work on

Posted on December 31, 2015 by SUMPTER

Thankfully the American Civil War ended in 1865. Apparently the federal government felt it could let down its defenses a bit on the nation’s northeast corner. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 30, 1865:

The coast batteries in Maine dismantled.

Belfast, Me., December27.

–Under the supervision of Major Gardner, United States army, the batteries in this city and at other points on the coast of Maine are being dismantled. The guns have been carried to Fort Knox.

Reported death of Abm. Lincoln. Attack on Secretary Seward. (LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/scsm000517/)

Chautauqua Democrat Extra, April 15, 1865 (Library of Congress)

Thankfully the war ended in 1865, but Secretary of State William H. Seward endured a devastating year:

Seward was tested in 1865 as few men are ever tested: by the carriage accident, by the attack of the assassin, by the near death of his son Frederick, by the death of his good friend and leader Lincoln, and then by the death of his wife Frances [on June 21st]. Although he attended church regularly, he was not an especially religious man, and it does not seem that that he found much solace in religion in this hour of trial. He seems instead to have found comfort in his work, to which he returned as soon as possible after his own injuries and his wife’s funeral. …[1]

SewardCarriage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SewardCarriage.JPG)

Seward’s bad 1865 started with a carriage accident

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New Year's Eve (c.1876; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/2003677747/)

“New Year’s Eve ” (c1876, Library of Congress)

The image of the carriage is licensed by Creative Commons. According to the Wikipedia article about the William H. Seward House Museum: “This carriage was involved in an accident that severely injured Seward leaving him bed ridden the night Lincoln was shot, when another conspirator attacked Seward with a knife.”
  1. [1]Stahr, Walter Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man. 2012. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2013. Print. page 440.↩
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Virginia freedmen

Posted on December 30, 2015 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 30, 1865:

The freedmen’s Bureau of Virginia.

The reader will find in this morning’s paper the purport of the report of Colonel Brown, Assistant Commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau for the State of Virginia, made to his superior, Major-General Howard. It is a remarkable paper. Fair in some things — not at all so in others.

In the preface to the report as to the condition of society in Virginia [this poor society of Virginia is become the subject of a great deal of investigation!] the Colonel, in very strong language, represents the state of the black population, of half a million, as anything but encouraging to those who came here” to provide “for their protection, elevation and government.” “Suddenly freed,” he says, “from the bonds of a rigorous control, acquainted with no law but that of force, ignorant of the elementary principles of civil government, and of the first Duties of Citizenship, without any provision for the future wants of themselves and families, and entertaining many false and extravagant notions in respect to the intentions of the Government towards them.” [For which latter, according to GeneralGrant, we are in a great degree indebted to the Freedmen’s Bureau and its agents!]

This is a very strong statement of the condition of the blacks when they fell into the hands of the Bureau. It is too highly colored even to be just to them; for they were acquainted with other influences than force. They were familiar with kindness and the stimulant afforded by persuasion, gentle usage, abundant food and clothing, and even generous rewards for good conduct. They knew as much of all the humane stimulants to good conduct and faithfulness as any laborers on the face of this earth.

Nor were they so entirely ignorant. But what is proposed as a remedy for these poor beings who are ignorant of the elementary “principles of civil government and the first Duties of Citizenship?” Why, to confer upon them the Right of Suffrage! Does Colonel Brown think that would heal them? We imagine not, from the portrait he has drawn.

With reference to the conduct of the citizens towards these unfortunate people, Colonel Brown is not just. He transposes his paragraphs — makes the majority a minority, and inputs to the majority the conduct and policy of the minority. He states, with rather the air of complaint, that the citizens generally afforded no assistance in meeting the “difficulties” presented by the negro. Yet he answers his own complaint by confessing immediately afterwards, that, being “stripped, to a great extent, of their resources by the operations of the war, they were unable to allow these people their just dues, much less any charitable assistance.”–Had he made the expression stronger — had he stated that the people were stripped of nearly everything: all their money; all their valuables; their horses and cattle; nearly all their provisions; and had not enough to supply their own wants, to relieve their own sufferings, he would not have exceeded the fact. Yet, these people must have assisted the blacks. For how else did they live? They did not, it is true, assist those who rushed to the camps and the cities. They became a burthen to the Government and the objects of the protecting care of the Bureau.–But those that remained in the country, and assisted to cultivate the farms and to produce something to keep themselves as well as others from starving, enjoyed with the owners a part of the scant supplies left by the war in the country.

The meetings alluded to by Colonel Brown, fixing rates and making pledges about renting lands to freedmen, must have been few indeed. We never heard of more than, probably, two, possibly three, and those only small neighborhood affairs. Whatever was the policy, the people of Virginia are in no wise responsible for it.

Colonel Brown truly describes the conduct of the people of Virginia when he speaks of a “numerically small” class, who “not only accepted the situation, but, with a wise foresight and a noble patriotism, were ready to co-operate with the Government for the speediest restoration of tranquillity and law.” This was the majority–not a “numerically small” class. Colonel Brown either speaks from prejudice, or he has not had the opportunity of seeing the people and judging them fairly. We know nothing of Colonel Brown whatever, and do not presume that he would wailfully misrepresent this people. –But unintentionally, we suppose, he has done injustice to them.

The people of Virginia have as much kind feeling for their late slaves as any other people in the United States–not even excepting that unparalleled race of philanthropists who live east of the Hudson river; and any representation of facts which is inconsistent with this, is both unjust and untrue. The people of this State know the negro better than any other — they know his capacity and his wants, and can now take care of him better, and settle him down in his new relation with as much consideration for his welfare, and more forecast and judgement than any of those persons in other States who are making him their everlasting topic — and the everlasting cause of accusation and vituperation of the people of the South. When is this sort of warfare to cease? Are we never to have rest? Is it not enough that the slave, originally imported by Northern men in Northern ships and sold to the South, is set free? Is it not enough that we, submitting to results, are struggling in earnestness and sincerity, as well as in poverty, to restore plenty and order to the land — that order and plenty without which there is no rest, no satisfaction, no support for white or black? Is it not enough that we submit to the Constitution and the laws, and have solemnly and irrevocably abolished slavery and involuntary servitude from the land? Will not all this do? And must we still be assailed — our peace and quiet, and the safety and order of the country, disturbed by this execrable crusade? What do the people who are enlisted in it desire to do? Do they wish to continue the breach between the sections? Do they wish to perpetuate hate?

We trust and believe that the better judgement of the majority will soon put an end to this state of things. We even hope that the men who control the Freedmen’s Bureau will, through their intercourse with the South, become liberalized and enlightened on the policy that is best for the negro and best for the country. Let them but emulate the unprejudiced judgment, the fair and earnest disposition, of General Grant, and they will honor themselves and truly subserve the peace and welfare of our country.

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“a dirty Yankee trick”

Posted on December 29, 2015 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 30, 1865:

Arrival of Captain Semmes.

Washington, December29.

–Captain Semmes arrived here last night by the train from New York, in charge of a guard of United States Marines, and was at once taken to the navy-yard, where he was placed, temporarily, in a room hastily fitted up in the dispensary building, where a guard was placed over him. Semmes was arrested at his residence, about four miles from Mobile, on the 15th instant, on an order from the Navy Department. He expressed great astonishment, and claimed that the arrest was in violation of his parole. His daughter was violently bitter, and said it was a dirty Yankee trick to arrest her father. He was given until twelve o’clock next day to arrange his family matters; after which he was brought away. On the passage from Mobile to New York he was quite cheerful, expressing his readiness to stand trial, and his belief that the arrest was entirely illegal.

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tidings: dreadful … and glad?

Posted on December 25, 2015 by SUMPTER
Richmond, Virginia. Burnt district (1865; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/cwp2003005698/PP/)

“Richmond, Virginia. Burnt district ” (Library of Congress)

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 25, 1865:

Christmas.

Merry Christmas polka (1882; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/sm1882.20715/)

just another song and dance?

It would seem a remorseless piece of irony to extend to our people the usual greeting of “A Merry Christmas.” In the midst of a land desolated by the iron foot-prints of war, with half a million of their best and bravest sleeping in bloody graves, with a funeral pall hanging in every house where the Christmas garlands once were wreathed, with universal poverty in the place of universal plenty, and dark and threatening clouds still brooding over their future, it seems like the utterance of heartless sarcasm to exclaim, “A Merry Christmas.”

Yet, it was in the moral midnight of the world that the Christmas star first rose. It was upon an altar whose prestige had departed, that its mild lustre first fell, illuminating it with a glory such as the first temple had never known. It was amid the jarring discords of political and civil strife that those melodies of Heaven first broke upon the a[ir]–“Peace on earth, good will among men.”

Richmond, Virginia. Almshouse (1865; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/cwp2003005601/PP/)

“Richmond, Virginia. Almshouse” (Library of Congress)

Our modern mode of celebrating this great Christian Anniversary may be incongruous and inconsistent in times like these; but Christmas, in its true method of observance, is the very festival for periods of darkness and tribulation. It brings its gold and frankincense and myrrh not to kings in their purple, but to poverty in its lowliest estate. It converts the stable into a palace and the manger into a throne. It leads us to the feet of Him who came to “visit us in great humility,” who rejoiced in the companionship of the sorrowful and meek, whose miracles were performed not only to attest his mission, but to relieve human afflictions, and who will come again, in glorious majesty, to reward suffering virtue and to vindicate the ways of Go[d] to man.

I[f], then, we are not able to celebrate this anniversary with the exuberant joyousness of former years, it may, at least, bring us consolation in our sadness; it may teach us the lessons of charity and praise which the hosts of Heaven chanted over the cradle of the Son of God; it may inspire us with hope of a day when the sword shall be beaten into a plough share and nations shall not learn war any more; and it may admonish those whose habitations yet echo with the voices of joy and gladness to arrest the melodies of their mirth till they have heard and stilled the wintry wails of poverty and sorrow at their doors.

A Northern soldier also experienced the “iron foot-prints of war” first hand and longed for peace:

Veterans Memorial Park Auburn NY (December 23, 2015

“dreadful tidings”

More images from the Veterans Memorial Park in Auburn NY:

Veterans Memorial Park, Auburn NY (December 23, 2015)

Seward House in the background

Veterans Memorial Park, Auburn NY (December 23, 2015)

directly opposite the poetic plaque at Auburn, New York’s Veterans Memorial Park

George F. Brockway

three and a half years of it

Organized in the fall of 1861 the New York 1st Independent Battery
Light Artillery served for the duration and was finally mustered out in June 1865. You can also see the unit’s Gettysburg monument at the New York State Military Museum. The accompanying text points at the link out that the battery plugged a whole in the nick of time during Longstreet’s July 3rd assault.

1stIndBatMonument (http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/1stIndBat/1stIndBatMonument.htm)

cannon fire in close quarters

The Christmas carol (1890; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/95502853/)

Merry Christmas anyway!

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a saint for the impecunious

Posted on December 24, 2015 by SUMPTER
illo_png8 (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17382/17382-h/17382-h.htm)

“bounteous, obliging disposition,”

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 23, 1865:

The great problem of Christmas, with all who are not afflicted by the general malady of chronic impecuniousness, is what to buy for a Christmas present. The patron saint, Kriss Kringle, St. Nicholas, or by whatever other name that most charming and amiable of all the saints is known, must find Christmas the most perplexing of all the festivals. We mean no disrespect to the other saints who figure on the church calendar when we bestow upon this one special commendation. But Kriss Kringle or St. Nicholas is the only one of them whose acquaintance we ever made, or who ever visits the earth in a tangible shape. Certainly, if the other canonized persons resemble him in a bounteous, obliging disposition, we should be very glad to be on intimate terms with them all.

illo_png5 (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17382/17382-h/17382-h.htm)

“an immensity of stockings to be hung “

There are an immensity of stockings to be hung up Sunday night [December 24, 1865], an illimitable forest of Christmas trees to be planted, and innumerable millions of little children whose hearts are beating wildly at this moment with conjectures of Kriss Kringle’s designs with reference to those stockings and trees. We are not more astonished at the sublime unselfishness and inexhaustible resources of Kriss, than his extraordinary ability to surmount the great difficulty of Christmas– what to buy. Somehow or other, he generally does work out that perplexing problem, and generally to the satisfaction of all concerned. What a deal of time he must spend in studying the shop windows and inspecting the bewildering variety of their attractions! Sometimes, when his funds are low, the good saint must be a sad as well as a puzzled saint, yet he never appears to us more amiable than just then.–To see him trudging along, and trying to make some little children happy, but without the means to do it as he would wish, is a sight that must enlist the sympathy of all his brother saints, and, no doubt, will induce them all, one of these days, to open their purse-strings, and make it even with those little children, who seem to be somewhat neglected now.

After all, the best [ Chritmas ] [sic] gift is the love and affection that prompt the outward tokens and impart value to them, if they are ever so cheap and commonplace. But it ought not to be forgotten by those who have the means to give, that there are many habitations in this city in which no stockings can be hung up, no Christmas tress planted, and whose inmates would be only too happy to obtain the bare means of life. There can be no difficulty in solving the question–what Christmas gift to bestow upon them.

The historical Saint Nicholas lived from March 15, 270 – December 6, 343 in modern day Turkey. He is appropriately a patron saint of children, as well as several other groups of people.

From In God’s Garden Stories of the Saints for Little Children by Amy Steedman:

SAINT NICHOLAS

illo_png3 (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17382/17382-h/17382-h.htm)

latter day Saint Nicholas

Of all the saints that little children love is there any to compare with Santa Claus? The very sound of his name has magic in it, and calls up visions of well-filled stockings, with the presents we particularly want peeping over the top, or hanging out at the side, too big to go into the largest sock. Besides, there is something so mysterious and exciting about Santa Claus, for no one seems to have ever seen him. But we picture him to ourselves as an old man with a white beard, whose favourite way of coming into our rooms is down the chimney, bringing gifts for the good children and punishments for the bad.

Yet this Santa Claus, in whose name the presents come to us at Christmas time, is a very real saint, and we can learn a great deal about him, only we must remember that his true name is Saint Nicholas. Perhaps the little children, who used to talk of him long ago, found Saint Nicholas too difficult to say, and so called him their dear Santa Claus. But we learn, as we grow older, that Nicholas is his true name, and that he is a real person who lived long years ago, far away in the East.

The father and mother of Nicholas were noble and very rich, but what they wanted most of all was to have a son. They were Christians, so they prayed to God for many years that he would give them their heart’s desire; and when at last Nicholas was born, they were the happiest people in the world.

They thought there was no one like their boy; and indeed he was wiser and better than most children, and never gave them a moment’s trouble. But alas, while he was still a child, a terrible plague swept over the country, and his father and mother died, leaving him quite alone.

451px-Icon_c_1500_St_Nicholas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Icon_c_1500_St_Nicholas.JPG)

Saint Nicholas as icon

All the great riches which his father had possessed were left to Nicholas, and among other things he inherited three bars of gold. These golden bars were his greatest treasure, and he thought more of them than all the other riches he possessed.

Now in the town where Nicholas lived there dwelt a nobleman with three daughters. They had once been very rich, but great misfortunes had overtaken the father, and now they were all so poor they had scarcely enough to live upon.

At last a day came when there was not even bread enough to eat, and the daughters said to their father:

‘Let us go out into the streets and beg, or do anything to get a little money, that we may not starve.’

But the father answered:

‘Not to-night. I cannot bear to think of it. Wait at least until to-morrow. Something may happen to save my daughters from such disgrace.’

Now, just as they were talking together, Nicholas happened to be passing, and as the window was open he heard all that the poor father said. It seemed terrible to think that a noble family should be so poor and actually in want of bread, and Nicholas tried to plan how it would be possible to help them. He knew they would be much too proud to take money from him, so he had to think of some other way. Then he remembered his golden bars, and that very night he took one of them and went secretly to the nobleman’s house, hoping to give the treasure without letting the father or daughters know who brought it.

To his joy Nicholas discovered that a little window had been left open, and by standing on tiptoe he could just reach it. So he lifted the golden bar and slipped it through the window, never waiting to hear what became of it, in case any one should see him. (And now do you see the reason why the visits of Santa Claus are so mysterious?)

Inside the house the poor father sat sorrowfully watching, while his children slept. He wondered if there was any hope for them anywhere, and he prayed earnestly that heaven would send help. Suddenly something fell at his feet, and to his amazement and joy, he found it was a bar of pure gold.

‘My child,’ he cried, as he showed his eldest daughter the shining gold, ‘God has heard my prayer and has sent this from heaven. Now we shall have enough and to spare. Call your sisters that we may rejoice together, and I will go instantly and change this treasure.’

Saint Nicholas (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36674/36674-h/36674-h.htm#page84)

in lieu of a chimney … and flying reindeer

The precious golden bar was soon sold to a money-changer, who gave so much for it that the family were able to live in comfort and have all that they needed. And not only was there enough to live upon, but so much was over that the father gave his eldest daughter a large dowry, and very soon she was happily married.

When Nicholas saw how much happiness his golden bar had brought to the poor nobleman, he determined that the second daughter should have a dowry too. So he went as before and found the little window again open, and was able to throw in the second golden bar as he had done the first. This time the father was dreaming happily, and did not find the treasure until he awoke in the morning. Soon afterwards the second daughter had her dowry and was married too.

The father now began to think that, after all, it was not usual for golden bars to fall from heaven, and he wondered if by any chance human hands had placed them in his room. The more he thought of it the stranger it seemed, and he made up his mind to keep watch every night, in case another golden bar should be sent as a portion for his youngest daughter.

And so when Nicholas went the third time and dropped the last bar through the little window, the father came quickly out, and before Nicholas had time to hide, caught him by his cloak.

‘O Nicholas,’ he cried, ‘is it thou who hast helped us in our need? Why didst thou hide thyself?’ And then he fell on his knees and began to kiss the hands that had helped him so graciously.

But Nicholas bade him stand up and give thanks to God instead; warning him to tell no one the story of the golden bars.

This was only one of the many kind acts Nicholas loved to do, and it was no wonder that he was beloved by all who knew him. …

illo_png7 (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17382/17382-h/17382-h.htm)

flying reindeer

Clement Clarke Moore’s story sure had taken over the public imagination since its initial anonymous publication in 1823. The image of saint Nicholas as icon is licensed by Creative Commons

illo_png9 (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17382/17382-h/17382-h.htm)

Merry Christmas to all!

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, American Culture, Southern Society | Tagged , | Leave a comment

General Grant reports

Posted on December 23, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this week reports by President Johnson and General Grant on the condition of the South were published.

From The New-York Times December 20, 1865:

THE THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS; Important Message from the President on Reconstruction. He Favors the Immediate Restoration of All the State Governments in the South.Lieut.-Gen. Grant Takes the Same Ground in His Report. Senator Sumner Makes a Bitter Attack on the President.The House Adopts a Joint Resolution for an Amendment to the Constitution.The Payment of Rebel War Debts to be Forever Prohibited.The Washington and New-York Air Line Railroad Bill Passed by the House. FIRST SESSION. THE NORTHEASTERN FRONTIER. A UNIFORM MILITIA SYSTEM. THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU. COAL LANDS. THE COURT OF CLAIMS. THE REGULAR ARMY. AMENDMENT OF THE PENSION LAWS THE NAVY REGISTER. THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PUBLIC PRINTING. THE HOLIDAY RECESS. BILL TO SECURE FREEDMEN’S RIGHTS. VOLUNTEER GENERALS. THE COMMITTEE ON RECONSTRUCTION. SOUTHERN REPRESENTATION. A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT. THE SOUTHERN DELEGATIONS. THE TAX ON DOMESTIC MAUNFACTURES. …

The message of the President was then read, as follows:

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 12th, I have the honor to state that the rebellion waged by a portion of the people against the properly constituted authorities of the Government of the United States, has been suppressed; that the United States are in possession of every State in which the insurrection existed; and that, as far as could be done, the courts of the United States have been restored, post-offices reestablished, and steps taken to put into effective operation the revenue laws of the country. As the result of the measures instituted by the Executive with the view of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States comprehended in the inquiry of the Senate, the people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee, have recognized their respective State Governments, and are yielding obedience to the laws and Government of the United States with more willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances could reasonably have been anticipated. The proposed amendment to the constitution providing for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of the country, has been ratified by each one of these States, with the exception of Mississippi, from which no official information has been received; and in nearly all of them measures have been adopted, or are now pending, to confer upon the freedmen the privileges which are essential to their comfort, protection and security. In Florida and Texas, the people are making commendable progress in restoring their State Governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at an early period be in a condition to resume all of their practical relations with the Federal Government. In that portion of the Union lately in rebellion the aspect of affairs is more promising than, in view of all the circumstances, could well have been expected. The people throughout the entire South evince a laudable desire to renew their allegiance to the government and to repair the devastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to peaceful pursuits. An abiding faith is entertained that their actions will conform to their professions, and that in acknowledging the supremacy of the constitution and the laws of the United States, their loyalty will be unreservedly given to the government, whose leniency they cannot fail to appreciate and whose fostering care will soon restore them to a condition of prosperity. It is true that in some of the States the demoralizing effects of the war are to be seen in occasional disorders; but these are local in character, not frequent in occurrence, and are rapidly disappearing as the authority of the civil power is extended and sustained. Perplexing questions were naturally to be expected from the great and sudden change in the relations between the two races; but systems are gradually developing themselves, under which the freedman will receive the protection to which he is justly entitled, and by means of his labor make himself a useful and independent member of the community in which he has his home. From all the information in my possession, and from that which I have recently derived from the most reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation, connected with a properly adjusted system of taxation, will result in a harmonious restoration of the relations of the States to the National Union.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 18, 1865.

REPORT OF GEN. GRANT.

Mr. COWAN then called for the reading of a report made to the President by Gen. GRANT, concerning his late visit in the South.

Gen. GRANT’s report was read as follows:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THH UNITED STATES, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 1865.

His Excellency A. Johnson, President of the United States:

SIR: In reply to your note of the 18th inst., requesting a report from me giving such information as I may be possessed of coming within the scope of the inquiries made by the Senate of the United States in their resolution of the 12th inst., I have the honor to submit the following with your approval, and also that of the honorable Secretary of War.

Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant (by Alexander Gardner, ca. 1865]; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/2004674419/)

freedmen’s bureau’s performance – inconsistent

I left Washington City on the 27th of last month, for the purpose of making a tour of inspection throughout some of the Southern States lately in rebellion, and to see what changes were necessary in the disposition of the military forces of the country, now these forces could be reduced, and expenses curtailed, &c.; and to learn, as far as possible, the feelings and intentions of the citizens of these States toward the General Government. The State of Virginia being so accessible to Washington City, and information from this quarter, therefore, being readily obtained. I hastened through the State without conversing or meeting with any of its citizens. In Raleigh, N.C., I spent one day; in Charleston, S.C., two days; and in Savannah and Augusta, Ga., each one day. Both in traveling and whilst stopping I saw much and conversed freely with the citizens of those States, as well as with officers of the army who have been stationed among them.

The following are the conclusions come to by me: I am satisfied that the mass of the thinking men of the South accept the present situation of affairs in good faith. The questions which have hitherto divided the sentiments of the people of the two sections — Slavery and State rights, or the right of a State to secede from the Union — they regard as having been settled forever by the highest tribunal — arms — that man can resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men whom I met, that they not only accepted the decision arrived at as final, but, now the smoke of battle has cleared away, and time has been given for reflection, that this decision has been a fortunate one for the whole country, they receiving the like benefits from it with those who opposed them in the field and in the council. Four years of war, during which law was executed only at the point of the bayonet throughout the States in rebellion, have left the people possibly in a condition not to yield that ready obedience to civil authority that the American people have generally been in the habit of yielding. This would render the presence of small garrisons throughout those States necessary until such time as labor returns to its proper channel, and civil authority is fully established. I did not meet any one, either those holding places under the government or citizens of the Southern States, who thought it practicable to withdraw the military from the South at present. The white and the black mutually require the protection of the General Government. There is such universal acquiesence in the authority of the General Government throughout the portions of the country visited by me, that the mere presence of a Military force, without regard to numbers, is sufficient to maintain order. The good of the country requires that the force kept in the interior, where there are many freedmen (elsewhere in the Southern States than at forts upon the sea-coast no force is necessary) should all be white troops. The reasons for this are obvious, without mentioning many of them. The presence of black troops lately slaves demoralizes labor, both by their advice and furnishing in their camps a resort for the freedmen for long distances around. White troops generally excite no opposition, and therefore a small number of them can maintain order in a given district. Colored troops must be kept in bodies sufficient to defend themselves. It is not the thinking men who would do violence toward any class of troops sent among them by the General Government; but the ignorant in some places might; and the late slave, too, who might be imbued with the idea that the property of his late master should by right belong to him, at cast [least?] should have no protection from the colored soldiers. There is danger of collision being brought on by such causes. My observations lead me to the conclusion that the citizens of the Southern States are anxious to return to self government within the Union as soon as possible; that whilst reconstructing they want and require protection from the government; that, they think, is required by the government and is not humiliating to them as citizens; and that if such a course was pointed out they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regretted that there cannot be a greater commingling at this time between the citizens of the two sections, and particularly of those intrusted with the law-making power. I did not give the operations of the Freedmen’s Bureau that attention I would have done if more time had been at my disposal. Conversations, however, on the subject, with officers connected with the bureau, led me to think that in some of the States its affairs have not been conducted with good judgment or economy, and that the belief widely spread among the freedmen of the Southern States that the lands of their former owners will, at least in part, b[e] divided among them, has come from the agents of this bureau. This belief is seriously interfering with the willingness of the freedmen to make contracts for the coming year. In some form the Freedmen’s Bureau is an absolute necessity until civil law is established and enforced, securing to the freedmen their rights and full protection. At present, however, it is independent of the military establishment of the country, and seems to be operated by the different agents of the bureau according to their individual notions. Everywhere Gen. HOWARD, the able head of the bureau, made friends by the just and fair instructions and advice he gave. But the complaint in South Carolina was that when he left, things went on as before. Many, perhaps the majority of the agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau, advise the freedmen that by their own industry they must expect to live. To this end they endeavor to secure employment for them, and to see that both contracting parties comply with their engagements. In some cases, I am sorry to say the freedman’s mind does not seem to be disabused of the idea that the freedman has the right to live without cars or provision for the future. The effect of the belief in the division of the lands is idleness and accumulation in camps, towns and cities. In such cases I think it will be found that vice and disease will tend to the extermination or great destruction of the colored race. It cannot be expected that the opinions held by men at the South for years can be changed in a day. And therefore the freedmen require for a few years not only laws to protect them, but the fostering care of those who will give them good counsel, and on whom they can rely. The Freedmen’s Bureau being separated from the military establishment of the country, requires all the expense of a separate organization. One does not necessarily know what the other is doing, or what orders they are acting under. It seems to me this could be corrected by regarding every officer on duty with troops in the Southern States, as agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau, and then have all orders from the head of the bureau sent through the department commanders. This would create a responsibility that would create uniformity of action throughout the South, would insure the orders and instructions from the head of the bureau being carried out, and would relieve from duty and pay a large number of employes of the government.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U.S. GRANT,

Lieutenant-General. …

The Daily Dispatch summarized these reports here

Alexander Gardner’s photo of General Grant is found at the Library of Congress
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another man without a country?

Posted on December 22, 2015 by SUMPTER

View of Johnson's Island, near Sandusky City, O. (1865; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/99447489/)

recalcitrance in Lake Erie


From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 22, 1865:

The last Confederate prisoner.

–The last Confederate prisoner of war has been released, on condition that he would leave the country. The Baton Rouge Gazette of the 5th says:

A letter received by Mr. G. Gusman, of this city, from his son, Captain A. L. Gusman, of the Confederate army, conveys the intelligence that the brave young captain has been released from Fort Delaware on parole, and on condition further that he is to leave the United States within fifteen days from the date of the release.

Captain Gusman was for a long while confined as a prisoner on Johnson’s Island, and was one of the two who persisted in refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the Government. He was subsequently transferred to Fort Delaware, where he was confined for several months previous to his release.

The Advocate says that Captain Gusman left New York for Vera Cruz on the shipsteamship Moro Castle, to join and Magruder.

Apparently Antoine L. Gusman eventually returned to the United States. You can read some background at The South’s Defender, including information that he is buried in Baton Rouge. Also, Mr. Gusman refused to take the oath twice in June 1865 while confined at Johnson’s Island in Ohio.

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for what it’s worth

Posted on December 18, 2015 by SUMPTER
NY Times December 19, 1865

NY Times December 19, 1865

As has been well-documented, William H. Seward did not think the United States Constitution was the most important law in the country. Especially in the context of determining whether slavery should be eradicated, he believed there was “a higher law than the Constitution, which regulates our authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same noble purposes.”

However, 150 years ago Secretary of State Seward certified that even the U.S. Constitution officially abolished slavery throughout the nation. From The New-York Times December 19, 1865:

THE CONSUMMATION!; Slavery Forever Dead in the United States. Official Proclamation of the Great Fact. Secretary Seward Announces the Ratification of the Constitutional Amendment. Twenty-seven States Declared for Universal Freedom. No Human Bondage After Dec. 18, 1865.THE PROGRESS OF RECONSTRUCTION. Withdrawal of Military Government in Alabama. PROCLAMATION. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES, ARTICLE XIII.

To All to Whom these Presents May Come, Greeting,

Know ye, that, whereas, the Congress of the United States, on the 1st of February last, passed a resolution, which is in the words following, namely:

“A resolution submitting to the Legislatures of the several States a proposition to amend the Constitution of the United States:

William Seward

consummation proclamation (or just another commencement address?)

Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said Legislatures, shall be valid to all intents and purposes as a part of said Constitution, namely:

SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duty convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

SEC. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

And, whereas, it appears from official documents on file in this department that the Amendment to the Constitution of the United States proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the Legislatures of the States of Illinois, Rhode Island, Michigan, Maryland, New-York, West Virginia, Maine, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Nevada, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Arkansas, Connecticut, New-Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia, in all twenty-seven States;

And whereas, the whole number of States in the United States is thirty-six;

And whereas, the before specially named States, whose Legislatures have ratified the said proposed amendment, constitute three-fourths of the whole number of States in the United States;

Now, therefore, be it known that I, WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance of the second section of the act of Congress approved the 20th of April, 1818, entitled “An Act to provide for the publication of the laws of the United States and for other purposes,” do hereby certify that the amendment aforesaid HAS BECOME VALID TO ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES AS A PART OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Department of State to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this 18th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1865, and of the Independence of the United States of America the 90th. WM.H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State.

According to Walter Stahr, Mr. Seward actually did believe that the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment helped put a period to an American sentence:

On December 18, Seward certified that a sufficient number of states had ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, the amendment abolishing slavery, so that it was now part of the Constitution. Twenty-seven out of thirty-six states had approved, Seward noted, counting all the southern states in his calculation, including those whose representatives were not yet admitted to Congress. One could question whether these were legitimate states for this purpose, but Seward did not; he believed the executive branch could form its own views on whether to recognize a state government, as it had during the Civil War in the cases of West Virginia, Louisiana, and other states. “It was with especial gratification,” [Secretary Seward’s son] Frederick later recalled, that his father “affixed his name to this crowning and closing act of the long struggle.” Frederick’s language here reflected his father’s views: Seward believed that, with the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment and the formation of new southern state governments, the process of Reconstruction was almost complete. The radicals believed the struggle had only begun.[1]

How much does what is written in the Constitution really matter? Mr. Seward believed there was a higher law. Charles Evans Hughes apparently thought what mattered was how some folks read the written word:

We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the judges say it is, and the judiciary is the safeguard of our property and our liberty and our property under the Constitution.

Well, that’s reassuring.

slave density 1860 census (Map showing the distribution of the slave population of the southern states of the United States. Compiled from the census of 1860, 1861 ; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/ody0314/)

no more

You can see the Seward statue in this post near the Seward House in Auburn, New York. The map showing slave density by county based on the 1860 census can be found at the Library of Congress
  1. [1]Stahr, Walter Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man. 2012. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2013. Print. page 452.↩
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legislation without representation …

Posted on December 16, 2015 by SUMPTER

It is neither right nor safe for any part of the country to legislate for another part of the country without giving it any voice in that legislation. Representation is the vital principle of republican institutions.

150 years ago today there were reports in a Richmond newspaper that the United States House Committee of Fifteen intended to procrastinate on the question of admitting delegations from Southern states. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 16, 1865:

Southern representation.

There are current reports of party understandings to the effect that the existing Congressional arrangements (in a joint committee) for the cases of persons returned as Senators or Representatives from the late Confederate or rebel States, is to procrastinate such cases by the various expedients known to partisan chicane until representatives and people alike of the South shall lose all heart and hope.

The House adopted yesterday a resolution supplementary to what is known as the “caucus reconstruction resolution,” which will insure the reference of all papers relative to the so-called Confederate States to the joint committee of fifteen. Mr. Raymond and a few other Union Representatives voted against the resolution.

Mr. Forney writes:

“While there is a fixed determination not to admit any man in Congress whose hands were imbued with the blood of our fellow-countrymen, and who cannot take the oath that was taken by all the members of the last Congress, with one or two exceptions, and by all the new members and Senators of the present Congress, tried and true men from the South, who came here fairly elected, will not be compelled to wait long. The temper of the House is decidedly against the repeal of this same test oath, and it would seem that it will require a long time before certain of the Southern communities can so mould their action to the inevitabilities as to render it safe to do so.”

The Dispatch editors found some hope in a Northern editorial. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 16, 1865:

The Capitol of the United States of America: taken from Adams & Co's Office ; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/97517392/)

promised land

Southern representation — a Gleam of hope.

We trust that our readers will not think that we have given up too much space to the following article, when we remind them that the editor of the New York Times is Honorable H. J. Raymond, a prominent Republican member of Congress, and that he is generally regarded as the exponent of the views of Mr. Seward, who, in turn, is the most influential member of the Republican party, and has never, we believe, in one instance, failed to control its policy — not even when he was the first to warn them from what was called “Know Nothingism.” With Seward actively engaged in behalf of the admission of the Southern representatives, they have nothing to fear as to the result.

From the New York Daily Times.

Importance of a Southern representation.

Mr. Sumner’s theory that the “insurrectionary States” have forfeited their State attributes, and are now mere territorial domain, has justly been repelled as inconsistent with the whole scheme of the Constitution. But even that theory is preferable to any project of keeping the functions of these States in indefinite suspension, and excluding them from all representation in the National Legislature. Treat these States as Territories, and they may at least, like other Territories, send each a delegate to the House of Representatives, who, though not voting, would have the privilege of speaking and representing the feelings and wishes of his constituents. In the present condition of things, these so-called States have not even a Territorial life; every one of them is as voiceless in the national halls as if it were forever dead, and resolved into its primitive dust again.

It was but right for the House to ignore all representatives from the theatre of the late rebellion until it could be shown that their elections were made under competent authority and in a proper way. It is well, too, to stop to inquire whether the late insurrectionary States, in seeking again the constitutional right of representation, are prepared to comply with all their constitutional obligations. But all this can be learned without any great delay. President Johnson doubtless has abundant information, derived from his provisional governors, and from agents deputed to make special inquiry, which he will cheerfully impart. If that information is not enough, any deficiency can easily be supplied by an invitation of the Southern Representatives to present themselves before the committee of fifteen. Unquestionably they could make expositions of the condition of the South, and of the present sentiments of the people, that would quickly clear up every uncertain point, and enable the committee to report, at an early day, with the fullest understanding.

The true policy is to expedite rather than delay the re-admission of the Southern Representatives and Senators. It is neither right nor safe for any part of the country to legislate for another part of the country without giving it any voice in that legislation. Representation is the vital principle of republican institutions. Its denial to any extent impairs the normal operation of our government, and opens the way to all kinds of abuses. No one thing is so important as to rid the South of that old spirit of sectionalism, which was the growth of slavery. The great effort of true statesmanship now must be to animate the South with a new life, which shall be thoroughly identified with the national life, and have a complete community of spirit with the North and the West. But this will be morally impossible if discriminations are to be kept up against the South, especially the extremest of all discriminations of not allowing it representation, and making it subject to laws in the framing of which it has had no part. That will be sure to beget a sense of most grievous oppression, and the result would inevitably be the intensest hatred, on the part of the Southern people, of those they deemed their oppressors. To shut they the eyes to this certainty is to be blind to American nature. Whatever the motive, the act is one of infatuation.

The South is now in its most impressible stage. All Southern men are waiting to see how Southern submission will be treated by the North. Of the fair and conciliatory disposition of President Johnson they are well satisfied. Yet he is but a single man. Of the spirit of the Northern people toward them they are still in doubt. Any unfriendly manifestation by Northern Senators and Representatives will be taken as proof that the Northern people have no desire again to fraternize with them, and mean only to be their masters. An unmistakably generous and magnanimous policy by Congress, in admitting their Representatives and burying the past, would soon overcome their last lingering resentment, and expunge the last trace of that sense of humiliation, which cannot exist without bitterness. A jealous and rigorous line of treatment would, on the other hand, soon congeal every better impulse of the Southern people into an inflexible determination to oppose and thwart the Government in every practicable way, and would perpetuate the spirit of sectionalism in its worst form for years, and perhaps generations.

Some say that the new loyalty of the South is still very defective — that it consists in profession mainly. We can hardly concede this to be exactly so; but if this Southern loyalty is yet immature, it is the very reason why it should be encouraged and strengthened. We have not a doubt that the predominant feeling in the Northern heart to-day toward the South is a yearning for complete reconciliation. It would be a blessed influence upon the Southern people if they could truly know this. But they cannot know it, except through the words and actions of Northern Congressmen. Let those Representatives look well to it that they do not give occasion for a misconception of the real spirit of the North. They cannot long continue to keep the gates of the capitol barred against all Southern representation without producing upon the Southern mind a most mischievous impression, that the North means not to be reconciled, but to domineer and degrade.

What harm can Southern representation do? Even supposing the worst, that it would be disaffected and factious, it would still form but a weak minority in either House; and even if it made an alliance with all the Democratic strength, the combined force would still be less than two-fifths of either body. The Thirty-ninth Congress, upon which devolves the completion of this work of reconstruction, has a magnificent Union strength, which no possible combination of malign elements can hinder from working its own high will. Let it trust to that strength, and be fearlessly generous. Let it admit, at an early day, into its bosom all the truly accredited Representatives of the Southern people, so that it shall have every facility to legislate intelligently and justly for the South, as well as for every other part of the land. This is what is imperatively demanded by the spirit of national concord and by every practical interest of the Union. No speculative dogma, or old resentment, ought to stand in the way of it.

The Library of Congress provides the photo of the U.S. Capitol
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delegation from the unknown

Posted on December 15, 2015 by SUMPTER
Henry J. Raymond, half-length portrait, three-quarters to the right (between 1844 and 1856; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/2004664185/)

Congressman Raymond as a young journalist

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 13, 1865:

Associated Press dispatches.
Congressional proceedings.

Washington, December12.

–Senate.–Mr. Davis, of Kentucky, offered a resolution, which was referred to the Judiciary Committee, declaring that whereas there is no longer rebellion in the limits of the United States, therefore the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is restored in every State.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the House resolution providing for the appointment of a joint committee of fifteen to inquire into the condition of the States which formed the so- called Confederacy, and report whether they, or any of them, are entitled to be represented in either House of Congress. The resolution was amended and passed — ayes, 33; nays, 11. The Senate then adjourned.

NY Times Decenber 13, 1865

NY Times Decenber 13, 1865

House of Representatives.The Speaker submitted a communication from the Governor Virginia, enclosing an act of the General Assembly in favor of the repeal of the act giving the consent of the Legislature of Virginia for forming the new State of West Virginia. Referred to the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Raymond presented the credentials of the members elect from Tennessee.

Mr. Stevens objected, saying that the State of Tennessee was not known to the House.

The Speaker overruled the objection.

Mr. Raymond said there were many facts connected with Tennessee, past and present, which commended its case to the early consideration of the House.

Several gentlemen wanted the Tennessee members at once admitted, lauding them for their patriotism during the war.

The House referred their credentials to the joint committee of fifteen on the condition of the late Confederate States–yeas, 125; nays, 42.

Thaddeus Stevens, 1792-1868, half length portrait, seated, facing left; hand under chin (c.1898; LOC: http://www.loc.gov/item/2005686648/)

Tenne what?

A resolution was passed inviting the members elect from Tennessee to occupy seats in the Hall of Representatives. Pending the decision of their case, the House then adjourned.

From the day the Thirty-Ninth Congress assembled, it was clear the Republican majority harbored misgivings about what [President] Johnson had accomplished. Clerk of the House Edward McPherson omitted the names of newly elected Southern Congressmen as he called the roll, and the two Houses proceeded to establish a Joint Committee on Reconstruction to investigate conditions in the Southern states and report whether any were entitled to representation. (They also denied Southern claimants living expenses, leaving them, one remarked, the alternatives “go home or starve.”) To Johnson, these decisions in effect admitted that the South had actually left the Union, and many of his supporters spoke darkly of a Radical coup. Yet the Republican caucus had approved the Southerners’ exclusion by a nearly unanimous vote, and the committee’s membership was carefully balanced among the party’s factions. Moderate Sen. William Pitt Fesseden occupied the chair, while Sumner, considered “too ultra,” was left off entirely.[1]

  1. [1]Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. New York: HarperPerennial, 2014. Updated Edition. Print. page 239.↩
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