Monday, September 1, 2014

Governor Andrew G. Curtin to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, April 30, 1861

Executive Chamber,
Harrisburg. April 30, 1861.
Gentlemen: —

THE PRESENT UNPARALLELED EXIGENCY in the affairs of our country, has induced me to call you together at his time. With an actual and armed rebellion in some of the States of the Union, momentous questions have been thrust upon us which call for your deliberation, and that you should devise means by legislation for the maintenance of the authority of the General Government, the honor and dignity of our State, the protection of our citizens, and the early establishment of peace and order throughout the land.

On the day of my induction into the Executive office, I took occasion to utter the following sentiments:

“No one who knows the history of Pennsylvania, and understands the opinions and feelings of her people, can justly Charge us with hostility to our brethren of other States. We regard them as friends and fellow-countrymen, in whose welfare we feel a kindred interest; and we recognize, in their broadest extent, all our constitutional obligations to them. These we are ready and willing to observe, generously and fraternally in their letter and spirit, with unswerving fidelity.

“Ours is a National Government. It has within the sphere of its action all the attributes of sovereignty, and among these are the right and duty of self preservation. It is based upon a compact to which all the people of the United States are parties. It is the result of mutual concessions, which were made for the purpose of securing reciprocal benefits. It acts directly on the people, and they owe it a personal allegiance. No part of the people, no State nor combination of States, can voluntarily secede from the Union, nor absolve themselves from their obligations to it. To permit a Slate to withdraw at pleasure from the Union, without the consent of the rest, is to confess that our Government is a failure. Pennsylvania can never acquiesce in such a conspiracy, nor assent to a doctrine which involves the destruction of the Government. If the Government is to exist, all the requirements of the Constitution must be obeyed; and it must have power adequate to the enforcement of the supreme law of the land in every State. It is the first duty of the national authorities to stay the progress of anarchy and enforce the laws, and Pennsylvania, with a united People, will give them an honest, faithful and active support. The people mean to preserve the integrity of the national Union, at every hazzard.”

It could scarcely have been anticipated at that time, that we should so soon be called upon for the practical application of these truths in connection with their support and defence by the strong arm of military power.

The unexampled promptness and enthusiasm with which Pennsylvania and the other loyal States have responded to the call of the President, and the entire unanimity with which our people demand that the integrity of the Government shall be preserved, illustrate the duty of the Several State and National Governments with a distinctness that cannot be disregarded. The slaughter of Northern troops in the city of Baltimore, for the pretended offence of marching, at the call of the Federal Government, peaceably, over soil admittedly in the Union, and with the ultimate object of defending our common Capital against an armed and rebellious invasion, together with the obstruction of our Pennsylvania troops when dispatched on the same patriotic mission, imposes new duties and responsibilities upon our State administration. At last advices the General Government had military possession of the route to Washington through Annapolis; but the transit of troops had been greatly endangered and delayed, and the safety of Washington itself imminently threatened. This cannot be submitted to. Whether Maryland may profess to be loyal to the Union or otherwise, there can be permitted no hostile soil, no obstructed thoroughfare, between the States that undoubtedly are loyal and their National seat of government. There is reason to hope that the route through Baltimore may be no longer closed against the peaceable passage of our people armed and in the service of the Federal Government. But we must be fully assured of this, and have the uninterrupted enjoyment of a passage to the Capital by any and every route essential to the purposes of the Government. This must be attained, peaceably if possible, but by force of arms if not accorded.

The time is past for temporizing or forbearing with this rebellion; the most causeless in history. The North has not invaded, nor has she sought to invade a single guarantied right of the South. On the contrary, all political parties, and all administrations, have fully recognized the binding force of every provision of the great compact between the States, and regardless of our views of State policy, our people have respected them. To predicate a rebellion, therefore, upon any alleged wrong, inflicted or sought to be inflicted upon the South, is to offer falsehood as an apology for treason. So will the civilized world and history judge this mad effort to overthrow the most beneficent structure of human government ever devised by man.

The leaders of the rebellion in the Cotton States, which has resulted in the establishment of a provisional organization, assuming to discharge all the functions of governmental power, have mistaken the forbearance of the General Government; they have accepted a fraternal indulgence as an evidence of weakness, and have insanely looked to a united South, and a divided North to give success to the wild ambition that has led to the seizure of our national arsenal and arms, the investment and bombardment of our forts, the plundering of our mints, has invited piracy upon our commerce, and now aims at the possession of the National Capital. The insurrection must now be met by force of arms; and to re-establish the Government upon an enduring basis, by asserting its entire supremacy, to re-possess the forts and other Government property so unlawfully seized and held; to ensure personal freedom and safety to the people and commerce of the Union in every section, the people of the loyal States demand, as with one voice, and will contend for, as with one heart; and a quarter of a million of Pennsylvania's sons will answer the call to arms, if need be, to wrest us from a reign of anarchy and plunder, and secure for themselves and their children, for ages to come, the perpetuity of this Government and its beneficent institutions.

Entertaining these views, and anticipating that more troops would be required than the number originally called for, I continued to receive companies until we had raised twenty-three regiments in Pennsylvania, all of which have been mustered into the service of the United States. In this anticipation I was not mistaken. On Saturday last an additional requisition was made upon me for twenty-five regiments of infantry and one regiment of cavalry; and there have been already more companies tendered than will make up the entire complement.

Before the regiments could be clothed, three of them were ordered by the National Government to proceed from this point to Philadelphia. I cannot too highly commend the patriotism and devotion of the men who, at a moment's warning, and without any preparation, obeyed the order. Three of the regiments, under similar circumstances, by direction of, and accompanied by officers of the United States army, were transported to Cockeysville, near Baltimore, at which point they remained for two days, and until by directions of the General Government they were ordered back and went into camp at York, where there are now five regiments. Three regiments mustered into service are now encamped at Chambersburg, under orders from the General Government; and five regiments are now in camp at this place, and seven have been organized and mustered into service at Philadelphia.

The regiments at this place are still supplied by the Commissary Department of the State. Their quarters are as comfortable as could be expected, their supply of provisions abundant, and, under the instruction of competent officers, they are rapidly improving in military knowledge and skill. I have made arrangements to clothe all our regiments with the utmost dispatch consistent with a proper economy, and am most happy to say that before the close of the present week all our people now under arms will be abundantly supplied with good and appropriate uniforms, blankets and other clothing.

Four hundred and sixty of our volunteers, the first to reach Washington from any of the States, are now at that city; these are now provided for by the General Government; but I design to send them clothing at the earliest possible opportunity. I am glad to be able to state that these men, in their progress to the National Capital, received no bodily injury, although they were subjected to insult in the city of Baltimore, such as should not have been offered to any law-abiding citizen, much less to loyal men, who, at the call of the President, had promptly left their own State in the performance of the highest duty, and in the service of their country.

A large body of unarmed men, who were not at the time organized as a portion of the militia of this Commonwealth, under the command of officers without commissions, attempted under the call of the National Government, as I understand, to reach Washington, and were assaulted by armed men in the city of Baltimore, many of their number were seriously wounded, and four were killed. The larger part of this body returned directly to Philadelphia; but many of them were forcibly detained in Baltimore; some of them were thrust into prison, and others have not yet reached their homes.

I have the honor to say that the officers and men behaved with the utmost gallantry. This body is now organized into a regiment, and the officers are commissioned; they have been accepted into the service, and will go to Washington by any route indicated by the Federal Government.

I have established a camp at Pittsburg, at which the troops from Western Pennsylvania will be mustered into service, and organized and disciplined by skillful and experienced officers.

I communicate to you with great satisfaction, the fact that the banks of the Commonwealth have voluntarily tendered any amount of money that may be necessary for the common defence and general welfare of the State and the nation in this emergency; and the temporary loan of five hundred thousand dollars authorized by the act of the General Assembly of the 17th April, 1861, was promptly taken at par. The money is not yet exhausted; as it has been impossible to have the accounts properly audited and settled with the accounting and paying officers of the Government as required by law, an account of this expenditure can not now be furnished. The Auditor General and State Treasurer have established a system of settlement and payment, of which I entirely approve, that provides amply for the protection of the State, and to which all parties having claims will be obliged to conform.

A much larger sum will be required than has been distinctively appropriated; but I could not receive nor make engagements for money without authority of law, and I have called you together, not only to provide for a complete re-organization of the militia of the State, but also that you may give me authority to pledge the faith of the Commonwealth to borrow such sums of money as you may, in your discretion, deem necessary for these extraordinary requirements.

It is impossible to predict the lengths to which “the madness that rules the hour” in the rebellious States shall lead us, or when the calamities which threaten our hitherto happy country shall terminate. We know that many of our people have already left the State in the service of the General Government, and that many more must follow. We have a long line of border on States seriously disaffected, which should be protected. To furnish ready support to those who have gone out, and to protect our borders, we should have a well regulated military force.

I, therefore recommend the immediate organization, disciplining and arming of at least fifteen regiments of cavalry and infantry, exclusive of those called into the service of the United States; as we have already ample warning of the necessity of being prepared for any sudden exigency that may arise, I cannot too much impress this upon you.

I cannot refrain from alluding to the generous manner in which the people of all parts of the State have, from their private means, provided for the families of those of our citizens who are now under arms. In many parts of the Commonwealth, grand juries, and courts and municipal corporations have recommended the appropriations of moneys from their public funds, for the same commendable purpose. I would recommend the passage of an act legalizing and authorizing such appropriations and expenditures.

It may be expected that, in the present derangement of trade and commerce, and the withdrawal of so much industry from its ordinary and productive channels, the selling value of property generally will be depreciated, and a large portion of our citizens deprived of the ordinary means of meeting engagements. Although much forbearance may be expected from a generous and magnanimous people, yet I feel it my duty to recommend the passage of a judicious law to prevent the sacrifice of property by forced sales in the collection of debts.

You meet together at this special session, surrounded by circumstances involving the most solemn responsibilities; the recollections of the glories of the past, the reflections of the gloomy present, and the uncertainty of the future, all alike call upon you to discharge your duty in a spirit of patriotic courage, comprehensive wisdom and firm resolution. Never in the history of our peace-loving Commonwealth have the hearts of our people been so stirred in their depths as at the present moment. And, I feel, that I need hardly say to you, that in the performance of your duties on this occasion, and in providing the ways and means for the maintenance of our country's glory and our integrity as a nation, you should be inspired by feelings of self-sacrifice, kindred to those which animate the brave men who have devoted their lives to the perils of the battle-field, in defence of our nation's flag.

Gentlemen, I place the honor of the State in your hands. And I pray that the Almighty God who protected our fathers in their efforts to establish this our great constitutional liberty — who has controlled the growth of civilization and Christianity in our midst, may not now forsake us; that He may watch over your counsels, and may, in His providence, lead those who have left path of duty, and are acting in open rebellion to the Government, back again to perfect loyalty, and restore peace, harmony and fraternity to our distracted country.

A. G. CURT1N.

SOURCE: George Edward Reed, Editor, Pennsylvania Archives, Fourth Series, Papers of the Governors, Volume 8, p. 371-9

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