From B. K. M., an Ohio Clergyman, to John Brown, November 26, 1859

Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 26.

My Dear Christian Brother: I hope you will not consider it impertinent or intrusive in me to write you. I am only a stranger to you; but, as a minister of Christ, I feel anxious to send you some word of encouragement and consolation at this trying moment of your life, standing as you do under the very shadow of approaching doom. The executors of penal law, under which you are held, manifest no disposition to relent or mitigate the rigors of the penalty pronounced upon you. I therefore feel that in coming to you by this epistle I am intruding upon you in the midst of reflections and solemnities inconceivably momentous and sacred. Of the brief and waning period allowed you by your captors, only six days now remain, and by the time this shall meet your eye this meagre fragment of space will have dwindled to hours, and the gloomy death-pageant preparing to encircle your execution will be about ready for the gaze of eager thousands, whom sympathy, curiosity, or hatred will gather together. I long to say something to you that may in some way breathe consolation and inspire fresh and holy outgoings of hope, courage and confidence in God. And yet I know God is with you, and his presence and favor are infinitely better and dearer than any sympathy and condolence of your brethren in Christ. And yet I know that a sad yet hopeful, a painful yet prayerful, remembrance of you by those who are in spirit with you, while widely separated from you, will not be painful to you nor unacceptable to God.

I most fervently pray that you may find, through Divine Grace, that however severe the trial that approaches, and however sad all that is now passing upon you may be," according to your day so shall your strength be." God exercises His government in wisdom, love, and mercy, and he does and will overrule all things for His glory and the final good and salvation of all that put their trust in Him. Fear not; God will gird thee with strength, and give a meetness and a divine readiness for your great trials; and may he turn your captivity and death, if you must die, to His glory and the final deliverance of all the oppressed of this land. "Faithful is He that hath called you, who also will do it."

The events that have been brought about recently through your agency have convulsed the nation, and stirred the popular heart to its utmost depth, and the minions of oppression have been made to quake with fear. What is to be the result God only knows, but this, I think, is already apparent, the cause of Freedom is immeasurably stronger than it was before you struck your blow at Harper's Ferry, and were permitted to stand forth a captive among slaveholders and doomed to die.

I herewith inclose you a few lines which I have penned almost involuntarily upon one of the most heroic sentences that have been pronounced in modern times, which the public prints record as yours. This alone is enough to give glory to your captivity; and the spirit that could give utterance to it will make your death a triumph, both for yourself and suffering humanity. Very truly and sympathetically,

Your brother in Christ,

B. K. M.

P. S. Should time and your dying condition permit, write merely enough to say you have received this, and send in the enclosed envelope. Such a note will be received as a memento from a dying brother in Christ, and martyr for the cause of our oppressed fellow men.

 

THE HOARY CONVICT.

 

“I do not know that I can better serve the cause I love so much than by dying for it.” 

— JOHN BROWN, in prison.

 

Brave man! whate'er the world may think of thee,
    Howe'er in judgment hold thy daring deeds,
Men cannot fail in every step to see
    This is no craven heart that beats and bleeds.

Kind friends proclaim thy ardent mind unstrung —
    A maniac only heard the bondman sigh;
While foes alarmed have quivering curses flung,
    And deem it mercy even to let thee die.

But friends and foes to thee are all the same,
    Who drink not at the fount where thou hast stood;
With thee one thought has nursed the hidden flame;
    Thy fettered brother claims the common blood.

To lift Him from Oppression's iron heel
    Became with thee a purpose, then a cause;
Thy life-long madness was a power to feel —
    That gush of feeling wrote thy code of laws.

Thy abject brother doubled in thy sight
    Grew into numbers as the vision rose,
Then stood a nation, without power or might.
    And all their weakness plead against their foes.

The cause of man loomed grandly on thy sight;
    Man, crushed and feeble, was thy rallying cry;
Its wail charmed strangely to the unequal fight.
    To give them Freedom, or to bravely die.

Hadst thou thus dared 'neath far Italia's sky
    Men would have shouted pæans to thy name;
History would dared her highest skill to try,
    And on a spotless page embalmed thy fame.

But thou hast struck on thine own country's plains
    For hosts who crouch where shouts for Freedom flow;
Hosts of a dusky brow, condemned to chains,
    For whom the bravest dared not strike a blow.

Men grudge thee now a felon's gloomy cells,
    And, restive, wail a felon's doom at morn;
Reproach loads every breeze that round thee swells,
    And heaven's own light comes mixed with human scorn.

Oppression hastes to drink thy flowing blood,
    And dip her iron hoof in costly gore;
But right shall strengthen with the might of God,
    And thou, when slain, be mightier than before.

Yon captive hosts shall rise from tears and chains,
    And kneel redeemed at God's own scat ere long;
Then thou shalt rise, and Freedom's festive strains
    Shall give thy memory to immortal song.

Go, then, and die! thy scarred, heroic form
    And hoary locks may grace a scaffold high,
But thy loved Cause shall live beyond the storm,
    And thou canst best subserve it now to die!

SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 398-401

A Clergyman of Providence Rhode Island to John Brown, November 26, 1859

Providence, Rhode Island, Nov. 26.

My Dear Sir: Permit me, an utter stranger to you, to intrude a moment, just that I may say, God bless you! Be of good cheer. You bore your witness against American Slavery with voice so loud that all the civilized world now listens, all breathless, to its every echo. More than this: by that act four million slaves have learned with such force of impression as never was theirs before, that they have a right to be free. Washington, and those with him, fought for their own homes and their own liberties; but you, with broader benevolence, having no freedom to gain for yourself, took the sword in behalf of a race oppressed infinitely more than our fathers. I do not say that I think it right to appeal to arms, but I do say that if the first was right, then by logical necessity, was the second. It is an axiom in religion that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church. Jesus baptized his new faith with his own blood. In all ages truth is most advanced by those who most suffer for it. Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for another. Let these thoughts console you. I have read your speeches and letters studiously, and from them verily believe that you have acted from altogether righteous motives. Remember, if you have a truly honest and prayerful conscience towards God, He will accept your intentions. I beseech you to read His Word much, and with all the power of your nature to trust yourself entirely to his infinite care. It may perhaps somewhat cheer you to know that beyond question the greater part of the Christian world will approve your intentions. From tens of thousands of hearts prayer is continually made for you. Posterity will look upon you as the Moses of the American bondmen. Your name will be a watchword henceforth for Freedom. Coming ages will put your statue in high places, and build glorious monuments to the honor of your name. God be with you now, and comfort you, and receive you into the glorious company of confessors and martyrs above.

Yours,

A Clergyman.

SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 401-2

C. F. H., a Theological Author, to John Brown, November 27, 1859

Central Village, Plainfield, Conn., Nov. 27.

Dear Friend: . . . The moral effect of your bearing since your capture seems to me worth more than any immediate physical good which would follow your victory. I think Slavery at the South and every where is weaker than it could have been made by the exodus of a thousand slaves under your lead. I need not explain the particulars of this view; but there does seem to me a special providence in your being spared beyond the hour of your capture, to be tried as you have been, and to appear loftier and braver than your conquerors, as you have. It is God that has called and disciplined you for this, and He sustains you, and will sustain you to the end. . . . I shall probably be at Hartford on Friday of this week, the day appointed for the execution of your sentence. That will be far easier than the execution of yourself; for we believe your life and heroism are not lost in any death. The Lord be with you in your last earthly hours.

Yours, for those in bonds,

C. F. H.

SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 402

F. G., a Rhode Island Friend, to John Brown, November 27, 1859

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, Nov. 27.

Dear Brother: I feel constrained to write a few lines to you. I have long wished to write; but fearing to do so, the distance being so very long, that it would not reach you. I have long wished to hear from you personally, to know how you are getting along, and how your wounds are, and whether your health is any better. I take three papers, and read them with great interest to know all. But they say one thing one day, and contradict them the next. O, if I could only be with you, could hear you and comfort you in my own feeble way in this trying hour of your confinement! But it cannot be. To God I wish that I could be with you in this hour of trial! O, that I had the money that is daily thrown away for foolishness! I would come to you, and on bended knees ask permission to remain with you. But, as I said before, it cannot be. But if I am not with you in person, I am with you through the eye of vision, talking with and hearing your sad trial of sorrow and incarceration. These visions will never be forgotten by me and my family, as I sit by my fireside rehearsing to them the history of one whom I shall ever remember with a brother's love.

O, that I could find words to express myself, but my mind wanders and my hand trembles so, that I scarce can write! You will, I hope, forgive my many mistakes. I write not for fame, but from friendship's dictation. O, if I could compose myself to write! But, as I have said, my mind wanders back to things past and gone — gone; known only in history's pages. When I call up things that have been done since 1776, to the present time, 1859—but enough of this. God worketh all things for his own good; for he is a God of Justice, and doeth all things well, and in his own time. If there is no hope on earth, there is hope in Heaven. If we meet not here, we will meet there. I trust in Him who ruleth all things. Call on him and he will not see you want, for He hath said so in his Holy Word: "That whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life." . . . Ever believe me,

Your sincere friend for suffering humanity,

F. G.

SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 402-3

H. B., an Old Missionary to John Brown, November 28, 1859

New Haven, Connecticut, Nov. 28.

Dear Sir: Permit a friend of liberty and equitable law to address you a few brief thoughts, which I hope may be acceptable to you and your family. Prayer was yesterday offered for you in a colored congregation in this city, to whom a descendant of Africa, a son of Georgia, a minister of Liberia, and also the writer of this farewell letter, preached the true gospel.

You may be gratified to know that I remember with interest your interview, some two years since, with the cordial friends of Kansas in this city, while that injured territory of our common country was subject to the scorpion lash prepared for the honest advocates of the rights of man, and especially of that freedom which you struggled to establish. These, your New Haven friends, some of whom so ably and so kindly expostulated with our Chief Magistrate in reference to the wrongs of Kansas, remember you with Christian sympathy in your present sufferings.

Take it to your heart that a God of Justice and of Mercy rules, and the Deliverer of Israel from their bondage in Goshen, has mercy in store for a greater number of bondmen and bondwomen, truly as wrongfully oppressed. He has not granted you the full measure of your wishes, but he has allowed you the opportunity of conspicuously and emphatically showing your sympathy for the injured Slave population of our otherwise happy country, and of preaching the duty of giving "them that which is just and equal."

Forty years ago I went among the savages of Polynesia, and preached the gospel of Him whose office it was to proclaim liberty to captives. I plainly taught kings and queens, chiefs and warriors, that He that ruleth men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. I freely exhibited the opposition of God's law and our Saviour's gospel to oppression and every sin found to be prevailing there, and aided my associates in giving them the entire Bible in their own language, and in teaching their tribes to read it and use it freely in all the ranks of life.

Though I labored with them a score of years, and have corresponded with them a score of years more, I have not, lest I should damage my mission, ever told them that I belonged to a nation that deprives three or four millions of their fellow-subjects of Jehovah's Government, of their dearest rights which God has given them one of which is the free use of his own Holy Book.

But when the story of your execution shall reach and surprise them, I will no longer hesitate to speak to my friends there of your sympathy for four millions of the inhabitants of our Southern States, held in unchristian bonds in the only Protestant country on the globe that endorses Slavery.

I can, next week, well afford to endeavor to give them an echo of that protest against the whole system of American Slavery, which on and from the day of your execution, will be louder in the ear of High Heaven than its abettors have been accustomed to hear; rising from the millions of freemen in this noble cordon of Free States, and other millions of now slaveholding freemen, and some slaveholders themselves, in the Slave States.

Have you a kind message to send to the Christian converts at the Sandwich Islands, or to the heathen of Micronesia, a month's sail beyond, where my son and daughter are laboring to give them the Bible and the richest blessings of Christianity? I would gladly forward it to them if you have time to write it.

And now, dear sir, trust in your gracious Saviour; forgive those that have trespassed against you; leave your fatherless children, God will provide for them, and tell your widow to trust in Him, in His holy habitation. "The hairs of your head are all numbered," and not one "shall fall to the ground without your Heavenly Father." Should a lock of your hair fall into my lap before the execution shall help you to shake the pillars of the idol's temple, it would be valued. The Lord bless you, and make your life and death a blessing to the oppressed and their oppressors. Farewell!

Yours faithfully,

H. B.

SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 403-5

Jefferson Davis’ Proclamation Appointing a Day for Public Worship, October 26, 1864

PROCLAMATION.

APPOINTING A DAY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP.

It is meet that the people of the Confederate States should, from time to time, assemble to acknowledge their dependence on Almighty God, to render devout thanks to His Holy name, to bend in prayer at His footstool, and to accept, with fervent submission, the chastening of His All-wise and All-merciful Providence.

Let us, then, in temples and in the field, unite our voices in recognizing, with adoring gratitude, the manifestations of His protecting care in the many signal victories with which our arms have been crowned; in the fruitfulness with which our land has been blessed, and in the unimpaired energy and fortitude with which He has inspired our hearts and strengthened our arms in resistance to the iniquitous designs of our enemies.

And let us not forget that while graciously vouchsafing to us His protection, our sins have merited and received grievous chastisement; that many of our best and bravest have fallen in battle; that many others are still held in foreign prisons; that large districts of our country have been devastated with savage ferocity, the peaceful homes destroyed, and helpless women and children driven away in destitution; and that with fiendish malignity the passions of a servile race have been excited by our foes into the commission of atrocities from which death is a welcome escape.

Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, do issue this my proclamation, setting apart Wednesday, the 16th day of November next, as a day to be specially devoted to the worship of Almighty God; and I do invite and invoke all the people of these Confederate States to assemble on the day aforesaid, in their respective places of public worship, there to unite in prayer to our Heavenly Father that He bestow His favor upon us; that He extend over us the protection of His Almighty arm; that He sanctify His chastisement to our improvement, so that we may turn away from evil paths and walk righteously in His sight; and that He may restore peace to our beloved country, healing its bleeding wounds, and securing to us the continued enjoyment of our own right to self-government and independence, and that He will graciously hearken to us while we ascribe to Him the power and glory of our independence.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States, at Richmond, this 26th day of October, in the year of our Lord 1864.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

By the President:

J. P. BENJAMIN,        

Secretary of State.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 41, Part 4 (Serial No. 86), p. 1074

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: November 1, 1864

Bright and frosty morning.

All quiet. No confirmation of Early's defeat; and the nightfeat of Mahone puts the people in better hope.

One-third of all our lead comes from the mines near Wytheville, Virginia.

I got 128 pounds of flour from the investment in supplies in North Carolina, and one-fourth of that amount is still behind. We got 26 pounds of bacon, worth $260; the flour received, and to be received, 160 pounds, $320; and we expect to get 6 gallons molasses, $30 per gallon, $180: total, $760; and only $200 invested. This shows the profits of the speculators!

Gov. Yates, of Illinois, bas declared Richmond will be in the hands of the Federals before the 8th of November. This is the 1st. It may be so; but I doubt it. It cannot be so without the effusion of an ocean of blood!

I learned to-day that every tree on Gov. Wise's farm of any size has been felled by the enemy. What harm have the poor trees done the enemy? I love trees, anywhere.

The President attends to many little matters, such as solicitations for passports to leave the country, details or exemptions of husbands and sons; and generally the ladies who address him, knowing his religious bias, frame their phraseology accordingly, and often with effect.

The following is his last proclamation:

Proclamation appointing a Day for Public Worship.

It is meet that the people of the Confederate States should, from time to time, assemble to acknowledge their dependence on Almighty God, to render devout thanks for his manifold blessings, to worship his holy name, to bend in prayer at his footstool, and to accept, with reverent submission, the chastening of his all-wise and all-merciful Providence.

 

Let us, then, in temples and in fields, unite our voices in recognizing, with adoring gratitude, the manifestations of his protecting care in the many signal victories with which our arms have been crowned; in the fruitfulness with which our land has been blessed, and in the unimpaired energy and fortitude with which he has inspired our hearts and strengthened our arms in resistance to the iniquitous designs of our enemies.

 

And let us not forget that, while graciously vouchsafing to us his protection, our sins have merited and received grievous chastisement; that many of our best and bravest have fallen in battle; that many others are still held in foreign prisons; that large districts of our country have been devastated with savage ferocity, the peaceful homes destroyed, and helpless women and children driven away in destitution; and that with fiendish malignity the passions of a servile race have been excited by our foes into the commission of atrocities from which death is a welcome escape.

Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, do issue this my proclamation, setting apart Wednesday, the sixteenth day of November next, as a day to be specially devoted to the worship of Almighty God; and I do invite and invoke all the people of these Confederate States to assemble on the day aforesaid, in their respective places of public worship, there to unite in prayer to our heavenly Father, that he bestow his favor upon us; that he extend over us the protection of his Almighty arm; that he sanctify his chastisement to our improvement, so that we may turn away from evil paths and walk righteously in his sight; that he restore peace to our beloved country, healing its bleeding wounds, and securing to us the continued enjoyment of our right of self-government and independence; and that he graciously hearken to us, while we ascribe to him the power and glory of our deliverance. “Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States, at Richmond, this 26th day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

By the President:

J. P. BENJAMIN, Secretary of State.

The President gets but few letters from members of Congress.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 320-2

E. H. to John Brown, November 20, 1859

WOONSOCKET, R. I., Nov. 20.

To Captain John Brown, now under sentence of death at Charlestown, Virginia, for endeavoring to liberate the Bondmen.

Much Respected Friend: It is now nearly eighteen hundred and sixty years since our Blessed Redeemer gave His life for poor, wicked, and fallen humanity. Since that time the progress has been slow, as appears to us; but steady towards those exalted and godlike principles which he enunciated. It is difficult to understand how any community calling themselves Christians can, by what they call Christian laws, try, condemn, and execute a man for endeavoring to do the very same acts which our Saviour came to do, viz., "to heal the broken-hearted, to bring deliverance to the captive, and set at liberty them that are bound."

I recollect your visit at our place many years since, when you were in the wool trade; but did not dream of your immortalizing your name with the host of martyrs which have gone before you, who chose to obey God rather than men.

All I can say is this: Hold on; trust in God to the last, and Christ will redeem you to Himself. Die like a Christian and like a man, if needs be, is the sincere desire of your friend,

E. H.

[Enclosed was a check for one hundred dollars.]

SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 392

A. M. M., a Scotch Covenanter, to John Brown, November 23, 1859

New Alexandria, Penn., November 23.

Dear Sir: Permit a stranger to address you. I am the pastor of a congregation of people known as Scotch Covenanters — a people who refuse to incorporate with this Government by holding its offices or using its elective franchise on the ground that it refuses to perform the duty of Government either to God or man. It neither acknowledges the authority of God, nor protects the persons of its subjects; therefore we do not acknowledge it to be the moral ordinance of God for good to be obeyed for conscience' sake.

I do not address you from the expectation that you need any promptings to that fortitude which you have so nobly displayed, and which I doubt not is begotten in your soul by the Spirit of God, through a good conscience and a good cause. I have no fear but that your own familiarity with the word of God and the way to the Throne, will fortify your heart against the foul aspersions cast upon your character and motives by the purchased presses and parrot pulpits. He that fears God need fear no other. Still I know that the bravest heart may be cheered in the midst of sore trials by a kindly word from even a stranger. And, while the bulls of Bashan are roaring around you, it may be some consolation to you to know that there are some earnest Christians who regard you as a martyr to human liberty, and pray for a large outpouring of the martyr spirit upon you, and feel that in such a cause 'tis glorious to die. Whatever prudence may whisper as to the best course, God requires us to "remember them in bonds as bound with them," (Heb. xiii. 3,) and declares that "we know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren," (1 John iii. 14 ; "that we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren," (1 John iii. 16;) "and if any have this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (1 John iii. 17.) If these are the proper tests of Christianity, I think, at least, you have no reason to fear a comparison of character in that respect with your clerical traducers.

But, my dear brother, you will allow me to urge upon you a rigid inquiry into your motives to know whether you have taken up the cross for Christ's sake, as well as for the sake of His oppressed people? If you have made all this sacrifice for Christ and His cross, you have the promise of a hundred fold now in this life, and in the world to come eternal life, (Mark x. 29, 30.) Your character will be a hundred fold more than redeemed, and a hundred fold better legacy will accrue to your family than you could otherwise have left them.

I know that your mind is deeply exercised in behalf of the slave; but I would suggest to you another feature of "the irrepressible conflict," to which you may not have bestowed as much thought: God's controversy with this nation for dishonor done to His Majesty. This nation, in its Constitution, makes no submission to the King of kings; pays no respect to His Higher Law; never mentions His name, even in the inauguration oath of its Chief Magistrate. God has said, He "will turn the wicked into hell, and all the nations that forget God," (Ps. ix. 17.) To His Son He says, "The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted," (Isa. lx. 12.)

If you must die a witness for the "inalienable rights" of man, I desire that you would also set the seal of your blood to a noble testimony for the supreme authority and outraged majesty of God, and with your expiring breath call upon this guilty nation, not only to "let God's people go," but also to serve God with fear and kiss His Son lest He be angry."

You have been called before judges and governors, and "it has been given you what to say and how to speak," and I pray that when you are called to witness a good confession before many witnesses, that there will be given you living words that will scathe and burn in the heart of this great and guilty nation, until their oppression of men and treason against God shall be clean purged out.

Noble man! you are highly honored of God! You are raised up to a high, commanding eminence, where every word you utter reaches the furthest corner of this great country; yes, of the civilized world. What matter if it be from a scaffold, Samson-like you will slay more Philistines in your death, than you ever did or could by a long life; and I pray God that in your dying agony, you may have the gratification of feeling the pillars of Dagon's Temple crumbling in your grasp. O, feel that you are a great actor on a world-wide stage; that you have a most important part to play, and that while you are suffering for Christ, he will take care of you. He sends none a warfare on their own charges, and, "as the tribulations of Christ abound, the consolations that are by Christ will much more abound." Fear not to die; look on the scaffold not as a curse but an honor, since it has been sanctified by Christ. It is no longer, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree;" that curse was borne by Jesus; — but now it is "Blessed is he that suffers for righteousness' sake; for his is the kingdom of Heaven."

I still entertain the lingering hope that this nation will not add to its already full cup of crime the blood of your judicial murder, and I daily pray God "to hear the groaning of the prisoner, and loose those that are appointed to death," (Ps. cii. 20.)

I wish to be understood as addressing your companions along with you. Should this reach you, will you gratify me by letting me know. I greatly desire to know more of one in whom I feel so deep an interest.

I commend you to God and to the word of His Grace, that is able to keep you from falling, and present you faultless before Him with exceeding great joy.

Yours, for God and the Slave,

A. M. M.

SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 395-7

Dr. Seth Rogers to his daughter Dolly, March 22, 1863

March 22.

Tomorrow the Boston will take northward some important prisoners whom we have arrested here. Some of them were complaining of Capt. Randolph's tardiness in having them examined, that when he arrested them he promised they should have an early trial. The Capt. replied that he would like to have them prove that he had promised them anything but "the day of Judgment and long periods of Damnation."

I wish I had time to tell you some of the curious incidents of the last ten days. I dare say the Colonel has them all in his everlasting note book, so you will get them sometime.

Our regiment and the sixth Conn. met harmoniously at church this morning. The prejudice of the white soldiers is very strong, yet I trust there will be no serious collision. Our boys have seen hardships enough to unfit them for receiving taunts very graciously. The question begins to be asked "When shall we make an advance?"

SOURCE: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 43, October, 1909—June, 1910: February 1910. p. 378

Dr. Seth Rogers to his daughter Dolly, March 28, 1863

March 28, Evening.

Not yet off. Have worked enough for one day in getting our sick and wounded on the John Adams. Another steamer has arrived with additional instructions. It seems that each regiment is to return to its former camp. I suppose that this means that we are to protect the Islands while the advance is made on Charleston, if it means anything. The John Adams found the Gen. Meigs a long way up the river. They returned at noon with twelve rebel prisoners, who were caught while asleep at their station. The Lieutenant in command was permitted to say good-bye to his wife, and made his escape through the sobs and crinoline of his female friends. Colonel Montgomery admits a weak spot in his military nature. He could have shot the Lieut. while escaping, but would not do so in the presence of his wife.

Our men made a landing at Palatka and were fired into by the rebs. Lieut. Col. Billings received a ball through the fleshy margin of each hand while attempting to get off the steamer. Brave old John Quincy received one through the leg, a little above the ankle, fracturing the small bone and carrying away some of it. I shall not amputate. It seemed peculiarly trying for the old man. He had begged the privilege of going up for his wife and received a shot instead. I don't see quite how he will harmonize this double affliction with the theory he so often preaches to the men, that when one trusts in God and is not a coward, he will be protected against the bullets of his enemies. . . .

Tonight the Major and Capt. with twenty picked men, go up the river with muffled oars, to try to capture another lot of pickets. I fear they will not be successful. . . Thomas Long returned safely day before yesterday. He examined camp Finnegan, eight miles out, and went to the trestle four miles beyond, but finding it closely watched by pickets he did not attempt to burn it. I look at that man with a deep feeling of reverence.

My "Rebel" and I went, this afternoon, round the circuit of the pickets, forts, rifle pits and stockades for the last time. The pickets were playing euchre and fishing in the creek and enjoying themselves as only pickets can. I thought how much less the rebels troubled them than me. The truth is, the order to evacuate this town depresses me. I hate weak vacillation and this seems too much like the unsettled policy that all along has crippled the energy of our forces.

SOURCE: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 43, October, 1909—June, 1910: February 1910. p. 382-3

Dr. Spencer G. Welch to Cordelia Strother Welch, September 16, 1863

Camp near Orange Court House, Va.,

September 16, 1863.

For two or three days we have been expecting another fight, and we had three days' rations cooked and were ready to move.

It now appears that the Yankees have all gone back and that they sent only their cavalry forward. We have a very strong position here, and it is doubtful if they will advance this way. I am inclined to think that we shall soon begin to maneuver for the autumn campaign. It is reported that Longstreet's Corps had orders to move, and it was thought that it would be sent to the Army of the West. A part of it has gone off somewhere, and some of Ewell's troops were also moving recently.

Two men will be executed in our division next Saturday for desertion, and the entire division will be ordered out to witness it. I have never cared to witness a military execution, although I have been near enough several times to hear the report of the guns. Two men deserted from our regiment two nights ago, and, if we get them again, and this we are apt to do, they are sure to be shot. There is no other way to put a stop to desertions.

We have a large number of preachers here now from home, who are preaching to the soldiers, and we have religious services in camp almost every day.

Lieutenant-Colonel Hunt's wife is here to see him. Many others—wives of privates as well as officers have come to visit their husbands. I think this is a very unsuitable place for women. If a battle should occur unexpectedly, they would all be in a nice fix.

My furlough has not been returned, but it has not had time, and it would also be delayed by the "rumpus” that the Yankees have just stirred up. I do not hope to have it approved

I now, but I am very apt to get home before Christmas. I have nothing more to tell this time, so good-by to you and little George.

SOURCE: Dr. Spencer G. Welch, A Confederate Surgeon's Letters to His Wife, p. 77-9

Diary of Gideon Welles: December 7, 1865

This is a day of National Thanksgiving. Heard a vigorous sermon from Mr. Lewis. Should not subscribe to all his doctrines, but his sermon increased my estimate of him.

Seward called at my house. Wished me to examine and put an estimate on the French possessions in the West Indies, the Spanish Main, and Gulf of St. Lawrence. He did not explain himself further. He may think of buying France out of Mexico, but he mistakes that government and people. Besides we do not want those possessions. If we could have Martinique or Guadaloupe as a naval or coaling-station, we should embrace the opportunity of getting either, but we want only one. We do not want [indecipherable]. The islands in the [Gulf of] St. Lawrence we want, and so do the French, as fishing-stations.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 393

Congressman Rutherford B. Hayes to Sophia Birchard Hayes, January 21, 1866

WASHINGTON, D. C., January 21, 1866.

DEAR MOTHER:— Lucy got here Thursday evening and is, in a quiet way, enjoying life here very much. We have been as yet to no receptions or parties, but find plenty to interest and amuse in the public buildings, courts, and Congress. The weather is bright and bracing. Lucy and I went to the preaching of Mr. Boynton at the Capitol today and heard a good sound talk to a large fine audience. The House makes a beautiful place for worship.

Affectionately,

R.

MRS. SOPHIA HAYES.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 3, p. 14-5

Speech of Lord John Russell, Saturday, October 12, 1861

Gentlemen, it is with feelings of the deepest gratitude that I rise to acknowledge the toast which has now been drunk. It has been my fate to have taken part in many political measures, and during a tolerably long political life, I take this approbation of a set of men so enlightened as a testimony that I have not dishonored my principles; that I have done nothing to impair the honour, and so injure the interests of my county. (Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, If I have been successful in any of the measures that have been proposed, it has been that I have proposed, in more fortunate times, measures which had the approbation of great men, who have gone before me. I have endeavoured to follow in the footsteps of Lord Grey, Lord Holland, Sir Samuel Romilly, and Lord Durham. (Loud cheers.) My noble friend near me has justly and correctly alluded to that which happened in 1830. Lord Grey at that time being in the councils of his sovereign, resolved to introduce a measure founded on those principles of reform of which he had through life been the advocate;  and let me say that there can be no more gratifying—no more noble aspect in the history of the public life of a statesman, than to see Lord Grey, who, in adverse times, had been content to give his opinion, and had then allowed rivals of far less well-founded principles than himself—to carry on the government of the country and enjoy power without envy on his part. It was a great spectacle to see this man, when the opinions of the people came round to him, resume, without passion and without resentment, those plans for the benefit of his country of which he had always been the distinguished advocate. (Applause.) Lord Grey, as my Noble Friend has said, called to his assistance his Noble Brother, Lord Durham. (Loud cheers.) It was my happiness to be associated in that work with Lord Durham. We labored together to the same end in perfect harmony and agreement as to measures that we though necessary for the reform of the representations. (Cheers) With us was joined a person whose absence I deeply deplore to-day, who would have been here to-day if his health had allowed him, and whose talents have been the greatest service to this country. I mean Sir J. Graham. (Cheers.) With these two was associated Lord Dungannon, who was specially acquainted with many parts of our representative system. We framed the plan of reform—(cheers)—and that reform, as you all know, was not only carried, but has now been nearly thirty years in operation. (Cheers.) That it has operated beneficially I cannot doubt—(cheers)—and that it has led the way to many other great measures which never could have been carried in an unreformed Parliament. (Cheers.) And, Gentlemen, let me say, when I embarked in public life I embarked with the view of carrying great measures into effect and having great public objects before me. It appears to me that public life is only honourable when it is directed to such measures—(applause)—and that the pedlar who sells his pins and pincushions  for sixpence has a better, because an honester, trade, than the man who devotes his talents to public life, only for the sake of seeking his own emolument. (Applause.) Gentlemen, many of the measures which I have noticed have been successful. We need not now refer to them all; but there is one point which, perhaps, I may refer to, because it respects a principle which I think runs through many of our measures of late times, and shows an improvement in the general principles of government. What I mean is this—that in favour of religious liberty; first, the Protestant Dissenters, then the Roman Catholics, and lastly and recently the Jews,—and all our measures with regard to free-trade have been measures not introducing new plans, not formed upon skillfully devised schemes, but have been merely unloosing the fetters which statutes and laws had placed on the dear liberty of the subject. It is the business of the government to maintain internal peace, to settle the civil relations which should prevail among the community, to defend the independence of the country abroad; but governments had sought to do more than this—they had sought to lay down rules of faith, to which they have asked men, under pain and penalty of punishment, to adhere, quite ignorant that they, the government, were utterly unable to frame rules of faith which should better the conscience. (Applause.) To take the other instance to which I am alluding, namely, that of free trade, what struggles we have had now going on for nearly forty years, in order to enable men to do that which is perfectly innocent in itself, namely, to exchange the products of their industry against the products of the industry of others, which were objects of use, of comfort, or of enjoyment. (Applause.) I remember the beginning of these contests, when certainly the principles of free trade were not understood as they now are, a petition being presented to the House of Commons, setting forth that your petitioners made gloves, which were inferior to the gloves of France, and therefore they prayed, what do you suppose, not that people might be allowed to wear the gloves of France, which were cheaper and better, but the gloves of France might be utterly excluded, in order that they might furnish bad and dear gloves. (Laughter and cheers.) Why, gentleman, this is the whole history of protection and free trade. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Parliaments and legislatures have presumed they should direct the industry of their fellow subjects into the channels that should be profitable to the country at large, not seeing that if you leave men their freedom they would find out themselves what were the occupations which would be most profitable, and what were the goods which they could produce to the best advantage. It is, therefore, not only that we have passed some very excellent measures, but that we have enlarged and enlightened the whole machinery of government. We say there are certain things in which government ought not to interfere, upon which the man himself—the subject—is the best judge, and to him must be left the choice of his occupation. (Cheers.) Above all, I am happy to say we have it not in this country; but in many countries people consider that it is a part of the duty of a government to fetter and bind the talents and abilities of men, and that upon no subject of politics, upon no subject of morals, upon no subject of literature even should men use the talents with which God had endowed them, without the control and permission of the officers of Government. (Cheers.) Such, gentlemen, then, have been the general principles upon which these measures to which general principles upon these measures to which I allude have been passed. They have been sound principles; and, as I have said, I trust they will be applied in future times in any other cases of a similar kind. (Cheers.) Now, Gentlemen, I will state in a few words what has been my course since I have been entrusted with the seals of the foreign department. That course has been to respect the independence of foreign nations, and to endeavour to induce others to do the same. (Hear, hear, and applause.) There is one of those countries with which we have had much to do, and of which we have heard much of late years. I mean Italy. We have all seen with pleasure—I see that a very distinguished man (Mr. Henley) says there is no one in the country who has not seen with pleasure the Italians casting off their old chains, and exercising the powers of government for themselves, in that way gaining there distinction distinction which in old times belonged to them only. We all rejoice to see them assert that independence, and we shall all rejoice if they establish a free government, and thus effect the happiness, the self-respect, and the elevation of one of the finest countries and one of the most talented nations of the globe. (Great applause.) But, gentlemen, of late a difficulty has arisen, to which great attention has been given. Italians say, and they say with great apparent justice, that the independence of Italy cannot be fully consummated unless Rome, the capital, is in their hands. (Loud cheers.) I may say that the people of Naples will be willing to found in that city an Italian government, as that is a part of Italy associated with ancient institutions; but as Italy has not Rome, they cannot regard it as a kingdom. Well, on the other hand, the Roman Catholics of Europe say that they require that the independence of the Pope should be respected, and many say that it cannot be respected without territorial government. That it is a discussion which has been going on for some time; and I observed in what I was reading this morning—an essay by one of the most learned ecclesiastics of Italy, that the opinion is now gaining ground that whether the temporal power ought to become the right of the King of Italy or not, the spiritual power will be more felt, it will be more respected, and will be exercised more fairly, if it is separated from the temporal. In the conclusion of the discourse to which I have alluded, the author says that is what is wished by the people of Italy, and that is what is wished by the people of Italy, and that is in the world. (Applause.) This, as I have said, is not a question upon which we can take the initiative; but this I will say, that I think that what that learned ecclesiastic has proposed, and which is in accordance which the opinions given has proposed, and which is in accordance which the opinions given by that great man now so much regretted—Count Cavour, will furnish a solution to the Italian difficulty, and that it will be a great means of securing the independence and happiness of Italy. Gentlemen, let us look for a moment at another part of the world—at another country which, for my part, I have always observed with the greatest interest—the United States of America. It appears to me that it would be a great misfortune to the world if that experiment in free government which, though not carried on in exactly the same principles as our own—principles which had been devised with great wisdom—it would be a very great misfortune if anything were to happen to divide that state. (Cheers.) I am very sorry to say that those events have happened, and we now see two parties contending together—not upon the question of slavery, though that I believe is the original cause of the conflict—not contending with the respect to free trade and protection, but contending as so may States of the old world have contended—the one side for empire and the other for power. Far be it from us to set ourselves up as judges in this matter, but I cannot help asking myself, as affairs progress in the contest, to what good end can it lead? Supposing the contest ended by the re-union of its different part, that the South should agree to enter again with all the rights of the constitution, should we not again have that fatal subject of slavery brought in along with them—(Cheers)—that subject of slavery which caused, no doubt, the disruption, we all agree must, sooner or later, cease from the face of the earth? (Cheers.) Well, then, gentlemen, as you will see, if this quarrel could be made up, should we not have those who differed with Mr. Lincoln at the last election carried; and that the quarrel would recommence, and perhaps a long civil war follow? On the other hand, supposing the United States completely to conquer and subdue the Southern States—supposing that should be the result of a long military conflict—supposing that should be the result of some years of civil war, should we not have the material property of that country in a great degree destroyed? Should we see that respect for liberty which as so long distinguished our North American brethren? (Cheers.) Should we not see those Southern men yielding to a force, and would not the north be necessitated to keep  in subjection those who had been conquered, and would not that very materially interfere with the freedom of the nation? (Cheers.) If that should be the unhappy result to which we at present look forward, if by means such as this the reunion of the States should be brought about, is it not the duty of those men who have embraced the precepts of Christianity, to see whether this conflict cannot be avoided? Gentlemen, I have made these observations to you upon matters, as I have said, deeply affecting us all, but not upon matters upon which the Government of this country has any immediate power or interest. Had they been cases of that kind, it would not have been consistent with my duty as Foreign Secretary to have spoken to you in detail upon the subject. In these cases, it is the duty of the head of the Government of this country to watch closely as to what happens with respect the independence of all foreign nations, but not to let go any part of that caution and vigilance which becomes ministers of England at this time, not to impair any part of the influence of this country, because that influence may be used in the cause of freedom and of humanity—(Hear, Hear, and cheers)—not to lower in any respect the power of this country, because that power may be absolutely necessary to preserve the freedom of Europe, to vindicate the independence of nations, and to guard our own dignity and freedom. (Cheers.) Much has been said on the continent of Europe in disparagement of my Noble Friend who is now at the head of the Government, but on examining those strictures, I have never been able to make out more than this, that he was believed to be too susceptible with regard to the interests of this country. (Cheers.) I shall be at little pains to vindicate him from such an attack. (Hear, hear.) On the contrary, I own that my Noble Friend constantly devotes his attention to keep clear and unsullied the honour of England—(Applause)—to keep uninjured and unimpaired the interests to help him in that great task. (Cheers.) It is my privilege to help him in that great task. (Cheers.) I do not feel that to be entrusted with such a task by the people of so great and so free a country as this, is something that makes public life worth having—(cheers)—that lightens its labour—that lightens its anxiety—(cheers)—and, I may add, that while that task is thus rendered honourable, while it is one which a man may be proud to undertake, it is no small addition to feel that he has acted upon the whole for the benefit of his country; and that whatever errors and mistakes he may have made at times, he will meet from such an assembly as the present the king and indulgent acceptance of his efforts, and that, at all events, they will give him credit for the firm intention to do for “old England” all that he could.

SOURCE: “The Banquet,” Sheffield and Rotherham Independent, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, Tuesday, October 15, 1861, p. 5

Dr. Seth Rogers to his daughter Dolly, February 7, 1863

February 7, 1863.

Emerson and Thoreau are oftener in my mind, in connection with this camp life and these people, than any other writers I know. While I am constantly studying how to keep these men well, or to alleviate their sufferings, they as constantly fill me with something higher than a feeling of philanthropy, a sort of oriental sympathy, outreaching the wants of the body. Gen. Saxton has said that these people are "intensely human," and I will add that I find them intensely divine. It is, however, more difficult to call out the divine than the human. The blessings resulting from freedom will wash away the accursed stains of slavery and all the world will see that these are also children of God. They have a boundless conception of the divine spirit and an intense trust in the fatherhood of God. . . . It is true, they will commit almost as many sins as their white neighbors, but I am speaking now of the religious element and leaving the moral to be controlled by culture. . .

Keeping our men below so long on the John Adams destroyed more lives than the rifle shots would have done. It seemed a choice of evils and the least apparent was chosen. But the return of sunshine will help restore the sick.

SOURCE: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 43, October, 1909—June, 1910: February 1910. p. 358

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: August 28, 1864

A bright, pleasant day.

No news. Walked, as usual, to the department to see if any important letters had come, and then hastened back that the family might go to church in time.

Oh what a lovely day in such an unlovely time! The recent rains have washed the dust from the still dark-green leaves of the trees and vegetation in my little yard and garden, and they rustle in a genial sunlight that startles a memory of a similar scene, forty or more years ago! It is a holy Sabbath day upon the earth,—but how unholy the men who inhabit the earth! Even the tall garish sun-flowers, cherished for very memories of childhood's days by my wife, and for amusement by my little daughter, have a gladdening influence on my spirits, until some object of scanty food or tattered garment forces upon the mind a realization of the reign of discord and destruction without. God grant there may be a speedy end of the war! And the words Armistice and Peace are found in the Northern papers and upon every one's tongue here.

My tomato vines are looking well and are bearing well, now. My turnips are coming up everywhere. The egg-plants I nurtured so carefully have borne no fruit yet, but are going to blossom. The okras have recovered under the influence of recent showers, and have new blossoms.

Our agent in North Carolina has been delayed by illness, and has bought us no flour yet, but we still have hope. We trust that the enemy will not cut our communications with the South, since he has met with so many heavy mishaps in attempting it. Grant has attempted everything in his power to get Richmond, and was foiled in all. I hope he will withdraw soon. Why stay, with no prospect of success? A few days more may solve his purposes and plans, or Lee may have more enterprises against him.

It is a cloudless, silent, solemn Sabbath day, and I thank God for it!

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 273-4

Diary of Private Richard R. Hancock: Sunday, September 15, 1861

The battalion* passed on through Knoxville and encamped about one mile and a half east of town, at Camp Cummings.

_______________

* As J. J. Odom and I were on the puny list, we stopped to rest and take dinner with a Frenchman, within four miles of Knoxville. The family were great “Rebs,” so it seemed to be with pleasure that they did all they could to make us comfortable.

It so happened that our host was a preacher. Some other French families who lived in the neighborhood had collected there to hear him preach. As some of them did not understand English, he preached in French. I “heard but did not understand” a single word of that sermon. We had a splendid dinner, and we had now been soldiering long enough to appreciate a good din.

Among other nice things, a glass of wine of their own make was served to each.

Odom and I went to camp late that afternoon.

SOURCE: Richard R. Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, p. 39

William T. Sherman to George Mason Graham, July 16, 1860

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military Academy,

Alexandria, July 16, 1860.

DEAR SIR: . . . I have had some correspondence with Cadet L——'s father, and have assured him that I would lay before the Board his letter, asking that his son be allowed to resign, instead of being reported “Dismissed” or “Deserted.” I explained to him the difficulty as other cadets were similarly placed and the rule must apply to all. It was by threatening Cadet L—— that I obtained the constitution of the marauders, but he knew full well that he was in no danger of dismissal for the bucket affair. I suppose you have already been troubled too much about it. Still I enclose along with his letter the notes made by Mr. Boyd of the long conversation that preceded L——'s going away. Of course I shall oppose no resolution for clemency, only the truth should be made "manifest."

I also enclose you a letter received last evening from Colonel Bragg. I guess to secure that battery¹ we must get an act of Congress. I have General Grivot's² promise but they forget promises sometimes and I will again write to him. Governor Moore said to me that he was satisfied we needed the muskets, and a resolution of the Board now will be too late, as after the resolution passes I will have no time to follow it up, for unless I can get the official requisition I should not ask Colonel Craig³ to transfer to Baton Rouge the cadet muskets.

Cadet muskets you know are scarce and I doubt if they are to be found except at Springfield, Mass. Now we will need one hundred and fifty in December or January next year, and that is the reason why I thought it best to go to Washington, to get Colonel Craig to transfer them south in advance.

Bragg tells me that the rumor that I oppose religious observances here has found its way to his place. I am not surprised when Mr D——⁴ himself takes upon himself to advise gentlemen on steamboats not to send their children here, if they value religion. He told me himself he had done so. Now I have strictly adhered to the rule we laid down, and have never denied a cadet the privilege and facility of going to Alexandria every Sunday, although I know some of them habitually abuse it. But I will not argue the case with you, for I know that this is one of the difficulties we have to contend with in the future, and any rule the Board will lay down I will execute honestly and fearlessly. I write to Bragg more fully on the subject to-day. Of course all the professors have been told that under the old and new regulations they must ask of the Board of Supervisors leave of absence. . .

_______________

¹ Bragg's Buena Vista battery. – Ed.

² Adjutant-general of Louisiana. - Ed.

³ Of the Ordinance Bureau, War Department. – Ed.

⁴ An Episcopal clergyman who was disappointed because Doctor Vallas, also an Episcopal clergyman, was not allowed by the supervisors to preach regularly in assisting D. at Alexandria and Pineville. – Ed.

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 243-4

Brigadier-General Rutherford B. Hayes to Sophia Birchard Hayes, February 15, 1865

CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND, February 15, 1865.

DEAR MOTHER: – We are jogging along in the usual style of a winter camp. The thing about us which you would think most interesting is the doings of our chaplain. We have a good one. He is an eccentric, singular man — a good musician — very fond of amusement and as busy as a bee. He is a son of a well-known Presbyterian minister of Granville, Mr. Little. Since I left he has had built a large log chapel, covered with tent cloth. In this he has schools, in which he teaches the three R's, and music, and has also preaching and prayer-meetings and Sunday-school. The attendance is large. The number of young men and boys from the mountains of West Virginia, where schools are scarce, in my command makes this a useful thing. He has also got up a revival which is interesting a good many.

Since my return itinerant preachers of the Christian Commission have held two or three meetings in our chapel.

Affectionately, your son,

R.

MRS. SOPHIA HAYES.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 558-9