“fight it out”

Posted on September 9, 2014 by SUMPTER

According to a reprinted story in a Southern newspaper, Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton criticized the idea of an armistice in a speech to returning veterans during a year in which he was up for re-election. He claimed that the only way the South would ever return to the Union was if the North agreed to pay all the South’s war costs and amended the federal constitution to allow secession, which would eventually make Northern abolition states secede.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 9, 1864:

A Northern View of an armistice.

At Indianapolis, on the 29th ultimo, there was a grand reception of several returning regiments.–Governor Morton made an address to the soldiers, in the course of which he discussed the question of an armistice as follows:

Hon. Oliver P. Morton of Ind (between 1860 and 1875; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpbh-00645)

armistice = admitting we can’t conquer the rebels

“It requires two parties to make an armistice; and Jeff. Davis has already declared that he demands the withdrawal of our armies from the South as a necessary preliminary to any negotiation. Who shall ask for an armistice. Shall our Government sue for terms at the feet of the South? Will this audience of soldiers agree to that? [Cries of “No! No!”] But what does an armistice mean? It means to cease operations in front of Atlanta; it means to loose the hold on Richmond; it means to stop Farragut at Mobile.

“As every one knows, diplomacy takes a great deal of time, and probably, at last, would fail. Can we spare enough of the weather now left us for military operations to be frittered away in armistice, and then find ourselves carried into the winter, when our campaign must necessarily close? Can we afford that now? But who believes the rebels will voluntarily come back into the Union, and give up those very ideas for which they have suffered the horrors of a long and bloody war, especially if we are to acknowledge, by asking an armistice, that we are unable to conquer them?

“Can we coax them back! If we try that, we shall have to agree to pay their war debt; to give a pension to their widows and orphans and maimed soldiers; we shall have to pay the damage that has been done to the Southern States during the war; and, more than all, we will have to engraft into our Constitution the doctrine of secession. Suppose we succeed. When we come to voting money to pay the war debt of the South, or to pension their soldiers, or to reimburse them for damages, abolition Massachusetts, abolition Ohio, abolition Wisconsin, will tell us, “We did not want an armistice, we wanted to fight this war out; but, as you have acknowledged secession in your Constitution; we will quietly walk out.” In this way the Union would go to pieces, and the country we tried to save be broken up by the very compromise that was intended to preserve it. We can make no compromise but what will break up the Government. The only way to get out of the war is to fight it out. (Applause.)

“But these peace men say the North is exhausted. Are we exhausted? The cost of this war is not one-half of the profits of the country. We have never been as wealthy as now, and there are three millions of men in the North who have not yet shouldered a musket in this war. Are we exhausted? General Grant has the rebellion by the throat in front of Richmond, and the General has told a United States senator that he would not let go his hold even if New York, Philadelphia and Washington should be burned. Sherman is all right at Atlanta, and we will crush this rebellion if we are not pulled off by the traitors of the North.”

Civil War Home summarizes Mr. Morton’s tenure as a strong pro-war governor:

A skillful political opportunist, Morton emerged as the most powerful and, by some estimates, the best of the war governors. He answered Abraham Lincoln’s call for troops by raising twice the number requested for Federal service. Certain the war would be brief, he labored to keep in uniform every Indianan who volunteered, so that none would be prevented from serving when the War Department began refusing troops it was unprepared to feed and equip. Largely because of his efforts to encourage volunteerism, Indiana provided 150,000 enlistments to the Federal army with little resort to the draft.
The governor generally backed Lincolns war measures, though he complained about excessive military arrests, resisted the draft, and opposed freeing Southern slaves until the president issued his emancipation proclamation 1 Jan. 1863. Jealous for his states prestige in the Union, he also clashed repeatedly with Federal authorities in his determination to prevent other states from being treated more favorably. He waged a bitter campaign against Copperheads (Peace Democrats) and when growing peace sentiment pitted him against a legislature threatening to limit his military powers, rather than call the hostile representatives into session Morton kept the state government running with loans from Washington, advances from the private sector, and profits from the state arsenal he had established. In 1864 he was reelected along with a Republican legislature, in part by arranging to have 9,000 sick and wounded Indiana soldiers furloughed home in time to vote.

The following political cartoon from 1864 puts the “armistice” word in the mouths of General Lee and President Davis:

The true peace commissioners (N.Y. : Published by Currier & Ives, 1864; LOC: LC-USZ62-92033)

peace fight

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forked tongue acceptance?

Posted on September 8, 2014 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 13, 1864:

M’Clellan’s letter of Acceptance — he is for the Union as the only basis for peace.

The following is the letter of General McClellan to the committee announcing his nomination for the Yankee Presidency by the Chicago Convention:

Orange, New Jersey, September 8, 1864.

Gentlemen:

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter informing me of my nomination by the Democratic National Convention, recently assembled at Chicago, as their candidate at the next election for President of the United States.

It is unnecessary for me to say to you that this nomination comes to me unsought. I am happy to know that, when the nomination was made, the record of my public life was kept in view.

The effect of long and varied service in the army, during war and peace, has been to strengthen and make indelible in my mind and heart the love and reverence for the Union, Constitution, laws and flag of our country, impressed upon me in early youth. These feelings have thus for guided the course of my life, and must continue to do so to its end.

The existence of more than one government over the region our flag is incompatible with the and the happiness of the people.

The preservation of our Union was the sole avowed object for which the war was commenced. It should have been conducted for that object only, and in accordance with those principles which I took occasion to declare when in active service.

Gen. George McClellan campaign button for 1864 presidential election )1864; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-32109)

looking his ” gallant comrades” in the face (’64 campaign button)

Thus conducted, the work of reconciliation would have been easy, and we might have reaped the benefits of our many victories on land and sea.

The Union was originally formed by the exercise of a spirit of conciliation and compromise: To restore and preserve it, the same spirit must prevail in our councils and in the hearts of the people. The re-establishment of the Union in all its integrity is, and must continue to be, the indispensable condition in any settlement. So soon as it is clear, or even probable, that our present adversaries are ready for peace upon the basis of the Union, we should exhaust all the resource of statesmanship practiced by civilized nations, and taught by the traditions of the American people, consistent with the honor and interest of the country, to secure such peace, re-establish the Union, and guarantee for the future the constitutional rights of every State. The Union is the one condition of peace; we ask no more.

Let me add, what I doubt not was, although unexpressed, the sentiment of the convention; as it is of the people they represent, that when any one State is willing to return to the Union, it should be received at once, with a full guarantee of all its constitutional rights.

If a frank, earnest, and persistent effort to obtain these objects should fail, the responsibility for ulterior consequences will fall upon these who remain in arms against the Union; but the Union must be preserved at all hazards.

I could not look in the face of my gallant comrades of the army and navy, who have survived so many bloody battles, and tell them that their labors and the sacrifice of so many of our slain and wounded brethren had been in vain — that we had abandoned that Union for which we have so often periled our lives. A vast majority of our people, whether in the army and navy or at home, would, as I would, hail with unbounded joy the permanent restoration of peace on the basis of the Union, under the Constitution without the effusion of another drop of blood, But no peace can be permanent without union.

As to the other subjects presented in the resolutions of the convention, I need only say that I should seek in the Constitution of the United States, and the laws framed in the ordnance therewith, the rule of my duty and the limitations of executive power; endeavor to restore economy in the public expenditures, re-establish the supremacy of law, and, by the operation of a more vigorous nationality, resume our commanding position among the nations of the earth.

The condition of our finances, the depreciation of the paper money, and the burden thereby imposed on labor and capital, show the necessity of a return to a sound, financial system; while the rights of citizens and the rights of States, and the binding authority of law over President, army and people, are subjects of not less vital importance in war than in peace. Believing that the views here expressed are those of the convention and the people you represent, I accept the nomination.

I realize the weight of the responsibility to be borne should the people ratify your choice. Conscious of my own weakness, I can only seek fervently the guidance of the Ruler of the Universe, and, relying on His all-powerful aid, do my best to restore union and peace to a suffering people, and to establish and guard their liberties and rights.

I am, gentlemen, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,

George B. McClellan.

Hon. Horatia Seymour and others, Committee.

Southerners might not have liked General McClellan’s statement that peace required the restoration of the Union because the war was going to drag on, apparently. Pro-administraton journals saw hypocrisy in the general accepting the nomination and presumably running on a Copperhead inspired platform. Here’s an example from the September 24, 1864 issue of Harper’s Weekly (at Son of the South):

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1864.
McCLELLAN’S LETTER.

GENERAL McCLELLAN may be a good rider, but it requires an extraordinary exercise of the skill of the most accomplished equestrian simultaneously to ride two horses going different ways. The chance is that he will fall between the two. His letter of acceptance is a worthy conclusion to the ignominious performance at Chicago. It is confused and verbose: wanting both the manly directness of the soldier and the earnest conviction of the patriot.

He begins by saying that the nomination was ” unsought,” and that the Convention knew it. If it did, it had a monopoly of the knowledge; for if there has been one fact perfectly evident in our late history, it is that General McCLELLAN, from the time he was placed in command of the Army of the Potomac, has, under careful advice and management, been aiming at this nomination. His remark is entirely superfluous, and shakes at the very beginning the confidence of every reader. …[much more]

James M. McPherson wrote that General McClellan originally considered an acceptance letter that “endorsed an armistice qualified only by a proviso calling for renewal of the war if negotiations failed to produce reunion.” Some of his advisers convinced him that it would be impossible to crank up the war machine again once an armistice was in place – “an armistice without conditions would mean surrender of the Union. After Atlanta such a proposal would stultify his candidacy.”[1]

You can read about the following political cartoon at the Library of Congress

Little Mac's double feat of equitation (1864 . . . by N. Bangs Williams, Providence; LOC: LC-USZ62-92046)

skilled equestrian

  1. [1]McPherson, James M. The Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Ballantine Books, 1989. Print. page 775.↩
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gifts

Posted on September 6, 2014 by SUMPTER
Emancipation statue, Washington, D.C. (Emancipation statue, Washington, D.C.; LOC: LC-DIG-det-4a05594)

“all mankind should be free”

From The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Seven:

REPLY TO A COMMITTEE OF COLORED PEOPLE FROM BALTIMORE
WHO PRESENTED HIM WITH A BIBLE,

SEPTEMBER 7, 1864.

I can only say now, as I have often said before, it has always been a sentiment with me, that all mankind should be free. So far as I have been able, so far as came within my sphere, I have always acted as I believed was just and right, and done all I could for the good of mankind. I have, in letters sent forth from this office, expressed myself better than I can now.

In regard to the great Book, I have only to say it is the best gift which God has ever given to man. All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us through this book. But for that Book, we could not know right from wrong. All those things desirable to man are contained in it. I return you sincere thanks for this very elegant copy of this great Book of God which you present.

"A. Lincoln showing Sojourner Truth the Bible presented by colored people of Baltimore, Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 1864" (c1893; LOC: LC-USZ62-16225)

“A. Lincoln showing Sojourner Truth the Bible presented by colored people of Baltimore, Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 1864
“

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Pollyanna platform

Posted on September 5, 2014 by SUMPTER

The Democratic platform boils down to the call for a convention of all the states that will magically end the war and re-unite the nation.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 5, 1864:

A Republican view of the platform.
[From the Washington Chronicle, September 1.]

The platform adopted by the so-called Democracy is an admirable attempt at “how not to do it.” It contains not a single expression of opinion upon any question of public policy, except that in a mild and inoffensive manner it takes sides in favor of the Union. This is the purport of the first resolution. The second declares that after four years of failure to restore the Union by war, efforts should be made for a cessation of hostilities with a view to calling a convention of all the States. But suppose the rebels refuse to go into a convention, or, going in, suppose they refuse peace except on terms of final separation? What then? The platform is entirely silent on this point. It neither indicates the terms which should be offered the rebels nor informs the country whether the war should be resumed in the event of the refusal of the rebels to come back into the Union.

* * This forcible, feeble manifesto from Chicago is more remarkable for what it omits than for what it embraces. It contains not one sentiment of approbation or censure upon the financial policy of the Administration during the last three and a half years. It neither condemns nor approves the legislation of Congress upon the subjects of tariff duties, internal revenue laws, bank-note currency, and the national banking system. It is silent even upon emancipation, confiscation and conscription. What are we to infer from this silence? Must we not assume that the Convention approves these measures; that it regards them as settled, and no longer open questions? Of course we must; and if during the campaign any champion of the Chicago nominees shall arraign the party in power on any of these issues, it will be a sufficient answer to refer him to his platform for proof that they are no longer in controversy.

The platform is also remarkable for its entire freedom from all malice and uncharitableness towards traitors and rebels. Not a word of censure for secession in theory or rebellion in practice is permitted to find place in the platform; and all the indignation is directed at the efforts of the Administration to suppress the rebellion. In a word, the veriest rebel may read the platform without taking offence, while no truly loyal man can fail to be disgusted with its manifest truckling to the disloyal elements in the loyal States. Upon the whole, the platform is a pitiful affair, and will be expectorated upon by all sorts of people.

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conscientious dilemmas

Posted on September 4, 2014 by SUMPTER

From The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Seven:

TO MRS. GURNEY.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 4, 1864.

ELIZA P. GURNEY.

MY ESTEEMED FRIEND:—I have not forgotten probably never shall forget the very impressive occasion when yourself and friends visited me on a Sabbath forenoon two years ago—nor has your kind letter, written nearly a year later, even been for gotten. In all, it has been your purpose to strengthen my reliance on God. I am much indebted to the good Christian people of the country for their constant prayer and consolations; and to no one of them, more than to yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His wisdom, and our own error therein. Mean while we must work earnestly in the best light He gives us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains. Surely He intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make, and no mortal could stay.

Your people—the Friends—have had, and are having, a very great trial. On principle, and faith, opposed to both war and oppression, they can only practically oppose oppression by war. For those appealing to me on conscientious grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to the law. That you believe this I doubt not, and believing it, I shall still receive, for our country and myself your earnest prayers to our Father in Heaven.

Your sincere friend,

A. LINCOLN.

I was impressed by Mr. Lincoln’s second paragraph, in which he seemed to succinctly state the dilemma of Mrs. Gurney and her people: the Friends opposed both slavery and war, but it seemed that Southerners were never going to willingly free their slaves.

David Herbert Donald put the message’s first paragraph in the context of the president’s own dilemma: he was sensitive to all the suffering of the Union soldiers during General Grant’s 1864 spring offensive. He told a friend he couldn’t bear all the suffering and death as he looked at a long line of ambulances heading to hospital in Washington. He told another friend that he got sick at the sight of blood, but he could tell General Grant to keep choking and chewing the rebel armies.

President Lincoln was not a member of any church but read the Bible, especially the Old Testament, which “reinforced Lincoln’s long-held belief in the doctrine of necessity… The idea that the actions of any individual were predetermined and shaped by the unknowable wishes of some Higher power … Behind all the struggles and losses of the war a Divine purpose was at work” [1]

__________________________________________________

In October 1789 George Washington wrote a letter to Quakers thanking them for their good wishes for his new presidency. He touched on the question of whether the Friends should fight to protect the nation that allowed them to practice their religion as they wished:

…Your principles and conduct are well known to me; and it is doing the people called Quakers no more than justice to say, that (except their declining to share with others the burden of the common defence) there is no denomination among us who are more exemplary and useful citizens.

I assure you very explicitly that in my opinion the conscientious scruples of all men should be treated with great delicacy and tenderness; and it is my wish and desire that the laws may always be as extensively accommodated to them as a due regard to the protection and essential interests of the nation may justify and permit.

________________________________________________________

Centreville, Virginia. Quaker gun (by George N. Barnard, March 1862; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpb-00942)

Centreville, Virginia. Quaker gun (March 1862)

  1. [1]Donald, David H. Lincoln. London: Jonathan Cape, 1995. Print. pages 513-15.↩
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“applause and thanks”

Posted on September 3, 2014 by SUMPTER

The front page of The New-York Times on September 1, 1864 included eleven brief paragraphs from different all dated August 31st that all explained how Democrats from Buffalo to Boston were celebrating with the firing of cannon, parades, speeches, fireworks, etc. depending on the city. For example:

ALBANY, Wednesday, Aug. 31.

The nomination of MCCLELLAN caused great enthusiasm in this city. A hundred guns were fired at noon, and a hundred more at sunset. This evening a procession preceded by a band of music, and bearing torches and transparencies, is parading the streets. Banners bearing the name of MCCLELLAN, are displayed at different points. Speeches were made from the Capitol steps by Hon. J.V.L. Pruyn and Gen. Vanderpool.

President Lincoln was very concerned about his chances of being re-elected in November, but I’m pretty sure historians say that Union successes at Mobile Bay and Atlanta helped him out. 150 years ago today Mr. Lincoln proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and ordered the firing off of the government’s own guns.

From The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Seven:

PROCLAMATION OF THANKSGIVING,
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON CITY, September 3, 1864.

The signal success that Divine Providence has recently vouchsafed to the operations of the United States fleet and army in the harbor of Mobile, and the reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan, and the glorious achievements of the army under Major-General Sherman, in the State of Georgia, resulting in the capture of the city of Atlanta, call for devout acknowledgment to the Supreme Being in whose hands are the destinies of nations. It is therefore requested that on next Sunday, in all places of worship in the United States, thanksgivings be offered to Him for His mercy in preserve our national existence against the insurgent rebels who have been waging a cruel war against the Government of the United States for its overthrow, and also that prayer be made for Divine protection to our brave soldiers and their leaders in the field who have so often and so gallantly periled their lives in battling with the enemy, and for blessings and comfort from the Father of mercies to the sick, wounded, and prisoners, and to the orphans and widows of those who have fallen in the service of their country, and that He will continue to uphold the Government of the United States against all the efforts of public enemies and secret foes.

A. LINCOLN.

ORDERS OF GRATITUDE AND REJOICING.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, September 3, 1864.

The national thanks are tendered by the President to Admiral Farragut and Major-General Canby, for the skill and harmony with which the recent operations in Mobile Harbor and against Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan were planned and carried into execution. Also to Admiral Farragut and Major-General Granger, under whose immediate command they were conducted, and to the gallant commanders on sea and land, and to the sailors and soldiers engaged in the operations, for their energy and courage, which, under the blessing of Providence, have been crowned with brilliant success, and have won for them the applause and thanks of the nation.

A. LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, September 3, 1864.

The national thanks are tendered by the President to Major-General William T. Sherman and the gallant officers and soldiers of his command before Atlanta, for the distinguished ability, courage, and perseverance displayed in the campaign in Georgia, which under Divine power resulted in the capture of the city of Atlanta. The marches, battles, sieges, and other military operations that have signalized this campaign must render it famous in the annals of war, and have entitled those who have participated therein to the applause and thanks of the nation.

A. LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, September 3, 1864.

Ordered: First, That on Monday, the fifth day of September, commencing at the hour of twelve o’clock noon, there shall be given a salute of one hundred guns at the arsenal and navy-yard, at Washington, and on Tuesday, the 6th of September, or on the day after the receipt of this order, at each arsenal and navy-yard in the United States, for the recent brilliant achievements of the fleet and land forces of the United States in the harbor of Mobile, and in the reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan. The Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy will issue the necessary directions in their respective departments for the execution of this order.

Second, That on Wednesday, the 7th of September, commencing at the hour of twelve o’clock noon, there shall be fired a salute of one hundred guns at the arsenal at Washington, and at New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Newport (Ky.), and St. Louis, and New Orleans, Mobile, and Pensacola, Hilton Head, and Newbern, the day after the receipt of this order, for the brilliant achievements of the army under command of Major-General Sherman, in the State of Georgia, and for the capture of Atlanta. The Secretary of War will issue directions for the execution of this order.A. LINCOLN, President Of the United States.

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“new thinning out”

Posted on September 2, 2014 by SUMPTER

September 1864 was another draft month in the North. Here’s some sarcasm, first from a paper in central New York State and then from the Richmond Dispatch as it reported on Ohio Governor John Brough’s warning against draft resistance.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in September 1864:

THE QUOTA FULL. – A dispatch from the office of the Provost Marshal at Auburn, states that every town and ward in this district has filled its quota under Lincoln’s call for 500,000 men. Let anxious minds, therefore, be at rest.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 2, 1864:

The proclamation of Governor Brough, of Ohio — warning against resisting the draft.

The last draft of Lincoln for five hundred thousand men has created the deepest discontent in Ohio. So manifest is this, that Governor Brough, of that State, has felt it his duty to issue a proclamation, dated “Executive Department of Ohio, Columbus, August 23d,” in which he warns the people against resisting this new thinning out of their homes. The draft is to take place on Monday next, the 5th instant, and in some of the districts in the State there is a deficiency in the quota, and it must be put in operation in those districts. In his proclamation he says:

John Brough (Harper's Weekly 12-26-1863

resistance is futile

The exertion which has been made to discourage and prevent enlistments, if otherwise directed, would have filled the quotas of those localities, or left the deficiencies very light. However unwilling to believe that any considerable portion of the people of this State would array themselves in a spirit of factious, if not treasonable, opposition to the execution of the laws of the land, there are indications of such a spirit in the State, which as Chief Magistrate, I may not disregard. In appealing to the people to discard the counsels of wicked and unprincipled leaders that invite them to factious and forcible resistance to the draft, or any other legal requirement of the Government, I am actuated solely by a desire to preserve, if practicable, the peace of the State and the welfare of the erring portion of our people, and not from any apprehension of either the determination or ability of the Government to maintain the supremacy of its laws. The man who supposes that either the National or State Government is unadvised of, or unprepared for, the threatened emergency, is following the deception of his leaders to consequences of the most serious character. Let me advise you who countenance this insurrection to look carefully at the civil and military penalties you are incurring.

He then cites to them all the pains and penalties ordained by Congress to follow any resistance to the “Government of the United States,” which it is likely the people of Ohio will count as light afflictions, and but for a moment, as compared with the terrible alternative of being sent South to be killed. The following is the conclusion of his proclamation:

If men may take up arms to resist laws, in the policy or effect of which they do not concur, then all government is at an end, and we are resolved into anarchy. This state of things is not to be tolerated. A government may as well perish in a bold and vigorous effort to maintain its integrity as to suffer an insurrection to neutralize and defy its power. …

John Brough.

The image of Governor Brough (at Son of the South) was published in the December 26, 1863 issue of Harper’s Weekly, which noted that he beat leading Copperhead Clement Vallandigham by about 100,000 votes in the gubernatorial election.

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“bulldog grip”

Posted on September 1, 2014 by SUMPTER
General U. S. Grant, City Point, Va., August, 1864 (by Edward Guy Fowx, 1864; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-35236)

General U. S. Grant, City Point, Va., August, 1864

Things are a bit slower up here in the country, especially when you publish a non-daily paper. Here’s a digest of some recent operations on two major fronts.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper on September 1, 1864:

War News.

Grant still holds the Weldon Railroad. On Thursday last Lee made the fourth attempt to drive him off, but he successfully resisted the attack and holds his position with a determination and power most encouraging for our ultimate success. The fight was severe, hand to hand, and the enemy withdrew from the field after sustaining fearful loss, leaving their dead and wounded behind them. The battle lasted until dark. It is reported by Gen. Hancock to be one of the most desperate battles of the war. Official dispatches from Gen. Grant indicate that Lee has given up the attempt to regain possession of the road, which is in our possession. Our total loss in the fight Thursday will not, it is said, exceed 2,000, while that of the enemy is supposed to be about 5,000.

From Gen. Sherman we have details of Gen. Kilpatrick’s late raid in the vicinity of Atlanta, around which he has made a complete circuit, reaching Decatur with one hundred men, burning a train of supplies foe Atlanta, destroying fourteen miles of the Macon railroad, taking two hundred prisoners, six cannon and four stand of colors. – On his return it appears that he was hard pressed by a large force of the enemy, and was compelled to abandon four of the guns and many of his prisoners.

Some of the details in this report were wrong, especially in wildly overestimating the rebel loss at Reams Station. Nevertheless, that Grant “holds his position with a determination and power most encouraging for our ultimate success” would seem a valid analysis. And it reminded me of a telegram from President Lincoln to his general a couple weeks ago. From The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Seven:

TELEGRAM TO GENERAL U. S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, August 17, 1864.

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GRANT, City Point, Va.:

I have seen your despatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.

A. LINCOLN.

The old bull dog on the right track ( [New York : Currier & Ives], c1864; LOC: LC-USZ62-8826)

chewing and choking

To read what all the speech balloons contained in this Currier & Ives cartoon, just browse over to the Library of Congress

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war and peace horses

Posted on August 31, 2014 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today the delegates to the Democratic National Convention meeting in Chicago selected General George B. McClellan as their candidate for U.S. president. There was a “scattering” of support for other men, but “Little Mac” won overwhelmingly. Leading Copperhead Clement Vallandigham moved that the general’s nomination be the unanimous sense of the convention. The party balanced its ticket by selecting Peace Democrat George Hunt Pendleton as its nominee for Vice President.

NY Times 9-1-1864

NY Times 9-1-1864

Grand National Democratic banner. Peace! Union! and victory! (New York : Published by Currier & Ives, c1864; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-17561)

war and peace horses

______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

On August 20, 1914 The New-York Times reported the death of Pope Pius X earlier that morning. It got my attention when the headline said that his end was “hastened by the European War”. He understood the horrors of the young war by the time he was on his deathbed, but even earlier, on August 2nd, his last official message was to urge Catholics throughout the world to pray for peace.

The war started hot, and novel ways to wage it were introduced early on. Not quite eleven years after the Wright Brothers’ success, a military pilot dropped bombs and propaganda on civilians.

NY Times 8-31-1914

aeroplane attack

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peace as soon as practicable

Posted on August 30, 2014 by SUMPTER

although, maybe not on the floor of the Democrat convention

On the second day, the Democratic convention in Chicago adopted its platform for the 1864 campaign. The chairman of the convention, New York Governor Horatio Seymour, opened the day with a speech. A proposal to add an explicit States’ Rights plank to the platform was rejected as the reported resolutions were adopted. With the platform agreed upon nominations for the presidential candidate were entertained. After seconding the nomination of Thomas H. Seymour, Maryland Congressman Benjamin Gwinn Harris caused a ruckus by laying into previously nominated George B. McClellan for stomping on the rights of Marylanders while he was active as a Union general.

NY Times 8-31-1864

NY Times 8-31-1864

From The New-York Times August 31, 1864:

THE CHICAGO CONVENTION; No Nomination Made Yesterday. The Platform and How It Was Adopted. A Piece for the Peace Democrats. A SOP FOR THE SOLDIERS. HIGH DUDGEON OF THE PEACE MEN A Furious Speech by Congressman Harris, of Maryland. McClellan Denounced As a Tyrant. He is Nailed to the Wall on Arbitrary Arrests. A STORMY TIME IN PROSPECT.

CHICAGO, Tuesday, Aug. 30.

The National Democratic Convention reassembled at 10 o’clock this morning.

The attendance both inside and outside the Wigwam is even greater than yesterday. …

On taking the Chair, Governor SEYMOUR spoke as follows:

GENTLEMEN OF THE CONVENTION: I cannot forecasts the resolutions and action of this convention, but I can say that every member of it loves the Union, desires peace, and will uphold constitutional freedom. …

Hon. Horatio Seymour (between 1855 and 1865; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpbh-01842)

Republicans were “animated by intolerance and fanaticism”

Four years ago a convention met in this city, when your country was peaceful, prosperous and united. Its delegates did not mean to destroy our Government, to overwhelm us with debt, or to drench our land with blood; but they were animated by intolerance and fanaticism, and blinded by an ignorance of the spirit of our institutions, the character of our people, and the condition of our land. They thought they might safety indulge their passions and they concluded to do so. They would not heed the warnings of our fathers, and they did not consider that meddling besets strife.

Their passions have wrought out their natural results. They were impelled to spurn all measures of compromise. Step by step they have marched on to results which, at the onset they would have shrunk with horror from; and even now when war has desolated our land, has laid its heavy burdens upon labor, and when bankruptcy and ruin overhang us, they will not have the Union restored except upon conditions unknown to our Constitution.

They will not let the shedding of blood cease even for a little time to see if Christian charity or the wisdom of statesmanship may not work out a method to save our country.

Nay, more than this, they will not listen to a proposal for peace which does not offer that which this Government has no right to [???]. [impose?] …

Gentlemen, I do trust that our proceedings here will be marked by harmony. I do earnestly believe that we shall be animated by the greatness of this occasion. In all probability the future destiny of our country hangs upon our action. Let this consideration inspire us with a spirit of harmony.

God of our fathers, bless us now ; lift us up above all personal considerations; fill us with a just idea of the great responsibilities which rest upon us, and give again to our land its union, its peace and its liberty.

Loud and enthusiastic cheers greeted Gov. SEYMOUR as be concluded his speech.

[At the 4 PM session the platform was adopted and then presidential nominations were accepted.]

Mr. HARRIS, of Maryland, seconded the nomination of THOMAS H. SEYMOUR, and proceeded to eulogize his party services and abilities. Mr. HARRIS continued as follows:

One man nominated here to-day is a tyrant. [Cheers and hisses.] He, it was, who first initiated the policy by which our rights and liberties were stricken down. That man is GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN. [Confusion.] Maryland, which has suffered so much at the hands of that man, will not submit to his nomination in silence. His offences shall be made known. This Convention is a jury appointed by the people to pass upon the merits of the public men whose names may be presented for the support of the great Democratic party. Gen. MCCLELLAN, I repeat, is a tyrant. [Great confusion.] He stood here to indict him.

A DELEGATE — I call him to order.

The President said that he hoped there was no man present who would deny the right of free speech. Certainly no Democrat will. At the same time he hoped that no delegate would feel called upon to pursue a course of remarks so offensive as to interfere with the harmony of the convention.

Mr. HARRIS read MCCLELLAN’s order of arrest against the Maryland Legislature, and proceeded to comment upon the same; but the confusion was so great that the speaker could not be heard, except to say that all the charged of usurpation and tyranny that can be brought against LINCOLN and BUTLER he can make and substantiate against MCCLELLAN.

[Hisses, cheers, and cries of “Vote for JEFF. DAVIS.”] …

The meeting was adjourned for the day as the delegates were still debating the merits of McClellan.

You can read the Democratic platform at the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 3, 1864:

The platform.

At the afternoon session of the Convention, on Tuesday, Mr. Guthrie, from the special committee to prepare resolutions, reported the following platform, which was adopted with only four dissentient voices:

Resolved, That in the future, as in the past, we adhere with unswerving fidelity to the Union under the Constitution as the only solid foundation of our strength, security and happiness as a people, and as the framework of a government equally conducive to the welfare and prosperity of all the States, both Northern and Southern.

Resolved, That this Convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, (during which, under the pretense of military necessity or the war power, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down and the national prosperity of the country essentially impaired,) justice, humanity, liberty and the public welfare, demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities with a view to an ultimate convention of all the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that at the earliest practicable moment peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States.

Resolved, That the direct interference of the military authority of the United States in the recent elections held in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri and Delaware, was a shameful violation of the Constitution, and the repetition of such acts in the approaching election will be held as revolutionary, and resisted with all the means and power under our control.

Resolved, That the aim and object of the Democratic party is to preserve the Federal Union and the rights of the States unimpaired, and they hereby declare that they consider the administrative usurpation of extraordinary and dangerous powers, not granted by the Constitution; the subversion of the civil by military law in States not in insurrection; the arbitrary military arrest, imprisonment, trial and sentence of American citizens, in States where the civil law exists in full force; the suppression of the freedom of speech and of the press; the denial of the right of asylum; the open and avowed disregard of States’ rights; the employment of unusual test oaths, and the interference with, and the denial of, the right of the people to bear arms, as calculated to prevent the restoration of the Union and the perpetuation of a government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed.

Resolved, That the shameful disregard of the Administration to its duty in respect to our fellow-citizens who now are, and long have been, prisoners of war in suffering condition, deserves the severest reprobation and scorn alike of the public and common humanity.

Resolved, That the sympathy of the Democratic party is heartily and earnestly extended to the soldiers of our army who are, and have been, in the field under the flag of our country, and, in the event of our attaining power, they will receive the care, protection, regard and kindness that the brave soldiers of the Republic have so nobly earned.

I swapped the order of the last two resolutions in keeping with all the other sources.

The September 3, 1864 issue of Harper’s Weekly (at Son of the Southpreviewed the Chicago Convention and let it’s reader know what it thought about a Democratic peace with this image by Thomas Nast:

DEDICATED TO THE CHICAGO CONVENTION. (Harper's Weekly September 3, 1864 (by Thomas Nast)

peace price

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