeration, but a misrepresentation. From the most reliable authorities on both sides, it appears that, in the final struggle, the Nationals had about 13,000 men, and the Confederates about 27,000. The latter had been receiving re-enforcements all day, while not a man crossed Bull's Run after twelve o'clock at noon to re-enforce the Nationals. 8 Page 560. 8 Page 549. Slidell, Yulee, and other Senators, remained for some time, for the avowed pur- pose of preventing legislation that might strengthen the hands of the government. 4 J. J. Crittenden offered the following joint resolution : " That the present deplorable Civil "War has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt against the constitutional government, and in arms around the capital; that in this National emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to its country ; that this war is not waged on our part in any spirit of oppression, not for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established usages of those States; but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired ; and as soon as these objects are accomplished, the war ought to cease." This resolution was adopted by an almost unanimous vote in both Houses of Congress. It alarmed the conspirators, for it positively denied those false allegations with which they had deceived the people. They were so fearful that their dupes might see it and abandon their bad cause, that no newspaper in the Confederacy, it is said, was allowed to publish the fact. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 571 expired, more than an equal number of volunteers were in the camp or in the field, engaged for "three years or the war." Nine-tenths of the non-com- batants shared in the faith and fervor of those who took up arms, and the people of the Free-labor States presented a spectacle difficult to comprehend. That terrible crisis in the life of the nation was promptly met, and the salva- tion of the Republic was assured. At the same time that " United South " against the government, which the conspirators had falsely proclaimed months before, now became a reality. The prestige of victory, the pressure of a ter- rible despotism, and the menaces of banishment and confiscation acts, passed by the Confederate " Congress," together with the prospect of the establish- ment of a new nation, suddenly carved by the sword out of the Republic, with whose fortunes it seemed their duty and interest to link themselves, so affected the great body of the Unionists at the South, that they yielded to necessity, and the voice of opposition was speedily hushed into silence. 1 On the day after the Battle of Ball's Run [July 22, 1861], General McClel- lan, whose troops had been successful in Western Virginia,* was called to the command of the army at Washington. He at once set about the reorganiza- tion of that broken force with skill and industry. It was perfected by the middle of October, when seventy-five thousand well-armed 3 and fairly disci- plined troops were in a condition to be placed in active service in the field. McClellan's moral power was then tremendous. He had the confidence of the army and the whole country, and he was called a " Young Napoleon." And when, on the 1st of November, General Scott resigned his position, and on his recommendation his place as General-in-Chief was filled by the appointment of McClellan, 4 that act was hailed as a promise of a speedy termination of the rebellion, for he had said that the war should be " short, sharp, and decisive." He spent the remainder of the autumn, and the whole winter, in making preparations for a campaign for the capture of Richmond ; and when, at the beginning of March, his force, which was called the GKAND ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, was put in motion, it numbered 220,000 men. 5 In the mean time, 1 The pressure brought to bear on the Union men was terrible, and the youth of that class were driven into the army by thousands, because of the social proscription to which they were subjected. The zeal of the women in the cause of rebellion was unbounded, and their influence was extremely potential. Young men who hesitated when asked to enlist, or even waited to be asked, were shunned and sneered at by the young women ; and many were the articles of women's apparel which were sent, as significant gifts, to these laggards at home. Men who still dared to stand firm in their true allegiance were denounced as "traitors to their country," and treated as such. 2 Page 563. 3 We have observed [page 549] that Secretary Floyd, in preparation for the rebellion, had stripped the arsenals and armories of the Free-labor States, and filled those of the Slave-labor States. It was necessary for the government to send to Europe for arms. For that purpose Colonel George L. Schuyler, of General "Wool's staff, was dispatched [July, 1861], and he pur- chased 116,000 rifles, 10,000 revolvers, 10,000 cavalry carbines, and 21,000 sabers, at an aggregate cost of little over $2,000,000. Impediments were at first cast in the way of hia purchase of arms in England and France, the sympathy of those governments being with the conspirators. He purchased the greater portion of them in Vienna and Dresden. * See General Orders, No. 94^ November 1, 1861. * Of this number, about thirty thousand were sick or absent. Among the latter class were several hundred prisoners captured at Bull's Run and Ball's Bluff, on the Upper Potomac. Tha prison-life of captives among the Confederates was often very terrible. 572 THE NATION. [1861. the Confederate army, under Johnston, lying between Washington City and Richmond, not more than 40,000 strong at any time, had remained undisturbed, and Washington City had been made impregnable by the erection around it of no less than fifty-two forts and redoubts. While the process of reorganizing the Army of the Potomac was going on, the war was making rapid progress west of the Alleghanies, and especially in Missouri We left General Lyon, victorious, at Booneville, 1 and the fugitive insurgents, under Price and Jack- son, in the south- western part of the State. While Lyon was pursu- ing the main body of the insurgents, another Union force, under Colo- nel Franz Sigel, an ac- complished German sol- dier, was pushing for- ward from St. Louis, by way of Rolla. When he heard of the flight of the insurgents toward the borders of Arkansas, he pressed on in that direction, passing through Springfield and Sarcoxie, and near Carthage he fell in Avith the main body of the Confederates, much superior to him in numbers, and espe- cially in horsemen. Sigel had more cannon than his foe, but, in a sharp engagement that ensued [July 5, 1861], the overwhelming force of the insur- gents pushed him back, and he retreated in good order to Springfield. To FORTIFICATIONS IN AND AROUND WASHINGTON CITY. Page 567, 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. that point Lyon hastened when he heard of the apparent peril that threatened Sigel, and on the 13th he took command of the united forces. Meanwhile the insurgent Missourians had been largely re-enforced by troops from Texas and Arkansas, and at the chose of July the combined force, about 20,000 strong (a large proportion cavalry), under Generals Price, Ben McCulloch, Pearce, Rains, and McBride, were marching on Springfield. Lyon's force did not exceed 6,000 men (400 cavalry) and eighteen cannon. Feeble as he was, Lyon went out to meet the advancing foe. In a beauti- ful valley, at a place called Dug Springs, nineteen miles from Springfield, he met, fought, and vanquished his enemies, under McCulloch and Rains. So desperate were the charges of a few of Lyon's cavalry, under Stanley, that 'Confederate prisoners inquired : " Are they men or devils ?" Lyon returned to Springfield [August 4], and a few days later [August 9] the Confederate army, under the general command of McCulloch, wearied and half-starved, encamped at Wilson's Creek, about ten miles south of the town. Lyon again went out to meet them, marching his little force in two columns, before dawn the next morning [August 10]; one led by himself, to attack their front, and the other by Sigel, to fall upon their rear. A battle opened at an early hour. The brunt of it fell upon Lyon's column, for Sigel's, deceived by a trick, 1 was early dispersed or captured. Lyon's troops, inspired by their leader, fought great odds with vigor and gallantry. The commander was everywhere seen, encouraging his men, until at about nine o'clock in the morning he fell mor- tally wounded, and was succeeded in command by Major Sturgis. The battle ceased at eleven o'clock, when the Nationals were victorious. It was not safe for them to remain on the field of victory, nor to risk another encounter, so, on the following morning [July 11], the whole Union force, led by Sigel, retreated in good order toward Rolla, safely conducting to that place a government train valued at a million and a half dollars. The loyal civil authorities of Missouri were now striving against powerful influences to keep the State from the vortex of secession. The popular conven- tion, 2 which reassembled at Jefferson City on the 22d of July, declared the government of which the traitor Jackson was the head to be illegal, and organized a provisional government for service until a permanent one should be formed by the people. Meanwhile, Reynolds, Jackson's lieutenant-governor, issued a proclamation at New Madrid, as acting chief magistrate, in which he declared the State to be separated from the Union, and that, by " invitation of Governor Jackson," General Pillow had entered Missouri at the head of Ten- nessee troops, to act in conjunction with M. Jeff. Thompson, a native leader, in upholding the secession movement. Jackson was then in Richmond, nego- 1 Sigel's force was composed- of twelve hundred men and six guns. He marched so stealthily that the first intimation the Confederates had of his presence was the bursting of the shells from his guns over Rains's camp. The Confederates fled, and Sigel took possession of their position, when it was reported that some of Lyon's column were approaching. When these, dressed like Sigel's men (they were Confederates in disguise), were within less than musket-shot distance of the latter, they opened a destructive fire upon the Unionists with cannon and small arms, spreading consternation ha his ranks. He lost all but about three hundred men and one field-piece. * Page 565. 574 THE NATION. [1861. tiating with the conspirators for the annexation of Missouri to the Confederacy ; and the vain and shallow Pillow 1 assumed the pompous title of " Liberator of Missouri? dating his orders and dispatches, " Head-Quarters Army of Libera- tion." Although the conditions of annexation were not complied with, men claiming to represent Missouri performed the farce of occupying seats in the so-called "Congress" of the conspirators at Richmond during a greater portion of the war. At this critical juncture, John C. Fremont, 2 who had lately returned from Europe with some arms for his government, and bearing the commission of Major-General, was appointed to the command of the "Western Department, with his head-quarters at St. Louis. He found every thing in confusion, and much that was needed for the public service. He went vigorously at work in the important duty assigned him. He fortified St. Louis, and took measures for making the important posts of Cairo and Bird's Point 3 absolutely secure, for these were menaced by Pillow and his associates. These measures alarmed the disloyal inhabitants and the invading troops, but when the retreat of the Nationals from Springfield and the death of Lyon 4 became known, the seces- sionists assumed a bold and defiant attitude. They gathered in armed bands throughout the State. The civil authority was helpless ; so Fremont, seeing no other way to secure the supremacy of the National government than by taking the whole power in his department into his own hands, declared mar- tial law [August 31, 1861], and warned the disaffected that it would be rigorously executed. He acted promptly in accordance with his declaration, and the insurgents began to quail, when his vigor was checked by his govern- ment. 5 Soon after the battle at Wilson's Creek, Price was abandoned by McCul- loch, with whom he could not agree, when he called upon the Missouri seces- sionists to fill his ranks, and early in September he was moving with a con- siderable force northward toward the Missouri River, in the direction of Lexington, where nearly three thousand National troops were collected, under Colonel J. A. Mulligan. Colonel Jefferson C. Davis was then at Jefferson City with a larger force, and General John Pope was hastening in the direction of Lexington from the region northward of the Missouri, with about five thousand men. Price, aware of danger near, pressed forward and laid siege to Lexington on the llth of September. Mulligan had cast up some intrenchments there, but his men had only about forty rounds of ammunition each, and his heavy arma- ment consisted of six small cannon and two howitzers the latter useless,. because he had no shells. Price had an overwhelming force, and opened fire on the 12th. Re-enforcements came to him, and the insurgents finally numbered 1 Page 666. * Pages 488 and 530. Page 566. * Page 573. 6 In his proclamation of martial law, Fremont declared that whoever should be found guilty of thereafter taking an active part with the enemies of the government in the field, should suffer the penalty of confiscation of their property to the public use, and have their slaves, if they pos- sessed any, made forever freemen. This raised a storm of indignation among the so-called Unionists of the Border Slave-labor States, whose good-will the government was then trying to secure, and that efficient measure against the rebellion, which, two years later, the government itself used, Fremont was then forbidden to employ. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. about twenty-five thousand men. Mulligan and his little band made a gallant defense until the morning of the 20th [September, 1861], when he was compelled to surrender. 1 He had held out with hopes of success, but when re-enforce- ments approached it was too late for them to penetrate to his lines. This disaster was severely felt, and on the 27th of September Fremont put in motion an army of more than twenty thousand men for the purpose of retrieving it, and driving Price and his insurgents out of the State. While these events were occurring in the heart of Missouri, important ones were taking place in Kentucky. Governor Magoffin 8 encouraged the seces- sionists as much as he dared. He allowed them to establish recruiting camps for the Confederate army ; and when the loyal Legislature of the State assem- bled [September 2] he and his political associates, fearing the adverse action of that body, looked with complacency upon the invasion of the State, and the seizure of the strong position of Columbus [September 6], on the Mississippi, by Confederate troops under General (Bishop) Polk. In defiance of their avowed respect for the neutrality of Kentucky, the conspirators at Richmond sanctioned the movement, 3 and thus opened the way for the horrors of war, which filled Kentucky with distress. Columbus was held by the Confederates. The Legislature requested the Governor to call out the militia of the State " to expel and drive out the invaders," and asked the General Government to aid in the work. The Governor resisted, but was compelled to yield. General An- derson, 4 in command there, at once prepared to act vigorously, and General Ulysses S. Grant, then in command in the district around Cairo, took military possession of Paducah, at the mouth of the Tennessee River. Thus ended the " neutrality " of Kentucky, which proved so disastrous to that State. Too late to avoid the consequences of that folly, the State now took a positive stand for the Union, and avoided many evils. Felix K. Zollicoffer, formerly a member of Congress, invaded Kentucky from East Tennessee (where the Unionists were horribly persecuted) 5 on the 1 The private soldiers were paroled and the officers were held as prisoners of war. Mulligan lost 40 killed and 120 wounded. Price's loss was 25 killed and 75 wounded. The spoils were 6 cannon, 2 howitzers, 3,000 stand of small arms, 750 horses, a large quantity of equipage, and commissary stores valued at $100,000. s Page 565. 3 Some of the partisans of Davis, South and North, denied that he ever sanctioned this viola- tion of the pledged faith of the Confederates to respect the neutrality of Kentucky. The proof that he did so is undeniable. His so-called Secretary of War, as a cover to the iniquity, tele- graphed publicly to Polk, directing him to withdraw his troops from Kentucky soil. At the same time, Davis himself, with supreme power, telegraphed privately to Polk, saying : " The necessity must justify the act." For the proof, see Lossing's Pictorial History of the Civil War, II. 75. 4 The defender of Fort Sumter [page 550] had been promoted to brigadier, and was then in command in Kentucky. * Jefferson Davis was quick to act upon the authority given him by the confiscation and ban- ishment acts of his " Congress." In districts such as East Tennessee, and other mountain regions, where the blight of slavery was little known, the people were generally loyal to their government. "When the Confederates held sway in such districts, the keenest cruelties were practiced upon the Union inhabitants. East Tennesseans were peculiar sufferers on that account through a greater portion of the war. Loyalists were hunted, not only by armed men, but by bloodhounds, with which fugitive slaves were pursued.* They were taken to military camps, abused by mobs, * In the Memphis Appeal appeared an advertisement, In the autumn of 1861, for " fifty well-bred " and " one pair of thoroughbred bloodhounds, that will take the track of a man. The purpose," said the advertisement, " for which these doars are wanted, Is to chase the infernal, cowardly Lincoln bushwhackers [Unionists! of East Ten- nessee and Kentucky to their haunts, and capture them." This was signed by F. N. McNairy and H. H. Harris. Confederate officers in camp. -*/, THE NATION [1861 Of O day after Polk seized Columbus, 1 and Buckner, already mentioned as the cor- rupter of the patriotism of the young men of that State, 2 who had established a camp in Tennessee just below the Kentucky border, acting in co-operation with the two invaders, attempted to seize Louisville, but was foiled by the vigilance of Anderson and the troops under him. Buckner advanced as far as Eltzabethtown, but was compelled to fall back to Bowling Green, on the Nash- ville and Louisville railway, where he established an intrenched camp, and made it the nucleus of a powerful force gathered there soon afterward. Let us turn again for a moment to the consideration of affairs in Missouri We have observed that Fremont set a heavy force in motion to drive the Confederates out of Missouri. He had formed a general plan for driving them out of the Mississippi Valley, and re-opening the navigation of the great stream which the insurgents had obstructed by batteries. 3 It was to capture or disperse the forces under Price, and seize Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, and so completely turn the position of the forces under Pillow and others, as to cut oif their supplies from that region and compel them to retreat, when a flotilla of gun-boats, then in preparation near St. Louis, could easily descend the river and assist in military operations against Memphis. If the latter should be successful, the army and navy might push on and take possession of New Orleans. Fremont accompanied his army in the initial movement of his plan, namely, against Price, and on the llth of October, when well on his way toward Arkansas, his forces marching in five columns, 4 he wrote : " My plan is New Orleans straight. I would precipitate the war forward, and end it soon and victoriously." But he was not allowed to carry out his plan, and at Springfield, where his body-guard, under Zagonyi, had made one of the most memorable charges on record upon the strong foe, 5 he was superseded in com- mand by General David Hunter, and the army, instead of going forward, marched sadly back toward St. Louis at the middle of November. Meanwhile detachments of Fremont's army, under various leaders, had been doing gallant service against bands of insurgents in various parts of Missouri, the most nota- ble of which were contests with M. Jeif. Thompson and his guerrillas, in the eastern part of the State, who were defeated and dispersed in October, chiefly by Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana troops. thrust into prisons, and some were hanged for no other crime than active loyalty to their govern- ment. Among the most notable of these sufferers in East Tennessee was Rev. Dr. Brownlow, a leading citizen, who had been a political editor at Knoxville for many years, was very influential as a citizen, and was feared and hated by the Confederates. His sufferings, and those of his fellow-patriots, form the subject of a volume from his pen, of great interest. At the close of the war he was elected Governor of the State (having been appointed Provisional Governor), and in 1861 ha was re-elected by an immense majority of the legal voters of Tennessee. 1 Page 575. " Page 565. 8 So early as the 12th of January, 1861, three days after a convention of politicians in Missis- sippi had declared that State severed from the Union. Governor Pettus directed a battery to be planted at Vicksburg, with orders to hail and examine every vessel that should attempt to pass. Other batteries were soon planted there f and upon other bluffs in the river, and for more than two years the commerce of the Mississippi was suspended. 4 Commanded respectively by Generals David Hunter, John Pope, Franz Sigel, J. McKinstry, and A, Ashboth. 6 Zagonyi charged upon nearly two thousand infantry and cavalry with one hundred and fifty of his men, routed the foe, and came out of the conflict with eighty-four of his little band dead or wounded. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 5^ Before being deprived of his command, Fremont, in pursuance of his plan, directed General Grant to make a co-operative movement on the line of the Mississippi River. Grant determined to threaten Columbus 1 by attacking Belmont, on the Missouri shore opposite, to prevent Polk assisting Thompson. With about 3,000 troops (mostly Illinois volunteers, under General John A. Mc- Clernand), in transports, accompanied by the wooden gun-boats Tyler and Lex- ington, he went down the Mississippi from Cairo, while another force was march- ing from Paducah 2 toward the rear of Columbus, under General Charles F. Smith, to divert Folk's attention from the river expedition. That expedition suddenly and unexpectedly appeared just above Columbus on the morning of the 7th of November, when the gun-boats opened fire on Folk's batteries. The troops were landed on the Missouri shore, three miles above Belmont, and immediately marched upon that place. Polk sent over troops under General Pillow to re-enforce the garrison there. A sharp engagement en- sued, and the Nationals were victorious, but the ground being commanded by the batteries on the bluifs at Columbus, it was untenable, and Grant withdrew. Polk determined not to allow him to escape. He opened upon the retiring troops some of his heaviest guns, sent LEONIDAS POLK. Cheatham to re-enforce Pillow, and then led over two regiments himself to swell the ranks of the pursuers. Grant fought his way back to his transports after suffering severely, 3 and re-embarked under cover of the gun-boats and escaped. The battle was gallantly fought on both sides, and many deeds of daring are recorded. Zollicoffer's invasion 4 aroused the Unionists of Eastern Kentucky, and they flew to arms under various leaders. In a picturesque region of the Cumber- laud Mountains, known as the Rock Castle Hills, they fought and repulsed him. Still farther eastward in Kentucky, loyalists under General William Nelson fought and dispersed a Confederate force under Colonel J. S. Williams, near Piketon. The latter fled to the mountains at Pound Gap, carrying away a large number of cattle. These successes inspired the East Tennessee loyal- ists with hopes of a speedy deliverance, but they were compelled to wait long for that consummation. The Confederates, toward the close of 1861, had obtained a firm foothold in Tennessee, and occupied a considerable portion of Southern Kentucky, from the mountains to the Mississippi River, along a line about four hundred miles in length. At the same time the Nationals were preparing to drive them southward. Let us now consider events in the vicinity and eastward of the Alleghany Mountains, and along the sea-coast. 1 Page 575. * Page 575. 1 Grant lost in killed, wounded, and missing, 485 men, and.Polk.632. 4 Page 575. 37 THE NATION. [1861. In the autumn of 1861 the Confederates struggled severely for the posses- sion of Western Virginia. General Robert E. Lee had been sent to take com- mand of the troops left by Garnett and Pegram in Northern Virginia. 1 He made his head-quarters at Huntersville, in Pocahontas County, and early in August [1861] he found himself at the head of about 16,000 troops. Floyd, the late Secretary of War,* had been commissioned a brigadier-general, and sent to the region of the Gauley River, with troops to re-enforce the incompe- tent Wise, and to take chief command. Floyd was expected to sweep down the Kanawha Valley, and drive General Cox across the Ohio, while Lee should scatter or capture the National forces under General Rosecrans in Northern Virginia, and open a way into Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Prepara- tory to these decisive movements, Floyd took position between Cox and Rose- crans at Carnifex Ferry, on the Gauley River, a few miles from Summersville, the capital of Nicholas County, leaving Wise to watch the region nearer the junction of the Gauley and New River, which form the Kanawha. Rosecrans had organized an army of nearly 10,000 men at Clarksburg, on the Baltimore and Ohio railway, and early in September he marched south- ward to attack Floyd, wherever he might be, leaving a force xinder General J. J. Reynolds to confront Lee in the Cheat Mountain region. With great labor Rosecrans's troops climbed over the Gauley Mountains, and on the 10th [Sept.], passing through Summersville, they fell upon the Confederates at Car- nifex Ferry. A severe battle for three or four hours ensued. It ceased at dusk. Rosecrans intended to renew it in the morning, but his foes fled under cover of the darkness, and did not halt until they reached the summit of Big Sewell Mountain, thirty miles distant. The battle at Carnifex Ferry was soon followed by stirring movements between Reynolds and Lee. The former was holding the roads and passes of the more westerly ranges of the great Alleghany chain, from Webster, on the Baltimore and Ohio railway, to the head-waters of the Gauley, crossing the spurs of the Greenbrier Mountains. When Rosecrans moved against Floyd, Reynolds was at the western foot of the mountains, not far from Huttonsville. Lee was farther south. His scouts were everywhere active, and it was evi- dent, early in September, that he contemplated an attack either upon Reynolds or Rosecrans. He was watched with sleepless vigilance, and on the day after the battle at Carnifex Ferry it was perceived that he was about to strike the Nationals at Elkwater and on the Summit, 3 for the purpose of securing the great Cheat Mountain Pass, through which lay the road to Staunton, and so obtain free communication with the Shenandoah Valley. His troops attacked the two posts just named [Sept. 12, 1861], and were repulsed. Lee then with- drew from the Cheat Mountain region and joined Floyd, between the Gauley and New River, where the combined forces under his command amounted 1 Page 563. Page 549. Here, as we have seen [page 563], General McClellan established a post, and left there an Indiana regiment, under Colonel Kimball. It was an important point on the great highway from Huttonsville, over the lofty ranges of mountains to Staunton. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. to about 20,000 men. There he was confronted by Rosecrans with about 10,000 men, composed of the brigades of Cox, Benham, and Schenck. Lee, whose campaign had been thus far a failure, was soon recalled and sent to Georgia. The wretched Wise was ordered to Richmond, and Floyd and Rosecrans again became competitors for victory. Floyd took post on the left or western bank of the New River late in October, from which he was driven [Nov. 12] by the forces under Rosecrans, and pursued about fifty miles southward. There Floyd took leave of his army, and a few months later he was seen in a disgraceful position at Fort Donelson, in Tennessee. Meanwliile General Kelley, who had recovered from his wounds, 1 was performing gallant service in defense of the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railway ; and on the 26th of October he struck the insurgents a blow at Romney that paralyzed the rebellion in that region. General Robert H. Milroy, who had succeeded Reynolds, was also active in the Cheat Mountain region, with his head- quarters, at first, at the Summit. In that vicinity he fought the Confederates under Colonel E. Johnston, of Georgia, and was repulsed. He was more suc- cessful in an expedition against the Confederates at Huntersville, Lee's old head-quarters. 5 He dispersed the insurgents there late in December, destroyed their stores, and released some Union prisoners. This event closed the cam- paign in Western Virginia in 1861. While the events we have just considered were occurring in Western Virginia and in the Mississippi Valley, others even more important in their relations to the great contest were occurring on the sea-coast. We have o o already considered some hostile movements in the vicinity of Fortress Monroe. 3 In Hampton Roads (the harbor in front of that fortress) and the then smoking ruins of Hampton Village, 4 a large land and naval armament was seen in August, 1861. It was designed for an expedition down the Atlantic coast, the land forces under General B. F. Butler* and the naval forces under Commodore Silas H. Stringham. Its destination was Hatteras Inlet, eighteen miles from Cape Hatteras, where the Confederates had erected two forts (Hatteras and Clarke) on the western end of Hatteras Island. The fleet, composed of trans- ports for the troops and war vessels, gathered off the Inlet toward the even- ing of the 27th of August, and on the following morning the navy opened fire on the forts and some of the land troops were put ashore. The assault was con- tinued at intervals by both arms of the service until the 29th, when the forts were formally surrendered to Stringham and Butler by S. Barron, who com- 1 Page 562. * Page 578. s Page 562. 4 After the battle at Big Bethel [page 562], General Butler abandoned the village of Hamp- ton, which he had previously occupied, and confined his troops to Fortress Monroe and Newport- Newce. The whole country between Old Point Comfort, on which Fortress Monroe lies, and Yorktown, was thus left open to Confederate rule. Magruder, with about 5,000 men, moved down the peninsula and took post near the village of Hampton, for the purpose of closely invest- ing the Fortress. Skirmishes ensued at Hampton bridge, and on the night of the 7th of August, Magruder, while drunken with liquor, ordered the village to be burnt The act was performed by Virginians. So wanton was it that the venerable parish church, standing out of danger from the flames of the town, was fired and destroyed. * General Butler was succeeded in the command at Fortress Monroe by the veteran General John E. Wool 580 THE NATION. [1861. FORT HATTERAS. manded a little squadron in Pamlico Sound, and Colonel Martin and Major Andrews, in command of the Confederate troops. 1 The post was then gar- risoned by a portion of Colonel Hawkins's New York Zouave regiment, and the expedition returned to Hampton Roads. General Butler was then eonv __ __^ missioned to go to New England to "raise, arm, uniform, and equip a vol- unteer force for the war." It was done. Their im- mediate services will be observed hereafter. Hawkins was re-en- forced in September by some Indiana troops, and early in October the lat- ter, then a few miles up the Island, were attacked and driven back to the forts by some Confederates, who came over in steamers from Roanoke Island. Meanwhile Hawkins had issued a conciliatory address to the neighboring inhabitants of North Carolina. A convention of loyal citizens was held [Oct. 12], who called another, when a statement of grievances and a declaration of their independence of the Confederate government of North Carolina was adopted [Nov. 18, 1861]. There was so much promise of good in this movement, that the President ordered an election there for a member of Congress. One was chosen [Nov. 27], but this germ of active loyalty was soon crushed by the heel of Confederate power. 2 But the substantial victory gained by the National forces was a severe blow to the cause of the conspirators, for it opened the way to most important results in favor of the National authorities, as we shall observe hereafter. During the summer of 1861, Fort Pickens and its vicinity were witnesses of stirring scenes. We have observed that the fort was saved from capture early in the year through the vigilance and bravery of Lieutenant Slemmer and his little garrison, and that it was re-enforced. 3 The troops that first went to the relief of Slemmer [April 12, 1861] were marines from the government ves- 1 Barren was a naval officer who had abandoned his flag and joined the insurgents. The cap- tives received the treatment of prisoners of war. They were taken to New York, and afterward exchanged. Not one of the soldiers of the attacking fleet or army was injured in the fray. The loss of the Confederates was twelve or fifteen killed and thirty-five wounded. 3 This movement was brought prominently before the citizens of New York by Eev. M. N. Taylor, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, at a meeting over which Mr. Ban- croft, the historian, presided. Taylor said that "some 4,000 of the inhabitants living on the narrow strip of land on the coast had, on the first arrival of the troops, flocked to take the oath of allegiance, and this had cut them off from their scanty resources of traffic with the interior. They were a poor race," he said, "living principally by fishing and gathering of yoakum, an evergreen of spontaneous growth, which they dried and exchanged for corn." The yoakum is a plant which is extensively used in that region as a substitute for tea. The appeal of Mr. Taylor in behalf of these people was nobly responded to by generous gifts of money, food, and clothing. 3 See note 6, page 559. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 581 sels Sabine and St. Louis, lying off the fort, and artillerymen under Captain Vogdes, from the Brooklyn} They were there just in time to co-operate with a loyal man at the Navy Yard in saving the fort from capture. 5 The garrison was again re-enforced, a few days later, by several hundred troops under Colo- nel Harvey Brown, who took the command, and Slemmer was furloughed for rest. Still later, while Bragg was gathering a large force in the vicinity, more troops were sent to defend the post. These were the New York Sixth regi- ment (Zouaves), Colonel William Wilson, who were encamped [June] on Santa Rosa Island, on which Fort Pickens stands. Early in October the Con- federates on the main attempted to surprise and capture them. It was done in the dark, with the cry of " Death to Wilson ! No quarter !" J The assailed FORT PICKENS. Zouaves fought desperately in the gloom, and with the aid of help from the fort, under Majors Vogdes and Arnold, the invaders, after burning Wilson's camp, were driven to their boats with a loss of one hundred and fifty men, including some who were drowned. The Nationals lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners, sixty-four men. 1 Lieutenant "Worden, of the Navy, was sent by the government overland with a message to the commander of the fleet off Pensacola, directing the re-enforcement of Pickens. On his return he was treacherously used by Bragg, and suffered a long captivity, as a prisoner of war. in the jail at Montgomery. a This was Richard Wilcox. The Confederates were in possession of the Navy Yard at War- rington, opposite Fort Pickens, where Wilcox, unsuspected of loyalty, was employed as a watch- man. He discovered that one of Slemmer's sergeants was in complicity with the Confederate commander in a plan for capturing the fort. Wilcox found means to apprise Slemmer of the fact. It was to have been executed on the night after Worden's arrival. 8 It was the general impression that Wilson's Zouaves were composed of New York " roughs," nd the Southern people were taught to believe that they were sent for the purposes of plunder nd rapine. 582 THE NATION. [1861, Fort Pickens had been silent since the spring-time. Late in November its utterances were heard for miles along the Gulf coast, mingled with the thun- der of cannon on war-vessels, co-operating in an attack upon the forts and batteries of the Confederates on the Florida main, then manned by about seven thousand troops under Bragg. The fort, and the steamers Niagara and Rich- mond, opened on the Confederate works on the morning of the 22d of Novem- ber. In the course of forty-eight hours, the heavy guns of the foe were silenced, and most v of the Navy Yard, and the villages of Wolcott and War- rington, adjoining, were laid in ashes by shells from the fort. After that there was quiet in Pensacola Bay until the first of January [1862], when another artillery duel occurred, lasting about twelve hours, but with little effect. Farther westward along the Gulf coast little sparks of war were seen at this time. The most notable of these was occasioned by a collision at the mouth of the Mississippi River [October 12], between the National blockading squadron, at the Southwest Pass, and a flotilla under Captain Hollins, of Grey- town notoriety. 1 By a telegraphic dispatch to the conspirators at Richmond, that startled the whole country, Hollins claimed a great victory, when the fact was that the only damage he had inflicted on his foe was slight bruises on a coal-barge, while he was driven up the river to Fort Jackson in great terror, because of the danger of his being caught and hanged as a traitor. 2 He was in command of a ram 3 called Manassas, which promised to be formidable in competent hands, and this fact hastened preparations for sending an expedition to Jhe Lower Mississippi. There was another land and naval armament in Hampton Roads in October, more formidable and imposing than the one seen there in August. 4 There were fifty Avar-vessels and transports, and on the latter were 15,000 troops, under General T. W. Sherman. The fleet was commanded by Commodore S. F. Du- pont, and all went to sea on a beautiful autumnal day (October 29, 1861), the flag-ship Wabash leading. Their des- tination was unknown to all but the chief commander, but each ship carried 1 See note 3, page 522. 9 The following is a copy of the dispatch, dated at Fort Jackson, below New Orleans, Octo- ber 12. 1861: "Last night I attacked the blockaders with my little fleet. I succeeded, after a very short struggle, in driving them all aground on the Southwest Pass bar, except the Preble, which I su;,k. I captured a prize from them, and after they were fast in sand, I peppered them well. There were no casualties on our side. It was a complete success. HOLLINS." This dis- patch and the facts caused the silly Hollins to be " peppered " well with ridicule. * A " ram " was an iron-clad vessel with a long, strong, sharp-pointed iron beak extending from its bow, by which, when the vessel, impelled by steam, was in full motion, another might be pushed, penetrated, and sunk. These were very formidable weapons of war on the rivers. 4 See page 579. S. F. DUPONT. 18G1.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 588 sealed orders, to be opened in the event of a dispersion. That contingency occurred. The expedition had just passed Cape Hattoras, when a terrible storm arose, and on the morning of the 2d of November only one of the other ves- sels might be seen from the deck of the flag-ship. 1 The sealed orders were opened. These directed a general rendezvous off Port Royal entrance on the coast of South Carolina, and there all of the vessels, excepting four trans- ports, were gathered around their leader by the evening of the 4th. The four transports had been lost, but no life was sacrificed, in the great storm. Port Royal entrance is between Hilton Head and Phillip's Island, and on each was a fort that commanded the channel. In Port Royal Sound was a small flotilla under Commodore Tattnall, and this, with the land troops who garrisoned the forts, comprised the obstacles to the entrance of the expedition. These were soon removed. On the morning of the 7th [Nov. 1861] every thin^ was in readiness. Dupont's war-vessels moved in, and, making an elliptical course, poured upon the forts 8 a storm of shell that soon silenced them. Tatt- nall's little fleet fled to the shelter of narrower waters ; the land troops under Generals Wright and Stevens went on shore and took possession, and the Con- federates abandoned the region and hastened to the main. The National forces took possession of Beaufort and the surrounding islands which the white peo- ple had abandoned, 3 and the last effort of the Confederates to defend them was at Port Royal Ferry, where, after a severe engagement [January 1, 1862], they were defeated and dispersed. Du- p 1 ont, meanwhile, had taken possession of Tybee Island, at the mouth of the Savan- nah River, without opposition ; and at the close of 1861 the National authority was supreme over the coast islands, from "Wassaw Sound to the North Edisto River, well up toward Charleston. At about the same time an ineffectual attempt was made to temporarily close the harbor of Charleston, as a part of the method of blockade, by sinking vessels laden with stones in its channels of ap- PORT ROYAL FERRY. 1 This storm gave great hope of disaster to the National cause, among the Confederates, to whom the departure of the expedition was known. They declared that the elements were assist- ing them. "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera," said a jubilant Richmond journal, and added, " So the winds of heaven fight for the good cause of Southern Independence. Let the Deborahs of the South sing a song of deliverance." 8 The work on Hilton Head was named Fort Walker, in honor of tho Confederate " Secretary of War;" and that on Bay Point of Phillip's Island, Fort Beauregard, in honor of an insurgent leader. 3 The negroes, generally, remained, excepting those whose masters had compeU accompany them in their flight. Those who remained were soon organized into industrial raunities, and a large quantity of the valuable "Sea-Island Cotton," which tho owners had i burnt on leaving, was secured. The faith of the slaves in the National government^ and Ui belief that the invaders were their friends, and were to be their deliverers from bondage, w here first exhibited in a remarkable degree. They had been assured tliat the ' \ankc the inhabitants of the Free-labor States were.called, were coming to steal them and sell THE NATION. [1861. proach. 1 While the " stone fleet," as these vessels were called, was approach- ing, a fearful conflagration laid a large portion of the city of Charleston in ruins. Let us now turn from the sea-coast, and observe the ctirrent of events at and near the National capital. The new organization of the Army of the Potomac, as we have observed, 9 was perfected at the middle of October. The Confederates, under Johnston, were yet lying in comparative inactivity near the field of their victory at Bull's Run, in July, 3 with the head-quarters of their leader at Centreville. Because of a lack of cavalry and adequate subsistence, Johnston had been compelled to lie idle, and see the army of his opponent grow immensely in the space of a few weeks. He knew it would be simple rashness to do as the shal- low Beauregard desired, and attack the intrenched Nationals at Washington ; and because of the interference of Davis, as Confederate experts say, he had not the means for executing his favorite scheme of crossing the Potomac into Maryland, and taking the National capital jn reverse. So for several months these principal armies of the combatants lay within thirty miles of each other, without coming into a general collision. The people on both sides became impatient of delay. In the hearts of the loyalists still burned the desire which had given to their lips the cry of " On to Richmond !" but the memory of the disasters at Bull's Run 4 made them circumspect and quiet. From time to time they were cheered by rumors and movements which promised an immediate advance. There were grand reviews, active drills, and sometimes skirmishes with the Confederates, whose audacity became amazing as the autumn advanced and the Nationals remained quiet. Their pickets approached within cannon-shot of Washington City, and for weeks they held Munson's Hill, where their flag might be seen from the dome of the Capitol. We have observed 5 that the Confederate batteries blockaded the Potomac. So early as June [1861] the Navy Department had called the attention of the military authorities to the possibility and danger of such an event, but noth- ing was done to prevent it until the close of September, when Confederate bat- teries were planted along the Virginia shore of the stream. Preparations were then made by McClellan to act in conjunction with the gun-boats on the Potomac in removing these perilous obstructions, but his delays, and his failure to co-operate with the naval force at the proper moment, paralyzed all efforts, and that blockade, so disgraceful to the government, and especially to the great army near the capital, was continued until the Confederates voluntarily evacuated their position in front of Washington, in March following. worse bondage in Cuba; and horrible tales were told to them of the "Northerners," who were described as monsters intent upon killing them and burying them in the sand. But that simple people did not believe a word of these tales. They universally believed that the Lord had sent the " Yankees " to take them out of bondage ; and when our ships appeared, they were seen with little bundles of clothing on the shores, desinng to go on board. 1 The "stone fleet" was composed of twenty-five old vessels, chiefly whalers, which sailed from New England heavily laden with granite. These were sunken in the four channels, but were soon removed by the currents or lost in quicksands, for their presence was scarcely percep- tible after a few days. 8 Page 571. 8 Page 569. * Page 570. 5 Page 565. 18G1 -] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION The Army of the Potomac was judiciously posted for offensive or defensive measures from Budd's Ferry, on the Lower Potomac, to Poolesville, near the Upper Potomac. As it increased in numbers, it needed more space on the Vir- ginia side of the river than the narrow strip between the Potomac and the Confederate outposts. Measures were accordingly taken for pushing back the foe, and these resulted in skirmishes. One occurred near Lewinsville [Sept. 12, 1861] between the National troops, under General W. F. Smith, and Confede^ rates, under Colonel J. E. B. Stuart, afterward the famous cavalry leader, 1 in which the Nationals were victors. A little later [September 15] some Confed- erates crossed the Potomac and attacked troops under Colonel J. W. Geary, not far from Darnestown, in Maryland, and were repulsed. Emboldened by successes, the Nationals advanced, and at the middle of October they per- manently occupied a Hue from Fairfax Court House well up toward Lees- burg. The Confederates retired from Munson's Hill [Sept. 28] and other advanced posts, 1 and fell back to Centreville without firing a shot. Early in October some National troops crossed the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, 8 to seize some wheat at mills near there belonging to the Confederates. Menaced by approaching foes, they called for help. Colonel Geary led six hun- dred men to their aid, and on the hills back of the village of Harper's Ferry, he had a severe contest [Oct. 16, 1861] with a superior force on his front and the heights near. He finally repulsed his foe, and the whole invading force recrossed the river into Maryland. This movement Avas speedily followed by a more important one. For some time the left wing of the Confederate army under General Evans had been lying at Leesburg, confronted by a considera- ble National force under General Charles P. Stone, encamped between Conrad's and Edward's ferries, on the Upper Potomac. On being informed (errone- ously) that the Confederates had left the vicinity of Leesburg, McClellan ordered General McCall to make a reconnoissance from Drainsville in that direction, and telegraphed to Stone to aid the movement by a feint indicative of an intention to cross, with his whole force. This was done at both ferries, and a part of a Massachusetts regiment, under Colonel Devens, was ordered to Harrison's Island, in the Potomac, abreast of Ball's Bluff. A reserve of three thousand men, under Colonel E. D. Baker, a member of the National Senate, acting as brigadier, was held in readiness to cross promptly, if necessary. Misinformed concerning the position of the Confederates, and supposing McCall to be near to assist, if necessary, Stone ordered some Massachusetts troops, under Colonels Devens and Lee, to cross to the Virginia main from Har- rison's Island. They found no foe between Ball's Bluff and Leesburg. But Evans was near in strong force, watching them, and at little past noon [Oct. 1 For several weeks the Confederate works on Munson's Hill had been looked upon with much respect, because of their apparently formidable character. They were really slight earth- structures, inclosing, by an irregular iine around the brow of the hill, about four acres of ground, and the principal armament, which had inspired the greatest awe, consisted of one stove-pipe and two logs, the latter with a black disc painted on the middle of the sawed end of each, giving them the appearance, at a short distance, of the muzzles of 100-pounder Parrottguns! These "Quaker guns," like similar ones at Manassas, had for six weeks defied the Army of the Potomac. * Page 557. 586 THE NATION. [1861. 21, 1861] lie assailed the invading troops, who had fallen back to the vicinity of Ball's Bluff. Baker had already been sent with reserves to Harrison's Island, clothed with discretionary power to withdraw the other troops, or re-enforce them. Supposing the force under McCall and others to be near, he concluded to go forward. On reaching the field, he took the chief command by virtue of his rank, and was soon afterward instantly killed. 1 His troops, unsupported, 8 were overwhelmed by a superior force, and pushed back in great disorder toward the bluff. They were driven down the declivity at twilight, where, unable to cross the swollen flood for want of transportation, they fought desperately a short time, when they were overpowered, and a large number were made prisoners. Many perished in trying to escape. 5 The entire National loss was full a thousand men, and two pieces of cannon. It was a disaster inexplicable to the public mind. An explanation was loudly called for, but the General-in-Chief declared that an inquiry " at that time would be injurious to the public service." It was stifled, and General Stone, whom McClellan at the time acquitted of all blame, 4 was afterward made a victim to appease the popular indignation. 5 1 Eye- witness said that a tail, red-haired man suddenly emerged from the smoke, and when within five feet of Baker discharged into his body the contents of a self-cocking revolving pistol, and at the same moment a bullet pierced his skull just behind his ear. His death produced a profound sensation, and public honors were paid to his memory afterward. He was one of the most eloquent men in the National Senate. 2 McClellan had ordered McCall,- the previous evening, to fall back to Drainsville. He neg- lected to inform Stone of this order. Had he done so. Baker would have recalled the troops on the Virginia side, and the disaster at Ball's Bluff would have been prevented. 3 Only one- large flat-boat was there, and that, with an overload of wounded and others, at the beginning of its first voyage, was riddled by bullets and sunk. The smaller vessels had dis- appeared in the gloom, and there was no means of escape for the Unionists but by swimming. Some, attempting this, were shot in the water, others were drowned, and a few escaped. 4 On the evening of October 22, 1861, McClellan, who had gone to the head-quarters of Stone, telegraphed to the President, saying, "I have investigated this matter, and General Stone is without blame." 5 A hundred days after the battle, when General Stone, in command of about 12,000 men, was preparing to strike the Confederates under D. H. Hill, lying opposite his camp, he was arrested at midnight in Wash- ington City, by order of General McClellan, who directed him to be conveyed immediately to Fort Lafayette, near New York, then used as a prison for persons charged with treasonable acts. There he was kept in close confinement fifty-four days, when he was transferred to Fort Hamilton, near. He was released on the 16th of August, ISO!?, but for nearly a year afterward he was denied em- ployment in the field. General Stone was never informed why he was arrested, and no charge FORT LAFAYETTE. of misconduct of any kind was ever officially made against him. He appears to have been made a scape-goat for the sins of his superiors. Without any apparent cause, that faithful officer and zealous friend 'of the country was made to suffer, unjustly, the cruel suspicion of being a traitor For a full vindication of his loyalty, made upon evidence, see Los- sing's Pictorial History of the Civil War, il 146. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION 537 For the space of nearly two months after the disaster at Ball's Bluff, the public ear was daily teased with the unsatisfactory report : " All is quilt on the Potomac !" The roads leading toward the Confederate camps near Bull's Run were never in better condition. The entire autumn had been a maornifi- O cent one in Virginia. Regiment after regiment was rapidly swelling the ranks of the Army of the Potomac to the number of two hundred thousand men, thoroughly equipped and fairly disciplined, while at no time did any reliable report make the number of the Confederate army over sixty thousand. Plain people wondered why so few, whom politicians called "ragamuffins" and a " mob," could so tightly hold the National capital in a state of siege, while so lar^e a number of " the bravest and- best men of the North " were in and O around it. But what did plain people know about war? Therefore it was that when, late in December, the " quiet on the Potomac " was slightly dis- turbed by General E. O. C. Ord, who, with his brigade, fought a smaller number of Confederate foragers [Dec. 20, 1861], under J. E. B. Stewart, near Drainsville, and whipped them soundly, after a severe contest, the loyal people were delighted, for it gave them assurance that the Army of the Potomac was ready to fight bravely, whenever permitted to encounter the foe. While the friends of the government were anxiously waiting for the almost daily promised movement of the Grand Army toward Richmond as the year [1861] was drawing to a close, and hearts were growing sick with hope deferred, two events, each having an important bearing on the war, were in progress : one directly affecting the issue, and the other affecting it incidentally, but powerfully. One was an expedition that made a permanent lodgment of the National power on the coast of North Carolina, and the other was inti- mately connected with the foreign relations of the government. Let us first consider the last-mentioned event. We have already observed that the conspirators, at an early period of their operations, sent commissioners to Europe to seek recognition and aid from foreign governments. 1 Their employers soon perceived the incompetency of these 5 men to serve their bad cause acceptably, and they commissioned James M. Mason 2 and John Slidell, 3 two of their ablest and most unscrupulous com- peers, full " embassadors," the former accredited to the British government and the latter to the French government. These conspirators, each accom- panied by a secretary, left Charleston in a blockade-runner on a stormy night [October 12, 1861] and proceeded to Cuba, where they took passage in the English steamer Trent for St. Thomas, intending to go from there in the regular packet to England. Off the northern coast of Cuba the Trent was intercepted [November 8] by the National war-steamer San Jacinto, Captain Charles Wilkes, 4 who took from the British vessel the two " embassadors ' and their secretaries, and conveyed them in the San Jacinto to Boston harbor, where they were placed in Fort Warren, then used, like Fort Lafayette, 8 a a prison for political offenders. . ThTcominander of the South Sea Exploring Expedition, mentioned on page 476. 6 Page 586. 588 THE NATION. [18C1. CHARLES WILKES. The act of Captain Wilkes Avas applauded by all loyal men, and was justified and commended by the Secretary of the Navy, who assured him that it had the " emphatic approval of the Department." It was in strict con- formity to the British interpretation, theoretically and practically, of inter- national law, but it was in violation of often uttered American principles in rela- tion to the rights of neutrals princi- ples for the maintenance of which the United States declared Avar against Great Britain in 1812. 1 With great inconsistency, the 'British government regarded it as a national insult, and, before any communication could be had with our gOA r ernment, made exten- sive preparations for Avar, Avith the same unseemly haste which characterized it in procuring the Queen's proclamation of neutrality. 9 A peremptory demand Avas made for the delivery of Mason and Slidell, and, Avhen the matter became a subject for calm discussion, that demand Avas complied with, not because it Avas made in a truculent spirit, but because fidelity to American principles required it. 3 The conspirators Avere delivered [January 1, 1862] on board the British gun-boat Rinaldo^ in which they were conveyed to St. Thomas, Avhere 1 Page 409. a Page 561. The British press and British speakers in the interest of the government, led by the London Times, indulged in the coarsest abuse of the government and loyal people of the United States. So urgent seemed the necessity for preparations for war, that on Sunday, the day after the arrival of the news of the "Trent outrage," as it was called, reached England, men were engaged in the Tower of London in packing 2,500 muskets to be sent to Canada. Orders were issued for a large increase in the naval squadrons on the North American and "West India stations, and the great steam-packet Persia was taken from the mail service to be employed in carrying troops to Canada. American securities were depressed, and fortunes were thereby made by wise persons, under the shadow of high places, who purchased and held them for a rise. The whole \varlike movement was made to appear still more ridiculous, when our Secretary of State (William II. Seward), with inimitable irony, offered [January 12, 1802] the use of the railway that extends through the United States ter- ritory from Portland, Maine, into Canada, for the trans- portation of British troops to be sent to fight us, the St. Lawrence at that winter season being frozen, and therefore * useless as a channel for British transports. 8 The calm thoughtfulncss of President Lincoln, in the midst of the storm of passion that pre- vailed on the reception of the news of the capture of Mason and Slidell, was a salutary power. To the writer, Avho had an interview with him a few hours after the news reached "Washington, he 8aid: "I fear the traitors will prove to be white elephants. We must stick to American principles concerning the rights of neutrals. We fought Great Britain for insisting, by theory and practice, on the right to do precisely what Captain Wilkes has done. If Great Britain shall now protest against the act, and demands their release, we must give them up, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 1861.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. they embarked for England. They were treated with merited contempt in Great Britain, and soon passed into obscurity. 1 This act of our government disappointed the hopes of the conspirators, for they expected great advantages to accrue to their cause by a war between Great Britain and our Republic. It silenced the arrogant pretensions of Great Britain concerning its right of search and of impressment, and made its hasty and belligerent actions in the premises appear like an extremely ridiculous farce. CHAPTER XVII THE CIVIL WAR. [18611865.] THE public mind was just becoming tranquil after the excitement caused by the " Trent affair," when its attention was keenly fixed on another expedi- tion to the coast of North Carolina, already alluded to. The land and naval armaments of which it was composed were assembled in Hampton Roads early in January, 1862. It comprised over one hundred steam and sailing vessels (warriors and transports), and about sixteen thousand troops, mostly recruited in New England. Of this expedition General Ambrose E. Burnside was com< mander-in-chief, and the naval opera- tions were intrusted to flag-officer Louis M. Goldsborough, then the commander of the North Atlantic Naval Squadron. Burnside's lieutenants were Generals Foster, Reno, and Parke, each in com- mand of a brigade. The fleet was in two sections, in charge respectively of Commanders Rowan and Hazard. The expedition went to sea on the llth of January [1862]. Its destination had been kept a profound secret. This, like the other expeditions, encountered gales in the vicinity of stormy Cape Hatteras. Pamlico Sound and Roanoke Island was its destination, and it was several days before tb* apologize for the act as a violation of our doctrines, and thus forever bind her over to keepU i peace in relation to neutrals, and so acknowledge that she has been wrong for at k This was the key to the admirable action of our government by the able Secretary o ' " Already," said a leading Liverpool journal, on their arrival, "the seven weeks heroes hav. shrunk to their natural dimensions;" and the London Times speaking of the demand made by government, and of their release, spoke of them as "worthless booty," and said, "England wou have done just as much for two negroes." A. E. 590 THE NATION. [1862. vessels, dispersed by the wind, had entered Hatteras Inlet. It was February before the expedition moved to an attack upon Roanoke Island, which the Confederates had fortified. They had also obstructed the channels near it, and within these was a little flotilla of armed vessels, under the command of Lieutenant W. F. Lynch, who had abandoned his flag. The batteries planted at different points numbered about forty heavy guns, which had been taken from the Navy Yard at Gosport, 1 and were manned by North Carolina troops, under the chief command of Colonel II. M. Shaw. 8 Upon the principal one of these (Fort Bartow), Goldsborough opened tire toward noon of the 6th of February, and that night, in the midst of a cold storm of rain, about eleven thousand troops were landed. These moved early the next morning to attack intrenchments that stretched across the narrower part of the island, General Foster leading. The Confederates made a gallant defense, but were driven before the Nationals, who outnumbered them. 3 One after another of the other works yielded, the Confederate flotilla fled up Albemarle Sound, and Roanoke Island passed into the possession of the National forces. 4 This was the severest blow the Confederates had yet experienced. It exposed the entire main of North Carolina bordering on Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds to the National power, and opened a door of entrance to Norfolk in the rear. 5 The Confederate flotilla was followed [February 9] by Rowan, and in the Pasquotank River, near Elizabeth City, not far from the Dismal Swamp, it and land batteries were attacked by the National gun-boats. The vessels were abandoned, the batteries were silenced, and Lynch, with his men and the land troops, retired into the interior. The National flag w^as then planted on one of the shore batteries, and this w r as the portion of the main of North Carolina first " re-possessed " by the government. The conquest was followed by others for securing the control of the Sounds and the adjacent country ; and Burnside and Goldsborough jointly issued a proclamation [February 18, 1861] to the peaceable inhabitants, assuring them that the government forces were there as their friends and not as enemies, and inviting them to separate them- selves from the rule of the conspirators and return to their allegiance. This w r as met by a savage counter-proclamation by the Governor of North Carolina, and the poor, oppressed people, who longed for deliverance, were held firmly under the yoke of the Confederate despotism. Here we will leave the National forces in the waters of North Carolina, preparing for other victories soon, and 1 Page 558. 3 General Henry A. "Wise had been the chief commander, but at this time he was on Xag's Head, a sand-spit outside of Roanoke Island, and reported ill. 8 In this attack a part of the Ninth New York (Hawkins's Zouaves), led by Major E. A. Kinir ball, made a gallant charge across a narrow causeway and drove the garrison from the redoubt. These, and portions of the Fifty-first New York and Twenty-first Massachusetts, entered the works at about the same time, and the colors of the Fifty-first were first planted on the battery. 4 The National loss incurred in the capture of Roanoke Island was about 50 killed and 222 wounded. That of the Confederates was 143 killed, wounded, and missing. The spoils of vic- tory were forty-two heavy guns, three being 100-pounders. * The disaster spread consternation throughout the Confederacy. Davis, in a communication to his "congress," casts reflections upon the Confederate troops engaged in the fight, but a com- mittee of that body charged the loss of the island to the remissness of Benjamin, the "Secretary of War." 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 591 observe the course of military events in the Valley of the Mississippi. There we left Fremont's dispirited army marching toward St. Louis, 1 Southern and Western Kentucky in the hands of the Confederates, 8 and all Tennessee under the heel of their military power. Late in 1861, the Department of Missouri was enlarged, 3 and General H. W. Halleck, who had been called from California, was placed in command of it, and General Hunter was assigned to the command of the Department of Kansas. 4 General Don Carlos Buell was placed in charge of the Department of the Ohio, 5 and the Department of New Mexico was intrusted to Colonel E. R. S. Canby. Such were the military divisions of the territory west of the Alleghany Mountains at the close of 1861, when Halleck, with his head-quarters at St. Louis, was holding the secessionists and insurgents in check with a vigorous hand. General Pope was assigned to all the National troops between the Missouri and Osage Rivers, in which region Price had been gathering recruits, after Hunter's retrograde movement. 6 Detachments from Pope's army smote these banded recruits here and there ; and finally, at a bridge on the Black- water Creek, near Milford, Colonel Jefferson C. Davis fought and captured about a thousand insurgents,' and secured as spoils nearly as many horses and mules, and a large quantity of munitions of war. By vigorous movements, Pope swept over the State west of Sedalia, toward Kansas, far enough to foil the attempt of organized recruits to join Price, and to compel that leader to withdraw, in search of subsistence and safety, to the borders of Arkansas. Late in December, Price, encouraged by promises of re-enforcements from Arkansas, concentrated about twelve thousand men at . Springfield. Against these a strong force under General S. R. Curtis, assisted by Generals Asboth, Sigel, Davis, and Prentiss, moved in three columns early in February. Price fled with his army on the night of the 12th and 13th of that month, and did not halt until he reached a good position at Cross Hollows, in Northern Arkansas. He was driven a little farther south by the advance of the pursuing Curtis, and from near Pea Ridge, in Arkansas, he reported to Governor Jackson that he was " confident of the future." "With s. B. corns. 1 Page 576. * ?*&* 575 and 577 \ 3 It now included Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arkansas, and that portion of Kentucky lying west of the Cumberland River. 4 This included the State of Kansas, the Indian Territory west of Arkansas, and t tories of Nebraska, Colorado, and Dakota. p., m K* * This included the State of Ohio and the portion of Kentucky lying eastward of the Cuml land River. t 6 he captives was Colonel Magoffin, brother of the Governor of Kentucky. 592 THE NATION. [1862. equal confidence of the future, Halleck reported that he had purged Mis- Bouri of armed insurgents, and that the flag of the Republic was waving in triumph over the soil of Arkansas. Curtis had crossed the line on the 1 8th of February, his soldiers cheering with delight as they saw the old banner waving in another Of the so-called Confederate States. Curtis pushed on after Price, capturing squads of Missouri recruits, skir- mishing with the rear-guard of the fugitives at several places, and finally driv- ing the whole Confederate force over the range of hills known as the Boston Mountains. Then he fell back to Sugar Creek, not far from Bentonville, and encamped in a strong position. Price, meanwhile, had been joined by McCul- loch ; and early in March Earl Van Dorn, the Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, and one of the most dashing and energetic ofn- cet-s in that region, arrived at his camp and took chief command. There, too, he was joined by the notorious Albert Pike with a band of Indians, trained by him for savage warfare, 1 and these forces combined, almost twenty-five thousand strong, prepared to fall upon Curtis and drive him out of Arkansas. The force of the latter did not exceed eleven thousand men, with forty-nine pieces of artillery. Van Dorn advanced so cautkmsly that Curtis was not aware of his approach until he was very near [March 5], when the latter concentrated his forces near Mottsville, a short distance from Pea Ridge, a spur of the Ozark Mountains. There, on the morning of the 7th of March, Van Dorn, who was assisted by Generals Price, McCulloch, Mclntosh, and Pike, having accomplished a flank movement, in which a part of his force had a sharp contest with some troops under Sigel, proceeded to attack Curtis's main body in the rear. The latter promptly changed front to meet him, and took the initiative of battle. The struggle that ensued was very severe, and resulted in the loss to the Confede- rates of Generals McCulloch and Mclntosh, who were mortally wounded, and many brave soldiers on both sides. The battle was renewed the next morning, when the Confederates were soon routed, and Van Dorn's army Avas so suddenly broken into fragments, and so scattered in its flight, that Curtis was puzzled to know which way to pursue. The victory for the Nationals was complete, but the spoils were few. 2 Curtis held the battle-field. Van Dorn retired behind the mountains, and disappeared on the borders of the Indian country. At length the victor, perceiving no formidable foe in that region, moved leisurely toward the Mississippi River, in the direction of Helena. 1 Pike was a native of Boston, but long a resident in the Slave-labor States. He was com- missioned by Governor Rector to organize the most savage of the Indian tribes (Choctaws and Chickasaws) on the borders of Arkansas. He raised two regiments, was commissioned a briga- dier, and with them he joined the army of the conspirators. He dressed himself in gaudy cos- tume, and wore a large plume on his head to please the Indians ; and before the battle at Pea Ridge, it is said, he maddened them with liquor, that they might allow the savage nature of their race to have unchecked development. In their fury they respected none of the usages of civi- lized warfare, but scalped the helpless wounded, and committed atrocities too horrible to men- tion. After the war this man was among the earliest of the most conspicuous rebels, who was " pardoned " (as relief from amenability to law was called) without trial by President Johnston. * Curtis lost 1,351 killed, wounded, and missing. Van Dorn never reported his loss officially, but estimated it at about 600. The brunt of the strife fell upon the division of Colonel Carr, composed chiefly of Iowa and Missouri troops. He lost 701 men. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 593 While these events were occurring in Missouri and Arkansas, Hunter was busily engaged in suppressing rebellion on the borders of Kansas, and war was kindling in Canby's Department of Texas. 1 We have seen how Twiggs betrayed his army in the latter State ;* now the instruments of the conspira- tors attempted similar measures for attaching New Mexico to the Confederacy. Colonel Loring, a North Carolinian, had been sent there for the purpose, in 1860, by Floyd, the traitorous Secretary of War. 3 He was made commander of the Department of New Mexico, and he employed Colonel George B. Crit- tenden, an unworthy son of Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky, 4 to corrupt the troops in that region. He failed, and Loring and Crittenden were compelled to flee from the country to avoid the wrath of the loyal soldiery. The fugi- tive officers found those of a garrison on the frontiers of Texas ready to aid them in their treasonable designs. By these the troops were led out from the fort and betrayed into the hands of Texas insurgents, when it was believed New Mexico would fall an easy prey to the Confederate power. Otero, the delegate of that Territory in Congress, was in practical complicity with the conspirators, and all seemed working well for their cause, when Canby 5 arrived and changed the aspect of affairs. The loyal people gathered around him. His regular troops, New Mexican levies, and volunteers, soon made a respecta- ble force, and these were speedily called to action, for Major H. H. Sibley, a Louisianian, who had abandoned his flag, invaded the Territory at the middle of February with 2,300 Texans, most of them rough " Rangers," when Canby was at Fort Craig, on the Rio Grande. Near that post (at Yalverde), on the 21st of Febru- ary [1862], Canby and Sibley had a battle. The former, defeated, fled to Fort Craig, but the latter, alarmed at Canby's developed strength, instead of following, hurried toward Santa Fe, the capital of the Territory. Can- by followed. Sibley captured but could not hold Santa Fe, and he was soon driven over the mountains into Texas. The area of the active rebellion now extended from Maryland to New Mexico, and was everywhere marked by vigor and terrible malevolence. Let us now see what was further done to- ward the execution of Fremont's plan for TEXAS RANGEB. crushing the rebellion in the Mississippi Valley. 6 We have observed how the Confederates obtained a foothold in Southern and Western Kentucky. 7 Under the shadow of military power there, a con- vention of secessionists was held [November 18, 1861], at which, with ludicroua gravity, a declaration of independence and an ordinance of secession were adopted, a provisional government was organized, and delegates were chosen 1 Page 591. * Note 3, page 651. * Page 549. 4 Note 1, page 549. * Page 591. * Page 576. 7 Pages 575 and 576. 38 594 THE NATION. [1862. to the "Congress" of conspirators 1 at Richmond [Nov. 20, 1861]. Bowling Green, where Buckner had made his head-quarters, 5 and where Albert Sidney Johnston, an able officer, who had abandoned his flag, was now in chief com- mand, was made the capital of the new State. Meanwhile Johnston was con- centrating troops there, and General Hardee was called from Southwestern Missouri to supersede Buckner. The position of Polk, at Columbus, 3 was strengthened. Zollicoifer 4 was firmly planted at the important Pass of Cum- berland Gap a passage-way between Kentucky and East Tennessee and for- tified posts were established between the extremes of the army, the most important of which were Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, and Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River. In the mean time General Buell had organized a large force at Louisville. 5 These were thrown forward along the line of railway toward Bowling Green, 40,000 strong, under General A. McD. McCook, and pushed the Confederate outposts beyond the Green River. In the mean time stirring events had occurred in Eastern Kentucky, where, near Prestonburg, on the Big Sandy, General Garfield fought [January 7, 1862] insurgents under Humphrey Mar- shall, and scattering them put an end to the military career of the latter leader. Farther westward a severe battle was fought [January 19], near Mill Spring, on the Cumberland River, between the Nationals, under General George H. Thomas, and Confederates led by Generals Zollicoffer and Crittenden. 6 In this engagement Thomas was victorious. Zollicoffer was killed, 7 and the Confede- rates fled into Northeastern Tennessee through a country almost barren of sub- sistence. The battle was fought desperately by both parties, for victory was specially desirable to both. It proved to be a great advantage to the winner, and disastrous to the cause of the loser, for it broke the Confederate line in Kentucky, 8 opened a door of deliverance for the East Tennesseeans, and pre- pared the way for a series of successful operations by which, very soon after- ward, the invaders were driven from both States. By order of the President, the Secretary of War said, in a public thanksgiving to the officers, " In the prompt and spirited movements and daring at Mill Spring, the nation will realize its hopes." 1 George "W. Johnson was chosen provisional governor, with a legislative council of ten, a treasurer, and an auditor. The farce of representing Kentucky in the Confederate Congress, now commenced, was kept up during the entire war. The people had no voice in their appointment, and of such usurpers a greater portion of the so-called " Confederate Congress " was continually composed. 3 Page 576. s Page 575. 4 Page 577. 6 General Buell had under his command, early in January, 1862, about 114,000 men, chiefly citizens of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and loyalists of Kentucky and Tennessee, with about 126 pieces of artillery. This force was arranged in four grand divisions, commanded respectively by Brigadier-Generals Alexander McDowell McCook, Ormsby M. Mitchel, George H. Thomas, and Thomas L. Crittenden, acting as major-generals, aided by twenty brigade commanders. These divisions occupied an irregular line across the State, nearly parallel to that held by the Confederates. ' This was the Crittenden employed to corrupt the army in New Mexico. See page 593. 7 Thomas lost 247 men killed and wounded. The Confederate loss was 349, of whom 89 were prisoners. The spoils of victory for Thomas were considerable, including twelve pieces of artillery, many small arms, and more than a thousand horses and mules. 8 Page 577, 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. It was now determined to concentrate the forces of Halleck and Buell in a grand forward movement against the main bodies and fortifications of the Con- federates. Thomas's victory at Mill Spring had so paralyzed that line east- ward of Bowling Green, that it was practically shortened at least one-half, and the bulk of the Confederates and their chief fortifications were between Nashville and Bowling Green, and the Mississippi River. During the autumn and early winter a naval armament, pro- jected by Fremont for service on that river, had been in preparation at St. Louis and Cairo, for co-operation with the western armies, and at the close of January [1862] it consisted of twelve gun-boats, carrying one hundred and twenty-six heavy cannon, and some lighter guns, the whole commanded by flag-officer A. H. Foote, of the National navy. Seven of these were covered with plates of iron, and were built wide, so that, on the still waters of the rivers, when attacking fortifications, their guns might have almost the steadi- ness of those in land batteries. Some movements preliminary to the grand advance puzzled the Confede- rates and perplexed loyal spectators. There were reconnoissances down both sides of the Mississippi River from Cairo, and Thomas feigned a march in force into East Tennessee. Meanwhile an expedition against Forts Henry and Don- elson 1 had been arranged. Halleck's troops, destined for the enterprise, were placed under the chief command of General U. S. Grant. Foote was sum- moned to the Tennessee River with his flotilla of gun-boats, and at dawn on the 3d of February, 1862, he was up that stream a few miles below Fort Henry, and Grant's army was landing from transports near. At noon on the 6th the flotilla opened its guns on the fort. The army was then in motion to co-operate, but before it could reach the scene of action the post was in pos- session of Foote, by surrender. The Confederate troops outside of the fort, panic-stricken, fled without firing a gun. The Commander (General Tilghman), and less than one hundred artillerists, had made a gallant defense, but were compelled to yield. This, and Fort Hieman, on the opposite side of the river, with all their armament, became spoils of victory* a victory most important in its immediate and more remote effects. It not only gave a formidable post into the possession of the Nationals, but it proved the efficiency of gun-boats on the narrow rivers of the West. The National troops were now firmly planted in the rear of Columbus, and there was nothing left to obstruct the 1 Page 594. * The National loss was 2 killed and 38 wounded. Of the latter, 29 of them were wounded and ecalded on board the gun-boat Essex, Captain W. D. Porter, whose boiler was exploded by a shot that entered it. The Confederate loss was five killed and ten wounded. 596 THE NATION. [1862. passage of gun-boats up the Tennessee to the fertile regions of Northern Ala- bama, and carrying the flag of the Republic far toward the heart of the Con- federacy. The fall of Fort Henry was followed by immediate preparations for an attack on Fort Donelson, a formidable work among the hills near the village of Dover, the capital of Stewart County, on the Cumberland River. The object was to reduce that stronghold, and then sweep over Tennessee with a large force into Northern Alabama. Foote had hurried back to Cairo to bring up his mortar-boats for the new enterprise, and Grant was equally active in pre- VIEW AT FORT DONELSON. 1 paring soldiers for the work. He reorganized his army into three divisions, commanded respectively by Generals John A. McClernand, C. F. Smith, and Lewis Wallace, and on the evening of the 12th [February, 1862] the divisions of the first two, which had moved from Fort Henry that morning, invested Fort Donelson, which was then in command of ex-Secretary Floyd, 2 assisted by Generals Pillow 3 and Buckner. 4 Early the next morning picket-skirmishing speedily developed into a general battle between the investing troops and the 1 This is a view sketched by the author in May, 1866, from the river-bank within the fort, overlooking the mounds of the water-batteries below, and down the river to the place where Foote's gun-boats lay, here indicated by the little steamboat in the distance. 3 Pages 649 and 574. 3 Page 566. * Page 565. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. -97 garrison, 1 in which the former were beaten and fell back, 1 determined to wait for the arrivaj of Foote's flotilla, Avith which was coming a portion of Wallace's division. Wallace (who had been left at Fort Henry) was summoned to Fort Donelson by Grant, and at noon the next day he reported his whole division as on the field and ready for action. Meanwhile Foote's flotilla had arrived, but without the mortar-boats, and during the afternoon of the 14th it fought the water-batteries and guns from others bearing on the liver with great gallantry, until the vessels were so much injured that they were withdrawn. 3 The night of the 14th was one of anxiety in both camps. Foote hastened back to Cairo to have damages repaired and to bring up his mortar-boats, and Grant determined to wait for his return. The Confederates in the fort held a council of war, and resolved to make a sortie the next mornino- to rout or destroy the investing army, or to cut through it and escape to the open coun- try in the direction of Nashville. The troops selected for this desperate measure, about ten thousand in number, were placed under Pillow and Buckner. Those led by the former were to strike McClernand on the right of the Na- tional line, while Buckner should fall upon Wallace's division in the center. The movement was attempted. McClernand, sore pressed, called upon Wallace for aid. It was promptly given, and, after a desperate and gallant fight by all, the Confederates were driven back to their trenches. " I speak advisedly," wrote Hill- yer, Grant's aid-de-camp, to Wallace, the next day, with a pencil on a slip of paper, " God bless you ! You did save the day on the right." Meanwhile, Smith had been vigorously and suc- cessfully striking the right of the Confederates, and when darkness fell at evening the National troops were victorious, the vanquished garrison were imprisoned within the lines, and their leaders . , , LEWIS WALLACE. were busied with endeavors to solve the important question, How shall we escape ? In a midnight conference, when it was found that they must surrender, Floyd and Pillow exhibited the greatest cowardice. Only Buckner acted like a man. The other two fled from the fort, 4 and left the latter to surrender it the next morning [February 16, 1862], 1 The Caronddet, Captain Walke, of Foote's flotilla, had gallantly contended with the water- batteries of the Fort. 2 There had been a great change in the weather, and the troops, not prepared for it, suffered terribly from intense cold, and a lack of clothing and tents. A little snow had fallen, and insuf- ficient" food and shelter made their sufferings most severe. 3 Never was a little squadron exposed to a more severe fire. Twenty heavy guns were trained upon it, those from the hillsides, on which the mam works of the fort lay, hurling plung- ing shot with awful precision and effect, when only twelve guns could reply. The four armored vessels in the fight (St. Louis, the flag-ship, Carondelet, Pittsburg, and Louisville) received in the aggregate no less than 141 wounds from the Confederate shot and shell, and lost 54 men killed and maimed. 4 The council of war wae held at Pillow's head-quarters, in Dover. Between Floyd and Pillow there were criminations and recriminations, and each, fearing to fall into the hands of the Na- tionals, seemed to think of little else than his personal safety. When it was decided that they 598 THE NATION. [1862. That was a happy Sabbath for the Union troops. They had won a most important victory for the National cause. 1 Intelligence of it filled the con- spirators with despair, and from that time no European court entertained serious thoughts of acknowledging the independence of the Confederate States, or recognizing them as a nation. 8 The victory produced great joy among the loyal people of the Republic. They and the government were satisfied that a withering blow had been given to the rebellion, and that henceforth its propor- tions would be less, and its malignity not so dangerous to the life of the Republic. 3 "When Fort Donelson fell, Kentucky and Missouri, and all of Northern and Middle Tennessee, were lost to the Confederates, and the more southern States, whose inhabitants expected to have the battles for their defense fought in the border Slave-labor States, were exposed to the inroads of the National armies. Johnston now clearly perceived that Bowling Green 4 and Columbus 5 were both untenable, and that the salvation of the Confederate troops at those places required their immediate evacuation. He issued orders accordingly. The troops at Bowling Green mai-ched in haste to Nashville, followed by Buell, and at the same time National gun-boats moved up the Cumberland to Clarksville, to co-operate with the land troops from Fort Donelson, under would be compelled to surrender, Floyd quickly said; "Gentlemen, I cannot surrender; you know my position with the Federals [his treasonable acts while in Buchanan's cabinet] : it wouldn't do, it wouldn't do." Pillow, whose vanity made him over-estimate his importance, took a similar stand, and when Floyd offered to resign the command to him, he quickly replied : " I will not accept it I will never surrender myself or my command." While speaking, he turned toward Buckner, who said: "I will accept, and share the fate of my command." Floyd and Pillow both stole away from the fort during the night, and saved themselves ; and an epigram- matist of the day wrote concerning the former's infamous desertion of his troops, saying : "The thief Is a coward by Nature's law ; Who betrays the State, to no one is true ; And the brave foe at Fort Donelson saw Their light-fingered Floyd was light-footed too." 1 Buckner sent a flag of truce to ask upon what terms Grant would accept the surrender of- the troops and post. Regarding them simply as rebels, Grant replied : " No terms other than an unconditional surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." Buckner made a foolish reply, saying that he should feel impelled, notwithstanding " the brilliant success of the Confederate arms" the day before, "to accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms " proposed. This was followed by the speedy surrender of the fort, with 13,500 men (including the sick and wounded) as prisoners of war, with 3,000 horses, 48 field pieces, 17 heavy guns, 20,000 muskets, and a great quantity of military stores. The National loss was estimated at 446 killed, 1,745 wounded, and 150 prisoners. * The ehief conspirators at Richmond received the intelligence with emotions of mingled dismay and anger. Following so close upon the fall of Roanoke Island (page 590), it greatly perplexed them. Notwithstanding Johnston tried to excuse the cowardice and perfidy of Pillow and Floyd, Davis ordered them to be suspended from command. ' At Fort Donelson was successfully begun that system of army mail service devised by Colonel (afterward General) A. H. Markland, which was one of the wonders and among the most salutary measures of the war. "Within one hour after the troops began to march into Fort Donelson," General Grant wrote to the author, in July, 1866, "the mail was being distributed to them from the mail-wagons." Under the direction of Colonel Markland, this service was continued through- out the war, linking the army with home, and keeping off that terrible home-sickness which so often prostrates the volunteer soldier, physically and morally. For months an average of two hundred and fifty thousand military letters were received at and sent from the post-office at the National capital, daily. * Page 576. 5 Page 575. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. General Smith, in movements against Nashville. Meanwhile, the panic in the latter place became fearful. The terrified Governor (Harris) fled, Johnston's army passed farther southward, and on the 26th of February Nashville was formally surrendered by the civil authorities and the National troops took possession. 1 Provision was at once made at Washington City for civil gov- ernment in Tennessee, and Andrew Johnson was appointed Provisional Governor, with the military rank of Brigadier-General. He entered upon the duties of his office on the 4th of March, 1862, with the avowal that he should see to it that "intelligent and conscious treason in high places" should be punished. Another bloodless victory soon followed the evacuation of Nashville. It was the taking possession by National troops, without opposition, of Colum- bus. Beauregard was then in command of the Department of Mississippi, and out-ranked Polk. The former, obedient to instructions from Richmond, ordered the latter to transfer his command, and as much of the munitions of war as possible, from Columbus to a safer place, when Polk went to New Madrid, Madrid Bend, and Island Number Ten, there to prepare for defense. ISLAND XUMBEE TEX. Meanwhile Foote had moved down the Mississippi with a flotilla of gun-boats and transports, the latter bearing about two thousand men under General W. T. Sherman, and when they approached Columbus [March 4, 1862] they saw the National flag waving over its fortifications, having been planted there the evening before by a scouting party of Illinois troops, from Paducah. A garrison was left to hold the post, and Foote returned to Cairo to prepare for a siege of the new position of the Confederates, which the latter hoped to make impregnable. New Madrid, at a great bend in the river, with Island Number Ten, a few 1 Floyd and Pillow, who fled from Fort Donelson, were in command at Nashville, the order for their suspension not having yet reached head-quarters. As the Nationals approached they were again overcome with terror, when they fired the bridges over the Cumberland at Nashville, in defiance of the protests of the citizens, and scampered away southward by the light of the conflagration, leaving the more courageous Forrest with his cavalry to cover their inglorious flight Floyd died miserably not long afterward, and Pillow sunk into merited obscurity. 00 THE NATION. [1862. miles above, was a thousand miles, by the current, from New Orleans, yet it was now regarded as the key to the Lower Mississippi. Its importance was per- ceived by both parties. General McCown was placed in command there, and General Beauregard commanded in person at first on Island Number Ten. 1 They were there just in time to prevent the occupation of these places by the Nationals, for while Johnston was flying southward from Bowling Green, Gene- ral Pope, dispatched from St. Louis [February 22] by General Halleck, was press- ing toward New Madrid with Ohio and Illinois troops. He appeared before that post on the 3d of March, and found it occupied by McCown, supported by a Confederate flotilla of gun-boats under Captain Rollins. 2 He sent to Bird's Point 3 for siege-guns, and on the 13th [March, 1862] he opened a heavy fire on the Confederate works and Hollius's gun-boats. That night, during a violent thunder-storm, the Confederates evacuated New Madrid and retired to Island Number Ten, with a loss unknown. Pope lost fifty-one killed and wounded. Island Number Ten now became the chief objective of attack and defense. Beauregard had thoroughly fortified it. Pope desired to cross the Mississippi at New Madrid with his troops, and to march over Madrid Bend and attack the post, while Foote should assail it from the river. He begged the latter to allow gun-boats to run by and come to his aid, but Foote thought it too peri- lous to do so, and while the navy was pounding away at the defenses of the Island, 4 Pope was chafing with impatience to do something to help the besiegers. At length he caused the execution of a plan suggested by General Schuyler Hamilton for flanking the Island. This was the cutting of a canal through a swamp, from the river above the Island to a bayou that flows into the Mississippi at New Madrid, below the Island. 5 Through this transports and gun-boats might pass. Perceiving this, and the peril threatened by it, the Confederates sunk steamers in the river to prevent the passage of vessels, and endeavored to flee from the Island. They were intercepted and captured by Pope's troops under Stanly, Hamilton, and Paine ; and Island Number Ten, with its batteries and supports, and over 7,000 prisoners, became the spoils of victory for Pope and Foote. 6 This was another severe blow to the Confede- ' l At about this time Beauregard sent out a proclamation to the planters of the Mississippi Valley, calling upon them to consecrate to the use of the Confederacy their church, plantation, and other bells, to be converted into cannon. There was a liberal response to the appeal, and the contributions were all sent to New Orleans. There they were found by General Butler, who sent them to Boston, where they were sold by auction and devoted to peaceful uses. * Page 582. s Page 566. 4 Foote began the siege on Sunday morning, the 16th of March, and opened upon the Confede- rate works heavy shells from rifled guns and thirteen-inch mortars. " Island Number Ten," wrote Foote to the Secretary of the Navy on the 19th of March, " is harder to conquer than Colum- bus, as the island shores are lined with forts, each fort commanding the one about it." 6 This canal was twelve miles in length, and was cut in the space of nineteen days, half the distance through a growth of heavy timber. The width of the canal through this timber was fifty feet, and in some places the trees were sawed off four feet under water. It was a wonderful monument to the engineering skill and indomitable perseverance of the Americans. On the night before its completion [April 3], Pope's wishes concerning the aid of gun-boats were partially gratified. The gallant Commander Walke performed the perilous feat of running by the batteries with the Carondelet, at midnight, during a heavy thunder-storm. This, with steamers that came through the canal, enabled Pope to operate on the river below New Madrid, in connection with Foote. 8 The number of prisoners taken by Foote and Pope together was 7,273, including three LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION 601 rates, from which they never recovered. They almost despaired. It seemed probable that Memphis, one of their strongholds on the Mississippi, where they had inmense workshops and armories, would soon share the fate of Co- lumbus, and that the great river would be patroled by National gun-boats from Cairo to New Orleans, and the rich trans-Mississippi country be separated from the rest of the Confederacy. Panic prevailed all the way down to the Gulf, for already, as we have seen, Curtis had broken the- power of the Con- ^ederates in Arkansas, 1 and a heavy force was making its way up the Tennes- see River, in the direction of Alabama. Grant newly organized his forces after the capture of Fort Donelson, and made vigorous preparations for ascending the Tennessee from Fort Henry, where General Wallace was in command, and where head-quarters were tem- porarily established. Immediately after the fall of Fort Henry* Grant had sent three gun-boats up the Ten- nessee, under Lieutenant-Commander Phelps, who penetrated the country as far as Florence, in Alabama. Phelps reported the existence of much loyal feeling in that region, and this made the Unionists anxious to push on and occupy the country. That movement was now attempted. Corinth, on the Memphis and Charles- ton railway, was the grand objective, the possession of which, with the rail- ways running east and west, and north and south, and intersectinsr * O there, would give immense power to the army. Troops in large number were sent up the Tennessee in transports to Savannah and its vicinity, and some, under General Sherman, went much farther up the river. Finally, at the beginning of April [1862], the main body of Grant's army was encamped between Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh Meeting-House, eighteen or twenty miles from Corinth. At the latter place Beauregard had been for some time gathering an opposing force, and at the period in question General A. S. John- ston was there, and in chief command. While this movement up the Tennessee was occurring, General Buell's army was slowly making preparations to march southward, overland, and join Grant's at Savannah. He left Nashville late in March, leaving General Negley in com- mand there. A part of his force, under the energetic General Mitchel, pushed rapidly southward, captured Huntsville [April 11], on the Memphis and Charleston railway, and secured control of that road for a hundred miles, generals and 273 field and company officers. The spoils of victory were nearly 20 batteries, with 123 cannon and mortars, the former ranging from 32 to 100-pounders ; 7,000 small arms; many hundred horses and mules; an immense amount of ammunition, and four steamers afloat 1 Page 592. * Page 595. U. S. GRANT. THE NATION [1862. between Tuscumbia on the west and Stevenson on the east. Mitchel had thus placed his little army midway between Corinth and Nashville, opened commu- nication with Buell, and controlled the navigation of the Tennessee for more than one hundred miles. His swift marches and his conquests had been accom- plished without the loss of a single life. 1 Meanwhile very important events had occurred on the Tennessee River. The bulk of the National army, Tinder Grant, was encamped, as we have observed, between Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh Meeting-House. 2 The division of Gen- eral Lewis Wallace was stationed at Crump's Landing, below, to watch the movements of the Confederates west of the Tennessee in that region. On the memorable Sunday morning, the 6th of April [1862], the main army, lying near the river, stretched across the roads leading from Corinth to Pittsburg and Hamburg Landings, from the Snake Creek to the Lick Creek. It was com- manded by Generals Sherman, McClernand, Prentiss, W. H. L. "Wallace, and Hurlbut. At that time the Confederate forces under General A. S. Johnston, led by Generals Beauregard, Polk, Bragg, Hardee, and Breckenridge, as prin- cipal commanders, had advanced from Corinth to a point within four miles of the National camp, without being discovered. Almost the first intimation given of their near approach was their vigorous attack, early on that beautiful spring morning, first upon Sherman, and then upon Prentiss, on his left. The columns of the latter were broken up, and the general and a larger portion of his men were captured. All day long the battle raged. Grant had come upon the field early from his head-quarters below, and directed the storm of conflict on the part of the Nationals as well as he could, but night found his army terribly smitten and pushed back to the verge of the Tennessee River, then full to the brim with a spring flood, and Beauregard, who had succeeded Johnston, slain on the field that day, telegraphing a shout of victory to his employers at Richmond. 3 One more blow, vigorously given, might have driven the Nationals into the turbulent waters, or caused their captivity. A blow was given, but so feebly, on account of prompt and effective responses by two gun-boats (Tyler and Lexington}, and some heavy guns hastily placed in battery, that the Nationals stood firm. 4 1 In a stirring address to his troops, Mitchel said: "You have struck blow after blow with a rapidity unparalleled. Stevenson fell, sixty miles to the east of Huntsville. Decatur and Tus- cumbia have been in like manneV seized, and are now occupied. In three days 3-011 have extended your front of operations more than one hundred miles, and your morning guns at Tuscumbia may now be heard by your comrades on the battle-field made glorious by their victory before Corinth." This address was on the 1 6th of April, when the battle of Shiloli. recorded in the text on the next page, had been fought and won by the Nationals. 1 Page 601. 8 The following is a copy of the dispatch, dated "Battle-field of Shiloh, April 6, 1862: We have this morning attacked the enemy in a strong position in front of Pittsburg, and after a severe battle of ten hours, thanks to Almighty God, gained a complete victory, driving the enemy from every position. The loss on both sides is heavy, including our commander-in-chief, Genera] Albert Sidney Johnston, who fell gallantly leading his troops into the thickest of the fight." 4 During a lull in the battle, toward evening, three light earthworks were thrown up, in semicircular form, half a mile back from the river-bluff, and twenty-two heavy guns were mounted on them. The gun-boats had been brought up to the mouth of a little creek that traverses a ravine at Pittsburg Landing, and up that hollow they hurled 7 -inch shells and 64-pound shot in curves that caused them to drop into the midst of the Confederates. At nine o'clock in the evening the battle ceased. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 603 Buell had been slowly advancing to join Grant. His vanguard appeared on the opposite side of the Tennessee toward the evening of the day of battle. These crossed ; and all night long other battalions of BuelPs army were com- ing up the river. At midnight General Lewis Wallace, who had been ordered up from Crump's Landing, arrived with his division. Grant's army was now safe. The fruits of victory were snatched from Beauregard. Before sunrise next morning Wallace opened the contest anew on the Confederate left, where Beau, regard commanded in person. Others speedily co-operated, and again the bat- tle became general along the whole line. The Confederates were steadily pressed back by a superior force, all the while fighting most gallantly. They were pushed through and beyond the National camps seized by them on Sun* day morning. Perceiving that all was lost, they fled, in the midst of a cold storm of rain and sleet, to the heights of Monterey, in the direction of Corinth, covered by a strong rear-guard under Breckenridge, 1 and there encamped. They had lost over 10,000 men in battle, and full 300 of the wounded died during that terrible re- treat of nine miles.* Fif- teen thousand of the Nationals were killed, wounded, and prisoners, and the hospital steamers that went down the Ten- nessee were crowded with the sick and maimed. The slain troops were speedily buried, the dead horses were burned, and every sanitary precaution was observed. The Confederates were not pursued far in their flight ; and both parties, one on the battle-field and the other at Corinth, prepared for a renewal of the struggle. Beauregard's army was so shattered, that he sent an imploring cry from Corinth to Richmond for help. 1 The way seemed opened for his immediate destruction, and Grant was anxious to walk vigorously in it. But his superior, General Halleck, who now came from St. Louis [April 12] and took command BURNIXG HORSES ON SHILOH BATTLE-GEOUSD. 1 His force was about 12,000 men. Beauregard said to him, "This retreat must not be a rout You must hold the enemy back, if it requires the loss of your last man." 1 An eye-witness wrote: "I passed long wagon-trains filled with wounded and dying sol- diers, without even a blanket to shield them from the driving sleet and haiL" Beauregard reported his loss at 1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 957 missing total, 10.697 Grant reported his loss 1,735 killed, 7,882 wounded, and 3,956 prisoners total, 13,573. Subsequent statements show that the loss on each side was about 15,000. s He said he could not then muster more than 35,000 effective men, but that Earl Tan Dorn [see page 592] might join him in a few days with 15,000. He asked for re-enforcements, and said: "If defeated here we lose the Mississippi Yalley, and probably our cause." This dis- patch, written hi cipher, General Mitchel intercepted at Huntsville, when he seized the telegraph there. 604 THE NATION. [1862. of the victorious army, thought otherwise, and the impatient troops loitered near Corinth until their foe had fully prepared for another contest. Twenty days after the battle, the Grand Army of Tennessee, as it was now called, moved [April 27] nine miles, and a week later [May 3d] it moved near to Corinth, making vigorous use all the while of pick-ax and spade. On that day troops under Generals Paine and Palmer pushed on to Farmington, east of Corinth, and fought and conquered Confederates at an out-post there, but they in turn were driven back to their lines. For twenty-seven days longer the Nationals kept digging and piling the earth, in a siege of the Confederates, who were every day growing stronger, and continually annoying the besiegers by sorties. Finally, on the 29th of May, the Confederates were expelled from their advanced batteries, and Halleck prepared for a sanguinary battle the next morning. All that night the vigilant ears of his sentinels heard the con- tinuous roar of moving cars at Corinth, and their lips reported to their chief. At dawn [May 30] skirmishers were sent out, but no foe confronted them. Then the earth was shaken by a series of ex- plosions, and dense smoke arose from the bosom of Corinth. " I cannot explain it," said Halleck to an inquiry made by Sherman, when told to " advance and feel the enemy;" There was no enemy there to feel. Beauregard had evacuated Corinth during the night, burned and O O 7 blew up what he could not carry away, and after an exciting flight before pur- suers for a short distance, the ridiculous boaster 1 gathered his scattered troops at Tupelo, many miles southward of Corinth, and there left them (as he sup- posed temporarily) in charge of Bragg, while he retired to Bladen Springs, in Alabama, to find repose and health. 2 Halleck took possession of Corinth, and shortly afterward he was called to Washington City, to perform the duties of General-in-Chief of all the armies of the Republic. Meanwhile there had been stirring events on the shores of the Mississippi. Soon after the capture of New Madrid and Island Number Ten, 3 Commodore Foote went down the river with his flotilla, and General Pope's army on 1 On the 8th of May Beauregard issued a pompous address to his army, then composed of his own and the forces of Van Dorn. "Shall we not drive back to Tennessee," he said, "the pre- sumptuous mercenaries collected for our subjugation? One more manly effort, and, trusting in God and the justness of our cause, we shall recover more than we lately lost. Let the sound of our victorious guns be re-echoed by those of Virginia on the historic battle-field at Yorktowu." On that day the Confederates fled from Yorktown before McClellan's troops. 8 Jefferson Davis, whose will was now law, took this occasion to get rid of Beauregard, and put Bragg in permanent command of the army. He "passionately declared," said the Confede- :rate General Jordan, that Beauregard should not be reinstated, " though all the world should urge him to the measure." 8 Page 599. P. a. T. BEAUREGARD. 1362.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 605 A MORTAR-BOAT. transports, to attempt the capture of Memphis. At Fort Pillow, on the first Chickasaw bluffs, eighty miles above Memphis by the river, the expedition was confronted by a Confederate flotilla under Hollins, 1 and three thou- sand troops under M. Jeff. Thompson. 8 The post was besieged by Foote on the 14th of April, with gun-boats and mortar-boats, while Pope's troops obeyed Halleck's call to Shiloh. The navy was left to do the Avork ; but there was no serious fighting until the 10th of May, when Hollins attacked the flotilla. A sharp fight ensued between the armored vessels, while the heavy guns of the fort assisted Hollins, but he was repulsed; and for more than a fortnight afterward the two flotillas lay watching each other. Then a " ram" squadron under Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr. 3 joined the National flotilla, and preparations w T ere made for another battle, when, on the night of the 4th of June, the Confederates, having heard of the retreat of Beauregard from Corinth, fled from Fort Pillow, fleet and army, as fast as steam could carry them, and took position for the defense of Memphis. Commodore Davis (Foote's successor 4 ) followed, and in a very severe engagement with the Confederate flotilla in front of Memphis [June 6, 1862] was victorious. Thompson and his troops fled, and the National stand- ard was soon seen floating in the air over the affrighted town. This event was soon followed by the entrance and occupation of the city by troops under General Wallace, fresh from the successful siege of Corinth. All Kentucky, Western Tennessee, and Northern Mississippi and Alabama, were now in the possession of the National authorities, and it was confidently expected that East Tennessee would almost immediately be in the same posi- tion. When Buell joined Mitchel, after the close of the siege of Corinth, the latter urged his superior to march directly into and occupy that region. But Buell would not consent, and various efforts which Mitchel had made, pre- paratory to such an expedition, were rendered almost fruitless. His com- manders had been keeping danger from his rear and making the foe on his front exceedingly circumspect. Negley, Turchin, Lytle, and others had been operating in the region of the railway between Decatur and Columbia ; and the first-named had climbed over the mountains northeast of Stevensen, drove the 1 Page 600. * Page 573. 3 This squadron had been suggested by Colonel Ellet, who was the eminent civil engineer who constructed the Niagara Suspension Bridge, and under his superintendence the rams had been built. They were river boats, some with stem wheels and some with side wheels, whose bows were strengthened by additions of heavy timber, and covered with plates of iron. 4 At the siege of Fort Donelson Commodore Foote's ankle had received a severe contusion from a piece of falling timber. It became so painful, that on the 9th of May he was compelled to withdraw from active service. On retiring, he left the command of the flotilla with Captain C. H. Davis. 606 THE NATION. [1862. Confederates before him near Jasper, and on the 7th of June [1862] appeared on the Tennessee River, opposite Chattanooga. With a little help, that key to East Tennessee and Northern Georgia might have been captured and held, but it was refused ; and ten days afterward, when the Confederates, without a struggle, evacuated Cumberland Gap, the " Gibraltar of the Mountains," and allowed General George TV. Morgan, with a few Ohio and Kentucky troops, to occupy it, Buell refused to march in at the open door, to the relief of East Tennessee, and the persecuted inhabitants of that loyal region were compelled to wait much longer for deliverance. The caiitious Buell and the fiery Mitchel 1 did not work well together, and the latter was transferred to another field of duty. For a short time now there was a lull in the storm of war westward of the Alleghanies, but it was only the calm before a more furious tempest. Let us now turn to a consideration of events on the coast of North Caro- lina, where we left Burnside and the accompanying naval force, 2 preparing for more conquests. That expedition appeared in the Neuse River, below New Berne, on the evening of the 1 2th of March [1862], and early the next morning about fifteen thousand land troops went ashore, and marched toward the defenses of that city, which were in charge of a force under General Branch. At daylight on the 14th the Nationals moved to the attack in three columns, commanded respectively by Generals Foster, Reno, and Parke, the gun-boats in the river, under Commodore Rowan, co-operating. A very severe battle ensued, in which the Nationals were conquerors. Pressed on all sides by a superior force, the Confederates fled from the field across the Trent, burning the bridges behind them, and escaped, with the exception of the killed and wounded and two hundred made prisoners. 3 The Nationals took posses-' 1 "With the sanction of General Buell, Mitchel sent out an important expedition toward the middle of April. It was composed of twenty-two picked men, led by J. J. Andrews, and their duty was to destroy the railway between Chattanooga and Atlanta. They went in detach- ments to Marietta^ in Georgia^ where they joined, and at a station a few miles northward of that town they seized the train in which they were traveling, while the conductor and passengers were at breakfast, and started for Chattanooga, doing what damage they could to the road. They were pursued, and were finally so closely pressed that they abandoned the train and fled to the woods. Some escaped, some were captured, and nine of them, including Andrews, the leader, were hung. * Page 590. 3 The National loss was about one hundred killed and four hundred wounded. The loss of the Confederates, in killed and wounded, was less. The spoils of victory were important, con- sisting of the town and harbor of New Berne ; eight batteries, mounting forty-six heavy guns ; three batteries of light artillery, of six guns each ; a number of sailing vessels ; wagons, horses, and mules ; a large quantity of ammunition and army supplies ; the entire camp equipage of the Confederates, and much turpentine, rosin, and cotton. Most of the white inhabitants fled to Goldsboro', on the Weldon Kailway. ORMSBY If. MITCHEL. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 607 sion of the city of New Berne, and then proceeded to attempt the capture of Fort Macon, at the entrance to the harbor of Beaufort. The expedition was intrusted to the command of General Foster, who effected a lodgment on Bogue Island, a long sand-spit on which Fort Macon stands, and from bat- teries which he planted there he began a bombardment of the fort on the morning of the 25th of April. Some gun-boats, under Commander Lockwood, participated in the attack. At four o'clock in the afternoon the garrison gave tokens of submission, and early the next day the fort and its occupants were surrendered to the Nationals. 4 At the same time troops under General Reno were quietly taking possession of important places along the waters of Albe- marle Sound and threatening Norfolk in the rear. At a place called South Mills, near Camden Court House, Reno's troops encountered the Confederates in a sharp engagement, and defeated them. Winton, at the head of the Chowan ; Plymouth, at the mouth of the Roanoke, and Washington, at the head of the Pamlico River, were all seized and occupied by the National troops. Burnside now held almost undisputed sway over the coast region, from the Dismal Swamp nearly to the Cape Fear River, until called to the Virginia Peninsula, in July, to assist McClellan. "While Bumside and Rowan were operating on the coast of North Carolina, Sherman and Dupont 3 were engaged in important movements on the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia, having for their first object the capture of Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island, near the mouth of the Savannah River. Bat- teries were planted on Big Tybee Island, under the skillful direction of General Q. A. Gillmore, so as to command the fort; 4 and on the 10th of April [1862] 1 Burnside made his head-quarters at the fine old Stanley mansion in the suburbs of New Berne. Almost before the smoke of battle was dissipated, the Christian spirit of the friends of the government was made conspicuous in acts of benevolence. Vincent Colyer, a citizen of New York, and originator of the Christian Commission of the army, was with the expedition on an errand of mercy. Under the sanction of Burnside, he dis- tributed to the sick and wounded the generous contributions of the loyal citizens of the North, and assumed a fostering care of the poor and ignorant colored people, from whose limbs the hand of the victor had just unloosed the shackles of hopeless slavery. He opened evening schools, and had over eight hundred eager pupils, when Edward Stanley, a North Carolinian, who had been appointed Military Governor of the State, making use of one of the barbarous slave-laws of that commonwealth, which made it " a criminal offense to teach the blacks to read," closed them. Stanley also made zealous ef- forts to return fugitive slaves to their masters ; and the hopes of that down-trodden race in that region, which were so delightfully given in promises, were suddenly extinguished. Stanley's administration was happily a short one. * The fruits of the victory were the fort and five hundred prisoners, the command of the important harbor of Beaufort, twenty thousand pounds of gunpowder, and a large amount of other ordnance stores. * Page 582. 4 The planting of these batteries, all things considered, was a wonderful feat of engineei skill The island is a marsh, and the armament had to be carried over it on causeways built witr great labor. "No one," said Gillmore, in his report, "can form any but a faint conception of the COLTER'S HEAD-QUARTERS. 08 THE NATION. [1862 FORT PULASKI BREACHED. General Hunter, then in command of the Department, summoned the garri- son to surrender. It was refused, and thirty-six heavy rifled cannon and mortars, constituting eleven batteries, opened fire upon it. The bom- bardment continued un- til late the next day, when the fort was so shattered and its maga- zines so exposed to fiery missiles, that it was un- tenable. 1 On the morn- ing of the 12th, the fort, with its garrison of three hundred men and considerable spoil, was surrendered to the Nationals. The battle had been a hard-fought but almost bloodless one. 2 The victory was important, for it enabled the Nationals to close the port of Savannah against blockade-runners. 3 While Gillmore and Viele were besieging Fort Pulaski, Commodore Dupont and General Wright were making easy conquests on the coast of Florida. They captured Fort Clinch, on the northern end of Amelia Island, early in February [1862], and this was the first of the old National fortifications " repossessed" by the government. The Confederates fled from the fort, and from the town of Fernandina near. They abandoned other forts along the coast in the same way, and the Nationals took possession of them. A flotilla of gun-boats and transports, with troops, under Lieutenant Thomas Holdup Stevens, was sent up the St. John's River to capture Jacksonsville (March 11), and was successful. At about the same time Commander C. R. P. Rogers herculean labor by which mortars of eight and a half tons weight, and columbiads but a trifle lighter, were moved in the dead of night over a narrow causeway bordered by swamps on each side, and liable at any moment to be overturned and buried in the mud beyond reach." The causeways were built of poles and planks, and the guns were placed in battery on heavy plank platforms. 1 Ten of the guns of the fort were dismounted ; and so destructive of masonry had been the Parrott projectiles, that there was imminent danger of their penetrating the magazine. Some of these projectiles went through six or seven feet of solid brick wall I 3 The assailing troops were under the immediate command of General Viele. He had but one man killed. The spoils were, the fort, forty-seven heavy guns, forty thousand pounds of gun- powder, and a large supply of fixed ammunition and commissary stores. 8 We have seen [page 561] how the British government proclaimed its neutrality at the beginning. British subjects at once entered into the dishonorable business of violating the blockade, not only declared [page 560], but well sustained by force, and supplying the insurgents with arms, ammunition, and necessaries of every kind. Fast-sailing steamers were built for the dur- pose, and painted a gray color, so as not to be distinguished in even a light fog. They frequently eluded the blockaders, and rendered great service to the enemies of our government. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. took possession of St. Augustine ; and the Confederates abandoned Pensacola and the fortifications on the main opposite Fort Pickens. Dupont returned to Port Royal at the close of March, and found Sherman in possession of Edisto Island, well up toward Charleston. And so it was, that before the first anni- versary of the fall of Fort Sumter, the whole Atlantic coast, from Cape Hat- teras to Perdido Bay, excepting the harbor of Charleston and its immediate surroundings, had been abandoned by the insurgents. Turning again to Hampton Roads, we see General Butler there at the head of another expedition. 1 He had completed his recruiting in New Eno-land * and on the 23d of February [1862] he received orders, as commander of the Department of the Gulf, to co-operate with the navy, first in the capture of New Orleans and its approaches, and then in the reduction of Mobile, Galves- ton, and Baton Rouge, with the ultimate design of occupying Texas. On the 25th of February he sailed from Hampton Roads with nearly 14,000 men; and thirty days later he re-embarked on Ship Island, off the coast of Missis- sippi, in the Gulf of Mexico. It was already in possession of National troops, under General Phelps, and a naval force was there under Commodores Farragut and Bailey. With these officers Butler arranged a plan of operations against New Orleans. A fleet of bomb-vessels under Commander David D. Porter had been prepared to co-operate with the forces which rendezvoused at Ship Island, and early in April an extensive armament was in the Mississippi River, 3 prepared to attack Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the banks of that stream, at a sharp bend, seventy-five miles above the passes of the river into the Gulf. General Mansfield Lovell, formerly a New York politician, was in command at New Orleans and of its defenses, among which were the forts just named. 4 He and the people of that region sup- D D PORTE R. posed these defenses to be impregnable, 5 and they rested in fancied security until late in April, when startling events- undeceived them. All things were in readiness for an assault on the- forts on the 17th [April, 1862], and a battle with these fortifications began on the morning of the 18th,. 1 Page 579. * Page 580. 1 The fleets of Farragut and Porter comprised forty-seven armed vessels, eight of which were large and powerful steam sloops of war. Butler's troops, composed of Massachusetts, Connecti- cut. Indiana, "Wisconsin, and Michigan men, were borne on five transports. 4 Fort Jackson was built by the government. Fort St. Philip was an old Spanish work, which figured somewhat in the war of 1812. They were near each other, on opposite sides of the river. The general command of these, and other river defenses below New Orleans. wHs intrusted to General J. R, Duncan, formerly an office-holder in the city of New York. s A leading newspaper said: "Our only fear is that the Northern invaders may not appear. We have made such extensive preparations to receive them, that it were vexatious if their invin- 39 10 THE NATION. [1862. Farragut commanding the squadron of gun-boats, and Porter the mortar fleet, the former being the chief officer. Soon perceiving but little chance for redu- cing the forts, Farragut made arrangements to run by them with his gun-boats. This was attempted on the night of the 23d, the mortar-boats keeping their position and covering the advance with their fire. It was a most perilous undertaking. Obstructions below the fort were first removed, and then, under the heavy fire of the Confederates, the squadron moved up the swift current (the Mississippi was full to the brim), and soon encountered a formidable fleet of rams and gun-boats lying just above the forts. One of the most terrific naval fights on record ensued, 1 in which Farragut and commanders Bailey and Boggs were most conspicuous. It resulted in victory for the Nationals. Within the space of an hour and a half after the National vessels left their anchorage, the forts were passed, the struggle had occurred, and eleven of the Confederate vessels, or nearly the whole of their fleet, were destroyed. 2 The National loss was thirty men killed, and not more than one hxmdred and twenty-five wounded. All of Farragut's vessels which had passed the forts, thirteen in number, rendezvoused at the Quarantine, which was the first gov- ernment property in Louisiana " repossessed " by the National forces. While this desperate battle was raging, the land troops imder Butler were preparing to perform their part in the drama. They were landed in the rear of Fort St. Philip, and in small boats they made their way to the Quarantine on the Mississippi [April 27] through narrow and shallow bayous. Their appearance alarmed the Confederates, and a mutiny in the garrison of Fort Jackson, caused by their menace, compelled the surrender of the forts. 3 Meanwhile Farragut had gone up to New Orleans with his fleet. Pie had been preceded by intelligence of disasters below, and there was a fearful panic in the city. Four millions of specie was sent away by the banks, and a vast amount of private property, with many citizens, was soon on the wing. cible armada escapes the fate we have in store for it." In and around New Orleans was a force of about 10,000 armed men. In order to deceive the people, it was given out by the authorities that there were more than 30.000 troops ready for the defense of the city; and the redoubtable Hollins was spoken of as "a Nelson in his way !" 1 "Combine," said Major Bell, of Butler's staff, who was present, "all that you have ever heard of thunder, and add to it all you have ever seen of lightning, and you have, perhaps, a conception of the scene." And all this noise and destruc- tive energy blazing fire-rafts sent down upon the current to destroy the National vessels ; the floating volcanoes sending forth fire, and smoke, and bolts of death, and the thundering forts and ponderous rams were all crowded, in the gloom of night, within the space of a narrow river. 2 Among the vessels destroyed was _ the ram Manassas, which was set on BAM " MANASSAS " ON FIRE. fire ' and went paring down the stream. Finally, like a huge amphibious mon- etlr, it gave a plunge, and disappeared in the turbulent waters. 8 The number of prisoners, including some taken at the Quarantine, was about 1.000. The entire loss of the Nationals, from the beginning of this contest until the capture of New Orleans, was 40 killed and 177 wounded. 1862 J LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 611 THE LEVEE AT NEW ORLEANS. Women were seen in the streets crying, "Burn the city! burn the city!'* Vehicles were everywhere observed carrying cotton to the levee to be destroyed; and when, on the 25th, Farragut, with nine vessels, approached the town, a sheet of flame and pall of smoke, caused by the burning of cotton, sugar, and other property, was seen along the levee a distance of five miles. 1 The city was utterly defenseless. The troops had mostly fled, and Farrainit * o held the rebellious citizens in check by the fear of his shells, 2 until the arrival of General Butler with his troops on the first of May. These were landed. The General made his head-quarters at the St. Charles Hotel, and there, in conference with the city authorities and some leading citizens, he foreshadowed a policy that proved effectual in maintaining order. By the most vigorous action the rebellious spirit of leading politicians was subdued, the refractory were punished, the poor were relieved, and the peaceful were protected. 3 The capture of New 1 More than a dozen large ships, some of them laden with cotton, and as many magnificent steam-boats, with unfinished gun-boats and other vessels, were seen in flames. In this confla- gration no less than 15,000 bales of cotton, valued at $1,500,000, were consumed. 2 Captain Bailey was sent ashore with a flag to demand the surrender of the city, and the taking down of the Confederate flag from the government custom-house and mint. This was refused, when a force landed, and unfurled the National flag over the mint. As soon as the force retired, some young men, led by a notorious gambler named Mtimford, pulled it down and dragged it in derision through the streets. When Butler, who arrived soon afterward and took command, heard of this, he wrote to the Secretary of "War, saying: "This outrage will be punished in such manner as in my judgment will caution both the perpetrators and abettors of the act, so that they shall fear the stripes if they do not reverence the stars of our banner." Mumford was afterward active in inciting a mob to violence, when he was arrested, tried for and convicted of treason by a court-martial, and hung. 3 The Mayor of the city, John T. Monroe, one of the most unworthy men of our time, was very refractory for a while, but, with all others like him, he was soon compelled to be quiet Butler discovered a list of subscribers, composed of bankers, merchants, and other wealthy citi- zens, to a fund for carrying on the rebellion. These he assessed for the benefit of the poor, to the amount of twenty-five per cent, on their subscription. Foolish women, of the wealthy and rebellious class, defied the military authority ; and one of these, with the low manners of the degraded of her sex, deliberately spat in the faces of two officers in the street Forbearance was no longer a virtue, and Butler issued an order which effectually cured the growing evil. It pub- licly directed the treatment of women, so acting, to be such as would be given to the abandoned of their sex.* This order, which was perverted and misrepresented, produced the mosf intense * The following is a copy of the document called the u Woman Order," dated New Orleans, May 15, 1SC2 : u General Order No. 2S: " As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women (call- ing themselves ladies) of -New Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on OUT 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 United 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 BUTLKB. "GEORGE C. STRONG. Assistant Adjutant-General, CMtf of Stajf." 612 THE NATION. [1862. GEO. B. M'CLELLAN. Orleans was the heaviest blow the Confederacy had yet received, and for a while it staggered under its infliction. 1 OO Let us now return to a consideration of the Army of the Potomac, which we left in a quiet condition after the little flurry at Drainsville. At the beginning of 1 862, when the Grand Army numbered full 200,000 men, the prospect of its advance seemed more remote than ever, for the fine autumn weather had been succeeded by storms and frost, and the roads were becoming wretched in Virginia. The people were impatient and the Presi- dent was dissatisfied. He could get no satisfaction from the General-in-Chief (McClellan) when he inquired why that army did not move. He therefore summoned [January 10, 1862] Generals McDowell and Franklin to a conference with himself and cabinet, for he had resolved that something must be done by the Army of the Potomac, either with or without the General-in-Chief. Other conferences were held, in which McClellan participated ; and in a gene- ral order on the 27th of January, the President directed a simultaneous for- ward movement of all the " land and naval forces of the United States against the insurgent forces." This order sent a thrill of joy through every loyal heart. It was heightened by another order, directing McClellan to form all of the disposable forces of the army, after providing for the safety of Wash- ington, into an expedition for operating against the Confederates at Manassas. But the General-in-Chief had other plans, and, instead of obeying, he remon- strated. He proposed to take his army to Richmond, by way of the Chesa- peake Bay and the peninsula between the York and James Rivers, instead of falling upon the Confederates at Manassas. Discussion followed. A council of officers decided in favor of McClellan's plan. The President dissented from their views, but acquiesced in their decision. Orders were issued for the move- ment. Sj-ill there was delay, and finally, on the 8th of March, the Executive issued an order for the army to advance by the Chesapeake as early as the 1 8th of that month. At that moment events were occurring which caused a material modifica- tion of the plans of the General-in-Chief. The Confederates suddenly evacuated Manassas [March 8 and 9] and hastened toward Richmond. The Army of the excitement throughout the Confederacy, and Davis issued a proclamation of outlawry against Butler. 1 " It annihilated us in Louisiana," said a Confederate historian of the war, " diminished our resources and supplies by the loss of one of the greatest grain and cattle countries within the limits of the Confederacy, gave to the enemy the Mississippi River, with all its means of naviga- tion, for a base of operations, and finally led, by plain and irresistible conclusion, to our virtual abandonment of the great and fruitful Valley of the Mississippi." 18G2 -1 LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. Potomac followed as far as the deserted post, and some cavalry a little beyond ; and th6 loyal people rejoiced because the march on Richmond had begun. They were instantly disappointed. The whole Grand Army of the Poto'mac was ordered back, and the few Confederates who had been keeping it in check for months 1 were allowed to make their way peacefully to Richmond, and there prepare to hold that grand army in check for many months at another point. The government was now satisfied that the burden of care which had been laid upon the General-in-Chief was greater than he was able to bear, and the President kindly relieved him [March 11, 1862] of much of it, by dividing the great labor of command, and leaving in McClellan's charge only the Army of the Potomac. 2 The evacuation of Manassas was simultaneous with the sudden appearance of a new naval power in Hampton Roads, the operations of which formed one of the causes for a modification of McClellan's plans for moving against Richmond. It was the notable iron gun-boat called the Monitor, constructed on a novel plan for offensive and defensive war. 3 It was then known that the Merrimack, sunk at Norfolk, 4 had been raised and converted into a formidable iron-clad warrior. Its speedy appearance in Hampton Roads was expected, and dreaded, because it would greatly imperil the wooden vessels of the government- there. On the 8th of March it suddenly made its appearance. It moved directly upon the sailing frigates Congress and Cum- berland, at the mouth of the James River, and destroyed them. It also attacked other armed vessels, and then seemed to take a little rest for the task of utterly destroying the warriors and transports in Hampton Roads on the following morning. The intervening night was consequently passed in great anxiety by the National commanders on land and water in that region. There seemed to be no competent human agency to avert the threatened disasters, 1 Johnston, informed of the strength of the Army of the Potomac, was satisfied that he could not withstand its advance, and had been preparing for the evacuation for several weeks, but with such skill that McClellan was not aware of it. This was necessary, for his troops were so few that he could not form a respectable rear-guard to cover his retreat, witli his supplies. "\Vooden guns took the place of some of his heavy ones at Manassas, when his ordnance was sent away. So well had Johnston managed to deceive McClellan as to his force, that on the day when he evacuated Manassas, the chief of McClellan's secret service corps reported 98,000 Confede- rate soldiers "within twenty miles of Manassas," and a total of 115,000 in Virginia, with 300 field-pieces, and twenty-six to thirty siege-guns ' : before "Washington." At the same time Gen- eral Wool, at Fortress Monroe, and General Wadsworth, back of Arlington Heights, gave the government (what were subsequently proven to be truthful) statements, from reliable information, that not over 50,000 troops were then in front of the Army of the Potomac. The actual number seems to have been but 40,000. 4 By the President's order, dated March 11, 1862, General McClellan was relieved of the com- mand of other military departments. To General Halleck was given the command of the troops in the Valley of the Mississippi and westward of the longitude of Knoxville, in Tennessee ; and a Mountain Department, consisting of the region between Halleck and McClellan, was created, and placed in charge of General Fremont. The commanders of departments were ordered to report directly to the Secretary of "War. 3 This vessel presented the appearance on the water of a simple platform, sharp at each end, lying just above the surface, on which was a round revolving iron Martello tower, twenty feet in diameter and ten feet in height above the deck, and pierced for two guns. This turret, or tower, was made to revolve, so that the guns could be brought to bear independent of the position of the hull of the vessel. The hull and turret were of heavy iron, and impervious to shot and shell This vessel was the invention of Captain John Ericsson, a scientific Swede, who had then been a resident of this country full twenty years. 4 Page 558. 614 THE NATION. [1862. when, at a little past midnight [March 9, 1862], a mysterious thing came in from the sea between the capes of Virginia, lighted on its way by the blazing Congress. 1 It was the Monitor on its trial trip, commanded by Lieutenant John L. "Worden. 2 That gallant officer was soon made acquainted with the situation, and prepared to meet the deA'ouring monster in the morning. Before sunrise, on that beautiful Sabbath day, it came sweeping down the Elizabeth River. The Monitor, like a little David, hastened to meet the Confederate Goliath. As it drew near, its invulnerable citadel began to move, and from it were hurled ponderous shot in quick succession. These were answered by broadsides from the Merrimack. The combat was terrible. From the turret COMBAT BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND MERRIMACK. and deck of the Monitor heavy round shot and conical bolts glanoed off as pebbles would fly from contact with solid granite. The Merrimack was finally disabled by its mysterious antagonist, and fled up to Norfolk. 3 The safe navi- gation of Hampton Roads, and, to some extent, that of the James River, was secured to the National vessels. The event produced joy in every loyal heart, and Ericsson, the inventor, and Worden, the commander, shared in the public gratitude. 4 Impressed with the belief that the navigation of the James River was now 1 The Cumberland was sunk and the Congress was set on fire by the Merrimack. The maga- zine of the latter exploded, and destroyed what was left of her by the flames. Nearly one-half of the officers and crews of both vessels were killed or wounded. Of the 434 men of the Congress, only one-half responded to their names the next morning at Newport-Newce. The dead were buried at that place, and their remains are among those of scores of Union soldiers. On a board, in the form of a cross, at the head of one of the latter, whose name and history are unknown, might have been read in 1866 one of the most touching and poetical epitaphs ever inscribed. It read: "A SOLDIER OP THE UNION MUSTERED OUT." * Note 1, page 581. 3 Franklin Buchanan, a veteran officer of the National navy, who had abandoned his flag, was the commander of the Merrimack (which the Confederates named Virginia), and was so badly wounded in the engagement that he was unfitted for service for some time. 4 Worden was severely injured during the engagement. In the turret of the Monitor was a small peep-hole, out of which the commander might see how to direct the turning of it, so as to bring the guns properly to bear. While Worden was looking through this, a heavy shot struck squarely in front of the peep-hole, shivering some cement there and casting it violently into the face and LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. free for the National gun-boats, McClellan, in accordance with the decision of a council of officers [March 13], proceeded to transfer the Army of the Potomac to Fortress Monroe, from which, as a base, it might march on Richmond. It was important for the security of Washington City, at the same time, to hold the Confederates in check in the Shenandoah Valley. Already the dashing General Lander, by a successful attack on " Stonewall Jackson " l at Blooming Gap [February 14, 1862], had made that leader circumspect. Now General N. P. Banks was in command in the Valley. When Johnston evacuated Manassas, Jackson, who had taken post at Winchester, moved farther up the Valley, followed by some of Banks's troops. The latter fell back, and a con- siderable force under General Shields took post at Winchester. Jackson returned, and at Kernstown, near Winchester, he and Shields had a severe engagement on the 22d of March, 9 at the close of which the defeated Confede- rates went in swift retreat up the Valley, followed far by Banks, who remained in that region to Avatch the foe, while McClellan should move on Richmond by way of the Virginia Peninsula. At the beginning of April McClellan was at Fortress Monroe, and began his march [April 5] up the Peninsula, with fifty thousand men, in two columns, led respectively by Generals Heintzelman 3 and Keyes, one in the direction of Yorktown and the other toward Warwick Court House, nearer the James River. The Confederates, under Magruder, 4 about eleven thousand strong, were stretched across McClellan's path, from the York to the James, and by a skillful and deceptive display of strength in numbers, kept the Army of the Potomac before them (which speedily numbered one hundred thousand men) at bay for a month, 5 its leader calling earnestly for re-enforcements to enable him to move forward. He closely besieged his foes at Yorktown, and when the latter perceived that it was no longer prudent to remain, they fled up the Peninsula [May 3, 1862] and made a stand behind a strong line of works in front of Williamsburg. The bulk of the National army pursued, under the directions of General Sumner, while McClellan remained at Yorktown, to superintend the forwarding of an expedition up the York River, under General Franklin, to flank the Confederates. eyes of the commander. The shock was so great that the persons in the turret were prostrated. Only "Worden was seriously hurt. For several days afterward his life was in great peril. He recovered, and did gallant service afterward on the Southern coast. 1 Thomas J. Jackson, who became one of the most renowned of the Confederate leaders, was in command of a brigade at the battle of Bull's Run, where his men gallantly withstood all assaults. "Seel" exclaimed another leader (General Bee), when trying to rally panic-strickea troops, "there stands Jackson like a stone wall!" The latter was ever afterward called "Stone- wall Jackson," and his troops the "Stonewall Brigade." * Shields reported his loss at nearly GOO men, of whom 103 were killed. Jackson's loss was over 1,000. It was estimated at 1,500 by Shields. 1 In Heintzelman's column were the divisions of Fitz-John Porter, Hamilton, and Sedgwick; and with Keyes were the divisions of Generals Couch and "W. F. Smith. 4 Page 562. * The tedious operations of a regular siege, by casting up intrenchments, were under the direction of General Porter. Frequent skirmishes occurred during the siege, but only one that had the semblance of a battle. That was on the 16th of April, when General Smith attacked the Confederates on the Warwick River, between the mills of Lee and Winn. He was repulsed, with the loss of one hundred men on his part and of seventy-five on the part of his foe. McClel- lan's army suffered much from sickness during the month's detention in that swampy region. 616 THE NATION. [1862. The works in front of Williamsburg were strong, extending across that narrowest part of the Peninsula from estuaries of the York and James Rivers. There the Confederate leader left a strong rear-guard to check the pursuers, while the main body (a greater portion of which had not been below Williams- burg), then under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston, who had come doAvn from Richmond, should retreat up the Peninsula. Johnston's intention was to concentrate all his troops near Rich- mond, and then give battle. The pur- suing force, after their advance under General Stoneman had been checked in front of the Confederate works, pushed boldly up to attack them under such leaders as Hooker, Kearney, and Han- cock, who were conspicuous on that occa- sion. Hooker began the assault early on the morning of the 6th [May, 1862], and bore the brunt of battle almost nine consecutive hours, when Kearney came to his assistance, and Hancock turned the left of the Confederates. The latter, overpowered, retreated, and such was their haste, that they left nearly eight hundred of their wounded behind. 1 McClellan came upon the battle-field toward the close of the engagement, and the next morning he sent tidings of the victory to the government from the ancient capital of Virginia. Johnston was then pressing on toward the Chick- ahomiuy, with fearful anticipation of disaster if again struck in his retreat by the Nationals ; but the pursuit there ended, and McClellan's army, during the succeeding ten or fifteen days, made its way leisurely to the Chickahominy, behind which Johnston was then safely encamped. 8 In the mean time Frank- lin's expedition, too long held at Yorktown by the Commander-in-Chief to win the advantages of a flank movement, had secured a strong footing near the head of the York River, and there, on the bank of the Pamunkey River, Gene- ral McClellan established his base of supplies for the Army of the Potomac. On the 20th of May [1862], McClellan's army was on the borders of the "Chickahominy River, and a portion of it, under General Casey, occupied the heights on the Richmond side of the stream, on the New Kent road. In the mean time important events had occurred in the rear of the Army of the Poto- JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON. 1 So vigorous was the assault of Hooker, that Johnston sent back a greater part of his force to the assistance of his rear-guard. The final retreat was made under the lead of General Long- street, one of the best of the Confederate generals. * On the evening after the battle, McClellan telegraphed to the Secretary of War that the Con- federates were before him in force probably greater than his own, and strongly intrenched, and assured the Secretary that he should "run the risk of holding them in check there." At that time Johnston's 30,000 men were fleeing as rapidly as possible toward the Chickahominy before McClellan's victorious 100,000 men. Experts on both sides declared that had the pursuit been continued, in the morning after the battle at Williamsburg, the National army might have crushed that of the Confederates, or followed them directly into Richmond. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 61T mac. General Wool, 1 in command at Fortress Monroe, had long desired to attempt the capture of Norfolk. Permission was at length given him by the President and Secretary of War. 9 With a few regiments he landed [May 10, 1862] in the rear of the Confederate works below Norfolk, and marched tri- umphantly toward the city. The Confederate forces there, under General Huger, destroyed the Merrimack* and fled toward Petersburg and Richmond. Norfolk was surrendered to Wool by the civil authorities. The Confederate vessels of war in the James River fled up toward Richmond, and were followed by National gun-boats, under Commodore Rogers, to Drewry's Bluff, eight miles below the capital of the Confederates, where they were checked [May 15] by a strong fort. Important events had also been occurring in the Shenandoah Valley and the adjacent region. At about the time of the siege of Yorktown, General Fremont was at Franklin, among the mountains of Western Virginia. Gene- ral Banks was at Strasburg, in the Shenandoah Valley, and General McDowell was at Fredericksburg, on the Rappahanuock, for the double purpose of cover- ing Washington and co-operating with McClellan. Jackson had been joined by the skillful Ewell, in the vicinity of Harrisonburg. Other troops were near, and he was watching Banks closely. At McDowell [May 8], west of Staunton, he struck one of Fremont's brigades, under General Milroy, a severe blow, while Ewell pressed Banks back to Strasburg. Jackson and *E well soon after- ward captured and dispersed [May 23] a National force under Colonel Kenly, at Front Royal, and sent Banks flying down the Shenandoah Valley from Strasburg, hotly pursued to Winchester. There Ewell attacked him [May 25], and after a severe contest he continued his flight to the banks of the Potomac, near Wil- liamsport. The National capital was now in peril, and McDowell was ordered to send a large force over the Blue Ridge, to intercept the Confederates, if they should retreat, while Fremont should march on Strasburg from the west, for the same purpose. Jackson perceived his peril, and his whole force fled up the valley in time to elude the troops on their flank. Fremont pursued them up the main valley, and Shields, with a considerable force, marched rapidly up the parallel Luray Valley. At a place called Cross Keys, near Harrisonburg, Fremont overtook Ewell, when a severe but undecisive battle ensued [June 7]. Jackson was then at Port Republic, a few miles distant, sorely pressed by Generals Carroll and Tyler. He called Ewell to his aid. The latter moved off in the night. Fremont followed ; but Ewell 1 Page 413, and note 5, page 579. 1 Wool's command was not under the direction of McClellan. It remained an independent one so long as that veteran was at the head of that department. Page 614. T. J. JACKSON. THE NATION. [1862. managed to cross the Shenandoah and burn the bridge behind him before Fre- O vi 1 mont could reach that stream. Meanwhile Jackson's assailants had been repulsed, and on the 9th of June the whole National army on the Shenandoah retraced their steps. So ended the second great race of the National and Con- federate troops in the Shenandoah Valley. When Rogers went up to Drewry's Bluff, 1 the James and York Rivers were both opened as highways for supplies for the Army of the Potomac. McClellan determined to continue his base at the head of York, until he should form a junction with McDowell. That event was postponed by others in the Shenandoah Valley, just recorded, and the two great armies stood face to face near Richmond toward the close of May, with little expectation of aid from their respective comrades in that Valley. Their first collision was on the 23d, near Mechanicsville, when the Confederates were driven, and the army and loyal people were thrilled by a general order issued by McClellan the next day, which indicated an immediate advance upon Richmond. Every thing was in readiness for the movement, and the Confederates were trembling in anticipation of it. s McClellan hesitated, and the golden moments of opportu- nity were spent in flank movements, which resulted in severe struggles, that were fruitless of good to the National army. 3 The skillful aijd vigilant Johnston, soon perceiving the perilous position of the National forces, divided by the fickle Chickahominy, 4 arid the timidity of their chief, marched boldly out from his strong intrenchments before Rich- mond to attack them. On the afternoon of the 31st [May, 1862], a heavy force of the Confederates fell furiously upon the most advanced National troop's, under General Casey, and a sanguinary battle ensued. Casey fought his foe most gallantly, until one-third of his division was disabled, and he was 1 Page 617. 8 The appearance of Rogers's flotilla before Drewry's Bluff simultaneously with McClellan's advance toward the Chickahominy produced the greatest consternation in Richmond, especially among the conspirators. Davis, their chief, almost despaired, and the general expectation that the National forces would speedily march into Richmond, caused the chief leaders to make preparations for flight. The "archives of the government," so called, were sent to Columbia, South Carolina, and to Lynchburg. The railway tracks over the bridges at Richmond were covered with planks, so as to facilitate the passage of artillery, and every man who was active in the rebellion trembled with fear. The Legislature of Virginia, then in session, 'disgusted with the cowardice and perfidy of Davis and his chief associates in crime, passed resolutions calling upon them to act with manliness and honor, and to stay and protect at all hazards the people they had betrayed. This action, it is believed, was inspired by the manly Johnston, then at the head of the army, whose virtues were a standing rebuke to the cold selfishness of the chief con- spirator. 3 The troops engaged were regular cavalry under General Emory ; Benson's horse-battery ; Morrell's division, composed of the brigades of Martindale, Butterfield, and McQuade, and Ber- dan's sharp-shooters; three batteries under Captain Griffin, and a "provisional brigade," under Colonel G. K. Warren, in support. Their first encounter was near Hanover Court House [May 27], when a charge by Butterfield's brigade dispersed the Confederates. At the same time Gen- eral Martindale was contending wfth fresh troops that came up from Richmond, and attacked him while moving between Peake's Station and Hanover Court House. Porter sent assistance to Martindale, when the Confederates, outnumbered, fell back, with a loss of 200 men dead on the field, and 700 made prisoners. Tho National loss was 350. 4 The Chickahominy River is a narrow stream, and liable to a sudden and great increase of volume and overflow of its banks by rains. For this reason it might, in a few hours, become an impassable barrier between bodies of troops where bridges did not exist. In this instance the Confederates had destroyed the bridges. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. gig driven back by an overwhelming force. Troops sent to his aid by Keyes could not withstand the pressure, and all were driven back to Fair Oaks Sta- tion, on the Richmond and York River Railway, where the struggle continued. Heintzelman and Kearney pressed forward with re-enforcements, but fresh Confederates were there to meet them, and it seemed at one time as if the whole of the National forces on the Richmond side of the Chickahominy were doomed to destruction. At that critical moment the veteran General Sumner appeared, with the divisions of Sedgwick and Richardson, and checked the Confederate advance by a storm of canister-shot from twenty-four guns. But they soon pressed forward again and fought gallantly, notwithstanding John- ston, their chief, who was directing the battle, was severely wounded and borne away. Finally, at eight o'clock in the evening, a bayonet charge by five regiments broke the Confederate line into dire confusion. The contest was renewed in the morning [June 1], and after a struggle for several hours, in which Hooker's command also was engaged, the Confederates withdrew, and retired to Richmond that night. So ended the battle of Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines. For nearly a month after this the Army of the Potomac lay along the Chickahominy, a few miles from Richmond, in a very unhealthful situation, quietly besieging the Confederate capital. Robert E. Lee 1 succeeded John- ston, and he was joined by Jackson and Ewell, with a force so considerable that he prepared to strike McClellan a deadly blow. Fifteen hundred of his cavalry, under J. E. B. Stewart,* made a complete circuit of the Army of the Potomac at the middle of June, threatening its supplies at the White House, 8 near the head of York River, and gaining valuable information. Meantime the public expectation was kept on the alert by frequent assurances that the decisive battle would be fought " to-morrow." For that purpose re-enforce- ments were called for, and sent ; yet the cautious commander hesitated until Lee made a movement which compelled him to take a defensive position, and prepare to abandon the siege and retreat to the James River. That movement was made on the 26th of June. Jackson, with a considerable force, marched from Hanover Court House to turn McClellan's right, and fall upon his com- munications with his supplies at the White JHouse ; and at the same time a heavier force, under Generals Longstreet and D. H. and A. P. Hill, crossed the Chickahominy near Mechanicsville, and assailed the National right wing, com- manded by General Fitz John Porter. A terrific battle ensued near Ellison's 1 Page 564. * Pago 585. 3 The White House was the name of an estate on the Pamunkey River, that belonged to the Custis family by inheritance from Mrs. Washington, whose first husband owned it. Her great- grand-daughter was the wife of Robert E. Lee, and this property was in the possession of the latter's eldest son when the Civil War broke out. The name was derived from the color of the mansion on the estate at the time Washington was married to Mrs. Custis. It was white, and thus distinguished from others. That mansion was demolished between thirty and forty years ago, and near its site was another, of modest form and dimensions, which was called the "White House." This was held sacred, for some time, by the Union troops, in consequence of a false impression given by the family that it was the original " White House." When McClellan changed his base to the James River, and his stores were fired, the modern " White House " was consumed. 620 THE NATION. [1862. Mill, which resulted in the defeat of the Confederates, who suffered a fearful loss. 1 Notwithstanding this victory, McClellan decided that the time had come for him to fly toward the James River, if he would save his army. He was left to choose between a concentration of his whole force on the left bank of the Chick- ahominy, and give general battle to Lee's army ; to concentrate it on the right bank, and march directly on Richmond, or to trans- fer his right wing to that side of the stream, and with his supplies retreat to the James River. He chose the latter course, and made preparations accord- ingly. 2 He ordered the stores at the White House to be destroyed if they could not be removed, and held Porter's corps in a strong position near Gaines's Mills, a short distance from Ellison's Mill, to give protection as far as possible to the supplies, and to the remainder of the troops in the removal of the siege-guns, their pas- sage of the river, and their march toward the James. There, between Cool O , ' * Ai'bor 3 and the Chickahominy, in line of battle on the arc of a circle, Porter stood when attacked by the Hills and Longstreet, 4 on the afternoon of the 7th of June. Very severe was the battle that ensued. Porter, hard pressed, sent to McClellan, then on the opposite side of the Chickahominy, for aid, but the commander, believing Magruder's 25,000 men at Richmond to be 60,000 in number, could spare only Slocum's division of Franklin's corps. Later, the brigades of Richardson and Meagher were sent, and these arrived just in time to save Porter- from annihilation, for his shattered and disheartened army was VIEW ON THE CHICKAHOHIXY NEAR JIECHANICSVILLE. 1 It was between 3,000 and 4,000 men. The National loss was about 400. The latter were well posted on an eminence ; the former were much exposed in approaching over lower and open ground. a According to official and other statements by the Confederates, Richmond was at that time entirely at the mercy of the Army of the Potomac, it being defended by only 25,000 men under Magruder, who in his report declared that if McClellan had massed his force and moved on Rich- mond while Lee was beyond the Chickahominy, he might easily have captured it. " His failure to do so," said Magruder in his report, "is the best evidence that our wise commander fully understood the character of his opponent." * The place of an ancient tavern and summer resort for the inhabitants of Richmond two generations before. 4 Page 619. 1862 -1 LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. /..>. falling back to the river in disorder, closely pressed by the foe. The appear- ance and cheers of the fresh troops encouraged the fugitives, who re-formed, checked the alarmed pursuers, and drove them back to the field they had won! So ended the battle of Gaines's Mills. 1 During that night Porter's corps with- drew to the right bank of the Chickahominy, destroying the bridges behind them. McClellan now turned his back upon Richmond, with his face toward the James, and gave orders for his army to move through the White Oak Swamp in the direction of Turkey Bend, on that river. Keyes led the way [June 28]. Porter followed ; and after these moved a train of 5,000 wagons, laden with ammunition, provisions, and baggage, and a drove of 2,500 beef cattle. 8 So well was this movement masked from Lee, that he had no suspicion of it until more than twenty-four hours after it began. 3 He had observed, in the morning, some singular movements of the divisions which remained behind, and some skirmishes had taken place, but he supposed McClellan might be preparing to move his forces and give battle in defense of his stores at the White House, or, if he retreated, would take the route on the left bank of the Chickahominy, by which Johnston came up from Williamsburg. 4 But on the night of the 28th the amazing fact was disclosed to Lee that a greater portion of the Army of the Potomac had departed, not to give battle on the north side of the Chicka- hominy, nor to retreat down the Peninsula, but to take a new position on the James River. Scouts had already informed him that a large portion of the supplies at the White House had been removed, and that the remainder, and the mansion itself, were then in flames. McClellan had full twenty-four hours the start of Lee, yet he found himself compelled to struggle for life in that retreat. His rear-guard, under Sumner, was struck at Savage's Station, where a severe battle was fought [June 29]. It continued until late in the evening, when the Confederates recoiled; and before morning [July 1], the whole of McClellan's army was well on its way toward the James. Franklin, with a rear-guard, had been left to hold the main bridge over White Oak Swamp Creek, and so to cover the withdrawal of the army to the high open country of the Malvern Hills ; and at that point and at Glendale, 5 a short distance to the right, severe engagements ensued. The battle at the latter place was very sanguinary, in which the Pennsyl- vanians under McCall suffered much. That leader was captured, and General Meade was severely wounded. By the timely arrival of fresh troops under 1 The National loss was about 8,000 men, of whom about 6,000 were killed and wounded. The Confederate loss was about 5,000. Porter lost twenty-two siege-guns. a The sick and wounded men, who could not march, were left behind, with surgeons, rations, and medical stores. These fell into the hands of the Confederates, and the men suffered terribly. The reason given for this abandonment of the helpless, and the sending away of the ambulances empty, was, that so large a number (about 2,500) of wounded, and sick men would embarrass the army in its flight, and its escape might be impossible. * All day long Magruder and Huger had reported to Lee that the National fortifications on their front were as fully manned as usual, and Lee supposed his foe was preparing for an offensive movement. 4 Page 616. * The name of an estate. The battle occurred on the rxoperty of several owners. Tt is some- times called the Battle of Frazier'a Farm. 622 THE NATION. [1862. Hooker, Meagher, and Taylor, victory was given to the Nationals ; and early the next day the Army of the Potomac, nnited for the first time since the Chickahominy first divided it, 1 was in a strong position on Malvern Hills, 2 in sight of the James River. It was not considered a safe place for the army to halt, for it was too far separated from its supplies ; so, on the morning of the 1st [July, 1862], McClellan went on board the gun-boat Galena, and pro- ceeded down the river to " select the final location for the army and its depots." This was fixed at Harrison's Bar, a short distance from Malvern Hills. Preparations were made on Malvern Hills for a battle. Lee concentrated his troops at Glendale for that purpose on the morning of the 1st [July, 1862], and resolved, with a heavy line under Jackson, Ewell, Whiting, the Hills, Longstreet, Mag-ruder, and Huger, to carry the intrenched camp of the Nationals by storm, and " drive the invaders," he said, " into the James." This was attempted. A furious battle ensued, in which Porter, Couch, and Kearney were the chief leaders of fighting troops on the part of the Nationals, and these were assisted by gun-boats in the river. The struggle was intense and destruc- tive, and did not cease until almost nine o'clock in the evening, when the Con- federates were driven to the shelter of the ravines and swamps, utterly broken and despairing. The victory for the Nationals was decisive, and the Union leaders expected to follow it up, pursue Lee's shattered columns, and enter Richmond within twenty-four hours, when they were overwhelmed with disappointment by an order from the Commander-in-Chief (who had been on the Galena, most of the day) for the victorious army to "fall back still farther" to Harrison's Landing. 3 This seemed like snatching the palm of victory from the hand just opened to receive it, but it was obeyed, and on the evening of the 3d of July the Army of the Potomac, broken and disheartened, was resting on the James River, and on the 8th what was left of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was behind the de- fenses of Richmond. 4 Very grievous was the disappoint- ment of the loyal people when they heard THE HARRISON MANSION. of this disastrous result of the campaign against Richmond, and most astounding to the government was the assurance of 1 Page 616. a These form a liigh rolling plateau, sloping toward Richmond from bold banks toward the river, and bounded by deep ravines, making an excellent defensive position. 3 McClellan's order produced consternation and great dissatisfaction among the officers and men. The veteran General Kearney was very indignant, and in the presence of several officers said : "I, Philip Kearney, an old soldier, enter my solemn protest against this order for a retreat. We ought, instead of retreating, to follow up the ejiemy and take Richmond ; and, in full view of all the responsibilities of such a declaration, I say to you all, such an order can only be prompted by cowardice or treason." 4 The aggregate loss of the National army during the seven days' contest before Richmond, or from the battle near Mechanicsville [May 23] until the posting of the army at Harrison's Bar, was 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. the commander of the Army of the Potomac, three days after the battle on Malvern Hills, that he had not " over 50,000 men left, with their colors !" Within the space of a hundred days 160,000 men had gone to the Peninsula. What had become of the vast remainder ? The anxious President hastened to the head-quarters of McClellan for an answer to that question, for the latter was now calling for more troops, to enable him to " capture Richmond and put an end to the Rebellion." The President found nearly 40,000 more men there than the general had reported, and yet 75,000 were missing. He could get no satisfactory statement from McClellan, 1 and he found that several of the corps commanders had lost confidence in the chief. In view of this fact, the con- centration of Confederate troops in the direction of Washington, and the assurance of McClellan that his army was not strong enough to capture Rich- mond by " one hundred thousand men, more rather than less," it was thought advisable by the President to withdraw that army from the Peninsula and concentrate it in front of the National capital. Orders were given accord- ingly. McClellan was opposed to the measure, and at once took steps to defeat it. Here we will leave the Army of the Potomac for a little while, and observe events nearer the National capital, with which its movements were intimately connected. To give more efficiency to the troops covering Washington, they were formed into an organization called the Army of Virginia, and placed under the command of Major-General John Pope, who was called from the West* for that purpose. The new army was arranged in three corps, com- manded respectively by Major-Generals McDowell, Banks, and Sigel. 3 In addition to these, a force under General S. D. Sturgis was in process of forma- tion at Alexandria ; and the troops in and around Washington were placed under Pope's command. He also had about five thousand cavalry. His army for field-service, at the close of June, numbered between forty and fifty thousand effective men. He wrote to McClellan, cordially offering his co-opera- tion with him, and asking for suggestions. The cold and vague answer assured Pope that he need not expect any useful co-working with the com- mander of the Army of the Potomac. Immediately after the retreat of McClellan to Harrison's Landing, 4 the con- spirators formed plans for the capture of Washington City ; and when, at the close of July, Halleck 5 ordered the Army of the Potomac to prepare to move reported by McClellan at 1,582 killed, 7,709 wounded, and 5,598 missing, making a total of 15,249. Lee's loss was never reported. He declared that he captured 10,000 prisoners, and took 52 pieces of cannon and 35.000 small arms. 1 After his return to Washington, the President wrote to McClellan [July 13], asking him for an account of the missing numbers. He reported 88,665 "present and fit for duty;" absent by authority, 34,472 ; absent without authority, 3,778; sick, 16,665, making a total of 143,580. Thp government was much disturbed by one item in this report, namely, that over 34,000 men, or more than three-fifths of the entire" number of the army which he had reported on the 3d, were absent on furloughs granted by permission of the commanding general, when he was continually calling for re-enforcements and holding the government responsible for the weakness of his army. The President said to him: "If you had these men with you, you could go into Richmond in the next three days." 3 Page 600. * Page 572. 4 Page 622. ' Halleck was now acting General-in-Chief. See page 604. 624" THE NATION. [1862. to the front of the National capital, and join Pope in its defense, Lee moved with energy to execute the orders of his masters, before the junction of the two Union armies could be effected. Satisfied that no further movements against Richmond were then contemplated, he was left free to act in full force. In the plan of the conspirators was the expulsion of the National troops from the soil of Slave-labor States, the invasion and plunder of Ohio and Pennsyl- vania, and the dictation of terms of peace at Cincinnati and Philadelphia ; and the people of the " Confederate States " were made to expect a speedy vision of Davis in the chair of Dictatorship at "Washington City. These dreams were almost realized before the heats of summer had departed. Pope moved vigorously toward the advancing Confederates, in the direc- tion of Richmond, at the middle of July, and some of his cavalry destroyed railway-tracks and bridges within thirty-five miles of the Confederate capital. Meanwhile a heavy force under " Stonewall " Jackson had gathered at Gor- don sville, and Pope's main army was near Culpepper Court-House, between the Rappahannock and Rapid Anna 1 Rivers. They each advanced in force, and at the foot of Cedar, or Slaughter Mountain, a few miles west of Culpep- per Court-House, they had a severe battle on the 9th of August. The Nation- als were under the general command of Banks, ably assisted by Generals Crawford, Geary, Auger, and others. They were finally pressed back by overwhelming numbers and pursued, when the Confederates were checked by the timely arrival of Ricketts' division of McDowell's corps. The strife had been one of the most desperate of the war, a part of it hand to hand in the darkness, and under a pall of smoke that obscured the moon. 4 Two days afterward Jackson retreated precipitately to Gordonsville, leaving some of his dead unburied. He was chased, but a sudden rise of the Rapid Anna placed a barrier between the pursuers and the pursued. Both parties claimed the palm of victory in the battle of Cedar Mountain. Soon after this conflict Pope and Jackson were both re-enforced. The former was joined by troops under Burnside, from North Carolina, 3 and others under Stevens, from the coast of South Carolina ; and the latter was strength- ened by divisions under Longstreet, some troops under Hood, and Stuart's cavalry. Pope moved to the Rapid Anna, with the intention of holding that position until the arrival of the Army of the Potomac in his rear ; but before that event occurred, he was compelled to fall back by the advance of Lee in crushing force. He retired behind the forks of the Rappahannock, closely pur- 1 The name of this river has generally been spelled Rapidan. It is one of three rivers in that portion of Virginia bearing the name of Anna namely, the Rapid Anna, North Anna, and South Anna. The first is the chief tributary of the Rappahannock, and the two latter form the Panmn- key River. 8 General Crawford's brigade came out of that terrible fight a mere remnant. Some regiments lost half their number. General Geary, with Pennsylvania and Ohio troops, made desperate charges, and was severely wounded. General Auger was also wounded, and General Price was made prisoner. The National loss was about two thousand in killed and wounded, and that of the Confederates about the same. 8 Page 590. These had first gone to the Peninsula to aid McClellan, and were the first of the troops there who promptly obeyed the summons of the Army of the Potomac to the defense of Washington City. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 625 sued by Lee's cavalry, and along the line of that river, above Fredericksburg, there was an artillery duel for two days [August 20 and 21, 1862], Lee found that he could not force a passage of that stream, so he moved toward the mountains, for the purpose of flanking the Nationals. Pope made skillful and energetic efforts to thwart the design of his enemy, but the danger became greater every hour. Pope's force had been greatly weakened by fighting and marching, and the Army of the Potomac was coming to his relief so tardily, that he almost despaired of its arrival in time to be useful. 1 The National capital was now, late in August, in great peril. Pope, encouraged by the belief that McClellan's fresh troops, which had been resting for a month, would almost immediately re-enforce him, massed his army near Rappahannock Station [Aug. 23, 1 862], for the purpose of falling upon a heavy flanking force. Movements to this end were made. Franklin, of the Army of the Potomac, had lately arrived with troops, and Heintzelman and Porter, of the same army, were also near, so that, on the 25th, Pope's army, and its re-en- forcements at hand, with their backs on Washington and their faces to the foe, were about sixty thousand strong, but still somewhat scattered. On that day " Stonewall Jackson," leading the great flank movement, crossed the Rappa- hannock, and with his ac- customed celerity made his way over the Bull's Run Mountains at Tho- roughfare Gap. At twi- light on the 26th he was on the railway in Pope's rear, and between his army and Washington City. The Confederate cavalry swept over the country in the direction of Washington, as far as Fairfax Court-House and Centreville, and Jackson, taking possession in strong force of Manassas Junction, 9 awaited the arrival of an approaching heavy column under Longstreet. Both armies were now in a critical situation. Pope took vigorous measures THOROUGHFARE GAP. 1 At the close of July, Halleck ordered preparations for the removal of the Army of the Poto- mac from the Peninsula, and on the 3d of August he issued a positive order for it to move a McClellan protested. He told his government that the force under Pope was " not necessary p maintain a strict defensive in front of Washington and Harper's Ferry; instructed nis superiors that the " true defense of Washington was on the banks of the James, where the t of the Union was to be decided ;" and then awaited further orders. Halleck repeated his maud, and urged McClellan to use all possible diligence in effecting the departure of his After the battle of Cedar Mountain he told him there "must be no further delay ' m his move- ments, for Washington was in danger. It was twenty days after McClellan received ore transfer his army to Aquia Creek, on the Potomac, before they were executed, and failed to give Pope timely and sufficient aid. * Pages 567 and 572. 40 26 THE NATION. [1862. for capturing Jackson, or at the least preventing the junction of his and Long- street's forces. His plans, experts say, were well chosen, and, had they been as well executed by all of his subordinates, success must have crowned his efforts. But they were not, and disaster was the consequence. Longstreet, with the van of Lee's army, joined Jackson [August 29] near Groveton, not- far from the Bull's Run battle-ground, and there the combined forces fought the whole of Pope's army, excepting Banks's command, then at Bristow's Sta- tion. The battle was very severe, but not decisive. The loss was about seven MONUMENT AND BATTLE-GROUND NEAR GROVETON. 1 thousand on each side. Prudence counseled a retreat for Pope, but, still expecting immediate re-enforcements, he prepared for a renewal of the strug- gle in the morning. When morning came he was assured of no further aid from McClellan, 2 and he had then no alternative. He must fight. He prepared for battle. A movement of the enemy deceived him, and supposing Lee to be retreating, he ordered a pursuit. On a portion of the Bull's Run battle-ground, near Groveton, his advance was assailed [August 30] by a heavy force in ambush. A sanguinary conflict ensued, in which the Nationals were defeated and driven across Bull's Run by way of the Stone Bridge. 3 At Centreville they were joined by the corps of Franklin and Sumner. Lee was not disposed to attack them there, so he sent Jackson [August 31], with his own and E well's divisions, to make another flank movement. This brought on another battle on 1 After the war, Union soldiers, stationed near this battle-ground, erected a monument of the sand-stone of the vicinity, on the field of strife, to the memory of their comrades. The above picture shows the monument and the battle-field, looking toward Manassas Junction. * Pope had received no re-enforcements or supplies since the 26th. He confidently expected rations and forage from McClellan, who was at Alexandria, and had been ordered to supply them, but on the morning of the 30th, when it was too late to retreat and perilous to stand still, Pope received information that supplies would be "loaded into available wagons and cars," so soon as he should send a cavalry escort for the train ! a thing utterly impossible. Meanwhile the corps of Sumner and Franklin, of McClellan's command, which might on that day have secured yictory for the Nationals, were not permitted to go within supporting distance of the struggling army until the next day, when Pope, for want of support, had lost every advantage. 8 Page 569. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ABMINISTRATION. 627 PHILIP KEARNEY. the 1st of September, at Chantilly, not far from Fairfax Court-House, in which Generals Kearney and Stevens were shot dead, and many gallant officer and men were mortally wounded. 1 The Nationals held the field that night, and on the fol- lowing day [Sept. 2] fell back within the fortifications around Washington City. 3 Thus ended Pope's campaign in Virginia, and also his military career in the East. He had labored hard under many difficul- ties, and he bitterly complained of a lack of co-operation with him, in his later struggles, by McClellan and some of his subordinates. 3 The Republic now seemed to be in great danger, and the loyal people were very anxious. Already the President, by a call on the 1st of June, had draAvn forty thousand men for three months from New England. Already the loyal governors of eighteen States, acting under the conviction of a large portion of their constituents, who were evidently losing confidence in the leader of the Army of the Potomac, had requested the President to call for three hundred thousand volunteers "for the war," 4 and he had complied [July 1] ; and when Pope was struggling with Jackson near the Rapid Anna, he called [August 9th] for three hundred thousand men for nine months, with the understanding that an equal number of men would be drafted from the great body of the citizens who were over eighteen and less than forty-five years of age, if they did not appear as volunteers. These calls- met with hearty responses, for the loyal people had determined to save the Republic. Thousands of volunteers were now flocking to the standard of their country. The conspirators were alarmed, and Lee was instructed to take advantage of the reverses to the National arms, and act boldly, vigorously, and even desperately, if necessary, in an attempt to capture Washington City. He was re-enforced by the divi- 1 The National loss in Pope's campaign in Virginia, from the battle of Cedar Mountain to that of Chantilly, was never officially reported in full. Careful estimates make it (including an immense number of stragglers who were returned to their regiments) 30,000. Lee's loss was probably about 15,000. 8 See map on page 572. 3 During the last few days in which the Army of Virginia was struggling for life, the authori- ties at "Washington, by commands and assistance, made every effort to induce McClellan to aid Pope, but in vain. And when, on the 29th of August, Halleck telegraphed to McClellan. saying, " I want Franklin's corps to go far enough to find out something about the enemy," the latter telegraphed to the President, saying: " I am clear that one of two courses should be adopted : First, to concentrate all our available forces to open communication with Pope. Second, to leave Pope to get out of his scrape, and at once use all our means to make the capital safe." 4 Clamors began to arise on every side. Men of influence, whose faith in the " young Napo- leon," as McClellan was fondly called, had been unbounded, now shook their heads doubtingly. They clearly perceived that if 150,000 to 200,000 men could not make more headway in the work of crushing the rebellion than they had done under his leadership, during full ten months, more men must be called to the field at once, and put under a more efficient leader, or all would be lost 628 THE NATION. [1862 sion of D. II. Hill, and then, operating upon the original plan of General John* ston, of pushing into Maryland and getting in the rear of Washington, 1 he crossed the Potomac with almost his entire force by the 7th of September, with the belief that thousands of the citizens of Maryland would join his standard. 2 The Army of Virginia had now disappeared as a separate organization, and, became a part of the Army of the Potomac, with McClellan still at its head. When the latter was informed of Lee's movement into Maryland, he left Gene- ral Banks in command in Washington City, and with a greater part of his army, nearly 90,000 in number, he went in pursuit. He moved very cautiously, but was soon advised that Lee's plan was to take possession of Harper's Ferry, and open communication with Richmond by way of the Shenandoah Valley ; and meanwhile to draw McClellan far toward the Susquehanna, and, turning suddenly upon him, defeat him and march upon Washington. 3 McClellan fol- lowed him through Frederick and over South Mountain into the Antietam Valley. At Turner's Gap, on the South Mountain, a portion of the National army, led by Burnside, had a severe fight [September 14] with a part of Lee's, and at the same time another portion, under Franklin, was striving to force its way over the same range of hills at Cramp- ton's Gap, nearer Har- per's Ferry. In the battle on South Moun- tain, the gallant Gene- ral Reno was killed. 4 The strife ceased at evening, and the Na- tionals were prepared to renew it in the morn- ing. During the night the Confederates with- drew from the emi- nence, and Lee concen- trated his forces near the Antietam Creek, in the vicinity of Sharpsburg. BATTLE-FIELD ON SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 5 1 Page 584. 3 Lee issued a proclamation [Sept. 8], and raised the standard of revolt. He called upon the Marylanders to join his invading host, assuring them that he had come to assist them in throw- ing off "the foreign yoke" they were compelled to bear, and to "restore the independence and sovereignty of their State." He discoursed as fluently of the " outrages " inflicted by their gen- erous government, as Jefferson Davis, his coadjutor in the monstrous crime, ever did, but he soon found, 4,0 his shame and confusion, that the few disloyal Marylanders who had joined his army in Virginia did not represent the great mass of the people of that State. He lost more by desertion than he gained by recruits in Maryland. 8 McClellan's advance, on entering Frederick, found a copy of Lee's general order, issued on the 9th, which revealed his plan. 4 McClellan reported his loss in this engagement at 1,568, of whom 312 were killed. The Confederates lost about the same number in killed and wounded, and 1,500 prisoners. 6 This shows the part of the battle-field where General Reno was killed. The stone near the 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. All eyes were now turned toward Harper's Ferry, then in command of Colonel D. H. Miles, a Marylander. Franklin fought his way over the moun- tain at Crampton's Pass into Pleasant Valley, and on the evening of the 14th of September he was within six miles of Harper's Ferry, then strongly invested by troops under " Stonewall Jackson." They had possession of Maryland and Loud on Heights, which completely commanded that post. Its salvation from capture depended upon the ability of the garrison to hold out until relief should come. But Miles,- either incompetent or disloyal, sent off his cavalry, two thousand strong, on the night of the 14th, and surrendered to Jackson the next morning, before the victorious Franklin could make his way thither. 1 McClellan followed the Confederates in their flight from South Mountain on the morning of the loth [Sept., 1862], but was so impressed with the idea that they were on his front in overwhelming numbers, that he deferred an attack until the next day. The Confederates were posted along the right bank of the Antietam, and the Nationals on its left; and on the morning of the 16th the former opened artillery upon the latter. It was past noon before McClellan was ready, there being a lack of ammunition and rations, for which he waited. Finally, Hooker crossed the Antietam on the extreme left of the Confederates, and other troops were sent over during the night. Hooker's force had a sharp and successful fight, and rested on their arms that night ; and both armies pre- pared for a decisive struggle in the morning. Hooker opened it at dawn on the Confederate left, and with varying fortunes the battle raged on that wing and along the center until late in the afternoon. Meanwhile the National left, under Burnside, had been contending with the Confederate right under Long- street, with varied success ; and when darkness fell upon the scene that night, both armies, sorely smitten, rested where for twelve or fourteen hours they had contended, the advantage being with the Nationals. 8 The Confederates were now in a perilous position. Lee could not easily call re-enforcements to his aid, his supplies were nearly exhausted, and his army was terribly shattered and disorganized. McClellan, on the contrary, had fourteen thousand fresh troops near, and these joined him the next morn- ing. It would have been an easy matter, it seems, to have captured the whole of Lee's army by a vigorous movement. Prudential considerations restrained McClellan, 3 and when he was ready to move on his foe, thirty-six hours after the battle [Sept. 18], Lee, with his shattered legions, were behind strong bat- teries on the Virginia side of the Potomac, whither they had fled under the figure with a cane marks the spot where he fell. The chestnut tree was scarred by bullets when the writer visited the field, in the autumn of 1866 . 1 The number of men surrendered was 11,583, most of them new levies. The spoils were 73 cannon, 13,000 small arms, 200 wagons, and a large quantity of supplies. 8 In this battle McClellan's effective force was 87,000, and Lee's 60,000. McClellan reported his entire loss at 12,469 men, of whom 2,010 were killed. Among the latter was General J. K P. Mansfield, and General Richardson was mortally wounded. Lee's loss was probably somewhat larger. Six thousand of his men were made prisoners, and the spoils were 15,000 small arms, li cannon, and 39 battle-flags. 3 In his report he said: " Virginia was lost, Washington menaced, Maryland invade National cause could afford no risks of defeat." He therefore hesitated, and, in opposition to the advice of Franklin and others, deferred a renewal of the battle until Lee had placed the mac between the two armies. 630 THE NATION. [1862. cover of darkness the night before. A feeble attempt to follow was made, and quickly abandoned [Sept. 19], when Lee moved leisurely up the Shenandoah Valley, and McClellan took possession of Harper's Ferry. He now called for re-enforcements and supplies, and ten days after the battle, the government and the loyal people, who hourly expected the announcement that the Army of the Potomac was in swift pursuit of Lee's broken columns, were sadly dis- appointed by McClellan's declaration that he intended to hold his army where it was, and " attack the enemy should he attempt to recross into Maryland." The President hastened to McClellan's head-quarters [Oct. 1], and there became VIEW OP THE ANTIETAM BATTLE-GROUND. 1 so well satisfied that the army was competent to move at once in pursuit of Lee, that he instructed its leader to cross the Potomac immediately for that purpose. Twenty days were spent in correspondence between the commander of the Army of the Potomac and the National authorities before that order was obeyed, during which time the beautiful October weather, when the roads were good in Virginia, had passed by, and Lee's army had become thoroughly recruited, strengthened, and supplied, and his communication with Richmond was re-established. On the 2d of November McClellan announced that his 1 This was the appearance of that portion of the battle-ground where the struggle was mosl severe, on the Confederate left, as it appeared when the author sketched it, early in October, 1866. The five birds seen in the distance are over the spot where Mansfield was killed. The Antietam Creek is seen in the foreground. The view is from near the house of Mr. Pry, where McClellan had his head-quarters. 1SG2.J LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 631 whole army was once more in Virginia, prepared to move southward, on the east side of the Blue Ridge, instead of pursuing Lee up the Shenandoah Val- ley, on the western side. The faith of the government and of the loyal people in McClellan's ability or disposition to achieve a victory by such movement was now exhausted, and on the 5th of November he was relieved of command and General Burnside was put in his place. Thus ended McClellan's unsuccess- ful military career. Burnside now reorganized the Army of the Potomac (then numbering about one hundred and twenty thousand men) and changed the/ plan of operations, by which the capture of Richmond, rather than the immediate destruction of Lee's army, was the objective. He made Aquia Creek, on the Potomac, his base of supplies, and took position at Fredericksburg, from which he intended to advance. Before he had accomplished that movement and was prepared to 'cross the Rappahannock, Lee had occupied the heights in rear of Fredericks- burg, in full force, full eighty thousand strong. The bridges were destroyed, and Burnside could pass the river only on pontoons or floating bridges. These were constructed, and under cover of a heavy fire of artillery from Stafford Heights, the National columns crossed over. A sanguinary battle ensued on the 13th of December. Ter- rible was the roar of three hundred Confede- rate cannon and half that number of Xa- tional guns. The city was battered and fired. The Nationals were re- pulsed. 1 Two days more [December 1 4- 15] they remained on the city side of the river, and then with- drew under cover of the darkness, and Lee took possession of Fred- ericksburg. Burnside was soon afterward superseded in com- mand [January 26, 1863] by General Joseph Hooker. Here we will leave the Army of the Potomac, in winter quarters on the Rappahannock, and consider the stirring events in the great Valley of the Mississippi. We left the Lower Mississippi, from its mouth to New Orleans, in posses- SCEN'E IN FREDERICKSBURQ ON THE MORNING OP THE 12TH. 1 The National loss was about 15,000 men. A large number of the wounded (seventy per cent.) soon rejoined the army, their hurts being slight. There were 3,234 of the total loss reported " missing," many of whom soon returned, so that the absolute loss to the army, other than temporary, was not very large. The Confederate loss was probably about 7,000. 632 THE NATIOX. [1862. sion of the National forces under Butler and Farragut 1 at the beginning of the summer of 1862, and at the same time the river was held by the same power from Memphis to St. Louis. Southern Tennessee and Northern Alabama and Mississippi were also held by the Nationals, and the Confederate army, driven from Corinth, was at Tupelo. 2 At about this time a Kentuckian, named John H. Morgan, and a notorious leader of a guerrilla band who had penetrated his native State from East Tennessee, was raiding through that commonwealth, preparatory to the advent, under E. Kirby Smith, of an invading force of Confederates, the advance of an army under General Bragg. Another bold leader of Confederate horsemen was N. B. Forrest, who swept through Ten- nessee in various directions, and finally, at the middle of July, threatened FORTIFICATIONS OF THE STATE-HOI?Sfi AT NASHVILLE. 3 - Nashville, then in command of General Negley, who had caused fortifications to be built at points around the city, and breastworks to be thrown up around the State capitol in its midst. In the mean time Bragg was moving through the State eastward of Nashville, toward Kentucky, while General Buell was moving in the same direction, on a nearly parallel line, to foil his intentions. General E. Kirby Smith, with a considerable force, entered Kentucky from East Tennessee, and pushed on in the direction of Frankfort, the capital of the 1 Page 611. . a Page 604. 3 This is a view of the breastworks at one of the fronts of the capitol, seen near the three smaller figures, with a portion of the city, the Cumberland River, and the country around, as they .appeared when sketched by the writer in May, 1866. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 633 State. He fought a severe battle [August 30, 1862] with Union troops under General M. D. Manson, near Richmond, where General Nelson 1 took command. The Nationals were routed and scattered, and Smith passed on to Lexington. The affrighted Legislature of Kentucky, then in session at Frankfort, fled to Louisville. The secessionists of that region warmly welcomed the invader, and the conqueror pushed vigorously toward the Ohio, with the intention of capturing and plundering Cincinnati. He was unexpectedly confronted there by strong fortifications constructed and a large force collected on the southern side of the Ohio, under the direction of the energetic General Lewis Wallace. By these the career of the invader was checked, the city was saved, and Wal- lace received the thanks of the authorities of Cincinnati and of the Legislature of Ohio, for " the promptness, energy, and skill exhibited by him in organizing the forces and planning the defenses " which saved the soil of that State from invasion.* Foiled in this attempt, Smith turned his face toward Louisville. He captured Frankfort, 3 and there awaited the arrival of Bragg, who for almost three weeks had been moving northward from Chattanooga, with over forty regiments of all arms and forty cannon. His destination was Louisville. Bragg crossed the Cumberland River at Carthage, and entered Kentucky on the 5th of September, his advance, eight thousand strong, pushing toward the railway between Nashville and Louisville. At Mumfordsville, on that railway, a National force under Colo- nel T.*J. Wilder fought [September 14] some of the troops of the traitor Buck- ner for five hours, and repulsed them. Two days afterward, a strong Confede- rate force under General Polk appeared, and, after another severe battle [Sep- tember 16], Wilder was compelled to surrender. Bragg was elated by this event. Buell, then at Bowling Green, had sent no relief to Wilder, and he seemed to be so exceedingly tardy, that the Confederate leader had no doubt of an easy march upon Louisville. On the 1st of October he formed a junction with Kirby Smith's troops at Frank- fort, and his marauding bands were out plundering the people in all direc- tions. 4 Then Buell, who had kept abreast of Bragg, turned upon the latter, 1 Page 577. 1 Wallace was satisfied that nothing but the most vigorous measures would save He declared martial law, and ordered the citizens, under the direction of the Mayor, to assemble an hour afterward, in convenient public places, to be organized for work on intrenchments on the south side of the river. "The willing," he said, "shall be properly credited, the^ unwilling promptlv visited. The principle adopted is : citizens for labor soldiers for the battle." 5 There Bragg performed the farce of making a weak citizen, named Hawes, " Provisi Governor of Kentucky." 4 On the 1 5th of September Bragg issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of Kentucky, asst ring them that he came as their il liberator from the tyranny of a despotic ruler." DON CARLOS BUHJU 634 THE NATION. [1862. and near Perry ville they had a severe battle on the 8th [October, 1862], in which the Confederates were so roughly handled that they fled during the night, and made their way as rapidly as possible toward East Tennessee. 1 Bragg pretended that he expected a general uprising in Kentucky in favor of the Confederate cause on his arrival, and was greatly disappointed. His invasion proved a disaster rather than a benefit. It might have proved utterly ruinous had the invaders been vigorously pursued in their retreat, but General Buell, like General McClellan, was too cautious to secure all of the advantages of a victory. The government perceived this, and at the close of October relieved him of his command, and gave it to General Rosecrans. 2 Then the title of his large force, called the Army of the Ohio, was changed to that of the Army of the Cumberland. Simultaneously with the movement of Bragg toward Kentucky, was an advance of Generals Van Dorn and Price (who had been left in Mississippi) toward Tennessee ; and strong bands of Confederates, under different leaders, were raiding through the western portion of that State, all working in aid of Bragg's movement. Rosecrans was then at the head of the Army of the Mississippi, whose duty was to hold the region in Northern Mississippi and Alabama which the capture of Corinth 3 and the operations of Mitchel 4 had secured to the Nationals. He was at Tuscumbia when word came from Grant that danger was gathering west of him. He moved his main force toward Corinth, when Price advanced to luka Springs, 5 and captured a large amount of National property there. General Grant, in chief command in that region, had watched these move- ments very vigilantly, and now he sent a force under General Ord to co- operate with Rosecrans against Price. Before Ord's arrival, Rosecrans, with a greatly inferior force, attacked Price [September 19], and, in a severe battle near the village of luka Springs, the Confederates were beaten. 6 he must have supplies for his army, but that they should be fairly paid for. He had neither means nor intention to do so. He plundered the people, without inquiring whether they were his friends or foes ; and he started to flee from the State with a wagon train of stolen sup- plies forty miles in length, but so fearful was he of capture that he left a large portion of his plunder behind. In truth, the invasion of Kentucky by Kirby Smith and Braxton Bragg was nothing but a great plundering raid, and the wealth of that State and of Southern Indiana and Ohio was the chief object of their march from the Tennessee toward the Ohio River. 1 Buell's entire army numbered at this time about 100.000 men. Bragg's force in Kentucky was about 65,000. Only portions of each army were in the battle near Perryville. Buell reported that his force which advanced on Bragg was 58,000 strong, of whom 22,000 were raw troops. He reported his loss in the battle at 4,348, of whom 916 were killed. Among the slain were Generals Jackson and Terrell. The Confederate loss is supposed to have been nearly the same. Bragg claimed to have captured 15 guns and 400 prisoners. a Page 563. ' Page 604. 4 Page 601. 6 This is a celebrated summer resort for the people in the Gulf region. It is on the Memphis and Charleston railway, a few miles east of Corinth. 6 The disparity of numbers in this engagement was very great. "I say boldly," reported General Hamilton, on the 23d of September, "that a force of not more than 2.800 met and con- fronted a rebel force of 11,000, on a field chosen by Price, and a position naturally very strong." Only a small portion of Rosecrans's force was engaged, and these won the victory, but with fearful loss to the few National regiments in the fight. The men of the llth Ohio Battery suffered dreadfully. Seventy-two were slain or wounded, and all the horses were killed before the guns were abandoned. The appearance of their burial-place on the battle-field, when the writer visited fixe spot, in the spring of 1866, is seen in the engraving on the next page. Rosecrans reported his 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 635 GRAVES OP THE ELEVENTH OHIO BATTERY -J1EN. They fled southward, pursued some distance by the victors, and at Ripley in Mississippi, the forces of Van Dorn and Price were united. Then they moved upon Corinth, now occu- pied by Rosecrans, and there, on the 3d and 4th of October [1862], a san- guinary battle was fought, in which both parties dis- played the greatest valor. The Nationals were be- hind the fortifications, and had some advantage in that respect. 1 The struggle was fearful, and ended in the repulse of the assailants, who fled southward, vigorously pursued as far as Ripley.* The repulse of the Confederates at Corinth was followed by brief repose in the department over which General Grant had chief command. But there were stirring scenes lower down the Mississippi River. The hills about the city of Vicksburg had been covered with fortifications, and the capture of this point, and the works at Port Hudson below, which constituted the only for- midable obstructions to a free navigation of the river, was now an object toward which military movements in the Southwest were tending. Curtis, whom we left, after the battle of Pea Ridge, marching eastward, 3 was making his way toward Helena for that purpose, and the forces Tinder Butler and Farragut were at work for the same end. So early as the 7th of May [1862], Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, had been captured, and Far- loss in this battle at 7 82, of whom 1 44 were killed. He estimated the Confederate loss at 1,438. He captured from them 1.629 small arms and 13,000 rounds of ammunition and other war materials. 1 The fortifications thrown up around Corinth by the Confederates had been strengthened by the Nationals and new batteries constructed. At one of these, called Fort Robinet, the struggle was very severe. In four lines Texans and Missis- sippians approached to assail it, in the face of a terrible storm of grape and canister shot. They reached the ditch, paused for a moment, and then, with a brave leader (Colonel Rogers) bearing the new Confederate flag* in his hand, they attempted to scale the parapet, when the con(*aled Nationals behind suddenly arose, and poured murderous volleys of bullets upon them that swept them down by scores. a In this retreat troops under General Ord had a severe battle at Davis'a Bridge, on the Hatchee River, with a part of Van Dorn's column, in which the Union general was severely wounded. Rosecrans reported his loss in the battle at Corinth and in the pursuit at 2,359, of whom 315 were killed. He estimated the Confederate loss, including 2,248 prisoners, at a little more than 9,000. Among the trophies were fourteen flags, two guns, and 3,363 small arms. Rosecrans reported that, according to Confederate authority. IG.* they had 38,000 men in the battle, and that his own force was less than 20,000. 3 Page 592. * By a recent Act of the Confederate " Congress," the " Stars and Bars " of the first Confederate flag [page 555] had been supersede'd by a white flag, the stars on a blue field arranged in the form of a cross. 636 THE NATION. [18C2. DAVID G. FARRAGUT. ragut's vessels went up to Vicksburg and exchanged greetings with others that came down from Memphis. Vicksburg was attacked on the 26th of June, and Farragut, with his flag-ship (Hartford) and other vessels, ran by and above it. He besieged Vicksburg, and attempted to cut a canal across the peninsula in front of it, so as to avoid the city and its fortifications altogether. But these operations failed, and the fleet went down the river. Not long afterward the National troops at Baton Rouge, under General Williams, were assailed [August 5, 1862] by Confede- rates under Breckinridge. Williams was killed, but the Confederates were repulsed, 1 and this result was followed by the destruction of the formidable Confederate ram Arkansas 1 [August 6] by the Essex, Captain Porter, and two other gun-boats. Then Porter went up the river to rconnoiter, and on the 7th of September he had a sharp fight with the growing batteries at Port Hudson. At the beginning of September General Butler was satisfied that the Con- federates had abandoned all idea of attempting to retake New Orleans, so he sent out some aggressive expeditions. The most important of these was for the purpose of " repossessing " the rich La Fourche district of Louisiana. The command of it was intrusted to General Godfrey Weitzel. He soon accom- plished the task, after a sharp engagement [October 27] near Labadieville, in which he lost eighteen killed and seventy-four wounded, and captured two hundred and sixty-eight prisoners. A large portion of Louisiana, bordering on the western shore of the Mississippi, was brought under the National control before the close of the year, 3 when General Butler was relieved of the command of the Department of the Gulf, and General Banks became [December 16] his successor. In the mean time there had been active military movements in Missouri and Arkansas. Since the autumn of 1861, General J. M. Schofield had been in command in the former State, and with twenty or thirty thousand men, scat- tered over the commonwealth, he made successful warfare on the Confederate 1 The National loss was 371, of whom 82 were killed. The Confederate loss is unknown. One hundred of the latter were made prisoners. a This ram was built in the Yazoo River, in the rear of Vicksburg, and was intended to sweep the National gun-boats from the Mississippi. She came down to assist Breckinridge in the assault on Baton Rouge. Five miles above that place she was attacked, driven ashore, set on fire by her commander, and by the explosion of her magazine was blown into fragments. 3 The rebellion had paralyzed the industrial operations in that region, and General Butler thought it expedient, as a State policy, and for the sake of humanity, to confiscate the entire property of La Fourche district. He appointed a commission to take charge of it, who emploj^ed the negroes and saved the crops. Two Congressional districts were " repossessed," and ia De- cember the loyal citizens of New Orleans elected two members of Congress. 1862.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 637 guerrilla bands late in the summer of 1862. From April until September of that year, about one hundred battles and skirmishes occurred in Missouri. Troops from Arkansas, who came thither to aid their insurgent brethren, were driven back. These formed a nucleus for a force which, late in September, was gathered in Arkansas, full foity thousand strong, under T. C. Hindman a former member of Congress. Against these Schofield marched with what was called the Army of the Frontier. Joining General J. G. Blunt, in the southern part of Missouri, the combined forces, ten thousand strong, sought the insur- gents. The latter were shy, and hovered cautiously among the Ozark Hills. A portion of them were attacked near Maysville [October 22] by Blunt, and driven in disorder into the Indian country. Six days afterward, another por- tion, mostly cavalry, were struck by General Francis J. Herron, and driven to the mountains. Soon after this ill health compelled Schofield to leave the field, and the command devolved on General Blunt. Hindman now determined to strike a decisive blow for the recovery of his State. Toward the close of November he had collected an army about twenty thousand strong on its western border. His advance was attacked by Blunt on the Boston Mountains on the 26th of that month, and were driven toward Van Buren, when Blunt took position at Cave Hill. Hindman, with about eleven thousand men, marched from Van Buren to crush him. Blunt sent for Herron, then in Missouri, to come and help him. He did so, and at a little settlement called Prairie Grove, on Illinois Creek, they utterly defeated Hind- man in a severe battle, and drove his shattered army over the mountains. In the mean time there was bloody strife in Texas, where Confederate rule was supreme, and the Unionists there suffered, the rigors of a reign of terror unparalleled in atrocity. Some attempts had been made to " repossess " impor- tant points' of that State, especially the city of Galveston. So early as May, 1862, a demand for the surrender of that city had been made by the com- mander of a little squadron and refused, and so matters, remained until the 8th of October, when the civil authorities of Galveston surrendered it to Com- mander Renshaw, of the National navy. Let us now see what was occurring eastward of the Mississippi, bearing upon the capture of Vicksburg, at the close of 1862. Grant had then moved the bulk of his army to the region of Holly Springs, in Mississippi, where he was confronted by Van Dorn; and Rosecrans, who succeeded Buell, 1 was moving southward from Nashville. Rosecrans found the Army of the Ohio (now the Army of the Cumberland) WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS. Page 634. 638 THE NATION. [1862. in a sad condition wasted in substance by marches and conflicts, and de- moralized by lack of success "its spirit broken, its confidence destroyed, its discipline relaxed, its courage weakened, and its hopes shattered." 1 Its effective force was only sixty-five thousand, and its cavalry was weak in number and equipment, while the rough-riders of Forrest and Morgan were very strong and bold. That army was in the vicinity of Bowling Green and Glasgow when Rosecrans took command of it, and Bragg had concentrated O ' OO his forces at Murfreesboro', below Nashville, from which went out expeditions that seriously threatened the latter city. Perceiving its peril, Rosecrans moved in that direction at the beginning of November, and very severe encounters between his forces and Bragg's warned the latter that he had now a loyal, earnest, and energetic leader to deal with, and he became circumspect. Rosecrans prepared to move upon Bragg, and on the morning of the 26th of December, the bulk of his army, about forty-five thousand in number, went forward, and, after various preliminary operations, it appeared before the Con- federate post at Murfreesboro' on the 29th of December. Both armies made vigorous preparations for battle. Rosecrans had among his subordinate leaders Generals McCook,Thomas, Crittenden, Rousseau, Harker, Palmer, Sheridan, J. C. Davis, Wood, Van Cleve, Hazen, Negley, Mathews, and others ; and Bragg had Polk, Breckinridge, Hardee, Kirby Smith, Cheatham, Withers, Cleborne, and Wharton. The armies lay upon each side of Stone's River, within cannon-shot distance of Murfreesboro'. There a most sanguinary battle was begun on the morning of the 31st [Dec., 1862], and raged until evening with varied success, when the Nationals had lost very heavily in men and guns, but were not disheartened. 2 The gallant Rosecrans had been seen at every post of danger during the battle, and his men had perfect confidence in him. Bragg that night felt sure of victory, and expected to find his foe in full retreat before morning. He was mis- taken. There was Rose- crans ready for battle. The astonished Bragg moved cautiously, and MONUMENT ERECTED BY HAZEN'S BRIGADE. 1 Annals of the. Army of the Cumberland, by John Fitch. 2 To the brigade of Acting Brigadier-General W. B. Hazen was freely given the honor of saving the day for the Nationals. Upon his gallant band the brunt of battle fell at a critical moment, when his thirteen hundred men, skillfully handled, kept thousands at bay, and stayed 1862] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 639 the sum of that day's [Jan. 1, 1863] operations was some heavy skirmishing. On the following morning [Jan. 2] the conflict was renewed. The struggle was terrific. Both sides massed their batteries and plied them with destruc- tive effect. For a time it seemed as if mutual annihilation would be the result. Finally, a charge by seven National regiments 1 decided the day. The Con- federates were scattered by it, and in the space of twenty minutes they lost two thousand men. So ended, in complete victory for the Nationals, the battle of Stone's River or Murfreesboro'.* Bragg retreated to Tullahoma, in the direc- tion of Chattanooga, and Rosecrans occupied Murfreesboro'. Such continued to be the relative position of the two armies for several months afterward. While for more than a year and a half the National armies had been striv- ing to crush the gigantic rebellion, the loyal people and the government had been contemplating the propriety of striking a withering blow at the unrigh- teous Labor System, for the spread and perpetuation of which the war was waged by the conspirators and their friends. The subject of slavery, and its abolition, as a war measure, occupied much of the attention of Congress dur- ing its session in the winter of 186162. The public mind had been for a long time excited by the conduct of several military commanders who had returned fugitive slaves to their masters. This was forbidden by law ; and the Republican party 3 in Congress pressed with earnestness measures looking to the emancipation of the slaves as a necessary means for suppressing the rebellion. The President, kind and forbearing, proposed to Congress to co-ope- rate with any State government whose inhabitants might adopt measures for emancipation, by giving pecuniary aid ; but the slave-holders everywhere refused to listen to any propositions tending to such result. So Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia, over which it had control ; and finally that body gave the Chief Magistrate discretionary power to declare the emancipation of all slaves in States where rebellion existed, under certain con- ditions, and to employ them in the armies of the Republic. Accordingly, on the 22d of September, 1862, the Chief Magistrate declared it to be his purpose to issue a proclamation on the first of January, 1863, pronouncing forever free the slaves within any State or designated parts of a State, the people wheroof should then be in rebellion. At this the conspirators sneered and their friends raved, comparing the proclamation to " the Pope's bull against a comet," and on the designated day the rebellion was more rampant than ever. The Presi- dent, who had hoped that kindness might affect the rebellious people, saw that the tide of victory for the Confederates, which had been rolling steadily forward for hours. On the spot where the struggle occurred Haven's men erected a monument to the memory of their slain comrades. 1 The 19th Illinois, 18th, 21st, and 74th Ohio, 78th Pennsylvania, llth Michigan, and 37th Indiana. 8 Rosecrans officially reported his loss at nearly 12,000 men, while Bragg estimated it at 24,000. Rosecrans had 1,533 killed. Bragg admitted a loss of 10,000 on his part, of whom 9,000 were killed and wounded. Among the killed were Generals Rains and Hanson. "While the movements of the two armies were tending toward the decisive battle, Bragg a superior cavalry were raiding over Western Tennessee, to prevent communication between Grant and Rosecrans, and to strike the communications of the latter with Nashville. At about the same time a successful counter-raid into East Tennessee was made by General S. P. Carter. Page 529. (540 THE NATION. [1863. every concession was spurned with scorn, and on the designated day [January 1, 1863], he issued the threatened Proclamation of Emancipation. 1 Then the shackles fell from the limbs of three millions of slaves ; and from that hour when the nation, by its chosen head, proclaimed that act of justice, the power of the rebellion began to wane. The conspirators were struck with dismay, for they well knew that it was a blow fatal to their hopes. It touched with mighty power a chord of sympathy among the aspirants for genuine freedom in the elder world ; and from that hour the prayers of true men in all civilized 1 The following is a copy of that proclamation: Whereas, On the 22d day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit : "That on the 1st day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shah 1 be then, thenceforward, and for- ever free ; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and -maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. " That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States ; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States, by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States." Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and Government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the day first above mentioned, order, and designate, as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof, respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit : Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, Ste. Marie, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans). Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are, for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued. And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all per- sons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are, and henceforward shall "be free ; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense ; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor Faithfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States, to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, apon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name, and caused the seal of the United States ;o be aflixed. Done at the City of "Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord [L. s.] one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By the President. WILLIAM H. SEWAED, Secretary of State. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 641 lands went up to the throne of God in supplication for the success of the armies of the Republic against its enemies. 1 While the National government was thus working for the good of man- kind, the Confederate "government," so called, at Richmond, was putting forth amazing energies in the prosecution of schemes for an opposite result. Their "Provisional Constitution" 2 had been succeeded by a "Permanent Constitution," and Jefferson Davis had been elected [Feb. 22d, 1862] "Perma- nent President " of the Confederacy for six years. 8 In the " Congress " at Richmond were delegates from all the Slave-labor States excepting Maryland and Delaware, and resolutions were adopted and measures were devised for prosecuting the war with the greatest vigor, declaring that they would never, " on any terms, politically affiliate with a people who were guilty of an inva- sion of their soil and the butchery of their citizens." With this spirit they prosecuted the war on land, and by the aid of some, of the British aristocracy, merchants, and ship-builders, they kept afloat piratical craft on the ocean, that for a time drove most of the carrying trade between the United States and Em-ope to British ships. One of the most noted of these piratical vessels was the Alabama, built, equipped, armed, pro- visioned, coaled, and manned by the British, 4 and commanded by Raphael Semmes. She roamed the ocean a simple sea-robber ; 5 and during the last ninety days of 1862, she destroyed by fire no less than twenty-eight helpless American merchant vessels. While her incendiarism was thus illuminating: the O sea, the George Grisicold, laden with pro- visions, furnished by the citizens of New York who had suffered most by the piracies, was out upon the ocean, bearing a gift of food from them, valued at one hundred thou- sand dollars, to the starving English opera- tives in Lancashire, who had been deprived of work by the rebellion. And that ship of mercy was convoyed by an American 1 The first regiment of colored troops raised by the authority of an act of Congress was organized in Beaufort District, South Carolina; and on the day when this proclamation -was issued, a native of that district (Dr. Brisbane), who had been driven away many years before because he emancipated his slaves, announced to these troops and other freed people the great fact that they were no longer in bonds. a Page 547 3 His immediate advisers, to whom he gave the titles of the cabinet ministers of his govern- ment at Washington, were Judah P. Benjamin, "Secretary of State;" George W. Randolph, "Secretary of "War;" S. R. Mallory, "Secretary of the Navy;" C. G. Memminger, "Secretary of the Treasury;" Thomas H. "Watts, "Attorney-General;" and John H. Reagan, "Postmaster- General." 4 "While these vessels were a-building in England, and their destination was known, the American minister in London called the attention of the British government to the fact. He failed to elicit any action that might prevent their going to sea, fully manned and armed. It was painfully evident that the government was willing they should go to sea in aid of the rebellion. 6 Immediately after the attack on Fort Sumter [page 553], Jefferson Davis recommended, and his fellow-conspirators in "Congress" authorized, the employment of armed vessels to destroy 41 RAPHAEL SEMMES. 642 THE NATION. [1863. ship of war to protect her from the torch of a pirate lighted by British hands. The subsequent career of the Alabama will be considered hereafter. Let us now turn again to a consideration of military events. At the close of 1862, the Civil War was in full career. Up to that time the loyal people had furnished for the contest, wholly by volunteering, more than one million two hundred thousand soldiers, of whom, at the beginning of 1863, about seven hundred thousand were in the service. The theater of strife was almost co-extensive with the Slave-labor States, but the most important movements were those connected with preparations for a siege of Vicksburg, and the capture of Port Hudson, twenty-five miles above Baton Rouge. Between these places only, the Mississippi was free from the patrol of National war-vessels, and it was determined to break that link between the Confederates east and west of the river. For that purpose Grant concentrated his troops near the Tallahatchee, where the Confederates were strongly posted. Troops under Hovey and Washburne came over from Arkansas to co-operate with him, and early in December his main army was at Oxford, and an immense amount of his supplies were at Holly Springs. The latter, through the carelessness or treachery of the commander of their guard, were captured by Van Dorn on the 20th. This loss compelled Grant to fall back and allow a considerable Confederate force, under General J. C. Pemberton, to concentrate at Vicks- burg. Meanwhile, in accordance with Grant's instructions, General W. T. Sherman moved down the Mississippi from Memphis, with a strong force, and siege-guns, to beleaguer Vicksburg. JOHN c. PEMBEBTON. Troops from Helena joined him at Friar's Point [Dec. 20], and there he was met by Admiral D. D. Porter, whose naval force was at the mouth of the Yazoo River, just above Vicksburg. The two commanders arranged a plan for attacking Vlcksbui'g in the rear, by passing up the Yazoo a few miles and American shipping on the high seas. These, according to the laws of nations and the proper definition of the word, were pirates, A pirate is defined as "a robber on the high seas," and piracy, as "taking property from others by open violence, and without authority, on the sea." These vessels, and their officers and crews, answered this definition, for Davis and Toombs, who signed their commissions, were not " authorized" to do so by any real government on the face of the earth. The conspirators they represented had no more "authority" than Jack Cade, Daniel Shays, Nat Turner, or John Brown. Hence these Confederate marauders were not " privateers," but " pirates." Semmes's vessel had neither register nor record, and no ship captured by her was ever sent into any port for adjudication. She had no acknowledged flag or recognized nationality. All the regulations of public justice which discriminate the legalized naval vessel from the pirate were disregarded. She had no accessible port into which to send her captives, nor any legal tribunal to adjudge her captures. She was an outlaw roving the seas, an enemy to mankind, and her commander was a pirate m the worst sense of that term. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. reducing batteries along a line of bluffs, by which approaches to it were defended. This was undertaken, but after a severe battle on the Chickasaw Bayou [Dec. 28, 1862], in which Sherman lost about 2,000 men, and his foe only 207, the Nationals were compelled to abandon the enterprise. At that moment [January 2, 1863] General McClernand 1 arrived, and, ranking Sher- man, took the chief command. Toward the middle of January the army and navy in the vicinity of Vicks- burg went up the Arkansas River and captured Fort Hindman, at Arkansas Post [January 11, 1863], a very important position. The fort and much valu- able property was destroyed. 2 Meanwhile Grant had come down the river from Memphis, and arrangements were at once made for a vigorous prosecu- tion of the siege of Vicksburg. He organized his army into four corps, 3 and encouraged the enlistment of colored men. He weighed well all proposed plans for the siege, and being satisfied that the post was too well fortified to warrant an attack on its river front, he determined to get in its rear. First the canal begun by Farragut 4 received his attention. It was a failure, and that project was abandoned. Other passages among the neighboring bayous were sought, and finally a strong land and naval force made its way into the Yazoo, with the intention of descending that stream, carrying the works at Haines's Bluff, 5 and so gaining the rear of Vicksburg. The expedition was repulsed at Fort Pernberton, near Greenwood, late in March, and the enterprise was aban- doned. Porter, with amazing energy and perseverance, tried other channels, but failed. A record in detail of the operations of the army and navy in that region, during the winter and spring of 1863, would fill a volume. In the mean time there were stirring scenes on the bosom of the Missis- sippi. Some of the war-vessels passed by the batteries at Vicksburg [Feb., 1863], for the purpose of destroying Confederate gun-boats below, but were themselves captured. 6 Later, when Grant had sent a strong force down the west side of the river, under McClernand and McPherson, toward New Car- thage, Porter determined to run by Vicksburg with nearly his whole fleet, and the transports and barges. This was successfully done on the night of the 16th of April. Six more transports performed the same perilous feat on the night of the 22d, and Grant prepared for vigorous operations against Vicks- burg on the line of the Big Black River, on its flank and rear. Let us now turn for a moment, and see what was occurring in the Depart- ment of the Gulf under General Banks, the successor of General Butler, who 1 Page 577. a The National loss was 980 men. The Confederates, to the number of 5,000, were made prisoners, and the spoils were 17 cannon, 3,000 small arms, and a large quantity of stores. 8 These were commanded respectively by Generals McClernand, Sherman, Hurlbut, and McPherson. Page 636. * This was at the end of the range of bluffs extending from Vicksburg to the Yazoo. 6 One of them was the powerful iron-clad Indianola. She was attacked, injured, and captured. While the Confederates were repairing her, Porter, one evening, sent down the river an old flat- boat, arranged so as to imitate a gun-boat or ram. It seemed very formidable, and drew th of the Vicksburg batteries as it passed sullenly by them. Word was sent to warn Confede vessels below, and the .Indianola was blown into fragments to prevent her being captu supposed ram. THE NATION. [1863. was co-operating with Grant against Yicksburg, and was also charged with the task of gaining possession of Louisiana and Texas. Galveston, as we have seen, was in possession of a National naval force. 1 Banks sent troops to its support, and on the morning of the first of January, 1863, the Confederates, under General Magruder, 9 attacked the troops and the war-vessels. A severe struggle ensued, which resulted in the defeat of the Nationals. Galveston was repossessed by the Confederates, but on account of a vigorous blockade, at once established by Farragut, the victory was almost a barren one. Banks now turned his attention to the recovery of Louisiana west of the Mississippi, and along its shores. Already a force under General Grover occu- pied Baton Rouge; and early in January [1863] a land and naval force under General Weitzel and Commodore Buchanan was sent into the Teche region, a country composed of fertile plantations, extensive forests, sluggish lagoons and bayous, and |dmost impassable swamps. The expedition was successful. Banks now concentrated his forces, about 12,000 strong, at Baton Rouge, for the purpose of co-operating with Admiral Farragut in an attempt to pass the now formidable batteries at Port Hudson. This was attempted on the night of the 13th of March, when a terrible contest occurred in the gloom between the vessels and the land batteries. Only the flag- ship (Hartford) and com- panion (Albatross) passed by. Then Banks again sent a large A LOUISIANA SWAMP. portion of his available force into the interior of Louisiana, where General Richard Taylor was in command of the Confederates. The troops were concentrated at Brashear City early in April, and moved trium- phantly through the country to the Red River, accompanied by the Depart- ment commander. At the close of the first week in . May they were at Alexandria, on the Red River, where Banks announced that the power of the Confederates in Central and Northern Louisiana was broken. With this impression he led his troops to and across the Mississippi, and late in May invested Port Hudson. We left Grant, late in April, below Vicksburg, prepared for new operations against that post. 3 By a most wonderful raid, performed by cavalry under Page 637. Page 562. Page 643. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 645 Colonel Grierson, in the heart of Mississippi, 1 he was satisfied that the bulk of the Confederate soldiers of that region were near Vicksburg, under Pember- ton. So he prepared to act with vigor. Porter attacked and ran by [April 29] the batteries at Grand Gulf, and Grant's army crossed the river at Bruins- burg, a little below, pushed on, and near Port Gibson gained a decisive vic- tory [May 1] over the Confederates. 2 Meanwhile Sherman, who had been left to operate in the Yazoo region, and had made another unsuccessful attempt to capture Haines's Bluff, 3 was ordered to march down the west side of the Mis- sissippi and join the main army. This junction was effected on the 8th of May, near the Big Black Rivei', and the whole army pressed on toward Jack- son, the capital of Mississippi, where General Joseph E. Johnston was iu com- mand. In a severe battle at Raymond [May 12], on the way, the Confederates were defeated. 4 Such, also, was the result of a battle at Jackson [May 14], when the Confederates were driven northward, the city was seized, and a large amount of public property was destroyed. Then the victors turned toward Vicksburg, and fought [May 16] a severe battle with the Confederates under Pemberton at Champion Hills, and were victorious. 5 Grant pressed forward, and after a battle at the passage of the Big Black River [May 1 7], the Confede- rates were again driven. Grant crossed that stream, and on the 1 9th of May his army, which for a fortnight had subsisted off the country, invested Vicks- burg, and received sup- plies from a base on the Yazoo established by Admiral Porter. Grant made an un- successful assault upon Vicksburg on the day of his arrival. Another, with disastrous effect on the Nationals, was made three days later [May 22], when Porter with his fleet co-operated, and then Grant commenced a regular siege, which continued until the first 1 Grierson left Lagrange, Tennessee, on the 17th of April, with a body of cavalry, and swept through the country southward, between the two railways running parallel with the Mississippi Eiver, striking them hero and there, smiting Confederate outposts, and destroying public property. At times his troops were scattered on detached service, and often rode fifty and sixty miles a day, over an exceedingly difficult country to travel in. They killed and wounded about 100 of the foe ; captured and paroled full 500 ; destroyed 3,000 stand of arms, and inflicted a loss on the Confed- erates of property valued at about $6,000,000. Grierson's loss was 27 men, and a numbei horses. * The National loss was 840 men. They captured 3 guns, 4 flags, and 580 prisoners. 3 Page 643. 4 The National loss was 442 men, and that of the Confederates 823. 8 The National loss was 2,457. The loss of the Confederates in the battle was about tl same, besides 2,000 prisoners. CAVE-LIFE IN VICKSBURG. 64:6 THE NATION. [1863. week in July, and produced the greatest distress in the city, and in the belea- gured camps. Shot and shell were hurled upon it daily from land and water, and the inhabitants were compelled to live in caves 1 cut in the clay hills on which Vicksburg is built, as the only safe place for their persons. At length one of the principal forts was blown up by a mine made under it by the Nationals, and other mines were ready for their infernal work. Famine was stalking through the city and the camps. Fourteen ounces of food had become the allowance for each person for forty-eight hours, and the flesh of mules had been pro- nounced a savory dish. 2 Pemberton now lost all hope of aid from Johnston, in Grant's rear (who had been watching for an opportunity to strike the besiegers), or the salvation of his army, and on the 3d of July he oifered to surrender. That event took place on the morning of the 4th, when 27,000 men became prisoners of war, and the stronghold of Vicksburg passed into the possession of the National power. 3 This victory, won simultaneously with another at Gettysburg, in Pennsyl- vania, produced unbounded joy in all loyal hearts. It was followed a few days later by the surrender of Port Hudson, which had been besieged by General Banks for forty days, his gallant troops at times performing great achievements of valor and fortitude. He had been ably supported by Farragut and his squad- ron. The missiles sent by the army and navy had caused great destruction within the fortifications. The ammunition and provisions of the garrison were nearly exhausted, and when news came of the fall of Vicksburg, General Gardner, the commander of Port Hudson, despairing of succor, surrendered the post, and its occupants and spoils, on the 9th of July. Then, for the first time in 1 The streets of Vicksburg are cut through the hills, and houses are often seen far above the street passengers. In the perpendicular banks formed by these cuttings, and composed of clav, caves were dug at the beginning of the siege, some of them sufficiently large to accommodate whole families, and in some instances communicating with each other by corridors. Such was tho character of some made on Main Street, opposite the house of Colonel Lyman J. Strong, for the use of his family and others, and of which the writer made the sketch on page 645, in April, 1866. These caves were then in a partially ruined state, as were most of them in and around Vicksburg, for rains had washed the banks away, or had caused the filling of the entrances. In this picture the appearance of the caves in their best estate is delineated, with furniture in accordance with descriptions given to the writer by the inhabitants. 8 "This day," wrote a citizen of Vicksburg in his diary, under date of June 30, "we heard of the first mule meat being eaten. Some of the officers, disgusted with the salt junk, proposed to slaughter some of the fat mules as an experiment ; as, if the siege lasted, we must soon come to that diet. The soup from it was quite rich in taste and appearance. Some of the ladies ate of it without knowing the difference." 3 Grant and Pemberton met under a live-oak tree, on a slope of the hill on which the fort that was blown up was situated, and there agreed upon terms of surrender. That tree was soon afterward cut down and converted into canes and other forms, as mementoes of the event. A marble monument, with suitable inscriptions, was afterward placed on the spot. It soon became mutilated, and in its place a 100-pounder iron cannon was erected, and suitably inscribed. General Grant thus stated the result of the operations of his army from Port Gibson to Vicksburg: "The result of this campaign has been the defeat of the enemy in five battles outside of Vicksburg ; the occupation of Jackson, the capital of the State of Mississippi, and the capture of Vicksburg and its garrison and munitions of war ; a loss to the enemy of thirty-seven thousand (37,000) prisoners, among whom were fifteen general officers; at least ten thousand killed and wounded (among the killed Generals Tracy, Tilghman, and Green), and hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of stragglers, who can never be collected and reorganized. Arms and munitions of war for an army of sixty thousand men have fallen into our hands, besides a large amount of other public property, consisting of railroads, locomotives, cars, steamboats, cotton, &c., and much was destroyed to prevent our capturing it." Drawn lyHL Stephens }y Augus tu.- 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 647 more than two years, every impediment to the free navigation of the Missis- sippi was removed. Powerful portions of the Confederacy were thus severed and weakened, and the loyal people of the laud were jubilant with the hope and expectation that the end of the terrible strife was nigh. The blow dis- mayed the Conspirators, and the wiser men in the Confederacy clearly perceived that all was lost. 1 CHAPTER XVIII. THE CIVIL WAR. [18611865.] WHILE a portion of the National troops were achieving important vic- tories on the banks of the Lower Mississippi, 9 those composing the Army of the Potomac were winning an equally important victory not far from the banks of the Susquehanna. We left that army in charge of General Joseph Hooker after sad disasters at Fredericksburg ; s let us now observe its move- ments from that time until its triumphs in the conflict at Gettysburg, between the Susquehanna and Potomac rivers. From January until early in April, Hooker was employed in preparing the weakened and demoralized Army of the Potomac for a vigorous campaign. It lay on the northern side of the Rappahannock River, nearly opposite Freder- icksburg, and, with the exception of some slight cavalry movements, it remained quiet during nearly three months of rest and preparation. It was reorganized, 4 1 The blow was unexpected to the Conspirators. They knew how strong Vieksburg was, and were confident that the accomplished soldier, General Johnston, would compel Grant to raise the siege. Even the Daily Citizen, a paper printed in Vieksburg, only two days before the surrender (July 2), talked as boastfully as if perfectly confident of success. In a copy before the writer, printed on wall-paper, the editor said : " The great Ulysses the Yankee generalissimo surnamed Grant has expressed his intention of dining in Vieksburg on Saturday next, and celebrating the Fourth of July by a grand dinner, and so forth. When asked if he would invite General Joe Johnston to join him, he said, ' No 1 for fear there will be a row at the table.' Ulysses must get into the city before he dines in it The way to cook a rabbit is, 'first catch the rabbit,' 4c." In another paragraph, the Citizen eulogized the luxury of mule-meat and fricasseed kitten. 3 See page 646. * See page 631. 4 The army was arranged in seven corps, named, respectively, the 1st, 2d, 3d, 5th, 6th, llth, and 12th, and each was distinguished by peculiar badges, worn on the hat or cap, and composed of scarlet, white, and blue cloth, made in the forms shown in the engraving, whose numbers cor- respond with those of the respective corps, as follow : The corps composed twenty-three divisions; and at the close of April [1863], the army consisted of 110,000 infantry and artillery, with 400 guns, and a well-equipped cavalry force, 13.00' The corps commanders were Generals J. F. Reynolds, D. N. Couch, D. E. Sickles, G. G. Meade, J. Sedgwick, 0. 0. Howard, and H. W. Slocum. 648 THB NATION. [1863. and weeded of incompetent and disloyal officers. 1 Measures were taken to prevent desertions and to recall a vast number of absentees. 2 Order and dis- cipline were thoroughly established ; and, at the close of April, Hooker found himself at the head of an army moi'e than one hundred thousand in number, well disciplined, and in fine spirits. General Lee, in command of the Army of Northern Virginia, then lying on the Fredericksburg side of the Rappahan- nock, had been equally active in reorganizing, strengthening, and disciplining his forces. A vigorous conscription act was then in operation throughout the Confederacy, and in April, Lee found himself at the head of an army of little more than sixty thousand men of all arms, 3 unsurpassed in discipline, and full of enthusiasm. A part of his army, under General Longstreet, was absent in Southeastern Virginia, confronting the troops of General J. J. Peck, in the vicinity of Norfolk. Yet with his forces thus divided, Lee felt competent to cope with his antagonist, for he was behind a strong line of intrenchments reaching from Port Royal to Banks's Ford, a distance of about twenty-five miles. We have observed that only some cavalry movements disturbed the quiet of the Army of the Potomac in the winter and spring of 1863. Early in Feb- ruary the Confederate General "W. H. F. Lee made an unsuccessful attempt to surprise and capture National forces at Gloucester, opposite Yorktown ; and at a little past midnight of the 8th of March, the notorious guerrilla chief, Moseby, with a small band of mounted men, dashed into the village of Faii'fax Court-House, and carried away the Union commander there and some others. A few days later the first purely cavalry battle of the war occurred not far from Kelly's Ford, on the Rappahannock, between National troops under Gen- eral W. W. Averill and Confederates led by Fitz-Hugh Lee. Averill encoun- tered Lee while he was pushing on toward Culpepper Court-House, from the Rappahannock, when a severe contest ensued, and continued until late in the evening, when Averill retreated across the river, pursued to the water's edge by his foe. Each lost between seventy and one hundred men. Early in April, before the ranks of his army were full, Hooker determined to advance, his objective being Richmond, for the terms of enlistment of a large portion of his men would soon expire. He ordered General Stoneman to 1 There were officers in that army, high in rank, who were opposed to the policy of eman- cipating the slaves as a war measure, which, from the beginning, had been contemplated by the government. The proclamation of the President to that effect developed this opposition in con- siderable strength, and this in connection with the active influence of a part of the Opposition party, known as the Peace Faction, upon the friends of the soldiers at home, had a most depress- ing effect upon the armj^. The men were impressed with the idea that it was becoming a "war for the negro," instead of "a war for the Union." Officers known to be inclined to give such a tone of feeling to their men were replaced by loyal men, in active sympathy with the government in its efforts to crush- the rebellion. a "When Hooker took command of the army, he found the number of reported absentees to be 2,922 commissioned officers and 81,964 non-commissioned officers and privates. This, doubtless, included all the deserters since the organization of the Army of the Potomac, and the sick and wounded in the hospitals. It is estimated that 50,000 men, on the rolls of that army, were absent at the time we are considering, namely, the close of January, 1863. * Lee's army was composed of two corps, commanded respectively by Generals J. Longstreet and T. J. ("Stonewall") Jackson. His artillery was consolidated into one corps, under the com- mand of General Pendleton as chief. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. cross the Rappahannock with a large force of cavalry, strike and disperse the horsemen of Fitz-Hugh Lee, of Stuart's cavalry, known to be at Culpepper Court-House, and then, pushing on to Gordonsville, turn to the left, and destroy the railways in the rear of Lee's army. Heavy rains, which made the streams brimful, foiled the move- ment at its beginning, and Stoneman and his followers swam their horses across the Rappahannock, and returned to camp. Hooker then paused for a fortnight, w r hen he put his whole army in motion, for the purpose -of turning Lee's flank. He sent ten thousand mounted men to raid on his rear, and threw a large portion of his army (Fifth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Corps) across the Rappahannock, above Fred- ericksburg, with orders to concentrate JOSEPH HOOKER. at Chancellorsville, in Lee's rear, ten miles from that city. This was accomplished on the evening of the 30th [April, 1863], when over thirty-six thousand troops threatened the rear of the Confederate army. Meanwhile, the left wing of Hooker's army (First, Third, and Sixth Corps), under General Sedgwick, left near Fredericksburg, had so completely masked the movements of the turning column, by demonstrations on Lee's front, that the latter was not aware of the peril that threatened his army until that column had crossed the Rappahannock, and was in full march on Chancellors- ville. Hooker expected Lee would turn and fly toward Richmond when he should discover this peril, but he did no such thing. On the contrary, he pro- ceeded to strike his antagonist a heavy blow, for the twofold purpose of securing the direct line of communication between the parts of Hooker's now severed army, and to compel him to fight, with only a part of his force, in a disadvantageous position, at Chancellorsville, which was in the midst of a region covered with a dense forest of shrub-oaks and pines, and tangled under- growths, broken by morasses, hills, and ravines, called The Wilderness. For this purpose, Lee put " Stonewall " Jackson's column in motion [May 1] toward Chancellorsville, at a little past midnight. Early in the morning Jackson was joined by other troops, and the whole force moved upon Chancellorsville by two roads. Hooker sent out a greater part of the Fifth and the whole of the Twelfth Corps, with the Eleventh in its support, to meet the advancing columns. A battle ensued ; and the efforts of Lee to seize the communications between the parts of Hooker's army, just alluded to, were foiled. But the Nationals were pushed back to their intrench- ments at Chancellorsville, and there took a strong defensive position. Both commanders now felt a sense of impending danger, for both armies were in a critical position in relation to each other. Hooker decided to rest on the 650 THE NATION. [1863. defensive, but Lee, in accordance with the advice of Jackson, took the bold aggres- sive step of detaching the whole of that leader's corps and sending it on a secret flank movement, to gain the rear of the National army. The movement was successfully made, though not entirely unobserved ; but the troops seen moving behind the thick curtain of The Wilderness thickets were supposed to be a part of Lee's army in retreat. While General Sickles, in command of that portion of the line where the discovery was made, was seeking positive knowl- edge in the matter, Jackson, who had gained the National rear, solved the problem by bursting suddenly from behind that curtain with twenty-five thou- sand men, falling suddenly and firmly upon Hooker's right, crumbling it into atoms, and driving the astounded column in wild confusion upon the remainder of the line. A general battle ensued, in which the residue of the Confederate army, under the direct command of General Lee, participated, he having attacked Hooker's left and center. The conflict continued until late in the evening, when the Confederates sustained an irreparable loss in the death of Jackson, who was accidentally shot, in the gloom, by his own men. 1 Hooker made new dispositions to meet the inevitable attack the following morning [May 3, 1863]. He had called from Sedgwick the First Corps, full twenty thousand strong, and it arrived that evening and swelled the National force at Chancellorsville to about sixty thousand men. He had also ordered Sedgwick to cross the Rappahannock at once, seize and hold the town and heights of Fredericksburg, and push the bulk of his force with all possible haste along the roads to Chancellorsville. He also changed a portion of the front of his own line so as to receive the expected attack. During the night Lee effected a slight connection between the two wings of his army, and soon afterward, Stuart, at dawn, shouted at the head of the Confederate column on Hooker's right, " Charge, and remember Jackson !" whose troops he was lead- ing, and fell furiously upon a portion of the line commanded by General Sickles. Lee attacked Hooker's left and center again. The struggle was severe and sanguinary, and when, toward noon, Sickles, finding himself sorely pressed, sent to Hooker for re-enforcements, the chief had just been prostrated by an accident, and for a brief space the army was without a head. 2 There was an injurious delay, and finally, after long and hard fighting, the whole National army was pushed from the field, and took a strong position on the roads back of Chancellorsville, leading to the Rapid Anna and Rappahannock. Lee's army was now united, while Hooker's remained divided. Sedgwick had endeavored to obey Hooker's command to join him, but failed to do so. He had thrown his army across the river on the morning of the 2d [May], and was lying quietly when he received the order at midnight. He moved immediately, and took possession of Fredericksburg. General 1 Jackson had been reconnoitering in front of his forces, and, when retiring in the darkness, he and his companions were mistaken by their friends for Union cavalry, and were fired upon. Jackson fell, pierced by their bullets, and some of his staff were killed. His arm was shattered, and afterward amputated. He died on the 10th of May. 2 A cannon-ball struck a pillar of the Chancellor House, and hurled it with such force against Hooker, that it stunned him. The command then devolved on Couch, but Hooker was able to resume it in the course of a few hours. 1363.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. Early was then in command on the heights. Sedgwick formed storming col- umns in the morning, drove the Confederates from the fortified ridge, and with nearly his entire force pushed on toward Chancellorsville. At Salem Church, a few miles from Fredericksburg, he was met and checked, by a force sent by Lee, after a sharp fight, by which he lost, that day, including the struggle for the heights in the morning, about five thousand men. Instead of joining Hooker, Sedgwick found himself compelled, the next day, in order to save his army, to fly across the Rappahannock, which he did, near Banks's Ford, on the night of the 4th and 5th of May. Hooker, meanwhile, had heard of the perilous situation of Sedgwick, and, on consultation with his corps command- ers, it was determined to retreat to the north side of the river. Lee had pre- pared to strike Hooker a heavy blow on the 5th. A violent rain-storm prevented, and that night the Nationals passed the river in safety without molestation. On the same day the Confederate army resumed its position on the heights at Fredericksburg. Both parties had suffered very severe losses. 1 While Hooker and Lee were contending at Chancellorsville, a greater por- tion of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Stoueman, KUINS OF THE CHANCELLOR MANSION. 8 were raiding on the communications of the Army of Northern Virginia. They crossed the Eappahannock [April 29], and swept down toward Rich' moncl in the direction of Gordonsville. Unfortunately for the efficiency of the expedition, the command was divided, and raided in various directions, one party, under Kilpatrick, approaching within two miles of Richmond. They destroyed much property, but the chief object of the expedition, namely, the breaking up of the railways between Lee and Richmond, was not accomplished, and the week's work of the cavalry had very little bearing on the progress of the war. 1 The National loss was reported at 17,197, including about 5,000 prisoners. They left behind, in their retreat, their dead and wounded, 13 pieces of artillery, about 20,000 small-arms, 17 colors, and a large quantity of ammunition. The Confederate loss was probably about 15,000, of whom 5,000 were prisoners, with 15 colors, and 7 pieces of artillery. * The villa and out-buildings' of Mr. Chancellor constituted "Chancellorsville." That man- sion was beaten into ruins during the battle. The picture gives its appearance when the writer sketched it, in June, 1866. 52 THE NATION. [13G3. We have observed 1 that Longstreet was operating against General Peck in the vicinity of Norfolk. The latter officer, with a considerable force, was in a strongly fortified position at Suifolk, at the head of the Nansemond River, from which he kept watch over Norfolk and the moiith of the James River, and furnished a base for operations against Petersburg and the important Wei- don railway. Early in April [1863], Longstreet made a sudden and vigorous movement against Suifolk, expecting to drive the Nationals from that post, seize Norfolk and Portsmouth, and perhaps make a demonstration against Fortress Monroe. But Peck met his foe with such skill and valor that Longstreet was compelled to resort, to a siege. In this he failed, and on hearing of the battle at Chancellorsville, he withdrew and joined Lee, making that commander's army nearly as strong as that of his antagonist. Hooker's losses, and the expiration of the terms of his nine months' and two years' men, to the number of almost 30,000, about to occur, greatly reduced his num- bers. Lee's army was buoyant, 2 and Hooker's was desponding. Impelled by false notions of the temper of the people of the Free-labor States, and the real resources and strength of the government, and elated by the events at Chancellorsville, the Conspirators now ordered Lee to invade Maryland and Pennsylvania again. Hooker suspected such intention, and so reported, but the authorities at Washington were slow to believe that Lee would repeat the folly of the previous year. But he did so. By a flank movement he caused Hooker to break up his encampment on the Rappahan- nock, and move toward Washington, after there had been some sharp cavalry engagements near the river, above Fredericksburg. Lee sent his left wing, under Ewell, through Chester Gap of the Blue Ridge, into the Shenandoah Valley. He swept down rapidly to Winchester, and drove Milroy [June 15, 1863], who was there with seven thousand men, across the Potomac into Mary- land and Pennsylvania, with the loss of nearly all of his artillery and ammu- nition. He also lost many men in the race from Winchester to the Potomac, but saved his trains. Hooker, at the same time, had moved from the Rappahannock to Centre- ville, for the purpose of covering Washington, while Longstreefr marched on a 1 See page 648. 3 The Confederates and their friends were full of hope at this time. The repulse of the Army of the Potomac seemed to promise security to Richmond for some time. Vicksburg and Port Hudson [see page 646] then seemed impregnable ; and the promises of the disloyal Peace Faction at the North, of a counter-revolution in the Free-labor States, seemed likely to be soon fulfilled. The news of the Battle of Chancellorsville inspirited the friends of the Confederates in England, and these were clamorous for their government to acknowledge the Confederacy as an inde- pendent nation; and in the spring of 1864 a large body, representing the ruling classes in Eng- land, formed a league, to assist the Confederates, called the Southern Independence Association. But the British government wisely hesitated, and only the Pope of Rome, of all the rulers of the earth, ever recognized the Arch-Conspirator as the head of a nation, whom, in a friendly letter, he addressed as " the Illustrious and Honorable Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America." At this time a scheme of the French Emperor for destroying the Republic of Mexico and aiding the Conspirators, was in operation, 20,000 French troops and 5,000 recreant Mexicans being engaged in the work. The Austrian Archduke Maximilian was made Emperor of Mexico by means of French bayonets, but when the Civil War closed, in 18G5, and the scheming Napoleon saw that our Republic was stronger than ever, he abandoned the enterprise and his dupe, and Maximilian, overthrown, was shot by order of the legitimate Republican Chief Magistrate of Mexico. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 653 parallel line along the eastern bases of the Blue Ridge, watching for an oppor- tunity to pounce upon the National Capital. Cavalry skirmishes often occurred for the hostile forces were continually feeling each other. Meanwhile fifteen hundred Confederate cavalry had dashed across the Potomac in pursuit of Milroy's wagon-train, swept up the Cumberland Valley to Chambersburf;, in Pennsylvania, destroyed the railway in that region, and plundered the people. This raid produced great alarm. Governor Curtin issued a call for the Penn- sylvania militia to turn out in defense of their State, and the National authori- ties had taken measures to meet the peril. "When, a little later, the Confederate army was streaming across the Potomac, about fifty thousand troops, or one half the number the President had called for from the States nearest the Capi- tal, were under arms. Almost one half of these were from Pennsylvania, and fifteen thousand were from New York. The apathy shown by Pennsylvanians when danger seemed remote, now disappeared. By skillful movements, Lee kept Hooker in doubt as to his real intentions, until Ewell's corps had crossed the Potomac at "Williamsport and Shepards- town [June 22 and 23], and was pressing up the Cumberland Valley. Ewell advanced with a part of his force to within a few miles of the capital of Penn- sylvania, on the Susquehanna, while another portion, under Early, reached that river farther down, after passing through Emmettsburg, Gettysburg, and York, and levying contributions on the people. These movements created an intense panic, and with reason, for at one time it seemed as if there was no power at hand to prevent the invaders from marching to the Schuylkill, and even to the Hudson. Three days after Ewell crossed the Potomac, Longstreet and Hill followed, and on the 25th of June [1863] the whole of Lee's army was again in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Army of the Potomac was thrown across the river at and near Edwards's Ferry, one hundred thousand strong, having been re-enforced by troops in the vicinity of Washington. A difference of opinion now arose be- tween Generals Hooker and Halleck (the latter then General-in-Chief of the armies), concerning the occupation of Harper's Ferry. Their views were ir- reconcilable, and the former offered his resignation. It was accepted, and Gen- eral George G. Meade was placed in command of the Army of the Potomac, and did not relinquish it until the close of the war. A change in the com- manders of an army in the presence of an enemy is a perilous act, but in this case no evil followed. General Meade assumed the command on the 28th of June, when the army was lying at Frederick, in Maryland, in a position to dart through the South Mountain Gaps upon Lee's line of communication, or GEORGE G. MEADE. (554 THE NATION. [1863. upon his columns in retreat, or to follow him on a parallel line toward the Susquehanna. Lee was about to cross the Susquehanna at Harrisburg, and march on Philadelphia, when he was alarmed by information of the position of the Army of the Potomac in increased force, which was threatening his flank and rear. He observed at the same time the rapid gathering of the yeomanry of Penn- sylvania, and troops from other States on his front, and he thought it prudent to abandon his scheme of further invasion. He immediately recalled Ewell, and ordered a concentration of the Army of Northern Virginia in the vicinity of Gettysburg, with a view of falling upon the Nationals with crushing force, and then marching on Baltimore and Washington, or, in the event of defeat, to have a direct line of retreat to the Potomac. In the mean time Meade had put his army in motion toward the Snsque- hanna, but it was not until the evening of the 30th of June that he was advised of Lee's evident intention to give battle in full force. Satisfied of this, he prepared to meet the shock on a line south of Gettysburg. He had already sent his cavalry forward to reconnoiter. At Hanover, east of Gettysburg, Kilpatrick's command encountered [June 29] and defeated, in a sharp fight, some of Stuart's cavalry, and on the same day Buford and his horsemen entered Gettysburg. The Confederates were not yet there, and on the follow- ing day the First Corps, commanded by General J. F. Reynolds, reached that place. General Hill was then approaching from Chambersburg, and that night Buford lay between the Confederates and Gettysburg. On the following morning [July 1] he met the van of the Confederates. A hot skirmish ensued. Reynolds hastened forward to the scene of action, and on Oak or Seminary Ridge a severe battle was fought, in which Reynolds was killed. Meanwhile the Eleventh (Howard's) Corps came up, and the conflict assumed grander proportions, for Lee's troops were concentrating there. The Nationals were finally pressed back, and under the direction of Howard took an advantageous position on a range of rocky heights back of but close to Gettysburg, forming two sides of a triangle, whereof Cemetery Hill, nearest the town, was the apex. There the Nationals bivouacked that night, and Meade and the remainder of the troops hastened to join them. Lee's army occupied Seminary Ridge that night. Both co'mmanders were averse to taking the initiative of battle, and it was between three and four o'clock in the afternoon of the 2d before the struggle was renewed. Then Lee fell heavily upon Meade's left, commanded by Sickles. A sanguinary contest ensued, which gradually extended to the center, where Hancock was in command. The chief struggle was for a rocky eminence, called Round Top Ridge, or Little Round Top ; but the Nationals firmly held it against fierce assaults. Heavy masses were thrown against Hancock, but these were cast back with heavy losses ; and, at sunset, the battle ended on the left and center of the Nationals. When the sounds of conflict died away on that part of the field, they were heard on the right and right center, where Slocum and Howard were in command. Howard was on Cemetery Hill, and Slocum on Gulp's HilL Against these Early and Johnson, of Ewell's corps, 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 655 advanced with great vigor. They were thrown back from Cemetery Hill, but succeeded in penetrating, and holding for the night, the works on the extreme right of Slocum's command. It was near ten o'clock at night [July 2, 1863] when the battle ended, and the advantage seemed to be with the Confederates. Both parties now prepared for another struggle the next day. It was begun at four o'clock in the morning [July 3], when Slocum drove the Con- federates out of his lines, and some distance back. It required a hard fight for four hours to accomplish it, but it was done. Then Ewell was firmly held in check. Round Top Ridge, on Meade's extreme left, was impregnable, and so Lee determined to assail his more vulnerable center. He spent the whole fore- noon in preparations for an attack, and, at one o'clock, he opened upon Cem- etery Hill and its immediate vicinity one hundred and forty-five cannon. A hundred National guns quickly responded, and for the space of two hours Gettysburg and the surrounding country were made to tremble by the thunder of more than two hundred cannon. Then, like a stream of lava, the Confed- erates, preceded by a cloud of skirmishers, swept over the plain, and assailed the National line. Fearful was the struggle, and fearful the loss. At near sunset the assailants were repulsed at every point, and the great and decisive JSattle of Gettysburg was won by the Army of the Potomac. It had been fought with amazing courage and fortitude by both armies, and each was dreadfully shattered by the collision, 1 The writer was upon the ground a few days after the battle, when full two hundred dead horses were still unburied. The annexed picture shows a group of them as they fell in the road in front of a farm- house, near General Meade's head-quarters. On the evening of the day after the battle [July 4, 1 863], Lee began a re- treat toward Virginia, and, the next day, was followed by Meade, who chased him to the Potomac, at Williamsport, above Harper's Ferry. There, by strong intrenchments and a show of force, Lee kept Meade at bay until he could construct pontoon bridges, when, over these, and by fording the river above, the whole remnant of his army, his artillery and trains, passed into Virginia, and escaped, much to the disappointment of the loyal people. When it was known that the Confederates had been beaten at Gettysburg, and were in full retreat, 1 The National loss during the three days of conflict was 23,186 men, of whom 2,834 were killed, 13,709 wounded, and 6,643 were missing. Lee, as usual, made no report of his losses. He spoke of them as having been " severe." A careful estimate, made from various statements, places it at about 30,000, of whom 14,000 were prisoners. SCENE ON THE GETTYSBURG BATTLE-GROUND. (356 THE NATION. [18G3. it was expected they would be captured at the margin of the swollen Potomac. But that disappointment speedily gave way to a feeling of satisfaction because of the important victory. That battle proved to be the pivotal one of the war the turning point in the rebellion. The scale of success was then turned in favor of the National cause. It was so regarded at the time, and in view of the importance of the victory, the President, as the representative of the nation, recommended the observance of a day [Aug. 15] "for National thanks- giving, pi'aise, and prayer." ! While the loyal people were rejoicing because of the great deliverance at Gettysburg, and the government was preparing for a final and decisive struggle with its foes, leading politicians of the Peace Faction, evidently in affiliation with the disloyal secret organization, known as Knights of the Golden Circle? were using every means in their power to defeat the patriotic purposes of the Administi'ation, and to stir up the people of the Free-labor States to a counter-revolution. This had been their course for several months during the dark hours of the Republic, before the dawn at Gettysburg ; and the more strenuous appeared the. efforts of the government to suppress the rebellion, more intense was their zeal in opposing it. This opposition was specially active, when the President, according to the authority of Congress, found it necessary, in consequence of the great discouragements to volunteering produced by the Peace Faction, to order [May 8, 1863] a draft or conscription to be made, to fill up the ranks of the army. This measure, the suspension of the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus, and arbitrary arrests, were severely denounced. These, and the arrest and punishment, for treasonable practices, of C. L. Vallandigham, a citizen of Ohio and late member of Congress, one of the 1 The Secretary of State, satisfied that the rebellion would soon be ended, addressed [August 12, 1863] a cheering circular to the diplomatic agents of the government abroad, in which he recited the most important events in the history of the war thus far, and declared that the country "showed no signs of exhaustion of money, men, or materials;" and mentioned the fact that our loan was purchased, at par. by our citizens at the average of $1,200,000 daily, and that gold was selling in our market at 23 and 28 per cent, premium, " while in the insurrectionary region it commanded 1,200 per cent, premium." According to the report of the Confederate "Secretary of the Treasury," at that time, the Confederate debt was over $600,000,000. At about the same time Davis, the Arch-Conspirator, sent forth an address, for the purpose of " firing the Southern heart," and reconciling the people to the merciless conscription they were then subjected to, filled with the most malignant misrepresentations. He told them, in effect, that the Northern people were little better than savages. " Their malignant rage," he said, "aims at nothing less than the extermination of yourselves, your wives, and your children. They seek to destroy what they cannot plunder. They propose as spoils of victory that your homes shall be partitioned among wretches whose atrocious cruelty has stamped infamy on their government. They design to incite servile insurrection, and light the fires of incendiarism whenever they can reach your homes; and they debauch an inferior race, heretofore docile and contented, by promising them the indulgence of the vilest passions as the price of their treachery." Davis was then exasperated by the failure of an attempt of his to gain an official recognition by the government, by means of a trick. He sent his lieutenant, Alexander H. Stephens, under a false pretense, at the moment when Lee, as he thought, was marching triumphantly on Phila- delphia, to seek an interview with the President, as the representative of the " government," so- called, at Richmond. Stephens went to Fortress Monroe, but was not permitted to go farther. His mission to Washington doubtless had a twofold object, namely, an official recognition of the Confederacy by the act of treating with it, and for the purpose of proclaiming the " Confederate government," with Jefferson Davis as Dictator, from the portico of the Capitol, when Lee should seize "Washington, as it was confidently believed he was about to do. 8 See page 620. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 657 most conspicuous leaders of the Peace Faction, 1 furnished that active fragment of the Democratic party 8 with pretenses for the most bitter denunciations of the government, and violent opposition to its measures. The inflammatory appeals of politicians excited the passions of the more dangerous classes in cities, and finally led to a fearful riot in the city of New York, at the middle of July, the immediate pretext being opposition to the Draft, which commenced there on Monday, the 1 3th. A mob suddenly collected, destroyed the apparatus for making the Draft, and burned the build- ing. Like a plague this pub- lic disorder seemed to break out simultaneously at different points in the northern part of the city, and for three days the commercial metropolis was at the mercy of lawless men and women, chiefly na- tives of Ireland of the lower class, and disloyal men from Slave-labor States. The cry against the Draft soon ceased, and was followed with that of, " Down with the Abolitionists ! Down with the Nigger ! Hurr*ah for Jeff. Davis !" Arson and plunder became the business of the rioters, and maiming and murder was their recrea- tion. The colored population of the city were special objects of their wrath. These were hunted down, bruised, and killed, as if they had been noxious wild beasts. Men, women, and children shared a common fate. An asylum for colored children was sacked and burned, while the poor, affrighted orphans, some beaten and maimed, fled in terror to whatever shelter they could find. Finally, the police, aided by some troops, quelled the riot with the strong arm of power, after a sacrifice of full four hundred human lives, and the destruction of property valued at $2,000,000. After that, the Draft was resumed, and went quietly on. 3 I General Burnside, in command of the Department of the Ohio, issued an order for the sup-- pression of sedition and treasonable speech and conduct. Vallandigham, whose sympathy with the cause of the Conspirators had been conspicuously shown from the beginning, denounced this order, and openly violated it. He was arrested, tried by a military commission, found guilty, andj by orders of the President, was sent within the Confederation, with a penalty of imprisonment should he return. He was treated with contempt by his "Southern friends," and soon made his way in a blockade-runner to Halifax, and thence into Canada. II The Peace Faction of the " Democratic " or Opposition party did not fairly represent the great mass of the members of that party. It was essentially disloyal : they were loyal. Yet the influence of that faction was so potent, that it controlled the policy of the party as an organi- zation. Its aims appeared no higher than the control of the emoluments and offices of the gov- ernment ; and the encouragement it continually held out to the Conspirators, by falsely repre- . .senting the Opposition party as friendly to their cause, and discouraging volunteering and other - efforts for putting down the rebellion, prolonged the war at least two years, and, as a consequence, tens of thousands of precious lives, and tens of millions of treasure, were wasted. 8 Horatio Seymour, who was one of the ablest of the leaders of the Peace Faction, and then Governor of the State of New York, had denounced the government as a despot, because of the 42 THE NATION. [1863. There appears to- be ample evidence that preparations had been made among the disloyal politicians of the Free-labor States, at the time we ai*e con- sidering, for a counter-revolution, which should compel the government to make terms of peace with the Conspirators, on the basis of a dissolution of the Union and the independence of the so-called Confederate States. The invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, so as to encourage the Peace Faction, was a part of the drama; 1 and chiefly for the encouragement of the same class in the Western States, and form a nucleus for armed opponents of the govern- ment in that region, the notorious guerrilla chief, John H. Morgan, was sent into Indiana and Ohio at the close of June, with over three thousand mounted men. He crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky into Indiana, some distance below Louisville, and, pushing a little into the interior, made a plundering raid eastward through that State and Ohio, well toward the Pennsylvania border. There was an uprising of the people because of his presence, but not such a one as the Peace Faction had led him to expect. Within forty-eight hours after Morgan entered Indiana, sixty thousand of its citizens had re- sponded to the call of the Governor to turn out and drive him out of it. Equally patriotic were the people of Ohio. Morgan was pursued, and finally captured, with a remnant of his band, nearly all of w r hom were killed or made prisoners. The truth seemed to be that the reverse of Lee at Gettys- burg had disconcerted the leaders of the Peace Faction, and they were com- pelled, by prudence, to postpone their revolutionary operations. The riot in New York seems to have been an irregular manifestation of an organized out- break in that city, when, as it was expected, the neighing of the horses of Lee's cavalry would be heard on the opposite banks of the Hudson. When Lee escaped into Virginia [July 14, 1863], and moved up the Shen- andoah Valley, Meade determined to follow him along the route pursued by arrest and punishment of Vallandigham, " not," he said, " for an offense against law, but for a disregard of an invalid order, put forth in an utter disregard of the principles of civil liberty." He opposed the Draft ; mildly and without effect he interposed his authority as Governor to quell the riot, and sent his adjutant-general to Washington to demand the suspension of the Draft. This he told the mob, and said : " Wait till my adjutant returns from Washington, and you shall be satisfied." He wanted the Draft postponed until the courts should decide whether it was con- stitutional, but this obvious advantage to the Conspirators, who were then filling their ranks by a rigorous conscription, the President refused to give, and the Draft went on. 1 Lee's invasion was counted on largely as an aid to the Peace Faction in carrying out their plans. And after his failure, and he was lying quietly near the Rapid Anna, in September, the Bichmond Enquirer said : " The success of the Democratic party [at the approaching election] would be no longer doubtful, should General Lee once more advance on Meade. . . . He may so move and direct his army as to produce political results, which, in their bearing upon this war, will prove more effectual than the bloodiest victories. Let him drive Meade into Washing- ton, and he will again raise the spirits of the Democrats, confirm their timid, and give confidence to their wavering. He will embolden the Peace party should he again cross the Potomac," for he will show the people of Pennsylvania how little security they have from Lincoln for the protection of their homes." Matthew F. Maury, formerly Superintendent of the National Observatory, and one of the most unworthy traitors to his country, said, in a letter to the London Times, on the 17th of August, 1863: "There is already a Peace party in the North. All the embarrassments with which that party can surround Mr. Lincoln, and all the difficulties that it can throw in the way of the War party in the North, operate directly as so much aid and comfort to the South. . . . New York is becoming the champion of State Rights in the North, and to that extent is taking Southern ground. . . . Yallaiidigham waits and watches over the border, pledged, if elected Governor of Ohio, to array it against Lincoln and the war, and go for peace." 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. McClellan in his race for the Rappahannock with the same foe the year before ' keeping close to the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge, and using its gaps as circum- stances might dictate. The Army of the Potomac crossed the river on the 1 7th and 18th of July, and moved rapidly forward, getting the start of its antagonist, which had lingered between the Potomac and Winchester. Lee tried to recall Meade, by threatening another invasion of Maryland. He failed, and then marched rapidly up the Shenandoah Valley to meet the dangers that threatened his front and flank. There were skirmishes in the mountain-passes during this exciting race, one of which, at Manassas Gap, so detained Meade's army, that Lee, by a quick movement, went through Chester Gap, and took position in front of the Nationals, between the Rappahannock and Rapid Anna rivers. Meade slowly advanced to the Rappahannock, and then the two armies rested for some time. Both were somewhat weakened by drafts upon them for men to serve elsewhere. Finally, at the middle of September, Meade crossed the river and drove Lee beyond the Rapid Anna, where the latter took a strongly defensive position. In the mean time Meade's cavalry had not been idle, and divisions under Buford and Kilpatrick had considerable skirmishing with those of Stuart between the two rivers. General Meade contemplated a forward movement for some time, and Lee, feeling able to cope with his antagonist, proposed to march directly on "Wash- ington, at the risk of losing Richmond, but he was overruled by his " govern- ment." So he proceeded to employ the more cautious measure of turning Meade's right flank, and attempting to get in his rear and seize the National Capital. He had moved sojne distance for this purpose, and was on Meade's flank before the latter was aware of it. Then a close race in the direction of Washington, by the two armies, occurred for the third time. The Army of the Potomac was the Avinner, and reached the heights at Centreville, the first objective [October 15, 1863], before its antagonist. There had been some severe collisions on the way. Gregg's cavalry was routed, with a loss of five hundred men, at Jeffersonton. Stuart, with about two thousand men, hung closely upon the rear flank of Meade's army, and at Auburn he came near being captured, with all his men. He escaped, however ; and from that point to Bristow Station there was a sharp race. There a battle occurred between the corps of Generals Warren and Hill, in which the pursuing Confederates were repulsed, and the Union force moved on and joined the main army, then at Centreville. At Bristow Station Lee gave up the race, and fell back to the Rappahannock, destroying the Orange and Alexandria railway behind him. Meade slowly followed, after the railway was repaired, attacked the Confed- erates at Rappahannock Station, on the river, and, after a severe battle, drove them toward Culpepper Court-House. Lee now took post again behind the Rapid Anna, and Meade's army lajt quietly between the two rivers until late in November, while he was watching for a favorable opportunity to advance on his foe, whose forces, he had observed, were spread over a considerable surface, in the direction 1 See page 631. 660 THE NATION. [1863. of Gordonsville. But Lee had begun the construction of strong defenses along the line of Mine Run, and Meade determined to advance and attempt to turn his position. It would be a perilous undertaking at that season of the year, for it involved the necessity of cutting loose from his supplies, which could not be carried with safety to the south side of the Rapid Anna. The risk was taken. The troops were provided with ten days' rations, and, crossing the river on the 26th [November, 1863], pushed on in the direction of Mine Run, along the line of which were strong intrenchments, defended by heavy abatis. ABATIS.' General Warren, in the advance, opened a battle, but it was soon found that the Confederates were too strongly intrenched to promise a successful assault. So Meade suspended the attack, withdrew, and established his army in winter quarters on the north side of the Rapid Anna. So ended the campaign of the Army of the Potomac in 1863. In Western Virginia, adjoining the great theater on which the armies of the Potomac and of Northern Virginia were performing, there had been very few military movements of importance since the close of 1861. In the summer of 1863 a raiding party, under Colonel Tolland, went over the mountains from the Kanawha Valley, and struck the Virginia and Tennessee railway at Wytheville. Finding sharp resistance, they retraced their steps with great suffering. A little later, General W. W. Averill went over the mountain- ranges from Tygart's Valley, with a strong cavalry force, destroyed Confed- erate salt-works and other property, and menaced Staunton. He fought Con- federate cavalry near White Sulphur Springs for nearly two days [August 2 6 and 27], and was compelled to retreat. Early in November he started on 1 Abatis is a French term in Fortification, for obstructions placed in front of works, composed of felled trees, with their branches pointing outward. Such obstruction is represented in the engraving. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. another expedition, pushing the Confederates before him in the mountain regions, and nearly purging West Virginia of armed rebels. He pushed for- ward for the purpose of breaking up the Virginia and Tennessee railway, which was the chief communication between the armies of Lee and Bragg, and on the 16th of December, after a perilous march, over icy roads, he struck that highway at Salem, and destroyed the track and other property over an extent of about fifteen miles. The Confederates in all that region were aroused, and no less than seven different leaders combined in an attempt to intercept AverilPs return, but failed. The raider escaped, with two hun- dred prisoners, and a loss of only six men drowned, five wounded, and ninety missing. Let us now turn our attention to events in Tennessee, where we left the large armies of Kosecrans and Bragg, after the Battle of Stone's River, the former at Murfreesboro' and the latter a little further southward. 1 Bragg's line was along the general direction of the Duck River, from near the Cumberland mountains westward, 2 and in that relative position the two armies lay from January until June [1863], Rosecrans waiting to complete full preparations for an advance, before moving. Meanwhile, detachments of the two armies, chiefly of mounted men, were active in minor operations. At the beginning of Feb- ruary, General "Wheeler, Bragg's chief of- cavalry, with Wharton and Forrest as brigadiers, concentrated his forces, over four thousand strong, at Franklin, a little south of Nashville, and, advancing rapidly to the Cumberland River, attempted to capture the post of Fort Donelson, 3 then commanded by Colonel Harding. They were repulsed, after considerable loss on both sides. General J. C. Davis was operating in Wheeler's rear, and hastened his departure from the region of the Cumberland. A little later, General Earl Van Dorn was found hovering around Franklin with a considerable force of cavalry and infantry, and against these General Sheridan and Colonel Colburn were sent. The latter was compelled to surrender [March 5] to superior numbers, while the former drove Van Dorn southward across the Duck River. There was a severe struggle eastward of Murfreesboro' [March 1 8] between troops under Colonel Hall and those of Morgan, the guerrilla chief, in which the latter were worsted, and lost between three and four hundred men. Early in April Van Dorn was again in the vicinity of Franklin, with a force estimated at nine thousand men, the object being to seize that post, preliminary to an attack on Nashville, the great depository of Rosecrans's supplies. Gen- eral Gordon Granger was then in command at Franklin, where he was building a fort on the bank of the Harpeth River, and, being forewarned, he was pre- pared for an attack, which Van Dorn made on the 10th [April, 1863]. The Confederates were repulsed and retired to Spring Hill, after a loss of about 1 See page 639. 8 Bragg's line extended from Columbia, on the west, to McMinnville, on the east. His infantry occupied the space between Wartrace and Shelbyville ; his cavalry, on his right, stretched out to McMinnville, and on his left as far as Spring Hill, between Franklin and Columbia. * Forrest had been operating at one or two other points on the Cumberland, for the purpose of cutting off Rosecrans's supplies by way of that river, for his army was chiefly subsisted by provisions that came down from the region of the Ohio River. 662 THE NATION. [1863. three hundred men. The Union loss was less than forty. 1 A few days later a detachment of Rosecrans's army, under General J. J. Reynolds, drove a band of Morgan's men from McMinnville [April 20], and destroyed a good deal of Confederate property there ; and these and lesser expeditions, sent out from time to time, while Rosecrans was procuring cavalry horses and making other preparations for an advance, caused great circumspection on the part of the Confederates. A more ambitious expedition than any previously sent out by Rosecrans, moved toward the middle of April, under Colonel A. D. Streight, for the pur- pose of crippling the resources of the foe. He left Nashville in steamers [April 11], and, debarking at Fort Donelson, crossed over to the Tennessee River at Fort Henry, and ascended that stream to the borders of Mississippi and Ala- bama, gathering horses for his use on the way. At Tuscumbia, most of his troops being then mounted, Streight turned southward, and, sweeping through Alabama in a curve bending eastward, pushed on toward Rome, in Northern Georgia, where extensive iron-works were in operation, and Atlanta, an import- ant railway center. The cavalry of Forrest and Roddy followed. The parties skirmished and raced; and finally, when near Rome, Streight's exhausted command was struck and mostly captured [May 3, 1863], when LIBBY PRISON, RICHMOND. they were sent to Richmond, and confined in the famous Libby Prison. From that loathsome place the leader and one hundred of his ofiicers escaped, in February following, by burrowing under the foundations of the building. As June wore away, and the Army of the Cumberland (Rosecrans's) was 1 Van Dorn was one of the most dashing of the Confederate leaders. He was shot soon after the battle we have just considered, by an indignant husband, whose wife the Confederate leader had dishonored. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 663 yet lying at Murfreesboro', the public, unable to comprehend the obstacle to its advance, became impatient of the delay. The cavalry of that army was then in a fair condition, and its supplies being abundant, Rosecrans, on the 23d of June, ordered an advance, his grand objective being Chattanooga Bragg, his antagonist, was strongly intrenched among hills favorable for defensive operations. Yet the Army of the Cumberland, moving in three corps, commanded respectively by Generals Thomas, McCook, and Crittenden, was so skillfully managed, that the Confederates were soon pushed from their position along the line of the Duck River, back to Tullahoma. When Bragg saw Rosecrans seize the mountain passes on his front, and threaten his flanks in his new position, he fled [June 30, 1863] without offering to give a blow in defense of a line of most formidable works which he had cast up in the course of several months. Rosecrans now pressed hard upon the rear of the fugitive Confederates, but the latter having the railway for transportation, kept out of his reach, and pushed as rapidly as possible over the Cumberland Mountains toward the Ten- nessee River, which they crossed at Bridgeport, destroyed the bridge behind them, and hastened to Chattanooga. 1 Rosecrans advanced his army to the base of the mountains, when, finding Bragg too far ahead to be easily over- taken, he halted his entire force, and rested more than a month while gathering supplies for his army at proper places, 8 and repairing the railway from the high table-land at Decherd, down through the mountain pass of Big Crow Creek, to Stevenson. ' At the middle of August he moved forward, his army stretched over a long line east and west, Avith cavalry on its flanks. In the course of four or five days it crossed the mountain ranges and stood along the shores of the Tennessee from above Chattanooga westward for a hundred miles, startling [August 21, 1863] Bragg by its apparition, the thunder of can- non on the eminences opposite that town, and the screaming of shells over the Confederate camp. Early in September, Thomas and McCook crossed the Tennessee with their corps at points each side of Bridgeport, where the railway spans it, and by the 8th had secured the passes of Lookout Mountain as far as Valley Head, while Crittenden's corps took post at Wauhatchie, in Lookout Valley, nearer the river. Informed of these threatening movements, Bragg abandoned Chat- tanooga, passed through the gaps of the Missionaries' Ridge* to the "West Chickamauga River, in Northern Georgia, and posted his army in a strong position near Lafayette, to meet the National forces expected to press through 1 This expulsion of Bragg's army from Middle Tennessee, by which a greater portion of that State and Kentucky was left under the absolute control of the National authority, was a di heartening event for the Confederates, and they now felt that every thing depended upon tb holding Chattanooga, the key of East Tennessee, and, indeed, of all Northern Georgia. . * Bragg had stripped that mountain region of forage, so Rosecrans waited until the I corn in cultivated spots, was sufficiently grown to furnish a supply. Meanwhile he gathen supplies at Tracy City and Stevenson, and thoroughly picketed the railway f B " ' g The rt writer was informed by the late John Ross, the venerable Chief of the Cherokee Nation, that this undulating 'ridge, lying back of Chattanooga and rising about 3 Tennessee River, was named the Missionaries' Ridge because missionaries among tt had a station on the southeastern slope of it. 664 THE NATION. [1863. the mountain passes. This was done in expectation of precisely what Rose- crans proceeded to do, namely, pass through the mountains, and threaten his enemy's communications between Dalton and Resaca. Rosecrans came to this determination with the mistaken idea, when informed by Crittenden that Bragg had left Chattanooga, that the latter had commenced a retreat toward Rome. Crittenden, who had made a reconnoissance on Lookout Mountain, and from its lofty summit looked down upon Chattanooga and observed that Bragg had retreated from it, immediately moved his corps into the Chatta- nooga Valley, and on the evening of the 10th of September, encamped at Rossville, within three or four miles of the deserted village. Thus, without a battle, the chief object of the movement of the Army of the Cumberland over the mountains was gained. With great ease Bragg had been expelled from Middle Tennessee, and was now held at bay in an unfortified position, away from the coveted stronghold and strategic position of Chattanooga. General Burnside, who was in command of the Army of the Ohio, was now brought into active co-operation with Rosecrans, having been ordered to pass over the mountains into East Tennessee to assist that leader in his struggle with Bragg. When summoned to that field, he concentrated his command, then in hand, about twenty thousand in number, at Crab Orchard, in South- eastern Kentucky. He prepared for a rapid movement. His infantry were mostly mounted ; his cavalry and artil- lery had good horses, and his supplies were earned on pack-mules, that more facile movements might be made than a wagon-train would allow. On the day when Bragg was startled by the great guns of his pursuer at Chattanooga [August 21, 1863], Burnside began his march over the Cumberland mountains, a cavalry brigade in advance. They soon passed the great ranges, and were speedily posted on the line of the rail- way southwesterly from London, on the Tennessee River, so as to connect with Rosecrans at Chattanooga. General Buckner, who commanded about twenty thousand troops in East Tennessee, had retired on Burnside's approach, and joined Bragg, and the important moun- tain pass of Cumberland Gap was soon in possession of the Nationals. The great valley between the Alleghany and Cumberland mountains, from Cleve- land to Bristol, seemed to be permanently rid of armed Confederates. 1 1 The magnificent Valley of East Tennessee has an average width of seventy-five miles, and a length of two hundred miles. The loyal inhabitants of that region received the National troops with open arms. It is difficult to conceive the intensity of the feelings of the Union peo- ple along the line of Burnside's march. "Everywhere," wrote an eye-witness, "the people flocked to the roadsides, and, with cheers and wildest demonstrations of welcome, saluted the flag of the Republic and the men who had borne it in triumph to the very heart of the ' Confed- eracy.' Old men wept at the sight, which they had waited for through months of suffering; PACK-MULES. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 665 Believing, as we have observed, that Bragg had begun a retreat toward Rome, Rosecrans pushed his troops through the gaps of Lookout Mountain to strike his flank, but he soon ascertained that his foe, instead of retreating, was concentrating his forces at Lafayette, to attack the now attenuated line of the Army of the Cumberland, whose left was at Ringgold and its right near Alpine points, by the National line, about fifty miles apart. Rosecrans immediately ordered the concentration of his own troops,, to avoid and meet perils that threatened them. This was quickly done, and at a little past the middle of September [1863], the contending forces confromted each other, in battle array, on each side of the Chickamauga Creek, in the vicinity of Crawford's Spring and Lee and Gordon's. Mill, the line of each stretching north ward to the slopes of the Missionaries' Ridge. General Thomas took position on the extreme National left, and opened battle on the morning of the 19th [September], by attacking the Confederate right. The conflict raged almost without intermission until four o'clock in the afternoon, when there was a lull. It was renewed by the Confederates at five o'clock, and continued until dark. On the right center there had been some severe fighting, and when night fell the advantage appeared to be with the Nationals. In the mean time Long- street, who had been sent from Vir- ginia, by Lee, with his corps, to help Bragg, and had passed through the Carolinas and Georgia to Atlanta, was now coming up with his forces. He arrived on the field that night, and assumed command of Bragg's left, and on the morning of the 20th the Con- federates had full seventy thousand men opposed to fifty-five thousand Nationals. Both parties prepared to renew the struggle in the morning. Thomas's OO O troops intrenched during the night. A heavy fog enveloped the armies in the morning, and when it lifted, between eight and nine o'clock, a most san- guinary battle was commenced on the wing where Thomas was in command. It soon raged furiously along the whole line. Finally a desperate charge was made upon the temporarily weakened right center of the Nationals, when the line was broken. The right wing was shattered into fragments, and fled in disorder toward Rossville and Chattanooga, carrying along upon its turbulent and resistless tide Rosecrans, Crittenden, and McCook, while Sheridan and children, even, hailed with joy the sign of deliverance. Nobly have these persecuted people stood by their faith, and all loyal men will rejoice with them in their rescue at last from the clutch of the destroyer." " They were so glad to see Union soldiers," wrote another, " that they cooked every thing they had, and gave it freely, not asking pay, and apparently not thinking of it. Women stood by the roadside with pails of water, and displayed Union flags. The wonder was where all the 'Stars and Stripes' came from." GEORGE H. THOMAS. THE NATION. [1863. Davis rallied a portion of it upon another road. Rosecrans, unable to join Thomas, and believing the whole army would be speedily hurrying, pell-mell, toward Chattanooga, pushed on to that place to make provision for holding it, if possible. But Thomas stood firm, and for awhile fought a greater part of the Confederate army, enduring shock after shock, and keeping it at bay until he could withdraw his forces, in obedience to an order from Rosecrans. This was done in good order, and the worn and wearied troops took position in the Rossville and Dry Valley gaps of the Missionaries' Ridge, where they bivouacked that night. On the following evening the whole army fell back to Chattanooga ; and within forty-eight hours after the battle it Avas so strongly intrenched that it defied Bragg, who had not thought it prudent to follow the retreating forces from the battle-field. He contented himself with taking pos- session of the Missionaries' Ridge and Lookout Mountain. Victory was won by the Confederates in the battle of Chickamauga, but at a fearful cost to both armies. 1 The Army of the Cumberland was now closely imprisoned at Chattanooga. By holding Lookout Mountain, which abuts upon the Tennessee River, Bragg commanded that stream and cut off Rosecrans's communication with his sup- plies at Bridgeport and Stevenson, and compelled him to transport them in wagons, over the rough mountains, fifty or sixty miles. This was a severe and precarious service. For awhile the army was on short allowance, and not less than ten thousand horses and mules were worked or starved to death in the service. In the mean time a change in the organization of the army was effected. It was determined by the government to hold Chattanooga, and for that purpose it was ordered that the armies under Burnside, Rosecrans, and Grant, should be concentrated there. Over these combined forces Grant was placed. His field of command was called the Military Division of the Missis- sippi. 2 When Grant arrived at Chattanooga, late in October, he found Thomas alive to the importance of securing a safe and speedy way for supplies to reach that post. Nearly the whole of Bragg's cavalry had been operating against 1 The National loss was reported at 16,326, of whom 1,687 were killed. The total loss of officers was 974. It is probable the entire Union loss was 19,000. The Confederate loss was 20,950, of whom 2,674 were killed. Rosecrans brought off from the field 2,003 prisoners, 36 guns, 20 caissons, and 8,450 small-arms. a Rosecrans was relieved of the command of the Army of the Cumberland, and was succeeded by Thomas, and General W. T. Sherman was promoted to the command of Grant's Army of the Tennessee. Rosecrans was ordered to St. Louis, and was placed in command of the Department of Missouri. Before Grant was called to his enlarged command, he had taken measures for securing every advantage of the victories at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. He sent his paroled prisoners (see page 646) to the Confederate lines at Jackson, and on the same day ordered Sherman to lead a heavy force against Johnston, whose troops were hovering in the rear of Vicksburg. His head- quarters was at Jackson, and when Sherman advanced, he concentrated his forces there, behind intrenchments. From there he was driven on the 13th of July, when he fled toward the interior of Mississippi. Grant cast up a line of fortifications around Vicksburg, and with these, and the expulsion of Johnston, that post was made secure. On the day of the fall of Vicksburg, the important post of Helena, in Arkansas, farther up the Mississippi, was attacked by a heavy force of Confederates, but they were repulsed with heavy loss ; and when Grant was summoned to the command at Chattanooga, the freedom of navigation on the Mississippi River seemed to be per- manently secured. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 667 his line of communications among the mountains. They had seized and destroyed wagon-trains, and, notwithstanding they were driven here and there by Union cavalry, these raiders made the safe transportation of supplies so doubtful, that the troops at Chattanooga were threatened with famine. Thomas had already devised a method of relief General Hooker had been sent with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps (Howard's and Slocum's), from the Army of the Potomac, to guard Rosecrans's communications. He was now at Brid^e- port with a part of these forces, and it was proposed that he should cross the Tennessee with them, and, pushing into Lookout Valley, threaten Bragg's left, and cover the river to a point where a short route by land to Chattanooga might be obtained. Grant approved the plan, and it was executed. Hooker reached Wauhatchie, in Lookout Valley, after some fighting, on the 28th of October, and at the same time General "W. F. Smith came down from Chatta- nooga, and threw a pontoon bridge across the river at a point only a few miles from that town. 1 This movement, a Richmond journal said, deprived the Confederates " of the fruits of Chickamauga." From the hour when Hooker entered Lookout Valley, his movements had been keenly watched by the Confederates on Lookout Mountain, and at mid- night [October 28, 29] a strong body of them swept down from the hills and fell suddenly upon the Nationals at Wauhatchie, commanded by General Geary, expecting to surprise them. They were mistaken. Geary was awake, and met the attack bravely; and, with the help of troops from Howard's (Eleventh) corps, repulsed the assailants, and scattered them in every direc- tion. From that time the safe passage of the river, from Bridgeport to Brown's Ferry, was secured. Bragg's plans for starving the National army were defeated, and a little steamboat, called Chattanooga, was soon carry- ing provisions up the river, in abun- dance. 8 While these events were occurring near Chattanooga, others of importance were seen in the great Valley of East Tennessee. Burnside's forces were busied in endeavors to drive the armed rebels out of that region, and in so doing sev- eral skirmishes and heavier engagements occurred, the most prominent of which were at Blue Springs and Rogersville. THE CHATTAXOOGA. Meanwhile, Longstreet was sent by 1 Eighteen hundred troops, under General Hazen, went down the river in batteaux at about midnight [October 26 and 27], gliding unobserved by the Confederate sentinels along the base of Lookout Mountain, where the Tennessee sweeps around Moccasin Point, and, with other ti that went down by land, seized Brown's Ferry and threw a pontoon bridge across the river there Hooker's troops coming up, connected with those at the ferry, and secured its possession to Nat *The S re was no steamboat to be found on the Tennessee River in that regioD, so mechanics of the army built one for the public service, aud called it Chattanooga. 6(38 THE NATION. [1863. Bragg to sel>se Knoxville and drive the Nationals out of East Tennessee. He advanced swiftly and secretly, and on the 20th of October struck the first startling blow at the outpost of Philadelphia, and drove the Nationals to the Tennessee, at Loudon. Below that point he crossed, and moved on Knoxville, but was temporarily checked by Burnside in a severe fight at Campbell's Sta- tion, each losing between three and four hundred men. Burnside fell back to 7 O Knoxville, where he was strongly intrenched, closely followed by Longstreet, who began a regular siege of the place. While the Confederates were besieging Knoxville, stirring events were occurring near Chattanooga. Grant had been waiting for the arrival of forces under Sherman, to enable him to advance on Bragg and send relief to Burn- side. So early as the 22d of September, that commander had been ordered, with as many troops as could be spared from the line of the Mississippi, to proceed to the help of Rosecrans. These troops were on the line of the Mem- phis and Charleston railway, at the middle of October, and toward the close of the month they were summoned by Grant to Stevenson, to head oif an anticipated flank movement by Bragg, in the direction of Nashville. When Sherman arrived there, events, were in such shape that Grant thought it proper to attack Bragg as speedily as possible, for the twofold purpose of preventing his flight southward, which he suspected was his design, and to demoralize or weaken Longstreet's force and compel him to abandon the siege of Knoxville. Grant determined to aim his first heavy blow at Bragg's right, on the Mis- sionaries' Ridge. Sherman was directed to cross the Tennessee, and menace his right on Lookout Mountain, and then seci'etly recross, move to a point above Chattanooga, cross again, and advance on the Ridge. All this was satisfactorily done. Meanwhile, it was thought best to make a movement from the center, at Chattanooga. This was performed [November 23] by Thomas, when a commanding eminence in front of the Missionaries' Ridge, called Orchard Knob, was seized by the Nationals and fortified. Hooker was then ordered to attack Bragg's right on Lookout Mountain early the next morning, so as to attract the attention of the Confederates while Sherman O t should cross the Tennessee above Chattanooga. Hooker performed his prescribed duty with vigor and success. He opened his guns upon the breastworks and rifle-pits of the Confederates along the steep, wooded, and broken slopes of the mountain, and then his troops, dash- ing vigorously forward, swept every thing before them, and captured a large portion of their foes on their front. Then the victors scaled the rugged sides of the mountain, up to the muzzles of cannon planted in a hollow far toward its summit, and driving the Confederates there around an arable belt in the direc- tion of the Chattanooga Valley, established a line firmly on the eastern face of the mountain, with its right resting at the palisades at its top. During a greater part of the struggle which ended in this advantage to the Nationals, Lookout Mountain was hooded in a mist that went up from the Tennessee in the rnoi'ning, and Hooker's troops were literally fighting in the clouds, and were hidden from their listening brethren at Chattanooga below, who heard the thunders of the cannon, but could only get an occasional glimpse of the 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 669 Union banners. 1 Perceiving the danger of having their only way of retreat to the Chattanooga Valley cut off, the Confederates occupying the summit of the mountain fled at midnight, masking their retreat by an attack on the Nationals i.i the gloom. In the bright sunlight and crisp morning air the next day, the National flag was seen by delighted eyes below, wav- ing over Pulpit Rock, on the top of Lookout Mountain, where, only a few days before, Jef- ferson Davis had stood and assured the assem- bled troops that all was well with the Con- federacy. While Hooker was fighting on Lookout Mountain, Sherman's troops were crossing the Tennessee on pontoon bridges. They were all over at noonday, and, pressing for- ward, secured a position on the northern end of the Missionaries' Ridge. That night [No- vember 24] both armies prepared for a struggle in the morning. Bragg withdrew all of his o oo forces from Lookout Mountain, and concen- trated them on the Missionaries' Ridge ; and on the following day [November 25, 1863] they were attacked there in flank and front. Sherman moved early along the ridge, with flank columns at the base on each side. Hooker descended from Lookout Mountain, and, entering Ross's Gap, made a similar movement upon Bragg's PULPIT ROCK. THE MISSIONARIES' RIDGE, FROH THE CEMETERY AT CHATTANOOGA.* right, in the afternoon. A terrible struggle ensued, which Grant, standing on 1 During this struggle, a battery, planted on Moccasin Point, under Captain Naylor, did excellent service. It actually dismounted one of the guns in a Confederate battery, on tl summit of the mountain, 1,500 feet above the river. This ridge is made up of a series of small hills, with gaps or passes between. 'The h in the foreground, at the left, is Orchard Knob, on which Grant made his quarters ( battle of the 25th. 670 THE NATION. [1863. Orchard Knob, watched with the most intense interest. The center, under Thomas, was ordered forward. The eager soldiers cleared the rifle-pits at the foot of the ridge, and then scaled the acclivity. The Confederates were speedily driven from their stronghold, and fled in the direction of Ringgold ; and that night the Missionaries' Ridge blazed with the camp-fires of the victors. 1 Early the next morning, Sherman, Palmer, and Hooker went in pursuit of Bragg's flying army. His rear-guard, under Cleburne, the " Stonewall Jackson of the South," was struck at Ringgold, and, after sharp fighting, was driven. Then Grant's troops fell back, and General Sherman was sent to the relief of Burn- side. Bragg retreated to Dalton, established a fortified camp there, and was succeeded in command by General Joseph E. Johnston. Davis made Bragg General-in-Chief of the Confederate armies. Immediately after his arrival before Knoxville, Longstreet opened some of Ms guns [November 18, 1863] upon the National works, and sharply attacked their advance, under General W. P. Sanders, who was in immediate com- mand there. A severe but short en- gagement ensued, in which Sanders was killed, and his troops were driven back to their works. From that time until the dark night of the 28th, Longstreet closely invested Knoxville. 2 Then, alarmed by the news of Bragg's disaster at Chattanooga, and being re-enforced by nearly all of the Con- federate troops then in East Tennessee, he proceeded, at midnight, to assail Fort Sanders, the principal work of the defenses of Knoxville. It was a strong, bastioned earth-work. The troops that defended it, as well as others there, were under the immediate command of General Ferrero. A gallant defense was made. A heavy storming party of Confederates, who made a most courageous attack, were repulsed 1 The Union loss was 5,616, of whom 757 were killed. The Confederate loss was a little over 9,000, of whom 6,000 were prisoners. Grant captured, 40 pieces of cannon and 7,000 small-arms. General Halleck said, in a report of the operations of the army: "Considering the strength of the rebel position and the difficulty of storming his intrenchments, the Battle of Chattanooga must be regarded as the most remarkable in history. Not only did the officers and men exhibit great skill and daring in their operations in the field, but the highest praise is also due to the commanding general for his admirable dispositions for dislodging the enemy from a position apparently impregnable." a "When the siege commenced there was in the commissary department little more than one day's rations, and supplies could then be received only from the south side of the Holston, across a pontoon bridge, the foe holding the avenues of approach to Knoxville on the north side of the river. Buraside's efforts were directed to keeping open the country between the Holston and the French Broad, and every attempt of Longstreet to seize it was promptly met. A considerable quantity ef corn and wheat, and some pork, was soon collected in Knoxville, but almost from the beginning of the siege the soldiers were compelled to subsist on half and quarter rations, without coffee or Bugar. Indeed, during the last few days of the siege, the bread of their half-rations was made, of clear bran. JAMES LONGSTREET. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 671 with fearful loss, and Knoxville was saved. 1 Sherman's forces were then pressing forward, and on the morning of the 3d of December, when Long- street perceived that his army was flanked, he raised the siege, and* withdrew toward Virginia. Then Sherman and his troops returned to Chattanooga. Because of the victory at the latter place and the salvation of Knoxville, the President recommended the loyal people to give public thanks to Almighty God " for the great advancement of the National cause." Let us now turn again to the Atlantic coast, and consider the most prom- inent events there after the departure of Burnside from North Carolina and the seizure of the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. 8 Burnside left General Foster in command of the troops in North Carolina ; and from New Berne, which was his principal head-quarters, the latter sent out expeditions from time to time to break up rendezvous of Confederates and scatter their forces, for it was evident that they were watching opportunities to recapture lost posts in that State. Sometimes sharp skirmishes would ensue, and heavy losses occur. In one of his raids to Goldsboro' [December, 1862], for the pur- pose of damaging the Weldon and Wilmington railway, Foster lost over five hundred men. He attempted to establish communication with the National forces at Suffolk and Norfolk, but when Burnside was repulsed at Fredericks- burg, 8 and Confederate troops sent from North Carolina to assist Lee in that campaign were thereby released, he abandoned further attempts at that time. Finally, General D. H. Hill was ordered to make a diversion in favor of Long- street at Suffolk, 4 where, with a considerable force, he first menaced New Berne, and then marched on Little Washington. He invested that place [March 30, 1863], and the little garrison of twelve hundred men were speedily cut off from the outside world. Finally, the Fifth Rhode Island Regiment went to its relief, from New Berne [April 8], by water. The blockade of the river was run [April 13], and the garrison was relieved; and when, a little later, Foster marched upon Hill, the latter withdrew to the interior of the State. During the succeeding summer Foster kept up his raids, until he was called to take the place of General Dix, in command at Fortress Monroe. Looking farther down the Atlantic coast, we observe vigorous preparations for an attempt to take Charleston. Admiral Dupont was working with Gen- eral Hunter to that end, in the spring of 1863, when, at the middle of May, a slave named Robert Small (a pilot), and a few fellow-bondmen, came out of the harbor of Charleston in the Confederate steamer, Planter, delivered her to Dupont, and communicated information concerning military affairs at Charles- 1 The charge of the storming party was greatly impeded by a novel contrivance. Between tho abatis and rifle-pits in front of Fort Sanders, the ground was covered with the stumps of recently felled trees. Extending from one to another of these stumps were strong wires, about a foot above the ground, and these tripped the assailants at almost every step. Whole companiei prostrated by this wire net-work, and at the same time the double-shotted guns of the fort wei playing fearfully upon them. Yet the assailants pressed up, gained the ditch, and one actually reached the parapet and planted the Confederate flag there. He soon rolled dead into the ditch, which was swept by a bastion cannon. Lieutenant Benjamin, chief of artillery in tl fort, actually took bomb-shells in his hand, ignited the fuses, and threw them over into tl ditch, where they produced great destruction of life. See pages 607 and 608. ' See page 631. 4 See page 652. THE NATION. [1863. ton of great value. Hunter concentrated troops on Edisto Island, preparatory to tin-owing them suddenly upon James's Island, and marching swiftly on the deeply oifending city, while other troops were sent to break up the railway connecting the cities of Charleston and Savannah. Meanwhile the Confed- erates prepared to meet the Nationals on James's Island ; and, finally, when Union troops crossed over to that island, under the direction of General Ben- ham, and attacked [June 16, 1863] Confederate works at Secessionville, they were repulsed with great loss. This event postponed the intended march on Charleston, and in September Hunter was superseded by the energetic General O. JV1. Mitchel. That officer was making preparations for vigorous measures for indirect operations against Charleston, when he sickened and died [Oct. 30]. General Brannan attempted to carry out his plans against the Charleston and Savannah railway, but he found that road so well guarded at points to which he penetrated that he could not accomplish his purpose. After Mitchel's death little was done by the military in the Department of the South until the following spring. The navy in that region was some- what active in other than mere blockading service. Late in February [1863], the famous blockade runner, JVashville, imprisoned in the Ogeechee River, below Savannah, was attacked by the " monitor " Montauk, commanded by Captain John L. Worden, and destroyed [Feb. 28, 1863]. She had been lying under the protection of the guns of Fort McAllister, and upon this work Com- mander Drayton tried the guns of some armored vessels a few days later, but without serious effect. Meanwhile Admiral Dupont was preparing for a vigor- ous attack on Charleston. Hunter was again in command of the Department of the South, and was strengthened, for co-operation with Dupont, by twelve thousand troops from North Carolina. Four thousand men, under General Truman Seymour, were stationed in a masked position on Folly Island at the beginning of April, and on the 6th of that month Dupont crossed Charleston bar with nine " monitor " vessels, leaving five gun-boats outside as a reserve squadron. It had been determined by the government to speedily reduce the rebellious city to subjection, for resisting forces were yet intensely active there. 1 Dupont moved up to attack Fort Sumter, the most formidable obstacle in the way to Charleston. The Confederate batteries near were ominously silent, until the advanced vessels became entangled in a terrible net-work of torpe- does and other obstructions. Then Fort Sumter, and other batteries^ bearing an aggregate of nearly three hundred guns, opened a concentric fire upon the assailants, repulsed them after a sharp fight, and destroyed the JZeokuk, one of the smaller but most daring of the monitors. The fact was, the harbor was filled with formidable obstructions, and around it were guarding batteries 1 At the close of January [1863] two formidable "rams" darted out of Charleston harbor in the obscurity of darkness and fog, and attacked the blockading squadron. Two of the ships were quickly disabled, and compelled to strike their colors. Although the assailants fled back to Charleston without taking possession of the disabled vessels, the Conspirators at Richmond actually proclaimed to the world that the blockade of Charleston harbor was raised. 1363.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION of great strength,' and the attempt to enter it was necessarily a failure. The land troops were not in a condition to co-operate, excepting in the event of the reduction of Fort Sumter. There was comparative quiet along the coasts of South Carolina and Geor- gia for some time after Dupont's attack on Fort Sumter. General Hunter was succeeded [June 12, 1863] by General Q. A. Gillmore.* He found a little less than eighteen thousand troops in the Department, with arduous duties to per- form. 3 There were eighty effective cannon and an ample supply of small-arms munitions and stores, at his command. With these forces and supplies he set about organizing an expedition for the capture of Charleston by troops and ships. He determined to seize Morris Island and its fortifications, and from it batter down Fort Sumter and lay the city in ashes by his shells, if not surrendered. Dupont, having no faith in the scheme so far as the navy was concerned, was relieved of the command of the fleet there, and was succeeded by Admiral Dahlgren on the 6th of July. 4 Gillmore found Folly Island, next to Morris Island, well occupied by Union troops on his arrival He caused batteries to be erected to bear upon the lat- ter, so as to make way for his forces to cross Light-House In- let to that island, and attack Fort Wagner. These fortifica- tions were well made behind a curtain of pine-trees, under the direction of General Vogdes, and a large number of cannon, A PABEOTT GUN. mostly Parrott guns, were planted on them. Then General Terry was sent to James's Island with a force 1 The fortifications consisted of two batteries on Sullivan's Island seaward from Fort Moultrie, and Battery Bee, landward from it. On Mount Pleasant, on the main near the mouth of Cooper River, was a heavy battery. In front of the city was Castle Pinckney; and on a submerged sand-bank, between this work and Fort Johnson, was Fort Ripley, or Middle-ground Battery. Along the southern border of the harbor were Fort Johnson and some batteries. On Morris Island, not far from Fort Sum- ter, was Battery Gregg, on Cummings's Point, from which the first shot was hurled at Fort Sumter in 1861 ; and back of it was Fort Wagner, a very strong work, stretching entirely across Morris Island at that point. Across the channels of TORPEDO. the harbor, rows of piles had been driven, and there were chains composed of railway iron linked ; and across the main channel a cable was stretched, from which hung festoons of torpedoes in the form given in the engraving, which were to be exploded by electricity, through wires extending from apparatus at Forts Sumter and Moultrie. At one point, where a space in the row of piles had been left open, inviting a ship to enter, was a submerged mine containing 5,000 pounds of gunpowder. * See page 607. 3 The Department did not extend far in the interior, but its line parallel with the coast was about two hundred and fifty miles in length. This was to be picketed, and posts at different points were to be maintained. 4 At about the time of Gillmore's arrival, rumors reached Dupont that a powerful " ram ' was nearly ready, at Savannah, to make a raid on his blockading squadron, near the mouth of the Savannah River. This was the swift blockade-runner Fingal, which, unable to escape to sea, had been converted into an armored warrior of the most formidable kind, and named Atlanta. Dupont sent two monitors ( Weehawken and Nahant) to "Warsaw Sound to watch her. She appeared in those waters on the morning of the 17th of June. She was supposed by the Confederates to be an overmatch for both monitors; and gun-boats, filled with spectators,. accompanied her to tow 43 674 THE NATION. [1863. to mask the real intentions of the Nationals, when General Strong, with two thousand men, went in boats to Morris Island, landed suddenly [July 10, 1863], and, with the help of the batteries on Folly Island, drove the Confed- erates to Fort Wagner. Strong allowed his troops to rest until the next morn- ing, when he assailed Fort Wagner, but was repulsed. These movements greatly alarmed the Confederates, and Beauregard and the Mayor of Charles- ton advised all non-combatants to leave the city. Fort Wagner was stronger than Gillmore suspected it to be, and he deter- mined to attempt to reduce it, first. by a bombardment, and if that failed, then by a regular siege. A line of batteries were erected across the island within range of Fort Wagner, and Dahlgren's fleet took position to open fire on that work. This was done by the land and naval forces on the 18th [July], with a hundred great guns; and while, at sunset, a heavy thunderstorm was sweeping by, arrangements were made for another assault on the fort. Terry had with- drawn from James's Island after a sharp fight, and now Gillmore's troops were concentrated for the important work. Two assaulting columns moved upon the fort. The first, under General Strong, was repulsed with great slaughter. The second, and smaller one, under Colonel H. S. Putnam, met a similar fate. 1 Gillmore now abandoned the plan of direct assault, and began a regular siege, approaching the fort by parallels. He also, with great, labor, planted a battery in the midst of a marsh between Morris and James's Islands, on which was mounted a 200-pounder Parrott gun, called " The Swamp An- gel," from which shells were hurled into Charles- ton, a distance of five miles. 8 Finally, Gill- more's preparations for attack on Fort Wagner were completed, and .on the 17th of August fire from twelve batteries, and from Dahlgren's fleet, was opened upon it and Fort Sumter. Before night the walls of the latter began to crumble, and its guns back to Savannah the captured iron-clads. She first encountered the Weehawken. Four shots from the latter caused the Atlanta to haul down her colors ; and instead of sweeping the block- ading squadron from the coast, and opening southern ports to the commerce of the world, as was expected by the Confederates, she was sent to Philadelphia^ and exhibited for the benefit of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon of that city. 1 Strong was mortally wounded, and Putnam was killed. In this assault a regiment of col- ored troops from Massachusetts, under Colonel Shaw, performed gallant deeds. Shaw was killed, and the Confederates, supposing they were disgracing the young hero, buried him in a pit in the sand under a large number of his slain negro troops. * The mud on which this battery was constructed was about sixteen feet in depth. Piles were driven through it to the solid earth, and on these, timbers were laid. Colonel Serrell, of New York, had the matter in charge, and he assigned to a lieutenant the superintendence of the work. "When the spot chosen for building the battery was shown to the latter, he said the thing was impossible. "There is no such word as 'impossible 1 in the matter," the colonel answered, THE SWAMP ANGEL. 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 675 were silenced, under the pounding of Daklgren's cannon. The land troops pushed the parallels closer to Fort Wagner, and at near midnight, of September 6th, Terry was prepared to storm the works. It was soon ascertained that the Confederates had abandoned them. Gillmore immediately took possession of Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg, turned their guns upon Fort Sumter and Charleston, and made the " Cradle of Secession " a desolation in the world of business. Fort Sumter was made apparently harmless, yet a garrison remained there, and when one night [Sept. 8] a party from the flet attempted to sur- prise and capture the fort, they were repulsed with terrible loss. Finally, late in October, Gillmore opened heavy guns upon it, and made it a sloping heap of rubbish from the parapet to the water. 1 Let us now change our field of observations, in the extended theater of the war, from the sea-coast to the region beyond the Mississippi River, a thousand miles farther westward, and see what of importance occurred there since the battle of Prairie Grove, 4 the re-occupation of all Texas by the Confederates, 3 Banks's march to the Red River, 4 and the battle at Helena, 5 in July, 1863. Missouri- and Arkansas, after brief repose, were convulsed by the machinations of disloyal citizens and the contests of hostile troops. Marmaduke, a noted leader, suddenly burst out of Arkansas, and fell upon Springfield, in Missouri, early in 1863, when he was repulsed with a loss of two hundred men. After reverses at other points, he fled back into Arkansas early in February. There were some stirring movements in Northwestern Arkansas at about the same time. Two thousand Confederates attacked a Union force under Colonel Har- rison, at Fayetteville [April 18, 1863], when the assailants were repulsed, and fled over the Ozark mountains. Marmaduke, meanwhile, had gone to Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, and there, with the chief leaders in that region, planned a raid into Missouri, chiefly for the purpose of capturing National stores at Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi River. With about eight thousand men, he pushed rapidly into that State, and following the general line of the St. Francis River to Freder- icton, turned eastward, and moved on Cape Girardeau. General McXeil was there to receive him, and after a severe engagement [April 26, 1863], drove Marmaduke out of the State. In May, three thousand Confederates, under Colonel Coffey, menaced Fort Blunt [May 20] in the Indian country just west of Arkansas, but did not ven- and directed the lieutenant to build the battery, and to call for every thing required for the work. The next day the lieutenant, who was something of a wag, made a requisition on the qua master for one hundred men, eighteen feet in height, to wade through mud sixteen fe and then went to the surgeon to inquire if he could splice the eighteen-feet men, if they wen furnished him. This pleasantry caused the lieutenant's arrest, but he was soon rele constructed the work with men of usual height. Davis's Mstory of the One Hundre ^^^TnTL^annual^epoK Congress, in December, 1863, the Secretary of the Navy in summing up the operations of that arm of the service on the Southern coast, saic I : ' Not; a blockad has succeeded in reaching the city for months, and the traffic which had been to some . and with large profits, previously carried on, is extinguished. As a commercial mart, has no existence ; 1^ wealth, her trade, has departed. In a military or strategic vtew, the place is of little consequence ; and whether the rebels are able, by great sacrifice and exhaustion, tc hold out a few weeks, more or less, is of no importance. ' 4 See page 637. ' See page 644. * See page 644. THE NATION. [1863. ture to attack So they moved off, with a large drove of cattle, for some weaker prey. A little more than a month later, a wagon-train for Fort Blunt was attacked [July l] by Texans and Creek Indians. These were repulsed, and the train reached the fort in safety. Just then a great peril threatened that post. Six thousand Confederates were approaching to assail it. General Blunt had just arrived. He at once led three thousand troops, with twelve light cannon, to attack the Confederates. He found them at Honey Springs, under General Cooper, where he fell upon them suddenly. After two hours' hard fighting [July 17], the Confederates gave way. Only an hour afterward, General Cabell, whom Cooper was expecting, came up with three thousand Texan cavalry. It was too late. Cabell did not think it prudent to attack Blunt, and so he moved across the Canadian River into Texas. Guerrilla bands were now active in Blunt's rear. Early in August, about three hundred of these, composed chiefly of desperate characters of Missouri, and led by a white savage, who had assumed the name of Quantrell, crossed into Kansas, and attacked the town of Lawrence [August 13], inhabited chiefly by Unionists. The town was wholly without defenders, and the guerrillas murdered people and destroyed property without hinderance. In the course of a few hours, one hundred and forty persons were murdered, and one hun- dred and eighty-five buildings were in flames. This crime produced horror and indignation ; and when, ten days afterward, the guerrilla chief, M. Jeff. Thompson, was captured, it was very difficult to shield him from personal injury. Soon after the capture of Vicksburg, General Steele organized an expedi- tion at Helena for the capture of Little Rock. He moved, on the 10th of August, with about twelve thousand men and forty cannon. He crossed the White River at Clarendon, and pushing back the Confederates under Marma- duke, reached the Arkansas, below Little Rock, on the 7th of September. A part of his forces, under General Davidson, crossed to the south bank, and upon opposite sides of the river the two columns moved on Little Rock. Mar- maduke made some opposition, but with General Price and others, and all the troops in that vicinity, he abandoned the Arkansas capital, leaving several steamers on fire. On the evening of the 10th [Sept., 1863], Sj-eele's forces occupied the city and the fortifications. The Confederates retreated rapidly to Arkadelphia, on the Washita River. This successful campaign occupied forty days. Blunt, meanwhile, was trying to bring the Confederates and Indians in the region west of Arkansas to battle, but failed to do so ; and Cabell, with a large force, hastened to the aid of Price at Little Rock. He did not reach there in time, but joined Price in his retreat to Arkadelphia. Blunt took possession of Fort Smith, and garrisoned it ; and early in October, when on his way from Kansas to that post, with an escort of a hundred cavalry, he was attacked [October 4], near Baxter's Springs, by Quantrell and six hundred guerrillas. The escort was demolished ; an accompanying train was plundered and burned, and Blunt, with about a dozen followers, barely escaped with their lives to Little Fort Blair. The Confederates in that region, now finding their supplies 1863.] LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 077 to be nearly exhausted, a part of Cabell's command, under Colonel Shelby undertook a raid into Missouri, to procure some. In the southwestern part of that State they were joined by a considerable force under Coffey, when the combined army was twenty-five hundred strong. They penetrated the State to Booneville [October 1, 1863], on the Missouri River, but were quickly driven back into Arkansas by Generals Brown and McNeil, when the latter was placed in command of the Army of the Frontier. Comparative quiet prevailed in Missouri and Arkansas after that for some time, the only hostile movement of note being an attack [Oct. 25] by Marmaduke upon Pine Bluff, on the Arkansas River, with two thousand men and twelve guns. The little garrison, under Colonel Clayton, with the help of two hundred negroes in making barricades, drove off the assailants, after a contest of several hours. Let us now see what was occurring west of the Mississippi, in the Gulf Department, commanded by General K P. Banks. When that commander withdrew from Alexan- dria, on the Red River, to invest Port Hudson, 1 General Dick Taylor, whom he had driven into the wilds of "Western Louisiana, returned, took possession of the aban- doned towns of Alexan- dria and Opelousas, and garrisoned Fort de Rus- sy, early in June [1863]. Then he swept rapidly through the State toward the Mississippi, and in the direction of New Orleans, causing Banks to draw in his outposts to Brashear City. But this post was soon captured [June 24, 1863], with an immense amount of public property, and a thousand prisoners. 1 A few days later, a Confederate force, under General Green, attempted to seize Fort Butler [June 20], at Donaldsonville, on the Mississippi, but were repulsed, with a loss of over three hundred men ; and, on the 1 2th of July, the same leader attacked some troops under General Dudley, in the rear of Donaldson- ville, when, after a partial success, the Confederates were driven, and retreated out of that district. This was about the last struggle of Taylor's troops to gain a foothold on the Mississippi, for Banks's force, released by the fall of Port Hudson, 3 quickly expelled the Confederates from the region eastward of the Atchafalaya. 1 See page 644. 9 The Confederates took possession of the fort there, with its ten guns ; also, a large amount of smal-larms, munitions of war, provisions,