What the President Promised the Young Lady

Those who were of the unusually large party who besieged the waiting room adjoining the President’s apartment in the White House, on the morning of the 23d of September – the day succeeding the issue of the Proclamation of Freedom – will doubtless never forget a remarkable incident that then transpired.  A gentleman had discovered the President through a slight opening between the folding doors on the right of the antechamber, pacing slowly up and down the long and thickly carpeted hall.  Tall, angular, with hair snarled and unkept, whiskers awry, collar in creases and slippers very much down at the heel; his eyes gazing low at vacancy, his shoulders drooping; one hand behind his back, his fingers twitching nervously, the other thoughtfully pulling at his beard – in garb ill fitting, in face homely and impressive, and in manner patient, resolute, meditative – this was the figure that immediately after discovery became the cynosure of a constellation of eyes.  Whispered remarks were made, one by an elderly gentleman to the effect that the President would not keep faith with the letter of the Emancipation Proclamation.

A Young girl of remarkable beauty, who hung upon his arm, and who had been gazing upon the subject of the doubt with undisguised admiration, looked up rather scornfully and said:

“Won’t he?  I’m not afraid of it – you shall see,” and relinquishing the gentleman’s arm, she passed, to the intense astonishment of all, through the door way, moved up the hall with exquisite grace and paused almost in front of Mr. Lincoln, who stopped in surprise.

“Pardon,” pleaded the intruder, in a short French way; then earnestly looking in his face, “but they say Mr. President, you will not keep your word about the salves.  I love you for the words and say you will.  Which is it?”

The face of the President was radiant as he bent to take her hand, and said:

“You need not fear – I shall not fail.”

The questioner with a suppressed triumphant “I knew it,” withdrew, while the slow walk in the hall went on.

This incident is veritable, and has never before been made public.  Utica Herald.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

Congressional

Washington, Dec. 22.

Senate – Business of the day was unimportant.

Mr. Lape, of Indiana made an able defense of the President, showing that it was not only his Constitutional privilege but his duty to arrest persons suspected of disloyalty in time of eminent public danger – that the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus had been the uniform practice of the British Government in similar cases, and was a right guaranteed to the President by our own Constitution.  He doubted the loyalty of the Legislature of Deleware [sic], and vehemently denounced all plans for the reconstruction of the Union, leaving certain States out of it.  He showed that the great cause of the defeat of the Administration party in the North West, was enormous frauds at the ballot box, and the preponderance of Administration soldiers in the army.

Mr. Bayard of Deleware said at a proper time he would reply to this assault of the Senator from Indiana on the Legislature of Deleware.  It was utterly groundless and wanton.  Adjourned.

House – Mr. More of Pennsylvania, offered a joint resolution, which passed, declaring it as the opinion of Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury take immediate steps for the payment of sums due to sailors and soldiers, and that there creditors be preferred to all [others].

Mr. White of Indiana, from the Select committee on Border State Emancipation, asked leave to report a bill appropriating twenty millions, to aid Missouri in emancipating her slaves, and that it be recommitted to the Select Committee.  Agreed to.

Mr. Walker offered the following resolution which was adopted:

That the Committee of Ways and Means be instructed to enquire into the expediency of authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury at his discretion, to issue bonds to the amount of one hundred millions of dollars of such denominations as is best adapted to the purpose of circulation, and bearing interest at the rate of six per cent per annum: payable in three or five years at the pleasure of the Government, and receivable for Government dues except customs.  Adjourned.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

Mr. Morgan has been on a “regular tear” . . .

. . . for some days past, attending parties and driving a heavy business generally.

M. Gardner had an invitation to visit the country and attend a party and though constrained by the “pressure of business” to remain in the office, he has appeared somewhat “bumf[uzze]led,” and done but little since.

Jo[hn’]s got the measles; so as our readers will n[oti]ce, we appear at “half mast” this week.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

List of letters remaining in the Post Office . . .

. . . at Oceola [sic], Iowa on Jan. 1, 1863, and which will be sent to the Dead Letter Office if not called for within two moths.

NAMES

Constant, Mrs. Eliza

Combs, Mrs. Carrie

Hudgel, Thomas

Hobbs, W. T.

Hobbs, James C.

Heaton, Mrs. Emmeretta

Heston, Thomas

Likes, Mrs. Louisa C.

Mize, Wm. H.

Manson, Allen

Michel, Miss. Martha

Prugh, Jacob

Robinson, Miss Liva J.

Runals, Mary E.

Reacy, Miss Ellen. (Uncertain)

Starky, Levi

Southard, Mis Delia (Due 3 cents)

Smith, Mrs. Anne

Thompson, John

Trip, Uzial

Trumbo, Jane

Warford, Abraham

Williams, John W.

Wilson, Mr.

Williams, George B.

White, Isaiah

Persons calling for the above will please say ADVERTISED.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

Roll Call

“Corporal Green!” the Orderly cried;

“Here!” was the answer loud and clear,

From the lips of a soldier who stood near;

And “Here!” was the word the next replied.

“Cyrus Drew!” — then a silence fell —

This time no answer followed the call;

Only his rear-man had seen him fall,

Killed or wounded — he could not tell.

There they stood in the failing light,

These men of battle, with grave, dark looks,

As plain to be read as open books,

While slowly gathered the shades of night.

The fern on the hillsides was splashed with blood,

And down in the corn, where the poppies grew,

Were redder stains than the poppies knew;

And crimson-dyed was the river’s flood.

For the foe had crossed from the other side,

That day, in the face of a murderous fire

That swept them down in its terrible ire;

And their life-blood went to color the tide.

“Herbert Cline!” — At the call there came

Two stalwart soldiers into the line,

 Bearing between them this Herbert Cline,

Wounded and bleeding, to answer his name.

“Ezra Kerr!” — and a voice answered “Here!”

“Hiram Kerr!” — but no man replied:

They were brothers, these two; the sad wind sighed,

And a shudder crept through the cornfield near.

“Ephraim Deane!” — then a soldier spoke —

“Deane carried our regiment’s colors,” he said,

“When our ensign was shot; I left him dead

Just after the enemy wavered and broke.

“Close to the roadside his body lies;

I paused a moment and gave him to drink;

He murmured his mother’s name, I think;

And Death came with it and closed his eyes.”

’Twas a victory, — yes; but it cost us dear:

For that company’s roll, when called at night

Of a hundred men who went into the fight,

Numbered but twenty that answered “Here!”

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863, p. 1

NOTE:  This article was in the caught in the seam of the bound newspaper, consequently when it was microfilmed about a ¼ of the left hand side of the column was lost.  I have reconstructed this article using a duplicate found in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, December 1862, p. 49-50.  If there were any differences in the text and/or formatting, I have deferred to that which appeared in The Union Sentinel.

Notice

Our subscribers in the vicinity of Hopeville, can pay their subscriptions to H. J. Williams of that place.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

The Great Jubilee

It being a part of our business to notice events of a public character we trust we shall be pardoned if we have a word to say concerning the proceedings in this place Saturday last, when a welcome was extended by the leaders of the Democratic party of this County, to Jim Naylor, who with others was arrested last summer for disloyalty, and boarded with Uncle Sam till lately, when, as our special correspondent informs us, Uncle Sam becoming tired of him, analyzed his character and having come to the conclusion that he did not know enough to do much damage, let him go at large again.  We will not say that his arrest was uncalled for, but there are those who think that he belongs to that class of persons whose insignificance not [infrequently] shields them from the punishment their misconduct merits.

He pretends to be loyal, and it is possible he does not desire the overthrow of the Government, but he certainly talks as no loyal man of good sense would talk.  He has a great passion for becoming a public speaker, and evidently mistakes the term notoriety (taken in its ill sense) for celebrity.  He reminds us of the man who tried to assassinate one of the crowned heads of Europe, who was loved by all his subjects.  When asked why he tried to kill the King, he replied that he wished his name to go into history, and he knew of no other way to accomplish this object.  We have believed from the first that he desired to be arrested, as such an event would bring him into public notice.  His self-esteem looms up like a donkey’s ears, and when it comes in contact with his patriotism, (if he has any) the latter comes out of the little end of the horn.  But to the reception.

Business prevented us from being present on the occasion, and we have had the misfortune to lo[o]se some notes given to us by a gentleman who was there, so we shall not go into particulars, but simply notice a few items, the authority for which is not confined to Republicans, or they might be pronounced abolition lies.

Mr. James Tompson was made president of the meeting, after which Mr. Parrot made an introductory speech, in which he labored to show that they were Lawfully assembled, and that the Constitution of the United States as well as that of the State of Iowa gave them the privalige [sic] of expressing their sentiments.

Now we wish to know the object of all this.  Did Mr. Parrot suppose that he was to be interrupted for the expression of loyal sentiments?  Not a bit of it.  They intended to utter sentiments insulting to the Union people of this county, and they did it, as those who were present well know.

In conclusion, Mr. Parrot introduced the “injured” Naylor, who, amid the shouts of his sympathizers, proceeded to lay bare his injuries to the eager ears of his over true and loving brethren; and the recital was enough to bring fears of pity from a gate post.

He has been arrested, put in prison, had to lie on the floor, was called a Rebel, a traitor, a tory, a butternut, and many other names, which will in all probability injure his political health, for years to come, if not for life.  Yet for all this his spirit was still unbroken, he had said that the President and a part of the Cabinet were guilty of the crime of perjury and he did not hesitate to repeat it on that occasion.  Then came cries of “Good! Good! – That’s so.”

Now we would like to know what these expressions mean when defined by the Democratic dictionary.  We often heard just such expression in Missouri at the commencement of this war; and most of those who used them, as well as those who applauded them, are today either in the Rebel army or in the devil’s army, though they were leaders or good members of the Democratic party at that time.

Another thing don’t look exactly right to loyal men, and that is the cheering of the Butternuts.  We are told by both Republicans and Democrats that this was done, and that such men as Scovill and Parrot, leaders of the Democratic party in this county, threw up their hats as though their patriotic hearts would burst with joy at the mention of the name.

Is this Democracy?  And do they propose to put down this rebellion by cursing the Administration and cheering the Butternuts?  And will the democrat whose son is on the battle field applaud the hand that sends the bullet and bayonet through that son’s heart?  Will you stoop to degradation on which the dog that licks the foot that kicks him, might look down with contempt?  Is the tie that binds you to party stronger than your affection for him who is your own flesh and blood – your own son?  Has consistency ceased to be a word in your language that you are to know it no more?  Has manhood fled from our land that we dare not break the bands that bind us to party, the name of which, though once honored, is now used as a screen to hide the treachery of thousands of our country’s foe, who are among us?  Will you withhold your applause and congratulations from the bleeding soldier who comes home to your door, maimed for life, to heap them upon BUTTERNUTS, and men whose [illegible] activities banished them for a time [missing text].  Why have not the soldiers [missing text] home from the army from [missing text] looking as though the thread [missing text] out to break – why have not they [missing text] recipients of such favors as are now heaped on these fellows?  Oh, it is a very slight thing to be crippled for life, or have your constitution broken by exposure night and day to the winter’s storms and summer’s heat upon the battlefields by long marches, often destitute of food, water and sufficient clothing.  It looks to us as though these were the fit subjects for the patriots applause, and we thank God that there are a few democrats who take the same view of matters, a few who cannot be taken by these gudgeon-fishers; a few who have witnessed the wool pulling operation too often to heed Mr. Scovill’s charge that the Republican party is the Disunion Party.  What a charge!  We wonder if there was one in all his crowd of loving friends that was soft enough to believe him.

We must confess that it was rather the weakest point we ever knew that gentleman to try to make.  It is doubtless of his strategy.  We [suppose] he had the same object in view, as did the thief who, when he was being pursued, pointed to another man and cried “Thief – Thief!”

This latter gentleman having relieved his stomach of about the usual amount of vituperation, with the usual amount of cheering at this or denunciation of the Administration and Republicans, the meeting, which was a disgrace to our country, broke up, many of them doubtless disappointed at not having been interrupted by the Republicans.

“Coming events cast their shadows before.”  A cloud of indignation is assuming proportions, and ere long will find public expression.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863.  Note, there was a tear in the newspaper resulting in several instances of missing text.

A Paris letter in the New York Commercial says: –

The Southern People in Paris are jubilant over the divisions in the North, and seem to rejoice that the long hoped for state of anarchy has now come.  They expect soon to see Mr. Lincoln deposed from office and the independence of the South recognized by the North.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

Reliable information represents the rebels . . .

. . . as having withdrawn from Granada toward Jackson.  The indications are that Pemberton’s forces are to be concentrated within supporting distance of Vicksburg, where a great battle will soon be fought, unless all signs fall.  It is not likely that Vicksburg will be abandoned without a desperate struggle; and it is quite certain that the attack on that city will soon be made.  Within a short time the question of opening the Mississippi and cutting the Confederacy in two will be decided.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

The war news of this week . . .

. . . are [sic] of but little importance.  Gen. Foster has fought a battle in North Carolina and whipped the enemy.  Report says, that there will be a great battle fought a Vicksburg in a few days; also that Gen. Rosecrans will attack the enemy shortly.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

Gen. Butler . . .

. . . whose conduct in his official career at New Orleans has been universally applauded throughout the North, has been superseded by Gen. Banks.  We have not learned the cause.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

Indignation Meeting

The loyal citizens of Clark County are requested to meet in mass, at Oceola [sic], on Saturday, January 10th, for the purpose of expressing their indignation in regard to the disloyalty manifested by the Jim Naylor Democracy, on Saturday last. Union men turn out, and bring your wives and daughters.

Good speakers will be in attendance.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

The more a woman’s waist is shaped like an hour glass . . .

. . . the more it shows us that her sands of life are running out.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

It was a saying of Lord Halifax . . .

. . . that if ordinary beggars are to be whipped, the daily ones in fine clothes, out of a proportionable respect for their quality, ought to be hanged.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

The teeth of a certain scolding lady . . .

. . . being loose, she asked a physician the cause of it, who answered it proceeded from the violent shocks she gave them with her tongue.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

A jewel of a damsel . . .

. . . residing at New Haven, Ct. has furnished under the signature of “Vona,” a few stanzas expressive of the out-gushing desire of her blessed little heart. The following is a sample. Just hear the darling: –

With the blessings I have my wants are but three,
Mist simple and definite, nothing that’s wild.
I ask for no more than is needful to me,
A husband to love, with a cottage and child.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

The Boston Commercial Bulletin states . . .

. . . on what it considers reliable and indisputable authority, that an extraordinary effort is to be made by emissaries from the rebel government, as well as by rebel sympathizers in England, to furnish and fit out swift sailing iron clad steamers, not only for the purpose of breaking the blockade, but to successfully cope, if they are allowed the opportunity, with our own navy, or make a raid on some unprotected harbor.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

There is a strong probability that . . .

. . . the Army of the Potomac will go into winter quarters and leave the campaign to the armies of the West and South West. The Washington Republican and Chronicle, both of which are Administration papers, indicate this policy. The Republican of Dec. 17th says:

For ourselves we hope that as a few weeks will terminate the ordinary winter of this latitude, the army designed for defense of Washington will go at once into winter quarters. It may seem unnecessary, and too obvious a suggestion, that the season to go into winter quarters is winter. It is very easy for people in comfortable houses with warm fires and warm beds, to object to soldiers going into winter quarters. That sort of clamor kept our armies all last winter sickening and dying under tends, when they ought to have been hutted, as was done by the more sensible reb’s. It is in the South and South West and not in Virginia that the winter campaign can be conducted with advantage. At any rate it does not become those who sustained the inaction of our army during the pleasant months of fall, now to make hue and cry if it waits for weeks until winter breaks before undertaking active operations.

The Chronicle of the same date says:

If war should be successfully prosecuted in the Gulf States it would make but little difference [whether] the army of the Potomac does anything or not. The rebel army at Richmond would be cooped up, and would starve in two weeks, or else have to fight at a disadvantage. Our Progress down in Mississippi has frightened the rebel leaders, and they have sent Gen. Johnston out there to insure success.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

The Best Tree Is Clubbed

The venders of worthless Saleratus make a point against De Land & Co’s Chemical Sateratus, and have got so far as to put out a spurious article, hoping thereby to destroy its reputation. It is the best tree in the orchard that is most clubbed. Buy only the Chemical Saleratus. We have tried it.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, July 16, 1864

Our Post Master A. C. Johnson . . .

. . . would give notice to the public that he has for sale Writing paper, Envelops [sic], Copy Books, Primers &c &c. Give him a call.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, April 9, 1864