;-NRLF
SB h^ 4fl7
GIFT OF
LEONIDAS POLK
VOLUME 1
XngreoroeL Ty Wm,. Sarteun .
4TH BATTALION SUMTER S BRIGADE SOUTH CAROLINA HORSE
LEONIDAS POLK
Bishop and General
BY
WILLIAM M. POLK, M.D., LL.D.
DEAN OF THE MEDICAL SCHOOL OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY; FORMERLY LIEUTENANT
OF ARTILLERY AND ASSISTANT CHIEF OF ARTILLERY, FOLK S CORPS, C. S. A.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I.
NEW EDI T 10 N
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO
FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK
LONDON, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA AND MADRAS
1915
Copyright, 1893, by
WILLIAM M. POLK, M.D., LL.D.
Copyright, 1915, by
WILLIAM M. POLK, M.D., LL.D.
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF
FRANCES DEVEREUX POLK
THE WIFE OF LEONIDAS POLK
331930
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION
The second edition of this book is offered in answer
to a demand for additional copies. The work has been
examined closely, and has been treated in the light of
criticisms made at the time of the first issue. The
changes made consist only and entirely in additions to
the text which, with the aid of new matter, has been
amplified and strengthened in several places. We re
fer particularly to Chapters I., IV., and VI. of Volume
I., and to Chapters II., III., V., VI., VII., and IX. of
Volume II. Several illustrations have been added.
PREFACE.
THE author expresses here his indebtedness to the
Rev. John Fulton, D.D., for the invaluable aid rendered
by him in the preparation of this book. Dr. Fulton s
dose association with Bishop Polk as Assistant Rector
and Rector of Trinity Church, New Orleans, during the
period covered by Chapters VI. and VII. of Volume I.
has enabled him to write more fully and correctly of the
events of that period than was possible to any one else.
These chapters are therefore presented, practically, as he
wrote them.
The page headings, chapter headings, and index are
the work of Mr. E. E. Treffry. The completeness with
which he has performed this task will be best appre
ciated by those engaged in biographical and historical
research.
Vlll
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
ANCESTRY. THOMAS POLK OF MECKLENBURG. UNDER
WASHINGTON. WITH GATES AND GREENE. WILLIAM
POLK. GERMANTOWN. WITH SUMTER, MARION, AND
HENDERSON. EUTAW SPRINGS 1
CHAPTER II.
WEST POINT. GENERAL GAINES, GENERAL SCOTT, COLO
NEL THAYER, DR. MC!LVAINE, SIDNEY JOHNSTON.
CLASS STANDING. GRADUATION. TRAVELS THROUGH
NEW ENGLAND AND CANADA 63
CHAPTER III.
ENTERS THE MINISTRY. THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
ALEXANDRIA. ORDINATION. ASSISTANT TO BISHOP
MOORE, RICHMOND, VA. TRAVELS THROUGH EUROPE. 105
CHAPTER IV. .
PRIEST TO THE PLANTATION PARISH. MISSIONARY
BISHOP OF THE SOUTHWEST. WORK IN ARKANSAS,
INDIAN TERRITORY, REPUBLIC OF TEXAS, LOUISIANA,
MISSISSIPPI, AND ALABAMA. THE NEGRO AS A PART
OF HIS CHARGE 145
CHAPTER V.
THE SUGAR PLANTATION. SCENES FROM THE PLANTA
TION HOME. MRS. POLK. THE SLAVE AND HIS
MASTER. THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC . . .181
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
CHAPTER VI.
PAGE
THE NEGRO, THE PROBLEM AT THE SOUTH. How TO
MEET IT. EDUCATE THE PEOPLE. THE EQUALITY OF
THE SOUTH IN THE UNION OF THE STATES. "THE
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH WILL DO MUCH TO COM
POSE AND RECONCILE NATIONAL FEELING." 219
CHAPTER VII.
SECESSION OF LOUISIANA. ACTION OF THE DIOCESES.
THE CHURCH IN THE CONFEDERATE STATES. BISHOP
POLK S ATTITUDE 298
CHAPTER VIII.
ENTERS THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. THE MANNER OF
DOING IT. How THE ACT WAS RECEIVED. A TEM
PORARY SERVICE. EFFORTS TO RESIGN. . . 350
ILLUSTRATIONS.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL WILLIAM POLK Frontispiece
LEONIDAS POLK, MISSIONARY BISHOP OF THE
SOUTHWEST To face page 145
ST. JOHN S CHURCH To face page 177
LEONIDAS POLK, BISHOP OF LOUISIANA .... To face page 219
CHAPTER I.
THE FOREFATHERS OF LEONIDAS POLK.
1620 TO 1826.
Settlement of John Pollock of Lanarkshire, Scotland, in the north of
Ireland. His son, Robert Pollock, serves under Cromwell; emigrates
to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Change of the name of Pollock to
Polk. William, grandson of Robert Polk, removes to Carlisle, Penn
sylvania. His son Thomas removes to Mecklenburg County, North
Carolina; a Member of the Provincial Assembly in 1762 and 1771;
leader of the opposition to British aggression. General temper of the
Colonies. The revolutionary spirit in North Carolina. The Mecklen
burg Declaration ; Thomas Folk s part therein ; appointed Colonel of
Continentals ; serves with Washington at Brandywine and Valley Forge ;
convoys the " Liberty Bell " to Bethlehem ; Commissary-General under
Gates ; appointed Brigadier-General by Greene ; why the appointment
was not confirmed; death of Colonel Polk in 1794. Mr. Lossing s error
in his " Field-Book of the Revolution." The error handsomely acknowl
edged. Birth of William Polk, July, 1758; Major to the Continental
Army at the age of eighteen; engaged at Brandywine; frightfully
wounded at Germantown ; Valley Forge ; present at the defeat at Cam-
den ; serves with Davidson ; following the fortunes of Sumter and
Marion; battle of Eutaw Springs. Colonel William Folk s career after
the war; Member of the General Assembly of North Carolina; U. S.
Supervisor of Revenue for North Carolina ; President of the State
Bank; appointed Brigadier- General of the Army of the United States;
declines the appointment ; Commissioner to receive the Marquis de La
fayette ; his death in 1834.
Before we attempt to sketch the career or to estimate
the character of Leonidas Polk it will be of some advan
tage to recall some incidents in the story of the adven
turous race of pioneers from which he was descended.
The origin of the family is obscure. An old tradition of
2 JOHN POLLO CK SETTLES IN IRELAND. [1620
the derivation of the family name in its original form
of Pollock is too clearly apocryphal to be worth repeat
ing. A whimsical tale of the exploit which led to the
adoption of the arms of the Pollocks is not more trust
worthy, but the device of a wild boar pierced with an
arrow, and the motto, Audaciter et Strenue, " Boldly and
Stoutly/ 7 must evidently have been suggested by some
feat of daring in which courage and strength were both
exhibited.
The branch of the Pollock family from which Leoni-
das Polk traced his descent was represented in the reign
of James, Sixth of Scotland and First of England, by
John Pollock, a gentleman of some estate in Lanark
shire, not far from what was then the small but impor
tant cathedral city of Glasgow. Those were troublous
times in Church and State, and John Pollock, who was
an uncompromising Presbyterian, left his native land to
join the new colony of Protestants which had been es
tablished in the north of Ireland. It was a hazardous
adventure ; for although the last of the numerous petty
kings of Ireland had professedly submitted to the Eng
lish arms at the beginning of King James s reign, the
Irish people cherished a vindictive hatred of their con
querors, and while the king s writ ran throughout the
length and breadth of the island, the Scotch and Eng
lish colonists were often compelled to maintain peace
by drawing and using their good swords. Little more
is now known of John Pollock than that he lived to
a good age, and that he had a son of true-blue Pres
byterian principles and of a strenuous temper like his
own.
Robert Pollock, a son of John Pollock, served as a
subaltern officer in the regiment of Colonel Tasker in
the Parliamentary army against Charles I., and took an
1659] EMIGRATION OF EOBEET POLLOCK. 3
active part in the campaigns of Cromwell. He married
Magdalen Tasker, who was the widow of his friend and
companion in arms, Colonel Porter, and one of the two
daughters of Colonel Tasker, then Chancellor of Ire
land, of Bloomfield Castle, on the river Dale. By this
marriage Pollock acquired the estate of "Moning" or
" Moneen " Hill, in the barony of Ross, county of Don
egal, Ireland, of which his wife was heiress. Her elder
sister, Barbara, who was born in 1640, married Captain
John Keys, an English soldier, and their descendants
still own Bloomfield Castle. On the death of Cromwell
and the accession of the second Charles, Robert Pollock
resolved to emigrate with his wife and family to the
American plantations. In 1659 he took ship at London
derry, and after a stormy voyage, during which one
of his children died, he landed on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland, in the province of which Lord Baltimore was
" Sovereign Lord and Proprietary." Soon after his emi
gration the surname of Pollock began to be written Polk,
and it appears in that form in the will of his widow,
Magdalen Polk. Grants of land on the Eastern Shore
were made to Robert Pollock, or Polk, and to his sons ;
and a homestead patented under the name of Folk s
Folly is still in the possession of the family. In com
parison with other changes in the surnames of settlers in
the American plantations, this change was slight. Thus,
in one well-authenticated instance, Beauclerc was trans
formed to Butler, and two families now bearing the
names of Noyes and Delano are known to be descended
from a common ancestor whose surname was De la
Noye. Folk s Folly lies south of Fauquier Sound, oppo
site the mouths of the Nanticoke and Wicomico rivers.
The old clock which was brought from Ireland by Rob
ert Pollock still stands in the hall of the dwelling-house,
4 THE POLK FAMILY IN NORTH CAROLINA. [1753
and his mahogany liquor-case is still preserved among
the family relics. 1
John Polk, the eldest son of Robert Pollock and Mag
dalen Tasker, married Joanna Knox. Two children,
William and Nancy, were born of this marriage. Will
iam married Priscilla Roberts, and afterward removed
to Carlisle, Perm., where his fourth son, Thomas Polk,
grandfather of the subject of this memoir, was born.
Following the example of John Pollock, the Scottish
colonist of Ireland, of Robert Pollock, the Cromwellian
soldier who emigrated from Ireland to Maryland, and
of his father, William Polk, who removed from the
province of Maryland to the province of Pennsylvania,
Thomas Polk set out in 1753 to seek his fortune in a
new field. In company with his two brothers, Ezekiel
and Charles, he traveled through Maryland and Virginia,
skirted the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, crossed the
Dan and Yadkin rivers, and finally settled in Mecklen
burg County, in the western part of the province of
North Carolina. For his homestead he selected lands on
Sugar Creek, a branch of the Catawba River, in a neigh
borhood where not a few pioneers had already made
their clearings. Most of them were emigrants from
Great Britain who had spent a few years on the banks
of the Delaware before going to North Carolina; and
among the sturdy colonists of Mecklenburg County the
Scotch-Irish stock, from which Polk himself had sprung,
was largely represented. In 1755 he married Susan
Spratt, the daughter of a farmer who had removed from
Pennsylvania in the same year in which Polk had left
i Among the descendants of Robert Polk were Charles Polk, Gover
nor of Delaware, Trusten Polk, Governor of Missouri and United States
Senator, and James K. Polk, Speaker of the House of Representatives
and President of the United States.
1771] THOMAS POLK A LEGISLATOR. 5
Carlisle, and it seems likely enough that the bright eyes
of the farmer s daughter, as well as the prospect of rich
lands in the Sugar Creek bottoms, had cheered the young
emigrant in his long and difficult journey. By industry
and enterprise he soon acquired a large tract of land
and a sufficient fortune to enable him to rear and edu
cate the nine children born of this marriage in the simple
but liberal style of a colonial gentleman. His personal
qualities made him a leader in the settlement, and we
find him a member of the Provincial Assembly of
North Carolina almost continuously from 1766 to 1776.
He led the opposition of his neighbors to the officers of
the Crown who, aided by several of the most influential
members of the community, attempted to enforce what
Thomas Polk and his supporters considered the unjust
demands of Lord George Selwyn s agent. The ques
tion, at first one of Colonial jurisdiction, became finally
one of price to be exacted of tenants for lands of the
Selwyn grant already taken up and occupied by them
in due form. This rather personal affair, known locally
as "The Sugar Creek War" 1762 to March 6, 1765 l
was followed not long after 1770 by a more serious
and widespread movement "The War of the Regu
lators." Thomas Polk, as Captain of a company of
his district, opposed this uprising. Together with
Abraham Alexander and John Frohock, neighbors who
had actively opposed him in the Sugar Creek episode,
he virtually founded the City of Charlotte, January
15, 1767. For it was to these three, 2 as "Trustees and
Directors," that Lord Selwyn s agent, Henry Eustace
McCulloh, on this date, conveyed the 360 acres of land
upon which the town was located and which now con-
1 Colonial Records North Carolina, vol. vi, pp. 772, 793, 799.
2 Ibid., vol. vii, pp. 18, 19, 22, 23, 32, 38.
6 QUEEN S COLLEGE. [1771
stitutes the center of a city of 34,000 inhabitants, one
of the largest manufacturing centers of cotton goods in
the Southern states. The location of this plot of ground
was no doubt the joint work of Thomas Polk and John
Frohock, both surveyors; Polk himself being employed
later under Provincial authority to run the line dividing
North from South Carolina, this survey being made,
in part, no doubt, to determine for purposes of adminis
tration, which portions of the Selwyn grant lay in the
Province of North Carolina and which belonged to its
neighbor on the South, the Governor of the two provinces
and the people being at odds in this matter. Under
his patronage an academy for the education of youth was
established near his residence, and he procured the pas
sage by the Assembly of an act to establish " Queen s
College" in the town of Charlotte, thus securing to
young men in the western part of the province the
opportunity of a more advanced education than is usual
in newly settled regions. " Queen s College," though
disallowed by the Crown, prospered until the Revolu
tion, when the British troops took possession of
the town and burned the buildings. The devotion
of its students to the cause of American independence
gained for it the name of "the Southern Cradle of
Liberty.
He took a leading part in all the patriotic movements
by which the colonists endeavored to withstand the
aggressions of the mother-country; and Joseph Seawell
Jones, in his " Defense of the Revolutionary History
of North Carolina," declares that Thomas Polk was the
first to maintain the necessity of dissolving the political
ties which bound the colonies to Great Britain. His
feelings and opinions were decided; his expression of
them was frank and courageous; and Mr. Jones adds
1775] EARLY REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT. 7
that "out of these feelings and opinions grew the Meck
lenburg Declaration of Independence," in the framing
of which Thomas Polk was the leading spirit. 1 Even so
bold a leader as Samuel Johnston, referring to this work,
wrote Joseph Hewes, an associated delegate at Philadel
phia, "Tom Polk, too, is raising a pretty spirit in the
back country (see the newspapers). He has gone a
little farther than I would choose to have gone, but
perhaps no farther than necessary." And years after,
the expression, "Och! Aye! Tarn Polk declared inde
pendence long before anybody else," was uttered by more
than one "Mecklenburger."
In his early zeal for American independence, Polk
was in advance of most men of the Southern colonies.
The prevailing sentiment in Virginia, in the Carolinas,
and, indeed, in all the colonies south of New York,
differed materially from that of the people of New
England. In New York the public sentiment, like the
population, was mixed; in New Jersey and Philadelphia
the Revolutionary spirit, even after 1776, was much more
fervent in a few conspicuous individuals than among the
mass of the people. In a broad way Virginia and New
England represented two distinct traditional tendencies.
New England looked back to the Commonwealth as the
glorious period of English history; Virginia had sent
her homage to the exiled Charles II. and had heartily
hated the "Crop-Ears." The colonists of both de
manded their rights as Britons, but their principles and
prepossessions were widely different in many respects,
and it will always be a cause of wonder that the most
1 It must be admitted that the violent prejudice and the exaggerated
style of this writer have seriously affected his credit as a historian; yet
his statements of the facts are generally trustworthy. In the matter
here under consideration they are amply confirmed by other evidence.
8 AMERICAN LOYALTY TO ENGLAND. [1775
shortsighted of ministries should not have attempted
to make terms with the one section in order more effect
ually to turn its arms against the other.
The colonists in general entered upon the struggle
with the king and his ministers with no purpose of
severing the ties which bound them to the mother-
country, but solely, as they constantly and openly de
clared, to obtain their constitutional rights as Britons.
Their aim, indeed, was rather to draw the bonds of
union with Great Britain closer than to form an in
dependent nation. This desire was so general, and
the name of Briton was so highly prized, especially by
the well-descended colonists, that they were galled at
every indication of a political difference between them
selves and their fellow-subjects at home. Certain it is
that, until the British Government had explicitly and
haughtily refused to acknowledge what the American
colonists held to be their constitutional rights, and until
a senseless course of petty but high-handed oppression
had alienated their affections, no more loyal subjects
bore the name of Briton than the people of the Amer
ican colonies. Thus far there had been little immigra
tion from the Continental countries of Europe. With
few exceptions the colonists had come from the British
islands. They had inherited the rights, and they under
stood the principles, of constitutional liberty. When
their sovereign denied those rights and trampled on
their liberty as though they were not Britons, then, and
only then, reluctantly but resolutely, they drew their
swords to vindicate their birthright. War once begun,
the old love turned to hate, and, before the struggle
closed, the very name of Briton, which they had once
prized, had become a synonym of all that was tyrannous
and detestable.
1775] MECKLENBURG COUNTY. 9
The people of North Carolina, however, and especially
the people of Mecklenburg County, did not share the
general sentiment of loyalty which in the earlier stages
of the quarrel pervaded the other colonies south of New
England. In his centennial address on the Mecklen
burg Declaration, Governor William A. Graham says,
with much truth, that from the outset the leading spirits
in that province were eager for revolution. They de
tested the institution of monarchy, and they were un
alterably convinced that if the colonies were to be truly
free they must renounce their allegiance to the Crown.
Thus, while others were vainly striving to devise expe
dients to avert a war into which they were blindly drift
ing, Thomas Polk was preparing the stern and not easily
governed people of his neighborhood for the clash of
arms he saw to be inevitable.
The colonists of North Carolina had always been in
tolerant and resentful of interference in their affairs.
As early as 1751 Governor Burrington complained:
"They have always behaved insolently to their gov
ernors. Some they have driven out of the country; at
other times they have set up a government of their own
choice, supported by men under arms." It was Corn-
wallis s uncomfortable fortune during his invasion of
North Carolina to have his headquarters in Charlotte,
the county seat of that " heady-minded " county of
Mecklenburg, which he soon, and with very good reason,
pronounced to be the " hornets nest of North Carolina." l
Whatever hope there might have been of bringing the
hornets in this nest to live peaceably with the repre-
1 Colonel Tarleton, in his "Memoirs," p. 159, says: "It was evident,
and had been frequently mentioned to the king s officers, that the
counties of Mecklenburg and Rohan were more hostile to England
than any others in America."
10 COLONEL THOMAS POLK. [1775
sentatives of British authority was shattered by the
guns of Lexington. Even the loyalists of New York,
who were planning to bring about a better understand
ing between the colonists and the Crown, then felt that
almost the last hope of reconciliation had vanished. To
the impetuous Mecklenburgers the report of the battle
of Lexington was a proclamation of the dissolution of
the union of the colonies with Great Britain.
Colonel Thomas Polk was a born leader of men, and
he was recognized as the master-spirit in the community
in which he lived. From the beginning of colonial dis
turbances he had boldly advocated a policy of uncom
promising resistance to the encroachments of the British
ministry. When the quarrel in Massachusetts broke out
into active hostilities, he was chosen, in his capacity as
colonel of the county, to call a meeting of citizens at the
county seat; and it was there, on May 20, 1775, that, in
presence of representative men of the district, he read
the paper known as the Mecklenburg Declaration, 1 pro
claiming the freedom of Mecklenburg from the control
of Great Britain. This was a year before the signing of
the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
News traveled slowly in those days. From the Revo
lution down to the summer of 1820 but one newspaper
was published in North Carolina west of Raleigh. The
Continental Congress, then sitting in Philadelphia, was
not ready to take official notice of so bold an act as the
Mecklenburg Declaration, set forth, as it had been, by a
handful of militia-men in a remote corner of the Amer
ican settlements. Indeed, had the members of the Con
gress been unanimously in favor of independence, as at
that time they certainly were not, it was manifestly ex
pedient, until concert of action could be assured, rather
1 See Appendix to Chapter I.
1775] THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION. 11
to curb and ignore than to encourage radical proceed
ings. 1 Hence, it is not surprising that outside the county
in which it originated the Mecklenburg Declaration was
hardly known until forty years had passed away. It by
no means follows, however, that the Declaration was not
actually read at the time mentioned. Those who doubt
its authenticity admit that, eleven days after its promul
gation on May 20, 1775, the men of Mecklenburg, at a
formal meeting called by Thomas Polk, adopted sundry
radically revolutionary resolutions. 2 Yet it appears that,
more than forty years later, neither Thomas Jefferson
nor John Adams had ever even heard of these resolu
tions of May 31st. The British were better informed;
for, on the 30th of July in this same year (1775), Gov
ernor Martin wrote to the Colonial Secretary in London,
that "the resolves of the Committee of Mecklenburg,
which your lordship will find in the enclosed newspaper,
surpass all the horrid and treasonable publications the
inflammatory spirits of this continent have yet pro
duced." Again, on the 8th of August, when aboard the
government cruiser, Governor Martin issued a procla
mation beginning with these words:
Whereas, I have seen a most infamous publication in the
Cape Fear Mercury, importing to be resolves of a set of people
styling themselves a Committee of the County of Mecklenburg,
most traitorously declaring the entire dissolution of the laws,
government, and constitution of this country, and setting up
a system of rule and regulation repugnant to the laws and sub
versive of His Majesty s Government.
1 See Appendix to Chapter I. John Adam s Letter.
3 See Bancroft s "History of the United States," 1886, vol. iv, p.
196. The tradition with Thomas Folk s descendants is that with his
aid these Resolutions were drawn up at his house on the night of May
30th, by Dr. Ephraim Brevard, who was, or soon after became, Folk s
son-in-law. See Appendix to Chapter I for copy of resolves of May
20 and May 31.
12 FIRST FIELD SERVICE. [1775
Now, the perturbed and somewhat hysterical state of
mind into which the governor was thrown by the doings
of the men of Mecklenburg sufficiently proves that the
revolutionary spirit was active and aggressive among
them in this month of May, 1775. The added testimony
of those who stood within the sound of Thomas Folk s
voice on May 20th ought to set at rest all questions of
the genuineness of the resolutions of that date.
Besides his connection with the Mecklenburg Declara
tion Colonel Polk was actively engaged in the public
measures of his district which had been rendered neces
sary by the revolt against the Crown. He was a member
of the committee which on August 24, 1775, prepared a
plan for securing the internal peace and safety of the
province. Sept. 9, 1775, he was appointed colonel
of the second of two batallions of minute-men which
were raised in the district of Salisbury under a resolu
tion of the Council of the Province, and it was not long
before he was called into the field. The Tories of South
Carolina, encouraged by Sir William Campbell, the last
of the royal governors of that colony, had enrolled them
selves under Fletcher, Cunningham, and other leaders,
and, attacking the forces under Colonel Williamson at
Cambridge and at Ninety-Six, had compelled him to
capitulate. In this emergency the Council of Safety
ordered out General Richardson s brigade and Colonel
William Thompson s regiment of rangers, and called
upon the Whigs of North Carolina to aid them in crush
ing the Royalists. The North Carolinians promptly
responded: nine hundred men, under Colonels Polk,
Rutherford, Martin, and Graham, marched into South
Carolina, and in a severe engagement defeated the Roy
alists.
The Provincial Congress, which met at Halifax on
1776J SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. 13
April 4, 1776, placed the State on a war footing
and the militia was regularly organized. Anticipating
this action, Thomas Polk had taken steps already to
bring his command to the required standard, so that
when his commission as Colonel of Regulars in the
Continental line under date of April 19, 76, was re
ceived, his regiment became the Fourth North Carolina
Regulars and was assigned to General Moore s brigade,
at Wilmington. During this formative period he had
cooperated with General Moore in his successful move
ments against the Scotch Highlanders on the upper
Cape Fear River. This colony was composed of High
landers, who after their defeat at Culloden had been de
ported with their heroine, Flora McDonald, and settled
on the upper reaches of the Cape Fear River. Their ardor
for the Stuart cause had been turned into equal devotion
to that of the Hanoverian king, for which, under the
leadership of Flora s husband, Allan, they now evinced
a persistent readiness to fight. Thomas Polk next took
part (June 28th to July 4th, 76) in the defense of
Charleston, his regiment being the corps from Mecklen
burg which won from the commanding General, Charles
Lee, in his report to the Virginia Convention, the follow
ing mention : " I know not which corps I have the greatest
reason to be pleased with Mecklenburg s, Virginia s,
or the North Carolina troops; they are both equally
alert, zealous and spirited." He passed the winter with
his regiment at and near Wilmington, and in the spring
marched north with the brigade, reaching General
Washington in New Jersey the latter part of June, 77.
They were there assigned to the division of Lord Ster
ling. From this date to Feb. 10th, 78, he was an active
participant in all the marches, skirmishes and battles
of Washington s Army, in which his brigade (now under
14 BRANDYWINE AND THE "LIBERTY BELL." [1777
General Francis Nash) took part. This covered the
campaigns against Howe for the defense of Philadelphia;
first in New Jersey, and then from the direction of the
Chesapeake, including the Battle of Brandywine, the
retreat to and the evacuation of Philadelphia, and the
camp at Reading. Meanwhile Congress adjourned, first
to Lancaster and then to York, Pa. The archives of
the Government, together with army stores and the bells
of the churches of the city, and more precious than all
these bells, the State House Bell ("The Liberty Bell"), had
been transferred to Trenton; but as Trenton s security
depended upon the Delaware forts, Mercer and Mifflin,
which were captured by the British not long after,
Washington transferred all this impedimenta as well as
his heavy baggage to Bethlehem, Pa. To this duty
Thomas Polk was assigned. We read of it in the official
diaries of the Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pa.: "Sept.
24th, 77. The heavy baggage of the entire army
arrived directly from camp guarded by 200 men under
Colonel Polk of North Carolina. There were 700
wagons in train, and everything was unloaded and
brought to a place of safety. The wagons were ordered
to Trenton in order to fetch stores from that place,
also to Bethlehem. Among these stores were the bells
of Philadelphia. The wagon containing the State
House Bell ("The Liberty Bell") broke down in the
streets of Bethlehem, so the bell had to be unloaded.
The other bells were taken away." This service sep
arated Thomas Polk from the Army until after the
Battle of Germantown (Oct. 4th), where his son, Wil
liam Polk, received an ugly wound. He returned to the
Army later, and went into camp at Valley Forge. 1
1 The memorial tablet to this brigade at Valley Forge bears this
inscription:
1778] VALLEY FORGE. 15
The brigade, after Nash s death, was merged with
that of General Mclntosh, and as its location was
quite near Army headquarters, Thomas Polk had fre
quent occasion to come in contact with Washing
ton. Naturally he gained some insight into his char
acter and also some knowledge of the intrigues that
now began to be so openly carried on against him. His
admiration for his commander was but strengthened
more and more, and while^fate decreed he was not to
remain directly under him beyond the close of that
trying winter, ties were created which Thomas Polk
was enabled to renew in his own home upon the occasion
of Washington s visit to Charlotte ( 91).
An indication of the sufferings of the army at Val
ley Forge may be gathered from the field returns of
Thomas Polk s regiment as made in the brigade return
Dec. 20, 77, 2 to wit: Total present, 193; fit for duty,
CONTINENTAL ARMY
Valley Forge, December 19th, 1777-1778, June 18th
SULLIVAN S DIVISION
Major-General John Sullivan
MclNTOSH BRIGADE
Brigadier-General Lochlan Mclntosh, Commanding
First North Carolina Infantry Sixth North Carolina Infantry
Colonel Thomas Clark Colonel Gideon Lamb
Second North Carolina Infantry Seventh North Carolina Infantry
Colonel John Patton Colonel James Hogan
Third North Carolina Infantry Eighth North Carolina Infantry
Colonel Jethro Sumner Colonel James Armstrong
Fourth North Carolina Infantry Ninth North Carolina Infantry
Colonel Thomas Polk Colonel John Williams
Fifth North Carolina Infantry
Lieut.-Colonel Wm. L. Davidson
2 Colonial Records, N. Carolina, vol. xi, p. 824.
16 AGAIN IN MECKLENBURG. [1778
57; absent on furlough, 7; unfit for duty, 129; of which
103 were disabled because of sickness or due largely
to inadequate food and lack of shoes and clothing,
all in the face of some very cold weather; the re
maining 26 are reported " unfit for duty for want of
clothes"; other regiments in the brigade showed any
where from 7 to 64 men, off duty only because they
were without clothes a total of 164 in a brigade of
about 1,400 men. Nakedness as well as sickness fought
with Washington s enemies that winter. About the
middle of February, 78, Thomas Polk and Colonel
Hogan, of the 7th, left Valley Forge under orders to
return to North Carolina, and procure clothing, shoes
and recruits for the State contingent. Going direct
to Mecklenburg, Thomas Polk took up his task with
characteristic thoroughness. Material was more easily
obtained just then than men and as he gathered it in
sufficient quantity he forwarded it to the State ren
dezvous, to be sent thence to the main army.
History plainly tells of the deplorable state of affairs
with the Colonists in this spring of 78. Demoraliza
tion in the Continental Congress, the inefficiency of
the Board of War, the intrigues against Washington
in the interest of Gates, were all doing deadly work;
but the tide began to turn. The French alliance, news
of which came in March, was reassuring; General Greene
had taken over the duties of General Gates and his in
competent War Board; recruits, also supplies, and
milder weather were comimg forward. And yet com
plications were appearing elsewhere. The Indians
throughout the entire western borders, under British
instigation, were becoming restive and even aggressive,
while in the more Southern colonies Georgia, North
and South Carolina the Loyalists, from the first, numer-
1778] LETTER TO WASHINGTON. 17
ous and ably directed, had assumed an attitude which
under the strain of the war was steadily drifting into
civil strife. This state of affairs had become of late
especially evident in the regions to the south and east
of Mecklenburg.
While carrying out his mission from Washington,
and no doubt studying the sinister conditions develop
ing at his own door, Thomas Polk learned that Congress,
on May 29th (78), had consolidated the regiments of
his brigade; the third with the first, and the fourth, his
own, with the second; his command thus passed from
him; but he was continued in his rank with authority
to raise a new regiment. A more difficult and thankless
task could not be conceived. It met with no sympathy
from the civil authorities or from the people. The
latter preferred the short terms and less exacting disci
pline of the militia service; the former sympathized
with them, and gave little aid to the enlistments in the
regular service. Prior to this, Thomas Polk, learning
that he was denied by the civil representatives of his
own state, with whom such matters lay, the nomination
of Brigadier-General to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of General Francis Nash, a position which was
his due, had sent in his resignation to Gov. Coswell,
but the Governor did not accept it. Now he made it
direct to Washington himself:
J "May it Please your Excellency:
From the earliest commencement of the present War, I have
been actively engaged in the services of my country. I have
embarqued in it at so early a season as rendered me not a little
obnoxious to a vast majority of the Province in which I lived.
The timid, the friends of the established Government, and the
moderate, as they were called, at that period, composed the
1 Vol. xiii, North Carolina Cclonial Records, p. 451.
18 RESIGNS COMMISSION. [1779
bulk of the Inhabitants by them was my forward zeal univer
sally condemned. Thro innumerable difficulties from opposi
tion, and inconveniences to my private interest; in the militia
and regular service I continued my efforts for the public good;
and doubted not, as I had done more of this kind for the defence
of the State than any other member of it, that I had deserved
well of my Country; but as soon as an opening for promotion
was made by the unhappy fall of Gen! Nash, the power of a
party, overlooking the merit of these services, procured a rec
ommendation in favour of a Junior Officer. Such a flagrant
demonstration of partiality and injurious preference, without
alledging a single article of disqualification against me, has de
termined me no longer to serve my ungrateful country in so
painful and so hazardous a capacity.
I rejoice in the prosperity of my country, and am willing,
on every occasion, to aid the advancement of its interests, but
choose not to obtrude my services.
For these reasons I am constrained to offer your Excellency
my Commission in the Army, and humbly beg that you would
kindly condescend to accept it.
I am, may it please your Excellency, with the pro-
foundest respect, your Excellency s most hum
ble, most obedient and most devoted servant
THOMAS POLK.
MECKLENBURG COUNTY,
in the State of N. Carolina,
June 26th, 1778.
His Excellency, Gen l Washington,
Commander in Chief of the Armies of the United States."
This letter reveals a fairly human man of that day and gen
eration. Thomas Polk saw in the action which he thus re
sented, the return stroke for words and no doubt deeds which
as a propagandist of the new faith he had employed throughout
that country. The affair at Sugar Creek had brought him in
hostile contact with some of his near neighbors, Abram and
Hezekiah Alexander in particular. Moreover, he made no
1779] CRITICAL NEIGHBORS. 19
friends in the camp of the Regulators; and among the Loyal
ists whom he had done so much to suppress, bitter enemies.
In the main the people were Scotch and very good haters.
An amusing (amusing at this distance), index of what some felt
towards him is found in "A modern poem, by the Mecklenburg
Censor" (Hezekiah Alexander), 1 which was published in 77.
" Squire Subtle," the Censor, harangues Mecklenburg s
"fantastick rabble" paying attention to Thomas Polk in this
verse, supposed to be addressed to Waightstill Avery, one of
their associates.
"My wisdom s power at Council board
Redeemed you from a home-bred Lord,
Who else ere this had stripped your skin
As bare as good friend Sulky s chin."
Explanatory notes by a contemporary, appended to the
manuscript copy of the poem in the Charleston Library, refer
to this verse as follows:
"The person here alluded to in the mouth of Squire
Subtle called a home-bred lord is Colonel Thomas
Polk, who is something like the novus homo of the Ro
mans, having risen to wealth and honor from a state
of poverty and meanness. He was formerly a member
of assembly a number of years, and has been much
employed in public service, in all of which he was ever
mindful of his own private emolument. Some jealousy
has subsisted between him and Mr. Alexander, their
views having not always coincided."
Even as late as 78, the dividing line between Rebel and
Loyalist was in many places obscured; and as this popu
lation was in the main homogeneous, Scotch and Scotch-
Irish, the clan feeling had its influence. The possi
bilities of a personal grievance were not always limited
by the loosely drawn political lines then existing in
1 The brother of A brain and J. McKnitt Alexander.
20 MEMBER BOARD OF WAR. [1780
many portions of that country, consequently injuries
inflicted upon Tories or lukewarm Rebels might find
avengers in either camp.
But Thomas Polk did not intend that such influences,
whether in power at "Hillsboro, or even Philadelphia,
should lessen his activities. So he promptly threw him
self into the grateful task of upholding the faith in the
face of the advances of Toryism, which in the interval
of freedom from active war that had come to these
regions after the repulse of the British at Charleston,
was making alarming progress. For the next two years
he carried on the work with characteristic force and
determination, and if to any one man more than to
another of the Mecklenburg patriots, was due the spirit
of opposition encountered by Cornwallis in and about
Charlotte, Thomas Polk was that man. And the
" Hornet s Nest" which Tarleton found in Charlotte,
was in no small measure built upon his work. In this
manner, Thomas Polk passed what remained of 78,
all of 79, and half of 80. In this year we find him a
member of the Provincial War Board. Meanwhile
Charleston and Savannah had been captured and the
British were fast getting possession of Georgia and South
Carolina. 1
After -the fall of the capital of South Carolina in May
1780, the organization of an army for the general defense
of the southern States was entrusted by Congress to
1 Extracts from "Wheeler s Reminiscences of North Carolina,"
from the archives at Raleigh and the Moravian Records at Bethlehem,
Penn., relative to Thomas Folk s services in the Revolution, reach
nearly to the periods of Gates s administration of the Southern Depart
ment. Wheeler s statements concerning this later period are evidently
incorrect. See the "Papers of Major-General Gates" in possession
of the New York Historical Society, the "Papers of Major-General
Greene" in possession of George W. Greene, of Rhode Island, and the
collection of Dr. Thos. Addis Emmet, New York City.
1780] COMMISSARY-GENERAL FOR GATES. 21
General Gates. As in all armies, so especially in this,
the most pressing want was an efficient commissariat.
During his ill-judged and ill-timed march through a
barren country to Camden, where he more than suf
ficiently tested the ability of his men to march and to
fight without food, Gates sought out Thomas Polk, and,
through Thomas Pinckney, the aide of Baron de Kalb,
offered him, August 3d, the double position of Commis
sary-General for the State and Commissary of Purchase
for the army. 1 This offer Polk accepted, but almost be
fore the ink was dry upon his letter of acceptance Gates
arrived at Charlotte in hot haste from the field of Cam-
den, and without so much as a corporal s guard. Char
lotte was a point of some strategic importance. It was
the center of one of the best provisioned districts of the
country, and the people were generally loyal to the col
onists. It was natural, therefore, to suppose that the
General would halt there, and endeavor to organize at
least a show of resistance to the enemy. Such a course
would have strengthened the Continental cause, and
would certainly have increased the influence of Gates;
but with scarcely more than a moment s pause he aban
doned Charlotte and hurried across the State to Hills-
boro, where the seat of State government then was.
The effect of the defeat at Camden was deplorable;
and when the people of Charlotte saw the general who
had been sent to them by Congress flying even before
the enemy had approached, their dissatisfaction and
disgust were loudly expressed. But their spirit was not
broken, and even after the defeat and dispersion of
Sumter s command, which occurred below Charlotte two
days after the defeat at Camden, they were still resolute
and ready to resume the conflict. Sept. 10th, Thomas
1 "Gates Papers," Doc. 132, vol. xvii.
22 THE HORNETS NEST. [1780
Polk, learning positively that Cornwallis with about
1,000 men was then near Hanging Rock, advancing,
reported from Charlotte the facts to Gates and sug
gested that he throw troops in his rear and tells him,
"We intend to meet them and scrimmage with them,
and hope for relief from you as soon as possible. " * Vain
hope.
The confusion and distress at Charlotte in this critical
juncture are well described in Ramsay s "History of
South Carolina." The British were hourly expected.
The proclamation fulminated by Cornwallis at Waxhaw
on September 16th against the patriots of South Caro
lina, supported as it was by the well-known violence of
his soldiery, convinced the people that they could assure
their safety only by submission or flight, and among
those who fled was the family of Thomas Polk. The
men of Mecklenburg, supported by the militia from the
counties of Rowan, Lincoln, Surrey, and Wilkes, pre
pared for a contest with Lord Cornwallis s well-appointed
army of regulars.
On September 26th Cornwallis entered Charlotte, and
made his headquarters at the White House, as Colonel
Folk s dwelling, the only painted edifice in the town, was
called; and one of the first acts of the general was to
seize and confiscate all of the property of his involuntary
host that could be found. Polk, meanwhile, was actively
engaged in organizing resistance and securing supplies
for the American army, often by the pledge of his own
credit. It was no easy task, but he lost neither faith nor
courage; and at the first glimpse of good fortune
King s Mountain he wrote as follows to the Board of
War:
1 Colonial Records, N. Carolina, vol. xiv, p. 606. Gates Letter
Book, Doc. 28 and 31.
1780] KING S MOUNTAIN. 23
, YADKIN RIVET?, October 11, 1780.
Gentlemen; I have the pleasure to inform you that on Satur
day last the noted Colonel Ferguson with 150 men fell on King s
Mountain; 800 taken prisoners, and 1500 stand of arms.
Cleaveland and Campbell commanded. A glorious affair.
In a few days we will be in Charlotte, and I will take possession
of my house, and his lordship take the woods.
I am, gentlemen, with respect,
Your humble servant,
THOS. POLK.
To the Board of War, Hillsboro.
As Thomas Polk predicted, Cornwallis soon with
drew from Charlotte (Oct. 12th), his purpose being to
counteract in some way Ferguson s disaster. His de
parture was furthered by the local forces under David
son and Graham, who, contesting his entrance to the town,
had persistently harassed him throughout the occupa
tion. General Gates meanwhile had received a small
reinforcement of regular troops under General Small-
wood and had succeeded in gathering together some
of the militia. The best of them were placed under
Smallwood, . who, with his force thus augmented, was
posted at New Providence to the south of Charlotte.
The balance of the militia, under Generals Butler, Jones,
and Huger, were assembled at Salisbury to the north.
Thomas Polk as General Commissary was charged with
the duty of feeding both commands. It was not an
easy task, however. 2 Owing to the ravages, first of the
British, and then of the militia, the entire country in
1 Colonial Records, N. Carolina, vol. xv, p. 414.
2 Colonial Records, North Carolina. Gates Papers, New York
Historical Society. Greene Papers. Greene s Letters to Washington
and Continental Congress. Appendix to Life of General Greene, by
G. W. Greene.
24 ISSUE WITH GATES. [1780
this quarter of North Carolina, as well as in the adjacent
section of South Carolina, was well nigh stripped of
supplies, transportation was scarce and General Gates s
war chest very meagre. To meet pressing wants the
State government had imposed a -provision tax, and
appointed its own commissioners to assess and gather
it. Upon these officers Thomas Polk had to depend
to fulfill his task, but so many and great were the com
plications and delays encountered he asked permission
to select his own agents for whom he would be respon
sible, both to the tax department and to the army.
But this was refused. 1
Embarrassment must also have come from the dual
nature of Thomas Folk s responsibility, for he seems
to have been accountable both to General Gates and
the provincial Board of War. The situation, as a
whole, resulted in insufficiency of supplies, and a
clash with Gates and the generals of the militia at
Salisbury.
Early in November Gates moved forward his head
quarters to Salisbury; en route he received from Small-
wood a report as to his command, dated New Providence,
Oct. 31st; he wrote: "Since my last, nothing material
has occurred except a great scarcity of provisions. Col.
Polk has not even supplied the regular troops; our prin
cipal subsistence has been brought in by detachments,
which they took from the disaffected who have gone
over to the enemy, and I have now not less than two
hundred men employed on that duty, which is the only
prospect of supplying the troops till the late Provision
Act for collecting a specific tax in provision is more
effectually carried into execution, which I fear at last
1 Colonial Records, North Carolina. Letter Book Board of War,
Sept. 15th and 25th, Oct. 5th, Nov. 6th, et al., 1780.
1780] ISSUE WITH GATES. 25
will not afford an ample supply, in addition to what
purchases can be made." * A similar complaint, no
doubt, met Gates at Salisbury, for in a letter (also Oct.
31st) to the Board of War, Small wood wrote more
specifically: "Col. Polk refuses to supply any but the
regular troops, and is unwilling to be concerned under
the act for levying the specific provision tax, unless he
has the appointment of the commissioners with whom
he is to be connected, urging that those appointed under
the act are incompetent to the task, and that there
will be great difficulty in settling their accounts, which
may eventually involve him." 2
It is difficult to find in this complaint sufficient ground
for the action Gates and his Generals of militia now took.
Nov. 12th, 80, they addressed a paper to the provincial
Board of War, charging, without specifications, that the
"conduct of Col. Polk is suspicious," and recommend
ing that he be ordered to Salisbury to answer for his
conduct. The next day Gates wrote Smallwood in
answer to the letter of October 3 1 st : 3 " A board of general
officers who yesterday morning met at my quarters,
have given it as their unanimous opinion that Colonel
Polk should be immediately obliged to answer for
his conduct. * * * I am astonished at what you
mention in regard to Colonel Polk s refusing to supply
the Continental troops with provisions." To this Small-
wood, still at New Providence, replied Nov. 16th: 4
"You must have mistaken my letter or there was an
error made in transcribing with respect to Colonel
Folk s refusing to supply the Continental troops, which
1 Gates Papers, New York Historical Society, Doc. 198.
3 Ibid.
3 Gates Letter Book, Doc. 155.
4 Gates Papers, Doc. 198.
26 ISSUE WITH GATES. [1780
I could not have been justified in saying; and from the
original it will appear that provisions was so scarce
that they had suffered by his not fully supplying them,
which at that time was really the case, both with them
and the militia. But to prevent any misunderstanding,
have enclosed you such extracts from my letters of the
31st ulto, to you and the Board of War, as respects his
conduct, and in justice to him the army here since has
been better supplied, and I only then thought him
wrong in refusing to supply the militia, and to super
intend and spur on the commissioners in their duty,
finding at the time the army suffered, it was much
owing to the corn being too green to be gathered or
ground in any quantity."
The day this letter was written at New Providence,
Polk reported himself to Gates at Salisbury. Gates
therefore had but the letter of Oct. 31st before him,
into which, as the letter of Nov. 16th was soon to show
him, he had read far more than could be maintained or
justified. The result of the interview appears in the
following letter by Gates to the Board of War:
SALISBURY, 17th November, 1780.
Sirs: Colonel Polk arrived here yesterday. I showed him
General Small wood s letter complaining of his not supplying
provisions even to the Continental troops. I acquainted him
also that his conduct was deemed doubtful and suspicious, and
requested to know if I might depend upon his continuing to
act as commissary to the troops. He said, since he found his
countryman suspected his fidelity, he would no longer act as
commissary, than until he had delivered 500 beeves and 1,000
bushels of corn, which he had now collected; when that was
done he desired it might be understood he resigned his office.
1780] THE COMING OF GREENE. 27
Enclosed you have his letters to that effect what is now to
be done " l
This correspondence fully explains the nature of the
clash between General Gates and Thomas Polk, and
shows that in spite of his doubts and suspicions, which
Small wood s second letter was soon to prove wholly
unwarranted, he wished still to depend upon Polk as
commissary to the troops. The Board of War, knowing
better than Polk s accusers the actual situation, refused
to take up the charge, and later declined to accept the
resignation he had handed Gates as his answer to the
complaint and charges. Gates s mental state just then
was quite uncertain. He must have known he was to
be superseded and that his military career was about
ending; perhaps he still resented some remarks made
to him by Polk, when Gates, fleeing from Camden, de
clined to stop at Charlotte, as Polk suggested he should,
in order to give heart to the militia, then gathering to
oppose and harass the advancing British.
Thomas Polk s resignation having been declined, he
continued his duties until the end of Gates s administra
tion. This soon came, for the new commander, General
Greene, reached Charlotte on December 2d. He spent
the first night with Thomas Polk studying the condi
tion of affairs. Polk s comment upon the interview
was this: "By the following morning Greene better
understood the resources of the country than Gates
had during the whole period of his command." 2
Affairs in the Department of the South began now
to fulfill the promise of King s Mountain. General
Greene asked Thomas Polk to continue his duties as
before and such was Polk s respect and confidence in
1 Gates Letter Book, Doc. 164, N. Y. Historical Society.
8 Elkanah Watson s Men and Times of the Revolution, p. 259.
28 MAJOR WILLIAM DAVIE. [1781
him he reluctantly declined the part of commissary for
the forces in the field, but retained that of district com
missary. For the more important part he urged upon
General Greene, Major William Davie, an able, ener
getic, and much younger man. Davie fulfilled all Polk
predicted for him. Greene made the appointment and
secured one of his most efficient officers. The duties
of a field commissary in such work as was cut out for
Greene s forces were too heavy for a man at Folk s age
about -58 and he so said; but doubtless, as General
Greene realized, there were home duties which just then
were pressing. Cornwallis had looted his home and
destroyed other belongings, his wife and daughters
needed attention, and he was the only one who could
aid them, all his sons being in the army and his son-in-
law, Ephraim Brevard, a prisoner on a prison ship at
Charleston, where he was suffering conditions which
were soon to end his life.
Thomas Folk s constant use of his own credit in the
purchase of supplies for the army is amply attested
in his letters to General Greene of January 14th and
March 1st, 1781. x He writes: "For want of cash to
comply with my former contracts for provisions, I am
under the unusual as well as disagreeable necessity
of being personally dunned. Upon receiving Major-
General Gates s appointment, he assured me of always
being sufficiently supplied with money, to answer the
purpose of my appointment, upon which promise I
advanced my own money, and exerted my credit for
the amount of at least Eleven Hundred Thousand
of provisions already delivered to the army. I received
from General Gates two drafts on Maryland and Vir
ginia for little more than Three Hundred Thousand
1 Greene Papers.
1781] COMMISSARY AND RECRUITING OFFICER. 29
each, one only of which is yet answered or paid. After
the other is paid the sales will owe me about Five Hun
dred Thousand" (Continental money). Finding the
money could not be obtained he wrote that he would
sell some of his negroes and from his own pocket pay
the public debt contracted through him as he " could
not bear to be dunned." The man s independence and
integrity of character, his incessant efforts to collect
supplies, and his services in forwarding men and mate
rial to the army are incidentally illustrated throughout
this entire correspondence. 1
To his duties as commissary Thomas Polk voluntarily
added those of recruiting officer. Riding from house to
house throughout the counties of western North and
South Carolina, he gathered provisions and preached a
crusade against the British. No one in all that region
did more to revive the drooping spirits of the Whig col
onists, and no one sent so large a number of recruits,
either to Sumter s command or to the regular forces
serving with General Greene. His spirit is shown in
a letter to General Greene, dated March 1, 1781, and writ
ten from Charlotte at the most trying period of the war
in the South. Greene had been driven into Virginia;
the Carolinas lay at the mercy of Cornwallis, Tarleton,
and Rawdon; prominent men in both of the Carolinas
had despaired of the success of the colonists, and were
accepting protection, with all that the act involved, from
the British authorities. It was then that Polk, reporting
the state of affairs about Charlotte and the details of his
own work, wrote: 2
I received yours of the 16th on Saturday the 24th, and am
much distressed at your being obliged to retreat as soon as
you have. But it is certainly the salvation of our country
1 Greene Papers, 2 Ibid.
30 SUCCESSOR TO DAVIDSON. [1781
for you not to run any risks with your army. For while you
arc safe the British cannot occupy nor possess any part of our
country but what is inside of their sentries or lines.
General Greene wished to avail himself of Folk s ser
vices in the field, and on the death of General Davidson
of the Salisbury district, who was killed at Cowan s
Ford, the field-officers of the district having requested
that Polk should be appointed to command them, 1
Greene sent him a commission couched in words which
bear full testimony to his confidence in the man :
Reposing special trust in your wisdom, patriotism, and
valor, I do hereby appoint you, agreeable to the field-officers
of Salisbury district, and by virtue of powers lodged in my
hands for the time being, Brigadier-General of the said dis
trict and commanding officer of all militia in the same. 2
This command had done excellent service under
General Davidson. General Greene expected that it
1 A petition of the field-officers of the District of Salisbury, now in
service. To GENERAL GREENE.
CAMP SHEROES, March 5, 1778.
Sir: We, the subscribers, considering the critical situation of our
country, and the difficulties our District have labored under for want
of a commanding officer since the fall of General Davidson, do offer
this humble petition that another be appointed in his room. And as
we repose special confidence in Col. Thomas Polk, of Mecklenburg
County, as a gentleman qualified for such an important trust, it is our
request that he be appointed to take the command of the above district.
Your compliance with this our Bequest will lay under lasting obli
gations your humble petitioners,
Jos. DICKSON, Col.
JAS. MARTIN, Col.
Jos. WILLIAMS, Lieut.-Col.
JOHN PEASL ?*
Jos. ?*
*These two names are incomplete, the MS. being torn.
1 Polk Papers, Library of Congress, W., D. C.
3 Ibid.
1781] AGAIN IN THE FIELD. 31
would be continued under Polk and that he would join
him in the pursuit of Cornwallis after the battle of
Guilford, all of which he wrote Polk, March 22d. L Polk
already had gathered a force with which to oppose
Cornwallis on his expected return. But the assembly
would not confirm the appointment as made by Greene,
sending Polk instead that of " Colonel Commandant."
Polk returned this commission to Gov. Nash, calling his
attention to the fact that it was proper he should have
the same rank as his predecessor; a proper step in view
of the request from the command and the terms of his
appointment by Greene; but Gov. Caswell and his sup
porters were opposed to the promotion in the State
Militia, of officers of the Continental line who had been
dropped in the consolidations. Pending the settlement
of this question, Polk at first declined to act, but after
an interview with General Greene he continued the duties
of the position. Meanwhile many of the men had
joined Sumter s command, some 150 being in the 4th
South Carolina, his son s regiment, and the others widely
scattered. By the middle of May, however, he suc
ceeded in getting the command ready for field service,
but he was then relieved. This fact he reports to Gen
eral Greene in the following letter:
SALISBURY, May 15th, 1781.
To MAJOR-GENERAL GREENE:
Sir: An express arrived at Salisbury the 15th from Governor
Nash, giving Colonel Locke 2 the command, therefore my orders
will be no more obeyed. I have been to all the counties but
those over the mountains, Surrey and Gifford. The new arms
and accoutrements will be nearly ready in about eight days.
1 Greene Papers.
2 Not Col. Geo. Locke. He was killed Sept. 26th, opposing Tarle-
ton in front of Charlotte.
32 COMMANDER OF BRIGADE. [1781
The ammunition in the wagons at this place must furnish the
men. Anything in my power is at your call.
I am, Sir, with great esteem,
Your humble servant,
THOMAS POLK.
General Greene, .however, would not accept this dis
position of the matter, and continued to urge Folk s
appointment upon the assembly, upon Governor Nash,
and afterwards upon Governor Burke, who succeeded
Nash. In reply to a letter from Greene, dated August
5, 1781, requesting Folk s appointment, Governor Burke
wrote as follows, under date of August 15:
I am sensible that the commandant of that district [Salis
bury] is a very important office, and requires a character such
as you describe, firm, active, having the art of compelling
others to do their duty, and were I at liberty to make an
appointment pursuant to my own judgment, I should not
hesitate on choosing the gentleman you mention, believing him
possessed of knowledge, experience, and industry beyond any
officer I know in the district. But this is an affair that re
quires to be attentively surveyed with the eye of wisdom and
policy. 1
The concluding sentence of this letter refers, no doubt,
to a hint found in Greene s letter, to the effect that
"Popular characters at this period of the war are no
longer useful," an idea Burke further elaborated in the
following letter to General Butler, of Aug. 15, 81 :
Sir: I have this morning received a letter from General
Greene, dated on the High Hills of Santee, August 2d, and
another on the 5th. In both he expresses great surprise and
uneasiness that Colonel Locke has not marched the militia
direct from Salisbury to reinforce the southern army. He
very strenuously urges the necessity of the reinforcement for
1 Letter Book, 1774-1781, Governor s Office, Raleigh, N. C.
1781] COLONEL DAVID FANNING. 33
enabling him to oppose the enemy and check their operations,
should they move up to establish posts of communication on
the Congaree and the Wateree rivers, which plan he believes
they have in contemplation. In the letter of the 5th he says
that by intelligence from Charlotte he learns that the militia
who were called out in Salisbury District have been disbanded
over the road as low as the Waxhaw, and are now returning
to their respective homes without any officer to collect and
bring them on. He very plainly suggests a want of military
competency in Colonel Locke, and his wish that Colonel Polk,
whom he believes possessed of talents more useful for the
present occasion, should be appointed to the command of the
district. The superseding an officer of Colonel Locke s rank
without inquiry or trial might prove an act from which might
result very troublesome consequences; but to leave affairs
of such importance, at such a crisis, under management which
has hitherto been so unsuccessful, is entirely inadmissible.
I must therefore, though very unwilling to put upon you
an arduous or disagreeable service, or to spare your services
from other important operations, request you, as soon as
possible, to take command of the whole force which has been
called out for reinforcing the southern army, and to march them
with all dispatch to join General Greene. 1
While Governor Burke was penning these orders,
"troublesome consequences," due to the inefficiency
of the militia, were brewing at his very door. In less
than a month (September 12th), 2 Col. David Fan
ning, that able and distinguished loyalist leader, with
a force of 1,220 men captured Hillsboro and all it
contained, including the Governor and his guards; and
in spite of General Butler and the militia, delivered them
to the British commander at Wilmington. Alexander
Martin now became Governor, and we find that Thomas
1 "Letter Book," 1774-1781, Governor s Office, Raleigh, N. C.
a Page 24. Col. David Fanning s interesting Narrative.
34 BRIGADIER-GENERAL POLK. [1781
Polk with his remaining followers joined General Greene
at Hugely s Mills shortly after the affair of Hobkirk s
Hill, where he remained watching the movements of the
British and Tories until the expiration of the term of
service of his men. This appears to have been Thomas
Folk s last service in the field, and the one in which he
was conceded the rank of General, already accorded him
by General Greene.
At last the tide of war receded to the low countries of
South Carolina, and peace soon followed. The people of
the scattered American colonies were left to form their
new governments and repair the ravages of war. To
these tasks Thomas Polk now turned with characteristic
energy, but his later life offers few incidents of interest.
One, however, will be mentioned. When General Wash
ington, making his tour through the South, came to
Charlotte, Thomas Polk was selected to entertain him
at dinner, and his house was chosen as the place at
which the General also received the enthusiastic ovation
given him by the people at the conclusion of the feast,
May 28, 91. The last historic notice of him is found in
Elkanah Watson s "Men and Times of the Revolution."
On page 259 he says: "I carried letters to the courteous
General Polk, and remained two days at his residence in
the delightful society of his charming family." He lived
to an honored old age, surrounded by his sons, whom he
had reared to an honorable and self-reliant manhood.
He died at Charlotte January 26, 1794, and is buried
in the Presbyterian churchyard.
For fifty years the name of Thomas Polk remained, as
he had left it, free from reproach. Then Mr. Lossing,
gathering material for his "Field-Book of the Rev
olution," visited Charlotte, and was told by a Mr. Cald-
well that Thomas Polk had taken "protection" from
1854] A HISTORICAL ERROR. 35
Lord Cornwallis. This statement, if it had been true,
would imply that Polk had remained in Charlotte dur
ing its occupation by the British, and that he had made
his submission and secured protection for his person and
property. Finding among the "Gates Papers," in the
New York Historical Society collection, a letter to the
State Board of War, dated November 12, 1780, which in
timated that Thomas Folk s conduct was considered sus
picious, Mr. Lossing accepted it as a sufficient proof of
OaldwelPs statement, and published it as such. 1
Bishop Leonidas Polk, grandson of Thomas Polk,
wrote Mr. Lossing of his mistake, and received in reply
a prompt and courteous acknowledgment of the error.
The correspondence is given below.
Bishop Polk to Mr. Lossing.
May 20, 1854.
MR. B. J. LOSSING:
Dear Sir: A friend yesterday called my attention to the fol
lowing on page 625, 1st vol. of your "Pictorial Field-Book of
the Revolution," to wit: "Hundreds who were stanch patriots
came forward and accepted protection from Cornwallis, for
they saw no other alternative but that and the ruin of their
families. Among them was Colonel Thomas Polk, who there
by incurred the suspicions of his countrymen," etc.
As a descendant of the individual here mentioned, you will,
I presume, recognize my right to ask you to furnish me the
evidence upon which you here state that Colonel Thomas
Polk "took protection" from Cornwallis.
I observe what is said in the note upon the same page as
to the order issued by Gates, and said to be found in the
archives of the New York Historical Society, of the motives
leading to which I have some knowledge, but you will per-
1 This is the paper considered on pages 24 to 27.
36 THE ERROR ACKNOWLEDGED. [1854
ceive the insinuations contained in that order do not cover
the ground occupied by your statements.
Your reply will oblige,
Respectfully,
LEONIDAS POLK.
Mr. Lossing to Bishop Polk.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y., June 12, 1854.
RT. REV. LEONIDAS POLK:
My dear Sir: On my return home, after a short absence, I
found your letter of the 20th May, forwarded to me by Messrs.
Harper & Bros.
I had already received letters from North Carolina on the
subject referred to in yours, in which are ample proofs that
the inference in the paragraph alluded to is not warranted by
real facts, however much it appears to be sustained by the
order signed by Gates, Huger, Jones, and Butler. The verbal
information which I received on the subject was given me by
Greene W. Caldwell, Esq., the present superintendent of the
branch mint at Charlotte, when I visited that town early in
1849. From information that I have since received from Gov
ernor Swain of Chapel Hill, Governor Graham, and two or
three other citizens of Mecklenburg County, I am convinced
that Mr. Caldwell was mistaken in the man, it being conceded
that Colonel Ezekiel Polk l did take protection from Corn-
wallis, while Colonel Thomas Polk appears to have been made
of sterner stuff. I felt thankful to those gentlemen, and I now
feel grateful to you, for calling my attention to the evident
error, for I am extremely anxious to have my work a faithful
record in every particular, even the most minute, and I feel
the obligation, above every other, to uphold in its lofty integ-
1 " Taking protection," which in Thomas Polk, an officer of the
army, would have been desertion, in Ezekiel Polk, an old man and
a non-combatant, was simply the act of a private citizen, done to save
a helpless family from ruin and want. Far less provocation had forced
hundreds of the best patriots of South Carolina into a similar step.
BANCROFT, vol. vi, pp. 286-288.
1758] BIRTH OF WILLIAM POLK. 37
rity the character of every true patriot during that struggle,
for they are the great exemplars for those who are yet to fight
the battles of freedom in the Old World.
I had already made the proper correction of the error and
injustice, in preparing my work for a new edition, when the
disastrous conflagration of Harper s establishment occurred.
Every sheet unsold was then consumed. They have now got
their new buildings advanced far toward completion, and we
hope, early in the autumn, to issue a new edition.
You mention that you possess a knowledge of the motives
which led to the orders of Gates and others. Will you have
the kindness to communicate them to me, as early as your con
venience will permit after the receipt of this? The order al
luded to I copied from the original with the signatures, now
among the "Gates Papers" in the New York Historical Society
collections.
I am a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and
therefore I may subscribe myself your brother in the bonds
of Christian fellowship, and a friend.
With sentiments of highest regard,
Faithfully and truly,
BENSON J. LOSSING.
William, the eldest son of Thomas and the father of
Leonidas Polk, was born on the 9th of July, 1758, near
the town of Charlotte, in the county of Mecklenburg.
At school, according to his own modest account, he
showed no great aptitude for learning, but rather a
disposition for mischief, which frequently led him into
childish trouble. At the age of fourteen he went to a
grammar school, and was afterward entered at Queen s
College, where he remained until the beginning of hos
tilities between the colonies and Great Britain. The
war fever of the coming Revolution early developed in
him the military spirit which was hereditary in his fam
ily, and before he was quite seventeen he threw aside
38 OLD COLONEL DANGER. [1775
his books to take up the sword in the cause of the colo
nies. In April, 1775 that is, in the month immediately
preceding that in which his father read the Mecklenburg
Declaration from the court-house steps and while still
a student in college, William Polk was appointed a sec
ond lieutenant and was assigned to the 3d South Caro
lina Regiment under the command of Colonel Wil
liam Thompson, better known by his sobriquet of "Old
Colonel Danger." The second company, to which young
Polk belonged, was composed of North Carolinians and
South Carolinians in nearly equal numbers. Less than a
month after the officers had received their commissions
it was recruited to its full strength, and, with another
company of the same regiment, was at once ordered to
Ninety-Six to keep the Tories of that neighborhood in
check. In June these two companies were sent to Dor
chester, twenty miles from Charleston, and in August,
1775, they were ordered to join the regiment at Granby
on the Congaree River. Their duty there was to watch
and keep down the Loyalists living in the Orangeburg
District and near the Broad and Saluda rivers. Lieuten
ant Polk, who had become a favorite with " Old Danger,"
was given command of several expeditions, in one of
which he was so fortunate as to surprise and capture
Colonel Fletcher, a noted South Carolina Tory leader.
Colonel Williamson, who was operating in the same
neighborhood, had been ordered to take a portion of his
regiment and disperse a camp of Loyalists then form
ing on the Saluda. In this he was unsuccessful, and he
was compelled, about the first of December, 1775, to fall
back and occupy the court-house and jail at Ninety-Six.
Around these buildings Williamson erected a stockade,
in which he was besieged by the Tories for ten or twelve
days, until the garrison was relieved and the siege raised
1775] CAPTURE OF COLONEL FLETCHER. 39
by the approach of Thompson s regiment and the North
and South Carolina militia under the command of Brig
adier-General Richard Richardson. The Loyalists, num
bering about four hundred, fell back on Reedy River,
where they were surprised on December 22, 1775, by a
detachment under Colonel Thompson, and, with a few
exceptions, were made prisoners. Colonel Thompson,
learning after the capture that a Captian York with
a detail of thirty men had left the Loyalist camp on
the preceding day for the purpose of procuring provi
sions, sent Polk with thirty men of his regiment and a
number of volunteer militia to intercept York on his
return. In the evening of the same day York and all
his party, with the exception of two who were better
mounted than their comrades, were surprised and made
prisoners. Polk, with William Henderson (who after
ward succeeded Sumter in the command of the South
Carolina State Brigade), gave chase to the fugitives, and
in the struggle which ensued Polk was shot through
the left shoulder. A dangerous wound at any time, it
became doubly so from exposure, fatigue, and cold.
With more than a foot of snow on the ground, he was
carried one hundred and forty miles to his father s
house, where he was confined to his bed for ten months. 1
On the 27th of November, 1776, he was chosen by the
Provincial Congress of his State to be major of the 9th
Regiment of the North Carolina troops, raised on the
Continental establishment, and joined his regiment at
Wilmington. In March, 1777, the colonel and lieuten
ant-colonel being detailed for other duties. Major Polk,
1 See Col. David Fanning s Narrative (Canadian Magazine, To
ronto, 1908) for interesting account of the same movements from the
Loyalist point of view. Referred to already in connection with his
capture of Gov. Burke.
40 DEATH OF GENERAL NASH. [1777
in his eighteenth year, took command of the regiment,
and marched it with the Third Division of the North
Carolina line, into the Jerseys to join the army of Wash
ington, which was on the march to meet General Howe
at the headwaters of the Elk.
Major Polk was in the battles of Brandywine and
Germantown. Near the close of the latter action, Octo
ber 4, 1777, he was shot in the mouth whilst in the act
of giving Command. The ball ranged with the upper
jaw and lodged nearly in a line with the ear, shattering
the bone. In the same battle his brigade commander,
General Francis Nash, was mortally wounded, and the
parting between the young soldier and his dying general
was sorrowful indeed. "The last time I ever saw Gen
eral Nash," said Colonel Polk to a friend in 1826, "was
on the battlefield of Germantown. He was being borne
from the field on a litter. I had just been shot in the
mouth and could not speak. I motioned to the bearers
of the litter to stop. They did so, and I approached to
offer my hand to Nash. He was blind and almost in
syncope from loss of blood, but when he was told that
William Polk was standing near him, so wounded that
he could not speak, Nash held out his hand, and said,
Good-by, Polk. I am mortally wounded.
In spite of his severe wound, young Polk remained
near his command, and went into winter quarters with
the army at Valley Forge. Thus, with his father,
Thomas Polk, he had the honor to be one of the faithful
guard of Continentals who clung to the fortunes of
Washington through the want and the misery of that
dreadful winter. In March, 1778, the nine North
Carolina regiments serving with Washington were so
reduced in number by deaths and by the expiration of
short terms of enlistment, that the State legislature con-
1778] BATTLE OF CAM DEN. 41
solidated the nine into four, retiring the supernumerary
officers by lot. 1 It was William Folk s misfortune to be
one of those who lost their commands in this way. But
although thus temporarily retired, he was not inactive,
and as soon as he had returned to the South, he engaged
first in recruiting service and then in expeditions against
the Tories and the British in South Carolina. It was
during this service that he found himself associated with
Andrew Jackson, and from this association sprang a
friendship which lasted as long as the two lived.
When General Gates took command of the Southern
army, Major Polk was placed upon the staff of Major-
General Caswell, and was present with him at the disas
trous defeat at Camden. Finding himself near Gregory s
brigade when the rout of the militia began, he rendered
some service during the stand made by that part of the
command, and finally, after the fall of Baron de Kalb,
when the rout was complete and irretrievable, his knowl
edge of the country enabled him to guide the successful
retreat of a considerable body of regular and militia
troops through the woods and by-ways.
Caswell s command being virtually dispersed, Major
Polk next sought service with the brave and wise Gen
eral William Davidson, whose band of "Hornets" so well
carried on the good work begun at King s Mountain.
After the retreat of Cornwallis from Charlotte, Polk was
sent to General Gates, and afterward to Governor
Thomas Jefferson of Virginia and to the Maryland
Council, to acquaint them with the deplorable condition
of affairs about Charlotte and Salisbury. He was un
successful in his appeal to the president of the Maryland
1 The brigade returns, Dec. 20th, 77, already cited, in connection
with the 4th regiment, Thos. Folk s, show total strength of the 9th,
Wm. Folk s regiment, as 65 men, of whom but 22 were present for
duty.
42 GENERAL WILLIAM L. DAVIDSON. [1781
Council, but his mission to Jefferson was both pleasant
and profitable. The governor received and entertained
him most cordially, and made him the bearer of assur
ances to General Gates that Virginia would continue her
efforts, so far as her resources permitted, to aid the
southern army.
In December, 1780, when Greene relieved Gates of the
command of the army at Charlotte, he ordered William
Polk to accompany and assist General Kosciusko in the
important duty of selecting a camp for the army in the
better provisioned regions watered by the Pedee. Dur
ing this expedition Polk s intimate association with Kos
ciusko inspired him with an affectionate admiration for
the gallant Pole who fought so successfully for American
independence, but failed so disastrously in his heroic
effort to assert the independence of his own country.
When the army had been established upon the Pedee,
Major Polk obtained permission to return to Charlotte
to assist General Davidson in raising a command to be
drawn from the militia of the counties of Mecklenburg,
Rowan, Iredell, and Lincoln. Davidson was so far suc
cessful that, by the latter part of January, he was able
to march with nearly eight hundred men to the relief of
Morgan on his hurried retreat after the success at Cow-
pens. As the British crossed the Catawba at Cowan s
Ford, in eager pursuit of their flying foes, they were
furiously attacked by the newly recruited force under
Davidson. Cornwallis, who was leading the British in
person, had his horse shot under him. Davidson, mor
tally wounded, fell into Polk s arms, who was riding by
his side. At the fall of Davidson the militia scattered.
Polk, gathering as many of them as he could, led them
to Salem, and reported for service to General Pickens be
fore Greene crossed the Dan, skirmishing with the rear
1781] WITH SUMTER AND MARION. 43
of Cornwallis s army, and afterward following Tarleton
and the Royalist Colonel Pyle into the country of the
Haw.
Soon after the battle of Guilford Court House and the
retreat of Cornwallis to Wilmington, Major Polk received
his commission as lieutenant-colonel from Governor John
Rutledge, of South Carolina, and was ordered to raise a
regiment of "swordsmen" and mounted infantry, to be
called the 4th Regiment of South Carolina Horse. With
in a month he had enlisted two-thirds of the required
number of men, and reported under orders to General
Sumter, who was then operating in the country lying
between the British posts of Camden and Ninety-Six.
His first service with his new regiment was undertaken
in conjunction with Colonel Wade Hampton. By a
rapid march of sixty miles in seventeen hours they sur
prised a British outpost at Friday s Ferry on the Con-
garee, killing twenty-seven of the enemy and burning
the block-house in sight of the garrison at Fort Granby.
He next joined Sumter at the siege of Orangeburg, and
aided in the capture of that post. Then he was ordered
to report to General Marion before Fort Mott; but, as
the British garrison stationed there had surrendered on
the day following the capture of Orangeburg, he arrived
too late to participate in that success. Again following
the fortunes of Sumter and Marion, after the battle of
Eutaw, he took part in a descent upon Dorchester and
the fortified position at Watboe Church, near Charleston,
Lee and the two Hamptons being sent into the Neck,
while Polk, Horry, and Mahone were pushed down to
invest the works around Watboe. The bridges were
burned and some river craft destroyed in Watboe Creek,
but the position was too stron g to be taken by a coup de
main, and thejnvestment of the works had to be post-
44 BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS. [1781
poned until the arrival of the artillery. While the pa
triot troops were breakfasting, the British cavalry made
a furious charge upon them, but was repulsed by the
infantry, and driven by the American cavalry to seek
shelter under the guns of the fort. That night the Roy
alist troops abandoned the position. In the morning Lee
and the two Hamptons started in pursuit and attacked
them at Grimsly. 1
General Sumter had fallen seriously ill, and the com
mand of his brigade had been taken by William Folk s
early friend and companion in arms, Colonel Henderson.
In the fight at Eutaw Springs the brigade was composed
of Hampton s, Middleton s, and Folk s regiments. These
troops, in conjunction with Lee s Legion, covered the
advance of Greene s line of battle, and then took posi
tion on the left flank, directly opposite to the light in
fantry of Major Majoribanks, one of the best commands
of the British force then in America. Thus, while the
infantry of Lee s Legion was engaged (on the right of
the covering body) with the 63d Regiment of British
regulars, the left, under Henderson, was exposed to a
galling fire from Majoribanks, whose men were hidden
behind the cover of a thicket. It was a severe trial for
raw troops. Henderson would gladly have put an end
to it by charging the British right wing, but his orders
were to protect the American flank, and his men, ani
mated by his spirit, as brave men always are by the cour
age of a gallant leader, stood by him with unflinching
firmness. Henderson was wounded. For a moment his
men wavered; but Hampton, the senior colonel, seconded
by Polk and Middleton, soon succeeded in rallying them.
Later in the battle, Coffin with his cavalry charged a
1 This account of Folk s service with Sumter and Marion is from his
own MS. Polk Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.
1781] BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS. 45
party of Americans who were scattered among the Brit
ish tents. Greene ordered up the cavalry of " Light
Horse Harry Lee s" Legion to meet the attack; but
Lee s charge, though gallantly made, was unsuccessful,
and Coffin, pressing on, forced his way through the scat
tered Americans. At this moment Hampton, with Polk
and Middleton, came up, and after an obstinate hand-to-
hand fight forced the British cavalry back under cover
of their guns. 1 In one of the numerous hand-to-hand
encounters of the day Folk s horse was shot dead and
fell upon him, and a British soldier was in the very act
of pinning him to the ground with the bayonet, when a
timely sabre-stroke from one of his sergeants cut down
his assailant and saved his life. As might have been
expected in so desperately contested a battle, alL the com
mands suffered heavy loss, and among the killed was
William Folk s youngest brother, Thomas, who was a lieu
tenant in his regiment.
In his official report of the battle of Eutaw General
Greene said:
Lieutenant-Colonels Polk and Middleton were no less con
spicuous for their good conduct than their intrepidity, and the
troops under their command gave a specimen of what may be
expected from men naturally brave when improved by proper
discipline.
The retreat of the British to Charleston left but little
for the American cavalry to do beyond picket duty,
skirmishing, and scouting, and in such service William
Polk continued until peace was made and the army dis
banded. 2
Among the interesting incidents of William Folk s
military career was an encounter with the gallant British
1 G. W. Greene s "Life of Greene," vol. iii, pp. 395, 396, 401.
2 This is the service at Dorchester and Watboe already mentioned.
46 HAND-TO-HAND CONFLICTS. [1786
dragoon Tarleton then a mere lad like himself in his
raid upon the Waxhaw; but beyond a few words of
Andrew Jackson, relating a surprise of Polk and himself
by British cavalry under the dashing young English
man, we have little knowledge of the circumstances of
the meeting. It appears to have occurred upon an oc
casion when the British cavalry caught the "rebels"
defiling through a long lane bordered by high rail-
fences. That good use was made of the opportunity is
shown by the straits to which Jackson and Polk were
put in order to make their escape, and may be inferred
from Tarleton s well-known capacity as a commander of
cavalry. Though but a lad in years when he was first
commissioned, Polk was a stalwart man, six feet four
inches in height, and of great strength. Sabres were
difficult to obtain in the American colonies, and his sword
was made for him from a scythe-blade. Battles were
not then fought, as now, at a distance of a mile or more
from the enemy, and an officer s sword had not yet
become a mere symbol of command. Polk was often
engaged at the head of his troopers in hand-to-hand
encounters with the enemy s cavalry. In one of these a
sturdy British soldier singled him out and made a furi
ous assault upon him. For a time the issue was doubt
ful, but Polk, beating down his adversary s guard, struck
the gallant fellow squarely upon the crown of the head
and clove him almost to the chin.
After the close of the war, Colonel Polk served
his State and country in various capacities. He was
appointed by the legislature of North Carolina surveyor-
general of the Middle District, now in the State of Ten
nessee. He remained there until 1786, and was twice
elected a member of the House of Commons, representing
Davidson County in that body. In 1787 he was elected
1792] UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA. 47
to the General Assembly of North Carolina from his
native county of Mecklenburg, which he continued
to represent until he was nominated by Washington and
confirmed by the Senate as supervisor of internal rev
enue for the district of North Carolina. This office he
held for seventeen years, through the administrations of
Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, and until the inter
nal-revenue laws were repealed.
Deeply impressed, as was his father before him, with
the importance of education to his people, he became
a trustee of the University of North Carolina (Chapel
Hill) in 1792 and remained an active member of this
board until his death. Judge Archibald D. Murphy,
of Hillsboro, writing him December 9, 1823, concerning
plans for buildings at the University, says: "The Univer
sity is principally indebted for its existence and its
progress to General Davie, yourself the treasurer,
Governor Smith, and Major Gerard." Even before be
coming a trustee of the State University, while repre
senting Davidson County in the House of Commons
( 84 and 85), Polk secured the charter for Davidson
Academy, from which has sprung the present Univer
sity of Nashville. He, together with General James
Robertson and several other leaders in the community,
constituted its first Board of Trustees and when he
resigned, returning to North Carolina, his intimate
associate, Andrew Jackson, took his place. An echo
of the efficient and practical work for education done
by William and Thomas Polk is Ho be seen in the
Labors of Leonidas Polk for the University of the
South at Sewanee. In the midst of his many activi
ties, he had time to give to such duties as are needed
to reach prominence in the Order of Masons; from
December 4, 1799, to December 12, 1802, he was Grand
48 PRESIDENT STATE BANK. [1789
Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge of North Caro
lina and Tennessee.
In 1789 Colonel Polk married Grizelda Gilchrist,
daughter of a Scotch gentleman, and granddaughter
of Robert Jones, a prominent lawyer of Halifax. Two
children were born of this marriage. Mrs. Polk died in
1799. Soon afterward Colonel Polk removed to the city
of Raleigh, where, in 1801, he married Sarah, a daugh
ter of Colonel Philemon Hawkins, and a sister of the
governor of that name. Twelve children, one of whom
was Leonidas Polk, were born of the second mar
riage.
In 1811 Colonel Polk was elected a director of the
State Bank of North Carolina, and was chosen president
by his colleagues. This office he filled until 1819, when
he resigned in order to devote more of his time and per
sonal attention to his estate in Tennessee, which com
prised an area of 100,000 acres. On the 25th of March,
1812, he was appointed by President Madison, with the
consent of the Senate, a brigadier-general in the army of
the United States. This commission, much to his subse
quent regret, de declined on political grounds, thinking
erroneously, as he afterwards saw that his position as a
stanch and very prominent Federalist forbade his accept
ance of the flattering but well-earned distinction from
Mr. Madison s administration. 1
When Lafayette returned to America in 1824 and
made his memorable tour through the States, Colonel
Polk was one of the commissioners appointed to do the
honors of the State of North Carolina to his old comrade
in arms.
An eye-witness has left an amusing account of some
1 Letter to Wm. Hawkins, Gov. of North Carolina, Oct. 17, 1814.
Executive file, North Carolina Historical Com. Hawkins.
1824] GENERAL LAFAYETTE. 49
incidents of the reception of Lafayette on his passage
through North Carolina. Colonel William Polk had
been requested by Governor Burton to provide a cavalry
escort for the illustrious visitor, and a troop of excel
lently drilled and handsomely uniformed volunteers was
formed from the militia of Mecklenburg and Cabarrus
counties. Colonel Polk, the governor, and the cavalry
escort, under command of General Daniel, met Lafayette
near the Virginia line. There was much hand-shaking
and speech-making. But, as the narrator writes, "Lafa
yette spoke but little English, and understood less. He
had retained a few phrases, which he would utter gener
ally in an effective manner, but sometimes ludicrously
malapropos." " Thanks! My dear friend ! Great coun
try! Happy man! Ah, I remember!" were nearly his
whole vocabulary. He was received at the borders of
each State by appointed commissioners, and when he
had been escorted through it he was safely delivered to
the commissioners of the next commonwealth. At Hali
fax the cortege was met by General Daniel, who had
stationed a company of soldiers by the roadside, flanked
by the ladies who were assembled to do honor to the
guest of the State. It had been arranged that the ladies
were to wave their handkerchiefs as soon as Lafayette
came in sight, and when General Daniel exclaimed, "Wel
come, Lafayette!" the whole company was to repeat the
welcome after him. Unluckily, the ladies, misunderstand
ing the programme, waited too long and were reminded
of their duty by a stentorian command of, "Flirt, ladies,
flirt, flirt, 1 I say!" from the general as he walked down
the line to meet the marquis. Equally misunderstanding
their part, the soldiers, instead of shouting, "Welcome,
Lafayette," in unison at the close of the general s address,
1 Flirt to wave.
50 GENERAL LAFAYETTE. [1824
repeated the sentence one by one, and in varying tones.
Now a deep bass voice would exclaim, "Welcome, La
fayette !" Then perhaps the next man in a shrill tenor
would squeak, " Welcome, Lafayette!" And so on down
the line. Daniel, frantic at this burlesque of his order,
vainly attempted to correct it; but, as he unfortunately
stammered when he was excited, his "Say it all to-to-to-
geth-er!" could not overtake the running fire of "Wel
come, Lafayette!" which continued all along the line.
"Great country! Great country!" replied Lafayette,
turning to Colonel Polk, who was vainly trying not to
smile. Observing and recognizing an old acquaintance,
Lafayette greeted him with great effusion: "Ah, my
dear friend so glad to see you once more! Hope
you have prospered and had good fortune these
years."
"Yes, General, yes; but I have had the great misfor
tune to lose my wife since I saw you."
Catching only the "Yes, General," and the word
"wife," Lofayette supposed his friend was informing
him of his marriage, and, patting him affectionately on
the shoulder, he exclaimed, "Happy man! Happy
man!" nor could he be made to understand that his
observation was not a happy one.
After replying to the address of welcome which had
been delivered by Colonel Polk from the steps of the
Capitol, Lafayette, with all the dramatic action of a
Frenchman, turned to Polk, and before the old soldier
knew what he was about, threw his arms around his
neck and attempted to kiss him on the cheek. Colonel
Polk straightened himself up to his full height of six
feet four, and instinctively threw his head back to escape
the caress; but Lafayette, who was a dapper little fellow,
tiptoed and hung on to the grim giant, while a shout of
1834] DEATH OF COLONEL POLK. 51
laughter burst from the spectators and was with some
difficulty turned into a cheer.
Of Colonel William Folk s influence in the State of
Tennessee Governor Swain of North Carolina has said:
"He was the contemporary and personal friend and as
sociate of Andrew Jackson, not less heroic in war, and
quite as sagacious and more successful in private life.
It is known that Colonel Polk greatly advanced the
interests and enhanced the wealth of the hero of New
Orleans by information furnished him from his field-
notes as a surveyor and in directing Jackson in his
selections of valuable tracts of land in the State of Ten
nessee; that to Samuel Polk, the father of the President,
he gave the agency of renting and selling his [William
Polk s] immense and valuable estate in lands in the most
fertile section of that State; that, as first president of
the Bank of North Carolina, he made Jacob Johnson,
the father of President Andrew Johnson, its first porter,
so that of the three native North Carolinians who en
tered the White House through the gates of Tennessee
all are alike indebted for benefactions, and for promo
tion to a more favorable position in life, to the same in
dividual, William Polk a man whose insight into char
acter rarely admitted of the selection, and never of the
retention, of an unworthy agent."
Colonel Polk died at his residence at Raleigh on Jan
uary 14, 1834, and was buried with military honors. An
ardent member of the patriotic Order of the Cincinnati,
he was the last surviving field-officer of the North Caro
lina line in the war for independence.
Of the family life of Colonel William Polk only a few
incidents have been preserved; but in families, as in
nations, the silences of history are often records of hap
piness, and the family life of William Polk was one of
52 COLONEL POLK AND LEONIDAS. [1826
unbroken peace and happiness. The youth who led his
regiment in battle at the age of eighteen, and who had
fought with distinguished gallantry through a long war
before he was five-and-twenty, was as loyal to his family
and his friends in after-life as he had been to his coun
try. In society he was a generous host, a trusty friend,
and a kindly neighbor. In politics he was earnest in
his convictions, consistent in his conduct, and faithful to
his associates. In public life he had repeated and long-
continued proofs of the esteem of his fellow-citizens. It
must be admitted that he was not a professedly religious
man, but it is by no means impossible that under an ap
pearance of indifference he may have concealed more
real reverence than others who made loud professions.
In 1826 his son Leonidas returned on furlough from the
academy at West Point, deeply impressed with relig
ious feelings and convictions. One evening the lad was
seated on the porch conversing with his friend of earlier
and later years, Maurice Waddell, grandson of the Gen
eral Nash who fell at Germantown. Colonel Polk joined
them and spoke with enthusiasm of the Mecklenburg
Declaration and the Revolution, and of men like Nash,
who had fought and died for the independence of their
country. He reminded the boys that the revolutionary
patriots were not only brave and chivalrous soldiers, but
men of generous and noble principles, and counseled
them to take those men as examples in all their conduct.
The conversation was serious, almost solemn, and Leon
idas ventured to suggest that the principles of honor
could only be strengthened and enforced by the princi
ples of religion. As soon, however, as that view of the
subject was presented, the old soldier rose, and, without
a word, left the porch. A year later, when Leonidas
announced his intention to throw away all the advan-
1826] COLONEL POLK AND LEONIDAS. 53
tages he had earned at West Point, to abandon a mili
tary career, and to exchange his uniform for a surplice,
Colonel Polk was deeply disappointed. He could not
understand the motive of such a resolve. To him the
life of a soldier was the noblest life to which a gallant
man could devote himself, and it had been his pride to
think that Leonidas was destined to continue, and per
haps to add lustre to, the many military traditions of his
family. He therefore used every influence, except that
of positive command, to dissuade the young man from
his purpose. When Leonidas did actually resign his
commission to enter the theological seminary at Alex
andria, his father, who was then in Washington, visiting
his friend Andrew Jackson, the President-elect, could
not refrain from pouring out his disappointment and
vexation to his old comrade. About the same time he
wrote to his son, "You are spoiling a good soldier to
make a poor preacher!" It might have soothed the
feelings of the veteran if he could have known that
Leonidas would one day buckle on the sword, that he
would lead more men into the field than his father had
ever seen arrayed in battle, and that he would die, at
last, a soldier s death on the field of honor, fighting for
what he deemed to be the cause of right and liberty.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I.
(See Thomas Polk, p. 9.)
Joseph Seawell Jones, in his "Defense of the Revolutionary
History of North Carolina," says: Tradition ascribes to
Thomas Polk, who had then been for a long time engaged in
the service of the province as a surveyor and as a member of
the Assembly, the principal agency in bringing about the
Declaration. He appears to have given notice for the election
of the convention, and, being a colonel of the county, to have
supervised the election in each of the militia districts."
The Rev. Humphrey Hunter, a soldier of the Revolution,
passed his whole life, of seventy-three years, in Mecklenburg
County, and was well known to its people. He was a few
days over twenty years of age on that memorable 20th of
May, 1775, and afterwards bore witness that he was present
at the meeting in front of the court-house, and then and there
heard the Declaration read by Thomas Polk. A diary kept
by Mr. Hunter contains the following account of the pro
ceedings:
"Orders were issued by Colonel Thomas Polk to the several
militia companies that two men, selected for each corps,
should meet at the court-house on the 19th May, 1775, in
order to consult with each other upon such measures as might
be thought best to be pursued.
"Accordingly, on said day, a far larger number than two
out of each company were present. A certain number were
selected and styled delegates. Abram Alexander was unani
mously elected chairman, John McKnitt Alexander and
Ephraim Brevard were chosen secretaries. A full, free, and
dispassionate discussion obtained on the various subjects for
which the meeting had been called, and certain resolutions,
afterward embodied in the Mecklenburg Declaration, were
54
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I. 55
unanimously passed. By-laws and regulations for the govern
ment of a standing committee of public safety were then
enacted. A select committee was then appointed to report
on the ensuing day a corrected and formal draft of the resolu
tions adopted, and the delegates adjourned until the next day
at noon.
"On the 20th of May at twelve o clock the delegates had
convened. The select committee was present, and reported,
agreeably to instructions, a formal draft of the Declaration of
Independence, written by Ephraim Brevard, chairman of
said committee, and read by him to the delegates. It was
then announced from the chair, Are you all agreed? There
was not a dissenting voice.
" Finally the whole proceedings were read distinctly and
audibly at the court-house door by Colonel Thomas Polk to
a large, respectable, and approving assembly of citizens who
were present and gave sanction to the business of the day.
"During the reading of the Declaration all were still, every
eye was fixed on the form, every ear open to the full, deep-
toned voice of Colonel Polk. When he closed all drew a
long breath, each man looked into his neighbor s eyes and
saw the fire gleaming there. A voice from the multitude
called out, Three cheers! and then went up such a shout
as was never before heard in Mecklenburg. The deed was
done; these men had pledged all they had, lives, fortunes,
honor; and, true as steel, from that hour to this day they have
never shrunk. This was the first public Declaration of Inde
pendence in the British colonies. The people returned to
their homes and vocations, taught by their leaders to ex
pect trouble, and to be ready to answer their country s sum
mons at a moment s warning."
The Mecklenburg Declaration was first published, so as
to reach the general reading public, in the Raleigh Register
of April 30, 1819, as a communication from Dr. Joseph McKnitt
Alexander. Its genuineness has been disputed by persons
not familiar with the local history of North Carolina during
the Revolution, but the testimony in the support of its authen-
56 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER L
ticity would establish its claims before any court in which
the rules of evidence are observed.
Dr. Charles Caldwell, who went when a youth from Meck
lenburg to Philadelphia, where he won an enviable repu
tation both in his profession and as a citizen, 1 published in
1812 his "Memoirs of the Life and Campaign of General
Greene in the War of the Revolution." In the appendix he
gives in full the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775,
adding that he was well acquainted with Colonel Thomas
Polk and also the chairman and secretary of the meeting
that adopted the resolutions. It must be admitted that Dr.
Caldwell knew, from daily intercourse with men who had
fought in the war for independence, the striking incidents
which took place in that part of the country at a time im
mediately preceding, as well as those contemporaneous with,
the great struggle. He declared there could be no doubt
about the authenticity of the Declaration of May 20, 1775.
Again, when the Declaration, as published in the Raleigh
Register, was attacked as spurious by Thomas Jefferson and
others who had never before heard of it, Colonel William
Polk procured and communicated to the Raleigh Register of
February 18, 1820, the certificates of George Graham, William
Hutchinson, Jonas Clark, and Robert Robinson, all neighbors
of his and men of the highest character, to the effect that
they were all present at the meeting of May 19th and 20th,
that on the last-named date resolutions were read which went
to declare the people of Mecklenburg free and independent
of the King of Great Britain. Moreover, the semi-centennial
celebration of this remarkable Declaration was attended by
sixty or seventy veterans of the Revolutionary War, men
not apt to be duped by false stories on this point, nor indeed on
any other connected with the war in that region. Of these
same veterans, twenty-seven were present at the celebration
of 1835.
1 For much of the detail of this part of my work I am indebted to
the able and logical address of Gov. W. A. Graham, delivered at Char
lotte, N. C., May 20, 1775.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I. 57
THE "DA VIE COPY" OF THE MECKLENBURG
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
1st. Resolved, That whosoever directly or indirectly abetted, or in
any way, form, or manner countenanced the unchartered and danger
ous invasion of our rights, as claimed by Great Britain, is an enemy to
this country, to America, and to the inherent and inalienable rights
of man.
2d. Resolved, That we, the citizens of Mecklenburg County, do
hereby dissolve the political bands which have connected us with the
mother-country, and hereby absolve ourselves from all allegiance to
the British Crown, and abjure all political connection, contract, or
association with that nation, who have wantonly trampled on our rights
and liberties and inhumanly shed the blood of American patriots at
Lexington.
3d. Resolved, That we do hereby declare ourselves a free and inde
pendent people; are, and of right ought to be, a sovereign and self-
governing Association, under the control of no power other than that
of our God and the general government of the Congress; to the main
tenance of which independence we solemnly pledge to each other our
mutual cooperation, our lives, our fortunes, and our most sacred honor.
4th. Resolved, That as we now acknowledge the existence and con
trol of no law, or legal officer, civil or military, within this country, we
do hereby ordain and adopt as a rule of life, all, each, and every of our
former laws, wherein, nevertheless, the Crown of Great Britain never
can be considered as holding rights, privileges, immunities, or authority
therein.
5th. Resolved, That it is further decreed, that all, each, and every
military officer in this county, is hereby reinstated in his former com
mand and authority, he acting conformably 1 to these regulations. And
that every member present, of this delegation, shall henceforth be a
civil officer, viz., a Justice of the Peace, in the character of a "Com-
mitteeman," to issue process, hear and determine all matters of con
troversy, according to said adopted laws, and to preserve peace, union,
and harmony in said county; and to use every exertion to spread the
love of country and fire of freedom throughout America, until a more
general and organized government be established in this province.
The following letter from John Adams is of interest in this
connection:
MONTEZILLO, April 30, 1822.
HON. JOHN WILLIAMS, Senator of the U. S. from Tennessee.
Sir: I pray you to accept my kind thanks for sending me
the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Although
58 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I.
these papers have been familiar to me for two or three years
past, thay are still an incomprehensible mystery. I can
scarcely conceive it possible that such a transaction should
have been concealed for so many years from the public. Had
those resolutions been published at the time, they would
have rolled and rebellowed through the Continent, from the
Mississippi to the St. Lawrence, and would have been re
echoed from every part of Europe. There is but one hypothe
sis that has ever occurred to me for their suppression. Mr.
Caswell was a stanch patriot; but he was recalled to take
upon him the government of North Carolina and the com
mand of their forces. Mr. Hooper was never cordial in the
cause of the country, and Mr. Hcwes was for a long time
wavering and undecided, though he at last came out in a style
sufficiently equivocal. These gentlemen were constantly
assailed by the friends of the British Government, aided by
the Quakers and proprietary gentlemen of Pennsylvania
and by them kept constantly quivering; and, perhaps, per
suaded to suppress Resolutions which if they had been pub
lished would have had infinitely more influence in the world
than Mr. Paine s "Common Sense," which came out so many
months after. These were Resolutions of a very respectable
body of native American citizens. " Common Sense" was
the production of a wandering fugitive adventurer. Though
Mr. Jefferson believes these Resolutions to be fabrications,
yet it is impossible not to believe, from the similarity of ex
pressions in his Declaration of Independence, that he had not
heard those words repeated in conversation, though he had
not seen the Resolutions in form.
I have the honor to be, sir,
Your obliged and humble servant,
JOHN ADAMS.
We now give the resolutions of May 31, 1775, drafted by
Ephraim Brcvard, the secretary of the meeting. Brevard
was a son-in-law of Thos. Polk, and tradition claims that the
draft was made at Folk s home, the night before this meeting,
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I. 59
and that it was their joint work, Polk representing the com
mittee supplying the substance, Brevard the form.
Transcript of the Mecklenburg Resolves, May 31, 1775,
in the Cape-Fear Mercury, of June 23, 1775, sent in Governor
Martin s duplicate letter of June 30, 1775, to Lord Dart
mouth. 1
NORTH CAROLINA, CHARLOTTE TOWN, MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
This day the Committee of ys County met and passed the
following resolves. Whereas by an address presented to His
Majesty by both Houses of Parliament in February last, the
Americans are declared Rebels, We conceive that all the laws
and Commissions Conferred by or derived from the authority
of the King or Parliament are Annulled and void, and the former
Constitution of the Colonies for the present wholly Suspended
To provide in some degree for the exigencies of this County
in this Alarming Situation, We deem it proper and Necessary
to pass the following Resolves.
RESOLVED
1st. That all Commissions Civil and Military heretofore
granted by the Crown to be exercised in this Colony to be Null
and Void, and the Constitution of each particular Colony
wholly Suspended
2d. That the provincial Congress of each province under
the direction of the great Continental Congress is invested
with all the legislative and Executive Authority with their
respective provinces, and that no legislative or Executive
power does or can Exist at this time in any of their Colonies.
3d. As all former laws are now Suspended in this Province
and the Congress have not yet provided others, we judge it
necessary for the better preservation of good order to per
form good rules & Regulations for the internal Government
of this County until laws shall be provided for us by the Con-
1 From the original manuscript in the possession of the Earl of
Dartmouth.
60 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I.
4th. That the Inhabitants of this County do meet on a cer
tain day appointed by the Committee, and having formed
themselves into 9 Companies, Viz. 8 in the County and 1 in
the Town of Charlotte do chuse a Colonel & other Militia
officers, who shall hold and Exercise their Several Powers
by virtue of this Choice and independent of the Crown of
Great Britain and the former Constitution of this Province.
5th. That for the better preservation of the Peace and
Administration of Justice, Each of their Companies do Chuse
from their own body two discreet Freeholders who shall be
empowered each by himself and singly to decide and deter
mine all Matters of Controversy, arising within the Said
Company under the Sum of Twenty Shillings and jointly all
Controversies under 40, yet so as their Decision may admit
of an appeal to the Convention of the Select Men of the whole
County, and also that any one of these men have power to
Examine & Commit to Confinement persons accused of
Petty Larceny.
6th. That these two Select Men thus chosen do jointly and
together chuse from the Body of their particular Company two
persons properly qualified to act as Constables who may as
sist them in the Execution of their office.
7th. That upon the complaint to either of these Select
Men do issue their Warrant directed to the Constable to
bring the aggressor before him or them to answer the Said
Complaint.
8th. That these Eighteen Select Men thus Appointed do
meet every third Tuesday in Janry, April, July and October
at the Court House in Charlotte Town to hear and determine
all Matters of Controversies for Sums exceeding 40 shillings
also Appeals, and in case of Felony to commit then* Person
or persons to close Confinement untill the Provincial Congress
shall provide and Constitute laws and mode of proceedings in
such Cases.
9th. That these Eighteen Select Men thus Convened do
chuse a Clerk to record the transactions of the said Conven
tions, and that the Clerk upon the Application of any Person
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I. 61
or persons aggrieved do issue their Warrant to one of the
Constables to summon and warn the said Offender to appear be
fore the said Convention at their next meeting to answer the
aforesaid Complaint.
10th. That any person making Complaint upon oath to the
Clerk or any member of the Convention that he has reason
to Suspect that any Person or Persons indebted to him in a
Sum above 40 shillings do intend Clandestinely to withdraw
from the County without paying such Debt, the Clerk or such
Member shall issue his Warrant to the Constable command
ing him to take the said Person or Persons into safe Custody
untill the next Sitting of the Convention.
llth. That when a Debtor in a Sum under 40 sh. shall
abscound and leave the County, the Warrant granted as afore
said shall extend to any Goods or Chattels of the said Debtor
as may be found, and if such Goods or Chattels so seized and
held in Custody for the Space of 30 days in which time the
Debtor fail to return and discharge the debt, the Constable
shall return the Warrant to any of the said Select Men of
the Company where the goods or Chatties are found who shall
issue orders to the Constable to sell such a Part of the said
Goods as shall amount to the Sum due, that when the Debt
shall exceed 40 sh. the return shall be made to the Convention
who shall issue their Order for Sale.
12th. That all Receivers and Collectors of Quitrcnts, Pub-
lick & County Taxes to pay the Same into the hand of the
Chairman of this County to be by them dispersed as the Pub-
lick Exigencies may require, and that such Receivers and
Collectors proceed no farther in their office untill they be
approved of by, and have given to their Committee good
and sufficient Security for a faithful return of such Money
when Collected.
13th. That then the Committee shall be accountable to
the County for the Application of all money received by such
publick offices.
14. That all those officers shall hold their Commissions
during the Pleasure of their respective Constituents.
62 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER L
15. That this committee shall satisfy all Demands that ever
hereafter may accrue to all or any of these their Officers thus
Appointed and thus Acting on account of their Obedience in
Conformity to these Resolves.
16. That whatever person shall hereafter receive a Com
mission from the Crown or Attempt to exercise such Commis
sion heretofore received shall be deemed an Enemy to his
Country, and upon information being made to the Captain
of the Company in which he resides, the said Captain shall
cause him to be apprehended and Convey him before the two
Select Men of the sd. Company who upon the proof of the
Fact shall commit him the said Offender to safe Custody,
till the next meeting of the Convention who shall deal with
him as they in their Prudence direct.
17. That any person refusing to yield Obedience to the
above Resolves shall be considered as equal Enemies and
liable to the same punishment as the Offenders above last
mentioned.
18. That these Resolves shall be in full force and Virtue
untill Instructions from the Continental Congress, regulating
the just proceedings of this province shall provide otherwise
or the legislative body of Great Britain resigns it s unjust &
arbitrary pretentions with respect to America, and no longer.
19. That the several Militia Companys in this County do
provide themselves with proper Arms and Accoutrements
and hold themselves in constant readiness to execute the com
mand and advice of the General Congress of this Province &
of this Committee.
20. That the Committee Appoint Colonel Thos. Polk &
Dr. Joseph Kennedy to purchase 300 Ibs. of Gun Powder &
600 Ibs. of Lead & 1000 flints for the use of the Malitia in this
County and deposite the Same in some safe place hereafter
to be appointed by the Committee to be cautiously kept
untill the safety & defence of their Colony shall require use
to make use of it in defence of our Country and Liberty.
Signed by order of the Committee,
EFHRAIM BKEVARD.
CHAPTER II.
WEST POINT.
1820 TO 1827.
Leonidas Folk s early education. Enters University of North Caro
lina. A singer of patriotic songs. An old-time celebration of the
Fourth of July. University life. Enters the U. S. Military Academy at
West Point. His mode of life. Love of justice. Friendship with
Albert Sidney Johnston. Visit of General Scott and George Canning
to West Point. Major-General Gaines. Internal working of the Acad
emy. Appointment on the staff. General Worth s war horse. Lafa
yette s visit to West Point. " A patch for old shirts." Colonel Thayer.
A spying postmaster. Debts. Breach of regulations by the draw
ing class. Appeal to the Secretary of War. The Secretary s reply.
Conversion. Chaplain Mcllvaine s influence. The praying squad.
Religious condition of the Academy. Folk s baptism. Appointed
orderly sergeant: a trying position. Tells his father of his conver
sion. Trials attending conversion. Nightly meetings for worship.
Colonel Folk s feelings on his son s conversion. Offered a professorship
at Amherst College. Graduation. Travels in New England and Canada.
Resigns commission. Enters on study for the ministry.
Very few anecdotes or incidents of the earliest years
of the life of Leonidas Polk have been preserved. Like
many other men of action, he appears to have been
known as a high-spirited and healthy child, of whom the
partiality of friends might hope much, but who gave
no precocious indications of future distinction. At all
events, when it has been said that he was the second
son of the second marriage of William Polk, that he
was born at Raleigh on the 10th of April, 1806, that he
received his earliest education in the academy of the
Rev. Dr. McPheters in that city, and that he was remem-
63
64 BEGINNING UNIVEliSITY LIFE. [1821
bered by his contemporaries as a leader in the sports of
their boyhood, all that is known of those years has been
told.
In 1821 he was entered at the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. At that time he was a handsome,
well-grown lad, and somewhat famous, it appears, as a
singer of patriotic songs. The Hon. Kemp P. Battle,
in a centenary address delivered at Raleigh, has recalled
one of his triumphs as a vocalist.
"The celebration of the Fourth of July," he says,
" filled so large a space in the minds of the people of
that day that this address would be incomplete without
an attempt to recall them. The day was ushered in by
firing of cannon. There was a Federal salute, as it was
called : one gun for each State in the Union. Then a
procession was formed at the court-house and moved to
the music of fife and drum to the Capitol Square. There
an ode was sung. Then the Declaration of Independence
was read ; then an ode ; then came the oration, which
was followed by an ode. These odes, sung with spirit,
were far more soul-stirring than the music of brass
bands in these days. At noon a good dinner was set.
There were two tables, presided over by the President
and Vice-President. Toasts were drunk, followed by
speeches and convivial songs. A participant enables me
to give an account of one of these scenes, which is a fail-
sample of all. Governor Holmes presided at one table,
Colonel [William] Polk at the other. Three judges were
appointed to decide which table furnished the best song
and the best speech ; viz., Joseph Gales, the distinguished
editor, Chief -Justice Taylor, and Judge Hall of the Su
preme Court. The favorite singer at Governor Holmes s
table was one Reeder, a tinner, who had gallantly run
1 for his country s fame ; at Bladensburg. The champion
Mi. 15] AN OLD-TIME FOURTH OF JULY. 65
of the other table was Leonidas Polk, son of the colonel,
afterward the great missionary bishop of the Southwest,
and later still the soldier-bishop who was killed at Kene-
saw. On account of the vocal powers of the future
bishop, the judges awarded the victory to the table of his
father. The prize of victory was the privilege of taking
the occupants of both tables to the home of the victor
and treating them to new viands. The crowd hurried
tumultuously, singing and shouting, to the residence of
Colonel Polk, following him, and dragging a cannon
with them. An ample table was found spread for them ;
new toasts were drunk, new songs were sung, the cannon
was fired, and, amid shouts and hurrahs for Colonel Polk
and Independence, the patriots, with their bosoms too
full for articulate utterance, meandered to their homes."
One letter written during his student life at Chapel
Hill has been preserved. It is of little importance, except
in so far as it illustrates the strong family affection which
existed between the members of the Polk family, the dash
of frolicsome humor which always remained with him,
and the amusing ceremoniousness which was blended
with his expressions of affection. The letter was written
to his sister Mary, then at school in the North, and sub
sequently the wife of Mr. George Badger, a Secretary of
the Navy and Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of
the State.
CHAPEL HILL, February 10, 1823.
My dear Sister: On my arrival in this place I wrote you in
answer to your letter received during my vacation, and en
closed it to Raleigh, thence to be forwarded to you. Know
ing your punctuality in answering letters, I cannot account
for the delay you seem to express in replying to the above
named. You have no conception of the pleasure I derive
from the perusal of a letter from you, being so far distant
66 APPOINTMENT TO WEST POINT. [1823
from home and the peculiarity of your situation. My letter
must have miscarried.
I received a line from brother a few days since; he is
actually to take a trip to Tennessee this coming spring with
my father, and there to remain, I presume, for no short space
of time, judging from the nature of Pa s business in that
much-talked-of State. He is the most anxious man to get
married I have ever seen, but has not found any girl that
strikes his fancy, or who has all that is requisite to be the
wife of a "Polk," for I believe they are choice. The family
are all well, and Hamilton has gone to Uncle Little s to school,
the greatest blessing ever conferred on him. We are all now
from home who can possibly be spared from the nursery ex
cept the gentleman whom I have said has such an itching for
a partner.
I am at this moment about to go on a skating expedition j
the ice on our pond is very thick, and last night there was a
heavy fall of snow which still continues. It is nearly eight
inches thick. This you will deem but a slight drift in com
parison to those which you have, but it is more than we every
day see.
With the utmost respect and esteem,
Your affectionate brother,
LEONID AS.
When his second year at Chapel Hill was drawing to
a close, Leonidas, to his great delight, received, through
his father s influence, an appointment to a cadetship in
the United States Military Academy at West Point, and
he immediately addressed the following letter to his
father :
CHAPEL HILL, March 10, 1823.
My dear Father: Yours announcing my appointment by
the President as a cadet at West Point was duly and most
cordially received. You can imagine but few things which
would have more highly gratified me. Many and various
thoughts floated across my mind, on seeing the direction of
^Et. 17] COLLEGE LIFE. 67
it. I not only hailed it with delight as the messenger bear
ing tidings of an appointment so long wished for, an ap
pointment which was to make so vast an alteration in my
career in life (an agreeable change it is too), but I at once
thought of the inexpressible joy of my sister on seeing me,
and my truly exquisite pleasure in returning her embraces.
You expressed in your letter a desire that I should instantly
turn my attention to acquiring a knowledge of arithmetic
sufficient to make me an acceptable candidate. You directed
me also to continue with my class to recite Latin, and, if pos
sible, the rest of my studies, too 5 learning arithmetic at the
same time. My time would not permit me to attend to all
these duties at once. We rise in the morning at half past
five o clock, then until eight are engaged in chapel duties
and recitation. At eight we are summoned to breakfast
there is then an hour appropriated for that purpose ; from
nine until twelve we are preparing for and reciting our Greek
lesson ; until one we have for relaxation and exercise. We go
to dinner at one, and commence at two to get our Latin les
son, are thus engaged until four, at which time we recite it ;
remain at recitation until five, then repair to the chapel, hear
prayers, thence to supper. There is a vacation until eight
P.M., at which time we retire to our rooms to prepare a geom
etry lesson to recite at seven the next morning. Our time is
thus occupied during the week until Saturday, the evening of
which we are entitled to, leaving but very few spare hours
to be devoted to exercise and reading. We have to show
compositions every fortnight in the class, and they have to
be written during play hours. The society duties are to be
attended to also weekly, which are of very great importance
and require their portion of time. From this statement you
will perceive it is utterly impossible to attend to anything
else to the least advantage. To relinquish all but the Latin
and to devote the rest of my time to other than college duties,
the faculty would not permit me. There have been instances
of students being wholly irregular on the languages and
studying English only, but never one where a student was
partly irregular on them. So to neglect one of the languages
08 COLLEGE LIFE. [1823
I must neglect both. But there is not a class in college that
is studying arithmetic, therefore I cannot study arithmetic
and be a collegian. I am consequently unable to pursue the
plan you desire me. My class will, the latter part of this
week or the first of next, have read all the Latin they intend
to read j they will then turn back to review. I have acquired
a knowledge sufficient of Latin to enable me to construe most
of the sentences with which I meet in reading, or at least to
glean the author s meaning, and I could obtain but a little
more by a review of my studies. In going to West Point I
do not wish to leave this place unprepared to stand the most
scrutinous examination. I have passed half through this in
stitution, and am but imperfectly acquainted with most of
the studies I have been prosecuting ; this ignorance is to be
imputed to my being badly prepared on entering college.
The evil has shown itself, and I will avoid it henceforth. Yet
I am not satisfied with a mere knowledge sufficient to enable
me to enter the Military Academy. I wish to obtain some
thing more. I am anxious to be acquainted with the French
language, in which most or all the studies are clothed in that
school. It will be of vast advantage to me while there. It is
a language which is becoming very generally spoken, more
particularly in the best circles of society, and it is an attain
ment truly desirable. My acquaintance with the rudiments
previous to going there will ensure me a more perfect knowl
edge of it. I saw a letter from Henderson (a young man
who left this place and went to the Point to school) to David
Saunders, speaking of the different standings of several boys,
and among them his own. He remarked that he held the
third standing on French and the ninth on mathematics,
which made his general standing sixth. It appears that each
boy has a separate standing arranged according to their
merit, and he holds the sixth in a class of a hundred, which
is very good. His having studied French before going there
entitled him to this high rank. Taking all these things in
consideration, father, seeing it is impossible to pursue the
plan you have pointed out, and knowing the necessity of an
acquaintance with the French, of which there is no teacher
^Et.17] ENTERS THE MILITARY ACADEMY. 69
on the Hill, I have deemed it advisable, with your consent,
to repair to Hillsborough, after withdrawing from college,
there to stndy arithmetic, French and geography under Mr.
Rogers, who is master of the French language. The expense
will be nothing, as I have paid only for half the session s
board, which will expire in a few days, and it will be neces
sary to have a " recruit," which will answer as well at Hills-
borough as at this place. You mentioned in your letter that
I would not leave home for the Point until after the Com
mencement at this place, which will not be until the 7th or
8th of June, and it is required that I should be there by the
1st. It will be necessary for me then to leave by the middle
of May, as I should like to remain in Philadelphia a few days
with Mary.
By granting the above requests you will very much oblige,
Your obedient and affectionate son,
LEONLDAS POLK.
In the month of June, 1823, Leonidas entered the
Military Academy. Even among his friends an impres
sion has prevailed that, at least during his first year as
a cadet, he was gay, high-spirited, not particularly stu
dious, not too scrupulously observant of the rules of
discipline, and quite too ready at times to join in jovial
escapades in which the virtue of moderation was for
gotten. In that impression there is an exceedingly
small modicum of truth. That the lad was high-spirited
and frolicsome there is no doubt ; but the standing he
held in his class sufficiently proves that he was not idle,
and if he at any time incurred the displeasure of his
superiors, it was not because he was insubordinate or
disorderly, but because he demanded that his superiors,
as well as himself, should obey the dictates of justice.
He was a soldier by nature; he loved the discipline
which he knew to be necessary in an army; and his
lofty self-respect kept him from secret evasions of his
70 ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON. [1823
duty. Moreover, he was proud of the Academy, and so
eagerly ambitious of its distinctions that an unmerited
disappointment in his expectation of bearing off its
highest honors changed the whole course of his life.
In the selection of his intimates at West Point he was
discreet and fortunate, one of his earliest and closest
friends being Albert Sidney Johnston, who was in the
class next before him. Johnston was even then the
senior officer of the cadets, and had already exhibited
the qualities which in after-life made him both honored
and distinguished. Polk and Johnston were room-mates
until the latter was graduated in 1826, and their friend
ship endured without a break until the heroic Johnston
fell on the field of Shiloh. Very many letters, written
chiefly to his parents, have been preserved, and give a
fairly full account of Polk s whole life while at West
Point. After two months spent in camp, he wrote to
his mother as follows, telling of his association with
Johnston, and of recent visits to the Academy which
had been made by Mr. Canning and General Scott :
CAMP SCOTT, WEST POINT,
August 27, 1823.
My dear Mother : You see, by the date of my letter, that
we still are in camp, but will remove into barracks in a few
days, the 1st of September being the appointed day. By that
time the corps, as well as the officers, become somewhat tired
of a camp life and desire a change. I am also anxious to
return to quarters, yet by no means do I complain of my
present situation, for it is such a one as suits my disposition.
My anxiety arises from a love of change occasionally, which
is certainly natural to us all. My course during the next year
will be an agreeable one, owing to my good fortune as to
room-mates ; they being young men of high standing ; two
of them Kentuckians, the third a North Carolinian. One of
them from Kentucky, Albert Sidney Johnston, is the senior
Mi. 17] MAJOR-GENERAL SCOTT. 71
officer of the cadets, and is popular among the officers of the
staff on account of his strict attention to duty and steadiness
of character. We have most of the great folks to visit us, par
ticularly at this season. You may have observed a quotation
in the Raleigh Register from the New York Statesman, written
by "A Traveler," giving a description of Mr. Canning s (the
British Minister s) visit to the Point. It is a very correct one,
though in some places a little florid. You will oblige me by
reading it, if you have not already done so, as it will gratify
you. We have this day passed a review before General Scott,
who arrived in the steamboat last night, together with his
family, and intends remaining here a week. The battalion
at twelve o clock formed in front of the encampment, and
were marched on the place opposite the General s quarters
by the instructor of cadets, Major Worth ; then they formed
line in order to salute him when he advanced to inspect them,
the colors being in the advance, the band in the rear of them,
the battalion in the rear of the band. When everything was
in readiness, he, accompanied by Colonel Thayer, proceeded
from his quarters and advanced in front of the battalion. On
his approach the colors were lowered and the battalion or
dered to present arms, which he politely returned by "doffing
his beaver." The band then struck up a favorite march of
the General s, which was soon followed by various maneuvers
by the cadets. Mrs. Scott, who was the beautiful Miss Mayo,
was a spectator; I was too military, though, to turn my
head, and therefore did not see her. The General is a much
larger man than I had supposed him to be. He is larger than
my father; indeed I think him about Governor Holmes s size,
yet not possessed of half the Governor s grace ; in truth, he is
more awkward than otherwise.
Your most affectionate son,
CADET LEONIDAS POLK.
lit a succeeding letter he mentions his good fortune
in meeting Major- General Gaines, who had been in com
mand of the Department of the South, and who was so
much loved in the army.
72 MAJOR-GENERAL GAINES. [1823
I have had the pleasure of an introduction to General
Gaines, in common with the rest of my fellow-soldiers. He is
plain and affable in his manners, and relieves a young man
from that constraint he is put under in the presence of age,
superiority of rank, etc. On being introduced as Cadet Polk
from North Carolina "Polk," says he; "ah! son of General
Polk, I presume." " Yes, sir," was my reply, though not with
out some hesitation, for I knew of no General Polk of North
Carolina, at least so called by its inhabitants, though I im
mediately reflected that such was my father s title, and that
he was so called by the citizens of Tennessee, where the Gen
eral has heard him spoken of.
To his father, after six months experience, he describes
the internal working of the Academy :
November 16, 1823.
You desired me to give you an account of this institution
of the benefits arising from the course of study (comparing
it with other institutions), etc. I should have done so un
asked, and with pleasure, before this, but for supposing that
I had written you on that subject. I think in point of mathe
matics and philosophy and the other sciences dependent on
these two, this institution is inferior to none in the United
States, and I may in justice to ourselves say the world. This
may sound like the empty declaration of boyish enthusiasm,
but it is an opinion founded on that of visitors to this place,
men of distinction, both foreigners and citizens of the United
States, who have seen most literary institutions in Europe.
The Polytechnic in France held deservedly the first standing
during the time of Bonaparte, but since that, it has fallen
through and come into disrepute. The internal organization
of this Academy is a pattern from that, and most of the
authors we study are selected from the French, some of them
translated into English, others not. The system of teaching
is such here as to prevent the occurrence of an evil prevalent
in most of our colleges. I mean that lazy and idle habit
contracted by many students which enables them to be
^Et. 17] THE COURSE AT WEST POINT. 73
dragged barely at the heels of their classes. At this place
it is indispensably necessary that every one should study, and
of course be acquainted with what he studies, as the daily
examinations in the section rooms are very rigorous and siich
as to discover whether one knows his lesson or not. If he
should be found repeatedly deficient, he is dismissed or
forced to resign. Our time is so wholly engrossed in our
academic duties that it is impossible to devote any to literary
attainments privately. I should add, when I speak of literary
attainments, I mean such as composition or attendance on
debating societies, etc. I was under the impression before
coming here that our knowledge of the French language
would enable us to speak it tolerably fluent. But I find that
we are only taught to read it sufficiently well to prosecute
our studies in French with ease. Enough for the Academy.
Our military instruction in tactics, etc., is very good, as
there is great care taken to advance in both theory and
practice. This depends chiefly, though, on the cadet himself,
whether or not he gets into office. If he does, he necessarily
has more duty to perform, and is therefore a better soldier.
Our officers our instructors, I mean, in tactics are well
qualified to perform the duties which devolve on them, and
instill very rigid principles of discipline in those under them,
which is indeed (recollecting at the same time to whom I
address myself) the quintessence of a well-regulated army.
In January, 1824, Leoiiidas passed his first examina
tion, and was able to report to his father that, in a class
of ninety-six, he stood fourth in mathematics. In French
he was disappointed to be ranked only twenty-seventh.
His general standing was high, and even in French it
was above the average. Considering the disadvantages
under which he had entered, he had reason to be satis
fied j but he declared his intention to gain a higher place,
if hard work could accomplish it. In the month of July,
after a year in the Academy, he thus modestly reports
his first promotion :
74 APPOINTED STAFF SERGEANT. [1824
I am now pleasantly situated in camp, tenting with Mr.
Donaldson. When I first arrived, I found I was the fairest
cadet in the corps, but after performing two or three " tours
of guard," I was quite in uniform. So great is the influence
of the sun. I am relieved from that duty now by the Major s
honoring me with an appointment on the staff, which oc
curred two days since. I attend to no military duty at this
time whatsoever, but am attached to the adjutant s depart
ment, and do nothing but write. Following the precedent
of the last two years, the office would have been given to the
head of the class ; yet the Major has seen fit to vary from it
in the present instance. The appointment is that of staff
sergeant. 1
The young cadet had made an impression on his com
rades, as well as on his superiors, which remained un
changed to the end of his life. Fifty years later, one of
them expressed the general feeling concerning him in
these words : "I knew him as a cadet, and during his
career as a bishop. He was always the same, a conscien
tious, persevering, daring man. At West Point he was
a boy of fine presence, fine form, graceful bearing, full
of life, ready for anything, generous, consistent. What
he believed to be right he would do." His promotion
aroused no envy in his comrades, 2 and his diligence as a
1 The major here mentioned was Major, afterward General, Worth,
between whom and Polk an affectionate friendship existed for many
years. At the outbreak of the Mexican War, Bishop Polk sent his own
saddle-horse, an unusually fine animal, to his old commander. It was
ridden by the General during the war. It was severely wounded, and
was returned by General Worth at the close of the war in order that it
might be properly cared for. The rest of its life was passed as a pen
sioner in the blue-grass fields of Mr. George Polk, and for years it was a
source of never-ending amusement to the children of the family, whose
delight it was to play with the gallant old war-horse and rouse his mar
tial spirit by beating drums and even old kettles.
2 Among these comrades were: Robert Anderson, Major-General,
U. S. A. ; Charles F. Smith, Major-General, U. S. A. ; Albert Sidney John-
Mi. 18] LAFAYETTE BALL IN NEW YORK. 75
student was so exemplary that in his third year he
ranked as one of the " first six " of his class. His letters
to his father were joyous, but punctiliously respectful.
In September, 1824, he wrote :
We are very comfortably situated in barracks now, and all
things go on smoothly, save the existence of a little irritation
of feeling, which is the necessary concomitant of all those in
the vicinity of the " path " of the Marquis, or General, Lafa
yette. You will have perceived by the papers that he has
returned to New York from his visit to Boston amidst as
many demonstrations of joy as when he first reached that
city. He is to attend on Monday night a very splendid ball
to be given him in that place, in Chatham Garden, which is
floored over and will contain, I understand, upwards of 5000
persons. On the day after he is to honor us with his pres
ence, we are to do him all possible military honors, stun him
with the roar of cannon, drill until he is tired of us, and as a
dinner will be given him, if he remains until night, he will
have a levee! Between this place and Newburg, the inhabit
ants have, I understand, crowned the most prominent heights
with hosts of tar barrels (North Carolina will thrive) which
are to be fired as he passes upwards. This he is to do in
the night, of course.
He took a boyish pride in the distinction conferred on
his father in the reception of General Lafayette, and
was anxious that the old North State should appear to
ston, General, C. S. A. ; S. P. Heintzelman, Major-General, U. S. A. ;
A. B. Eaton, Major-General, U. S. A.; Silas Casey, Major-General, U. S. A.;
Jefferson Davis, President, C. S. A. ; Robert E. Lee, General, C. S. A. ;
Joseph E. Johnston. General, C. S. A. ; O. M. Mitchell, Major-General,
U. S. A. ; W. Hoffman, Major-General, U. S. A. ; T. Swords, Major-Gen
eral, U. S. A. ; A. A. Humphreys, Major- General, U. S. A. ; W. H. Emory,
Major-General, U. S. A. ; Samuel B. Curtis, Major-General, U. S. A. ;
Humphrey Marshall, Major-General, C. S. A. ; Alexander Dallas Bache,
Professor ; A. E. Church, Professor ; W. W. Mather, Professor ; A. T.
Bledsoe, Professor ; George W. Cass, Civil Engineer.
76 LAFAYETTE IN NOETH CAROLINA. [1824
advantage on that occasion. At the same time he re
ports that he has entered on the study of fluxions,
which he has found to be difficult, but " subservient to
application." In the same letter he mentions the begin
ning of an indisposition which continued, with intervals
of relief, for several years, and at one time threatened
to close his career by an early death.
By the National Intelligencer I observe it stated that Gen
eral Lafayette and suite set out for the South on the twenty -
third of the last month. He has now, I presume, arrived at
Raleigh, and is at this time probably receiving the hearty con
gratulations of its citizens.
I am happy to hear of the distinctions that are paid you on
this occasion. All other considerations aside, it evinces on
the part of our citizens a willingness still to single out and
honor at every opportunity the remaining survivors of our
glorious Revolution. It is a just tribute and one which
should be paid by the remotest posterity, were it possible for
them to live and receive it.
I confidently trust that the reception of the General in North
Carolina will do much honor to the State. We are greatly in
the background in matters and things generally, but from the
decisive steps that have been taken, I am constrained to
believe that we will not be on this occasion. We cannot, it is
true, parade as many brilliantly caparisoned troops, at once,
to discharge so many pieces of artillery, or show as much
pomp and splendor on the occasion, as some of our Northern
brethren ; yet I presume we can bring forward as much
staunch civility, cordiality, and hearty welcome as most of
them. In conclusion with this subject I have only to express
my sincere regret at the necessity of my absence from partici
pating in the universal joy which will reign during his stay
with you.
We progress here as usual, following closely the same
routine of duty. I have, since the examination, been studying
a subject not prosecuted, I believe, in our University, at
19] "A PATCH FOR OLD tiHIMTS." 77
least when I was there, fluxions. At first, as is usual with
almost all studies, it appeared pretty difficult, but, like all
other mathematics, was readily subservient to application.
To the study of the works of the more learned philosophers,
Newton, Gregory, etc., it is indispensable, all of the phi
losophy of the former is based in fact upon the principles of
fluxions.
Excepting a bad cold and sore throat which I now have,
my health has been very good.
Another letter written by Leoiiidas to his mother con
tains an allusion to "a patch for old shirts," which
"patch" came near getting him into trouble with the
authorities.
WEST POINT, April 18, 1825.
My dear Mother: It is so customary to begin letters with
excuses for the writer s own negligence, and to detail the long
catalogue of uncontrollable events that has been the cause of
it all; or to complain of and criminate the remissness of cor
respondents, that I feel that I should be ashamed to say aught
of either. Yet, notwithstanding, I cannot refrain from tell
ing you that I have been a long time patiently awaiting a
letter from you. It is true, through others I frequently hear
from you. I wish, however, to see the scratch of your own pen.
Pa s last very acceptable letter came to hand in due sea
son, enclosing a " patch for old shirts." I did not intend, as
he seems to have understood me, that I actually put on two
shirts at once, as the term "doubling" would seem to convey.
Double they were, it is true j this was done by my washman,
and when they came into my hands they were "two single
gentlemen rolled into one," so that our shirts had, as our pro
fessor tells us some mathematical points have, the very re
markable property of being two and one at the same time.
With us to-day has been quite an uncommon one, having
on it commenced a general review of our course since last
January. I also began the study and practice of surveying.
To say yet how I like the latter might be premature, inas-
78 STUDIES SURVEYING. [1825
much as we have only had the use of the instruments taught
us, and the general principles of it explained. So far, how
ever, I am well satisfied, and as I have determined to be more
so, and if possible learn it well, it is highly probable I will
not be much encumbered with it.
With regard to Hamilton and Harry, I fear that my
father will be unable to obtain warrants for them, at least for
the former, so long as I remain here. There was at the last
session of Congress introduced into the Senate by Mr. Macon
a bill to prevent the education of more than one of the same
family (brothers, as I understand it) at this institution j and
also to limit the number of cadets to the number of Congres
sional Representatives. I recollect afterward to have seen
the report of the committee to which this bih 1 was referred,
that this clause referring to the limitation of the number was
considered inexpedient, though I am not positive about the
other. This, however, I have heard, that Major Worth, as
commandant of the corps, applied for an appointment for a
brother of his, and that the Secretary of War informed him
he could not now have it, though he would grant it on the
1st of September next, by which time another brother who is
now here shall have graduated and left the Academy.
I have also heard that the cadets for 1826 were appointed
by Secretary Calhoun before he left the War Department;
whether by request or otherwise, or whether the report is
true, I am unable to say, as it came very indirectly.
As yet we have not heard of any intention of marching
the corps from this point. With regard to my intended dis
posal of myself during the ensuing vacation, I have concluded,
for reasons before stated to my father, though at that time
not determined on, to remain at the Point. It is more than
probable I shall visit North Carolina one year hence. This
too depends upon a contingency.
The superintendent of the Academy at that time, and
for many years after, was Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, a
competent soldier and an accomplished officer, who was
laudably desirous to improve the discipline of the in-
Mi. 19] ESPIONAGE AT WEST POINT. 79
stitution. It may be doubted whether some of Colonel
Thayer s methods were entirely judicious. He had the
misfortune to inspire some of the cadets with resentment
at what they considered a system of espionage, and also
with a feeling that, in the correction of practices whicli
he disapproved, his awards of punishment were not
justly distributed. For a time, but only for a time,
Cadet Polk shared in the feelings of his comrades.
There was a standing regulation of the Academy which
forbade the cadets to receive money from home without
the knowledge of the superintendent ; but the regulation
had been tacitly ignored and had become virtually obso
lete. One day Colonel Thayer startled Polk by saying
very positively, " You have received money from home,
sir." Polk supposed that his father must have written
to the colonel mentioning the circumstance, and instantly
replied that he had received money. He was thereupon
admonished that he must literally obey the regulations
on that subject. He explained that the pay he was re
ceiving from the government had been insufficient to
supply him with actual necessaries and conveniences,
that he had been obliged to contract debts for articles
of ordinary comfort, and that he was then in debt for
such articles. On leaving the colonel he thought noth
ing more of the subject until he received a letter from
his father, from which it appeared that Colonel Thayer s
information had not been received from Colonel Polk ;
and on making further inquiry, he was disgusted to learn
that the report against him had been made by a tale
bearing postmaster who had acted as a spy and had seen
him open the letter in which his father s remittance,
that "patch for old shirts," had been contained. The
indignation of the young cadet on making this discov
ery was warmly expressed in a letter to his father, in
80 A TALE-BEARING POSTMASTER. [1825
which, for a moment, he showed himself to be on the
verge of deliberate insubordination.
The colonel will not hesitate a moment to receive any in
formation from any source concerning us j there are a great
many individuals (of all ranks) on the Point, who act as his
emissaries, and whose duty it is to spy out secretly and re
port all infraction of regulations. One of these ferrets it was
(I had it from himself), fashioned into the form of a postmas
ter, and laboring not only tinder the weight of honor, but
also of that of the oaths of office, who conveyed the intelli
gence. This was not known to me at the time Colonel
Thayer spoke to me about it, or I should have- put him to the
test by asking him for his author. It was my impression,
from his saying very positively, " You have received money
from home, sir," that probably you had written to him stat
ing the circumstances attending the transmission, and I very
unhesitatingly answered that I had. He then went on des
canting on the necessity of obeying literally the regulations
and such like. I told him that the money paid me by the
government was found to be insufficient to satisfy my actual
wants and moderate convenience, and therefore I had applied
for the deficit to you. Shirts I was obliged to have, and I was
more in debt at that time than I ever expected to be when I
came here. He said, I suspect, pretty much the same that he
wrote to you, about merit, conduct, etc., and we separated.
The doubt, if any there was, of the postmaster, was turned
into certainty, when I, very indiscreetly, opened the letter in
his presence, not suspecting he was the man he has proved to
be. Leaving to you to judge of such conduct as the above
on the part of the head of an institution like this, I will
merely say that I was sorry to hear you have stated to the
superintendent that such an infraction should not again
occur, for I am now in want of flannels and other things
which money must buy. And besides I have touched but
$5 of my pay for the last five or six months. By accurate
calculation I could not, if I were freed from debt, receive but
$6 per month of the $28 which are allowed us, so many stop-
Mt. 19] A CADET S FINANCES. 81
pages have there been made upon our pay, and out of this
six dollars I have to pay the tailor, shoemaker, and merchant
for such articles as may be wanted. But, exactly like nine
teen twentieths of the corps, I am indebted to the aforesaid
tailor, merchant, etc., the major part of my next month s pay,
and this has been the case for many months, and things are
so arranged that there seems to be no remedy. Not even the
rigid economy of the Yankees can withstand it. Keeping us
in debt is said to be the superintendent s policy, thereby pre
venting us from spending our money for trifles. For one, 1
should rather consult my own wishes and sense of propriety.
Thirteen of us board with an old lady to whom we pay for
better fare $2 per month more than is paid at the mess-house.
I am also allowed a waiter, to whom I pay $2 per month. I
was under the impression that I had mentioned the receipt of
the note in the spring in a letter to you. The one by William
Baylow was received also, which was very seasonable. I was
making my arrangements for a trip to New York, which
would have certainly failed but for its reaching me just then.
I have no news to write that would interest you. Our ex
amination is approaching, and all are, as usual, making vig
orous preparations. Up to this period I have never in North
Carolina experienced so pleasant a fall. We have had but
one slight fall of snow which did not lie four hours.
The examinations to which Polk refers in this letter,
and on which his distinction as a cadet was so largely
to depend, resulted in a bitter disappointment. In the
drawing exercises of the Academy a practice had long
prevailed, with the knowledge of the instructors, which
was doubtless objectionable, and which was finally pro
hibited by Colonel Thayer. The prohibition was dis
regarded, the cadets choosing to take the risk of their
disobedience, and taking it for granted that the conse
quences would be equitably meted out. Unquestionably
Colonel Thayer was right in maintaining discipline j but
he aroused in them a strong feeling of antagonism by
82 COMPLAINS TO THE SECRETARY. [1820
the inequality of the punishments awarded in this case.
Polk was one of the chief sufferers by Colonel Thayer s
judgment. The consequence to him was a lowering of
his standing in his class to an extent which was not just,
since nearly the whole class had been equally in fault.
His conduct was prompt and characteristic. He ad
dressed a letter of complaint to the Secretary of War,
and forwarded it, as the regulations required, through
Colonel Thayer himself. It was a boyish letter, but it
was also a manly one, and may here be given in full.
U. S. M. A., WEST POINT, Jan. 23, 1826.
HONORABLE JAS. BARBOTJR.
Sir : The regulations governing the Academy prescribe :
that in case a cadet, feeling himself aggrieved by the author
ities immediately over him, applies to the superintendent for
relief, and is by him refused, such cadet may then appeal to
the Department of War through the hands of the superin
tendent, whose duty it shall be to forward the appeal to the
Secretary of War for his examination and order thereon.
Being one of those individuals coming under the provision
of the above article, I proceed now to submit my grievance,
together with other facts, which it will be first necessary to
state.
For many years past, it has been customary with the great
majority of such cadets as were engaged in drawing either
to place the paper, on which they intended to draw a piece,
over the copy representing it, and thereby seeing the princi
pal points or lines, to dot or trace them on said paper, or t o
arrive at the same by measuring distances with strips of
paper, pencils, etc. Establishing thus the most remarkable
objects, they sketch off the rest from sight. This practice
being detrimental to the progress of the classes in learning
how to " sketch " was censured by the teacher, and finally
prohibited by an order from the superintendent. So much,
however, was added to the appearance of their drawings by
such means that cadets were willing to risk violating the
Mt. 20] TEOUBLE IN THE DRAWING-CLASS. 83
order, and ready to abide by the consequences, provided each
suffered in proportion to the magnitude of his offense.
In the order of the superintendent alluded to, it was stated
that an improper advantage was taken of their fellows, by
those using those means. To this it was answered that since
the practice was of such long standing, so general that it
might be called universal, and since they traced without the
semblance of secrecy toward each other, its criminality was
lessened to almost nothing, and their perfect openness seemed
very little like a wish on their part to defraud those thus
looking at them. At the late examination, the Academic
Staff by what law or authority it is difficult to conceive
authorized a committee of its body to send for particular in
dividuals of the drawing-classes, and to ask them, if per
chance guilty, to convict themselves, by their own confessions,
of an infraction of regulations. Accordingly, of those called
on, consisting of about half the second and one of the third
class, but two or three denied that they had either "traced"
or " measured," two refused to answer at all; the rest ac
knowledged that they had done either the one or the other,
or both, stating that it had been general, and, so far as our
knowledge extended, always practiced. I, who was one of
this number, appealed to the assistant teacher who was near
at hand, and who had himself but lately been a cadet. He
very readily testified to the fact.
Of those who confessed, one was placed fifth, two or three
distributed among those not called on, the remainder arranged
in order at the foot of the class. Of those who refused one
alone was found deficient ; the other, who was last year second
in his class in drawing, and now stands deservedly among
the first draftsmen in the corps, was absolutely put foot of
the whole, he who was deficient excepted of course. Upon
what grounds the gentleman placed so high was assigned
there is entirely unaccountable, since he acknowledged to
the Staff he had either measured or traced the whole of his
pieces, more or less, whilst others culpable in a far less degree
were placed much below him. On what principle, it may be
equally well asked, did they give the gentleman placed foot,
84 A SENSE OF INJUSTICE. [1826
his standing *? Had he pleaded guilty of the charges alleged
against him, they must at least, by the rule which seems to
have governed them, have placed him at the head of those
who did plead guilty ; the very reverse has occurred, he has
been put foot. We are then left to the conclusion, that in
placing him so low they sought rather to punish him for his
refusal than to render to him his just merit.
That of which I particularly complain is, that select indi
viduals only were suspected and called on, and that the whole
were not placed on the same footing, especially since it was
known, because it was told, that the practice was general.
After the publication of the rule assigning us our places,
several who thought that duty to themselves required they
should ask the superintendent to put the remainder of the
class to the same test, in order that equal justice should be
distributed to all, did so. His reply amounted to this : Gen
erally, if applications were made to him during the examina
tions, he would submit them to the Academic Board : since,
however, the examination had closed, he did not think proper to
reassemble the Board. Submission therefore was the only
alternative.
Such a refusal could not have been expected. The petition
was simply for justice and an equality of privileges, which we
were unquestionably entitled to and should have received. It
will probably be said the reason why the rest of the class
were not questioned was, that it might lead to the necessity
of recalling the published roll and issuing a new one, thereby
setting a precedent dangerous to the future quiet of the in
stitution. In this I grant there is plausibility. Yet if it be
once established that this precedent shall never be set aside,
that a roll of merit once made public shall never be altered,
how far could not the Academic Staff go in any system of
persecution they might choose to adopt f If ever there was a
time for investigation, this is it. Not one or two individuals
only have been injured by this act, but the half of a class.
We have pursued the opposite course : gone to the superin
tendent for satisfaction, who has received us as stated. I
therefore, sir, claim of you that protection and redress which
Mi. 20] FILIAL CONFIDENCE. 85
is as due to me as I confidently trust it will be readily
rendered by you.
With sentiments of high respect, etc.,
CADET LEONIDAS POLK.
To HONORABLE JAMES BARBOUR, Secretary of War.
Leonidas had no concealments from his father on this
subject. On February 8th he wrote as follows :
U. S. M. A., WEST POINT, Feb. 8, 1826.
Dear Father : The examination closed on Saturday, twenty-
first ult., with that of my section in philosophy. By the re
port of the Board I have been declared fifth in that branch,
as also in chemistry. My standing in drawing, the remain
ing subject of my course, is thirty-second. In regard to this
latter I feel it incumbent on me to state that it is as unjust
as it is injurious to my general standing in the institution.
In order that you should understand why it is of such a
nature, I have thought proper to send you the accompanying
copy of a letter addressed by me to the Secretary of War,
which Colonel Thayer, through whose hands it must necessa
rily pass, has assured me he would transmit. That I, as well
as others therein stated, have been wronged, is as certain as
that we have existence. And I do not despair, notwithstand
ing the repeated assurances of the colonel to the contrary,
lest my letter should fail to produce the desired effect.
Doubtless he will urge on the Department strong reasons to
support the course he has taken, predicated, I presume, on
the "good of the institution." He sent for me on the night
following the morning on which I handed him my letter to
come to his house. It was for the purpose of suggesting an
alteration in his reply to me, on the day I called on him for a
redress of my grievance, which reply was a part of the letter
to the Secretary. The alteration desired, not affecting the
object of my writing, was, after some conversation, acceded to
and inserted. This will account for the disfigured appearance
of that part of the copy. During all our conversation, which
afterward turned on other things connected with this matter,
80 A QUESTION OF CLASS STANDING. [1826
he seemed desirous to be thought in a very good humor.
Once forgetting himself, I suppose, he acknowledged that
oversight may have been made by the committee whose duty
it was to determine the merit in drawing, as they made great
despatch in this examination, with the view of closing it on
one day. This, I told him, was a very forcible argument in
favor of a reinspection of the drawings. He would not con
sent that such should be done, but observed that as to my
case he would make inquiry of the committee, and if he
found that certain pieces of mine had not been considered
(and I am confident they were not, as, if they were, my whole
class will, without hesitation, say that the greatest injustice
has been done me), he would then let me know what course
he should pursue. Since then I have not seen him, to ask for
the result of his inquiry, though from him I feel afraid that
no satisfaction can be derived. I am now waiting for the
issue of my complaint to the Secretary. Many others of my
class have written like letters to members of Congress request
ing their aid and influence in procuring an investigation.
Senator Johnson, of Kentucky, in reply to Cadet Bibb s re
quest, has promised his aid, and observed that he had often
thought that cadets were frequently unjustly oppressed.
Such injustice as has been thus exemplified needs, I have
thought, only to be plainly shown to be plainly seen, so that
I have represented the whole affair, as well for as against
myself, in as plain and forcible manner as I could to the Sec
retary alone. If justice has not given place to military or
rather despotic notions of blind obedience in all cases, I may
hope for my proper merit. Wm. Baylow is tenth in mathe
matics and sixth in French.
The action of the Secretary of War was what might
have been expected. The conclusion of the matter is
stated in a letter dated April 2, 1826.
WEST POINT, April 2, 1826.
My dear Father : I have received your letter on the subject
of my standing in drawing, etc., and I am happy in being
ML 20] DECISION OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 87
able to state that before its receipt, having heard from the
Secretary of War, whose decision was against me, I had
pursued the course therein advised by you. The Secretary
noticed our complaints in orders. He approved the course
of the Board, and concluded by solacing us with the idea
of there being between the date of our complaints and the
next ensuing examination six months, and by exhorting us
during that period diligently to apply ourselves, adding that
at its expiration "we would receive such standings as an
impartial decision should award."
For this I was not prepared. I did not (as did many)
expect he would annul the proceeding of the Board, and
give us new standings by the aid of others whom he might
select; or that he would at all reflect on their decisions, at
least, if he should, it would never be known to us. If he did
anything, of which I had my doubts, that, I believed, would
be to instruct, or rather request, the Board of Visitors in
turn to have questioned all of the members of the class
relative to tracing, and have their answers considered in
making out the standing. This would have been a kind of
compromise, would have secured to us our just rights, and
allowed the Board and others a fair opportunity of judging
of our merits. He thought fit, however, to decide otherwise,
and if most of us could wield our quills with as full power
as does any experienced engraver his carving-knife, we
would be unable, from the blow we received in January,
to reach in June anything like our proper places. From
considerations such as those mentioned by you, and from
a firm conviction of the propriety of such a course, and
worse than folly of any other, I determined to abide tacitly
by the decision of the Secretary, not at all, however, shaken
in my opinions in regard to the matter. I am aware of
the high estimation in which the Staff and superintendent
in particular are held by the government, and know conse
quently the difficulty I had to contend with in making my
complaint. I felt aggrieved; the Regulations of the Academy
point out a course to those thus situated. I pursued that
course, and the highest authority by them recognized having
88 MORTIFICATION. [182G
decided against me, I did not conceive the grievance so
oppressive as to require either a further appeal or procedure
of any kind. My general merit may, and doubtless will,
be affected materially by my standing in drawing. It should
be certainly the desire of every young man to aim at a re
spectable position among his fellow-students, wherever he
may be put to school. Such is my wish, as much or more,
I need not add, on others account than my own.
Five years after graduation will obliterate the fact of an
individual s standing here or there, or, if it is recollected, it
will be said, perhaps, that he obtained it for having a knack
at small things, great plodding, and the like. These con
siderations, aided by your own opinions and advice, have
put to rest all my cares about the affair, and I am now
progressing as cheerfully as though I were first.
The philosophical indifference to his disappointment
which the young cadet assumed in writing to his father
was far from real. He had no confidence that the wrong
would be righted. He felt that the class distinction
which he had fairly won had been unjustly wrested from
him. He continued to work steadily find resolutely, but
lie was deeply mortified, and he was still more deeply
indignant. He brooded over his disaster with gloomy
forebodings, and wondered what might be in store for
him in a world in which a venial fault may cost the
coveted reward of years of faithful labor. Sitting mood
ily in his room one night, he cast about for something
to distract his thoughts. In his table drawer he found a
tract ; and the reading of that tract changed the whole
course of his after-life.
It was just about a year since a new chaplain, who
was also professor of ethics, had appeared at the Acad
emy. He was a new chaplain in more senses than one,
for never before had officers or cadets heard such ser
mons as he addressed to them. Dr. Charles Pettit Mcll-
20] CHAPLAIN McILVAINE. 89
vaine, afterward Bishop of Ohio, was then at the zenith
of his powers, of a tall and majestic person, lofty but
gracious in bearing, in countenance not unlike ideal
ized portraits of Washington. His voice was powerful
and penetrating, but melodious j his gesture perfect and
therefore apparently unstudied ; his manner in the pulpit
full of earnestness. He had gone to West Point from
Washington, where oratory was both practiced and ap
preciated, and it was not in vain that Dr. Mcllvaine had
heard such orators as Webster and Hayne, Burgess and
Calhoun. General Crafts J. Wright, who was then at West
Point, thus describes the impression he made at his first
appearance as the chaplain of the Academy: "On the
first Sunday of Dr. Mcllvaine s preaching at West Point
the cadets went to chapel, as usual, some with books
to read, and others hoping to sleep, but none ex
pecting to take any interest in the sermon. Had a
bugle been sounded in the chapel they could not have
been more astonished. Books were dropped, sleep was
forgotten, attention was riveted. There was general
surprise and gratification. From that day on the chap
lain s influence grew more and more powerful, until at
length the whole corps was roused as by a thunder-clap
at the announcement that Leonidas Polk and others had
been converted/ and that Polk was to lead a i praying
squad in the prison, which was the only unoccupied and
quiet room in the barracks. I and many others stood
on the stoop to see them go by and find out who they
were. Polk, calm and fearless, with earnest anxiety in
his look, headed the squad of converted men. From
day to day the number increased, and finally it became
so large that they were obliged, for want of room, to
adjourn to the chapel. There was a veritable revolution
in the barracks and the corps of cadets."
90 CONVEESION. [1820
The story of these remarkable events may best per
haps be told in the language (somewhat condensed) of
Bishop Mcllvaine himself.
" When I began duty as chaplain and professor of
ethics, the late Bishop Polk was a cadet in his third
year. I had no knowledge of him except as one of the
congregation to whom I preached, until circumstances of
a very interesting kind brought him to iny house.
" The condition of the Academy was far from encour
aging. There was not one t professor of religion 7 among
the officers, military or civil. Several of them were
friendly to the efforts of the chaplain, others were de
cidedly the reverse. Of the cadets not one was known
to make any profession of interest in religion. Among
cadets, officers, and instructors there was a great deal
of avowed infidelity, but my venerable and beloved
friend, Colonel Sylvaiius Thayer, then commanding offi
cer, though not a communicant of any church, must be
understood, with others of the officers, to be untouched
by these remarks.
" I had been laboring for nearly a year without the
slightest encouragement. Not a cadet had called to see
me. I knew them only as I met them in my class or
saw them as a congregation. They seemed to feel that
it would be regarded as a profession of interest in re
ligion to come to me. One of them, whose father had
requested him to become acquainted with me, was afraid
(as he afterward told me) to do so until after his father s
death. In the deepest of my discouragement, when I
had just concluded a series of discourses on the evi
dences of Christianity without any known effect, this
cadet came to my study. He introduced himself by
saying that his father had recently died, and he was
ashamed to say that a foolish fear had kept him from
Mi. 20] A BOW DRAWN AT A VENTURE. 91
coming to see me. Before he left me I put a tract into
his hand. l This/ I said, is for you. It was addressed
to a person in affliction. Another was addressed to an
unbeliever. l Take this/ I said, and drop it somewhere
in the barracks ; perhaps I shall hear of it again. 7 He
smiled, and said he would do as I asked. A week passed,
and I had forgotten the tract, but the following Satur
day afternoon came another cadet. As I took his hand,
lie said, My name is Polk/ and could say no more. I
led him to a chair. He was still silent, as if he feared
to speak lest he should not control his feelings. Suppos
ing he had got into trouble with the authorities of the
institution, I asked him to trust me as a friend and tell
me his burden. Then he burst into the most feeling
and intense expression of a mind convinced of sin, and
earnestly begged to be told what he must do for salva
tion. He had conversed with nobody. There was no
man there but his minister who could have compre
hended his state of mind. I asked him how it came.
He answered, I picked up a tract in my room; who
put it there I do not know. It was the tract I had sent
at a venture. Then he said that the discourses on the
evidences had made a certain impression on his mind,
which had been in a degree skeptical; then, having
heard I had caused a number of copies of Dr. Olynthus
Gregory s Letters on the Evidences to be brought to
West Point and deposited with the quartermaster, he
had obtained a copy. That book had strengthened his
impressions, but he was not aware to what extent the
truth had taken hold of him till he had read the tract.
His docility and humbleness of spirit were very striking.
" After I had given him instruction and prayed with
him, he became tranquil and began to speak of his cir
cumstances. His would be the first known instance in
92 A REVOLUTION AT WEST POINT. [1826
the history of the Academy of a cadet having come out
and taken position as a follower of Christ. He consid
ered how he would be wondered at and observed, and by
some ridiculed j he deeply felt the need of the greatest
circumspection and of strength from above, lest he should
not walk consistently with the new life on which he now
sought to enter. Next morning he would attend divine
worship as he had never attended before. It would get
abroad in the corps that this great change had come
over his mind. He would be watched in the chapel. He
reflected that no cadet had ever knelt in the service, and,
so far as was remembered, no officer, professor, or in
structor. The chapel was then so small that the cadets
sat on benches without backs, and were so crowded to
gether that it was difficult for any one to kneel. He
asked me what he ought to do, not having the slightest
idea of shrinking from a duty, and yet modest and not
wishing to make himself unnecessarily an object of
observation. I said he had better begin at once. The
next day, when the confession in the service came, I
could hear his movement to get space to kneel, and then
his deep tone of response, as if he were trembling with
new emotion ; and then it seemed as if an impression of
solemnity pervaded the congregation. It was a new
sight, that single kneeling cadet. Such a thing had not
been supposed to be possible.
" It pleased God that this, though the first, was not
the only instance. Cadets and officers afterward told
me that if I had chosen one man out of the whole corps,
whose example would have the greatest effect on the
minds of his comrades, I should have chosen him. In
the course of a week, one and another, strangers to me,
came on the same errand, each without previous com
munication with any one until he went to Cadet Polk
Mi. 20] BAPTISM OF CADETS. 93
and asked to be introduced to me. I found it necessary
to have meetings for them twice or thrice a week in my
house for instruction and prayer. Soon the number of
cadets, with some professors and instructors, was so great
as wholly to occupy the largest room I had, and in the
case of almost every cadet who came his chosen intro
ducer was Leonidas Polk, the first-born of these many
brethren.
" Forty days after his first interview with me, Cadet
Polk was baptized in the chapel, in the presence of the
corps and an unusually large attendance of officers and
professors. Another cadet, W. B. Magruder, who still
lives, was baptized at the same time. The service of
adult baptism had never been witnessed there before,
and the circumstances made it an occasion of intense
interest. At its conclusion I addressed a few words of
exhortation to the two young men, ending with the sen
tence, l Pray your Master and Saviour to take you out
of the world rather than allow you to bring reproach on
the cause you have now professed. Then there came
out of the depths of Polk s heart an Amen which spoke
to every other heart in the congregation. It is only
lately that I received a letter from a gentleman, a stran
ger to me. When he had heard of the death of Bishop
Polk, he remembered spending a Sunday at West Point
in the beginning of 1826 and attending a service in the
chapel when I baptized two cadets. He recollected the
very words of the close of my address, and said that one
of the cadets, whose name was Polk, had responded with
a deep-toned Amen 7 which still sounded in his ears."
Shortly after his baptism Cadet Polk was appointed
orderly sergeant on an occasion and with a purpose
which showed the esteem in which he was held by his
superiors. The members of the oldest class had been in
94 CONSCIENTIOUS ORDERLIES. [182G
the habit of lying in bed at early roll-call, and had come
to assert some sort of traditional right to be reported as
present. The authorities endeavored to correct this
breach of discipline, but had found that it could not be
broken up without the assistance of orderlies who could
not be induced to swerve from the line of duty even by
the public opinion of the whole corps of cadets. Such
men, it was believed, were now to be found among the
chaplain s converts. Two were chosen, and one of them
was Polk. The chaplain heard of it, and, being desirous
of having an explicit acknowledgment of the reason of
the appointment, he took his stand one day beside his
friend, Colonel Thayer, when the companies were march
ing out to the evening parade. As they approached, the
chaplain said, " Colonel, why have you selected those two
cadets for orderly sergeants? As for Polk, I do not
wonder; he s a fine-looking fellow and marches well;
but the other is a mere slouch." "The truth is," an
swered the colonel, " we had to take them. I thought
these two young men could be relied upon to do their
duty at all hazards." His judgment was justified by the
event. The new orderlies were cajoled and threatened j
and at last the alternative was plainly put to them, that
they must either resign or allow the traditionary practice
to go on. They quietly answered that neither course
would be right, and that they meant to do their duty.
They did it accordingly, and after a while they had no
difficulty.
As might have been expected, the young convert felt
it to be his duty to communicate to his father an account
of the change which had occurred in the motives and
ambitions of his life. After stating as clearly as he
could the reasons which had convinced him of the truth
of the Christian religion, he proceeded to tell of the se
Mt. 20] TAKING UP THE CHOSS. 95
vere struggle which it had cost him to take up his cross
by placing himself under the direction of his chaplain,
Dr. Mcllvaine, and of the peace which he had enjoyed
after taking that step. It is significant to find that his
warmth of religious fervor was accompanied by an equal
warmth of family affection, which led him at the same
time to urge that he might be permitted to take a fur
lough and return home. Of his visit to Mr. Mcllvaine
he said :
This step was my most trying one. To bring myself to
renounce all of my former habits and associations; to step
forth singly from among the whole corps, acknowledging my
convictions of the truth of the holy religion which I had be
fore derided and was now anxious to embrace ; and to be put
up, as it were, as a mark for the observations of others,
were trials which, unaided by the consolations of the Bible,
humble and fervent prayer, and above all by the strong hand
of Him who is all-powerful to shield and protect all such as
do earnestly desire to make their peace with Him, I should
have sunk under and again fallen back upon the world. By
the especial favor of Divine Providence, however, I was so
strengthened as to continue my efforts, heedless of all oppo
sition, and can now freely say that rather than relinquish the
prospect before me, or yield aught of that hope which cheers
me in every duty, I would suffer such torture for centuries,
though it were increased a thousandfold, since I have found
my mind at ease, and fortified against the opinions of the
world. I do not find the duties of religion of that gloomy,
insipid, and austere character that those of the world con
ceive they possess ; so far from it, that I am clearly convinced
that the most happy man on earth is he who practices most
faithfully the duties of Christianity. Since I have entered on
my new, and I earnestly hope permanent, course of life, six
others of the corps have successively come forward after
the same manner, and we hope for a further increase. The
colonel is very well disposed toward religion, and has kindly
96 NIGHTLY MEETINGS FOE WORSHIP. [1826
granted us permission to attend, with some of the professors
and others, at Mr. Mcllvaine s nightly meetings for purposes
of worship. We are now more settled, and are progressing as
well as attendant circumstances will permit.
These alterations have, as you may well conceive, caused
others in my plans for the ensuing encampment. I wrote
you some time since the reasons inducing me to remain on
the Point until I should graduate without obtaining a fur
lough. Your own request was one and the chief j and this I
hope you will, at my earnest solicitation, now withdraw, as I
would be extremely glad to visit you and the family on the
coming vacation. I have spoken to Colonel Thayer about it,
and am induced to believe from what he told me, that he
Avould not press the objection stated by him some time since
as to artillery practice. He has laid it down as a rule not to
give a definite answer to such applications until after the
time specified in the Regulations for making them (viz., the
1st of June), but told me I might make my application. It
is necessary to have the consent of our parents to accompany
the application. I would be obliged to you, therefore, if you
would write to Colonel Thayer yourself, and request him to
grant the permission I want. I have postponed writing you
so long that my letter and your answer will hardly have
time to be exchanged before the time for application shall
have arrived. Will you please, at the same time, send
me the necessary funds. I have some debts, not of large
amount, that I should like to discharge. I need not, my dear
father, add anything as to when, where, and how often I
remember you, my dear mother, brothers, sisters, friends
and all.
Your truly affectionate son,
LEONIDAS.
Colonel Polk was not himself a religious man, and he
was troubled at the intelligence of his son s conversion,
fearing that he might have been carried away by a
momentary enthusiasm. His fears were, of course, ex
pressed in his reply to the letter which he had received
^t. 20] COLONEL POLKAS FEAES. 97
from Leonidas, and he was doubtless somewhat reassured
by the following letter :
WEST POINT, June 5, 1826.
My dear Father: I have received your letter in answer to
my last, with feelings, as you may well suppose, of deep re
gret, seeing from it that I had been the cause of uneasiness
to the family. I can now realize more clearly the feelings
with which it impressed you when read. I am truly sorry
that I should have been unable to repress the expression of
my own, when under such excitement. At the time I wrote,
my mind was in a state of great distraction. This of itself
disqualified me for writing with coolness, or dispassionately.
But when to this is added the natural warmth, and, I hope,
tenderness, of my affections toward my parents, and the solici
tude I had for them, as also for the rest of my relatives and
friends, I trust, my dear father, you will make every allow
ance for the overflowing of a heart thus filled with emotions
of the liveliest regard. To be now the source of pain to any
individual would to me be exceedingly painful j and doubly
painful would it be to offend, in the least, those to whom I
am by so many ties most endearingly bound. I have seized
this, the first opportunity since the receipt of yours in which
I thought I could say to you those things which I felt as I
wished. They have weighed, I cannot refrain from repeat
ing, heavily on me and often since your letter reached me ;
but I sincerely trust that whatever cares my former letter
may have created may by this time be removed, and I shall,
as soon as I can have arranged my affairs after the examina
tions, set off, by God s permission, for home and the bosom
of my family, which having reached, it is my hope that I
shall be enabled to institute, instead of care, consolation.
The check on the Mechanics Bank was enclosed, and, with
what I shall be entitled to for the time in which I shall be ab
sent, will be amply sufficient, as far as I can judge, to pay
my debts and expenses home. I have spoken to the colonel
as to my furlough, which he has kindly granted, acknowledg
ing at the same time the receipt of your letter. He says I
98 AT HOME ON FURLOUGH. [182G
can leave here about the 20th inst. I shall then probably
reach home about the 1st of July or sooner.
Our examination commenced on to-day, under the inspec
tion of a large number of the Board of Visitors. I expect to
be taken up in the course of the two following weeks in both
branches of my course, and shall pass, I hope, at least a cred
itable examination.
The furlough spent at home in 1826 was a time of
very great happiness both to Leonidas and to his father.
It was not to be expected that Colonel Polk should
sympathize with his son s feelings, but it was not pos
sible either to doubt his sincerity or not to respect the
strength of his convictions and the modest firmness of
his resolution. In due time Leonidas returned to West
Point, and engaged with greater industry perhaps than
ever in the prosecution of his studies. In a letter writ
ten during the following winter he laments the difficulty
of pursuing the higher branches, even of a military edu
cation, as far as he would like, and expresses particular
regret that literature should be almost entirely neglected.
" For the interests of the Academy and the country," he
says, "it is greatly to be desired that the Board of Vis
itors would add to the course another year, in which
polite learning should at least be taught, if not exclu
sively. For my own part, I would more readily spend
my fifth year in a course of reading than in doing the
duties of a lieutenant." A little later lie urges this point
somewhat more explicitly. He says: "My classical
education is imperfect. My knowledge of history, and
indeed of most books aside from my text-books, is
exceedingly limited ; and I feel great unwillingness to
close my eyes to all this life while only an effort is want
ing to its enjoyment." He therefore asks his father s
permission to accept the professorship of the matlie
Mt. 20] OFFERED A PROFESSORSHIP. 99
matical and physical sciences in a new institution which
was about to be founded in Massachusetts, and which
has since become famous as Amherst College. This
position had been tendered to him unsought, at the in
stance and by the recommendation of Colonel Thayer,
who had now become his fast friend. The salary offered
was moderate, but sufficient in those times for his com
fortable support. 1 The duties of the professorship, he
said, would occupy only about three hours a day, and
would leave him ample time to prosecute his own studies
with the assistance of his colleagues of the faculty. He
urged in favor of the acceptance of this position that it
would enable him to be of special service to his brothers
Rufus and Washington, who might be with him at Am
herst, and over whom he could have a brotherly over
sight. He said he had considered the obligation resting
upon him to remain for a year in the army after his
graduation, and had come to the conclusion that he was
bound by it only in case the government declined to
release him. " The engagement was," he said, " that I
should consider myself its servant for a term of five
years, unless it sooner discharged me. If, therefore, I
knew or supposed it to be ready to grant such discharge,
there could certainly be nothing wrong in making the
application. I have consulted the superintendent con
cerning it. He thinks my views are correct, and that no
obligation rests on me to abstain from applying for a
discharge should I desire one."
For various reasons Colonel Polk was not inclined to
sanction the adoption of the course proposed, and Leon-
idas unhesitatingly relinquished it ; but in so doing he
announced his intention to enter the ministry of the
i Eight hundred dollars exclusive of all charges for board, room,
servant, etc.
100 CHOOSES THE MINISTRY. [182G
Church, and begged that he might have the approbation
of his parents in adopting that profession. He said :
With you I concur in the opinion that it is the part of
wisdom in a young man just entering into life not to post
pone to a protracted period the choice of that profession 01
settled plan of life to which he means to devote himself.
Certainly no step is more important, or of more commanding
influence over one s future happiness, and therefore none
requires a more calm consideration. I have long time and
often had the subject before me, and, divesting myself of every
bias, have repeatedly surveyed the whole field of human
avocation to find out that course through which interest and
inclination should direct me to proceed, and I am happy in
being able clearly to pronounce my search has not been fruit
less, as I am fully persuaded that the ministry is the profes
sion to which I should devote myself. It has occurred to you,
doubtless, that I would probably look to this, either of my
own accord or at the instance of others. And lest an impres
sion should be made upon you that I have followed the coun
sels of others rather than exercised my own judgment, I
will here remark that it has been my studious effort to with
draw myself from everything of that character, in order that,
whatever my conclusions might be, they should be entirely the
result of my own labors. And especially have I desired this,
as the ministry was one of the professions under considera
tion ; for of all others this is that on which we should enter
urged alone by our own unaided inclination. This, therefore,
is the one of my choice. I feel that in the exercise of its
functions I should find my greatest happiness, and this is the
ground of the selection.
That it may meet the approbation of yourself and mother,
is the earnest prayer of
Your truly affectionate son,
LEONIDAS POLK.
This announcement was a serious disappointment to
Colonel Polk, who had hoped that Leonidas might con-
Mt. 21] LAST YEARS AT WEST POINT. 101
tinue the military traditions of the family, and perhaps
achieve distinction as a soldier. His chief fear, however,
seems to have been that the lad might be carried away
by the enthusiasm of youth into a profession to which
he was unsuited, and he wisely urged that a final deci
sion should be postponed until after Leonidas should
have graduated and should have spent some time in
travel. To this his son dutifully agreed. " In reference
to my determination as to an occupation for life," he
wrote, " I can only repeat that it has not been the work
of a moment, but of leisurely consideration. I will for
bear, however, from further mentioning it until I have
complied with your wishes."
During the remainder of his term at West Point
young Polk was in charge of the class of cadets which
had just been entered at the Academy ; and it was the
desire of Colonel Thayer and of the instructor in tactics
that he should remain with the corps, after his gradua
tion, in the capacity of quartermaster. His final exam
inations were passed with credit, and, notwithstanding
the misfortune of the previous year, his name appeared
eighth in the merit roll, which entitled him to expect a
commission in the artillery. On July 4, 1827, he was
graduated. In August, by his father s desire, and for
the improvement of his health, which for some time had
been impaired by hard study and by an acquired delicacy
of constitution, he entered on a course of travel in
New England, Canada, New York, and Pennsylvania,
arriving in Tennessee in the beginning of October. His
observations of men and things during this journey
were communicated to his father in a series of interest
ing letters, in one of which he describes a railroad which
he saw in Massachusetts. His description of it is as
follows :
102 %N* EARLY RAILROAD. [1827
QUEBEC, L. C., August 22, 1827.
My dear Father: As I anticipated, I left Montreal on the
day before yesterday, and reached this place on last evening.
Among other things of interest in Boston and its vicinity, I
saw a railroad. The object for which it was first projected
was to bring from a bed of granite near Quincy, about nine
miles from Boston, stone to build the Bunker Hill monument.
Its whole extent is about 3 miles, from the bed to a canal
leading to the sea. The inclination of the rails is about one
in 20 inches, which enables a horse to draw an almost incred
ible weight with much ease. The construction is simple. It
is the object first to get the uniform inclination, which is done
in the ordinary way, of cutting down hills and filling valleys,
either with the excavated earth or bridges of stone or wood.
This done, pieces of stone about 18 inches square and 7 feet
long are laid lengthwise across the road at intervals of nearly
6 feet; these are embedded or not as occasion requires.
Resting on these are laid timbers of about a foot square, for
the wheels to run on. These last of common pine. Oak
strips are laid on these, and on the strips bars of iron are
fastened, to secure the whole, and form a smooth surface for
the wheels. The wagons are of stout make, with all the
wheels of the same size, so that in going down they hitch
on at one end, and shift to the other when returning. The
stone is either carried on the body of the wagon or suspended
beneath, as occasion requires. To prevent the wheels from
slipping off, pieces of flat iron are nailed on the inside of the
fellies and project beyond the tire about an inch, (a) is a
section of the rim of the wheel, that is, of the felly, tire and
inside band, and (b) of that on which
it runs, or of the pine timber, oak strip,
and iron bar. The work has cost an
immense deal of money, owing to want
of skill on the part of its projectors
and those employed in the execution. It will, it
is thought, though, in the course of time pay for itself and be
come profitable stock, as the article which passes over it has
become popular as a building material.
jEt.21] THE ADAMS HOUSE AT QUINCY. 103
While at Boston he visited the residence of the late
President Adams at Quincy, which was then occupied
by the family of Judge Thomas Adams.
I rode out to Quincy, the residence of the late President
Adams. It is about nine miles from Boston toward Provi
dence. The village of Quincy is about the size of Louisburg
in Franklin, Ct., though more open in its suburbs, and neat
in its construction. About a mile from its center is the house
of Mr. Adams. I had pictured to myself a fine country-seat,
occupying an eminence, surrounded with groves, orchards, and
woodland, with all the appurtenances of such a place, as the
probable residence I was to see, but found a plain, oblong,
two-story, white house, with dormer windows, near the road,
surrounded with fine shade-trees and fields for three quarters
of a mile, at least. It is plain and comfortable, though nothing
fine. The occupants are the family of Judge Thomas Adams,
a son of the late President. He was very polite, and his lady
particularly so. The house was shown us, with a great variety
of paintings and busts, part of those owned by the President.
The tomb of the family or vault, rather is in the town
graveyard, near at hand, and contains his remains. It is
simple. A mound of earth, with a door of slate-stone at one
end, fastened with a common padlock, constitutes the whole.
At Albany Mr. Polk paid his respects to Mr. Van
Buren, whose son had been one of his classmates, and
from whom he had a letter of introduction to his father.
Of this visit he said : " The first day I was in Albany he
had company, Mr. Ritchie, the editor, and his family, and
others from Virginia dining with him I called in the
afternoon and as I was desirous of getting on to the
Lakes and Canada., I did not remain another day. I
shall likely meet him again on his western tour in
Rochester."
In Tennessee he visited his friends and relatives, and
dined with General Jackson. In writing to his father
104 RESIGNS HIS COMMISSION. [1827
he says : " I dined with a party of ladies and gentlemen
at General Jackson s about ten days since, and found
the old general and his lady both as courteous as I could
have wished. He entertains as easily as he well could,
though he seems to be immersed in business."
He was now bent upon resigning his commission, and
was desirous to do so before his furlough should expire.
He therefore wrote to his father asking his approval of
that step. He said :
My intention at the time of setting out on the tour I have
taken was to have completed it, spent some time with brothers
Lucius, William, and Thomas each, and reached home two
or three weeks before the 25th of October, at which time my
furlough expires. This I wished to do to comply with a wish
expressed by Ma, that I should see you before I resigned my
commission, and my object was, should it meet your appro
bation, to resign before my furlough expired.
In pursuance of this intention, I made due haste from the
outset, not delaying anywhere longer than I could see all
that was worthy of observation, and at times declining civili
ties which, under other circumstances, I should have been
glad to have received. I did not perceive, until I got into
Pennsylvania, that it would be impossible for me to meet
my object, or, if I did, I should have to make very short
stays both with my brothers and at home, and as I appre
hended no difficulty in obtaining your consent to my resign
ing, I thought it best to give over the original plan, forward
my resignation through you, and take my time in getting
home. This, I hope, will meet your approbation. My resig
nation accompanies this. It is dated Raleigh, in order that
I may receive an answer at that place.
With his father s reluctant consent, but without his
positive approval, Lieutenant Folk s resignation was
forwarded to the Secretary of War, by whom it was
accepted, and he prepared to enter upon his studies for
the ministry.
CHAPTER III.
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AND EUROPEAN TRAVELS.
1828 TO 1832.
Sacrifices in entering the ministry. Opposition of Colonel Polk to his
son s leaving the army. Filial reverence. Engaged to Miss Devereux.
Enters the Seminary at Alexandria. Meeting of General Jacksor
and Colonel Polk. Mission work around Alexandria. Visits President
Adams. Meets Henry Clay. Visit to the Houses of Congress. Visits
James K. Polk. The Colonization Society. Favors deportation of
negroes to Africa. The spoils system. Letter to Dr. Mcllvaine.
Ordained deacon. Marriage to Miss Devereux. Engages in the cure
of the Monumental Church, Richmond. First sermon. Illness from
overwork. Death of Hamilton Polk. Sympathetic letter to Colonel
Polk. Resigns position at Richmond. Ordained priest. Continued
ill-health. Horseback tour in Virginia. Sails for Europe. Reaches
Paris. Traveling in France. A Paris mob. Leaves Paris for Brus
sels. Passing the custom-house at the Dutch lines. A sprig of
royalty. Fellenberg s school at Hofroyl. Through Switzerland and
across the Alps into Italy. Rome. Custom-house experience in
Naples. A fashionable statue of Washington. A royal dairyman.
Nice. Preaches to sailors at Leghorn. Return to Paris. A plague-
stricken city. An attack of cholera. Arrival in England. From
London to Cambridge. King s Chapel, Cambridge. Epping Forest
and its annual stag-hunt. Cockney sportsmen. Opinion on negro
slavery. Oxford. English breakfasts. English reverence. New
College Chapel. Thoughts on a cathedral service. The Liverpool and
Manchester Railway.
From the time when Leonidas Polk had deliberately
arrived at a conviction that it was his duty to enter the
ministry of the Church, his purpose to take that step
remained unshaken ; but it must not be supposed that
the step he was about to take involved no sacrifice. He
105
106 ENGAGEMENT TO MISS DEVEEEUX. [1828
was just of age, tall, commanding in appearance, and
after his successful career at the Academy there lay be
fore him every prospect of distinction in an honorable
profession for which he was thoroughly prepared and in
which he might hope to continue the military traditions
of his family. His father, Colonel Polk, for whom Leon-
idas entertained an unbounded reverence and admira
tion, strongly opposed his leaving the army, and in giv
ing his final consent he did not conceal the reluctance
with which he yielded to the wishes of his son. The
filial reverence which Leonidas felt for his father was
fully reciprocated in the feeling of profound respect
which his father entertained for him. Consequently
there was no unhappiness between them j but, although
Leonidas knew that he did not lie under his father s dis
pleasure, it caused him deep grief to know that his leav
ing the army to enter the Church was a bitter disappoint
ment to both his parents. Moreover, when still a child,
he had fallen in love with one of his little playmates,
Frances Devereux, of Raleigh, whom he had met again
as an accomplished woman, and to whom he became
formally engaged in the month of May, 1828. In after-
years Mrs. Polk wrote : " I love to recall those days of
the summer of 1828, just before he entered the seminary,
when he read with me, talked with me, and took pains
to direct my mind, which had for a while been entangled
in a maze of perplexities and doubts." It was his earnest
wish that their marriage should take place at once, and
this desire would have doubtless been gratified if he had
retained his commission in the army. But none of these
things moved him from the course to which he felt im
pelled by an imperative sense of duty. After a brief
emancipation from the rigid discipline and constant
labor of West Point, he prepared to enter on a new
Mi. 22] EN TEES THE SEMINARY. 107
course of confinement in the studies of a theological
seminary. He did indeed make an effort to induce Miss
Devereux to marry him before he went there ; but she
saw that it would be unwise, and he, with great reluct
ance, yielded to her judgment. Once more leaving
home, he began his studies for the ministry in the Semi
nary at Alexandria, November 4, 1828.
An amusing story of the suppressed aversion with
which Colonel Polk regarded his son s change of profes
sion was told by the late venerable Colonel E. G. W.
Butler in a letter dated July 8, 1882 :
" A few days before the inauguration of Andrew Jack
son," says Colonel Butler, " I, his godson and ward, went
to Washington, and, on entering his chamber at the Na
tional Hotel, I was introduced to his old friend, Colonel
William Polk of North Carolina. Major Donaldson, pri
vate secretary of the President-elect, informed me that
when Jackson and Polk met, a few moments before I
entered, the general shook the colonel cordially by the
hand and remarked, l My dear old friend, how glad I am
to see you ! I fancy I can see your red face during Tar-
leton s raid upon the Waxhaw settlement, when you and
I were running down the lane, closely pursued by the
British cavalry ! l In the course of the conversation
Colonel Polk informed me that he had come to Wash
ington to dance at the inaugural ball of his early friend ;
and I, recollecting that his son had graduated at the
Military Academy, inquired, Colonel, where is your son
Leonidas stationed ? Stationed ? he replied. < Why,
by thunder, sir, he s over there in Alexandria at the
Seminary ! "
The period of Polk s probation as a candidate for
orders passed uneventfully away in the Seminary. He
l See Chapter L, page 32.
108 STUDIES AT ALEXANDRIA. [1828
made no attempt to make up for the disadvantage of his
lack of a classical education .by a serious study of the
ancient languages. His efforts in that direction were
limited to a somewhat superficial study of the Greek
Testament and of the elements of Hebrew. To philoso
phy he seems to have paid no attention. His studies in
ecclesiastical history were meager ; in ecclesiastical polity
they were merely nominal. He regarded the ministry as
a sort of military service, in which the minister had sim
ply to obey orders and deliver the Commander s mes
sage. He was beset by no doubts of the Christian reli
gion ; he took it for granted that the evangelicalism of
his beloved pastor, McHvaine, was the only true message
of the gospel, and he applied himself with entire devo
tion to the study of evangelical theology. In after-years
he outgrew not a little of the narrowness of evangelical
ism; if he did not repudiate, he studiously ignored,
Calvinism 5 and by a sort of sympathetic instinct he
clearly apprehended and cordially embraced the idea of
the historic constitution and corporate continuity of the
Church. But at that time he sat at the feet of his
instructors with an unquestioning confidence in the
authority and sufficiency of their teachings, and his one
anxiety was to prepare himself as soon as possible to
teach the same things to others. His only relaxation
while at the Seminary was in mission work in the neigh
borhood of Alexandria; and during his vacation his
time was happily spent in explaining to his betrothed
the evangelical truths which he himself had learned.
Throughout his Seminary course Mr. Polk kept up a
constant correspondence with his father, in which he
wrote of persons and incidents in which he knew that
his father would be interested, avoiding any special
reference to his own pursuits, to which he knew that his
Mi. 221 . HENRY CLAY. 109
father had not yet become reconciled. Thus, on the day
after he had become permanently settled at the Semi
nary, he wrote as follows, describing the situation of the
Seminary, mentioning a visit which he had made to the
President, and a chance meeting with Mr. Clay, regret
ting the condition of the White House, and referring
playfully to the birth of his father s ninth son, for whom
he apprehends some difficulty in finding a sufficiently
heroic name.
THEOLOGICAL, SEMINARY, Nov. 5, 1828.
I became permanently fixed at the Seminary on yester
day, and find the place and its advantages altogether such
as I expected. The situation of the Seminary building, for
commanding a wide and extensive range up and down the
Potomac, including Alexandria, Washington, and George
town, is one of the most beautiful (so say experienced trav
elers) in any country. We are about two miles off directly
to the right from the river and from Alexandria, and about
six or seven from Washington and Georgetown. The Capitol
and President s house are very plainly seen from my window
as I now sit writing. With the help of a glass, the " mem
bers" may be seen going up into the building, though I don t
know that they can be distinguished individually.
While in Washington during the session of the Education
Society of our church, I called, with two other gentlemen,
to see the President. We were ushered into a sort of ante
chamber until the servant could know if we could see him.
While in waiting, Mr. Clay came out of the President s room,
and gave those of us who had not before the pleasure of his
acquaintance an opportunity of knowing him. Mr. Clay is a
man of uncommonly imposing manners, tall, dignified, affable,
easy, and very intelligent looking j he received us with much
grace. He inquired after your health, having first asked me
if I was your son, and said he had the pleasure of traveling
with you some years since, perhaps in Virginia. Mr. Adams,
to whom we were soon after introduced, is as awkward as
Mr. Clay is easy. He seems to have been in bad health. I
110 VISIT TO WASHINGTON. . [1828
suppose perhaps the harassing electioneering tour has wasted
him away.
The buildings and grounds about the President s house
seem going to destruction, and some of the rooms, one es
pecially, has never been furnished. It is a broad, long room
and looks more like parsimony in the government than any
thing I have ever seen.
By a letter from Mary I heard of the arrival of my little
brother, and as General Jackson is the last of the line of
heroes and sages, I fear he will find some difficulty in get
ting a name!
Later on he expresses his satisfaction that a suitable
name for his infant brother has been found, and de
scribes a visit to Washington :
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, Nov. 21, 1828.
I have received your letter of the 10th, and one from Ma
of the same date also. I think the name Charles Adams
very suitable, more so, perhaps, than any other, especially
as that side of the house seems to have been neglected. I
am glad too that he is a son, not that I have objection to
having sisters, but there seems to be less difficulty and risk
in the education and lives of boys than girls. Nine sons, too,
make up a goodly number.
About two weeks since I was in Washington for a short
time. The Houses were in session. It was the first time I
had ever seen them sitting. Mr. Stephenson, the Speaker
of the House, seemed to preside with a good deal of dignity
and dispatch of business. In his manner not unlike Mr. B.
Yancey, I think, quick, and sometimes hasty. The Speaker
of the other House Mr. Smith, I think is, on the contrary,
easy and rather tame. He is an old and venerable-looking
man. While in the House I heard a member introduce and
speak on a resolution " to appoint a commission for each State
in the Union, to ascertain what works of internal improvement
were necessary, and annually to report to Congress the result
of the inquiries." I did not know who he was. He was a
ML 22] THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY. Ill
young member, of prominent cheek-bones, face altogether
strongly marked, light hair, of a stentorian voice, which made
the hall ring, or rather thunder, and of a gesticulation strong
and powerful as a blacksmith s. I heard afterward he was
Mr. Chilton of Kentucky.
James K. Polk [afterward elected President of the United
States] I met in the avenue. He has his wife and sister
Ophelia with him. They belong to a mess with several
of the Louisburg delegation, with whom I spent the evening.
They are all exceedingly gratified at the result of the Presi
dential election, 1 of course, and James thinks he will probably
leave public life after the general s term of service expires.
He says none of the friends of the general have the smallest
idea who he will appoint to fill his Cabinet offices.
At that time the Colonization Society was making a
noble but unsuccessful attempt to grapple with the
slavery problem. Like many other Southern men, Mr.
Polk was in hearty sympathy with the objects of the
society, and fully expressed his views of it in a letter to
his father :
January 21, 1829.
I went last Saturday to Washington, to the annual meeting
of the Colonization Society. The day or rather the night
was rainy and the meeting, which took place at six P.M., was
not so well attended as usual. A report of the Board of Mana
gers was read, showing the colony to be more nourishing
than it has ever been, and as much so as the means of the so
ciety, though greatly increased, would allow. They have
had an accession of territory, and emigrants are on better
terms with the neighboring tribes than they have ever been,
and are beginning to understand and practice successfully
the principles of self-government. Their schools are nourish
ing, and, from the list of articles of agriculture and trade
mentioned in the report as abounding in the colony, they
seem to possess all that any people could desire for personal
1 General Jackson s first election.
112 NEGEO EMIGRATION TO AFRICA. [1828
comfort or exchange. The only obstacle to the success of the
colony so far as the country in which it is, is concerned is
that it is at first unhealthy for those coming from the northern
part of the United States. Those south of a line drawn east
and west, and passing between Washington and Baltimore,
stand the climate very well j almost all north of that line
have to undergo a sort of preparation by taking medicine,
and afterward they live in it very well. The society seems
to have gained during the past year many distinguished
friends particularly in Virginia. There was a State society
formed in Virginia not long since (at the head of which was
Judge Marshall), and also several active auxiliaries. After
the report was finished, Mr. Mercer of Virginia made a
speech complimenting the friends of the society on the pros
perous state of things it exhibited, etc., during which he
noticed the progress of the society under all its discourage
ments. He is a very easy and graceful speaker, and very
fluent. A Mr. Key of Georgetown also spoke on a resolution
to erect a monument to the memory of their late agent, Mr.
Ashman, who seems, under Providence, to have been the
main founder of their settlement. Mr. Stores of New York
and Mr. Clay also spoke, with sundry others of less note.
Mr. Clay presented and spoke on a resolution thanking the
ladies of the United States who had during the past year
taken an active interest in the aid of the society, and espe
cially those of Petersburg, Richmond, and Georgetown. He
seems to have been, from the formation of the society, its
warm friend, and said he well recollected some years since
when ten or a dozen gentlemen met in a small room to form
it; then, rapidly sketching the progress of the society, he
spoke of its certain success, from being supported by most of
the intelligent and benevolent of the country, the great ad
vantages held out to emigrants in Africa, and the inducements
they have to leave this country. The number of applicants
for transportation greatly exceeds the means of the society.
There are now about six hundred. The plan seems to be
feasible, and indeed has been shown to be entirely so. All
that is wanting to remove not only the blacks that are free,
Mt. 22] JA CKSON IN A UG UEA TION. 1 13
but those that are enslaved also, is the consent of their
owners and funds to transport them. There is laud sufficient
and productive to support them ; and as to climate, fortunately
the great body of blacks are in that part of the Union from
which they experience least inconvenience in Africa. Now I
believe in the course of not many years one State after an
other will be willing to abolish slavery. This is proved by
the state of things in Maryland and Virginia, the slave States
farthest north, and from a variety of motives funds enough
will be raised to gradually transport them.
I attended the debates in the House of Representatives on
the Georgian claims, and on a resolution to require the elec
tion of several officers of the House public printer among
others to be viva voce. This, James Polk told me, was intro
duced by one of the Jackson party to elect the editor of The
Telegraph, which they are fearful they cannot do if the vote
of each member is not known. I heard a speech of Mr. Bar-
ringer in opposition to it, which sounded quite like the legis
lature of North Carolina.
I saw Governor Iredell for a few moments, who gave me
the latest intelligence I have had from home.
James Polk showed me a letter from a correspondent under
General Jackson which he had just received, stating that the
general, though deeply distressed at Mrs. Jackson s death, was
well, and would travel by the most direct route to Washington
in January or February.
On hearing that his father intended to be present at
the inauguration of General Jackson, he wrote:
February 10, 1829.
I was gratified to hear from Ma that you would be in
Washington on the 4th of March, 1 and hope that your ar
rangements will enable you to do so, taking Alexandria in your
way, or at least that you will let me know when you will be
in Washington. From the universal excitement which seems
to pervade the country, I suppose the throng will be greater
l For Jackson s inauguration.
114 THE SPOILS SYSTEM. [1829
than on any such occasion before ; and to secure comfortable
lodgings, therefore, I should think it well, either to get to
the city early or apprise some friend of your coming. You
will hardly be able to come up the Potomac, as it is, and has
been at intervals, either frozen over, or so filled with floating
ice as to keep the steamboats from running regularly. And
this I regret, as the stage route should you come by stage
is at this season very uncomfortable and rugged. General
Jackson wished, I understood, to have us parade on his get
ting to the city j he was expected to be there on the 8th. I
have not heard of his arrival.
In the month of June he expressed to his father the
feeling of astonishment with which he and others re
garded the aggressive development of the spoils system
in the public service by General Jackson.
I have not been to Washington except to pass through
merely since I was there with you, though our proximity en
ables me to hear of most of the things of interest that pass.
I do not know how others may have been affected, but the
proscriptions of the general, from party considerations merely,
of many of his fellow-citizens of unimpeachable character,
seem hardly consistent with the generous and dignified
course I expected from him. His descending to the removal
of petty postmasters in obscure parts of the country seems
hardly suitable employment for the head of so great a nation,
whose very station must furnish ample business of a more
elevated and altogether more useful character. Were I a
politician, I fear that I would find in the administration thus
far enough to shake my Jackson principles.
During the summer of 1829 Mr. Polk had occasion to
use his influence with the administration in the correc
tion of a wrong done by excessive severity in discipline
at West Point. It will be remembered that he had
himself suffered, while a cadet, by an act of discipline to
which he submitted, but the justice of which he never
Mt. 23] A FEIEND IN NEED. 115
ceased to deny, holding that the inequality of punish
ment administered to different persons for identically
the same offense was utterly unjust. While at the
Seminary he was visited by a young man who had not
indeed been blameless, but who had been expelled from
the Academy for faults which had been far more lightly
punished in the case of other cadets. Taking the case
in hand, Mr. Polk visited the President to ask, not for
mercy, but for even-handed justice on the ground of the
established usage of the Academy. He narrates the
circumstance to his father in the following letter :
Henry Hawkins called on me last Saturday. Having writ
ten in reply to his request, advising him not to go on fur
lough, I was surprised to meet him, and was afraid to ask his
business. He soon told me, however, that he had been dis
charged from the Academy for deficiency in mathematics.
This was a terrible shock, for the poor fellow seemed greatly
mortified, and his whole prospects were blasted. He told me
that a great number had been found deficient in the different
classes, and eight perhaps of his own class, some for conduct,
some for French or drawing, or mathematics, and some for
all. Among the latter number was a son of General Brown,
who had, notwithstanding, been retained at the Academy,
with a promise that he should be permitted to join the next
class. A son of Swartouts [Collector of the Port of New
York, perhaps] was deficient in several branches also, and
had been retained. This gave Henry a claim on the govern
ment for a like privilege ; and I went with him forthwith to
the President, stated his case to him, and desired his restora
tion wholly on the ground of established usage in such cases. His
conduct had been better than that of one half the corps ; he
was young when he was admitted (too young) ; and he had
been found deficient but in one branch. All these are con
siderations which the government has been in the habit of
regarding in the cases of young men who have been dis
charged heretofore, and who have applied for reinstatement.
116 ILLNESS OF HAMILTON POLK. [1830
He referred Henry to the Secretary of War, stating to him in
a letter that, if it was proper, he desired his return. The
Secretary required him to lay his case before him in writing,
which he did, and received for answer that he should be re
stored, with permission to go on with the next class. So he is
again a cadet, with a severe lesson, which I trust and believe
has so impressed him that he will never forget it.
At this time Mr. Folk s brother Hamilton, who was
then a student at Yale, was obliged to leave college on
account of ill-health. He visited Leonidas at the Semi
nary, on his way home. Every effort to arrest the pro
gress of the fatal malady of consumption was fruitless,
and in the following spring Leonidas thought it neces
sary to prepare his parents for the probably inevitable
end by the following letter :
Sunday, March 3, 1830.
My dear Mother : Hamilton, I suppose, lets you hear from
him as he proceeds on his journey. Mary said she would let
me know something of his route and where he would expect
letters that I might write to him. Through a letter from
brother William the other day, I heard of his having passed
through Salisbury; the direction of his route was not men
tioned. I should be glad to know it, and would write to him.
Poor fellow, I cannot but follow him with great interest, and
allowing his case not to be, as I trust it is not noiVj hazardous,
yet he may have, and undoubtedly he has, the appearance of
having the seeds of our family malady sown within him. A
recognition of this fact is at best painful, but I confess I do
not see the wisdom of putting away from our minds the con
templation of things as things are and must be. There is, it
is true, much satisfaction in the thought that we and ours
shall be retained in being as we are, yielding and receiving
mutual kindnesses, and ministering to the relief of each
other s cares and woes, uninterrupted by disease or death ;
but to build on such a foundation is to build on the sand.
The whole fabric is unstable, and to persuade ourselves that
Mi. 231 THOUGHTS ON DEATH. 117
it is firm is to conjure up a delusion which stays and represses
our alarms for a while only, to pour upon us a double portion
of affliction when the truth must come. Thus I reason with
regard to all my earthly attachments, and while to enjoy and
cultivate them is one of the happiest of this world s employ
ments, it is the highest wisdom to be familiar with the fact
that they must cease ; and not only so, but to be willing and
ready to relinquish them with resignation and submission.
They may all go and leave us behind, or we may go and leave
them, when and how we know not. Death s approach is like
that of a thief in the night, at our hand sometimes when we
little expect it ; and yet there is a condition in which, if we
live, such a visitation must be the herald of peace rather than
dismay. Instead of the withering decree, ." Cut it down, why
cumbereth it the ground ? " it is in our power to be joyful re
cipients of the thrilling invitation, " Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foun
dation of the world." My prayer, dear mother, is that the
minds of all the members of our dear family may be disabused
as to the real state of things, and that we may all be eternally
happy. I would not weary you with such frequent and, you
may think, rather urgent remarks as I have occasionally
made touching eternity. I would make my correspondence
and my whole intercourse with you and my dear father no
otherwise remarkable than so far as they may contribute to
the peace and ease of your declining years. In the survey of
my past life nothing so much pains me as the recollection of
occasions when, from misjudgment or the criminal impetu
osity of my naturally ardent disposition, I have done or said
things which must have pained you. I entreat you to erase
the recollection of them from your memory, and believe me
most truly desirous of your affection and approbation and
happiness. Tmlv and affectionately your son>
L. POLK.
About the same time he wrote to his friend, Dr. Mc-
Ilvaine, of his occupations in the Seminary and of his
approaching ordination.
118 MISSION WORK. [1830
Great harmony and good feeling prevail among the stu
dents (fifteen in number, all candidates for orders and in full
standing), six of whom will be ordained during the approach
ing spring. Our little meetings in the neighborhood are
pretty well attended, and occasionally much feeling and in
terest are manifested. As a specimen of this interest, the
meeting I have attended during the past year has resolved to
build a neat brick chapel for its use, and above three hun
dred dollars have been subscribed for that purpose. It will
look for its supply of ministers to the students of the Semi
nary as generation follows generation.
We have been highly gratified with the exhibition of the
spirit of missions recently manifested in your parish. We
have formed a society in the Seminary, and another in the
Alexandria churches is shortly to be raised, which it is hoped
will afford its full quota of funds to the mother society. A
very good spirit, we learn, is abroad in the congregations.
The Lord willing, I shall apply for orders in April. I
shall be likely to be ordained by Bishop Moore in Richmond.
Whither I shall go, I know not. And now, my dear brother,
I shall in an especial manner want your prayers and counsel.
Your superior experience has already been of lasting benefit
to me, and I earnestly hope it may not be withheld while we
shall together labor in the cause of our blessed Master. I
would seek so to pass through things temporal as not to lose
sight of things eternal, and I would strive to set forward the
cause of God and the salvation of multitudes of my dying fel
low-creatures. In looking about me, I find the field white
with the harvest in every direction, and I am only solicitous
to know my appropriate station.
In the "little meetings" of which he wrote in this
letter, Mr. Polk had found the first field of his labors.
The " neat brick chapel " was their first result ; and it
is probable that the activity of the foreign missionary
" society in the Seminary and another in the Alexandria
churches" was more largely due to his influence than
Mi. 23] FAMILY RELATIONS. 119
his modesty allowed him to perceive. But he was eager
to be admitted to orders, and to engage in the full work
of the ministry ; and Dr. Mcllvaine, who was then about
to visit Europe, wrote to request that, as soon as he
should be ordained, he would take charge of his congre
gation in Brooklyn. This offer Mr. Polk was compelled
to decline, as he had already been requested by Bishop
Meade to remain in Virginia to assist Bishop Moore in
the parochial charge of the Monumental Church, Rich
mond.
It had been understood that the marriage of Mr. Polk
should take place soon after his ordination, and in an
nouncing that he expected to be ordained somewhat
before the close of his second year at the Seminary he
thought it right once more to give expression to the
depth of conviction by which he was actuated in taking
a step which his father had not even yet cordially ap
proved. At the same time he expressed his anxiety that
his brothers, who were all manly, upright men, might
not be estranged from him. They were by no means
irreligious men, but they were fond of sports, and some
of them were particularly interested in the breeding of
race-horses. It was not open antagonism or disrespect
that Leonidas apprehended from these warm-hearted
country gentlemen, but rather, perhaps, a good-humored
jocularity concerning sacred things which it would be
wrong for him to permit and painful to rebuke. There
is a subtle indication of the inward sympathy existing
between him and his father in the tacit appeal to the
latter to prevent a possible but painful result of a course
which he himself had deprecated.
I regretted, when I parted with you, the idea of not seeing
you again before you left the State, and particularly on an
120 RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS. [1830
occasion so interesting- to me as my marriage, and I have been
balancing in my mind repeatedly during the fall and winter
the feasibility of preparing for orders earlier than I antici
pated. That I might spend some months longer in study with
advantage is certain. But as I had concluded to present my
self for ordination about the middle of May, and in a theolog
ical course as a few weeks longer or shorter could not be of
material consequence, I have concluded, at your suggestion,
to endeavor to get home by the last of April. This will cause
me to request ordination of Bishop Moore in Richmond on
my way home. I am much pleased with the prospect of meet
ing brother Lucius, whom I may not see again for many
years.
And now, my dear father, I desire to say, with reference to
the course I have determined to pursue during my life on
earth, that I am moved to it by the soberest convictions of
my judgment under the guidance, as I firmly believe, of the
supreme Governor of the Universe, and that, after again and
again revolving in my mind the ground of my confidence in
these opinions, I am but the more thoroughly persuaded of
their truth and stability. Believing as I do, after mature
deliberation, that there neither is nor can be any reasonable
ground of hope for happiness in eternity but in the belief
and practice of the doctrines and duties of the Christian
religion, and that all, therefore, who fail of this must be lost,
I feel constrained by a regard for the welfare of my fellow-
creatures, and in honor of our common Maker, whose worship
and service we by nature so little regard, to use the time and
talents allotted me on earth in unfolding and explaining the
scheme of redemption, and in urging its acceptance. This I
believe to be my obvious and unavoidable duty, and in enter
ing on its performance my earnest desire is completely to dis
entangle myself from all other concerns which may in any
wise interfere with its faithful discharge, and of course, there
fore, to concern myself no further with worldly affairs than is
really necessary. This course differs wholly from that pur
sued by any of my brothers who have preceded me, though
not more than the motives which have governed our sev-
24] ORDINATION AND MAEEIAGE. 121
eral conclusions. And, for myself, I can only say that I am
truly conscientious and sincere ; and that my motives " will
be appreciated by my friends, I cannot but humbly hope and
believe. The relation into which I shall be brought to them
will be novel and in some respects perhaps a painful one, for,
however nearly allied and dear to me they may be by ties of
natural affection, I could never lose sight of their relation to
God, nor of my obligations to be faithful to Him ; and though
these two things ought not ever to be found opposed to each
other, yet possibly they might be, in which case they, being
unable to enter into my views or feel the force of my cir
cumstances, could neither explain my conduct nor excuse
me from censure. That this may never occur is my sincere
desire, but more particularly, my dear father, that such a
change may be effected in our relative conditions as entirely
to forbid the possibility of its occurrence. These things I
have thought it a duty frankly and affectionately to express
to you, and that no occasion was more favorable or becoming
than the present.
On Good Friday, April 9, 1830, Mr. Polk was ordained
deacon in Richmond.
On May 6, 1830, he married Miss Devereux, and soon
afterward returned to Richmond to enter on his duties
as assistant to Bishop Moore in the cure of the Monu
mental Church. The following letter to Mr. Mcllvaine
gives an account of his Richmond ministry :
RICHMOND, July 21, 1830.
My dear Brother: I have been long promising myself the
pleasure of complying with your request to give you an
account of my ordination, first preachings, etc., and, although
several months have elapsed since I was ordained, I have not
found myself altogether prepared for it. You left the coun
try so soon after writing me that I could not write you at
Brooklyn, and I have been so situated as not to hear a word
of you since you sailed, where you were, would be, etc. I was
122 LABORS AT RICHMOND. [1830
ordained on Good Friday, and presented by Brother Robert
son, who was here on behalf of the Greeks. I preached on
the Sunday following from John iii. 16: " God so loved the
world," etc., my first sermon j and, though not very well, and
much excited, I was graciously sustained and comforted in
the delivery of my message. The bishop was about to leave
on a trip to Norfolk and the Eastern Shore, and had re
quested me to fill his pulpit until his return. I consented, and
remained, and preached on the two following Sundays; in the
morning from Hebrews xii. 14: " Without holiness," etc., and
from James ii. 18 : " Shew me thy faith without," etc. I found
myself very much fettered by my notes, and could not help
feeling that the congregation listened as to a written essay
rather than to a spirited heartfelt appeal from the gospel. I
hope time will make it otherwise, and enable me to read
freely. For it is dispiriting labor now, and I do not feel able,
in my present situation, to extemporize. I went from this to my
home, and in a few days after received a call from the vestry
to assist the bishop. The way seemed to have been so plainly
opened before me that I could not but regard it as my duty to
accept. I did so accordingly, and after remaining at home
over three Sabbaths, I returned and entered upon the duties
of the parish. Thus has terminated my pathway into the
ministry ; thus has been consummated the design which I
humbly trust was formed with an eye single to my duty as a
servant of Christ. And, oh, that I may not have been
deceived, and that new evidence may break in upon me of my
having been indeed moved by the Spirit !
The congregation is large, and the fashionable congrega
tion of the city. We have, therefore, spirits of every grade
and character to deal with. About one hundred and thirty
communicants, few males, and these mostly old men. I do
not find many of these decidedly and actively pious. The
bond of Christian fellowship is not so strong (a fault in some
degree, I have thought, common to our Church, is it not ?) as
the gospel requires, and as it is sometimes seen to exist. " I
pray thee, Father, that they may be one, as we are." We
have the usual societies, education, foreign and domestic mis-
24] IMPAIRED HEALTH. 123
sions, they are pretty active, I believe ; a weekly lecture
conducted by the bishop, during the day ; and we are now
about to get up a monthly concert. There are two other
Episcopal churches here, Peet (brother of your superintend
ent) and Lee (son of E. Lee of Alexandria) ministers. They
are both good men and disposed to lay hold of every means
likely to be efficiently useful. The bishop is getting old, and
is for peace. He is cautious and admits new plans and means
with difficulty, though he is very kind and affectionate. He
leaves for the North in a day or two, and will be gone all
summer. I feel very deeply, at times, distressed and de
pressed, under a sense of the magnitude of my work. I feel
inadequate to the instruction of such a congregation, and
often realize the force and necessity of St. Paul s exhortation
to Timothy, " Let no man despise thy youth." I trust I am
not ignorant of the way to be saved, but to present it so as
to command attention and constrain obedience is beyond my
power, and I know, too, that all power is of God, which im
presses effectually. I now feel that an interview with you
would greatly encourage and strengthen me. Your counsels
are at all times very valuable to me. Can you find time from
your valuable engagements to drop me a few hints ? It re
joices me to know that the desire of your heart, so long enter
tained, to be in the midst of the great Jerusalem of the world
where the tribes go up, has been satisfied, and that you have
beheld, with your own eyes, the mighty men whom the Lord
is employing in regenerating the earth.
We are looking to your visit, with that of the excellent doc
tor, to be of immense benefit to our Zioii on this side of the
water. You cannot but reap a large harvest of information,
both general and particular.
I would thank you to notice such books as would be valua
ble to me. As yet I have no library. Can you procure for
me a copy of " The Fathers of the Church "?
Mr. Folk s health had been somewhat impaired by
severe study at the Seminary. Soon after his ordination
Bishop Moore went to the North, leaving him alone in
124 DEATH OF HAMILTON POLK. [1830
charge of the congregation. His strength was over
taxed; but, in spite of serious indisposition, he kept
steadily at work until he was taken dangerously ill.
On his recovery in September he went to Raleigh to
be with his brother Hamilton, who had come home from
Yale College, only, as the event proved, to die. After one
of their conversations, in which Leonidas had avoided
anything that seemed like preaching, Hamilton turned
to him and said, " Brother Leonidas, you are very kind,
you are always with me ; do you think I am going to
die ? " Leonidas hesitated for some moments, and then,
in the gentlest manner, told him the truth. For some
time perhaps for an hour the dying youth was silent.
At length he said, quite calmly, " I am going into a
world of which I know nothing can you tell me any
thing of that world, and how I am to prepare for it ? "
Then "right joyfully" the young deacon preached
" Jesus Christ and him crucified n to his dying brother.
The bishop often afterward spoke of the intense eager
ness with which his brother, during his few remaining
days, listened and asked questions. Leonidas never left
him, night or day, sleeping only a few moments, now
and then, by his side, so that he might always be at hand
when his brother was disposed to converse. At length
he baptized him, and when all was over he fulfilled his
brother s last request to read the burial service of the
Church over his grave. After these tender ministries,
and the great sorrow which closed them, Mr. Polk re
turned to Richmond, feebler than before.
The loss mentioned in the following letter, written
soon after the death of Hamilton, is that of his brother
Charles, a promising child of two years of age, the
choice of whose name had been a subject of affectionate
pleasantry :
Mt. 24] DEATH AND ETERNITY. 125
RICHMOND, November 4, 1830.
My dear Father : I have received both your letters of the
10th and 18th, and do most deeply sympathize with you and
my dear mother under your severe bereavement. To have
lost one son under the distressing circumstances which at
tended the case of poor H., however alleviated by the assur
ance that he was benefited by the change, was seriously
afflictive; but, before this wound had lost its freshness, to
have to sustain another in a strange land, in the person of
such an engaging and lovely boy, must have been almost in
supportable. But, my dear father, the hand of Death must,
sooner or later, be laid upon us all, however engaging or
tenderly loved. And while the reflection that we do but suf
fer the common lot of all the living may make you feel as if
you were not alone in your sorrows, you may doubtless have
the assurance, also, that every stroke which diminishes our
number does but draw those who are left the more closely to
you. I feel this, and doubt not it is felt in common by us all.
But I cannot forbear the reflection that, however united and
cordial our affections may be, and however grateful to our
parents, the demonstrations we have just had prove most
painfully that our happiness must be founded upon a more
enduring basis. Our children and our parents are sources of
great comfort and happiness to us j but, alas ! they are mor
tal they cannot abide with us, nor we with them. And
there is not, nor can be, any security or permanency in our
union but that which is founded on a common interest in the
inheritance of the real Christian beyond the grave. Should
we all possess this, our separation at death must be but tem
porary, our sorrows at parting the sorrows of those "who
are not without hope," and our reunions positive and eternal.
And I cannot but feel that you will excuse me, my dear fa
ther, though a son, for placing before you these things, and
affectionately urging and entreating your attention to them
as the only source of consolation under the distresses to
which we are subject here, and the only ground of hope here
after. Many, indeed, are the resorts to which we may betake
ourselves to drown sorrow or assuage grief, and many pleas-
126 BIRTH OF FIRST CHILD. [1831
ing delusions of protracted days and eternal safety may lull
our fears and quiet our apprehensions ; but the experience
the repeated experience of ages has too often shown the
one to be unsubstantial, and the Word of God most solemnly
warns and cautions us against the other. Only under the
fatherly protection of the Almighty Parent of the Universe,
secured to us through the mediation of Jesus Christ and by
the agency of his Spirit, are safety and true peace to be found.
I have no higher wish than that while these blessings are
strewed around with such a bountiful hand, and so many are
gathering them, my own dear parents and brothers may not
be neglected j nor can there be any period more favorable
than when our minds have been awakened to the vanity of
earthly hopes by an afflictive, though friendly, visitation from
above, as the cares of the world and the hand of Time will
certainly obliterate our impressions and sink us again into a
fatal security. My dear father, bear with your son, who has
no other earthly motive than your highest happiness when he
reminds you of your very protracted old age, the certainty of
death, the immense and boundless eternity before you, and
the absolute necessity of a Christian character in order to en
sure your happiness. May the Great and Mighty Being, be
fore whom we must stand, graciously assist us all !
Your affectionate son,
L. POLK.
On January 27, 1831, Mr. Folk s first child was born,
a son, whom he called Hamilton, after the brother he
had lost. It had been hoped that the winter would bring
relief to his protracted illness ; but the hope was disap
pointed, and, as the spring opened, his family and friends
were filled with apprehension. In April he considered it
his duty to resign his position at Richmond and after
taking his wife and child to her father s home in Raleigh,
he returned to Virginia to attend the Diocesan Conven
tion at Norfolk, w^here he was ordained priest in May,
1831. He then rejoined Mrs, Polk at Raleigh, but re-
^Et.25] SAILS FOR EUEOPE. 127
mained with her only a fortnight. Travel on horseback
by easy stages was prescribed for him, and about the
middle of June he rode through Virginia to Alexandria,
and thence, with his friend Dr. Keith, to Philadelphia.
On consulting a physician in Philadelphia, he was told
he had but a few months to live. He then consulted
Doctors Chapman and Jackson, who advised a sea- voyage
and European travel, but they urged his immediate de
parture. Acting on this advice, he went at once to New
York, and on the 8th of August, 1831, he sailed for
Europe.
After a stormy voyage of twenty days, nineteen of
which he passed in his berth, suffering all the miseries
of seasickness, Mr. Polk landed in Havre on the 28th of
August. Thence he went by diligence to Paris, where he
remained six weeks, taking medical advice and seeing
much that interested him. He was reassured by the
opinion of the celebrated Chomel that, though possibly
overtaxed, his lungs were not affected with disease. Con
sequently, all he had to do was to enjoy his leisure, leav
ing nature in her own way to effect a cure. As soon as
he was settled in quarters, he wrote his father as follows.
The letter is suggestive both to the farmer and the poli
tician.
PARIS, September 18, 1831.
My dear Father : Before the receipt of this you will, of
course, have been apprised of my absence from America and
the cause of it. I am happy in being able to say that I seem to
have experienced benefit from my voyage, at least, it seems
now to begin to appear. At first, shortly after landing, I was
not well. My pain has since abated, my color become better,
strength increased, and I am much less nervous. I trust that
my health may be again entirely restored. .
Our voyage was short, only twenty- one days, and on the
whole quite as agreeable as I had reason to expect j at times
128 A PAEIS MOB. [1831
it was delightful, then wretchedly miserable. We landed at
Havre de Grace, then passed along the border of the Seine
to Rouen and up to Paris in a huge, misshapen coach, called
by a singular misnomer, " diligence." This vehicle consists
of three apartments, all joined together, and upon the same
level, extending, when on the wheels, well nigh the full length
of a road wagon. It is in fact three coaches fastened to
gether. The baggage is all carried on the top, and it is capable
of accommodating about twenty or thirty persons. Persons
often ride on the top. In approaching Paris and throughout
the whole route from the sea-shore, indeed, we passed through
a beautiful country all under cultivation. The grounds seem
well tilled, though entirely open, without fences ; occasionally,
but rarely, a hedge.
It was harvest, the grain was lying in shocks on the ground,
piled, I observed, on the sides of the shock, and not the ends,
as with us. I was struck with the honesty of the people in not
troubling the fruit which hung plentifully on the trees and
vines quite 011 the roadside, unprotected. This is the season
of the vintage also. Their grapes are delightful, and in great
abundance. The pears and peaches are also very fine and
well flavored, as also the strawberries. Finer peaches I have
never seen anywhere.
I am: lodging comfortably in the part of Paris where I have
been for near a fortnight. I may remain as long, or longer,
before going down farther to the south, where I propose
spending the winter. I shall winter probably in Italy near
Naples. This nation, you will remember, has been revolution
ized since I saw you ; it is still not contented with the order
of things ; and on hearing of the fall of Warsaw, the strong
hold of the struggling Poles, the outcry against the Ministry
was very loud and threatening. This happened night before
last. The mob passed under my window to the house of the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, where they called for the Minis
ter ; the doors were closed and barricaded; they pelted the
house with stones, broke the windows, etc. The excitement
continued through the night and has done so up to this period.
Yesterday the mob was more violent than to-day. Every
Mi. 25] CRISIS IN EUROPE. 129
effort is made on the part of the government to quell it;
whether they will succeed is doubtful. Things are by no
means settled. The government has not the confidence of the
people. The poorer classes are in great distress. The money-
holders will not invest their capital, and many of the wealthy
have either gone into the country or left France, so that few
purchases are made beyond the articles of immediate neces
sity. The Liberals fear that, now the affairs of Belgium are
settled and Poland fallen, the Great Powers will turn their
attention to France, and combine to put down the existing
and restore the former government.
The whole of Europe is, indeed, in a critical condition, and
may in a month or at any moment, indeed be involved in
a general war.
We cannot be too grateful that so vast an expanse of water
separates us from the broils and misrule of this region of
crowned heads.
His diary shows that his thoughts were never diverted
by the attractions of the gay capital from what had be
come the controlling influence and purpose of his life.
On Sunday, October 2d, after attending divine service,
he writes :
The minister may be undoubtedly styled evangelical. He
preached at half past eleven A.M. and at three P.M. I at
tended both services. In the morning the communion was
administered, and I trust to the refreshing of my soul. How
blessed it is to hold sweet communion with kindred spirits^
around the board of one common Lord ! Lord, increase with
in me a deeper sense of thy goodness. Cleanse thou my soul
from all that is impure and unholy, and breathe into me
afresh the breath of spiritual life.
In commenting on the morning service, he remarks :
" I see no use of doctrines which cannot be used to affect
the practice of the hearer both toward God and man."
Of the evening discourse, he says : "The preacher failed,
130 TRAVELING IN BELGIUM. [1831
I thought, in not applying his subject. This part of the
preacher s duty perhaps one of the most unpleasant,
certainly one of the most difficult to be done well is
too often slurred over by us all."
Sunday, October 9. I went to hear Bishop L at the
Ambassador s Chapel. In the afternoon so much fatigued I
did not leave my chamber. It is pleasant at times to be
alone away from the gaze and bustle of the world, above
all, away from the presence of this extraordinary city. I had
some pleasant, and I trust profitable, reflections. Thought
much of my dear wife and little one.
Tuesday, October 11. At five o clock I was under way for
Brussels in the diligence, with a Frenchman on each side of
me. I was in the coupe. We rode thus, without speaking,
for many hours, so that I was left to reflections on my stay in
Paris, the people, etc. I may sum up all in this and say : If
we had no souls, if this world were the only theater of our
existence, and if pleasure in its most extended sense were the
sole object of life, Paris is the place to find it. For pleasure,
I suppose, Paris is the first place in the world. But if this
life is the place to prepare for another, and if the Scriptures
are true, one had better live anywhere else.
October 16. Had to hire carriage to take me to the Dutch
lines, for which I paid thirty -four francs ; but could do no
better. This w T as the usual price. Passed out of Antwerp
and through a flat and uninteresting country, thickly popu
lated, and in some places wholly unproductive, unlike that
between Antwerp and Brussels, which I could compare to
nothing else but a great kitchen -garden. At one o clock I
was at the advanced post of the Dutch, where I found several
sentinels along the lines. I handed my passport to the ser
geant, who dispatched it to the commandant of the small
town before which his command was placed. It was returned
with a carriage to take me out of the hands of my Belgian
friends. I mounted into a vehicle very like the Quaker gigs
Mt.25] A SPRIG OF ROYALTY. 131
of Pennsylvania; beside me was my trunk, and beside the
driver was the sentinel, who was taking me to the command
ant of the station. On arriving I was passed as not contra
band, and my driver, a dry, thin, queer-looking little Dutch
man, as if delighted to have me passed so easily, was making
good speed out of the town, when he was brought to by the
custom-house officer with a call to examine my baggage.
There was no avoiding it, so we stopped, and, amid the
gazing throng of good citizens of Landort, I opened my
treasures and politely offered to assist mynheer, who was
tumbling my linen with his dirty fingers. He rejected the
kindness and said he would rather look for himself. He asked
if I had any letters. I answered, "No," but he continued
the search, and presently, with much satisfaction, laid his
hand upon a packet of letters of introduction which I had
quite forgotten. These he turned over and over until he came
to one that was sealed. u Ah," said he, addressing one near
him. "Here, take it to the commandant." This unfortu
nate document was a letter of introduction from Bishop Ives
to the editor of The Christian Observer. The Dutchman, no
doubt, thought it might contain some dreadful Belgian plot.
However, it was soon returned unopened. The commandant
probably thought that an American clergyman, writing by
another to another in England, could have very little to do
with Dutch politics.
On reaching The Hague he called upon Mr. Dabezac
of New Orleans, the American charge d affaires, by whom
he was kindly received and entertained.
I was struck to-day [the diary proceeds] with the sort of
respect shown by the subjects of his Majesty to the sprouts
and sprigs of royalty, and also with what is deemed " comme
ilfaut" on the part of the representatives of foreign powers.
While walking with Mr. Dabezac in the wood, we were over
taken and passed by a number of persons who are more or
less constantly thronging this inviting resort. Among these
at length appeared a child of about ten years of age, accom-
132 SWITZERLAND AND THE ALPS. [1831
panied by her governess, and followed by a servant in livery.
To this little creature I observed the greatest attention paid
by all who came near her, the men facing inward and rever
ently raising their hats, the women courtesying. I asked
Mr. Dabezac who it was. He had scarcely time to reply
before she was at our heels, and he, disengaging himself from
my arm, had faced inward, and given the customary salute
with great gravity. This was so profoundly ridiculous in an
American that I doubted for a moment that it was not done
in burlesque j but this doubt is to be set down to my igno
rance of diplomatic usage. This child, it appears, was the
daughter of Prince Frederick, one of the sons of the king,
and because of that relation, however incapable of under
standing or estimating the honor, she was treated with the
homage due to or exacted by royalty.
At Borne Mr. Polk visited Hofwyl, the celebrated
school of Mr. Fellenberg. One of the most pleasant
days of his travel was spent there in examining the
working of the school, and in learning from Mr. Fellen
berg the peculiar advantages which he claimed for his
system of instruction.
After visiting many points of interest in Switzerland,
he crossed the Alps into Italy, reached Rome by easy
stages, and there spent several weeks. His health was
never good; and he sometimes doubted whether he
would ever be able to undertake the active duties of the
ministry. The following extracts from his diary and
letters are given not because his observations were in
any way novel or profound, but because they illustrate
the steadfast devotion of the man at n time of greatest
discouragement. At Rome he made the following en
tries :
Passed the Forum Romanorum, the most celebrated and
classic spot of the city. Here was the place for the meeting
Mi. 25] ROME. 133
of the Senate, for the gathering of the people, for the trans
action of all business of interest under the kingdom, the
republic, and the empire j here poets recited, philosophers
taught, orators convened. But another reflection was more
gratifying these ruins had heard the energetic and ani
mated voice of the great Apostle of the Gentiles ; for who may
doubt that he whose whole soul was so heartily in the work
which had brought him bound to Rome would neglect the
opportunity offered daily in the Forum for preaching the
gospel
After passing the triumphal arch of Constantino the Great,
and the confused mass of the ruins of the palace of the
Caesars, we came to the Colosseum. Its astonishing magnifi
cence impresses all, and the Christian is awed by the fact that
on this spot thousands of the followers of Christ were made
the prey of wild beasts, by the cruelty of imperial monsters
who disgraced human nature.
At the close of the year 1831 he writes in his journal :
Thus endeth another year. I dare not look back into it to
find consolation. Much, very much do I see in it to deplore
with the keenest, bitterest regret; and I can only be relieved
from the unhappiness of such a retrospect by humbly casting
myself at the foot of the Mercy-seat, confessing fully and
penitently my transgressions, and imploring grace to brace
and strengthen me against the future assaults of the tempter.
May God forgive me for the past, and assist me in future, for
Christ s sake.
January 1, 1832. A new year, opening on the Lord s
day. May the tranquillity of this holy day be diffused through
the entire year, and may the peace it is calculated to inspire
be the lot of me and mine.
Attended the English service. The preacher called upon us
to look back and see how many of our friends and acquaint
ances have passed into eternity. I did so, and was surprised
at the number. What thoughtless mortals we are, and how
134 AN ITALIAN CUSTOM-HOUSE. [1832
little impressed with the solemn realities which encompass
us ! I spent the day, after returning from church, in my room,
pondering over the circumstances of the season. May the
Lord assist me in consecrating my heart, during the whole of
this new year, exclusively to his service. My dear wife and
child their absence at this season I feel particularly. There
are certain seasons signalized and set apart for special devo
tion to all our interests j this is one of them, and my heart
goes back to my dear home. I commend it and them to the
mercy and blessing of God.
January 18. Shortly after leaving Terracina I became a
subject of the King of Naples, and almost as soon had a speci
men of the privileges of my new situation. After passing the
advanced post where the passport was vised, I encountered
the custom-house at Fondi. I left the arrangement of my
baggage to my servant as usual, and was reading ; but, finding
him somewhat long, I looked out, and saw an exceedingly ill-
looking and dirty man handling and rumpling some prints I
had picked up on my route. One parcel of my clothes was
lying here, another there, the whole surrounded by a party of
hard-looking, half -naked spectators. Seeing the man carry
ing the prints into the house, I got out of the carriage and
asked what was the matter. Just then the upper part of the
trunk was opened and some books were seen. " Oh," said
the inspector, " books too. This trunk must be taken up
stairs." Remonstrance and the repeated declaration that I
was not a peddler, and that the prints and books were simply
those of a traveler, were in vain. I was talking to a stone.
He could not see any difference between a traveler who had
picked up a print here and there, as a souvenir of his tour, or
who had stowed in his trunk a book or two to beguile an idle
hour, and a smuggler who got his living by carrying those
articles from kingdom to kingdom ; he only saw that in my
trunk were certain things he was taught to call books, and
that they were on the list of the articles taxed. In spite of all
my eloquence of action and all the vocal and vociferous elo
quence of Paul, my Italian servant, the whole was speedily
Mi. 25] EED TAPE. 135
excised, and I was informed that twenty dollars would be re
quired of me before I could be permitted to proceed. This I
positively refused to pay. I could not believe that a govern
ment with a particle of intelligence or just feeling could sub
ject travelers to such low and pitiful extortion, and if it did,
I was unwilling to abide the decision of a set of creatures
who seemed alike deficient in sense and principle. I there
fore " appealed to Caesar," and told them I would take the
case before the highest revenue officers at Naples. They ob
jected that this course was unusual and would be useless. I
insisted upon sealing the trunks, and having the usual cer
tificates withheld, for want of which my baggage would be
seized at the city gates and carried to the custom-house.
But this would not do ; in short, the only thing they would
do and that they thought I would refuse was to allow a
guard to accompany me. This I readily accepted, and mount
ing the sergeant beside my servant, with the questionable
articles packed in a separate parcel which was duly sealed, I
proceeded on my route. I considered the case so plain, and
the demand so unreasonable, that I was determined, for the
principle involved, to incur expense and inconvenience rather
than submit to it.
Writing afterward from Naples, he concludes this epi
sode:
As to the books and prints and the soldiers of the custom
house, I have to say that, though I have been here four days,
I have just had my property safely delivered to me. On arriv
ing here, I sent my card, with a detailed statement of the
matter, to the revenue officer, and another to a prince who, I
heard, was in some way connected with the government, and
a man of high and honorable feeling. I counted merely on
the justice of the protest and the character of the individual
to whom it was addressed. I had no special claim to his
assistance ; but I was not disappointed. He went himself to
the custom-house, made my case his own, protested against
the injustice of interfering with the books and papers of a
136 NAPLES. [1832
traveler, and insisted on their being restored to me at once,
free of duty. He did not belong to this department ; his in
fluence, therefore, was indirect. After three days consulta
tion, and weighing and calculating, I was told that the
original amount demanded would be abated two-thirds. I
was gratified to gain the point, although it had cost me both
inconvenience and vexation. One is forced to the reflection
that a government so unrighteously administered must ere
long go to the wall.
Naples has the appearance of an amphitheater, and though
not so rich in palaces as Rome or Florence, yet it presents a
picture of uncommon beauty. Beginning at the sea-side,
which there makes one of its prettiest bends, it stretches away
backward and upward in a range of magnificent terraces.
These are interspersed everywhere with spires and noble
domes, and buildings which in any other country would be
accounted palaces, the whole crowned with the Castle of St.
Elmo and Murat s palace of Capo di Monte. Far away to
the right is seen the Campus Martius of this soldier-king,
an open, flat, and square field of some ten or twenty acres,
clothed with green, and contrasting beautifully with the rus
set of the surrounding country. Beyond the city, and far
ther in front, projects another promontory rising to a great
height and terminating abruptly, opposite to which is a round,
upright island which looks as if it had once belonged to the
mainland and had been shaken off by a tremblement de terre.
Over and beyond this again is seen another arm of the bay
(that arm across which Caracalla threw his famous bridge),
also St. Paul s landing-place, the lake of Avernus, and the
Elysiaii Fields. Such is a faint sketch of the outline of this
beautiful bay. Upon its bosom islands are negligently
scattered here and there, breaking the view seaward, and
lifting their heads as a wall of defense to the city. This
scene, bathed in the mild light of a setting sun, as I saw it
to-day, is one of the most beautiful the imagination can
picture.
Writing his father from Pavia, March 16, he says :
Mi. 25] NICE. 137
The natural beauties of the country , particularly for the eye
of the farmer, are above all praise. Works of art in every
department except the useful abound. They have enough of
sculpture and painting here, indeed, to stock the world and
feel no impoverishment. Speaking of sculpture reminds me
of our unfortunate statue of Washington, in which you were
so particularly interested. I have heard nothing of the fate
of the fragments since I left Raleigh. It is to be hoped they
were preserved. If so, the accident is of no consequence
other than as having brought the statue into the condition of
the ripest and most esteemed models of antiquity. The finest
statuary extant has been reduced to fragments and restored.
Witness the Venus de Medici, the Apollo Belvedere, etc.
The general, when renewed, therefore, will be in the height
of fashion. . . . Mama, I hope, is comfortably settled down
again at the head of her little empire, and has found her
regency well conducted during her absence. For her com--
f art, I must tell her she has high company in butter-making in
this quarter, as my table was furnished by the King of Naples
when I visited his dominions.
From Nice he wrote to the Rev. Dr. Mcllvaine, under
date of March 27, 1832, commending a poor Italian
woman to his special care, and concluding as follows :
I have been at Nice now nearly a week, and find the cli
mate truly delightful. It is very warm and dry. If it has a
fault, it is its extreme dryness, interrupted occasionally by a
sharp wester. I find the clergyman (English) a devoted, pious
man. There are two other English clergymen here, both
evangelical men. We meet almost every evening at the house
of one or the other of them, and I have found these meetings
like an oasis in the desert. One of them is the brother-in-law
of Frank Noel, brother of your friend Baptist Noel. Mrs.
Sherwood, the authoress (whose catechism Bishop Kemper
edited), is also here. I have seen her very frequently. She
is very plain and simple in manner, and looks not unlike the
138 AN ATTACK OF CHOLEEA. [1832
pictures we see of Mrs. Hannah More. We had a great deal
of talk about India, America, etc. She went out to India the
same year with Henry Martin, and lived next door to him for
several years. She tells many interesting anecdotes of him.
She is at present chiefly engaged in publishing a work on the
types of the Scriptures. I saw the first number, which, entre
nous, I thought more curious than useful. Everybody, though,
is inoculated with the type and prophecy mania; and they
can t comprehend what we Ve been about in America that we
know so little about it.
I allowed myself to be prevailed upon to preach in Leg
horn at a Bethel meeting among the sailors, and suffered
very much from it. I can t make out my case at all ; I look
very well, and, while silent, feel so, but the least excessive
talking or public speaking brings me quite to the ground
again. I sometimes fear that I shall never be able to combat
again with the trials of our calling ; but, in any event, I try
to feel that my life and health are in the hands of God, and
to be willing to be disposed of as he shall think best. I hope
I shall have the pleasure of seeing you in June or July.
From Nice Mr. Polk went to Marseilles ; thence to
Toulon ; and thence, by way of Lyons, he returned to
Paris, where he found the cholera raging. The banker
in charge of his funds had temporarily established him
self at Brussels, and lie was compelled to remain in Paris
about ten days before lie received a remittance. On one
of these days twelve hundred persons were buried. He
not only witnessed some of the dreadful scenes of the
plague-stricken capital, but personally suffered a severe
attack of the disease.
On his arrival in England he passed some time with
Dr. Olynthus Gregory at Woolwich, and during his stay,
in company with some members of the doctor s family,
visited the Noels, then members of the Church of Eng
land. From Woolwich lie went to London.
Mi. 26] A COCKNEY STAG-HUNT. 139
To Mrs. Polk.
May 30, 1832.
This day I left London for Cambridge at ten A.M. Thought
it was for the last time, but find, on getting to Cambridge,
that it would be more interesting to go through London to
Oxford than by the direct route, so that I shall be back
again in the midst of that wonder of the world. Well, as the
Americans say, "I don t quite ignore it," as it seems, on this
side of the water, more like home than any other place. Be
sides, I shall get what I failed to take with me this morning
singular forgetfulness in a traveler my traveling-map and
road-book, which I left at my lodgings.
I am now in Cambridge, the seat of science on this island.
I have looked over most of the colleges, and found the famous
chapel of " King s," which an Englishman in Italy charged
me to see by all means. One never sees the things one ex
pects to see, and this famous King s has disappointed me.
The interior certainly is fine; the roof is arched over with
stone carved in curious fretwork, and the windows are of
handsome stained glass ; but it cannot be compared, in point
of magnificence of effect, with the cathedral of Rouen ; yet
few Englishmen can believe this.
The road to-day lay through Epping Forest, remarkable,
as far as I know, only for a celebrated stag-hunt which takes
place here, annually during the Easter holidays, pro bono pub-
lico. The stag, the hounds, the attendants and whippers-in
are provided by the king, and are put in motion for the
amusement of his loving subjects. To this hunt flock the
Londoners ; cockney tailors, butchers, periwig- makers, and all
the et ceteras which make up the London mob of humanity,
who can raise the means of reaching the ground, are there,
and enter into the sport with glee becoming to novices. Here
tofore they have made out to get the poor beast to start, but
on the latest occasion, a month since, their zeal so outran the
best discretion of his Majesty s huntsmen that it appears they
could never make a place large enough for the poor thing to
start from, so that what strength it had was wearied out of it
before it could get out of their circle. The ground is called
140 ENGLISH SCENERY. [1832
a forest, but I had passed through it before I was tempted to
ask for it; it is a forest that has been a forest without trees.
I was much struck with the occasional beauty of the coun
try : not much hill and dale, yet not perfectly flat. The cul
tivation around the country-seats and cottages, to say nothing
of the incessant succession of green fields, formed a panorama
which, to me, was quite as interesting as a more rugged sur
face would have been. I confess I am quite charmed with
the neatness of the country houses, and the manner in which
the fields are arranged, hedged, and tilled ; and when I think
of our own vast plantations, with our dirty, careless, thriftless
negro population, I could, and do, wish that we were thor
oughly quit of them. The more I see of those who are with
out slaves, the more I am prepared to say that we are seriously
wronging ourselves by retaining them, but I am in no mood
for entering into this subject. In point of high cultivation
and the semblance of comfort, I have seen nothing to com
pare with England. But I am not to write a book above all,
a book of such trash as the jottings of a tired and half -asleep
invalid are likely to be. So, dear wife, good-night.
June 1. How time flies ! What a varied existence have
I had since last June! Change following change. Many
marked providences have mingled with them all. I have
reason to fear that they have not received the acknowledg
ment of a grateful heart or obedient life. I have nothing to
offer in excuse but confession of unworthiness and guilt.
That the Lord may in pity forgive and restore me is my
most humble and sincere supplication.
I am led to these reflections and feelings in remembering
that it was in this month just one year since that I took leave
of my dear wife and little one and set out on the journey
which I as little thought would have led me to Oxford as it is
now likely to lead to China. But I trust it is soon to termi
nate, and I shall, I am sure, feel that my life is more than
ever not my own, if I shall be restored to my little all in safety.
I find myself much less fatigued after my ride than I an
ticipated. Left London about half past one o clock. It was
Mi. 26] OXFORD. 141
raining, but, having the means of wrapping up securely, I felt
no great inconvenience on the outside of the coach.
The approach to Oxford is very beautiful. The coach drew
up at the " Mitre," and, as I thought it might be the only
chance I should ever have of being sheltered beneath the
Mitre, I at once turned in.
Oxford, June 3. A fine day; breakfasted with Dr. Mc-
Bride and family, viz., wife, daughter, and maiden sister,
agreeable, talkative, and disposed to please. I have already
remarked that English breakfasts are conducted with great
ease. The cloth spread and the dishes served, the servant
retires and each person takes care of himself. You are ex
pected to Lelp yourself or to ask for what you wish, and trou
ble no one with : " Shall I help you to an egg ?" or " Will you
take a piece of this fowl ?" " Do let me serve you something
my way." Now, this I rather like, for it is, in the first place,
much more likely to make a stranger at home, and spare
others and himself many questions and answers which really
break up the current of conversation. Besides, it cuts up by
the roots an intolerable pest, in silencing those good people
who, having really nothing to say, put at you every five
minutes with an offer of service.
In the afternoon I heard with much pleasure a young min
ister on confirmation. The congregation, as English congre
gations generally are, was very quiet and attentive. Indeed,
I think their manner while attending to divine service more
devotional than that of any people I have seen. Their re
sponses are audible and distinct, and they are, as far as I have
seen, all men, women, and children in the habit of using the
Prayer-book faithfully. Would we could say as much of our
own! But here respectability requires that sort of decent
external regard, while no such principle, defective as it is, has
force with us.
After dining with the family of my friend Dr. McBride, we
went to what is called New College Chapel, remarkable for its
beauty, and particularly for the effect of one of its painted
windows, the joint work of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Mr.
142 SIXTEEN MILES AN HOUR! [1832
Jarvis ; the former having designed, while the latter executed
it. I was taken to the chapel that I might hear, what is not
heard elsewhere, the cathedral service. The greater part of
this consisted in chants performed by persons hired for that
purpose. The music, certainly, was fine j but I can never be
interested in a service which seemed designed so wholly for
effect, and which constantly reminded me of what I had
witnessed in that church from whose lapses we profess to
have recovered. I was in no wise pleased with the religious
effects of the service, and though I have attended church three
times I have not realized the solemnity and sanctity of this
holy day.
The following letter to his father gives some further
account of his travels, particularly mentions his journey
to Liverpool by rail and steam, new things at that date,
and a meeting with Montgomery the poet.
KiNGSTON-UPON-HuLL, June 13, 1832.
My dear Father : When I last wrote you I thought I should
have sailed before this; but, on getting to Liverpool, and
finding I could, by adding only a month to my absence, see
the most interesting parts of Scotland and Ireland, I had but
little difficulty in yielding to the temptation of further delay.
I have deferred sailing, therefore, until the 8th of the next
month, by which time I shall have accomplished my wish, and
will sail when a first-class packet with ample accommodations
and a civil captain puts out for New York. I have seen all
the ships which leave between this time and that date. They
seem small and incommodious. Through a letter to Mary
from Manchester, you will have learned that on my route
from London I visited Cambridge, Oxford, and Birmingham.
From Manchester my route to Liverpool was, of course, by
the railway. The distance is thirty-two miles, and we accom
plished it in less than two hours. This is the ordinary time
now ; but the carriages have passed in fifty minutes, I think.
On my return from Liverpool to Manchester, we were forty
minutes on the west half of the road, which is at the rate of
26] SHEFFIELD CUTLERY. 143
twenty- six miles an hour. It is a magnificent work, and from
the fact that the stock is ninety per cent, above par, you will
see that it quite succeeds. At Liverpool the passengers alight
in the suburbs of the city. Goods, etc., intended for shipping
pass by a tunnel under the town to the docks. This tunnel
is upward of a mile in length. The carriages, which are built
long, and are very convenient, hold about twelve to twenty-
four persons, and are strung together sometimes so as to make
a train of two hundred yards in length. To stand at a distance
and see this monster first begin to crawl off, and then, hissing
and puffing, increase its speed until it attains a swiftness
almost equal to that with which the swallow skims the earth,
makes one feel lost in amazement. We involuntarily say with
the simple countryman : " This beats all ! " Indeed, higher
eulogium could not well be bestowed at such a moment j for
we are at a loss for language sufficiently strong to express the
astonishment the admiration it excites. After seeing this,
we cannot but wish the heartiest success to similar undertak
ings in our own country. From Manchester I went to Shef
field, remarkable for its manufactories of plated ware and
cutlery. This is where our knives, forks, candlesticks, etc.,
come from. I was much interested in looking over the estab
lishment of several of the factories. At Rodgers s, famous for
the excellence of his blades of all kinds, I purchased for you
a pair of what he assured me were his first-rate razors. I
hope you may find them as good as he represents. Sheffield,
you may remember, is the place from which our townspeople,
Mr. 1 and Mrs. Gales, came. Through their kindness I was
favored with an introduction to the poet Montgomery, once a
member of their family, and Mr. Gales s successor to the edi
torship of their paper. He has since retired and is living with
two of Mr. Gales s sisters. I have met with few persons who
have more interested me than this excellent man. His charac
ter as a literary man of course is well known. I spent the
greater part of three days with him, and for the pleasure I
have received I feel that Mrs. Gales has placed me under an
1 Mr. Gales, subsequently the editor of the National Intelligencer at
Washington.
144 SCOTLAND AND IEELAND. [1832
obligation I shall not soon forget. The object of my visit
here is to see the eldest and most distinguished of the sons of
Thomas Scott, the commentator. The town in itself has little
to interest, and I shall go this afternoon to York. From York
my route will be through Durham, Newcastie-upon-Tyue, etc.,
to Edinburgh ; thence, by Perth, Inverness, the Caledonia
Canal, and the Clyde, to Glasgow ; from Glasgow into Ire
land, either at Londonderry or Belfast ; thence by the Giant s
Causeway to Dublin, and across, by Holyhead and Chester,
to Liverpool. The rapidity and facilities of traveling in this
country will enable me to accomplish this in the time speci
fied, with ease. Hoping that the jaunt may prove pleasant,
and with my best love to mother and the family, I remain
truly, Your affectionate son,
L. POLK..
LEONIDAS POLK, 1839
MISSIONARY BISHOP OF THE SOUTHWEST
CHAPTER IV.
PARISH WORK AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE.
1832 TO 1841.
Return to America. Decides to adopt farming. Consecration of Dr.
Mcllvaine as Bishop of Ohio. Leaves for Tennessee. "Rattle and
Snap." Brick-making and building. Death of Colonel Polk. A wo
man railroad-promoter. The Experimental Railway. Leonidas Folk s
interest in railways. How the railway should preserve the American
Union. The cholera. The Columbia Institute. Failing health.
Travels in Kentucky. Miller and manufacturer. Devotion to duty.
Consecration as Missionary Bishop of the Southwest. Bishop Mc-
Ilvaine s consecration sermon. Missionary travels. Nautical astron
omy and religion. A practical bishop. Divine service under difficulties.
A providential escape. Second missionary journey. Extent and
character of the missionary diocese. Views on celibacy of the clergy.
Assistance from Bishop Otey. The episcopacy in Texas. Third mis
sionary journey. Thoughts on the New Year. Letters to his mother.
Incidents and adventures of travel. Sunday in Louisiana. Horse-
thieves in the Indian Territory. Chief Ross s pardonable suspicions.
Francis Strother Lyon. Bluff Hall. St. John s Chapel. Slave
holders and slaves. Appointed Bishop of Louisiana.
Mr. Folk s travels had so improved his health that
he returned to America, at the age of twenty-six., com
paratively robust in body and cheerful in spirit; but
his physician still recommended him to be as much as
possible in the open air. The winter of 1832-33 was
passed in Raleigh, sometimes at his father s house, and
sometimes at the house of his wife s father, Mr. Dev-
ereux. It was during this winter that he resolved to
live upon a farm until his health should be sufficiently
re-established for him to return to his clerical duties.
145
146 REMOVES TO TENNESSEE. [1833
His father offered to give him a place in Tennessee, and
Mr. Devereux offered him negroes to cultivate it. Be
lieving that the climate of Tennessee would agree with
him, he accepted these offers, and prepared to remove to
his new home. Before his departure, the Eev. Dr. Mc-
Ilvaine was consecrated Bishop of Ohio, and on that oc
casion Mr. Polk addressed to him the following letter :
RALEIGH, December 10, 1832.
My dear Brother : Since receiving intelligence of the termi
nation of the Ohio episcopacy, I have been absent from town
and have not had an opportunity of expressing my cordial
satisfaction in finding you invested with the authority and
enlarged opportunities of usefulness attached to that office.
It would give me great pleasure, I assure you, to occupy
some one of the many outposts of your widely extended ter
ritory, and to be occasionally refreshed with your presence ;
but, as far as I see, my path lies in a different direction. What
was only probable when I saw you in Brooklyn is now cer
tain that I am to take up my residence in Tennessee. My
life, I trust, shall not be lost, and in your great valley I shall
at least have opportunity of usefulness. We propose to go
out in the spring, and I shall settle near my brother, about
fifty miles to the south of Nashville. I do not despair of
seeing you one day in the midst of your diocese ; when, must
be left to the decision of the future. You have become an
author. What would you think of putting forth a small
manual for family devotion? I do not find anything that
seems to answer fully the purpose. I shall not leave until
April. Mrs. Polk joins me in much love.
Very truly yours in Christ,
LEONIDAS POLK.
In April, 1833, he set out for Tennessee, and on the
15th of May reached his brother Lucius s residence in
Maury County. The journey was long and difficult,
owing to the serious illness of his wife. His father
Mi. 27] BKICK-MAKING AND BUILDING. 147
owned a tract of five thousand acres of land, known as
" Rattle and Snap/ which was divided between his four
sons, Lucius, Leonidas, Rufus, and George; but the
land assigned to Leonidas had been leased, so that he
could not take possession of it until 1834. He therefore
remained with his family at his brother s home, prepar
ing, with the aid of his father, to build a dwelling. In
the following extract from a letter to his mother he gives
some account of his occupation while preparing to take
possession of his estate :
HAMILTON PLACE, August 17, 1833.
My dear Mother : I confess I have been quite remiss as a
correspondent, and I am unwilling to excuse myself on the
score of being very full of employment. But the truth is, I
am very full of employment, and I find that to look after
one s farm, and superintend all the various arrangements
necessary to building, is no small task ; but I came out here
for an active life, and it is well I am not disappointed. I
am very busy making brick, and will make them as they are
required. I now see that, if I had managed rightly, I could
have had my house up this fall. But my plan is to get every
thing ready and on the spot to begin operations as soon as
the spring shall open. The house will go up in good time,
and I hope without much trouble or expense. I have suc
ceeded in buying out the Fleming lease on favorable terms.
There is as much open land in the place as I shall be able
to cultivate for some time, and as there is a very snug, close-
built log house with four rooms, closet, etc., built somewhat
on the plan of the house at Will s Grove, we shall take up
our quarters there, notwithstanding the kind and affectionate
reception of our brother and sister, and our present comfort
able rooms in their dwelling. . . .
Early in 1834 Colonel William Polk died in Raleigh,
at a good old age, honored by all men, and lamented by
all who knew him. Though his death at the age of
148 DEATH OF COLONEL POLK. [1834
nearly fourscore could not be unexpected, it was a heavy
shock to his family, by whom he was both venerated
and beloved, and particularly to Leonidas, to whom for
years past his relations had been peculiarly tender. The
following letter was written by Leonidas to his mother
shortly after receiving intelligence of his father s death :
HAMILTON PLACE, February 12, 1834.
My dear Mother: We have now been a week in the receipt
of the news of our dear father s death, and indeed I have
been unable until now to muster resolution to acknowledge
it. Ah, how deep a pang has it inflicted on us ! Our dear,
dear father! I cannot realize the truth of this sad intelli
gence. I have been assured, but cannot feel that he is no
more. But it is and must be so, and how impressive a lesson
has it read to us all. If there had been any among men who
could have withstood the assaults of our last enemy, surely
one combining such vigor of constitution with such energy
of mind would have been among the number. But excep
tions there are none. We are all frail and crumbling dust,
at least as to the body. But we are not left comfortless or
without hope. Few deaths have apparently transpired with
so little acute pain or suffering, or with more composure.
He seems to have expired like a candle. This of itself has
been a great consolation, as it is so unlike the end I antici
pated. God in that was indeed merciful, and may we not
hope still further? The characteristics of his illness seem
to have been wholly different from those of former days,
but little or nothing of that restless impatience which was
usual. His solicitude for the comfort of those about him, his
freedom from complaint, and apparent resignation, must
indeed have afforded grounds of consoling hope to you, as
they have to me. I have observed a marked and growing
change in my father s character for some time past, and
doubtless it has not been unobserved by you. It was not to
be expected that any very sudden or complete revolution of
feeling and character would occur in the case of one bred
Mi. 27] THE EXPERIMENTAL RAILWAY. 149
in the times and scenes which have marked his life. There
was a natural severity of character and high tone and bearing
which would very likely attend him to the end, and any, the
least evidence, of an humbled and subdued spirit, such as
was evinced, was much more than I had anticipated. With
God, who was the author of the qualities which distinguished
him, and who has ever vouchsafed mercy to the humble and
penitent, we may confidently leave him ; and, my dear mother,
may we not all, with this, add a sincere petition that the
warning may not be lost, and that this affliction may prove
the source of God s richest blessing unto us who are left?
We commend ourselves unto him.
It is a curious fact that Mr. Folk s mother was one of
the earliest promoters of railway enterprise in this coun
try. She had in fact projected the first line of railway
in North Carolina. True, it was only a cheap strap-iron
tramway, costing $2250 per mile, and running from the
east portico of the capitol at Raleigh to a stone quarry,
but it was the precursor of greater things, and it was
significantly called " The Experimental Railway." When
it was finished in 1833, a handsome passenger car was
put upon the track "for the accommodation," as the
directors announced, "of such ladies and gentlemen as
desired to take the exercise of a railroad airing." Crowds
of people flocked from the adjacent counties to avail
themselves of the privilege ; and it is recorded that no
accidents occurred, the directors having prudently pro
vided as the motive power of the train a safe old horse
that was warranted not to run away ! Mrs. Polk was
not only the projector of the Experimental Railway;
she was also one of the principal stockholders, and the
soundness of her judgment was amply vindicated when
the profits of the enterprise were found to amount
to three hundred per cent, of the original investment
150 POLITICAL VALUE OF RAILWAYS. [1834
When the success of the Experimental Railway had led
to the successful inauguration of other railway enter
prises of greater magnitude, Mrs. Polk was not forgotten
and at a banquet given in honor of the first train drawn
by steam power into Raleigh, a special toast was drunk
" To the distinguished lady who suggested the construc
tion of the Experimental Railway ; she well deserves a
name among the benefactors of the State."
In his extended journeys in different parts of the coun
try, Leonidas Polk had foreseen the important function
which railways were destined to fill in the future devel
opment of the country and he had foreseen that they
would have an effect on politics and society not less than
on commerce and manufactures. In a conversation with
an old West Point friend in 1832 or 1833 on the physical
formation of the country, the rapid increase of its popu
lation, and the danger to the Union which might arise
from a conflict of interests between different sections,
Mr. Polk observed that the true preventive of such a
calamity would be found in the creation of a complete
railway system which would so unite all parts of the
country in the bonds of a common interest as to make a
disintegration of the Union difficult, if not impossible.
But he was not content to perceive the utility of rail
ways and to point it out to others. Like his mother, he
became an earnest promoter of railway enterprises, and
in a letter written to her in July, 1834, he first describes
a visit made to Nashville with his wife "the best wife,
though I say it, in this or any other country"- then
refers to an address which he had drafted for a com
mittee on railways, and of which the committee had
distributed five thousand copies throughout the State of
Tennessee.
The latter part of 1834 was a time of much anxiety.
Mt. 28] AN EPIDEMIC OF CHOLEBA. 151
The cholera, which had spread terror through the coun
try in 1831 and 1832, made its appearance on Mr. Folk s
plantation. Before September thirty-five cases had
appeared, but only one proved fatal, and he believed
that, had he been called in time, even that single death
might have been prevented. He was with his people
night and day, rendering them every necessary service,
and it was doubtless owing to his incessant vigilance and
prompt use of the proper remedies that the mortality
among them was so slight. A characteristic incident of
the year was his care of a distant but impoverished kins
man, of whom he wrote to his mother as follows :
I have now with me old Charley Alexander, a full cousin
of my father. He lives about fifteen miles from this, on Swan
Creek; and having made several ineffectual attempts to see
James Polk 1 about a pension (he is very poor), I made an
appointment for James at my house, and sent down one of
my boys and a horse, and had him brought up last night.
James came to-day and saw him, made out all his papers,
and thinks he can easily secure the old man his pension, $80
per year since 1831, at which time the law in favor of militia
applicants was passed. He is a very respectable old man,
and has evidently a family likeness. He is now about eighty,
and is blind. He has given me many interesting details in
regard to our family history.
In the autumn of 1834 he went with Mrs. Polk to
Raleigh to be with his sister, Mrs. Badger, with whom
he remained until her death in the following spring. On
returning to his parish he consented, while continuing
his farming operations, to take charge of the parish in
Columbia as well, and soon raised sufficient funds to en
able Bishop Otey to establish a Church school for girls,
which was incorporated under the name of the " Colum-
1 James K. Polk, afterward President.
152 PLANTER AND CLERGYMAN. [1835
bia Institute " and was opened in the autumn of the same
year. 1 He was now thoroughly employed and deeply
interested in his work. His building and farming oper
ations $ the Columbia parish under his sole charge ; the
girls school, of which he was a trustee j his young fam
ily, to which a daughter was now added j and the care
and direction of his negroes gave him abundant and
varied occupation ; but he was soon compelled to retire
from active work. His health again failed him, and
his physicians recommended him to give up all active
duties for a time, and he passed the summer in travel
ing through Kentucky. On his return he resigned his
parish, but resumed his other duties with his usual en
ergy, erecting on his estate a steam flouring-mill, and con
necting with it the machinery required in the manufact
ure of bagging. On Sundays he officiated regularly to
a congregation consisting of his own and his brothers
families and their servants. The year which followed
was perhaps the happiest of his life. His health was
restored; his affairs were prosperous; his occupations
were congenial ; his family life was as nearly perfect as
anything on this earth can be ; on the horizon of the
future no lightest cloud of threatening marred his pros
pects. But the clouds were soon to gather. Money
losses fell upon him through the fault of others, and, for
the first time in his life, he found himself embarrassed.
It was while struggling with this unforeseen trouble,
and while preparing to meet the harder struggle which
it would entail, that he was suddenly and unexpectedly
called by the Church to the responsible and laborious
i In 1865, at the close of the civil war, Mrs. Polk, in common with so
many others in the Southern States, found herself without means of
support. She accepted the position of teacher of English literature in
this institution, and remained there until the establishment of her own
school in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mi. 32] A SOLDIER OF THE CHURCH. 153
position of Missionary Bishop of the vast region then
known as the Southwest. He did not shrink, though he
might well have done so, from the new and heavy labor
which was laid upon him. He accepted it as providen
tial; and from any providential duty Leonidas Polk
could not shrink. In taking orders he felt that he had
enlisted in the army of the Church, and he was bound
to obey orders to the utmost of his strength, without
regard to personal considerations. In a narrative pre
pared by Mrs. Polk for the perusal of her children, there
occurs the following touching passage :
This winter [1836-37] was a happy one indeed, all our life
was happy; but I enjoyed more of my husband s society then
than at any other period. We lived in a little cabin; our
two children were hearty, and in my dear brother Lucius and
his admirable wife we had congenial friends. More than all,
my husband had leisure to be with me, and the evenings were
spent in reading.
How happily the days
Of Thalaba went by !
I knew I was happy ; I enjoyed it, and often said, God gave
us this to prepare for the storms which must come.
In the summer of 1837 our house was completed. As soon
as we were in it, my husband began holding services for the
negroes every Sunday, and devoted himself to them. The
sick were objects of his special attention. The following win
ter pecuniary troubles began to annoy my dear husband. A
firm for which he had become surety failed, and he was in
volved to the amount of $30,000 ; but he did not permit
pecuniary troubles to interfere with the happiness of his
home.
The following summer passed very pleasantly with our
dear mother [Mrs. Polk], my sister, Susan Polk, Rufus and
George. Now came what was one of the greatest trials of
my life. I was called to give up my dear husband from
154 CONSECBATION. [1838
his home. The General Convention met in the fall of 1838,
and appointed him missionary bishop of the Southwest a
vast field, embracing Arkansas, Indian Territory, Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Alabama. Home and all its endearments
must be given up, and I must be left alone to bring up my
children. Thank God, I did not hesitate or by any word in
fluence his decision. I told him he was God s servant and
soldier, and I had not even the right to have an opinion.
There was no struggle in his mind; he never felt anything
hard he was called upon to do for God, who had done so
much for him; and though the acceptance of the ofiice in
volved loss of property and separation from wife and children
for months at a time, he did not hesitate. Mrs. Polk [his
mother] remained with us until winter, and went with us as
far as Cincinnati, where, on December 9, 1838, he was conse
crated, Bishops Smith, Meade, Otey, and Mcllvaine being
the coiisecrators. . . .
The preacher at the consecration of Bishop Polk was
Bishop Mcllvaine, and, after telling the story of the
conversion of Cadet Polk, he concluded as follows :
The singular and very prominent evidence of the hand of
God in this case was greatly blessed to others. By and by
he professed Christ in the sacrament of baptism, which was
administered to him, with another recently turned to the
Lord, in the chapel of the Military Academy, and in the
presence of all the corps. After graduating at the institution
and leaving the army, he passed through a regular course of
study for the holy ministry, and was successively ordained
deacon and presbyter. Many years have elapsed. The chap
lain has since been called to a higher order in the ministry
and more enlarged responsibilities in the Church. The cadet,
meanwhile, after many vicissitudes of active duty and of dis
abling ill-health, supposed he had settled himself for the rest
of his life as preacher and pastor to a humble and obscure
congregation of negroes, whom he had collected together
from neighboring plantations; to whom, living entirely upon
^Et.32] A WORTHY STANDARD-BEARER. 155
his own pecuniary means, he appropriated a part of his own
house for a church ; and to whose eternal interests he had
chosen cheerfully and happily to devote himself as their spir
itual father, with no emolument but their salvation. But such
was just the spirit for the highest of all vocations in the
Church. To be a servant of servants is the very school in
which to prepare for the chief ministry under Him who took
on Him the form of a servant. The Church needed a mission
ary bishop for a vast field, for great self-denial, for untiring
patience, for courageous enterprise. Her eye was directed
to the self-appointed pastor of that humble congregation.
With most impressive unanimity did she call him away to a
work not indeed of more dignified duty, but of more eminent
responsibility ; not indeed of more exquisite satisfaction to a
Christian s heart (for what can give a Christian s heart more
satisfaction than to lead such of the poor to Christ?), but of
severer trials and vastly greater difficulties and hardships.
Counting the cost, he has not dared to decline it. Regarding
the call as of God, he has embraced the promised grace, and
is now ready to be offered. Thus the chaplain has here met
the beloved cadet again, seeing and adoring the end of the
Lord in that remarkable beginning. And now, with unspeak
able thankfulness to God for what he here witnesses, may he
say to this candidate -elect for labor and sacrifice, in the words
of St. Paul to his beloved disciple : " Thou, therefore, my son,
be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ. Endure hard
ness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And the things thou
hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit
thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."
In the consecration of Leonidas Polk to the episcopate,
the American Church felt that it had cause of encour
agement. With an honored and historic name, with a
bearing which impressed all who met him, with a court
esy which won all hearts, with a courage which shunned
no danger, with a devotion which shrank from no sacri
fice, he was a standard-bearer worthy of her cause. It
156 A UNITED FAMILY. [1839
was in his home that loss was felt, and the loss there
was irreparable. But, though it was always felt, it was
borne in silence. The noble woman whom he had loved
from childhood, and whom he proudly called " the best
wife in this or any other country," was as noble as him
self. Thenceforward, though she felt that he belonged
less to her than to the Church, and though she sighed
for the old days when he had been all her own, she did
not murmur, but strengthened and stood by him as a
helpmeet in the harder life on which he had entered.
In entering on his missionary work Bishop Polk was
obliged to leave his affairs already somewhat embar
rassed as they were to the management of his brothers,
and he foresaw that in consequence of the way in which
their business was conducted a serious crisis might occur
at no distant time. The Polks were men of energy and
enterprise, ready to avail themselves of the advantages
of the new country in which they had settled. Their
estates were contiguous, and in any affair in which any
one of them might engage he counted, without asking,
on the support and assistance of the rest. In their
financial arrangements each of them was the indorser
of the others ; and the abundant credit which they thus
enjoyed was a constant temptation to engage in enter
prises which were beyond their means. Besides, as the
experience of the bishop had already proved, it was
only too possible for one of them to make heavy losses
through other parties and so to involve his brothers.
For the moment there was little to be done but to make
such arrangements as were possible, and, having done
so, the bishop set out on his first visitation in the month
of January, 1839.
His jurisdiction was enormous, extending over the
States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, the
jEt. 33] FIRST EPISCOPAL VISITATION. 157
Indian Territory and the republic of Texas; and truly
it was a land of contrasts. There was an interesting
background of historical fact and tradition, to pretty
much all of it, particularly bordering on the Gulf, on
the Mississippi River, and its lower tributaries. New
Orleans was the western center, Mobile the eastern.
French, then Spanish and English, and finally our own
American ideas and types of civilization had alternately
prevailed, so that there was an Anglo-Latin atmosphere
which, along with the steady increase of large land
holders with their negroes, produced a population un
like any other in the United States.
In spite of financial depression the country was pros
perous, especially in lower Louisiana and along the
Mississippi River. All Alabama contiguous to its navi
gable rivers was well advanced in the development of
its riches, and Texas emerging from her struggles was
rapidly expanding, the whole country responding to the
push and energy of its strenuous population. The
leaders among these were younger sons and daughters,
of the older civilization of the Atlantic seaboard, who
brought with them the culture, education and refine
ment of their several states consequently the spectacle
was often presented of centers of cultured civilization
comparatively isolated. This was especially evident on
the larger rivers and their tributaries, where there was
a service of well equipped and commodious steamers,
many of them truly luxurious the exceptions in that
day were found in Arkansas, Indian Territory, Texas and
North Louisiana. Hardships were to be met wherever
one left the line of water transportation, but healthy,
robust people expected such things in those regions and
were prepared for them. The leading purpose of such a
population in such a promising country was naturally
158 CHARACTER OF THE POPULATION. [1839
wealth, and after that, what wealth brought, some elect
ing as they advanced to develop plans as to education
and culture, especially if their residence was to be per
manent. This description refers but little to the French
population of South Louisiana, which had a society of its
own, that for a long time had maintained itself on the best
lines of social and educational excellence, Paris in these
matters being its mistress, and the religion of the mother
country its own. The bulk of people developing this
region being under fifty years of age, they manifested
in many things the exuberance of youth; plenty of ad
venture, civil and military, was at hand, the latter the
offspring of the smoldering conflicts between Texas and
Mexico, and that steadily maintained with the Apache,
Commanche and other Indians farther west. Gamblers
with their human accessories were abundant, lawlessness
was ever near the surface, and the old " Natchez Trace,"
" Natchez under the Hill," and some reminders of John
Murrel were yet near enough to lend color to the activi
ties of the region. In fact it was a fine field for a man
with the antecedents, the accomplishments and spirit of
Leonidas Polk, to enter. He enjoyed its contrasts, and
blessed himself for its opportunities.
For six months he journeyed, chiefly on horseback,
often in rude vehicles, sometimes on foot, through path
less forests, open prairies, dangerous swamps, and swol
len streams visiting every community and many lonely
dwellings where the children of the Church were to be
found; gathering congregations, holding services, preach
ing, baptizing, confirming, and celebrating the sacrament
wherever and whenever he could find an opportunity.
First he visited North Alabama and Mississippi, going
afterwards into Arkansas, an untouched field. He cov
ered the settlements on the Mississippi, the Arkansas
Mi. 33] EXPERIENCES. 159
and the White Rivers. Then crossing through the south
western parts of the State, like work was done in regions
contiguous to the Red River, including north Louisiana,
likewise a virgin field. This route led him into east
Louisiana and southwest Mississippi, where at Natchez
he attended the state convention. From here he went
to New Orleans and south Texas, officiating at posts
along the Gulf and the navigable rivers. Returning
through New Orleans he reached home in July, 39. He
had travelled 5,000 miles, preached 44 sermons, baptized
14, confirmed 41, consecrated one church and laid the
cornerstone of another.
Some quaint anecdotes of his experience have been pre
served, all illustrating the versatility as well as the de
votion of the man. One whimsical adventure may be
taken as a sample of the rest. On one occasion he took
passage on a steamer bound for Shreveport, Louisiana,
on which there was no accommodation for passengers,
and he was indebted to the kindness of a fellow-passen
ger, a fur-trader, who had formerly been master of a
vessel sailing from Nantucket, for the use of a bearskin
to sleep on. Next day he saw his companion take an
observation of the sun, and, after waiting a few minutes,
begin to read his Bible. Asking an explanation, the
captain told him that his wife was a devout Episcopalian,
that he had agreed with her that they should read their
Bibles daily at the same hour, and that, in order to be
sure of always reading at the same hour with his wife,
it was his custom to make an observation whenever it
was possible to do so. At night the steamer struck a
snag and sank. The bishop had the satisfaction of as
sisting his friend in saving his peltries; but the steamer
was about to be abandoned, when the bishop suggested a
plan by which it might be raised. Under his directions
160 PREACHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. [1839
the crew went to work with a will, and the boat was
raised. Before it could be repaired, however, to con
tinue its voyage, another steamer passed and took the
bishop and the fur-trader on board. At Shreveport,
after visiting a colony of Episcopalians a few miles out
of town, the bishop endeavored to make arrangements
to hold a service, but his overtures were not well re
ceived. He was bluntly told, "We have never had any
preaching here, and we don t want any." At last it was
agreed that if a certain Mr. Blank should make no ob
jections, the service might be held. Mr. Blank said that
he had left Maine because he had been dosed to death
there with religion, and he wanted none of it at Shreve
port; but he agreed that if a place could be found in which
to hold a service, he would make no objections. A place
was found in an unfinished house; but the owner, after
consenting that the bishop might use it, withdrew his
consent, saying that he must be guaranteed against
damage to his property, and estimating the possible
damage at six hundred dollars. The friendly trader at
once put up the money, to be paid to the owner, in whole
or in part, as might be determined by a committee of
impartial citizens, to reimburse him for any possible
damage. The demand of the owner of the house seemed
to be a subterfuge to escape from his previous consent
to allow his house to be used; but it may have been a
just precaution, after all; for when it was known that
the service was actually to be held, a mob of raftsmen
and other rowdies sent him word that they would either
prevent the meeting or disperse it by force. The bishop
went calmly on with his preparations; Captain Barnard,
the fur-trader, procured a table, covered it with a white
cloth, on which he laid his Bible, and then went through
the town ringing a hand-bell to give notice of the
Mi. 33] THE TEXANS COMMENT. 161
service. At the last moment, when a mob, as well as a
congregation, was gathering, the sunken steamer which
the bishop had raised came into port, and the crew,
hearing of the disturbance, rushed to the scene of the
expected riot, and declared that the bishop should not
be molested. He was no "common preacher," they
said; he knew how to work, and they would like to see
any one who would hinder him from preaching if he
wished to do so. Accordingly the service was held in
quietness.
In Texas he had some rough experiences. The "re
public" was at that time a place of refuge for insolvent
debtors and not a few fugitives from justice. Even
the bishop was suspected of belonging to one or other of
those classes. A Texan, happening to hear that he was
one of the Polks of Tennessee, sat for a while silent, and
then said, "Well, stranger, if it is a fair question, I
would give a heap to know what brought you here."
The bishop smilingly told him that he was a clergyman
who had come to preach to the people. "Oh, my
friend," replied the Texan, "go back, go back; we are
not worth saving!"
Upon another occasion when he had reached New
Orleans on one of his visitations, the bishop took pas
sage on a steamer which was about to sail from that city
to Paducah, Ky., but just as he was going on board he
heard that one of his West Point classmates had been
imprisoned for debt, and went to see him. The delay
cost him his passage; for when he reached the levee the
steamer had sailed without him, to his great regret, as
he had expected to travel with a number of friends who
were on board. Next day he sailed on another steamer,
and on arriving at Smithland he found the steamer on
which he was to have sailed lying at the wharf, disabled
162 SECOND VISITATION. [1840
by the bursting of a boiler; and when he went on board
he saw the dead bodies of two members of the party
with which he was to have traveled. Not one of the
whole party had escaped injury. Deeply thankful for
his preservation, he reached his home safely, and re
mained there attending to his private affairs, except
when visiting his mother at Raleigh, until he was ready
to undertake another visitation.
His second missionary journey began in January, 40,
and was given to Alabama, Mississippi, New Orleans
and adjacent country. Covering the region in geo
graphic order he began at Florence and Tuscumbia, next
to Columbus, Mississippi thence he crossed back into
Alabama and covered all posts and missions in the cen
tral parts of the State, east and west. He then went to
Mobile, where he consecrated Christ Church, then to
New Orleans, consecrating St. Paul s Church. He then
fixed a mission at Baton Rouge, thence to Mississippi,
where he also made a thorough visitation, consecrated
two churches, and ended his tour in May, presiding at
the State Convention at La Grange. It lasted continu
ously for six months, and was extremely laborious. He
performed episcopal duties, it is true, consecrating
churches and confirming the baptized; but the clergy
were few, and his main work was that of an evangelist,
preaching from house to house as he had opportunity,
and constantly exhorting the people to care not only for
their own souls, but for the spiritual welfare of their
negroes, and to them he called their special atten
tion. He soon began to perceive that if the work
of the Church were to be done with efficiency, his
vast jurisdiction would have to be supplied with more
chief pastors* On his return he wrote to Bishop
Mcllvaine as follows :
Mt. 34] LETTER TO BISHOP McILVAINE. 163
COLUMBIA, August 10, 1840.
My dear Brother: We write at long intervals. Our cares,
doubtless, increase and demand more of our time daily as we
pass through life. I find it so. You must much more. But you
have, you may be sure, the same place in my heart which has
owned you as its tenant for these fourteen years, and I think
you are quite likely to retain it to the last. I should have
written you sooner after my return, but I saw by the papers
you were 6n the wing, and knew not your whereabouts. I
sympathize with you in regard to your support. Nothing can
be more trying than to wait upon the tardy movements of a
thoughtless I will not say thankless people; and of all
human ills, debt to a clergyman is, perhaps, as grievous as
any. It is the parent of a large progeny, and they are all
armed against the peace of the unhappy debtor. I was in
discreet enough some time since to endorse for a particular
friend of mine one of my communicants when I last had
charge of a church; my vestryman, my warden, my right arm
in every good work. He was all I could wish as a Christian
layman. But, alas, he was overtaken by reverses of the times
and prostrated, and I am charged with the payment of a large
amount on his account. If I escape with $15,000, I shall be
thankful. But I would do again what I did then, for I thought
I was doing a good work. I mean, of course, in the same
circumstances. It, however, greatly annoys me, as, besides
the necessary attention in arranging and running the debt in
banks, etc., it lessens my means of usefulness in that par
ticular. I trust, however, that this state of things will have
an end.
How is it with regard to the consecration sermon? Was
there a balance due on that account not paid by the Cincin
nati congregation? Bishop Meade dropped me a line, not
long since, concerning it. He thought you had been taxed
with part of the expense. I thought otherwise, as Mr. Johns
long ago wrote me that he only wanted one hundred dollars
to make up the whole amount. This sum I sent him. Please*
speak of this in your next, as you ought not to have been
164 PUSEYISM. [1840
burdened with it. You see I write freely, because to you I
feel I may speak frankly.
I see you have been in the East; I suppose, to bring out
your book. Did you find a publisher to your liking? I
should like to have met you there, but it was impossible.
Up to the close of my last visitation I had been eighteen
months in the episcopate, and had spent only four of the
eighteen with my family at my own home, so that I felt that I
could not go away this summer. I have fully seen the ground
allotted me by the church, and found it was quite impossible
for me to do anything effectively over so wide an extent of
country. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas
embrace an area which would require two years of incessant
active labor to visit as a bishop ought to visit a field assigned
him, without one day of rest intervening. It is in extent
about equal to all of France, the surface exceeding rough,
and the facilities of communication, off the rivers, wretched.
I have often felt strongly that a missionary bishop ought not
to have a family. He should be literally married to the
Church. He should have a thought for nothing else: a man
of one idea, of one book, of one object. The work of his
Master demands the whole man. I often think of a remark
tauntingly made by your fellow-laborer, the Romanist bishop
of Ohio, to Campbell, the Baptist, in their theological bout,
when discussing the doctrine of the celibacy of the clergy.
He asked Campbell if he did not think St. Paul would have
cut a fine figure, while visiting the churches of Asia, with a
wife and seven screaming children following in his train!
Bishop Otey, not finding himself fully occupied in his dio
cese, or finding he might be as profitably engaged in dis
pensing occasional services elsewhere, has consented to take
Mississippi under his care, which has lightened my labors to
that extent. His health, however, is now bad; and I fear,
unless he is soon relieved, he may be unable to labor any
where. He has gone to Virginia Springs.
How do you find the Eastern clerical mind on the subject
of what is peculiarly Puseyism? I have not yet been able to
JEt. 34] THIRD VISITATION. 165
see the tracts on Justification and Baptism. I have had those
only which form the first part of the series, on the Apostolical
Succession, and found in them nothing which has not been
written before. Seabury was less harsh than I expected,
though his notice was in keeping with his system.
What do you think of Whittingham s sermon? I liked it
very much. It seems to me to carry ministers of the right
stamp neither to outward order, nor outward academical or
other merely human institutions or arrangement, but to the
throne of grace.
He is, I fear, though, too rapid in his provisions for Texas.
Three bishops are more than are at all necessary. One will
do all the work tp be done there for years; two certainly. I
suppose he wanted them to establish a church at once, and
cut off the occasion for a spurious episcopacy.
Very affectionately your brother in Christ,
LEONIDAS POLK.
In November, 1840, he set out on his third missionary
visitation, traveling this time in a light carriage drawn
by a pair of stout horses and driven by one of his negro
servants. In this conveyance he made his way to Mem
phis and thence to Little Rock, where the state of the roads
compelled him to abandon it, and he pursued his journey
on horseback through the Indian Territory into Texas,
returning through Louisiana and Mississippi to his home
>in Tennessee. This tour was completed by the middle of
April. Arkansas, Indian Territory, North Texas and
North Louisiana had been thoroughly covered, and the
church had been established at many points not the
least important being along the Arkansas River as far as
the Indian Territory and at two other commanding
positions in the northern section of the State Batesville
and Fayetteville. It was from the last-named place that
he entered the Indian Territory, passing first through the
Cherokee reservation to Fort Gibson, then through the
166 LETTERS TO HIS MOTHER. [1841
Choctaw, south to Texas on the Red River. Thence
visitations were continued along Red River throughout
North Louisiana and stations in southwest Arkansas
certainly an active year. The deep sense of responsi
bility by which he was controlled, and something, too,
of the nature of the work in which he was engaged, may
be gathered from the following extracts from letters to
his mother:
LITTLE ROCK, January 18, 1841.
My dear mother will permit me to wish her a very happy
New Year. I know not how others feel, but it appears to me
as if, in the journey of life, when I get to this season, I am
standing on the top of a high hill, up which I had been strug
gling from midsummer, and that from the heights I might
cast my eye backward and forward overlooking the months
of the old year behind me and of the new before me. I feel
always like stopping and standing still to call up the recollec
tions of the events of the one year and looking forward to
the duties of the other. This is the season at which we may
particularly remember the things "we have left undone which
we ought to have done," and to think upon how much we have
done that is sinful and what needs to be repented of. For
myself, I feel that I have done but too little in accomplishing
the end of my creation in the year that is now gone. I have
meditated too little; I have humbled myself too infrequently
before the throne of God; I have been too seldom found in
prayer; I have watched against the intrusion of a worldly
spirit too little; I have thought too seldom of death, of its
inevitable certainty, of the necessity of being constantly pre
pared for it. I have not governed my temper as I ought; I
have not sufficiently hoarded my time and applied it to profit
able uses. All these things stand up before me when I look
back on the past; and I resolve, with the strength and grace
of God my Saviour, I will amend in all these things for the
future year. I think thus: that multitudes have been swept
by the hand of the ruthless destroyer into eternity during the
34] LETTERS CONTINUED. 167
year now gone, that as many are to follow after them in the
year now begun; and I ask myself if I should be, as I may be,
of that number, how I shall feel when the summons comes.
God grant that I may be neither terrified nor alarmed, but
calm, composed, and at rest on the bosom of my compassion
ate Saviour. I suggest these things, my dear mother, because
they are prompted by the season and because they may be
alike profitable to us both.
I have now been near a month in Arkansas, visiting different
parts of it, and I shall not be able to leave it and the Indian
Territory west for a month hence. I go to the Northwest in
the course of next week, to Fayetteville, then to Fort Gibson,
and across the Indian Territory to Fort Towson, thence over
Red River and through Louisiana and Texas before I return.
It is a sad trial to be so much absent from my family, but I
am hoping it will not be so always. If possible, I wish to be
at home in May.
I hope George has long been recovered from the ill turn he
was suffering when I parted with him. My kind regards to
him. You may say to him that I shattered the " buggy" very
effectually coming through the swamp, and that I am now
handsomely equipped with saddles, bridles, martingales, and
saddle-bags, and that my fine buffalo-rug makes a very full
covering for my own and Armstead s fixtures. I find the
horses fine travelers under the saddle. My only apprehension
is that we may attract the regards of the horse-thieves. But
if we should, we must bow to a necessity that we cannot avoid.
I had a letter from Fanny. All well. . . .
PINE CREEK, TEXAS, February 2, 1841.
My dear Mother: I wrote you not long ago from Little
Rock, and since that from Van Buren no, I am mistaken
I wrote Fanny from that point, and also Mrs. Devereux from
a point above in the Cherokee Nation. From that letter you
will hear of how and where I have been engaged. I have
since then come across to this part of the world through the
168 ROUGH EXPERIENCES. [1841
Choctaw country, and crossed Red River into Texas, this land
of promise. I am now about fifteen miles above the mouth of
the Kiamachis, and above Fort Towson. I came from Fort
Towson here to visit an Episcopal family of the name of John
son, from Baltimore. The father of the family, now dead, was
a cousin of James Johnson. I go down the river to-day by
the way of Gainsboro toward the part of the country where
our kinsmen, the Hawkins, reside, thence into Arkansas and
Louisiana.
SPRING HILL, ARKANSAS, February 10, 1841.
I have dropped down some hundred miles from the point at
which I was when I dated the above, and stopped, in coming
down, at both Ben s and Henry s in Arkansas, and at William s
in Texas. I crossed the river at Jonesboro and came into the
Indian Territory, thence into Arkansas, and into Texas again
to William s, and down some sixty miles on the Texas side [of
the landing opposite this place].
I am going from this to Shreveport to-day, and I have con
cluded to take passage on a steamboat to that place, as one
of my horses has the scratches, and I fear may fail. The mud
through which I have had to force my way has seemed almost
intolerable. I have had, as you may suppose, some rather
rough fare. A few nights ago I had to pass the night in a
cotton-house on the top of a pile of cotton, with dogs and
negroes lying around, and a hamper-basket to hang my clothes
upon. But my health is good, and I manage, on the whole,
to make myself comfortable. I travel with my buffalo-robe
and a supply of blankets.
I shall be glad to hear from you at New Orleans, where I
hope to be both going and returning from Texas. I go to
to consecrate the church.
I find Folly, one of your old carriage-horses, the finest sad
dle-horse I have ever traveled. He performs admirably, and
is just what I want. You may say to George that the roan
cannot keep pace with him, and I have feared I shall have to
leave him. You see I write in great haste.
Mb. 35] THE CHURCH IN LOUISIANA. 169
April 5, RED RIVER.
My dear Mother: I wrote you about a fortnight since from
Lost Prairie, a thousand miles up this river from the planta
tion of Messrs. Turner & Hamilton, giving an account of my
tour up to that time. The letter I hope you have received.
Since that time I have been engaged at various points on
this, performing services, preaching, visiting, etc. I am now
on my way to Natchez, where we expect to be this evening.
I find the field quite white to the harvest, and no laborer
here. There is no portion of the whole country so destitute,
I presume, as Louisiana. She has not, so far as I know, a
single church west of the Mississippi River; and I find few
or no Presbyterians, and only now and then a wandering
Methodist. The Sabbath is no Sabbath here. The stores
and shops are kept open just as on other days, and the plant
ers and tradesmen look upon that day as a day set apart for
laying in supplies and doing odd jobs. And yet they express
a desire to have churches established amongst them, and avow
a willingness to support a minister should he come among
them. At Natchitdoches, where I spent a week, the better
part of Passion Week, and where I was on Sunday last, I had
to defer my Sunday services until twelve o clock in order to
get a congregation, as up to that time the people were engaged,
by permission of an express statute of the police authorities,
in trading at these stores, and this state of things obtained
throughout the country on the river. I preached a number
of times there, I think five, and found my audience contin
ually increasing. On the last occasion it was positively
crowded, and I hope that good was done. We preached in
the court-house. They were very anxious that I should re
main with them a month, promised to put a subscription forth
directly to build a church, and pledged themselves to support
a minister if I would send them one. There are a good many
French Catholics there. They set lightly by their religion.
Many came to our services during the whole time I was there.
We could make our impression not only on the American
part of the population, but also on the French. I shall take
170 A NIGHT WITH JOHN ROSS. [1841
steps to endeavor to have their wants supplied. I stopped at
Alexandria, and also at another point in the midst of the
Great Raft, called Shreveport in honor of the captain of the
snag-boats who removed the Raft. Those points are desti
tute, as well as the country surrounding, the latter particularly.
The anticipation, mentioned in on3 of these letters, of
an encounter with horse-thieves, was well founded. The
country was overrun by desperadoes who were held in
check only by the fear of desperate resistance. Riding
on one occasion through the Indian Territory, he saw
two men approaching, and knew, even at a distance,
what they were. He rode quietly on, however, keeping
an eye upon them, but otherwise giving no sign. They
nodded to him as they passed, and he returned their
salutation. That night he stopped at the house of John
Ross, the Cherokee chief, and when he mentioned the
incident and gave a description of the men, Ross con
gratulated him on his escape. The men, he said, were
well-known ruffians, and he added, "They knew you
must be well armed, or they would surely have attacked
you/ When the bishop assured him that he was not
armed, and that a man of his profession could not carry
arms, Ross was at first unwilling to believe him, and said
that it was dangerous for any one to go unarmed in that
country. Throughout the evening he entertained his
guest with cordial hospitality, but on bidding him fare
well in the morning the bishpp noticed that he had
become cold and distant. During the day he asked his
servant whether anything had occurred to offend the
chief. The negro could not tell, but later said that after
the bishop had retired Ross had asked if it was true that
they traveled through that country without weapons.
"I was not going to let him and his people think that
about us," said the negro, "so I told him that we were
JEL 36] FRANCIS STROTHER LYON. 171
always heavily armed. And so you are," he continued.
"Aren t you armed, master, with the sword of the
Spirit?" The cause of Ross s change of demeanor was
obvious. He resented what he supposed to have been
the bishop s falsehood.
In strict keeping with this narrative the story of
Bishop Folk s missionary work should end here, but the
commercial depression following the financial panic of
1837 had everywhere presented such obstacles no ade
quate conception of these labors could be given which
did not feature this depression more fully than has been
done thus far. Alabama affords the best example of
the unhappy condition, and also gives the finest example
to be found anywhere of the kind of citizen who was
being evolved from the mixed conditions of the south
west and who was to bring order out of the chaos of those
days.
Marengo county, Alabama, presented an interesting
community which, among other things, had an in
dividual background of romantic history, for its early
settlers were French refugees, soldiers of Napoleon, with
their families. To these had been added a group of
educated and refined people, chiefly from Virginia, North
and South Carolina. The Anglican Church had grown
here, perhaps, more than in any other part of the State,
so that when Bishop Polk came he found before him an
active and earnest community. The most prominent
and active of all these were Francis Strother Lyon and
his family. This remarkable man had come at an early
date to South Alabama. Of fine heritage, he soon be
came a potent factor in the State government, first as
President of the Senate and later as member of Congress
for several terms. Here he encountered such men as
Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Benton, Polk, Forsyth and
172 FRANCIS STROTHER LYON. [1843
Wright; and being already a leading lawyer of his own
bar, opportunities for improvement were not neglected,
so that his councils were sought for by his associates. He
had won great distinction in righting the finances of the
State, wrecked in the panic of 37. He saved Alabama
from the fate which befell Mississippi repudiation
which no doubt determined the more flourishing condi
tions which sprang up and have continued in the State
ever since.
A witness to this, Judge John A. Campbell of the
United States Supreme Court, writes: "The Flush
Times of Alabama" (so called) had their inception in
the multiplication of banks founded on borrowed money.
These continued till the failure of the banks. In 1843
the banks were disfranchised by the Legislature, and the
liquidation of their affairs ordered. The measures for
liquidation were not perfected until the appointment of
Mr. Lyon as sole trustee and manager of all of the affairs
of those institutions, and of the payment of the bonded
debt of the State. At a very early period of this crisis
in the affairs of the State, attention was directed to him
as the most competent person for the performance of the
arduous duty. I find in a book published in Alabama a
pointed expression of the popular sentiment existing after
the work had been finished. The author says: "It has
been the good fortune of most commonwealths, at some
period, to have one citizen distinguished from the rest by
qualifications for a particular service in some political or
financial emergency, whose ability and virtue exactly
meet the demand. Such was the relation sustained by
the Hon. Francis S. Lyon to the people of Alabama, in
relieving them of their embarrassments, which threat
ened to weigh them down by onerous taxation or to
subject them to what would be more painful that the
37] FRANCIS STROTHER LYON. 173
public faith and good name of the State should be dis
honored. The man was found for the occasion, in whose
praise there is perfect unanimity in the State." He
adds: "No picture is more perfect and complete in moral
grandeur and beauty." The task performed by Mr.
Lyon was one of great complexity and one imposing con
tinual responsibility. There were impediments and vex
ations arising from the number of debtors, and the
artifices and frauds which attend upon such undertak
ings. There was a vast circulation of bank notes, much
depreciated, which produced discontent and irritation.
The payment of the interest of the State debt was em
barrassed by the fact that collections of taxes were made
in the currency. There were a variety of other causes
of obstruction. Mr. Lyon brought to the performance
of his task the confidence and support of the people.
He was wise, reasonable, conversant with affairs, affable,
and with a flowing courtesy to all men. Besides, he
was firm, faithful, and just. The result of his adminis
tration were the redemption of the bank notes, the re
duction of the public debt so as to be within the compass
of the current revenues of the State, and the mainte
nance of the credit and good name of the State, and a
restoration of the public confidence, so that the people
were satisfied and their hopes in the future assured. Mr.
Lyon was in the councils and Congress of the Confederate
States. I met with him at Richmond, and we occasion
ally interchanged opinions on the prospect before us.
His characteristic resolution and firmness constantly
appeared. He had no hesitation in believing that in
whatever position he might be placed he would stand
on his own feet firmly, and that he would impart confi
dence and assurance to those about him. He knew him
self, and knew the way before him, rough or smooth;
174 FRANCIS STROTHER LYON. [1843
with considerate courage, calm will and steadfast mind,
he pursued his purposes. He was a temperate man in
all his methods, exerting habitual self-control, of untiring
industry, not easily duped or deceived in his intercourse
with men, and with a reputation for integrity and honor
that was universal and pervading. A man
Whose powers shed round him in the common strife
Of mild concerns of ordinary life
A constant influence a peculiar grace,
But who when called upon to face
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined
Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
Through all the heat of conflict, kept the law
He had in calmness made.
One can complete this much too brief sketch with the
record of a continuously active life lived always upon the
same high plane of public usefulness until late in the
last century. He was a conspicuous and unvarying
example, especially during the Civil War and reconstruc
tion period, of a well poised, courageous and wise man,
and his influence in staying the hand of violence in this
latter period cannot be overvalued. He was of inestima
ble service as Chairman of the Way 8 and Means Com
mittee of the Confederate Congress, in making the best
that could be made of an impossible situation, and when
the time came to construct a new constitution for the
rehabilitated State we find him busily employed at this
work. Immediately upon the close of the Civil strife,
in conjunction with his friend and former associate in
the government at Richmond, General Gorgas, head of
the Ordnance Department, he took up the development
of the mineral resources of his State, and at once became
a leader in the extraordinary growth which has since
Mi. 37] THE HOME AT BLUFF HALL. 175
occurred. From first to last he was the ideal citizcD.
The nobility of this character found a fit setting in the
beauty of his home. His wife, Sarah Glover, was a
remarkable woman: of unusual strength of character she
fixed at the outset the highest ideals for her home, and
developed a household whose refinement, culture, and
joyous high Godly living made it a memorable resting
place to the many who were fortunate enough to find
themselves its guests. Mrs. Lyon was a forceful, yet
gracious and tactful example of the things best worth
having in this life, and she was an influence to which the
most obdurate, even the most cynical, bowed. To this
day, now nearly a century, since these two began their
youth, the influence of their noble lives remains in this
region as one of those leavens of heavenly benediction
which in passing we portake of unconsciously without
always realizing whence it comes. Such a home could
not be other than priceless to the faith in which it had
grown Leonidas Polk found it so, not only when first
he gave confirmation to some of its daughters, but later
when in the days of war s stress he knelt before the altar
of their church, and as Bishop and Lieutenant-General
partook with them of the blessed sacrament.
Going thus from house to house, meeting intimately
the contrasts furnished by this home on the one hand,
and the dwelling of the Cherokee Chief, John Ross, on
the other, some days travelling in comfort and luxury on
a river steamer, then resting in a dirty frontier hotel
surrounded by an odd mixture of sturdy, honest fron
tiersmen, gamblers, horse thieves, "gun men/ and kid
nappers, Leonidas Polk got a knowledge of the people
of the southwest that stood him in good stead then and
after. It was because of this that twenty-five years
later, he was appealed to as one who knew better than
176 LOUISIANA PLANTATION. [1843
those about him the secret springs which moved the
sentiment and opinions of these people.
Toward the close of his third visitation Bishop Polk
came to the conclusion that some change in his arrange
ments must be made, in order to obviate the necessity of
such long-continued separations from his family. He
did not for a moment think of abandoning his work;
and although he was convinced that his vast jurisdiction
ought to be distributed into several jurisdictions under
the care of several bishops, he had no assurance the
Church would undertake the responsibility of sending
and supporting the men who were needed. There re
mained but one way in which the separation from his
family might at least be shortened, namely, by the
change of residence from Tennessee to some point nearer
the geographical center of his work, from which he might
make shorter tours instead of one continuous visitation
lasting many months at a time. For that reason chiefly
he resolved, after due consideration, to purchase a plan
tation somewhere in Louisiana, and there make his home.
The estate which he ultimately purchased was Leigh-
ton, on Bayou La Fourche, about sixty miles from New
Orleans. The removal was, at best, a sad one. In spite
of cares, his Tennessee home was very dear to him. He
had many friends there, among whom he had hoped and
expected to pass his lifetime. His farm was doing well,
and he had just finished arrangements for better service
to his neighbors and their servants by the erection of
a commodious chapel, which he called St. John s, and
which he consecrated during the last summer that he
was to spend in its neighborhood. It may be well worth
while to insert here an account of St. John s and its
mixed congregation, which was written at the time by a
gentleman from Philadelphia:
IE
O
cr
D
X
O
Mi. 37] ST. JOHN S CHAPEL, ASHWOOD. 177
In this county, upon the road leading from Columbia to
Mount Pleasant, and about six miles from the former place,
in a grove of majestic and towering oaks, may be seen a neat
brick church of simple Gothic architecture; its interior plain
and appropriate, and capable of seating five hundred persons.
It has been just completed, and is the result of the joint liber
ality of Bishop Polk and three of his brothers, who, with a
spirit worthy of commendation and imitation, have thus de
voted a portion of the wealth with which God has blessed
them to His service.
Without aid from abroad these gentlemen have erected and
paid for this edifice, and presented it, together with a plot of
about six acres of land, to the diocese. The lot has been
selected from an eligible portion of the bishop s plantation,
within a few hundred yards of whose mansion the church
stands. It has been erected for the convenience of the few
families in the neighborhood, who, with a large number of
negroes upon their plantations, will make quite a congrega
tion. For this latter class the bishop has been in the habit,
for a long time past, of holding regular services in his own
house. They will now have an opportunity of worshiping in
a temple which they may almost call their own.
After referring to the services in the church on the
day of its. consecration, the writer continues :
There is yet one thing which I must not forget to notice. I
have said that on the adjoining plantations there are negroes
for whose spiritual good this church was in part erected. By
the time the white congregation were seated in the body of
the church, the door, the vestibule, the gallery, and staircase
were crowded with blacks, even the vestry-room was filled
with them, one old man sitting within the doorway almost at
the very feet of the clergy. A happier group I have seldom
seen. Some of them had prayer-books in their hands, but,
for their general benefit in singing, the psalms and hymns
were given out in the old-fashioned way two lines at a
178 SERVICE TO THE NEGRO. [1841
time; and, I am sure, during the singing, the loudest strains
of praise came from the sable groups.
When the whites had communed, a cordial invitation from
the bishop was given to the blacks to come forward. At the
same time he explained in a few words what was required of
them in worthily partaking of that sacrament. Then quite a
goodly number came, with much reverence and devotion, to
that feast, precious alike to bond and free. Ah! could some
of our friends have witnessed that scene, how it would have
silenced the suspicion that a slaveholder values not the soul
of his slave.
Thus does the enlarged benevolence of these men embrace
a class hitherto too much neglected, a class which, in our
good city of brotherly love, are suffered to grovel in ignorance,
degradation, and sin. Here will they learn to worship God
in Spirit and in truth; here be taught to pray with the heart
and with the understanding also; and here, when death has
arrested their course upon earth, will they find a resting-place
under the tall old oaks in their own churchyard; for the lot
upon which the church is built has, for some time, been set
i apart for the purpose.
In September, 1841, Bishop Polk left home to attend
the Triennial General Convention of the Church, and
while there he was invited by the deputies from Loui
siana to accept the bishopric of their diocese. The
request was approved by the House of Bishops, which
then proceeded to elect him, under a special canon, to
the diocesan bishopric which had been offered to him.
On October 16, 1841, the House of Deputies confirmed
the election; and on that day, having resigned his mis
sionary jurisdiction, Leonidas Polk became Bishop of
Louisiana. He then entered into an arrangement through
which he divided with Bishop Otey the duties of Mis
sionary Bishop in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and
Texas, he continuing the work in Alabama and Texas,
m. 38] BISHOP OF LOUISIANA. 179
Bishop Otey in Arkansas and Mississippi. This was the
natural division of the territory as it gave to each the
region next him and insured easy access to most of it
through the steamboat transportation conveniently
located on all important waterways. He had estab
lished ten stations in Arkansas, including Fort Gibson,
Indian Territory; clergy were still scarce, however. In
Louisiana seven priests were actively at work with ten
congregations and three church edifices. Bishop Polk
held charge in Alabama until the election and appoint
ment of Bishop Cobbs (1843-4), making his last visita
tion during 1843, consecrating three churches and con
firming seventy people. He closed his work in Alabama
in attending the State Convention in 44. The Church
in Texas interested Bishop Polk very deeply for many
reasons, chief among them the fact that in common with
other Tennesseeans and North Carolinians many rela
tives were migrating thereto. The northeastern parts
of the State he had already twice visited in connection
with his work in Arkansas and North Louisiana. He
strove to go to Southern Texas in 42 and 43, but could
not do so till 1844; he then visited the coast and river
towns, consecrating two churches and confirming fifty-
three people, leaving three organized parishes (Mata-
gorda, Galveston, Houston) and several organized con
gregations. Bishop Polk thus closed in Texas his work
as Missionary Bishop of the southwest. The following
year Bishop Freeman, the newly appointed Missionary
Bishop of Arkansas and Texas, took up the work as a
part of his field.
Among the problems which had fixed his attention
that of master to slave was perhaps the most impelling.
Believing in gradual emancipation his mind was con
stantly turned to the problem as it then stood. He did
180 CONTINUED SERVICE TO THE NEGRO. [1855
not deal in this merely with people of his own church;
anyone the owner of slaves, whether possessed of a
religion or without one, was his objective, and so while
moving through this domain he ever kept his eye upon
this momentous question. Intolerant of no Christian
faith, he made friends among all, his one object being a
bond of human Christian union which never weakened.
If what he accomplished in Louisiana to improve the
relations between master and slave is an index of what
was done in other states, it is clear that he worked on
productive lines.
The evangelization of the sons of Africa, engaged a large part
of his thought. Let the parochial sketches in this volume be
read, and it will be clearly seen how he led his clergy. Every
where the rectors were found ministering on the plantations.
When the Diocese was under full headway the number of per
sons of color ministered to, largely outnumbered the whites who
received the services of the Church. He was not one to believe
that the personal commission to the priest to preach to every
creature, was to be received with the mental reservation that the
Master meant only every creature who came to the "preaching
house. " Nay, he believed that the preacher endangered his
own salvation, who refrained from preaching to the black man,
and when any one spoke of the discouragements attending
such work, he would say, " You may not save him, but you will
save yourself"
In 1855 there were congregations of slaves on thirty-
one plantations of this diocese, numbering in the aggre
gate 3,600 people and let it be said here that the
necessities of the ritual of the Church entailed a contact
between the races on these plantations which compelled
mutual appreciation.
1 History Diocese of Louisiana, H. C. Duncan, p. 14.
CHAPTER V.
THE PLANTATION HOME IN THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
1841 TO 1854.
Sacrifices by the bishop and his family. The family position in Maury
County. Election of James K. Polk as President. Family affection.
Family connections. Becomes a planter at Leighton. A noble motive,
but disastrous result. Incompatibility of sugar-planting and the
episcopacy. Death of the bishop s mother. " The Old North State."
Patriarchal life at Leighton. Southern hospitality. A Southern
house. Children s rights. Social life. A family hospital. An ag.
gressive temperament. Nobility of character. Capacity for work.
The bishop s wife. Family instruction. Mammy Betsey. Life among
the slaves. The " Rolling Ball." Punch on a sugar-plantation. Pun
ishing a chicken-thief. An old-time Southern mammy. Experience of
a governess in the bishop s family. The library. Family devotions.
A baptism which did not " take." Sunday-school among the negroes.
Death in the quarters. Sanctity of family life. Negro marriages.
Care of the negro children. The beginning of troubles. Private in
terests sacrificed to public duties. The negroes family pride. The
bishop s hopefulness. 111 effects of optimism. A woman s slow
courage." Routine of the mistress of a Southern plantation. Litera
ture at Leighton. The cholera. Hospital work. The bishop attacked
by cholera. Death of a faithful servant. Loss of crops. Loss by
tornado. Trust in God. Robbed by breach of trust. Prosperity of
episcopal work. Ravages of yellow fever. Leighton taken by credi
tors. Purchases in Mississippi. Removal to New Orleans. Appointed
rector of Trinity Church. The bishop s pastoral and episcopal char
acter. Developing one s individual character. Parochial administra
tion. A stickler for episcopal dignity and rights. Power of rebuke.
While there were personal disadvantages connected
with Bishop Folk s removal to Louisiana, the Church was
greatly the gainer. To the bishop and his family the re-
181
182 THE POLK FAMILY. [1842
moval from Tennessee, as has been said, involved many
sacrifices. In Maury County and its neighborhood the
Polk family held a commanding position. All of Colonel
William Folk s sons, except Thomas, had been settled
there for several years. Many of their cousins had estates
there, and were known as wealthy and successful men.
One of them, James K. Polk, was elected President of
the United States in 1844. The affection existing among
these numerous kinsmen was unusually strong, and their
relations to each other were entirely harmonious. Natu
rally they had formed connections with other families
of similar position. Mr. Lucius Polk, for example, had
married a relative of President Jackson, and the mar
riage had been celebrated at the White House in Wash
ington. Thus, the Polk family of Tennessee enjoyed a
social life and a public influence which was really excep
tional, and in their almost patriarchal society the bishop
held the chief place of affection and distinction. At the
time of his election to Louisiana he had made arrange
ments for the management of his private affairs which
would have released him to a great extent from the per
sonal supervision of private business, and would have
left him free to devote his whole time to the Church
while his family resided in a country noted for its beau
ty and salubrity. His acceptance of the episcopate of
Louisiana had this great compensation, however, that it
would permit him to make shorter visitations, so that,
while a large part of his time must be spent away from
home in the performance of official duties, his absences
would at least be less trying to himself and his family.
But this great advantage was to some extent offset by
the necessity of encumbering himself with large and
heavy business cares. Mrs. Polk, on the death of her
mother, had inherited a considerable estate, and it was left
Mi. 36] A DISASTROUS STEP. 183
to her choice either to accept her share of her mother s
property in money, or to take hundreds of negroes who
had belonged to Mrs. Devereux. The easiest course for
the bishop would have been to take the money and avqid
the care of managing a large plantation. But Louisiana
was distinctively a plantation State; and the bishop felt
that in order to exercise the best influence in a commu
nity of planters, he himself must be a planter. His mis
sion was to the servant as well as to the master ; and he
believed that an example of dutiful care of his own peo
ple on his own estate would be the best possible exposi
tion of the duty of the master to the slave. Accordingly,
Leighton was bought, and the bishop with his family
took possession of it with four hundred negroes. The
motive was altogether noble and unselfish ; the result
was utterly disastrous. The management of so complex
and exacting an estate as a sugar plantation on that
scale w^as inconsistent with the full performance of epis
copal duty; and as the latter was not neglected, the
former suffered. The accidents and losses incident to
sugar- planting, which another man might have retrieved,
and which the bishop would easily have retrieved but
for his episcopal occupations, plunged him into financial
embarrassments and ended in an almost total loss of his
whole property, for, as he afterward said, " If I had had
nothing else on my hands but my worldly affairs, I should
have experienced no difficulty. But I have been, of
course, very much hampered by my other engagements,
which to me must be always of paramount importance."
It is not intended here to write the history of Bishop
Folk s episcopate in Louisiana. In its details it differed
little from the work of the episcopate in other new coun
tries. It had peculiar difficulties, of course, on account
of the lack of facilities of travel, and still more on ac-
184 SUNDAY LABOR. [1842
count of the character of the population, which, outside
of New Orleans, was then chiefly composed of French
Creoles, adherents of the Roman Catholic Church. Suf-
fic/e it to say that in the eighteen years which followed
his attendance at his first diocesan convention in Louisi
ana in January, 1842, he had the satisfaction to see the
Church increase in the number of its clergy more than
sevenfold, in the number of its communicants more than
tenfold, and in the number of its parishes and missions
more than twentyfold. The present chapter will be de
voted to a rapid review of the bishop s life during the
fifteen years following his removal to Leighton rather
than to a record of his official acts, and in this review
the writer is glad to avail himself of documents which
have been kindly placed at his disposal.
When Bishop Polk removed to Louisiana it was the
universal custom of sugar-planters throughout the season
of cane-grinding to keep their mills running without in
termission, even on Sunday. It was held on all hands,
even by devout religious persons, that Sunday labor at
that season must be regarded as a work of necessity,
since a single frost might at any time greatly diminish
the value of their crops. The bishop, however, resolved
that he and all his family must keep the Lord s Day holy,
and that, be the consequences what they might, his ser
vants should not work on that day. It was in vain that
his neighbors remonstrated against this innovation on
the customs of the country. They urged the loss which
he would surely suffer soon or late; they represented
to him that the negroes on the neighboring plantations,
when required to work on Sunday, would become dissat
isfied and discontented ; and his overseer predicted that,
by the loss of one day in seven, his sugar-making would
be so diminished that his reputation as a practical man
Mt. 39] DEATH OF MRS. SAEAH POLK. 185
of business would necessarily suffer. To all this the
bishop replied that the course he had adopted was the
only course consistent with his duty as a Christian ; that
by divine command the man-servant and the maid-ser
vant of his neighbors had the same right as his own to
one day of complete rest ; that, in his opinion, he would
not fall much, if at all, behind his neighbors in the sav
ing of his crops ; and that, come what might, he would
do what he believed the law of God required. Gradually
his course gained the approval of his neighbors. Within
a few years his example was generally followed, and he
had the satisfaction of knowing that it entailed no serious
loss to the interests of the planters.
In 1845 the bishop s mother died. The deep love
which he bore her was warmly expressed in a letter to
his sister, Mrs. Kenneth Raynor, of North Carolina.
THIBODEAUX, January 10, 1846.
On my return from New Orleans a few days since, I read
your letter informing me of the death of our dear mother.
How deeply the stroke came upon us you may well imagine.
The presence of such a mother, if not within immediate access,
at least within reach, of one so wise, so prudent, so kind, so
affectionate, so generally tender, is a blessing, from my expe
rience of life, but rarely enjoyed. The perfect consciousness
of that which was right, and the firm and more than feminine
decision with which it was invariably pursued, gave to her
character an elevation the more imposing because of the
simplicity and naturalness out of which these traits so con
spicuously shone. She was to us the best blessing God ever
gave us, and we cannot be adequately grateful for the mercy.
One thing, however, we may do, and that is, by humbly and
piously giving our whole hearts to God, to seek to manifest a
purpose at least to imitate her virtues and finally be sharers
of her reward.
186 HOME LIFE AT LEIGHTON. [1846
The twelve years of his residence at Leighton passed
rapidly, and, in spite of all misfortunes, happily away.
Mrs. Polk, in notes which she wrote for her children
long afterward, said :
These were happy days. In the winter we had our friends
with us. In the summer we were quiet and sometimes alone j
and how I enjoyed those little intervals of leisure! They
were very few, and when I sometimes complained how little I
saw of him, he would always answer, with his pleasant smile,
" Never mind, wife ; we shall have time enough in heaven."
The bishop himself described his home life in a letter
to his sister :
My wife and children are all now with me, and I am enjoy
ing their society greatly, at no time more. I pass my time in
the instruction of Hamilton and Fanny j my daughter in
mathematics and the classics, Hamilton alone in the latter, my
study hours being from nine A.M. till two P.M. I am highly
pleased to witness their advancement, which I would fain
believe quite as decisive as it has hitherto been under in
structors less interested in their improvement.
They all sing, and that pleases me. Should you hear us
sometimes accompanying the piano to " The Old North State,"
you would think we were hearty lovers of all her simplicity,
her honesty, and her pines as we assuredly claim to be. So
much for my children. And now when are we to see you and
yours ? I hope during the next winter. I go to the General
Convention, and presume I will be in Raleigh, but I cannot
promise. I will if I can.
The home life at Leighton was one of patriarchal sim
plicity and beauty. A niece of Mrs. Polk, who passed
nearly a year there, has thus recorded her recollections
of it:
Leighton, the residence of Bishop Polk in Louisiana, was a
large comfortable house, which wore at all seasons an air of
M\... 40] A LOUISIANA HOME. 187
cheerful, hearty hospitality, such as can only be imparted to a
home from the hearts of its master and mistress.
The lawn in front sloped to the Bayou La Fourche, and
was surrounded by a magnificent hedge of Cherokee roses,
which, growing in the wild luxuriance that vine attains in a
genial climate, was in some places twelve or fifteen feet broad
across the top, and perfectly impenetrable to all but the
smallest birds. The house, with its long roof sloping in one
unbroken line from the ridge-pole to the eaves of the lower
piazza, stood well back from the parish road in front, and
from the plantation road by which it was approached at the
side, and which separated the grounds from the cane-fields
and the negro quarters. The back lawn, containing the of
fices and the rooms of the house servants, was divided from
the stables by a hedge of fig-trees, any one of which would
have served the purpose of Zaccheus and supported a small-
sized man on its limbs.
Here for nearly a year I was made to feel that I was one of
the children of the household. The wide portico in front
on which looked the windows of the front parlor, the hall,
the bishop s study, and Mrs. Folk s bedroom was the after
noon summer parlor, where the family gathered, and, with the
hall itself, was the play-room of the children. It was one of
the bishop s maxims that "children had rights as well as
grown folks," and one of their rights, most strenuously in
sisted on and protected, was the freedom of the whole house.
He would never allow the smallest of them to be confined to
the nursery. He used to say that good manners could be
taught to girls and boys, but that easy, unconscious ones
must be inhaled with the air of their daily life. Mrs. Polk,
who had been brought up in the strictest manner, used some
times to make spasmodic efforts to introduce a little of its
spirit into her government, but the genial nature of the
bishop would always in the end conquer her scruples. I
have often heard her laugh, and say, "Father is away so
much that of course it is holiday when he comes home, and
I believe I need a holiday as well as the children." She felt
that she could afford to relax the reins when his hand was
188 SOCIAL LIFE. [1846
near to tighten them, if needful, and guide the wild young
creatures over the rough places of life.
The life at Leighton was preeminently sociable. Scarcely
two consecutive days passed without company to breakfast,
dinner, or tea, and the "prophet s chamber" was seldom
empty for more than a week at a time. But company was
never allowed to interrupt the family routine. Lessons went
on at the usual hours, and Mrs. Polk attended to her house
hold duties, while the guests entertained themselves in the
parlors or the bishop s study, or in strolling or riding with
him over the cane -fields, or in the more serious duty of going
through the hospital, which the bishop visited daily whenever
there was a patient in it.
Guests from New Orleans frequently came up unexpectedly,
and it was no uncommon thing to see the steamer stop at the
front gate and deposit a passenger who came for a day or a
week, sure of a welcome and a lodging j for the house was so
large that it was seldom filled to the utmost, and there was
always room at the table for all who came.
Nor was it only the spiritual welfare of his neighbors and
friends that he had at heart ; he was always endeavoring to
improve their temporal condition as well, and on his visits to
the General Convention he never omitted learning all he
could respecting the improvements in the manufacture of
sugar, seeing new machinery, and testing it himself before
trying to introduce it among the planters around him.
The bishop used to say of himself that he was " naturally
aggressive," and I think he was right; but a yet stronger
trait of his character, and one which he cultivated instead of
repressed, was his strong sense of justice and desire to deal
it out as impartially to his opponents as to his friends. Al
though anything approaching deceit or prevarication always
excited his contempt and indignation, I have heard him more
than once, after giving way and expressing these feelings,
add in a softened tone : " But I must not be too hard on it.
It is the failing of the weak in mind and body, and the nat
ural result of fear." He always sought to instill into the
hearts of his children that perfect love which casteth out
Mi. 40] MRS. FOLK S CHARACTER. 189
fear, and he used often to say that where fear of punish
ment was the predominant feeling in the heart of a child,
deceitfulness would inevitably be the result. His capacity
for work was very great, but I think he was able to accom
plish much in a short time because he possessed in an emi
nent degree the ability to throw off business thoughts in the
hours of relaxation, which hours were always spent in the
family circle. Five minutes after he left his study he was
the " biggest boy " of the family, singing comic songs, tell
ing amusing stories, or entering into the play of the moment
with a real and unaffected zest which rendered father the
" best fellow in the world," as I once heard his youngest son
say at the mature age of six and a half. To make a kite for
this youngster and then help him to fly it was a delight to
both ; and he once carried into the pulpit a black eye which
he had received when helping to raise a kite which was too
large for the boy to manage alone.
I cannot close these recollections [adds Mrs. Folk s niece]
without mention of the woman who was the presiding influ
ence of this home. A daughter of John Devereux, of The
Ferns, County Wexford, Ireland, and Frances Pollok, she
was a great-granddaughter of Thomas Pollok, of Balgra,
Scotland, president of the colony of North Carolina and
major-general of the colonial forces. But she also was a
descendant of Jonathan Edwards, her grandmother being
Eunice Edwards, the sixth daughter of that illustrious man.
Of unusual character and intelligence, Mrs. Polk passed a
long and eventful life in fullest sympathy with her husband.
I was married under his roof ; and turning to me after he
had performed the ceremony, he said, in the hearing of all
assembled: " After living a year in the house with your aunt,
you do not need any homilies from me on the duties of a
good wife. I can only tell your husband that, if you profit
by her example, he will find he has drawn a prize." Left for
months at a time the, head not only of the house, but of the
plantation, Mrs. Polk was always ready and competent to
meet any exigencies that might arise in the direction of
either. She never assumed responsibilities, but never shrank
190 A LOVING LAW. [1846
from bearing any that her position imposed upon her, gladly
casting them all outwardly on her husband s shoulders when
he returned, and then becoming apparently his aid only,
while in reality she was the mainspring of the household.
Quietly conscious of her power with others, she was, unfor
tunately for him, timid in maintaining any opinion in oppo
sition to the bishop, and too ready to say, "Well, you know
best." In fact, it was often she who knew best, and, had she
asserted herself, she could have gained her point, for her
opinion had the greatest weight with him. She had a clear
business head, great executive ability, a remarkable power of
finding out the resources of others, and the faculty of making
them available. She was well read in the literature of the
day, and always had some book on her work-table, which she
picked up at spare moments. It was her custom to talk to
her children of what she was reading, even when the book
itself was beyond their comprehension ; but she had the happy
art of making portions of it so simple that they were inter
ested in the narrative. " What is you reading, Robinson
Crusoe ? " asked a little one of five years old one day, pulling
out of her mother s hand a copy of Hugh Miller s " Testimony
of the Rocks." "No, my pet; I am reading about rocks."
" The rocks that broke his ship all to pieces ?" " Yes ; would
you like to hear how they came there ? " Then followed, in
language that the little girl could understand, an account of
the coral-reefs of the Pacific, all made by a tiny insect, of
which rock formation the young lady, it is needless to say,
had hitherto no knowledge beyond her necklace and the
baby s coral and bells.
Between Bishop Polk and his wife, though unlike in many
respects, there was that confidence and harmony which so
often attain the highest perfection between persons of dis
similar character. Indeed, each was a loving law unto the
other. Among Mrs. Polk s characteristics the most promi
nent were her entire sincerity and ingenuousness j and the
charm of life at Leighton was its simplicity and good-heart-
edness. Her devotion to her husband, her children, her
neighbors, the bond and the free, was a part of her char-
Mt.40] THE "BOLLING BALL." 191
acter, simple, natural, and without display. A noble wo
man, fit helpmate for the man who was her husband.
Mrs. Folk s prime minister in the government of the house
hold was Mammy Betsey, who had been her maid before
marriage, and had afterward become her housekeeper. Dear,
good Mammy ! We all loved her as though she were " kin to
us." Her one object in life was to please Master and " Miss
Fanny," as she always called her mistress, and to take care
of their children. " Faithful unto death " was she, and no
memory of Leighton is complete that does not bring to mind
her tall figure, dignified carriage, and untiring efforts to
make all under its roof comfortable, not only for their own
sakes, but for the "credit of the family." Often have I
heard her impress on the younger servants the necessity of
cultivating good manners, so that, when ladies and gentle
men came in master s and mistress s absence, they might be
received with " credit to the family." So truly and fully
indeed did the spirit of hospitality pervade this household,
that even the servants were imbued with it, and would have
felt any deficiency in that respect as a reflection on them
selves.
The servants had their own gatherings, at which master
and mistress always appeared for a few moments. The
" Rolling Ball," which was given every winter at the close of
the cane-rolling season, was a scene of general jollity, when
dance and music were carried far into the night. The sup
per for this ball was superintended by Mammy Betsey, and
the viands served were as well cooked and as good of their
kind as if prepared for the master s table. Punch, made of
the half-boiled juice of the sugar-cane and green limes, was
concocted by old Washington, who served it out to the guests
until, as he used to say, " The fumes of it, marster, makes me
quite stupid-like ; but I ain t drunk, only just smelling of it."
"No, old fellow," the bishop would reply, "I look to you set
tled ones to set a good example for the young folks, and I am
sure you will do so." It was by taking it for granted that
they would do what was right, and appealing to their self-
respect, that he strove to govern his negroes. But woe to the
192 MAMMY BETSEY. [1846
offender who persisted in his offenses j for, although his pun
ishment was delayed, it was sure to come. I remember that
a persistent chicken- thief was made to stand for several hours
one Sunday with the stolen property tied round his neck,
fluttering and clucking, to the great amusement of the other
negroes. The plantation affairs were family affairs as well,
and the negroes were punished for offenses in the same spirit
as the children.
Taken all in all, I have never seen a more homelike home
than that of Bishop Polk at Leighton. It was a fit shrine for
That tender heart that felt for every woe,
That dauntless soul that feared no human pride,
That friend of man, to vice alone the foe,
Whose every failing leaned to virtue s side.
The Mammy Betsey referred to in these recollections of
Leighton has passed from among us. She died in New
Orleans, October 2, 1874. The name of this lifelong attend
ant of the Polk and Devereux families was Betsey McKethan.
She was born on the plantation of John Devereux, of The
Roanoke, North Carolina, January 1, 1800 j and, to para
phrase Heine, she was held in the estimation of all those of
her household to be the " first woman of her century." On
the marriage of Miss Devereux to the Rev. Mr. Polk, Betsey
followed the fortunes of her young mistress. She was a
lifelong communicant of the Episcopal Church, and her life
was an embodiment of its precepts. She did her duty in that
state of life into which it pleased God to call her. She W^P
the trusted counselor of the household to which she belonged
Neither wars nor revolutions sufficed to shake her steadfat
fidelity. She lived to see the children and grandchildren ot
the family reach the third generation. Her hands, which
tended so many of them in the cradle and presented them
for the holy waters of baptism, had too often, alas ! robed
them for the tomb. In all the chances and changes of life
she was to them not only the tender nurse of infancy and
illness, but the common friend, the healer of differences, the
sharer of their joys, the consoler of their griefs.
Mi. 40] ROYAL NEGEO BLOOD. 193
Honored by all who knew her, the lofty as well as the
lowly, especially did those of her own race find in her an
adviser and friend. With just pride they may cite her gentle
ministrations, her purity of life, her unostentatious piety, as
a proof that Sisters of Charity are not all of one creed nor of
one color. She brought up her own children in the fear of
God. To her they owe the lessons which have made them
upright, rendering to all their due, and entitled to the respect
of the community. Her mistress was not able to join the
band of heartfelt mourners which followed her to the grave ;
but she, who knew her best, wrote her truest eulogy in these
few words: " Her life was an example. God grant that
death may find each of us as well prepared."
"At five P.M. on the day of her funeral in New Orleans,"
says an eyewitness, " I picked my way through a crowd of
respectable and polite negro men, who were standing on the
"banquette, to the house of mourning. I then entered a small
room, hung with the usual adornments of grief, and occu
pied by the quiet and well-behaved assemblage of her friends.
There lay the neat coffin, covered with flowers, the kind
gift of ladies, and at its head stood the daughters of
Mammy s former mistress. In a small adjoining room were
several other ladies, awaiting the removal of the body to
the little Prytania Street Chapel, where the services were
to be held. On our arrival there stood the venerable,
deeply loved pastor of Christ Church (Dr. Leacock), who
was also the rector of the chapel, ready to perform the last
rites over the inanimate body, little heeding the color of
the casket which had so lately contained that priceless soul.
As those solemn words, I am the resurrection and the life,
saith the Lord, were spoken, there was a quiver in the voice
of him who read them ; for he had known and esteemed and
felt a strong affection for the departed."
Mammy s grandmother, so tradition goes, was an im
ported princess of some pretensions j and, if true royalty
consists in gentleness, kindness, and an intuitive perception
of right, then Mammy s life amply proved her claim to the
possession of royal blood. Her stanch unchanging devo-
194 SLAVERY AT LEIGHTON. [1846
tion and active gratitude to her master s children stand not
alone in the experience of many a Southern family, strange
as it may seem to those who never knew plantation life.
Miss Beauchamp, an accomplished lady who was for
three years the resident governess of the family, writes
as follows :
My first introduction to Bishop Polk was through letters
which I brought from my own diocesan, the Bishop of Cork,
and from the Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Dublin, ad
dressed to the Bishop of Louisiana. I found a happy home
in the charming family on Bayou La Fourche. The bishop s
residence was a large plantation-house, surrounded by a
flower-garden and handsome grounds. He had a good li
brary of choice theological works, and Mrs. Folk s book
shelves were furnished with the best productions of modern
literature.
I knew before I came to this country that slavery existed
here, and I expected to see the black servants treated with
much less consideration than the white domestics in my own
country ; to my surprise, I found that quite the contrary
was the case. There was a host of servants at Bishop Folk s ;
they were on more familiar terms with the family, were
more kindly nursed in illness and more carefully watched
over at all times, than I ever knew servants to be in the
old country. The familiarity at first somewhat shocked my
European notions. I did not, I confess, like all the shaking
of black hands that I found was the fashion. The house
hold, white and black, assembled every morning before
breakfast in the parlor. The psalms for the day were read,
a psalm or hymn was sung by all ; the bishop read and ex
pounded a chapter of the Bible, and then prayed. He was
fond of the Proverbs. If there had been any dereliction
of duty amongst children or servants, they were sure to hear
of it at these morning readings, when the culprit perfectly
well understood for whom the principal part of the lecture
was intended, though probably no one else did.
Mt. 40] BAPTISMAL EEGENEEATION. 195
I was one day looking from my window up -stairs, and I
saw the three youngest children at play in the front yard.
One asked her brother to get her some roses that were hang
ing in rich clusters over a small side-gate. He said, " No ;
mother has forbidden us to climb on that gate. 1 " The little
one was persistent, would have the flowers, and the boy,
like poor Adam, and many a good man from that day to
this, was about to yield to the blandishments of beauty and
break the commandment, not for an apple, but a rose. Just
then the other little girl said, with an air of reproof, and
exactly in her father s tone, " My son, if sinners entice thee,
consent thou not." This brought both delinquents to a sense
of their duty. I was exceedingly amused at such an appro
priate application of the Proverb.
The bishop, who would at times be away for weeks on
visitations through his diocese, always brought on his re
turn joy and happiness to the entire household. He would
amuse us for days with a recital of his adventures in the
border region of Louisiana and with the people he would
sometimes meet there. On one occasion, having been up
the Red River, where an Episcopal clergyman was seldom
seen, he was called on to baptize a sturdy five-year-old
youngster who defiantly resisted the sacrament unless his
black Fidus Achates, Jim, should receive it at the same time.
" Well," said the bishop, " bring in Jim, and I will make a
Christian of him, too." Accordingly Jim, duly instructed
by his mistress, was brought into the parlor ; the pair went
through the ceremony with perfect propriety, and were dis
missed to their play. Meanwhile, the friends and neighbors
who had called to assist at the baptism and pay their re
spects to the bishop sat in solemn state awaiting the an
nouncement of dinner. Small-pox had been lurking in the
country. Every one was excited on the subject of vaccina
tion, and discussions as to whether it had taken on this or
that subject had been the order of the day for more than
a week. Suddenly the circle was astounded by the re
appearance of Jim, who exclaimed, almost breathless with
excitement, "Mistis! Mistis! you must have Marse Tom
196 NEGRO NOMENCLATURE. [1864
baptized over agin. It never tuck that ar time. He s out
yonder cussin the steers worse than ever, and says he ain t
gwine to stop for nobody ! " The ice melted at once, and
the stiffness of the circle vanished as the bishop turned to
the hostess and said, " A commentary on the doctrine of
baptismal regeneration, my dear madam."
Every Sunday afternoon all the negroes on the plantation
came up to the house, and were taught by Mrs. Polk, her
daughters, and myself in various classes. Singing entered
largely into the exercises, many of the negroes having a
taste for music, and some of them excellent voices. My
class consisted of grown-up boys. I found it very difficult
to keep them awake, no matter how edifying I fancied my
instructions to be.
The ceremonies of marriage and baptism were always
performed by the bishop himself, and the names chosen by
the negroes were sometimes very amusing. Many of them
could read, and they showed their appreciation of Greek
mythology and Shakspere by the number of Minervas and
Ophelias amongst them. One Sunday twenty-five little negro
infants were taken into the bishop s arms and christened.
Though the scene was a very impressive and interesting one,
yet some of the names were so droll to my ears that I could
scarcely preserve a becoming gravity. One was named
" Crystal Palace," another " Vanity Fair," etc., but when
a little creature, black as Erebus, and squalling, with its
mouth extended to an enormous size, was taken into the
bishop s arms to be named " Prince Albert," it was impos
sible for me to resist any longer, and a heavy fit of coughing,
gotten up for the occasion, saved me from a reproving look
from the good bishop.
An eminent clergyman of the diocese describes a visit
he made to Leighton :
In the early afternoon, in company with a brother clergy
man, I drove up to the plantation of the bishop to attend the
exercises of what he called his colored Sunday-school. Ap
proaching the mansion, we heard voices within singing the
^t. 40] A FAMILY SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 197
church songs. In the largest room of the house the servants
were already assembled, to the number perhaps of sixty or
eighty, in their Sunday garments, ranged in two lines facing
each other, with a considerable space between, in which the
chaplain of the plantation stood conducting their devotions.
At one end of the room, near the head of the lines of servants,
the bishop was seated with two or three invited guests.
Among these we now took our place. The religious exercises
being ended, the female servants were withdrawn to another
apartment, the males remained to be examined by the chap
lain. Questions on the elementary principles of the Christian
religion were put and answered with readiness and accuracy.
Hymns were sung and anthems chanted, the whole service
exhibiting the care with which they had been instructed and
their interest in the exercises.
After this we were conducted by the bishop into another
room. There we found the female servants, numbering
twenty or more, seated on forms in front of a lady, the
governess of the bishop s family, as we were then told, who
was engaged in giving oral instruction to this portion of the
household. Again questions were put and answered and
hymns sung, as before.
Leaving this apartment, we passed into a third chamber^
and were introduced into what the bishop called the il infant
department" of his Sunday-school. Seated on two benches
was a class composed of the smaller colored children of the
place, attending the teaching of one of the young daughters
of the bishop, who seemed not a little embarrassed by what
was probably an unexpected intrusion upon her labors. The
time had now arrived for the closing exercises of the day.
The whole school re-assembled in the great hall, another hymn
was sung, and prayers were offered by the chaplain, after
which the bishop rose from his knees, and, with his hands ex
tended over the company, in his usually impressive manner,
pronounced the apostolic benediction, realizing, so it seemed
to me, as nearly as anything in those days could, the idea of
the early patriarch, when he gathered his household together
and gave them his blessing.
Taking the hand of the bishop at parting, I could not for-
198 A WEDDING SCENE. [1846
bear expressing my impressions. It was then he told me the
number of communicants he had among his people a large
proportion ; I do not recollect the number whose Christian
walk, he said, compared with that of any equal number of
white persons, was as generally consistent; and he added
that, in the cabins of many, prayers were said with as much
regularity as in his own family.
To this let me add another incident, which I heard from
the lips of the bishop himself. An aged and sick servant I
believe a favorite with his master having an impression that
his end was near, sent to ask the bishop to come and see him.
The cabin was already well filled with the fellow- servants of
the dying man. The master approached the bedside, and,
after some conversation, inquired if he would like to have
prayers offered. Looking around the company, and recogniz
ing one in whose personal piety he had the greatest confidence,
the bishop requested him to lead in the devotion. The prayer
offered on the occasion was so simple, earnest, reverential, and
appropriate, and, though delivered in the rude terms of an
uneducated servant, so expressive of the truth and power of
Christian experience, that upon his way back to his own house,
the passage of Scripture, " The first shall be last and the last
first," was continually forcing itself upon the reflections of the
master.
We cannot forbear adding to these sketches the fol
lowing recollections by one of his daughters :
The greatest efforts were made by the bishop to preserve
among his servants the sanctity of family life. Their wed
dings were always celebrated in his own home; the broad
hall was decorated for the occasion with evergreens and flow
ers, and illuminated with many lights. The bride and groom
(all decked in wedding garments presented by Mrs. Polk),
with their attendants, were ushered quietly into their master s
presence. The honor coveted by the bishop s children, and
given as the reward of good behavior, was to hold aloft the
silver candlesticks while their father read the marriage ser-
Mi. 40] CAEE OF A PLANTATION. 199
vice. A wedding-supper always followed (in a large room
used on such occasions, where were spread every variety of
meats, cakes, and sweets, provided by the master and mistress),
after which all invited guests joined the bride and groom in
making merry, to the sound of " fiddle, banjo, and bones," until
the small hours of the night. If the couple had misbehaved,
they were compelled to atone for it by marriage. In that
case there was no display, but the guilty pair were sum
moned from the field, and in their working-clothes, in the
study, without flowers or candles, were made husband and
wife.
The children of the servants were well cared for. A day-
nursery was established under the charge of good nurses.
This department Mrs. Polk was particularly interested in.
Every Monday morning the head nurse, with her assistants,
was required to bring the children to be inspected by Mrs.
Polk, who examined carefully into the condition of each child,
and had a gift of the much-prized beaten biscuit and tea-
cakes for them all.
AU departments that tended to the well-being of the ser
vants were looked into. Those women who were unable to
work in the field were assigned to duty as seamstresses. The
work-room was in one end of a large building set apart as a
hospital. Here the head nurse, who had been carefully in
structed by her mistress in cutting and sewing, as well as in
the care of the sick, superintended the making of clothing for
the field-hands. Others again, too old to undertake sewing,
did the knitting for the hands ; each had her cards and spin
ning-wheel, with which she soon changed the raw material
into soft, smooth yarn. The hospital was a large, well-venti
lated building, divided into male and female wards; here
everything that contributed to the comfort of the sick was
provided, and the wards when occupied were daily inspected
by either the bishop or Mrs. Polk.
During all the year, except in the sugar-making season of
three months, the field-servants had each week a certain task
allotted them ; as soon as that was completed their time was
their own. Each family had its hen-house and garden, and
200 FINANCIAL TROUBLES. [1846
seed to plant for their own use ; the industrious always had
good gardens, the products of which they could convert into
money if they chose ; frequently offerings of the first-fruits
were brought to " Marster and Mistiss," for which they were
duly compensated. A large plantation-garden was cultivated
by the older men, too old for field-hands, but who had to be
employed. The vegetables, fresh from the garden, were taken
each day to the plantation kitchen, where good cooks prepared
the meals for the field-hands. These women were held re
sponsible for the food being well cooked and in sufficient
quantities to satisfy the best appetites.
But, as a close friend of Mrs. Polk has but too truly
written,
Leighton proved an extensive and expensive estate. Sugar-
planting is a costly process. Close management is necessary,
and the master s watchful eye. A succession of bad seasons,
with low prices, began the destruction of the fortune which
they had brought into the State. Necessarily the bishop was
often absent from home, riding through the wilds of Arkan
sas or the swamps of Louisiana. If the two were incompati
ble, his private interests suffered, not his public duties. It
was an easy device to borrow money on so ample a security.
Newer machinery, better seasons, must bring great returns.
He never exacted his salary. On the contrary, out of his own
resources he nourished the struggling churches over which he
was God s overseer. Given to hospitality, his door was open
to wayfarers of all degrees.
All that was possible of his burdens his wife assumed.
She rose up early in the morning, gave meat to her house
hold, and apportioned the tasks of her maidens. As to con
sidering fields, selling, not buying them, would have proved
the superior wisdom of this latter-day mother in Israel. She
witnessed the gradual wasting away of their property with
out the possibility of prevention.
Let us quote again from the faithful " Mammy," who, like
all her race, gloried in the past splendors of the house to
40] "SLOW COURAGE" 201
which she belonged. When their fortunes were fallen it
soothed her pride to prove that it was by no fault of theirs,
but by fatality. " While old master was off on the Lord s
business, the plantation was run by young gentlemen. Ex
perimenting and lavishing did it. My old mistress saw it,
of course she did, but she couldn t turn overseer. The lit
tle while the bishop could be at home she made it pleasant
for him. Nobody ever heard her say a word. She did all
her fretting inside. The most I ever saw was when business
was being talked on the piazza. After she had listened she
would come into her own room and sit placid, and then give
a long sigh. We were both thinking how the children s
chances were slipping away."
That this was a true interpretation of her mistress s thoughts
is proven by this extract from a letter to one of her married
daughters, written in those dark days following the war : u I
have grown older within these few months since I left you
than for years before. Sometimes I think it is because I real
ize more fully than ever that if I had done my duty you
would all have been better off in a pecuniary point of view.
I am therefore responsible for all the evil consequences re
sulting from the poverty of my children, for I have not the
consolation of thinking that I acted for the best. I felt that
I was doing wrong at the time, and I have never felt other
wise.
" I must not dwell mournfully upon the past, or recall too
often poor John Randolph and the card on which he had
written Remorse! 7 (unavailing regret)."
Like all powerful men, the bishop was full of hopefulness
He had never known any circumstances with which he was
unable to cope. If matters went wrong, as soon as he turned
his attention to them he would right them. Born to fortune,
strong and self-reliant, he was naturally proof against the
fears and auguries which oppressed his wife. No doubt, too,
his optimism influenced her, and thus action was deferred
until too late.
The same close observer already cited bears witness to
the " slow courage " with which her mistress acted her part.
202 PATRIARCHAL DAYS. [1846
" Nothing living was neglected. She had to be satisfied about
everybody and everything down to the very dogs about the
place." The life of the mistress in those patriarchal days
was not one of ease. As soon as the breakfast was over and
the day s supplies distributed, the many guests of the house
were left for a while to their own devices while she made
the rounds of the quarters, that is, the village containing
the cabins of the field negroes. The sick were visited, and the
proper food and medicine for them were set apart. Then the
nurse-house, where the little children were cared for by the
elder women, was inspected. Daily those who could walk
were brought out for exercise as far as the back door of the
" big house," as they termed the master s residence, and there
the mistress gave each a biscuit, and sometimes with it a word
of kindly admonition. Then she bestowed a general super
intendence upon the room where the regular seamstresses
and the delicate women cut out and made the clothing which
was always prepared in advance for plantation use. Later in
the morning Mrs. Polk went into the school-room, where her
children were at work under their governess. With swift
fingers she plied her knitting-needles while she sat listening
to the instruction given them. Often a quick, pungent re
mark from her added something never to be forgotten to the
day s quota of knowledge. She kept up a voluminous corre
spondence, which would have overtaxed a less systematic
woman. She had no patience with those who find in their
pleasant engagements a pretext for neglecting the small,
sweet courtesies of life. The young people about her who
were inclined to defer paying visits and replying to letters
knew they would hear her rebuke, " What ! you have not
leisure or wisdom to make and to keep friends "? " Her after
noons were given up to receiving and making visits, always
a heavy demand upon one s time in a country neighborhood.
Brought up in the good old idea that no moment must be
unoccupied, Mrs. Polk became very skillful in ah 1 arts of the
needle, at least those which could be carried on mechanically,
with little demand upon the eyesight. The last note from her
to a kind neighbor, written when she was "such an one as
Mt.43\ THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS. 203
Paul the aged," was valued enough to be preserved, and it
marks the only limit to her industry :
" My dear Mrs. S : I regret that I could not return the
little squares at an earlier day, and I hope that it will occa
sion Mrs. C no inconvenience. Nothing would have given
me greater pleasure in former days than to copy them, but,
alas ! those that look out of the windows are darkened, and
such employments are forbidden. With regards to the ladies,
believe me, yours truly, F. A. POLK."
She was an insatiable reader, and required of herself and of
all around her that they should keep well up with the litera
ture of the day. An open book lay ever on her work-table,
and if conversation degenerated into gossip, a swift reminder
would come that it was there ready for use. Friend after
friend, child after child would take it up and read aloud to
her. Racy commentaries repaid them richly. She was a
woman who thought, and, having the courage of her convic
tions when she reached them, she enunciated them in pithy
phrases, not molded on the common plan, nor easily for
gotten. But the responsibilities and anxieties, more than the
labors of such days, gradually told upon her health and spirits.
She grew thinner and paler. The expression of her face was
one of subdued sadness. In another of her letters to a mar
ried daughter she admits: "Your father used sometimes to
get out of patience with me for my fondness for Burns s Man
was made to mourn, and I weary am I know, and the
weary long for rest ; but one does get so weary when not
strong."
The beginning of sorrows came in 1849, when cholera
swept over the plantation, causing the death of over one
hundred of the negroes. Of this visitation the bishop
wrote to Mrs. Raynor briefly as follows, characteristically
forgetting to mention that he himself had had a danger
ous attack of the disease :
204 CHOLERA. [1849
You have heard, I presume, through your sister s letters, of
our late trouble and sickness. During the presence of the
disease we were absolutely so occupied as hardly to have a
moment for anything but attention to the sick and dying, so
could do nothing in the way of advising our friends of our
condition. Such a visitation must be seen in order to be
realized. Of all the population on my place, white and black,
amounting to over four hundred souls, I suppose there were
not more than, say, fifty who did not have the disease. We
lost one hundred and six, among them some of our best
people. You will regret to hear that our old friend, Jeff, was
of the number. He died as a Christian would desire to die,
at his post. He was of great service as a nurse, and was most
faithful.
In her notes Mrs. Polk writes somewhat more fully of
the cholera and its consequences, but omits mention of
her own part in the ordeal j but fortunately we know
that during this terrible scourge she devoted every mo
ment during the day, unless needed absolutely by her
own sick children, to their wants. For five long weeks
she took her place at the hospital every morning directly
after breakfast, nor did she leave until late in the even
ing, spending her time in going from bedside to bedside
trying to soothe and comfort the sick and dying : whilst
the bishop went from house to house, encouraging and
brightening by his presence; always near the dying,
praying fervently for the departing spirit ; neither mas
ter nor mistress ever taking but a few short hours rest
at a time during those fearful weeks of suffering and
death. Mrs. Polk in her notes says:
The cholera appeared in our neighborhood in the winter
of 1848-49. Great pains were taken by my husband to pre
serve the health of the negroes by clothing them in flannel and
having their quarters under extraordinary police and sanitary
regulations. He made a visitation on the Mississippi River
Mi. 43] "J CAN DIE IN PEACE." 205
below New Orleans, and returned to the city for the purpose
of holding the spring confirmation services in the churches
there, and to preside over the annual diocesan convention.
One evening he called upon Mr. James Robb, who sent for his
trunk and insisted that the bishop should remain with him
during his visit to the city. It was fortunate that he con
sented to do so, as he was taken ill with the cholera during
the night, and probably owed his life to the devotion of Mr.
James Robb, who watched over him with unwearied attention,
seemed forewarned of every want, and enforced in person the
order of the physician for complete quiet to the patient, by
waiting in an anteroom to receive all visitors. Before the
bishop recovered from this attack, the cholera appeared in
our place. The first cases were on the llth day of May, 1841).
In a few hours five deaths occurred. The best medical skill
was obtained j but medicine and attention seemed powerless.
In five weeks seventy -six souls were hurried into eternity ;
thirty other persons were so enfeebled and prostrated that they
all died within three weeks. Some of the bishop s family were
also ill of the disease, and barely escaped with their lives. At
one period of the epidemic, of the three hundred and ninety-
six negroes on the place, there were not enough well to take
care of the sick.
As soon as the bishop was able, indeed, at a risk of a
relapse, he was at the bedside of the sick and dying, to
nurse, to comfort, and to cheer. The last case of the cholera
occurred on the 7th of June, when a very fine servant named
Wright, by trade a blacksmith, was attacked. His master had
been reading and praying with him. Wright raised his head,
and said, " Master, lift me up." " I am afraid to, Wright,"
the bishop replied j " the doctors say it may be fatal." " I am
dying now, master; lift me up." The bishop raised him,
when Wright suddenly threw his arms around his master s
neck, and exclaimed, " Now, master, I can die in peace. I do
love you so I have often wanted to hug you, and now let me
die with my head on your breast and you praying for me."
His wish was complied with, and soon he was at rest.
The crop was, of course, not worked, as there were no hands
206 ^ TEBRIBLE TOENADO. [1850
able for weeks to be in the field. Instead of the usual corn-
crop being made, corn had to be bought from the first of
August, and the cane was greatly injured for want of work.
The crop did not pay the expenses, which this year exceeded
$50,000. The debt was not, of course, reduced. It had been
our hope that the crop would have paid it entirely, or at least
reduced it to within a few thousand dollars. But it was God s
doing. The bishop s health was so broken that he went North
with our son, and was absent some two months, the rest of
our family remaining on the Bayou.
The affliction of 1849 was followed by another heavy
loss in 1850, of which Mrs. Polk has given the following
account :
In May of this year (1850) the Diocesan Convention met at
Thibodeaux. The business over, the bishop invited the mem
bers to dine at his house. While at dinner, one of those dread
ful tornadoes, so common in the South and West at this sea
son, took place. The glass in the windows, even the dishes
on the table, were broken by enormous hailstones ; the floor
was covered with them. The sugar-house, valued at $75,000,
was destroyed. The stables of the plantation and several
negro-cabins shared a like fate. In a moment the labor of
years was destroyed, the crops ruined, and injuries to the
amount of $100,000 inflicted upon us. This was God s work.
The bishop bore it with his usual cheerful submission. He
regretted, in view of his losses by the cholera of the year be
fore, and of the present calamity, of which the body of the
convention were eyewitnesses, that no provision had been
made by the diocese for his support j but he said nothing to
any member on the subject.
A gentleman who at that time lived on an adjoining
plantation, and who had been invited, with his wife, to
meet the members of the Diocesan Convention at the
dinner to which Mrs. Polk refers, thus describes the
storm which wrought such havoc :
Mi. 44] A DISASTROUS SEASON. 207
The clouds were so threatening we did not venture out ; the
vehicle and horses were taken back to shelter. It was well
we remained. Soon we heard the sound of an approaching
storm, which struck us with consternation. It was upon us in
a moment. It seemed as if the house a very strong one,
built flat as if for such an encounter would be leveled to
the ground. Then came the hail, a frightful shower of it, a
tempest of huge missiles that lasted perhaps fifteen minutes,
although it seemed an age. The outer shutters were thrown
open by its violence, every exposed pane of glass in the win
dows was broken, the floors were covered with hail, and we
were compelled, for very fear of life, to keep out of the way
of the shower of stones which went through and through the
house. It was a scene of terror not to be shaken off the
memory in a lifetime. It should be mentioned, as character
istic of the thoughtfulness of the family at Leighton, that
despite the dismay, the destruction, the attention due numer
ous guests, and the general confusion of the moment, within
twenty minutes after the storm had spent its wrath upon us,
a messenger rode to our door from that plantation to inquire
how we had fared in the perils through which we had just
The effect of the storm on the bishop s fortunes, and
the complete disaster which ensued, are thus described
by Mrs. Polk :
The bishop went this fall (1850) to the General Convention,
which met at Cincinnati. The winter was passed, as usual, in
visiting portions of the diocese. Owing to the lateness of the
season, when the work of rebuilding began, the sugar -house
was not completed in time. Meanwhile the frost, which was
unusually early, had seriously injured the cane, so that not
over a third of an average crop was made. To all this the
bishop only said: "I have done all I could. I must leave the
future in God s hands. If he sends this trouble, it is his
will. Let him do what seemeth to him good. l Though he
slay me, yet will I trust in him. "
208 LEIGHTON SACRIFICED. [1854
In the spring of 1851, the bishop, under the advice of a friend,
determined to discharge his indebtedness in Tennessee by
raising money on his property, and placed the funds in the
hands of a broker to satisfy an obligation held by the Bank
of Tennessee. A few days after, the broker stopped payment,
having, in the interval, appropriated this trust money to his
own use. Under a statute of Louisiana this was a grave
penal offense, and the offender was subject to be imprisoned
in the penitentiary. The bishop would not prosecute him, as
he considered there was no intention to defraud. This was
the finishing stroke to our fortune.
While the bishop s private fortunes were falling into
decay, his episcopal work was prospering. In 1842 he
had found but two church buildings and five clergymen
in the diocese of Louisiana; at the Diocesan Conven
tion of 1853 twenty-one parishes were represented, and
twenty-five clergymen took part in the proceedings. In
the autumn of that year a third misfortune befell him.
The yellow fever, which had become epidemic in New
Orleans, extended its ravages to the interior and along
the banks of Bayou La Fourche. The mortality was very
great. The bishop himself was absent in attendance at
the General Convention when he received information
that two of his children and several of his negroes had
been attacked, and, obtaining leave of absence from the
House of Bishops, he instantly returned home. Hap
pily an early frost occurred, the disease abated, and he
passed the winter in his usual visitations. In the spring
of 1854 he had fully satisfied himself that the reve
nues of his plantation would be insufficient to discharge
the heavy debts which had accumulated against him.
Accordingly he considered it his duty to tender the prop
erty to his creditors, and, after a series of negotiations,
Leighton passed from his possession. Only a fraction
Mi. 48] EEMOVAL TO NEW ORLEANS. 209
of Mrs. Folk s property remained. Cotton lands were
purchased in Bolivar County, Mississippi, and the com
paratively few servants were transferred to that place.
In the autumn of 1854 yellow fever again appeared on
Bayou La Fourche, and many neighbors of the bishop
were among its victims. He was unremitting in his
devotion to the sick and dying, and was himself taken
with the fever. Upon his recovery he prepared to leave
Leighton for New Orleans, where he had resolved to
make his future home.
The diocese was not wholly unmindful of its obliga
tions to its chief pastor. For thirteen years he had
served it virtually without compensation, but in 1853 an
effort was made to raise an endowment of $50,000 for
his support, and his salary as bishop was settled at
$4000 per annum. On his removal to New Orleans he
accepted the rectorship of Trinity Church, with the
understanding that the work of the parish, during his
necessary absences on episcopal visitations, should be
carried on by a competent assistant. Thus, for the first
time in his life, Bishop Polk was permanently settled in
a great city, and from subsequent experience it might
safely be concluded that he ought always to have lived
there. From the moment of his settlement in New
Orleans his influence was universally recognized. The
position of the Church was strengthened. Its mission
ary energies were multiplied. Nothing but time seemed
to be wanting for an almost unprecedented growth of
the work under his charge.
Through all his losses and all the more perhaps be
cause he saw his private fortune vanishing away his
thoughts and cares had gone out to the great work for
the Church and world which the very loss of his fortune
made him free to undertake. It was during those dis-
210 THE UNIVERSITY IDEA. [1854
astrous years that he began to entertain the project of
establishing a great university in the southern States.
How this idea grew in him until it reached the ultimate
form with which his name will always be connected, has
been thus described by Mrs. Polk :
I remember few incidents of the winter of 1849-50 ex
cept that I now, for the first time, heard my husband speak
of his wish to establish a university which should enlist the
sympathy of all the States. Some time before he went to
Louisiana, that State had appropriated $1,500,000 for the es
tablishment of three colleges, one at Jackson, one at Opelou-
sas, and one in the parish of St. James. This sum had been
spent mainly in the buildings. The schools, after a brief
struggle, had ceased to exist, and the school buildings had
been disposed of, the Jackson institution to the Methodists,
the Opelousas to the Romanists ; that in St. James was offered
to my husband for $50,000. At one time he thought of pur
chasing it for the diocese, but, on making himself more fa
miliar with the wishes of the people, he ascertained that there
was a general desire to have the children spend the years of
their college life in a colder climate. He then thought of
purchasing the college building and grounds in St. James out
of his private means, and removing there; but the heavy
losses entailed by the cholera visitation prevented more than
the thought. Soon afterward these college buildings were
burned. But the plan of a great university was constantly in
his thoughts ; he frequently spoke of it to me, and began to
collect materials to enable him to bring the project before the
public.
In the spring of 1852 he began to collect information rela
tive to the educational system of England, France, and
Prussia, and to consult with some of his friends on the feasi
bility of founding a University of the South. Two months
were spent with me at the North, my health having become
very bad. We returned in the fall. The winter was passed
as usual, the bishop visiting various parts of the diocese, and
the family and myself remaining on the plantation.
Mi. 48] THE BISHOP S PERSONALITY. 211
Of Bishop Folk s pastoral and episcopal character, the
following account has been furnished, at the request of
the writer, in a letter from the Rev. Dr. Fulton. Speak
ing of his first meeting with Bishop Polk, he says :
On the 22d day of May, 1857, 1 arrived in New Orleans for
examination for orders, and was taken to the bishop s house
by the Rev. Dr. Charles Goodrich, president of the Standing
Committee. Presently we heard a quick, firm step in the hall,
and the bishop entered. One glance revealed the man; his
first address, the gentleman; his penetrating, sympathetic
look, the friend and father. He was then over fifty years of
age, but his clear complexion, his keen, bright eye, and his
elastic step made him appear not more than forty-six or forty-
eight. Standing over six feet in height, his form was cast
in the ideal mold of a soldier. His broad shoulders, his lean
flank, his erect carriage, and his decidedly military bearing pre
pared one for the clear, distinct voice, which never struck one
as imperious, but had always a certain tone of command. It
was a voice to make itself heard amid the din of battle, and
yet by the bedside of the sick and dying it was gentle as a
woman s. As he had a pressing engagement, our first inter
view was brief ; but in those few minutes he contrived, with
out any appearance of haste, to ask every question and pay
every attention that kindness or courtesy could suggest, and
also to make the necessary arrangements for my examination
and ordination. At the same time I was in some way con
scious that an eye accustomed to observe, and gifted with the
insight of sympathy, had taken a quick and comprehensive
observation of me. I did not at all feel that I had been
scrutinized; I did feel that I was understood.
In two days I was ordained deacon in Trinity Church, of
which the bishop was at that time rector. In his robes lie
appeared the ideal of a bishop; he was still the soldier, but
the calm, strong soldier of Christ. His air of command
never left him, but it was the command of one who felt that
he himself was " under authority," and in a Father s house.
Through all his dignity, the people who looked upon him saw
212 THE STANDARD OF CHARACTER. [1854
that lie was one of them and one with them; and this im
pression was aided, perhaps, by two slight inaccuracies- of
pronunciation, "toh" he said for to, and "goodniss" for
goodness. With these exceptions his pronunciation was per
fect and his enunciation remarkably distinct. His rendering
of the service was exceedingly impressive, and, though wholly
unstudied, it was intelligent, reverent, and simple. One did
not think of the reader, but of the lesson read. He was not
an adept in matters of ritual, and sometimes confused the
rubrics, not from carelessness or contempt, but rather from
preoccupation with weightier matters.
The bishop considered that true pastoral influence depended
mainly on personal character and on the power of personal
sympathy. He was accustomed to dwell on these as incom
parably more necessary than eloquence in the pulpit or any
particular views in theology. "Above all things," he would
say, " gain your people s confidence, and see that you deserve
it. Live the gospel, and you will preach the gospel."
He greatly disliked puritanical professions of religion, and
insisted upon conduct as the criterion of piety in a way that
would have satisfied Thomas Arnold. Once, when speaking
on this subject, I ventured to suggest that a little more of
that doctrine would make certain evangelical theories a good
deal less objectionable. " The one follows the other," he re
plied. " Faith is a charger that carries a man into battle, but
he must fight when he gets there, and then Faith will bear
him through the fight."
He laid the greatest possible stress on the necessity of pre
serving and developing one s own individual character, in
stead of striving to conform to some other type which one
may chance to admire. " There is no pattern of human life
worth following," he said, " but that of Christ himself. Take
no other for your model. If you do, you may rather acquire
its defects than its excellences. Only in him will you find
nothing to avoid ; only in him will you find all that is needed
to correct and complete your own life."
Once, when he had been reproving me for something or
other, I well remember the half-playful way in which he
48] PASTORAL INFLUENCE. 213
closed the conversation. " I would not have you," he said,
" be anybody but yourself." If the good Lord had not some
use for you in the world, you would not be here ; and if he
had wanted you to be any other sort of man, you would
have been a man of that sort, and not the man you are.
Your part is to consider how the Lord Jesus Christ would
wish a character like yours to be developed and restrained.
He would not wish you to be less earnest or less enthusiastic,
for earnest enthusiasm is a great power j but he might tell
you that it needs to be directed with prudence and gravity.
He would not wish you to be less joyous, but he would surely
bid you guard against levity. In short, my young friend,
it is good for a man to know what he can t be. You can t
and if you could, you ought not to be anybody but your
self. Only try to be your best self, your ideal self. Keep
yourself well in hand. When a man gives the rein to his own
peculiarities of character, he is sure to miss the purpose of his
life, and to become a caricature of the man God meant him
to be."
In his pastoral visiting the bishop was exceedingly syste
matic. When beginning a round of visits he would make
a list of all the families in a particular district, arrange them
in a certain order, and go through the list. Next day he
would take an adjacent district, go through that, and so on
until he had seen every family in the parish. His method
in visiting was perfect. It was astonishing to see how quickly
he got through ; and yet, brief as his visits were, they were
most effective. Before he entered a house, he had always
thought of every person connected with the family j and then,
without any forced turn of the conversation, he would make
it known that he had thought of all. " Make it a habit," he
said to me, li to think of your people. Bear them on your
heart, and let them know that you do so. Be sincerely in
terested in all that concerns them, and let them feel that you
are interested. That is the secret of pastoral influence." In
dealing with individuals he insisted on the greatest prudence.
" There is nothing so good," he said, "as a word in season;
but there are few things more likely to do harm than good
214 POWER OF REBUKE. [1854
words out of season. Learn to wait for your chance. The
man who seems callous to-day may be sensitive to your
lightest touch to-morrow, unless in the meanwhile you have
repelled him. Make it a point to leave no man further off
from spiritual things than he was when you met him j and
when men are moved, be content to carry them as far as
they will go freely. One step leads to another, unless you
fail to use your opportunity."
In parochial administration his method was summed up
in a few maxims such as these: "There is a great deal of
fine art in letting people alone." " It may cost you more
labor to get your people to do a thing than to do it yourself,
but it will be worth more when it is done." " Let your work
ing-people work in their own way. Don t be a martinet.
People who work have a right to choose their own way of
working, and the way they like will be the easiest for them."
"Make yourself felt rather than seen in your people s work.
Always give them the credit for what is done; never take
it to yourself."
There was nothing in which the bishop excelled more, as a
pastor and as a bishop, than in the power of rebuke. "Take
care," said a clergyman to me shortly after I went to New
Orleans, "that the bishop does not have to take you in hand.
If he does, he will make you ache in every bone of your spirit
ual body. Experto crede. But when you feel sorest, you will
be almost angry that you cannot be angry at what he has said
to you." I had more than once sufficient opportunity to verify
that saying. More than once the bishop did " take me in
hand," and sore enough he made me feel ; but he never made
me angry nor failed to send me away with a deeper reverence
for himself and with a deeper longing for his approbation.
Even now, after so many years, I cannot recall those inter
views without a vivid recollection of my utter helplessness in
the bishop s hands. Later on I learned that others had had
the same experience; but the bishop seemed always to have
something particularly commendatory to say of every person
whom he had had occasion to fault, and it was only through
the person himself that one could learn anything about it.
48] AN ANONYMOUS LETTER. 215
Occasionally, however, the story would get out in some amus
ing way. In the diocese there was a very excellent and labo
rious clergyman, really a fine fellow, but of a high-strung,
nervous temperament, and a desperate stickler for rubrical
observances and ritual propriety. I have said that in these
things the bishop sometimes made mistakes ; and at one of our
conventions I must confess that the opening services were
anything rather than in conformity with the order of the
" Directorium Anglicanum." Some weeks afterward there ap
peared in the columns of a church newspaper a communication
signed "X," giving an indignant andnot very complimentary
account of the rubrical and ritual irregularities of the service.
The bishop was sorely displeased, and spoke to me about it.
" Surely," I said, " you do not suspect me of writing the
letter ? " " No, sir," he replied ; " you are not the sort of bird
tha.t fouls its own nest ; but I thought you might know the
author of it." " And if I did, bishop ? " " If you did, sir," he
rejoined, "I do not love talebearers; but I shall find him out,
sir; I shall find him out." "Well, bishop, I have no more
idea than you have of the author of that communication;
but I should like to know how you expect to find him out."
" From himself, sir, of course ; and very soon, depend upon it."
Very soon he did find out. The writer, shortly afterward,
was in the bishop s study, and the bishop opened the subject
by observing that considerable interest had been taken in the
question of the authorship of the letter. The visitor felt that
the question was addressed to himself, and naively betrayed
himself by saying that he supposed that the pseudonym was
an indication that the writer did not wish to be known. " I
should think so," said the bishop; " and therefore I infer that
the author is not known to you, Mr. ?" This was a home
thrust, and the poor fellow stammered out that he certainly
did know the author, but that he was not prepared to give
any further information on the subject at that time. "And I
have asked none," said the bishop. Thereupon the unfortu
nate man was thoroughly "taken in hand." The meanness
and cowardice of an anonymous attack was commented upon in
the blandest way ; the additional wrong of an assault upon a
216 DEVOTION TO DUTY. [1854
bishop, whose office forbade a reply, was duly observed j and
the impropriety of a clergyman, who by virtue of his office is
an advisor of his bishop, washing diocesan dirty linen abroad
in the face of the world, was severely rebuked. The poor
fellow was spiritually broken on the wheel for a long half-
hour. He had not intended to do any of those dreadful
tilings, and yet, as the bishop went on, he seemed to have
been guilty of all of them. He left the house in a wretched
condition. Before he had gone far he was taken with a
nervous chill, and reached the house where he was staying
with a fever on him. A few hours later his host went to his
room, but paused on the threshold, hearing him, as he sup
posed, engaged in prayer. It was not prayer, however, as he
soon found, but the groaning utterances of mental distress.
" Oh, that communication signed X! " he moaned. " This is
certainly a judgment upon me for writing that communication.
If the good Lord will only forgive me for writing it, I ll never
be X any more ! " And he never was. He was a true Chris
tian gentleman, and loved his bishop well, though he did abhor
and resent a violation of the rubrics.
A case of fever, even such as this, recalls the frightful
scourge of yellow fever under which many southern cities
and towns are suffering while I write these lines. I was never
with the bishop in an epidemic, but I have often heard him
speak of his experiences. After he had made his residence in
New Orleans, it was a matter of course that he should stand
by his people in the hour of danger and distress, without re
gard to his own safety. During an epidemic he might have
gone on visitations elsewhere ; but if he had done so, he
would not have been Leonidas Polk. So he remained steadily
at his post of duty, as brave men of every Christian name have
always done, until he was relieved from work by an attack of
the disease.
The marvelous power of loving rebuke of which Dr.
Fulton speaks in the foregoing letter is still further illus
trated by an anecdote which is furnished by another
clergyman :
uEt. 48] ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE. 217
Bishop Polk was a man of very decided opinions, and,
though cautious perhaps in forming them, never hesitated,
when there was occasion, to give them expression. I have
always regarded him as a conservative churchman. He en
tertained high ideas of church authority. I think, too, he
was very tenacious of episcopal prerogative, and would never
allow the slightest infringement upon what he deemed its
proper claims. I have known him in council interrupt de
bate, when he thought the sentiments of the speaker trenched
upon the episcopal office. His rights were asserted with
firmness, but with moderation, nor was he ever disposed to
interfere with the just liberties of his clergy. He sympa
thized in their struggles, listened with interest to the story
of their trials, and gave them counsel as a brother ; nor was
there any duty to which he seemed to turn with greater re
luctance than that of administering the discipline of the
church. He was slow to credit rumors to the prejudice of
his brethren, and, even when offenses could not be denied,
he seemed to go in search of extenuating circumstances, as
one trying to find something to justify forbearance or mod
eration in discipline.
On one occasion very serious offenses were charged against
a certain presbyter of the diocese. The committee appointed
under the canon to investigate the rumors reported their
opinion that sufficient ground existed to warrant present
ment for trial before an ecclesiastical court. In order, how
ever, to avoid the scandal of such a proceeding, the offender
was willing to submit himself without reserve to the disci
pline of the bishop. I can never forget the solemnity with
which the judgment was pronounced. The presbyter was
summoned to appear before the bishop in one of the
churches in New Orleans. Some eight or ten of the clergy
were present in the chancel. The bishop was seated in his
chair, clothed with his robes of office, the other clergy with
theirs. Outside the chancel rail, before the altar, stood the
penitent offender. None others were permitted within the
church. The stillness of the room seemed to add impres-
siveness to the scene. A few collects were offered, after
218 SYMPATHY FOR THE ERRING. [1854
which the bishop from his place addressed the guilty pres
byter, briefly recapitulating his offenses and expressing
their culpability. He read the judgment from a manuscript
which was spread before him. His manner was very grave,
his voice low, sometimes wavering with emotion, yet per
fectly distinct. It was evident that he was much moved.
Every clergyman present felt the unusual solemnity of the
occasion. The offending presbyter covered his face, and
could not conceal his anguish. The judgment having been
pronounced, we all knelt once more in prayer, after which
the bishop rose, and extended his hand to the man whom
he had just suspended from ecclesiastical office, who grasped
it with tears in his eyes ; the clergy followed the example of
their bishop, and the offender was made to feel that among
his peers, and in the heart of his ecclesiastical superior, there
was no lack of sympathy for the infirmities of an erring
brother.
But we must leave these personal reminiscences.
While caring for his parish, which was one of the largest
in the diocese, and administering the affairs of a rapidly
growing diocese, Bishop Polk believed that the time had
come for him to undertake the work of founding a great
university for the southern States, and, from the com
manding position which he now held in New Orleans, he
set about that work with characteristic energy. l
i At the burning of Bishop Folk s house in 1861 all the letters which
he had written Mrs. Polk since their marriage were destroyed. The loss
has been greatly felt in the preparation of this and the preceding chap
ter, as the letters contained many allusions to persons and incidents
connected with Bishop Folk s life in the Southwest, particularly in the
Republic of Texas. The official record of bis life during this period
appears in the files of the " Spirit of Missions," in the proceedings of
the conventions of the dioceses of Louisiana, and in the " History of the
Dioceses of Louisiana," by the Rev. Herman E. Duncan.
BISHOP OF LOUISIANA, 1852
CHAPTEE VI.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.
1854 TO 1861.
Inception of the idea. Nobility of the university system. Early Amer
ican literature. Southern educational deficiencies. Thoroughness of
Bishop Folk s plans. Dangers of unrestricted immigration. Views
on extension of slavery. The Kansas question. The Church in the
South. Expected benefits to the negro race. Other southern univer
sities. Magnificence of the scheme. Family influences for the stu
dents. Climatic advantages. Endowment. Letter to the southern
bishops. Bishop Elliott s cooperation. The southern Church enlisted
in the cause. First meeting of the trustees. To cement a national
feeling through the Church. Location of the University. Munificent
gifts. Charter of the institution. Bishop Hopkins s estimate. Active
work. Public spirit and liberality. The corner-stone laid. Advance
in American education. Present status. Appendix: Constitution of
the University ; Statutes.
It has been erroneously supposed that Bishop Folk s
project of establishing a great university for the south
ern States was formed but a short time before he pro
posed it to the Church and the world. He himself said
that the first distinct idea of it came to him when he
was abroad in 1831 j but it is probable that its elements
had been previously gathering in his mind. Even be
fore he began to study for holy orders he had felt the
disadvantage of the exclusively scientific education he
had received at West Point. He did not undervalue the
technical instructions of the Military Academy. Indeed,
if he had been obliged to choose between the curriculum
of the Academy and the usual course of American col-
219
220 VIEWS ON EDUCATION. [1854
leges as it was forty or even fifty years ago, he would,
without hesitation, have chosen the former ; for in most
colleges of that time literary studies were pursued to the
neglect, and almost to the exclusion, of the sciences.
Nevertheless he felt that the course of the Military Acad
emy would be improved, and that its scientific purpose
would not be marred, if the cadets had more of the
classical and literary instruction which is a part of the
usual preparation for other professions. He fully recog
nized the necessity of giving a special direction to the
course of study to be pursued by men intended for a
particular profession ; but he was firm in the conviction
that- the professional man ought always to have a liberal
education, 1 and he thought that every gentleman ought
to have at least so much acquaintance with every branch
of human knowledge as to be capable of intelligent sym
pathy with the pursuits and thoughts of other educated
men of any profession. He observed, too, that the isola
tion of technical schools, whether military, medical, legal,
or theological, each by itself, tends to foster a narrow
spirit of professional conceit which would be less likely
to exist if the professors and students of the different
faculties were in daily contact with each other. When
he went abroad, he saw in the great English and Con
tinental universities a fairly adequate approximation to
the vague ideal he had already conceived. But he saw
more than that ; for he saw that great universities edu
cate not merely individual men, but nations ; and that
they inspire the noblest impulses of national activity,
treasuring the riches of the past, stimulating and inform
ing the energies of the present, and in the best sense
laying the foundations of the future. As an American
l The reasons he gave his father for his wish to accept the profes
sorship at Amherst College emphasize this idea strongly.
48] AMERICAN LITERATURE. 221
he was mortified perhaps alarmed to think that in
the whole of the United States there was not (in 1831)
one single university worthy of the name. With a few
exceptions, American literature was still barren, or at
least feeble and imitative, without force and without
originality. Those were days in the world when was
scornfully asked, " Who reads American books ? n Amer
icans themselves read few American books, for there
were few American books to read. American publica
tions for the most part were pirated reprints of foreign
works; and American periodical literature, for more
than a quarter of a century afterward, consisted largely
of the same sort of material. Comparing one part of his
country with another, he saw that, poor as the North
was in literature and institutions of learning, the South
was poorer still. Most of the sons of men of means
were sent to northern colleges to be educated ; and,
with the exception of fugitive productions in the news
papers, there were no indications of the appearance of a
southern literature. As the son of a soldier of the Rev
olution, it was a pride to him to think of the preponder
ating influence which had been exercised by southern
men in field and council throughout the Revolutionary
War and for half a century afterward ; but as the years
rolled on and the old generation passed away, the men
of the second generation did not seem to him to be the
equals of their predecessors. These considerations, not
long after his return from Europe, began to inspire him
with a passionate desire to devote his energies to the
founding of a great American university somewhere in
the southern States. For many years the state of his
health and the pressure of his private and official duties
kept him from it. While he was wandering through his
enormous missionary jurisdiction of the "Southwest,"
222 VIEWS ON IMMIGRATION. [1854
out of which six dioceses and two missionary jurisdic
tions have since been created, and afterward, when his
own affairs were cruelly embarrassed, he had small
chance of founding universities ; but as soon as he was
relieved of these burdens and had made his home ip a
great city, he began to agitate the subject of the uni
versity. He did it then because he thought the time
had come, and not because he was suddenly attracted by
the fascination of a grand and novel enterprise. When
he laid his plans before such men as Bishops Elliott and
Otey, than whom none worthier or wiser have adorned
the American Episcopate, they were impressed, not so
much by the grandeur of his project as by his states
man-like grasp of the whole subject, and the mature
consideration which he had given to its most subordinate
details. When the movement had been fairly inaugu
rated, and the board of trustees met to frame a code of
"statutes" for the university, those who were present
observed the masterly way in which he answered all
questions and met all objections, until the discussions
seemed to take the form of a simple conversation in
which the other members of the board were assisting
Polk and Elliott to reconsider and revise the phraseology
of their project. To those who know the facts, the notion
that the magnificent scheme of the University of the
South was hastily planned is merely preposterous.
The notion that it was sectional, or in any way un
worthy of a sincere lover of his country, is equally
untrue. In the work which he proposed he thought he
saw a benefit to the whole country. Though he had not
a particle of sympathy with the prescriptive party of the
u Know-nothings," he regarded the rapid increase of our
population through the immigration of foreigners as in
volving serious dangers, which, to be averted, must be
^Et. 48] BELIEF IN AN ARISTOCRACY. 223
foreseen and wisely provided against. The growth of
dense populations in manufacturing towns he also re
garded with apprehensions which would certainly not
have been lessened had he lived till now. In times of
prosperity he thought that all would be well; but he
apprehended that distress in commerce and manufac
tures would give rise to revolutionary disorders in a
country where universal suffrage might put society at
the mercy of demagogues. The danger, he thought,
would first be felt at the East; the West, being an
agricultural region like the South, woidd for many years
be more conservative ; and the unity of the Mississippi
Valley would be likely for all time to operate as a bond
between the people of the Northwest and the people
of the southern States. But it was to the South that
he looked for the maintenance of a true conservatism,
not only within its own borders, but throughout the
country. He despised, heartily enough, a mere aristoc
racy of wealth, which might be almost as injurious to the
true interests of the commonwealth as mob-law estab
lished under the name of universal suffrage ; but he held
that an aristocratic element of some sort is necessary to
the stability of society ; and in the institutions of the
South he believed that such an element had been provi
dentially furnished. It was necessary, however, that the
ruling classes of the South should be worthy of the place
in the destinies of their country to which he believed
that Providence had called them.
In looking to the future he was misled neither by the
facts nor by the sentiments of the present. He saw
more clearly than the statesmen of his day that in the
natural order of events the area of slaveholding States
could not be extended, but must be gradually diminished.
Before many years he expected the border States to
224 THE FUTURE OF SLAVERY. [1854
become free States. In the plantation States alone he
looked for permanence, and the extension of slave terri
tory beyond the cotton belt he did not desire. While he
thoroughly believed in the right of all citizens to occupy
the Territories with property which was recognized as
such by the Constitution of their country, he believed
that slave labor could not possibly be made available
in the northwestern Territories for any length of time.
Hence he regarded the Kansas struggle as a blunder on
the part of the North, which could not long be troubled
by the pressure of slavery in that region, and as a dou
ble blunder, economical and political, 011 the part of the
South. For similar reasons he had no sympathy with
those who desired the annexation of Cuba, holding that
it would lessen the influence of the South to a degree
which no increase of territory and no temporary gain of
votes in Congress could compensate. To fulfill its des
tiny, the South, as he conceived, must be raised and sus
tained by intellectual and moral forces, not dragged
down by the dead weight of an alien people ; and unless
the dominant race at the South should be worthily fitted
for their dilficult position by education and by moral and
religious culture, he clearly saw and apprehended the
dangers of hereditary wealth in the midst of a subject
race. It was not at all because he underrated the peo
ple of the South, but because he believed that God had
called them to an exceptionally difficult and dangerous
position, both toward the subject race and toward their
country, that he magnified the necessity of inspiring
their enthusiasm in favor of a grand and beneficent
work of education.
Churchman as he was to his heart s core, he felt as
painfully as any the dependence of the South on other
portions of the country for its supply of clergy. It was
Mt. 48] THE SOUTHEEN CHURCH. 225
his fixed conviction that every country ought to have
a native ministry ; and to the South, with its peculiar
type of civilization, the necessity was particularly great.
The majority of the clergy at the South were either
from the North or from other countries where the sys
tem of the South, as he conceived, was misunderstood ;
and, however faithful they might be, they were never
able to make full proof of their ministry until they had
been in some sort naturalized as southern citizens.
This alone was a disadvantage ; but as the antislavery
agitation gathered strength, and as southern people
came more and more to regard northern people as hos
tile to themselves and their institutions, the instructions
of pastors on the plainest duties of master and servant
were not readily received from men of northern birth.
At the same time, and for the same reasons, northern
clergymen were reluctant to accept positions at the
South. Hence it became, year by year, more essential
that the Church in the South should have a native min
istry. That the rearing of such a ministry was one of
the good works which the bishop expected to result
from the university is evident. It is equally evident that
he expected the Church of his love to be the largest
gainer by it in every way ; and yet he regarded the func
tion of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in establish
ing the university, with the eye of a statesman rather
than with that of a mere ecclesiastic. " After all," he
said, " the Church is the heart of Anglo-Saxon Christian
ity. The other denominations have retained more of
the Christian heritage they have received from her than
they have ever rejected, and they are even now more in
unity with her than they are with each other. We shall
never win them back by any system of vulgar proselyt-
ism ; but if we can win their hearts and command their
226 THE NEGEO PROBLEM. [1854
respect by some great work which meets their approba
tion, they will rally round her more readily than they
now cooperate with each other. The university is such
a work, and if the Church cannot do it, nobody can."
Thus, while he undoubtedly expected great and lasting
benefits to accrue to the Church from her control of the
university, he looked for them in the exact proportion
in which the Church should prove herself to be a general
benefactor rather than a beneficiary.
It will always be difficult for those who had no per
sonal acquaintance with the minds of conscientious slave
holders to understand the absolute fact that, from first
to last, Bishop Polk expected the negro population to be,
indirectly but really, the largest beneficiaries of the uni
versity. His consideration of slavery as an institution
was entirely practical. That African slavery was in its
origin a crime, and that the slave-trade was an atrocity,
there could be no kind of doubt ; but for the origin of
slavery he was no more responsible than for the tricks
and frauds by which so many land titles were originally
acquired from the aborigines of this continent. Before
he w T as born, many thousands of negroes had been " im
ported " under the sanction of the laws of England and
America ; and the institution of American slavery was
an inherited fact, in the creation of which he had had no
concern. To return the slaves to Africa was impossible ;
and if it had been possible, he now saw that it would be
a cruelty. Besides, it was a fact patent to observation
that in their state of servitude the negroes were steadily
advancing in Christianity and civilization. They were
no longer savages ; they were docile, kindly, Christian
people, who might in time become fit for freedom ; but
they still seemed to be very insufficiently prepared for
the state of liberty. The experiments in the way of
Mi. 48] EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH. 227
individual emancipation which had been made had not
been encouraging ; and, as a class, the free-negro popu
lation, where it existed, gave no hopeful indication that
a general emancipation of the slaves would or could be
beneficial. To thoughtful southern men it was manifest
that the existing order had done and was still doing
quietly and perhaps slowly, but surely a beneficent
work in the gradual elevation of the subject race ; but, on
the other hand, it seemed to them to be not less evident
that premature emancipation might be disastrous to both
races, and that the steps by which emancipation might
at last be wisely reached must be measured by genera
tions, not by years. Hence they held that the question
of a general emancipation was not a practical question
for their time. But for that very reason it was a matter
of unspeakable importance that the ruling race of the
South should realize the greatness of the trust which had
been providentially committed to them in the care of an
ignorant and helpless people, and that they should be
intellectually and morally qualified to fulfill it and, con
sequently, however great the direct advantages of the
university might be to the white race, its indirect bene
fit to the black race could not fail to be incomparably
greater.
The colleges and other institutions of learning which
were already in existence at the South had Bishop
Folk s fullest sympathy and his most generous apprecia
tion. For the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill he had a very high regard, and in the University of
Mississippi he was much interested. But, at the best,
the institutions of learning in the South, outside of Vir
ginia, were merely colleges ; some of them were little
more than fairly good high-schools ; none of them were
universities, even when they bore the name ; and that
228 CONCEPTION OF THE UNIVEESITY. [1854
they did not meet the necessities of the people was ap
parent from the fact that the number of their students
was always small, the greater number of southern stu
dents being sent to northern schools. The University
of Virginia, it is true, stood high among the institutions
of learning of the whole land but, with his views and
expectations of the future, it was impossible for Bishop
Polk to regard any institution situated in the border
States as the permanent seat of such a university as he
believed to be necessary for the South. It is always to
be remembered that he expected the gradual extinction
of slavery in the border States, and believed its ultimate
confinement to the cotton belt to be inevitable. He
thought, therefore, that the university ought to be situ
ated where it would accomplish the good for which it
was immediately intended ; and therefore from the first
the bishops and dioceses whom he sought to associate in
the project of the university were the bishops and dio
ceses of the cotton States. With the existing educational
institutions of those States it was his desire that the
University should cultivate the closest relations of good
will, and also, if possible, of active cooperation. It en
tered into the plans of the University that it should
have subordinate preparatory schools in all the States,
and that it should afford ample facilities for special
study to the students and graduates of all other insti-
tutions.
The conception of the university as it was at last
matured in Bishop Folk s mind was grand indeed
grander than he sometimes thought it wise to tell. Some
great domain (such as he did in fact secure) was to be
exclusively devoted to the purposes of education, with
out interference from any power or person outside of a
board of governors constituted by the statutes of the
48] A BROAD SCHEME. 229
university itself. The charter of the university was to
secure to the hebdomadal board, as I think it was called,
municipal authority within the entire domain. Thus,
every undesirable association was to be excluded. The
lands were never to be sold in fee, but only rented on
long leases, which should be forfeited if the property
were used for any purpose forbidden by the terms of an
agreement framed entirely in the interests of the uni
versity. In different parts of the domain stately build
ings were to be erected, and fitted with all appliances
that the experience of educators throughout the world
had found necessary or desirable for purposes of educa
tion. From all parts of the world eminent professors of
all the faculties were to be gathered together, at what
ever cost. Inducements were to be offered to distin
guished men of letters to make their homes there ; and
to this end special lectureships were to be endowed which
should assure them a modest income without withdraw
ing them from their particular pursuits. In time it was
expected that presses would be established from which
a native literature should be issued. In short, the uni
versity domain was to be fitted and prepared for a home
of all the arts and sciences and of literary culture in the
southern States.
His experience or his observation, or both, had so filled
him with a horror of the barrack system of lodging stu
dents that he would have refused to have anything to
do with an educational enterprise of which that system
formed a part. For the university his plan was that
the students should live with families who should be
encouraged to make their abode on the university do
main for that special purpose. There would always, he
thought, be a sufficient number of persons of character
and culture, but of limited means, who would be glad
230 HOME LIFE FOE STUDENTS. [1854
to add to their resources by supplying homes for the
students ; but the number of students in a single family
was never to be large enough to destroy the feeling of
family life. Not more than ten or twelve at the utmost
were ever to be lodged in one house.
In various ways he planned that the students should
have the greatest possible amount of association with
their kindred, both at their own homes and at the uni
versity. It is in the winter season that the climate of
the cotton-growing regions of the South is most salu
brious, and in that season is the time of greatest social
enjoyment and family festivity. On the other hand, the
university domain, placed, as it should be (and as it
was), somewhere in the mountainous region lying around
Chattanooga, would enjoy a summer climate surpassed
by no other in the world. Therefore it was in the win
ter season that the long vacation of the university was
to be given, and not in the summer, as is customary
elsewhere ; and strong inducements were to be offered
to planters and others to make their summer homes at
the university during the period of their usual annual
vacation of several months. To persons whose sons
were students such an arrangement would be eminently
desirable, and it was hoped that the social, intellectual,
and climatic advantages presented would soon make the
university domain a place of popular resort to the best
classes of southern society. The benefit to the students
of thus maintaining the habit and associations of family
life in the midst of their studies is obvious enough ; and
to gather the best elements of the southern people at
the seat of so great an institution of learning during the
season of its most active operation must surely exert a
salutary influence directly upon them and indirectly on
the whole society in which they lived and moved. Thus
JEt. 50] THE ENDOWMENT PLAN. 231
there was no class of the whole people that the bishop
<iid not hope might be benefited by the success of the
university : masters and slaves ; students, parents, and
society ; the nation in general and the southern States
in particular, he thought of all, and he intended good
to aU.
No one knew better than Bishop Polk that for the in
auguration of so vast a scheme, and much more for its
successful accomplishment, time and money would be
necessary. But he also knew that time is always com
ing, and he had an abiding faith that his southern
countrymen would come to his assistance with generous
gifts and munificent endowments as soon as they should
understand his plans. In order to build solidly and
grandly he was content to hasten slowly. He expected
years to elapse before the university could be begun-
He did not think that any beginning could be safely
made until a minimum sum of half a million of dollars
should have been subscribed and paid into the treasury,
or otherwise secured in a safe and available way. It is
true that half a million of dollars at that time, when
money commanded a much higher rate of interest than
now, was an immense sum, but it was only a begin
ning of the endowment which in his opinion would be
needed for the work. He thought that before the uni
versity could be said to be safely established it must
have an endowment of three millions of dollars. No
part of the endowment was to be spent, even for the
erection of buildings ; the interest only was to be used ;
and as the usual rate of interest at the South was eight
per cent., the interest of only one half -million of dollars
would have given an annual sum of forty thousand
dollars with which to begin the erection of the necessary
buildings. If peace had continued and Bishop Polk had
232 ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE PLAN. [1856
lived, there is not the slightest reason to doubt that he
would have secured the whole sum of three millions of
money for the endowment of the university ; for when
he and Bishop Elliott could hardly be said to have made
more than a fair beginning of the work of canvassing
for subscriptions, they had actually secured something
over half a million. Never w^ere higher, nobler, or better
founded hopes more cruelly frustrated. The misery of
w^ar swept the endowment clean away, and after the war
was over nothing remained but the magnificent domain
on the Sewanee Mountain and the recollection of a glo
rious hope. All honor to the men who, with the recol
lection of so great a hope, have had the magnanimity to
labor faithfully for smaller things with motives worthy
of the greatest.
It was in the summer of 1856 that Bishop Polk made
his first public announcement of the university project.
He had weighed every difficulty and believed that every
difficulty could be overcome. He had estimated the
forces and resources which might be set in motion and
applied to the furtherance of his scheme, and was satis
fied of their sufficiency. Having assured himself that
the time was ripe for the accomplishment of the work,
he addressed a printed letter 1 to the bishops of the
dioceses in the States of North and South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas,
and Tennessee (which he caused to be widely distributed),
claiming their counsel and cooperation. He appealed to
them on the ground of their apostolic character and
jurisdiction, and reminded them that as their commission
extended to all men within their dioceses, and not less
to those who rejected than to those who admitted their
i " University of the South Papers," vol. i, p. 4.
^Et. 50] LETTER TO THE BISHOPS. 233
authority, so it was their boimden duty to labor for
the intellectual as well as the religious welfare of all for
whom that commission made them so deeply responsible.
In the same letter he sought to stimulate and inspire the
churchmen of the South by his unequivocal declaration
that Church principles " are of the essence of Christ s
religion/ and to encourage them with the hope of win
ning back to the Church thousands whose forefathers
had wandered from it. Having thus prepared them for
his proposition, he proceeded to show that a perfectly
equipped institution of learning provided by the Church
and governed by the Church, but open to all the people
of the South and intended for the benefit of all, would
be the best means of reaching all. He admitted the
value of the existing institutions, but he pointed out
their defects and showed the reasons of their insuffi
ciency. State institutions, he said, had been weakened
by the erection of denominational colleges, and the
latter had weakened each other by their numbers and
rivalry, so that, at last, none of them could offer their
students the opportunities and facilities which were
requisite for the acquisition of the highest learning. In
the meantime the Church had not one institution of her
own, even for the training of her ministry. From this
cause many persons were deterred from entering the
ministry at all ; and hence at the South, where a native
ministry was peculiarly desirable, no native ministry
could be provided. Observing a delicate silence con
cerning the disastrous failure of previous educational
enterprises undertaken by different dioceses and indi
vidual bishops at the South, he showed that not one of
the dioceses whose bishops he was addressing was strong
enough by itself alone to accomplish any great work of
that kind. But what was impossible for them singly
234 A GliAND PliOJECT. [1856
he insisted that they had ample means to accomplish on
the grandest scale if they would unite their forces. He
called attention to the incidental advantages of frequent
association and conference with each other which would
follow from their association in some great work of
common interest, in putting an end to the painful isola
tion from the larger movements of the Church to which
the southern churchmen were condemned by the dis
tance of their homes from the great centers of Church
life and energy. Then, opening before the eyes of his
readers the map of the southern States, he showed them
that " trade, with her lynx-eyed vigilance for commer
cial advantages," had laid down her iron roads from
every State in the cotton belt to a common center, in a
region of unsurpassed salubrity, at the southern end of
the Allegheny range of mountains, thus bringing every
one of the dioceses concerned within easy access of a
part of the country which, on every account, was well
adapted to the purpose contemplated. If the views
which he had thus presented found favor with his breth
ren of the episcopate, he suggested that a meeting for
conference on the subject might be conveniently had
during the sessions of the General Convention of the
Church which was to meet in the following October,
when they might call to their councils the clerical and
lay deputies of .their several dioceses.
The letter of the bishop had an instantaneous effect.
The grandeur of his project and the bold simplicity with
which it was set forth appealed to the imagination of
his readers, and its practical common sense conciliated
their judgment. To the bishops it opened a way of meet
ing their responsibilities as it had not before been pos
sible to meet them, and of magnifying their office by
the " good work " which is its glory. To the southern
Mi. 50] THE CHUECH OF THE PEOPLE. 235
Church at large it gave the inspiration of a lofty enter
prise by which it might become the benefactor of all
classes and conditions of men, and vindicate its claim
to be the Church of the people. At the same time, une
quivocal as were the Church principles expressed in the
letter, it contained nothing to wound the feelings of
Christian people of whatever name, and to the minds of
southern men of all religious tendencies and associa
tions it brought a hope of wiping out the shame with
which their sectional opponents were continually twit
ting them, that the southern people had proved them
selves incapable of creating institutions of the highest
learning. The whole public of the South was attracted
to the Church as it had never been before; and even
men like Governor Swain of North Carolina, president
of the university of that State, who believed that the
State and not any particular church ought to provide
the highest educational privileges for the youth of the
country, were candid enough to admit that, if any church
were to undertake that duty, " the Episcopal Church is
the most compact and perfect thing that has ever been
devised on this continent."
Now that he had taken the responsibility of proposing
the scheme of the university without seeking to involve
any one else in the danger of possible failure, the bishop
was assiduous in commending it by private correspond
ence to representative men of all sorts. The amount
of his correspondence at this time, conducted as it was
without the assistance of a secretary, was almost incred
ible. But it was to his dearest friend, Bishop Elliott, of
Georgia, that he opened his mind with the most perfect
unreserve. Polk and Elliott were the complements of
each other. By birth, by education, and by every in
stinct of their natures, they were gentlemen. One who
236 BISHOP ELLIOTT. [1856
knew them both, and knew them well, has said : <l It
has been my privilege to know many noble men, many
Christian men, many gentlemen in every way worthy
of the name j but no two men have I ever known so
brave, so strong, so courteous, so gentle, so nobly manly,
and so sweetly and simply godly, as those two. 7 It was
natural that Leonidas Polk and Stephen Elliott should
love each other j they could not help it. But there was
a peculiar fitness in their association with each other
for Elliott had precisely the qualifications which ena
bled him to supplement what Polk lacked. He was an
accomplished scholar, classical and artistic in all his
tastes, a master of English, and yet so profound a stu
dent of natural science that in certain departments he
was admitted to be among the foremost men in the
whole South. Thus he was ready to enter fully into
Polk s views of the due scope of a liberal education,
neither undervaluing classical learning nor content that
it should be divorced from science. His accomplish
ments as a writer fitted him to put before the public in
the best form the views which they held in common, and
in the documents concerning the university subsequently
published under their joint names it is easy, from cer
tain peculiarities of style, to recognize the hand of
Elliott. Polk s style was not perfect, and he generously
rejoiced in the superior literary accomplishments of
Elliott. Polk s own style, however, was very far from
being a bad style. It was at least good enough to con
vey his ideas so clearly and forcibly as to impress them
on the minds of his readers, and he had the rare faculty
of imparting to what he wrote something of the mag
netic influence which so wonderfully marked his inter
course with other men. This may be felt even now in
reading his letter to the southern bishops, referred to
^Et.50] STRENGTH IN UNION. 237
above, and in his letters to Elliott, which are given
below :
NEW ORLEANS, July 23, 1856.
My dear Elliott : I send you herewith a letter I have taken
the liberty to address to you and others of our brethren in
southern dioceses, publicly, on a subject which very nearly
concerns us all, and which I trust will find favor with you.
The letter will explain itself. I am satisfied now is our time.
If we unite we can accomplish all we want. We have strength
enough in the Church, but for such purposes and under such
auspices we shall not want help from those who are without.
Whatever is done should be done judiciously, but upon the most
liberal scale. There is no reason why in such hands and
under such supervision we might not in five years have a
Church university which would rival the establishment at
Harvard or Yale. I am perfectly and increasingly satisfied
that nothing short of that will save us as a Church, and as a
southern Church in particular. A movement of some kind is
indispensable to rally and unite us, to develop our resources
and demonstrate our power. We must rise above diocesan
considerations, and look to the good of the whole, in this case,
as our individual good. Separately we are powerless, and
we can gain efficiency only by combination.
Take the whole matter, my dear brother, into your serious
consideration, and let me hear what you think of it. I regret
the number of errors inflicted upon it in its passage through
the press. I wrote it on the eve of my departure for a visita
tion from which I have just returned, and left it to another to
read the proofs.
Very truly and affectionately,
LEONIDAS POLK.
NEW ORLEANS, August 30, 1856.
My dear Elliott: I have been sick, and have been at the sea
side for a few days. On my return I found your welcome
letter of the 2d.
When making that tender of a plan of union and coopera
tion contained in my printed letter, I did not forget your ex-
238 SIGNS OF THE TIMES. [1856
perience in the matter of school enterprises. I was prepared
to have you remind me of the adage of the "burnt child, 5 and
felt I must accept it as a plea in abatement of any special en
thusiasm on your part at the outset. It was not only a sore
but a sound piece of instruction, that of yours ; and one upon
which I felt we might count as an availability in the present
matter. We did not fail, my dear brother, to suffer with you
while you were suffering, so far, at least, as we were per
mitted by the facts and circumstances. You have, undoubt
edly, been forced to see things from a point of view which
will be useful to us in the General Conference, and may help
to keep us off a rock or a sand-bar. Let us not make our con
clusions broader than our premises, however. Failure in one,
two, or half a dozen instances should not be conclusive against
all effort to remedy a confessed evil of increasing and porten
tous magnitude. The wisest and most forecasted and cautious
of men are still men, and are not above the reach of mishaps
or errors.
And besides, God s providence, for wise reasons, may some
times interpose and prevent lesser successes that the way may
be open for greater. Who can tell ? But, be all this as it
may, here stands out, patent upon the face of things, in bold
and startling relief, a mass of facts touching the present and
future of our southern Church, which demand to be seen and
considered and dealt with, if we mean to meet what the times
exact, and to keep the Church for whose success we are com
mitted from being swamped.
I think, my dear Elliott, I cannot be mistaken in the signs
of the times. A few years more are all that are wanted to
make what is now a shadowy phantom an embodied and liv
ing and impressive reality ; and we shall have nothing left us
but bitter and unavailing reproaches if we do not wake up
to the necessity of providing amply for the emergency that is
at the door. You know as well as I do the state of feeling
which is every day growing stronger among northern clergy
men and teachers, churchmen though they be, on the subject
of coming South to labor. Thus far we have been able to
hold that matter in check in the northern Church mind by the
^Et. 50] SLAVERY AND THE NORTH. 239
independent, and manly, and Christian way in which we have,
as southern churchmen, dealt with the question. But it is in
check only ; it is a pent-up thing ; it is tremendously pressed
from the rear; it feels the pressure j and now and then it
cries out (as in s article, with its slurs on bishops, on
which I took occasion, by the way, to give him my mind very
fully). Now, my dear sir, the time was when I did not think
it worth while to discuss such things. It is with the extrem-
est reluctance that I admit the necessity now ; but I must be
blind as a churchman hopelessly blind if I did not see
them. I say, then, as a Church, where are we in these dioceses,
cut off in feeling, and in sympathy, and in fact from the dio
ceses of the North, with a wall as high as the heavens between
us and them ? Look over your clergy list, and the lists of all
your brethren around you, and see whence it is. Look over
the lists of the teachers of your schools, your governesses, and
your tutors. Whence are they ? It may be said that the Good
Book says : " Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." It is
true; but the Good Book never takes a one-sided view of any
thing, and we read in it also that "a wise man foreseeth the
evil and hideth himself, but the fool passeth on and is pun
ished."
Talk of slavery ! Those madcaps at the North don t un
derstand the thing at all. We hold the negroes, and they
hold us ! They are at the head of the ladder ! They furnish
the yoke and we the neck ! My own is getting sore, and it
is the same with those of my neighbors in Church and State.
We think it safe to avail of the sensibility still left. There
is such a thing as induration, and we are afraid of it. But
besides, we are afraid of the influence of northern semina
ries and colleges on the mind of southern youths. We
revolt at the humiliation to which the impotence of our
position and resources subjects us now, and still more at the
deeper humiliation into which we see it in the power of
contingencies at hand to plunge us. In short, we see no way
in which relief is to be had but by rising right up and meet
ing the emergency. We must shake off our lethargy, awake
to the actual position of affairs, and set ourselves to pro-
240 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. [1856
viding for our own wants. This is our first duty, supposing
no such feeling as that existing at the North had being.
How much more in the face of that feeling!
I see what you say of the influence of theological semi
naries and presses. All that is very well. But to kick
against them is to kick against the pricks. The decree is
gone forth 5 they are inaugurated ; they are enthroned ;
they reign ! They are the coinage of the mind and heart
of the age. They are necessaries which its sense of its wants
has demanded, and does demand, and will have. The thing,
then, to be considered is whether you will have them im
posed upon you by somebody else, or whether you will organ
ize, equip, control, and use them for yourself, and employ
them, if need be, in imparting what you think the truth of God
to the minds of others. We must either receive or make im
pressions. We have done our share of receiving! The
time has fully come when we should enter upon the work
of making aggression as the very essence of our commis
sion. Educational establishments in all departments are
the universally recognized arsenals whence available armor
is to be drawn for that sort of campaigning, and a sorry
plight we sjmll find ourselves in presently, cut off from
those whence we have been accustomed to draw, with no
alternative of our own in reserve. No, my dear Elliott; I
see nothing left us but to unite at once, and hastily, for the
common defense.
I note what you say of a university. In the first place,
I think you are mistaken as to the strength of the Church
in these States. I think, if properly approached, with a
full and free exposition of our actual condition, we should
find churchmen they surely have the ability willing to
come up to such work as is now indicated, and to lay the
foundation of such institutions of learning as are indispen
sable for our security and protection, to say nothing of our
prosperity. But they must be made to see the whole ground,
and to effect that we have only to will it. But, my dear
sir, we are, as I think, fortunate in our surroundings, in the
condition of the whole atmosphere at the present moment.
50] EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH. 241
The temper of the outside public is ripe for just such a
movement. It is the thing of all others that they are well
prepared for. The events now rife and current have forced
the Southern mind back upon itself. It has been and is
being drawn from the North in spite of itself, especially for
the means of educating the young. A large number of the
young people will be forced back from the other side of
Mason and Dixon s line. Right or wrong, their parents,
to use their own language, " would rather their children
should go half educated than send them thither." But
they would prefer that they should have access to the high
est educational advantages. How is this thing to be ef
fected ? If it is to be done, it must be done by themselves
and their section, and they cannot do it unless they unite.
We have, it is true, many colleges, but they are local. They
do not expect to do more than to provide for their several
States. They have not the claims nor the prestige of any
thing like nationality about them. They are not common
stock. They are not placed on such a footing as will supply
the facilities or advantages offered by Harvard or Yale.
Our people feel this. They are twitted with the difficulty,
and they feel the taunt, but they could not be rallied upon
any one of the existing colleges to supply the deficiency.
They would find it easier to unite in a new thing, especially
if the auspices under which it is introduced and is to be
arranged were acceptable. Such I believe to be just the
condition of the present movement. I believe the southern
mind outside the Church is ripe for this. I believe it will
hail the movement with pleasure, especially if we strike
high with a good strong hand, with a united heart and will,
and if we propose to them the sort of thing which will sup
ply that of which they are deprived. To be attractive it
must come up to the measure of the necessities of the oc
casion. It must fully meet their wants. If we propose
this we, as churchmen and pledge ourselves to its ad
ministration as leading clergymen and laymen of these dio
ceses, we shall not lack the money necessary to carry out
the wishes of all parties. To be anything, this movement
242 PLEA FOE THE UNIVEESITY. [185G
must be everything required for education. Its very am
plitude will be its claim to the confidence and support of
the public. As a highly intelligent Methodist said to me
with regard to it, the fact that people give grudgingly to
a local enterprise is no proof at all that they will be guided
by that rule in such an enterprise as this.
How the proposal is likely to take with the public generally
you will see by the notice taken of it by the whole New
Orleans secular press. These papers, copies of whose issues I
have caused to be sent you, represent all opinions in politics
and religion. They are the exponents of public sentiment,
and, to a man, take favorable notice of the movement, com
mending and sanctioning it as meeting a necessity. This they
have done of their own free will and accord. They have thus
stamped upon it the approbation of the southern public, and
to a certain extent guaranteed for it southern countenance
and substantial aid, so far at least as this region which they
represent is concerned. They have confidence in the integrity,
capacity, social power, and influence of the Church. If we say
we will take the laboring oar, they will accept the service
and be pleased to use us for their purposes and those of this
region. There ought to be enough love of learning in the
Church itself to found and amply endow the institution we
would establish. I think there is a large amount at our dis
posal enough, perhaps, for our purpose.
To unite the Church in these ten dioceses, and to unite the
people of these ten States, a vast and rare advantage is found
in the fact that the dioceses and States are the same. This is
true of none other of the religious organizations. I cannot
doubt, therefore, if we will go together in solid column, we
may carry all our points to the satisfaction of all fair and rea
sonable expectations for the Church as well as the State. But
besides, have we no Abbots or Lawrences ? Why not find men
and women who, for their Church s and their country s sake,
will found professorships and scholarships and fellowships,
and libraries and chapels ? None in all these ten plantation
States *? You must have the opportunity off ered in order to
know.
Mi. 50] COOPERATION OF THE BISHOPS. 243
So much of this matter, which I confess appears to my
mind, as a southern man and as a churchman, to be of lead
ing importance. Having leisure, I have allowed my pen to
say quite as much as I fear you will have time to read. For
the rest, I shall be glad to discuss it with you when we meet
in Philadelphia. 1 If better things or a better way can be
shown by which we can carry out our wishes and meet the
necessities by which we are all oppressed, I shall be glad to
fall in with them and bear my share of the work of making
them ours. I trust we may be preserved from error, and
guided to wise and sober conclusions. I have letters from
Atkinson, Davis, Ruttledge, and Otey, all of whom express
satisfaction with this plan of mine, and bid the movement
God-speed. Green and Freeman, I take it, are away from
home ; but from both of them I have had verbally their assent
to the movement and an expression of their desire for co
operation. Several of Cobbs s clergy assure me of his co
operation. I sent the printed letter to all the clergy in the
States, and to all the leading laity whom I knew. From many
of them in all the States, both clergy and laity, I have had
letters expressing strong approbation of the proposal, with
offers of strong personal influence and of money. . . .
Very truly and affectionately,
LEONIDAS POLK.
Beyond all question it was with considerable anxiety
that Bishop Polk awaited the meeting of the General
Convention of 1856, at which his expectations , of support
in his enterprise were to be verified or disappointed;
but, as the days went on, his anxiety was set at rest by
the evidence of sympathy and the promises of substan
tial assistance which came to him from all parts of the
South. Long before the Convention met, he was assured
of the cooperation of the southern bishops ; and indeed
if the bishops themselves had been less warm in their
approval of the proposed institution, they would have
l At the meeting of the General Convention,
244 CONVENTION OF 1856. [185G
been roused into enthusiasm by the earnestness with
which it was received by their clergy and laity.
When they actually met at the Convention they united
in an address to the southern Church, 1 which was doubly
valuable as the first official indorsement of Folk s scheme
by the hierarchy of the south, and as an evidence of the
power with which he had impressed his ideas on men of
independent character, of ripe experience, of high office,
and of unquestionable conscientiousness.
The project of establishing the university was now
fairly launched in full view of the Church and the
world. In the South it had been everywhere hailed
with acclamation, and the approval of multitudes who
were in no way connected with the Church was appar
ently as cordial as the utterance of the Church itself.
Indeed, the Church seemed to be strangely quiet. It
had been called, most unexpectedly, to the accomplish
ment of a work which all men felt to be necessary, but
which, by common consent, it seemed to be conceded
the Church alone was capable of performing. With
out hesitation, but equally without boastfulness, the
dioceses of the South accepted the duty -devolved upon
them. One by one, in their annual diocesan conventions,
they considered the proposition submitted to them by
their bishops, and unanimously resolved to do what was
required of them. Delegates were chosen in every dio
cese to attend a meeting which had been appointed to
be held on the 4th of July, 1857, on Lookout Mount
ain, Tenn., for the purpose of taking preliminary steps
toward the perfecting of an efficient organization for
the founding of the university.
The holding of that meeting on the anniversary of the
1 See " University of the South Papers," vol. i, p. 15.
ZEt. 51] SECTIONAL ANIMOSITY. 245
national independence of the United States was intended
to proclaim the national and patriotic sentiments of all
who were engaged in the enterprise. In the original
conception and in every detail of the project their aims
had been sincere. In undertaking their work they had
thought to benefit their own section, not only without
injury to any other, but with ultimate advantage to their
whole country ; and yet they had been forced to recog
nize the painful fact that a narrow prejudice had caused
a beneficent project, which, if undertaken at the North,
would be regarded as a source of just pride, to be con
sidered by certain of their northern brethren as an ob
ject of suspicion and dislike. It was humiliating to be
compelled to recognize the existence of such feelings;
but the University of the South was intended to be not
a whit more sectional and not a whit less nationally
patriotic than the institutions of Harvard, Yale, Colum
bia, or Princeton. Its promoters knew themselves to be
sincere lovers of their whole country. In the veins of
some of them flowed the blood of men whose swords
had aided in achieving the independence of these States,
and whose counsels had been heeded in the first founda
tion of the Union. If sectional animosity had sprung
up, no influence of theirs had sown or fostered it. If
the Union had indeed become endangered, they were
not responsible. In their places as citizens and as
churchmen they were loyal alike to the United States
and to the several States to which they owed allegiance.
The work in which they were engaged was meant to
further purely patriotic ends; and they resolved that
their first associated act should be a public celebration
of the independence of their country, the rearing, as
Otey said, not of an altar of political schism, but an
" altar of witness" to the loyalty of their intentions.
246 MEETING AT LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. [1857
The trustees assembled for the first time at Lookout
Mountain, near Chattanooga, in the State of Tennessee,
on the 4th of July, 1857. Accompanied by a goodly
number of the clergy and laity of the Church, and of
other citizens, they formed a procession and marched to
the place appointed for the exercises of the day. The
flag of the United States was borne by a surviving sol
dier of the Revolution, while national airs were played
by a band which had been secured for the occasion. The
assembled company sang the hundredth Psalm, and then
the Bishop of Mississippi read the twenty-second chapter
of Joshua. To use the words of Bishop Lay, that chap
ter " recites how the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the
half tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance l on the
other side of Jordan ; and how, when their enemies
were all defeated, and they had returned to their homes,
they * built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see
to. It describes the indignation of Israel ; the expostu
lation of their deputed elders against what seemed to be
an act fraught with rebellion and hostile to the peace
and unity of brethren ; and the earnestness with which
any such intentions were disclaimed. They had said,
1 Let us now prepare us an altar, not for burnt-offering
nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between
us and you, and our generations after us, that we might
do the service of the Lord, . . . that your children may
not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part
in the Lord. The reader added no comment to this
well-chosen Scripture already every heart was full.
For these first spoken words expressed the thought of
all, that not in malice or in mischief, not in rebellion or
in disaffection, had we come together beneath the blue
sky ; that, so far from rearing an altar of discontent, we
had met with a just pride in our common heritage, with
Mt. 51] SOUTHERN PATRIOTISM. 247
an abiding devotion to our common faith, with more
than a brother s love to the tribes more numerous and
more favored than ourselves, separated from the hills
and streams of our common home." After the lesson
the Te Deum was sung, prayers were offered by the
Bishop of Alabama, and the Gloria in Excelsis was
chanted by the company. Then the Declaration of
Independence was read, and Bishop Otey proceeded to
deliver the oration of the day.
"Various emotions," says Dr. Lay, "were stirred as
the right reverend speaker uttered his earnest words.
The reference with which he happily began, to St. Paul s
claim to Roman citizenship, reminded us all that the
patriot is not of necessity lost in the Christian ; that in
holding aloft the cross of Christ we need not blush to
place beneath it the stars and stripes ; and that, after
the echoes of the hills had been awaked with the loftiest
strains of Christian praise, it was not unfitting to bid
them presently give back the animating notes of free
dom s songs."
"Thus far," continues the narrator, "the flag hung
idly from its staff ; but when the bishop began to speak
of our country and the love all good men bear it, a
breeze came to stir the stars and stripes ; and still as he
proceeded to denounce the thought that we would come
with holy words upon our lips to plot mischief against
our brethren, the flag waved more proudly than before,
seeking the person of the speaker, and causing his words
to come, as it were, from the midst of its folds. As the
oration progressed, warm tears filled many an eye and
would not be repressed. At its close the band struck up
1 Hail Columbia/ and the company rose to their feet.
Many hastened to thank the orator for the just expres
sion he had given to their sentiments ; then all dispersed
248 "DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES." [1857
Miid might be seen in friendly groups still prolonging
the pleasant theme."
The next day ? Sunday, having been spent in the enjoy
ment of religious privileges, the board met on Monday
for the despatch of business, and adopted a " Declaration
of Principles." Several necessary committees were ap
pointed, particularly one to collect information on the
subject of a suitable location for the university, and the
board adjourned again to meet in Montgomery, Ala., in
the following November.
We here produce a letter from Bishop Polk to his
brother-in-law, Mr. Kenneth Rayner, of North Carolina,
which deals with the subject dwelt upon by Bishop Otey
in his address j and any one who is familiar with the
true state of affairs in the United States in the years
during which the effort was being made to found this
university can but acknowledge that it strikes close to
the root of the difficulty which rendered possible the
war between the States. While the politicians were en
gaged in drafting compromises Bishop Polk wrote :
BEERSHEBA SPRINGS, TENN., July 30, 1857.
I have endeavored to keep you advised of the progress of
my scheme for founding an Oxford, or a Gottingen, or a Bonn,
or all three combined. I am at it very steadily, and thus far
very successfully. You will have seen in the papers a notice
of our meeting on the Fourth. It was a glorious day and fixed
the success. I refer you to the account in the Church Jour
nal of New York, to be published shortly. I am resolved,
with the help of God, that this thing shall be felt by the Church
and the State. I am sure that the tone of the admirable ad
dress by Otey, every word of which I indorse, our senior and
orator on the occasion of the organization, will satisfy you
and all Union -loving men very thoroughly. I will send you a
copy on its appearance. You will perceive, while it looks to
catering to our own immediate wants, it breathes a spirit of
Mt. 51] FOH NATIONAL FEELING. 249
broad nationality. I understand P is afraid it will injure
Chapel Hill. But we shall give all these good gentlemen who
indulge in talk about the South a chance to show their hands.
We shall see what they mean when they cry, " Down with the
abolitionists and up with negrodom ! " I believe it will do
more to compose and reconcile national feelimj through the
Church than anything, or all things together, that Episcopa
lians have attempted heretofore, besides giving us as a sec
tion a position from the possession of such an educational
resource which will assure to us a respectability and influence
of more consequence than all sectional political combination.
I am happy to say a spirit of enlightened and liberal patriot
ism seems to animate those who are chiefly interested, and we
have reason to believe we shall not want the means, as we do
not lack the nerve, to carry this thing steadily and quietly to
its ultimate consummation.
The interval which elapsed between the meeting at
Lookout Mountain and the adjourned meeting at Mont
gomery was full of business. The bishop was chairman
of the committee on the location of the university ; and
from all parts of the district within which it had been re
solved to select a site, applications poured in upon him
from individuals and communities, urging a considera
tion of the advantages of situations in which they were
interested, and making large offers of material contribu
tions in case the points which they recommended should
be chosen. Conspicuously advantageous offers were sent
from Atlanta, Huntsville, MeMimiville, Lookout Mount
ain, and Sewanee, any one of which might well have
been accepted with satisfaction ; but the bishop was re
solved to let no consideration weigh with him against the
natural features which he had held to be essential to the
realization of his plans. He personally examined every
proposed site, and, not content with his own impressions,
he organized an engineer corps, under the charge of an
250 SEWANEE THE CHOICE. [1857
accomplished engineer, to make a topographical survey
of each one of them. The minute instructions given
to the engineer were from Folk s hand, and showed the
variety of the research on which he was resolved to base
his final judgment.
With the fullest attainable information concerning
the places proposed for the location of the university,
the board of trustees, when they met at Montgomery,
found it almost impossible to make a selection. Several
ballots were taken without a choice, and the board ad
journed for several hours in order to give time for more
mature deliberation. On reassembling, many more in
effectual ballots were had j but on the seventeenth ballot
the tellers reported that Sewanee had been chosen by
the following vote :
Of bishops : Sewanee, 5 j Atlanta, 2.
Of the clerical and lay trustees : Sewanee, 4 ; Hunts-
ville, 2 ; Atlanta, 1.
Thus Sewanee, which had been the choice of Bishop
Polk from the first, became the choice of all. If he had
pressed his preference upon his colleagues, the end might
have been reached in less time, but it would have been
less satisfactory. He had foreseen that no agreement
could be reached in favor of any other place, and he felt
sure that the wonderful adaptation of Sewanee to the
objects of the university would in the end commend it
to the preference of a majority of the board. Besides
the natural advantages to be mentioned presently, the
offers made by the parties interested in the selection of
Sewanee were of princely liberality. The president of
the Sewanee Mining Company offered in the name of the
company to donate 5000 acres of land; to grant the
trustees of the university the right to cut from other
lands belonging to the company pine timber to the
^Et.51] MAGNIFICENT GIFTS. 251
amount of 1,000,000 feet of lumber ; to transport over
their railroad to the site of the university 20,000 tons
of building-material, free of charge; and to give the
university 20,000 tons of coal within ten years. In
addition to this, a wealthy citizen of the neighborhood
offered to give 5000 acres of land adjacent to the tract
offered by the Sewanee Company ; and three other gen
tlemen offered a third tract of land, described as " cover
ing pretty much the whole track of the Sewanee Railroad
on the side of the mountain, along which are valuable
quarries of sand and limestone, and on which there is
excellent timber for building, all of which is at the ser
vice of the university." By accepting these offers the
university at once acquired a magnificent domain of
about ten thousand acres, lying on a gently undulating
plateau nearly two thousand feet above the level of the
sea, and eight hundred and fifty feet above the level of
the surrounding country, from which it is separated
by almost perpendicular cliffs ; with every material for
building in abundance stone, lime, sand, brick-clay,
and timber of the best quality within its own area;
with innumerable springs of pure water bubbling from
the rocks ; with ample supplies of excellent coal within
a few miles and to be had at a very moderate cost ; the
whole area of the plateau affording, according to the
report of the engineer, " a great variety of picturesque
sites for single buildings, and extensive level areas for
groups, commanding beautiful views of the plains below,
and of towns and mountains in the distance." This
superb domain is reached by a railroad which the art of
the constructor has made to climb the very face of the
precipice by which the plateau is elevated above the plains
beneath, thus bringing the site of the university within
easy access of all the dioceses united in its interest,
252 CHOICE OF A NAME. [1857
This important matter having been apparently settled,
the trustees proceeded to make choice of a suitable name
for the university. Three names were proposed : the
University of the South, the Church University, and the
University of Sewanee. There was something to be said
for and against all these names ; but the almost unani
mous judgment of the trustees was that the first was
preferable to either of the others, and it was accordingly
adopted. A committee was appointed to obtain from
the State of Tennessee a charter, the provisions of which
had been carefully considered, and then the laboring oar
was put, as might have been expected, into the hands of
Polk and Elliott by their appointment as commissioners
to raise the money part of the endowment needed for
the university. The condition annexed to the grant of
the Sewanee Company required that " active operations
on the buildings be begun in eighteen months," and the
"Declaration of Principles" adopted by the board at
its first meeting had pledged them not to put the uni
versity into operation until the sum of at least five hun
dred thousand dollars should have been secured. There
was every indication, however, that the required amount
would be secured within a very short time. Bishop Polk
had declared in his first letter to the southern bishops
that he could pledge his own diocese for " its full share
of whatever means might be required," and the grounds
on which he had felt authorized to give this assurance
had been strengthened by the voluntary promises of cer
tain munificent churchmen in Louisiana and elsewhere
to endow professorships as soon as the university should
be prepared to put its schools into operation. The com
missioners had every reason to feel confident ; but, with
the best of hope, the task which they had undertaken
was an arduous one, demanding much self-sacrifice and
Mi. 51] THE UNIVERSITY CHARTERED. 253
no little sacrifice from others dearer than themselves.
"At this time/ 7 Mrs. Polk writes, " I felt as if I had lost
my husband, and as if my children had lost their father.
On one occasion I remember saying, greatly to his
amusement, I hate the university ! for, as I said, I was
willing to give him up to his parish or his diocese, but
this seemed to be an outside thing, and I felt as if I were
cheated out of my rights. 7 So far as the university was
concerned, nothing could be more auspicious than the
aspect of its affairs at the adjournment of the meeting
at Montgomery. It had acquired a magnificent domain ;
it had received the strongest proofs of public approba
tion ; it had practical assurances of munificent support ;
and it had secured the services of men of the highest
rank and of the maturest wisdom.
The first step now to be taken was, of course, the
obtaining of a charter from the State of Tennessee,
which was signed by the Secretary of State on the 15th
of January, 1858, and granted to the corporation every
power for which they applied. 1 A committee, at the
head of which were Polk and Elliott, had been appointed
to draft a constitution and code of statutes for the gov
ernment of the university, and they made no light work
of their task. They had already been collecting materials
for it from the public and private libraries of the coun
try, and through the assistance of the government at
Washington they had obtained valuable contributions
from abroad. They had before them the reports of Her
Britannic Majesty s commissioners appointed to inquire
1 It was specially provided in the charter that the university might be
established either at Sewanee or at any other place in Tennessee that the
trustees might select. This provision was inserted because of an un
founded rumor which had been spread abroad, but which was speedily
and satisfactorily set at rest, that Sewanee was infested with a malarial
disease called u milk-sickness."
254 ENDO WMENT. [1859
into the state, discipline, studies, and revenues of the
universities and colleges of Oxford and Cambridge,
together with reports and calendars of Queen s Univer
sity, Ireland, King s College, London, The London Uni
versity, and of many schools of law, medicine, divin
ity, agriculture, art, and applied science. From France,
also, and Germany, they had an immense number of
educational works and treatises of various kinds. These
were all to be studied, and they were studied faithfully.
At the same time a vast correspondence was kept up
with distinguished educators, scholars, and men of scien
tific attainments from whom any assistance might be
had in considering the best plans of organization. Thus
the remainder of the year passed ; and before its close
every whisper of objection to Sewanee had been hushed
into silence.
The appeal of the commissioners met with such im
mediate and gratifying success that when the board of
trustees again met at Beersheba in the month of August,
the following report of what had been accomplished was
presented :
The commissioners appointed to collect the endowment of
the University of the South beg leave to report :
That they have given as much time as could be spared
from their parishes and dioceses to the work assigned them,
and have met the heartiest response from that portion of the
country which they have been able to visit. The collections
have been confined almost entirely to Louisiana, in conse
quence of having begun our work at New Orleans. The two
or three months which we found it possible to give to this
duty were fully occupied in the field upon which we entered,
nor did we by any means exhaust that. While the sum
required for the commencement of operations could have
been easily secured by skimming the surface of the associated
dioceses, the large endowment we propose to raise required a
^Et. 53] A P1UNCELY DOMAIN. 255
careful and special canvassing of each particular diocese. To
do this requires time. From the intelligent appreciation of
our purposes and the general liberality which has met us
everywhere, we feel authorized to say to the board that we
consider the endowment of the university as secure beyond
question.
The amount we have received in cash, bonds, and notes
payable in available periods is $363,580. Besides this we
have pledged from entirely reliable parties, to be fulfilled
within a short period, about $115,000 ; but as these pledges
have not yet been secured by bonds or notes, we have not
included them in the amount reported.
All which is respectfully submitted.
LEONIDAS POLK.
STEPHEN ELLIOTT.
BEERSHEBA, August 12, 1859.
At the same meeting the treasurer reported that
$2000 had been invested for the university in Alabama,
without counting a sum of $20,000 given for the pur
pose of endowing a professorship of agriculture. At
the same meeting, also, the committee on the survey
of the lands of the university reported that the exact
amount of land which had been conveyed to the trustees
at Sewanee was 9525 acres. Thus, after a partial can
vass of one diocese only, and within the space of less
than three months, more than half a million dollars had
been secured, and the university was the owner of a
princely domain of nearly ten thousand acres of land.
The few who had been inclined to regard Folk s project
as visionary were effectually silenced by such an instant
response to his appeal to the liberality of his fellow-
churchmen and to the public spirit of his fellow-citizens.
From this time forward till the fatal catastrophe of the
war fell upon the country, no one doubted that he would
realize in its entirety the grand project with which he
256 RESIGNATION OF PARISH WORK. [1859
had so signally inspired the enthusiasm of the South.
It was evident to the board, however, that the prosecu
tion of the work of raising the endowment required an
amount of time and labor which must render it impossi
ble for Bishop Polk and Bishop Elliott, both of whom
were rectors of parishes as well as diocesan bishops, to
attend to their parochial duties, and a resolution was
unanimously adopted requesting them to resign their
parochial cures and accept an annual sum of money to
replace the income derived from their salaries as rectors.
The trustees adjourned at Beersheba to meet again in
New Orleans in the month of February next following.
How Bishop Polk was employed in the mean season will
appear from the following letters :
To Bishop Elliott.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL,
September 20, 1859.
My dear Elliott: I am in receipt of your two letters to Raleigh,
and I have to say that more exemplary punctuality or more
trenchant promptitude could not have been exhibited, even if
you had been a martinet in that particular form of virtue.
I am glad the books l have arrived safely. It is a valuable
cargo, and could not readily be replaced. I trust, too, that
when we come to their examination we shall deal with them
neither in the spirit of servile copyists, nor yet with that ridic
ulous modern conceit which affects superiority to the lessons
of experience ; but that, with an eye to the peculiarities of our
national and local circumstances and necessities, we will give
to everything its appropriate value, take what meets our own
case, and leave the rest alone.
I am here for several days, domesticated with my old friend
and [college] room-mate, Governor Swain. I have had full
1 The books referred to here were those sent by the superintendents
of public instruction of France and Prussia, and also from Oxford and
Cambridge, England.
Mt. 53] ACTIVE WOEK. 257
and extended conversation with him on university matters
generally, and have gotten out of him and other professors
all they know that is likely to be of any value to us, and
some valuable hints on a number of points among them.
The Episcopal professors are all delighted with our plan and
all very full of it. The others look upon it with great re
spect, but fear the effect, of course, on their institution. I
have done what I could to allay those fears, and not without
success. Swain, of course, like Thornwell, thinks the State
should do the work, but says that for our plan, quoad hoc,
the Episcopal Church is the most compact and perfect thing
that has ever been devised on this continent.
I am more than ever convinced of the importance, neces
sity, and surpassing power of our movement, and more than
ever impressed with the weight of responsibility upon us who
are charged with shaping its life. We have need to pray for
wisdom and prudence and moderation and judgment as few
men ever had. Yet the Lord knoweth our motives, and we
trust will bear with us and help us.
I note what you say of your resignation. I dare say it is
what you should have done. It is certain we shall have full
occupation for some years to come.
But of all these things we shall talk more fully at conven
tion. The course of the campaign for the winter you indi
cate, so far as I can see, is satisfactory.
I remain yours faithfully,
LEONIDAS POLK.
WASHINGTON, D. C., November 4, 1859.
My dear Elliott : I find it will be impossible for me to get to
you so soon as I expected. I shall therefore appoint the 25th
of November as the day of meeting in Savannah. I shall
notify others of the day.
I had a very interesting visit to Lexington. I got out of
Colonel Smith and his associates some very useful hints. He
has a noble institution, and is doing a good work for the State
of Virginia and the whole South. He can, and will, be of great
use to us.
258 EDUCATIONAL INVESTIGATION. [1859
I came here the day before yesterday, and since I have
been here I have been constantly employed in collecting use
ful matter in various departments. I have failed in the affair
of the landscape-gardener. He would be perhaps the man we
want, but his health forbids his coming to us, and we must
look elsewhere.
I examined, with my friend Colonel Anderson of the army,
the public buildings going up under the care of my old friend
Captain Bowman of the engineers, in the Treasury Depart
ment, and have obtained a good many ideas in that line, and
have established a connection for future use.
Yesterday I spent the day and dined with Professor Bache
of the Coast Service, another of my West Point associates
and friends. He invited Professor Henry of the Smithsonian
to join us, and we went very fully into educational matters,
and discussed our plans very fully. They are both very deeply
impressed with the importance of our work, and enter into
its development with strong sympathy and generous offers of
assistance.
Henry invited me over to the Smithsonian to-day. I went,
and examined his work thoroughly. It is a very extended
affair, and is accomplishing a great work for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge. It is far in advance of anything I
had conceived. Many of the best of his plans may be appro
priated by us with advantage.
I leave in the morning for Philadelphia, and shall hope to
meet my daughters the first of next month on their return
from Europe. I shall spend a few days witli them in Phila
delphia, then go to West Point, and, if I can, to Harvard for
a day or so, thence to join you at Savannah.
I exceedingly regret that you could not be with me in this
visit to the Point, and Harvard especially; and if I saw any
way by which it could be done in time for our uses, before
the preparation of our report at a later day, I would pro
pose to have you aid in the work of inspection : but this I
do not see.
With kind regards to Mrs. Elliott and the little ones,
Yours very truly, LEONIDAS POLK.
Mi. 54] ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTION. 259
The board of trustees met in New Orleans on Febru
ary 8, 1860, and continued in session until the 13th, con
sidering a draft of a proposed constitution and statutes
for the university which had been prepared by a com
mittee consisting of Bishops Polk, Elliott, Rutledge, and
Lay, the Rev. Dr. Pise, and Messrs. Fairbanks of Florida,
Cooper of Georgia, and Fogg of Tennessee. After a
careful revision the report of the committee was laid
over for final consideration and adoption at a meeting
to be held at Sewanee on the 9th of October following,
at which time it was arranged that the cornerstone of
the university should be laid with appropriate cere
monies. Pursuant to adjournment, the board reassem
bled at the appointed time, and remained in session for
four days, during which the constitution and statutes
were finally adopted, and the cornerstone was laid.
The constitution and statutes are given in an appen
dix. 1 It is not necessary to discuss them at length.
When it is remembered that, at that time, the idea of a
university as a school of all learning, and not merely
a college of the then existing American pattern, had
hardly yet been imagined by the greater number of
American educators, it will readily be perceived that
the plan of the proposed University of the South an
ticipated the immense educational advance which has
marked the progress of the past thirty years. It would
be too much to say that it was perfect in detail ; in some
particulars it would certainly have required important
modifications. Nevertheless, making the largest allow
ance for its defects, no one who is intimately acquainted
with the state of the higher education in this country at
that time can fail to be impressed with the magnificence
i See Appendix to Chapter VI.
260 BISHOP HOPKINS AT SEWANEE. [1860
of the project or the far-sighted wisdom of the educa
tional system which it proposed.
As the work of organization progressed, Bishop Folk s
heart was gladdened by finding in Bishop Hopkins a
most encouraging and helpful friend. This was all the
more grateful to him, as coming from a man he greatly
esteemed, and a bishop who held so commanding a posi
tion among northern churchmen. He induced him to
spend some time at Sewanee, that Bishop Elliott and he
might avail themselves of his suggestions and counsel.
The following extracts from letters to Bishop Polk show
how deeply the Bishop of Vermont was impressed by
the work. On March 26, 1860, he writes : " The more I
reflect upon it, the more I am convinced of the relig
ious and moral grandeur of your plan." Again, on the
25th of July of the same year : " You, and your admira
ble colleague, Bishop Elliott, have a firm hold upon my
strongest confidence, and my most cordial sympathies.
The Lord has raised you up for the noblest work in
your day and generation, and it is my earnest hope and
daily prayer that you may be guided by His unerring
wisdom to the full attainment of your most sanguine
anticipations."
Writing to Mrs. Polk under date of February 14,
1867, he said :
My own visit to the grounds intended for the great Uni
versity of the South was the result of your dear husband s
kind partiality. The grand enterprise itself was suggested
by his mind, and his extraordinary influence and zeal had
already secured for it, within his own diocese, half a million
of dollars. Pie brought with him to Sewanee at that time a
large box entirely filled with the results of con-espondence
with the leading men in Europe, and the scholastic institu
tions of the Old World, as well as the laborious and thor-
Mi. 54] LAYING THE CORNEESTONE. 261
ouglily digested projects for the southern university, which,
when completed, was to be the noblest and best-endowed in
Christendom. And as he unfolded the design, and gave me
some idea of the vast amount of toilsome work accomplished
by Bishop Elliott and himself in its preparation, I was amazed
and delighted at the combination of original genius, lofty en
terprise, and Christian hope with the utmost degree of prac
tical wisdom, cautious investigation, exquisite tact, and inde
fatigable energy, which far surpassed all that I could conceive
within the bounds of human efficiency. In fact, I was almost
carried away by my admiration of the grand conception ; and
if circumstances had rendered it possible I would have been
willing to enlist my own moderate ability under his master
mind to aid in its execution.
On the ninth day of October, I860, the cornerstone of
the university was laid by Bishop Polk, with appropriate
ceremonies, and in the presence of a concourse of several
thousand spectators. Bishop Otey of Tennessee pre
sided. The orator of the day was the Hon. Colonel John
S. Preston, of South Carolina. Toward the close of his
address Colonel Preston pointed to the bishops on the
platform, and said: "This movement we owe to the
band of holy men w^ho have devoted their gifts to an
enterprise of Christian patriotism. I cannot praise them
with fulsome eulogy, nor can I discriminate their several
shares in this work but you and they and the world
will feel that I am not to blame if I turn to you, right
reverend sir [addressing Bishop Polk], and say of you, as
the Roman historian said of Alexander, l He took cour
age to despise vain apprehensions ; and further, that
whensoever it shall please God, your Master, to stay
your radiant right arm from his battlefields on earth,
and call you to His everlasting triumphs, the heavens
and your grateful country will read upon your tomb
t The Founder of the University of the South. 7 " It was
262 GROWTH OF THE PLAN. [1860
recorded by the Kev. John Freeman Young, afterward
Bishop of Florida, that this just and generous apostro
phe moved the vast assembly to immense applause, not
unmingled with tears. After a recess for refreshment,
addresses were delivered by Commander Maury, of the
United States Observatory at Washington ; by President
.Barnard, of the University of Mississippi, afterward
president of Columbia College j by Bishop Smith, of Ken
tucky, afterward presiding bishop of the Church in the
United States ; and by the Hon. J. Bright, of Tennessee.
Only the gathering shades of night compelled the vast
audience to disperse, filled with the inspiration of a glo
rious purpose which was never to be realize*! during the
life of any one of its original promoters.
In this imperfect outline of the organization of the
university which Bishop Polk proposed to make the
great work of his life, enough has been said to tell how
the germ of his purpose grew out of his own experience
and observations which he made at a very early period
of his life * how it expanded and matured in his mind
for many years, till the propitious moment seemed to
have come for its inception ; how he then proposed to
meet a want which all men felt, but which none before
him had imagined could be met at all ; how he infused
the ardor of his own spirit and the grandeur of his own
conception into the Church and people of his section ;
how he grappled with the difficulties which beset him in
his work, and showed by actual demonstration that his
scheme was as practicable as it was magnificent and
beneficent ; how lie organized the separate weakness of
the southern dioceses into such united strength as to
command the public confidence and approbation ; how
he secured to the university a domain of absolute mag
nificence j and how he collected from a partial canvass of
^Et. 54] DESERVED SUCCESS. 263
one diocese only, the large sum of nearly half a million
of dollars, thus assuring, under any ordinary circum
stances, the full endowment of three millions which he
had at first declared to be necessary for the achievement
of his plan. We have seen the pure sincerity and the
noble simplicity which illustrated every step of his pro
gress toward the end at which he aimed, the generous,
courteous candor with which he disarmed opposition and
conciliated sympathy, and the statesmanlike sagacity
with which he was content to leave trivial faults to be
corrected by general consent, when experience should
demonstrate their inexpediency. None of these things
is it needful to exaggerate or magnify. It is enough for
this man that he should be known for what he was.
Neither need we dwell on the misfortune of the failure
of his plans. That, too, may be left to the hearts of all
who can shed tears for great things lost and great men
who have failed in them. The record of his deeds and
purposes are his best eulogy. Of the failure of his plans
if they have indeed failed, which is by no means cer
tain it is enough to say,
Tis not in mortals to command success;
but he did more, lie deserved it!
[A noble man physically and socially, with a mind of in
stinctive coordination, and with every endowment to draw
others to him and interest them in what he had in his heart,
and with grace, and that undefmable power of holding others
to his objects, Bishop Polk was undoubtedly the man who
originated the notion of a union of dioceses in the founda
tion of the University of the South. And withont at all
detracting from his noble and gifted compeers, whose special
services in this matter are properly inscribed in their indi
vidual memoirs, it is likewise true that to Bishop Folk s per
sonal influence and genius for organization is due the merit
264 A GLORIOUS VISION. [1860
of successfully inaugurating the movement. His appeal to
the planters of Louisiana and the other southern dioceses
for indorsement in the premises and for funds was, in
its promptness and consummation, like a brilliant military
movement. As it were, in one campaign the success of the
University of the South was assured. What special part
Bishop Polk had in the wise suggestions as to the organiza
tion of the institution, the modesty and high breeding of the
man leaves no recorded trace ; but from the wise selection of
commissioners to study the plans of the best universities, at
home and abroad, as to composition and methods, from the
character of their reports, and from the patient analysis which
resulted in the statutes of this university, one seems to detect
the mind of the great general, in which action follows only
upon exhaustive observation.
But Bishop Polk and his colleagues, after having, as far
as human foresight could do so, founded and endowed a
university great beyond the conception of anything that this
country then had in the way of educational institutions, got
only a glimpse of his vision of faith and splendid achieve
ment. It was a glorious vision, that faded, however, in war,
defeat, and death. There were two glimpses of it. The first
we can understand. The second is shrouded in mystery that
will be disclosed only at the last day.
The first glimpse of what must have been his "most bea
tific vision " as regards this university was in the fall of the
year 1860, when he came with a goodly company of bishops
and clergy of the Church "to lay in Zion for a foundation
stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure founda
tion " of the school that seemed, Minerva-like, to have sprung
fully equipped from the sea of ignorance, degradation, secu
larism, and materialism, that even in that day could be de
scried by the prophetic eyes of those men as the great danger
to the best development of this land. We can all understand
that that glimpse of the vision must have gladdened his heart
as he saw around him on the mountain-top the largest and
most distinguished gathering of people which has ever been
collected at Sewanee.
Mi. 59] RESULTS OF THE Cl V1L WAH. 265
But no man can read the mystery of that glimpse of the
vision that came to him three years later (1863), when as
general he passed with his army corps in retreat over this
same mountain, obstinately contending for the liberties of his
people. With a broken heart, indeed, he must have passed
down from the place of his loves and hopes, leaving it to the
invader, who ground to pieces that cornerstone of the uni
versity which he had seen laid with so much enthusiasm
and reverence only a few years before.
Bishop Folk s direct impress upon the University of the
South was, of course, before the late war. It was then that
his most brilliant work was done for it j but by no means his
most lasting work.
The war left the University of the South only its princely
domain at Sewanee, its charter and statutes, and the notion
of a real university. These latter were the true legacies left
by the founders of this work; and so genuine are they, as
pertaining to the need of this country for higher culture, so
wise, and so far-reaching, that no room is left for amendment.
They have been severely hammered by different boards of
trustees, but they retain their original form, and are ever
reverted to with relief after tentative excursions from their
secure bases.
TELFAIR HODGSON,
Dean of the Theological Department.
At the close of the civil war in 1865, the Rt. Rev. Charles
T. Quintard, Bishop of Tennessee, revisited the site of the
University of the South. He found the domain a wilderness,
the buildings in ashes, the very cornerstone in fragments.
The splendid endowment which had been secured by the per
sonal efforts of Bishop Polk and Bishop Elliott had been swept
away. There seemed to be no hope of reviving the institution.
However, an organization was effected in 1867 by the election
of Bishop Quintard as Vice-Chancellor and Major George R.
Fairbanks as Commissioner of Buildings and Lands j and the
same year a grammar-school was opened at Sewanee with nine
pupils, and little by little a community was formed, buildings
were erected, and the school placed upon a permanent basis.
266 AN IDEAL IN EDUCATION. [1876
In 1871 the academic department of the university was or
ganized by the election of five professors. The theological
department, with four professors, was opened in 1876 ; the
medical department in 1892, and the law department in 1893.
The heroic struggle of the university made it more and
more widely known throughout the country, and drew
together in its faculty men of fine learning and lofty aims,
who fixed high its standard of scholarship, and left upon it
the indelible impress of their own enthusiasm and faith.
It is for this reason chiefly that the institution has held its
own, without endowment, in the midst of so many well-
equipped State universities that have come into existence
since the war. It stands for a true ideal in education. The
requirements for the ordinary academic degrees are perhaps
higher than those of any other southern university, with
one possible exception ; and the severest" trials have never
induced its professors to lower this standard for the sake of
popularity. The moral and intellectual atmosphere of the
place is so pure and bracing, the relations between the pro
fessors and students are so frank and cordial, the enthusiasm
is so unbounded, that these characteristics, along with its
peculiar and picturesque surroundings, give the University
of the South a unique and attractive personality. At the
last meeting of the Board of Trustees there were twenty-
eight professors and somewhat over three hundred students
reported on the roll. The theological department, supported
by the voluntary offerings of the southern dioceses, has
already sent out more than one hundred clergymen, one of
them a bishop of distinguished ability and influence, and
all of them well furnished and consecrated to their work.
This school has been the recipient of several benefactions
in the last few years for scholarships, etc., amounting to
about $75,000, and it is hoped that a permanent endowment
will soon be secured. The university has been enabled by
generous friends from time to time to erect fine permanent
buildings, viz : the Hodgson Library, given by the Rev.
Dr. and Mrs. Telfair Hodgson ; St. Luke s Theological Hall,
given by Mrs. C. M. Manigault; the Convocation House,
1893] SUCCESS ASSUEED. 267
largely the result of gifts from Mr. Wiley B. Miller and Mr.
Thomas Breslin ; the Thompson Medical Hall, named after
the largest donor, Mr. Jacob Thompson ; and the Walsh
Memorial Hall, a magnificent building, containing all the
offices and lecture-rooms of the academic department, given
by Colonel V. D. Walsh. These buildings are all of Sewanee
stone, and, without exception, beautiful and imposing in de
sign. In 1890 the Board of Trustees adopted a plan for the
university buildings, consisting of two large quadrangles, a
bold and striking application of principles suggested by the
buildings of Magdalen College, Oxford. The group com
prises the Convocation House and the Walsh Memorial Hall
on the left, which have already been erected, and the Chapel,
Cloisters, Gymnasium, and Commencement Hall in the center
and on the right, for which funds are now being solicited.
It will be thus seen that the University of the South has
had a severe struggle for existence. And yet the success
achieved is almost without parallel for the same period.
Instead of money it has had the faith and self-sacrifice of
its officers, the love and enthusiasm of its students, and its
history, so sad in many respects, so encouraging in others,
has delivered the institution forever from commonplace and
narrow aims, has inspired it with great ideals, and has
broadened its vision because it has enriched its life.
THOMAS F. GAILOR.]
Vice- Chancellor. ]
268 ORIGIN OF "SEWANEE."
"The University of the South by common consent
owes its inception to the great Bishop of Louisiana,
Leonidas Polk, who took the initial steps for its estab
lishment in 1856." This opening of the first sentence
in Major Fairbanks s "History of the University of the
South " is so gracious in its concession to Leonidas
Polk we hesitate to offer any dissent to the following
qualification, "but it may not be unprofitable to devote
some attention to the preceding efforts of Bishop Otey
of Tennessee to set on foot a church college and semi
nary for the benefit of his own and adjoining dioceses
which he aimed to associate jointly in the scheme, efforts
in which, as will be seen, Bishop Polk took a prominent
part, and which no doubt led to the movement which he
inaugurated in 1856 for the founding of a church uni
versity for the Southern states, as the result of which
the University of the South has been established and
now exists."
We wish we could find some document, sentence or
line, which would lift this qualification from the plane
of conjecture. That it is warranted by the law of
"suggestion" is plain, but the source of the suggestion
is less evident. Certain other springs of inspiration or
suggestion must be ignored if the writings and works
of Bishop Otey are to be set first in this enterprise.
These works and writings were very admirable but we
fail to find in them anything new or startling upon the
subject of education; viewed even from the standpoint of
1830 they are subject to the same limitations which can
be applied to Bishop Polk s letter of 1856; nothing is
found not known to the educated priests to whom they
were addressed, not even the union of church forces,
which was long an accomplished fact with other churches
in the same field and not unknown in our own. We also
ORIGIN OF " SEWANEE." 269
fail to find that anything beyond the recognized type of
theological school and classical seminary was contem
plated, the latter in reality being something in the nature
of a high school : the name college appears to have killed
the enterprise, for in spite of Resolutions it died in
committee soon after it was so designated.
When we turn from the original papers, 1 and study
expressions used in featuring this claim for Bishop Otey,
one cannot avoid the conclusion that they were written
after, rather than before the authors had become familiar
with Bishop Folk s own writings upon the subject, as
well as with the expression of these writings in his
mouldings of the plans of the University. As to Bishop
Folk s letter of 1856 there is nothing in it new or startling
unless it be the masterly manner in which the forces
available for the University are marshalled therein and
launched at the objective, the Bishops.
These two Bishops, beginning about 1833, formed an
intimacy and friendship which lasted their lives; they
frequently conferred upon the several educational enter
prises engaging Bishop Otey s attention in the thirties,
and Mr. Polk and his brothers were associated with
the Bishop in some of these enterprises, notably with
that which culminated in the Columbia Female Institute.
But in estimating how far Leonidas Polk was the recep
tor, one must not lose sight of his personal characteris
tics, nor his antecedents. He was an honored graduate
of one of the first schools in the world, was offered at
graduation the Chair of Mathematics in Amherst Semi
nary, later Amherst College; he was a well educated
priest whose travels at home and abroad had brought
under his keen and interested eye the leading uni-
1 Life, James Hcrvey Otey, by Rt. Rev.Wm. M. Green and Hist. Uni
versity South, by Geo, R, Fairbanks,
270 BISHOP QUINTARD S TESTIMONY.
versities of his own and European countries; his grand
father was the main instrument in the creation of the
first college in North Carolina, Queens College at Char
lotte; his father, with whom he was on the closest terms,
had been for years a trustee of the University of North
Carolina, and for thirty years its vigilant supporter.
Virtually Colonel Polk was a founder of the University
of Nashville in that he introduced and had passed the
bill chartering and endowing Davidson Seminary at
Nashville, of which he became a trustee, and later lent
himself to its conversion into the University. In reality
Leonidas Polk, before reaching Tennessee, had already
appropriated impressions which, with his vigorous mind,
were more likely to make him a giver than a receiver of
such gifts from his co-workers; and indeed in all that he
did for education then and in after life, he was but an
swering the call of his Scotch blood.
We now give a letter from Bishop Quintard, the man
who assembled the wreckage of the University, renewed
its life and launched it again upon its wonderful career.
SEWANEE, TENN., 10 Dec., 85.
WM. M. POLK, M.D.
New York.
My dear Friend: I thank you very much for your letter of
the 6th. I shall be very glad to have a likeness of your honored
father in Dr. Lindsley s book. I am obliged to you for all you
say about the University. Of course the Anti and post-bellum
chapters of its history are entirely distinct. All that was left
to us after the war was the landed estate and the priceless
treasures of names such as Polk and Otey and Elliott and Cobbs,
their hopes and plans and prayers. The first chapter of our
history was rounded out, and closed up when Lee surrendered
at Appomattox. Of the seven Bishops who met at Lookout
Mountain on that memorable Fourth of July 1857 all had
BISHOP QUINTARD S TESTIMONY. 271
gone to their rest except the Bishop of Mississippi and South
Carolina, the former well advanced in age when the war closed
(he is now 87) and the latter totally blind. Of the clerical
Trustees Drs. Gregg and Lay had been advanced to the Episco
pate but when the war closed the first period of our history
closed with it. What credit is due to your dear father for the
"original conception of this institution may be a matter of
documents" as you say but all the documents published
during the lifetime of Bishops Polk and Otey indicate that
your father s plan was his own. Thus in a "Narrative" pub
lished with Bishop Otey s address on the proposed University
in 1857 we read as follows:
"It is known to the public that during the last year the Rt.
Rev. Bishop Polk of Louisiana invited the attention of his
brethren in the Episcopal office to the urgent need in the
Southern States of a University of high order, under the
distinct sanctions of the Christian faith.
" He urged that the Protestant Episcopal Church in these
States, in virtue of the wealth and intelligence of her members,
owed a debt to the country; that, however, the individual
dioceses were separated, too weak to establish such institu
tions, they could, by uniting their resources, accomplish the like
result; he called attention to the fact that a site could be found
for such a University of easy access by railway from all portions
of the Southern country." This narrative of the meeting at
Lookout Mountain was published with the full sanction of all
the Bishops Bishop Otey was " unanimously elected Presi
dent" of that meeting. Bishop Otey delivered the address
but neither in the Proceedings of that meeting nor in his
Address is there the slightest allusion to his earnest effort,
1835 to "unite the friends of the Church in the States of
Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana for founding and endow
ing a Protestant Episcopal College to be situated near the
Southwestern boundary of Tennessee." Undoubtedly Bishop
Otey did make such an effort and later on he endeavored to
build an institution at Columbia known as Ravenscroft
College. Twenty-one years had elapsed between Bishop
272 BISHOP QUINTARD S TESTIMONY.
Otey s attempt to found a Church College and the publica
tion of your father s letter to the Southern Bishops in which
he invited them to a conference to be held at the approaching
meeting of the General Convention to be held in Philadelphia
for the consideration of his grand scheme As you are aware
the whole subject was fully discussed at Philadelphia and the
nine southern Bishops set forth an "Address to the members
and friends of the Church" in Oct. 1856. The first suggestion
that your father did not originate the idea of the University
of the South was published by Bishop Green in an address
delivered before the Board of Trustees in 1879, in which occur
these words "James Hervey Otey, D.D., LL.D., the first
Bishop of Tennessee, the first projector of our University and its
first Chancellor was a man of no ordinary mould and a truly
grand Bishop" certainly Bishop Otey never claimed to be "the
first projector" of the University of the South. Assuredly he
did not project it. I am very sure that the venerable Bishop of
Mississippi did not mean exactly what his words imply. Your
father doubtless was aware of all that Bishop Otey had done
and was a co-worker with him in all his plans for promoting
Christian education. But he did not act on Bishop Otey s
scheme or plans in his grand undertaking to found the Univer
sity of the South. You will find in the newspaper slips which I
enclose that one writer gives Bishop Green the chief credit for
all the work done here. He says "In the mature years of a
noble life Bishop Green may say exegi monumentum a monu
ment which neither the tooth of time nor the erasure of obli
vion can destroy has planted a seed whose vine will climb
ever onward and upward through the long summers that we
shall not see has broken a wave whose ever enlarging circle
of influence will widen till it embraces all the borders of the
world, all the boundaries of time." That is not bad for a
newspaper writer But what is the truth. The good Bishop
has been the Chancellor of this University i. e. President of
its Board of Trustees since the death of Bishop Elliott
but his Diocese has never done anything. Last year Mississippi
contributed $56.35 to our Theological School while Tennes-
BISHOP QUINTARD S TESTIMONY. 273
see contributed $500. Plenty of people, now that the Univer
sity is succeeding are ready to claim credit. The Revd. John
L. Gay wrote me two or three years ago that he originated the
idea of this University a letter comes from a Clergyman in
California enquiring if the late Dr. Leacock did not originate it
and so we go. When I entered the House of Bishops in
1865 my very first act was to write a letter to the late John A.
Merrick a learned priest, asking him to come to Sewanee
to join me in building up this University. He did come. In
1866 he and the Rev. Thos. A. Morris Major Fairbanks and
myself rode up the mountain. We found the late Wm. H.
Tomlinsen with his family in an old log cabin, the solitary
building left at the close of the war on this domain. Mr. Tom
linsen entertained us as best he could. The day after our arrival
I caused a rude cross some twelve feet high to be erected. We
all gathered round that cross recited the Nicene Creed
made the woods ring with the Gloria in Excelsis knelt down
and asked God s blessing. That was the beginning of Chapter
II post-bellum. The first building I had erected was named
in honor of Bishop Otey No Bishops cheered me on except
dear Bishop Elliott who was called to his rest that very year
Nay, most of the Bishops rather fought against. me. Why so
late as 1872 when I was appointed Commissioner to canvass
all the Southern Dioceses good Bishop Atkinson wrote me
that he could not consent to my visiting North Carolina with a
view of canvassing the parishes for subscriptions to the Uni
versity After the war he attended but one meeting of the
Board of Trustees The one Bishop who has stood by me
through all my labors for the University is Bishop Gregg of
Texas I thank God on every remembrance of him Twice
I have gone over England pleading for funds and but for the
money contributed by English Churchmen this University
would hardly have had an existence to-day. But History will
vindicate the truth at least I hope so. I do not much care
what is written by newspaper correspondents. The one
thing I rejoice in is the fact that the University is now a fixed
fact, and is doing a grand work for the country and the Church.
274 THE SHADOW OF RECONSTRUCTION.
I am delighted to know that your book is soon to appear
Your father was very dear to me I hardly know how to
speak of him His was such a grand character that ordinary
mortals could not appreciate him. I knew him intimately,
particularly during his military career I knew his high aims
his singleness of purpose his lofty character I knew
how all through the war his religious life was kept pure and
undefiled how constantly he gave himself to prayer how he
rejoiced, when opportunity offered, to attend the services of
the Church His was a most symmetrical character well
rounded and of fair proportions. He was a very prince among
men. I beg your pardon for such a rambling letter I hope
it will not weary you. God bless you arid all you love. God
bless at your altar and by your hearth-stone.
Ever affectionately yours
C. T. QUINTARD.
It seems a pity there should have been occasion for
this letter, but when one recalls the period during which
the belated claim appeared, an explanation may be
found. It was in the days of " Reconstruction," when
in the estimation of some of those responsible for the
University the name of Polk carried too many associa
tions with the Confederacy to make it an aggressive
force available just then. Faced by a crushing poverty,
is it to be wondered that they turned to the name, which
not only had some power with the forces about them
they were trying to interest, but whose early concep
tions of a college were more in keeping, not only with
what they had, but with what they seemed ever likely
to possess. But after all the men and women who
fought for the life of Sewanee from 1868 to 1890 are the
heroes of the mountain; they shaped it, they lifted it
up among the high places of the nation, and gave it a
name that stands for every ideal its founders dreamed of.
REV. DAVID PISE TRIBUTE. 275
We can give no better ending to this chapter than the
letter we now offer from a trustee of the University, a
member of its executive committee, and for many years
one of the most prominent of the clergy of Tennessee;
moreover, no one knew better than he how utterly for
eign to these men were questions of precedence in this
the work of their combined hearts.
COLUMBIA, TENN., Feby. 5th, 1867.
MRS. POLK
My dear Madam: I am very grateful for the privilege, so
kindly extended, of selecting from Bishop Folk s Library, what
will serve as a memento of that great and good man, whom
living I loved and honored, and whose memory I venerate.
What a trio! Otey, Polk, Elliott!
Venerabilia Nomina!
They were the three grandest men physicially, intellectu
ally, morally that I ever saw together.
In the center of the group stands the originator of the most
magnificent educational enterprise of the age; on either hand
are his noble compeers in that grand scheme.
But they are all gone to Rest; each in the order of his
Episcopate and with them is buried, I fear, the last hope of the
University of the South.
It is an inestimable privilege, to have enjoyed, during their
lives, in any measure, the confidence and friendship of such men.
It is sorrowful pleasure to cherish, with filial affection, their
memory.
With sentiments of the most respectful consideration,
I remain, dear Madam,
Very truly yours,
DAVID PISE.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI
CONSTITUTION OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.
ARTICLE I.
This University shall be called THE UNIVERSITY OF THE
SOUTH, and shall be in all its parts under the sole and perpet
ual direction of the Protestant Episcopal Church, represented
by a Board of Trustees.
ARTICLE II.
The Board of Trustees shall be composed of the bishops of
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, and the bishop ex
ercising jurisdiction in Arkansas, ex officio, and of one clergy
man and two laymen from each of said dioceses, to be elected
by the convention of the same : who shall hold their offices
for the term of three years from the date of their election, or
until their successors shall have been appointed. If there
should be an assistant bishop in any of these dioceses, the
diocese in which there is an assistant bishop may be repre
sented by either its bishop or its assistant bishop, but never
both at the same time.
Nine of their number shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business, provided each class of trustees to
wit, bishops, clergy, and laity shall be represented by not
less than two of their number. A vote by orders maybe de
manded, and then the joint consent of the bishops as one
276
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 277
order, and of the clerical and lay trustees as another order,
shall be necessary for the adoption of any measure proposed.
Vacancies occurring in the order of clerical and lay trustees
shall be filled in such manner as shall be provided by the
conventions of the respective dioceses.
ARTICLE III.
The Board of Trustees shall have the power from time to
time to appoint, and for cause to remove, the Vice-Chancel
lor, the Professors, Assistant Professors, Lecturers, Fellows,
and all officers, agents, and servants of the University, and
shall have the entire management and supervision of the
affairs, concerns, and property of the University.
The Board shall have power from time to time to make any
statutes and regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitu
tion or the laws of the land, or to alter or repeal the same,
touching the government of the University, the appointment
and removal, number and rank, powers and duties, stipends
and emoluments, of the several persons employed therein, the
terms and conditions upon which students shall be admitted,
the course of instruction, the police and government, times of
meeting of the Board of Trustees and other boards which
may be hereafter provided for by statute.
The Board may erect all necessary buildings, and in general
shall have power touching all other matters whatsoever re
garding the University and the interests thereof. And all
statutes and regulations, when reduced to writing and made
public, in such manner as shall be provided by statute, shall
be binding upon all persons members of the University or
anywise subject to its government.
The University shall have a common seal, and the Board of
Trustees shall have power to use the same for the affairs and
concerns thereof, and to direct and manage such affairs and
concerns, and to receive, issue, invest, lay out, and dispose of
all stocks, effects, funds, moneys, and securities, and to con
tract for and purchase messuages, lands, tenements, and her
editaments, and goods and chattels, for the use of the Univer
sity, and to sell, demise, alien, lease, or otherwise dispose of
278 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
any property whatsoever, real or personal, belonging thereto,
in any manner not repugnant to -the provisions of this Con
stitution.
The Chancellor for the time being, or in case of his absence
the bishop next in order of consecration, shall be President
of the Board of Trustees.
All questions shall be decided by the majority of members
present, except when a vote by orders shall be called for.
The Board shall have full power to establish literary and
scientific departments, and those of theology, law, and medi
cal science, and such other departments as they may see
proper, and to confer upon students, or any other person, the
degree of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, or any degree
known and used in any college or university. They shall
have power also to appoint persons to fellowships, according
to such regulations as they may prescribe.
ARTICLE IV.
The Senior Bishop (by consecration) of the dioceses afore
said shall be the Chancellor of the University. He shall not
be required to reside at the University.
ARTICLE V.
There shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees a Vice-
Chancellor, who shall be the administrative head of the
University. He shall preside over all meetings of the Heb
domadal Board, and perform such other duties as may be
prescribed by the Board of Trustees, and shall hold his office
during good behavior, and shall be required to reside at the
University.
ARTICLE VI.
The Board of Trustees shall appoint a Secretary, to hold
his office for the term of three years, or until his successor
shall be appointed.
ARTICLE VII.
There shall be a Treasurer of the University, who shall
be appointed by the Board of Trustees, and shall hold his
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 279
office for the term of three years, and continue in office
until his successor is appointed and shall have given bond.
Such Treasurer shall receive the interest money derived
from the securities held by the Diocesan Treasurers, and
all moneys paid in for tuition, fees, lectures, tickets, fines,
etc., and any funds which may inure to the University other
wise, and expend the same under the direction of the Board
of Trustees. He shall perform such other duties as may be
required of him by the Board of Trustees, and receive such
compensation for his services as they may prescribe. He
shall give such bond and security as may be required by
the Board. He shall report annually to the Chairman of
the Finance Committee the state of the finances and prop
erty of the University, and shall be required to reside at the
University. He shall keep the funds of the University and
all other funds deposited with him, under such regulations
as shall be made by the Board of Trustees.
ARTICLE VIII.
There shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees an
Auditor, whose duty it shall be to examine and audit all
accounts connected with the business of the University, and
perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board.
He shall reside at the University, and hold his office for the
term of three years, and receive such compensation as the
Board of Trustees shall prescribe.
ARTICLE IX.
There shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees a Comp
troller, whose duty it shall be to examine the accounts of
the Treasurer, to make a final adjustment of all accounts
connected with the business of the University, and perform
such other duties as shall be devolved upon him by the
Board of Trustees. He shall receive such compensation as
they shall prescribe, shall be required to reside at the
University, and shall hold his office for the term of three
years.
280 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
ARTICLE X.
There shall be elected a Committee on Finance, to serve
for three years, composed of one clerical and two lay trus
tees, who shall prepare from the reports submitted by the
General and Diocesan Treasurers, and report to the Board
of Trustees at their annual meetings, a full statement of
the University funds, its outstanding obligations, and the
amounts required to carry on its operations for the coming
year : and to enable such Committee to be prepared to sub
mit their report at the opening of such annual meeting of
the Board, it shall be the duty of the General Treasurer and
of the Diocesan Treasurers to prepare and bring forward
their reports to the Chairman of said Finance Committee at
University Place, at least ten days before the annual meeting.
ARTICLE XI.
There shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees a Com
missioner of Buildings and Lands, who shall have the general
superintendence of the buildings and lands, and shall be un
der the supervision of the Vice-Chancellor, and perform such
duties as shall be prescribed by the Board of Trustees. He
shall hold his office for the term of three years, shall receive
such compensation as the Board of Trustees shall prescribe,
and shall have his residence at the University.
ARTICLE XII.
There shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees a Reg
istrar of the University, who shall be the Secretary of the
Hebdomadal Board, and perform such other duties as may be
required of him by the Board of Trustees. He shall hold his
office for the term of three years, shall reside at the Univer
sity, and shall receive such compensation as may be prescribed
by the Board of Trustees.
ARTICLE XIII.
The Board of Trustees shall have power to appoint, from
time to time, such officers, for the discipline of the students,
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 281
for municipal government, and for the regulation of all per
sons residing upon the domain of the University, as they may
think necessary.
ARTICLE XIV.
Meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held annually,
at such time as they may appoint by statute. Extraordinary
meetings may be held upon the call of any five members of
the Board, or upon the request of the Hebdomadal Board;
such meetings to be called by the Chancellor. The Board may,
by statute, provide for the payment of necessary expenses
incurred by the Trustees in attendance upon such meetings.
ARTICLE XV.
The funds subscribed to the University shall all be consid
ered as capital, to be preserved untouched for any purpose
connected with the organization or management of the Univer
sity ; provided, that donations and legacies may be received
for such objects as the donors may indicate j and provided,
moreover, that it be distinctly understood that the funds sub
scribed in any diocese are the property of the University,
and not of the diocese, and that the conventions of the vari
ous dioceses shall have no control of the same.
The amount subscribed in any diocese as capital shall, in
the event of the dissolution of the corporation, be returned to
the donors or their legal representatives ; and in case of there
being no legal representatives, then it shall revert to the
diocese in which it was subscribed. If the capital subscribed
in any diocese shall be diminished by a failure of securities,
or otherwise, the remaining capital in such diocese shall then
be distributed, pro rata, among the donors or their represen
tatives.
No diocese shall be bound to furnish any particular sum of
money, but the contributions made therein shall be voluntary,
according to the pleasure and ability of the contributors.
ARTICLE XVI.
There shall be a Treasurer of University Funds appointed
in each diocese by the convention of the same, who, when
282 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
confirmed by the Board of Trustees, shall hold his office for
three years from the time of his election, and continue in office
until his successor shall have been elected and given bond.
Such Treasurer shall give bond and security to the University
of the South in such sum as shall be required by the 1 Board
of Trustees from time to time. Such Treasurer shall receive
the cash, notes, bonds, stocks, titles to lands or other property
obtained as subscription in that diocese ; and it shall be his
duty, in conjunction with the lay trustees of the diocese, to
invest the cash, and all moneys which shall be derived from
the realization of the above-mentioned private securities, in
the best public securities or other safe investments, paying
over to the Treasurer of the University the interest of the
amount subscribed, in such manner as shall be prescribed by
the Board of Trustees; and his accounts shall be rendered to
the Board of Trustees at their annual session. The Board of
Trustees shall prescribe rules and regulations for the man
agement, safe keeping, and transmission of the funds in the
hands of the Diocesan Treasurers, and shall fix their compen
sation.
In case of a vacancy in the office of Treasurer, either of
the University or of a Diocese, the Board of Trustees shall
be authorized to provide, by statute, a mode of filling such
vacancy until a regular election.
ARTICLE XVII.
In case of subdivision of any of the existing dioceses con
nected with the University, each diocese arising out of such
subdivision shall be entitled to the same number of trustees
as the respective dioceses are now entitled to, and be subject
to the same provisions and regulations.
ARTICLE XVIII.
It shall be competent for the Board of Trustees to admit
other dioceses into connection with the University of the
South ; provided that each diocese shall be subject to such
conditions as may be required by this Board at the time of
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 283
their admission j and in case of the reception into this Board
of any such diocese, it shall be entitled to the same number
of trustees as the respective dioceses are now entitled to,
and be subject to the same rules and regulations.
ARTICLE XIX.
No amendment shall be made to this Constitution unless
it shall have been passed at two successive meetings, by a
majority of the Board of Trustees; provided that majority
be a quorum.
STATUTES OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.
I. CHANCELLOR.
The Senior Bishop (by consecration) of the dioceses unit
ing for the foundation of the University, shall always fill the
office of Chancellor. He shall not be required to reside at
the University.
II. VICE-CHANCELLOR.
SECTION 1. The Vice -Chancellor shall be elected by the
Board of Trustees. He shall be the resident head of the
University. He shall have control over all its departments,
and shall be exclusively an administrative officer. He shall
be furnished with a house, and be paid a salary of $6000 per
annum, and shall hold his office during good behavior.
SEC. 2. In the government of the University he shall be
assisted by a Hebdomadal Board, to be composed of such
Professors as shall be hereafter named.
SEC. 3. He shall have the sole power of granting leave of
absence to Professors, Fellows, other officers, and students
of the University. He shall have power at all times to visit
any hall, lecture-room, office, student s room, or public apart
ment of the University.
284 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
SEC. 4. Whenever it shall come to his knowledge that any
Professor has been negligent of his duties, or has shown a
want of zeal in imparting instruction to his school, or in
promoting the interests of the University, he shall advise
and remonstrate with such Professor of the University.
And should any such Professor, or other officer of the Uni
versity, be inattentive to the advice or remonstrance of the
Vice -Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor shall, after giving such
Professor or other officer notice of his intention, and fur
nishing him with a copy of the official statement he proposes
to make of the case, call the attention of the Board of Trus
tees to the conduct of such Professor or officer.
SEC. 5. The Vice-Chancellor shall have power to license
boarding-houses for the students, and to exercise a full su
pervision of them through the Proctors, for the purpose of
ascertaining whether the regulations made for their order
and discipline have been complied with.
SEC. 6. The Vice-Chancellor shall cause to be prepared by
the Registrar monthly reports of the conduct and scholarship
of every student, which he shall transmit to the parents or
guardians of such students.
SEC. 7. It shall be his duty to make a report to the Board
of Trustees, at their annual session, on the general condition
of the University during the past year, and to suggest for
their consideration such alterations and improvements on
any subject as shall have been approved by the Hebdomadal
Board. He shall also present for the examination of the
Board, at its annual session, a digest of the weekly reports of
the Professors of the conduct and scholarship of the students
of their respective schools, and shall supervise the prepara
tion of the annual calendar.
SEC. 8. The Vice-Chancellor, in case of absence or of in
capacity from illness or any other temporary cause to dis
charge his duties, shall have the power of appointing as his
substitute any one of the Professors. But should he fail to
appoint a substitute, or resign, or die, then the office shall be
filled by the Hebdomadal Board, from among the heads of
schools ; and such person, so appointed, shall exercise the func-
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 285
tions of the office until the removal of the disability, or until
the Board of Trustees shall have appointed a successor, and
he shall have signified his acceptance and entered on the
duties of his office.
III. PROFESSORS.
SECTION 1. The plan of education in the University shall be
by separate schools for each branch of knowledge. Each
school shall be complete in itself, independent of all others,
and devoted to imparting instruction in everything belonging
to its department.
SEC. 2. At the head of each school, excepting those of the
ology, law, and medicine, there shall be a Professor, to be
elected by the Board of Trustees. It shall be his duty to
regulate the studies of his school, for the character and suc
cess of which he shall be held especially responsible ; he shall
engage personally in instruction, by lectures, lessons, and
written exercises, as he may deem best. Frequent interroga
tion of a searching character shall be, however, absolutely
required.
SEC. 3. Each school shall be divided into sections of as
many students as may be conveniently or efficiently instructed,
and no more. The classing of students into sections shall be
regulated by their attainments, to be determined by examina
tion on their application for admission. But they may be
transferred from section to section, up or down, according to
the degree of proficiency they shall from time to time exhibit.
SEC, 4. In the instruction of these sections the Professor
shall be aided by as many Assistant Professors as may be
necessary, who shall be under his direction and control, and
shall aid him in the instruction and government of the students
of his school, while in their sections or lecture-rooms.
SEC. 5. Each Professor shall be provided with a house, and
paid an annual salary of $3000, by the University. This
amount may be increased by each Professor from his school
tickets, to a sum not exceeding $5000 annually. His tenure
of office shall be for five years, but he may be reflected at the
pleasure of the Board of Trustees.
286 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
SEC. 6. The Assistant Professors shall be appointed by the
Board of Trustees, upon a certificate of the Examiners of the
University that they have been rigidly examined and are
competent for their office. They shall receive such lodging
and salaries as the Board of Trustees shall provide, shall be
appointed for the term of five years, and shall be reeligible,
but not without the recommendation of the Vice -Chancellor
and the heads of their respective schools. The Assistant
Professors may be removed by the Vice-Chancellor, upon the
representation of the Professors of their schools, for cause
shown. The reasons of such removal shall be reported to the
Board of Trustees at their annual meeting next ensuing.
SEC. 7. Each Professor and Assistant Professor shall keep
a daily record of the value of each recitation of every mem
ber of his section, according to a scale to be determined by
the Board of Trustees, and shall note all cases of absence or
of misconduct in section. These records shall be handed
weekly to the Vice-Chancellor, who shall have them digested,
and cause the names of the five most distinguished students
in each section of every school to be published 011 a bulletin-
board, to be fixed in some conspicuous place in the University.
SEC. 8. All transfers of students from section to section
shall be made by the Professors (aided by their Assistant
Professors), who shall be responsible for determining the
relative numerical rank of the students of their schools in
the annual calendar. All lectures by the Professors, es
pecially those requiring experimental illustration, shall, in
general, be common to the several sections of the respective
schools.
IV. EXAMINERS.
SECTION 1. There shall be appointed by the Hebdomadal
Board, Committees of Examiners, who shall conduct the ex
aminations of all applicants for admission to the University ;
also of all the school at the annual or other public examina
tions; of the candidates for the degrees of the University,
and its Fellowships ; and also all applicants for the omce of
Assistant Professor.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 287
SEC. 2. All Professors, whether heads of schools or Assist
ants, shall serve as Examiners whenever appointed by the
Hebdomadal Board.
V. LECTURERS.
Besides the Professors and Assistant Professors of the sev
eral schools, there shall be chosen by the Board of Trustees,
Lecturers, who shall be invited to lecture before the Univer
sity upon special topics in any particular school. These
Lecturers shall have no part in the government of the Uni
versity, and shall not be required to be resident, but shall
repair to the University, at certain seasons, and lecture for
a limited period. Their compensation shall be regulated by
the Board of Trustees.
VI. SCHOOLS.
The following shall be the schools founded by the Univer
sity, so soon as the means at its command shall be sufficient
for that purpose. The grouping of the topics shall be varied
at the pleasure of the Board of Trustees.
The number of schools shall be increased as expediency
and the progress of letters, science, and art shall suggest.
1. School of Greek Language and Literature.
2. School of Latin Language and Literature.
3. School of Mathematics.
4. School of Physics.
5. School of Metaphysics.
6. School of History and Archaeology.
7. School of Natural Sciences, with cabinets and garden
of plants attached.
8. School of Geology, Mineralogy, and Paleontology.
9. School of Civil Engineering, Construction, Architecture,
and Drawing.
10. School of Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry.
11. School of Chemistry applied to Agriculture and the
Arts.
12. School of the Theory and Practice of Agriculture, with
farm attached.
288 APPENDIX TO CUAPTEE VI.
13. School of Moral Science and the Evidences of the
Christian Religion.
14. School of English Language and Literature.
15. School of French Language and Literature.
16. School of German Language and Literature.
17. School of Spanish Language and Literature.
18. School of Italian Language and Literature.
19. School of Oriental Language and Literature.
20. School of the Philosophy of Language.
21. School of the Philosophy of Education.
22. School of Rhetoric, Criticism, Elocution, and Composi
tion.
23. School of American History and Antiquities.
24. School of Ethnology and Universal Geography.
25. School of Astronomy (with observatory) and Physical
Geography.
26. School of Political Science, Political Economy, Statis
tics, Law of Nations, Spirit of Laws, General Principles of
Government, and Constitution of the United States.
27. School of Commerce and Trade, including the History
and Laws of Banking, Exchange, Insurance, Brokerage, and
Book-keeping.
28. School of Theology.
29. School of Law.
30. School of Medicine.
31. School of Mines and Mining.
32. School of Fine Arts, including Sacred Music.
The organization of the Schools of Theology, Law, Medi
cine, and of Practical Agriculture, shall be determined by
the Board of Trustees at the time of their establishment.
VII. HEBDOMADAL BOARD.
SECTION 1. There shall be a Board to be called the Heb
domadal Board, whose office shall be to act as a council of
advice to the Vice -Chancellor in the government of the Uni
versity, and of which the Vice -Chancellor shall be President.
SEC. 2. This Board shall be composed of not more than
twelve members.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 289
SEC. 3. So long as the Professors of the University shall not
exceed twelve in number, they shall all be members of the
Hebdomadal Board. When such number shall exceed twelve,
then the Board of Trustees shall fill vacancies by election
from among said Professors.
SEC. 4. By this Board all questions of discipline in the
University shall be adjudged according to the laws and ordi
nances of the University.
SEC. 5. It shall have the power to appoint examiners of the
Assistant Professors and students of any or all the schools.
SEC. 6. It shall meet weekly, but may be called together at
any time by the Vice- Chancellor, when he shall think it neces
sary. This board shall have power to originate and discuss any
proposition necessary for the good government, academical
proficiency, repute, and common weal of the University, which
it may think expedient to lay before the Board of Trustees.
SEC. 7. When engaged in the discussion of such proposi
tions, the heads of all the schools shall be summoned to at
tend, and shall be entitled to engage in the discussion, and
to vote upon the adoption and rejection of such propositions.
A majority of those entitled to vote shall be necessary for the
adoption of any proposition, and in case of a tie the Vice-
Chancellor shall have the casting vote.
VIII. MATRICULATION.
SECTION 1. No student shall matriculate at the University
until he shall have attained such age as may hereafter be
prescribed by statute ; nor unless he shall agree to enter at
least three schools of the University, one of which shall in
all cases be the School of Moral Science and the Evidences
of the Christian Religion. But for special cause shown, the
Vice-Chancellor may permit the student to take one school
only beside that of Moral Science. A student may matricu
late at any period of the year, upon examination in the school
which he proposes to enter, and shall take his place in such
section of the school as his proficiency shall indicate.
SEC. 2. Every student, when he matriculates, shall be fur
nished with a copy of the statutes, and shall signify his inten-
290 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
tion to conform to the rules and regulations of the University,
and his desire to avail himself of the advantages thereof, by
subscribing the form following :
" We, the undersigned, admitted members of the Univer
sity of the South, do hereby acknowledge ourselves subject
to its authority and discipline, and declare our earnest desire
faithfully to avail ourselves of its advantages."
He shall also sign his name in a book, to be kept for the
purpose by the Proctor, in which shall be recorded the name
and residence of his parent or guardian, and shall pay to the
Proctor a matriculation fee of $10.
IX. HONORS OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SECTION 1. A Calendar of the University shall be published
at the end of each academical year, which shall designate the
rank of every student in each of his schools. Said rank shall
be compounded of general good conduct, scholarship, and
examinations. A copy of this Calendar shall be sent by mail
to the parent or guardian of every student of the University.
A star, as a mark of distinguished merit, shall be prefixed to
the names of the first five in each of the schools of the
University.
SEC. 2. A diploma of graduation in any school may be given
at the end of each term to each student who shall have
attained a certain standard, to be determined by examiners
appointed by the Hebdomadal Board j but no diploma shall
in any case be conferred until the candidate shall have passed
such examination in the English Language as may be ap
pointed by the Hebdomadal Board.
SEC. 3. The degree of A.B. may be conferred on such in
dividuals as shall have passed the examination necessary for
graduation in the schools following :
I. Moral Science and Evidences of Christianity.
II. Greek Language and Literature.
III. Latin Language and Literature.
IV. Mathematics.
V. Physics.
VI. English Language and Literature.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTEE VI. 291
SEC. 4. The degree of A.M. may be conferred on such in
dividuals as shall have passed the requisite examination for
graduation in the schools above mentioned, together with the
following :
I. Metaphysics.
II. Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry.
III. Political Science.
IV. Rhetoric, Criticism, Elocution, and Composition.
V. French Language and Literature.
VI. The German, Spanish, or Italian Language and Litera
ture, as the student may elect.
Moreover, he must be able to speak the French Language
with accuracy.
SEC. 5. Fellowships in the University may be conferred by
the Board of Trustees on such Masters of Arts as have ex
celled in any one of the following schools, to wit : of Greek
Language and Literature, English Language and Literature,
Physics, Mathematics, Metaphysics, Chemistry, or Natural
Sciences.
Three Fellows may be elected every year, each of whom
shall have the use of a suite of rooms free of rent, and $500
per annum. The tenure of a Fellowship shall be for five
years. If a Fellow be elected to a Professorship or Assistant
Professorship, he shall vacate his Fellowship. Every Fellow
shall reside ,in the University, and may take pupils for private
instruction, they being matriculants of the University, and
receive fees for such tuition at a rate to be fixed by the Vice-
Chancellor and the Hebdomadal Board.
SEC. 6. The degrees appropriate to the Professional Schools
of Theology, Law, and Medicine, shall be conferred for attain
ments and distinctions, to be determined by the Professors of
these schools severally.
SEC. 7. The degrees of A.B. and A.M. shall be awarded
by the Hebdomadal Board, when approved by the Board of
Trustees. All honorary degrees shall be conferred by the
Board of Trustees alone.
292 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
X. CHAPLAIN.
SECTION 1. There shall be a Chaplain to the University,
appointed by the Board of Trustees, who shall fix his salary,
and he shall hold his office during the pleasure of the Board.
He shall read, every day, the Morning and Evening Prayer
of the Church in the chapel of the University, shall hold
the usual public services on Sunday, and shall have a gen
eral pastoral oversight of the officers and students of the
University.
SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the Assistant Professors, Fel
lows, and Students to attend morning and evening prayers ;
and it shall be the duty of the students and all the officers to
attend the morning services on Sunday, and upon the greater
festivals of the Church.
XI. LIBRARIAN.
There shall be a Librarian appointed by the Board of
Trustees who shall hold his office for the term of five years,
and who shall be paid such salary and perform such duties
as the Board of Trustees shall prescribe.
XII. CURATORS OF CABINETS.
The Curators of Cabinets, the Museum, etc., shall be ap
pointed by the Vice-Chancellor.
XIII. PROCTOR.
SECTION 1. The general duties of police shall be performed
by a Proctor, to be appointed by the Board of Trustees. He
shall be aided by as many assistants as may be necessary,
who shall be appointed by the Vice-Chan cellor.
SEC. 2. It shall be the especial duty of the Proctor to exer
cise a constant and careful surveillance over the conduct of
the students, and to report to the Vice-Chancellor all cases
of infraction by them of the regulations of the University.
SEC. 3. It shall also be his duty to visit, at least once a
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 293
week, all boarding-houses licensed by the Vice-Chancellor,
and to examine into the good order, comfort, and cleanliness
of the rooms and offices of the students. He shall make a
report to the Vice-Chancellor at least once a week. He shall
account to the Treasurer of the University for all matricula
tion fees he may have received.
XIV. REGISTRAR.
The Registrar, appointed by the Board of Trustees, shall be
under the direction and supervision of the Vice-Chancellor.
He shall attend daily in his office throughout the University
term at such hours as the Vice-Chancellor shall prescribe, and
shall be in readiness at all times to attend the meetings of
the Hebdomadal Board, for the purpose of recording its
proceedings. He shall keep a list of the licensed boarding-
houses, also a list of the names and residences of the students,
arranged according to their respective schools, and shall fur
nish each Professor with a list of the students in his depart
ment. He shall prepare and issue, under the direction of the
Vice-Chancellor, notices for the meeting of the Hebdomadal
Board, and for other University purposes. He shall digest
the weekly reports of the Professors and Assistant Professors,
and shall, under the direction of the Vice-Chancellor, prepare
the annual Calendar. He shall, under the same direction,
prepare programmes of all meetings and examinations, and
conduct the correspondence of the University. He shall keep
a record of all transactions of the University ; and, when re
quired by the Vice-Chancellor, shall prepare the official docu
ments, shall preserve copies thereof, and shall make copies
of all other documents which may be required.
XV. TREASURER.
The Treasurer of the University shall receive all funds
from Diocesan Treasurers and from the Proctor, and shall
collect such rents due the University as may be returned to
him by the Commissioner of Buildings and Lands. He shall
294 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
make a full report of the operations and condition of his de
partment annually, or oftener if required.
XVI. AUDITOR.
The Auditor shall examine and audit all accounts of every
description against the University. He shall critically exam
ine and report to the Comptroller the amount properly pay
able upon every account presented to him. He shall classify
all accounts under the different heads of expenditure, and
keep a register of the nature and amount of each account,
which shall correspond with the number of such account.
He shall countersign all warrants drawn upon the Treasurer,
and shall keep a register of all such warrants as he may
have countersigned.
XVII. COMPTROLLER.
SECTION 1. The Comptroller shall reexamine all accounts
reported to him by the Auditor. He shall, if he approve the
same, enter his allowance thereon, and draw his warrant on
the Treasurer for the amount of the same, in favor of the
individual to whom it may be payable. He shall carefully
register all accounts and preserve the originals and vouchers
for future reference. He may draw a warrant upon the
Treasurer in favor of the Commissioner of Buildings and
Lands, upon a requisition presented to him, approved by the
Vice-Chancellor, which warrant shall be charged to the ac
count of such Commissioner 5 provided that such payments
have been authorized by the Board of Trustees.
SEC. 2. The Comptroller shall annually report to the Com
mittee on Finance, ten days before the annual meeting of.
the Board of Trustees, a full statement of all the accounts
allowed and passed by him, properly classified under their
respective heads of expenditure. He shall also, at the same
time, report estimates of what amounts will be requisite for
the expenditures of the University during the ensuing year,
and the Board of Trustees only shall have the power to make
appropriations to meet such expenditures.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 295
XVIII. COMMISSIONER OF BUILDINGS AND LANDS.
SECTION 1. The Commissioner of Buildings and Lands shall
have the supervision of all repairs ordinarily required for the
buildings and grounds, under the direction of a Board of
Control, to be composed of the Vice-Chancellor, the Trea
surer, and the Comptroller. To this Board he shall submit
fill plans and estimates for the repair and improvement of
buildings from time to time, and upon their approval he
shall be authorized to have the same executed, and not other
wise. The general control of the erection of buildings and
making improvements shall be reserved, however, to such
Committee as shall be designated by the Board of Trustees.
SEC. 2. The Commissioner of Buildings and Lands shall
have the leasing of the tenements and grounds of the Uni
versity, under such regulations as may be prescribed in refer
ence thereto by the Board of Trustees; and it shall be his
duty to prevent trespasses and intrusions on the property
of the University, real and personal, and to recover its pos
session from any person who shall improperly withhold the
same. To this end he is required to be vigilant in observing
all trespasses and intrusions, and prompt in reporting them
to the Vice- Chancellor, in laying them before the civil au
thority, and communicating to the proper law-officer, when
required by the Vice-Chancellor, such information as he may
at any time have, and as may be calculated to prevent or
punish breaches of the peace, trespasses, or misdemeanors
within the precincts of the University, and instantly to repel
from the precincts all idle or suspicious intruders who may
be found lurking within them without ostensible business.
SEC, 3. He shall cause all the grounds and tenements of
the University to be kept in complete order and neatness,
and shall have authority to abate all nuisances on the Uni
versity domain.
XIX. BOARDING AND LODGING HOUSES.
SECTION 1. All students shall be required to board and
lodge in such houses as shall be provided or licensed for that
296 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
purpose by the University, except in cases where they may
have parents, guardians, or relatives residing on the domain
of the University.
SEC. 2. The number of students occupying any one house
shall not exceed twelve. Rates of board shall be regulated
from time to time by the Vice-Chancellor and the Hebdoma
dal Board.
SEC. 3. An amount sufficient to cover the expense of a
student s board and lodging for three months shall, in all
cases, be required to be deposited with the Treasurer of the
University, who shall, upon the order of the student, pay such
boarding-house keeper, monthly, in advance.
SEC. 4. No person shall be permitted to keep a boarding-
house at the University until a license shall have been ob
tained from the Vice-Chancellor, which license shall be
renewed annually. All such licenses may be revoked for
cause at any time.
SEC. 5. The keepers of all licensed boarding-houses shall
be held responsible for the preservation of good order in their
respective houses.
SEC. 6. The licenses obtained by boarding-house keepers
shall be posted in some conspicuous place within the house,
for the inspection of all persons.
XX. GYMNASIUM.
The Hebdomadal Board shall have power to establish a
gymnasium for athletic exercises, and any other school of a
useful and refining influence, and to appoint the officers
thereof.
XXI. OFFENSES.
SECTION 1 . Offenses against the statutes of the University
shall be punished in such manner as shall hereafter be pre
scribed by the Board of Trustees.
SEC. 2. Offenses against the laws of the land shall be left
to the cognizance of the civil magistrate, if claimed by him,
or may be subjected by the Hebdomadal Board to any of the
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI. 297
punishments permitted by the statutes, whether the civil
magistrate has taken cognizance of them or not.
XXII. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF
TRUSTEES.
There shall be an annual meeting of the Board of Trus
tees at the site of the University, on the second Monday in
July in each and every year.
XXIII. LIABILITY FOR SALARIES.
In case of the removal of any officer of the University by
the Board of Trustees before the termination of his pre
scribed tenure of office, he shall have no claim whatever for
the proportion of salary appertaining to the unexpired term
of such tenure.
CHAPTER VII.
DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA AND THE CONFEDERATE STATES.
1860 TO 1861.
A ferment of political excitement. Letter to President Buchanan.
Pastoral letters. Forms of prayer. Secession of Louisiana. Corre
spondence with Bishop Potter. Position of the Church. Diocesan work.
Incendiary outrage. Burning the bishop s house. Church con
vention at St. Fraiicisville. The Church and secession. Address to
the convention. Report of the committee on the state of the Church.
During the last year of Bishop Folk s work for the
university, the South was in a ferment of politieal excite
ment. The presidential election of 1860 surpassed all
previous elections in the magnitude of the interests
involved, in the energy with which it was prosecuted,
and in the anxiety with which the issue of the contest
was expected. Throughout the turmoil of that anxious
time Bishop Polk, when he was not occupied in his epis
copal visitations, was quietly engaged in studying the
statutes, in consulting with architects and engineers, in
personally supervising the preparation of the domain at
Sewanee, in meetings of the trustees, in correspondence
with eminent educators, and finally, on the very eve of
election, in laying the cornerstone of the first permanent
building of the university. Nothing could more effect
ually disprove the assertion that he was one of those
who were said to be plotting for a dissolution of the
Union than the simple record of his occupations during
^Et.54] CIVIL WAR IMMINENT. 299
the full year which preceded the election of 1860. No
man of common reason could have applied himself with
such unremitting patience and such unwearying energy
to a work which revolution must disturb and perhaps
destroy, if he had been, at the same time, plotting or
even expecting revolution.
The questions before a man in the position of Bishop
Polk were these : Whether the unconditional secession
of the Southern States was really an imminent event,
and whether they would maintain their right of secession
by force of arms in case of such necessity. The facts
around him left 110 room for doubt on either of these
questions. Within a very short time after the election
no man who knew the southern people as he knew them
could mistake the signs of the times. The only thing to
be determined was whether the States lately united, and
still in form united, were to be arrayed against each other
in an internecine war. He feared that an erroneous
judgment, founded on misinformation, might induce the
Federal administration to take certain steps which would
precipitate a conflict. He knew that he had exception
ally adequate opportunities for ascertaining the temper
and purpose of the people of his section, and that any
statement of them which he might make would be en
titled to receive, and would receive, the most serious at
tention. Accordingly, he addressed the following letter
to the President of the United States :
NEW ORLEANS, December 26, 1860.
To His Excellency, James Buchanan, President, etc. :
At a time like this it is the duty of every citizen to aid in
clearing away the difficulties by which we are surrounded, and
to prevent, if possible, further complications. It is under a
sense of duty that I take the liberty of addressing you. Of
your integrity of purpose or patriotic devotion to what you
300 THE ATTITUDE OF THE SOUTH. [1860
regard as the true interests of the country, I have not a doubt,
nor have I any doubt of your firmness of intention to dis
charge your duty as a man in public office in the existing
emergency j yet I have not been without fear that the want
of accurate and reliable information as to the true state of
feeling and determination of the southern States might cause
you to interpret your obligations to your oath of office differ
ently from what you would if you were in full possession of
the facts as they are. Doubtless you are required to enforce
the laws ; but assuredly no sane man will say " without re
gard to consequences." That would be madness. A right to
exercise a sound discretion necessarily accompanied the im
position and the acceptance of the oath of office. Such must
be the judgment of our Christian civilization. And to assume
the responsibility of exercising that right when such issues as
those with which you are called to deal are impending, as it
is the most trying ordeal to which any chief magistrate of our
republic has ever been subjected, involves the highest exercise
of courageous independence and the most discriminating and
considerate regard to the duties of your own position and the
best interests of those whose destinies are in your hands.
My position and opportunities give me the amplest facilities
for knowing the actual state of mind of the people of Louisi
ana and of the surrounding southern States, and I write to
say that I am thoroughly convinced that they have deliberately
and inflexibly resolved to cut themselves off from the Union.
This feeling is deepening and widening every day, and no
difference exists except as to the mode of effecting it. To
attempt to prevent it by force of arms would instantly ex
tinguish that difference and unite the whole population as one
man. State boundaries would be forgotten in a sense of
common danger ; the cause of one would become the cause of
all ; a conflict would be inaugurated to end only after the most
ruthless carnage had desolated the land, and freedom perhaps
had been extinguished under the trial of a military despotism.
Such an issue the people of the South would gladly decline.
It is with you, dear sir, mainly to say whether it shall be forced
upon them. But whatever the determination of the national
^Et. 54] PEACEFUL SEPARATION. 301
Executive may be, they have resolved to accept that deter
mination, to plant themselves on what they hold to be their
rights, and to resist all efforts to infringe them, come from
whence they may. We believe it is practicable for the two
parties to separate peacefully j this we most earnestly desire.
The difficulty of your position we fully appreciate, and every
effort Avill be made to disembarrass it as much as possible.
We cannot see that, with the views you have expressed and
the course you have already pursued, any issue ought to arise
which could not be peaceably disposed of, and we trust that
the spirit of moderation which has thus far characterized your
policy in the existing emergency may be continued until our
difficulties have been finally and amicably terminated.
I have not a doubt that Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis
sippi, and Louisiana will all have followed the example of
South Carolina, and will be out of the Union by the 1st of
February; that they will have formed a separate govern
ment by the 1st of March ; and that the other southern States
will sooner or later all join them. Nor do I believe that in
that event there will be the remotest prospect for the re
union of the two sections so long as slave labor shall prove
advantageously applicable to the agricultural wants of the
Southern Confederacy.
With my earnest prayer that you may have grace and
strength given you to support you in the discharge of the
duties of your trying position, and that you may decide wisely
for yourself, your countrymen, and the best interests of man
kind, I remain,
Respectfully your obedient servant,
LEONIDAS POLK.
Beyond this effort to avert a danger which he saw
more clearly than most other men, I do not find that
Bishop Polk did more, before the adoption of the ordi
nance of secession by the convention of the State of Lou
isiana, than observe the course of events and consider
what his duty as a bishop might require of him in view
302 A BELIEVER IN STATE BIGHTS. [1860
of facts as they occurred. That he was in full sympathy
with the feelings of his people there is no question, and
there is as little question that he believed the southern
States to have the constitutional right to take the step
on which they were resolved. He had not a particle
of doubt that an ordinance of secession adopted by a
sovereign State would be as valid as the act by which
the same State had entered the Federal Union ; and con
cerning the personal allegiance of the citizen, he held,
as he had been taught at the national military acad
emy at West Point/ that it is due first to the State, and
only secondarily, through the State, to the Federal Gov
ernment, in such matters and for such purposes as the
States have declared by the express provisions of the
Constitution.
In the light of these principles, which he held to be
merely axiomatic, the course of the Church in any State
which might adopt an ordinance of secession seemed to
him to be clear. With the expediency or inexpediency
of secession the Church had no concern in the agita
tions which might bring about secession she could have
no part ; but if secession should become a fact, it would
be a fact in which the Church must acquiesce and of
which she must accept the ecclesiastical consequences.
Moreover, the action of the Church in any matter which
the course of events might require her to decide ought
to be so prompt and unequivocal as to leave no room
for doubt either of her principles of action or of the
position of her members and officers. In his office as a
bishop of the Church, he held himself bound to be gov
erned by these principles, but he made no distinction
between his official actions as a bishop and his personal
conduct as a man. What it was not right or seemly for
a bishop to do it could not be expedient for Leonidas
1 "Rawle s View of the Constitution."
Mt. 54] PRAYER FOR FAST DAY. 303
Polk to do on any ground of personal liberty or natu
ral independence. When one remembers his generous
warmth of temperament, his entire sympathy with the
feelings of his people, and his hatred of disingenuous
reserve, his self-control at this time commands not only
approbation but admiration ; for it does not appear that
he contributed so much as the influence of a word to the
forces which were precipitating the dissolution of the
Union. Never in his life did he hold himself more thor
oughly in hand than at that time, when thousands of
the ablest men in the country seemed to have abdicated
reason and to be swayed only by passion.
On the 28th of December, 1860, the President of the
United States issued a proclamation, inviting the people
of the whole nation to unite in the observance of a day
of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, in view of the polit
ical differences then agitating the Union; and on the
following day the bishop addressed a brief pastoral letter
to the clergy and laity of his diocese, setting forth a form
of prayer to be used on the occasion :
PASTORAL OF DECEMBER 29, 1860.
The clergy of the diocese of Louisiana are requested to use
the following prayer on the day appointed by the President
of the United States as a day of fasting, humiliation, and
prayer, and at such other times as may seem advisable during
the existing emergency.
LEONIDAS POLK,
Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana.
NEW ORLEANS, December 29, 1860.
PRAYER.
Almighty God, the Fountain of all wisdom and the Helper
of all who call upon thee, we thy unworthy servants, under
a deep sense of the difficulties and dangers by which we are
304 SECESSION OF LOUISIANA. [1861
now surrounded, turn our hearts to thee in earnest supplica
tion and prayer. We humble ourselves before thee; we con
fess that as a nation and as individuals we have grievously
offended thee, and that our sins have justly provoked thy
wrath and indignation against us. Deal not with us, Lord,
according to our iniquities, but according to thy great
and tender mercies, and forgive us all that is past. Turn
thine anger from us, and visit us not with those evils which
we have justly deserved. Guide and direct us in all our
consultations ; save us from all ignorance, error, pride, and
prejudice j and if it please thee, compose and heal the divi
sions which disturb us ; or else, if, in thy good providence,
it be otherwise appointed, grant, we beseech thee, that the
spirit of wisdom and moderation may preside over our coun
cils, that the just rights of all may be maintained and ac
corded, and that the blessings of peace may be preserved to
us and our children throughout all generations. All which
we ask through the merits and mediation of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. A men.
On the 26th of January, 1861, the convention of the
State of Louisiana passed an ordinance of secession,
withdrawing from the Union, and a few days later, on
January 30, 1861, the bishop addressed a second pastoral
letter to his diocese :
PASTORAL LETTER OF JANUARY 30, 1861.
To the Clergy and Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
Diocese of Louisiana :
My beloved Brethren: The State of Louisiana, having, by a
formal ordinance, through her delegates in convention assem
bled, withdrawn herself from all further connection with the
United States of America, and constituted herself a separate
sovereignty, has, by that act, removed our diocese from the
pale of the " Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States."
We have, therefore, an independent diocesan existence.
Of the circumstances which have occasioned this act, it
-aat.64] ATTITUDE PROPOSED FOR DIOCESE. 305
may not be necessary now to speak. They are familiar to
you all. It is, however, our happiness to know that in can
vassing the sum of the political grievances of which we have
complained, we find no contribution made to it by brethren
of our own household. Our Church in the non-slavehold-
ing States, as everywhere, has been loyal to the Constitution
and the laws. Her sound conservative teaching and her well-
ordered organization have held her steadily to her proper
work, and she has confined herself simply to preaching and
teaching the gospel of Christ. Surrounded by a strong pres
sure on every side, she has successfully resisted its power,
and has refused to lend the aid of her conventions, her pul
pits, and her presses to the radical and unscriptural propa-
gandism which has so degraded Christianity and has plunged
our country into its unhappy condition.
In withdrawing ourselves, therefore, from all political con
nection with the Union to which our brethren belong, we do
so with hearts filled with sorrow at the prospect of its forcing
a termination of our ecclesiastical connection with them also,
and that we shall be separated from those whose intelligence,
patriotism, Christian integrity and piety we have long known,
and for whom we entertain sincere respect and affection.
Unfortunately the class they represent was numerically too
small to control their section. They have been overborne
and silenced, and a different description of mind and charac
ter is in the ascendant. The principles and purposes of this
party have long been the subject of careful observation by
the people of the southern States, and they have watched its
rise and progress with anxious solicitude. They thought
they saw in it the seeds of all the evil from which our country
is now suffering, and have not failed to employ all the re
sources at their command to avert it. Their efforts have
been fruitless, and they have seen no way of escape from the
consequences to themselves and their posterity other than
that which they have taken. Of the justice of our cause we
have no doubt. Of the wisdom of the measures which we
have adopted to maintain it, we may judge from the charac
ters of the men who are engaged in supporting them. With
306 SECESSION RECOGNIZED. [1861
here and there an exception, they represent the intelligence,
the character, and the wealth of the State. We have taken
our stand, we humbly trust, in the fear of God and under a
sense of the duty which we owe to mankind.
Our separation from the brethren of the " Protestant Epis
copal Church in the United States " has been effected because
we must follow our nationality not because there has been
any difference of opinion as to Christian doctrine or catholic
usage. Upon these points we are still one. With us it is a
separation, not division ; certainly not alienation. And there
is no reason why, if we should find the union of our dioceses
under one national Church impracticable, we should cease to
feel for each other the respect and regard with which purity
of manners, high principle, and a manly devotion to truth
never fail to inspire generous minds. Our relations to each
other hereafter will be the relations we both now hold to the
men of our mother-church of England.
But the time has not arrived for entering fully into the dis
cussions of the questions suggested by this occasion, and I
have so far remarked upon them because some notice of our
relations to the national church from which we have separated
seemed called for by the event, and because of the necessity
which that event creates for certain alterations in the services
of our Book of Common Prayer.
In pursuance of this necessity and under the authority of
my office, I appoint for the present the following changes,
and request my brethren of the clergy to observe them on all
occasions of public worship :
In the Prayer for Congress, for the words, " the people of
these United States in general, and especially for their sena
tors and representatives in Congress assembled," substitute
the words, "the people of this State in general, and especially
their Legislature, now in session."
In the Prayer for those in Civil Authority, for the words,
"the President of the United States," use the words, "the
Governor of this State."
I also appoint the following prayer to be used during the
session of the convention of this State, and during the ses-
^Bt.54] PRAYEK FOE CONVENTION. 307
sion of the convention of such other States as have withdrawn
from the late Federal Union and propose to join Louisiana in
the formation of a separate government.
I remain, very truly,
Your obedient servant in Christ,
LEONIDAS POLK,
Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in the Diocese of Louisiana.
NEW ORLEANS, January 30, 1861.
A PRAYER TO BE USED DURING THE SESSION OF CONVENTION.
Almighty God, the sovereign Ruler of the Universe, whose
never-failing providence order eth all things in heaven and
earth, we thy unworthy servants commend to thy special
protection the convention of this State * now in session.
Impress them with a deep sense of the responsibility with
which they are charged. Grant unto them the spirit of wis
dom and moderation, the spirit of knowledge and of a sound
mind, and fill them, Lord, with the spirit of thy holy fear.
Preserve them from the delusions of pride and vainglory.
Deliver them from the temptation to aim at other ends than
those which promote thy glory and the best interests of their
country. Save them from the fear or favor of men. Make
plain their way before them, and strengthen their hearts that
they may pursue it with firmness even to the end. And grant,
Lord, that through their labors and under the guidance of
thy good Spirit, all things may be so settled that we may be
protected from all injustice, that our rights may be amply se
cured, and that the course of this world may be so peaceably
ordered by thy governance that we may joyfully serve thee
in all godly quietness. All which we ask through the merits
and mediation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Should the convention of those States which have withdrawn from
the Union be in session at the same time, introduce here the words,
"and the convention of southern States." If either convention should
adjourn, the other being in session, the language used will be altered
accordingly.
308 THE CONFEDERACY FORMED. [1861
Within three weeks after the sending out of this pas
toral the Southern Confederacy had been formed. Into
this Confederacy Louisiana entered. The bishop accord
ingly, on February 20, 1861, issued a third pastoral :
To the Clergy of the Diocese of Louisiana : The progress of
affairs makes it expedient to direct further changes in the
public services of the Church.
In the Prayer for those in Civil Authority, for the words,
11 the President of the United States," substitute the words,
"the President of the Confederate States."
In the special prayer set forth in my letter of the 30th ult.,
for the words, "and the Convention of Southern States,"
substitute the words, " and the Congress of the Confederate
States."
The Prayer for the Legislature, as already indicated, will
be continued during its sessions.
I remain, very truly,
Your servant in Christ,
LEONIDAS POLK,
1 Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana.
NEW ORLEANS, February 20, 1861.
Between the 26th of January, on which the State of
Louisiana seceded from the Union, and the inauguration
of the Confederate Government at Montgomery, less
than one short month had elapsed j and during the suc
cessive changes which followed one another with such
startling rapidity, Bishop Polk had little opportunity to
consult with his brethren of the episcopate. It is
doubtful, however, whether he would have felt disposed
to divide the responsibility of his official acts even with
his most confidential friends. A fortnight before the
secession of Louisiana Bishop Atkinson of North Caro
lina had written him, expressing his opinion that the
bishops of the States which were likely to secede should
Mi. 54] A DIFFICULT POSITION. 309
meet for conference, in order to decide upon some com
mon course of action in the novel circumstances in
which they were apparently about to be placed. It was
difficult, however, for such a meeting to be held. At
such a time no bishop would willingly be absent from his
diocese j and there were some of the southern bishops
who held that propriety forbade them to engage in a
movement which might be construed as a political dem
onstration made under cover of an ecclesiastical confer
ence. Until secession had actually taken place, it was
rightly felt that they ought not to take any action which
could be so construed even by the most unscrupulous
malice. But beyond all considerations of that kind,
Bishop Polk seems to have felt that the condition of
affairs was one which could not have been foreseen, and
therefore had in no way been provided for by any ex
press action of the Church, and consequently that the
duty of the bishops in the premises must be decided
on general principles. Of those principles he himself
had no doubt ; but that the same principles would be
accepted by all the brethren was extremely doubtful.
He was not prepared to surrender one jot of what he
believed to be his duty either to the Church or to the
State of which he was a citizen, and he had no desire to
share the responsibility of his official acts with other
men who might be less fully convinced of its imperative
obligation. Therefore his preference, as well as the
necessity of the occasion, moved him to act for himself
alone. He was keenly sensitive to the opinion of men
in whom he had confidence ; as little as any other man
did he desire to gratify self-will or to constrain his
brethren to sustain him in a course of the propriety of
which they were not convinced. But in the sight of
God, of the Church, and of the State, he held that he
310 RESPONSIBILITY AND SORROW. [18G1
was called to take the responsibility of deciding the
course of himself and his diocese ; and he chose to bear
his own burden, without involving any others, whether
willingly or unwillingly, in the consequences of his acts.
It was not without heartbreak that he contemplated the
separation, which he deemed inevitable, from many of
his old friends and companions of the North, whom he
fully acquitted of all blame for the unhappy condition
of the country. In one way or another it was impossi
ble for him to refrain from expressing his affection for
them ; but not even in letters written under the impulse
of the warmest affection could he fail to declare his con
viction of the true state of affairs in the present and in
the fast-hastening future. Of his correspondence at this
time two letters have fortunately been preserved. They
are equally honorable to him and to the honored and
beloved Bishop of New York, who was his correspondent.
Though they are not essential to the continuity of the
story, they are here inserted.
Bishop Polk to Bishop Potter.
NEW ORLEANS, January 29, 1861.
Right Reverend and dear Brother : You will have heard by
telegraph before this reaches you that Louisiana has seceded
from the Union. The act was perfected, so far as her inter
vention was concerned, on Saturday last. Of the course of
those States that have preceded her, you will have been in
formed. To the hearts of all good men such events cannot
but carry sorrow, as evidences of the overthrow of the most
magnificent government structure the world ever saw. As
to the causes which have produced this, it is useless to refer
now. It is done, and it is of the greatest importance to us
all that it should be understood. From what we see it is
plain that this movement of the southern States is not ap
preciated at the North. Nothing was ever more deliberate,
Mt. 54] LETTER TO BISHOP POTTEE. 311
nothing in all its bearings on the future more closely studied
or more calmly considered. The door of compromise, so far
as the States which have seceded are concerned, is closed;
and they will organize themselves into a separate nationality
at Montgomery, through their proper representatives, next
week. The only question now is, whether this shall be done
peaceably with the consent of the States from which we have
separated, or whether an attempt to prevent it will be made
by an appeal to arms. The right to secede under the Con
stitution it is not necessary to argue. It is asserted in such
forms as I have indicated, and it has been done with all
the possible consequences in full view, and under what the
parties regard as the highest duty to themselves and all those
with whom they stand connected. It is not to be believed
that such a position, taken under such circumstances, is one
which would be relinquished until all power to maintain it
had been exhausted. All this devolves upon fellow-country
men of the North the responsibility of determining whether
the interests of humanity demand the maintenance of the
General Government at such a sacrifice of treasure and life
as must follow an attempt, by force of arms, to prevent a
separation. I cannot believe that they are prepared for this.
If it were a mere local discontent by a few only, whatever
might be thought of the right of the parties, there might be
a show of. reasonableness in disposing of it in such a way.
But this movement has now assumed gigantic proportions,
and in case of war would involve inevitably one half of the
nation in conflict with the other. Are we prepared for this?
What could compensate us for such a war? I cannot but
think and hope that the good sense and Christian feeling of
the North will prevail over passion and pride, and that we
shall be saved from such a disaster and be permitted to go
in peace. It is our very great happiness to know that the
Church has stood firm, throughout all this contest, to her
duty to the Constitution and the laws, and that she has not
contributed in the very least to the causes which have
brought these mischiefs upon us. So far as I know, this is
felt and confessed throughout the South, and by all parties.
312 BISHOP POTTER S REPLY. [1861
Our affection for our brethren in the North has not been
shaken, therefore, in the least, and we earnestly trust that
there will be no reason why it should be. If we must sepa
rate, it must be to follow our nationality, and not because we
have differed on any point of Christian doctrine or religious
duty, and there will be no reason why we should not con
tinue to love each other afterward as we both now love the
men of the Church of England.
I remain, very truly,
Yours in Christ and his Church,
LEONIDAS POLK.
RT. REV. HORATIO POTTER,
NEW YORK.
Bishop Potter to Bishop Polk.
NEW YORK, 33 WEST 24TH STREET,
February 12, 1861.
My dear Bishop: I thank you heartily for your kind note.
I am deeply grateful for every token of fraternal regard from
your section of this unhappy country. It needs that one
should have been abroad this last summer, as I have been, in
order to feel how deplorably we are fallen. When I observe
how much everything in this quarter goes on as usual, the
same rush in the streets, the same gay, busy throng, driving,
visiting, dinners and parties, I find it difficult to believe that
we are indeed in the midst of a revolution. I am afraid that
very few of us, North or South, have any adequate idea of
what is before us in case of final separation.
Of one thing I am thoroughly convinced, and that is, that
the mass of the people are better than the politicians that
rule them, and they will one day make it apparent. I preached
on our national fast day, reluctantly, and as I wrote, saying
severe things to the North, I thought that to escape with a
whole skin would be the most I could hope for. On the con
trary, the whole congregation rose up and asked for my ser
mon with strong expressions of approval. I preached my
sermon again, reluctantly, in another large congregation, and
they did the same thing. I preached it to a country congre-
Mi. 54] NORTHERN SENTIMENTS. 313
gation, and the twenty clergy present earnestly asked for it,
apparently without a dissenting voice. So much for the ill-
feeling at the North toward the South ! This is but one of
hundreds of indications of northern sentiments. With regard
to the questions of peace or war, we are in the hands of God.
If nothing can heal this breach, I, for one, most earnestly hope
that we may separate, if such a thing be possible, peaceably.
Whether you can hope that the northwest will ever consent
that the mouth of the Mississippi River shall be in the hands
of a foreign power, you ought to be better able than I am to
judge. I confess I think it very unlikely. It seems to me no
very encouraging omen that the Abolitionists of the North are
mad with delight at the prospect of disunion. The tone of
Tennessee, and Virginia, and Kentucky, and Maryland, and
North Carolina even, seems to me to afford some ground of
hope that we may yet find some basis for agreement. It has
done for the northern mind what threats and secession could
not do. It has made the North willing to try to harmonize.
Most warmly do I reciprocate all that you say of your feel
ing toward brethren at the North. Our feeling toward you
and your brethren (and we love much, though we may have
said little) is not in the least changed. Otey, Green, yourself,
Elliott, Davis, etc., no men in the Church are more admired
and loved at the North. We would do anything for you in
the Church; and let a foreign power lay but its little finger
upon you in hostility, and you shall see that we are ready to
do anything for you in your civil capacity. God most merci
ful, guide, preserve, and bless you.
Believe me to be, my dear Bishop Polk,
Ever most affectionately yours,
H. POTTER.
To THE RT. REV. LEONIDAS POLK.
If the gracious and manly gentleness of Bishop Potter
is an ornament to the northern Church, the reluctance
with which the southern bishops admitted the principles
set forth by their brother of Louisiana is not less hon
orable to them. Of the criticisms of the pastorals of
314 AN ECCLESIASTICAL QUESTION. [1861
Bishop Polk which appeared in the northern Church
press, with one exception, it is needless to speak ; in
deed, they were unworthy of consideration; but the
editor of the Church Journal, the late Dr. John Henry
Hopkins, had the learning to detect a flaw in the bish
op s argument, and the capacity to discuss it like a
scholar and a gentleman. He took exception to the
bishop s declaration that a diocese could, by any means,
and particularly by the action of the civil power, be
placed in a position of diocesan independence, and this
criticism was undoubtedly correct. Under no system
known to the catholic Church can any diocese have a
permanently independent existence. In one generation
the succession must necessarily fail without the inter
vention of other dioceses, and during that one genera
tion all discipline would be impossible.
On this point there can be no dispute on the part of
any person who believes in the catholic constitution of
the Church. It may therefore be at once confessed that
the language of the bishop s pastoral of January 30,
I860, was not sufficiently guarded. When he said that
by the secession of the State of Louisiana the diocese of
Louisiana had been removed " from within the pale of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States/
the truth of the assertion depended upon two questions :
first, whether the ordinance of secession adopted by the
convention of the State of Louisiana was an effectual
act a question which was only determined by the arbit
rament of war and second, whether the constitution of
the catholic Church in general, or of the Church in this
country in particular, of necessity involved the separa
tion of the diocese from the national ecclesiastical organ
ization, as a consequence of an actual secession of the
States from the national Union of States. The first was
ML 54] ISOLATION OF THE DIOCESE. 315
a question of fact, the second was a question of law.
But, however the fact or the law might be, no fact in
the history of any country, and no law of any provincial
or national Church, could have the effect of remitting a
diocese of the catholic Church to a position which would
be a contradiction of the first principles of all catholic
policy.
If Bishop Polk had intended to maintain any such
doctrine he would have been on the verge of schism.
But Bishop Polk meant nothing of the kind. The word
Independence (which he used) was unfortunate. Isola
tion would have better expressed his real meaning. He
held the secession of the State to be, in right and in fact,
an effectual act, and he held that the Church in the
United States was, by its own written constitution, so
organized as a national Church that the dioceses belong
ing to it must of necessity be within the geographical
boundaries of the United States. It followed that if
the State of Louisiana had been in fact, as he believed,
removed from within those boundaries, the diocese must
likewise have been "removed from the pale of the Church
in the United States." His view was supported by the
whole Anglican doctrine of national churches, and cer
tainly by the precedent of the origin of the Church in
the United States, in which it had been assumed from
the first that the separation of the colonies from the
mother country " of necessity " involved the separate
organization of a national Church in this country.
Nothing on this subject could be clearer than the gen
eral principle enunciated and applied in the preface to
our own Book of Common Prayer, which declares that
" when in the course of divine Providence these Amer
ican States became independent with respect to civil
government, their ecclesiastical independence was neces-
316 AN ERROR IN TERMS. [1861
sarily included " j and this notwithstanding the fact that
they were under the spiritual jurisdiction of a lawful
bishop, the Bishop of London. By the separation of the
colonies from the mother country, the Church in Amer
ica held that the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London,
he being a bishop of a foreign country, was, ipso facto,
vacated. If it were true, as Bishop Polk certainly be
lieved, that the seceding States were in fact separated
from the United States, it followed that the dioceses of
those States could be no longer under the jurisdiction
of a Church which had become to them a foreign Church.
For the moment, therefore, the diocese of Louisiana had
been removed from its association with the national
Church with which it had been united, and for that
moment no other union with other dioceses was possi
ble. For that moment, therefore, it was in a position of
isolation imposed upon it by facts over which it had no
control. It was in a position in which it was not possi
ble to remain and in which it did not desire to remain,
but from which it had just then no power to escape.
That position Bishop Polk somewhat unhappily des
ignated as a position of diocesan independency. As
is usual in such cases, the controversy between men of
right principles was a controversy concerning words.
The facts were decided by a tribunal in which the Church
had no voice. Respect for the temperate and courteous
animadversions of the editor of the Church Journal re
quires thus much explanation ; that they received Bishop
Polk s very respectful consideration will appear later
on in the action of the convention of the diocese of
Louisiana.
From the representatives of the Church in the north
ern States Bishop Polk was prepared to expect adverse
criticism, but he was not prepared for the strong remon-
54] CHAEGE OF ERASTIANISM. 317
strances which were sent to him by southern bishops.
It would be easy to dispose of them by saying that the
arguments of those gentlemen were set aside by their
conduct, since every one of them, not long afterward,
virtually assumed the same position and followed the
same course which Bishop Polk had pursued in Louisi
ana. But if the course of Bishop Polk was in fact the
right course, and if the timely adoption of that course
with its necessary consequences placed the southern
Church in a way of present safety which at last led to
the happy reunion of our whole national communion,
the objections which were alleged against it ought not
to be lightly dismissed. Those objections were raised,
not by enemies, but by friends and brothers whom he
loved and trusted. Otey of Tennessee and Lay of
Arkansas wrote in terms of love and pain which were a
joy and a grief to him. Their points were that he had
adopted a principle of sheer Erastianism, and, what was
still more painful, that he had not been duly faithful to
his vow of consecration as a bishop, which bound him
to obedience to the " discipline and worship of the Prot
estant Episcopal Church in the United States."
The charge of Erastianism is so feeble, when consid
ered on its merits and when we remember the acumen
of the men who preferred it, that it must have repre
sented rather their reluctance to admit the conclusions
at which Bishop Polk had arrived than a conviction of
his error. No man was ever more jealous than he of
the rights and dignities of the Church in the face of any
authority short of that of his Master. But he held that
the Church itself, in order to avoid conflict with the
civil power, had freely chosen so to constitute itself as
to entail certain results on civil action of which he was
not the arbiter, but merely the observer. His vow of
318 NORTHERN MISCONCEPTIONS. [1861
consecration he felt that he was bound to interpret in
its relation to the circumstances in which he found him
self unexpectedly placed. In ordinary circumstances
the vow was absolute j but the circumstances in which
he actually found himself had not been contemplated
when that vow was proposed and accepted. The pur
pose of the vow had therefore to be considered. Its
intention was to maintain unity among the members of
a national Church, and that intention was subordinate
and subsidiary to the paramount purposes for which the
Church exists. In the providence of God, as he believed,
the national unity had been destroyed, consequently
the union of the dioceses of the national Church had
lapsed ; but the purposes of the existence of the Church
had not lapsed, and could not lapse. It behoved him,
therefore, as a catholic bishop, to carry out the catholic
purpose of his office, notwithstanding any lapse of the
particular organization with which he had been con
nected ; and in so doing he knew that he was not only
following the safe rule of catholic precedent, but also
following out the declared principles of the Church,
which had demanded and received his vow of consecra
tion. Firmly adhering to these convictions, he met the
expostulations of men like Otey and Lay with a direct
and simple plainness of sincerity which was worthy of
all concerned, and in the end the southern bishops,
without one single exception, followed the course of
Polk, however they might continue, in pastoral and
other pronunciamentos, to controvert his arguments or
to debate his theoretical positions.
At the North, however, an impression prevailed that
the bishop desired to put an end to the cooperation of
the two sections of the Church in the department of
Foreign and Domestic Missions. Nothing could have
Mi. 54 J FOLK S POSITION DEFINED. 319
been further from his intention. He had contented him
self with declaring what he believed to be the actual and
constitutional status of his diocese, and he had given no
intimation either of an opinion or of a desire that the
former cooperation of the northern and the southern
sections of the Church should be discontinued. Accord
ingly, to meet this unforeseen and causeless apprehen
sion, he issued his pastoral of March 28, 1861, as follows :
Brethren of the Clergy and Laity : I have been informed that,
since the publication of my pastoral letter of the 30th Jan
uary, some embarrassment has arisen in certain minds as to
the disposition of such funds as have been usually raised
for foreign and domestic missions.
The object of that letter was to declare the theoretical
status of our diocese, consequent upon the change of our
nationality, by the separation of Louisiana from the United
States of America, and to submit that status as my authority,
in the face of my " promise of conformity" to the " discipline
and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United
States of America," for directing such changes in the Book of
Common Prayer as a paramount expediency and the law of
Christ himself in such case demanded. It concluded nothing
beyond. It nevertheless looked farther. It contemplated the
merging of our State nationality, perfect and complete in
itself, into that of a confederation "to be composed of such
other States as have withdrawn from the late Federal Union,"
and so of our diocese into a union with the dioceses in those
States under a common constitution. Nay, more, it did not
undertake to decide whether a union of the dioceses within
the seceded States with those in the United States from which
they were thus separated would, under any form, be " im
practicable." It only indicated the relations which would
subsist between them in case such a union should not be
found feasible. It took the ground that, from the terms and
conditions of the Book of Common Prayer, and of the con
stitution and canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
320 CHURCH UNITY UNTOUCHED. [1861
the United States of America, and from the necessities of the
case, a separation of the dioceses in the seceding States was
forced from the dioceses of the United States. It drew a dis
tinction between union in legislation, whether constitutional
or canonical, and unity in Christian doctrine and catholic
usage. The former is national, and therefore local, and is
subject properly to such changes as the law of expediency or
of necessity may demand. The latter is universal, and beyond
the reach of all changes in political government, and is that
in which consists the essence of the oneness of the body of
Christ.
A change in church union, therefore, does not necessarily
involve a breach of church unity. " The liberty wherewith
Christ has made us free " may allow us, without offense, to
accept a status which necessity, not to say the providence
of God, has forced upon us, provided the doctrine of his
church and the order of its administrations in all of those
things which are vital be left unimpaired.
The confederation of these States, which at the date of that
letter was a foreshadowed event, has now become a reality.
The organization of the new government has been completed
and a permanent constitution adopted. Time has not allowed
us as yet opportunity to consult with our sister dioceses as to
the proper course to be pursued, either with reference to a
separate organization or the relations which it may be prac
ticable to establish with our sister dioceses in the United
States.
I cannot doubt, however, that some plan will be adopted
by which the dioceses of the Confederate States will be
brought into a practical union, and I do not now see why
some basis of connection may not be agreed upon, by which
our respective organizations, North and South, while left free
in all those respects in which freedom is expedient, may con
tinue to act together in such things as are above the merely
local, and in which greater efficiency would result from a union
of our resources and our energies.
These details, however, must be left to the development of
the future. In the mean season, as our confidence in its
54] GROWTH OF THE DIOCESE. 321
largest measure in the Christian integrity, zeal, and judicious
ness of our brethren who have charge of the foreign and do
mestic missions of the Church is undiminished, I recommend
that such funds as may have been, or may hereafter be, col
lected for these objects, be sent forward as heretofore. Such
changes as may be convenient will be made as events pro
gress and as expediency may dictate.
I remain, very truly,
Your obedient servant in Christ,
LEONIDAS POLK,
Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in the Diocese of Louisiana.
NEW ORLEANS, March 28, 1861.
It might be supposed that when the bishop was thus
occupied with the vast interests of the university,
pressed with the anxieties of public affairs, and engaged
in what might almost be called a public controversy,
the ordinary business of his diocesan work would be
less vigorously prosecuted than in former years ; but it
was not so. The record shows precisely the reverse.
Polk was one of those men to whom the increase of
labor seems to lend a new energy. The demands made
upon him operated as a stimulus to his finely organized
sanguine-nervous temperament, so that the more he was
required to do the more easily he seemed to do it. The
last year of his active exercise of the functions of the
episcopate was the most happily prosperous and promis
ing of his whole life. In the scattered communities of
Louisiana he saw in that one year no less than five new
churches built, and two of them he had the pleasure of
consecrating. At Bastrop he organized a new and self-
supporting congregation, and at Dallas, as the result of
one vigorous effort, he organized a congregation, held
an election of the vestry, and secured the means for the
322 LAST EPISCOPAL VISITATION. [1861
erection of a church and the permanent support of a
rector. At the annual Diocesan Convention of May,
1861, six new parishes were admitted. The number
of communicants in the diocese was considerably in
creased. The confirmations were more than in any pre
vious year. The care of masters for their servants
si lowed an enlarged and enlightened interest in the
spiritual welfare of the slaves which was most encourag
ing, so that at one place he confirmed ten, at another
twenty-eight, at another thirty-one, and at another forty-
three negroes. But, best of all, the impression he made
by his force of character, his generous spirit, his mascu
line gentleness, his broad sympathies, his unremitting
labors, and finally by his scheme of the university, had
attracted to him, and through him to the Church, the
affectionate respect of the whole people of his diocese.
Wherever he went on his .last visitation he received a
warm welcome from men of all ranks and of all reli
gious and political opinions ; and as he records in his
last report to his convention, he found the people in
the northern parishes of the State everywhere looking
kindly to the Church, and assuring him of their desire
to have its services established among them. It is a
happiness to all who loved him to know that this last
year in which he was to be permitted to minister to his
people in his exalted office, if it was a year of great per
plexity and constant anxiety, was yet perhaps the most
encouraging and happy year of his episcopal life, and in
almost every respect the most manifestly fruitful.
During Bishop Folk s last visitation, which continued
from the beginning of February to the end of April,
1861, his family had been placed at Sewanee, in a rude
but comfortable cottage which he had built on the uni
versity domain, and as the coarse of events made it from
Mi. 55] SECESSION OF VIRGINIA. 323
day to day more probable that the Federal Government
would resist the secession of the southern States by
force of arms, it was a comfort to him to believe that in
their mountain retreat his wife and children would be
in a place of quiet and security, whatever might betide.
Two letters of his, written toward the close of his visi
tation, give insight into his own state of mind and also
into the general condition of the public mind of the
South at that time.
To Mrs. Polk.
TRINITY, DE SOTO, LA., April 21, 1861.
My dear Wife: You see I am thus far on my way round
my diocese. This is the day I appointed to be here. God
has blessed me and enabled me to fill all my appointments.
I have been to Shreveport, and have got through there. I am
to preach here this morning at eleven o clock, and this even
ing, at candle-light, in Mansfield, seventeen miles distant. I
am, thank God, very well. I wrote to Meek and to Colonel
Smith, withdrawing him from the institute and directing him
to repair to the mountain, and stay there until I come home.
Now that the attack on Fort Sumter has taken place, I am
satisfied that we shall have war, and that we shall have occa
sion for the services of all the young men of the South. I
am also satisfied that Virginia must now come in, and that
Smith s Corps will have to take the field. If so, I had rather
Meek should be with such corps than some one of the many
others with which he might have to be associated. Love to all.
Very tenderly yours,
LEONIDAS POLK.
P. S. I go by way of Monroe and Vicksburg to New Or
leans. Have just heard that Virginia has seceded. I am at
the house of . They are full of enthusiasm.
Yours truly and lovingly,
L.P.
324 WAR INEVITABLE. [1861
To Mrs. Polk.
NEW ORLEANS, April 26, 1861.
My beloved Wife: I am now at the stock-landing, on the
steamer " Hodge," which is putting out cattle. I found, on
my return to Shreveport, that I could not get to my appoint
ment at Minden because of a change of schedule in the stages,
and so had to give it up. I came, therefore, to New Orleans
in this boat. I am very well, and had a good time to rest
and sleep on the boat, so that I feel quite refreshed this
morning. . . .
The whole world is in arms, in the country and in the
town. All are agreed now. There are not two parties any
more, and I am glad to see that we are at last to have the
border States. Of the issue I have no doubt. As Tennessee
is now aroused, you are, of course, in a very safe and secure
place, and need have no apprehension. I have written to
Meek to stay where he is. He is better there under Smith s
command than he would be elsewhere. I suppose he has
written to you. ... I have not time to add more. Love to
the dear girls.
Very truly and affectionately yours,
LEONIDAS POLK.
From these letters it is evident that the bishop had
ceased to cherish the hope of peaceable secession which
most other men at the South had entertained. As
he had written to Bishop Potter ? it was not possible
for a good man to be otherwise than sorrowful at such
a wreck of " the most magnificent government structure
the world ever saw." But since the war was now clearly
inevitable, he regarded it with the fortitude of a soldier.
He held it to be on the part of the South a war of sim
ple self-defense. He knew that no war can be waged
without great suffering, but his West Point training had
taught him to think of war not as a thing merely of
butchery and rapine, but of fair fight in open field. It
Mi. 55] FOLK S HOUSE BUENED. 325
did not occur to him that a conflict between Americans
could exhibit itself in assaults upon defenseless women
and children. Under any circumstances, he supposed
that the most helpless portion of the human race would
be unmolested ; and in their secure retreat at Sewanee,
he thought that his family, if not " secure from war s
alarms/ would surely be safe from its dangers.
This confidence was destined to be shattered by a
horrible surprise. On landing at New Orleans, the very
day on which he had written to Mrs. Polk of his satis
faction in the assurance of her safety at Sewanee, he
found letters from her telling him that her house had
been burned over her head and over the heads of her
family of unprotected daughters, in the dead of night,
and manifestly by the hand of an incendiary. For a
moment the shock nearly overpowered him. All the
whole heart of the man and of the father swelled in
mingled horror and disgust at the cowardly attempt
to assassinate defenseless women. He never doubted
that the outrage was prompted by political animosity.
From that day forward he considered the war against
the South not so much as an international war of
aggression and conquest, but rather as a war of spo
liation, incendiarism, outrage, and assassination, which
every man who recognized the first law of nature was
bound in duty to resist with whatever powers of head
or hand he had received. This impression was indefi
nitely strengthened by a letter which he received shortly
afterward from a northern bishop, now dead, whom he
had esteemed with great affection. On his countenance
one might see from time to time the play of every best
expression that belongs to human emotion ; after the
reading of that letter it wore the sublimity of righteous
wrath.
326 EFFECT OF THE ATROCITY. [1861
Beyond all doubt the letter of Bishop helped
to form the after-thoughts and to influence the after-
course of Bishop Polk. It would be strange if it
had not done so. The reader will remember how he
had clung to his belief in the influence of the Church
to mollify the rising passions of the sections. Now
that the fabric of the Union, as he believed, had
been rent in twain and those who had been fellow-
citizens were about to close in mortal strife, he had still
looked to the Church to mitigate the horrors of inevita
ble war. And here there came to him a sanctimonious
exhortation from one of the highest ministers of the
Church itself, warning him of the punishment to be
awarded to the wickedness of slavery him to whom
the institution of slavery had been a life-long burden !
but breathing no syllable of condemnation against
the assassins of women and children ! To Polk it
seemed that the minds even of churchmen had indeed
" given way," since the utmost atrocities of war atroci
ties perpetrated before the war was well begun could
meet with at least the approbation to be inferred from
the silence of a bishop.
The following letter to Mrs. Polk was written by the
bishop in the first shock of horror after hearing of the
fire:
NEW ORLEANS, April 27, 1861.
My beloved Wife: I arrived from Shreveport yesterday, and
found your letter of the 15th, Lillie s of the 22d, Sallie s of the
18th, and yours of the 23d. I have been so affected by your
touching recital that I have been made sick at heart. Was
there ever in all the world such a hellish proceeding ? To fire
the houses of two such utterly lonely and defenseless families,
composed of women only, and in the dead of the night ! The
spirit of hell itself was never more exhibited ; and that both
houses were fired during the same night and at the same
] THE BISHOP S DEMEANOR. 327
moment perhaps, such a diabolical spirit and heart I never
before heard of. How I should have liked to come upon the
scoundrels when they were engaged in the act ! I am satisfied
that it was the work of an incendiary, and that it was
prompted by the spirit of Black Republican hate. I cannot
but hope and believe that the parties will be discovered. It
was only yesterday that I wrote you from the stock-landing
and congratulated you on the very safe retreat from the
agitations of the times and the country at large. How little
do we know, and how little did I think you were then suffer
ing from having had your house burnt over your head, and
that your life and the lives of our dear children had been put
to peril by such villainy ! But God took care of you and saved
you from the jaws of death. For thfts I hope we shall never
cease to be thankful and praise him. I thought no insurance
had been effected, and was surprised to hear from Mr. Sloo,
whom I met on the street, that it had been done. For this we
are indebted, my beloved, thoughtful wife, to you ; and I most
heartily thank God for putting it in your mind. The policy of
the insurance, I learned, was signed just before the ire, and
the dispatch announcing the fire was received on the return
of the agent from the post-office. Well, we ought to be thank
ful it is no worse. . . . LEONIDAS POLK.
Cruelly shocked as he had been, it is not to be sup
posed that after the first sharp agony was over and
while it lasted it was nothing short of agony the
bishop wore his heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck
at. To all appearances he recovered very soon from all
that, and nothing in his language or demeanor indicated
the intensity of his feelings or the rapid growth of liis
convictions. To the outward eye he was ever the same ;
in his public utterances he was wholly unchanged ; in
private conversation lie was still as debonair and gra
ciously attractive as before ; in his order of business he
continued to follow the rule of his life, which was " to
do the thing that lay next him," going on his ordinary
328 ANNUAL CONVENTION. [1861
way without change of his ordinary methods ; and yet
there is reason to believe, in view of all that followed,
that it was then that he entered into the solitary mental
struggle which resulted in his taking arms in defense
of the Confederacy. Not that he had already formed
the purpose of taking arms, or had even distinctly con
sidered it ; least of all that he had allowed himself to be
controlled by any feeling of passion ; but that he had
been thoroughly impressed with the conviction that the
impending war would be a Avar of moral issues, and that
it would be waged in a manner so frightful that no man
could tell what his duty as a man might require of him.
However these foreboding questions might be event
ually answered, the one duty which lay next to him at
that time was the direction of the affairs of his diocese.
The annual convention was about to meet at St. Francis-
ville, and after all the agitations through which he had
passed, he wrote his convention address in the same firm
but temperate tone in which his previous pastorals had
been composed. The event of that convention had been
a matter of some concern to him ; for in his own diocese,
as elsewhere, the positions he had assumed with regard
to the ecclesiastical effect of secession had been mis
understood by some and were admitted with reluctance
by others. Especially among the clergy there was a
desire to escape, if possible, from taking any positive
action ; but the proposal of Polk and Elliott that there
should be a conference of delegates from the southern
dioceses at Montgomery in the month of July could by
no possibility be evaded. At one time the bishop would
have been content that the convention should waive the
merits of the subject and simply elect delegates to the
proposed meeting. It was pointed out to him, however,
that if the positions he had assumed were not really
Mi. 55] THE BISHOP S ADDRESS. 329
sound positions, the diocese ought not to give them an
apparent support by an election which would be inter
preted as an indorsement of the grounds on which it
had been recommended j and, on the other hand, that if
his positions were really well taken, he had a right to
expect his diocese to sustain him boldly and unequivo
cally. It was therefore resolved that the subject of the
bishop s pastorals should be brought forward on its
merits, and that the sense of the convention should be
taken concerning them. In point of fact, as the issue
proved, there was no serious objection to the bishop s
views when they were properly explained, and before
the convention met much of the reluctance to acquiesce
in them had been swept away by the course of public
affairs.
All that was needed, therefore, was that the status of
the Church in consequence of secession should be set
forth in ecclesiastical language and expounded on the
common principles of canon law, English and American.
Immediately after the opening services and organization
of the convention, the bishop read his annual address, 1
in which he confined himself to a statement of his offi
cial acts, followed by a masterly vindication of his action
in ordering a change in the Prayer for the President of
the United States, and a reiteration of the principles he
had enunciated in his pastorals. He still, to the regret
of some who were in perfect sympathy with him, con
tinued to use the inaccurate phrase of " diocesan inde
pendence." Indeed, he went apparently much further
by declaring that " the normal condition of the dioceses
of the catholic Church is that of separate independence,"
and that " a departure from that condition has ever been
1 For extracts from Bishop Folk s address, see Appendix to Chap
ter VII.
330 THE COMMITTEE S EEPOET. [1861
the fruit of expediency only." These expressions were
unfortunate. It was consequently of the more impor
tance that the action of his diocesan convention should
be clearly and accurately expressed.
So much of the bishop s address as referred to the
position of the diocese in consequence of secession was
specially referred to the Committee on the State of the
Church, and the committee was appointed with reference
to this part of the business. Among its members were
some of the strongest men of the diocese. The four
laymen were among the most eminent in the State, and
three of the four clergy were men of mature age and
experience as well as of recognized ability. In their
political views they were fairly balanced, for, of the
whole eight members, four had been in favor of uncon
ditional secession, three had acted with the party of
cooperation, and one had taken neither side on that
subject.
When the report of the committee was brought in on
the second day of the convention, the greatest anxiety
was felt by all parties for it was all but certain that the
report of such a committee would carry the suffrages of
a large majority of the members present. The result
justified the expectation. The committee, after a few
words in which they called attention to the nourishing
and hopeful condition of the internal affairs of the dio
cese, proceeded directly to the consideration of the eccle
siastical consequences of the secession of the State from
the Federal Union. They discussed the questions at
issue calmly and dispassionately, on purely historical
and canonical grounds, avoiding the bishop s phrase of
" diocesan independence," except in one instance, in which
the connection sufficiently denned the sense in which
the phrase was used. The scope of their argument,
/Et. 55] DR. GOODIUCWS VIEWS. 331
however, sustained the bishop s positions in every other
particular. The only part of the report which exhibited
any warmth at all was that in which they expressed
their cordial and affectionate regard for their brother-
churchmen of the United States from whom they be
lieved themselves to have been ecclesiastically separated j
and in this part of their report they chose to use the
same glowing words which had been already used by
the bishop in his first pastoral of January 30, 18C1.
When the resolutions of the committee were formally
moved for adoption there was almost literally no oppo
sition. The Rev. Dr. Goodrich, rector of St. Paul s, New
Orleans, who was one of the most respected and beloved
clergymen in the diocese, and who had been one of the
most reluctant to admit that the ordinance of secession,
or any other act of secular power, could effect a separa
tion between the dioceses of the Church, rose in his place
and said that the view of the subject which had been
presented by the committee was entirely new to him;
that he had not thought of considering it in the light
in which it had been considered by the committee ; and
that from the provisions of the constitution and canons
of the Church which had been cited by the committee,
it now appeared that the separation of the diocese from
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States
had been effected not by the direct operation of the
ordinance of secession, but by the operation of the laws
of the Church itself, which, though they had not been
made with that particular intention, were nevertheless
of such force as to effect the separation in such circum
stances as had arisen. It was impossible, he said, to
doubt that the quotations from the constitution and
canons of the Church which the committee had made
could have been made otherwise than accurately and
332 ADOPTION OF THE REPORT. [1861
with perfect fairness, and in the face of those quotations
he was not prepared to deny the conclusions at which
the committee had arrived. He should not, therefore,
oppose the adoption of the resolutions which had been
submitted to the convention.
After the modest and temperate speech of Dr. Good
rich, one clergyman spoke in opposition to the resolu
tions ; the committee made no reply, and the whole series
was carried with hardly a dissenting voice. At the be
ginning of the reading of the report of the committee,
the bishop sat in his chair with an aspect of studied
composure, but to one who knew him well it was easy
to see that he was exceedingly anxious. Until the com
mittee entered the house from the room in which they
had been deliberating, he had received no intimation of
the nature of their report, and he had been too proud to
make personal inquiry concerning the opinions of the
several members of the convention. He would have
been content with the appointment of delegates to the
convention at Montgomery, that, indeed, was all that
he had asked in his address; but his warm-hearted,
affectionate nature, much more than his just sense of
official dignity, had led him to desire a more unequivocal
indorsement from his diocese than it had been altogether
certain that he would receive. He thought himself pre
pared for either event, but he was not entirely prepared
for the elaborate and complete vindication presented in
the report of the committee; and when their proposi
tions were successively laid down with a force of argu
ment which, to say the least, was not contemptible ; when
their resolutions were read, clearly sustaining him on
grounds which he himself had not fully, if at all, thought
out; when all dignified opposition was gracefully and
graciously withdrawn ; and when his convention all but
^Et. 55] A CROWNING HAPPINESS. 333
unanimously stood by him and sustained him before the
world and before the Church, then his deep sense of
satisfaction beamed from every feature of his noble
countenance. That was virtually the last act of his last
convention, for the remaining business was merely
formal. It was the crowning happiness of the most
successful year of his episcopate. It was not, indeed, an
unmingled joy, for it came as an alleviation of a great
sorrow; but such as it was, it is something to thank
God for that this, the last act of his last convention, was
an act of loving, loyal support. 1
A few words of comment on the action of the conven
tion of the diocese of Louisiana can hardly be out of
place at this point. Now that all the excitements of the
time have long passed away, it seems to me, in the light
of some later studies in ecclesiastical history and canon
law, that, so far as the canonical argument of the Com
mittee on the State of the Church goes, I should be pre
pared to hold a brief either for or against the resolu
tions. That there is force in the argument I still think,
but that there is as much force in it as I thought then
is 110 longer clear to me. I find some serious flaws in it
which a dexterous advocate might point out with dam
aging effect. In the historical argument I find no faidt
at all ; it now seems to me to have been needlessly
weakened by adding to it the more questionable theses
which were founded upon canon law. As good lawyers
say, " One good reason is better than two j " and yet it
was precisely the weaker argument, as I now consider
it, which carried most conviction and disarmed most
prejudice.
Looking at the action of the diocese of Louisiana as
i For report of committee, see Appendix to Chapter VII.
334 FOLK S POSITION SUSTAINED. [1861
a whole, I regard it as right in itself under the existing
circumstances, and, with reference to its results, as a
cause of unbounded thankfulness. But for the calling
of the convention of the bishops and delegates of the
southern dioceses at Montgomery by the bishops of
Louisiana and Georgia, those dioceses might have re
mained without organization throughout the whole
period of the war; and but for the strong support
given to those two bishops by their diocesan conven
tions, the convention at Montgomery would probably
not have been held. If the southern dioceses had been
compelled, during the excitements of those frightful
years, to remain in the condition of virtual independence,
many deplorable irregularities would probably have
occurred, and it is morally certain that the happy re
union of our whole Church, w r hich followed instantly
after the close of the war, would not, and could not, have
taken place with the fraternally instinctive spontaneity
which was, and will remain, a crown of glory to both
sections of the Church. I hold, therefore, paradoxical
as it may appear, that the greatest service which Bishop
Polk ever rendered to the Church, which he would have
gladly died to serve, was his declaration that, without a
breach of the essential unity of the Church, and without
the least breach of reciprocal affection, the bond of pro
vincial union between the southern and the northern
dioceses had been effectually sundered. And if one may
reasonably consider not only what has happened, but
what might have happened, the impression of the wis
dom and far-sighted charity of Bishop Polk admits of
no dispute. No one can look back upon the events of
the war between the States and say that the success of
the Confederacy was an impossibility. If the Confeder
acy had succeeded, there would never have been any
^t. 55] WISDOM OF POLKAS COURSE. 335
question, either at the North or at the South, of the
soundness of the views which Polk had set forth con
cerning the ecclesiastical effect of an ordinance of seces
sion ; but the terms of brotherly love in which he had
testified that the southern Church had no cause of griev
ance against her northern sister would, in all human
probability, have smoothed the way for a reunion of
the two bodies in all matters not pertaining to the
administration of their local affairs. And then who
knows ? the influence of the Church might have availed
to suggest, and perhaps to bring about, a political re
union of the two alienated sections of the country.
These may be idle dreams now, but they might well have
been realities, and whatever we may think about them
now, the fact is apparent that, in either event, the wise
leading of Polk had prepared the way for the ultimate
furtherance of the best interests of the Church.
JOHN FULTON.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
EXTRACTS FROM BISHOP POLK S ADDRESS TO THE ANNUAL
CONVENTION OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA, AT
GRACE CHURCH, ST. FRANCISVILLE, 1861.
On the 26th of January, the State of Louisiana, in the exer
cise of her indefeasible right, severed her connection with the
Government of the United States, resumed the powers of
which she had divested herself, and became a separate and
independent sovereignty. This act carried with it the alle
giance of her citizens. Their supreme government ceased to
be that of the United States, and became that of the State of
Louisiana, to which alone they owed a paramount fealty, and
all the duties growing out of such a relationship. This change
of allegiance churchmen shared in common with others, and
it became their duty promptly to demonstrate their recogni
tion of that change, in the forms in which the Founder of
our holy religion required his followers to recognize de facto
governments. In the affair of the tribute -money, he lays
down the doctrine that such governments have a right to
claim from their citizens or subjects the support necessary for
their effective maintenance, a right founded on the fact that
the State, as well as the Church, is a divine institution, under
whatever form of organization it may be presented. In the
administration of divine providence, the Ruler of the universe
casteth down one and putteth up another, choosing for him
self the instruments best adapted to effect his ends. So that,
whether it be Sanhedrim or Caesar, "the powers that be are
ordained of God." They are to be supported not only with
material aid and personal services, but by supplications and
prayers. Hence arises the duty of a Church, on the occur-
336
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 337
rence of any established change of government, to alter her
formularies so as to make them conform to the new condition
of things. It was clear, therefore, in the circumstances in
which we were placed, that an alteration in the services of
the Book of Common Prayer, after the separation of Louisi
ana from the Government of the United States, was indispen
sable. It was an alteration forced by the necessity of obedi
ence to the law of Christ himself. This was felt by the
clergy and laity of the diocese generally, not less than by
myself. But, under the constitution and canons of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, there
existed no authority accessible to us competent to meet the
emergency. Section 14, Canon 13, Title I, it is true, gives to
the bishop of each diocese authority " to compose forms of
prayer, as the case may require for extraordinary occasions " j
and under its provisions I set forth, for the national fast, the
form appended to my pastoral letter of December 28th. The
case now presented is altogether different. It called for an
alteration in the matter of the Book of Common Prayer it
self, a prerogative withheld from the bishops, because ex
pressly surrendered by them and their diocesan conventions
at the time they adopted the constitution. This power is
vested in the general convention alone. In the Eighth Article
of the constitution of the national Church, it is provided
that " no alteration or addition shall be made in the Book of
Common Prayer, unless the same shall be proposed in one
general convention, and, by a resolve thereof, made known
to the convention of every diocese, and adopted at the sub
sequent general convention." The delay involved in an effort
to comply with this provision, even supposing that, when it
was allowed, it would have met the case, was manifestly for
bidden by the pressing nature of the emergency. What, then,
was to be done? A conflict now arose between the duty
which we, as a diocese, owed to the provisions of a constitu
tion which bound us to pray for the rulers of one govern
ment, and the duty which we owed to the law of Christ
himself which required us to pray for those of another. In
such a case, the latter must, of necessity, prevail, though it be
338 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
at the expense of the overthrow of the constitution whose
provisions we should be forced thus deliberately to repudiate.
It has prevailed. And although we have not, as a diocese,
in our assembled capacity, pronounced upon and avowed
this repudiation, yet we have done so in effect. My view of
the duties of my office, under those circumstances, required
me to address to you my pastoral letter of the 30th of Janu
ary, setting forth and directing certain alterations in the
Book of Common Prayer ; and your view of the duties of
yours authorized you to accept and use those alterations in
the public services of the Church. Of the propriety and duty
of the course we have pursued in this matter, notwithstand
ing the effect of our action on our relations, under the con
stitution, to the Church in the United States, I have not a
doubt, nor can the reasoning which has led us to our present
position be successfully controverted.
There was a time in the history of the Church in Louisiana
when it was not under the authority of the constitution of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of
America, and when there was no constitutional union exist
ing between it and the dioceses in the United States. The
Fifth Article of the constitution of the Protestant Episcopal
Church in the United States provides for the admission of
dioceses not in the Union on their agreeing to accede to that
instrument ; and the diocese of Louisiana, having embodied
the required stipulation in the First Article of her constitution,
was admitted on application.
In accepting the constitutional connection which was thus
established, our diocese did not intend to impose upon herself
impossible obligations which in any future contingency would
conflict with her duties to Christ. There are duties and
rights which, in the case of communities, as of individual
Christians, are inalienable, and which, in the nature of things,
must always be reserved. In the case under consideration,
the duty we have performed, and the right to perform it, are
of that character ; and to discharge the former we have been
obliged to resume the latter. And thus, having the exercise
of our original powers remitted to us, we have been forced,
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 339
whether we would or not, into the position of diocesan
independence.
It will be perceived, then, that our ecclesiastical position
results from the political action of the State of Louisiana in
separating herself from the Federal Government of the United
States, and from the effect of that action on the provisions of
the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States. Not that it has been accomplished by any act
of the legislature of the State in an attempt to exercise direct
civil control over the political or ecclesiastical relations of the
Church. To such influences the Church in this country is
happily in no wise subject.
But while the Church is entirely free from interference on
the part of the State, she is, nevertheless, not exempt from the
consequences of the action of the State on her present atti
tude in Louisiana. She assumes what her duty to her Lord
requires her to assume, that, though she be compelled to set
aside her obligations to her ecclesiastical constitution in the
United States of America, she must follow her nationality.
It must not be forgotten that a written constitution, such
as that which binds the dioceses of the United States together,
is a novelty in the Church, no other instance of the kind being
known to her history. It was adopted in imitation of the
action of the States within whose boundaries our dioceses lay.
It was a measure of expedience, and, for all the purposes it
was competent to serve, a wise one. But it was not a neces
sary condition of the Church s unity. It served the purpose
of binding the dioceses in a union of amity, and promoted
their efficiency as propagandists of the faith on this continent
and elsewhere. It thus accomplished a holy mission. And
while we, with hearts filled with sorrow, lament the uprising
of the influences which have checked it in its blessed work,
we yet cannot allow that its presence or its absence is material
to the unity of the Church. The destruction of this constitu
tional bond, while it may be lamented, carries not with it the
destruction of the oneness of the body of Christ j the elements
of which that consists are of a higher and more enduring
nature.
340 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
Of the support we shall find in the history of the Church
universal in its first and present ages for the action of our
diocese in accepting and maintaining, if need be, an independ
ent position, it is not necessary here to speak. The normal
condition of the dioceses of the Catholic Church is that of
separate independence. A departure from that condition has
ever been the fruit of expediency only.
Under the promptings of this expediency, I have, as the
senior bishop of the dioceses in the Confederate States, in con
junction with the Bishop of Georgia, next in seniority, ven
tured to address a circular to our brother bishops in the
Confederate States, to be by them laid before their respect
ive conventions, inviting them to unite in a convention to be
held in Montgomery, Ala., on the 3d of July next; the con
vention, when held, to be composed of the bishops of the
several dioceses in these States, and of three clerical and three
lay delegates. The object of this convention is to consult
upon such matters of interest to the Church as have arisen out
of the changes in our civil affairs, with the view of securing
uniformity and harmony of action.
I have heard from several of the dioceses, and there is
reason to believe that the measure will meet with general
favor. A letter just received by me from the Bishop of Texas
informs me that his diocese, at its late convention, accepted
the invitation and elected the requisite delegates.
I have now respectfully to submit to you, my brethren, the
proposal to unite on this measure. It cannot but be regarded
as one of prudence and wisdom. And I humbly trust it may
lead to such action as may secure to us all the freedom
necessary to diocesan efficiency and all the union which is
demanded for the wisest application of our energies and
resources.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 341
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE STATE
OF THE CHURCH.
The Committee on the State of the Church beg respectfully
to report that there is great cause for gratitude to Almighty
God for the continued prosperity of the Church in this dio
cese. The large number of new parishes admitted into union
with the present convention, and the number of confirma
tions, greater by one third than in any previous year, are
evident proofs that the hand of God is with us, and that the
cause of Zion is prospering within our borders.
But the shortness of the time allowed, and the importance
of the matters falling under their consideration, compel
the committee to dismiss with these remarks the subjects
commonly embraced in the report they are required to
make, and which in general relate exclusively to the internal
operations of the Church. The state of the Church implies
as well the state of her relations to the Church at large as
the condition of her ordinary operations. Therefore the com
mittee feel themselves obliged to lay formally before the con
vention what they conceive to be the true relation to the
whole body of Christ s Church Catholic, and particularly to
that branch of it to which we lately belonged the Protes
tant Episcopal Church in the United States of America
a duty which is forced upon us by the fact that Louisiana
has within the last year separated from the nationality of
which she previously formed a part, and has joined with
other sovereign States in forming a new nation, to which
she and we, her citizens, to-day owe our allegiance. The
simple question which we have to meet is, whether any
change in our relations, as a Church, to the Church in the
United States is, or of right ought to be, involved in the
change of national relations which has taken place. In an
swering this question, the committee ask to be indulged in
stating briefly the reasons which have prevailed in bringing
them to the conclusion they feel bound to lay before the
convention. A brief synoptical form will probably be found
342 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
the best, as the deficiencies in mere detail can readily be
supplied by the learning of the members of the convention.
1. The diocese of Louisiana, like every other diocese,
is an integral portion of the One Catholic and Apostolic
Church, in the unity of which she cannot cease to be em
braced but by lapsing into heresy or schism ; for the unity
of the Catholic Church is unity in true faith and apostolic
order. Holding the Catholic faith, and having an apostolic
ministry rightly and duly administering Christ s holy sacra
ments, this diocese possesses all that is essential to her being
as a true and valid member of the One Church Catholic and
Apostolic. With these she would have been truly in the
unity of the Church, though she had never been conjoined
with any other dioceses in a union such as that which forms
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of
America ; and having these, though in the matter of her
government she should by circumstances be dissevered from
every other diocese, her catholicity must still be perfect, and
the Church s unity in her regard unbroken. Acknowledging
" One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism" with the Universal
Church, there is between her and all other churches " unity
of spirit" in the apostolic "bond of peace." This unity no
mere political or national disturbances or revolutions can
destroy, and this bond cannot be impaired by any changes
among States or Nations.
2. Unions among churches are altogether different from
the unity of the Church. The unity of the Church is unity
in believing and doing all that God has taught, and there
fore, as a matter of divine precept, is eternal in its obli
gation ; while unions of churches are voluntary combinations
for purposes of practical expediency, and therefore may
be changed whenever sound expediency requires that they
should be dissolved.
3. And it does not appear that in the days of the apostles,
or for some time afterward, any combinations between dio
ceses were formed. It does not appear that under apostolic
direction Ephesus with its Bishop Timothy or Crete with
its Bishop Titus was formally conjoined with any other
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 343
dioceses. On the contrary, it appears, from the tenor of
Holy Scripture and the testimony of ancient authors, that
every diocese was originally independent of every other.
4. When, for reasons of expediency, unions among dio
ceses were entered into, it was by free consent among the
parties to them. Considerations of convenience required them
to be limited in their extent; and, at first of choice, after
ward by the decrees of councils, they were made coextensive
with the divisions of the empire which had been established
by the civil power. In every province the senior bishop or
the senior Church was allowed a certain precedence over the
others, and out of this grew first the metropolitical and after
ward the patriarchal arrangements of the Church.
5. At the disruption of the Roman Empire, the provincial
distribution of the Church was merged into the national.
Bishops and dioceses in every nation, being drawn together
by the influence of national affinity, combined for the common
benefit, and chiefly for the sake of liturgical uniformity, in
forming churches conterminous in jurisdiction with the na
tions to which they owed temporal allegiance.
6. It was with the element of nationality in churches that
the papacy had most to contend, and side by side with the
suppression of this principle we find the constant growth of
papal usurpations and corruptions.
7. It was natural, therefore, that the Church, when re
formed, should resume that of which Rome had robbed her j
and the fact is that the articles and canons of our mother
Church of England show her to be intensely national. Her
Articles of Subscription are such that she requires her clergy
to deny the existence in any foreigner of any power or au
thority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within the realm of Eng
land or any of her dependencies.
8. Hence the clergy of the United States after the Revolu
tion, having ceased to be subjects of the crown, ceased also to
be clergy of the Church of England ; so that the independ
ence of the churches in the colonies was of necessity included
in the independence of the colonies themselves.
9. As was to be expected, the churches of the United States,
344 APPENDIX TO CHAPTEE VII.
and the dioceses into which they were distributed, combined
to form a Church as strictly national as that of England.
After a careful study of her constitution and canons, this
committee cannot forbear arriving at the determinate con
clusion that they are of such a nature as to exclude from her
any diocese whose territory may have ceased to be a portion
of the United States.
(a) Her corporate style and designation is such as clearly to
define her territorial limits. She is the Protestant Episcopal
Church IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Her boundaries
are those of the United States, beyond which she does not
seek to include any other churches whatsoever.
(6) By the Fifth Article of her constitution, the implication
involved in her corporate designation is denned in terms. By
that article the admission of dioceses into union with the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America
is limited to dioceses formed, or to be formed, within the
States or Territories of that country; so that none can con
stitutionally be admitted which do not lie territorially within
her boundaries. It is evident that that which is an indispen
sable condition of admission to union with her, must be indis
pensable to continuance in that union. Consequently, when
the State in which our diocese is situated ceased to form a
part of the United States, that condition failing on our part,
we ceased, ipso facto, to retain that formal union with her of
which territorial position within the United States is an in
dispensable condition. Had the Church in Florida, Louisiana,
or Texas been as perfectly formed and furnished as at pres
ent, they could not, previously to the annexation of those
States to the United States, have been admitted, under this
article, to union with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States. They were admitted, because, at the time of
their application, those States lay within the .boundaries of
the United States. Having now ceased to belong to the
United States, a fair construction of the article requires us
to hold them removed beyond the jurisdiction of the Prot
estant Episcopal Church in the United States.
(c) But had any doubt been possible under Article Fifth
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 345
of the constitution, that doubt would be removed by the
express terms of Article Tenth. The Confederate States
of America form a country foreign to the United States, and
on failure of the episcopate in any of them, were we to look
to the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States for
its continuance, the facts of the case would require applica
tion to be made, not in the manner heretofore open to us,
but as is required by Article Tenth of the constitution, in
which special provision is made for the consecration of
bishops, not for foreign churches, but for foreign countries.
By this article such bishops so consecrated would not bo
eligible to the office of diocesan or assistant bishop in any
diocese of the United States, nor entitled to a seat in the
House of Bishops, nor could they lawfully exercise any epis
copal authority in those States. In other words, as bishops
of a foreign country, they could not be, nor become, bishops
of the United States, a constitutional provision evidently
reaching to bishops now in this position as well as to those
who might thus, by possibility, be placed in it. Our bishops
are now bishops of a country foreign to the United States,
and cannot, therefore, by her own constitution, be any longer
regarded as bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
the United States.
(d) If anything were yet wanting to confirm the view that
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States is most
distinctively and strictly national, it might be fully supplied
from the canon law of the Church with respect to foreign
and domestic missionary bishops. (See Title I, Canon 13,
Section 7, Clauses 1 and 5; also Section 8, Clauses 1 and
2, of the same canon.) The domestic missionary bishop
whose jurisdiction lies within the States or Territories of the
United States is entitled to a seat in the House of Bishops,
from which the foreign missionary bishop is excluded. The
former, moreover, is eligible to the episcopate of a vacant
diocese in the United States ; the latter is ineligible but with
the consent of three fourths of the bishops, clergy, and laity
of the Church in general convention assembled. Thus of
two bishops elected and consecrated in the same way and by
346 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
the same parties, and governed by the canons of the same
convention, the one, because his jurisdiction lies within the
United States, is invested with the right of voice and vote
in the convention by which he is governed, besides other
important privileges from which the other is excluded, for no
other reason than that he is called to exercise his functions in
a foreign land.
From all these considerations, and others too numerous to
be embraced in the limits of this report, the committee feel
themselves compelled to the conclusion that, whereas the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America
is, and was rightly intended to be, a strictly national body,
into which the diocese of Louisiana was admitted because at
the time of her admission the State of Louisiana formed
a portion of the United States; and whereas Louisiana has
dissolved the union formerly existing between her and the
United States, and so has separated from that nation, there
fore the diocese of Louisiana has ceased to belong to the
national Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of
America. And whereas the State of Louisiana has entered
into a new confederacy, and is now part of a new nation,
therefore as the highest expediency has, from very early
times, prompted such confederations among adjacent dio
ceses of the Catholic Church as might advance the common
welfare; and as nature and experience,, no less than the high
est prudence, teach that such confederations should be na
tional, like that in the United States, therefore this diocese,
in the opinion of this committee, ought, in the exercise of
that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, to take such
steps as may be necessary to the formation of a national
Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of
America.
It is needless, after what has been previously said, that
the committee should declare that so far as Louisiana is
concerned, the unity of the Church is unbroken; nor need
the committee frame new words to express the never-failing
love which every member of this diocese must always have
for our brethren of the Church in the United States. We
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 347
prefer, in this connection, to adopt the words of our Right
Reverend Father, as we find them in his pastoral letters.
They represent the cherished sentiments of every churchman
in the diocese :
" It is our happiness to know that in canvassing the sum of
the political grievances of which we have complained, we find
no contribution made to it by brethren of our own household.
Our Church in the non-slaveholding States, as everywhere,
has been loyal to the constitution and the laws. Her sound
conservative teaching and her well-ordered organization have
held her steadily to her proper work, and she has confined
herself simply to preaching and teaching the gospel of Christ.
Surrounded by a strong pressure on every side, she has suc
cessfully resisted its power, and has refused to lend the aid
of her conventions, her pulpits, and her presses to the radical
and unscriptural propagandisrn which has so degraded Chris
tianity and plunged our country into its unhappy condition.
" In withdrawing ourselves, therefore, from all political con
nection with the union to which our brethren belong, we do
so with hearts filled with sorrow at the prospect of its forcing
a termination of our ecclesiastical connection with them also,
and that we shall be separated from those whose intelligence,
patriotism, Christian integrity and piety we have long known,
and for whom we entertain sincere respect and affection.
" Our separation from our brethren of the Protestant Epis
copal Church in the United States has been effected because
we must follow our nationality. Not because there has been
any difference of opinion as to Christian doctrine or catholic
usage. Upon these points we are still one. With us it is a
separation, not division, certainly not alienation. And there
is no reason why, if we should find the union of our dioceses
under one national Church impracticable, we should cease
to feel for each other the respect and regard with which
purity of manners, high principle, and a manly devotion
to truth never fail to inspire generous minds."
It remains, then, only that the committee should present
this most important subject for the action of the convention
in the form of resolutions.
348 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
RESOLUTIONS.
Whereas, The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United
States of America is, and was rightly intended to be, a
strictly national body, not admitting into union with it dio
ceses situated in foreign countries ;
And whereas, The State of Louisiana has by ordinance dis
solved the union formerly existing between it and the United
States of America, thereby making the State of Louisiana
foreign to the United States; therefore,
Resolved, That the Diocese of Louisiana has ceased to be a
diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United
States of America.
But whereas, The universal experience of the Catholic
Church has from a very early time shown the necessity of
such local combinations among dioceses as might advance the
common welfare j
And whereas, Reasons of the highest expediency demand
that the Church in this respect should follow the nationalities
which in the order of Divine Providence may be raised up ;
therefore,
Resolved, That the Diocese of Louisiana, loyal to the doc
trine, discipline, and example of the holy Catholic Church, and
closely following the model of our mother Church of England
and of our sister dioceses in the United States, is desirous of
entering into union with the remaining dioceses of the Con
federate States for the formation of a national Protestant
Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America.
Resolved further, That this convention will appoint delegates
to represent the diocese in a convention of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America, to be
held at Montgomery, in the State and Diocese of Alabama, on
the third day of July next.
All which is respectfully submitted.
(Signed.} C. S. HEDGES, D.D. GEORGE S. GUION.
W. T. LEACOCK, D.D. HENRY JOHNSON.
DAN L S. LEWIS, D.D. ALEX. MONTGOMERY.
JOHN FULTON. W. J. LYLE.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII. 349
On motion of Dr. J. P. Davidson, the report of the committee
was received, and the convention proceeded to the considera
tion of the resolutions therein proposed for adoption. The
resolutions were then, on motion of the Rev. John Fulton,
seconded by Dr. Lyle, severally put, and, without amendment,
carried.
CHAPTER VIII.
LEONIDAS POLK AGAIN A SOLDIER.
MAY TO JULY, 1861.
The war crisis following secession. Men of all professions drawn into
the southern Army. The defenses of the Mississippi. ;orrespond-
ence with Mr. Davis. Soldierly qualities. Anecdote. Trip to Vir
ginia. Tour of the camps. Divine services and confirmation. Visit
to Bishop Meade. Military service proposed. Mr. Davis offers to
definite command. The proposal urged by a delegation from the
Mississippi Valley. Albert Sidney Johnston. Commissioned as major-
general in the provisional army. Patriotic motives in accepting. A
matter of conscience. Approval of Bishop Meade and others. Letter
to Mrs. Polk. Letters to Bishop Elliott. Promise of an early return to
Church work. Sword and gown anecdote. Bishop Folk s high esti
mate of the episcopal dignity. Anecdotes. The bishopric not re
signed, but its duties laid aside while in the army. Aid in diocesan
work from Bishops Otey, Elliott, and Lay. The priestly function.
Views of Churchmen on Bishop Folk s entering the army generally
favorable. Strong expressions of approval and esteem from Bishops
Meade, Elliott, Otey, and others. Letter from Bishop Hopkins. Let
ter to Dr. John Fulton. Commission resigned. Letter to Mr. Davis;
to General A. S. Johnston. Reply from Mr. Davis; from Mr. Mem-
minger ; from Bishop Meade ; from Bishop Otey. Extract from Bishop
Otey s diary. Resignation withdrawn and again forwarded. Remon
strances by Mr. Davis and others. Summary view.
During the early months of 1861 the polemics of
tongue and pen were rapidly changing at the South to
the polemics of the sword. Before secession became
an accomplished act there were, among representative
Southern men and among the people, radical differences
of opinion, based upon policy and sentiment, as to the
350
JEt. 55] THE CALL TO AEMS. 351
proposed separation. Wlien the swift march of events
had shown that the sectional debate, which had been
growing in intensity and bitterness for half a century,
was to be argued out in the forum of war, such differ
ences were swept into the limbo of dead issues. After
the Provisional Congress had met in Montgomery, all
the best talent and experience of the seceding States,
with rare exceptions, drifted, as by an impulse of neces
sity and of self-preservation, to the support of the Con
federate Government.
The martial spirit was everywhere abroad. Men of
all temperaments, of all previous opinions, and of all
professions began to take arms. Political preferments
and that leadership in civil affairs which southern men
had hitherto sought with eagerness were no longer
thought of. The post of duty and honor was felt to be
in the army and at the front. The consideration even
of military rank was set aside. Young men of the high
est social position who had learned the manual of arms
in the holiday volunteer corps were expected to carry
their muskets and guard the trenches, and they went
with alacrity. Upon men of military education or ex
perience the call was even more peremptory. From
cadets who could be assigned to drill recruits, to soldiers
who were competent to command brigades and divisions,
all who could give aid in setting the newly gathered
armies in the field were eagerly sought, and were ex
pected to accept command.
In such a crisis and in such an atmosphere it was im
possible for a man of Bishop Polk s education and char
acter to take sanctuary behind the precedents which
govern men of his sacred calling in quieter times. We
have seen the promptness with which he had met the
ecclesiastical crisis created by the secession of Louisiana,
352 LETTER FROM PRESIDENT DAVIS. [1861
and the earnestness and force with which he had pressed
upon President Buchanan the certainty that coercive
measures against the seceding States would precipitate
a bloody war. When the war he had foreseen had been
actually begun, he knew that prompt and energetic mea
sures of defense were necessary to resist invasion ; and
his military education and knowledge of the country
enabled him to tell precisely where the defense of the
South would be most difficult.
On the 14th of May he addressed a letter to President
Davis 011 the exposed condition of the Valley States.
At the outbreak of hostilities troops and arms had been
hurried from all parts of the South to resist the Federal
advance into Virginia ; but to the eye of a soldier it was
clear that a tremendous struggle for the possession of
the Mississippi River must presently begin. Mr. Davis
did not underestimate the importance of that great high
way of commerce, nor the danger with which it was
menaced, but he could do little more at that time than
meet the necessities of preparation for the impending
Virginia campaign. His reply was written a few days
before the removal of the seat of government to Rich
mond.
MONTGOMERY, ALA., May 22, 1861.
Dear Sir : Your kind letter of the 14th inst. has been re
ceived. Your solicitude for the defense and safety of the
Mississippi Valley is natural ; but I think it is in no present
danger. An invasion will hardly be attempted at this season
of the year. The people of the northwestern States have so
great a dread of our climate that they could not be prevailed
on to march against us. Even if they did, due precautions
have been taken by sending guns to different positions deemed
most favorable, and by assembling troops at Union City and
Corinth to sustain the batteries on the river and meet any
Mi, 55] A NATURAL LEADER. 353
column sent into the interior. It would gratify me very much
to see you. Accept my thanks for pious wishes, and believe
me Ever your sincere friend,
JEFFN. DAVIS.
RT. REV. LEONIDAS POLK.
Whether the appointment of Bishop Polk to a military
command in the West had been suggested to President
Davis before the date of this letter, the writer has no
means of knowing. The expression of a desire to see
the bishop may indicate that the subject was already
under consideration, or it may mean simply that the
President would be pleased to have a personal consulta
tion with a prominent citizen of Louisiana, who was his
personal friend, and who had been much consulted by
the people on the military situation.
Throughout the lower Mississippi Valley, where the
bishop was well known to the whole people, either per
sonally or by reputation, a desire that he should aid in
the defense of their property and their homes began to
be felt and expressed almost from the hour when the
hope of peaceable secession was abandoned. It was no
secret that his natural bent of mind and character was
rather that of a soldier than of a priest, and that he had
entered the ministry under a deep conviction of religious
duty, not because the quiet life of a clergyman was more
congenial to him than the arduous and stirring life of a
soldier. His family connections and long residence in
Tennessee, his travels far and wide in the extensive mis
sionary jurisdiction of the Southwest, and his position
as Bishop of Louisiana, had made him one of the best-
known men in the States of the Confederacy bordering
upon the Mississippi River ; and, wherever known, Polk
was recognized and remembered as possessing the quali
ties of a natural leader. The impression he made on
354 VISIT TO PRESIDENT DAVIS. [1861
casual and very humble acquaintances was remarkable j
and an anecdote which was current during the war goes
far to illustrate the origin of the instinctive popular con
fidence in his fitness for high military command. Trav
eling on horseback in one of his episcopal visitations, he
stopped for the night at a country inn, when his host at
once addressed him as " General."
"No, my friend/ 7 said Polk, "you are mistaken; I am
not a soldier."
" Judge, then," hazarded the innkeeper.
" That is not the title given me by those who know
me," replied Polk, beginning to be amused.
"Well, Bishop, then !"
" Right," said Polk, laughing.
To which the other rejoined, " I knew you were at the
head of your profession, whatever it was."
His habitual promptness and vigor in action, his man
ifest conscientiousness and absolute fearlessness in the
performance of duty, and a certain air of soldierly com
mand that characterized his whole bearing, caused him
to be noted from the first as a man to whom his fellow-
citizens must look for counsel and leadership in the
dark and dangerous crisis into which they had been
brought.
Visiting Sewanee in the month of May on business of
the university, Governor Isham G. Harris of Tennessee
requested him to go to President Davis at Richmond
and urge that prompt measures might be taken for the
defense of the Mississippi Valley. Early in June he went
to Richmond, partly, as he wrote to Bishop Elliott, " to see
my young churchmen in the several Louisiana regiments
all over Virginia," and partly, at the request of Governor
Harris, to visit President Davis and to use his knowledge
and influence in completing the armament and equip-
Mi. 55] URGED TO JOIN THE ARMY. 355
ment of the Tennessee troops. The following letter to
Mrs. Polk was written at this time :
RICHMOND, VA V June 10, 1861.
My dear Wife : I am quite well, and have had good reason
to know that my visit here has been of decided use to our
cause in several important particulars. I have dined with
Davis and members of his Cabinet, and have had full corre
spondence with him, in which I discussed matters pertaining
to our affairs with great freedom and fullness. He has re
ceived me with great kindness and confidence, and I think the
interview will not be otherwise than productive of good re
sults. He is the best man we could have, and commands
general confidence. We want, and he wants, General A. S.
Johnston badly. He has not yet arrived. I have had several
interviews with General Lee. He is a highly accomplished
man. Johnston is expected shortly. Joe Johnston is at
Harper s Ferry. John Magruder is at Hampton. Beaure-
gard is at Manassas Gap ; Garnet in Northwestern Virginia,
toward Wheeling ; Wise in the direction of the Kanawha Val
ley. Davis will take the field in person when the movement
is to be made. I am doing what I can to serve Tennessee, and
getting her field-batteries, which are of the first importance,
and. also helping in some other respects.
After a stay of eight or ten days in Richmond he
visited Norfolk, Yorktown, Bethel Church, Manassas,
Winchester, and the camps around Richmond, holding
divine service for the soldiers and confirming not a few.
He met many old friends from Louisiana and other
States, and many officers who had resigned their com
missions in the Federal Army ; and all pressed him to
take service with the Confederacy. In his visits to Mr.
Davis to deliver Governor Harris s message and to renew
the recommendations made in his own letter of May
14th, he warmly urged that Albert Sidney Johnston was
the fittest person to be entrusted with the Department of
356 OFFEE OF A COMMISSION. [1861
the West. But at that moment Johnston was on the
Pacific Coast awaiting an opportunity to begin his famous
journey across the desert from Los Angeles to the Rio
Grande. Davis offered the command to Polk himself j
but Polk declined, and shortly afterward Mr. Davis ad
dressed to him the following friendly letter, renewing
his proposal and stating the extent of the boundaries of
the proposed command.
My dear Friend: Would it be agreeable to you, with the rank
of brigadier-general, to have command of the land and water
defenses of the Mississippi River above the mouth of Red
River as far as our power may bear our jurisdiction "? The
department would include the river counties of Mississippi
and Arkansas, the river parishes of Louisiana north of the
Red River, and that part of West Tennessee west and south
of the Tennessee River.
This letter was followed a few days later by a formal
note from the President, urging Polk to accept the com
mission of major-general with substantially the same
duties. A delegation of gentlemen from the Mississippi
Valley, all of whom were personally acquainted with
Polk, was then in Virginia asking for the immediate
appointment of an officer to defend the river country,
and unanimously urged him to accept the President s
appointment. Of the affair at this stage Bishop Polk
gave the following account in a letter to Mrs. Polk,
dated Richmond, June 19th :
I find there is a great wish on the part of my friends that I
should take part in this movement. The expression is very
general, and the President has twice brought it before me.
He is very desirous for me to accept a commission in the Con
federate Army, and has urged many considerations for my
compliance. A number of New Orleans people seem to de-
Mt. 55] A QUESTION OF DUTY. 357
sire it also, as well as many of my military friends. I have
said I could give no answer to this now. No man is more
deeply impressed with the paramount importance of our suc
cess in this movement, nor more filled with apprehension at
the prospect of its failure ; but what my duty may be I have
not yet determined. I cannot ignore what I know j I cannot
forget what I have learned; nor can I forget I have been
educated by the country for its service in certain contingen
cies. Yet I feel the step to which I have been invited is one
of the very gravest character in all its bearings all the way
around, and I am not going to decide it hastily. Whatever
may be the result, I hope I may be guided from on High in
determining, and I trust, in any event, I may be permitted to
see my way clear before me.
On the 22d of June the delegation from the Missis
sippi Valley returned to Richmond after a visit to the
military stations in Virginia, and renewed their petitions
to Polk. The question of entering the army had then
been definitely before him for a week. Believing the
cause of the South to be a righteous one, he never for a
moment doubted that to draw the sword in its defense
would be consistent with his vows to the Church. On
the contrary, his letters of this period contain ample
evidence that he felt that duty required him to do so if
his services ivere really needed. This was the one question
to which he prayerfully sought a true answer, and on
which he took advice. All the rest lay between him
and his God. Upon the right or the wrong of the step,
as a matter of conscience, lie never consulted any man.
Reserving the final decision to himself, lie conferred
with judicious friends in the Church and in the civil and
military service of the Confederacy ; and he came to the
conclusion that, under all the circumstances, he could
not stand excused in his own judgment and conscience
if he were to decline. In making his decision known to
358 COMMISSIONED MAJOE-GENEEAL. [1861
Mr. Davis, he said that he would gladly be excused from
the arduous and responsible task set before him; but
that if another, better qualified, could not be found, he
would not shrink from it. His commission as major-
general was issued on the 25th of June, 1861, and a few
days later he set out to take command of his department,
with headquarters in Memphis.
In the following letters to Mrs. Polk and Bishop Elliott
he narrates what had occurred between the 19th and
the 22d of June, gives an account of a visit to Bishop
Meade, and tells his own feelings in consenting to enter
the army.
RICHMOND, June 22, 1861.
My beloved Wife: I wrote you a few days ago from this
place ; I hope you received my letter. Since writing, I have
been to Manassas Junction, and to the Valley of Virginia,
near Winchester. I have also spent a day with Bishop
Meade at his house near Millwood.
I told you in my last letter that I had been urgently
solicited by many persons of consideration to lend the aid of
my influence my name and personal services to this
great cause. These solicitations have been extended and
widened, and many pleasant sayings reach me from my old
friends and others in high station as to the importance of allow
ing myself to take part, actively, in this as they say all-
important movement. I dare not write what is said of their
estimate of my capacity to serve the country in this emergency,
nor is it at all necessary.
You know my heart is in it, and that I would do anything
that was not wrong to serve it ; and yet I believe I have a low
estimate of my ability, and should fear to attempt what I
could not well execute supposing all that was questionable
as to the propriety of the matter out of the way. As to the
latter phase of the question, I had a long talk with Bishop
Meade. His reply was, under all the circumstances of the
case, taking my education, history, and natural character into
the account, he could not condemn it. He was not expected to
/Et. 55] " THE DUTY NEXT HIM." 359
advise it. Since writing you last, a deputation of gentlemen
have arrived from the Valley of the Mississippi, sent by a
large meeting held there, to ask the President to appoint a
military commander to the charge of that region. These
gentlemen have come to me, and unanimously urged upon me
to allow myself to be appointed to that office.
This they did before I left town three days ago. I have
just returned to town, and they have been after me again.
I have now had this matter before me a week, and have
thought and prayed over it, and taken counsel of the most
judicious of my friends, and I find my mind unable to say
No to this call, for it seems to be a call of Providence. I
shall, therefore, looking to God for his guidance and bless
ing, say to President Davis that I will do what I can for
my country, our hearth-stones, and our altars, and he may
appoint me to the office he proposed. And may the Lord
have mercy upon me, and help me to be wise, to be saga
cious, to be firm, to be merciful, and to be filled with all the
knowledge and all the graces necessary to qualify me to fill
the office to his glory and the good of men. I shall see
President Davis this evening and shall leave for Maury
next week.
We shall have an attack on Alexandria next week, also a
battle in the neighborhood of York shortly. Everybody is
in good spirits and filled with resolution to free our country
of the invader.
Affectionately yours,
L. POLK.
RICHMOND, June 22, 1861.
My dear Elliott: I have been in Virginia about a fort
night; came to see my young churchmen in the several
Louisiana regiments all over Virginia. I have visited Nor
folk, Yorktown, Bethel Church, Manassas, and Winchester,
also the camp near the city. Louisiana has turned out
about 12,000, and they are the flower of our youth j a fine,
gallant set of fellows they are, of whom I feel proud. I
came also to assist in completing the armament of Ten
nessee, at the instance of Governor Harris. This latter
360 LETTER TO BISHOP ELLIOTT. [1861
work, so far as field-artillery (their greatest need) is con
sidered, is now pretty well complete. Say to Hettie 1 that
the old North State has got through with her thinking, and,
as I promised, has gone to working, and the Bethel affair,
which, by the way, was conducted in chief part by two
Mecklenburg companies, is but an earnest of the sort of work
she is to do when she gets wide awake.
I have just returned from a visit to old Father Meade.
We talked over everything connected with Church and State.
He is right, wonderfully right, all the way round. I was
delighted with him. He is a regular old Roman, and is
quite ready to be southern all through. He is for a down
right good fight, and w 7 ants the enemy to feel the weight
of our arm. He is for no half-way measures, and so was very
refreshing. His clergy, too, are of the same view.
None of the delegation from Virginia will feel at liberty
to leave home for Montgomery on account of the war. The
convention must meet and adjourn. I fear I cannot be at the
convention. The North seems bent on overrunning the coun
try and sponging us out at all hazards. I find many of my
friends in and out of the Church, and in and out of my dio
cese, pressing me to take military service. The President,
Davis, also, has again and again called my attention to it, and
proposed it. At last, he has in a formal manner addressed me
a note urging the acceptance of the office of major-general, to
be charged with the water and land defenses of the Mississippi
River, from our upper boundary down to the mouth of Red
River. All this has embarrassed me not a little, and this
embarrassment has been increased to-day by the appear
ance in Richmond of a committee of gentlemen from the
Valley of the Mississippi, who came to ask Davis for some
one to take charge of its defenses. They are all known to
me, and have united in urging this appointment upon me.
The matter has been before me for a week. I have con
sulted some judicious friends in and out of the Church,
among them old Father Meade. He says as a general rule
he could not sanction it, but that all rules have exceptions,
i A daughter of Bishop Elliott.
Mi. 55] FOE CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY. 361
and, taking all things into consideration as they relate to
the condition of the country and myself personally, he could
not condemn my course if I should accept the appointment.
I wanted a view of the matter from his standpoint. The
decision I reserved for myself. Under all the circumstances I
cannot see how I could stand excused in my own judgment
and conscience in declining it. I have therefore told Davis
that while I should be glad to be excused from the respon
sibility, still, if he can find no one who could perform the
work he desires to have done better, I will not shrink from
it, notwithstanding an unfeigned diffidence of my capacity
to do it as it should be done.
I believe most solemnly that it is for Constitutional liberty,
which seems to have fled to us for refuge, for our hearth- stones,
and our altars that we strike. I hope I shall be supported in
the work and have grace to do my duty.
As to my diocese, I have, of course, not had time to con
sult it, nor would I have done so if I had. This is such a
case as I should, I think, decide for myself. I shall not
resign my charge of it, but shall write them that I have
undertaken this work because it seemed the duty next me, a duty
I trust God will allow me to get through with without delay,
that I may return to chosen and usual work. My beloved
brother, let me have the benefit of your prayers, that I may
be preserved and supported. Write me also to Memphis
all that you think of the matter. That, for some time to
come, will be my headquarters. I shall decline acting
as agent for the university ; while the war lasts, I can do
nothing, and do not, in that case, think it right to hold
the office.
Our future is in God s hands : let us be content to leave it
with him, and hope he may let us see more of each other in
the future.
Mr. Davis perfectly understood the spirit in which
Polk accepted the duty which had been thrust upon him,
as the following extract from a letter from Mr. Davis to
the writer very clearly shows :
362 "THE SW02W OVER THE GOWN." [1861
I have said your father was my esteemed friend ; but I will
add I not only honored and held him in the highest estimation,
I loved him. With such relation you will not be surprised
at my solicitude that the "history of his military career," which
you inform me is being written, should be so full as to do
justice to his services and noble character. As he told me,
when I tendered him a commission, it was amor pro aris et
focis; like a Christian he entered on a patriot s duty.
Profound satisfaction at the step Polk had taken was
felt and expressed on all sides. In humorous allusion to
Polk and General Gideon Pillow, the Teunesseans said
that they were safe now, since they had the " sword of
the Lord and of Gideon " to defend them. As he was
descending the steps of the Capitol at Richmond a gen
tleman of his acquaintance stopped him to congratulate
him on his "promotion." "Pardon me/ said Polk
gravely j " I do not consider it a promotion. The highest
office on earth is that of a bishop in the Church of God."
Another friend half seriously exclaimed to him, " What !
you, a bishop, throw off the gown for the sword ! " " No,
sir," was the instant reply, " I buckle the sword over the
gown." In this laconic phrase the sentiment and pur
pose of the bishop in taking arms as a soldier were
truly as well as felicitously expressed ; and they were
never changed. Only a few days before he fell on Pine
Mountain, he said to a friend, " I feel like a man whose
house is on fire, and who has left his business to put it
out. As soon as the war is over I shall return to my
proper calling."
It is to be remembered that when Polk took service it
was distinctly to meet the temporary emergency for
which the " provisional army " under his command was
organized. He consented to command it only until a
suitable successor could be found ; and he had the ex-
] PROVISION FOR THE FLOCK. 363
plicit promise of the President that he should be released
from service at the earliest possible time. From first to
last he regarded his military occupation as a painful
interruption of his sacred labors in the ministry ; but so
long as it pleased divine Providence to continue that
interruption, he considered it his duty to devote himself
exclusively to "the work that lay next him." For the
present, therefore, while he was intensely interested in
the progress of ecclesiastical affairs, he took no personal
part in directing them. On the 22d of June, before his
commission was issued, but after he had consented to
accept it, he wrote to Bishop Elliott that he would not
be able to attend the convention which was about to
meet at Montgomery, and which he and Elliott had done
so much to promote. In the circumstances which had
arisen, the convention must do what it might find to do
without him. For him, he said, there was now " sterner
work on hand." He provided for the care of his people
by accepting the brotherly offers of Bishops Elliott,
Otey, and Lay to visit his parishes ; and so, committing
his flock to the care of Almighty God and faithful breth
ren, he applied himself to the work to which he firmly
believed that God had specially called him. Thencefor
ward, until his death, he exercised no episcopal function
or jurisdiction ; and he felt it to be right to abstain
from all functions which are peculiar to the sacred min
istry. Therefore, while the influence of his Christian
example was deeply felt by his associates and by the
armies under his command, there were only four occa
sions on which he permitted himself to officiate as a
priest. One of these was at the death-bed of the gallant
Major Edward Butler, who fell at Belmont ; his second
clerical act was to perform the wedding ceremony at the
marriage of General John Morgan ; the third, pel-formed
364 FOLK S HEART IN THE CHURCH. [1861
within a month of his death, was the baptism of General
Hood ; and the fourth was the baptism of General Joe
Johnston a few days later.
If General Polk did not exercise the jurisdiction of a
bishop, and if lie thought it proper to abstain from other
functions of the ministry, it was not of voluntary choice,
but from a sense of fitness. His heart was with his peo
ple, his best affections went out to his brethren of the
ministry. As the days grew into months, and months
into years, his love for them grew only stronger. Thus,
on May 4, 1863, he wrote to Bishop Elliott :
HEADQUARTERS, FOLK S CORPS, May 4, 1863.
My dear Elliott : Dr. Quintard goes to the meeting of the
council, and I write by him. How I should like to be with
you ! but I cannot yet. Quiutard will tell you how things are
with us, and how we long to see you and commune with you
and our dear brethren generally; but we cannot yet. And
yet what a relief it would be ! Can you riot come and see
me ? My feet are fast in the stocks, and I cannot get to see
you ! I think, too, you might do great good by coming.
Come up and preach for us, and visit us, and administer the
communion to us, and confirm our young people and old.
You cannot spend a week or so more profitably. Come and
bring Wilmer with you and " refresh our bowels "; for we
many times feel greatly the need of such refreshing.
Something should be done for the children of the Church in
the army ; very little or nothing is being done. Can you not
send us some clergymen ? I am amazed that so few are
found willing to labor in such a cause. What higher or holier
could they ask ?
I fear our brother Otey is approaching his last days. I
hear he is in bed and cannot well get out again. But I had
rather talk with you than write you, so come and let us see
you face to face.
I think you and Wilmer, who are both so near us, might
come and see u how we do."
^t. 55] A STARTLED CLERGY. 365
Nevertheless, the unusual, though surely not unprece
dented, step of a bishop " buckling the sword over the
gown " could not but call forth criticism. At the North
it was unsparingly condemned, of course; but even
at the North there were those who could do justice
to the man while deeply regretting the course he had
thought it right to take. Thus, after Folk s death, the
venerable Hopkins, Presiding Bishop of the Church in
the United States, wrote in these terms to Mrs. Polk :
I deeply regretted your dear husband s act in accepting a
general s commission in the army j but I never doubted that
he was governed by the purest conscientious desire to do
what he regarded as his duty to God and to his country
The spirit of a Christian martyr was an element in his lofty
character, and while I could not have seen the case in the
same light, I was well persuaded that he regarded his course
as a sacrifice laid on the altar of truth, and went forth believ
ing himself to be called to wield the sword of the Lord and
of Gideon. To our beloved brethren in the South he has left
a legacy of zeal and devotion never surpassed and rarely
equaled in the whole range of human history. And the
memory of his labors for the Church, and his sacrifices in the
cause of independence, will be cherished in the hearts of
thousands through future generations, after the false glory of
worldly triumphs shall have passed away.
The southern bishops and other clergy were startled
at first at the news that the Bishop of Louisiana had
accepted a military command, and not a few of them
regretted it. But there was not one who doubted the
unselfishness or the integrity of purpose by which he
had been actuated, and it was not long before the great
majority of them came to feel that for Leonidas Polk to
have taken any other course would have been nearly or
quite an impossibility. A quaint letter from Bishop
366 BISHOP HEADERS VIEWS. [18G1
Meade of Virginia expresses a state of mind which was
very general in August, 1861 :
I see it has gotten into the northern papers that you came
to see me on the subject of accepting office in the army, and
that I said you were already in high office in the army of the
Lord, the Church; but that the result was your acceptance;
leaving the impression, either that you felt bound to engage in
the war, or that I was not much opposed, or both. This is,
I presume, about the right conclusion. Ever since you left
me I have felt a strong interest in the movement j and now
that you are actually in the field, I feel an earnest desire to
hear of all your movements, and of the state of things in that
part of our country in which you are appointed as a home
guard on a most extensive scale. I wish you would once
a week just drop me a line about your movements and pros
pects. A few moments will answer for this, and will afford
me much relief and satisfaction.
Bishop Elliott expressed the same view as that taken
by Bishop Meade. "My opinion," he said, "coincides
very much with that of Bishop Meade, that, as a gen
eral thing, it was inexpedient, but in your particular
case, and under the circumstances of our western coun
try, very defensible. I am jealous for you with a great
jealousy, and shall watch for you with great vigilance
and love." Among the clergy in general much the same
feeling prevailed. Whatever any one might think of
the abstract question of the clergy taking arms, no one
pretended to blame Polk or to pronounce judgment
upon him. All sorts of letters were poured in upon him
expressing the mingled admiration and perplexity of the
writers. One correspondent frankly declared that the
report had " taken his breath away," but added that after
reflection he had been convinced of the moral heroism of
the step that had been taken, and closed his letter with
Ml. 55] OTEY S ESTIMATE OF POLK. 367
the expression of a regret that the lack of a military
education should prevent his following Folk s example !
The warm-hearted Dr. Leacock, rector of Christ Church,
New Orleans, confessed to an amusing inward conflict
between his conviction that Polk must have been right
and a fear that he might have been carried away by the
impetuosity "Polkism," Leacock called it of his fer
vent nature, and he said, " The whole cannonade of the
North could not have shaken me more than the an
nouncement of your course, but I stood the fire because
I had confidence in my leader." As time passed, all
these discussions ceased, and from all sides Polk was
cheered by communications breathing nothing but af
fectionate admiration. After a time Bishop Meade de
fended his action " against all objections, as an excep
tion to a general rule, imperiously demanded by the
emergencies of the country." Bishop Otey, of Tennes
see, was one of those, as his daughter writes, who " al
ways upheld and justified Bishop Polk for the step he
took in becoming a soldier." He visited Polk at Colum
bus, and while there made the following entry in his
diary: " I slept with General Polk last night, and had
much interesting and gratifying conversation with him,
especially concerning his position and his earnest desire
to be relieved from it. We had sweet communion in
prayer morning and night. He stands higher in my
esteem than ever." And later on, when almost crushed
by the miseries of his people, exiled from home, and
slowly sinking into his grave, he wrote to Polk under
date of July 15, 1862 :
My dear Brother : I have endeavored to be with you daily
and nightly in spirit, invoking God s protection in all dangers,
his guidance in all difficulties, his support under all your
368 LETTERS FROM ELLIOTT. [1861
trials, his grace to comfort you in all your sorrows. I can
do no more. What a pleasure it will be to see your face once
more.
But Elliott, the brother of his heart, was his most con
stant correspondent, and Elliott voiced the feeling of all
his brethren. On October 3, 1861, he wrote :
"We have been most anxiously watching events in your
part of the military field, and must say that you have exhib
ited more nerve and activity than has been displayed any
where else. . . . Your letters, and especially your refusal to
fall back from Columbus, have given us unfeigned delight."
After the battle of Murfreesboro, Bishop Elliott wrote
again :
January 9, 1863.
Most heartily do I thank God for the glorious victory, for
the gallantry which distinguished you, and for your personal
safety. . . . We have been in a state of great tumult for the
last week over this battle and yourself. All send you their
warmest love and admiration. . . . And now, my more than
brother, may God have you in his holy care and keeping;
may he watch over and guard you and yours, and preserve
you unharmed through this cruel war; and may we often meet
over peaceful firesides to recall the horrors of this period, and
to thank God for all his mercies toward us. I have come
to this new year, and so have you, with an unbroken circle,
and we of all men should be most thankful, for we have had
representatives upon almost every battlefield.
While Polk was not a man to be moved from what he
held to be his duty by the censure of others, he was
deeply gratified by the approval of men whom he es
teemed, and he was anxious to be understood by them.
He was particularly anxious that it should be known
that he was only meeting an emergency, and that in
55] WAITING FOR RELIEF. 369
taking a command he had not been dazzled by dreams
of military glory, but had simply accepted what he be
lieved to be an imperative, though exceptional, duty. To
one of his younger clergy who had been his assistant
rector, and had succeeded him as rector of Trinity
Church, New Orleans, and who had written him on De
cember 25, 1861, he returned the following reply :
COLUMBUS, KY., February 4, 1862.
My dear Fulton : I have received your kind letter of Christ
mas Day, and have not had a moment I could call my own to
reply to it before.
I thank you for the cordial sympathy and confidence it
breathes. Such things and I am glad to say I have had many
such are a great cordial to the soul, and help to support one
in the discharge of duty. My life is one of unceasing toil and
anxiety. The work I do is without intermission, and all
indispensable. How I stand up under it is a matter of sur
prise to many, not less than myself. But I have been won
derfully sustained. I took the office only to fill a gap, only
because the President, as he said, could find no one to whom
he could with satisfaction devolve its duties. I have always
regarded myself as a locum tenens, and have ever been desirous
to have some one make his appearance, of competent ability,
and with a commission to relieve me. As yet I have waited
in vain for the man to take my post and let me return to my
cherished work. I have labored as though I regarded my
employment as permanent, while I have been encouraged and
promised it should be terminated " as soon as practicable," and
if the relief cannot be found, I shall go on, by God s blessing,
with fidelity to the end. I hope you are all getting on well
with your flocks. I think of you all and carry you in my
heart with earnest remembrance day by day. May the good
Lord take care of you all. I have asked Bishops Otey and
Lay to make a visitation of the churches of my diocese for
me, and hope they may do so. I have written the Standing
Committee to that effect.
370 APPOINTMENT OF JOHNSTON. [1861
Give my love to all the brethren and the members of your
iloek, and believe me, very truly and faithfully,
Yours in Christ,
LEONIDAS POLK.
In his letter to Mr. Fulton, as in other letters, Leonidas
Polk was at pains to express his strong desire to be re
lieved from his military charge and to return to his "cher
ished work." But he did not tell the steps he had already
taken to secure relief, and he gave no hint that he was
even then renewing his efforts to the same end. Before
entering on the history of his campaigns, the present
seems to be the proper place in which to tell that part
of his story.
On the appointment of General Albert Sidney John
ston to the command of the Southwest in September,
1861, the necessity which had required Polk to enter the
army seemed to have been removed. Johnston was a
soldier of the highest reputation, of large experience,
implicitly trusted by the government, and almost wor
shiped by the troops under his command. He was the
friend of Polk s youth and the man whose appointment
he had urged, in preference to all others, as the com
mander of that department. Polk felt, therefore, that
the time had come when he might properly resign his
commission. Accordingly, as soon as he had finished
some important work in which he was engaged, he sent
his resignation to the President. The letter is here
given:
HEADQUARTERS, IST DIVISION, WESTERN DEPARTMENT,
COLUMBUS, KY., Nov. 6, 1861.
Sir: You will remember with what reluctance I consented
to accept the commission of major-general in the provisional
army. You will remember also that the considerations in
ducing my acceptance were the duty which I felt I owed the
Mt. 55] TENDER OF RESIGNATION. 371
country at whose hands I had received a military education,
in connection with the difficulty of your finding a commander
to whom you were willing to entrust the department you
wished to assign to me. These considerations, supported by
the conviction that " resistance to tyrants is duty to God,"
warranted my turning aside from employments far more con
genial to my feelings and tastes, to devote myself for the time
to the military service of the country.
I have been in that service now more than four months,
and have devoted myself with untiring constancy to the duties
of my office, with what efficiency and success the country must
judge.
Within the last few weeks you have been able to avail
yourself of a distinguished military commander, our mutual
friend, who was not in the country at the date of my appoint
ment, upon whom you have devolved, partly at my instance,
the duties of the office I consented to fill.
It will be agreed, I believe, upon all hands, that a more
judicious selection could not have been made, and that his
military knowledge and experience will supply all that was
needed. I have been willing to remain as second in command
until the fortifications at Fort Pillow and at this very impor
tant point are completed. This has now been substantially
accomplished, and I feel that, as the necessity which induced
me to take office no longer exists, and as the other general
officers with whom I have been associated are men of ability
and experience, I may be permitted to retire and resume my
former pursuits.
I beg leave, therefore, to tender to you my resignation of
my commission as major-general of the provisional army of
the Confederate States.
I remain, respectfully, your obedient servant,
L. POLK, Major- Gen. Commanding.
His EXCELLENCY, JEFFERSON DAVIS,
PRESIDENT, C. S. A.
Folk s letter of resignation was written the day before
he fought the battle of Belmont, which will be described
372 LETTER TO GENEEAL JOHNSTON. [1861
elsewhere. Two days after the battle he sent to General
Johnston a copy of his letter of resignation enclosed in a
personal letter, in which he fully explained the motives
which had actuated him in accepting his commission,
and which now prompted him to lay it down. He did
not conceal his strong inclination to remain in the ser
vice to support his old friend in the performance of
duty; but he contended that the necessity which had
required his service no longer existed, and that his duty
now required him to return to his appropriate work.
His letter was as follows :
HEADQUARTERS, IST DIVISION, WESTERN DEPARTMENT,
COLUMBUS, November 9, 1861.
My dear General: It is due to you to send you a copy of
the accompanying letter which I have addressed and sent to
President Davis. My turning aside from the path I have
chosen, for the purpose of entering on the duties of the office
I now fill, was, as I told you in one of our conversations, not
a matter of my own seeking, but the prompting of our friend,
the President, and, as I have remarked in my letter to him,
was done with great reluctance, the moving consideration
being his inability to find one to whom he was willing to en
trust the command of the Western Department. Your name
being presented by me to him, the reply was that you were
not in the country ; and I accepted to fill the gap. Many of
my most judicious friends thought that in this I did an ex
treme thing; but, conscious of acting from a sense of duty, I
accepted the office.
When you arrived and were appointed, I thought I might
then be released ; but as I had taken in hand some important
defenses, T felt as if I might be useful to the country in seeing
them completed first. This object having been now accom
plished, and the particular necessity forming the excuse for
my taking military service no longer existing, I have felt I
was not at liberty to continue to withdraw myself from my
other duties; and this, too, when there were so many men of
55] RESIGNATION DECLINED. 373
ability in the country, having no such obligations, who were
free to engage in the duties I am now discharging. These
views I have held to friends for some time past, and I feel the
time has come when I may be permitted to retire. I am on
many accounts strongly tempted to remain and continue to
support you, and if my services were essential to the success
of the army, I should feel my position one of extreme em
barrassment; but, that not being by any means the case, I
must claim the privilege of being guided by that sense of
duty in retiring from the military service which influenced me
in accepting it, being persuaded you can find among the
general officers under your command one who can fill my
place far more satisfactorily than I do. I have asked, as you
will see by this letter enclosed, the acceptance of my resigna
tion of my commission. I remain,
Very truly your friend,
L. POLK, Major- Gen. Commanding.
Polk sent his resignation to President Davis by the
hand of his son and aide-de-camp, Hamilton, who was
instructed to urge its acceptance upon the President.
But after the battle of Belmont it was simply impossible
for President Davis to comply with his request. For the
present, therefore, he refused, kindly and courteously
but firmly, to entertain it, promising, however, to remem
ber Folk s desire as soon as the welfare of the country
should permit. The President s letter was as follows :
RICHMOND, VA., Nov. 12, 1861.
My dear Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge yours of
November 6th, which I had the pleasure to receive from your
son, and to reply that I think the present condition of the
service imperiously demands your continuance in the army
at least until there is such change as will justify me in substi
tuting you by another.
I did not expect General Johnston to relieve you of your
special charge, nor is it possible that he should do so. His
374 MEMMINGEWS APPEAL. [1861
command embraces so great an extent of territory that its
successful defense must mainly depend upon the efficiency of
the division commanders. You are master of the subjects in
volved in the defense of the Mississippi and its contiguous
territory. You have just won a victory which gives you
fresh claims to the affection and confidence of your troops.
How should I hope to replace you without injury to the
cause which you beautifully and reverently described to me,
when you resolved to enter the military service, as equally
that of our altars and our firesides?
Whilst our trust is in God as our shield, he requires of us
that all human means shall be employed to justify us in ex
pecting his favor. I must ask you, then, to postpone your
resignation, and be assured that I will not forget your desire
to resume your functions as bishop of a diocese of the
Church, and will be happy to gratify your wish as soon as
the public welfare will permit.
Very respectfully your friend,
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
MAJOR-GENERAL L. POLK.
By the same mail which carried Mr. Davis s letter
above written, Mr. Memminger, Confederate Secretary
of the Treasury, wrote urging General Polk to abandon
his wish to retire from the army. His arguments could
not fail to have weight with a man of Polk s high sense
of Christian and patriotic duty.
RICHMOND, November 12, 1861.
My dear Bishop: I am much concerned at learning from
the President your desire to resign your military office. I
have read your letters, and you will see from the President s
reply that you are mistaken in supposing that General
Johnston s appointment relieves the necessity of your ser
vices. Permit me as a brother in the Lord to say that I
think both you and I are just as much called and ordained to
the posts we occupy as the presbyter upon whom your hands
are laid. The President is, in his high office, the minister of
Mi. 55] APPROVAL OF BISHOP MEADE. 375
God for the State ; and when, in the discharge of his office,
he calls upon you as best qualified to defend the altar of God
and the homes of your people, it seems to me to become an
indication of Providence. For myself, I have not been able
to put aside such a call. I have never put your case to any
conscientious layman in this respect that he did not approve
and honor your course. Even the tribe of Levi, when Moses
called for those on the Lord s side, took the sword and swept
away the enemies of his authority; and when the silver
trumpets were blown, the whole country came forth for
defense, and the Lord was with the people, as I trust he is
with us. I earnestly hope that you will feel it expedient to
retain your command until a fitting successor can be found,
and the strongest providential indication is the fact that at
present no one can take your place. I think there would be
serious damage to the public interests by devolving the com
mand upon your subordinates; and now that the Lord has
given you the late glorious victory, your influence is de
servedly higher among the soldiers, and you will draw greater
numbers to your banner. May God bless, direct, and pre
serve you. Very truly yours,
MAJOR-GENERAL L. POLK. c - c - MEMMINGER.
Mr. Memminger s appeal was supported by a letter
from Bishop Meade, in which Polk was assured of the
confidence and approval of his brethren in the Church.
Bishop Meade had recently laid his case before the Presi
dent and had been told that General Polk could not be
spared. Bishop Meade s letter is dated Millwood, No
vember 15th. His simple but vivid description of the
condition of northern Virginia, and of the sacrifices
made thus early in the war by the women and non-com
batants in the aid of the army were well calculated to
stir the spirit of a soldier.
My dear Brother: On returning home, on the sick list, a
few days since, I found your esteemed favor of the 26th of
376 LETTER FROM BISHOP MEADE. [1861
September, and being unable to go to church on this our fast
day, I will employ a few moments of it in writing to you.
I had read and highly approved what you addressed to the
public authorities, and have rejoiced with others in the belief
that you have done good service in Tennessee, and elsewhere,
by wise counsels. That you have contributed your part to
the late victory, and have been preserved alive and unhurt, is
a subject of thankfulness to your many friends. May you
be spared and enabled to render yet more and greater service
to our cause, which daily appears to be more just and impor
tant, and to have the blessing of God.
On my way to Columbia, early in October, when in Rich
mond, I called on President Davis and proposed to him
this question : Whether in the changed circumstances of the
army in the West, so many able generals having taken the
field, you might not now be spared without injury to the
cause ? To this he emphatically replied in the negative, add
ing that there was a complication of circumstances requiring
your continuance. I said that I would not have you with
draw if such were the case, and would justify your continu
ance to all the brethren whom I should meet at Columbia.
Your acceptance of the office I had defended before against
all objections, as an exception to a general rule imperiously
demanded by the emergencies of the country.
I stated the President s answer and my own convictions to
a number of the bishops and clergy at Columbia, and heard
no objections, though I suppose there may have been some
who doubted. Some of the northern papers, as was to be
expected, condemned and anathematized ; but they are not
competent judges for us. The Church Intelligencer of North
Carolina also condemned your course ; but its defense of the
proposition to change the name of our Church, and some
other articles in it, against the view of Elliott and yourself
as to the effect of secession, will weaken its effects in the
South. . . .
I am now in winter quarters, being laid up with a cold and
cough which must keep me housed until spring. My days of
labor must soon be numbered ; and my old age, instead of
55] THE WOMEN OF VIRGINIA. 377
being peaceful and quiet, will be spent in the midst of wars
and rumors of wars. The enemy is again in the valley,
about fifty miles from me, and threatening a nearer approach,
after having plundered corn, wheat, and cattle on the north
and south branches of the Potomac sending the same to
Washington. We are preparing the militia, with some regu
lars, to drive them out, if practicable ; but the demands at
Maiiassas are so great, under the expectation of a great bat
tle, and the necessity of a force at Leesburg to resist Banks s
army in Maryland is such that we cannot get the forces
which are desirable, if not indispensable. . . .
Our diocese is, of course, in a state of much affliction. Our
seminary, high school, The Southern Churchman, and Alex
andria are in the enemy s hands. Many of our clergy are
driven from their congregations and homes. Our candidates
for the ministry are nearly all in the ranks, our schools and
colleges reduced to perhaps one tenth of their numbers. But
still I hear not a word of complaint or doubt as to the vigor
ous prosecution of the war at whatever cost. Our females,
young and old, are laboring diligently with their hands,
knitting and sewing. Comforts of all kinds are poured in
on our armies of sick ones. Not only are many families strip
ping themselves of blankets, but cutting up their carpets to
make coverlets for the soldiers. On returning home, I found
but one narrow slip in each of my rooms, and praised my
daughter for what she had done. My son, with whom I
live, has been employed for more than two months in
carrying comforts to the sick and dying soldiers from this
part of the State, amounting to twenty-two horse-wagon
loads, for which he and those who furnish them receive
most grateful thanks.
Still another equally strong remonstrance against
Folk s withdrawal from the army was received from one
of equal piety and authority in the Church, Bishop Otey,
but the letter seems to have reached Polk after lie had
decided to retain his commission :
378 BISHOP OTEY S EEMON STRANGE. [18G1
MEMPHIS, December 4, 1861.
My beloved Brother : Upon returning home, day before yes
terday, I received copies of the letter addressed to you by
Mr. Memminger and the President on the subject of your
resignation of your command in the provisional army, etc.
If any doubt lingered in your mind as to the propriety of
retaining a position into which you have been called by the
wise providence of God, it seems to me that it should be
removed by the statements and reasonings of those letters.
Your letter of the 6th of November tendering your resigna
tion of your commission of major-general, of which I have just
made a copy, will triumphantly vindicate the purity of your
motives and the high and noble considerations which have
influenced your course, and will justify your retention of
your command in the view of all reflecting and right-minded
men. If examples of men of like profession and similarly
situated with yourself, who have been called to take up arms
for the defense of the altars of God and of their country, be
called for, they can be readily furnished from the record of
Holy Writ. The conduct of Phinehas, Numbers xxv, 10, 11,
was so praiseworthy that it elicited the divine commendation
in the remarkable words: "The Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the
priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of
Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I
consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy." And
David, commenting on the transaction, commends his conduct
by saying: "And that was counted unto him for righteousness
among all posterities forevermore." The case of Samuel the
prophet is equally pertinent, for he repeatedly led the armies
of Israel to battle, and, on one occasion, himself took the
sword and "hewed Agag," the king of Amalek, "in pieces
before the Lord."
If ever man drew the sword in the cause of righteousness
and justice, in defense of the dearest and most sacred rights
of man, I think you have done so, and I need not assure you
that my poor prayers are daily offered for your success and
your preservation. I had intended to write you much on
Mi. 55] RESIGNATION RECALLED. 379
this subject; but I know that your time is too valuable to be
consumed in reading what my heart prompts me to write,
when all that I might say is comprehended in the few lines
above written. The approval of your own conscience, which
I fully believe you have, is of more worth and comfort to you
than all the words of man s approbation and sympathy.
It was not for many days that Polk could make up
his mind to waive his desire to be relieved. Before
replying to the President, he made his resolution known
to General Johnston, and, as Colonel William Preston
Johnston says in his " Life " of his father, " it was no
small comfort to Johnston to feel that, in this important
command, he had an old friend in whose fidelity and
ability he placed unbounded confidence." To the Presi
dent General Polk s answer was as follows :
HEADQUARTERS, IST DIVISION, WESTERN DEPARTMENT,
COLUMBUS, KY., Dec. 8, 1861.
Sir: Your letter of November 12th in reply to mine on the
subject of my resignation of appointment of major-general
in the Confederate army has been received. I appreciate the
confidence you have been pleased to express in me. After
carefully considering all my responsibilities in the premises,
and .your deliberate judgment as to the necessities of the
service, I have concluded to waive the pressing of my applica
tion for a release from further service, and have determined
to retain my office so long as I may be of service to our cause.
I remain,
Faithfully your friend,
L. POLK, Major- Gen. Commanding.
To His EXCELLENCY, JEFFERSON DAVIS,
PRESIDENT, C. S. A.
From the language of the foregoing letter it might
have been inferred that Polk had abandoned all further
thought of retiring from the army ; but it was not so.
380 RENEWED ATTEMPT TO RESIGN. [1861
He had abandoned it only until it should appear to his
superiors in office, as well as to himself, that the neces
sity for his service in the army was at an end. Less
than two months afterward he was led to believe that
the necessity had passed, and he instantly telegraphed
the following dispatch to Richmond :
HEADQUARTERS, IST DIVISION, WESTERN DEPARTMENT,
COLUMBUS, KY., Jan. 30, 1862.
Mr. President: Having" been informed that the condition of
the service on the Potomac is such as to make it unnecessary to
retain so many general officers on that line as have hitherto
been engaged there, and that one or more may be spared for
service in the West, I have respectfully to renew the applica
tion I made to you in my letter of the 6th of November, to be
relieved from my command in the army, and permitted to re
turn to the duties of my episcopal office. You were pleased
to say in your reply of the 12th of the same month that you
desired me to postpone my resignation until a change in the
then existing condition of affairs might take place ; that you
would not forget my wishes ; and that you would gratify them
as soon as practicable. In compliance with your desire I
withdrew my resignation.
The want of a general officer to whom the command might
be entrusted, who could be spared from other service, being
the objection to the acceptance of my resignation when ten
dered, and that obstacle no longer existing, I desire again
respectfully to renew my application, and to express the hope
that the service I have rendered in my peculiar circumstances
may be accepted as my contribution in that line to a cause the
success of which is no longer doubtful.
Respectfully your obedient servant,
L. POLK, Major- General, C. S. A.
His EXCELLENCY, JEFFERSON DAVIS,
PRESIDENT, C. S. A.
In reply to this dispatch Polk received no less than
three letters, which convinced him that the hopeful view
Mi. 55] A COMPLIMENT FROM CONGRESS. 381
he had been led to take of the immediate prospects of the
Confederacy was not shared by the authorities at Rich
mond. The first was from the Hon. John Perkins, Jr.,
member of the Confederate Congress from Louisiana :
RICHMOND, February 1, 1862.
My dear General: The President showed me the day be
fore yesterday a telegraphic despatch he had just received
from you, renewing a request previously made to be relieved
from your present command, and told me that he had written
you that your services could not be spared, and then pro
ceeded to speak of you in terms most grateful to my feelings.
Your name came up in our conversation accidentally, and
the President spoke, not for effect, but in the confidence that
exists between us on public men and public business, and bis
expressions were so warm that I begged him for permission
to repeat them.
I write you now to beg that you will dismiss all idea of re
signing your position in the army. Indeed, my dear general,
as a member of Congress, I feel I have almost the right to
protest against your permitting the public to know that you
ever thought of taking such a step. I can say in the sincerity
of friendship, and without violation of secrecy, that I have
never heard, either on the floor of Congress or from any other
official of the government, other than the highest estimate
placed upon your services as a military man. The report of
the Secretary of War, now in the hands of the printer, speaks
of you in connection with the battle of Belmont in terms of
the most beautiful praise.
Your report of that battle was made an exception by Con
gress, and was ordered to be printed several weeks in advance
of those of other generals. Under these circumstances, I feel
that, in writing you as I do, I speak the sentiment of those
connected with both branches of the government. I ex
pressed a fear to the President that your wish to resign might
be influenced by the fact of General Beauregard having been
ordered to the same military district with yourself. He
assured me, however, that your application was made prior
382 URGED NOT TO RESIGN. [1861
to the order given General Beauregard ; and then went on to
say that your services were more needed now than when you
first addressed him on the subject, but intimated that the
action of the Episcopal Convention that met in November
might have influenced your feelings. I sincerely trust that
this may not be the case, and that, having once assumed a
prominent position in defense of our country, you may not
weaken our cause by even a seeming reluctance to continue
in its service. This is a moment of peculiar peril, and we re
quire all the moral force that can be brought to bear to con
firm and strengthen our military authorities. I do not feel
that I have a right to urge upon you the necessity of sacri
ficing individual inclinations in view of great public duties
imposed upon us in time of great national trials. This duty,
I know, was felt when you laid aside, temporarily, the care of
your diocese to assume a military command ; but I have feared
you might not realize fully the effect that a surrender of that
command would now have upon the success of our* arms.
The difficulties of your position are, I assure you, fully ap
preciated, as well as the feebleness of the resources at your
disposal, in front of an enemy greatly superior in men and
military equipments. I would write with much more feeling
if I was not aware that I addressed myself to one accustomed
to act after mature reflection and a conscientious weighing
of all those considerations which should influence a patriot in
determining upon the path of duty; and am very sincerely
your friend, JNO. PERKINS, JR.
LEONLDAS POLK, MAJOR-GENERAL, C. S. A.,
COLUMBUS.
The second letter was from Mr. A. T. Bledsoe, Assist
ant Secretary of War, an intimate acquaintance, for
merly Professor of Mathematics in the University of
Virginia, whom Polk had frequently consulted in the
organization of the University of the South, and whom
he had fully expected to be elected to a chair in that in
stitution. Mr. Bledsoe s letter was as f ollows :
Mi. 55] LETTER FROM A. T. BLEDSOE. 383
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT,
RICHMOND, February 3, 1862.
My dear General : I sincerely rejoice to learn, as I have done
from several sources, that you have almost, if not entirely, re
covered from the effects of the explosion of the cannon.
I am deeply grieved, however, to hear that you have some
thoughts of retiring from the service. I hope, and beg, and
pray that you will not do so.
President Davis expected great things of you when you
were appointed, and there has not been to this day the abate
ment of one jot or tittle in his expectations. I know he
would be sadly grieved if you were to resign. What is true
of Davis is also true of your other friends, and especially of
myself.
But what is the opinion of man ? What the opinion of
presidents, or priests, or laymen, or bishops? You know,
and you feel, that you have engaged in as great and as
sacred a cause as ever enlisted the services of man 5 and, in
this cause, you have just begun to act. I know you can
render most important, most valuable services. I have said
so from the first, and know it now more fully than before
you were tried. Turn not back, I implore you, but hold right
on in spite of all opposition of all kinds. Ten thousand
hearts are with you, and look to you as one of our most effi
cient generals. We feel as if we could not spare you. I
feel as if I were only uttering the sentiment of the people of
the Confederacy when I say you must not resign.
Pardon me, I beseech you, if in this simple and earnest
outpouring of my heart, I have said anything offensive to
you. I have no time, as you can well imagine, to weigh my
words in the midst of so much business.
May the Lord direct you into the right way, is the prayer
of your servant, friend, and brother,
A. T. BLEDSOE.
The third letter was from the President himself. It
was kindly, considerate, and even affectionate ; but it was
unequivocally firm in its statement that Polk s resigna-
384 FALL OF FOliT HENRY. [1861
tion could not be entertained, and it begged him to
" abandon for the present all thought of resigning."
RICHMOND, VA., February 7, 1862.
My dear General: I have the honor to acknowledge yours
of the 30th ult. It having been rny good fortune to converse
freely with your son, he will communicate to you my views
in relation to the subject of your letter more freely than I
can now offer them in writing. I felt, and feel, unwilling to
detain you in the military service beyond the necessity for
your presence, and wish the opportunity for the f ulfiUment of
my promise enabled me to comply with your renewed re
quest. When you gave yourself to the military service, the
moral effect was most beneficial. Now you have gained an
amount of special information of great importance to the
defense of the Mississippi Valley; and at the moment when
clouds are gathering over the field of your labors, we can
least afford to lose you.
The news of the fall of Fort Henry has just reached us.
Looking to the public interest, and as your friend, watchful
of your own welfare, I must beg that you abandon for the
present all thought of resigning.
You have been overworked, and I can appreciate the con
dition of one whose cares follow both his waking and sleeping
hours; in that regard I have hoped to give you some relief
by assigning General Beauregard to duty at Columbus. He
is an able engineer and full of resources, is courteous and
energetic. He will, it is hoped, divide your troubles and
multiply your means to resist them.
In vain have we struggled to supply ourselves with the
requisite arms. A few have been recently obtained. We are
hopeful of further supplies, and faithfully trusting in the
Giver of all good things, I rely upon more than I can see
of support to our just cause.
Affectionately your friend,
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
RT. REV. L. POLK, MAJOR-GENERAL, C. S. A.
Mt. 55] RETIREMENT ABANDONED. 385
After such a letter as this from his commander-in-
chief, it was no longer possible for a soldier to think of
retiring from his post until relief should be offered. All
that was now left to him was to go on with the duty
he had undertaken, " firm and steadfast to the end." It
was a grievous disappointment to him, but he bore it
like a Christian soldier, silently.
If any man, soldier or civilian, priest or layman, after
reading the brief statement of facts given in the present
chapter, finds it in his heart to condemn Leonidas Polk
or to blame him harshly, we "would not die in that
man s company."
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