Washington’s Birthday was . . .

. . . celebrated in St. Louis in the grandest style ever known in the West, and on the largest scale.  I procession representing all the trades and avocations, and seven miles long, marched through the principle streets.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 1, 1862, p. 2

The Observance of Washington’s Birth-day Recommended by the President

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19. – BY THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES – A PROCLAMATION. – It is recommended to the people of the United States that they assemble in their customary places for public solemnity, on the 22^nd day of February and celebrate the anniversary of the birth-day of the father of his country by causing to be read to them his farewell address.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, February 22, 1862, p. 3

Power’s noble statue of Washington . . .

. . . at Fredericksburg, has been taken down and hid in a cellar.  The monument to Washington’s mother is used as a target for the practice of rebel soldiers.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 31, 1862, p. 2

Natural Rights

The object which every man his in view in the surrender of his natural sovereignty is that he may be protected in this rights from the abuse of the same in other men.  He does not yield by conventions, rights which the social state can neither give nor deprive him of.  Under pretence of that surrender, whenever more is demanded of him than the compact justifies or than is dearer to him than safety, protection and life itself, then it becomes a usurpation – an unmitigated despotism.  The surrender of rights must be equal among all who enter into the social state, as the objects secured by it are the same.  There must be, for the sake of securing the peaceful enjoyment of the equal rights possessed, and inequality in civil matters, as there must be the rulers and the people; but this of itself is the result of the political equality which exists in the body and we cheerfully acquiesce in it.

The criminal code of all governments consists in prohibitions, as whatever is not prohibited by law, the subject deems himself safe to do.  Thus, we retain rights which no human institutions can deprive us of, which are not the gifts of society, but are inherent by nature.

We know that there are some governments which do not recognize the inalienable rights of humanity.  Our own does; but the South, by degrading men into chattels, virtually disavows it, and this has been the fatal mistake that has occasioned the evils which are now upon us.  Jefferson, Washington, and others saw it, and so have many since their day.  Slavery was in the country, some disposition must be made of it, and this, as a temporary device, was deemed the only one practicable.  It was never thought, by the founders of our Constitution, that slavery would remain under it as a fixture.  It was then, as now, a “peculiar institution.”  It was the clay mixing with the iron in the toes of the great metallic image.  It never was, it never can be, the normal condition of a free and enlightened people.  It ignores and neglects the rights of nature, which no local compact can do with safety, because it neither had the right nor fully the ability to do it.  If “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are not enjoyed by all men, then they are not enjoyed by any man.  Society cannot and ought not to attempt to confer them as privileges.  It should admit them as rights; but this can never be done where slavery exists, and therefore, the necessity of abolishing it as a most unnatural and oppressive institution among any people, and especially a people claiming to be free.  But we are not of those who would sever the States of this Union to accomplish the object nor would we do it by unjust or arbitrary measures.  The growth of free principles, and the evils growing out of slavery, will kill it as soon as the safety of the Union and the country will admit.

If the appeal is made to the many in the decision of this question of slavery, the utmost impartiality ought to be exercised, and the strictest adherence to justice ought to be demanded.  The Judge, who pronounces his verdict should be bound down to the strictest rules, for whenever expediency convenience or presumption is taken into the account, the decision may be warped by prejudice, and the flood-gates of despotism may be opened still wider.  Nothing but an inflexible adherence to the principles of general right can preserve the purity, consistency and stability of a free state.  The slaves should themselves be heard in their own defence, as they are an important party in this suit.  This has been overlooked, but is the chief matter to be considered in the adjustment of the case.  The North and the South can never settle this difficulty in the absence of the party suffering.  They must be heard, unless both determine to destroy or ignore their manhood and reduce them, not by civil law but by natural law to chattels – and this can never be done.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 1, 1862, p. 2

Local Matters

NEW goods constantly arriving at Wadsworth’s.  he his selling more goods and at lower prices than any other house in town.  Call and examine his stock and prices before purchasing.

CONGRESSIONAL APPORTIONMENT. – The Des Moines correspondent of the Muscatine Journal says that the Congressional apportionment of our State published by the Democrat of this city is bogus.  We judged as much and did not copy it.

WASHINGTON’S BIRTH DAY. – Citizens are requested to meet at the office of D. H. Wheeler, Esq.., in LeClaire Block, at 10 o’clock a.m. (this morning,) to devise ways and means for a suitable celebration of Washington’s Birthday, Feb. 22.  All citizens are invited to attend.

WE LEARN from the Iowa City Press That Mr. C. F. Westphal, son of Mr. J. C. Westphal, the horticulturist of that place, has left for this city with the intention of taking charge of the Scott Nursery, which they have purchased.  We welcome Mr. W. to Davenport, and, judging from the parent stock, he will be a fine addition to the horticultural talent of our city.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, February 21, 1862, p. 1

Proclamation for the Observance of Washington’s Birthday

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.

By proclamation of the President of the United States it is recommended to the people of the United States; that they assemble in their customary places of public worship on the 22d day of February, inst., and celebrate the anniversary of the birthday of the Father of his Country, by causing to be read to them his Farewell Address.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, February 21, 1862, p. 1

Proclamation for the Observance of Washington’s Birthday

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.

It is recommended by the President to the people of the United States, that they assemble in their customary places of public worship on the 22d day of February, inst., and celebrate the anniversary of the birthday of the Father of his Country, by causing to be read to them his Farewell Address.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, February 20, 1862, p. 1

The city of Fredericksburg . . .

. . . contains many archives of importance. They are chiefly in possession of the Masonic Lodge which is the oldest in the country. Gen. Washington was a member of it.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 10, 1862, p 1

Yorktown

Writing from Washington to the Philadelphia Press, Col. Forney says:–

When I come to the mere matter of individual judgment, I firmly believe that Gen. McClellan will make Yorktown the theater of a victory more brilliant, though more desperately contested, than that which crowned our arms and contributed to the close of the conflict during the Revolution. It is stated as a curios historical fact, that the men who stood by Washington when he compelled the surrender of Cornwallis were not Southern but Northern troops – the soldiers of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and New England. Their descendants now fight under the same flag that marshaled the fight in the same cause that consecrated his sword. He struck against the British tyrant. Our brave men strike against a domestic tyrant, equally cruel, false, and unscrupulous.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 24, 1862, p. 2

The District of Columbia

The act of emancipation for the District of Columbia, recently passed and signed by the President is the act not only of the session, but of the war. It is worth to our country more than all we have collaterally gained in battle, great as that is and will be. It shows that the heart is right. The central forces move everything; and the pulsations from the District of Columbia will be felt in the remotest corner of our land and throughout the world! The wave in the heart of the sea will not rest until it breaks on every shore.

Amid the roar of cannon and the pageantry of war, this significant act may excite little attention, but history will give it prominence in the events of the day. It will open the eyes of Europe and place us in our true position before the world. Asia and Africa will feel its influence, and future generations will hail the day as the proudest in the annals of a free people. It is the first clear note struck by the trumpet of freedom in the temple of liberty, and how welcome is it to our ears! It is the herald of the year of jubilee to the slave and the captive. It will do the cause of universal freedom more service than if Louisiana and its confederates, should have taken the initiative. It is the expression of the people, through the Congress of the United States, and the people will maintain it.

The District of Columbia now is neither North or South, East nor West. It is the circle of freedom. It is the sacred ground of liberty, enclosing with its mighty ramparts the treasures of the only true republic on earth. The capitol lifts up its awful dome to catch all the light of heaven and stands there as the Temple of Freedom. The territory embraced in the District, henceforth, shall never be touched by the foot of a slave, and if an owner of human flesh and bones shall go there, he appears as a man among men, not among chattels. He will breath the atmosphere of freedom, and feel the eloquence that her voice shall send from the hills and valleys; from every public building; from the halls of legislation and of justice; from the mansion of the President. He will look upon the equestrian statue of Jackson as the symbol of warning to rebellion; and the towering monument of Washington, as the fiery pillow which led us through the wilderness to all our greatness. The Potomac River, rising in the mountains of Maryland and Virginia, runs through the District, and its waters, before they reach the ocean are purified from the taint of slavery. Here they perform a solemn lustration ere they are sent forth to other lands; each wave as it joins the ocean exults and leaps for joy, and says, “We are free!”

We now earnestly request – the nation will demand – we from the far west require it, that the grave of Washington shall be embraced in the District of Columbia. It must not remain on the soil tainted with slavery. It belongs not to any one state, free or slave. It contains the dust of a nation’s chief. It should be found alone in the consecrated District of Columbia. We call upon the Congress of the United States at once to enlarge the boundaries of the district to enclose Mount Vernon within it. A thousand reasons can be offered for it, and now is the time to accomplish the act.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 2

Impressment of Arms

Every citizen of the State who has a double-barrel gun or rifle, which can be used against the enemy, and which he can spare, should not hesitate a moment to sell or give it to the government. Gov. Clark has had agents all over the State, collecting such arms as the people could spare; and it is said that agents of other States and of the Confederate government have been doing the same thing. But we utterly deny the right of President Davis to “request” Maj. Ashe, or any one else, to enter the houses of our people and impress their arms against their will. The 13th and 15th clauses of section 9th of the Confederate Constitution are as follows:


“13. A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

15. The right of the people to secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”


The above clauses contain principles as ancient as liberty itself. These principles ought never to be violated. From the beginning of free government until now, no people ever parted with liberty as a means of achieving liberty, without finding themselves in the end subjects of despotism. The world has seen but one Washington. Clothed at one time with supreme military power, he hastened, as soon as he had performed the work of liberating his country, meekly to lay down that power at the feet of civil rule. Jefferson Davis is not George Washington. He is scarcely warm in his seat, to which he was called by the general acclaim of the whole people, before he “requests” one of his agents to violate material portions of the Constitution which he as sworn to support. The government over which he presides is one of delegated powers. The power which he claims, of search and seizure, and which he has assumed to delegate to Maj. Ashe, is expressly forbidden by the Constitution to be exercised by him, but is “reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The “right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” – and “the right of the people to be secure in their person, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” – But Maj. Ashe says, “by request,” that if the arms are not forthcoming, he will seize them by force; and the Major furthermore declares in advance, “by request,” that those who do not promptly obey his call, are “cravens” and “disloyalists” – that is, cowards and traitors. Maj. Ashe expects the “true patriots” to send in their arms at once, but the arms of the cowards and traitors he will forcibly seize. Now we repeat, that every double-barrel gun and rifle which can be spared, should be promptly sold or given to the government; but there are instances and there are localities in which the people ought to retain their arms; and even if this were not so, and if all the guns and rifles could be spared, Mr. Davis must not attempt by force to disarm our people. We charge no improper motive on Mr. Davis or his agent, but we tell the people that they should not only protest against a violation of their Constitution, but resist the very beginnings of despotic rule. A people jealous of their liberties, and fighting as ours are against tyranny from without, should vigilantly guard against the possibility, not to say probability, of tyranny within. With sixty thousand of our troops as conscripts, under the control of the President, and with our home population disarmed, we should be at the mercy of any movement which radical and dangerous leaders might inaugurate. The whole character of our government might be changed, and though our people might protest against it, they would be powerless to prevent it. Orders to disarm the people have always been the forerunners of despotic military rule. Macaulay states that a favorite project with James the Second, was the disarming the population of Ireland, or rather that portion of them who disagreed with him in his peculiar views. Dick Talbot, earl of Tyrconell, who was given more to “wine and wassail” then he was to truth, justice and judgment, and who was charged with the military administration in Ireland, executed the “royal order which came from Whitehall for disarming the population.” This order was “Strictly executed as respected the English; and though the country was infested with predatory bands, a Protestant gentleman could scarcely obtain permission to keep a brace of pistols.” We leave it with our readers to say if there are not suspected persons in this State – suspected only because they did not prefer to break up the old government, and because they insist on a better administration of Confederate and State affairs as essential to the achievement of our independence, who are not regarded as “true patriots,” and the disarming of whom, whatever might be the indulgence shown to others, would be undertaken and accomplished with peculiar pleasure by certain persons. But however this may be, we protest against this order of the President to impress private property, as unnecessary, as insulting to our people as detrimental to the cause and also as a violation of the constitution. Our people have evinced no backwardness in this war. They have rushed to it as men crowd to a festival. They have given their money, their arms, and their blood without stint to the cause. But they are still free, and they will do nothing on compulsion. In the glowing account given by Mr. Bancroft, of the early settlers of North Carolina, he says – “Careless of religious sects, or colleges, or lawyers, or absolute laws, the early settlers enjoyed liberty of conscience and personal independence, freedom, of the forest and of the river:’ – and, he adds – “North Carolina was settled by the freest of the free.” The descendants of these settlers are just as free as they were. They regarded secession at will as the parent of anarchy, and coercion by the federal government as the parent of despotism; and they sought to avoid both. But they resisted and are resisting coercion, not so much on their own account as on that of others. Mr. Davis should remember this. We fought, and offered Mr. Davis all our treasure and blood, as soon as, and because his State was threatened. This consideration should induce him to treat us justly, if not generously.

We have nothing to say against Maj. Ashe personally. He is good-natured and cleaver to his friends, and public-spirited and active in the Southern cause; but it seems to us he might have executed his despotic mission with less of denunciation and threatening in advance than we find in his card. But his threats will alarm no one; and his own unselfishness will not shine with striking conspicuity when it is remembered that he holds two profitable offices – that of President of the Wilmington and Weldon Road, and Major in the Confederate service. The remedy of “peaceable secession” is likely to pay in his case indifferently well.

– Published in The North Carolina Weekly Standard, Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 1