Showing posts with label Lincoln's Calls For Troops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lincoln's Calls For Troops. Show all posts

Monday, February 12, 2024

Abraham Lincoln’s Call for 300,000 Men, July 1, 1862

EXECUTIVE MANSION,        
Washington, July 1, 1862.

To the Governors of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and the President of the Military Board of Kentucky:

GENTLEMEN: Fully concurring in the wisdom of the views expressed to me in so patriotic a manner by you in the communication of the 28th day of June, I have decided to call into the service an additional force of 300,000 men. I suggest and recommend that the troops should be chiefly of infantry. The quota of your State would be ——. I trust that they may be enrolled without delay, so as to bring this unnecessary and injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion. An order fixing the quotas of the respective States will be issued by the War Department to-morrow.*

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
_______________

* Under this call the quotas and credits were as follows, the first number indicating the quota and the second the number of men furnished, Maine, 9,609; 6,644. New Hampshire, 5,053; 6,390. Vermont, 4,898; 4,369. Massachusetts, 19,080; 16,519. Rhode Island, 2,712; 2,742. Connecticut, 7,145; 9,195. New York, 59,705; 78,904. New Jersey, 10,478; 5,499. Pennsylvania, 45,321; 30,891. Delaware, 1,720; 2,508. Maryland, 8,532; 3,586. Virginia (Western), 4,650; 4,925. District of Columbia, 890; 1,167. Ohio, 36,858; 58,325. Indiana, 21,250; 30,359. Illinois, 26,148; 58,689. Michigan, 11,686; 17,656. Wisconsin, 11,904; 14,472. Minnesota, 2,681; 4,626. Iowa, 10,570; 24,438. Missouri, 17,269; 28,324. Kentucky, 14,905; 6,463. Kansas, 1,771; 2,936. The Territory of Nebraska also furnished 1,838. Making a grand aggregate of 421,465 men furnished.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 187-8

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: November 15, 1864

Fair and cold; ice. Quiet below; rumors of further successes in the Southwest, but not official.

Congress did nothing of interest yesterday in open session, but spent most of its time in secret session. There will probably be stringent martial law, for the strong hand of unlimited power will be required to correct abuses, repress discontent, and bring into the field the whole military strength of the Confederacy. The large majorities for Lincoln in the United States clearly indicate a purpose to make renewed efforts to accomplish our destruction.

It is now contradicted that Lincoln has called for 1,000,000 men. Three P. M. Cloudy, and threatening snow.

An attack upon the city seems to be apprehended. All men must now have passes from Mr. Carrington, Provost Marshal, or be liable to arrest in the street. Such are the changes, indicating panic on the part of official dignitaries.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2p. 331

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Diary of Caroline Cowles Richards: July 1862

The President has called for 300,000 more brave men to fill up the ranks of the fallen. We hear every day of more friends and acquaintances who have volunteered to go.

SOURCE: Caroline Cowles Richards, Village Life in America, 1852-1872, p. 143

Monday, May 18, 2020

Lincoln’s Call for 500,000 Troops: July 18, 1864

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, by the act approved July fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, entitled “An act further to regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes, it is provided that the President of the United States may, “at his discretion, at any time hereafter, call for any number of men, as volunteers, for the respective terms of one, two, and three years for military service,” and “that in case the quota of [or] any part thereof, of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or of a county not so subdivided, shall not be filled within the space of fifty days after such call, then the President shall immediately order a draft for one year, to fill such quota, or any part thereof, which may be unfilled;”

And whereas, the new enrollment heretofore ordered is so far completed as that the aforementioned act of Congress may now be put in operation for recruiting and keeping up the strength of the armies in the field; for garrisons, and such military operations as may be required for the purpose of suppressing the rebellion and restoring the authority of the United States Government in the insurgent States:

Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do issue this my call for five hundred thousand volunteers for the military service; provided, nevertheless, that this call shall be reduced by all credits which may be established under section eight of the aforesaid act, on account of persons who have entered the naval service during the present rebellion, and by credits for men furnished to the military service in excess of calls heretofore made.*

Volunteers will be accepted under this call for one, two, or three years, as they may elect, and will be entitled to the bounty provided by the law for the period of service for which they enlist.

And I hereby proclaim, order, and direct that, immediately after the fifth day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, being fifty days from the date of this call, a draft for troops to serve for one year shall be had in every town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or county not so subdivided, to fill the quota which shall be assigned to it under this call, or any part thereof which may be unfilled by volunteers on the said fifth day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-four.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this eighteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.

By the President:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD,                 
Secretary of State.
_______________

* Under this call the quotas (reduced by excess of credits on previous calls) and credits were as follows, the first number indicating the quota and the second the number of men furnished: Maine, 11,116; 11,042. New Hampshire, 4,648; 5,973. Vermont, 2,665; 3,971. Massachusetts, 21,965; 31,739. Rhode Island, 1,423; 2,310. Connecticut, 5,583; 10,855. New York, 77,539; 83,838. New Jersey, 14,431; 15,108. Pennsylvania, 49,993; 55,536. Delaware, 2,184; 2,175. Maryland, 10,947; 10,235. District of Columbia, 2,386; 2,318. West Virginia, 2,717; 1,956. Kentucky, 9.871; 15,366. Ohio, 27,001; 30,823. Michigan, 12,098; 12,509. Indiana, 25,662; 25,854. Illinois, 21,997; 15,416. Missouri, 25,569; 23,507. Wisconsin, 17,590; 16,823. Iowa, 5,749; 4,223. Minnesota, 4,018; 3,235. Kansas (no quota), 351. Making a grand total of 385,163 men furnished. Of these there were for one year, 228,044; two years, 8,340; three years, 153,049; four years, 730.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 4 (Serial No. 125), p. 515-6

Lincoln’s Call for 300,000 Troops, December 19, 1864

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

A PROCLAMATION.

(Calling for 300,000 volunteers.)

Whereas, by the act approved July 4, 1864, entitled "An act further to regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," it is provided that the President of the United States may, “at his discretion, at any time hereafter, call for any number of men, as volunteers, for the respective terms of one, two, and three years, for military service,” and “that in case the quota, or any part thereof, of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or of any county not so subdivided, shall not be filled within the space of fifty days after such call, then the President shall immediately order a draft for one year to fill such quota, or any part thereof which may be unfilled;”

And whereas, by the credits allowed in accordance with the act of Congress on the call for five hundred thousand men, made July 18th, 1864, the number of men to be obtained under that call was reduced to two hundred and eighty thousand;

And whereas, the operations of the enemy in certain States have rendered it impracticable to procure from them their full quotas of troops under said call;

And whereas, from the foregoing causes, but two hundred and forty thousand men have been put into the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps under the said call of July 18, 1864, leaving a deficiency on that call of two hundred and sixty thousand (260,000):

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, in order to supply the aforesaid deficiency, and to provide for casualties in the military and naval service of the United States, do issue this my call for three hundred thousand (300,000) volunteers, to serve for one, two, or three years. The quotas of the States, districts, and sub-districts, under this call, will be assigned by the War Department, through the Bureau of the Provost-Marshal-General of the United States; and, “in case the quota, or any part thereof, of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or of any county not so subdivided, shall not be filled” before the fifteenth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, then a draft shall be made to fill such quota, or any part thereof, under this call, which may be unfilled on said fifteenth day of February, 1865.*

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this nineteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.

[L. S.]

By the President:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD,                 
Secretary of State.
_______________

* Under this call the quotas and credits were as follows, the first number indicating the quota and the second the number of men furnished: Maine, 8,389; 6,926. New Hampshire, 2,072; 1,304. Vermont, 1,832; 1,550. Massachusetts, 1,306; 3,929. Rhode Island, 1,459; 1,563. Connecticut (no quota); 1,325. New York, 61,076; 34,183. New Jersey, 11,695; 11,268. Pennsylvania, 46,437; 30,817. Delaware, 938; 411. Maryland, 9,142; 4,941. District of Columbia, 2,222; 822. West Virginia, 4,431; 2,537. Kentucky, 10,481; 7,603. Ohio, 26,027; 24,567. Michigan, 10,026; 7,842. Indiana, 22,582; 23,214. Illinois, 32,902; 28,318. Missouri, 13,984; 4,207. Wisconsin, 12,356; 9,921. Iowa (no quota); 854. Minnesota, 3,636; 2,769. Kansas, 1,222; 881. Making a grand total of 211,752 men furnished. Of these there were for one year, 151,363; two years, 5,110; three years, 54,967; four years, 312.


SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 4 (Serial No. 125), p. 1002-3

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Ulysses S. Grant to Frederick Dent, April 19, 1862

Galena, April 19, 1S61.
Mr. F. Dent—

Dear Sir:

I have but very little time to write, but, as in these exciting times we are very anxious to hear from you, and know of no other way but by writing first to you, I must make time.

We get but little news by telegraph from St. Louis, but from all other points of the country we are hearing all the time. The times are indeed startling, but now is the time, particularly in the border slave States, for men to prove their love of country. I know it is hard for men to apparently work with the Republican party, but now all party distinctions should be lost sight of, and every true patriot be for maintaining the integrity of the glorious old Stars and Stripes, the Constitution and the Union. The North is responding to the President's call in such a manner that the Rebels may truly quake. I tell you, there is no mistaking the feelings of the people. The Government can call into the field not only 75,000 troops, but ten or twenty times 75,000 if it should be necessary, and find the means of maintaining them, too.

It is all a mistake about the Northern pocket being so sensitive. In times like the present, no people are more ready to give their own time, or of their abundant means. No impartial man can conceal from himself the fact that in all these troubles the Southerners have been the aggressors and the Administration has stood purely on the defensive, more on the defensive than she would have dared to have done but for her consciousness of strength and the certainty of right prevailing in the end. The news to-day is that Virginia has gone out of the Union. But for the influence she will have on the other border slave Slates, this is not much to be regretted. Her position, or rather that of Eastern Virginia, has been more reprehensible from the beginning than that of South Carolina. She should be made to bear a heavy portion of the burden of the war for her guilt.

In all this I can but see the doom of slavery. The North does not want, nor will they want, to interfere with the institution; but they will refuse for all time to give it protection unless the South shall return soon to their allegiance; and then, too, this disturbance will give such an impetus to the production of their staple, cotton, in other parts of the world that they can never recover the control of the market again for that commodity. This will reduce the value of the negroes so much that they will never be worth fighting over again.

I have just received a letter from Fred.1 He breathes forth the most patriotic sentiments. He is for the old flag as long as there is a Union of two States fighting under its banner, and when they dissolve, he will go it alone. This is not his language, but it is the idea, not so well expressed as he expresses it.

Julia and the children are well, and join me in love to you all. I forgot to mention that Fred has another heir, with some novel name that I have forgotten.

Yours truly,
U. S. Grant.

Get John or Lewis Sheets to write me.
_______________

1 Frederick Dent, Jr.

SOURCES: John Y. Simon, Editor, The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant: Volume 2: April to September, 1861, p. 3-4; Loomis T. Palmer, Editor, The Life of General U. S. Grant, p. 41-2.

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Diary of Corporal David L. Day: Milford, Mass., Sept. 6, 1861.

THE BEGINNING.

Pursuant to a call from President Lincoln for more troops in suppression of the great rebellion, a regiment is now being recruited in the city of Worcester for that service, and a company is being recruited here for that regiment. Believing that it is too soon to divide the estate, and that too many different administrations running at the same time might run amuck, and believing I should never feel quite satisfied with myself if I do not go, and believing with President Jackson, that the Union must and shall be preserved, I have this day enlisted in the company now being raised here. It would be useless for me to claim that I have enlisted from purely patriotic motives, as no one would believe it; and surely none would believe that I would enlist for the plain thirteen dollars a month. So I may as well call it that I have enlisted partly from a love of adventure; for the other part, people are at liberty to draw their own inferences.

The formation of this company was suggested by Mr. George Draper, a patriotic and public spirited citizen of the town, who has given liberally of his means for its success; his son also enlisting in the company. It has also received the aid and patronage of several other patriotic citizens of the town.

SOURCE: David L. Day, My Diary of Rambles with the 25th Mass. Volunteer Infantry, p. 5

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Diary of William Howard Russell: July 8, 1861


I hired a horse at a livery stable, and rode out to Arlington Heights, at the other side of the Potomac, where the Federal army is encamped, if not on the sacred soil of Virginia, certainly on the soil of the District of Columbia, ceded by that State to Congress for the purposes of the Federal Government. The Long Bridge which spans the river, here more than a mile broad, is an ancient wooden and brick structure, partly of causeway, and partly of platform, laid on piles and uprights, with drawbridges for vessels to pass. The Potomac, which in peaceful times is covered with small craft, now glides in a gentle current over the shallows unbroken by a solitary sail. The “rebels” have established batteries below Mount Vernon, which partially command the river, and place the city in a state of blockade.

As a consequence of the magnificent conceptions which were entertained by the founders regarding the future dimensions of their future city, Washington is all suburb and no city. The only difference between the denser streets and the remoter village-like environs, is that the houses are better and more frequent, and the roads not quite so bad in the former. The road to the Long Bridge passes by a four-sided shaft of blocks of white marble, contributed, with appropriate mottoes, by the various States, as a fitting monument to Washington. It is not yet completed, and the materials lie in the field around, just as the Capitol and the Treasury are surrounded by the materials for their future and final development. Further on is the red, and rather fantastic, pile of the Smithsonian Institute, and then the road makes a dip to the bridge, past some squalid little cottages, and the eye reposes on the shore of Virginia, rising in successive folds, and richly wooded, up to a moderate height from the water. Through the green forest leaves gleams the white canvas of the tents, and on the highest ridge westward rises an imposing structure, with a portico and colonnade in front, facing the river, which is called Arlington House, and belongs, by descent, through Mr. Custis, from the wife of George Washington, to General Lee, Commander-in-Chief of the Confederate army. It is now occupied by General McDowell as his head-quarters, and a large United States flag floats from the roof, which shames even the ample proportions of the many stars and stripes rising up from the camps in the trees.

At the bridge there was a post of volunteer soldiers. The sentry on duty was sitting on a stump, with his firelock across his knees, reading a newspaper. He held out his hand for my pass, which was in the form of a letter, written by General Scott, and ordering all officers and soldiers of the army of the Potomac, to permit me to pass freely without let or hindrance, and recommending me to the attention of Brigadier-General McDowell and all officers under his orders. “That'll do; you may go,” said the sentry. “What pass is that, Abe?” inquired a non-commissioned officer. “It's from General Scott, and says he's to go wherever he likes.” “I hope you'll go right away to Richmond, then, and get Jeff Davis's scalp for us,” said the patriotic sergeant.

At the other end of the bridge a weak tete de pont, commanded by a road-work farther on, covered the approach, and turning to the right I passed through a maze of camps, in front of which the various regiments, much better than I expected to find them, broken up into small detachments, were learning elementary drill. A considerable number of the men were Germans, and the officers were for the most part in a state of profound ignorance of company drill, as might be seen by their confusion and inability to take their places when the companies faced about, or moved from one flank to the other. They were by no means equal in size or age, and, with some splendid exceptions, were inferior to the Southern soldiers. The camps were dirty, no latrines — the tents of various patterns — but on the whole they were well castrametated.

The road to Arlington House passed through some of the finest woods I have yet seen in America, but the axe was? already busy amongst them, and the trunks of giant oaks were prostrate on the ground. The tents of the General and his small staff were pitched on the little plateau in which stood the house, and from it a very striking and picturesque view of the city, with the White House, the Treasury, the Post-Office, Patent-Office,' and Capitol, was visible, and a wide spread of country, studded with tents also as far as the eye could reach, towards Maryland. There were only four small tents for the whole of the head-quarters of the grand army of the Potomac, and in front of one we found General McDowell, seated in a chair, examining some plans and maps. His personal staff, as far as I could judge, consisted of Mr. Clarence Brown, who came over with me, and three other officers, but there were a few connected with the departments at work in the rooms of Arlington House. I made some remark on the subject to the General, who replied that there was great jealousy on the part of the civilians respecting the least appearance of display, and that as he was only a brigadier, though he was in command of such a large army, he was obliged to be content with a brigadier's staff. Two untidy-looking orderlies, with ill-groomed horses, near the house, were poor substitutes for the force of troopers one would see in attendance on a General in Europe, but the use of the telegraph obviates the necessity of employing couriers. I went over some of the camps with the General. The artillery is the most efficient-looking arm of the service, but the horses are too light, and the number of the different calibres quite destructive to continuous efficiency in action. Altogether I was not favorably impressed with what I saw, for I had been led by reiterated statements to believe to some extent the extravagant stories of the papers, and expected to find upwards of 100,000 men in the highest state of efficiency, whereas there were not more than a third of the number, and those in a very incomplete, ill-disciplined state. Some of these regiments were called out under the President's proclamation for three months only, and will soon have served their full time, and as it is very likely they will go home, now the bubbles of national enthusiasm have all escaped, General Scott is urged not to lose their services, but to get into Richmond before they are disbanded.

It would scarcely be credited, were I not told it by General McDowell, that there is no such thing procurable as a decent map of Virginia. He knows little or nothing of the country before him, more than the general direction of the main roads, which are bad at the best; and he can obtain no information, inasmuch as the enemy are in full force all along his front, and he has not a cavalry officer capable of conducting it reconnoissance, which would be difficult enough in the best hands, owing to the dense woods which rise up in front of his lines, screening the enemy completely. The Confederates have thrown up very heavy batteries at Manassas, about thirty miles away, where the railway from the West crosses the line to Richmond, and I do not think General McDowell much likes the look of them, but the cry for action is so strong the President cannot resist it.

On my way back I rode through the woods of Arlington, and came out on a quadrangular earthwork, called Fort Corcoran, which is garrisoned by the Sixty-ninth Irish, and commands the road leading to an aqueduct and horse-bridge over the Potomac. The regiment is encamped inside the fort, which would be a slaughter-pen if exposed to shell-fire. The streets were neat, the tents protected from the sun by shades of evergreens and pine boughs. One little door, like that of an icehouse, half buried in the ground, was opened by one of the soldiers, who was showing it to a friend, when my attention was more particularly attracted by a sergeant, who ran forward in great dudgeon, exclaiming “Dempsey! Is that you going into the ‘magazine’ wid yer pipe lighted?” I rode away with alacrity.

In the course of my ride I heard occasional dropping shots in camp. To my looks of inquiry, an engineer officer said quietly, “They are volunteers shooting themselves.” The number of accidents from the carelessness of the men is astonishing; in every day's paper there is an account of deaths and wounds caused by the discharge of firearms in the tents.

Whilst I was at Arlington House, walking through the camp attached to head-quarters, I observed a tall, red-bearded officer seated on a chair in front of one of the tents, who bowed as I passed him, and as I turned to salute him, my eye was caught by the apparition of a row of Palmetto buttons down his coat. One of the officers standing by said, “Let me introduce you to Captain Taylor, from the other side.” It appears that he came in with a flag of truce, bearing a despatch from Jefferson Davis to President Lincoln, countersigned by General Beauregard at Manassas. Just as I left Arlington, a telegraph was sent from General Scott to send Captain Taylor, who rejoices in the name of Tom, over to his quarters.

The most absurd rumors were flying about the staff, one of whom declared very positively that there was going to be a compromise, and that Jeff Davis had made an overture for peace. The papers are filled with accounts of an action in Missouri, at a place called Carthage, between the Federals commanded by Colonel Sigel, consisting for the most part of Germans, and the Confederates under General Parsons, in which the former were obliged to retreat, although it is admitted the State troops were miserably armed, and had most ineffective artillery, whilst their opponents had every advantage in both respects, and were commanded by officers of European experience. Captain Taylor had alluded to the news in a jocular way to me, and said, “I hope you will tell the people in England we intend to whip the Lincolnites in the same fashion wherever we meet them,” a remark which did not lead me to believe there was any intention on the part of the Confederates to surrender so easily.

SOURCE: William Howard Russell, My Diary North and South, Vol. 1, p. 393-7

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Captain Charles Wright Wills: March 20, 1864

Scottsboro, Ala., March 20, 1864.

What under the sun can I tell you that will interest you. That it is intolerably dull, bah! Have just had a long visit from Lieutenant Colonel Wright, now army assistant inspector general of the division, and Lieutenant Van Dyke, A. D. C., to our new commander, General Harrow. The lieutenant is a splendid looking fellow of about 23 years, and has served up to the time of coming into our division with the 2d Corps, Army Potomac. Van Dyke informed me that a despatch from Logan was received by Harrow this a. m., informing him that Forrest was prowling around on the other side of the river with intention of crossing and making a little dash on some part of our line. "Our" railroad from Nashville via Decatur is about completed (will be finished to-morrow) and then we hope to have something to eat once more. This railroad will be all for our corps, or at least we will get the choice of what comes over it. We are at outs with the general to-day. In the field we are not accustomed to having camp guard, considering a strong picket and the regular property alarm guards sufficient. But because two or three men got drunk yesterday, and a gun or two was fired, out comes Harrow in an order and requires a strong camp guard. It may be one of the faults of our discipline, but 'tis a fact that our men would much prefer two days of any other duty, to one of camp guard. Our court gets on slowly. Oh! We had a dance a few nights since. Northern ladies, officers' wives, and a few "Mountain Ewes" (the poetical name given the Jackson county beauties by some genius of a Yankee). We really had a delightful time; and I understand they are to be continued, one every two weeks Anything to keep a man from getting blue. I see Abraham calls for 200,000 more. Keep asking for them Lincoln, that's right, I'm sure there are yet many who can be spared for their country's good in more meanings than one. It's queer that our regiment don't get more recruits. We need them very much, and yet I dread getting them, they are so much trouble for a year. The 26th and 48th Illinois have respectively 200 and 500 and the officers are bored terribly over them. There is to my eye, as much difference between the average of recruits and the average of veterans, as there is between the physique of a tailor and that of a blacksmith. Some of the veterans who have returned to camp, are sick of their last bargain with the United States, but the majority are right glad to get back.

SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, p. 220-1

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Abraham Lincoln’s General Orders, No. 232, July 19, 1864

GENERAL ORDERS,
NO. 232.
WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL'S OFFICE,         
Washington, July 19, 1864.

For five hundred thousand volunteers.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, by the act approved July fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, entitled “An act further to regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,” it is provided that the President of the United States may, “at his discretion, at any time hereafter, call for any number of men, as volunteers, for the respective terms of one, two, and three years for military service,” and “that in case the quota of [or] any part thereof, of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or of a county not so subdivided, shall not be filled within the space of fifty days after such call, then the President shall immediately order a draft for one year, to fill such quota, or any part thereof, which may be unfilled;”

And whereas, the new enrollment heretofore ordered is so far completed as that the aforementioned act of Congress may now be put in operation for recruiting and keeping up the strength of the armies in the field; for garrisons, and such military operations as may be required for the purpose of suppressing the rebellion and restoring the authority of the United States Government in the insurgent States:

Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do issue this my call for five hundred thousand volunteers for the military service; provided, nevertheless, that this call shall be reduced by all credits which may be established under section eight of the aforesaid act, on account of persons who have entered the naval service during the present rebellion, and by credits for men furnished to the military service in excess of calls heretofore made.*

Volunteers will be accepted under this call for one, two, or three years, as they may elect, and will be entitled to the bounty provided by the law for the period of service for which they enlist.
And I hereby proclaim, order, and direct that, immediately after the fifth day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, being fifty days from the date of this call, a draft for troops to serve for one year shall be had in every town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or county not so subdivided, to fill the quota which shall be assigned to it under this call, or any part thereof which may be unfilled by volunteers on the said fifth day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-four.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this eighteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.

[L. S.]
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State.
By order of the Secretary of War:
E. D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
_______________

* Under this call the quotas (reduced by excess of credits on previous calls) and credits were as follows, the first number indicating the quota and the second the number of men furnished: Maine, 11,116; 11,042. New Hampshire, 4,648; 5,973. Vermont, 2,665; 3,971. Massachusetts, 21,965; 31,739. Rhode Island, 1,423; 2,310. Connecticut, 5,583; 10,855. New York, 77,539; 83,838. New Jersey, 14,431; 15,108. Pennsylvania, 49,993; 55,536. Delaware, 2,184; 2,175. Maryland, 10,947; 10,235. District of Columbia, 2,386; 2,318. West Virginia, 2,717; 1,956. Kentucky, 9.871; 15,366. Ohio, 27,001; 30,823. Michigan, 12,098; 12,509. Indiana, 25,662; 25,854. Illinois, 21,997; 15,416. Missouri, 25,569; 23,507. Wisconsin, 17,590; 16,823. Iowa, 5,749; 4,223. Minnesota, 4,018; 3,235. Kansas (no quota), 351. Making a grand total of 385,163 men furnished. Of these there were for one year, 228,044; two years, 8,340; three years, 153,049; four years, 730.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 4 (Serial No. 125), p. 515-6

Edwin M. Stanton to Governor Samuel Cony, August 11, 1864

WAR DEPARTMENT,         
Washington City, August 11, 1864.
His Excellency SAMUEL CONY,
Governor of Maine, Augusta, Me.:

SIR: Your letter of July 25 was duly received and has been carefully considered by this Department. As an executive officer charged simply with the execution of the act of Congress and the orders of the President in regard to the raising of troops, I do not feel that it is my province to enter into any discussion upon the various topics mentioned in your letter. Under the authority of the act of Congress the President has made a call upon the loyal States for troops “to recruit and keep up the strength of the armies in the field, for garrisons, and such military operations as may be required for the purpose of suppressing the rebellion and restoring the authority of the United States Government in the insurgent States,” and it is made by law the duty of this Department to assign the quotas to be furnished by the respective States for that purpose, and for that purpose only. The quota of your State has been communicated to you by the proper officer of this Department. A short time ago, at your request, authority was given you to call out certain additional forces for certain specific purposes, expressed in your letter of request and in the response of this Department. The Secretary of War has, in my judgment, no authority to change the purpose of the President's call. Whatever force the arguments presented in your letter might have upon the question of giving up the contest and ending the war, by acknowledging the independence of the rebel States and the inability of the Government to suppress the rebellion, they do not, in my judgment, afford any lawful reason for the Department to make any allowance on the quota of the State of Maine for the purpose stated in your letter. I have no reason to doubt that if the certain contingency mentioned by you should occur, the Federal Government will be under obligations to provide means of defense for the State of Maine. That contingency does not now exist, and no fact is known to the Department which indicates any reasonable ground of apprehension that it is likely to occur. Other States are exposed to the same dangers, and the whole force called for by the President might, with equal reason, be absorbed in guarding against dangers not now impending. Our armies in the field are rapidly diminishing from casualties in battle and other incidents of a fierce and extensive war. Strong places captured from the enemy require to be immediately garrisoned to prevent their reconquest. Other points held by the rebel army require operations for their reduction. These are existing, imminent, and indispensable necessities, upon which the national existence depends. They are the purpose for which the troops have been called and to which the law and the President's proclamation require that they should be applied and credited. What you ask is not a “favor” within the power of this Department to bestow. Whether you will “say to the people of Maine that this pitiful favor has been refused them,” or whether you will appeal to their patriotism and paramount interest in the national existence to answer the President's call and afford him the means to put an end to the war that has cost them so much blood and so much treasure, is for your own judgment to decide.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

EDWIN M. STANTON,
Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 4 (Serial No. 125), p. 608-9

Friday, June 16, 2017

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: May 12, 1863

The departments and all places of business are still closed in honor of Gen. Jackson, whose funeral will take place to-day. The remains will be placed in state at the Capitol, where the people will be permitted to see him. The grief is universal, and the victory involving such a loss is regarded as a calamity.

The day is bright and excessively hot; and so was yesterday.

Many letters are coming in from the counties in which the enemy's cavalry replenished their horses. It appears that the government has sent out agents to collect the worn-down horses left by the enemy; and this is bitterly objected to by the farmers. It is the corn-planting season, and without horses, they say, they can raise no crops. Some of these writers are almost menacing in their remarks, and intimate that they are about as harshly used, in this war, by one side as the other.

To-day I observed the clerks coming out of the departments with chagrin and mortification. Seventy-five per cent. of them ought to be in the army, for they are young able-bodied men. This applies also to the chiefs of bureaus.

The funeral was very solemn and imposing, because the mourning was sincere and heartfelt. There was no vain ostentation. The pall bearers were generals. The President followed near the hearse in a carriage, looking thin and frail in health. The heads of departments, two and two, followed on foot — Benjamin and Seddon first — at the head of the column of young clerks (who ought to be in the field), the State authorities, municipal authorities, and thousands of soldiers and citizens. The war-horse was led by the general's servant, and flags and black feathers abounded.

Arrived at the Capitol, the whole multitude passed the bier, and gazed upon the hero's face, seen through a glass in the coffin.

Just previous to the melancholy ceremony, a very large body of prisoners (I think 3500) arrived, and were marched through Main Street, to the grated buildings allotted them. But these attracted slight attention, — Jackson, the great hero, was the absorbing thought. Yet there are other Jacksons in the army, who will win victories, — no one doubts it.

The following is Gen. Lee's order to the array after the intelligence of Gen. Jackson's death:

Headquarters Army Northern Va.,
“May 11th, 1863.
general Orders No. 61.

“With deep grief the Commanding General announces to the army the death of Lieut.-Gen. T. J. Jackson, who expired on the 10th inst., at 3½ P.M. The daring, skill, and energy of this great and good soldier, by the decree of an all-wise Providence, are now lost to us. But while we mourn his death, we feel that his spirit still lives, and will inspire the whole army with his indomitable courage and unshaken confidence in God as our hope and our strength. Let his name be a watchword to his corps, who have followed him to victory on so many fields. Let officers and soldiers emulate his invincible determination to do everything in the defense of our beloved country.

“R. E. Lee, General.


The Letter of Gen. Lee to Gen. Jackson.

The letter written by Gen. Lee to Gen. Jackson before the death of the latter is as follows:

“CHANCELLORVILLE, May 4th.
General: —

“I have just received your note informing me that you were wounded. I cannot express my regret at the occurrence. Could I have dictated events, I should have chosen for the good of the country to have been disabled in your stead.

“I congratulate you upon the victory which is due to your skill and energy.

“Most truly yours,
“R. E. Lee.
To Gen. T. J. Jackson.

“The nation's agony,” as it is termed in a Washington paper, in an appeal for 500,000 more men, now demands a prompt response from the people. And yet that paper, under the eye and in the interest of the Federal Government, would make it appear that “the Army of the Potomac” has sustained no considerable! disaster. What, then, constitutes the “nation's agony”? Is it the imminency of war with England? It may be, judging from the debates in Parliament, relating to the liberties the United States have been taking with British commerce. But what do they mean by the “nation?” They have nothing resembling a homogeneous race in the North, and nearly a moiety of the people are Germans and Irish. How ridiculous it would have been even for a Galba to call his people the Roman nation! An idiot may produce a conflagration, but he can never rise to the dignity of a high-minded man. Yet that word “Nation” may raise a million Yankee troops. It is a “new thing.”

The Northern papers say Charleston is to be assailed again immediately; that large reinforcements are going to Hooker, and that they captured six or eight thousand prisoners in their flight on the Rappahannock. All these fictions are understood and appreciated here; but they may answer a purpose in the North, by deceiving the people again into the belief that Richmond will certainly fall the next time an advance is made. And really, where we see such extravagant statements in the Federal journals, after a great battle, we are much rejoiced, because we know them to be unfounded, and we are led to believe our victory was even greater than we supposed it to be.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 321-3

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: May 9, 1863

The papers contain the following order from Gen. Lee:

“headquarters Army Northern Virginia,
“May 7th, 1803.

“general Orders No. 59.

“With heartfelt gratification, the General Commanding expresses to the army his sense of the heroic conduct displayed by officers and men, during the arduous operations in which they have just been engaged.

“Under trying vicissitudes of heat and storm, you attacked the enemy, strongly intrenched in the depths of a tangled wilderness, and again on the hills of Fredericksburg, fifteen miles distant, and by the valor that has triumphed on so many fields, forced him once more to seek safety beyond the Rappahannock. While this glorious victory entitles you to the praise and gratitude of the nation, we are especially called upon to return our grateful thanks to the only Giver of victory for the signal deliverance He has wrought.

“It is, therefore, earnestly recommended that the troops unite on Sunday next in ascribing to the Lord of hosts the glory due unto His name.

“Let us not forget in our rejoicing the brave soldiers who have fallen in defense of their country; and while we mourn their loss, let us resolve to emulate their noble example.

“The army and the country alike lament the absence for a time of one to whose bravery, energy, and skill they are so much indebted for success.

“The following letter from the President of the Confederate States is communicated to the army as an expression of his appreciation of its success:

“‘I have received your dispatch, and reverently unite with you in giving praise to God for the success with which He has crowned our arms.

“‘In the name of the people, I offer my cordial thanks to yourself and the troops under your command for this addition to the unprecedented series of great victories which your army has achieved.

“‘The universal rejoicing produced by this happy result will be mingled with a general regret for the good and the brave who are numbered among the killed and wounded.’

“R. E. Lee, General.

The losses on either side are not yet relatively ascertained. Ours, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, will probably reach 10,000. We have taken about 10,000 prisoners; the enemy's killed and wounded is thought to be 15,000 to 20,000. We have taken about fifty guns — and it is said 40,000 small arms, in good order. They did not have leisure to destroy them as on former occasions. It was a complete and stunning defeat.

Gen. Jackson remains near Fredericksburg, and is doing well since the amputation of his (left) arm. The wound was received, during the battle by moonlight, from his own men, who did not recognize their beloved general.

A letter was received to-day from Gen. Whiting at Wilmington, who refuses to permit the “Lizzie” to leave the port, unless ordered to do so. He intimates that she trades with the enemy. And yet Mr. Benjamin urges the Secretary to allow her to depart! Commodore Lynch also writes that the detention of the “Lizzie” is a prudential measure, as it is the only steamer in port that could conduct our unfinished gun-boat to a place of safety, should the enemy's fleet make a sudden attack on the city.

The President (who still absents himself from the Executive Office, his health being precarious) writes the Secretary to consult Gen. Lee before detaching Gen. Jenkins's cavalry brigade from the West. It would have been better if Gen. Lee's advice had been taken in regard to Gen. Longstreet.

The men from the garrison at Drewry's Bluff, and the crew from the steamer Richmond, were taken away to man the batteries around the city. The President requests the Secretary to order them back at the earliest moment practicable. It would be an ugly picture if our defenses at Drewry's Bluff were surprised and taken by a sudden dash of the enemy up James River.

The raid of the enemy's cavalry, after all, did little or no permanent injury to the roads or canal. They are all in operation again.

It is said Lincoln has called for 500,000 more men. Numbers have now no terror for the Southern people. They are willing to wage the war against quadruple their number.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 316-8

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Edward Everett Hale to Charles Hale, August 5, 1862

August 5th, 1862.

Old Abe has called out 300,000 men by draft, and has informed us that if the 300,000 volunteers do not appear by the 15th he will draft for them. This is as it should be — if he had put his figure higher it would have been better. The act giving him power was run through just in the heel of the session. The old theories of war are exploded, which spoke of people's staying at home and sending a few wretches to do the fighting. For if everybody goes on both sides, universal service justifies itself by the great appeal in fact, which I have so often lectured about in theory; viz. the appeal to physical force. The result of universal suffrage may be right or may be wrong, but it is the result which will be carried through.

SOURCE: Edward Everett Hale Jr., The Life and Letters of Edward Everett Hale, Volume 1, p. 330

Monday, August 4, 2014

Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, May 3, 1861

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas existing exigencies demand immediate and adequate measures for the protection of the National Constitution and the preservation of the National Union by the suppression of the insurrectionary combinations now existing in several States for opposing the laws of the Union and obstructing the execution thereof, to which end a military force, in addition to that called forth by my proclamation of the fifteenth day of April, in the present year, appears to be indispensably necessary:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, and of the militia of the several States when called into actual service, do hereby call into the service of the United States 42,034 volunteers, to serve for the period of three years, unless sooner discharged, and to be mustered into service as infantry and cavalry. The proportions of each arm and the details of enrollment and organization will be made known through the Department of War.

And I also direct that the Regular Army of the United States be increased by the addition of eight regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, and one regiment of artillery, making altogether a maximum aggregate increase of 22,714 officers and enlisted men, the details of which increase will also be made known through the Department of War.

And I further direct the enlistment, for not less than one nor more than three years, of 18,000 seamen, in addition to the present force, for the naval service of the United States. The details of the enlistment and organization will be made known through the Department of the Navy.

The call for volunteers, hereby made, and the direction for the increase of the Regular Army, and for the enlistment of seamen, hereby given, together with the plan of organization adopted for the volunteers and for the regular forces hereby authorized, will be submitted to Congress as soon as assembled.

In the meantime I earnestly invoke the co-operation of all good citizens in the measures hereby adopted for the effectual suppression of unlawful violence, for the impartial enforcement of constitutional laws, and for the speediest possible restoration of peace and order, and, with these, of happiness and prosperity throughout the country.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth.

 ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
 WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State.

SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 1 (Serial No. 122), p. 145-6

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Diary of Charles H. Lynch: Saturday, August 23, 1862

Very little sleep on board the boat last night. Passing around New York the boat landed at Pier No. 2, North River, at about 6 A. M. The transport steamer Kill-von-Kull was at the pier waiting for us. Marched across the pier on board to the music of the band. When all were on board the Kill-von-Kull, the City of Boston sailed away and with it the band. The last tune we heard the band play was “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” and the strains in the distance coming across the water to us were “Home, Sweet Home.”

The Kill-von-Kull soon got under way. Reported that we were going to Elizabethport, N. J. It proved to be a very pleasant trip. The weather fine. We were saluted by passing boats and the people along the shores. Late in the day we arrived in Elizabethport, safe and sound. We found a long train of cars waiting for us. All railroad lines leading to Washington were crowded with troops hurrying on in response to the President's call for three hundred thousand more men.

SOURCE: Charles H. Lynch, The Civil War Diary, 1862-1865, of Charles H. Lynch 18th Conn. Vol's, p. 7-8

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Special to New York Papers

(Herald’s Dispatch.)

WASHINGTON, May 21. – The President has decided that 50,000 more volunteers shall be accepted.  This is to fill up regiments which have been thinned out by sickness and wounds, and to for a reserve under drill for the future, which may be ready at the decisive moment.

Notwithstanding the solemn threat of certain Senators who hold their refusal to take up the tax bill interwoven over the head of the President, to scare or drive him into a compliance with the programme of conducting the war, the bill was taken up to-day and will be acted upon without delay.  It will probably be shaped and passed before the end of the month.  The impression prevails that Senator Simmons’ substitute is more simple in its provisions, and that the House bill will finally be adopted.

The armor of the Galena which was pierced by the projectiles of the rebel batteries below Richmond, was but three inches thick.

The gunboats on the Western waters are thinly plated but partially clad, which shows the necessity of the six inch plates that have been ordered for the three new gunboats of the Monitor style that are now in process of erection in New York.

The Monitor thus far has stood the fire with her five inch plates, but as guns of enormous caliber and projectiles of great momentum are in view, it is safe to increase the thickness of the armor.


(Tribune’s Special.)

It is not yet precisely determined what number of volunteers to call for, but it will not be far from 100,000, including those needed to fill up the old regiments.

It will scarcely be credited that hay is brought to the army of Virginia from Maine, and corn from Illinois, although these articles are to be had for the taking from premises abandoned by the rebels.  Their armies do not scruple to rob our men of all that can be moved.

A pontoon bridge has been laid and the Rappahannock can now be crossed at four different points.

Orders have been issued for two pairs of shoes and one pair of leggings for the infantry of the army of the Rappahannock.

The greatest activity prevails and striking news may be expected from this quarter before long.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 24, 1862, p. 3

Saturday, January 9, 2010

The Rebellion

Very few persons had a correct idea of the proportions the rebellion would assume, when South Carolina first declared her intention of throwing off allegiance to the General Government. At first it was not credited that she would dare undertake so rash a measure. When her threats began to assume shape and it was seen that her determination was fixed, that she had fully resolved to cast herself into the seething cauldron of civil discord, it was thought she would go alone, or possibly one or two of the more Southern States might accompany her in treason. It was little thought at the time that the slave States almost in a body would unite in a grand effort to overthrow the Government.

That no idea was entertained the rebellion would reach the size it did, even by the Federal Executive, is apparent by his first official military act in calling out the paltry number of seventy-five thousand troops to suppress it. Had he known that for years the plan had been concocted, and during all the previous Administration its infamous leaders, high in office and sworn to protect our Government, were plotting its overthrow, he would have formed more enlarged conceptions of its extent. But that was known only to the initiated. Their idea was a separate Government based upon the inalienable right of man to hold his fellow man in bondage; or, in other words, the establishment of an oligarchy, the corner-stone of which, according to Stephens, was to be slavery. Growing out of, based upon and sustained by an institution of Southern growth, fancied to be interwoven with its prosperity and even vitality, the sympathies of the South were at once enlisted and it required no very specious arguments to cause unprincipled men who governed these states by virtue of their offices, to precipitate them into the vortex of dissolution.

So soon as the size of the rebellion was ascertained, and it was seen to be of no mushroom growth, but that its roots extended back through the previous Administration, the President began to enlarge his operations and to prepare for actual, vigorous war. His worst enemies he found to be his own household; not the open ones with arms in their hands contending against the Government that had ever fostered and protected them; but secret ones who came with proffered assistance in one hand and a dagger in the other. Men who while they swore fealty to the Government, were covertly seeking its destruction. Against these insidious foes there was no guarding, and at every step they seemed to thwart his plans for the suppression of the rebellion, until the most vigorous measures were adopted.

The splendid diplomacy of the Secretary of State settled the question that we had no foreign power to fear, and that our avowed enemies were confined to the slave States. The plans of the Executive were taken accordingly, and the Federal arms have since rapidly asserted their supremacy. God has seemed to smile upon our efforts; though attacked by superior force and under every disadvantage, yet victory has ever accompanied our standard. The government is bound to be sustained; defeated at every point, the rebels must soon see the hopelessness of their cause and yield to the superior skill and numbers of those contending for rights, from which their leaders so vainly sought to disfranchise us.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2