Diary of Judith Brockenbrough McGuire: Wednesday Night, April 29, 1863

On Saturday Mr. ––– and myself went up to Cedar Hill, and he attempted to go to Fredericksburg; when he reached Hamilton's Crossings he found it impossible to go on — conveyances were so scarce and the roads so terrible. He had the pleasure to dine, by invitation, at General Jackson's head-quarters. That night he spent with his old friend, Mr. M. Garnett. Once having every luxury which could be desired, he now lives in his desolated house, surrounded by down-trodden fields, without fences, trees, or vegetation of any sort. His servants, except a few faithful ones, have deserted him; his horses and stock of all kinds have been swept away; his sons in the army; and he is cheerful and buoyed with hope, not for himself, but for the cause good old patriot as he is, forgetting his own privations in zeal for his country. On Sunday Mr. ––– heard an admirable sermon at head-quarters (General Jackson's) from the Rev. Mr. Lacy, a Presbyterian chaplain, and returned home on Monday, having found it impossible to fulfil the object of his trip, that of preaching to the soldiers in Fredericksburg.

SOURCE: Judith W. McGuire, Diary of a Southern Refugee, During the War, p. 208-9

General Joseph E. Johnston to Senator Louis T. Wigfall, January 8, 1863

jackson, Jany. 8th, 1863.

My dear Wigfall:

Mrs. Johnston, who arrived evening before last, brought me your letter, which had come to Chattanooga before she left it. Your military criticism has been more strongly called for since the writing of that letter. And no doubt it has been made. I can't help thinking myself that we ought to have won at Murfreesboro'. You think I am sure, that we ought to have renewed the attack on the morning of the 1st, instead of postponing it nearly two days, when the enemy had reorganized his forces behind intrenchments. You think too, that having failed to attack on the 1st, we should either have turned the fortified position or cut off supplies from the enemy by our cavalry.

The present state of things fully confirms the opinion I expressed to the President here that this command of mine is a nominal one, imposing upon me responsibilities which I cannot possibly meet. It is not a unit; the armies of Bragg and Pendleton have different objects. They can't be united without abandoning one of them. I can have no command when they are not united except by taking the place of Bragg or Pemberton, which could not have been intended. As it would work great injustice to the officer thus superseded, without probabilities of benefit. I cannot, from an intermediate point, direct the operations of the two armies. No man could do it well; these departments are too completely separated to form one proper command — they ought to be separated. Tell Mr. Seddon so. Had I been in Tennessee I could have done nothing except by depriving Bragg of his command. Here in the recent battle I did nothing — not choosing to supersede Pemberton. I have asked the President to take me out of a position so little to my taste. It is very like being on the shelf with the responsibilities of command.  . . . I have just read a slip from the N. O. Delta, giving account of a glorious affair at Galveston; but am afraid to believe it. You will see it of course long before this reaches you. Mrs. Johnston is looking extremely well and I trust much to this mild climate for continued good health.

I have an office and staff here, but very little office work. Mrs. Johnston desires to be cordially remembered to Mrs. Wigfall, yourself and the young ladies.

Yours as ever,

J. E. Johnston.

Genl. Wigfall,

C. S. Senate.

SOURCE: Louise Wigfall Wright, A Southern Girl in ’61, p. 106-8

Diary of Sarah Morgan: July 7, 1862

As we have no longer a minister — Mr. Gierlow having gone to Europe — and no papers, I am in danger of forgetting the days of the week, as well as those of the month; but I am positive that yesterday was Sunday because I heard the Sunday-School bells, and Friday I am sure was the Fourth, because I heard the national salute fired. I must remember that to find my dates by.

Well, last night being Sunday, a son of Captain Hooper, who died in the Fort Jackson fight, having just come from New Orleans, stopped here on his way to Jackson, to tell us the news, or rather to see Charlie, and told us afterwards. He says a boat from Mobile reached the city Saturday evening, and the captain told Mr. La Noue that he brought an extra from the former place, containing news of McClellan's surrender with his entire army, his being mortally wounded, and the instant departure of a French, and English, man-of-war, from Hampton Roads, with the news. That revived my spirits considerably — all except McClellan's being wounded; I could dispense with that. But if it were true, and if peace would follow, and the boys come home —! Oh, what bliss! I would die of joy as rapidly as I am pining away with suspense now, I am afraid!

About ten o'clock, as we came up, mother went to the window in the entry to tell the news to Mrs. Day, and while speaking, saw a man creeping by under the window, in the narrow little alley on the side of the house, evidently listening, for he had previously been standing in the shadow of a tree, and left the street to be nearer. When mother ran to give the alarm to Charlie, I looked down, and there the man was, looking up, as I could dimly see, for he crouched down in the shadow of the fence. Presently, stooping still, he ran fast towards the front of the house, making quite a noise in the long tangled grass. When he got near the pepper-bush, he drew himself up to his full height, paused a moment as though listening, and then walked quietly towards the front gate. By that time Charlie reached the front gallery above, and called to him, asking what he wanted. Without answering the man walked steadily out, closed the gate deliberately; then, suddenly remembering drunkenness would be the best excuse, gave a lurch towards the house, walked off perfectly straight in the moonlight, until seeing Dr. Day fastening his gate, he reeled again.

That man was not drunk! Drunken men cannot run crouching, do not shut gates carefully after them, would have no inclination to creep in a dim little alley merely to creep out again. It may have been one of our detectives. Standing in the full moonlight, which was very bright, he certainly looked like a gentleman, for he was dressed in a handsome suit of black. He was no citizen. Form your own conclusions! Well! after all, he heard no treason. Let him play eavesdropper if he finds it consistent with his character as a gentleman.

The captain who brought the extra from Mobile wished to have it reprinted, but it was instantly seized by a Federal officer, who carried it to Butler, who monopolized it; so that will never be heard of again; we must wait for other means of information. The young boy who told us, reminds me very much of Jimmy; he is by no means so handsome, but yet there is something that recalls him; and his voice, though more childish, sounds like Jimmy's, too. I had an opportunity of writing to Lydia by him, of which I gladly availed myself, and have just finished a really tremendous epistle.

SOURCE: Sarah Morgan Dawson, A Confederate Girl's Diary, p. 107-9

Diary of Corporal Alexander G. Downing: Monday, October 31, 1864

We lay in bivouac all day, this being a regular muster day, and the army was mustered. Foraging parties were again sent out. I was on picket continuously for twenty-four hours.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 225

Frederick Douglass to Dr. James M’Cune Smith, July 2, 1855

Rochester, N. Y. July 2, 1855.

Dear Friend: I have long entertained, as you very well know, the somewhat positive repugnance to writing or speaking anything for the public, which could, with any degree of plausibility, make me liable to the imputation of seeking personal notoriety, for its own sake. Entertaining that feeling very sincerely, and permitting its control, perhaps, quite unreasonably, I have often refused to narrate my personal experience in public anti-slavery meetings, and in sympathizing circles, when urged to do so by friends, with whose views and wishes, ordinarily, it were a pleasure to comply. In my letters and speeches, I have generally aimed to discuss the question of Slavery in the light of fundamental principles, and upon facts, notorious and open to all; making, I trust, no more of the fact of my own former enslavement, than circumstances seemed absolutely to require. I have never placed my opposition to slavery on a basis so narrow as my own enslavement, but rather upon the indestructible and unchangeable laws of human nature, every one of which is perpetually and flagrantly violated by the slave system. I have also felt that it was best for those having histories worth the writing — or supposed to be so — to commit such work to hands other than their own. To write of one's self, in such a manner as not to incur the imputation of weakness, vanity, and egotism, is a work within the ability of but few; and I have little reason to believe that I belong to that fortunate, few.

These considerations caused me to hesitate, when first you kindly urged me to prepare for publication a full account of my life as a slave, and my life as a freeman.

Nevertheless, I see, with you, many reasons for regarding my autobiography as exceptional in its character, and as being, in some sense, naturally beyond the reach of those reproaches which honorable and sensitive minds dislike to incur. It is not to illustrate any heroic achievements of a man, but to vindicate a just and beneficent principle, in its application to the whole human family, by letting in the light of truth upon a system, esteemed by some as a blessing, and by others as a curse and a crime. I agree with you, that this system is now at the bar of public opinion — not only of this country, but of the whole civilized world — for judgment. Its friends have made for it the usual plea — “not guilty;” the case must, therefore, proceed. Any facts, either from slaves, slaveholders, or by-standers, calculated to enlighten the public mind, by revealing the true nature, character, and tendency of the slave system, are in order, and can scarcely be innocently withheld.

I see, too, that there are special reasons why I should write my own biography, in preference to employing another to do it. Not only is slavery on trial, but unfortunately, the enslaved people are also on trial. It is alleged, that they are, naturally, inferior; that they are so low in the scale of humanity, and so utterly stupid, that they are unconscious of their wrongs, and do not apprehend their rights. Looking, then, at your request, from this stand-point, and wishing everything of which you think me capable to go to the benefit of my afflicted people, I part with my doubts and hesitation, and proceed to furnish you the desired manuscript; hoping that you may be able to make such arrangements for its publication as shall be best adapted to accomplish that good which you so enthusiastically anticipate.

Frederick Douglass.

SOURCE: Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, p. vi-viii

Edward S. Philbrick: February 19, 1862

Boston, February 19, 1862.

Dear –––: I think you will not be greatly astonished when I tell you that I am off for Port Royal next week. I go under the auspices of the Educational Commission to make myself generally useful in whatever way I can, in reducing some amount of order and industry from the mass of eight or ten thousand contrabands now within our lines there. Boston is wide awake on the subject, and I am determined to see if something can't be done to prove that the blacks will work for other motives than the lash.

The Treasury Department offer subsistence, protection, transportation, and the War Department offer their hearty cooperation to the work undertaken here by private citizens, but can't take any more active part at present for reasons obvious. They ridicule the idea , that these blacks can ever again be claimed by their runaway masters, which is a satisfactory foundation for our exertions in overseeing their labor and general deportment.

You don't know what a satisfaction it is to feel at last that there is a chance for me to do something in this great work that is going on.

SOURCE: Elizabeth Ware Pearson, Editor, Letters from Port Royal Written at the Time of the Civil War, p. 1-2

Edwin Lawrence Godkin: October 26, 1859

The affair has excited profound sensation, and, let me add, profound consternation at the South. The secrecy with which the plot was brought to maturity, the large quantity of arms and ammunition which Brown had collected, the facility with which he surprised the village and seized the armory, the desperate tenacity with which he held it, the resolution displayed by all his followers from first to last, and more than all, Brown's dauntless bearing since his capture, the lofty tone of moral superiority which he assumes over his captors, have made a profound impression on the Southern people. They have long been in the habit of accusing the abolitionists of tampering with the negroes and instigating them to flight or revolt, but it was always supposed to be in an underhand, sneaking way. The popular notion of an abolitionist made him above all things a coward. But here is at least a small taste of servile war, avowedly begun by this detested crew, and what manner of men do they find them to be? Why, 15 of them suffice to raise the whole State of Virginia into wild affright, to call out all its militia, to bring Federal troops from the capital, to seize on an armory, and defend it for two days, and when it was at last stormed by an overwhelming force, 13 of these poltroons are found to have died at their posts, rifle in hand; two only came out alive, these desperately wounded and glorying in their crime. It is no wonder if the South feels that an abyss has opened at their feet.

They first resorted to physical force as a means of extending slavery in Kansas, counting confidently on Northern pusillanimity. But the fighting had not gone on very long before the crust of peaceful habits wore off the Yankees, and the old whining, praying, unconquerable Puritan burst out. The South, as we know, finding they had raised a legion of devils, quitted the field and called for peace; but, when Yankees once begin to fight, it grows on them, and they were not now disposed to cry quits so easily. So the war has been carried into the enemy's territory. The damage done is, to be sure, very trifling. Only half a dozen negroes joined Brown's enterprise, but it is acknowledged that this is mainly to be ascribed to his having chosen a bad scene of action. In that part of Virginia the negroes are few in number, and a large number of them house servants, and the farms comparatively small. Had he thrown himself into the cotton States, amongst the great plantations, where a thousand blacks often toil for a single owner, — tantalized by hard work, exposure, and the overseer's lash, — and offered them arms and bid them follow him, no man dares to say he would have been crushed without untold horrors. The panic his mad effort has spread proves in what horrible insecurity men dwell south of Mason and Dixon's line, what a flaming sword hangs suspended over the whole slave region, and how deeply the white population feels its danger.

I do not defend, and no one can defend, Brown's conduct. His attempt, had it even half succeeded, could only have bred massacre and desolation. If the Southerners had themselves failed to restore order, — and my firm belief is that if a general negro insurrection ever does take place they will fail, — the North would be compelled, if only for humanity's sake, to step in and quell the revolt. If the condition of the blacks is ever to be really improved, it must be peacefully, and gradually. But in spite of all this, no one can see a gray-headed man, who has lost five sons in the cause of freedom, step in, with the last survivor of his family by his side, between the slave and his master, and with his 13 other companions bid defiance to a whole State in the name of the Lord of Hosts, without more or less admiration. There is something grand in the old fellow's madness, and those here at the North who most condemn him, acknowledge him to be well worthy, if not of a better, of a more hopeful cause, and of a happier fate than that which now awaits him.

SOURCE: Rollo Ogden, Editor, Life and Letters of Edwin Lawrence Godkin, Volume 1, p. 190-2

Major Robert Anderson to Major-General John A. Dix, March 7, 1861

Fort Sumter, S. C, March 7,1861.

Hon. General John A. Dix, Washington, D. C., — Thank you — many thanks to you — for your whole-souled letter of March 4. One such letter is enough to make amends for a life of trial and of discomfort.

I regret that the change of administration deprives the country of your services and of those of Mr. Holt. I felt, while you two were members of the Cabinet, that, whenever I should need assistance, it would be sent promptly and in full force.

My position is not a very enviable one; but still, when I consider how God has blessed me at every step I have taken here, I have not the least fear of the result. I have written to the department very fully, and the administration now know my opinion, and the opinion of each individual officer of this command, of the strength of the force necessary for forcing an entrance into this harbor.

You speak of the disgraceful incidents developed in your report to Congress. I had already read some of your correspondence, and was shocked at the developments they made. The faithful historian of the present period will have to present a record which will sadden and surprise. It would seem that a sirocco, charged with treachery, cunning, dishonesty, and bad faith, had tainted the moral atmosphere of portions of our land. And, alas! how many have been prostrated by its blast!

I hope that, ere long, we shall see symptoms of restoration, and that a healthier wind will recover some of those who have given way to the blast. A long life of honest devotion to every duty, moral and social, may cause their course to be forgiven, but it cannot be forgotten.

The South Carolinians arc on the qui vive to-night—why, we know not. They have four guard-boats in the stream instead of the usual number of late — two. I cannot believe, though, that General Beauregard, lately of the Engineer Corps, would make an attack without having given formal notice of his intention to do so. My rule is, though, always to keep a bright lookout.

With many thanks, my dear General, for your most kind and welcome letter, I am, as ever, your sincere friend,

Robert Anderson.

SOURCE: Morgan Dix, Memoirs of John Adams Dix, Volume 2, p. 8-9

William Barton Rogers to Henry Darwin Rogers, January 2, 1860

Boston, January 2, 1860.

My Dear Henry,  . . . Robert has had some trouble of late in arresting the foolish attempt of the Southern students to withdraw from Philadelphia. Through his exertions the University class lost only some fifteen, and those of the most worthless sort, but one hundred and fifty of the class at the Jefferson school went off in a body to Richmond. It seems that the movement was in part instigated by some of the professors in Richmond and other Southern cities, and, worse still, the foolish young men were received with rejoicings and a speech of congratulation from Governor Wise!!

No Speaker has yet been elected in Congress, but there is little doubt that the Republican candidate will be chosen. Nor do I think the Southern members, with all their threats of secession and resistance, will attempt anything of the kind. After blowing off their superfluous steam, they will subside into more rational speech and action. It is, however, clear that the conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery is henceforth to be perpetual until freedom has triumphed throughout all the States. Little as I can sympathize in John Brown's insurrectionary projects, I believe that the panic will bear good fruit by and by in hastening the legislation which was once in Virginia so near arranging a plan of prospective emancipation. . . .

I have been reading the early chapters of Darwin's book with great interest. . . .

I send you the proceedings of the Natural History Society, containing some little matters of mine which may be interesting. What I say in regard to the Vespertine and Umbral rocks of the Provinces, etc., is intended to show that we long ago recognized these two divisions as important in North American geology, although they are only now becoming recognized by Logan and Dawson. You will see also a short notice of my discovery of a Lingula in the slates of St. John, where no fossils had previously been found.

A Memorial prepared by me in behalf of the Natural History, Horticultural and other societies will be presented to the Legislature erelong, and it is thought the grant of land on the Back Bay will be made for their benefit. My Memorial has been highly approved.

. . . The more I look into Darwin's argument the more I like it, save in the one particular of ignoring entirely violent and sudden physical changes. The calmness and truth-loving spirit of the book are truly admirable. Much of it I know you will approve.

SOURCE: Emma Savage Rogers & William T. Sedgwick, Life and Letters of William Barton Rogers, Volume 2, p. 18-9

G. Pilsbury: September 13, 1863

Hilton Head, S. C„ September 13th, 1863.

The people are raising a plenteous crop for their subsistence, with the exception of a few aged and otherwise helpless individuals. There is much matured corn, an abundance of sweet potatoes, considerable rice, and a general supply of various kinds of vegetables all over the islands. There is also a quite extensive crop of cotton, the first picking of which is now taking place. The peach, fig and other fruit harvests have gone by, but there is a profusion of oranges everywhere, some of them beginning to turn yellow. The supply seems to be unlimited. I have been surprised at the amount of subsistence raised upon the islands; and yet, with more diligence and increased husbandry, the amount may be vastly increased. I see no reason why the natural resources of the islands may not be made to support entirely, at least twice, and perhaps three times their present population. This, of course, would require a more thorough and general superintendence, than has yet been rendered. The people need to be instructed, encouraged, and in many cases compelled to labor.

The agent who comes here for pastime or the mere novelty of change, had better stay at home. The direction of labor is vastly important, but scarcely less so is the development of the social, mental and moral faculties of this long oppressed and neglected race. It seems to me there is at present a great lack of teachers, not merely of the alphabet, and more advanced education, but also of social and domestic duties.

G. PILSBURY.

SOURCE: New-England Educational Commission for Freedmen, Extracts from Letters of Teachers and Superintendents of the New-England Educational Commission for Freedmen, Fourth Series, January 1, 1864, p. 6-7

Edward Everett Hale to Charles Hale, March 2, 1861

I doubt if we have any news. No other paper than ours had the final report of the Peace Conference. That august body seems to have done its duty in biding over the weeks before next Monday, perhaps would have done more duty if it had bided a little longer. There is great virtue in Time.

SOURCE: Edward Everett Hale Jr., The Life and Letters of Edward Everett Hale, Volume 1, p. 326

Diary of Laura M. Towne: Friday, April 18, 1862

When I said something to Mr. Pierce about not wishing to interfere with the system, he answered, “Oh, Miss Towne, we have no systems here.” He spoke playfully, but I think there is truth in it. The teachers who came down here with us have not yet got to work and are going about, not knowing their destination. When we came, Mr. Pierce sent us here to Mrs. Forbes without any invitation from her and has left us here since without knowing her wishes about it. She has nothing to do with the Commission and should not be troubled with its affairs, which makes it uncomfortable for Mr. Philbrick and me. . . .

There has been a little rebellion upon Mr. Philbrick's plantation (the old Coffin plantation).¹ Two men, one upon each estate, refuse to work the four hours a day they are required to give to the cotton, but insist upon cultivating their own cornpatch only. They threaten, if unprovided with food, to break into the corn-house. One man drew his knife upon his driver, but crouched as soon as Mr. Philbrick laid his hand upon his shoulder. Mr. Philbrick came to Beaufort and has taken back a corporal and two soldiers to arrest and guard these men for a few days. The negroes, Mr. Philbrick says, are docile generally and require the positive ordering that children of five or ten years of age require, but are far more afraid of any white man than of their drivers.

_______________

¹ At the eastern end of St. Helena Island.

Rupert Sargent Holland, Editor, Letters and Diary of Laura M. Towne: Written from the Sea Islands of South Carolina 1862-1864, p. 9

Diary of Corporal Alexander G. Downing: Sunday, October 30, 1864

We started early this morning and marched fifteen miles. We bivouacked for the night near Cave Springs. Large foraging parties were sent out which brought in great quantities of provisions and feed, this section not having been overrun by our armies. Cave Spring is a little village sixteen miles southwest of Rome, Georgia. The citizens all left their homes on the approach of our army. I was detailed on picket duty. All is quiet.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 225

Francis Lieber to Major-General Henry W. Halleck, September 10, 1865

New York, September 10,1865.

. . . The Secretary of War is going to ask Congress for an appropriation for a lecturer on the Law and Usages of War on Land, at West Point, and to give me the place if he gets the appropriation. You recollect the thing is an old plan of mine. My idea is that only ten or twelve lectures should be given, toward the end of the whole West Point course. There has been very little written on the subject, nor is there any book exactly fitted as a text-book. Your book comes nearest, but it is far more for the lawyer than for the nascent officer.  . . . I consider the arming of negroes in our recent war one of the most important features, not only in a military point of view, but also, and chiefly, with reference to our law, polity, and national status. It interests me therefore deeply to know who first conceived this bold idea; — Stanton, Thomas, you? I recollect that a good while before the appointment of the Old Hundred Commission I said to Mr. Stanton that something ought to be done to organize the negroes who came to us from the enemy, and whom General McClellan was so desirous to return with his compliments. The Secretary seized upon the idea, as one who had occupied himself with the subject or who felt the inconvenience of the then existing state of things, and asked me to give him my views on the subject, and if anything could be learned from the English management of the navies [sic]. My idea then was to organize armed working companies of the negroes, their armament and drilling to be for the purpose of defence, and also for the duty of guarding stores, &e. You may remember the paper; at least I feel pretty sure that I sent you a copy. Not long after, however, I found that the Government had conceived, for that time, the very bold plan of simply arming and organizing the colored people. Now who had the first idea? There can be no breach of confidence in telling now to whom the honor is due. The measure ought to be tabled, with the proper name, in the great archives of history. Using the word archives reminds me of my bureau. The name has lately been changed into Archive Office of the War Department. Having recently received some boxes with the papers of disbanded army corps, it appears that this office is to be that of General American War Archives — a very good idea. I have been here for a few days, and return to Washington to-morrow. As yet I have found very little of any special importance. Beauregard is the veriest coxcomb, corresponding with scores of misses, and receiving information about the noblesse in his veins; Sanders, the lowest party hack; Jefferson Davis, quiet. Once he says of Butler, “justly called the beast.” Though unimportant, I must beg you to treat this as a confidential communication, as my order is to be silent; to you, of course, I can speak. We met with a great deal of Richmond street-dirt in the boxes, proving that your order had been executed with the besom, — and such disorder! . . .

SOURCE: Thomas Sergeant Perry, Editor, The Life and Letters of Francis Lieber, p. 359-60

Lieutenant William Thompson Lusk to Elizabeth Adams Lusk, October 18, 1861

October 18th, 1861.

My dear Mother:

I can only write you a few hasty lines. We have suddenly been summoned to Annapolis, and are now on board ship, bound I know not whither. This is so far pleasant, as there is a chance of relief from the wearisome picket duties which devolve upon Regiments on the advanced outposts; and we have likewise an opportunity for distinction, as well as to do the country good service. It is so far a disappointment, in that I had a leave of absence granted me, and hoped yesterday to be spending to-day with my dear Mother. I am very tired, as I marched all last night, and have been hard at work all this morning. Health and spirits are excellent. Gen. Stevens will most likely command our expedition, which is almost a guarantee of success. At any rate we will trust it will prove more brilliant even than the affair at Hatteras. At any rate let us pray, come what will, God grant us peace in the life hereafter. A thousand times love for all.

In haste, Affec'y.,

Will.

SOURCE: William Chittenden Lusk, Editor, War Letters of William Thompson Lusk, p. 89-90

Colonel William F. Bartlett to Harriett Plummer Bartlett, March 5, 1863

Headquarters Forty-ninth Regiment, M. V. M.

Camp Banks, Baton Rouge, La.

Dear Mother: — . . . .

March 5. Splendid weather still. I wish I was in the brigade of some general instead of Colonel Chapin.

Met Chapin in the afternoon. He said Augur complimented my regiment and the One Hundred and Sixteenth very highly. Went to bed before tattoo, pretty tired.

SOURCE: Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett, p. 68

Diary of Gideon Welles: Monday, September 29, 1862

Seward brought me to-day a long dispatch from Dudley, consul at Liverpool. Although his fears were somewhat simulated, I saw he was really excited and alarmed. He is easily frightened. I therefore talked on general subjects, but he turned away, said there were terrible combinations in Europe to break the blockade, that there was evidence of it in the documents he brought and wished me to read. They were getting eight or ten steamers ready to break the blockade. I told him I had no apprehensions from any general concerted attack, such as he dreaded, but that I was annoyed by the sneaking method which the Englishmen practiced of stealing into Charleston in the darkness of the night. On reading the principal dispatch, I assured him there was no evidence in that document of any purpose to break the blockade, that there was no mention of an armed vessel by Consul Dudley, that there was activity among the merchant adventurers of Great Britain, stimulated by the Bull Run tidings, which they had just previously received. I did not doubt that British merchants were actively preparing to try to run the blockade, but we would be active in trying to catch them.

He seemed relieved yet not perfectly satisfied. We had some conversation in relation to letters of marque, which he favors. Wishes me to purchase the Baltic and give Comstock the command. Told him I trusted our naval cruisers, though some were not as fast as I wished, would perform the service, and that were we to buy and arm the Baltic, a naval officer must command her.

This scheme for Comstock and the Baltic is a key to the affected alarm. It has been concocted by Thurlow Weed, who has a job in view for himself or friends, perhaps both. Though Seward was somewhat frightened, his fears may have been greater in appearance than reality. He did not alarm me. It is shameful that an old profligate party-debaucher like Weed should have such influence, and Seward is mistaken in supposing I could be deceived by this connivance. His own fears of breaking the blockade were in a degree simulated. Weed is the prompter in this Comstock and Baltic intrigue. It is a job. Wrote Seward a letter of some length on the subject of cruising to suppress the slave trade under the treaty which he, without consulting the Cabinet, had recently negotiated with Great Britain. The letter is in answer to one addressed to him by Mr. Stuart, the British Chargé d’Affaires. The treaty looks to me like a trap, and as if the Secretary of State had unwittingly “put his foot in it.” He thinks it would be popular to make a demonstration against slavery and the slave trade, — would conciliate the Abolitionists, who distrust him, and be a feather in his administration of the State Department. But he has been inconsiderate or duped, perhaps both. I declined to furnish cruisers as requested, for it would weaken our position, and I cannot consent to cripple our naval strength at this time, but prefer to retain, and to act under, the belligerent right of search, to that of restricted right conferred by the treaty.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 1: 1861 – March 30, 1864, p. 154-6

Diary of Salmon P. Chase: Sunday, September 28, 1862

At Dr. Payne's in morning — sermon excellent. Home in afternoon. In the evening went to War Department about expedition to Charleston; my idea being to have New York regiments sent to Louisville, and Mitchell's and Garfield's brigades withdrawn thence and sent to Port Royal with Garfield when an immediate attack should be made on Charleston which would be sure to fall. Did not find Stanton at Department. Went to Halleck's and found him there. Had some general talk. Was informed by Halleck that the enemy was moving to Martinsburgh. “How many?” —  “150.000” — “How many has McClellan?” — “About 100.000.” “Where Pennsylvania troops, said to have joined him though raised only for emergency?” “All gone back.” — Had talk about draft. He showed me a letter to Gamble, insisting that all officers of drafted militia above Regimental should be appointed by the President. I expressed the opinion that the principal of drafting Militia was erroneous — that the law should have provided for drafting from the people an army of the United States. He agreed. — I asked him his opinion of McClernand. He said he is brave and able but no disciplinarian; that his camp was always full of disorder; that at Corinth he pitched his tents where his men had been buried just below ground, and with dead horses lying all around. The cause of the evil was that his officers and men were his constituents.

Leaving Halleck, Stanton and I rode together to Columbia College and back to his house. I stated my wish concerning the two brigades and Charleston. He said nothing could be done. The New York Regiments must go to McClellan, who absorbs and is likely to absorb everything and do nothing. At Stanton's, saw for the first time Genl. Harney, who mentioned several circumstances to show Frank Blair's misconduct in Missouri matters. He said it was not necessary to fire a gun to keep Missouri in the Union. I thought him certainly mistaken.

SOURCE: Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1902, Vol. 2, p. 97-8

Horace Greeley to James S. Pike, May 25, 1860

New York, May 25, 1860.

Pike, My Friend: Do you see how the heathen rage? How the whole weight of their wrath is poured out on my head? Will you tell me why Maine behaved so much worse at Chicago than any New-England State but Massachusetts? What meant that infernal vote from Massachusetts against us? I thought some of you Eastern folks would look to this. Just write me one letter to let me know what all this means.

Yours,

Horace Greeley.

J. S. Pike, Esq.

SOURCE: James Shepherd Pike, First Blows of the Civil War: The Ten Years of Preliminary Conflict in the United States from 1850 to 1860, p. 520

Jeremiah S. Black to James Buchanan, January 22, 1861

Franklin Row, January 22, 1861.

my Dear Mr. President: A slight attack of rheumatism will prevent me from leaving my room to-day, and of course I shall not be at the Cabinet meeting. But the deep interest I feel in the result of your deliberations induces me to write this note, not to be laid before the heads of Departments, but for your own eye alone. If I am wrong in my interpretation of the past or in my expectations concerning the future, you can correct me as well as anybody else, and if I am right the suggestions I make may possibly be of some value.

You must be aware that the possession of this city is absolutely essential to the ultimate designs of the Secessionists. They can establish a Southern Confederacy with the Capital of the Union in their hands, and without it all the more important part of their scheme is bound to fail. If they can take it and do not take it, they are fools. Knowing them, as I do, to be men of ability and practical good sense, not likely to omit that which is necessary to forward the ends which they are aiming at, I take it for granted that they have their eye fixed upon Washington. To prove their desire to take it requires no evidence at all beyond the intrinsic probability of the fact itself. The affirmative presumption is so strong that he who denies it is bound to establish the negative. But there are additional and very numerous circumstances tending to show that a conspiracy to that effect has been actually formed, and that large numbers of persons are deeply and busily engaged in bringing the plot to a head at what they conceive to be the proper time. I do not mean now to enumerate all the facts. They form a body of circumstantial evidence that is overwhelming and irresistible. I know that you do not believe this, or did not when I saw you last. Your incredulity seemed then to be founded upon the assurances of certain outside persons in whom you confided, that nothing of that kind was in contemplation. The mere opinion of those persons is worth nothing apart from their own personal knowledge. They can have no personal knowledge unless they are themselves apart of the conspiracy. In the latter case fidelity to their fellows makes treachery to you a sort of moral necessity. In short, the mere declarations of uninformed persons who are not in the secrets of the Secessionists amount to very little, and well informed persons who are admitted to their counsels can hardly be expected to communicate their schemes to the head of the nation.

Suppose it to be doubtful whether any hostile intentions against the Capital are entertained, what is the duty of the administration? Shall we be prepared for the worst, or leave the public interests unguarded, so that the “logic of events” may demonstrate our folly? Preparation can do no possible harm in any event, and in the event which to me seems most likely, it is the country's only chance of salvation.

Let us not forget the lessons we have learned in the past three months. The gross impostures practiced upon us recently ought to make us very slow about believing assurances or taking advice which comes from the enemies of the Union. Timeo Danaos. They told us that civil war would be the result of manning the forts at Charleston. Now they laugh at all who believed that prophecy. They told us about the eight regiments of artillery in South Carolina; the twenty thousand other troops; the battery that could take Castle Pinckney; the impossibility of occupying Fort Sumter; that the Brooklyn was the only ship of war fit to be sent down there, and that she could not cross the bar; that the little battery on Morris Island would prevent a ship from going up the channel; that South Carolina would not make war upon us if we were weak, but would if we should make ourselves strong — all these things were taken for true, and you know how disastrous the consequences were, not merely to the credit of the administration, but to the Union itself,

“Upon whose property and most dear life a damn'd defeat was made.”

I understand that the Secretary of the Navy has promised the Secessionists that he will withdraw the ships from the Florida and Alabama harbors. I hope and believe that he has no authority from you to make such promise: and if he has done it of his own head, I am sure he will receive a signal rebuke. You know how much I honor and respect Toucey, but I confess I find it a little difficult to forgive him for letting it be understood that the Brooklyn could not get into the harbor of Charleston; and the order which he gave to that ship, by which her commander felt himself compelled, after he was in sight of Fort Sumter, not to go in, is making this Government the laughter and derision of the world.

I hope it will soon be decided what our policy is to be, with reference to the relief of Major Anderson. There certainly would be no hurry about it, if it were not for the fact that the South Carolinians are increasing their means of resistance every day, and this increase may be such as to make delay fatal to his safety. But how that is I do not pretend to know at present. Certainly, however, the facts ought to be ascertained.

In the forty days and forty nights yet remaining to this administration, responsibilities may be crowded greater than those which are usually incident to four years in more quiet times. I solemnly believe that you can hold this revolution in check, and so completely put the calculations of its leaders out of joint that it will subside after a time into peace and harmony. On the other hand, by leaving the Government an easy prey, the spoilers will be tempted beyond their power of resistance, and they will get such an advantage as will bring upon the country a whole illiad of woes. The short official race which yet remains to us, must be run before a cloud of witnesses, and to win we must cast aside every weight, and the sin of state-craft which doth so easily beset us, and look simply upon our duty and the performance of it as the only prize of our high calling.

I am free to admit that in this hasty note I may have been much mistaken. I do not claim to be more zealous in the public service nor more patriotic than my neighbors; certainly not wiser than my colleagues. To your better judgment I defer implicitly. But my absence from the Council to-day annoyed me, supposing, as I did, that some of the matters here referred to might be discussed in it. I took this mode of saying what I probably would have said if I had been with you.

I am, most respectfully yours, etc.

The President.

SOURCE: Samuel Wylie Crawford, The Genesis of the Civil War: The Story of Sumter, 1860-1861, p. 241-3