NRLF 
 
 
 
 It 
 
 f '> : ' f\: : I 
 IftM? 
 
FROM \1 
 
 J. D. MURRAY, 1 
 
 DRUGGIST,! 
 
 AND If 
 
 800K*UEK, 
 
 LIBRARY j 
 
 UNIVERSITY Of j 
 CALIFORNIA 
 SANTA CRUZ 
 
 MENDOCINO, : : CAL. 
 
 
BEILLIANT EXAMPLES FOE AMEEICAN YOUTH. 
 
 Authentic, Instructive, and Entertaining. 
 
 LIVES OF 1 
 
 . 
 
 MODERN AMERICAN HEROES. 
 
 FOR BOYS AND YOUNG MEN. 
 
 BY THE POPULAB BIOCRAPHKB 
 
 REV. P. C. HEADLEY. 
 
 i. 
 THE HERO BOY. 
 
 Being the Life and Deeds of Lieut-General Ulysses S, Grant, 
 
 THE PATRIOT AND HERO. 
 
 Tracing his career from Boyhood to Manhood, from the Schoolhouse to the Battle 
 
 Field and Victory. 1 vol., 16mo, fancy cloth, 840 pages and 
 
 nine Illustrations. Price, $1.50. 
 
 Extract from a letter received from Gen. Grant's Fath&r. 
 Rev. P. 0. HEADLET : 
 
 DEAR SIB I have read over carefully the Hero Boy, written by yourself. It is 
 correct and well written, with direct reference to doing justice to all parties. 
 
 Yours, most truly, 
 J. R. GRANT. 
 
 Notices of the Press. 
 
 Of all children's books we doubt if any class exercise so direct an influence ass 
 the lives of eminent men ; to emulate their example is often the first ambition of 
 the young in the career which native genius indicates. Hence, it is of no small im- 
 portance what exemplars are put into the hands of children. One of the most at- 
 tractive and authentic of these contemporary biographies for the young is the 
 "Hero Boy," or the "Life of Gen. Grant," by Key. P. C. Headley. It is a hand- 
 some duodecimo, written with spirit, well illustrated, and handsomely bound, li 
 will prove a taking book for boys. N. Y. Ecemng Pout. 
 
 This volume is the first of a series for boys, entitled "The Young Amerrcan'3 
 Library of Modern Heroes." It is full of entertaining incidents of Gen. Grant's 
 early life, and contains sketches of his careef in the Mexican war, on his farci, 
 and in the whole course of our national struggle against rebellion. The book is il- 
 lustrated with maps and plates, and will be, according to its design, a very useful 
 and entertaining book for boys. N, Y. Observer, 
 
" Gen. Grant is noTj the foremost figure in this war, and the whole nation is eager 
 to know his history. The narrative of his rise from a very obscure and humbl* 
 position to his present high command, illustrates the character of our institutions, 
 and the certainty of the rewards assured to honest energy; and the eyes,' not only 
 of the whole country, but of the world, are now directed toward him. The bio- 
 graphy before us gives a brief sketch of his early life, but is much more minute in 
 detail of military operations since the war begun. The style is animated and 
 graphic, and is well suited to its stirring theme. N. Y. Independent. 
 
 In the " Hero Boy," Mr. Headley has made his work a labor of love and honor 
 love for the boys and honor for the man. Gathering his materials with' great 
 care, and arranging them with the skill of a practised hand, he has really pro- 
 duced the very best outline of the Lieutenant-General's career yet put in print; 
 it is illustrated with maps, enriched with a glossary of military terms, and lead* 
 off admirably as the first of a series entitled " The Young American's Library of 
 Modern Heroes." Chicago Journal. 
 
 II. 
 
 THE PATRIOT BOY. 
 
 BEING THB 
 
 Life of Major-General 0, M, Mitchel, the Astronomer and Hero. 
 
 1 vol., 16mo, cloth, 800 pages, fully illustrated. Price, $1.50 
 
 Extract from a letter received from Gen. MitcheFs Son. 
 WM. H. APPLETON, ESQ. : 
 
 DEAR SIR I have read with great pleasure the life of my father, written by 
 Rev. P. C. Headley, and just published by yourself. In every thing relating to 
 the boyhood and early life of my father, the author has been most successful and 
 correct. Very respectfully, yours, 
 
 B. W. MITCHEL. 
 
 Notices of the Press. 
 
 General Mitchel was a remarkable man. As an astronomer, he was one of the 
 foremost of the age ; as an orator, he had few peers ; while as a general, he proved 
 himself possessed of the highest qualities of leadership. His nature was strong 
 and magnetic ; there was no resisting the fascination of his presence. He was idol- 
 ized by his troops ; and had he lived, he would doubtless have disputed the honors 
 with the most successful of our chieftains. 
 
 We are glad the life of this gifted man has been written with reference to the 
 youth of our country. We know it will do good, and stimulate many an ardent 
 youth to noble endeavor. The present volume should be placed in the hands of 
 every boy in the country; for the subject of it is one that cannot be too promi- 
 nently kept before the eye of the nascent generation. It is got up in beautiful 
 style, and reflects credit on the publisher. Albany Evening Journal. 
 
 The career of one of the noblest characters America has yet produced. * * * 
 u The Patriot Boy ; or, the Life and Career of Major-General Ormsby M. Mitchel." 
 It is written in the enthusiastic style of this author, who says in his preface that 
 it is from authentic sources ; and that in no important statement can the truthful- 
 ness of the narrative be questioned. The reader may here learn the leading inci- 
 dents of Mitchel's romantic career. We know of none who presents a nobler ex- 
 ample to the youth of America than the illustrious Mitchel. N. . Evening Post. 
 
 We had once the pleasure of seeing the subject of this biography in his observa- 
 tory in Cincinnati, where he most affably explained some of his methods of ex- 
 ploring the visible heavens. He was not then a soldier, but the patriotic love of 
 country was active within bun, ready to be called into action at hia country'* 
 
summons. He became a soldier and an eminent one and in the service he sur- 
 rendered his life. As an astronomer, and as a general, he maintained a Christian 
 life, and his death was a transit beyond the stars. Mr. Headley, who has succeeded 
 *o well in other biographies, has raised a fitting monument to the great and good 
 man, and he directs the eyes of our youth to contemplate it. -The Presbyterian. 
 
 The subject is a brilliant example to American youth. We are familiar with 
 "the career of Prof. Mitchel, and rejoice to see it graphically portrayed in this 
 beautiful volume. We would put this book into the hands of a lad to show him 
 what true greatness there is in a man who has knowledge, religion, and patriotism. 
 New York Commercial. 
 
 III. 
 
 THE MINER BOY and his MONITOR. 
 
 Being the Life of Capt, John Ericsson, the Inventor, 
 
 DESIGNER OF THB FAMOUS IRON-CLAD " MONITOR," ETC. 
 
 A DEEPLY INTERESTING AND INSTRUCTIVE BOOK FOR BOYS. 
 
 One volume, 16mo,* fancy cloth, 800 pages, fully illustrated. Price, $1.50. 
 
 Notices of the Press. 
 
 In his series of beautiful and useful Juveniles, Wm. H. Appleton, 92 Grand street, 
 lias last published "The Miner Boy and his Monitor," being the Life of John Erics- 
 son, the inventor, by Headley, in which the story of that remarkable man is told 
 with glowing enthusiasm, inspiring in the young reader a kindred appreciation. 
 No recent career has been more crowded and, in one sense, oppressed with varied 
 fortunes and extraordinary hazards and recoveries than that of Ericsson. It will 
 amgly repay study, and at the same time add to the stock of patriotic pride in a 
 country which can welcome and encourage all who plant their foot on its soil. 
 The New Yorker. 
 
 The lives of Gens. Grant and Mitchel by the same author, were flatteringly re- 
 ceived by the public, not by boys alone, but of grown up people as well. The idea 
 of placing our prominent and most deserving men in a historic light before the ac- 
 tions which have made them illustrious are deprived of their freshness, is certainly 
 a happy one ; and the practised pen of Mr. Headley is just the one to produce 
 biographies worthy of the subjects sketched. There is as much romance for the 
 general reader, old or young, in the life of John Ericsson as in that of Georga 
 Stephenson, and we undertake to say that the author has in the present instance 
 been as faithful to the ingenious Swede as to the talented biographer of the great 
 railway man was to him. The text of this pretty volume is liberally illustrated, 
 which never fails to heighten the interest of reading boys. Troy Daily Whig. 
 
 We have no hesitation in saying that this is the most interesting and romantic of 
 all the recent "boy books." It treats of a personage whose name is far more 
 familiar to our people than his history of a man who belongs to that class of 
 great mechanics who are equally important and useful in war or in peace. Of 
 course, it will be said that the life of Ericsson is an example to boys, and it ia, 
 as far as industry, honesty, and energy go ; but it is of special interest to boys 
 who have a genius for mechanics, and, in any event, is most entertaining and 
 instructive reading. N. Y. Evening Post. 
 
 A fascinating history of a man of remarkable inventive genius to whom the 
 nation is under immeasurable obligation. None can tell what course the war 
 :imght have taken, or what result might have been reached, had not the monster 
 Menimac been checked by the Monitor, and her early success turned into defeat 
 in the ever-memorable battle at Hampton Roads. The great influence of Erics- 
 son's genius in manifold inventions is also shown, and many interesting things are 
 iold concerning Sweden, his native land Congregationaltet. 
 
IV. 
 
 LIFE AND CAREER OF 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN, 
 
 "THE GREATEST OF LIVING CAPTAINS." 
 
 Being an Authentic History of Ms Early Life and Remarkable Career. 
 1 vol., 16mo, fancy cloth, 368 pages, fully illustrated. Price, $1.60. 
 
 Notices of the Press. 
 
 WILLIAM H. APPLKTON, 92 and 94 Grand street, publishes as another in his well- 
 planned series of " Biographies of Modern Heroes, for Young Americans," the- 
 Life and Military Career of Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman, by Rev. 
 P. C. Headley. These biographies are not hasty compilations from the daily papers, 
 but veritable histories, derived from direct and authentic sources, and, where 
 necessary, from the immediate families and personal friends of the subjects. This 
 Life of General Sherman is amongst the most interesting in the series, full of life, 
 incident, bustle, and movement. One of the greatest Commanders in History is 
 shown as he is, and we are now more than ever astonished at the extent and 
 variety of his achievements, when they are.thus brought into the compact shape 
 of a single volume. The book is not less attractive by its mechanical appearance,, 
 with its clear text, portrait, sketches, map, &c. New Yorker. 
 
 The facts here, from the early life of Sherman, are obtained from the most au- 
 thentic sources. It is full of the incidents of his younger days, illustrating his life 
 and character. His career is one of the noblest in military annals. It is well to 
 have such books, that fall into the hands of the young, written by men of excel- 
 lent taste and judgment. Mr. Headley has done justice to his subject. Boston 
 Post. 
 
 In press, to be published October 1st, uniform with above : 
 
 HEADLEY'S LIFE OF VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGTJT. 
 HEADLEY'S LIFE OF GEN. P. H. SHERIDAN. 
 
 The above Biographies were written expressly for Boys and Young Men. They 
 are not mere compilations from Newspapers, etc., but authentic histories, Mr. 
 Headley having been furnished by the heroes in question, their relatives and friends, 
 all the material and facts necessary to make them complete and reliable, in- 
 structive and entertaining. 
 
 NEW EDITIONS OF HEADLETS 
 
 of JEmpress Josephine, ^fary Queen of Scots f 
 Life o/ JZmperor Napoleon, General Lafayette, 
 Women of t?ie Bible. 
 
 Frice, ^l.^S each. 
 
 WML H. APPLETON, Publisher, 
 
 92 and 94 Grand Street, N. T, 
 

 
THE 
 
 PATRIOT BOY; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE LIFE AND CAREER 
 
 OF 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL ORMSBY M, MITCHEL, 
 
 - 
 
 Bl 
 
 KEY. P. C. HEADLEY, 
 
 ATTTHOE OF "NAPOLEON," "EMPRESS JOSEPHINE," "HEEO EOT," EWX 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 WILLIAM H. APPLETON, 92 GRAND STREET. 
 
 1866. 
 
ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by 
 
 WM. H. APPLETON, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
 Southern District of New York. 
 
E 
 
 Mto 
 
 H3> 
 
 TO 
 
 J. B. S.* 
 
 THE WIDOWS ONLY AND DUTIFUL SON, 
 
 AND ALL OTHER YOUNG AMERICANS, 
 
 WHO EMULATE THE EXAMPLE OP THOSE NOBLE MEN WHO 
 FOUNDED, PERPETUATED, AND HAVE DEFENDED 
 
 THE REPUBLIC, 
 THIS BRIEF RECORD OF A TRUE HERO 
 
 IS DEDICATED, 
 
 WITH A WARM INTEREST IN THEIR WELL-BEING, 
 BY THE 
 
 AUTHOR. 
 
 See note on page 301. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 THE " Young American's Library " would indeed 
 oe wanting in one of the most instructive and en- 
 couraging examples of the highest success in the' 
 midst of disheartening trials, of a resolute will and 
 hopeful spirit, without the life of General Mitchel. 
 
 This volume is from authentic sources ; and it is 
 believed that in no important statement will the 
 truthfulness of the narrative be questioned. Still 
 the portraiture drawn must fall below the splendid 
 original. For, while the records of his life are not 
 full as we could wish, and as the " great departed " 
 intended they should be for the sake of his family, 
 it is no idle task to present, with fidelity, a life and 
 character in successful activity and moral excellence 
 so far above that of the majority of distinguished men. 
 
 Some latitude has been taken in the introduction 
 of incidents and explanations, which, if not directly 
 connected with General Mitchel's career, shed light 
 upon the strong points in his nature, and on the 
 conflict in which he sacrificed his noble life. 
 
6 PEEFACE. 
 
 The author is indebted to Abbott's "History of 
 the Rebellion," Pittinger's " Daring and Suffering," 
 and to those who knew and loved General Mitchel, 
 for many important facts. 
 
 Brief extracts illustrative of his brilliant oratory, 
 and remarkable power to make astronomical science 
 simple and attractive to the common mind, are taken 
 from his " Sidereal and Planetary Worlds," " Popu- 
 lar Astronomy," and the " Bible and Astronomy," 
 the only published works of the lamented author. 
 
 The most difficult part of the delightful task of 
 writing the biography has been to give interest, and 
 adapt to the juvenile mind, that portion of it which 
 relates to his scientific career, without resorting to 
 imaginary facts or conversations. 
 
 It is devoutly hoped that the narrative may 
 stimulate to manly effort, and Christian fidelity, 
 many youthful hearts in our land of "fiery trials," 
 and of a glorious future. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The next volume in the " Young American's Library of 
 Modern Heroes " will be the "Miner Boy and his Monitor,'' 
 or the extraordinary life and achievements of Captain John 
 Ericsson, the American-Swede, by the same author. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE L 
 
 The Hero before the War His Birthplace An Orphan The Family re- 
 move to Ohio The Life-struggle "begins Clerk and Errand Boy- 
 Leaves his Employer He wouldn't be called a Liar Drives Team 
 A Noble Spirit, .... ....... 18 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Spare Moments Improved Ormsby goes to West Point Foot travel over 
 the Country His career resembles that of General Grant His Stu- 
 dent-life "Writes Home Graduates with honor Wants to go to 
 France and fight Joins the Army in Florida Eesigns Is Married 
 Domestic Enjoyments, 25 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 Anecdote of our Hero Is Elected Professor in Cincinnati College His 
 Enthusiasm in Astronomy Is a Captain He wants an Observatory 
 What is that? . 84 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 
 The New World waked up to the Importance of Watch-towers for the 
 Stars A Wonderful Sight Observatories Built-Professor Mitchel's 
 great Enterprise The First LectureOnward .... 48 
 
8 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 An Eclipse Who first solved the awful Mystery ? What are Comets ? 
 Danger of burning the Earth Other Wonders The Dream, . . 64 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 The Astronomer a Business Man His Noble Energy Two Eules of his 
 Life Starts for Europe Voyage The Stranger in England In Paris 
 Munich The Treasure The Professor in Greenwich A Curious 
 old Town Its Lions, 62 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 Professor Mitchel leaves England Eeaches Cincinnati Disappointment 
 Not Discouraged He Toils on Mr. Longworth's Gift The Corner 
 Stone of the Observatory is Laid Interesting Ceremonies The As- 
 tronomer at work with the Mechanics The Watch-tower Finished. . 72 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 The beautiful Monument of Faith and Work A new Trial The Confla- 
 gration Turns Lecturer The first Effort Lectures in New Tork 
 The influence of his splendid Oratory, 81 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 He becomes Eailroad Engineer A new course of Lectures Examples of 
 his Oratory He is appointed Adjutant-General of the State of Ohio . 
 Various Honors Inventions, 96 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Professor Mitchel called to Albany Makes a War Speech Thrilling Anec- 
 dote related by him Intense Enthusiasm His influence at Albany 
 What is the use of Observatories ? The largest Telescope A Poet's 
 Hymn, 104 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XL 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Preparations for Conflict The attempt to Assassinate the President- 
 electThe Secret History of the Inauguration The Commencement 
 of Hostilities, 119 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 Mitchel enters the Field Goes to Cincinnati Takes Care of the City 
 Eaises Volunteers Visited by the Secretary of War Noble Words 
 The Sad Failure General Mitchel's sources of Power over Men 
 "Old Stars 1 ' His pure Ambition, 127 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 General Mitchel as a Disciplinarian His Division unrivalled in Drill- 
 Proud of their Chieftain Eeady for Active Service General Mitchel 
 desires to lead them to the Field Brave and Patriotic Language 
 National Victories General Mitchel breaks up Camp Fine Spectacle 
 Splendid Marching, . * - 186 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 Bowling Green Forced Marches The first Gun Crossing the Eiver 
 Consternation and flight of the Eebels Scenes in the City De- 
 spatches Visit from General Buell Nashville Occupied Scenes 
 there General Mitchel calls on Mrs. James K. Polk, . . . .148 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 General Mitchell plan of Campaign Its Sublime Daring Moves to Mur- 
 freesboro' Scenes near Corinth Rebel Contempt of the Flag of Truce 
 Eebel Woman's Letter General Mitchel's Justice and Humanity 
 Guerrillas Buffering Union Men A Fight The value of Seconds, . 158 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 A daring Adventure under General Mitchel The leader of the band de- 
 
10 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 tailed to conduct it Perilous Travelling Partial Success The Flight 
 
 for LifeArrest of the "Engine Thieves," 1T3 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 A brave Boy The Dungeon Iron Cages The escape and arrest of An- 
 drewsThe Death-warrant Deep Experiences General Mitchel 
 blameless in the whole affair, 186 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 The advance of the Third Division to Fayetteville The Old Planter 
 The Slaves The Grand March Scenes by the Way In the Eiver 
 The mysterious Night March The Prize Secured, . . . .195 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 General Mitchel enters Huntsville The Union Flag and the Loyal Judge 
 The Scenes in the Town Bridges Burned Bridgeport Decatur 
 Tuscumbia Congratulations A brilliant attack on the enemy at 
 Bridgeport Advancing in the cheerful morning air, .... 203 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 Practical Questions The Enemy must pay the Army Expenses The 
 Trials of Loyalty General Mitchel believed in crushing the Eebellion 
 The Cotton Bridge Slavery Negroes reliable Anecdote, . . 218 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 General Mitchells views of Slavery The abuse of its power An Illus- 
 tration General Mitchel deals promptly but justly with the citizens 
 of revolted States A "Genteel "War "General Mitchel's plans and 
 policy He is ordered to Washington, 224 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 General Mitchel at Washington The Secretary of War and the President 
 are his friends The Secret Expedition The Patient Inactivity The 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Order to Port Koyal The History of his new Department The 
 Naval Attack Scenes which followed, 234 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The impression made by the Major-General in his Southern Department 
 Expeditions Daring Adventures The progress of the Contrabands- 
 Anecdotes The Mortal Sickness, 240 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIV. 
 
 The Scenes of the Sick-Koom The kind and Christian words spoken The 
 Victorious Death The Burial The testimony of noble Friends- 
 Elegy, 265 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Hero before the War His Birthplace An Orphan The Family remove t 
 Ohio The Life-struggle begins Clerk and Errand Boy Leaves his Em- 
 ployerHe wouldn't be called a Liar Drives Team A Noble Spirit. 
 
 \Y young readers who are very far in their 
 " teens/' heard of Professor Mitchel before the 
 civil war made him a general. Nearly all of 
 our officers were men but little known previous 
 to the rebellion. Professor Mitchel, the as- 
 tronomer and lecturer, was widely popular in the time of 
 peace. He was justly admired for genius, and a char- 
 acter as bright, pure, and uniform, as the globes of light 
 whose marches and motions he enthusiastically watched, 
 
 " When marshalled on the nightly plain, 
 The glittering host bestud the sky." 
 
 This fact will lend a charm to the record of his career, so 
 worthy of your imitation. 
 
 The Mitchel family were originally Virginians. The 
 father of our hero was an unassuming, intelligent, and 
 
14: LIFE OF GENEBAL MITCHEL. 
 
 enterprising man, of no ordinary mind. With a fine 
 mathematical genius, he had a decided taste for astronom- 
 ical studies ; and, like many other youths who have not 
 enjoyed the means of education, he might have gained a 
 high position in the walks of science had he received the 
 indispensable culture perhaps have rivalled his honored 
 son in splendid attainments. His wife was a remarkable 
 woman. Over natural powers of a high order, and an 
 attractive person, was shed the lustre and loveliness of 
 unaffected piety. Mr. Mitchel was at one time in pos- 
 session of a handsome property ; but, besides raising a 
 large family, by unavoidable reverses, he saw it pass hope- 
 lessly from his hands. Discouraged, and having sons 
 who had never known the pressure of poverty, and were 
 therefore unfitted to assist him in his efforts to retrieve 
 his fortunes, he decided to leave Virginia, and go to the 
 far West, to' begin life anew. He disposed of his effects, 
 and travelled slowly and wearily through what is now 
 West Virginia, until he struck the Ohio River. The 
 country was unsettled and wild. There were no rail- 
 roads, and the only means of transportation was upon 
 the flatboats of the Ohio. Upon one of these the family 
 embarked, and went on their way to Kentucky. In this 
 State Mr. Mitchel resolved to find a home. He bought 
 land near Morganfield, Union County, erected a tem- 
 porary house, and fairly commenced pioneer life. 
 
 In the nw Kentucky dwelling, which the strangers 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 15 
 
 from the " Old Dominion" called their own, in the year 
 1809, was born Ormsby McKnight Mitchel. The father 
 was a planter, and, consequently, had slaves to work the 
 land ; but often expressed his hatred to the system of 
 labor that made it apparently necessary to own the 
 negroes, and at his death gave them their freedom. 
 
 This noble act, in advance of the public feeling even 
 at the North, contributed largely to the embarrassment 
 in business, which, with sickness attending a change of 
 climate, had much to do with the life-struggles of the 
 infant boy, all unconscious of the changes about him. 
 There was nothing in Orinsby's experience different from 
 that of other children until three years of age, excepting 
 a premature interest, perhaps, in the moon and stars, call- 
 ing forth exclamations of singular beauty. Then Mr. 
 Mitchel was taken sick. The boy still played, unheed- 
 ing the suffering and peril of the father. 
 
 Day after day disease did its work. Ormsby knew 
 there was something strange and new in the dwelling. 
 Mother's sad face, the physician's frequent calls, cast a 
 shadow even upon the spirit of the child. And when he 
 was told that father was dead, and touched the cold face, 
 and then saw the coffin borne away, the boy wept with a 
 grief which was caught from the faces about him a pass- 
 ing shower of tears, succeeded by sunny smiles and laugh- 
 ter. It was years after, that he learned what he had 
 lost the meaning of the word orphan. 
 
16 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 It is a sad thing, and a great misfoistune in a human 
 view, to be left early an orphan. But God often over- 
 rules it for the highest benefit of the bereaved. This 
 was evidently true in Ormsby's experience. 
 
 Having no nurse to aid the burdened mother, the 
 youngest boy was taken care of much of the time by an 
 older brother, who ever after cherished a strong affec- 
 tion for the object of his peculiar interest. Adversity had 
 marked this household for peculiar trial. The chosen 
 spot for a habitation proved to be sickly, and nothing of 
 an earthly kind seemed to prosper. 
 
 Mrs. Mitchel and her family lived in Kentucky when 
 it was a vast hunting ground. Some of the brothers be- 
 came familiar with the romantic adventures of those early 
 years. They often threaded the wilderness with the rifle. 
 One of them served in the war of 1812 with the " Hunters 
 of Kentucky." 
 
 The family, afflicted, and the means of support by the 
 Providential discipline greatly reduced, broke up the sadly 
 interesting associations in the Kentucky home, and started 
 for that garden State of settlers from the East and South, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Leaving on horseback, they travelled through the wilds 
 of Kentucky to the banks of the Ohio. Little Ormsby 
 rode in front of his eldest brother. At night they not un- 
 frequently stopped in the forests where the Indian prowled 
 a v ound, fearing they should be murdered before morning. 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. IT 
 
 They finally found themselves on the banks of the Ohio, 
 and on the spot where Covington now stands, opposite 
 Cincinnati, then only a few houses along the river side. 
 
 Under the very shadow of the hill upon which the 
 Mitchel Observatory stands, the family attempted to cross 
 in row boats. A fearful thunder storm burst upon them, 
 and they all came near being lost. The first boat, contain- 
 ing the older brother, had gained the landing ; and he, the 
 head of the family in fact, stood upon the bank watching 
 the imperilled little bark. It finally reached the shore in 
 the face of the tempest, wind, and current. After some 
 hesitation, they concluded not to stop at Cincinnati, but 
 pushed forward to Miami, a pleasant little town in Cler- 
 mont County, in which, at Point Pleasant, you recollect, 
 Lieutenant-General Grant was born. 
 
 Not long after, another move took the widow and her 
 children to Lebanon, a thriving village in Turtle Creek 
 township, and the capital of Warren County. It. is be- 
 tween thirty and forty miles northwest of Miami. The 
 country around Lebanon, which now contains three thou- 
 sand inhabitants, is very beautiful and fertile. 
 
 A few miles east of the village, on the Miami Kiver, 
 is a great curiosity, which Ormsby often saw with won- 
 der. It is an ancient fortification, nearly a mile in length, 
 enclosed by a wall of earth. This enclosure is in some 
 places ten feet high. It has more than fifty gates, or 
 openings. By whom, when, or for what purpose the sin- 
 
18 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 gular defences were built, is unknown. You know that 
 all over the great western valley are scattered these relics 
 of the past. Men of genius and culture have studied 
 them, and volumes have been printed containing their 
 speculations. Still we are in the dark. God limits 
 our curiosity and knowledge on every hand. Wherever 
 we turn, in our explorations, a voice comes at length to 
 our inward ear, " Thus far and no farther." 
 
 Ormsby climbed over these memorials of past ages, as 
 wise as the philosopher, in regard to their history, beyond 
 plausible theories. Still his holidays were few, for he 
 had neither time nor money to spend. 
 
 He had all the while a treasure more precious than a 
 fortune ; a gifted, devout, and loving mother. She threw 
 over him an influence which was the true source of his 
 success and greatness in after life. This he delighted to 
 acknowledge through his whole history. Though left 
 alone with her cherished offspring, and struggling to feed 
 and clothe them, the heavenly atmosphere of her faith and 
 love surrounded him continually. 
 
 We shall not know on earth the debt of gratitude 
 which the Church and State owe such mothers quietly, 
 and caring not for human applause, doing their mighty 
 work then retiring into obscurity while their sons as- 
 cend to high positions. 
 
 Ormsby passed most of the years of early boyhood in 
 Lebanon. Soon as the boy could earn money, he was 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 19 
 
 ready to embrace every opportunity of adding a penny to 
 the common treasury. Here his early school-days were 
 passed. But the schools there were then poor. Ormsby r 
 however, progressed rapidly. When eight years of age 
 he was reading Virgil, and soon surpassed his country 
 teachers. He often would say with regard to one of 
 them, that after translating the most difficult passages he- 
 would ask him to read them ; and upon his failure to do- 
 it, rendered them himself. At the age of twelve he en- 
 tered a store as a clerk. 
 
 We come now to the most important crisis in his ex- 
 perience the fountain of his highest eloquence the seal 
 of his true greatness and eternal destiny. He took his 
 position in the world as a Christian. Thus early did he 
 connect his studies, his ambition, his life, his everlasting 
 state, with the cause of the Redeemer of mankind ; and 
 borrowed from Him strength " to will and to do." 
 
 His entire history from childhood till fourteen, is one 
 of noble self-denying effort to lay a good foundation for 
 success in life. His ambitious, aspiring heart, struggling 
 with poverty, felt it no disgrace to stoop to what many 
 would think a menial service. At one time you might 
 have seen him running to the chamber or cellar of the 
 store to get a broom, or gallon of molasses, for a cus- 
 tomer. Then again you would have found him in his 
 employer's house, doing the "chores" in and around it. 
 The Kentucky orphan was the general waiter of the Ohio 
 
20 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL 
 
 country merchant. A humble beginning for an astron* 
 omer and a major-general. But in this country, where 
 we have no inherited nobility, our noblemen come oftener 
 from the humblest and obscurest homes, than the mansions 
 X)f the rich. I will let our hero tell his own story of this 
 rough experience : 
 
 " I was working for twenty-five cents a week, with my 
 hands full, but did my work faithfully. I used to cut 
 wood, fetch water, make fires, scrub and scour in the 
 morning for the old lady before the real work of the day 
 was commenced. My clothes were bad, and I had no 
 .means of buying shoes, so was often barefooted. 
 
 " One morning I got through my work early, and the 
 old lady, who thought I had not done it, or was especially 
 ill-humored then, was displeased. 
 
 " She scolded me, and said : ' You are an idle boy. 
 You haven't done the work/ 
 
 " I replied : 4 1 have done what I was told to do.' 
 
 " ' You are a liar/ was her angry reply. 
 
 " I felt my spirit rise indignantly against the charge ; 
 and, standing erect, I answered : ' You will never have 
 the chance of applying that word to me again.' 
 
 " I then walked out of the house to reenter it no 
 more. I had not a cent in my pocket when I stepped 
 into the world. 
 
 " What do you think I did then, boys? 
 
 " I met a countryman with a team. I boldly and 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 21 
 
 earnestly addressed him, saying : ' I will drive the leader 
 if you will only take me on.' 
 
 " He looked at me in surprise, but in a moment said, 
 * I don't think you'll be of any use to me.' 
 
 " ' O yes I will/ I replied ; ' I can rub down and 
 watch your horses, and do many things for you, if you 
 will only let me try.' 
 
 " l Well, well, my lad, get on the horse/ 
 
 " And so I climbed upon the leader's back, and com- 
 menced my teamster-life. The roads were deep mud, 
 and the travelling very hard, and consequently slow. We 
 got along at the rate- of twelve miles per day. It was dull 
 and tiresome you will, believe ; but it was my starting' 
 point. I hacj >begun to push my way in the world, and 
 went ahead after this. An independent spirit, and steady, 
 honest conduct, with what capacity God has given me 
 as he has given you, boys have carried me successfully 
 through the world." 
 
 And now hear and always remember what he says to 
 boys who have like himself, in early life, no friends to 
 help with money, and must enter the busy world penni- 
 
 * 
 
 less. They are noble, inspiring words, spoken to a large 
 assembly of lads in one of our cities : 
 
 " Don't be down-hearted at being poor, or having no 
 friends. Try, and try again. You can cut your way 
 through, if you live, so please God. I know it's a hard 
 time for some of you. You are often hungry and wet 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 the rain or snow, and it seems dreary to have no 
 one in the city to care for you. But trust in Christ, and 
 He will be your friend. Keep up good heart, and be 
 determined to make your own way honestly and truly 
 through the world. As I said, I feel for you, because I 
 have gone through it all : I know what it is. God bless 
 you." 
 
 The fatherless boy had thus far been in a school of 
 sad trial, yet blest with the kindly influences of home. In 
 one view, he had no childhood ; but took his place very 
 early among men, to battle with poverty and pay his 
 way. 
 
 The indignant and unceremonious desertion of his em- 
 ployer, you will notice, was not a rebellion against even 
 tyrannical authority, nor a petulant refusal to do a 
 servant's work in the honest endeavor to secure the 
 needed compensation. It was the charge of falsehood, 
 of unreliable character, which made him a homeless 
 orphan. He felt even then that he could not, and 
 would not, brook the insult to his sense of justice and 
 his conscious integrity of purpose. The association with 
 a nature so narrow and harsh was beyond endurance, 
 and ho went forth the penniless possessor of a fortune ; he 
 had the wealth of a fine mind, lofty principle, and tireless 
 energy of character. Brave young spirit ! God will bless 
 always such a venture upon His providence. 
 
 And no part of Ormsby's life has a more important, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 23 
 
 useful lesson for you, my young reader, than this very 
 experience. It laid the foundation, so far as native char- 
 acter is concerned, of all his greatness, Those habits of 
 patient industry, self-denial of present, transient pleas- 
 ures, and a regard to the endless future which distin- 
 guished him, and gave him the noblest success, were 
 formed in his boyhood. It reminds me of a youth in 
 Yale College many years since, of similar spirit, who 
 blacked the boots of the richer students to aid in the pay- 
 ment of his current expenses. One day they were around 
 him at his work, talking over their future plans, when 
 
 one of them said : " Well, K , what are you going to 
 
 be?" K brushed away, and quietly replied, " Gov- 
 ernor of the State of New York." A laugh went round 
 the little circle at his expense. The merry young men 
 went forth from the college halls to be either a burden to 
 society or comparatively unknown. The boy who was 
 not ashamed to black boots to pay his debts, was heard 
 in Congress, and was elected Lieutenant-Go vernor of the 
 Empire State. 
 
 I must give you one more true and encouraging story. 
 
 Thirty years ago, in the small academy at B , was a 
 
 boy faithfully devoted to the culture of his mind. But he 
 was poor. Opening the drawer to his table you would 
 have wondered and smiled, to see a lowl of molasses well 
 sprinkled with crumbs. This was the student's whole pro- 
 
24: LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 vision for board. A loaf of bread, and the bowl with ita 
 contents, was the simple living. Now that lad is a pop- 
 ular author, whose beautiful cottage stands on the green 
 banks of the glorious Hudson. 
 
CHAPTER H. 
 
 Spare Moments Improved Ormsby goes to "West Point Foot travel over the 
 Country His career resembles that of General Grant His Student-life 
 "Writes Home Graduates with honor "Wants to go to France and fight 
 Joins the Army in Florida Eesigns Is Married Domestic Enjoyments. 
 
 \OUNG- Mitchel had improved his leisure mo- 
 ments. He early learned the value of these 
 golden sands of time. Were you ever in the 
 United States Mint? If so, you noticed a per- 
 forated floor, where the work in gold is done. 
 Under this wooden net-work is the polished stone which 
 catches the small particles. The woodwork can be re- 
 moved, and the gold dust swept up and saved. The guide 
 will tell you that nearly forty thousand dollars are thus 
 saved every year in these sweepings. Young Mitchel 
 "caught the little fragments of time, and used them well. 
 
 When thirteen years old, Ormsby had acquired a con- 
 siderable knowledge of Greek and Latin, in addition to 
 English branches, including mathematics. He panted 
 2 
 
26 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 for opportunities to cultivate his mind in the halls of a 
 college. A penniless lad, what could he do ? 
 
 Unlike the youthful and equally aspiring Grant, he 
 had no father to help him seek a place for this discipline 
 of his powers. Still he had a will to do, and had also 
 friends, who became interested in him. The Military 
 Academy at West Point offered the twofold attraction of 
 the highest intellectual training, and an allowance by 
 Government to pay all the expenses of the rare advan- 
 tages. He resolved to go there. 
 
 His gifted mother was a relative of the most excellent 
 and distinguished Judge McLean, then a prominent citi- 
 zen of the rapidly-growing State of Ohio. Through his 
 influence he received the appointment. Not long after- 
 wards he was at the house of one who had been most 
 prominent in procuring his appointment, when that gen- 
 tleman thus addressed him : " "We have had many of our 
 boys go to West Point, but few of them get through." 
 Ormsby drew himself up, looked him in the eye, and 
 merely said : " I shall go through, sir !" Such was the 
 favor he won, that not only did he obtain the appoint- 
 ment, but, as a special indulgence, was admitted when 
 only fourteen a year before the time fixed by the rules 
 of the institution. The way was opened to get into the 
 Academy, but he had no money to go to it. This did 
 not discourage him. Putting into a knapsack his small 
 outfit, he started for the distant goal of his aspirations. 
 
LITE OF GENEKAL MITCHEt. 27 
 
 The distance to be travelled over from Ohio to West 
 Point, at that early period, was like a pilgrimage to a 
 foreign land ; the wilderness covered the largest part of 
 the intervening States. Sometimes Ormsby travelled on 
 foot, sometimes on horseback, with Indian guides, and 
 then again on canal boats. The latter part of the journey 
 was upon one of these safe but slow navigators. Friend- 
 less and alone, he had no one to sympathize with him. 
 The captain of the boat noticing this, took a fancy to him, 
 and in every way within his power cheered him on his 
 way. But who the lad was, and where he was going, no- 
 body knew, for he told no one his secret. Upon leaving 
 the boat, however, he took from his pocket his cadet's 
 warrant and showed it to the captain. This stated that 
 the little stranger was a member of one of the first insti- 
 tutions in the country, and at once gave him great im- 
 portance in the captain's view. 
 
 Ormsby arrived at Albany on Saturday night, and 
 there remained over the Sabbath with relatives. On 
 Monday morning he went aboard a boat, and landed in 
 the evening at West Point, unwavering in his purpose, 
 and cheerful with hope, his knapsack on his back, and 
 twenty-five cents in his pocket. His first thought was, 
 how he should pass the examination. This troubled him, 
 for he had not prepared especially for it. He was leaning 
 out of his window the next day, thinking how he should 
 get through, what he should do in case he could not pass 
 
28 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 far from home, without money and without friends, 
 which way he should turn if he were rejected. 
 
 While he was looking' thoughtfully from his window, 
 watching a sentinel pacing up and down, that stranger 
 spoke kindly to him, asking him " if he was prepared for 
 examination/' and offering him all the assistance in his 
 power. " Tell me what books I am to be examined in," 
 said Ormsby, " and I will take care of the rest." "Soon 
 he was posted by his friend in regard to the text-books 
 used in the severe trial before him. In a few days he 
 had passed the ordeal with flying colors. 
 
 Being very young when he entered the Academy, his 
 greatest ambition was to make each recitation as nearly 
 perfect as possible. He had not been accustomed to the 
 routine of study, like many of his classmates, who had 
 reached even manhood. But his progress was steady 
 and rapid. In his class was Robert E. Lee. Jefferson 
 Davis was in the Academy at this time ; and being some- 
 what older than Mitchel, used to take him with him in 
 his walks amid the magnificent scenery on every hand.* 
 
 From the cadet's barracks, where the young men had 
 their rooms, he went to recitation, military drill, and mess 
 hall or boarding-house, with promptness and regularity. 
 His perfectly correct and abstemious habits kept him 
 from the finely-constructed and managed hospital belong- 
 ing to the Academy. He was no stranger in the engi- 
 neering and model rooms, which contain the costly and 
 * See note on last page. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 29 
 
 beautiful apparatus, and miniature forts, &c., for instruc- 
 tion in all kinds of civil and military engineering. In 
 the riding hall, for exercises in horsemanship, he ac- 
 quired equestrian gracefulness seldom excelled in the 
 Academy. Nor did he neglect the elegant gallery of 
 art, in which the marble and canvas seemed to breathe 
 and speak. It was especially favorable to study at West 
 Point when our cadet was there. The visitors were com- 
 paratively few. Railroad cars and steamboats did not 
 then whistle at depot and wharf every hour. TKe tide 
 of travel had not begun to flow toward that romantic 
 spot ; nor* was it really thought of as a watering-place for 
 the summer. 
 
 Every object, from the grand old mountains to Kos- 
 ciusko's garden of beauty, interested him. He often sat 
 near the iron enclosure of relics, itself the most suggestive 
 of all a part of the great chain which was drawn across 
 the Hudson during the Revolutionary War. It was com- 
 menced January 20th, 1778, and finished April llth of 
 the same year. This gigantic chain weighed one hundred 
 and eighty-six tons. The heaviest link weighed a hundred 
 and thirty pounds. 
 
 Benedict Arnold, who commanded the position, had a 
 link removed, pretending it was for repairing, to carry 
 out his traitorous plan of giving, through Andre, the 
 British possession of the stronghold the key to the mag- 
 nificent river. 
 
30 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 Nothing will more forcibly show the depth of treason 
 which gave birth to the great Rebellion, than the oath 
 taken by every cadet upon entering the Military Academy 
 at West Point. It is a well-known fact that nearly all 
 the leaders in the revolt were graduates of this institution. 
 Jefferson Davis, as already stated in the biography, was 
 a classmate of General Mitchel. 
 
 The cadets have been largely from the South. The 
 result was, when the officers of the army and navy re- 
 signed their positions to join the ranks of treason, they 
 furnished a larger number of commanders educated for 
 the service at the expense of the United States, than were 
 left to defend the Republic. 
 
 The following is the oath deliberately broken, and its 
 national character denied and scorned by Davis, Beaure- 
 gard, Lee, and other master spirits in the unexampled 
 rebellion against constitutional law and order : 
 
 " I do solemnly swear that I will support the Con- 
 stitution of the United States, and bear true allegiance to 
 the national Government ; that I will maintain and de- 
 fend the sovereignty of the United States paramount to 
 any and all allegiance, sovereignty, or fealty I may owe 
 to any State or Country whatsoever ; and that I will at 
 all times obey the legal orders of my superior officers, 
 and the rules and articles governing the armies of the 
 United States." 
 
 Young Mitchel wrote letters glowing with his ear- 
 
LIFE OF GENEBAL HITCHEL. 31 
 
 nest, affectionate nature, to his mother and brothers. 
 Those to his mother revealed the characteristic tender- 
 ness and reverence to which allusion has been made. His 
 large sympathies remind us of a great living divine, also 
 widely known as a lecturer, who, when he was asked for 
 the name of his gifted and devout mother, no longer 
 among the living, wrote it in the following form : 
 
 " Elizabeth W H , a name never spoken or 
 
 written, without devout thanksgiving to God our Saviour, 
 for her wonderful purity, piety, and charity ; that she was 
 and is my mother." 
 
 How beautiful is such filial love ! The hue of a 
 river's tide is often visible far out into the bay which 
 receives it ; so in the manhood of these lofty minds 
 clearly flows from the fountain at the cradle, the stream 
 of affection for her who watched the dreamer there, and 
 onward till the world was his sphere of action and influ- 
 ence her gift to its struggling millions. 
 
 Cadet Mitchel graduated with honor. The highest 
 mark of confidence in his attainments and character was, 
 his appointment as assistant professor of mathematics in 
 the Academy. This chair he filled for two years. 
 
 The next year after his graduation there was a revo- 
 lutionary movement in France. Napoleon, you recollect, 
 died on the rocky island of St. Helena in 1821. Charles 
 X. succeeded him to the throne. He became unpopular 
 on account of tyrannical measures, and the restless peo- 
 
32 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 pie, always changeful and unreliable, resolved to get rid 
 of him. 
 
 "When the outbreak of feeling came, and there was 
 some prospect of a struggle for freedom, cadet Mitchel 
 caught the fever of adventure. He wanted to have a 
 hand in the strife. Day after day he thought of the arena 
 of martial glory, and his dreams were haunted by its far- 
 off enchantment. He wrote home, expressing his enthu- 
 siasm and his increasing desire to repair to France. 
 
 But the volatile Frenchmen soon dispelled his visions 
 of valor and honor on their soil, so often red with the 
 blood of revolution. In a few months Louis Philippe 
 was seated on the throne of the empire, and the people 
 were ready to shout, " Long live the King ! " 
 
 Leaving West Point, Mitchel joined the army in Flor- 
 ida, and was stationed at St. Augustine. His life became 
 monotonous. The active mind of the youthful soldier 
 could not endure the confinement, with no prospect of a 
 larger field for the use of his culture, and the attainment 
 of the reward of an honorable ambition to " make his 
 mark in the world." 
 
 The occasional expedition the many hours of idle- 
 ness the separation from social and religious scenes all 
 made him weary of a position which seemed to be of little 
 worth to the country or to himself. He won a single 
 victory which shed over his whole life a sacred halo of 
 light. Miss Louisa Clark, of Cornwall, in which "West 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 33 
 
 Point lies, had married Lieutenant Trask, who died. 
 Her father was Judge Clark, at one time a member of 
 the Legislature, and a gentleman of wide and deserved 
 influence. 
 
 Mrs. Trask was a lady of fine intellect, rare culture, and 
 of beautiful Christian character. This interesting young 
 widow attracted the interest of the professor. His enthu- 
 siasm and noble character successfully won her -hand, and 
 they were married. The tenderly confiding nature of 
 Mitchel found a congenial one in Mrs. Trask. Life from 
 that hour became to hirn^ who had the rough experience 
 of orphanage, a new and blessed existence. 
 
 Resigning his place in the United States army, he 
 went to the growing and charming city of Cincinnati, 
 Ohio. The soldier became an honest attorney. For two 
 years, old tomes and new, of legal lore, clients and courts, 
 with the endearments and delights of home, which no one 
 knew better how to value and enjoy than he, filled up the 
 time. 
 
 Like poor Payne, who wrote the world-wide song, 
 
 * 
 
 " Home, sweet home," 
 
 but was a wanderer all his days, Mitchel had a contrast 
 to what he now enjoyed, to make that melody the very 
 music of his soul. Wife, children, friends, around his 
 table or hearthstone, were next to heaven in his affections. 
 
 This suggests the crowning excellence of his charac- 
 2* 
 
LIFE OF GENEBAL MITCHEL. 
 
 ter ; his consistent, unsullied Christian life. It brought 
 no blush to his cheek, in any place or at any time, to 
 " stand up for Jesus ; " everywhere giving the whole 
 weight of his influence to the cause of true religion and 
 human well-being. 
 
 Soon after he had taken up his residence in Cincinnati, 
 he connected himself with the church of Dr. Lynian 
 Beecher, and became a useful young layman under the 
 eloquent teachings and practical activity of that distin- 
 guished divine. Here, also, ten years before he began 
 his career as an astronomical lecturer ; he made his first 
 effort on the platform in the " Old College Building." 
 The Rev. Thomas Brainerd, D.D., then pastor and editor 
 there, relates, that his paper with others contained a notice 
 that this stranger, a graduate of West Point, would lec- 
 ture on astronomy. At the hour appointed the hall, lighted 
 with candles by the friends of the speaker, contained an 
 audience of sixteen persons. Though succeeding efforts 
 were crowned with better success, he left the platform for 
 the forum altogether, little dreaming of the splendid future 
 before him as the orator of the stars. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Anecdote of our Hero Is Elected Professor in Cincinnati College His Enthu- 
 siasm in Astronomy Is a Captain He wants an Observatory What is 
 that? 
 
 k ROFESSOR C , who knew him weU, related 
 
 to me an anecdote illustrating Mr. Mitchel's 
 enlightened views, and readiness to meet any 
 objection to truth and duty. He was warmly 
 interested in conference meetings, where the 
 humblest voice could be heard in exhortation and prayer. 
 The professor objected to them, because those would 
 speak and pray who were either unsound in doctrine or 
 otherwise unfit to lead a congregation. With the quick- 
 ness of thought, and wonderful beauty of expression and 
 manner peculiar to him, he answered his friend by nar- 
 rating two incidents. One of them was to show the 
 perversion of the freedom of such meetings, and the other, 
 the vast amount of good which flows from them. Mr. 
 Mitchel said : "A certain minister rose in a noon-day 
 meeting, and with apparent sincerity told this story of his 
 
36 LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 
 
 experience. Returning from a foreign coast, he prayed 
 in faith that the Lord would give him ten souls the first 
 meeting he should attend. He went to a religious meet- 
 ing and made some remarks. The result was, ten per- 
 sons became Christians. The man then snapping his 
 finger, added, ' I might just as well have asked for a hun- 
 dred'" In contrast with such occasionally erratic and 
 unhappy moments, Mr. Mitchel went on to say : " There 
 was in the West a gentleman to whom another in a distant 
 town was deeply indebted. This creditor wrote to a law- 
 yer there, to collect the money due him. x The attorney 
 wrote back, that the young man who owed him was 
 unable to pay, but struggling hard to get the means. 
 The impatient creditor soon sent another demand for the 
 collection of the debt. Again the considerate, compas- 
 .sionate counsellor at law, urged forbearance with the em- 
 barrassed, honest young pioneer. The indignant claimant 
 replied, that the money was his rightful due, and he must 
 have it. Time passed, and the debt was not paid. So 
 off the angry creditor started for the lawyer's town and 
 office. Entering the latter, he addressed his attorney 
 excitedly, wishing to know why he had not collected the 
 money. The kind appeal was once more urged ; the 
 exercise of mercy pressed upon the client. c Right is 
 right ; ' was the unyielding response. i I believe in justice, 
 and all I ask is to have it done in this case. And now, I 
 want to know whether you will get the money? ' 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 37 
 
 " ' I must if you insist it is my business ;' the law- 
 yer answered, ' and I will attend to it at once/ 
 
 " The gentleman left the office and strolled into the 
 busy streets. Almost unconsciously he followed people 
 going to the place of prayer. Soon after he was seated, 
 a plain man arose, and repeated the passage, ' And what 
 doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, love 
 mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?' The speaker 
 dwelt upon the grace of mercy, which was so often over- 
 looked in the stern demands of justice. He impressively 
 showed the deep meaning of the words of Christ, ' Blessed 
 are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.' The 
 stranger was smitten with a sense of cruel injustice. The 
 conviction of guilt became too strong for endurance. 
 Rising, he astonished persons around him by his almost 
 wild excitement. Pushing aside those in his way, he said, 
 ' Here let me come out of my way, I must go ! ' Hasten- 
 ing to the attorney's office, he inquired with anxious 
 earnestness, ' Have you collected the debt?' 
 
 " ' No,' was the answer ; ' but I was just going to see 
 what could be done, and issue the warrant if necessary.' 
 
 " ' Don't you do it don't you do it ! I have just 
 found out that I haven't had the first idea of justice, or 
 mercy either. I don't want the money, give it to the 
 young man, for I'll have no more to do with it forever.' 
 Thus the debtor returned to his home a better citizen, if 
 not a Christian." 
 
38 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 The lay-preaching had beeii the appeal more power 
 ful to the creditor than all the eloquence of the pulpit, 
 though indispensable in its high position. 
 
 In 1834, Mr. Mitchel was elected Professor of Math- 
 ematics, Philosophy, and Astronomy, in Cincinnati Col 
 lege, then just established. 
 
 From this time dates the beginning of his career as an 
 Astronomer. For ten years he filled with great honor 
 the chair which was the very one most congenial to his 
 taste. The students admired and loved him. His enthu- 
 siasm in the study of the starry heavens rose with the 
 growing familiarity of his mind with their glories. He 
 loved, upon a clear evening, to gather his class about 
 him, and with the poor helps they had only inferior 
 instruments to direct their attention to the wonders of 
 the firmament. With glowing words he would speak of the 
 " shepherdess of night, and her starry flock." He felt, and 
 tried to impress upon youthful minds, the language of the 
 still and radiant dome above their heads, sung by another : 
 
 " Though voice nor sound inform the ear, 
 Well known the language of their song, 
 
 When, one by one, the stars appear, 
 Led by the silent moon along, 
 
 Till round the earth from all the sky, 
 
 THY beauty beams on every eye." 
 
 Not only in the college and the church was he active, 
 but interested in all the sources of public improvement. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 39 
 
 He was captain of a volunteer company ten years, 
 drilling the men with the devotion to military order and 
 discipline, of a colonel preparing his troops for the field 
 of battle. It proved a valuable drill to him, keeping fresh 
 and available his education at West Point. In other 
 ways Providence was fitting him for his future and splen- 
 did, though brief military career. 
 
 In 1836 he filled the office of Chief Engineer of the 
 Little Miami Railroad. Think of the Professor look- 
 ing after the engines, tracks, and all the machinery 
 for running the cars ; learning lessons to be worth more 
 than he dreams possible, nearly thirty years later on 
 rebel soil, in his ever-active and valuable life. 
 
 The Professor's department of instruction of the col- 
 lege, and want of the helps needed, turned his attention to 
 the possibility of having an observatory. 
 
 " And what is an observatory? " asks a young reader. 
 A general definition is, "a place appropriated for 
 making observations upon natural objects." In astrono- 
 my, it is a building designed for making celestial observa- 
 tions. It has a dome for the optical instruments, which 
 usually revolves ; or a room in the upper story, with a 
 movable roof, which can be removed when the heavens 
 are viewed. The dome has openings with shutters. Its 
 revolutions will sweep the horizon ; and a single person 
 can turn them just as he would the turret of a monitor. 
 The first thing essential is, to have the structure free 
 
4:0 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 from tremors, or any motion. To secure this, there are 
 piers of solid masonry, built upon rock, or deeply imbed- 
 ded, separated from every other part of the edifice, and 
 rising high as the place for the instruments. This, you 
 will see, gives an immovable support for the heavy and 
 nice telescopic apparatus. 
 
 The second consideration is, to avoid the effect of 
 changes in the air. So, places are selected secluded from 
 the dust of travel and from fogs. 
 
 A third important consideration in putting up an 
 observatory is, to have a free view of the horizon a clear 
 sweep of the circular base of the blue dome. 
 
 I hear another questioner inquire, "What is the 
 
 * 
 furniture of such a house ? " 
 
 An equatorial, or telescope, with which any part of the 
 heavens may be seen by adjusting it, is the leading article 
 in the costly furnishing. 
 
 There are two great classes, called reflecting and re- 
 fracting telescopes. In the former, the rays of light from 
 a star, or any other object, pass down the large tube of the 
 instrument, and fall on a metallic mirror, whose polished 
 surface reflects them to a point called the focus ; and there, 
 forms a very luminous image of the object. You then 
 examine the image with a magnifying glass. Of course, 
 the greater the power of the lens, the larger will the object 
 appear. 
 
 The refracting telescope has no mirror. Instead of 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 4:1 
 
 this, the rays of light fall upon an object-glass , or power- 
 ful lens, which brings them to a focus, and then you use 
 the eye-glasses as in the other telescope. Hear what he 
 who has 'gazed many nights, while you were asleep, 
 through the telescope, says about it : 
 
 " I will not here undertake to explain how it is that 
 the telescope enables the eye to penetrate space. That 
 this power belongs to this magic instrument, no one can 
 doubt who- has ever seen a small, feeble star, converted by 
 optical power into a magnificent orb, forty times more ex 
 tensive than the moon's surface, as viewed by unaided 
 vision. 
 
 " Who could have divined the nature of the revelations 
 which would be made by an instrument giving to the eye 
 a depth of penetration a thousandfold greater than it pos- 
 sessed by nature ? 
 
 " If indeed the Creator is infinite, if His august pres- 
 ence filleth immensity, then we had a right to anticipate 
 that, no matter how deep the eye of man might pierce the 
 domain of space, a point never could be reached wherein 
 the evidences of God's presence would not appear. 
 
 " Such has been the result of the application of the tele- 
 scope to sounding the mighty depths of the universe. 
 Every augmentation of power has served to reveal new 
 wondors ; every increased depth to which the eye has 
 penetrated, has evoked from the viewless depths of space, 
 millions on millions of shining orbs, until the imagination 
 
42 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 is overwhelmed by the teeming numbers as by the mighty 
 distances to which these island universes are removed. 
 
 " Conceive, if it be possible, of an object so remote that 
 its light, flashing with a speed which no mind can com- 
 prehend, should still occupy a million of years in passing 
 the mighty interval by which it is removed ! and yet 
 there is evidence that we now behold with the most pow- 
 erful tubes, objects even ten, twenty, or thirty times more 
 remote. "We yield the point, and, in humble adoration, 
 repeat the language of the sacred book, ' He inhabiteth 
 eternity, His presence filleth immensity, and of His king- 
 dom there is no end ! ' 
 
 " Such, indeed, is the effect produced by the telescopic 
 explorations of the universe, that man has ceased to doubt 
 the infinitude of God's empire, and now limits his ambition 
 to a deeper penetration into its grandeur, without ever 
 indulging the thought that he shall by any power pierce 
 beyond its mighty limits. Lo ! these are parts of His 
 ways, but the thunder of His power who can understand ?" 
 
 Besides this instrument, the next to it are the transit 
 and clock for observing and keeping correct time, and the 
 mural circle, which is used in measuring the distance of 
 stars from the zenith, or point overhead the central spot 
 in the blue arch. There are also barometers, thermome- 
 ters, &c. * 
 
 And would you like to know when the first palace for 
 a star-gazer was built ? 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 43 
 
 It was commenced in 1667, and finished in 1671, at 
 Paris, France, by Louis XIV. It was here that Picard, 
 the superintendent, made calculations which furnished the 
 great Newton with very valuable help in demonstrating 
 the sublime law of gravitation, suggested by the falling 
 apple. Leverrier is at the head of it now. 
 
 But where would you guess is the largest observatory ? 
 
 Do you recollect who began the Crimean war, in 
 which three empires were engaged? 
 
 Yes, the Emperor Nicholas. 
 
 In 1839, he had erected at Pultowa, ten miles from , 
 St. Petersburg, an Imperial Observatory. It cost half a 
 million of dollars, and fifty thousand more are annually 
 appropriated for its management. More than a hundred 
 families are connected with its operations, and it is the 
 best furnished and endowed in all Europe. The cele- 
 brated M. Struve superintends it. His name, as you 
 will learn hereafter, is forever associated with that of the 
 lamented Mitchel. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The New World waked up to the Importance of Watch-towers for the Stars- 
 A Wonderful Sight Observatories Built -Professor Mitchell great Enter- 
 prise The First Lecture Onward. 
 
 FEW years since, we were entirely dependent on 
 the Old World, especially upon England, for the 
 discoveries in astronomy. The people of in- 
 telligence even, did not care for any thing so far 
 above the business of a newly-settled hemisphere. 
 About the first thing that waked up scientific men in 
 this country, was the transit of Venus, June 3d, 1769. 
 " What is that f " you inquire. 
 
 The word transit, you know, means a passing, as of 
 goods over the country, from one point to another. When 
 applied to Venus, the beautiful morning and evening star 
 by turns, it indicates a wonderful event. 
 
 It has happened but three times, it is believed, since 
 the creation of the world. 
 
 The path of the planet is across the sun's face ;*that 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. . 45 
 
 Is, it passes between us and the luminary of day, and 
 looks like a little blot on its surface. 
 
 This phenomenon requires such a position of the earth 
 and Venus in regard to the sun, that it can rarely occur. 
 
 The first time it was seen was in 1639, when a single s 
 person beheld the beautiful sight. Young Horrocks, liv- 
 ing near Liverpool, England, suspected the thing would 
 occur, and watched the result of his calculations. How 
 intensely he waited for the grand spectacle ; because 
 never seen before, and attended with fresh light upon the 
 science of astronomy. He could scarcely eat or sleep for 
 days. But near the time for the expected wonder, the 
 hour of divine worship arrived. Few, indeed, would have 
 risked the loss by going to the House of God. Horrocks 
 we nt bowed to the "King of kings," and returning, 
 looked through the tube of his instrument, and lo ! the 
 speck was in the " sun's eye ! " 
 
 In 1761, the swift revolutions of the heavenly bodies 
 brought again the transit. Astronomers from England, 
 France, and Russia, were scattered round the globe, from 
 Siberia to the South Sea, to be sure of clear, accurate, 
 and varied observations. 
 
 Eight years later, the spectacle, it was predicted, 
 would recur. In January, 1769, our scientific men began 
 to get ready for the anticipated sight. They selected dif- 
 erent points for watching the little black ball floating on 
 the sea of fire. Temporary watch-towers were soon after 
 
46 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 erected, and aid to build better and permanent ones, was 
 solicited from State Governments in vain. Money and 
 politics, not stars, occupied the thoughts of legislators. 
 
 In 1825, John Quincy Adams, President of the United 
 States, recommended in eloquent language, and urged 
 with strong arguments, the appropriation of money by 
 Congress, to build a national university and observatory. 
 
 And what did the people say ? They treated the 
 pplendid project as the Romish priesthood did Galileo, 
 because he said the earth turned on its axis, excepting the 
 imprisonment of its advocates. They ridiculed the idle 
 fancy the proposed waste of Government funds. 
 
 The years vanished ; for the world rolled on, and the 
 sun and the stars swept along their high pathways. 
 
 Meanwhile Yale College, in 1830, placed a fine tele- 
 scope in the steeple of a college building, which was al- 
 most a prison for it. 
 
 "Williams' College, Western Reserve, and other insti- 
 tutions, followed in the erection of observatories, and put- 
 ting in them good, but not the most powerful instruments. 
 The Military Academy at West Point, ten years after 
 Cadet Mitchel left its walls, built a noble edifice for the 
 library, having three towers for the use of optical in- 
 struments. In 1842, Professor Mitchel determined to 
 devote himself to the erection of an observatory that 
 would compare with those in Europe at least be entitled 
 to the name. Congress, about the same time, began to 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 act with reference to a national edifice for naval and 
 astronomical purposes. He was alone in his enter- 
 prise. And now we come to a new exhibition of the 
 energy and hopeful perseverance of the untiring MitcheL 
 You have another illustration of the great lesson of his 
 useful life ; the resolute will, seizing every opportunity 
 for success in the noblest attainments, made sacred and 
 sublime by his faith in God. No timid, vacillating, or 
 selfish man would have conceived the enterprise of build- 
 ing an observatory which should have no superior in the 
 country for years to come, and furnishing it with the best 
 instruments the world could produce. 
 
 But how shall the professor, without fortune, begin 
 the undertaking? The business communities care but 
 little about the stars ; the glitter of coin, or schemes that 
 will make it, move the busy throng crowding the market- 
 place and thoroughfares of commercial activity. 
 
 The genius that knows no failure in a worthy cause, 
 and had never repeated for himself the word " can't," 
 thinks and dreams over the grand idea. He knows that it 
 will seem to many like the extravagant scheme of an en- 
 thusiast. But he remembers that Columbus was regarded 
 as a lunatic while he mused and wept over his mental 
 discovery of a hemisphere, which none were ready to help 
 him make a splendid reality. Kings and queens smiled 
 at his harmless fancies, while he heard with his inward 
 ear the shining surf breaking upon the shores of unknown 
 
48 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 lands, and saw the treasures of half the world lying at his 
 feet. The navigator succeeded, because he thought not 
 of final defeat. Professor Mitchel saw, in his imagination, 
 the massive structure on some green summit, and himself 
 behind the tube, whose glasses revealed resplendent and 
 hitherto unseen wonders in the star-sown fields of ether* 
 The edifice must be^ reared to science, the country, and 
 God. He could devise no plan to get the ear and awaken 
 the interest of the people, unless he could excite enthu- 
 siasm through the high themes which filled and delighted 
 his soul. 
 
 One day it was announced by a " poster," in the hall 
 of Cincinnati College, and a notice in the daily papers of 
 the city, that Professor Mitchel would commence a series 
 of lectures in the audience room of that institution. 
 The astronomer finds it necessary to use his tact in 
 this bait for the public. For however excellent the imme- 
 diate instruction, his object is to catch his hearers in the 
 golden meshes of his yet imaginary observatory, And 
 just as you, young reader, have gone by yourself, tools in 
 hand, to work out some ideal model of miniature mechan- 
 ism, the professor goes to his study, to invent and con- 
 struct a machine for exhibiting in brilliant light, and 
 greatly magnified, the beautiful and wonderful telescopic 
 views, on paper, taken in the silence of the night, when 
 those whom they were to delight were asleep. 
 
 The evening for the first lecture came. Such had 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 49 
 
 been the efforts of friends of the man and the cause, that 
 before the hour had struck for the experiment, that had 
 disturbed the very repose of the lecturer, through the 
 open doors of the College Hall a large procession of intel- 
 ligent citizens poured into the finely-illuminated room. 
 
 The extempore Stereopticon was a success, and is ready 
 for the exhibition. Manly, yet modest, is the bearing of 
 the " star-gazer" as he takes his position, surrounded by 
 members of the faculty and anxious friends anxious, not 
 in regard to the quality of the lecture, but the effect of the 
 occasion on the scheme which suggested it. 
 
 And I am sure my intelligent reader will love to fol- 
 low the astronomer through a few passages of this opening 
 and most eloquent lecture, and others which succeeded it. 
 How sublimely he walks among the ages past, and through 
 the starry depths ! 
 
 " The starry heavens do not display their glittering 
 constellations in the glare of day, while the rush and tur- 
 moil of business incapacitate man for the enjoyment of 
 their solemn grandeur. It is in the stillness of the mid- 
 night hour, when all nature is hushed in repose, when 
 the hum of the world's ongoing is no longer heard, that 
 the planets roll and shine, and the bright stars, trooping 
 through the deep heavens, speak to the willing spirit that 
 would learn their mysterious being. 
 
 " Often have I swept backward in imagination six 
 thousand years, and stood beside our Great Ancestor, as 
 
50 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 he gazed for the first time upon the going down of the 
 sun. What strange sensations must have swept through 
 his bewildered mind, as he watched the last departing ray 
 of the sinking orb, unconscious whether he should even 
 behold its return ! Wrapt in a maze of thought, strange 
 and startling, his eye long lingers about the point at 
 which the sun had slowly faded from his" view. A mys- 
 terious darkness, hitherto unexperienced, creeps over the 
 face of nature. The beautiful scenes of earth, which 
 through the swift hours of the first wonderful day of his 
 existence, had so charmed his senses, are slowly fading 
 one by one from his dimmed vision. A gloom deeper 
 than that which covers earth, steals across the mind of 
 earth's solitary inhabitant. He raises his inquiring gaze 
 toward heaven, and lo ! a silver crescent of light, clear 
 and beautiful, hanging in the Western sky, meets his as- 
 tonished eye. The young moon charms his untutored 
 vision, and leads him upward to her bright attendants, 
 which are now stealing, one by one, from out the deep 
 blue sky. The solitary gazer bows, and wonders, and 
 adores. The hours glide by the silver moon is gone 
 the stars are rising, slowly ascending the heights of 
 heaven and solemnly sweeping downward in the still- 
 ness of the night. The first grand revolution to mortal 
 vision is nearly completed. A faint streak of rosy light 
 is seen in the East it brightens the stars fade the 
 planets are extinguished the eye is fixed in mute aston- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 51 
 
 ishment on the growing splendor, till the first rajs of the 
 returning sun dart their radiance on the young earth and 
 its solitary inhabitant. To him t the evening and the 
 morning were the first day/ 
 
 " The curiosity excited on this first solemn night the 
 consciousness that in the heavens God had declared his 
 glorythe eager desire to comprehend the mysteries that 
 dwell in these bright orbs, have clung to the descendants 
 of him who first watched and wondered, through the long 
 lapse of six thousand years. In this boundless field of 
 investigation, human genius has won its most signal vic- 
 tories. Music is here but it is the deep and solemn 
 harmony of the spheres. Poetry is here but it must be 
 read in the characters of light, written on the sable gar- 
 ments of night. Architecture is here but it is the colos- 
 sal structure of sun and system, of cluster and universe. 
 Eloquence is here but ' there is neither speech nor lan- 
 guage. Its voice is not heard/ yet its resistless sweep 
 comes over us in the mighty periods of revolving worlds. 
 
 " Shall we not listen to this music, because it is deep 
 and solemn ? Shall we not read this poetry, because its 
 letters are the stars of heaven ? Shall we refuse to con- 
 template this architecture, because ' its architecture, its 
 archways, seem ghostly from infinitude ' ? Shall we turn 
 away from this surging eloquence, because its utterance 
 is made through sweeping worlds ? No ; the mind is 
 ever inquisitive, ever ready to attempt to scale the most 
 
52 LIFE OF GENEBAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 rugged steps. Wake up its enthusiasm fling the light 
 of hope in its pathway, and no matter how rough, and 
 steep, and rocky it may prove, onward! is the word 
 which charms its willing powers." 
 
 How beautifully does the life of the orator illustrate 
 these last words ! He had been charmed to duty, and 
 cheered in the trial of courage from his earliest boyhood, 
 by the music of that single lesson of the stars, onward I 
 
 And the wonderful orations, we may call them, which 
 week after week fell from his lips, carried the delighted 
 hearer* " onward " over the whole field of time. Like a daz- 
 zling comet, he went among the mighty systems of worlds, 
 and led the mind along the track of discovery to the mag- 
 nificent telescopic revelations of the present. With the 
 first " star-gazers " he seemed to stand and watch the 
 great over-arching sky, and decipher the fact that there 
 was real and apparent motion there ; that is, there were 
 objects moving, and others which only seemed to be so, 
 like the trees when the cars alone change their place : 
 then he studied with them in the dim light of early ages, 
 the revolutions of that nearest planet the moon, the grand 
 march of the constellations, the flight of the terror-inspiring 
 comets, and appearance of the dreaded eclipses, while the 
 rays of seience brightened along the track of discovery ; 
 till he looked among the glories which stream upon the 
 vision of the latest " sentinels on the watch towers " of 
 the starry heavens. 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 53 
 
 His strong and fiery imagination swept from the 
 "hill-tops of Eden" to the heights of America, from 
 which the inquiring eye has been lifted to the sky. How 
 strange it is that we do not know, and shall never know 
 on earth, when and where, and by whom the first intelli- 
 gent observation of the heavens was made ! Hear the 
 sublime language of the professor : 
 
 " I would fain stand at the very source of discovery, 
 and commence with that unknown godlike mind which 
 first conceived the grand thought that even these mys- 
 terious stars might be read, and that the bright page 
 which was nightly unfolded to the vision of man needed 
 no interpreter of its solemn beauties but human genius. 
 On some lofty peak he stood, in the stillness of the mid- 
 night hour, with the listening stars as witnesses of his 
 vows, and there conscious of his high destiny, and that 
 of his race, resolves to commence the work of ages. 
 ' Here,' he exclaims, ' is my watch tower, and yonder 
 bright orbs are henceforth my solitary companions. Night 
 after night, year after year, will I watch and wait, ponder 
 and reflect, until some ray shall pierce the deep gloom 
 which now wraps the world.' 
 
 " Thus resolved the unknown founder of the science 
 of the stars. His name and country are lost forev*.. 
 What matters this since his works, his discoveries, have 
 endured for thousands of years, and will endure as long 
 
5tt LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 as the moon shall continue to fill her silver horn, and the 
 planets to roll and shine." 
 
 Here you have also a fine glimpse of our hero's char- 
 acter. Not anxious about the world's changing mood, 
 his great concern was to do his work well, and leave to 
 God and posterity his fame. Of the moon and the polar 
 star, he adds : 
 
 " Go with me, then, in imagination, and let us stand 
 beside this primitive observer, at the close of his career 
 of nearly a thousand years (for we must pass beyond the 
 epoch of the deluge, and seek our first discoveries among 
 those sages whom, for their virtues, God permitted to 
 count their age, not by years, but by centuries) , and here 
 we shall learn the order in which the secrets of the starry 
 world slowly yielded themselves to long and persevering 
 scrutiny. And now let me unfold, in plain and simple 
 language, the train of thought, of reasoning, and research, 
 which marked this primitive era of astronomical science. 
 It is true that history yields no light, and tradition even 
 fails ; but such is the beautiful order in the golden chain 
 of discovery, that the bright links which are known, re- 
 veal with certainty those which are buried in the voiceless 
 past. If, then, it were possible to read the records of the 
 founder of astronomy, graven on some column of granite 
 dug from the earth, whither it had been borne by the fury 
 of the deluge, we know now what its hieroglyphics would 
 reveal, with a certainty scarceiy less than that which 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 55 
 
 would be given by an actual discovery, such as we have 
 imagined. We are certain that the first discovery ever 
 recorded, as the result of human observation, was on 
 the moon. 
 
 "The sun, the moon, the stars, had long continued to 
 rise and climb the heavens, and slowly sink beneath the 
 western horizon. The spectacle of day and night was 
 then, as now, familiar to every eye ; but in gazing there 
 was no observation, and in mute wonder there was no 
 science. When the solitary observer took his post, it 
 was to watch the moon. Her extraordinary phases had 
 long fixed his attention. Whence came these changes? 
 The sun was ever round and brilliant the stars shone 
 with undimmed splendor while the moon was ever wax- 
 ing and waning, sometimes a silver crescent hanging in 
 the western sky, or full-orbed, walking in majesty among 
 the stars, and eclipsing their radiance, with her over- 
 whelming splendor. Scarcely had the second obser- 
 vation been made upon the moon, when the observer 
 was struck with the wonderful fact, that she had left her 
 place among the fixed stars, which, on the preceding 
 night, he had accurately marked. Astonished, he again 
 fixes her place by certain bright stars close to her posi- 
 tion, and waits the coming of the following night. His 
 suspicions are confirmed the moon is moving ; and what 
 to him is far more wonderful, her motion is precisely con- 
 trary to the general revolution of the heavens, from east 
 
56 LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 
 
 to west. With a curiosity deeply aroused, he watches 
 from night to night to learn whether she will return 
 upon her track ; but she marches steadily onward among 
 the stars, until she sweeps the entire circuit of -the 
 heavens, and returns to the point first occupied, to re- 
 commence her ceaseless cycles. 
 
 " The long and accurate vigils of the moon, and the 
 necessity of recognizing her place, by the clusters or 
 groups of stars among which she was nightly found, had 
 already familiarized the eye with those along her track, 
 and even thus early the heavens began to be divided into 
 constellations. The eye was not long in detecting the 
 singular fact, that this stream of constellations, lying 
 along the moon's path, was constantly flowing to the 
 west, and one group after another apparently dropping 
 into the sun, or at least becoming invisible, in conse- 
 quence of their proximity to this brilliant orb. A closer 
 examination revealed the fact, that the aspect of the 
 whole heavens was changing from month to month. 
 Constellations which had been conspicuous in the west, 
 and whose brighter stars were the first to appear as the 
 twilight faded, were found to sink lower and lower toward 
 the horizon, till they were no longer seen ; while new 
 groups were constantly appearing in the east. 
 
 u These wonderful changes, so strange and inex- 
 plicable, must have long perplexed the early student of 
 the heavens. Hitherto the stars, along the moon's route, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 57 
 
 had engaged special attention ; but at length certain; 
 bright and conspicuous constellations, toward the north, 
 arrested the eye : and these were watched tq, see whether 
 they would disappear. Some were found to dip below 
 the western horizon, soon to reappear in the east ; while 
 others, revolving with the general heavens, rose high 
 above the horizon, swept steadily round, sunk far down, 
 but never disappeared from the sight. This remarkable 
 discovery soon led to another equally important. In 
 watching the stars in the north through an entire night,, 
 they all seemed to describe circles; having a common 
 centre, these circles grew smaller and smaller as the 
 stars approached nearer to the centre of revolution, until 
 finally one bright star was found, whose position was ever 
 fixed alone unchanged while all else was slowly moving. 
 The discovery of this remarkable star must have been 
 hailed with uncommon delight by the primitive observer 
 cf the heavens. If his deep devotion to the study of the 
 skies had created surprise among his rude countrymen, 
 when he came to point them to this never-changing light 
 hung up in the heavens, and explained its uses in guiding 
 their wanderings on the earth, their surprise must have 
 given place to admiration. Here was the first valuable 
 gift of primitive astronomical science to man. 
 
 " But to the astronomer this discovery opened up a 
 new field of investigation, and light began to dawn on 
 
 some of the most mysterious questions which had long 
 3* 
 
58 LIFE OF GENEEAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 perplexed him. He had watched the constellations near 
 the moon's track slowly disappear in the effulgence of the 
 sun ; and when they were next seen, it was in the east, 
 in the early dawn, apparently emerging from the solai 
 beams, having actually passed by the sun. Watching 
 and reflecting, steadily pursuing the march of the north- 
 ern constellations, which never entirely disappeared, and 
 noting the relative positions of these, and those falling 
 into the sun, it was at last discovered that the entire 
 starry heavens was slowly moving forward to meet and 
 pass by the sun, or else the sun itself was actually mo vino 
 backward among the stars. This apparent motion had 
 already been detected in the moon, and now came the re- 
 ward of long and diligent perseverance. The grand dis- 
 covery was made, that both the sun and moon were 
 moving among the fixed stars, not apparently, but abso- 
 lutely. The previously received explanation of the moon's 
 motion could no longer be sustained ; for the starry heav- 
 ens could not at the same time so move as to pass by th( 
 moon in one month, and to pass by the sun in a perioc 
 twelve times as great. A train of the most importanl 
 conclusions flowed at once from this great discovery 
 The starry heavens passed beneath and around the 
 earth the sun and moon were wandering in the same 
 direction, but with different velocities, among the stars 
 the constellations actually filled the 'entire heavens abov* 
 the earth and beneath the earth the stars were invisible 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 59 
 
 in the day time, not because they did not exist, but be- 
 cause their feeble light was lost in the superior brilliancy 
 of the sun. The heavens were spherical, and encom- 
 passed like a shell the entire earth, and hence it was con- 
 ceived that the earth itself was also a globe, occupying 
 the centre of the starry sphere. 
 
 " It is irnposible for us, familiar as we are at this day 
 with these important truths, to appreciate the rare merit 
 of him who by the power of his genius first rose to their 
 knowledge, and revealed them to an astonished world. 
 We delight to honor the names of Kepler, of Galileo, of 
 Newton ; but here are discoveries so far back in the dim 
 past, that all trace of their origin is lost, which vie in in- 
 terest and importance with the proudest achievements of 
 any age. 
 
 " With a knowledge of the sphericity of the heavens, 
 the revolution of the sun and moon, the constellations of 
 the celestial sphere, the axis of its diurnal revolution, as- 
 tronomy began to be a science, and its future progress 
 was destined to be rapid and brilliant. A line drawn 
 from the earth's centre to the north star formed the axis 
 of the heavens, and day and night around this axis all the 
 celestial host were noiselessly pursuing their never ending 
 journies. Thus far, the only moving bodies known were 
 the sun and moon. These large and brilliant bodies, by 
 their magnitude and splendor, stood out conspicuously 
 from among the multitude of stars, leaving these minute 
 
60 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 but beautiful points of light, in one great class, unchange 
 able among themselves, fixed in their groupings and cor 
 figurations, furnishing admirable points of reference, i 
 watching and tracing out the wanderings of the sun an 
 moon. 
 
 " To follow the moon as she pursued her journe 
 among the stars was not difficult ; but to trace the sun i 
 his slower and more majestic motion, and to mark acci 
 rately his track, from star to star, as he heaved upwar 
 to meet the coming constellations, was not so readily a< 
 complished. Night after night, as he sunk below tb 
 horizon, the attentive watcher marked the bright stai 
 near the point of setting which first appeared in the evei 
 ing twilight. These gradually sunk toward the sun o 
 successive nights, and thus was he traced from conste 
 lation to constellation, until the entire circuit of tli 
 heavens was performed, and he was once more attende 
 by the same bright stars, that had watched long befor< 
 his sinking in the west. Here was revealed the measui 
 of the Year. The earth had been verdant with the beai 
 ties of spring glowing with the maturity of summer- 
 rich in the fruits of autumn and locked in the icy chair 
 of winter, while the sun had circled round the heaveni 
 His entrance into certain constellations marked the con 
 ing seasons, and man was beginning to couple his cycl 
 of pursuits on earth with the revolutions of the celestii 
 orbs. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 61 
 
 " While intently engaged in watching the sun as it 
 'jowly heaved up to meet the constellations, some ardent 
 evotee to this infant science at length marked in the 
 irly twilight a certain brilliant star closely attendant 
 pon the sun. The relative position of these two objects 
 r as noted, for a few consecutive nights, when, with a de- 
 ree of astonishment of which we can form no concep- 
 on, he discovered that this brilliant star was rapidly 
 pproaching the sun, and actually changing its place 
 mong the neighboring stars : night after night he gazes 
 a this unprecedented phenomenon, a moving star ! and 
 Q each successive night he finds the wanderer coming 
 earer and nearer to the sun. At last it disappears from 
 ight, plunged in the beams of the upheaving sun. What 
 ad become of this strange wanderer ? was it lost forever ? 
 r ere questions which were easier asked than answered. 
 ut patient watching had revealed the fact, that when a 
 roup of stars, absorbed into the sun's rays, disappeared 
 i the west, they were next seen in the eastern sky, slowly 
 merging from his morning beams. Might it not be pos- 
 ible that this wandering star would pass by the sun and 
 sappear in the east? With how much anxiety must 
 lis primitive discoverer have watched in the morning 
 (vilight? Day after day he sought his solitary post, 
 nd marked the rising stars, slowly lifting themselves 
 bove the eastern horizon. The gray dawn came, and 
 tie sun shot forth a flood of light, the stars faded and 
 
62 LIFE OF GENEBAL MITCHEL. 
 
 disappeared, and the watcher gives over till the coining 
 morning. But his hopes are crowned at last. Just 
 before the sun breaks above the horizon, in the rosy 
 east, refulgent with the coming day, he descries the pure 
 white silver ray of his long lost wanderer. It has passed 
 the sun it rises in the east the first planet is dis- 
 covered ! "With how much anxiety and interest did the 
 delighted discoverer trace the movements of his wander- 
 ing star. 
 
 " Whatever light may be shed upon antiquity by de- 
 ciphering the hieroglyphic memorials of the past, there is 
 no hope of ever going far enough back, to reach even the 
 nation to which we are indebted for the first rudiments 
 of the science of the stars. 
 
 " Thus far in the prosecution of the study of the 
 heavens, the eye and the intellect had accomplished the 
 entire work. Rapidly as we have sketched the progress 
 of early discovery, and short as may have been the period 
 in which it was accomplished, no one can fail to perceive 
 how vast is the difference between the light that thus 
 early broke in upon the mind, heralding the coming of a 
 brighter day, and the deep and universal darkness which 
 had covered the world before the dawn of science. En- 
 couraged by the success which had thus far rewarded 
 patient toil, the mind of man pushes on its Investigations 
 deeper and deeper into the doiflain of the mysterious and 
 unknown. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 63 
 
 " In these primitive ages the heavenly bodies were 
 egarded with feelings little less than the reverence we 
 tow bestow on the Supreme Creator. The sun, espe- 
 ially, as the Lord of life and light, was regarded with 
 eelings nearly approaching to adoration, even by the as- 
 ronomers themselves. The idea early became fixed, that 
 he chief of the celestial bodies must move with a uniform 
 r elocity in a circular orbit, never increasing or decreasing. 
 Change being inconsistent with the supreme and dignified 
 tation which was assigned to him what, then, must have 
 >een the astonishment of the primitive astronomers, who 
 n counting the days from the summer to the winter sol- 
 tice, and from the winter round to the summer solstice, 
 hese intervals were found to be unequal ? " 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 An Eclipse "Who first solved the awful Mystery ? What are Comets ? Danger 
 of burning the Earth Other Wonders The Dream. 
 
 reader, have you seen an eclipse of the sun or 
 moon? You know what it is? When the 
 luminary of day is veiled, the moon has come 
 between us and it, just where the tracks cross ; 
 that is, at the point in their orbits which brings 
 them in a line with the earth. Of course we cannot see 
 through the moon, and so the sun is obscured. 
 
 When the moon is eclipsed, the earth gets in a similar 
 way between the sun and moon, and the light is cut off 
 from the satellite of our world. You will be interested 
 in the orator's description of the discovery of this simple 
 fact that robbed the eclipse of the horrors which had terri- 
 fied the people. A watcher of the heavenly bodies had 
 become convinced that the dreaded darkness was caused 
 by a natural law of revolution, and made calculations ac- 
 cordingly. Up to this time nobody knew or could guess 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 65 
 
 what blackened the face of the sun and moon. It is not 
 strange that the night coming at morning or midday, 
 should alarm the inhabitants wherever it was seen. 
 
 I think we should be just as much alarmed were it 
 not for the labors of that man ages since, and his successors 
 in astronomical studies. Let us go back over long cen- 
 turies. The prophet of such an event, explaining the 
 dark marvel of the past since creation's dawn, has arisen. 
 Every thing is ready for predicting the sun's hiding behind 
 the moon. Says the eloquent Mitchel : 
 
 " He announces to the startled inhabitants of the world 
 that the sun shall expire in dark eclipse. Bold predic- 
 tion ! mysterious prophet ! with what scorn must the un- 
 thinking world have received this solemn declaration. 
 How slowly do the moons roll away, and with what in- 
 tense anxiety does the stern philosopher await the coming 
 of that day which should crown him with victory, or dash 
 him to the ground in ruin and disgrace ! Time to him 
 moves on leaden wings ; day after day, and at last hour 
 after hour, roll heavily away. The last night is gone 
 the moon has disappeared from his eagle gaze in her ap- 
 proach to the sun, and the dawn of the eventful day 
 breaks in beauty on a slumbering world. 
 
 " This daring man, stern in his faith, climbs alone to 
 his rocky home, and greets the sun as he rises and mounts 
 the heavens, scattering brightness- and glory in his path. 
 Beneath him is spread out the populous city, already 
 
66 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 teeming with life and activity. The busy morning hum 
 rises on the still air and reaches the watching place of the 
 solitary astronomer. The thousands below him, uncon- 
 scious of his intense anxiety, buoyant with life, joyously 
 pursue their rounds of business and of amusement. The 
 sun slowly climbs the heavens, round, and bright, and 
 full-orbed. The lone tenant of the mountain-top almost 
 begins to waver in his faith, as the morning hours roll 
 away. But the time of his triumph, long delayed, at 
 length begins to dawn ; a pale and sickly hue creeps over 
 the face of nature. The sun has reached his highest 
 point, but his splendor is dimmed, his light is feeble. At 
 last it comes ! Blackness is eating away his round disc ; 
 onward, with slow but steady pace, the dark veil moves, 
 blacker than a thousand nights the gloom deepens the 
 ghastly hue of death covers the universe the last ray is 
 gone, and horror reigns. A wail of terror fills the murky 
 air ; the clangor of brazen trumpets resounds ; an agony 
 of despair dashes the stricken millions to the ground, 
 while that lone man, erect on his rocky summit, with 
 arms outstretched to heaven, pours forth the grateful 
 gushings of his heart to God, who had crowned his efforts 
 with triumphant victory. It is to me the proudest vic- 
 tory that genius ever won. It was the conquering of 
 nature, of ignorance, of superstition, of terror, all at a 
 single blow, and that, blow struck by a single arm." 
 
 " Who," you ask, " was this wonderful man, whom 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 67 
 
 4 his fellows must have regarded as little less than a. 
 god?" His fame is "inscribed on the very heavens," 
 but lost on earth. No one can tell his name or nation. 
 Such is human glory ! But great and good deeds never die. 
 
 "A thousand years roll by; " and in ancient and 
 splendid Babylon the record of an eclipse is made, 
 "which is safely wafted down the stream of time." A 
 thousand years more have swept by, and among the 
 fierce Arabs again the prediction is made, and the eclipse 
 appears. And then after a thousand years are added to 
 those already gone, the astronomer of Paris observes the 
 same phenomenon. 
 
 Is it not amazing that the prophets of eclipses, whose 
 records cover three thousand years, should exactly agree ? 
 That the Frenchman should study the record of the Baby- 
 lonian who looked on the sun and moon so long before ? 
 You have learned how the great law of gravitation, the 
 mysterious bond holding planets, suns* $nd systems to- 
 gether, was discovered by Isaac Newton. A falling 
 apple led him to ask the natural question, " What brings 
 it to the ground?" That apple was the key to wonders 
 vast as God's universe. 
 
 Little thoughts and little things are not to be lightly 
 esteemed ; they have been the beginning of world-wide 
 discoveries and eternal destinies. 
 
 We cannot follow the celestial orator through his un- 
 rivalled lectures. But since writing this a young lad said : 
 
68 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 " Tell us about the comets, and the boys will be inter- 
 terested. What did General Mitchel say about them ? " 
 He had just read that a learned professor in Munich, a city 
 of which I shall have more to say hereafter, predicted 
 the burning of the world in 1865 by a comet. Next 
 to the eclipse has this wanderer frightened the world. 
 
 The boy's questions were doubtless the same you 
 would ask, and I will give them with the answers. 
 
 "What are comets?" 
 
 "It is a very hard question to answer. They sud- 
 denly blaze forth and sweep through the heavens with 
 amazing velocity. Their aspect is often terrific. Their 
 paths are irregular, and from all points of the compass 
 they rush toward and around the sun. What they are 
 no man has yet been able to tell." 
 
 " I just recollect seeing one a few years ago ; but will 
 you describe their appearance ? " 
 
 " The comet of 1858 was very beautiful. It resem- 
 bled a plume ; the trail of light flowing backward from 
 the splendid starlike brow. Others have been double ; 
 and the great comet of 1744 had six luminous trains, 
 which streamed above the horizon long after the globe of 
 splendor had sunk below it. The Catholics, who were 
 afraid of the armies of the Sultan of Turkey at that time, 
 offered this prayer : c The Lord save us from the Devil, 
 the Turk, and the Comet ! ' " 
 
 " Why were people afraid of comets?" 
 
LIFE OF GEXEKAL MITCHEL. 69 
 
 " Because they seemed to be wiTd and wandering mes- 
 sengers from, distant regions, having no connection with 
 our starry dome. They were regarded as omens of war, 
 pestilence, and famine." 
 
 " How did astronomers find out they were not?" 
 
 " Observation proved that these fiery corsairs of the 
 blue deep were, after all, governed by the same law of 
 gravitation which binds all the worlds together. And 
 though some of them plunge away for several hundred 
 years into space, and then return, they had their appoint- 
 ed periods, like the earth and moon." 
 
 " Is there really any danger that a comet will destroy 
 the world?" 
 
 " Newton, Mitchel, and others think not ; at least 
 that the collision is not likely to occur. If it did they 
 believe the curious body is too light, or cloudlike, to jostle 
 our planet out of its orbit, or set it on fire. Yet none, can 
 deny that God could make it a torch to kindle 4 nature's 
 funeral pile.' " 
 
 The lad looked thoughtful. The possibility of the 
 world's meeting with a comet troubled him. I could only 
 cheer him with the assurance that a sincere trust in Him 
 who created the comet, would give us 
 
 " A heart for any fate." 
 
 He then inquired about the milky way, made of re- 
 splendent suns, so far away you cannot separate them 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 with the eye. And many of the nebulas or luminous 
 clouds floating in the blue depths " blaze with countless 
 stars " when a powerful telescope is directed to them. 
 
 Professor Mitchel seemed to forget that he was on 
 earth, in dwelling on the boundless grandeur of the uni- 
 verse, which he had viewed during the " night watches/' 
 and talked as if he were among the resplendent worlds 
 and discoursing from the skies. He was like the im- 
 aginary traveller of the German poet, quoted by him to 
 express his overwhelming visions of Jehovah's power, 
 wisdom, and omniscience in the celestial vault. Here is 
 the singular and beautiful fancy : 
 
 " God called up from dreams a man into the vesti- 
 bule of heaven, saying, ' Come thou hither and see the 
 glory of my house/ 
 
 " And to the servants that stood around the throne, he 
 said : c Take him, and undress him from his robes' of 
 flesh : cleanse his vision, and put a new breath in his 
 nostrils : only touch not with any change his human 
 heart the heart that weeps and trembles.' 
 
 " It was done ; and with a mighty angel for his guide, 
 the man stood ready for his infinite voyage. From the 
 terraces of heaven, without sound or farewell, at once 
 they wheeled away into endless space. * * * In a 
 moment the rushing of planets was upon them ; in a mo- 
 ment the blazing of suns was around them. On the right 
 hand and on the left towered mighty constellations, form- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 71 
 
 ing triumphal gates and archways that seemed ghostly 
 from infinitude. Suddenly, as they swept past systems 
 and worlds, a cry arose that other heights and other 
 depths were nearing, were at hand. 
 
 " The man sighed, and stopped, and shuddered, and 
 wept. His overladened heart uttered itself in tears, and 
 he said : ' Angel, I will go no farther. Insufferable is 
 the glory of God. Let me lie down in the grave, and 
 hide me from the infinite ; for end I see there is none/ 
 
 " And from all the listening stars that shone around 
 issued a choral voice ' the man speaks truly ; end there 
 is none that ever yet we heard of/ 
 
 " ' End is there none ? ' the angel solemnly demanded. 
 ' Is there indeed no end ? and is this the sorrow that 
 kills you ? ' 
 
 " But no voice answered that he might answer him- 
 self. Then the angel threw up his glorious hands to the 
 heaven of heaven, saying : 
 
 " ' End there is none in the universe of God. Lo ! 
 also there is no beginning/ " * 
 
 I will only add the closing passages of these unequalled 
 lectures : 
 
 " Look out to-night on the brilliant constellations 
 which crowd the heavens. Mark the configurations of 
 these stars. Five thousand years ago the Chaldean shep- 
 herd gazed on the same bright groups. Two thousand 
 years have rolled away since the Greek philosopher pro- 
 
72 LIFE OF GENEBAL MITCHE^. 
 
 nounced the eternity of the heavens, and pointed to the 
 ever-during configuration of the stars as proof positive 
 of his assertion. But a time will come when not a con- 
 stellation now blazing in the bright concave above us shall 
 remain. Slowly, indeed, do these fingers on the dial of 
 heaven mark the progress of time. A thousand years 
 may roll away with scarce a perceptible change ; even a 
 million of years may pass without effacing all traces of 
 the groupings which now exist ; but that eye which shall 
 behold the universe of the fixed stars when ten millions 
 of years shall have silently rolled away, will search in 
 vain for the constellations which now beautify and adorn 
 our nocturnal heavens. Should God permit, the stars 
 may be there, but no trace of their former relative posi- 
 tions will be found ! 
 
 " Here I must close. The intellectual power of man, 
 as exhibited in his wonderful achievements among the 
 planetary and stellar worlds, has thus far been our single 
 object. I have neither turned to the right hand nor to 
 the left. Commencing with -the first nmte gaze bestowed 
 upon the heavens, and with the curiosity awakened in 
 that hour of admiration and wonder, we have attempted 
 to follow rapidly the career of the human mind, through 
 the long lapse of six thousand years. What a change 
 has this period wrought. Go backward in imagination 
 to the plains of Shinar, and stand beside the shepherd as- 
 tronomer as he vainly attempts to grasp the mysteries of 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 73 
 
 the waxing and waning moon, and then enter the sacred 
 precincts of yonder temple devoted to the science of the 
 stars. Look over its magnificent machinery ; examine 
 its space-annihilating instruments, and ask the sentinel 
 who now keeps his unbroken vigil the nature of his in- 
 vestigations. 
 
 " Moon, and planet, and sun, and system, are left 
 behind. His researches are now within a sphere to 
 whose confines the eagle glance of the Chaldean never 
 reached. Periods, and distances, and masses, and mo- 
 tions, are all familiar to him ; and could the man who 
 gazed and pondered six thousand years ago stand beside 
 the man who now fills his place, and listen to his teach- 
 ings, he would listen with awe, inspired by the revelations 
 of an angel of God. But where does the human mind 
 now stand? Great as are its achievements, profoundly 
 as it has penetrated the mysteries of creation, what has 
 been done is but an infinitesimal portion of what remains 
 to be done. 
 
 " But the examinations of the past inspire the highest 
 hopes for the future. The movement is one constantly 
 accelerating and expanding. Look at what has been 
 done during the last three hundred years, and answer me 
 to what point will human genius ascend before the same 
 period shall again roll away ? But in our admiration for 
 that genius which has been able to reveal the mysteries 
 
 of the universe, let us not forget the homage due to Him 
 4 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 who created, and by the might of his power sustains all 
 things. At some future time, I hope to be permitted to 
 direct your attention to this branch of the subject. If 
 there be any thing which can lead the mind upward to 
 the Omnipotent Ruler of the universe, and give to it an 
 approximate knowledge of His incomprehensible attri- 
 butes, it is to be found in the grandeur and beauty of 
 His works. 
 
 " If you would know His glory, examine the inter- 
 minable range of suns and systems which crowd the 
 Milky "Way. Multiply the hundred million of stars 
 which belong to our own ' island universe ' by the thou- 
 sands of these astral systems that exist in space, within 
 the range of human vision, and then you may form some 
 idea of the infinitude of His kingdom ; for lo ! these are 
 but a part of His ways. Examine the scale on which the 
 universe is built. Comprehend, if you can, the vast di- 
 mensions of our sun. Stretch outward through his sys- 
 tem, from planet to planet, and circumscribe the whole 
 within the immense circumference of Neptune's orbit. 
 This is but a single unit out of the myriads of similar 
 systems. Take the wings of light, and flash with im- 
 petuous speed, day and night, and month and year, till 
 youth shall wear away, and middle age is gone, and the 
 extremest limit of human life has been attained ; count 
 every pulse, and at each speed on your way a hundred 
 thousand miles ; and when a hundred years have rolled 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 by, look out, and behold ! the thronging millions of 
 blazing suns are still around you, each separated from 
 the other by such a distance that in this journey of a cen- 
 tury you have only left half a score behind you. 
 
 " Would you gather some idea of the eternity past of 
 God's existence, go to the astronomer, and bid him lead 
 you with him in one of his walks through space ; and as 
 he sweeps outward from object to object, from universe 
 to universe, remember that the light from those filmy 
 stains on the deep pure blue of heaven, now falling on 
 your eye, has been traversing space for a million of years. 
 Would you gather some knowledge of the omnipotence of 
 God, weigh the earth on which we dwell, then count the 
 millions of its inhabitants that have come and gone for 
 the last six thousand years. Unite their strength into one 
 arm, and test its power in an eifort to move this earth. 
 It could not stir it a single foot in a thousand years ; and 
 yet under the omnipotent hand of God, not a minute 
 passes that it does not fly for more than a thousand miles. 
 But this is a mere atom ; the most insignificant point 
 among His innumerable worlds. At His bidding, every 
 planet, and satellite, and comet, and the sun himself, fly 
 onward in their appointed courses. His single arm 
 guides the millions of sweeping suns, and around His 
 throne circles the great constellation of unnumbered 
 universes. 
 
 " Would you comprehend the idea of the omniscience 
 
76 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 of God, remember that the highest pinnacle of knowledge 
 reached by the whole human race, by the combined efforts 
 of its brightest intellects, has enabled the astronomer to 
 compute approximately the perturbations of the planetary 
 worlds. He has predicted roughly the return of half a 
 score of comets. But God has computed the mutual per- 
 turbations of millions of suns, and planets, and comets, 
 and worlds, without number, through the ages that are 
 passed, and throughout the ages which are yet to come, 
 not approximately, but with perfect and absolute precis- 
 ion. The universe is in motion system rising above 
 system, cluster above cluster, nebula above nebula all 
 majestically sweeping around under the providence of 
 God, who alone knows the end from the beginning, and 
 before whose glory and power all intelligent beings, 
 whether in heaven or on earth, should bow with humility 
 and awe. 
 
 " Would you gain some idea of the wisdom of God, 
 look to the admirable adjustments of the magnificent 
 retinue of planets and satellites which sweep around the 
 sun. Every globe has been weighed and poised, every 
 orbit has been measured and bent to its beautiful form. 
 All is changing, but the laws fixed by the wisdom of God, 
 though they permit the rocking to and fro of the system, 
 never introduce disorder, or lead to destruction. All is 
 perfect and harmonious, and the music of the spheres that 
 burn and roll around our sun, is echoed by that of ten 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 77 
 
 millions of moving worlds, that sing and shine around the 
 bright suns that reign above. 
 
 If, overwhelmed with the grandeur and majesty of the 
 universe of God, we are led to exclaim with the Hebrew 
 poet king ' When I consider thy heavens, the work of 
 thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast or- 
 dained, what is man, that thou art mindful of him ? and 
 the son of man, that thou visitest him ? ' If fearful that 
 the eye of God may overlook us in the immensity of His 
 kingdom, we have only to call to mind that other passage, 
 ' Yet thou hast made him but a little lower than the an- 
 gels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou 
 madest him to have dominion over all the works of thy 
 hand ; thou hast put all things under his feet.' Such are 
 the teachings of the word, and such are the lessons of the 
 works of God." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Astronomer a Business Man His Noble Energy Two Rules of his Life- - 
 Starts for Europe Voyage The Stranger in England In Paris Munich 
 The Treasure Tho Professor in Greenwich A Curious old Town Its 
 Lions. 
 
 )HE pictorial illustrations of the lecture were very 
 beautiful. The splendor of thought and diction 
 were the more surprising, because unaided by 
 manuscript in the delivery. The audience were 
 fascinated. Week after week the throng gath- 
 ered around the gifted astronomer, who meanwhile, in 
 private conversation and in his solitary moments, was 
 maturing a plan to secure the object which led him to the 
 platform of oratory unrivalled in that, or any other college. 
 When the last lecture was announced, he was re- 
 quested to repeat it in one of the largest churches of the 
 city. This was the opportunity toward which all his 
 efforts had been tending. Two thousand people assem- 
 bled. The simple yet lofty eloquence enchained the mass 
 which packed the spacious temple to the last echo of the 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 79 
 
 orator's voice. When the strain of thrilling address ceased, 
 the professor came down from the glory and music of the 
 spheres to practical business, and requested the audience 
 " to give him a few minutes of time, for the explanation of 
 a matter which it was hoped would not be received with- 
 out some feelings of interest and approbation." He was 
 now among the " money changers." Business-like, he 
 goes right to their sober, practical judgments with the 
 terrestrial part of his work. It is amusing to think of 
 such a transition from the star-lit dome above them, to 
 the counting-room and safe. After a simple, honest 
 statement, he went on with his appeal in these words : 
 "You look at Europe, and find rapid advancement in 
 astronomy, and all over the world costly observatories are 
 erected. In Russia, Germany, France, and England, there 
 are instruments in great variety and magnificence, while 
 there is an utter deficiency in our own country in every 
 thing pertaining to the science of the stars." The fact 
 that monarchs lavished treasures on the temples of science, 
 that the people must build them here, was urged ; the 
 assertion that the reliance on these would be a vain one, 
 suggested ; and finally, the assurance given that the ques- 
 tion would now be tested and settled. For he had de- 
 termined to devote five years of faithful effort to secure 
 the projected observatory. 
 
 This was always a quality of General Mitchells char- 
 acter. He never said go simply, in a good enterprise, but 
 
80 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 " come with me." It was his rule to lead, as well as 
 point the way. 
 
 A murmer of applause went through the vast assem- 
 'blage. The plan was submitted. The amount needed 
 was to be divided into shares of twenty-five dollars each ; 
 nothing was to be done till three hundred names were 
 obtained, and each subscriber was to have the, privileges 
 of the observatory. This was accomplished, and the 
 heroic spirit of the founder of the star-tower, was assured 
 of triumph. Hear the pure and inspiring words of his 
 lips: 
 
 " Two resolutions were taken at the outset, to which I 
 am indebted for any success which may have attended 
 my own personal efforts. First. To work faithfully for 
 five years, during all the leisure which could be spared from 
 my regular duties. Second. Never to become angry under 
 any provocation while in the prosecution of this enter- 
 prise." 
 
 Let every youth catch the spirit of perseverance and 
 patience breathed in these resolves, which were faith- 
 fully kept by him. He believed and tried the truth of the 
 heavenly counsel, " He that is slow to anger is better than 
 the mighty ; and he that ruleth his own spirit than he that 
 taketh a city." 
 
 Soon as the three hundred shareholders were obtained 
 by quiet effort suceeding the lectures, the association thus 
 formed gave him permission to visit Europe, to see what 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 81 
 
 the old world had accomplished in astronomy, and what 
 it might have for him. It was a happy day for the pro- 
 fessor when he turned his face toward Europe. No 
 purer earthly delight could make a great heart beat with 
 quickened pulsations. How wide the contrast between 
 the barefooted errand work of Miami and Lebanon, and 
 the scientific mission to the capitals and royal observa- 
 tories of the mightiest kingdoms of the earth ! He could 
 sympathize with Columbus when his vessel's prow was 
 pointed toward the untravelled seas where continents lay. 
 
 He hastened to New York, the port of departure, and 
 June 16th, 1842, sailed down the bay. With loving eyes 
 he watched the receding spires of the great Metropolis, 
 and the shores on either hand, till Neversink faded from 
 the view. His vision dimmed with the dew of feeling, for 
 his idolized family and native land were disappearing, per- 
 haps forever, from his sight. But his Christian faith hung 
 a bow of promise over the darkness of distance behind, 
 and " flung the light of hope " on his pathway over the 
 sea. The flashing waters at night were the beautiful 
 foundation of his floating observatory, from which he 
 gazed with affection which they seemed to reciprocate, 
 upon the bright friends of his nightly vigils, for whose 
 sake he was self-exiled for a time to a strange land. 
 
 No moments are wasted on the voyage. The traveller 
 has made activity the highest pleasure. Between the 
 
 world of stars above, the wonders of the deep, the books, 
 4* 
 
82 LIFE OF GENERAL M1TCHEI . 
 
 and a few intelligent friends, and tie intense thinking o\ er 
 his plans for getting into the heavens and seeing for him- 
 self what was there he had not beheld, the days flew past. 
 
 Sights and sounds of land again began to appear. 
 Soon after, the shores of England greeted his vision, and 
 a glow of new enthusiasm spread over his fine face. He 
 was near " Fatherland " and the object of his many 
 anxious thoughts, a window to the starry depths. 
 
 He went to London and the Royal Observatory of 
 Greenwich, to find the treasure that lured him across the 
 Atlantic, an object-glass of the largest size. In the de- 
 scription of the telescope, you recollect this expensive part 
 forms the distant object, bringing it before the eye-glass, 
 through which the observer gazes upon the remote orb, as 
 if it were comparatively near. 
 
 The gay capital of France, to which he longed to go 
 when Charles the Tenth was dethroned, and draw the 
 revolutionary sword, next attracted his steps. How dif- 
 ferent his errand ! Not the soldier's glory, nor the pleas- 
 ures of art, nor yet of sensual indulgence, stirred his 
 ambition. He wanted a piece of rounded glass; and 
 Paris, with all its dissipation, had gifted devotees of 
 science, and splendid instruments for its service. But 
 here, also, he was disappointed. He looked in vain for 
 the creation of skill which should open to him when 
 in the tube prepared for it, Ihe marvels and glories of the 
 canopy studded with globes of light. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL METCHEL. 83 
 
 That scientific centre of the German States, Munich, 
 was the next goal of his hopes. The<iame, I think, must 
 remind you of a very fine poem, well nigh spoiled by its 
 repetition, so often poorly, on the stage by school- 
 boys : Campbell's " Battle of Hohenlinden." In that the 
 shout is raised, 
 
 " Wave, Munich, all thy banners wave, 
 And charge with all thy chivalry," 
 
 This ancient city, the capital of Bavaria, is beautifully 
 situated on the Isar River. This stream flows through 
 an extensive plain, whose rich landscape environs ther 
 city. 
 
 The Park, Max-Josephs-Platz, is one of the very finest 
 in Europe. But there were objects of greater interest to 
 Professor Mitchel in the ancient city. 
 
 The museums of art are wonderful. For days you 
 can see magnificent paintings, even if you look but a few 
 moments at each. There are nearly half a million of 
 engravings. 
 
 The university, about the time Professor Mitchel was 
 there, contained 1,471 students, taught by seventy-six pro* 
 fessors. In our country half that number of students 
 would be a very large attendance upon college instruction 
 by less than a dozen professors. 
 
 The Royal Library has six hundred thousand vol- 
 umes. Another library has two hundred thousand books, 
 
84 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 with four hundred manuscript works, i. e., every word 
 written with a pen. 
 
 The cathedral is a wonder. It was built nearly five 
 hundred years ago ; and has two towers three hundred 
 and thirty-three feet high taller than any spire you ever 
 saw, I think. 
 
 The view from these lofty towers is grand and beauti- 
 ful. And there is in one of the squares an obelisk, or 
 kind of pyramid, one hundred feet in height, made of 
 cannon taken by the Bavarians in their wars. 
 
 This. city is the residence of ambassadors from all 
 parts of Europe. They live in splendid style, and make 
 the old city seem like the home of a score of kings. 
 
 But turn aside from all these attractive scenes to that 
 plain pile, and enter its doors, and you will see the centre 
 of the professor's thoughts ; it is the manufactory of opti- 
 cal instruments. 
 
 Munich has long been famous for its fine lenses, and 
 very thing pertaining to telescopes, and all similar aids 
 fdt scientific men. 
 
 No manufacturer of these instruments was more 
 famous than Frauenhofer. To walk through his cabinet, 
 or any similar one, would interest the youngest of my 
 readers. Such a variety of beautiful mechanism for 
 making observations of earth and sky ! M. Mertz had 
 succeeded the renowned worker in these instruments to 
 annihilate space, and measure the visible universe. Yet 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 85 
 
 it was all the same to Mitcliel. No sooner had he entered 
 the cabinet, than hia eye rested on the polished crystal 
 he sought. There it lay, a foot in diameter, or three feet 
 in circumference j the prize of his pilgrimage. But to 
 mount it, that is, to finish the instrument, would require 
 ten thousand dollars and two years of time. 
 
 The money could and must be secured. Mr. Mitchel 
 made a bargain, but with conditions that would protect 
 M. Mertz against loss if he failed to raise the ten thou- 
 sand dollars. 
 
 He then hastened again to Greenwich, England, to 
 become a pupil there. 
 
 It may be interesting to the reader to know more 
 about this home for a while, of Professor Mitchel. 
 
 Greenwich is in Kent County, three and three-fourth 
 miles southeast of London Bridge, and contains one hun- 
 dred and six thousand inhabitants. It is an old city, 
 with narrow, irregular streets, some of which are lower 
 than the River Thames. 
 
 If you are not an astronomer, the first object which 
 would attract your curiosity, would be the Naval Hos- 
 pital. It is designed for veteran, disabled, and unfortu- 
 nate seamen. The pleasure-loving, dissipated Charles 
 II., built it for a palace, on the site of the Greenwich 
 House, which was erected in the year 1300. In it the 
 queen-daughters of Henry VIII., Mary and Elizabeth, 
 were born. Here Edward VI. died. 
 
86 LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 
 
 The pile was converted to its present benevolent use 
 in the reign of William and Mary, and opened for in- 
 mates in 1705. 
 
 The situation is beautiful, on a terrace above tho 
 river. The four squares which form the whole, bear the 
 names of the sovereigns who completed them Charles, 
 Anne, William, and Mary ; and with all the buildings, 
 cover forty acres. The magnificent ^establishment is the 
 largest of the kind in Europe, and I suppose in the world. 
 
 But Professor Mitchel gave only a small portion of 
 time to this splendid monument of charity. Not very 
 far from it stands the Royal Observatory, formerly 
 Greenwich Castle, also founded by the gay king, Charles 
 IL, in 1674. 
 
 Here Flamsteed studied the heavens, and gave Sir 
 Isaac Newton discoveries, which aided him greatly in 
 unfolding his theory of matter ; thus one noble intellect 
 wakes up another to still higher efforts. 
 
 Professor Airy, Astronomer Royal, that is to say v 
 appointed by the king or queen, welcomed his gifted 
 friend and pupil, whom he had invited to come and reap 
 any benefit he might be able to secure there. Professor 
 Airy saw at once a rare intellect and a rare gentleman, in 
 the American rival to the honor of new discoveries in 
 the vast fields of ether. 
 
 The stranger had gladly accepted the compliment 
 which he richly merited. The days and weeks went too 
 
LIFE OP GENERAL MTTCHEL. 87 
 
 swiftly by, while the books, instruments, and nightly star- 
 gazing occupied his thoughts. He was not ashamed 
 to take his place once more as a learner at the feet of 
 another, whose riper culture and experience might add a 
 single new truth or idea to his own brilliant attainments. 
 
CHAPTER VH. 
 
 Professor Mitchel loaves England Eeaches Cincinnati Disappointment Not 
 Discouraged He Toils on Mr. Longworth's Gift The Corner Stone of 
 the Observatory is Laid Interesting Ceremonies The Astronomer at work 
 with the Mechanics The Watch-tower Finished. 
 
 mellow light of October, 1842, lay upon the 
 rich landscapes of Old England, always wanting 
 in the brilliant coloring of our autumnal ver- 
 dure, when Professor Mitchel embarked for his 
 home on the banks of the Ohio. His objects of 
 travel were obtained. 
 
 With a grateful and buoyant spirit he bade adieu to 
 the British Island, and sailed for New York. 
 
 Look where he might on ocean or sky, he saw often, 
 and even in " visions of the night," the solid, transparent 
 circle, lying in the cabinet of M. Mertz. He saw in 
 fancy more ; the temple it would yet adorn, rising on 
 some fair summit near the Queen City of the West. 
 
 Arriving at New York, he hurried on to Cincinnati. 
 A meeting of the society which sent him abroad, and 
 of other interested citizens, large and enthusiastic, as- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 89 
 
 sembled to hear his report. All were interested deeply 
 in the professor's story, and the hopeful beginning of the 
 work to which his ardent soul was devoted. But a com- 
 mercial crisis had come upon the country during his 
 absence of four months. 
 
 " What is a commercial crisis?" a reader inquires. 
 
 A general depression in business, arising from failures 
 among men controlling largely the money market. The 
 causes are various. Sometimes it is the result of specu- 
 lation and extravagance. The awful waste and expen- 
 diture of the war are pressing heavily on thousands in 
 our country, which, with the mania for speculation, 
 threaten much financial distress before peace is restored. 
 
 In this paralysis 'of business, the most enthusiastic 
 friends of the astronomer felt troubled, and some of them 
 too poor to do all that they had intended and promised. 
 Such an enterprise purely scientific, and expensive 
 offering no opportunity for speculation, needed the most 
 prosperous times. 
 
 And what shall the undaunted worker do? If he 
 could get to West Point without funds, he can get to his 
 observatory, at length. 
 
 Day after day he called on wealthy citizens, urging 
 the claims of the observatory. See him now, with elas- 
 tic step and brightened brow, preparing his remittance of 
 a payment to M. Mertz in Old Munich. 
 
 Three thousand dollars ! So much is sure, and soon 
 
90 LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 
 
 on the way to Europe. This amount was demanded to 
 secure the object-glass and the completion of the tele- 
 scope, when the remainder of the price was to be paid. 
 "The die was cast." The order had gone with the 
 money to finish the magnificent instrument, which must 
 have a house in which to keep and use it. 
 
 And now the unresting brain and heart and hands 
 are directed to this edifice. As yet not even a site, a foot 
 of land for its foundations, was procured. The professor 
 turned for help to a very wealthy and enterprising gen- 
 tleman, who owned some of the verdant highlands near 
 the city. 
 
 He stated to him in honest, earnest words, the wants 
 and embarrassments of the Astronomical Society. The 
 listener was Nicholas Longworth, Esq., whose vineyards 
 covered many acres. 
 
 " Well, Professor Mitchell, the enterprise must not 
 fail for want of ground. Select four acres on the hill in 
 my twenty-five acre lot, and enclose it. It will give me 
 great pleasure to present it to the association." 
 
 u I can present you, sir, in the name of the society, 
 their warmest thanks. Of all eligible points for an ob- 
 servatory it is the most desirable." 
 
 With a lighter footfall, and more sunny brow than at 
 any moment since the struggle began for his watch-tower, 
 he left the presence of the munificent donor. 
 
 With a loving eye he looked away to the lofty hill, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 91 
 
 lifting its ample swell four hundred feet above the streets 
 of the city. From its top, the vision could sweep the en- 
 tire horizon without an intervening object. .Below lay 
 the beautiful metropolis of the West,' with its elegant 
 buildings and hum of business ; and around it, in every 
 direction from the broad and glorious Ohio, were spread 
 the plains and slopes, dark with vineyards and verdure, 
 and dotted with tasteful dwellings. It was as rare a spot 
 for the building, as was the splendid glass for the in- 
 strument that structure was to protect. 
 
 Two grand steps onward toward the goal of the astro- 
 nomer's hopes are taken. The next is to build. No 
 time is lost by him. He soon has the carpenters at work 
 on the fence, and a road cut to the summit, making access 
 by teams with material, quite easy. 
 
 The spring and summer of 1843 had rapidly passed 
 to him, under the pressure of this great work, and college 
 duties. An auspicious and exciting day has come. The 
 ninth day of November was set apart for laying the 
 corner-stone. That stone is to be a part of the pier, or 
 masonry, supporting the telescope with its harness for 
 service. 
 
 The anticipated morning dawns. The throng at an 
 early hour begin to gather on the height. And now the 
 moment for the ceremonies arrives ; and who is that 
 calm, venerable, majestic man, more than fourscore years 
 of age, attended with so much reverence to the platform ? 
 
92 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 He is the orator of the day. Many hundred miles has 
 the noble pilgrim travelled, to lift his voice once more in 
 an oration to his countrymen. How softly the light of a 
 late western autumn, falls on the bald head fringed with 
 silver hair ! All eyes glance fondly, admiringly toward 
 the central figure. Even the noble, yet modest astron- 
 omer, to whom it is an inauguration day of the greatest 
 enterprise of his laborious life, is forgotten. The open- 
 ing services are finished, and JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 
 rises amid the hum and cheers of the concourse. With 
 tremulous lips, and clear accent, he pays his tribute to 
 the founders of the Observatory, to science, and then to the 
 country he loved the home of a free, enterprising, and 
 intelligent people. The only cloud that hung darkly to 
 his discerning eye, on our horizon, -was that v whose light- 
 ning has fallen upon us, and whose thunder of retribution 
 is rolling day and night through the heavens. 
 
 For the last time did the veteran statesman, scholar, 
 champion of freedom, and Christian, open the treasures of 
 his gifted mind and large heart to the multitude. Mem- 
 orable occasion ! Do you think the bright boys who 
 saw that scene, and heard the words spoken, will ever 
 forget it? The influence of it will bless the land, till 
 its hills are swept with universal desolation, or " melt 
 with fervent heat." 
 
 The multitude dispersed. There lay the single piece 
 of granite. Around it were broken ground, and materials 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTOHEL. 93 
 
 for building. Winter is nigh, and this hindrance, with 
 the want of funds, compels the suspension of labor for 
 the season. 
 
 Do you not believe, my reader, that very few men 
 would have held on, resolved to succeed, with such weari- 
 ness of effort and discouragement ? The secret of such un- 
 surpassed energy and perseverance, is found in^the strug- 
 gles, good habits, and high aims of the boy in early life. 
 
 No one but Professor Mitchel himself knew the 
 expenditure of labor it cost to save the imperilled object of 
 many years effort. The winter of 1843 and 1844 was the 
 trial-period of the whole undertaking. He thought, and 
 prayed, and worked. The bloom and fragrance of May 
 were never more grateful to him, who saw his intense 
 and painful toil crowned with success for the time. The 
 thousands of dollars more due to the makers of the tele- 
 scope, were collected and sent to Munich. 
 
 "What now shall be done? The treasury is empty, 
 and eight thousand dollars more are wanted to finish the 
 building. Fertile in resources, he resolves to appeal to 
 intelligent mechanics, and go to work. Without money, 
 and with three workmen, the summer sun sees the struc- 
 ture slowly rising. The second week finds the expenses 
 of the previous one paid, and six hands on the torn hill- 
 top. They toil on till Saturday night. " How stands the 
 account?" asks the Professor. The treasurer replies, 
 u Enough to pay up, and double the number of men." 
 
94 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 Thus six weeks passed away. And during their long 
 days, you might have seen the professor where f Walk- 
 ing over the broken ground or sitting upon some stick of 
 hewn timber, to see the wrk progress ? No ! he was not 
 afraid of any kind of honorable labor, nor to show the 
 callous palm. See him now driving the team which drags 
 the "stone-boat," or handling, like a born ditcher, the 
 pickaxe and shovel. A stranger would have found it dif- 
 ficult at a sufficient distance to conceal his noble forehead 
 and face, to distinguish him from a son of the Emerald 
 Isle. In this, too, he resembled strikingly General Grant, 
 who in or out of the army scorns all tinsel, and appears 
 like the commonest soldier or citizen. 
 
 The mechanics of Cincinnati acted magnanimously, 
 indeed. Many of them subscribed stock, in other words, 
 became members of the Astronomical Society, taking 
 shares in the amount invested by it, and paid it in 
 work. 
 
 In a quarry owned by the society, the stones were 
 blasted and .hewn for the growing edifice. Oh ! with 
 what keen delight did the brave, unselfish Mitchel, hear 
 the rude sound of hammer, iron bar, pulley, tind voices 
 of command to the silent, faithful brute workers. More 
 pleasant than the odor of summer flowers, was the smoke 
 of the lime-kiln on the hill, in which the lime to cement 
 the masonry was burned. 
 
 Nothing was refused in subscriptions to the object, 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MTTCHEL. 95 
 
 whether a day's work or a due bill, which could be bar- 
 tered for something else that would pay. 
 
 The months wore away, and again autumn returned. 
 The observatory walls were built, and a roof covered 
 them, with no debt on them. And now a new difficulty 
 arose. Mr. Longworth required the Society to finish the 
 structure in two years, or forfeit the land. The time 
 would expire in June, 1845. Either the period must be 
 lengthened a favor it would not be pleasant to ask or 
 the association run in debt. Professor Mitchel's private 
 means were expended, for he always set the example in 
 whatever he desired others to do. But the building went 
 forward to completion. He hoped that in a brief time 
 after a monument of scientific love and labor stood in the 
 beauty of finished proportions, the money with which to 
 meet all engagements could be obtained. 
 
 February, 1845, was another proud day. The pro- 
 fessor is not on the hill. Along the streets he is passing, 
 while mysterious burdens are carted from the general 
 storehouse of commerce. What new turn has his activity 
 taken ? From Munich to Cincinnati that splendid object- 
 glass, tubed and ready to be lifted to its place, has trav- 
 elled. The mails had taken bits of paper ; a ship brought 
 with its ponderous fixtures the crystal windows to the far 
 depths of ether. 
 
 The telescope is actually in the city ! No victor ever 
 exulted with a higher and purer triumph of genius and 
 
96 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 high endeavor, than did the astronomer from his unfin- 
 ished temple, which was to enshrine the telescopic eye to 
 pierce the heavens. 
 
 Boisterous March came, and his rough winds seemed 
 to sing with joy around the finished structure, consecrated 
 to victories over time and space. All things were ready 
 for the high priest of the sanctuary of science devoted to 
 God and humanity. 
 
 THE MITCIIEL OBSEBVATORT. 
 
THE DOME UNCOVERED, WITH HALF'S COMET BEFORE THE TELESCOPE 
 p 96. 
 
CHAPTER VIH. 
 
 The beautiful Monument of Faith and "Work A new Trial The Conflagration 
 Turns Lecturer The first Effort Lectures in New York The influence 
 of his splendid Oratory. 
 
 i^Tir^ TTT? building is eighty feet long and thirty feet 
 broad. The front is two stories, while in the 
 centre of the structure there is a third story for 
 the telescope and other instruments. The roof 
 can be taken off during the time of observing 
 the heavens. It is a beautiful building, crowning well 
 the summit on which it stands. 
 
 Dr. Bache, the superintendent of the U. S. Coast 
 Survey, i. e., a department for tracing coast boundaries, 
 distances, &c., gave to the Observatory a large transit in- 
 strument and a sidereal clock. Professor Mitchel has 
 used them well in dividing and numbering stars. 
 
 But he was to learn-another and sadder lesson of trust 
 than any hitherto known. He must feel the truth, that, 
 
 " When calmest on life's wave we ride, 
 
 Oft rolls behind a gloomy tide." 
 5 
 
98 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 A darkly mysterious providence was at hand. His last 
 dollar was gone. And hark ! on the still air rises the cry 
 of "fire! fire!" "Where? What is it?" are the re- 
 sponses from the startled people. " The College ! the 
 College ! " in another moment, is on every lip. The flames 
 curl in the chill wind around the walls, until, in spite of 
 streams from the engines of faithful firemen, they stand 
 charred and desolate. With the College went the pro- 
 fessor's salary. He was nearly as penniless as when he 
 started for the Military Academy. He had engaged to 
 superintend the Observatory for ten years without salary, 
 depending on that from the College. 
 
 The cherished Observatory must not at last be aban- 
 doned. What shall he do ? His wonderful faith, hope, 
 and energy, will surely conquer in the trial of them all. 
 Years would be necessary to rebuild the pile which 
 had been the food of the flames. Again he thought and 
 prayed then acted. The enthusiastic reception of his 
 lectures in Cincinnati encouraged him to try them abroad. 
 His familiar and repeated conversations with his classes 
 on astronomy, and with citizens about the Observatory, 
 its design and uses, had taught him to speak with force 
 and simplicity on the marvels of the sky. This strength- 
 ened his confidence and purpose more than any other con- 
 sideration. To speak plainly and well at any time is a 
 great attainment; but to do so when the motions and 
 glories of the uncounted stars are the theme, and the 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITOHEL. 99 
 
 " common people" the hearers, is a rare attainment. 
 Because of this power the multitudes two thousand years 
 before heard the Creator of the world "gladly." The 
 astronomer turned his back on the temple, surmounting 
 the lordly hill of all the region, and, with his baggage, 
 started for the groat cities of the Union. It is no private 
 speculation no mercenary aim that tears him from home 
 and his telescope. 
 
 Reaching Boston, the notice of his first lecture on the 
 starry heavens since his course in the College, and one in 
 the city church, was given. Indeed, he regarded the oc- 
 casion as his entrance upon public life as a lecturer. The 
 hour came the hall was not full. But he had charmed 
 the few ; and without the least unbecoming pride, he said 
 to a friend afterward, "he felt sure every listener would 
 bring another the next evening." He was not disap- 
 pointed. The question of success was answered : " The 
 Athens of America " had decided the claims of this apos- 
 tle of science devoted to religion, to his high position. 
 
 In New York the Music Hall is thronged night after 
 night to hear his impassioned eloquence, poured in an un- 
 broken flow of " thoughts that breathe and words that 
 burn," on the excited thousands. A sublimer spectacle 
 in lecturing was never seen. The object, the theme, tho 
 orator, the intellectual audiences, the wrapt attention, tho 
 almost painful intensity of feeling, all crown him the 
 prince of lecturers. Not a line of manuscript lies befora 
 
100 LIFE'OF GEIS^BAL MITCHEL. 
 
 him. Yet he never hesitates, never repeats, never chafes 
 the liveliest sensibility of any hearer. 
 
 Listen to even the boys as they walk homeward, and 
 you will hear them saying : 
 
 "Father, wasn't it splendid?" Another exclaims: 
 *' If I could ever talk like that, and knew as much as 
 Professor Mitchel, I would be willing to study hard." 
 
 Why not, my dear boy, emulate the example. Did 
 the barefooted clerk on the countryman's horse, which 
 trudged along the muddy roads two miles an hour, look 
 very much like holding the best minds in New York 
 under the spell of his eloquence ? It was the same in 
 Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and St. Louis. 
 
 None but the infinite Father can estimate the effect 
 of those unequalled lectures. They awakened an entirely 
 new and profound interest among the people. A host of 
 young persons were led to watch with a delight unknown 
 before the circling constellations, and calm, beauteous 
 _planets. The North Star in the handle of the little dip- 
 per, the large dipper with its pointers toward that central 
 i orb ; magnificent Orion with "his bands"; the grape- 
 like cluster, Pleiades, about which Job so eloquently dis- 
 courses ; and Sirius, the dog-star, which was so dazzling 
 when it came like a rising sun before Newton's telescope, 
 he had lo withdraw his eyes ; attracted more observers 
 than had gazed upon them at any time since the May 
 Flower was guided by the cynosure over the deep. 
 
LIFE "OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 101 
 
 The excellent use that Professor Mitchel made of the 
 observatory appears in the next published effort of his 
 studious mind ; which, if it did not attempt the highest 
 speculations of astronomical science, did perhaps mere 
 than any other to make it interesting and familiar to all. 
 
 And it is delightful to tell you that not only was Mrs. 
 Mitchel an intellectual and pious mother to his children, 
 but " night after night did she sit by his side in his study 
 of the heavens." Her gentle hand assisted at the grand 
 telescope, or wielded for him the pen in writing down his 
 observations. 
 
 In 1860 appeared his " Popular Astronomy." The 
 opening lecture is a fine description of the " day-god," 
 worshipped by the Persian pagans ages ago. How clear 
 and sublime the language in which he follows him in his 
 chariot of fire through the heavens, and along the hori- 
 zon's rim ! For you know that, in winter, the blush of sun- 
 rise appears far from the place where was seen the richer 
 crimson and gold of midsummer. 
 
 " The sun is beyond comparison the grandest of all 
 the celestial orbs of which we have any positive knowl- 
 edge. The inexhaustible source of the heat which warms 
 and vivifies the earth, and the origin of a perpetual flood 
 of light, which, flying with incredible velocity in all direc- 
 tions, illumines the planets and their satellites, lights up 
 the eccentric comets, and penetrates even to the region 
 of the fixed stars ; it is not surprising that, in the early 
 
102 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 ages of the -world, this mighty orb should have been re- 
 garded as the visible emblem of the Omnipotent, and as 
 such should have received divine honors. 
 
 " On the approach of the sun to the horizon in the 
 early dawn, his coming is announced by the gray eastern 
 twilight, before whose gradual increase the brightest stars 
 and even the planets fade and disappear. The coming 
 splendor grows and expands, rising higher and yet higher, 
 until, as the first beam of sunlight darts on the world, not 
 a star or planet remains visible in the whole heavens ; and 
 even the moon, under this flood of sunlight, shines only 
 as a faint silver cloud. 
 
 " This magnificent spectacle of the sunrise, together 
 with the equally imposing scenes which sometimes accom- 
 pany the setting sun, must have excited the curiosity of 
 the very first inhabitants of the earth. This curiosity led 
 to a more careful examination of the phenomena attend- 
 ing the rising and setting sun, when it was discovered 
 that the point at which this great orb made his appear- 
 ance was not fixed, but was slowly shifting on the horizon, 
 the change being easily detected by the observation of a 
 few days. Hence was discovered, in the primitive ages, 
 THE SUN'S APPARENT MOTION. In case the sun is observed 
 attentively from month to month, it will be found that the 
 point of sunrise on the horizon moves slowly, for a cer- 
 tain length of time, toward the south'. While this motion 
 continues, the sun, at noon, when culminating on the 
 
LIFE OF GENEBAL MTTCHEL. 103 
 
 meridian, reaches each day a point less elevated above 
 the horizon, and the diurnal arc or daily path described 
 by the sun grows shorter and shorter. At length a limit 
 is reached ; the point of sunrise ceases to advance toward 
 the south, remaining stationary a day or two, and then 
 slowly commences his return toward the north. Thus 
 does the sun appear to vibrate backward and forward be- 
 tween His southern and northern limits, marking to man 
 a period of the highest interest, for within its limits tho 
 SPRING, the SUMMER, the AUTUMN, and the WINTER, 
 have run their cycles, and by their union have wrought 
 out the changes of the year." 
 
 " And what," asks an inquiring mind, " can you tell 
 us, Professor, of the spots on the sun's face ? " 
 
 " To the naked eye the sun's surface presents a blaze 
 of insufferable splendor ; and even when this intense light 
 is reduced by the use of any translucent medium, the 
 entire disk appears evenly shaded, with a slight diminu- 
 tion of light around the circumference, but without visible 
 spot or variation. When, however, the power of vision 
 is increased a hundred or a thousand fold by telescopic aid, 
 and when the intense heat of the sun and his equally in- 
 tense light are reduced by the help of deeply-colored 
 glasses, the eye recognizes a surface of most wonderful 
 character. Instead of finding the sun everywhere equally 
 brilliant, the telescope shows sometimes on its surface Hack 
 spots, of very irregular figure, jagged and broken in outline 
 
104: 
 
 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 " Besides the mottling of the surface, the telescope 
 detects in the solar orb a variety of brighter streaks, 
 called faculce^ whose appearance has been connected, as 
 some believe, with the breaking out of the black spots. 
 
 " We are compelled to acknowledge that up to the 
 present time science has rendered no satisfactory account 
 of the origin of the solar light or heat. "Whence comes 
 the exhaustless supply, scattered so lavishly into space in 
 every direction, we know not. Neither is it possible to 
 give a satisfactory solution of the solar spots, or of any of 
 the strange phenomena attending their rotation or trans- 
 lation on the sun's surface. The idea that tornadoes and 
 tempests rage in the deep, luminous ocean that surrounds 
 the sun, like those which sometimes agitate the atmos- 
 phere of the earth, has no solid foundation. We know 
 the exciting causes of the tornadoes on earth, but why 
 such storms should exist in the solar sphere it is in vain 
 to conjecture at present. Doubtless the time will come 
 when these phenomena will be explained." 
 
 Then the professor talks eloquently of Mercury, a 
 planet so near the sun, " that it is said Copernicus him- 
 self, during his whole life devoted to the study of the 
 heavens, never once caught sight of this almost invisible 
 world," and yet " it was discovered in the very earliest 
 ages " by the ancients. 
 
 " How large is this orb, almost lost in the sun's un- 
 quenchable fire, and do people live in that burning 
 splendor ? " 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 105 
 
 The first question only is answered. " Its diameter 
 is but 3,140 miles. In comparison with the vast propor- 
 tions of the sun, this little planet sinks into absolute in- 
 significance ; for if the sun be divided into a million of 
 equal parts, Mercury would not weigh as much as the 
 half of one of these parts." 
 
 Of Venus he says : " The extreme brightness of this 
 planet makes it a very beautiful but difficult object for 
 telescopic observation. Although spots have been seen 
 upon the surface of Yenus, I have never been able, at any 
 time, with the powerful refractor of the Cincinnati Ob- 
 servatory, to mark any well-defined differences in the 
 illumination of her surface. If we are to trust to the 
 observations of others, the inequalities which diversify 
 the planet Venus far exceed in grandeur those found upon 
 our earth. It is stated by M. Schroter that, from his 
 own observations, the mountains of Venus reach an alti- 
 tude five or six times greater than the loftiest mountains 
 of our own globe." 
 
 " And what did the most gifted men of the early ages 
 think of our world ? " Our astronomer answers : 
 
 " The ancients did not reckon the earth as one of the 
 planetary orbs. There seemed to be no analogy between 
 the world which we inhabit, with its dark, opaque, and 
 diversified surface, and those brilliant planets which pur- 
 sued their mysterious journey among the stars. Sunk as 
 they were, so. deep in space, it was very difficult to reach 
 
106 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 any correct knowledge of their absolute magnitude. The 
 earth seemed to the senses of man vastly larger than any 
 or all of these revolving worlds. About the earth, as a 
 fixed centre, the whole concave of the heavens, with all 
 its starry constellations, appeared to revolve, producing 
 the alternations of day and night. It was not unnatural, 
 therefore, knowing the central position of the earth with 
 reference to the fixed stars, to assume its central position- 
 with reference to the sun, and moon, and planetary 
 worlds." 
 
 You have often gazed with wonder at the ' ; Queen of 
 night." You heard in earliest childhood of the " Man in 
 the Moon," that is, the spotted surface somewhat resem- 
 bling a face. Of this orb he has an interesting sketch : 
 
 u Before the power of the telescope had reached its 
 present condition of perfection, the darker spots of tho 
 moon were assumed to be seas and oceans ; but the 
 power now applied to the moon demonstrates that there 
 cannot exist at this time any considerable body of water 
 on the hemisphere visible from the earth. And yet we. 
 find objects such, that in case we were gazing upon tha 
 earth from the moon, possessing our actual knowledge of 
 the earth's lakes and rivers, we should pronounce them, 
 
 without hesitation, lakes and rivers. There is one such 
 
 *. 
 
 object which I will describe as often se-en through the 
 Cincinnati refractor. The outline is nearly circular, with 
 a lofty range of hills on the western and southwestern 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 107 
 
 sides. This range gradually sinks in the east, and a 
 beautiful sloping beach seems to extend down to the level 
 surface of the inclosed lake (as we shall call it, for want 
 of other language). With the highest telescopic power, 
 under the most favorable circumstances, I never could 
 detect the slightest irregularity in the shading of the sur- 
 face of the lake. Had the cavity been filled with quick- 
 silver and suddenly congealed or covered with solid ice, 
 with a covering of pure snow, the shading could not be 
 more regular than it is. To add, however, to the terrene 
 likeness, into this seeming lake there flows what looks 
 exactly as a river should at such a distance. That there 
 is an indentation in the surface, exactly like the bed of a 
 river, extending into the country (with numerous islands) 
 for more than a hundred miles, and then forking and sep- 
 arating into two distinct branches, each of which pursues 
 a serpentine course for from thirty to fifty miles beyond 
 the fork, all this is distinctly visible. I may say, indeed, 
 that just before entering the lunar lake, this lunar river 
 is found to disappear from sight, and seems to pass be- 
 neath the range of hills which border the lake. The re- 
 gion of country which lies between the forks or branches 
 of this seeming river, is evidently higher, and to the eyo 
 appears just as it should do, so as to shed its water into 
 the stream which appears to flow in the valley below. 
 The question may be asked, why is not this a lake and a 
 river? There is no lunar atmosphere on the visible 
 
108 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 hemisphere of the moon, such as surrounds the earth , 
 and if there were water like ours on the moon, it would 
 be soon evaporated, and would produce a kind of vaporous 
 atmosphere which ought to be seen, but has not been de- 
 tected. 
 
 " What, then, shall we call the objects described? I 
 can only answer that this phenomenon, with many others, 
 presented by the lunar surface, has thus far baffled the 
 most diligent and persevering efforts to explain. Among 
 what are called the volcanic mountains of the moon are 
 found objects of special interest. One of them, named 
 Copernicus, and situated not far from the moon's equator, 
 is so distinctly shown by the telescope, that the sides of it 
 have all the appearance of the action of a crater ejecting 
 immense quantities of lava and molted matter. Can 
 there be, indeed, the overflowing of once active vol- 
 canoes ? " 
 
 Have you not seen in the heavens the red little planet 
 called Mars, the name of the god of war? "Why," 
 perhaps you inquire, "is the fiery Mars so much redder 
 in hue than the other planets ? " 
 
 " The reddish tint which marks the light of Mars," 
 says she professor, "has been attributed by Sir John 
 Herschel to the prevailing color of the soil. This is 
 all pure conjecture." 
 
 How limited the knowledge of the most learned ! 
 None can tell whether there be seas or inhabitants on 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 109 
 
 the nearest globes to us. The gigantic planet in our 
 solar system, the genius which often studied its majestic 
 motions, tells us : " Is one of the five revolving worlds 
 discovered in the primitive ages. Its revolution among 
 the fixed stars is slow and majestic, comporting well with 
 its vast dimensions, and the dignity conferred by four 
 tributary worlds. The nocturnal heavens, as seen from 
 this grand orb, must be inexpressibly magnificent. Be- 
 sides the same glittering constellations which are seen 
 from earth, the sky of Jupiter may be adorned with no 
 less than four moons, with their diverse phases, some 
 waxing or waning, some just rising or setting, some pos- 
 sibly just entering into or emerging from eclipse ; the 
 whole of this splendid celestial exhibition sweeping across 
 the heavens, rising, culminating, and setting in less than 
 five hours of our time. Such are the scenes witnessed 
 by the inhabitants of Jupiter, if such there be." 
 
 The splendid planet Saturn with his gorgeous ring, 
 which is scarcely visible when its edge is turned toward 
 the observer, Professor Mitchel beautifully traces in its 
 path of light. Of the revolving ring turned edgewise, he 
 says : " The disappearance of the ring which took place 
 in 1848 was watched by the author at Cincinnati Obser- 
 vatory with the powerful refractor of that institution. A 
 minute fibre of light remained clearly visible even when 
 the edge of the ring was turned directly to the eye of the 
 spectator. The delicacy of this line far exceeds any thing 
 
110 LIFE OF GENEBAL MITCHEL. 
 
 ever before witnessed. When compared with the finest 
 spider's web stretched across the field of view, the latter 
 appeared like a cable, so greatly did it surpass in magni- 
 tude the filament of light presented in the edge of Saturn's 
 ring. I had the pleasure of witnessing the phenomena so 
 beautifully described by Sir William Herschel, the move* 
 rnents of the satellites along this line of light, * like golden 
 beads on a wire/ " 
 
 We now come to the far-off world, which, until re- 
 cently, was thought by all astronomers to be the last in 
 the system to which our earth belongs the outside trav- 
 eller around the sun. Indeed, Sir William Herschel, after 
 whom it was named, supposed it was a comet. The 
 Royal Astronomer at Greenwich, Dr. Markelyne, first 
 declared that it was a neighbor to the globes which before 
 had been known to live in the light of the central lu- 
 minary 
 
 Professor Mitchel watched with intense interest, 
 through his grand telescope, the four moons of the dis- 
 tant Herschel. He assures you that " they are among the 
 most difficult of all the objects revealed to the eye of the 
 telescope. After Sir William Herschel no one for forty 
 years was able to see any of these satellites, his forty-foot, 
 reflector having gone into disuse. In 1828, Sir John 
 Herschel, after many unsuccessful attempts, by confining 
 himself in a dark room for many minutes previous to 
 observation, and thus giving to the eye great acuteness, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. Ill 
 
 succeeded in detecting two of the satellites. In 1837, 
 Lamont, with the powerful refractor of the Royal Obser- 
 vatory at Munich, managed to follow, with tolerable cer- 
 tainty, the two larger moons, and occasionally obtained 
 glimpses of two others. At this time there were four 
 fine telescopes in the world, capable of showing these four 
 satellites under favorable circumstances. I have fre- 
 quently seen two of them with the Cincinnati refractor." 
 
 Beyond Herschel, by a most astonishing calculation, 
 showing that a planet ought to be where it was found by 
 M. Galle, of Berlin, another planet has been added to the 
 solar system, named Neptune. This makes nine in the 
 family of planets to which we belong. 
 
 You will read with interest the astronomer's account 
 of its discovery : 
 
 " The discovery of Neptune is undoubtedly the most 
 remarkable event in the history of "astronomical science 
 an event without a parallel, and rising in grandeur pre- 
 eminently above all other efforts of human genius ever 
 put forth in the examination of the physical universe. 
 
 " The planet Uranus was discovered by the aid of the 
 telescope, not exactly by accident, but still without any 
 expectation on the part of the discoverer that his exami- 
 nation of the fixed stars would result in the addition of a 
 primary planet to the system. Indeed, as we have seen, 
 so little did the astronomical world then anticipate the 
 discovery of a new planet, that the announcement by Sir 
 
112 LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 
 
 William Herschel that he had detected a most remarkable 
 comet was accepted on all hands, and it was only con- 
 tinued observation that finally compelled astronomers to. 
 accept the new object as a planet. In the case of the dis- 
 covery of the first asteroid we find a systematic organi- 
 zation of astronomical effort to detect a body whose 
 existence was conjectured, on the single ground of the 
 harmony of the universe, or that the law of inter-plan- 
 etary spaces, interrupted between Mars and Jupiter, could 
 be restored by finding a planet revolving within that vast 
 interval. Hence a search was commenced, which con- 
 sisted in examining every star in the region of the eclip- 
 tic, to ascertain whether its place was already laid down 
 on any known map or chart of the heavens. Now it is 
 evident that if it were possible to make a perfect daguer- 
 reotype of any region of the celestial sphere, say to-night, 
 and the same could be "effected in the following night, tho 
 comparison of these two pictures would exhibit to the 
 eye any change which may have occurred in the interval 
 from the one picture to the other ; and hence if a star was 
 found on the second and not on the first picture, this star 
 might fairly be suspected to be a planet, or the same sus- 
 picion would attach to a star found on the first, but miss- 
 ing on the second picture. Now, a map of the heavens, 
 so far as it includes the correct places of the stars, an- 
 swers our purpose quite as well as the daguerreotype ; and 
 any star found in a region well charted, but not laid down 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 113 
 
 on the map, may be fairly suspected to be a planet. A few 
 hours of examination will show it to be at rest or in mo- 
 tion. If in motion, then its planetary character is decided. 
 
 " This method of research has been employed in the 
 discovery of all the asteroids, and there is but one exam- 
 ple in which a more powerful and searching examination 
 became necessary. This was in the case of the asteroid 
 Ceres, which, as we have seen, was discovered by Piazzi, 
 at a time when but few observations could be made pre- 
 vious to its being lost in the rays of the sun. For a long 
 time it seemed almost a hopeless task to undertake the re- 
 discovery of the planet, as the telescope would be com- 
 pelled to grope its way slowly round the heavens, in the 
 region of the ecliptic, comparing every star with its place 
 in the chart. The genius of Gauss succeeded in this her- 
 culean task, and when the telescope was pointed to the 
 heavens in the exact place indicated by the daring com- 
 puter, there, in the field of view, shone the delicate and 
 beautiful light of the long-lost planet. 
 
 " The case of the discovery of Neptune is entirely 
 different. Here no planet was known to exist, no tele- 
 scopic power, however great, had ever seen it. For ages 
 it had revolved round the sun in its vast orbit, far beyond 
 the utmost known verge of the planetary system, un- 
 fathomably buried from human gaze and from human 
 knowledge. No sage of antiquity had ever dreamed of 
 its existence. The fertile brain of even Kepler had failed 
 
114: LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 to imagine its being, and the powerful penetration of New- 
 ton's gigantic intellect had failed to pierce to the far-off 
 region inhabited by this unknown and solitary planet. * 
 
 " Indeed, with the knowledge which existed prior to 
 the discovery of Uranus, no human genius, however 
 mighty, could have passed the tremendous interval which 
 separates the orbits of Saturn and Neptune from each 
 other. The discovery of an intermediate planet "was re- 
 quisite to furnish a firm foothold to him who would ad- 
 venture to pass a gulf of not less than two thousand 
 millions of miles at its narrowest place. 
 
 " No account, of course, can be given of the mathe- 
 matical treatment of the problem. It was undertaken at 
 about the same time by Adams, of England, and by Le 
 Verrier, of Parish Each computer, unknown to the other, 
 reached a result almost identical. Le Verrier commu- 
 nicated his solution to the Academy of Sciences on the 
 31st August, 1847. M. Galle, of Berlin, directed the tele- 
 scope to the point in which the French geometer declared 
 the unknown planet would be found. A star of the eighth 
 magnitude appeared in the field of view, whose place was 
 not laid down on any known chart. Suspicion was at 
 once aroused that this might possibly be the planet of 
 computation, and yet it seemed incredible that a problem 
 far surpassing in difficulty any which had ever been at- 
 tempted by human genius should thus at the first effort 
 have been solved with such marvellous precision. 
 
LITE OF GENERAL MFTCHEL. 115 
 
 ** The suspected star was examined with the deepest 
 interest in the hope that it might exhibit a planetary disk. 
 In this, however, the astronomer was unsuccessful, and 
 there remained but one method by which its planetary 
 character might be determined, that of watching suffi- 
 ciently long to detect its motion. This process, however, 
 must have tried very sorely the patience of the observer, 
 as the motion of the planet at so great a distance as three 
 thousand six hundred millions of miles, was so slow as 
 to require three entire months to pass over a space equal 
 to the apparent diameter of the moon. The position 
 of the suspected star having been accurately determined 
 on the first night of observation, it became evident on the 
 next night that the star had moved by an amount such as 
 was fairly due to the slow motion of so vast an orbit. 
 It could be none other than the unknown planet ! A 
 success almost infinitely beyond the expectations of the 
 most sanguine computer had crowned this mighty effort, 
 and the amazing intelligence that the planet was found 
 startled the astronomical world." 
 
 And no one can say how long it will be before the 
 world will again be startled by the news of still more 
 sublime discoveries from the heights of observation once 
 occupied by Mitchel, in the years to come. 
 
 It is very possible some young reader may yet write 
 his name on the heavens, in the imperishable association 
 of it with the stars. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 He becomes Railroad Engineer A new course of Lectures Examples of hla 
 Oratory He is appointed Adjutant-General of the State of Ohio Various 
 Honors Inventions. 
 
 EANWHILE, this surveyor of planetary paths, 
 and of the orbits of flaming suns, had shown 
 his equally familiar knowledge of terrestrial 
 affairs. Such great and practical men seldom 
 appear. 
 
 In 1844 he surveyed the Ohio and Mississippi Kail- 
 road. Several years later he crossed the ocean again as 
 confidential agent of the company, to transact business 
 for them in Europe. So well did he manage the concerns 
 of men who seldom took time to look higher than engines, 
 iron rails, and the figures of the pen and pencil, that a 
 few months after his return he was sent again over the 
 waters. 
 
 You will believe me when I tell you that, ex- 
 cepting the waters below and the heavens above, his 
 interest was quite inferior to the sublime enthusiasm 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 117 
 
 which led him to Munich. But he was no dreamer. 
 From the far-off glories of the sky he could come down 
 to the locomotive, and the profits and losses of running it. 
 When he returned he was also made president of a por- 
 tion of that extensive track down the great valley of the 
 West, 
 
 Professor Mitchel also delivered another series of lec- 
 tures in our large cities on the Astronomy of the Bible. 
 These were more brilliant than the first. Did you hear 
 them? If -not, did father or mother? If you did, you 
 cannot forget the entranced audience ; wherever you 
 looked, if your glance was away from the orator for a 
 moment, the throng seemed carried beyond the stars to 
 the dazzling throne of the Deity. Whoever listened will 
 tell you how like an inspired prophet, or an angel, he some- 
 times appeared. God, as creator and governor of the 
 myriad worlds rolling in the fathomless blue, Law-giver, 
 Redeemer, and Judge of mankind, whose book and starry 
 volume agree in every part, was presented in speech more 
 glowing than ever had issued, till then, from the platform 
 of a popular assembly. It reminded the intelligent lis- 
 tener of John Milton, the poet of earth and heaven, talk- 
 ing instead of singing the grand cantos. 
 
 I shall quote just enough from his glowing pages to 
 give you specimens of his eloquence, refresh the memory 
 of those who listened to him, and interest you in the 
 works he has left for all time behind him. The motive 
 
118 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCH EL. 
 
 which led him to deliver the lectures which he designed 
 evidently to have published, was, first of all, to confirm 
 our faith in the Bible to show that " the undevout as- 
 tronomer is mad" and convince the people of the shal 
 lowness of the cavils and scorn of those " scientific 
 men " who try to shake our confidence in the Christian 
 system. 
 
 Grandly he did his work. And every thoughtful mind 
 will mourn the death which to us seems premature, that 
 defeated his further purpose to continue these eloquent 
 discourses, and show to the doubting, the Godlike consist- 
 ency and glory of redemption of the incarnation and 
 sacrifice of the Creator of the worlds ! 
 
 He thus begins : " "We stand with the philosopher and 
 astronomer on the very apex of that stupendous pyramid 
 which human genius has reared by the protracted labor 
 of six thousand years. We are lifted far above the 
 clouds. We are permitted to examine the 
 
 ' Thrones, dominions, princedoms, virtues, powers,' 
 
 which fill the heavens. Our view sweeps from the hum- 
 ble satellite which acknowledges and obeys the superior 
 power of the earth, through systems, and schemes, and 
 universes, whose vastness no stretch of thought can com- 
 prehend, whose numbers no arithmetic can count. * * 
 " What hand has launched these flaming orbs in 
 space ? Whose eye omniscient has traced out their un- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 119 
 
 trodden paths ? What hand omnipotent upholds the stu- 
 pendous fabric of Nature ? 
 
 " These are themes of superlative grandeur. No 
 mind can approach their contemplation without an ex- 
 pansion of thought, an uplifting of the powers of the soul, 
 a sensation resembling that which swept across the soul 
 of our great ancestor, when it was whispered, Ye shall 
 be as gods ' ; and then comes a withering sense of our 
 weakness, a consciousness of our utter inability to scale 
 these lofty heights, or penetrate the deep profound which 
 stretches out before us. 
 
 " If called upon to discuss these themes in the presence 
 of superior beings, the hierarchs of Heaven, resplendent 
 with exalted wisdom, it would be utter folly to unseal the 
 lip, or move the tongue to the utterance of one solitary 
 thought. But I address not myself to angelic intelli- 
 gences, but to man, humble, trusting, inquiring, teach- 
 able man, conscious of his own weakness, and ever ready 
 to receive with feelings of charitable consideration the 
 humble efforts of those who, like himself, are struggling 
 to discover truth. 
 
 " Does the physical universe proclaim the being of a 
 God? Should this inquiry be affirmatively answered, 
 we propose to inquire If the God thus revealed is the 
 same august and eternal being portrayed in our sacred 
 looks f " 
 
 Thus the genius of Mitchel launches out, upborne by 
 
120 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 the breath of prayer, and eagle-eyed with the light of 
 faith to roam among the worlds, finding in every part 
 of the dazzling infinity that God is there the God of the 
 Bible and of all science. 
 
 We must pass without even a reluctant glance at 
 the gems of thought and oratory scattered over these 
 pages, inviting our admiring study, to the closing 
 and impressive words. How fine is the illustration of 
 a " rebel world." After quoting facts in astronomy 
 hinted at in the Bible, and explaining apparent difficul- 
 ties, he adds : 
 
 " We find a remarkable appropriateness in the selec- 
 tions which have been made of the phenomena of the 
 heavens, to illustrate the teachings of prophetic decla- 
 ration. They were appropriate to the age in which they 
 were written ; they have been appropriate in all succeed- 
 ing ages down to the present time, and science assures us 
 they can now never fail. Can all this have resulted from 
 accident? Can so great a multitude of thoughts, ex- 
 pressions, doctrines, illustrations, and similitudes, have 
 all risen by accident into appropriate use among so many 
 writers, so widely separated in time? If it be argued 
 that after all there is nothing in all this language, in all 
 these expressions, in all these illustrations, and that it is 
 but the perversions of an ingenious fancy which gives to 
 them an appearance of appropriateness, it must still be 
 admitted that it is certainly very wonderful that* such a 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 121 
 
 multitude of independent expressions should be capable 
 of being woven into a texture of astonishing harmony 
 and beauty. 
 
 " Search the old prophets, the Psalms, the book of 
 Job, even the New Testament, and in all these books, 
 wherever any allusion is made to the physical heavens, it 
 seems to have been written by one possessing the highest 
 intelligence, the most profound knowledge. 
 
 " There is but one solitary instance in which an author 
 of any one book in the Bible, was brought face to face 
 with the philosophy of antiquity. This was the celebrated 
 meeting between the great apostle of the Gentiles with 
 the Stoics and Epicureans on Mars Hill, in Athens. As 
 already stated, the Stoics did not admit the power of God 
 to create the material of the universe. He could only 
 arrange and organize what had existed from all eternity. 
 He could banish old Night and subdue the empire of 
 Chaos, but had no creative power. The Epicureans on 
 the other hand were atheists. 
 
 " Paul, who was learned in the Hebrew Scriptures, 
 and who had been educated in the law at the feet of 
 Gamaliel, even as a Jew, and much more as a Christian, 
 had imbibed the doctrine so universally taught in the 
 Bible, that all nature is but the offspring of the creative 
 energy of the Divine will. 
 
 " Here we find, then, the representatives of the doctrines 
 of the Old and New Testaments, both in philosophy and 
 6 
 
122 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 religion the two great concerns of humanity brought 
 face to face with the philosophers and priests of pagan- 
 ism, and under circumstances of most extraordinary 
 grandeur. 
 
 " The scene was the Areopagus, on Mars Hill, the 
 most venerated and revered court of all antiquity. Here, 
 in seats hewn from the solid rocks, sat the judges, whose 
 decree fixed not only the fate of individuals, but of em- 
 pires. On every hand the temples of the pagan divinities 
 reared their beautiful or majestic forms. Statues of men, 
 heroes, and gods, in uncounted numbers, filled every niche 
 and crowned every rock on this lofty eminence. The 
 sublime form of the colossal statue of Minerva, the tu- 
 telary divinity of Athens, reared in majestic propositions, 
 4 towering from the rock of the Acropolis.' There were 
 the shrines of all the divinities, the temples of all the 
 gods, the sanctuary of the vengeful furies, and, in full 
 sight, the very gardens where Socrates had poured forth 
 his le&sons of wisdom, where Zeno had organized his 
 stern stoical school of philosophy, and where Epicurus 
 had captivated weak humanity with his doctrines of 
 graceful ease or refined sensuality. 
 
 " Such were the circumstances surrounding the repre- 
 sentative of the philosophy and the religion of the Bible. 
 Rising, doubtless, under a full sense of the greatness of 
 his responsibility, Paul uttered that marvellous discourse, 
 in which he exclaims, l O Athenians ! I perceive that in 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 123 
 
 all things ye are too superstitious ; for as I passed by and 
 beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscrip- 
 tion, " To the unknown God." Whom, therefore, ye igno- 
 rantly worship, Him declare I unto you. God that made 
 the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord 
 of Heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with 
 hands ; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though 
 He needed any thing : seeing that He giveth to all life, 
 and breath, and all things. Forasmuch, then, as we are 
 the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the God- 
 head is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art 
 and man's devices.' Your philosophy, O Stoics ! is false. 
 God's creative energy built this magnificent universe, and 
 God's almighty power guides universal nature. Your 
 divinity, O Epicureans ! wrapt in sombre abstraction, ber 
 holding, from afar, with indifference the affairs of men, 
 is not the divinity of truth ; for we also are the offspring 
 of the .' unknown God,' and in Him we live and move 
 and have our being. Your religion, O priests ! is false, 
 and your shrines and splendid temples, and statues of 
 marbles and bronze and gold, glittering with precious 
 stones, graven by art and man's device, are but a mock- 
 ery ; for this unknown God, who built the heavens and 
 the earth, and who sustaineth all things by the might of 
 His power, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. 
 Turn, then, O priests and philosophers ! from your idol- 
 atry and philosophy io this unknown God whom ye 
 
124: LIFE OF GENERAL MITOHEL. 
 
 ignorantly worship ; repent, for He hath appointed a day 
 in which He will judge the world in righteousness. 
 
 " What response could pagan philosophy or pagan 
 idolatry make to this appeal of the Christian hero ; and 
 what response can modern philosophy make this day to 
 the same appeal ? God has breathed into our nostrils the 
 breath of life, and man has become a living soul. Say 
 what we may, we are the offspring of God, and as His 
 children we are the heirs of immortality ; we may defy 
 the Omnipotent and incur His frown, which withers our 
 very being ; or we may bring our hearts and souls in 
 unison with God's holiness, and under His beneficent 
 smile be filled with joy and happiness inexpressible and 
 full of glory ? 
 
 " God hath given us the power to scan the universe, to 
 detect its laws, to learn its stupendous organization, to 
 lift the soul of man nearer to His divine presence. 
 Where shall the guilty find a refuge? Surely not in 
 the iron the adamantine laws of physical nature. Sup- 
 pose it were possible to endow one of these flying worlds 
 the earth we inhabit with a will and a rational soul ; 
 and the earth, now an independent, thinking, willing 
 being, should rise in rebellion against the laws of God's 
 control, and refuse longer to obey. The rebellious planet 
 exclaims, Let the sun attract me never so much, I care 
 not for his heat, his light, his life ; I refuse to reciprocate 
 the attraction : I have a power of will supreme, my des- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 125 
 
 tiny is my own ! And thus the fatal decision is made. 
 Slowly the rebel world wheels at each revolution, farther 
 and yet farther from the great centre of life and light. 
 In spiral circuit it separates farther and still farther from 
 its wonted path, till finally, cold and darkness and a com- 
 ing death begin to assert their empire over the misguided 
 world. With a start of horror and a shudder which 
 shakes it to the very centre, it now wakes from its dream 
 of independence and exclaims, I will return ! I will re- 
 turn ! Alas ! the return is impossible. The laws of 
 nature are irrevocable. The sun may yet attract with 
 living power the lost wanderer, but the bond is broken, 
 the equilibrium is forever destroyed, and this rebel planet 
 must become a wandering star, for which is reserved the 
 blackness of darkness forever ! 
 
 " No, my friends ; the analogies of nature, applied 
 to the moral government of God, would crush all hope in 
 the sinful soul. There, for millions of ages, these stern 
 laws have reigned supreme. There is no deviation, no 
 modification, no yielding to the refractory or disobedient. 
 All is harmony, because all is obedience. Close forever, 
 if you will, this strange book, claiming to be God's reve- 
 lation blot out forever its lessons of God's creative 
 power, God's superabundant providence, God's father- 
 hood and loving guardianship to man his erring offspring, 
 and then unseal the leaves of that mighty volume which 
 the finger of God has written in the stars of heaven, and in 
 
126 LIFE OF GENERAL HITCHEL. 
 
 these flashing letters of light, we read only the dread sen- 
 tence, c The soul that sinneth it shall surely die ! ' " 
 
 In 1847 the astronomer was appointed Adjutant-Gen- 
 eral of the State of Ohio, an office he held two years 
 This position placed him on the Governor's staff, and 
 gave him charge of the military business of the State. 
 His education at West Point had fitted him to fill it well. 
 He was also at one time a member of the Board of Visit- 
 ors annually selected for the examinations at the Military 
 Academy. He belonged to the Royal Academy of Lon- 
 don, and received the honors of other institutions. 
 
 During all the years of building, teaching, and travel, 
 the astronomer had also been a brilliant inventor. His 
 most wonderful invention was the Declinometer. It would 
 be difficult, until you study astronomy with a good tele- 
 scope, to make you understand it. The use of it was to 
 get the position of the stars and number them. Scientific 
 men affirm, " that there is no other known method equal to 
 it for rapidity and accuracy in the cataloguing of stars" 
 It is a beautiful contrivance. 
 
 Another curious invention was nice machinery which 
 made a clock record its beats, or each pendulum swing 
 work the telegraph, just as the finger of the operator does 
 in sending a message. The motions of the mechanism 
 were so delicate that "the assistance of the spider was 
 invoked." His slender web moved a wire cross, which 
 was raised and then dipped into quicksilver once every 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 127 
 
 second for more than three years I Much longer might 
 the silken harness have raised the wire sixty times a min- 
 ute, or half a million of times in a year, had it been let 
 alone. 
 
 Look at that clock with Professor Mitchel's attach- 
 ment. Tick, tick, it goes ; up and down, the cross held 
 by the web, swings ; and dot, dot, on the paper, is the 
 work of a little pointer. The clock keeps time, and works 
 its own telegraph with the precision of the living man 
 over his machine. 
 
 Various and extraordinary improvements were added, 
 until the automaton operator became one of the most per- 
 fect machines ever created by human skill. It seems as 
 if a soul were somewhere in it ; such are the wonders of 
 creative genius ! 
 
 In 1852 he commenced the publication of the Sidereal 
 Messenger^ the first paper which ever came from the 
 American press devoted to the stars. But there was 
 then too Iktle interest in the bright worlds above our 
 own to sustain the beautiful messenger of his obser- 
 vations the gathered rays of knowledge which came 
 from the spheres to his mind in the " watches of the 
 night." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Professor Mitchel called to Albany Makes a War Speech Thrilling Anecdote 
 related by Mm Intense Enthusiasm His influence at Albany What ia 
 the use of Observatories ? The largest Telescope A Poet's Hymn. 
 
 the summer of 1860, the finished professor, engi- 
 neer, railroad president, and financier, was called 
 to be a peacemaker in the cause he loved. General 
 Stephen Van Rensselaer, following the example of 
 Mr. Longworth, offered several acres of highland 
 near the city of Albany for the site of an observatory. 
 Mrs. Blandina Dudley, a wealthy lady there, gave 
 $13,000 toward a building. Other individuals, of means 
 increased the amount to $25,000. 
 
 Professor Mitchel furnished the plan of the edifice, 
 which was commenced in 1853. It was completed in 
 less than three years, and named after the principal donor 
 the Dudley Observatory. But the selfish aims and dis- 
 position to quarrel, which have ruined the peace of fami- 
 lies, churches, and nations, unsettled the management, 
 and threatened the success of the splendid enterprise. 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 129 
 
 While negotiating with the directors, whose call was 
 urgent, he happened to be in New York May 20th, 1860, 
 when the great mass meeting assembled in Union Square, 
 because rebel cannon had hurled defiance at the Stars and 
 Stripes. Hundreds of boys, with thousands of men, on 
 that signal day, in long processions poured into the ample 
 area, now in the heart of the city. Banners were waved 
 over the throngs, and fluttered from unnumbered win- 
 dows. Platforms festooned with flags, bands of music, 
 and wildly-beating hearts, were under the shadow of 
 Washington's Equestrian Statue. 
 
 Hearken to the eloquent voices that ring out upon the 
 ears of the eager multitude. 
 
 The venerable Gardiner Spring, D.D., of the Old 
 Brick Church, made the opening prayer after a few pa- 
 triotic remarks the keynote of the grand occasion. 
 
 Hon. John A. Dix was chosen president. Among the 
 nearly one hundred vice-presidents were William B. Astor, 
 Esq., W. C. Bryant, the poet-editor, K. B. Minturn, and 
 Henry Grinnell, the merchant princes, with many distin- 
 guished citizens from all the professions and business cen- 
 tres of the great metropolis. 
 
 The President made an eloquent speech. When he 
 alluded to the gallant defence of Fort Sumter by General 
 Anderson, who was present, and pointed to the tattered 
 flag which waved over the hundred men while several 
 thousand rebels opened upon the fortress, the very statue 
 6* 
 
130 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 of Washington seemed to rock before such a storm of 
 cheering as never went up around it before. 
 
 The Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson followed with a thrill- 
 ing appeal. Of the peculiar and mournful character of 
 the war, he said : " The most brilliant successes that ever 
 attended the field of battle could afford me no pleasure ; 
 because I cannot but reflect that of every one who falls 
 in this unnatural strife, be it on one side or the other, we 
 must in our sober moments exclaim : 
 
 Another sword has laid him low, 
 
 Another, and another's ; 
 And every hand that dealt a blow 
 
 Ah, me ! it was a brother's. 
 
 But we are called upon to act. It is a time when the 
 people should rise in the majesty of their might, and 
 stretch forth their strong arms and silence the angry 
 waves of tumult. It is a question between union and 
 anarchy between law and disorder. It should be, ' Our 
 country, our whole country, and nothing but the country.' 
 
 " * "Tis not the whole of life to live, 
 Nor all of death to die.' " 
 
 The next address was a glowing, stirring burst of elo- 
 quence by the lamented, brave, noble General Baker of 
 Oregon. He was in the Mexican war at the storming of 
 Cerro Gordo's bloody heights, and fell, you recollect, 
 at Ball's Bluff a sacrifice to a military blunder. I 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 131 
 
 will give you a single passage of his impassioned speech, 
 which moved the vast throng as the tempest bows the 
 forest before its breath : 
 
 " I am not here now to speak timorous words of 
 peace, but to kindle the spirit of manly, determined war. 
 I speak in the midst of the Empire State, amid scenes of 
 past suffering and past glory ; the defences of the Hudson 
 above me ; the battle-field of Long Island before me ; and 
 the statue of "Washington in my very face ; the battered 
 and unconquered flag of Sumter waving in his hands, 
 which I can almost now imagine trembles with the ex- 
 citement of battle." 
 
 The torn banner of Sumter was placed on the statue. 
 
 Passing by the speeches of Caleb Lyon, ex-Governor 
 Hunt, and others, we come to the scene around Professor 
 Mitchel in front of the Everett House. No speaker could 
 make all of the immense and excited throng hear his 
 voice. And at this spot was organized another meeting, 
 of which ex-Governor Fish was President. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Vinton, of the Episcopal Church, opened 
 it with an impressive prayer, of which the following words 
 related especially to the country : 
 
 " O God, we have heard with our ears and our fathers 
 have declared unto us the noble works thou didst in their 
 days, and in the old time, before them. Let the shield 
 of thy omnipotent care be extended over the United 
 States of America, to defend the Constitution, and to 
 
132 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 perfect the union of the people. Inspire the people with 
 a spirit to think and to do that which is right. Thou 
 hast proclaimed throughout the land 'Prepare war, 
 wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw 
 near, let them come up, beat your ploughshares into 
 swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears let the 
 weak say I am strong.' A loving patriotism has yielded 
 the pride and treasures of the family to protect the State. 
 May Thy Spirit descend upon the great congregation of 
 Thy people. Inspire the orators to speak the truth in 
 love, and bow our hearts in obedience to duty as Chris- 
 tians and fellow-citizens, as loyalists and patriots, as sin- 
 ners saved in a common salvation through Jesus Christ, 
 to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be praise 
 now and forever. Amen." 
 
 The Governor, Hiram Ketcham, and Henry J. Ray- 
 mond, editor of the New York Times, addressed the mul- 
 titude. An extract from the brilliant oration of the latter 
 contains a fine anecdote of General Anderson : 
 
 " I heard an anecdote to-day from Major Anderson 
 (cheers for Anderson) which may interest you, and at the 
 same time illustrate this position. During the attack on 
 Fort Sumter, a report came here that the flag on the 
 morning of the. fight was half-mast. I asked him if that 
 was true, and he said there was not a word of truth in 
 the report. He said that during the firing one of the hal- 
 yards was shot away, and the flag in consequence dropped 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 133 
 
 down a few feet. The rope caught in the staff, and could 
 not be reached, so that the flag could not be either lowered 
 or hoisted ; and, said the Major, ; God Almighty nailed 
 that flag to the flagmast, and I could not haye lowered it 
 if I tried.' (Immense cheering.) Yes, fellow-citizens, 
 God Almighty has nailed that resplendent flag to its mast, 
 and if the South dares to inarch upon Washington, they 
 will find that that cannot be taken down. No ! they will 
 find that that sacred sword which defends and strikes for 
 human rights that sword which Cromwell wielded, and 
 which our fathers brought into the contest, and which 
 made us a nation will be taken once more from its scab- 
 bard to fight the battle of liberty against rebellion and 
 treason." 
 
 No tones of patriotic fervor and stirring oratory 
 awaken a deeper echo, or come from a loftier, purer 
 soul, than those that fell from the lips of Professor 
 Mitchel. If you did not listen to them, read the burn- 
 ing words that thrilled the populace : 
 
 " I know that I am a stranger among you. ('No, 
 no.') I have been in your State but a little while ; but I 
 am with you in heart, and soul, and -mind, and strength ; 
 and all that I have, and am, belongs to you and our com- 
 mon country, and to nothing else. I have been announced 
 to you as a citizen of Kentucky. Once I was, because I 
 was born there. I love my native State as you love your 
 native State. I love my adopted State of Ohio as you 
 
134 LITE OF GENERAL MITCHEL 
 
 love your adopted State, if such you have ; but, my friends, 
 I am a citizen now of any State. I owe allegiance to no 
 State, and never did, and, God helping me, I never will. 
 I owe allegiance to the Government of the United States. 
 
 " I did not abjure the love of my own State, or of my 
 adopted State ; but over all that rose proudly, triumphant, 
 and predominant, my love for our common country. And 
 now, to-day, that common country is assailed, and alas ! 
 that I am compelled to say it, it is assailed in some sense 
 by my own countrymen. My father and my mother 
 were from old Virginia, and my brothers and sisters from 
 old Kentucky. I love them all ; I love them dearly. I 
 have my brothers and friends down in the South now, 
 united to me by the fondest ties of love and affection. I 
 would take them into my arms to-day with all the love 
 God has put into my heart ; but if I found them in arms, 
 I would be compelled to smite them down. (Great cheer- 
 ing-) 
 
 " You have found officers of the army who have been 
 educated by the Government, who have drawn their sup- 
 port from the Government for long years, who, when 
 called upon by their country to stand for the Constitution 
 and the right, have basely, ignominiously, and traitor- 
 ously, either resigned their commissions or deserted to 
 traitors, rebels, and enemies. The traitors and rebels 
 North, and the traitors at the South, we must set aside. 
 They are not our friends. When they come to their senses 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 135 
 
 we will receive them with open arms ; but till that time, 
 while they are trailing our glorious banner in the dust, 
 when they scorn it, condemn it, curse it, and trample it 
 under foot, then I must smite. 
 
 " My friends, that is the spirit that was in the city 
 yesterday. I was told of an incident which occurred that 
 drew the tears to my eyes, and I am not much used to 
 the melting mood at all. A man in your city had a be- 
 loved wife and two children depending upon his personal 
 labor day by day for their support. He met her and said : 
 4 Wife, I feel it my duty to enlist and fight for my coun- 
 try.* Said she, ' That's just what I have been thinking 
 of, too ; God bless you ! and may you come back without 
 harm ! But if you die in the defence of the country, the 
 God of the widow and the fatherless will take care of me 
 and my children.' That same wife came to your city. 
 She knew precisely when her husband was to pass as he 
 marched away. She took her position on the pavement, 
 and, finding a flag, she begged leave just to stand beneath 
 its sacred folds, and take a last fond look on him whom 
 she possibly might never see again. The husband marched 
 down the street; their eyes met; a sympathetic flash 
 went from heart to heart ; she gave one shout and fell to 
 the pavement, and there she lay for not less than thirty 
 minutes in a swoon. It seemed to be the departing of her 
 life. But all the sensibility was sealed up. It was all 
 sacrifice. She was willing to meet the tremendous sacri- 
 
136 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 fice upon which we have entered. And I trust you all 
 are ready. Lead me to the conflict. Into that I am 
 ready to go. I care not where duty calls me, I ara 
 ready. God help me to do my duty. In God's name I 
 will smite, and as long as I have strength to do it. (En- 
 thusiastic cheering.) Oh listen to me, listen to me ! I 
 know these men ; I know their courage ; I have been 
 among them ; I have been with them. They have 
 courage, and do not pretend to think that they have 
 not. I tell you what it is, it is no child's play you are 
 entering upon. They will fight with a determination and 
 a power well nigh irresistible ; make up your mind to it. 
 Let every man put his life in his hand, and say : ' There 
 is the altar of my country, there I will sacrifice my life/ 
 (Wildest cheering.) I am ready to fight in the ranks or 
 out of the ranks. Having been educated at West Point, 
 having been in the army seven years, having served as a 
 commander of a volunteer company ten years, and having 
 served as an adjutant-general, I feel I am ready for some- 
 thing. I only ask to be permitted to act ; and, in God's 
 name, give me something to do" 
 
 You cannot well imagine the effect of this glorious 
 appeal. The throng around the stand waved their hats, 
 shouted, and not a few wept with the intensity of emotion. 
 The orator could have led the entire multitude to any field 
 of conflict at that moment. The stranger went on his 
 way. Smothering the fire in his soul he repaired to his 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 137 
 
 watchtower in the capital of the empire State, because 
 there was then his post of duty. His patient spirit, which 
 resolved at the beginning of the labors for observatories, 
 never to get angry, calmed the strife. Soon the intellect- 
 ual and moral atmosphere of his presence pervaded the 
 new sphere of his rare abilities. His eagle eye was on 
 the same heavens at night on which he had gazed from 
 the college tower and the heights near Cincinnati. In 
 the Church of God, and everywhere, his influence was 
 benign and cheering as the morning light. 
 
 " And what is the real benefit of observatories ? What 
 good do they do ?" you may ask, reader ; for the question 
 has been asked by men of wealth and influence. Pro- 
 fessor Mitchel had to answer it countless times. I will 
 give you three great advantages to the people : 
 
 They give accurate time. The best clocks are kept in 
 them ; and errors, if any, in beating the seconds, are cor- 
 rected daily by the instruments for the purpose. 
 
 In Greenwich, England, there is a curious contrivance 
 to keep the public " posted" on time. On a turret of the 
 Royal Observatory there is a mast, like a large flagstaff. 
 On it slides a ball made of wood and covered with leather 
 fifteen feet in circumference. A little before one o'clock 
 each day that ball is raised to the top of the mast. Precisely 
 at one o'clock, by the corrected time, down goes the round 
 signal, and out come the watches, while unnumbered eyes 
 are turned to the clocks of the dwellings and offices of 
 
138 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 business. Their pointers are moved, and the people 
 around agree, for a moment at least, in time. 
 
 Nor is this the most wonderful part of the arrange- 
 ment for the benefit of the public. A clock inside of the 
 observatory, which indicates exactly the corrections of 
 time, is connected with a galvanic clock at the entrance 
 gate, and also a clock at the terminus of the Southeastern 
 Railway. It sends galvanic signals every day along the 
 principal railroads which converge in London. It drops 
 the Greenwich ball, and another in the Telegraph Com- 
 pany's offices on the Strand. At Deal, the Admiralty 
 have a signal for the benefit of the mariners. 
 
 Just think of it. If the time at the Observatory, 
 measured by the unerring stars, is a minute too fast or 
 too slow, the clockwork tells the fact to the galvanic time- 
 keeper at the gate, and at the great railway station. And 
 then fleeter than rushing cars, go every day, the signals 
 from one depot to another. The bright worlds above 
 telegraph to the astronomer through his delicate instru- 
 ment ; he touches the mechanism his genius has con- 
 structed, and the telegraphic nerves in an instant send it 
 over tLe kingdom. 
 
 In Washington, our national capital, the ball drops at 
 twelve o'clock. 
 
 Now, my reader, when you reflect on the fact, that a 
 slight error in the sea captain's chronometer may derange 
 his calculations of latitude and longitude, and shipwreck 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 139 
 
 his vessel, how important to him is an observatory, and 
 to you if, with the travelling thousands, you are on the 
 deep ! Then remember that a mistake of a few seconds 
 may bring a collision on the railroad, and kill a score or 
 more of passengers and how important appears the true 
 time to all the conductors on the iron-paved highway ! 
 And similar provisions for safety might be made in every 
 country, state, and province. 
 
 Another advantage of observatories, is the economy as 
 well as security, of our commerce. Were it not for the 
 labors of astronomers, our ships, as of old, would have to 
 creep along the shores, afraid to traverse the faithless 
 ocean. The shortest routes from one port to another could 
 not be taken ; disasters would be increased, and boundless 
 wealth which now comes over the blue main, would re- 
 main unsought, unknown. 
 
 There is yet another sublime reason for erecting and 
 furnishing on a large scale, and in greater number, astro- 
 nomical observatories. It is the- education which they 
 furnish. They benefit the humbler institutions of learn- 
 ing. Wherever there is such a watchtower of the skies, 
 the general intelligence will be increased. The higher 
 learning will come down on the lower sphere of culture, 
 and tend to elevate it. 
 
 You cannot look up to the observatory without being 
 reminded of the wonders of the firmament, and of Him 
 who bent that arch. Much less can you ascend its stair- 
 
140 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 way and look through its telescope, which', with its har- 
 ness, weighs tons, upon the flaming islands floating upon 
 " airy nothing," without purer, wiser thoughts. 
 
 The largest telescope in this country is now, I believe, 
 in Cambridge, Mass. The finest in the world was built 
 and is owned by Earl William Parsons Rosse, of Birr 
 Castle, Kings County, Ireland. He erected the Cb- 
 servatory on his grounds in 1844. The grand telescope 
 cost sixty thousand dollars. The tube is six feet in the 
 opening, and the whole weighs six thousand pounds. It 
 has the most powerful reflector known, prepared by a new 
 method, the invention of Lord Rosse. Several years were 
 required for building the wonderful instrument. It re- 
 veals stars and inequalities in the moon, which can be 
 seen by no other telescope. The noble granite pile 
 which supports it, the tackle for raising and adjusting it, 
 are unsurpassed, and were created from the resources of 
 his own abundant wealth. Should you visit the British 
 empire, and- get a view of the blazing orbs through 
 this monster telescope, you would not soon forget the 
 scene. 
 
 Before we leave the astronomical career of Professor 
 Mitchel, I must add a few stanzas from a poem suggested 
 by celestial scenery. It is the finest, to my knowledge, 
 in any language. It was appreciated by none more than 
 the devout Mitchel. The author, Derzhaven, was a Rus- 
 sian. He had gazed upon the luminous heavens from his 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 141 
 
 northern home, where they flash and burn as nowhere 
 else so brightly. 
 
 The clear cold air gives the stars a singular bright- 
 ness. The auroral splendor at times seems like a hundred 
 crimson banners bordered and tinged with purple, green, 
 and gold, waving in the sky ! The Great Bear, and all tho 
 grand constellations circling around the Pole Star, make 
 the dome of the north an object of surpassing grandeur 
 and beauty. It is the inspiration of such a view of the 
 divine power and glory which breathes in the magnificent 
 hymn to 
 
 THE DEITT. 
 
 tliou Eternal One ! whose presence bright 
 All space doth occupy, all motion guide ; 
 Unchanged through times all devastating flight ; 
 Thou only God ! There is no God beside ! 
 Being above all beings ! Mighty One ! 
 Whom none can comprehend, and none explore j 
 Who fill'st existence with thyself alone : 
 Embracing all supporting ruling o'er 
 Being whom we call God and know no more ! 
 
 As sparks mount upward from the fiery blaze, 
 
 So suns are born ; so worlds spring forth from thee : 
 
 And as the spangles in the sunny rays 
 
 Shine round the silver snow, the pageantry 
 
 Of heav'n's bright armies glitters hi thy praise. 
 
 A million torches lighted by thy hand, 
 Wander unwearied through the blue abyss : 
 
14:2 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 They own thy power, accomplish thy command, 
 All gay with life, all eloquent with bliss. 
 What shall we call them ? Piles of crystal light, 
 A glorious company of golden streams, 
 Lamps of celestial ether, burning bright, 
 Suns lighting systems with their joyous beams ? 
 But thou, to these, art as the noon to night ! 
 
 Yes, as a drop of water in the sea, 
 
 All this magnificence hi thee is lost ! 
 
 What are ten thousand worlds compared to thee ? 
 
 And what am I, then ? Heav'n's unnumbered host, 
 
 Though multiplied by myriads, and arrayed 
 
 In all the glory of sublimest thought, 
 
 Is but an atom hi the balance weight 
 
 Against thy greatness is a cipher brought 
 
 Against infinity I What am I, then ? Naught I 
 
 Naught ! But the affluence of thy light divine, 
 Pervading worlds, hath reached my bosom too ; 
 Yes, in my spirit, doth thy Spirit shine, 
 As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Preparations for Conflict The attempt to Assassinate the President-elect 
 The Secret History of the Inauguration The Commencement of Hostilities. 
 
 EFOKE I introduce the splendid astronomer to 
 your admiration under the starry banner of 
 the country which he loved, I will take you 
 back to the scenes which called him from his 
 observatory and charts, dearer to him than all 
 other material objects, excepting the Bible, his family, 
 and the republic. If not a platform reformer, his great 
 heart beat true to God and humanity. From his loving 
 gaze into the star-sown fields of ether, he looked anxiously 
 over the troubled land whose political campaign in the 
 autumn of 1860 had stirred, as no other had, the tides of 
 national feeling. Nor had he forgotten the scenes in 
 Union Square, New York, during the previous May. 
 
 For long years the South had been preparing for a 
 conflict with the North. The claim of the former to 
 superior blood, the determination to preserve and extend 
 
144 LIFE OF GENEEAL MTTOHEL. 
 
 slavery, and the desire to have a nationality in accord- 
 ance with these ideas, had for many years been gaining 
 strength and influence in the cotton States. The election 
 of Abraham Lincoln, the " Black Republican," as the 
 majority of the people who elected him were called, be- 
 cause of their hostility to American slavery, was a signal 
 for revolt and revolution. 
 
 All the winter succeeding the hour when the people's 
 choice was known, were heard the mutterings of discon- 
 tent, and seen the preparations for resistance to the in- 
 coming administration. Grifted, but evil-minded men in 
 Congress, and even in the President's cabinet, went frown- 
 ing to and from the national capital. They met in secret 
 council, and with fiery looks and speech talked over a dis- 
 solution of the Union- in other words, death to the Re- 
 public. 
 
 The infamous Floyd, Secretary of War, resigned, and 
 the Hon. Joseph Holt took his place, who at once began 
 to look after the defences of Washington. It was then 
 we heard the hypocritical cry, " No coercion ! no coer- 
 cion ! " That is to say, let us alone in our treasonable 
 designs. 
 
 I shall refresh your memory of a few stirring events 
 of that winter, because they not only thrilled the heart of 
 Professor Mitchel, and suffused his eye with tears of 
 grieving loyalty while fixed on the stars in the field of his 
 telescope, but in their consequences cost him his useful life. 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 145 
 
 In Charleston harbor, near the city where secession 
 had its birth in formal action, a few months before, stood 
 the forts, Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, Castle Pinckney, 
 and rising in massive grandeur and mounting one hundred 
 and forty guns, Suniter. Major R. Anderson had been 
 compelled, by the signs of attack, to leave Moultrie for 
 Sumter, a much stronger fortress. 
 
 The first thing, after he had entered the fort with his 
 eighty brave soldiers, " Major Anderson assembled the 
 whole of his little force, with the workmen employed on 
 the fort, around the foot of the flagstaff. The national 
 ensign was attached to the cord, and Major Anderson, 
 holding the ends of the lines in his hands, knelt reverent- 
 ly down. The officers, soldiers, and men clustered around, 
 many of them on their knees, all deeply impressed with 
 the solemnity of the scene. The chaplain made an earnest 
 prayer such an appeal for support, encouragement, and 
 mercy, as one would make who felt that ' man's extrem- 
 ity is God's opportunity.' As the earnest, solemn words 
 of the speaker ceased, and the men responded amen, with 
 a fervency that perhaps they had never before experienced, 
 Major Anderson drew the ; Star Spangled Banner' up to 
 the top of the staff, the band broke out with the national 
 air, ' Hail Columbia,' and loud and exultant cheers, re- 
 peated again and again, were given by officers, soldiers, 
 and workmen. If South Carolina had at that moment 
 attacked the fort, there would have been no hesitation 
 7 
 
146 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 upon the part of any man within it about defending tnat 
 flag." 
 
 President Buchanan was perplexed and timid ; the 
 rebels in earnest, and fearless. An unarmed steamer, 
 the " Star of the "West," went with supplies to Fort Suin- 
 ter. Upon approaching it, the first guns of the war thun- 
 dered defiance at the steamer which carried only food for 
 hungry men. This was early on the morning of January 
 9th, 1861. A wave of indignation swept over the land, 
 and that was all : a cowardly hand was at the helm of 
 the dishonored Ship of State. Government vessels were 
 seized, sometimes surrendered at the mere demand of 
 traitors, whose ordinance of secession had been passed at 
 Charleston three months before. But brightly shone the 
 loyalty of others. 
 
 When the " Alabama Navy " commanded Lieutenant 
 Maffit to surrender the Crusader, his noble scorn was ex- 
 pressed in these words : " I may be overpowered, but in 
 that event what will be left of the Crusader will not be 
 worth taking" He got away with his vessel. 
 
 Captain Porter was ordered in February to strike his 
 colors to South Carolina. From his ship, the St. Mary's, 
 at Panama Bay, he wrote the following sublimely fearless 
 reply : " All under my command are true and loyal to 
 the ' Stars and Stripes/ and to the Constitution. My 
 duty is plain before me. The constitutional Government 
 of the United States has entrusted me with the command 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 14/T 
 
 of this beautiful ship, and before I will permit any other 
 flag than the ' Stars and Stripes ' to fly at her peak, I 
 will fire a pistol into her magazine and blow her up. 
 This is my answer to the infamous proposition." 
 
 February llth, Abraham Lincoln gave his fellow- 
 citizens at the railroad depot, Springfield, Illinois, the 
 following impressive farewell, worthy of the newly-elected 
 ruler of a great nation threatened by rebellion : 
 
 " My friends ! No one not in my position can appre- 
 ciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I 
 owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quar- 
 ter of a century. Here my children were born, and here 
 one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall 
 see you again. A duty devolves on me which is perhaps 
 greater than that which has been devolved npon any other 
 man since the days of Washington. He would never ^ 
 have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, 
 upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot 
 succeed without the same divine aid which sustained him. 
 In the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for sup- 
 port, and I hope you, my friends, will pray that I may 
 receive that divine assistance, without which I cannot 
 succeed, but with which success is certain. Again I bid 
 you all an affectionate farewell." 
 
 At Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, and other 
 cities along his route, echoing bells, booming cannon, 
 and other demonstrations of enthusiastic joy, greeted him. 
 
14:8 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 At Buffalo, he passed under the flag of the Young Men's 
 Christian Association bearing the inscription, " We will 
 pray for you." After similar receptions at Albany, New 
 York, and Philadelphia, he reached Harrisburg. 
 
 Here it became evident, beyond a reasonable doubt, 
 that a conspiracy existed to assassinate Mr. Lincoln, and 
 to prevent his inauguration. The plot was ripened in 
 Baltimore. An Italian, a barber, it was afterward re- 
 ported and believed, was to pluck the fruit. He was to 
 see that the fatal blow was given amid the confusion of 
 the riot, when the train in which the President-elect was 
 expected, arrived. A railroad official promptly planned 
 .an escape from the peril. The few friends who were in 
 the secret approved of it. A carriage was ordered, Mr. 
 Lincoln stepped into it with his unofficial escort ; and with 
 an order given to the driver to cast no backward look, he 
 was carried to another point of departure, reaching Bal- 
 timore by way of Philadelphia before the arrival of the 
 cars he had intended to take. The conspirators were not 
 , looking for him, and of course were foiled in their fiendish 
 purpose. The object of their hate passed on safely to 
 Washington. Saturday, February 23d, when the train 
 bearing Mrs. Lincoln without her husband reached Bal- 
 timore, the mob in a rage were compelled to give up the 
 search for their victim. 
 
 This fact, with others which I shall narrate, were re- 
 lated by Adjutant-General Thomas, who has so nobly 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 149 
 
 carried out the President's proclamation of freedom to the 
 enslaved. He has for many years been the superintendent 
 of a Sabbath-school in Georgetown, near Washington, 
 and speaks of it with more interest than of his military 
 honors. 
 
 General Scott was at the head of the United States 
 Army, and General Thomas was then his adjutant. 
 Standing by the side of the chief, it was his respon- 
 sibility to act under him in preparing for the next at- 
 tempt to put Mr. Lincoln out of the way, which was to 
 be at the inauguration. It is not the place to tell you all 
 this quiet work of the hours before the 4th of March, 
 1861. How the armed men were drilled, and assigned 
 their positions ; the cannon placed at the commanding 
 points around the capitol, and "shotted;" and then, 
 when the congressional halls were filled, how, putting off 
 his military dress for a plain citizen's apparel, General 
 Thomas went among the people there to feel the excited 
 pulse, and learn, if possible, what to expect. 
 
 But you know that the day wore away peacefully. 
 The President's oath was taken ; silence wrapped the late 
 night in Washington with no tragedy to mar its peace. 
 Soon came the scenes of Forts Moultrie and Sumter ; the 
 uprising of the people ; and the murder of Massachusetts 
 soldiers in Baltimore April 19th, the anniversary of the 
 first blood-shedding in the Revolutionary struggle eighty- 
 five years before, in Lexington, Massachusetts. Unless 
 
150 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 you recollect the state of feeling then, you cannot imagine 
 the depth and intense excitement of the national indig- 
 nation. It reminded one of the story of a Scotch noble- 
 man who drew long iron bars across a deep mountain 
 gorge to make a harp for the storm. The morning and 
 evening breeze passed over those gigantic strings with no 
 answering sound. But when the tempest swept down 
 from the mountains and darkened the heavens, then the 
 metallic chords vibrated to the wild strokes of the storm, 
 and filled all the region with strange, wild music. 
 
 The nation's heart is not easily moved ; but when that 
 terrible outburst of treasonable passion reached it, the 
 loud and thrilling tones of patriotism went over the land, 
 ringing back upon the traitorous throng the death-notes of 
 a doom which has made a graveyard of the South. We 
 will add a strain or two of the free North's battle songs : 
 
 " The streets our soldier-fathers trod 
 
 Blushed with their children's gore ; 
 We saw the craven ruler's nod, 
 And dip in blood the civic rod 
 Shall such things be, righteous God, 
 In Baltimore ? 
 
 " Bow down, in haste, thy guilty head ! 
 
 God's wrath is swift and sure ! 
 The sky with gathering bolts is red 
 Cleanse from thy skirts the slaughter-red 
 Or make thyself an ashen bed 
 
 Oh! Baltimore! 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mitcbel enters the Field Goes to Cincinnati Takes Care of the City Raises 
 Volunteers Visited by the Secretary of War Noble Words The Sad 
 Failure General Mitchel's sources of Power over Men "Old Stars" Hia 
 pure Ambition. 
 
 )HE summer spread its harvest glories over the 
 earth and our national anniversary passed with 
 sobered rejoicing. Then the terrible battle of 
 Bull Run, July 21st, thrilled afresh the popular 
 heart, when God vindicated his Sabbath law in 
 our defeat, who opened the engagement. 
 
 In August the successful bombardment of Forts Hat- 
 teras and Clark by General Butler of the land forces, and 
 Commodore Stringham of the navy, cheered our despond- 
 ency. The late summer season found the professor's pur- 
 pose matured of entering the arena of conflict. He had 
 read, and thought, and prayed, till the pure orbs above, 
 to his eye, were hidden behind the darkening war-cloud, 
 bidding him to go where its bolts were falling upon his 
 countrymen in arms. He offered his services to the Gov- 
 
152 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 eminent, feeling, with General Grant, that his military 
 education at "West Point had created a special claim to 
 them, and given him the peculiar advantage of preparation 
 for the field. The commission of brigadier-general of 
 volunteers was dated August 9th, 1861. 
 
 This is loyalty preferring _to suffer with the country 
 for its redemption, than enjoy in peaceful employments 
 the blessings it confers. How base and wicked, in con- 
 trast, appears the disloyalty of the fault-finding lovers of 
 ease, and friends of the oppressor ! 
 
 By a singular, perhaps a designed coincidence, the 
 general was placed in command of the Department of the 
 Ohio, with his headquarters at Cincinnati, the theatre 
 of his first great scientific achievements. It was no com- 
 mon struggle of feeling when he turned from the home 
 which was ever his earthly paradise, and the tower of 
 celestial observations, to the distant latitude of his former 
 brilliant career in the walks of science and business, soon 
 to make the solitary tent and the battle-plain his abode 
 and circle of activity. The farewell words were spoken ; 
 the strong Christian heart beat tenderly, but firmly ; and 
 away he hastened to the banks of the Ohio. The world 
 did not know the greatness of the sacrifice made by one 
 large and loving heart. When Mrs. Mitchel gave him 
 up, she gave all, and soon laid down herself to 'die. 
 
 The professor returned to the very shadow of his 
 Observatory, to assume the chieftain's post of duty for 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 153 
 
 the same country of his love and labors. How different 
 now his employment ! Hiding from one side of the city to 
 another, he carefully surveys all the approaches to the 
 beautiful town lying on the banks of the Ohio, with the 
 green rich slopes of terraced hills behind it. There was 
 no city in the Union which he would have so fondly 
 watched as this. It was endeared to him by the external 
 loveliness of its position and proportions, the rewarded 
 toils of the past, and the residences of munificent " mer- 
 chant princes," who had generously aided him in his 
 struggles. Redoubts went up under his vigilant hand, 
 and lines of defence were laid out to meet any raid of the 
 enemy, who threatened all the important points within 
 striking distance of their arms. This forethought, and 
 the readiness to meet any assault, which it secured, 
 strengthened the mutual affection between liim and the 
 intelligent, appreciative people of the western metropolis, 
 and had much to do with warding off the blow which the 
 foe desired, but feared to give. 
 
 You will recollect that a few weeks before General 
 Mitchel was ordered to the West, General Grant was 
 placed in command of Cairo and the district extending 
 from Cape Girardeau to New Madrid ; and that, find- 
 ing the assumed and absurd as well as wicked neutrality 
 of Kentucky broken by the rebel occupation of Co- 
 lumbus and Bowling Green, he sent a few of the "boys" 
 to Paducah, at the mouth of the Tennessee, and also to 
 7* 
 
154: LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 Smithland, at the mouth of the Cumberland, blockadin 
 those rivers. Still it was not certain which side in th 
 civil war the State would take. The prospect was tha 
 the secession frenzy would seize the majority of the pec 
 pie, and hurl it into the chaos of revolt. 
 
 It was at this crisis that General Mitchel looked ove 
 the field into which he had entered, and resolved to mak 
 an effort to save Kentucky and Tennessee to the Unior 
 This result was desirable on many accounts. One was 
 border State, naturally allied to the North ; and the re 
 sources both furnished for the support of our army, wer 
 considerable. The attachment to slavery in the forme 
 was not so intense as in the cotton States, and it wa 
 washed by the rivers of the great West. 
 
 General Mitchel therefore ardently engaged in the ei 
 listment and organization of troops for the Kentuck 
 shore. Could you have seen him in the " Queen City, 
 where he had stirred the popular heart with his eloquei 
 flights among the stars, and toiled with brain, heart, an 
 frame, to secure an observatory for the benefit of th 
 people, and the honor of the State on whose soil it WE 
 to stand, you would have wondered at his industry an 
 success in labors so different. 
 
 Now talking with officers, and then with the citizei 
 who could aid him, appealing to the patriotism of tl 
 young men, and superintending the mustering of the vo 
 unteers, he was the busiest worker in all the stirring cil 
 
LIFE OF GENERAi MTTCHEL. 155 
 
 and on the Kentucky border. Here they gathered on the 
 soil of the undecided State, until the force was large 
 enough to move with hope of success. His wisdom and 
 comprehensive oversight, his vigor and transparent integ- 
 rity, attracted the admiration of the intelligent observers 
 about him, and of the Government. General Mitchel 
 then asked leave to take them to the field of greatest 
 promise for the uncertain prize. The prompt, earnest, 
 heroic man is ready to confront the armies of treason. 
 His fine eye is aglow with enthusiasm, and nothing 
 clouds the open intellectual expression of his face but the 
 shadow of suspense. One day, with no messenger or tele- 
 gram to announce his coming, the Secretary of War sud- 
 denly appeared on the ground, to see what this general 
 was doing. There is excitement in the camp, and^the 
 cheerful aspect of relief in the bearing of General 
 Mitchel. Watch him walking or riding by the Secre- 
 tary's side during the hours of that visit, with animation 
 giving the details of his work and his plans, pure and sim- 
 ple-hearted as a child in his unhesitating and modest com- 
 munications. Then, turning with dignified and appealing 
 earnestness to Mr. Cameron, he said : " Mr. Secretary, 
 I should not have been able to raise these troops and pre- 
 pare them for the field by saying, ' Go boys.' But I have 
 used the language, ' Come, and I will lead you.' Now I 
 desire to keep my promise to my troops. And I solicit 
 permission to march at the head of these troops upon 
 
156 LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 Cumberland Gap, and push through, if possible, to Knos> 
 ville, and liberate East Tennessee." The privilege was 
 denied him, because the petty ambition of superior officers 
 created opposition., The country must suffer loss, and the 
 war be prolonged, rather than permit a bold and gifted 
 commander to cross the lines of their departments. The 
 Government spared no effort for conciliation and har- 
 mony. It is fearful to think of the sacrifices of life, and- 
 aggravations of the war every way, by well-intended, but 
 undeserved kindness to rebels, and shameful indulgence 
 of friends. 
 
 A few weeks later the departments of the Ohio and 
 Cumberland were united under General Buell. He was 
 distinguished for bravery in the Mexican war, and hith- 
 erto had sustained the character of a true soldier in the 
 regular army. But he was unlike General Mitchel in 
 natural qualities, early education, and habits. Though 
 born in Ohio, he was southern in his sentiments and selfish 
 in his ambition ; ready to resign his place under the flag 
 which had honored him, rather than render unconditional 
 loyalty to it. General Mitchel was assigned a command 
 under him in charge of a camp of rendezvous, with his 
 headquarters at Bacon Creek, near Louisville, Kentucky. 
 
 The' very bearing of General Mitchel won respect and 
 regard. The unmistakable manliness and goodness of 
 character, the stamp of genius on his brow and in his ex- 
 pressive eye, made their impression upon the western 
 
LIFE OF GEKEEAL MITCHEL. 157 
 
 *' boys " who gathered about him. And then the entire 
 absence of tinsel and " red tape " in his official appear- 
 ance, and the thoroughly practical energy of his earnest 
 work of preparation for service, awakened the enthu- 
 siasm of his troops. You will not forget that, truly 
 in his career, the child was father of the man. The 
 errand duties, getting astride the leader of the country- 
 men's team, and pushing his way to West Point, were 
 the outworking of the same "sleepless soul" that later 
 in life built railroads and astronomical observatories, and 
 has now girded on the sword for his native land. 
 
 There was a still higher source of power over men. 
 He was a Christian hero. Unselfish in his aims, he was 
 blameless in his example. You have heard, it may be, 
 gay persons speak of religion as a weakness ; a sad resort 
 of those who are superstitious and afraid to die. How 
 pitiful is such blindness ! Think of Washington, Foote, 
 and Mitchel, with a host of gifted men living and dead. 
 It was the sincere piety of the astronomer and com- 
 mander that fused together in a well nigh perfect, and a 
 lofty character, the native elements which lay in the 
 heart, taking from them the dross of selfishness. 
 
 The soldiers are fond of pet names for their officers, 
 expressive of their estimate of the commanders. And 
 the professor's fame was established, while his martial 
 deeds were yet to be won. Natural enough, in the 
 admiration and growing confidence felt toward him, his 
 
158 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 brilliant achievements in celestial studies, furnished the 
 familiar title. General Mitchell had not long been among 
 the troops before brave lips said something about " Old 
 Stars." It went like a fire in one of the prairies not far 
 distant, among the ranks. "Old Stars" was on every 
 tongue. He had lived in thought and study among the 
 stars, and would soon show himself equally able to gaze 
 undazzled upon the stars of military glory, and also 
 worthy to wear them. These were not his aim, for he 
 was serving under a King who held over his head a crown 
 of unfading stars ! Before Him, how mean were the 
 honors of a day 1 
 
CHAPTER XUL 
 
 General Mitchel as a Disciplinarian His Division unrivalled in Drill Proud 
 of their Chieftain Eeady for Active Service General Mitchel desires to 
 lead them to the Field Brave and Patriotic Language National Victories 
 General Mitchel breaks up Camp Fine Spectacle Splendid Marching. 
 
 E battalions under the discipline of General 
 Mitchel were called the Third Division of the 
 Army of Ohio. His headquarters were at 
 Bacon Creek, Kentucky. The genius of the 
 commander was devoted to the thorough train- 
 ing of the troops for military duty. There was nothing 
 done for show simply, but all for the attainment of the 
 highest degree of martial culture for the field. The men 
 caught the enthusiasm of their leader. They saw the 
 lofty motive, and aimed at the ideal before his compre- 
 hensive mind. 
 
 He had learned to do well whatever he deemed 
 worthy of his attention ; to make the most of himself 
 and his opportunities. His thoroughness and mastery 
 of tactics moulded the troops into a united, solid body, 
 
160 LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 
 
 wielded by his single will. The proud and heroic ranks 
 have been compared to the Old Guard of Napoleon. And 
 perhaps nowhere in the army was there a finer example 
 of perfect and merited command. It was like the hand 
 of a skilful engineer on a finished locomotive ; moving 
 to the slightest motion of the hand, with no friction or jai 
 in its movements. The difference was great, however, in 
 this : it was the supremacy of a splendid mind over ad- 
 miring and loving hearts. 
 
 -Could you have walked through the camp, or met 
 miles from it a soldier of that gallant host, and inquired 
 of him where he belonged, he would immediately have 
 answered, "-I belong to the Third Division." It was 
 honor enough to be under the command of " Old Stars." 
 All inferior authority, however cheerfully obeyed, was 
 forgotten under the sway of a master genius, regulated by 
 a large and benevolent heart. The chief and his trained 
 legions were ready and impatient for the smoke of battle. 
 The camp could do no more for them, excepting to weaken 
 their manly strength, at its highest point of preparation 
 for the red field on which they desired to test it. 
 
 Did you ever see the encampment of an army ? If 
 not, you cannot ge a perfectly correct idea of it by pic- 
 tures or description. But I will take you to that of the 
 Potomac Army as I saw it in" the winter of 1863 and '64. 
 Get with me into the cars at Washington and cross the 
 Long Bridge over the Potomac, across which have 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 161 
 
 inarched our volunteers by thousands. At Alexandria 
 you begin to see the war. Right by the track we read in 
 large letters on one side, " Soldier's Retreat ; " on the 
 other we see, as far as the eye can reach, the rows of sol- 
 diers' graves. Then for about sixty miles we ride in the 
 " U. S." train, for no others pass over the road, through 
 a desert, though on the " sacred soil" of Virginia. Fences 
 are gone, buildings burned, and the blackened chimneys 
 standing graves, dead horses, and mules, and regiments 
 of soldiers with their camps, to guard the road, arrest the 
 eye ; and over all, myriads of crows make up the scene, till 
 we get to " Brandy Station," a few miles from rebel pick- 
 ets. Soldiers line the platform as we get out. Near by is 
 a building, and around it a group of tents. One of them is 
 the office of the Christian Commission, the grandest en- 
 terprise that ever softened the savage aspect of war, and 
 cared for body and soul with motherly tenderness and 
 watchfulness. We start, satchel in hand, for the head- 
 quarters of the army, a mile away over the hill, which is 
 scarred with wheels and hoofs, and barren as the ocean 
 beach. 
 
 The first man that passes us is a chaplain on horse- 
 back, with a polite salutation. The next is. an aged negro, 
 who inquires, " Do you think the soldiers will get sixteen 
 miles below ? I ha^e a wife there in slavery." We tell 
 him yes, and pass on. The first tent, as we approach the 
 pines over the crest of the hill, is that of a daguerrean. 
 
162 
 
 LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 
 
 Then we come to a semicircular row and groups of tents 
 half a mile at least in extent. The hamlet nearest, .as wo 
 advance, is the provost-marshal-general's department. 
 There is his tent, at the end of a lane cut through the 
 pine trees, and fenced in with boughs ; and on the left 
 are the tents of his staff in a row. Let us knock at Gen- 
 eral M. R. Patrick's tent. " Come in ! " rings out from 
 the lips of the hero of Mexico and Florida, the patriot 
 and Christian, who can give a splendid lecture on Hebrew 
 poetry, or attend to the details of his immense department, 
 with its post office for two hundred thousand men, prison 
 for rebels, hospital, &c. 
 
 We pass on to General Meade's headquarters, about 
 midway in the curved line of tents. He is absent ; but 
 there sits the gallant, lion-hearted Sedgwick. "We look 
 upon his pleasant face and hear him speculate upon 
 the war, but do not know that in a few weeks a sharp- 
 shooter's bullet will pierce his noble face. Apart and 
 back of this centre of command lie the batteries, dark 
 and silent, and apparently all harmless. 
 
 In another direction are the supply wagons, the 
 field for the horses, and other appliances for army 
 support and movements. Sentinels keep their round day 
 and night. The drum beats tattoo at night, and the 
 bugle sounds sweetly on the morning and evening air. 
 
 Two, four, six miles, in different directions, are similar 
 encampments, subordinate, like planets to the sun, to this. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 163 
 
 Such is the outline of life during the intervals of 
 active field service. And when the order flies along the 
 telegraph wires connecting the headquarters of the major- 
 generals, to prepare to advance, what a magnificent sight 
 it is, as from one to two hundred thousand soldiers strike 
 their tents, and in lines of cavalry and columns of infantry 
 sweep over the country ! 
 
 This reminds me of another part of army movements, 
 which you may not have even seen or noticed at all ; 
 I mean the Signal Corps. Do you ask what it does? 
 Then I will here answer the inquiry : 
 
 ** Probably no class of men employed in the army are 
 more useful than those engaged in the duty of sending 
 army despatches from one point to another, by means of 
 signal flags. These flags are of different colors white, 
 black, or red, to suit different circumstances. They are 
 either four feet or six feet square, fastened to jointed 
 poles, the length of which can be increased or diminished 
 as required.- The officers in charge of a station are fur- 
 nished with field glasses and powerful telescopes, by 
 means of which they can read the signals from twelve to 
 eighteen, or twenty miles distant. For night work torches 
 are used. The operation of transmitting signals is per- 
 formed in this manner : The message is sent to the signal 
 station, which is generally located in the highest tree, 
 upon the loftiest mountain or hill top. The officer in 
 charge arranges his c key' upon a circular pasteboard in- 
 
164 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 strument, marked with numerals. When all is ready, by 
 the turning of this disc the proper numbers appear and 
 are called off to the flagman. This flagman, on hearing 
 the number, immediately places the flag in the position 
 indicated. Thus, waving the flag according to a number 
 requiring it to move from right to left, will mean a cer- 
 tain word. The flag is then straightened up, and another 
 number called, which may raise the flag above the bear- 
 er's head, or drop it toward the ground. Again, some 
 number called out, causes the flagman to make a motion 
 with the flag that conveys a whole sentence of information 
 to a distant station where another signal officer has been 
 reading off, through his telescope, the numbers previously 
 sent. The reader of the l despatch ' sits looking through 
 his glass, calling off the numbers to his assistant, who 
 notes them down upon the ' field-book/ When the entire 
 message has been received the numbers are transmitted 
 to the next station, and so on until it reaches the general 
 to whom it is sent. The whole time occupied in sending 
 a despatch of thirty lines is generally less than as many 
 minutes. The flagman, by constant practice, works rap 
 idly, and the reader calls the numbers with equal speed ; 
 and where there are two or more officers, or flagmen, at 
 a station, the message is passed on to the next as fast as 
 it is received. When the numbers reach the last station, 
 the 'key* signal is sent over, and being properly adjusted, 
 the officer at the receiving station can then write out for, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 165 
 
 or read the message to, his commanding general. These 
 4 keys' are constantly changed. A combination of ' keys' 
 is arranged between two commanding generals in a man- 
 ner that insures their despatches against any chance of 
 being read by even the officers making the signal, and of 
 course, if the rebels saw them, they would be unable to 
 decipher them. For instance, General Sherman has ar- 
 ranged with General Howard that the ' key J to his de- 
 spatches shall be sent under cover of a particular word. 
 Accordingly, when that word is received, General Howard 
 has the ' key* that unlocks the remainder of the dispatch. 
 On Monday morning General Sherman may make use of 
 a ' key* that he discards in the afternoon. The afternoon 
 1 key* is known to General Howard by the 'word* that 
 a^ompanies the message. If General Sherman desires 
 to 'speak with' General Logan, who may be stationed 
 miles away, his arrangement of ' key words ' may be to- 
 tally different from those used in communicating with 
 Howard. Signal officers, by long practice, are often able 
 to abbreviate messages, especially when they know that 
 the station beyond is commanded by an officer familiar 
 with the abbreviations. A bystander looking on, when a 
 message is being sent, will see the flags in the hands of 
 the man near him waving rapidly, and strain his eyes in 
 every direction to see where the persons are who are 
 taking ' notes.' He will see no one, unless favored by a 
 sight through the telescope at the station. The great 
 
166 LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 
 
 merit of this system, of signalling consists in the secrecy 
 with which messages may be sent, and answers returned, 
 although it is equally advantageous in an engagement, 
 when secret messages are not required, and orders are 
 rapidly conveyed from one part of the field to another. 
 It is at this time that the signal officers and men are in 
 the greatest danger. The rebels have an offensive way 
 of intercepting despatches, with Minie bullets, sent by the 
 rifle of some sharpshooter, detailed to pick off the flagmen 
 and others engaged at the signal station." 
 
 No order to take the field came to the gallantly 
 impatient leader and his restless troops. He could 
 no longer wait. Approaching his superior in com- 
 mand, General Buell, he addressed him in these brave 
 words : 
 
 " General, we must now either be permitted to go into 
 the field and meet the foe, or we must degenerate and go 
 backwards. It is utterly impossible for me to carry my 
 division any further in my drill of discipline. The men 
 have learned every thing they can learn, and from this 
 moment we must commence to decline unless we are sent 
 into actual service." 
 
 General Buell made but little reply, only intimating a 
 grand movement soon. The rebel force was strong a 
 Bowling Green. 
 
 General Grant had moved upon Forts Donelson and 
 Henry, and planted the national banners on their walls. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 167 
 
 General B. F. Butler, the wisest, boldest, and most 
 successful commander then in the field, with Commodore 
 Farragut, called the " Old Salamander," with his naval 
 force, were preparing to advance on New Orleans. Ship 
 Island, a narrow strip of sandy land several miles 
 in length, and a few hours' sail from the mouth of 
 the Mississippi, was to be the place of rendezvous and 
 starting. 
 
 General Grant was on his way to Nashville, followed 
 by the victorious flotilla. 
 
 General Buell decided to make an expedition from 
 his department toward Bowling Green at that time, the 
 strongest point in the enemy's western army movements. 
 You will recollect it was one of the first places fortified 
 when the rebels invaded neutral Kentucky. General 
 Mitchel intensely desired to try the metal of his " boys" 
 in the seizure of a prize worthy of their arms. He asked 
 the privilege of striking boldly then. A wide-awake and 
 far-seeing chieftain, he also " kept his own counsels." 
 
 Monday, February 10th for the general avoided 
 working, when possible, on the Sabbath he issued in 
 the evening, the order to his troops to be ready for march- 
 ing the next morning at six o'clock. That night was a 
 busy one in camp. See the tents come down, the knap- 
 sacks packed, the horses caparisoned, and the thousands 
 of impatient volunteers waiting the command to march in 
 the first beams of morning. 
 
168 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 " Forward ! " and Bacon Creek, Kentucky, receivec 
 the farewell look of tlie departing troops, whose canvas 
 city had disappeared like frostwork in the rising sun. 
 They swept along toward Green Eiver, giving no inti- 
 mations of approach. The clear eye that traced the 
 paths of the nightly host with unrivalled accuracy, sur- 
 veyed carefully the whole field before him. 
 
 There can be no more gallantly patriotic and sublime 
 spectacle in the field of martial exploits than the progress 
 of General Mitchel from Bacon Creek to Bowling Green. 
 Scouts, that is, horsemen to discover danger or search 
 for the enemy, were sent forward toward the town. Si- 
 lence reigned in forest and field. No sign of alarm ap- 
 peared. How unlike the campaigns in the army gen- 
 erally ! Somehow, the rebels have learned when and 
 where our troops were in motion, and have been pre- 
 pared to meet them. In one instance a large and splen- 
 did host were marching in several divisions on a secret 
 expedition to surprise " the flower of the rebel army." 
 A prominent general was to leave a certain point at half- 
 past seven o'clock in the morning, and another pass that 
 place at nine o'clock. When the latter arrived, the other, 
 who should have been an hour and a half on the march, 
 was just eating his breakfast. Whether, as many be- 
 lieve, he was made stupid by strong drink the night 
 "before, or not, it deranged the whole plan of the attack, 
 and gave the enemy all the notice he desired of the hostile 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 169 
 
 visit. Of course with the slaughter and wounding of 
 many brave fellows, the well-planned and hopeful enter- 
 prise failed. 
 
 Not so with the Third Division. Prayerful, sober, 
 far-seeing and vigilant, the general stole upon the foe 
 along a track of forced marches, like the Angel of Death 
 upon the camp of Senacherib. The cavalcade dashed 
 onward ten miles ; and being tired, because they had 
 been so long idle, and also then delayed by repairing a 
 bridge, they halted a mile beyond Green River. Their 
 place of rendezvous was called Camp Madison. Here 
 they rested on "Wednesday. At night the picket-guard 
 were out, and the order issued to be off again at four 
 o'clock the next morning. 
 
 With scarcely a streak of day upon the eastern sky, 
 the refreshed and cheerful troops move rapidly toward 
 Bowling Green, forty-two miles distant. As the light 
 deepens, they discern in the ponds scattered over the 
 country heaps of dead cattle, mules, and horses, thrown 
 into them by the foe, for the Upas shadow of war has 
 been there. There are no signs of human life. Pause 
 under that tree by the deserted home. Hearken amid the 
 stillness whose music is the sound of flowing streams, and 
 the noise of insects in the air. What a thunder of hoofs 
 and heavy tramp of armed men breaks on the ear ! Nearer 
 and nearer the strange echoes rise. Another moment and 
 8 
 
170 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 the long procession rushes past with banners, and gleam* 
 ing steel, and grim-mouthed cannon. 
 
 The morning kindles on the hills, and onward sweep 
 the battalions over plain, through forest, and across cur- 
 rents which catch the spreading light brightly, as though 
 no tumult of war had hushed the hum of the little dwellers 
 in the branches on the banks. Tramp, clatter, rumble, 
 go troops, feet, and wheels, toward Bowling Green, with 
 a secrecy and celerity unsurpassed, if ever equalled. 
 
 The secession stragglers who catch a glimpse of the 
 hurrying caravan of war's legions, fly from the path of 
 their march. Jokes and laughter enliven the long hours 
 of the advance toward the unsuspecting enemy. Many 
 think soberly, and some sadly, of home, the anxious hearts 
 there, and the possibility of sudden death and a burial 
 among strangers. Bravely, and with elastic step, the 
 troops follow a leader wno has won affectionate con- 
 fidence unrivalled in the army. 
 
 " Halt ! " What is it that brings the battalions to a 
 sudden pause in the forest path ? Like an abatis before 
 a fortress, lie the fallen trees across the way, heaped there 
 by the enemy. Almost before the word of command can 
 reach them, the two companies of engineers and mechan- 
 ics advance. How bravely the axes swing ! The imple- 
 ments for " casting up a highway" move with the rapidity 
 of sabre-strokes, and in fifteen minutes the formidable 
 obstruction is brushed aside, and " forward ! " rings on 
 
LIFE OF GENEBAL MTTCHEL. 171 
 
 the air just now echoing to the hundred blows or more, 
 of manly arms. No groans of the dying, no shouts of 
 conquest mingle in the bloodless strife. Nature " makes 
 no sign" of suffering when the glittering steel falls upon 
 the subjects of her domain. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Bowling Green Forced Marches The first Gun Crossing the Eiver Con 
 sternation and flight of the Eebels Scenes in the City Despatches Visit 
 from General Buell Nashville Occupied Scenes there General Mitchel 
 calls on Mrs. James K. Polk. 
 
 OWLING Green is on Barren River, a branch 
 of the Green River. General Mitchel heard 
 that the bridge over it leading to the town was 
 destroyed, and that the rebels would meet them 
 on this side of the stream. To be ready for 
 them, Colonel Turchin takes the cavalry and Loomis' bat^ 
 tery, and dashes off at a rapid pace. It is a fine sight. 
 Did you ever behold a similar spectacle? I shall not 
 soon forget the contrast between peaceful parades on the 
 park or green, and these scenes on "the front" the 
 bugle notes that mean sober wortc, the prancing steeds, 
 the long and waving lines of soldiers, the plumes and 
 banners, th"e cannon with their carriages and caissons, 
 and all moving over fenceless fields, scarred and scathed 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 173 
 
 with the tread of war, toward the plain of slaughter. 
 Such was the scene between Glasgow Junction, near 
 which the last halt was made, and Bowling Green, on 
 the morning of February 13th, about the hour my reader 
 was entering the quiet school-room, or college hall. The 
 columns that press on behind hear, about ten o'clock, the 
 booming of the artillery echoing from the banks of Bar- 
 ren River. 
 
 Oh ! how the heroes start eyes flash and a general 
 movement is visible. The steps are quickened, but the 
 knapsacks in the forced march of forty-two miles in 
 thirty-seven hours, have grown heavy. A new idea is sug- 
 gested by the burdens. There comes a secession wagon. 
 " Stop there, driver ! Just take these knapsacks along." 
 In a minute, under guard, the " team" drags the Yankee 
 freight toward Bowling Green. 
 
 A few miles further another teamster is hailed ; tho 
 tired troops are relieved, and almost run 'for the goal of 
 conflict. The advance find no foe in battle array, and no 
 bridge across the deep, broad current. Colonel Turchin 
 sends a signal shell over it into the town. What a sud- 
 den excitement among the soldiers and citizens ! Three 
 regiments " are seen scampering to the cars, and putting 
 off with what they had." The Texas Rangers start, 
 torches in hand, for the public buildings. It is sad to 
 watch the flames curling, in magnificent waves of ruin, 
 over the beauty and pride of the town. 
 
174 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 The victories of General Grant ,and Commodore 
 Foote, and the progress of the dreaded gunboats up the 
 Cumberland River, had awakened apprehensions before 
 the messenger of death startled the traitors. They 
 were getting ready to leave. 
 
 Look along the railroad toward Nashville, and you 
 will see immense trains of loaded cars. The rebels are 
 moving to that city. Not dreaming of danger from any 
 quarter besides the base of General Grant's operations, 
 they " packed up ; " and perceiving no necessity of great 
 haste, they had been waiting unconsciously for General 
 Mitchel. That shell over the coldly flowing river is like 
 a note of doom from the clear heavens. 
 
 Another, and then another globe of imprisoned fire, 
 makes its graceful curve above the dividing stream. 
 What " hurrying to and fro," and cries of terror ! 
 
 " Shall we set fire to the trains?" 
 
 " Yes," shouts an officer. 
 
 " No ! the Yankees are too near for that." 
 
 And through the streets soldiers and citizens rush in 
 the gloom of the night, whose stars are reflected from the 
 surging waters. The snow had whitened the earth, and the 
 cold wind sweeps around the shivering volunteers. Fires 
 soon blaze on the river bank, and near them some almost 
 benumbed declare they "would rather be shot than fro- 
 zen." They lie down " snugly tucked in their blankets," 
 to snatch a brief slumber. Scarcely &re they asleep before 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 175 
 
 " the assembly beats to arms, and the brigade is agair 
 in ranks." 
 
 Upon them falls yet no herald-rays of the morning. 
 It is gloomy and chilling. The engineer companies have 
 repaired an old wherry or kind of flatboat, running a 
 rope across the dismal flood of Barren River. Quickly 
 as the spider builds her nightly suspension bridges, had 
 the army athletes spanned the bridgeless stream, and 
 now the brigades begin by small detachments to cross 
 over. 
 
 Mournful spectacle is that which meets the vision in 
 the dawn of day ! Mansions are in ruins relics of flight 
 strew the forsaken streets. Comic scenes, too, are there. 
 A poor sutler had run away in such haste that all his 
 good things for army speculation were left for our hungry 
 " boys." They do not wait for a spread table or knives 
 and forks. They snatch the eatables, and are on the 
 march again. Then they enter the ruins of a storehouse 
 of arms which the rebels had burned. And such a med- 
 ley of weapons ! Old musket and pistol barrels, bowie 
 knives, " hangers," savage blades, butcher knives, and 
 every imaginable tool for murdering and mangling men 
 are there. But much plunder is saved. Half a million 
 of dollars is an unexaggerated estimate of its value to the 
 Union cause. We give you the despatches to the general- 
 in-chief, McClellan, and the congratulations on the vie-- 
 tories : 
 
176 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTOHEL. 
 
 LOUISVILLE, February 15, 1862. 
 To Major- General McGlellan : 
 
 Mitchel's division, by a forced march, reached the 
 river at Bowling Green to-day, making a bridge to cross. 
 The enemy burned the bridge at one o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, and were evacuating the place when he arrived. 
 
 D. C. BUELL, 
 brigadier- General Commanding. 
 
 The following is a general order, issued by General 
 Buell to the troops of General Mitchel's division, after 
 their advance upon Bowling Green : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, CAMP JOHN Q. ADAMS, ) 
 BOWLING GREEN, February 19, 1862. 
 
 SOLDIERS OF THE THIRD DIVISION : You have exe- 
 cuted a march of forty miles in twenty-eight hours and a 
 half. The fallen timber and other obstructions, opposed 
 by the enemy to your movements, have been swept from 
 your path. The fire of your artillery, and the bursting 
 of your shells, announced your arrival. Surprised and 
 ignorant of the force that had thus precipitated itself upon 
 them, they fled in consternation. 
 
 In the night time, over a frozen, rocky, precipitous 
 pathway, down rude steps for fifty feet, you have passed 
 the advance guard, cavalry and infantry, and before the 
 dawn of day you have entered in triumph a position of 
 
LIFE OF GENEBAL MTTCHEL. 177 
 
 extraordinary natural strength, and by your enemy proud- 
 ly denominated the Gibraltar of Kentucky. 
 
 "With your own hands, through deep mud, in drench- 
 ing rains, and up rocky pathways, next to impassable, 
 and across a footpath of your own construction, built 
 upon the ruins of the railway bridge destroyed for their 
 protection by a retreating and panic-stricken foe, you 
 have transported upon your own shoulders your baggage 
 and camp equipage. 
 
 The general commanding the department, on receiving 
 my report announcing these facts, requests me to make to 
 the officers and soldiers under my command, the follow- 
 ing communication : 
 
 " Soldiers who by resolution and energy overcome 
 great natural difficulties, have nothing to fear in battle, 
 where their energy and prowess are taxed to a far less 
 extent. Your command have exhibited the high qualities 
 of resolution and energy, in a degree which leaves no 
 limit to my confidence in their future movements. 
 
 " By order of Brigadier-General BUELL, 
 
 " Commanding Department of the Ohio." 
 
 Soldiers! I feel a perfect confidence that the high 
 estimate placed upon your power, endurance, energy, 
 and heroism, is just. Your aim and mine has been to 
 deserve the approbation of our commanding officer, and 
 of our Government and our country. 
 8* 
 
178 LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 
 
 I trust you feel precisely as does your commanding 
 general, that nothing is done while any thing remains to be 
 done. By order of 
 
 Brig.-Gen'l O. M. MITCHEL, Commanding. 
 
 Bowling Green was occupied, and nothing saved the 
 rebel army which fled from it but the necessity which 
 General Mitchel felt of making sure his communications. 
 Otherwise he might be surprised, his retreat cut off, and 
 his command taken prisoners, or at best, badly u cut up." 
 
 Ferry-boats were constructed, and such defences 
 planned as promised the greatest possible security to the 
 troops, and success to the bold expedition. 
 
 In the midst of these labors, his unselfish heart throb- 
 bing with love to the land of his birth, and the high am- 
 bition to hasten its deliverance from mad misrule, General 
 Buell suddenly appeared in camp. His less ardent and 
 less comprehensive mind was disturbed by General Mitch- 
 el's daring movements. 
 
 General Mitchel encounters here a new trial of his 
 noble nature. It will be among the saddest records of 
 the war, that officers like General Don Carlos Buell al- 
 ls wed political or military aspirations, or half-hearted 
 loyalty, or, at best, great blunders, to sacrifice thousands 
 of lives, and imperil, more than all other dangers, our 
 national honor and existence. General Mitchel spread 
 out his plans. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 179' 
 
 " We must move cautiously ; do nothing to exasperate 
 our Southern brethren;" seemed to be the settled policy of 
 the chief of the Cumberland army. 
 
 " We must move rapidly, strike boldly, and follow up 
 every advantage to subdue the traitors," was the tone of 
 each word added by the commander of the Third Division. 
 
 The result of the discussion was, permission under 
 certain conditions for General Mitchel to go forward 
 with his campaign. He was a free man dragging a chain. 
 The weight was a hindrance, and it might be made fast at 
 any moment ; the finishing blow of a selfish policy, which 
 at length came. The locomotives which stood puffing on 
 the track when the shell crossed the river, drew the Union 
 forces toward Nashville. 
 
 It is Sunday evening. War does not respect the holy 
 hours of the Lord's day. There had been no signs of its 
 advent in that excited town. Armed men, citizens in 
 groups, or hurrying through its streets, and scornful wo- 
 men on balconies and in the doors of the mansions, are 
 the scenes of February 23d, 1862. 
 
 The city authorities gather to the appointed spot of 
 meeting the commander of the Union troops and his staff- 
 Colonel Kennett has been selected to receive, in behalf of 
 General Mitchel, the possession of the town. It was a 
 bitter necessity to many ; a most welcome transition to 
 others who had not ceased to love the old flag. 
 
 Nashville deserves a brief description, which will in* 
 
180 LIFE OF GEJ5TESAL MITCHEL. 
 
 terest you. It is on the left bank of the Cumberland, 
 two hundred miles from its mouth, and six hundred and 
 eighty-four from "Washington. The capitol stands on an 
 elevation one hundred and seventy feet above the river, 
 commanding a glorious landscape. It is built of lime- 
 stone, costing a million of dollars, and is one of the most 
 magnificent structures of the kind in the country. The 
 private residences are elegant, many of them palatial 
 rich in material, surroundings, and furniture. A suspen- 
 sion bridge spans the stream there. The city is the ter- 
 minus of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. 
 
 General Mitchel called, in company with other officers, 
 upon the widow of President James K. Polk, as did Gen- 
 eral Grant while there. During the interview, the dig- 
 nified lady, addressing him, said : " General, I trust this 
 war will speedily terminate by the acknowledgment of 
 Southern independence." 
 
 This direct appeal to his loyalty turned all eyes to 
 him. The silence whictt followed was brief. Calmly 
 and firmly he spoke from the fulness of his earnest heart, 
 with equal dignity, and great impressiveness : 
 
 " Madam, the man whose name you bear was once 
 President of the United States. He was an honest man 
 and true patriot. He administered the laws of this Gov 
 ernment with equal justice to all. We know of no inde- 
 pendence of one section of our country which does not 
 belong to all others ; and judging by the past, if the mute 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 181 
 
 lips of the honored dead who lies near us could speak, 
 they would express the hope that the war might never 
 cease, if that cessation were purchased by a dissolution 
 of the union of the States over which he once presided." 
 The fair traitor was silenced, and loyal hearts deeply 
 moved. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 General Mitchell plan of Campaign Its Sublime Daring Moves to Murfrees* 
 boro 1 Scenes near Corinth Rebel Contempt of the Flag of Truce 
 Rebel Woman's Letter General Mitchel's Justice and Humanity Guer- 
 rillasSuffering Union Men A Fight The value of Seconds. 
 
 ND now we come to the first great opportunity to 
 show the splendid qualities of our hero in daring 
 and difficult military movements, the very mar- 
 tial ability peculiar to Napoleon Bonaparte. 
 You will find on the map, a little southeast of 
 Nashville, and one hundred and sixteen miles from it, 
 Huntsville, Alabama. It is a handsomely-situated town. 
 The capital of Madison County, it has a finely-built court- 
 house, which cost forty-five thousand dollars. The popu- 
 lation is four thousand. Though an important centre of 
 business for the region, the great attraction to General 
 Mitchel was its situation. It is on the Memphis and 
 Charleston Railroad, which, with intersecting tracks, 
 poured into the depots of the southeastern rebel army 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 183 
 
 the men, munitions of war, and the supplies of the West. 
 See how the network of iron paths in Kentucky, Tennes- 
 see, and Mississippi, connect with this grand central 
 thoroughfare of trade and travel. General Mitchel de- 
 termined to march his comparatively small army a hun- 
 dred and thirty miles through the enemy's country to 
 Huntsville, and cut that great artery of life to the Con- 
 federacy. 
 
 The value of this road to the rebel army you will 
 learn from a secession paper published at Florence, which 
 lies upon it, between Huntsville and Corinth. The news 
 of Grant's progress southward from Fort Donelson had 
 reached the place. The Gazette of March 12, 1862, had 
 the following very significant article : 
 
 " We learned yesterday that the Unionists had landed 
 a very large force at Savannah, Tenii. We suppose they 
 are making preparations to get possession of the Memphis 
 and Charleston Railroad. They must never be allowed 
 to get this great thoroughfare in their possession, for then 
 we would indeed be crippled. The labor and untiring 
 industry of too many faithful and energetic men have 
 been expended on this road to bring it up to its present 
 state of usefulness, to let it fall into the hands of the 
 enemy to be used against us. It must be protected. We, 
 as a people, are able to protect and save it. If unavoid- 
 able, let them have our river ; but we hope it is the united 
 sentiment of our people, that we 'will have our railroad" 
 
184 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 General Mitchel carefully counted the perils and the 
 cost of the bold adventure. The possibility of being 
 caught by the rebels away from the centres of our mili- 
 tary strength, he knew. Libby prison for those who were 
 not killed in the fight, or the hospitalities of any other 
 place of Southern incarceration, were not pleasant to con- 
 template. On the other hand, he had learned that, with- 
 out a risk, a resolute attempt to overcome obstacles, 
 nothing worthy of a man, and especially of a Chris- 
 tian, was ever accomplished. Providence was his trust ; 
 and He honors a faith that depends on His inter- 
 position to give success, if that aid may be intelligently 
 expected. 
 
 General Mitchel, with a bounding heart of hope and 
 pure ambition to do what he felt able and called to per- 
 form for the republic, advanced from Nashville to Mur- 
 freesboro* early in March. His superior officer had other 
 work enough to fill his hands, which left our commander 
 for awhile unembarrassed. 
 
 Movements were made pointing, to the hastening con- 
 flict at Shiloh, by the hostile armies of the western field. 
 General Buell commenced his march over the country 
 toward the Tennessee Kiver. General Grant, whose en- 
 larged command was now the " Department of the Missis- 
 sippi," had moved his battalions already in the vicinity 
 of Pittsburg Landing. The rebel army of the Southwest 
 was intrenched at Corinth, a few miles distant in a south- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 185 
 
 westerly direction, on the Memphis and Charleston Rail- 
 road. 
 
 The splendid victories of Grant and Foote in the 
 northern part of the Mississippi valley, and of Butler and 
 Farragut near the mouth of the Father of "Waters, had 
 alarmed the traitors. The ghostly thought, that the 
 "Yankees" might "hew their way" through that mag- 
 nificent valley, and cut their revolted territory in two, 
 began to haunt their proud dreams of conquest. Beaure- 
 gard was the chief of the concentrated forces prepared to 
 dispute the advance of the Union troops. 
 
 It was at this crisis of affairs that General Mitchel 
 
 % 
 
 was at Murfreesboro'. You recollect his engineering on 
 the railways while at Cincinnati nearly twenty years 
 before. Now this practical knowledge was just* the thing 
 for his raid, as it may be termed. The rebels, in their 
 late retreat, had destroyed all the bridges on the route. 
 General Mitchel, in ten days, had twelve hundred feet of 
 these demolished structures rebuilt and ready for the ad- 
 vance. 
 
 It is the sixth of April, the Sabbath-day. Listen, 
 with the ear turned toward Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh 
 the latter name being that of a church near and you 
 can almost catch the thunder of terrible battle. General 
 Grant has been unexpectedly attacked at that point, in- 
 stead of meeting the enemy as anticipated at Corinth. 
 
 Generals Albert Sidney Johnson and Beauregard have 
 
186 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL, 
 
 made a bold push forward. Like a long spectral caravan, 
 their splendid army swept through the forest in the morn- 
 ing twilight, to fall upon General Prentiss' division. Oh ! 
 what carnage, consecrated with the blood of patriots, that 
 day of the Lord ! And how strangely tragedy and com- 
 edy are mingled sometimes in war ! 
 
 On the rebel side of the field a commander gathered 
 around him his brigade, and in the hearing of our men, 
 whose battery was concealed by a forest, he commenced 
 his address in these words : " Sons of the South ! "We 
 are here to defend our homes, our wives and daughters, 
 against the horde of vandals who have come here to pos- 
 sess the first and violate the last. Here, upon this sacred 
 soil, we have assembled to drive back the Northern in- 
 vaders drive them into Tennessee. Will you follow me ? 
 Is there a man so base among those who hear me as to 
 retreat before the contemptible foe before us? I will 
 
 never blanch before their fire, nor " Just then a 
 
 strange screaming sound in the air, and six shells dropped 
 around the orator. With the dust, he and his audience 
 in a hurry cleared away. The speech is doubtless un- 
 finished to this hour. 
 
 And where is Mitchel, who longed for the smoke of 
 conflict which rolled in dense clouds over Shiloh ? He is 
 sweeping like the wind toward Shelbyville, on his way to 
 Huntsville. Meanwhile his depot of supplies was re- 
 moved to within fifty miles of Huntsville. You know 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 1ST 
 
 the food for an army, including horses and mules, re- 
 quires the greatest forethought and care. Let thousands 
 of soldiers, with the necessary animals, be caught without 
 subsistence in an enemy's country, and starvation or sur- 
 render must soon follow. To prevent this, headquarters 
 for the supplies, as well as for the commanding general, 
 must be secured with the advance of the army from one 
 centre of operations to another. Long trains of cars, or 
 of wagons, convey these means of sustaining the immense 
 cavalcade of the moving battalions to a convenient dis- 
 tance from the troops. 
 
 To give you an idea of army trains, I will add a de- 
 scription of one of these. An army corps of 30,000 in- 
 fantry has about 700 wagons, drawn by 4,200 mules. 
 Including the horses of officers and of the artillery, about 
 7,000 animals have to be provided for. On the march, 
 it is calculated that each wagon will occupy eighty feet, 
 in bad roads much more ; so that a train of 700 wagons 
 will cover 56,000 feet, or over ten miles ; the ambulances 
 will occupy about a mile, and batteries about three miles ; 
 30,000 troops need six miles to march in if they form one 
 column ; the total length of the marching column of a 
 corps is. therefore, twenty miles, without including the 
 cattle herds and trains of bridge materials. Impatient 
 critics of army movements would often be more lenient 
 were they to familiarize themselves with the details of 
 
188 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 the immense difficulty of organizing and moving large 
 trains and artillery. 
 
 The bitter spirit of the rebels in the country which 
 General Mitchel traversed, was shown whenever an op- 
 portunity occurred. A member of his staff told me that 
 all manner of sport was made of the movements and sol- 
 diers of the army. Mimickry, ridicule, and curses, were 
 the salutations continually. Men, women, and children, 
 vied with each other in the effort to annoy the troops, and 
 display their demoniac enmity toward the "Yankees." 
 No clearer evidence of a bad cause could be given. The 
 consciousness of a righteous and worthy enterprise will 
 lift those engaged in it to rational and decent conduct : 
 the old proverb, " murder will out," has forcible appli- 
 cation here. 
 
 The worst effect of slavery, perhaps, is the tyrannical, 
 irritable, and selfish disposition it cultivates. To make 
 property of another race to be relieved from all labor 
 by those who are at the mercy of their owners nurtures 
 the basest passions. Embodied in political action, and 
 then military force, the motto has been and is, " Rule or 
 ruin" 
 
 While at Shelbyville General Mitchel received, under 
 flag of truce, a rebel officer. The returning captive was 
 taken sick. He was nursed for many days in his pain 
 and weakness. No stranger would have guessed, from 
 the kindest attention and medical aid, that he was a faith- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTOHEL. 189 
 
 ful soldier of Jeff. Davis. When he recovered, the flag 
 of truce was 'borne by an escort of the officer toward 
 Corinth, where the troops of Beauregard held their strong 
 position. 
 
 The sad news from our army of the first day's battle 
 at Shiloh, had reached the towns on the route. At Fay- 
 etteville, which you will observe is on the curve made by 
 the course of travel, twenty miles from Shelby ville, the 
 exulting people excelled the forest savages in their in- 
 humanity. A flag of truce, the world over, is regarded 
 sacred. Without such respect, there could be no inter- 
 course between hostile armies. It is the flag whose mean- 
 ing is just the opposite of the Hack flag, which signifies 
 no mercy. But at Fayetteville it was scorned. The 
 barbarians were so sure of sweeping the Union legions 
 from their soil, they could meanly, basely, insult the 
 peaceful banner over the head of an officer from their 
 army. The life of the escort was in danger. A ruffian 
 took him by the hand and rudely pulled it, saying, with 
 an oath I will not repeat : " You infernal Yankee, what 
 are you doing here ? " 
 
 It reminds us of the stories of Indian captivity, in the 
 -early history of our country, when a prisoner became the 
 object of cruel pastime till death released the victim. The 
 officer and his lieutenant sat up all night to watch over 
 the life of the truce-flag bearer. The returned rebel 
 wrote to General Mitchel, deeply regretting the injury, 
 
190 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 and making all the apology in his power for the outrage 
 And to illustrate the spirit of the women, I must add an 
 extract from a letter addressed to 
 
 " Dearest Aunt : If there is an hereafter, a heaven OP 
 hell, I pray to go to perdition ere my soul would be join- 
 ed or rest in heaven with the fiendish foe. Heaven would 
 not be the place described to us were it filled with spirits 
 so foul, so hellish (excuse the expression). Words are 
 too weak, too trite, too feeble to convey even the slightest 
 idea of feeling with which our refined, elegant, high-toned, 
 principled, chivalrous people look upon such an offcast, 
 degenerate set. . . . Oh ! the thought is too painful, to 
 see our men, the choicest, the most refined specimens of 
 God's work, destroyed and even forced to take up arms 
 against the dregs of creation ; for every man they lose is 
 a blessing, a godsend to humanity and society. 
 
 "ANNA." 
 
 Such was the welcome of the citizens, for the most 
 part, to General Mitchel, pushing with sublime daring 
 into the heart of the treasonable South. You will read 
 with admiring interest his eloquent " declaration of senti- 
 ments," in respect to his own conduct amid such provoca- 
 tions : 
 
 "In my treatment of the people I adopted a very 
 simple policy at the outset. I have studied the great 
 platform of the rebellion to the best of my ability, and 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 191 
 
 made up my mind that no cause existed for the South 
 raising its hand against the United States not the 
 slightest ; that it was a rebellion, a downright piece of 
 treason all the way through ; and that every individual 
 in that country who was either in arms, or who aided 
 and abetted those in arms, was my personal enemy, and 
 that I would never break bread, or eat salt, with any en- 
 emy of my country, no matter who he might be ; and I 
 have never done it up to this day. In the next place, I 
 determined I would show them I was honest, and had an 
 object in view ; and while I treated them with the most 
 perfect justice, I determined to make every individual 
 feel that there was a terrible pressure of war upon him, 
 which would finally destroy him and grind him to pow- 
 der, if he did not give up his rebellion." 
 
 Words more just, patriotic, unselfish, and appropriate, 
 no lips have uttered since the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence proclaimed the birth of the Republic ! They were 
 the keynote of that peculiar and fascinating earnestness, 
 which not often lends its glow to fine intellect and high 
 culture. There was so much soul in all he did. I do not 
 mean merely enthusiasm, which may be very shallow. It 
 was depth of feeling, moved like the tides by the sun and 
 moon, when any object worthy of his powers engaged 
 them. It gained for him a privileged place in the Acad- 
 emy, built observatories, captivated the elite of the land 
 while he discoursed of the stars, and made him a leader 
 
192 LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 
 
 on the battle-field, second to none in promise of grandest 
 success. How unlike the compromising, hesitating policy 
 of many distinguished generals in our Union army, from 
 the beginning of the war ! And how unlike the terrible 
 earnestness of the foe ! 
 
 You have heard of the guerrillas ? And you may 
 have seen the anecdote of a man who confounded tho 
 name with gorilla^ a powerful and savage animal resem- 
 bling the orang-outang not a very bad mistake either ; 
 for the guerrillas are a band of lawless robbers, who 
 prowl over the country, plundering and murdering the 
 Union people without mercy. 
 
 General Mitchel learned that they had driven the in- 
 habitants of Franklin and Marion Counties, in East Ten- 
 nessee, to the mountains, away from their homes, crops, 
 and all their comforts. Thousands of peaceable citizens, 
 because they loved the Republic, were thus, like the 
 Christian martyrs under the pagan and papal kings, 
 " wandering in the dens and caves of the earth." White 
 and black alike were hunted down by the rebel bandits 
 pillaged, insulted, outraged. 
 
 General Mitchel sent General Negley, a brave offi- 
 cer of the stamp of his commander, to look after these 
 ruffians ; and after he had administered justice from the 
 mouths of rifles, and from sabre-tongues, to make a call at 
 Chattanooga. There, was a strong position of the enemy. 
 On the cavalry flew, to ward Winchester, by forced marches, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 193 
 
 to surprise General Adams, near Jasper. How splendidly 
 those troopers climbed the steep declivities, and moved 
 like a huge anaconda over the mountain crests, and along 
 the rugged slopes ! Twenty miles of this gallop v/ere left 
 behind, when the Union force struck the pickets of Ad- 
 ams' battalions, and captured them by the most adroit at- 
 tack. Soon General Negley met the main force, which 
 fled up a narrow lane. Hotly pursued, the enemy crowded 
 the unfrequented road toward Jasper, until compelled to 
 turn and fight. 
 
 Now comes one of the severest " hand-to-hand fights " 
 of the war. Gallantly dash Taggard and Wyncoop's 
 cavalry upon the desperate rebels. Spur, carbine, and 
 oabrc do their work well ! The burnished blades wave 
 and cross, and go down to drink blood in the electric air 
 of that fisrce battle. See that fine-looking guerrilla, his 
 face half buried in whiskers and mustache, lifting his 
 blade with defiant swing ! Down it goes, with sudden, 
 aimless curve, toward the ground. The proud head 
 droops the blood gurgles from a mortal wound ! That 
 dying officer is Major Adams, brother of the commanding 
 general. 
 
 And then the reins are drawn on the steeds, and their 
 heads turned toward Jasper. In the town an effort is 
 made to rally the terrified fugitives, but, cursing Adams 
 and ill luck, on they sweep toward Chattanooga. For 
 
 miles the road is strewn with weapons, knapsacks, and 
 9 
 
194: LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 
 
 all the relics of a flying host, leaving a score or more deai 
 in their wake. 
 
 General Adams finds rest in Chattanooga, to the ver; 
 gates of which General Negley follows him. Colonel Si] 
 advances to Shell Mound, on the river. Meanwhile, fror 
 the mountain passes of the Cumberland Range, the ovei 
 joyed exiles come streaming into Jasper, haggard, weary 
 and hungry. Oh ! 'tis touching to see strong men wee] 
 with grief and gratitude, and vainly endeavor to expres 
 their thanks for the deliverance wrought by Genera 
 Mitchel and his heroes. 
 
 Despatches pass back and forth between General 
 Negley and Mitchel, breathing victory and congratula 
 tions. The cobwebs are swept from long-forsaken homes 
 and lights at evening again burn by their altars. 
 
 Upon one occasion an officer, with whom Genera 
 Mitchel had business of great importance to transact, re 
 ported himself at a later moment than he had appointe 
 for the interview. When the officer came into the ger 
 eral's presence, with no thought of any allusion to a littl 
 delay, his commander said promptly : 
 
 u Sir, you are late." 
 
 " Only a few seconds," replied the officer. 
 
 " Sir," replied General Mitchel, " I have been in th 
 habit of computing the value of the hundredth part of i 
 second." 
 
 The rebuke was felt and borne in silence. The as 
 
OP GENERAL MITCHEL. 195' 
 
 tronomer had learned the importance of the fraction of a 
 second in the measurement and motions of the heavenly 
 bodies, which may be equally precious in *he movements 
 of armies and destinies of men. 
 
 Look away toward that wild summit, around which 
 lies a rugged and romantic landscape, bathed in the 
 morning light of the Sabbath ! Tents dot the slopes, 
 and over them waves, in the refreshing breeze, the u Star 
 Spangled Banner." Excepting the track of the Union 
 army, and its encampments, heights and valley are hos- 
 tile soil. 
 
 The Ninth Ohio Brigade have gathered to the bugle- 
 call for religious service. The brave " Buckeye " volun- 
 teers stand with uncovered heads, while the chaplain's 
 prayer ascends to the God of battles. Then the sacred 
 song rises and swells upon the mountain air, floating 
 away to the eagle's nest, and blending with the wild 
 bird's notes of praise to Him " who hears the young 
 ravens when they cry." The sermon follows. When 
 the preacher leaves his platform General Mitchel mounts 
 a rock, and modestly, earnestly addresses the troops. His- 
 clear voice and eloquent words hold in breathless atten- 
 tion every hearer. 
 
 He begins by assuring the vast audience that he does 
 not " appear before them as the general commanding, but 
 in a higher capacity ; that he shall address them as a 
 man speaking to his fellow men as one striving for the 
 
196 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 same eternal rest offered to all in tin's probationary life.' 
 He urges the duty of the soldier to be a Christian ; tha' 
 religion heightens every enjoyment, and prepares him t< 
 discharge better every obligation 
 
 For half an hour the scholar, general, and orator, pre 
 sents in glowing light the transcendent excellence of 
 Christian character, the ingratitude and ruin of an irre 
 ligious life. 
 
 Seldom, if ever, has the war-field presented so sublim< 
 .and impressive a scene. The Sabbath-sky arched th< 
 mountain top, glittering with arms and uniform, fron 
 whose rocky eyrie for the first, and doubtless last time 
 worship ascended to the " King of kings." And when th< 
 sun went down in glory over the guardian heights of Eas 
 Tennessee, brave hearts were touched with the rnemoriei 
 of that appeal tears glistened while it$ magic power seni 
 the thoughts away to Christian homes and temples, per 
 haps to be seen no more. Snatches of sacred melodj 
 from scattered tents died on the bosom of night th< 
 mountain vespers of freedom's advancing host ! 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A daring Adventure under General Mitchel The leader of the band detailed tc 
 conduct it Perilous Travelling Partial Success Tie Flight for Life~Ai> 
 rest of the " Engine Thieves." 
 
 come now to a wild episode in General 
 Mitchel's campaign ; an adventure, the like 
 of which, I think, was never known before. 
 To understand it, you must recollect that the 
 rebels had been driven by General Grant 
 from their great frontier posts, and had fallen back on 
 shorter lines of defence that is, placed their troops 
 around a smaller territory. 
 
 The railroad which General Mitchel was after, waa 
 the western artery of supplies to the enemy. The map 
 will show you on the easterly side of a vast parallelogram 
 cf railways from Memphis to Chattanooga, thence to At- 
 lanta and Jackson, and round again to Memphis, forming 
 the life-enclosure of the hostile field, the Georgia State 
 road. 
 
198 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 If along with success in the magnificent enterprise of 
 General Mitchel, this important line could be destroyed 
 or even crippled, East Tennessee, then poorly defended, 
 would be at the mercy of our General Morgan lying 
 before Cumberland Gap, ready to spring like a lion from 
 his lair, whenever the prey was within reach. 
 
 Mr. J. J. Andrews, a secret agent of the United 
 States, who had often been through nearly every part of 
 the South, matured a very bold plan of cutting off com- 
 munication by this route. It was a military expedition 
 of small proportions, but attended with a courageous fear- 
 lessness, and with perils surpassing any other deed of ar- 
 tifice, and defiance of suffering and death, in the annals 
 of war. 
 
 A score of men were to penetrate to the enemy's 
 country, seize the trains on the track from Atlanta to 
 Huntsville, and burn the bridges behind them ; thus inter- 
 rupting communication, till a decisive blow could be laid 
 upon the almost isolated foe. The proposition was first 
 made to General Buell, who referred Andrews to General 
 Mitchel. With him the bold raiders were successful. 
 The audacious design just suited the enthusiasm and. 
 energy of the chief. The greatest caution and secrecy 
 was to attend every movement of the pretended friends 
 of the Confederate Administration while under its pro- 
 tection. Among them was a young man named William 
 Pittinger, an Ohio farmer's boy, only twenty-two years 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 199 
 
 of age. Like his general, he was early fond of astro- 
 nomical studies. When only seventeen years of age he 
 constructed a telescope of considerable power, " which 
 his friends from near and far came to see and gaze 
 through, at the wonderful worlds unthought of before." 
 An intelligent, yet imaginative youth, he asked as a spe- 
 cial favor that he might be permitted to join the expe- 
 dition. He has since published an account of the wild, 
 exciting, and tragical adventures of that select company, 
 who were all from Ohio excepting the leader Andrews, 
 and William Campbell, both of whom were from Ken- 
 tucky. Several of the fearless band of twen*ty-four, who 
 were gathered from four different regiments and eight 
 companies, made short excursions to the enemy's lines, 
 and came near being captured at Chattanooga. They 
 had gone in citizen's dress from that place to Atlanta, in- 
 tending there to seize a Georgia engineer, take his train, 
 burn the bridges behind them, and run through to our 
 lines. But he had been pressed into Beauregard's service, 
 then mustering his forces at Corinth, and thus escaped. 
 
 At length all was ready for the grand dash into the 
 heart of " rebeldom." The little camp was pitched 
 above Shelby ville, where General Mitchel's battalions 
 lay. April 6th, the Sabbath-day, smiled brightly on the 
 scene. Writes young Pittinger : " The earliness of the 
 clime made the birds sing, and the fields bloom with nioro 
 than the brilliancy of May in our own northern land 
 
200 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 Deeply is the quiet of that Sabbath with the green beauty 
 of the warm spring landscape pictured on my mind. An 
 impression, I know not what, made me devote the day to 
 writing letters to my friends. It was well I did so, for 
 long and weary months passed ere I was permitted to 
 write to them again." 
 
 Monday morning, Andrews reported to General 
 Mitchel that he had been along the line of the Georgia 
 State Eailroad, and the " scheme was still feasible, and 
 would be of more advantage than ever." 
 
 The leader of the band was a noble specimen of Ken 
 tucky manhood. He was " nearly six feet in height, of 
 powerful frame, black hair, long, black, and silken beard ; 
 Roman features ; a high and expansive forehead ; and a 
 voice fine and soft as a woman's, with the most cool and 
 dauntless courage," and great refinement of feeling. Ho 
 had a single defect of character, it would seem, from the 
 history of the expedition. While, as a secret agent, he 
 was always deliberate in action, his very, habit of acting 
 alone, unfitted him in some degree to act for others, in a 
 startling surprise, when " instant action is the only chance 
 of safety." Still a braver, manlier spirit, never staked 
 every thing in a desperate adventure, than this loyal son 
 of Kentucky. 
 
 At four o'clock on that Mdnday afternoon, the sun- 
 beams fell unclouded upon the gallant company striking 
 their tents, and leaving camp in the bracing air of tho 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 201 
 
 closirg day. They hastened to Shelby ville, to bid adieu 
 to old comrades and their brave officers. The eyes of 
 scarred heroes were suffused with tears while they grasped 
 hands, in a parting vhich appeared to those who remained 
 behind, a final one. Alas ! it proved to be so to more 
 than a third of the number. 
 
 The orders were, to proceed in separate squads along 
 the road toward Chattanooga, and halting two or three 
 miles from Shelbyville, meet in consultation, and arrange 
 the programme of dangerous advance into hostile ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 Now look into that thicket of shrubbery and old fallen 
 trees, opening into the fields and road ; a partial conceal- 
 ment, and yet affording a glimpse of the approaches to 
 prevent a surprise by straggling foes. The silent stars 
 flash above the ambush, and the dry leaves rustle in 
 the night wind, while Andrews in subdued and earnest 
 tones reveals the plan of action. The band are to travel 
 in companies of three or four toward Chattanooga, avoid- 
 ing suspicion by such stories of their adventures as might 
 be suggested by the occasion. They are to reach the 
 Btronghold, one hundred and three miles distant, on 
 Thursday evening. The road is hard, and every step 
 under the shadow of danger. With nightfall comes a ter 
 rific storm, and rayless darkness wraps the lonely path 
 of travel. But onward, falling into swollen gutters and 
 
 sinking into mire, Pittinger and his comrades go toward 
 9* 
 
202 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 their unrelenting enemies. At midnight they find shel- 
 ter in a loghouse. The owner, alarmed at the unseason- 
 able call, begins to question the " boys." 
 
 They reply : " We are Kentuckians, disgusted with 
 the Lincoln Government, and are seekiqg an asylum in 
 the free and independent South." 
 
 " Oh, you have come on a bootless errand," he adds ; 
 " and you had better go home, for I have no doubt the 
 whole of the South will soon be as much under Lincoln aa 
 Kentucky is." 
 
 " Never ! we will fight till we die first." 
 
 This deceives the Union settler, and, chuckling over 
 his own contrary belief, he says : 
 
 " "Well, we'll see ; we'll see." 
 
 The adventurers do not dare disclose their real char- 
 acter, and the quiet loyalist entertains the supposed chiv- 
 alry, promising not to inform the Union pickets of their 
 refuge. 
 
 We do not justify such a resort to falsehood, but war 
 sets aside the rules of peaceful life. The next morning 
 they pushed on through the storm again, which soon beat 
 upon them with pitiless fury. At Manchester, entirely 
 beyond our lines, they found intense excitement over the 
 rumor of an approaching force of Yankee cavalry. Hast- 
 ening, with the peculiar emotions of loyal hearts, to the 
 public square, from which, it was stated, the invadera 
 were visible, they saw the dreaded troopers rising over 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 203 
 
 the crest of a hill. How suddenly the delusion vanished 1 
 For lo ! a company of negroes General Mitchel had 
 frightened from the coal-mining works he had just de- 
 stroyed, were hurrying into town. The chagrined chiv- 
 alry dispersed, cursing the " sons of Ham," on whose un- 
 requited toil they flourished, and for which they had open- 
 ed the sluices of human blood in the land. The dinner 
 hour found them hungry, and near a " Sand-hiller's " 
 solitary and humble drelling. 
 
 " What are " Sand-hillers " ? asks a young reader. 
 
 The name is applied to the poor whites of the South, 
 who feel almost as crushingly the curse of slavery as do 
 those who are bought and sold. They own no land, but 
 have their cabins on the poorest soil of the planters, and 
 with a corn-patch, live as they can by the fish-hook and 
 gun a miserably ignorant, squalid, servile class, who are 
 merely the tools of the aristocracy. They are also called 
 " clay-eaters." 
 
 A good appetite made even the coarse corn bread, 
 half baked, and tainted meat relish the only repast the 
 raiders could have that dark day. At night they were 
 sheltered by a bitter secessionist, with whom they dis- 
 cussed the tyranny of the Republican Administration. 
 The morning of Thursday dawned on the weary and jaded 
 company, still a long distance from Chattanooga, deter- 
 mined to force their way on to the appointed place 
 of meeting, when Andrews concluded to defer the 
 
204 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 final dash a single day as it proved, a strangely fatal 
 delay. 
 
 A few hours latQr they were in Jasper, hearing and 
 seeing what they could ; apparently as good rebels as any 
 of the villagers. You will know more of this town in 
 General Mitchel's movements. Here, news of the battlo 
 of Shiloh were just received it was said, exultingly, that 
 thousands of Yankees were killed, and one man affirmed 
 that five hundred gunboats were sunk. After all sorts of 
 adventures getting lost among the Cumberland Moun- 
 tains, and perils among foes they followed a valley to 
 the river-bank, opposite Chattanooga. In an hour or two 
 the cars would pass on the opposite side, in which they 
 must be passengers. Between them and that track was a 
 ferry, swept by a gale of wind. The unsuspecting ferry- 
 man tried to cross, but his boat was beaten back, like- a 
 nautilus-shell in a storm at sea. After repeated efforts, 
 the hazardous passage was accomplished. 
 
 The next barrier, which was the most dreaded, was 
 the guard. But the arrival of General Mitchel at Hunts- 
 ville had so alarmed the people that they evidently forgot 
 the ferry in looking toward that centre of terrible interest 
 the armed watchmen were gone. With a sense of relief, 
 the little band hastened to the mountain-environed town, 
 near the rushing Tennessee. A peak, seven hundred feet 
 high, frowns in singular grandeur over it, from which 
 lookout four States are visible. t To the depot they hur 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 205 
 
 ried, and bought their tickets, when, just as the sun 
 stooped to bathe lovingly, with farewell smiles, 
 
 " Earth's gigantic sentinels, 
 
 Discoursing in the skies ! " 
 
 the train came thundering along. In another moment 
 the raiders were safely seated in the cars, and gliding 
 along those smooth metallic lines, gleaming in the golden 
 flame of the west, toward Marietta. Sleep overcame the 
 exhausted travellers, until the conductor's call, at mid- 
 night, " Marietta ! " startled them to realize that the goal 
 was won they " were in the centre of the Confederacy." 
 They walked, with rapid step and quickened pulse, to 
 the Trcmont House. With strange, sobered thoughts, 
 they went to their last bed for many eventful, memorable 
 months. 
 
 The leader, Andrews, who stopped at another hotel, 
 had given orders to start in the four o'clock train the next 
 morning. The waiter awakened the unsuspected " boys " 
 at that hour. Big Shanty, eight miles from Marietta, 
 where the train stopped for breakfast, was selected for the 
 daring attempt to seize the engine, and drive it in hot 
 haste for our lines. 
 
 The early morning air and the vernal bloom softened 
 even roe savage aspect of war along the route, bordered 
 with cncainpmonts, and scarred with the hoofs and wheels 
 of their locomotion. And here I shall let young Pittin- 
 ger tell his own story : 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 " As soon as we arrived, the engineer, conductor, and 
 many of the passengers went over to the eating-house. 
 Now was our opportunity ! Andrews and one or two 
 others, went forward and examined the track to see if 
 every thing was in readiness for a rapid start. Oh ! what 
 a thrilling moment was that ! Our hearts throbbed thick 
 and fast with emotions we dared not manifest to those 
 who were loafing indifferently around. In a minute, 
 which seemed an hour, Andrews came back, opened the 
 door, and said very quietly and carelessly, ' Let us go, 
 now, boys.' Just as quietly and carelessly we arose and 
 followed him. The passengers, who were lazily waiting 
 for the train to move on and carry them to their destina- 
 tion, saw nothing in this transaction to excite their suspi- 
 cions. 
 
 " Leisurely we moved forward reached the head of the 
 train then Andrews, Brown, our engineer, and Knight, 
 who also could run an engine, leaped on the locomotive ; 
 Alfred Wilson took the cars as brakesman, and the re- 
 mainder of us clambered into the foremost baggage car, 
 wjiich, with two others, had previously been uncoupled 
 from the hinder part of the train. For one moment of 
 most intense suspense <all was still then a pull a jar 
 a clang and we were flying away on our perilous jour- 
 ney. 
 
 "There are times in the life of man when whole 
 years of intensest- enjoyment seem condensed into a single 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 207 
 
 moment. It was so with me then. My heart throbbed 
 with delight and gladness that words labor in vain to ex- 
 press. A sense of ethereal lightness ran through all my 
 veins, and I seemed to be ascending higher -higher into 
 realms of inexpressible bliss, with each pulsation of the 
 engine. It was a moment of triumphant joy that will 
 never return again. Not a dream of failure now shad- 
 
 I 
 
 owed my rapture. All had told us that the greatest diffi- 
 culty was to reach and take possession of the engine, and 
 after that success was certain. It would have been but 
 for unforeseen contingencies. Away we scoured, passing 
 field, and village, and woodland. At each leap of the en- 
 gine our hearts rose higher, and we talked merrily of the 
 welcome that would greet us when into Huntsville a few 
 hours later our enterprise done, and the brightest lau- 
 rels of the guerrilla Morgan far eclipsed ! 
 
 u But the telegraph ran by our side, and was able, by 
 flashing a single lightning message ahead, to arrest our 
 progress and dissipate all our fondest hopes. To obviate 
 all danger on this point, we stopped, after running some 
 four miles, to cut the wire. John Scott, an active young 
 man, climbed the pole, and with his hand knocked off the 
 insulated box, and swung down on the wire. Fortunately 
 there was a small saw on the engine, with which the wire 
 was soon severed. While this was being dono, another 
 party took up a rail, and put it into the car to carry off 
 with us. This did not long check our pursuers, but we 
 
208 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 had the satisfaction of learning that it threw them down 
 the embankment. 
 
 " When the engine first stopped Andrews jumped off, 
 clasped our hands in ecstacy, congratulating us that our 
 difficulties were now all over ; that we had the enemy at 
 such a disadvantage that he could not harm us, and ex- 
 hibited every sign of joy. 
 
 " ' Only one train more/ said he, * to pass, and then 
 we will put our engine at full speed, burn the bridges af- 
 ter us, dash through Chattanooga, and on to Mitchel at 
 Huntsville.' " 
 
 Alas for the boasted wisdom and security of human 
 plans ! The expected train came rushing on the plea 
 that Beauregard ordered the strange haste gave them an 
 unchallenged flight still onward, but a red flag on the last 
 car told of another coming engine it swept by, and also 
 hung out the flaming signal. The whistle of the pursuing 
 engine now shrieked on their ears ! 
 
 The steam was crowded the ponderous wheels went 
 round like a spinning-top, and struck fire on the sounding 
 rail the car bounded and rocked, tossing the raiders about, 
 as " peas rattle in a gourd ; " but on the exasperated reb- 
 els rushed. Such a war-scene was never witnessed before. 
 Nearly a mile a minute, the pursued and pursuers fiew 
 past villages, hamlets, and houses, from which the aston- 
 ished people gazed with terror, till within fifteen miles of 
 Chattanooga. The alarm had called out the military 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 209 
 
 force there cannon were planted ready to fire on the im- 
 aginary host trees were felled across the track to oppose 
 the advance for the- telegraph had helped the enemy 
 in spite of early success in cutting it. Wood and water 
 
 
 
 were now low, and the hunters in sight ! 
 
 Andrews seemed bewildered. Instead of holding to- 
 gether his band, and striking across the woods for the 
 Tennessee River, only about a dozen miles distant, he 
 shouted : 
 
 " Leave the train disperse and each man save him- 
 self as best he can." 
 
 A moment more and the "boys" were scattered 
 among the spurs of the Cumberland Mountains. Soon as 
 the first shock of the unexpected and stunning blow had 
 passed away, and the rebels found that the " engine- 
 thieves" were in the wilderness, the great "man-hunt" 
 began. 
 
 "We cannot follow them through their wanderings and 
 hiding-places, with hunger, and thirst, and bruises, added 
 to the continual fears of discovery which haunted the fu- 
 gitives. But one after another they were chased down, 
 and carried into Chattanooga. Here they were thrown 
 into an old negro prison, with its dark subterranean dun- 
 geon, where, through a trap-door, the captives were hur- 
 ried in a suffocating air and oppressive gloom. Daily, at 
 the same opening, the jailer let down in a bucket the email 
 pieces of bread and meat for their meals. 
 
CHAPTER XVH. 
 
 A brave Boy The Dungeon Iron Cages The escape and arrest of Andrews 
 The Death-warrant Deep Experiences General Mitchel blameless in the 
 whole affair. 
 
 T Einggold, Robinson and young Parrott were 
 taken. The captors determined to make Par- 
 rott betray his companions, especially An- 
 drews. He nobly declined to do so. Then they 
 stripped him, laid him on a rock, and a lieuten- 
 ant gave him a hundred laslies. He bore them without a 
 murmur or wavering in his purpose. The " heroic boy " 
 was then chained and conveyed to the prison, where all 
 were handcuffed and bound together, by twos and threes, 
 around the neck. 
 
 One day light broke into that horrible place, which 
 kindled a smile upon the haggard faces of the prisoners, 
 and made them feel like shouting it was the tidings that 
 Bridgeport was taken by General Mitchel. This splendTd 
 victory is recorded in another place. After the capture, 
 one of two who did not awaken in the morning, at Mari- 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 211 
 
 etta, to go with tfreir companions, succeeded in reaching 
 our lines from a rebel battery which they had been com- 
 pelled to join. This created a suspicion in regard to the 
 other, who was also put in the " black hole " of Chatta- 
 nooga. 
 
 The inmates were all suddenly removed to Atlanta, 
 Georgia, under the startling apprehension that General 
 Mitchel would visit Chattanooga in his mysterious and 
 rapid movements. 
 
 A few days later, when the fear of immediate danger had 
 subsided, the prisoners were returned to Chattanooga, and 
 thence to Knoxville, Tennessee, for trial. Here they found, 
 in frightful want and suffering, many Union men who re- 
 fused to acknowledge the Confederacy. The higher class 
 of captives the prison aristocracy were confined in iron 
 cages. There were five of these in the fine and antiquat- 
 ed old building used for a military prison. A part of the 
 company of" engine thieves," as they were called through- 
 out the South, were put into the very one in which Par- 
 son Brownlow was caged and shot at by his guards ; the 
 bullet marks were still upon it. 
 
 Such are the tender mercies of professedly civilized 
 men, engaged in a cause which fires the base passions 
 nourished by slavery under the surface-dressing of soci- 
 ety. 
 
 While the court-martial was in session, several weeks 
 later, when number seven in the list was called, there 
 
212 LIFE OF GENERAL MITOHEL. 
 
 was a pause. A strange sound was in the air. They 
 listened it was a shell ! General Mitchel, whose mag- 
 nificent dash through rebel States was troubling the sub- 
 jects of Jeff. Davis all along his route, was opposite 
 Chattanooga, and sending his heralds over the river. 
 Never did a court break up more suddenly, and away for 
 Atlanta again the prisoners went Atlanta ! the splendid 
 prize of the unrivalled Sherman two years later. 
 
 The barbarities of the rebels, who have always, you 
 know, talked of mercy, and complained of Yankee cru- 
 elty, are illustrated in two other instances I will add. 
 One man, by the name of Whan, who assisted in burn- 
 ing bridges, was put in a barrel filled uith spikes, rolled 
 down a hill, and then taken out bleeding, and liung. An- 
 drews when swung off from the gallows, among the first 
 caught, touched the ground ; so the murderers dug the 
 earth from under his feet, to save repeating the execu- 
 tion. 
 
 " How was he caught?" you ask. 
 
 He was pursued with the rest, and overtaken. With 
 a comrade he escaped, with blankets tied together, from 
 the prison in Chattanooga. Crossing the river, he reach- 
 ed an island. But his hunters, with bloodhounds, came 
 there. Nearly naked, and bleeding, he ran from one side 
 of the island to the other, and through the water, to elude 
 the dogs, and at length climbed a tree of thick foliage. 
 After the rebels had given up the search in despair cf 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCITEL. 213 
 
 finding him, two children, who had followed from mere 
 curiosity, saw a bunch on the tree. Carefully looking at 
 it, they called out, "It is a man ! " The alarm was 
 sounded ; poor Andrews, faint and disheartened, dropped 
 from the tree, seized a log in the water, and paddled out ; 
 but a skiff with men in it was near, and he had to sur- 
 render. He was taken back, and soon after hung, as al- 
 ready described. 
 
 And thus ended the career of a young man of intel- 
 lect, energy, and culture, who, like Major Andre, the 
 British spy, a finished gentleman, was a felon-victim of 
 war ; that is to say, died a criminal's death. And yet 
 it is the character, and not the mode of dying, that makes 
 the event important. 
 
 Hearing that a yon of General Mitchel was captured, 
 it raised the hope in the hearts of the survivors of an 
 exchange, which proved an illusion. Passing over fur- 
 ther detail:* of this tragic and romantic history, we will 
 look in upon Atlanta jail, while General Mitchel was 
 spreading terror along his path of conquest, sad, with a 
 host around him, at the failure of the almost recklessly 
 daring adventure, and the fate of his brave men. You 
 shall again hear the noble young Pittinger tell the tale of 
 sorrow and joy most affectingly mingled : 
 
 " One day while we were very merry, amusing our- 
 selves with games and stories, we saw a squadron of cav 
 airy approaching. This did not at first ercite any atten* 
 
214 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 tion, for it was a common thing to see bodies of horse- 
 men in the streets ; but soon we observed them halt at our 
 gate and surround the prison. What could this mean? 
 
 " A moment after, the clink of the officers' swords was 
 heard, as they ascended the stairway, and we knew that 
 something unusual was about to take place. They paused 
 at our door, threw it open, and called the names of our 
 seven companions. With throbbing hearts we asked one 
 another the meaning of these strange proceedings. Some 
 supposed they were to receive their sentence ; others, still 
 more sanguine, believed they were taken out of the room 
 to be paroled, preparatory to an exchange. I was sick, 
 but rose to my feet, oppressed with a nameless fear. 
 
 " A moment after, the door opened, and George D. 
 Wilson entered, his step firm and his form erect, but his 
 countenance pale as death. Some one asked a solution 
 of the dreadful mystery, in a whisper, for his face silenced 
 us all. 
 
 " ' We are to be executed immediately ! ' was the awful 
 reply, whispered with thrilling distinctness. The others 
 came in all tied, ready for the scaffold. Then came the 
 farewells farewells, with no hope of meeting again in 
 this world ! It was a moment that seemed an age of 
 measureless sorrow. Our comrades were brave ; they 
 were soldiers, and had often looked death in the face on 
 the battle-field. They were ready, if need be, to die for 
 their country ; but to die on the scaffold to die as mur- 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 215 
 
 derers die seemed almost too hard for human nature to 
 bear. Then, too, the prospect of a future world, into 
 which they were thus to be hurried, without a moment's 
 preparation, was black and appalling. Most of them had 
 been careless, and had no hope beyond the grave, Wil- 
 'on was a professed infidel, and many a time had argued 
 the truth of the Christian religion with me for half a day 
 at a single discussion ; but in this awful hour he said to 
 me : 
 
 " ; Pittinger, I believe you are right now ! Oh ! try 
 to be better prepared when you come to die than I am/ 
 
 " Then, laying his hand on my head, with a muttered 
 * God bless you/ we parted. 
 
 " Shadrack was profane and reckless, but good-heart- 
 ed and merry. Now turning to us, with a voice the 
 forced calmness of which was more affecting than a wail 
 of agony, he said : 
 
 " l Boys, I am not prepared to meet Jesus ! ' 
 
 " When asked by some of us, in tears, to think of 
 heaven, he answered, still in tones of thrilling calmness, 
 1 I'll try ! I'll try ! but I know I am not prepared ! ' 
 
 " Slavens, who was a man of immense strength and 
 iron resolution, turned to his friend Buffum, and could 
 only articulate ' Wife children tell ' when utterance 
 failed. 
 
 " Scott was married only three days before he came 
 to the army, and the thought of his young wife nearly 
 
216 LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 
 
 drove him to despair. He could only clasp his hands in 
 silent agony. 
 
 " Ross was the firmest of all. His eyes beamed with 
 unnatural light, and there was not a tremor in his voice 
 as he said : 
 
 " ' Tell them at home, if any of you escape, -that I 
 died for my country, and did not regret it.' 
 
 " All this transpired in a moment, and even the Mar- 
 shal and other officers standing by him in the door 
 exclaimed : c Hurry up, there ! Come on ! we can't 
 wait ! ' 
 
 " In this manner my poor comrades were hurried o 
 Robinson, who was too sick to walk, was dragged away 
 with them. They asked leave to bid farewell to our other 
 "boys, who were confined in the adjoining room, but it 
 was sternly refused ! Thus we parted. We saw the 
 death cart containing our comrades drive off, surrounded 
 by cavalry. In about an hour it came back empty. The 
 tragedy was complete ! " 
 
 Wilson asked permission to speak on the scaffold, 
 which was granted, doubtless anticipating something 
 which might excuse the murder. Instead of this he 
 made to his savage audience a calm, earnest, manly 
 Union speech. He assured them that the $outh was 
 wrong, and that the? flag of our country would again wave 
 over the very soil beneath his scaffold. The excited crowd 
 evidently felt the appeal, but did their work of death. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 217 
 
 Let us return to the prison and the group still within 
 its walls. Adds Pittinger : 
 
 " There were tears from eyes that shrank from no 
 danger. But I could not shed a tear. A cloud of burn- 
 ing heat rushed to my head that seemed to scorch through 
 every vein. Slowly and silently the moments wore on, 
 and no one ventured to whisper of hope. At last some 
 voice suggested that we should seek relief in prayer. The 
 very idea seemed to convey consolation, and was eagerly 
 accepted. Soon we knelt around the bare walls of our 
 strange sanctuary, and, with bleeding hearts, drew near 
 the throne of God. Captain Fry first led us, mingled 
 'with sobs and strong supplications. Then each followed 
 in turn, with one or two exceptions, and even these were 
 kneeling with the rest. As the twilight deepened, our 
 devotional exercises grew more solemn. In the lonely 
 shadow of coming night, with eternity then opening tan- 
 gibly before us, and standing on its very brink, we prayed 
 with a fervor that those who dwell in safety can scarcely 
 conceive. It was a holy hour ; and if the angels above 
 ever bend from their bright mansions to comfort human 
 sorrow, I do believe that they were then hovering near. 
 From that hour I date the birth of an immortal hope ; 
 and believe that many of my companions, also, in looking 
 back, will realize that they passed from death to life in 
 that dreary prison-room ! " 
 
 Young Pittinger was released after long months of 
 10 
 
218 LIFE OF GENEBAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 captivity, and became a minister of the Gospel which he 
 embraced in that Atlanta jail, over which waves the Star- 
 spangled Banner ! 
 
 I need not tell you that no blame attached to General 
 Mitchel, either because of the hazardous nature of the 
 expedition, or its failure. He did not suggest it ; and if 
 he had done so, it was only one of those great risks some- 
 times taken, which, if successful, would have been a 
 splendidly heroic affair ; but which, in this melancholy 
 result, excites but little interest. Still it was a subor- 
 dinate move in the grand marches of General Mitchel, 
 deserving a record that shall immortalize the patriotic 
 band who staked their lives upon its high design. 
 
CHAPTER XVIH. 
 
 The advance of the Third Division to Fayetteville The Old Planter The 
 Slaves The Grand March Scenes by the "Way In the Eiver Tho mys- 
 terious Night March The Prize Secured. 
 
 } HEN General Mitchel started from Shelbyville 
 the railroad raiders were lost from. view. He 
 had heard the rebel account of the so-called 
 defeat of General Grant at Shiloh. The pos- 
 sibility of darkest disaster there flung a dismal 
 shadow on his path ; but his chosen goal was before him. 
 Cautiously, rapidly, he moved over the twenty miles to 
 Fayetteville. This town is on Elk River, nearly south 
 of the former, on Duck River. Here General Mitchel 
 prepared to lead the Third Division forward to Hurits- 
 ville ; the entire force was to act with the leader in the 
 division in advance. April 10th he was at Fayetteville. 
 Then commenced another forced march unsurpassed in 
 modern warfare. 
 
 You will learn what the " boys" thought of Fayette- 
 
- 220 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 ville by an extract from a letter .written just after they 
 left it : " The order to march from Fayette ville was re- 
 ceived with pleasure a pleasure which was slightly 
 annoyed with regret that we had not destroyed the town 
 It is a miserable little secession hole ; and the shameful 
 insult that had been offered to our flag of truce, with the 
 threatening and scowling and searching looks of the in- 
 habitants whenever they showed themselves at the win- 
 dows of their houses, to which General Mitchel had or- 
 dered them, had pretty thoroughly angered us against 
 them. Nothing would have pleased the boys better than 
 to have given the rascals a lesson which would never 
 have departed from their memory, provided, after the 
 lesson, they had any memory left." 
 
 How gently in those days we did deal with foes who 
 scoffed and cursed in return ! It was well intended, but 
 sadly-mistaken kindness ; quite as much so as indulgence 
 of a wilful and rebellions child, whose greatest need is a 
 thorough whipping. It was not according to our hero's 
 views of the warfare. 
 
 When the troops crossed the boundary of Alabama 
 they found quite a number of Union men. Meeting a 
 venerable planter, he was questioned closely : " It seemed 
 like tearing out my heart to give up the old Union," ho 
 said ; " but when Alabama voted to separate, I thought 
 it my duty to sustain her." 
 
 " But Alabama, in attempting to break up the na 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 221 
 
 tion, did what she had no right to do," replied the 
 volunteer. 
 
 " Ah ! " responded the aged gentleman, " passion and 
 prejudice blinded our eyes to that truth." 
 
 " Are you willing, then, to see the authority of the na- 
 tional Government restored ? " was the next inquiry. 
 
 " Yes," said the planter, " and to pray from this time 
 forth that all her people may be willing to return to their 
 allegiance." 
 
 And then the heroes went " marching on," in doubt 
 whether the old slaveholder, after all, didn't mean to 
 go with Alabama whatever her course. Soon after the , 
 troops moved along the line of the rebel General L. P. 
 Walker's plantation, an immense estate, extending for 
 miles beside the road. The stately mansion was deserted, 
 and the furniture gone. Instead of " fair women and 
 brave men," it poured forth negroes in a throng, who 
 came to see the northern invaders. They laughed hys- 
 terically, they sang, they danced in their childlike glee. 
 
 " By golly," exclaimed an athletic, intelligent young 
 negro, " I'se a great notion to go along with dis crowd. 
 What do you say, massa ? " 
 
 " My poor friend," was the reply, " if you do you 
 will probably be turned out of our lines the first place we 
 encamp. Somebody who claims you will come and take 
 you back ; and besides being severely punished for running 
 away, you will in every respect be worse off than before." 
 
222 LIFE OF GENERAL 'MITCHEL. 
 
 "It is very hard, massa," lie resumed. His voice 
 trembled, the tears were gathering in his eyes, and the 
 volunteer confesses he had to ride away to hide his own. 
 But such was our "policy" then. One of General Walk- 
 er's plantation houses was in flames, but how it was fired 
 no one seemed to know. 
 
 The next striking incident along the march was meet- 
 ing a negro of the same plantation, with a heavy iron 
 ring and bolt fastened to his leg. 
 
 " How long have you worn that?" asked a cavalry- 
 man. 
 
 " Three months, massa," answered the slave. 
 
 The trooper slid from his horse, knocked off the 
 fetters, fastened them to his saddle, and rode off, mutter- 
 ing : " I would forfeit a year's pay for the privilege of 
 transferring them to the leg of the rascal who put them 
 on that man." That is slavery. 
 
 It must have -been a splendid sight those columns, 
 like a solid mass, moved by a single genius, rushing for- 
 ward to surprise the enemy, hour after hour, over field, 
 through forest, and across streams, as if unconscious of 
 fatigue. If a rebel is caught he is sent to the rear, so 
 that he may give no intelligence to his friends. 
 
 On on the troops, inspired with their chieftain's 
 ardor, press. The bayonets gleam, the artillery thunders 
 along, the horses seem to prance with sympathetic haste, 
 and jokes pass from rank to rank to cheer the brave hearts 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 223 
 
 on the way. Broad plantations, verdant woods, flashing 
 waters recede in the distance, as the battalions march 
 toward the unsuspecting enemy. The sun goes down on 
 the scene, reflected from gold, silver, and steel, with no 
 sign of faltering in the " boys." Suddenly they came to 
 a stream wide and deep. There were no boats, no 
 bridges. That night they must cross to reach the goal in 
 the morning. The pause is brief. In the gloom General 
 Mitchel flies on his steed along the lines, and says : " My 
 boys, there is but one chance for us. Will you plunge in 
 with me ? " A hurrah and in they dash. The waters 
 surge around them in the shadows, vexed, as never before, 
 by an armed host, darkening all the flood. Emerging from 
 the baptism for the next day's stern and perilous work, 
 they built their camp-fires and prepared for sleep. While 
 General Mitchel was sitting by his crackling 'flame, with 
 no other mark of a chieftain's headquarters, a soldier 
 leading a negro came into its glare, the first prisoner of 
 the raid. The astonished captive stood in mute suspense 
 before the commander, who said mildly to him : 
 
 " Well, what have you to say?" 
 
 " Massa, dey going to eat you up down dare in Hunts- 
 ville. Dey got five thousand troops down there, sir." 
 
 " How do you know that?" 
 
 " I heard my massa say so at supper table to-night. 
 I've come out of Huntsville, and am sure of it. De 
 trains come in, locomotives whistle, five of 'em. Each 
 
224: LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 of 'eni brought a thousand soldiers. Many beside dare 
 before ; and dey 'stroy you certain, sir." 
 
 It was likely enough to be true so far as troops were 
 concerned. On their way to Corinth they might be ready 
 to welcome the bold adventurers with their fresh and su- 
 perior force. No matter ; the die was cast. No thought 
 of retreat or hesitation stole over a single mind. Then 
 nature yielded to the demand for repose. Soundly slept 
 the wet heroes till two o'clock in the morning. 
 
 General Mitchel, awaking from brief slumber, went 
 through the camp with the muffled voice and step of a 
 spirit from the dark depths of the forest. No drum 
 beat, no signal gun disturbed the silence. The whispered 
 words were few. But the legions rose as if by magic in 
 line of march, waiting for the word of command to dash 
 forward. To each regiment, while moving past him to 
 receive his final orders of advance, he said : " Now, boys, 
 perfect silence ; not a word to be uttered. Move straight 
 forward, and let not the enemy know that you are ad- 
 vancing bj^any sound whatever." 
 
 Never was a chieftain's command more faithfully 
 obeyed. A more spectral march of living men was 
 never seen. The well-drilled thousands swept along 
 with no sound but the faint echoes of hoof -and wheel 
 in the gloom of waning night. 
 
 Impressive, marvellous scene ! That fragment of the 
 national army, separated by more than a hundred miles 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 225 
 
 of hostile land from the rest of it, fearlessly, noiselessly 
 threading unknown paths in twilight shadow, to strike at 
 a vital point the unsuspecting traitors. So still is that 
 march that the columns go through a small town five miles 
 from Huntsville without waking a sleeper. The whole 
 force defile through the streets, brushing the very threshr 
 old of dwellings ; and when the sun shines on the risen 
 inhabitants, not one of them knows .that the brave host 
 have been there. Scarcely an hour after that hamlet of 
 unmolested rebels is passed in the reddening dawn, an ad- 
 vance force of a hundred and fifty cavalry, together with 
 a part of Captain Simonson's battery, assisted by Lieut- 
 enant M. Allen, the whole under the charge of Colonel 
 Kennett, first catch a glimpse of Huntsville and the beau- 
 tiful cedars surrounding it. They want to shout ; but not 
 a sound breaks in upon the death-like stillness. 
 
 There lies the prize of long, sometimes wet and weary 
 marching. No herald has apprised the unsuspecting in- 
 habitants of the danger near. The morning faintly kin- 
 dles, as hitherto, upon the hills and roofs of fancied 
 security. The iron track gleams in the morning light ; 
 workmen, in their humble dwellings along its line, as un- 
 conscious as itself of the advent of new managers and 
 hands tc run the road. But the decisive blow will be no 
 martial pastime. The troops understand the game and 
 the stake. To seize the great path of transportation and 
 travelling, cutting the communication between the rich 
 10* 
 
226 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 and boundless West, and the blockaded, war-ravaged 
 East, might be no v very difficult move. To apply the 
 torch to the extensive machine shops running day and 
 night for the Confederacy, and make a bonfire of the 
 depots piled with army supplies of material, might not 
 cost much conflict or time. But General Mitchel knew 
 his perilous ground, even with this accomplished. 
 
 Nearly east was the stronghold of Chattanooga, where 
 the defiant foe challenged the strength of the Union army. 
 A little further west was Corinth, whose fortunes for the 
 few days of his swift march had been changing, he knew 
 not how. The report was that they were greatly im- 
 proved by our defeat. Instead of such disaster, the 
 country was wild with excitement over the enemy's 
 repulse. 
 
 General Grant had stemmed the overwhelming tide 
 of rebellion, and, reenforced by General Buell, had rolled 
 it back toward Corinth. Congress paused to hear and 
 cheer over the telegram, and a salute of a hundred guns 
 thundered forth the jubilant joy from the national capital. 
 General Mitchel had no signal of the victory. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 General Mitchel enters Huntsville The Union Flag and the Loyal Judge Tha 
 Scenes in the Town Bridges Burned Bridgeport Decatur Tuscumbia 
 Congratulations A brilliant attack on the enemy at Bridgeport Ad- 
 vancing in the cheerful morning air. 
 
 )HE advance dashed forward on double-quick, 
 when two locomotives came puffing toward 
 them. A flash, and the first artillery thunder 
 broke the stillness, and was the order to stop. One 
 of the engineers tried to escape, when another 
 command from the brazen orator of freedom brought him 
 to a halt. In a twinkling away dashed the first engine 
 and train, and the cavalry after it ; a hundred and fifty 
 Gilpins chasing the iron horse ten miles, with the speed of 
 the wind. The whole force now came up. Troops are 
 suddenly seen moving toward the right, and stealing 
 toward the railroad. Another swept away to the left. 
 Both were armed with the roughest implements of war, 
 iron bar and " pick," to destroy not human, but business 
 life. Their attack was to be directed to the unoffending 
 
228 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 metal and wood. See yonder another body of soldiers 
 moving toward the town and tliere^ another. Why is 
 this division of strength ? It is not the bloody encounter 
 they expect or seek, but the capture, without a gun or 
 shot, of depot, telegraph office, and every other valuable 
 public building of the city. Quietly they advance ; no 
 sign of expectation of the visit appears. The brightening 
 sky bends over a slumbering people. 
 
 The word of command to move on Huntsville is 
 passed along the lines. General Mitchel leads the troops 
 into the startled town. Like the lightning flash the alarm 
 flies over the city. The first notes of terror are the 
 screams of locomotives, making haste to escape with 
 their trains. But they soon find the end of the track 
 the iron bar and pickaxe have been there before them. 
 East and west the puffing engines stop. The operator 
 hastens to the telegraph office to announce to friends who 
 may come to the rescue, the advent of the " Yankees ; " 
 but a new occupant is there. The depot master and 
 -others rush to the storehouse of supplies to destroy, but 
 armed men have the needed freight under bayonet charge. 
 
 But look ! Over that excited population, from a slender 
 flagstaff on a private mansion, the national ensign is float- 
 ing in the breeze. What can it mean ? for it was there 
 when the " Third Division" reached the city. A brave 
 patriot lives under those starry folds. 
 
 The Hon. Judge Lane accepted the appointment to the 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 229 
 
 judicial bench from President Lincoln, soon after his inau- 
 guration. He knew the dangers of the position. The South 
 had entered upon the mad work of resistance to the lawful 
 'Administration, hurling denunciation upon those who ap- 
 proved it. But Judge Lane was a man of resolute will 
 and courage. He told his angry fellow-citizens that he 
 intended to perform, according to his ability, the duties 
 of his office regardless of their displeasure. The infu- 
 riated mob surged around his dwelling, and threatened 
 both it and himself. 
 
 " Resign ! resign ! " was the loud demand. 
 
 " I am ready to die," he replied, " for my country, if 
 necessary ; but I am a loyal man to my Government, and 
 shall remain so till death." 
 
 To leave no shadow of doubt on the minds of the as- 
 tonished traitors, he seized a flag of the Union, and bore 
 it to the top of his house, saying, that " whoever dared 
 attempt to tear it down, would have to pass over his 
 dead body." 
 
 This sublime moral courage and defiance, seemed 
 to awe the exasperated haters of the old flag, and they 
 did not venture on further violence. 
 
 Are you not reminded of the gallant Ellsworth ? He 
 died tearing down the banner of treason ; and we cannot 
 help feeling that his heroism had in it a dash of rashness 
 that his valuable life might, without that, have been spared. 
 
 Judge Lane's safety, on the contrary, depended on 
 
230 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCH EL. 
 
 fearlessness ; and the cause he loved, called for the manly 
 scorn of the treasonable throng. Pie was one of the few 
 in the Cotton States, who continued unseduced and un- 
 moved amid the bribery and threats of the lawless con- 
 spirators against the Republic. The citizens of Hunts- 
 ville were unarmed, and many of them undressed^ when 
 the footsteps of the gallant invaders echoed through the 
 streets. It was too evident that no defence could be 
 made successfully to attempt it, and the town surrendered 
 to the abhorred defenders of the starry flag of the Union. 
 
 Sixteen locomotives, and a hundred cars, fell into our 
 hands. Indeed, all the resources of the important place 
 came under the ^new administration without injury, the 
 surprise was so complete and admirably conducted. 
 General Mitchel ascertained in an hour, through his 
 proper officer, the exact condition and availability of the 
 railroad. The means of transportation were sufficient 
 for moving his forces to any desired point on its track. 
 If you turn again to the map, you will notice that the 
 Tennessee River in its southerly course bends into Ala- 
 bama, and is crossed eastwardly from Huntsville at 
 Bridgeport by the railway, and westwardly at Decatur, 
 which is south of Nashville. 
 
 General Mitchel decided at once to send an expedi- 
 tion to each, and burn the noble structures, to cut off the 
 approach of enemies. He commanded the one toward 
 Chattanooga ; Colonel Turchin the one in the direction of 
 
LIFE OF GENEEAL MITCHEL. 231 
 
 Corinth. General Mitchel stopped at Stevenson, a town at 
 the junction of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad 
 with the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, on which 
 Huntsville stands, to secure whatever was valuable to 
 him at that important connection. He then went on, and 
 applied the torch to the Bridgeport bridges. He was now 
 secure from an attack by an advance from either direc- 
 tion by the railroad. On Saturday he reached Huntsville 
 again. The work of destruction for safety was all done. 
 
 The Sabbath dawned. General Mitchel loved this 
 sacred pause in the world's busy life. Could he have 
 acted with his feelings, the day would have been given up 
 to devout thanksgiving, and entire rest from military 
 movements, and even plans. But war has no holy time ; 
 and without a mutual agreement by the hostile armies, it 
 would be impossible to keep the day. And even then, it 
 would be extremely difficult to regulate the marches and 
 battles with regard to its observance. On that morning, 
 when, all over the loyal States, the sound of the church 
 bells floated over the peaceful homes, the cars were con- 
 veying General Mitchel to Decatur. 
 
 What a Sabbath it was there, and beyond ! The 
 enemy was flying in terror, the excited imagination 
 magnifying the number of the Union troops, and creating 
 an unreal fear of their nearness. The smoke of burning 
 bridges left in the wake of retreat, rose here and there, 
 the offering to Mars from those plains of slavery. 
 
232 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 General Mitchel hastened forward his troops in 
 hot pursuit. The chase was continued to Tuscumbia, 
 about half way to Corinth, and opposite Florence, on the 
 other bank of the river. It is in Franklin County, Ala- 
 bama, a mile from the Tennessee River. There is here 
 a curiosity. From a fissure in the solid limestone rock, 
 a living spring gushes forth, discharging from the smooth, 
 pure mouth, twenty thousand cubic feet of water every 
 minute. What a blessing such a fountain will be if ever 
 a large city supplants with northern enterprise the quiet 
 village ! It is sixty-seven miles from Huntsville. 
 
 Here he communicated with the " Department of the 
 Mississippi," where General Grant was getting ready to 
 move on Corinth. His despatches to General Buell, dated 
 at Tuscumbia, gave an account of his brilliant successes 
 in modest language. This very cautious officer, superior 
 only in command, read them with surprise, if not regret. 
 The comparatively new general had made a clear track 
 for the Union troops, one hundred and fifty miles across 
 the rebel State of Alabama. The brief period, the un- 
 surpassed boldness and heroism of the achievement, start- 
 led and gladdened loyal hearts all over the land. Think 
 of it in two days from the morning he came like a whirl- 
 wind upon Huntsville, that entire distance had changed 
 hands ; dilapidated locomotives were completely repaired, 
 and every thing pertaining to the road was in running 
 order. The shops rang with the sound of " Yankee " 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 233 
 
 blows, the engineers had on their caps the " U. S," and 
 the whole was guarded by northern volunteers. Mean- 
 while, a new time-table was prepared and printed, to 
 guide the conductors, who, had they been ' caught there 
 unarmed and with no evil design, three days before, would 
 have ridden on quite a different rail. You can imagine 
 the amazement, alarm, and rage, which made all this seem 
 like a horrid dream to the inhabitants. And you will be 
 interested in General Mitchel's spirited congratulations to 
 his troops, in which he sums up the brilliant exploits of 
 the few days before. % 
 
 HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION. ) 
 
 CAMP TAYLOR, HUNTSYILLE, April 16, 1862. } 
 
 Soldiers : Your march upon Bowling Green won the 
 thanks and confidence of our commanding general. With 
 engines and cars captured from the enemy, our .advanced 
 guard precipitated itself upon Nashville. It was now 
 made your duty to seize and destroy the Memphis and 
 Charleston Railway, the great military road of the enemy. 
 With a supply-train only sufficient to feed you at a dis- 
 tance of two days* march from your depot, you undertook 
 the herculean task of rebuilding twelve hundred feet of 
 heavy bridging, which, by your untiring energy, was ac- 
 complished in ten days. Thus, by a railway of your own 
 construction, your depot of supplies was removed from 
 Nashville to Shelby ville, nearly sixty miles in the direction 
 of the object of your attack. The blow now became prac- 
 
234: LIFE OP GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 ticable. Marching with a celerity such as to outstrip any 
 messenger who might have attempted to announce your 
 coming, you fell upon Huntsville, taking your enemy com- 
 pletely by surprise, and capturing not only his great mili- 
 tary road, but all his machine-shops and rolling stock. 
 Thus providing yourselves with ample transportation, you 
 have struck blow after blow with a rapidity unparalleled. 
 Stevenson fell, sixty miles to the east of Huntsville. De- 
 catur and Tuscumbia have been in like manner seized, 
 and are now occupied. In three days you have extended 
 your front of operations more than one hundred and 
 twenty miles, and your morning gun at Tuscumbia may 
 now be heard by your comrades on the battle field made 
 glorious by the victory before Corinth. A communica- 
 tion of these facts to headquarters has not only now the 
 thanks of our commanding general, but those of the De- 
 partment of War, which I announce to you with proud 
 satisfaction. Accept the thanks of your commander, and 
 let your future deeds demonstrate that you can surpass 
 
 yourselves . By order of 
 
 Gen. O. M. MITCHEL. 
 
 
 
 Having determined to attack the enemy at Bridgeport 
 on the 29th, General Mitchel was within three miles of 
 the town, after a rapid and most difficult march. Here 
 he encountered the enemy's pickets. " Crack ! crack ! " 
 sound the rifles, and away they fly. The valorous chief 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 235 
 
 hurries on to the railway bridge which he had burned, 
 and by a feint of general attack there, makes the rebels 
 believe the trial of strength has come. Meanwhile, form- 
 ing with the artillery in the centre, the Thirty-third and 
 Second Ohio on the right, and the Tenth and Twenty- 
 first Ohio on the left, he sweeps round between two divisions 
 of the foe, toward the crest of a hill overlooking his en- 
 trenchments. Daring stroke of strategy ! He is between 
 two mill-stones if they discern the move, and can grind 
 them together before he is able to defeat them, he will 
 be hopelessly crushed. But with superhuman energy 
 he presses across the ground, and up the slope. Now 
 look ! There in battle array stands Mitchel's brigade, 
 almost under it are the enemy's works. The first alarm 
 had startled the troops to arms, but their fears had sub- 
 sided in the lull of his advance over the country, the very 
 cause of greatest alarm had they known it. The Sabbath 
 sun is sinking in the west. His farewell beams fall in 
 dazzling splendor on the stacked arms of the regiments, 
 who have coolly gone to supper. 
 
 Major Loornis, a brave officer, steps forward to the 
 very edge of the summit, and gazes down upon the rebels, 
 counting their number. Then falling back, he gives the 
 command to fire. Oh! watch those shells and balls 
 crushing through the lines of men at the table of the 
 evening repast. Blood and fragments of flesh are the 
 quick response. Then a rush to arms, another discharge 
 
236 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 of our artillery, and the rebels retreat, firing the noble 
 bridge for the public travel as they go. General Mitchel 
 hastens forward to save it. It rested on an island, and 
 he rescues from the flames the main structure extending 
 from this natural abutment. 
 
 The general, anticipating a reinforcement by the 
 other division of the enemy upon the railroad, hasten- 
 ed to that part of the field. Soon the fresh troops came 
 dashing down the line in splendid style the body of cav- 
 alry making an imposing and martial appearance, which 
 drew forth the spontaneous admiration of our men. The 
 Union artillery opened, cutting a gap in a moment through 
 the chivalrous ranks. The deadly greeting was repeated, 
 and then the horses' heads were turned for flight " the 
 red field was won." 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Practical Questions The Enemy must pay the Army Expenses The Trials 
 of Loyalty General Mitchel believed in crushing the Eebellion The Cot- 
 ton Bridge Slavery Negroes reliable Anecdote. 
 
 EVERAL questions now tried the wisdom and 
 ability of General Mitchel. The first was, how 
 to hold the conquered territory in the midst of 
 enemies. From Nashville to Decatur the road 
 was open, and it was not difficult to get sufficient 
 food for the troops. But the poor horses their racks and 
 mangers were empty, or scantily supplied. These " un- 
 armed heroes " must starve unless forage is obtained from 
 the country around them. General Mitchel's comprehen- 
 sive and practical genius is equal to the emergency. A 
 good man is always merciful to the brute. No surer evi- 
 dence of a narrow or base mind, than cruelty to the de- 
 pendent animal, can be given. Not only was humanity a 
 conspicuous quality of General Mitchel's character, but 
 horses and mules are as needful as men in war ; that is to 
 say, they are indispensable, and they must be fed. 
 
238 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 The sagacious commander set his scribes to work. 
 These were Union men whose principles had been tried, 
 like Judge Lane's, almost in the flames of martyrdom. 
 It was easy to complete this roll of honor the list of the 
 faithful amid treachery. 
 
 My reader, it is impossible for you to realize the trial 
 of loyalty in the Border and Cotton States. No ordeal 
 excepting the inquisition, and manifold tortures of Papal 
 persecutions in the centuries past, compares with it. 
 Demons abroad could have done no more to vex and 
 ruin. For no other crime than loyalty to the old flag, 
 unoffending citizens were taken from their place of busi- 
 ness, or on the highway, and shot or hung. Dwellings 
 were burned, and helpless women and children left roof- 
 less in the dead of night and winter. I knew a widow 
 who was living in that region of rebel power, who, be- 
 cause her husband had joined the Union army, when he 
 was at home on a short furlough was visited by a band 
 of rebels. He was demanded, but she refused to tell 
 them where he was. Searching they found him, and 
 fired upon him, wounding him. He fled to the yard, 
 when several bullets soon finished the work of death. 
 Ileentering the house, they asked for the rest of the 
 family. She had hidden a son in the chimney. They 
 then made preparations to burn the dwelling before the 
 tearful face of the mother, taking the last blanket from a 
 sick child. When she asked for her husband, " Oh," the 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 239 
 
 fiends replied, "you'll find him in the yard." "You 
 haven't murdered him ! " With a wife's frantic affec- 
 tion she flew to the lawn, and there beneath the watch- 
 ful stars lay the pierced and bleeding body. But she 
 was a mother too, and hastened again to plead for her 
 children. Destitute and bereaved, the traitors left her at 
 length, hurling back curses on the midnight air. 
 
 The tragical incident is an illustration of common 
 scenes, varying in the degree of atrocity, belting the 
 broad land from the Carolinas to the "Western territories. 
 
 General Mitchel soon obtained from the tried loyalists 
 the long list of open, determined rebels. He had also 
 the names of the smaller number of the once loyal, who, 
 yielding to the terrible sweep of the current of secession, 
 were borne on its angry bosom. When the enrollment 
 of the citizens was completed, General Mitchel sent an 
 order to the undisguised enemies of the Union, demand- 
 ing a correct statement of the contents of their granaries. 
 The hay and grain, with supplies of every kind, were to be 
 truthfully stated. The number of their horses and mules 
 was included in the required memoranda ; for the com- 
 manding general intended to provide for, and if wanted, 
 use them. Any concealment or treachery in the trans- 
 action, if suspected, would be thoroughly searched out, 
 and receive the merited punishment. General Mitchel 
 was just, but no trifler with rebellion. The enemy saw 
 that he meant all he said, and made correct returns. 
 
24:0 LIFE OF GENEKAL . MITCHEL. 
 
 Excepting a sufficient allowance for the plantations, noth- 
 ing could be used, nothing sold or given away, without 
 his permission. 
 
 It was a principle with him, and in that regard ha 
 was in advance of a majority of the Union officers, and 
 even statesmen, to spare no rebel interest which sustained 
 the revolt, and employ whatever resources of success in 
 subduing it, he found on hostile soil. The rebellion was 
 "evil and only evil, and that continually" in his view. 
 No affectation of charity for our "misguided brethren" 
 lightened the pressure of his hand on the foes of his 
 country. In this respect he resembled the pioneer in 
 right opinions and action, General Butler. No king ever 
 ruled with more unquestioned power, and more nolly, 
 for the cause of freedom and the Union, than he did in 
 New Orleans. General Mitchel comprehended likewise 
 the real issue, and the people we had to deal with, in 
 saving the nation. 
 
 When th'e census was finished, he directed his quarter- 
 master to go the traitors, and demand a tenth of their 
 possessions which were useful to his army. Watch the 
 officer at the door of that elegant mansion, in which the 
 proud planter stands. 
 
 " We have called with an order from the general to 
 get supplies," quietly says the officer. 
 
 The planter growls, wants to resist, but yields, and 
 .directs his slave to " load up." This scene is repeated 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 241 
 
 till the desired quantity is received. The rebels then 
 present their bills, which are promptly paid. 
 
 By this means General Mitchel supplies his army, 
 and robbed no man. His severity was the severity of 
 justice. The foe had to support the military visitors with 
 a hospitality compelled by the sword, and bribed by the 
 price in " greenbacks." And who furnished the " green- 
 backs" ? The rebels, indirectly, as you will see. And in 
 the way it was done, you have another fine illustration of 
 the general's engineering ability and energy. Like Grant, 
 he was practical, on the alert, and thorough in his work. 
 Marching along, one day, he came in sight of what ap- 
 peared to be a fort. It was a huge pile, in spots white as 
 the snow. Advancing, he saw near it the ruins of a 
 bridge he wanted, which the enemy had burned. In 
 a few moments more it was all plain enough, The 
 rebels had made a defensive work of cotton, to guard 
 the bridge before the torch was applied. Five hun- 
 dred bales of it were piled there, and either* because in 
 too great haste, or not apprehending its capture, they 
 had not made of it a bonfire. Of course it was lawful 
 plunder. 
 
 This was taken from Decatur to Stevenson, where 
 
 he wished to cross the river. The deep current rolled 
 
 along in a channel some three hundred yards wide, 
 
 between his troops and the opposite shore. About 
 
 11 
 
24:2 LIFE OP GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 seventy of the oblong squares are rolled out ; crowbars arc 
 used to pry up the ropes that bind them, and rails are run 
 under the cordage. The bales held together by the rails 
 are ten feet apart. You will understand at once, that in 
 this way he made pontoons, or floating abutments, which, 
 one by one, were launched upon the bosom of the river, 
 and fastened to each other by the same method. 
 
 The next thing in the novel building of the structure, 
 is to lay planks over the gaps between the bales. Now 
 look ! from shore to shore stretches a cotton and wooden 
 bridge, under which the unobstructed current flows. Be- 
 fore the day is gone, the command is given, "Forward !" 
 Three thousand men, horses, and cannon, move upon 
 the pathway over the waters, till the last foot and 
 wheel strikes the solid earth beyond. A genius equal to 
 any command, only, could have performed the feat of 
 skill and despatch. Napoleon himself would have been 
 proud of it. 
 
 But General Mitchel is not done with the cotton. The 
 bridge is unharnessed, the bales released from the fasten- 
 ings, and conveyed to the railroad. It reaches Hunts- 
 ville, and there readily finds market, for the handsome 
 eum of thirty thousand dollars. Add to this, ten thousand 
 dollars more received for transportation by army-wagons 
 and cars to its destination, and we have forty thousand 
 dollars in the treasury of the United States, the amount 
 paid for the supplies and forage he had bought. Was 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. 243 
 
 not the management a shrewd and capital way of making 
 the rebels pay the expenses of the Third Division, after 
 helping the battalions safely over the river ? 
 
 Another question besides the maintenance of his army 
 on an enemy's soil, gave General Mitchel anxious thought ; 
 and that was slavery. "What shall be done with master 
 and slave so far as they come in direct contact with the 
 army, was the great problem. The bondsman would flee 
 to the camps, and the master follow him, to demand 
 his property, according to the unrepealed law of the 
 land. 
 
 The Government, when the war began, tried, as al- 
 ways before, to have nothing to do with slavery. The con- 
 flict was for the old order of things, with system of human 
 bondage included. General Mitchel was both conserva- 
 tive and radical in the true signification of the words. 
 He would preserve the Constitution and the Republic en- 
 tire, and uproot American slavery as necessary to the suc- 
 cessful termination of the war to the very preservation 
 of the State. But he was under a superior officer who 
 thought otherwise, and the national councils then urged 
 indulgence toward the master, and a war apart from the 
 cause of the war. It is sad and humiliating to think of 
 the nation's folly in this regard. 
 
 It is a singular fact, that the hero of New Orleans, 
 General Butler, a democrat of the old school, or Buchanan 
 stamp, and a politician, should have been the leader in the 
 
244 LIFE OF GENEKAX MITCHEL. 
 
 great work of emancipation. When he went to Fortress 
 Monroe, General Mitchel was superintendent of Dudley 
 Observatory, in Albany. With the large majority of the 
 people the astronomer did not then intend to " mix up the 
 question " with the civil strife, but simply beat down the 
 mad rebellion. 
 
 A commander in the navy told me at that very time, 
 that u the moment emancipation had any connection with 
 the contest, Tie would change sides" But General Butler 
 had a singular insight and foresight on the subject. Colo- 
 nel Mallory, a rebel, sent to him, under flag of truce, to 
 demand those slaves who had come into our lines. The 
 Colonel and General Butler had belonged to the same 
 political party. He said to his former partisan : 
 
 " I have come, general, to claim my servants." 
 
 " You hold, do you not," replied General Butler, " that 
 negro slaves are property ; and that Virginia is no longer 
 41 part of the United States ?" 
 
 " I do, sir." 
 
 " You are a lawyer," continued Butler. " and I ask 
 you if the Fugitive Slave Law is binding on a foreign na- 
 tion f and if a foreign nation employs this kind of property 
 to destroy the lives and property of the United States, if 
 it ought not to be regarded as contraband f " 
 
 The enraged colonel disappeared; and a new word 
 was added to our vocabulary, so far as its application to 
 negroes is concerned. " Contraband" in this connection. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 245 
 
 is a term for which we are indebted to General Butler 
 and the war. 
 
 The " contrabands" continued to- come in, and were 
 set to work on the fortifications. Though General 
 Mitchel's opinions changed less rapidly, he desired to 
 know and do his duty. 
 
 General Buell had issued an order, that no protection 
 should be extended to slaves who appeared within the 
 lines. This was just what the masters desired. You may 
 recollect the case of the poor fugitive, who, under such a 
 cruel rule, after having shown the commanding officer 
 where arms were hidden by the rebels, was given up to 
 the master ; by him dragged after his horse with a rope 
 round the fugitive's neck, and then whipped to death. 
 
 General Mitchel made his earnest protest against the 
 order. His policy was to allow neither master nor slave in 
 his camp. This, indeed, was the best compromise in the 
 circumstances he could make. But according to the 
 principle of action already alluded to, of crushing, in all 
 possible and right ways, the rebellion, he used the negroes 
 when he could, and gave them protection for the service. 
 Hear his noble words to Mr. Abbott : 
 
 "I organized these negroes into watchful guards, 
 throughout the entire portion of the territory of my com- 
 mand. They watched the Tennessee River, from Chat- 
 tanooga entirely down to Tuscumbia and -Florence. To 
 every negro who gave me information of the movements 
 
246 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 of the enemy, who acted as guide to me, or who piloted 
 my troops correctly through that unknown country, I 
 promised the protection of the Government of the United 
 States ; and that they should never be returned to their 
 masters. I found them extremely useful. I found them 
 perfectly reliable^ so far as their intention was concerned ; 
 not always accurate in detail, but always meaning to be 
 perfectly truthful." 
 
 This is the testimony of all candid and humane offi- 
 cers. It was with great reluctance the Government 
 allowed them to fight for our country, and their own ; and 
 yet braver troops we have not in the army. At Port 
 Hudson, when an officer was lying wounded under the fire 
 of the rebels, the commander of the forces, among whom 
 were colored soldiers, asked for. men to go into the storm 
 of shells and bullets, to bring away the fallen, bleeding 
 form. Immediately four negroes stepped forth, and were 
 sent over the plain of death. They lifted the body, and 
 turned toward our lines ; soon three of the four dropped 
 before the bullets of the exasperated foe. Again the call 
 for help was made. Four more of the dark-browed he- 
 roes promptly came out of the ranks. With firm, elastic 
 step, they started where their comrades fell, for the Union 
 lines. Two of the new volunteers were struck, and theii 
 grasp relaxed. Once more the demand for bearers of the 
 wounded warrior is responded to, and the brave fellows 
 lay down their burden within the protection of our ranks, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 Such is the unselfish kindness of a proscribed race, 
 whose patient endurance of injustice is a most wonderful 
 thing. Everybody expected insurrections when the war 
 began that the opportunity afforded by the political con- 
 vulsion, would be embraced by the slaves. Instead of this, 
 they have prayed, and waited for God to open the way of 
 deliverance to them, whose crime is " a color unlike our 
 own," given them by a common Father ! How abhor- 
 rent to'Him^ the scorn and injury to them ! The mag- 
 nanimous spirit of General Mitchel felt this, whatever 
 difficulties he encountered in the exercise of his humaaity 
 and religion, created by the law of the land, or commands 
 of a superior officer. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 General Hitchel's views of Slavery The abuse of its power An Illus- 
 trationGeneral Mitchel deals promptly but justly with the citizens of 
 revolted States A "Genteel War "General Mitchel's plans and policy- 
 He is ordered to Washington. 
 
 sENERAL MITCHEL'S abhorrence of the slave- 
 system increased with the progress of the war. 
 You know it is not the slave alone who suffers, 
 but all who have the least taint of African blood. 
 Both North and South they have been, are yet 
 persecuted. He may be free, educated, religious it is 
 all the same, if he is connected with the enslaved race. 
 
 We quote a forcible illustration given by an author 
 before quoted, because he had the stirring narrative, 
 as you will notice, from the witness of a part of the 
 scenes narrated. About the time the war opened its 
 awful tragedy, he was travelling from Washington to 
 Philadelphia. A gentleman came into the cars and sat 
 down by him. The conversation naturally turned upon 
 secession and war, when the gentleman said : 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 249 
 
 "A very painful event is this day transpiring in my 
 own town in Delaware. There were two gentlemen in 
 business in Maryland. They owned several slaves. After 
 a time they dissolved partnership, and one of the firm 
 moved from Maryland to Delaware. One of the slaves, 
 a light mulatto, probably the son of one of the partners, 
 certainly the son of a white man, fell to the Maryland 
 master. 
 
 " Charles, as the slave was called, was very intelli- 
 gent. He was very useful to the firm, and by his integ- 
 rity and energy secured the respect of his master. The 
 indulgent owner, who was probably his father, upon his 
 dying bed gave Charles his freedom. 
 
 "Charles bought .a small farm. He became a 
 prosperous man, built a neat house, owned a horse, a 
 yoke of oxen, two or three cows, and fifty dollars' worth 
 of poultry. From the product of this little farm he car- 
 ried supplies to the market in Baltimore. He had a wife 
 and four children. Charles was a Christian. The voice 
 of morning and evening prayer was ever heard in his 
 dwelling. On the Sabbathj in accordance with the usages 
 of the Methodist persuasion, to which he belonged, he was 
 in the habit of preaching to the colored people in his own 
 vicinity. 
 
 " One day a vigilance committee in Maryland called 
 upon Charles, and told him that he was too enlightened 
 and thrifty a c nigger' to be allowed to live in the State ; 
 11* 
 
250 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 that his intelligence and prosperity made the slaves dis- 
 contented. Charles, in dismay, asked if he had said or 
 done any thing which was wrong, or could excite sus- 
 picion. 
 
 " ' No/ was the reply, * but it is not safe for us to 
 have in the midst of our slaves a free " nigger," as rich 
 and knowing as you. And you must leave this State 
 within a fortnight, or you will fare badly.' 
 
 " This unoffending Christian man, whose rights were 
 thus horribly outraged, was in despair. What to do he 
 did not know. Where to go he did not know. It was 
 mid-winter. The crops were in his barn. How to dis- 
 pose of his farm, his stock, and his crops, at such a short 
 notice, he did not know. He consulted friends, they 
 shook their heads and said : 
 
 " c Poor fellow, we are sorry for you, but cannot help 
 you. Your living here makes the servants discontented, 
 and you must go.' 
 
 " Perplexed and alarmed, Charles stayed about his 
 premises till the day before the one on which he was 
 warned to leave arrived. The vigilance committee called 
 again, and said in tones of menace, which almost froze 
 the blood in the veins of the helpless man : 
 
 " 4 Charles, if we find you here to-morrow morning, 
 as sure as you are alive we will hang you to the limb of 
 that tree.' 
 
 "In his terror, Charles abandoned every thing, hia 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 251 
 
 house, his fields, his crops, his cows, his oxen, his poultry, 
 and taking his wife and four little children in his wagon, 
 fled. His alarm often made him cast a look behind him 
 to see if his enemies were in pursuit. Not knowing where 
 else to go, he turned his steps into Delaware, that he 
 might seek protection of his former master, the partner once 
 of him who gave Charles his freedom. It was twelve 
 o'clock at night when the poor fugitive, wearied, with his 
 terror-smitten exhausted family, reached the Delaware 
 planter's home. He rapped at the door. His former 
 owner opened his eyes in utter astonishment, and ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " ' For heaven's sake, Charles, what brought you here ? ' 
 
 " He soon told his own story. 
 
 " ' But why did you come here?' exclaimed the 
 man. * You cannot stay here. The laws of Delaware 
 will not allow free negroes to come into the State. If 
 you stay here you must be arrested.' 
 
 " My God ! my God ! ' gasped Charles, folding his 
 hands in anguish, and the tears rolling down his cheeks, 
 1 what shall I do ? They threatened to hang me if I stay 
 in Maryland. You tell me I cannot stay here. "VYhere 
 shall I go?' 
 
 " 4 Well,' replied the man, ' it is a clear case that you 
 cannot remain, here in Delaware. You are liable at any 
 moment to be arrested. But there is no fcelp now. You 
 must stay here until morning.' 
 
252 LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 "Such was the state of the case when I Uft this 
 morning." 
 
 We may never know in this world the fate of that 
 hunted family. Very plainly has God brought us to the 
 battle plain, to suffer His righteous retribution for our im- 
 pious abuse of both the black and the red races ; for "lo, 
 the poor Indian ! " he has fared no better in proportion to 
 the power over him in the hands of unprincipled men. 
 
 It is not strange that Pierpont sung : 
 
 " The fratracidal war, 
 
 Grows on the poisonous tree, 
 Which God and man abhor, 
 
 "Accursed slavery. 
 And God ordains that we 
 
 Shall eat this deadly fruit, 
 Till we dig up the tree, 
 
 And bum its very root." 
 
 General Mitchel was convinced that the axe of eman- 
 cipation must be laid at the root of this tree. 
 
 Another method of weakening the rebellion he em- 
 braced, and was left free to try. He knew that the leaders 
 of it would never yield, until compelled to do so, either by 
 our arms or the voice of their own people. It was clear 
 to him then, as to us all now, that the traitors who had 
 for long years matured their infamous conspiracy, would 
 be" the very last to quit the field of conflict. They staked 
 every thing when the homicidal hands were raised against 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 253 
 
 the Republic ; their motto was truly the reverse of our 
 own: 
 
 " Divided we stand, united we fall." 
 
 But many of the people who were opposed to secession 
 in the South thought not with our noble commander 
 They said : " "We can do nothing at all. "We must wait 
 for our rulers to negotiate peace, and in some way bring 
 this war to a close." 
 
 General Mitchel replied : 
 
 " Gentlemen, this is impossible. The war can never 
 be ended in that way. There was a time before this war 
 broke out when your Government sent their represent- 
 atives to "Washington ; but they could not be received, 
 and cannot be received now. The thing cannot be done. 
 You, the people, must rise and say to your rulers, ' The 
 war shall not go on any longer ; we refuse to support 
 your army.' Do that and the war must cease, and the 
 old flag again wave over the country." 
 
 My reader, we of the North have*, from the beginning 
 of the war, been sadly mistaken in our expectations. This 
 has led to awful waste of life and treasure. "We thought 
 the rebels would soon get tired of the conflict, and, like 
 disobedient schoolboys well punished, come back to loyalty 
 and love. A few knew better ; among them some plain, 
 uneducated, sensible men. I recollect one whom I met 
 on the coast of Cape od a few weeks after the struggle 
 
254 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 commenced, in 1861. He was a stranger to me an old 
 " coaster" or fisherman, I judged him to be. 
 
 " What's the news from the war?" he inquired. 
 
 " We are making slow progress," I answered ; " mov 
 ing too cautiously, I fear." 
 
 " Yes, yes," responded this singular specimen of hu- 
 manity singular in dress and appearance " 'tis no use 
 to carry on a genteel war with the South." 
 
 No wars are so cruel and costly in the end as genteel 
 wars. If men will fight, the motto should be, fight. The 
 rebels have been our teachers in this simple truth. 
 
 General Mitchel believed in this, while he hoped, with 
 multitudes, that the masses in the seceded States would 
 see the treasonable ambition of their leaders, and save 
 themselves the heavy blows he intended, and de- 
 sired all in command to deal upon them while disloyal, 
 by deserting Jeff. Davis and his associates in revolt. 
 Therefore he did not compel the people in quiet life to 
 swear allegiance to the United States. There were, how- 
 ever, exceptions. A rebel soldier had left his army and 
 came within our lines. After a while he asked permis- 
 sion to return to his home. 
 
 "No, sir," replied General Mitchel; "never until 
 you take the oath of allegiance to the United States to 
 nullify the oath you took to the Confederate Govern- 
 ment." 
 
 The guerillas continued to hover around the army, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 255 
 
 and also distress the inhabitants. General Mitchel wanted 
 to get the people enlisted in the suppression of these law- 
 less bands. So he said to them : " You must denounce 
 this murderous warfare, or sign a pledge to have nothing 
 to do with it, and give intelligence of any attack intended 
 by them known to you." 
 
 This was reasonable and just. Whoever signed the 
 paper could come and go about their business unmolested. 
 The rest were closely watched. Guards were on the alert. 
 The vigilance of the Union troops became so very un- 
 comfortable, that the majority of the people signed the 
 pledge. 
 
 The next thing was to have courts of justice. There 
 was soon established a court-martial for military offences ; 
 then followed a court of examination to inquire into the 
 case of prisoners brought into camp ; and a third organ- 
 ized, was a military court for the trial of criminal offences. 
 These courts were for the conquered territory, and kept 
 always in session. 
 
 Brave, victorious General Mitchel ! In every march 
 and measure in his department, shone the Christian hero 
 and gentleman. 
 
 But up to this time in our country, success, if gained 
 by " hard blows," that is to say, if the rebels were treated 
 as such, the clamor of complaint soon rose from half- 
 hearted and timid patriots, which was echoed by dis 
 guised secessionists. Especially did the newspaper cor- 
 
256 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 respondents mislead often the public, and influence un< 
 justly the Government. 
 
 The arrows of detraction were even aimed at this 
 pure and splendid officer, until he demanded investi- 
 gation. 
 
 Reader, never worry or despond because you are 
 slandered, if consciously innocent of the charge. The 
 best of men have had this experience. Do not chase a 
 false report ; if self-respect, and a proper regard for your 
 reputation, demand attention to the maligner, then make 
 thorough work of the investigation, and a dignified 
 defence. 
 
 General Mitchel was, unfortunately for his success and 
 peace, superior in intellect and greatness of character to 
 other and ambitious officers, and in advance of the 
 slowly-ripening popular estimate of the real nature of the 
 war. Besides, he was honest and frank. He did not 
 disguise his bold designs. So he must be sacrificed ; one 
 of the costliest offerings of the war. No patriotic mind 
 able to appreciate General Mitchel, can think of it with- 
 out a pang of bitterest regret, and a thrill of deepest in- 
 dignation. The lofty spirit of him who could call the 
 stars by name, disdained the grovelling policy of aspiring 
 commanders and tricky politicians. 
 
 In the midst of his usefulness when planning grander 
 campaigns, and making the traitors of Tennessee and 
 Alabama tremble an order came from the Secretary of 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 257 
 
 War requiring his presence at once in Washington. Al- 
 ways obedient to lawful commands, he turned from the 
 troops he loved, and who loved him, with surprise and 
 sadness, and hastened to the national capital. 
 

 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 General Mitchel at Washington The Secretary of War and the President are 
 his friends The Secret Expedition The Patient Inactivity The Order to 
 Port Eoyal The History of his new Department The Naval Attack- 
 Scenes Avhich followed. 
 
 )HE second day of July he received the order, and 
 on the the fifth he was in Washington. The 
 Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, had no words 
 of condemnation for the heroic, patriotic, con- 
 scientious, and upright Mitchel. He had dis- 
 played only the highest qualities of a noble manhood and 
 true generalship. Their interviews, and those held by 
 them with the President, only increased the confidence in 
 our gallant chief. The best evidence of this is seen in 
 the proposal made to him to command an enterprise of 
 great importance. After carefully studying the plan and 
 object, he decided to accept the responsibility : it was tc 
 sweep down and open the mighty valley of the West the 
 very work assigned afterward to our honored Lieut- 
 enant-General. Mr. Lincoln then suggested that the bold 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCIIEL. 259 
 
 design be delayed till General Halleck, next to the Exec- 
 utive in command, who was absent, returned. He was 
 opposed to the appointment for reasons not known to the 
 public, and which, it is difficult to believe, were just and 
 sound, and advised an " indefinite postponement." So 
 the splendid Mitchel must be laid aside with the scheme 
 just suited to his daring spirit. 
 
 The months pass, and the terrible war grows threat- 
 ening, while a giant in power to smite the rebellion, is 
 doing nothing. Our President is honest God's gift in 
 times when that quality is indispensable in the attempt to 
 hold the people together at all ; for genius without integ- 
 rity, cannot steady the popular will, when the skies are 
 dark and sacrifices are demanded. There must be a 
 ground of faith a reflection, to some extent, of the Divine 
 government in the human authority. 
 
 But at "Washington and in the army, dishonest men, 
 disloyal parasites, and vacillating, narrow minds, have 
 done mischief which God's judgment day alone can dis- 
 close. 
 
 The sad inquiry went over the North, "Where is 
 General Mitchel?" Like the sun setting at noon, he had 
 disappeared, and no one could tell why. While he was in 
 the city of New York, the order came, with the advent of 
 autumn, to repair to Hilton Head, South Carolina, to take 
 command of the Tenth Army Corps, whose headquarters 
 were there. He reported at Washington September 5th ; 
 
260 LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 he started for his Southern Department on the 12th, and 
 was at his post on the 16th. Before we follow his brief 
 career, I will give you a glimpse of the history of Port 
 Royal before he landed there. 
 
 Just after George B. McClellan succeeded General 
 Scott to the command of the army, the navy began to 
 move in earnest in the war. A grand expedition waa 
 fitted out, and the ships gathered in Hampton Roads, un- 
 der the protecting guns of Fortress Monroe. Only those 
 who planned the enterprise knew where the magnificent 
 fleet was going, which carried and attended the troops. 
 Commodore Dupont commanded the naval squadron of 
 eighteen men-of-war, and thirty-eight transports, or pas- 
 senger and supply vessels. This, as yet, the greatest 
 naval force of the war, sailed majestically out of Hampton 
 Roads October 29th, 1861. On the 30th, the heavens 
 gathered blackness, and the wild winds blew. 
 
 Did you ever see a storm at sea ? I have witnessed 
 one, and it is the awfulest, grandest sight on land or 
 water. The billows, crested with foam, toss like a play- 
 thing the ship, and sweep the deck the cordage rattles, 
 and makes a dismal harp of the winds. The whole scene 
 is terrific and sublime. 
 
 Think of the power and peril of the gale, which so 
 scattered that fleet of fifty-six vessels, that next morning 
 from the dripping deck of the noble Wabash but a single 
 sail was visible. But soon the stray canvas wings began 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 261 
 
 to whiten the sobbing ocean ; and two days later, twenty- 
 five ships came to anchor off Port Royal, a fine harbor fifty 
 miles from Charleston. A glance at the map will show 
 its locality. The dispersed fleet continued to come in, ex- 
 cepting the few vessels lost. Two days more passed 
 while the commodore was feeling his way around the 
 rebel forts, and getting ready to open the grim and silent 
 ordnance upon them. At length fifteen of the battle- 
 leviathans are ready for the fight. They form in an 
 elliptic circle. 
 
 The enemy's forts lay at the extremities of the circular 
 path. At each sweep of the ships, fifty shot and shells 
 every minute were rained upon the batteries of treason. 
 In the annals of warfare there are few spectacles of such 
 beauty and grandeur, as this affair at Port Royal. The 
 lovely bay, sunlit and calm, the imposing march of the 
 men-of-war in the ellipse about two miles by one, the 
 thunder of cannon shaking the land and deep like an 
 earthquake, the smoke rolling upward and spreading like 
 a pall over the work of death, the scream and crash of 
 shells all combined to make the scene memorable in the 
 history of this and all other wars. 
 
 The boasted Gibraltar had to strike colors in the re- 
 sistless tempest of iron and unimprisoned fire. It was told 
 after the victory that a master said to his slave, profanely : 
 
 " The forts at Hilton Head cannot be taken. I tell 
 you that God Almighty could not take those forts ! " 
 
262 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 " Yes, massa," replied the negro, with a significant 
 shake of his head, " but suppose the Yankees come with 
 God Almighty?" 
 
 The Lord was on our side, we may believe, and gave 
 us a brilliant victory. Then came the landing of troops, 
 the finding of treasures left in the hasty flight of the rebels, 
 and the general rejoicing. I shall go a little further in the 
 story of Port Royal, which was to be, in less than a year, 
 the command and the graveyard of General Mitchel. 
 The people he especially cared for, early after this battle 
 showed themselves to our troops. The slaves declared 
 that they had been long waiting for the Yankees. Said 
 one of them : 
 
 " Bress de Lord, massa, we'se prayed and prayed de 
 good Lord to send de Yankees, and we'se knowed you'se 
 a comin'." 
 
 " How did you know?" asked a soldier, " you cannot 
 read the papers ?'^ 
 
 " No, massa, we can't read, but we can listen. Master 
 and missus used sometimes to read loud, and then we 
 used to listen so," touching his ear and stooping as if 
 listening at a key-hole ; " I'se listened, an' Jim, an' we put 
 de bits togedder, and we knowed you's a comin, bres de 
 Lord ! " 
 
 Another, who having heard the common and profane 
 epithet, " damned Yankees," whenever Northern men 
 were mentioned, supposed, in his simplicity, it was a 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 263 
 
 necessary appellation the proper one. And in a relig- 
 ious meeting he prayed, in these words : " O God, we 
 thank thee thou has sent dese kind soldiers to be de friends 
 of the de poor slaves. Like Jesus, dey have come with 
 good tidings of great joy." He then asked God's blessing 
 on the Yankees, using the very expression with which he 
 had always been familiar. 
 
 I could relate many touching scenes among the poor 
 contrabands, of families reunited after a long separation- 
 of services rendered to our army, and of beautiful religious 
 faith. Soon the " contrabands" increased to a thousand, 
 sheltered by four buildings two hundred and fifty feet 
 long and thirty wide, erected expressly for them. Thus 
 Port Royal became the first great depot of emancipated 
 slaves. It was to this post of duty in a limited field of 
 action, because not designed for the arena of great deeds, 
 and therefore not furnished with troops and other re- 
 sources for extensive operations, that General Mitchel 
 cheerfully went ; still he felt that he had been misrep- 
 resented and misunderstood. 
 
 He was sure he understood the rebellion, and how to 
 treat it. Yet, with confidence in the President's honesty 
 and aims, he bore the burden of " wounded spirit" in 
 silence. No sooner had he surveyed the theatre of achieve- 
 ment, than his unresting soul sought for labor and peril in 
 his country's behalf. 
 
CHAPTER 
 
 Tho Impression madefy the Major-General in his Southern Department Expe 
 ditions Daring Adventures The progress of the Contrabands Anecdotes 
 The Mortal Sickness. 
 
 
 \HE fine impression which the arrival and prompt 
 
 action of the new commander made upon the 
 army and people, was given by a correspondent 
 of The Independent^ who was there : " The after- 
 noon of the 15th of September, on which the 
 Arago came up our magnificent bay, with the American 
 ensign at her fore, while the thirteen guns from the fort, 
 echoed by the same salute from the Wabash, proclaimed 
 a major-general, ushered in an epoch in the Department. 
 Before the end of that week, General Mitchel had visited 
 all the camps on Hilton Head, at Beaufort, and at Fort 
 Pulaski, and had addressed all the regiments except such 
 as chanced to be absent on picket duty. In another week 
 the expedition to St. John's Bluff was matured, though 
 its execution was twice deferred by storms. 
 
LIFE rF GENERAL MITCHEL. 265 
 
 " The week in which that expedition sailed witnessed 
 an expedition that burned the extensive salt works, a 
 quarter of a mile long, at Blufton, and a reconnoissance up 
 Savannah River, proceeding further and achieving more 
 than any previous reconnoissance had done. And before 
 these lines reach you, other projects will have become 
 history. 
 
 "And all this activity while his predecessors were 
 forever complaining that they could do nothing with the 
 limited number of troops in the Department ; and yet more, 
 when shortly before his coming here some eight regiments 
 were transferred to Virginia ! 
 
 " His clear sight saw that the negroes were an im- 
 portant element in the condition of the Department, and 
 he immediately began to occupy himself with plans for 
 their becoming a source of happiness to themselves, and 
 of strength and prosperity to the Government. He found 
 some six or seven hundred negroes hived in three wooden 
 buildings within the stockade, near to the camps, and all 
 thoii* demoralizing influences. He set the negroes at work 
 building log-houses for themselves, out in the country re- 
 mote from the camps. He appointed a teacher, who has 
 begun a school among them. Last Sunday he attended 
 the morning service of the colored church, when their 
 new house of worship was dedicated, and addressed them 
 in counsels of singular appropriateness and wisdom. Hia 
 leading idea ^vas, ' White men can do nothing for you ex- 
 12 
 
266 LIFE OF GENEEAJL MITCHEL. 
 
 cept to give you a chance. You must do for yourselves. 
 You must raise yourselves. You must for yourselves re- 
 fute the unfriendly predictions of your enemies/ Though 
 not a professed abolitionist, yet General Mitchel is a bet- 
 ter, wiser friend of this people than either of his predeces- 
 sors has been. 
 
 " He understands, as real generals have always done, 
 the need of having his soldiers in sympathy with him. 
 He says a cheering, inspiring word to a knot of men as 
 he rides through a camp ; it is passed from man to man 
 till the regiment feels the thrill. As a specimen of the 
 brief, pithy, unpremeditated talks by which he kindles the 
 men, this afternoon he passed the camp of the Seventh 
 Connecticut, just as they were on battalion drill. He 
 stopped and watched their drill, and being asked to ad- 
 dress them, he consented. So they were formed on close 
 column by divisions, and he said : ' Officers and soldiers 
 of the Seventh Connecticut, I thank you for what you did 
 last week in Florida. You did all that could be asked of 
 you. Now I have another job for you. In a few days 
 the word will be March! I don't want any man who 
 cannot stand a march. Your first business now is to bo 
 well. The skies are bright. The people of the North are 
 looking to the South. Soon large re enforcements will be 
 on their way here. But let us first show them what we 
 can do without reinforcements.' 
 
 " More, and better than all, General Mitchel is a 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 267 
 
 Christian, who makes a conscience of his work, and whose 
 trust is in the Lord God of Hosts. 
 
 " Finding there were large numbers of contrabands at 
 Hilton Head, subject to ill treatment and often abuse from 
 the prejudiced whites, his first work (aknost) was to see 
 to their comfort. Very soon a number of houses were 
 erected for them, just beyond the village of Hilton Head 
 (for it is now grown into a village), and quite out of the 
 way of the camps, where they could be comfortably lodged 
 and sheltered. A church has been erected for them, and 
 at its dedication General Mitchel addressed them as a 
 kind father would speak to his children. On another oc- 
 casion he did the same. And to a friend he afterwards 
 said : 1 1 have addressed large audiences, of the most 
 literary and scientific men and women, in all the great 
 cities of the United States, and I say to you / never was 
 so moved before in my life as when standing before that 
 multitude of the poor, the humble, and the wronged, who 
 have but now come out of bondage into a hoped for 
 freedom.' 
 
 *' O craven hearts of the North ! here was a man, 
 loaded with wealth, honors, and privilege, yet he spurned 
 not the poor, nor feared to stand in his place before them 
 and speak words of hope and consolation to their stricken 
 and trembling hearts. TD all those engaged in teaching 
 or otherwise in the mission, with whom lie conversed, 
 
268 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 he promised his hearty cooperation in every practicable 
 effort." 
 
 His fertile brain and adventurous spirit began to pus! 
 out on every hand in plans to embarrass the enemy. On 
 St. John's River was a fort of considerable strength, and 
 in another direction the Blufton Salt Works, of great 
 value to the enemy. He sent successful expeditions to 
 both, and also drew Beauregard out of Savannah with 
 twenty-five thousand men. 
 
 The next bold movement of General Mitchel was a 
 repetition of the gallant exploits in Alabama. Take the 
 map and you will notice smaller streams flowing into 
 Broad River, and just west of them, making a broad curve, 
 the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. Though furnish- 
 ed with much smaller force than he needed, General 
 Mitchel was resolved to use it well, and deal the heaviest 
 blows upon the merciless enemy that could be given by it. 
 It was to be his last earthly work. The only reason why 
 it did not accomplish all that he intended, was the want 
 of sufficient means to secure the highest results painful 
 it is to know it. "War at best is waste ; but when military 
 or political ambition and mistakes, which will enter always 
 more or less into all war, especially in a Republic, throw 
 away noble, lives it is enough to break the heart of pa- 
 triotism, and kindle the quenchless fire of indignation upon 
 its altars. 
 
 Wrote an eye-witness of this daring and brilliant 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 269 
 
 movement, true to the promise that he made his troops, 
 of giving them active employment on assuming command 
 of the Department of the South : 
 
 " General Mitchel has just prosecuted a third expedi- 
 tion, of greater magnitude and of more important aim, 
 which, while yielding fresh lustre to our arms, I grieve to 
 say has only partially achieved its object, and so adds an- 
 other long list to the names of martyrs in the Union cause. 
 
 "The especial design of this enterprise was to destroy 
 the trestle-work bridges of the Charleston and Savannah 
 Railroad, crossing the Pocotaligo, Tullifiny, and Coosa- 
 hatchie. These streams are all tributaries of the Broad 
 River ; and to approach them it was determined, after a 
 careful study of the map of this peculiarly impracticable 
 and most difficult country for military operations, to make 
 a landing at Mackay's Point, at the junction of the Broad 
 and Pocotaligo Rivers, a distance of twenty-five miles from 
 Hilton Head, where our troops could be debarked under 
 cover of gunboats, and a march of eleven miles would 
 take them to the village of Pocotaligo, at which place it 
 was supposed the enemy would make a stand. The at- 
 tack was intended as a surprise ; and while our main 
 force was to advance, as stated, a smaller body of troops, 
 commanded by Colonel Barton, of the Forty-eighth New- 
 York volunteers, was to create a diversion by penetrating 
 to the Coosahatchie bridge in the steamer Planter, con- 
 voyed by the gunboat Patroon ; but with imperative orders 
 
270 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 to retire should they encounter a superior force. By cut 
 ting the railroad in the manner proposed, communication 
 between the cities of Savannah and Charleston would be 
 destroyed, and the way opened for a sudden blow upon 
 one or both of these places, at the discretion of the com- 
 manding general. 
 
 " The plan of this expedition was skilfully conceived, 
 and every precaution adopted to render it successful. 
 Few can imagine the perplexities attendant upon the 
 movement of troops and artillery by water. It was neces- 
 sary to construct flat-boats for the transporation of field- 
 batteries ; to concentrate all the light-draught boats ; to gain 
 such knowledge as might be gained imperfectly through 
 scouts, of the character of the country to be traversed ; ta 
 decide upon the possibility of debarking* at the point se- 
 lected ; arriving at proper tides ; providing for the subsist- 
 ence of the troops, and a hundred other details regarding 
 prudence and sagacious foresight, and which after all were 
 susceptible of disarrangement. Considering all these cir- 
 cumstances, and the fact that so many persons are em- 
 ployed in the organization of an expedition of this kind, it 
 is not to be wondered at that information of the projected 
 attack passed our lines, and the enemy consequently Avas 
 ready to receive us. 
 
 " The army transports of light draught were not suffi- 
 cient for the transportation of the number of men required 
 for this service ; and in the emergency, Commodore Godon, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 271 
 
 of the navy, was applied to by General Mitchel for assist- 
 ance. Commodore Godon promptly agreed to take troops 
 on the gunboats, and the soldiers were assigned as follows : 
 " Gunboat Paul Jones, Captain Charles Steedman, com- 
 manding naval forces, towing Wabash launches. Trans- 
 port Ben Deford, with six hundred of the Forty-seventh 
 Pennsylvania volunteers, and four hundred of the Fifty- 
 fifth Pennsylvania volunteers. Gunboat Connemaugh, 
 with three hundred and fifty of the Fourth New Hamp- 
 shire volunteers. Gunboat Wissahickon, with two hun- 
 dred and fifty of the Fourth New Hampshire volunteers. 
 Transport Boston, with five hundred of the Seventh Con- 
 necticut volunteers, and three hundred and eighty of the 
 Third New Hampshire volunteers. Gunboat Patroon, 
 with fifty of the Third New Hampshire volunteers. Gun- 
 boat Uncas, with fifty of the Third New Hampshire volun- 
 teers. Transport Darlington, with three hundred of the 
 Sixth Connecticut volunteers. The Relief and schooner, 
 with two hundred of the Sixth Connecticut volunteers. 
 Gunboat Marblehead, with two hundred and thirty of the 
 Third Rhode Island volunteers. Gunboat Vixen, with 
 seventy of the Third Rhode Island volunteers. Steamer 
 Florida, with three hundred of the Seventy-sixth Penn- 
 sylvania volunteers. Gunboat Water "Witch, with one 
 hundred and thirty of the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania 
 volunteers. Army gunboat George Washington, with 
 two hundred and fifty of the New York Volunteer Engi- 
 
272 LIFE OP GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 neers. Steamer Planter, with three hundred of the 
 Forty-eighth New York volunteers. The Ben Deford 
 towed a flat boat having on board a section of Lieutenant 
 Henry's battery First United States artillery, and the 
 Boston another flat boat carrying a section of company E, 
 Third United States artillery. The entire land forces 
 were composed of portions of the first and second brigades 
 of the Tenth army corps, respectively commanded by 
 Brigadier-Generals J. M. Brannan and A. II. Terry, the 
 former being senior officer, and therefore commanding the 
 expedition. 
 
 " At nightfall of Tuesday, the twenty-first, the expedi- 
 tion was ready for departure, but did not leave until mid- 
 night, as nothing could be accomplished by reaching its 
 destination before daybreak. The vessels left in the order 
 above designated, but the night was misty, and one or two 
 of them ran aground, delaying their arrival at the rendez- 
 vous for some hours beyond the time which had been 
 fixed. 
 
 " Meanwhile the tug Starlight was despatched with 
 some boats of the Paul Jones and a small company of 
 soldiers of the Seventh Connecticut, under Captain Gray, 
 to capture the rebel pickets at Mackay's Point and at a 
 plantation on the Pocotaligo Eiver, a few miles distant. 
 This project was only partially successful. At the plan- 
 tation, Lieutenant Banks, of the enemy's picket, and three 
 men, were made prisoners, but through the incompetency 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 273 
 
 of a negro guide, the guard at the point escaped, giving 
 warning of our approach. From the rebel officer who was 
 taken, General Brannan learned that our attack had been 
 apprehended by the enemy, and for several days they had 
 been preparing for the encounter. 
 
 "The tedious process of putting the men ashore in 
 small boats was commenced soon after six o'clock A. M., 
 on Wednesday, and by tenVclock, men, horses, and guns 
 were landed, excepting the detachment of the Third Rhode 
 Island volunteers, who were on the gunboat Marblehead, 
 which was aground all day some miles down the river. 
 
 "The line of march was taken up soon after ten, the 
 section of Lieutenant Henry's battery being at the head 
 of the column with skirmishers of the Forty-seventh 
 Pennsylvania regiment. Advancing slowly over an admi- 
 rable road for seven miles, we failed, during the march, 
 of encountering the enemy, who had prudently recoiled 
 from a meeting until it should take place beyond range of 
 our gunboats, although the nature of the ground over 
 which we passed afforded many excellent positions for 
 defence. 
 
 " The road alternated through dense woods and 
 through marshes, only passable over a narrow causeway, 
 saA r e at one or two points. Choosing a position at the op- 
 posite end of this causeway, the enemy opened a furious fire 
 of shell and canister on our advancing column, which was 
 
 promptly met by the battery under Lieutenant Henry, 
 12* 
 
274 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 Immediately the order was given by General Brannan for 
 his brigade to form line of battle, the centre resting on 
 the causeway. After a 'brisk fire of both musketry and 
 artillery the rebels retired to the dense woods in their rear, 
 tearing up the causeway-bridge, which delayed the ad- 
 vance of our artillery until it could be repaired. 
 
 Meanwhile, the First Brigade pressed on to the woods, 
 which they penetrated, driving the enemy before them, and 
 closely followed by the Second Brigade, under General 
 Terry, who came up with a cheer, and were quickly in 
 the engagement. Here the fight, it may be v said, fairly 
 commenced the enemy's sharpshooters picking off our 
 men rapidly. The artillery fire from our side was not 
 slackened while the bridge was being repaired, and it was 
 not long before the batteries went forward to the work in 
 support of the infantry. 
 
 " This action began between twelve and one, and lasted 
 about an hour, ending in the retreat of the rebels to an- 
 other position at Frampton's plantation, which lies two 
 miles beyond. The enemy were closely followed, and 
 .after a fight more hotly contested than the first, our troops 
 were again victorious, the second time driving the rebels 
 from their well-chosen position, and two miles beyond, 
 which brought them up to Pocotaligo bridge (not tho 
 railroad bridge), over which they crossed, taking -shelter 
 behind earthworks on the farthest side. To this point 
 our troops nearly approached, but found further progress 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 275 
 
 impossible, as the bridge had been cut by the enemy on 
 his retreat. This fact we construe into a clear acknowl- 
 edgment of his defeat. 
 
 "Although these events are thus briefly noted, it 
 required upward of five hours of impetuous and gallant 
 fighting to accomplish them. At no one time was 
 the entire field of combat in view from a given point, 
 and I therefore find it impossible to speak in detail 
 of the operations of my own regiment. Both brigades 
 participated in the action, and both Generals Brannan and 
 Terry were constantly under fire, leading and directing 
 the movements of their men, awakening enthusiasm by 
 their personal bravery and the skilful manner in which 
 they manoeuvred their commands. Frequently, while the 
 fight was progressing, we heard the whistles of the rail- 
 road trains, notifying us of reinforcements for the rebels, 
 both from Charleston and Savannah ; and even if we had 
 had facilities for crossing the river, it would have been 
 unwise to have made the attempt in view of these circum- 
 stances. General Brannan therefore ordered a retreat, 
 which was conducted in a most orderly manner, the regi- 
 ments retiring in successive lines, carrying off their dead 
 and wounded, and leaving no arms or ammunition on the 
 field. 
 
 " Of the exact force of the rebels, of course we know 
 nothing, although General Brannan was of the opinion 
 that it equalled our own. Certainly their artillery ex 
 
276 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 ceeded ours by four or five pieces, and this we have from 
 the seven prisoners taken, one of whom, William Judd, 
 belonged to Company B, Second South Carolina cavalry, 
 whose horse was also captured. The prisoners informed 
 us that General Beauregard commanded in person. 
 
 " While these events were tajdng place between the 
 main forces on either side, Colonel Barton, of the Forty- 
 eighth New York, with three hundred of his own men 
 and fifty of the Third Rhode Island regiment, under com- 
 mand of Captain J. H. Gould, went up the Coosahatchie 
 River, convoyed by the Patroon, to within two miles of 
 the town of the same name. Landing this force here, a 
 march was made to the village through which runs the 
 railroad. Arrived there, they commenced tearing up the 
 rails, but had scarcely engaged in the work when a long 
 train of cars came from the direction of Savannah, filled 
 with troops. This train was fired into by our party, kill- 
 ing the engineer and a number of others. Several soldiers 
 jumped from the cars while they were in motion, and 
 were wounded. One was taken prisoner thirty muskets 
 were captured, and colors of the Whippy Swamp Guards 
 taken from the color-bearer, who was killed by our fire. 
 The work of tearing up the rails was not accomplished in 
 time to prevent the onward progress of the train, and our 
 men afterward completed the job also cutting the tele- 
 graph, and bringing away a portion of the wire with 
 them. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 " Colonel Barton next attempted to reach the rail- 
 road bridge, for the purpose of firing it, but was unable, 
 as it was protected by a battery of three guns. Fearing 
 that his retreat might be cut off by the enemy's cavalry, 
 he gave the order to retire to the steamboat, which was 
 done successfully. His men had nearly all embarked 
 when the cavalry boldly came directly under the guns 
 of the Planter and Patroon, and fired upon both steamers. 
 A few rounds of canister dispersed them, and the only 
 damage which they inflicted was the serious wounding of 
 Lieutenant J. M. Blanding, of the Third Rhode Island 
 artillery. 
 
 u Nearly all Wednesday night was passed in bringing 
 the wounded from the battle-field and placing them upon 
 the transports. This humane work was personally super- 
 intended by General Terry and Brigade Quartermaster 
 Coryell, of General Brannan's staff. As fast as the boats 
 were filled they returned to Hilton Head, and by Thurs- 
 day night the whole force had reembarked. Before our 
 last regiment left Mackay's Point the enemy's pickets had 
 reappeared, but not in sufficient force to molest us. 
 
 " Scarcely five minutes after the first engagement be- 
 gan, wounded men were brought to the rear. Surgeon 
 Bailey, the Medical Director at Beaufort, who accom- 
 panied the expedition, established a hospital almost under 
 fire, by the roadside, beneath the shade of the stately pine 
 woods, with Surgeons Merritt, of the Fifty-fifth Pennsyl- 
 
278 LIFE OF GENEBAL MITCHEL. 
 
 vania, and McClellan, of the Sixth Connecticut, and these 
 gentlemen soon had their energies taxed to the uttermost. 
 It was a spectacle to make one shudder as the poor fek 
 lows, wounded and dying, were emptied from the ambu- 
 lances upon the green sward. 
 
 " A striking instance of heroism came under my obser- 
 vation. During the thickest of the fight, Artificer Zincks, 
 of Henry's battery, seized a shell which had fallen into 
 our ammunition-box, and threw it into a ditch, where it 
 exploded, seriously wounding him. Had it not been for 
 his bravery and presence of mind, the most serious conse- 
 quences might have ensued. Lieutenant Henry's horse 
 was shot under him, and the shell that killed the animal 
 also killed one man and wounded five others. It is a sin- 
 gular fact that Lieutenant Gettings, of the Third United 
 States artillery, whose section also did good service in the 
 fight, also lost one man killed and five wounded by the 
 explosion of a single shell. Lieutenant Gettings himself 
 was wounded in the ankle. 
 
 " Three howitzers from the Wabash, under command 
 of Lieutenant Pho3nix and Ensigns Wallace and Larned, 
 accompanied the land forces, and won a great deal of 
 praise for gallantry and effective firing. Young Wallace 
 was sent by General Terry to cover the retreat from 
 Pocotaligo bridge, which he handsomely accomplished 
 He had delivered two rounds of grape into the enemy's 
 ranks, when a shower of rifle-balls were sent against him, 
 
LIFE OF GENEKAL MITCHEL. * 279 
 
 wounding three of his men and perforating his own 
 clothes. The heroic young fellow was then ordered to 
 retire, which he reluctantly did, after vainly asking per- 
 mission to fire another round. 
 
 " The rebels left fifteen or twenty of their dead on the 
 field, and the inference is that their loss must have been 
 severe, or they would have had time to remove all in 
 their successive retreats. Two caissons filled with am- 
 munition were captured from the enemy during the second 
 battle. Our own supply of ammunition at this time having 
 been well-nigh exhausted, this proved very opportune. 
 
 " Although the main object of the expedition failed of 
 success, yet the benefits conferred were not of trifling 
 value. We have made a thorough reconnoissance of the 
 heretofore unknown Broad River and its tributaries, and 
 ascertained the character of the country, which is knowl- 
 edge of immense importance, in view of future movements 
 in that direction. We have also demonstrated the neces- 
 sity of heavy reinforcements if the Government desire 
 General Mitchel to strike heavily in his department." 
 
 But in nothing was his Christian philanthropy and pa- 
 triotism more conspicuous than in his attention to the 
 great work of taking care of the " contrabands" gathered 
 by thousands within his department. Their physical 
 wants were supplied, their education provided for, and 
 religious instruction furnished them. He knew the affec- 
 tionate regard of these simple-hearted refugees from 
 
280 * LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 slavery, which has been recently warmly expressed in 
 namjng a new settlement and headquarters of operations 
 in their behalf, HitcJielville in memory of the generous 
 >an-l benevolent chief of the department, whose loss they 
 will never cease to mourn. 
 
 A careful observer of passing events at Beaufort, al- 
 ready quoted, added the following testimony respecting 
 the emancipated slaves, whose prospects so deeply inter- 
 ested the departed chief: 
 
 " Yesterday completed a year since the flashing broad- 
 sides of the Wabash and the gunboats were echoed from 
 the fortifications guarding either side of the bay. The re- 
 currence of the day leads me to review the results of the 
 past year in this department. 
 
 " Even those most hopeful for the future of the Afri- 
 cans have not been able to repress a fear that when they 
 were released from the immediate pressure of the lash, a 
 motive to industry would be wanting, and that indolence, 
 dependence, misery, and degradation would result on a scale 
 unparalleled in history. The past year of the department 
 has gone far to solve the problem. The negroes have 
 been placed under circumstances the most unfavorable. 
 Their industry has been interrupted by removals and 
 evacuations. They have by no means been secure of 
 having the avails of their labor. Not unfrequently their 
 crops have been pillaged by lawless soldiers. And yet 
 under all these disadvantages, the negroes working on 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 281 
 
 their plantations and in the quartermaster's department 
 have shown a readiness, an activity, an efficiency, varying 
 indeed with the skill, energy, and adaptation possessed by 
 the persons appointed to oversee their labor, yet on the 
 whole affording much encouragement. Under the wise 
 arrangement made by General Mitch el, all of the work of 
 getting out the timber and constructing the buildings of 
 the new negro quarters was done by the negroes them- 
 selves. It was a most gratifying spectacle to see them, 
 morning and evening, going to their toil or returning 
 home, with the saw and the axe and the spade upon their 
 shoulders. Many of the difficulties which must attend the 
 passage of a people from bondage to freedom are being 
 met and removed, and suggestions are furnished as to the 
 best method of procedure in future. 
 
 " One of the superintendents, who unites with this 
 office that of a pastor among the negroes, told me lately 
 that, finding that the great body of the people had never 
 been married, he had been marrying not only couples 
 newly joined, but those who for years had been just 
 " living together." Also finding that many of the people 
 had of their own will dissolved their former ties, he had 
 represented to General Saxton the need of having a regu- 
 lar tribunal to act in cases of this kind, and to decree or 
 refuse divorces as it deemed best. Accordingly the Gen- 
 eral, acting as Governor, has instituted a Commission for 
 this purpose. Thus, one by one, the questions which 
 
282 LIFE OF G-ENEEAL MITCHEL. 
 
 must hereafter arise upon a vast scale are met, considered, 
 adjudicated, within the narrow limits of this department. 
 And whenever the time shall come (may God hasten it !) 
 that the millions of Africans shall be raised into enfran- 
 chisement, then the rulers, the philanthropists, to whom 
 the honorable but herculean task shall be committed of 
 molding their new-born liberty into the forms of life, will 
 find their safest, most invaluable guidance in the history 
 of the enfranchised people of Port Royal. 
 
 " Lately, a new question, much disputed, has advanced 
 toward a solution among us the question of the possi- 
 bility of making soldiers of the negroes. The expedition 
 by the Darlington returned, having, without any loss, ac- 
 complished all its objects successfully, and bringing away 
 sixty contrabands. Of course, the most important result 
 achieved was the proof afforded of the capacity of the 
 negro race for warlike exploits, and the encouragement 
 given to themselves. Their courage was put beyond a 
 peradventure. "When ordered to take to the boats, for the 
 purpose of effecting a landing, they would leap into them 
 with an alacrity which nothing could exceed. When en- 
 gaged in the skirmishes with the enemy, they could with 
 difficulty be kept under cover of the stockade erected 
 around the boat. They would stand out on the spar-deck, 
 loading and firing, till ordered by their officers to go in. 
 
 " The captain of the gunboat Potomska, who accom- 
 panied the expedition, has written a letter paying the 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 283 
 
 strongest tribute to the soldierly qualities displayed by 
 them. 
 
 " THE NEGRO 19 OUR INVALUABLE AND OUE NATURAL ALLY. 
 
 " It was a negro who saved the expedition from utter 
 failure, and the troops from probable ruin. On reaching 
 the mouth of the St. John's River, it appears that thero 
 was no way for the troops to get in the rear of the battery 
 on the Bluff, except by marching for forty miles around the 
 head of Pablo and Mount Pleasant Creeks. They must 
 carry their rations, and the sick or weary must be left by 
 the roadside to be murdered by the guerrillas of the enemy. 
 The troops would reach the scene of action utterly ex- 
 hausted, and if defeated, would be likely to be annihilated. 
 Yet there was no alternative, and the order for the desper- 
 ate march was given. 
 
 " But about midnight, a negro came from shore and 
 told the general of a point of land where the troops might 
 land snth ease and safety, and by a march of some eight 
 or ten miles would reach a spot where they could cover 
 the landing of cavalry and artillery, and from thence by a 
 march of four miles could reach the battery from the rear. 
 He described the roads, and gave all needful informa- 
 tion as to the topography of the region with perfect clear- 
 ness and absolute accuracy. His advice was adopted; 
 the enemy found themselves assailed from a side where 
 they bad not dreamed of attack, and fled precipitately. 
 
284: LIFE OF GENERAL MITCH-EL. 
 
 We owe the bloodless victory of St. John's Bluff, and the 
 opening of St. John's River, to the bravery and intelli- 
 gence of a negro (no longer, thank God, a slave). 
 
 " And they are our natural, unbought allies. They 
 know by instinct that there is friendship between us, and that 
 the rebels are their enemies. For example : I was walk- 
 ing through one of the streets of Jacksonville, about half- 
 past seven o'clock on Monday evening, when a mulatto wo- 
 man said to me : * Sir, I think that General Finnigan went 
 down that street just now.' [General F. was the com- 
 mander of the rebel forces in Florida, and had charge of 
 the battery.] She pointed down a cross road, where the 
 forms of two persons were seen vanishing in the thicken- 
 ing darkness. Alone and unarmed, I could only summon 
 the patrol, and in the delay the suspected persons escaped. 
 But the incident shows the ready trust they place in us, 
 and their willingness to serve us. 
 
 " We brought away some five hundred to six hundred 
 contrabands from Jacksonville and vicinity. A very in- 
 telligent man, a resident of Jacksonville, said to me : 
 i The people will be ruined they will be helpless. Here 
 are men who have been supported by the wages their 
 negroes have earned. Now the negroes are going away. 
 How will they live? Next spring, when it is time to 
 plant, who will do the work?' I saw a very intelligent 
 negro, property of Rev. Mr. Duval, Methodist minister 
 in Jacksonville. The man is a drayman. He used to 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 285 
 
 bring in to the reverend owner from $3 to $7 a day 
 Now he is gone, Rev. Mr. D. must henceforth t live of 
 the Gospel/ 
 
 " Speaking of slaveholding divines, reminds me of a 
 reply which amused me very much. On James Island, I 
 employed a negro who came from a place not far from 
 Charleston. I asked him what was his master's name. 
 He replied : 4 His name ? Parson Prentiss, sir.' * Oh, he 
 was a parson, was he ? and what was his persuasion ? ' I 
 inquired. 'His persuasion? Oh, he lick um studdy 
 (steady), sir/ was his reply. A tolerably extensive 
 branch of the Church South, is it not? 
 
 " In Jacksonville, many families were utterly desti- 
 tute. An officer, in charge of a picket post in the town, 
 heard a girl, waking at midnight, cry for food, but the 
 mother had none to give the child. The next day he car- 
 ried to the house a box of bread and a pail of rice. In 
 many houses there was literally nothing to eat. The in- 
 habitants said that prices were, for corn meal, from $1.50 
 to $2 a bushel ; salt, 50 cents a quart ; sugar $1 a pound. 
 Fresh beef is very cheap, because there is no way of pre- 
 serving it. 
 
 " In one of the camps at St. John's Bluff, envelopes 
 were found cut out with scissors from the unused leaves 
 of a ledger, with the ruled lines and the dollar-and-cent 
 columns. 
 
 " In Jacksonville, I saw a girl making envelopes. She 
 
286 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 laid an old envelope, opened and spread out flat, on a pieca 
 of common wallpaper, and cut out the envelopes, using the 
 old one as a pattern. Surely, it is a paper blockade, 
 isn't it? 
 
 " One incident, illustrating the value of the Confed- 
 erate currency, was told me by an intelligent refugee, a3 
 having occurred some months ago. A shoemaker had 
 made a pair of boots, for which he charged his customer 
 $23. The buyer counted out the money in Confederate 
 notes, and then put down a $10 gold piece, giving him his 
 choice. He took the $10. 
 
 " Some time since, General Terry, who commands the 
 Department of Fort Pulaski, St. Augustine, Fernandina, 
 Key West, and Tortugas, when in St. Augustine was 
 beset by a woman, who complained that her negro had 
 been released, and who demanded his restoration and re- 
 enslavement. She was an English woman, she said, and 
 the Government had no right to interfere with her prop- 
 erty. She came from the British West Indies, and 
 brought this negro slave with her. 
 
 " ' Had not slavery been abolished in the British West 
 Indies before you left there?' asked the general. 
 
 " ' No/ she replied, with great sharpness. ' I came 
 in 1831, long before the. emancipation.' 
 
 " ' Ah, you came in 1831 ?' -asked the general. 
 
 "'Yes, in 1831.' 
 
 " * And are you aware, madam, that in 1808 Congress 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 287 
 
 passed a law making it an act of piracy, punishable with 
 death, to bring a person into this country with a view of 
 retaining him in slavery?' 
 
 44 The female slave hunter did not press her claim 
 further." 
 
 General Mitchel, when alluding to the contrabands 
 not long before his death, remarked, that among the most 
 grateful me~mories of the past, was the one of a prayer" 
 meeting held by them, which he attended. Their unaffect- 
 ed worship their faith and love, breathing the very spirit 
 of Christianity, affected him, and his adoration rose with 
 theirs to the God and Father of all. He knew that many 
 of those just now " goods and chattels personal," would 
 stand beneath the dome of unclouded light, and study 
 with him the works of Providence and grace forever. 
 
 October 26th he was seized with the yellow fever. 
 For a time no serious apprehensions were felt. Indeed, 
 when the crisis of the disease was reached, the symptoms 
 were pronounced favorable. The perspiration was free, 
 and the physician left him with confident anticipations of 
 his recovery. But the recent death of his devoted wife, 
 his exile from the cherished West, and the entire field of 
 decisive conflict, and the then threatening aspect of the 
 national struggle for existence all depressed him, and 
 made recovery to his Christian heart of little consequence 
 beyond the will of God. He was resigned to do and to 
 
288 LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL. 
 
 suffer all that was required by loyalty to the " King im 
 mortal and invisible." 
 
 This indifference to earthly scenes, apart from their 
 relation to a higher love and activity, made him uncon 
 sciously less careful to guard against exposure of his sen- 
 sitive frame, than he otherwise might have been. A re- 
 lapse assumed immediately an alarming type. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The Scenes of the Sick-Ec/>in The kind and Christian words spoken Tho Yio 
 torious Death The Burial The testimony of noble Friends Elegy. 
 
 thirtieth dawned. By the bedside stood hia 
 grieving friend watching every expression of the 
 dying face. Raising his fine eye, and extending 
 his hand, he said, " It is a blessed thing to have 
 a Christian's hope in a time like this." The as- 
 Bent was given, with " dim eyes suffused with tears." An 
 hour passed in silent waiting on the undisputed work of 
 death's angel, who had taken from all human interposi- 
 tion the illustrious captive, even then " more than con- 
 queror" over all mortal and spiritual foes. Again the 
 expressive orbs which had reflected unnumbered stars, 
 opened, and his feebler hand beckoned his friend to his 
 side. Pressing tenderly the palm, he said again : " You 
 must not stay longer ; go now, and come to me in the 
 morning." 
 
 At this moment Major Birch, whose devotion to his 
 13 
 
 
290 LfFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 general had been warm and constant, entered the apart- 
 ment in an agony of sorrow. He had written, at General 
 Mitchells dictation, his " last will and wishes." He led 
 to the couch the Rev. Mr. Strickland, and beckoned the 
 friend present to follow. After a few words to the clergy- 
 man, he said, " Kneel down." The prayer was offered, 
 amid a stillness of grief too deep for any other language 
 than the subdued utterance of the soul to the " Captain 
 of Salvation." When the company rose from prayer, his 
 affectionate glance once more sought his friend, and he 
 murmured, while his hand was laid in the one so often 
 pressed, " You can do me no good ; do not stay." 
 
 No cloud was on the splendid intellect, nor on the pros- 
 pect beyond the starry darkness soon to curtain the form of 
 the once loving gazer into its depths. At that moment 
 two sons who were upon his staff, were sick with the same 
 disease, and could not be permitted to know that the father 
 was dying, and hear his last words, lest it should be fatal 
 to them. As he reached the eternal gates, reason at times 
 wandered. The last clear words of triumph were : "I 
 am ready to go." The latest unshadowed glance of the 
 princely soul rested on Rev. Mr. Strickland ; and when he 
 came near, speech was lost ; but twice he raised his hand 
 and pointed upward ! 
 
 In four short days the manly and vigorous form which 
 had borne all pressure of care, had sunk under the scourge 
 of the southern latitudes, and lay in tie evening quiet, 
 
 
 
LIFE OF GEOTEKAL MITCHEL. 291 
 
 cold, and still, The splendid tenant redeemed, and 
 crowr.ed in the skies, was stretching its tireless pinions in 
 the glory of the Infinite ! The generous, loyal heart had 
 ceased to throb for human wrong-doing and suffering, 
 ayd was pouring the tide of its strong affections around 
 Messiah's throne. The vision which had been so\ often 
 and much among the stars, was satisfied with the shadow- 
 less canopy of unveiled splendor above the thrones of 
 light ! 
 
 Since this record of his death and burial was written, 
 I have seen a letter written the day of the funeral, which 
 cannot fail to interest you : 
 
 "PORT ROYAL, S. C., October 31. 
 
 " Last evening the announcement reached Hilton 
 Head, l Major-General Mitchel died at a quarter-past six 
 this evening.' It is impossible to convey to any one out- 
 side of the department the overwhelming sensation of 
 grief and gloom that this news created. Every one, in 
 every station, feels that he has lost a personal friend, in 
 whose brilliant exploits he felt an intense pride ; that the 
 department has lost one who was the tower of its strength 
 and safety ; and that the country has lost a general to 
 whom no superior is left behind. Truly, in the grand, 
 touching words of Isaiah : ' It is as when a standard- 
 bearer faint eth.' 
 
 " To-day I have attended his funeral at Beaufort. 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHKL. 
 
 The procession moved from Hospital No. 2 to the Epis- 
 copal church, the pall being borne by Admiral Dupont, 
 Brigadier-generals Brannan and Saxton, and other naval 
 and military officers of high rank. At the church and at 
 the grave, the service of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 was read by Rev. Dr. Strickland, chaplain of the Forty- 
 eighth New York, an old friend of the general. I re- 
 gretted that there was not something beside the reading 
 of the service some word of prayer or remark suggested 
 by, and growing out of, the occasion. It seemed as if 
 every one present must long to hear and join in an ex- 
 pression of the emotions of admiration for the dead) of 
 grief for his departure, which burdened every heart. It 
 was remembered with overwhelming emotion that two 
 weeks ago he had summoned together all the officers at 
 the post, to meet him in this church, and had, in a familiar 
 address, animate with patriotism, spoken to them of his 
 policy, and cheered them to the faithful discharge of their 
 duties to the country. Alas ! no more will that clear eye 
 flash with the instinct of genius and patriotism ; no more 
 will that ringing voice, which seemed to emulate tho 
 resonance and the strength of the steel by his side, call us 
 to duty and to glory. In the very spot where so lately 
 he stood and spoke, now his body rested, enveloped in the 
 flag he loved so well, 
 
 " Chaplain Strickland, who, at the request of the gen- 
 eral, came from Fort Pulaski to spend the last hours with 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 293 
 
 him, informs me that he was not only calm and resigned, 
 but triumphant in* the hopes of redemption. When his 
 speech had failed, his eyes were turned upward, and he 
 pointed toward heaven. It was an hour of triumph for 
 him, but of sadness for us. God grant that his vision, 
 illumined by the radiance of immortality, may have dis- 
 cerned for our country some prospects of brightness, of 
 happiness, and of liberty, hidden as yet from us. 
 
 " He died as he had lived ; for he was not alone a 
 general, but a Christian. He was a member of the 
 Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, formerly under 
 the charge of Dr. Beecher ; and his life and spirit were 
 in harmony with this profession. 'It was faith in God 
 which sustained him amid the perils which he saw sur-- 
 rounding the nation. He said to the writer a few weeks 
 ago, ' I am not troubled. I am standing on a rock. I 
 have absolute confidence, in the wisdom and goodness of 
 God. He may indeed leave the country a prey to disas- 
 ter. But I do not believe that He will, for then it would 
 be of no use to contend against such a result. Rather, I 
 believe that He will bring it out of all its perils into peace 
 and liberty/ 
 
 " Among the many saddening attendants of the iate 
 bereavement was the fact that the general's two sons> 
 prostrated by the same disease which had proved fatal to 
 hinij were ignorant of his death, not being in a condition 
 to bear the shock of the announcement. It will be re- 
 
294 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 membered that shortly after he offered his services to the 
 Government, and left his home for the seat of war, hia 
 wife died suddenly, overwhelmed with solicitude in hia 
 behalf and with sorrow over his absence. Surely, no one 
 among us has made such unparalleled sacrifices at the 
 altar of liberty, of humanity, of the country with whose 
 destiny he believed the interests of humanity to be insep- 
 arably linked." 
 
 Wrote another on tliat sad day at Port Royal : " He 
 said to his attendant physician "Wednesday morning : * I 
 liave tried for thirty years to live the life of a Christian, 
 and if God wills, I am prepared to go/ He was perfectly 
 sensible until within a few hours of his death, but talked 
 very little, and though his two sons were in the chambers 
 above him, he did not ask for them. Doubtless he real- 
 ized the impossibility of seeing them, and forbore to 
 igitate his mind by speaking of them. They do not yet 
 know of his death. 
 
 " As it was known to many that I had been called 
 upon to assist in nursing their beloved general, I was ac- 
 costed as I went to and fro (our houses being separated 
 only by an alley and small yard) by officers and privates 
 to know of his condition ; and when at last I was com- 
 pelled to tell them there was no hope, it was wonderful to 
 see the love they bore him. Not in an instance did one 
 turn away with an indifferent or cold remark. ' He was 
 BO kind to us,' said one. * It will be a sad blow to our 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 295 
 
 troops/ said another. * He was a good man, and good 
 men are scarce in these days/ said a third. ' God help 
 us, and send us anothe*' of his like/ ejaculated an old 
 soldier who was walking with a heavy hasket on his 
 shoulder, as he passed on, the tears starting from his eyes. 
 More than one said, ' Ah ! if he could live, and some of 
 our useless, wicked generals be taken/ But neither love 
 nor hate* could avail. He sleeps the sleep that knows no 
 waking. 
 
 " To-day at 11 A. M. he was buried with military hon- 
 ors at the Episcopal church in this place. Rev. Dr. 
 Strickland officiated, and read a part of the Episcopal 
 service and the 90th Psalm. 
 
 " Commodore Dupont and staff were in attendance, 
 General Saxton and General Brannan and suites, and 
 most of the officers of the regiments stationed at this 
 place. 
 
 " They have laid the last remains of the classic 
 scholar, the earnest seeker after scientific truth, the elo- 
 quent orator, the humble Christian, and the successful 
 warrior, in a sunny spot in the old South Carolina 
 churchyard at Beaufort, around which cluster the ever- 
 sheltering live oaks, there to repose till some state of his 
 adoption shall call for them, to do them such honor as 
 belongs only to the generous, true, and brave." 
 
 Farewell, thou gifted, saintly man " lord in the do- 
 main of thought" patriot, hero, Christian ! "We mourn 
 
298 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 because so few like thee proclaim the dignity and worth 
 of fallen humanity when consecrated by the grace of 
 Christ to science, truth, and duty ! 
 
 The funeral scene of the departed chief was solemn, 
 and deeply impressive. The coffin was laid under " the 
 shadow of the Episcopal church in Beaufort, S. C., near 
 those of his aide-de-camp, Captain Williams, who died 
 two days before." 
 
 I shall add to the testimony already given from many 
 sources, in regard to the greatness and excellence of his 
 character, an extract from a note received from a grad- 
 uate of West Point, now occupying a high position, who 
 knew him well. It is not partial eulogy, but the calm 
 utterance of an appreciative niind and heart, though be- 
 longing to another religious denomination : 
 
 " My later acquaintance with Mr. Mitchel led me to 
 the conclusion that he was genial and hearty, generous to 
 a fault, brave as a lion, earnest and enthusiastic. A 
 strong, living, steamlike Christian man. As an orator, 
 truly extemporaneous, he had, to my knowledge, no 
 equal. As a soldier he combined intelligence with char- 
 acter, and to both he added wonderful energy. He was 
 exec ^dingly temperate in eating and drinking : indeed the 
 table had no charms for him but those which sprung from 
 association with family and friends. He was often really 
 hilarious from the effect of natural, not artificial spirits. 
 He was a man with a very large heart. What he loved, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 297 
 
 he loved with a fervor which never exhibited itself in 
 words, but always in actions. He loved his family better 
 than himself, and his J otion to his wife after her illness 
 (paralysis), was truly touching. He loved his friends 
 with such simple, single-hearted affection, that they formed 
 a brotherhood of association around him. He loved his 
 country as few men do, even in these days of self-devo- 
 tion ; and he loved his God and Church with such fervor 
 that he could not do enough for the good cause of Christ." 
 
 His pastor in Albany, Rev. Dr. Clark, used the fol- 
 lowing language in an eloquent discourse upon the heroes 
 that city had sent to the war : 
 
 " Of the citizens of Albany who offered up their lives 
 for their country during the year 1862, 1 have the names 
 of twenty, each of whom deserves an extended and 
 earnest tribute. The most illustrious in this company is 
 that of Ormsby Macknight Mitchcl a name dear to 
 many hearts here one who formerly worshipped within 
 these walls, but who to-day worships in a higher, purer, 
 more glorious temple. General Mitchel was distinguished 
 in so many departments, that I am unable to say whether 
 he was most eminent as an astronomer, a soldier, or a 
 Christian. He certainly presented, in a most happy 
 union, scientific culture, earnest patriotism, tender hu-* 
 inanity, and devoted piety. His intellect moved among 
 the stars, and caught their brilliancy. His thoughts par- 
 took of their harmony and grandeur. His discoveries 
 13* 
 
298 LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 and contributions to astronomical science are alone suffi- 
 cient to render his name distinguished in the annals of 
 American literature. His popular lectures made him a 
 favorite with all, and inspired the minds of the people with 
 a love for the beauties and sublimities of astronomy, and 
 with adoration for the great Creator and his marvellous 
 works. He has left here an apparatus for accurate meas- 
 urements which bears the impress of his great mechanical 
 skill. But it is with the mechanism of his noble heart, 
 that was nicely adjusted to measure the depths of human 
 Buffering ; it is with those fine chords that vibrated to the 
 calls of patriotism and the claims of his country ; it is 
 with those aspirations that nothing but the truths and 
 glories of Christianity could satisfy, that we are chiefly 
 interested. General Mitchell had a soul that could hear 
 the cries of humanity, and respond by toil and sacrifices 
 for the helpless and unfortunate. For the education and 
 happiness of the freedmen committed to his charge he did 
 what he could ; and at the last great day, many of the re- 
 cipients of his benevolence will be ready to rise up and 
 pronounce him blessed. At the moment the breath left 
 his body, science lost a rare ornament ; the army mourned 
 for a skilful and brave soldier ; humanity wept for an 
 earnest defender and advocate ; and the Church lost a true 
 Christian and humble follower of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 The elegy of W. F. Williams on his death, is a 
 touching tribute : 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MTTCHEL. 299 
 
 "MITCHEL. 
 
 ' Hung le t7ie 7ieav<ms in Hack.' 
 
 His mighty life ""is burned away 
 
 By Carolina's fiery sun ; 
 The pestilence that walks by day 
 
 Smote him before his course seemed run, 
 
 The constellations of the sky, 
 
 The Pleiades and Southern cross, 
 Looked sadly down to see him die, 
 
 To see a nation weep his loss. 
 
 ' Send him to us,' the stars might cry; 
 
 * You do not feel his worth below ; 
 Your petty great men do not try% 
 
 The measure of his mind to know. 
 
 4 Send him to us this is his place, 
 
 Not 'mong your puny jealousies ; 
 You sacrificed him hi your race 
 
 Of envies, strifes, and policies. 
 
 4 His eye could pierce our vast expanse, 
 
 His ear could hear our morning songa, 
 His mind amid our mystic dance 
 
 Could follow all our myriad throngs. 
 
 * Send him to us ! no martyr's soul, 
 
 No hero slain in righteous wars, 
 No raptured saint could e'er control 
 
 A holier welcome from the stars.* 
 
300 LIFE OF GENEKAL MTTCHEL, 
 
 Take him ye stars ! take him on high, 
 To your vast realms of boundless space 
 
 But once he turned from you to try 
 His name on mortal scrolls to trace. 
 
 That once was when his country's call 
 Said danger to her flag was nigh, 
 
 And then that banner's stars dimmed all 
 The radiant lights which gemmed the sk/. 
 
 Take him, loved orbs ! His country's life, 
 Freedom for all for these he wars ; 
 
 For these he welcomed bloody strife, 
 And followed in the wake of Mars !" 
 
NOTE. 
 
 A BOY'S PATRIOTISM. 
 
 SINCE the last pages of this biography were written, 
 I have seen a letter addressed by " J. B. S ," the wid- 
 ow's only son, to his mother, expressing his wish to join 
 the army. "When it was sent to her, the call was loud 
 for volunteers. 
 
 It is given here, because it contains the soul of pa- 
 triotism, guided by Christian principle. He will be sur- 
 prised to see it, but it will not injure him, I think, while 
 I hope it may do you good. 
 
 The words of filial obedience, along with the ardent 
 devotion to the old flag, are the assurance of that reverent 
 loyalty, never so much needed among American youth 
 as now and in the future of our country. Here is the 
 letter : 
 
 PHILLIPS' ACADEMY, July l$th t 1864. 
 MY DEAR MOTHER : 
 
 I have taken my pen this morning to write you on a subject 
 which at first may seem to you unreasonable, but which if you look 
 at hi the Ught of duty, you will not refuse to consider. 
 
302 LIFE OP GENERAL MITCHEL. 
 
 Andover is in a whirl of excitement Phillips' Academy on fire- 
 with patriotic fervor. Attempts are being made to raise a company 
 
 from this school to defend Washington. Hon. Mr. H , of Boston, 
 
 on Monday saw the Governor, who says he will accept a company from 
 this school for one hundred days, and he,h,is given his son permission 
 
 to go. One of our teachers, Mr. B , a noble Christian gentleman, 
 
 Bays he will go right into the ranks with us, if a company can be 
 raised here. Mr. T is also in favor of this project, and is to 
 speak to us this morning at prayers about it. One of the members 
 of the school last evening drew up a paper for any who would go, pro- 
 vided they could receive the consent of their parents. Sixty-five 
 names are on that paper, among which is my own. 
 
 Our country, mother, needs men to defend the Capital, that those 
 there now may go to the front, where they are wanted. This 
 war has continued long enough already. More men are needed. 
 Other mothers have given their sons to their country. 
 
 Tfeis, mother, is not a rash act of mine. Is it not my duty to go ? 
 Is it not yours to let me ? Can you conceive of circumstances more 
 favorable than these ? We shall all be together there as here ; we can 
 pray there as here, we can do good there as here ; shall we not be 
 
 doing our duty more there than here. Mr. B and some of the 
 
 theological students being with us gives additional interest. As so 
 many of our class are going, no doubt arrangements can be made 
 when we return to enter college as soon as we expected to do so. All 
 the boys are writing home to get the consent of parents, and will soon 
 receive replies. This no doubt is a bad season of the year to be in 
 Washington ; but the rebels can work in hot as well as hi cold sea- 
 sons, and we must repel them. Mother, our country must be free ; 
 she must be rescued from the thraldom of civil war. 
 
 Dear mother, I now ask if I can go ? Will you not give your con- 
 Bent ? I can't go without it, therefore I must have it. Will you not, 
 
LIFE OF GENERAL MITCHEL. 303 
 
 to-morrow morning early, telegraph me an affirmative answer ? I know 
 and feel the relation we sustain to each other, but what is that to our 
 country, our bleeding, distracted country ! How can I bear to think 
 that you will refuse me this request ! It soems to mo we shall not b6 
 as much exposed to vice as under other circumstances, Cor we shall 
 
 have with us earnest Christians. S 1 s mother has given two sons 
 
 to the war, and now he is going himself. 
 
 Your affectionate son, 
 
 J. B. S. 
 
 THE END. 
 

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