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MEIsT    OF    OUR    DAY; 


OR, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES 


OF 


PATRIOTS,   ORATORS,   STATESMEN,   GENERALS,  REFORMERS, 
FINANCIERS  AND  MERCHANTS, 

NOW  ON  THE  STAGE   OF  ACTION: 

INCLUDINa 


THOSE    WHO    IX    MILITARY,    POLITICAL,    BUSINESS    AND 

SOCIAL   LIFE,  ARE  THE  PROMINENT  LEADERS 

UF  THE  TIME  IN  THIS  COUNTRY. 


BY    n.    p.    BROCKETT,    M.  D., 

ADTHOR     OF     "  OUrc     GREAT     CAPTAINS,"     "WOMKN's      WORK      IN      THF,      CIVIL     WAR," 
"life    and    times    op    ABRAHAM     LINCOLN."    "THE     BIOCR APHICAL     POR- 
TIONS   OP    APPLETON'S    annual    CVCLOP.KDIA,"  ETC.,    ETC. 


ELEGANTLY  ILLUSTRATED  WITH  FORTY-TWO  PORTRAITS  FK03I  LIFE. 


PUBLISHED  BY  ZIEGLER  k  McCURDY, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PEXN'A.;  SPR[NGFIKLI>.  MASS.j  CINCINNATI,  OIIIOj 
ST.  LOUIS,  MO.  ^ 


Entered  according  to  Act  oi  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 

L.      P.      BROCKET  T, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  0. 


^  H-o 


^^ 


PREFACE. 


"  Nothing,"  says  a  recent  epigrammatic  writer,  "  suo- 
ceeds  like  success."  We  may  add,  nothing  interests  the 
public  like  the  history  of  success.  Let  a  man  be  poor, 
obscure,  and  undistinguished  by  any  remarkable  or  con- 
spicuous deeds,  and  though  he  had  the  wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon, the  meekness  of  Moses,  the  patience  of  Job,  or  the 
faith  of  Abraham,  yet  there  would  be  little  or  no  inter- 
est felt  in  his  history.  An  humble  and  outwardly  quiet 
life  may  have  its  record  of  heart  struggles,  its  days  of 
sunshine  and  shadow,  its  nights  of  wearying  anxiety 
and  mental  disquiet,  whicii  are  full  of  interest  to  beings 
of  higher  intelligence  than  ours,  and  form  to  the  psycho- 
logist a  curious  study;  but  for  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind they  possess  no  charm. 

But  let  this  same  man  achieve,  slowly  or  suddenly,  a 
high  position ;  let  him,  by  some  cunning  invention,  or  by 
some  bold  and  daring  enterprise,  attain  a  princely  for- 
tune ;  or,  better  still,  by  the  bold  avowal  of  some  great 


\\\ 


IV  PREFACE. 

and  righteous  principle,  and  patient  adherence  to  it 
through  years  of  obloquy  and  persecution,  win  from  a 
reluctant  world  admiration  for  his  fearless  persistency ; 
let  him  at  a  fitting  moment  enunciate  some  great  truth 
which  shall  influence  a  continent,  or  speak  some  word 
which  shall  loosen  a  nation's  bonds ;  let  him  by  calm 
cool  bravery,  sound  judgment  and  unflinching  resolution, 
win  his  way  up  from  a  humble  position  to  the  command 
of  great  armies,  and  leading  them  wisely,  bring  a  long 
and  bloody  war  to  a  close ;  or  in  the  quiet  of  his  study, 
let  him  forge  those  lyrics,  whose  white  heat  shall  set  the 
world  aflame,  and  there  will  be  enough  to  interest  them- 
selves in  him.  His  every  movement  will  be  chronicled. ; 
thousands  will  seek  to  honor  themselves  in  honoring 
him ;  his  words  will  be  carefully  noted  and  treasured ; 
and  even  the  most  trivial  incidents  of  his  childhood  and 
youth  will  be  eagerly  sought  for,  and  read  with  the 
greatest  avidity. 

And  there  is  nothing  surjDrising,  nothing  wrong  in 
this.  When  a  man  has  achieved  greatness,  it  is  natural 
that  we  should  desire  to  know  the  steps  by  which  he 
has  attained  to  his  present  position,  for  there  is  in  every 
heart,  and  especially  in  the  hearts  of  the  young,  a  hope, 
seldom  expressed,  oft^n  hardly  acknowledged  to  them- 
selves, that,  knowing  the  way,  they,  too,  may  succeed 


PREFACE.  V 

in  ascending  to  that  lofty  and  distant  summit,  where 
"Fame's  proud  temple  shines  afar;"  and  though  but 
few  have  the  patience  and  the  gifts  to  realize  their  fond 
expectation,  yet  they  are  often  led  to  greater  exertion 
than  they  would  have  made  but  for  the  inspiration  of 
such  a  hope. 

But  while  thus  inciting  the  young  to  emulate  the 
struggles  and  toils  by  which  others  have  gained  exalted 
station  or  distinction,  the  biographer  must  be  impartial, 
and  record,  though  in  a  kindly  spirit,  the  errors  and 
faults,  as  well  as  the  good  qualities  of  those  of  whom 
he  writes.  If  he  fails  to  do  this,  and  indulges  in  in- 
discriminate eulogy,  the  lesson  he  seeks  to  impart  will 
be  lost ;  for  there  is  no  perfection  in  human  life,  and  a 
just,  but  not  unkind,  delineation  of  the  faults  and  errors 
of  others,  may  lead  the  young  reader  to  avoid  them  in 
his  own  life. 

It  is  at  all  times  a  matter  of  difficulty,  in  the  case  of 
living  men,  to  award  the  just  measure  of  either  praise 
or  blame  in  a  biographical  sketch ;  and  never  more  so, 
than  when  the  subject  is  one  of  the  candidates  for  high 
office,  in  a  heated  and  violent  political  campaign ;  but 
the  writer  has  endeavored,  without  partisan  bitterness 
or  prejudice,  for  or  against  either  of  the  prominent 
political  leaders,  to  draw  their  portraits,  leaning  in  every 
case   to   the   side   of  mercy   rather  than   of    severity 


Vl  PREFACE. 

How  far  he  has  been  successful  in  this  respect  his 
readers  must  decide.  For  the  rest,  his  sources  of  infor- 
mation have  been  ample,  and  as  he  believes  thoroughly 
authentic,  and  he  has  endeavored  to  use  them  as  wisely 
as  he  could.  That  the  volume  may  aid  in  making  all 
its  readers,  and  especially  the  young,  wiser,  by  giving 
them  loftier  and  more  earnest  aims,  is  his  sincere  hope 
and  desire. 

L.  P.  B. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  July,  1872. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


U.  S.  GRANT. 
W.  T.  SHERMAN. 
P.  H.  SHERIDAN. 
GEO.  Q.  MEADE. 
0.  0.  HOWARD. 
D.  D.  PORTER. 
W.  S.  HANCOCK. 
BENJ.  F.  WADE. 
R.  C.  SCHENCK. 
HENRY  WILSON. 
LYMAN  TRUMBULL. 
0.  P.  MORTON. 
SCHUYLER  COLFAX. 
S.  P.  CHASE. 
SIMON  CAMERON. 
CARL  SCHURZ. 
W.  D.  KELLEY. 
THOS.  A.  SCOTT. 
G.  S.  BOUTWELL. 
JOHN  SHERMAN. 
JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 


CHAS.  SUMNER, 
EDWIN  D.  MORGAN. 
REUBEN  E.  FENTON. 
HANNIBAL  HAMLIN. 
W.  A.  BUCKINGHAM. 
HAMILTON  FISH. 
ANDREW  G.  CUBTIN. 
JAY  COOKE. 

CHAS.  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 
WM.  H.  SEWARD. 
KEVERDY  JOHNSON. 
GEO.  M.  ROBESON. 
CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT. 
J.  A.  DIX. 
HORACE  GREELEY. 
■WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 
B.  GRATZ  BROWN. 
CYRUS  W.  FIELD. 
GERRIT  SMITH. 
HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 
WM.  LLOYD  GARRISON. 
Tii 


CONTENTS. 


PA08 

PREFACE ~- 3 

CONTENTS 9 

ULYSSES  SIMPSOI^  GRANT. 

Great  leaders  spring  from  the  people — Often  lead  quiet  and  obscure  lives  till  the  emergency  arises 
which  calls  them  out — Are  not  always  or  often  those  who  are  first  thrown  upon  the  top 
wave — General  Grant's  ancestry — His  boyhood — His  fondness  for  hoi-ses — Anecdotes — His 
judgment  and  executive  power — Incidents — Fond  of  mathematics — Don't  like  tanning — 
Sent  to  West  Point — Graduates  twenty-first  in  his  cliuss — Service  at  Jefferson  Barracks — At 
Southern  posts — In  the  Mexican  war — Distinguishes  himself  in  the  battles  of  the  route  to 
Mexico,  and  is  honorably  mentioned  and  brevetted — On  garrison  duty  after  the  Mexican 
war — In  Oregon  and  on  the  frontier — First  Lieutenant— Captain — Resigns  his  commission — 
Reasons  for  so  doing — Becomes  a  farmer — 111  success — Tries  other  vocations — Enters  "  Grant 
and  Son's  "  store  at  Galena — His  political  views — The  outbreak  of  the  war — He  resolves  to 
offer  his  services  to  the  Government — Adjutant-General  of  Illinois — Appointed  Colonel  of 
twenty-first  Illinois  volunteers — The  march  to  Quincy — Guarding  railroads — Acting  Briga- 
dier-General— Commissioned  Brigadier-General— Heads  off  Jeff.  Thompson — Mrs.  Selvidge's 
pies — Grant's  post  at  Cairo — He  seizes  Smithland  and  Paducah — Another  chase  of  Jeff. 
Thompson — The  battle  of  Belmont — Fort  Henry  captured — The  siege  of  Fort  Donelson — 
Overtures  for  surrender — "  I  propose  to  move  immediately  upon  your  works  " — The  surren- 
der— A-scent  of  the  Tennessee — The  camps  at  Shiloh — Carelessness  of  the  troops — A  sur- 
prise— The  battle  of  Shiloh — The  Union  troops  driven  back  toward  the  river,  and  sadly  cut 
up — Grant's  coolness  and  composure — The  second  day's  fights— The  rebels  driven  back  and 
compelled  to  retreat — The  siege  of  Corinth — Gi-ant  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Ten- 
nessee—Battles of  luka,  Corinth,  and  the  Hatchie — Grant  at  Memphis — Movement  toward 
Vicksburg — The  disaster  at  Holly  Springs,  and  its  consequences — Grant  at  Young's  Point 
and  Milliken's  Bend — Attempts  to  reach  Vicksburg  by  way  of  the  Yazoo — Canal  projects — 
Running  the  batteries — The  overland  march — Crossing  the  River  to  Bruinsburg — Tlie  march 
northward  to  Jackson,  the  Black  river,  and  to  the  roar  of  Vicksburg — Assaults,  and  siege^ 
Communication  opened  above  the  city — Surrender  of  Vicksburg — Visits  home — Accident  at 
New  Orleans — Appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Blilitary  Division  of  the  Mississippi — At 
Chattanooga — Battles  of  Lookout  Mountain  and  Mission  Ridge — Driving  Longstreet  from 
Knoxville — President  Lincoln's  Letter — Grant  Lieutenant-General — Preparations  for  the 
campaign  of  18G4 — Consultation  with  Sherman — The  opening  battles  of  the  spring  of  1864 — 
Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  the  North  Anna,  etc. — "  I  propose  to  fight  it  out  on  this  line,  if 
it  takes  all  summer  " — Battles  of  Tolopotomy  and  Cold  Harbor — Crossing  the  James — Peters- 
burg— The  mine — Hatcher's  Run — The  operations  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley — Terrible 
pounding — The  enemy  at  last  worn  out — Cutting  their  communications — Five  Forks — 
Evacuation  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg — Lee's  surrender — The  President's  assassination — 
Grant  at  Raleigh — The  nation's  gratitude  to  Lieutenant-General  Grant — His  Southern  tour — 
He  accompanies  Mr.  Johnson  to  the  West — Created  General,  July,  1866 — Secretary  of  War 
ad  interim,  August,  1867 — Resto^^8  the  office  to  Secretary  Stanton,  Januarj',  1868 — Rage  of 
the  President — His  nomination  for  the  Presidency  in  May,  1868 — Note:  The  Republican 
platform  and  General  Grant's  acceptance — The  Presidential  campaign — The  election — The 

ix 


X  CONTENTS. 

Republican  majority — He  resigns  bis  commission  as  General — His  inauguration  and  his  new 
Cabinet — The  troubles  which  followed  his  selection — Changes  In  the  Cabinet — His  reasons 
for  not  selecting  prominL-nt  political  leaders  as  his  Cabinet  advisers — His  course  possibly  inju- 
dicious— A  review  of  his  administration,  and  the  charges  made  against  it — Some  errors  com- 
mitted, but  wisdom  gained  from  experience — The  complaints  of  nepotism,  favoritism,  and 
intriguing  for  power  greatly  exaggerated,  and  while  having  some  slight  basis  of  fact,  were 
yet  untrue  in  tlie  inferences  of  corrupt  motive  deduced  from  them — The  successes  of  his 
administration— Reduction  of  national  debt — Treaty  of  Wiishington — Peace  with  the  Indian 
tribes — A  beginning  of  civil  reform — Financial  prosperity — President  Grant's  pei-sonal 
appearance — His  physical  and  intellectual  characteristics — His  renomination  for  the  Presi- 
dency at  Philadelphia,  June  5th  and  6th,  1872— The  Platform  of  the  National  Republican 
Convention,  Judge  Settle's  letter  to  President  Grant,  and  the  President's  acceptance  of  tlie 
nomination 17-68 

WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAI^. 

His  birth— Adopted  into  the  family  of  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing— Enters  West  Point^His  high  rank 
as  a  cadet — Services  in  Florida — At  Fort  Moultrie — Transferred  to  California — Promoted  to  a 
captaincy — Marries — Resigns — Is  a  banker — President  of  Louisiana  State  Military  Academy — 
His  letter  of  resignation — Intense  loyalty — Visits  Washington— Incredulity  of  the  Govern- 
ment— Colonel  of  l.'ith  Infantry — In  battle  of  Bull  Run — Desperate  ligliting — Brigadier- 
General — In  command  of  Department  of  the  Ohio — Excludes  the  reporters  from  his  head- 
quarters— Indignation  of  the  "  gad-flies  "  of  the  press — "  Two  hundred  thousand  men 
wanted  " — Ad  interim  Thomas  pronojinccs  him  crazy — Sherman  asks  to  be  relieved — Is 
shelved  at  Jefferson  Barracks — Halleck  assigns  liini  to  a  division — The  hero  of  tlie  buttle  of 
Shiloh — The  attiick  on  Chickasaw  Bluff — Superseded  by  BIcClemand — Restored  to  command 
by  Grant — The  Sunflower  river  expedition — Demonstration  on  Haines'  Bluff — The  rapid 
marches  and  hard  figliting  in  approaching  Vicksburg  from  below — His  capture  of  Walnut 
Hills,  and  assaults  on  Vicksburg — Pursuit  of  Johnston — In» command  of  the  army  of  the 
Tcnnessp".  and  en  mute  to  Chattanooga — The  demonstration  on  Fort  Buckner — Pursuit  of 
Longstrcet  and  rsisinjg  the  siege  of  Knoxville — The  Meridian  expedition— What  it  accom- 
plished— Commander  of  the  Grand  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi — Number  of  his 
troops — His  communications— The  movement  toward  Atlanta,  Dalton,  Rcsaca,  Kingston, 
Allatoona  Pass,  Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain — Crossing  the  Chattahoochie — Rousseau's  raid— 
The  battle  before  Atlanta — Death  of  McPherson — Siege  of  the  city — Its  capture  by  strata- 
gem— Thomas  sent  northward — Sherman  marches  to  the  sea — Capture  of  Fort  McAllister 
and  Savannah — "A  Christmas  gift" — Sherman's  march  through  the  Carolinas — Columbia 
and  Charleston  captured — Entrance  into  North  Carolina — Results  thus  far— Battles  of 
Averysboro  and  Bentonville — Goldsboro  occupied — Rest — Sherman  goes  to  City  Point — For- 
ward again — Rvleigh — Overtures  for  surrender  by  Johnston — Sherman's  propositions — Their 
rejection  by  the  Cabinet — Grant  sent  to  Raleigh — Surrender  of  Johnston — In  command  of 
the  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi — Lieutenant-General,  U.  S.  A.,  and  LL.D. — Suc- 
ceeds General  Grant,  as  General  of  the  U.  S.  A.  in  March  18G9,  and  makes  his  head- 
quartere  at  Washington,  occasionally  visiting  the  various  divisions  and  departments — His 
visit  to  Europe,  1871-72 — His  personal  appearance,  manners,  and  habits — Analysis  of  his 
character  as  a  military  commander — His  possible  deficiency  as  a  civil  commander — His  dili- 
gence as  a  military  student — Attachment  of  his  soldiere  to  him 69-9T 

'admiral  dayid  d.  porter. 

His  father  a  naval  hero — Sketch  of  Commodore  David  Porter — Birth  of  the  future  Vice-Admiral— 
He  accompanies  his  father  in  chase  of  the  pirates  when  a  child — Enters  the  navy  in  1829 — 
Midshipman — In  coast  survey — Slow  promotion — In  Mexican  war — On  the  Crescent  City — 
"  He  would  go  in" — Promoted  to  be  commander— In  blockading  squadron— In  charge  of 
mortar  fleet — On  the  James  river — In  charge  of  the  Mississippi  squadron  as  Acting  Rear- 
Admiral — Captures  Fort  Henderson — The  Yazoo  and  Sunflower  expeditions — Running  the 
batteries — Fight  at  Grand  Gulf — Shelling  Vicksburg — The  Red  river  expedition — Gathering 
cotton— Jumping  the  rapids — Colonel  Bailey's  wing  dams— Sharp  fighting— Recalled  to  the 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Atlantic  Coast — Tlie  two  attacks  on  Fort  Fisher — Its  capture — Capture  of  Wilmington — Cor- 
respondence with  General  Butler — Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Academy — Relonus — Con- 
tinues in  the  Superintendency  of  the  Naval  Acadomy  until  the  beginning  of  Grant's  admin- 
istration, when  he  resigned,  and  for  about  three  months  was  Secretiiry  of  the  Navy,  de 
J'acln — He  continues  at  Washington  as  Acting  Admiral  during  Admiral  Farragut's  European 
tour,  and  after  Admiral  Farragut's  death  was  temporarily  appointed  Admiral  by  the  Presi- 
dent— The  letter  to  Secretary  Welles,  and  its  treacherous  publication — Admiral  Porter's  unwise 
management  in  regard  to  it — His  nomination  to  the  Senate  as  Admiral — He  is  confirmed — 
His  personal  appearance — His  fine  intellectual  culture — His  extraordinary  physical  cour- 
age   98-112 

lieutenant-ge:^eiial  philip  h.  sheridan. 

His  birth  and  birth-place — His  adventures  with  the  Irish  schoolmaster  McNanly — His  ajipoint- 
nient  to  West  Point — Gets  sent  down  one  class  for  thrashing  a  fellow  cadet — His  gradua- 
tion— Ser\-es  on  the  Texas  frontier — In  California  and  Oregon — Keeps  the  Indians  in  order — 
His  readiness  for  the  war — Audits  claims— Quartermaster  for  General  Curtis — Sent  to  buy 
horses — On  Halleck's  staff — Colonel  of  cavalry — Commands  a  cavalry  brigade — Made  Briga- 
dier-General— Commands  the  third  division  in  the  Army  of  the  Ohio — Fortifies  Louisville — 
C#mmands  his  division  at  Perryville,  and  saves  the  day — His  gallant  conduct  at  Stone 
Kiver — He  turns  the  tide  of  battle — Made  Major-General — Sheridan  at  Cliickamauga — Cut 
off  by  the  enemy,  but  find?  his  way  back — Sheridan  in  the  ascent  of  Mission  liidge — His  gal- 
lant leadership — "  How  are  you  ? " — He  mounts  a  captured  gun — Transferred  by  General 
Grant's  request  to  the  charge  of  the  cavalry  corps  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — He  reor- 
ganizes it — Fights  seventy-six  battles  in  less  than  a  year — Ills  report — His  raid  toward 
lUchmond — Appointed  commander  of  the  Dei)artment  of  the  Shenandoah — The  battle  of 
Opequon  creek — Early  "  sent  whirling  " — Made  Brigadier-General  in  regular  army — The 
battle  of  Middletown  plains — A  defeat  and  a  victory — "  We  are  going  to  get  a  twist  on 
them!" — The  reinforcement  of  the  Union  army,  "one  man,  Shebipan  !" — "The  ablest  of 
generals  " — The  great  raid  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  James — Marching  past  Richmond — 
Dinwiddle  Court-House — Five  Forks — Removal  of  General  Warren — Following  up  the 
enemy — Ordered  to  Texas — Commander  of  the  Fifth  District — Troubles — The  riot  and  mas- 
sacre— Border  difficulties — Sheridan's  decisive  action — President  Johnson  removes  him — 
His  visit  North,  and  the  ovations  he  received — His  management  of  Indian  affairs — Promoted 
to  be  Lieutenaxt-Gexeral  U.  S.  A,  March  5th,  1869.  Assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Military  Division  of  the  Missouri — Spends  several  months  in  Europe  during  the  Franco-Ger- 
man war — His  return,  and  his  invaluable  service  at  Chicago  after  the  great  fire — Acting 
General-in-chief  of  the  U.  S.  A.  during  General  Sherman's  absence  in  Europe — His  personal 
appearance  and  personal  magnetism 113-142 

MAJOR-GENERAL  GEORGE  GORDON  MEADE. 

Born  in  Spain — His  family— His  education  at  West  Point — His  engineering  services — In  the 
Mexican  war— Survey  of  the  northern  lakes— In  command  of  one  brigade  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Resers-e  Corps — Army  promotions — Battle  of  Mechanicsville— Wounded  in  the  Seven 
Days— Division  commander— Commands  a  corps  at  Antietam — At  Fredericksburg— Succeeds 
to  command  of  fifth  army  coqis- Major-General  of  volunteers — Battle  of  Chancellorsville — 
The  march  into  Pennsylvania— General  Meade  succeeds  General  Hooker— His  general  order 
on  assuming  command— Battle  of  Gettysburg — The  pursuit  of  Lee — Lee's  attempt  to  Bevcr 
his  communications— General  Sleade's  action  of  Mine  Run — He  commands  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  through  the  campaign  of  1804-5— Made  Brigadier  and  Major-General  in  regular 
army— In  command  of  Military  Division  of  the  Atlantic— Suppression  of  Fenian  invasion  of 
Canada — Transferred  to  the  Military  Division  of  the  South — His  services  there — Transferred 
in  March,  18Cn,  to  the  command  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Atlantic,  which  was  subse- 
quently enlarged — General  Meade's  personal,  intellectual  and  military  characteristics — His 
modesty— An  English  writer's  description  of  him 143-151 

MAJOR-GENERAL  WINFIELD  SCOTT  HANCOCK. 

Bom  in  Pennsylvania— His  family— His  early  education— A  cadet  at  West  Point— His  rank  on 
graduation— Commissioned  in  the  infantry— On  the  frontier— In  the  Mexican  war— His  gal- 


sli  contents. 

lAntrj- — Is  l>n'vottetJ  and  mentioutHl  in  the  official  reports — His  sorvioes  acknowledged  by  the 
rennsyh-auia  Lvsislatun' — 8tatiout^l  at  l*rairie  Ju  Chien,  ami  at  St.  Li.>uis — Marrietl  iu  l^^O 
to  a  laily  of  St.  Louis — Attains  start'  rank  of  aiptaiu  in  IsTio^lu  ISoO,  at  St.  Augustiuo,  luid 
eubsequfutly  in  Vtah  and  California,  whoro  Uo  ser\evl  till  the  couiiuducfuionl  of  the  war — 
Visits  Wsiihiugton — .\pi»,>inttHl  Brigiadior-ileuonU  on  General  Mci'lellan's  n><uiiiialion,  St'pt. 
23,  1S»>1 — His  i>art  iu  the  siege  of  \"orktown — The  l>attle  of  Williiunsburg — His  Iwyonet 
charge — His  Jesiwrate  fighting  at  Gaines  Mills,  and  during  the  St'ven  Paj-s — Coiumissioned 
Major-GenenU  of  volunteers,  luid  June  27th,  hrvvetted  Colonel  U.  S.  A. — Conimamls  a  Divi- 
sion at  .Kutietaiu — In  the  kittle  of  yredericksburg — Conspicuous  for  his  hravery — Ilis  gal- 
lant cvniduct  and  svn-vess  at  Chancellorsville — Assigueii  to  the  cv>mutand  of  the  Stxvnd  Army 
Corjw — His  admirable  c\.>mluct  at  Gettysburg — Severely  wounded — His  gradu;U  revvvery — 
Honors  liestoweil  on  hiin  at  Xomstown,  West  Pvdut,  New  Tiu-k.  and  St.  Louis — Or\lort>d  to 
Washington,  Pecemlfr.  ISiB — Ktiises  ,V\000  men  for  his  army  cv^r^s — His  g-.Ul.iut  fighting 
and  magnilicent  charge  iu  the  Wilderness,  and  at  Sivttsylvania — Made  Brigaiiier-General  ia 
V.  S.  A.,  August  lith,  1^04.  Further  honors — Pisubleti  by  the  luvakiug  out  afresh  of  his 
wound — .\iilsiu  organiiing  the  veteran  cv>riis — Commamis  in  West  Virginia,  the  Army  of  the 
Shenaiidi\di,  etc.,  till  July  ISth,  ISiJo— Transferred  to  Detwrtment  of  the  Missouri,  lS«ks  and 
commands  an  exi>eilition  agaiust  the  Indians  in  IS^T — Brevetled  Major-<5eneral  V.  S.  A., 
March,  l!?ivj«,  and  commissioneti  Major-General,  July  itvth,  1S6«>— Transferrwl  by  Pn?sident 
Johnson  to  o-numsuid  of  Fifth  Military  District  ^Louisiana  and  Texas^  in  August,  IStTT — 
Revokes  Genenil  Sheridan's  v>rderss  and  issues  a  sixx-ial  or\ler — .VW :  Qut>stionablene«s  of 
Gi>nei-al  llaucvvk's  action  at  that  time — GenersU  tirant  revokes  his  orxlers — He  asks  to  l»e  r«>- 
lieved — Is  wade  cv>mmatHler  of  the  new  dei>artment  of  Washington — Assigneil  in  March, 
IStS),  to  cvnumand  of  Milit.iry  Peixirtment  of  Pakota — l"uv>leasant  state  of  feeling  between 
him  and  President  Grant— General  Hancock's  personal  ai^peaiauce — His  personal  mag- 
netism  - - _ _- 152-lfii 

MAJOK-GEXERAL  JOHN  McALLISTER  SCHOFIELD. 

His  bitth  and  v»arentage — Removed  to  Illinois— .\  cadet  at  West  Pinut— Gradviati^s  iu  ISvV?  seventh 
in  his  class — Enters  the  ,-u-tiUery — Two  years  at  Southern  torts — Five  years  at  West  IViut  as 
instnictor  in  Xatural  PhiU^si'phy — rrv>fe«sor  in  Washington  Vniversity,  St.  Uniis,  Mo„  in 
ISeiv—Afler  c\>u»mencx>uient  of  the  war.  Msyor  First  Mita^nm  iufantrj- — .\ssistaui  Ailjutant- 
Geneial  to  General  Lyon — Brigadier-General  of  volunteers,  Nov.  21st,  1S61 — Cv'mmands  Mis- 
souri militia,  and  in  June,  ISfcJ,  the  >Ulitary  District  of  Missiniri— Deft>ats  the  rel>els  at  Fea 
Ridge — In  Nov.,  lSt!2,  arjx>int«M  by  President  Uncoln,  Miyor-General  of  wdunteors,  and  not 
l>eing  ivnfimusl,  was  n-«n>ivinteil  in  .\pril,  1S63 — .\ller  a  mouth's  service  in  the  Army  of 
the  l^imberland  ap{x>inte<l  to  conuuand  of  Deiwrtment  of  the  Misskum — Ci«ptuaxi  Fort  Smith 
and  IJttle  R.K-k.  .Vrkanssis— Relievtxl  in  Jan.,  ISlU,  and  Feb.  9th.  ISiH,  made  ivmmsinder  of 
the  IV>pailmeut  and  .\rmy  of  the  Ohio  iXwenty-thinl  .\rmy  Cori^V— Fought  tlin.>ngh  the 
Atlanta  i-aniivtigu— *ent  l«ck  to  Nashville  in  Nov.,  IStH,  with  General  Thomas,  to  Kvk  after 
HixkI— amtiuued  skirmishing  fh'n>  Not.  14th  to  Not.  S»Hh— Action  at  Ptilaski ;  battle  at 
tVdumbia  :  severt>  and  harvl  fought  Ivittle  at  Franklin,  Tennwse :  Si-hofield  in  command  in 
all — Siege  and  l>attle  of  Nashville — SchotieUrs  gallant  cv>ndnct— Pursuit  i>f  H>.kh1— is.hofield 
and  his  ivrps  tran-iferre^l  to  N^rth  0»rvdina — aipt\ir»>  of  Wilmington,  etc. — Command  of 
DeiiHrtment  of  North  Cs«roHiu-i — Brigadier<ieneral  in  regular  army,  Nov.  Anh,  lSt4 — Bre- 
veltkHi  Mivjor-tteneral  V.  S.  .\..  Manh  l;>th.  IStvi — t\imn>i^oned  M.\jor-General  in  l<ttT— On 
siieci.xl  duty  in  Eim>pe,  ft\>m  June  ISftS,  to  .\ngust.  IStk^— Ok.>inmander  Pejiartment  of  the 
Potomac.  lS«>t">-t!7.  and  of  >^i-st  Military  District  fn^m  March,  IS«?T.  ^^  .\pril.  ISt>S— ^?e^-r>^ 
tary  of  Wt«r  April  £V1,  ISti*.  to  Mareh  llth.lStSsi — Commander  of  Military  Det^artment  iif  the 
Missonri,  186;»-T0,  and  on  the  iltNtth  of  General  Thom,'»s,  transferred  to  the  cvmimand  of  the 
BliUtary  Division  of  the  Pacific ~ -...I^-ICT 

BRIGADTEE-GEXERAL  OLIVER  OTIS  HOTTARD. 

His  birth  and  olucation — .V  gradu.ite  of  Bv^wxloin  c\dleg\' — Fnters  West  Point — Graduates  fourth 
in  his  class — His  service  N>fore  the  war — .Assistant  prv^fessa'r  at  Wk>st  Point— -«.\doneI  of 
Tvdunteers  from  Maine — Leads  a  brigade  at  Bull  Kun— Brigadier-General  of  Tulunteew.  Sep- 


CONTENTS.  XIU 

tcintH-r,  IStU — LiKisos  his  arm  at  Fiiir  thiks — At  soconil  Kittle  of  Cull  Run — At  Anfiotani 
and  Fivilorii'k>l>urg — M«jor-liiMii>ral  of  voluutoors,  and  Ciunmanilcr  of  the  I'lowiith  oori>s — 
Tlio  Uittlo  of  I'hanoelloi'svillo — Panic  in  oU-vonth  corns — Uottysburg — Gallant  behavior  of 
Genenil  Howarxl — Uowiuil  at  rhattaniHtgsi — The  ossnnlt  on  Fort  IJuckner — The  niart-h  to 
Athuita — Succeeds  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee — Ili.s  bravery — Leads  tho 
right  wing  of  SheniKin's army  in  the  march  to  the  sea,  and  thnmgh  the  Oarolinas — Anec- 
dote of  Shernuin  and  Howard,  wle — Slade  Brig-adior  and  brevet  Majiu-General  in  the  n>gul;vr 
Army — Ainxniited  Oouiniissioner  of  the  Froednuin's  Buivau — Pix^sident  .Iolin>oirs  opixisition 
to  this  bureau — Ho  desires  to  remove  General  Howarvl  fivm  the  commissionoi-shii),  but  is 
lireventeii  by  the  Tenure  of  Ollice  law — The  difficulties  in  the  administnitiou  of  the  affaii-s  of 
the  bnrv-au  caused  by  the  Tresident's  opposition — His  management  of  the  Freedman's  Bureau 
— F.uinds  the  lL>w:u\i  l"iiivei-sity — Is  apiK>inted  to  the  [Vicification  of  the  predatory  tribes  of 
the  Svuahwest — Literary  honoi-s  coufcrrini  on  Geuerai  Howard 168-178 

SALMOX  PORTLAND  CHASE. 

Birth  and  ancestry — His  father's  cliaracter  and  career — >Ir.  Chase's  early  education — Bishop 
Chase's  invitation — His  stay  at  Cleveland — Tho  ferry  Uiy — His  life  at  Worthing— Keraovea 
with  his  uncle  to  Cincinnati — The  bishop  goes  to  England,  and  his  nephew  returns  to  Now 
Hamiishire — Tenches,  and  enters  Partmouth  college — His  standing  there — The  revocation  of 
the  fiiculty's  sentence  on  his  fellow  student — .\t  Washington — Teaching — Studies  law  under 
Williiuu  Wirt — Commences  practice  in  Cincinnati — Partnership — Defends  J.  G.  Birney — 
Other  anti-slavery  cases — "  \  promising  young  man  who  has  just  ruined  himself" — Defends 
Biniey  agjiin,  and  Van  Zandt — "  Once  free,  always  free  " — Aids  ii»organizing  a  Liberty  jKirty — 
The  tliirxl  clause  of  the  Constitution  of  the  I'nited  States— No  mental  reservations — Address 
to  Daniel  O'Connell — The  S.  and  W.  Liberty  Convention— The  Van  Zandt  and  Dieskell  vs. 
r;iri,<h  c;vses — Mr.  Cli;ise  in  the  Senate — His  ability  there— Withdraws  fiMm  the  Democratic 
jwrty  in  1S,V2 — Elected  and  re-elected  Governor  of  Ohio — His  financial  ability  in  that  jiosi- 
tion — Again  in  the  Senate^In  the  Peace  CiMiference — ApiKiinted  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
by  Mr.  Lincoln — His  incessjxnt  labi>rs — The  skill  and  success  of  his  financial  measures — 
His  early  lo.-uis — The  tive-twenties — The  National  kinking  Act — The  seven-thirties  and  ten- 
forties — Brief  expi.>sition  of  his  jv>licy — His  resignation — His  apix>iiitment  as  Chief  Justice — 
Tour  at  the  South — Characteristii-s  of  Chief  Justice  Cliase's  mind — He  presides  over  the  im- 
IHMchment  trial — His  persiinal  appearance — A  {Hissible  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  lSf>S 
auJ  iu  ISTi — His  letter  on  the  subject — His  character  as  a  statesman 179-200 

WILLIAM   HEXRY   SEWARD. 

Birth  and  education — Sttidios  law  with  John  Anthon  and  others— Kemoves  to  Anbum— Mar- 
riage— Partnership — Presides  over  Adams'  Young  Men's  Convention — An  anti-mason — 
Elected  to  the  State  Senate — His  career  then- — Goes  to  F.un>|H> — Elected  and  re-elected 
Governor — Measures  of  his  administration — Controversy  with  Cmveniors  of  Georgia  and  Vir- 
ginia— Resumes  the  practice  of  law — The  Freeman  case — The  Van  Zandt  case — The  Michi- 
gan Conspiracy  cases— Politii-al  and  literary  addresses— Electeil  U.  S.  Senator — "  The  higher 
law  "—He  is  abused  by  pr^>-slavery  mi-n — The  subjects  he  discussed — His  literary  lal>ors — 
Argument  in  the  McCormick  Reajier  case — Re-election  to  the  Senate — His  great  lalnirs  in 
the  Senate — "  The  Irrepressible  Conflict" — The  Presidential  nomination  in  isr.0 — Mr.  Seward 
a  csindidate — He  Oinvasses  for  ^Ir.  Lincoln — Entertains  the  Prince  of  Wales — Is  ap|Hnnted 
Secn'tary  of  St,ite — The  imivirtant  questions  he  ha<l  to  handh> — Mason  and  SlidiU — Some 
dissatisfaction  felt  with  some  of  his  measures — Tenders  his  resignation  to  Mr.  Lincoln — It  is 
not  accepted — "Sixty  or  ninety  days" — The  accident  to  Mr.  Seward — .\ttempt  to  assassinate 
him — his  rean-ery — Regrets — Mr.  SewanVs  recent  cciurse — His  pnirhaSes  of  territory — His 
liws  of  reputation  by  his  support  of  Mr.  Johnson's  schemes — rndertaki-s  a  jouniey  niund 
the  world — Lessons  from  his  public  life — His  personal  appearance 201-216 

SCHUYLER  COLFAX. 

His  hirth  and  early  lif.-" — Removal  to  the  West — Clerk  in  a  country  store — Depnty  county  audi- 
tor— Studies  law — The  debating  society  and    mock  legislature — Owns  and   edits  the  St. 


Xiv  CONTENTS. 

Joseph  Valley  Register — Not  a  printer  by  trade — Ability  with  which  the  paper  was  con- 
ducted— Mr.  Wllkeson's  account  of  Mr.  Colfax  at  this  time — Mr.  Colfa.x's  remarks — A  dele- 
gate to,  and  secretary  of  the  Whig  National  Convention  in  1S48 — Member  of  the  Indiana 
Constitutional  Convention — Opposes  the  Black  laws — A  candidate  for  Congress  in  1851,  but 
defeated — Delegate  and  Secretary  of  the  National  Whig  Convention  in  185'2 — Elected  to  Con- 
gress in  1854 — His  maiden  speech — Half  a  million  copies  circulated — Canvasses  for  Colonel 
Fremont  as  President — Successive  re-elections  to  Congress — Speaker  of  the  House  for  three 
successive  sessions — His  remarkable  ability  as  a  presiding  officer — His  interest  in  the  Pacific 
railroad — Overland  journey  to  California — "  Across  the  continent  " — His  canvass  for  Mr. 
Lincoln — Cordial  and  intimate  relations  with  him — Personal  Appearance — Manner  as  a 
speaker — P;issage  from  one  of  his  speeches — Religious  character — Elected  Vice-President  in 
18G8— His  ability  as  President  of  the  Senate 217-229 

HANNIBAL  HAMLIN. 

"  We  raise  men  " — Mr.  Hamlin's  family — His  birth  and  ediic;ition — An  editor — Studies  law — Ad- 
mitted to  the  bar — Removes  to  Hampden,  Maine — In  the  Legislature — In  Congress — His 
defence  of  New  England — Re-election— His  laboi-s— Elected  to  the  Senate — His  opposition  to 
slavery — Loaves  the  Democratic  party  and  becomes  a  Republican — Elected  Governor  by  an 
immense  majority — Re-elected  to  tlie  Senate — Replies  to  Senator  Hammond's  "  Mudsill" 
speech — Nominated  and  elected  Vice-President — The  confidence  he  inspired — His  judicious 
course — The  folly  which  prevented  his  re-nomination — Appointed  Collector  of  Boston — His 
resignation  and  its  cause — His  letter  to  Mr.  Johnson — Subsequent  career — Elected  for  the 
fourth  time  to  the  United  States  Senate — Personal  appearance — Character 230-239 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  WADE. 

Birth  and  early  life — Goes  to  Ohio  on  foot — Cutting  wood — School  teaching — Driving  cattle — 
Work  on  the  Erie  canal — Teaching  again — Studios  law — His  first  case — His  unremitting 
study — His  success — Prosecuting  attorney  for  Aslit;ibula — Elected  to  the  State  Senate — His 
work  there — His  anti-slavery  views  give  offence — Returns  to  the  practice  of  his  profession — 
Canvasses  Oliio  for  General  Harrison — His  marriage — Again  elected  to  the  State  Senate — 
Procures  the  incori)oi-ation  of  Oberlin  College — Makes  an  able  report  against  the  refusal  of 
the  right  of  petition  by  Congress — Defends  J.  Q.  Adams — Declines  renomination  to  the 
Senate — Resumes  practice — Elected  in  1847  President  Judge  of  third  Judicial  District  of 
Ohio — His  ability  as  a  judge — Chosen  U.  S.  Senator  in  1851 — Takes  the  Stump  for  General 
Scott — Aliandoiis  the  Whig  party  in  1854,  and  avows  himself  a  "  Black  Republican  " — His 
speech — Incidents  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  debate — The  Southern  fire-eater — "A  foul- 
mouthed  old  blackguard  " — "Gag"  Atherton  and  Mr.  Wade — Some  men  bom  slaves—"  The 
dwai-fish  medium  " — "  Selling  his  old  mammy  " — Senator  Douglas's  "  Code  of  Morals  " — Lane 
of  Kansas — "  Well,  what  are  yon  going  to  do  about  it?" — Wade  not  to  bo  crushed — "Good- 
by.  Senator  " — "  The  Liberator,  one  of  our  best  family  papers  "^Toombs's  tribute  to  Senator 
Wade's  honesty  and  integrity — His  avowal  of  his  radicalism — The  assault  on  Senator 
Sumner — Senator  Wade's  fearlessness— His  action  duinng  the  war — Re-elected  to  the 
Senate — President  of  the  Senate,  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States— Appointed  chair- 
man of  a  commission  to  visit  Santo  Domingo — His  personal  appearance — His  keen  eye — An 
excellent  presiding  officer — The  measures  he  has  initiated  and  advocated — His  only  disagree- 
ment with  President  Lincoln 240-2G2 

HAMILTON  FISH. 

Birth  and  education — Embraces  the  profession  of  the  law — Success  as  a  lawyer — Early  interest 
in  politics — Becomes  a  member  of  the  State  Assembly  of  New  York — Fills  various  public 
offices — Elected  Governor  of  the  State — Conduct  as  Governor — Becomes  a  niember  of  the 
United  States  Senate — Travels  in  Europe — Appointed  on  a  commission  to  relieve  the  Union 
prisoners  in  the  Southern  prisons — Revisits  Europe — Nominated  Secrefciry  of  State  by  Presi- 
dent Grant — His  administration  of  the  duties  belonging  to  this  office — His  conduct  regarding 
the  Alabama  Claims,  and  especially  indirect  damages — Character  aa  a  diplomatist  and  states- 
man  263-268 


CONTENTS.  XV 

GEORGE  S.   BOUTWELL. 

Birth,  lineage,  and  education— In  a  country  store— The  old  library— Self-culture— His  earnestness 
as  a  student— He  studies  law— A  public  lecturer— A  political  speaker— A  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  for  seven  years  out  of  nine — Other  offices  held  by  Mr.  Boutwell— 
A  candidate  for  Congress— Nominated  for  Governor,  and  elected  in  1851  and  1852- In  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  185a— For  ten  years  a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  and 
for  five  years  its  secretary— Literary  and  scientific  honors — His  anti-slavery  views — A  con- 
sistent advocate  of  the  rights  of  man — Organizes  the  new  Department  of  Internal  Revenue, 
and  acts  as  commissioner  in  18G1-62— Member  of  Thirty-eighth,  Thirty-ninth  and  Fortieth 
Congresses — A  manager  in  the  impeachment— Nominated  by  President  Grant  as  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  in  1869 — His  financial  management- His  habits  of  mind — Effectiveness  as  a 
speaker 2G9-275 

GEORGE  MAXWELL  ROBESON. 

Birth  and  education— Early  eminence  as  a  lawyer — Appointed  Prosecutor  of  the  Pleas  of  Cam- 
den county,  in  1855 — Becomes  Attorney-General  of  New  Jersey — Member  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission— Appointed  Brigadier-General  of  volunteers — Nominated  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
in  1869 — His  administration  of  the  department — Temper  and  disposition 276-278 

GEORGE  H.   WILLIAMS. 

Birth  and  education — Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1844 — Moves  to  the  "  Great  West,"  and  settles  in 
Iowa — Elected  Judge  of  the  First  Judicial  District  of  that  State — Appointed  bj-  President 
Pierce,  in  1853,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon — Member  of  the  United  States 
Senate  in  1865— Serves  on  many  important  committees  in  Congress — His  great  legal  attain- 
ments—Appointed Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  in  1872 — Qualifications  for  the 
office 279-280 

JACOB  DOLSON  COX. 

General  character  of  Mr.  Cox — His  birth,  descent  and  education — Becomes  a  lawyer — Attain- 
ments in  literature,  history,  philosophy  and  military  and  political  science — .Appointed  Briga- 
dier-General of  volunteers  in  ISGl — His  campaign  in  Western  Virginia  under  McClellan  and 
Eosecrans — Commands  tlie  District  of  Ohio  under  General  Burnside — The  Atlanta  campaign 
— In  the  battles  of  Franklin  and  Nashville — .Appointed  Major-Genenil  in  1804 — His  exploits 
on  the  .\tlantie  coa-st — Elected  Governor  of  Ohio,  and  resigns  his  milifciry  oflice — Returns  to 
his  practice  of  the  law— Nominated  by  President  Grant  as  Secretory  of  the  Interior — Resigns 
his  office  in  1870 — A  member  of  the  Liberal  Republican  Convention  at  Cincinnati  in 
1872 281-286 

SIMON  CAMERON. 

Birth  and  early  life — Becomes  editor  of  the  remisylrania  Iiildlipenrrrfd  Doylestown,  Pa. — Presi- 
dent of  the  Midilletown  Bank — Elected  United  States  Senator  for  Pennsylvania — His  political 
career — Nominated  Uy  President  Linculn  in  1861  as  Secretary  of  War — Difficulties  connected 
with  the  office — Resigns  from  ill-health  in  1S62 — In  1871  appointed  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mitt«e  on  Foreign  Affairs — His  great  experience  and  influence  in  political  matters — Business 
successes 287-290 

CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 

His  lineage — Birth — Early  residence  abroad — Fights  the  English  boys  for  the  honor  of  America — 
Enters  Harvard  College — Graduates  with  high  honors -Studies  law  with  Daniel  Webster — 
His  marriage — Literary  labors — In  the  Stxte  Senate — Contributes  to  the  reviews,  etc. — Opposes 
the  admission  of  Texas  as  a  slave  State — Edits  the  Bn^tim  Wln'g — Nominatnd  by  the  Free- 
Soilers  for  Vice-Presidency — His  "  Life  and  Works  of  .Tohn  Adams" — Elected  to  Oongrfss  in 
1858,  1800,  and  1861 — His  course  there — Appointed  Jlinister  to  England  by  Mr.  Lincoln — His 


XVl  CONTENTS. 

extraordinary  ability  as  a  diplonialist — Complicated  state  of  affairs  in  England — His  great 
eenicos  to  his  cxiuntrj- — Keturus  to  America,  and  retires  into  private  life — Appiniited  in  ISTl 
the  American  Commissioner  to  Geneva,  in  connection  with  the  Treaty  of  Washington — Two 
Letters  by  Mr.  Adauis  on  political  subjects — Personal  appearance _ .....291-301 

REVERDY  JOHNSOX. 

Birth  and  lineage — He  studies  law — Keports  the  decisions  of  the  Court  of  Appeals — Appointed 
Deputy  Attomey-Oener.U  of  MaryUind — Removes  to  Baltimore — Civil  app^lintments — Elected 
State  Senator — Serves  for  four  years — Resigns  to  devote  himself  to  hi<  extensive  practice — 
Senator  in  Congress  lS4o— la — A,ttomey4ieneral  United  States.  lS4J>-50 — Retires  from  office — 
His  reputation  as  a  jurist — Delegate  to  Peace  Conferi>nce,  1S61 — C  S.  Senatt>r,  1S63-69 — His 
course  during  the  rebellion — His  devotion  to  the  Constitution — On  the  committee  on  recon- 
struction— His  anniments  in  the  Senate — Ap}K>inted  by  President  Johnson,  in  ISGS,  minister 
to  tlie  Court  of  St.  James — Negotiates  a  treaty  with  the  British  Government  regarding  the 
Alabama  Claims,  etc.,  which  was  afterwarvls  rejectetl  by  the  Senate — Returns  to  the  United 
States  in  18C9,  and  devotes  himself  to  his  profession — His  continued  vigor  of  mind  and 
body - 302-304 

CALEB  CUSIIIXG. 

Birth,  parentage,  and  education — Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S25 — Elected  a  Representative  to  the 
State  Legislature  of  JIassachusetts — His  literary  productions — Makes  a  tour  in  Europe — Pub- 
lic addresses — Elected  to  Congress  as  Representative  of  his  State — His  literary  essa>-s  and  ora- 
tions— Ability  as  a  public  orator — Parli;unent.iry  accomplishments — Appointed  United  States 
Commissioner  to  Cliina — Negotiates  a  tre:ity  there — Returns  home,  and  in  1S46  is  ag;un  chosen 
to  represent  Xewbur>TXirt  in  the  State  Legislature — Colonel  of  the  JLissachusetts  regiment — 
BrigatUer-General  of  volunteers  in  1S4T — flavor  of  Newburyport — His  great  interest  in  lite- 
rary and  educational  matters — Literary  honors — N'ominated  by  President  Pierce,  United  States 
Attorney-GenenU — Confidential  agent  of  the  E.xocutive  at  the  Siitbreak  of  the  late  Mar — 
In  1SG6,  app«.unted  one  of  the  jurists  to  codify  the  laws  of  the  United  States — One  of  the 
counsel  l>efore  the  Commissioners  at  Geneva — His  general  character 305-311 

JOnX  ADAMS  DIX. 

Birth  and  lineage — Early  edui-ation — Enters  St.  Mary's  College,  Baltimore — His  proficiency  in 
classics  and  matliematics — Offered  and  accepts  an  Ensign's  n\nk  in  the  army — His  promo- 
tions— His  father's  death — Captain  in  the  Third.  Artillery — Visits  CuUi — His  marriage — Ad- 
mission to  the  kir — In  politiciU  life — Adjutant-General  of  Xew  York — S<>cretarj-  of  State — 
In  the  Legislature — Tour  of  Euroi>e — U.  S.  Senator — Xominoe  of  Free-S<>ilers  for  Governor — 
Assistant  U.  S.  Tre.isurcrat  Xew  York — Postmaster  of  Xew  York  City,  ISoO  to  ISCl — Secre- 
tary of  the  Treiisurj-,  January  to  March,  ISOl — "  If  any  man  attempts  to  haul  down  the 
Ameriam  flag,  sln;>ot  him  on  the  six>t !  " — Presides  over  Union  me<.>ting  in  Union  P;irk — .Ap- 
pointed M;y".'r-General  in  regular  army,  June  16th.  ISCl — In  command  of  District  of  Marj-- 
land — Transferred  to  Eastern  Virginia — Commands  Department  of  the  E.ist — Trial  and  exe- 
cution of  Be;Ul  and  Kenninly — Presides  at  the  Philadelphia  Convention — Xominateil  by 
President  Johnson,  Naval  Officer  of  the  Port  of  New  Y'ork,  and  the  ssime  day  U.  S.  Minister 
to  France — Chooses  the  latter — Is  confirmed,  and  enters  upon  his  duties  in  J.uiuarv-,  1S67 — 
Returns  home  in  1S69,  and  retires  into  pri^"ate  life — His  published  works — His  personal 
appearance..... „.312-31S 

JOIIX  LOTIIROP  MOTLEY. 

Designation  of  an  author,  sbitesman,  or  diplomatist  to  his  life  work  sometimes  most  unac- 
countably delayed — Mr.  Motley's  birth  and  parentage — Education — Visits  Europe — Re- 
turns to  .Vmerica,  and  studies  law — Writes  a  novel — Sent  to  Russia  in  lS4tl  as  Secretary  of 
Legation — .\fler  his  rettim  writes  several  rt>view  articles — In  ISol  gix-s  to  Eurojv,  and  sjx'nds 
five  years  in  diligent  study  in  Berlin,  Dresden  and  the  Hague— Learus  the  Dutch  languagv' — 


CONTENTS.  XVU 

His  "  Rise  of  the  Piitoh  Ri-public  " — Greut  success  of  tliis  work — Returns  to  tU?  rnitod  States 
in  1S5S — "  History  of  tlie  United  N'etlierliuuis  " — Literary  honors — "  Causes  of  the  American 
Ci>il  War" — Apiniinted  by  President  Joimson,  in  lb06,  Jlinister  Pleniiiotentiary  to  Austria — 
Recalled  in  ISO" — In  IS09  nominated  by  President  Gnint,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the 
Court  of  St.  James — His  diplomatic  ability — Recalled  in  1870,  and  remains  in  Europe  pui-su- 
iug  his  historical  studies — Character  as  a  historian 319-323 

GEORGE  BANCROFT. 

Ncft  necessary  that  a  gimd  historian  should  devote  himself  to  his  work  alone — Many  instances  to 
the  contrary — Mr.  B;mcn.>ft's  birth  and  parent;ige — E;irly  education — Entei's  Harvaril  Col- 
lege in  lSi;i — Goes  to  Germany,  and  spends  two  years  in  cU>se  study  at  Gottingen — Makes  a 
tour  of  Europe  in  ISJl,  and  returns  to  America  in  1S22 — Greek  tutor  in  Harvard  College — 
Vith  Dr.  Cogswell  establishes  the  Round  Hill  School  at  Northampton — His  great  work,  ''  The 
History  of  the  United  States  " — Av>i)ointed,  in  1S3S,  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Boston,  which  situ- 
ation he  resigned  in  1S41 — Appointed  by  President  Polk,  Secretary  of  the  Jsavy — In  1S4G, 
sent  as  Minister  Plenivxitentiary  to  Great  Britain — His  diplon\atic  abilities — Returns  to  the 
United  States  in  1S49,  and  in  l!>o2  publishes  the  fourth  and  fifth  volumes  of  his  history — Other 
Tolumes  issued  in  lSo4,  '58,  '63,  and  '66 — His  jwlitical  views — Minister  to  Prussia  in  1S67 — 
Negotiates  a  treaty  with  the  North  German  Confederation — Literary  honois — Varied  character 
of  luslife 3-2-1-330 

ELiiiu  BEXJA:^^IX  'washburne.  x 

Birth  and  early  apprenticeship — Studies  law  at  llar\ard  University — Elected  to  Congress  in  1S53, 
and  to  succeeding  Congresses  till  1871 — "  Father  of  the  House  " — Chairman  of  Committee  ou 
Commerce,  and  of  various  other  im)xirtant  committees — Grant  and  Washburne's  first  inti- 
macy, and  his  suliseijuent  vindication  of  General  Grant — .\bility  as  a  speaker — In  18G9  ap- 
pointed by  President  Grant,  Secretary  of  State,  which  he  shortly  resigned,  and  accepted  tho 
position  of  Minister  to  France — Remains  in  Paris  during  the  siege  of  1S70-1 — His  judicious 
and  able  management  of  aflaii-s  on  the  occasion — Great  diplomatic  ability 331-334 

ROBERT  CUMMIXG  SCHEXCK. 

Diplomacy,  what  is  it,  and  who  qualified  for  the  work? — United  States  views  on  the  subject — 
Her  representatives  equal  to  those  of  any  other  State  or  Court — Qualifications  of  Mr.  Schenck 
as  U.  S.  Representative  at  the  Court  of  St.  James — His  birth  and  ancestry — Educ;>tion — Ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1828 — Representative  in  the  State  Legislature  of  Ohio,  for  Dayton,  in 
1841 — Electeil  to  Congress  in  184;i,  and  re-electi^d  in  184o,  '47,  and  '49 — Api>ointed  by  Presi- 
dent Fillmore,  Minister  to  Brazil,  in  1S.)1 — His  great  abilities  as  Member  of  Congress,  and  as 
Foreign  Minister — Ketunis  to  Ohio  in  18.V1,  and  practises  his  profession — Suppi>rts  Mr.  Lin- 
coln in  1860,  :is  a  csindidate  for  the  Presidency — Appointed  Brigadier-General  of  volunteers — 
His  conduct  at  Bull  Run — Sul>sequent  career — Joins  the  army  of  Virginia — Severely 
■wounded— Commands  the  Middle  Military  Dep;\rtment— The  "  woman  difficulty  "in  Balti- 
more, and  how  overcome — Resigns  his  omimission  in  186:5,  and  takes  his  seat  in  Congress — 
Made  House  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs— ReM?lected  to  the  Thirty -eighth, 
Thirty-ninth,  Fortieth  and  Forty-first  Congresses,  and  liecime  leader  of  the  House — His 
general  character— .\pixiintcil  by  President  Grant,  .\mKissador  to  Great  Britain  in  1871 — 
His  diplomatic  ability  there,  esi>ecially  regjirding  the  Alal«nia  Claims — Literary  accomplish- 
ments—Personal appearance,  and  intensify  of  his  feelings 335-341 

ANDREW  GREGG  CURTIX. 

Birth  and  edacation — Ancestry — Studies  law — Admitted  to  the  bar — Takes  an  interest  in  poli- 
tics— Canvasses  for  General  Harristm,  for  Henry  Clay,  for  Genpral  Taylor,  and  General 
Scvtt — On  the  electoral  ticket  in  l!*4S  and  ls.''2 — Peclint-s  nomination  for  Governor — State 
SecretHry — Lal>ors  :n  behalf  of  education — Devotes  himself  to  the  practice  of  law — .K  le.iding 
railroad  man — Nominated  and  elected  Governor  in  isr.0 — His  incessant  laUirs  in  raising 
troops,  organizing  a  reser^-e  corj^,  and  prot.>cting  Penn«yl\-ania  during  the  war — Invj\sions 
of  Pennsylvania — Re-elected  in  1863 — Actively  engaged  in  business  since  hLs  retirement  from 


XVni  CONTENTS. 

office— His  iwlitical  serrices— Pressed  by  Iiis  friends  for  Vice-Presidency,  but  withdraws  his 
name— In  ISO'J,  appointed  United  StiUes  Minister  to  the  Kussian  Court— Tlie  C'atacazy  ditti- 
culty  amicably  settled  by  the  able  management  of  Mr.  Curtin ^42-343 

DAVID  DAVIS. 

Insight  of  President  Lincoln  in  selecting  men  for  high  official  jiositions — Ability  of  the  members 

of  tlie  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States — Birth  and  lineage  of  Mr.  Davis — Education 

Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1835 — Early  intimacy  between  Davis  and  Lincoln — Davis  is  appointed 
Judge  of  the  Eighth  Judicial  Circuit,  in  Illinois,  in  1S48 — Appointed  by  President  Lincoln 
as  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States — His  ability  on  the  bench His  opin- 
ion regarding  martial  law — Garland  vs.  Cuniming!: — Bretman  vs.  lilioda — The  Vezif  Bank 
case — Appointed  administrator  of  the  estate  of  President  Lincoln — His  shrewd  foresight  re- 
garding the  purchiUie  of  land  in  and  around  Chicago 346-351 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 

Birth — Ancestry — Education — Eminence  as  a  scholar — Studies  law — His  great  attainments  in 
the  literature  of  the  law — Edits  the  "American  Jurist  " — Reporter  to  the  Circuit  Court — 
Sumner's  Reports — Lecturer  in  the  law  school,  and  editor  of  law  treatises — Visits  Europe — 
His  cordial  reception  there — Incidents — Return  to  America — Devotes  himself  to  law  studies, 
and  to  lecturing  on  law^Oration  on  "  The  Tnie  Grandeur  of  Nations  " — Offered  a  place  as 
Judge  Storj's  successor  in  the  Law  School — Determines  to  enter  political  life  as  an  Aboli- 
tionist— His  public  addresses  on  slavery — Associates  himself  with  the  Free-Soil  party — Elected 
United  States  Senator  in  1851 — His  avowed  position — His  great  speeches  on  slavery — The 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill — "  The  worst  and  best  bill  at  the  same  time  " — Anti-slaverj'  speeches 
out  of  Congress — His  eloquence — His  speech  on  "  The  crime  against  Kansas  " — The  murder- 
ous assault  of  Brooks  and  his  a-ssociates  upon  Mr.  Sumner — The  effect  upon  the  nation — 
The  distressing  result  of  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  Mr.  Sumner — His  recovery,  and  return 
to  his  pbice  in  the  Senate — His  oration  on  "  The  Barbarism  of  Slavery" — His  opposition  to 
all  compromise — In  18G1  made  Chairnutn  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations — In  1871 
removed  from  this  to  be  Chairman  on  Privileges  and  Elections — Reviews  President  Grant's 
Administration — Mr.  Sumner's  general  character — Personal  appearance,  culture,  and  com- 
prehensiveness of  his  views  as  a  statesman 352-366 

HENRY  WILSON. 

Birth — Early  struggles  with  poverty — His  thirst  for  know  ledge — His  reply  to  Senator  Ham- 
mond— He  enters  a  shoe  shop  to  learn  the  ti-ade — Attempts  to  obtain  a  collegiate  education — 
He  is  foiled  by  fraud — In  the  academy — Visit  to  Washington — Discussion — Returns  to  Natick 
and  shoemaking — Entere  political  life— Elected  to  the  Legislature — State  Senator — Petitions 
against  admission  of  Texas  as  a  slave  State — Speech  in  opposition  to  farther  extension  and 
longer  existence  of  slavery  in  America — Becomes  a  Free-Soiler  in  1848— Edits  the  Bnston 
Ki'pubU-an — Again  in  the  Legislature — State  Senator — Originates  the  coalition — Candidate 
for  Congress,  and  for  Governor— Elected  United  States  Senator  in  1855,  as  successor  to  Edward 
Everett— Horror  of  the  old  line  AVhigs— Mr.  Wilson's  qualifications  for  the  position— He  is 
twice  re-elected— His  hostility  to  slavery— His  defiance  of  the  Southern  leaders— The  attack 
on  Mr.  Sumner  "brutal,  murderous,  and  cowardly  "—Brooks's  challenge— Wilson's  reply- 
Brooks  silenced— Wilson's  courage— Chairman  of  Military  Affairs— His  incessant  labors  in 
that  committee  and  in  the  Senate— Incidents  of  the  early  days  of  the  war— General  Scott's 
appreciation  of  his  services— His  military  service— Raises  two  regiments— Volunteer  aid  on 
General  MrClellan's  staff— The  General's  regret  at  his  resignation— :Military  measures  origi- 
nated by  him— Mr.  Cameron's  opinion— His  intercourse  with  Secretary  Stanton— Mr.  Wil- 
son's constant  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  armv— Other  measures  advocated  by  him— Anti- 
slavery  legislation— The  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill— His  zeal  for  the  oppressed— His  character 
—A  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency  in  ISfiS— Again  elected  to  the  Senate  in  1871— Nomi- 
nated to  the  Vien.Prosidency  at  the  National  Republican  Convention  held  at  Philadelphia, 
June  5th  and  Gth,  1872 307-386 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

LYMAN  TRUMBULL. 

Birth  and  parentage — His  education — Removal  to  Georgia — Admission  to  the  bar — Removal  to 
Illinois  and  settlement  in  Chicago — Election  to  the  State  Legislature — Becomes  Secretary  of 
St;ite^Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois — Representative  in  Congress — Election  to 
the  U.  S.  Senate — Twice  re-elected — His  opposition  to  secession — Advocacy  of  conciliation — 
Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee — He  moves  an  amendment  to  the  Confiscation  Bill — 
Advocates  and  defends  the  Emancipation  Proclamation — Sustains  the  act  susjjending  the 
habeas  corpus — Defends  the  first  Frcedman's  Bureau  Bill,  attaching  an  amendment  provid- 
ing for  permanent  confiscation  of  rebel  property — Aided  in  drawing  up  the  second  and  third 
Freedmen's  Bureau  Bills — Presented  the  Civil  Bights  Bill — His  course  in  regard  to  the  im- 
peachment of  President  Johnson — Supports  General  Grant's  election  in  1868 — Character  and 
judicial  attainments 387-391 

JOHN  SHEEMAN. 

His  ancestry — The  family  large — John  sent  to  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio,  to  school — At  fourteen  be- 
gins to  earn  his  own  way — Studies  civil  engineering  with  Colonel  Curtis — Curtis  removed 
from  office,  and  Sherman  discharged — Wants  to  go  to  college,  but  cannot  accomplish  it — 
Studies  law  and  literature,  and  works  as  a  law  clerk,  all  at  the  same  time — Admitted  to  the 
bar — In  partnership  with  his  brother  Charles — In  political  life — Delegate  to  national  con- 
ventions— Presidential  elector — Elected  to  Congress — His  services  there — Re-elected  three 
times — Chosen  United  States  Senator,  in  Mr.  Chase's  place,  in  18G1,  and  re-elected  in  1807^ 
His  labore  on  the  Finance  Committee — His  bill  to  fund  the  public  indebtedness — His  support 
of  home  industry — Action  on  reconstruction — His  new  funding  bill  in  the  Fortieth  Congress — 
Its  provisions — His  defence  of  it — Subsequent  modification  of  his  views — His  material  assis- 
tance in  funding  at  lower  rates  of  interest  the  five-twenty  bonds — Personal  appearance — 
Eflectiveness  as  a  speaker 392-102 

CARL  SCHURZ. 

Bom  in  Germany — Student  of  the  University  of  Bonn — Through  political  complications  escapes 
to  the  Palatinate — Assists  in  the  defence  of  Radstadt — Goes  to  Switzerland  in  1849 — In  1850 
returns  to  Germany  and  releases  his  friend  Kinkel  from  prison — Escape  of  the  fugitives  to 
Leith — Paris  correspondent  6f  some  German  newspapers — Arrives  in  London  in  1851,  mar- 
ries there,  and  goes  to  America — Devotes  his  attention  for  three  years  in  Philadelphia 
to  political,  historical  and  legal  studies — Practises  the  law  at  Madison,  Wisconsin — His  first 
speech  in  English — Great  abilities  as  a  politician  and  an  orator — Lectures  and  speeches — In 
18U0  delegate  to  the  Republican  National  Convention — Great  services  to  the  Republican 
cause — Appointed  Minister  to  Spain  by  President  Lincoln — Resigns  the  situation  at  the  out- 
break of  the  civil  war,  to  take  part  in  the  military  service  of  his  adopted  country — Appuiated 
Brigadier-General  of  volunteera  in  1862 — Major-General  in  1803 — Distinguishes  himself  at 
the  second  Bull  Run  battle — His  conduct  at  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  and  Cliattanooga — 
Resigns,  and  returns  to  Detroit,  Michigan — Appointed  by  President  Johnson  commissioner 
to  report  on  the  Freedmen's  Bureau — In  1865-66  corresjioadeat  of  tire  iVew  i'/rk  Tribune — 
In  1866  establishes  the  Detroit  Post,  and  afterwards  at  St.  Louis  the  Westliche  I'nsI — Delegate 
to  the  Republican  Convention  of  May,  1868,  at  Cliicago — United  States  Senator  in  1869 — 
Powerful  in  debate — Instigates  the  investigation  respecting  tlie  sale  of  arms  to  France — Con- 
tinued interest  in  Fatherland — Personal  appearance.  403-408 


Jy  MORTON.        ^6/ 


OLIVER  PERCY  MORTON. 

Birth  and  early  life — Enters  Miami  University — Studies  law — Marries — Acquires  distinction  in 
the  legal  profession — Nominated  for  Governor  in  1856,  but  defeated — His  energy  and  tact  in 
the  thorough  organization  of  the  Republican  party — Elected  Lieutenant-Governor  in  1860, 
for  Indiana — Becomes  Governor — Condition  of  affairs  in  Indiana  at  this  time — Corrup- 
tion and  fraud — Secessionism — He  commits  the  State  to  loyalty — His  e.xertions  to  send  troops 
into  the  field — Sends  State  agents  to  care  for  Indiana  soldiers — The  condition  of  Kentucky — 
Ascertains  the  plans  of  the  rebels  there— 8i»nds  aid  to  the  Union  men  at  Louisville  and  else- 
wh''re — The  Kentucky  Unionists  adopt  him  as  their  Governor — Governor  Morton's  fidelity 
to  the  absent  troops — Malicious  charges  of  his  enemies — He  is  triumphantly  vindicated — In- 


XX  CONTENTS. 

flupncc  with  the  Govomment — The  "Order  of  American  Knights" — Their  hatred  of  Gover- 
nor Morton— The  "butternut  ticket" — The  copperheud  Legislature— Tlieir  insults  to  the 
Governor — They  refuse  to  pixss  the  appropriation  bills — Their  intention  to  embiirrass  Gover- 
nor Jtorton— His  course— The  bureau  of  finance— Re-nonunated  for  Govornor— His  over- 
whelming labore  at  this  time — Re-election  by  a  sweeping  raajority-^Complete  overthrow  of 
the  "  Sons  of  Liberty  "  organization — Zeal  for  the  soldiers — Welcomes  them  home — Physical 
exhaustion— Paralysis— He  sails  for  Kurope— His  health  still  feeble — Is  elected  to  the  Senate 
Services  there — Speech  on  reconstruction — Earnest  friend  and  zealous  defender  of  Presi- 
dent Grant^Lofty  patriotism  and  great  integrity  of  character 409-422 

REUBEN  E.  FENTON. 

Birth  and  lineage — Early  education— He  reads  law— Engages  in  mercantile  business,  and  after  a 
time  in  the  lumber  trade — Is  successful — Chosen  supervisor — Elected  Representative  in 
Congress  in  lS."i2,  and  again  in  '50,  "58,  '00,  and  '02— Labors  in  Congress — Opposition  to  slavery 
—An  active  supjiorter  of  the  Government  during  the  war — Elected  Governor  of  New 
York  in  1S04 — Able  administration — His  opposition  to  coiTuption — Sympathy  with  the 
Boliliers — His  vetoes — Address  to  President  Johnson,  1S66 — The  political  situation  in  the 
autumn  of  186G — Governor  Fenton  re-nominated  and  re-elected  by  a  larger  mnjority  than  at 
first — Continuation  of  his  policy — The  rebel  dead  at  Antietani — The  Governor's  message  of 
1868— His  fidelity  to  the  people— Elected  U.  S.  Senator  iu  18G9 — Politiail  views 423-134 

WILLIAM   ALFRED  BUCKIXGHAM. 

His  lineage — His  birth  and  early  training — His  education — Clerk  in  New  York  city,  and  after- 
warti  in  Norwich— In  business  for  himself— Treasurer  of  Hayward  Rubber  Company— One 
of  the  foundei-s  of  the  Norwich  Free  Academy — JIayor  of  Norwich— His  benevolence-^ 
Elected  Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  seven  times  re-elected — His  prompt  and  noble  action 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war — Equips  the  troops  on  his  own  responsibility — Sends  his 
Adjutant-General  to  W;ishington  to  cheer  the  President — Official  letters  to  the  President — 
Congratulation  to  the  President  on  the  issue  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation— The  majori- 
ties by  which  he  was  re-elected — Close  of  his  gubernatorial  career— In  ISCO  returns  to  Nor- 
wich, and  engages  in  mercantile  affairs — Elected  United  States  Senator  in  18(59— His  con- 
duct as  a  Senator 435-441 

WILLIAM  GANNAWAY  BROWNLOW. 

His  birth  and  ancestry— Early  struggles — Learns  a  trade — Goes  to  school— Enters  the  Blethodist 
ministry — Political  experiences  in  South  Carolina — Controversy  on  slavery — His  prediction — 
His  account  of  his  political  creed — Establishes  the  Knoxi-ille  Wing  in  1837 — Its  character — 
■  "  The  Fighting  Pai'son  " — Discussion  with  Kev.  J.  R.  Graves — Debate  with  Rev.  Abram 
Payne — Brownlow  for  the  Union  unconditiomiUy — He  is  persecuted  by  the  secessionists — His 
paper  stopped — His  imprisonment  for  four  months — Sent  into  the  Union  lines — Makes  a  tour 
of  the  Northern  States — "Brownlow's  Book  " — Residence  in  Ohio — Returns  to  Nashville  and 
Knoxville— He  re-establishes  his  paper  under  the  title  of  The  Knnxvilk  Wliiij  and  BeM 
Ventilator — Elected  Governor  of  Tennessee  in  1865,  and  re-elected  in  1867— Elected  U.  S. 
Senator  for  six  years,  from  March,  1869— His  account  of  himself— Intensity  of  expi-ession, 
and  force  of  will 442-449 

JAMES  HARLAN. 

Birth  and  early  educational  advantages— Educated  at  Ashbury  University — Professor  of  lan- 
guages in  Iowa  City  College — State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction— Studies-  law  and 
practises  it  for  five  yeara — President  of  Wesleyan  University,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Iowa— Elected 
U.  S.  Senator — Resigns  the  presidency  of  the  university,  but  accepts  the  professorship  of 
political  economy,  etc. — His  course  in  the  Sei\ate — His  severe  rebuke  of  the  Democracy — 
Vote  to  unseat  him  on  account  of  irreguladty  in  his  election — Heturns  to  Iowa,  and  is  imme- 
diately re-elected,  and  returns  to  his  seat — Jlember  of  the  Peace  Congress  of  1801 — An  inti- 
mate friend  and  adviser  of  President  Lincoln — Review  of  his  Senatorial  action— Extract  from 
one  of  his  speeches — Member  of  Union  Congressional  Committee  in  1864 — .\ppointed  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  by  President  Lincoln — Cannot  sympathize  with  "  BIy  Policy  " — Ke- 
gigng_Is  returned  to  the  Senate  in  1SC7— Acts  on  various  important  committees  there 450-460 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

HON.  KOSCOE  CONKLING. 

Circumstances  of  Mr.  Ck>nkling's  first  election  to  Congress — His  birth  and  lineage — His  educa- 
tion— He  studies  law — Appointed  District  Attorney  for  Oneida  county — Mayor  of  Utica — 
Klectod  to  Congress— Thrice  re-elected — He  detects  and  convicts  some  parties  of  frauds  against 
the  Government — The  "  ring  "  determine  to  crusli  him — The  exciting  Congressional  canvass 
of  18C6 — Mr.  Conkling  elected  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  in  January,  18G7 — His  intense  radicalism — 
The  case  of  Judge  Patterson  of  Tennessee — Mr.  Conkling's  speech — His  personal  appearance 
and  character 461^65 

MAJOR-GENERAL  JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 

Birth,  and  early  advantages  of  educiition — Enlists  in  the  Mexican  war — Returns  home  and  studies 
law — Elected  county  clerk — Admitted  to  the  bar — Elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  third 
judicial  district — Sent  to  the  Legislature — Married — Elected  to  Congress  in  1858  and  in  1860 
— Joins  the  army  as  a  private  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run — Colonel  Slst  Illinois  volunteers — In 
battle  of  Belmont — At  Fort  McHenry — Wounded  at  Fort  Donelson — Brigadier-General  at 
Shiloh— In  command  at  Jackson,  Tennessee — Major-General  of  volunteei-s,  November  29th, 
18t')2 — Takes  part  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg — Saves  the  day  at  Raymond,  Mississippi,  May  12th, 
1853 — Makes  the  assault,  June  25th,  on  Vicksburg — His  column  the  first  to  enter  the  city  of 
Vicksburg  after  its  surrender — He  is  made  its  military  governor — On  furlougli  at  tlie  North 
in  the  autumn  of  18G3 — Commands  the  fifteenth  army  corps  from  November,  18G3 — Takes 
part  in  tlie  march  to  Atlanta  and  its  terrible  fighting — "McPhei-son  and  revenge" — In  the 
Presidential  cani|)aign  of  186-1 — .loins  his  corps  at  S;ivannah,  and  marches  through  the  Caro- 
linas — Commander  of  tlie  Army  of  the  Tennessee — Appointed  Minister  to  Slexico,  but  de- 
clined— Elected  to  the  Fortieth  Congress  from  the  State  at  large — One  of  the  impeachment 
managers — Re-elected  to  the  Forty-fii'St  and  Forty-second  Congresses — In  1871  elected  a 
U.  S.  Senator — Becomes  President  Grant's  eulogist  and  defender  in  1872 406-471 

HON.   JAMES  F.  "WILSON. 

His  eminence  as  a  lawyer — Birth  and  education — Removes  to  Fairfield,  Iowa — A  member  of  the 
Iowa  constitutional  convention — Civil  appointments — Chosen  State  Senator — Be-elected^and 
made  President  of  tlie  Senate — Manifests  remarkable  ability — Elected  to  Congress,  and 
tlirice  re-elected— Appointed  Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  on  the  part  of  the  House — 
Acquits  himself  with  great  ability — His  speech  on  granting  impartial  suffrage  in  the  District 
of  Columbia — One  of  the  impeachment  managei-s — Repeatedly  offered  Cabinet  positions  and 
missions  in  Europe — In  1872  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate 472-47o 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN   BUTLER. 

Moral  and  physical  qualities  often  inherited — General  Butler's  ancestry — His  birth — Enters 
Waterville  college,  Maine — Gi-aduates — Studies  law — Voyage  to  Labrador — His  indomitable 
energy,  and  fondness  for  work — His  interest  in  politics — A  democrat — Delegate  to  national 
conventions — A  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  of  the  constitutional  convention — Opposes 
the  Know-Nothing  party  vehemently — Is  elected  Brigadier-General  by  the  militia  officers, 
and  receives  his  commission  from  Governor  Gardner — A  n)eniber  of  the  State  Senate — The 
measures  advocated — A  delegate  to  the  Charleston  Democratic  Convention  in  1800 — His  con- 
duct there — Nominates  Breckinridge — Unpopular  at  home — Visits  Washington — He  returns 
home,  and  urges  Governor  Andrew  to  prepare  for  war — Starts  for  Washington  with  three 
regiments,  April  H)th,  1801 — Landing  at  Annapolis — The  march  from  Annapiilis  to  Washing- 
ton— Laying  track  all  the  way — In  command  of  the  department  of  Annapolis — Baltimore  in 
rebel  hands — Takes  possession  (if  the  city — At  Fortress  Monroe — Big  Bethel — Slaves  "con- 
traband of  war" — Expedition  to  Fort  Ilatteras — The  New  Orleans  expedition — Butler  com- 
mands the  land  forces — Ship  Island— Takes  possession  of  New  Orleans — His  occupation  and 
government  of  the  city — What  he  accomplished — He  is  relieved  of  his  command — His  ser- 
vices elsewhere  in  1803— The  New  York  riots — In  command  of  the  army  of  the  James — The 
attack  on  Petersburg — The  Dutch  Gap  Ciinal — Subsequent  movements — Expedition  against 
Fort  Fisher — General  Butler  elected  to  the  Fortieth  Congress — One  of  the  managers  of  the 
impeachment  trial — His  ability  as  a  lawyor — Satirical  jwwer — He  squelches  Fernando  Wood 
— Supports  President  Grant's  administration — Unpleasantness  with  some  of  the  leading  Re- 
publicans and  Democrats— Runs  for  Governor  of  Massachusetts  jn  1871,  but  is  defeated — His 
character 476-194 


Xxil  CONTENTS. 

HON.  WILLIAM  D.  KELLEY. 

Early  struggles — Removal  to  Boston — Contributes  to  the  newspapers  of  the  day — Bemores  to 
Philadelphia — Studies  law,  and  is  admitted  to  the  bar — Appiunted  Attorney-General  of  the 
State — Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas — Extracts  from  an  address  before  the  Linnsean 
Society  of  Pennsylvania  College — Elected  to  Congress,  and  three  times  returned — Counsel 
fi>r  the  Govemment  in  the  privateer  "  Jeff.  Davis "  case — Speech  on  impartial  suffrage — 
Other  important  speeches  in  Congress  and  abroad — Visit  to  the  Southern  States — Opposition 
to  Mr.  Johnson's  policy — High  character — One  instance  of  his  moral  courage 495-603 

HEXRY  LAUREXS  DAWES. 

Born  in  "  The  Switzerland  of  America  " — Education — Studies  law  and  edits  the  Greenfield  Gazette — 
Character— In  1848.  '49,  and  '52  elected  to  the  State  Legislature — In  ISoO  State  Senator — Dis- 
trict Attorney  in  lSo3 — Member  of  Congress — Chairman  of  various  impv>rtant  committees 
there 504-506 

BEXJAMIN   GRATZ   BROWX. 

Birth,  ancestry  and  education — In  1852  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature — Edits  the  Missouri 
Democrai — Advocates  the  Free  Soil  pi-inciples — His  conduct  during  the  war — In  1863  elected 
V .  S.  Senator  for  Missotiri — Serves  on  many  imjwrtant  committees — Governor  of  Missouri — 
His  able  administra.tion — Nominated  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  at  the  Convention 
at  Cincinnati,  in  1872 — His  letter  on  the  subject — Personal  appearance,  and  character 507-514 

JOHN  McAULEY  PALMER. 

Successively  cooper,  peddler,  teacher,  and  lawyer — Various  legal  and  jiolitical  appointments — 
Colonel  of  the  14th  Illinois  volunteers — His  gallant  exploits  during  the  civil  war — Major- 
Oeneral  of  volunteers — Joins,  in  1865,  the  Feileral  forces  in  Kentucky — In  1868  and  1870 
elected  Governor  of  Illinois — Able  administration — Character 515-523 

JOHN  THOMAS  HOFFMAN. 

studies  law — Political  career — Practises  his  profession — In  1S60  elected  Recorder  of  the  city  of 
New  York — Re-elected  in  1863 — Mayor  of  New  York  in  1866 — Chairman  in  1867  of  the 
Democratic  State  Convention — Re-elected  Mayor— Chosen  Governor  of  the  State  in  1S68- 
Able  and  judicious  administration — In  1870  re-elected  Governor — Personal  appearance,  and 
character 524-533 

EDWIN  D.  MORGAN. 

Birth  of  Mr.  Morgan — Becomes  a  partner — Removes  to  New  York — Alderman.— Commissioner  of 
Emigration — Governor  in  1858 — Re-elected  in  1860 — Great  labors  during  the  firet  two  years  of 
the  war — Major-General  of  volunteers — United  States  Senator — His  course  in  the  Senate — 
•  ffered  the  position  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  but  declines  it — Engages  in  commercial 
and  financial  enterprises 534-,^37 

JOSEPH  RUSSELL  HAWLEY. 

Journalist,  soldier,  and  politician — Studies  law — Edits  the  Hartford  Ex^ming  Press — His  career 
during  the  late  war — Ability  as  a  soldier — Governor  of  Connecticut  in  1866 — Cliaracter 5oS-542 

HORACE  GREELEY. 

Birth— Family  history— Hardships  in  early  life — Early  choice  of  a  vocation— Boy  life  in  Ver- 
mont— Teetotalism — Learns  the  printer's  trade — The  printing-office  at  East  Poultney,  Ver- 
mont— His  extraordinary  memory — Works  at  Sodus,  New  York,  and  at  Erie,  Pennsylvania — 
Resolves  to  try  his  fortunes  in  New  York  city — His  description  of  liis  entrj-  into  the  metropo- 
lis—The pocket  Testament— Other  work— Partnership  with  3Ir.  Winchester— The  j\eio 
y'jrktr  prosperity — Marriage — The  crisis  of  1837 — Living  through  it— Mr.  Greeley  edits  also 
the  Jeffersoniau  in  1S38,  and  the  Log  Cabin  in  1840— Starting  the  Tribim't — His  success — 
Fourierism — The  monthly  American  Laborer — Book  publishing — The  Evening  and  jS-mi- 
Weekly  Tribune — Burning  of  the  Tribune  office — Mr.  Greeley  in  Congress — Great  success  of 
the  Tribune — Mr.  Greeley's  "  Hints  towards  Reform  " — Visits  England — His  services  to  popu- 
lar literature  there — His  course  during  the  war — Mobbing  of  the  office — His  "History  of  the 


CONTENTS.  XXIU 

American  Conflict,"  and  other  literary  productions — "  Wliat  I  Know  About  Farming  " — His 
great  influence — Gradually  withdraws  from  the  Administration — Nominated  for  the  Presi- 
dency at  the  Liberal  Republican  Convention  in  Cincinnati,  May,  1872 — The  Democracy 
generally  sanction  the  nomination — The  address  and  platform  of  the  Cincinnati  Convention 
sent  him — Mr.  Greeley's  reply — Withdraws  from  the  editorship  of  the  Tribune. — Charac- 
ter  543-574 

WILLIAM  S.   GROESBECK. 

Studies  law  in  Albany,  and  practises  his  profession  in  Cincinnati — In  1856  Representative  in  Con- 
giess — Member  of  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs — In  18G8  counsel  for  President  Johnson  on 
his  trial — Devotes  his  time  latterly  to  his  profession 575-576 

THOMAS   A.   HENDRICKS. 

Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1843 — Practises  his  profession  in  Indianapolis — ^Political  career — In  1862 
elected  U.  S.  Senator — Great  influence  in  Indiana 577-578 

WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON. 

Apprenticeship — Indentured  to  a  printer — Starts  two  or  three  papers — His  decided  anti-slavery 
views — His  articles  excite  hostility — Lectures  on  slavery — Issues  the  first  number  of  the 
LH'crator  in  January,  1831 — Organizes  the  New  England  Anti-Slavery  Society — Visits  Eng- 
land in  1S33 — His  cordial  reception  there — American  Anti-Slavery  Society  formed — .Mr.  Gar- 
rison mobbed — The  peace  question — World's  Anti-Slavery  Convention — Mr.  Garrison  again 
in  Europe  in  1840 — His  action  during  the  war — Efforts  for  emancipation — Fort  Sumter — At 
the  close  of  the  war  withdraws  from  the  American  Anti-slavery  Society — Visits  England  in 
1867 — A  banquet  given  him  by  John  Bright  and  others — Other  honors — American  testimonial 
of  S33,000— His  letter  to  a  friend 579-592 

WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 

Bemarka'ole  scholarship — Avows  himself  a  co-worker  with  Garrison — The  thirty  years'  contest — 
His  gifts  as  a  public  lecturer — His  reply  to  tli^  Attorney-General  at  Faneuil  Hall — Mr.  Pliillips 
at  the  anniversiries  of  the  American  Anti  Slavery  Society — His  power  over  his  audiences — 
Mr.  Delane  of  the  London  Times — Reforms  advocated  by  Mr.  Phillips — His  versatility — In 
private  life „ 593-601 

GERRIT   SMITH. 

Studies  law — His  eloquence — anti-slavery  views — Temperance — Hostility  to  tobacco— Prison  re- 
form— Land  reform — Gives  away  two  hundred  thous;ind  acres  of  land,  mostly  in  small  farms 
and  money  with  each^Troubles  with  his  colonists — John  Brown — Elected  to  Congress — Re- 
signs— Temporary  insanity— Sustiuns  the  Government  during  tlie  war — Helps  to  bail  Jeffer- 
son Davis — Ilis  religious  views — His  published  works — In  1872  favors  President  Grant's  re- 
election  _ 602-606 

REV.    HENRY   WARD    BEECHER. 

Popularity — Reasons  for  it — Versatility  of  talent — Remarkable  industrj' — Cultivated  taste — The 
Beecher  family — Birth  of  Henry  Waixl — His  youthful  training — Desire  to  go  to  sea — General 
Culture — Theological  course — Professional  career — Publishes  lectures  to  young  men — Edits 
an  agricultural  paper — Called  to  Plymouth  church,  Brooklyn — Peculiarity  of  his  preaching — 
Growth  of  his  church — Increase  of  his  salary — Outside  work — Care  of  his  body  and  brain — His 
immense  labors — Goes  to  Europe — Speaks  there  in  behalf  of  his  country — Labors  for  the 
soldiers — Edits  the  Christian  Union — In  1872  supfwrts  President  Grant — His  leaning  to  exces- 
sive mercy  to  the  South — His  earnest  patriotism G07-619 

MATTHEW   SIMPSON   D.D.,   LL.D. 

Classical  and  philosophical  studies — Graduates  M.D.  in  1833 — Devotes  himself  to  the  ministry — 
Elected  bishop  in  18.52 — A  hard  worker — Intimate  friend  of  President  Lincoln — Great  eff'orts 
for  his  country's  welfare 620-623 

JAY   COOKE. 

Education — Early  employments — Accepts  a  situation  with  E.  W.  Clark  A  Co. — Becomes  a  partner 
at  twenty-one — Leading  partner  in  the  firm — Retires  from  the  firm  in  1858 — Forms  a  partner- 


XXIV  OOSTBXTS. 

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n>i  i  ■  >,>.>■.■.<, c.-.-or  ,.:  ::-.:  f.-..;f— Ai-.-i — Hk  (OLweaiv*  WhH»— TW  ghMOiqr  wMtiafc  m 
trs;— r.  .  :^  x;  ^-..i:  <■...-,-.•>« — T>.f  -\::.ci:  b4H^«^  ^Jfcf  Ite MiUji^tiBt. ««  fa*  ItWl 
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Ko*— vV^n>t».>et$  <,'4~  a«:i  i\vi»  Jt  CVv  stec*  di#  wr— bi  ISn  WwMiAiw  «  hruKk  ktoUi  i» 
liMKk* — It$  $TviM  j«.-\>i<s»— Xf^'CMliis  ttw  fti»Kas  «r  94MM,m9  of  raisod  ;^»Me  Bk*^ 
«t  .>  p«T  i-««t— ¥%«.-»l  a«^^•t  of  dw  Xv«th«ni  FtKiSc  K»a«MJ  Ifr  Kkxnlit;'— TV*  i«a  fcr 
ku>>-«\'<iL«i  p«fCA«(S, _ — — — ■■■ W<  <W 

ALEXA^'PEH  Tl'K^'EY  STEWART. 

»B>  S*w  Y^-st.— A  t«K-i«^Ki;t5  w  bostaiss— Usf  Fnacjftee  i»  k«suM»— &««•  fiM>!is^t — 
iiiv«t  wea&.-fT— No  s^yv-ubtxk^a— >\«t.ia«»  &«  v-testcal  litaranu*  •»<  ftr  IW  •»«  ««—<>■»- 

ABIEL  ABBOT  LOW. 

Suir  fii^— ]:<«wkMK»  i»  C^sjk— K<ffKrTa  V  Aak^ncat— SfCkfefiskos  tkt«  kK>«!«  v>f  A.  A.  Tj^  k  Bl*- 
— Ht»  ba$«~)t«».k>i  at*«a-;y — Pr«ai*a;  cf  N>*  T«»»k  Owttwr  «f  CV>«k»««v* — Biis  Otcvoi^ 

eOKSEUUS  YAS'PEBBILT. 

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tk*  H*A.v.  tit*  SWMWI>  WMl  HitmiiktM  liyyioW**  »>w  Hit.  wtMnfc-  Tfc»  3au»wift 
tCNKil— Six.  VMNkrtttt^  <»<»jj  a»4  canwytfat  "3h>k«s  tlt«  hmt  if  Emivy*  *»  kfe  •«» 
miiiw»  fciy  ¥litiWiiiifi'  «•  iafefwiAtait  £»#  «if  fits*  scmmmns  t»  H»ti« — CM<»  <rf'  ki$  :t»mwt^ 
A*  VMtAMiitt.  aMtM«  tk«  t<«st  tiak«  of  kk^t  switaMf-  vMk  dt«  A^Mttik— tiift  «,i(  tkts  -*mipr  •» 
_  A<f  t^>T<««»»*«i — Tkuitzs  l>T  CV>ai^T«ss> — Ovaufc-vi.-** — ^X#xiff  Skviws  «ii>WT  vessel  «r  ou^.^ — 

lM*n — A»*v>ik>«i»— tVrsoa*!  i^-tvArasvi?  iai  ciue»--*«- ^iS$-<71 

TUOMAS  ALEXANDER  SCOTT. 

«€  tk«  ""l^MWfc^rtBMM*  ONBkpta^  "—<?«•»  saKvwis  is  railway  f«;>K^rsi>i«»— S»  falMciMk — ^S:i-<W 

CYRUS  WEST  FIELD. 
HON.  EZRA  CORXELL. 

M  Itkio*— Jil»$i^fk«M  Wi«i»i«v*»  «»  «<*Kaili(itt— IWCVnMtt  rwN<wsi<3i>-Ow«oa<»  CVAis* 
—TV'  Ar^-«!nunl  te»i  ^mt— Hfe  p»»w>    Ik*  mMc  <kt»)Kt«r  «f  «^  KhmA.-9Cs<«u  ._«SMM 

PAXIEL   PREW. 

v>»k«  WafSfc.-5:^-a*— Jf>M»»*I  *p{-««»r»2>.-* _ ___„ 6!l$-6j<f 


ULYSSES     SIMFSOX     GRAXT, 

PRESIDENT   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


1 


'X  all  human  history,  vrhenever  a  nation  has  been  rent  bv 
internal  convulsionss,  or  threatened  with  destructicn  bv 
fo]>ngu   invasion,   the   ooeasion  has  always  developed 
^     some  gre^t  leader  to  command  its  armies,  or  restore 
peace  between  its  embittered  factions. 

In  tracing  the  lives  of  the  men  thus  called  to  leadership, 
three  tacts  constantly  attract  our  notice.  They  are  almost, 
without  exception,  of  and  from  the  people;  rarely  or  never 
from  the  aristocratic  class.  Though  intelligent  and  thoughtful 
men,  they  have  usually  led  quiet  and  ot\en  obscure  lives  till 
called  to  their  great  duties,  and  not  unseldom,  neither  they  nor 
their  friends  were  aware  of  the  power  which  was  held  in  reserve 
in  them.  And.  dually,  they  have  not  been  the  men  first  selected 
by  popular  acclaim,  for  the  work  which  they  accomplish. 

President  Grant  has  been  no  exception  to  these  general  laws. 
He  is  a  raan  of  the  people :  though  educated  for  the  army  and 
serving  in  it  for  some  ye^irs  in  a  sul>irdinate  capacity,  his  life 
had  been  quiet  and  obscure,  and  neither  he  nor  his  friends  were 
conscious  of  his  possession  of  these  rare  faculties  which  he  sub- 
sequently displayed.  Moreover,  in  those  days,  when  General 
McClellan  was  reganled  as  the  "  coming  man,"  there  seemed  as 
little  probability  that  this  plain  taciturn  brigadier  at  the  West, 


18  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

would  become  the  general-in-chief  of  all  our  armies,  and  later, 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  as  that  the  diminutive  sub- 
lieutenant of  the  French  army  would  become  Emperor  of 
France,  and  arbiter  of  the  destinies  of  Europe. 

President  Grant  is  descended  from  Matthew  Grant,  a  native  of 
Plymouth,  England,  or  its  vicinity,  who  emigrated  to  Dorches- 
ter. Massachusetts,  in  1630,  and  to  Windsor,  Connecticut,  in 
1636.  His  son  and  grandson,  both  named  Samuel,  settled  in 
the  adjacent  town  of  Tolland.  Noah,  a  son  of  the  second 
Samuel,  removed  to  Coventry,  Connecticut,  and  two  of  his  sens, 
tsToah  and  Solomon,  were  officers  (captain  and  lieutenant)  in  the 
Provincial  army,  in  the  old  French  war,  and  both  were  slain  at 
Crown  Point,  or  its  vicinity,  in  1756.  Captain  Noah  Grant 
left  a  fiimily  in  Coventry,  and  his  eldest  son,  also  Noah,  entered! 
the  Continental  army  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
war,  as  lieutenant  of  militia,  and  remained  in  it  till  its  close, 
and,  though  in  many  battles,  was  never  wounded.  After  the 
Avar  he  settled  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  his 
son,  Jesse  Root  Grant,  one  of  a  numerous  family,  was  born,  in 
January,  1794.  The  father  removed  in  1799  to  what  is  now 
Columbiana  county,  and  in  1805  to  Portage  county,  Ohio. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen,  Jesse  was  apprenticed  to  his  half- 
brother,  then  living  at  Maysville,  Kentucky,  to  learn  the  tan- 
ning business,  and  after  serving  his  time,  he  set  up  for  himself  at 
Ravenna,  Portage  county,  Ohio.  Here  several  years  of  toil 
were  followed  by  a  severe  and  protracted  illness  from  inter- 
mittent feve-r.  In  1820  he  removed  to  Point  Pleasant,  Ohio, 
twenty-live  miles  above  Cincinnati,  and  the  same  year  married 
Miss  Hannah  Simpson,  of  Clermont  county,  Ohio.  Their  eldest 
ahild,  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant,  or  as  he  was  christened,  Iliram 
Ulysses  Grant,  was  born  at  Point  Pleasant,  April  27,  1822. 

His  father,  who  is  yet  living,  and  then  an  enterprising  ana 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON"    GRANT.  19 

self-reliant  business  man,  was  ready  to  enter  upon  any  lionest 
undertaking  whiuh  gave  a  promise  of  success.  He  continued 
iais  business  as  a  tanner,  but  did  not  confine  himself  exclusively 
to  that,  and  whatever  he  undertook  prospered.  The  mother 
of  the  President  is  also  still  living,  a  woman  of  sound  judgment, 
marked  and  superior  moral  and  mental  traits  and  endowments, 
a  sincere  and  consistent  Christian,  whose  steadiness,  firmness, 
and  strength  of  character  have  impressed  themselves  indelibly 
upon  her  children. 

The  young  Ulysses  is  said  to  have  developed,  almost  from 
infauc}',  a  remarkable  passion  for  horses.  From  the  age  of  five 
years,  his  father  states,  he  would  ride  the  horses  to  water,  stand- 
ing up  on  their  bare  backs,  and  at  eight  or  nine  would  stand  up 
on  one  foot  and  drive  them  at  full  speed.  At  seven  and  a  half 
years  he  harnessed  and  drove  a  horse  alone  all  day,  climbing 
into  the  manger  to  put  the  bridle  and  collar  on.  At  eight  and 
a  half,  he  would  drive  a  team  day  after  day  hauling  wood,  and 
at  ten  would  manage  a  pair  of  spirited  horses  on  a  long  journey, 
with  ])^Ject  skill  and  safety.  So  complete  was  his  mastery  of 
horses  that  he  broke  them  with  great  facility,  and  no  horse 
could  throw  him.  From  the  various  incidents  which  his  father, 
with  a  pardonable  pride,  relates  of  him.  we  find  evidence 
of  his  possessing,  even  in  childhood,  the  qualities  of  sj'stem, 
method,  calculation,  self-possession,  and  that  cot)l  imperturbable 
courage  and  persistency  which  have  since  marked  his  churacter. 
"His  judgment  was  beyond  his  years.  Few  boys  in  their  tw«^fth 
year  could  have  been  trusted  to  go  to  a  large  city  two  hundred 
miles  distant,  and  take  a  deposition  to  be  used  elsewhere  in  a 
lawsuit;  and  fewer  still,  at  the  same  age,  would  have  had  th) 
judgment  and  mechanical  tact  to  lo;id  upon  a  wagon  a  number 
of  pieces  of  heavy  timber  a  ff)ot  sc^uare,  and  fo'irtoen  feet  long 
with  no  aid  except  that  of  a  horse. 


20  MEN    OF   OUK   ©AY. 

His  solf-pobsession  and  imperturbability  ^vere  fairly  illus- 
trated in  an  incident  which  his  lather  relates  of  him  as  occurrin2 
when  he  was  about  twelve  years  old. 

"He  drove  a  pair  of  horses  to  Augusta,  Kentucky,  twelve  miles 
from  Georgetown,  and  was  persuaded  to  remain  over  night,  in 
order  to  bring  back  two  young  ladies,  who  would  not  be  ready 
to  leave  until  the  next  morning.  The  route  lay  across  White 
Oak  Creek.  The  Ohio  river  had  been  rising  in  the  night,  and 
the  back  water  in  the  creek  was  so  high,  when  they  came  to 
cross  it  in  returning,  that  tlie  tirst  thing  they  knew  the  horses 
were  swimming,  and  tlie-  water  was  up  to  their  own  waists. 
The  ladies  were  terribly  frightened,  and  began  to  scream.  In 
the  midst  of  the  excitement,  Ulysses,  who  was  on  a  forward 
seat,  looked  back  to  the  ladies,  and  with  an  air  perfectly  undis- 
turbed, merely  said :  '■Dont  speak — /  icn'll  take  you  throvgh  sate.''  " 

He  was  popular  with  his  schoolfellows  and  the  boys  of  his 
age,  and  though  not  a  talker  or  boaster,  not  tyrannical  or  ir^- 
perious,  not  quarrelsome  or  violent,  he  fell  naturally  into  his 
place  as  a  leader  among  the  boys.  He  was  not  remarkable  as 
a  scholar,  though  fond  of  matliematics  and  maintaining  a 
creditable  position  in  his  studies  generally.  For  the  rest,  he 
was  a  manly,  active,  industrious  boy,  with  a  clear  head,  a  kind 
heart,  a  well  balanced  judgment,  fond  of  all  outdoor  sports  and 
labors,  and  with  a  well  knit  frame  and  a  constitution  of  great 
vitality  and  endurance. 

Tiliough  always  ready  to  work,  he  had  a  special  dislike  for 
the  tanning  business,  and  whenever  called  upon  to  do  any  work 
in  connection  with  the  tannery,  he  would  tind  something  else 
to  do,  and  liire  a  boy  to  work  there  in  his  place.  When  In- 
was  a  little  more  than  sixteen  years  of  aue,  his  father  called 
upon  him  one  day  to  work  w  ith  him  in  the  beam-room  of  the 
tannery      He  obeyed,  but  expressed  to   his  father  the   strong 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON'    GRANT,  21 

dislike  he  felt  for  the  business,  £nd  his  determination  not  to 
follow  it  after  he  came  of  age.  His  father  replied  that  he  did 
not  wish  him  to  work  at  it  unless  he  was  disposed  to  follow  it 
in  after  life,  and  inquired  what  business  he  Avould  like  to  enter 
upon.  He  answered  that  he  would  like  either  to  be  a  farmer, 
a  down-the-river  trader,  or  to  get  an  education.  The  first  two 
avocations  his  father  thought  out  of  the  question,  as  he  was 
then  situated,  but  inquired  how  he  would  like  to  go  to  the 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point.  This  suited  the  boy  exactly, 
and  the  father  hearing  that  there  was  a  vacancy  in  his  own 
Congressional  District,  then  represented  by  the  Hon.  (afterward 
General)  Thomas  S.  Hamer,  made  application,  and  Ulysses  was 
appointed  immediately,  and  in  the  summer  of  1839,  was  admit- 
ted as  a  cadet  in  the  Military  Academy.  The  standard  of 
admission  at  West  Point  was  then  very  low,  and  he  was  below 
most  of  his  eighty-seven  classmates  in  scholarship.  Several  of 
them  had  graduated  from  college  before  entering  the  Academy, 
and  all  had  enjoyed  much  better  advantages  than  he,  yet  at 
the  end  of  the  four  years'  course,  only  thirty-nine  graduated, 
and  among  these  [Jlysses  S.  Grant  stood  twenty-first — midway 
of  the  class.  He  ranked  high  in  mathematics  and  in  all  cavalry 
exercises,  and  had  made  good  progress  in  engineering  and 
fortification  studies.  His  demerits  were  almost  wholly  of  a 
trivial  character,  violations  of  some  of  the  minor  regulations  of 
etiquette,  in  the  buttoning  of  his  coat,  the  tying  of  his  cravat  or 
shoes,  or  matters  of  that  sort. 

Dr.  Coppde,  now  President  of  Lehigh  University,  Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania,  who  was  at  West  Point  with  Grant,  says  of  him : 
"  I  rojnember  him  as  a  plain,  common  sense,  straight-forward 
youth  quiet,  rather  of  the  old  head  on  the  young  shoulders 
order,  shunning  notoriety  ;  quite  contented  while  others  were 
grum^^ling;  taking  to  his  military  duties  in  a  very  business-like 


22  MEN   OF   OUK   DAY. 

manner ,  not  a  prominent  man  in  the  corps,  but  respected  by  all 
and  ver}^  popular  with  his  friends.  The  soubriquet  of  "  Uncla 
Sam"'  was  given  him  there,  when  every  good  fellow  has  a  nick- 
name, from  these  very  qualities ;  indeed  he  was  a  very  uncle- 
like  sort  of  youth.  He  was  then  and  always  an  excellent 
horseman,  and  his  picture  rises  before  me  as  I  write,  in  the  old 
torn-coat,  obsolescent  leather  gig-top,  loose  riding  pantaloons 
with  spurs  buckled  over  them,  going  with  his  clanging  saber 
to  the  drill-hall.  He  exhibited  but  little  enthusiasm  in  any 
thing;  his  best  standing  was  in  the  mathematical  branches  and 
their  application  to  tactics  and  military  engineering." 

On  his  grad nation  in  1843,  cadet  (irant  was  assigned  a  posi- 
tion as  brevet  second  lieutenant  of  the  fourth  regiment,  United 
States  Infantry,  and  joined  his  regiment  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year,  at  Jefferson  Ban'acks,  near  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  He  had 
a  classmate,  Frederick  T,  Dent,  who  was  from  St.  Louis,  and 
who  had  been  assigned  like  himself  to  the  fourth  intantrv.  The 
two  were  warm  friends,  and  Lieutenant  Dent  (now  Brigadier- 
General  Dent,  on  Gen.  Sherman's  staff)  took  his  classmate  to  his 
own  home,  whenever  they  could  obtain  leave.  Here  lie  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  the  estimable  huly,  then  Miss  Maria  Dent, 
whom  five  years  subsequently  he  married.  His  stay  at  Jeffer- 
son Barracks  was  not  long.  Li  less  than  a  year  he  was  ordered 
to  Camp  Salubrity,  Natchitoches,  Louisiana,  and  a  year  later  to 
the  Mexican  frontier,  under  the  order  for  military  occupation 
of  Texas.  There,  on  the  30th  of  September,  1845.  he  attained 
his  commission  as  second  lieutenant,  and  by  special  favor,  was 
allowed  to  remain  in  ilie  fourth  infantry,  though  his  appoint- 
ment was  originally  made  out  to  the  seventh.  When  th^war 
with  Mexico  at  last  commenced,  the  fourth  infantry  formed  a 
part  of  General  Zachary  Taylor's  army  of  occupation,  and 
Lieutenant  Grint  took  as  active  a  part  as  his  rank  and  positiou 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  23 

permitted,  in  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto,  May  8,  1846, — Eesaca  de 
la  Palina,  May  9, — Monterey,  September  21-23,  where  bis 
gallant  conduct  received  honorable  mention  I'rom  his  comman- 
der, and  in  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz,  March  9-29,  1817.  On  the 
1st  of  April,  he  was  appointed  quartermaster  of  the  fourth 
infantry,  preparatory  to  the  long  and  difficult  march  upon  the 
city  of  Mexico,  and  he  held  this  position  from  that  time,  to 
July  23,  1848,  after  the  close  of  the  ^[exican  war.  But  though 
his  early  experiences  qualified  him  to  fill  this  position  with 
great  ability,  he  did  not,  as  by  the  army  regulations  he  might, 
consider  himself  excused  from  service  in  the  field.  He  was  in 
nearly  every  battle  of  the  campaign  ;  at  Cerro  Gordo,  April  17- 
18,  1847,  at  San  Antonio,  August  20,  at  Churubusco,  the  same 
day,  at  Molino  del  Key,  September  8,  where  his  gallant  and 
meritorious  conduct  procured  him  a  brevet  of  first  lieutenant, 
and  the  praise  of  his  commander,  at  the  storming  of  Chapultepec, 
September  13,  where  he  won  a  brevet  of  captain  and  the 
encomiums  of  that  stern  old  soldier  General  Worth,  and  at  the 
assault  and  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  September  13-18, 
1847,  where  he  obtained  the  more  substantial  honor  of  a 
promotion,  two  days  later,  to  the  first  lieut  'nancy  in  his  regi- 
ment. After  the  war,  he  was  assigned  to  garrison  duty  at 
Sackett's  Harbor,  New  York,  for  a  year,  then  again  made 
quartermaster  of  his  regiment,  which  position  he  held  for  four 
years,  to  September  30,  1853.  He  had  married  in  1848,  soon 
after  his  return  from  Mexico,  and  the  next  four  years  were 
passed  in  quiet  garrison  duty,  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  Detroit, 
Michigan,  again  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  and  at  Fort  Columbus, 
New  York.  But  in  1852,  he  was  assigned  to  duty  at  Benicia, 
California,  and  subsequently  at  Columbia  Barracks,  and  at  Fort 
Vancouver,  Oregon,  and  Fort  Humboldt,  California.  In  August, 
1853,  he  attained  to  a  captaincy,  and  after  another  year's  service 


24  MEN   OF   OUR   PAY. 

on  the  Pacific  slope,  lie  resigned  liis  commission,  July  31.  1854 
He  was  prompted  to  this  step  bv  several  considerations.  It 
was  a  time  of  peace,  and  the  prospect  of  rapid  promotion  was 
slight,  especially  to  a  man  who  had  not  thus  far  developed 
those  brilliant  qualities,  which  sometimes  enable  a  man  to  mount 
rapidly,  even  in  pence,  the  ladder  of  promotion ;  the  pay  of  a 
captain  in  the  regular  army,  especially  with  the  great  cost  of 
every  thing  on  the  Pacific  coast  at  that  time,  was  not  sufficient 
to  furnish  more  than  a  bare  support  to  a  man  with  a  family ; 
he  wj«  liable  to  be  assigned  almost  constantly,  as  he  had  been 
for  two  years  already,  to  duty  on  frontier  posts,  where  he  could 
not  take  his  ftimily,  And  where  the  associations  were  unpleasant. 
He  was  now  thirty-two  years  old,  and  if  he  was  to  be  any  thing 
more  than  a  poor,  army  captain,  it  was  time  that  he  should 
make  a  beginning.  Such  are  the  reasons  assigned  by  his  family 
for  this  step,  which  seemed  for  a  time  to  be  an  unfortunate  one. 
Shall  we  add  another,  which  there  is  everv  reason  for  believinsc 
to  be  true,  and  which,  rightly  considered,  does  him  honor  ?  In 
the  monotony  and  tedium  of  barrack  and  garrison  life,  and 
surrounded  by  rough  associates,  he  had  formed  the  habit,  it  is 
said,  of  drinking  freely,  and  that  habit  was  becoming  so  marked, 
that  the  War  Department  had  thought  it  necessary  to  reprove 
him  for  it.  By  abandoning  his  associates  and  the  associations 
in  which  he  had  been  thrown  on  the  Pacific  coast,  there  was  an 
opp-ortunity  for  him  to  enter  npon  a  new  life,  and  to  abstain 
thenceforward  from  this  ruinous  indulgence.  He  returned  to 
the  east,  and  having  rejoined  his  family,  who  had  remained  at 
his  fathers,  duriug  his  absence  on  the  Pacific,  he  remove^l  to 
the  vicinity  of  St.  Louis,  where  his  father-in-law  had  given  his 
wife  a  small  farm,  and  his  lather  had  stockevi  it.  Captain  Grant 
put  in  practice  his  resolution  to  abandon  all  intoxicating  drinks, 
and  labored  zciilouslv  on  his  farm  for  four  vears.     President 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON'    GRANT.  2o 

C!opp(5e  speaks  of  having  met  liira  at  St.  Louis  in  his  farmer's 
rig,  whip  in  hand,  and  having  enjoyed  a  very  pleasant  inter- 
view with  bim,  at  which  Joseph  J.  Eejnolds,  Don  Carlos  Buell, 
and  Major  Chapman  of  the  cavalry  were  also  present.  He  adds, 
"If  Grant  had  over  used  spirits,  as  is  not  unlikely,  I  distinctly 
remember  that,  upon  the  proposal  being  made  to  drink.  Grant 
said,  '  I  will  go  in  and  look  at  you,  for  I  never  drink  any 
thing ;'  and  the  other  officers  who  saw  him  frequently,  afterward 
told  me  that  he  drank  nothing  but  water." 

But  he  was  not  destined  to  succeed  as  a  former.  He  was 
industrious,  steady,  and  economical,  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  In 
1858,  he  relinquished  the  larm  and  moved  into  St.  Louis,  and  at 
first  undertook  the  real-est^^te  business  with  a  man  named 
Boggs,  but  after  a  few  months'  trial,  finding  that  the  business 
was  not  sufficient  to  support  both  families,  he  relinquished  it  to 
his  pai'tner  and  sought  for  something  else.  He  next  obtained  a 
position  in  the  custom  house,  but  the  death  of  the  collector  who 
appointed  him,  caused  him  to  lose  that  in  a  few  months.  He 
had  endeavored  while  on  his  farm  to  eke  out  his  scanty  income 
by  occasionally  acting  as  collector,  as  auctioneer,  etc.,  but  with- 
out any  considerable  success. 

Meanwhile,  his  fother  had  been  prospering,  and  had,  in  con- 
nection with  two  of  his  younger  sons,  established  a  leather  and 
harness  store  at  Galena,  Illinois.  He  now  ofiered  Ulysses  a  posi- 
tion and  interest  in  this  store,  which  was  gladly  and  thankfully 
accepted.  For  two  years  he  continued  in  this  business,  which 
seemed  better  suited  to  his  tastes  than  the  farm. 

It  is  s;\id,  that  up  to  this  time  he  had  been  a  Democrat  in  bis 
political  views.  With  his  father's  strong  Whig  and  Eepublican 
sentiments,  this  hardly  seems  probable.  It  is  more  credible 
that,  as  he  himseF  is  reported  to  have  said,  he  had  not  voted 
for  years,  and  had  taten  very  little  interest  in  national  aftaira 


26  MEN    OF   OUR    DAY. 

The  education  and  general  tone  of  feeling  among  the  oflBcera 
of  the  army,  had  made  them,  to  a  great  extent,  sympathizers 
with  the  South,  pro-slavery  in  their  views,  and  opposed 
to  the  Eepublicans,  whom  they  regarded  as,  in  some  sort,  the 
Abolitionists  under  a  new  name.  IIow  far  Captain  Gniut  shared 
tho^  feelings,  is  uncertiiin. 

One  thing  we  know,  he  possessed  that  fine  soldierly  instinct 
of  honor  and  loyalty,  which  was  wanting  in  so  many  of  his  for- 
mer comrades.  When  the  Southern  troops  tired  on  the  nation- 
al flag  at  Sumter,  he  only  knew  that  it  was  his  country  which 
was  assiuled,  and  thenceforward  there  was  no  question  of  poli- 
ticks, '•  On  that  morning  of  April  15,  1S61."  s^us  a  lady  friend, 
who  was  in  his  taniily,  "  he  laid  down  the  paper  containing  the 
account  of  the  bombaniment^  walked  round  the  counter,  and 
drew  on  his  coat,  saying :  '  I  am  for  the  war  to  put  down  this 
wicked  rebellion.  The  Government  educated  me  for  the  army, 
and  though  1  served  faithfully  through  one  war.  I  feel  still  a 
little  in  debt  for  my  education,  and  am  ready  to  discharge  the 
obligation.'  "  He  went  out  into  the  streets  of  Galena,  aided 
in  organizing  and  drilling  a  company  of  volunteers,  with  whom 
he  marched  to  Spriugdekl,  the  capital  of  the  State.  He  had  no 
ambition  to  serve  as  commander  of  this  company,  and  hence 
declined  their  nomination  of  him  for  captain.  Hon.  E.  B. 
"VTashburne,  then  member  of  Congress  from  the  Galena  District, 
and  liis  firm  friend,  then  and  since,  accompanied  him  to  Spring- 
iicld,  and  introduced  him  to  Governor  Yates,  who  at  ouce  of- 
fered him  the  position  of  adjutant-general,  which  he  accepted, 
and  filled  very  successfully.  When  the  first  quotas  from  Illinois 
hat.1  been  organized,  and  mostly  mustered  into  service,  Adjutant- 
General  Grant  made  a  flying  visit  to  his  father  at  Covington, 
Kentucky^,  and  while  there.  Governor  Yates,  finding  that  the 
colonel  of  the  21st  Illinois  volunteer  regiment  was  eutirelj? 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  27 

unfit  for  Lis  position,  removed  Iiin*i,  and  telegrapbed  Grant 
that  he  had  appointed  him  to  the  vacancy.  He  was  on  his 
way  to  Springfield  at  that  time,  and  immediately  assumed  com- 
mand. In  a  short  time  they  were  under  most  admirable  di'^ci- 
pline,  and  an  alarm  occurring  in  regard  to  a  Rebel  attack  upon 
Quincy,  Illinois,  he  marched  them  thither  on  foot,  a  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  a  feat  at  that  time  considered 
most  extraordinary. 

The  tirst  service  to  which  the  21st  Illinois  was  assigned,  was 
to  guard  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  railroad.  Several  regi- 
ments having  been  oixlered  to  this  service,  it  was  necessary  that 
one  of  the  regimental  commanders  should  become  acting  brig- 
adier-general, and  control  the  whole,  as  no  brigadier-general 
had  been  assigned  to  the  command.  For  this  office  Grant,  who, 
though  the  youngest  colonel  on  the  ground,  was  the  only  gra- 
duate of  West  Point,  was  selected,  and  took  command  at  Mexico, 
Missouri,  July  31,  ISOl.  On  the  9th  of  August,  Colonel  Grant 
was  commissioned  brigadier-general  (his  commission  dating 
from  the  17th  of  May),  and  sent  with  an  adequate  force  to 
southern  Missouri,  where  the  rebel  General  Jeff.  Thompson  was 
threatening  an  advance.  He  visited  Ironton,  superintended  the 
erection  of  fortifications  there  and  at  Marble  creek,  and,  leaving 
a  garrison  in  each  place  to  defend  it,  hastened  to  JeSersou  City, 
which  was  afso  threatened,  and  protected  it  from  rebel  attacks 
for  ten  days,  when  Thompson,  having  abandoned  his  purpose, 
General  Grant  left  the  Missouri  capital  to  enter  upon  the  com- 
mand of  the  important  district  of  Cairo. 

It  was  while  he  was  in  southern  Missouri,  his  biographers 
Bay,  that  he  issued  his  famous  special  order  concerning  Mrs. 
Selvidge's  pie.  The  incident,  which  illustrates  somewhat  forci- 
bly the  quiet  humor  which  is  a  marked  charactei  istic  of  the 
presi  lent,  was  something  lik  ,•  this 


28  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

In  the  rapid  marches  of-  his  force  in  Southern  Missouri  their 
rations  were  often  scanty,  and  not  very  palatable,  but  the  regioD 
was  poor  and  sparsely  settled,  and,  for  the  most  part,  there  waa 
no  chance  of  procuring  food  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
through  which  they  were  passing.  At  length,  ho  .vever,  they 
emerged  into  a  better  and  more  cultivated  section,  md  Lieute- 
nant Wickham,  of  an  Indiana  cavalry  regiment,  who  was  in 
command  of  the  advanced  guard  of  eighty  men,  halted  at  a 
farm-house  of  somewhat  more  comfortable  appearance  than  any 
which  they  had  passed,  and  entered  the  building  with  two 
second  lieutenants.  Pretending  to  be  Brigadier-General  Grant, 
he  demanded  food  for  himself  and  his  staff.  The  family,  whose 
loyalty  was  somewhat  doubtful,  alarmed  at  the  idea  of  the  Union 
general  being  on  their  premises,  hastily  brought  forward  the 
best  their  house  afforded,  at  the  same  time  loudly  protesting 
their  attachment  to  the  Union  cause.  The  lieutenants  ate  their 
fill,  and,  offering  to  compensate  their  hosts,  were  told  that  there 
was  nothing  to  pay  ;  whereupon  they  went  on  their  way,  chuck- 
ling at  their  adroitness  in  getting  so  good  a  dinner  for  nothing. 
Soon  after.  General  Grant,  who  had  halted  his  army  for  a  short 
rest  a  few  miles  further  back,  came  up,  and  being  rather  favor- 
ably impressed  with  the  appearance  of  the  farm-house,  rode  up 
to  the  door  and  asked  them  if  they  would  cook  him  a  meal. 
The  woman,  who  grudged  the  food  already  furnished  to  the 
self-styled  general  and  his  staff,  replied  gruffly,  "  No  !  General 
Grant  and  his  staff  have  just  been  here,  and  eaten  every  thing 
in  the  house,  except  one  pumpkin-pie." 

"Ah !"  said  Grant ;  "  v/hat  is  your  name  ?" 

"  Selvidge,"  answered  the  woman. 

Tossing  her  a  half-dollar,  the  general  asked,  "  Will  you  keep 
that  pie  until  I  send  an  officer  for  it  ?" 

"  I  will,"  said  the  woman. 


ULYSSES    SIMPSON    GRANT.  20 

The  general  and  staff  rode  on,  and  soon  a  camping  ground 
was  selected,  and  the  regiments  were  notified  that  there  would 
be  a  grand  parade  at  half-past  six  for  orders.  This  was  unusual, 
and  neither  officers  nor  men  could  imagine  what  was  coming. 
The  parade  w^as  formed,  however,  ten  columns  deep,  and  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  in  length.  After  the  usual  review,  the  assistant 
adjutant-general  read  the  following: 

"Headquarters,  Army  in  the  Field. 
*' Special    Order,  No.  . 

"Lieutenant  Wickham,  of  the  Indiana  Cavalry,  having  on 
this  day  eaten  every  thing  in  Mrs.  Selvidge's  house,  at  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Ironton  and  Pocahontas  and  Black  river  and  Cape 
Girardeau  roads,  except  one  pumpkin  pie.  Lieutenant  Wickham 
is  hereby  ordered  to  return  with  an  escort  of  one  hundred 

cavalry,  and  eat  that  pie  also. 

"U.  S.  GRANT, 

" Brigadiei'-general  commanding." 

The  attempt  to  evade  this  order  was  useless,  and  at  seven 
o'clock  the  lieutenant  filed  out  of  camp  with  his  hundred  men, 
amid  the  cheers  of  the  whole  army.  The  escort  witnessed  the 
eating  of  the  pie,  the  whole  of  which  the  lieutenant  succeeded 
in  devouring,  and  returned  to  camp. 

The  post  of  Cairo,  the  headquarters  of  the  district  tu  the 
command  of  which  General  Grant  was  now  ordered,  was  one, 
from  its  position,  of  great  importance  to  the  Union  cause.  It 
commanded  both  the  Ohio  and  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  was 
the  depot  of  supplies  for  an  extensive  region  above,  and  subse- 
quently below.  Grant's  command  extended  along  the  shores 
of  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  Cape  Girardeau,  and  on  the  Ohio  to 
the  mouth  of  Green  river,  and  included  western  Kentucky. 
That  State,  at  this  time,  was  trying  to  maintain  a  neutral  posi- 
tion, favoring  neither  the  Union  nor  the  rebels,  a  position 
which  was  as  absurd  as  it  was   soon  found  to  be  impossible.. 


30  MEN   OF   OUR   PAT. 

The  rebeU  were  the  first  to  cross  the  lines,  and  take  possession 
of  the  uuportaut  towns  of  Columbus  and  Hickman,  on  the 
Mi.-^is<ippi,  and  Bowling  Green,  on  the  Green  river,  all  of 
w.iich  they  fortifieti.  General  Grant  was  apprized  of  the.-f  io- 
la  .  s  of  Kentucky's  professed  neutrality,  and  as  they  att".- ded 
h.  Ample  justification  for  occupying  positions  withii  ihe 
S.  .  he  quietly  sent  a  body  of  troops,  on  the  6th  of  Septeuti^er, 
up  the  Ohio  to  Padueah,  a  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee, 
and  took  possession  of  it  at  the  time  when  the  secessionists 
there  were  looking  for  the  entry  of  the  rebel  troops,  Avho  were 
marching  to  occupy  it.  The  rage  of  these  enemies  of  the  coun- 
try can  be  better  imagined  than  described.  Eebel  flags  \vere 
flaunted  in  the  faces  of  our  troops,  and  they  were  told  that  they 
should  not  long  retain  possession  of  the  town. 

This  did  not,  however,  in  the  least  disturb  the  equanimity  of 
General  Grant.  He  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  inhabitants  in- 
forming  them  of  his  reasons  for  taking  possession  of  the  town, 
and  that  he  was  preparev.!  to  defend  the  citizens  against  the  en- 
emy ;  and  added,  significantly,  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with 
opinions,  but  should  deal  only  with  armed  relvllion,  and  its 
aiders  and  abettors. 

On  the  25th  of  September  he  dispatched  a  force  to  Smitbland 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland  river,  and  took  possession  of 
that  town  also.  The  principal  avenues  through  which  the  re- 
bels had  obtained  supplies  of  food,  clothing,  arms,  and  ammuni- 
tion, from  the  Xorth,  were  thus  efiectually  closed. 

When  General  Grant  was  assigned  to  the  command  at  Cairo, 
General  McClernand's  brigade  and  s».^me  other  troops  were 
a  died  to  his  own  brigade.  Having  taken  possession  of  Pad.icah 
and  Smithland,  he  now  began  to  turn  his  attention  to  Colum- 
bus, Kentucky,  an  important  position,  held  by  the  rebel  Major- 
Genenil   Polk  (a  former  bishop  of  the  Protestant   Episcopal 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON'    GRANT.  31 

OhurclO,  witli  a  force  of  twenty  thousand  men.  He  had  nearly 
completed  his  arrangements  for  attaekiug  this  post,  when  the 
Government  oixlered  him  to  send  live  of  his  regiments  to  St. 
Louis.  This  left  him  too  weak  to  make  the  attack  with  any  hope 
of  success. 

On  tlie  16th  of  October,  General  Grant,  having  learne<^l  that 
the  rebel  General  Jeff.  Thompson  was  approaching  Pilot  Knob, 
Missouri,  and  evidently  purposing  an  extensive  raid  through 
southeastern  Missouri,  ordered  fifteen  hundred  men,  under 
Colonel  Plummer,  then  stationed  at  Cape  Girardeau,  to  move 
tr)\vards  Frederick  town,  Missouri,  by  way  of  Jackson  and  Dal- 
las, forming  a  junction  at  the  latter  place  with  Colonel  Carlin, 
who  had  been  ordered  to  move  with  three  thousand  men  from 
another  point,  and,  pursuing  Thompson,  to  defeat  and  rout  his 
lorce.  The  expeditions  were  successful.  Thompson  was  found 
on  the  2lst  of  October,  not  tar  from  Dallas,  on  the  Greenville 
road,  and,  after  an  action  of  two  and  a  half  hours,  defeated  and 
routed  with  very  heavy  loss.  Colonel  Plummer  captured,  in 
this  engagement  forty-two  prisoners  and  one  twelve-pounder. 

By  this  expedition.  General  Grant  ascertained  the  position 
and  strength  of  Jeff.  Thompson's  forces,  and  learned  also  that 
the  rebels  were  concentrating  a  considerable  force  at  Belmont, 
Missouri,  nearly  opposite  Columbus,  Kentucky,  with  a  view  to 
blockade  tlie  ^{ississippi  river,  and  to  move  speedily  upon  his 
position  at  Cairo.  Having  received  orders  to  that  effect  from 
his  superior  officers.  General  Grant  resolved  to  break  up  this 
camp,  although  aware  that  the  reb  Is  could  be  reinforced  tu  al- 
most any  extent  from  Columbus,  Kentucky. 

On  th '  evening  of  the  tith  of  November,  General  Grant  em- 
barked two  brigades,  in  all  about  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  under  his  own  and  General  McCleruand's  c*)m- 
maD'\  on  board  river  steamers,  and   moved  down  the   Missis- 


82  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

sippi.  He  had  previously  detacbed  small  bodies  of  troops  to 
threaten  Columbus  from  dift'erent  directions,  and  to  deceive  the 
rebels  as  to  his  intentions.  The  ruse  was  successful,  and  the 
force  which  he  commanded  in  person  reached  the  vicinity  of 
Belmont,  and  landed  before  the  enemy  had  comprehended  their 
intention.  The  Union  troops,  disembarking  with  great  prompt- 
ness, marched  rapidly  towards  the  rebel  camp,  a  distance  of 
about  two  and  a  half  miles,  and,  forcing  their  way  through  a 
dense  abatis  and  other  obstructions,  charged  through  the  camp, 
capturing  their  camp  equipage,  artillery,  and  small-arms,  and 
burned  the  tents,  blankets,  etc.  They  also  took  a  large  number 
of  prisoners.  The  rebel  force  at  the  camp  was  not  far  from 
4000,  but  General  Polk,  learning  of  the  attack,  sent  over  as  re- 
inforcements eight  regiments,  or  somewhat  more  than  4000 
more  troops,  under  the  command  of  Generals  Pillow  and  Cheat- 
ham, and  finally  crossed  the  river  himself  and  took  command. 
General  Grant  having  accomplished  all,  and  more  than  he  ex- 
pected, and  being  aware  that  Belmont  was  covered  by  the  bat- 
teries at  Columbus,  and  that  heavy  reinforcements  could  be  read- 
ily sent  from  thence,  made  no  attempt  to  hold  the  position,  but 
withdrew  in  good  order.  On  their  way  to  their  transports,  the 
Union  troops  were  confronted  by  the  fresh  rebel  force  under 
Polk's  command,  and  a  severe  battle  ensued,  during  which  a 
considerable  number  of  the  rebel  prisoners  made  their  escape ; 
and  there  were  heavy  losses  in  killed  and  wounded  on  both 
s'des,  the  Union  loss  amounting  to  nearly  one  hundred  killed, 
and  four  hundred  or  five  hundred  wounded  and  missing,  the 
lamer  part  of  whom  were  prisoners.  What  was  the  exact  rebel 
loss  has  never  transpired,  but  it  is  known  to  have  been  larger 
than  this,  the  number  of  prisoners  alone  exceeding  the  total 
Union  loss.  The  Union  troops  at  length  succeeded  in  reaching 
their  transports  and  re  embarking,  under  the  protection  of  the 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  33 

gunboats  Tyler  and  Lexington,  "whicli  had  convo  ;ed  them, 
bringing  with  them  two  cannon  which  they  had  captured,  and 
spiking  two  others,  which  they  were  obliged  to  abandon. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  General  Halleck,  who  was  then  in 
command  of  the  western  department,  reorganized  the  districts 
of  his  command,  and  enlarged  the  district  of  Cairo,  including  in 
it  all  the  southern  portion  of  Illinois,  all  of  Kentucky  west  of 
the  Cumberland  river,  and  the  southern  counties  of  Missouri^ 
and  appointed  Brigadier-General  Grant  commander  of  the  new 
district.  The  large  numbers  of  troops  newly  mustered  in,  which 
were  pouring  into  the  district,  kept  the  commander  and  his  sub- 
ordinate ofl&cers  very  busy  for  five  or  six  weeks  in  organizing, 
training,  and  distributing  them  to  the  points  where  their  ser- 
vices were  required.  Desirous  of  testing  the  capacity  and  en- 
durance of  his  raw  troops,  tor  the  severe  work  which  was  be- 
fore them,  Brigadier-General  Grant  made,  on  the  14th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1862,  a  reconnoissance  in  force  into  southeastern  Missouri, 
which  proved  successful  in  all  respects.  He  next,  while  keep- 
ing up  a  feint  of  attacking  Columbus,  Kentucky,  prepared  to- 
co-operate with  the  gunboat  flotilla,  under  the  command  of  Flag 
Officer  A.  H.  Foote,  in  an  attack  upon  the  two  rebel  forts  on  the 
Tennessee  and  Cumberland  rivers.  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson. 
This  attack  was  first  suggested  by  that  able  officer.  General 
Charles  F.  Smith,  who  died  shortly  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh, 
but  it  was  pressed  upon  General  Halleck,  then  in  command  of 
the  Department  of  the  Mississippi,  by  General  Grant,  with  such 
pertinacity  and  earnestness,  that  it  was  finally  ordered  by  that 
officer.  The  attack  on  Fort  Henry,  a  small  but  strong  work  on 
the  Tennessee  river,  was  first  in  the  order  of  time,  and  General 
Grant's  part  in  it  was  delayed  by  the  condition  of  the  roads  so 
much  that  General  Tilghman,  who  was  in  command  had  time 

to  send  off  most  of  his  troops  to  Fort  Donelson,  and  surrendered 
3 


84  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

the  remainder  to  Flag-officer  Foote  after  a  brief  action,  before 
General  Grant  reached  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  fort. 

Grant  proceeded  immediately  to  attack  the  much  more  con- 
siderable fortress  of  Donelson,  on  the  Cumberland,  which  here 
approaches  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Tennessee.  This  fortress  had 
a  garrison  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand  rebel  troops,  and  was 
Qot  a  remarkably  strong  work,  though  from  its  position  it  wa3 
somewhat  difficult  to  carry  by  assault.  Grant  had  about  16,000 
troops  with  him,  most  of  whom  had  not  been  in  any  action,  and 
the  number  was  insufficient  to  invest  so  large  a  fort  properly. 
He  was  reluctant,  however,  to  await  the  coming  of  the  gun- 
boats, which  had  carried  off  the  glory  at  Fort  Henry,  and  hence 
commenced  operations  at  once,  and  carried  some  of  the  out- 
works. The  gunboats  came  up  on  the  morning  of  the  lith 
(the  Carondelet  having  arrived  the  previous  day,  and  made  a 
short  assault,  but  without  particular  result),  and  went  into 
action,  while  an  attack  was  made  by  the  troops  on  the  land- 
side.  Unfortunately,  the  best  gunboats  were  soon  disabled, 
and  Flag-officer  Foote  himself  wounded,  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  withdraw ;  and  the  land  attack  was  not  simultaneous, 
or  forcibly  delivered.  The  assault  upon,  or  siege  of  a  fort,  was 
new  business  to  the  national  troops,  and  their  commander  had 
had  but  little  experience  in  it ;  but  he  resolved  to  besiege  the 
enemy.  The  next  morning,  however,  before  the  arrangements 
for  the  siege  were  fully  completed,  the  rebels  made  a  sortie, 
broke  the  Union  line,  and  captured  two  batteries  of  artillery. 
The  Union  troops  rallied,  and  retook  most  of  their  guns ;  but 
the  conflict  was  of  uncertain  issue,  and  could  have  been  easily 
turned  in  favor  of  either  side,  when  General  Grant,  who  had 
been  coolly  looking  on,  ordered  General  Charles  F.  Smith's 
divisi  )n  to  charge  the  enemy.  The  order  was  obeyed  with 
great  spirit  by  the  veteran  officer,  and  General  Grant  followed 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  35 

it  by  ordering  up  Lew.  Wallace's  division,  whicli  had  broken 
in  the  morning,  bat  which  now  charged  bravely  at  the  other 
end  of  the  line.  These  divisions  gained  a  position  within  the 
outer  lines  of  the  fort;  and  Generals  Pillow  and  Floyd,  who 
were  the  senior  rebel  generals  in  command,  were  convinced 
that  the  fort  would  be  captured,  and  insisted  on  making  their 
escape.  General  Buckner  protested,  but  in  vain.  They  fled 
before  daylight,  taking  a  few  troops  with  them  ;  and  Buckner, 
who  had  been  at  West  Point  with  Grant,  sent  a  flag  of  truce, 
on  the  morning  of  February  16th,  to  the  Union  headquarters, 
asking  for  an  armistice,  and  the  appointment  of  commissioners 
to  agree  upon  terms  of  capitulation.  Grant's  answer  has  become 
historic,  as  it  deserved.  It  was : — "  No  terms,  other  than  uncon- 
ditional and  immediate  surrender  can  be  accepted.  I  propose  to 
move  immediately  upon  your  works."  This  brought  the  haughty 
Buckner  to  terms,  and  though  protesting  against  "  the  ungenerous 
and  unchivalrous  terms,"  he  -lurrendered  at  once ;  and  14,623 
prisoners,  and  a  large  amount  of  materials  of  war,  were  de- 
livered over  to  the  Union  general.  This  success  was  due 
mainly  to  three  causes — the  superior  fighting  qualities  of 
Grant's  force,  though  raw  troops ;  the  calmness  and  coolness 
of  the  general  himself,  which  enabled  him  to  discern  the 
favorable  moment  for  a  bold  and  decisive  stroke  when  the  con- 
flict was  evenly  poised  ;  and  the  cowardice  and  weakness  of 
the  rebel  generals.  As  a  siege,  or  a  systematic  action  for  the 
reduction  of  a  fort,  it  would  not  bear  criticism  ;  and  we  doubt 
not  the  general  himself  is  as  fully  aware  of  this,  and  would 
now  criticise  it  as  severely  as  any  one  else. 

After  the  capture  of  Donelson,  and  the  occupation  of  Clarks- 
ville  and  Nashville  by  Buell's  forces,  General  Grant  came  near 
falling  into  disfavor  with  General  Halleck  for  trespassing  upon 
General  Buell's  command.     He  was  however  speedily  forgiven, 


36  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

and  sent  foiward  to  the  vicinity  of  Corinth,  Mississippi,  to 
select  a  camp  for  his  army,  and  bring  it  up  to  a  suitable 
point  for  giving  battle  to  the  rebels.  There  can  be  no  question 
that  Corinth  should  have  been  the  place  selected,  and  that,  for 
two  or  three  weeks,  it  might  have  been  seized  and  held  without 
difficulty.  Failing  in  this,  through  manifold  delays,  the  camp 
should  have  been  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Tennessee.  Instead 
of  this,  by  some  blunder  it  was  located  near  the  south  bank  of 
the  river,  at  Pittsburg  Landing,  or  Shiloh  Church,  and  the 
troops  as  they  came  up  were  allowed  to  choose  their  locations 
very  much  as  they  pleased ;  and  though  they  were  less  than 
twenty  miles  from  the  enemy's  camp,  no  patrols  or  pickets  were 
maintained  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy,  nor  any  breastworks 
erected ;  and  all  was  ease  and  unconcern.  General  Grant's 
headquarters  were  at  Savannah,  six  miles  below,  and  the  troops 
as  they  arrived  were  sent  forward.  Meantime,  the  rebels  were 
at  Cor.inth,  under  the  command  of  the  ablest  general  of  their 
army,  General  Albert  Sydney  Johnston,  and,  having  acccumu- 
lated  a  large  force,  were  ready  to  take  the  offensive.  Grant  had 
been  promoted  to  be  major-general  of  volunteers,  dating  from 
February  16th,  1862,  the  day  of  the  surrender  of  Fort  Donel- 
son,  and  had  been  in  command  of  the  district  of  West  Ten- 
nessee from  March  5th ;  but  he  seems  not  to  have  had  any  pre- 
vision of  the  magnitude  of  the  coming  battles,  if  indeed  his 
easy  victory  at  Fort  Donelson,  had  not  inspired  him  with  a 
doubt  whether  there  would  be  a  battle  at  all.  He  evidently 
did  not  consider  it  imminent,  for  he  had  sent  word  to  Buell 
that  he  need  not  hasten.  It  was  to  this  picturesque,  but  de- 
cidedly unmilitary  collection  of  camps,  that  the  rebel  general^ 
A.  S.  Johnston,  one  of  the  ablest  soldiers  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, was  approaching,  with  a  force  of  over  40,000  men,  od 
the  2d  of  April,  1862,  and  anticipating,  as  he  had  a  right  to 


ULYSSES    SIMPSON    GRANT.  37 

do,  an  easy  victory.  The  heavy  rain  and  deep  mud  delayed 
him  for  three  days  within  six  or  eight  miles  of  the  Union 
camp,  but  no  one  discovered  his  approach.  On  the  morning  of 
the  6th  of  April  he  attacked  Prentiss's  division ;  and  though 
they  made  a  gallant  resistance,  for  men  utterly  surprised,  they 
W3re  soon  broken,  and  many  of  them  taken  prisoners.  Sher- 
man's division  held  their  ground  firmly  for  a  time,  and  finally, 
by  falling  back  a  short  distance,  obtained  a  better  position, 
from  which  they  were  only  partially  pushed  back  during  the 
day.  Hurlburt's  and  W.  H.  L.  Wallace's  divisions  were  par- 
tially broken,  but  fought  sturdily,  yet  despairingly,  through 
the  day.  The  fugitives  and  deserters  were  numerous,  and  the 
whole  force  was  driven  back  for  nearly  two  and  a  half  miles, 
till  they  only  occupied  about  half  a  mile  on  the  river  bank. 
The  outlook  seemed  a  gloomy  one,  but  the  occasion  was  one 
which  developed  all  the  great  qualities  of  Grant.  On  Jie  field 
from  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.,  directing,  with  the  utmost  coolness  and 
imperturbability,  the  movements  of  the  troops — ordering  the 
gathering  of  the  scattered  artillery,  and  massing  it  where  it 
could  be  used  most  effectually  upon  the  enemjf — availing  him- 
self of  the  gunboats  as  soon  as  possible,  to  protect  by  their  fire 
the  position  of  his  troops — noticing  every  thing  that  Avas  trans 
piring,  and  yet  to  all  human  appearance  the  calmest  and  most 
self-possessed  man  on  the  field — his  conduct  during  the  battle 
merits  only  the  highest  praise.  Toward  the  close  of  the  day, 
an  officer  said  to  him,  "  Does  not  the  prospect  begin  to  look 
gloomy  ?"  "  Not  at  all,"  was  his  quiet  reply  ;  "  they  can't 
force  our  lines  around  these  batteries  to-night — it  is  too  late. 
Delay  counts  every  thing  with  us.  To-morrow  we  shall  attack 
them  with  fresh  troops,  and  drive  them,  of  course!"  He  was 
right.  The  enemy,  exhausted,  and  suffering  from  the  heavy 
fire  of  the  batteries  and  gunboats,  could  not  dislodge  them  that 


88  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

niglit ;  and  during  the  nigLt  Lew.  Wallace's  division  crossed 
the  river,  and  Buell  came  up  read/  to  cross.  The  contest 
of  the  next  day,  April  7th,  though  a  sharp  one,  was  in  favor 
of  the  Union  troops  from  the  beginning,  and  by  a  little  after 
noon  the  rebels,  who  had  lost  their  commanding  general  the 
day  before,  were  in  full  retreat. 

The  losses  were  about  equal,  and  amounted  in  both  armies, 
in  killed,  wounded,  missing,  and  prisoners,  to  nearly  30,000. 
Grant's  army  held  their  position,  and  the  rebels  fell  back ;  the 
former  were  therefore  entitled  to  claim  it  as  a  victory,  but  it  was 
a  costly  one.  General  Halleck  now  took  the  field  in  person,  ai)d 
under  the  pretence  of  making  Grant  his  second  in  command, 
virtually  took  all  command  from  him.  This  led  to  a  coolness 
between  the  two,  and  Grant  was  for  a  time  greatly  depressed  in 
spirits.  He  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  but  was  constantly 
hampered  by  the  dilatoriness  of  his  chief.  After  General  Hal- 
leck was  called  to  Washington  as  general-in-chief,  Grant  was 
in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  but  was  unable  to 
do  much  until  September,  Bragg  and  Buell  being  engaged  in 
the  race  into  Kentucky  and  back.  He  planned,  however,  the 
movements  which  resulted  in  the  battle  of  luka,  September  19, 
where  he  commanded  in  person ;  and  in  the  battles  of  Corinth, 
October  od  and  4th,  which  were  fought  by  General  Kosecrans; 
and  in  the  battle  of  tlie  Ilatchie,  October  5th,  which  was  under 
his  immediate  direction.  In  the  autumn  he  made  his  head- 
quarters in  Memphis,  where  he  soon,  by  his  stringent  and  de- 
cided orders,  changed  that  state  of  affairs,  which  had  led  the 
rebels  to  say,  that  Memphis  was  more  valuable  to  them  in 
Union  hands  than  in  those  of  their  own  people. 

The  popular  clamor  throughout  the  country,  and  particularly 
m  the  West,  was  for  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi.  Vicksburg 
on  the  north,  and  Port  Hudson  on  the  south,  blockaded  all 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  39 

transit  up  or  clown  this  great  river,  so  long  the  free  channel  of 
western  produce  and  traffic.  The  efforts  which  had  been  made 
to  break  through  these  obstructions  since  the  war  commenced, 
had  all  failed,  from  the  inherent  strength  of  the  fortilications, 
the  difficulty  of  assailing  them  effectually  in  front,  and  the 
strength  of  their  garrisons.  General  Grant  had  turned  bis  at- 
tention to  the  solution  of  this  great  problem,  almost  as  soon  as 
the  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Tennessee  was  assigned 
to  him,  in  October,  1862.  He  was  aware  of  the  formidable  char- 
acter of  the  fortifications  of  Vicksburg,  and  that  they  had  been, 
during  1862,  strengthened  by  every  method  and  device  known 
to  engineering  skill.  For  ten  miles  and  more,  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Mississippi,  above  and  below  the  city,  as  well  as  all 
the  adjacent  heights,  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  Walnut  Bluff's,  Haines' 
Bluff',  and  the  shores  of  the  Yazoo,  were  covered  with  fortifica- 
tions, and  the  rear  of  the  city  also.  At  many  points,  these 
stood  tier  above  tier,  and  were  capable  of  pouring  a  concen- 
trated fire  upon  any  object  in  the  river,  which  it  seemed  as  if 
nothing  built  by  human  hands  could  resist.  His  first  plan 
was  to  distribute  his  stores  and  supplies  along  the  Mississijjpi 
Central  railroad,  and  then  moving  rapidly  down  that  road,  as- 
sault and  carry  Jackson,  the  capital  of  Mississippi,  and  march 
thence  swiftly  upon  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  sending  General 
W.  T.  Sherman  from  Memphis,  with  a  considerable  force  to 
demonstrate  simultaneously  on  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  at  the  noith- 
west  of  the  city. 

This  plan,  which  s.'^emed  the  most  feasible  one,  was  defeated 
by  the  cowardice  and  treachery  of  Colonel  Murphy,  who,  uiih 
a  force  of  1,000  men,  was  in  command  at  Holly  Springs,  Miss- 
issippi, Grant's  main  depot  of  supplies,  and  surrendered  wiih- 
out  attempting  any  defence,  on  the  20th  of  December,  1862, 
to  a  rebel  force  slightly  larger  than  his  own.    The  rebels  hastily 


40  MEN    OF   OUB   DAY. 

destroyed  the  supplies,  valued  at  $4,000,000,  and  evacuated  the 
place.  But  Grant  could  not  go  on  with  his  expedition,  and 
unfortunately  he  was  unable  to  apprise  General  Sherman,  and 
prevent  his  departure  ;  and  after  a  succession  of  disastrous  as- 
saults upon  the  blulis,  finding  that  General  Grant  had  failed  to 
come  to  time,  that  general  was  obliged  to  withdraw  with  heavy 
losses.  But  Grant  was  not  the  man  to  give  up  an  enterprise 
on  which  he  had  set  his  heart,  in  consequence  of  a  single  re- 
pulse. Renewing  his  stock  of  supplies,  he  next  turned  his 
attention  to  some  plan,  as  yet  he  hardly  knew  what,  for  carry- 
ing the  fortress,  from  the  front.  He  moved  his  army  to  Young's 
Point,  Louisiana,  a  short  distance  above  Vicksburg.  He  soon 
found  that  there  was  no  hope  of  reaching  the  rear  of  the  city 
by  a  movement  from  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi  above  it. 
A  line  of  bills  admirably  adapted,  and  as  admirably  improved 
for  defence,  stretched  from  Vicksburg  to  Haines'  Bluff,  on  the 
Yazoo,  twelve  miles  above  the  entrance  of  that  stream  into  the 
Mississippi.  The  land  in  front  of  these  hills  is  a  deep  marsh, 
neither  land  nor  water.  There  remained  then  but  two  courses, 
either  to  enter  the  Yazoo  above  Haines'  Bluff,  and  coming 
down  to  the  east  of  that  fortified  point,  attack  the  city  in  rear, 
or  finding  some  mode  of  passing  or  evading  the  batteries  on 
the  Mississippi,  land  some  distance  below,  and  approach  it  from 
the  south.  There  was  also  a  faint  hope  that  by  completing  a 
canal,  begun  the  previous  summer,  across  the  neck  of  land 
formed  by  the  bend  of  the  Mississippi,  and  thus  creating  a  new 
channel  for  that  river,  the  Union  vessels  might  be  able  to  pass 
below  the  city,  but  the  tact  that  the  lower  end  of  the  canal  was 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  some  of  the  heaviest  batteries,  made  this 
project  less  feasible,  and  the  flood  destroyed  iheir  works,  and 
partially  filled  the  canal  with  silt  and  mud. 

The  attempts  to  gain  the  rear  of  the  city  by  way  of  the  Yazoo 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  41' 

were  equally  unsuccessful,  both  through  the  Old  Yazoo  Pass, 
and  subsequently  by  a  more  circuitous  route  through  Steele's 
Bayou,  Black  Bayou,  Dutch  creek,  Deer  creek,  Eolling  Fork 
and  Sunflower  river;  the  rebels  having  planted  earthworks  and 
batteries  at  such  points  as  to  prevent  progress  by  either. 

Turning  his  attention  then  to  the  methods  of  reaching  the 
Mississippi  below  Vicksburg,  two  routes  were  attempted  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river  and  both  failed  ;  one  was  by  Lake  Provi- 
dence and  the  Tensas  river,  a  tortuous  route  and  only  practica- 
ble for  vessels  of  light  draft ;  the  other  by  way  of  certain  Loui- 
siana bayous,  through  which  in  flood  time  it  was  possible  to 
reach  the  Tensas,  Red,  and  Mississippi  rivers.  Before  the  vessels 
could  reach  their  destination,  the  water  fell,  and  even  the  steam- 
ers of  lightest  draught  could  not  get  through.  A  small  quan- 
tity of  supplies  was  forwarded  by  the  Lake  Providence  route, 
but  nothing  more.  General  Grant  now  determined  to  march 
his  troops  by  land  down  the  west  side  of  the  river  as  soon  as  the 
roads  should  be  sufficiently  dry.  But  it  was  necessary  that  a 
part  of  the  gunboats  and  iron  clads  should  be  below  Yicksburg, 
both  in  order  to  ferry  the  troops  across  the  river  and  to  engage 
the  batteries  at  Grand  Gulf,  and  a  considerable  amount  of  sup- 
plies must  also  be  sent  down  by  transports.  These  must  all 
run  past  the  terrible  batteries  of  Vicksburg. 

Admiral  Porter  undertook  this  heroic  and  daring  expedition, 
and  conducted  it  successfully,  running  past  the  batteries  with 
five  or  six  gunboats  and  sixteen  or  eighteen  transports,  in  two 
divisions,  on  diflerent  nights.  Two  of  the  transports  were 
burned,  but  none  of  the  gunboats  were  seriously  injured. 

The  overland  march  of  the  troops  occupied  thirty  days,  in 
traversing  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  to  Hard  Times,  a  hamlet 
of  Louisiana  nearly  opposite  Grand  Gulf.  The  squadron  were 
ready  and  attacked  Grand  Gulf,  but  could  not  silence  its  bat* 


42  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

teries.  That  night  both  the  squadron  and  transport  e  ran  past 
the  batteries,  and  the  troops  marched  ten  miles  farther,  and  were 
ferried  over  to  Bruinsburg  and  marched  rapidly  from  this  point 
north-eastward  toward  Port  Gibson.  The  thirteenth  and  seven- 
teenth  corps  encountered  a  considerable  force  of  the  enemy, 
whom  they  defeated  after  a  sharp  battle,  and  moved  on  to  and 
across  Bayou  Pierre.  The  next  day  it  was  ascertained  that 
Grand  Gulf,  which  had  been  flanked  by  this  movement,  had 
been  evacuated,  and  General  Grant  repaired  thither  with  a  small 
escort,  and  made  arrangements  to  make  it  his  base  of  supplies 
for  a  time.  These  arrangements  occupied  nearly  a  week.  By 
his  orders,  as  nearly  as  possible  simultaneously  with  the  landing 
Df  the  two  corps  at  Bruinsburg,  General  Sherman  had  made  a 
strong  demonstration  upon  Haines'  Bluff  and  the  Yazoo,  and 
had  thus  attracted  the  attention  of  the  rebels  toward  that  quar- 
ter, where  they  believed  the  entire  Union  army  were  concen- 
trated, and  prevented  them  from  opposing  their  landing  below. 

This  being  accomplished,  Sherman's  troops  made  all  speed  in 
marching  to  the  rendezvous  on  the  river,  where  the  transports 
were  in  waiting  to  take  t'nem  over  to  Grand  Gulf. 

Before  leaving  Young's  Point,  General  Grant  had  also 
ordered  an  expedition  by  a  competent  cavalry  force,  under  the 
command  of  Colonel,  now  General  Benjamin  H.  Grierson,  to 
start  from  Lagrange,  at  the  junction  of  the  Mississippi  Central 
and  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroads,  to  follow  the  lines  of  the 
Mobile  and  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Central  railroads,  and  destroy 
as  much  of  these,  and  the  Meridian  and  Jackson  railroad,  as 
possible, — capturing  and  destroying  also  all  stores,  ammunition, 
locomotives,  and  railroad  cars  possible,  in  their  route.  This 
expedition  was  thoroughly  successful,  and  reached  Baton  Rouge 
on  the  1st  of  May,  at  the  time  Grant  was  fighting  the  battle  of 
Port  Gibson.     Other  raids  were  ordered  about  the  same  time 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  43 

from  Middle  Tennessee,  which  aided  in  breaking  up  the  railroad 
communications  and  frustrating  the  plans  of  the  rebels. 

Our  space  does  not  allow  us  to  go  into  details  of  the  subse- 
quent masterly  movements  by  which,  while  apparently  threat- 
ening an  immediate  attack  on  Vicksburg  from  the  south,  the 
garrison  there,  under  the  command  of  General  Pemberton,  were 
prevei-ted  from  forming  a  junction  with  General  J.  E.  Johnston's 
troops,  then  in  the  vicinity  of  Jackson,  nor  of  the  battle  of 
Raymond,  the  capture  of  Jackson,  and  the  destruction  of  tJie 
property  and  manufactories  of  the  rebel  Government  there  ;  the 
rapid  march  westward,  the  severe  battles  of  Champion  Hill  and 
of  Black  Eiver  bridge,  and  the  emineu.ly  skilful  management 
of  the  corps  of  Generals  Sherman  and  McPherson.  Sufiice  it 
to  say,  that  General  Grant  interposed  his  army  between  the 
forces  of  Johnston  and  Pemberton,  drove  the  former,  broken 
and  routed,  northward,  and  compelled  the  latter  to  put  himself 
and  his  defeated  army  as  soon  as  possible  within  the  defences  of 
Vicksburg ;  and  on  the  18th  the  Union  army  sat  down  before 
Vicksburg,  having  completely  invested  it  on  the  ^and  side  and 
opened  communication  with  their  squadron  and  transports  by 
way  of  AValnut  Bluffs,  above  the  river.  On  the  19th  of  May, 
and  again  on  the  22d,  General  Grant  ordered  assaults  upon  the 
beleaguered  city,  neither  of  which  were  successful,  except  in 
gaining  some  ground  and  expediting  the  subsequent  regular  ap- 
proaclies.  The  army  now  became  satisfied  that  the  stronghold 
could  only  be  captured  by  a  systematic  siege,  and  General  Grant 
accordingly  took  all  precautions  to  make  that  siege  effective, 
and  to  prevent  the  rebel  General  Johnston  from  approaching 
with  sufficient  force  to  raise  the  siege.  Day  by  day  the  parallels 
were  brought  nearer  and  nearer,  and  finally  came  so  near  that 
the  rebels  could  not  use  their  cannon,  while  the  Union  artillery 
from  the  adjacent  hills,  and  from  the  squadron,  constantly  show- 


44  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

ered  their  iron  hail  upon  the  devoted  city.  The  inhabitants  and 
the  rebel  army  dug  oaves  in  the  bluffs,  and  endeavored  to  shel- 
ter themselves  from  the  fiery  storm,  but  these  were  often  pen- 
etrated by  the  shells  from  the  batteries,  or  blown  up  in  the 
explosion  of  the  forts.  At  length,  on  the  third  of  July,  General 
Grant  was  prepared  to  order  an  assault,  which  could  not  have 
failed  of  success,  when  overtures  were  made  for  a  surrender,  and 
the  city  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  Union  army  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1863. 

It  is  stated  that  at  the  interview  between  General  Grant  and 
General  Pemberton,  after  shaking  hands,  and  a  short  silence, 
General  Pemberton  said : 

"  General  Grant,  I  meet  you  in  order  to  arrange  terms  for  the 
capitulation  of  the  city  of  Vicksburg  and  its  garrison.  What 
terms  do  you  demand  ?" 

"  Unconditional  surrender,^^  replied  General  Grant. 

"Unconditional  surrender!"  said  Pemberton.  "Never,  so 
long  as  I  have  a  man  left  me !     I  will  fight  rather." 

"  I'hen,  sir,  you  can  continue  the  defence^^^  replied  Grant.  ''^  My 
army  has  never  been  in  a  better  condition  for  the  prosecution  of  the 
sieged 

During  this  conversation,  General  Pemberton  was  greatly  agi- 
tated, trembling  with  emotion  from  head  to  foot,  while  Grant  was 
as  calm  and  imperturbable  as  a  May  morning.  After  a  somewhat 
protracted  interview,  during  which  General  Grant,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  courage  and  tenacity  of  the  garrison,  explained  the 
terms  he  was  disposed  to  allow  to  them  on  their  unconditional 
surrender,  the  two  generals  separated,  an  armistice  having 
been  declared  till  morning,  when  the  question  of  surrender  was 
to  be  finally  determined.  The  same  evening  General  Grant 
transmitted  to  General  Pemberton,  in  writing,  the  propositions 
he  ha  i  made  during  the  afternoa-  for  the  disposal  of  the  garri. 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON"    GRANT  45 

Bon,  should  they  surrender.     These  terms  were  very  liberal,  far 
more  so  than  those  usually  acceded  to  a  conquered  garrison. 

The  rebel  loss  in  this  campaign  had  been  very  great,  larger 
than  has  often  been  experienced  in  the  campaigns  of  modern 
times,  and  utterly  without  precedent  in  the  previous  history  of 
this  continent.  The  number  of  prisoners  captured  by  the  Union 
troops,  from  the  landing  at  Bruinsburg  to,  and  including  the 
surrender  of  Yicksburg,  was  34,620,  including  one  lieutenant- 
general  and  nineteen  major  and  brigadier-generals ;  and  11,800 
men  were  killed,  wounded,  or  deserters.  There  were  also  among 
the  spoils  of  the  campaign  two  hundred  and  eleven  field-piecee, 
ninety  siege  guns,  and  45,000  small  arms.  The  Union  losses 
had  been  943  killed,  7,095  wounded,,  and  537  missing,  making 
a  total  of  casualties  of  8,575,  and  of  the  wounded,  nearly  one 
half  returned  to  duty  within  a  month. 

Having  disposed  of  his  prisoners  at  Vicksburg,  General  Grant 
dispatched  General  Sherman  with  an  adequate  force  to  Jackson, 
to  defeat  and  break  up  Johnston's  army,  and  destroy  the  rebel 
stores  collected  there,  in  both  which  enterprises  he  was  sue-' 
cessful. 

During  the  long  period  of  two  and  a  quarter  years  since  he 
had  entered  the  army,  General  Grant  had  never  sought  or  re- 
ceived a  day's  furlough.  But  after  this  great  victory,  and  while 
the  thanks  of  the  President,  the  Cabinet,  Congress,  and  the  peo- 
ple, were  lavished  upon  him  without  stint,  he  sought  for  a  few 
days'  rest  with  his  family,  and  received  it.  His  stay  with  thera 
was  brief,  and  he  returned  to  his  duties,  descending  the  Missis- 
sippi— now,  thanks  to  his  skilful  generalship,  open  to  the  navi- 
gation of  all  nations,  from  its  mouth  to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony 
— to  New  Orleans,  to  confer  with  General  Banks  relative  to  the 
operations  of  the  autumn.     While  here,  on  the  4th  of  Septem- 


46  MEN    OP    OUR    DAY. 

ber,  he  was  seriously  injured  by  being  thrown  from  his  horse 
while  reviewing  the  troops  of  General  Banks'  department. 

From  these  injuries  he  did  not  recover  sufficiently  to  take 
the  field,  till  late  in  October.  Meantime,  there  had  been  hard 
fighting,  as  well  as  weary  marches,  and  severe  privations  en- 
dured by  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  General  Eosecrans, 
moving  forward  in  June,  had  driven  General  Bragg,  not  with- 
out considerable  fighting,  from  Tullahoma,  and  through  south- 
ern Tennessee,  into  and  out  of  Chattanooi^^a,  and,  throwing  a 
small  garrison  into  that  town,  had  marched  southward  to  inter- 
cept Bragg's  further  retreat,  and  compel  him  to  fight.  Bragg, 
meantime,  strongly  reinforced  from  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia, had  joined  battle  with  him  in  the  valley  of  Chickamauga 
creek,  where  on  the  19th  and  20th  of  September,  1862,  was 
fought  one  of  the  great  actions  of  the  war.  Though  not  abso- 
lutely defeated,  Eosecrans  had  found  it  necessary  to  fall  back  to 
Chattanooga,  which  he  held,  though  closely  beleaguered  by 
Bragg,  who  had  compelled  him  to  relinquish  some  of  his  most 
important  communications,  and  drag  his  supplies  over  sixty 
miles  of  the  worst  mountain  roads  in  the  southwest.  This 
measure  was  but  temporary,  however,  and  was  about  to  be  reme- 
died, when  he  was  relieved  of  the  command,  to  which  General 
Thomas  was  assigned.  General  Sherman,  now  in  the  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  was  ordered  up  to  his  support, 
and  two  corps  sent  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  Gen- 
erals Hooker  and  Howard.  This  magnificent  army  was  placed 
under  General  Grant's  command,  as  the  Military  Division  of 
the  Mississippi.  On  Grant's  arrival  at  Chattanooga,  his  first 
care  was  to  open  communications,  and  provide  for  full  supplies 
for  his  soldiers,  who  had  been  on  half  rations  for  some  time. 
Bragg,  at  this  time,  sent  Longstreet's  corps  to  Knoxville,  to 
drive  Burnside  from  east  Tennessee,  and  unaware  of  Grant's 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON   GRANT.  47 

large  reinforcements,  he  proved  true  to  his  name,  and  on  the 
21st  of  November,  1863,  sent  this  arrogant  message  to  General 
Grant  by  flag  of  truce : 

"  Humanity  would  dictate  the  removal  of  all  non-combatants 
from  Chattanooga,  as  I  am  about  to  shell  the  city." 

General  Grant  made  no  reply  to  the  threat  at  the  moment,  but 
his  answer  was  speedily  returned,  and  proved  so  effectual,  that 
Bragg  gave  up  all  idea  of  "shelling  the  city"  from  that  time 
forward. 

Sherman's  Army  of  the  Tennessee  had  been  coming  into  the 
city  and  its  vicinity,  since  the  15th  of  November,  by  roads 
which  led  to  the  rear,  and  hence  had  not  been  observed  by 
Bragg's  lookout ;  and  on  the  evening  of  the  23d  of  November, 
lay  concealed  above  Chattanooga,  on  the  north  bank,  and  ready 
for  the  crossing.  Then  followed  that  admirably  planned  combi- 
nation of  movements  which  reflected  so  much  skill  on  Grant's 
strategic  ability.  General  Thomas,  with  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland,  marched  out  with  all  the  order  and  stateliness  of 
a  grand  review,  and  while  the  enemy  looked  on  and  wondered, 
seized  Orchard  Knob,  their  most  advanced  position,  held  and 
fortified  it.  Hooker,  with  his  eastern  troops,  marching  along 
the  western  flank  of  Lookout  Mountain,  suddenly  climbed  its 
steep  sides,  and  rising  from  one  elevation  to  another,  drove  the 
enemy  up  and  over  the  crest  of  the  mountain — the  batteries 
echoing  and  reverberating  among  the  mountains  till,  with  the 
valleys  below  obscured  by  clouds  and  smoke,  which  did  not  rise 
to  his  own  lofty  position,  he  fought  that  battle  above  the  clouds 
which  has  been  so  greatly  celebrated;  and  Sherman  advancing, 
destroyed  the  railway,  and  captured,  with  but  slight  effort,  the 
most  advanced  post  of  the  enemy  at  the  northeast.  Such  was 
the  work  of  November  24th ;  that  of  November  25th  was  more 
serious,  but  crowned  with  perfect  success.     Hooker,  descending 


48  MEN"    OF    OUR    DAY. 

from  tlie  eastern  and  less  precipitous  slope  of  Lookout  ^^oun- 
taiu,  some  distance  below  Chattanooga,  pursued  the  flying  rebels 
up  to  the  crest  of  Mission  Ridge,  and  drove  them  from  Fort 
Bragg,  the  southernmost  of  their  fort^  crossing  the  Eidge. 
Sherman,  by  persistent  pounding  and  repeated  assaults  upon 
Fort  Buokner,  the  northernmost  of  their  forts,  had  succeeded 
in  drawing  a  considerable  portion  of  the  garrison  of  the  central 
fort,  Fort  Breckinridge,  to  the  support  of  the  Fort  Buokner 
garrison,  and  when,  at  a  little  past  three  o'clock  p.  x.,  the  signal 
guns  sounded  from  Fort  "Wood,  on  Orchard  Knob,  the  picked 
men  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  sprang  to  arms,  climbed 
the  precipitous  sides  of  Mission  Ridge,  under  a  most  terrific  fire, 
swept  through  Fort  Breckinridge,  and  drove  the  foe,  pell  mell, 
down  the  iartber  slope  of  the  Ridge,  and  Sherman's  men  pos- 
sessed themselves  quietly  of  the  fort,  against  which  they  had 
flung  themselves  so  fiercely  all  day.  No  more  brilliant  action 
occurred  dui'ing  the  war ;  and  when  it  was  followed  by  a  prompt 
pursuit  of  the  enemy,  and  by  sending  Sherman  with  his  wearied, 
but  always  obedient  and  victorious  troops,  to  Knoxville,  to 
compel  Longstreet  to  raise  the  siege  of  that  town,  and  to  drive 
him  among  the  mountains  of  western  Yirgiuia  in  midwinter, 
the  admiration  of  the  nation  for  Grant  knew  no  bounds.  The 
President  but  expressed  the  popular  feeling,  when  he  sent  to  the 
successful  general  the  following  telegraphic  dispatch : 

'•  Washiniitox,  Pec.  S,  1S63. 

*'  Major-Gexeral  Grant  : 

"  Understanding  that  your  lodgment  at  Chattanooga  and 
Knoxville  is  now  secure,  T  wish  to  tender  you,  and  all  under 
your  coniniaud,  my  more  than  thanks — my  profoundest  grati- 
tude— for  the  skill,  courage,  and  perseverance  with  which  you 
and  they,  over  so  great  difficulties,  have  effected  that  important 
object.     God  bless  you  all !" 

"A.  LIXCOLX." 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRAXT.  49 

Oa  the  17tli  of  December,  1863,  Congress  by  joint  resolution 
tendered  him  the  national  gratitude  and  provided  for  the 
preparation  of  a  gold  medal  with  suitable  emblems,  devices,  and 
inscriptions,  to  be  presented  to  him  in  token  of  the  national 
sense  of  his  services.  The  Legislatures  of  the  loyal  States  vied 
with  each  other  in  their  resolutions  of  thanks  and  in  their 
grants  of  funds,  etc.,  while  many  private  individuals  added  their 
gifts.  The  Senate  at  the  beginning  of  its  session  had  confirmed, 
almost  by  acclamation,  the  rank  of  major-general  in  the  regular 
army  which  had  been  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  President  in 
the  summer,  his  commission  dating  from  July  4,  1863. 

The  recipient  of  these  numerous  honors  seemed  in  no  wise 
elated  by  them ;  he  was  as  simple  and  unpretending  in  his  man- 
ners, as  reticent  on  all  political  topics,  and  as  averse  to  any 
thing  looking  like  display,  as  when  he  was  a  farmer  at  St.  Louis, 
or  a  clerk  at  Galena. 

There  was  yet  much  to  be  done  to  bring  his  army  at  Chatta- 
nooga into  good  condition.  His  communications  with  his  bases 
at  Nashville  and  Louisville  must  be  repaired  and  strengthened, 
his  men  better  fed,  supplies  accumulated  at  Chattanooga  and 
Nashville,  for  the  campaigns  in  the  not  distant  future  in  Georgia. 
In  concert  with  his  tried  friend  and  trusty  lieutenant,  Sherman, 
ho  planned  an  expedition  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  territory 
at  Meridian,  Mississippi,  to  be  met  by  one  from  Memphis,  down 
the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad,  which,  by  thoroughly  breaking 
their  lines  of  communication,  should  cripple  their  movements 
in  the  future,  and  during  the  months  of  January,  while  General 
Sherman  was  completing  the  details  of  this  enterprise,  he 
visited  and  inspected  in  person  all  the  posts  and  stations  of  his 
widely  extended  command.  The  Meridian  expedition  was  but 
a  partial  success,  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  cavalry  portion  of 


50  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

it  to  co-operate  effectively ;  but  it  seriously  embarrasaod  the 
rebels  in  their  subsequent  operations. 

While  it  was  in  progress,  Major-General  Grant  was  summoned 
to  Washington,  where  he  was  called  to  assume  new  and  still 
higher  responsibilities.  Congress  had  resolved  to  revive  the 
grade  of  lieutenant-general,  which  had  been  borne  as  a  full  rank 
only  by  General  Washington  (General  Scott's  title  being  only 
by  brevet) ;  and  a  law  to  that  effect  having  been  passed,  the 
President  at  once  conferred  the  rank  upon  Major-General  Grant 
and  the  Senate  confirmed  it.  The  commission  bore  the  date  of 
March  2d,  1864,  and  on  the  9th  of  that  month  the  President 
delivered  it  to  him  in  person,  accompanied  by  a  brief  address 
expressive  of  his  own  pleasure  in  doing  him  such  an  honor,  and 
a  word  of  monition  as  to  the  great  responsibilities  which  it 
would  devolve  upon  him.  On  the  12th  of  March,  the  President, 
by  official  order,  invested  the  lieutenant-general  with  the  com- 
mand of  tlie  armies  of  the  United  States ;  at  the  same  time  ap- 
pointing, at  Lieutenant-General  Grant's  instance,  Major-General 
W.  T.  Sherman,  commander  of  the  Military  Division  of  the 
Mississippi ;  General  McPherson,  commander  of  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee,  and  General  Halleck,  hitherto  general  in  chief,  chief 
of  staff  of  the  army,  to  reside  in  Washington. 

The  subsequent  seven  or  eight  weeks  were  busy  ones  for 
General  Grant.  The  various  commands  of  the  army  were  to  be. 
visited,  a  simultaneous  campaign  for  the  two  armies  arranged 
with  General  Sherman,  supplies  collected  and  troops  accumula- 
ted to  a  far  greater  extent  than  at  any  previous  time ;  the  army 
corps  to  be  strengthened  and  some  of  them  reorganized,  and  all 
preparations  made  for  a  campaign  which  should  end  only  with 
the  war.  The  armies  of  the  eastern  division,  which  were  to 
operate  against  the  rebel  General  Lee,  he  proposed  to  command 
n  person;   those  of  the  west  were  to  be  directed  by  Major 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  51 

General  Sherman,  His  own  especial  command,  as  reorganized 
under  his  supervision,  consisted  of;  first^  the  army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, numbering  in  all  130,000  men,  though  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  campaign,  a  part  were  not  yet  present ;  this  was 
commanded  by  General  George  G.  Meade,  an  able  and  experi- 
enced officer,  and  its  corps  commanders  were  Hancock,  Warren, 
Sedgwick,  and  Burnside.  It  confronted  Lee's  army  from 
the  north  side  of  the  Eapidan.  Second,  the  army  of  the  James, 
consisting  of  about  30,000  troops,  under  the  command  of  Major- 
General  Butler,  with  General  Gillmore  as  a  subordinate ;  this 
was  in  a  position  to  strike  either  at  Richmond  or  Petersburg. 
Third,  the  army  of  the  Shenandoah,  under  the  command  of 
Major-General  Franz  Sigel,  then  about  17,000  strong,  but  subse- 
quently increased  by  the  addition  of  the  nineteenth  army  corps, 
from  the  Department  of  the  Gulf.  Besides  these  there  was  a  strong 
cavalry  force,  under  the  command  of  the  young  but  efficient 
general,  Philip  H.  Sheridan.  The  forward  movement  was 
made  on  the  4th  of  May,  1864,  and  resulted  in  the  bloody  but 
indecisive  battles  of  the  "Wilderness,  May  5  and  6,  1864,  a  for- 
ward movement  by  the  left  flank  to  Spottsylvania,  and  a  series 
of  battles  there.  May  8-21,  hardly  more  decisive,  and  not  less 
bloody  than  the  preceding;  another  flank  movement  to  and 
across  the  North  Anna,  and  two  days  of  hard  fighting,  May 
21-25  ;  a  recrossing  of  the  North  Anna,  a  flanking  of  the  enemy 
and  crossing  of  the  Pamunkey,  and  the  battle  of  Tolopotomoy, 
May  28  and  29,  and  of  Bethesda  church.  May  SO.  Another  at- 
tempt to  surprise  the  enemy  by  a  flank  movement,  brought  the 
two  armies  face  to  face  at  Cold  Harbor,  one  of  the  battle  grounds 
of  1862,  but  this  time  with  the  positions  of  the  two  armies  re- 
versed. 

Finding  himself  unable  to  gain  the  flank  of  Lee's  army — that 
general  moving  on  interior  and  shorter  lines,  and  though  with 


52  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

an  inferior  force,  being  fully  his  equal  in  military  strategy- 
Lieutenant -General  Grant  now  took  the  resolution  of  throwing 
the  Army  of  the  Potom.ac  south  of  the  James,  and  assailing 
Petersburg  and  Richmond  from  that  direction.  His  losses  in 
this  month  of  battles  had  been  frightful,  nearly  60,000  men 
being  hois  du  combat,  either  among  the  slain,  wounded,  or  pris- 
oners. He  had  inflicted  heavy  losses  on  the  enemy,  but  they 
were  not  equal  to  his  own,  as  their  numbers  were  materially 
less ;  but,  with  that  pertinacity  and  resolution  which  is  so 
striking  an  element  of  his  character,  he  would  not  relax  his 
efforts  in  the  least,  and  was  determined  to  pound  away  upon  his 
foes  till  he  had  ground  them  to  powder.  Crossing  the  James 
successfully,  he  commenced  a  series  of  assaults  on  Petersburg, 
but  without  any  considerable  success.  The  construction  of 
siege  lines  around  the  city,  to  the  east  and  south ;  the  mining 
of  one  of  its  forts  ;  demonstrations  alternately  toward  the  Wel- 
don  and  the  Southside  railroads,  followed ;  but  with  not  much 
better  result.  His  cavalry,  under  Sheridan,  Wilson,  and 
Kautz,  were  kept  actively  employed  in  raids  upon  the  enemy's 
lines  of  communication.  The  army  of  the  Shenandoah  had 
made  lamentable  failures  under  Sigel  and  Hunter,  and  their 
adversary.  Early,  had  descended  into  Maryland,  threatened 
Baltimore  and  Washington,  and  only  been  driven  from  the 
vicinity  of  the  capital,  by  the  hurried  advance  of  troops  from 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Department  of  the  Gulf. 
The  Government,  always  in  terror  of  attacks  upon  the  capital, 
clamored  loudly  for  protection ;  but  while  General  Grant  would 
not  farther  weaken  his  force  around  Petersburg,  he  sent  a  man  to 
command  the  Department  of  the  Shenandoah,  who  was  himself 
worth  an  army  corps.  General  Sheridan,  in  a  succession  of 
well-planned  and  hard-fought  battles,  disposed  of  General  Early, 
and  subsequently  raided  through  the  whole  Shenandoah  and 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  53 

Luray  valleys,  laying  them  desolate,  for  the  aid,  shelter  and 
support  they  had  given  to  the  bands  of  guerrillas.  The  autumn 
and  early  winter  was  consumed  in  attempts  to  cut  the  lines  of 
communication  from  the  west  and  southwest  of  Petersburg  and 
Richmond,  by  which  the  rebel  armies  were  supplied.  The 
Virginia  and  Tennessee  road  was  destroyed  by  Gillem  and 
Stoneman;  the  Manassas  and  Lynchburg  roads,  the  James  River 
canal  and  the  slackwater  navigation  broken  up,  and  the  sup- 
plies in  the  warehouses  destroyed  by  Sheridan ;  and  at  each 
effort  along  Hatcher's  Run  some  ground  was  gained,  and  a 
nearer  approach  made  to  the  only  artery  of  communication 
which  remained,  the  Southside  railroad.  This  was  accom- 
plished at  a  heavy  cost  of  life,  but  there  was  an  advance  which 
betokened  the  speedy  coming  of  the  end. 

Meantime,  Admiral  Farragut  had,  in  the  grandest  of  naval 
battles,  defeated  the  squadron  and  captured  the  forts  which 
defended  Mobile  Bay ;  Sherman  had,  after  a  campaign  of  great  se- 
verity, captured  Atlanta,  and  partially  destroyed  it — had  moved 
onward,  with  his  vast  columns,  to  the  sea — had  captured  Savan- 
nah— and,  turning  northward,  had  swept,  as  with  the  besom  of 
destruction,  South  Carolina,  compelling  the  surrender  of  Charles- 
ton, and  the  other  principal  towns  of  South  and  North  Caro- 
lina ;  the  forts  which  had  protected  the  harbor  of  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina,  had  succumbed,  on  a  second  attack,  to  the 
prowess  of  A'lmiral  Porter  and  General  Terry — and  Wilming- 
ton itself  had  fallen  before  Terry  and  Schofield ;  General 
Thomas  had  driven  Ilood  out  of  Tennessee,  with  such  terrible 
slaughter  that  he  could  not  assemble  another  army. 

All  things  portended  the  speedy  collapse  of  this  formidable 
rebellion.  Grunt  now  moved  forward;  and  after  some  hard 
fighting,  Sheridan,  under  his  direction,  carried  the  strong  po- 
sition of  P'ivc  Forks,  and  drove  those  of  the  enemy  who  were 


54  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

not  slain  or  captured,  westward,  where  they  could  not  aid  in 
continuiiig  the  defence  of  Lee's  already  weakened  lines.  April 
2d,  1805,  the  line  of  the  Southside  railroad  was  thoroughly 
broken  ;  April  3d,  the  cities  of  Petersburg  and  Eichmond  were 
evacuated  and  surrendered.  The  flying  rebel  army,  bereft  of 
supplies,  hungry  and  despairing,  were  pursued  unremittingly; 
and  on  the  9th  of  April,  General  Lee  surrendered  to  General 
Grant  the  remnant  of  the  Army  of  Virginia.  Then  came  the 
entrance  into  Richmond ;  the  President's  visit  there ;  and  the 
sad  scene  of  the  assassination  of  the  President,  whose  fate 
General  Grant  only  escaped  by  the  providence  of  God,  which 
called  him  suddenly  to  Philadelphia  that  night.  The  news  of 
the  proposed  terms  of  capitulation  offered  to  Johnston  by 
General  Sherman,  coming  just  at  this  juncture,  roused,  on  the 
part  of  the  Government,  such  strong  disapproval,  that  General 
Grant  immediately  went  to  Raleigh,  and  by  wise  and  adroit 
management  saved  his  friend  from  disgrace,  and  the  country 
.'rom  any  evils  which  might  have  resulted  from  Sherman's 
terms. 

.  The  speedy  end  of  the  war  ensued,  and  General  Grant's 
duties  thenceforward  were  rather  administrative  than  military. 
He  made  a  tour  tlirough  the  Southern  States  in  1865,  and  sub- 
seqently  flying  visits  to  the  northern  cities.  The  gratitude  of 
the  people  for  his  eminent  services  followed  him.  A  residence 
was  presented  to  him  at  Galena,  another  in  Philadelphia,  and 
another  still  in  Washington.  The  merchants  of  New  York 
raised  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  as  an  indication  of  their  sense 
of  his  great  services  to  the  country.  On  the  25th  of  July,  1866, 
Congress  created  the  grade  of  full  general,  hitherto  unknown  to 
our  country,  and  stipulating  that  it  should  lapse  after  his  death 
or  resignation  of  it,  conferred  it  upon  him.     In  the  summer  of 

1866,  by  express  command  of  the  President,  General  Grant  ac« 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT.  55 

companied  him  in  his  western  tour ;  but  he  sought  in  vain  to 
commit  hira  to  any  approval  of  his  cause  and  policy.  Subse- 
quently, in  August.  1867,  when  Mr.  Johnson's  long  and  ill-dis- 
guised hatred  of  the  Secretary  of  War  broke  out  into  hostility, 
and  he  demanded  Mr.  Stanton's  resignation,  on  the  refusal  of 
that  officer  to  resign,  Mr.  Johnson  suspended  him  from  office 
and  appointed  General  Grant  Secretary  ad  interim.  The  general 
accepted  the  position,  managed  the  office  wisely  and  well,  and 
when  the  Senate  decided  that  Mr.  Stanton's  removal  was  un- 
justifiable, surrendered  it  at  once  to  the  Secretary.  This  act 
excited  Mr.  Johnson's  anger,  and  he  sought,  in  a  series  of  letters, 
but  with  his  usual  ill-success,  to  fasten  upon  the  general  charges 
of  insincerity,  inveracity,  and  treachery. 

Having  returned  to  the  duties  of  his  office  as  the  Commanding 
General  of  the  Armies  of  the  United  States,  General  Grant  took 
no  farther  part  in  politics,  and  neither  by  word  nor  act  showed 
any  disposition  to  take  sides  in  the  impeachment  trial  of  the 
President  (Johnson)  which  followed.  At  the  National  Conven- 
tion of  the  Republican  party,  held  in  Chicago,  Mav  20th — 22d, 
1868,  General  Grant  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  and  Hon. 
Schuyler  Colfax  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  His  nomination  was 
almost  by  acclamation.  As  he  had  not  previously  been  in  any 
way  active  as  a  politician,  and  little  was  known  definitely  of  his 
political  views,  we  give  for  purposes  of  reference  the  platform 
adopted  by  the  convention  which  nominated  him,  and  his  letter 
of  acceptance.* 

*    REPUBIJCAN    PLATFORM. 

The  National  Bepuhlican  Party  of  the  United  States,  anfemhled  in  National 
Convention  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  on  the  2lt>t  day  of  May,  18ti8,  7nake 
the  following  Declaration  of  Principles. 

I.  We  conirratuliite  tlie  counlry  on  the  assured  success  of  the  Recon- 
struction policy  of  (!ong:ress,  as  evinced  by  the  adoption,  in  the  inuj(,rily 
of  the  States  lately  in  rebellion,  of  Constitutions  securing  Equal  Civil  and 


6C  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

The  Presidential  campaign  was  less  exciting  than  usual,  and 
it  was  a  foregone  conclusion,  long  before  the  day  of  election, 
that  Grant  and  Colfax  would  be  elected.  The  elections  took 
place  November  3d,  1868,  and  the  Republican  candidates  re- 
ceived 214  electoral  votes,  against  80  given  to  Messrs.  Seymour 
and  Blair,  thus  having  a  clear  majority  of  IS-i  electoral  votes. 
On  the  popular  vote  General  Grant's  majorit}^  though  compara- 
tively less,  was  still  very  decided.     The  whole  number  of  votes 

Political  Rights  to  all,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  tlie  Government  to  sustain 
those  institutions  and  to  prevent  the  people  of  such  States  from  being 
remitted  to  a  state  of  anarchy. 

II.  'I'he  guaranty  by  Congress  of  Equal  Suffrage  to  all  loyal  men  at  the 
Soi;th  was  demanded  by  every  consideration  of  public  safety,  of  gratitude, 
and  of  justice,  and  must  be  maintained ;  while  tlie  question  of  Suffrage  in 
all  the  loyal  States  properly  belongs  to  the  people  of  tliose  States. 

III.  We  denounce  all  forms  of  Repudiation  as  a  national  crime;  and  the 
national  lionor  requires  the  payment  of  the  public  indebtedness  in  the 
uttermost  good  faith  to  all  creditors  at  home  and  abroad,  not  only  according 
to  the  letter  but  the  spirit  of  the  laws  under  wliich  it  was  contracted. 

IV.  It  is  due  to  the  Labor  of  the  Nation  that  taxation  should  be  equal- 
ized, and  reduced  as  rapidly  as  the  national  faith  will  permit. 

V.  'Die  National  Debt,  contracted,  as  it  has  been,  for  the  preservation  of 
the  Union  for  all  time  to  come,  should  be  extended  over  a  fair  period  for 
redemption  ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to  reduce  the  rate  of  interest 
thereon,  whenever  it  can  be  honestly  done. 

VI.  That  the  best  policy  to  diminish  our  burden  of  debt  is  to  so  im- 
prove our  credit  that  capitalists  will  seek  to  loan  us  )noney  at  lower  rates 
of  interest  than  we  now  pay,  and  must  continue  to  pay  so  long  as  repudia- 
tion, partial  or  total,  open  or  covert,  is  threatened  or  suspected. 

VII.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  should  be  administered  with 
the  strictest  economy  ;  and  the  corruptions  which  have  been  so  sliamefully 
nursed  and  fostered  by  Andrew  Johnson  call  loudly  for  radical  reform. 

VIH.  We  profoundly  deplore  the  untimely  and  tragic  death  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  and  regret  the  accession  to  the  Presidency  of  Andrew  John- 
son, who  has  acted  treacherously  to  the  people  who  elected  him  and  the 
cause  he  was  pledged  to  support ;  who  lias  usurped  Ingh  legislative  and 
judicial  functions  ;  who  has  refused  to  execute  tlie  laws  ;  who  has  used  his 
high  office  to  induce  other  officers  to  ignore  and  violate  the  laws ;  who  has 
employed  his  executive  powers  to  render  insecure  the  property,  the  peace, 
liberty  and  life  of  the  citizen;  who  has  abused  the  pardoning  power;  who 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  57 

polled  was  5,716,788,  of  which  General  Grant  received  3,013,188, 
a  clear  majority  of  309,588,  or  5'-12  per  cent.  He  was  inaugu- 
rated March  4:th,  1869.  The  new  President  having  previously 
resigned  his  commission  as  General  of  the  United  States  Army, 
Lieutenant-General  William  T.  Sherman  was  on  his  nomina- 
tion promoted  to  be  General ;  and  Major-General  Philip  H. 
Sheridan  promoted  to  the  vacant  Lieutenant-Generalship.  Presi- 
dent Grant  sent  the  names  of  his  new  cabinet  to  the  Senate  on 


has  denounced  the  National  Legislature  as  unconstitutional ;  who  has  per- 
sistently and  corruptly  resisted,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  every  pro- 
per attempt  at  the  reconstruction  of  the  States  lately  in  rebellion  :  who  has 
perverted  the  public  patronag-e  into  an  engine  of  wholesale  corruption  ;  and 
who  has  been  justly  impeached  for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  pro- 
perly pronounced  guilty  thereof  by  the  vote  of  thirty-five  Senators. 

IX.  The  doctrine  of  Great  Britain  and  other  European  powers  that, 
because  a  man  is  once  a  subject  he  is  always  so,  must  be  resisted  at  every 
hazard  by  the  United  States,  as  a  relic  of  feudal  times,  not  authorized  by 
the  laws  of  nations,  and  at  war  with  our  national  honor  and  independence. 
Naturalized  citizens  are  entitled  to  protection  in  all  tlieir  rights  of  citizen- 
ship, as  though  they  were  native-born  ;  and  no  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
native  or  naturalized,  must  be  liable  to  arrest  and  imprisonment  by  any 
foreign  power  for  acts  done  or  words  spoken  in  this  country  ;  and  if  so 
arrested  and  imprisoned,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  interfere  in 
his  behalf. 

X.  Of  all  who  were  faithful  in  the  trials  of  the  late  war,  there  were 
none  entitled  to  more  especial  honor  than  the  brave  soldiers  and  seamen 
who  endured  the  hardships  of  campaign  and  cruise,  and  imperiled  their 
lives  in  the  service  of  the  country  ;  the  bounties  and  pensions  provided  by 
the  laws  for  these  brave  defenders  of  the  nation,  are  obligations  never  to 
be  forgotten  ;  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  gallant  dead  are  the  wards  of 
the  people — a  sacred  legacy  bequeathed  to  the  nation's  protecting  care. 

XI.  Foreign  immigration,  which  in  the  past  has  added  so  much  to  the 
wealth,  development  and  resources  and  increase  of  power  to  this  republic, 
the  asylum  of  the  oppressed  of  all  nations,  should  be  fostered  and  encour- 
aged by  a  liberal  and  just  policy. 

XII.  This  Convention  declares  itself  in  sympathy  with  all  oppressed 
peoples  struggling  for  their  rights. 

Unanimously  added,  on  motion  of  Gen.  Schurz  : 

Resolned.  That  we  highly  commend  the  spirit  of  magnanimity  and  for- 
bearance with  which  men  who  have  served  in  the  rebellion,  but  who  now 


58  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

the  5th  of  March.  They  were  as  follows :  Secretary  of  State, 
E.  B.  Washburue  of  Illinois ;  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  A.  T. 
Stewart  of  New  York ;  Secretary  of  War,  John  M.  Schofield  of 
New  York;  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Adolphe  E.  Borie  of  Penn- 
sylvania ;  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Jacob  D.  Cox  of  Ohio ; 
Postmaster-General,  John  A.J.  Creswell  of  Maryland  ;  Attorney- 
General,  E.  Rockwood  Hoar  of  Massachusetts, 

frankly  and  honestly  co-operate  with  us  in  restoring  the  peace  of  the  coun- 
try and  reconstructing  the  Southern  State  governments  upon  tlie  basis  of 
Impartial  Justice  and  Kqual  Rights,  are  received  back  into  the  communion 
of  the  loyal  people;  and  we  favor  the  removal  of  the  disqualifications  and 
restrictions  imposed  upon  the  late  Rebels  in  the  same  measure  as  their 
spirit  of  loyalty  will  direct,  and  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  safety  of  the 
loyal  people. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  great  principles  laid  down  in  the  im- 
mortal Declaration  of  Independence,  as  the  true  foundation  of  democratic 
government ;  and  we  hail  with  gladness  every  effort  toward  making  these 
principles  a  living  reality  on  every  inch  of  American  soil. 

In  accepting  the  nomination.  General  Grant  wrote  the  following  letter: 
To  General  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  President  National  Union  Republican  Con- 
vention : 

In  formally  accepting  the  nomination  of  the  National  Union  Republican 
Convention  of  the  21st  of  May,  inst.,  it  seems  proper  that  some  statement 
of  views  beyond  the  mere  acceptance  of  the  nomination  should  be  expres- 
sed. The  proceedings  of  the  Convention  were  marked  with  wisdom,  mode- 
ration and  patriotism,  and  I  believe  express  the  feelings  of  the  great  mass 
of  those  who  sustained  the  country  through  its  recent  trials.  I  indorse 
the  resolutions.  If  elected  to  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States, 
it  will  be  my  endeavor  to  administer  all  the  laws  in  good  faith,  with  econo- 
my, and  with  the  view  of  giving  peace,  quiet  and  protection  everywhere. 
In  times  like  the  present  it  is  impossible,  or  at  least  eminently  improper, 
to  lay  down  a  policy  to  be  adhered  to,  right  or  wrong,  through  an  admin- 
istration of  four  years.  New  political  issues,  not  foreseen,  are  constantly 
arising  ;  the  views  of  the  public  on  old  ones  are  constantly  changing,  and 
a  purely  administrative  officer  should  always  be  left  free  to  execute  the  will 
of  the  people.  I  always  have  respected  that  will,  and  alwaj's  shall.  Peace 
and  universal  prosperity — its  sequence — with  economy  of  administration, 
will  lighten  the  burden  of  taxation,  while  it  constantly  reduces  the  National 
debt.     Let  us  have  peace. 

With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

Washinqton,  D.  C,  Mai/  29,  1868.  U.  S.  Grant. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  59 

Here  began  President  Grant's  administration,  which  was  not 
without  its  troubles.  Mr.  Stewart,  being  an  importer,  was  found 
to  be  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury.  The  law  which  made  him  ineligible  was  one 
enacted  many  years  since,  and  a  strong  effort  was  made  to 
have  it  repealed.  But  this  proved  ineffectual,  and  on  the  llth 
of  March  the  name  of  George  S.  Boutwell  of  Massachusetts 
was  substituted  for  that  of  Mr.  Stewart. 

Mr.  Washburne's  appointment  was  purely  honorary,  and  de- 
signed to  be  temporary,  so  that  an  early  successor  was  expected. 
Mr.  Washburne's  declining  health  precipitated  a  change,  and 
the  name  of  Hamilton  Fish  was  sent  in  as  his  successor.  On 
the  same  date  the  name  of  John  A.  Eawlins,  late  Grant's  chief 
of  staflt;  was  submitted  as  Secretary  of  War. 

Three  months  later  Mr.  Borie,  who  found  the  duties  of  the 
Navy  Department  uncongenial,  sent  in  his  resignation,  and  on 
June  25th  George  M.  Eobeson  of  New  Jersey  was  nominated  as 
his  successor.  These  changes  did  not  place  the  Administration 
in  good  working  order.  Others  took  place  during  tlie  year. 
Secretary  Eawlins  died  on  September  6th,  and  after  an  ad 
interim  administration  of  his  office  by  General  Sherman,  Gene- 
ral Wm.  W.  Belknap  of  Iowa  was  appointed,  November  1st, 
1869.  It  was  not  until  the  succeeding  year  that  the  maciiinery 
of  the  Administration  was  fully  adjusted  and  a  definite  policy 
began  to  be  developed. 

Several  of  the  political  leaders  of  the  Eepublican  party  felt 
aggrieved  that  the  President  should  have  failed  to  recognize 
their  claims  to  places  in  his  Cabinet,  and  a  marked  ci)ulne.ss  en- 
sued. That  he  should  have  distrusted  such  men  as  advisers  was 
quite  natural.  He  had  not  been  trained  in  their  school.  That 
he  should  have  a  strong  preference  for  those  who  had  grown  up 
about  him  both  in  the  army  and  private  life,  was  quite  as  natural. 


60  MEN   OF    OUR  DAY. 

Of  the  former,  he  knew  not  whom  to  trust ;  of  the  latter,  he 
knew  precisely  who  were  in  accord  with  him.  He  deemed 
confidence  an  essential  to  constitutional  advisement,  just  as  it 
was  a  primary  consideration  in  the  army.  That  he  was  inju- 
dicious in  some  of  these  appointments,  is  possible ;  and  he  him- 
self was  subsequently  satisfied  that  it  would  have  been  better  to 
have  selected  those  more  familiar  with  their  duties. 

The  charges  of  nepotism  and  favoritism  which  sprung  from 
these  two  causes,  the  President's  preference  for  those  whom  he 
knew  best,  and  his  neglect  of  the  politicians,  were  greatly  exag- 
gerated and  reiterated  with  undeserved  bitterness  by  those  who 
"  had  nursed  their  wrath  to  keep  it  warm."  That  he  had  erred 
in  a  few  of  these  appointments  even  he  himself  now  admits,  but 
he  has  done,  and  is  doing  what  he  can  to  obviate  these  blunders 
of  his  inexperience.  That  he  was  not  induced  by  his  regard  for 
friends  or  relatives  to  put  as  many  bad  men  in  ofl&ce  as  any  of 
his  predecessors,  is,  we  believe,  susceptible  of  proof;  and  when 
he  ascertained  that  he  had  been  deceived,  he  took  measures  for 
the  removal  of  the  offender,  however  warm  may  have  been  his 
friendship  for  him.  His  experience  and  observation  have 
taught  him  wisdom.  He  understands  the  prominent  leaders  of 
political  affairs  much  better  than  he  did  in  1868-9,  and  he  has 
also  learned  that  a  man  may  be  proof  against  temptation  in  a 
humble  position,  who  will  fall  before  it  in  a  higher  one.  The 
wisdom  thus  acquired  is  one  of  his  best  claims  to  future  confi- 
dence. 

We  have  never  yet  seen  a  charge  made  against  the  President 
that  was  coupled  with  a  doubt  of  his  personal  integrity,  or  that 
discounted  his  patriotism.  Nor  have  his  administrative  acts 
often  betrayed  a  forgetfulness  of  that  announcement  in  his  inau- 
gural address,  so  welcome  to  all  who  heard  it:  -'I  shall  have  no 
policy  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  the  American  people." 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON    GRANT  61 

Considering  the  military  cast  of  his  mind,  it  was  scarcely  ex- 
pected that  he  could,  without  considerable  administrative  school- 
ing, grasp  and  successfully  handle  all  the  great  measures  of 
State.  But  his  instincts  were  known  to  be  right.  The  country 
needed  a  guarantee  of  safety  and  rest,  rather  than  brilliancy  and 
unrest.  We  were  to  garner  fruits,  and  not  break  up  ground  for 
new  crops.  After  the  excitement  of  war  a  breathing  time  was 
required.  The  nation  felt  that  confidence  could  be  reposed  in 
Grant,  and  it  has  not  been  disappointed. 

Like  other  Presidents  he  has  not  been  free  from  faults,  but 
these  he  has  quickly  corrected.  Probably  the  most  noticeable 
of  these  was  the  policy  of  acquiring  a  foothold  for  our  com- 
merce in  the  Caribbean  Sea,  a  policy  as  old  as  the  country  itself. 
The  people  forbade,  and  he  hearkened  promptly,  and  gracefully 
abandoned  the  scheme. 

It  has  been  a  continual  desire  on  his  part  to  give  to  his 
administration  the  honor  of  a  settlement  of  that  vexatious  case 
known  popularly  as  the  "  Alabama  Claims."  At  the  outset  he 
was  surrounded  by  many  difficulties,  not  the  least  of  which  was 
the  personal  enmity,  amounting  to  estrangement,  which  existed 
between  Mr.  Sumner,  then  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  and  Secretary  Fish.  Without  harmony  between 
these  two  officials  no  definite  results  could  be  reached.  One  or 
the  other  must  be  disposed  of.  Which  ?  became  a  momentous 
question.  The  Senate  came  to  the  President's  relief,  and  Mr. 
Cameron  was  cho.sen  Mr.  Sumner's  successor  at  the  head  of  that 
important  committee.  Many  deemed  this  action  unwise.  Mr. 
Sumner's  personal  qualifications  for  the  position  were,  probably, 
superior  to  those  of  any  (>ther  Senator,  but  the  necessity  for 
harmony  between  the  Committee  and  the  Secretary  must  override 
all  other  considerations.  This  treaty,  if  carried  out  in  good  faith, 
will  be  of  great  importance,  not  only  for  the  benefits  which  will 


62  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

accrue  to  the  nations  concerned  in  it,  but  also  for  the  influence  it 
will  exert  upon  all  nations,  as  substituting  the  theory  of  amica- 
ble settlement  of  national  differences  for  the  arbitrament  of  arms 
and  brute  force. 

Another  success  of  the  administration  has  been  the  constant 
and  rapid  reduction  of  the  national  debt.  The  people  have  been 
released  from  more  than  $330,000,000  of  this  burden  since 
March  4th,  1869,  and  a  consequent  annual  saving  of  interest  for 
the  future  to  the  extent  of  more  than  $20,000,000.  The  work  of 
reconstruction  has  been  well  nigh  completed.  Every  Congres- 
sional district  in  the  United  States  is  now  represented  at  Wash- 
ington. Severe  laws  have  been  administered  cautiously,  yet 
with  a  firmness  which  has  secured  harmony  in  sections  where 
discord  once  prevailed.  The  taxes  have  been  greatly  reduced, 
the  Congress  just  adjourned  having  eft'ected  a  reduction  amount- 
ing to  over  $51,000,000  annually.  Economy  has  been  enforced 
in  every  department  of  revenue,  and  defaulters  have  been  fer- 
reted out  and  brought  to  justice.  The  army  and  navy  estab- 
lishments have  been  reduced  to  a  peace  footing.  A  new  and 
humane  policy  of  dealing  with  the  Indian  tribes  has  been  at- 
tempted, which  secures  the  sanction  of  all  philanthropists,  and 
of  the  respective  religious  denominations,  and  bids  fair  to  be  far 
more  successful  than  the  old  and  corrupt  method  of  force  and 
chicanery. 

But  little  has  been  accomplished  in  the  way  of  civil  service 
reform,  for  the  reason  that  Congressmen  are  disinclined  to  give 
up  their  customary  patronage ;  but  the  President  has  often  ex- 
pressed himself  in  favor  of  some  method  of  appointment  to 
office  on  the  basis  of  such  reform,  and  his  advice  has  been  so  far 
regarded  in  many  of  the  departments  as  to  admit  of  competitive 
examinations  and  selection  of  the  most  worthy.  His  efforts  in 
this  direction  are  creditable  to  him,  and  we  may  well  hope  that 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON   GRANT.  63 

they  will  be  continued  with  renewed  zeal  in  the  future,  and  that 
he  may  succeed  in  triumphing  over  the  selfish  opposition  which 
the  measure  has  heretofore  encountered.  The  amnesty  bill,  and 
also  the  civil  rights  bill,  failed  against  his  wishes,  though  these 
measures,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe,  are  only  postponed. 

Altogether  his  administration  has  been  fairly  successful, 
and  except  with  those  whose  anticipations  were  too  exalted, 
such  as  was  expected.  The  farmers,  the  mechanics,  the  manu- 
facturers, the  capitalists,  all  who  are  interested  in  the  stability 
of  public  and  industrial  affairs,  in  the  maintenance  of  our  institu- 
tions, have  had  no  occasion  to  repent  of  their  choice. 

The  country  has  prospered.  Our  financial  condition  at  home 
and  abroad  was  never  better.  The  Treasurer  has  been  able  to 
negotiate  our  bonds  abroad  without  discount,  and  at  five  per 
cent,  interest.  We  have  had  peace.  In  view  of  all  this  posi- 
tive good,  of  President  Grant's  honesty,  and  sympathy  with 
the  masses,  we  may  overlook  the  charges  of  favoritism,  his  dis- 
trust of  politicians,  who  naturally  hate  where  they  cannot  rule, 
and  hisalleo^ed  shortcominsrs. 

The  charge  most  desperately  pressed  against  him,  though  with 
but  slight  attempt  at  proof,  is  that  he  has  made  vigorous  efforts 
for  his  own  reelection.  It  is  perhaps  desirable  that  there  should 
be  some  change  in  the  national  constitution,  which,  while  ex- 
tending the  Presidential  term  to  six  or  possibly  eight  years, 
should  prohibit  a  re-election  at  least  till  one  term  had  intervened. 
This  is  as  desirable  for  the  incumbent  of  the  Presidential  office 
as  for  the  people ;  for  it  would  at  once  obviate  the  charge  often 
unjustly  made  that  the  President  was  intriguing  for  his  own  re- 
election. As  the  constitution  now  stands  it  is  too  much  to  ask 
from  human  nature,  that  a  President  who  is  conscious  of  having 
served  his  country  faithfully,  and  with  fair  success,  should  not 
desire  a  re-election ;  nor  is  this  desire  in  itself  reprehensible,  un- 


64  me:n  of  our  day. 

less  accompanied,  as  it  too  often  has  the  reputation  of  being,  by 
intrigue  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  object.  That  President 
Grant  desired  a  re-election  was  but  natural ;  but  that  he  has 
shaped  his  policy  and  distribution  of  offices  to  effect  it,  or  at- 
tempted to  do  so  by  any  corrupt  means,  is  too  foreign  to  his 
nature  to  be  believed  for  a  moment.  That  a  great  part  of  the 
Republican  part}"-  desire  his  re-election  is  undoubtedly  true,  for 
though  conventions  may  be  packed,  and  their  unanimity  may 
be  effected  by  the  skilful  management  of  political  leaders,  there 
is  abundance  of  other  evidence  of  that  desire,  wholly  irrespec- 
tive of  these,  a  desire  based  upon  a  conviction  that  the  pros- 
perity of  the  country  depends  upon  his  re-election.  This  desire, 
too,  is  wholly  irrespective  of  any  effort  on  his  part,  or  any 
alleged  manipulations  of  his  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  it.  If 
he  is  re-elected,  it  will  be  as  truly  as  in  the  case  of  Lincoln  in 
186-i,  because  the  people  have  willed  it,  and  not  because  he  has 
set  any  machinery  to  work  to  accomplish  that  purpose. 

In  person  President  Grant  is  somewhat  below  the  average 
height,  with  a  tendency  to  corpulency  ;  of  great  powers  of  endu- 
rance, and  of  uniformly  good  health.  He  is  temperate,  quiet, 
likes  simple  ways  and  simple  food  ;  abhors  ostentation,  can  con- 
verse clearly,  though  not  fluently,  is  no  speech  maker,  preferring 
rather  to  listen.  He  is  a  great  smoker,  enjoys  a  game  of  bil- 
liards, and  is  fond  of  choice  horses.  As  a  friend  he  is  firm,  as 
an  enemy  he  is  not  vindictive.  Few  men  manifest  less  envy 
or  jealousy.  He  bears  complaint  and  even  censure  with  resig- 
nation, and  regards  the  promotion  and  advancement  of  those 
whom  he  deems  worthy  as  paramount  to  all  personal  considera- 
tions. No  man  is  quicker  to  correct  abuses  when  he  sees  th&m, 
and  though  slow  to  believe  an  accusation  against  one  whom  he 
has  trusted,  he  acts  decidedly  when  convinced.  In  the  ordi- 
nary acceptation  of  that  term,  he  is  not  a  man  of  genius.  Blun- 
ders he  has  made,  but  he  rarely  repeats  them.    In  one  word,  he 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON   GBANT.  65 

possesses  a  clear,  well-balanced  mind,  every  faculty  of  which 
is  thoroughly  practical,  and  such  a  combination  is  worth  much 
more  than  genius. 

At  the  National  Eepublican  Convention,  held  at  Philadelphia, 
June  5th  and  6th,  1872,  President  Grant  was  renominated  for 
the  Presidency,  receiving  the  unanimous  votes  of  all  the  State 
delegations  present.  At  the  same  convention,  Henry  Wilson, 
of  Massachusetts,  was  nominated  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  re- 
ceiving on  the  first  ballot  384:J  votes  to  314|  for  Mr.  Colfax. 
The  following  platform  was  unanimously  adopted : 

THE   PLATFORM. 

The  Republican  party  of  the  United  States,  assembled  in  National  Conven- 
tion in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  ^Uh  and  6th  days  of  June,  1872, 
again  declares  its  faith,  appeals  to  its  history,  and  announces  its  position 
upon  the  questions  before  the  country  : 

I.  During  eleven  years  of  supremacy  it  has  accepted  with  grand  courage 
the  solemn  duties  of  the  time.  It  suppressed  a  gigantic  rebellion,  emanci- 
pated four  millions  of  slaves,  decreed  the  equal  citizenship  of  all,  and. 
established  universal  suffrage.  Exhibiting  unparalleled  magnanimity,  it 
criminally  punished  no  man  for  political  offences,  and  warmly  welcomed  all 
who  proved  their  loyalty  by  obeying  the  laws  and  dealing  justly  with  their 
neighbors.  It  has  steadily  decreased,  with  a  firm  hand,  the  resultant  dis- 
orders of  a  great  war,  and  initiated  a  wise  policy  toward  the  Indians.  'J'ho 
Pacific  Railroad  and  similar  vast  enterprises  have  been  generally  aided  and 
successfully  conducted ;  the  public  lands  freely  given  to  actual  settlers; 
immigration  protected  and  encouraged,  and  a  full  acknowledgment  of  the 
naturalized  citizens'  rights  secured  from  Eiiropean  powers.  A  uniform 
national  currency  has  been  provided;  repudiation  frowned  down;  the 
national  credit  sustained  under  most  extraordinary  burdens,  and  new  bond* 
negotiated  at  lower  rates ;  the  revenues  have  been  carefully  collected  and 
honestly  applied.  Despite  the  annual  large  reductions  of  rates  of  taxation, 
the  public  debt  has  been  reduced  during  General  Grant's  presidency  at  the 
rate  of  $100,000,000  a  year.  A  great  financial  crisis  has  been  avoided,  and 
peace  and  plenty  prevail  throughout  the  land.  Menacing  foreign  difficul- 
ties have  been  peacefully  and  honorably  compromised,  and  the  honor  and 
the  power  of  the  nation  kept  in  high  respect  throughout  the  world.  This 
glorious  record  of  the  past  is  the  party's  best  pledge  for  the  future.  We 
believe  the  people  will  not  intrust  the  Government  to  any  party  or  combi- 
nation of  men  composed  chiefly  of  those  who  have  resisted  every  step  of 
this  beneficial  lorogress. 
5 


6Q  MEN   OF  OUR   DAY. 

II.  Complete  liberty  and  exact  equality  in  tVie  enjoyment  of  all  civil, 
political  and  public  rights  should  be  established  and  effectually  maintained 
throughout  the  Union,  by  efficient  and  appropriate  State  and  Federal  legis- 
lation. Neither  the  law  nor  its  administration  should  admit  of  any  dis- 
crimination in  respect  of  citizens  by  reason  of  race,  creed,  color,  or  previ- 
ous condition  of  servitude. 

III.  'i"he  recent  amendments  to  the  National  Constitution  should  be  cor- 
dially sustained,  because  they  are  right,  not  merely  tolerated  because  they 
are  law.  and  should  be  carried  out  according  to  their  spirit  by  appropriate 
legislation,  the  enforcement  of  which  can  be  safely  trusted  only  to  the 
party  that  secured  those  amendments. 

IV.  The  National  Government  should  seek  to  maintain  an  honorable 
peace  with  all  nations,  protecting  its  citizens  everywhere,  and  sympathiz- 
ing with  all  peoples  who  strive  for  greater  liberty. 

V.  Any  system  of  the  Civil  Service  under  which  the  subordinate  posi- 
tions of  the  Government  are  considered  rewards  for  mere  party  zeal,  is 
fatally  demoralizing ;  and  we,  therefore,  favor  a  reform  of  the  system  by 
laws  which  shall  abolish  the  evils  of  patronage,  and  make  honesty,  effi- 
ciency and  fidelity  the  essential  qualifications  for  public  position,  without 
practically  creating  a  life-tenure  of  office. 

VI.  We  are  opposed  to  further  grants  of  the  public  lands  to  corpora- 
tions and  monnpolies,  and  demand  that  the  national  domain  be  set  apart 
for  free  homes  for  the  people. 

VII.  The  annual  revenues,  after  paying  the  current  debts,  should  furnish 
a  moderate  balance  for  the  reduction  of  the  principal,  and  the  revenue, 
except  so  much  as  may  be  derived  from  a  tax  on  tobacco  and  liquors,  be 
raised  by  duties  upon  importations,  the  duties  of  which  should  be  so  ad- 
justed as  to  aid  in  securing  remunerative  wages  to  labor,  and  promote  the 
industries,  growth,  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  coimtry. 

VIII.  We  hold  in  undying  honor  the  soldiers  and  sailors  whose  valor 
saved  the  Union  ;  their  pensions  are  a  sacred  debt  of  the  nation,  and  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  died  for  their  country  are  entitled  to  the 
care  of  a  generous  and  grateful  people.  We  favor  such  additional  legisla- 
tion as  will  extend  the  bounty  of  the  Government  to  all  our  soldiers  and 
sailors  who  were  honorably  discharged,  and  who  in  the  line  of  duty  became 
disabled,  without  regard  to  the  length  of  service  or  the  cause  of  such  dis- 
charge. 

IX.  The  doctrine  of  Great  Britain  and  other  European  powers  concern- 
ing allegiance — "  Once  a  subject  always  a  subject  " — having  at  last  through 
the  effort  of  the  Republican  party,  been  abandoned,  and  the  American  idea 
of  the  individual's  right  to  transfer  his  allegiance  having  been  accepted  by 
European  nations,  it  is  the  duty  of  our  Government  to  guard  with  jealous 
care  the  rights  of  adopted  citizens  against  the  assumptions  of  unauthorized 
claims  by  their  former  Governments ;  and  we  urge  the  continual  and  care- 
ful encouragement  and  protection  of  voluntary  immigration. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  67 

X.  The  Franking  Privilege  ouglit  to  be  abolished,  and  the  way  prepared 
for  a  speedy  reduction  in  the  rate  of  postage. 

XI.  Among  the  questions  which  press  for  attention  is  that  which  concerns 
the  relations  of  capital  and  labor,  and  the  Republican  party  recognize  the 
duty  of  so  shaping  legislation  as  to  secure  full  protection,  and  the  amplest  field 
for  capital,  and  for  labor  the  creator  of  capital,  the  largest  opportunities  and 
a  just  share  of  the  mutual  profitsof  these  two  great  servants  of  civilization. 

XII.  We  hold  that  Congress  and  the  President  have  only  fulfilled  an 
imperative  duty  in  their  measures  for  the  suppression  of  violent  and  trea- 
sonable organizations  in  certain  lately  rebellious  regions,  and  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  ballot-box,  and  therefore  they  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  of 
the  nation. 

XIII.  We  denounce  repudiation  of  the  public  debt  in  any  form  or  dis- 
guise as  a  national  crime.  We  witness  with  pride  the  reduction  of  the 
principal  of  the  debt  and  of  the  rates  of  interest  upon  the  balance,  and 
confidently  expect  that  our  excellent  national  currency  will  be  perfected 
by  a  speedy  resumption  of  specie  payments. 

XIV.  'I'he  Republican  party  is  mindful  of  its  obligations  to  the  loyal 
women  of  America  for  their  noble  devotion  to  the  cause  of  freedom.  Their 
admission  to  wider  fields  of  usefulness  is  received  with  satisfaction,  and 
the  honest  demands  of  any  class  of  citizens  for  additional  rights  should  be 
treated  with  respectful  consideration. 

XV.  We  heartily  approve  the  action  of  Congress  in  extending  amnesty 
to  those  lately  in  rebellion,  and  rejoice  in  the  growth  of  peace  and  frater- 
nal feeling  throughout  the  land. 

XVI.  The  Republican  party  propose  to  respect  the  rights  reserved  by 
the  people  to  themselves  as  carefully  as  the  powers  delegated  by  them  to 
the  State  and  to  the  Federal  Government.  It  disapproves  of  the  resort  to 
unconstitutional  laws  for  the  purpose  of  removing  evils  by  interference 
with  rights  not  surrendered  by  the  people  to  either  the  State  or  National 
(jrovernment. 

XVII.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  General  Government  to  adopt  such  mea- 
sures as  will  tend  to  encourage  American  commerce  and  ship-building. 

XVIII.  We  believe  that  the  modest  patriotism,  the  earnest  purpose,  the 
sound  judgment,  the  practical  wisdom,  the  incorruptible  integrity,  and  the 
illustrious  services  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant  have  commended  him  to  the  heart 
of  the  American  people,  and  with  him  at  our  head  we  start  to-day  upon  a 
new  march  to  victory. 

The    President  of  the  Convention,  Judge'  Settle,    of  North 

Carolina,  addressed  to  President  Grant  a  letter  apprising  him  of 

his  nomination,  in  the  following  terms: 

Washington,  June  10th,  1872. 
To  the  President. — Sir:  In  pursuance  of  our  instructions,  we,  the  un- 
dersigned. President  and  Vice-Presidents  of  the  National  Republican  Con- 


68  MEN^   OF   OUR  DAY. 

vention,  held  in  Philadelpliia  on  tlie  5th  and  6th  instant,  have  the  honor 
to  inform  you  of  your  nomination  for  re-election  to  the  office  of  President 
of  the  United  States.  As  it  is  impossible  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
enthusiasm  which  prevailed,  or  the  unanimity  which  hailed  you  as  the 
choice  of  the  people,  we  can  only  add  that  you  received  the  entire  vote  of 
every  State  and  Territory. 

Regarding  your  re-election  as  necessary  to  the  peace  and  continued 
prosperity  of  the  coiuitry,  we  ask  your  acceptance  of  the  nomination. 

Signed  by  Thomas  Sktti.k,  President  of  the  National  Republican  Con 
vention,  and  the  Vice-Presidents. 

President  Grant  replied  as  follows,  the  same  evening : 

ExKOUTivE  Mansion,  ) 

Washington,  D.  C.  June  10th,  1872.    j 
The  Hon.   Thomas  Settle,  President  National  Republican   Convention^ 
Paul   Strabach,   Elisha    Baxter,  C.  A.  Sarg^;ant,  and  others,  Vice- 
Presidents. 

Gkntlemkn  :  Your  letter  of  this  date,  advising  me  of  the  action  of  the 
Convention  held  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  5th  and  6th  of  this 
month,  and  of  my  unanimous  nomination  for  the  Presidency  by  it,  has 
been  received. 

I  accept  the  nomination,  and  through  you  return  my  heartfelt  thanks  to 
your  constituents  for  this  mark  of  their  Confidence  and  support.  If  elected 
in  November,  and  protected  by  a  kind  Providence  in  health  and  strength 
to  perform  the  duties  of  the  high  trust  conferred,  I  promise  tlie  same  zeal 
and  devotion  to  the  good  of  the  whole  people  for  the  future  of  my  official 
life  as  shown  in  the  past.  Past  experience  may  guide  me  in  avoiding  mis- 
takes inevitable  with  novices  in  all  professions  and  in  all  occupations. 

When  relieved  from  the  responsibilities  of  my  present  trust,  by  the  elec- 
tion of  a  successor,  whether  it  be  at  the  end  of  this  term  or  next,  I  hope 
to  leave  to  him,  as  Executive,  a  country-  at  peace  within  its  own  borders, 
at  peace  with  outside  nations,  with  a  credit  at  home  and  abroad,  and  with- 
out embarrassing  questions  to  threaten  its  future  prosperity. 

With  the  expression  of  a  desire  to  see  a  speedy  healing  of  all  bitterness 
of  feeling  between  sections,  parties,  or  races  of  citizens,  and  the  time  when 
the  title  of  citizen  carries  with  it  all  the  protection  and  privileges  to  the 
humblest  that  it  does  to  the  most  exalted,  I  subscribe  myself. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT. 


WILLIAM    TECUMSEH    SHERMAN. 

GENERAL    OF   THE    ARMY    OF   THE    U.    S. 


lILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHEEMAN,  son  of  Oon. 
Charles  R.  Sherman,  for  some  years  a  judge  of  tlje 
Supreme  Court  of  Ohio,  and  a  brother  of  Hon, 
John  Sherman,  the  well  known  United  States  Sena 
tor  from  that  State,  was  born  in  Lancaster,  Ohio,  on  the  8th  of 
February,  1820.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  town,  but  after  his  father's  death,  which 
occurred  when  he  was  nine  years  of  age,  he  became  a  member 
of  the  family  of  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  where  heenjoyed  much 
wider  advantages;  and,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  entered  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  Graduating  from  that 
institution,  June  oOth,  1840,  with  the  sixth  rank  of  his  class, 
he  was  immediately  appointed  to  a  second  lieutenancy  in  the 
Third  Artillery,  and  served  through  the  next  year  in  Florida, 
achieving  some  distinction  by  the  masterly  manner  in  which  he 
foiled  certain  maneuvers  of  the  wily  Indian  chief  "  Billy  Bow- 
legs." In  November,  1841,  Sherman  was  made  a  first  lieuten- 
ant, and,  sh'jrtly  after,  was  ordered  to  Fort  Moultrie,  Charleston 
harbor,  where  he  remained  several  years,  forming  intimaciea 
with  eminent  citizens  of  South  Carolina,  which  it  required  all 
his  jSrmness  and  patriotism  in  after  years  to  abandon.  In  18-iH 
he  was  transferred  to  California  and  made  assistant  adjutant 
general,  performing  his  duties  with  such  marked  ability,  thai 

09 


70  MEX    OF    OUR    DAT. 

Congress,  in  1851,  made  him  captain,  by  hrevet^  dating  from 
May  oOtli,  1848,  "for  meritorious  services  in  California,  during 
the  war  with  Mexico."  In  September,  1850,  he  was  appointed 
Commissary  of  Subsistence,  with  rank  of  captain,  and  assigned 
to  the  staff  of  the  commander  of  the  Department  of  the  West, 
with  headquarters  at  St.  Louis.  During  the  same  year  he  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  iiis  old  friend,  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  and 
was  soon  after  stationed  at  New  Orleans,  where  he  became  well 
acquainted  with  the  leading  men  of  Louisiana.  In  September, 
1853,  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the  army,  and  was,  for 
four  years  ensuing,  the  manager  of  the  banking  house  of  Lucas, 
Turner  &  Co.,  of  San  Francisco,  California.  In  1857,  his  ser- 
vices were  solicited  and  secured,  by  some  of  his  old  Louisiana 
friends,  as  the  President  and  Superintendent  of  a  State  Military 
Academy,  which  they  were  then  establishing,  and  he  assumed 
his  position  early  in  1858.  The  objects  and  inducements 
alleged  for  the  creation  of  such  an  institution  were,  of  them- 
selves, reasonable  and  plausible ;  and  it  was  not  until  after  the 
commencement  of  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1860,  that  he 
became  aware  of  the  disloyal  sentiments  existing  among  the 
majority  of  the  leading  men  of  the  State,  or  of  the  real  and 
treasonable  purposes  which  had  influenced  them  in  founding 
the  academy  over  which  he  presided.  Simultaneously  with  the 
unavoidable  unmasking  of  their  plans,  these  men  now  strove, 
by  every  persuasive  art,  to  induce  him  to  join  with  them  in 
their  revolutionary  projects.  But  the  solicitations  of  friendship, 
the  proffer  of  gold,  and  the  tender  of  high  of&cial  position,  failed 
to  shake,  even  for  a  moment,  the  sterling  loyalty  of  the  soldier. 
Amazed  at  the  revelation,  and  convinced  that  civil  war  waa 
inevitable,  he  promptly  sent  to  the  Governor  of  the  State  the 
following  letter  of  resignation : — 


WTLLTAM   TECUMREH   SHERMAN".  71 

JAN0ART  18,  1861. 

Gov.  Thomas  0.  Moore,  Baton  Rouge,  La. 

Sir: — As  I  occupy  a  (/was /'-military  position  ander  this  State, 
I  deem  it  proper  to  acquaint  you  that  I  accepted  such  position 
when  Louisiana  was  a  Suite  in  the  Union,  and  when  the  motto 
of  the  seminary  was  ins  ;ried  in  marble  over  the  main  door, 
^^  By  tlie  ilbt'raliLij  of  the  (rewral  Government  of  the  Uiv'IcjI  SUitea. 
The  Union^  Esio  Per/irt?(a."'  Kecent  events  foreshadow  a  great 
change,  and  it  becomes  all  men  to  choose.  If  Louisiana  with- 
draws from  the  Federal  Union,  /  prefer  to  maintain  my  alle- 
giance to  the  Old  Constitution  as  long  as  a  fragment  uf  it  sur- 
vives, and  my  longer  stay  here  would  be  wrong  in  every  sense  of 
the  word.  Li  that  event,  I  beg  you  will  send  or  appoint  some 
authorized  agent  to  take  charge  of  the  arms  and  munitions  of 
war  hero  belonging  to  the  State,  or  direct  me  what  dispusiiion 
should  be  made  of  them.  And  I'urthermore,  as  President  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  I  beg  you  to  take  immediate  steps  to 
relieve  me  as  Supei'intendent,  the  moment  the  State  determines 
to  secede-;  for,  on  no  earthly  account  will  I  do  any  act  or  think 
any  thought,  hostile  to,  or  in  defiance  of,  the  old  Government  of 
the  United  States. 

With  great  respect,  &;c., 
(Signed)  W.  T.  Sherman-. 

His  resignation  was  accepted  with  regret,  by  those  whc 
knew  his  worth  as  a  man  and  his  value  as  a  soldier,  and  an  in- 
structor of  soldiers;  and,  in  February,  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  St.  Louis.  Shortly  bef  )re  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter 
be  visited  Washington,  and,  conversant  as  he  was  with  the 
intentions  and  plans  of  the  Southern  leaders — he  was  am.i^^ed 
at  the  apathy  and  incredulity  of  the  Government,  who,  as  he 
Biiid,  "were  sleeping  on  a  volcano,  which  would  surely  burst 
upon  them  unprepared."  Urging  U})on  government  ofru-iala 
the  imminenry  of  the  impending  danger  and  the  fearful  lack  of 
prepan^tion  to  meet  it,  he  also  proffered  his  services  as  a  sol- 
dier who    had   been   educated   at   the   country's   expense   and 


72  MEN   OF   OUB   DAY. 

who  owed  every  thing  to  her  care  and  institutions.  But  the 
threatened  storm  was  generally  regarded,  by  those  in  authority, 
as  a  mutter  which  would  "  blow  over"  in  sixty,  or,  at  the  most 
in  ninety  days,  and  he  could  find  no  one  to  comprehend  or 
indorse  his  views  in  regard  to  the  necessity  of  immediately  call- 
ing out  an  immense  army /or  the  war.  Ijj^n  the  organization, 
however,  of  the  new  regiments  of  the  regular  army,  in  June, 
1861,  he  was  made  colonel  of  the  new  13th  infantry,  his  com 
mission  dating  from  May  14th,  1861.  His  first  actual  service 
in  the  war  was  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Eun,  or  Manassas,  where  he 
commanded  the  Third  Brigade  in  the  First  (Tyler's)  Division. 
The  spirited  manner  in  which  he  handled  his  men  was  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  many  disgraceful  scenes  which  have  made  that 
day  one  of  ignoble  memories.  The  vigor  and  desperate  valor, 
indeed,  with  which  Sherman  fought  his  brigade  on  that  occasion, 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  its  losses  were  far  heavier  than 
any  other  brigade  in  the  Union  army ;  his  total  of  killed, 
wounded  and  missing,  being  six  hundred  and  nine,  while  that 
of  the  whole  division  was  but  eight  hundred  and  fifty-nine,  and 
of  the  entire  army,  aside  from  prisoners  and  stragglers,  but  fif- 
teen hundred  and  ninety.  His  valor  and  good  conduct  were 
promptly  rewarded  by  his  appointment  as  a  brigadier  general 
of  volunteers,  his  commission  dating  from  May  17th,  1861  ; 
and,  early  in  August,  he  was  made  second  in  command  of  the 
Department  of  the  Ohio,  under  General  Anderson.  On  the  8th 
of  October  he  was  appointed  to  the  chief  command,  in  place  of 
that  general,  who  had  been  obliged  to  resign  on  account  of  ill 
health.  The  Department  of  the  Ohio,  which,  at  tliis  time,  com- 
prised all  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
was  in  a  deplorable  condition  ;  paucity  of  troops ;  insufficiency 
of  supplies  and  munitions  of  war;  a  surrounding  country,  luke- 
warm, if  not  openly  inimical  to  the  Union  cause,  and  the  clofie 


WILLIAM   TKCUMSEH   SHERMAN".  73 

proximity  of  large,  well  equipped  and  well  officered  forces  of 
the  enemy  (who,  if  they  had  known  his'  real  condition,  could 
have  driven  him  "  out  of  his  boots"  in  ten  days)  rendered  Sher- 
man's situation  a  most  unenviable  one.  In  addition  to  the 
pressure  of  these  unfavorable  circumstances,  he  now  found  him- 
self annoyed  and  seriously  endangered  by  the  presence  in  his 
camp  of  numbers  of  those  "gad-flies"  of  the  press — newspaper 
letter  writers  and  reporters — whose  indiscreetness  threatened 
to  reveal  to  the  enemy,  the  very  facts  which  most  needed  con- 
cealment. He  soon  put  an  end  to  this  risk  by  a  stringent 
general-order,  which  excluded  the  whole  busy  crew  from  his 
lines,  and,  of  course,  brought  down  upon  his  own  head  an  ava- 
lanche of  indignation  from  a  hitherto  '*  untrammeled  press." 
Sherman's  greatest  difficulty,  however,  was  the  impossibility  of 
making  the  Government  comprehend  the  magnitude  of  the  con- 
test which  it  was  waging,  and  the  necessity  of  placing  a  large 
and  well  appointed  army  in  the  field,  which  should  make 
short  work  with  rebellion  by  the  crushing  weight  of  numbers. 
When,  in  October  1861,  he  explained  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
the  critical  position  of  his  own  department,  and,  in  reply  to  a 
question  of  the  number  of  troops  needed  for  an  immediate  for- 
ward and  decisive  movement,  replied  "  two  hundred  thousand 
men" — his  words  were  considered  visionary — and  he  was  incon- 
tinently pronounced  "crazy,"  by  government  officials  as  well  as 
by  the  newspaper  press,  who  had  not  forgiven  him  ft)r  his  for- 
mer severity.  Chagrined  at  the  distrust  of  his  military  judg- 
ment til  us  evinced  by  his  superiors,  Sherman,  in  November  1861, 
asked  to  be  relieved  from  his  position,  and  was  succeeded  by 
General  Buell,  who,  being  immediately  reinforced  witli  the 
troops  so  often  requested  by  and  so  persistently  denied  to  his 
predecessor,  was  enabled  to  hold  the  department  in  a  defensive 
attitude,  until  the  opening  of  the  spring  campaign. 


74  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

Sherman,  meanwhile,  was  left  to  rust  in  commanJ  of  Benton 
barracks,  near  St.  Louis,  until  General  Halleck,  who  succeeded 
Fremont  in  command  of  the  Western  Department,  and  who 
well  knew  the  abilities  of  the  man,  detailed  him  for  service  in 
General  Grant's  army ;  and,  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson, 
he  was  placed  in  command  of  that  general's  fifth  division,  com- 
posed mostly  of  raw  troops,  whom  he  began  immediately  to 
drill  and  perfect.  Soon  the  storm  of  battle  again  burst  upon 
him,  at  Shiloh,  April  6th,  1862,  where  he  had  taken  position 
three  miles  out  from  Pittsburgh  Landing,  on  the  Corinth  road. 
Sustaining,  against  great  odds,  the  repeated  and  furious  onsets 
of  the  enemy  on  the  6th,  he  assumed  the  offensive  on  the  7th, 
and  pushed  them  back  with  heavy  lo.-^s ;  and,  on  the  morning 
of  the  8th,  pushing  still  forward,  met  and  routed  their  cavalry, 
and  captured  many  prisoners  and  large  quantities  of  arms  and 
ammunition.  During  the  advance  upon  Corinth,  which  followed 
this  battle  of  Shiloh,  his  division  was  constantly  in  the  lead  and 
carried,  occupied,  and  reintrenched  seven  distinct  camps  of  tho 
enemy;  and  when,  on  the  3  'th  of  May,  Beauregard  retreated 
from  the  city,  it  was  Sherman's  gallant  division  which  took 
possession  of  it.  Occupying  with  these  raw  recruits,  at  the 
opening  battle  of  Shiloh,  "  the  key  point  of  the  landing,"  says 
General  Grant,  in  his  official  report,  "  it  is  no  disparagement  lo 
any  other  officer  to  say,  that  I  do  not  believe  there  was  another 
division  commander  on  the  field  who  had  the  skill  aud  expe- 
rience to  have  done  it.  To  his  individual  efforts  I  am  indebted  for 
the  success  of  that  battled  General  Halleek  also  records  it  as  the 
"unanimous  opinion,  that  General  Sherman  saved  the  for- 
tunes of  the  day ;  he  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  had  three 
horses  killed  under  him,  and  was  twice  wounded"' — and  in  this 
eulogium  of  his  services,  every  general  officer,  as  well  as  others, 
heai'tily  concurred.     At  the  earnest  request  of  Generals  Grant 


WILLIAM   TECUMSEH    SHERMAN".  75 

wid  Ilalleck,  Sherman  was  made  a  major-  ;eneral  of  volunteers, 
dating  from  May  1st,  18o2.  Appointed  by  General  Grant,  in 
the  spring  of  1862,  to  the  command  of  the  district  of  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  he  thoroughly  suppressed,  within  the  course  of  six 
months,  the  guerrilla  warfare  and  contraband  trade  which  had 
rendered  it,  in  the  opinion  of  rebel  officers,  a  more  valuable 
position  to  them  in  the  possession  of  the  Federal  government, 
then  it  ever  had  been  while  in  their  own.  When,  in  December, 
1862,  General  Grant  began  his  operations  against  Vicksburg, 
he  first  placed  Sherman  in  command  of  the  lift-^oi^th  army  corps, 
and  after  the  latter  had  made  some  important  recounoissances,  he 
took  him  into  his  confidence  regarding  his  plan  for  tl  '^.  capture 
of  that  city.  According  to  this  plan,  Sherman,  with  four  picked 
divisions,  sailed  from  Memphis  in  December,  to  make  a  direct 
attack  upon  Chickasaw  Blufis,  a  part  of  the  del  jnces  of  Vicksburg 
on  the  river  side,  while  Grant  himself,  proceeding  down  the  Missis- 
sippi Central  railroad,  to  Jackson,  Mississippi,  vas  to  move  to  the 
rear  of  the  city.  Grant's  movement,  however  was  prevented  by 
the  unexpected  surrender  of  Holly  Springs,  (u  the  Mississippi 
Central  railroad,  which  was  to  be  his  base  of  supplies,  and  he  was 
also  unable  to  communicate  the  fact  to  Sherman.  Unconscious 
of  this,  therefore,  the  latter  pressed  on,  disembarked  on  the  26th 
and  27th  of  December,  and  after  three  days'  desperate  fighting, 
■which  failed  to  make  any  impression  upon  the  fortifications  of 
the  city,  had  the  mortification  to  be  superseded  in  command  by 
General  McClernand,  a  volunteer  officer,  to  whom  he  transferred 
the  command  with  a  soldierly  loyalty  and  manliness,  which  few 
men,  in  his  circumstances,  would  have  been  able  to  exhibit 
towards  a  civilian  general,  and  a  rival.  The  repulse  of  the 
Chickasaw  Blufl's,  however,  was  subsequently  fully  compensated 
for  by  the  hearty  praise  and  candid  criticism  of  General  Grant 
and  other  eminent  military  critics,  who  saw,  in  the  natural  topo- 


76  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

graphy  of  the  ground,  the  insuperable  obstacles  against  which 
he  had  so  bravely  contended.  Sherman's  next  most  brilliant 
exploit  was  his  rapid  and  successful  movement  for  the  relief  of 
Admiral  Porter's  fleet  of  gunboats,  on  the  Sunflower  river, 
which  were  in  danger  of  being  hemmed  in  by  the  enemy,  while 
attempting  to  reach  Haines'  Bluff,  above  Vicksburg,  with  a 
view  to  an  attack  on  the  city.  In  Grant's  subsequent  attempt 
on  the  city  from  below,  the  role  assigned  to  Sherman  was  one 
involving  considerable  danger,  and  requiring  a  high  degree  of 
military  tact — being  a  feigned  attack,  or  rather  a  demonstration, 
in  conjunction  with  the  gunboats,  on  Haines'  Bluff.  This 
attack,  which  continued  with  great  fury  for  two  days,  enabled 
Grant  to  land  his  troops  without  opposition  at  a  point  seventy 
miles  below, — then,  by  a  forced  six  days'  march  over  terrible 
roads.  General  Sherman  joined  his  force  to  that  of  Grant  at 
Grand  Gulf,  and  the  whole  army  moved  forward.  We  next 
find  Sherman  operating  with  McPherson  in  a  series  of  brilliant 
movements,  resulting  in  the  rout  of  the  enemy  and  the  capture 
of  Jackson,  Mississippi,  and  the  destruction  of  numerous  rail- 
road bridges,  machine  shops,  and  arsenals  at  that  point;  then, 
by  a  succession  of  rapid  marches,  which  General  Grant  charac- 
terized as  "  almost  unequalled,"  he  wrested  the  possession  of 
Walnut  Hills  from  the  enemy,  cutting  their  force  in  two,  and 
compelling  the  evacuation  of  Haines',  Snyder's,  Walnut,  and 
Chickasaw  Bluffs,  together  with  all  their  strong  works;  and 
enabling  General  Grant  at  once  to  open  communication  with 
the  fleet  and  his  new  base  on  the  Yazoo  and  Mississippi,  above 
Yicksburg.  To  General  Sherman  it  was  perhaps  an  additional 
source  of  pleasure  that  the  position  which  he  had  thus  gained 
by  a  rear  attack,  was  the  very  one  against  which,  less  than  five 
months  before,  he  had  hurled  his  troops  in  vain.  In  the  first 
assault  on  the  enemy's  lines,  May  19th,  Sherman's  corps,  alone 


WILLIAM   TECUMSEH   SHERMAN".  77 

of  the  tbree  engaged,  succeeded  in  making  any  material  advance, 
The  surrender  of  the  city  of  Vicksburg,  on  the  4th  of  July 
brought  rest  and  comfort  to  all  of  the  brave  "  Army  of  the 
Tennessee,  except  to  Sherman's  corps,  who  were  immediately 
started  in  pursuit  of  Johnston,  then  hovering  in  the  rear  of  the 
Union  army.  Johnston  marched  at  once  to  Jackson,  which  he 
attempted  to  defend,  but  finally,  on  the  night  of  the  16th, 
evacuated  hastily,  abandoning  every  thing  to  Sherman,  of  whom 
General  Grant  said,  in  reference  to  this  last  success,  "  It  entitles 
General  Sherman  to  more  credit  than  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of 
one  man  to  earn."  A  well  earned  rest  of  two  months  was 
terminated,  September  23d,  by  orders  from  Grant  to  reinforce 
Rosecrans,  who  had  just  fought  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 
Promptness,  celerity  of  movement,  and  a  force  of  will  which 
overcame  every  obstacle  which  enemy  or  accident  placed  in  his 
way,  characterized  his  execution  of  this  order.  Arriving  at 
Memphis,  he  pushed  on  to  open  communication  between  that 
city  and  Chattanooga;  and,  while  so  engaged,  was  appointed 
commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  at  the  request  of 
General  Grant,  who  had  been  advanced  to  the  command  of  the 
Grand  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi,  comprising  the 
Armies  of  the  Cumberland,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Tennessee.  On 
the  loth  of  November,  under  imperative  orders  from  Grant, 
and  by  a  forced  march,  he  joined  that  general  at  Chattanooga, 
and  exhausted  as  his  men  were,  by  the  arduous  march  from 
Memphis,  he  at  once  received,  and  promptly  obeyed,  orders  to 
cross  the  Tennessee,  make  a  lodgment  on  the  terminus  of 
Missionary  Ridge  and  demonstrate  against  Bragg's  flank. 
The  roads  were  in  a  horrible  condition,  but  by  herculean  exer- 
tions, three  divisions  were  put  across  the  river  and  concealed, 
during  the  night  of  November  28d,  behind  some  hills,  and  by 
one  o'clock,  the  following  morning,  his  whole  force  had  crossed 


78  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

both  tlie  Tennessee  and  the  Chickamauga,  and  under  cover  of 
a  rain  and  dense  fog,  the  cavalry  dashed  forward  to  cut  the 
Chattanooga  and  Knoxville,  and  the  Cleveland  and  Dalton  rail- 
roads, while  the  infantry,  by  half  past  three,  p.  m.,  surprised 
and  captured  the  fortifications  on  the  terminus  of  Missionary 
Eidge ;  and  the  Union  guns  being  dragged  up  the  steep  ascent, 
quickly  silenced  the  fire  which  was  opened  upon  them  from  the 
batteries  of  the  discomforted  and  enraged  enemy.  The  night 
was  spent  in  rest  and  preparation  for  the  struggle  which  the 
morrow  would  inevitably  bring  for  the  possession  of  Fort  Buck- 
ner,  the  formidable  fortification  which  crowned  the  next  or 
superior  ridge  of  the  hill.  To  General  Sherman,  on  account  of 
his  known  abilities  and,  more  especially,  his  unquestioning 
obedience  to  military  necessities,  was  assigned  a  task  requiring 
firmness  and  self-sacrifice,  unattended  with  any  immediate  hope 
of  reputation  and  fame,  but  which  he  accepted  with  that  prompt- 
ness which  always  characterizes  him.  It  was,  to  make  a  per- 
sistent demonstration  against  Fort  Buckner,  in  order  to  draw 
the  enemy's  force  from  Forts  Bragg  and  Breckinridge,  which 
being  weakened,  would  fall  an  easier  conquest  to  G  rant's  storm 
ing  column.  Splendidly  did  this  masterly  soldier  and  his  brave 
men  carry  out  their  part  in  the  programme  of  the  battle  of  the 
25th.  From  sunrise,  until  three  o'clock,  they  surged  forward 
in  desperate  charges  upon  the  fortifications  of  the  crested 
heights  above  them — again  and  again  were  repulsed — slill 
gained  a  little  and  steadily  held  what  they  gained — until  the 
enemy  had  massed  nearly  his  whole  force  against  the  struggling 
column ;  when,  suddenly.  Hooker  swooped  down  upon  Fort 
Bragg,  and  at  twenty  minutes  to  four  P.  M.,  Thomas's  Fourth 
army  corps,  charging  in  solid  column  up  the  ridge,  carried  Fort 
Breckinridge  by  assault — and  the  battles  of  Chattanooga  were 
won.     The  glorious  success  of  that  day  was  due  quite  as  much 


WILLIAM    TECUMSEH   SnERMAN.  79 

to  the  persistency  and  stubbornness  with  which  General  Sherman 
held  the  crest  of  Tunnel  ITill,  as  to  the  gallant  daring  of  the 
other  divisions ;  and,  without  the  former,  the  latter  could  never, 
by  any  possibility,  have  succeeded. 

Victory,  however,  brought  no  respite  to  Sherman  and  his 
tired  veterans.  The  flying  foe  was  to  be  pursued  and  railroad 
connections  severed ;  and,  while  so  engaged,  they  were  ordered 
to  the  relief  of  Knoxville,  where  twelve  thousand  men  under 
'General  Burnside  were  closely  besieged  by  Longstreet.  Eighty- 
four  miles  of  terrible  roads,  and  two  rivers,  lay  between  them 
and  Knoxville,  which  must  be  reached  in  three  days.  Seven  days 
before  they  had  left  their  camp  beyond  the  Tennessee,  with 
only  two  days'  rations,  and  but  a  single  coat  or  blanket  per 
man,  officers  as  well  as  privates,  and  with  no  other  provisions 
but  such  as  they  could  gather  by  the  road.  In  that  time,  also, 
they  had  borne  a  conspicuous  part  in  a  terrible  battle,  and  well 
might  they  have  been  excused  if  they  had  grumbled  at  this 
fresh  imposition  of  extra  duty.  But  with  them  "to  hear  was 
to  obey."  The  railroad  bridge  across  the  Hiawassee  was  repaired 
and  planked ;  they  then  pushed  forward  to  the  Tennessee,  and 
found  the  bridge  there  destroyed  by  the  enemy,  who  retreated. 
Despatching  Colonel  Long  with  the  cavalry  brigade,  with  orders 
to  ford  the  Little  Tennessee,  and  communicate  tidings  of  the 
approaching  relief  to  General  Burnside  within  twenty-four 
hours,  Sherman  turned  aside  to  Morgantown,  where  he  extem- 
porized a  bridge,  which  he  crossed  on  the  night  of  December 
4th;  and  the  next  morning  received  information  from  Bum- 
side  of  Colonel  Long's  safe  arrival,  and  that  all  was  well. 
Moving  still  rapidly  forward,  he  was  met  at  Marysville,  on  the 
evening  of  the  5th,  by  the  welcome  news  of  the  abandonment 
of  the  siege  by  General  Longstreet,  on  the  previous  evening. 
Halting  at  Marysville,  he  sent  forward  two  divisions,   uudez 


80  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

General  Granger,  to  Knoxville,  and  every  thing  there  being  found 
safe,  returned  leisurely  with  the  rest  of  his  army  to  Chattanooga 
The  three  months'  campaign  thus  closed,  had  been  one  of 
extreme  fatigue  and  brilliant  success.  Leaving  Vicksburg, 
they  had  marched  four  hundred  miles,  without  sleep  for  three 
successive  nights,  fought  at  Chattanooga^  chased  the  enemy 
out  of  Tennessee,  and  turning  more  than  a  hundred  miles  north- 
ward, had  compelled  the  raising  of  the  siege  of  Knoxville. 
All  this  had  been  done,  much  of  the  time,  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
over  a  mountainous  region,  sometimes  barefoot,  without  regular 
rations  or  supplies  of  any  kind,  and  yet  without  a  murmur. 
"  Forty  rounds  of  ammunition  in  our  cartridge-boxes,  sixty 
rounds  in  our  pockets;  a  march  from  Memphis  to  Chattanooga; 
a  battle  and  pursuit ;  another  march  to  Knoxville ;  and  viciory 
everywhere,"  was  the  proud  answer  of  one  of  these  fifteenth 
corps  soldiers,  in  reply  to  the  sentinel  who  asked  him  where  his 
badge  was.  And  the  cartridge-box  with  forty  rounds,  thence- 
forth, became  the  emblem  of  the  fifteenth  corps. 

Early  in  1863,  Gen.  Sherman  planned  an  expedition  into 
Central  Mississippi,  which  was  sanctioned  by  Gen.  Grant  and 
which  was  immediately  carried  into  effect.  His  idea  was  to 
march  a  movable  column  of  22,000  men,  cut  loose  from  any 
base,  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  through  the  enemy's 
country,  which  should  sweep  Mississippi  and  Alabama  out 
of  the  grasp  of  the  rebels.  As  a  military  conception  it  was  un- 
surpassed in  modern  times,  except  by  Sherman  himself  in  his 
later  movements;  and  that  it  failed  of  its  intended  results — and 
became  merely  a  gigantic  raid,  which,  however,  carried  terror 
and  destruction  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Confederacy — was 
owing  only  to  the  lack  of  proper  energy  in  the  co-operating 
cavalry  force.  This  force,  8000  strong,  leaving  Memphis  on  the 
Ist  of  February,  was  to  move  down  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  rail- 


WILLIAM   TECUMSEH    SHERMAN.  81 

road  from  Corinth  to  Meridian,  destroying  the  road  as  they 
went.  At  Meridian  they  were  expected  to  meet  Sherman,  who, 
with  20,000  cavalry,  1200  infantry,  and  twenty  days'  rations, 
left  Vicksburg  on  the  3d.  The  cavalry  force,  however,  were  so 
badly  behind  time  at  starting,  that  when  they  did  move  they 
met  with  much  opposition  from  the  enemy,  who  had  massed  at 
different  points  on  the  route ;  and  they  finally  turned  back. 
Sherman's  share  of  the  expedition  was  promptly  carried  out, 
railroad  communications  were  cut,  stores  destroyed,  negroes 
brought  away,  and  an  immense  amount  of  irreparable  damage 
done.  Finding  that  the  co-operating  cavalry  force  was  not  "  on 
time  "  at  the  appointed  rendezvous,  he  turned  his  face  westward 
from  Meridian,  followed  at  a  very  respectful  distance  by  the 
enemy,  from  whom,  however,  he  received  no  serious  opposition. 
The  failure,  however,  deranged  and  postponed,  for  a  time,  the 
contemplated  attack  on  Mobile  by  Farragut. 

On  the  12th  of  March,  JSGl,  Sherman  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  grand  military  division  of  the  Mississippi,  recently 
vacated  by  Gen.  Grant,  who  had  been  elevated  to  the  command i 
of  the  armies  of  the  United  States.  This  division  comprised i 
the  departments  of  the  Ohio,  the  Cumberland,  the  Tennessee, 
and,  for  the  time,  Arkansas ;  and  the  forces  under  his  command 
— soon  to  be  increased — numbered,  at  that  time,  over  150,000 
men,  under  such  leaders  as  Thomas,  McPherson,  Schofield, 
Hooker,  Howard,  Stoneman,  Kilpatrick,  Eousseau,  and  others- 
of  equal  ability  and  fame.  At  a  conference  with  Grant,  soon, 
after  this  event,  plans  for  the  coming  campaign  had  been  fully 
discussed  and  agreed  upon.  It  was  decided  that  a  simultaneous 
forward  movement  of  the  eastern  and  western  armies  should 
take  place  in  May,  one  aiming  for  Eichraond,  Virginia,  and  the 
other  for  Atlanta,  Georgia.     In  less  than  fifty  days,  Sherman 

had  concentrated  the  different  army  corps  at  Chattanooga,  as 
6 


82  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

well  as  immense  stores  of  arms,  ammunition  and  cannon ;  had 
re-organized  and  drilled  his  men,  remounted  and  increased  his 
cavalry,  and  made  all  the  arrangements,  even  to  the  minutest 
detail,  for  the  expected  campaign.  On  the  seventh  of  May,  his 
army  of  98,797  effective  men  (of  which  6149  were  cavalry  and 
4460  artillery)  and  254  guns,  moved  forward  to  its  gigantic 
work — the  capture  of  Atlanta,  130  miles  distant.  The  region 
of  Northern  Georgia  through  which  they  were  to  pass,  abounds 
in  rugged  hills,  narrow  and  steep  defiles  and  valleys,  with  rapid 
and  deep  streams;  and  is,  in  all  respects,  a  difficult  country  for 
military  movements.  In  addition  to  its  natural  topographical 
advantages,  the  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta  railroad  threaded 
many  of  these  mountain  passes,  and  these  points,  therefore,  had 
received  the  special  attention  and  scientific  skill  of  Gen.  John- 
ston, the  rebel  commander,  who  had  added  immensely  to  their 
strength  by  almost  impregnable  fortifications.  Opposed  to  the 
Union  troops,  also,  were  about  45,000  well  trained  soldiers,  re- 
inforced during  the  subsequent  campaign  by  nearly  21,000,  and 
commanded  by  Johnston,  Hardee,  Hood,  and  other  picked  gen- 
erals of  the  Confederacy.  Again,  while  the  rebel  army,  if  com- 
pelled to  retreat,  would  be  only  falling  back  upon  its  base  of 
supplies,  Sherman's  army,  already  350  miles  from  the  primary 
base  at  Louisville,  and  175  from  its  secondary  base  at  Xashville, 
was  increasing  that  distance  by  every  step  of  its  advance ;  and 
was  under  the  necessity  of  guarding  its  long  and  constantly  in.- 
creasinof  line  of  communications  (one,  and  for  a  part  of  the  dis- 
tance, two  lines  of  railroad,  and  in  certain  conditions  of  naviga- 
tion, the  Tennessee  river)  from  being  cut  by  the  rebel  cavalry, 
as  well  as  from  the  attacks  of  guerrillas.  Yet  Sherman,  during 
the  succeeding  five  months'  campaign,  retained  this  line  of 
nearly  500  miles,  wholly  within  his  control,  turning  to  the  sig- 
nal discomfiture  of  the  enemy  every  attempt  which  they  made 


WILLIAM  TECUMSEH   SHERMAN.  bo 

to  destroy  it.  Dalton,  a  position  of  great  strength,  and  which 
could  only  be  reached  by  the  Buzzard  Roost's  Gap,  a  narrow 
and  lofty  defile  in  the  groat  rock-faced  ridge  of  the  Chattoo- 
gata  mountains,  was  the  first  point  of  attack.  Protected  by  a 
formidable  abatis,  and  artificially  flooded  from  a  neighboring 
creek,  and  commanded  by  heavy  batteries,  this  defile,  through 
which  the  railroad  passed,  and  which  oft'ered  the  only  route  to 
Dalton,  was  impregnable  by  a  front  attack.  Leaving  Thomas 
and  Howard  to  demonstrate  vigorously  against  it,  therefore, 
Sherman,  with  the  rest  of  his  army,  flanked  it  by  a  movement 
through  Snake  Creek  Gap,  towards  Resaca,  on  the  railroad, 
eighteen  miles  below  Dalton.  Johnston,  however,  fell  back  on 
Resaca  before  the  Union  army  had  reached  it,  while  Howard 
passed  through  Dalton  close  in  Johnston's  rear.  Once  in  Re- 
saca, Johnston  showed  fight,  and  Sherman  having  pontooned  the 
Oostanaula,  south  of  the  town,  and  sent  a  division  to  threaten 
Calhoun,  the  next  place  on  the  railroad,  and  a  cavalry  division 
to  cut  up  the  railroad  between  Calhoun  and  Kingston,  gave  bat- 
tle at  Resaca,  which  place,  after  two  days'  heavy  fighting,  the 
rebel  commander  abandoned  in  the  night  of  the  15th,  burning 
the  bridge  behind  him,  with  a  loss  of  some  3500,  of  whom 
1000  were  prisoners,  eight  guns  and  a  large  amount  of  stores,  etc. 
Pressing  fiercely  on  his  flying  footsteps,  Sherman  sent  the  14th 
corps  to  Rome,  which  was  captured  and  garrisoned,  and  after  a 
severe  skirmish  at  Adairsville,he  reached  Kingston  on  the  18th, 
captured  it,  and  gave  his  troops  a  few  days'  rest,  while  he  re- 
opened communications  with  Chattanooga,  and  brought  forward 
supplies  for  his  army.  On  the  23d,  with  twenty  days'  rations,  he 
moved  forward  again,  flanking  the  dangerous  defile  of  Allatoona 
Pass,  by  a  rapid  march  on  the  town  of  Dallas.  Johnston,  fearing 
for  the  safety  of  his  railroad  communications,  felt  compelled  to 
leave  his  fortified  position  and  give  battle.     In  rapid  successioD 


84  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

followed  the  severe  engagements  at  Burnt  Hickory  on  the  2ith, 
at  Pumpkinvine  creek  and  at  New  Hope  church,  on  the  25th,  and 
Johnston's  grand  attack  on  General  McPherson  at  Dallas,  on  the 
28th,  where  the  former  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  over  three 
thousand.  While  this  had  been  going  on,  Sherman  had  extended 
his  left,  so  as  to  envelope  the  rebel  right,  and  to  occupy  all  the 
roads  leading  eastward  towards  Allatoona  and  Ackworth,  and 
finally  occupied  Allatoona  Pass  with  his  cavalry,  with  a  feint  of 
moving  further  south.  Suddenly,  however,  he  reached  Ackworth, 
and  Johnston  was  obliged  to  fall  back,  on  the  4th  of  June,  to 
Kenesaw  mountain.  Sherman  now  fortified  and  garrisoned 
Allatoona  Pass  as  a  secondary  base,  repaired  his  communica- 
tions, and  on  the  9th  of  June  received  full  supplies  and  rein- 
forcements by  railroad  from  Chattanooga. 

Moving  forward  again,  he  proceeded  to  press  Johnston,  who 
held  a  finely  fortified  position  in  a  triangle,  formed  by  the  north- 
ern slopes  of  Pine,  Kenesaw,  and  Lost  mountains.  After  several 
days'  artillery  practice,  General  Johnston  was  found,  on  the 
morning  of  the  15th,  to  have  abandoned  the  first  named  moun- 
tain, and  to  be  occupying  a  well  intrenched  line  between  the 
two  latter.  Sherman  still  pressed  him  until  he  evacuated  Lost 
mountain,  and,  finally,  was  obliged  to  make  another  change — • 
with  Kenesaw  as  his  salient,  covering  Marieica  with  his  right 
wing,  and  with  his  left  on  Norse's  creek,  by  which  means  he 
hoped  to  gain  security  for  his  railroad  line.  A  sally  by  Hood's 
corps  upon  the  Union  lines,  on  the  22d,  was  repulsed  with  a 
heavy  loss  to  the  assailants;  and,  on  the  27th,  Sherman  made 
an  assault  upon  Johnston's  position,  which  was  unsuccessful. 
Despite  the  heavy  loss  which  they  sustained,  the  Union  troops 
were  not  dispirited,  and  a  skilful  manoeuvre  by  Sherman,  com- 
pelled the  evacuation  of  Marietta,  on  the  2d  of  July.  General 
Johnston  remained  well  intrenched  on  the  west  bq,nk  of  the 


WILLIAM   TECUMSEH   SHERMAN.  85 

Cbattahoochie,  until  the  5th,  when  a  flank  movement  of  Sher- 
man compelled  him  to  cross,  which  he  did  in  good  order.  But, 
on  the  7th  and  8th  of  July,  Sherman  secured  three  good  pointa 
for  crossing  the  river,  and  the  Confederates  were  obliged  to  fall 
back  to  Atlanta,  leaving  their  antagonist  in  full  possession  of 
the  river.  While  giving  his  men  the  brief  rest,  which  they  so 
much  needed,  before  his  next  move  on  Atlanta,  eight  miles  dis- 
tant, Sherman  on  the  9th,  telegraphed  orders  to  a  force  of  two 
thousand  cavalry  (which  he  had  already  collected  at  Decatur, 
over  two  hundred  miles  in  Johnston's  rear)  to  push  south  and 
break  up  the  railroad  connections  around  Opelika,  by  which 
the  rebel  army  got  its  supplies  from  central  and  southern 
Alabama,  Georgia,  and  Mississippi,  and  then  join  him  at 
Marietta.  The  cavalry,  under  General  »Kousseau,  set  out 
promptly,  and,  within  twelve  days,  destroyed  thirty  miles  of 
railroad,  defeated  the  rebel  General  Clanton,  and  I'eached  Mari- 
etta on  the  22d,  with  a  loss  of  only  thirty  men.  Meanwhile, 
the  main  army  had  been  enjoying  a  rest,  supplies  had  been 
brought  forward,  railroad  guards  and  garrisons  strengthened, 
roads  and  bridges  improved  and  the  attention  of  the  rebels 
well  diverted  by  cavalry  expeditions  which  were  sent  down 
the  river.  On  the  ITth,  then,  a  general  advance  was  made,  and 
the  same  evening  the  Union  army  formed  its  line  along  the 
old  Peach  Tree  road.  The  next  day  McPherson  and  Schofield, 
swinging  around  upon  the  Augusta  railroad,  east  of  Decatur, 
broke  it  up  most  eft'ectually,  and,  on  the  19th,  Thomas  crossed 
Peach  Tree  creek  on  numerous  bridges  thrown  across  in  face 
of  the  enemy's  lines.  All  this  was  accomplished  with  heavy 
skirmishing,  and  on  the  20th,  Hood  (who,  three  days  })revious, 
had  succeeded  General  Johnston  in  the  supreme  command  of 
the  Confederate  army),  taking  advantage  of  a  gap  between  two 
corps  of  the  Union  army,  hurled  his  whole  force  upon  its  left 


86  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

wing,  with  the  hope  of  cutting  oiYand  routing  it.  llis  skilfully 
conceived  stratagem,  however,  was  foiled  by  the  unexpected 
steadiness  of  the  Union  soldiers,  and  after  a  terrible  battle  the 
enemy  was  driven  back  to  his  intrenchments,  with  a  loss  of 
over  five  thousand  men.  Retreating  to  his  interior  lines  along 
the  creek,  forming  the  outer  lines  of  the  defences  proper  of 
Atlanta,  Hood  now  massed  nearly  his  whole  force,  and,  upon 
the  22d,  fell  upon  Sherman's  left  with  great  fury.  Six  times 
during  tbe  day  his  columns  desperately  charged  upon  the 
Union  lines,  but  at  night  he  was  compelled  to  withdraw  with 
a  loss  of  fully  12,000  men,  of  whom  over  8000  were  killed, 
5000  stand  of  arms  and  eighteen  flags.  The  Union  loss  was 
but  1,720,  but  among  the  slain  was  the  able  and  beloved  Major- 
Gen  eral  James  B.  McPherson,  commander  of  the  army  of  the 
Tennessee,  whose  death  was  not  only  a  serious  blow  to  General 
Sherman,  but  was  generally  regarded  as  a  national  misfortune. 
The  day  following  this  severely  contested  battle.  General  Gar- 
rard's cavalry  force,  which  had  been  sent  to  Covington,  Georgia, 
to  break  the  railroad  and  bridges  near  that  place,  returned  to 
headquarters,  having  fully  executed  his  mission  with  great 
damage  to  the  rebel  cotton  and  stores,  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  prisoners.  An  expedition,  however,  planned  by  General 
Sherman  fur  the  destruction  of  the  Atlanta  and  Macon,  and  ihe 
West  Point  railroads,  with  the  view  of  severing  Atlanta  from 
all  its  communications  and  compelling  its  surrender,  was  not  so 
successful.  A  portion  of  it,  under  General  McCook,  performed 
its  share  speedily  and  well,  but  the  co-operating  force  under 
General  Stoneman  unfortunately  failed — the  general  and  a 
large  number  of  his  men  being  captured — while  McCook  was 
obliged  to  fight  his  way  out;  the  whole  entailing  a  heavy  loss 
of  cavalry  to  the  Union  army. 

On  the  28th  of  July,  Hood  in  full  force  again  assaulted  the 


WILLIAM   TECUMSEH   SHERMAN".  87 

Union  army  on  the  Bell's  Ferry  road — expecting  to  catch  its 
right  flank  "  in  air."  He  founrl,  however,  that  Sherman  was 
perfectly  prepared  for  him — and,  after  six  desperate  assaults, 
gave  it  up  as  a  bad  job,  having  lost  fully  5000  men,  which, 
with  his  losses  in  the  previous  battles  of  the  20th  and  23d, 
placed  nearly  one  half  of  his  force  hors  du  combat.  Hoping,  by 
threatening  his  communications,  to  draw  Hood  out  from  hi? 
fortifications,  Sherman  now  extended  his  line  southwesterly 
towards  East  Point.  The  ruse  failed,  however,  and  the  only 
alternative  remaining  to  compass  the  capture  of  Atlanta,  in- 
volved the  necessity  of  another  flank  movement  of  the  whole 
army,  a  difl&cult  and  unwelcome  matter  both  as  regarded  the 
further  removal  of  the  army  from  its  base  of  supplies  and  the 
apparent  raising  of  the  siege.  But  there  seemed  to  be  no  other 
way,  and  accordingly,  on  the  nights  of  the  25th  and  26th,  a  por- 
tion of  his  army  was  withdrawn  to  the  Chattahoochie,  and 
Hood  congratulated  himself  that  a  cavalry  expedition  which  he 
had  sent  northward  to  break  the  Union  connections  between 
Allatoon?  and  Chattanooga,  had  alarmed  Sherman  for  the 
safety  of  his  communications,  and  compelled  him  to  raise  the 
siege.  The  joy  of  the  rebels,  however,  was  of  short  duration ; 
on  the  29th  of  August,  they  learned  that  Sherman's  army  was 
sweeping  their  own  railroad  communications  at  West  Point 
with  a  "besom  of  destruction" — and  on  the  31st,  two  rebel 
corps,  which  had  been  hastily  pushed  forward  to  Jonesboro, 
were  heavily  repulsed  by  the  advancing  Union  armies.  Find- 
ing his  communications  now  irretrievably  lost,  by  this  flank 
movement  of  his  antagonist.  Hood  retreated,  on  the  niglit  of 
September  1st.  to  Lovejoy's  Station.  Atlanta  was  occupied, 
the  next  day,  by  the  victorious  Union  troops,  and  the  city  was 
immediutely  converted  into  a  strictly  military  post.  The  loss 
jf  Atlanta  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  rebels;  and,  under  orders 


88  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

from  President  Davis,  on  the  24:th  of  September,  Hood  ini- 
tiated a  series  of  movements  by  which  he  hoped  to  recover 
not  only  it,  but  northern  Georgia  and  east  and  middle  Ten- 
nessee, Sherman,  however,  kept  a  watchful  eye  upon  him 
and  pursued  him  closely  to  Gaylesville,  where  he  could  watch 
him  intrenched  at  Will's  Gap,  in  Lookout  mountain.  Divin- 
ing, further,  that  Hood  meditated  a  union  with  General  Dick 
Taylor  at  Tuscumbia,  Alabama,  and  a  joint  attempt  by  them, 
for  the  recovery  of  middle  and  east  Tennessee,  he  divided  his 
army,  giving  a  share  to  his  trusted  friend  General  George  H. 
Thomas,  Avith  orders  to  hold  Ttanessee  against  the  rebels. 
Then,  announcing  to  his  army  that  he  should  follow  Hood 
northward  no  longer,  but  "if  he  would  go  to  the  river,  he 
would  give  him  his  rations,"  he  moved  back  to  Atlanta,  by  the 
1st  of  November,  and  sent  the  railroad  track,  property  of  value, 
etc.,  at  that  city  and  along  the  line,  to  Chattanooga,  which 
thenceforward  became  the  outpost  of  the  Union  army  in  that 
direction.  Leaving  Tennessee  safe  in  Thomas's  charge,  and 
Schofield  to  keep  the  rebels  out  of  Chattanooga  and  Nashville, 
Sherman  now  prepared  for  a  campaign  which  he  had  already 
projected  through  Georgia  and  North  Carolina  "to  the  sea." 
"They  are  at  my  mercy,"  he  telegraphed  to  Washington,  "and 
I  shall  strike.  '  Do  not  be  anxious  about  me.  I  am  all  right." 
With  the  army  under  his  command,  consisting  of  nearly  60,000 
infantry,  and  10,000  cavalry,  he  proposed  to  cut  loose  from  all 
bases,  and,  with  thirty  or  forty  days'  rations  and  a  train  of  the 
smallest  possible  dimensions,  to  move  southeastward  through 
the  very  heart  of  the  Confederacy,  upon  Savannah ;  thence,  if 
favored  by  circumstances,  to  turn  northward  through  North  and 
South  Carolinas,  thus  compelling  the  surrender  or  evacuation 
of  Richmond.  With  General  Sherman,  action  follows  close  on 
thought.     Destroying  all  the  public  buildings  of  Atlanta,  he 


WILLIAM   TECUMSEH   SHERMAN.  89 

moved. forward  in  two  columns,  the  right  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral Howard  and  the  left  by  General  Slocum,  while  a  cloud  of 
cavalry  floating  around  the  main  body,  shrouded  the  real  inten- 
tions of  the  march  with  a  degree  of  mystery  impenetrable  to 
the  enemy.  General  Howard's  column,  accompanied  by  Gen- 
eral Sherman,  passed  through  East  Point,  Rough  and  Ready, 
Griffin,  Jonesboro,  McDonough,  Forsythe,  Hillsboro,  and  Monti- 
cello,  reaching  Milledgeville,  the  capital  of  Georgia,  on  the  20th 
of  November ;  thence  via  Saundersville  and  Griswold  to  Louis- 
ville. The  left  wing,  meanwhile,  under  Slocum,  had  marched 
through  Decatur,  Covington,  Social  Circle,  Madison ;  threatened 
Macon  with  attack,  then  through  Buckhead  and  Queensboro, 
and  divided,  one  part  moving  towards  Augusta,  the  other  to 
Eatonton  and  Sparta.  Here,  uniting,  they  entered  Warren  and 
finally  joined  the  right  wing  at  Louisville.  The  whole  force 
now  moved  down  the  left  bank  of  the  Ogeechee  to  Millen  and 
thence  to  the  Savannah  canal,  where  their  scouts,  on  the  9th 
of  December,  communicated  with  General  Poster  and  Admiral 
Dahlgren,  who  where  there  waiting  for  their  arrival. 

During  this  magnificent  march  of  three  hundred  miles,  they 
had  met  with  no  very  serious  opposition,  and  the  few  troopa 
which  the  rebel  generals  could  muster,  were  skilfully  thrown 
•out  of  his  way  by  Sherman's  feints  on  Macon  and  Augusta — 
by  which  they  were  garrisoned  for  the  defence  of  those  cities. 
So  completely,  indeed,  was  General  Bragg  fooled  by  his  wily 
antagonist,  that  when  Savannah  was  actually  attacked,  he  was 
unable  to  come  to  its  relief.  Fort  McAllister  was  carried  by 
storm,  by  the  Union  troops,  on  the  13th  of  December,  and  on 
the  16th,  the  city,  which,  by  some  strange  oversight,  had  only  a 
garrison  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  was  summoned  to 
surrender.  General  Hardee,  who  commanded  these,  refused, 
whereupon  Sherman  commanded  to  invest  the  city,  with  the 


90  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

design  of  bombarding  it.  But,  on  the  night  of  the  20th,  under 
cover  of  a  heavy  fire  from  the  rebel  gunboats  and  batteries, 
Hardee  abandoned  the  city,  which  was  entered  the  next  day  by 
,  the  Union  army.  Into  the  hands  of  the  victors  fell  150  guns, 
13  locomotives,  190  cars,  large  stores  of  ammunition  and  sup- 
plies, 3  steamers,  and  33,000  bales  of  cotton  in  warehouses. 
The  expedition,  the  entire  loss  of  which  was  less  than  400  men, 
gave  freedom  to  over  20,000  slaves  who  accompanied  it  to 
Savannah;  and  its  course  was  marked  by  over  200  miles  of 
destroyed  railroad,  which  effectually  broke  the  enemy's  con- 
nection with  Hood's  and  Beauregard's  armies.  Simultaneously, 
also,  with  their  victorious  entry  into  Savannah,  Sherman  and 
his  brave  veterans  received  the  welcome  news,  that  the  Union 
army  in  Tennessee,  decoying  Hood  to  Nashville,  liad  there 
turned  upon  him,  and  utterly  routed  him  even  beyond  the 
borders  of  Alabama.  From  every  quarter,  indeed,  of  Sherman's 
military  jurisdiction,  came  the  good  news,  that  in  each  place  his 
subordinates  had  proved  themselves  worthy  of  the  trusts  com- 
mitted to  their  charge.  Hopefully  then,  the  great  leader  turned 
to  the  completion  of  his  self-imposed  and  herculean  task. 

South  Carolina — Columbia,  its  capital,  and  Charleston,  "  the 
nest  of  the  rebellion,"  were  yet  to  be  humbled  beneath  the 
mailed  foot  of  loyalty.  Eefreshod,  recruited  and  strengthened 
at  every  point,  the  army  commenced  its  march  to  the  northward, 
on  the  14:th  of  January,  1865.  Two  corps  (loth  and  17th)  were 
sent  by  transports  to  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  where  they 
were  joined  by  Foster's  command,  and  the  whole  force  moved 
on  the  Savann^^h  and  Charleston  railroad.  A  few  days  later, 
the  two  remaixiing  corps  (l-lth  and  20th)  crossed  the  Savannah 
river,  and  despite  the  overflowed  and  terrible  condition  of  the 
roads,  struck  the  railroad  between  Branchville  and  ('harleston, 
early  in  February  ;  compelled  the  enemy  to  evacuate  the  former 


WILLIAM   TECUMSEH   SHERMAN.  91 

place  on  the  lith,  and  breaking  up  the  road  so  as  to  efFejitUrtUy 
prevent  reinforcement  from  the  west,  entering  Orangeburg  on 
the  16th,  and  Columbia  on  the  18th,  close  on  the  heels  of 
Beauregard's  retreating  force.  This  movement  flanked  Charles- 
ton, and  Hardee,  finding  it  untenable,  retreated  in  the  light  of  a 
conflagration,  which  laid  two  thirds  of  the  business  portion  of 
that  beautiful  city  in  ashes.  On  the  morning  of  February  18th, 
the  Union  troops  from  Morris  island,  entered  the  city,  and  the 
"  old  flag"  once  more  floated  over  Fort  Sumter.  Moving  in  two 
columns,  the  17th  and  20th  corps  marched  from  Columbia  to 
Winnsboro,  thirty  miles  north,  on  the  Charlotte  and  Columbia 
railroad,  which  was  thoroughly  destroyed.  Sending  Kilpatriek 
towards  Chesterville,  in  order  to  delude  Beauregard  into  the  be- 
lief that  he  was  moving  on  that  point,  Sherman  turned  e;ist,  liis 
left  wing  directed  towards  Cheraw,  and  his  right  threatening 
Florence.  On  the  3d  of  March  occurred  the  short  and  not  very 
severe  battle  oC  Cheraw,  a  success  for  the  Union  arms,  and  on  tlie 
next  day,  March  4th,  President  Lincoln's  second  in  ;uguration 
was  celebrated  by  a  salute  from  the  rebel  guns  which  tliev  had 
captured.  On  the  afternoon  and  night  of  the  6th,  the  Union 
army  crossed  the  Great  Pedee  river,  and  in  four  columns,  with 
outlying  cavalry,  swept  through  a  belt  of  country  forty  miles 
wide,  entering  Laurel  Hill,  North  Carolina,  on  the  8th,  and 
reaching  Fayetteville  on  the  11th.  Thus  far,  the  results  of  the 
campaign  had  been,  14  captured  cities,  hundreds  of  miles  of 
railroads,  and  thousands  of  bales  of  cotton  destroyed,  85  cannon, 
4000  prisoners,  25,000  horses,  mules,  etc.,  and  15,000  refugees, 
black  and  white,  set  at  liberty.  After  a  rest  of  two  days,  Sher- 
man moved  moderately  forward,  meeting,  fighting,  and  defeating 
the  enemy  under  Johnston,  at  Averysboro,  on  the  16th,  and 
again,  on  the  19th,  at  Bentonville ;  finally,  pressing  them  back 
BO  swiftly  on  Smithfield,  on  the  20th  and  21st,  that  they  lost 


92  MEN"    OF    OUE    DAY. 

seven  guns  and  over  2000  prisoners,  while  deserters  ponred  in 
b}'^  hundreds.  On  the  same  day  Schofield  occupied  Goldsboro, 
General  Terry  secured  Cox's  bridge,  and  successfully  pon- 
tooned  the  Neuse  river,  and  General  Sherman  issued  a  congratu- 
latory Older  to  his  troops,  in  which  he  says  :  "  After  a  march  of 
the  most  extraordinary  character,  nearly  five  hundred  miles, 
over  swamps  and  rivers,  deemed  impassable  to  others,  at  tKe 
most  inclement  season  of  the  year,  and  drawing  our  chief  sup- 
plies from  a  poor  and  wasted  country,  we  reach  our  destination 
in  good  health  and  condition — you  shall  now  have  rest,  and  all 
the  supplies  that  can  be  brought  from  the  rich  granaries  and 
storehouses  of  our  magnificent  country,  before  again  embarking 
on  new  and  untried  dangers."  The  entire  Union  losses  in  killed, 
wound.'cl,  and  prisoners,  on  this  sixt}^  days'  march  from  Savan- 
nah to  Goldsboro,  had  been  less  than  2500  men.  Leaving  his 
men  to  recruit  their  energies,  Sherman  went  to  City  Point, 
where,  on  tlie  27th  of  March,  he  had  an  interview  with  General 
Grant  and  the  President,  returning  to  his  camp  the  next  day. 

His  army  was  now  only  separated  from  Grant's  by  a  distance 
Cff  150  miles,  traversed  by  a  railroad  which  could  easily  be  put 
in  ord  r  lor  immediate  use  ;  and,  between  the  two,  as  between 
the  upper  and  the  nether  millstone,  the  enemy  were  to  be 
crushed  by  a  blow,  whieh,  ns  yet,  neither  army  hastened  to  give. 

On  th.'  10th  of  April,  Sherman's  army,  thoroughly  rested  and 
fully  equipped,  mowd  on  Smithfield,  which  they  entered  on  the 
following  morning,  Johnston,  who  commanded  a  large  body 
of  troops,  retired  across  the  Neuse,  burning  the  bridge  behind, 
and  retreating  by  railroad.  Sherman's  men,  struggling  through 
roads  so  muddy  tliat  they  were  obliged  to  corduroy  every  foot 
of  them,  were  cheered  by  the  news  of  Lee's  surrender,  which 
met  them  eii  route,  and  leaving  their  trains,  they  pushed  ahead 
with  redoubled  energy,  to  Raleigh,  which  they  entered  in  the 


WILLIAM    TECUMSEH    SHETiMAN. 


93 


earlj  morning  of  the  15th.  Sherman  now  took  measures  to  cut 
off  Johnston's  retreat,  when  the  latter  (knowing,  what  Sherman 
did  not,  that  Salisbury  had  been  captured  by  the  Union  General 
Stoneman  on  the  12th.  thereby  closing  his  own  avenue  of  escape 
to  the  southward)  made  overtures  for  surrender.  Interviews 
between  the  two  generals,  on  the  17th  and  18th,  (at  the  latter 
of  which  General  J.  C.  Breckinridge,  then  acting  Secretary  of 
War  of  the  Confederacy,  was  present)  resulted  in  the  drawing 
up  of  a  joint  memorandum,  to  be  submitted  to  the  Presidents  of 
the  United  States  and  of  the  Confederate  Government,  and  if 
approved  by  them  to  be  acted  upon.  The  points  of  this  memo- 
randum were  briefly  as  follows :  (1)  the  contending  armies  to 
remain  in  statu  quo^  hostilities  not  to  be  resumed  until  within 
forty -eight  hours  after  due  notice  from  either  side;  (2)  the 
Confederate  armies  then  in  the  field  to  disband,  march  to 
their  respective  State  capitals,  there  to  deposit  their  arms  and 
public  property,  and  each  man  to  execute  an  agreement  to  cease 
from  acts  of  war.  The  number  of  arms,  etc.,  to  be  reported  to 
the  chief  of  ordnance  at  Washington,  subject  to  the  future  ac- 
tion of  the  United  States  Congress,  and,  meanwhile,  to  be  used 
only  to  maintain  peace  and  order  within  the  borders  of  the 
several  States;  (3)  the  recognition,  by  the  Executive  of  the 
United  States,  of  the  several  State  governments,  on  their  oflicera 
and  legislatures  taking  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States ;  and  the  legitimacy  of  any  conflicting 
State  governments  to  which  the  war  may  have  given  rise,  to  be 
submitted  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States ;  (4)  the 
re-establishment  of  all  Federal  courts  in  the  several  States,  with 
powers  as  defined  by  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  Congress; 
(5)  the  guarantee,  by  the  Executive,  to  the  people  of  all  the  States, 
of  their  political  rights  and  franchises,  as  well  as  personal  and 
property  rights,  according  to  the  Constitutions  of  the  United 


94<  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

States  and  tlie  several  States;  (6)  the  people  not  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  the  United  States  Government,  on  account  of  the  late 
war,  so  long  as  they  lived  in  peace,  obeyed  their  local  laws,  and 
abstained  from  acts  of  armed  hostility ;  (7)  on  the  above  condi- 
tions, a  general  amnesty.  This  agreement,  which  was  evidently 
entered  into  by  Sherman  under  the  full  conviction  that  slavery 
was  dead  and  the  rebellion  totally  crushed,  was  received  at 
Washington,  by  the  Cabinet,  just  at  the  moment  that  their 
hearts  and  the  public  mind  were  intensely  agitated  and  confused 
by  the  recent  atrocious  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  the 
attempt  on  Secretary  Seward's  life,  and  the  other  startling 
events  of  the  day.  To  men  in  such  a  frame  of  mind,  and 
when  read  by  the  light  of  surrounding  circumstances,  its  terms 
seemed  unpardonably  liberal.  Forgetting  that  his  action  coin- 
cided exactly  with  the  published  policy  of  the  late  President 
(in  his  permission  [April  7th]  to  the  Virginia  legislature  to 
meet  and  adopt  such  measures  as  should  withdraw  the  State 
troops  from  the  Confederate  force) ;  and  forgetting,  also,  that 
Sherman,  in  his  recent  great  march,  had  been  completely  isola- 
ted from  the  outside  world,  and  was  ignorant  of  any  change  of 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  new  Presideni — the  Cabinet  set  the 
seal  of  its  disapproval  upon  the  course  which  the  gallant  chief- 
tain had  submitted  to  their  consideration.  Yet,  it  is  worthy  of 
note,  that,  as  events  have  since  turned,  the  relations  of  these 
States  to  the  Union  have  been  based  upon  the  identical  policy 
which  Sherman's  course  then  indicated.  General  Grant  went, 
therefore,  immediately  to  Ealeigh,  where  he  arrived  on  the  24th, 
and  Sherman  promptly  notified  the  enemy  of  the  termination 
of  the  armistice  at  the  end  of  forty-eight  hours.  Johnston  im- 
mediately signified  to  Sherman  his  desire  for  a  conference,  which 
resulted,  on  the  2()th,  in  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  army 
to  General  Sherman,  on  the  terms  awarded  to  General  Lee 


WILLIAM   TECUMSEH   SHERMAN.  95' 

30,000  soldiers,  15,000  muskets,  108  pieces  of  artillery  were 
surrendered,  and  the  war  of  the  rebellion  was  virtually  ended. 
On  the  -ith  of  May,  the  greater  part  of  his  army  moved  northward 
to  Richmond  and  Washington,  where  they  were  reviewed,  May 
24th,  1865,  and  about  two-thirds  of  them  disbanded,  the  war 
having  so  nearly  closed,  as  to  render  their  further  presence  in 
the  field  unnecessary. 

From  June  27th,  1865,  to  Augpt  11th,  1866,  General  Sherman 
held  the  command  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi 
(including  Ohio,  Missouri,  and  Arkansas),  with  headquarters 
at  St.  Louis;  and,  from  the  latter  date,  of  the  Military  Division 
of  Missouri,  which  command  he  retained  till  March  5,  1869.  He 
was  also  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board  to  make  recommen- 
dations for  brevets  to  general  officers,  March  14th  to  24:th,  1866 ; 
and  was  sent  on  a  special  mission  to  Mexico,  in  November  and 
December,  1866.  On  the  25th  of  July,  1866,  by  vote  of  Congress, 
he  was  created  Lieutenant-General  of  the  United  States 
Army,  a  deserved  acknowledgment  of  his  valor,  skill,  and 
patriotism.  On  the  19th  of  the  same  month,  he  received  from 
Dartmouth  College,  New  Hampshire,  the  honorary  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws.  On  the  5th  of  March,  1869  he  was  nominated 
by  President  Grant,  and  the  same  day  confirmed  by  the  Senate, 
as  General  of  the  United  States  Army,  succeeding  in  this,  as 
in  his  previous  promotion,  the  President,  who  had  on  assuming 
the  Presidential  office  resigned  his  commission  of  General.  Gen- 
eral Sherman  was  himself  succeeded  in  the  Lieutenant-General- 
ship by  Major-General  Sheridan.  The  duties  of  this  high  office 
being,  in  time  of  peace,  mostly  of  a  routine  character,  General 
Sherman  took  up  his  residence  in  Washington,  and  gave  his  atten- 
tion to  them,  visiting,  however,  from  time  to  time  the  various  divi- 
sions and  departments.  In  November,  1871,  he  sailed  for  Europe 
acconroanied  by  Lieutenant  Fred.  D.  Grant,  the  eldest  son  of  the 


96 


MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 


President,  who  had  a  few  months  previous  graduated  from  West 
Point.  At  the  time  of  our  writing  (June,  1872)  he  is  on  the 
European  Continent,  having  visited  Egypt,  Turkey  and  the 
Kingdom  of  Italy. 

General  Sherman  is  tall  and  slender,  but  possesses  great  elas- 
ticity and  power  of  endurance.  His  temperament  is  nervous  and 
wiry,  with  a  dash  of  the  sanguineous,  indicated  by  his  auburn 
hair  and  beard.  His  manners  ^re  slightly  brusque  and  austere, 
and  he  has  a  quick,  jerky  way  of  speaking.  He  is  a  great  smoker, 
but  chews  and  bites  his  cigar  somewhat  viciously,  especially 
when,  as  is  often  the  case,  he  is  in  one  of  his  abstracted  moods, 
and  thinking  closely.  He  requires  but  little  sleep.  As  a  writer 
he  expresses  himself  with  great  terseness  and  force,  sometimes 
condensing  a  whole  volume  of  military  law  into  a  single  sentence. 
He  is  imperious,  positive,  and  dogmatical,  but  he  has  usually 
thought  out  his  opinions  carefully  before  committing  them  to 
writing.  His  mind  acts  with  great  rapidity,  and  though  some- 
times eccentric  and  crotchety,  he  generally  reasons  accurately 
and  well.  With  all  his  iniperiousness  and  dogmatism,  he  always 
recognises  the  great  military  law,  that  "  unhesitating  obedience 
is  the  first  duty  of  a  soldier." 

General  Sherman  -is  a  man  of  higher  genius,  as  well  as  of 
broader  culture,  than  General  Grant,  yet  we  doubt  if  he  would 
be  quite  as  safe  a  man,  as  the  commander-in-chief  of  our  armies 
in  a  great  war.  He  is,  indeed,  well  versed  in  both  the  theory  and 
practice  of  logistics ;  and  in  handling  an  army  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand nu  n  or  more  with  masterly  skill,  he  has  not  a  dozen  equals, 
and  perhaps  hardly  a  superior  in  the  world.  His  deficiency,  if 
he  has  one,  would  be  manifested  in  his  unwillingness,  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  contest,  to  subordinate  the  military  to  the  civil 
power,  liowever  necessary  it  might  be  to  do  so.  General  Sher- 
man's ambition  lies  wholly  in  the  military  direction,  and  although 


WIILLIAM    TECUMSEH    SHERMAN. 


97 


he  has  attained  to  the  highest  command  possible  in  this  country, 
he  does  not  relax  his  military  studies.  He  took  great  delight  in 
following  out  the  admirable  strategical  plans  of  General  Moltke, 
in  the  recent  Franco-German-war.  As  a  commander  he  has 
always  had  the  regard  of  his  soldiers,  not  from  personal  magnetism, 
like  Sheridan  or  McPherson,  but  from  the  conviction  ^hat  their 
grim  chieftain  would  share  their  toils  and  privations  uncomplain- 
ingly, and  that  he  took  a  special  interest  in  seeing  their  wants 
supplied  and  their  comfort  secured. 
1 


•ADMIRAL   DAVID    D.   PORTER. 


'^"^'^^  courage  and  splendid  fighting  qualities  are  inherited, 
'^ll  Admiral  Porter  should  be,  as  he  is,  one  of  the  best  tight- 
gI?^  ing  men  in  the  navy,  for  he  is  the  youngest  son  of  that 
'S'  old  Viking,  Commodore  David  Porter,  who, in  the  war 
of  1812, was  the  terror  of  the  British  marine,  and  who,  while, 
unlike  Semmes  of  the  Alabama,  he  never  let  slip  an  ojiportunity 
of  engaging  a  war  vessel  of  the  enemy,  even  if  she  carried  twice 
his  armament,  made  worse  havoc  with  their  mercantile  marine, 
than  Semmes  did  with  ours.  The  career  of  the  frigate  Essex, 
and  her  untoward  fate,  made  the  old  commodore  a  hero  for  the 
rest  of  his  life.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  Navy  Commissioners  from  1815  to  1823, 
but  the  longing  for  the  sea  was  too  strong  for  him  to  overcome, 
and  an  opportunity  occurring  for  a  cruise  to  destroy  the  pirates 
who  were  infesting  the  West  Indies,  he  gladly  took  command, 
and  served  two  years,  when,  having  punished  with  some  severity 
an  insult  offered  by  the  authorities  of  one  of  the  islands,  he  was 
c:illed  home,  and  a  naval  court  martial  having  decided  that  he 
bad  transcended  his  authority,  he  was  suspended  from  command 
for  six  months.  He  resigned  soon  after,  and  for  the  next  four 
years  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  naval  forces 'of  Mexico. 
Keturning  to  the  United  States  in  1829  he  was  appointed  consul 
general  to  the  Barbary  powers,  and  thence  transferred  first  as 
98 


ADMIRAL    DAVID    D.    PORTER.  99 

cliarg(3  and  afterward  as  minister,  to  Constantinople,  wliere  he 
remained  till  his  death  in  1843. 

Ilis  youngest  son,  David  D.  Porter,  was  born  in  Philadelphia 
in  June,  1813,  and,  while  still  a  child,  aucornpanied  his  father 
in  his  cruise  after  the  pirates  in  1823-25.  We  believe  he  was 
also  with  him  in  Mexico. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  1829,  he  received  his  warrant  as  mid- 
shipman, being  appointed  from  Pennsylvania.  He  was  ordered 
to  the  frigate  Constellation,  thirty-six  guns,  stationed  in  the 
Mediterranean,  under  Commodore  Biddle  and  Captain  Wads- 
worth. 

In  1831,  the  Constellation  was  ordered  home,  and  laid  up  in 
ordinary  at  Norfolk,  and  Porter  was  granted  leave  of  absence, 
after  which,  in  1832,  he  was  ordered  back  to  the  Mediterranean 
on  the  new  flag-ship  United  States,  a  forty-four  gun  frigate, 
under  Captain  Nicholson,  Commodore  Patterson  having  charge 
of  the  squadron.  On  the  3d  of  July,  1835,  he  passed  his  ex- 
amination, and  was  recommended  for  early  promotion.  During 
the  years  1836  to  1841,  he  was  appointed  on  the  Coast  Survey 
and  exploring  expeditions,  and  stood  on  the  list  of  passed  mid- 
shipmen at  the  following  numbers: — January  1,  1838,  No.  Ill; 
Janaary  1,  1839,  No.  84;  January  1,  1840,  No.  61,  and  January 
1,  1841,  at  No.  48. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  1841,  he  was  commissioned  a 
lieutenant,  and  ordered  to  the  frigate  Congress,  a  forty-four 
gun  vessel-of-war.  He  then  rejoined  the  Mediterranean  squad- 
ron, and  after  a  short  time  this  vessel  was  ordered  on  the 
Brazilian  station.  lie  still  retained  his  position  on  the  same 
frigate,  and  was  on  her  more  than  four  years  ;  for  his  name  is  re- 
oorded  as  one  of  her  lieutenants  on  the  rolls  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment for  the  years  commencing  January  1,  1842,  1843,  1844,  and 
1845.     He  had  not  risen  much  during  these  years;  for  on  the 


100  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

llrst  mentioued  date  his  name  stood  at  Is  ,  267  on  the  list  cf 
lieutenants ;  on  the  second  at  No.  258  ;  on  the  third  at  No.  245, 
and  on  the  last  at  No.  232.  At  the  latter  end  of  1845  he  was 
attached  to  the  Observatory  at  Washington  on  special  duty, 
which  position  he  still  held  at  the  commencement  and  during  a 
part  of  the  year  1846.  He  then  stood  No.  228  on  the  list.  On 
January  1,  1847,  after  having  performed  some  brilliant  exploits 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  during  the  Mexican  war,  he  is  entered 
as  being  in  charge  of  the  rendezvous  at  New  Orleans,  from 
which  he  was  detached  to  again  join  the  Coast  Survey,  on 
which  service  his  name  is  recorded  on  January  1,  1848.  Dur- 
ing this  year  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  schooner 
Petrel,  engaged  on  the  survey. 

In  February,  1849,  he  left  New  York  as  the  commander  of 
the  steamship  Panama,  the  third  of  the  vessels  constituting  the 
line  of  American  mail  steamers  first  established  for  service  on 
the  Pacific.  The  pioneer  passage  of  the  Panama  was  attended 
with  incidents  which  displayed  on  the  part  of  the  commander 
courage,  caution,  patience,  and  thoroughly  competent  qualifica- 
tions for  the  post  to  which  he  had  been  assigned.  After  taking 
the  vessel  safely  to  Panama  Bay,  he  was  ordered  to  New  York 
to  the  command  of  the  mail  steamer  Georgia,  which  command 
he  held  during  the  latter  part  of  1850,  the  years  1851  and  1852, 
and  a  great  portion  of  1853. 

Amongst  the  many  gallant  exploits  of  Admiral  Porter  was 
that  of  running  the  steamer  Crescent  City  (appropriately  named) 
into  the  harbor  of  Havana,  during  the  excitement  between  the 
two  countries  relative  to  the  ship  Black  "Warrior.  The  Spanish 
government  had  refused  to  permit  any  United  States  vessel  to 
enter  that  port.  Eunning  under  the  shotted  guns  of  Moro  Cas- 
tle, he  was  ordered  to  halt.  He  promptly  replied  that  he  cap- 
ried  the  United  States  flag  and  the  United  States  mails,  and,  by 


ADMIRAL    DAVID    D.    PORTER.  101 

ihe  Eternal,  tie  would  go  in ;  and  he  did,  the  Habaneros  fearin,<:; 
to  fire  upon  him.  He  said  afterwards  that  he  intended  firing 
his  six-pounder  at  them  once  in  defiance,  after  which  he  would 
haul  down  hi-  flag.  During  the  Mexican  war,  Admiral  Porter, 
tlien  a  lieutenant,  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  naval  portion 
of  that  conflict.  He  was  the  executive  officer  and  first 
lieutenant  und^r  the  famous  Commodore  Tatnall,  who  had 
charge  of  the  mosquito  fleet  in  the  waters  of  the  Gulf,  Their 
adventures  before  Vera  Cruz  are  not  likely  soon  to  be  forgotten. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1854,  he  is  recorded  absent  again  on 
leave,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  year  awaiting  orders. 
His  name  now  stood  at  No.  138.  During  1855  he  was  ordered 
to  the  command  of  the  storeship  Supply,  and  held  this  com- 
mand during  the  next  year,  until  February,  1857.  He  was 
then,  ordered  on  shore  duty,  and  on  the  1st  of  January,  1860, 
was  at  the  Navy  Yard  at  Portsmouth  as  third  in  command. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1861,  he  was  under  orders  to 
join  the  Coast  Survey  on  the  Pacific,  but,  fortunately,  had  not 
left  when  the  rebellion  broke  out.  His  name  at  this  time  stood 
number  six  on  the  list  of  lieutenants.  The  resignation  of 
several  naval  traitors  left  room  for  his  advancement,  and  the 
"Naval  Register"  for  August  31,  1861,  places  him  number 
seventy-seven  on  the  list  of  commanders,  with  twenty  others 
between  him  and  the  next  grade  of  rank  below.  He  was  then 
placed  in  command  of  the  steam  sloop-of-war  Powhatan,  a  vessel 
of  about  twenty-five  hundred  tons,  and  armed  with  eleven  guns. 
In  her  he  to  Dk  part  in  one  section  of  the  blockading  squadron, 
and  left  that  ship  to  take  the  special  charge  of  the  mortar  expe- 
dition. The  active  part  he  took  in  the  reduction  of  the  forts 
below  New  Orleans  will  make  his  name  ever  memorable  in 
connection  with  the  mortar  fleet,  or  "bummers,"  as  the  sailors 
terra  them.     After  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  he.  with  his 


102  A.  EN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

fleet,  went  up  the  MississipjM  river,  and  was  engaged  in  several 
affairs  on  that  river,  including  that  of  Vioksburg.  Fnnn  that 
place  ho  was  ordered  to  the  James  river,  and  returned  in  the 
Octorara.  When  oflt"  Charleston,  on  his  way  to  Fortress  Monroe, 
he  lell  in  with  and  eupturc-d  the  Anglo-rebel  steamer  Tubal 
Cain,  It  was  at  lirst  supposed  that  he  would  have  been  placed 
in  command  of  the  James  river  flotilla;  but  fi-oni  some  cause 
this  plan  was  changed.  lie  was  allowed  leave  of  absence  to 
recruit  his  health,  while  his  mortar  fleet  was  engaged  on  the 
Chesapeake  and  in  front  of  .lialtinK)re. 

In  October,  1862,  he  was  a})pointed  to  the  command  of  the 
Mississi[)pi  gunboat  flotilla,  as  successor  to  Commodore  Davis, 
with  the  rank  of  acting  rear-admiral,  and  was  required  to 
co-operate  with  General  Grant  in  the  assault  and  siege  of  Vicka- 
burg.  His  services  in  that  siege  form  a  record  of  which  any 
man  might  be  proud.  His  squadron  was  a  large  one,  composed 
of  vessels  of  all  sizes,  many  of  them  constructed  under  his  own 
su})ervisi  m,  and  a  considerable  number  were  armed  steamers, 
plated  with  from  three  to  four  and  a  half  inches  of  iron  and 
capable  of  resisting  the  shot  of  any  but  the  heaviest  batteries. 
His  previous  very  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Mississippi  river 
was  of  great  advantage  tt)  him  in  this  service,  as  well  as 
iu  his  operations  previously  and  subsequently  in  the  lower 
Mississippi.  In  General  Grant  he  evidently  found  a  co-worker 
after  his  own  heart,  for  imperious  and  exacting  as  the  admiral's 
temper  is,  they  h;ld  no  dillieulties,  and  he  entered  most  heartily 
into  all  the  general's  elVorts  io  find  a  suitable  point  for  assailing 
successfully  the  Gibraltar  of  the  rebellion.  Previous  to  the 
coming  of  General  Grant's  army  to  Young's  Point,  Admiral 
Porter  had  chaired  the  lower  Yazoo  of  torpedoes,  losing  one 
gunboat  (the  Cairo)  in  the  attempt;  had  assisted  Gereral  Slier 
man  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability  in  his  attack  upon  Chickasaw 


ADMIRAL    DAVID    I).    PORTER.  103 

Bluffs;  and  accompanying  General  McClernand  in  Lis  expedi- 
tion to  the  post  of  Arkansas  and  the  White  river,  had  born 
barded  the  fort  (Fort  Ilindman)  till  it  surrendered,  and  broken 
up  the  other  small  forts  and  driven  out  the  rebel  steamers  on 
the  White  river.  He  also  succeeded  in  blockading  eleven  rebel 
steamers  in  tbe  Yazoo,  Ilis  activity  during  the  next  six 
months  w^as  incessant;  now  sending  gunboats  and  rams  down 
the  river  past  the  batteries  of  Vicksburg  to  destroy  the  rebel 
rams  and  steamers  and  capture  the  supplies  intended  for  Vicka- 
burg  and  Port  Hudson ;  then  firing  at  the  upper  or  lower 
batteries  of  Vicksburg,  cutting  the  levee  at  Yazoo  pass  and  en 
deavoring  to  force  a  passage  through  the  Yallobusha  and 
Tallahatchee  into  the  Yazoo;  and  failing  in  this,  cutting  his 
way  through  the  labyrinth  of  bayous  and  creeks  to  attain  the 
aame  end.  These  exercises  were  varied  by  sending  occasional- 
ly a  coal  barge  fitted  up  as  a  monitor,  past  the  batteries, 
greatly  to  the  fright  of  the  rebels,  who,  after  concentrating  the 
fires  of  their  batteries  on  the  contrivance  without  effect,  were 
so  badly  scared  as  to  destroy  the  best  gunboat  (the  Indianola 
taken  from  Lieutenant  Commander  Brown)  they  had  on  the 
river,  from  fear  of  its  capture  by  this  formidable  monitor. 
Then  came  the  hazardous  experiment  of  running  gunboats 
past  the  batteries,  twice  repeated,  to  aid  General  Grant  in  hi.H 
movement  to  approach  Vicksburg  from  below  and  from  the 
rear.  The  success  of  these  enterprises,  only  two  transports  out 
of  sixteen  or  eighteen,  and  none  ot  the  gunboats,  being  destroyed, 
was  remarkable,  and  of  itself  evinced  great  skill  and  caution  on 
the  part  of  the  admiral.  The  fight  at  Grand  Gulf  was  a  severe 
one,  and  not  successful,  but  the  night  following  the  batteries 
were  run,  and  the  troops  ferried  over  to  Bruinsburg,  from 
whence  they  marched  to  Jackson  and  to  the  rear  of  Vicksburg. 
Meanwhile  a  part  of  the  spuadron  had  been  engaged  in  aidiufjj 


104  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

Sherman  in  making  a  demonstration  on  Haines'  Bluff  to  draw 
off  the  attention  of  the  rebels  from  Grant's  approach  hj  the 
south. 

When,  on  the  19th  of  May,  Grant's  army  made  their  first; 
assault  on  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  and  on  the  22d  of  May,  when 
the  second  assault  was  made,  Admiral  Porter  maintained  a 
heavy  fire  in  front,  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  rebels ;  and 
during  the  whole  siege,  whenever  a  ball  or  shell  could  be 
thrown  from  his  squadron  either  above  or  below  the  city  with 
good  effect,  it  was  promptly  and  accurately  hurled.  The  sur- 
render of  Vicksburg,  on  the  4th  of  Jul}'-,  and  of  Port  Hudson 
on  the  9th,  opened  the  Mississippi  to  our  fleet  and  to  merchant 
steamers,  and  thenceforth  the  fleet  on  the  Mississippi  acted 
only  as  an  armed  river  patrol.  The  duties  of  the  squadron  in 
these  respects  were,  however,  somewhat  arduous  for  a  time. 
The  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  rivers,  and  the  Ohio,  were  in- 
cluded Avithin  its  cruising  ground  ;  and  the  pursuit  of  Morgan's 
expedition  to  Bufiington  island,  and  the  repressing  of  occasional 
rebel  raids,  kept  them  almost  constantly  on  the  alert. 

Early  in  March,  186-i,  Admiral  Porter  ascended  the  Red 
river  to  co-operate  with  General  Banks  in  his  expedition  to 
break  up  the  rebel  posts  on  that  river,  and  penetrate  by  that 
route  into  Texas,  The  expedition  was  at  first  successful,  and 
captured  the  forts  of  the  enemy,  and  their  principal  towns,  in  a 
series  of  brief  engagements.  But,  as  they  ascended  the  river, 
the  greed  of  gain  seemed  to  take  possession  of  the  squadron, 
and  large  quantities  of  cotton  were  gathered  up  from  both 
shores  of  the  river  and  brought  on  board  the  gunboats  ;  and 
they  were  forced  so  far  up  the  falling  stream,  that  they  were  in 
great  danger  of  being  unable  to  return,  and  so  of  becoming  a  prey 
to  the  rebels.  The  army,  too,  had  been  seriously  repulsed,  and 
had   made  a  somewhat  hasty  retreat  as  far  as  Grand  Ecore, 


I 


ADMIRAL    DAVID    D.    PORTER.  105 

From  this  point  downward  the  squadron  was  in  constant 
trouble — the  larger  vessels  getting  aground,  hard  and  fast, 
several  times  a  day,  and  being  compelled  to  tie  up  at  night ; 
harassed  almost  every  hour  by  small  bodies  of  rebel  troops, 
whom  they  could  only  keep  off  by  a  free  use  of  canister  and 
grape  shot ;  not  making  more  than  thirty  miles  a  day,  and  the 
river  constantly  falling.  At  length,  thirty  miles  below  Grand 
Ecore,  the  Eastport,  the  largest  vessel  of  the  squadron,  stuck 
fast  and  hard  upon  the  rocks  in  the  channel,  and  could  not  be 
moved ;  and  the  admiral  was  compelled  to  give  orders  for  her 
destruction.  The  attempt  made  by  the  rebels  to  board  the 
Cricket,  another  of  his  gunboats,  at  this  juncture,  was  so  se- 
verely punished,  that  they  disappeared,  and  were  not  seen  again 
until  the  mouth  of  Cane  river,  twenty  miles  below,  was  reached. 
Here  was  a  rebel  battery  of  eighteen  guns,  and  a  severe  fight 
ensued.  The  Cricket,  which  was  but  lightly  armed  (being,  as 
the  men  were  in  the  habit  of  saying,  only  "  tin  clad"),  was  very 
badly  cut  up,  almost  every  shot  going  through  her,  two  of  her 
guns  being  disabled,  and  half  her  crew,  and  her  pilot,  and  chief 
engineer,  being  either  killed  or  badly  wounded.  Here  the 
splendid  personal  bravery  of  Admiral  Porter  proved  their  sal- 
vation. He  improvised  gunners  from  the  negroes  on  board, 
put  an  assistant  in  the  place  of  the  chief  engineer,  took  the  helm 
himself,  and  ran  past  the  battery  under  a  terrific  fire,  which  he 
returned  steadily  with  such  of  his  guns  as  were  still  serviceable. 
The  other  gunboats,  though  sadly  injured,  at  length  got  by — 
the  Champion,  only,  being  so  much  disabled  as  to  be  unable  to 
go  on,  and  being  destroyed  by  order  of  Admiral  Porter. 

On  reaching  Alexandria,  matters  were  still  worse.  In  the 
low  stage  of  water,  the  rapids  were  impassable  by  the  gur- 
boats,  and  at  first  their  destruction  seemed  inevitable.  But 
the  engineer  of  the  Nineteenth  army  corps,  Lieutenant-Colonel 


106  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

Joseph  Bailey  (afterward  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general  for  this  great  service),  devised  a  way  of  floating  them 
over  the  rapids,  by  the  construction  of  a  series  of  wing-daraa 
partly  across  the  river  at  several  points.  The  task  was  hercu- 
lean, but  it  was  skilfully  and  speedily  accomplished,  and  by  the 
13th  of  May  all  the  gunboats  had  passed  the  barrier  and  were 
on  their  way  to  the  Mississippi  river,  still  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  distant.  Before  this  time,  however,  two  small  gunboats 
and  two  transports,  laden  with  troops,  were  attacked  by  the 
rebels,  and  both  the  transports  and  one  gunboat  captured,  and 
the  other  burned.  Admiral  Porter  returned  to  his  patrol  of 
the  Mississippi,  from  whence,  soon  after,  he  was  transferred  to 
the  command  of  the  North  Atlantic  squadron.  Here  he  was 
busy,  for  a  time,  with  the  removal  of  torpedoes  in  the  naviga- 
ble waters  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  ;  in  capturing  block- 
ade runners ;  and  cruising  after  the  pirates  who  seized  our 
merchant  steamers.  But  his  restless  activity  and  energy  could 
not  be  satisfied  without  striking  a  blow  at  the  chief  port  of 
entry  for  which  the  blockade  runners  aimed,  and  into  which  at 
least  seven  out  of  every  ten  succeeded  in  entering.  AVilming- 
tdn.  North  Carolina,  had,  during  the  whole  war,  been  one  of 
the  chief  seats  of  the  contraband  trade  of  the  rebels,  and  the 
blockade  runners  had  been  more  successful  in  okuling  the  vigi- 
lance, or  escaping  from  the  pursuit  of  the  blockading  squadron 
there,  than  either  at  Charleston  or  Mobile.  This  was  due  in 
part  to  its  position,  and  the  defences  of  the  harbor.  Five  forta 
protected  the  entrance  to  the  estuary  of  Cape  Fear  river;  and 
while  they  were  sufficient  to  prevent  any  access  to  the  river  by 
the  blockading  squadron,  they  effectually  shielded  the  block- 
ade runners,  who  succeeded  in  effecting  an  entrance,  by  either 
inlet,  to  the  estuary.  Of  these  works,  Fort  Fisher,  one  of  the 
most  formidable  earthworks  on  the  coast,  was  the  chief;  and  it 


ADMIRAL    DAVID    D.    PORTER.  lOT 

was  to  the  reduction  of  this,  that  the  attention  of  Rear- Admiral 
Porter*  was  directed.  The  Navy  Department,  which  liad  been 
instrumental  in  his  transfer  to  the  North  Atlantic  squadron, 
heartily  seconded  his  efforts  ;  and  an  arrangement  leaving  been 
made  with  General  Grant  for  the  necessaiy  land  forces  to  co« 
operate  with  the  squadron,  a  fleet  of  naval  vessels^  surpassing 
in  numbers  and  equipments  any  that  had  been  assembled  during 
ths  war,  was  collected  with  dispatch  in  Hampton  Roads.  Vari- 
ous circumstances  delayed  the  attack  until  the  2'ith  of  Decem- 
ber, 1864.  What  followed,  is  best  related  in  the  report  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

"  On  that  day  (December  24),  Rear-Admiral  Porter,  with  a  bom- 
barding force  of  thirty-seven  vessels,  five  of  which  were  iron- 
clad, and  a  reserve  force  of  nineteen  vessels,  attacked  the  forts 
at  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  river,  and  silenced  them  in  one  hour 
and  a  quarter ;  but  there  being  no  troops  to  make  an  assault  or 
attempt  to  possess  them,  nothing  beyond  the  injury  inflicted  on 
the  works  and  the  garrison  was  accomplished  by  the  bombard- 
ment. A  renewed  attack  was  made  the  succeeding  day,  but 
with  scarcely  better  results.  The  fleet  shelled  the  forts  during 
the  day  and  silenced  them,  but  no  assault  was  made,  or  attempt- 
ed, by  the  troops  which  had  been  disembarked  for  that  purpose. 
Major-General  Butler,  who  commanded  the  co-operating  force, 
after  a  reconnoissance,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  place 
could  not  be  carried  by  an  assault.  He  therefore  ordered  a  re- 
embarkation,  and  informing  Rear- Admiral  Porter  of  his  intention, 
returned  with  his  command  to  Hampton  Roads,  Immediate 
information  of  the  failure  of  the  expedition  was  forwarded  to 
the  department  by  Rear- Admiral  Porter,  who  remained  in  the 

*  He  was  made  full  rear-udiniral  for  liis  gallant  services  io  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg,  his  commission  dating  from  July  4th,  1863. 


108  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

vicinity  with  his  entire  fleet,  awaiting  the  needful  military  aid. 
Aware  of  the  necessity  of  reducing  these  works,  and  of  the 
great  importance  which  the  Department  attatched  to  closing  the 
port  of  Wilinington,.and  confident  that  with  adequate  military 
co-operation  the  fort  could  be  carried,  he  asked  for  such  co- 
operation, and  earnestly  requested  that  the  enterprise  should  not 
be  abandoned.  In  this  the  department  and  the  President  fully 
concurred.  On  the  suggestion  of  the  President,  Lieutenant- 
General  Grant  was  advised  of  the  confidence  felt  by  Rear- Admi- 
ral Porter  that  he  could  obtain  complete  success,  provided  he 
should  be  sufficiently  sustained.  Such  military  aid  was  there- 
fore invited  as  would  insure  the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher. 

A  second  military  force  was  promptly  detailed,  composed  of 
about  8,500  men,  under  the  command  of  Major-General  A.  H. 
Terry,  and  sent  forward.  This  of&cer  arrived  off'  Fort  Fisher, 
on  the  13th  of  January.  Offensive  operations  were  at  once 
resumed  by  the  naval  force,  and  the  troops  were  landed  and 
intrenched  themselves,  while  a  portion  of  the  fleet  bombarded 
the  works.  These  operations  were  continued  throughout  the 
14th  with  an  increased  number  of  vessels.  The  15th  was  the 
day  decided  upon  for  an  assault.  During  the  forenoon  of  that 
day,  forty-four  vessels  poured  an  incessant  fire  into  the  rebel 
forts.  There  was,  besides,  a  force  of  fourteen  vessels  in  reserve. 
At  3  P.  M.,  the  signal  for  the  assault  was  made.  Desperate  fight- 
ing ensued,  traverse  after  traverse  was  taken,  and  by  10  P.  M. 
the  works  were  all  carried,  and  the  flag  of  the  Union  floated 
over  them.  Fourteen  hundred  sailors  and  marines  were  landed, 
and  participated  in  the  direct  assault. 

Seventy-five  guns,  many  of  them  superb  rifle  pieces,  and 
1,900  prisoners,  were  the  immediate  fruits  and  trophies  of  the 
victory ;  but  the  chief  value  and  ultimate  benefit  of  this  grand 
achievement,  consisted  in  closing  the  main  gate  through  which 


ADMIRAL    DAVID    D.    PORTER.  109 

the  insurgents  hud  received  supplies  from  abroad,  and  sent  their 
own  products  to  foreign  markets  in  exchange. 

Light-draught  steamers  were  immediately  pushed  over  the 
bar,  and  into  the  river,  the  channel  of  which  was  speedily 
buoyed,  and  the  removal  of  torpedoes  forthwith  commenced. 
The  rebels  witnessing  the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher,  at  once  evacuated 
and  blew  up  Fort  Caswell,  destroyed  Bald  Head  Fort  and  Fort 
Shaw,  and  abandoned  Fort  Campbell.  Within  twenty-four 
hours  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher,  the  main  defence  of  Cape 
Fear  river,  the  entire  chain  of  formidable  works  in  the  vicinity 
shared  its  fate,  placing  in  our  possession  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  guns  of  heavy  calibre. 

The  heavier  naval  vessels,  being  no  longer  needed  in  that 
quarter,  were  dispatched  in  different  directions — some  to  James 
river  and  northern  ports,  others  to  the  Gulf  or  the  South  Atlan- 
tic squadron.  An  ample  force  was  retained,  however,  to  sup- 
port the  small  but  brave  army  which  had  carried  the  traverses 
of  Fort  Fisher,  and  enable  it,  when  reinforcements  should  arrive, 
to  continue  the  movement  on  Wilmington. 

Great  caution  was  necessary  in  removing  the  torpedoes, 
always  formidable  in  harbors  and  internal  waters,  and  which 
have  been  more  destructive  to  our  naval  vessels  than  all  other 
means  combined. 

About  the  middle  of  February,  offensive  operations  were 
resumed  in  the  direction  of  Wilmington,  the  vessels  and  the 
troops  moving  up  the  river  in  concert.  Fort  Anderson,  an 
important  work,  was  evacuated  during  the  night  of  the  18th  of 
February,  General  Schofield  advancing  upon  this  fort  with 
8,000  men,  while  the  gunboats  attacked  it  by  water. 

On  the  21st,  the  rebels  were  driven  from  Fort  Strong,  which 
left  the  way  to  Wilmington  unobstructed,  and  on  the  22d  of 
February,  that  city  was  evacuated.     Two  hundred  and  twelve 


liO  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

guns  were  taken  in  the  works  from  the  entrance  to  Old  river, 
including  those  nea-.  the  city,  and  thus  this  great  and  brilliant 
achievement  was  completed." 

The  failure  of  General  Butler  to  make  the  attack  when  ex- 
pected, though  it  would  seem  to  have  been  justified  by  the 
dictates  of  prudence,  and  to  have  been  in  no  respect  due  to  any 
want  of  personal  courage  or  daring  on  the  part  of  the  general, 
was  very  annoying  to  Rear- Admiral  Porter,  and  led  to  an  acri- 
monious correspondence  between  the  two  parties,  neither  of 
whom  were  at  all  chary  in  their  abuse  of  each  other. 

The  termination  of  the  war  soon  after  the  capture  of  "Wil- 
mington, left  little  more  active  service  for  the  North  Atlantic 
squadron,  and  its  reduction  and  consolidation  with  the  South 
Atlantic  squadron  followed  in  June,  1865.  Before  this,  how- 
ever, on  the  28th  of  April,  Rear- Admiral  Porter  had  been  re- 
lieved, at  his  own  request,  of  the  command  of  the  squadron, 
and  Acting  Rear- Admiral  Radford  succeeded  him.  In  the  few 
months'  leave  of  absence  granted  him,  he  visited  Europe. 

In  September,  1865,  when  the  Naval  Academy  was  brought 
back  to  Annapolis,  and  partially  re-organized,  Rear- Admiral 
Porter  was  appointed  its  superintendent,  and  has  remained  in 
that  position  since  that  time.  He  has  infused  new  energy  and 
character  into  the  instruction  there,  and  the  Academy  is  now  a 
worthy  counterpart  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point. 
On  the  25th  of  July,  1866,  Vice- Admiral  Farragut  being  pro- 
moted to  the  new  rank  of  Admiral,  Rear- Admiral  Porter  was 
advanced  to  the  Vice-admiralty. 

Viue-A*liiiii';il  Pt)nei-  i-ciiuiiiiLHl  in  cliarge  of  the  Naval  Academy, 
though  devoting  a  coiisiilcrable  pt)rtion  of  his  time  to  the  details 
of  the  Navy  Department  management,  till  the  commencement  of 
President  Grant's  administration,  when  he  resigned  the  superin- 
tendency  of  the  Academy,  and  was  for  some  months,  wliile  the 


ADMIRAL   DAVID   D.   PORTER.  Ill 

department  was  in  charge  of  Mr.  Borie,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  de  facto,  though  not  de  jure.  When,  soon  after,  Admiral 
Farragut  set  out  upon  his  European  tour,  Vice- Admiral  Porter's 
presence  at  Washington  was,  in  some  sort,  a  necessity,  as  many  of 
the  questions  which  come  up  for  decision  in  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment require  for  their  proper  solution  the  judgment  and 
knowledge  of  naval  affairs  of  a  high  officer  of  the  Navy.  Admi- 
ral Farragut  died  August  14,  1870,  and  as  the  rank  of  Admiral 
in  the  Navy  had  been  created  expressly  to  honor  him,  and  it  had 
been  the  intention  to  abolish  it  after  his  death,  there  seemed  to 
be  a  probability  that  he  would  have  no  successor.  This  proba- 
bility was  very  galling  to  Vice- Admiral  Porter.  His  ambition 
could  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  the  highest  position,  and 
he  immediately  initiated  measures  to  ensure  his  appointment. 
He  had  received  from  President  Grant,  on  the  20th  of  September, 
1870,  the  temporary  promotion,  until  the  next  session  of  Con- 
gress, when  it  was  expected  that  his  name  would  be  sent  to  the 
Senate  for  confirmation  as  Admiral  in  place  of  Farragut  deceased. 
He  was  on  terms  of  friendship  and  intimacy  with  the  President; 
and  though  there  might  be  some  objection  on  the  part  of  the 
Senate,  he  considered  his  confirmation  a  certainty.  At  this 
juncture  a  letter  written  by  Admiral  Porter,  January  21,  1865, 
and  addressed  to  Hon.  Gideon  Welles,  then  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  was  published  by  Mr.  Welles.  In  that  letter  Porter,  whose 
temper  is  none  of  the  sweetest,  had  made  very  severe  strictures  on 
General  Grant,  who  had,  as  he  supposed,,  under-rated  the  part 
taken  by  the  Navy  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Fisher.  The  letter  was 
unjust,  and  written  evidently  under  the  impulse  of  wounded 
pride  and  sensitiveness;  but  while  it  bore  very  hardly  and  unwar- 
rantably on  the  motives  and  conduct  of  the  general,  it  was  easy 
to  see  that  jealousy  for  the  honor  of  the  Navy  had  led  him  to 
write  it.  .  The  true  course  for   the   admiral    to  have   pursued 


112  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

would  have  been  to  have  explained  in  a  note  to  the  President, 
that  the  letter,  evidently  a  confidential  one,  was  written  under  a 
misapprehension  of  the  real  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  was  a 
natural  ebullition  of  wounded  pride  and  vexation  at  what,  he 
afterward  learned,  was  a  misstatement  of  the  general's  real 
course,  that  he  had  subsequently  done  him  justice,  and  that  the 
bringing  forward  of  this  letter  now  was  simply  a  })i^^'*  of  petty 
malice.  Instead  of  this.  Admiral  Porter  went  to  the  President, 
and  after  expressing  his  regrets,  denied  all  recollection  of  the 
matter,  and  sought  to  mollify  the  President's  displeasure  by  such 
disavowal.  We  think  that  the  President  must  have  laughed  in 
his  sleeve  at  the  trepidation  and  humiliation  of  the  gallant 
admiral ;  but  he  passed  over  the  offence,  nominated  the  vice- 
admiral  to  the  Senate  for  the  rank  of  Admiral,  and  he  was  con- 
firmed a  few  days  later.  But  though  the  President  would  not 
deprive  the  admiral  of  what  he  believed  to  be  a  promotion  to 
which  he  was  justly  entitled,  their  intimacy  was  not  subsequently 
renewed. 

Admiral  Porter  is  a  man  of  commanding  personal  appearance, 
of  medium  height,  good  features,  a  spare  but  muscular  figure,  of 
great  physical  power  and  capacity  for  endurance.  He  is  an 
accomplished  linguist,  speaking  fluently  most  of  the  European 
languages,  and  is  a  skilful  performer  on  several  musical  instru- 
ments. Though  of  imperious  and  exacting  temper,  and  intolerant 
of  the  slightest  disobedience  to  his  orders,  he  has  always  been  able 
to  rouse  the  highest  enthusiasm  in  the  men  under  his  command. 
The  secret  of  this  is  probably  his  extraordinary  physical  cour- 
age. He  never  asked  any  man  in  his  squadron  to  incur  any 
risk  which  he  was  not  himself  willing  to  face,  and  ulten  in  times 
of  the  greatest  peril,  he  would  be  found  in  the  must  exposed 
position.  This  perfect  fearlessness  is  the  one  trait  in  which  he  most 
nearly  resembles  the  noblest  of  our  Naval  heroes — Farkagut. 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  PHILIP  H.  SHERIDAN. 


c)  yp  INCE  General  Sheridan  became  famous,  the  honor  of 
being  his  birth-place  has  been  claimed  by  almost  as 

(^^  many  places  as  contended  for  the  same  honor  in  the 
^io)  case  of  Homer.  Enthusiastic  Irishmen  have  insisted  that 
he  first  saw  the  light  in  county  Cavan,  Ireland  ;  the  army  regis- 
ter for  years  credited  Massachusetts  with  being  the  State  in 
which  he  was  born ;  the  newspaper  correspondents,  knowing 
men  that  they  are,  have  traced  him  to  Albany,  New  York, 
where,  they  say,  he  was  born  while  his  parents  were  en  route  for 
Ohio;  while  the  general  himself,  wlio  being  a  party  to  the' 
transaction  should  know  something  about  it,  and  what  is  still 
more  to  the  purpose,  his  parents,  testify  that  he  was  born  in 
Somerset,  Perry  county,  Ohio,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1831.  His 
parents  were  then  recent  emigrants  from  county  Cavan,  Ireland, 
but  were  not  of  the  Scotch  Irish  stock  so  largely  predominant 
in  that  county,  but  belonged  to  one  of  the  original  Celtic  and 
Roman  Catholic  families  of  the  county. 

Vain  has  been  the  attempt  to  find  any  of  those  inciden-ts 
which  foreshadow  greatness,  in  the  boyhood  of  the  futui-e' 
cavalry  general.  He  was  a  wild,  roguish,  fun-loving  Irish  boy, 
probably  fond  of  horses,  though  the  Eev.  P.  C.  Headley's  story 
about  his  riding  a  half  broken  vicious  horse  when  only  five  years 

old  is  pronounced  by  the  general  himself  an  entire  fabrication.  lie 
b  113 


11^  MfilN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

went  to  school  to  an  Irish  schoolmaster  for  a  time,  Avlien  about 
ten  or  twelve  years  old,  one  of  Goldsmith's  sort : — 

"  A  man  severe  lie  was,  and  stern  to  view ; 
I  knew  him  well,  and  every  truant  knew ; 
Well  had  the  boding  tremblers  learned  to  trace 
The  day's  disasters  in  hia  morning  face." 

This  pedagogue  gave  the  mischievous  uiohin  his  full  share 
of  the  birch,  incited  thereto,  as  one  of  Sheridan's  schoolmates 
affirms,  by  the  recollection  of  an  occurrence  in  which  Phil  got 
the  better  of  him.  The  story  is  substantially  this  :  when  Sheri- 
dan was  about  eleven  or  twelve  years  old,  on  a  cold  winter's 
morning,  two  of  his  schoolmates  came  early  to  the  schoolhouse, 
and  finding  the  teacher,  McNanly,  not  yet  arrived,  prepared  a 
somewhat  unpleasant  surprise  for  him,  in  the  shape  of  a  pailful 
of  icy  water  suspended  over  the  schoolhouse  door,  in  such  a 
way  that  its  contents  would  descend  upon  i,he  head  of  the  one 
who  should  first  open  the  door.  This  arranged  they  v^^ithdrew 
to  a  neighboring  haymow,  and  waited  to  see  the  fun.  McNanly 
soon  came,  unlocked  the  door  and  received  the  ducking,  which 
naturally  aroused  his  not  very  placable  temper.  He  sat  down 
to  watch,  resolved  to  give  the  first  boy  who  should  come,  a  terri- 
ble thrashing.  A  little  fellow  who  happened  to  be  first  was 
caught  by  the  neck  and  shaken  fiercely,  but  being  convinced 
that  he  knew  nothing  of  it,  the  teacher  dropped  him  and  waited 
for  another.  Each  boy  in  turn  was  throttled  and  shaken,  the 
two  real  offenders  among  the  rest,  but  as  all  denied  it,  McNanly 
still  waited  for  his  victims.  At  length  Phil.  Sheridan  came, 
somewhat  late,  as  usual,  and  convinced  that  he  had  now  the  real 
culprit,  McNanly  made  a  dive  for  him ;  the  boy  dodged  and 
ran,  and  the  teacher  after  him,  bare  headed  and  brandishing  his 
stick.  Phil  did  his  best,  but  his  legs  were  short,  and  when  he 
reached  his  father's  yard  McNanly  was  almost  upon  him,  -iud 


LIEUTENAXT-GEXERAL    PHILIP    H.    SHERIDAN.  115 

he  bolted  tlirougL  the  gate,  the  teacher  following  at  full  speed, 
when  a  new  ally  suddenly  came  to  Phil's  relief.  This  was  no 
other  than  a  large  Newfoundland  dog,  the  boy's  playmate  and 
pet,  who  seeing  his  young  master  in  trouble,  sprang  upon  tho 
teacher,  who,  frightened  sadly,  climbed  the  nearest  tree  with 
great  agility.  "  Take  away  your  divilish  dog,"  he  cried,  "  or 
I'll  bate  the  life  out  of  ye."  "  Like  to  see  you,"  said  the  boy, 
as  he  very  coolly  brought  a  bit  of  old  carpet,  threw  it  under  the 
tree  and  ordered  Kover  to  "  watch  him."  The  dog  obeyed  and 
Phil  mounted  the  fence  and  looked,  somewhat  impudently,  we 
fear,  at  his  teacher,  the  whole  school  meantime  being  gathered 
close  by  to  see  the  end.  McNanly's  clothing  was  none  of  the 
warmest,  and  his  cold  bath  and  violent  exercise  had  thrown  him 
into  a  violent  perspiration,  and  he  was  now  shivering  with  the 
cold.  "  What  d'ye  want  to  lick  me  for  ?"  queried  Phil.  "  What 
did  ye  throw  the  wather  on  me  for  ?"  asked  the  teacher ;  "  I 
didn't  throw  any  wather  on  you,"  said  the  boy.  "  What  did 
ye  run  so  for,  thin  ?"  "  Cause  I  saw  ye  was  going  to  lick  me," 
said  Phil.  "  Well,  call  off  the  dog."  "  Not  till  ye  promise  ye 
won't  lick  me.  Watch  him,  Eover."  This  last  order  was  given 
as  the  teacher  was  trying  to  get  down,  and  the  dog  in  response 
seized  him  by  the  leg.  Mr.  Sheridan  now  came  out,  and 
McNanly  appealed  to  him,  declaring  that  he  must  lick  Phil,  for 
the  sake  of  the  discipline  of  the  school,  for  the  boys  were  all 
laughing  at  him  now.  Mr.  Sheridan  called  to  the  dog,  but  he 
would  not  move,  and  doubting  perhaps  whether  Phil  deserved 
a  thrashing,  he  returned  into  the  house.  "You'd  better  prom- 
ise," said  Phil,  "  for  the  dog  won't  mind  anybody  but  me,  and  I 
can  stay  here  all  day."  At  length,  nearly  perished  with  the 
oold,  McNanly  promised  that  he  wouldn't  lick  him  that  time^  and 
the  boy,  calling  to  Rover,  allowed  the  master  to  descend.     The 


116  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

subsequent  whippings,  Phil  used  to  say,  had  interest  added  to 
them,  orf  account  of  this. 

Sheridan  was  fond  of  mathematics,  and  managed  to  pick  up  a 
fair  knowledge  of  figures  in  school.  At  the  age  of  about  fifteen 
he  was  taken  as  a  clerk  by  Mr.  Talbot,  a  hardware  dealer  of  the 
village^  who,  finding  him  active,  intelligent,  and  faithful,  gave 
him  further  instruction  in  mathematics  and  guided  him  in  his 
reading.  After  a  time,  as  a  better  position  ofiered,  he  helped 
him  to  get  it,  and  he  became  a  clerk  for  Mr.  Henry  Detton. 
Not  long  after,  General  Thomas  Eitchey  was  the  Congressman 
from  the  district,  and  had  in  his  gift  an  appointment  to  a  vacancy 
at  West  Point.  For  this  place  there  was  a  strong  competition. 
Sons  of  wealthy  parents  came,  or  sent  to  him  their  applications 
with  a  long  list  of  influential  names.  At  length  one  letter  came 
without  recommendations  or  references.  It  merely  asked  that 
the  place  might  be  given  to  the  writer  and  was  signed,  "  Phil 
Sheridan."  General  Eitchey,  who  had  known  the  boy  for  a 
long  time  and  had  marked  his  faithfulness  and  love  of  study, 
gave  him  the  appointment  at  once. 

Sheridan  was  at  this  time  (1848),  seventeen  years  old.  Among 
his  classmates  were  James  B.  McPherson,  Schofleld,  Sill,  Tyler^j 
and  the  rebel  General  Hood.  His  scholarship  at  West  Point 
was  above  mediocrity,  but  his  animal  spirits  were  so  constantly 
running  over,  and  his  pugnacity  was  so  much  in  the  ascendancy, 
that  he  was  always  receiving  demerit  marks  in  the  conduct 
column.  One  of  the  cadets  insulted  him,  and  he  proceeded  to 
redress  his  own  grievances,  by  giving  the  offender  a  severe 
thrashing.  This  conduct,  some  of  the  officers  of  the  academy 
believed  justifiable,  but  it  was  unrailitary,  and,  as  a  result, 
Sheridan  was  suspended  and  thrown  iftto  the  class  below,  so 
that  he  did  not  graduate  till  1853,  when  he  stood  thirty-fourth 
in  a  class  of  fifty-two.     He  was  ordered  to  duty  as  brevet  second 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP    H.    SHERIDAN.  117 

lieuteaaat  of  infantry,  but  at  first  without  being  assigned  to  any 
particular  regiment,  and  after  serving  in  garrison  at.Newport 
barracks,  Kentucky,  for  a  few  months,  was  sent  in  the  begin- 
hing  of  1854,  to  the  Texas  frontier,  where  for  nearly  two  years, 
he  served  at  Fort  Duncan,  La  Pena,  and  Turkey  creek,  Texas. 
He  received  his  commission  as  full  second  lieutenant,  while  in 
Texas,  November  22d,  1854.  Returning  east,  after  a  short 
period  of  garrison  duty  at  Fort  Columbus,  New  York,  he  was 
ordered  to  escort  duty  from  Sacramento,  California,  to  Colum- 
bia river,  Oregon,  and  then  on  a  series  of  expeditions  among 
the  Indians,  for  a  year.  He  was  next  assigned  to  the  military 
posts  at  Forts  Ilaskius  and  Yamhill,  where  he  endeavored  to 
make  peace  with  the  Indians,  learned  their  dialects,  and  won 
their  regard  to  such  an  extent  that  he  could  acoomplish  wliat 
he  pleased  with  them.  On  the  1st  of  March,  1861,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  a  first  lieutenancy  in  the  fourth  infantry,  and  ten 
weeks  later,  May  14th,  a  commission  was  sent  him  as  captain 
in  the  thirteenth  infantry,  and  with  it,  news  of  the  impending 
war.  He  was  ready  for  it,  and  wrote  to  a  friend  in  the  East: 
"  If  they  will  fight  us,  let  them  know  we  accept  the  challenge. 
Vf  ho  knows?  Perhaps  I  may  have  a  chance  to  raise  a  majcjr'a 
commission."  A  modest  ambition,  certainly  for  the  man  who 
vrithin  four  years  was  to  demonstiate  his  title  to  be  regarded  as 
the  ablest  living  cavalrj^  general.  He  was  ordered  to  report 
at  Jefferson  barracks,  Missouri.  He  arrived  in  the  midst  of  the 
confusion  that  followed  the  removal  of  Fremont  from  command. 
Nothing  could  be  a  more  droll  illustration  of  the  frequent 
governmental  faculty  for  getting  the  wrong  men  in  the  right 
places  than  the  assignment  that  awaited  the  j^oung  Indian 
fighter.  He  was  made  president  of  a  board  to  audit  claims 
under  the  Fremont  administration.  He  did  the  work  satisfac- 
torily, however ;  and  presently  the  Govenxmeut,  fully  satisfied 


118  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

now,  that  here  was  a  good  man  for  routine  and  clerical  duties, 
made  him  quartermaster  and  commissary  for  Curtis,  at  the 
outset  of  the  Pea  Ridge  campaign. 

All  this  seemed  rapid  promotion  to  Captain  Sheridan,  and 
he  went  to  work  heartily  and  earnestly  to  make  a  quartermas- 
ter of"  himself.  He  was  sixty-fourth  captain  on  the  list — so  onu 
of  the  staff  officers  tells  of  his  reasoning  in  those  days — and 
with  the  chances  of  war  in  his  favor,  it  needn't  be  a  very  great 
while  before  he  might  hope  to  be  a  major !  With  such  modest 
aspirations  he  worked  away  at  the  wagon-trains ;  cut  down 
regimental  transportation,  gave  fewer  wagons  for  camp  furni- 
ture and  more  for  hard  bread  and  fixed  ammunition,  established 
secondary  depots  for  supplies,  and  wiih  all  his  labor  found  that 
he  had  not  fully  estimated  the  wants  of  the  army.  Some 
orders  from  General  Curtis  about  this  time  seemed  to  him 
inconsistent  with  the  West  Point  system  of  managing  quarter- 
masters' matters,  and  he  said  so,  officially,  with  considerable 
freedom  of  utterance.  The  matter  was  passed  over  for  a  few 
days,  but  as  soon  as  Pea  Ridge  was  fought.  General  Curtis 
found  time  to  attend  to  smaller  affairs.  The  first  was  to 
dispense  with  the  further  services  of  his  quartermaster,  and 
send  hira  back  to  St.  Louis  in  arrest. 

But,  just  then,  educated  officers  were  too  rare  in  Missouri  to  be 
kept  long  out  of  service  on  punctilios.  Presently  the  affair 
with  Curtis  was  adjusted,  and  then  the  Government  had  some 
fresh  work  for  this  young  man  of  routine  and  business.  It 
sent  him  over  into  Wisconsin  to  buy  horses!  The  weeping 
philosopher  himself  might  have  been  embarrassed  to  refrain 
from  laughter!  McClellan  was  at  the  head  of  the  army; 
Halleck  had  chief  command  in  the  west ;  men  like  McClernand 
and  Banks,  Crittenden  and  McCook,  were  commanding  divisions 
or  corps ;  and  for  Cavalry  Sheridan  the  best  work  the  Govern- 


LTEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP    H.    SHERIDAlsr.  119 

ment  could  find  was — buying  horses  in  Wisconsin!  Then 
came  Pittsburg  Landing,  and  Halleck's  hurried  departure 
for  the  field.  Wishing  a  body  of  instructed  regular  officers 
about  him,  he  thought,  among  others,  of  Curtis's  old  quarter- 
master, and  ordered  him  up  to  the  army  before  Corinth,  Then 
followed  a  little  staff  service,  and  at  last,  in  May,  1862,  the 
future  head  of  the  cavalry  got  started  on  his  proper  career. 
Watching  wagon-trains,  disputing  with  the  lawyers  about  doubt- 
ful contractor's  claims,  or  with  the  jockeys  about  the  worth 
of  horses — all  this  seems  now  very  unworthy  of  Sheridan,  but 
it  was  a  part  of  his  education  for  the  place  he  was  to  fill; 
and  we  shall  see  that  the  familiarity  thus  acquired  with  the 
details  of .  supplying  an  army  were  to  prove  of  service  to  one 
whose  business  was  to  be  to  command  armies,  and  to  tax  the 
energies  of  those  who  supplied  them  to  the  utmost,' 

There  was  need  of  a  good  cavalry  force,  and  chiefly  of  good 
cavalry  officers,  men  who  understood  their  duties  and  could 
train  a  cavalry  force  to  act  with  precision  as  well  as  dash,  and 
not  to  fire  once  and  run  away.  Our  young  Indian  fighter  was 
thought  of;  he  had  done  good  service  in  Oregon,  and  indeed 
everywhere  else,  and  it  was  possible  that  he  might  know  how 
to  handle  cavalry.  So,  at  a  venture,  on  the  27th,  of  May,  he 
was  commissioned  colonel  of  the  second  regiment  of  Michigan 
volunteer  cavalry,  and  sent  immediately  on  the  expedition  to 
cut  the  railroad  south  of  Corinth,  This  accomplished,  on  his 
return  he  was  immediately  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  rebels,  who 
were  retreating  from  Corinth,  and  captured  and  brought  off  the 
guns  of  Powell's  rebel  battery.  On  the  6th  of  June,  leading  a 
cavalry  reconnoissance  below  Boonesville,  he  met  and  signally 
defeated  a  body  of  rebel  cavalry  commanded  by  General  For- 
rest; and  on  the  8th,  started  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  drove 
them  through  Baldwin  and  to  Guntown,  where,  though  tbeir 


120  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

force  was  much  larger  than  his  own,  he  defeated  them,  but 
under  orders  from  headquarters  fell  back  to  Boonesville  and 
thence  to  Corinth. 

On  the  11th  of  June  he  was  put  in  command  of  a  cavalry 
brigade,  and  on  the  26th,  ordered  to  take  his  position  at  Boone- 
ville,  twenty  miles  in  advance  of  the  main  army,  whose  front  he 
was  to  cover  while  at  the  same  time  he  watched  the  operations 
of  the  rebels,  llis  brigade  numbered  less  than  two  thousand 
men. 

On  the  1st  of  July  1862,  he  was  attacked  at  Booneville  by  a 
rebel  force  of  nine  regiments  (about  six  thousand  men),  under 
command  of  General  Chalmers,  Sheridan  slowly  retreated 
toward  his  camp,  which  was  situated  on  the  edge  of  a  swamp, 
in  an  advantageous  position,  where  he  could  not  be  flanked,  and 
here  he  kept  up  the  unequal  fight,  but  finding  that  Chalmers, 
with  his  greatly  superior  numbers,  would  in  the  end  surround 
and  overpower  him,  he  had  recourse  to  strategy.  Selecting 
ninety  of  his  best  men,  armed  with  revolving  carbines  and 
sabres,  he  sent  them  around  to  the  rear  of  the  enemy  by  a 
detour  of  about  four  miles,  with  orders  to  attack  promptly  and 
vigorously  at  a  certain  time,  while  he  would  make  a  simultane- 
ous charge  in  front.  The  plan  proved  a  complete  success.  The 
ninety  men  appeared  suddenly  in  the  enemy's  rear,  not  having 
been  seen  till  they  were  near  enough  to  fire  their  carbines,  and, 
having  emptied  these,  they  rushed  with  drawn  sabres  upon  the 
enemy,  who,  supposing  them  to  be  the  advance  guard  of  a  large 
force,  were  thrown  into  disorder ;  and,  before  they  had  time  to 
recover,  Sheridan  charged  them  in  front  with  such  fury  that 
they  fled  from  the  field  in  complete  disorder,  utterly  routed. 
Sheridan  pursued,  and  they  continued  their  flight,  utterly  panic- 
stricken,  to  Knight's  mills,  twenty  miles   south  from  Boone- 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP   H.   SHERIDAN.  121 

ville,  throwing  away  their  arms,  knapsacks,  coats,  and  every 
thing  which  could  impede  their  flight. 

General  Grant  reported  this  brilliant  affair  to  the  War  De- 
partment, with  a  recommendation  that  Colonel  Sheridan  should 
be  promoted.  This  recommendation  was  granted,  and  his  com- 
mission of  brigadier-general  bore  date  July  1,  1862. 

At  this  time,  the  rebels  in  his  front  had  but  one  stream 
(Twenty  Mile  creek)  from  which  to  water  their  live-stock,  and 
from  his  post  at  Boone  ville,  General  Sheridan  frequently  made 
sudden  dashes  in  that  direction,  and  captured  large  quantities 
of  their  stock,  often  two  or  three  hundred  at  a  time.  In  August, 
1862,  he  was  attacked  by  a  rebel  cavalry  force,  under  Colonel 
Faulkner,  near  Eienzi,  Mississippi,  but  after  a  sharp  engage- 
ment the  rebels  were  defeated,  and  retreated  in  haste,  Sheridan 
pursuing  them  to  near  Ripley,  and,  charging  upon  them  before 
they  could  reach  their  main  column,  dispersed  the  whole  force, 
and  captured  a  large  number  of  prisoners.  Early  in  Septem- 
ber, 1862,  General  Grant  having  ascertained  that  the  rebel  Gen- 
eral Bragg  was  moving  towards  Kentucky,  detached  a  portion 
of  his  own  forces  to  reinforce  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  then  under 
command  of  General  Buell.  Among  these  were  General  Sheri- 
dan, and  his  old  command,  the  second  Michigan  cavalry.  As 
General  Grant  expected.  General  Buell  gave  Sheridan  a  larger 
command,  assigning  him  to  the  charge  of  the  third  division  of 
the  Army  of  the  Ohio.  He  assumed  command  of  this  division 
on  the  2<)th  of  September,  1862.  At  this  time.  General  Bragg 
was  approaching  Louisville,  which  was  not  in  a  good  condition 
for  defence,  and  General  Sheridan  was  charged  with  the  duty  of 
defending  it.  In  a  single  night,  with  the  division  under  his 
command,  he  constructed  a  strong  line  of  rifle-pits  from  the  rail- 
road depot  to  the  vicinity  of  Portland,  and  thus  secured  the  city 
against  the  danger  of   surprise.     On  the  25th  of  September, 


122  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

General  Buell  arrived  at  Louisville,  and  soon  commenced  a  re- 
organization of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  now  largely  reinforced. 
In  this  re-organization,  General  Sheridan  was  placed  in  command 
of  the  eleventh  division,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  on  the  1st 
of  October. 

Buell  soon  took  the  offensive  again,  and  began  pushing  the  re- 
bels, who  had  already  commenced  a  retreat,  but  were  embarrassed 
by  the  amount  of  plunder  they  had  collected.  On  the  8th  of  Octo- 
ber, the  rebels  made  a  stand  near  Perryville,  Kentucky,  for  the 
double  purpose  of  checking  the  pursuit,  and  allowing  their  trains 
to  move  forward  out  of  harm's  way.  The  battle  which  followed, 
though  a  severe  one,  was  not  decisive,  owing  to  some  defects  in 
the  handling  of  the  forces,  and  Bragg  was  allowed  to  make  good 
his  retreat  with  most  of  his  plunder,  and  with  but  moderate 
loss :  but  in  it,  Sheridan  played  a  distinguished  part,  holding 
the  key  of  the  Union  position,  and  resisting  the  onsets  of  the 
enemy,  again  and  again,  with  great  bravery  and  skill,  driving 
them  at  last  from  the  open  ground  in  front,  by  a  bayonet  charge. 
This  accomplished,  he  saw  that  they  were  gaining  advaniage  on 
the  left  of  the  Union  line,  and  moving  forward  his  artillery, 
directed  so  terrible  a  fire  upon  the  rebel  advance,  that  he  drove 
them  from  the  open  ground  on  which  they  had  taken  position. 
Enraged  at  being  thus  foiled,  they  charged  with  great  fury  upon 
his  lines,  determined  to  carry  the  point  at  ail  hazards  ;  but,  with 
the  utmost  coolness,  ho  opened  upon  them  at  short  range,  with 
such  a  murderous  fire  of  grape  and  canister,  that  the}-  fell  back 
in  great  disorder,  leaving  their  dead  and  wounded  in  winrows 
in  front  of  the  batteries.  The  loss  in  Sheridan's  division  in 
killed  and  wounded,  was  over  four  hundred,  but  his  generalship 
had  saved  the  Union  army  from  defeat.  On  the  30th  of  (.)cta. 
ber,  General  Eosecrans  succeeded  General  Buell  as  commander 
of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  which,  with  enlarged  territory,  was 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP   H.   SHERIDAN. 


123 


thenceforward  to  be  known  as  the  Army  of  the  Ouiiibcrhind, 
and  in  the  re-organization,  General  Sheridan  was  assigned 
to  the  command  of  one  of  the  divisions  of  McCook's  corps, 
which  constituted  the  right  wing  of  that  army.  He  remained 
for  the  next  seven  or  eight  weeks  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville, 
and  then  moved  with  his  corps,  on  the  26th  of  December,  1862, 
toward  Murfreesboro.  During  the  26th,  his  division  met  the 
enemy  on  the  Nolensville  road,  and  skirmished  with  them  to 
Nolensville  and  Knob  gap,  occupying  at  night  the  latter  import- 
ant position.  The  next  morning  a  dense  fog  obscured  the  hori- 
zon; but  as  soon  as  it  lifted,  Sheridan  pressed  forward,  and 
drove  the  enemy  from  the  village  of  Triune,  which  he  occupied. 

The  next  three  days  were  spent  in  skirmishing,  and  in  gra- 
dually drawing  nearer,  over  the  almost  impassable  roads,  to 
Murfreesboro,  the  goal  of  their  hopes.  At  length,  on  the 
night  of  the  30th  of  December,  the  army  was  drawn  up  in 
battle  array,  on  the  banks  of  Stone  river. 

"  The  men  bivouacked  in  line  of  battle.  They  were  to  wake 
to  great  calamity  and  great  glory  in  the  morning. 

"In  the  general  plan  of  the  battle  of  Stone  river,  the  part 
assigned  to  the  right  wing,  was  to  hold  the  enemy,  while  the 
rest  of  the  army  swung  through  Murfreesboro,  upon  his  rear. 
In  this  right  wing  Sheridan  held  the  left.  Elsewhere  along  that 
ill-formed  line  were  batteries,  to  which  the  horses  had  not  been 
harnessed  when  the  fateful  attack  burst  through  the  gray  dawn 
upon  them.  But  there  was  one  division  commander  who,  with 
or  without  orders  thereto,  might  be  trusted  for  ample  vigilance 
in  the  face  of  an  enemy.  At  two  in  the  morning,  he  was 
moving  some  of  his  regiments  to  strengthen  a  portion  of  his 
line,  on  which  he  thought  the  enemy  was  massing.  At  four  he 
mustered  his  division  under  arms,  and  had  every  cannoneer  at 
his  post.     For  over  two  hours  they  waited.     When  the  onset 


121  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

came,  tlie  ready  batteries  opened  at  once.  The  rebels  contiuuod 
to  sweep  up.  At  fifty  yards'  distance  the  volleys  of  Sheridan's 
musketry  became  too  murderous.  The  enemy,  in  massed  regi- 
ments, hesitated,  wavered,  and  finally  broke.  Sheridan  instantly 
sent  Sill's  brigade  to  charge  upon  the  retreating  column.  The 
movement  was  brilliantly  executed,  but  the  life  of  the  gallant 
brigade  commander  went  out  in  the  charge. 

"  Presently  the  enemy  rallied  and  returned.  Already  the 
rest  of  the  wing  had  been  hurled  back  in  confusion  ;  the  weight 
of  the  victorious  foe  bore  down  upon  Sheridan's  exposed  flank 
and  broke  it.  There  was  now  come  upon  Sheridan,  that  same 
stress  of  battle  under  which  his  companion  division  commanders 
had  been  crushed.  But  hastily  drawing  back  the  broken  flank, 
he  changed  the  front  of  his  line  to  meet  the  new  danger,  and 
ordered  a  brigade  to  charge ;  while  under  cover  of  this  daring 
onset,  the  new  line  was  made  compact.  Here  Sheridan  felt 
abundantly  able  to  hold  his  ground. 

"  But  his  flank ?     The  routed  divisions,  which  should 

have  formed  upon  it,  were  still  in  hasty  retreat.  He  dashed 
among  them — threatened,  begged,  swore.  All  was  in  vain; 
they  would  not  re-form.  Sheridan  was  isolated,  and  his  right 
once  more  turned.  Moving  then  by  the  left,  he  rapidly  ad- 
vanced, driving  the  enemy  from  his  front,  and  maintaining  his 
line  unbroken  till  he  secured  a  connection  on  the  left  with 
Negley.  Here  he  was  instantly  and  tremendously  assailed. 
The  attack  was  repulsed.  Again  Cheatham's  rebel  division  at- 
tacked, and  again  it  was  driven  back.  Once  again  the  baffled 
enemy  swept  up  to  the  onset,  till  his  batteries  were  planted 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  Sheridan's  lines.  The  men  stood 
firm.  Another  of  the  brigade  commanders  fell  •  but  the  enemy 
was  once  more  driven.  Thus  heroically  did  Sheridan  strive  to 
beat  back  the  swift  disaster  that  had  befallen  the  risht. 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP   H.   SHERIDAN.  125 

"But  now  came  tlie  crowning  misfortune.  When  the  rest  of 
McCook's  wing  had  been  swept  out  of  the  contest,  the  ammuni- 
tion train  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  With  the 
overwhelming  force  on  his  front,  with  the  batteries  playing  at 
short  range,  with  the  third  rebel  onslaught  just  repulsed,  and 
the  men  momentarily  growing  more  confident  of  themselves 
and  of  their  fiery  commander,  there  suddenly  came  the  startling 
cry  that  the  ammunition  was  exhausted  I  '  Fix  bayonets,  then !' 
was  the  ringing  command.  Under  cover  of  the  bristling  linea 
of  steel  on  the  front,  the  brigades  were  rapidly  withdrawn. 
Presently  a  couple  of  regiments  fell  upon  an  abandoned  ammu- 
nition wagon.  For  a  moment  they  swarmed  around  it — then 
back  on  the  double  quick  to  the  front,  to  aid  in  the  retreat  of 
the  artillery.  One  battery  was  lost,  the  rest,  with  only  a  miss- 
ing piece  or  two,  were  brought  off.  Thus  riddled  and  depleted, 
with  fifteen  hundred  from  the  little  division  left  dead  or  wound- 
ed in  the  dark  cedars,  but  with  compact  ranks  and  a  steady 
front,  the  heroic  column  came  out  on  the  Murfreesboro  turn- 
pike, '  Here  is  all  that  is  left  of  us,*  said  Sheridan,  riding  up 
to  Eosecrans  to  report,  '  Our  cartridge-boxes  are  empty,  and 
80  are  our  muskets  !' 

"  Thus  the  right,  on  which  the  battle  was  to  have  hinged, 
had  disappeared  from  the  struggle.  Already  the  enemy,  press- 
ing his  advantage  to  the  utmost,  seemed  about  to  break  through 
the  centre ;  and  Sheridan,  supplied  with  ammunition,  was  or- 
dered in  to  its  relief.  He  checked  the  rebel  advance,  charged  at 
one  point,  and  captured  guns  and  prisoners,  held  his  line  steady 
throughout,  and  bivouacked  upon  it  at  nightfall.  This  final 
struggle  cost  him  his  last  brigade  commander  !"* 

General  Eosecrans,  in  his  report  of  this  battle,  pays  the  fol- 
lowing high  compliment  to  Sheridan's  generalship  :  "  Sheridan, 

•  Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid's  sketch  of  Sheridan  in  his  "  Ohio  in  the  War." 


126  ii-Rs   OF   OUR   PAY. 

after  sustaining /ij/r  successive  attacks,  gradually  swung  liia  right 
round  southeasterly  to  a  northwestern  direction,  re.p%ilsing  the 
enemy  fonr  times,  losing  the  gallant  General  Sill  of  his  right, 
and  Colonel  lioborts  of  his  left  brigade;  when,  having  ex 
hausted  his  aninmnition,  Negley's  division  being  in  the  same 
predicament,  and  hoavil}''  pressed,  after  desperate  fighting  they 
fell  back  from  the  position  held  at  the  commencement,  through 
the  cedar  woods,  in  which  Rousseau's  division,  with  a  portion 
of  Negley's  and  Sheridan's,  met  the  advancing  enemy  and 
checked  his  movements." 

For  liis  gallantry  in  this  battle,  General  Rosecrans  suggested, 
and  the  President  recommended,  Sheridan's  promotion  to  the 
rank  of  major-general  of  volunteers,  his  commission  to  date 
from  December  31st,  1862.  He  was  at  once  confirmed  by  the 
Senate. 

In  the  months  that  followed  the  battle  of  Stone  river,  months 
of  watching  and  waiting,  Sheridan  kept  himself  busy,  and  en- 
joying the  confidence  of  the  commanding  general,  who  did  not, 
however,  fully  appreciate  his  talents,  he  and  his  division  found 
constant  employment.  The  country  about  Murfreesboro  was 
thoroughly  seoured,  and  all  its  strategic  points  caiofully  mapped 
in  the  mind  of  the  cavalry  general.  On  the  od  of  march,  he 
flung  himself  and  his  division  upon  the  rebel  General  Van  Dorn, 
who  had  penetrated  as  far  as  Shelbyville,  Tennessee,  m  an  ad- 
vance upon  the  Union  lines,  hurled  him  back,  pursued  him  to 
Columbia  and  Franklin,  and  near  Eagleville,  Tennessee,  cap- 
tured his  train  and  a  large  number  of  prisoners.  In  the  ad- 
vance on  Tullahoma,  June  24  to  July  4,  1863,  he  drove  the 
rebels  out  of  Liberty  Gap,  a  strong  mountain  pass,  which  was 
one  of  the  keys  of  their  position,  occupied  Shelbyville,  pushed 
forward  to,  and  took  possession  of  Winchester,  Tennessee, 
which  by  a  flank,  movement,  he  had  compelled  the  enemy  to 


LIEUTEN^VXT-GENERAL    PHILIP    H.    SHERIDAN.  127 

abandon,  and  saved  the  great  bridge  over  the  Tennessee  at 
iiridgeport,  his  infantry  outstripping  Stanley's  cavalry,  which 
they  were  ordered  to  support. 

The  Tennessee  crossed,  Chattanooga  flanked  by  Rosecrans,  and 
evacuated  by  Bragg,  General  Sheridan  was  sent  to  reconnoitre 
the  enemy's  force  and  position,  and  found  him  largely  reinforced 
and  determined  to  push  Rosecrans  to  the  wall  and  recover 
Chattanooga.  Then  came  Chickamauga,  the  severe  bat  wholly 
indecisive  battle  of  the  first  day,  in  which,  however,  Sheridan, 
by  his  promptness  and  activity,  did  good  service,  and  the  disas- 
trous fight  of  the  second  day,  which  yet,  thanks  to  General 
Thomas's  firmness  and  superb  generalship,  was  not  wholly  a 
defeat.  In-  this  severe  action,  McCook's  and  Crittenden's  corps 
and  the  general  commanding  the  army  were,  by  the  fatal  mis- 
understanding of  an  order,  cut  off  from  the  remainder  of  the 
army,  and  compelled  to  fall  back  upon  Rossville,  and  Chatta- 
nooga. Sheridan,  whose  division  was  still  a  part  of  McCook's 
coips,  though  involved  in  this  disaster,  succeeded,  by  the  utmost 
effort,  in  rallying  the  greater  part  of  his  command  and  bringing 
it  through  by-roads  from  Rossville  to  join  General  Thomas, 
who  had  fought  and  repulsed  the  enemy.  .He  was  not  in  season, 
much  to  his  mortification,  to  participate  in  the  closing  hours  of 
the  fight,  but  he  nevertheless  strengthened  materially  the  handa 
of  the  general. 

The  corps  of  McCook  and  Crittenden  were  now  consolidated 
into  one  (the  fourth)  corps,  and  the  command  of  it  given  to 
Gordon  Granger,  an  officer  only  less  incompetent  than  those 
whom  he  succeeded.  Then  came  a  change  of  commanders  to  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland ;  General  G.  H.  Thomas  succeeded 
General  Rosecrans,  and  the  army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  two 
corps  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  being  added  to  the  force, 
General  Grant  took  charge  of  the  whole.     The  battles  of  the 


128  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

WauhatcTiie,  Lookout  Mountain,  and  Mission  Eidge,  and  the 
expulsion  of  the  rebels  from  the  vallej'-s  of  Chattanooga  and 
Chickamauga  followed.  In  the  capture  of  Orchard  Knob,  and 
in  that  most  brilliant  episode  of  the  war,  the  ascent  of  Mission 
Eidge,  Sheridan  bore  a  conspicuous  part.  The  fourth  corps 
(Granger's)  were  the  charging  column,  and  stung  by  the 
recollection  of  that  sad  day  at  Chickamauga,  as  the  six  guns 
gave  the  signal  for  advance,  Sheridan  rode  along  his  column, 
and  called  in  thunder  tones  to  his  division,  "  Show  the  fourt'i 
corps  that  the  men  of  the  old  twentieth  are  still  alive,  and  can 
fight.     Eemember  Chickamauga !" 

Before  Sheridan  and  the  companion  divisions  stretched  an 
open  space  of  a  mile  and  an  eighth  to  the  enemy's  first  line  of 
rifle-pits.  Above  this  frowned  a  steep  ascent  of  five  hundred 
yards,  up  which  it  scai'cely  seemed  possible  that  unresisted  troops 
could  clamber.  At  the  summit  were  fresh  rifle-pits.  As 
Sheridan  rode  along  his  front  and  reconnoitered  the  rebel  pits 
at  the  base  of  the  ridge,  it  seemed  to  him  that,  even  if  captured, 
they  could  scarcely  be  tenable  under  the  plunging  fire  that 
might  then  be  directed  from  the  summit.  He  accordingly  sent 
back  a  staff-officer  to  inquire  if  the  order  was  to  take  the  rifle- 
pits  or  to  take  the  ridge.  But  before  there  was  time  for  an 
answer,  the  six  guns  thundered  out  their  stormy  signal,  and  the 
whole  line  rose  up  and  leaped  forward.  The  plain  was  swept 
by  a  tornado  of  shot  and  shell,  but  the  men  rushed  on  at  the 
double-quick,  swarmed  over  the  rifle-pits,  and  flung  themselves 
down  on  the  face  of  tlie  mountain.  Just  then  the  answer  to 
Sheridan's  message  came.  It  was  only  this  first  line  of  rifle- 
pits  that  was  to  be  carried.  Some  of  the  men  were  accordingly 
retired  to  it  by  their  brigade  commander,  under  the  heavy  fire 
of  grape,  canister,  and  musketry.  "But,"  said  Sheridan, 
**  believing  that  the  attack  had  assumed  a  new  phase,  and  that  I 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP   H.   SHERIDAN".  129 

could  carry  the  ridge,  I  could  not  order  those  ofTicers  aid  men 
who  wore  so  gallantly  ascending  the  hill,  step  by  step,  to  return.* 
As  the  twelve  regimental  colors  slowly  went  up,  one  advancing 
a  little,  the  rest  pushing  forward,  emulous  to  be  even  with  it, 
till  all  were  planted  midway  up  the  ascent  on  a  partial  line  of 
rifle-pits  that  nearly  covered  Sheridan's  front,  an  order  cam© 
from  Granger:  "If  in  your  judgment  the  ridge  can  be  taken, 
do  so."  An  ej^e-witness  shall  tell  us  how  he  received  it.* 
"An  aid  rides  up  with  the  order;  'Avery,  that  flask,' .-aid  the 
general.  Quietl}'"  filling  the  pewter  cup,  Sheridan  looks  up  at 
the  battery  that  frowned  above  him,  by  Bragg's  headquarters, 
shakes  his  cap  amid  that  storm  of  every  thing  that  kills,  where 
you  could  hardly  hold  your  hand  without  catching  a  bullet  in 
it,  and,  with  a  'How  are  you?'  tosses  off"  the  cup.  The  blue 
battle-flag  of  the  rebels  fluttered  a  response  to  the  cool  salute, 
and  the  next  instant  the  battery  let  fly  its  six  guns,  showering 
Sheridan  with  earth.     The  general  said  in  his  quiet  way,  '  I 

thought  it  d d  ungenerous !'   The  recording  angel  will  drop  a 

tear  upon  tlie  word  for  the  part  he  played  that  day.  Wheeling 
toward  the  men  he  cheered  them  to  the  charge,  and  made  at  the 
hill  like  a  bold-riding  hunter.  They  were  out  of  the  rifle-pits 
and  into  the  tempest,  and  struggling  up  the  steep  before  you 
could  get  breath  to  tell  it." 

Then  came  what  the  same  writer  has  called  the  torrid  zone 
of  the  battle.  Rocks  were  rolled  down  from  aVjove  on  the 
advancing  line ;  shells  with  lighted  fuses  were  rolled  down ; 
guns  were  loaded  with  handfuls  of  cartridges  and  fired  down, 
but  the  line  struggled  on:  still  fluttered  the  twelve  regimental 
flags  in  the  advance.  At  last,  with  a  leap  and  a  rush,  over 
they  went — all  twelve  fluttered  on  the  crest — the  rebels  were 

*  B.  F.  Taylor,  of  the  Chicago  Journal. 


130  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

bayoneted  out  of  tlieir  rifle-pits — the  guns  were  turned — the 
ridge  was  won.  In  this  last  spasm  of  the  struggle  Sheridan  s 
horse  was  shot  under  him.  He  sprang  upon  a  captured  gun,  to 
raise  his  short  person  high  enough  to  be  visible  in  the  half- 
ci'azy  throng,  and  ordered  a  pursuit  I  It  harassed  the  enemy 
for  some  miles,  and  brought  back  eleven  guns  as  proofs  of  its 
vigor. 

Signal  as  had  been  Sheridan's  previous  services,  he  had 
never  before  been  so  brilliantly  conspicuous.  In  other  battles 
he  had  approved  himself  a  good  officer  in  the  eyes  of  his  superi- 
ors ;  on  the  deathly  front  of  Mission  Ridge  he  flamed  out  the 
incarnation  of  soldierly  valor  and  vigor  in  the  eyes  of  the  whole 
American  people.  Ilis  entire  losses  were  thirteen  hundred  and 
four,  and  he  took  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-two  prisoners. 
But  these  figures  give  no  adequate  idea  of  the  conflict.  It  may 
be  better  understood  from  the  simple  statement  that  in  that 
brief  contest,  in  a  part  of  a  winter  afternoon,  he  lost  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-three  of&cers  from  that  single  division — a  num- 
ber greater  than  the  whole  French  army  lost  at  Soli'crino  1 
Through  his  own  clothes  five  miuie  balls  had  passed ;  his  horse 
had  been  shot  under  him ;  and  yet  he  had  come  out  without  a 
scratch. 

For  a  short  time  longer  he  was  employed  in  East  Tennessee 
in  driving  out  the  rebels  who  still  found  a  lodgment  there,  but 
when  General  Grant  was  advanced  to  the  lieutenant  general- 
ship, one  of  his  first  acts  was  to  apply  to  the  War  Department 
for  tnc  transfer  of  General  Philip  H.  Sheridan  to  the  eastern 
army,  and  when  he  was  arrived,  to  make  him  the  commander 
of  the  cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Ilere  he 
was  in  the  sphere  for  which  he  had  longed,  and  for  which  he 
was  undoubtedly  best  fitted.  But  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  was  far  from  being  in  a  model  condition.     The 


LIEUTEN'ANT-GEN'ERAL   PHILIP    H.    SHERIDAN.  131 

days  of  the  old  service  of  cavalry,  the  heavy  and  light  horse,  the 
grand  cavalry  charges,  and  the  chivalry  of  mounted  troops 
under  perfect  drill  were  gone ;  rninie  muskets  and  rifled  cannon 
had  changed  all  that.  But  with  this  there  had  gone  also  in 
great  measure  the  esprit  du  corps  of  the  service.  The  squadrons 
were  detailed  for  picket  service,  for  guarding  trains,  for  duties 
which  could  better  be  performed  by  infantry,  and  when  they 
fought,  they  charged  upon  infantry,  and  were  shy  of  any  attack 
upon  the  enemy's  cavalry.  Against  all  this  Sheridan  protested, 
and  with  good  effect.  lie  procured  their  release  from  picket 
and  train  duty,  he  trained  his  men  to  care  tenderly  for  their 
horses,  which  up  to  this  time  had  been  broken  down  with 
frightful  rapidity,  in  consequence  of  the  ignorance,  heedlessness 
and  indifference  of  their  riders ;  he  drilled  them  in  all  the  ser- 
vice of  cavalry  and  infused  into  them  a  portion  of  his  own  fiery 
spirit,  and  that  joy  in  the  fight,  which  marks  the  true  cavalry 
soldier. 

From  the  5th  of  May,  1864,  to  the  9th  of  April,  1865,  Sheri- 
dan's command  were  engaged  in  seventy-six  distinct  battles, 
all  but  thirteen  of  them  under  his  own  eye  and  order.  At  the 
close  of  the  campaign  he  could  say,  with  a  commendable  pride 
in  the  achievements  of  his  men,  though  always  modest  in  regard 
to  his  own  deeds,  "  "We  sent  to  the  War  Department  (between 
the  dates  above  specified)  two  hundred  and  five  battle  flags, 
captured  in  open  field  fighting — nearly  as  many  as  all  the 
armies  of  the  United  States  combined  sent  there  during  the 
rebellion.  The  number  of  field  pieces  captured  in  the  same 
period  was  between  one  hundred  and  sixty  and  one  hundred 
and  seventy,  all  in  open  field  fighting.*  *  *We  led  the  advance 
of  the  army  to  the  "Wilderness;  on  the  Richmond  raid  we 
marked  out  its  line  of  march  to  the  North  Anna,  where  we 
found  it  on  our  return ;  we  again  led  its  advance  to  Hanover- 


132  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

town,  and  tlien  to  Gold  Harbor;  we  removed  the  enemy's 
cavalry  from  the  south  side  of  the  Chickahominy  by  the  Tre- 
villian  raid,  and  thereby  materially  assisted  the  army  in  ita 
Buccessfal  march  to  the  James  river  and  Petersburg,  where  it 
remained  until  we  made  the  campaign  in  the  valley ;  w© 
marched  back  to  Petersburg,  again  took  the  advance  and  led 
the  army  to  victory.  In  all  these  operations,  the  percentage  of 
cavalry  casualties  was  as  great  as  that  of  the  infantry,  and  the 
question  which  had  existed — '  who  ever  saw  a  dead  cavalry- 
man ?'  was  set  at  rest." 

Of  the  many  remarkable  actions  hinted  at  in  these  pregnant 
sentences,  we  have  space  only  to  allude  to  two  or  three.  His 
first  raid  toward  Richmond  was  one  of  the  most  daring  and 
successful  of  the  war.  He  penetrated  the  outer  line  of  defences 
of  that  city ;  bewildered  and  confounded  the  rebels  by  his  au- 
dacity, fought  two  battles  to  extricate  himself  from  his  apparent- 
ly critical  position,  in  one  of  which  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  the 
ablest  cavalry  officer  of  the  rebels,  was  slain ;  defeated  the 
enemy  in  both  battles,  built  a  bridge  across  the  Chickahominy 
under  fire,  and  finally  returned  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
after  sixteen  days  with  but  slight  loss,  after  inflicting  serious 
and  permanent  inj  ury  upon  the  enemy.  His  second  raid,  under- 
taken to  co-operate  with  Hunter  in  the  valley  of  Virginia  was 
less  successful,  owing  to  the  utter  failure  of  that  officer's  plans, 
but  it  kept  the  rebel  cavalry  out  of  the  way  of  the  Union  army 
in  crossing  the  James.  On  his  return,  he  guarded  the  vast  train 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  (an  irksome  task  to  him),  to  and 
across  the  James,  not  without  some  sharp  battles;  made  some 
raids  south  of  the  James,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  feint 
at  the  north  side  of  the  James,  in  the  last  days  of  July.  Appoint- 
ed to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah,  in  August, 
he  exhibited  such  ability  in  handling  his  troops,  such  alternate 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP    H.    SHERIDAN.  1^3 

caution  and  daring  in  liis  manoeuvring  witli  Early,  that  tha 
confidence  of  the  nation  was  soon  reposed  in  him.  That  that 
confidence  was  not  misplaced,  he  speedily  gave  decisive  evidence. 

On  the  19th  of  September,  after  a  fierce  and  stubborn  fight  at 
Opequan  creek,  he  had  defeated  and  routed  Early,  and  as  ha 
expressed  it,  "  sent  him  whirling  through  Winchester,"  follow- 
ing him  relentlessly  to  his  defences  at  Fisher's  Hill,  thirty  milea 
below,  killing  in  the  battle  and  retreat,  three,  and  wounding 
severely  four  more  of  his  ablest  generals,  among  the  latter 
Fitzhugh  Lee,  the  commander  of  the  rebel  cavalry  of  the  army 
of  Virginia.  With  his  usual  celerity,  and  a  strategic  skill  of 
which,  hitherto,  he  had  not  displayed  the  possession,  he  proceed- 
ed to  attack  Early's  stronghold,  Fisher's  Hill,  which  that  general 
had  believed  perfectly  impregnable,  and,  on  the  22d,  carried  it 
by  storm,  attacking  in  front,  in  rear,  and  on  the  flank ;  drove 
the  rebels  out  and  chased  them  without  mercy  till  the  25th, 
driving  them  below  Port  Republic,  at  the  extreme  head  of  the 
valley. 

For  this  splendid  series  of  victories,  he  was  made  a  brigadier- 
g3neral  in  the  regular  army  in  place  of  the  lamented  McPher- 
s)n.  Twice  more  beibre  the  13th  of  October  he  had  driven 
back  Early  or  his  lieutenants,  who,  loth  to  give  up  the  valley 
of  the  Shenandoah,  the  garden  of  Virginia,  had  obtained  rein- 
forcements and  again  essayed  encounters  with  this  western 
rough  rider.  At  length,  believing  Early  sufficiently^  punished 
to  remain  in  obscurity  for  a  time,  Sheridan  made  a  Hying  visit 
to  Washington,  on  matters  connected  with  his  department. 
Early  was  quickly  apprised  of  his  departure,  and  resolved  to 
profit  by  it.  Collecting  further  reinforcements,  and  creeping 
Btealthily  up  to  the  camp  of  the  Union  army  at  Cedar  creek, 
eighteen  or  twenty  miles  below  Winchester,  the  rebel  soldiers 
being  required  to  lay  aside  their  canteens,  lest  the  click  of  their 


134 


MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 


bayonets  against  them  should  apprize  the  Union  troops  of 
their  approach,  they  reached  and  flanked  Crooks'  corps,  which 
was  in  advance,  at  about  day  dawn.  The  Union  troops  were 
unpardonably  careless,  having  no  suspicion  that  the  rebels 
were  within  twenty  miles  of  them.  They  were  consequently 
taken  at  unawares,  and  many  of  them  bayonetted  before  they 
were  fairly  awake ;  in  a  very  few  minutes  they  were  forced 
back,  disorganized,  upon  the  nineteenth  corps,  who  were  en  echelon 
beyond  them ;  they  at  first  made  a  stand,  but  in  a  short  time 
were  forced  back,  though  not  completely  disorganized  ;  and  the 
sixth  corps  in  turn  were  compelled  to  stand  against  heavy  odds. 
In  the  end  all  were  driven  back  three  or  four  miles,  to  the 
Middletown  plains,  and  the  fugitives  were  carrying  the  news 
of  a  total  defeat  and  rout  at  full  speed  toward  Winchester. 
But  deliverance  was  nearer  than  they  thought.  They  had  lost 
twenty-four  guns  and  twelve  hundred  prisoners,  but  thty  were 
beginning  to  recover  from  their  fright,  and  were  re-organizing, 
while  the  rebels,  hungry  and  thirsty,  wayworn  and  in  rags,  were 
s-topping  to  plunder  the  camp.  Still  they  would  hardly  have 
regained  any  portion  of  their  lost  territory  and  might  have  fallen 
back  to  Winchester,  had  not  Sheridan,  just  at  this  juncture, 
appeared  riding  at  full  speed  among  them.  He  had  heard  the 
firing  at  Winchester,  where  he  arrived  late  the  night  before, 
and  at  first  was  not  alarmed  by  it,  but,  coming  out  of  Winches- 
ter, he  was  met  by  some  of  the  foremost  of  the  fugitives,  a  mile 
from  the  town. 

"  He  instantly  gave  orders  to  park  the  retreating  trains  on 
either  side  of  the  road,  directed  the  greater  part  of  his  escort 
to  follow  as  best  they  could  ;  then,  with  only  twenty  cavalrymen 
accompanying  him,  he  struck  out  in  a  swinging  g.'illop  for  the 
scene  of  danger.  As  he  dashed  up  the  pike,  the  crowds  of 
stragglers  grew  thicker.     He  reproached  none;  only,  swinging 


LIEUTENANT-GEXERAL    PHILIP   H.    SHERIDAN.  135 

his  cap,  with  a  cheery  smile  for  all,  he  shouted :  '  Face  the  other 
way,  boys,  face  the  other  way.  We  are  going  back  to  our 
camps.  We  are  going  to  lick  them  out  of  their  boots.'  Less 
classic,  doubtless,  than  Napoleon's  '  My  children,  we  will  camp 
on  the  battle-field,  as  usual ;'  but  the  wounded  raised  their 
hoarse  voices  to  cheer  as  he  passed,  and  the  masses  of  fugitives 
turned  and  followed  him  to  the  front.  As  he  rode  into  the 
forming  lines,  the  men  quickened  their  pace  back  to  the  ranks, 
and  everj'^where  glad  cheers  went  up.  '  Boys,  this  never  should 
have  happened  if  I  had  been  here,'  he  exclaimed  to  one  and 
another  regiment.  '  I  tell  you  it  never  should  have  happened. 
And  now  we  are  going  back  to  our  camps.  We  are  going  to 
get  a  twist  on  them ;  we'll  get  the  tightest  twist  on  them  yet 
that  ever  you  saw.  We'll  have  all  those  camps  and  cannon 
back  again !'  Thus  he  rode  along  the  lines,  rectified  the  forma- 
tion, cheered  and  animated  the  soldiers.  Presently  there  grew 
up  across  that  pike  as  compact  a  body  of  infantry  and  cavalry 
as  that  which,  a  month  before,  had  sent  the  enemy  '  whirling 
through  Winchester.'  His  men  had  full  faith  in  'the  twist'  he 
was  '  going  to  get'  on  the  victorious  foe ;  his  presence  was  inspi- 
ration,  his  commands  were  victory. 

"  While  the  line  was  thus  re-established,  he  was  in  momentary 
expectation  of  attack.  Wright's  sixth  corps  was  some  distance 
in  the  rear.  One  staff  officer  after  another  was  sent  after  it. 
Finally,  Sheridan  himself  dashed  down  to  hurry  it  up  :  then 
back  to  watch  it  going  into  position.  As  he  thus  stood,  looking 
off  from  the  left,  he  saw  the  enemy's  columns  once  more  moving 
up.  Hurried  warning  was  sent  to  the  nineteenth  corps,  on  which 
it  was  evident  the  attack  would  fall.  By  this  time  it  was  after 
three  o'clock.        > 

"  The  nineteenth  corps,  no  longer  taken  by  surprise,  repulsed 
the  enemy's  onset.     '  Thank  God  for  that,'  said  Sheridan,  gaily. 


136  '  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

'  Now  tell  General  Emory,  if  they  attack  him  again,  to  go  after 
them,  and  to  follow  them  up.  We'll  get  the  tightest  twist  on 
them  pretty  soon  they  ever  saw.'  The  men  heard  and  believed 
him  ;  the  demoralization  of  the  defeat  was  gone.  But  he  still 
waited.  Word  had  been  sent  in  from  the  cavalry,  of  danger 
from  a  heavy  body  moving  on  his  flank.  He  doubted  it,  and 
at  last  determined  to  run  the  risk.  At  four  o'clock  the  orders 
went  out :  '  The  whole  line  will  advance.  The  nineteenth  corps 
will  move  in  connection  with  the  sixth.  The  right  of  the  nine- 
teenth will  swing  toward  the  left.' 

"The  enemy  lay  behind  stone  fences,  and  where  these  failed, 
breastworks  of  rails  eked  out  his  line.  For  a  little,  he  held  his 
position  firmly.  His  left  overlapped  Sheridan's  right,  and  see- 
ing this  advantage,  he  bent  it  down  to  renew  the  attack  in 
flank.  At  this  critical  moment,  Sheridan  ordered  a  charge  of 
General  Mc Williams'  brigade  against  the  angle  thus  caused  in 
the  rebel  line.  It  forced  its  way  through,  and  the  rebel  flank- 
ing party  was  cut  off.  Custer's  cavalry  was  sent  swooping  down 
upon  it — it  broke,  and  fled,  or  surrendered,  according  to  the 
agility  of  the  individuals.  Simultaneously  the  whole  line 
charged  along  the  front ;  the  rebel  line  was  crowded  back  to 
the  creek ;  the  difficulties  of  the  crossing  embarrassed  it,  and 
as  the  victorious  ranks  swept  up,  it  broke  in  utter  confusion, 

"  Custer  charged  down  in  the  fast  gathering  darkness,  to  the 
west  of  the  pike ;  Devin  to  the  east  of  it ;  and  on  either  flank 
of  the  fleeing  rout  they  flung  themselves.  Nearly  all  the  rebel 
transportation  was  captured,  the  camps  and  artillery  were  re- 
gained ;  up  to  Fisher's  Hill  the  road  was  jammed  with  artillery, 
caissons,  and  ambulances;  prisoners  came  streaming  back  faster 
than  the  provost  marshal  could  provide  for  them.  It  was  the 
end  of  Early's  army ;  the  end  of  campaigning  in  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Shenandoah." 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP   H.    SHERIDAN.  137 

The  twenty-four  cannon  lost  in  the  morning  were  retaken, 
and  besides  them,  twenty-eight  more  of  Early's.  Beside  these, 
there  were  fifty  wagons,  sixty-five  ambulances,  sixteen  hundred 
small  arms,  several  battle  flags,  fifteen  hundred  prisoners,  and 
two  thousand  killed  and  wounded  left  on  the  field.  The  Union 
losses  were  about  thirty-eight  hundred,  of  whom  eight  hundred 
were  prisoners. 

In  all  the  records  of  modern  history,  there  are  but  three  ex- 
amples of  such  a  battle,  lost  and  won  on  the  same  field,  and  in 
the  same  conflict — Marengo,  Shiloh,  and  Stone  River;  and  in 
the  two  former  the  retrieval  was  due  mainly  to  reinforcements 
brought  up  at  the  critical  time,  while  the  third  was  not  ao 
immediately  decisive ;  but  here,  the  only  reinforcement  which 
the  army  of  the  Shenandoah  received  or  needed  to  recover  its 
lost  field  of  battle,  camps,  intrenchments,  and  cannon,  was  one 
man — Sheridan. 

General  Grant,  on  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  battle,  tele- 
graphed to  Secretary  Stanton :  "  I  had  a  salute  of  one  hundred 
guns  fired  from  each  of  the  armies  here,  in  honor  of  Sheridan's 
last  victory.  Turning  what  bid  fair  to  be  a  disaster  into  a  glori- 
ous victory,  stamps  Shtridan,  what  I  have  always  thought  him,  one 
of  the  ablest  of  generals.''^  General  Sheridan  also  received  an 
autograph  letter  of  thanks  from  the  President,  and  on  the  14th 
of  November,  he  was  promoted  to  the  major- generalship  in  thfl 
regular  army,  vacated  by  General  McClellan's  resignation. 

For  six  weeks  following,  there  were  occasional  skirmishes 
with  small  bands  of  regular  cavalry,  the  dehj-is  of  Early's  army, 
but  this  was  all.  In  December,  the  sixth  army  corps  returned 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  Sheridan,  for  two  months, 
recruited  and  rested  his  cavalry,  using  it  only  as  an  army  of 
observation.  About  the  first  of  March,  with  a  force  of  about 
9,000  men,  well  mounted  and  disciplined,  he  m  .ved  forward 


138  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

andcr  instructions  from  General  Grant,  to  destroy  the  Virginia 
Central  railroad,  and  the  James  River  canal,  the  two  arteries  of 
supply  for  the  rebels  at  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and  then 
strike  at,  anil  if  possible,  capture  Lynchburg,  and  either  join 
Sherman  at  Goldsboro,  or  returning  to  Winchester,  descend 
thence  to  City  Point.  The  destruction  of  the  railroad  and  canal 
were  thoroughly  performed,  but,  delayed  by  heavy  rains,  he 
found  that  Lynchburg  was  probably  too  strong  to  be  attacked, 
and  as  every  route  of  communication  between  that  city  and 
Richmond  was  broken,  its  garrison  could  not  render  any  assist- 
ance either  to  Lee  or  Johnston.  He  had  captured  Early's 
remaining  force  of  1,600  men  at  Waynesboro;  and  now,  instead 
of  returning  to  Winchester,  or  going  on  to  join  Sherman,  he 
resolved  to  march  past  Richmond,  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac. The  resolve  was  a  bold  one,  for  he  knew  Longstreet  was 
on  the  watch  for  him,  and  would  show  him  no  mercy,  if  ho 
could  have  a  fair  opportunity  of  attacking  him.  Nevertheless, 
lie  made  the  march,  fooled  Longstreet,  and  arrived  safely  at 
City  Point,  having  completely  desolated  the  country  through 
which  ho  }Kissed,  and  destroyed  property,  estimated  by  the 
rebels  themselves,  at  over  $50,000,000. 

And  now  came  the  end  of  the  war,  and  in  its  closing  scenes, 
so  far  as  the  rebel  army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  concerned, 
Sheridan  had  the  most  conspicuous  part.  Arriving  at  City 
Point  on  tlie  2,"')th  of  ^[arch,  1865,  he  was  directed  by  General 
Grant  to  niDve,  on  the  2yth,  southwestward  by  way  of  Reams' 
station  to  Dinwiddle  Court-house,  and  from  thence  either  strike 
the  Southside  railroad  at  Burkesville  station,  some  forty  milea 
distant ;  or,  if  it  should  seem  best,  support  the  infmtry,  one  or 
two  corps  of  which  should,  in  that  case,  be  put  under  his  com- 
mand, in  an  attempt,  by  way  of  Halifixx  road,  to  cross  Hatcher's 
run  at  the  point  which   had  been  held  since  February.     Ue 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP   H.   SHERIDAN.  139 

chose,  after  reconnoissance,  the  latter  plan,  and  pushed  on  towaru 
Dinwiddle,  and  connected  with  the  left  of  the  fifth  corps,  on  the 
Boydton  road.  The  enemy  were  found  strongly  intrenched  at 
Five  Forks,  about  six  miles  west  of  the  Boydton  plank-road, 
and  also  held  in  some  force  the  White  Oak  road,  by  which  the 
Five  Forks  were  approached  from  the  east.  On  the  31st  of 
March  there  was  heavy  fighting  all  along  the  line.  The  fifth 
corps,  or  rather  two  divisions  of  it,  were  driven  back  in  some 
disorder  on  the  White  Oak  road,  and  a  part  of  Sheridan's  cav- 
alry were  separated  from  the  main  body,  and  his  whole  force 
imperilled.  By  dismounting  his  cavalry  in  front  of  Dinwiddle 
Court-house,  and  fighting  desperately  till  late  at  night,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  holding  his  position,  and  the  two  contending  forces 
lay  on  their  arms  through  the  night.  The  next  morning,  April 
1st,  the  fifth  corps,  now  under  his  command,  did  not  advance  as 
he  expected,  and  his  enemy  of  the  night  before  having  retreated 
to  Five  Forks,  he  followed,  and  finding  the  fifth  corps,  directed 
them  to  assault  when  he  gave  the  order,  and  completed  his 
arrangements  for  carrying  Five  Forks  by  a  simultaneous  assault 
in  front  and  on  both  flanks.  In  this  assault  the  fifth  corps  par- 
ticipated. It  was  successful,  after  some  hard  fighting,  and  the 
rebel  troops  who  were  not  either  slain,  wounded  or  prisoners, 
were  driven  off  westward  so  far  as  to  be  unable  to  return  to  aid 
in  the  defence  of  Petersburg.  Being  dissatisfied,  perhaps  with- 
out quite  sufficient  cause,  with  the  management  of  General  G. 
K.  Warren,  the  commander  of  the  fifth  corps,  during  the  day, 
General  Sheridan  relieved  him  of  his  command,  and  ordered 
General  Griffin  to  take  his  place.  The  two  men  were  so  unlike 
in  their  temperament  and  modes  of  thought,  though  both  brave 
and  patriotic  officers,  that  they  could  hardly  have  been  expected 
to  work  well  together. 


140  MEN   OF   OUR  DAY. 

Sheridan  followed  up  his  successes  the  following  day,  by  ham- 
mering the  enemy's  line  along  the  Southside  railroad,  and  an 
assault  being  made  at  the  same  time  on  the  defences  of  Peters- 
burg, that  city  and  Richmond  were  evacuated,  and  the  rebel 
army  fled  along  the  route  of  the  Southside  railroad  and  the 
Appomattox  river  toward  Appomattox  Court-house,  pursued 
relentlessly  by  Sheridan,  who  acted  on  the  Donnybrook  Fair 
principle,  and  whenever  he  saw  a  rebel  head,  hit  it.  There  were 
some  sharp  actions,  for  the  rebels  were  fighting  in  sheer  despair ; 
but  finding  their  trains  captured  and  them.selves  brought  to  bay, 
without  hope,  at  Appomattox  Court-house,  they  surrendered, 
and  the  war  in  Virginia  was  over. 

But  not  yet  was  our  cavalry  general  to  find  rest.  He  was 
ordered  at  once  to  Texas,  with  a  large  force,  to  bring  the  rebels 
there,  who  still  held  out,  to  terms.  E.  Kirby  Smith,  the  rebel 
commander  of  the  Trans- Mississippi  Department,  surrendered 
about  the  time  of  his  arrival,  and,  with  his  surrender,  the  war 
closed.  On  the  27th  of  June,  1865,  General  Sheridan  was  ap- 
pointed commander  of  the  military  Division  of  the  Gulf,  era- 
bracing  the  departments  of  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and 
Texas. 

To  preserve  order  in  this  division,  so  recently  in  rebellion,  was 
a  difficult  task,  the  more  difiicult  because  the  acting  President 
was  not  true  to  his  pledges,  but  encouraged  the  rebels,  who  at 
first  were  disposed  to  yield,  to  raise  their  heads  again  in  defiance. 
But  General  Sheridan  proved  himself  the  man  for  the  occasion. 
lie  was  unfortunately  absent  in  Texas  when  the  riot  and  mas- 
sacre occurred  in  New  Orleans,  but  his  prompt  and  decided 
action  in  regard  to  it,  his  denunciation  of  the  course  of  the 
mayor  and  police,  even  when  he  knew  that  they  were  in  favor 
with  the  President,  his  removal  of  them  from  office,  and  with 
them  of  others  who  obstructed  reconstruction,  and  the  thorough 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   PHILIP   H.   SHERIDAN.  141 

loyalty  be  manifested  all  the  way  through,  endeared  hini  greatly 
to  the  nation.  In  Texas,  too,  he  had  his  troubles:  a  disloyal 
governor  was  placed  in  power  by  the  abortive  reconstruction 
plan  of  Mr.  Johnson,  and  when  Congress  armed  Sheridan  with 
the  needed  power,  he  removed  him  as  promptly  as  he  had  dune 
the  rebel  mayor  and  treacherous  governor  of  Louisiana. 

There  were  border  difficulties  to  encounter,  also ;  many  of  the 
rebel  officers  had  escaped  to  Mexico,  and  most  of  them  were  in 
Maximilian's  service.  Like  his  chief — General  Grant — General 
Sheridan's  sympathies  were  wholly  with  the  Juarez  or  Kepuli- 
lican  party  in  Mexico ;  but  our  relations  with  France  were  sue  b 
that  Ave  could  only  give  them  our  moral,  not  our  military,  suji- 
port.  Demagogues  of  both  the  Republican  and  Imperial  par- 
ties did  their  best  to  involve  us  in  the  imhroglio  in  some  way, 
and  one  of  Sheridan's  subordinate  commanders  was  so  unwise 
as  to  cross  the  Rio  Grande,  at  Matamoras,  on  the  invitation  of 
one  of  the  guerrilla  chiefs,  and  mingle  in  the  fray.  For  this  he 
was  promptly  removed  from  command,  and  General  Sheridan 
exhibited  so  much  prudence  and  discretion  in  the  whole  affair 
as  to  receive  the  approval  of  all  parties. 

That  Andrew  Johnson  should  not  be  pleased  with  so  straight- 
forward and  loyal  a  commander  was  to  be  expected ;  and  not 
withstanding  the  earnest  protest  of  General  Grant,  he  removed 
him  in  August,  1867,  from  the  command  of  the  Fifth  District, 
and  ordered  him  to  command  on  the  plains,  where  he  would 
have  only  Indians  to  contend  with.  Before  proceeding  to  his 
new  command,  however,  Major-General  Sheridan,  by  permission 
of  General  Grant,  visitt^d  the  East,  and  was  everywhere  received 
with  ovations  and  honor  by  the  people,  who  were  duly  mindful 
of  his  great  services  in  war  and  peace. 

Returning  in  the  summer  of  1868  to  his  new  command,  one 
for  which,  from  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Indian  ways 
and  Indian  languages,  he  was  well  adapted^  General  Sheridan 


142  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

was  successfal  in  averting  a  threatened  Indian  war,  and  in  paci- 
fying the  wily  Sioux  chiefs.  Soon  after  the  inauguration  of 
President  Grant,  he  was  promoted  to  the  Lieutenant-Generalship, 
at  the  same  time  that  General  Sherman  succeeded  to  the  Gene- 
ralship, lie  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Military 
Division  of  the  Missouri,  embracing  the  Military  Departments 
of  Dakota,  the  Missouri,  the  Platte,  and  Texas,  and  having  its 
headquarters  first  at  St.  Louis,  and  afterward  at  Chicago.  Soon 
after  the  commencement  of  the  Franco-German  War,  Lieutenant- 
General  Sheridan  visited  Europe,  and  was  an  interested  specta- 
tor of  several  of  the  great  battles  of  that  war.  On  his  return  he 
resumed  his  command  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Missouri, 
and  at  the  great  fire  in  Chicago,  October  7th  and  8th,  and  subse- 
quently, he  rendered  invaluable  service  in  subduing  the  progress 
of  the  destruction,  in  aiding,  protecting  and  sheltering  the  tens 
of  thousands  of  sufferers  from  the  great  conflagration.  Since 
General  Sherman's  absence  in  Europe,  General  Sheridan  has 
been  acting  General-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Army,  a  most 
decided  advance  to  have  been  made  in  ten  years,  from  a  lieutenant 
of  a  company  to  the  highest  military  command  in  the  nation. 

In  person  Lieutenant-General  Sheridan  is  small,  being  barely 
five  feet  six  inches  in  height.    His  body  is  stout,  his  limbs  rather 


MAJOR-GENERAL  GEORGE  G.  MEADE. 


O  acliieve  success  where  all  before  him  had  failed,  to 
retain  command  where,  from  unreadiness,  incapacity,  or 
lack  of  skill  and  foresight,  all  his  predecessors  had  been 
compelled  to  relinquish  it,  and  without  extraordinary 
brilliancy  or  genius,  still,  by  his  soldier-like  bearing  and  his 
manly  and  irreproachable  conduct,  to  win  the  esteem  and  respect 
of  all  who  were  under  his  command,  such  are  the  claims  which 
the  last  commander  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  presents  to  our 
regard.  George  Gordon  Meade  was  born  in  1815,  during  the 
temporary  residence  of  his  parents  at  Cadiz,  in  Spain.  His 
father,  Eichard  W.  Meade,  was  a  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  and, 
while  engaged  in  mercantile  puiiuits  in  Spain,  was  intrusted  by 
the  United  States  Government  with  the  adjustment  of  certain 
claims  against  that  country.  He  filled  the  offices  of  Consul  and 
Navy  Agent  of  the  United  States  most  creditably,  and  the 
cession  of  Florida — to  prevent  whose  secession  the  son  subse- 
quently contributed  so  much — was  the  result  mainly  of  hia 
efforts.  Shortly  after  his  birth,  the  parents  of  young  Meade 
returned  to  Philadelphia,  where  his  youthful  days  were  spent. 
"When  a  boy,  he  attended  the  school  at  Georgetown,  taught  by 
the  present  Chief  Justice  Chase.  The  parents,  having  two  sons, 
Eichard  W.  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  determined  to  devote 

tliem  to  the  service  of  their  country.     The  elder  was,  therefore, 

143 


144  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

educated  for  the  Navy,  wliicli  be  entered  in  1826,  while  George 
was  destined  for  the  Army,  and  accordingly  entered  the  Military 
Academy,  near  Philadelphia,  and,  in  1831,  the  Academy  at  West 
Point,  whence  he  graduated  with  honor  in  1835.  The  same 
year  we  find  him  a  second  lieutenant  in  the  third  artillery,  in 
Florida,  in  the  Seminole  war.  The  state  of  his  health  induced 
him  to  resign  his  commission  in  1836,  and  he  became  engaged 
in  civil  engineering ;  but,  in  1842,  he  again  entered  the  service 
as  second  lieutenant  in  the  corps  of  Topographical  Engineers, 
and  in  that  capacity  served  in  the  Mexican  war.  During  this 
campaign  he  served  on  the  staff  of  General  Taylor,  and  after- 
ward on  tfhat  of  General  Scott,  distinguishing  himself  at  Palo 
Alto  and  Monterey,  and  receiving,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his 
gallantry,  a  brevet  of  first  lieutenant,  dating  from  Septembe.r 
23,  1846 ;  and  also,  upon  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  a  splendid 
Bword  from  his  townsmen.  During  the  interval  between  the 
Mexican  war  and  the  rebellion,  having  been  promoted  to  a  full 
first  lieutenancy  in  August,  1851,  and  to  a  captaincy  of  engi- 
neers in  May,  1856,  he  was  engaged  with  the  particular  duties 
of  his  department,  more  especially  in  the  survey  of  the  northern 
lakes ;  but  upon  the  call  to  arms  in  1861,  he  was  ordered  east, 
and  upon  the  organization  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps, 
under  the  three  years'  call.  Captain  Meade  was  made  a  brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers,  and  placed  in  command  of  the  second 
brigade,  with  General  McCall  as  division-general,  lii-^  commis- 
sion dating  August  31,  18(31.  After  wintering  witli  ilie  division 
at  Tenallytown,  and  helping  to  erect  JFort  Pennsylvania,  they 
crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia  during  the  early  part  of  1862, 
and  became  a  portion  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  AVhen  this 
army  began  to  move  upon  Manassas,  during  March  of  that  year, 
General  Meade's  brigade  formed  a  portion  of  the  second  division 
of  McDowell's  first  army  corps,  and  with  this  corps  he  remained 


MAJOR-GENERAL  GEORGE  GORDON  MEAIE.      145 

after  that  general  was  made  commander  of  the  Department  of 
the  Shenandoah.  On  the  18th  of  June,  1862,  General  Meade's^ 
rank  in  the  regular  army  was  advanced  to  that  of  major  of 
topographical  engineers,  and  subsequently  he  was  confirmed 
with  the  same  rank  in  the  newly  organized  engineer  corps  of 
the  United  States  army.  About  this  time  the  division  of  Penn- 
sylvania Eeserves  was  added  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  on 
the  Peninsula,  General  Meade  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Me- 
chanicsville,  June  26,  1862,  and  in  the  battle  of  Gaines'  Mills, 
June  27,  he  fought  so  bravely  as  to  be  nominated  for  a  brevet 
of  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  regular  army  for  his  distinguished 
services.  After  the  capture  of  Generals  McCall  and  Reynolds, 
he  took  charge  of  the  division.  In  the  battle  of  New  Market 
Cross  Roads,  June  30,  General  Meade  was  struck  by  a  ball  m 
his  side,  inflicting  a  painful  wound ;  but  quickly  rose  from  hia 
bed  of  suffering,  and  was  again  at  the  head  of  his  division. 
During  the  Maryland  campaign  he  also  distinguished  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves.  At  Antietam,  when 
General  Hooker  was  wounded.  General  Meade  took  charge  of  a 
corps,  and  fought  bravely  the  remainder  of  the  day,  receiving  a 
slight  wound  and  having  two  horses  killed  under  him.  During 
the  fearful  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  he  held  charge  of  the 
second  division  of  the  first  army  corps,  and  fought  in  Franklin's 
left  wing.  He  led  his  men  boldly  up  to  the  rebel  works,  nnd 
doubtless  would  have  captured  them  had  he  been  properly  sup- 
ported; but  after  losing  his  brigade  commanders,  several  of  his 
field  and  line  officers,  and  fifteen  hundred  men,  he,  with  the  rest 
of  the  army,  was  obliged  to  retire  to  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
Two  days  after  this  eventful  battle,  General  Meade  superseded 
General  Butterfield  in  the  command  of  the  fifth  army  corps. 
To  enable  him  to  hold  this,  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  major- 
general  of  volunteers,  with  rank  and  commission  from  Nov.  29, 
10 


l-iQ  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

1862.  Tn  the  second  day  of  the  action  at  Chancellorsville,  the 
corps  of  Meade  and  Reynolds  were  held  in  reserve  by  General 
Tlooker,  and  on  them  he  relied  for  covering  the  crossing  of  the 
Rapidan,  when  it  was  finally  decided  to  withdraw  to  the  north 
bank.  They  performed  their  part  admirably  and  with  but  little 
loss.  Lee's  army,  now  re-inforced  and  flushed  with  recent  vic- 
tories easily  achieved,  took  the  offensive  once  more,  and  speed- 
ily made  its  way  into  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  followed  by 
Hooker.  On  the  28th  of  June,  1863,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
was  in  the  vicinity  of  Frederick,  in  Maryland,  when  a  messenger 
arrived  from  Washington,  relieving  General  Hooker,  and  invest- 
ing General  Meade  with  the  command  of  the  army.  Selected 
thus  suddenly,  without  solicitation  on  his  own  part,  and  by  the 
unanimous  desire  of  the  other  corps  commanders,  he  assumed 
command  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  responsibilities  thrust  upon 
him,  and  made  the  best  disposition  of  his  troops  in  his  power 
for  the  speedily  impending  battle.  The  following  is  a  copy  of 
his  general  order  issued  upon  this  occasion : 

"  Headquarteks  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
"June  28,  1863. 
"  General  Order,  iVo.  66. 

"  By  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  I  hereby 
assume  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  As  a  sol- 
dier, in  obeying  this  order,  an  order  totally  unexpected  and 
unsolicited,  I  have  no  promises  or  pledges  to  make.  The  coun- 
try looks  to  this  army  to  relieve  it  from  the  devastation  and 
disgrace  of  a  hostile  invasion.  "Whatever  fotigues  and  sacrifices 
we  may  be  called  upon  to  undergo,  let  us  have  in  view  constantly 
the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved,  and  let  each  man  deter- 
mine to  do  his  duty,  leaving  to  an  all-controlling  Providence 
the  decision  of  the  contest.  It  is  with  just  diffidence  that  I  re- 
lieve, in  the  command  of  this  army,  an  eminent  and  accom- 
plished soldier,  wlnse  name  must  ever  appear  conspicuous 
in   the   history    of   its   achievements ;    but  I    rely   upon    the 


MAJOR-GENERAL   GEORGE    GORDON   MEADE.  14T 

hearty  support  of  my  companions  in  arms  to  assist  me  in  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  important  trust  which  has  been 
confided  to  me. 

"GEORGE   G.   MEADE, 

"Major-geueral  Commanding. 
••S.  F.  BARSTOW    Assistant  Adjutant-general." 

General  Meade  at  once  put  his  columns  in  motion,  and  in 
three  days  his  advance  and  that  of  the  enemy  met  at  Gettys- 
burg, and  commenced  the  conflict.  The  meeting  at  that  place 
was  by  accident,  but  the  advantages  of  the  position  were  such, 
that  instead  of  withdrawing  his  advance,  upon  meeting  the 
enemy,  he  ordered  his  whole  army  up  to  their  support.  Three 
days  of  terrible  warfare,  and  great  loss  of  life  upon  both  sides, 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  enemy,  and  the  abandonment  of 
the  northern  invasion.  It  was  the  first  substantial  victory 
gained  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  though  the  editors  of 
the  northern  papers,  and  some  of  the  impatient  members  of  the 
Government,  were  inclined  to  blame  General  Meade  for  not 
making  more  ardent  pursuit,  and  falling  upon  the  foe,  who  was 
represented,  as  usual,  as  thoroughly  demoralized,  subsequent 
events  have  shown  that,  in  this  case,  "  discretion  was  the  better 
part  of  valor."  Pursuit,  vigorous  and  effective  pursuit,  was 
made,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  enemy's  train  was  cap- 
tured, but  his  retreat  had  been  at  the  same  time  swift  and 
orderly,  and  so  thoroughly  disciplined  were  the  rebel  troops, 
that  an  attack  upon  them  by  any  pursuing  force  which  could  be 
brought  up  promptly,  must  inevitably  have  resulted  in  a  disas- 
trous repulse.  The  problem  whether  the  attack  should  have 
])een  made,  however,  is  one  of  a  tactical  nature,  requiring  for 
its  solution  special  and  professional  knowledge.  It  is,  therefore, 
one  of  those  questions  regarding  which  public  opinion  is  neces- 
sarily worthless.    One  'hing  is  certain,  the  emphasis  with  which 


148  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY, 

the  corps  commanders  pronounced  against  tlie  assault,  should 
carry  witli  it  great  weight,  understanding,  as  they  did,  the  rela- 
tive situations  of  the  opposing  forces. 

After  Lee  had  crossed  the  Potomac,  General  Meade  hoped  to 
bring  him  to  battle  before  he  should  pass  the  mountains,  but 
at  Manassas  gap,  where  an  excellent  opportunity  occurred,  hia 
plans  were  frustrated  by  the  dilatory  movements  of  a  corpa 
commander,  who  had  the  advance.  For  some  time  after  this, 
the  opposing  armies  lay  in  a  state  of  inactivity,  near  the  Eapi- 
dan,  from  the  necessity  of  heavy  detachments  being  drawn  oS" 
to  other  points.  In  October,  Lee  attempted,  by  a  flank  move- 
ment, to  sever  Meade's  communications ;  but  the  latter  was  too 
quick  for  him.  Making  a  retrograde  movement  as  far  as 
Centreville,  to  meet  this  effort,  he  followed  Lee  in  return,  and 
thus  the  two  armies  resumed  nearly  the  same  position  as  before 
the  movement  commenced.  In  the  fighting  accompanying  these 
operations,  the  Union  army  had  the  advantage,  and  at  Bristow 
station,  the  rear-guard,  under  Warren,  by  a  rapid  movement 
won  the  field,  and  defeated  the  enemy.  Late  in  November, 
Meade  undertook  the  boldest  move  that  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac had  ever  yet  made.  Leaving  his  base,  with  ten  days' 
rations,  he  crossed  the  river,  hoping  to  interpose  between  the 
wings  of  Lee's  army,  noAV  in  winter  quarters,  and  stretched  over 
a  wide  extent  of  country.  The  enemy,  however,  was  found  to 
present  so  formidable  a  fi'ont  at  Mine  Run,  behind  intrench- 
ments,  that  it  was  thought  best  to  forego  the  contemplated  at- 
tack, and  our  forces  were  again  withdrawn  to  the  north  bank, 
and  went  into  cantonments  for  the  season.  When  General 
Grant,  as  lieutenant-general,  assumed  the  direction  of  all  the 
forces,  his  headquarters  were  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
General  Meade  retained  the  immediate  command  of  that  army, 
and  during  the  severe  campaigns  of  1864-5,  led  it  on  the  bloody 


MAJOR-GENERAL   GEORGE   GORDON  MEADE.  149 

fields  01  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor,  and  the 
region  round  about  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  winning  the 
approval  of  Lieuten;int-General  Grant,  who  in  recommending  his 
confirmation  as  a  major-general  in  the  regular  army,  spoke  of 
him  in  these  emphatic  words: 

*'  General  Meade  is  one  of  our  truest  men,  and  ablest  officers. 
He  has  been  constantly  with  the  Army  of  the  Potora;ic,  confront- 
ing the  strongest,  best  appointed,  and  most  confident  army  of 
the  south.  He,  therefore,  has  not  had  the  same  opportunity  of 
winning  laurels  so  distinctly  marked,  as  have  fallen  to  the  lot 
of  other  generals.  But  I  defy  any  man  to  name  a  commander 
who  would  do  more  than  Meade  has  done,  with  the  same  chances. 
General  Meade  was  apj^ointed  at  my  solicitation,  after  a  cam- 
paign the  most  protracted,  and  covering  more  severely  contested 
battles  than  any  of  which  we  have  any  account  in  history.  I 
have  been  with  General  Meade  through  the  whole  campaign; 
and  I  not  only  made  the  recommendation  upon  a  conviction 
that  this  r  cognition  of  his  services  was  fully  won,  but  that  he 
was  eminently  qualified  for  the  command  such  rank  would  en- 
title him  to." 

Congress  confirmed  the  appointment,  dating  his  commission 
from  August  18tb,  186-1.  At  the  close  of  the  war  General 
Meade  returned  for  a  brief  season  to  his  home  in  Philadelphia, 
where  he  was  received  with  the  highest  honors.  He  was  soon 
nfter  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  military  division  of  the 
Atlantic,  in  which  were  included  all  the  States  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  and  which  was  perhaps  the  most  important  of  the  military 
departments.  His  management  of  this  department  was  able  and 
judicious,  but  without  many  events  of  note.  He  acted  prompt- 
ly and  wisely,  under  the  direction  of  the  Lieutenant  general, 
in  suppressing  the  Fenian  movement  for  the  invasion  of 
Canada.     AViif'n,  in  the  autumn  of  1867,   President  Johnson 


150  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY.     . 

having  become  dissatisfied  with  General  Pope's  administration 
in  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Florida,  in  consequence  of  that 
general's  furthering  rather  than  hindering  tr.e  enforcement  of 
the  congressional  plan  of  reconstruction,  he  removed  him  and 
transferred  General  Meade  to  the  command  of  that  military 
district,  he  mistook  as  he  had  so  often  done  before,  his  man. 
General  Meade  is  thoroughly  loyal,  and  obedient  to  the  laws, 
and  finding  that  the  congressional  plan  was  the  law  of  the  land, 
he  obeyed  it  as  strictly,  and  promptly,  as  his  predecessor  had 
done ;  even  taking  measures,  such  as  the  removal  of  the  State 
provisional  officers  of  Georgia  for  contumacy  and  insubordina- 
tion, at  which  General  Pope  had  hesitated.  He  has  maintained 
a  dignified  and  honorable  course  in  regard  to  the  Constitutional 
Conventions  of  the  States  of  his  district,  and  whatever  may  be 
his  own  political  views,  he  has  sought  only  to  administer  the 
laws  faithfully,  without  fear  or  favor.  The  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  Florida,  which  at  one  time  was  on  the  point  of 
breaking  into  two  impotent  factions,  was,  by  his  counsels  and 
efforts,  harmonized,  and  the  successful  future  of  the  re-organized 
State  assured. 

In  July,  1868,  the  "Department  of  the  South"  was  recon- 
structed, and  General  Meade  placed  in  command  of  it.  lie  re- 
tained this  position  until  March,  1869,  when  President  Grant 
made  a  new  and  better  distribution  of  the  army  commands,  and 
assigned  General  Meade  to  the  command  of  the  Military  Divi- 
sion of  the  Atlantic,  embracing  the  Department  of  the  East, 
and  that  of  the  Lakes;  his  headquarters  were  to  be  at  Philadel- 
phia. This  command  the  general  still  retains,  though  from  the 
subsequent  discontinuance  of  the  Division  of  the  South  and  its 
consolidation  with  the  other  divisions,  the  territory  under  hia 
charge  has  been  considerably  increased. 

General  Meade  is  a  scholarly  and  accomplished  officer,  some- 


MAJOR-GENERAL   GEORGE   GORDON   MEADE.  151 

what  cold  and  quiet  ia  his  manner,  usually  cautious  and  slow  in 
his  movements,  never  assuming  or  boastful ;  sometimes  inclined 
to  severity,  and  not  very  tolerant  of  commanding  officers  who 
were  not  educated  at  West  Point;  but  a  just  and  fair  man,  and 
one  governed  by  principle.  He  is  not  a  general  who  would 
rouse  his  troops  to  the  highest  enthusiasm  by  his  personal  mag- 
netism, but  one  who  would  win  their  high  respect  and  esteem. 
One  of  the  best  descriptions  of  his  personal  appearance  we  have 
seen  is  that  given  by  an  English  writer,  who  was  introduced  to 
him  soon  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  "  He  is  a  very  remarka- 
ble-looking man — tall,  spare,  of  a  commanding  figure  and 
presence  ;  his  manners  easy  and  pleasant,  but  having  much  dig- 
nity. His  head  is  partially  bald,  and  is  small  and  compact ;  but 
the  forehead  is  high.  He  has  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington  class 
of  nose ;  and  his  eyes,  which  have  a  serious,  and  almost  sad  ex- 
pression, are  rather  sunken,  or  appear  so,  from  the  prominence 
of  the  curved  nasal  development.  He  has  a  decidedly  patri- 
cian and  distinguished  appearance.  I  had  some  conversation 
with  him,  and  of  his  recent  achievements  he  spoke  in  a  modest 
and  natural  way.  He  said  that  he  had  been  very  '  fortunate  ;  ' 
but  was  most  especially  anxious  not  to  arrogate  to  himself 
any  credit  which  he  did  not  deserve.  He  said  that  the  triumph 
of  the  Federal  arms  was  due  to  the  splendid  courage  of  the 
Union  troops,  and  also  to  the  bad  strategy,  and  rash  and  mad 
attacks  made  by  the  enemy.  He  said  that  his  health  was  re- 
markably good  and  that  he  could  bear  almost  any  amount  of 
physical  fatigue.  What  he  complained  of  was  the  intense 
mental  anxiety  occasioned  by  the  great  responsibility  of  his 
position." 

General  Meade,   in  1840,  married  a  daughter  of  Hon,  John 
Sergeant,  of  Philadelphia,  and  has  a  large  family. 


MAJOR-GENERAL   WINFIELD    SCOTT 
HANCOCK. 


INFIELD  SCOTT  HANCOCK,  one  of  tbe  most  brilliant 
generals  of  the  recent  war,  is  the  son  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  Hancock  and  Elizabeth  his  wife,  both  natives 
of  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  a  retired 
part  of  this  county,  near  Montgomery  Square,  he  was  born 
February  14th,  1824;  when  about  four  years  old,  his  parents 
removed  to  Norristown,  the  county  town,  where  his  father  took 
the  charge  of  a  school — although  then  preparing  himself  for  the 
legal  profession,which  he  afterwards  practised  with  success. 

Amid  the  pleasant  scenes  and  associations  of  this  thriving 
town,  with  parents  possessing  more  than  average  education, 
intelligence  and  patriotism,  he  and  his  twin  brother  Hilary  B., 
(now  a  lawyer  in  Minnesota)  and  a  younger  brother,  John  (after- 
ward a  Major  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac),  grew  up  surrounded 
by  the  best  of  social  and  religious  influences.  Among  his  play- 
fellows he  was  naturally  a  leader,  popular  in  juvenile  musical 
matters,  affectionate  and  social.  At  the  village  academy  he  was 
esteemed  as  truthful,  obedient  and  courageous.  With  his  elders 
lie  was  an  acceptable  companion,  on  account  of  his  modest  and 
•unassuming  interest  in  matters  and  subjects  usually  uninteresting 
to  boys  of  his  age — and  he  seems  to  have  developed,  even  at 
that  early  day,  that  aptitude  for  military  pursuits  and  those 
scientific  tastes  and  acquirements  which  may  be  considered  as 

indicative  of  the  probable  course  of  his  after  life.     Like  many 
152 


MAJOR-GENERAL   WINFIELD   SCOTT   HANCOCK.  153 

another  American  boy,  his  first  public  appearance  was  as  the 
reader  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  on  a  4:th  of  July 
celebration  at  Norristown,  when  he  was  but  fifteen  years  old. 

Nearly  a  year  later  he  was  unexpectedly  nominated  by  Joseph 
Fornance,  M.  C,  for  a  cadetship  in  the  United  States  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point,  which  he  entered  July  1st,  1840,  meet- 
ing there  with  many  young  men  (mostly  his  seniors)  who  have 
since  distinguished  themselves  on  American  battle-fields.  He 
graduated  from  West  Point,  June  30th,  1844,  ranking  No.  18  in 
his  class;  he  was  brevetted  July  1st,  as  second  lieutenant  in 
the  6th  United  States  Eegiment  of  Infantry;  and  June  18th, 

1846,  received  his  commission  of  full  second  lieutenancy  in  the 
same  regiment,  stationed  at  Fort  Lawson,  on  the  Red  River  of  the 
South.  Here  and  at  Fort  Washita  (an  extreme  Western  post) 
he  continued  until,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Mexican  War,  in  the 
spring  of  1847,  his  regiment  went  into  actual  service.  lie  was 
at  Churubusco,  August  20th,  1847,  under  General  Scott;  there, 
at  the  head  of  his  platoon,  he  took  a  part  in  the  desperately 
contested  hand-to-hand  fight  of  Molino  del  Key,  September  8th, 
1847 ;  as,  also,  in  the  attack,  on  the  13th,  upon  the  castle  of 
Chapultepec,  and  the  three  days'  fighting  which  resulted  in  a 
glorious  victory  to  the  American  arms.  He  was  at  that  time 
regimental  adjutant,  was  repeatedly  mentioned  in  the  official 
reports  of  the  day;  and,  in  August,  1848,  was  brevetted  first 
lieutenant  for  gallantry  in  these  actions,  dating  from  20th  August, 

1847.  He  was  also  present  when  the  Mexican  commissioners 
entered  the  American  camp,  with  proposals  of  peace — which 
were  rejected  by  General  Scott — and  he  shared  the  proud  triumph 
of  the  14th  September,  1847,  when  that  general,  at  the  head  of 
6000  war-worn  veterans,  entered  the  City  of  Mexico,  as  its  cap- 
tors. The  war  closed  soon  after,  and  Hancock — serving  for  a 
time  with  General  Cadwallader,  at  Toluca,  asd  having  been 


154  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

advanced  to  the  position  of  regimental  quartermaster,  was  one 
of  the  last  Americans  who  left  the  soil  of  Mexico.  His  services, 
too-ether  with  those  of  other  Pennsylvania  soldiers,  were  appro- 
priately acknowledged  by  the  Pennsylvania  legislature,  in  a 
series  of  resolutions,  of  which  a  copy  was  presented  to  him. 
He  was  next  stationed  at  Fort  Crawford,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wis., 
until  the  summer  of  1849  ;  then,  until  the  autumn  of  1855,  he 
served  as  regimental  adjutant,  on  the  staff  of  his  old  Mexican 
war  colonel,  Brigadier-General  J.  S.  Clarke,  at  Jefferson  Barracks 
and  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

On  the  2-ith  of  January,  1850,  he  married  Almira,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  Samuel  Hussell,  a  wealthy  and  highly  esteemed  mer 
chant  of  that  city ;  and,  in  November  1855,  was  made  assistant 
quartermaster,  with  rank  of  captain. 

During  1856,  he  was  stationed  as  quartermaster  at  Fort  Myers, 
near  St.  Augustine,  Florida ;  and,  in  November  of  the  same 
year,  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  United  States  quartermaster 
general's  department,  for  the  Western  district,  in  Utah  Territory, 
and  accompanied  General  Harney  on  his  expedition  to  Kansas, 
and  the  regions  beyond.  From  Utah,  he  was  transferred,  still 
in  the  department,  to  Benicia,  California,  where  he  was  brought 
into  intimate  social  and  official  relations  with  that  sterling  soldier. 
General  Silas  Casey  ;  thence,  to  the  old  Spanish  town  of  Los 
Ano-elos,  Lower  California.  Here  he  remained  two  years,  attain- 
ino-  a  great  degree  of  personal  influence  in  that  region,  so  that, 
when,  in  1861,  the  civil  rebellion  broke  out,  and  certain  restless 
spirits  tried  to  turn  the  Golden  State  into  the  secession  stream, 
his  voice  and  example,  as  well  as  his  cool,  calm  courage  and 
caution,  contributed  most  powerfully  to  stem  the  tide  of  rebellion, 
and  to  hold  that  grand  young  commonwealth  firmly  to  its  loyalty 
to  the  Union. 

But  he  burned  for  a  more  active  part  in  the  defence  of  that 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WINFIELD   SCOTT   HANCOCK.  155 

Union,  and,  at  his  own  request,  was  transferred  to  the  East. 
Reaching  New  York  citj  in  September,  1861,  he  stopped  not 
even  to  greet  his  parents,  but  hastened  directly  to  Washington, 
full  of  the  one  idea  so  clearly  expressed  in  the  following  extract 
from  a  letter  written  to  a  friend  at  the  time.  "  My  politics  are 
of  a  practical  kind.  The  integrity  of  the  Country.  The  Supre- 
macy of  the  Federal  Government.  An  honorable  peace,  or  none 
at  all."  He  was  immediately  assigned  to  duty  as  chief  quarter- 
master, on  the  staff  of  General  Robert  Anderson,  then  in  Ken- 
tucky ;  and,  while  making  his  preparations  to  go,  was,  most  un- 
expectedly to  himself,  nominated  by  General  McClellan,  as  n, 
brigadier- general.  The  appointment  was  made,  entirely  on  itfi 
merits,  by  President  Lincoln,  23d  September,  1861,  and  he  wa.'i 
given  the  command  of  a  brigade  in  General  W.  F.  Smith's  Divi 
sion,  holding  an  advanced  position  on  the  Potomac,  and  did  good 
service  in  foraging,  reconnoitring,  etc.,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy, 
and  in  a  country  overrun  by  rebel  emissaries  and  spies.  In  the 
advance  of  April,  1862,  towards  Yorktown,  Hancock's  brigade 
took  an  active  and  foremost  part,  his  artillery  experience  coming 
into  good  play.  Several  times  he  led  his  brigade  in  person,  in 
the  open  field;  and,  at  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  just  at  the 
set  of  sun,  and  during  a  pouring  rain,  with  the  enemy  massed 
in  his  front,  and  with  recent  and  yawning  chasms  amid  the  ranks 
of  his  own  men,  he  rode  to  the  centre  of  his  lines,  and  quickly 
passing  the  words  "fix  bayonets,"  paused  a  moment,  then,  wav- 
ing his  hat,  uttered  the  order  to  his  officers,  "Gentlemen,  charge." 
Following  their  brave  leader  who  was  riding  straight  upon  the 
enemy  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  the  bayonet  charge  of  that  little 
band  was  the  decisive  stroke  of  that  day's  battle.  The  enemy 
were  whirled  helplessly  before  it,  the  day  was  suddenly  crowned 
with  victory,  and  Hancock's  character  for  "  dash,"  was  established 
from  that  moment.      For  this  and  other  services,  he  was  bre- 


156  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

vetted  Major  in  the  United  States  Army,  dating  from  May  4th, 
1862. 

In  the  progress  of  the  Union  army  up  the  Peninsula,  his 
brigade  was  constantly  in  the  advance — his  duties  being  particu- 
larly arduous  in  the  pestilential  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy, 
where  he  shared  in  all  the  dangers  and  fatigues  of  the  principal 
attacks,  and  rendered  important  aid  by  his  regular  army  expe- 
rience in  conducting  the  safe  withdrawal  of  the  men  under  his 
command.  At  Gaines'  Mill,  while  in  the  extreme  advance,  he 
met  and  overcame  the  terrific  fire  of  five  massed  rebel  regiments, 
defeating  their  purpose.  At  the  brief,  but  sanguinary  fight  of 
Garnett's  Hill,  he  met  and  repulsed  a  savage  onslaught  made  by 
Toombs  and  the  Georgia  troops,  and  held -this  position  until  near 
the  close  of  the  day  (June  28th),  when  he  rejoined  Smith's  com- 
mand and  took  part  in  the  obstinately  contested  battle  of  Savage's 
Station  (29th),  and  that  of  White  Oak  Swamp  on  the  30th.  For 
his  services  at  Garnett's  Hill  he  was  recommended  for  appoint- 
ment as  Major-General  of  Volunteers  ;  and  subsequently  for 
three  brevets  in  the  (regular)  United  States  Army,  for  meritori- 
ous conduct  during  the  Peninsula  campaign.  June  27th,  1862 
he  was  brevetted  Colonel  in  United  States  Army.  On  the  17th 
September,  General  Hancock  commanded  a  division  on  the  field 
of  Antietam,  Md, 

When  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  October  and  November 
1862,  marched  to  Falmouth,  Va.,  Hancock's  column  was  on  the 
extreme  right,  and  in  perfect  order,  and  at  the  battle  of  Frede- 
ricksburg, December  13th,  his  men  crossed  the  river  in  open 
boats,  under  fire,  scaled  tlie  banks,  drove  off  the  enemy,  and 
formed  the  pontoon  bridge,  taking,  also,  conspicuous  part  in  the 
subsequent  heavy  fighting  of  that  disastrous  day.  On  the  29th 
of  November,  on  the  nomination  of  General  Burnside,  he  was 
appointed  Major-General  of  Volunteers.     In  the  battle  of  Chan- 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WINFIELD   SCOTT   HANCOCK.  157 

cellorsville,  May  2d — 4th  1863,  Hancock's  skill  turned  the  for- 
tunes of  the  day;  and  he  was  soon  after  appointed  by  President 
Lincoln  to  the  command  of  the  Second  Army  Corps. 

When  the  rebel  advance  into  Pennsylvania  was  so  suddenly 
checked  at  Gettysburg,  July  1st — 3d,  1863,  Hancock  was  present 
with  this  gallant  corps,  near  the  centre  of  the  Union  lines;  and, 
he  was,  at  first,  in  command  of  the  field.  His  dispositions  and 
plans,  made  during  the  critical  interval  which  elapsed  before  the 
arrival  of  Meade,  were  so  admirable,  that  that  gallant  genera?, 
on  his  arrival,  saw  no  reason  to  change  them.  On  the  third  da/ 
of  that  great  battle,  Hancock  was  wounded  severely,  but 
would  not  be  taken  to  the  rear.  He  was  obliged  to  go  home  t) 
recover  from  his  wound  ;  was  received  at  Norristown  by  his  fel- 
low-citizens, and  borne  to  his  home  on  a  stretcher,  on  the 
shoulders  of  soldiers  of  the  Invalid  Corps.  His  recovery  was 
gradual  but  sure — and  the  admiration  felt  for  his  patriotic  ser- 
vices were  manifested  by  numerous  presentations,  receptions,  eU\ 
His  Norristown  fi'iends  gave  him  a  service  of  nine  pieces  of  gold 
and  silver  plate  ornamented  with  the  trefoil  badge  of  the  Second 
Corps,  and  valued  at  $1600.  When  he  had  so  far  recovered 
as  to  be  able  to  travel  to  West  Point,  he  was  honored  with  pub- 
lic receptions  in  his  native  county,  at  New  York,  West  Point, 
and  at  St..  Louis,  where  he  went  to  see  his  family,  and  where, 
also,  he  received  from  the  Western  Sanitary  Fair  a  superb 
sword. 

Ordered  to  Washington,  December  loth,  1863,  he  promptly 
obeyed,  although  his  wound  was  not  yet  healed,  and  was  detailed 
to  the  important  duty  of  increasing  the  ranks  of  the  army  by 
his  personal  presence  and  exertions.  He  undertook  the  raising 
of  50.000  men  for  his  corps  (headquarters  at  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania) with  good  success — the  great  cities  of  New  York, 
Albany,   and   Boston,   offering   him    every  public  and  private 


16»  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

facility.  At  Philadelphia,  a  public  reception  was  given  him ; 
resolutions  were  offered  by  the  city  government,  and  the  rare 
honor  was  his  of  having  Independence  Hall  thrown  open  to  his 
use  ;  on  the  22d  of  February  he  reviewed  the  volunteer  troops 
of  the  city ;  in  New  York  City,  the  Governor's  Room  in  the 
City  Hall  was  placed  at  his  disposal ;  at  Albany,  the  Legisla- 
ture tendered  an  official  testimonial  of  respect,  as,  also,  did  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts  and  the  merchants  of  Boston.  In 
March,  1864,  he  was  again  ordered  to  the  front,  and  led  his  old 
corps,  the  second,  again  in  the  advance,  under  Grant,  upon  Cul- 
peper  Court  House,  Virginia,  participating  in  the  battles  of  the 
Wilderness.  At  Spottsylvania,  he  made  a  magnificent  charge 
at  the  head  of  his  whole  corps,  and  proved  himself  the  man  of 
the  day,  which  he  closed  with  the  following  brief  despatch  to 
General  Grant.  "  General,  I  have  captured  from  thirty  to  forty 
guns.  I  have  finished  up  Johnson,  and  am  now  going  into 
Early." 

At  Petersburg,  Virginia,  he  personally  rallied  the  Second 
Corps,  and  his  force  was  always  well  in  hand ;  no  matter  how 
much  extended  his  lines  were,  they  always  responded  promptly 
a  ad  perfectl}'-  to  his  orders,  and  he  handled  them  with  the  pre- 
cision, force  and  ease  with  which  a  single  regiment  is  usually 
manoeuvred.  For  gallant  conduct  in  the  AVilderness,  at  Spott- 
sylvania, Cold  Harbor,  and  in  all  the  operations  of  tlie  army  under 
Grant,  President  Lincoln  made  him  Brigadier-General  of  the 
United  States  Army,  commission  dated  12th  August,  186-1. 
From  the  Mississippi  Valley  Sanitary  Fair  he  received  a  splen- 
did sword ;  from  the  Great  Central  Sanitary  Fair,  at  Philadel- 
phia, a  full  set  of  horse  equipments,  value  $500  ;  a  residence  in 
Philadelphia,  from  some  citizens;  and  $15,000  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal by  the  Coal  Exchange  of  the  same  city  for  the  purpose  of 
recruiting  his  corps,  while  St.  Louis  gave  him  an  elegant  sword. 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WINFIELD   SCOTT   HANCOCK.  159 

He  remained  in  command  of  the  Second  Army  Corps,  though 
partially  disabled  by  the  repeated  breaking  out  afresh  of  his  old 
wound  received  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  until  November  25tb, 
1864,  when  he  was  compelled  to  ask  to  be  relieved,  and  for  the 
next  three  months  was  at  Washington  organizing,  as  far  as  his 
infirm  health  would  permit,  the  army  corps  of  veterans.  He  was 
then  put  in  command  of  the  Department  of  West  Virginia,  and 
temporarily  of  the  Middle  Military  Division,  and  of  the  Army 
of  the  Shenandoah,  in  which  he  continued  till  July  18th,  1865, 
when  he  was  transferred  to  the  Middle  Department,  and  in 
August  1866,  to  the  Department  of  the  Missouri ;  in  March, 
1867,  he  took  command  of  an  expedition  against  the  Indians  of 
the  plains. 

Meantime  other  promotions  had  come  to  General  Hancock ; 
on  the  13th  of  March,  1865,  he  had  been  brevetted  Major-General 
in  the  United  States  Army  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct 
a*  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania ;  and  on  the  26th  of  July,  1866, 
had  been  commissioned  Major-General  in  the  army. 

While  in  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  his 
intercourse  with  both  the  President  and  General  Grant  had  been 
very  cordial ;  but  in  August,  1867,  President  Johnson  determined 
to  remove  General  Sheridan  from  the  command  of  the  Fifth 
Military  District,  which  comprised  Louisiana  and  Texas,  and 
appointed  General  Hancock  his  successor.  The  latter  could  not 
immediately  enter  on  his  duties;  but  in  November,  1867,  he 
went  to  New  Orleans  and  took  command,  revoking  immediately 
several  of  General  Sheridan's  orders,  and  issued  a  special  order, 
of  which  the  second  item  (which  we  give  below)  was  the  most 
important  portion.* 

*  "  Second.  The  General  commanding  is  gratified  to  learn  that  peace  and 
quiet  reign  in  this  department.  It  will  be  his  purpose  to  preserve  this  con- 
dition of  things.     As  a  means  to  this  great  end,  he  regards  the  maintenance 


160  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

Of  the  abstract  truth  and  justice  of  the  opinions  here  laid 
down,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  But  as  to  their  practical  opera- 
tion in  this  case  there  were  two  important  questions,  viz. : 
whether  the  people  of  Louisiana  and  Texas  were  at  this  time  so 
far  reduced  to  a  peaceful  condition  that  they  might  safely  be  left 
to  the  control  of  the  civil  authority  alone,  while  the  two  conflict- 
ing elements  of  society  were  yet  in  open  hostility  to  each  other, 
and  whether  General  Hancock,  an  entire  stranger,  was  compe- 
tent, at  the  very  day  of  his  coming  among  them,  to  decide  a  ques- 
tion of  such  importance. 

On  these  two  questions  there  was  a  conflict  of  opinion  be- 
tween General  Hancock  and  his  superior  officer,  General  Grant. 
President  Johnson  sanctioned  General  Hancock's  course;  but 
General  Grant    revoked    his    special  orders,  for    carrying   out 


of  the  civil  authorities  in  the  faithful  execution  of  the  laws,  as  the  most 
efficient  under  existing  circumstances.  In  war  it  is  indispensable  to  repel 
force  by  force,  and  overthrow  and  destroy  opposition  to  authority  ;  but 
when  insurrectionary  force  has  been  overthrown  and  peace  established,  and 
the  civil  authorities  are  ready  and  willing  to  perform  their  duties,  the  mili- 
tary power  should  cease  to  lead,  and  the  civil  administration  resume  its 
natural  and  rightful  dominion.  Solemnly  impressed  with  these  views,  the 
General  announces  that  the  great  principles  of  American  liberty  still  are 
the  lawful  inheritance  of  this  people,  and  ever  should  be.  The  rioht  of 
trial  by  jury,  the  habeas  corpus,  the  liberty  of  the  press,  the  freedom 
of  speecli,  and  the  natural  rights  of  persons  and  the  rights  of  property 
must  be  preserved.  Free  institutions,  while  they  are  essential  to  the  pros- 
perity and  happiness  of  the  people,  always  furnish  the  strongest  induce- 
ments to  peace  and  order.  Crimes  and  offences  committed  in  the  district 
must  be  referred  to  the  consideration  and  judgment  of  the  regular  civil 
authorities,  and  these  tribunals  will  be  supported  in  their  lawful  jurisdic- 
tion. Should  there  be  violations  of  existing  laws,  which  are  not  inquired 
into  by  the  civil  magistrates,  or  should  failures  in  the  administration  of 
justice  by  the  courts  be  complained  of,  the  cases  will  be  reported  to  these 
headquarters,  when  such  orders  will  be  made  as  may  be  deemed  necessary. 
While  the  General  thus  indicates  his  purpose  to  respect  the  liberties  of  the 
people,  he  wishes  all  to  imderstand  that  armed  insurrections  and  forcible 
resistance  to  laws  will  be  instantly  suppressed  by  arms." 


MAJOR-GENERAL  WINFIELD  SCOTT   HANCOCK.  161 

the  measures  indicated  above,  and  annulling  the  previous 
orders  of  General  Sheridan  and  his  own  subordinate,  General 
Mower. 

The  controversy  between  General  Hancock  and  General  Grant 
continued  for  about  two  months;  but  finally  terminated  in 
General  Hancock's  asking  to  be  relieved  from  his  command  in 
January,  1868.  He  was  made  commander  of  the  new  military 
department  of  Washington,  including  Maryland,  Virginia,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  District  of  Columbia,  by  President  Johnson 
It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  early  in  the  ensuing  summer  tht 
States  of  Louisiana  and  Texas,  as  well  as  several  other  of  tlui 
Southern  States,  were  readmitted  to  the  Union  by  Act  of  Con 
gress,  and  placed  under  a  strictly  civil  administration,  as  Genera/ 
Hancock  had  insisted  should  be  done. 

General  Hancock  retained  his  new  command  until  the  inau- 
guration of  President  Grant,  when,  by  the  new  arrangement  oi' 
military  commands,  he  was  assigned  to  the  Military  Department 
of  Dakota,  embracing  that  Territory  and  part  of  Montana,. 
There  was  an  unpleasant  state  of  feeling  between  him  and  Presi- 
dent Grant,  growing  out  of  the  Louisiana  troubles,  and  he 
regarded  this  assignment  of  command,  as  he  well  might,  as  a 
virtual  banishment.  Subsequent  correspondence  has  made  the 
matter  no  better.  General  Hancock  is  still  commander  of  the 
Department  of  Dakota,  and  though  senior  Major-General  in  his 
Military  Division,  he  was,  during  the  late  absence  for  nearly  a 
year  of  Lieutenant-General  Sheridan,  put  under  the  command  of 
one  of  his  own  juniors. 

In  personal  appearance,  General  Hancock  is  decidedly  one  of 

the  most  dignified  and  imposing  of  our  military  officers  of  high 

rank.     Of  fine  stature,  and  an  intellectual,  thoughtful  face,  a 

man  evidently  born  to  command,  courteous,  and  gentlemanly  in 

his  manners,  he  possesses  in  a  large  degree  that  personal  ma«^ 
11 


162  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

netism  wliicli  enables  liim  to  exert  a  powerful  influence  over  the 
men  he  leads.  He  is  destined  yet  to  exert  a  powerful  influence 
in  our  national  affairs.  Bj  the  death  of  Generals  Thomas  and 
Halleck  he  stands  next  to  the  highest  rank  as  a  Major-General 
in  the  army  of  the  United  States. 


MAJOR-GENERAL  JOHN   McALLISTER   SCHO- 

FIELD. 


(^jSJ^OHN    McAllister    SCHOFIELD,    the   son    of  Rev. 

'^^)'|  James  Schofield,  was  born  September  29th,  1831,  in  Chau- 
^(^  tauqua  county,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1843,  when  twelve  yearg 
^  old,  removed  with  his  father's  family  to  Illinois.  From  this 
State  he  was  nominated  and  entered  as  a  cadet  in  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  graduating  from  that  institution 
in  1853  with  the  rank  of  seventh,  in  the  same  class  as  Sheridan 
and  J.  B.  McPherson,  with  a  brevet  second  lieutenancy  in  the 
Second  Artillery,  in  which  he  passed  two  years,  partly  at  Fort 
Moultrie,  S.  C,  and  partly  at  Fort  Cass,  Fla.  He  was  then  ordered 
to  the  "West  Point  Academy  as  Instructor  in  Natural  Philosophy, 
a  position  which  occupied  his  time  for  the  next  five  years. 

In  1860,  he  obtained  leave  to  occupy  the  chair  of  Natural 
Philosophy  in  Washington  University,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  Soon 
the  War  of  the  Civil  Rebellion  opened,  and  the  young  professor 
was  detailed  by  the  War  Department  to  muster  the  Missouri 
troops  into  the  LTnited  States  service,  being  at  the  same  time 
appointed  Major  of  the  1st  Missouri  Infantry,  his  regular  army  rank 
being  then  that  of  captain,  to  which  he  passed  by  regular  steps 
since  his  brevet  of  second  lieutenant  with  which  he  had  left 
West  Point.  After  the  battle  of  Booneville  he  was  made  Assis- 
tant Adjutant-General  to  General  Lyon,  shared  in  that  chief- 
tain's success  at  White  Creek,  and  was  by  his  side,  when  ho 

163 


164  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

fell — at  the  moment  of  victory.  "  Wherever  the  battle  most 
fiercely  raged,"  wrote  Major  Strong,  in  his  official  report,  "there 
was  General  Lyon ;  and  there,  too,  was  Major  Schofield,  his 
principal  staff-officer.  The  coolness  and  equanimity  with  which 
he  moved  from  point  to  point  carrying  orders,  was  the  theme 
of  universal  conversation.  I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the 
invaluable  service  Major  Schofield  rendered  by  the  confidence 
his  conduct  inspired." 

His  gallantry  had  its  reward  in  his  appointment,  November 
21st,  1861,  as  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers,  and  his  assign- 
ment to  duty  in  command  of  the  Missouri  Militia,  authorized  by 
the  War  Department  to  be  raised  for  service  during  the  war. 
When  General  Halleck  went  to  Pittsburg  Landing,  about  four- 
fifths  of  that  great  State  was  placed  under  Schofield. 

In  June,  1862,  the  whole  State  was  set  apart  as  the  Military  Dis- 
trict of  Missouri,  under  his  charge,  and  shortly  after,  the  army  of 
the  frontier,  operating  in  Missouri  and  Kansas,  was  committed  to 
him,  and  he  struck  out  boldly  against  all  the  organized  rebel  forces 
in  that  section,  whipping  them  soundly  in  a  severe  engagement 
at  Maysville,  near  Pea  Ridge  (October  22d),  and  driving  them,  a 
routed  rabble,  beyond  the  Boston  Mountains  and  back  into  the 
valley  of  the  Arkansas  River.  He  had  rapidly  developed  the 
salient  points  of  a  good  soldier,  and  promotion  followed  close 
upon  his  footsteps. 

In  November,  1862,  he  was  appointed  by  the  President  a 
Major-General  of  Volunteers,  and  continued  in  command  of  the 
"Army  of  the  Frontier"  in  Southwestern  Missouri  till  April, 
1863,  The  politicians  of  Missouri,  dissatisfied  with  his  just  and 
straightforward  administration  of  affairs,  interfered  at  Washing- 
ton, and  prevented  his  confirmation ;  but  President  Lincoln 
reappointed  him  in  April,  1863.  He  was  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  thir''  division  of  the  Fourteenth  Army  Corps,  Army 


MAJOR-GENERAL   J®HN    m'ALLISTER   SCHOFIELD,  1G5 

of  the  Camberland,  April  20th,  1863,  but  transferred  on  the 
13th  of  May  following  to  the  command  of  the  Department  of  the 
Missouri,  which  involved  the  command  of  the  Missouri  State 
Militia,  and  captured  Fort  Smith  and  Little  Rock,  in  Arkansas. 
He  rendered  material  assistance  to  General  Grant  in  the  siege 
of  Yicksburg.  This  command  he  held  until  January,  186-i, 
when  he  was  relieved  of  his  command  in  Missouri,  and  on  the 
9th  of  February  following  made  commander  of  the  Depart- 
ment and  Army  of  the  Ohio,  known  at  that  time  as  the 
Twenty-third  Army  Corps,  This  corps,  on  the  sixth  of  May 
following  (the  day  when  Sherman  commenced  his  Atlanta  cam- 
paign), numbered  13,559  effective  troops,  but  was  subsequently 
reenforced.  In  all  the  battles  in  the  Atlanta  campaign, 
and  they  were  many,  and  some  of  them  very  severe.  General 
Schofield  took  an  active  and  honorable  part.  His  command, 
though  only  one-ninth  of  the  entire  force,  was  never  found 
wanting  whenever  any  brave  or  daring  enterprise  was  to  be 
undertaken  ;  and  it  would  be  hard  to  say  which  of  Sherman's 
army  commanders,  Thomas,  McPherson,  or  Schofield,  best 
deserved  the  high  encomiums  which  their  grim  but  just  chief 
bestowed  equally  on  all. 

Atlanta  won  and  dismantled,  and  some  apprehensions  being 
entertained  from  Hood's  raid  into  Tennessee,  General  Sherman 
despatched  General  Thomas,  with  General  Schofield  as  second  in 
command,  to  look  after  the  Rebel  General.  Schofield  repaired  at 
once  to  Nashville,  and  learning  that  Hood  was  crossing  the 
Tennessee  at  Florence,  set  out  to  meet  him  and  obstruct  and 
delay  his  progress  until  General  Thomas  could  collect  a  more 
adequate  force,  and  especially  a  larger  cavalry  force,  for  the 
defence  of  Nashville  and  Tennessee.  Skirmishing  with  Hood 
continually,  from  the  14th  to  the  80th  of  November,  General 
Schofield  had  a  sharp  action  at  Pulaski,  another  at  Columbia,  and 


166  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

on  the  30th  of  November  fought  the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tennes- 
see, one  of  the  severest  in  the  AVestern  campaigns.  His  own 
force  was  greatly  outnumbered  by  that  of  the  enemj^,  and  the 
result,  amid  terrible  slaughter,  was  a  drawn  battle.  But  Scho- 
lield  had  gained  his  point ;  he  had  so  thoroughly  delayed  and  crip- 
pled Hood's  army  that  General  Thomas  had  been  able  to  concen- 
trate his  troops  at  Nashville,  and  Tennessee  was  safe.  Falling 
back  upon  Nashville  by  rapid  marches,  he  succeeded  in  joining 
General  Thomas  with  his  command  before  Hood  could  overtake 
him.  On  the  15th  and  16th  of  December,  the  battle  of  Nashville 
took  place,  and  General  Schofield,  conspicuous  as  ever  for  his 
daring,  had  a  full  share  in  Hood's  discomfiture,  and  pursued  him 
relentlessly,  till  his  troops,  a  disorganized  and  almost  wholly 
disarmed  mob,  singly  and  by  scores  found  their  way  across  the 
Tennessee. 

Spending  no  time  in  rest,  General  Schofield  and  his  command 
were  next  ordered,  wa  Cincinnati  and  Washington,  to  the  mouth 
of  Cape  Fear  River,  N.  C,  arriving  January  15,  1865.  Here  he 
took  part  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Anderson  and  Wihnington,  in 
the  battle  and  occupation  of  Kinston,  and  on  the  22d  of  March 
joined  General  Sherman  at  Goldsboro, 

He  was  detailed  to  execute  the  military  convention  of  capitu- 
lation of  General  J.  E.  Johnston's  Rebel  army,  April  26,  1865, 
and  was  in  command  of  the  Department  of  North  Carolina  till 
June  21,  1865.  He  had  been  made  a  brigadier-general  in  the 
regular  army,  his  commission  dating  from  November  30,  1864, 
the  day  of  the  battle  of  Franklin.  On  the  13th  of  March,  1865, 
he  Avas  brevetted  major-general  in  the  regular  army,  and  in 
1867  was  commissioned  major-general  in  that  army.  From 
June  22,  1865,  to  August  16,  1866,  he  was  on  special  duty  in 
Europe.  On  his  return  he  was  put  in  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Potomac,  and  on  the  reorganization  of  the  military 


MAJOR-GENERAL   JOHN   MCALLISTER  SCHOFIELD.  167 

commands,  March  13,  1867,  was  made  commander  of  the  First 
Military  District  (Virginia). 

On  the  23d  of  April,  1868,  on  the  final  resignation  of  Secre- 
tary Stanton,  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War,  and  held  that 
position  till  March  11, 1869,  performing  its  duties  with  eminent 
ability.  Resigning  this  office,  he  was  made  commander  of  the 
Military  Department  of  the  Missouri,  and  on  the  death  of  General 
Thomas,  transferred  to  the  command  of  the  Military  Division 
of  the  Pacific,  with  headquarters  at  San  Francisco.  lie  still 
retains  this  command.  In  all  the  positions,  military  and  civil, 
which  General  Schofield  has  been  called  to  occupy,  he  has  ac- 
quitted himself  with  the  hisfhest  credit,  makina;  no  failures  and 
no  blunders. 


BRIGADIER-GENERAL  OLIVER  OTIS  HOWARD. 


•^fCiliRIGAriER-GENERAL  OLIVER  OTIS  HOWARD. 
^lll  '  ^^^  Havelock  of  the  Americiin  Union  Army,"  was  born 
mT!^  at  Leeds.  Kennebec  county.  Maine,  on  the  Sth  of  Novem- 
c^  ber,  ISoO,  the  eldest  of  three  children  of  parents  in  moder- 
ate, but  independent,  circumstances.  Working  upon  the  tarm  until 
his  tenth  year,  he  was  then,  by  his  father's  death,  left  in  the  care 
of  an  uncle,  Hon.  John  Otis,  of  Hallowell,  Maine,  Having  attained 
a  good  common-school  education,  he,  in  IS-iO,  matriculated  at 
Bowdoin  College,  from  which  he  graduated  at  the  head  of  his 
class  in  1S50.  Entering  immediately  the  United  States  Military 
Academy  at  Wos:  Poiur,  he  graduated  from  that  institution  in 
June^  1854:,  with  the  fourth  rank  in  his  class.  He  w:\s  assigned 
to  the  Ordnance  Department,  with  brevet  rank  of  second  lieuten- 
ant, served  in  Texas  and  Florida,  and  was  subsequently  trans- 
ferred to  the  United  States  arsenal  at  Augusta,  Georgia ;  and 
from  thence  to  the  arsenal  at  Watervliet^  Maine.  On  the  1st  of 
July,  1S55,  he  was  made  a  second  lieutenant  by  promotion ;  and  on 
the  1st  of  July,  1857,  promoted  to  be  first  lieutenant,  and  appointed 
Acting  Assistant  Professor  of  Mathematics  at  West  Point,  which 
position  he  held  at  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion.  On  the 
2 Sth  of  May,  1861,  he  resigned  his  professorship  and  accepted  a 
commission  as  colonel  of  the  third  Maine  volunteers,  the  first  three 

years  regiment  that  left  that  State;  and, as  senior  colonel,  led  a  bri- 
i(>6 


BRTGADIKR-GEXERAL    OLIVER   OTIS    IIOWAKD.  1G9 

gaile  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  July  21, 1861.  The  gallantry  and 
ability  manifested  on  that  occasion  secured  for  him  (September 
3d)  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  ho  was  placed  in  com* 
mand  of  a  brigade  in  General  Casey's  provisional  division,  to 
which  was  then  intrusted  the  charge  of  the  national  capital. 
In  the  following  December,  he  was  assigned  to  General  Sumner's 
command,  the  first  brigade  of  the  first  division  of  the  second  army 
corps,  in  McClellan's  Peninsula  campaign.  At  Fair  Oaks,  June 
1,  1862,  while  gallantly  leading  a  decisive  charge,  he  was  struck 
in  the  right  arm  by  two  bullets,  one  near  the  wrist  and  the  other 
at  the  elbow;  he  did  not  leave  the  field,  however,  nntil  wounded 
a  second  time,  when  he  was  obliged  to  go  to  the  rear  and  submit 
to  an  amputation  of  the  limb.  In  the  words  of  a  friend,  "  Weak 
and  fainting  from  hemorrhage  and  the  severe  shock  which  his 
system  had  sustained,  the  next  day  he  started  for  his  home  in 
Maine.  lie  remained  there  only  about  two  months,  during 
which  time  he  was  not  idle.  Visiting  various  localities  in  his 
native  State,  he  made  patriotic  appeals  to  the  people  to  come 
forward  and  sustain  the  Government.  Pale,  emaciated,  and 
with  one  sleeve  tenantless,  he  stood  up  before  them,  the  embodi- 
ment of  all  that  is  good  and  true  and  noble  in  manhood.  lie 
talked  to  them  as  only  one  truly  loyal  can  talk — as  one  largely 
endowed  with  that  patriotism  which  is  u  heritage  of  New  Eng- 
land blood.  Modesty,  sincerity  and  earnestness  characterized 
his  addresses,  and  his  fervent  appeals  drew  hundreds  around  the 
national  standard."  Before  he  had  recovered  from  his  wound, 
and  against  the  advice  of  his  surgeon,  he  hastened  to  the  front, 
and  at  the  head  of  a  brigade  of  the  second  (French's)  division, 
(his  own  being  temporarily  commanded  by  General  Caldwell,) 
he  took  part  in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Kun;  and  in  the  re- 
treat from  Centreville  he  commanded  the  rear-guard.  At  Antie- 
tam  he  succeeded  General  Sedgwick,  who  was  woundeil,  in  com- 


170  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

mand  of  Lis  division.  On  the  13th  of  December,  at  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg,  he  led  his  division,  in  support  of  General 
French's,  in  the  heroic  charge  made  upon  the  rebel  position  in 
the  rear  of  that  city.  In  this  attempt — in  which  the  Union 
troops,  in  the  words  of  their  commander,  "  did  all  that  men 
could  do — Howard's  brigade  alone  lost  nearly  a  thousand  men." 

During  the  succeeding  winter  he  held  the  command  of  the 
Becond  division  of  the  second  corps ;  and,  in  April,  1863,  was 
confirmed  as  major-general  of  volunteers  (his  commission 
dating  from  the  29th  of  the  preceding  November),  and  was 
transferred  to  the  command  of  the  eleventh  corps,  thereby  re- 
lieving General  Sigel.  His  new  command  was  composed  of 
German  troops,  many  of  whom  could  not  even  speak  tho 
English  language,  and  all  enthusiastically  devoted  to  their 
former  commander,  who,  for  some  inscrutable  governmental 
reason,  had  so  suddenly  been  taken  away  from  them.  With 
these  men,  good  and  true  soldiers,  yet  demoralized  to  a  certain 
degree  by  the  change  of  command,  and  before  time  had  been 
afforded  to  him  for  re-organizing  them  or  becoming  better  known 
to  them.  General  Howard  was  fated  to  meet  the  first  onset  of 
the  rebel  attack  at  Chancellorsville.  Under  the  unexpected  and 
crushing  blow,  and  despite  the  heroic  endeavors  of  Howard 
himself,  they  broke  and  ran,  causing  a  panic  which  had  well 
nigh  proved  the  irretrievable  ruin  of  the  whole  Union  army. 

The  eleventh  and  its  commander  keenly  felt  the  dishonor  of 
this  day — but  the  noble-hearted  and  patient  Lincoln's  confi. 
dence  in  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  unshaken,  and  when  a 
change  of  commanders  was  urged,  he  simply  replied,  "  Howard 
will  bring  it  up  to  the  work,  only  give  him  time."  And 
splendidly  did  Howard  and  his  men  redeem  their  credit  upon 
the  battle  field  of  Gettysburg,  on  the  first,  second,  and  third  of 
July,  1863.     It  was  to  his  happy  forethought,  on  the  first  day 


BRIGADIER-GENERAL     OLIVER    OTIS    HOWARD.  171 

of  that  battle,  ia  seizing  Cemetery  Hill,  that  we  may  in  a  great 
measure,  attribute  the  favorable  results  of  the  fighting  on  the 
two  succeeding  days.  It  "was  one  of  those  divine  inspirations 
on  which  destinies  turn,"  giving  him  a  stronghold  of  defence 
and  shelter,  when,  as  he  must  have  foreseen,  and  as  happened 
three  hours  later,  he  was  obliged  to  retire  in  the  face  of  an 
enemy  more  than  double  his  own  number.  And,  on  this  hill, 
the  natural  centre  of  the  Union  lines,  the  eleventh  corps,  burn- 
ing to  wipe  out  the  memory  of  Chancellorsville,  met  and  terri- 
bly repulsed  the  brunt  of  the  attack  by  the  rebel  General 
Ewell's  division,  at  sunset  of  the  second  day.  On  the  third 
day  of  this  terrible  fight,  Howard's  corps  still  held  the  samo 
position,  grimly  watching  the  sublime  panorama  of  battle 
which  unrolled  before  them.  "  I  have  seen  many  men  in 
action,"  wrote  an  eye-witness,  "but  never  one  so  imperturba- 
bly  cool  as  this  general  of  the  eleventh  corps.  I  watched  him 
closely  as  a  minie  whizzed  overhead.  I  dodged,  of  course.  I 
never  expect  to  get  over  that  habit.  But  I  am  confident  that 
he  did  not  move  a  muscle  by  the  fraction  of  a  hair's  breadth." 
At  last,  however,  came  the  furious  final  charge  of  tlie  desper- 
ate veterans  of  Lee's  array,  recklessly  bent  on  obtaining  posses- 
sion of  Cemetery  Hill.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  cannon  cc»ncen- 
trated  their  unintermitted  and  terrific  fire  upon  the  Union 
centre  (Howard's  position)  and  the  left — but  Howard  simply 
ordered  one  after  another  of  his  guns  to  be  quiet,  as  if  silenced 
by  the  enemy's  fire,  and  his  gunners  flung  themselves  flat  upon 
the  ground.  Suddenly,  as  the  rebel  line,  in  huge  semicircular 
sweep,  reached  the  Emmetsburg  road,  the  Germans  of  the 
eleventh  corps  sprang  to  their  guns,  and  along  the  whole  front 
of  the  Union  centre  and  left,  more  than  four  miles  long — there 
rained  such  a  storm  of  fiery,  pitiless  hail  of  death-bolts  upon  the 
advancing   foe,   as   swept   away   not   only   the   last    hope    of 


172  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

the  Confederate  chieftain,  but,  almost  literally,  his  best  army, 
Gettysburg  was  won,  and  the  North  was  saved.  President 
Lincoln  sent  to  Howard  an  autograph  letter  of  thanks  for  his 
inestimable  services,  and  Congress  passed  a  vote  of  similar 
import.  General  Hancock  having  been  severely  wounded  in 
this  battle,  the  command  of  his  corps  (the  second)  was  given  to 
Howard. 

In  the  fall  of  1863,  after  the  battle  of  Chiokamauga,  Generals 
Howard  and  Hooker,  with  their  corps,  were  sent  to  reinforce 
Kosecrans,  in  Tennessee,  and  at  Chattanooga  came  under  the 
command  of  General  Grant,  who  had  then  recently  assumed  the 
leadership  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi.  Here  it 
was,  also,  that  Howard  became  acquainted  with  General  She^-man, 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  an  intimacy  which  increased  un-il  the 
close  of  the  war.  Together  they  led  their  respective  corps  in 
the  assault  upon  Fort  Buckner,  on  the  second  day  of  the  battle 
for  the  possession  of  Mission  Eidge  (November  25,  1863),  and  it 
was  Howard's  cavalry  which  contributed  largely  to  the  more 
complete  discomfiture  of  the  routed  rebels,  by  the  destruction 
of  the  Dalton  and  Cleveland  railroad.  In  the  long  and  severe 
march  of  Sherman,  to  the  relief  of  General  Burnside,  at  Knox- 
ville,  in  December,  1863,  General  Howard  bore  a  conspicuous 
part,  winning  the  highest  commendation  for  fidelity  and  intelli- 
gence from  Sherman,  who  says,  in  his  official  report :  "  In  Gen- 
eral Howard  throughout,  I  found  a  polished  and  Christian 
gentleman,  exhibiting  the  highest  and  most  chivalrous  traits 
of  the  soldier."  During  the  whole  of  General  Sherman's  march 
to  Atlanta  (May  to  August,  186-1),  General  Howard  and  his 
men  did  splendid  service.  During  the  siege  of  that  place,  the 
brave  and  beloved  General  McPherson  was  killed  on  the  21st 
of  July,  and  his  command,  that  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
was  given,  by  the  President,  at  General  Sherman's  request,  to 


BRIGADIER-GENERAL    OLIVER   OTIS    HOWARD.  173 

Major-Gencral  Howard.  In  the  opening  movement  (on  the 
29th  of  August)  of  General  Sherman's  feint  towards  raising  the 
siege  of  Athinta,  General  Howard's  column  was  fiercely  attacked 
by  S.  D.  Lee  and  Hardee's  rebel  corps,  but  repulsed  them 
with  terrible  slaughter;  and  again,  at  Jonesboro,  on  the  31st  of 
August,  he  dealt  to  Hood's  army  the  last  crushing  blow,  which 
drove  him  routed  from  Atlanta,  thenceforth  open  to  the  Union 
troops. 

In  Sherman's  "  March  to  the  Sea,"  from  Atlanta  to  Savannah^ 
Major-General  Howard  led  the  right  wing,  marching  down  the 
Macou  road,  destroying  the  railroad,  and  scattering  the  rebel 
cavalry — and  passing  through  Jackson,  Monticello,  and  Hilla- 
boro,  to  Milledgeville,  the  capital  of  the  State,  where  he  was' 
joined  by  the  left  wing  of  the  army,  under  General  Slocum. 
From  Millen,  the  united  army  moved  down  on  either  bank  of 
the  Ogeechee  river,  and  Howard's  column,  by  the  8th  of  Decem- 
ber, had  reached  and  seized  the  Gulf  railroad,  within  twenty 
miles  of  Savannah.  On  the  night  of  the  9th,  Howard  commu- 
nicated, by  scouts,  with  a  Union  gunboat  lying  two  miles  below 
Fort  McAllister — which  shortly  after  fell  into  the  hands  of  the- 
Union  troops — and  Generals  Sherman  and  Howard  wxnt  down 
to  the  fleet  in  a  small  boat,  where  they  met  Admiral  Dahlgren. 
Their  great  work  was  done,  and  Savannah  was  a  splendid  Christ- 
mas gift  to  the  President,  and  to  the  nation.*    Early  in  February 

*  A  story  is  told  of  this  boat  voyage,  which  illustrates,  to  some  extent, 
the  characters  of  both  General  Sherman  and  General  Howard.  On  finding. 
the  fort  carried,  and  his  army  again  in  communication  with  the  Unioa 
army  and  navy,  General  Sherman  was  much  elated  and  jubilant,  and  soon 
after  they  eml)arked,  he  said  :  "  I  feel  good  ;  I  want  to  sing  or  shout,  but 
my  musical  education  was  neglected.  Boys"  (to  the  staff  officers  in  tlie 
boat),  "can't  you  sing  something?"  The  "boys"  seemed  at  a  loss. 
"  Howard,"  said  the  general,  "  I  know  you  can  sing,  for  I  have  heard 
you."     "But,  general,"  replied  Howard,  "1  can't  sing  anything  but  hymn 


174  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

commcnned  the  marcli  througli  the  Carolinas,  in  which  Howard 
again  led  the  right  wing,  moving  towards  Beaufort,  and  menac- 
ing Charleston — and  finally  entering  Columbia,  the  capital  of 
the  Palmetto  State.  Then  pressing  into  North  Carolina,  they 
met  and  whipped  Johnston's  rebel  army  at  Averysboro,  on  the 
20th  of  March,  1865 ;  and  while  on  the  march  for  Raleigh,  on 
the  12th  of  April,  were  delighted  by  the  glad  news  of  Lee's 
surrender. 

Congress,  at  the  close  of  the  march  of  Sherman's  army  to  the 
sea,  in  December  186-1,  promoted  General  Howard  to  the  rank 
of  brigadier- general  in  the  regular  army,  his  commission  dating 
from  the  21st  of  December,  1861,  and  the  Thirty-ninth  Con- 
gress, at  their  first  session,  conferred  on  him  the  brevet  rank  of 
major-general  in  the  regular  army,  dating  from  March  13,  1865. 

When  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
lamented  Lincoln,  determined  upon  the  organikiation  of  a 
"  Bureau  of  Freedmen,  Refugees,  and  Abandoned  Lands,"  it  wa3 
felt  almost  instinctively  that  General  Howard  was  the  man  to 
be  at  the  head  of  it,  and  no  nomination  made  by  the  Secretary 
of  War  was  more  heartily  approved  than  that  by  which  he  was 
named  commissioner.  Owing  to  the  necessary  duties  connected 
with  the  closing  up  of  his  command  of  the  right  wing  of  General 
Sherman's  army,  General  Howard  was  unable  to  take  charge  of 
his  Bureau  until  May  12th,  1865.  In  its  organization  there 
were  manifold  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  The  act  was  loosely 
drawn  ;  many  matters  were  left  discretionary  with  the  commis- 
sioner and  his  assistants,  in  which  their  duties  should  have  been 

tunes.  1  don't  know  any  thing  else."  "  Those  will  be  just  as  good  as  any 
thing  else,"  said  the  commanding  general ;  "  sing  them."  And  so,  as  they 
rar.  down  to  the  squadron,  Howard  made  the  air  vocal  with  "  Shining 
Shore,"  "Homeward  Bound,"  and  "Rock  of  Ages ;"  the  staff  officers 
joining  in,  and  Sherman  occasior.ally  trying  a  stave  or  two — though  it 
was  evident,  at,  he  said,  that  his  musical  education  had  been  neglected. 


BRIGADIER-GENERAL    OLIVER    OTIS    HOWARD.  175 

defined ;  and  their  authority  was  often  insufficient  to  enforce  mea- 
sures which  were  necessary  ;  still,  during  the  first  two  or  three 
years,  the  affairs  of  the  Bureau  were  managed  with  a  discretion, 
an  integrity  and  a  conscientious  regard  for  the  right  in  the  con- 
flicting interests  of  the  freedman  and  his  former  master,  which 
won  for  the  commissioner  and  his  subordinates  the  esteem  and 
respect  of  the  intelligent  and  loyal  of  all  classes. 

When  President  Johnson  began  to  drift  back  to  his  old  affinities 
with  the  rebels,  and  to  sympathize  with  those  whom  he  had  at 
first  so  loudly  proclaimed  must  be  severely  punished,  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau,  and  its  patriotic  and  loyal  commissioner,  became 
objects  of  his  utter  aversion.  He  recommended  that  the  Bureau 
should  not  be  suffered  to  exist  beyond  the  time  specified  in  the 
first  organic  act,  viz.,  two  years;  and  when  a  new  Freedmen's 
Bureau  bill  passed  both  houses  of  Congress,  he  vetoed  it, 
attempting  in  a  long  argument  to  show  the  needlessness  of  any 
such  Bureau  of  the  Government.  The  bill  was  not  passed  over 
his  veto,  but  later  in  the  session  a  better  bill,  re-organizing  it  in 
some  particulars,  but  retaining  its  substantial  features  and  con- 
templating the  retention  of  General  Howard  as  commissioner, 
was  passed  by  a  strong  vote,  and  when  Mr.  Johnson  vetoed 
it,  was  passed  again  by  the  constitutional  majority  of  two-thirds. 
Mr.  Johnson  then  gave  out  that  he  had  determined  upon  the 
removal  of  General  Howard  from  the  commissionership,  but  as  the 
Tenure  of  Office  act  clearly  prohibited  this,  he  was  compelled 
to  allow  him  to  remain,  but  did  all  that  he  could  to  hinder 
him  from  accomplishing  what  he  desired.  He  pardoned  in 
every  case  in  which  application  was  made,  and  sometimes  even 
without  application,  the  most  violent  rebels,  especially  if 
their  lands  had  been  confiscated  and  were  inuring  to  the  bene- 
fit of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  he  invariably  ruled  that  bis 
pardon  entitled  them  to  the  restoration  of  all  their  lands  unless 


176  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

these  bad  been  sold  for  the  non-payment  of  the  direct  revenue 
tax.  This  action  of  the  Pi'esident  in  many  instances  seri- 
ously crippled  the  usefulness  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  taking 
from  it  a  source  of  legitimate  revenue,  and  often  requiring  the 
relinquishment  of  lands  occupied  by  colonies  of  freedmen,  or 
for  schools  or  churches  for  their  intellectual  or  religious  in- 
struction ;  but,  during  this  period  of  trial.  General  Howard 
maintained  a  discreet  and  dignified  course. 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  was  actuated  at  any  time 
by  any  other  motive  than  a  desire  to  do  what  he  believed  to  be 
right  and  just  to  both  parties  with  whom  he  had  to  deal — the 
Freedmen  and  the  original  owners  of  the  lands  and  houses,  who 
had  legally  forfeited  them  by  their  participation  in  the  Eebellion. 
But  the  condition  of  affairs  was  complicated  in  several  ways. 
The  various  missionary  and  benevolent  organizations  (nearly  or 
quiL3  half  a  score  of  them)  had  their  schools  and  in  some  cases 
their  churches  among  the  freedmen,  and  they  were  all  anxious 
to  secure  what  they  deemed  their  fair  proportion  of  these  aban- 
doned lands  and  buildings  for  their  purposes;  and  within 
reasonable  limits  it  was  right  and  proper  that  they  should  be 
thus  aided,  since  the  grants  would  not  go  to  the  personal  emolu- 
ment of  the  officers  of  the  societies,  but  to  the  support  of  the 
Freedmen's  schools  and  worship.  General  Howard,  with 
undoubted  good  intentions,  was  too  easily  influenced,  and  did  not 
administer  the  trust  with  perfect  fairness,  and  as  a  result,  one 
society,  with  which  he  was  religiously  affiliated,  now  holds  these 
abandoned  lands  and  buildings  by  gift  from  him  as  commissioner, 
to  the  value  of  between  two  and  three  million  dollars  (some  state 
the  amount  even  higher),  while  other  societies  equally  deserving 
had  but  a  mere  trifle  granted  them. 

As  was  to  be  expected  from  a  military  officer  of  high  rank, 
General  Howard  selected  his  assistant  commissioners  from  his 


BRIGADIER-GENERAL    OLIVER   OTIS    HOWARD.  177 

3omrades  in  the  army,  and  undoubtedly  endeavored  to  make  a 
judicious  selection  of  these  for  the  work,  but  in  too  many 
instances,  they  proved  cruel  oppressors  of  the  Freedmen,  and 
took  advantage  of  their  position  to  enrich  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  those  whom  they  were  sent  to  protect.  There  were, 
doubtless,  very  many  who  administered  their  difficult  task  with 
perfect  honesty  and  justice,  but  the  number  who  did  not,  was  so 
large  that  the  title  of  Assistant  Commissioner  of  the  Freedmen's 
Bureau  became  almost  a  term  of  reproach.  General  Howard 
from  an  esprit  du  corps,  which  was  in  one  view  creditable  to  him, 
was  very  unwilling  to  believe  any  evil  report  concerning  his 
old  comrades,  and  sometimes  kept  them  in  place  when  he  should 
have  removed  and  punished  them.  In  1869  and  1870,  the 
Bureau  had  from  these  causes  fallen  into  such  a  condition  that  it 
was  felt  that  its  longer  existence  would  be  undesirable,  and  an 
investigation  into  its  affiiirs  was  ordered,  which  resulted  in  the 
exoneration  of  the  commissioner  from  serious  blame,  though  this 
result  came  about  rather  from  the  partial  and  imperfect  character 
of  the  investiojation,  than  from  his  entire  innocence  of  all  wrong'. 
Among  other  good  measures  inaugurated  by  him  during  his 
administration  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  was  the  founding  of 
Howard  University,  an  institution  for  the  higher  education  of 
men  of  color,  of  which  he  is  the  nominal  president.  He  has 
been  accused  of  transcending  his  powers  in  what  he  has  done  for 
this  institution,  but  the  charge  has  probably  no  sufficient  foun- 
dation. The  Bureau  of  Freedmen  and  Abandoned  Lands  is  now 
virtually  abolished,  and  General  Howard  has  within  a  few  months 
past  been  assigned  to  a  new  class  of  duties,  the  pacijScation  of 
the  wild  and  predatory  tribes  of  the  Southwest.  In  this  work 
he  will  very  probably  prove  more  skilful  than  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  win  to  himself  deserved 

honor.     The  instances  in  our  own,  or  in  English  history,  where 
12 


1T8  MEN   OF    OUR  DAT. 

men  of  strictly  military  education  who  liave  risen  to  high  com 
mand  in  the  army,  have  proved  good  civil  administrators,  have 
been  so  few  that  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired  for  their  own  sakes, 
as  well  as  as  for  the  nation's  sake,    that  the  experiment  may 
never  again  be  tried. 

General  Howard  in  the  army  was  one  of  our  ablest  officers, 
a  Chevalier  Bayard,  sa7is  jjeur  et  sans  re2^roche;  as  an  administra- 
tive officer,  he  has,  to  say  the  least,  won  no  laurels.  In  1865,  Colby 
University  (Waterville,  Maine)  and  Shurtleff  College,  Alton, 
Illinois,  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.D.;  and  Pennsyl- 
vania College,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  did  the  same  in  1866. 


SALMON    PORTLAND    CHASE. 


HIS  distinguished  statesman,  jurist  and  financier — whoso 
somewhat  peculiar  baptismal  names  were  conferred  upon 
him  in  memory  of  a  deceased  uncle  Salmon,  a  resident 
of  the  town  of  Portland,  Maine — was  born  at  Cornish, 
New  Hampshire,  on  the  13th  of  January,  1808,  He  traces  his 
descent  from  Aquila  Chase,  a  native  of  Cornwall,  England,  who 
was  born  in  1618,  and,  while  quite  young,  came  to  America  and 
settled  at  Newburyport,  Massachusetts.  Dudley  Chase,  the 
grandfather  of  Secretary  Chase,  and  fourth  in  descent  from 
Aquila,  procured  a  grant  of  land  on  the  Connecticut  river,  north 
of  Charleston,  (or,  as  it  was  then  called,  Fort  No.  4,)  upon  which 
he  settled,  naming  the  township  Cornish,  in  honor  of  the  original 
home  of  his  English  ancestry.  His  children  became  notable 
persons  in  that  region  ;  one  of  them,  Philander,  being  the  Epis- 
copal Bishop  of  Ohio,  and  the  founder  of  Kenyon  College  ;  and 
another,  D.  P.  Chase,  became  Chief  Justice  of  Vermont.  Another 
brother,  Ithamar  Chase,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  old-fashioned  New  Englander,  of  im- 
posing stature,  great  natural  dignity,  and  an  affability  of  manner 
which  rendered  him,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  a  gentleman 
Sagacious,  honest,  energetic,  and — Yankee-like — turning  hia 
hand   to  whatever   business  chance  offered,  he  succeeded,  as 

Carraer,  merchant,  surveyor  and  manufacturer,  in  accumulating 

179 


180  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

a  handsome  property.  He  secured,  also,  the  confidence  :  nd 
good-will  of  his  fellow-citizens,  whom  he  long  served  in  the 
capacity  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  whom,  for  many  years, 
he  acceptably  represented  in  the  Executive  Council  of  New 
Hampshire.  The  close  of  the  "  war  of  1812  "  brought  disaster 
tc  his  fortunes,  and  necessitated,  in  1815,  his  removal  to  Keene, 
New  Hampshire,  w^here,  two  years  later,  he  suddenly  died,  leav- 
ing his  family  with  little  else  than  the  heritage  of  an  honorable 
name  and  a  well-spent  life.  His  wife,  however,  who  was  of 
Scotch  descent,  and  possessed  much  of  the  energy  and  thrift 
characteristic  of  that  race,  had  inherited  from  her  parents  a  little 
property,  which  still  remained  intact  after  the  wreck  of  her 
husband's  fortunes.  By  a  careful  husbanding  of  her  resources, 
therefore,  she  was  enabled  to  keep  her  children  in  comparative 
comfort,  and  to  give  a  mother's  tender  thought  and  direction  to 
their  earlier  studies.  Young  Chase,  at  the  schools  of  Keene, 
and  afterwards  at  a  boarding  school,  kept  by  one  of  his  father's 
old  friends,  at  Windsor,  Vermont,  had  mastered  the  elementary 
parts  of  knowledge,  had  got  through  the  Latin  Grammar,  read 
a  little  in  Virgil's  Bucolics,  and  had  commenced  Greek  and 
Euclid,  when,  in  the  spring  of  1820,  his  mother  received  from 
her  brother-in-law,  the  Bishop  of  Ohio,  an  offer  to  take  charge 
of  and  educate  the  lad.  The  proposition  was  joyfully  accepted, 
and,  before  long,  Salmon  started  on  his  long  journey  westward, 
in  company  with  his  elder  brother  Alexander,  who  had  just 
graduated  from  college,  and  was  going  (in  company  with  Henry 
R.  Schoolcraft,  since  distinguished  as  a  traveller,  ethnologist 
and  writer)  to  join  General  Cass's  expedition  to  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi. 

At  Cleveland  the  young  traveller  parted  from  his  brother  and 
friend,  and  spent  nearly  a  month  with  a  friend  of  his  uncle, 
while  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  reach  that  relative,  who 


SALMON   PORTLAND   CHASE.  181 

resided  at  Worthington,  in  the  interior  of  the  State.  While 
thus  delayed,  the  boy  was  by  no  means  idle,  but  employed  him- 
self much  of  the  time  in  ferrying  travellers  across  the  Cuyahoga, 
upon  the  eastern  bank  of  which  stream  the  town  stood,  thereby 
adding  somewhat  to  his  slender  funds,  and  gaining  a  lesson  of 
industrious  self-reliance  which  was  of  much  use  to  him  in  the 
future.  At  length,  however,  an  opportunity  ofi'ered  for  Salmon's 
proposed  journey.  He  was  placed  in  charge  of  two  theological 
students,  en  route  for  Worthington,  on  horseback,  and  with  them 
— travelling  "  ride  and  tie,"  as  was  frequently  done  in  the  time 
of  the  early  settlement  of  the  West — he  made  the  long  trip 
through  the  woods,  fording  streams,  and  meeting  with  many 
adventures  which  were  full  of  interest  and  novelty.  Arriving 
at  Worthington,  he  was  received  into  the  family  of  his  uncle, 
the  bishop,  a  most  excellent  man,  but  a  rigid  disciplinarian, 
where  he  fulfilled  the  menial  office  of  "chore  boy"  during  the 
intervals  of  study.  In  mathematics  and  the  languages  he  made 
excellent  progress,  despite  the  disadvantages  under  which  he 
labored,  of  being  so  much  and  arduously  occupied  with  farm 
duties.  In  composition  he  was  proficient,  and  in  Greek  he  so 
far  excelled  as  to  be  the  Greek  orator  of  the  bishop's  school  at 
its  annual  exhibition  in  the  summer  of  1821.  One  of  his  inti- 
mate schoolmates  says  :  "  Never  have  I  known  a  purer  or  more 
virtuous-minded  lad  than  he  was.  He  had  an  extreme  aversion 
to  any  thing  dishonorable  or  vicious.  He  was  industrious  and 
attentive  to  business.  Laboring  on  the  farm  of  his  uncle,  he 
missed  many  recitations,  and  had  but  limited  chances  for  study, 
yet,  having  a  natural  fondness  for  books,  he  was  surpassed  by 
710  one  of  his  age  in  the  school.  He  had  little  regard  for  hia 
personal  appearance,  or,  indeed,  for  any  thing  external.  His  mind 
appeared  to  be  directed  to  what  was  rujJit^  regardless  of  the 
opinions  of  others."     In  the  fall  of  1822,  Bishop  Chase  removed 


182  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

to  Cincinnati,  having  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  college 
there ;  and  here  a  somewhat  easier  life,  in  many  respects,  fell  to 
Salmon's  lot.  He  entered  the  freshman  class  of  the  college, 
and  studying  hard,  attained  the  rank  of  sophomore,  when  his 
studies  were  interrupted  by  the  removal,  in  August,  1823,  of  the 
bishop,  who  resigned  the  presidency,  in  order  to  visit  England, 
with  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  necessary  funds  for  a  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Seminary  in  the  West,  an  effort  which  finally 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  Kenyon  College.  Salmon 
returned  to  his  home  in  New  Uampshire,  travelling  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  way  on  foot ;  and,  after  a  short  period  of  school- 
teaching,  and  a  few  months  of  close  and  rapid  preparation  at 
the  academy  in  Royalton,  Vermont,  entered  the  junior  class  of 
Dartmouth  College.  During  his  collegiate  course,  an  incident 
occurred  strongly  indicative  of  that  innate  love  of  right  which 
has  ever  been  so  marked  a  feature  of  Mr.  Chase's  character. 
An  intimate  friend  and  classmate  having  been  arbitrarily  accused, 
and,  despite  his  asseverations  of  his  innocence,  condemned  to 
rustication,  by  the  faculiy,  for  a  trivial  offence  committed  by 
other  parties,  Salmon  waited  upon  the  president,  protested 
against  the  decision  of  the  faculty  as  unjust,  and  finding  it  irre- 
vocable, declared  his  intention  to  leave  the  colle2"e  with  hia 
friend — and  did  leave.  The  faculty  sent  a  messenger  after  them, 
who  overtook  them  on  the  road,  with  a  revocation  of  their  sen- 
tence ;  but  the  inexorable  young  men  did  not  return  until  they 
had  spent  a  pleasant  week  of  visiting  among  their  friends  and 
relatives ;  and  their  re-entry  into  Hanover  was  a  triumph.  As 
one  of  the  foremost  third  of  the  senior  class,  young  Chase  was 
admitted  into  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  and  at  his  gradua- 
tion, in  1826,  he  ranked  eighth,  delivering  an  oration  on  "Lit- 
erary Curiosity.  Going  directly  to  Washington,  D,  C,  he  an- 
nouuced,   in  the  columns  of  the  "  National  Intelligencer,"  of 


SALMON   PORTLAND   CHASE.  183 

December  23d,  1826,  his  intention  to  open  a  select  classical 
school  in  that  city  on  the  first  Monday  of  the  ensuing  year ;  but 
for  a  time  fortune  seemed  to  look  most  discouragingly  upoQ 
him.  Patience  and  courage,  however,  had  their  perfect  work; 
and,  finally,  he  most  unexpectedly  received  the  offer  of  the  male 
department  of  a  well-established  classical  school,  the  proprietors 
of  which  had  determined  to  give  their  whole  time  and  attention 
to  the  female  department.  In  this  school  (in  a  little,  one-story 
frame  building  on  G  street,)  he  commenced  teaching,  receiving 
the  patronage  of  many  eminent  men,  among  whom  were  Henry 
Clay,  William  Wirt,  and  Samuel  L.  Southard,  who  entrusted 
their  sons  to  his  care.  While  thus  arduously  engaged,  he  occu- 
pied all  his  leisure  time  in  studying  law  under  William  Wirt, 
then  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  ;  and  upon  attaining 
his  majority,  in  1829,  closed  his  school,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  the  District  of  Columbia  in  February,  1830. 

On  the  4th,  of  March,  1830,  he  set  out  for  Cincinnati,  where 
he  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  with  an  energy 
and  perseverance  which  could  not  fail  to  secure  iiltimate  success. 
He  formed  a  partnership  with  Edward  King,  Esq.,  son  of  the 
celebrated  Rufus  King,  which,however,was  of  short  duration;  and 
in  1833,  he  formed  another  connection  with  Mr.  Caswell,  a  lawyer 
of  established  reputation,  and,  while  striving  to  obtain  cases,  he 
diligently  busied  himself  with  the  compilation  of  the  statutes  of 
Ohio,  accompanied  with  copious  annotations  and  prefaced  with 
a  historical  sketch  of  the  State,  the  whole  forming  three  large 
octavo  volumes.  This  valuable  compendium — the  fruit  of  a 
careful  use  of  time  which  young  professional  men  too  often  fail 
to  improve — soon  superseded  all  other  editions  of  the  statutes, 
and  is  now  the  accepted  authority  in  the  courts.  While  the 
reading  and  investigations  necessary  to  the  compilation  of  this 
work,  added  largely  to  his  stores  of  legal  knowledge,  the  admi- 


184  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

rable  manner  in  wliich  it  was  prepared,  gave  its  young  autlior 
an  immediate  reputation  among  the  profession,  and  secured  him 
the  notice  and  respect  of  the  active  business  community  by 
which  he  was  surrounded.  It  was  the  stepping-stone  to  hia 
fortune.  Early  in  1834,  he  was  made  the  solicitor  of  the  United 
States  bank,  in  Cincinnati,  to  which  was  soon  added  a  similar 
position  connected  with  another  of  the  city  banks,  and  he  was 
soon  engaged  in  the  full  tide  of  a  large  and  lucrative  commer- 
cial practice. 

In  1837  the  partnership  ol  Caswell  and  Chase  was  dissolved, 
and  shortly  after  the  latter  formed  a  connection  with  Mr,  Ellis. 
Mr.  Chase  now  first  came  distinctly  and  prominently  before  the 
public,  in  connection  with  those  higher  interests  with  which  his 
name  is  now  so  widely  associated. 

In  July,  183G,  when  the  office  of  the  "  Philanthropist"  news- 
paper, published  by  James  G.  Birney,  was  attacked  and  de- 
spoiled by  an  anti-slavery  mob,  Birney's  life  \ras  saved  by  the 
courage  of  Salmon  P,  Chase,  who,  from  that  time,  was- foremost 
among  those  who  breasted  the  tide  of  pro-slavery  aggressions. 

In  1837,  as  the  counsel  of  a  colored  fugitive  slave  woman, 
claimed  under  the  law  of  1793,  he  made  an  elaborate  argument 
denying  the  right  of  Congress  to  delegate  to  State  magistrates, 
powers  in  such  fugitive  slave  cases — a  position  since  sustained 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,and  maintained  that 
the  law  of  1793  was  void,  because  unwarranted  by  the  Consti- 
tution. 

In  passing  from  the  court  room  after  making  this  brave,  but 
ineffectual  defence  in  this  case,  he  overheard  the  remark  of  a 
prudent  citizen,  ''  There  is  a  promising  young  man  who  has  just 
ruined  himself.^''  Time  has  proved  how  erroneous  this  judgment 
was,  yet  it  was  then  the  popular  verdict.  During  the  same  year, 
Mr.  Chase  defended  James  G.  Birney,  who  was  tried  before  th? 


SALMON"   PORTLAND   CHASE.  185 

Supreme  Court  of  Ohio,  for  harboring  a  negro  slave — forcibly 
arguing  that  slavery  was  a  local  institution,  dependent  for  its 
existence  upon  State  legislation ;  and  that  the  slave,  having 
been  brought  into  Ohio,  by  her  master,  was  de  facto  et  de  jure^ 
free.  This  was  followed,  in  1838,  by  a  severe  review  from  hia 
pen,  in  the  newspapers,  of  a  recent  report  made  by  the  Judiciary 
committee  of  the  State  Senate,  in  which  they  had  advocated 
the  refusal  of  trial  by  jury,  to  slaves.  He  also  acted  as  counsel 
for  Mr.  Birney,  in  his  trial  for  haboring  the  slave  Matilda ;  and, 
in  1842,  defended  one  Van  Zandt,  in  the  United  States  Circuit 
Court,  in  a  similar  trial,  in  which  the  principle  as  stated  by  the 
opposing  counsel,  "  Once  a  slave  always  a  slave,"  was  met  by 
Mr.  Chase  with  its  nobler  antithesis  "  Once  free,  ALWAYS  FREE ;" 
and  he  followed  it  with  a  warning  and  eloquent  denunciation  of 
the  atrocious  claims  of  slavery.  In  these  cases,  Mr.  Chase  added 
materially  to  his  previous  honorable  reputation,  and  took  rank, 
thenceforward,  with  the  oldest  and  ablest  practitioners  of  Ohio. 
Up  to  this  time,  he  had  taken  but  little  part  or  interest  in 
politics,  nor  had  he  settled  down  into  the  trammels  of  any  par- 
ticu'ar  party — voting  sometimes  with  the  Democrats,  but  more 
generally  with  the  Whigs,  because  the  latter  seemed  most 
favorable  to  the  anti-slavery  doctrines  to  which  he  had  given 
his  conscientious  adherence.  He  supported  Harrison  for  the 
Presidency,  in  1840;  but,  becoming  convinced  from  the  tone  of 
his  inaugural  address  and  the  subsequent  course  of  the  Tyler 
administration  that  the  anti-slavery  cause  had  little  or  nothing 
to  hope  for  from  the  Whig  party,  and  that  the  cause  could 
only  attain  its  legitimate  aims,  which  he  considered  of  para- 
mount importance,  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  distinct 
party  organizatioa,  he  united  with  others,  in  1841,  in  calling 
a  State  convention  of  the  opponents  of  slavery  and  slavery- 
extension.     Tlie  convention  met  in  December,  organized  "  tho 


18Q  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

Liberty  party"  of  Ohio,  nominated  a  candidate  for  governor, 
and  issued  an  address  (from  Mr  Chase's  pen)  definhig  its 
principles  and  purposes,  which  was  one  of  the  earliest  exposi- 
tions of  the  anti-slavery  movement.  In  the  "National  Liberty 
convention,"  held  at  Bufialo,  New  York,  in  1843,  Mr.  Chase 
was  a  prominent  participant,  and  as  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  resolutions,  so  vigorously  opposed  a  resolution  which  pro- 
posed "  to  regard  and  treat  the  third  clause  of  the  Constitution, 
whenever  applied  to  the  case  of  a  fugitive  slave,  as  utterly  null 
and  void,  and  consequently  as  forming  no  part  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  whenever  we  are  called  upon  or 
sworn  to  support  it," — that  it  was  not  adopted  by  the  committee, 
although  it  was  afterwards  moved  and  adopted  in  the  conven- 
tion. Years  afterward,  when  Senator  Butler,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, charged  Mr.  Chase  with  having  been  the  author  and 
advocate  of  this  resolution,  and  severely  denounced  the  doctrine 
of  mental  reservation  which  it  impliedly  sanctioned,  the  latter 
replied,  "  I  never  proposed  the  resolution  ;  I  never  would  pro- 
pose a  vote  for  such  a  resolution.  I  hold  no  doctrine  of  mental 
reservation;  every  man,  in  my  judgment,  should  speak  just  as 
he  thinks,  keeping  nothing  back,  here  or  elsewhere."  During 
the  same  year  Mr.  Chase  was  selected  to  prepare  an  address 
on  behalf  of  the  friends  of  Liberty,  of  Ireland  and  of  Repeal, 
in  Cincinnati,  in  reply  to  the  letter  from  Daniel  O'Connell,  in 
behalf  of  the  Loyal  National  Repeal  Association  of  Ireland. 
This  address — which  reviewed  the  relations  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment to  slavery  at  the  period  of  its  organization,  set  forth  its 
original  anti-slavery  policy,  and  the  subsec^uent  growth  of  the 
political  power  of  slavery,  indicated  the  action  of  the  Liberal 
party,  and  repelled  the  aspersions  cast  by  a  Repeal  Association 
in  Cincinnati,  upon  anti-slavery  men — -was  a  document  worthy 
of  Mr.  Chase's  talents.     With   Mr.  Chase,  also,  originated  tho 


SALMON    PORTLAND   CHASE.  187 

Southern  and  "Western  Liberty  Convention,  lield  at  Cincinnati,  in 
June,  1845,  and  designed,  in  the  words  of  its  founder,  to 
embrace  "  all  who,  believing  that  whatever  is  worth  preserving 
in  Republicanism  can  be  maintained  only  by  uncompromising 
war  against  the  usurpations  of  the  slave  power,  are  therefore, 
resolved  to  use  all  constitutional  and  honorable  means  to  effect 
the  extinction  of  slavery  in  their  respective  States,  and  its  re- 
duction to  its  constitutional  limits  in  the  United  States."  He 
also  drew  up  the  address  of  the  Convention,  embracing  a  his- 
tory of  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties  in  their  relations  to 
ihe  slavery  question,  and  urging  the  political  necessity  of 
forming  a  party  pledged  to  the  overthrow  of  the  institution. 

Mr.  Chase,  who  had  now  become  a  widely  distinguished 
champion  of  anti-slavery,  was  associated  with  William  H. 
Seward  in  the  defence  of  John  Van  Zandt,  who  was  arraigned 
before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  for  aiding  in  the 
escape  of  certain  slaves ;  and  subsequently  he  was  retained  for 
the  defence  in  the  case  of  Dieskell  vs.  Parish,  before  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court,  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  In  both  of  these 
cases  he  argued,  in  a  most  elaborate  manner,  that,  "  under  the 
ordinance  of  1787,  no  fugitives  from  service  could  be  reclaimed 
from  Ohio,  unless  thert?  had  been  an  escape  from  one  of  the 
original  States ;  that  it  was  the  clear  understanding  of  the 
framers  of  the  Constitution,  and  of  the  people  who  adopted  it, 
that  slavery  was  to  be  left  exclusively  to  the  disposal  of  the 
several  States,  without  sanction  or  support  from  the  National 
Government;  and  that  the  clause  of  the  Constitution  relative  to 
persons  held  to  service  was  one  of  compact  between  the  States, 
and  conferred  no  power  of  legislation  on  Congress,  having  been 
transferred  from  the  ordinance  of  1787,  in  which  it  conferred  no 
power  on  the  Confederation  and  was  never  understood  to  con- 
fer any."     In    1817,  Mr.  Chase  attended  a  second   "National 


188  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

Liberty  Convention ;"  where,  in  the  hope  that  tho  agitation  of 
the  Wilmot  Proviso  would  result  in  a  more  decided  movement 
against  slavery,  he  opposed  the  making  of  any  national  nomina* 
tions  at  that  time.  He  anticipated,  also,  the  Whig  and 
Democratic  Conventions  of  1848,  by  calling  a  Free-Territory 
Convention,  which  resulted  in  the  Buffalo  Convention,  in 
August  of  that  year,  and  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  for 
the  presidency. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1849,  Mr.  Chase  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  by  the  entire  vote  of  the  Democrats,  and 
a  large  number  of  the  free-soil  members  of  the  Ohio  Legislature. 
Supporting  the  State  policy  and  the  nominees  of  the  Democracy 
of  the  State,  he  still  declared  that  he  would  desert  it  if  it  de- 
serted the  anti-slavery  position  which  it  then  held.  On  the  26th 
and  27th  of  March,  1849,  he  delivered  a  cogent,  eloquent  and 
timely  speech  against  the  compromise  resolutions ;  following  it 
up  during  the  session,  with  others  on  the  specialities  embraced 
within  these  resolution,  and  moved  three  amendments — one, 
against  the  introduction  of  slavery,  in  the  Territories  to  which 
Mr.  Clay's  bill  applied ;  another,  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  to 
secure  trial  by  jury  to  alleged  slaves; and  the  third,  to  an  amend- 
ment made  by  Senator  Davis,  relative  to  the  reclamation  of 
fugitives  escaping  from  one  State  into  another — all  of  which, 
however,  were  lost. 

The  nomination  of  Franklin  Pierce  for  the  presidency,  and 
the  approval  of  the  compromise  of  1850,  by  the  Democratic 
Convention  at  Baltimore,  in  1852,  was  the  signal  for  Mr.  Chase's 
withdrawal  from  the  Ohio  Democracy.  He  immediately  took  the 
initiative  in  the  formation  of  an  Independent  Democratic  party, 
which  he  continued  to  support,  until  the  Nebraska-Kansas  bill 
began  to  be  agitated.  To  this  bill  he  was  a  strenuous  and 
prominent    opponent,    offering   three    important    amendments, 


SALMON    POHTLAND   CHASE.  1^^ 

which  were  severally  rejected,  and  closing  his  opposition  by  an 
earnest  protest  against  it  on  its  final  passage.  During  his  Sena- 
torial career,  economy  in  the  National  Finances ;  a  Pacific  Rail- 
road by  the  shortest  and  best  route ;  the  Homestead  Bill ;  Cheap 
Postage,  and  the  provision  by  the  National  Treasury  for  defray- 
ing the  expense  of  procuring  safe  navigation  of  the  Lakes  as 
well  as  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  all  found  in  Mr.  Chase 
an  able  and  earnest  champion.  In  1855,  he  was  elected  Gover- 
nor of  Ohio,  by  the  opponents  of  the  Pierce  administration,  and 
his  inaugural  address  recommended  single  districts  for  legisla- 
tive representation,  annual,  instead  of  biennial  sessions  of  the 
Legislature,  and  an  extended  educational  system.  At  the  next 
National  Republican  Convention,  he  declined  the  nomination 
for  the  Presidency,  which  was  urged  upon  him  by  the  delega- 
tions from  his  own,  as  well  as  other  States,  In  the  course  of 
the  same  year,  a  deficiency  was  discovered  in  the  State  treasury, 
only  a  few  days  before  the  semi-annual  interest  on  the  State 
debt  became  due — but  Governor  Chase's  energetic  action  com- 
pelled the  resignation  of  the  State  Treasurer,  who  had  concealed 
the  deficiency,  secured  a  thorough  investigation,  and  effected 
such  a  judicious  arrangement  as  protected  the  credit  of  the 
State,  and  averted  what  would  otherwise  have  been  a  serious' 
pecuniary  loss. 

At  the  close  of  his  first  gubernatorial  term,  the  Republicans 
insisted  upon  his  accepting  a  re-nomination,  which  was  carried 
by  acclamation,  and  he  was  re-elected  after  a  spirited  canvass.  In 
his  annual  message  for  1858,  he  made  an  elaborate  exposition  of 
the  financial  condition  of  Ohio,  recommending,  also,  semi-annual 
taxation,  a  greater  stringency  in  provisions  for  the  security  of 
the  State  treasury,  and  proper  appropriations  for  the  establish- 
ment of  benevolent  institutions,  especially  for  the  Reform: 
School — all  of  which  suggestions  met  with  the  approval  of  the 


190  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

Legislature,  and  laws  were  passed  in  accordance  therewith.  In 
tlie  beginning  of  1860,  he  was  again  chosen  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  from  Ohio, 

Upon  the  secession  of  South  Carolina,  in  Decemher,  1860, 
Mr.  Chase  urged  upon  General  Scott,  bj  letter,  the  necessity  of 
taking  active  measures  to  secure  the  public  property,  assuring 
him  that  the  country  would  fully  endorse  such  action.  But 
timid  counsels  prevailed.  Again,  in  February,  1861,  Mr.  Chase 
represented  Ohio  at  the  Conference  of  the  States,  held  at  "Wash- 
ington, by  invitation  of  Virginia,  and  there  he  stood  boldly  out 
as  an  uncompromising  opponent  of  any  purchase  of  peace  by 
undue  concessions  to  the  South.  Meanwhile,  when  threats  were 
made  that  Mr.  Lincoln  should  never  be  inaugurated,  unless  the 
South  received  the  concessions  it  demanded  from  the  North,  Mr. 
Chase  replied,  "  Inauguration  first,  adjustment  afterwards," 
words  which,  caught  up  and  used  as  a  popular  motto,  had  no 
small  influence. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  he  took  a  seat  in  the  Senate.  Two 
days  afterwards,  however,  he  yielded  to  a  very  general  and 
pressing  demand,  on  the  part  of  personal  and  political  friends, 
(as  well  as  some  who,  up  to  that  time,  had  not  been  considered 
as  either),  and  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  to  accept  the  Sec- 
retaryship of  the  Treasury,  which  had  been  tendered  him  by 
President  Lincoln.  Immediately  after  the  organization  of  the 
Cabinet,  and  when  the  most  important  topic  under  discussion 
was,  what  should  be  the  policy  of  the  Government  towards  the 
seceded  States,  Mr.  Chase's  influence  was  strongly  felt  in  the 
national  councils.  When  hostilities  commenced  at  Sumter,  the 
Secretary  urged  upon  General  Scott  the  propriety  of  occupying 
Manassas,  which,  had  it  been  done,  would  have  compelled  the 
evacuation  of  Harper's  Ferry  and  the  Shenandoah  valley  by 
the  rebels,  and  would  have  materially  altered  the  character  of 


SALMON   PORTLAND   CHASE.  191 

tbe  opening  campaign  of  the  war.  To  Mr.  Chase's  suggestion, 
also,  was  due  tlie  call,  promulgated  in  May,  1861,  for  65,000 
volunteers,  to  take  the  place  of  the  75,000  first  called  for ; 
and  to  him  the  President  committed,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  the  preparation  of  the  necessary  orders — 
since  known  as  Nos.  15  and  16 — the  one  for  the  enlistment  of 
volunteers  and  the  other  for  regular  regiments.  The  object 
which  Mr.  Chase  had  in  view  was  the  establishment  of  a  regular 
system — which  had  not  hitherto  existed — in  conformity  with 
which  all  new  enlistments  should  be  made,  and  in  this  important 
work  he  was  assisted  by  Colonel  Thomas,  Major  McDowell  and 
Captain  Franklin.  During  the  trying  period,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  war,  when  great  efforts  were  made  to  precipitate  Missouri, 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  into  rebellion,  Mr.  Lincoln  committed 
to  his  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  the  principal  charge  of  what- 
ever related  to  the  conservation  and  protection  of  the  interests 
of  the  Government  in  those  States.  He  obtained  for  Kousseau, 
of  Kentucky,  his  colonel's  commission,  and  gave  him  his  order 
for  the  raising  of  twenty  companies.  He  also  drew  most  of  the 
orders  under  which  Nelson  acted,  and  furnished  him  with  the 
means  of  defraying  his  expenses  for  the  expedition  into  the 
interior  of  Kentucky,  and  the  establishment  of  Camp  Dick 
Robinson — movements  which  saved  that  State  from  secession. 
He  was  the  honored  confidant  and  adviser  of  General  Cameron, 
while  Secretary  of  War,  especially  in  relation  to  western  border- 
state  matters,  slavery,  and  the  employment  of  colored  troops; 
and  it  was  at  his  suggestion  that  General  Butler  was  directed  by 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  refrain  from  surrendering  alleged  fugi- 
tives from  service  to  alleged  masters,  and  to  employ  them  under 
such  organization  and  in  such  occupations  as  circumstances 
might  suggest  or  require.  It  was,  however,  in  the  discharge  of 
his  legitimate  duties,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  that  Mr. 


irf2  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

Chase  achieved  his  greatest  success.  The  treasury,  at  the  time 
when  he  assumed  its  charge,  was  nearly  bankrupt.  Lie,  there- 
fore, immediately  proceeded  to  negotiate  a  loan.  On  the  22d  of 
March,  1861,  he  issued  proposals  for  his  first  loan  of  $8,000,000 
on  six  per  cent,  bonds,  redeemable  at  the  end  of  twenty  years. 
The  bids  were  opened  April  2d,  and  amounted  to  $27,182,000, 
at  rates  varying  from  eighty -five  for  one  hun  d  to  par.  All 
bids  below  ninety-four  were  promptly  rejected  by  the  Secretary, 
who  determined  to  let  the  country  know  at  the  outset  that  bonds 
of  the  United  States  were  not  to  be  sacrificed  in  the  market, 
and  that  the  national  credit  was  not  so  impaired  as  to  be  at  the 
mercy  of  brokers  and  capitalists.  The  disappointed  bidders 
winced  at  this  decision,  but  its  effect  upon  the  country  at  large 
was  certainly  healthy. 

Continuing  to  effect  loans  under  existing  laws,  he  borrowed, 
on  the  11th  of  April,  $4,901,000,  on  two  years  treasury  notes,  at  a 
small  premium ;  on  25th  of  May,  $7,310,000,  on  twenty  years 
bonds,  at  from  eighty-five  to  ninety-eight,  declining  all  bids 
below  ninety  five  ;  and  on  two  years  treasury  notes,  $1,681,000 
at  par,  all  of  which  loans,  considering  the  situation  of  the  coun- 
try, were  remarkable  successes.  Congress,  on  its  assembling  in 
July,  1861,  authorized  a  national  loan,  under  which  act,  and  the 
acts  amending  it,  he  took  measures  to  secure  the  funds  needed 
to  carry  on  the  war.  The  result  of  a  full  and  frank  conference 
with  the  representatives  of  the  banks  of  Boston,  Philadelphia 
and  New  York,  at  the  latter  city,  was  an  agreement,  on  the  part 
of  the  banks,  to  unite  as  associates  in  an  advance  to  Government 
of  $50,000,000 ;  while  he,  on  his  part,  agreed  to  appeal  to  the 
people  for  subscriptions  to  a  national  loan,  on  three  years  notes, 
bearing  seven-thirty  per  cent,  interest,  and  convertible  into 
twenty  years  bonds  bearing  six  per  cent.,  the  proceeds  of  which 
subscriptions  should  be  paid  over  to  the  banks,  in  satisfaction 


SALMON"   PORTLAND   CHASE.  193 

of  tbeir  advances,  so  far  as  they  would  go;  the  deficiency,  if 
any,  to  be  made  good  in  seven-thirty  notes.  By  this  and  a  sub- 
sequent loan,  made  on  nearly  the  same  terms,  the  Government 
obtained  $100,000,000  at  a  rate  of  interest  only  one  and  three- 
tenths  of  one  per  cent,  higher  than  the  ordinary  rate  of  six  per 
cent.,  and  that  for  three  years  only.  The  banks  now  declining  to 
advance  another  $50,000,000  for  the  seven-thirty  notes,  through 
the  efforts  of  the  Secretary,  a  seven  per  cent,  loan  was  negotiated 
on  the  16th  of  November,  but  trouble  resulted  from  the  oppo- 
sition of  many  of  the  banks  to  the  further  issue  of  United  States 
notes  as  legal  tender,  in  distinction  to  their  own  local  issues,  and 
the  Secretary  now  applied  the  remedy  to  this  state  of  aiSairs  by 
uniting  his  whole  influence  to  those  who  desired  the  United 
States  notes  made  a  legal  tender,  and  by  joining  them,  decided 
the  success  of  that  measure,  which  he  had  previously  urged  upon 
Congress. 

Tt  was,  however,  only  by  the  most  indomitable  perseverance 
that  he  was  enabled,  after  several  defeats  and  long  delay,  to 
secure  the  passage  of  the  National  Banking  Act,  providing  for 
a  system  of  national  banks,  based  upon  government  securities. 
This  system,  which  embraces  the  best  features  of  the  New  York 
Free  Banking  System,  together  with  certain  additions  protec- 
tive of  the  rights  both  of  the  bill-holder  and  depositor,  has 
proved  most  successful,  and,  although  at  first  vehemently 
opposed  by  some  of  the  State  and  local  banks,  has  now  fairly 
triumphed  over  all  opposition.  In  the  negotiation  of  these 
loans,  Mr.  Chase  secured  the  services  of  Mr.  Jay  Cooke,  an  emi- 
nent financier  of  Philadelphia,  as  general  agent,  who  by  his 
numerous  agencies,  and  a  wholesale  and  ingenious  system  of 
advertising,  gave  the  widest  possible  publicity  to  the  loan,  and 
secured  for  it  the  full  favor  of  the  community  throughout  the 

United  States.     By  January  1st,  1864,  five  hundred  millions  of 
13 


194  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

the  loan  (5-20  bonds)  was  taken  up,  and  the  subscriptions  were  in 
excess,  by  nearly  fourteen  millions,  of  the  amount  authorized. 
The  full  measure  of  the  Secretary's  comprehensive  plans  was 
insured  by  the  enactment,  in  1864,  of  tax  laws,  in  accordance 
with  his  repeated  suggestions  since  1861,  by  which  the  revenue 
to  the  government  was  largely  increased,  and  by  the  aid  of 
which  future  secretaries  of  the  treasury  will  be  enabled  to 
"  weather"  any  financial  pressure.  This  great  work  accom- 
plished, he  resigned  his  secretaryship,  June  30,  186-i. 

The  great  importance  and  beneficial  results  of  Mr.  Chase's 
financial  measures,  adopted  as  they  were  in  the  heat  and  pres- 
sure of  the  most  stupendous  war  of  modern  times,  and  initiated 
with  a  bankrupt  treasury,  and  notice  in  advance  from  the  great 
financial  powers  of  Europe,  that  we  "  need  not  expect  any  assist- 
ance from  them,"  render  it  desirable  that  they  should  be 
somewhat  better  understood  than  they  have  been,  and  we  there- 
fore gladly  avail  ourselves  of  the  following  explanations  of  them, 
recently  put  forth,  it  is  understood,  with  his  own  sanction. 

The  objects  which  he  had  in  view,  were : 

"I.  To  establish  satisfactory  relations  between  the  public 
credit  and  the  productive  industry  of  the  country — in  other 
words,  to  obtain  supplies.  The  suspension  of  the  banks  put  an 
end  to  the  first  and  most  obvious  resort,  loans  of  gold,  and  made 
new  methods  indispensable.  Then  the  secretary  resorted  to 
legal  tender  notes,  made  them  a  currency,  and  borrowed  them 
as  cash.  The  patriotism  of  the  people  came  in  aid  of  the  labors 
of  tlie  treasury  and  the  legislation  of  Congress,  and  the  first 
great  object  was  made  secure. 

"  II.  To  provide  against  disastrous  results  on  a  return  of 
peace.  This  could  only  be  done  by  providing  a  national  cur- 
^enc3^  There  were  about  1,500  State  banks  in  existence  which 
wanted  to  make  their  own  paper  the  currency  ot  the  country 
This  the  secretary  resisted,  and  confined  his  loans  to  greenbacks; 
but  he  did  not  drive  out  their  currency,  nor  indeed  did  he  think 


SALMON  PORTLAND   CHASE.  195 

it  exactly  honest  to  so  deprive  them  of  it,  without  giving  any 
equivalent.  He  preferred  to  neutralize  their  opposition  to  a 
national  currency  and  make  them  allies  as  far  as  possible,  instead 
of  enemies.  In  his  endeavors  to  secure  such  results,  he  proposed 
the  national  banking  system,  and  before  he  left  the  Department 
its  success  was  assured. 

*'  The  national  banks  were  certain  to  be  useful  in  many 
ways,  but  the  secretary's  main  object  was  ths  establishment  of  a 
national  currency.  This  saved  us  from  panic  and  revulsion 
at  the  end  of  the  war,  and  is  of  inestimable  value  to  men  of 
labor  and  men  of  business — indeed,  to  every  class. 

"  III.  The  third  division  of  his  labor  was  to  provide  a  fund- 
ing system.  It  was  unavoidable  during  the  rebellion  that 
every  means  of  credit  should  be  used.  He  borrowed  money 
every  way  he  could  at  reasonable  rates.  The  form  that  suited 
one  lender  did  not  suit  another ;  and  the  army  and  navy  needed 
every  dollar  that  could  be  raised  in  any  form.  Hence  tem- 
porary loans,  certificates  of  deposit,  certificates  of  indebtedness, 
7.30  notes,  compound  interest  notes,  treasury  notes  payable 
after  one  and  two  years,  etc. 

"But  it  was  necessary  to  have  funding  hans^  into  which  all 
these  temporary  loans  could  be  uUimatel//  merged.  To  this  end 
the  secretary  established  the  5-20  loan  and  the  10-40  loan.  His 
belief  was  that  after  the  $514,000,000  of  the  5-20  loan  had  been 
taken,  tlie  additional  amounts  needed  could  be  obtained  by  the 
10-40  loan  and  the  temporary  loans ;  but  the  secretary  was 
ready  to  resort  to  the  5-20s  in  case  of  emergency.  He  did  get 
$73,000,000  in  the  10-40  loan,  and  his  successors  got  about 
$120,000,000  more,  at  par. 

"  It  is  easy  to  see  how  Mr.  Chase's  funding  system  worked, 
by  examining  the  last  statement  of  the  public  debt.  The  condi- 
tion is  something  like  this:  $1,200,000,000  5-20s;  $200,000,000 
10-40s;  $200,000,000  81s  payable  now  after  fourteen  years, 
which  can  then  easily  be  put  into  10-40s ;  other  loans  (all  tem- 
porary), say  $500,000,000,  of  which  three  fourths  consist  of 
7.30s,  convertible,  and  certain  to  be  converted  into  10-40s;  and 
say   $400,000,000   greenbacks,    including   fractional    currency, 


106 


MEN    OF    OUR    DAT 


making  the  debt  of  $2,500,000,000.  So,  it  may  be  seen,  tbe 
whole  debt  except  '81s  is  already  funded,  or  sure  to  be  funded 
in  5-20  six  per  cei  ts,  or  10-40  five  per  cents." 

It  has  been  well  said  of  Mr.  Chase's  conduct  in  this  hazardous 
and  laborious  position,  that  "  the  nerve  he  displayed,  the  breadth 
of  intellect  he  manifested,  the  ardor  of  his  patriotism,  and  the 
wonders  wrought  by  his  financial  wisdom  and  skill  throughout 
the  first  three  years  of  the  rebellion,  are  so  recent  and  so  well 
remembered,  and  live  so  freshly  in  the  hearts  of  his  grateful 
countrymen,  as  to  render  unnecessary  any  thing  more  than  this 
simple  reference.  His  enduring  fame  is  built  on  his  measures ; 
his  best  eulogy  is  written  in  his  acts.  He  vindicated  the  wisdom 
of  the  President's  choice;  he  both  justified  and  rewarded  the 
confidence  of  the  people."  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that 
President  Lincoln,  with  strengthened  confidence  in  Mr.  Chase's 
patriotism,  ability,  and  sound  judgment,  tendered  to  him,  in 
186-4,  the  highest  judicial  seat  of  the  nation,  which  had  become 
vacant  by  the  death  of  its  venerable  incumbent,  Roger  S.  Taney. 
The  nomination  of  Mr.  Chase  as  Chief  Justice,  by  the  Execu- 
tive, on  the  6th  of  December,  1864,  was  promptly  confirmed  by 
the  Senate,  and  on  the  13th  of  the  same  month  he  took  his  seat 
upon  the  bench,  "  having  previously,"  as  the  records  state,  '  on 
the  same  day  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance,  in  the  room  of  the 
judges,  and  the  oath  of  office,  in  open  court,  at  his  place  upon 
the  bench,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, who  had  assembled  to  witness  a  ceremony  which,  in  this 
nation,  had  taken  place  but  once  in  sixty-three  years  preceding.** 
Shortly  after  his  assumption  of  the  duties  of  tnis  high  position, 
the  Chief  Justice  made  an  extended  tour  throughout  the  recently 
conquered  rebel  States — passing  down  the  Atlantic  coast  and  up 
the  Mississippi  river — with  the  purpose  of  gaining  a  personal 
knowledge  of  the  actual  condition  of  the  people.     During  this 


SALMON   PORTLAND   CHASE.  197 

trip,  he  embraced  every  opportunity  of  conversing  unreservedly 
with  all,  both  white  and  black,  who  chose  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  knowledge  of  his  presence,  and  the  information  thus 
obtained  was  placed  at  the  public  service  in  his  correspondence 
with  the  President  and  others,  while  his  suggestions  of  measures 
necessary  and  expedient  to  the  proper  accomplishment  of  peace 
and  reconstruction,  order  and  justice,  were  characterized  by  a 
comprehensiveness  of  view  and  a  noble  spirit  of  Christian 
patriotism  eminently  creditable  to  his  head  and  heart. 

Few  public  men  of  his  years,  in  this  country,  possess  minds 
better  stored  with  varied  treasures  of  knowledge,  or  bear  the 
evidence  of  severer  mental  discipline  than  Mr.  Chase.  To  an 
intellect  at  once  comprehensive,  discriminating  and  retentive, 
he  adds  the  graces  of  learning  and  the  power  of  logic ;  and 
whatever  subject  he  treats,  is  handled  with  keen  insight, 
breadth  of  view,  thoroughness  of  reflection,  and  strength  of 
reasoning.  His  whole  career  as  a  statesman  and  jurist,  and  all 
his  public  efforts,  in  popular  addresses,  newspaper  writings, 
occasional  lectures,  and  contributions  to  periodical  literature, 
show  the  same  breadth  of  premise,  exactness  of  statement, 
logical  sequence,  completeness  of  consideration,  and  power  of 
conclusion,  from  which  we  are  justified  in  hoping  and  expecting 
much  in  his  present  exalted  position,  where  his  rulings  and 
decisions  have  always  been  characterized  by  their  adherence  to 
the  great  fundamental  principles  of  equity  on  which  all  human 
law  is  professedly  based.  His  is  no  narrow  mind  to  run  only 
in  the  rut  of  precedents,  and  be  constantly  hampered  by  the  chi- 
canery of  rigid  constructionists.  He  goes  naturally  to  the  foun- 
dation principles,  and  while  he  has  no  superior,  either  in  legal 
learning  and  acumen,  or  in  wide  and  generous  culture,  upon  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  he  is  less 


198  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

likely  perhaps  than  any  of  them  to  base  an  opinion  on  previous 
decisions  either  there  or  in  the  English  courts. 

In  the  trial  of  Andrew  Johnson  under  the  impeachment  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  Chief  Justice  Chase  was,  by  tho 
Constitution,  the  presiding  officer  of  the  High  Court  of  Impeach- 
ment. His  course  there  was  marked  by  dignity  and  ability. 
The  position  was  a  difficult  and  trying  one,  and  his  powers  (it 
being  the  first  instance  of  such  presidency  since  tlie  adoption 
of  the  Constitution)  were  not  clearly  defined ;  but  he  acquitted 
himself  admirably  in  it. 

In  person  Mr.  Chase  presents  the  most  imposing  appearaiice 
of  any  man  in  public  life  in  this  country.  He  is  over  six  feet 
in  height,  portly  and  well  proportioned,  with  handsome  features, 
and  a  grand,  massive  head.  Few  men  possess  so  much  real 
dignity  and  grace  of  manner.  But  with  it  all,  he  is  utterly 
incapable  of  the  arts  of  the  demagogue,  or  of  any  effort  to  win 
popularity,  by  "bending  the  supple  hinges  of  the  knee,  that 
thrift  may  follow  fawning."  He  entered  upon  his  office  of 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  with  a  property  of  about  ono 
hundred  thousand  dollars ;  he  left  it  three  years  later,  after 
managing  the  immense  finances  of  the  nation  in  war  time, 
materially  poorer  than  when  he  assumed  office.  No  man  who 
knew  him  could  doubt,  for  an  instant,  his  unflinching  integrity 
and  honesty. 

The  name  of  Chief  Justice  Chase  has  often  been  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  Presidency,  and  while  an  aspiration  for  that 
exalted  position  is  not  unworthy  of  one  who  could  not  but  be 
conscious  "that  he  had  done  the  State  some  service,"  it  would 
have  been  more  worthy  of  his  great  and  brilliant  past  career 
had  he  remembered  that  his  present  office  is  one  of  equal  honor 
and  of  less  severe  test  of  character  than  the  Presidency. 

We  would  be  glad  to  present  Chief  Justice  Chase's  character 


SALMON   PORTLAND   CHASE.  199 

to  our  readers  as  one  without  foible  or  blemish,  so  highly  do  we 
esteem  the  great  work  he  accomplished  for  freedom  for  so  many 
years;  but  we  are  afraid  that  he  cannot  be  acquitted  of  the 
charge  of  coquetting  for  the  Presidency.  In  1868,  at  the  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention,  he,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Anti- 
Slavery  and  of  the  Republican  parties,  the  firmest  and  most 
fearless  advocate  of  the  measures  which  made  the  Union  party 
triumphant  in  the  civil  war,  and  which  had  been  censured  over 
and  over  again  by  the  Democratic  party  as  ruinous  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, was  the  avowed  candidate  of  a  large  section  of  that 
party  for  the  Presidency,  and  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Senator  Sprague, 
was  through  the. whole  session  canvassing  actively  for  his  nomi- 
nation.  Defeated  in  that  convention  by  Horatio  Seymour,  who 
secured  the  nomination  but  not  an  election,  it  was  supposed  by 
his  old  friends  that  he  had  given  up  all  hope  of  reaching  a  nomi- 
nation ;  and  in  the  interval  of  a  long  illness,  which  it  was  feared 
had  impaired  seriously  his  intellectual  and  physical  powers,  but 
from  which  he  happily  recovered,  other  men  and  other  issues 
had  become  so  prominent  that  he  was  not  even  suggested  as  a 
candidate.  But  the  old  ambition  was  not  yet  dead,  and  he  was 
so  unwise  as  to  write  the  following  letter  to  a  friend  to  be  used 
at  the  Cincinnati  Liberal  Reform  Convention  in  May,  1872. 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  29,  1872. 

My  Dear  Sir  : 

My  name,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  newspapers,  will  not  be 
much  considered  at  Cincinnati,  and  I  am  quite  content  and  none 
the  less  grateful  to  the  friends  who  think  it  should  be  so,  as  you 
know  I  have  not  sought  or  desired  the  nomination.  If  it  were 
judged  the  best  means  of  uniting  the  greatest  number  of  those 
opposed  to  the  Administration  on  principle,  it  would  doubtless 
be  my  duty  to  accept  it.  If  any  other  name  be  preferred,  I 
shall  be  entirely  satisfied.  What  is  essential  with  me  is  that 
what  has  been  gained — freedom — be  secured  beyond  peradven- 


200  MEN   OF   OUR  DAY. 

ture  ;  tbat  tlie  currrency  be  placed  on  a  sound  basis ;  tbat  a  real 
reform  be  accomplished  in  taxation,  internal  and  external,  and 
in  perfect  reconciliation  of  sections  and  citizens.  Your  Parkers- 
burg  platform,  as  I  remember  it,  embodies  these  views  substan- 
tially, and  I  hope  none  contrary  to  it  will  be  adopted. 

Yours  truly, 

S.  P.  Chase. 

It  was  a  painful  commentary  on  this  letter  that  at  that  con- 
vention he  received  on  the  first  ballot  two  and  a  half  votes,  on 
the  second,  one,  and  on  the  subsequent  ballots  none.  Yet  despite 
this  sliirht  weakness,  Chief  Justice  Chase  is  one  of  our  statesmen 
of  whom  we  have  great  cause  to  be  proud.  His  views  are  broad 
and  profound  on  all  the  great  questions  of  statesmanship,  and 
his  manliness  and  strict  integrity  render  him  a  man  to  be 
thoroughly  trusted  and  honored.  May  he  long  continue  to  fill 
the  high  office  he  adorns  by  his  learning  and  ability. 


WILLIAM   HENRY  SEWARD. 


..  ILLIAM  HENRY  SEWARD,  tlie  son  of  Dr.  Samuel 
<?)1iilii  g^  Seward,  for  seventeen  years  a  county  judge,  and  a 
man  of  more  than  ordinary  business  ability  and  practical 
philanthropy,  was  born  at  Florida,  Orange  county.  New 
York,  on  the  16th  of  May,  1801.  Manifesting  from  childhood 
an  earnest  love  of  knowledge  and  taste  for  study,  he  was  sent, 
when  nine  years  old,  to  Farmers'  Hall  Academy,  at  Goshen,  in 
his  native  county.  Rapidly  advancing  in  his  studies  there,  and 
at  an  academy  afterwards  established  in  his  native  town,  he  was 
fully  prepared,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  to  enter  college.  Matricu- 
lating, as  a  sophomore,  at  Union  College,  in  1816,  he  manifested 
a  peculiar  aptitude  for  rhetoric,  moral  philosophy  and  the 
classics.  In  1819,  in  his  senior  year,  he  spent  some  six  months 
in  teaching  at  the  South,  and,  returning  to  college,  graduated 
with  high  honors ;  being  one  of  the  three  commencement  ora- 
tors chosen  by  the  college  society,  to  which  he  belonged.  The 
subject  he  selected  was,  '*  The  Integrity  of  the  American  Union." 
Entering,  soon  after  his  graduation,  the  office  of  John  Anthon, 
of  New  York  city,  he  commenced  the  study  of  law,  continuing 
and  completing  his  preparation  with  John  Duer  and  Ogden 
fiofi'man,  of  Goshen,  New  York,  with  the  latter  of  whom  he 
became  associated  in  practice.    In  January,  1822,  he  was  admit- 

led  to  the  bar,  and  removing  to  Auburn,  New  York,  formed  a 

201 


202  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

partnership  with  Judge  John  Miller,  of  that  place,  whose  young- 
est daughter  became  his  wife  in  1824.  As  a  lawyer,  his  orio-i- 
nality  of  thought  and  action,  as  well  as  his  great  industry,  soon 
brought  him  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice.  ■  Politics  also 
claimed  much  of  his  attention,  and,  as  was  natural,  he  followed 
in  the  political  footsteps  of  his  father,  who  was  a  prominent 
Jeffersonian  Eepublican.  In  October,  1824,  despite  his  youth, 
he  was  chosen  to  draw  up  the  Address  to  the  People  of  the  Ke- 
publican  Convention  of  Cayuga  county,  which  document  was  an 
exposure  of  the  origin  and  designs  of  the  Albany  Regency.  In 
1827,  he  contributed  largely,  by  his  eloquent  speeches,  to  the 
success  of  the  popular  movement  m  behalf  of  the  Greeks,  then 
struggling  for  their  freedom.  In  1828,  he  presided  with  distin- 
guished ability  over  a  very  large  convention  of  young  men 
favorable  to  the  election  of  John  Quincy  Adams  to  the  presi- 
dency, held  at  Utica,  New  York,  and  the  same  year  declined  a 
profiered  nomination  to  Congress.  When  the  National  Eepub- 
lican party  was  dissolved  by  Jackson's  election  as  President,  Mr. 
Sewurd  fraternized  with  the  Anti- Masonic  organization,  the  only 
opposition  then  existing  to  the  Albany  Eegency,  and  from  that 
party  accepted,  in  1830,  a  nomination  to  the  State  Senate.  Ho 
was  elected  by  a  majority  of  two  thousand,  in  a  district  (the 
seventh)  which  had  given  a  large  majority  the  other  way  in  the 
previous  year.  Scarcely  thirty  years  old,  he  entered  the  Senate 
as  the  youngest  member  who  had  ever  attained  that  honor,  and 
found  himself,  politically,  in  a  small  minority,  at  a  time  when 
party  lines  were  sharply  defined.  Yet  he  fearlessly  entered  the 
lists,  throwing  down  the  gauntlet  to  the  Jackson  power  and  the 
Albany  Eegency,  taking  part  in  all  debates,  advocating  the 
claims  of  abolition  of  imprisonment  for  debt,  the  amelioration  of 
prison  discipline,  opposition  to  corporate  monopolies,  the  exten- 
sion of  the  popular  franchise,  the  common-school  system,  the 


WILLIAM    HENRY    SEWARD.  203 

Erie  railroad  and  internal  improvements,  etc.  His  maiden 
speech  was  on  a  militia  bill,  in  which  he  proposed,  substantially, 
the  same  system  of  volunteer  uniform  companies  as  that  at 
present  in  use  in  New  York  State ;  and  during  the  second  session 
of  his  term  he  delivered  a  speech  in  advocacy  of  a  national 
bank,  which,  with  others  of  similar  import,  gave  rise  (by  con- 
centrating an  opposition  in  the  Senate)  to  what  subsequently 
developed  as  the  Whig  party.  In  the  summer  of  1833,  during 
the  recess  of  the  Senate,  Mr.  Seward  made  a  hurried  visit  to 
Europe,  adding  largely  to  his  reputation  by  the  letters  which  he 
wrote  home,  and  which  were  published  in  the  Albany  "Evening 
Journal."  In  September,  1834,  he  w^as  nominated  for  governor 
by  the  Whig  State  Convention,  against  William  L.  Marcy,  but 
was  defeated,  although  running  ahead  of  his  ticket  in  every 
county.  Resuming  his  practice,  Mr.  Seward,  in  1836,  settled  in 
Chautauqua  county,  as  the  agent  for  the  Holland  Land  Com- 
pany ;  and,  in  1838,  was  again  nominated  by  the  Whigs,  and 
elected  governor  by  ten  thousand  majority.  In  1840,  he  was 
re-elected.  During  his  administration  occurred  the  celebrated 
anti-rent  difficulties;  the  Erie  canal  was  enlarged;  the  State 
lunatic  asylum  was  founded  ;  imprisonment  for  debt,  and  every 
vestige  of  slavery  were  eradicated  from  the  statute-books ;  im- 
portant reforms  were  effected  in  elections,  in  prison  discipline, 
in  bank  laws,  and  in  legal  courts.  One  of  the  most  important 
events  of  his  administration  was  the  controversy  with  the  Gov- 
ernors of  Virginia  and  Georgia,  in  which  the  latter  claimed  fVbm 
him  the  rendition  of  certain  colored  sailors,  charged  with  having 
abducted  slaves  from  said  States.  Governor  Seward  refused 
compliance,  and  argued  the  case  with  a  firmness  and  ability 
which  attracted  the  attention  of  the  whole  country;  and  when 
his  course  was  denounced  by  the  Democrats,  after  their  accession 
to  power,  and  he  was  requested  to  transmit  their  resolutions  to 


204  MEN    OF  OUR   DAY. 

the  Governor  of  Virginia,  Le  declined  to  do  so — remaining 
inflexible,  despite  the  retaliatory  measures  threatened  by  tho 
State  of  Virginia  against  the  commerce  of  New  York.  A 
similar  instance  of  firmness  and  sagacity  was  manifested  by  him, 
in  his  refusal  to  surrender,  to  the  British  Government,  Alexander 
McLeod,  charged  with  burning  the  steamer  Caroline,  during 
the  Canadian  rebellion  of  1837,  a  refasal  in  which  he  persisted, 
in  spite  of  the  British  minister's  threats  of  hostilities,  the  advice 
of  President  Tyler's  administration,  and  the  strong  intercession 
of  many  of  his  own  political  friends.  In  January,  IS-iS,  Mr. 
Seward,  declining  another  nomination,  resumed  the  practice  of 
law,  devoting  himself,  for  the  ensuing  six  years,  assiduously  to 
business,  attaining  a  large  practice  in  the  highest  State  courts, 
and — -owing  to  a  particular  aptitude  for  mechanical  science — 
having  a  considerable  number  of  patent-cases,  which  brought 
him  into  association  with  the  best  legal  talent  of  the  country, 
lie  also  gave  freely,  not  only  his  professional  services  but  his 
means,  in  behalf  of  certain  friendless  unfortunates,  whose  cases 
and  trials  form  some  of  the  most  interesting  records  of  criminal 
jurisprudence.  Conspicuous  among  these  was  the  case  of  the 
insane  negro  Freeman,  the  murderer  of  the  Van  Nest  family,  in 
Orange  county.  New  York,  a  case  which,  in  spite  of  derision, 
obloquy  and  reproach,  Mr.  Seward  never  forsook,  until  the 
death  of  his  client,  "  caused  by  the  disease  of  the  brain,  satisfied 
even  the  most  prejudiced,  that  his  course  had  been  as  wise 
as  it  confessedly  was  humane  and  generous."  He  also  gratui- 
tously defended,  before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  in 
1847.  the  case  of  John  Van  Zandt,  charged  with  aiding  fugitive 
slaves  to  escape  from  Kentucky;  his  argument  in  the  case 
being  pronounced  "  a  masterly  exposition  of  the  inhumanity 
und  unconstitutionality  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  act." 

"tn  1851,  he  defended,  at  Detroit,  fifty  men  on  trial  for  con- 


WILLIAM    HENRY    SEWARD.  205 

spiracy,  who  could  find  but  one  lawyer  in  Michigan  courageous 
enough  to  undertake  their  case.  It  was  a  four  months'  trial, 
involving  the  examination  of  four  hundred  witnesses,  and  he 
secured  the  acquittal  of  thirty-eight  of  the  number.  Besides 
all  this  professional  labor,  Mr.  Seward  did  good  service  in 
various  political  campaigns ;  especially  in  1844,  in  favor  of  a 
tariff;  against  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  the  Mexican  War; 
against  disenfranchisement  of  foreign-born  citizens,  etc.  In 
1846,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  securing  the  calling  of  the 
convention  for  the  revision  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State 
of  New  York.  In  September,  1847,  he  delivered,  at  New 
York,  an  address  on  the  life  and  character  of  Daniel  O'Connell, 
which  was  one  of  his  finest  efforts ;  and  in  April,  1848,  he 
pronounced,  before  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  a  touching 
and  felicitous  eulogy  on  John  Quincy  Adams.  When  General 
Taylor  was  nominated  for  the  presidency,  in  1848,  Mr.  Seward 
became  one  of  the  prominent  public  speakers,  canva.ssing  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  Massachusetts,  making,  as  here- 
tofore, the  great  principles  of  human  freedom  the  central  topioS 
of  his  speeches,  and  was  everywhere  greeted  with  the  hearty  and 
unanimous  applause  of  his  audience.  Shortly  aticr  Taylor's 
election,  Mr.  Seward  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the 
Thirty-first  Congress,  and  soon  became  recognized  as  the 
foremost  advocate  of  the  administration  policy — enjoying  the 
intimacy  and  confidence  of  the  President  until  his  untimely 
decease.  During  the  first  session  of  this  Congress,  Mr.  Seward 
took  a  prominent  and  very  influential  part  in  the  contest  which 
resulted  in  the  passage  of  the  Compromise  act,  and  it  was  iu 
the  discussion  of  these  measures  that  he  used  the  phrase  "  the 
Higher  Law,"  which  has  achieved  so  great  and  wide-spread  a 
significance.  Three  years  before,  he  had  said,  in  the  Van  Zandt 
case  ''  Congress  had  no  power  to  inhibit  any  duty  commanded 


9M  jcE:?r  o?  OUB  daT. 

bj  God  on.  Moant  SLoiii^  or  bj  bis  Son.  oa  tJie  jftooiic  of  Oi^vea,'' 
and  ii(:)w  (MarGfa.  llth^  1S6*)),  speaking  of  tLe  admissioa  o£ 
California,  he  said,  "'We  hold  no  arbitrary  aathority  ov^r 
any  thing,  whether  acquired  lawfallj,  or  seized  by  osarpatioa. 
The  Constitution  regulates  our  stewardahip;  the  ConstimiEiott 
derotes  the  domain  to  unioo,  to  justice^  to  defence,  to  welSir^ 
and  to  liberty.  Bat  there  is  a  Higher  Law  than  the  Constitu- 
tion, -w-hich  regulates  our  aathoriCy  over  the  domain,  and 
devotes  it  to  the  same  noble  purpose."'  In  short.  Senator 
Seward  waged  an.  "•  irrepressible  conflict^  against  any  com^prooiise 
of  the  slavery  qaestion,  a  course  of  conduct  which  brought  him 
not  only  into  collision  with  the  Democratic  party,  but  also 
with  Clay,  "Webster,  Fillmore,  and  other  prominenc  men.  of  his 
own  party.  From  this  time  party  lines  became  more  sharply 
drawn  between  the  Pro-Slavery  men  and  Abolitionists ;  and  to  the 
Soathemer,  "  Bill  Seward,^  as  be  was  caKed,  became  an  object 
of  abuse,  m isrepreseatation,  and  open  contempt,  in  many  cases, 
when  they  passed  him  on  the  street.  But  this  effort  to  ostracise 
him  was  utterly  futile.  His  rare  abilities  and  elevated  charac- 
ter made  him  proof  against  the  scorn  and  derision  of  little 
Boinds;  he  held  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  and  on  all  great 
national  questions  he  took  a  port  in  the  debate,  and  even  his 
eiemies  could  not  but  listen  in  admiration  of  his  statesmanlike 
views.  The  subjects  of  Pablic  Lands ;  indemnities  of  French 
Spoliations;  Kossuth;  the  survey  of  the  Arctic  and  Piictfic 
Oceans;  American  Whale  Fisheries;  and  American  Steam 
Navigadoa;  were  handled  by  him,  in  public  debate,  with  a 
grasp  of  intellect  and  a  force  of  eloqaence  worthy  of  his  high 
reputation.  During  the  Thirty-second  Congress,  Mr.  Seward  ad- 
vocated the  Continental  railroad,  and  opposed  the  r«novaI  of 
duties  from  railroad  iron ;  and,  in  the  summer  of  1853,  after  ike 
adjoammeut  found  time,  besides  engaging  in  several  importaalt 


airr.  ic  CainnLbiis.  Ohia.  an.  "*  Tlie  DeacnT  ^jl  Anierica^"  sznA 

Tine  Boas  o£  A mgrrt^an  Ijnieptanioice."'  Mtn.  of  wnieiL  goe=€aB 
*  value  aejQtui  :^  :  jofi  Triuuk  eiiciiEd  a^em. 

La.  uiie  T"T.rrrr--  ,  ^  ,  ^ ,-.  tj-pq«Sv  iie  inuxHinceiL  a  aill  air  uhff  csonr 
icnmuGiL  if  a.  Paiiinc  railEoad,  ancULer  irr  e^fmhiifmins  ssaus^ 
TiaiTff  bs^reoL  CaImxEiii%  Ckoiay  XapaiL^  ami  tine  Saoi&ndk 
"iiamis:  beaiLis  meosvirsS'  aar  aae  aiiJioni^aciiUL  of  xhs  'ZsbS^ 
•nff  Hi trriHgnpiitf  BuL  Vi?»  DLjls  t^Sin;  mr  cie  TL^^riffr  or  une 
■  naarie.  aii_  ere — eul  dt  Triiick  'thUu,«v.>,  iowever.  zav^  pLice  ia» 
:iie  xZL-abaorbing  iiaiasROJL  (IL  Saiacor  Dauslasi  S^doraska.  rvitl^ 
"▼nicii.  in  is  neetiLe^  ja  s&'T'^  m^  jvIlIl  aH  tiie  pseaaa&sis  ^wi 
•^owgrnil  opposriaiL  wiiicn.  \fr.  SfwaixL  eauIicL  rnnrrg  aprrunsc  is. 
The  mea.'^are.  aoweve^  ▼^*s  inaZv  gaarwi.  Li  ««imt?rm  33  31^ 
-l^-:<:r:ir±  —-rsciijea  nuuie  an.  tais  laooic.  \fr.  Sevard  prnmcrmiied 
:::...:-i-  j^^  :Tf»-r-rnTniir:n  j  dolaaifis  lon.  EenTT  *ZLi J  ami  L'aniel 
Wdbser.  ami  iin-ing:  sae-  aonmier  <-&.  lais  jgar  \Ii'>t;  aH-iTVPTTHJ 
■ihe  annual  oracimL  b^ns  uie  josarr  siciedes  of  Tale  CoZeae 
on.  ■*  Tne  FlLTsea^.  VtiroT,  ani  TTTmTpf?t:irnr  -ieveiapnifflic  'or  aie. 
^  Tit^rft^an  Feaole  ;~^  ami  ac  lie  '^ommffni^t^mfmi:  e^aroiaea^  racavod 
ZAA  ojQmirarx  itigree  ar  Docscr  of  Laws.  La.  'jcsaoer  ajILawm'r. 
ae  Tiinie  ais  iciebiaoBtL  ami  •siacorace  arzTmeu;  in.  uie  Ui-  r . 
:aai:es  ^Zireaic  Canr:;  in.  ^ne  •*  MtiCorniick:  Saan^  east.'* 
^urniff  tie  seefloii  sesBiSL  <il  she  iniirrv"-miixi  ConsT'iffi.  ^^ 
^ewarri  in.  adtiiiiun.  ta  nm  tjoniiniied  aii^^ncairr  of  -tTf  ^sie  '<^^^TTT^f 
rn-r'i.  "  •-■  '  '  ' Jc  impravsnaic.  sramaixsLT  ofipcaed  S^iuuziF 
r    .  r-rt:nng  gavprnmem:  o^eas  in.  die  '^XRtmnnn.gf 

die  I*  iidiive  ;^a.'7e  acs,  ami  2a"^re^  aia  aSnnaiiv^  vate-  ca  a  aoh- 
sirnDi  propcsed.  «Fiiring  cae  debaie.  r^ealin^  lie  F^iciriv* 
SaT?  act  iL  LiC««L 

Li  Febr-i:!!".-.  1^55.  M^.  Seward:  was  r-r— .         -         _  :    :    ,...  i. 


208  MEN  rnr  oUR  DAY. 

for  the  term  of  six  years,  notwithstanding  a  most  determined 
o-pposition  from  the  "  Know  Nothing"  or  American  party,  and 
the  Democratic  party.  Ilis  election,  which  was  everywhere 
considered  as  a  triumph  of  the  advocates  of  freedom,  assumed 
a  national  interest ;  and  Mr.  Seward  was  tendered  public  recep- 
tions at  various  places  along  his  homeward  route,  after  the  ex- 
tra session  of  Congress,  all  of  which,  however,  he  respectfully 
declined.  During  the  Slate  canvass  in  the  fall  of  1855,  he 
delivered  at  Albany,  Auburn,  and  Buffalo,  speeches  in  which 
the  political  issues  of  the  times  were  sketched  with  a  master's 
hand — and,  having  enjoyed  an  immense  circulation  in  newspaper 
and  pamphlet  form,  were  still  further  honored  by  being  the 
subject  of  allusion  in  President  Pierce's  annual  message.  On 
the  22d  of  December,  1855,  Mr.  Seward  delivered,  at  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  an  address  commemorative  of  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  well  worthy  of  the  occasion,  and  his  own  high 
reputation  as  a  statesman  and  scholar.  During  the  protracted 
debates  on  the  Kansas  difficulties,  in  the  thirty- fourth  session 
of  Congress,  Mr.  Seward  bore  a  conspicuous  part ;  his  speeches 
being  elaborate  and  exhaustive,  and  his  labors  indefatigable. 
The  affairs  of  Kansas  were  also  discussed  by  him,  in  two  able 
speeches  on  the  "  Army  bill,"  at  the  extra  session  in  August. 
After  the  adjournment,  he  almost  immediately  plunged  into  the 
canvass  of  the  coming  Presidential  election,  in  support  of 
Fremont — two  of  his  speeches,  those  delivered  at  Auburn  and 
Detroit,  displaying  more  than  ordinary  ability.  Upon  the  re-as- 
sembling of  Congress  in  December,  he  pronounced  an  eloquent 
and  touching  eulogium  upon  his  old  friend,  Hon.  John  M.  Clay- 
ton, and  durins^  the  session  he  advocated  the  claims  of  Revolu- 
tionary  ofBcers;  the  prospect  of  government  aid  to  the  pro- 
posed Atlantic  telegraph ;  a  bill  for  a  telegraph  line  to  Califor- 
nia aiid  the  Pacific  coast;  the  overland  mail  rouie,  and  also  the 


WILLIAM    HENRY   SEWARD.  500 

railroad  to  the  Pacific ;  a  revision  of  the  tariff,  by  which  the 
popular  interests  should  be  protected,  etc.  He  also  reviewed 
the  Dred  Scott  decision,  and  proposed  such  a  re-organization  of 
the  United  States  courts,  as  should  give  all  sections  of  the 
Union  a  more  equable  representation,  and  meet,  more  fully,  the 
wants  of  the  growing  West.  During  the  Thirty-fifth  Congress, 
Mr.  Seward  spoke  on  a  larger  variety  of  subjects  than  usual ; 
opposing  manfully  the  admission  of  Kansas  into  the  Union 
under  the  "  Lecompton  Constitution,"  and  from  first  to  last, 
advocating  the  principle  that  the  people  of  Kansas  should  be 
left  perfectly  free  to  decide  upon  their  own  organic  law ; 
advocating  the  increase  of  the  army  in  Utah  for  the  suppression 
of  rebellion  there ;  insisting  upon  reparation  being  demanded 
from  the  British  Government  for  aggressions  committed  by  their 
cruisers  upon  American  vessels  in  the  Mexican  Gulf;  favoring 
the  admission  of  Minnesota  and  Oregon  into  the  Union,  aa 
States ;  and  various  interesting  speeches,  more  or  less  elaborate, 
upon  the  Pacific  Railroad,  Treasury  Notes,  the  Walker 
"  filibustering"  expedition,  rivers  and  harbors,  and  eulogiumS' 
upon  Senators  Rusk  of  Texas,  Bell  of  New  Hampshire,  and  J. 
Pinckney  Henderson  of  Texas,  of  which  the  first  named  has 
been  considered  as  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  mortuary  elo- 
quence ever  delivered  before  that  body.  After  the  adjournment 
of  Congress,  Mr.  Seward  made  an  argument  on  the  "  Albany 
Bridge  case,"  which  added  largely  to  his  reputation,  by  the 
remarkable  knowledge  which  it  displayed  of  the  subject  of 
navigation  and  the  constitutional  questions  involved.  In  the 
autumn  campaigns  of  1858,  he  displayed  his  usual  ardor  and 
ability  in  the  canvnss  for  State  officers  and  members  of  Congress, 
his  speeches  causing  profound  sensations,  especially  that  at 
Rochester,    New   York,    in    which,   speaking   of  the   collision 

between  the  free  and  slave  systems  of  labor,  he  said,   'Shall  I 
14 


210  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

tell  you  wtat  this  collision  means?  Tbcy  wlio  think  that  it  ia 
accidental,  unnecessary,  the  work  of  interested  or  fanatical 
agitatorij;  and  therefore  ephemeral,  mistake  the  ca.se  altogethei. 
It  is  an  irrepressible  conjlict  between  opposing  and  enduring 
forces,  and  it  means  that  the  United  States  must  and  will, 
sooner  or  later,  become  either  entirely  a  slaveholding  natif^, 
or  entirely  a  free-labor  nation."  These  significant  words  were 
severely  denounced  by  the  Democrats  as  revolutionary  and 
dangerous,  but  they  became  the  rallying  cry  of  the  hosts  of 
Freedom,  and  they  have  been  more  than  vindicated  by  subse- 
quent events  of  our  national  history.  Mr.  Seward's  services 
during  the  last  session  of  the  Thirty- fifth  Congress,  were  ren- 
dered in  behalf  of  those  important  and  beneficent  measures  of 
which  he  was  always  a  consistent  and  persistent  friend,  viz.,  the 
Homestead  bill,  the  Pacific  railroad,  etc.  In  1859,  he  made 
a  second  trip  to  Europe,  to  restore  his  health,  impaired  by 
incessant  labor,  and  returning,  devoted  himself  vigorouslj'-,  in 
1860,  to  the  canvass  of  the  Western  States,  in  behalf  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  He  had,  indeed,  himself  been  the  prominent 
candidate  for  the  presidency,  in  the  National  Eepublican  Con- 
vention of  that  year,  his  nomination  being  regarded  as  certain 
by  his  friends.  On  the  second  ballot  he  received  one  hundred 
and  eighty-four  and  one  half  votes,  but  on  the  third  was  de- 
feated by  Mr.  Lincoln.  During  the  same  year  he  entertained  at 
his  table  the  Prinoe  of  Wales  and  his  suite,  who  were  then 
making  a  tour  of  the  United  States — on  which  occasion  he 
casually  intimated  to  his  guests,  in  a  jocular  but  significant 
remark — which  was  afterwards  remembered  when  he  was 
Secretary  of  State,  during  the  civil  war,  that  it  would  be  a 
dangerous  matter  for  England  to  meddle  with  the  United  States 
in  any  other  way,  than  that  of  friendly  rivalry.  Mr.  Seward 
had  already  foretold  the  "  irrepressible  conflict,"  and  when  it 


WILLIAM    HENRY    SEWARD.  211 

loomed  up  in  still  more  threatening  guise,  and  before  the  ex 
piration  of  his  second  senatorial  term  in  March,  1861,  he  boldly 
asserted  his  position  thus — "  I  avow  my  adherence  to  the 
Union  with  my  friends,  with  my  party,  with  my  State,  or  with- 
out either,  as  they  may  determine ;  in  every  event  of  peace  or 
of  war,  with  every  consequence  of  honor  or  dishonor,  of  life 
or  death." 

Immediately  upon  Mr.  Lincoln's  election  to  the  presidency,  he 
tendered  to  Mr.  Seward  the  chief  cabinet  office,  that  of  Secretary 
of  State.  It  was  accepted  by  the  latter,  and  the  difficult  and 
perplexing  duties  which  he  thus  assumed,  were  discharged  with 
signal  ability  and  success.  Ilis  judicious  administration  of  the 
office  during  the  early  part  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  first  term,  tended 
more  than  any  other  cause,  to  ward  ofl"  intervention  on  the  part 
of  foreign  powers,  in  the  momentous  struggle  then  going  on 
between  the  Government  and  the  rebellious  States — and  be 
challenged  the  respect  and  admiration  of  those  powers  them- 
selves, as  well  as  of  his  own  fellow-countrymen,  by  the  fairness, 
ability,  fulness,  and  broad  statesmanship,  with  which  he  dis- 
cussed and  settled  the  many  perplexing  and  unprecedented 
questions  which  came  under  the  notice  of  the  State  Department. 
Conspicuous  among  these,  was  the  case  of  the  demand  by  Great 
Britain  for  the  surrender  of  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell,  rebel 
envoys  who  were  forcibly  taken  by  Captain  Wilkes  of  the 
United  States  navy,  from  a  British  ship  on  which  they  were 
passengers,  in  the  fall  of  1861.  Perhaps,  at  no  time  since  the 
"  War  of  1812,"  •  has  danger  of  war  between  England  and 
America  been  so  imminent,  as  then.  It  was  averted,  however,  by 
the  judicious  diplomacy  of  the  secretary,  who,  while  avoiding  a 
v/ar  by  surrendering  the  rebel  commissioners  to  Great  Britain, 
on  the  ground,  that,  although  they  and  their  dispatches  were  in 
reality  contraband  of  war,  yet  their  captor  had  committed  an 


212  MEN    OF   OUR    DAY. 

irrejularity  in  not  bringing  the  ship,  and  all  on  hoard,  into  port 
for  adjudication — at  the  same  time  made  the  surrender  a  means 
of  enforcing  from  that  country,  the  never-before  conceded  right 
of  the  freedom  of  neutral  flags  on  the  high  seas. 

It  is  well  known  that,  during  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration, 
Mr.  Seward  was,  in  most  matters,  the  ruling  spirit,  an4  in 
general  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  used  his  power  well.  There 
was  dissatisfaction,  not  wholly  causeless,  ?.%  the  freedom  with 
which  he  used  the  power  of  arbitrary  arrest ;  some  complaint 
of  the  capricious,  and  at  times  not  wholly  respectful,  manner  in 
which  he  treated  the  representatives  of  the  weaker  foreign 
powers ;  some  displeasure  at  his  apparently  open  defiance  of 
Congress  in  relation  to  the  Mexican  question,  in  offering  to 
recognize  Maximilian,  after  Congress  had  voted  by  a  large 
majority  to  give  moral  support  only  to  the  Juarez  govern- 
ment. These  and  other  measures  of  his,  so  greatly  dissatisfied 
the  Eepublicans,  that  at  their  National  Convention  in  Baltimore, 
in  1864,  they  passed  a  resolution  requesting  the  President  to 
reconstruct  his  cabinet.  Mr.  Seward  tendered  his  resignation, 
as  did  some  of  the  other  cabinet  officers,  but  Mr.  Lincoln,  who 
knew  well  Mr.  Seward's  value  in  the  cabinet,  in  sjjite  of  hia 
faults  and  errors,  refused  lo  accept  his  resignation,  and  retained 
him  in  his  place. 

Mr.  Seward  is  by  nature  an  optimist,  always  looking  on  the 
favorable  side  of  a  subject,  and  indulging,  perhaps  too  much 
for  the  highest  order  of  statesmanship,  in  glowing  reveries  and 
predictions  of  the  wonderful  growth,  progress,  and  prosperity 
of  our  country  in  the  immediate  future.  During  the  war,  he 
excited  some  amusement  by  his  oft  repeated  prophecies  that 
it  would  close  in  sixty  or  ninety  days.  The  second  of  these 
predictions,  in  his   correspondence  on  the  Mason  and  Slidell 


WILLIAM    HENRY    SEWARD.  213 

affair,  furnished  food  for  mirth  among  our  enemies  in  tlie  Britisti 
Parliament  for  years. 

After  Mr.  Lincoln's  second  inauguration,  he  re-appointed  Mr. 
Seward  for  his  second  term,  and  in  the  closing  events  of  the 
war  in  the  east,  the  secretary  rendered  him  great  service. 

Early  in  April,  1865,  while  Mr.  Seward  was  riding  in  his 
carriage,  the  horses  became  frightened  and  ran,  and  in  attempt- 
ing to  jump  out,  he  was  thrown  to  the  ground,  and  his  right 
arm  was  broken,  and  both  sides  of  the  lower  jaw  fractured.  He 
was  severely  prostrated  by  this  accident,  and,  for  a  time,  serious 
fears  were  felt  for  his  recovery.  While  thus  confined  to  his 
bed,  he  narrowly  escaped  falling  a  victim  to  the  fiendish  plan 
of  the  conspirators  who  assassinated  President  Lincoln.  Almost 
simultaneously  with  the  attack  upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  an  assassin 
forced  his  way  into  Mr.  Seward's  chamber,  and  striking  down 
Mr.  Frederick  Seward,  and  overcoming  the  opposition  of  a 
male  nurse,  who  was  in  attendance,  reached  the  secretary's 
bedside  and  inflicted  upon  him  three  stabs  in  the  face,  which, 
however,  failed  of  their  deadly  intent,  although  they  greatly 
protracted  his  recovery.  The  assassin  fled,  but  was  subsequently 
arrested,  convicted,  and  executed. 

There  have  been  those,  even  among  the  strongest  friends  of 
Mr.  Seward  in  the  past,  who  have  been  so  uncharitable  as  to 
regret,  for  his  sake,  that  the  assassin  failed  of  the  complete 
accomplishment  of  his  purpose  at  that  time ;  for,  they  have 
argued,  his  career  up  to  that  time  had  been  honorable  to  him-, 
self  and  a  glory  to  the  nation,  and  he  would  have  died  in  the 
odor  of  sanctity,  and  with  a  martyr's  halo  around  his  brow,  and 
have  been  remembered  in  all  the  future  as  the  great  statesman, 
who  loved  his  country  intensely,  and  laid  down  his  life  for  her 
aake. 

Wilhout  avowing  any  sympathy  with  this  view,  candor  com- 


214  ME>r    OF   OUR   DAY. 

pels  us  to  say,  that  Mr.  Seward's  course  since  his  recovery  from 
those  wounds  of  tlie  assassin,  was  not  wholly  worthy  of  his  previ- 
ous illustrious  career.  Forgetful,  apparently,  of  his  past  intense 
loyalty  and  devotion  to  freedom,  he  sustained  Mr.  Johnson 
in  every  attempted  usurpation  of  power;  assumed  a  super- 
cilious tone  in  addressing  the  people,  while  yet  their  servant, 
was  vacillating  and  self- contradictory  in  his  intercourse 
with  foreign  powers,  and  attempted  to  distract  the  attention 
of  Congress  from  the  usurpations  and  crimes  of  his  chief,  by 
the  purchase  of  extensive  territories  away  from  our  previous  geo- 
graphical limits,  and  of  which  we  stood  in  no  need.  These  pur- 
chases were  made  without  any  consulta'tions  with  Congress, 
and  solely  upon  his  own  judgment ;  the  prices  he  offered  for 
them  were  exorbitant,  and  they  were  understood  to  be  but 
the  stepping  stones  to  further  and  still  more  extensive  negotia- 
tions. His  purchase  from  Russia  of  the  territory  of  Alaska,  for 
seven  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars  in  gold,  was  regarded  by 
most  of  our  people  as  unwise,  but  the  negotiations  had  already 
proceeded  so  far,  that  it  was  consummated  ;  but  when  he  pro- 
ceeded to  buy  from  Denmark,  at  eight  or  ten  times  their  value, 
the  islands  of  St.  Thomas  and  Santa  Cruz,  the  home  of  earth- 
quakes and  hurricanes;  entered  upon  negotiations  w^ith  San 
Domingo  for  the  bay  and  harbor  of  Sam  an  a,  and  turned  longing 
eyes  upon  the  island  of  Cuba,  all  felt  that  his  greed  for  land 
was  growing  too  great  to  be  longer  tolerated,  and  his  negotiations 
were  brought  to  an  ignoble  conclusion.  His  ulterior  object  of 
distracting  attention  from  Mr,  Johnson's  usurpations  failed  as 
signally,  and  he  was  involved,  even  more  fully  than  any  of  his 
colleagues,  in  the  disgrace  of  the  President. 

We  are  glad  to  say  that  with  his  retirement  from  the  cabinet 
in  March,  1869,  his  eyes  seemed  to  be  opened  to  his  departure 
from  the  principles  to  which  his  life  had  been  for  so  many  yeara 


WILLIAM  HENRY   SEWARD.  215 

devoted.  With  the  glamour,  which  in  official  position  had 
deceived  him,  removed  from  his  vision,  and  the  stern  realities 
of  a  future  life  in  which  he  must  give  an  account  of  his  steward- 
ship, confronting  him,  in  feeble  health  and  with  a  partially  para- 
lysed body,  this  man  prematurely  old,  from  the  hot  fevers  of 
partisan  strife  and  political  action,  had  leisure  to  review  his 
career,  and  to  see  clearly  the  errors  he  had  committed.  When 
he  had  partially  recovered  from  his  illness,  his  active  and  rest- 
less spirit,  impatient  of  confinement,  led  him,  feeble  as  he  still 
was,  to  undertake  a  journey  round  the  world.  Traversing  first 
our  neighbor  republic  of  Mexico,  where,  notwithstanding  his 
former  inclination  to  recognize  Maximilian's  Empire,  he  was 
received  with  great  cordiality  and  many  honors,  he  subsequently 
traversed  our  Pacific  States,  and  thence  by  steamer  visited 
Japan,  China,  India,  Palestine  and  Egypt,  and  the  principal  states 
of  Europe.  Everywhere  he  was  received  with  high  honor,  and 
his  ability  and  statesmanship  fully  recognized.  In  the  autumn 
of  1871,  he  returned  to  his  luxurious  home  at  Auburn,  and  has 
since  been  engaged  in  the  preparation  for  speedy  publication  of 
a  narrative  of  his  journeyings. 

He  will,  not  in  all  probability,  take  any  part  hereafter  in  pub- 
lic or  political  life,  and  perhaps  has  no  desire  to  do  so  ;  but  there 
is  a  lesson  for  all  statesmen  to  learn  from  his  career.  While 
engaged  in  the  defence  of  a  great  principle,  the  advocacy  of  a 
great  right,  or  the  attack  on  a  great  wrong,  they  can  afford  to 
sacrifice  present  popularity  for  the  abiding  and  deliberate  judg- 
ment of  the  future  ;  they  can  be  sure  that  they  will  not  long 
remain  misunderstood  ;  but  if  these  same  statesmen  when  known, 
honored,  and  loved,  depart. from  the  principles  they  have  so  long 
and  fearlessly  advocated,  if  tempted  by  the  glittering  gauds  of 
office,  fame  and  political  power,  they  forget  to  practise  those 
great  doctrines  which  it  has  been   their  glory  to  sustain,  no 


216  MEN    OF   OUR  DAY. 

length  of  public  service,  no  deeds  of  past  patriotism,  no  lofty 
aspirations  in  the  past,  will  save  them  from  that  deep  and  set- 
tled distrust,  on  the  part  of  the  masses,  which  will  eventually 
bury  them  beneath  the  waters  of  oblivion. 

Mr.  Seward,  though  a  man  of  rare  gifts  and  extraordinary 
talents,  is  not  prepossessing  in  personal  appearance ;  small  of 
stature,  slender  and  pale,  careless  in  dress  and  manner,  and  with 
an  habitually  sad  expression  of  countenance,  he  wins  confidence 
but  slowly ;  yet  he  has  the  art  to  attach  his  friends  to  him  "  as 
with  hooks  of  steel." 

Let  us  hope  that,  when  he  shall  sleep  under  the  clods  of  the 
valley,  there  may  be  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  a  kindly 
remembrance  of  his  great  services  to  his  country  during  forty 
years  and  more  of  his  public  career,  which  shall  partially,  if  it 
cannot  wholly;  conceal  the  errors  of  his  later  life. 


SCHUYLER    COLFAX,- 

VICE-PRESIDENT    OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


^/|  N  the  life  history  of  this  eminent  statesman,  so  widely 
iM  known  and  so  universally  beloved,  we  have  another  of 
those  instances  of  which  we  have  had  so  many  in  this 
volume,  of  a  man  rising  by  the  power  of  genius  and 
industry  from  humble  life,  and  filling  exalted  stations  with  a 
grace,  ease,  and  dignity,  which  could  not  be  surpassed  had  he 
been  "to  the  manor  born." 

Schuyler  Colfax  comes  from  some  of  our  best  revolution- 
ary stock.  His  grandfather,  Captain  Colfax,  was  the  command- 
ant of  General  Washington's  body-guard ;  his  grandmother  was 
a  near  kinswoman  of  that  noble  patriot  of  the  Eevolution., 
Major-General  Philip  Schuyler.  He  was  born  in  New  York 
city,  March  23d,  1823,  his  father  having  died  in  early  manhood, 
a  short  time  before  his  birth.  When  he  was  ten  years  old,  his 
mother  married  again,  becoming  the  "  Mrs.  Matthews,"  whom 
all  recent  habitues  of  Washington  have  seen  presiding  at  her 
son's  receptions.  With  this  event  the  boy's  school  life  closed, 
but  the  scanty  term  seems  to  have  been  well  improved,  for  one 
of  his  early  schoolmates  tells  us  "  Schuyler  always  stood  at  the 
head  of  his  class."  The  next  three  years  were  spent  in  his  step- 
father's store.     In  1836,  his  stepfather  having  decided  to  emi- 

217 


218  JAEN   OF    OUR    DAY. 

grate  to  the  west,  Schuyler  accompanied  his  parents  to  the 
valley  of  the  St.  Joseph  river,  and  they  settled  in  New  Carlisle, 
St.  Joseph  county,  Indiana,  The  region  was  then  a  wilderness, 
but  it  is  now  densely  populated,  and  its  thrift,  fertility,  enterprise 
and  beauty  have  made  it  the  garden  of  the  State.  The  five 
years  which  followed,  were,  we  believe,  spent  as  clerk  in  a 
country  store.  His  disposition  to  study  was  inbred,  and  every 
leisure  moment  was  improved.  A  friend  and  companion  of  hia 
boyhood,  in  New  York,  now  an  active  business  man  and 
philanthropist,  tells  us  that,  in  those  days,  he  and  Schuyler 
Colfax  kept  up  an  active  correspondence,  and  that  Schuyler's 
letters  always  spoke  of  the  studies  he  was  prosecuting  by  him- 
self in  the  wilderness,  and  were  full  of  knotty  questions,  which 
both  tried  their  best  to  solve. 

In  1841,  his  stepfather,  Mr.  Matthews,  was  elected  county 
auditor,  and  removed  to  South  Bend.  Schuyler  became  his 
deputy,  and  made  such  studious  use  of  his  leisure,  that  when 
but  little  more  than  eighteen,  he  became  undisputed  authority 
on  precedents,  usage,  and  State  laws  afi'ecting  the  auditor's  duties. 
He  was  also  very  busily  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  at  this 
time.  A  debating  society,  that  inevitable  necessity  of  American 
village  life,  was  organized  at  South  Bend  in  1843,  and,  on  some 
one's  suggestion,  it  was  transformed  into  a  moot  State  Legis- 
lature, of  which  Hon.  J.  D.  Defrees,  since  government  printer, 
was  speaker,  and  young  Colfax  an  active  member.  The  rules 
of  parliamentary  debate,  and  the  decisions  of  points  of  order, 
were  followed  with  amusing  punctiliousness  in  this  body,  and 
Colfax,  who  had  improved  his  previous  familiarity  with  these 
matters,  by  two  years'  service  as  Senate  reporter  for  the  State 
Journal,  soon  became  the  acknowledged  authority  on  aH 
parliamentary  questions,  and  was  thus  unconsciously  qualifying 
himself  for  that  pust  he  has  since  so  ably  filled. 


SCHUYLER   COLFAX.  219 

In  1845,  he  started  a  weekly  journal  at  South  Bend,  the 
county  seat,  with  the  title  of  the  St.  Joseph  Valley  Register^  be- 
coming its  sole  proprietor  and  editor.  In  this  connection  it  is 
doubtless  proper  to  correct  a  mistake  into  which  the  public  has 
fallen  relative  to  Mr.  Colfax's  connection  with  the  printing  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Lanman,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Congress,  says: — "He 
was  bred  a  printer."  He  never  was  apprenticed  to  the  printing 
business,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  practical  part  of  the  "  art  pre- 
servative of  all  arts,"  until  after  he  had  commenced  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Register.  With  his  ready  tact  and  quick  perception, 
however,  and  great  anxiety  to  economise,  for  his  means  were  yet 
very  limited,  he  soon  mastered  the  art  sufficiently  to  "  help  out 
of  the  drag  ;"  but  he  never  attained  to  any  great  proficiency  in 
the  business ;  his  editorial  labors,  the  business  of  the  office,  and 
other  duties,  soon  claiming  his  entire  attention. 

The  Register  prospered,  and  soon  became  a  source  of  profit  to 
its  proprietor.  It  was  ably  edited,  and  was  a  model  of  courtesy 
and  dignity.  Every  paragraph,  however  small,  seemed  to  have 
passed  under  the  supervision,  and  to  reflect  the  mind  and  ele- 
vated thoughts  of  its  editor. 

How  he  toiled  at  this  time,  and  what  was  the  opinion  of  the 
people  of  South  Bend  of  the  young  editor,  are  very  pleasantly 
related  by  Mr.  Samuel  Wilkeson,  in  a  speech  at  a  press  dinner, 
in  Washington,  in  1865,  at  which  Mr.  Colfax  was  an  honored 
guest. 

"Eighteen  years  ago,  at  one  o'clock  of  a  winter  moon-lighted 
morning,  while  the  horses  of  the  stage-coach  in  which  I  was 
plowing  the  thick  mud  of  Indiana,  were  being  changed  at  the 
tavern  in  South  Bend,  as  I  walked  the  footway  of  the  principal 
street  to  shake  off  a  great  weariness,  I  saw  a  light  through  a 
window.  A  sign,  '  The  Register,^  was  legible  above  it,  and  I  saw 
through  the  window  a  man  in  his  shirt  sleeves  walking  quickly 


220  MEN   OF  OUR  DAT. 

about  like  one  that  worked.  I  paused,  and  looked,  and 
imagined  about  the  man,  and  about  his  work,  and  about  the 
lateness  of  the  hour  to  which  it  was  protracted ;  and  I  wondered 
if  he  was  in  debt,  and  was  struggling  to  get  out,  and  if  his  wife 
was  expecting  him,  and  had  lighted  a  new  candle  for  his  coming, 
and  if  he  was  very  tired.  A  coming  step  interrupted  this  idle 
dreaming.  When  the  walker  reached  my  side,  I  joined  him, 
and  ai  we  went  on  I  asked  him  questions,  and  naturally  they  were 
about  the  workman  in  the  shirt  sleeves.  '  "What  sort  of  a  man 
is  he?'  'He  is  very  good  to  the  poor;  he  works  hard  ;  "le  is 
sociable  with  all  people ;  he  pays  his  debts ;  he  is  a  safe  adviser; 
he  doesn't  drink  whisky ;  folks  depend  on  him ;  all  this  part  of 
Indiana  believes  in  him.'  From  that  day  to  this,  I  have  never 
taken  up  the  South  Bend  Register  without  thinking  of  this 
eulogy,  and  envying  the  man  who  had  justly  entitled  himself  to 
it  in  the  dawn  of  his  manhood." 

Mr.  Colfax  himself,  in  his  reply  to  this  speech,  acknowledged 
that  in  the  early  history  of  the  newspaper,  which  numbered  but 
two  hundred  and  fifty  subscribers  when  he  established  it,  he 
was  often  compelled  to  labor  far  into  the  hours  of  the  night. 
His  paper  was,  from  the  first.  Whig  in  its  politics,  and  frank  nnd 
outspoken  in  its  expression  of  opinion  on  all  political  questions, 
but  though  in  a  district  then  strongly  Democratic,  and  sur- 
rounded by  Democratic  papers  which  waged  a  constant,  and  often 
unscrupulous  warfare  against  his  paper  and  his  principles,  the 
constant  readers  of  his  paper  cannot  recall  a  single  harsh  or 
intemperate  expression  in  his  columns,  in  reply  to  the  fierce 
personal  attacks  made  upon  him. 

In  the  year  18-i8,  Mr.  Colfax  was  appointed  a  delegate  from 
his  adopted  State  to  the  Whig  National  Convention,  of  which 
he  was  elected  secretary,  and  although  extremely  young,  he 
discharged  the  functions  of  his  office  commendably.     Tn  1850, 


SCHUYLER   COLFAX.  221 

he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Indiana  State  Convention,  hav- 
ing for  its  object  the  preparation  of  a  State  Constitution.  Here 
he  persistently  opposed  the  nnmanJj  clause  prohibiting  freo 
colored  men  from  entering  the  State.  This  clause,  submitted 
separately  to  the  people,  was  indorsed  by  majorities  of  eight 
thousand  in  his  district'  and  ninety  thousand  in  the  State,  yet, 
where  a  mere  political  trimmer  would  have  waived  the  personal 
issue,  he,  like  a  man,  openly  voted  with  the  minority,  though  he 
was  at  the  time  a  candidate  for  Congress.  In  1851,  unanimously 
nominated  from  the  ninth  district  of  Indiana,  he  made  a  joint 
canvass  with  his  opponent.  Dr.  Fitch,  and,  solely  on  account  of 
this  vote,  was  defeated  by  two  hundred  and  sixteen  majority, 
although  the  district  had  been  Democratic,  by  large  majorities, 
for  many  years. 

In  1852,  he  was  again  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  Whig 
National  Convention,  of  which  also  he  was  appointed  secretary. 
In  1854,  Mr.  Colfax  was  elected  to  Congress  as  a  Eepublican 
nominee ;  and  from  that  time  to  the  present,  he  has  always  occu- 
pied his  seat  as  a  Kepresentative. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Thirty-fourth  Congress  occurred  the 
memorable  contest  for  the  speakership,  resulting  in  the  election 
of  Mr.  Banks  to  that  position.  During  that  session  Mr.  Colfax 
took  his  stand  as  one  of  the  most  promising  of  our  Congres- 
sional debaters.  His  speech,  upon  the  then  all-absorbing  topic  of 
the  extension  of  slavery  and  the  aggressions  of  the  slave  power, 
was  a  masterly  effort,  and  stamped  him  at  once  as  a  most  influ- 
ential orator.  This  speech  was  circulated  throughout  the  coun- 
try at  the  time,  and  was  used  as  a  campaign  document  by  tho 
Fremont  party  during  the  canvass  of  1856.  Five  hundred 
thousand  copies  of  it  were  issued,  a  compliment  perhaps  never 
before  received  by  any  member  of  Congress. 

Mr.  Colfax  labored  zealously  for  John  C  Fremont,  who  was 


222  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

his  personal  friend  ;  the  result  of  that  campaign  is  well  known. 
In  the  Thirty-fifth  Congress,  Mr.  Colfax  was  elected  to  the  im- 
portant position  of  Chairman  to  the  Committee  on  Post-Offices 
and  Post  Roads,  which  place  he  continued  to  hold  until  his  elec- 
tion as  Speaker  to  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  on  the  7th  of 
December,  1853,  to  which  responsible  position  he  was  subse- 
quently twice  re-elected — to  the  Thirty-ninth  and  Fortieth  Con- 
gresses— honors  awarded  before  only  to  Henry  Clay. 

As  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  he  was  ready, 
seldom  hesitating  to  replace  a  word,  or  failing  to  touch  the  quick 
of  a  question,  never  employing  any  words  for  stage  effect;  but 
straightforward,  direct,  and  often  exquisitely  elegant  in  image 
and  diction,  he  was,  in  the  genuine  sense,  eloquent.  His  every 
speech  was  a  success,  and  though  one  often  wondered  how  he 
would  extricate  himself,  in  the  varied  and  often  untimely  calls 
made  upon  his  treasury,  he  always  closed  with  added  wealth  of 
gratified  admirers.  If  George  Canning  was  once  the  Cicero  of 
the  British  Senate,  Schuyler  Colfax  was  equally  that  of  the 
American  House. 

In  the  chair,  lie  was  suave  and  forbearing  almost  to  excess,  but 
as  impartial  as  the  opposite  Congressional  clock.  Nothing 
escaped  him,  nothing  nonplussed  him.  The  marvel  of  his  pre- 
siding watchfulness  was  equaled  alone  by  the  intuitive,  rapid  solu 
tion  of  the  knotty  point  suddenly  presented,  and  having  either 
no  precedent,  or,  at  best,  but  a  very  distant  one.  In  every  quan- 
dary, the  Indiana  Legislature,. or  the  Journal  reporter,  or  the 
persistent  student  of  Jefferson  or  Cushing,  or  all,  rally  to  the 
rescue  of  the  wondering  House  and  still  "smiling  chairman.  The 
advocate  is  never  confused  with  the  judge.  While  presiding, 
it  is  as  difficult  to  remember,  as  when  debating  to  forget,  that 
be  is  radically  a  Radical. 

H(?  was  one  of  the  first  advocates,  and  is  still  one  of  the 


SCHUYLER  COLFAX.  223 

warmest  friends  of  the  Pacific  railroad.  Indeed,  he  takes  a 
warm  interest  in  any  movement  looking  to  the  development  of 
the  boundless  resources  of  the  great  West.  It  was,  doubtless, 
the  interest  he  felt  in  that  section  of  the  country,  which  induced 
him  to  take  his  celebrated  journey  "Across  the  Continent."  His 
trip  was  a  perilous  one,  but  his  welcome  at  "  the  other  end  of  the 
line"  was  so  spontaneous,  truly  genuine  and  heartfelt,  that  it 
more  than  repaid  him  for  all  the  dangers  and  hardships  he 
passed  through.  This  tour  led  him  to  prepare  one  of  the  most 
entertaining  lectures  ever  delivered  in  this  country.  It  was  lis- 
tened to  with  rapt  attention  by  the  people  of  almost  every  city 
in  the  North.  Pecuniarily,  however,  it  was  of  but  little  profit 
to  him,  for  with  that  liberality  which  has  ever  been  a  marked 
trait  in  his  character,  the  entire  proceeds  of  a  lecture  were 
oftener  donated  to  some  charitable  purpose  than  retained  for  his 
own  emolument. 

His  intimacy  and  confidential  relations  with  Mr.  Lincoln  are 
well  known.  They  labored  hand  in  hand  as  brothers  in  the 
cause  of  the  Union,  holding  frequent  and  protracted  interviews 
on  all  subjects  looking  to  the  overthrow  of  the  rebellion,  for 
there  were  no  divisions  between  the  executive  and  legislative 
branches  of  the  Government,  then,  as  there  have  been  since.  A 
patriot  was  at  the  head  of  the  Government  then — a  statesman 
who  could  give  counsel,  but  often  needed  it  as  well.  During  the 
darkest  hours  of  that  bloody  drama  which  cast  so  deep  a  shadow 
over  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  nation,  they  were  ever  cheer- 
ful and  hopeful.  Confident  in  the  justness  of  the  war  waged  for 
the  preservation  of  the  Union,  and  placing  a  Christian  reliance 
in  that  Providence  which  guides  and  shapes  the  destiny  of 
nations,  great  reverses,  which  caused  others  to  fear  and  tremble, 
at  times  almost  to  despair,  seemed  only  to  inspire  them  with 


224  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

greater  zeal  and  a  firmer  belief  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  our 
cause. 

There  has  not  been  a  great  radical  measure  before  the  country, 
since  his  advent  into  Congress,  that  Mr.  Colfax  has  not  sup- 
ported with  all  the  warmth  of  his  nature.  But  he  is  not  one 
who  will  rush  blindly  forward  into  a  pitftxll.  He  would  rather 
make  haste  slowly,  that  no  backward  step  may  be  necessary — he 
would  duly  weigh  every  measure  in  all  its  bearings,  and  from 
its  various  standpoints,  before  committing  himself  wholly  to  any 
particular  line  of  action  relative  to  the  subjects  under  considera- 
tion.  Previous  to  his  reelection  as  Speaker  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Congress,  in  response  to  a  serenade  tendered  him,  he  said : 

"  The  danger  is  in  too  much  precipitation.  Let  us,  rather,  make 
haste  slowly,  and  then  we  can  hope  that  the  foundation  of  our 
Government,  when  thus  reconstructed  on  the  basis  of  indisputa- 
ble loyalty,  will  be  as  eternal  as  the  stars," 

Had  this  warning  been  heeded,  much  of  the  legislation  of  the 
Thirty-ninth  Congress  would  have  needed  no  revision  at  the 
hands  of  that  which  has  succeeded  it. 

His  course,  while  in  the  great  council  of  the  nation,  was  one 
of  straightforward,  unswerving  integrity;  and  he  counted  many 
friends  among  even  his  political  opponents.  He  so  discharged 
the  important  duties  of  the  speakership,  that  he  was  considered 
one  of  the  best  presiding  oflUcers  that  has  ever  been  called  upan 
to  conduct  the  proceedings  of  a  great  body. 

Mr.  Colfax  is  only  forty-nine  years  of  age.  In  personal  ap- 
pearance, he  is  of  medium  height,  solid  and  compactly  built. 
His  hair  and  whiskers  are  brown,  now  a  little  tinged  with  gray. 
His  countenance  has  a  pleasing  and  intellectual  expression.  His 
person  is  graceful,  and  his  manner  denotes  unusual  energy.  His 
eyebrows  are  light  in  color,  and  overshadow  eyes  which  sparkle 
with  intelligence  and  good-humor.     He  is  strongly  affectionate 


SCHUYLER   COLrAX,  225 

Had  kindly  in  disposition.  Whenever  his  mother-in-law  appeared 
ia  the  gallery  of  the  House,  Mr.  Colfax  generally  called  some 
member  to  the  chair,  and  went  immediately  to  her  side.  Such  a 
trait  in  his  character  serves  still  further  to  deepen  the  respect 
and  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  everywhere. 

As  a  speaker,  Mr.  Colfax  is  earnest,  frank,  pointed  and  fluent. 
His  manner  is  pleasing,  and  his  language  is  always  well-chosen 
and  refined.  Urbane  in  demeanor,  and  courteous  and  fair  to- 
ward opponents,  he  always  commanded  respect  and  attention  on 
both  sides  of  the  House.  He  is  zealous  and  fearless  in  main- 
taining his  principles,  though  his  benevolence  and  good-humor 
so  temper  his  speeches  that  he  gains  few  or  no  enemies.  He  ia 
one  of  the  few  whose  personal  qualities  have  secured  exemption 
from  the  bitterness  of  feeling  generally  displayed  by  the  friends 
of  pro-slavery  aggression  toward  their  opponents.  He  seldom, 
indulges  in  oratorical  flourish,  but  goes  straight  to  his  subject, 
which,  with  his  keenly  perceptive  intellect,  he  penetrates  to  the. 
bottom  ;  while  his  close,  logical  reasoning  presents  his  aspect  of  ' 
a  question  in  its  strongest  light. 

On  the  question,  "  Shall  freedmen  be  citizens,  and  be  allowedi 
the  right  of  suffrage?"  he  took  an  early  opportunity  of  avowing, 
his  views.  At  the  opening  of  the  second  session  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Congress,  he  said :  "  The  Creator  is  leading  us  in  his  own 
way  rather  than  our  own.  He  has  put  all  men  on  an  equality 
before  Divine  law,  and  demands  that  we  shall  put  all  men  upon 
the  same  equality  before  human  law." 

In  an  address  delivered  in  1867,  before  the  Union  Lcaguo' 
club  of  New  York,  we  find  these  eloquent  passages: — 

"  How  rapidly  and  yet  how  gloriously  we  are  making  history ; 
but  posterity  will  read  it  on  the  open  pages  of  our  country's  an- 
nals.    Sfx  years  ago — how  brief  it  seems — but  a  fraction  of  an 

individual's  life — but  a  breath  in  the  life  of  a  nation — the  banners 
15 


226  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY 

of  rebellion  waved  over  the  hostile  armies  and  stolen  forts  from 
the  Potomac  to  the  Kio  Grande,  and  the  on- looking  world 
predicted  the  certain  downfall  of  the  Republic.  Now,  thanks 
to  our  gallant  armies  and  their  gallant  commanders— Grant  the 
inflexible — Sherman  the  conqueror — Sheridan  the  invincible — - 
and  all  their  compatriots  on  sea  and  shore — but  one  flag  waves 
over  the  land — the  flag  that  Washington  loved,  and  that  Jack- 
son, and  Scott,  and  Taylor  adorned  with  their  brilliant  victories 
— the  flag  dearer  to  us  in  all  its  hours  of  peril  than  when  gilded 
by  the  sunshine  of  prosperity  and  fanned  by  the  zephyrs  of 
peace,  at  last  triumphant,  unquestioned,  unassailed.  Six  years 
ago,  millions  of  human  beings  born  on  American  soil,  created 
by  the  same  Divine  Father,  destined  to  the  same  eternal  here- 
after, were  subject  to  sale  like  the  swine  of  the  sty,  or  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  and  our  escutcheon  was  dimmed  and  dishonored 
by  the  stain  of  American  Slavery.  To-day^  auction-blocks,  and 
manacles,  and  whipping-posts  are,  thank  God,  things  of  the 
past,  while  the  slave  himself  has  become  the  citizen,  with  the 
freedman's  weapon  of  protection — the  ballot — in  his  own  right 
hand.  Nor  can  we  forget,  while  rejoicing  over  this  happy 
contrast,  the  human  agencies  so  potential  to  its  accomplishment. 
First,  and  conspicuous  among  the  rest,  rises  before  my  mind  the 
tall  form  of  a  martyred  President,  whose  welcome  step  no 
mortal  ear  shall  ever  listen  to  again.  Faithful  to  his  oath, 
faithful  to  his  country,  faithful  to  the  brave  armies  his  word 
called  to  the  field,  he  never  swerved  a  hair's  breadth  from  his 
determination  to  crush  this  mighty  rebellion,  and  all  that  gives 
it  aid,  and  comfort,  and  support.  Unjustly  and  bitterly  de- 
nounced, by  his  enemies  and  yours,  as  a  usurper  and  despot ; 
compared  to  Nero  and  Caligula,  and  all  other  tyrants  whose 
base  deeds  blacken  the  pages  of  history,  your  noble  League 
stood  by  him  amid  this  tempest  of  detraction,  cordially  and  to 


SCHUYLER   COLFAX,  227 

che  end;  and  you  have  now  your  abundant  vindication  and 
reward.  Though  the  torch  of  slander  was  lit  at  every  avenue 
of  his  public  life  while  he  lived,  the  civilized  world  would 
become  mourners  at  his  coffin ;  and  with  those  libelous  tongues 
hushed,  our  whole  land  enshrines  his  memory  to-day  with  the 
Father  of  the  Country  he  saved." 

"I  cannot  doubt  the  future  of  the  great  party  which  has  won 
these  triumphs  and  established  these  principles.  It  has  been  so 
brilliantly  successful,  because  it  recognized  liberty  and  justice' 
as  its  cardinal  principles ;  and  because,  scorning  all  prejudices 
and  defying  all  opprobrium,  it  allies  itself  to  the  cause  of  the 
humble  and  the  oppressed.  It  sought  to  enfranchise,  not  to 
enchain;  to  elevate,  not  to  tread  down;  to  protect,  never  to 
abuse.  It  cared  for  the  humblest  rather  than  for  the  mightiest 
— for  the  weakest  rather  than  the  strongest.  It  recognized 
that  the  glory  of  states  and  nations  was  justice  to  the  poorest 
and  feeblest.  And  another  secret  of  its  wondrous  strength  was 
that  it  fully  adopted  the  striking  injunction  of  our  murdered 
chief:  '  With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  but  with 
firmness  for  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right.'  Only 
last  month  the  British  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  defend- 
ing his  Keform  bill,  which  holds  the  word  of  promise  to  the  ear 
to  break  it  to  the  hope,  exclaimed :  '  This  is  a  nation  of  classes, 
and  must  remain  so.'  If  I  may  be  pardoned  for  replying,  I 
would  say  :  '  This  is  a  nation  o1  freemen^  and  it  must  remain  so.' 
Faithful  to  the  traditions  of  our  fathers  in  sympathizing  with 
all  who  long  for  the  maintenance  or  advancement  of  liberty  in 
Mexico  or  England,  in  Ireland  or  Crete,  and  yet  carefully 
avoiding  all  entangling  alliances  or  violations  of  the  law,  with  a 
recognition  from  ocean  to  ocean,  ISTdrth  and  South  alike,  of  the 
right  of  all  citizens  bound  by  the  law  to  share  in  the  choice  of 


228  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

the  law-maker,  and  thus  to  have  a  voice  in  the  country  their 
heart's  blood  must  defend,  our  centennial  anniversary  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  will  find  us  as  an  entire  nation, 
recognizing-  the  great  truths  of  that  immortal  Magna  Gharta^ 
enjoying  a  fame  wide  as  the  world  and  eternal  as  the  stars, 
with  a  prosperity  that  shall  eclipse  in  future  all  the  brightest 
glories  of  the  past." 

Religion  gained  the  early  adherence  of  Mr,  Colfox,  who  many 
years  ago  began  a  Christian  life,  joining  the  Dutch  Eeformed 
Church,  and  serving  humbly  and  usefully  as  a  Sunday  school 
teacher  for  twelve  years.  The  "pious  passages"  so  frequent  iu 
his  public  speeches  are  not  mere  sentiment  or  oratorical  arts, 
for  he  loves  to  talk,  in  private,  of  how  God  rules  and  how 
distinctly  and  how  often,  in  our  history,  his  holy  arm  has  been 
revealed ;  and  the  ascription  of  praise  comes  from  a  worship- 
ping heart,  reliant  on  God  through  Christ.  His  personal  ex- 
ample at  Washington  is  luminous.  When  twenty,  he  made 
vows  of  strict,  abstinence,  which  have  never  been  broken. 
Liquors  and  wines  are  never  used  at  his  receptions,  while 
Presidential  dinners  and  diplomatic  banquets  are  utterly  power- 
less to  abate  one  jot  or  tittle  of  his  firmness.  Many  of  our 
readers  well  remember  his  speech  at  a  Congressional  temper- 
ance meeting,  and  how  he  banished  the  sale  of  liquor  from 
all  parts  of  the  Capitol  within  his  jurisdiction. 

On  the  21st  of  May,  1868,  the  National  Republican  Union 
Convention,  in  session  at  Chicago,  nominated  Mr.  Colfax  as 
their  candidate  for  the  vice-presidency,  on  the  fifth  ballot,  his 
name  receiving  five  hundred  and  twenty-two  votes  out  of  the 
six  hundred  and  fifty  polled. 

At  the  Presidential  election,  November  3d,  1868,  General 
Grant  and  Mr.  Colfax  were  elected  President  and  Yice-Presi- 
dent,  and  on  the  4th  of  March,  1869,  Mr.  Colfax  took  his  seat  as 


SCHUYLER   COLFAX.  229 

President  of  the  Senate,  and  his  inaugural  oath  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  The  President  of  the  Senate  is  not 
like  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  an  elected  member  of  the  body 
over  which  he  presides,  and  hence  can  take  no  part  in  the  dis- 
cussions of  that  body,  nor  is  he  allowed  any  other  than  a  casting 
vote.  The  rules  of  the  Senate  are  also  very  different  from  those 
of  the  House,  and  of  late  years  it  has  lost  its  ancient  reputation 
for  dignity  and  decorum,  and  under  the  lead  of  some  of  its  less 
discreet  members,  has  seemed  to  be  striving  to  win  from  the 
House  its  old  name  of  reproach,  "  the  National  Bear  Garden." 

To  preside  successfully  over  such  a  body  is  even  a  more  diffi- 
cult task  under  the  circumstances,  than  over  the  more  boister- 
ous, but  at  the  same  time  more  easily  controlled.  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. Yet  in  a  position  which  some  of  the  ablest  parli- 
amentarians had  found  exceedingly  difficult,  and  among  men 
who  sometimes  regard  themselves  as  entirely  above  the  law,  it 
is  much  to  his  credit  that  Vice-President  Colfax  has  presided 
with  an  easy  dignity  and  grace  which  has  been  recognized  by  all 
classes  as  wholly  without  partiality,  and  has  furnished  no  grounds 
of  complaint.  His  excessive  labors  at  one  time  broke  down 
his  health,  and  compelled  him  to  take  a  long  rest ;  but.  his  tem- 
perate habits,  his  systematic  and  methodical  ways,  and  his  vigo- 
rous constitution  enabled  him  to  recover  his  health  completely. 

In  1870,  Mr.  Colfax  wrote  to  a  friend  in  New  York  declaring 
his  purpose  to  withdraw  forever  from  public  life  at  the  close  of 
his  present  term  of  office.  This  letter  was  published  and  vari- 
ously commented  on  by  the  press.  Subsequently  the  urgency 
of  his  friends  induced  him  to  reconsider  this  intention,  and  suf- 
fer his  name  to  be  brought  before  the  Philadelphia  National 
Republican  Convention;  but  this  was  done  at  so  late  a  date  that 
Senator  Wilson,  who  had  been  a  competitor  for  the  nomination 
in  1868,  had  a  decided  advantage,  and  was  nominated  by  a  small 
majority  on  the  first  ballot,  at  Philadelphia. 


HANNIBAL    HAMLIN. 


I  HAT  can  you  raise  here?"  iDquired  a  distinguislietl 
English  asfriculturist,  of  a  friend,  a  citizen  of  Maine,  as 
they  were  traversing  the  rocky,  iron-bound  coast, 
against  which  the  North  Atlantic  dashes  its  waves  in 
summer  and  winter.  "  Your  soil  seems  so  rocky  and  sterile 
that  no  crops  will  thrive  in  it.  What  can  you  grow  ?"  "  We 
raise  men,"  was  the  proud  reply.  Yes,  the  sunrise  State  does 
raise  men^  and  one  of  the  best  of  her  products,  was  the  man 
whose  history  we  propose  here  to  sketch  briefly. 

Hannibal  Hamlin  was  born  in  Paris,  Maine,  August  27th, 
1809.  His  ancestors  were  from  Massachusetts,  and  of  Puritan 
and  revolutionary  stock.  His  grandfather,  Eleazar  Hamlin, 
commanded  a  company  of  minute  men  in  the  revolution,  and 
had  five  sons  enrolled  under  him,  some  of  whom  served 
through  the  whole  war.  Cyrus,  one  of  the  sons  of  Eleazar 
Hamlin,  studied  medicine,  married  and  settled  at  Livermore, 
Oxford  county,  Maine,  where  he  acquired  a  very  extensive 
practice,  and  was  also  clerk  of  the  courts  for  Oxford  county, 
for  a  number  of  years.  Hannibal  was  the  sixth  son  of  Dr. 
Cyrus  Hamlin,  and,  from  his  boyhood,  was  a  studious,  manly 
-boy.  His  brothers  have,  several  of  them,  attained  distinction. 
His  eldest  brother,  Elijah,  has  long  been  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent men  of  the  State ;  Cyrus,  another  brother,  is  well  known 

as  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board,  at  Constantinople,  and 
230 


HANNIBAL   HAMLIN.  231 

is  now  at  tlie  head  of  the  Eobert  college  there.  Few  men  have 
been  more  widely  useful.  It  was  the  intention  of  Dr.  Hamlin 
to  give  Hannibal  a  collegiate  education,  and  before  he  was  six- 
teen, he  was  nearly  fitted  for  college,  when  the  failure  of  hia 
brother  Cyrus's  health  led  to  a  change  of  plans,  and  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine,  while  Hannibal  remained  at 
home  to  labor  on  the  farm,  employing  the  winter  in  surveying 
a  township  of  forest  land  on  Dead  river,  which  his  father  and 
others  had  purchased.  When  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  hia 
father  directed  him  to  undertake  the  study  of  law,  with  his 
brother  Elijah.  He  commenced  his  studies,  but  at  the  end  of 
six  or  eight  months,  his  father  died,  and  he  returned  home,  and 
labored  on  the  farm,  for  the  next  two  years.  He  was  next,  for 
about  a  year,  joint  proprietor  and  editor  with  Horatio  King, 
afterwards  assistant  postmaster  general,  of  a  Democratic  news- 
paper. The  Jeffersonian^  published  at  Paris,  the  county  seat  of 
Oxford  county.  To  this  paper  he  contributed  both  prose  and 
poetical  articles.  But  his  inclination  was  still  to  the  study  of 
the  law,  and  having  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  paper,  he  entered, 
with  his  mother's  sanction,  the  office  of  Hon.  Joseph  G.  Cole, 
and,  for  the  next  three  years,  prosecuted  his  legal  studies  with 
him  and  with  the  firm  of  Fessenden,  Deblois,  and  Fessenden, 
the  junior  partner  being  the  late  Senator  from  Maine.  In 
January,  1833,  he  was  admitted  to  the  Oxford  county  bar,  and 
mimediately  commenced  a  successful  practice,  which  continued 
to  increase  until  1851,  when  he  relinquished  farther  practice  of 
his  profession.  He  soon  after  removed  to  Hampden,  a  flourish- 
ing village  six  miles  below  Bangor,  on  the  Penobscot,  and 
married  the  same  year.  From  1836  to  1810,  he  was  each  year 
elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  and  in  1837,  1839,  and  1810,  was 
speaker  of  the  House,  In  1810,  he  was  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  Representative  in  Congress,  but  was  defeated  by  about 


232  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

two  hundred  votes.     In  1843,  he  was  again  a  candidaf.e  and 
was  elected  by  about  a  thousand  majority. 

Though  elected  as  a  Democrat,  and  voting  with  that  party  on 
all  other  questions,  Mr.  Hamlin,  from  the  commencement  of  his 
Congressional  career,  uniformly  opposed  the  extension  and 
aggressions  of  slavery.  His  first  speech  in  Congrera  was  in 
opposition  to  the  twenty-first  rule,  by  which  abolition  petitions 
were  excluded ;  and  he  ably  and  strenuously  opposed  the 
annexation  of  Texas,  not  because  he  was  averse  to  new  acces- 
sions of  territory,  but  because  the  bill  provided  for  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery  there.  His  speech,  in  opposition  to  the  annexa- 
tion on  these  terms,  was  one  of  remarkable  eloquence,  and  its 
defence  of  New  England  against  the  attacks  of  southern  mem- 
bers, was  one  of  the  finest  passages  of  parliamentary  oratory. 
"I  am  sure,  sir,"  he  said,  "that  the  hardy  sons  of  the  ice-bound 
region  of  New  England,  have  poured  out  their  blood  without 
stint,  to  protect  the  shores  of  the  South,  or  to  avenge  her 
wrongs.  Their  bones  are  even  now  bleaching  beneath  the  sun, 
on  many  a  southern  hill ;  and  the  monuments  of  their  brave 
devotion  may  still  be  traced,  wherever  their  country's  flag  has 
floated  on  the  battle  field,  or  the  breeze,  upon  the  lakes,  the 
ocean,  and  the  land : — 

"  '  New  England's  dead  !  New  England's  dead  ! 

On  every  field  they  lie, 
On  every  field  of  strife  made  red, 

With  bloody  victory ! 
Their  bones  are  on  our  northern  hills, 

And  on  the  sonthern  plain; 
By  brook  and  river,  mount  and  rills, 

And  in  the  sounding  main.' 

"  I  glory  in  New  England  and  New  England's  institutions. 
There  she  stands,  with  her  free  schools,  and  her  free  labor,  her 
fearless  enterprise,  her  indomitable  energy !     With  her  rocky 


HANNIBAL   HAMLIN".  233 

hills,  her  torrent  streams,  her  green  valleys,  her  heaven  pointed 
spires ;  there  she  stands  a  moral  monument  around  which  the 
gratitude  of  her  country  binds  the  wreath  of  fame,  while  pro- 
tected freedom  shall  repose  forever  at  its  base." 

Mr.  Hamlin  was  re-elected  to  Congress  in  1844,  and  though 
known  mainly  as  a  working,  rather  than  a  talking  member, 
(and  his  reputation  was  of  the  highest,  as  an  efl&cieut  business 
man,)  he  took  some  part  in  the  debates,  handling  the  most  im- 
portant questions  with  great  ability.  Among  the  topics  on 
which  he  spoke  were  the  public  land  question ;  on  giving 
notice  to  the  British  Government  to  termiiKite  the  joint  occu- 
pancy of  Oregon  ;  on  the  mode  of  raising  troops  for  the  Mexican 
war;  on  the  mode  of  increasing  the  army,  and  on  establishing  a 
territorial  government  for  Oregon.  He  also  offered  the  Wilmot 
Proviso  as  an  amendment  to  the  famous  "  three  million  bill." 

On  his  return  home  he  served  for  one  session  in  the  Maine 
Legislature,  and  in  May,  1848,  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  caused  by  the  death  of  Ex-Gover- 
nor Fairfield.  In  July,  1851,  he  was  again  chosen  Senator, 
for  the  full  term,  by  the  Democrats  and  Free  Soilers.  His 
decided  opposition  to  slavery  had  alienated  a  few  of  the  pro- 
slavery  Democrats  in  the  Legislature,  but  their  place  was  more 
than  supplied  by  the  Free  Soilers,  who  held  the  balance  of 
power  in  the  Maine  Legislature  at  this  time. 

In  the  Senate,  Mr.  Hamlin  almost  immediately  took  a 
position  as  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  that  body.  He  was 
not  given  to  participating  in  the  debates  on  trivial  matters,  but 
on  the  great  questions  of  the  time  he  usually  gave  his  care- 
fully considered  views,  and  they  commanded  the  attention  and 
respect  of  the  entire  Senate.  As  a  working  member,  he  had 
no  superior;  he  was  chairman  of  the  very  important  Committee 
on  Commerce,  from  1849  till  his  resignation  of  that  position  in 


234  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

1856,  on  an  occasion  to  be  presently  noticed,  and  drew  up  and 
matured  many  of  the  bills  which  have  proved  so  beneficial 
fco  our  national  commerce.  He  was  also  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  an  active  member  of 
other  important  committees.  He  was  outspoken  and  decided  in 
his  efforts  for  the  repression  of  slavery,  and  in  opposition  to  its 
aggressive  tendencies,  and  the  purpose  of  its  friends  to  extend  it 
over  all  the  new  territories,  from  his  entrance  ir-io  the  Senate. 
One  of  his  earliest  speeches,  in  1848,  on  the  bill  providing  a 
territorial  government  for  Oregon,  denounced  in  strong  and 
manly  terms  this  purpose  of  the  pro-slavery  men,  and  in  the 
debates  on  the  admission  of  California,  he  was  equally  explicit 
and  earnest.  He  advocated  in  the  same  session  the  abolition  of 
the  practice  of  flogging  in  the  navy.  On  commercial  topics,  his 
most  important  and  effective  speeches  were,  on  the  ocean  mail 
service ;  on  regulating  the  liabilities  of  ship  owners ;  on  providing 
for  the  greater  security  of  lives  on  steamboats ;  in  defence  of 
the  river  and  harbor  bill ;  for  the  codifications  of  the  revenue 
laws,  etc. 

Up  to  1856,  Mr.  Hamlin  had  acted  with  the  Democratic  party 
on  all  questions,  except  those  connected  with  the  extension  of 
slavery,  directly  or  indirectly.  He  opposed  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  compromise,  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill,  and  the 
Fugitive  Slave  act,  but  in  all  these,  others  affiliated  with  that 
party  had  acted  with  him ;  but  the  time  came,  at  the  national 
Democratic  Convention  at  Cincinnati,  in  June,  1856,  when  that 
party  succumbed  to  the  slave  power,  and  delivered  themselves 
over  to  the  rule  and  dictation  of  the  South ;  then  Mr.  Hamlin 
felt  that  he  must  sever  the  ties  which  had  hitherto  bound  him 
to  them.  He  took  the  first  opportunity  of  doing  this  which 
olfered,  rising  in  his  place  in  the  Senate,  June  12th,  1856,  and 
resigning  his  position  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Com- 


HANNIBAL   HAMLIN.  235 

merce,  and  assigning  as  liis  reason,  that  after  the  platform  and 
resolutions  adopted  by  the  convention  at  Cincinnati,  he  could 
no  longer  maintain  political  associations  with  a  party  which  in- 
sisted on  such  doctrines.  Thenceforward,  he  became  identified 
with  the  Republican  party.  Two  or  three  weeks  later  he  was 
nominated  by  the  Republicans  for  Governor  of  Maine,  and 
made  a  personal  canvass  of  the  State,  speaking  nearly  one 
hundred  times  in  the  different  counties.  The  Democrats  had 
carried  the  State  by  a  large  majority  the  year  before,  and  were 
then  in  power,  but  Mr.  Hamlin  was  elected  in  September,  1856, 
by  an  absolute  majority  of  eighteen  thousand  over  both  the 
competing  candidates,  and  of  twenty-three  thousand  over  his 
Democratic  competitor,  more  than  double  the  majority  ever 
given  to  any  other  candidate  in  that  State.  On  the  7th  of 
January,  1857,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  and  was  the 
same  day  inaugurated  Governor  of  Maine.  Nine  days  later, 
January  16th,  1857,  he  was  a  third  time  elected  to  the  Senate, 
for  the  term  of  six  years  from  March  ith,  1857,  and  on  the  20th 
of  February  resigned  the  office  of  governor,  and  took  his  seat 
again  in  the  Senate,  on  the  4th  of  March.  During  the  next  four 
years,  he  was  the  active  and  eloquent  defender  of  Republi- 
can principles  in  the  United  States  Senate,  discussing  the 
Kansas  question  with  consummate  ability,  attacking  the  Le- 
compton  Constitution,  replying  with  great  pungency  and  effect  to 
Senator  llammond's  "  mud-sill"  speech,  and  repealing  his  assaults 
upon  the  free  laborers  of  the  North.  He  also  exposed  the  unfair- 
ness and  gross  sectional  partiality  of  the  Democratic  majority 
in  the  Senate,  in  the  formation  of  the  committees,  and,  in  an  able 
speech,  defended  American  rights  in  regard  to  the  fisheries. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  1860,  at  the  Republican  National  Conven- 
tion at  Chicago,  Mr.  Hamlin  was  nominated  as  the  candidate  of  the 
party  for  the  vice-presidency  on  the  ticket  with  Abraham  Lincoln. 


236  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

The  nomination  was  entirely  unexpected  by  Mr,  Hamlin  and 
took  him  completely  by  surprise.  It  was  made  spontaneously 
and  with  great  unanimity.  The  ticket  was  elected,  and  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1861,  in  the  midst  of  civil  commotion  and  the 
loud  muttering  of  the  storm  which  was  so  soon  to  burst  upon 
the  nation.  President  and  Vice-President  were  inaugurated. 
During  the  four  years  that  followed,  Mr,  Hamlin  was  the 
President's  right  hand ;  calm,  patient,  clear-headed  and  far-seeing, 
he  was  able  to  give  wise  counsel,  and  enjoyed,  throughout  his 
administration,  Mr.  Lincoln's  fullest  confidence.  It  is  said  that 
in  the  history  of  our  country,  there  has  been  but  one  other 
instance,  in  which  there  was  full  and  perfect  harmony  between 
the  President  and  Vice-President,  and  that  was  in  the  case  of 
President  Jackson  and  Vice-President  Van  Buren.  As  the  pre- 
siding officer  of  the  Senate,  he  has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  equalled 
in  the  skill  with  which  he  conducted  its  proceedings  and  the 
dignity  with  which  he  guided  its  deliberations.  So  thorough 
was  his  knowledge  of  parliamentary  rules  and  usages,  and  of  the 
precedents  of  senatorial  action,  that  not  a  single  ruling  of  his, 
during  the  four  years  of  his  presidency  over  the  Senate,  was 
ever  over-ruled  by  that  body,  and  on  his  taking  leave  of  it  all 
parties  united  in  testifying  to  his  courtesy  and  impartiality. 

At  the  Baltimore  National  Republican  Convention,  in  186-i,  it 
was  at  first  proposed  to  nominate  Mr,  Hamlin  again  to  the  vice- 
presidency,  which  he  had  filled  so  well;  there  was  nothing  to  be 
objected  to  in  his  conduct,  and  very  much  to  praise;  but  it  was 
represented  that  the  position  belonged,  by  right,  to  some  loyal 
representative  of  the  border,  or  seceded  States,  and  this  view 
prevailing,  Andrew  Johnson  was  nominated.  It  has  been  well 
said,  that  "with  Hannibal  Hamlin  in  the  vice-presidency,  either 
Mr.  Lincoln  would  not  have  been  assassinated,  or  we  should 


HANNIBAL   HAMLIN.  237 

have  been  spared  the  trouble,  discord,  and  disgrace  wliich  haa 
followed." 

In  July,  1865,  Mr.  Johnson  appointed  Mr.  Hamlin  collector 
of  the  port  of  Boston,  the  most  lucrative  office  in  New  England. 
He  held  the  position  about  thirteen  months,  when  becoming 
convinced  that  Mr.  Johnson  had  deserted  the  party  which 
elected  him,  and  abandoned  its  principles,  he  felt  that  he  could 
not  retain  the  office,  without  danger  of  being  identified  with 
Mr.  Johnson's  treachery,  and  resigned  it  in  the  following  manly 
letter. 

"  Custom  House,  Boston,  Collector's  Office,  Aug.  28,  1866. 
"  To  the  President : — 

"  One  year  ago  you  tendered  to  me,  unsolicited  on  my  part, 
the  position  of  collector  of  customs,  for  the  District  of  BovSton 
and  Charlestown.  I  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  office,  and 
have  endeavored  faithfully  to  discharge  the  same,  and  I  trust  in 
a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  public  interested  therein, 

"  I  do  not  fail  to  observe  the  movements  and  efforts  which 
have  been,  and  are  now  being  made  to  organize  a  party  in  the 
country,  consisting,  almost  exclusively,  of  those  actively  engaged 
in  the  late  rebellion,  and  their  allies,  who  sought  by  other  means 
to  cripple  and  embarrass  the  Government.  These  classes  of 
persons,  with  a  small  fraction  of  others,  constitute  the  organiza- 
tion. It  proposes  to  defeat  and  overthrow  the  Union  Republi- 
can party,  and  to  restore  to  power,  without  sufficient  guaranties 
for  the  future,  and  protection  to  men  who  have  been  loyal,  those 
who  sought  to  destroy  the  Government. 

"  I  gave  all  the  influence  I  possessed  to  create  and  uphold  the 
Union  Republican  party  during  the  war,  and  without  the  aid 
of  which  our  Government  would  have  been  destroyed,  and  the 
rebellion  a  success. 

*'  With  such  a  party  as  has  been  inaugurated,  and  for  such 
purposes,  I  have  no  sympathy,  nor  can  I  acquiesce  in  ita 
measures  by  my  silence.  I  therefore  tender  to  you  my  resig- 
nation of  the  office  of  collector  of  customs,  for  the  District  of 


238  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

Boston  and  Ch.irlestown,  to  take  effect  irom  the  time  when  a 
successor  shall  be  appointed  and  qualified. 

*'  Eespectfully  yours, 

"H.HAMLIN." 

After  his  resignation,  Mr.  Hamlin  engaged  in  the  political 
canvass  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maine,  in  the  autumn 
of  1860,  and  then  returned  to  his  home  in  Bangor,  Maine,  where 
he  remained,  engaged  in  the  management  of  his  estate,  taking 
part,  however,  in  the  political  campaign  in  New  Hampshire  and 
Connecticut  in  the  spring  of  1868.  Mr.  Hamlin  was  the  first 
choice  of  several  of  the  States  for  the  vice-presidency  in  the 
National  Convention  of  May,  1868,  and  it  is  no  discredit  to  the 
other  eminent  and  able  candidates,  to  say  that  no  man  could 
have  filled  the  office  better  than  he. 

In  the  session  of  the  Maine  Legislature,  in  the  winter  of  1869, 
Mr.  Hamlin  was  a  fourth  time  elected  United  States  Senator 
from  that  State,  which  position  he  still  holds.  He  has  been 
throughout,  a  decided  supporter  of  President  Grant's  adminis- 
tration. 

Mr.  Hamlin  is  about  six  feet  in  height,  though  apparently 
less,  in  consequence  of  his  having  a  slight  stoop.  His  athletic 
and  robust  form  gives  a  just  indication  of  his  great  physical 
energy  and  power  of  endurance.  His  complexion  is  dark,  and 
his  eyes  are  of  a  piercing  blackue^is.*  His  voice  is  clear,  strong, 
melodious  in  its  tones,  a.nd  his  delivery  rapid,  energetic,  and 
highly  effective.  He  speaks  without  verbal  preparation,  but 
without  any  embarrassment,  and  with  remarkable  directness. 

*  The  southern  pohtical  speakers  and  leaders  in  the  presidential  cam- 
paign of  18G0,  circulated  the  report  widely  throughout  the  South,  and  it 
was  extensively  credited  tJiere,  that  Mr.  Ilaml-n  was  a  mulatto,  and  that  the 
Repullicans  had  nominated  him  for  the  pumose  of  inciting  the  negroes  to 
rise  in  rebellion  against  their  masters.  Mr.  Hamlin's  dark  complexion  was 
the  only  thing  which  gave  the  slightest  phiusibility  to  this  story. 


HANNIBAL   HAMLIN.  239 

Always  talking  to  the  point,  and  never  for  mere  effect,  lie  is 
invariably  listened  to  with  respect  and  attention.  As  a  popular 
orator,  he  has  great  power  and  eloquence.  His  manners,  though 
dignified  and  decorous,  are  still  remarkable  for  their  republi- 
can simplicity.  At  his  home  on  the  Penobscot,  he  cultivates 
his  small  farm  with  his  own  hands,  laboring  on  it  every  summer, 
with  all  the  regularity  and  vigor  of  his  youthful  days.  In^his 
moral  character,  Mr.  Hamlin  is  wholly  without  reproach,  a  man 
of  pure  and  Christian  life,  and  in  his  domesiic  relations,  he  is 
most  devoted  and  affectionate.  No  man  is  more  thoroughly 
faithful  to  his  friends  than  he,  and  none  more  highly  prizes  a 
true  friend.  His  native  State  honors  him,  and  with  reason,  for 
he  is  one  of  her  best  products,  a  manly,  noble  man  in  all  the 
relations  of  life. 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   WADE, 

LATE   VICE-PRESIDENT   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


I 


5"!  T  would  be  hard  to  find  a  better  illustration  of  the  facility 

with  which,  under  Republican  institutions,  a  man  of 

genius    and    integrity   may    rise    from    obscurity   and 

humble  life  to  the  most  exalted  station,  than  is  afforded 

in  the  history     of     Benjamin    F.    Wade.      He  has  not,  it  is 

true,  like  his  predecessor,  "  filled  every  office,  from  alderman  of 

a  small  village  to  President  of  the  United  States,"  but  he  has 

risen  from  an  humble  though  honorable  and  honest  condition,  to 

the  highest  positions  in  the  g'ft  of  the  people,  and  through  all, 

has  maintained  himself  with  dignity,  propriety,  and  honor,  and 

with  a  reputation  for  unflinching  adherence  to  the  principles 

of  right,  justice,  and  freedom,  which  any  man  might  covet. 

BenjAiMIN   Franklust  Wade  was    born  in  Feeding   Hills 

Parish,  West  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  October  27th,  1800.    He 

was  the  youngest  of  ten  children.     His  father  was  a  soldier, 

who  fought  in  every  revolutionary  battle  from  Bunker  Hill  to 

Yorktown.     His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  a  Presbyterian 

clergyman,  a  woman  of  vigorous  intellect  and  great  force  of 

character.     She  fed  and  clothed  her  brood  while  the  father  was 

in   the   army.     The   family  was   one  of  the   poorest   in   New 

England.     A  portion  of  its  scanty  property  was  a  library  of 

twelve  books.     This  eventually  became  Benjamin's  possession. 

He  read  the  volumes  through  and  through,  and  over  and  over, 
24U 


Kkobavkd  by  /\.B  Wat.tek  Phxi,ad 


/ 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN   WADE.  24 1< 

after  his  mother  had  led  him  so  far  into  an  education  as  to 
teach  him  to  read  and  write.  When  Ben  was  eighteen,  he 
tearfully  turned  his  back  on  the  old  plow  and  the  older  home- 
stead ;  and,  with  seven  dollars  in  his  pocket  and  a  bundle  of  cloth- 
ing on  his  back,  started  to  walk  from  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, to  Illinois,  to  seek  his  fortune.  He  footed  it  to  Ashtabula 
county,  Ohio.  There,  the  snow  falling,  he  determined  to  wait 
for  spring  to  finish  his  journey ;  hired  himself  out  to  cut  wood! 
in  the  forest  for  fifty  cents  per  cord,  and  snatched  hours  from 
sleep  at  night  to  read  the  Bible  by  the  light  of  the  fire  on  the 
hearth  of  the  log-cabin.  Both  the  Old  and  the  New  Testa- 
ments are  at  his  tongue's  end.  Spring  came;  but  the  journey 
to  Illinois  and  fortune  was  delayed  by  a  summer's  work  at 
chopping,  logging,  and  grubbing,  followed  by  a  Yankee  winter 
at  school-teaching.  The  journey  was  suspended  by  a  second 
year  of  such  work,  and  was  finally  lost  in  an  experience  of 
driving  a  herd  of  cattle.  Wade  led  the  "  lead"  steer  of  a  drove 
from  Ohio  to  New  York.  Six  times  he  made  this  trip.  The 
last  ox  he  led  took  him  to  Albany.*      'Twas  winter.     Of  course, 

*  General  Brisbin  relates  that  on  one  of  these  occasions  Mr.  Wade  came 
near  losing  his  life.  He  was  leading  a  steer  as  usual  in  front  of  the  drove, 
when  he  came  to  a  long  covered  bridge.  The  gate-keeper,  according  to 
the  rules,  would  only  allow  a  few  of  the  herd  to  pass  over  at  a  time,  lest  their 
weight  should  injure  the  bridge.  Wade  started  with  the  advance  guard,  but 
the  cattle  in  the  rear  becoming  frightened,  rushed  into  the  bridge  and  stampe- 
ded. Young  Wade  made  haste  to  run,  but  finding  he  could  not  reach  the 
other  end  before  the  frantic  cattle  would  be  upon  him  and  trample  Kim  to 
death,  he  ran  to  one  of  the  posts,  and  springing  up,  caught' hold  of  the 
brace  and  drew  himself  up  as  high  as  possible.  He  could  barely  keep  his 
legs  out  of  the  way  of  the  horns  of  the  cattle,  but  he  held  on  while  the 
bridge  swayed  to  and  fro,  threatening  every  moment  to  break  under  the 
great  weight  that  was  upon  it.  At  length  the  last  of  the  frightened 
animuls  i)assed  by,  and  our  dangling  hero  dropped  from  his  perch,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  drover,  who  thought  he  had  been  crushed  to  death, 
and  was  riding  through  the  bridge,  expecting  every  moment  to  find  hia 
crushed  and  mangled  body." 


242  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

the  drover  tten  expanded  into  a  scliool-teacTier.  "When  the  frost 
was  out  of  the  ground,  scholars  and  teacher  went  to  manual  ^abor. 
The  Erie  canal  got  the  teacher.  During  the  summer  of  1826 
Wade  shoveled  and  wheeled ;  "  The  only  American  I  know/'  said 
Governor  Seward,  in  a  speech  in  the  Senate,  "  who  worked  with 
a  spade  and  wheelbarrow  on  that  great  improvement."  An- 
other winter  of  school-teaching  in  Ohio,  and  the  persuasions 
of  Elisha  Whittlesey,  and  the  friendly  offer  of  a  tavern-keeper 
who  had  got  to  loving  Wade,  to  trust  him  bed  and  board 
without  limit,  drew  Ben,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  into  a  law 
office,  to  study  for  the  bar.  He  was  admitted  in  two  years. 
He  waited  another  year  for  his  first  suit. 

It  was  but  a  petty  offence  with  which  his  first  client  was 
charged,  but  the  young  lawyer  went  into  his  defence  with  all  his 
might,  and  secured  his  acquittal.  His  zeal  and  resolution  secured 
him  the  friendship  of  the  members  of  the  bar,  and  after  the 
trial  was  over,  the  good  old  presiding  judge  condescended  to 
privately  give  him  a  word  of  encouragement.  Mr.  Wade 
says  no  one  can  ever  know  how  much  good  the  kind  words 
of  the  judge  did  him,  and  how  they  put  courage  into  his 
heart  to  fight  the  future  battles  of  his  life.  Without  the  advan- 
tages of  early  education,  Mr.  Wade  felt  constantly  ihe  need 
of  close  application  to  his  law  books,  and  became  a  hard 
student.  The  lawyers  soon  began  to  notice  his  opinions,  and 
the  energy  and  confidence  he  threw  into  a  case.  He  had  a 
wonderful  deal  of  sense,  and  could  analyze  a  knotty  question 
with  surprising  ability.  Those  lawyers  who  were  far  his 
superiors  in  learning  and  eloquence  could  never  equal  the 
rough  backwoodsman  in  grasping  the  points  in  a  case  and 
presenting  them  to  the  jury. 

After  six  years  of  unremitting  toil,  Wade  found  himself  em- 
ployed in  almost  every  case  of  importance   litigated   in   tha 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   WADE.  248 

circuit  where  he  practiced.  He  was  now  a  man  of  note;  his 
law  business  was  constantly  increasing,  and  money  was  coming 
in  to  fill  his  pocket.  He  felt,  as  a  thousand  other  men  have 
felt,  that  the  struggle  of  his  life  was  over ;  that  it  was  no  longer 
■vjith  him  simply  a  fight  for  bread.  The  world  had  been  met 
and  conquered,  and  the  master  began  to  look  about  him,  and 
consider  other  matters  than  mere  questions  of  food  and  clothing. 
Like  most  men  who  have  taken  the  rough  world  by  the  throat 
and  conquered  it,  Mr.  Wade  felt  how  completely  he  was  self- 
made,  and  how  little  he  had  to  fear  from  the  future. 

In  1835,  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  county 
of  Ashtabula.  Ilis  talent  for  special  pleading  was  remarkable, 
and  his  indictments  are  considered  models  at  the  present  time. 

In  1837,  Mr.  Wade  was  offered  the  nomination  to  the  State 
Sjnate  from  his  district,  and  reluctantly  accepted.  This,  Mr. 
Wade  contends  to  this  day,  was  the  great  mistake  of  his  life. 
Tie  has  been  continually  successful  in  politics,  and  reached  the 
tecond  office  in  the  nation ;  but  he  never  fails  to  warn  young 
men  to  stick  to  their  professions,  and  let  politics  alone.  The 
empty  honors  of  public  life,  he  contends,  never  repay  the  poli 
tician  for  the  toils  and  troubles  that  besot  him  at  every  step  ^ 
and  a  quiet  home  is  infinitely  to  be  preferred  to  the  highest 
political  honor. 

lie  was  just  entering  his  thirty-eighth  year  when  he  too.k  hia 
seat  in  the  State  Senate  of  Ohio,  and  at  once  began  his  political 
career  with  the  same  earnestness  that  had  characterized  hia 
course  at  the  bar.  As  a  new  member,  he  expected  no  position ; 
but  his  fame  as  a  lawyer  had  preceded  him  to  the  capitol,  and 
he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  Committee. 

Mr.  Wade  finst  directed  his  efforts  to  the  repeal  of  the  laws 
of  Ohio  whereby  the  poor  but  honest  man  could  be  imprisoned 
for  debt  by  his  creditor.     He  rapidly  rose  to  the  leadership  of 


244  MEX   OF    OUR    DAY. 

the  little  squad  of  "Whigs  in  the  State  Senate,  and  although 
greatly  in  the  minority,  he  handled  his  small  force  so  efiectively 
as  to  keep  the  Democrats  always  on  the  defensive. 

The  question  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  coming  up,  Mr. 
Wade  made  haste  to  take  bold  grounds  against  slavery.  He 
said : 

"  This  State  of  Texas  coming  to  the  Union,  as  it  must  (if  at 
all),  with  the  institution  of  slavery  interwoven  with  its  "social 
habits,  being  brought  into  this  Union  for  the  sole  object  of  ex- 
tending the  accursed  system  of  human  bondage,  it  cannot  have 
ray  voice  or  vote ;  for,  so  help  me  God,  I  will  never  assist  in 
adding  one  rood  of  slave  territory  to  this  country." 

Soon  after  his  efforts  to  prevent  the  extension  of  slavery,  the 
black  people  of  Ohio  began  an  active  movement  for  relief  from 
the  oppressive  State  laws,  and  appealed  to  Mr.  Wade  to  help 
them.  He  took  their  petition  and  presented  it  in  the  Senate, 
asking  that  "  all  laws  might  be  repealed  making  distinctiona 
among  the  people  of  Ohio  on  account  of  color."  This  raised  a 
storm  of  indignation,  and  even  some  of  Mr.  Wade's  personal 
and  party  friends  warned  him  to  desist  'n  his  efforts  to  place  a 
negro  on  equal  footing  with  a  white  man,  but  Wade  sternly  re- 
buked them,  and  insisted  on  his  petitions  being  heard.  At  first 
the  Senate  refused  to  hear  what  the  negroes  had  to  say,  but  at 
length  received  their  petition,  and  at  once  laid  it  on  the  table, 
Mr.  Wade  protesting,  and  saying,  with  great  vehemence  and 
earnestness  to  the  majority  :  "  Remember,  gentlemen,  you  have, 
by  your  votes,  in  this  free  State  of  Ohio,  so  treated  a  part  of  her 
people,  these  black  men  and  women." 

At  the  close  of  his  senatorial  term,  Mr.  Wade  found  his  negro 
doctrines  had  made  him  unpopular  with  his  constituents.  When 
the  convention  met  in  his  district,  he  was  not  only  passed  over 
and  a  new  man  nominated,  but  some  of  the  delegates  thought  it 
would   be   a  good  thing  to   censure  him  for  his  course.     Mr, 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN  WADE.  245 

Wade  had  given  great  offence  by  his  vehement  opposition  to 
State  appropriations  for  internal  improvements,  and  the  Com- 
missioners appointed  by  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky  to  visit 
Ohio  and  obtain,  as  Mr,  Wade  said,  **  the  passage  of  a  law  to 
degrade  the  people  of  Ohio." 

The  bill  they  sought  to  have  made  a  law,  was  one  of  pains 
and  penalties,  intended  to  repulse  from  Ohio  the  unhappy 
negro,  whether  bond  or  free — flying  from  the  cruelty  of  a  mas- 
ter— or,  if  manumitted,  from  the  persecution  of  the  superior 
class  of  laborers  in  a  slave  State,  who  abhor  such  rivals.  Mr. 
Wade's  noble  nature  revolted  against  the  tyranny  which  would 
not  allow  human  beings  a  refuge  anywhere  on  a  continent  from 
which  they  had  no  outlet,  and  into  which  they  had  been 
dragged  against  their  will ;  and  he  opposed  the  measure  with  all 
his  might. 

Mr.  Wade,  conscious  that  he  had  done  right,  when  his  sena- 
torial term  was  out,  returned  to  his  home  and  recommenced  the 
practice  of  law,  resolving  never  again  to  stand  for  any  political 
office.  In  1840,  when  General  Harrison  was  nominated  for 
President,  Mr.  Wade,  yielding  to  the  wishes  of  his  friends  and 
the  excitement  and  enthusiasm  of  the  hour,  took  the  stump, 
and  in  this  campaign,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  became  a 
stump  orator.  Ills  speeches  were  plain,  matter-of-fact  talks, 
which  the  people  thoroughly  understood,  and  he  became  popu- 
lar, lie  passed  over  the  Reserve,  addressing  thousands  of  peo- 
ple, and  laboring  day  and  night  for  General  Harrison's  election. 
As  soon  as  the  canvass  was  over,  he  returned  to  his  law  office, 
at  Jeftl'rson,  and  began  to  work  up  his  cases  again,  regretting 
that  he  had  not  ]>aid  more  attention  to  his  clients,  and  less  to 
politics.  He  had  remained  single  till  his  forty-first  year,  but 
then  met  with  the  lady  who  subsequently  became  his  wife,  at 
the  residence  of  a  client.     His  marriage  has  been  an  eminentlj^ 


246  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

happy  one,  and  bis  two  children,  both  sons,  distinguished  them- 
selves and  did  honor  to  the  name  they  bear,  during  the  late 
war. 

In  1841,  the  people  of  Ohio  having  come  to  thoroughly 
understand  and  detest  the  speculations  of  internal  improvements, 
and  the  Kentucky  black  laws,  Mr,  Wade's  views  were  adopted, 
and  he  became  popular  as  a  wise  legislator.  The  people  of  his 
district  tendered  him  a  re-nomination  to  the  State  Senate,  but 
he  declined.  When  the  convention  met,  however,  he  was  placed 
in  nomination  and  triumphantly  elected,  by  a  largely  increased 
majority  over  his  former  election. 

No  sooner  had  he  taken  his  seat  than  he  renewed  his  labors 
in  behalf  of  equal  rights,  and  the  repeal  of  all  laws  making  dis- 
tinctions on  account  of  color.  He  brought  forward  the  petition 
of  George  W.  Tyler,  and  fifty-four  other  persons,  praying  for 
the  repeal  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  passed  by  Ohio,  in  1838,  to 
please  Kentucky.  Wade  argued,  in  an  able  speech,  that  negroes 
were  men,  as  much  as  white  persons,  and  as  such  entitled  to 
personal  liberty,  trial  by  jury,  testimony  in  the  courts,  and  com- 
mon school  privileges.  Kentucky  was  then  opposed  to  all 
these  things,  and  used  her  influence  with  Ohio,  to  prevent  her 
from  adopting  a  liberal  and  just  policy  toward  her  black 
population.  That  was  in  1841,  more  than  a  generation  ago, 
and  although  it  cannot  be  said  Kentucky  has  advanced  much  in 
the  business  of  securing  her  black  })eople  equal  rights,  she  has 
done  much  toward  changing  their  complexion.  Herein  Ken- 
tucky and  her  people  differed  from  Mr.  Wade  and  the  people  of 
Ohio ;  Kentucky  desired  to  equalize  her  population  by  nature, 
Ohio  by  law.  Of  the  two  processes  we  think  posterity  will 
incline  to  the  belief  that  the  former  was  the  best. 

In  February,  1842,  a  "bill  for  the  incorporation  of  Oberlin 
Collegiate  Institute,  an  institution  for  the  education  of  persona^ 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   WADE.  247 

without  regard  to  race  or  color,"  came  up  in  the  Senate  of  Ohio, 
Mr.  Wade  advocated  the  bill,  but  it  was  voted  down.  Thia 
bill  afterward  passed,  and  was  the  foundation  of  the  excellent 
college  at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  an  institution  that  has  furnished  more> 
than  five  liundred  anti-slavery  missionaries,  teachers  and  preach- 
ers, and  done  more  than  any  other  college  to  unmask  the  de-. 
formities  of  the  system  of  human  bondage. 

While  he  was  in  the  State  Senate,  the  people  of  Ohio  peti 
tioned  their  Legislature  to  protest  against  the  infamous  resolu- 
tion, passed  by  Congress  in  1837,  relating  to  slavery.     This 
resolution  was  in  these  words : 

Resolved^  That  all  petitions,  memorials,  and  papers  touching 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  or  buying,  selling  or  transferring  of 
slaves  in  any  State,  District  or  Territory  of  the  United  States, 
be  laid  on  the  table  without  being  debated,  read  or  referred^ 
and  that  no  further  action  whatever  shall  be  taken  thereon. 

Mr.  Wade  was  appointed  a  special  committee,  and  the  peti- 
tion of  the  people  of  Ohio,  and  the  resolution  complained  of, 
referred  to  him  with  directions  to  make  a  report  on  them.  It 
is  said  Wade  read  and  examined,  for  three  weeks,  books  and  au 
thorities,  before  he  began  writing  his  report ;  be  that  as  it  may, 
certain  it  is,  his  report  was  at  the  time,  and  is  still,  regarded 
as  one  of  the  ablest  anti-slavery  documents  ever  published 
in  this  country.  Thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  then,  and  yet 
in  all  that  time  few  reasons  have  been  advanced  against  slavery 
that  cannot  be  found  embodied  in  Mr.  Wade's  report. 

At  the  same  session  he  defended,  with  great  ability  and  elo- 
quence, the  course  of  John  Quincy  Adams  in  upholding  the 
right  of  petition  in  Congress.  Mr.  Adams  bad  been  censured 
by  the  House  for  presenting  the  Haverhill  resolutioiis,  asking 
for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  the  Ohio  Legishiture 
undertook  to  justify  that  censure,  but  Mr.  Wade  and  his  anti- 


248"  MEN    OF   OCK    PAY, 

slavery  friends,  resisted  the  course  of  tlie  Democratic  majority 
with  great  energy  and  ability,  though  not  with  success. 

At  the  close  of  his  second  senatorial  term,  Mr.  Wade  declined 
a  renomination,  and  again  determined  to  leave  off,  forever, 
political  life.  From  18-i2  to  18-i7  he  held  no  public  office,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  the  care  of 
his  family. 

In  February,  1847,  Mr.  Wade  was  elected,  by  the  Legislature, 
president  judge  of  the  third  judicial  district  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,  nis  popularity  at  this  time  was  unbounded.  It  has 
been  the  fortune  of  but  few  men  to  enter  upon  the  discharge  of 
judicial  duties,  having  in  advance  secured  to  such  an  extent 
the  unqualified  confidence  of  the  bar  and  people.  He  entered 
immediately  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  His  district  em- 
braced the  populous  counties  of  Ashtabula,  Trumbull,  Maho- 
ning, Portage,  and  Summit.  The  business  had  accumulated 
yastly  under  his  predecessor.  The  same  territory  has  now  three 
resident  judges,  with  but  slightly  increased  business. 

It  is  but  truth  to  say,  that  in  no  country  on  earth  has  the 
same  number  of  people  had  the  same  amount  of  important  and 
satisfactory  justice  administered  to  them  in  the  same  length  of 
time,  as  had  the  district  under  the  administration  of  Judge 
Wade.  The  younger  members  of  the  profession,  who  were  so 
fortunate  as  to  practice  in  this  circuit  during,  Judge  Wade's 
term  upon  the  bench,  will  remember  with  lasting  gratitude  his 
kindness  and  judicial  courtesy. 

During  the  time  he  was  upon  the  bench,  Judge  Wade  in- 
creased (if  possible)  in  the  confidence  and  admiration  of  his 
political  friends,  and  disarmed  those  who  had  differed  with  him, 
and  had  felt  the  withering  power  of  his  logic  and  eloquence  on 
the  stump  and  at  the  bar.  His  judicial  career  was  brought  to 
A  sudden  and  unexpected  close  in  March,  1851,  while  he  was 


BEITJAMIN    FRANKLIN   WADE.  249 

holding  a  term  of  court  at  Akron,  Summit  county,  by  his  elec- 
tion by  the  Legislature,  then  in  session,  to  the  United  States 
Senate. 

When  thi  news  of  his  election  reached  him,  Judge  Wade 
was  on  the  bench  trying  a  case.  The  firing  of  cannon,  and 
shouting  of  men.  announced  that  some  unusual  event  had  taken 
place  and  presently  a  boy  came  running  into  the  court  with  a 
dispatch  informing  Mr,  Wade  he  had  been  elected  a  United 
States  Senator  from  Ohio. 

The  intelligence  surprised  no  one  so  much  as  the  judge,  who 
had  no  knowledge  that  his  name  had  been  mentioned  in  con- 
i^ction  with  it,  and  had  made  no  efforts  to  secure  a  nomination. 
The  members  of  the  bar  in  his  judicial  district  were  full  of 
regret  at  his  loss  to  the  bench,  but  were  pleased  that  his  talents 
were  at  last  appreciated.  Resolutions  of  mingled  regret  and 
congratulation  were  passed,  almost  unanimously,  in  the  various 
counties  comprising  his  circuit. 

Mr.  Wade  was  again  persuaded  to  reluctantly  give  up  his 
law  business,  and  go  into  politics.  He  did  so,  however,  with 
less  regret  this  time  than  before,  because  the  people  of  Ohio 
had  come  up  to  his  anti-slavery  views.  He  felt  that  in  repre- 
aenting  the  majority  of  the  people  of  his  State,  he  need  make 
no  sacrifice  of  his  own  opinions,  and  he  was  most  anxious  to 
attack  slavery  at  the  capital,  and,  if  possible,  arouse  the  people 
of  the  country  to  the  enormities  of  the  institution,  as  he  had 
aroused  the  people  of  Ohio. 

After  his  election  to  the  United  States  Senate,  in  1S51,  Mr. 
Wade  resigned  his  seat  on  the  bench,  and  retired  to  his  home 
at  Jefferson. 

In  1852,  Mr.  Wade  advocated  the  nomination  and  election  of 
General  Scott  to  the  presidency.  lie  still  insisted,  and  ardently 
hoped,  that  the  Whig  party,  with  which  he  had  always  acted 


250  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

and  in  wbicli  he  saw  so  much  to  approve  and  admire,  would 
jei  be  instrumental  in  bringing  back  the  Government  to  the 
parpose  of  its  founders.  Stimulated  by  this  consideration,  he 
again  took  the  stump,  in  and  out  of  Ohio,  and  made  the  hustings 
ling  with  the  clarion  sound  of  his  voice.  Wherever  he  was 
heard,  his  reasoning  was  listened  to  with  the  most,  profound 
attention ;  and  where  he  failed  to  convince,  he  obtained  credit 
for  honesty  of  purpose  and  powerful  effort. 

Mr.  Wade  continued  to  act  with  the  Whig  party  until  1854, 
when  the  proposition  to  repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise  began 
to  agitate  Congress.  In  March,  1854,  he  made  a  speech  in  the 
Senate,  clearly  defining  his  position,  and  fully  demonstrating 
his  determined  hostility  to  a  measure  which,  he  predicted,  would 
be  fraught  with  more  evil  to  the  country,  and  danger  to  its 
peace,  than  had  ever  before  disturbed  its  prosperity.  After  this 
speech  he  contented  himself  with  watching  the  events  which  he 
saw  must  ultimately  end  in  the  consummation  of  all  the  evils  he 
had  predii^ted.  He  learned,  by  discussion  of  the  measure,  that 
it  was  to  be  carried  by  a  combination  of  the  southern  Whigs, 
and  those  who  for  the  occasion  assumed  the  name  of  "National 
Democrats."  At  this  union  for  such  a  purpose,  his  heart 
sickened,  and  he  prepared  himself  to  give  utterance  to  the  noble 
sentiments  and  awful  warnings  contained  in  his  speech,  delivered 
on  the  night  of  the  final  passage  of  that  measure  in  the  Senate. 
"]  he  Tribune  of  ihat  date  appropriately  called  that  speech  "  the 
new  Declaration  of  Independence."  In  this  speech  Mr.  Wade 
takes  a  final  farewell  of  his  former  Whig  friends  of  the  South, 
but  not  until  he  had  seen  solemnized  the  nuptials  between  them 
and  the  Democratic  party.  We  cannot  refrain  from  giving  a 
few  extracts  from  this  speech.     He  said  : — - 

"  Mr.  President  :  I  do  not  intend  to  debate  this  subject  further. 
The  humiliation  of  the  North  is  complete  and  overwhelming. 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN  WADE.  251 

No  southern  enemy  of  hers  can  wish  her  deeper  degradation. 
God  knows  I  feel  it  keenly  enough,  and  I  have  no  desire  to 
prolong  the  melancholy  spectacle,  -s^  *  *  I  have  all  my  life 
belonged  to  the  great  National  Whig  party,  and  never  yet  have 
I  failed,  with  all  the  ability  I  have,  to  support  her  regular 
candidates,  come  from  what  portion  of  the  Union  they  might, 
and  much  oftener  has  it  been  my  lot  to  battle  for  a  southern 
than  for  a  northern  candidate  for  the  presidency ;  and  when 
such  candidates  were  assailed  by  those  who  were  jealous  of 
slaveholders,  and  did  not  like  to  yield  up  the  Government  to 
such  hands,  how  often  have  I  encountered  the  violent  prejudices 
of  my  own  section  with  no  little  hazard  to  myself.  How  tri- 
umphantly would  I  appeal  on  such  occasions  to  southern 
honor — to  the  magnanimity  of  soul  which  I  believed  always 
actuated  southern  gentlemen.  Alas  !  alas !  if  God  will  pardon 
me  for  what  I  have  done,  I  will  promise  to  sin  no  more.  *  *  * 
We  certainly  cannot  have  any  further  political  connection  with 
the  Whigs  of  the  South  ;  they  have  rendered  such  connection 
impossible.  An  impassable  gulf  separates  us,  and  must  here- 
after separate  us.  The  southern  wing  of  the  old  Whig  party 
have  joined  their  fortunes  with  what  is  called  the  National 
Democracy,  and  I  wish  you  joy  in  your  new  connections.  *  *  * 
To  morrow,  I  believe,  is  to  be  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  and  I  think 
it  perfectly  meet  and  proper  that  the  sun  in  the  heavens,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Eepublic  should  both  go  into  obscurity  and 
darkness  together.  Let  the  bill  then  pass ;  it  is  a  proper  oc- 
casion for  so  dark  and  damning  a  deed." 

No  extract  can  do  any  thing  like  justice  to  the  mind  that 
conceived,  and  the  noble  manliness  that  gave  this  speech  utter- 
ance. From  the  time  Mr.  Wade  made  this  speech,  he  haa 
known  no  Whig  party,  but  devoted  himself,  soul  and  body,  to  the 
advocacy  and  defence  of  the  measures  of  the  Republican  party. 

In  the  struggle  over  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  Mr.  Wade 
came  fully  before  the  country  as  a  debater.  The  southern  fire- 
eaters  and  northern  doughfaces  combined  to  break  him  djwn. 


252  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

but  he  hurled  them  back  with  surprising  ability,  and  for  the 
first  time  the  southerners  learned  they  had  a  northern  master 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  and  were  overmatched  whenever 
they  came  in  contact  with  the  old  Ohio  Senator.*     The  New 

*  It  is  to  tliis  portion  of  Mr.  Wade's  career  that  the  story  so  graphically 
told  by  General  Brisbin  belono^s,  and  it  illustrates  so  well  hrs  utter  fear- 
lessness that  we  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  it, 

Soon  after  taking  his  seat,  he  witnessed  one  of  those  scenes  so  common 
in  the  Senate  in  those  days.  A  southern  fire-eater  made  an  attack  on  a 
northern  Senator,  and  Wade  was  amazed  and  disgusted  at  the  cringing, 
cowardly  way  in  which  the  northern  man  bore  the  taunts  and  insults  of 
the  hot-headed  southerner.  As  no  allusion  was  made  to  himself  or  State, 
Mr.  Wade  sat  still,  but  when  the  Senate  adjourned,  he  said  openly,  if  ever 
a  southern  Senator  made  such  an  attack  on  him  or  his  State, while  he  sat 
on  that  floor,  he  would  brand  him  as  a  liar.  This  coming  to  the  ears  of  the 
southern  men,  a  Senator  took  occasion  to  pointedly  speak  a  few  days  after- 
wards of  Ohio  and  her  people  as  negro  thieves.  Insiantly  Mr.  Wade 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  pronounced  the  Senator  a  liar.  The  southern 
Senators  were  thunderstruck,  and  gathered  around  their  champion,  while 
the  northern  men  grouped  abott  Wade.  A  feeler  was  put  out  from  the 
Bouthern  side,  looking  to  retraction,  but  Mr.  Wade  retorted  in  his 
peculiar  style,  and  demanded  an  apology  for  the  insult  offered  himself 
and  the  people  he  represented.  The  matter  thus  closed,  and  a  fight  was 
looked  upon  as  certain.  The  next  day  a  gentleman  called  on  the  Sena- 
tor from  Ohio,  and  asked  the  usual  question  touching  his  acknowledgment 
of  the  code. 

"  I  am  here,"  he  responded.  "  in  a  double  capacity.  I  represent  the  State 
of  Ohio,  and  I  represent  Ben.  Wade.  As  a  Senator  I  am  opposed  to  duelling. 
As  Ben.  Wade,  I  recognize  the  code." 

'•My  friend  feels  aggrieved,"  said  the  gentleman,  "at  what  you  said  in 
the  Senate  yesterday,  and  will  ask  for  an  apology  or  satisfaction." 

"I  was  somewhat  embarrassed,"  continued  Senator  Wade,  "by  my  posi- 
tion yesterday,  as  I  have  some  respect  for  the  Chamber.  I  now  take  this 
opportunity  to  say  what  I  then  thought,  and  you  will,  if  you  please,  repeat 
it.     Your  friend  is  a  foul-mouthed  old  blackguard." 

"  Certainly,  Senator  Wade,  you  do  not  wish  me  to  convey  such  a  message 
as  that  ?" 

•'Most  undoubtedly  I  do;  and  will  tell  you  for  your  own  benefit,  this 
friend  of  yours  will  never  notice  it.  I  will  not  be  asked  for  either  retrac- 
lion,  explanation,  or  a  fight." 

Ne.\t  morning  Mr.  Wade  came  into  the  Senate,  and  proceeding  to  his 
Beat,  deliberately  drew  from  under  his  coat  two  large  pistols,  and  unlocking 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN  WADE.  253 

York  Tribune,  speaking  of  liis  first  great  speech  on  tke  Kansas 
Nebraska  bill  says : — 

"  There  are  many  fine  orations  and  good  arguments  ielivered 
in  the  United  States  Senate  from  time  to  time,  but  not  often  a 
reall}'-  good  speech.  In  order  to  have  a  good  speech,  there  must 
be  a  man  behind  it.  Such  a  speech  we  have  in  the  powerful 
effort  of  Judge  Wade,  and  in  this  case  the  speech  is  but  the  just 
measure  of  the  man." 

Numberless  are  the  incidents  told  of  Mr.  Wade's  sharp  and 
telling  hits  made  during  this  protracted  and  famous  debate. 
We  subjoin  a  few,  for  most  of  which  we  are  indebted  to  General 
Brisbin. 

his  desk  laid  them  inside.  The  soutliern  men  looked  on  in  silence,  wliile 
the  northern  members  enjoyed  to  the  fullest  extent  the  fire-eaters'  surprise 
at  the  proceedings  of  the  plucky  Ohio  Senator.  No  further  notice  was 
taken  of  the  affair  of  the  day  before.  Wade  was  not  challenged,  but  ever 
afterwards  treated  with  the  utmost  politeness  and  consideration  by  the 
Senator  who  had  so  insultingly  attacked  him. 

But,  while  Mr.  Wade  was  not  to  be  intimidated  by  the  bullying  of  southern 
fire-eaters,  no  man  living  surpassed  him  in  his  intense  contempt  for  northern 
doughfaces.  Another  incident,  not  narrated  by  Gen.  Brisbin,  but  which 
occurred  in  the  session  of  1852-3  illustrates  this  very  forcibly.  Hon.  Charles 
(t.  Atherton  of  New  Hampshire,  better  known  as  "  Gag  Atherton,"  from  his 
introduction  of  the  resolution  to  lay  all  anti-slavery  petitions  on  the  table, 
was  emphatically  a  "  Northern  man  with  Southern  principles."  One  day,  Mr. 
Wade,  who  was  personally  very  popular,  even  with  his  political  opponents, 
was  conversing  with  Ex-Governor  Morehead  of  Kentuckj^  who  was  then 
visiting  Washington,  when  Atherton  came  up,  and  at  once  began  an  attack 
on  Mr.  Wade,  in  regard  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  law.  "  Why,  Mr.  Wade," 
he  said,  "if  a  nigger  had  run  away  from  a  good  master  in  Kentucky,  and 
came  to  your  house  in  Ohio,  wouldn't  you  arrest  him,  and  send  him  back 
to  his  master?"  "No!  indeed,  I  wouldn't;"  replied  Mr.  Wade.  "Would 
you,  Atherton?"  "Certainly,  I  would,"  replied  Mr.  Atherton,  "I  should 
deem  it  my  duty,  to  enforce  that  as  much  as  any  other  law."  Mr.  Wade 
turned  to  Morehead;  "Well,  Governor,  what  do  you  say?  Would  yon 
arrest  a  nigger  and  send  him  back  under  such  circumstances  ?"  "  No," 
replied  (Governor  Morehead,  gruffly,  "  I'd  see  him  d— d  first."  "Well,"  said 
Old  Bon,  after  a  moment's  pause,  "  I  don't  know  as  I  can  blame  you,  seeing 
you  have  got  such  a  lliiug  as  this"  (pointing  to  Atherton)  to  do  it  for  you." 


254  MEN  OF  OUB  DAT. 

Mr.  Pugh,  Judge  "Wade's  colleague  in  the  Senate,  was  an 
intense  pro-slavery  Democrat;  he  was  a  man  of  very  fair  ability, 
but  nc  match  in  wit  or  sarcasm  for  his  radical  colleague,  yet  he 
often  sought  a  collision,  and  Mr.  Wade  never  hesitated  to  reply 
to  his  challenge.  One  day,  Pugh  had  put  some  taunting  ques* 
tiDus  to  him  respecting  the  common  brotherhood  of  mankini* 
Wade  replied : — 

"  I  have  always  believed,  heretofore,  in  the  doctrines  of  tho 
Declaration  of  Independence,  that  all  men  are  born  free  and 
equal ;  but  of  late  it  appears  that  some  men  are  born  slaves,  and 
I  regret  that  they  are  not  black,  so  all  the  world  might  know 
tbem."  As  he  said  this  he  pointed  to  Pugh,  and  stood  looking 
at  him  for  several  moments,  with  a  scowl  and  expression  of 
countenance  that  was  perfectly  ferocious. 

Mr,  Brown,  of  Mississippi,  interrupted  him  just  as  he  had 
said,  "1  know  very  well,  sir,  with  what  a  yell  of  triumph  the 
passage  of  this  bill  will  be  hailed  both  in  the  South  and  in 
pandemonium." 

Mr.  Brown. — "Do  you  know  what  is  going  on  there?" 
[Laughter.] 

Mr.  Wade. — "  I  do  not  pretend  to  know  precisely  what  is  on 
foot  there;  but  I  think  it  pretty  evident  that  there  is  a  very 
free  communication  between  that  country  and  this  body,  and 
unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken,  I  see  the  dwarfish  medium  by 
which  that  communication  is  kept  up."  [Great  laughter,  and  a 
voice  on  the  southern  side,  "  I  guess  he's  got  you,  Brown."] 

During  the  argument  on  the  Nebraska  bill,  Mr.  Badger,  theu 
a  Senator  from  North  Carolina,  drew  a  glowing  picture  of 
slavery.  He  had,  he  said,  been  nursed  by  a  black  woman,  and 
bad  grown  from  childhood  to  manhood  iinder  her  care  He 
loved  his  old  black  mammy ;  and  now,  if  he  was  going  to 
Nebraska,  and  the  opponents  of  the  bill  succeeded  in  prohibit- 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN  WADE.  255 

ing  slavery  there,  he  could  not  take  his  old  mammy  -with  him 
Turning  to  Mr.  Wade,  he  said : — *'  Surely  you  will  not  prevent 
me  from  taking  my  old  mammy  with  me?" 

"  Certainly  not,"  replied  Mr.  "Wade ;  "  but  that  is  not  the 
difficulty  in  the  mind  of  the  Senator.  It  is  because,  if  we  make 
the  territory  free,  he  cannot  sell  his  old  mammy  when  he  has 
got  her  there." 

Mr.  Wade  was  arguing  to  show  that  slaves  were  not  property 
in  the  constitutional  meaning  of  the  term.  He  said  :  "  If  a  man 
carries  his  horse  out  of  a  slave  State  into  a  free  one,  he  does 
not  lose  his  property  interest  in  him ;  but  if  he  carries  his 
slave  into  a  free  State,  the  law  makes  him  free." 

Mr.  Butler,  interrupting  him,  said :  "  Yes,  but  they  won't 
Btay  with  you ;  they  love  us  so  well  they  will  run  off,  and  come 
back,  in  spite  of  you  and  your  boasted  freedom." 

Mr.  Wade  smilingly  replied,  amid  roars  of  laughter :  "  Oh, 
yes.  Senator,  I  know  they  love  you  so  well,  you  have  to  make  a 
Fugitive  Slave  law  to  catch  them." 

The  southern  men,  having  tried  in  vain  to  head  off  Mr. 
Wade,  appealed  to  their  northern  allies  to  help  them.  One 
day  Mr.  Douglas  rose  in  his  seat,  and  interrupted  Mr.  Wade, 
who  was  speaking.  Instantly  the  chamber  became  silent  as 
death,  and  all  eyes  were  turned  in  the  direction  of  the  two 
standing  Senators.  Every  one  expected  to  see  Wade  demolished 
in  a  moment,  by  the  great  Illinois  Senator. 

*'  You,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Douglas,  in  measured  tones,  "  continually 
compliment  southern  men  who  support  this  bill  (Nebraska), 
but  bitterly  denounce  northern  men  who  support  it.  Why  ia 
this  ?  You  say  it  is  a  moral  wrong ;  you  say  it  is  a  crime.  If 
ihat  be  so,  is  it  not  as  much  a  crime  for  a  southern  man  to 
support  it,  as  for  a  northern  man  to  do  so  ?" 

Mr.  Wade. — "  No,  sir,  I  say  not." 


/ 


256  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

Mr.  Douglas. — "  The  Senator  says  not.  Then  lie  entertains  a 
different  code  of  morals  from  myself,  and — " 

Mr  Wade  interrupting  Douglas,  and  pointing  to  him,  with 
scorn  marked  on  every  lineament  of  his  face,  ^"  Your  code  of 
morals  I     Your  morals!!     My  God,  I  hope  so,  sir." 

The  giant  was  hit  in  the  forehead,  and  after  standing  for  a 
moment  with  his  face  red  as  scarlet,  dropped  silently  into  hij< 
seat,  while  Mr.  Wade  proceeded  with  his  speech  as  quietly  as 
though  nothing  had  occurred. 

Mr.  Douglas  was  angry,  however,  and  closely  watched  Wade 
for  a  chance  to  pounce  upon  and  scalp  him.  It  soon  occurred, 
and  in  this  way :  Mr.  Wade  had  said  something  complimentary 
about  Colonel  Lane,  of  Kansas,  when  Mr.  Douglas  rose  and 
said:  "  Colonel  Lane  cannot  be  believed — he  has  been  guilty  of 
perjury  and  forgery." 

Mr.  Wade. — "  And  what  proof,  sir,  have  you  of  these  allega- 
tions ?     Your  unsupported  word  is  not  sufficient," 

Mr.  Douglas. — "  I  have  the  afSdavit  of  Colonel  Lane,  in 
which,  some  time  since,  he  swore  one  thing,  and  now  states 
another." 

Mr.  Wade. — "  And  you,  sir,  a  lawyer,  presume  to  charge  this 
man  with  being  guilty  of  forgery  and  perjury,  and  then  offer 
him  as  a  witness  to  prove  your  own  word." 

Douglas  saw  in  a  moment  he  was  hopelessly  caught,  and 
attempted  to  retreat,  but  Wade  pounced  upon  him  and  gave 
him  a  withering  rebuke,  while  the  chamber  shook  Avith  roars  of 
laughter.  Such  scenes  have  to  be  witnessed  to  fully  understand 
them,  as  there  is  as  much  in  the  exhibition  as  in  the  words. 

Mr.  Douglas  continued  to  badger  Wade,  sometimes  getting 
the  better  of  him,  but  often  getting  roughly  handled,  until 
Wade,  worn  out  with  defending  himself,  determined  to  become 
the  attacking  party.     Soon  afterward,  the  "  Little  Giant "  was 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   WADE.  257 

bewailing  tlie  fate  of  the  nation,  and  picturing  the  sad  condition 
it  would  be  in  if  the  Free  Soilers  succeeded.  Having  worked 
himself  up  into  a  passion,  Avhen  he  was  at  the  highest  pitch,  Mr. 
Wade  rose  in  his  seat  and  said,  with  indescribable  coolness, 
"Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?"  Douglas,  for  a 
moment,  was  surprised  and  dumbfounded,  and  then  attempted  to 
proceed  ;  but  the  pith  was  knocked  out  of  his  argument,  and  the 
Senators  only  smiled  at  his  earnestness,  and  he,  at  last,  sat  down 
in  disgust. 

Mr.  Douglas  afterward  said,  ''  That  interrogatory  of  AVade's 
was  the  most  effective  speech  I  ever  heard  in  the  Senate.  Con- 
found the  man ;  it  was  so  ridiculous,  and  put  so  comically,  I 
knew  not  what  answer  to  make  him,  and  became  ridiculous 
myself  in  not  being  able  to  tell  '  what  I  was  going  to  do 
about  it.'  " 

While  the  Lecompton  bill  was  under  discussion,  Mr.  Toombs, 
of  Georgia,  referring  to  the  minority,  of  which  Mr.  Wade  was 
one,  said:  "The  majority  have  rights  and  duties,  and  I  trust, 
there  is  fidelity  enough  to  themselves  and  their  principles,  and 
to  their  country,  in  the  majority,  to  stand  together  at  all  haz- 
ards, and  crush  this  factious  minority." 

Instantly,  Mr.  Wade  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  shaking  his  fist 
at  Toombs,  roared  out :  "  Have  a  care,  sir ;  have  a  care.  You 
can't  crush  me  nor  my  people.  You  can  never  conquer  us ,  we 
will  die  first.  I  may  fall  here  in  the  Senate  chamber,  but  I  will 
never  make  any  compromise  with  any  such  men.  You  may 
bring  a  majority  and  out-vote  me,  but,  so  help  me  God,  I  will 
neither  compromise  or  be  crushed.  That's  what  I  have  to  say 
to  your  threat." 

A  southern  Senator  one  day  said,  roughly,  to  Wade,  "  If  you 

don't  stop  your  abolition  doctrines,  we  will  break  up  the  Union. 

We  will  secede,  sir  1"     Wade  held  out  his  hand,  and  said,  com- 
17 


/ 


258  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

ically,  "  Good-by,  Senator,  if  you  are  going  now ;  T  pray  yoa 
don't  delay  a  moment  on  my  account." 

Senator  Evans,  of  South  Carolina,  a  very  grave  and  good  old 
man,  one  day  was  exhibiting  in  the  Senate  chamber  and  speak- 
ing of  a  copy  of  Garrison's  Liberator,  with  its  horrible  pictures 
of  slavery.  Turning  to  Mr.  Wade,  who  sat  near  him,  he  said : 
"  Is  it  not  too  bad  that  such  a  paper  should  be  allowed  to  exist  ? 
Why  will  not  the  authorities  of  the  United  States  suppress  such 
a  slanderous  sheet  ?  Can  it  be  possible  that  any  patriotic  citizen 
of  the  North  will  tolerate  such  an  abomination?"  Senator 
Wade  put  on  his  spectacles,  and  looking  at  the  title  of  the  paper, 
exclaimed  in  surprise,  "  Why,  Senator  Evans,  in  Ohio,  we  con- 
sider this  one  of  our  best  family  papers !"  The  Senators  roared ; 
but  Mr.  Evans,  who  had  a  great  respect  for  Mr.  Wade,  turned 
sadly  away,  saying,  "I  am  sorry  to  hear  you  say  so,  Mr.  Wade; 
it  shows  whither  we  are  drifting." 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Wade's  bitter  opposition  to  the  slave 
power,  the  southern  men  always  respected  and  liked  him.  Mr. 
Toombs,  the  Georgia  fire-eater,  said  of  him,  in  the  Senate  :  "  My 
friend  from  Ohio  puts  the  matter  squarely.  He  is  always  honest, 
outspoken  and  straightforward,  and  I  wish  to  God  the  rest  of 
you  would  imitate  him.  He  speaks  out  like  a  man.  He  says 
what  is  the  difference,  and  it  is.  He  means  what  he  says ;  you 
don't  always.  He  and  I  can  agree  about  every  thing  on  earth 
except  our  sable  population." 

There  was  not  a  northern  demasfOf^ue  in  Congress  who  would 
not  have  given  gladly  all  his  ill-gotten  reputation  to  have  had 
such  a  compliment  paid  him  by  a  southern  Senator  as  was  paid 
by  Mr.  Toombs  to  Senator  Wade. 

In  the  debates  on  the  organization  of  Kansas  as  a  State,  Mr. 
Wade  avowed  himself  a  Eepublican — a  Black  Republican,  if 
they  chose  to  call  him  so — and  as  determined  in  his  opposition 


BE>rjAMIN    FRANKLIN   WADE.  259 

to  slavery  extension,  under  all  circumstances  and  at  all  times. 
In  the  course  of  one  of  the  speeches  he  made  on  that  question, 
he  made  use  of  the  following  language : 

"  Sir,  I  am  no  sycophant  or  worshipper  of  power  anywhere.  1 
know  how  easy  it  is  for  some  minds  to  glide  along  with  the  cur- 
rent of  popular  opinion,  where  influence,  respectability,  and  all 
those  motives  which  tend  to  seduce  the  human  heart  are  brought 
to  bear.  I  am  not  unconscious  of  the  persuasive  power  exerted 
by  these  considerations  to  drag  men  along  in  the  current ;  but  I 
am  not  at  liberty  to  travel  that  road.  I  am  not  unaware  how 
unpopular  on  this  floor  are  the  sentiments  I  am  about  to  advo- 
cate. I  well  understand  the  epithets  to  which  they  subject  their 
supporters.  Every  man  who  has  been  in  this  hall  for  one  hour 
knows  the  difference  between  him  who  comes  here  as  the  de- 
fender and  supporter  of  the  rights  of  human  nature,  and  him 
who  comes  as  the  vile  sycophant  and  flatterer  of  those  in  power,  y 
I  know  that  the  one  road  is  easy  to  travel ;  the  other  is  hard,  i 
and  at  this  time  perilous.  But,  sir,  I  shall  take  the  path  of  duty  1 
and  shall  not  swerve  from  it. 

"I  am  amazed  at  the  facility  with  which  some  men  follow  in 
the  wake  of  slavery.  Sometimes  it  leads  me  even  to  hesitate 
whether  I  am  strictly  correct  in  my  idea  that  all  men  are  born 
to  equal  rights,  for  their  conduct  seems  to  me  to  contravene  the 
doctrine.  I  see  in  some  men  an  abjectness,  a  want  of  that  manly 
independence  which  enables  a  man  to  rely  on  himself  and  face 
the  world  on  his  own  principles,  that  I  don't  know  but  that  I  am 
wrong  in  advocating  universal  liberty.  I  wish  to  heaven  all 
such  were  of  the  African  race." 

The  brutal  and  cowardly  attack  on  Hon.  Charles  Sumner  by 
Preston  S.  Brooks,  in  May,  1856,  called  out  all  the  grand  and 
heroic  elements  of  Mr.  Wade's  nature.  Others  might  htsitate 
and  fear  to  enter  upon  the  discussion  of  the  question  of  slavery, 
when  its  advocates  resorted  to  the  bludgeon  and  pistol  as  their 
reply  to  the  arguments  of  the  anti-slavery  men ;  but  it  was  not 
m  Ben  "Wade  to  falter.     On  the  next  day  after  the  outrage  he 


MEN"   OF   OUR   DAY. 

rose  and  commenced  bis  speech  in  denunciation  of  the  atrocious 
deed,  with  these  memorable  words : 

"  Mr.  President,  if  the  hour  has  arrived  in  the  history  of  this 
Republic  when  its  Senators  are  to  be  sacrificed  and  pay  the  for- 
feit of  their  lives  for  opinions'  sake,  I  know  of  no  fitter  place  to 
die  than  in  this  chamber,  with  our  Senate  robes  around  us ;  and 
here,  if  necessary,  I  shall  die  at  my  post,  and  in  my  place,  for  the 
liberty  of  debate  and  free  discussion." 

The  southern  men  writhed,  as  if  in  pain,  as  his  scathing  words 
fell  hot  and  heavy  upon  them,  portraying  the  cowardice,  the 
meanness,  the  infamy  of  the  deed,  and  it  required  a  brow  of 
brass  to  stand  up  in  defence  of  it,  after  this  severe  yet  dignified 
denunciation  of  the  assault. 

During  the  war,  Senator  Wade  was  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  untiring  members  of  the  Senate.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Territories,  and  also  of  the  special  Committee  on 
the  Conduct  of  the  War,  a  committee  whose  services  were  of  the 
greatest  value  to  the  national  cause. 

Ohio  wisely  kept  him  in  the  Senate  for  three  successive 
terms,  the  last  of  which  ended  March  4th,  1869.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  March,  1867,  the  term  of  office  of  Hon.  Lafayette  S. 
Foster,  President  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate,  and  acting  Yice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  United  States,  having  expired,  Mr.  Wade  was  elected 
by  the  Senate  as  their  presiding  officer,  a  position  for  which  his 
large  experience,  thorough  political  and  parliamentary  know- 
ledge, and  fearless  independence,  eminently  fitted  him.  During 
the  impeachment  trial,  he,  according  to  the  Constitution,  resigned 
the  cl^air  to  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  preside  in  such  a  trial,  and  it  was  the  understanding 
that  in  case  of  the  President's  conviction,  Mr.  Wade  would  suc- 
ceed to  the  presidential  chair. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1869,  Mr.  Wade  surrendered  his  place 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   WADE.  261 

as  President  of  the  Senate  to  his  successor,  Hon,  Schuyler  Col- 
fax, his  kinsman  by  marriage,  and  retired  with  satisfaction  to 
his  home  in  northern  Ohio.  From  that  peaceful  and  quiet  home 
he  was  called  in  January,  1871,  to  be  the  chairman  of  a  Commis- 
sion to  visit  Santo  Domingo  and  ascertain  the  desires  of  the  people 
in  regard  to  annexation  to  the  United  States,  and  the  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  of  such  annexation.  The  Commission 
examined  the  island,  very  thoroughly,  and  repoi'ted  in  favor  of 
annexation,  but  the  feeling  against  it  in  Congress  was  so  strong 
that  it  was  given  up.  Since  his  return  fi-om  Santo  Domingo 
Mr.  Wade  has  not  taken  any  part  in  public  affairs. 

In  person,  Mr.  Wade  is  about  five  feet  eight  inches  in  height. 
Rtout,  and  of  dark  but  clear  complexion.  His  eyes  are  sraall^ 
jet  black  and  deeply  cut,  and  when  roused,  they  shine  like  coals 
of  fire.  He  is  slightly  stooped,  but  walks  without  a  cane,  and 
is  sprightly  and  active.  His  jaws  are  firm  and  large,  the  under 
one  being  very  strong  and  compact.  The  lips  are  full  and  round, 
the  upper  one  doubling,  at  the  corners  of  his  mouth,  over  the 
lower  one,  which  gives  the  Senator  a  ferocious  and  savage  sort 
of  look ;  and  this  it  is  that  causes  so  many  persons  to  misunder- 
stand the  true  character  of  the  man,  and  mistake  him  for  a  fierce, 
hard,  cold  man,  when  he  is,  in  reality,  one  of  the  w^armest, 
kindest-hearted  men  in  the  world.  His  face  is  not  a  handsome 
one,  and  if  you  examine  it  in  detail,  you  will  sa}''  he  is  an  ugly 
man ;  and  yet  there  is  in  that  face  a  sort  of  rough  harmony,  an 
honest,  bluff,  heartiness  that  makes  you  like  it.  There  is  nothing 
weak,  bad,  or  treacherous-looking  about  it ;  and  when  he  speaks 
the  features  light  up,  and  the  mobilized  countenance  gives  to 
the  straightforward  words  such  an  interest  that  you  no  longer 
remember  his  homeliness  at  all.  When  sitting  silent  or  listen- 
ing, he  has  a  way  of  looking  at  one  with  his  piercing  black  eyes 
that  at  once  disconcerts  a  rascal  or  dishonest  man,  and  is  often 


262  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

most  annoying  to  the  innocent  and  honest.  You  feel  he  is  read- 
ing  you  and  weighing  closely  your  motives  for  what  you  are 
saying.  There  is  no  use  in  trying  to  deceive  or  lie  to  old  Ben. 
Wade  ;  if  he  don't  find  you  out  and  hint  at  your  motives  before 
you  leave,  rest  assured  he  understands  you,  and  only  keeps  his 
belief  to  himself,  because  he  does  not  desire  to  wound  your 
feelings. 

We  do  not  think  Mr.  Wade  ever  owned  such  a  thing  as  a 
finger-ring  or  breast-pin.  He  dresses  in  plain  black,  and  wears 
a  standing- collar  of  the  old  style,  and  is  always  scrupulously 
clean.  Always  talkative  and  lively  when  out  of  his  seat,  he  is 
silent,  grave  and  thoughtful  when  in  the  Senate  chamber.  Any 
one  who  looked  at  him  from  the  galleries,  as  he  sat  daily  in  the 
Yice-President's  chair,  presiding  over  the  deliberations  of  the 
highest  tribunal  in  the  land,  could  see  in  his  quiet  repose  a  pic- 
ture of  real  strength  and  dignity  such  as  should  characterize  the 
American  Senator. 

As  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Territories,  he  reported 
the  first  provision  prohibiting  slavery  in  all  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  to  be  subsequently  acquired ;  the  bill  for  negro 
sufii'age  in  the  District  of  Columbia;  carried  the  homestead  bill 
through  the  Senate ;  led  the  Senate  in  the  division  of  Virginia 
and  the  formation  of  the  new  State  of  West  Virginia ;  and 
secured  the  admission  of  Nevada  and  Colorado  into  the  Union. 

On  one  point  only  did  he  differ  from  Mr.  Lincoln,  viz. :  his 
proposed  reconstructiou  policy ;  and  the  difference  was  for  a 
time  strong  and  decided;  but,  in  the  end.  Mi.  Lincoln  acknow- 
ledged that  that  was  the  great  error  of  his  life,  and  receded  from 
the  measures  he  had  proposed. 


HAMILTON     FISH 

SECRETARY   OF   STATE. 


^jrt  AMILTON  FISH,  the  present  Secretary  of  State,  is  a 
^- j  I  sou  of  Colonel  Nicholas  Fish,  and  a  native  of  the  city 
^^^  of  New  York,  where  he  was  born  in  1809.  He  is 
e)  descended  from  one  of  what  are  called  "  the  old  families  " 
of  that  city,  not  less  on  account  of  their  lineage,  than  from  their 
standing,  wealth,  and  respectability.  He  was  educated  at  Col- 
umbia College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1827,  with  an  ex- 
cellent reputation  for  ability  and  attainments.  He  embraced  the 
profession  of  law  ;  was  admitted  an  attorney  in  the  Superior 
Court  in  1830,  and,  three  years  later  was  regularly  enrolled 
among  the  counsellors  of  that  court.  As  a  lawyer,  his  business 
was  large,  and  always  attended  to  with  a  promptness,  ability 
and  diligence  which  would  naturaljy  have  insured  its  increase^ 
had  not  the  management  of  his  large  estate  occupied  more  of 
his  time  than  was  consistent  with  the  attainment  of  the  highest 
honors  or  the  lucrative  emoluments  of  the  profession.  Early  in 
life  he  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  politics,  and  it  could  scarcely 
have  been  otherwise  with  a  young  man  of  his  social  positioq 
and  intelligence,  when  we  consider  the  period  of  remarkable 
political  activity  in  which  he  grew  up  to  man's  estate.  Although 
then  as  now,  rather  conservative,  he  was  generally  associated 

with  those  of  advanced  opinions.     In   1831:  he  was  an  unsucr 

263 


264  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

cessful  candidate  for  the  State  Assembly  ;  but,  was  more  suc- 
cessful in  1837,  and  his  course  in  that  body  afforded  entire  satis- 
faction to  his  party  friends ;  for,  while  not  particularly  distin- 
guished in  debate,  his  consistency  as  a  politician,  business  tact, 
and  ability,  gained  him  a  prominent  place  on  the  Whig  side  of 
the  House,  and  the  favorable  regard  of  those  with  whom  he  was 
particularly  affiliated. 

In  1842  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  Sixth  Congressional 
District  (embracing  the  six  upper  wards,  except  the  13th  and 
14th)  over  John  McKeon  (Democrat),  by  a  small  majority ; 
whicn,  however,  was  considered  a  great  triumph,  inasmuch  as 
Governor  Bouck's  (Democrat)  majority  over  Seward  (Whig)  was 
about  1200  in  the  same  district.  Mr.  Fish's  success,  however, 
was  owing  not  so  much  to  his  personal  popularity,  as  to  his 
well-known  approval  of  the  principles  and  objects  of  the  Native 
American  party,  who  threw  their  influence  in  his  favor.  He 
served  but  one  term,  was  Chairman  of  the  Military  Committee, 
and  attained  a  creditable  standing  among  the  prominent  Whigs 
of  that  day,  which  paved  the  way  for  future  political  prefer- 
ment ;  so  that,  when  he  retired  again  to  private  life,  his  friends 
were  unwilling  to  surrender  their  claims  upon  him,  and  he  was 
nominated  as  the  Whig  candidate  for  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
the  State,  at  the  State  Convention  of  1846,  on  the  same  ticket 
with  John  Young,  which,  however,  was  defeated  by  the  "  anti- 
renters  "  adoption  of  the  Democratic  candidate.  The  next  year, 
1847,  he  was  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  in  the  place  of  Mr. 
Gardiner,  who  resigned  (the  opposition  failing  in  consequence 
of  division  in  the  Democratic  ranks),  and  presided  over  the 
deliberations  of  the  Senate  with  dignity  and  acceptability. 
In  1848,  Governor  Young  declined  renomination,  and  Mr.  Fish, 
'  as  Lieutenant  Governor,  naturally  attracted  the  attention  of  his 
party  to  himself.     In  spite  of  the  then  existing  division  of  the 


HAMILTON   FISH.  265 

Whig  party  into  "Conservatives"  (afterwards  National  Whigs), 
with  whom  Mr.  Fish  sympathized,  and  "Eadicals"  (or  Seward 
Whigs),  he  received  the  nomination  for  Governor,  at  the  State 
Convention,  on  September  14th,  with  Geo.  W.  Patterson  as 
Lieutenant-Governor.  The  Whigs,  owing  to  divisions  in  the 
Democratic  camp,  succeeded,  by  a  plurality  vote,  and  Mr.  Fish 
took  the  oath  of  office  January  1st,  1849.  The  position  being 
pretty  well  stripped  of  patronage  by  the  Constitution  of  1846, 
the  new  Governor  found  no  difficulty  in  preserving  that  mode- 
rate, neutral  course  of  conduct,  which  became  the  position,  and 
which  was  so  acceptable  to  his  own  tastes,  and  his  administra- 
tion passed  harmoniously,  although  slavery  was  bitterly  agitat- 
ing the  councils  of  the  State,  as  well  as  of  the  nation.  Mr.  Fish 
was  early  committed  to  the  Wilmot  proviso,  and  in  his  annual 
message,  took  strong  grounds  against  the  extension  of  slave  ter- 
ritory. His  messages,  like  all  public  papers  from  his  hand,  are 
conspicuous  for  their  style  and  the  modesty  with  which  his 
opinions  are  stated.  Among  his  recommendations  were  the 
institution  of  a  State  Agricultural  School  ;  of  a  School  for  In- 
struction in  the  Mechanical  Arts;  the  restoration  of  the  office  of 
County  Superintendent  of  Schools;  the  revision  and  alteration 
of  the  laws  authorizing  taxes  and  assessments  for  local  improve- 
ments ;  a  more  general  and  equable  tax  on  personal  property  ; 
the  establishment  of  tribunals  of  conciliation,  in  accordance 
with  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  1846;  and  a  modification 
of  the  criminal  code. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  gubernatorial  chair,  he  was  sent 
to  the  United  States  Senate  (in  place  of  Daniel  S.  Dickinson), 
where  he  served  from  1852  to  1857.  During  this  time,  includ- 
ing as  it  did  the  epoch  of  the  Repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise, he  became  identified  with  the  present  Republican  party. 
After  leaving  Congress,  he  spent  several  years  in  the  enjoyment 


2G6  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

of  travel  in  Europe.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  Secession 
lie  was  boldly  outspoken  for  the  Union,  and  participated  in  the 
overwhelming  demonstration  at  Union  Square,  New  York,  May 
20tli,  1861,  where  he  made  a  short  but  stirring  appeal 

lu  January  1862,  he  was  appointed,  together  with  Bishop 
Ames  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  upon  a  Commission 
to  relieve  the  Union  prisoners  in  the  Southern  prisons,  and 
although  they  were  denied  admission  to  the  territory  held  by 
Southern  arms,  they  nevertheless  succeeded  in  negotiating  a 
general  exchange  of  prisoners  of  war.  Later  in  the  same  year 
Mr.  Fish  wrote  a  letter,  in  which  he  said  :  "  We  must  conquer 
peace  ;  we  cannot  buy  it,  and  if  we  could,  it  would  be  valueless, 
as  it  would  be  disgraceful." 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Fish  again  went  to  Europe,  but 
soon  after  his  return  was  nominated  Secretary  of  State  by  Presi- 
dent Grant,  March  1st,  1869,  in  place  of  E.  B.  Washburne, 
resigned.  In  the  administration  of  the  duties  devolving  upon 
this  office,  which  has  come  to  be  considered  of  laie  years  the 
Premiership  of  the  Cabinet,  Mr.  Fish's  course  has  not  always 
met  the  public  approval.  Like  most  men  of  reticent  and  con- 
servative temper,  he  possesses  a  very  strong  will,  and  some 
notions  which  make  him  a  difficult  man  to  deal  with.  In  his 
relations  with  our  ministers  to  foreign  courts,  and  the  ministers 
of  other  powers  to  the  United  States,  he  has  either  been  unfortu- 
nate or  perverse.  Mr.  Motley,  a  gentleman  and  scholar  of  as 
high  social  position  as  Mr.  Fish,  a  historian  of  whom  the  nation 
had  a  right  to  be  proud,  and  a  diplomatist  of  very  considerable 
experience,  was  appointed  Minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James 
at  the  commencement  of  President  Grant's  administration;  but 
within  a  year  fell  under  Secretary  Fish's  displeasure,  and  after 
a  correspondence,  which  was  not  specially  creditable  to  either 
party,  was  dismissed.  The  unseemly  quarrel  with  Mr.  Catacazy, 
the  Russian  Minister,  was  not  probably  Mr.  Fish's  fault,  for  the 


HAMILTON   FISH.  267 

Bussian  was  not  lit  for  his  place ;  but  the  disgraceful  wrangling 
over  it,  and  the  discourtesy  to  the  son  of  the  European  monarch 
most  friendly  to  us,  was  not  an  edifying  spectacle. 

In  his  diplomatic  intercourse  with  other  powers,  notably  with 
Spain,  Denmark,  and  France,  Mr.  Fish  has  at  times  been  rash 
and  fretful.  While  not  lacking  the  ability  to  handle  a  constitu- 
tional law  point  as  adroitly  as  any  of  his  predecessors,  he  has 
fallen  below  the  generality  of  them  in  courteous  style  of  state- 
ment. Yankee  brusqueness  may  accord  perfectly  with  oui 
home  dispositions,'  and  may  even  be  excused  in  private  character 
abroad,  but  diplomatists  have  grown  so  used  to  suave  methods 
of  speech  that  a  departure  for  any  reason  is  well  nigh  inex- 
cusable. 

Secretary  Fish  has  come  in  for  a  large  share  of  censure  in 
his  method  of  conducting  the  Alabama  claims  controversy.  But 
as  most  of  that  censure  was  predicated  on  the  supposed  entire 
failure  of  the  treaty,  it  has  been  in  a  great  measure  withdrawn 
since  the  prospect  of  the  treaty's  ratification,  in  a  modified  form, 
has  brightened. 

We  shall  not  discuss  the  preliminaries  of  the  treaty,  but  sim- 
ply state  that  the  nation  expected  much  from  it,  not  only  as  a 
comipensation  for  actual  losses,  and  as  a  sedative  to  that  rancor- 
ous feeling  which  was  distracting  two  nearly  allied  countries, 
but  as  a  harbinger  of  the  era  of  amicable  arbitration  wherever 
national  differences  existed. 

In  order  to  reach  the  desired  end  both  nations  had  to  concede 
something.  Mr.  Fish's  position  was  strongly  taken.  It  accorded 
with  the  views  of  our  greatest  diplomatists,  not  even  excepting 
those  of  his  bitterest  personal  enemy,  Mr.  Sumner.  When  Eng- 
land recoiled  from  it,  and  took  the  position  that  she  could  not 
honorably  admit  our  claim  for  indefinite  consequential  damages, 
perhups  Mr.  Fish  continued  to  be  a  little  too  stiff"  and  exacting. 
At  any  rate  it  was  not  until  a  powerful  sentiment  grew  up  in 


268  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

the  country  against  the  advisability  of  adhering  to  such  conse- 
quential claims  that  he  showed  signs  of  yielding.  When  he 
did  yield  it  was  evidently  against  his  better  judgment,  and  with 
a  reluctance  that  proved  a  strong  attachment  to  his  original 
position.  His  conduct  thus  far  only  shows  that  native  convic- 
tion was  with  difficulty  overborne  by  considerations  of  policy,  , 
or  that  concessory  spirit  which  so  largely  enters  into  successful 
diplomacy. 

His  enemies  were,  however,  not  slow  to  seize  this  opportu- 
nity for  first  driving  home  upon  him  the  charge  of  obstinacy, 
and  afterwards  when  he  yielded,  the  charge  of  cowardice,  which 
charge,  on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  took  the  shape  of  disin- 
genuousness  and   trickery  ;  for   though  he  pressed   at  first  the 
claims  for  indirect  damages  with  all  his  ardor,  he  privately  de- 
clared that  it  was  not  done  with   the  expectation  of  recovering 
upon  thein.     The  fact  is,  he  simply  took  a  lawyer-like  view  of 
them,  and  regarded  their  presentation  as  necessary  to  show  that 
some  modification  of  the  laws  regulating  the  conduct  of  neutrals 
was  needed.     We  cannot  think  that  either  cowardice  or  a  desire 
to  act  unfairly  is  an  ingredient  of  Mr.  Fish's  nature.     We  must 
credit  him  with  a  strong  will  and  great  professional  pride,  amount- 
ing at  times,  perhaps,  to  forgetfulness  of  those  little  refinements 
which    unavoidably    attach    themselves    to    diplomacy,    and  to 
abhorrence  of  those  compromises  which  in  every  day   life  are 
oftener  evidences  of  weakness  than  strength.     Instinctively  he 
is  a  safe  and  true  counsellor.     His  slowness  may  give  rise  to  the 
impression  that  he  is  timid,  but  surely  this  is   rebutted   by  that 
firmness,  when  his  mind  is  once  made  up,  which   has  so  often 
thrown  him  open  to  the  charge  of  wilfulness  and  stubbornness. 
The/oj-^e  of  the  diplomatist  is  tact.    That  he  lacks  the  shrewd- 
ness and  smoothness  of  diction,  which  have  immortalized  shal- 
lower men,  must  not  go  to  discredit  the  integrity  of  his  character 
the  depth  of  his  learning,  or  the  soundness  of  his  judgments. 


GEORGE    S.    BOUTWELL. 


,03 

bEORGE    S.    BOUTWELL    was     born    in    Brookline. 


Massachusetts,  January  28tli,  1818.  In  April,  1820, 
•^V£  bis  parents  removed  to  Lunenburg,  where  they  lived 
to  on  a  farm  until  1863,  when  both  died,  his  mother  in 
March,  and  his  father  in  July.  His  mother  was  of  the  Marshall 
family.  Mr.  Boutwell's  father  was  a  man  of  good  abilities, 
and  was  twice  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1853.  Mr.  Boutwell  learned  to  read  at  a  very  early  age,  stand- 
ing at  his  mother's  knee,  while  she  read  the  large  family  Bible. 
The  result  was  that  he  learned  to  read  as  the  type  setters  read, 
"  by  the  word  method." 

As  he  grew  up  he  could  not  remember  the  time  when  he 
could  not  read.  He  went  to  the  public  school  six  or  seven  very 
brief  summer  terms,  and  to  perhaps  as  many  private  schools,  of 
a  few  weeks  each,  and  usually  kept  by  the  same  teacher.  He 
attended  winter  schools  until,  and  including,  his  sixteenth  birth- 
day. The  next  winter  he  taught  a  school  in  Shirley,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

At  that  time  he  had  thoroughly  mastered  Arithmetic,  and 
learned  something  of  Latin,  Algebra,  Geometry,  Astronomy, 
Natural  Philosophy  and  History.  He  studied  these  branches, 
in  scbool  and  out,  under  most  unfavorable  circumstances. 


270  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

When  nearly  tliirteen  years  old  he  went  into  a  country  store 
at  Lunenburg  and  remained  there  four  years.  In  March,  1835, 
he  went  to  Groton,  entering  upon  the  mercantile  business  and 
continuing  there  as  clerk  or  partner  for  several  years.  The 
early  facility  in  reading,  gained  at  his  mother's  knee,  created  a 
taste  for  study,  and  an  insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge. 

In  the  second  story  of  the  store  where  he  served  as  clerk, 
there  was  kept  an  old,  but  choice  and  well  selected  library. 
This  was  a  mine  of  wealth  to  young  Boutwell.  In  the  absence 
of  customers,  and  so  far  as  fidelity  to  his  employer  permitted, 
he  read  during  the  day.  But  at  nine  o'clock,  when  the  store 
closed,  he  repaired  promptly  to  the  library  and  there  read  till 
overcome  by  drowsiness,  when  he  roused  himself  by  some 
physical  exercise,  and  continued  his  reading.  When  sleep 
again  asserted  its  claims,  he  plunged  his  head  in  a  pail  of  water, 
at  hand  for  that  purpose,  and  under  that  renewed  stimulus 
read  on  till  an  unduly  late  hour  of  the  night.  The  fact  that 
at  this  early  age,  with  such  meagre  school  advantages,  and 
while  so  closely  occupied  with  farm  work  and  clerk  service, 
he  had  made  so  large  attainments  in  the  studies  named,  and 
that  he  was  able  to  teach  school  at  sixteen,  shows  his  enthu- 
siasm in  the  work  of  self-culture,  his  unusual  quickness  in 
learning,  and  invincible  energy  in  pursuing  his  studies,  in  the 
face  of  manifold  difB.culties. 

When  only  eighteen  years  of  age  he  commenced,  systematical- 
ly, the  study  of  law,  and  entered  his  name  in  an  attorney's  office, 
studying  at  odd  times,  chiefly  nights.  At  the  same  time  he 
renewed  the  study  of  Latin,  under  Dr.  A.  B.  Bancroft,  and  read 
Yirgil,  and  other  Latin  authors.  While  an  active  member  of 
the  Legislature,  in  the  winter  of  18i2-43,  he  resumed  the  study 
of  French  under  Count  Laporte,  which  he  had  previously 
pursued  without  a  teacher,  devoting  for  several  months  one 


GEORGE   S.   BOUTWELL.  271 

half  hour  a  day  to  this  study.  For  six  years  his  thirst  for 
knowledge  almost  consumed  him.  He  devoted  every  moment 
he  could  command  to  study,  working  till  midnight,  and  often 
till  one,  two,  or  even  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  This  zeal 
was  self-prompted,  and  without  the  stimulus  of  a  teacher  or 
any  rival  companions.  This  excessive  labor  injured  his  health, 
and  in  1841-42,  he  was  obliged  to  diminish  his  hours  of  study. 
At  nineteen  he  delivered  his  first  public  lecture  before  the 
Groton  Lyceum.  In  1840,  he  entered  the  political  contest  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  school  committee  in  Groton,  a  large 
town  of  more  than  usual  wealth  and  culture.  The  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held  by  his  fellow-townsmen  is  also  shown  by 
the  fact  that  in  the  same  year  he  was  the  candidate  of  the 
Democratic  party  for  the  Legislature  and  though  defeated  the 
first  two  years,  continued  to  be  their  candidate  for  ten  years. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1842,  '43,  '44,  '47,  '48,  '49, 
and  '50.  He  soon  became  a  prominent  and  influential  member, 
and  surpassed  all  by  his  thorough  mastery  of  the  subjects 
which  he  discuss,ed  and  by  his  readiness  and  ability  in  debate. 
He  successfully  advocated  the  questions  of  retrenchment  of 
expenses,  enlargement  of  the  school  fund,  and  Harvard  college 
reform. 

The  legislation  on  these  subjects,  and  especially  in  reference 
to  Harvard  college,  was  mainly  due  to  his  efforts.  Between 
1842  and  1850,  he  was  Railway  Commissioner,  Bank  Commis- 
sioner, Commissioner  on  Boston  Harbor,  and  a  member  of 
special  State  Committees  upon  the  subject  of  Insanity,  and  upon 
the  Public  Lands  in  Maine.  In  all  those  years  he  gave  numer- 
ous Lyceum  lectures,  and  political  addresses.  In  1844,  '46,  and 
'48,  he  was  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for  Congress. 

He  was  nominated  for  the  ofi&ce  of  governor,  in  1849-50,  and 


272  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

was  elected  to  that  office  in  1851,  and  1852.  In  the  State 
Leoislature  and  Constitutional  Convention  of  1853,  he  was 
early  recognized  as  a  leader.  He  was  familiar  with  parliamen- 
tary rules,  was  always  in  order,  never  prolix,  speaking  merely 
to  be  heard  or  without  something  to  say,  but  always  aimed 
directly  at  the  point,  and  of  course  at  all  times  had  the  ear  of 
the  Convention.  He  united  firmness  with  conciliation  and 
exhibited  fairness,  tolerance,  and  courtesy  to  opponents. 

In  the  Constitutional  Convention,  Rufus  Choate  was  his  lead- 
ing opponent.  Early  in  the  session,  Mr.  Choate,  by  a  most  elo- 
quent speech,  had  won  the  admiration  of  the  Convention.  The 
subject  was  "  Town  Representation."  Mr.  Boutvvell  rose  to 
reply.  His  apparent  temerity  in  meeting  the  most  brilliant 
member  on  the  Whig  side,  quite  surprised  those  who  did  not 
know  him.  But  the  apprehension  of  a  damaging  comparison, 
or  a  failure,  at  once  passed  away.  He  enchained  the  attention 
of  the  Convention,  and  maintained  his  cause  with  signal 
ability.  He  prepared  and  reported  the  Constitution  which  was 
submitted  to  the  people  and  adopted.  The  same  year  he 
became  a  member  of  the  "  State  Board  of  Education."  It  was 
a  deserved  tribute  to  his  clear  judgment  and  substantial  educa- 
tion, that  Massachusetts,  ever  proud  of  her  public  schools, 
should  call  one  without  collegiate  culture  to  succeed  the  classi- 
cal Barnas  Sears,  and  the  eloquent  and  enthusiastic  Horace 
Mann.  He  was  connected  with  this  board  ten  years,  and,  as  its 
secretary  for  five  years,  acquitted  himself  with  marked  ability. 
His  five  annual  reports,  his  commentary  on  the  school  laws  of 
Massachusetts,  and  his  volume  on  "  Educational  Topics  and 
Institutions,''  rank  high  in  the  educational  literature  of  the 
country.  From  1851  to  1860,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Overseers  of  Harvard  college.  In  1856,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences;  in 
1801,  a  member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  of  Cambrid>;e,  and  de- 


GEORGE   S.   BOUTWELL.  273 

livered  tbe  commencement  oration.  Political  subjects,  according 
to  usage  and  obvious  propriety,  are  avoided  on  sucb  occasions, 
but  in  this  crisis  of  the  nation,  officers  of  college  and  of  the 
society  called  upon  the  ex-governor  to  discuss  freely  the  state 
of  the  country.  His  oration,  after  showing  that  slavery  was  the 
cause  of  the  war,  demonstrated  the  justice  and  necessity  of 
emancipation.  It  was  in  advance  of  the  times,  and  was  severely 
censured,  not  only  by  Democrats  but  by  many  Republican 
leaders  and  papers.  It  was  published  entire  in  various  jour- 
nals, and  circulated  widely  through  the  country,  and  hastened 
the  great  revolution  of  public  sentiment  on  this  subject  more 
than  any  address  by  any  American  statesman  during  the  first 
year  of  the  war. 

Immersed  in  public  affairs  since  his  majority,  no  other  man 
of  his  age  in  Massachusetts  has  been  so  long  and  constantly 
in  the  public  service.  No  other  man  living,  in  that  State,  has 
held  so  many,  varied  and  responsible  offices,  in  each  of  which 
his  course  has  been  marked  by  integrity,  fidelity,  and  ability. 

To  the  young  his  life  is  a  fit  example  of  the  cardinal  virtues 
of  industry,  uprightness,  and  frugality,  of  strict  temperance,  and 
unwearied  perseverance. 

Mr.  Boutwell  is  not  a  politician,  but  a  statesman.     In  all 

his  history,  his  faith  has  been  in  truth,  in  right,  in  justice  and 

principle,  and  not  in  art  and  scheming,  in  management  and 

chicanery.     Fidelity  to  principle  has  marked  his  whole  career. 

He  has  ever  been  an  earnest  and  consistent  advocate  of  the 

rights  of  man.     He  left  the  Democratic  party  upon  the  repeal 

of  the  Missouri  Compromise  in  1854,  his  last  vote  with  that 

party  being  in  1853.     He  was  a  leader  in  the  organization  of 

the  Republican  party  in  Massachusetts,  and  was  a  delegate  to 

the  Baltimore  Convention,  in  1864 ;  was  a  member  of  the  Peace 

Congress  in  1861 ;  organized  the  new  Department  of  Internal 
lb 


274  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

Revenue,  and  served  as  Commissioner  until  1862,  when  he 
resigned  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress.  He 
served  on  the  Judiciary  Committee,  in  the  Thirty-ninth  and 
Fortieth  Congress,  and  was  one  of  the  managers  in  the  Impeach- 
ment case. 

He  was  re-elected  to  the  Forty-first  Congress,  and  took  his  seat 
at  the  First  Session,  commencing  March  4th,  1869,  but  on  the 
11th  of  March  he  was  nominated  by  President  Grant  for  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  and  has  held  that  important  and  responsi- 
ble office  till  the  present  time  (1872.)  In  the  management  of  the 
national  finances,  he  has  had  many  difficulties  to  contend  with, 
both  from  the  interference  of  others,  and  the  novelty  of  his 
position,  many  of  the  emergencies  he  has  been  called  to  meet 
being  entirely  without  precedent.  His  nature  and  habit  incline 
him  to,  perhaps,  an  excess  of  caution  ;  and  the  petty  details  of 
his  early  experience  in  a  country  store  are  not,  it  may  be,  the 
best  preparation  for  the  comprehensive  sweep  and  the  vast 
movements  of  a  national  treasury,  which  disburses  its  four  or 
five  hundred  millions  or  more  annually.  Yet  his  financial  man- 
agement has  been,  taken  as  a  whole,  a  success.  He  has  extin- 
guished three  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  the  public  debt; 
has  made  a  very  good  beginning  in  funding  the  remainder  at 
five  per  cent,  or  less;  has  kept  down  the  price  of  gold,  and 
when  he  deemed  interference  called  for,  has  always  interfered 
for  the  people  and  against  the  speculators. 

Mr.  Boutwell  is  a  man  of  judicial  mind,  instinctive  sagacity, 
strong  memory,  iron  will,  indomitable  perseverance,  great  power 
of  mental  concentration,  and  entire  self-command.  His  ener- 
gies never  seem  to  flag.  His  fine  voice,  distinct  articulation  and 
deliberate  but  earnest  delivery,  make  him  an  impressive  speaker. 
His  style  is  clear  and  vigorous.  He  is  too  earnest  to  deal  in^ 
sallies  of  wit,  the  play  of  imagination,  or  ornaments  of  rhetoric,* 


GEORGE  S.   BOUTWELL.  275 

but  be  is  always  sincere  and  impressive.  His  mind,  wbile  full 
of  information,  patient  in  details,  and  accurate  in  tbe  minutest 
point,  grasps  easily  great  questions,  and  tends  to  broad  and  rapid 
generalizations.  He  bas  trained  bimself  to  "  tbink  on  bis  legs.'i 
He  enjoys  debate,  excels  in  forensic  contests,  and  seems  always 
strongest  in  tbe  closest  grapple  of  mental  combat. 


GEORGE   MAXWELL   ROBESON, 

SECRETARY   OF    THE    NAVY. 


faEORGE  MAXWELL  ROBESON  was,  until  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Navy,  a  resident  of  Cam- 
den, New  Jersey,  where  as  a  lawyer,  he  had  attained  emi- 

S  nence,  both  in  professional  and  social  life.  He  is  a  son  of 
William  P.  Robeson,  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  an  Asso- 
ciate judge  of  the  Philadelphia  county  court.  He  comes  from  a 
family  that  have  been  long  distinguished  in  both  law  and  politics. 
His  maternal  uncle,  J.  P.  Maxwell,  and  his  grandfather,  George 
C.  Maxwell,  were  members  of  Congress  from  New  Jersey. 

Mr.  Robeson  was  bora  in  the  town  of  Belvidere,  Warren 
County,  New  Jersey,  in  the  year  1829.  At  an  early  age  he 
matriculated  at  Princeton  College,  and,  when  under  eighteen 
years  of  age,  graduated  with  distinguished  honors.  Subse- 
quently he  began  the  study  of  law,  at  Newark,  New  Jersey,  in 
the  office  of  Chief  Justice  Hornblower,  and  although  his  learning 
and  abilities  fitted  him  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  profession 
before  he  arrived  at  a  legal  age,  he  was  obliged  to  wait  that 
period  under  the  rules  of  the  court,  before  being  admitted  to 
practice. 

Commencing  his  professional  duties  at  Newark,  he  subse- 
quently removed  to  Jersey  City,  where  the  larger  commercial 
and    manufacturing  interests  and  population  afforded  a  wider 

field  for  his  abilities. 
276 


GEORGE   MAXWELL    ROBESON.  277 

In  1855  Governor  Newell  appointed  Mr,  Robeson  Prosecutor 
of  the  Pleas  of  Camden  county,  and  he  became  a  resident  of  Cam- 
den, holding  his  office  of  public  prosecutor  until  1860. 

Retiring  from  that  office  he  became  a  law  partner  of  Alden'C. 
Scovel,  Esq.,  but  in  the  year  1865,  when  Mr.  Theodore  F. 
Frelinghuysen,  then  Attorney  General  of  New  Jersey,  was  elected 
Senator,  he  recommended  Mr.  Robeson  to  the  vacant  Attorney- 
Generalship,  to  which  position  Governor  Ward  appointed  him. 

Mr.  Robeson  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  politics,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  ardent  and  able  supporters  of  the  war  policy 
of  the  Government  through  all  our  late  troubles. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  was  from 
the  first  associated  with  the  Union  League  of  Philadelphia.  In 
1862  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Olden  a  Brigadier-General, 
and  commanded  a  camp  of  volunteers  at  Woodbury,  New  Jersey 
for  the  organization  of  troops.  Mr.  Robeson  is  in  the  prime  of 
life,  and  is  universally  esteemed  for  his  abilities  and  his  agree- 
able social  character. 

His  nomination  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  June  25th,  1869, 
though  somewhat  surprising,  since  he  had  not  been  known  in 
political  circles  outside  of  his  own  State,  was  not,  on  the  whole, 
injudicious.  He  had  had  no  special  training  in  naval  matters, 
nor  any  particular  acquaintance  with  marine  affairs,  but  in  these 
matters  he  was  probably  as  well  informed  as  many  of  his  prede- 
cessors, better,  perhaps,  than  some  of  them ;  and  having  spent 
most  of  his  life  in  the  vicinity  of  large  seaports,  he  would  natu- 
rally have  been  attracted  to  the  interests  of  both  our  commercial 
and  national  marine. 

His  administration  of  the  Department  has  been,  in  general,  very 
creditable  to  him.  Charges  were  brought  against  him  by  a  New 
York  editor  of  corruption,  fraud  and  malfeasance  in  office;  but 
on  a  careful  and  thorough  investigation  by  a  committee  of  the 


278  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

House. of  Kepresentatives,  they  were  proved  to  have  been  un- 
founded, and  the  only  instance  in  which  there  was  ground  for 
any  semblance  of  blame  was  in  his  payment  of  the  Secor  (Jersey 
Gity)  claim,  after  it  had  been  once  decided  adversely  by  Con- 
gress and  by  an  official  Board  of  Examination.  The  claim  was 
not,  perhaps,  unjust,  and  it  was  reasonable  that  the  contractors,  if 
wronged,  should  have  some  means  of  redress ;  but  it  was  a  some- 
what dangerous  stretch  of  official  authority  for  the  head  of  a 
department  to  order  a  large  payment  made  to  them  on  his  own 
motion,  after  it  had  been  adjudicated  by  the  only  competent 
authority  that  they  had  been  paid  in  full.  It  is  due  to  him  to  say, 
however,  that  in  this  case  there  was  no  just  imputation  in  regard 
to  his  honesty  and  integrity,  but  that  his  action  was  only  an  error 
of  judgment  in  regard  to  the  scope  of  his  official  powers. 

Mr.  Robeson  unquestionably  possesses  a  high  order  of  talent, 
and  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  administrative  officers 
of  the  Government. 

His  genial  temper,  graceful  address  and  fascinating  manners, 
render  him  deservedly  popular  in  private  life. 


GEORGE   H.   WILLIAMS, 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


HE  present  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States, 
George  H.  Williams,  was  born  in  Columbia  county, 
New  York,  on  the  28d  day  of  March,  1823 ;  received 
an  academical  education  at  an  academy  in  Onondaga 
county ;  studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  tlje  bar  in  1844.  He 
immediately  sought  a  field  for  the  exercise  of  his  talents  in  the 
"Great  West,"  and  located  in  tlie  young  and  growing  State  of 
Iowa.  Ilere  he  displayed  energy,  probity,  and  versatile  talents 
which  attracted  attention,  and  resulted,  not  only  in  a  flattering 
professional  business,  but  in  the  honor  of  being  elected,  in  1847, 
Judge  of  the  First  Judicial  District  of  that  State,  a  position 
which  he  occupied,  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  general 
satisfaction  of  the  public,  until  1852.  In  that  year  he  was  a 
presidential  elector  from  Iowa,  and  received,  in  1853,  from  Presi- 
dent Pierce,  the  appointment  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  then  Terri- 
tory of  Oregon,  to  which  he  was  again  reappointed  in  1857,  by 
President  Buchanan,  but  resigned.  He  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  of  Oregon  in  1858;  and 
in  1865  took  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Seriate,  as  a  Union 
Republican,  from  that  State  (succeeding  B.  F.  Harding,  Union 
Republican),  his  term  expiring  March  4th,  1871. 

His  course  on  the  bench  and  as  Senator  was  characterized  by 
Bound  judgment,  fine  legal  abilities,  and  unquestioned   honesty 

279 


280  MEN   OP   OUR  DAY 

of  principle  and  purpose.  In  Congress  he  served  on  many  im- 
portant committees,  such  as  the  Standing  Committee  on  Claims, 
Private  Land  Claims,  Finance,  and  the  Special  Committees  on 
the  Rebellious  States  and  Reconstruction,  Expenses  of  Senate, 
and  the  National  Committee  to  accompany  the  remains  of  the 
martyred  Lincoln  from  "Washington  to  his  home  in  Illinois. 

His  remarkable  legal  attainments,  and  especially  his  profound 
knowledge  of  constitutional  and  international  law  made  his 
name  prominent  for  the  position  of  Attorney -General  when 
Judge  Hoar  resigned,  but  the  President  for  some  cause  selected 
Judge  Akerman  of  Georgia,  who  in  turn  resigned  in  January, 
1872,  when  Judge  Williams  was  tendered  the  oflEice  and  accepted 
it.  The  Attornej'' -General's  office  can  boast  of  many  eminent 
names,  men  like  Reverdy  Johnson,  Judge  Black,  William  M. 
Bvarts,  and  others,  who  brought  to  it  the  lustre  of  great  reputa- 
tions, but  it  has  been  filled  by  no  jurist  of  higher  ability  or 
more  spotless  reputation  than  the  present  incumbent. 


JACOB   DOLSON   COX. 

J\T  has  always  seemed  to  us  that  Plutarch  was  guilty  of 
1  holding  up  to  undeserved  scorn,  that  Athenian  citizen 
~  whom  he  represents  as  having  applied  to  Aristides  to 
^3  inscribe  on  his  shell  his  own  name,  that  he  might  vote 
to  banish  that  eminently  just  magistrate.  Plutarch  says  that  the 
judge  asked  him  if  he  knew  anything  against  Aristides.  "  No," 
he  replied ;  "  but  he  was  tired  with  hearing  everyone  call  him 
the  Just."  The  man  was  not  so  far  out  of  the  way,  after  all. 
Aristides  was  undoubtedly  an  upright  and  just  ruler,  but  he 
lacked  sympathy  with  humanity,  and  that  personal  attraction  or 
magnetism  which  made  many  worse  men  more  popular  and  bet- 
ter loved  than  he,  and  the  poor  fellow  who  wanted  him  banished, 
really  revolted  not  against  his  being  called  the  "Just,"  but  at 
his  not  being  also  the  "  merciful"  and  the  sympathizing  magis- 
trate. 

Something  of  this  same  feeling  has  always  prevented  General 
Cox  from  being  a  popular  idol.  He  is  eminently  a  correct,  just, 
upright  man;  he  is  a  fine  scholar,  accomplished  in  all  directions  ; 
he  was  a  good  though  not  a  great  soldier,  always  safe  but  never 
daring;  he  had  the  respect  of  his  troops,  though  not  their  love; 
he  was  an  able  and  judicious  legislator ;  he  made  a  good  record 
as  Governor,  though  he  was  never  popular.  Ilis  administration 
of  the  Department  of  the  Interior  was  skilful  and  successful,  but 
he  made  no  friends,  and  when  he  withdrew  on  the  alleged  ground 

that  he  could  not  be  a  party  to  corrupt  and  fraudulent  disposi* 

281 


28:s  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

tion  of  the  public  lands,  his  protest,  though  admirably  written, 
was  so  cold  and  formal  that  it  carried  very  little  weight  with  it 
He  was  "the just,"  undoubtedly,  but  people  had  become  weary 
of  a  justice  which  lacked  soul,  which  had  no  sympathies  with 
the  living,  throbbing,  and  oft-times  sinning  heart  of  humanity. 

The  Germans  have  a  legend  that  the  Frost  King  found  one 
night  that  a  daring  traveller  had  invaded  his  dominions.  Though 
very  angry,  he  did  not,  as  he  might  have  done,  destroy  the  in- 
truder ;  he  only  touched  his  breast  with  his  icy  finger,  and 
thenceforward  the  man  wherever  he  went  bore  a  frozen  heart  in 
his  bosom.  We  incline  to  the  belief  that  this  man  with  the  fro- 
zen heart  had  a  numerous  progeny.  But  to  our  biographical 
sketch. 

Jacob  Dolson  Cox  was  born  in  Montreal,  Canada,  October 
27th,  1828,  during  the  temporary  residence  of  his  parents  (who 
were  citizens  of  New  York)  in  that  city.  His  mother  was  a 
lineal  descendant  of  Elder  William  Brewster  of  the  Mayflower. 
He  removed  to  Ohio  in  1846,  graduated  from  Oberlin  College  in 
1851,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  the  law  at  Warren,  Ohio, 
in  1852.  Not  long  after  he  married  a  daughter  of  Eev.  Charles 
G.  Finney,  D.D.,  the  eloquent  and  able  president  of  Oberlin 
College. 

A  man  of  scholarly  habits,  Mr.  Cox  soon  distinguished  him- 
self by  his  attainments  in  literature,  history,  philosophy  and 
military  and  political  science.  He  was  withal  a  well  read  and 
very  able  lawyer,  a  fine  horseman,  a  good  fencer,  and  for  a 
militia  officer,  remarkable  for  his  knowledge  of  the  practice  as 
well  as  the  theory  of  military  manoeuvres.  He  had  been  com- 
missioned Brigadier-General  in  the  Ohio  militia  before  he  had 
attained  his  thirtieth  year,  and  was  so  able  a  politician  as  to  be 
sent  to  the  Ohio  Senate  from  the  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  Dis- 
trict in  1859.     Here  he  and  James  A.  Garfield,  one  of  the  lead- 


JACOB   DOLSON   COX.  283 

ing  members  of  the  last  three  Congresses,  and  himself  subse- 
quently a  general  of  Volunteers,  were  reckoned  the  leaders  of 
the  Eadical  wing  of  Ohio  Eepublicans. 

When  the  President's  proclamation  of  April  15th,  1861,  was 
received.  Senator  Cox  entered  with  a  great  deal  of  spirit  into 
the  work  of  organizing  the  Ohio  contingent,  and  was  at  once 
commissioned,  by  Governor  Dennison,  Brigadier-General  of  Ohio 
Volunteers,  that  he  might  do  this  work  more  effectually.  He 
organized  and  prepared  the  Ohio  troops  for  the  field  at  Camp 
Dennison,  and  reenlisted  most  of  them  as  three  years  regiments. 

About  the  1st  of  July  General  Cox  was  commissioned,  by 
President  Lincoln,  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers,  ante-dating 
from  May  15th,  1861,  and  soon  after  was  called  into  the  field. 
We  have  not  space  to  go  over  his  war  record  in  any  great  detail ; 
but  as  we  follow  him  through  the  campaign  in  Western 
Virginia  under  McClellan  and  Rosecrans,  now  advancing  and 
accomplishing  what  he  had  been  directed  to  do,  carefully  and 
well ;  now  compelled  to  fall  back  by  the  greatly  superior  force 
of  the  enemy  ;  but  always  doing  so,  in  good  order  and  without 
serious  loss  ;  as  we  review  his  movements  under  Fremont's  un- 
fortunate campaign  in  the  Shenandoah,  his  subsequent  connection 
with  the  Army  of  Virginia,  just  as  it  was  merged  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  his  bravery  and  good  conduct  at  South  Moun- 
tain, at  Antietam,  and  subsequently  in  his  old  command  of  West 
Virginia,  we  find  him  always  cautious,  always  discreet  and  safe, 
but  never  bold,  daring,  or  dashing ;  always  commanding  the 
respect  of  his  men,  never  winning  their  admiration  by  his  fear- 
lessness ;  never  gaining  their  warm  love  by  his  personal  magne- 
tism. In  the  spring  of  1863,  he  was  ordered  back  to  Ohio,  and 
commanded  the  District  of  Ohio  under  General  Burnside.  In 
December  he  took  part  in  the  defence  of  Knoxville,  and  in  the 
Atlanta  campaign  commanded  the  Third  Division  of  the  Twenty- 


284  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

third  Corps,  or  as  it  was  oftenest  called  "the  Army  of  the 
Ohio." 

He  had  been  nominated  as  Major-General  of  Volunteers  by 
President  Lincoln,  in  the  winter  of  1862-3,  but  dropped  before 
confirmation,  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  but  because,  through 
a  misunderstanding,  the  President  had  nominated  too  many.  He 
went  through  the  Atlanta  campaign  with  great  credit,  though 
still  only  a  Brigadier,  never  originating  a  measure,  but  obeying 
orders  silently,  firmly  and  effectively  ;  had  returned  to  Nashville 
with  Thomas  and  Schofield  in  pursuit  of  Hood,  and  had  a  con- 
spicuous and  honorable  part  in  the  fierce  battle  of  Franklin; 
and  one  as  creditable  though  less  bloody  in  the  crowning  two  days' 
fight  at  Nashville,  and  the  subsequent  pursuit  of  Hood.  On  the 
strong  recommendation  of  Generals  Sherman  and  Schofield  he 
was  commissioned  a  Major-General,  to  rank  from  December  7th, 
1864.  Transferred  with  General  Schofield  to  the  Atlantic  coast, 
he  took  an  honorable  part  in  the  battles  about  Wilmington 
and  Kinston,  North  Carolina,  and  effected  a  junction  with  Gen- 
eral Sherman  at  Goldsboro. 

He  had  charge  of  the  mustering  out  of  the  Ohio  troops  till 
near  the  close  of  the  year,  when  having  been  elected  Governor 
of  Ohio,  he  resigned  his  military  to  accept  his  civil  office. 

He  had  the  reputation  of  a  prudent,  skilful  and  safe  military 
commander,  as  well  as  his  literary,  professional  and  scientific 
attainments  to  serve  as  capital  for  his  candidacy  for  the  office  of 
Governor ;  but  he  had  well-nigh  defeated  himself  by  that  cold 
heart  of  his.  Some  of  his  old  Oberlin  friends  addressed  certain 
inquiries  to  him  relative  to  the  status  of  the  African,  and  the 
then  vexed  question  of  negro  suffrage.  He  had  been  reared  and 
educated  an  Abolitionist,  had  been  trained  in  an  Anti-slavery 
College,  had  married  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  most  fearless 
anti-slavery  men  of  our  time ;  he  had  represented  in  the  Ohio 


JACOB   DOLSON   COX.  285 

Senate  the  strongest  Anti-slavery  district  in  Ohio,  and  there  had 
distinguished  himself  as  a  Radicalof  the  Radicals,  and  in  the 
army  had  always  been  sternly  just  as  the  defender  of  the  African 
against  hU  numerous  foes.  Yet  now,  when  all  Ohio  was  ablaze 
with  a  feeling  of  sympathy  for  the  down-trodden  race,  and  a  desire 
to  lift  them  up,  he  coldly  expressed  in  his  reply  his  belief  that  the 
nation  would  not  tolerate  negro  suffrage,  and  that,  probably,  the 
best  thing  which  could  be  done  for  the  race  would  be  to  deport 
them  to  Africa  or  Hayti,  and  colonize  the  whole  three  or  four 
millions.  This  letter  greatly  reduced  the  Republican  majority 
in  the  State,  and  caused  him  to  run  considerably  behind'  the 
rest  of  the  ticket. 

Soon  after  his  inauguration  he  did  another  foolish  thing.  He 
espoused  the  cause  of  Andrew  Johnson,  advocated  some  of  his 
worst  acts,  and  addressed  an  urgent  and  well-written  letter  to  the 
Ohio  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress  to  bring  them  over 
to  his  views.  Mr.  Johnson  before  long  went  so  far  that  the  cau- 
tious Governor  was  unwilling  to  follow;  but  the  whilom  radical 
had  become  intensely  conservative.  He  declined  a  renomina- 
tion,  which  would  have  been  an  inevitable  defeat,  and  returned 
to  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Cincinnati,  where  he  was 
soon  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  large  and  lucrative  business. 

On  General  Grant's  election  to  the  Presidency,  he  called  ex- 
Governor  Cox  to  the  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  The 
appointment  was  not  a  bad  one,  for  he  was  fully  competent  for 
its  duties,  and  might  have  made  that  department  much  better  in 
every  respect  than  it  ever  had  been.  But  his  evil  genius  again 
prevailed.  He  was  not  in  sympathy  with  the  other  members  of 
the  Cabinet,  and  perhaps  not  with  his  chief,  and  his  rulings  very 
soon  began  to  conflict  with  those  of  the  other  secretaries.  A  Cali- 
fornia mining  claim  relating  to  a  great  quicksilver  deposit  had 
been  in  litigation  before  the  Government  for  twelve  or  fifteen 


286  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

years,  and  after  the  most  careful  examination  by  the  law  officer 
of  the  Government  and  the  Committee  on  Claims  of  Congress, 
had  been  decided.  To  their  ruling  Secretary  Cox  took  excep- 
tion, and  proposed  to  reverse  it.  Finding  this  impossible,  he 
addressed  a  caustic  letter  to  the  President,  denouncing  the  fraud 
and  corruption  which  he  said  was  rife  in  the  Government,  and 
resigned  his  office,  November  1,  1870.  The  occasion  for  this 
diatribe  was  one  where  he  was  so  evidently  in  the  wrong  that 
his  resignation  lost  much  of  the  force  and  dignity  which  might 
otherwise  have  pertained  to  it.  He  returned  to  Cincinnati  and 
resumed  his  practice.  At  the  "  Liberal  Eepublican  "  National 
Convention  held  at  Cincinnati,  May  3d  and  4th,  1872,  ex-Secre 
tary  Cox  was  a  member,  and  received  some  votes  for  the  Presi 
dential  nomination.  He  was  very  active  in  his  advocacy  of  the 
free-trade  doctrines,  and,  we  believe,  thus  far  refuses  to  support 
the  nominees  of  that  convention. 


SIMON   CAMERON. 


JUl 


3,^  IMON  CAMERON,  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, March  8th,  1799,  was  left  an  orphan  at  the  age 
of  nine  years,  and  acquired  his  education  by  a  diligent 
improvement  of  all  the  facilities  which  he  could  secure, 
while  an  apprentice  in  a  newspaper  and  printing  office.  As  such 
he  worked  at  "  the  case  "  in  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  and  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  finally  striking  out  on  his  own  account  as  editor  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Intelligencer^  at  Doylestown,  Pa.  In  1822  he 
became  the  publisher  and  editor  of  a  newspaper  at  Harrisburg, 
which  strongly  advocated  the  claims  of  General  Jackson  for  the 
Presidency.  In  1832  he  was  President  of  the  Middletown  Bank, 
which  he  had  established ;  and  of  two  Railroad  Companies,  as 
well  as  holding  the  responsible  position  of  Adjutant-General  of 
the  State.  In  1845  he  was  elected  United  States  Senator  from 
Pennsylvania,  and  served  until  1849  ;  and  in  1851  was  re-elected 
for  the  term  ending  in  1863,  voting  in  that  body,  amongst  other 
things,  for  Douglas'  proposition  to  extend  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise line  to  the  Pacific.  After  the  repeal  of  that  Compromise, 
in  1854,  and  the  attempt  to  force  slavery  on  the  people  of  Kan- 
sas, he  identified  himself  with  the  "  People's  Party  "  in  Pennsyl- 
vania: in  1856  voted  for  Fremont  for  the  Presidency;  and  in 
the  Chicago  Convention  of  1860,  was  spoken  of  as  a  candidate 
for  the  same  high  office,  having  the  third  place  on  the  first  ballot 

after  which  his  name  was  withdrawn, 

287 


288  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

President  Lincoln,  on  his  accession  to  office,  March  4th,  1861, 
nominated  Afr.  Cameron  for  Secretary  of  War,  and  he  resigned 
his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  to  accept  the  place  in  the 
Cabinet.  The  condition  of  the  Department  of  War  at  the  time 
when  he  took  charge  of  it,  is  thus  briefly  but  graphically 
described  by  him :  "Upon  my  appointment  to  the  position,  I 
found  the  department  destitute  of  all  means  of  defence,  without 
guns  and  with  literally  no  prospect  of  purchasing  the  material 
of  war.  I  found  the  nation  without  any  army,  and  there  was 
scarcely  a  man  throughout  the  whole  War  Department  in  whom 
I  could  put  any  trust.  The  Adjutant-General  deserted;  the 
Quartermaster-General  ran  off;  the  Commissary-General  was  on 
his  death-bed ;  more  than  half  the  clerks  were  disloyal." 

This  condition  of  things,  in  a  capital  menaced  by  a  well  or 
ganized  rebel  army  without,  and  by  hordes  of  traitorous  officials 
and  spies  within,  was  truly  appalling ;  but  Mr.  Cameron  possessed 
nerve  and  loyalty,  and  was  nobly  seconded  by  the  loyalty  of  the 
Northern  States.  All  tliat  man  coi:ld  do,  he  did  ;  and  shared, 
with  his  great  Chief,  the  awful  burden  of  anxiety  which  accom- 
panied those  earlier  months  of  the  war  for  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion.  He  made  strenuous  efforts  to  secure  the  counter- 
manding of  the  order  for  battle,  which  resulted  so  disastrously 
in  the  failure  in  the  first  Bull  Run  fight,  in  which  he  lost 
a  brother,  Colonel  James  Cameron,  who  was  killed  while  leading 
a  charge  of  the  New  York  79th  (Highlanders)  regiment. 

In  his  Annual  Report  to  the  President,  of  the  operations  of 
his  department,  December  1st,  1861,  he  spoke  boldly  and  at  con- 
siderable length  of  the  policy  (to  which  he  had  become  a  eon- 
vert)  of  recognizing  slavery  as  the  Union's  real  assailant,  and 
fighting  her  accordingly.  This  portion  of  the  Secretary's  report 
was  stricken  out  by  President  Lincoln  (who  had  not,  at  that 
time,  reached  this  point,  to  which  he  was  afterwards  forced  by 


SIMON    CAMERON.  289 

tlie  necessity  of  events),  and  a  more  moderate  and  briefer  allu- 
sion to  the  subject  was  substituted  therefor. 

After  ten  months  of  anxious  and  unfaltering  attention  to  the 
weighty  duties  devolved  upon  him,  Mr.  Cameron,  whose  health 
was  seriously  impaired,  resigned,  January  13th,  1862,  and  was 
succeeded  as  Secretary  of  War  by  the  late  Edwin  M.  Stanton. 
He  was  then  sent  as  Minister  to  St.  Petersburgh,  but  soon 
returned,  arriving  in  the  United  States  in  November,  1862. 
In  1864,  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Baltimore  Convention,  as  well 
as  to  that  of  the  "Loyalists"  at  Philadelphia  in  1866,  and  in 
January,  1867,  again  took  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate 
from  Pennsylvania,  as  a  Union  Eepublican  (succeeding  Edgar 
Cowan,  Democrat)  for  the  term  ending  3d  of  March,  18.73.  In 
February,  1871,  he  succeeded  Mr.  Sumner  as  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs;  and  has  served  conspicuously 
on  the  Committees  on  Military  Affairs,  Ordnance,  etc. 

Mr.  Cameron  has  great  experience  in  political  affairs,  and  pos- 
sesses executive  ability  of  a  high  order.  He  has  for  many  years 
past  ruled  his  party  in  Pennsylvania,  sometimes,  as  in  the  late- 
nomination  for  Governor,  carrying  matters  with  a  very  high 
hand,  and  securing  the  nomination  of  men  personally  distasteful 
to  a  considerable  portion  of  the  party,  but  by  thorough  disci- 
pline he  has  usually  succeeded  in  securing  their  election.  Some- 
times he  has  carried  this  imperialism  a  little  too  far,  and  has 
defeated  the  objects  he  desired  to  acccomplish. 

An  active  business  life  and  great  skill  in  financial  movements 
have  resulted  in  accumulating  for  Mr.  Cameron  a  very  large  for- 
tune, and  his  influential  connection  with  the  great  railroad  and 
mining  corporations  has  enabled  him  to  exert  more  political  power 
than  he  could  otherwise  have  done.  For  years  rumors  of  his  con- 
tion  with  jobs  and  corruption  have  been  rife,  and  the  numerous 

"jobs"  which  were  perfected  during  his  service  in  President 
19 


290  MEN   OF   OUR  DAY. 

Lincoln's  Cabinet  were  adduced  as  evidence  of  the  truth  of  these 
rumors.  In  any  great  national  disaster  or  struggle,  the  cormo- 
rants are  sure  to  gather  and  seize  on  their  prej,  and  Secretary 
Cameron's  rather  loose  notions  on  this  subject  made  him  less 
careful  than  he  should  have  been,  and  undoubtedly  led  in  part 
to  his  resignation.  That  he  was  a  partner  in  or  personally  cog- 
nizant of  these  frauds,  is  wholly  improbable,  but  he  had  not 
that  quick  eye  to  detect  fraudulent  intention  in  others,  nor  that 
stern  and  inflexible  determination  to  punish  it,  which  was  so 
grand  a  characteristic  of  Secretary  Stanton. 

Since  the  war,  whether  in  public  or  private  life,  save  for  the 
domineering  spirit  to  which  we  have  alluded,  Mr.  Cameron's 
course  has  been  without  reproach,  and  in  his  position  as  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  his  fine  abilities  and 
his  large  knowledge  of  our  relations  to  the  European  Govern- 
ments, have  made  him  an  able  successor  to  Senator  Sumner,  if 
the  change  was  needful.  We  need  not  say  that  Senator  Came- 
ron is  a  staunch  supporter  of  President  Grant. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 


(ir'HIS  eminent  diplomatist  comes  of  an  illustrious  lineage. 
The  only  son  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  sixth  President 
of  the  Kepublic,  who  survived  his  father,  and  the  grand- 
son of  John  Adams,  the  second  President  of  the  United 
States,  he  inherits  patriotic  sentiments,  and  has  done  honor,  in 
his  public  career,  to  some  of  the  noblest  names  in  our  nation's 
past  history. 

Charles  Francis  Adams  was  born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
August  18,  1807.  At  the  age  of  two  years,  he  was  taken  by  his 
father  to  St.  Petersburg,  where  he  remained  for  the  next  six 
years,  his  father  being  United  States  Minister  at  the  Eussian 
Court.  During  his  residence  at  the  Eussian  capital,  he  learned 
to  speak  the  Eussian,  German  and  French,  as  well  as  the  English. 
In  February,  1815,  he  made  the  perilous  journey  from  St.  Pe- 
tersburg to  Paris,  with  his  mother,  in  a  private  carriage,  to  meet 
his  father.  The  intrepidity  of  Mrs.  Adams,  in  undertaking  such 
a  journey  in  midwinter,  and  when  all  Europe  was  in  a  state  of 
commotion,  gave  evidence  that  the  courage  and  daring  which  her 
son  inherited,  were  not  all  due  to  the  father's  side. 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  next  appointed  Minister  to  England, 
and  during  his  residence  there,  he  placed  Charles  at  a  boarding 
school,  where,  in  accordance  with  the  brutal  practices  in  vogue 

in  the  English  schools,  he  was  obliged  to  fight  his  English 

291 


292  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

schoolfellows  in  defence  of  the  honor  of  America.  But,  young 
as  he  was,  he  was  too  pluckj  to  be  beaten,  and  maintained  his 
country's  cause  with  as  much  valor,  though  probably  with  less 
intelligence,  than  he  has  since  been  called  to  exercise  in  its 
behalf. 

In  1817,  his  father  was  recalled  to  America,  to  become  Secre- 
tary of  State  in  President  Monroe's  administration,  and  young 
Adams,  on  his  return,  was  placed  in  the  Boston  Latin  school, 
from  whence  he  entered  Harvard  College,  in  1821,  and  gradu- 
ated there  with  honor  in  1825.  His  father  was  at  this  time 
President,  and  the  son  spent  the  next  two  years  in  Washington; 
but,  in  1827,  returned  to  Massachusetts,  and  commenced  the 
study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  Daniel  Webster.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1828,  but  did  not  engage  actively  in 
practice. 

In  1829,  Mr.  Adams  married  a  daughter  of  Peter  C.  Brooks, 
an  opulent  merchant  of  Boston,  another  of  whose  daughters  was 
the  wife  of  Hon.  Edward  Everett.  The  first  years  of  Mr.  Adams' 
manhood  were  mostly  passed  with  his  books,  and  in  literary 
and  scientific  pursuits.  Though  strongly  averse  to  partizan 
politics  and  the  petty  squabbles  for  office  and  plunder,  which 
then  occupied  the  minds  of  the  politicians  of  the  day,  it  was  im- 
possible that,  with  his  birthright  and  broad  culture,  he  should 
not  devote  a  considerable  part  of  his  studies  to  political  science 
and  statesmanship.  He  wrote  able  articles  on  topics  involving 
a  large  knowledge  of  both,  in  the  North  American  Review,  and 
other  periodicals,  between  1830  and  18-15.  He  also  edited  at 
this  time  the  letters  of  Mrs.  John  Adams,  and  gathered  the  docu- 
ments for  the  "  Life  and  Works  of  John  Adams,  second  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States."  He  was  nominated,  in  1810,  as  Kepre- 
sentative-in  the  Massachusetts  Legislature;  but  he  had  no  poli- 
tical aspirations,  and  declined  to  be  a  candidate.     At  his  father's 


CHARLES    FRANCIS    ADAMS.  293 

request,  however,  he  consented  to  be  a  candidate  the  next  year, 
and  was  elected  for  three  years  successively,  and  was  then  chosen 
State  Senator  for  two  years.  This  period  (1841-1846)  was  one 
of  violent  struggle,  and  eventually  of  disruption  between  the 
two  wings  of  the  Whig  party,  the  time-serving  or  "  Cotton 
Whigs,"  and  the  '•'Conscience  Whigs,"  who  subsequently,  with 
large  additions  from  the  Democracy,  formed  the  Kepublican 
part3^  Of  the  "Conscience  Whigs,"  Mr,  Adams  was  the  ac- 
knowledged leader.  Some  of  his  reports,  and  his  "  Review  of 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Legislature  of  1843,"  were  very  remark- 
able for  their  breadth  of  view,  their  enunciation  of  great  prin- 
ciples of  statesmanship,  and  their  clear  and  vigorous  style.  While 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Senate,  the  State  of  Massachusetts  sent 
Judge  Hoar  to  South  Carolina,  to  endeavor,  by  peaceful  measures, 
to  put  an  end  to  the  imprisonment  of  colored  sailors  from  Massa- 
chusetts in  South  Carolipian  jails,  whenever  they  entered  any 
of  the  ports  of  that  state.  Judge  Hoar  was  treated  wiih  great 
indignity,  and  driven  from  the  State  by  a  mob.  The  Massa- 
chusetts Legislature  hereupon  appointed  a  joint  committee,  of 
which  Mr.  Adams  was  chairman,  to  draw  up  a  "  Declaration 
and  Protest,"  to  be  forwarded  to  the  President  and  the  Gover- 
nors of  the  respective  States,  This  paper,  prepared  by  Mr. 
Adams,  is  a  document  wortliy  of  its  occasion  and  its  author,  a 
masterly  exposition  of  the  legal  and  Constitutional  aspects  of 
the  question,  and  a  model  of  weighty  and  impressive  eloquence. 
The  opposition  in  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  in  other  Northern 
States,  to  the  admission  of  Texas  into  the  Union  as  a  slave 
State,  found  a  voice  and  a  leader  in  Mr.  Adams.  In  the  winter 
of  1846,  a  committee,  of  which  he  was  chairman,  maintained  a 
campaign  paper  called  Tlie  Free  SUite  Rally ^  and  sent  on  to 
Washington,  from  Massachusetts  alone,  remonstrances  with 
nearly  sixty  thousand    signatures,    against   the   admission   of 


294  MEN"   OF    OUR  DAY. 

Texas  as  a  slave  State.  This  act  in  reality  severed  tbe  connec- 
tion between  Mr,  Adams  and  the  Cotton  Wbigs,  and,  late  in 
1846,  he  founded  and  conducted  politically  for  some  months,  a 
daily  paper  called  the  Boston  Whig.  The  "  Conscience  Whigs" 
were  bitterly  maligned  and  abused  by  the  pro-slavery  men  of 
the  party,  and  the  severance  of  the  slight  bonds  which  held  the 
two  together  was  beginning  to  be  felt  as  a  necessity.  In  the 
measures  which  resulted  somewhat  later,  in  the  formation  of  the 
Free  Soil  Party,  the  Boston  Whig  did  good  service.  The 
State  Whig  Convention  of  September,  1847,  was  the  last  in 
which  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Sumner,  Judge  Allen  and  other  Con- 
science Whigs,  attempted  to  take  part  in  any  so-called  Whig 
Convention.  The  Free  Soil  party  was  organized  in  most  of  the 
Northern  States  in  the  spring  of  1848,  and  in  the  summer  of 
that  year  its  Convention  at  Buffalo  nominated  Martin  Yan 
Buren  for  President,  and  Charles  Fi-ancis  Adams  for  Vice-Presi- 
d'ent.  The  vote  for  these  candidates  was  a  protest,  and  a  vigor- 
ous one,  against  Pro-Slavery  aggression  ;  it  could  be  nothing 
more.  In  the  five  or  six  years  which  followed,  there  was  a  com- 
plete break-up  of  the  Whig  party,  and  the  Free  Soil  party  was 
in  part  swallowed  up  in  the  temporary  but  short-lived  success 
of  the  "  American  "  or  "  Know-Nothing  "  organization,  but  soon 
emerged  in  the  "  Republican  party,"  which  took  shape  and  form 
early  in  1855. 

Durino-  the  chaotic  condition  of  parties,  Mr.  Adams  had  stood 
aloof  from  politics,  sickened  with  the  corruption  of  many  of 
the  party  leaders,  yet  powerless,  for  the  time,  to  check  it,  and  it 
■was  not  till  the  emergence  of  the  new  and  purer  party  from  the 
seethino-  mass,  that  he  again  mingled  in  political  circles.  Mean- 
time, he  had  devoted  himself  with  great  assiduity  to  the  memoir 
of  his  grandfather  and  the  careful  editing  of  his  works.  This 
valuable  contribution  to  the  early  history  of  our  country   is 


CHARLES    FRANCIS   ADAMS.  295 

written  with  that  elegant  scholarship  which  marks  all  Mi. 
Adams'  compositions,  and  is  remarkably  impartial  in  its  details 
of  the  life  of  the  venerable  President.  It  occupies  ten  volumes. 
In  the  autumn  of  1858,  Mr.  Adams  was  called  from  his  literary 
pursuits  to  represent  his  district  in  Congress.  His  course  there, 
on  the  eve  of  the  rebellion,  was  worthy  of  the  great  name  he 
bore  and  of  his  own  previous  history.  Calm,  dignified,  yet 
tenacious  in  his  adherence  to  the  great  principles  of  right,  he 
was  such  a  representative  as  it  became  Massachusetts  to  have  at 
such  a  time.  In  the  summer  and  autumn  of  I860,  he  took  part 
in  the  Presidential  canvass,  supporting  Mr.  Lincoln  in  many 
able  speeches,  in  the  Northwestern  States.  That  he  supported, 
both  in  committee  and  in  his  place  in  the  House,  the  resolutions 
disavowing,  on  the  part  of  the  free  States,  any  right,  under  the 
Constitution,  to  interfere  with  Slavery  in  States  where  it  was 
already  established,  or  to  hinder  by  law  the  reclamation  of  fugi- 
tiv^es,  and  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  New  Mexico  as  a  State,* 
leaving  its  citizens  at  liberty  in  respect  to  a  constitutional  admis- 
sion or  prohibition  of  Slavery,  is  not  to  be  denied.  Looking  at 
these  questions  in  the  light  o^  the  present,  it  seems  astonisliing 
that  he  could  have  made  even  such  concessions  as  these  to  the 
Slave  power ;  but  that  was  the  hour  of  darkness,  and  many  Re- 
publicans, who  afterwards  stood  up  boldly  for  freedom,  went 
much  farther  than  Mr.  Adams  in  their  concessions  at  this  time. 
Mr.  Adams,  unlike  most  of  these,  made  these  propositions  his 
ultimatum,  declaring  war  preferable,  with  all  its  horrors,  to  any 
further  attempts  at  conciliation.  Bat  the  Southern  leaders  were 
mad  upon  their  idols;  they  would  hear  nothing  of  compromise, 
and  in  heart,  if  not  in  word,  assented  to  Jefferson  Davis's  decla- 
ration, "That  if  the  North  would  give  him  carle  hlanche  to  make 
such  propositions  as  he  would  be  satisfied  with,  he  would  reject 
the  offer."     So,  happily  and  well  for  the  North,  all  these  offers 


296  MEN   OP   OUR   DAY. 

of  conciliation  failed  of  success,  and  the  war  commenced.  Mr. 
Adams  was  re-elected  to  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress;  but,  in 
the  spring  of  1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  nominated  him  as  minister  to 
England,  and  he  was  promptly  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  and  in 
the  first  week  of  May  he  sailed  from  Boston  to  enter  on  his 
duties.  He  was  now  in  the  sphere  for  the  exercise  and  mani- 
festation of  his  rare  qualities.  They  were  illustrated  by  the 
great  discouragements  which  he  had  to  encounter.  The  armed 
rebellion  had  broken  out.  The  ministry  and  the  ruling  classes  ol 
England  were  unfriendly.  The  Tory  party  could  not  but  wel- 
com.e  the  prospect  of  a  downfall  of  the  great  republic,  whose  pros- 
perity had  so  potently  backed  up  the  argument  of  English  friends 
to  free  principles  and  free  institutions.  The  Whig  aristocracy, 
alarmed  by  the  progressive  radicalism  of  their  own  allies  at 
home,  were  not  unwilling  that  it  should  receive  a  check  from 
the  foilure  of  the  American  experiment.  Except  the  great  names 
t)f  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  Mr.  Bright  and  Mr.  Cobden,  there  were 
few  in  the  first  rank  of  English  statesmen  who  looked  favorably 
or  justly  on  the  rights  or  the  prospects  of  this  country.  In  the 
commercial  circles  in  which,  sin6e  the  squirarchy  has  become 
more  enlightened,  the  intensest  burliness  of  John  Bullism  resides, 
the  ruin  of  the  great  maritime  power  across  the  water  was  a 
welcome  conclusion.  The  suffering  that  would  fall  on  the  labor- 
ing classes  in  consequence  of  the  stoppage  of  the  supply  of  cot- 
ton from  America  was  apparent,  and  the  decision  with  which,  as 
it  proved,  they  not  only  refrained  from  pressing  their  govern- 
ment into  hostile  measures,  but  pronounced  their  advocacy  of 
that  cause  of  freedom  in  America  which  they  instinctively  felt 
to  be  their  own,  showed  a  sense  and  magnanimity  which  it  would 
nave  seemed  visionary  to  look  for.  The  clergy,  from  Cornwall 
Jo  the  Tweed,  rejoiced  in  the  new  demonstration  that  social 
order  was  only  to  be  had  under  the  shadow  of  a  church-sustain- 


CHARLES    FRANCIS    ADAMS.  297 

ing  throne.  The  Carlton  Club  was  elate.  The  Reform  Club 
was  bewildered  and  double  minded.  Lord  Palmerston,  even 
beyond  his  wont,  was  flippant  and  cheerful. 

Mr.  Adams  stepped  into  the  circle  collected,  prepared,  grave, 
dignified,  self-poised,  with  the  port  of  one  who  felt  that  he  had 
great  rights  to  secure,  that  he  knew  how  to  vindicate  them,  and 
that  he  had  a  stout  power  behind  him  for  their  maintenance. 
The  British  ministry — not  over-reluctant  themselves — were 
pressed  by  solicitations  from  across  the  Channel,  as  well  as  by 
taunts  and  importunities  at  home,  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the 
insurgent  States.  Had  they  done  so,  it  will  not  do  to  say  that 
we  should  have  failed  to  come  victorious  out  of  the  contest,  but 
without  doubt  we  should  have  won  our  victory  at  immeasurably 
greater  cost.  That  they  were  held  to  a  neutrality,  however  im- 
perfect, instead  of  proceeding  to  an  active  intervention,  was 
largely  due  to  the  admirable  temper  and  ability  with  which  our 
diplomacy  was  conducted.  A  short  time  sufficed  to  make  it  appear 
that  Mr.  Adams  was  not  to  be  bullied,  or  cajoled,  or  hoodwinked, 
or  irritated  into  an  invprudence,  and  every  day  of  his  long  resi- 
dence near  the  British  court  brought  its  confirmation  to  that 
profitable  lesson.  Under  provocations  and  assumptions  the  more 
offensive  for  being  sheathed  in  soft  diplomatic  phrase,  not  a  pet- 
ulant word  was  to  be  had  from  the  American  minister,  nor  a 
word,  on  the  other  hand,  indicative  of  a  want  of  proud  confi- 
dence in  the  claims  and  in  the  future  of  his  country.  A  timid  and 
yielding  temper  would  have  invited  encroachments :  a  testy 
humor  or  discourteous  address  would  have  been  seized  upon  as 
excuse  for  reserve  or  counter-irritation.  Nor  by  the  prepar- 
ation of  study  was  he  less  equal  to  the  difficult  occasion  than  by 
native  qualities  of  mind  and  character,  as  was  proved  more  than 
once  when.  Lord  John  having  flattered  himself  that  he  had  dis- 
covered some  chink  in  our  mail  in  some  passage  of  our  treat- 


298  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

ment  of  Spain  and  the  South  American  republics,  the  pert 
diplomatist  had  to  learn  that  it  would  be  prudent  for  him  to  go 
into  a  more  careful  reading  of  the  records  of  past  American 
administrations.  It  is  of  less  consequence  to  say  that  Mr. 
Adams'  personal  accomplishments,  his  familiarity  with  the 
usages  of  elegant  society,  his  cultivated  taste  in  art,  his  profound 
scholarship,  and  his  acquaintance  with  the  classical  historians, 
orators  and  poets  (a  sort  of  attainment  nowhere  more  considered 
than  in  England),  added  to  the  estimation  which  attached  to  him. 
Going  to  that  country  in  circumstances  of  the  extremest  per- 
plexity and  trial,  he  left  it,  after  seven  years,  the  object  of  uni- 
versal respect,  and  of  an  extent  and  earnestness  of  private  re- 
gard seldom  accorded,  in  any  circumstances,  to  the  representa- 
tive of  a  foreign  power.  To  maintain  at  once  an  inflexible  and 
an  inoffensive  attitude,  to  assert,  without  a  jot  or  tittle  of  abate- 
ment, a  counti-y's  unconceded  right,  yet  expose  no  coign  of 
vantage  to  the  aggressor  by  a  rash  advance,  to  enforce  justice 
and  tranquillize  passion  at  the  same  time,  is  the  consummate 
achievement,  the  last  crowning  grace,  of  diplomacy. 

After  Mr.  Adams  was  recalled  from  England  at  his  own  re- 
quest, as  in  former  years,  he  lived  in  Boston  in  the  winter,  and 
in  the  summer  months  managed  his  extensive  farm  at  Quincy, 
eight  miles  from  town,  where  he  occupied  the  mcient  house 
which  John  Adams,  attached  to  it  by  early  recollections,  pur- 
chased before  his  return  from  Europe  in  1788,  In  a  secure 
building  which  he  lately  erected  on  the  estate,  Mr.  Adams  ar- 
rano-ed  the  voluminous  manuscripts  left  by  his  grandfather  and 
his  father,  and  the  large  library  of  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams.  It 
is  understood  that  he  has  been  occupied  in  preparing  for  publi- 
cation, a  selection  from  the  writings  of  his  illustrious  father.  In 
December,  1870,  he  came  from  his  retirement  to  pronounce, 
before  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  a  discourse,  which  has 


CHARLES    FRANCIS   ADAMS.  299 

since  been  published,  containing  a  masterly  exposition  of  the 
debt  of  the  world  to  the  American  government  for  its  persistent 
maintenance,  from  first  to  last,  of  the  doctrine  of  the  right  of  a 
nation  to  preserve  its  own  neutrality  ;  in  other  words,  the  right 
of  a  nation  to  remain  in  peace  when  other  nations  go  to  war — a 
doctrine  laid  down  b}'  Mr.  Wheaton  as  "  incontestable,"  but 
which,  in  fact,  was  never  valid,  from  the  beginning  of  time  till 
this  new  people  asserted  and  established  it. 

In  the  summer  of  1871,  he  was  nominated  by  the  President  as 
the  American  Commissioner  in  the  arbitration  provided  for  by 
tlie  Treaty  of  Washington,  ratified  in  July,  and  has  twice  visited 
Geneva  and  Paris  on  that  mission.  No  appointment  could  have 
been  so  fitting  and  appropriate. 

Mr.  Adams'  name  has  often  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  Presidency.  We  do  not  believe  he  desires  it,  and  he 
is  too  eminent  a  statesman  and  too  much  of  a  gentleman  and 
scholar,  to  be  likely  to  be  elected  in  a  republic  where  mediocrity 
of  talent  and  ability  is  preferred  to  genius,  and  a  certain  boorish- 
ness  of  manner  is  a  surer  passport  to  high  political  honors  than 
refinement  and  culture.  He  has  mingled  but  little  in  political 
matters  since  his  return  from  England  in  186S,  but  that  he  has 
his  own  decided  opinions  on  the  questions  of  the  day,  will  be 
evident  from  the  following  letters.  The  first  was  written  in 
reply  to  an  invitation  to  visit  Pittsburgh,  and  take  part  in  the 
commemoration  of  Andrew  Jackson's  birthday  : 

"  Boston,  Jan.  6,  1871.    ; 

'^  Malcolm  Hay,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  Committee: 

"  Dear  Sir  :  By  some  accidental  dehxy  your  letter  of  the  31st 
ultimo,  reached  me  only  this  morning.  I  feel  much  honored  in 
receiving  the  invitation  to  visit  you  at  Pittsburgh.  My  en- 
gagements at  home,  however,  prevent  me  from  moving  at  this 
time 


300  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

"  Neither  am  I  much  in  the  way  of  expressing  sentiments  on 
present  political  topics.  The  country  has  passed  through  a 
violent  convulsion,  and  is  now  slowly,  but  steadily,  recovering 
itself.  The  main  object  should  be  to  restore  harmony  and  in- 
spire mutual  confidence  among  all  the  jarring  members.  Our 
government  draws  its  life  from  the  ready  consent  of  the 
governed. 

"  When  the  distinguished  hero,  whose  name  your  association 
bears,  uttered  those  memorable  words:  'The  Union  shall  be 
preserved ! '  he  undoubtedly  rested  his  faith  upon  the  sponta- 
neous co-operation  of  the  great  mass  of  the  nation,  responding 
to  his  call  in  the  regular  and  legitimate  channels  prescribed  by 
the  organic  law.  He  never  contemplated  the  use  of  bayonets  in 
controlling  the  forms  of  collecting  the  general  suffrage. 

"Our  safety  as  a  nation,  lies  in  going  back  to  the  first  princi- 
ples, and  forgetting  that  force  has  ever  been  resorted  to  as  a 
painful  necessity  to  preserve  them.  What  was  a  bitter  medicine 
should  not  be  turned  into  daily  food. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"Charles  Francis  Adams." 

The  second  letter  was  one  addressed  to  Hon.  David  A.  Wells, 
in  reply  to  a  request  that  he  would  become  a  candidate  for  nomi- 
nation at  the  Cincinnati  Convention  : 

"Boston,  April  18,  1872. 
"  My  Dear  Mr.  Wells  :  I  have  received  your  letter,  and  will 
answer  it  frankly.  I  do  not  want  the  nomination,  and  could 
only  be  induced  to  consider  it  by  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  might  possibly  be  made.  If  the  call  upon  me  were  an  une- 
quivocal one.  based  upon  confidence  in  my  character,  earned  in 
public  life,  and  a  belief  that  I  would  carry  out  in  practice  the 
principles  which  I  professed,  then  indeed  would  come  a  test  of 
my  courage  in  an  emergency ;  but  if  I  am  to  be  negotiated  for, 
and  have  assurances  given  that  I  am  honest,  you  will  be  so  kind 
as  to  draw  me  out  of  that  crowd.  With  regard  to  what  I  un- 
derstand to  be  the  declaration  of  principles,  which  has  been 


CHARLES    FRANCIS   ADAMS.  301 

made,  it  would  seem  ridiculous  in  me  to  stand  haggling  over 
them.  With  a  single  exception  of  ambiguity,  I  see  nothing 
which  any  honest  Eepublican  or  Democrat  would  not  accept. 
Indeed,  I  should  wonder  at  any  one  who  denied  them.  The 
difficulty  is  not  in  the  professions.  It  lies  everywhere  only  in 
the  manner  in  which  they  are  carried  into  practice.  If  I  have 
succeeded  in  making  myself  understood,  you  will  perceive  that 
I  can  give  no  authority  to  anyone  to  act  or  to  speak  for  me  in 
the  premises.  I  never  had  a  moment's  belief  that,  when  it  came 
to  the  point,  any  one  so  entirely  isolated  as  I  am  from  all  polit'- 
cal  associations  of  any  kind,  could  be  made  acceptable  as  a  car  • 
didate  for  public  office;  but  I  am  so  unlucky  as  to  value  that 
independence  more  highly  than  the  elevation  which  is  bought 
by  a  sacrifice  of  it.  This  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  sense  o.' 
grateful  recognition  of  the  many  flattering  estimates  made  ol 
my  services  in  many  and  high  quarters;  but  I  cannot  consent  t) 
peddle  with  them  for  power.  If  the  good  people  who  meet  at 
Cincinnati  really  believe  that  they  need  such  an  anomalous 
being  as  I  am  (which  I  do  not),  they  must  express  it  in  a  man- 
ner to  convince  me  of  it,  or  all  their  labor  will  be  thrown  awaj. 
I  am,  with  great  respect,  yours,  etc., 

"  Charles  Francis  Adams. 
"David  A.  Wells,  Esq.,  Norwich,  Conn." 

At  that  Convention,  held  May  2d  and  3d,  1872,  Mr.  Adams 
received  324  votes  out  of  715,  being  within  8  votes,  on  the 
original  declaration  of  the  sixth  ballot,  of  Mr.  Greeley,  the  suc- 
cessful candidate. 

In  person,  Mr.  Adams  is  rather  below  than  above  the  middle 
height.  His  figure,  as  he  advances  in  life,  tends  somewhat  to 
fullness,  as  did  those  of  his  father  and  grandfather.  His  head 
and  features,  worthily  represented  in  the  fine  portrait  by  Hunt^ 
are  strongly  marked  with  the  family  likeness,  and  express  the 
vigor,  decision  and  repose  of  his  mind  and  character. 


REVERDY  JOHNSON. 


SeVERDY  JOHNSON  was  born  in  Annapolis,  Maryland, 
V    on  the  21st  of  May,  1796.     He  was  the  son  oi  the  Hon. 


%•: 


John  Johnson,  who  was  the  chief  judge  of  the  first 
judicial  district  of  Maryland  from  1811  until  1821,  when 
he  was  appointed  chancellor  of  the  State  of  Maryland. 

Reverdy  Johnson  studied  law  with  his  father,  and  entered 
upon  practice  in  Prince  George's  county,  and  in  the  city  of  An- 
napolis, in  his  native  State.  While  pursuing  his  profession,  he 
was  engaged  in  reporting  the  decisions  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
of  Maryland,  having  prepared  the  greater  part  of  the  well-known 
series  of  seven  volumes  of  Harris  and  Johnson's  Reports,  which 
extended  to  some  time  in  the  year  1826. 

While  pursuing  this  employment,  and  engaging  in  the  active 
practice  of  his  profession,  he  was  appointed  a  deputy  attorney- 
general  of  Maryland. 

In  1817,  he  removed  to  the  city  of  Baltimore.  In  1820,  he 
was  appointed  chief  commissioner  of  insolvent  debtors.  He  held 
this  office  until  1821,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  Mary- 
land. In  this  body  he  served  for  two  years,  and  was  re-elected, 
and  served  nearly  two  years  longer  as  a  State  Senator.  He  then 
resigned  the  of&ce,  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  a  rapidly  in- 
creasing practice,  which  he  pursued  until  18'15,  with  distin- 
guished ability  and  success,  reaching,  by  general  consent,  the 

leadership  of  the  Maryland  bar. 
302 


REVERDY   JOHNSON.  303 

In  1845,  lie  was  elected  a  Senator  in  Congress.  He  retained 
this  position  until  1849,  when  he  resigned  it  to  accept  the  office 
of  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  tendered  him  by 
President  Taylor.  Upon  the  death  of  that  President,  he  retired 
from  office,  and  continued  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  ol 
the  United  States,  in  which  he  had  established  a  great  and  well- 
deserved  reputation  as  a  jurist.  He  was  obhged,  by  the  exi- 
gency of  the  times,  and  by  his  own  disposition  to  use  every 
effort  to  restore  tranquillity  to  the  country,  to  re-enter  political 
life  in  1861.  In  that  year  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Peace  Con- 
gress. In  1862  he  was  elected,  by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland, 
a  Senator  in  Congress  for  the  term  commencing  in  1863  and 
ending  March  4th,  1869. 

His  distinguished  services  in  the  Senate,  during  the  period  of 
the  rebellion,  and  his  masterly  and  vigorous  efforts  to  maintain 
the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  during  the  pro- 
gress of  the  rebellion,  and  after  its  termination,  are  well  known 
to  the  whole  country. 

During  the  term  of  President  Lincoln,  he  was  sent  to  New 
Orleans,  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  grave  questions  which  had 
arisen  with  foreign  governments,  by  reason  of  the  alleged  undue 
exercise  of  military  and  civil  authority,  by  the  general  then 
commanding  in  Louisiana.  His  action  in  restraining  and  cor- 
recting the  abuses,  which  he  had  been  requested  to  remedy,  was 
fully  approved  of  by  the  Government  at  "Washington. 

Since  the  close  of  the  rebellion,  Mr.  Johnson  has,  with  signal 
ability,  manifested  his  devotion  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  He  has  uniformly  insisted  that  this  instrument  was  as 
binding  upon  ourselves  as  upon  those  who  sought  to  violate  it 
in  1861.  His  selection  as  a  member  of  the  joint  select  com- 
mittee on  reconstruction  was  most  judicious,  for  no  member  of 


804  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

the  Senate  was  more  tlioroughly  informed  on  the  subject,  or 
more  impartial. 

The  debates  in  the  Senate  bear  testimony  to  the  earnest  zeal 
with  which  he  has  endeavored  to  confine  all  parties  and  sections 
of  the  country  within  the  boundaries  of  constitutional  law.  la 
so  doing,  he  has  not  ministered  to  the  prejudices  or  hostilities 
of  any  political  organization,  in  order  to  win  popularity  or  pro- 
mote his  personal  ambition.  He  has  steadily  disregarded  the 
dictates  of  popular  clamor  and  popular  passion,  and  has  been 
content  to  pursue  that  course  which  will  secure  to  him  the  appro- 
bation of  all  good  men  and  the  applause  of  posterity.  His 
political  action  has  been  so  calm  and  impartial  as  to  oe  wholly 
judicial  in  character.  This  quality  of  mind,  singularly  dis- 
played through  his  senatorial  career,  was  never  more  distinctly 
marked  than  during  the  trial  of  the  President  before  the  Senate. 

In  May,  1868,  President  Johnson  nominated  him  for  minister 
to  the  court  of  St.  James,  as  successor  to  Hon.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  and  he  was  confirmed  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  Senate, 
In  the  ensuing  autumn  Mr.  Johnson  negotiated  a  treaty  with  the 
British  Government  covering  the  Alabama  Claims,  the  North- 
western boundary  controversy,  etc.  This  treaty  was  laid  be- 
fore the  Senate  in  February  1869,  and  after  discussion  rejected, 
only  one  or  two  votes  being  recorded  in  its  favor.  In  April, 
1869,  Mr.  Johnson  was  recalled,  and  John  Lothrop  Motley,  the 
historian,  appointed  his  successor.  Since  his  return  to  the 
United  States  he  has  devoted  himself  to  his  profession,  of  which 
he  is  esteemed  one  of  the  ablest  members.  He  was  consulted  in 
reference  to  the  Washington  Treaty  of  1871,  and  approved  of 
its  provisions.  Notwithstanding  his  advanced  age,  neither  mind 
nor  body  seems  to  have  lost  any  portion  of  its  vigor,  and  so 
far  as  we  can  judge,  he  may  rival  the  English  statesmen  and 
jurists  in  maintaining  his  position  up  to  his  ninetieth  year. 


CALEB    GUSHING. 


.  ^^^^XiEB  GUSHING,  eminent  as  an  orator,  jurist  and  poli- 
tician, was  born  at  Salisbury,  Mass.,  January  17th,  1800, 
being  the  son  of  Captain  John  N.  Gushing,  an  enterprising 
ship-owner  of  that  town,  and  descended  from  an  old  colo- 
nial family  largely  represented  in  official  positions  of  trust.  Fit- 
ting for  college  at  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  he  grad- 
uated from  Harvard  College,  in  1817,  when  he  gave  the  saluta- 
tory oration  ;  and  was  a  student  of  Cambridge  law-school  in  1818. 
In  1819,  he  delivered  the  annual  poem  before  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  Society ;  and,  as  candidate  for  the  degree  of  A.  M.,  pro- 
nounced an  oration  on  the  durability  of  the  Federal  Union.  He 
was  also  appointed  tutor  in  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy 
at  Harvard,  which  position  he  held  until  July,  1821,  signalizing 
his  resignation  with  a  truly  eloquent  farewell  address,  strongly 
indicative  of  his  own  ambitious  temperament.  The  addresses 
which  he  delivered  before  debating  clubs,  etc.,  at  this  time, 
show  him  to  have  been  strongly  impressed  with  the  political 
grandeur  of  the  Federal  Union,  and  with  intense  devotion  to  its 
highest  aims  and  welfare.  In  1822  he  was  admitted  to  the  Essex 
bar,  and,  in  1825,  his  political  career  began  by  his  election  as 
representative  to  the  State  Legislature  from  Newburyport, 
where  he  had  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession.     In  the 

next  year  he  was  seated  in  the  State  Senate;  published  a  "  Ilistory 
20  305 


306  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

of  Newburj'-port,"  and  a  "  Treatise  on  the  Practical  Principles  of 
Political  Economy,"  having  previously  translated  from  the 
French,  a  work  on  '•'  Maritime  Contracts  for  Letting  to  Hire." 
He  also  pronounced  a  eulogy  on  Jefiferson  and  Adams,  in  New- 
buryport,  about  this  time ;  took  an  active  part  in  the  politics  of 
the  day  (as  a  republican),  and  carried  on  a  large  and  successful 
law  practice  until  1829.  Meanwhile  he  had  been  a  candidate 
for  Congress,  from  the  Essex  district  of  Massachusetts,  but  was 
defeated  through  the  prejudice  excited  by  an  unjust  charge 
which  was  made  against  him,  of  recommending  himself  as  a  suita- 
ble incumbent,  in  the  columns  of  the  Boston  Patriot.  Shortly 
after  this  check  to  his  aspirations,  he  made  a  European  tour, 
(1829-1832)  with  his  accomplished  wife,  the  daughter  of  Hon. 
John  Wilde  of  Boston,  whom  he  had  married  in  1824,  and  who 
was  the  authoress  of  two  volumes  of  "  Letters  Descriptive  of  Pub- 
lic Monuments,  Scenery  and  Manners  in  France  and  Spain," 
published  in  1832,  after  their  return  to  America.  During  the 
same  year,  also,  Mr.  Gushing  issued  his  "  Eeminiscences  of 
Spain — the  Country,  its  People,  History  and  Monuments,"  in 
two  volumes;  and  with  it  another  work  in  two  volumes  entitled 
"A  Keview,  Historical  and  Political,  of  the  late  Revolution  in 
France,"  etc.,  and,  also  pronounced  an  admirable  oration  at  New- 
buryport.  In  1834:  he  addressed  the  American  Institute  of 
Instruction;  delivered  a  eulogy  on  Lafayette,  at  Dover,  New 
Hampshire,  and  wrote  a  reply  to  Cooper  the  novelist.  These 
evidences  of  his  mental  power,  together  with  his  high  character 
as  a  lawyer  and  a  man,  fully  justified  the  choice  of  the  good  peo- 
ple of  his  adopted  town,  in  electing  him  as  their  representative, 
in  1833  and  '34,  in  the  State,  where  he  augumented  his  reputa- 
tion by  his  speech  (which  was  afterwards  published)  on  the  cur- 
rency and  public  deposits.  Again,  in  1835,  he  ran  for  Congress, 
and  was  this   time  successful — retaining  his  seat  by  repeated 


CALEB    GUSHING.  307 

re-elections  until  1843. .  While  there  his  literary  inclinations 
were  by  no  means  obscured  by  his  interest  in  national  politics, 
as  was  evidenced  by  his  frequent  contributions  to  the  North  Ameri- 
can Review ;  his  tasteful  articles  on  the  legal  and  social  condition 
of  women  ;  his  review  of  "  Boccaccio  ;  "  essays  on  Columbus  and 
Americus  Vespucci,  and  an  oration  before  the  Literary  Societies 
of  Amherst  College,  August  22,  1836,  on  "  Popular  Eloquence, 
and  its  Power  in  our  Republic."  Another  oration,  delivered  at 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1839, — shortly 
after  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  in  a  manner  deemed  by  many 
to  be  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  constitution, — forcibly  urged  the 
necessity  of  repressingan  undue  national  ambition  ;  while  an  oration 
delivered  the  same  year  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  at 
Cambridge,  on  the  "  Errors  of  Popular  Reformers,"  displayed 
great  ability  and  ready  rhetorical  powers.  In  Congress  he  was 
ever  alive  and  alert  to  the  interests  of  his  constituents,  and  to 
what  he  deemed  important  national  measures.  His  speeches 
were  dignified,  vigorous  and  effective,  characterized  by  purity 
of  style  and  depth  of  reflection.  On  all  subjects  he  could  speak 
sensibly  and  effectively,  in  a  manner  that  betrayed  diligence  of 
study  and  preparation.  One  of  his  most  effective  displays  of 
oratory  was  his  answer,  in  the  winter  session  of  1836,  to  an  out- 
rageously abusive  speech  of  Ben  Hardin,  of  Kentucky,  wherein 
he  alluded  to  the  cod-fishery,  wooden-nutmeg  and  tin  peddling 
of  New  England,  whose  people,  he  said,  could  see  a  dollar  with 
the  naked  eye  afar  off  as  through  a  telescope. 

The  debate  gave  rise  in  part  to  an  excellent  article  in  the  North 
American  Review,  entitled  "Misconceptions  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Character,"  which  was  ascribed  to  Mr.  Cushing's  pen.  In 
the  early  part  of  his  Congressional  career,  be  was  a  Whig ; — was 
in  1840,  an  earnest  advocate  for  Harrison's  election  to  the  Presi- 
dency, which  he  materially  aided  by  writing  a  life  of  the  old 
hero,  which  was  largely  circulated  throughout  the  country. 


308  WEN    OF    OUK    DAY. 

On  Harrison's  decease,  Mr.  Gushing,  with  Wise  of  Virginia, 
and  others,  openly  espoused  the  measures  of  the  Tyler  adminis- 
tration, and  he  has  since  been  generally  identified  ^^'th  the 
Democratic  party, — his  Congressional  career  being  distinguished 
by  unusual  application  to  public  business,  eloquence,  and  par- 
liamentary accomplishments  of  a  high  order — making  his 
influence  felt  not  only  on  the  floor,  but  in  the  deliberations  of  com- 
mittees, caucuses,  etc.,  and  he  had  occasion  to  make  many  volumi- 
nous reports  and  submit  them  for  legislative  action.  In  184:3,  he 
was  three  times  nominated  by  Presitlcut  Tyler  as  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  being  each  time  rejected  by  the  Senate;  and,  in 
July,  1843,  was  appointed  United  States  Commissioner  to  China  ; 
sailed  in  the  steam-frigate  Missouri,  which  was  burned  oft'  Gib- 
raltar, in  August  of  that  year— but  fortunately  rescued  all  his 
oHicial  papers  from  destruction — and  without  awaiting  any 
further  instrnctions  from  the  Government,  proceeded  directly  to 
China  {via  Egypt  and  India),  and  within  six  months  had  suc- 
cessfully negotiated  a  treaty,  which  was  signed  at  Wanghia, 
July  8,  1844,  and  finally  ratified  between  the  two  great  powers, 
December  31,  1845. 

Mr.  Gushing,  having  thus  enjoyed  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
foreigner  who  ever  negotiated  with  "The  Son  of  Heaven,"  upon 
equal  terms,  and  having  secured  for  his  country  an  honorable 
standing  in  the  great  Celestial  Empire,  returned  home  via  Mex- 
ico, having  made  almost  a  complete  circuit  of  the  globe,  by  land 
and  sea,  within  a  belt  of  forty  degrees,  in  the  period  of  less  than 
one  year — during  which  time,  also,  he  had  prepared  and  for- 
warded to  the  National  Institute,  at  Washington,  a  highly  valu- 
able article  on  the  peculiar  geographical  and  unique  physical 
characteristics  of  Egypt.  In  184G  he  was  chosen  to  represent 
Newburyport  in  the  State  Legislature. 

War  having  been  declared  against  Mexico,  Mr.  Gushing 
warmly  advocated  it  in  the  face  of  a  strong  opposition  by  the 


CALEB    GUSHING.  309 

people  of  the  State,  and  whcu  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  for 
the  equipment  of  volunteers  was  refused  by  the  Legislature,  he 
advanced  the  uKjncy  himself;  was  shortly  after  chosen  Colonel 
of  the  Massachusetts  regiment;  a  few  months  later  (April,  18-1:7) 
was  appointed  a  Brigadier-general,  and  was  in  command  of  the 
Virginia,  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi  volunteer  regiments  ia 
the  front  of  the  line  at  Buena  Vista,  under  General  Taylor.  lie 
was  afterwards  transferred,  at  his  own  request,  to  the  army 
under  General  Scott,  under  whom  he  served  until  the  peace. 

While  in  the  service,  in  1847,  he  was  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  the  Governorship  of  Massachusetts,  but  was  defeated, 
and  was  also  one  of  three  officers  appointed  as  a  Court  of 
Inquiry  on  Generals  Scott,  Worth  and  Billow.  On  returning 
again  to  private  life,  General  Gushing  was  elected  (Ibr  the  sixth 
time)  to  the  State  Legislature,  as  a  representative  for  Newbury  port, 
and  was  the  life  and  soul  of  that  body,  actively  opj)osing  the 
election  of  Sumner  as  United  States  Senator,  as  well  as  the  coali- 
tion of  the  democratic  and  free-soil  i)arties.  In  1850  and  1851 
he  was  chosen  mayor  of  the  newly  incorporated  city  of  New- 
buryport  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  and  a  feature  in  the  city 
charter,  probably  adopted  at  his  suggestion,  was,  that  the  mayor 
should  J'cccive  no  salary.  As  maycjr  he  disi)layed  the  same 
jealous  care  for  the  best  interests  of  the  municipality  which  ha 
had  done  for  those  of  the  Union,  and  was  exceedingly  popular 
with  men  of  all  parties. 

Ilis  interest  in  literary  and  educational  matters  never  flagged, 
and  he  was  a  meml)er  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College,  and  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 
In  1852  he  received  the  merited  compliment  of  LL.D.  from  hia 
Alma  Mater,  and  the  same  year  was  appointed  an  Associate 
Justice  of  the  Massachusetts  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  and  filled 
the  position  with  his  usual  marked  ability  until  1853,  when  he 
was  nominated  by  Bresident  Biercc  as  United  States  Attorney 


810 


MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 


General,  from  which  office  he  retired  in  1857.  In  this  arduous 
position,  notwithstanding  the  great  number  and  complicated 
nature  of  the  novel  questions  (arising,  to  a  large  extent,  from  the 
expansion  of  the  national  domain)  submitted  for  his  considera- 
tion, the  duties  were  never  more  thoroughly  and  ably  performed 
than  by  him.  Ilis  opinions,  as  legal  adviser  to  the  cabinet,  have 
been  published,  and  though  voluminous  and  covering  a  far 
wider  range  of  topics  than  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  his  predecessors 
to  decide  upon,  are  in  no  respect  surpassed. 

In  1857,  '58  and  '59,  he  again  served  in  the  State  Legislature. 
In  July,  1860,  he  was  president  of  the  Democratic  Convention  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year, 
when  the  occupancy  of  Fort  Sumter  by  United  States  troops 
under  Major  Kobcrt  Anderson  had  deeply  intensified  the  hos- 
tility of  the  South  toward  the  North,  Mr.  Gushing  was  dispatched 
to  Charleston  by  President  Buchanan,  as  a  commissioner  or  con- 
fidential agent  of  the  Executive.  His  object,  so  far  as  its  nature 
transpired,  was  a  proffer  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Buchanan  designed  to 
postpone  the  inevitable  outbreak  of  hostilities  between  the  Seces- 
sionists and  the  Federal  Government,  until  the  close  of  his  admin- 
istration— then  but  a  few  weeks  distant.  General  Cushinsc,  who, 
a  few  months  previous,  had  been  in  Charleston  as  a  delegute 
(Anti-Douglas)  to  and  president  of  the  Democratic  National  Con- 
vention, found  the  "cold  shoulder"  turned  to  him,  and  left  the 
city,  after  a  five  hours'  stay,  convinced  that  the  South  were 
dreadfully  in  earnest,  and  his  report  was  understood  to  have 
been  the  theme  of  a  stormy  and  protracted  Cabinet  meeting.  In 
July,  1866,  he  was  appointed  one  of  three  jurists  to  revise  and 
codify  the  Laws  of  the  United  States,  a  work  on  which  he  has 
since  been  engaged,  though  not  to  the  exclusion  of  other  duties, 
public  and  private.  His  vast  legal  and  general  learning,  and 
his  independence  of  party  trammels,  of  late  years,  have  made 
him  a  valuable  consellor  for  the  Government  in  all  international 


CALEB    CUSHINQ.  311 

questions.  He  had  some  share  in  the  construction  of  the  rejected 
Santo  Domingo  Treaty ;  and  a  large  part  in  the  preparation  of 
the  protocol  of  the  Treaty  of  Washington  as  well  as  in  the  sub- 
sequent statement  of  our  case,  while  he  was  also  retained  as  one 
of  the  American  Counsel  before  the  Commissioners  at  Geneva. 

Caleb  Gushing  has  always  had  the  reputation  of  being  too 
ambitious ;  yet  his  aspirations  seem  ever,  from  youth  to  mature 
age,  to  have  been  inseparably  interwoven  with  his  desires 
for  the  welfare  and  glory  of  his  country,  and  his  motives  are 
well  expressed  by  the  following  remark  from  one  of  those 
defences  which  have  been  forced  from  him,  at  times,  by  the 
shafts  of  malice:  "I  am  yet  to  be  informed  what  there  is  culpa- 
ble in  a  pure  and  single-hearted  ambition,  with  a  willingness, 
when  called,  to  enter  the  career  ot  public  service,' which  the 
republican  institutions  of  our  happy  country  open  to  all  its  citi- 
zens, to  the  low  alike  with  the  lofty,"  And  a  political  opponent 
once  said  of  him,  there  was  "  no  fear  that  he  would  ever  use  any 
Other  than  means  worthy  of  his  elevated  character  to  push  him- 
self" to  distinction.  Apropos  of  the  expression  "push"  in  this 
connection  we  may  be  allowed  to  quote  the  good-natured  epi- 
gram on  General  Gushing,  from  the  pen  of  the  late  accomplished 
Newburyport  poetess.  Miss  Hannah  F.  Gould : 

"  Jjiiy  aside  all  ye  dead, 

For  in  the  next  bed 
Reposes  the  body  of  dishing; 

IJe  has  elbowed  his  way 

'I'hroiigh  the  world,  as  they  say, 
And,  though  dead,  he  still  may  be  pusliing." 

The  General's  reply  to  this  was  as  witty  as  gallant : 

"  Here  lies  one  whose  wit. 

Without  wounding,  could  hit, 
And  green  be  the  turf  that's  above  her; 

Having  sent  every  beau 

To  the  regions  below, 
She  has  gone  down  herself,  for  a  lover." 


JOHN  ADAMS  DIX. 


^OnN  ADAMS  DIX  was  born  at  Boscawen,  New  TTamp- 
)1  sLire,  on  the  24tli  of  July,  1798,  and  is  the  son  of  Timo- 
thy Dix,  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  United  States  army. 
Sent  first,  at  an  early  age,  to  an  academy  at  Salisbury, 
lie  was  thence  transferred  to  a  similar  institution  at  Exeter, 
under  the  well  known  Dr.  Abbott,  where  he  pursued  his  studies 
in  the  companionship  of  Jared  Sparks,  John  G.  Palfrey,  the 
Buckminsters  and  Peabodys,  who  have  since  become  eminent 
men.  In  1811,  he  was  sent  to  Montreal,  in  Canada,  where  he 
continued  his  studies  under  the  careful  direction  of  the  fathers 
of  the  Sulpician  order.  In  July,  1812,  however,  the  opening  of 
hostilities  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  com- 
pelled his  return  to  his  native  country,  and  in  December,  follow- 
ing, he  received  an  appointment  as  a  cadet  in  the  United  States 
army,  and  was  assigned  to  duty  at  Baltimore,  where  his  father 
was  then  stationed  on  recruiting  service.  His  duties  here 
being  merely  those  of  an  assistant  clerk  to  his  father,  he  diligently 
improved  the  opportunity  which  was  offered,  of  continuing 
his  studies  at  St.  Mary's  college,  in  that  city.  He  had  already 
attained  high  proficiency  in  the  Spanish,  Greek,  and  Latin 
languages,  and  in  mathematics ;  and  was  esteemed,  by  those 
who  knew  him  best,  as  a  most  highly  cultivated  and  gentle- 
manly young  man.     In  March,  1813,  while  visiting  Washington, 

he  was  tendered,  unsolicited,  a  choice  of  a  scholarship  at  West 
312 


JOHN   ADAMS   DIX.  313 

Point,  or  an  ensign's  rank  in  the  army.  Selecting  tlie  latter 
he  was  commissioned  in  his  father's  regiment,  the  fourteenth 
infantry,  and  immediately  joined  his  company  at  Sackett'g 
Harbor,  New  York,  being  the  youngest  officer  in  the  United 
States  army ;  and  was  shortly  made  a  third  lieutenant  of  the 
twenty-first  infantry.  A  sad  loss  shortly  after  befell  the  young 
heutenant,  in  the  death  of  his  father,  in  camp,  leaving  a  widow 
and  eight  children,  besides  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  upon 
whom  now  devolved  the  responsibility  of  saving,  for  his  loved 
ones,  something  from  the  estate,  which  had  become  seriously 
embarrassed  by  the  colonel's  long  absence  in  the  service.  In 
March,  1814,  he  was  promoted  to  a  second  lieutenanoy,  and  in 
June,  181-4,  was  transferred  to  an  artillery  regiment,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Walback,  to  whose  staff"  he  was  attached  and  under 
whose  guidance  he  passed  several  years  in  perfecting  his  mili- 
tary education,  not  forgetting  his  favorite  readings  in  history 
and  the  classics.  "While  in  this  position,  he  was  made  adjutant 
of  an  independent  battalion  of  nine  companies,  commanded  by 
Major  Upham,  with  which  he  descended  the  St.  Lawrence,  in 
a  perilous  expedition,  which  resulted  in  more  severe  hardship 
than  good  fortune. 

In  March,  1816,  young  Dix  was  appointed  first  lieutenant ; 
and,  in  1819,  entered  the  military  family  of  General  Brown  as 
an  aide-decamp,  and  began  to  read  law  during  his  leisure 
hours,  with  a  view  of  leaving  the  army  at  an  early  day. 
During  this  period  he  was,  in  May,  1821,  transferred  to  the 
first  artillery;  and,  in  August  following,  to  the  third  artillery, 
being  promoted  to  a  captaincy  in  the  same  regiment  in  1825. 
His  health  having  become  seriously  impaired,  he  obtained  a 
leave  of  absence,  and  visited  Cuba,  during  the  winter  of  1825 
-26,  and  extended  his  travels  in  the  following  summer  to 
Europe.     Marrying  in  1826,  he  retired  from  the  army,  and  in 


814  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

December,  1828.  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  established  him- 
self in  practice  at  Cooperstown,  New  York.  Entering  warmly, 
iiho,  into  politics,  he  became  prominent  in  the  Democratio 
paity ;  and,  in  1830,  was  appointed,  by  Governor  Tliroop,  adju- 
tant-general of  the  State,  in  which  capacity  he  rendered  effi- 
cient service  to  the  militia  of  New  York.  In  1833,  he  waa 
elected  Secretary  of  State  for  New  York,  becoming  ex-officio  a 
regent  of  the  University,  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  Public 
Instruction,  the  Canal  board,  and  a  commissioner  of  the  Canal 
fund.  By  his  wise  foresight  and  energy,  school  libraries  were 
introduced  into  the  public  and  district  schools,  and  the  school- 
laws  of  the  State  were  codified  and  systematized. 

In  1841  and  1842,  he  represented  Albany  county  in  the  New 
York  Legislature,  taking  an  active  and  influential  part  in  the 
most  important  measures  of  that  period,  such  as  the  liquidation 
of  the  State  debt  by  taxation,  and  the  establishment  of  single 
Congressional  districts.  In  the  fall  of  1842,  Mr.  Dix  accom- 
panied his  invalid  wife  abroad,  spending  that  winter  and  the 
following  year  in  the  southern  climates  of  Europe.  Return- 
ing to  the  United  States  in  June,  18-44,  he  was  chosen,  in 
January  following,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  of  Hon.  Silas  Wright,  who  had  recently  been 
elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York.  He  took  his  seat  in 
that  body,  January  27,  1845,  and  speedily  secured  a  deservedly 
high  position  among  his  confreres,  being  energetic  and  Indus 
trious  to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  always  well  prepared  for  what 
ever  question  might  arise.  As  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Commerce,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Military  AfTairs, 
he  did  the  country  excellent  service.  He  was  the  author  of  the 
warehousing  system  then  adopted  by  Congress,  and  gave  to  the 
Canadian  debenture  law,  and  the  bill  for  reciprocal  trade,  much 
of  his  time  and  attention.     When,  during  the  short  sesaion  of 


JOHN  ADAMS  DIX.  '  815 

1845,  tlie  Santa  Fe  debenture  bill  was  proposed,  he  secured  an 
amendment  including  the  Canadas,  which,  together  with  the 
original  bill,  was  largely  indebted  to  his  advocacy  for  its  pas- 
sage. His  bill  for  reciprocal  trade  with  Canada,  formed  the 
basis  for  the  subsequent  reciprocity  treaty.  He  also  took  great 
interest  in  army  affairs,  as  well  as  in  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
the  war  with  Mexico,  and  the  Oregon  dif&culty ;  and  firmly  main- 
tained the  right  of  Congress  to  legislate  with  regard  to  slavery  in 
the  Territories.  Owing  to  divisions  in  the  Democratic  /)arty,  he 
was  not  re-elected  to  the  Senate ;  but  ran,  unsuccessfully,  as  the 
nominee  of  the  "  Free  Soil"  wing  of  that  party,  for  Governor,  in 
the  fall  of  1848.  He  actively  sustained  the  nomination  of 
General  Pierce  for  the  presidency,  in  1852,  and  upon  that  gentle- 
man's accession  to  office,  was  tendered  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
State ;  which,  owing  to  the  opposition  made  by  the  Southern 
Democrats  of  the  Mason  and  Slidell  school,  he  was  induced  to 
decline,  as  also  the  appointment  of  minister  to  France,  which 
was  subsequently  offered  him.  In  1853,  he  was  made  Assistant 
United  States  Treasurer  in  New  York  city ;  but,  on  the  appoint- 
ment of  John  y.  Mason  to  the  French  embassy,  resigned  the 
position,  and  withdrew  almost  wholly  from  politics,  devoting  his 
time,  until  1859,  to  legal  practice.  At  that  time,  however,  he 
was  appointed,  by  President  Buchanan,  postmaster  of  New  York 
city,  vice  I.  V.  Fowler,  absconded. 

When,  in  January,  1861,  Messrs.  Floyd  and  Cobb,  of  the 
first  Buchanan  cabinet,  resigned  their  positions  and  fled  from 
Washington,  the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  Government 
required  the  appointment  of  a  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in 
whose  probity,  patriotism,  and  skill  the  whole  country  could 
confide.  General  Dix  was  called  to  that  high  office,  and  entered 
on  its  duties,  January  15, 1861.     The  promptness  of  his  measures 


316  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

did  as  much  to  reassure  the  public  and  save  the  Government,  aa 
the  exertions  of  any  other  man  in  "Washington. 

On  the  IStli  of  January,  1861,  three  days  after  he  took  charge 
of  the  Treasury  Department,  he  sent  a  special  agent  to  New 
Orleans  and  Mobile,  for  the  purpose  of  saving  the  revenue  ves- 
sels at  those  ports,  from  seizure  by  the  rebels.  The  most  valua- 
ble of  these  vessels,  the  Eobert  McClelland,  was  commanded  by 
Captain  John  G.  Breshwood,  with  S,  B,  Caldwell  as  his  lieu- 
tenant. Breshwood  refused  to  obey  the  orders  of  General  Dix'a 
agent,  Mr.  Jones ;  and  on  being  informed  of  this  refusal,  General 
Dix  telegraphed  as  follows: — '•'•  If  any  man  attempts  to  haul  doivn 
the  American  flag^  shoot  him  on  the  spotP''  memorable  words, 
which  became  a  watchword  throughout  the  loyal  States. 

While  a  member  of  Buchanan's  cabinet.  Major  (late  General) 
Eobert  Anderson  made  his  famous  strategical  movement  from 
Fort  Moultrie  to  Fort  Sumter,  which  so  excited  the  indignation 
of  the  (arch-rebel)  Secretary  Floyd,  that  he  threatened  to  resign 
if  Anderson  was  not  ordered  back.  General  Dix,  thereupon, 
promptly  notified  Mr.  Buchanan,  that  Major  Anderson's  recall 
would  be  the  signal  for  the  immediate  resignation  of  himself  and 
the  other  members  of  the  Cabinet  (Messrs.  Stanton  and  Holt), 
and  his  firnmess  decided  the  course  of  the  weak-minded  execu- 
tive, and  Floyd  himself  left? — none  too  soon  for  his  own  neck, 
or  the  country's  good. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1861,  Mr.  Dix  retired  from  the  Treasury 
Department,  and  returned  to  his  home  in  New  York  city,  where 
he  presided,  on  the  20th  of  April,  over  an  immense  meeting  of 
the  citizens  of  the  metropolis,  convened  in  Union  Square,  to  take 
measures  for  the  defence  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  so 
recently  and  rudely  assailed  by  the  rebel  attack  upon  Fort  Sum- 
ter— and  he  was  also  chairman  of  the '"  Union  Defence  Commit- 
tee," organized  at  that  meeting.     On  the  6th  of  May,  he  was 


JOHN    ADAMS    DIX.  317 

appointed  a  major-general  of  volunteers,  from  New  York  ;  and, 
on  the  16tli  of  the  followhig  June,  he  was  appointed  major- 
general  in  the  regular  army,  dating  from  May  16th,  1861,  by 
President  Lincoln,  and  placed  in  command  of  the  department 
of  Maryland,  his  headquarters  being  at  Baltimore.  The  first 
military  movement  of  the  war  that  was  successful,  was  made 
tinder  his  command  by  General  Lockwood.  The  counties  of 
Accomac  and  Northampton,  in  Virginia,  known  as  the  Eastern 
Shore,  were  occupied  by  him,  the  rebels  driven  out,  and  the 
mildness  and  justness  of  his  government  restored  them  as  loyal 
counties  to  the  Union,  while  every  other  part  of  Virginia  was 
in  arms  and  devastated  with  war.  The  command  of  Maryland 
at  that  period  required  a  man  of  the  greatest  tact,  firmness,  and 
judgment ;  for  that  reason.  General  Dix  was  selected  by  the 
President.  His  rule  was  one  of  such  moderation  and  justice, 
that  his  reputation  in  Baltimore  is  honored  by  his  most  violent 
political  opponents. 

In  May,  1862,  he  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  the 
military  department  of  Eastern  Virginia,  with  headquarters  at 
Fortress  Monroe.  This  department  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  his 
services  until  July,  1863,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Department  of  the  East,  with  headquarters  at  New  York  city. 
To  his  very  prompt  action  for  the  prevention  of  any  outbreak 
during  the  draft  of  August,  1868,  the  metropolis  was  indebted 
for  the  peaceful  manner  in  which  that  draft  was  finally  carried 
out.  nis  subsequent  assignments  to  duty  were  administrative, 
and  attended  with  no  particular  incidents  of  importance,  except 
the  trial  of  John  Y.  Beall  and  R.  C.  Kennedy,  as  spies  and  con- 
spirators, in  February  and  March,  1865,  and  their  execution. 
At  the  so-called  National  Union  Convention  at  Philadelphia, 
August  1-4,  1866,  General  Dix  was  temporary  chairman.  In 
the  autumn  of  1866  he  was  nominated,  by  the  President,  naval 


818  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

officer  of  the  port  of  New  York,  and  the  same  day,  United 
States  minister  to  France,  in  place  of  Hon.  John  Bigelow,  re- 
signed. After  some  hesitation,  General  Dix  made  his  election 
to  accept  tlie  post  of  minister  to  France,  and  having  been  con- 
firmed by  the  Senate,  arrived  in  Paris,  and  was  presented  to  the 
Emperor  in  January,  1867.  He  retained  this  position  till  March, 
1869,  when  he  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Washburne. 
Since  his  return  General  Dix  has  remained  in  private  life,  and 
in  IMarch,  1872,  became  President  of  the  Erie  Eailway,  into  the 
management  of  which  ho  has  introduced  many  needed  reforms. 
In  the  intervals  of  a  very  busy  life,  General  Dix  has  found  some 
time  for  authorship,  and  his  writings  are  marked  by  an  elegant 
grace  and  dignity  of  style,  which  renders  them,  when  not  on 
technical  or  professional  subjects,  attractive  and  readable.  This 
is- specially  true  of  his  "A  Winter  in  Madeira"  (New  York, 
1851),  and  "A  Summer  in  Spain  and  Florence  "  (New  York, 
1855).  Ilis  speeches  and  public  addresses  were  collected  in 
two  fine  volumes  in  1865.  He  has  also  published  "Resources 
of  the  City  of  New  York"  (New  York,  1827),  and  "  Decisions 
of  the  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  of  New  York,"  and 
laws  relating  to  common  schools  (Albany,  1837). 

Though  now  in  his  seventy -fourth  year,  General  Dix  preserves 
the  erect  and  military  bearing  of  the  soldier,  and,  during  the 
late  war,  was  one  of  the  finest  looking  officers  in  the  army.  He 
bears  a  high  reputation  for  thorough  honesty  and  integrity,  and 
his  character  is  irreproachable.  If,  with  increasing  years,  he 
has,  like  his  former  chief,  General  Scott,  a  little  vanity,  it  is  a 
pardonable  weakness,  a  most  venial  fault,  of  which  his  great 
public  services  should  render  us  oblivious. 


JOHN    LOTHROP    MOTLEY, 

LATE    MINISTER   PLENIPOTENTIARY   TO    ENGLAND. 


f^yji|  HE  designation  of  an  author,  a  statesman,   or  a  diplo- 
matist to  what  shall  prove  his  life  work,  is  sometimes 

SS^^  most  unaccountably  delayed.  He  may  be  indolent  or  a 
'^  dilettante,  just  tasting  here  and  there  of  literary  sweets; 
he  may  have  no  fixed  purpose  in  life,  and  rambling  on  in  this 
aimless  way  may  have  reached  the  noonday  of  manhood  with- 
out finding  out  what  he  is  fit  for,  when  suddenly  there  comes 
an  impulse  which  transforms  the  man,  rouses  him  to  a  sense  of 
his  powers  and  his  destiny,  and  changes  him  from  an  elegant 
idler  or  drone  in  the  busy  hive  of  this  work-a-day  world,  into  a 
diligent,  earnest  student,  one  of  the  busiest  working-bees  in  the 
community.  And  this  transformation  once  begun  is  not  usually 
left  unfinished.  The  later  years  of  the  man's  life  are  as  bus7 
as  his  earlier  ones  were  listless  and  idle.  We  can  all  recall 
instances  of  this  sudden  and  complete  transformation  ;  one  of 
the  most  striking  we  have  ever  known  is  that  of  the  eloquent 
historian  whose  name  we  have  placed  at  the  head  of  this 
sketch. 

Born  in  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  April  15th,  1814,  of 
wealthy  and  highly  cultured  parentage,  John  Lothrop  Motley 
seems  to  have  had  no  particular  inducement  to  take  life  other- 
wise than  easily.  Trained  in  the  best  schools  of  Boston,  and 
entering  Harvard  College  at  the  early  age  of  thirteen,  he  gradu- 

319 


320  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

ated  in  1831,  with  a  fair  standing,  visited  Europe  after  his 
graduation,  spent  a  year  at  Gottingen,  and  another  at  Berlin, 
but  without  brilliant  results  ;  travelled  in  Italy,  and  in  1834: 
returned  to  America  and  studied  law.  In  1836,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  opened  an  office,  but  sought  no  business,  and 
business  did  not  come  to  him.  Thus  far  he  had  taken  life  very 
easily,  and  he  seemed  inclined  to  continue  to  do  so.  But  as  a 
man  of  his  opportunities  and  position  must  seem  to  do  some- 
thing, he  wrote  a  novel  and  published  it  in  1839.  Its  title  was 
"  Morton's  Hope  ;  "  the  Morton  of  Merry  Mount,  who  so  vexed 
the  souls  of  the  Pilgrims  of  Plymouth  and  Boston.  The  novel 
had  some  merit,  and  showed  a  leaning  toward  historical  research  ; 
but  there  was  no  soul  in  it,  and  it  died  at  birth.  He  was  sent 
to  Eussia  as  Secretary  of  Legation  in  18-40,  but  stayed  only  eight 
months. 

After  his  return  he  wrote,  in  a  leisurely  fashion,  but  with  a 
somewhat  stronger  indication  of  the  power  that  lay  slumbering 
within  him,  several  review  articles.  One  of  these  on  "  Peter 
the  Great,"  in  the  North  American  Review,  and  two  on 
Goethe,  and  De  Tocqueville's  "  Democracy  in  America,"  in  the 
New  York  Review,  attracted  some  attention.  In  1849,  when 
thirty-five  years  of  age,  he  produced  another  novel  on  a  similar 
theme  with  his  first,  "Merry  Mount,  a  Romance  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Colony  ;  "  but,  like  its  predecessor,  it  attracted  little  or 
no  attention.  He  was  not  to  acquire  fame  as  a  novelist,  evi- 
dently. 

About  this  time,  from  some  cause,  his  attention  was  attracted 
to  the  history  of  the  Netherlands.  He  procured  some  books  on 
the  subject  of  Dutch  History,  read  up,  and  trusting  to  that 
*' fatal  facility"  which  had  been  one  of  his  earlier  gifts,  came 
near  ruining  one  of  our  best  historians.  He  wrote  in  a  hur- 
ried   slip-shod  way  two  volumes  of  Netherland  history,   and 


JOHN    LOTITROP   MOTLEY.  321 

thought  of  publishing  it;  but  the  conviction  began  to  force 
itself  upon  him  that  the  work  demanded  more  thorough  and 
profound  investigation,  and  upon  making  further  inquiry,  he 
found  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  to  Holland  for  the  books 
and  manuscripts  he  needed. 

We  have  beard  it  from  good  authority,  that  at  this  period  he 
was  not  familiar  with  the  Dutch  language,  though  he  was,  of 
course,  a  proficient  in  German.  In  1851  he  embarked  for  Europe 
with  his  family,  and  the  next  five  years  were  spent  in  close  and 
diligent  study  in  Berlin,  Dresden  and  the  Hague.  He  soon  be- 
came dissatisfied  with  his  hastily  written  volumes,  destroyed 
them,  and  began  anew.  He  now  made  himself  familiar  not 
only  with  the  Dutch  language,  but  with  its  great  wealth  of  his- 
toric literature,  and  having  become  thoroughly  master  of  his 
subject,  he  published,  in  1856,  a  history  of  "The  Rise  of  the 
Dutch  Republic,"  as  fascinating  as  any  romance,  through  which 
glides,  as  its  hero  and  statesman,  the  mystic  figure  of  William 
the  Silent,  while  the  Duke  of  Alva  and  Philip  II.  perform  the 
part  of  the  villains  of  the  play.  The  success  of  this  work  was 
assured  from  the  day  of  its  publication.  It  was  the  very  thing 
the  reading  world  had  waited  for,  and  both  in  England  and 
America  it  was  largelv  in  demand.  It  was  translated  into  Dutch 
by  Herr  B:ikhuyzen  van  den  Brink,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
historical  writers  of  Holland;  two  translations  were  published 
in  German,  and  one  of  M.  Guizot's  family  translated  it  into 
French,  Guizot  himself  writing  an  introduction. 

Mr.  Motley  did  not  return  to  the  United  States  until  1858, 

and  then   made  but  a  short  visit,  being   deeply   engrossed   in 

studies  for  a  further  history  of  the  interesting  country  to  which 

he  had  devoted  himself.     In  1861  he  published  two  volumes  of 

his  history  of  the   United  Netherlands,   and   seven  years   later 

completed    two  additional    volumes.      Honors  were  showered 
21 


322  ilEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

upon  him  by  European  universities  and  learned  societies.  He 
was  complimented  with  the  degree  of  D.  C.  L.  hy  Oxford  Uni- 
versity in  1860,  and  the  same  year  received  the  degree  of  LL.  D. 
from  Harvard.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the  Institute  of 
France  and  of  most  of  the  societies  and  orders  of  merit  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  Continent.  But  amid  all  these  honors  he 
did  not  forget  his  duty  to,  and  his  patriotic  interest  in  his  own 
country.  In  1861,  he  published  in  the  London  Times  an  elabo- 
rate and  forcible  essay  on  the  "  Causes  of  the  American  Civil 
War,"  and  by  pen  and  voice  aided  the  American  cause,  answer- 
ing the  hostile,  arousing  the  indifferent,  and  doing  much  to  keep 
Germany  and  Holland  in  friendly  relations  to  us.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1866,  President  Jcjhnson  nominated  him  Minister  Plenipo- 
tentiary to  Austria.  He  discharged  his  duties  with  ability  and 
fidelity,  and  was  too  loyal  to  suit  the  mousing  spies  whom  Presi- 
dent Johnson  had  set  to  watch  him,  and  he  was  recalled 
in  1867. 

After  a  short  visit  to  the  United  States,  he  returned  again  to 
his  historical  studies  in  Europe.  In  April,  1869,  President 
Grant  nominated  him  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Court  of 
St.  James,  our  highest  diplomatic  appointment.  Here  his  course 
seems  to  have  been  marked  by  dignity  and  abilitj'-,  but  his  nego- 
tiations in  regard  to  a  treaty  with  England  on  the  Alabama 
and  other  questions,  as  well  as  some  other  matters,  excited  Sec- 
retary Fish's  displeasure,  and  an  acrimonious  correspondence 
ensued,  not  wholly  creditable  to  either  party,  but  ending  in  Mr. 
Motley's  recall  in  November,  1870.  Since  that  time  he  has 
been  on  the  Continent  engaged  in  historic  studies. 

"While  Mr.  Motley  is  not  the  equal  of  Mr.  Bancroft  as  a  philo- 
sophical historian,  and  does  not  bring  to  his  work  such  a  wealth 
of  learning,  or  so  rich  an  experience  of  all  the  different  phases 
of  national  life,  his  researches  have  been  very  great  into  the 


JOHN  LOTHROP   MOTIiEY.  323 

history  of  the  Netherlands,  and  treating  of  a  homogeneous  peo- 
ple, occupying  a  circumscribed  territory,  he  has  had  no  occa- 
eion  for  that  world-wide  culture  which  has  characterized  the 
historian  of  our  own  country.  Whatever  he  has  done  has  been 
done  well,  and  the  best  could  do  no  more. 


GEORGE    BANCROFT, 

UNITED    STATES    MINISTER   TO   THE    GERMAN    EMPIRE. 


)|l  T  was  long  a  tradition  in  literature  that  historical  compo- 
I  sition  of  a  high  order  was  only  possible  in  a  nation 
which  had  cultivated  literature  and  political  science  for 
centuries,  and  that  the  historian  must  devote  himself  to 
his  work  alone,  abandoning  all  other  pursuits.  Experience  has 
in  the  present  century  abundantly  demonstrated  the  folly  of  this 
tradition.  Among  the  highest  names  in  English  literature  are 
the  American  historians,  Irving,  Sparks,  Prescott,  Bancroft, 
Hildreth,  Palfrey,  Motley,  and  Kirk ;  men  of  elegant  and  pro- 
found scholarship  it  is  true,  but  with  the  purely  American 
habits  and  modes  of  thought,  and  above  all,  men  of  affairs ;  who 
have  in  many  cases  pursued  their  favorite  studies,  and  composed 
their  volumes  in  the  not  abundant  intervals  of  engrossing  public 
duties.  In  this  last  characteristic  they  have  not  been  singular, 
for  Gibbon,  Macaulay,  and  Grote  were  all  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  active  in  other  departments  of  public  and  private 
life,  while  Niebuhr  and  Bunsen  found  a  diplomatic  career  no 
serious  hindrance  to  historical  study ;  but  none  of  these  emi- 
nent historians  of  the  Old  World  were  so  long  in  public  life, 
or  occupied  such  varied  public  positions  as  Mr.  Bancroft  has 
done. 

George  Bancroft,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.,  D.  C.  L.,  is  the  son  of 

the  late  Rev.  Aaron  Bancroft,  D.  D.,  a  learned  and  accomplished 
324 


GEORGE    BANCKOFT.  325 

clergyman  and  author,  of  "Worcester,  Massachusetts,  whose 
biography  of  Washington,  published  in  1807,  was  translated 
into  most  of  the  languages  of  Europe,  and  is  still  a  standard 
authority  in  our  own  country. 

Mr.  Bancroft  was  born  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  October 
3d,  1800.  His  early  education  was  acquired  under  his  father's 
tuition,  but  his  preparatory  studies  for  college  were  pursued  at 
Phillips'  Academy,  Exeter,  N.  H.,  and  he  entered  Harvard  Col- 
ledge  in  1813,  before  he  had  completed  his  thirteenth  year.  He 
graduated  with  the  second  honors  of  his  class  in  1817,  and  a 
few  months  later  sailed  for  Germany  to  perfect  his  education. 
He  spent  two  years  at  Gottingen,  years  of  close  and  severe 
study  in  German,  French  and  Italian  literature,  the  Oriental 
languages,  the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures,  Ecclesiastical  and 
Ancient  History,  the  Antiquities,  Literature  and  Philosophy  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  At  that  time  Gottingen  was  the  most  famous 
universitj^  in  Europe  for  the  profound  learning  of  its  professors, 
and  their  skill  in  imparting  knowledge.  In  1820,  Mr.  Bancroft,, 
not  yet  quite  twenty  years  of  age,  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Philosophy  from  this  old  and  renowned  university,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Berlin,  where  he  became  a  pupil  of  Wolf,  Schleier- 
macher  and  Hegel.  Here,  too,  he  formed  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt,  Savigny,  Lappenberg,  Varnha- 
gen  von  Ense,  and  other  eminent  German  scholars.  In  1821  he 
made  a  tour  of  Europe,  spending  some  time  at  Dresden,  Jena 
(where  he  had  already  become  acquainted  with  Goethe),  Heidel- 
berg, where  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Schlosser,  Paris,  where 
he  became  intimate  with  Oousin,  Alexander  von  Humboldt, 
and  Benjamin  Constant ;  visited  England  for  a  month,  and  then 
passed  by  way  of  Switzerland  to  Italy,  forming  an  acquaintance 
withManzoni,  at  Milan,  and  a  lifelong  intimacy  with  Bunsenand 
Niebuhr  at  Rome. 


326  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

He  returned  to  America  ia  the  autumn  of  1822,  and  was 
for  a  year  Greek  tutor  iu  Harvard  College.  Up  to  this  time 
he  had  looked  forward  to  the  clerical  profession,  and  while  tutor 
preached  several  sermons.  But  the  claims  of  a  literary  life  seemed 
to  him  so  strong,  that  he  abandoned  all  idea  of  the  ministry. 
In  1823,  he  associated  himself  with  Dr.  Joseph  G.  Cogswell, 
a  scholar  of  rare  attainments,  and  the  two  established  the 
Eound  Hill  School,  at  Northampton,  in  which  some  of  the 
most  learned  young  men  in  Germany  were  employed  as  teach- 
ers. Its  standard  of  instruction  was  too  high  for  a  preparatory 
school  for  any  college  then  in  existence  in  the  United  States, 
and  after  several  years'  trial  it  was  finally  given  up,  not,  how- 
ever, until  it  had  exerted  a  powerful  influence  for  good  in  ele- 
vating the  standard  of  higher  instruction  throughout  the  country. 
Mr.  Bancroft  was  then,  as  always  since,  a  diligent  student,  and 
aside  from  his  duties  as  a  teacher  he  translated  the  "  Politics  of 
Ancient  Greece"  of  his  old  preceptor,  at  Gcittingen,  Heeren, 
and  published  a  volume  of  poems,  whose  rare  beauty  and  finish 
served  to  show  how  brilliant  a  poet  was  lost  to  the  world  in  the 
historian.  At  this  time,  too,  he  commenced  collecting  the  mate- 
rials for  his  great  work,  "  The  History  of  the  United  States," 
which  nearly  fifty  years  of  toil  still  find  not  quite  completed. 
The  first  volume  of  this  history  appeared  in  1834,  after  ten 
years  of  study  and  research.  Meantime  he  had  entered  to  some 
extent  on  political  life,  making  addresses  and  drawing  up  politi- 
cal resolutions  and  appeals ;  but  though  often  tendered  office, 
and  once  without  his  knowledge  elected  to  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature,  he  uniformly  refused  to  accept  or  occupy  any  pub- 
lic position.  He  was  at  this  time,  and  for  many  years  after,  a 
Democrat  of  the  Jeflfersonian  school,  and  was  very  much  in 
earnest  in  the  advocacy  of  the  doctrines  of  the  party.  In  1835, 
he  removed  to  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  where  he  completed 


GEORGE   BANCROFT.  327 

about  1838,  tlie  second  volume  of  his  history.  la  1838,  Presi- 
dent Van  Buren  appointed  him  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Boston, 
and  in  this  position,  at  that  time  one  of  very  considerable  diffi- 
culty, as  the  customs  were  paid  in  bonds,  and  the  country  had 
just  passed  through  the  terrible  financial  panic  of  1837,  the 
scholarly  recluse  manifested  such  skill,  intelligence,  and  vigor 
in  the  administration  of  his  office  as  to  win  the  applause  even 
of  his  political  opponents.  When  he  entered  upon  his  duties 
there  were  many  thousands  of  dollars  of  unpaid  bonds,  some  of 
them  lying  over  for  years.  When  he  resigned,  in  181:1,  every 
bond  was  paid  in  full,  and  his  collections  amounted  to  several 
millions.  During  this  time  he  found  leisure  to  complete  the 
third  volume  of  his  history. 

In  1844,  he  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  their 
candidate  for  Governor  of  Massaclmsetts,  and  though  during  the 
entire  canvass  he  was  in  New  York,  studying,  for  twelve  hours 
a  day,  manuscripts  and  documents  relative  to  the  early  history 
of  this  country,  yet  he  polled  a  much  larger  vote  than  any  can- 
didate on  a  purely  Democratic  ticket  had  done  before,  or  than 
any  one  has  since.  He  was  defeated  by  a  very  small  majority. 
President  Polk  immediately  after  his  inauguration  nominated 
Mr.  Bancroft  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  during  about  a  year 
and  a  half  of  his  service  in  that  office  he  accomplished  a  vast 
amount  of  good  for  the  navy.  He  founded  the  Naval  Academy 
at  Annapolis,  procured  a  grant  of  the  military  fort  and 
grounds  there  for  its  use,  arranged  its  course  of  instruction, 
selected  its  professors  and  instructors,  and  ordered  every  mid- 
shipman on  shore  there.  Previously  the  only  instruction  of 
naval  cadets  had  been  that  which  they  received  aboard  ship  from 
the  chaplain,  and  it  was  desultory  and  very  imperfect.  There 
was  no  opportunity  for  competition  in  scholarship,  and  there 
was   no   provision   for   moral   instruction   of  the  young  men. 


328  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

He  also  made  great  improvements  in  the  Naval  Observatory 
at  Washington,  and  some  reforms  in  the  mode  of  promotion  in 
the  navy. 

He  gave  the  order  to  take  possession  of  California,  and  as 
Acting  Secretary  of  War,  directed  the  occupation  of  Texas  by 
General  Taylor.  In  1846,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Cabinet, 
and  was  appointed  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Great  Britain. 
In  his  three  years  of  diplomatic  service  he  was  on  the  most  cor- 
dial terms  with  the  British  Government,  and  with  men  of  letters 
there  and  on  the  continent,  but  he  never  failed  to  demand  and 
secure  for  American  citizens  all  the  rights  and  immunities  to 
which  the  citizens  of  the  most  favored  power  were  entitled. 
One  measure  which  he  carried  through  there,  as  he  has  since 
.„ne  in  Germany,  is  worthy  of  notice.  He  claimed  and  secured 
for  naturalized  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  foreign,  birth, 
from  their  native  country,  the  plenary  rights  of  American  citi- 
zens, always  and  in  all  places.  As  it  was  mainly  on  this  point 
that  war  was  declared  with  Great  Britain  in  1812,  the  impor- 
tance of  the  concession  thus  gained  will  be  seen  at  once.  But 
while  thus  attentive  to  his  diplomatic  duties,  none  of  which 
were  ever  neglected,  he  was  devoting  all  his  leisure  to  the  col- 
lection of  material  for  further  volumes  of  his  history.  The 
State  Paper  Office,  and  all  the  Kecords  of  the  Treasury,  and  the 
early  colonial  papers,  were  put  at  his  disposal  by  the  British 
Ministry,  and  he  was  aided  in  his  researches  in  Paris  by  such 
eminent  scholars  as  Guizot,  Mignet,  Lamartine,  and  De  Tocque- 
ville. 

He  returned  to  the  United  States  in  1819,  richly  laden  with 
historical  documents  and  papers,  and  taking  up  his  residence  in 
New  York  city,  devoted  himself  assiduously  to  the  preparation 
of  the  fourth  and  fifth  volumes  of  his  history.  These  were 
established  in  1852.  Still  continuing  his  labors  (having  revised 


GEORGE    BANCROFT,  329 

the  earlier  volumes  after  his  return  from  England),  lie  issued 
the  sixth  volume  in  1854,  the  seventh  in  1858,  the  eighth  in 
1863,  and  the  ninth  in  1866.  Pie  is  understood  to  have  three  more 
volumes  nearly  ready,  completing  the  work.  He  is  eminently  a 
philosophical  historian,  and  brings  the  wealth  of  his  vast  and  varied 
learning  to  bear  upon  the  history  of  the  nation.  He  has  also  pub- 
lished an  abridgment  of  the  earlier  volumes  of  his  history,  and 
one  or  two  volumes  of  miscellanies,  comprising  several  of  his 
abler  orations  and  addresses.  Mr.  Bancroft  had  been  a  lifelon^y 
democrat,  differing  in  this  particular  from  most  of  the  eminent 
scholars  of  our  country,  who  were  identified  with  the  Whig 
party  while  it  had  an  existence,  and  subsequently  drifted  very 
naturally  into  the  Eepublican  party.  There  was,  there  could 
be,  no  question  of  the  intensity  and  depth  of  his  convictions  in 
regard  to  the  principles  of  his  party.  But  when  the  war  came, 
Mr.  Bancroft,  who  was,  like  many  otlier  eminent  Democrats, 
more  a  patriot  than  a  partisan,  at  once  rallied  to  the  support  of 
the  Union,  gave  to  it  his  earnest  eftbrts,  his  eloquence  of  pen 
and  voice,  and  his  most  hearty  labors.  From  that  time  he  has 
been  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  though  he  probably 
recognizes  no  material  change  in  his  views,  beyond  the  subsi- 
dence of  the  old  issues,  and  the  evolution  of  new  ones  to  which 
he  applies  his  early  principles. 

In  1865,  he  pronounced  an  eloquent  and  forcible  oration  on 
the  death  of  the  martyred  Lincoln.  He  was  appointed  minister 
to  Prussia  in  1867,  and  negotiated  a  treaty  with  the  North  Ger- 
man Confederation,  and  subsequently  with  the  German  Empire, 
to  which  he  is  now  accredited,  by  wliich  German  naturalized 
citizens  of  the  United  States  are  wholly  released  from  allegi- 
ance to  the  government  of  their  native  country,  and  if  they  re- 
turn to  it  for  a  visit,  however  protracted,  are  not  liable  for  mili- 
tary service,  or  any  of  those  burdens  which  have  made  it  peril- 


330  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

ous  for  tliem  to  revisit  their  native  land.  In  Berlin,  as  every- 
where else,  Mr.  Bancroft's  great  attainments,  as  well  as  his 
courtly  and  genial  manners,  have  made  him  very  welcome,  and 
no  representative  of  our  country  who  could  have  been  sent  thither 
would  have  been  more  highly  esteemed.  A  special  entertain- 
ment was  given  by  the  literary  men  of  Berlin  in  1870,  in  honor 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  receiving  the  doctorate  of 
philosophy,  and  titles,  orders  of  merit,  etc.,  were  conferred  on 
him  in  abundance.  When  he  was  Minister  to  the  Court  of  St. 
James  in  1846-9,  the  University  of  Oxford,  usually  chary  of 
its  honorary  degrees  to  Americans,  made  him  D.  C.  L.  His 
alma  mater  had  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  in  1843, 
and  Union  College  had  done  so  in  18-41.  In  1868  the  University 
of  Bonn  had  bestowed  upon  him  the  J.  U.  D.  (the  German 
equivalent  of  LL,  D.),  and  Berlin  did  the  same  in  1870. 

His  life  has  not  been  without  its  troubles  and  anxieties,  its 
strifes  born  of  petty  jealousies,  its  sorrows  and  its  bereavements; 
but  it  has  been,  as  a  whole,  a  noble,  grand  life ;  one  of  patriotic 
fidelity  to  his  country  and  her  honor,  of  strong  adherence  to 
principle,  of  manly  and  generous  devotion  to  the  best  interests 
of  humanity. 


ELIHU   BENJAMIN   WASHBURNE, 

UNITED    STATES    MINISTER   TO    FRANCE. 


^IfLlHU  BENJAMIN  WASHBUENE,  United  States 
J^tl^  Minister  to  France,  was  born  at  Livermore,  Oxford 
Q[0^  county  (now  Androscoggin  county),  Maine,  on  the  23d 
^^  of  September,  1816.  Two  of  his  brothers,  CadwalLader  C, 
and  Israel,  Jr.,  have  also  sat  in  Congress,  the  former  from  "Wis- 
consin, the  latter  from  Maine.  Elihu  served  an  apprenticeship 
in  the  office  of  the  Kennebec  Journal ;  afterwards  studied  law  at 
Cambridge  Law  School  (Harvard  University),  and  removed  to 
Galena,  Illinois.  He  was  first  elected  to  the  Thirty-third  Con- 
gress, from  the  First  Congressional  District  of  Illinois,  as  a  Whig, 
in  1853  ;  and  he  was  re-elected  to  every  succeeding  one  up  to  the 
Forty-first  (1869-71),  acting  with  the  Kepublican  party  from  its  or- 
ganization, and  voting  always  and  persistently  on  the  side  of  free- 
dom. In  the  38th  Congress  he  became  the  "  Father  of  the  House," 
by  virtue  of  having  served  a  longer  continuous  period  than  any 
other  member.  From  the  Thirty-fifth  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Con- 
gress, he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Commerce,  and  in 
the  latter  session  was  a  member  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the 
Library,  Chairman  of  the  Special  Committee  on  Immigration, 
and,  at  the  death  of  Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens,  he  became  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations.  He  was  also  Chair- 
man of  the  Special  Committees  on  the  Death  of  President  Lin- 

331 


332  MEN   OF    OUR   DAT. 

coin,  and  the  Memphis  Eiots;  and  was  on  the  Committees  on 
Rules ;  Reconstruction  ;  Air  Line  Railroad  to  New  York,  etc. ; 
always  active,  attentive,  and  practical  in  council  and  debate. 
When  the  war  of  the  rebellion  commenced,  Mr.  Washburne  was 
the  leading  man  of  his  Congressional  District,  "carrying  it  in  his 
breeches  pocket,"  as  the  saying  is;  occupying  an  elegant  man- 
sion, and  powerful  in  political  and  social  influence.  At  the  first 
war  meeting  held  in  Galena,  for  the  mustering  of  volunteers,  he 
offered  a  resolution,  and,  in  fact,  engineered  the  meeting.  J.  A, 
Rawlins  (afterwards  Brigadier-General  on  General  Grant's  staft' 
and  later  Secretary  of  War),  also  made  a  speech.  Ex-captain 
Ulysses  S.  Grant  was  present,  unnoticed  and  taking  no  active 
part  in  the  proceedings,  with  evidently  no  suspicion  of  the  strange 
fate  which  was  to  lift  him  from  the  obscurity  of  his  father's 
leather  store  to  the  Presidential  chair.  At  a  second  meeting,  the 
company  was  organized  and  officered,  but  Grant  was  not 
thought  of. 

A  few  days  after,  Mr.  Collins  (Grant's  partner,  and  a  Demo- 
crat) met  Mr.  Washburne  and  i-allied  him  on  the  selection  made 
for  captain  of  Galena's  first  volunteer  company,  "  when  they 
could  get  such  a  man  as  Grant."  "  What  is  Grant's  history  ?  " 
was  Mr.  Washburne's  natural  inquiry.  "Why,  he  is  old  man 
Grant's  son,  was  educated  at  West  Point,  served  in  the  army  for 
eleven  years,  and  came  out  with  the  very  best  reputation."  So 
t;he  Congressman  looked  up  the  quiet  leather  dealer,  Grant,  who 
lived  in  a  modest  cottage  on  the  top  of  a  bluff,  which  he  could 
only  reach,  whenever  he  went  to  dinner,  by  a  staircase  some 
two  hundred  feet  high.  The  two  "struck  hands,"  and  Mr. 
Washburne  insisted  on  Grant's  accompanying  him  to  Spi'ing- 
field,  the  Capital  of  the  State. 

Grant  had  already  applied  to  Ohio,  his  native  State,  for  a 
chance  to  serve,  and  to  the  Adjutant-General,  at  Washington, 


ELIHU   BENJAMIN  WASHBUKNE.  333 

from  whom  came  no  response.  So  they  went  to  Springfield. 
Pope  was  the  hero  of  the  hour  ;  confusion  reigned.  Grant  got 
employment  in  Governor  Yates'  office,  and  the  Governor,  after 
a  while,  discovered  his  abilities,  and  gave  him  the  command  of 
a  regiment.  For  his  next  promotion,  the  future  President  was 
indebted  to  the  active  interest  of  his  friend,  Washburne. 

It  so  happened  that  President  Lincoln  had  sent  to  each  of  the 
Illinois  Senators  and  Representatives,  a  circular,  asking  them  to 
nominate  four  Brigadiers.  Mr.  Washburne  pressed  Grant's 
claims,  on  the  ground  that  his  section  of  the  State  had  raised  a 
very  large  number  of  men  for  the  war,  and  were  entitled  to  such 
an  appointment;  his  arguments  prevailed,  and,  to  his  own  great 
surprise.  Grant  was  made  a  Brigadier-General. 

In  October,  1861,  Mr.  Washburne  saw  Grant  at  Cairo,  Illi- 
nois, and  seemed  to  have  become  impressed  with  the  idea  that 
Grant  was  "the  coming  man"  of  the  war.  When  General 
Pope's  friends  urged  that  general's  claims  for  a  Major-General's 
stars,  Mr.  Washburne  secured  from  the  President  a  promise 
that  none  of  the  brigadiers  then  in  commission  should  be  pro- 
moted until  they  had  distinguished  themselves  in  the  field. 

When  Grant's  reputation  was  assailed  by  reports  of  intempe- 
rance, etc.,  Mr.  Washburne  took  no  rest  until  he  had  sifted  the 
evidence,  and  disproved  the  charge.  The  battle  of  Fort  Don- 
elson  rendered  General  Grant,  in  a  large  degree,  independent 
of  Mr.  Washburne's  friendly  offices;  but  the  intimacy  and 
friendship  of  the  two  men  were  in  no  wise  weakened,  and  it  was 
Mr.  Washburne  who  had  the  pleasure  of  framing  the  bill  by 
which  the  rank  and  title  of  Lieutenant-General,  oidy  previously 
conferred  on  General  Washington,  was  created  and  bestowed 
upon  General  Grant. 

In  1864-5,  he  ran  for  the  United  States  Senatorship  against 
Governor  Yates,  and  came  very  near  being  successful.      Mr. 


334  MEN"   OF   OUR    DAY. 

Wasliburne  is  bluff,  hearty,  vigorous  in  manner,  yet  not  dis- 
courteous. As  a  speaker  he  is  vehement,  brief,  plain,  practical 
iu  the  tone  of  his  remarks,  and  in  his  deductions ;  his  style 
possessing  no  flowery  adornment,  but  rather  a  "  sledge  hammer" 
force.  He  is  conspicuous  for  his  persistent  opposition  to  every 
form  of  political  corruption,  fighting  against  every  grant,  sub- 
sidy and  private  bill,  and  endeavoring  to  defeat  every  attempt 
at  plunder  of  the  public  treasury. 

On  the  accession  of  President  Grant,  he  appointed  Mr.  Wash 
burne  his  Secretary  of  State,  in  March,  1869,  but  he  resigned 
about  a  week  later  in  accordance  with  a  previous  arrangement, 
on  the  plea  of  ill-health,  and  accepted  the  position  of  Minister 
to  France.  He  remained  in  Paris  during  the  celebrated  siege 
of  that  city,  in  1870-1,  renilering  much  assistance  to  the 
American  residents,  and  conducting  himself  in  so  humane,  hon- 
orable and  judicious  a  manner  during  the  trying  emergencies 
and  complications  of  that  struggle,  tliat  he  reflected  honor  upon 
the  Republic  which  he  represented,  and  received  not  only  the 
most  cordial  acknowledgments  from  the  llepublic,  at  whose 
birth  throes  he  was  thus  fortuitously  pres^ent,  but  from  the  Ger- 
man Government  also,  many  of  whose  citizens,  shut  up  in  the 
beleaguered  city,  he  had  protected  from  the  hostility  of  the  in- 
furiated National  Guard,  and  as  the  only  representative  of  a 
first  class  neutral  power,  had  been  their  sole  resource. 

Mr.  Washburne  has  developed  in  this  position  a  higher  order 
of  diplomatic  ability  than  he  was  generally  credited  with  pos- 
sessing. His  whole  course  has  been  eminently  judicious,  and 
creditable  alike  to  himself  and  the  Government  he  represents. 
The  appointment,  though  made  almost  entirely  on  the  basis  of 
personal  friendship,  and  in  some  sense  as  a  requital  for  benefits 
conferred,  has  proved  one  of  the  best  which  President  Grant  has 
made 


ROBERT    GUMMING    SGHENGK, 

UNITED    STATES    MINISTER   NEAR   THE    COURT    OF    ST.   JAMES. 


\%^7l  T  lias  been  for  many  years  the  fashion  to  berate  our  Gov- 
o  I  ernment  on  its  diplomatic  appointments.  Our  leading 
ii^  reviews  and  magazines  have  frequently  indulged  in 
^  language  something  like  this:  "A  diplomatist  is  not, 
like  a  poet,  born,  not  made  ;  to  the  highest  success  in  diplomacy, 
a  life-long  training  is  indispensable.  In  all  the  European 
Courts,  the  young  men  of  the  highest  ability,  who  propose  to 
make  diplomacy  tlieir  life  work,  begin  as  attaches  to  some 
foreign  legation,  and  proceeding  through  all  the  stages  of  Assis- 
tant-Secretary, Secretary  of  Legation,  Charge,  and  Minister 
Resident,  finally  arrive  at  the  high  dignity  of  Ambassador  Ex- 
traordinary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  some  court,  tho- 
roughly qualified  for  their  work."  "  With  the  United  States," 
they  continue,  "there  is  nothing  of  this  sort  attempted.  Diplo- 
matic appointments  are  made  without  any  reference  to  the 
qualifications  of  the  appointee.  Very  seldom  has  he  any 
knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  country  to  which  he  is  sent, 
still  less  frequently  does  he  know  anything  of  its  history,  policy 
or  customs  ;  but  he  has  been  efiicient  in  training  in,  or  drivino- 
to  the  polls,  a  large  number  of  voters  for  the  Administration 
now  in  power,  and  therefore  he  is  to  be  appointed  our  represen- 
tative to  some  country,  where  he  will  be  a  laughing  stock  and 
disgrace  to  our  nation." 

335 


336  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

There  is  jast  a  spice  of  truth  in  this  statement,  so  far  as  some 
few  of  our  appointments  of  Ministers  Resident,  Consuls,  etc.,  to 
the  minor  Powers  are  concerned.  But  in  the  higher  appoint- 
ments, such  as  those  to  Great  Britain,  France,  Germany  (or, 
before  the  late  Franco-German  war,  to  Prussia),  Austria,  etc., 
whether  it  was  due  to  our  statesmen  having  a  natural  talent  for 
diplomacy,  or  to  the  skill  of  the  Presidents  and  their  Cabinets, 
the  fact  is  palpable  that  we  have  been  represented  at  these 
Courts  uniformly  by  men  who  were  the  peers  of  the  ablest  am- 
bassadors from  other  Courts.  Such  men  as  Mr.  Stevenson,  Mr. 
Everett,  Mr.  Dallas,  Mr.  Buchanan,  Mr.  C.  F.  Adams,  Mr.  Motley, 
or  our  present  representative,  General  Schenck,  at  the  Court  of 
St.  James,  were,  in  no  respect,  the  inferiors  of  the  ablest  men 
England,  France  or  Germany  have  sent  out  as  their  ambassadors. 
Nor  have  our  Ministers  to  France  or  Germany  been  behind  these 
in  ability.  Gen.  Cass,  Mr.  Rives,  J.  Y.  Mason,  Mr.  Dayton, 
General  Dix,  Mr.  Bigelow,  Mr.  Washburne,  and  in  Germany, 
Messrs.  J.  Q.  Adams,  Wheatou,  Wright,  Judd  and  Bancroft, 
have  all  done  honor  to  the  nation,  and  they  could  not  have  done 
better  had  they  been  trained  all  their  lives  in  '•'  the  art  of  using 
language  to  conceal  its  true  meaning,"  which  was  Talleyrand's 
definition  of  diplomacy. 

The  statesman  who  now  represents  us  near  the  British  Court, 
has  the  attainments  and  experience  which  should  qualify  him 
for  this  important  post,  but  his  frank,  blunt  ways,  his  utter  fear- 
lessness, and  his  incapacity  for  any  of  the  arts  of  concealment 
or  double-dealing,  will  introduce  a  new  phase  in  English  diplo- 
macy, though  possibly  a  successful  one  for  him  ;  since  Bismarck, 
one  of  the  most  adroit  of  statesmen  and  diplomatists,  has  de- 
clared, "that  he  had  always  adopted  the  plan  of  telling  the 
exact  truth  and  the  whole  truth,  because  it  puzzled  the  diplo- 
matists so  much." 


ROBERT   CUMMINQ    SCHENCK.  337 

Robert  Gumming  Schenck  was  born  in  Franklin,  Warren 
county,  Ohio,  October  4,  1809.  His  ancestry,  on  his  father's 
side,  were  of  Dutch  origin,  though  his  father  was,  we  believe, 
born  in  this  country.  He  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  rose, 
like  his  son,  to  the  rank  of  General.  He  died  when  Robert  was 
but  twelve  years  old,  and  the  boy  was  put  under  the  guardian- 
ship of  General  James  Findley.  In  1824,  he  entered  Miami 
University,  Oxford,  Ohio,  a  year  in  advance,  and  graduated  with 
honor  in  1827.  He  studied  law  with  Tom  Corwin,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1828,  though  but  nineteen  years  of  age.  He 
removed  to  Dayton,  and  there,  in  the  next  ten  years,  by  diligent 
study  and  careful  preparation  of  his  cases,  rose  to  a  command- 
ing position  in  his  profession.  He  first  entered  upon  political 
life  in  1838,  by  running  as  a  candidate  for  the  State  Legislature. 
In  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1840,  he  acquired  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  one  of  the  ablest  speakers  on  the  Whig  side,  in. 
the  canvass,  and,  in  1841,  was  elected  a  Representative  in  the 
State  Legislature,  from  Dayton,  and  became  at  once  a  leader  of 
his  party  in  the  House,  After  another  year  in  the  Legislature,. 
he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  his  district  in  1843,  and  re- 
elected in  1845,  1847  and  1849.  He  declined  a  re-election  in 
1851,  and  was  appointed  by  President  Fillmore,  Minister  to- 
Brazil,  in  March.  1851.  In  Congress,  he  was  eminently  efficient 
and  practical.  He  displayed  rare  abilities  and  a  thorough  un- 
derstanding of  every  subject  on  which  he  spoke,  and,  when  oc- 
casion required,  was  quick  of  repartee,  pungent  and  satirical. 
His  nature  was  one  of  great  intensity,  and  he  always  was  so- 
profoundly  in  earnest  in  his  convictions,  that  he  made  warm, 
friends  and  bitt  ;r  enemies.  As  minister  to  Brazil,  he  acquitted 
himself  with  high  honor,  and  was  directed  by  the  Government 
to  visit  Buenos  Ayres,  Montevideo,  and  Asuncion,  and  make 

treaties  with  the  republics  around  the  La  Plata  and  its  affluents. 
22 


3oi>  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

He  obeyed,  and  negotiated  treaties  which  would  have  been  of 
great  advantage  to  us,  but  their  ratification  was  neglected  by  the 
Senate. 

In  1854,  Mr.  Schenck  returned  to  Ohio,  and  though  sympa- 
thizing generally  in  the  views  of  the  Eepublican  party,  his  per- 
sonal antipathy  to  Colonel  Fremont  was  so  strong,  that  he  took 
no  part  in  the  canvass,  and,  we  believe,  did  not  vole.  He  was 
building  up,  at  this  time,  a  fine  and  lucrative  business  in  his 
profession,  and  was  also  connected  as  President  with  one  or  two 
]:)rominent  railroad  companies.  In  1859,  he  came  into  more 
active  and  direct  sympathy  with  the  Republican  party,  and  in 
September  of  that  year,  was  the  first  man  in  the  country  to 
suggest  Abraham  Lincoln  to  a  public  meeting  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidency.  He  supported  Mr.  Lincoln  with  great  ardor 
and  warmth  at  the  Chicago  Convention,  in  1860,  and  in  the 
subsequent  canvass  of  that  year. 

When  the  attack  was  made  on  Fort  Sumter,  Mr.  Schenck 
promptly  tendered  his  services  to  the  President,  and  was  com- 
missioned Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers.  As  he  had  not 
been  known  as  a  military  man,  though  he  had,  as  afterward 
appeared,  been  a  diligent  student  of  military  science,  his  ene- 
mies, and  they  were  numerous  and  bitter,  determined  at  once 
that  the  opportunity  of  being  revenged  on  him,  and  of  ridiculing 
every  movement  he  might  make,  was  too  good  to  be  lost.  Many 
of  the  West  Point  graduates,  full  of  their  importance,  sneered  at 
political  generals,  and  were  very  glad  of  the  opportunity  to 
sneer  at  them.  In  General  Schenck's  case  the  opportunity  soon 
came,  though  not  through  any  fault  of  his,  but  rather  through 
the  blundering  carelessness  of  a  West  Pointer.  It  was  what 
was  known  for  a  time,  till  more  important  matters  drove  it  out 
of  the  public  mind,  as  "  the  Vienna  (Va.)  affair."  In  a  recon- 
noissance  by  railroad  cars,  his  troops  were  fired  upon  and  several 


ROBERT  GUMMING  SCHENCK.  339 

wounded,  and  as  the  plucky  General  disembarked  his  soldiers 
and  "  went  for  "  the  enemy,  the  cowardly  engineer  ran  off  with 
the  train,  and  left  his  little  handful  of  men  at  the  mercy  of  four 
or  five  times  their  number.  But  thanks  to  his  firmness,  the 
enemy  believed  these  troops  the  advance-guard  of  a  large  force, 
and  they  ran,  instead  of  capturing  the  Union  troops.  This 
whole  affair,  which  was,  in  reality,  as  General  Scott  reported, 
highly  creditable  to  General  Schenck,  except  the  railroad  part, 
which  was  not  his  device,  but  General  Daniel  Tyler's  (a  West 
Point  officer),  was,  by  his  enemies,  used  greatly  to  his  discredit. 
General  Schenck's  next  appearance  was  at  Bull  Run,  where 
he  stood  his  ground,  though  his  subordinates,  several  of  them 
graduates  of  West  Point,  ran,  and  afterwards  got  promoted  for 
doing  so.  He  was  subsequently  in  command  under  Rosecrans, 
in  West  Virginia,  and  under  Fremont  in  the  Luray  Valley, 
and  after  the  battle  of  Cross  Keys  was,  for  a  time,  commander  of 
the  First  Army  Corps,  in  General  Sigel's  absence.  Ordered  to 
join  the  Army  of  Virginia,  then  under  General  Pope,  fighting 
at  heavy  odds  against  Lee's  large  army,  he  joined  it  just  before 
the  second  Bull  Run  battle,  and  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight- 
ing of  the  two  days  that  followed,  being  severely  wounded  on 
the  second  day,  and  his  right  arm  permanently  injured.  He 
was  unfit  for  field  duty  for  six  months,  but  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  Middle  Military  Department,  embracing  the 
turbulent  Rebels  of  Maryland,  over  whom  Butler  and  Banks 
and  Dix  had  held  sway.  He  ruled  them  with  a  firm  hand,  but 
with  perfect  and  exact  justice,  repressing  all  turbulence  and  acts 
tending  to  the  manifestation  of  disloyalty  or  any  complicity  with 
treason.  The  "woman  difficulty,"  which  had  troubled  Butler 
in  Baltimore,  and  led  to  his  famous  order  in  New  Orleans,  was 
to  be  met  in  Baltimore  by  General  Schenck.  He  settled  it 
effectually  and  by  a  very  simple  but  characteristic  manoeuvre. 


340  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

The  Eebel  women  of  Baltimore  were  particularly  virulent  and 
ingenious  in  their  methods  of  annoying  the  Union  soldiers  and 
Union  citizens.  At  last  they  began  to  wear  the  Rebel  colors, 
displaying  them  flauntingly,  and  taking  care  to  promenade  the 
streets  in  great  numbers,  thus  nrrayed,  whenever  this  display 
would  particularly  annoy  the  Union  troops  and  their  comman- 
der. General  Schenck  made  no  public  demonstration,  but  di- 
rected that  a  number  of  the  most  noted  women  of  the  town 
should  be  selected,  and  brought  to  his  headquarters  for  instruc- 
tion. Each  was  instructed  to  array  herself  as  elegantly  as  pos- 
sible, to  wear  the  Rebel  colors  conspicuously  displayed  upon  her 
bosom,  and  to  spend  her  time  in  promenading  the  most  fashionable 
streets  of  the  city.  Whenever  she  met  any  one  of  the  ladies  of 
Baltimore,  wearing  the  same  badges,  she  was  to  salute  her  affec- 
tionately as  a  "  Sister  in  the  Iloly  Cause."  For  these  services 
she  was  to  be  liberally  paid.  The  effect  was  marvellous.  In 
less  than  a  week,  not  a  respectable  woman  in  Baltimore  dared  to 
show  herself  in  public  ornamented  by  any  badge  of  the  re- 
bellion. 

General  Schenck  was  not  popular  with  the  disloyal  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Maryland,  His  own  loyalty  was  too  de- 
cided and  earnest  to  permit  him  to  trifle  with  them  or  allow 
them  to  trifle  with  him.  In  December,  1863,  he  resigned  his 
commission  to  take  his  seat  in  Congress,  to  which  he  had 
been  elected  over  Mr.  Vallandigham,  from  the  Third  (Dayton) 
Conp'ressional  District  of  Ohio.  He  was  at  once  made  House 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  at  that  time, 
perhaps,  the  most  laborious  Committee  of  Congress,  lie  was 
re-elected  to  the  Thirty-Eighth,  Thirty-Ninth,  Fortieth  and 
Forty-First  Congresses,  and,  from  his  position,  was  the  leader 
of  the  House.  In  military  matters  he  was  laborious  and  vigi- 
lant;   the  firm  friend   of    the    volunteer,    as    against  what  he 


ROBERT   CUMAHNG   SCHEXCK.  341 

thought  the  encroachments  and  assumptions  of  the  regulars ; 
the  remorseless  enemy  of  deserters ;  a  vigorous  advocate  of 
the  draft,  and  the  author  of  the  disfranchisement  of  those 
who  ran  away  from  it;  the  champion  of  the  private  soldiers 
and  subordinate  officers.  He  cared  little  or  nothing  for  per- 
sonal popularity,  and  would  fight  to  the  death  against  any- 
thing which  he  believed  to  be  wrong,  or  which  covered  even  the 
slightest  suspicion  of  fraud.  He  often  opposed  the  Adminis- 
tration, but  he  was  so  thorougly  honest,  so  fearless  in  his  ad- 
vocacy of  what  he  believed  to  be  right,  and  so  able  in  his 
arguments  for  it,  that  he  almost  always  carried  his  point. 
He  would  have  been  elected  Senator,  but  that  the  people  of 
Ohio  felt  that  he  could  not  be  spared  from  the  House. 
When  Mr.  Motley  was  recalled  from  the  ambassadorship  to 
Great  Britain,  President  Grant  offered  the  place  to  General 
Schenck,  and,  after  much  hesitation,  he  accepted  it,  and 
sailed  for  England  in  July,  1871.  He  has  done  honor  t» 
his  position,  though  he  has  been  placed  in  circumstances  ©f 
great  embarrassment  and  difficulty,  in  consequence  of  the 
hitch  in  regard  to  the  arbitration  of  the  Alabama  Claims. 
General  Schenck  is  a  ripe  and  accomplished  scholar,  tho- 
roughly informed  on  international  and  constitutional  law, 
well  versed  in  political  history,  and  familiar  with  the  whole 
range  of  modern  literature,  English,  French  and  Spanish. 

In  person  he  is  about  of  the  middle  height,  square,  compact, 
broad-chested  and  rugged-featured.  His  face  indicates  his 
Dutch  ancestry,  and  quite  as  strongly  his  vehement  passions  and 
his  inflexible  will.  To  his  enemies  he  is  terrible:  the  burning, 
stinging  eloquence  of  his  invective  comes  hissing  hot  from  his 
lips  and  scorches  whatever  it  touches.  To  his  friends  he  ex- 
hibits an  entirely  different  phase  of  character,  being  generous, 
kindly,  and  affectionate.  He  can  hardly  be  called  ambitious, 
but  with  all  bis  foibles,  is  one  of  our  best  and  soundest  statesmen. 


ANDREW  GREGG  CURTIN, 

EX-GOVERNOR  OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 


«  •  »  *  > 


I'^MONG  the  loyal  governors  of  the  Northern  States  du- 
\s  ring  the  rebellion,  none  were  placed  in  circumstances 

^  ''  requiring  greater  watchfulness,  or  more  prompt  and  de- 
cisive action,  than  the  patriotic  Governor  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  none  fulfilled  their  high  trust  with  greater  fidelity  and 
loyalty. 

Andrew  Gregg  Curtin  was  the  son  of  Rowland  Curtin, 
and  was  born  in  Bellefonte,  Centre  county,  Pennsylvania,  April 
2d,  1817.  The  inhabitants  of  his  native  county  were  mostly 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  iron,  though  agriculture  was  by 
no  means  neglected  there.  The  elder  Curtin  was  a  noted  iron 
manufacturer  for  forty  years,  in  Centre  county,  where  he  accu- 
mulated a  large  estate,  and  left  his  children  an  ample  fortune. 
The  mother  of  Governor  Curtin  was  a  daughter  of  Andrew 
Gregg,  of  British  war  fame,  a  Representative  in  Congress  and 
United  States  Senate  from  1807  to  1813,  and  one  of  the  sup- 
porters of  Jefferson  and  Madison. 

Young    Curtin   was   educated    in   Milton,   Northumberland 

county,  where  he  was  one  of  the  pupils  at  the  academy  of  the 

Rev.    J.    Kirkpatrick.     After    obtainihg  a    good   rudi mental 

education  he  was  placed  in  the  law  office  and  law  school  of 

Judge  Reed,  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.    At  this  time  the  school 
342 


ANDREW   GREGG   CURTm.  843 

formed  a  portion  of  Dickinson  college,  and  Judge  Reed  was 
esteemed  the  best  lawyer  in  Pennsylvania. 

During  the  year  1839,  Andrew  G.  Curtin  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Bellefonte. 
He  was  very  successful,  and  transacted  a  large  and  varied  prac- 
tice in  the  courts  of  the  neighboring  counties.  Like  most  lawyers, 
he  took  a  great  interest  in  politics,  and  attached  himself  to  the 
Whig  party  of  the  period.  He  was  actively  engaged,  during 
1840,  in  promoting  the  election  of  General  Harrison  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States ;  and  in  1844  stumped  the  State  in 
support  of  Henry  Clay — being  always  successful  in  collecting 
an  audience  on  the  shortest  notice. 

Mr.  Curtin  was  placed  on  the  electoral  ticket  for  1848,  and 
again  travelled  through  his  native  State,  advocating  the  election 
of  General  Zachary  Taylor.  In  1852,  he  supported  the  nomi- 
nation of  General  Scott,  was  placed  on  the  electoral  ticket,  and 
worked  arduously  in  his  behalf.  Indeed,  in  all  his  political  ac- 
tions, he  took  the  side  of  what  were  known  as  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Whigs. 

During  the  year  1854,  Mr.  Curtin  was  very  earnestly  re- 
quested by  the  voters  of  the  centre  of  Pennsylvania  to  accept 
the  nomination  for  Governor  of  the  State,  but  refused,  receiv- 
ing instead,  the  chairmanship  of  the  State  Central  Committee. 
He  was  afterward  appointed,  by  Governor  Pollock,  State  Secre- 
tary of  the  Commonwealth. 

Secretary  Curtin  devoted  a  great  deal  of  his  attention  to 
common  schools,  and  to  the  question  of  public  improvements. 
After  his  retirement  from  the  State  secretaryship,  he  again  de- 
voted himself  to  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  was  very  active  in 
the  extension  of  railroad  facilities  through  the  centre  of  the 
State. 

Mr.  C  irtin   accepted  the   nomination  for   Governor   of  tho 


844  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

State  of  Pennsylvania  in  1860 ;  was  elected  in  October  of  that 
year,  and  was  formally  inaugurated  January  15th,  1861.  The 
country  was  then  becoming  distracted  by  the  first  movements 
of  the  rebellion,  and  Governor  Curtin  soon  began  to  make  pre- 
parations to  support  the  United  States  Government.  On  April 
9th,  he  sent  a  message  to  the  State  Legislature,  recommending 
that  measures  be  immediately  adopted  to  remedy  the  defects  in 
the  militia  system  of  the  State.  The  legislative  committee  re- 
ported a  bill  for  that  purpose,  and  three  days  after,  it  became  a 
law. 

The  excitement  attending  the  fall  of  Sumter  requiring  speedy 
legislative  action,  the  recently  adjourned  Legislature  was  again 
convened,  on  April  30th,  under  Governor  Curtin's  proclamation 
of  April  20th.  Volunteers  were  called  for  by  the  United 
States  Government,  and  through  Governor  Curtin's  energy,  the 
first  regiment  that  entered  the  national  capital,  for  its  defence, 
was  the  25th  Pennsylvania  volunteers,  Colonel  Cake.  The 
Legislature  provided  for  the  raising  of  a  reserve  corps,  and 
when  the  three  years'  volunteers  were  called  for,  Pennsylvania 
was  ready  to  send  a  full  division  at  once  into  the  field.  This 
Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps  did  great  honor  to  the  State  and 
extraordinary  service  to  the  nation.  General  Reynolds,  who  fell 
on  the  first  day  at  Gettysburg,  was  one  of  its  commanders,  and 
Major-General  Meade,  afterward  commander  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  another. 

The  territory  of  Pennsylvania  was  threatened,  and  its  border 
invaded,  in  September,  1862,  before  the  battle  of  Antietara  ;  but 
the  movements  of  the  rebels,  in  June  and  July,  1863,  when  sev- 
eral of  its  towns  were  plundered  and  burned,  its  capital  and  it3 
chief  city  threatened,  and  one  of  the  bloodiest  battles  of  the  war 
fought,  for  three  days,  in  one  of  its  towns,  created  great  alarm 
among  its  inhabitants,  and  it  required  all  Governor  Curtin's 


ANDREW   GREGG   CURTIN.  345 

self-possession,  calmness,  and  executive  ability,  to  re-assure  his 
people  and  organize  them  for  resistance  to  the  invaders. 

His  executive  powers  were  again  called  into  exercise  in  the 
summer  of  1864,  when  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  State  was 
invaded  again  by  the  rebels,  and  great  destruction  of  property 
resulted.  Governoi;  Curtin  was  re-elected  in  1863,  and  con- 
tinued in  office  till  January,  1867.  After  his  retirement,  he 
was  actively  engaged  in  business,  but  during  the  political 
campaign  of  1867-1868,  he  did  good  service  for  the  Republican 
party  as  a  speaker,  in  New  York,  New  Hampshire  and  Connec- 
ticut. He  was  strongly  pressed  as  a  candidate  for  the  vice-presi- 
dency at  the  Chicago  Convention,  in  May,  1868,  but  the  current 
being  evidently  in  favor  of  Mr.  Colfax,  he  caused  his  name  to 
be  withdrawn. 

In  1869,  soon  after  President  Grant's  inauguration,  he  was 
appointed  United  States  Minister  to  the  Russian  Court,  and  has 
fulfilled  the  duties  of  that  important  mission  with  great  dignity 
and  ixbility.  The  Catacazy  difficulty  at  one  time  threatened  to 
mar  the  harmony  which  had  so  long  existed  between  the  two 
nations,  but  it  was  fortunately  settled  most  amicably  through  the 
admirable  management  of  the  American  minister. 


DAVID    DAVIS. 

ASSOCIATE   JUSTICE    OF   THE    SUPREME    COURT   OF   THE    U.    S. 


(VjS^N  nothing  did  Mr.  Lincoln  show  more  clearly  his  faculty 
'^q)  ill  of  insight  into  human  character  than  in  his  selection  of 
^(m^  men  for  high  official  positions.  He  was  sometimes  over- 
^  ruled  by  members  of  his  Cabinet,  and  men  were  foisted 
upon  him  of  whose  antecedents  he  had  no  knowledge  ;  and  occa- 
sionally wearied  with  the  constant  worry  and  strife  to  which  he 
was  subjected,  he  let  some  men  pass,  as  every  President  will, 
who  were  not  qualified  for  their  positions.  But  of  the  appoint 
ments  made  by  liim  from  his  own  personal  knowledge,  and  with 
out  extraneous  inducncos,  it  would  l)c  hard  to  select  one  wliich 
was  not  admirably  appropriate.  In  this  class  of  appointments 
made  by  him  entirely  on  his  own  volition,  one  of  the  best  was 
that  of  Judge  Davis. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  though  often  a 
Court  of  Appeals,  is  one  less  fettered  by  precedents  than  almost 
any  other  in  the  world,  and  its  ablest  judges  have  always  been, 
not  lawyers  of  the  minutest  technical  knowledge  of  precedent 
and  practice  in  all  the  inferior  Courts  of  our  own  or  other  coun- 
tries, but  men  of  broad  and  comprehensive  views,  well  grounded 
in  all  the  great  principles  on  which  State,  national  and  interna- 
tional law  are  based ;  men  with  clear  notions  of  equity,  and  that 
sound,  practical,  hard  common  sense  which  reaches  down  at  once 
to  the  fundamental  principle  involved  in  a  case,  and  does  not 
346 


DAVID  DAVIS.  347 

trouble  itself  with  petty  technical  details.  John  Marshall,  the 
ablest  Chief  Justice  of  that  court  in  its  whole  history,  could  not 
compare  for  a  moment  with  any  one  of  a  dozen  lawyers  we  might 
name  in  New  York  or  Philadelphia,  in  minute,  almost  micro- 
scopic knowledge  of  the  various  motions,  countcmotions, 
demurrers,  arrests  of  judgment,  and  special  pleas  by  which  the 
progress  of  justice  might  be  delayed  ;  but  he  was  none  the  less 
an  able  jurist  for  all  that.  His  knowledge  and  his  clear  brain 
were  devoted  to  the  work  of  expediting  justice,  not  of  hindering 
it.     Judge  Davis  is  a  man  of  the  John  Marshall  stamp. 

David  Davis  was  born  in  Cecil  county,  Maryland,  March  9th, 
1815.  His  family,  which  was  of  Welsh  origin,  removed  during 
his  childhood  to  Ohio,  and  he  entered  very  early  Kenyon  Col- 
lege, Gambler,  Ohio,  where  he  graduated  in  1832.  Thence  he 
went  to  the  Cambridge  Law  School,  and  subsequently  to  the  Yale 
College  Law  School  at  New  Haven,  and  after  a  very  thorough  and 
careful  preparation,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1835,  when  but 
twenty  years  of  age,  and  settled  in  Bloomington,  Illinois.  Busi- 
ness did  not  come  rapidly  to  the  young  lawyer,  but  he  studied 
his  cases  with  great  care,  looking  rather  to  fundamental  princi- 
ples than  to  petty  details  and  technicalities,  and  gradually  both 
courts  and  people  began  to  find  that  the  Bloomington  attorney 
had  mastered  his  cases  so  thoroughly,  that  he  was  sure  of  defeat- 
ing lawyers  whose  reputation  was  higher  than  his  own.  At  this 
time  there  was  practising  in  the  Circuit  Courts  of  central  Illinois, 
a  tall,  gaunt,  but  hard-headed  lawyer,  a  half  dozen  years  his 
senior,  between  whom  and  Davis  there  sprang  up  a  strong 
friendship  and  intimacy.  Lincoln  (for  he  it  was  to  whom  we 
refer),  though  powerful  before  a  jury,  often  deferred  to  his 
youni^er  friend's  thorough  knowledge  of  the  great  princij)les  in- 
volved, while  Davis  in  his  jury  cases  availed  himself  as  often 
as  he  could  of  his  friend's  sledge-hammer  logic.     The  two  were 


3-18  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

in  the  State  Legislature  together,  and  both,  we  believe,  were 
members  of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  of  1847  ;  thence 
for  awhile  their  paths  diverged ;  Lincoln  plunging  into  the 
thorny  path  of  politics,  and  being  a  member  of  Congress  in 
1847-9;  Davis  adhering  to  the  law,  and  being  chosen  in  1848 
Judge  of  the  Eighth  Judicial  Circuit,  in  Illinois,  a  position 
which  he  held  for  fourteen  years.  Occasionally  his  old  friend 
Lincoln  managjed  cases  in  his  court,  but  much  of  the  time  he 
Avas  occupied  with  political  matters.  These  had  little  interest 
for  the  Judge,  who  wisely  devoted  himself  to  his  duties  as  a 
jurist.  Yet  he  had  joined  the  Republican  party  in  1856,  had 
watched  with  eagerness  the  great  struggle  in  1858,  between 
Douglas  and  Lincoln,  his  sympathies  being  wholly  with  his  friend. 
In  1860,  he  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  National  Repub- 
lican Convention  at  Chicago,  and  labored  zealously  and  heartily 
for  Lincoln's  nomination  for  the  Presidency.  In  the  autumn  of 
]862,  there  were  several  vacancies  on  the  Supreme  Court  bench 
to  be  filled,  and  for  one  of  them,  Lincoln,  unsolicited,  named  hia 
friend  Davis.  The  appointment  was  honorable  alike  to  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  Judge;  for  while  the  latter  was  eminently  qualified 
for  the  position,  the  former  by  the  nomination  gratified  alike  the 
public  interests,  and  his  own  affectionate  disposition.  Judge  Davis 
entered  upon  his  duties  December  8Lh,  1862.  His  course  on  the 
Supreme  Court  bench  has  commanded  universal  respect.  His  deci- 
sions have  often  been  independent,  and  sometimes  diverse  from 
those  of  a  part  of  his  associates  ;  but  the  reasons  assigned  for  them 
were  such  as  commended  themselves  to  every  candid  mind.  Of 
the  reported  cases  argued  during  Judge  Davis'  term  (see  last 
volume  of  BlacJc^s,  and  the  eleven  succeeding  volumes  of  Wal- 
lace), eighty-n'ght  of  the  opinions  of  the  Court  have  been  deliv- 
ered by  him  ;  while,  in  nineteen  other  cases,  he  has  dissented 
from  the  majority,  whose  opinion  decided  the  opinion  of  the 
Court.     One  who  has  so  long  held  an  important  judicial  posi- 


DAVID   DAVIS.  349 

tion  as  Judge  Davis,  and  has  placed  upon  record  so  many  opin- 
ions, certainly  affords  to  the  public  an  excellent  opportunity  of 
forming  a  correct  estimate  of  his  habits  of  thoughts,  in  legal 
matters,  at  least.  The  greater  part  of  the  cases  brought  before 
the  Supreme  Court  are  of  such  a  nature  as  do  not  involve  con- 
stitutional questions ;  but,  in  those  of  that  kind  which  he  has 
had  occasion  to  adjudicate  upon,  he  has  left  upon  record  no  un- 
certain indication  of  his  views  of  the  scope  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, and  the  true  relations  thereto  of  the  several  States ; 
and  especially  in  all  cases  touching  the  life  and  personal  liberty 
of  the  citizen.  One  of  the  earliest  and  most  important  of  these 
cases  was  that  of  Milligan,  in  1866,  who  having  been  arrested, 
tried,  and  sentenced  to  death  by  a  military  commission  during 
the  recent  war,  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  which  decided 
boldly  and  squarely  against  the  overshadowing  of  civil  tribu- 
nals by  military  authority. 

When  Judge  Davis  came  to  consider  the  argument  put  forth 
by  General  Butler,  in  behalf  of  the  Government,  that  martial  law 
covered  with  its  broad  mantle  the  proceedings  of  this  military 
commission,  and  authorized  a  military  commander  to  suspend 
all  civil  rights,  and  their  remedies,  and  to  subject  citizens  as 
well  as  soldiers,  to  the  rule  of  his  will,  he  said  : 

"If  this  position  is  sound  to  the  extent  claimed,  then  when 
war  exists,  foreign  or  domestic,  and  the  country  is  subdivided 
into  military  departments  for  mere  convenience,  the  commander 
of  one  of  them,  can,  if  he  chooses,  within  his  limits,  on  the  plea 
of  necessity,  with  the  approval  of  the  Executive,  substitute 
military  force  for,  and  to  the  exclusion  of  the  laws,  and  punish 
all  persons  as  he  thinks  right  and  proper  without  fixed  or  cer 
tain  rules. 

"  The  statement  of  this  proposition  shows  its  importance  ;  for, 
it  true,  Republican  government  is  a  failure,  and  there  is  an  end 
of  liberty  regulated  by  law.  Martial  law  established  on  such 
a  basis  destroys  every  guarantee  of  the  Constitution,  and  eff'ectu- 


350  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY, 

ally  reiulers  tlie  '  military  iudopeiuleut  of,  and  superior  to  tlie 
civil  pi)\vor,'  the  attempt  to  do  which  by  the  King  of  Great 
Britain  was  doomed  by  our  fathers  such  an  oftence  that  they 
assigned  it  to  the  world  as  one  of  the  causes  which  impelled  them 
to  declare  their  independence.  Civil  liberty  and  this  kind  of 
martial  law  cannot  endure  together;  the  antagonism  is  irrecon- 
cilable, and  in  the  conflict  one  or  the  other  must  perish. 

"This  nation,  as  experience  has  proved,  cannot  always  remain 
at  peace,  and  has  no  right  to  expect  that  it  will  always  have  wise 
and  humane  rulers,  sincerely  attaehed  to  the  principles  of  the 
Constitution.  Wicked  men,  amhifion.'^  of  power,  until  hatred  of 
liberty  and  contempt  of  law,  mat/  Jill  the  place  once  occuj)ied  hj/ 
Washington  and  Lincoln  ;  arid  if  this  right  is  conecdod,  and  the 
calamities  of  war  again  befall  us,  the  dangers  to  human  liberty 
are  frightful  to  contemplate.  If  our  fathers  had  failed  to  pro- 
vide for  just  such  a  contingency,  they  would  have  boon  false  to 
the  trust  reposed  in  them.  They  knew — the  history  of  the  world 
told  them — the  nation  they  were  founding,  be  its  existence  short 
or  long,  would  be  involved  in  war  ;  how  often  or  how  long  con- 
tinued, human  foresight  could  not  tell,  and  that  unliniitod  power, 
wherever  lodged  at  suoh  a  time,  was  especially  hazardous  to 
freemen.  For  this,  and  other  equally  weighty  reasons,  they 
secured  the  inheritance  they  had  fought  to  maintain  by  incorpo- 
rating in  a  written  Constitution  the  safeguards  which  time  had 
proved  were  essential  to  its  preservation.  Not  one  of  these 
safeguards  can  the  President,  or  Congress,  or  the  Judiciary  dis- 
turb, except  the  one  concerning  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus.^^ 

The  two  similar  cases  of  General  Garland,  a  lawyer,  and  Mr. 
Cummings,  a  Roman  Catholic  priest ;  the  former  debarred  from 
practising,  and  the  latter  arrested  and  fined  under  the  action,  in 
Missouri,  of  the  "  iron-clad  "  or  test-oath,  adopted  in  1865,  in- 
volved the  constitutionality  of  that  oath,  which  was  affirmed  by 
the  opinion  of  the  Court,  a  minority  (including  Judge  Davis), 
dissenting  therefrom. 

In  the  case  of  Brennan  vs.  Ixhodes,  1868,  Judge  Davis  advo- 
cated the  uacoastitutiouality  of  the  legal-tender  act ;  and,  in  the 


DAVID   DAVIS.  351 

Veazie  Bank  case,  of  1869,  concerning  the  constitutionality  of 
a  ten  per  cent,  tax  imposed  by  Congress  (July  15th,  1866)  on 
amount  of  notes  issued  for  circulation  by  State  banks,  Judge 
Davis  dissented  from  the  opinion  of  his  colleagues  on  the  ground 
that  the  State  of  Maine  had  authority  to  charter  the  bank  and 
invest  it  with  full  banking  powers,  and  that  the  power  of  Con 
grass  to  tax  banks  was  opposed  to  the  right  of  the  State. 

Tn  his  opinion  and  action  upon  these  and  similar  cases,  Judge 
Davis  has  given  ample  proof  of  sound  judgment,  excellent  sense, 
and  above  all,  of  clearness  of  thought.  Ilis  style  of  expression 
is  simple  and  lucid;  his  opinions  never  overloaded  with  a  profu- 
sion of  illustrative  cases;  and  his  brief,  straightforwanl  manner 
of  giving  reasons  for  a  judgment  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
cases  of  the  Bank  of  RepnMic  vs.  Millard  (Wallace,  10),  and 
Barnard  vs.  Kello(/g  (Wallace,  11),  and  others. 

At  the  time  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  Judge 
Davis  was  one  of  the  committee  who  accompanied  the  remains 
of  his  lamented  friend  to  their  last  resting  place  ;  and  at  the 
urgent  request  of  the  bereaved  family,  was  appointed  adminis- 
trator upon  his  estate. 

Of  late  Judge  Davis  has  become  alienated  from  the  President, 
and  has  been  disposed  to  take  sides  with  the  Revenue  Reformers 
and  other  classes  hostile  to  President  Grant's  administration.  He 
was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  the  National  Labor  Re- 
form Convention,  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  February  22d,  1872,  and 
would  possibly  have  received  the  nomination  of  the  Liberal 
Republicans  at  Cincinnati,  but  for  the  fact  that  there  were  two 
or  three  candidates  from  Illinois,  and  the  convention  preferred 
to  select  from  some  State  which  supported  but  a  single  candidate. 

Judge  Davis  was  wise  enough  to  foresee  the  glowing  future  of 
Chicago,  and  to  purchase  largely  of  the  land  on  which  the  city 
ia  built,  and  his  shrewd  foresight  has  made  him  a  millionaire. 


CHARLES  SUMNER,- 

UNITED  STATES  SENATOR  FROM   MASSACHUSETTS. 


"  '^^HARLES  SUMNER  was  born  in  Boston,  Massacliusetta, 
on  the  6tli  of  February,  1811.  His  father,  Charles 
<^^^  Pinckney  Sumner,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  a 
lawyer  by  profession,  and  for  fourteen  years,  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  sheriff  of  Suffolk  county,  was  a  gentle- 
man of  eminent  probity,  literary  taste  and  ability,  of  whom  it 
has  been  said  that  "  the  happiness  of  mankind  was  his  control- 
ling passion."  These  graces  of  disposition,  as  well  as  his  noble 
and  sympathetic  character  were  inherited  by  his  son ;  who,  at 
an  early  age,  developed  uncommon  powers  of  intellect  and  an 
intense  thirst  for  knowledge.  He  prepared  for  college  at  the 
Boston  Latin  school,  where  he  manifested  a  peculiar  fondness 
for  the  classics  and  for  the  study  of  history ;  winning  at  the  close 
of  his  course,  the  prizes  for  English  composition  and  Latin 
poetry,  besides  the  Franklin  medal.  In  1830,  Mr.  Sumner 
graduated  from  Harvard  college,  and  in  the  following  year 
entered  the  law  school  at  Cambridge,  where  he  enjoyed  the 
friendship  as  well  as  the  teachings  of  that  eminent  jurist,  Judge 
"Story ;  pursuing  his  studies  with  an  indomitable  energy  and 
assiduity.  "He  never  relied  upon  text-books,"  we  are  told, 
"but  sought  original  sources,  read  all  authorities  and  references, 
and  made  himself  familiar  with  books  of  the  common  law,  from 

the  year-books,  in  uncouth  Norman,  down  to  the  latest  reporta 

352 


i 


F.NORAVEO  BY  A  Ij  .WalTRKPHU,* 


V 


CHARLES    SUMNER.  353 

It  was  said  that  he  could  go  into  the  law-library,  of  which  he 
was  the  librarian,  and  find,  iu  the  dark,  any  volume,  if  in  ita 
proper  place."  While  a  student  of  law,  he  becanae  an  esteemed 
contributor  to  the  "  American  Jurist,"  a  quarterly  journal  of 
extensive  celebrity  and  circulation  among  the  profession,  of 
which  he  soon  assumed  the  editorial  charge.  In  1834,  he  waa 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  Worcester,  and  commenced  practice  in 
his  native  city.  Being,  soon  after,  appointed  reporter  to  the 
Circuit  Court,  he  publi<shed  three  volumes,  known  as  "Sumner'a 
Reports ;"  and  for  three  successive  winters  after  his  admission 
to  the  bar,  lectured  to  the  students  of  the  Cambridge  law 
school,  in  the  absence  of  Professors  Greenleaf  and  Story; 
having,  also,  for  some  time,  the  sole  charge  of  the  Dane  school. 
These  and  other  labors  were  performed  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
rapidly  advance  him  to  the  front  rank  of  his  profession,  and  to 
attract  to  him  the  admiration  of  Chancellor  Kent,  Judge  Story, 
and  other  distinguished  lawyers.  In  1833,  he  edited,  with 
a  judiciousness  and  scope  of  learning  which  surprised  even  the 
h:ghest  legal  authorities,  Andrew  Dunlap's  "  Treatise  on  the 
iractice  of  the  Courts  of  Admiralty  in  civil  causes  of  maritirae 
jurisdiction,''^ — his  valuable  comments  forming  an  appendix 
vrhich  contained  as  much  matter  as  the  original  work.  In 
1837,  Mr,  Sumner  set  sail  for  Europe,  with  the  highest  reputa- 
tion as  a  young  lawyer  of  exalted  talent,  brilliant  genius,  and 
commanding  eloquence,  and  bearing  with  him  valuable  letters  of 
introduction  from  our  highest  legal  dignitaries  to  their  friends  of 
the  English  bar.  "  When  he  reached  England,  he  was  received 
with  marked  distinction  by  eminent  statesmen,  lawyers,  and 
scholars.  During  his  stay  in  England,  which  was  nearly  a 
year,  he  closely  attended  the  debates  in  Parliament,  and  heard 
all   the   great   speakers  of  the   day,  with    many  of  whom  he 

became  intimately  acquainted.     His  deportment  was  so  gentle- 
23 


854  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

manly,  his  mind  so  vigorous  and  accomplislied,  and  his  address 
so  winning,  that  he  became  a  favorite  with  many  in  the  best 
circles  of  English  society.  The  most  flattering -attentions  were 
shown  Mr.  Sumner  by  distinguished  members  of  the  English 
bar  and  bench,  and  while  attending  the  courts  at  Westminster 
Ilall,  he  was  frequently  inviled  by  the  judges  to  sit  by  their 
side  at  the  trials.  At  the  meeting  of  the  British  Scientific 
Association,  he  experienced  the  same  courteous  attentions.  In 
town  and  country,  he  moved  freely  in  circles  of  society,  to 
which  intelligence  and  refinement,  wealth  and  worth,  lend 
every  charm  any  grace.  Nor  did  the  evidence  of  such  respect 
and  confidence  pass  away  with  his  presence.  Two  years  after  his 
return  from  England,  The  Quarlerhj  Review,  alluding  to  his  visit, 
stepped  aside  to  say:  "He  presents,  in  his  own  person,  a  deci- 
sive proof  that  an  American  gentleman,  without  any  official  rank 
or  wide-spread  reputation,  by  mere  dint  of  courtesy,  candor,  au 
entire  absence  of  pretension,  an  appreciating  spirit,  and  a  culti- 
vated mind,  may  be  received  on  a  perfect  footing  of  equality 
in  the  best  circles — social,  political,  and  intellectual ;  which,  be 
it  observed,  are  hopelessly  inaccessible  to  the  itinerant  note- 
taker,  who  never  gets  beyond  the  outskirts  of  the  show-house." 

Eio^ht  years  later  yet,  he  received  a  compliment  which,  from 
an  English  bench,  is  of  the  rarest  occurrence.  On  an  insurance 
question,  before  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  one  of  the  counsel 
having  cited  an  American  case.  Baron  Parke,  the  ablest  of  the 
English  judges,  asked  him  what  book  he  quoted.  He  replied 
Sumner's  Reports.  Baron  Rolfe  said,  "Is  that  the  Mr.  Sumner 
who  was  once  in  England?"  On  receiving  a  reply  in  the 
affirmative.  Baron  Parke  observed,  "We  shall  not  consider  it 
entitled  to  the  less  attention,  because  reported  by  a  gentleman 
whom  we  all  knew  and  respected."  Some  years  ago,  some  of 
Mr.  Sumner's  estimates  of  war  expenses  were  quoted  by  Mr. 


CHARLES    SUMNER.  S66 

Cobden,  in  debate,  in  the  House  of  Commons.  In  Paris  be 
was  received  with  the  same  cordiality  as  in  England,  and  was 
speedily  admitted  to  a.  familiar  intercourse  with  the  highest 
intellectual  classes.  He  attended  the  debates  of  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  and  the  lectures  of  all  the  eminent  professors  in 
different  departments,  at  the  Sorbonne,  at  the  College  of 
France,  and  particularly  in  the  law  schools.  He  attended  a 
whole  term  of  the  Royal  Court  at  Paris,  observing  the  forms 
of  procedure;  received  many  kindnesses  from  the-  judges,  and 
was  allowed  to  peruse  the  papers  in  the  cases.  While  residing 
in  Paris,  he  became  intimately  acquainted  with  General  Cass, 
the  American  minister,  at  whose  request  he  wrote  a  masterly 
defence  of  the  American  claim  to  the  northeastern  boundary, 
which  was  received  with  much  favor  by  our  citizens,  and  re- 
published in  the  leading  journals  of  the  day.  In  Italy,  Mr. 
Sumner  devoted  himself,  with  the  greatest  ardor,  to  the  study 
of  art  and  literature,  and  read  many  of  the  best  works  of  that 
classic  land,  on  history,  politics,  and  poetry.  In  Germany,  he 
was  also  received  with  that  high  regard  v/hich  is  justly  paid 
to  distinguished  talent  and  transcendent  genius.  Here  he 
formed  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  those  eminent  jurists, 
Savigay,  Thibaut,  and  Alittermaier.  He  was  kindly  received 
by  Prince  Metternich,  and  became  acquainted  with  most  of  the 
professors  at  Heidelberg,  and  with  many  other  individuals 
distinguished  in  science  and  literature,  as  Humboldt,  Eanke, 
Hitter,  etc. 

"With  his  mind  thus  enriched  by  travel,  and  by  additional 
stores  of  varied  knowledge,  Mr.  Sumner  returned  to  his  native 
land  in  1840,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Hia 
principal  attention,  however,  was  given  to  the  leisurely  study  of 
the  science  and  literature  of  law,  rather  than  to  its  active  prose- 
cution in  the  professioual  arena.     In  1843,  he  again  resumed  tha 


356  MEN^   OF   OUR   DAY, 

positioE  of  lecturer  at  the  Cambridge  law  soliool,  and  in  1844-46, 
edited  an  edition  of  Vesej's  Keports,  in  twenty  volumes — a  great 
enterprise,  conceived  and  executed  in  the  happiest  spirit — which 
elicited  from  tlie  Boston  Law  Reporter  the  truthful  estimate  of 
Mr.  Sumner's  abilities,  that  "in  what  may  be  called  the  litera- 
ture of  the  law — the  curiosities  of  legal  learning — he  has  no 
rival  among  us." 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1845,  Mr.  Sumner  delivered  an  oration 
before  the  municipal  authorities  and  citizens  of  Boston  on  Tlie 
True,  Orandeur  of  Nations,  an  admirable  production,  advocating 
the  doctrine  of  universal  peace  among  nations.  This  oration, 
by  its  ennobling  sentiments,  its  beautiful  imagery,  classic  allu- 
eions  and  elegant  diction,  not  only  produced  a  profound  impres- 
sion upon  those  who  listened  to  it,  and  fully  established  his 
reputation  as  an  orator,  but  led  to  prolonged  controversy  upon 
the  subject  of  war  in  general  and  of  the  Mexican  war  in  par- 
ticular. 

When  the  eminent  Judge  Story  died,  in  1845,  Mr.  Sumner 
was  universally  conceded  to  be  the  fittest  person  to  succeed  hiin 
in  the  professorship  of  the  law  school.  Story  himself  had  fre- 
quently remarked,  "  I  shall  die  content,  so  far  as  my  professor- 
ship is  concerned,  if  Charles  Sumner  is  to  succeed  me ;"  while 
Chancellor  Kent  declared  the  young  man  "  the  only  person  in 
the  country  competent  "to  wear  the  mantle  of  his  departed 
friend."  But  Sumner  had  chosen  to  enter  upon  the  arena  of 
political  life ;  and,  indeed,  had  already  boldl}'-  planted  there  the 
banner,  under  whose  folds  he  had  elected  to  fight,  viz. :  the  cause 
of  human  freedom  and  universal  liberty.  On  the  4th  of  No- 
vember, 1845,  when  it  was  proposed  to  annex  Texas  to  the 
-Union  as  a  slave  State,  he  had  delivered  a  thrillingly  eloquent 
protest,  at  a  public  meeting  in  old  Faneuil  Hall,  against  such  an 
extension  of   the   slave   power.     Within   the  same  venerable 


CHARLES    SUMNER.  357 

walls,  consecrated  by  so  many  memories  of  revolutionary  patri- 
otism, he  again,  on  the  23d  of  September,  1846,  addressed  the 
Whig  State  Convention  on  the  Anti-slavery  Duties  of  the  Whig 
Party,  and,  not  long  after,  published  a  letter  of  rebuke  to  Hon. 
Eobert  C.  Winthrop  for  his  vote  in  favor  of  the  war  with  Mex- 
ico. On  the  17th  of  February,  1847,  he  delivered,  before  the 
Boston  Mercantile  Library  Association,  a  brilliant  lecture  on 
White  Slavery  in  the  Barhary  States,  a  production  of  rare  schol- 
arship and  research,  possessing  great  interest  to  every  philan- 
thropist and  lover  of  liberty.  At  Springfield,  September  21),. 
1847,  he  made  a  powerful  speech,  before  the  Massachusetts  "Whig 
State  Convention,  on  Political  Action  Against  the  Slave  Power 
and  the  Extension  of  Slavery  ;  and,  at  a  mass  convention  at  "Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts,  on  the  28th  of  June,  1848,  he  gave  another 
of  his  eloquent  and  able  speeches,  For  Union  among  Men  of  all 
Parties  against  the  Slave  Power  and  the  Extension  of  Slavery,  in. 
which  he  forcibly  characterized  the  movement  of  the  day,  as  a 
revolution,  "  destined  to  end  only  with  the  overthrow"  of  the 
tyranny  of  the  slave  power  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Sumner, 
meanwhile,  had  withdrawn  from  the  "Whig  party,  and  had  asso- 
ciated himself  with  the  "Free-soil"  party,  who  favored  the  claimS' 
of  Mr,  Van  Buren  for  the  presidency  in  1848.  On  the  8d  of 
October,  1850,  he  delivered,  before  the  Free-soil  State  Conven- 
tion, at  Boston,  a  masterly  and  glowing  speech  on  Our  Recent 
Anti-slavery  Duties,  which  was  a  most  exalted  triumph  of  gen- 
uine oratory,  and  produced  the  profoundest  impression  upon 
those  who  heard  it.  It  bore  with  terrible  severity  upon  the' 
Fugitive  Slave  bill,  then  recently  passed,  and  upon  President. 
Fillmore,  who  had  signed  it,  of  whom  he  said,  "  Other  Presi- 
dents may  be  forgotten ;  but  the  name  signed  to  the  Fugitive 
Slave  bill  can  never  be  forgotten.  There  are  depths  of  infamy, 
as  there  are  heights  of  fame.     I  regret  to  say  what  I  must ;  but 


858  MEN    OF   OUR   DAT. 

truth  compels  me.  Better  for  him  had  he  never  been  born. 
Bstter  far  for  his  memory,  and  for  the  good  name  of  his  chil- 
dren, had  he  never  been  President." 

On  the  24th  of  April,  1851,  Mr.  Sumner  was  elected  by  a 
coalition  of  the  Free-soilers  and  Democrats  in  the  Massachusetts 
legislature,  to  occupy  the  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate,  pre- 
viously occupied  by  Daniel  Webster,  who  had  recently  accepted 
a  position  in  Mr.  Fillmore's  cabinet.  He  took  his  seat  in  the 
national  council,  fully  and  firmly  pledged  to  "  oppose  all  sec- 
tionalism^ whether  it  appear  in  unconstitutional  efforts  by  the 
North  to  carry  so  great  a  boon  as  freedom  into  the  Slave 
States,  or  in  unconstitutional  efforts  by  the  South,  aided  by 
northern  allies,  to  carry  the  sectional  evil  of  slavery  into  the 
free  States ;  or  in  whatsoever  efforts  it  may  make  to  extend  the 
sectional  domination  of  slavery  over  the  national  Government." 
Soon  after  his  introduction  to  the  Senate,  he  appeared  as  the 
able  advocate  of  aid  to  railroads  through  the  new  Western 
States.  His  first  grand  effort,  however,  in  the  Senate,  was  his 
speech,  on  the  26th  of  August,  1852,  on  his  motion  to  repeal 
the  Fugitive  Slave  hill,  entitled.  Freedom  National,  Slavery  Sec- 
tional. He  had  been  for  a  long  time  deprived — through  the 
action  of  the  pro-slavery  members  of  the  Senate,  who  were  de- 
termined to  trample  upon  the  freedom  of  speech  on  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery — of  the  chance  of  speaking  on  this  question ; 
but  when,  seizing  a  parliamentary  opportunity,  he  at  length 
gained  the  floor,  he  rebuked,  in  terms  of  lofty  but  scathing 
rebuke,  the  attempt  to  muzzle  public  debate ;  and,  with  indig- 
nant eloquence,  denounced  the  Fugitive  Slave  bill  as  cruel, 
tyrannical,  and  unconstitutional.  His  next  great  effort  was 
his  speech  before  the  Senate,  February,  21,  1854,  entitled.  The 
Landmark  nf  Freedom ;  Freedom  National;  against  the  repeal  of 
the  Miss'^uiri  prohibition  of  slavery  south  of  thirty-six  degrees 


CHARLES    SUMNER.  859 

thirty  minutes,  in  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill.  Speaking  of 
that  '*  Question  of  questions, — as  far  above  others  as  liberty  ia 
above  the  common  things  of  life — which  it  opens  anew  for 
judgment,"  he  said,  "  Sir,  the  bill  which  you  are  now  about  to  pass, 
is  at  once  the  worst  and  the  best  bill  on  which  Congress  has  ever  acted. 
Yes,  sir,  Worst  and  Best  at  the  same  time.  It  is  the  worst 
bill,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  present  victory  of  slavery.  In  a  Chris- 
tian land,  and  in  an  age  of  civilization,  a  time-honored  statute 
of  freedom  is  struck  down,  opening  the  way  to  all  the  countless 
woes  and  wrongs  of  human  bondage.  Among  the  crimes  of 
history,  another  is  about  to  be  recorded,  which  no  tears  can 
blot  out,  and  which,  in  better  days,  will  be  read  with  uni- 
versal shame.  Do  not  start.  The  tea  tax  and  stamp  act,  which 
aroused  the  patriotic  rage  of  our  fathers,  were  virtues  by  the 
side  of  your  transgression ;  nor  would  it  be  easy  to  imagine,  at 
this  day,  any  measure  which  more  openly  and  perversely  defied 
every  sentiment  of  justice,  humanity,  and  Christianity.  Am  I 
not  right,  then,  in  calling  it  the  worst  bill  on  which  Congress 
ever  acted  ? 

"  But  there  is  another  side  to  which  I  gladly  turn.  Sir,  it  is 
the  best  bill  on  which  Congress  ever  acted; /or  it  annuls  all  past 
compromises  with  slavery,  and  makes  all  future  compromises  impossi- 
ble. Thus  it  puts  freedom  and  slavery  face  to  face,  and  bids  them 
grapple.  Who  can  doubt  the  result?  It  opens  wide  the  door 
of  the  future,  when,  at  last,  there  will  really  be  a  North,  and 
the  slave  power  will  be  broken ;  when  this  wretched  despotism 
will  cease  to  dominate  over  our  Government,  no  longer  impress- 
ing itself  upon  every  thing  at  home  and  abroad;  when  the 
national  Government  shall  be  divorced  in  every  way  from 
slavery ;  and,  according  to  the  true  intention  of  our  fathers, 
freedom  shall  be  established  by  Congress  everywhere,  at  least 
beyond  the  local  limits  of  the  States.     Slavery  will  then  be 


360  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

driven  from  its  usurped  footliold  here  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, in  the  national  territories  and  elsewhere  beneath  the 
national  flag ;  the  Fugitive  Slave  bill,  as  vile  as  it  is  unconstitu- 
tional, will  become  a  dead  letter ;  and  the  domestic  slave  trade, 
80  far  as  it  can  be  reached,  but  especially  on  the  high  seas,  will 
be  blasted  by  Congressional  prohibition.  Everywhere,  within 
the  sphere  of  Congress,  the  great  Northern  hammer  will  descend 
to  smite  the  wrong ;  and  the  irresistible  cry  will  break  forth ; 
'  No  more  slave  States.' 

"Thus,  sir,  now  standing  at  the  very  grave  of  freedom  in 
Nebraska  and  Kansas,  I  lift  myself  to  the  vision  of  that  hap|"y 
resurrection,  by  which  freedom  will  be  secured,  not  only  in 
these  territories,  but  everywhere  under  the  national  Goverii- 
ment.  More  closely  than  ever  before,  I  now  penetrate  that 
"  All-hail  hereafter,"  when  slavery  must  disappear.  Proudly  I 
discern  the  flag  of  my  country,  as  it  ripples  in  every  breeze,  at 
last  become  in  reality,  as  in  name,  the  flag  of  freedom — 
undoubted,  pure,  and  irresistible.  Am  I  not  right,  then,  in 
calling  this  bill  the  best  on  which  Congress  ever  acted  ? 

"  Sorrowfully,  I  bend  before  the  wrong  you  are  about  to  coia 
mit;  joyfully,  I  welcome  all  the  promises  of  the  future." 

On  the  26th  and  28th  of  June,  ISS-i,  Mr.  Sumner,  on  the 
Boston  memorial  for  the  repeal  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  bill,  replied 
to  Messrs.  Jones  of  Tennessee,  Butler  of  South  Carolina,  and 
Mason  of  Virginia,  in  eloquent  speeches,  full  of  interesting  facts, 
and  £ne  oratory.  These  were  followed,  July  81st,  by  his 
memorable  speech  on  the  "  struggle  for  the  repeal  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  bill,"  iii  support  of  a  motion  for  repeal  of  said  bill,  the 
introduction  of  which  the  Senate  finally  refused,  although,  in  so 
doing,  they  overturned  two  undoubted  parliamentary  rules. 

After  the  close  of  the  Congressional  session,  he  addressed  the 
Republican  State  Convention,  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  on 


CHAKLE3    SUMNER.  361 

the  1st  of  September,  1854,  on  tlie  duties  of  Massachusetts  at  t"he 
•present  crisis  ;  and  during  the  following  Congressional  session  of 
1854-5,  he  was  again  found  at  the  front,  stoutly  battling  for 
human  rights.  When,  in  February,  1855,  Mr.  Toucey,  of  Con- 
necticut, moved  his  "  bill  to  protect  officers  and  other  persona 
acting  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,"  Mr.  Sumner 
to(fk  the  floor  with  his  masterly  speech  on  the  Demands  of  Free- 
dom—Repeal of  tlie  Fugitive  Slave  hill.  Again,  on  the  9th  of  May, 
1855,  in  the  Metropolitan  theatre  of  New  York,  he  deli  vera  1 
a  public  address  on  the  Anti-slavery  Enterprise^,  which  produced  %. 
profound  impression  upon  the  community.  On  the  2d  ol' 
November,  1855,  he  spoke  before  a  public  meeting  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  Boston,  on  the  Slave  Oligarchy  and  its  Usurpations — thi 
Outrages  in  Kansas — the  Different  Political  parties — tlie  R(pul)Ucan 
party — a  concise,  forcible  and  eloquent  presentation  of  the  \vf,- 
tory  of  the  great  American  question. 

On  this  question,  indeed,  Mr.  Sumner  had  now  become  t'  o 
recognized  leader  of  the  anti-slavery  party  in  the  Senal  u. 
Favored  with  a  commanding  and  attractive  person,  a  dignifli'd 
and  captivating  delivery,  a  strong  and  melodious  voice,  a  mil  d 
endowed  with  rare  capabilities  and  still  rarer  acquired  grac  ja 
of  education,  and  treasures  of  knowledge ;  and,  beyond  all,  a 
truthfulness  of  character  which  gives  additional  emphasis  to 
every  word  which  he  utters,  Charles  Sumner  was  a  repre- 
sentative of  whom  the  Old  Bay  State  had  every  reason  to  be 
proud;  a  champion  of  freedom,  justice,  and  humanity,  whose 
influence  and  integrity  were  undoubted.  The  moment  was 
now  at  hand  when  the  eloquent  orator  was  to  become  a  bleeding 
witness,  and  well  nigh  a  martyr  to  that  "  barbarism  of  slavery," 
which  he  had  so  often  denounced  with  unsparing  tongue. 
On  the  lUth  and  20th  of  May,  1856,  during  the  animated  and 
protracted  debate  on  the  admission  of  Kansas  as  a  State  of  the 


362  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

Union,  Mr.  Sumner  delivered  in  the  Senate  a  speech  of  sur- 
passing eloquence  and  power  on  the  Crime  against  Kansas — the 
Apologies  for  the  Grime — the  True  Remedy.  In  the  course  of  this 
speech,  which  has  been  well  esteemed  as  "one  of  the  grandest 
efforts  of  modern  oratory — one  of  the  most  commanding,  irre- 
sistible, and  powerful  speeches  ever  made  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,"  he  vindicated,  in  fervid  terms,  the  fair  fame  of  ^is 
Dative  State,  and  with  keen  sarcasm,  severe  invective,  and  irre- 
sistible argument,  traced  the  course  of  slavery  arrogance  and 
domination  in  Kansas,  concluding  with  the  following  feeling 
peroration :  "  In  just  regard  for  free  labor  in  that  territory, 
which  it  is  sought  to  blast  by  unwelcome  association  with  slave- 
labor  ;  in  Christian  sympathy  with  the  slave,  whom  it  is  pro- 
posed to  task  and  sell  there ;  in  stern  condemnation  of  the  crime 
which  has  been  consummated  on  that  beautiful  soil ;  in  rescue 
of  fellow-citizens,  now  subjugated  to  a  tyrannical  usurpation; 
in  dutiful  respect  for  the  early  fathers,  Avhose  inspirations  are 
now  ignobly  thwarted ;  in  the  name  of  the  Constitution,  which 
has  been  outraged — of  the  laws  trampled  down — of  justice 
banished — of  humanity  degraded — of  peace  destroyed — of  free- 
dom crushed  to  earth  ;  and  in  the  name  of  the  Heavenly  Father 
whose  service  is  perfect  freedom,  I  make  this  last  appeal." 
This  speech  greatly  incensed  the  southern  members  in  Con- 
gress, and  was  the  alleged  provocation  for  the  cruel  and  cowardly 
assault  made  upon  him. 

On  Thursday,  May  22d,  two  days  after  this  speech,  as  Mr. 
Sumner  was  sitting  at  his  desk  in  the  Senate  chamber,  busied 
with  his  correspondence,  after  the  adjournment  of  the  day,  he 
was  suddenly  attacked  by  Preston  S.  Brooks,  a  member  of  the 
House,  from  South  Carolina,  a  nephew  of  Senator  Butler,  to 
whom  Mr.  Sumner  had  replied,  who  felled  him  to  the  floor  with  a 
heavy  cane,  with  which  he  continued  to  belabor  his  unconscious 


CHARLES    SUMNER.  363' 

victim  over  the  bead,  while  Mr.  Keitt,  another  South  Carolina 
Congressman,  stood  by,  with  arms  in  hand,  to  prevent  any 
interference  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Sumner's  friends.  .The  few 
gentlemen  who  were  present  in  the  Senate  chamber,  were  at 
first  apparently  paralyzed  by  the  scene,  but  Messrs.  Morgan  and 
Murray  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Chittenden,  rushed  to  his  aid, 
and  finally  succeeded  in  wresting  the  infuriated  scions  of 
"  chivalry"  from  the  object  of  their  fiendish  malevolence ;  and 
they  were  subsequently  censured  by  the  House,  and  resigned 
their  seats,  both  ultimately  dying  miserable  and  dishonorable 
deaths.  The  brutal  attack  thoroughly  aroused  the  citizens  of 
the  Northern  States  to  the  realization  of  the  true  character  of 
slavery  as  manifested  in  its  advocates.  Large  indignation 
meetings  were  held  in  many  towns  and  cities  of  the  land,  from 
the  east  to  the  west ;  and  this  attempt  to  stifle  freedom  of  speech 
resulted  in  a  concentration  of  public  sentiment  in  regard  to  the 
assumptions  of  the  South,  which  tended  greatly  to  diffuse  and 
promote  the  spirit  of  true  liberty. 

The  injuries  inflicted  upon  Mr.  Sumner  were  of  the  severest 
character,  and  resulted  in  a  long  continued  and  alarming 
disability,  which  obliged  him  to  seek  recreation  and  medical 
advice  and  treatment  in  Europe.  For  more  than  three  years, 
he  was  a  great  and  constant  sufferer,  and  his  final  recovery 
was  due,  under  God,  to  the  skill  of  the  eminent  French  surgeon, 
Dr.  Brown-Sequard,  and  to  his  own  remarkably  vigorous  and 
healthy  constitution.  In  1860,  having  recovered  his  health,  he 
took  an  active  part  in  the  presidential  canvass,  which  resulted 
in  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

During  this  year,  also,  he  delivered  his  great  oration  on  the 
"  Barbarism  of  Slavery,"  the  complement  of  the  one  for  which 
he  was  so  brutally  assaulted. 

During  the  discussions   in  the   Senate,  which  were  finally 


864  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

terminated  by  the  seccession  of  the  Southern  States,  he  earnestly 
opposed  all  concession  and  compromise;  and  was  one  of  the 
earliest  advocates  of  emancipation  as  a  speedy  mode  of  bringing 
the  war  to  an  end.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  Senate  in  1863, 
and  again  in  1869,  his  present  term  ending  March  -Itli,  1875. 

At  the  reorganization  of  the  Senate  Committee  in  ^Marcli,  1861, 
Mr.  Sumner  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations,  a  position  for  which  his  great  attainments  and  his 
abilit3''as  a  statesman  eminently  qualified  him.  He  continued  to 
be  chairman  of  this  important  committee,  rendering  conspicuous 
service  to  the  nation,  until  the  assembling  of  the  XLIId  Con- 
gress in  March,  1871,  when,  in  consequence  of  his  hostility  to 
the  Santo  Domingo  Scheme,  his  denunciation  of  the  course  of 
the  Government  in  regard  to  Hayti,  and  his  aversion  to  Secre- 
tary Fish,  he  was,  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  Senate,  at  Secretary 
Fish's  prompting,  removed  from  that  committee  and  made 
chairman  of  the  less  important  one  "  On  Privileges  and  Elec- 
tions." 

As  Mr.  Sumner  had  deemed  it  his  duty  to  speak  in  terms  of 
considerable  severity  of  some  of  the  measures  of  the  administra- 
tion, though  not  in  general  hostile  to  it,  some  members  of  both 
houses  of  Congress,  and  especially  of  the  Senate,  claiming  to  be 
the  special  friends  of  the  President,  retorted  with  gross  personal 
abuse  of  Mr.  Sumner,  denouncing  him  as  a  traitor  and  denying 
that  he  had  any  claims  to  be  regarded  as  a  Republican.  Ii  might 
have  been  well  for  these  men,  several  of  whom  had  themselves 
belonged  to  the  Democratic  party  till  within  a  short  time,  to 
compare  their  own  record  with  that  of  Mr.  Sumner,  and  they 
might  have  found  that  as  the  founder  and  father  of  the  Republi- . 
can  party,  and  always  true  to  its  great  principles  amid  evil 
report  and  good  report,  he  might  with  the  utmost  propriety 
have  read  them  out  of  the  party,  as  having  only  come  in  when 
oITice  and  place  were  to  be  the  rewards  of  their  fealty. 


CHARLES    SUMNER.  365 

Mr.  Sumner,  at  lenglh  wearied  with  their  constant  assaults 

upon  him,  replied  in  a  speech  of  considerable  length,  in  which  he 

reviewed   with   the    most   trenchant  severity  President   Grant's 

'  .  .  .  .  , 

administration,  arraigning  it  for  nepotism,  favoritism,  and  alack 

of  perception  of  the  sacredness  and  dignity  of  the  great  trusts 
confided  to  it.  The  charges,  made  with  that  reiteration  and 
variety  of  indictment  which  characterize  the  Senator's  speeches, 
and  which  [)crh;ips  he  derives  from  his  legal  studies,  were  sup 
ported  by  a  vast  array  of  proofs,  and  qu<;tations  from  history. 
In  one  point  of  view,  ho  made  out  his  case,  the  particulars 
charged  were  mostly  true,  but  the  inference  of  evil  and  wicked 
intent  was  not  so  clearly  demonstrated,  and  the  Senator  might  be 
justly  charged  with  some  degree  of  malice  in  his  labored  indict- 
ment. Several  re])lies  were  attempted,  but  none  of  them  were 
very  satisfactory,  even  to  the  speakers  themselves.  The  result  will 
undoubtedly  be  that  for  some  time  to  come  he  will  be  in  a  mino- 
rity in  the  Senate,  but  in  his  long  Senatorial  career  he  has  been 
before  now  declared  "  outside  of  any  healthy  p(;lilical  organiza- 
tion," when  slavery  lifted  its  lasli  and  bludgeon  against  him  in  the 
Senate  chamber;  and  though  the  injuries  of  those  wlio  have  been 
professed  friends  are  harder  to  bear  than  the  assaults  of  enemies, 
yet  he  is  too  valuable  a  man  in  the  Senate  to  be  very  long  "sent 
to  Coventry,"  and  meanwhile  may  console  himself  as  did  an 
ancient  Roman  Statesman  : 

"And  more  true  joy  Marcellus  exiled  feels 
'I'huri  Ctesar  with  a  Senate  at  his  heels." 

Mr,  Sumner  is  not  faultless;  a  certain  imperiousncss  of  man- 
ner, an  over-consciousness  of  his  own  really  great  powers,  and 
an  intolerance  of  difference  fr(jm  him  of  opinion,  are  infirmities 
which  tli(;se  who  love  him  most  heartily  can  but  dcj)lore,  but 
these  when  set  off  against  his  long  faithful  and  consistent  service, 
bis  intense  patriotism  and  his  broad   and  comprehensive  views 


866  MEN-   OF    OUR    DAY. 

on  all  subjects  of  statesmanship,  may  well  be  regarded  as  but 
slight  and  inconsiderable  blemishes  in  a  character  otherwise  spot- 
less. It  is  a  fact  creditable  in  the  highest  degree  to  both  men,  that 
Mv.  Sumner  and  Mr.  Wilson,  though  differing  widely  at  present 
in  their  political  views,  are  personally  very  warm  friends,  and 
each  has  the  utmost  confidence  in  the  integrity  and  sincerity  of 
the  other.  When  Mr.  Wilson  was  nominated  for  Vice-President 
in  June,  Mr.  Sumner  was  among  the  first  to  congratulate  him, 
and  would  doubtless  vote  for  him  could  he  do  so  without  voting 
for  President  Grant  at  the  same  time. 

Personally  Mr.  Sumner  is  a  man  of  fine  and  commanding 
presence,  and  of  great  dignity  and  courtesy  of  manner,  and  out- 
side of  the  political  arena,  very  popular.  In  the  extent  and 
profundity  of  his  culture,  in  his  wide  range  of  knowledge  on  all 
questions  of  national  and  international  law,  history  and  political 
economy,  and  the  breadth  and  comprehensiveness  of  his  views 
as  a  statesman,  Mr.  Sumner  has  few  equals  and  no  superior. 


-.ai,^-i;je5«'. 


Kn^kavsc  V»  a  -B  VyTAum^  Stetvo 


HENRY  WILSON, 

UNITED    STATES    SENATOR   FROM    MASSACHUSETTS 


(EOM  the  lowliest  to  the  loftiest  station — from  extreme 
1^  penury,  the  hard  grinding  poverty  which  knows  the 
bitter  experiences  of  hunger,  and  insufficient  clothing^ 
and  wearisome  toil,  even  in  childhood,  from  the  early 
dawn  far  into  the  hours  of  night,  to  the  comforts  and  enjoy- 
ments of  refined  society,  and  a  position  in  the  highest  legisla- 
tive body  in  the  world,  the  American  Senate — these  are  the 
vicissitudes  through  which  more  »-han  one  of  our  eminent  states- 
men have  passed.  Senator  Wilson  is  one  of  those  whose  lives 
have  not  been  all  sunshine,  and  who  have  attained  their  present 
high  station  only  through  labor  and  struggles,  v/hich  less  reso- 
lute, earnest  men  would  have  deemed  beyond  human  power  and 
endurance. 

Henry  Wilson  was  born  in  Farmington,  New  Hampshire, 
February  16th,  1812.  His  parents  were  extremely  poor :  and 
this  son  they  were  driven,  by  their  poverty,  to  bind  out  to  a 
farmer,  as  an  apprentice,  when  he  was  but  ten  years  of  age. 
The  apprenticeship  was  for  eleven  years,  an  age  to  a  boy.  It 
would  seem,  however,  that  he  fell  into  good  hands;  for,  though 
faring  much  as  other  bound-boys  do,  in  regard  to  the  labor  of 
the  farm,  he  had  his  fair  share  of  schooling,  and  by  some  appro- 
priation of  the  hours  usually  devoted  to  sleep,  and  a  careful 

307 


868  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

husbanding  of  those  which  he  could  rightfully  call  his  own,  he 
had  n.\anaged,  in  those  eleven  years,  to  read  eagerly  and  treasure, 
in  part  at  least,  in  his  memory,  more  than  a  thousand  volumes 
of  history,  biography,  travel,  discovery,  etc.  There  was  no 
reason  to  fear  that  a  boy,  so  ravenously  hungry  for  knowledge, 
would  remain  through  life  in  a  position  as  humble  as  that  from 
which  he  sprung.  Senator  Wilson  has  none  of  that  miserable 
snobbishness,  which  leads  some  men  to  desire  to  conceal  their 
humble  birth.  No!  he  glories  rather  in  being  "a  son  of  the 
soil."  Witness  his  reply  to  that  infamous  speech  of  Governor 
Hammond,  of  South  Carolina,  in  which  he  characterized  work- 
ing men  as  mudsills,  and  asserted  that,  "  the  hireling  manual 
laborers,"  who  lived  by  daily  toil,  were  "  essentially  slaves." 
To  these  taunts,  Mr.  Wilson  replied : 

"Sir,  I  am  a  son  of  a  hireling  'manual  laborer;'  who,  with 
the  frosts  of  seventy  winters  on  his  brow,  '  lives  by  daily  labor.' 
I,  too,  have  '  lived  by  daily  labor.'  I,  too,  have  been  a  '  hire- 
ling manual  laborer.'  Poverty  cast  its  dark  and  chilling 
shadow  over  the  home  of  my  childhood;  and  want  was  some- 
times there — an  unbidden  guest.  At  the  age  of  ten  years — to 
aid  him  who  gave  me  being  in  keeping  the  gaunt  spectre  from 
the  hearth  of  the  mother  who  bore  me, — I  left  the  home  of  my 
boyhood,  and  went  forth  to  earn  my  bread  by  '  daily  labor.'  " 

A  noble,  manly  avowal,  which  ought  to  have  won  the  respect 
of  the  haughty  slavocrat,  who  was  himself  not  more  than  two 
generations  removed  from  the  "  mudsills,"  whom  he  contemned. 

When  Mr.  Wilson  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  left  New 
Hampshire,  and  entered  a  shoe-shop  at  Natick,  Massachusetts, 
to  learn  the  art  and  mystery  of  shoemaking.  He  labored  at 
this  trade  for  three  years,  and,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  having, 
as  he  supposed,  earned  a  sufficient  sum  to  enable  him  to  obtain 
a  collegiate  education,  he  returned  to  New  Hampshire,  and,  in 


HENRY    WILSON.  369 

1836,  eutered  Strafford  Academy,  to  complete  his  preparation 
for  college. 

A  few  weeks  previous  to  this,  however,  he  had  visited  the 
national  capital,  and  listened  to  the  exciting  debates  in  the 
Senate  chamber  and  the  hall  of  Eepresentatives.  There  he  had 
seen  Pinckney's  resolutions,  against  the  reception  of  anti-slavery 
petitions,  receive  a  majority  vote  in  the  house,  and  Calhoun's 
Incendiary  Publication  Bill,  pass  the  Senate  by  the  casting  vote 
of  Vice-President  Van  Buren.  He  had  visited,  too,  Williams's 
slave- pen;  had  seen  men  and  women  in  chains,  put  upon  the 
auction  block,  for  the  crime  of  possessing  "  a  skin  darker  than 
his  own,"  and  sold  to  hopeless  slavery  in  the  far  southwest. 
Shoemakers  are  proverbially  thoughtful  men,  and  this  one  was 
no  exception  to  the  rule.  He  thought  deeply  and  sadly  of  the 
horrors  and  aggressions  of  slavery,  its  inhuman  cruelties,  its 
traffic  in  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men,  its  deliberate  trampling 
upon  the  political  as  well  as  social  rights  of  the  nation,  and 
from  that  day  forth,  the  settled  purpose  of  his  heart  was  to 
make  war  upon  slavery.  That  purpose  he  has  never  changed. 
His  method  of  conducting  the  contest  may  have  differed,  some- 
times, from  those  of  other  prominent  anti-slavery  leaders ;  they 
may  have  been  as  good,  or  better,  or  worse ;  but  to  one  aim 
he  has  ever  been  true,  the  overthrow  of  the  s^ave  power.  At 
the  close  of  his  first  term  at  Strafford  academy,  at  the  public 
exhibition,  he  maintained  the  affirmative  ot  the  question, 
"Ought  Slavery  to  be  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia?" 
in  an  oration  of  decided  ability.  Early  the  next  year,  the 
young  men  of  New. Hampshire  held  an  Anti -slavery  Conven- 
tion, at  Concord,  and  Mr.  Wilson,  who  was  then  attending  the 
academy  at  Concord,  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention,  and  took 
an  active  part  in  its  deliberations. 

The  opportunities  of  our  young  shoemaker  for  attaining  a 

24 


370  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

higlier  education  in  academies  and  colleges  were  destined  to  be 
short.  The  man  to  whom  he  had  entrusted  the  hard-earned 
little  hoard  which  was  to  pay  his  way  through  college,  became 
insolvent,  and  the  money  was  wholly  lost.  Sorrowful,  but  not 
despondent,  he  retraced  his  steps  to  Natick,  and,  after  teaching 
school  for  a  time,  engaged  in  the  shoe  manufacturing  business, 
and  prospered.  He  continued  in  this  pursuit  for  several  years, 
still  employing  all  his  leisure  in  mental  cultivation.  In  1840, 
he  took  an  active  part  in  promoting  the  election  of  General 
Harrison,  making  more  than  sixty  speeches,  during  the  cam- 
paign, and  proving  a  very  effective  political  speaker.  He  was 
elected  the  same  autumn  to  the  house  of  representatives  of  the 
State  legislature,  and  re-elected  in  1841.  In  1844  and  1845, 
he  was  chosen  as  State  Senator  from  his  district.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  favor  of  the  admission  of  colored  children  into 
the  public  schools,  the  protection  of  colored  seamen  in  South 
Carolina,  and  in  opposition  to  the  annexation  of  Texas.  In 
the  autumn  of  1845,  he  got  up  a  convention,  in  the  county  of 
Middlesex,  at  which  a  committee  was  appointed,  which  obtained 
more  than  sixty  thousand  signatures  to  petitions  against  the 
admission  of  Texas,  as  a  slave  State ;  and  with  the  poet  Whit- 
tier,  was  appointed  a  committee  to  carry  the  petitions  to  Wash- 
ing-ton. In  1846,  Mr,  Wilson  was  again  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  lie  introduced  the  resolution,  declaring  the 
continued  opposition  of  Massachusetts  to  "the  farther  extension 
and  longer  existence  of  slavery  in  America,"  and  made  an  elab- 
orate speech  in  its  favor,  which  was  pronounced  by  Mr.  Garri- 
son in  ''  The  Liberator,''''  to  be  the  most  comprehensive  and  ex- 
haustive speech  on  slavery  ever  made  in  any  legislative  body 
in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  a  delegate  to  the  Whig'  National  Convention 
at  Philadelphia,  in  1848;  and  on  the  rejection  by  the  Conven- 


HENr.Y    WILSON.  371 

tion  of  tlie  "Wilrnot  Proviso,  and  the  nomination  of  General 
Taylor,  he  denounced  its  action,  retired  from  it,  returned  home, 
and  issued  an  address  to  the  people  of  his  district  vindicating 
his  action.  He  purchased  "  The  Boston  Republican,^''  the  organ 
of  the  Free-soil  party  in  Massachusetts,  and  edited  it  for  more 
than  two  years. 

In  1850,  Mr.  Wilson  was  again  a  member  of  the  Massachu- 
setts House  of  Eepresentatives,  and  the  candidate  of  the  Free- 
soil  members  for  Speaker.  He  was  the  chairman  of  the  State 
Central  Free-soil  Committee ;  was  the  originator  and  organizer 
of  the  celebrated  coalition  between  the  Free-soil  and  Democratic 
parties,  which  made  Mr.  Boutwell  governor  in  1851  and  1852, 
and  sent  Mr.  Rantoul  and  Mr.  Sumner  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  1851 
and  1852,  and  president  »f  that  body  in  those  years.  In  1852, 
he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Free-soil  National  Convention  at  Pitts- 
burg ;  was  made  president  of  the  convention,  a^d  chairman  of 
the  National  Committee.  He  was  the  Free-soil  candidate  for 
Congress  in  1852 ;  and  though  his  party  was  in  a  minority,  in 
the  district,  of  nearly  eight  thousand,  he  was  beaten  by  only 
ninety-three  votes.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Con- 
stitutional Convention  in  1853,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  iis 
deliberations.  In  1853  and  1854,  Mr.  Wilson  was  the  candidate 
of  the  Free-soil  party  for  Governor  of  Massachusetts  ;  and  in 
1855  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned 
by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Everett. 

"  Time,"  it  is  said,  "  often  brings  its  whirligig  of  revenges  ;" 
but  it  is  seldom  the  case  that  one  occurs  more  marked  than  this. 
The  Whig  party  of  Massachusetts  was  essentially  an  aristocratic 
party  ;  its  leaders  were  all  men  of  high  culture,  of  great  refine- 
ment, fastidious  in  the  extreme — and  though,  upon  occasion, 
professing  great  friendship  and  regard  for  the  working  men, 


3T2  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

they  were  generally  very  careful  to  avoid  any  close  contact 
with  them.  Edward  "Rverett,  a  good,  though  timid  man,  an 
elegant  scholar,  a  courteous  gentleman,  and  the  associate  and 
friend  of  the  titled  aristocracy  of  Great  Britain,  had  repre- 
sented them  in  the  Senate.  Mr.  Sumner  had  been  his  colleague 
for  a  year  or  two  previous,  it  is  true,  and  this  annoyed  thera. 
But  Mr.  Sumner  was  an  elegant  scholar,  a  man  of  refinement, 
and  of  a  distinguished  family ;  so  that,  notwithstanding  his  abo- 
litionism, they  could  endure  him.  But  imagine  the  horror  of 
the  Winthrops,  the  Appletons,  the  Lawrences,  and  the  rest  of 
the  cotton  lords,  on  learning  that  the  Natick  shoemaker,  whom 
they  had  been  disposed  to  snub  when  he  was  a  member  of  their 
party,  and  whose  defection  to  the  ranks  of  the  Free-soilers  they 
had  regarded  as  rather  a  matter  of  rejoicing  than  regret,  had 
the  audacity  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  Senatorship  which  Ed- 
ward Everett  had  filled  !  and,  what  was  worse,  was  actually 
elected!  They  denounced,  in  no  measured  terms,  this  disgrace 
to  the  old  and  fair  fame  of  Massachusetts. 

But  the  Natick  mechanic,  like  another  mechanic  from  Wal- 
tham,  who  was  elected  to  Congress  the  same  year,  and  who  waa 
subsequently  the  governor  of  the  State,  proved  to  be  no  boor. 
He  was  not,  probably  equal  to  his  predecessor  in  classic  oi 
belles-lettres  scholarship,  but  he  had  made  the  most  of  his 
scanty  opportunities  of  intellectual  culture.  He  was  a  gentle- 
man in  his  manners  and  address,  and  in  thorough  mastery 
of  all  political  questions  relating  to  our  own  government,  and 
able,  fearless  exposition  of  the  principles  which  lie  at  the  founda- 
tion of  all  good  government,  he  was  the  peer  of  Mr.  Everett, 
or  any  man  in  the  Senate.  So  fully  have  the  people  of  Massa- 
chusetts been  satisfied  of  his  ability  to  represent  the  State,  and 
of  his  industry  and  faithfulness  as  a  legislator,  that  they  have 


HENRY   WILSON.  373 

thrice  re-elected  liim,  for  the  term  of  six  years,  by  an  almost 
uaaniraous  vote  of  their  Legislature. 

In  the  Senate,  from  the  10th  of  February,  1855,  the  day  on 
which  he  first  took  his  seat,  he  has  been  the  inflexible  and  re- 
lentless enemy  of  slavery,  and  has  done  as  much,  or  more,  than 
any  other  man  in  the  nation  for  its  overthrow.  In  his  first 
speech,  made  a  few  days  after  entering  the  Senate,  he  announced 
the  uncompromising  position  of  himself  and  his  anti-slavery 
friends  to  be,  "  We  mean,  sir,  to  place  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation,  men  who,  in  the  words  of  Jefferson,  '  have  sworn,  on  the 
altar  of  God,  eternal  hostility  to  every  kind  of  oppression  over 
the  mind  and  body  of  man.'  "  Mr.  Wilson  was  a  member  of 
the  American  National  Council,  held  at  Philadelphia  in  1855, 
and  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  opponents  of  slavery.  In 
response  to  a  rude  menace  of  one  of  the  southern  leaders,  who 
left  his  seat,  crossed  the  room,  and,  with  his  hand  upon  his  re- 
volver, took  a  seat  beside  him  while  addressing  the  conven- 
tion, Mr.  Wilson  said — "  Threats  have  no  terrors  for  freemen ;  I 
am  ready  to  meet  argument  with  argument,  scorn  with  scorn, 
and,  if  need  be,  blow  with  blow.  It  is  time  the  champions  of 
slavery  in  the  South  should  realize  the  fact,  that  the  past  is 
theirs — the  future,  ours."  Under  his  lead,  the  anti-slavery 
delegates  issued  a  protest  against  the  action  of  the  National 
Council,  seceded  from  it,  disrupted  the  organization,  and  broke 
its  power  forever. 

When,  in  the  spring  of  1'856,  Mr.  Sumner  was  assailed  in  the 
Senate  chamber  by  Preston  S.  Brooks,  of  South  Carolina,  for 
words  spoken  in  debate,  Mr.  Wilson,  on  the  floor  of  the  Sen- 
ate, characterized  that  act  as  "Brutal,  murderous,  and  cow- 
ardly." These  words,  uttered  in  the  Senate  chamber,  drew 
forth  a  challenge  from  Brooks ;  to  which  Mr.  Wilson  replied, 
in  words  which. were  enthusiastically  applauded  by  the  country, 


374  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

"  I  Lave  always  regarded  duelling  as  a  lingering  relic  of  bar- 
barous civilization,  whicli  the  law  of  tlie  country  has  branded 
as  a  crime.  While,  therefore,  I  religiously  believe  in  the  right  of 
self-defence,  in  its  broadest  sense,  the  law  of  my  country,  and 
the  matured  convictions  of  my  whole  life,  alike  forbid  me  to 
meet  you  for  the  purpose  indicated  in  your  letter,"  This  re- 
sponse to  the  drunken  and  blood-thirsty  bully  who  had  sent 
the  challenge,  was  effectual.  He  did  not  desire  to  prosecute  a 
quarrel  with  a  man  who  "  believed  in  the  right  of  self-defence 
in  its  broadest  sense,"  and  he  wisely  concluded  to  let  Mr.  Wil- 
son alone.  For  the  four  or  five  years  that  followed,  the  position 
of  Mr.  Wilson  as  one  of  the  acknowledged  leaders  of  the  Ee- 
publican  party,  then  a  small  minority  in  the  Senate,  was  one 
of  great  difficulty  ;  yet  he  never  faltered  or  flinched.  Base 
and  outrageous  measures,  in  the  interests  of  slavery,  were 
passed  by  the  majority,  but  never  without  his  earnest  protest, 
and  his  exhausting  all  possible  means  of  opposition  to  them. 
The  members  of  that  gifllant  band  of  Eepublicans  in  the  Sen- 
ate, knew  that  they  could  always  confide  in  the  strong  common 
sense,  the  unfailing  command  of  temper,  and  the  ready  and 
skilful  use  of  all  the  resources  which  his  thorough  knowledge 
of  political  tactics,  and  of  parliamentary  rules,  enabled  him  to 
command  ;  and  they  were  content  to  organize  for  each  contest 
under  his  direction. 

In  the  new  distribution  of  committees  in  the  Senate,  made 
by  Vice-President  Hamlin,  in  March,  1861,  Mr.  Wilson  was 
wisely  assigned  to  the  chairmanship  of  the  committee  on  Mili- 
tary Affairs.  For  four  years  previous  he  had  been  a  member 
of  that  committee,  when  Jefferson  Davis  was  its  chairman,  and, 
though  in  a  minority,  had  profited  by  his  position  in  becoming 
thoroughly  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  the  condition  of  the 
arms  and  defences  of  the  country,  and  the  state  of  the  army  and 


HENRY    WILSON.  375 

its  officers.  To  it  he  now  brought  his  indomitable  energy  and 
tireless  industry.  Its  duties  were  multiplied  a  hundred  fold  in 
the  four  years  that  followed. 

The  important  legislation  for  raising,  organizing,  and  govern- 
ing the  armies,  originated  m  that  committee,  or  was  passed  upon 
by  it;  and  eleven  thousand  nominations,  from  the  second  lieu- 
tenant to  the  lieutenant-general,  were  referred  to  it.  The  labors 
of  Mr.  Wilson  as  chairman  of  the  committee  were  immense. 
Important  legislation  affecting  the  armies,  and  the  thousands  of 
nominations,  could  not  but  excite  the  liveliest  interest  of 
officers  and  their  friends ;  and  they  ever  freoly  visited  him, 
consulted  with  and  wrote  to  him.  Private  soldiers,  too,  ever  felt 
at  liberty  to  visit  him  or  write  to  him  concerning  their  affairs. 
Thousands  did  so  ;  and  so  promptly  did  he  attend  to  their 
needs,  that  they  christened  him  the  "  Soldier's  Friend." 

Having  been,  for  twenty-five  years,  the  unflinching  foe  of 
slavery,  and  all  that  belonged  or  pertained  to  it,  comprehending 
the  magnitude  of  the  issues,  and  fully  understanding  the  charac- 
ter of  the  secession  leaders,  Mr.  "Wilson  believed  that  the 
conflict,  whenever  the  appeal  should  be  made  to  arms,  would  be 
one  of  gigantic  proportions.  Being  in  Washington  when  Fort 
Sumter  fell,  he  was  one  among  the  few  who  advised  that  the 
call  should  be  for  three  hundred  thousand  instead  of  seventy- 
five  thousand  men.  On  the  day  that  call  was  made,  he  induced 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  double  the  number  of  regiments  appor- 
tioned to  Massachusetts. 

Eeturning  to  Massachusetts,  he  met  the  sixth  regiment  on  its 
"Wfay  to  the  protection  of  the  capital.  He  had  hardly  reached 
Boston  when  the  startlinn;  intelliorence  came  that  the  ret^fiment 
had  been  fired  upon  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore.  Having 
passed  that  anxious  night  in  the  company  of  his  friend  General 
Schoiiler,    adjutant-general   of  the   commonwealth,    discussing 


876  MEN   OF   OUE   DAY. 

the  future  that  darkly  loomed  up  before  them,  he  left  the  next 
day  for  Washington.  He  sailed  from  New  York,  on  the  21st 
of  April,  with  the  forces  leaving  that  day,  and  found  General 
Butler  at  Annapolis,  and  communication  with  the  capital  closed. 
At  the  request  of  General  Butler,  he  returned  to  New  York, 
obtained  from  General  Wool  several  heavy  cannon  for  the 
protection  of  Annapolis,  and  then  went  to  Washington,  where 
he  remained  most  of  the  time,  until  the  meeting  of  Congress, 
franking  letters  for  the  soldiers,  working  in  the  hospitals,  and 
preparing  military  measures  to  be  presented  when  Congress 
should  meet  on  the  4th  of  July.  On  the  second  day  of  the 
session,  Mr.  Wilson  introduced  five  bills  and  a  joint  resolution. 
The  first  bill  was  a  measure  authorizing  the  employment  of  five 
hundred  thousand  volunteers  for  three  years,  to  aid  in  enforc- 
ing the  laws ;  the  second  was  a  measure  increasing  the  regular 
army  by  the  addition  of  twenty-five  thousand  men ;  the  third 
was  a  measure  providing  for  the  "  better  organization  of  the 
military  establishment,"  in  twenty-five  sections,  embracing  very 
important  provisions.  These  three  measures  were  referred  to 
the  Military  Committee,  promptly  reported  back  by  Mr.  Wilson, 
slightly  amended,  and  enacted  into  laws.  The  joint  resolution 
to  ratify  and  confirm  certain  acts  of  the  President  for  the  sup- 
pression of  insurrection  and  rebellion  was  reported,  debated 
at  great  length,  but  failed  to  pass,  though  its  most  important 
provisions  were,  on  his  motion,  incorporated  with  another 
measure. 

Mr.  Wilson,  at  the  called  session,  introduced  a  bill  in  addi- 
tion to  the  "Act  to  authorize  the  Employment  of  Volunteers," 
which  authorized  the  President  to  accept  five  hundred  thousand 
more  volunteers,  and  io  appoint  for  the  command  of  the  volun- 
teer forces,  such  number  of  major  and  brigadier  generals  as  in 
his  judgment  might  be  required ;   and  this  measure  was  passed. 


HENRY    WTLSOISr.  877 

He  introduced  bills  "to  authorize  the  President  to  appoint 
additional  aides-de-camp,"  containing  a  provision  abolishing  _ 
flogging  in  the  army ;  "  to  make  appropriations  ;"  "  to  provide 
for  the  purchase  of  arms,  ordnance,  and  ordnance  stores ;"  and 
"  to  increase  the  corps  of  engineers  ;  "  all  of  which  were  enacted. 
He  introduced  also  a  bill,  which  was  passed,  "  to  increase  the 
pay  of  the  privates,"  which  raised  the  pay  of  the  soldiers  from 
eleven  to  thirteen  dollars  per  month  and  provided  that  all  the 
acts  of  the  President  respecting  the  army  and  navy  should  be 
approved,  legalized  and  made  valid.  Tne  journals  of  the 
Senate,  and  the  "  Congressional  Globe,"  bear  ample  evidence  that 
Mr,  Wilson's  labors  at  this  period  were  incessant,  in  originating 
and  pressing  forward  the  measures  for  increasing  and  organ- 
izing the  armies,  to  meet  the  varied  exigencies  of  the  mighty 
conflict  so  suddenly  forced  upon  the  nation. 

At  the  close  of  the  session.  General  Scott  emphatically  de- 
clared that  Senator  Wilson  had  done  more  work,  in  that  short 
session,  than  all  the  chairmen  of  the  military  committees  had 
done  in  the  last  twenty  years.  Indeed,  so  highly  did  the  veteran 
general-in-chief  prize  his  labors,  that,  on  the  10th  of  August, 
1861,  he  addressed  him  an  autograph  letter,  thanking  him  most 
warmly  for  his  able  and  zealous  efforts,  and  expressing  the  hope 
that  it  might  be  long  before  the  army  should  lose  his  valuable 
services  in  the  same  capacity. 

A  fondness  for  military  studies,  and  a  considerable  experience 
in  the  organization  of  the  militia,  in  which,  before  becoming  a 
Senator,  he  had  passed  through  the  various  official  grades  up 
to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  added  to  the  very  large 
amount  of  theoretical  knowledge  acquired  in  his  service  on  the 
military  committee,  rendered  it  desirable  that  Senator  Wilson 
should  hold  a  military  command,  and  accordingly,  after  the 
adjournment  of  Congress,  General  Scott  recommended  to  the 


378  .  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

President,  the  appointment  of  Senator  Wilson  to  the  office 
of  brigadier-general  of  volunteers;  but,  as  the  acceptance  of 
guch  a  position  would  have  required  the  resignation  of  his  seat 
in  the  Senate,  the  subject  was,  after  consideration,  dropped. 
Anxious,  however,  to  do  something  for  the  endangered  country 
during  the  recess  of  Congress,  Mr.  Wilson  made  an  arrange- 
ment with  General  McClellan  to  go  on  his  staff,  as  a  volunteer 
aide-de-camp,  with  the  rank  of  colonel;  but  at  the  pressing 
solicitation  of  Mr.  Cameron,  Mr.  Seward,  and  Mr.  Chase,  who 
were  very  anxious  to  give  a  new  impulse  to  volunteering,  then 
somewhat  checked  by  the  defeat  at  Bull  Eun,  he  accepted 
authority  to  raise  a  regiment  of  infantry,  a  company  of  sharp- 
shooters, and  a  battery  of  artillery.  Eeturning  to  Massachu- 
setts, he  issued  a  stirring  appeal  to  the  young  men  of  the  State, 
called  and  addressed  several  public  meetings,  and  in  forty  days 
filled  to  overflowing  the  twenty-second  regiment,  one  company 
of  sharpshooters,  two  batteries,  and  nine  companies  of  the 
twenty-third  regiment,  in  all,  numbering  nearly  two  thousand 
three  hundred  men.  He  was  commissioned  colonel  of  the 
twenty-second  regiment,  with  the  distinct  understanding  that 
he  would  remain  with  the  regiment  but  a  brief  period,  and 
would  arrange  with  the  War  Department,  to  have  an  accom- 
plished army  officer  for  its  commander.  With  the  twenty- 
second  regiment,  a  company  of  sharpshooters,  and  the  third 
battery  of  artillery,  he  went  to  Washington,  and  was  assigned 
to  General  Martindale's  brigade,  in  Fitz  John  Porter's  division, 
stationed  at  Hall's  hill  in  Virginia,  The  passage  of  the  regi- 
ment, from  their  camp  at  Lynnfield  to  Washington,  was  an 
ovation.  On  Boston  Common,  a  splendid  flag  was  presented 
to  the  regiment  by  Robert  C.  Winthrop;  in  New  York,  a  flag 
was  presented  by  James  T.  Brady,  and  a  banquet  given  by  the 
citizens,  which  was  attended  by  eminent  men  of  all  parties. 


HENRY    WILSON.  879 

After  a  brief  period,  General  "Wilson,  at  tlie  solicitation  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  resigned  his  commision,  put  the  accomplished 
Colonel  Gove  of  the  regular  army  in  command  of  his  regiment, 
and  took  the  position  of  volunteer  aid,  with  the  rank  of 
colonel,  on  the  staff  of  General  McClellan.  The  Secretary  of 
War,  in  pressing  General  Wilson  to  resign  his  commision 
and  take  this  position,  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  would 
enable  him,  by  practical  observation  of  the  condition  and  actual 
experience  of  the  organization  i>f  the  army,  the  better  to  pre- 
pare the  proper  legislation  to  give  the  highest  development 
and  efficiency  to  the  military  forces.  He  served  on  General 
McClellan's  staff  until  the  9th  of  January,  1862,  when  pressing 
duties  in  Congress  forced  him  to  tender  his  resignation.  In 
accepting  it,  Adjutant- General  Williams  said  : — 

"  The  major-general  commanding,  desires  m.e  to"  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  9th  instant,  in  which  you 
tender  your  resignation  of  the  appointment  of  aid-de-camp  upon 
his  staff.  The  reasons  assigned  in  your  letter  are  such,  that  the 
general  is  not  permitted  any  other  course  than  that  of  directing 
the  acceptance  of  your  resignation.  He  wishes  me  to  add,  that 
it  is  with  regret  that  he  sees  the  termination  of  the  pleasant 
official  relations  which  have  existed  between  you  and  himself; 
and  that  he  yields  with  reluctance  to  the  necessity  created  by 
the  pressure  upon  you  of  other  and  more  important  public 
duties." 

During  the  second  session  of  the  XXXVIlth  Congress,  Mr. 
Wilson  originated,  introduced,  and  carried  through,  several 
measures  of  vital  importance  to  the  army,  and  the  interests  of 
the  country.  Among  these  measures,  were  the  bills  "  relating 
to  courts-martial;"  "  to  provide  for  allotment  certificates;"  "for 
the  better  organization  of  the  signal  department  of  the  army ;" 
"for  the  appointment  of  sutlers  in  the  volunteer  service,  and 


380  MEN    OF   OUR   DAT. 

defining  their  duties ;"  "  authorizing  the  President  to  assign  the 
command  of  troops  in  the  same  field  or  department,  to  officers 
of  the  same  grade,  without  regard  to  seniority ;"  "  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  the  medical  department  of  the  army ;"  "  to 
facilitate  the  discharge  of  enlisted  men  for  physical  disability;" 
"to  provide  additional  medical  officers  of  the  volunteer  ser- 
vice ;"  "  to  encourage  enlistments  in  the  regular  army,  and 
volunteer  forces;"  "for  the  presentation  of  medals  of  honor  to 
enlisted  men  of  the  army  and  volunteer  forces,  who  have  dis- 
tinguished, or  who  may  distinguish  themselves  in  battle  during 
the  present  rebellion  ;"  "  to  define  the  pay  and  emoluments  of 
certain  officers  of  the  army,  and  for  other  purposes," — a  bill  of 
twenty-two  sections  of  important  provisions;  and  "to  amend  the 
act  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws,  suppress  insur- 
rection, and  repel  invasion."  This  last  bill  authorized  for  the 
first  time  the  enrolment  in  the  militia,  and  the  drafting,  of 
negroes;  and  empowered  the  President  to  accept,  organize, 
and  arm  colored  men  for  military  purposes.  Military  measures 
introduced  by  other  Senators,  or  originating  in  the  House,  and 
amendments  made  to  Senate  bills  in  the  House,  were  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Military  Afi'airs,  imposing  upon  Mr. 
Wilson  much  care  and  labor. 

During  the  session,  Mr.  Cameron,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
resigned ;  and  on  leaving  the  department,  he  said,  in  a  letter  to 
Senator  Wilson : — "  No  man,  in  my  opinion,  in  the  whole 
country,  has  done  more  to  aid  the  War  Department  in  pre- 
paring the  mighty  army  now  under  arms,  than  yourself;  and, 
before  leaving  this  city,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  offer  to  you  my 
sincere  thanks,  as  its  late  head.  As  chairman  of  the  Military 
Committee  of  the  Senate,  your  services  were  invaluable.  At 
the  first  call  for  troops,  you  came  here;  and  up  to  the  meeting 
of  Congress,  a  period  of  more  than  six  months,  your  labors 


HENRY    WILSON.  381 

were  incessant;  sometimes  in  encouraging  the  administration 
by  assurance  of  support  from  Congress,  by  encouraging  volun- 
teering in  your  own  State,  by  raising  a  regiment  yourself,  when 
other  men  began  to  fear  that  compulsory  drafts  might  be  neces- 
sary ;  and  in  the  Senate,  by  preparing  the  bills,  and  assisting  to 
get  the  necessary  appropriations  for  organizing,  clothing,  arm- 
ing, and  supplying  the  army,  you  have  been  constantly  and 
profitably  employed  in  the  great  cause  of  putting  down  this 
unnatural  rebellion." 

Mr.  Cameron  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Stanton,  whose  rapid 
intuitions,  indomitable  energy,  and  wonderful  industry,  and  exe 
cutive  ability,  were  made  so  manifest  in  the  six  years  which 
followed,  and  enabled  him  to  accomplish  more  than  any 
other  man  could  have  done  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 
That  Mr,  Stanton's  manner  was  brusque  and  abrupt,  is  well 
known,  but  his  relations  with  Mr.  Wilson,  which  were  constant 
throughout  the  war,  were  of  the  most  cordial  and  friendly 
character,  and  the  secretary  always  found  in  him  a  prompt  and 
able  defender.  In  tlie  last  session  of  the  XXXVIIth,  and  the 
whole  of  the  XXXVII  Ith  Congress,  Mr  Wilson  labored  with 
the  same  vigor  and  persistency  to  organize  and  develop  the 
military  resources  of  the  nation,  to  do  justice  to  the  officers,  and 
to  care  for  the  soldiers.  Aside  from  the  numerous  bills  which, 
though  originating  with  him,  were  offered  by  others,  and  the 
amendments  which  he  suggested  to  bills  originating  with  other 
Senators,  or  with  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  following 
important  measures  were  introduced  and  advocated  by  him, 
and  passed  through  his  efforts: — "An  act  to  facilitate  the  dis- 
charge of  disabled  soldiers,  and  the  inspection  of  convalescent 
camps  and  hospitals;"  "to  improve  the  organization  of  the 
cavalry  forces;"  "to  authorize  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
major  and  brigadier-generals ;"  "  for  enrolling  and  calling  out 


382  MEN  OF   OUR -DAY. 

the  national  forces,  and  for  other  purposes ;"  (this  act  containecl 
thirty-eight  sections,  and  was  one  of  the  most  important  passed 
during  the  session ;)  "  to  amend  an  act  entitled  '  An  act  for 
enrolling  and  calling  out  the  national  forces;' "  (this  bill  con- 
tained the  provision  that  "colored  persons  should,  on  being 
mustered  into  the  service,  become  free;")  "an  act  to  establish  a 
uniform  system  of  ambulances  in  the  armies;"  "to  increase 
the  pay  of  soldiers  in  the  United  States  army,  and  for  other 
purposes ;"  (this  increased  the  pay  of  a  private  soldier  to  sixteen 
dollars  a  month ;)  "  to  provide  for  the  examination  of  certain 
officers  of  the  army ;"  "  to  provide  for  the  better  organization 
of  the  Quartermaster's  Department ;"  "  an  act  in  addition  to  the 
several  acts  for  enrolling  and  calling  out  the  national  forces ;" 
"  to  incorporate  a  national  military  and  naval  asylum  for  the 
relief  of  totally  disabled  men  of  the  volunteer  forces;"  "to  in- 
corporate the  National  Freedmen's  Saving  Bank  ;"  ''  to  incorpo- 
rate the  National  Academy  of  Sciences;"  (the  humble  shoe- 
maker perfecting  and  reporting  a  bill  for  the  organization  of 
an  association  of  the  most  learned  and  scientific  men  of  the 
nation  !)  "  to  encourage  enlistments,  and  promote  the  efficiency 
of  the  military  and  naval  forces,  to  making  free  the  wives  and 
children  of  colored  soldiers ;"  and  a  joint  resolution  "  to  en- 
courage the  employment  of  disabled  and  discharged  soldiers." 
The  important  legislation  securing  to  colored  soldiers  equality 
of  pay  from  the  1st  of  January,  186-i,  and  to  officers  in  the  field 
an  increase  in  the  commutation-price  of  the  ration;  and  three 
months'  extra  pay  to  those  who  should  continue  in  service  to 
the  close  of  the  war,  was  moved  by  Mr.  "Wilson  upon  appropri- 
ation-bills. 

With  the  close  of  the  XXXVIIIth  Congress,  or  rather 
shortly  after  its  adjourn  mem,  came  the  conclusion  of  the  war. 
But  the  assembling  of  the  XXXIXth  Congress,  in  the  follow- 


HENRY    WILSON.  383 

ing  December,  brought  no  cessation  of  labor  to  Mr  Wilson, 
The  bill  for  the  continuation  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  the 
Civil  Eights  bill,  the  Fourteenth  Constitutional  Amendment, 
the  questions  of  the  basis  of  representation,  negro  suffrage,  and 
the  Eeconstruction  acts  of  that  and  the  XLth  Congress,  as 
well  as  the  matter  of  impeachment,  all  demanded  his  attention. 
The  creation  of  the  rank  of  general  in  the  army,  and  admiral  in 
the  navy,  both  originated  with  his  committee,  and  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  Lieutenant-General  Grant  appointed  lo  the 
one,  and  Vice-Admiral  Farragut  to  the  other,  and  the  two 
brave  and  deserving  officers,  Major-General  Sherman,  and  Rear- 
Admiral  Porter,  advanced  to  the  vacancies  thus  made.  But 
while  laboring,  with  ever-watchful  care,  for  the  interests  of  the 
army  and  the  support  of  the  Government  in  its  gigantie  efforts 
to  suppress  the  rebellion,  Mr.  "Wilson  did  not  lose  sight,  for  a 
moment,  of  slavery,  to  the  ultimate  extinction  of  which  he  had 
consecrated  his  life  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  before 
slavery  revolted  against  the  authority  of  the  nation.  In  that 
remarkable  series  of  anti-slavery  measures  which  culminated 
in  the  anti-slavery  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  he  bore  no 
undistinguished  part.  He  introduced  the  bill  abolishing  slavery 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  which  became  a  law  on  the  16th 
of  April,  1862,  and  by  which  more  than  three  thousand  slaves 
were  made  forever  free,  and  slavery  became  forever  impossi- 
ble in  the  nation's  capital.  He  introduced  a  provision,  which 
became  a  law  on  the  21st  of  May,  1862,  providing  that  persons 
of  color  in  the  District  of  Columbia  should  be  subject  to  the 
same  laws  to  which  white  persons  were  subject ;  that  they 
should  be  tried  for  offences  against  the  laws  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  white  persons  were  tried,  and,  if  convicted,  be  liable  to 
the  same  penalty,  and  no  other,  as  would  be  inflicted  upon 
white  persons  for  the  same  crime.     On  the  12th  of  July,  1862. 


384  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

he  introduced  from  the  Military  Committee  the  bill,  which 
became  the  law  on  the  17th,  to  amend  the  act  of  1795,  calling 
for  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws.  This  bill  made  negroes  a 
part  of  the  militia,  authorized  the  President  to  receive,  into  the 
military  or  naval  service,  persons  of  African  descent,  and  made 
free  such  persons,  their  mothers,  wives,  and  children,  if  they 
owed  service  to  any  persons  who  gave  aid  to  the  rebellion. 
On  the  24th  of  February,  1864,  he  caused  the  enrolment  act  to 
be  so  amended  as  to  make  colored  men,  whether  free  or  slave, 
part  of  the  national  forces ;  and  the  masters  of  slaves  were  to 
receive  the  bounty  when  they  should  free  their  drafted  sluves- 
On  the  Committee  of  Conference,  Mr.  Wilson  moved  that  the 
slave  should  be  made  free,  not  by  the  act  of  their  masters,  but 
by  the  authority  of  the  Government,  the  moment  they  entered 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  this  motion  prevailing, 
the  act  passed  in  that  form.  General  Palmer  reported  that  in 
Kentucky  alone,  more  than  twenty  thousand  slaves  were  made 
free  by  it.  He  subsequently  introduced,  and  in  the  face  of  the 
most  persistent  opposition  carried  through,  a  joint  resolution 
making  the  wives  and  children  of  all  colored  soldiers  forever 
free.  Six  months  after  the  passage  of  this  bill,  Major-General 
Palmer  reported  that,  in  Kentucky  alone,  nearly  seventy-five 
thousand  women  and  children  had  received  their  freedom 
through  it. 

Senator  Wilson  also  moved  and  carried  an  amendment  to  the 
army  appropriation  bill  of  June  15,  1864,  providing  that  all 
persons  of  color  who  had  been  or  who  might  be  mustered  into 
the  military  service  should  receive  the  same  uniform,  clothing, 
arms,  equipments,  camp  equipage,  rations,  medical  attendance, 
and  pay,  as  other  soldiers,  from  the  first  day  of  January,  1864. 

His  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  fifty-fourth  and  fifty-fifth  Massa- 
chusetts colored  regiments  are  well  known,  and  it  was  due  to 


HENRY    WILSON.  385 

his  persistency,  that  they  received  a  part  of  what  was  tlieir 
just  due.  The  Freedmen's  Bureau  bill  was  originally  reported 
by  him,  and  in  all  the  subsequent  legislation  on  that  subject, 
lie  was  active  and  decided  in  favor  of  its  organization  and 
maintenance.  He  defended  with  great  ability  and  secured  the 
adoption  of  negro  suffrage  as  a  part  of  the  Congressional  plan 
of  reconstruction,  and  in  both  the  XXXIXth  and  XLth 
Congresses,  he  has  maintained  fully  his  old  reputation  as  the 
champion  of  the  oppressed  and  down  trodden. 

This  championship  is  with  him  no  matter  of  expediency,  i.o 
political  trick  to  gain  a  cheap  popularity.  Born  in  poverty, 
nursed  in  childhood  in  the  lap  of  penury,  and  throughout  his 
youth  and  early  manhood  accustomed  to  constant  and  severe 
manual  labor,  he  has  learned,  from  the  stern  experiences  of  hia 
own  early  life,  the  divine  art  of  sympathy,  and  has  become 
imbued  with  the  doctrine  of  human  brotherhood  and  love.  A 
man  of  the  people,  sprung  from  the  toiling  classes,  he  has  pro- 
found faith  in  them,  and  commands,  as  few  men  can,  their  earn- 
est and  abiding  love. 

From  boyhood  Mr.  Wilson  has  been  strictly  temperate  and  a 
man  of  irreproachable  moral  character;  but  within  the  past  six 
or  seven  years,  he  has  felt  the  necessity  of  a  more  actively  reli- 
gious life,  and  professing  conversion,  has  united  himself  with 
the  Congregational  church  at  his  home.  In  this,  as  in  all  other 
public  acts  of  his  life,  he  has  given  abundant  proof  of  bis 
earnestness  and  the  purity  of  his  motives.  lie  was,  in  1866, 
active  in  organizing  a  Congressional  Temperance  society,  an 
association  of  which  there  was  much  need,  and  has  been  usinof 
his  great  influence  to  win  members  of  Congress,  who  had  fallen 
into  habits  of  intoxication,  to  reformation.  He  has  met  with 
gratifying  success  in  this  laudable  enterprise. 

Mr.  Wilson    was   a   prominent   candidate   (rather  from    the 
25 


886  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

urgencv  of  his  friends  than  from  any  particular  ambition  of  his 
own)  for  the  Vice- Presidency,  in  the  political  campaign  of  1868, 
and  though  Mr.  Colfax  eventually  received  the  nomination,  the 
vote  for  Mr.  Wilson  was  large,  and  under  other  circumstances 
could  not  have  failed  to  secure  him  a  place  on  the  ticket. 

On  the  election  of  General  Grant  to  the  Presidency  he  was 
tendered  a  position  in  the  Cabinet,  but  he  wisely  preferred  his 
place  in  the  Senate  to  which,  in  1871,  he  was  re-elected,  as  being 
one  of  equal  dignity  and  less  liability  to  censure.  In  the  recent 
discord  among  the  Eepublicans  of  the  Senate,  Mr.  Wilson  has 
supported  President  Grant,  though  temperately  and  with  moder- 
ation ;  but  while  he  differs  in  his  views  from  his  able  and  distin- 
guished colleague  (Mr.  Sumner),  their  personal  relations  to  each 
other  are,  as  they  always  have  been,  cordial  and  heartily  friendly. 

At  the  National  Eepublican  Convention  held  at  Philadelphia, 
June  5th  and  6th,  1872,  Mr.  Wilson  was  nominated  for  the  Yice- 
Presidency  on  the  first  ballot,  receiving  384|  votes  against  314J 
polled  for  Mr.  Colfax.  This  result  was  due  to  several  causes,  of 
which  Mr.  Wilson's  real  merit  and  ability  was  one ;  a  declina- 
ture by  Mr.  Colfax  of  a  reuomination,  early  in  1871,  which  was 
subsequently  reconsidered,  and  the  belief  that  after  the  scathing 
speech  of  Mr.  Sumner,  Mr.  Wilson's  nomination  was  necessary 
to  secure  the  New  England  vote  for  Mr.  Grant,  were  others.  But 
whatever  may  have  been  the  causes  which  led  to  it,  a  good  and 
true  man  has  been  put  in  nomination. 


LYMAN   TRUMBULL, 

UNITED    STATES    SENATOR    FROM    ILLINOIS. 


|HILE  the  Western  States,  or  ratlier  those  of  the  Missib- 
sippi  valley,  have  usually  sent  men  to  the  Senate  who 
were  educated  to  the  legal  profession,  it  has  generally 
been  the  case  that  they  were  those  to  whom  the  law  had 
been,  for  the  most  part,  a  stepping-stone  to  political  prefer- 
ment, rather  than  men  profoundly  versed  in  the  higher  prin- 
ciples of  law,  men  of  judicial  mind,  and  those  who  had  for  years 
presided  with  dignity  and  ability  over  the  highest  courts.  Illi- 
nois is  one  of  the  few  exceptions  to  this  general  rule.  Judge 
Trumbull,  one  of  her  Senators,  had  a  wide  reputation  as  a  jurist 
for  years  before  he  was  chosen  to  a  place  in  the  Senate. 

Lyman  Trumbull  was  born  in  Colchester,  Connecticut,  Oc- 
tober 12,  1813.  He  is  of  an  excellent  lineage,  being  from  one 
of  the  collateral  branches  of  a  family  which  has  given  throe 
governors  to  Connecticut,  one  of  them  the  "  Brother  Jonathan" 
of  the  Eevolution,  and  has  had  its  full  share  of  eminent  men  in 
all  departments  of  public  life.  Colchester,  Mr.  Trumbull's 
birthplace,  has  been,  for  three-fourths  of  a  century,  famous  foi 
the  excellence  of  its  academy,  within  whose  walls  hundreds,  if 
not  thousands,  of  distinguished  men  have  received  their  early 
education.  Here  Mr,  Trumbull  acquired  his  English  and  classi- 
cal training,  and  about  the  year  183-4  went  to  Georgia,  and  en- 
gaged in  teaching,  meanwhile  studying  law.     He  was  admitted 

387 


388  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

to  the  bar  in  Georgia,  we  believe,  in  1836,  and  soon  after  re- 
moved to  Illinois.  A  close  and  eager  student  of  bis  profession, 
be  soon  began  to  attract  notice,  and  found  himself  in  possession 
of  a  large  and  growing  practice  in  the  young  and  thiiving  city 
of  Chicago.  In  1840,  he  was  sent  to  the  State  Legislature,  and, 
in  1841  and  1842,  was  elected  Secretary  of  State.  But  local 
politics  were  not  to  his  taste,  and  for  the  six  years  following  he 
devoted  himself  with  the  utmost  assiduity  to  his  profession,  in 
which  his  extensive  attainments,  and  the  calm,  comprehensive 
view  which  he  took  of  his  cases,  perceiving  and  meeting  before- 
hand the  points  which  his  opponents  would  make,  had  given 
him  a  high  rank.  In  1848,  he  was  chosen  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Illinois,  and  presided  in  that  court,  with  extra- 
ordinary ability,  for  five  years. 

At  the  election,  in  November,  1854,  Judge  Trumbull  was 
elected  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  the  first  Congressional 
district  (Cook  county)  to  the  XXXIVth  Congress.  At  the 
assembling  of  the  Legislature  in  the  following  January,  the  Re- 
publicans, who  were  in  a  majority  in  both  branches  of  the 
Legislature,  were  to  elect  a  United  States  Senator  in  place  of 
General  James  Shields,  whose  term  expired  on  the  4th  of  March 
ensuing.  Two  candidates  seemed  to  have  a  nearly  equal  follow- 
ing, viz. :  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Springfield,  and  Lyman  Trum- 
bull, of  Chicago.  The  State  had  been  revolutionized  and  car- 
ried for  the  Republican  party  through  Mr.  Lincoln's  influence ; 
but  preferring  the  triumph  of  his  principles  to  a  personal  vic- 
tory, he  magnanimously  withdrew  from  the  canvass,  and  brought 
his  friends  to  support  Judge  Trumbull.  The  judge  took  his 
seat  in  the  Senate  in  December,  1855,  and  so  fully  satisfied  were 
the  people  with  his  conduct,  that  he  was  re-elected  in  1861,  and 
again  in  1867. 

Senator  Trumbull  is  of  a  somewhat  cold  temperament,  and 


LYMAN   TRUMBULL.  389 

thougli  from  conviction  a  Eepublican,  he  was  conservative  in 
his  tendencies.  In  the  last  session  of  the  XXXVIth  Congress 
— December,  1860,  to  March,  1861 — he  opposed  secession  with 
decision  and  firmness,  yet  advocated  conciliation ;  and  though 
he  did  not  believe  the  Constitution  needed  amending,  he  was 
ready  to  vote  for  a  convention  to  consider  amendments.  For- 
tunately for  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  unquestionably  controlled 
in  this  by  him  who  causes  "  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him," 
the  southern  leaders  were  not  to  be  coaxed  or  soothed.  They 
were  determined  on  war,  believing  that  through  it  they  should 
obtain  the  complete  ascendancy  ;  and,  as  one  of  them  said,  they 
would  not  have  staid  in  the  Union  if  they  could  have  had  carte 
blanche  to  dictate  their  own  terms. 

The  temporary  weakness  which  had  caused  the  knees  of  some 
of  the  Republicans  to  smite  together,  and  made  them  willing  to 
accede  to  what  would  have  been  disgraceful  compromises,  passed 
away,  and  when  the  shock  came,  and  war  was  actually  begun, 
they  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  wondered  at  their  own 
firmness.  Mr.  Trumbull  had  never  been  particularly  timid,  but 
his  whole  feelings  were  averse  to  war,  and  he  had  hoped  to  pre- 
vent it.  Yet  when  it  came,  he  was  firm  and  true.  In  the  new 
Senate,  he  was  chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  of  which 
he  had  been,  from  his  entrance  into  the  Senate,  a  member,  and 
he  acted  with  judgment  and  promptness  in  bringing  forward 
such  measures  as  the  occasion  demanded.  On  the  24th  of  July, 
1861,  Mr.  Trumbull  moved,  as  an  amendment  to  the  confisca- 
tion bill,  then  under  consideration,  a  provision  "  that  whenever 
any  person,  claiming  to  be  entitled  to  the  service  or  labor  of  any 
other  person,  under  the  laws  of  any  State,  shall  employ  said 
person  in  aiding  or  promoting  any  insurrection,  or  in  resisting 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  shall  permit  him  to  be  so  em- 
ployed, he  shall  forfeit  all  right  to  such  service  or  labor,  and  the 


^90  MEX   OF   OUR   DAT. 

person  whose  labor  or  service  is  thus  claimed,  shall  be  theDce* 
forth  discharged  therefrom,  any  law  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing." This  amendment  and  the  confiscation  act  passed  the 
Senate,  but  was  opposed  in  the  Ilouse,  and  after  long  discussion, 
a  substitute  for  it,  proposed  by  Mr.  Bingham,  embodying  the 
same  principle,  but  more  definite  iu  its  details,  was  passed. 
When  this  was  returned  to  the  Senate,  Mr.  Trumbull  moved  a 
concurrence  with  the  House,  and  the  amended  bill  was  then 
passed.  This  was,  for  the  time,  a  bold  move  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Trumbull,  though  such  has  been  the  progress  of  opinion  since 
that  time,  that  it  seems  very  weak  and  timid  to  us. 

As  the  war  progressed,  his  faith,  like  that  of  most  of  his 
party,  in  the  eventful  triumph  of  universal  freedom,  grew 
stronger;  and,  throughout  the  war,  he  was  found  iu  the  front 
rank,  with  Sumner  and  Wilson  and  Wade  and  Harlan,  in  the 
development  and  advocacy  of  measures  looking  to  the  over- 
throw of  slavery,  and  the  protection  of  the  wards  of  the  nation. 
He  advocated  and  defended  the  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
sustained  the  act  suspending  the  habeas  corpus,  reported  the 
thirteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitution  in  the  form  in  which 
it  finally  passed,  (abolishing  slavery  throughout  the  Union,) 
defended  the  first  Freedmen's  Bureau  bill,  and  attached  to  it  an 
amendment  providing  for  permanent  confiscation  of  rebel  pro- 
perty; drew  up,  or  materially  modified,  the  second  and  third 
Freedmen's  Bureau  bills,  matured  and  presented  the  Civil  Eights 
bill,  and  devoted  much  labor  and  time  to  the  perfecting  and 
advocacy  of  the  reconstruction  acts. 

In  the  trial  of  President  Johnson,  on  the  articles  of  impeach- 
ment presented  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  February,  1868, 
Senator  Trumbull,  as  one  of  the  Grand  Inquest  of  the  nation,  before 
whom  the  alleged  culprit  was  to  be  tried,  maintained  from  the 
first  a  marked  reticence,  and  though  often  importuned  in  regard 
to  his  future  action  gave  such  vague  and  mysterious  responses  that 


LYMAN   TRUMBULL.  391 

he  was  claimed  by  both  sides.  That  the  President  had  been 
guilty  of  a  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  and  laws, 
very  few  doubted ;  and  probably  Senator  Trumbull  was  not  one  of 
the  few  who  had  any  doubts  on  this  point.  But  there  was  more 
difficulty  in  proving  him  guilty  technically  of  the  letter  of  the 
law ;  and  Mr.  Trumbull  at  first,  perhaps,  undecided  on  this  point, 
at  length  voted  in  the  President's  favor,  greatly  to  the  chagrin 
of  many  of  his  party  associates.  That  he  did  this  simply  on 
legal  grounds,  and  not  from  any  wrong  or  corrupt  motive,  was 
patent  to  every  one  who  knew  his  purity  of  character,  and  his 
uniform  integrity  and  high  moral  principle.  Yet  it  brought 
down  upon  him  at  the  time  a  storm  of  indignation,  which  resulted 
in  a  partial  alienation  of  feeling  for  years. 

Senator  Trumbull  supported  General  Grant's  election  in  1868, 
but  with  no  great  warmth ;  and  during  his  administration  he  has 
maintained  generally  an  independent  position.  The  removal  of 
Mr.  Sumner  from  the  chairmanship  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations  roused  his  indignation,  and  since  that  event  he  has 
not  often  acted  with  the  President's  friends.  In  May,  1872,  he 
signified  his  approval  of  the  Cincinnati  Convention,  and  was  one 
of  the  prominent  candidates  of  that  convention  for  the  Presi- 
dency ;  but  the  candidacy  of  Judge  Davis,  from  the  same  State, 
having  rendered  the  success  of  an  Illinois  candidate  impossible, 
he  gracefully  withdrew  his  name,  and  has  given  his  support 
most  cordially  to  Messrs.  Greeley  and  Brown. 

Senator  Trumbull  has  the  reputation  of  being  cold  and  want- 
ing in  sympathy ;  but  those  who  know  him  best  say  that  under 
a  somewhat  impassive  and  frigid  exterior  there  beats  a  very 
warm  and  loving  heart,  one  of  strong  sympathies  and  passsions. 

He  is  a  man  of  highly  cultivated  intellect  and  a  decidedly 
judicial  cast  of  mind.  Ilis  dignity  of  manner  and  his  great 
attainments  as  a  jurist  eminently  fit  him  for  a  prominent  posi- 
tion in  our  Jnghest  judicial  tribunal. 


JOHN   SHERMAN. 


'OIIN  SHEEMAN,  United  States  Senatoi  irom  the  State 
of  Ohio,  comes  from  the  distinguished  Connecticut 
family  of  Shermans,  which  was  founded  by  a  refugee 
Koundhead  from  Essex,  England,  who  brought  with 
him  to  America,  the  Puritan  politics,  courage,  and  conscience, 
which  sent  him  into  the  field  as  soldier  on  the  popular  side  in 
the  Civil  Wars.  The  Senator's  father,  Charles  Eobert  Sherman, 
a  thoroughly  educated  lawyer,  removed  from  Connect'icut  to 
Ohio  in  1810,  and  there  became  famous  first  as  an  advocate, 
and  afterwards  as  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court.  His  pro- 
fessional life  and  judicial  service  won  the  success  of  eminent 
reputation  and  social  regard — his  generosity  and  disinterested- 
ness restricted  their  profits  to  the  maintenance  of  his  large 
family.  When,  in  1829,  he  was  stricken  upon  the  bench  with 
a  mortal  disease  and  died,  he  left  a  widow  and  eleven  children, 
the  oldest  eighteen,  the  youngest  an  infant — and  he  left  no 
estate.  The  boys  became  somev/hat  scattered.  William  Tecum- 
seh,  now  General  Sherman,  became  by  adoption  a  member  of 
the  family  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing.  John  went  to  Mount 
Vernon,  Ohio,  where  he  was  sent  to  school,  and  kept  steadily 
and  generally  under  good  masters  until  he  was  fourteen  years 
old.   Then  he  was  sent  to  the  Muskingum  Improvement,  in  part 

to  earn  his  own  support,  in  part  to  learn  the  business  of  a  civil 
392 


JOHN    SHERMAN.  893 

engineer,  and  Avas  placed  under  the  care  of  Colonel  Curtis,  since 
General  Samuel  E.  Curtis,  the  resident  engineer  of  the  work 
The  lad's  grade  in  the  corps  was  junior  rodman.  He  was  em- 
ployed two  years  on  this  work  — the  two  most  valuable  years  of 
his  education ;  for  in  them  he  learned  the  methods  and  forms  of 
business,  acquired  a  habit  of  working  hard  and  systematically, 
and  became  self-reliant.  When  he  was  sixteen  years  old  and 
innocent  of  all  politics,  save  a  boy's  idea  that  Tom  Corwin  and 
Tom  Ewing  were  the  greatest  men  in  the  world,  he  became  the 
victim  of  politics,  and  lost  his  employment.  The  Ohio  elec- 
tion of  1838  brought  the  Democratic  party  into  power.  The 
pernicious  doctrine  the  leaders  of  that  party  had  established, 
that  "to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils,"  was  applied  to  the 
Muskingum  Improvement.  Colonel  Curtis  was  a  Whig.  He 
was  turned  out  in  the  summer  of  1839,  and  most  of  his  boys 
were  turned  out  with  him,  to  give  place  to  a  Democratic 
engineer,  and  to  Democratic  boys,  Sherman  was  among  the 
discharged.  He  lost  little  time  in  weighing  the  justice  which 
punished  him  for  other  people's  politics,  and  not  his  own,  but 
after  his  divorce  from  his  engineering  apprenticeship,  set 
himself  to  thinking  how  he  could  accomplish  the  dream  and 
ambition  of  his  young  life — a  college  "education.  He  went  to 
his  brother,  Charles  T.  Sherman,  now  United  States  District 
Judge  in  Ohio,  who  was  then  engaged  as  a  lawyer  in  Mansfield, 
Ohio.  The  collegiate  education  was  discussed  in  domestic 
session  of  the  Ways  and  Means  committee,  composed  of  the  two 
brothers,  with  the  family  resources  all  around  subject  to 
requisition.  It  could  not  be  accomplished.  John  hail  to  give 
up  the  idea  of  a  college  course.  Furthermore,  he  had  to  earn 
his  living.  It  was  finally  agreed  that  the  best  thing  to  be  done 
was  for  John  to  fit  himself  to  be  a  lawyer  as  soon  as  he  could, 
and  while  he  was  reading  law  with  Charles,  and  working  in  his 


894  MEN   OF   CUR    DAY. 

office  as  a  clerk,  to  go  to  scliool  to  his  brother  in  some  sense, 
and  study  mathematics  and  the  Latin  classics  under  his  in- 
struction and  direction.  The  attorney's  business  of  the  office 
of  course  ran  over  this,  the  boy's  substitute  for  a  college  edu- 
cation, but  amid  his  drudgery  as  a  clerk,  and  his  reading  of 
elementary  books  of  law,  he  picked  up  considerable  Latin,  and 
read  miscellaneously,  but,  largely  of  English  authors.  Ilis  four 
years'  novitiate  expired  while  he  was  thus  liberally  educating 
him.self,  and  he  was  graduated  out  of  his  college  by  a  license  to 
practice  law,  which  he  obtained  on  examination  the  day  after 
he  was  twenty-one  years  old.  He  immediately  entered  into  a 
co-partnership  with  his  older  brother,  which  lasted  for  eleven 
years,  and  which  was  active  and  lucrative  for  those  days  and 
the  region  of  Ohio,  and  in  which  John  earned  a  solid  repu- 
tation as  an  able,  wise,  resolute,  laborious,  honest,  and  success- 
ful lawyer.  John  rode  the  circuits  ;  Charles  managed  the  busi- 
ness and  counselled  in  the  office. 

Like  all  western  lawyers,  John  Sherman  was  a  politician. 
He  was  an  ultra  Whig  by  organization  and  education,  and  of 
course  was  debarred  from  office  in  the  Democratic  district  in 
which  he  lived.  But  his  talents  and  character  made  him  the 
representative  of  the  young  politicians  of  the  minority  party  in 
his  region,  and  he  had  been  sent  while  yet  in  full  practice  as  a 
lawyer  to  the  Whig  National  Conventions  of  18-18  and  1852, 
and  in  the  latter  year  was  chosen  a  Presidential  elector.  Up  to 
that  time  he  had  never  ran  for  an  office,  and  neither  had  hoped 
for  or  desired  one.  But  when  the  Nebraska  issue  arose  in 
1851,  like  a  true  statesman  he  felt  the  necessity  for  combining 
all  the  opposition  in  the  country  to  the  further  extension  of 
human  slavery,  and  zealously  and  laboriously  worked  to 
organize  a  new  party  without  a  name,  whose  mission  was 
to   be  to  check  the   aggrandisement  of  the  slave  power,  and 


JOHN    SHERMAN.  395 

preserve  the  Eepublican  principles  and  forms  of  our  Govern- 
ment. He  accepted  a  norainaton  to  Congress  in  the  Xllltli 
Ohio  district,  and  greatly  to  his  surprise,  in  the  general 
political  revolution  of  that  year,  was  elected.  The  law  firm  of 
Charles  and  John  Sherman  was  now  dissolved.  Charles  drifted 
into  railway  enterprises.  John  was  in  the  current  of  politics 
which  bore  him  away  forever  from  his  profession.  He  came 
into  tlie  House  of  Representatives  fully  equipped  for  useful 
public  service — a  fluent  debater,  with  a  large  knowledge  of 
affairs,  patient  of  details,  laborious  in  investigation,  with  habits 
of  hard  work,  conciliatory  in  temper,  yet  persistent  in  purpose. 
He  brought  with  him  the  reputation  of  being  sound  in  judg- 
ment, sincere  in  purpose,  and  superior  to  personal  consider- 
ations in  the  discharge  of  a  public  duty.  His  career  was 
rapidly  successful.  Its  prominent  events  in  the  first  session  of 
the  XXXIVth  Congress  were  his  service  as  one  of  the  Kansas 
Investigating  Committee,  and  his  preparation  of  the  famous 
Report,  which  the  committee  presented  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  tlie  people  of  the  country.  He  bore  a  large  and 
influential  part  in  the  debates  which  followed  the  report.  At 
the  close  of  the  session  the  Republican  members  of  the  House, 
chiefly  on  the  persuasion  of  Mr.  Sherman,  adopted  the  amend- 
ment to  the  Army  Bill,  denying  the  validity  of  the  slavery- 
extending  laws  of  Congress.  It  is  almost  certain  that  if  the 
Republican  party  had  stood  upon  that  declaration  as  a  plat- 
form, they  would  have  carried  the  presidential  election  that 
year.  The  Republicans  in  the  House  agreed  to  do  so,  and 
Sherman  wrote  an  address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
elaborating  the  principle  contained  in  that  declaration,  which 
was  signed  by  all  the  Republican  members,  but  was  not  pro- 
mulgated— for  Seward  and  other  Senators,  under  his  example 


396  MEN    OF    OUR   BAY. 

aud  dissuasion,  "  backed  down,"  and  the  Congress  adjourned  on 
a  Democratic  triumph. 

The  XXXYth  Congress  was  chiefly  marked  by  the  long  and 
heated  contests,  over  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  the  English 
Bill,  and  the  defection  of  Douglas.  In  these  struggles,  John 
Sherman  took  an  active  part,  and  made  many  and  powerful 
speeches.  He  was  also  appointed,  and  served  as  chairman  of 
the  N.ival  Investigating  Committee,  which  made  a  most 
damaging  exposure  of  the  administrative  complicity  of  Bucha- 
nan and  Toucey,  with  the  crimes  and  purposes  of  the  slavery 
propagandists.  He  made,  too,  a  masterly  speech  upon  the 
public  expenditures,  which  was  widely  circulated  as  a  cam- 
paign document. 

The  XXXVIth  Congress  opened  in  the  House,  with  the  mem- 
orable contest  for  speaker,  in  which  John  Sherman  was  the  can- 
didate of  the  Republicans.  On  Mr.  Pennington's  election,  he 
was  made  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  and 
by  virtue  of  that  office,  the  leader  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
He  crowned  his  great  and  varied  labors  on  this  Committee,  by 
putting  through  the  House  the  beneficent  measure  on  which, 
more  than  on  any  other,  the  material  prosperity  of  the  coun- 
try rests — the  so-called  Morrill  Tariff.  In  his  best  speech  of 
that  Congress,  delivered  in  reply  to  Pendleton  in  February 
1861,  he  was  prophetic  in  his  appreciation  of  the  influences  that 
divided  parties,  and  the  result  of  the  conflict  which  the  South 
was  hastening  with  such  arrogant  confidence ;  he  declared  that 
war  was  inevitable,  that  slavery  would  be  destroyed,  that  the 
North  would  triumph. 

Mr.  Sherman  was  elected  to  the  XXXVIIth  Congress  as  a 
member  of  the  House,  but  on  the  resignation  by  Mr.  Chase  of  his 
seat  in  the  United  States  Senate,  was  chosen,  by  the  Legislature 
of  Ohio,  to  represent  that  State  in  that  body.    He  was  put  upon 


JOHN    SHERMAN.  397 

the  Finance  Committee,  made  by  the  war  the  most  important 
in  the  organization  of  the  Senate.  He  introduced  the  National 
Bank  Bill,  and  had  charge  of  that  almost  vital  measure,  as  well 
as  of  the  Legal  Tender  Acts,  on  the  floor  and  in  the  debates. 
Among  his  speeches  in  this  Congress,  those  which  commanded 
general  attention,  and  were  of  decisive  influence,  were  the  one 
against  the  continuance  of  the  State  banking  system,  delivered 
in  January  1863,  and  the  one  in  favor  of  the  national  banks 
soon  after.  He  also  spoke  powerfully  against  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  took  part  in  every  important  debate 
upon  subjects  growing  out  of  and  connected  with  the  war,  and 
always  on  the  right  side.  But  his  labors  were  chiefly  confined 
to  finance  and  taxation — to  providing  money  and  maintainin{; 
credit  to  carry  on  the  war. 

In  the  first  session  of  the  XXXIXth  Congress  Mr.  Sherman 
principally  devoted  himself  to  the  reduction  of  the  ta^es.  He 
also  introduced  into  the  Senate  the  bill  to  fund  the  public  indebt- 
edness, which,  if  passed  as  reported,  would,  as  Jay  Cooke  hag 
borne  witness,  have  been  followed  by  the  beneficial  results  of  the 
saving  of  about  $20,000,000  of  interest  per  annum,  the  wider  dis- 
semination of  the  loan  among  the  masses,  and  the  removal  of  the 
debt  from  its  present  injurious  competition  with  railroad,  mer- 
cantile, mining,  manufacturing,  and  all  the  other  vital  interests 
of  the  country.  Had  the  bill  been  passed  as  reported,  the 
larger  portion  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  United  States  would 
now  have  been  funded  into  a  five  per  cent,  loan,  and  the 
Treasury  and  the  banks  could,  in  the  judgment  of  the  most 
sagacious  financiers  in  the  country,  have  resumed  specie  pay- 
ments by  the  1st  of  July,  1867.  Most  unfortunately  for  the 
public  interests,  the  bill  was  mutilated  in  the  Senate  and 
defeated  in  the  House.  Mr.  Sherman,  in  his  funding  scheme, 
and  in  the  speech  with  which  he  supported  it,  completely  antici- 


398  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

pated,  and  would  certainly  have  avoided  tlie  perils  and  qnea- 
tions  that  now  threaten  the  national  credit.  In  this  session 
he  also  opposed  strenuously  the  bill  to  contract  the  currency, 
which  has  since  exercised  so  mischievous  an  influence  upon 
the  business  of  the  country,  and  the  effect  of  which  he  clearly 
foresaw  and  pointed  out,  both  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  and 
in  the  committee  room.  Upon  these  questions,  the  funding 
of  the  public  debt,  and  the  contraction  of  the  currency, 
Mr.  Sherman  differed  so  much  from  Mr.  Fessenden,  who  was 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Finance,  that  subsequent  co- 
operation between  them  became  impossible.  In  the  second  ses- 
sion of  this  Congress,  Mr.  Sherman  spoke  and  labored  in  favor 
of  a  revised  tariff.  A  patriotic  attempt  had  been  made  to 
graduate  the  duties  on  foreign  goods,  so  as  to  equalize  tho 
cost  of  production  here  and  abroad,  reference  being  had  to 
the  difference  between  wages,  cost  of  living,  and  interest  on 
money, — a  patriotic  attempt  to  secure  to  American  working 
men  and  women  the  possession  of  the  American  market.  Not 
only  in  the  XXXIXth  Congress,  but  in  all  the  Consjresses 
of  which  he  was  a  member,  John  Sherman  spoke  and  voted 
for  the  industr}^  of  his  country.  The  nation  is  indebted  to 
him,  also,  for  the  substitute  for  the  Keconstruction  Bill,  which 
he  introduced  in  the  second  session  of  the  XXXIXth  Con- 
gress, and  which  finally  became  a  law. 

The  XLth  Congress  was  principally  occupied  with  Eeconstrue- 
tion  and  the  contest  between  the  legislative  and  executive 
branches  of  the  Government,  which  Andrew  Johnson  forced 
and  pushed  to  an  issue  whose  only  solution  was  his  impeach- 
ment and  removal  from  office.  Mr.  Sherman  was  chairman  of 
the  Senate  Finance  Committee  and,  by  virtue  of  the  pre-eminent 
importance  of  that  post,  the  leader  of  the  Senate.  In  the  second 
session  he  reported  a  new  bill  for  funding  the  national  debt  and 


JOHN    SHERMAN.  399 

converting  the  notes  of  the  United  States — a  measure  of  the 
greatest  consequence.     The  bill  authorized  ; 

1.  The  sale  of  10-40  five  per  cent,  bonds  to  redeem  all  out- 
standing debts. 

2.  It  exempted  these  bonds  from  State  taxation. 

3.  It  provided  for  the  payment  of  one  per  cent,  annually  of 
the  public  debt. 

4.  It  offered  to  the  holders  of  the  5-20s  the  option  to  exchange 
them  for  10-40s  at  par. 

5.  It  authorized  the  conversion  of  legal  tenders  into  bonds, 
and  bonds  into  legal  tenders. 

6.  It  authorized  contracts  payable  in  gold. 

The  proposed  measure  was  received  with  favor  as  being  just, 
wise  and  necessary,  by  a  large  portion  of  the  people.  It  was 
attacked  as  a  violation  of  the  pledged  faith  of  the  Government, 
and  a  step  towards  repudiation,  by  a  class  of  capitalists  and 
financiers  in  some  of  the  large  cities.  Mr.  Sherman,  in  his  mas- 
terly speech  in  support  of  the  bill,  delivered  on  the  27th  of 
February  1868,  made  the  following  points : 

By  reducing  the  rate  of  interest  from  six  to  five  per  cent., 
without  increasing  the  volume  of  greenbacks,  we  can  save  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States  seventeen  millions  of  dollars  in 
gold  annually,  and  neither  derange  the  currency,  disorder  the 
money  market,  nor  depreciate  our  credit : — 

Equity  and  law  will  be  fully  satisfied  by  the  redemption  of 
the  5-20  bonds,  in  the  same  kind  of  money  received  for  them, 
and  of  the  same  intrinsic  value  it  bore,  when  the  bonds  were 
issued : — 

Every  citizen  of  the  United  States  has  conformed  his  busi- 
ness to  the  law  which  made  greenbacks  a  legal  tender.  He  has 
collected  and  paid  his  debts  according  to  it.  And  every  State 
in  the  Union,  without  exception,  has,  since  the  legal  tender  act 


400  MBN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

wag  passed,  made   its  contracts  in  currency  and  jxiid  tlioni   in 
currency  : — 

The  wide  discrimination  now  made  between  the  bondliolder 
and  the  notehohlcr,  gives  rise  to  popuhir  clamor  and  is  the 
cause  of  great  and  just  compkiint : — 

No  privilege  should  be  granted  to  the  bondholder  that  is  not 
granted  to  the  noteholder.  Both  the  bond  and  the  note  are 
public  securities,  and  both  equally  appeal  to  the  public  faith: — 

No  privilege  should  be  given  to  the  bondholder  unless  it  is 
compensated  for  by  some  advantage  reserved  to  the  Govern- 
ment : — 

The  whole  public  debt  should  be  made  to  assume  such  form 
that  it  may  be  a  part  of  tlie  circulating  capital  of  the  country, 
bearing  as  low  a  rate  of  interest  as  is  practicable,  and  having 
only  such  exemptions  as  will  maintain  it  at  par  with  gold  :— 

This  funding  process  will  give  increased  value  to  the  United 
States  notes — under  it  both  notes  and  bonds  will  gradually 
rise,  step  by  step,  until  they  reach  the  standard  of  gold — the 
provision  indeed  is  the  most  rapid  way  to  specie  payment. 

Mr.  Sherman  in  this  speech  also  drew  from  British  and 
American  history  five  striking  precedents  to  recommend  and 
sanction  the  measure  he  had  reported  from  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee. The  rate  of  interest  on  portions,  or  the  whole  of  the 
public  debt  of  England,  was  reduced  by  act  of  Parliament  in 
1715  from  6  per  cent,  to  5  per  cent. — in  1725  from  5  per  cent, 
to  4  per  cent. — in  1749  from  4  per  cent,  to  3J  per  cent.,  and  sub- 
sequently, by  the  same  act,  to  3;  and  in  1822  from  5  per  cent, 
on  exchequer  navy  bills  to  a  4  per  cent,  annuity.  Alexander 
Hamilton,  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  funded,  by  authority  of  Congress,  the  combined  public 
debt  of  the  nation  and  the  revolutionary  war  debts  of  the 
several  Stntes,  by  offering  the  fundholders  6  per  cent,  bonds 


JOHN    SHEPwMAN.  401 

for  two  tliirds  of  tlieir  debt,  3  per  cent,  bonds  for  the  other 
third,  and  by  giving  public  lands  for  some  of  it,  and  annuities 
for  some.  The  bondholders  and  government  creditors  ■who 
would  not  accept  this  offer,  got  but  4  per  cent,  interest  on  the 
debt  they  held,  2  per  cent,  less  than  they  were  entitled  to 
under  the  law  creating  the  debt.  The  nation  at  the  time  sus- 
tained the  arrangement  as  reasonable,  fair,  and  for  the  best. 

Mr.  Sherman  closed  his  speech  on  his  Funding  Bill  with  these 
noteworthy  words: 

"  I  say  the  plan  now  proposed  by  the  Committee  on  Finance  is- 
in  accordance  with  precedents,  holds  out  no  threats,  deals  witii 
all  alike,  holders  of  five-twenty  bonds,  greenbacks,  and  all. 
It  gives  them  a  proposition  to  fund  their  debt  at  their  own 
option  by  the  1st  of  November  next,  or  if  they  will  not  choose 
to  do  it,  then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  question  is  to  be 
decided  at  the  next  session  of  Congress,  what  provision  ought 
to  be  made,  whether  or  not  Congress  will  redeem  the  five-twenty 
bonds  in  the  currency  in  which  they  were  contracted  or  post- 
pone its  redemption,  paying  the  interest  at  six  per  cent,  in  gold, 
until  we  can  redeem  the  principal  in  gold. 

"i/"  tins  offer  is  rejected,  I  will  not  hesitate  to  vote  to  redeem 
maturity  bonds  in  the  currency  in  existence  when  they  were  issued 
and  with  which  they  were  purchased,  carefully  com]  lying,  however 
with  all  the  provisions  of  law  as  to  the  mode  of  payment,  and  as  to 
the  amount  of  currency  outstandiny^ 

With  the  decline  in  the  value  of  gold  in  1868  and  subsequent 
years,  and  the  sounder  views  in  regard  to  our  obligations  to  the 
foreign  holders  of  our  national  debt  which  became  prevalent 
after  the  National  Conventions  of  1868,  these  plausible  but* falla- 
cious theories  in  regard  to  its  payment  in  greenbacks,  which 
had  been  a  favorite  hobby  with  the  Ohio  and  some  other  political 
leaders  of  both  parties,  were  finally  abandoned,  and  we  suppose 

that  Mr.  Sherman  himself  would  hardly  cafe  to  recall  at  the 
20  ^ 


402  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

present  time  the  earnestness  with  which  he  formerly  advocated 
them.  But  except  this  sliglit,  and  as  it  turned  out  inconse- 
quential, departure  from  the  principles  of  a  high  and  broad 
statesmanship,  there  is  nothing  in  Mr.  Sherman's  record  to  be 
ashamed  of.  He  has,  during  his  last  senatorial  term,  which 
expires  in  March,  1873,  maintained  his  old  reputation  as  an  effi- 
cient and  faithful  worker;  has  materially  aided  Secretary  Bout- 
well  in  forwarding  measures  for  the  funding  at  lower  rates  of 
interest  the  Five-Twenty  bonds,  and  the  paying  off  of  the 
National  Debt.  Ho  has  taken  no  active  or  prominent  part  in 
the  violent  and  unseemly  controversies  of  the  last  year,  but  in 
general  supports  President  Grant. 

John  Sherman  is  very  tall,  erect,  exceedingly  spare,  brown- 
haired,  gray-eyed,  has  a  large  head,  high  and  square  in  front, 
has  firm  square  jaws,  a  large  mouth,  with  thin  lips,  expressing 
in  an  uncommon  degree  decision,  firmness,  and  self-control,  but 
betraying  his  emotional  nature,  which  is  tender  and  sympathetic. 
He  speaks  without  effort,  without  hesitation,  with  great  rapidity, 
wholly  free  from  effort  at  display,  and  without  a  single  trick  of 
oratory  or  any  self  conscious  mannerism. 

In  debate  he  is  greatly  animated,  and  shoots  his  statements 
and  reasoning  straight  at  his  mark.  He  commands  the  undi- 
vided attention  of  the  Senate  when  he  speaks,  and  his  words 
always  carry  weight,  and  generally  produce  conviction.  His 
life  is  pure ;  his  personal  and  political  history  are  without  spot 
or  blemish. 


CARL  SCHURZ, 

UNITED    STATES    SENATOR   FROM    MISSOURI 


^  Jf^l'ARL  SCnURZ'S  life  has  been  one  of  action,  adventure, 
Vlj  ^"^^  romance.  Born  March  2d,  1829,  at  Libler,  near 
c /'(^^     the  city  of  Cologne,  Germany,  he  pursued  a  full  course 

(s*  of  studies  at  the  gymnasium  of  that  city,  and,  in 
1846,  became  a  student  of  the  great  University  at  Bonn,  where 
he  applied  himself  with  fervor  to  the  study  of  the  ancient  clas- 
sics, history,  and  philosophy.  In  the  political  outbreak  of  1848, 
he  shared  in  the  prevailing  agitation,  and  having  become  inti- 
mate with  Gottfried  Kinkel,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Bonn,  was  concerned  with  him  in  the  publication  of 
a  paper  of  ultra-liberal  views,  and  which,  during  Kinkel's  ab- 
sence as  a  member  of  the  Prussian  Legislature,  was  edited  wholly 
by  Schurz.  In  the  Spring  of  1849,  the  two  friends  made  ap 
attempt  to  originate  an  insurrection  in  the  town  of  Bonn,  but 
failed  and  were  obliged  to  make  their  escape,  seeking  refuge  in 
the  Palatinate,  where  a  body  of  the  revolutionists  had  already 
organized. 

Schurz  entered  the  military  service  as  adjutant,  and  shared  in 

the  defence  of  Radstadt.  On  the  conquest  of  that  fortress,  he  sought 

safety  in  flight,  and  concealing  himself  for  three  days  and  nights 

without  food,  finally  escaped  through  a  sewer,  made  his  way 

across  the  Rhine,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  Switzerland  about 

the  beginning  of  August,  1849,  remaining  in  seclusion  at  Zurich 

403 


404  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

until  the  following  May.  His  friend,  Kinkel,  meanwhile,  had 
been  captured,  tried,  condemned  to  a  twenty  years'  imprison- 
ment, and  incarcerated  in  the  fortress  of  Spandau.  Schurz  con- 
ceived the  bold  idea  of  releasing  him  from  durance  vile,  and 
after  a  long  correspondence  with  Kinkcl's  wife,  secretly  returned 
to  Germany,  at  great  I'isk  to  liimself,  and  spent  much  time  at 
Cologne,  and  three  months  at  Berlin,  engaged  in  unremitting 
attempts  to  establish  friendly  relations  with  the  guards  and 
others  who  were  brought  in  contact  with  the  prisoner.  The 
actual  attempt  at  rescue  was  made  November  6th,  1850,  when 
Kinkel's  cell  was  broken  open,  he  was  brought  out  to  the  roof, 
and  from  thence  lowered  to  the  ground,  and  spirited  away. 

The  boldness  of  the  scheme  was  its  success;  altliough  the 
Government,  with  little  probability,  was  thought  to  have  winked 
at  it.  The  fugitives  found  their  way  across  the  frontier  to 
Mecklenburg,  thence  to  Rostock,  where,  after  some  time  spent  in 
concealment,  they  took  passage  on  a  small  schooner,  in  Decem- 
ber, to  Leith.  Schurz  then  established  himself  in  Paris,  finding 
employment  as  correspondent  of  some  of  the  German  newspa- 
pers, until  June,  1851,  when  he  removed  to  London,  and  pur- 
sued the  vocation  of  a  teacher  until  July,  1852.  In  that  year, 
having  married,  he  came  to  America,  remaining  for  some  three 
years  in  Philadelphia,  during  which  time  he  devoted  his  atten- 
tion largely  to  political,  historical  and  legal  studies,  then,  after  a 
short  visit  to  Europe,  he  settled  in  the  practice  of  the  law  at 
Madison,  Wisconsin.  As  might  have  been  expected,  from  the 
natural  bias  of  his  mind,  and  the  associations  of  his  earlier  years, 
he  found  in  American  politics  a  congenial  field  for  the  exercise 
of  his  talents,  and  in  the  Presidential  canvass  of  1856,  he  became 
famous  in  the  Western  country  as  an  orator  among  the  Ger- 
mans, wielding  among  them  a  very  powerful  influence,  in  behalf 
of  Republican  principles.     In   1857,  he  was  nominated  by  the 


CARL   SCHUPwZ,  405 

State  Republican  Convention  as  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the 
State,  but  was  defeated  at  the  polls.  In  1858,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  contest  between  Douglas  and  Lincoln,  for  the  United  States 
Senatorship  of  Illinois,  he  delivered  his  first  public  speech  in 
English,  which  was  widely  republished  in  the  newspapers  of 
the  land.  He  developed  abilities  of  a  high  order,  as  a  politician 
and  orator,  and  his  speech  on  "Americanism,"  at  Faneuil  Hall, 
as  also  at  the  Jefferson  celebration  at  Boston,  in  the  spring  of 
1859,  added  largely  to  liis  reputation.  Meanwhile,  he  had  taken 
up  his  residence  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  and  was  engaged  in 
legal  practice.  During  the  winter  of  1859-60,  he  was  in  demand 
as  a  lyceum  lecturer  in  New  England  ;  and  his  speech  on  "  Sena- 
tor Douglas'  Ideas  and  Policy,"  delivered  in  Springfield,  Massa 
chusetts,  attracted  much  attention.  In  1860,  he  was  a  Delegate 
to  the  Republican  National  Convention,  in  which  he  swayed 
great  influence,  especially  in  the  framing  of  that  portion  of  the 
platform  which  related  to  citizens  of  foreign  birth.  During  the 
Presidential  canvass  which  followed,  he  led  a  life  of  ceaseless 
activity,  haranguing  the  people  in  the  Northern  States,  both  in 
the  German  and  English  languages;  his  principal  speeches,  as 
rated  by  their  eloquence  and  popular  effect,  being  that  delivered 
at  St.  Louis,  on  "The  Irrepressible  Confliet,"  and  one  entitled 
''  The  Indictment  Against  Douglas,"  spoken  in  New  York 
city. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Schurz's  efforts  contributed  very 
largely  to  the  success  of  the  Republican  ticket,  and  his  servicea 
were  appropriately  acknowledged  in  his  appointment  as  Minister 
to  Spain,  by  President  Lincoln,  shortly  after  his  inauguration. 
But  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  at  this  juncture,  led  him  to  resign 
the  appointment  in  order  to  take  a  share  in  the  military  service 
of  his  adopted  country.  Circumstances,  however,  seemed  to 
overrule  his  wishes,  and  he  went  to  Madrid,  where  he  represented 


406  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

the  United  States  until  December,  1861.  Immediately  upon  his 
return  from  abroad  he  threw  himself  with  characteristic  energy 
into  the  work  of  aiding  the  Government;  and,  among  other 
notable  efforts,  delivered,  at  New  York,  March  6th,  1862,  a 
speech  on  "  The  Necessity  of  Abolishing  Slavery,  as  a  Means 
of  Eestoring  the  National  Unity,"  which  struck  the  key-note  of 
the  future  action  of  the  Lincoln  Administration  in  its  dealings 
■with  Secession,  and  has  been  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  finest 
of  his  oratorical  displays. 

April  15th,  1862,  he  was  appointed  a  Brigadier-General  oi 
volunteers,  and  March  lith,  1863,  was  promoted  to  the  Major 
Generalship.  He  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  division 
under  General  Sigel,  distinguishing  himself  at  the  second  Bull 
Eun  battle,  Auarust,  1862.  At  Chancellorsville  his  division  oi 
the  eleventh  corps  was  panic  stricken  by  the  attack  of  Stone 
wall  Jackson,  and  was  routed  in  spite  of  his  attempts  to  rally  it. 
He  succeeded,  however,  in  reforming  it,  and  though  in  reserve 
for  the  next  two  days,  its  conduct  was  creditable.  At  Gettys- 
burg, where  not  only  his  own  division,  but  the  eleventh  corp3 
was  temporarily  under  his  command.  General  Schurz  and  his 
soldiers  retrieved  fully  their  former  reputation  ;  no  troops  in  the 
army  behaving  with  more  steadiness  and  no  commander  being 
more  conspicuous  for  bravery.  In  the  early  autumn  of  1863, 
General  Schurz  and  his  division  formed  a  part  of  the  eleventh 
corps,  which,  under  the  command  of  General  Howard  were  sent 
West  to  reenforce  the  Army  of  the  Cumberiand.  He  took  part 
in  the  battles  around  Chattanooga,  and  distinguished  himself 
there  as  he  had  done  in  the  East.  On  the  reorganization  of  the 
Western  Army,  under  General  Sherman,  General  Schurz  re- 
signed, and  returned  to  Milwaukee,  from  whence  he  soon 
removed  to  Detroit,  Michigan. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  General  Schurz  was  appointed 


CARL   SCHURZ,  407 

by  President  Johnson  Commissioner  to  visit  the  South  and  ex- 
amine and  report  upon  the  affairs  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau. 
His  report,  which  was  verj  full  and  able,  displeased  the  President 
exceedingly.  During  a  part  of  1865-66,  he  was  the  Washington, 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune.  In  the  latter  part  of 
1866,  he  established  the  Delroit  Post,  a  very  able  paper,  still  in 
existence ;  but  subsequently  disposed  of  it,  and  removing  to  St. 
Louis  started  the  WesiUche  Post,  of  which  he  is  still  part  propri- 
etor, and  to  which  he  contributes  frequently.  He  was  a  Dele- 
gate to  the  Republican  Convention  of  May,  1868,  at  Chicago,  of 
which  he  was  temporary  chairman,  and  a  leading  spirit,  and  in 
the  ensuing  winter  was  elected  (as  a  Republican)  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  succeeding  John  B.  Henderson.  He  took  his  seat 
March  4th,  1869,  and  his  term  expires  March  4th,  1875.  He  is 
one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the  Senate,  in  which  body  he  has 
no  superior  in  direct,  pointed  attack,  skilful  and  graceful  vehe- 
mence, profound  mastery  of  the  great  principles  of  political  science, 
and  the  wide  range  of  his  scholarship.  His  knowledge  of  the 
history  of  America  and  Europe  is  very  perfect,  and  he  possesses 
a  wonderful  facility  in  acquiring  languages,  speaking  and  writ- 
ing most  of  those  of  Europe,  and  some  of  the  Oriental  tongues. 

Few  dare  meet  him  in  debate,  for  all  are  aware  that  he  is 
thoroughly  equipped  for  the  conflict,  and  that  the  force  which 
he  holds  in  reserve  would  readily  render  all  their  efforts  futile. 
Though  quiet,  and  apparently  cold  in  manner  to  the  superficial 
observer,  there  is  in  him  a  depth  of  feeling,  an  earnestness  of 
patriotism,  and  a  heartiness  of  friendship  which  make  him  a 
very  earnest  friend,  as  he  is  a  stern  and  unrelenting  enemy. 

At  the  Chicago  Convention  of  May,  1868,  he  was  very  active 
in  promoting  General  Grant's  election  ;  but  he  early  became  dis- 
satisfied with  his  course,  and  became  identified  with  the  bolting 
party  in  Missouri,  in  their  advocacv  of  free-trade  and  a  universal 


408  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY, 

amnesty.  In  the  Senate,  while  ever  courteous,  he  has  for  some 
time  past  been  conspicuous  for  the  severity  and  eloquence  of  his 
attacks  on  the  Administration.  The  sale  of  arms  to  France  was 
investigated  at  his  instigation  and  that  of  Senator  Sumner. 

By  the  North  German  statesmen,  Senator  Schurz  is  pleasantly 
remembered,  and  his  career  has  been  eagerly  watched  by  them. 
When  he  ran  for  the  Senate  against  Henderson  and  Ben  Loan, 
it  is  said  that  old  Baron  Gerolt,  the  Prussian  Minister  at  Wash- 
ington, appeared  for  the  only  time  in  his  life  in  that  city,  on 
"Newspaper  Row,"  sanguine  to  get  points  in  favor  of  his  friend. 

The  Senator  is  on  friendly  terms  with  Prince  von  Bismarck, 
and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  Fatherland  ; 
but  he  is  too  fully  aware  of  the  grand  opportunities  which  our 
country  offers  to  a  man  of  great  gifts  and  abilities,  to  desire  ever 
to  return  to  Germany  as  a  residence.  "America,"  he  says,  with 
emphasis,  "  is  my  country,  and  here  is  to  be  my  future." 

Senator  Schurz  is  now  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  forty-three 
years  of  age,  tall,  slender,  but  of  graceful  figure,  and  broad 
shoulders.  He  is  very  near  sighted,  wears  spectacles  constantly, 
and  in  his  air  and  bearing  combines  the  soldier  and  the  scholar. 
Though  not  rich,  he  possesses  a  competence,  and  has  that  best 
of  all  wealth,  an  accomplished  and  excellent  wife,  to  whom  he 
is  devotedly  attached,  and  beautiful  and  intelligent  children,  who 
inherit  the  fondness  of  both  parents  for  study.  A  volume  of 
the  Senator's  orations  and  addresses  was  published  in  1865. 


OLIVER   PERRY  MORTON. 


I  LIVER  PERRY  MORTON  was  born  in  Wayne  county, 
Indiana,  on  the  -ith  of  August,  1823,  and,  becoming  an 
orphan  while  yet  very  young,  was  placed  under  the  care 
of  his  grandmother  and  two  aunts,  living  in  Hamilton 
county,  Ohio,  In  early  youth  he  served  for  awhile  with  a 
brother  in  the  hatter's  trade,  but,  in  1839,  was  placed  at  school 
in  his  native  county,  under  the  tuition  of  Professor  S.  K.  Hos- 
hour,  then  principal  of  the  Wayne  county  seminary,  and  now 
a  professor  in  the  Northwestern  Conference  university,  at  Indi- 
anapolis. His  honored  instructor  says  of  him,  at  this  period 
of  his  life,  "If  some  knowing  genius  had  then  suggested  to  me 
that  the  future  governor,  par  excellence,  of  Indiana,  was  then 
ir.  the  group  around  me,  I  would  probably  have  sought  him  in 
a  more  bustling  form,  with  brighter  eyes  and  a  more  marked 
hiiad  than  Oliver's.  But  time  has  shown  that  in  him  was  the 
mens  sana  in  corpore  sano,  which  the  college,  the  acquisition  of 
jurisprudence,  legal  gymnastics  at  the  bar,  the  political  crisis  of 
the  past,  and  the  present  exigencies  of  the  nation,  have  fully 
developed,  and  now  present  him  the  man  for  the  most  responsi- 
ble position  in  the  gift  of  a  free  people."  After  leaving  the 
seminary,  young  Morton  entered  Miami  university,  at  Oxford, 
Ohio,  where  he  appears  under  a  more  favorable  guise,  as  the 
star  member  of  the  Beta  Theta  Pi  society,  and  the  best  debater 

in  the  coUege.     Leaving  the  university  without  graduating,  he 

409 


410  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

went  to  Centreville,  Indiana,  and  began  the  study  of  law  witli 
the  Hon.  John  S.  Newman,  bending  all  his  energies  to  the  tho- 
rough acquisition  of  his  profession.  In  18-i5,  he  married  Miss 
Lucinda  M.  Burbank,  of  Centreville,  a  lady  of  rare  intelligence 
and  refinement,  whose  untiring  and  benevolent  efforts,  during 
the  recent  war  of  the  civil  rebellion,  for  the  relief  of  the  Indiana 
volunteers,  have  honored  both  herself  and  her  husband. 

Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1846,  Mr.  Morton  soon  took  a  front 
rank  as  a  jurist  and  advocate,  commanding,  by  his  natural  and 
acquired  abilities,  a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  In  the  spring 
of  1852,  he  was  elected  circuit  judge,  acquiring  among  his  fel- 
low-members of  the  bar,  as  well  as  in  the  public  estimation,  a 
high  reputation  for  thoroughness  and  fairness.  When,  in  the 
spring  of  1854,  the  Democratic  party,  of  which  he  had  always 
been  a  member,  repealed  the  Missouri  compromise  and  passed 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  he  promptly  seceded  from  the  party, 
and  thenceforth  co-operated  with  the  Hepublican  party  in  its 
efforts  to  stay  the  spread  of  slavery  and  slave  territory.  Yet. 
on  the  subject  of  free  trade,  internal  improvements,  etc.,  he  re- 
mained essentially  in  harmony  with  this  old  party,  nor  did  he 
repudiate  these  principles  in  his  departure  from  the  Democracy, 
or  in  his  acceptance  of  the  nomination  for  the  governorship  of 
Indiana,  which  was  tendered  to  him,  in  1856,  by  acclamation. 
Having  consented  to  head  the  Republican  State  ticket,  he  accom- 
panied his  Democratic  competitor — Ashbel  P.  Willard — in  a 
vigorous  and  thorough  canvass  of  the  entire  State,  doing  noble 
work,  wherever  he  went,  for  the  cause  of  Republicanism.  Yet, 
although  he  was  defeated,  the  large  vote  which  he  received,  con- 
sidering the  many  difficulties  under  which  he  labored,  and  the 
youth  of  his  party  in  the  State,  was  justly  to  be  considered  a 
victory.  From  this  time  forward,  Morton's  character  seemed  to 
develop  into  new  strength  and  harmony,  and  the  superiority  of 


OLIVER  PERRY   MORTON.  411 

his  mental  organization  became  more  generally  acknowledged. 
From  the  end  of  this  campaign,  however,  to  the  commencement 
of  that  of  1860,  he  asked  no  honors  of  his  party,  but  was  con- 
tent to  labor,  energetically  and  constantly,  for  the  promotion  of 
its  success.  His  sound  judgment  and  eminently  practical  mind 
gave  him  new  influence  in  political  councils,  where  he  was 
acknowledged  as  the  best  of  engineers  and  an  authority  as  a 
framer  of  policy.  The  Eepublican  party  in  Indiana,  from  its 
inception  to  1860,  owes  its  advancement  largely  to  his  untiring 
ze-xl,  Avise  counsels,  and  personal  influence. 

When  that  important  campaign  opened,  Mr.  Morton's  name 
again  appeared  on  the  Eepublican  ticket  as  nominee  for  lieu- 
tenant-governor, "for  reasons  which  were,  at  that  time,  supposed 
to  have  some  weight,  but  which  have  since  faded  so  completely 
that  it  seems  almost  incredible  that  he  was  ever  thought  of  for 
so  inferior  a  position."  Again  he  plunged  into,  the  canvass  of 
the  State  with  that  vigor  of  intellect  and  body  which  few  men 
possess,  in  an  equal  degree,  showing  a  scope  of  view  and  a  con- 
cise, but  logical,  method  of  statement  and  argument  which 
rendered  him  unanswerable  by  his  Democratic  opponents,  and 
which  entitled  him  to  the  front  rank  of  expounders  of  the  Ee- 
publican doctrines.  The  Eepublican  ticket  in  Indiana,  as  in  all 
the  Northern  States,  was  successful,  and,  on  the  14th  day  of  Jan- 
nary,  1861,  he  was  duly  qualified  as  lieutenant-governor,  and 
took  his  seat  as  president  of  the  Senate.  He  occupied  this  posi- 
tion but  two  days,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  election,  by  the 
Legislature,  of  the  governor  elect — Hon.  Henry  S.  Lane — to  the 
Senate  for  a  six-years'  term,  he  became  Governor  of  Indiana, 
and  took  the  oath  of  office.  Upon  assuming  the  executive  chair, 
Governor  Morton  found  the  public  interests  in  a  critical 
condition.  Under  previous  loose,  corrupt  administrations,  the 
pablic  treasury  had  been  depleted  by  wanton  extravagance  and 


412  MEX  OP   OUR   DAY. 

official  peculation,  tlie  sinking  fund  had  been  miserably  misman 
aged,  and  a  regular  system  of  frauds  had  been  carried  on  by 
State  and  county  officers  in  the  disposition  of  the  swamp  lands, 
until  the  credit  of  the  State  abroad  was  so  much  impaired  that 
she  had  become  a  borrower  to  pay  her  debts,  and  was,  literally, 
"  a  by-word  among  her  own  citizens."  The  new  governor  set 
himself  earnestly  to  work  to  bring  order  out  of  confusion,  to 
renovate  the  different  departments  of  government,  to  replenish 
a  depleted  treasury  and  to  redeem  the  credit  of  the  State.  He 
inaugurated  a  new  era  of  honesty,  economy,  and  good  financial 
management,  which  saved  the  State  many  millions  of  dollars, 
and  rescued  her  name  from  infamy  and  distrust. 

But  a  new  and  still  more  threatening  danger  was  to  be 
averted  from  his  beloved  "  Hoosier  State."  The  gathering 
cloud  of  disunion  and  civil  war  hung  over  the  country,  and  it 
became  evident  that  Indiana  was  aflflicted  with  so  large  a  share 
of  disloyalty,  that  the  advocates  of  secession  even  confidently 
counted  upon  material  aid  from  her,  in  the  shape  of  men  and 
arms,  in  their  proposed  treasonable  designs.  Governor  Morton 
was  determined,  however,  that  this  scarce  concealed  treason 
should  be  nipped  "in  the  bud,"  and  to  commit  his  State  fully 
and  unequivocally  on  the  side  of  freedom  and  loyalty.  Early 
in  the  spring  of  1861,  he  visited  the  President  at  Washington, 
and  assured  him,  that  if  he  pursued  a  vigorous  policy,  he  could 
pledge  him  at  least  six  thousand  Hoosiers  for  the  defence  of 
the  Union.  When,  at  length,  in  April,  the  attack  upon  Sumter 
had  both  startled  and  fired  the  northern  heart,  and  the  Presi- 
dent issued  his  call  for  seventy -five  thousand  troops — Indiana's 
quota  being  fixed  at  six  regiments,  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
men  each — Governor  Morton  issued  a  proclamation,  which,  in 
eight  da7/s,  rallied  over  twelve  thousand  men  to  the  defence  of 
the  national  flag.     The  first  six  regiments  marjhed  promptly 


OLIVER   PERRY   MORTON.  413 

forwara  to  the  iield,  attracting  at  all  points  general  admiration 
and  surprise  at  the  perfection  of  their  equipment;  and  Governor 
Morton's  efficiency  was  held  up  as  an  incentive  for  other  State 
executives  to  follow  in  nearly  all  the  northwestern  States ;  and 
hardly  had  these  first  troops  reached  the  field,  before  the  ever- 
thoughtful  governor  sent  agents  to  follow  their  footsteps,  at- 
tend to  their  wants,  and  see  that  all  their  little  needs  were 
supplied  while  in  health,  and  that  they  were  properly  cared  for 
when  sick,  "With  Governor  Morton,  indeed,  may  be  said  to 
have  originated  the  plan  of  sending  State  agents  to  visit  and 
care  for  troops  in  the  field ;  and,  throughout  the  war,  his  agents 
uniformly  distanced  those  of  all  other  States.  A  few  days 
after,  the  governor  tendered  an  additional  six  regiments  to  the 
President.  His  message  to  the  Legislature,  which  he  had  called 
in  extra  session,  was  full  of  determined  and  lofty  patriotism. 
Laying  aside  all  party  prejudices,  he  required  only  lovalty  and 
capacity  as  the  necessary  qualifications  for  positions  of  influ- 
ence; and  so  great,  indeed,  was  the  liberality  shown  by  him  to 
the  Democracy,  as  to  arouse  the  jealousy  of  the  Republican,;, 
who  criticised  his  course  with  much  severity  during  this  special 
session. 

Meanwhile,  the  neighboring  State  of  Kentucky  was  in  a 
very  precarious  state.  Its  governor,  Magoffin  (at  heart  a  seces- 
sionist), was  endeavoring  not  only  to  play  into  the  hands  of  the 
South  by  preventing  Kentucky  from  joining  the  hosts  of  free- 
dom, but  to  draw  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  other  northern  border 
States  also  into  their  power,  by  inducing  them  to  hold  a  po- 
sition of  neutrality,  and  assume  the  character  of  sovereign  medi- 
ators between  Government  and  the  seceded  States.  Governor 
Morton,  however,  was  not  deceived  by  this  specious  plea  of  neu- 
trality. He  firmly  rejected  all  propositions  to  that  eft'ect  from 
Governor  Magofiin  ;  and,  desirous  of  keeping  Kentucky  "  in 


Hi  HEX    OF   OUK   DAT. 

the  Union,"  be  dispatched  thither  numbers  of  his  own  secret 
agents,  by  whom  he  was  promptly  advised  of  the  plans  and 
operations  of  the  secessionists  in  every  part  of  that  State.  On 
the  16th  of  September,  1861,  Governor  ^[orton  received  from 
one  of  these  agents,  information  of  Zollicofier's  advance  into 
Kentucky,  to  a  point  some  fourteen  miles  beyond  the  Tennessee 
line,  and  of  a  corresponding  advance  by  Buckner's  rebel  force 
towards  Louisville.  The  governor  promptly  countermanded 
an  expedition  under  General  Rousseau,  which  was  just  starting 
for  St.  Louis,  and  ordered  the  force  to  cross  the  Ohio  into  Ken- 
tucky— at  the  same  time  hastening  every  available  man  in 
Indiana,  to  the  defence  of  Louisville,  the  safety  of  which  was 
thus  assured  beyond  a  doubt. 

Fully  convinced,  now,  that  KentuoKy's  neutrality  was  at  an 
end,  and  that  her  soil  was  actually  invaded  by  the  rebels,  Gov- 
ernor Morton  withdrew  his  secret  agents,  and,  appealing  to  his 
Hoosiers  for  help,  to  redeem  the  sister  State  from  the  enemy, 
he  sent  forward  regiment  after  regiment  into  Kentucky,  and 
before  many  months  had  passed,  the  Federals  held  Bowling 
Green,  Zollicoffer  was  killed,  his  troops  defeated  at  Mill  Spring, 
and  the  soil  of  Kentucky  cleared  of  rebels.  This  generous 
conduct  endeared  the  governor  to  the  Unionists  of  Kentucky, 
who  virtually  adopted  him  as  their  governor.  We  cite  an  in- 
cident in  point.  "  Shortly  after  Kentucky  was  cleared  of  rebel 
troops,  a  very  wealthy  lady  of  Frankfort,  the  owner  of  a  large 
number  of  slaves,  visited  some  friends  in  Indianapolis,  and  on 
the  second  day  of  her  visit  inquired  for  Governor  Morton 
Upon  ascertaining  that  he  was  absent,  and  would  not  return 
for  several  days,  she  prolonged  her  visit  somewiiat  beyond  the 
time  she  had  intended  to  remain.  The  day  for  the  governor's 
return  having  arrived,  and  he  not  appearing,  the  lady  extended 
her  visit  still  several  days  more,  saying  she  would  not  leave  In- 


OLIVER   PERRY   MORTON.  415 

dianapolis  until  she  had  seen  him.  A  friend  inquiring  of  her  the 
reason  why  she  was  so  anxious  to  see  the  Hoosier  governor,  she 
replied,  "  Because  he  is  our  governor,  as  well  as  yours,  and  has 
been  ever  since  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion,"  And  we  are 
reminded,  also,  of  the  Indiana  soldier,  who  interposed  to  stop 
an  angry  altercation  in  the  streets  of  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  as 
to  whether  Magoffin  (de  facto),  or  Johnson  (provisional),  was 
governor  of  Kentucky,  by  the  remark — "  Hold  on,  gentlemen, 
you  are  all  mistaken.  I  will  settle  this  controversy.  Neither 
of  3'-our  men  is  governor  of  Kentucky,  but  Governor  Morion^  of 
Indiana,  is  governor  of  Kentuchj,  as  his  soldier-boys,  with  their 
blue  coats  and  Enfield  rifles,  will  soon  show  you." 

Despite  the  discouraging  impressions  produced  upon  the 
public  mind,  by  the  reverses  to  the  national  arms  in  tlie  fixll  of 
1861,  twenty  volunteer  regiments  were  added  to  the  twenty-four 
Indiana  regiments  already  in  the  field  by  the  end  of  the  year, 
a  result  of  the  ever-constant  fidelity  of  Governor  Morton  in 
following  the  absent  troops,  securing  their  pay,  attending  to 
their  personal  wants,  and  providing  for  their  fomilies  at  home. 
But  the  same  energy  and  fraternal  care  which  inspired  confidence 
in  the  volunteers,  also  excited  envy  and  detraction  at  home, 
among  a  certain  class  of  ambitious  politicians  and  traitors  to 
the  national  cause.  Charges  of  mismanagement  in  State  mili- 
tary matters,  of  corruption  in  official  appointments  and  the 
awarding  of  contracts,  became  so  frequent  that,  finally,  in 
December,  1861,  a  Congressional  Committee  of  Investigation 
visited  Indianapolis,  at  the  urgent  and  frequently  repeated  re- 
quest of  the  governor,  and  instituted  a  rigid  examination  of  the 
management  of  the  military  affairs  of  the  State.  Their  pub- 
lished  report  not  only  vindicated  Governor  Morton  from  all 
blame,  but  developed,  in  the  most  incontestable  manner,  his 
care  to  prevent  fraud,  peculation,  and  waste.     It  has  been  well 


416  MEN'    OF   OUR    DAT. 

said  of  him,  at  this  period,  that,  "as  the  war  progressed,  and 
the  execution  of  all  plans  proposed  by  him  resulted  success- 
fully, he  rose  in  the  estimation  of  the  President  and  Cabinet, 
until  it  was  finally  admitted  by  the  knowing  ones  at  Washing- 
ton, that  his  influence  with  the  powers  at  that  city  was  greater 
than  that  of  any  other  man,  outside  of  the  national  executive 
department,  in  the  country.  His  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
people  of  the  northwest,  his  ready  tact  in  adapting  means  to 
ends,  his  great  forecasting  and  combining  powers,  and  above  ail 
his  energy  and  promptness  in  the  performance  of  all  labor 
assigned  him,  secured  to  him  a  deference  which  few  men  in  the 
nation  enjoyed ;  and  more  than  once  was  his  presence  requested, 
and  his  counsel  solicited,  in  matters  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  Government." 

The  depression  of  the  public  mind  during  the  winter  of 
1861-62,  seemed  only  to  rouse  Governor  Morton  to  still  greater 
resolutions  and  endeavors ;  and  by  his  indefatigable  exertion;;, 
six  regiments,  by  the  last  of  February,  1S62,  were  added  to  the 
number  of  those  already  in  the  service.  About  the  commence- 
ment of  the  year,  a  wide-spread  and  formidable  western  con- 
spiracy, in  aid  of  the  Southern  Rebellion,  was  discovered  to  ex- 
ist in  most  of  the  loyal  States,  known,  in  some  places,  as  the 
"  Star  in  the  West,"  in  others,  as  the  "  Self  Protecting  Broth- 
ers," ''  Sons  of  Liberty,"  etc.,  bat  most  generally,  as  "  The  Order 
of  American  Knights,''  in  affiliation  with  the  southern  society 
of  "  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle."  The  order  became  quite 
popular  in  the  southern  counties  of  Indiana,  and  its  members 
were  especially  virulent  in  denunciation  of  the  admiuistration, 
the  "  abolition  war,''  and  Governor  ^Morton.  Against  him  they 
especially  charged,  with  a  persistence  which  seemed  to  be 
proof  against  repeated  denials,  that  he  was  instrumental  in  pro- 
curing the  imposition,  by  Congress,  of  oppressive  taxation  ;  and, 


OLIVER   PERRY   MORTON".  417 

also,  corruption  in  the  appointment  of  tlie  first  State  quarter- 
master-general ;  notwithstanding,  in  relation  to  tlie  first  charge, 
that  he  had  b}^  good  engineering  so  managed,  that  Indiana's 
share  of  this  taxation  had  been  "  offset"  by  the  sum  due  to  the 
State,  by  the  General  Government,  for  advances  made  by  the 
former  in  equipping  the  Indiana  volunteers,  etc.,  and  in  regard 
to  the  quartermaster,  ignoring  the  flxct,  that  that  able  officer,  as 
well  as  many  to  whom  ho  had  given  the  best  contracts,  belonged 
to  the  Democratic  party.  More  than  this,  also,  they  had  the 
meanness  to  accuse  Governor  Morton  of  appropriating,  secretly, 
to  his  own  use,  the  county  and  personal  donations  made  to  sol- 
diers in  camp ;  although,  the  governor,  as  was  well  known,  had 
borrowed  on  his  own  responsibility  $600,000,  with  which  he 
had  paid  bounties  to  regiments,  which  had  refused  to  obey 
marching  orders,  unless  they  received  the  money. 

Indiana,  indeed,  at  the  commencement  of  the  year  1863,  was 
in  a  most  precarious  condition.  Secret  enemies  had  succeeded,, 
by  the  most  unscrupulous  means,  in  securing  the  election,  on. 
what  was  familiarly  known  as  the  "  butternut  ticket,"  of  a  Le- 
gislature principally  composed  of  men  determinedly  ojiposed  to 
the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  w^ho  had  deliberately  sought 
seats  in  that  body  for  the  purpose  of  thwarting  all  loyal  effort, 
and  encouraging  the  cause  of  rebellion.  Tiiese  men,  from  the 
first,  evincod  a  fixed  determination  to  insult  the  executive  of  the 
State,  deprive  him  of  all  power,  and  seize  in  their  own  hands 
the  entire  control  of  every  department  of  the  State  government. 
On  the  second  day  of  the  session,  the  Senate  received  from  the 
governor  the  usual  biennial  message,  and  ordered  it  to  be  printed;, 
but  the  House  refused  to  receive  it,  returned  it  to  the  govei-nor, 
and  passed  a  resolution  receiving  and  adopting  the  message  of 
the  Governor  of  New  York.     Beginning  its  legislative  career 

•rith  thi.<  deliberate  insult  to  the  executive,  it  continued,  during 
27 


418  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

its  session  of  fifty-nine  days,  to  pursue  its  revolutionary  policy 
with  increased  violence,  and  an  open  disregard  of  constitutional 
obligations,  and  even  of  ordinary  decency.  Occupying  its  time 
chiefly  with  the  introduction  of  disloyal  resolutions  and  the  ut- 
terance of  factious  and  treasonable  sentiments,  which  were  calcu- 
lated to  incite  the  people  to  resistance  to  Government,  all  the 
necessary  and  legitimate  subjects  of  legislation  were  disregarded 
or  kept  back ;  and,  during  the  entire  session,  with  a  quorum  in 
each  House,  every  appropriation  was  suppressed  until  the  last 
day,  (when  it  was  known  that  a  quorum  could  not  be  had  in  the 
House,)  except  that  for  their  own  per  diem  and  mileage,  which 
was  passed  on  the  first  day  of  the  session. 

This  dastardly  conduct,  of  course,  burdened  Governor  Morton 
and  the  loyal  ofiicers  of  the  State  government  with  an  immense 
load  of  responsibility.  The  benevolent  institutions,  the  State 
arsenal,  the  soldiers  in  the  field  and  hospital,  the  soldiers'  fami- 
lies at  home,  the  pay  due  the  "  Legion  "  for  services  at  various 
times  in  repelling  invasion  on  the  border,  the  corps  of  special 
surgeons,  military  claims,  the  State  debt,  and  the  numerous  other 
important  measures  and  objects  requiring  prompt  and  liberal 
appropriations,  were  left  utterly  unattended  to — although  there 
was  money  enough  in  the  treasury — by  a  set  of  men  who  did 
not  forget  to  draw  their  own  pay  and  mileage,  and  appropriate 
nearly  $20,000  to  the  State  printer. 

But  the  governor  was  nothing  daunted  by  this  disgraceful  and 
perplexing  state  of  affairs.  Believing  that  to  close  the  asylums 
would  be  a  shame  and  a  disgrace — a  crime  against  humanity 
itself — and  that  to  call  back  the  Legislature,  after  their  dastardly 
conduct  of  the  previous  session,  would  be  not  only  useless  out 
perilous  to  the  peace  and  the  best  interests  of  the  State,  he 
established  a  bureau  of  finance,  and  so  great  a  degree  of  success 
attended  his  efforts  in  obtaining  money  that  he  was  enabled  sue- 


OLIVER   PERRY   MORTON".  419 

cessfully  to  carry  on  all  the  institutions  of  the  State,  and  keep 
the  machinery  of  government  in  motion,  until  the  next  regular 
meeting  of  the  Legislature. 

On  the  20th  of  July,  1863,  Governor  Morton,  being  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  received  the  compliment  of  a  request  from  the 
common  council  of  that  city,  that  he  would  sit  for  his  portrait, 
to  be  hung  in  the  City  Hall,  as  a  fitting  remembrance  of  the 
indebtedness  felt  by  the  citizens  to  him  for  his  services  during 
the  war.  On  the  23d  of  February,  1864,  the  Union  State  Con- 
vention placed  bis  name  at  the  head  of  the  Union  ticket  for 
1864.  It  was  with  the  commencement  of  this  campaign  "  that 
the  great  work  of  Governor  Morton's  life  began ;  a  work  more 
varied  and  arduous  than,  perhaps,  was  ever  undertaken  by  any 
other  State  executive."  The  "  Democratic  "  Legislature  of  1863 
had,  with  the  aid  of  the  State  officers  of  that  period,  surrounded 
him  with  such  embarrassments  that  the  performance  of  his  civil 
functions  was  a  most  difficult  and  complicated  task.  Frequent 
calls  for  new  levies  of  troops,  the  organization  of  regiments, 
and  their  preparation  for  the  field,  greatly  increased  his  military 
labors.  The  wants  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  at  the  front 
were  daily  multiplying,  and  thousands  of  dependent  families  at 
home  had  to  be  supported.  The  governor's  well-known  supe- 
riority in  council,  the  ability  which  marked  the  success  which 
attended  his  plans  and  measures,  induced  frequent  demands  for 
his  presence  at  Washington.  And  yet,  not  only  were  these  du- 
ties— civil  and  military,  official  and  extra-official — not  neglected, 
but  they  were  performed  with  a  readiness,  skill  and  complete- 
ness which  marked  Governor  Morton  as  one  of  the  most  extra- 
ordinary men  of  his  times,  and  covered  the  name  of  Indiana 
with  glory.  In  addition  to  all  this,  he  gave  his  own  personal 
attention  to  the  campaign,  delivering  frequent  speeches,  which 
were  powerful,  and  productive  of  incalculable  good.     Towards 


420  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

the  close,  also,  of  tlie  campaign,  the  atrocious  designs  of  the 
"  Sons  of  Liberty  "  seemed  about  to  culminate  in  open  revolt 
and  anarchy.  Over  eighty  thousand  members,  as  was  afterwards 
proved,  existed  in  the  State,  thoroughly  armed,  waiting  for  the 
signal,  to  rise  at  the  polls  on  election  day,  and  Governor  Morton'a 
life  was  especially  marked.  But  he  was  prepared  for  the  emer- 
gency ;  his  secret  detectives  were  operating  in  every  par^  of  the 
State,  and  by  their  dexterity,  the  executive  was  constantly  and 
promptly  advised  of  all  the  schemes  and  designs  of  the  con- 
spirators. He'  possessed  the  knowledge  of  their  financial  re- 
sources, their  military  force  and  plans,  their  places  of  rendez- 
vous, their  purchases  of  arms,  and,  through  his  agents,  was  "  on 
hand  "  at  every  point,  to  foil  every  move,  break  up  every  plot, 
and  suppress  every  incipient  outbreak  of  disloyalty.  Yet  he 
wisely  deferred  any  open,  complete  exposure  of  the  "  Sons  of 
Liberty  "  until  after  the  election,  when  a  military  court  of  in- 
quiry was  convened,  before  which  the  Indiana  ringleaders  of 
treason  were  tried,  convicted  and  punished.  This  detective 
work  was  the  most  important  of  the  many  signal  services  ren- 
dered to  the  State  by  Governor  Morton ;  and  not  to  the  State 
only,  but  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  itself. 

The  Governor  was  re-elected  by  a  sweeping  majority,  and 
under  the  new  draft,  the  men  of  Indiana  sprung  promptly  for- 
ward to  the  aid  of  Government.  It  was  no  longer — thanks  to 
Governor  Morton's  labors  for  the  soldiers — a  disgrace  to  belong 
to  an  Indiana  regiment,  and  soldiers  of  other  States  were  fre- 
quently heard  to  say  to  the  "  Hoosier  boys :"  "  We  wouldn't 
mind  fighting,  if  we  had  such  a  governor  as  you  have." 

"  During  the  winter  of  1865,"  says  a  friend  of  the  governor, 
"  he  was  the  most  ubiquitous  man  in  the  United  States.  First 
at  Washington,  in  council  with  the  President ;  then  at  the  front, 
surveying  with  his  own  eyes  the  battle-field ;  moving  in  person 


OLIVER  PERRY   MORTON".  421 

tbrougli  tlie  hospitals,  ascertaining  the  wants  of  the  sick  and 
wounded;  supervising  the  operations  of  his  numerous  agents; 
then  at  home,  directing  sanitary  movements,  appointing  extra 
surgeons  and  sending  them  to  the  field,  projecting  new  plans  for 
th'e  relief  of  dependent  women  and  children,  attending  personally 
to  all  the  details  of  the  business  of  his  office."  And,  when  the 
war  came  to  a  glorious  termination,  he  was  the  first  to  welcome 
the  returning  heroes  to  the  State  capital,  where  they  were  sump- 
tuously entertained,  at  the  public  expense ;  promptly  furnished 
with  their  pay,  and  sent  rejoicing  to  their  homes,  with  no  un- 
necessary delay — feeling  that  their  governor  cared  for  them,  as 
a  father  doth  for  his  children.  And,  then,  when  the  rush  of 
business  was  over — when,  for  the  first  time  in  five  years,  he  felt 
in  some  degree  relieved  from  the  immense  weight  of  official 
responsibility  and  embarrassment,  of  gigantic  difficulties  he  had 
been  obliged  to  combat  in  placing  Indiana  in  the  front  rank  of 
loyal  States ;  of  his  intense  and  incessant  anxiety  for  the  success 
of  the  Union  cause — then  the  high  strung  frame  gave  way, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1865,  he  was  attacked  with  paralysis. 
Accordingly,  by  the  advice  of  his  physicians,  he  embarked  with 
his  family  for  Italy,  followed  by  the  prayers  of  thousands  of 
loving  hearts  in  Indiana,  and  by  the  respect  of  the  nation. 
After  his  return  to  this  country,  he  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  on  the  Eepublican  ticket,  and  as  the  successor  of 
Hon.  Henry  S.  Lane,  for  the  term  ending  March,  4th,  1873. 

In  the  Senate,  though  embarrassed  and  restrained  from  the 
active  labors  he  so  much  desires  to  perform,  by  the  still  feeble 
condition  of  his  health,  the  result  of  those  years  of  overwork, 
he  has  yet  renderod  excellent  service  to  the  country  he  so 
ardently  loves.  As  a  member  of  the  important  Committees  on 
Foreign  Relations,  on  Military  Affairs,  and  on  Agriculture,  his 
counsels   have   been  of  great   advantage  to  the  Senate.     His 


422  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY 

speech  on  reconstruction,  delivered  in  the  winter  of  1868,  wag 
the  most  profoundly  logical  and  able  argument  on  that  subject 
delivered  in  the  Senate, — and  even  the  enemies  of  reconstruc- 
tion acknowledged  its  power. 

The  earnest  friend  of  General  Grant,  and  in  the  remembrance 
of  his  brave  and  successful  leadership  of  our  armies  during  the 
war,  overlooking  his  errors  of  administration.  Senator  Morton 
has  defended  the  President  and  his  policy  against  those  who 
were  disposed  to  criticise  it,  with  a  zeal  and  vigor  which  recall  to 
those  who  have  long  known  him,  the  vehement  loyalty  of  his 
speeches  and  labors  during  the  war. 

But  diflfer  as  we  may  with  the  Indiana  Senator  in  regard  to 
personal  preferences,  no  one  can  fliil  to  accord  to  him  a  lofty 
patriotism  and  great  purity  and  integrity  of  character. 


REUBEN  E.  FENTON. 


.  .,^  ENATOR  FENTON  is  one  of  the  few  men  who,  bred 
(^fll  neither  to  law  nor  politics,  but  occupied  during  early  life 
^  with  mercantile  pursuits,  have  entered  later  in  their 
career  into  the  political  arena,  and  acquitted  themselves 
so  well  as  to  be  advanced  to,  and  continued  in,  high  station. 
Though  himself  a  native  of  the  State  of  New  York,  his  family, 
like  many  others  whose  record  we  have  given  in  this  volume, 
are  of  Connecticut  origin.  He  claims  descent  from  Robert  Fen- 
ton,  a  man  of  note  among  the  settlers  of  the  eastern  part  of  Con- 
necticut, and  who  was  one  of  the  patentees  of  the  town  of  Mans- 
field, when  that  town  was  set  off  from  Windham,  in  1703.  During 
the  Revolutionary  war,  the  family  was  noted  for  its  patriotism, 
and  furnished  its  full  share  of  soldiers  for  that  great  struggle. 
The  grandfather  of  the  Senator,  about  1777,  removed  to  New 
Hampshire,  in  which  State  his  father  was  born.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  present  century,  Mr.  Fenton,  then  an  enterprising 
young  farmer,  removed  to  what  is  now  the  town  of  Carroll, 
Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  then  a  portion  of  the  Holland 
land  patent,  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land,  and  by  dint  of 
constant  hard  work,  brought  this  portion  of  "  the  forest  primeval" 
into  the  condition  of  a  pleasant  and  profitable  farm.  Here — 
July  4,  1819 — his  son,  Reuben  E.  Fenton,  was  born. 

Young  Fenton's  early  years  were  spent  upon  the  paternal 
homestead,  and  though  an  amiable,  friendly  and  popular  boy 

423 


424  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

among  his  associates,  lie  seems  to  have  developed  no  remarkable 
genius  or  ability  in  his  boyhood.  He  was  somewhat  fond  of 
military  studies,  and  in  the  boyish  trainings  was  uniformly 
chosen  captain,  and  it  was  probably  owing  to  this  taste  that  he 
was  chosen  colonel  of  the  162d  regiment,  New  York  State 
militia,  before  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

His  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  education  were  very  lim- 
ited, but  they  were  well  improved.  He  w^as  a  good  scholar 
when  he  was  in  the  common-school,  and  when,  subsequently,  he 
passed  a  few  terms  in  different  academies,  he  made  rapid  pro- 
gress as  a  student,  and  won  the  approbation  of  his  pieceptors 
for  his  manly  qualities  and  exemplary  deportment.  He  read 
law  one  year,  not  with  the  view  of  going  into  the  profession^ 
but  to  make  himself  familiar  with  the  principles  and  forms  of 
that  science,  under  the  impression  that  this  knowledge  would  be 
useful  to  him  in  whatever  business  he  might  engage. 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  he  commenced  business,  with  very 
limited  means  and  under  adverse  circumstances.  But  the  fact 
did  not  discourage  him,  nor  turn  him  from  his  purposes.  The 
world  was  before  him,  and  what  others  had  accomplished,  young 
Fentou  resolved  should  be  done  by  him.  He  went  at  his  work 
with  all  the  earnestness  and  energy  of  his  character,  and  a  few 
years  saw  him  a  successful  and  prosperous  merchant.  While  in 
this  pursuit,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  lumber  trade,  as  an 
auxiliary  to  his  mercantile  business.  He  was  still  a  young  man 
when  he  purchased  his  first  "  boards  and  shingles,"  and  as  he 
floated  off  upon  his  fragile  raft,  valued  at  less  than  one  thousand 
dollars,  there  were  not  wanting  those  who  wondered  at  hia 
temerity,  and  the  failure  of  his  enterprise  was  confidently  pre- 
dicted. But  nothing  could  dampen  his  ardor.  He  tied  his  little 
raft  safely  on  the  shore  of  the  Ohio,  near  Cincinnati,  went  into 
tho  city  found  a  customer,  sold  his  lumber,  and  returned  to  hia 


REUBEN   E,   FENTON  425 

home  with  a  pride  and  satisfaction  never  excelled  in  after  years, 
though  he  went  the  round  with  profits  tenfold  greater.  Lum- 
bering became  in  a  few  years  his  principal  business ;  and  to  such 
a  man,  success  and  competence  were  but  a  matter  of  time.  He 
soon  enjoj'ed  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  successful  lum- 
berman on  the  Alleghany  and  Ohio  rivers ;  but  this  came  only 
because  he  wrought  it  by  untiring  perseverance  and  indefati- 
gable energy. 

In  1843,  Mr.  Fenton  was  chosen  supervisor  of  his  native 
town,  and  held  the  position  for  eight  successive  years.  Three 
of  these  eight  he  was  chairman  of  the  board,  though  the  board 
was  two  to  one  Whig,  while  he  was  a  well-known  Democrat. 
But  he  was  courteous  and  aflable,  manly  and  upright,  genial 
and  sensible,  and  his  opponents,  by  common  consent,  selected 
him  to  preside  over  their  deliberations. 

In  1849,  his  friends  nominated  him  for  the  assembly,  and  he 
came  within  twenty-one  votes  of  being  elected,  though  the  suc- 
cessful candidate  was  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  popular  men 
in  the  assembly  district,  which  was  strongly  Whig. 

In,  1852,  he  was  put  in  nomination  by  the  Democrats  for 
Congress,  and  elected  by  fifty-two  majority,  though  the  district, 
from  the  manner  in  which  it  was  accustomed  to  vote,  should 
have  given  at  least  3,000  majority  against  him.  He  took  his 
seat,  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  1853,  in  a  House  which 
was  Democratic  by  about  two  to  one.  Mr.  Douglas,  chairman 
of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Territories,  in  the  course  of  the 
session,  was  beguiled  into  embodying  in  a  bill  which  provided 
for  the  organization  as  territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  a  re- 
peal of  that  portion  of  the  Missouri  compromise  of  1820,  which 
forbade  the  legalization  of  slavery  in  any  territory  of  the 
United  States,  lying  north  of  north  latitude,  thirty-six  degrees 
and  thirty  minutes.     Mr.  Fenton.  with  N.  P.  Banks,  and  quite 


4:26  MEN    OF    OUR   PAY. 

a  number  of  the  younger  Democrats,  with  Colonel  Thomas  H. 
Benton  and  other  seniors,  steadfastly  opposed  this  proposition, 
and  opposed  the  bill  because  of  it.  The  bill  was  nevertheless 
forced  through  the  House  by  a  vote  of  113  to  100,  and  became 
a  law.  In  the  division  that  thereupon  ensued,  Mr.  Fenton  took 
Republican  ground  with  Preston  King,  Ward  Hunt,  George 
Opdyke,  and  other  conspicuous  Democrats,  and  he  has  never 
since  been  other  than  a  Kepublican. 

In  1854,  the  American  or  Know  Nothing  party  carried  his 
district  by  a  considerable  majority  (Mr.  Fenton  consenting  to  be 
a  candidate  on  the  Saturday  previous  to  election),  as  they  did 
a  good  many  others  in  the  State ;  but,  in  1856,  he  ran  on  the 
FiiEMONT  ticket,  and  was  elected,  and  thence  re-elecicd  by 
large  and  generally  increasing  majoriti^^s  down  to  ISGl,  when 
he  withdrew,  having  been  nominated  for  Governor.  He  thus 
served  five  terms  in  Congress,  each  as  the  representative  of  the 
strongly  Whig  district  composed  of  Chautauqua  and  Cattarau- 
gus counties,  which  contains  many  able  and  worthy  men  who 
were  in  full  accord  with  its  by-gone  politics,  and  to  the  almost 
unanimous  acceptance  of  his  constituents. 

Immediately  on  entering  Congress,  Mr.  Fenton  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  soldiers  of  1812,  and  shortly  after  introduced  a  bill 
providing  for  the  payment  of  the  property  accounts  between 
the  United  States  and  the  State  of  New  York,  for  military 
stores  furnished  in  the  war  of  1812.  This  measure  he  con- 
tinued to  urge  upon  the  attention  of  Congress,  and  finally,  on 
the  30th  May,  1860,  had  the  satisfaction  to  witness  its  passage 
in  the  House  by  a  vote  of  98  to  80.  He  had  a  leading  place  on 
important  committees,  and  performed  the  duties  appertaining  to 
these  positions  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  all.  It  is  but  simple 
truth  to  say  that  he  was  one  of  the  quietly  industrious  and 
faithful  members  of  the  House.     Nor  Vv^as  he  a  silent  representa- 


REUBEN"  E.   FENTON.  427 

tive.  lie  could  talk  when  there  seemed  a  necessity  for  speak- 
ing. During  his  Congressional  career,  he  delivered  able  and 
effective  speeches  against  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Comprom- 
ise act ;  in  advocacy  of  a  cheap  postal  system ;  the  bill  to  ex- 
tend invalid  pensions ;  for  the  improvement  of  rivers  and  har- 
bors ;  to  regulate  emigration  to  this  country ;  against  the  policy 
of  the  Democratic  party  with  regard  to  Kansas ;  for  the  final 
settlement  of  the  claims  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution;  in 
vindication  of  the  principles  and  policy  of  the  Republieau  party ; 
on  the  Deficiency  bill ;  the  bill  to  facilitate  the  payment  of  boun- 
ties ;  on  the  repeal  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  law ;  on  providing  for 
payment  of  losses  by  the  rebellion,  etc. 

Mr.  Fenton  served  in  Congress  nearly  to  the  end  of  the  war 
for  the  Union,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  firmest  and  most 
efl&cient  supporters.  Believing  the  Union  to  be  right  and  the 
rebellion  wrong  throughout,  he  gave  his  best  energies  to  the 
national  cause,  voting  steadily  for  taxes,  loans,  levies,  drafts, 
and  for  the  emancipation  policy  whereby  they  were  rendered 
effectual.  Men  of  greater  pretensions  were  abundant  in  Con- 
gress, but  there  was  none  more  devoted,  or  more  ready  to 
invoke  and  to  make  sacrifices  for  the  triumph  of  the  Union. 

In  the  fall  of  1862,  Mr.  Fenton's  name  was  favorably  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  office  of  governor,  but  finding 
General  Wadsworth  was  to  be  pressed  for  a  nomination,  Mr. 
Fenton  promptly  withdrew  from  the  canvass,  and  yielded  to  the 
patriot  soldier  his  warmest  support.  In  1864,  Mr.  Fenton  was 
designated  as  the  standard-bearer  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
chosen  governor  by  a  majority  considerably  larger  than  Mr. 
Lincoln's ;  and  two  years  later,  he  was  unanimously  re-non..ina- 
ted,  and  chosen  by  an  increased  majority. 

The  administration  of  Governor  Fenton  commenced  at  the 
culminating  period  of  thf  war,  and  required  the  exercise  of 


428  MEN   OF   OUR   DAI 

industry,  method,  decision,  and  the  power  ot  aiscnmlnating, 
originating,  and  executing.  He  brought  to  the  discharge  of 
his  new  position  all  these  forces  of  body  and  mind,  and  proved 
patient  amid  perplexities,  quick  in  his  perceptions,  safe  in  his 
judgments,  mastering  toilsome  details,  and  successfully  meeting 
difficult  emergencies.  His  practical  training,  his  wide  experi- 
ence, his  luminous  intellect  and  well-disciplined  judgment, 
saved  him  from  the  failure  that  a  man  of  less  power  might 
have  encountered.  His  official  relations  with  our  soldiers  did 
not  weaken  tue  attachments  that  had  given  him  the  honored 
title  of  the  "  soldier's  friend."  He  was  prompt  to  reward  merit, 
and  skilful  to  harmonize  differences  that  often  threatened 
demoralization  and  serious  injury  to  many  of  the  military 
organizations  then  in  the  field.  Upon  the  return  home  of  the 
soldiers,  Governor  Fenton  addressed  a  letter  to  the  war  commit- 
tees of  the  various  districts  in  the  State,  in  which  he  suggested 
the  propriety  of  a  hearty  and  spontaneous  welcome  to  the 
heroic  defenders  of  the  country,  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  the 
State — an  ovation  to  demonstrate  the  gratitude  of  those  whose 
battles  they  had  so  bravely  fought. 

Governor  Fenton's  judicious  course  fully  commanded  the 
public  confidence  and  approval,  and  at  the  close  of  the  first 
year  of  his  term,  many  of  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
citizens  of  New  York  city  addressed  him  a  letter  of  thanks, 
promising  him  their  hearty  co-operation  and  support  in  his 
efforts  to  improve  the  condition  and  health  of  the  metropolis. 
A  few  months  later,  when  he  visited  New  York  city,  thousands 
of  the  best  men  of  New  York  waited  upon  him  in  person,  to 
assure  him  of  their  respect  and  approval  of  his  course. 

He  found  it  necessary  to  veto  several  bills  of  the  first  Legisla- 
ture which  sat  after  his  election,  in  consequence  of  their  de- 
priving the  city  of  New  York  of  valuable  franchises,  without 


REUBEN   E.   FENTON.  429 

conferring  compensating  advantages.  For  these  acts,  he  waa 
'thanked  publicly,  by  a  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors 
of  New  York  county.  Governor  Fenton's  views  upon  tlie 
political  issues  which  were  involved  in  Mr.  Johnson's  attempted 
"policy"  were  ably  expressed,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
committee  of  a  meeting  held  to  ratify  .the  action  of  the  State 
Union  Convention,  in  October,  186Q,  and  soon  after  in  a  speech 
delivered  at  a  large  political  gathering  in  Jamestown.  During 
the  canvass  that  followed,  his  opponents  were  unable  to  assail 
any  portion  of  his  official  record,  and  his  friends  proudly 
pointed  to  it,  as  what  a  patriotic  governor's  should  be. 

When,  in  August,  1866,  Mr.  Johnson,  in  the  course  of  his 
political  tour,  generally  known  as  "  swinging  round  the  circle," 
visited  Albany,  a  proper  regard  for  the  high  office  he  held, 
required  that  the  governor  of  the  State  should  proffer  its 
hospitalities  to  him.  Governor  Fenton  did  so  in  the  following 
brief  but  dignified  address : — • 

"  Mk.  President  : — • 

"  With  high  consideration  for  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
Republic,  I  address  you  words  of  welcome  in  behalf  of  our 
citizens  and  the  people  of  the  State  whose  capital  you  visit. 
We  extend  to  you  and  to  your  suite, hospitality  and  greeting, 
and  desire  your  safe  conduct  as  you  go  hence  to  pay  honor 
to  the  memory  of  the  lamented  Douglas, — to  the  State  also 
distinguished  as  the  home  and  final  resting  place  of  the  patriot 
and  martyr,  Lincoln. 

"  I  have  no  power  to  give  due  expression  to  the  feelings  of 
this  assemblage  of  citizens,  nor  to  express  in  fitting  terms  the 
respect  and  magnanimity  of  the  whole  people  upon  an  occasion 
so  marked  as  the  coming  to  our  capital  and  to  our  homes  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States.  In  their  name  I  give 
assurance  to  your  excellency  of  their  fidelity,  patriotism  and 
jealous  interest  in  all  that  relates  to  the  good  order,  progress, 
and  freedom  of  all  the  States,  and  of  their  earnest  hope  that 


430  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

peace  will  soon  open  up  to  the  people  of  the  whole  land  new 
fields  of  greater  liberty,  prosperity  and  power," 

The  Eepublican  party,  in  1866,  saw  the  necessity  of  selecting 
wise  men  for  its  nominees.  The  more  discerning  politicians 
felt  that  there  was  reason  to  fear  an  unfavorable  result  of  the 
canvass.  Ilerculean  efforts  were  being  made  to  defeat  the 
party  at  the  polls.  A  division  had  been  created  among  those 
who  had  heretofore  professed  its  principles.  A  number  of 
influential  gentlemen  openly  repudiated  its  ideas  in  regard  to 
reconstruction.  The  Philadelphia  Convention  had  produced 
a  schism,  which  it  was  feared  might  prove  formidable,  if  not 
disastrous.  Those  who  were  the  most  pronounced  in  favor 
of  the  policy  of  President  Johnson,  were  the  most  earnest  in 
their  opposition  to  Governor  Fenton.  The  question  naturally 
arose  whether  this  marked  hostility  might  not  prove  fatal  to 
success,  by  stimulating  the  Conservatives  to  greater  effort,  and 
enabling  them  to  exert  more  powerful  influence  over  the 
moderate  and  doubtful  portion  of  the  party;  and  whether  a 
man  less  likely  to  be  thus  assailed  might  not  be  stronger.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  was  to  be  considered  the  effect  which  the 
leading  measures  of  his  administration  had  produced  on  the 
popular  mind.  His  national  policy  had  contributed  in  a 
marked  degree  to  the  success  of  the  war.  He  had  entered  upon 
his  term  of  office  as  successor  to  one  who  disapproved  of  many 
of  the  principal  features  of  the  war  policy  of  the  Government, 
and  who  had  been  elected  because  of  his  decided  views  in 
relation  thereto.  He  had  stimulated  volunteering,  and  secured 
for  the  State  a  more  just  recognition  of  its  rights ;  had  worked 
clear  from  the  complications  in  which  the  public  interest  had 
been  involved  by  the  blundering  and  incompetency  of  the  pro- 
vost marshal  general ;  and  had  relieved  New  York  from  a  large 
portion   of  the   dreaded   burden  of  the   draft.     He   had  done 


REUBEN    E.   FEXTON,  431 

mucli,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  head  of  the  State  fitianca 
department,  to  originate  a  financial  system  which  rendered  the 
credit  of  the  State  stable  and  secure,  and  furnished  the  means 
to  supply  the  demands  of  war,  without  being  felt  as  oppressive. 
By  his  keen  appreciation  of  the  wants  of  the  soldiers,  his  tender 
solicitude  for  their  welfare,  and  his  earnest  eftbrts  in  their 
behalf,  he  had  firmly  attached  them  to  himself.  In  his  State 
policy,  he  had  sought  to  foster  all  the  material  interests  of  the 
commonwealth ;  and  had  reluctantly  interposed  to  the  defeat 
of  needed  enterprises  when  their  aid  would  render  the  burden 
of  taxation  onerous,  and  awaited  a  more  favorable  opportunity 
to  join  in  giving  them  that  aid.  He  was  vigilant  in  his  at- 
tention to  the  commercial  wants  of  the  State,  both  in  the  great 
metropolis  and  through  its  extensive  lines  of  transit.  This  un- 
wavering devotion  to  the  essential  prosperity  of  the  State, 
elicited  confidence  and  commendation.  All  the  discriminating 
judgment  and  forecast  of  the  statesman  had  been  displayed 
in  a  marked  degree.  These  views  were  impressed  on  the 
minds  of  the  representative  men  of  his  party,  and  when  the 
Convention  assembled,  so  strongly  did  they  prevail,  and  so 
heavily  did  they  outweigh  adverse  considerations,  that  no 
other  name  was  suggested,  and  he  was  unanimously  nominated 
by  acclamation.  The  Democrats  entered  upon  the  canvass  full 
of  hope.  Prominent  places  were  given  by  them,  on  the  State 
ticket,  to  Republicans  who  dissented  from  the  principles  enun- 
ciated by  the  Republican  party,  and  nominations  of  a  like 
character  were  made  for  many  local  offices  in  various  portions 
of  the  State.  The  result  showed  that  Governor  Fenton's 
8tr>».i:gth  had  not  been  miscalculated.  He  was  re-elected  by  a 
majority  five  thousand  larger  than  that  given  him  in  his  first 
canvass. 

The  year  1867  furnished  the  occasion  for  a  continuation  of  a 


432  MKX    OF     OLR    DAY. 

policy  which  had  provovi  so  aooeptable.  aud  it  is  not  necessarv 
that  we  should  dwell  upon  its  features. 

The  absence  of  all  malevolence  in  the  heart  of  Governor  Fen- 
ton,  and  the  broad  charity  of  his  nature,  were  display evl  during 
that  year.  The  remains  of  the  rebel  dead  had  been  left 
unburied  at  Autiotam.  A  letter  from  Governor  Fenton,  breath 
ing  the  spirit  of  loyalty  and  humanity,  decided  the  committee  at 
onoe  to  au  act  both  Christian  and  proper,  aud  in  accorvlance  with 
the  spirit  of  the  law  ot  Maryland,  which  authorized  the  pur- 
chase of  a  cemetery,  and  created  a  corporation  to  carry  out  the 
declared  object  of  burying  in  it^  all  who  fell  on  either  side 
during  the  invasion  of  Lee  at  the  battle  of  Antittam.  In  that 
letter  he  took  the  high  ground  that  it  "  was  a  war  less  of  sec- 
tions than  of  systems,"  and  that  the  nation  could  confer  decent 
burial  on  the  southern  dead  while  condemning  and  sternly 
opposing  the  heresies  for  which  they  had  siicrificed  themselves ; 
and  that  attachment  to  the  Union  and  devotion  to  the  most 
thorough  measures  for  its  preser\-ation  and  restoration  were  not 
inconsistent  with  the  broadest  charity,  and  the  observance  of 
sacred  oblig-ations  to  the  dead.  This  letter  accomplished  the 
intended  purpose ;  aud  the  bones  of  the  rebel  soldiers  who  fell 
on  that  memorable  field,  were  interred  as  befitting  not  only  a 
legal  obligation,  but  the  highest  demands  of  civili;:ation  and 
our  common  humanity. 

In  his  message  to  the  Legislature  of  lSt>S,  Governor  Fenton 
forcibly  expressed  himself  in  favor  of  materially  reducing  the 
number  of  items  in  the  tax  lists,  and  v  f  a  re-adjustment  of  the 
assessn^ent  laws — now  so  glaringly  unequal — in  orxier  that  every 
source  of  wealth  might  Ivar  its  just  proportion  of  burtlen.  lie 
also  took  strong  ground  in  defence  of  the  inviolat<^  maintenance 
of  the  national  taith.  In  his  usual  terse  and  vigorous  style,  he 
wgucd  against  the  legjvlity  of  the  Governments  institutevi  by 


REUBEN   E.   FENTON.  433 

riwidont  Johnson,  after  the  cessation  of  active  hostilities,  and 
held  that  the  reconstruction  acts  of  Congress  were  necessary, 
because  the  Southern  States  had  rejected,  with  scorn,  the  peace- 
oftering  of  tlie  Constitutional  Amoudnicnt.  lie  eloquently 
expressed  himself  in  behalf  of  the  rights  of  the  freedman,  iu 
consideration  of  his  manhood  and  loyalty,  to  protection  through 
law,  and  to  the  elective  franchise. 

Governor  Fenton  realized  that  the  people  of  New  York 
had  made  him  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  that  thoy  looked  to 
him,  and  to  no  other  person,  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  the  responsible  position.  He  was  controlled  by  no 
clique — he  was  the  agent  of  no  cabal.  Tie  patiently  listened  to  all 
who  desired  to  consult  him,  and  then  followed  the  dictates  ofdiis 
own  good  judgment.  lie  had  no  prejudice  so  strong,  nor 
patiality  so  great,  as  to  lead  him  to  do  an  unjust  act.  lie  was  a 
careful  thinker  and  a  hard  worker.  No  man  ever  labored 
more  hours  in  the  executive  chamber  than  he  did.  What- 
ever witrk  engaged  his  attention,  he  attended  to  it  personally, 
even  to  the  minutest  details. 

At  the  State  Republican  Convention,  in  September,  1S68,  it 
being  understood  that  Governor  Fenton  would  not  consent  to  be 
again  a  candidate,  Hon.  John  A.  Griswold  was  nominated  for 
that  office,  but  the  Democrats  being  successful  on  the  State  ticket, 
lion.  John  T.  llotVinan  was  elected  Governor. 

The  Legislature,  in  the  winter  of  1869,  elected  Reuben  E. 
Fenton  United  States  Senator  for  six  years  from  March,  1869, 
and  he  took  his  place  on  the  -ith  of  March  following,  succeeding 
•lion.  Edwin  D.  Morgan.  In  the  Senate,  Mr.  Fenton  lias  mani- 
fested similar  traits  to  those  which  made  him  so  acceptable  as  a 
Governor,  lie  belongs  to  the  liberal  wing  of  the  Republican 
party,  favors  decentralization  in  the  National  Government,  uni- 
versal amnesty,  and  impartial  suflVage,  and  does  not  regard 
28 


43-4  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

with  satisfaction,  the  corruption  which  springs  from  a  personal 
government,  or  from  placing  power  and  influence  in  the  hands 
of  bitter  partisans  who  only  desire  it  for  their  own  private  aims 
and  emolument.  Unfortunately  he  and  President  Grant  differ 
in  their  views,  and  he  has  been  in  consequence  most  ruthlessly 
proscribed  and  denounced  bj  the  administration  papers  through- 
out the  years  1871  and  1872.  But  the  Senator  is  too  fair  and 
upright  a  man  to  be  harmed  by  this  abuse. 


WILLIAM  ALFRED   BUCKINGHAM. 


^l|lL'LIAM  ALFRED  BUCKINGHAM  is  a  direct  descend- 
ant, in  the  sixth  generation,  from  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Buckingham  and  his  wife  Hester  Hosmer,  who  were  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  1666.  His  father,  Captain 
Buckingham,  as  he  was  called,  was  a  farmer,  in  Lebanon,  Con- 
necticut, a  shrewd  manager  of  property,  of  clear  mind  and 
sound  judgment,  and  frequently  appealed  to  as  umpire  in 
matters  of  difference  between  neighbors.  His  wife  was  a 
remarkable  woman,  having  few  equals  in  all  that  was  good, 
endowed  with  strong  natural  powers  both  of  mind  aad  body, 
indomitable  perseverance  and  energy ;  with,  as  one  of  her 
neighbors  described  her,  "  a  great  generous  heart." 

The  son  of  these  worthy  people,  who  was  born  at  Lebanon, 
May  24th,  1804,  happily  partook  of  the  strong  points  of  both 
his  parents.  His  father  being  absent  from  home,  on  business, 
during  a  portion  of  the  year,  much  of  the  work  and  care  of  the 
farm  necessarily  devolved  upon  him,  while  yet  a  mere  boy,  and 
he  thus  early  acquired  habits  of  industry  and  self-reliance. 
One  who  knew  him  well  at  this  period  of  his  life,  says,  "  I  don't 
think  any  thing  left  in  his  care  was  ever  overlooked  or 
neglected."  The  same  friend  says,  "  he  was  early  trained  in  the 
school  of  benevolence.  I  have  often  seen  him  sent  off  on 
Saturday   afternoons,  when   the   weather   was  severe,  with  a 

wagon  load  of  wood,  from  his  father's  well-stored  wood-shed, 

435 


436  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

and  a  number  of  baskets  and  budgets,  destined  to  clieer  some 
destitute  persons  in  tlie  neigliborliood,  and  make  them  comfort- 
able. He  received  his  education  at  the  common  school  in 
Lebanon,  and  passed  a  term  or  two  at  Colchester  Academy — 
evincing  a  peculiar  fondness  for  the  study  of  mathematics, 
especially  in  the  higher  branches.  As  he  grew  up,  he  developed 
as  a  lively,  spirited  "fast"  young  man,  in  the  best  acceptation 
of  that  term — his  habits  being  excellent,  and  integrity  being  a 
marked  feature  in  his  character.  Indeed,  he  was  regarded  as 
rather  a  leader  among  the  young  people  with  whom  he  assc^ 
ciated. 

In  early  manhood,  he  was  a  member  of  a  cavalry  militia 
company,,  and  "  trooped"  Avith  the  same  energy  which  has  since 
characterized  him  in  whatever  he  undertook — excelling  in 
military  matters,  and  becoming  a  master  of  the  broadsword 
exercise. 

Commencing  mercantile  life  as  a  clerk  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he  removed  to  Norwich, 
Connecticut  in  1825,  and  entered  into  the  employ  of  Messrs. 
Hamlin,  Buckingham  &  Giles.  A  few  years  later  he  com- 
menced business  on  his  own  account,  and  by  enterprise, 
thrift,  punctuality,  and  honorable  dealing,  became  a  most 
successful  and  widely  respected  merchant.  He  has  since  been 
extensively  engaged  in  various  manufactures;  especially  in 
the  Hay  ward  Rubber  Company,  of  which  he  was  treasurer  for 
many  years;  and  the  town  of  Norwich  has  been  largely 
indebted  to  his  example  and  influence.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Norwich  Free  Academy,  and,  in  1849,  was 
elected  mayor  of  the  city,  which  office  he  filled  for  two 
years.  His  eminently  practical  mind  and  great  executive 
ability  have  contributed  largely  to  the  manufacturing  and 
industrial  interests  of  his  native  State ;  and  the  whole  weight 


WILLIAM   ALFRED   BUCKINGHAM.  437 

of  his  personal  character  and  sympathies  has  ever  been  enlisted 
in  support  of  religion,  temperance,  industry,  and  education. 
"We  have  it  on  excellent  authority,  that  the  governor,  at  the 
commencement  of  his  business  career,  made  a  resolve  to  set 
aside  one  fifth  of  each  year's  income  to  be  applied  to  objects  of 
religious  benevolence ;  and  that  his  experience  was  for  many 
years,  and  perhaps  is  still,  that  each  year's  income  was  so 
much  in  excess  of  that  which  preceded  it,  that  at  the  year's  end 
he  always  had  an  additional  sum  lo  distribute  to  objects  of 
benevolence,  to  make  out  the  full  fifth  of  his  receipts.  A 
striking  illustration  this,  of  the  declaration  of  holy  writ: 
"  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth."  During  the 
eight  terms  of  his  gubernatorial  career,  his  entire  salary, 
as  governor,  was  bestowed  upon  benevolent  objects;  for  the 
most  part,  we  believe,  on  Yale  college,  in  which  he  founded 
several  scholarships,  for  worthy  but  indigent  students.  In- 
deed, the  spirit  of  benevolence  which  he  inherited  from  his 
parents,  has  ever  remained  a  distinguishing  feature  of  his 
character.  In  providing  for  the  wants  of  the  poor  and  unfor- 
tunate, and  in  the  unostentatious  performance  of  every  good 
work,  Governor  Buckingham's  life  has  been  a  record  of  un- 
wearied industry. 

The  qualities  which  had  gained  him  the  respect  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  as  they  became  more  widely  known,  commended  him 
to  the  public  as  a  candidate  for  higher  positions  of  trust  and 
responsibility.  In  1858,  he  was  elected  Governor  of  Connecti- 
cut, and  to  the  same  office  he  was  re-elected  in  1859,  and  1860. 
Again,  on  the  1st  of  April,  1861,  he  was  chosen  to  the  guberna- 
torial chair,  by  a  majority  of  two  thousand  and  eighty-six  votes, 
the  entire  Republican  State  ticket  being  elected,  at  the  same 
time,  together  with  a  large  Union  and  Republican  majority  in 
both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly.     On  the  15th  of  the  samo 


438  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

montli,  he  received  the  President's  call  for  seventy-five  thousand 
volunteers.     The  Legislature  was  not  then  in  session,  but  the 
governor  had  been  among  the  first  to  see  (in  1860)  the  rising 
cloud  of  "  the  irrepressible  conflict."     He  had  long  since  aban- 
doned any  hopes  of  settling  the  national  difficulties  by  compro- 
mise ;  he  had  recognized  them  as  questions  on  -which  every 
citizen  must  decide  squarely,  for  right  or  wrong,  for  freedom  or 
slavery.     Therefore   his   action,   when   the   storm    burst,    was 
prompt  and  decided.     He  took  immediate  measures  on  his  own 
responsibility,  to  raise  and  equip  the  quota  of  troops  required 
from  Connecticut ;  his  own  extensive  financial  relations  enabling 
him  to  command  the  funds  needed  for  the  purpose.     He  threw 
himself  into  the  work,  with  all  the  force  of  his  energetic  nature ; 
and  during  that  week  of  anxiety,  when  "Washington  was  isolated 
from  the  north,  by  the  Baltimore  rising,  his  message — that  the 
State  of  Connecticut  was  coming  "to  the  rescue,"  with  men  and 
money,  was  the  Jirst  intimation  received  by  the  President,  that 
help  was  near  at  hand.     The  banks  came  to  his  aid,  and  money 
and  personal  assistance  were  tendered  freely  by  prominent  par 
ties  in  every  section  of  the  State — so  that,  by  the  time  (May  1st) 
that  the  Legislature  had  assembled  in  extra  session  (in  response 
to  a  call  which  he  had  made  upon  the  receipt  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
proclamation),  he  had  the  pleasure  of  informing  them  that  forty- 
one  volunteer  companies  had  already  been  accepted,  and  that  a 
fifth  regiment  was  ready.     Ten  days  later,  the  first  regiment, " 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-four  strong,  under  Colonel  (afterwards 
General)  A.  H.  Terry,  left  the  State,  equipped  with  a  thorough- 
ness — as  were  all  the  Connecticut  troops — which  elicited  univer- 
sal admiration  from  all  who  beheld  them. 

Soon  after  he  pronounced  his  conviction,  in  an  official 
communication  to  the  Washington  cabinet,  that  "this  is  no 
ordinary  rebellion,"  that  it  "  should  be  met  and  suppressed  by  a 


WILLIAM   ALFBED   BUCKINGHAM.  439 

power  corresponding  with  its  magnitude,"  that  the  President 
"  should  ask  for  authority  to  organize  and  arm  a  force  of  half  a 
million  of  men,  for  the  purpose  of  quelling  the  rebellion,  and 
for  an  appropriation  from  the  public  treasury  sufficient  for  their 
support,"  "  that  legislation  upon  every  other  subject  should  be 
regarded  as  out  of  time  and  place,  and  the  one  great  object  of 
suppressing  the  rebellion  be  pursued  by  the  Administration, 
with  vigor  and  firmness."  "  To  secure  such  high  public  inter- 
ests," said  the  governor,  "  the  State  of  Connecticut  will  bind  her 
destinies  more  closely  to  those  of  the  General  Government,  and 
in  adopting  the  measures  suggested,  she  will  renewedly  pledge 
all  her  pecuniary  and  physical  resources,  and  all  her  moral 
power,"  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  Governor  Buckingham 
took  an  accurate  and  comprehensive  view  of  the  extent,  the 
probable  course  and  the  power  of  the  war  just  inaugurated — 
and  better  would  it  have  been  for  our  country,  if  others  of  our 
leading  statesmen  had  manifested,  at  that  critical  hour,  the  same 
calm,  clear  insight  and  broad  statesmanship.  There  was  nothing 
undecided  in  his  thought  or  action.  His  suggestions  upon  every 
point  relative  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  the  policy  of 
the  State,  were  full  of  patriotic,  far-seeing  wisdom.  lie  was 
nobly  seconded  by  a  loyal  Legislature,  and  though  "  peace  men" 
tried  to  intimidate  the  Unionists,  their  attempts  recoiled  upon 
their  own  heads.  By  the  1st  of  March,  1862,  fifteen  Connecticut 
regiments  were  in  the  field,  and  by  November  following,  28,551 
soldiers  had  been  furnished  to  the  defence  of  the  Union,  by  the 
little  *'  Wooden  Nutmeg  State." 

In  April,  1862,  Governor  Buckingham  was  re-elected  and  hia 
efforts  were  as  untiring  as  ever.  No  amount  of  disaster  in  the 
field,  of  hesitation  in  council,  or  of  depression  in  the  public 
mind,  seemed  to  affect  him.  lie  was  always  ready  to  make  greater 
sacrifices ;  always  full  of  hope  and  determination ;  and,  with  the 


440  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

late  lamented  John  A.  Andrew,  the  noble  governor  of  the  sister 
State  of  Massachusetts,  lie  was  among  the  earliest  to  urge  the 
necessity  of  an  Emancipation  Proclamation  upon  President  Lin- 
coln. When  that  great  step  had  at  length  been  taken,  he  wrote 
to  the  President  these  cheering  and  congratulatory  words : 

"  Permit  me  to  congratulate  you  and  the  country  that  you 
have  so  clearly  presented  the  policy  which  you  will  hereafter 
pursue  in  suppressing  the  rebellion,  and  to  assure  you  it 
meets  my  cordial  approval,  and  shall  have  my  unconditional 
support.  The  State  has  already  sent  into  the  army,  and  has 
now  at  the  rendezvous,  more  than  one  half  of  her  able-bodied 
men  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five  years,  and 
has  more  to  offer,  if  wanted,  to  contend  in  battle  against  the 
enemies  of  our  Government." 

The  spring  campaign  of  1863  was  an  exciting  one;  em- 
boldened by  the  ill -success  of  the  national  arms,  the  Democracy 
rallied  around  the  standard,  of  "  no  more  war !"  while  the  Ee- 
publicans,  with  equal  ardor,  advocated  a  more  vigorous  prose- 
cution of  the  war,  and  were  cordially  seconded  by  the  Connecti- 
cut soldiers  in  the  field.  Buckingham,  however,  was  re-elected 
by  a  majority  of  2637,  in  a  total  vote  of  79,427,  in  which  had 
been  polled  9000  more  votes  than  the  year  previous,  and  2000 
more  than  the  aggregate  presidential  vote  of  1860. 

In  April,  1864,  Governor  B\ickingham  was  re-nominated  by 
the  Republicans,  against  Origen  S.  Seymour,  Democrat,  and  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  5,658,  in  a  total  vote  of  73,982.  Again,' 
in  1865,  he  was  re-elected  governor  over  the  same  opponent  by 
a  majority  of  11,035,  in  a  vote  of  73,374. 

In  his  annual  message  he  strongly  advocated  giving  soldiers 
in  the  field  the  privilege  of  the  ballot,  and  national  legislation 
for  the  abolishment  of  slavery. 

With  1865,  closed  Governor  Buckingham's  long  gubernato- 


WILLIAM   ALFRED   BUCKINGHAM.  441 

rial  career  of  eight  years,  of  whicli  five  were  "  war  years,  fully 
tasking  his  every  physical  and  mental  power,  and  loading  him 
with  an  incessant  burden  of  responsibility  and  care.  His  course, 
during  this  arduous  term  of  service,  had  commanded  the  uni- 
versal respect  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  the  admiration  of  all 
loyal  hearts  throughout  the  Northern  States.  Prominent  among 
that  noble  circle  of  loyal  governors  who  rallied  around  the 
President,  in  his  darkest  hours,  with  brotherly  advice  and  en- 
couraging words.  Governor  Buckingham's  relations  with  Mr. 
Lincoln  strongly  remind  us  of  those  between  President  Wash- 
ington and  Governor  Trumbull,  the  "  Brother  Jonathan"  of  the 
Revolutionary  war. 

After  the  close  of  his  last  term  of  service,  in  April,  1866,  he 
returned  to  Norwich,  where  he  quietly  engaged  again  in  mer- 
cantile atVuirs. 

In  the  National  Eepublican  Union  Convention  which  met  at 
Chicago  in  May,  1863,  his  name  was  strongly  supported,  though 
against  his  will,  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  On  the  19th  of  May, 
in  the  same  year,  he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  of  Connecti- 
cut United  States  Senator  from  that  State  for  six  years  from 
March  4th,  1869,  succeeding  Hon.  James  Dixon  in  that  office. 
As  a  Senator  Governor  Buckingham  has  maintained  the  high  and 
spotless  reputation  which  has  so  long  marked  his  character.  He 
seldom  makes  speeches,  but  is  one  of  the  most  untiring  workers 
in  the  Senate ;  and  even  the  foul  breath  of  slander  has  never 
dared  to  sully  by  the  slightest  whisper,  his  pure  and  immaculate 
fame. 


WILLIAM  GANNAWAY  BROWNLOW. 


c.TpjEV.  WILLIAM    GANNAWAY    BROWNLOW,    the 
patriotic  and  heroic  journalist,  Governor,  and  Senator 


of  Eastern  Tennessee,  was  born  in  Wythe  County, 
Virginia,  on  the  29th  of  August,  1805.  lie  was  the 
eldest  son  of  Joseph  A.  Brownlow,  a  native  of  Rockbridge 
Count}'',  Virginia,  who  was  characterized  by  his  old  associates 
and  friends  (among  them  General  Sam.  Houston),  as  possessing 
good  sense,  great  independence,  and  sterling  integrity.  He  was 
also  a  private  in  a  Tennessee  company  during  the  "  War  of 
1812,"  and  two  of  his  brothers  were  engaged  in  the  battle  at 
fforseshoe,  under  General  Jackson,  while  two  other  brothers 
were  officers  in  the  American  Navy,  and  died  in  the  service. 
Joseph  Brownlow  died  in  Sullivan  County,  East  Tennessee,  in 
1816,  leaving  his  widow,  Catharine  Gannaway — a  Virginian 
likewise — burdened  with  the  care  of  five  children,  three  sons 
and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom  are  now  dead,  except  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch.  In  less  than  three  months  from  the  time 
of  her  husband's  demise,  she  also  died,  and  the  children  were 
left  to  the  charity  of  relatives  and  friends.  Young  William, 
now  in  his  eleventh  year,  was  taken  by  his  mother's  family,  by 
whom  he  was  brought  up  to  hard  labor,  until  he  was  eighteen 
years  old,  when  he  removed  to  Abingdon,  Virginia,  where  he 

commenced  an  apprenticeship  as  a  house  carpenter. 
442 


WILLIAM   GANNAWAY   BROWNLOW.  443 

Of  course,  his  education,  under  the  unfavorable  circumstances 
of  his  earlier  years,  was  imperfect  and  irregular,  "  even,"  as  he 
says,  "in  those  branches  taught  in  the  common  schools  of  the 
country."  As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  had  acquired  his  trade,  he 
diligently  set  to  work  to  obtain  the  means  whereby  to  improve 
his  mind,  by  going  to  school.  Entering  the  Methodist  ministry 
in  1826,  he  was  for  ten  years  a  faithful  and  hard-worked  itine- 
rant preacher,  availing  himself,  meanwhile,  of  every  opportu- 
nity of  study  and  improving  his  defective  education,  especially 
in  the  English  branches.  In  1832,  he  was  chosen  by  the  Ilolston 
Annual  Conference  as  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference  of 
the  Methodist  Church  held  in  Philadelphia;  and,  during  the 
same  year,  travelled  a  circuit  in  South  Carolina,  having  ap- 
pointments in  the  districts  of  Pickens  and  Anderson,  and  also 
in  Franklin  County,  Georgia.  Nullification  was  then  raging 
in  South  Carolina,  and  men  of  all  professions  took  sides,  either 
in  favor  of  the  General  Government,  or  of  the  South  Carolina 
Ordinance  of  Disunion.  Anderson  District,  which  was  one  of 
Mr.  Brownlow's  appointments,  was  the  residence  of  the  arch- 
nullifier,  John  C.  Calhoun,  and  the  itinerant  parson,  living  in 
such  an  atmosphere  of  excitement,  and  ever  prone  to  give  fear- 
less expression  to  his  own  political  convictions,  soon  found 
himself  drawn  conspicuously  into  the  controversy.  Ilis  stout 
defence  of  the  Federal  Government  brought  down  upon  him  a 
storm  of  opposition  so  fierce  that  he  felt  obliged,  in  vindication 
of  his  position,  to  publish  a  pamphlet,  in  which  he  fully  defined 
his  principles  on  that  particular  question. 

About  the  same  time,  also,  he  became  engaged  in  a  contro- 
versy with  a  clergyman  of  another  denomination  relative  to  the 
position  of  tha  Methodists  with  regard  to  slavery,  and  published 
in  a  pam})hlet  the  following  prophetic  extract,  expressing  the 
sentiments  he  has  ever  since  maintained : — "  I  have  paid  some 


441  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

attention  to  tliis  subject  (slavery),  yoimg  as  I  am,  because  it  is, 
one  day  or  otliur,  to  shake  this  Government  to  its  very  founda- 
tion. 1  expect  to  live  to  see  that  day,  and  not  to  be  an  old  man 
at  that.  The  tariff  question  now  threatens  the  overthrow  of 
the  Government ;  but  the  slavery  question  is  one  to  be  dreaded. 
"While  I  shall  advocate  the  owning  of  'men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren/ as  you  say  our  '  Discipline'  styles  slaves,  I  shall,  if  I  am 
living  when  the  battle  comes,  stand  by  my  Government  and  the 
Union  formed  by  our  fathers,  as  Mr.  Wesley  stood  by  the 
British  Government,  of  which  he  was  a  loyal  subject."  Nobly 
has  Mr.  Brownlow's  subsequent  career  performed  this  promise 
of  his  earlier  years  ! 

Mr.  Brownlow  began  bis  political  career  in  Tennessee,  iu 
1828,  by  espousing,  as  he  says,  "  the  cause  of  John  Qumcy 
Adams  as  against  Andrew  Jackson.  The  latter  I  regard  as 
having  been  a  true  patriot  and  a  sincere  lover  of  his  country. 
The  former  I  admired  because  he  was  a  learned  statesman,  of 
pure  moral  and  private  character,  and  because  I  regarded  him 
as  a  Federalist^  representing  my  political  opinions.  I  have  all 
m\'  life  long  been  a  Ftderal  Wliig  of  the  Washintjton  and  Alex- 
ander JIamiUon  school.  I  am  the  advocate  of  a  concentrated 
Federal  Government,  or  of  a  strong  central  Government,  able  to 
maintain  its  dignity,  to  assert  its  authority,  and  to  crush  out 
any  rebellion  that  may  be  inaugurated.  I  have  never  been  a 
sectional,  but  at  all  times  a  national  man,  supporting  men  ibr  the 
presidency  and  vice-presidency  without  any  regard  on  which 
side  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line  they  were  born,  or  resided  at 
the  time  of  their  nomination.  In  a  word,  I  am,  as  I  have 
ever  been,  an  ardent  Whig,  and  Clay  and  Webster  have  ever 
been  my  standards  of  political  orthodoxy.  With  the  breaking 
up  of  old   parties,  I  have   merged  every  thing  into  the   great 

question  of  the  '  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  enforcement 
23 


WILLIAM    GANN^AWAY   BROWNLOW.  445 

of  the  l;n\:J.'  Hence,  I  am  an  unconditional  Union  man,  and 
advocate  the  preservation  of  the  Union  at  tlie  expense  of  all 
other  considerations." 

About  1837,  he  became  the  editor  of  the  "Knoxville  (Tenn.) 
Whi(/"  a  political  newspaper  which  obtained  a  larger  circula- 
tion than  anj  other  similar  paper  in  the  State,  and  even  larger 
than  all  the  papers  in  East  Tennessee  together.  From  the 
vigorous  and  defiant  style  of  his  articles  in  this  sheet,  as  well 
as  of  his  public  speeches,  he  obtained  a  national  reputation 
under  the  sobnqvei  of  the  "  Fighting  Parson."  He  was  also 
actively  engaged  in  all  the  religious  and  political  controversies 
of  the  day,  and,  amid  these  varied  labors,  found  time  to  write 
several  books,  the  principal  of  which  is  entitled  ''  The  Iron 
Wheel  Examined,  and  the  False  Spokes  Extracted,"  being  a 
vindication  of  the  Methodist  Church  against  the  attacks  of  Rev. 
J.  R.  Graves,  of  Nashville.  It  was  published  by  the  Southern 
Methodist  Book  Concern,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  leading 
members  of  the  denomination,  and  "  is,"  to  use  his  own  words, 
"  a  work  of  great  severity,  but  was  written  in  reply  to  one  of 
still  greater  severity." 

In  September,  1858,  Parson  Brownlow  held  a  public  debate 
at  Philadelphia,  with  Rev.  Abram  Payne,  of  New  York,  in 
which  he  defended  the  institution  of  Slavery  as  it  existed  in 
the  South.  This  discussion  was  afterward  published  in  Phila- 
delphia under  the  title  of  "  Ought  American  Slavery  to  be 
Perpetuated?  " 

From  the  beginning  of  the  Secession  movement  in  1860, 
Brownlow,  as  was  to  be  expected  from  his  life-long  sentiments, 
boldly  advocated,  in  his  paper,  unconditional  adherence  to  the 
Union,  for  the  reason,  among  others,  that  it  was  the  best  safe- 
guard to  southern  institutions.  This  course  subjected  him  to 
much  obloquy  and  persecution  after  the  secession  of  Tennessee, 


446  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

and  on  the  24th  of  October,  1861,  he  published  the  last  number 
of  the  Whig  issued  under  the  Slaveocratic  Government.  In  this 
closing  number,  he  announced  his  intention  not  to  re-issue  his 
journal  until  after  the  State  had  been  cleared  of  rebels;  and  he 
also  expressed  his  expectation  of  a  hurried  removal  and  lengthy 
imprisonment  at  their  hands.  Avowing  his  determination 
never  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Confederacy,  he 
asserted  that  he  would  "  submit  to  imprisonment  for  life,  or  die 
at  the  end  of  a  rope,"  before  he  would  make  any  humiliating 
concession  to  any  power  on  earth.  "  I  shall  go  to  jail,"  said 
he,  "as  John  Eogers  went  to  the  stake — for  my  principles. 
I  shall  go,  because  I  have  failed  to  recognize  the  hand  of  God 
in  the  breaking  up  of  the  American  Government,  and  the 
inauguration  of  the  most  wicked,  cruel,  unnatural,  and  un- 
called-for war  ever  recorded  in  history.  *  *  I  am  proud  of 
my  position  and  of  my  principles,  and  shall  leave  them  to  my 
children  as  a  legacy  far  more  valuable  than  a  princely  fortune, 
had  I  the  latter  to  bestow." 

Remaining,  for  awhile,  unmolested  at  Knoxville,  he  was 
finally  taken  away  by  his  friends,  and  remained  in  concealment 
for  some  time  in  the  mountains  of  Tennessee,  until  he  was  in- 
duced, by  the  offer  of  a  safe  escort  out  of  the  State  to  the 
North,  to  appear  at  the  rebel  military  headquarters  ^t  Knox- 
ville. Upon  his  arrival  there,  December  6th,  1861,  he  waa 
arrested,  on  a  civil  process,  for  treason,  and  thrown  into  jail. 
After  a  month's  confinement,  he  was  released,  only  to  be  im- 
mediately re-arrested  by  military  authority,  and  was  kept  under 
guard  in  his  own  house,  expecting  death,  and  suffering  from 
severe  illness,  till  March  3d,  1862.  He  was  then  sent,  under 
escort,  toward  the  Union  lines  at  Nashville,  which  he  finally 
entered  on  the  15th,  having  been  detained  ten  days  by  the 
guerrilla  force  of  Colonel  Morgan.     Subsequently  he  made  an 


WILLIAM   GANNAWAT   BROWNLOW.  447 

exteDsive  and  successful  tour  of  the  Northern  States,  addressing 
large  audiences  in  all  the  principal  cities,  and  wrote  an  auto- 
biographical work,  entitled,  "  Sketches  of  the  Rise,  Progress, 
and  Decline  of  Secession,  with  a  Narrative  of  Personal  Adven- 
ture among  the  Rebels,"  which  was  published  in  Philadelphia. 
This  work,  popularly  known  as  "  Parson  Brownlow's  Book," 
had  an  extensive  sale.  During  the  month  of  November,  1862, 
Mr.  Brownlow,  having  been  joined  by  his  family,  who  had  also 
been  expelled  from  Knoxville,  took  up  his  residence  at  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  for  a  time.  After  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  he 
removed,  with  his  family,  to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  there  to 
await  the  earliest  opportunity  of  returning  to  Knoxville,  and 
re-establishing  The  Whig^  for  which  purpose  he  had  received 
considerable  "material  aid"  during  his  tour  in  the  Northern 
States.  In  September,  1863,  the  capture  of  that  city  afforded 
him  the  long-desired  chance  to  return  to  his  old  home,  and 
before  leaving  Nashville,  he,  on  the  7th  of  September,  1863, 
issued  his  prospectus  for  the  Knoxville  Whig,  under  the  new  and 
euphonious  title  of  ^^Broionlow^s  Knoxville  Whig  and  Rebel  Ven- 
tilator!'^ Its  first  number  was  announced  to  be  issued  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  day  when  his  "  paper  was  crushed  out  by 
the  God-forsaken  mob  at  Knoxville,  called  the  Confederate 
authorities,"  and  his  purpose  was,  as  he  said,  "to  commence 
with  the  rebellion  where  the  traitors  had  forced  him  to  leave 
off."  He  promised,  in  the  editorial  conduct  of  the  paper,  to 
"  forget  Whigs,  Democrats,  Know  Nothings,  and  Republicans, 
and  remember  only  the  Government  and  the  preservation  of 
the  Federal  Union — as  richly  worth  all  the  sacrifices  of  blood 
and  treasure  their  preservation  may  cost — even  to  the  exter- 
mination of  the  present  race  of  men,  and  the  consumption  of 
all  the  means  of  the  present  age." 

He  baa  conducted  his  paper,  from  that  time  to  the  present, 


448  MEX    OF    OUR    DAY. 

with  a  fearlessness  and  power  of  denunciation,  which  lias  made 
it  a  terror  to  the  rebels  of  Tennessee ;  and  their  hatred  of  him 
has  manifested  itself  by  constant  acts  of  malignity.  He  has, 
driven  in  part  by  his  more  fully  developed  convictions,  and  in 
part  by  the  irresistible  logic  of  events,  come  more  and  more 
fully  upon  the  Republican  platform,  till  to-day  he  is  as  thorough 
a  Radical  as  any  man  in  the  West.  He  has  advocated  both  in 
his  paper  and  in  his  place  in  the  Senate,  every  great  measure 
which  is  regarded  as  cardinal  by  the  Republican  party,  and 
though  his  health  is  very  feeble,  he  never  abates  one  jot  of  the 
intensity  of  his  invective  against  the  Rebels. 

In  1865,  when  Tennessee  returned  to  the  Union,  Mr.  Brown- 
low  was  elected,  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  Governor  of 
the  State,  and  in  1867,  re-elected  to  the  same  high  office.  He 
has  brought  to  his  duties  his  unimpeachable  honesty,  his  fear- 
less and  unflinching  integrity,  and  his  remarkable  executive 
ability,  and  has  been  one  of  the  best  governors  the  State  has 
ever  had.  The  legislature  of  1867  elected  him  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  for  the  six  years  commencing  March  4th,  186.^. 

Of  himself,  Parson  Brownlow  says  (in  1862) :  "  I  have  been 
a  laboring  man  all  my  life  long,  and  have  acted  upon  the  Scrip- 
tural maxim  of  eating  my  bread  in  the  sweat  of  my  brow. 
Though  a  Southern  man  in  feeling  and  principle,  I  do  not  think 
it  degrading  to  a  man  to  labor,  as  do  most  Southern  disunionists. 
"Whether  East  or  West,  North  or  South,  I  recognize  the  dignity 
of  labor,  and  look  forward  to  a  day,  not  very  far  distant,  when 
educated  labor  will  be  the  salvation  of  this  vast  country  I  *  *  * 
I  am  known  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  as 
the  'Fighting  Parson,'  while  I  may  say,  without  incurring 
the  charge  of  egotism,  that  no  man  is  more  peaceable,  as  my 
neighbors  will  testify.  Always  poor,  and  always  oppressed 
with  security  debts,  few  men  in  my  section  and  of  my  limited 
means  have   given  away  more  in  the  course  of  each  year  to 


WILLIAM   GANNAWAY   BROWNLOW.  449 

charitable  objects,  I  have  never  been  arraigned  in  the  ctiurcb 
for  immorality.  I  never  played  a  card.  I  never  was  a  pro- 
fane swearer.  I  never  drank  a  dram  of  liquor,  until  within  a 
few  years,  when  it  was  taken  as  a  medicine.  I  never  had  a  cigar 
or  a  chew  of  tobacco  in  my  mouth.  I  never  was  in  attendance 
at  a  theatre.  I  never  attended  a  horse-race,  and  never  witnessed 
their  running  save  on  the  fair  grounds  of  my  own  county.  I 
never  courted  but  one  woman ;  and  her  I  married. 

"  I  am  about  six  feet  high,  and  have  weighed  as  high  as  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds, — have  had  as  fine  a  constitu- 
tion as  g,ny  man  need  desire.  I  have  very  few  grey  hairs  in  my 
head,  and  although  rather  hard-favored  than  otherwise,  I  will 
pass  for  a  man  of  forty  years.*  I  have  had  as  strong  a  voice  as 
any  man  in  East  Tennessee,  where  I  have  resided  for  the  last 
thirty  years,  and  have  a  family  of  seven  children." 

We  may  add  that  Mr.  Brownlow's  earnestness  of  convictions, 
and  fearlessness  in  their  avowal,  is  equalled  only  by  the  intensi- 
ty of  the  language  which  he  employs  to  express  his  sentiments. 
There  is  nothing  "  mealy-mouthed"  about  him — men  and  things 
are  called  by  their  right  names — and  words  are  applied  with  a 
"  squareness  "  and  force  which  is  peculiarly  the  "  Parson's  own," 

He  has  seemed,  for  the  last  three  or  four  years,  to  live  by  sheer 
force  of  his  imperious  will.  His  enemies,  political  and  other, 
have  often  congratulated  themselves  that  he  was  about  to  die ;  but 
the  old  man  declares  that  he  "will  outlive  them,  and  rejoice  that 
a  righteous  God  has  sent  them  to  perdition." 

*The  ten  years  which  have  passed  since  Parson  Brownlow  wrote  this,  and 
his  im])aired  health,  have  greatly  changed  liis  appearance.  He  is  no  more 
hard-favored  than  he  was  then,  but  he  looks  full  as  old  as  he  is,  viz.,  si.xty-seven. 

29 


JAMES  HARLAN. 


;0N.  JAMES  HAELAN,  late  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
and  now  United  States  Senator  from  Iowa,  was  born  in 
Clark  county,  Illinois,  August  26tli,  1820.  When  he 
was  three  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Indiana, 
where  he  was  employed  during  his  minority  in  assisting  his 
father  upon  the  farm.  His  early  advantages  of  education  were 
small  but  they  were  improved  to  the  utmost.  In  the  year  1841, 
he  entered  the  preparatory  department  of  Asbury  University, 
then  under  the  presidency  of  the  present  Bishop  Simpson. 
He  graduated  from  the  university  with  honor,  in  18-15,  having 
paid  his  way  by  teaching,  at  intervals,  during  his  college  course. 
In  the  winter  of  1815-6,  he  was  elected  professor  of  lan- 
guages in  Iowa  City  college,  and  removed  thither.  He  soon 
became  popular  in  the  city  and  State,  and  in  1817  was  elected 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  His  competitor 
for  this  office  was  Hon.  Charles  Mason,  a  distingiiished  gradu- 
ate of  West  Point,  who  had  served  as  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Federal  court  of  Iowa  Territory  during  the  whole  period  of  its 
existence,  a  gentleman  of  great  ability  and  unblemished  reputa- 
tion, and  the  nominee  of  the  Democratic  party,  who  had  been, 
and  subsequently  were,  the  dominant  party  in  the  State.  His 
election  over  such  a  competitor  was  highly  creditable  to  him, 
especially  as  he  had  been  a  resident  of  the  State  but  two  years, 
450 


JAMES    HARLAN.  451 

In  1848,  Mr.  Harlan  was  superseded  by  Thomas  H.  Benton, 
Jr.,  who  was  reported  by  the  canvassing  officers  elected  by 
seventeen  majority.  The  count  was  subsequently  conceded 
to  have  been  fraudulent,  though  Mr.  Benton  was  not  cognizant 
of  the  fraud.  Mr.  Harlan  had  been  for  some  time  engaged  in 
the  study  of  law,  in  his  intervals  of  leisure,  and  now  applied 
himself  to  it  more  closely,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1848. 
He  continued  the  practice  of  his  profession  for  five  years,  and 
was  eminently  successfal  in  it.  During  this  period  (in  1849) 
he  was  nominated  by  his  party  for  governor,  but  not  being  of 
the  constitutional  age  for  that  office,  he  declined  the  nomination. 

In  1853,  he  was  elected,  by  the  annual  conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  President  of  the  Mount  Pleasant 
Collegiate  Institute,  which  during  the  winter  following  was 
re-organized  under  an  amended  charter  as  a  university,  and 
Mr.  Harlan  was  retained  in  the  presidency.  His  energy  and 
industry  found  full  scope  in  this  position,  and  for  the  next  two 
years  the  university  grew  and  prospered. 

On  the  6th  of  January,  1855,  without  any  candidacy,  or  even 
knowledge  of  his  nomination,  Mr.  Harlan  was  elected  by  the 
Legislature,  United  States  Senator  from  Iowa,  for  the  six  years 
commencing  March  4th,  1855.  As  a  pretended  informality  in 
this  election  was  made  the  occasion  of  his  being  unseated  by 
the  Democratic  majority  in  the  United  States  Senate,  two  years 
later,  it  may  be  well  to  give  a  somewhat  more  detailed  account 
of  this  election.  In  accordance  with  the  custom  and  the  Con- 
stitution of  Iowa,  the  Senate  and  House  of  Eepiesenatives  of 
the  Iowa  Legislature  met,  in  joint  session,  soon  after  the  first 
of  January,  1855,  to  elect  a  Senator  and  judges.  The  two 
parties  were  nearly  balanced  in  both  houses,  and  at  first  there 
was  no  ebction ;  they  adjourned  from  day  to  day,  when  the 
Democrats  found  that  a  majority  could  be  obtained  on  joint 


452  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

ballot  for  Mr,  Ilarlan  as  Senator,  and  to  prevent  tLis,  the 
Democratic  members  of  the  State  Senate  withdrew,  intending 
thereby  to  render  an  election  void.  But  as  the  Democratic 
members  of  the  House  remained,  there  was  a  quorum  of  the 
joint  session  present,  and  Mr.  Ilarlan  was  elected  by  a  clear 
majority  of  both  houses. 

On  his  election  to  the  Senate,  Mr.  Harlan  resigned  the 
presidency  of  the  university,  but  accepted  the  professorship  of 
political  economy  and  international  law,  to  which  he  was 
immediately  elected,  and  which  he  still  holds. 

He  took  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate,  December  3d, 
1855,  and  his  first  formal  speech  was  made  on  the  27th  of 
March,  1856,  on  the  question  of  the  admission  of  Kansas.  It 
was  pronounced  at  the  time,  by  both  friends  and  foes,  the  ablest 
argument  on  that  side  of  the  question  delivered  during  the  pro- 
tracted debate.  Later  in  the  session,  on  the  occasion  of  his 
presenting  the  memorial  of  James  H.  Lane,  praying  the  accept- 
ance of  the  petition  of  the  members  of  the  Kansas  territoria*! 
Legislature,  for  the  admission  of  their  territory  into  the  Union 
as  a  State,  he  administered  a  most  scathing  rebuke  to  the 
Democratic  majority  in  the  Senate  for  their  tyrannical  and 
oppressive  course  in  regard  to  Kansas.  The  Republicans  at 
this  time  numbered  but  a  baker's  dozen  in  the  Senate,  and  it 
had  been  the  fashion  with  the  Democratic  majority  to  refuse 
intercourse,  and  a  place  on  the  committees,  to  som-e  of  them  on 
the  ground  that  they  were  outside  of  any  healthy  political 
organization.  They  had  been  disposing,  as  they  hoped,  forever, 
of  the  Republican  leader  in  the  Senate  (Mr.  Sumner),  by  the 
use  of  the  bludgeon,  and  they  were  greatly  enraged  at  the 
castigation  which  they  now  received  from  another  member 
of  the  little  band,  and  resolved  to  rid  themselves  of  him  also. 
For  this  purpose,  nursing  their  wrath  to  keep  it  warm,  they 


JAMES    HARLATT.  453 

called  up  the  action  of  the  Democrats  of  the  Iowa  Senate 
to  which  we  have  already  alluded,  and  early  in  the  second 
session  of  the  Thirty-fourth  Congress,  introduced  a  resolution 
that  "  James  Harlan  is  not  entitled  to  his  seat  as  a  Senator  from 
Iowa."  The  resolution  was  fiercely  debated,  but  the  majority, 
confident  in  their  strength,  passed  it  by  a  full  party  vote  on  the 
12th  of  January,  1857. 

Their  triumph  was  short.  Immediately  on  the  passage  of 
the  resolution  Mr.  Harlan  left  Washington  for  Iowa  City, 
where  the  State  Legislature,  now  unmistakably  Republican,  was 
in  session;  he  arrived  there  on  Friday  evening,  January  16th. 
On  the  next  day,  Saturday,  he  was  re-elected  by  both  houses 
to  the  Senate,  spent  a  few  days  at  his  home  in  Mount  Pleasant, 
returned  to  Washington,  was  re-swoun,  and  resumed  his  seat  on 
the  29th  of  January.  The  next  session  of  Congress  brought 
valuable  additions  to  the  strength  of  the  Republican  party  in 
the  Senate,  but  it  had  no  truer  member  than  Mr.  Harlan,  and 
his  fearlessness,  conscientiousness,  industry,  integrity,  and 
ability  as  a  debater,  made  him  an  acknowledged  leader  in  it. 
In  1861,  he  was  re-elected  for  the  term  ending  March  4th,  1867, 
without  a'dissenting  voice  in  his  party  at  home. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Peace  Congress  in  1861,  but  after 
seeing  the  niembers  sent  from  the  slave  States,  and  witnessing 
the  election  of  Ex-President  John  Tyler  presiding  officer, 
he  predicted  that  its  deliberations  would  end  in  a  miserablo 
failure. 

During  the  whole  course  of  the  war,  he  was  the  earnest  sup- 
porter of  President  Lincoln,  whose  personal  friendship  he  en- 
joyed ;  and  through  all  the  light  and  gloom  of  that  dark  period, 
his  faith  in  the  right  never  faltered,  and  his  a-^tivity  and  zeal 
were  not  checked  by  depressing  emotions.  He  and  his  accom 
plished  and  gifted  wife  were  throughout  the  war  among  the 


454  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

most  active  helpers  in  the  work  of  the  Sanitary  and  Christian 
Commissions^  ministering  in  person  to  the  wounded,  and  aiding, 
with  pen  and  purse,  the  efforts  for  their  welfare. 

As  a  Senator,  as  the  published  debates  of  Congress  show,  he 
argued  and  elucidated  with  great  clearness  and  conclusiveness 
every  phase  of  the  question  of  slavery  and  emancipation,  in 
all  their  social,  legal  and  economic  ramifications — the  exclusion 
of  slavery  from  the  territories — the  constitutional  means  of 
restriction — climatic  influences  on  the  races,  white  and  black — 
the  necessity  or  propriety  of  colonization — and  the  effects  of 
emancipation  on  the  institutions  of  the  country  North  and 
South. 

He  was  the  earnest  advocate  of  the  early  construction  of  the 
Pacific  Eailroad — had  made  himself,  by  a  careful  examination, 
master  of  the  whole  subject — was  consequently  appointed  a 
member  of  the  "  Senate  Committee  on  the  Pacific  Eailroad ;" 
and  when  the  two  bodies  differed  as  to  the  details  of  the  bill,  he 
was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  of  conference  of  the  two 
houses,  and  did  more  than  any  other  living  man  to  reconcile 
conflicting  views  on  the  amended  bill  which  afterwards  became 
the  law  of  the  land. 

As  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  he  exerted 
a  controlling  influence  in  shaping  the  policy  of  the  Government 
in  the  disposition  of  the  public  domain,  so  as  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  railroads,  and  the  improvement  of  other  avenues 
of  intercourse,  as  well  as  to  advance  the  individual  interests  of 
the  frontier  settler,  by  facilitating  his  acquisition  of  a  landed 
estate,  and  also  by  securing  a  permanent  fund  for  the  support 
of  common  schools  for  the  masses,  and  other  institutions  of 
learning.  Under  his  guidance  the  laws  for  the  survey,  sale, 
and  pre-emption  of  the  public  lands  were  harmonized,  and  the 
homestead   bil    so  modified,   as   to  reader  it  a  practical   and 


JAMES    HARLAISr.  455 

beneficent  measure  for  tlie  indigent  settler,  and  at  the  same 
time  but  slightly,  if  at  all,  detrimental  to  the  public  treasury. 
And  on  this  as  well  as  that  other  great  national  measure,  the 
Pacific  Railroad  bill,  above  mentioned,  when  the  two  houses 
disagreed  as  to  details,  Mr.  Harlan  was  selected  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate,  to  act  as  chairman  of  the  committee  of 
conference. 

His  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  land  laws,  his  clear 
perception  of  the  principles  of  justice  and  equity  which  should 
control  in  their  administration,  and  his  unwearied  industry  and 
care  in  the  examination  of  all  claims  presented  to  Congress 
growing  out  of  the  disposition  of  the  public  lands  to  private 
citizens,  corporations,  or  States — caused  him  to  be  regarded 
almost  in  the  light  of  an  oracle,  by  his  compeers  in  the  Senate, 
whenever  any  of  these  claims  were  pending ;  his  statements,  of 
fact  were  never  disputed,  and  his  judgment  almost  always 
followed. 

Immediately  after  he  was  placed  upon  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Indian  Affairs,  it  became  manifest  that  he  had  made  himself 
master  of  that  whole  subject  in  all  of  its  details.  He  conse- 
quently exercised  a  leading  influence  on  the  legislation  of 
Congress  affecting  our  intercourse  with  these  children  of  the 
forest;  humanity  and  justice  to  them,  as  well  as  the  safety  of 
the  frontier  settlements  from  savage  warfare,  v/ith  him  were  cardi- 
nal elements,  to  guide  him  in  shaping  the  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment. The  effect  of  the  repeal,  over  Mr.  Harlan's  earnest  protest, 
of  the  beneficent  features  of  the  Indian  intercourse  laws,  under 
the  lead  of  Senator  Hunter,  which,  all  admit,  laid  the  foundation 
for  our  recent  Indian  wars,  furnishes  a  marked  illustration  of 
the  safety  of  his  counsels  in  these  affairs. 

As  a  member  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Agriculture,  he  waa 
the  earnest  advocate  of  every  measure  calculated  to  develop 


45G  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

and  advance  tbat  great  national  interest,  and  prepared  the  only 
report,  marked  by  scientific  researcli,  made  on  tbat  subject  by 
the  Senate  Committee  during  tbe  last  ten  years.  He  gave  bis 
earnest  support  to  tbe  Agricultural  College  bill,  tbougb  in  con- 
flict witb  bis  views  of  tbe  proper  policy  for  tbe  disposition  of 
tbe  public  lands,  because  be  regarded  it  as  tbe  only  opportu- 
nity for  laying  firmly  tbe  foundation  for  tbese  nurseries  of 
scientifiG  agriculture,  wbicb  must  prove  of  vast  consequence 
for  good,  to  tbe  wbole  people  of  tbis  continent,  and  tbe  toiling 
millions  of  tbe  old  world. 

Tbougb  never  unjust  or  illiberal  toward  tbe  older  and  more 
powerful  members  of  tbe  Union,  be  bas  ever  been  tbe  vigilant 
guardian  of  tbe  peculiar  interests  of  tbe  new  States,  including 
his  own.  He  bas  also  been  a  no  less  vigilant  guardian  of  the 
public  treasury,  tbougb  never  lending  himself  to  niggardly  and 
parsimonious  measures. 

His  inauguration  of  tbe  proposition  for  tbe  construction  of  a 
ship  canal  from  tbe  northern  lakes  to  tbe  waters  of  the 
Mississippi  (see  Congress.  Globe,  2d  session,  36  Congress,  Part 
I.) ;  bis  opposition  to  legislation  on  tbe  Sabbath  ;  bis  introduc- 
tion of  resolutions  on  fasting  and  prayer ;  his  propositions  for 
reform  in  the  chaplain  service  of  tbe  army  and  navy ;  in  aid  of 
foreign  emigration;  the  reconstruction  of  the  insurrectionary 
States ;  the  reclamation  of  tbe  Colorado  desert ;  the  improvement 
of  navigation  of  lakes  and  rivers  ;  the  application  of  meteorolo- 
gical observations  in  aid  of  agriculture  to  land  as  well  as  sea ; 
for  tbe  support  of  scientific  explorations  and  kindred  measures ; 
for  reform  in  criminal  justice  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and 
in  the  territories ;  and  bis  remarks  on  such  subjects  as  tbe  bank- 
rupt bill ;  tbe  Kentucky  Volunteers  bill;  tbe  bill  to  re-organize 
the  Court  of  Claims ;  on  the  resolution  relating  to  Floyd's  accept- 
ances ;  on  the  bill  to  indemnify  the  President ;  on  tbe  couscri  > 


JAMES    HARLAN.  457 

tion  bill ;  on  the  conditions  of  release  of  State  prisoners ;  on  the 
disqualification  of  color  in  carrying  the  mails  ;  on  the  organiza- 
tion of  territories;  on  amendment  to  the  Constitution;  on  the 
district  registration IdIII  ;  on  bill  to  establish  Freedmen's  Bureau; 
on  inter-continental  telegraph ;  on  bill  providing  bail  in  certain 
eases  of  military  arrests  ;  on  the  construction  of  railroads ;  on 
education  in  the  District  of  Columbia  for  white  and  colored 
children ;  on  the  Income  Tax  bill ;  altogether  furnish  an  indica- 
tion of  the  range  of  his  acquirements,  the  tendency  of  his 
thoughts,  and  the  breadth  of  his  views,  which  cannot  otherwise 
be  given  in  a  sketch  necessarily  so  brief  as  to  exclude  copious 
extracts  from  published  debates. 

Among  his  numerous  eloquent  and  elaborate  speeches  in  the 
Senate,  we  have  only  room  for  a  brief  abstract  of  one,  which 
must  serve  as  a  sample  of  the  whole.  It  is  that  delivered  in 
reply  to  Senator  Hunter  of  Virginia,  during  the  winter  of  1860- 
61,  immediately  preceding  the  first  overt  acts  of  the  rebellion. 
This  speech  was  characteristic  in  clearness,  method,  directness, 
force,  and  conclusiveness,  and  was  regarded,  by  his  associates  in 
the  Senate,  as  the  great  speech  of  the  session.  In  the  commence- 
ment, he  examined  and  exposed,  in  their  order,  every  pretext 
for  secession,  and  proceeded  to  charge  upon  the  authors  of  the 
then  incipient  rebellion,  with  unsurpassed  vigor  and  force,  that 
the  loss  of  political  power  was  their  real  grievance.  lie  indi- 
cated the  impossibility  of  any  compromise,  on  the  terms  proposed 
by  the  southern  leaders,  without  dishonor,  and  pointed  out  the 
means  of  an  adjustment  alike  honorable  to  the  South  and  the 
North,  requiring  no  retraction  of  principle  on  the  part  of  any 
one,  by  admitting  the  territories  into  the  Union  as  States.  He 
warned  the  South  against  a  resort  to  an  arbitrament  of  the 
Bword ;  predicted  the  impossibility  of  their  sec  iring  a  division 
of  the  States  of  the  northwest  from  the  Middle  and  New  Eng- 


458  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY, 

land  States  the  certainty  and  comparative  dispatch  with  which 
an  armed  rebellion  would  be  crushed,  and  concluded  with  a 
most  powerful  appeal  to  these  conspixators  not  to  plunge  the 
country  into  such  a  sea  of  blood.  Upon  the  conclusion  of  this 
speech  four  fifths  of  the  Union  Senators  crowded  around  to  con- 
gratulate him,  and  a  state  of  excitement  prevailed  on  the  floor 
of  the  Senate  for  some  moments,  such  as  had  seldom  if  ever 
before  been  witnessed  in  that  body. 

He  was  selected  by  the  Union  members  of  the  House  and 
Senate  as  a  member  of  the  Union  Congressional  committee  for 
the  management  of  the  presidential  campaign  of  186-i.  Being 
the  only  member  of  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate 
who  devoted  his  whole  time  to  this  work,  he  became  the  active 
organ  of  the  committee — organized  an  immense  working  force, 
regulated  its  finances  with  ability  and  unimpeachable  fidelity, 
employed  a  large  number  of  presses  in  Washington,  Balti- 
more, Philadelphia,  and  New  York,  in  printing  reading  matter 
for  the  masses,  which  resulted  in  the  distribution  of  many  mil- 
lions of  documents  among  the  people  at  home,  and  in  all 
our  great  armies.  To  his  labors  the  country  was,  doubtless, 
largely  indebted,  for  the  triumphant  success  of  the  Union  can- 
didates. 

With  the  foregoing  record,  it  is  not  remarkable  that  he 
should  have  been  selected  by  that  illustrious  statesman  and 
patriot,  Abraham  Lincoln,  immediately  preceding  his  lamented 
death,  for  the  distinguished  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Mr.  Harlan's  nomination  was  unanimously  confirmed  by  the 
body  of  which  he  was  at  the  time  an  honored  m.ember,  without 
the  usual  reference  to  a  committee.  But,  immediately  after  the 
accession  of  Mr.  Johnson  to  the  presidency,  with  a  delicacy 
and  sense  of  propriety  worthy  of  imitation,  he  tendered  his 
declination  of  this  high  office.     This  not  being  accepted,  Mr. 


JAMES    HARLAN.  459 

Harlan  did  not  deem  it  proper,  in  the  disturbed  condition  of 
public  affairs,  to  make  it  peremptory,  and,  in  accordance  with 
the  President's  expressed  desire,  and  the  demands  of  the  national 
welfare,  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  and  entered  on  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  the  position,  May  15th,  1865.  Mr 
Harlan's  great  familiarity  with  the  laws  pertaining  to  the  de- 
partment of  which  he  had  now  become  the  leading  spirit,  not 
only  enabled  him  fully  to  meet  public  expectation  in  the  admin- 
istration of  its  affairs,  but  to  establish  it  upon  a  basis  of  useful- 
ness, hitherto  unknown  in  its  history. 

The  fact  becoming  manifest  to  the  people  of  Iowa,  that  Mr. 
Harlan  could  not  long  remain  as  a  confidential  adviser  of  Presi- 
dent Johnson,  on  account  of  the  early  and  repeated  aberrations  of 
the  latter  from  the  cardinal  principles  of  the  political  party  by 
whom  he  had  been  elected  to  the  vice  presidency,  and  not  being 
disposed  to  dispense  with  the  services  of  so  faithful  a  public  ser- 
vant, he  was  re-elected  by  the  Legislature  of  1866,  to  his  old 
seat  in  the  United  States  Senate.  The  following  August  he 
resigned  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  re-entered 
the  Senate  Chamber  on  the  4th  of  March,  1867,  with  the  full 
period  of  six  years  before  him.  He  was  immediately  appointed 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  also 
chairman  of  the  joint  committee  of  the  two  Houses  of  Con- 
gress to  audit  expenses  of  executive  mansion,  and  was  assigned 
to  membership  on  the  important  committees  of  Foreign  Rela- 
tions, Pacific  railroad,  and  Post  Offices,  and  Post  roads,  respec- 
tively. 

Mr.  Harlan  is  still  (1872)  a  member  of  the  Senate,  though  his 
term  expires  March  3rd,  1873,  and  lion.  James  F.  Wilson,  an  able 
statesman  of  the  same  party,  lias  been  elected  his  successor. 

Mr.  Harlan's  early  record  was  so  pure  and  creditable  to  him, 
that  it   is  hardly  probable  that  h*e  has  done  anything  to  mar 


460  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

it ;  yet  it  is  very  difficult  for  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Con- 
gress who  pushes  forward  the  great  land  jobbing  grants  to  the 
Western  Railroads  to  avoid  a  suspicion  of  having  shared  in  the 
profits  thus  ensured  to  his  clients.  Mr.  Harlan  has  been  accused, 
and  with  great  vehemence,  of  participating  in  the  benefits  of 
those  land-grants,  but  he  has  defended  himself  with  a  good  deal 
of  ability,  and  some  asperity,  and  his  innocence  is  to  be  pre- 
eumed.  That  these  charges  defeated  his  re-election  is  asserted, 
and  is  probable,  but  their  truth  is  not  proved  thereby. 


HON.  ROSCOE  CONKLING. 

UNITED    STATES    SENATOR    FROM    NEW  YORK. 


HEN,  some  years  since,  the  Representative  of  the  twenty- 
first  Congressional  District  of  New  York  was  declared,  by 
a  majority  of  his  peers,  to  have  been  guilty  of  corruption, 
and  to  be  unworthy  of  a  seat  with  them,  the  Republican 
voters  of  that  district,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  refined 
in  the  state,  looked  about  them  for  a  man  of  integrity  and 
purity  of  character  who  should  fully  represent  their  sentiments 
in  the  national  legislature.  Such  a  man  they  found  speedily ; 
a  young  man  but  little  more  than  thirty  years  of  age,  but  of 
highly  cultivated  intellect,  staunch  integrity,  an  eminent  advo- 
cate, and  at  that  time  mayor  of  Utica,  the  chief  city  of  the 
district.  They  elected  him ;  and,  young  as  he  was,  he  speedily 
made  his  mark,  in  three  Congresses  of  remarkable  ability, 
taking  a  position  with  the  foremost,  in  the  fervor  of  his  patriot- 
ism, the  clearness  of  his  perceptions,  the  soundness  of  his  judg- 
ment, and  his  eloquence  as  a  debater,  and  at  the  close  of  his  six 
years'  service  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  though  re-elected 
from  his  district,  he  was  transferred  by  the  Legislature  of  hia 
native  State,  to  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate,  previously 
occupied  by  one  of  the  most  eminent  jurists  of  New  York. 

RoscoE  CoNKLiNG  (for  it  is  he  of  whom  we  speak),  was  born 
at  Albany,  New  York,  October  30,  1829  ;  he  was  a  younger  son 

of  Hon.  Alfred  Conkling,  a  member  of  the  XVIIth  Congress, 

461 


462  MEN    OF    OUR    DAT. 

nnd  subsequently  judge  of  tlie  United  States  District  Court,  for 
the  Northern  District  of  New  York,  for  twenty-seven  years, 
and  in  1852-5,  United  States  minister  to  Mexico ;  he  received  a 
very  thorough  academic  education  in  the  Albany  academy,  and 
in  1846,  removed  to  Utica,  where  he  studied  and  practiced  law, 
and  when  but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  was  appointed  district 
attorney  for  Oneida  county.  In  1858,  he  was  elected  mayor 
of  Utica,  by  a  heavy  majority.  Duimg  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year,  he  was  nominated  for  Congress  from  the  twenty-first 
district,  to  succeed  0.  B.  Matteson.  He  was  carried  in  by  a 
large  majority,  and  though  the  youngest  member  of  the  House, 
attained  speedily  to  a  very  prominent  position  in  that  body, 
as  a  fearless,  eloquent,  and  accomplished  debater.  He  was  re- 
elected in  1860,  and  still  added  to  his  reputation.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  on  a 
Bankrupt  Law.  In  1862,  New  York  was  so  far  faithless  to  her 
principles  as  to  elect  a  Democratic  Administration,  Horatio 
Seymour,  Mr.  Conkling's  brother-in-law,  being  chosen  governor ; 
and  a  professed  war  Democrat,  but  real  Copperhead,  elected 
to  Congress  from  the  twenty-first  district  to  the  XXXVIIIth 
Congress.  But  the  people  of  that  district  were  dissatisfied,  and, 
in  186-1,  they  re-elected  Mr.  Conkling  by  a  heavier  majority 
than  ever  before.  During  the  two  years  that  he  was  out  of 
Congress,  Mr.  Conkling  was  requested  by  the  attorney-general 
to  aid  in  the  prosecution  of  some  gross  frauds  which  had  been 
committed  in  that  district,  in  regard  to  the  enlistments  ard 
bounties  to  soldiers.  He  entered  upon  the  work  with  his  usual 
ardor  and  zeal,  and  succeeded  in  unearthing  a  most  astounding 
system  of  frauds.  By  this  act,  he  rendered  a  great  service  to 
the  nation,  for  which  he  received  the  thanks  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment, but  he  had  incurred  the  hostility  of  the  "  Ring,"  which 
determined  thenceforward  to  crush  him.     The  opportunity  did 


HON.   ROSCOE   CONKLING.  465 

not  occur  until  the  summer  of  1866,  when,  as  be  was  nominated 
again  for  Congress,  a  man  of  large  wealth,  previously  a  Republi 
can,  determined  to  run  in  opposition  to  him,  and  to  defeat  him, 
if  it  could  be  accomplished  by  money.  Mr.  Conkling  at  once 
announced  his  intention  to  canvass  the  district  in  person,  and 
did  so,  speaking  in  every  village  and  town  of  the  county,  and 
was  reelected  by  an  increased  majority.  The  Republican 
Legislature  which  met  in  January,  1867,  elected  Mr.  Conkling 
United  States  Senator  for  six  years,  from  March  4,  1867,  to 
succeed  Hon.  Ira  Harris. 

A  single  passage  from  one  of  Mr.  Conkling's  speeches,  will 
serve  to  show  his  earnestness,  the  intensity  of  his  convictions, 
and  the  ability  with  which  he  presents  them.  The  occasion  was 
this;  Tennessee  had  been  restored  to  the  Union,  and  her  loyal 
Representatives  and  one  Senator  sworn  in.  The  other  Senator, 
Judge  Patterson,  a  son-in-law  of  President  Johnson,  was,  it  was 
thought,  from  the  fact  of  his  having,  though  a  Union  man,  held 
office  under  the  rebel  government,  unable  to  take  the  test  oath 
prescribed  for  all  Senators  and  Representatives,  and  the  Senate 
had  passed  a  joint  resolution  to  omit  in  his  case,  from  the  test 
oath,  these  words :  "  That  I  have  neither  sought  nor  accepted, 
nor  attempted  to  exercise  the  functions  of  any  office  whatever, 
under  any  authority,  or  pretended  authority,  in  hostility  to  the 
United  States."  This  resolution  was  immediately  sent  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  for  their  consideration.  Messrs.  May 
nard  and  Taylor  of  Tennessee  advocated  it,  and  Mr.  Stokes, 
also  of  Tennessee,  and  Mr.  Conkling  of  New  York,  opposed  it. 
The  closing  passage  of  Mr.  Conkling's  speech  was  as  follows: 

"  We  are  asked  to  drive  a  plough-share  over  the  very 
found-'tion  of  our  position ;  to  break  down  and  destroy  the 
Dulwark  by  which  we  may  secure  the  results  of  a  great  war  and 
a  great  history,  by  which  we  may  preserve  from  defilement  thia 


464  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

place,  wTiere  alone  in  our  organism  the  people  never  lose  their 
supremacy,  except  by  the  recreancy  of  their  Kepresentatives;  a 
bulwark  without  which  we  may  not  save  our  Government  from 
disintegration  and  disgrace.  If  we  do  this  act,  it  will  be  a 
precedent  which  will  carry  fatality  in  its  train.  From  Jefferson 
Davis,  to  the  meanest  tool  of  despotism  and  treason,  every  rebel 
may  come  here,  and  we  shall  have  no  reason  to  assign  against 
his  admission,  except  the  arbitrary  reason  of  numbers.  I  move, 
sir,  that  the  joint  resolution  be  laid  on  the  table."  It  ivas  laid 
on  the  table,  by  a  vote  of  eighty-eight  to  thirty-one ;  and  the 
Bame  day,  Judge  Patterson,  having  discovered  that  he  could 
take  the  test  oath,  was  sworn  in  by  the  Vice-President,  and  the 
joint  resolution  laid  over  forever. 

Sudden  and  rapid  promotion  to  the  highest  places  in  the  peo- 
ple's gift  has  before  now  turned  the  heads  of  many  otherwise 
estimable  men,  and  if  Mr.  Conkling  has  failed  to  fulfil  in  all 
respects  the  promise  of  his  earlier  years  in  Congress,  as  very 
many  of  his  former  friends  believe,  it  is  doubtless  due  in  part  to 
his  rapid  promotion,  in  part  to  the  grateful  but  not  always 
healthful  influence  of  the  profuse  flattery  he  has  received,  and 
to  the  overweening  sense  of  his  own  gifts,  talents  and  power, 
which  have  been  thus  bred  in  him.  Mr.  Conkling  is  a  man  of 
remarkably  fine  appearance,  and  a  great  favorite  of  the  ladies; 
he  is  a  man  of  scholarly  tastes  and  of  considerable  eloquence; 
but  since  he  has  been  in  the  Senate,  he  has  lost  that  modesty 
which  so  well  became  him,  and  by  his  imperious  and  dictatorial 
manner,  and  his  fierce  invective  against  men  who,  to  say  the  least, 
were  in  all  respects  his  peers,  he  has  lost  influence  in  the  nation, 
and  has  recalled  the  traditions  of  the  old  days  when  the  slave 
holder's  whip  cracked  ominously  in  the  Senate  against  all  who 
failed  to  do  its  behests.  It  grieves  us  to  say  such  things  of  a  man 
of  so  much  real  ability  as  Mr.  Conkling;  and   we  cannot  but 


HON.   ROSCOE   CONKLING.  465 

hope  that  ia  the  coming  years  he  may  see  that  the  power  which 
is  founded  on  love  and  respect  is  infinitely  greater  than  that 
which  is  reared  on  force  and  brutality,  and  may  be  led  to  unite, 
as  he  certainly  does  not  now,  the  suaviter  in  modo  to  the  fortiter 
in  re. 


30 


MAJOR-GENERAL  JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 


fOHN  ALEXANDER  LOGAN,  who  has  been  styled  "  the 
Murat  of  the  Union  army,"  was  born  near  the  present  town 
of  Murphysboro,  Jackson  county,  in  Illinois,  on  the  9th 
of  February,  1826.  His  father.  Dr.  John  Logan,  came 
from  Ireland  to  Illinois,  in  1823  ;  his  mother,  Elizabeth  Jenkins, 
was  a  Tennessean,  and  John  was  the  eldest  of  their  family  of 
eleven  children.  Schools  were  scarce  in  Illinois,  during  hia 
boyhood,  so  that  he  was  indebted  for  most  of  his  early  education 
to  his  father,  or  to  such  itinerant  teachers  as  chanced  to  visit 
the  new  settlement — and  it  was  not  until  1840,  that  he  attended 
an  academy,  bearing  the  pretentious  title  of  "  Shiloh  college." 
At  the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  war,  young  Logan,  then 
in  his  twentieth  year,  volunteered,  and  was  chosen  lieutenant  in 
a  company  of  the  first  Illinois  volunteers ;  bearing  a  conspicuous 
part  in  the  service  of  the  regiment,  of  which,  for  a  portion  of 
the  time,  he  was  adjutant.  Returning  home  in  October,  1848, 
he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  his  uncle, 
Alexander  M.  Jenkins,  formerly  lieutenant-governor  of  Illinois, 
and  while  thus  employed,  was  elected,  in  November,  1849,  clerk 
of  his  native  county,  holding  the  office  until  1850.  During  that 
year,  he  attended  a  course  of  law  studies  at  Louisville,  receiving 
his  diploma  in  1851,  and  commencing  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession with  his  uncle.  His  practical  mind,  pleasing  address, 
466 


MAJOR-GENERAL   JOHN   A.   LOGAN.  467 

and  rare  abilities  as  a  public  speaker,  speedily  rendered  him  a 
general  favorite,  and,  in  1852,  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attor- 
ney of  the  then  third  judicial  district,  and  established  his  resi- 
dence at  Benton,  Illinois.  During  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year,  he  was  elected  to  represent  Jackson  and  Franklin 
counties,  in  the  State  Legislature ;  married  in  1856 ;  was  chosen 
presidential  elector  for  the  ninth  Congressional  district,  in  May, 
1856,  and  in  the  following  fall  was  re-elected  to  the  Legislature. 
In  1858,  the  Democracy  of  the  ninth  Congressional  district 
elected  him  to  Congress  by  a  large  majority,  and  re-elected  him, 
again,  in  1860.  At  the  first  intimation  of  coming  trouble,  he 
boldly  asserted  that,  although  he  thought  and  hoped  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  would  not  be  elected  to  the  presidency  ;  yet,  if  he  were, 
he  would  "  shoulder  his  musket  to  have  him  inaugurated." 
During  the  winter  of  1860,  his  county  having  been  thrown  out 
of  his  old  district  and  added  to  another,  he  removed  his  resi- 
dence to  Marion,  Williamson  county,  in  order  that  he  might 
still  be  in  his  district. 

In  July,  1861,  during  the  extra  session  of  Congress,  Mr. 
Logan,  fired  with  the  enthusiasm  of  the  hour,  left  his  seat,  over- 
took the  troops  which  were  marching  out  of  Washington  to 
meet  the  enemy,  joined  himself  to  Colonel  Richardson's  regi- 
ment, secured  a  musket  and  a  place  in  the  ranks,  and,  at  the 
disastrous  battle  of  Bull  Run,  fought  with  distinguished  bravery, 
and  was  among  the  last  to  leave  the  field.  Returning  to  his 
home,  at  Marion,  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  he  addressed  hia 
fellow-citizens,  on  tlic  3d  of  September,  announcing  his  intention 
to  enter  the  service  of  the  Government,  "as  a  private,  or  in  any 
capacity  in  which  he  could  serve  his  country  best,  in  defending 
the  old  blood-stained  flag  over  every  foot  of  soil  in  the  United 
States."  II is  eloquence  and  high  personal  reputation  rallied 
Mends  and  neighbors  around  him,  and,  on  the  13th  of  Septem- 


4G8  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

ber,  1861,  the  thirtj-first  Illinois  volunteers  was  organized,  and 
he  was  chosen  colonel.  The  regiment  was  attached  to  General 
McClernand's  brigade ;  and,  seven  weeks  later,  at  Belmont, 
made  its  first  fight,  during  which  Colonel  Logan  had  a  horse 
shot  under  him,  and  his  pistol,  at  his  side,  shattered  by  rebel 
bullets.  He  led  the  thirty-first,  also,  at  Fort  Henry,  and,  again, 
at  Fort  Donelson,  where  he  received  a  very  severs  wound, 
which,  aggravated  by  exposure,  disabled  him  for  some  time 
from  active  service.  Reporting,  again,  for  duty  to  General 
Grant,  at  Pittsburgh  Landing,  he  was  shortly  after,  March  5th, 
1862,  made  brigadier-general  of  volunteers ;  took  a  distinguished 
part  in  the  movement  against  Corinth,  in  May,  and,  after  the 
occupation  of  that  place,  guarded,  with  his  brigade,  the  rail- 
road communications  with  Jackson,  Tennessee,  of  which  place 
he  was  subsequently  given  the  command. 

In  the  summer  of  1862,  he  was  warmly  urged  by  his  numer- 
ous friends  and  admirers  to  become  a  candidate,  again,  for 
Congress,  but  declined  in  a  letter  of  glowing  patriotism,  in 
which  he  said, — "  I  have  entered  the  field  to  die,  if  need  be, 
for  this  Government,  and  never  expect  to  return  to  peaceful 
pursuits,  until  the  object  of  this  war  of  preservation  has  become 
a  fact  established."  During  Grant's  Northern  Mississippi  cam- 
paign, 1862  and  '63,  Logan  led  his  division,  exhibiting  great 
skill  in  the  handling  of  troops,  and  was  honored  with  a  promo- 
tion as  major-general  of  volunteers,  dating  from  November  29th, 
1862.  He  was  afterwards  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  third 
division,  seventeenth  army  corps,  under  General  McPherson, 
and  bore  a  part  in  the  movement  upon  Yicksburg ;  contributing 
to  the  victory  at  Port  Gibson,  and  saving  the  day,  by  hia 
desperate  personal  bravery.  May  12th,  at  the  battle  of  Raymond, 
which  General  Grant  designated  as  "  one  of  the  hardest  small 
battles  of  the  war ;"  participated  in  the  defeat  and  routmg  of 


MAJOR-GENERAL   JOHN   A.   LOGAN.  4C3 

the  rel)e1s  at  Jackson,  May  14th,  and  in  the  battle  of  Cham- 
pion's Hill,  May  16tb. 

At  the  siege  of  Yicksburg,  he  commanded  McPherson'a 
centre,  opposite  Fort  Hill,  the  key  to  the  rebel  works,  and  hia 
men  made  the  assault  after  the  explosion  of  the  mine,  June  25th. 
His  column  was  the  first  to  enter  the  surrendered  city,  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1863,  and  he  was  made  its  military  governor,  Hia 
valor  was  fitly  recognized  in  the  presentation  made  to  him,  by 
the  board  of  honor  of  the  seventeenth  army  corps,  of  a  gold 
medal,  inscribed  with  the  names  of  the  nine  battles  m  which  he 
had  participated.  Having  thoroughly  inaugurated  the  adminis- 
tration of  affairs  at  Vicksburg,  he  spent  a  part  of  the  summer 
of  1863  in  a  visit  to  the  North,  frequently  addressing  large 
assemblages  of  his  fellow-citizens,  in  speeches  of  fiery  eloquence, 
and  burning  zeal  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Union. 

In  November,  1863,  he  succeeded  General  Sherman  in  the  com-' 
mand  of  the  fifteenth  army  corps,  spending  the  following  win! or 
at  Huntsville,  Alabama ;  joining,  in  May,  1864,  the  Grand 
Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi,  which,  under  General 
Sherman,  was  preparing  for  its  march  into  Georgia.  He  led 
the  advance  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  in  the  movement  at 
Resaca,  taking  part  in  the  battle  which  followed,  and,  still 
moving  on  the  right,  met  and  repulsed  Hardee's  veterans  at 
Dallas,  on  the  23d  of  May ;  drove  the  enemy  from  three  linea 
of  works,  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  and  again,  on  the  27th  of 
June,  made  a  desperate  assault  against  the  impregnable  face  of 
Little  Kenesaw.  On  the  22d  of  July,  at  the  terrible  battle  of 
Peach  Tree  creek,  Logan,  fighting  at  one  moment  on  one  side  of 
his  works,  and  the  next  on  the  other,  was  informed  of  the  death, 
in  another  part  of  the  field,  of  the  beloved  General  McPherson. 
Assuming  the  temporary  command,  Logan  dashed  impetuously 
from  one  end  to  the  other  of  his  hardly-pressed  lines,  shouting 


470  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

"  McPherson  and  revenge  !"  His  emotion  communicated  itself 
to  the  troops  with  the  rapidity  of  electricity,  and  eight  thousand 
rebel  dead  left  upon  the  field,  at  nightfall,  bore  mute  witness  to 
their  love  for  the  fallen  chief  and  the  bravery  of  his  successor. 
Conspicuous,  again,  at  the  obstinate  battle  of  Ezra  Chapel, 
July  28th,  he  and  his  troops  co-operated  in  the  remaining  bat- 
tles of  the  campaign,  until  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  September  2d, 
when  they  went  into  summer- quarters.  After  a  few  months 
spent  in  stumping  the  Western  States,  during  the  presidential 
campaign  of  ISGi,  General  Logan  rejoined  his  corps,  at  Savan- 
nah, Georgia,  shared  the  fatigues  and  honors  of  Sherman's 
march  through  the  Carolinas,  and,  after  Johnston's  surrender, 
marched  to  Alexandria,  and  participated  with  his  brave  veterans 
in  the  great  review  of  the  national  armies  at  Washington,  May 
23d,  being  advanced,  on  the  same  day,  to  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  upon  the  appointment  of  General 
Howard  to  other  duties. 

In  1865,  General  Logan  was  appointed  minister  to  Mexico, 
but  declined  the  honor,  and  was  elected  to  the  XLth  Congress, 
from  the  State  at  large,  as  a  Republican,  receiving  two  hundred 
and  three  thousand  and  forty-five  votes,  against  one  hundred 
and  forty-seven  thousand  and  fifty-eight,  given  for  his  Demo- 
cratic opponent.  He  took  a  prominent  part,  as  one  of  the  man- 
agers on  tlie  part  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  the  im- 
peachment trial  of  President  Johnson. 

General  Logan  was  re-elected  as  Congressman  at  large  to  the 
XLIst  and  to  the  XLIId  Congresses,  but  in  the  winter  of  1871  he 
was  chosen  by  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  to  succeed  Richard 
Yates,  as  United  States  Senator  from  that  State.  The  selection 
was  hardly  a  wise  one  either  for  the  State  or  the  General  him- 
self. In  the  house  of  Representatives,  General  Logan  was  per- 
fectly at  home.     His  capacity  for  work,  his  fiery  and  somewhat 


MAJOR-GENERAL   JOHN   A.   LOGAN.  471 

stilted  eloquence,  and  his  power  to  influence  the  sympathies  and 
emotions  of  his  hearers,  were  thoroughly  in  place ;  but  in  the 
Senate  he  was  strangely  out  of  his  element  by  the  side  of  his 
dignified  and  scholarly  colleague,  and  though  disposed  to  be 
active  and  laborious,  he  ran  the  risk  of  sinking  to  the  position  of 
one  of  the  buffoons  of  the  Senate,  a  fate  which  he  certainly  did 
not  deserve.  He  lacked  that  wide  range  of  scholarship  and 
knowledge  of  state-craft,  which  was  so  necessary  in  a  Senator 
from  the  great  State  which  he  represented,  and  in  consequence 
did  not  do  himself  justice.  He  was  during  his  first  year  in  the 
Senate  very  caustic  and  severe  in  his  denunciation  of  President 
Grant,  sajdng  many  and  bitter  things  against  him,  and  when,  in 
May,  1872,  he  suddenly  became  his  ardent  defender  and  eulogist, 
too  many,  who  did  not  understand  his  impetuous  and  impulsive 
nature,  attributed  the  change  to  base  and  unworthy  motives. 


HON.  JAMES  F.  WILSON, 

REPRESENTATIVE    IN    CONGRESS    FROM    IOWA. 


N  able,  clear-headed  lawyer,  of  cool,  calm,  judicial  mind 
and  sterling  patriotism,  is  the  late  Eepresentative  from 

Qs^  the  first  Congressional  district  of  Iowa,  The  West  has 
sent  very  few  Representatives  of  higher  talent,  or  greater 
ability  and  disposition  for  usefulness,  to  Congress  within  the 
last  twenty  years.  Although  a  comparatively  young  man,  (he 
has  not  yet  seen  his  forty-fourth  birthday,)  the  House  leaned  upon 
him,  confided  in  him,  and  placed  him  in  its  positions  of  great 
responsibility,  and  it  never  found  itself  disappointed. 

James  F.  Wilson  was  born  at  Newark,  Ohio,  October  19, 
1828 ;  received  in  that  city,  which,  for  years,  has  been  famous 
for  its  good  schools,  a  very  thorough  academic  education,  and 
then  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
Licking  county  bar,  about  1849  ;  in  1853,  he  removed  to  Fair- 
field, Iowa,  where  he  speedily  took  a  high  rank  in  his  profes- 
sion. In  1856,  though  but  twenty-eight  years  old,  he  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  convention  to  revise  the  State  Consti- 
tution, and  acquitted  himself  with  honor  there.  In  1857,  he 
was  appointed,  by  the  governor  of  the  State,  Assistant  Com- 
missioner of  the  Des  Moines  River  Improvement.  The  same 
year  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  became  at  once  a 
leader  in  the  House.     In  1859,  he  was  chosen  State  Senator,  and 

re-elected  in  1861,  when  he  was  made  President  of  tne  Senate. 
472 


HON".   JAMES    F.   WILSON.  473 

In  this  position,  at  tlie  outbreak  of  the  war,  he  manifested  so 
much  patriotism,  and  so  clear  a  comprehension  of  what  was  the 
duty  of  Iowa  in  aiding  in  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  as  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  people  of  that  eminently  loyal  State, 
and  rendered  great  service  to  the  cause.  When  General  Samuel 
R.  Curtis,  the  Representative  of  the  first  district  in  Con- 
gress, resigned  his  seat,  to  take  command  of  Iowa  troops  for 
the  war,  Mr.  Wilson  was  promptly  chosen  to  serve  out  the 
remainder  of  his  term,  and  has  since  been  re-elected  to  the 
XXXVIIIth,  XXXIXth  and  XLth  Congresses,  and  would 
have  been  continued  there  had  he  not  positively  declined  a  re- 
election in  1868. 

Though  one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the  House,  the  lead- 
ing men  in  it  were  not  slow  in  discovering  his  superior  abilities, 
and,  at  the  beginning  of  the  XXXVIIIth  Congress,  he  was  made 
Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  in  many  respects  the 
most  important  committee  of  the  House,  though  such  men  as 
George  S.  Boutwell,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Thomas  Williams, 
of  Pennsylvania,  were  members  of  the  committee.  The  event 
justified  Speaker  Colfax's  selection. 

Mr.  Wilson  manifested  rare  ability  in  this  position,  and 
rarely  reported  a  bill  which  did  not  pass  the  House.  In  his 
political  views,  he  was  radical,  yet  cautious,  but  stern  and  uncom- 
promising in  regard  to  matters  which  he  believed  to  be  right. 
He  had  a  rare  faculty  of  seizing  on  the  strong  points  of  a  case, 
and  presenting  them  with  such  clearness  and  force  as  to  insure 
conviction.  He  usually  did  this  in  all  the  great  measures  he 
brought  forward  from  his  committee  in  the  House. 

In  his  argument  for  granting  impartial  suffrage  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,  he  urged  the  early  practice  of  the  colonies,  and 
most  of  the  original  States,  in  permitting  colored  suffrage,  the 
causes  which  led  to  their  apostasy  from  this;  the  low  grade  of 


47-i 


MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 


Union  feeling  among  the  white  inhabitants  and  voters  of  the 
District,  and  the  true  principle  of  legislation  on  suffrage,  and 
closed  with  the  following  appeal  to  the  Ilouse : 

"And  now,  Mr.  Speaker,  who  are  the  persons  upon  whom 
this  bill  will  operate  if  we  shall  place  it  upon  the  statute-book 
of  the  nation  ?  They  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  resi- 
dents of  the  District  of  Columbia.  It  is  true  that  many  of  them 
have  black  faces ;  but  that  is  God's  work,  and  he  is  wiser  than 
we.  Some  of  them  have  faces  marked  by  colors  uncertain; 
that  is  not  God's  fault.  Those  who  hate  black  men  most  in- 
tensely can  tell  more  than  all  others  about  this  mixture  of  colors. 
But,  mixed  or  black,  they  are  citizens  of  this  republic,  and 
they  have  been,  and  are  to-day,  true  and  loyal  to  their  Govern- 
ment, and  this  is  vastly  more  than  many  of  their  contemners 
can  claim  for  themselves. 

"  In  this  district  a  white  skin  was  not  the  badge  of  loyalty, 
while  a  black  skin  was.  No  traitor  breathed  the  air  of  this 
capital  wearing  a  black  skin.  Through  all  the  gradations  of 
traitors,  from  Wirz  to  Jeff.  Davis,  criminal  eyes  beamed  from 
white  faces.  Through  all  phases  of  treason,  from  the  bold 
stroke  of  Lee  upon  the  battle-field  to  the  unnatural  sympathy 
of  those  who  lived  within  this  district,  but  hated  the  sight  of 
their  country's  flag,  runs  the  blood  which  courses  only  under  a 
white  surface.  "While  white  men  were  fleeing  from  this  city  to 
join  their  fortunes  with  the  rebel  cause,  the  returning  wave 
brought  black  faces  in  their  stead.  White  enemies  went  out, 
black  friends  came  in.  As  true  as  truth  itself  were  these  poor 
men  to  the  cause  of  this  imperilled  nation.  Wherever  we  have 
trusted  them  they  have  been  true.  Why  will  we  not  deal 
justly  by  them  ?  Why  shall  we  not,  in  this  district,  where  the 
first  effective  legislative  blow  fell  upon  slavery,  declare  that 
these  suffering,  patient,  devoted  friends  of  the  republic,  shall  have 


HON.   JAMES   F.   WILSON.  475 

the  power  to  protect  their  own  rights  by  their  own  ballots  ? 
Is  it  because  thej  are  ignorant  ?  Sir,  we  are  estopped  from 
that  plea.  It  comes  too  late.  "We  did  not  make  this  inquiry 
in  regard  to  the  white  voter.  It  is  only  when  we  see  a  man 
t»ith  a  dark  skin  that  we  think  of  ignorance.  Let  us  not  stand 
on  this  view  in  relation  to  this  district.  The  fact  itself  is 
rapidly  passing  away,  for  there  is  no  other  part  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  district  so  diligent  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge 
as  the  colored  portion.  In  spite  of  the  difficulties  placed  in 
their  pathway  to  knowledge  by  the  white  residents,  the  colored 
people,  adults  and  children,  are  steadily  pressing  on."  He 
finished  by  urging  the  passage  of  the  bill,  which  he  secured  a 
few  days  later  by  a  vote  of  more  than  two  thirds. 

On  the  trial  of  Andrew  Johnson  upon  the  articles  of  im- 
peachment preferred  against  him  by  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, Mr.  Wilson  was  chosen  one  of  the  managers  of  the  trial, 
and  in  a  closing  argument  of  great  force  and  pertinence,  sought 
to  demostrate  the  guilt  of  the  President. 

Mr.  Wilson  has  been  repeatedly  offered  Cabinet  positions,  and 
two  or  three  of  the  foreign  missions  in  Europe  were  tendered 
him,  but  he  has  declined  them  all.  In  the  winter  of  1872  he 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  to  succeed  Hon.  James 
Harlan. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  BUTLER. 


JHE  courage,  pugnacity,  fertility  of  genius,  and  patriotism, 
which  enter  so  largely  into  the  composition  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  Butler,  are  his  by  inheritance.  His  grand- 
father. Captain  Zephaniah  Butler,  of  Woodbury,  Con- 
necticut, fought  under  General  Wolfe  at  Quebec,  and  served  in 
the  Continental  army,  during  the  entire  war  of  the  Revolution ; 
while  the  general's  father,  John  Butler,  of  Deerfield,  New 
Hampshire,  was  a  captain  of  dragoons  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
served  for  a  while  under  General  Jackson  at  New  Orleans. 
And  our  hero's  mother  was  of  that  doughty  race  of  Scotch- 
Irish  origin,  to  which  belonged  Colonel  Cilley  (also  an  ancestor 
of  General  Butler)  "  who,  at  the  battle  of  Bennington,  commanded 
a  company  that  had  never  seen  a  cannon,  and  who,  to  quiet 
their  apprehensions,  sat  astride  of  one  while  it  was  discharged." 
John  Butler,  the  ex-captain  of  dragoons,  after  the  war,  fol- 
lowed the  sea — in  the  various  capacities  of  supercargo,  merchant 
or  captain  in  the  West  India  trade.  In  politics  he  was  a  full 
blooded  Jeffersonian  Democrat — one  of  eight  representatives, 
only,  of  that  party,  in  the  town  of  Deerfield,  whose  Democracy 
isolated  them,  socially  as  well  as  politically,  to  a  degree  which 
is  inconceivable  to  us  of  the  present  day,  who  knew  New 
Hampshire  a  few  years  ago  as  the  Democratic  stronghold  of 
New  Englaml.  So  that  his  son,  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler, 
476 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   BUTLER.  477 

born  at  Deerfield,  on  tlie  Sth  of  November,  1818,  was  also 
"  born,"  as  has  been  happily  said,  "  into  the  ranks  of  an  ab- 
horred but  positive  and  pugnacious  minority — a  little  Spartan 
band,  always  battling,  never  subdued,  never  victorious."  Five 
months  after  his  birth,  the  boy  lost  his  father,  who  died  in 
March,  1819,  of  the  yellow  fever,  while  his  vessel  was  lying  at 
one  of  the  West  India  Islands. 

His  widow,  a  woman  of  true  New  England  energy,  supported 
her  two  boys  by  her  individual  exertions ;  and,  in  1828,  removed 
to  Lowell,  then  a  young  but  thriving  town  of  two  thousand 
inhabitants ;  where,  by  taking  boarders,  she  was  enabled  to  give 
Benjamin  better  educational  advantages  than  he  had  before 
enjoyed.  From  the  common  school  he  passed  to  the  High 
School  and  from  thence  to  the  Exeter  Academy,  where  he  pre- 
pared for  college.  If  his  own  predilections  had  been  consulted, 
he  would  have  gone  to  West  Point — but  his  mother,  who,  like 
all  New  England  mothers,  desired  to  see  her  boy  in  the  ministry, 
consulted  with  her  pastor,  and  by  his  advice  Benjamin  was  seni 
to  Waterville  College,  in  Maine,  an  institution  recently  founded 
by  the  Baptist  denomination.  So,  with  the  little  occasional 
help  received  from  a  kind  New  Hampshire  uncle,  and  the  scanty 
earnings  which  he  was  able  to  secure  from  three  hours'  work 
per  day,  at  chair-making,  in  the  manual  labor  department  of 
the  college,  he  gained  the  ambition  of  his  young  manhood — 
an  education,  and  left  the  college  halls  fully  determined  to  be  a 
lawyer. 

Just  then  there  came  to  him  a  special  Providence — one  which 

•we  might  wish  would  come,  in  like  circumstances,  to  every 

youth  as  he  leaves  his  Alma  Mater.     A  good-hearted  uncle, 

"skipper"  of  a  fishing  smack,  urged  him  to  accompany  him  on 

a  trip  to  the  coast  of  Labrador,  saying  to  him,  "I'll  give  you  a 

bunk  in  the  cabin,  but  you  must  do  your  duty  before  the  mast, 
29 


478  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

watcli  and  watch,  like  a  man.  I'll  warrant  you'll  come  back 
sound  enough  in  the  fall."  So  the  pale-faced  student  accepted 
the  kindly  offer  and  returned  from  a  four  months'  voyage  with 
a  fund  of  perfect  health,  which  has  lasted  him  ever  since. 

With  rencv/ed  vigor  the  youth  of  twenty  commenced  the  study 
of  law,  iu  the  office  of  William  Smith,  Esq.,  of  Lowell ;  and,  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1840,  entered  heart  and  soul  into  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession.  He  eked  out  his  slender  in- 
come by  school  teaching;  he  labored  indefatigably  eighteen 
hours  out  of  the  twenty-four;  he  joined  the  City  Guard,  a  com- 
pany of  the  since  f\imous  Sixth  Regiment  of  Massachusetts,  and 
perseveringly  worked  his  way  through  every  regular  gradation 
up  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  Work  he  craved — work  he  would 
have — and  work  he  succeeded  in  getting.  "  All  was  fish  that 
camo  to  his  n  -t."  "His  speeches,"  says  a  personal  friend,  "  were 
smart,  impudent,  reckless,  slap-dash  affairs,  showing  the  same 
general  traits  which  have  characterized  him  as  a  lawyer  and 
politician  ever  since  he  began  his  career.  He  very  soon  became 
a  decided  character  in  Lowell  and  Middlesex  county.  He  made 
politics  and  law  play  into  each  other's  hands;  and  while  he 
denounced  the  agents  and  overseers  of  the  mills  as  tyrants  and 
oppressors,  his  office  was  open  for  the  establishment  of  all  sorts 
of  lawsuits  on  behalf  of  the  male  and  female  operatives." 

From  his  twentieth  year  he  was  an  eager,  busy  politician, 
whom  every  election-time  found  diligently  "stumping" the  neigh- 
boring towns;  and  (after  1844)  regularly  attending  the  National 
Democratic  Conventions.  His  history  is  closely  identified  with 
that  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Massachusetts  during  twenty 
years,  1840-60.  A  "Coalitionist"  in  1852,  he  united  with  the 
Free-soilers  to  crush  out  the  old  Whig  party.  In  1853  he  was 
elected  on  the  Coalition  ticket,  to  the  Legislature — and  was  the 
acknowledged   leader   of  that  party  in  the   House,  his  wordy 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   BUTLER.  479 

battles  with  Otis  P.  Lord,  the  Whig  leader,  being  memorable  in 
the  history  of  legislative  strife  and  debate  in  that  State. 

In  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  Constitutional  Convention, 
which  shortly  followed,  the  Coalitionists  of  Lowell  were  ably 
represented  by  Butler,  who  exhibited  a  marked  degree  of 
ability,  and  of  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  principles  under 
discussion.  And,  though  the  Constitution  was  rejected,  and 
Coalition  died  out,  yet  he  was  always  loyal  to  his  old  allies, 
the  Free-Soilers,  and  when  in  1855,  the  "  Know-Nothing"  or- 
ganization came  suddenly  into  existence,  he  battled  against  it 
with  all  the  tremendous  energy  of  which  he  was  capable. 
When  the  new  Know  Nothing  governor,  Gardner,  recommend- 
ed in  his  annual  message  tho  exclusion  of  all  persons  of 
foreign  birth  from  the  state  militia ;  and  ordered  the  disband- 
ment  of  certain  companies  wholly  or  largely  composed  of 
such — some  of  which  companies  belonged  to  Colonel  Butler's 
regiment,  he  refused  to  transmit  the  order  and  was  sum- 
marily deprived  of  his  command  by  the  governor.  He  then 
turned  around  and  prosecuted  the  adjutant-general  for  remov- 
ing the  arms  from  the  armory — but  without  satisfactory  result. 
In  1857,  however,  he  was  chosen  brigadier-general  by  the 
officers  of  the  brigade  to  which  his  regiment  belonged,  and 
received  his  commission  from  the  hands  of  the  same  governor 
who  had  broken  him  of  his  colonelcy.  During  the  following 
year  he  exhibited  his  usual  vigor  and  fearlessness  as  counsel  in 
the  celebrated  Burnham  contempt  case.  In  1858,  as  the  can- 
didate of  the  "Liberals,"  Butler  ran  for  governor  but  was  de- 
feated by  the  "  Hunker"  candidate.  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year,  however,  the  Conservatives  elected  him  to  the  State 
Senate ;  and,  in  1859,  he  was  nominated,  still  on  the  Liberal 
ticket,  for  the  governorship,  but,  although  receiving  the  full 
vote  of  his  party,  was  defeated  by  Nathaniel  P.  Banks.     As  a 


4S0  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

legislator  lie  opposed  the  old  banking  system  and  advocated 
what  is  known  as  the  New  York  system  ;  and  he  battled  persist- 
ently and  successfully  for  the  "  ten  hour"  bill,  which  gave  the 
working  men  two  additional  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  for 
rest  and  self-improvement. 

In  April,  1860,  General  Butler  was  a  delegate  to  the  Demo- 
cratic Convention,  held  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  as  a  member 
of  the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  "  platform"  for  that 
party,  in  the  coming  Presidential  campaign,  he  took  a  very 
prominent  part;  strongly  and  tenaciously  insisting  upon  an 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  the  platform  adopted  at  the 
Democratic  Presidential  Convention  of  1856,  held  at  Cincinnati. 
Both  at  Charleston  and  at  Baltimore,  at  which  city  the  Conven- 
tion met,  by  adjournment,  June  18th,  he  refused  his  support  to 
any  measures  which  looked  to  any  further  concessions  to  the 
South,  on  the  part  of  the  Democracy  of  the  North.  When  the 
Convention  divided,  he,  with  other  delegates  who  were  firmly 
opposed  to  Douglas's  nomination,  withdrew  from  the  meeting 
and  nominated  the  "  Breckinridge  and  Lane"  ticket,  and  the 
campaign  commenced.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  in  espousing 
thus  Breckinridge's  interest,  he  was  misled  by  representations 
made  to  him  by  the  southern  leaders ;  for  it  soon  became 
evident  that  the  Breckinridge  men  at  the  South,  and  in  Con- 
gress, contemplated  treason.  On  his  return  to  Massachusetts, 
he  found  himself  the  most  unpopular  man  in  the  State — hooted 
at  in  the  streets  of  Lowell,  and  a  meeting  at  which  he  was  to 
speak,  broken  up  by  a  mob.  lie  "had  his  say  out,"  how- 
ever, at  another  meeting,  and  vindicated  himself — as  events,  and 
his  own  course  have  since  done — from  any  complicity  with 
treason.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  he  became  the  Breckin- 
ridge candidate  for  governor,  but  was  defeated,  receiving  only 
SIX  thousand  voteb'. 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN    BUTLER.  4S1 

Tn  December,  1860,  Mr.  Lincoln  having  been  elected,  Butler 
visited  Washington  on  party  business,  and  there  became  aware 
of  the  full  meaning  and  extent  of  the  southern  movement. 
Seccssmi  he  found  to  be  considered,  by  its  leaders,  as  an  accom- 
plished fact.  He  reasoned  earnestly  but  fruitlessly  with  them — 
he  was  offered,  in  return,  a  share  in  their  treasonable  enterprise. 
Spurning  the  offer,  he  waited  upon  the  Government  with  advice 
which,  as  a  leader  of  the  party  in  power,  he  was  entitled  to 
give;  and  which,  had  it  been  accepted  and  acted  upon,  might 
have  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  subsequent  events.  But 
Mr.  Buchanan  was  timorous  and  embarrassed.  Then  the  gen- 
eral united  with  his  old  friend  (and  political  opponent)  in 
urging  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts  to  prepare  the  militia  of 
the  State  for  the  coming  struggle.  Governor  Andrew  followed 
their  suggestions — ^and  what  of  preparation  was  accomplished 
was  effected  not  a  moment  too  soon.  Sumter  fell  beneath  the 
blows  of  armed  treason.  A  call  came  to  Boston  for  two  full 
regiments.  General  Butler,  arguing  a  case  in  the  court-room,. 
at  5  p.  M.,  endorsed  the  order  which  called  the  glorious  Sixth 
of  his  brigade  to  arms,  at  eleven  o'clock  of  the  next  day,  on 
Boston  Common.  Then  he  effected  a  loan  of  $50,000  from  one 
of  the  Boston  banks,  to  help  off  the  troops  ;  and  within  twent}'  - 
four  hours  thereafter  came  an  order  from  Washington  for  a 
fall  brigade,  and  he  was  appointed  to  the  command.  On  the 
17th  started  the  Sixth,  on  the  18th  two  regiments  by  steamer 
and  the  Eighth  by  rail,  accompanied  by  General  Batler  in 
person.  Arrived  at  Philadelphia  on  the  19th,  they  heard  of 
the  attack  of  the  mob  upon  the  Sixth,  at  Baltimore.  Yet,  amid 
the  many  conflicting  rumors,  and  the  dread  uncertainty  which 
hung  over  their  path,  the  general  determined  to  follow  out  his 
orders  and  nviroh  his  regiment  to  Washington  via  Baltimore. 

Leaving  behind  them  the  New  York  Seventh,  who  declined  to 
3i 


482  MEN  OF   OUR  DAT. 

share  the  risk  of  that  route,  the  Eighth,  on  the  20th  of  April, 
took  cars  to  Havre-de-Grace,  and  thence  bj  a  ferry-boat — im- 
pressed into  the  service — reached  Annapolis,  Maryland.  Arriv- 
ing at  that  place  they  found  the  town  in  momentary  expectation 
of  attack,  and  the  school  ship,  the  old  "  Constitution,"  belonging 
to  the  United  States  Naval  Academy,  fast  aground  and  weakly 
manned,  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  Secessionists,  So  Butler  put 
his  little  ferry-boat  alongside,  put  on  board  a  guard  and  a  strong 
crew  of  Marblehead  sailors ;  and  finally,  with  incredible  exer- 
tions, the  "  Constitution"  was  towed  out  to  a  place  of  safety. 
Another  morning  brought  a  steamer  bearing  the  New  York 
Seventh,  and  ere  long,  despite  the  repeated  protestations  of  the 
civic  authorities  and  the  Governor  of  Maryland,  both  regi- 
ments were  landed  on  the  grounds  of  the  Naval  Academy. 
Butler  now  needed  the  railroad  to  "Washington ;  but  the  depot 
was  locked,  and  the  track  torn  up.  Seizing,  by  force,  a  small  and 
purposely  damaged  engine  from  the  depot,  a  private  soldier 
was  soon  found  who  could  put  it  in  order — it  was  speedily  in 
running  trim,  and  track-laying  commenced. 

The  history  of  the  three  days'  march  which  followed,  laying 
track  as  they  went  all  the  way,  forms  a  wonderful  and  romantic 
episode  in  the  histor}'-  of  the  war;  but  on  the  25th  the  New 
York  Seventh  saluted  the  President  at  the  White  House,  and 
Washington,  as  well  as  the  whole  North,  breathed  for  the  first 
time  in  many  days  a  long  sigh  of  relief  Butler  remained  at 
Annapolis,  where  his  active  nature  found  full  employment  in 
providing  for,  and  forwarding  the  troops,  which  now  began  to 
pour  into  the  city  by  thousands.  Before  the  week  ended  the 
''Department  of  Annapolis,"  embracing  the  country  within 
twenty  miles  of  the  railroad  on  each  side,  was  created,  and  the 
command  given  to  General  Butler. 

Meanwhile  Baltimore  was  in  the  hands  of  the  sympathizers 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   BUTLER.  483 

with  treason  ;  and  as  Baltimore  went,  so  went  the  State.  This 
then  was  the  next  great  object  of  solicitude  on  the  part  of 
the  Government.  General  Scott  proposed  to  seize  it  by  a  stra- 
tegic movement  of  four  columns  of  three  thousand  men  each. 
General  Butler,  who  had,  on  the  4th  of  May,  seized  the  Eelaj 
House,  nine  miles  from  Baltimore,  set  forth  in  the  night  of  the 
13th  of  May  with  nine  hundred  men  and  some  artillery,  and 
using  a  simple  stratagem  to  blind  the  Baltimoreans  to  his  real 
design,  conveyed  his  force  by  rail  into  the  city,  occupied  Fed- 
eral Hill  in  the  midst  of  a  tremendous  thunder-storm,  planted 
his  guards  and  cannon  so  as  to  command  the  city,  and  issued 
a  "proclamation,"  which  was  to  the  astonished  citizens  the  first 
intimation  which  they  had,  on  the  following  morning,  of  the  pre- 
sence of  Union  troops  in  their  midst.  For  this  he  was  censured 
by  Lieutenant-General  Scuct,  but  was  immediately  commissioned 
a  major-general,  May  16th,  1861,  by  President  Lincoln,  and 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  new  "Department  of  Virginia," 
(embracing  South-eastern  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina) 
with  headquarters  at  Fortress  Monroe.  He  found  much  to  be 
done,  the  fort  to  be  improved,  the  department  to  be  studied  and 
regulated,  the  troops  to  be  drilled,  and  sundry  expeditions  and 
reconnoissances  to  be  made  in  the  vicinity.  He  prepared,  also, 
an  army  for  an  attack  upon  Richmond,  but  it  was  crippled  by 
a  sudden  call  of  most  of  his  troops  to  the  defence  of  Washing- 
ton. On  the  9th  and  10th  of  June,  occurred  the  night  expedi- 
tion which  resulted  in  the  affair  at  Big  Bethel,  the  first  reverso 
which  the  Union  arms  had  as  yet  sustained,  and  which, 
although  in  the  light  of  subsequent  experience,  only  a  skirmish, 
was  a  heavy  blow  to  the  popular  expectation  in  the  loyal  States. 
Its  ill-success,  however,  was  due  rather  to  an  unfortunate  mis- 
manag9:nent  in  the  several  commands  detailed  for  the  service, 


434  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

and  in  tlic  experience  of  the  brigadier  commanding  the  expedi- 
tion, than  to  General  Butler. 

It  was  during  the  Fortress  Monroe  period,  also,  that  General 
Butler's  acute  intellect  solved  the  difficulty,  which  had  puzzled 
all  of  our  politicians  and  military  men,  as  to  the  stahis  of  the 
slaves  of  masters  in  rebellion  against  the  Federal  government, 
bv  pronouncing  them  "  contraband  of  war,^^  a  decision  the 
whimsicality  of  which  is  infinitely  heightened  by  the  basis  of 
truth  upon  which  it  is  predicated.  From  General  Butler  also 
came  (in  the  form  of  a  communication  to  the  Government, 
August  30th,  1861)  the  first  distinct  avowal  of  the  right  and 
the  duty  of  the  Federal  Government  to  emancipate  every  slave 
within  the  Union  lines.  This  opinion,  urged  as  a  military  neces- 
sity, and  fortified  by  unanswerable  arguments,  was  not,  how- 
ever, adopted  by  the  Administration  for  more  than  a  year  after. 

On  the  19th  of  August,  1861,  he  was  relieved  from  the  com- 
mand at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  on  August  26th,  sailed  in  com- 
mand of  the  military  part  of  an  expedition,  in  conjunction  with 
Commodore  Stringham,  against  the  forts  at  Hatteras  Inlet. 
They  were  captured  August  29th  (together  with  a  large  number 
of  arms,  cannon,  and  prisoners),  and  at  Butler's  suggestion,  the 
forts  were  retained ;  serving  subsequently  as  the  basis  of  Burn- 
side's  splendid  operations  on  the  North  Carolina  coast. 

The  Government  now  entertained  the  project  of  a  combined 
land  and  water  attack  on  New  Orleans,  and  the  winter  of 
1861-62  was  busily  spent  in  preparation  for  the  enterprise,  the 
difficulties  of  which  were  felt  to  be  as  great  as  its  advantages  to 
the  Union  cause  would  be  glorious.  A  fleet  of  frigates  and 
gunboats  was  fitted  out  by  Commodore  Farragut ;  a  formidable 
mortar  fleet  was  got  ready  by  Commander  D.  D.  Porter,  and 
the  command  of  the  co-operating  land  force  was  given  to 
General    Butler.      The    general    was   assigned   to    the    newly 


BEN^JAMIN   FEANKLIISr  BUTLER.  485 

created  "  Department  of  New  England,"  in  order  to  recruit  men 
for  the  service,  and  his  first  transports  sailed  from  Portland, 
Maine,  in  November,  but  the  public  was  not  informed  as  to  the 
actual  point  of  operations  until  the  following  spring.  The 
advance  of  the  expedition,  which  was  commanded  by  General 
Phelps,  whose  aid  Butler  had  especially  desired,  reached  ita 
destination,  Ship  Island  (sixty-five  miles  from  New  Orleans, 
and  fifty  from  Mobile  Bay,  both  of  which  places  it  thus  men- 
aced), earl};-  in  March,  and  was  followed  by  the  bomb  flotilla, 
and  transports  with  a  formidable  armament  of  mortars  and 
heavy  guns.  The  forts,  navy-yard,  dry  dock,  storehouses, 
barracks,  and  marine  hospital  at  Pensacola,  upon  which  the 
rebels  had  bestowed  great  labor  and  expense,  were  speedily 
abandoned  and  burned  by  them  ;  and  about  the  middle  ox 
April,  the  fleet  and  flotilla  gathered  together  in  the  Mississippi 
river,  ten  miles  below  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip.  Six  days' 
unsuccessful  bombardment  of  these  forts  (18th  to  23d)  decided 
Admiral  Farragut  to  run  past  them,  which  he  successfully 
accomplished  on  the  24th,  and  anchored  before  the  city  of  New 
Orleans  on  the  25th.  The  forts,  however,  held  out  until  the 
prompt  and  unexpected  landing  of  Batler's  army  in  the  rear  of 
Fort  St.  Philip,  and  its  complete  investment  on  every  side, 
obliged  their  capitulation  to  the  Federal  authority.  Having 
thus  opened  the  Mississippi  in  the  rear  of  Farragut's  victorious 
fleet.  General  Butler's  army  came  up  the  river  and  on  the  1st  of 
May,  1862,  landed  and  took  possession  of  New  Orleans.  The  his- 
tory of  the  occupation  of  that  intensely  rebel  and  defiant  city  forms 
perhaps  the  most  satisfectory  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  war 
of  the  rebellion.*     "  The  iron  heel  of  military  law  was  placed 

*  We  acknowkid'^e  with  pleasure  our  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Parton's 
Life  of  General  Butler,  for  this  vivid  picture  of  his  career  at  New  Orleans. 
Mr.  Parton's  book  stands  without  a  rival  in  its  graphic  portraiture  of 
Its  subject. 


486  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

witli  relentless  severity  upon  the  stiff  necks  of  a  people  wlioso 
whole  social  system  bad  long  been  a  terror  to  themselves  and  a 
disgrace  to  American  civilization ;  and  whose  violent  passions 
seemed  uncontrollable  even  by  the  menace  of  the  armed  hand. 
But  each  day  that  passed,  now  gave  evidence  that  these 
wretched  people  had  found  a  master  whose  will  of  iron  and 
nerves  of  steel  were  fully  equal  to  the  task,  which  their  con- 
tumacy imposed  upon  him.  Full  of  sagacity  and  force,  he 
quickly  evolved  order  from  chaos,  lie  found  the  poor  of  New 
Orleans  starving  in  the  midst  of  plenty ;  he  regulated  trade  so 
that  they  were  fed,  and  the  price  of  food  was  cheapened.  The 
business  of  the  city  was  dead,  and  he  endeavored  to  revive  it. 
The  currency  was  deranged  and  he  improved  it.  The  yellow 
fever  was  at  hand,  and  the  city  reeked  with  filth ;  he  adminis- 
tered sanitary  science  with  such  effect  that  hut  one  case  occurred 
during  a  season  which  generally  desolated  the  city,  in  which, 
also,  there  were  now  20,000  unacclimated  northern  troops.  The 
city  government  was  hostile  and  obstructive ;  he  "  straightened 
them  out."  The  foreign  consulates  were  depots  of  concealment 
for  rebel  treasure,  and  centres  of  foreign  and  rebel  machinations 
against  the  United  States;  he  quickly  possessed  himself  of  the 
money,  for  the  use  of  the  Government,  and  gave  them  to  under- 
stand that  foreign  flags  could  not  be  allowed  to  cover  domestic 
treason.  He  administered  the  police  duty  of  New  Orleans,  in  a 
manner  hitherto  unknown  to  "the  oldest  inhabitants" — he 
shamed  into  external  decency,  at  least,  the  rebel  women,  whose 
hostility  to  the  Yankee  invader  had  overmastered  the  modesty 
of  demeanor  which  belonged  to  their  sex — he  hung  Mumford, 
wiiO  had  pulled  down  the  American  flag  from  the  Custom  House 
upon  the  first  arrival  of  the  fleet — he  assessed  the  prominent 
and  wealthy  rebels  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  for  the  ex- 
penses  of  his  sanitary  and  other   improvements,  basing  the 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   BUTLER.  487 

assessment  upon  their  respective  contributions  to  the  rebel 
defence  of  New  Orleans — he  placed  the  railroads  in  running 
order  again,  he  improved  the  levees — he  took  the  banks  "  in 
hand"  with  a  vigor  that  was  revivifying  and  wholesome — he 
suppressed  rampant  newspapers  until  they  learned  that  "  liberty 
of  the  pen"  did  not  necessarily  mean  license — he  disarmed  New 
Orleans,  and  so  thoroughly  sifted  the  whole  population,  that  he 
knew  the  particular  shade  and  complexion  of  each  man's  poli- 
tics— he  permitted  registered  enemies  of  the  United  States  to 
seek  more  congenial  homes  elsewhere — he  relentlessly  confisca- 
ted the  estates  of  contumacious  rebels;  in  short,  he  suppressed 
the  rampant  minority  which  had  carried  the  State  out  of  the 
Union,  and  fostered  the  self-respect,  protected  the  interests, 
maintained  the  rights,  and  elevated  the  scale  of  civilization 
among  the  people  of  Louisiana,  both  white  and  black,  bond  and 
free." 

He  was  not  allowed,  however,  to  carry  out  the  splendid  work 
of  regeneration  which  he  had  commenced.  Intriguing  diploma- 
tists and  enemies  whose  interests  had  been  affected  by  his 
management  in  New  Orleans,  succeeded  in  procuring  his  recall; 
and  on  the  IGtli  of  November,  1862,  he  was  relieved  of  his 
command  by  General  Banks.  The  policy  of  conciliation,  to 
which  his  successor  gave  a  fair  trial,  proved  itself  an  im- 
mediate, complete,  and  undeniable  failure.  General  Butler's 
return  home  was  a  series  of  honorable  welcomes  from  the  cities 
and  communities  of  the  loyal  States  through  which  he  passed, 
and  he  was  presented,  by  Congress,  with  one  of  the  captured 
swords  of  the  rebel  General  Twiggs. 

During  the  year  1863,  General  Butler,  being  without  a 
command,  rendered  good  service  to  the  Government  by  his 
public  speeches  in  various  places ;  and  in  July  and  November 
of  that  year  was,  for  a  short  time,  invested  with  the  chief  mill- 


488  MEN   OF   O^U   DAY. 

tary  command  of  New  York  city,  whicli  had  recently  been  the 
scene  of  the  terrible  "  draft  riots." 

When  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  in  the  spring  of  1864, 
inaugurated  his  great  and  final  campaign,  he  assigned  to 
General  Butler  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  James,  which 
was  composed  of  the  corps  formerly  known  as  the  Army  of 
Eastern  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  the  18th  corps  from 
Louisiana,  and  the  10th  corps,  partly  of  colored  troops,  from 
(General  Gillmore's)  the  Department  of  the  South.  To  his 
division  of  the  Grand  Army  was  assigned  the  duty  of  seizing, 
by  an  adroit  manoeuvre,  the  position  of  Bermuda  Hundred,  on 
the  south  bank  of  the  James,  midway  between  Eichmond 
and  Petersburg ;  and  the  interposing  of  such  a  force  between 
those  two  cities,  as  should  isolate  them  from  each  other  and 
result  in  the  capture  of  the  latter.  This  part  of  the  programme 
was  skilfully  carried  out  by  General  Butler;  Bermuda  Hun- 
dred (on  the  4th  of  May,  1864)  was  occupied  and  fortified ;  on 
the  7th,  the  railroad  was  cut  below  Petersburg.  A  strong  but 
unavailing  attack  was  made  upon  Fort  Darling  on  May  13th  ; 
and  the  repeated  attempts  of  the  enemy  (21st  and  24th),  to 
drive  him  from  his  own  position,  were  each  handsomely  re- 
pulsed. On  the  10th,  an  attempt  was  made  to  capture  Peters- 
burg; General  Gillmore,  with  about  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred troops  attacking  it  on  the  north,  General  Kautz's  cavalry 
force  on  the  south,  and  General  Butler,  with  the  gunboats  as- 
saulting from  the  north  and  east.  The  plan  was  partially  and 
handsomely  carried  out  by  Butler  and  Kautz,  the  latter  of 
whom  entered  the  city  and  maintained  a  hand-to-hand  fight  for 
sometime ;  but  the  enterprise  was  finally  rendered  abortive  by 
General  Gillmore's  declining,  with  the  force  at  his  command,  to 
attack  the  rebel  works. 

Duiing  the  summer  General  Butler's  forces  had  been  cutting 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN   BUTLER.  489 

a  ca.  lal  across  tlie  neck  of  a  peninsula,  called  Farrar's  Island, 
formed  by  a  six-mile  bend  in  the  Eiver  James.  This  neck  of 
land  was  only  half  a  mile  across,  so  that  the  canal,  it  was 
expected,  would  greatly  shorten  and  facilitate  the  passage  of 
gunboats  on  the  river.  As  it,  also,  somewhat  imperilled  Fort 
Darling  and  flanked  the  rebel  position  at  Howlett's,  it  would 
oblige  them  to  erect  new  and  more  extended  lines  of  defence ; 
and  the  Confederates  made  a  desperate  attempt,  on  the  12th  of 
August,  to  shell  out  the  negroes  who  were  at  work  on  the 
canal,  or  "  Dutch  Gap,"  as  it  was  called.  In  order  to  relieve 
the  ditchers  from  the  annoyance  to  which  they  were  subjected 
by  the  heavy  fire  from  rebel  rams  and  batteries,  an  attack  was 
made  upon  the  Confederate  position  at  Strawberry  Plains,  on 
the  1-ith,  which  resulted  in  a  Union  victory,  and  was  followed 
by  another  success  at  Deep  Bottom,  on  the  16th.  Eebel  pris- 
oners were  also  set  at  work  in  the  "Gap."  While  these  move- 
ments were  in  progress.  Grant  seized  the  opportune  moment  to 
attempt  to  gain  possession  of  the  Weldon  Railroad  ;  which  was, 
after  repeated  and  deperate  fighting,  secured  and  torn  up  for 
a  considerable  distance,  on  the  21st.  In  all  the  subsequent 
movements  of  the  Union  forces  before  Richmond  and  Peters- 
burg, the  Army  of  the  James,  under  General  Butler,  contributed 
their  full  share  of  heroic  fighting,  patient  waiting,  and  hard  work. 
Early  in  the  month  of  December,  an  expedition  was  planned 
by  General  Grant  against  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  which 
had  long  been  one  of  the  principal  channels  by  which  foreign 
supplies  of  arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  etc.,  had  reached  the 
Confederacy.  Its  formidable  defences,  and  the  peculiar  nature 
of  its  coast,  rendered  its  successful  closure  against  blockade- 
runners  almost  impossible;  a  fact  at  which  both  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  officers  of  the  blockading  squadron  felt  deeply 
chagrined.     The  naval   portion  of  the  expedition,   which   set 


490  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

sail  on  the  9tli,  was  commanded  by  Admiral  Porter,  and  tlie 
land  forces,  which  sailed  on  the  12th,  had  been  drawn  from  the 
Army  of  the  James,  and  were  commanded  by  General  Butler 
iu  person. 

Arriving  off  New  Inlet  on  the  24th,  the  squadron  opened  a 
fire  upon  Fort  Fisher,  which,  for  rapidity,  intensity  and  weight 
of  metal,  was  hitherto  unexampled  in  the  history  of  warfare. 
On  the  25th,  the  land  forces  were  disembarked;  a  joint  assault 
was  ordered  at  evening,  the  troops  attacking  the  land  face  of 
the  fort,  while  the  fleet  was  to  bombard  its  sea  front.  Upon 
moving  forward  to  the  attack,  however,  General  Weitzel,  who 
accompanied  the  column,  came  to  the  conclusion,  from  a  careful 
reconnoissance  of  the  fort,  that  "  it  would  be  butchery  to  order 
an  assault ;"  and  General  Butler,  having  formed  the  same  opin- 
ion from  other  information,  re-embarked  his  troops,  and  sailed 
for  Hampton  Roads.  The  opinion  of  General  Weitzel,  an  ex- 
perienced engineer  officer,  to  the  effect  that  the  fort  had  been 
"  substantially  unimpaired"  by  the  terrific  naval  fire  to  which 
it  had  been  for  several  days  subjected,  did  not  satisfy  Admiral 
Porter,  whose  report  to  the  Naval  Department  reflected 
severely  upon  General  Butler's  course;  and  upon  that  general's 
return  to  the  James  river,  he  was  relieved  from  the  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  James,  and  ordered  to  report  at  Lowell, 
Massachusetts,  his  residence. 

The  successful  capture  of  Fort  Fisher  and  Wilmington,  two 
weeks  later,  by  Admiral  Porter  and  General  Terry,  greatly  in- 
creased the  popular  dissatisfaction  with  General  Butler — but  his 
course  seems  to  have  been  fully  justified  by  unimpeachable 
evidence  which  was  subsequently  adduced.  It  was,  however 
the  last  active  military  service  performed  by  General  Butler. 

In  November  1866,  he  was  elected  on  the  Eepublican  ticket. 
Representative  in  the  XLth  Congress  for  the  fifth  district  of 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN   BUTLER.  491 

Massachusetts,  receiving  9,021  votes  against  2,838  votes  for 
Northend,  Democrat.  During  the  session  of  1867-8  he  took  a 
conspicuous  part  as  one  of  the  Managers  of  the  impeachment 
and  trial  of  President  Johnson.  His  speech  at  the  opening  of 
the  impeachment  trial  was  pronounced,  even  by  his  opponents, 
the  ablest  of  its  kind  on  record. 

Of  General  Butler,  as  a  lawyer,  it  has' been  well  said  by  one 
who  knew  him  intimately,  that  "  At  the  criminal  terms  of  the 
Middlesex  Court,  he  has  done  a  greater  amount  of  business  than 
anybody  else,  and  his  reputation  at  present  is  that  of  the  most 
successful  criminal  lawyer-  of  the  State,  His  devices  and  shifts 
to  obtain  an  acquittal  and  release  are  absolutely  endless  and  in- 
numerable. He  is  never  daunted  or  baffled  until  the  sentence  ia 
passed  and  put  in  execution,  and  the  reprieve,  pardon,  or  com- 
mutation is  refused.  An  indictment  must  be  drawn  with  the 
greatest  nicety,  or  it  will  not  stand  his  criticism.  A  verdict  of 
"guilty"  is  nothing  to  him — it  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  case; 
he  has  fifty  exceptions,  a  hundred  motions  in  arrest  of  judg- 
ment ;  and  after  that,  the  habeas  corpus  and  personal  replevin. 
The  opposing  counsel  never  begins  to  feel  safe  until  the  evidence 
is  all  in,  for  he  knows  not  what  new  dodges  Butler  may  spring 
upon  him.  He  is  more  fertile  in  expedients  than  any  man  who 
practices  law  .among  us."  And  this  same  fertility  of  resource 
did  the  country  rare  good  service  during  the  late  war  of  the 
rebellion.  Yet  he  is  not  logical — his  statements  and  arguments, 
when  closely  analyzed,  are  frequently  mere  sophistical  decep- 
tions, so  ingeniously  constructed,  however,  that  he  often  believes 
them  liimself.  But  they  are  always  ingenious,  bewildering,  set 
with  homely  illustrations,  full  of  insinuations,  and  put  wi*th  such 
vehemence  and  in  such  plain  Anglo-Saxon,  z^  often  to  totally 
overwhelm  his  adversary. 

Anecdotes  innumerable  are  told  of  his  audacity,  and  quickness 


402  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

of  retort.  Upon  one  of  his  first  cases  being  called  into  court  Tie 
said,  in  the  usual  way,  "  Let  notice  be  given !"  "  In  what 
paper  ?"  asked  the  aged  clerk  of  the  court,  a  strenuous  Whig. 
"In  the  Lowell  Advertiser^''  was  the  reply;  the  Advertiser  being  a 
Jackson  paper,  never  mentioned  in  a  Lowell  court;  of  whose 
mere  existence,  few  there  present  would  confess  a  knowledge. 
"The  Lowell  Advertisers^  said  the  clerk  with  disdainful  non- 
chalance, "I  don't  know  such  a  paper,"  "  Pray,  Mr.  Clerk,"  said 
young  Butler,  "do  not  interrupt  the  proceedings  of  the  Court; 
for  if  you  begin  to  tell  us  what  you  douH  know,  there  will  be  no 
time  for  any  thing  else,"  So,  at  a  later  date,  and  not  long  after 
the  execution  of  Professor  Webster,  of  Harvard  College,  for  the 
murder  of  Dr.  Parkman,  when  he  was  examining  a  professor  of 
that  college  as  a  witness,  and  was  "badgering"  him  in  his  usual 
not  very  respectful  manner,  the  opposing  counsel  appealed  to 
the  court,  reminding  them  that  the  witness  was  an  educated 
gentleman  "and  a  Harvard  professor."  Butler  contemptuously 
replied  "I  am  aware  of  it,  your  Honor;  we  hung  one  of  them 
the  other  day," 

In  the  impeachment  trial,  in  1868,  the  Hon.  Fernando  Wood, 
of  New  York,  received  one  of  those  scathing  replies  which 
Butler  can  strike  out  instantaneously  at  "a  white  heat." 
Mr.  Wood  undertook  to  protest  to  the  "replication"  entered 
before  the  Court  of  Impeachment,  on  the  ground  that  he,  as  one 
of  "the  people  of  the  United  States"  in  whose  name  it  was  made, 
objected  to  it.  General  Butler  immediately  turned  upon  him 
with — "  The  representatives  of  the  people  usually  represent  them, 
but  the  gentleman  (Mr.  Wood)  has  not  even  the  merit  of  origin- 
ality in  his  objection.  The  form  is  one  that  has  been  used  500 
years,  lacking  eight.  The  objection  was  made  to  it  once  before, 
and  only  once,  when  the  people  of  England,  smarting  under  the 
usurpatio'i  and  tyranny  of  Charles  L,  not  having  any  provision 


BENJAMIN    FEANKLIN   BUTLER.  493 

in  tlieir  Constitution  as  we  have,  by  which  that  tyrant  could  be 
brought  to  justice  outside  of  their  Constitution,  and  in  a  per- 
fectly legal  manner,  as  I  understand  and  believe,  brought  Charles 
to  justice.  When  proclamation  was  made  that  they  were  pro- 
ceeding in  the  name  of  all  the  people  of  England,  one  of  the  ad- 
herents rose  and  said,  '  No,  all  the  people  do  not  consent  to  it,' 
so  that  the  gentleman  has  at  least  a  precedent  for  what  he  has 
done ;  and  I  wish  we  could  follow  out  the  precedent  in  this 
House,  because  the  Court  inquired  who  made  that  objection,  and 
tried  to  find  the  offender  for  the  purpose  of  punishing  him  [laugh- 
ter] ;  but  as  he  concealed  himself  he  could  not  be  found,  and  he 
afterward  turned  out  to  he  a  woman  [laughter],  the  wife  of  General 
Fairfax,  who  ratted  on  that  occasion  from  the  rest  of  the  Com- 
mons." And,  then,  in  reply  to  some  strictures  in  which  Wood 
had  indulged  concerning  an  implied  lack  of  courtesy  on  the  part 
of  the  House  Managers — he  quietly  remarked  that  he  "  hoped 
the  House  would  not  receive  any  lectures  or  suggestions  upon 
propriety  of  language,  or  propriety  of  conduct,  from  the  gentleman 
who  stands  as  yet  under  its  censure  for  a  violation  of  all  parliament- 
■  ary  rules  f  an  allusion  to  an  event  of  only  a  few  weeks  previous 
occurrence,  which  effectually  "  squelched "  the  leader  of  the 
"  Mozart  Democracy." 

Since  the  election  of  General  Grant  to  the  Presidency,  General 
Butler  has  contrived  to  occupy  a  prominent  position  before  the 
public  most  of  the  time.  He  had  become  reconciled  to  President 
Grant  before  his  election  (they  had  previously  been  on  very  bad 
termsin  consequence  of  the  Fort  Fisher  affair),  and  he  has  ranged 
himself  among  the  leading  supporters  of  the  administration.  His 
relations  with  other  members  of  the  Kepublican  party  and  the 
Democrats  in  Congress  have  been  at  times  very  bitter  and  un- 
pleasant. He  quarrelled  with  Speaker  Blaine,  with  most  of  the 
Massachusetts  members  of  Congress,  with  both  the  Massachusetts 
Senators,  with  Governor  Hawley  of  Connecticut,  and  with  promi- 


494  MEX   OF   OUR   DAT. 

nent  Republicans  of  New  York,  Ohio,  and  Illinois.  In  1S71.  ha 
announced  his  purpose  of  running  for  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
and  took  the  stump  in  his  own  behalf  before  the  nominating  con- 
vention. He  canvassed' steadily  and  vigorously,  and  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  convention  was  very  sanguine  of  a  nomination,  but  the 
union  of  the  friends  of  the  other  candidates  on  Mr.  "Washburn 
caused  his  defeat,  and  though  evidently  vexed  and  chagrined,  he 
took  his  disappointment  very  calmly,  and  did  what  he  could  to 
help  the  election  of  the  successful  candidate.  Of  late  he  has 
sought  to  be  the  leader  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  House, 
but  finds  too  many  bolters  from  his  rather  imperious  rule.  He 
is  a  warm  defendant  of  President  Grant  and  of  all  his  measures, 
but  is  supposed  not  to  be  very  well  pleased  with  Senator  Wilson's 
nomination,  as  he  was  dissatisfied  with  him  for  not  favoring  his 
nomination  for  Governor.  General  Butler  is  in  fact  a  singular 
compound.  He  has  many  good  traits  :  we  believe  he  means  to 
be  patriotic,  and  sincerely  thinks  that  the  measures  he  urges  are 
for  the  good  of  the  country.  He  is  unscrupulous,  eager  for  power, 
and  ready  to  adopt  almost  any  means  to  obtain  it :  but  though  he 
has  been  often  charged  with  venality  and  corruption,  and  a 
fiworite  taunt  of  his  adversaries  has  been  "  the  spoons,"  referring 
to  his  rigid  measures  of  confiscation  in  New  Orleans,  and  the 
supposed  wealth  he  obtained  by  plunder  there,  we  are  satisfied 
that  he  is  not  guilty  of  taking  bribes  or  of  any  frauds  in  his  civil 
administration  during  the  war,  or  his  congressional  career  since. 
Had  he  been  thus  corrupt,  there  were  abundant  opportunities  to 
have  proved  it  conclusively ;  but  every  suit  where  it  has  been 
attempted  to  prove  anything  of  the  sort  has  utterly  broken  down, 
not  from  his  skill  in  managing  it,  but  from  absolute  lack  of  proof. 
The  general  is  so  erratic,  and  so  careless  of  the  means  by  which  he 
accomplishes  his  purposes,  that  he  will  always  have  enemies,  in  the 
party  with  which  he  acts,  and  in  that  which  he  opposes.  He  is,  in 
fact,  an  Ishmaelite,  and  about  as  dangerous  to  his  friends  as  to  his  foe. 


HON.  WILLIAM  D.  KELLEY. 


HE  Republican  party  is  the  legitimate  heir  of  the  old 
Federal  and  Whig  parties — the  parties  of  \Yashington 
i^\  and  "Webster — which,  in  the  ancient  and  mediasval  pe- 
riods of  the  Republic,  as  they  may  be  termed,  illustrated 
the  sentiment  and  the  idea  of  nationality  as  opposed  to  the 
heresy  of  State  sovereignty. 

There  is,  nevertheless,  flowing  in  the  veins  of  this  great  Re- 
publican organization  much  of  the  best  blood  of  the  old  Demo- 
cratic party.  The  men  who  adopted  the  political  teachings  of 
Jefferson,  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
the  inspirer  of  the  ordinance  of  1789,  who  heartily  believed  the 
great  American  doctrines  of  the  freedom  and  equality  of  all 
men,  and  the  power  and  duty  of  the  nation  to  protect  the  na- 
tional domain  from  the  pollution  of  human  slavery,  passed,  by 
a  natural  transition,  into  the  Republican  ranks  when  the  Demo- 
cratic party  abandoned  the  faith  of  its  fathers,  and  became  the 
embodiment  of  a  "  creed  outworn." 

Among  the  men  of  the  Democratic  party  who  earliest  sepa- 
rated from  "  its  decaying  forms,"  and  contributed  to  organize  a 
new  party,  in  the  light  of  truth  and  reason,  on  the  basis  of 
inherent,  inalienable  right,  was  the  subject  of  this  sketch — 
William  Darrah  Kelley. 

He  was  born  in  the  Northern  Liberties  of  Philadelphia,  on 

the  12th  of  Ap^il,  1814.     His  grandfather,  Major  John  Kelley 

495 


496  MEN"   OF   OUR    DAY. 

was  a  native  of  Salem  county,  New  Jersey,  and  served  through- 
out the  Eevolution  as  an  officer  of  the  Continental  line.  The 
son  of  this  Eevolutionary  officer,  and  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  meraoir^ — -David  Kelley — removed  from  New  Jersey  to 
Philadelphia,  where  he  married  a  lady  of  Bucks  county,  Penn- 
Bylvania — Miss  Hannah  Darrah.  The  cloud  of  financial  em- 
barrassment, which,  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  darkened 
the  horizon,  cast  its  deep  shadow  over  the  fortunes  of  Mr.  Kel- 
ley ;  and  by  his  death,  in  1816,  his  widow  was  left,  without  an 
estate,  to  support  and  educate  a  dependent  family  of  four  chil- 
dren, the  youngest  of  whom — William — was  but  two  years  of 
age.  Mrs.  Kelley  struggled  nobly  and  well  to  fulfil  this  great 
trust,  and  lived  to  witness  the  consummation  of  her  most  ambi- 
tious hopes  in  the  prosperity  and  advancement  of  her  distin- 
guished son. 

At  eleven  years  of  age,  it  became  necessary  that  William 
should  earn  his  own  living.  He  accordingly  left  school,  and 
became  an  errand  boy  in  a  book  store,  then  a  copy-reader  m  the 
office  of  the  "  Philadelphia  Inquirer'^  newspaper,  and  finally  an 
apprentice  to  Messrs.  Eickards  &  Dubosq,  manufacturing  jewel- 
lers, of  Philadelphia.  He  attained  his  freedom  in  the  spring  of 
1834.  This  was  the  era  of  the  removal  of  the  deposits  from 
the  United  States  Bank;  and  Mr.  Kelley 's  first  experience  in 
political  leadership  was  gained  in  encouraging  and  organizing 
the  resistance  of  the  Democratic  workingmen  to  the  tyrannous 
demands  of  the  Whig  capitalists  of  Philadelphia.  The  stand 
he  took  on  this  question  rendered  it  difficult  for  him  to  obtain 
employment  in  his  native  city.  He  accordingly  removed  to 
Boston,  and  at  once  secured  a  situation  in  the  establishment  of 
Messrs.  Clark  and  Curry.  In  Boston,  the  spirit  of  New  England 
culture  took  deep  hold  upon  his  nature.  While  laboring  with 
characteristic  industry  in  the  most  difficult  branch  of  his  trade — 


HON.   WILLIAM   D.   KELLEY.  497 

the  art  of  enamelling— and  achieving  a  high  reputation  as  a 
skilful  aud  tasteful  workman,  he  improved  his  scholarship  by 
solitary  study ;  and  his  contributions  to  the  newspapers  of  the 
day,  and  written  and  extemporaneous  lectures  and  addresses 
before  public  audiences,  established  his  reputation  as  a  writer 
and  speaker  of  ability  and  power,  in  association  even  with  such 
men  as  Bancroft,  Brownson,  Alexander  H.  Everett,  Channing 
and  Emerson. 

In  1839,  he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  entered,  as  a  stu- 
dent of  law,  the  ofl&ce  of  (^olonel  James  Page,  a  local  leader  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  the  postmaster  of  Philadelphia.  On 
April  17,  1841,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  several  courts 
of  his  native  city.  His  advancement  in  the  profession  was  im- 
mediate and  rapid ;  while,  in  every  political  canvass,  local  and 
national,  his  stirring  addresses  attracted  large  audiences,  and 
rendered  him  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  In  January,  1845,  he  was  appointed  by  the  attor- 
ney-general of  the  State — Hon.  John  K.  Kane — to  conduct,  in 
connection  with  Francis  Wharton,  Esq.,  who  has  since  become' 
celebrated  as  a  writer  on  criminal  law,  the  pleas  of  the  Com 
raonwealth  in  the  courts  of  Philadelphia.  In  March,  1846,, 
Governor  Shunk  appointed  Mr.  Kelley  a  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  a  tribunal  whose  jurisdiction  was  co-extensive 
with  the  common  law,  chancery  and  ecclesiastical  courts  of 
England.  In  1851,  he  was  elected  to  the  same  bench,  under  the 
new  Constitution  of  the  State,  upon  an  independent  ticket,  in 
defiance  of  the  attempted  proscription  of  the  Democratic  party 
organization,  which  was  embittered  against  him  for  his  course 
in  the  contested  election  case  of  Reed  and  Kneass.  This  was  a 
triumphant  vindication  by  the  people  of  the  justice  and  integ- 
rity of  his  action  in  that  cause. 

But  Judge  Kelley  did  not  confine  himself  to  the  topics  of  hia 
32 


498  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

professf.on  or  to  the  discussion  of  political  questions.  The  pro- 
tection of  the  weak  and  down -trodden,  the  reformation  of  the 
ignorant  and  vicious,  and  the  promotion  of  education,  have  ever 
found  in  him  an  eloquent  and  powerful  advocate.  His  re- 
markable powers  of  oratory,  give  additional  effect  to  his  chaste 
and  polished  style,  and  few  public  speakers  have  proved  so 
effective.  We  offer  the  following  passages  from  an  address  of 
his  before  the  Linnsean  society  of  Pennsylvania  college,  Gettys- 
burg, on  the  "  Characteristics  of  the  Age,"  delivered  over  twenty 
years  ago,  as  giving  an  idea  of  the»  felicity  and  beauty  of  his 
style,  as  a  writer.  The  earnestness  and  the  clear  ringing  tone.s 
of  the  orator  are  wanting  to  give  it  full  effect. 

"  I  would  not  disparage  the  value  of  the  *  little  learning' 
which  enables  a  man  to  read  and  write  his  mother  tongue  with 
facility.  "When  '  commerce  is  king,'  the  ability  to  do  this  is 
little  less  than  essential  to  the  physical  well-being  of  the  citizen. 
Under  such  government  the  receipt-book  peaceably  enough 
performs  a  large  share  of  the  functions  of  the  embattled  wall 
and  armed  retainers  of  the  days  when  force  was  law.  But  to 
rise  above  the  commercial  value  of  these  slender  attainments, 
he  who  can  read  the  language  of  Shakspeare  and  Milton,  John- 
son and  Addison,  Shelley  and  Wordsworth,  has  the  key  to  the 
collected  wisdom  of  his  race.  The  farms  around  his  workshop, 
the  property  of  others,  present  to  his  view  a  landscape  which  is 
his,  and  to  him  belongs  every  airy  nothing  to  which  poet  ever 
gave  habitation  or  name.  The  sages  of  the  most  remote  past 
obey  his  call  as  counsellors  and  friends ;  and  in  the  company 
of  prophet  and  apostle  he  may  approach  the  presence  of  the 
Most  High.  The  value  of  such  a  gift  is  inestimable.  Wisdom 
and  justice  would  make  it  the  certain  heritage  of  every  child 
born  in  the  commonwealth. 

*  *  *  * 

"  The  spirit  of  commerce  is  essentially  selfish.  Yoyages  are 
projected  f3r  profit.  The  merchant,  whose  liberal  gifts  surprise 
the  world,  chaffers  in  his  bargains.     Not  for  man  is  a  family 


HON,   WILLIAM   D.   KELLET.  499 

ot*  br  thren,  therefore,  are  the  blessing  of  this  age.  They  are 
the  gifts  of  a  common  Father,  but  thej  come  not,  like  light  and 
dew,  insensibly  to  all.  They  mark  the  achievements  of  our  race, 
and  manifest  the  master-spirit  of  the  age,  but  hitherto  they 
have  been  felt  but  slightly  by  the  masses  of  mankind.  Wealth 
increases ;  but  its  aggregation  into  few  hands  takes  place  with 
ever-growing  rapidity.  The  comforts  of  life  abound ;  but  when 
the  markets  of  the  world  are  glutted,  hunger  is  in  the  home  of 
the  artisan.  Over-production  causes  the  legitimate  effects  of 
famine.  The  ingenuity  of  political  economists  is  vainly  taxed 
for  tlie  means  of  preventing  the  accumulation  of  surplus  mate- 
rial and  fabrics.  And  while  warehouse  and  granary  groan 
with  repletion,  heartless  theory  points  to  the  laboring  popula- 
tion reduced  to  want  and  pauperism,  and  with  dogmatic  empha- 
sis, inquires  if  the  increase  of  population  cannot  be  legally 
restrained  ?  The  state  of  the  market  shows  that  there  are  more 
men  than  commerce  requires,  and  a  just  system  of  economy 
would  adapt  the  supply  to  the  demand  ! 

*  *  •»  * 

"Ancient  philosophy  did  not  recognize  utility  as  an  aim.  It 
contemned,  as  mechanical  and  degrading,  the  discovery  or  in- 
vention that  improved  man's  physical  condition.  Socrates 
invented  no  steam-engine  or  spinning-jenny.  The  soul  was  his 
constant  study.  Eegardless  of  his  own  estate,  he  cared  not  for 
the  material  comfort  of  others.  Indifferent  to  the  world  him- 
self, he  sought  to  raise  his  disciples  above  it.  A  disputatious 
idler  and  a  scoffer  at  utility,  he  fashioned  Plato  and  swayed  the 
world  for  centuries.  Our  philosophy  comes  from  Bacon.  It 
only  deals  with  the  wants  of  man  and  uses  of  nature.  The 
body  is  the  object  of  its  solicitude.  Earth  is  the  field  of  its 
hopes.  Time  bounds  its  horizon.  Fruit,  material  fruit — the 
multiplication  of  the  means  of  temporal  enjoyment — was  the 
end  Lord  Bacon  had  in  view,  when,  denouncing  the  schools,  he 
gave  his  theories  to  the  world.  Time  and  experience  havo 
vindicated  his  methods.  But  have  they  not  also  shown,  that 
a  system  which  offers  no  sanction  to  virtue  and  no  restraints 
to  vice,  whose  only  instruments  are  the  senses,  and  whose  only 


500  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

subject  is  material  law,  may  impart  to  a  world  the  vices  which 
made  the  wisest  also  the  meanest  of  mankind." 

In  August,  1856,  Judge  Kellej  was  nominated,  while  absent 
from  home,  as  the  Republican  candidate  for  Congress  from  the 
fourth  Congressional  district  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  not 
elected ;  for  the  Republican  idea  had  made  at  that  day  but 
feeble  impression  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  party  was  without 
means  or  organization.  During  that  canvass  he  made  his  first 
great  Republican  address  on  Slavery  in  the  Territories^  in  Spring 
Garden  Hall,  Philadelphia.  Motives  of  delicacy  prompted  him 
to  resign  his  judicial  office  immediately  after  the  election,  and 
lie  returned,  after  a  term  of  nine  years  aad  nine  months  on  the 
bench,  to  the  private  practice  of  his  profession.  In  October 
1860  he  was  elected  on  the  Repablican  ticket  to  the  seat  in 
Congress  to  which  he  has  been  9Ay  .  times  since  returned  by 
his  constituents.  On  his  return  from  the  special  session  of 
Congress  which  convened  on  July  -ith  1861,  he  participated  as 
counsel  for  the  Government,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  pirates  of 
the  rebel  privateer,  "  Jeff  Davis,"  and  made  a  brilliant  closing 
argument  in  that  great  State  trial. 

In  Congress  he  has  spoken  at  length  upon  every  national 
topic ;  and,  in  most  instances,  he  has  borne  the  standard  of  his 
party,  and  planted  it  far  in  advance,  holding  it  with  firm  and 
steady  hand,  until  his  friends  occupied  the  position. 

As  early  as  January  7th,  1862,  he  detected  the  fatal  errors 
of  the  military  policy  of  McClellan,  and  warned  the  country  of 
the  incompetency  of  that  ofiicer,  m  an  impromptu  reply  to  the 
speech  of  Vallandigham,  on  the  Trent  case.  On  the  16th  of 
January,  1865,  he  vindicated,  in  an  elaborate  speech,  the  justice 
and  necessity  of  impartial  suffrage  as  a  fundamental  condition 
of  the  restoration  of  Republican  Governments  in  the  rebel 
States.     On  the  22d  of  June,  1865,  in  an  address  on  "  the  Safe- 


HOlf.   WILLIAM    D.    KELLEY.  501 

guards  of  Personal  Liberty,"  at  Concert  Hall,  Philadelphia,  he 
criticised  the  policy  of  reconstruction  foreshadowed  by  Presi 
dent  Johnson  in  his  North  Carolina  proclamation,  and  indicated 
a  plan  of  action,  in  respect  to  the  rebel  States,  which  has  been 
Bince  substantially  embodied  in  the  reconstruction  acts  of 
Congress.  In  his  speech  on  "  Protection  to  American  Labor," 
delivered  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  on  the  31st  of 
January,  1866,  he  indicated  a  financial  policy,  in  reference  to  the 
payment  of  the  public  debt,  which  Congress  has  fully  adopted 
in  the  repeal  of  the  cotton  tax,  and  the  modification  of  the 
duties  on  manufactured  products.  In  connection  with  these 
remarkable  speeches,  may  be  mentioned  his  speech  of  the  27th 
of  February,  1866,  on  "the  Constitutional  Regulation  of  Suf- 
frage." Two  of  Judge  Kelley's  speeches  in  Congress — that  of 
January  16th,  1865,  on  Suffrage,  and  that  of  January  31st, 
1866,  on  Labor — have  had  more  extensive  circulation  than  the 
speeches  of  any  other  American  statesman.  More  than  half  a 
million  copies  of  each  have  been  printed  and  distributed. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  XXXIXth  Congress,  Judge  Kelley 
introduced  the  bill,  which  was  afterwards  passed  with  certain 
modifications,  to  secure  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  colored 
population  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

On  the  evening  of  the  22d  of  February,  1868,  he  spoke  in 
favor  of  the  impeachment  of  tlie  President,  and  more  recently 
participated  in  the  debate  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on 
the  resolution  of  Mr.  Broomall,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  prohibit 
hereditary  exclusion  from  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  defended 
the  position  taken  by  him  in  his  more  extended  speech,  two 
years  before,  cm  the  Constitutional  Regulation  of  Suffrage. 

We  have  not  space  even  to  mention  the  numerous  speeches 
and  addresses  of  Judge  Kelley  iu  and  out  of  Congress.  He 
has  addressed  his  fellow  citizens  from  the  lakes  to  the  gulf. 


602  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

In  the  spring  of  1867,  be  visited  the  Soatbern  States,  and  in  a 
series  of  addresses  at  New  Orleans,  Montgomery,  and  otber 
cities,  spoke  earnest  and  eloquent  words  of  bope  and  encourage- 
ment to  the  people  of  the  South.  The  noble  wisdom  and 
tender  humanity  which  pervade  these  speeches,  stamp  them  as 
ihe  production  of  a  statesman  and  philanthropist.  They  were 
words  of  friendly  counsel,  which  the  people  of  the  South  would 
do  well  to  heed. 

A  comprehensive,  national  character,  and  a  generous,  in- 
tense, all-embracing  humanity,  have  always  characterized 
Judge  Kelley's  political  opinions.  He  saw,  in  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  conclusive  evidence  that  the  Democratic 
party  bad  become  sectional,-  and  be  left  it.  He  found  that 
Democracy,  which  once  bad  meant  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
equality,  justice,  advancement,  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest 
number,  had  come  to  mean  proscription  of  opinion,  aristocracy, 
tyranny,  disorder,  slavery ;  and  he  abandoned  it. 

lie  is  therefore  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  National  Eepublican 
party.  The  sincerity  and  earnestness  of  bis  convictions  would 
always  gain  for  him  the  attention  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, if  it  were  not  commanded  by  the  striking  and  en- 
gaging peculiarities  of  bis  eloquence.  He  appears  with  equal 
advantage  in  impromptu  reply,  and  in  elaborately  prepared 
address.  His  vehement  declamation,  delivered  in  tones  of  voice 
marvellously  rich  and  powerful,  thrills,  on  occasions,  the 
members  upon  the  floor,  and  the  listeners  in  the  galleries ;  as 
when,  on  the  memorable  night  of  the  22d  of  February,  he 
exclaimed: — 

"  Sir,  the  bloody  and  untilled  fields  of  the  ten  unreconstructed 
States,  the  unsheeted  ghosts  of  the  two  thousand  murdered 
negroes  in  Texas,  cry,  if  the  dead  ever  invoke  vengeance,  for 
the  punishment  of  Andrew  Johnson." 


HON.   WILLIAM   D.   KELLEY.  503 

Judge  Kelley  is  certainly  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  public  men 
whom  Philadelphia  has  sent  to  the  national  councils.  She  has 
too  few  of  such  men — men  of  progressive  ideas,  commanding 
talents,  and  national  fame:  and  when  one  has  served  her,  as 
Judge  Kelley  has,  through  twelve  years  of  eventful  history,  it 
becomes  her  duty,  as  a  just  community,  to  cherish  and  honor  him. 

There  are  men  who  though  generally  just  and  fair  in  their 
intercourse  with  their  fellows,  yet  under  the  pressure  of  partisan 
dictation,  or  to  gain  some  paltry  end,  will  be  guilty  of  participa- 
tion in  acts  of  the  grossest  injustice,  defending  themselves  by 
the  Jesuit  maxim:  "  The  end  justifies  the  means."  With  this 
class  William  D.  Kelley  has  no  affinities.  In  political  action,  as 
everywhere  else,  he  is  the  soul  of  honor,  and  he  would  scorn  to 
do  an  act  of  injustice  to  a  political  opponent  as  much  as  to  his 
dearest  personal  friend.  An  instance  of  this  occurred  just  before 
the  close  of  the  session  of  Congress  in  June,  1872.  The  leaders 
of  Judge  Kelley's  own  party  were  endeavoring  to  put  through  a 
bill  received  from  the  Senate,  which  was  intensely  offensive  to 
the  opposition,  by  the  party  whip  and  spur,  and  were  even 
ready  to  risk  the  calling  of  an  extra  session  of  Congress  in  order 
to  accomplish  it.  The  opposition  were  resisting  by  every  con- 
stitutional means,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  a  modification  from  a 
Committee  of  Conference  which  should  render  it  less  objection- 
able. Judge  Kelley,  seeing  the  unfairness  of  the  course  pursued 
by  the  party  leaders,  boldly  threw  himself  into  the  breach,  de- 
manded and  obtained  an  extension  of  time  and  a  new  reference, 
which  led  to  the  desired  modification  of  the  bill.  Few  men  have 
the  moral  courage  to  do  such  a  thing  in  defiance  of  party  rule. 
Only  a  strong  man  could  have  done  it  successfully ;  but  we  be- 
lieve there  was  no  man  of  either  party  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives who  did  not  in  his  heart  of  hearts  honor  Judge  Kelley 
for  his  daring  and  manliness,  while  very  few  would  have  the 
moral  courage  to  follow  his  example  in  such  an  emergency. 


HENRY  LAURENS  DAWES,  LL.  D., 

REPRESENTATIVE    IN  CONGRESS   FROM    MASSACHUSETTS. 


D||  N  Western  Massacliusetts,  "the  Switzerland  of  America," 
)1I  there  is  a  small  town  perched  upon  the  summit  and 
^  slopes  of  some  of  the  higher  hills  which  constitute  the 
outlying  spurs  of  the  Green  Mountain  range.  It  is 
called  Cummington,  a  bleak,  barren  region,  where  the  deep 
snows  settle  in  the  later  autumn,  and  last  till  May,  so  deep,  that 
some  years  ago,  the  member  of  the  State  Legislature  from  that 
town  could  only  reach  Boston  by  travelling  forty  miles  on 
snow-shoes,  and  drawing  his  trunk  on  a  hand-sled.  It  is  pleas- 
ant after  its  fashion  in  the  summer  time,  but  the  summer  is 
short,  and  altogether  it  is  one  of  those  towns  from  which  the 
stranger  would  expect  very  little.  Yet  this  little  mountain 
town  has  raised  much  more  than  an  average  crop  of  men.  Some 
of  the  most  illustrious  names  in  our  history  and  literature  were 
born  there :  clergymen,  poets,  philosophers  and  statesmen,  all 
acknowledge  this  mountain  hamlet  as  their  birth-place.  In 
one  of  its  farm-houses,  Henry  Laurens  Dawes  was  born, 
October  30th,  1816,  and  on  its  sterile  and  ungenerous  soil  the 
labor  of  his  boyhood  and  early  youth  was  bestowed.  But  the 
boy  had  his  ambition.  He  desired  above  all  things  to  obtain  an 
education,  and  though  like  most  farmer  boys  he  had  a  hard 
struggle  to  attain  it,  yet  he  accomplished  his  purpose,  acquiring 

sufficient  preparatory  training  to  enable  him  to  enter  Yale  Col- 
504 


HENRY   LAURENS   DAWES,   LL.D.  505 

lege  in  1885,  whence  he  graduated  with  a  creditable  standing  in 
1839.  After  his  graduation,  he  went  to  Greenfield,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  editing  at  the 
same  time  the  Greenfield  Gazette.  In  1842,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  removed  to  North  Adams,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
settled  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  but  while  seeking  busi- 
ness busied  himself  with  the  editorship  of  the  North  Adams 
Transcript.  Mr.  Dawes  makes  no  pretension  to  genius,  he  is  not 
a  man  who  divines  all  knowledge  by  intuitions,  without  study 
or  research  ;  but  he  is  an  industrious,  painstaking  worker,  of 
sound,  clear  mind,  a  good  deal  of  tact,  and  a  faculty  of  insight 
into  apparently  intricate  matters,  which  is  worth  much  more 
than  genius.  These  traits  of  character  were  ere  long  perceived 
by  the  enterprising,  intelligent  people  of  North  Adams,  and  the 
young  lawyer  was  after  awhile  compelled  to  relinquish  the 
Transcript  into  other  hands  by  the  pressure  of  his  legal  business. 
In  1848,  and  again  in  18-19  and  1852,  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
Legislature;  in  1850  he  was  a  State  Senator;  in  1853  he  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention.  In  all  these 
positions  he  was  so  able,  clear-headed  and  industrious,  that  his 
constituents  were  fully  satisfied  with  him,  and  would  have  been 
glad  to  have  retained  him  longer  in  the  legislature.  But  in 
1853  he  was  appointed  District  Attorney  for  the  Western  Dis- 
trict of  the  State,  and  removed  to  Pittsfield,  the  county  seat. 
Here  he  soon  had  a  circle  of  warm  friends,  and  continued  to  be 
fully  occupied  .with  his  professional  duties  till  1857,  when  hav- 
ing been  elected  the  previous  autumn  to  Congress  from  the 
tenth  or  western  district  of  Massachusetts,  he  took  his  seat  in 
that  body.  lie  has  been  continued  in  that  place  of  honor  by 
his  constituents  to  the  present  time,  a  period  of  sixteen  years. 
In  congress  he  has  proved  one  of  the  most  useful  membei*^  of 
that  body;  never  domineering,  never  neglectful  of  his  duties, 


506  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

but  alwcays  punctual,  prompt  and  painstaking  ,  whatever  work  is 
assigned  to  him  will  be  always  well  done.  He  was  for  several 
terms  chairman  of  the  important  Committee  on  Elections,  and  in 
the  XLIId  Congress  was  made  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Ways  and  Means,  which  gives  him  the  virtual  leadership  of  the 
House.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Philadelphia  "Loyalists" 
Convention  of  1866. 

Mr.  Dawes  is  thoroughly  committed  to  the  Eepublican  party 
and  its  measures,  but  he  is  not  a  bitter  partisan,  and  retains  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  all  parties  in  the  House.  At  home,  he 
has  the  reputation  of  being  an  estimable  citizen  in  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life,  and  is  greatly  honored  by  the  very  intelligent  con- 
Etituency  he  has  served  so  long. 


BENJAMIN   GRATZ   BROWN, 

GOVERNOR   OF    MISSOURI. 


)  ifl  0  one  of  the  western  States,  certainly  no  western  or  south- 
western  slave  State,  has  reared  so  many  men  of  eminent 
ability  in  our  national  affairs  as  Kentucky,  Whether 
this  pre-eminence  is  clue  to  her  genial  climate,  her  fertile 
soil,  her  bold  and  beautiful  scenery,  or  to  the  stock  from  which  her 
sons  have  come,  is  a  legitimate  subject  of  inquiry ;  but  the  fact 
remains  that  among  her  people,  even  those  without  much  edu- 
cation, there  is  an  intelligence  and  thoughtfulness  in  regard  to 
public  affairs  which  is  not  found  to  anything  like  the  same  ex- 
tent in  other  States.  They  may  be  in  error,  a  majority  of  them 
were  grievously  so  during  the  late  war,  but  you  will  hardly  find 
a  Kentuckian  so  ignorant  or  stupid  that  he  has  not  made  out,  to 
his  own  satisfaction  at  least,  the  reasons  which  justify  his  political 
action.  The  educated  class  in  the  State,  whatever  tlieir  political 
views,  are  among  the  best  specimens  of  the  thoroughbred  gentle- 
man in  our  country.  Highly  intelligent,  and  holding  clear  and 
decided  views  on  all  State  and  national  questions,  they  are  frank, 
courteous,  and  manly,  somewhat  impetuous,  as  is  natural  from 
their  Virginian  ancestry  and  their  early  training ;  but  they  are 
men  to  be  loved  and  trusted. 

It  is  from  one  of  the  best  families  of  Kentucky  that  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch  is  sprung.  The  lion.  John  Brown,  his  grand- 
father, was  born   in  Rockbridge,  Va.,  in   1757;    was  chosen  a 

Eepresentative  in  Congress  from  a  western  district  of  Virginia, 

507 


508  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

and  remained  in  that  capacity  from  1789  to  1793,  being  tbe  co- 
temporary  and  esteemed  friend  of  the  founders  of  the  Republic. 
He  subsequently  removed  to  Kentucky,  and  settled  at  Frankfort. 
Here  his  abilities  and  honesty  were  soon  appreciated,  and  when 
Kentucky  was  admitted  into  the  Union  he  was  one  of  her  first 
senators,  and  during  the  first  session  of  the  Ylllth  Congress  was 
President  p9-o  tern,  of  the  Senate.  He  was  a  warm  supporter  and 
life-long  personal  friend  of  President  Jefferson,  lie  died  at 
Frankfort,  Kentucky,  in  1837,  at  the  venerable  age  of  80  years. 
His  son,  Judge  Mason  Brown  (father  of  Governor  Brown),  was 
eminent  as  a  jurist,  and  an  upright,  enlightened  magistrate.  He 
was  for  some  3'ears  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
Kentucky.  Governor  Brown's  ancestry  on  the  maternal  side 
was  no  less  distinguisljed.  His  mother's  father,  the  Hon.  Jesse 
Bledsoe,  was  a  distinguished  advocate  and  jurist  of  Kentucky, 
and  represented  that  State  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  a  Professor  of  Law  in  the  University  of  Transylvania, 
and  Chief- Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Kentucky. 

Benjamin  Gratz  Brown  was  born  in  Lexington,  Ky.,  May 
28,  1826.  From  early  childhood  he  was  a  fearless,  manly  boy, 
not  simply  physically  brave — that  were  but  an  ordinary  merit 
in  his  native  State — but  possessing  that  higher  moral  courage 
which  made  him  ready  to  take  the  unpopular  side,  if  he  believed 
it  to  be  right.  He  was  carefully  and  very  thoroughly  educated 
under  his  father's  eye,  taking  the  full  course  of  the  Transylvania 
University  at  Lexington,  and  then  entering  Yule  College  as  a 
junior,  from  whence  he  graduated  with  high  honors  in  1847. 
He  had  already  developed  an  antagonism  to  slavery  at  the  time 
of  his  graduation,  and  though  he  pursued  his  legal  studies  in 
his  father's  office,  and  was  very  thoroughly  qualified  to  enter 
the  profession  in  Kentucky,  he  preferred  to  fight  his  way  to 
reputation  as  a  reformer  in  a  wider  field.     He  removed  to  St, 


BENJAMIN    GRATZ    BROWN.  509 

Louis  in  1849,  and  there  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. His  extensive  legal  attainments,  the  carefulness  with  which 
he  prepared  his  cases,  and  his  eloquence  as  a  pleader,  remarka- 
ble even  in  that  city  of  orators,  soon  won  him  business  and  fame. 
In  1852,  before  he  had  completed  his  twenty-sixth  year,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  being  repeatedly 
re-elected,  served  for  six  years  in  that  body.  But  he  was  eager 
to  enter  more  fully  upon  the  work  to  which  he  felt  that  he  was 
called,  and  in  185-1,  having  assisted  in  founding  the  Missouri 
Democrat  (which  lias  been  for  the  past  fifteen  or  sixteen  years 
the  leading  political  paper  of  St.  Louis  on  the  side  of  Keform 
and  Progress),  he  became  its  editor-in-chief  the  same  year,  and 
continued  in  that  position  until  1859.  From  its  start  it  advo- 
cated the  Free  Soil  doctrines,  and  attacked  slavery  with  an  ear- 
nestness and  vehemence  which  insured  opposition.  When  the 
Republican  party  was  organized,  Mr.  Brown  and  his  journal  ral- 
lied under  its  flag.  He  labored  zealously  for  Frdmont  in  the 
campaign  of  1856,  and  in  1857  delivered  a  speech  in  the  legisla- 
ture, which,  by  its  logical  power,  its  caustic  denunciation,  and 
its  vehement  eloquence,  roused  tlie  people  against  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  slave  power,  and  led  the  way  to  the  fiercest  political 
contests. 

The  moral  courage  and  daring  which  had  been  so  conspicuous 
a  trait  in  his  boy-life  came  into  fuller  and  grander  play  as  he 
and  his  Free  Soil  associates  preached  the  gospel  of  freedom 
throughout  Missouri,  in  the  legislature,  in  the  Missoiiri  Democrat, 
in  public  assemblies,  and  everywhere,  with  the  earnestness  and 
eloquence  which  resulted  from  thorough  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  what  they  were  urging.  They  were  for  years  in  the  minority, 
out  they  were  undismayed.  Failing  to  subdue  the  fearless  jour- 
nalist by  political  proscription,  he  was  often  menaced  with  per- 
sonal V'olence.     On  one  occasion  he  received  a  shot  throuijh 


510  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

the  knee,  and  was  so  severely  injured  that  he  still  suffers  from 
the  effects  of  the  wound.  The  zeal,  energy,  and  sagacity  of  the 
emancipationists  triumphed ;  and  in  1857  the  Free  Soil  candi- 
date for  governor  came  within  less  than  500  votes  of  being 
elected.  But  this  partial  defeat  was  compensated  by  the  strong 
Union  sentiment  which  was  engrafted  in  the  community,  and 
which  rendered  Missouri  proof  against  the  blandishments  of 
secession. 

Thenceforward,  for  four  years,  the  side  of  freedom  gained 
strength  daily;  and  men,  who  had  at  first  scouted  the  idea  of 
Missouri  being  a  free  State,  came  cautiously  to  look  with  more 
favor  on  it,  and  by  tens  and  twenties  joined  the  ranks  of  the 
Free  Soilers.  And  this  result  was  owing  more  largely  to  the 
incessant  and  patriotic  labors  of  B.  Gratz  Brown  than  to  those 
of  any  other  man,  or,  indeed,  of  all  the  rest  put  together. 

Then  came  the  war.  St.  Louis  was  at  first  like  a  house  divi- 
ded against  itself  The  secession  element  was  strong  and  bold, 
and  there  was  for  a  time  great  danger  of  the  city's  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  rebels,  who  held  control  at  first  of  the  State 
o-overnment.  But  the  coura2"e  of  the  little  band  of  heroes  never 
faltered.  As  wise  in  counsel  as  he  was  patriotic  in  sentiment 
and  daring  in  action,  Mr.  Brown,  in  consultation  with  the  gallant 
Lyon,  advised  the  attack  and  capture  of  Camp  Jackson,  near  St, 
Louis,  in  May,  1861,  and  that  measure,  successfully  carried  out, 
relieved  St.  Louis  from  its  danger,  and  secured  the  State  to  the 
Union.  On  that  occasion  Mr.  Brown  commanded  a  regiment  of 
militia,  and  aided  materially  in  accomplishing  the  desired  result. 
Soon  after  he  raised  a  regiment  of  volunteers,  and  in  the  field,  as 
elsewhere,  gave  evidence  of  soldierly  ability,  and  of  his  earnest 
devotion  to  the  national  cause.  He  was  commissioned  brigadier- 
general,  and  was  foremost  in  organizing  those  movements  which 
resulted  in  the  ordinance  of  freedom  in  1861.     In  1863  he  waa 


BENJAMIN  GRATZ    BROWN.  511 

elected  United  States  Senator  from  Missouri  to  fill  out  an  unex- 
pired term  of  four  years,  and  taking  his  seat  in  tbe  Senate, 
although  one  of  its  youngest  members,  he  soon  won  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  an  able  legislator  and  statesman.  He  was  placed 
on  the  Committees  on  Military  Affairs,  Pacific  Eailroad,  Indian 
Affairs,  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  and  Printing,  and  was 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Contingent  Expenses  of  the 
Senate,  and  for  a  part  of  his  term  of  the  Committee  on  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds.  It  is  very  seldom  the  case  that  a  young 
senator  on  first  entering  the  Senate  is  placed  on  so  many  and  so 
important  committees. 

Retiring  from  the  Senate,  Governor  Brown  engaged  in  private 
and  professional  pursuits,  currying  into  daily  life  the  love  of  har- 
mony, tolerance,  and  equal  rights  he  had  so  long  advocated  in 
public.  He  was  not,  however,  allowed  to  remain  in  retirement. 
Obeying  the  call  of  thousands  of  his  fellow-citizens,  he  accepted 
the  nomination  for  Governor  of  Missouri,  and  sustained  by  coa- 
lition of  the  Republicans  and  Democrats,  he  was  triumphantly 
elected.  The  vote  was  as  follows:  For  Brown,  10-1,286;  for 
McClurg,  62,369;  majority,  41,917.  The  great  issue  in  this 
campaign  was  the  removal  of  the  prescriptive  measures  which 
the  angry  passions  incident  to  the  war  had  placed  in  force. 

The  events  of  Governor  Brown's  administration  are  too  recent 
to  need  recapitulation.  His  powerful  influence  has  been  exerted 
in  repairing  the  social  disturbances  as  well  as  the  material  rava- 
ges of  the  war;  in  resisting  every  tendency  toward  repudiation, 
however  plausible  may  be  the  pretext,  and  in  securing  the  just 
rights  of  all  citizens.  Under  his  wise  management  of  her  public 
affairs,  Missouri  is  rapidly  developing  her  immense  resources, 
and  bids  fair  to  rival  Pennsylvania  as  the  great  iron-producing 
region  of  the  Union. 

Governor  Brown  has  been  among  the  number  of  those  who, 


512  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

thougli  identified  with  the  Eepublican  party  by  long  years  of 
active  and  earnest  labor  in  its  service  in  the  days  when  it  cost 
to  be  a  Eepublican,  have  yet  felt  dissatisfied  with  the  present 
administration  and  its  management.  So  pronounced  was  this 
dissatisfaction  in  Missouri  that  the  leading  men  of  what  was 
known  as  the  bolting  party  (that  which  elected  him  as  governor), 
with  Governor  Brown  at  their  head,  called  a  convention  at  Cin- 
cinnati on  the  3d,  4:th,  and  5th  of  May,  1872,  to  -  consider  the 
situation,  and  perhaps  propose  candidates  for  the  Presidency. 

Governor  Brown  is  undoubtedly  ambitious,  but  we  think  none 
of  those  who  know  him  would  accuse  him  of  having  been 
prompted  by  a  spirit  of  self-seeking  in  this  movement.  Whether 
the  views  they  entertained  were  correct  or  not,  they  were  un- 
questionably patriotic  and  in  earnest  in  putting  them  before  the 
people.  The  result  of  that  convention  was  one  unquestionably 
unexpected  by  Governor  Brown,  though  so  far  as  the  Vice-Presi- 
dency is  concerned,  it  is  doubtful  if  a  more  judicious  selection 
could  have  been  made.  His  letter  of  acceptance  of  the  nomina- 
tion, addressed  to  the  committee  who  had  notified  him  of  the 
action  of  the  convention,  is  manly,  honorable,  and  straight-for- 
ward ;  and  its  manly  and  generous  tone  must  meet  the  approval 
of  many  who  are  not  disposed  to  sustain  the  ticket.     It  is  as 

follows : 

Executive  Office,  Jefferson  City.  May  31,  1872. 

Gentlemen  :  Your  letter  advising  me  of  the  action  of  the  Liberal  Repub- 
lican Convention  at  Cincinnati  has  been  received,  airtd  I  return  througVi 
you  my  acknowledgment  of  the  honor  which  has  been  conferred  upon  me. 

I  accept  the  nomination  as  a  candidate  for  Vice-President,  and  indorse 
most  cordially  the  resolutions  setting  forth  the  principles  on  which  the 
appeal  is  made  to  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States. 

A  century  is  closing  upon  our  experience  of  republican  government,  and 
while  that  lapse  of  time  has  witnessed  a  great  expansion  of  our  free  insti- 
tutions, yet  it  has  not  been  without  illustration  also  of  grave  dangers  to  the 
stability  of  such  a  system.  Of  those  successfully  encountered  it  is  needless 
to  speak  ;  of  those  which  remain  to  menace  us  the  most  threatening  are 
provided  against,  as  I  firmly  believe,  in  the  wise  and  pacific  measures  pro- 
posed by  your  platform.     It  has  come  to  be  the  practice  of  those  elevated 


BENJAMIN   GRATZ    BROWN.  513 

to  positions  of  national  authority  to  regard  public  service  biat  as  a  means 
to  retain  power.  This  results  in  substituting  a  mere  party  organization 
for  the  Government  itself,  which  constitutes  a  control  amenable  to  no  lawg 
or  moralities,  impairs  all  independent  thought,  enables  a  few  to  rule  the 
many,  and  makes  personal  allegiance  the  road  to  favor.  It  requires  little 
forecast  to  perceive  that  this  will  wreck  all  liberties  unless  there  be  inter- 
posed a  timely. reform  of  the  administration  from  its  highest  to  its  lowest 
station,  whicli  shall  not  only  prevent  abuses,  but  likewise  take  away  the 
incentive  to  their  practice.  Wearied  with  the  contentions  that  are  carried 
on  in  avarice  of  spoils,  the  country  demands  repose,  and  resents  the  efforts 
of  officials  to  dragoon  it  again  into  partisan  hostilities.  And  I  will  zeal- 
ously sustain  any  movement  promising  a  sure  deliverance  from  the  perils 
which  have  been  connected  with  the  war.  li  is  safe  to  say  that  only  those 
are  now  to  be  feared  which  come  of  an  abuse  of  victory  into  permanent 
estrangement.  The  Union  is  fortified  by  more  power  than  ever  before,  and 
it  remains  as  an  imperative  duty  to  cement  our  nationality  by  a  perfect 
reconciliation  at  the  North.  A  wide-spread  sympathy  is  aroused  in  belialf 
of  those  States  of  the  South  wliich,  long  after  the  termination  of  resistance 
to  the  rightful  Federal  authority,  are  still  plundered  under  the  guise  of  loy. 
alty  and  tyrannized  over  in  the  name  of  freedom.  Along  with  this  feeling 
is  present,  too,  the  recognition  that  in  complete  amnesty  alone  can  be 
found  hope  of  any  return  to  constitutional  government  as  of  old,  or  any 
development  of  a  more  enduring  unity  and  broader  national  life  in  the  fu- 
ture. Amnesty,  however,  to  be  efficacious  must  be  real,  not  nominal;, 
genuine,  not  evasive.  It  must  carry  along  witii  it  equal  rights  as  well  as 
equal  protection  to  all ;  for  the  removal  of  disabilities  as  to  some,  with  en- 
forcement as  to  others,  leaves  room  for  suspicion  that  pardon  is  measured 
by  poliiical  gain.  Especially  will  such  professed  clemency  be  futile  in  the' 
presence  of  the  renewed  attempt  at  prolonging  a  svispension  of  the  habeas 
corpus  and  the  persistent  result  to  martial  rather  than  civil  law  in  uphold- 
ing those  agencies  used  to  alienate  the  races  wliose  concord  is  most  essen- 
tial, and  in  preparing  another  elaborate  campaign  on  a  basis  of  dead  issues 
and  arbitrary  intervention.  All  will  rightly  credit  such  conduct  as  but  a 
mockery  of  amnesty,  and  demand  an  administration  wliich  can  give  a  better 
warrant  of  honesty  in  the  great  work  of  reconstruction  and  reform.  In  the 
array  of  sectional  interests  a  Republic  so  widespread  as  ours  is  never  en- 
tirely safe  from  serious  conflicts.  These  become  still  more  dangerous  when 
complicated  with  questions  of  taxation,  where  unequal  burdens  are  believed 
to  be  imposed  on  one  part  at  the  expense  of  another  part.  It  was  a  bold 
as  well  as  admirable  policy  in  the  interest  of  present  as  well  as  future  tran- 
quillity to  withdraw  the  decision  of  industrial  and  revenue  matters  from  the 
virtual  arbitration  of  an  electoral  college,  chosen  with  the  single  animating 
purpose  of  party  ascendancy,  and  refer  tliem  for  a  more  direct  popular  ex- 
pression to  each  Congress  district,  instead  of  being  muzzled  by  some  eva- 
sive declaration.  'J'he  country  is  thereby  invited  to  its  frankest  utter- 
33 


514  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

ance,  and  sections  which  would  revolt  at  being  denied  a  voice  ont  of 
deference  to  other  sections  would  be  content  to  acquiesce  in  a  general 
judgment  "honestly  elicited."  If  local  government  be,  as  it  undoubtedly 
is,  the  most  vital  principle  of  our  institutions,  much  advance  will  be  made 
toward  establishing  it  by  enabling  the  people  to  pass  upon  questions  so 
nearly  affecting  their  well-being  dispassionately  through  their  local  repre- 
sentation. The  precipitance  which  would  force  a  controlling  declaration 
on  tax  or  tariff  through  a  presidential  candidacy  is  only  a  disguised  form 
of  centralization,  invoking  hazardous  reaches  of  Executive  influence.  A 
conclusion  will  be  much  more  impartially  determined,  and  with  less  dis- 
turbance to  trade  and  finance,  by  appealing  to  the  most  truthful  and  diver- 
sified local  expression.  Industrial  issues  can  be  thus  likewise  emancipated 
from  the  power  of  great  monopolies,  and  each  representative  held  to  fidelity 
toward  his  immediate  constituents.  These  are  the  most  prominent  fea- 
tures of  that  general  concert  of  action  which  proposes  to  replace  the  present 
administration  by  one  more  in  sympathy  with  the  aspirations  of  the  masses 
of  our  countrymen.  Of  course  such  concert  cannot  be  obtained  by  thrust- 
ing every  minor  or  past  difference  into  the  foreground,  and  it  will  be  for 
the  people  therefore  to  determine  whether  these  objects  are  of  such  mag- 
nitude in  the  present  urgency  as  to  justify  them  in  deferring  their  adjust- 
ments until  the  country  shall  be  first  restored  to  a  free  suffrage,  uninflu- 
enced by  ofiicial  dictation ;  and  ours  becomes,  in  fact,  a  free  Republic, 
released  from  apprehensions  of  a  central  domination. 

Without  referring  in  detail  to  the  various  other  propositions  embraced 
in  the  resolutions  of  the  Convention,  but  seeing  how  they  all  contem- 
plate a  restoration  of  power  to  the  people,  peace  to  the  nation,  purity 
to  the  Government,  that  they  condemn  the  attempt  to  establish  an  ascen- 
dancy of  military  over  civil  rule,  and  affirm  with  explicitness  the  mainte- 
nance of  equal  freedom  to  all  citizens,  irrespective  of  race,  previous  condi- 
tion, or  pending  disabilities,  I  have  only  to  pledge  again  my  sincere 
co-operation.     I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

B.  Gratz  Browx. 

Ill  person  Governor  Brown  is  of  rather  less  than  middle 
height,  slightly  built,  and  of  nervous  organization.  His  most 
noticeable  characteristics,  next  to  vigor  and  directness  of  thought, 
are  boldness  and  decision  in  action,  an  iron  will,  indomitable 
perseverance  and  courage,  and  great  capacity  for  long,  continued 
labor.  His  speeches  and  public  papers  evince  scholarship,  and 
are  always  pointed  and  forcible.  His  manner  in  debate  is  very 
impressive  and  attractive,  and  he  ranks  among  the  foremost  of 
western  orators. 


JOHN   McAULEY   PALMER. 


^e;!  OHN  McAULEY  PALMER  was  born  on  Eagle  Creek, 
Scott  county,  Kentucky,  September  13th,  1817.  His 
ancestors  were  of  English  origin,  and  among  the  early 
settlers  of  Virginia  ;  his  father,  Louis  D.  Palmer,  having 
emigrated  from  Northumberland  county  in  that  State  to  Ken- 
tucky, in  1793,  where  he  met  and  married  Ann  Tutt,  also  a 
native  of  the  "Old  Dominion,"  in  1813.  A  soldier  in  the  war 
of  1812,  and  naturally  fond  of  adventure,  he  removed  soon  after 
the  birth  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  to  Christian  county,  in 
that  part  of  Kentucky  then  known  as  the  Green  River  country, 
and  purchasing  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  new  and  cheap 
lands  of  that  section,  commenced  a  pioneer  farmer's  life.  The 
son's  educational  advantages  under  these  circumstances  were 
but  meagre,  and  such  as  are  common  to  pioneer  settlements  ; 
yet,  such  as  they  were,  they  were  eagerly  improved.  The 
father  also  being  an  ardent  Jackson-man,  and  himself  unusually 
fond  of  reading,  managed  to  secure  all  the  books,  newspapers, 
and  political  documents  of  the  day  which  he  could  get  hold  of, 
especially  those  of  his  own  party,  and  these,  we  may  well  be- 
lieve, were  eagerly  read  and  re-read  by  his  children.  He  was 
also,  even  at  that  early  day,  an  earnest  opponent  of  human 
slavery,  and  both  he  and  his  family  were  recognized  among  their 
neighbors   as  "Anti-slavery  Democrats."     It   was,  indeed,  the 

uncontrollable  promptings  of  his  convictions  upon  the  subject 

515 


516  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

of  slavery  that  determined  him  in  1831,  to  seek;  q  home  for  liis 
young  family  in  the  free  States,  which  he  did  by  settling  near 
Alton,  in  Madison  county,  Illinois.  The  death  of  his  wife,  in 
1833,  virtually  broke  up  the  family,  and  in  the  spring  of  1834, 
John  Palmer  and  his  brother  Elihu  (since  a  noted  minister)  en- 
tered "  Alton  College,"  so  called,  an  institution  which  had  then 
recently  been  opened  on  the  "  manual  labor  system,"  by  the 
friends  of  education  in  Central  Illinois.  The  boys  had  more 
energy  than  means,  and  in  the  fall  of  1835,  John  graduated  for 
want  of  money  for  the  further  prosecution  of  his  studies.  Then 
he  went  to  work  for  a  cooper;  next  he  tried  his  hand  at  ped- 
dling; and  in  the  fall  of  1838,  he  taught  two  quarters  in  a  dis- 
trict school,  acceptably  to  his  patrons,  but  all  the  time  cram- 
ming himself  with  all  the  miscellaneous  information  he  could 
glean  from  novels,  history,  poetry,  sermons,  and  newspapers. 
In  the  summer  of  that  year,  he  first  met  with  the  late  Senator 
Douglas,  then  just  entering  upon  his  brilliant  political  career; 
admired  him,  voted  for  him,  and  from  him,  perhaps,  imbibed  his 
first  political  aspirations.  The  next  winter  he  secured  a  copy 
of  "  Blackstone's  Commentaries,"  and  after  some  desultory  law 
reading,  he  entered  in  the  spring  of  1839  the  office  of  John  L. 
Greathouse,  an  eminent  lawyer  at  Carlinville,  Illinois,  whither 
he  walked  from  St.  Louis,  his  entire  capital  on  arriving  there 
being  fourteen  dollars  in  cash,  a  well-worn  suit  of  clothes,  and 
an  extra  shirt.  His  brother,  who  was  now  married  and  settled 
there,  offered  him  a  home  under  his  own  roof,  and  he  com- 
menced his  regular  law  studies.  Less  than  two  months  after,  at 
the  request  of  the  leading  Democratic  county  politicians,  he  be- 
came a  candidate  for  the  office  of  county  clerk,  but  was  defeated. 
In  December,  1839,  having  managed  to  buy  cloth  enough  for  a 
suit  of  clothes,  and  finding  a  tailor  who  had  faith  enough  in 
him,  to  make  them  up  on  credit,  he  borrowed  five  dollars  from 


JOHN  m'auley  palmer.  517 

his  preceptor,  and  set  out  for  Springfield  and  obtained  from  the 
Supreme  Court  a  license  to  practise  as  attorney  and  counsellor- 
at-law,  in  which  matter  he  was  much  indebted  to  the  kindly 
interest  of  Mr.  Douglas,  as  was  ever  remembered  with  gratitude 
during  the  long  and  bitter  contests  of  later  years.  With  his 
license,  and  a  meagre  stock  of  law  books,  given  him  by  an  elder 
and  more  fortunate  professional  brother,  he  commenced  practice, 
with  such  poor  results,  however,  at  first,  that  he  was  only  re- 
strained from  seeking  a  new  home  by  the  want  of  sufficient 
money  with  which  to  pay  his  debts.  He  participated  actively 
as  a  Democrat  in  the  Presidential  canvass  of  1840;  in  1841,  his 
profession  yielded  him  a  support ;  in  1842,  he  was  married ;  in 

1843,  he  was  elected  County  Probate  Judge;  and  during  the  years 

1844,  '45  and  '46,  his  practice  became  quite  extensive.  In  1847, 
he  was  chosen  to  the  State  Constitutional  Convention,  and  in 
1848,  was  re-elected  to  the  office  of  Probate  Judge,  from  which 
he  had  been  ousted  at  the  election  of  the  previous  year  by  a 
political  combination.  In  1849,  he  was  elected  County  Judge, 
which  office  he  held  until  his  election,  in  1851,  to  the  State 
Senate,  of  which  he  was  member  during  the  sessions  of  1852,  '53 
and  '54.  In  this  latter  year  he  opposed  the  Nebraska  bill,  and 
being  re-elected  to  the  Senate  for  1855,  warmly  supported  the 
free-school  system,  the  Homestead  Law,  and  many  other  important 
measures.  In  1856,  he  was  President  of  the  Illinois  Republi- 
can State  Convention,  at  Bloomington  ;  and  was  also  a  delegate 
to  the  National  Republican  Convention  at  Philadelphia,  where 
he  advocated  Judge  McLean's  nomination,  although  personally 
favoring  Fremont,  whom  he  actively  supported  in  the  ensuing 
canvass ;  first,  however,  resigning  his  seat  in  the  State  Senate, 
on  the  ground  that  the  change  in  his  political  connections  since 
his  election  to  that  body,  rendered  such  a  course  necessary  both 
as  a  matter  of  self-respect,  and  of  proper  regard  for  the  true 


518  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

principles  of  a  representative  government.  In  1857  and  '58, 
State  politics  occupied  his  attention,  and  in  '59  he  v/as  de- 
feated in  an  election  for  Congress.  In  I860;  he  was  elector  at 
large  on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  cast  his  vote  for  Lincoln ; 
and  in  February,  1861,  was  a  delegate  to  the  Peace  Congress  at 
Washington,  where  he  advocated  the  call  of  a  national  conven- 
tion for  the  settlement  of  the  impending  difficulties,  and  when 
that  proposition  failed,  he  favored  the  means  of  compromise 
finally  recommended  bj  that  conference. 

But  when  the  war-cloud  finally  burst,  the  martial  spirit  in- 
herited from  his  father,  the  old  soldier  of  1812,  united  with  his 
own  inherent  convictions  on  the  great  questions  at  issue,  irre- 
pressibly  urged  him  to  action.  On  the  second  call  for  troops, 
in  1861,  he  came  forward  as  a  common  citizen  and  soldier;  but 
his  fellow-citizens  knew  bis  worth,  and  he  was  unanimously 
chosen  Colonel  of  the  14th  Illinois  volunteers,  first  seeing 
active  service  under  his  old  friend.  Gen.  Fremont,  in  the  expe- 
dition to  Springfield,  Missouri,  in  which  State  he  served  during 
the  remainder  of  the  year,  a  portion  of  the  time  in  command  of 
a  brigade  under  Gens.  Hunter  and  Pope.  On  the  20th  of 
December  he  was  commissioned  brigadier-general,  and  during 
February  and  March,  1862,  was  with  Pope  in  the  expedition 
against  New  Madrid  and  Island  No.  10,  on  the  Mississippi ;  at 
the  former  place,  in  command  of  a  division,  with  which  he  firmly 
held  Riddle's  Point  against  a  strong  rebel  force,  who  constantly 
strove,  both  by  land  and  water,  to  force  their  way  to  Tipton- 
ville,  which  was  the  only  approach  to  Island  No.  10.  After  the 
capture  of  Island  No.  10,  Pope's  army  proceeded  down  the  river 
to  Fort  Pillow,  which  it  commenced  to  bombard,  but  were  soon 
ordered  to  join  Gen.  Ilalleck,  then  before  Corinth.  En  route  to 
that  place,  at  Hamburgh,  on  the  Tennessee,  Pope  reorganized 
his   force,   and  Gen.  Palmer   was   placed    in   command  of  the 


JOHN  m'auley  palmer.  519 

first  brigade,  first  division  of  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi,  com- 
posed of  four  Illinois  regiments  and  a  battery,  which  he  han- 
dled with  admirable  coolness  and  skill  at  the  battle  of  Farming- 
ton,  May  8th,  in  which,  under  extremely  critical  circumstances, 
he  engaged  and  finally,  after  a  closely-contested  fight  of  several 
hours'  duration,  escaped  from  three  rebel  divisions.  On  the 
20th  of  the  same  month,  he  was  suddenly  taken  ill  from  expo- 
sure, and  was  ordered  home  by  Gen.  Pope,  remaining  on  the 
sick  list  until  about  August  1st,  when  he  engaged  in  the  efforts 
then  making  to  raise  troops,  and  by  authority  of  the  Governor 
organized  the  122d  Illinois  regiment  at  Carlinville.  On  the 
1st  September,  he  again  took  the  field  at  Tuscumbia,  Alabama, 
where  he  was  assigned  by  Gen.  Eosecrans  to  the  command  of 
the  first  division  of  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi,  and  ordered  to 
join  Gen.  Buell.  This  he  accomplished  by  a  forced  march 
made  in  good  order,  though  sorely  harassed  at  every  step  by 
rebels,  and  surrounded  by  a  malignant  and  treacherous  popu- 
lace, and  reached  Buell  at  Nashville  in  safety.  During  the  sub- 
sequent so-called  blockade  of  Nashville  by  the  rebel  forces, 
Gen.  Palmer's  and  Negley's  forces  were  the  occupants  and  de- 
fenders of  that  city,  the  key-point  of  middle  Tennessee,  and 
right  loyally  they  held  it  too.  At  the  fierce  fight  of  Stone's 
river.  Gen.  Palmer  held  a  conspicuous  part,  his  division  occupy- 
ing important  and  perilous  positions,  and  it  was  in  distinct 
recognition  of  his  gallantry  and  skill  on  this  occasion  that  the 
general  was  nominated  and  confirmed,  November  29th,  1862, 
as  Major-General  of  Volunteers.  He  was  at  Chickamauga,  in 
1863,  and  in  Sherman's  Atlantic  campaign,  he  commanded  the 
fourteenth  corps,  and  he  fought  with  distinction  at  Kenesaw,  and 
Peach  Tree  Creek.  He  also  took  part  in  the  "march  to  the  sea." 
Early  in  the  year  1865,  he  was,  at  his  own  request,  relieved 
from  the  command  of  his  corps,  and  assigned  to  that  of  the 


620  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

Federal  forces  in  Kentucky,  which  State  was  in  a  restless  and 
critical  condition ;  some  20,000  Kentuckians  being  then  in  the 
rebel  army;  a  large  proportion  of  the  remaining  population  sym- 
pathizing openly  with  the  Confederate  cause;  the  Unionists 
chafing  under  the  loss  of  their  slaves,  and  the  slaves  them- 
selves, neither  free  nor  enslaved,  being  as  disturbed  as  the  whites. 
Palmer  was  eminently  the  man  for  the  occasion.  Brave,  col- 
lected, shrewd  and  prompt;  deliberate  in  judgment,  but  strong 
in  action  ;  affable  and  patient  with  all,  but  never  influenced  by 
designing  men ;  he  possessed  also  statesmanlike  qualities  of  a 
high  order,  well  adapted  to  grapple  with  and  settle  the  various 
important  questions  which  were  constantly  arising  in  this  new 
■field — questions,  indeed,  which  eventually  tended  to  the  shaping 
of  the  national  policy.  His  first  and  celebrated  military  order 
of  April  29th,  1865,  struck  the  key-note  of  loyal  administration 
by  its  sharp  enunciation  of  the  fact,  that  the  people  of  that  de- 
partment were  to  be  protected  "without  regard  to  color  or  birth- 
place," and  "  whether  free  or  not,"  from  cruelty  and  oppression 
"in  all  cases ;"  that,  when  the  state  of  the  country  and  the  organi- 
zation and  rules  of  the  civil  courts  should  permit  them  to  en- 
force justice,  offenders  against  the  local  laws  would  be  handed 
over  to  them  for  trial ;  but  that,  at  the  same  time,  no  person  or 
court  would  be  allowed  to  deprive  of  liberty,  or  harass  or  perse- 
cute any  one  who  had  taken  the  amnesty  oath,  who  had  deserted 
the  rebel  cause,  or  was  engaged  in  serving,  aiding  or  abetting 
the  United  States  Government.  This  raised  a  tremendous  howl 
of  malignancy  against  what  was  termed  "  military  coercion  of  the 
courts;  "  but  it  was  followed.  May  10th, by  another  order  assert- 
ino-  the  freedom  of  the  wives  and  children  of  all  colored  men 
enlisted  in  the  Federal  army,  and  loyal  Kentuckians  were  en- 
couraged to  help  enlistments.  Slavery  was  melting  visibly 
away ;  the  State  Legislature  refused  to  approve  the  Constitu- 


JOHN  m'auley  palmer.  621 

tional  Amendment  abolishing  it,  and  so  the  contest  went  on. 
At  a  Union  Convention  held  in  Frankfort,  the  general  delivered 
an  address  pledging  the  whole  power  of  Government  for  the  pro- 
tection of  Union  men  and  free  speech,  yet  boldly  claiming  that 
"  the  time  has  passed  in  this  country,  when  free  speech  is  to  be  un- 
derstood as  the  liberty  of  mouthing  treason."  The  military  super- 
vision which  he  instituted  of  the  annual  election  evoked  numer- 
ous complaints  of  military  interference  with  the  rights  of  fran- 
chise, and  indictments  of  army  officers  were  common.  Gen. 
Palmer,  however,  held  his  ground  unflinchingly,  and  when  the 
colored  people  sought  employment  jn  other  parts  of  Kentucky 
or  neighboring  States,  he  assisted  them  by  setting  aside,  by  a 
military  order,  the  statutes  forbidding  their  transportation  on 
lines  of  transit,  and  suspended  the  execution  of  other  barbarous 
statutes,  informing  the  municipal  authorities  that  they  neither 
could  nor  should  molest  persons  made  free  by  authority  of  the 
Federal  Government.  The  President  was  entreated  to  remove 
him  from  command  of  the  district,  but  declined;  then,  a  suit 
was  commenced  against  him  in  the  name  of  the  State,  for  aiding 
slaves  to  escape,  but  was  dismissed  by  Judge  Johnston,  on  the 
ground  that  the  requisite  number  of  States  had  adopted  the 
Constitutional  Amendment  before  the  date  of  the  indictment, 
and  that,  therefore,  all  criminal  and  penal  acts  of  the  legislature 
of  Kentucky  were  of  no  avail.  Thus,  a  Kentucky  court  gave 
the  first  practical  judicial  recognition  of  the  Fourteenth  Consti- 
tutional Amendment.  A  general  order  followed,  proclaiming 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  advising  colored  people  to  claim 
their  rights  on  public  routes  of  travel,  by  legal  means.  On  the 
12th  October  martial  law  in  Kentucky  was  abrogated  by  Presi- 
dent Johnson's  proclamation,  and  on  the  fifteenth,  Gen.  Palmer 
telegraphed  to  the  War  Department  that  "  department  passes  " 
were  dishonored  at  the  ferries  on  the  Ohio,  colored  people  being 


522  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

refused  passage  across,  saying  that  he"  had  ordered  the  Post 
Commandant  at  Louisville,  to  compel  the  honoring  of  said 
passes,  a  step  rendered  necessary  by  "  the  alarm  amongst  the 
negroes  upon  the  report  of  the  withdrawal  of  martial  law."  The 
Secretary  of  War,  however,  took  the  view  that,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, the  Government  could  not  properly  interfere.  Re- 
newed efforts  for  his  removal,  instigated  by  treasonable  influences, 
were  strongly  pressed,  but  due  examination  of  the  application 
and  circumstances  attending,  convinced  the  administration  that 
there  was  no  cause  for  removal,  and  again  treason  and  half  con- 
firmed loyalty  was  baffled  in  its  revenge.  When  at  last  even 
Kentucky  disloyalists  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
power  of  the  United  States  Government,  and  the  sentiment  of 
the  whole  nation  were  too  strong  for  them,  and  yielded,  though 
still  with  a  bad  grace,  to  the  legislation  based  on  the  fourt(?enth 
and  fifteenth  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  Gen.  Palmer  re- 
signed his  commission  and  returned  to  Illinois.  He  was  active 
in  the  Presidential  canvass  of  1868,  and  did  much  to  aid  in  car- 
rying the  State  for  the  Republican  ticket.  In  the  autumn  of 
1868,  he  was  elected  as  Governor  Oglesby's  successor  as  Gover- 
nor of  Illinois,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1870  was  re-elected,  his 
second  term  of  service  closing  January,  1873.  His  administra- 
tion has  been  characterized  by  great  ability,  and  what,  perhaps, 
was  hardly  to  be  expected  from  one  who  had  been  so  long  a 
national  soldier,  a  careful  and  almost  jealous  guardianship  of 
Stale  rights.  After  the  great  fire  in  Chicago,  October  8th,  1871, 
there  was  some  conflict  of  authority  unintentional,  doubtless,  on 
the  part  of  Lieut.-Gen.  Sheridan,  yet  involving  some  important 
questions  of  State  and  national  jurisdiction,  and  resulting  in  the 
death  of  a  prominent  citizen  of  Chicago,  at  the  hands  of  one  of  the 
volunteer  sentinels  commissioned  by  the  lieut.-general,  after  the 
State  authorities  had  taken  command  of  the  city.     Gen.  Palmer 


'  JOHN  m'auley  palmer.  523 

protested  with  great  spirit  against  this  invasion  of  the  rights  ol 
the  State,  and  though  at  first  the  sympathies  of  Chicago  were  with 
Gen.  Sheridan,  and  Governor  Palmer's  course  was  denounced, 
it  was  not  long  before  the  people  generally  saw  that  he  was 
right.  Governor  Palmer  has  recently  declined  a  renomination, 
and  taking  strong  ground  in  favor  of  the  Cincinnati  nomina- 
tions, is  engaged  in  canvassing  the  State  for  them,  and  for  the 
election  of  the  Liberal  Republican  and  Democratic  candidate 
for  governor,  Mr.  Koerner. 

A  straightforward,  honest,  earnest  man,  a  gallant  soldier,  an 
excellent  administrative  officer,  and  of  such  unflinching  in- 
tegrity, that  it  would  be  easier  to  turn  the  sun  from  his  course, 
than  him  from  what  he  believed  to  be  right,  Governor  Palmer 
deserves  well  of  his  countrymen. 


JOHN   THOMPSON    HOFFMAN, 

GOVERNOR   OF    NEW   YORK. 


!lGrH  social  position,  and  the  influence  of  a  line  of  ances- 
try who  have  for  generations  been  of  repute  in  the 
State,  are  no  hindrance  to  a  young  man  in  attaining 
e)  place  and  power,  if  they  are  not  used  offensively  ;  but 
in  our  really  democratic  government  and  national  life,  they 
weigh  very  little  unless  there  is  combined  with  them  sterling 
ability  and  merit.  Indeed,  as  between  two  boys  of  very  nearly 
equal  talent  and  intellectual  power,  but  one  of  old  and  honored 
famil}',  and  the  other  a  son  of  the  soil,  whose  early  surroundings 
were  of  the  humblest  and  poorest,  the  poor  boy  would  have,  on 
the  whole,  a  slight  advantage  in  the  political  prizes  of  the  State 
and  nation. 

It  is  not  then  because  Governor  Hoffman  can  claim  in  his 
ancestry  the  honored  names  of  Livingston,  Kissam,  Thompson, 
and  IloflVnan,  that  he  has  attained  his  conspicuous  position,  but 
because  there  was  in  him  that  real  capacity  for  the  public  ser- 
vice without  which  his  ancestry  would  have  been  of  no  avail. 

John  Thompson  Hoffman  was  born  in  the  village  of  Sing 

Sing,  New  York,  January  10th,  1828.     As  we  have  said,  he 

comes  of  a  good  stock.     His  father,  an  eminent  physician,  was 

descended  from  the  Livingstons,  the  Kissams,  and  the  Hofifmans 

of  our  earlier  history.     The  son,  after  early  training  under  Rev. 

Dr.   Prime,   a  well  known  scholar  and  journalist,  entered  the 

524 


JOHN   THOMPSON   HOFFMAN.  525 

junior  class  of  Union  College  in  1843,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and 
though  compelled  bj  impaired  health  to  suspend  his  studies  for 
a  year,  graduated  with  high  honors  in  1846.  He  had  already  a 
good  reputation  as  a  public  speaker,  and  his  graduating  oration 
on  "Sectional  Prejudices,"  both  in  its  matter  and  delivery  was 
so  exceptionally  excellent  as  to  attract  attention.  After  leaving 
college  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  General 
Aaron  Ward  and  Judge  Albert  Lock  wood  at  Sins:  Sins:. 

Mr.  Hojffman's  political  career  began  before  he  had  attained 
his  majority.  In  the  year  1848,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  was 
made  a  member  of  the  State  Central  Committee  bv  the  Conven- 
tion of  Hunker  or  Hard  Shell  Democracy.  That  year  will  lono- 
be  remembered  in  the  political  history  of  the  State,  Martin 
Van  Buren's  candidacy  for  the  office  of  President  divided  the 
Democracy  of  New  York,  causing  strong  and  bitter  feelincr  be- 
tween his  supporters  and  those  of  the  regular  nominee,  Lewis 
Cass,  and  resulting  in  the  overwhelming  triumph  of  the  Whio- 
party,  Taylor  carried  the  State  by  a  plurality  of  about  100,000, 
and  Hamilton  Fish  was  elected  Governor.  This,  in  face  of  the 
fact. that  the  aggregate  Democratic  vote  exceeded  that  of  the 
Whigs,  Pending  the  canvass,  the  State  Committee,  of  which 
Mr,  Hoffman  was  a  member,  put  forth  "  An  Address  to  the  Peo- 
ple," in  which  the  claims  of  their  principles  and  of  their  candi- 
dates were  advocated  with  marked  ability.  Although  not  then 
a  voter,  Mr.  Ploflfman  took  the  stump  for  Cass  and  did  effijctive 
service  as  a  speaker. 

On  the  10th  of  January,  1849 — his  twenty-first  birthday — Mr. 
Hoffman  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

In  October  of  that  year  he  removed  to  New  York,  where, 
soon  after,  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  the  late  Samuel  M. 
Woodruff  and  Judge  William  H.  Leonard,  the  firm  name  being 
Woodruff,  Leonard  &  Hoffman. 


526  MEN   OF    OUR  DAT. 

For  ten  years  Mr.  Hofifman  devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  and  so  marked  was  his  success,  that  in  1859  he 
was  urged  by  some  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  New  York 
for  the  position  of  United  States  District  Attorney.  But  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  objected  to  him  on  account  of  his  youth,  and 
Judge  Roosevelt  was  appointed  to  the  place. 

In  the  year  1860,  Mr.  Hoffman  was  nominated  for  Recorder 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  after  a  spirited  canvass  was  elected 
to  that  position.  In  this  instance  the  office  sought  the  man,  Mr. 
Hoffman  had  declined  to  have  his  name  presented  as  a  candi- 
date, but  he  was,  nevertheless,  nominated  by  the  Tammany  Con- 
vention, on  the  second  formal  ballot.  At  the  election  which  fol- 
lowed he  was  the  only  candidate  on  the  Tammany  ticket  who, 
without  the  support  of  other  organizations,  was  chosen  by  the 
people.  He  entered  upon  his  duties  as  Recorder  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1861.  None  so  young  as  he  had  ever  before  filled  the 
place,  but  none  made  a  deeper  and  more  favorable  impression 
on  the  public  mind. 

His  strict  ideas  of  justice,,  tempered  by  the  influence  of 
a  merciful  heart;  his  ample  legal  acquirements,  laid  on  the  foun- 
dation of  rare  good  sense  ;  his  unhalting  firmness  in  the  dis- 
charge of  duty,  and  his  unquestioned  integrity,  combined  to 
render  him  a  good  and  upright  judge.  So  firm  a  hold  did  he 
gain  on  the  popular  heart  during  his  first  term  as  Recorder,  in 
the  course  of  which  he  tried  and  sentenced  many  of  those  en- 
gaged in  the  famous  riots  of  July,  1863,  that  the  Republican 
Judiciary  Convention  named  him,  on  the  12th  of  October,  1863, 
for  reelection.  Tammany  and  Mozart  also  united  on  him ;  the 
newspaper  press,  regardless  of  party  affiliations,  indorsed  him, 
and  the  people  rallied  enthusiastically  to  his  support  and  forgot 
party  prejudice  in  their  admiration  for  an  honest  man.  Under 
such  flattering  circumstances  he  was  again  chosen  Recorder  by 
an  almost  unanimous  vote  of  the  electors. 


JOHN   THOMPSON   HOFFMAN.  527 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1865,  John  T.  Hoflfman  was  nomi- 
nated for  the  office  of  Major  of  the  city  of  New  York  by  the 
Tammany  Hall  Democratic  Convention,  An  effort  to  unite  the 
then  hostile  factions  of  Tammany  and  Mozart  had  proved  un- 
successful. Fernando  Wood  was  nominated  by  the  last  named 
organization,  but  declined  in  favor  of  John  Hecker,  the  candi- 
date of  the  Citizens  Association,  who  was  warmly  advocated  by 
the  New  York  Tribune,  C.  Godfrey  Gunther,  the  then  incum- 
bent, had  previously  announced  himself  as  a  candidate  for  re- 
election, and  his  claims  were  indorsed  by  what  was  known  as 
the  McKeon  Democracy.  The  Eepublicans  saw  in  the  division 
of  the  Democratic  vote  a  chance  for  their  own  success.  They 
nominated  Marshall  O.  Koberts,.  and  under  his  leadership  they 
inaugurated  a  most  vigorous  campaign.  At  the  election  which 
followed  81,702  votes  were  cast,  of  which  Judge  Hoffman  re- 
ceived 32,820;  Mr,  Roberts,  31,657;  Mr,  Hecker,  10,390,  and 
Mayor  Gunther,  6,758. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1866,  Mr.  Hoffman  entered  upon  his 
duties  as  Mayor.  His  administration  of  this  office,  joined  with 
his  previous  reputation  as  Recorder,  rendered  his  name  familiar 
throughout  the  State,  and  during  the  summer  he  was  fre- 
quently mentioned  as  the  probable  candidate  of  the  Democracy 
for  Governor. 

Tlie  Convention  which  assembled  at  Albany  on  the  11th  of 
September  was  found  to  be  composed  of  elements  which  had 
never  before  mingled  in  State  politics.  Old  line  Democrats 
joined  hands  with  Conservative  republicans  in  an  effort  to  unite 
all  the  varied  forces  which  opposed  the  Radical  course  of  Con- 
gress. One-third  of  the  delegates  had  acted  up  to  that  time  with 
the  Republican  party.  These  were  they  who  favored  Andrew 
Johnson's  policy  and  indorsed  the  Philadelphia  Convention. 
They  scarcely  had  faith,  however,  in  the  President's  ability  to 


528  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

carry  his  ideas  to  a  scccessful  issue.     Thej  were  inclined  to  sing 
with  Tennyson — 

"  'Tis  true  we  have  a  faithful  ally, 

But  only  the  Devil  knows  what  he  means." 

The  Democrats  had  just  lost  their  great  organizing  leader, 
Dean  Kichmond,  and  these  accessions  to  their  ranks,  at  such  a 
juncture,  did  not  promise  to  promote  harmony.  But  the  Con- 
vention at  Albany  was  a  very  large  one,  and  it  soon  became  ap- 
parent that  if  a  proper  nomination  were  made  for  Governor,  a 
vigorous  campaign  could  be  prosecuted  with  a  reasonable  hope 
of  success.  Under  these  circumstances  an  unusual  number  of 
distinguished  names  were  canvassed  by  the  delegates.  Sanford 
E.  Church,  Henry  C.  Murphy,  William  F.  Allen,  John  T.  Hoff- 
man, Henry  W.  Slocuni,  John  A.  Dix,  William  Kelly,  and 
others  were  mentioned  as  available  candidates.  After  a  fair 
interchange  of  opinion  it  was  found  that  a  majority  of  the  Con- 
vention favored  the  choice  of  Mayor  Hoffman,  and  on  the  second 
day  he  was  nominated  by  acclamation,  amidst  the  wildest  enthu- 
siasm. The  Convention  then  adjourned  until  afternoon,  and  on 
reassembling  it  was  addressed  by  the  candidate  himself,  who 
had  been  telegraphed  for.  His  manly  speech  on  that  occasion 
made  a  lasting  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  delegates,  many 
of  whom  saw  him  then  for  the  first  time. 

After  his  nomination.  Mayor  Hoffman  canvassed  the  State, 
speaking  at  Elmira,  Syracuse,  Eochester,  Buffalo,  Binghamton, 
Brooklyn,  New  York  and  other  places.  His  earnest  and  con- 
vincing arguments  were  well  received  by  the  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple everywhere.  But  frequent  defeat  had  engendered  amongst 
the  Democrats  a  want  of  confidence  in  their  ability  to  succeed, 
and  the  ill-timed  tour  of  Johnson  and  Grant  united  the  columns 
of  the  opposition,  while  it  injured  rather  than  benefited  the 
party  whose  interests  the   President  sought  to  subserve.     But, 


JOHN    THOMPSON    HOFFMAN.  529 

notwithstanding  these  disheartening  circumstances,  the  election 
returns  showed  a  decided  gain  in  the  Democratic  vote  over  the 
preceding  year.  After  the  election  the  Democrats  awoke  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  fact  that,  had  they  made  more  effort,  they 
might  have  overcome  the  small  majority  by  which  Governor 
.Fenton  was  reelected.  The  lesson  came  late,  but  it  was  not 
altogether  lost,  as  the  next  year's  contest  showed. 

In  the  fall  of  1867  Mayor  Hoffman  was  chosen  temporary 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Convention,  and  delivered  a 
speech  on  that  occasion  in  which  he  enumerated  with  admirable 
succinctness  the  governing  principles  of  the  party,  and  defined 
its  attitude  in  relation  to  current  questions  with  remarkable 
clearness. 

Mr.  Hoffman's  first  term  as  Mayor  was  then  drawing  to  a  close.. 
The  popularity  which  he  had  gained  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  made  his  renomination  a  foregone  conclusion.  The  Tam- 
many Convention  met  on  the  Saturday  evening  succeeding  the- 
State  election.  A  great  concourse  of  people  gathered  around 
the  hall,  and  when  it  was  announced  that  Hoffman  had  been' 
nominated  without  a  dissenting  voice,  the  air  rang  with  the- 
cheers  of  the  satisfied  populace.  In  this  canvass  Mayor  Hoff- 
man had  two  competitors,  Fernando  Wood,  Mozart  Democrat, 
and  Wm.  A.  Darling,  Republican.  The  result  of  the  election 
was  significant.  Hoffman  carried  every  ward  in  the  city.  His 
vote  was  the  largest  ever  given  to  any  candidate  in  New  York. 
His  majority  over  both  his  competitors  was  nearly  equal  to  the 
total  vote  of  either.  With  this  unmistakable  indorsement  he 
entered  upon  his  second  term  as  Mayor,  on  the  1st  of  January,, 
1868. 

His  third  annual  message  as  Mayor  contained  a  reiteration  of 

his   views  on  the  question  of  city  government ;  which  views 

were  simply  the  old  theory  of  Jefferson,  that  in  local  affairs  the 
34 


6S0  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

local  authorities  should  rule.  Simple  and  sensible  as  this  doc- 
trine appears,  its  enunciation  gained  the  Mayor  some  vigorous 
abuse  from  his  political  opponents. 

But  in  despite  of  this,  his  popularity  had  g^o^vn  so  great  that 
when  the  National  Democratic  Convention  met  at  New  York,  in 
July,  Mayor  Hoffman's  name  was  suggested  by  many  of  the 
Western  delegates  in  connection  with  the  Vice- Presidency.  But 
he  neither  sought  nor  desired  this  honor,  and  the  nomination  of 
Governor  Seymour  for  President  placed  it  out  of  the  power  of 
the  Convention  to  urge  it  upon  him. 

On  the  13th  of  August,  1868,  the  State  Committee,  together 
with  many  prominent  Democrats,  met  in  Utica,  for  consultation. 
This  meeting  developed  the  fact  that  Mayor  Hoffman  would 
again  be  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor.  The  canvass 
of  1866  had  brought  him  in  contact  with  the  people  who,  every- 
where, felt  that  he  had  earned  this  honor,  by  the  earnest  and 
effective  service  he  performed  in  that  disastrous  year. 

When  the  Convention  met,  in  September,  the  name  of  Sena- 
tor Murphy,  who  was  Mayor  Hoffman's  chief  competitor,  was 
withdrawn,  and  John  T.  Hoffman  was,  for  a  second  time,  nomi- 
nated by  acclamation,  for  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  Republicans  had  previously  placed  in  nomination  .John 
A.  Griswold,  of  Rensselaer.  He  was  heralded  as  the  builder  of 
the  first  ''  Monitor,"  and  this  service,  together  with  his  record  in 
Congress,  were  dwelt  upon  until  considerable  enthusiasm  was 
aroused  among  the  people  in  his  behalf. 

Both  the  candidates  were  young  men,  and  the  personal  quali- 
fications of  each  were  admitted  by  all ;  but  the  c^mvass  was  one 
of  peculiar  bitterness.  Victory  seemed  within  the  grasp  of 
either  party,  and  the  pendency  of  the  Presidential  campaign 
roused  partisans  to  extraordinary  efforts,  and  lent  additional  in- 
terest to  the  srubernatorial  contest.     Mavor  Hoffman  canvassed 


JOHN  THOMPSON   HOFFMAN.  531 

the  State  in  person,  and  addressed  the  electors  at  many  of  the 
principal  towns.  His  presence  inspired  confidence  among  his 
supporters,  and  his  speeches,  although  they  evoked  sharp  criti- 
cism from  Republican  sources,  cemented  the  elements  of  his 
strength. 

At  the  election,  which  occurred  on  the  2d  of  November,  1868, 
he  was  chosen  Governor  by  a  majority  of  27,946.  But  opposi- 
tion to  Governor  Hofthian  did  not  cease  with  the  closing  of  the 
polls.  The  cry  of  "  fraud  "  was  set  up  and  persisted  in  by  those 
whose  candidates  had  met  defeat.  This  cry  is  no  new  catch- 
word for  politicians  of  either  party  ;  but  the  vigor  with  which 
it  was  pressed  in  this  particular  instance  made  it  somewhat  effec- 
tive in  producing  a  feeling  of  popular  prejudice  against  Gover- 
nor Hoftman. 

How  quickly  this  feeling  was  dissipated,  after  the  Governor 
had  taken  his  seat,  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge.  His  bit- 
terest enemies  became  his  eulogists;  Republican  newspapers 
commended  his  course,  and  an  opposition  Legislature  indorsed, 
almost  without  a  dissenting  voice,  every  veto  message  which  he 
submitted  to  their  consideration. 

These  vetoes  were  numerous,  and  were  aimed  chiefly  at  the 
evil  system  of  Special  Legislation,  which  cumbers  our  statute 
books  with  innumerable  unnecessary  laws  that  seldom  prove 
beneficial  except  to  individuals  whose  personal  schemes  are  ac- 
complished at  the  cost  of  the  tax  payers. 

In  three  sessions  of  the  Legislature,  he  vetoed,  in  all,  four 
hundred  and  two  bills.  In  every  instance  when  the  Legislature 
was  in  Session,  and  had  an  opportunity,  under  the  Constitution, 
of  passing  the  bill,  notwithstanding  his  veto,  they  acquiesced  in 
his  reasons,  and  allowed  the  bill  to  die.  Part  of  this  time  his 
political  opponents  held  control  of  both  houses.  The  popular 
judgment  has  with  rare  unanimity  approved  of  all  his  nume* 


532  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

rous  vetoes,  his  political  opponents  never  venturing  to  find  fault 
with  them.  His  is  the  most  extensive  and  most  successful  exer- 
cise of  the  veto  power  in  the  history  of  the  United  States. 

In  1870,  he  was  again  elected  Governor  by  a  majority  of 
33,096,  over  Stewart  L.  Woodford.  In  July,  1871,  occurred  the 
so-called  Orange  riots.  A  procession  of  Orangemen  had  been 
arranged  in  the  city  of  New  York,  for  the  12th  of  July,  but  in 
consequence  of  threats  of  its  being  seriously  disturbed  by  a 
combination  of  disorderly  men,  the  city  authorities  had  forbid- 
den the  procession.  Their  order  to  this  eft'ect  was  made  public 
on  the  morning  of  the  eleventh.  Governor  Hoffman  left  the 
capital  of  the  State,  and  came  to  the  city  in  person,  induced  the 
eity  authorities  to  revoke  their  order,  issued  a  proclamation 
promising  the  Orangemen  protection,  took  personal  command  of 
the  militia,  being  at  his  headquarters  fifteen  hours  that  day,  and 
gave  the  procession  such  efficient  protection  that  it  marched  over 
its  proposed  route  uninjured,  although  in  the  riot  created  by  its 
assailants,  four  soldiers  of  the  escorting  force  were  killed.  Of 
the  mob,  about  thirty  were  killed  and  many  wounded. 

Governor  Hoffman  has  introduced  a  valuable  reform  in  the 
administration  of  the  pardoning  power.  During  every  year  of 
his  administration  he  has  submitted  to  the  Legislature  (and 
thus  to  the  public)  a  report  of  the  pardons  granted,  and  of  the 
reasons  which,  in  each  case,  governed  his  action.  The  law  re- 
quires no  such  reports  ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that  his  wholesome 
example  will  have  to  be  followed  by  his  successors. 

During  the  excitement  of  1871  and  1872,  over  the  frauds  of 
Tweed,  Connolly,  Sweeny,  and  others,  in  New  York  city,  zeal- 
ous efforts  were  made  by  Governor  Hoffman's  enemies  to  impli- 
cate him  in  these  frauds ;  but  when  subjected  to  searching  in- 
vestigation, these  efforts  failed  to  sustain  a  single  charge  made 
agaihst  him.     That  he  had  been  politically  affiliated  with  these 


JOHN  THOMPSON  HOFFMAN.  538' 

men  was  unquestionable ;  that  some  of  them,  before  he  knew 
of  their  wrong-doing,  had  been  his  personal  friends,  was  also 
true ;  but  as  those  who  knew  the  Governor  best  were  satis- 
fied beforehand,  not  an  iota  of  evidence  could  be  produced 
to  show  that  his  hands  had  ever  been  soiled  with  bribes,  or 
that  he  had  ever  participated  in  the  slightest  degree  in'  these 
gigantic  frauds. 

In  personal  appearance  Governor  Hoffman  is  above  the  me- 
dium height,  and  has  a  strong,  well-knit  frame.  His  weight  is 
180  pounds.  His  hair  is  dark  and  abundant;  his  forehead  is 
broad  and  particularly  developed  in  what  phrenologists  call 
perceptive  faculties ;  his  eyes  are  of  a  deep  brown  color ;  his 
nose  is  large;  his  chin  prominent,  and  his  mouth  shapely  and 
indicative  of  firmness.  He  wears  a  full  moustache  but  no 
beard. 

As  a  speaker  he  is  plain,  clear  and  straightforward  in  manner 
as  well  as  in  matter.  His  voice  is  full,  round  and  sonorous, 
but  he  practises  kw  of  the  tricks  of  the  orator,  and  seldom 
embellishes  his  speeches  with  rhetorical  flourishes. 

As  a  writer  he  is  argumentative  rather  than  imaginative,  and 
his  style  is  too  analytical  to  be  florid.  He  possesses,  however, 
a  certain  happy  power  of  poetical  description,  which  he  displayed 
to  good  advantage  in  the  Agricultural  Address  delivered  by 
him  before  the  Ulster  County  Fair,  September,  1869. 

In  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  man,  Governor  Hoffman  is 
frank  and  genial;  he  has  nothing  of  the  demagogue's  overbear- 
ing pomposity,  and  he  is  free  from  the  sycophant's  affectation 
of  cordiality.  He  makes  no  promises  which  he  does  not  keep ; 
he  holds  out  no  false  hopes  to  applicants  for  his  favor;  he  is 
loyal  to  truth,  and  he  cherishes  his  personal  integrity  as  some- 
thing more  valuable  than  any  political  power. 


EDWIN   D.   MORGAN, 

LATE    UNITED    STATES    SENATOR    FROM   NEW   YORK, 


IT  nE  ability  whicli  is  developed  in  an  active  business  life, 
in  great  commercial  transactions,  and  the  rapid  changes 
and  fluctuations  of  trade  and  finance,  have  proved  in 
practice  as  valuable  in  the  management  of  the  public 
affairs  of  the  State  and  nation,  as  that  which  comes  from  the 
exclusive  study  of  law.  The  accomplished  merchant,  banker, 
or  financier,  is,  indeed,  more  likely  to  take  a  plain,  common- 
sense  view  of  the  questions  of  state,  and  to  be  unembarrassed 
by  the  quibbles,  chicanery  and  superfine  distinctions  and  defi- 
nitions of  the  lawyer,  than  the  man  who  has  been  trained  in  the 
school  of  precedents,  authorities,  and  legal  hair- splitting.  To 
this  class  of  business-men,  Ex-Gov.  Morgan  belongs,  and  the 
signal  services  he  has  rendered  to  the  State  and  nation,  are  due, 
in  perhaps  equal  measures,  to  the  eminently  practical  and 
sensible  constitution  of  his  mind,  and  to  the  thoroughness  and 
carefulness  of  his  business  training, 

Edwin  Dennison  Morgan  was  born  in  Washington,  Berk- 
shire county,  Massachussetts,  February  8th,  1811.  In  early 
childhood,  he  developed  a  fondness  for  mathematics,  and  an 
aptitude  for  trade,  which  indicated  very  plainly  his  future 
vocation.  At  the  tender  age  of  eleven  years,  he  became  clerk 
to  a  grocer  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  was  so  faithful  and 

attentive  to  his  employer's  interests,  and  so  courteous  as  a  salea- 
534 


EDWIN   D.   MORGAN.  535 

man,  tbat,  in  1831,  when  lie  was  but  twenty  years  of  age,  he  was 
oftered  a  partnership  in  the  store,  which  he  accepted.  These 
nine  or  ten  years  of  boyhood  and  youth  had  not  been  confined 
merely  to  the  drudgery  of  the  grocery ;  the  hours  of  leisure  had 
been  diligently  employed  in  the  culture  of  his  mind,  and  the 
next  year  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Hart- 
ford, at  a  time  when  it  v/as  composed  of  intelligent  and  able  men. 

The  little  city  of  Hartford  did  not  long  furnish  a  sufficiently 
wide  sphere  of  action  for  the  aspiring  young  grocer ;  so,  in 
1836,  he  removed  to  New  York  city,  and  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  with  his  brother,  and  the  firm  grew  and  prospered,  till 
in  a  few  years  it  attained  a  high  rank  among  the  safest  and 
most  extensive  commercial  houses  of  the  metropolis,  its  trans- 
actions reaching  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Europe. 
In  1849,  Mr.  Morgan  was  chosen  an  alderman  of  New  York, 
and  the  same  year  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and  served  there 
for  two  terms  (four  years).  In  1855,  he  was  appointed  com- 
missioner of  emigration,  and  held  the  office  until  1858.  His 
early  political  affiliations  were  with  the  Whigs,  though  he  was 
strongly  opposed  to  slavery.  When  the  Republican  party  was 
formed,  he  gave  it  his  adhesion,  as  representing  his  views,  and 
at  the  National  Republican  Convention,  in  Pittsburgh,  in  1856, 
was  one  of  its  vice-presidents,  and  from  that  time  till  1864, 
chairman  of  the  National  Republican  Committee. 

In  1858,  Mr.  Morgan  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  as 
their  candidate  for  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
elected  by  a  handsome  majority.  His  administration  was  one 
of  the  ablest  which  the  State  had  had  for  years,  and  com- 
manded such  general  approval,  that  he  was  nominated  for  a 
second  term  without  opposition  in  his  party,  in  1860,  and 
elected  by  a  very  heavy  majority.  This  second  term  was  one 
of  immense  labor,  care,  and  responsibility  to  the  governor    He 


636  MEN    OP    OUR    DAT. 

promptly  responded  to  the  President's  call  of  April  15th,  1S61, 
and  regiment  after  regiment  went  forward  to  Washington,  and 
other  points  on  the  border,  and  among  them,  the  gallant  New 
York  seventh,  at  whose  coming  loyal  citizens  of  Washington, 
fbr  the  first  time,  felt  safe;  the  twelfth  and  seventy-first;  the  fight- 
ing sixty-ninth  (Irish) ;  and  the  stately  seventy-ninth  (Scotch) ; 
the  Brooklyn  fourteenth,  composed,  as  some  writers  said,  of 
boys  who  looked  as  if  they  ought  to  be  in  school,  but  who 
fought  with  all  the  steadiness  of  veterans ;  the  twenty-sixth,  a 
Utica  regiment  of  great  gallantry ;  and  others  of  perhaps  equal 
merit,  all  of  whom  participated  in  the  bloody  field  of  Bull  Run. 
The  militia  could  only  be  required  to  serve  out  of  the  State  for 
three  months  at  a  time,  and  Governor  Morgan  had  no  sooner 
dispatched  these  to  the  seat  of  war,  than  he  commenced  organiz- 
ing, as  rapidly  as  possible,  volunteer  regiments  to  serve  for 
three  years,  or  the  war. 

President  Lincoln  had  commissioned  him,  in  the  spring  of 
1861,  major  general  of  volunteers,  in  order  to  facilitate  his 
labors  in  raising  and  organizing  regiments.  He  held  this  rank 
till  the  close  of  his  term  of  office  as  governor,  (January,  1S63,) 
but  declined  all  compensation.  No  officer  under  his  command 
was,  however,  more  constantly  and  laboriously  engaged  in  his 
duties,  than  the  governor.  Yet  with  his  systematic  business 
habit.*!,  the  ability  acquired  by  long  practice  to  manage  and 
control  great  enterprises,  he  was  never  flurried,  but  maintained 
constantly  the  most  perfect  order,  and  quietly  performed  his 
duties,  as  they  required  his  attention. 

In  the  twenty  mouths  of  his  administration,  during  the  war, 
he  raised,  organized,  and  sent  forward  from  his  State,  two 
hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand  troops.  In  the  guberna- 
torial election  of  1862,  Governor  Morgan  was  not  a  candidate, 
having  withdrawn  from  the  canvass  to  give  place  to  the  gallant 


EDWIN   D.   MORGAN  537 

soldier,  General  James  S.  "Wads worth,  who,  however,  was  not 
elected,  the  Democracy  prevailing  by  the  popular  cry  of  "  a 
more  active  prosecution  of  the  war,"  in  electing  a  man  who  was 
wholly  opposed  to  the  war.  The  Legislature  was,  however, 
Republican,  and  at  its  session,  Governor  Morgan  was  elected 
United  States  Senator,  for  the  term  ending  March  4:th,  1869. 

His  course  in  the  Senate  was  uniformly  dignified  and  honora- 
ble to  the  State  which  he  represented.  He  seldom  spoke  ;  never 
unless  on  important  questions,  and  was  then  always  listened  to 
with  attention.  During  his  entire  Senatorial  career,  he  held  an 
important  position  on  the  Committees  on  Commerce,  Manufac- 
turing, the  Pacific  Railroad,  Military  Aftairs,  Finance,  and  Mines 
and  Mining,  and  on  all  these  great  national  interests  he  ren- 
dered material  and  permanent  service  to  the  country.  On  the 
retirement  of  Secretary  Fessenden  from  the  office  of  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury-,  President  Lincoln  oflfered  Senator  Morgan  the 
position,  but  he  declined  it,  much  to  the  r'^gret  of  the  President. 

Since  the  expiration  of  his  Senatorial  term,  Ex-Gov.  ^[organ 
has  taken  no  active  part  in  political  affairs,  but  has  been  occu- 
pied with  his  extensive  commercial  and  financial  enterprises. 
He  still  maintains  an  interest,  however,  in  the  measures  and 
progress  of  the  Republican  party. 


JOSEPH   RUSSELL   HAWLEY, 

LATE  GOVERNOR  OF  CONNECTICUT. 


I 


OSEPH  EUSSELL  HAWLEY,  journalist,  soldier  and 
politician,  was  born  October  31st,  1826,  in  Kichmond 
county.  North  Carolina,  where  his  father,  a  Congrega- 
\5  tional  minister,  and  a  native  of  New  York,  was  then 
engaged  in  home  missionary  work.  Some  years  after  he  re- 
moved to  central  New  York,  where  he  became  a  near  neighbor 
of  Gerrit  Smith,  at  Peterboro',  and  the  boy,  gaining  his  educa- 
tion at  good  Northern  schools,  entered  Hamilton  College,  at 
Clinton,  New  York,  whence  he  graduated  in  1847;  studied  law, 
and  responding  to  the  invitation  of  an  uncle,  David  Plawley,  a 
well-known  city  missionary,  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  went  to 
that  city  about  1850,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  chosen 
profession.  At  first  he  had  a  "hard  row  to  hoe;"  but  threw 
himself  "body  and  soul"  into  the  Free  Soil  movement,  and  was 
one  of  a  little  band  of  some  sixty  (among  whom  were  Dr.  John 
Braddock,  Rev.  Dr.  Patton,  now  editor  of  The  Advance,  Chicago, 
Illinois,  and  others)  "Free  Soilers,"  who,  at  every  election,  for 
years,  regularly  went  to  the  polls  with  open  ballots.  He  was 
conspicuously  active  in  State  conventions,  and  deservedly  ac- 
quired the  reputation  of  being  an  active  party  man,  and  a  forci- 
ble and  eloquent  speaker  on  all  themes  of  public  importance. 

"Meanwhile  his  law  business  had   improved,  but  his  taste  for 
538 


JOSEPH   RUSSELL   HAWLEY.  539 

political  debate  preponderated,  and  in  company  with  Mr.  Faxon, 
he  bought  out  the  Rejyuhlican  newspaper,  and  commenced  in  its 
stead   the  Hartford  Evening   Press,  of  which   he    assumed    the 
editorship,  and  gave  up  the  practice  of  law.     The  Press,  which 
was  thoroughly  Republican  in  its  principles,  was  a  decided  suc- 
cess, and  Mr.  Hawley  wielded  the  editorial  pen  with  pleasure 
and  profit  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  Rebellion  in  1861,  that 
event  which  so  suddenly  turned  the  current  of  so  many  men's 
labors  and  lives.     Upon  the  receipt  of  Governor  Buckingham's 
proclamation  to  the  people  of  Connecticut,   Hawley  and    two 
others  met  in  the  office  of  his  paper,  and  drew  up  and  signed  an 
informal   enlistment   paper,  as  volunteers  in    the  first  regiment ; 
and  at  a  public  meeting  held  the  same  evening,  presided  over  by 
the  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  list  was  filled,  and  the  company 
was  formed.     Hawley  was  made  first  lieutenant  in  Rifle  Com- 
pany A,  First  Regiment   Connecticut  Volunteers,    which    was 
mustered  into  service  April  22d,  1861,  for  three  months.     By 
the  promotion  of  the  colonel  of  the  regiment  soon  after,  Hawley 
became  captain  of  his  company,  and  displayed  much  activity  in 
the  organization  and  equipment  of  his  men,  for  whom  he  ordered 
arms  on  his  own  personal  credit,  from  the  Sharpe  Rifle  Factory. 
He  took  a  fair  share    of  fighting  in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
July  18th,  and  his  was  one  of  the  few  companies  which  did  not 
run.     The  company  being  disbanded  at  the  end  of  their  short 
term  of  service,  July  31st,  we  next  find   him  as  Lieut.-Colonel 
of  the  Sixth  Connecticut  Volunteers,  organized  August,  1861, 
for  three  years'  service ;  which  was  assigned,  upon  its  arrival  in 
Washington,  to  the  Department  of  the  South.    It  was  present  at, 
and  honorably  mentioned  in  the  official  reports  of  the  day,  in 
the  attack  on  Fort  Wallace,  November  7th,  under  Colonel  (after- 
wards General)  Terry.     During  1861,  '62,  the  sixth  was  at  Hil- 
ton Head  ;  took  part  in  the  reduction  of  Fort  Pulaski,  April  and 


540  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

March;  in  the  Battle  of  James  Island,  Jane  14tli ;  Pocataligo, 
October  22d;  and  in  the  expedition  to  Port  Royal.  Meanwhile,  by 
the  appointment  of  Col.  Terry  as  brigadier,  Lieut.-Colonel  Haw- 
ley  had  become  a  colonel.  He  had  command  of  the  sixth  during 
the  operations  at  Hilton  Head,  Morris  Island,  and  Fort  Wagner, 
in  Gilman's  campaign  against  Charleston,  in  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1863.  He  was  then  placed  in  command  at  Fernan- 
dina,  Florida,  obtaining  for  his  men,  while  there,  the  breech- 
loading  Spencer  Rifle,  to  the  merits  of  which  the  War  Depart- 
ment were  blind  until  near  the  close  of  the  war;  he  commanded 
a  brigade  detailed  to  destroy  railroads  near  the  Suwanee  river, 
and  also  at  the  battle  of  Olustee,  Florida,  February  19th,  1864. 
His  Florida  service  terminated  May  4th,  by  the  transfer  of  him- 
self and  command  to  the  army  of  the  James,  where  he  had  charge 
of  a  brigade  in  Terry's  division,  in  Butler's  attack  on  Bermuda 
Hundred.  At  Chester  Station,  Deep  Bottom,  Deep  Run,  Cha- 
pin's  Farm  near  Richmond,  New  Market  Road,  Darbyton  Road, 
Charles  City  Road,  and  other  places  where  battles  and  skir- 
mishes occurred  during  the  summer  and  fall  campaign  of  1864, 
Hawley's  command  was  more  or  less  actively  engaged.  He  was 
commissioned  September  17th,  1864,  as  Brigadier-General  of  Yol- 
uuteers ;  when,  in  November  of  that  year,  and  in  consequence  of 
threats  of  violence  at  the  polls,  made  by  the  peace  men  of  the 
North,  and  alarming  frauds  discovered,  having  for  their  object 
the  stuffing  of  ballot-boxes  in  New  York  City  with  fraudulent 
votes,  Gen.  B.  F.  Butler  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  the 
Department  of  the  East,  he  was  accompanied  by  a  division  of 
soldiers  under  Gen.  Hawley,  consisting  of  8000  Connecticut 
troops.  Hawley's  headquarters  were  on  the  small  steamer, 
Moses  Taylor,  anchored  off  the  foot  of  Twenty-third  street. 
New  York,  and  the  exposure,  fatigue  and  responsibility  of  that 
service,  stowed  away  in  close  quarters,  on  board  the  boats,  etc., 


JOSEPH   RUSSELL   HAWLET.  541 

with  lu\If  rations,  were  quite  as  severe  to  the  troops  engaged  in 
it,  as  most  of  their  experience  "at  the  front."  After  the  elec- 
tion, which,  thanks  to  their  presence,  passed  off  peaceably,  they 
returned  to  the  army  in  the  field,  and  Hawley  again  saw  fight- 
ing at  Fort  Fisher,  North  Carolina,  in  January,  1865.  Subse- 
quently, when  Gen.  Terry  was  placed  in  command  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  Gen.  Hawley  was  called  from  his  position  at  Wilming- 
ton, North  Carolina,  as  his  chief- of-stafi;j  and  there  the  two  gal- 
lant soldiers,  friends  in  arms,  and  wearing  the  honors  so  worthily 
won  in  the  fore-front  of  battle,  strove,  during  the  months  of 
1865,  to  bring  peace  out  of  hostility,  evolve  order  from  chaos, 
and  constrnct  a  broad  base  upon  which  might  be  erected  a 
genuine  democracy,  taking  the  place  of  that  so-called  aristo- 
cracy which  had  borne  such  bitter  fruits,  not  only  in  the 
Old  Dominion,  but  throughout  the  South.  They  were,  indeed, 
''par  nohile  fratrum,^^  well  fitted  for  harmonious  action,  display- 
ing admirable  qualities  of  executive  skill,  fidelity,  military 
vigor,  promptness  and  patriotism.  State  and  city  were  gov- 
erned with  "an  iron  hand  in  a  velvet  glove."  They  occupied 
as  headquarters  the  residence  of  the  whilom  Confederate  Presi- 
dent, Jefferson  Davis;  and  there,  on  the  1st  of  August,  1865, 
Gen.  Hawley  was  the  recipient  of  a  general  ofiicer's  regulation 
sword,  gokl  mounted,  of  rare  richness  of  design,  and  valued  at 
$1150,  which  was  presented  to  him  from  the  citizens  of  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  assemblage  of  loy- 
alty and  beauty,  of  both  civil  and  military  circles.  On  the 
28th  of  September,  Gen.  Hawley  received  a  commission  as 
Major-General  of  Volunteers.  The  military  record  of  Gen.  Haw- 
ley was  adorned  by  acts  of  courage  and  composure  in  the  most 
trying  circumstances,  and  by  an  unfaltering  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  justice,  humanity  and  freedom.  Capable  and  cool 
under  fire,  urbane  in  his  dealings  with   all,  yet  firm  as  a  rock 


542  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

against  all  enemies  to  the  republic,  wlietlier  open  or  covert,  and 
devoting  all  his  energies  to  the  work  of  suppressing  disloyalty, 
he  speedily  gained  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  comrades  in 
the  field,  and  his  friends  at  home.  It  was  not  strange,  there- 
fore, that  he  should  have  been  deemed  worthy  to  guide  the 
home  councils  of  the  State,  which  he  had  so  well  represented 
abroad.  He  was  elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  Connecticut, 
from  1866,  '67.  His  administration  was  successful  and  honor- 
able both  to  himself  and  the  State;  but  declining  a  renomina- 
tion,  he  returned  to  his  editorial  duties,  being  still  as  before  the 
war  connected  with  the  Evening  Press. 

In  1867,  the  Hartford  Press  and  Connecticut  Courant  were  con- 
solidated under  the  latter  title.  Gen.  Hawley  being  chief  pro- 
prietor and  editor.  In  1868,  he  had  the  honor  of  presiding  over 
the  National  Republican  Convention  which  nominated  Grant 
and  Colfax ;  and  during  the  present  year  was  chosen  President 
of  the  National  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  which  is  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  July  4th, 
1876.  He  was  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party  for  United 
States  Senator  for  the  term  commencing  March  4th,  1873,  but 
was  defeated  by  the  coalition  of  the  Democrats  and  bolting  Re- 
publicans, who  re-elected  the  present  Senator,  0.  S.  Terry. 

Gen.  Hawley  is  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  a  man  of  fine  and 
commanding  presence,  of  great  energy  and  eloquence,  and  wide 
and  generous  culture.  He  is  by  nature  and  disposition  a  reformer, 
and  will  strike  his  heaviest  blows  when  he  has  some  giant  wrong 
to  battle,  some  monster  evil  to  throttle  and  destroy.  If  he  lives  he 
will  yet  be  heard  from  in  our  country's  history,  and  that  on  the 
right  side.  His  late  defeat  will  only  in  God's  good  time  prove 
the  stepping  stone  to  some  higher  and  better  success.  There  is 
for  him  a  future  of  honor  and  fame,  if  he  wills  it. 


^.  -^  ^  ,    _ 


KSviKJkVKn  hH-   A  iS.\VAI.T»R,r««»tAD^' 


HORACE    GREELEY. 


'/[J GRACE  GREELEY  was  born  at  Amherst,  New  Hamp 
^T  I  shire,  on  the  3d  of  February,  1811,  being  the  third 
^(^  of  seven  children,  two  of  whom  had  died  before  his 
c)  birth.  His  father,  Zaccheus  (a  name  borne,  also,  by 
his  grandfather  and  great-grandfather),  was  a  native  of  Lon- 
donderry (now  Hudson),  New  Hampshire,  and  was  of  the 
Massachusetts  clan,  "  mainly  farmers,  but  part  blacksmiths," 
who  traced  their  ancestry  to  one  of  three  brothers  who 
emigrated  to  this  country,  about  1650,  from  Nottingham- 
shire, England.  All  the  Greeleys  are  said  to  have  possessed 
marked  and  peculiar  characters — distinguished  for  tenacity  of 
vitality,  opinions,  preferences,  memory,  and  purpose.  Few  of 
them  have  ever  been  rich,  but  all,  as  far  as  known,  have  been 
of  respectable  social  condition,  industrious,  honest,  and  loyal. 
Mary  Woodburn,  the  wife  of  Zaccheus,  and  the  mother  of 
Horace  Greeley,  was  also  of  Londonderry,  New  Hampshire,  of 
that  fine  old  Scotch-Irish  stock  which  settled  that  toAvn — Irish 
in  their  vivacity,  generosity,  and  daring ;  Scotch  in  their 
frugality,  industry,  and  resolution — a  race  in  whom  Nature 
seems,  for  once,  to  have  kindly  blended  the  qualities  which 
.tender  men  interesting  with  those  which  render  them  prosper- 
ous.    The  Greeley  and   Woodburn  farm  adjoined,  and    so   it 

543 


54:4  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

came  about  that  Zaccheus  GreeJey  fouud  furor  in  the  eves  of 
Mary  "Woodburn,  and  was  married  to  her  in  the  year  1807, 
he  being  then  twenty-five  years  of  age  and  she  nineteen.  He 
inherited  nothing  from  his  father,  and  she  had  no  property 
except  the  usual  household  portion  from  hers — so  the  young 
couple  settled  down  at  old  Mr.  Greeley's— supporting,  for 
a  while,  the  old  folks  and  their  still  numerous  minor  children; 
but  this  did  not  last  long.  Young  married  people  crave  inde- 
pendence, and,  ere  long,  Zaccheus  Greeley  managed  to  pur- 
chase, partly  with  his  earnings  and  partly  "on  trust,"  a  small 
and  not  over  fertile  farm  at  Amherst,  where,  as  we  have  seen, 
Horace  first  saw  the  light.  In  New  England,  farmer's  sons  learn 
to  make  themselves  useful  almost  as  soon  as  they  can  walk 
Feeding:  the  chickens,  driving  the  cows,  carr\ino;  wood  and 
w  ater,  and  all  the  light  oflices  which  are  denominated  "  chores^^ 
fall  to  their  lot ;  and  Horace  (as  the  eldest  son  of  a  poor  and 
hard  working  farmer  struggling  hard  with  the  sterile  soil  to 
pay  ofi"  the  debt  he  had  incurred  in  its  purchase,  and  to  support 
his  increasing  family)  vras  by  no  means  exempt  iiom  his  share 
of  daily  toil  and  responsibilities.  Grubbing  in  the  corn  hills, 
"  riding  the  horse  to  plow,"  burning  charcoal  in  the  neighbor- 
ing woods,  and  "  picking  stones,"  were  among  the  occupations 
which  the  boy  carried  on — and  that  right  faitJi/iiUy^  too, 
although  his  heart  rejoiced  not  in  them.  The  last  named  labor 
he  seems  to  have  disrelished  exceedingly.  "  Picking  stones," 
says  he,  in  his  autobiography,  "  is  a  never-ending  labor  on  one 
of  those  New  England  farms.  Pick  as  closely  as  you  may,  the 
next  plowing  turns  up  a  fresh  eruption  of  boulders  and  pebbles, 
from  the  size  of  a  hickory  nut  to  that  of  a  tea-kettle,  and  as 
this  work  is  mainly  to  be  done  in  March  or  April,  when  the 
earth  is  saturated  with  ice-cold  water,  if  not  also  whitened  with 
falling  snow,  youngsters  soon  learn  to  regard  it  witli  detesta- 


HORACE   GREELEY.  545 

tion.  I  iiliallj  love  tlie  '  Granite  State,'  but  could  well  excuse 
the  absence  of  sundry  subdivisions  of  lier  granite."  The  fact 
seems  to  have  been  that,  however  faithful  and  careful  in  the 
performance  of  these  farm  duties,  repulsive  as  they  were  to 
him,  Horace's  mind,  from  early  infancy,  craved  knowledge.  As 
a  very  young  child,  he  took  to  learning  with  the  same  prompt 
instinctive  and  irrepressible  love  with  which  a  duck  is  said 
to  take  to  the  water.  Like  many  other  distinguished  men, 
he  found  his  first  and  best  instructor  in  his  mother — who 
possessed  a  strong  mind,  a  retentive  memory,  a  perpetual  over- 
flow of  good  spirits,  a  great  fondness  for  reading,  and  an 
exhaustless  fund  of  songs,  ballads,  and  stories — to  which  latter,, 
the  boy  listened  greedily,  sitting  on  the  floor  at  her  feet,  while 
she  spun  and  talked  with  equal  energy.  ''  They  served,"'  says 
Mr.  Greeley,  *'  to  awaken  in  me  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  a 
lively  interest  in  learning  and  history."  At  the  maternal  knee 
— and  ever  with  the  hum  of  the  spinning  wheel  as  an  accom- 
paniment— the  boy  learned,  also,  to  read,  before  he  had  learned 
to  talk;  that  is,  before  he  could  pronounce  the  lotiger  words;, 
and  from  the  fact  that  the  book  lay  in  her  lap,  he  soon  acquired 
a  facility  of  reading  from  it  sidewise,  or  upside  down,  as  readily 
as  in  the  usual  fashion — which  knack  became  "  a  subject  of 
neighborhood  wonder  and  fixbulous  exaggeration."  At  three- 
years  of  age  he  could  read  easily  and  correctly  any  of  the  books- 
prepared  for  children,  and,  by  the  time  he  was  four  years  old, 
any  book  whatever.  His  third  winter  was  spent  at  the  house- 
of  his  grandfather  Woodbarn,  at  Londonderry,  where  he  at- 
tended the  district  school,  as  he  continued  to  do  most  of  the 
winters  and  some  of  the  summer  months, during  the  next  three 
years.  At  this  school  he  soon  attained  remarkable  distinction 
by  his  cleverness  at  spelling^  which  was  his  passion.     In  this  he 

wag  unrivalled— no  word  could  ever  puzzle  him — he  spelt  in 
35 


546  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

school  and  out  of  it — at  work  or  at  play — and,  for  hours  at  a 
time,  he  would  lie  upon  the  floor  of  his  grandfather's  house 
spelling  all  the  hard  words  which  he  could  find  in  the  Bible 
and  the  few  other  books  within  reach.  Of  course,  he  was  the 
great  hero  of  the  "  spelling  match" — that  favorite  diversion  of 
New  England  district  schools — and  there  are  some  still  living 
who  love  to  recount  how  Horace,  then  a  little  "  white,  tow- 
headed  boy,"  would  sometimes  fall  asleep  (for  these  •'  matches  " 
were  generally  held  in  the  evening)  and  when  it  came  his  turn, 
his  neighbors  would  give  him  an  anxious  nudge,  and  he  would 
wake  instantly,  spell  off  his  word,  and  drop  asleep  again  in  a 
moment.  Frequently  carried  to  school  when  the  snow  was  too 
deep  for  him  to  wade  through,  on  his  aunt's  shoulder,  the  eager 
little  fellow  stoutly  maintained  his  place  among  larger  and 
older  scholars,  and  manfully  mastered  the  slender  information 
which  he  could  glean  from  the  pages  of  Webster's  Spelling 
Book  (then  displacing  Dil worth's),  Bingham's  Grammar,  called 
"The  Ladies'  Accidence"  and  "The  Columbian  Orator."  This 
latter,  the  first  book  he  ever  owned,  had  been  given  him  by  an 
uncle,  while  he  lay  sick  with  the  measles,  in  his  fourth  year,  at 
his  grandfather's.  It  was  his  prized  text  book  for  years,  and  he 
learned  all  its  dialogues,  speeches,  extracts  of  poetry,  by  heart, 
among  others  that  well-known  oration,  so  familiar  to  our  boyish 
memories,  commencing, 

"  You'd  doarce  expect  one  of  my  age. 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage." 

"When  he  was  six  years  old,  his  father  removed  to  a  larger 
farm  in  Bedford,  New  Hampshire,  which  he  had  undertaken 
to  work  "  on  shares,"  and  until  his  tenth  year,  Horace's  school- 
ing was  combined  with  a  pretty  fair  share  of  work.  "  Here," 
he  says,  "I  first  learned  that  this  is  a  world  of  hard  work. 


HORACE    GREELEY.  547 

Often  called  out  of  bed  at  dawn  to  "  ride  horse  to  plow"  among 
the  growing  corn,  potatoes,  and  hops,  we  would  get  as  much 
plowed  by  nine  to  ten  o'clock  A.M.,  as  could  be  hoed  that  day, 
when  I  would  be  allowed  to  start  for  school,  where  I  sometimes 
arrived  as  the  forenoon  session  was  half  through.  In  winter, 
our  work  was  lighter ;  but  the  snow  was  often  deep  and  drifted 
the  cold  intense,  the  north  wind  piercing,  and  our  clothing  thin; 
besides  which,  the  term  rarely  exceeded,  and  sometimes  fell 
short  of,  two  months.  I  am  grateful  for  much — schooling  in- 
cluded— to  my  native  State;  yet,  I  trust  her  boys  of  to-day 
generally  enjoy  better  facilities  for  education  at  her  common 
schools  than  they  afforded  me  half  a  century  ago."  Young 
Greeley  had  no  right  to  attend  the  school  at  Bedford,  as  he  did 
not  belong  to  the  district — yet  he  was  complimented  by  a  per- 
mission granted  by  an  express  vote  of  the  school  committee, 
that  "  no  pupils  from  other  towns  should  be  received"  at  their 
school,  '■'except  Horace  Greeley  almie^  Among  the  few  adjuvants 
to  knowledge  which  the  boy  enjoyed,  was  the  weekly  newspaper 
which  came  to  his  father's  house,  "  The  Farmerh  Cabinet^''  mild 
in  politics  and  scanty,  if  not  heavy,  in  its  literary  contents ;  but, 
for  all  that,  a  "  connecting  link"  between  the  little  homestead 
and  the  great  outside,  unknown  world.  Perhaps  it  uncon- 
sciously strengthened  the  youth's  impulse  toward  becoming  a 
printer  and  a  newspaper  man. 

For,  it  is  related  of  him,  that  previously  to  this,  while  one 
day  watching,  most  intently,  the  operation  of  shoeing  a  horse, 
the  blacksmith  observed  to  him :  "  You'd  better  come  with  me 
and  learn  the  trade,"  "  No,"  was  the  prompt  reply,  "  I'm  going 
to  be  a  printer,"  a  positive  choice  of  a  career  by  so  diminutive 
a  specimen  of  humanity,  which  mightily  amused  the  bystanders. 
In  his  tenth  year,  however,  a  change  had  come  to  the  family 
fortunes.     His  father,  like  many  other  hard-working  farmers  in 


548  MEN    OF   OUR    DAY. 

New  Hampsliire,  was  not  able  to  "  weather  the  storm,"  which 
made  the  year  1820  memorable  to  many  as  "  hard  times."  Ho 
failed,  and  having  made  an  "  arrangement  with  his  creditors"  (for 
he  was  a  truly  honest  man),  gave  up  his  farm,  temporarily,  and 
removed  to  another  in  the  adjoining  town  of  Bedford,  where  he 
commenced  the  raising  of  hops,  mostly  on  shares.  In  two 
years,  however,  despite  his  industry,  he  came  back  to  his  old 
Amherst  home  poorer  than  ever ;  and,  finally,  became  utterly 
bankrupt,  was  sold  out  by  the  sheriff,  and  fled  from  the  State 
to  avoid  arrest.  He  wandered  away  to  Westhaven,  Katland 
county,  Vermont,  where  he  fortunately  succeeded  in  hiring  a 
small  bouse,  to  which,  in  January,  1821,  he  brought  his  family. 
Stripped  of  all  but  the  barest  necessities,  the  little  family  now 
commenced  life  literally  anew.  Horace's  life  at  "Westhaven, 
during  the  next  five  years,  was  much  the  same  as  before — 
plenty  of  hard  work — rough  fare,  and  an  insatiable  cramming 
of  book  knowledge,  varied,  sometimes,  by  playing  draughts,  or 
"  checkers,"  in  which  game  he  is  a  great  proficient.  Yet  the 
Yankee  element  was  strong  within  him.  He  was  always  doing 
something,  and  he  always  had  something  to  sell.  He  saved 
nuts  and  pitch  pine  roots  for  kindling  wood,  exchanging  them 
at  the  country  store  for  articles  which  he  needed. 

The  only  out-door  sport  which  the  boy  seemed  to  like,  was 
"  bee-hunting,"  which  frequently  yielded  a  snug  little  sum  of 
pocket-money ;  and  when  a  peddler  happened  along  with  books 
in  his  wagon,  or  pack,  the  hard  earned  pennies  were  pretty  sure 
to  leave  Horace's  pockets.  But,  while  he  could  mm,  he  had 
little  or  no  faculty  of  hargaining^  or  of  making  money.  In  hia 
eleventh  year,  he  heard  that  an  apprentice  was  wanted  in  a  news- 
paper of&ce  at  Whitehall ;  and,  true  to  his  old  fancy  of  becom- 
ing a  printer,  he  trudged  over  there  on  foot,  a  distance  of  nine 
miles,  but   was  refused   the  place   on  account   of  his  youth. 


HORACE    GREELEY.  549 

Westhaven,  at  tliat  time,  was  a  desperate  place  for  drinking, 
and  Horace  and  his  brother  had  early  imbibed  a  thorough  aver- 
fiion  to  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  and  tobacco.  Asking  his 
father,  one  day,  what  he'd  give  him  if  he  would  not  drink  a 
drop  of  liquor  till  he  was  twenty-one;  his  father  thinking  it, 
perhaps,  a  mere  passing  whim  of  the  boy's,  replied  "  I'll  give 
you  a  dollar."  It  was  a  bargain,  and  from  that  day  to  this, 
Horace  has  not  knowingly  taken  into  his  system  any  alcoholic 
liquid,  and  has  been  a  distinguished  and  fearless  advocate  of 
teetotalism.  During  his  Westhaven  life,  also,  he  became— 
although  surrounded  by  orthodoxy,  and  descended  from  ortho- 
dox parents — by  the  natural  process  of  his  own  reasoning,  a 
Universalist — yet  he  never  entered  a  church,  or  heard  a  sermon, 
of  that  faith,  until  he  was  twenty  years  old.  This  all  arose 
from  his  chance  reading,  in  a  school  book,  of  the  history  of 
Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  one  of  Alexander  the  Great's  generals, 
whose  conduct  towards  the  ungrateful  Athenians,  as  related  by 
the  earlier  historians,  prese-nts  an  example  of  magnanimity,  as 
sublime  as  it  is  rare.  Reflecting  with  admiration  on  this  case, 
Greeley,  young  as  he  was,  "  was  moved,"  as  he  says,  "  to  inquire 
if  a  spirit  so  nobly,  so  wisely  transcending  the  mean  and  savage 
impulse  which  man  too  often  disguises  as  justice,  when  it  is  in 
essence  revenge,  might  not  be  reverentially  termed  divine ;" 
in  fact,  if  it  did  not  "  image  forth"  the  attitude  of  an  all- wise, 
just,  yet  merciful  God,  toward  an  erring  humanity.  And 
though,  in  his  career,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  has  confined 
himself,  by  the  very  necessity  of  his  nature,  chiefly  to  the 
advancement  of  material  interests,  yet  it  is  not  to  be  doubted 
that  this  early  change  of  religious  belief  gave  to  his  subsequent 
life  much  of  its  direction  and  character. 

By  the  spring  of  1826,  Horace  had  exhausted  the  schools  and 
the  capabilities  of  his  teachers,  and  was  impatient  to  be  at  the 


550  MEN    OF  OUR   DAT. 

types.  To  his  oft  repeated  importunities,  his  father  strongly 
objectei — partly,  because  he  needed  the  lad's  help  at  home  oa 
the  far.n ;  partly,  because  he  feared  that  one  so  young,  so  gentle, 
awkward,  and  with  so  little  "  push"  about  him,  would  be  unable 
to  battle  his  way  among  strangers.  But,  one  day,  Horace  saw 
in  the  Northern  Spectator^  a  weekly  sheet  (Adams  in  politics), 
published  at  East  Poultney,  Vermont,  eleven  miles  from  hia 
home,  a  notice  of  a  "  boy  wanted"  in  the  office.  Wringing  from 
his  father  a  reluctant  consent  to  his  applying  for  the  place,  he 
walked  over  to  Poultney,  came  to  an  understanding  with  the 
proprietors,  and  returned  home.  A  few  days  later,  April  18th, 
1826,  his  father  took  him  down  to  the  office  and  entered  into  a 
verbal  agreement  with  the  parties,  for  his  son's  .services,  to  the 
effect  that  he  was  to  remain  at  his  apprenticeship  with  them  till 
he  was  twenty  years  of  age,  be  allowed  his  board  only  for 
six  months,  and  thereafter  $40  per  annum  for  clothing.  Leav- 
ing Horace  at  work  in  the  printing  office,  Mr.  Greeley  returned 
home ;  and,  shortly  after,  removed  his  residence  to  Wayne, 
Erie  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  new  apprentice's  experience 
at  Poultney  is  thus  related  by  himself: 

"The  organization  and  management  of  our  establishment 
were  vicious ;  for  an  apprentice  should  have  one  master,  and  I 
had  a  succession  of  them,  and  often  two  or  three  at  once.  These 
changes  enabled  me  to  demand  and  receive  a  more  liberal  allow- 
ance for  the  later  years  of  my  apprenticeship ;  but  the  office  was 
too  laxly  ruled  for  the  most  part,  and,  as  to  instruction,  every 
one  had  perfect  liberty  to  learn  what  he  could.  In  fact,  as  but 
two  or  at  most  three  persons  were  employed  in  the  printing 
department,  it  would  have  puzzled  an  apprentice  to  avoid  a 
practical  know  lei  Ige  of  whatever  was  done  th  re.  I  had  not 
been  there  a  year  before  my  hands  were  blistered  and  my  back 
lamed  by  working  off  the  very  consid.;rable  edition  of  the  paper 
on  an  old-fashioned,  two-pull  Eam  ige  (wooden)  press — a  task 
beyond  mj  boyish  strength — and  I  can  scarcely  recall  a  day 


HORACE   GREELEY.  551 

wherein  we  were  not  hurried  by  our  work.  I  would  not  imply 
that  I  worked  too  hard — yet  I  think  few  apprentices  work  more 
steadily  and  faithfully  than  I  did  througliout  the  four  years  and 
over  of  my  stay  in  Poultney.  While  I  lived  at  home,  I  had 
always  been  allowed  a  day's  fishing,  at  least  once  a  month,  in 
spring  and  summer,  and  I  once  went  hunting;  but  I  never 
fished,  nor  hunted,  nor  attended  a  dance,  nor  any  sort  of  party 
or  fandango,  in  Poultney.  I  doubt  that  I  even  played  a  game 
of  ball.  Yet  I  was  ever  considerately  and  even  kindly  treated  by 
those  in  authority  over  me,  and  I  believe  I  generally  merited 
and  enjoyed  their  confidence  and  good-will.  Very  seldom  was 
a  word  of  reproach  or  dissatisfaction  addressed  .to  me  by  one  of 
them.  Though  I  worked  diligently,  I  found  much  time  for 
reading,  and  might  have  had  more,  had  every  leisure  hour  been 
carefully  improved.  *  *  *  They  say  that  apprenticeship  is 
distasteful  to  and  out  of  fashion  with  the  boys  of  our  day ;  if 
so,  I  regret  it  for  their  sakes.  To  the  youth  who  asks,  '  How 
shall  I  obtain  an  education ?' I  would  answer,  'Learn  a  trade 
of  a  good  master.'  I  hold  firmly  that  most  boys  may  thus  bet- 
ter acquire  the  knowledge  they  need  than  by  spending  four 
years  in  college." 

lie  speedily  became  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  vil- 
lage Debating  Society,  or  Lyceum,  as  it  was  styled ;  and,  to  use 
the  words  of  an  old  comrade,  "  whenever  he  was  appointed  to 
speak  or  to  read  an  essay,  he  never  wanted  to  be  excused ;  he 
was  always  ready.  He  was  exceedingly  interested  in  the  ques- 
tions which  he  discussed,  and  stuck  to  his  opinion  against  all 
opposition — not  discourteously,  but  still  he  stuck  to  il,  replying 
with  the  most  perfect  assurance  to  men  of  high  station  and  of 
low.  He  had  one  advantage  over  all  his  fellow  members;  it 
was  his  memory.  He  had  read  every  th:ng,  and  remembered 
the  minutest  details  of  important  events;  dates,  names,  places, 
figures,  statistics — nothing  had  escaped  him.  He  was  never 
treated  as  a  boT/  in  the  society,  but  as  a  man  and  an  equal ;  and 


552  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

his  opinions  were  considered  with  as  mucli  deference  as  those 
of  the  judge  or  the  sheriff — more,  I  think.  To  the  graces  of 
oratory  he  made  no  pretence,  but  he  was  a  fluent  and  interest- 
ing speaker,  and  had  a  way  of  giving  an  unexpected  turn  to  the 
debate  by  reminding  members  of  a  fact,  well  known  but  over- 
looked ;  or  by  correcting  a  misquotation,  or  by  appealing  to 
what  are  called  first  principles.  He  was  an  opponent  to  be 
afraid  of;  yet  his  sincerity  and  his  earnestness  were  so  evident, 
that  those  whom  he  most  signally  floored  liked  him  none  the 
less  for  it.  lie  never  lost  his  temper.  In  short,  he  spoke  iu 
his  sixteenth  year  just  as  he  speaks  now."  It  may  be  added 
that  then,  as  now,  he  was  utterly  oblivious  of  the  niceties — we 
had  almost  said  the  proprieties — of  dress,  and  his  ill-fitted,  and 
really  insufiicient  clothing,  excited  the  pity  of  a  few  considerate 
ones,  and  the  frequent  derision  of  many  unthinking  ones.  But 
the  forty  dollars  a  year  which  was  allowed  him  by  his  employ- 
ers for  clothing,  was  carefully  husbanded  and  sent  to  his  father, 
who  was  struggling  with  the  difficulties  of  a  new  farm  in  the 
wilderness  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alleghanies ;  and  twice, 
during  his  Poultney  residence,  he  visited  those  beloved  parents, 
traversing  the  distance  of  six  hundred  miles,  partly  on  foot,  and 
partly  by  the  tedious  canal  boat  Among  the  incidents  of  his 
sojourn  in  Poultney  that  which  made  the  most  impression  on 
his  mind,  was  a  fugitive  slave  chase.  The  State  of  New  York 
had  abolished  slavery  years  before,  but  certain  born  slaves 
were  to  remain  such  till  twenty-eight  years  old.  One  of  these 
youDg  negroes  decamped  from  his  master,  in  a  neighboring 
New  York  town,  to  our  village ;  where  he  was  at  work,  when 
said  master  came  over  to  reclaim  and  recover  him.  "I  never 
saw,"  says  Mr.  Greeley,  "  so  large  a  muster  of  men  and  boys  so 
suddenly  on  our  village-green  as  his  advent  incited ;  and  the 
result  was  a  speedy  disappearance  of  the  chattel,  and  the  return 


HORACE   GREELEY.  553 

of  his  master,  disconsolate  and  niggerless,  to  the  place  whence 
he  came.  Every  thing  on  our  side  was  impromptu  and  instinc- 
tive ;  and  nobody  suggested  that  envy  or  hate  of  "  the  South," 
or  of  New  York,  or  of  the  master,  had  impelled  the  rescue. 
Our  people  hated  injustice  and  oppression,  and  acted  as  if  tliey 
couldn't  help  it^ 

In  June,  1830,  the  Spectator  and  its  office  were  discontinued, 
and  Greeley,  released  from  his  engagement  some  months  earlier 
than  he  had  expected,  started  off,  with  little  else  than  a  ward- 
robe which  could  be  stuffed  into  his  pocket,  a  sore  leg,  a  reten- 
tive memory  and  a  knowledge  of  the  art  of  printing — to  see  his 
father.  After  a  while  we  find  him  working  for  eleven  dollars 
per  month,  in  the  office  of  a  "Jackson  paper,"  at  Sodus,  New 
York,  and  still  later  for  fifteen  dollars  per  month  in  the  office 
of  the  Gazette,  a  weekly  paper  published  at  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 
At  first  he  was  refused  work  on  account  of  his  extremely  ver- 
dant appearance;  but,  finally,  was  taken  in  on  trial  and  ere 
long  was  in  high  favor  with  all  who  knew  him.  Seven  months 
passed  away,  and  again  we  find  our  hero  trying  his  fortunes  in 
a  new  place — this  time,  in  New  York  itself  His  arrival  and 
adventures  in  the  "  Great  Metropolis,"  in  which  he  was,  in  the 
course  of  years,  to  become  so  well  known,  much  talked  about, 
and  useful  a  citizen,  are  best  described  in  his  own  words. 

"It  was,  if  I  recollect  aright,  the  17th  of  August,  1831.  I 
was  twenty  years  old  the  preceding  February;  tall,  slender, 
pale  and  plain,  with  ten  dollars  in  my  pocket,  summer  clothing 
worth  perhaps  as  much  more,  nearly  all  on  my  back,  and  a 
decent  knowledge  of  so  much  of  the  Art  of  Printing  as  a  boy 
will  usually  learn  in  the  office  of  a  country  newspaper.  But  I 
knew  no  human  being  within  two  hundred  miles,  and  my  un- 
mistakably rustic  manner  and  address  did  not  favor  that  imme- 
diate command  of  remunerating  employment  which  was  my 
most  urgent  need.     However,  the  world  was  all  before  me ;  my 


554  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

personal  estate,  tied  up  in  a  pocket-handkerchief,  did  not  at  all 
encumber  me ;  and  I  stepped  lightly  off  the  boat  and  away  from 
the  sound  of  the  detested  hiss  of  escaping  steam,  w.'dking  into 
and  up  Broad  street  in  quest  of  a  boarding-house.  I  found  and 
entered  one  at  or  near  the  corner  of  Wall ;  but  the  price  of 
board  given  me  was  six  dollars  per  week  ;  so  I  did  not  need  the 
giver's  candidly  kind  suggestion  that  I  would  probably  prefer 
one  where  the  charge  was  more  moderate.  Wandering  thence, 
I  cannot  say  how,  to  the  North  River  side,  I  halted  next  at  168 
West  street,  where  the  sign  of  "  Boarding"  on  a  humbler  edifice 
fixed  my  attention.  I  entered,  and  was  offered  shelter  and 
subsistence  at  $2.50  per  week,  which  seemed  more  rational,  and 
I  closed  the  bargain. 

Having  breakfasted,  I  began  to  ransack  the  city  for  work, 
and,  in  my  total  ignorance,  traversed  many  streets  where  none 
could  possibly  be  found.  In  the  course  of  that  day  and  the 
next,  however,  I  must  have  visited  fully  two  thirds  of  the 
printing-offices  on  Manhattan  island,  without  a  gleam  of  success. 
It  was  mid-summer,  when  business  in  New  York  is  habitually 
dall;  and  my  youth  and  unquestiouable  air  of  country  green- 
ness must  have  told  against  me.  When  I  called  at  the  Journal 
of  Commerce^  its  editor,  Mr.  David  Ilale,  bluntly  told  me  I  was 
a  runaway-apprentice  from  some  country  office ;  which  was  a 
very  natural,  though  mistaken,  presumption.  I  returned  to  my 
lodging  on  Saturday  evening,  thoroughly  weary,  disheartened, 
disgusted  with  New  York,  and  resolved  to  shake  its  dust  from 
my  feet  next  morning,  while  I  could  still  leave  with  money  in 
my  pocket,  and  before  its  alms-house  could  foreclose  upon  me. 

But  that  was  not  to  be.  On  Sunday  afternoon  and  evening, 
several  young  Irishmen  called  at  Mr.  MoGolrick's,  in  their  holi- 
day saunterings  about  town;  and,  being  told  that  I  was  a  young 
printer  in  quest  of  work,  interested  themselves  in  my  effort, 
with  the  spontaneous  kindness  of  their  race.  One  among  them 
happened  to  know  a  place  where  printers  were  wanted,  and 
gave  me  the  requisite  direction  ;  so  that,  on  visiting  the  designa- 
ted spot  next  morning,  I  readily  found  employment ;  and  thus, 


HORACE   GREELEY.  555 

when  barely  three  days  a  resident,  I  had  found  anchorage  in 
New  York. 

The  printing  establishment  was  John  T.  West's,  over 
McElrath  &  Bangs'  publishing-house,  68  Chatham  street,  and 
the  work  was  at  my  call,  simply  because  no  printer  who  knew 
the  city  would  accept  it.  It  was  the  composition  of  a  very 
small  (32mo)  New  Testament,  in  double  columns,  of  Agata 
type,  each  column  barely  twelve  ems  wide,  with  a  centre  col- 
umn of  notes  in  Pearl,  barely  four  ems  wide  :  the  text  thickly 
studded  with  references  by  Greek  and  superior  letters  to  the 
notes,  which  of  course  were  preceded  and  discriminated  by 
corresponding  indices,  with  prefatory  and  supplementary  re- 
marks on  each  Book,  set  in  Pearl,  and  only  paid  for  as  Agate. 
The  type  was  considerably  smaller  than  any  to  which  I  had 
been  accustomed ;  the  narrow  measure  and  thickly-sown  Italics 
of  the  text,  with  the  strange  characters  employed  as  indices, 
rendered  it  the  slowest  and  by  far  the  most  difficult  work  I  had 
ever  undertaken;  while  the  making  up,  proving,  and  correcting, 
twice  and  even  thrice  over,  preparatory  to  stereotyping,  nearly 
doubled  the  time  required  for  ordinary  composition.  I  was 
never  a  swift  type-settter ;  I  aimed  to  be  an  assiduous  and  cor- 
rect one;  but  my  proofs  on  this  work  at  first  looked  as  though 
they  had  caught  the  chicken-pox,  and  were  in  the  worst  stage 
of  a  profuse  eruption.  For  the  first  two  or  three  weeks,  being 
sometimes  kept  waiting  for  letter,  1  scarcely  made  my  board: 
while,  by  diligent  type-sticking  thrcjugh  twelve  to  fourteen 
hours  per  day,  I  was  able,  at  my  best,  to  earn  but  a  dollar  per 
day.  As  scarcely  another  compositor  could  be  induced  to  work 
on  it  more  than  two  days,  I  had  this  job  in  good  part  to  myself, 
and  I  persevered  to  the  end  of  it.  I  had  removed,  very  soon 
after  obtaining  it,  to  Mrs.  Mason's  shoemaker  boarding-house 
at  the  corner  of  Chatham  and  Duane  streets,  nearly  opposite  my 
work;  so  that  I  was  enabled  to  keep  doing  nearly  all  the  time 
I  did  not  need  for  m  -als  and  sleep.  When  it  was  done,  I  was 
out  of  work  for  a  fortnight,  in  spite  of  my  best  efforts  to  find 
more;  so  I  attended,  as  an  unknown  spectator,  the  sittings  of 
the  Tariff  Convention,  which  was  held  at  the  American  lusti- 


556  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

tute,  north  end  of  the  City  Tlall  Park,  and  presided  over  by 
Hon.  William  Wilkins,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  I  next 
found  work  in  Ann  street,  on  a  short-lived  monthly,  where  my 
pay  was  not  forthcoming  ;  and  the  next  month  saw  me  back  at 
West's,  where  a  new  work — a  commentary  on  the  Book  of 
Genesis,  by  Rev.  George  Bush — had  come  in ;  and  I  worked  ou 
it  throughout.  The  chirography  was  blind ;  the  author  made 
many  vexatious  alterations  in  proof;  the  page  was  small  and 
the  type  close  ;  but,  though  the  reverse  of  fat^  in  printers'  jar- 
gon, it  was  not  nearly  so  abominably  lean  as  the  Testament; 
and  I  regretted  to  reach  the  end  of  it.  When  I  did,  I  was 
again  out  of  work,  and  seriously  meditated  seeking  employment 
at  something  else  than  printing;  but  the  winter  was  a  hard  one, 
and  business  in  New  York  stagnant  to  an  extent  not  now  con- 
ceivable." 

From  January,  1832,  and  through  the  dreary  "cholera  sum- 
mer," Greeley  worked  on  the  Spirit  of  the  Times^  a  nevv  sporting 
paper,  and  there  gained  the  devoted  friendship  of  its  foreman, 
Mr.  Francis  V.  Story,  with  whom  he  afterwards  entered  into 
partnership.  The  main  dependence  of  their  business  was  the 
printing  of  Sylvester's  "Bank-Note  Reporter;"  and  the  publi- 
cation of  Dr.  II,  D.  Shepard's  "penny-paper,"  The  Morning  Post, 
•  and  the  pioneer  of  the  cheap-for-cash  dailies  in  New  York  City. 
Hiring  rooms  on  the  south-east  corner  of  Nassau  and  Liberty 
streets,  the  young  "  typos"  invested  their  scanty  capital  (less 
than  $200) ;  obtained  $-iO  worth  of  material,  on  credit,  from 
Mr.  George  Bruce,  the  eminent  type  founder,  and  coinnienced 
their  business  career.  The  Post,  however,  was  "  ahead  of  the 
Age" — and  died,  when  scarcely  a  month  old,  leaving  its  printers 
"hard  aground  on  a  lee  shore,  with  little  prospect  of  getting 
off."  Fortunately,  however,  they  escaped  total  bankruptcy,  by 
a  successful  sale  of  the  wrecked  paper  to  another  party,  in 
whose  hands  it  was  teetotally  extinguished,  "forever  and  aye." 
Working  early  and  late,  looking  sharply  on  every  side  for  jobs, 


HORACE   GREELEY.  557 

and  economizing  to  the  last  degree,  the  firm  were  beginning  to 
make  decided  headway,  when  Mr.  Story  was  drowned,  in  June, 
1833.  His  place  was  taken  by  his  brother-in  law,  Mr.  Jonas 
Winchester — since  widely  known  in  the  newspaper  world ;  and 
again  the  concern  was  favored  with  steady  and  moderate  pros- 
perity, until,  in  March,  1834,  they  issued  the  fir.st  number  of 
The  New  Yorker^  a  large,  fair,  cheap  weekly,  devoted  to  current 
literature,  etc.,  of  which  Mr.  Greeley  took  the  sole  editorial 
supervision  for  the  next  seven  years  and  a  half.  Two  years 
after  its  birth  the  partnership  was  dissolved  and  Greeley  took  the 
New  Yorker,  which  held  its  own  pretty  well  until  the  commer- 
cial revulsion  of  1837.  In  July,  1836,  Mr.  Greeley  had  mar- 
ried, deeming  himself  worth  $5000  and  the  owner  of  a  remune- 
rative business.  To  a  man  of  so  singularly  independent  and 
honest  a  character  as  his,  the  debts  incurred  were  a  source  of 
the  most  terrible  mental  anxiety  and  suffering.  In  his  autobi- 
ography, he  speaks  most  feelingly  of  the  horrors  of  bankruptcy 
and  debt,  closing  with  these  intense  but  truthful  remarks : 

"  For  my  own  part — and  I  speak  from  sad  experience — I 
would  rather  be  a  convict  in  State  prison,  a  slave  in  a  rice- 
swamp,  than  to  pass  through  life  under  the  harrow  of  debt. 
Let  no  young  man  misjudge  himself  unfortunate,  or  truly  poor, 
so  long  as  he  has  the  full  use  of  his  limbs  and  faculties  and  is 
substantially  free  from  debt.  Hunger,  cold,  rags,  hard  work, 
contempt,  suspicion,  unjust  reproach,  are  disagreeable;  but  debt 
is  infinitely  worse  than  them  all.  And,  if  it  had  pleased  God 
to  spare  either  or  all  of  my  sons  to  be  the  support  and  solace 
of  my  declining  years,  the  lesson  which  I  should  have  most 
earnestly  sought  to  impress  upon  them  is — "Never  run  into 
debt!  Avoid  pecuniary  obligation  as  you  would  pestilence  or 
famine.  If  you  have  but  fifty  cents,  and  can  get  no  more  for  a 
week,  buy  a  peck  of  corn,  parch  it  and  live  on  it,  rather  than 
owe  any  man  a  dollar?"  Of  course,  I  know  that  some  men 
must  do  business  that  involves  risks,  and  must  often  give  notes 


658  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

and  other  obligations,  and  I  do  not  consider  liini  really  in  debt 
who  can  lay  his  hands  directly  on  the  means  of  paying,  at  some 
little  sacrifice,  all  he  owes;  I  speak  of  real  debt — that  which  in- 
volves risk  or  sacrifice  on  the  one  side,  obligation  and  depend- 
ence on  the  other — and  I  say,  i'roin  all  such,  let  every  youth 
humbly  pray  God  to  preserve  him  evermore  1" 

The  New  Yorker  came  to  an  end  in  March,  1841,  with  an  out- 
standing book  account  of  some  $10,000  due  to  its  editor  and 
proprietor,  of  which,  it  is  needless  to  say,  he  neveY  afterwards 
saw  the  first  cent.  Among  the  "  memorabilia"  of  its  history  is 
the  fact  that  Hon.  Henry  J.  Eaymond,  late  the  chief  editor  of 
the  New  York  Times,  and  a  "power"  in  the  American  press, 
commenced  his  editorial  life  as  assistant  editor  of  the  New 
Yorker  on  a  salary  of  $8  a  week. 

While  running  this  paper,  Mr.  Greeley,  in  addition  to  supply- 
ing leading  articles  to  the  Daily  Whig  for  several  months, 
undeuook,  in  March,  1838,  the  entire  editorship  of  the  Jeffer- 
sonian,  a  weekly  campaign  paper,  published  lor  a  year,  at 
Albany,  by  the  Whig  Central  Committee  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  The  sheet  had  a  circulation  of  15,000,  its  editor  $1000 
salary  and  it  was  a  "  rousing"  aond  political  paper,  aiming  "  to 
convince,not  to  inflame,  to  enlighten, not  to  blind."  The  energy, 
industry,  and  courage  (mental  as  well  as  physical),  required 
to  edit  a  weekly  paper  in  New  York  City  and  another  in 
Albany,  can  be  imagined  only  by  those  who  understand  the 
nature  of  an  editor's  duties.  Into  the  Harrison  campaign  of 
1810,  Greeley  threw  his  whole  energies,  issuing,  on  the  2d  of 
May,  the  first  number  of  The  Log  Calnn,  a  weekly  ])aper, 
appearing  simultaneously  in  New  York  and  Albimy,  for  the 
six  months'  campaign.  It  was  conducted  with  wonderful  spirit 
and  made  an  unprecedented  hit,  48,000  of  the  first  number  being 
sold  in  a  day  and  the  issue  increasing  to  between  80,000  and 


HORACE   GREELEY.  559 

90,000  copies  per  week,  Greeley's  own  interest  in  the  questions 
at  issue  was  most  intense,  and  his  labors  were  incessant  and 
arduous.  He  wrote  articles,  he  made  speeches,  he  sat  on  com- 
mittees, he  travelled,  he  gave  advice,  he  suggested  plans,  wliilc 
he  had  two  newspapers  on  his  hands  and  a  load  of  debt  upon 
his  shoulders."  Designed  only  as  a  campaign  paper,  the  Log 
Cabin  survived  the  emergency  for  which  it  had  been  created, 
and,  as  a  family  political  paper,  continued  with  moderate  suc- 
cess until  finally  merged,  together  with  the  New  Yorker,  in  the 
Tribune. 

The  Tribune  first  saw  light  on  the  10th  of  April,  1841,  with 
a  "  start"  of  600  subscribers,  and  a  borrowed  capital  of  $1000. 
1 15  first  experiences  were  not  altogether  promising,  but  it  was 
full  of  yZy/i^,  and  the  foolish  attempt  of  a  rival.  The  Sun,  to  crush 
it,  aroused  the  pugnacity  of  its  editor  to  its  fullest  extent.  The 
public  became  interested,  also ;  and  by  its  seventh  week,  it  had 
an  edition  of  11,000.  New  presses  became  necessary — adver- 
tisements poured  in  ;  and  then — just  "  in  the  nick  of  time" — Mr. 
Thomas  McElrath  was  secured  as  a  business  partn(ir,  and  with 
him  came  alsf)  the  order  and  efficiency,  wliic^h  huve  rcnderc'd  the 
Tribune  estal;lishrnent  one  of  the  best  conducted  ncwsp;q)cr 
offices  in  the  world. 

Now  came  another  epoch  in  Horace  Greeley's  career — viz.: 
that  of  Fourierism,.  A  Socialist  in  theory  he  had  Ijccn  for 
years  before  the  Tribune  was  commenced — and,  when  Albert 
Brisbane  returned  from  Paris,  in  18-11,  full  to  overflowing  of 
the  principles  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Doctrine  of  Association, 
Greeley  became  one  of  his  earliest  and  most  devoted  followers. 
Jie  wrote,  talked,  lectured  on  Fourierism; — but,  with  the 
famous  six  months' newspaper  discussion  of  the  subject,  in  18-10, 
between  Greeley  and  his  former  lieutenant,  H.  J.  Raymond, 
then  of  the  Courier  and  Pluquirer — the  subject  died  out  of  the 


560  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

public  mind.  In  April,  1842,  the  Tribune,  which  had  started 
as  a  penny  paper,  commenced  its  second  volume  at  two  cents 
per  number,  without  any  appreciable  loss  of  its  subscription. 
At  the  same  time,  Greeley  and  McElrath  commenced  a  monthly 
]nagazine,  called  "  The  American  Lahorer^^''  devoted  chiefly  to  the 
advocacy  of  protection.  Gradually,  also,  they  got  into  a  some- 
what extensive  book  publishing  business,  which,  however, 
proved  unprofitable  and  was  relinquished,  excepting  the 
"  Whig  Almanac,"  a  valuable  statistical  and  political  compend, 
which,  in  1868,  enjoyed  the  honor  of  being  entirely  reprinted 
by  the  process  of  photo-lithography.  In  1843,  began  the 
Evening  Tribune,  and  in  1845,  the  Semi-Weekly.  Water-Cure, 
the  Erie  Railroad,  Irish  Repeal,  Protection  and  Clay  were  the 
principal  objects  to  which  the  Tribune  gave  the  full  weight  of 
its  powerful  influence.  In  1845,  the  Tribune  office  was  burned; 
and  that  year  and  the  two  following  were  years  full  of  hard 
knocks  received,  and  good  earnest  blows  heartily  given,  against 
Capital  punishment,  the  Mexican  War,  Slavery,  Orthodoxy, 
the  Native  American  party,  the  drama,  etc.,  etc.  In  1848,  Mr. 
Greeley  was  chosen  to  represent  the  Congressional  District  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  for  a  short  session;  and  hardly 
was  he  seated  there  before  he  introduced  a  Land  Reform  Bill ; 
"  walked  into"  the  tariff;  made  in  the  Tribune  a  grand  expose 
of  the  Congressional  Mileage  system  (which  roused  the  wrath 
of  that  honorable  body  and  became  the  talk  of  the  nation),  and 
"pitched  into,"  generally,  all  the  money-spending,  time-wasting 
expedients  by  which  public  interests  and  business  were  delayed. 
The  tide  of  corruption,  however,  was  too  great  to  be  success- 
fully stemmed  by  one  honest  man,  and  Greeley's  three  months 
career  as  a  Congressman  may  be  summed  up  in  this,  that  "  as  a 
member  of  Congress,  he  was  truer  to  himself  and  dared  more  in 


HORACE   GREELEY.  561 

behalf  of  his  constituents  than  any  man  who  ever  sat  for  one 
session  only  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives." 

Meantime,  the  Tribune  establishment  was  on  the  high  road 
to  success;  and  was  valued  by  competent  judges  at  $100,000,  a 
low  estimate  perhaps,  when  we  consider  that  its  annual  profits 
amounted  to  over  $30,000.  Both  of  its  proprietors  were  now  in 
the  enjoyment  of  incomes  more  than  sufl&cient  for  what  they 
needed — and  now  they  determined  to  give  a  practical  proof  of 
their  belief  in  a  doctrine  which  they  had  earnestly  advocated 
for  several  years  previous — viz.:  the  advantages  of  associated. 
labor  and  profit.  The  property  was  divided  into  one  hundred 
$1000  shares,  each  of  which  entitled  the  holder  to  one  vote  in. 
the  decisions  of  the  company — thus  conferring  the  dignity  and; 
advantage  of  ownership  on  many  interested  parties,  while  the^ 
contesti:hg  power  practically  remained  with  Greeley  and. 
McElrath.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  "  Tribune  Association"' 
has  been  an  eminent  success. 

In  1850,  a  volume  of  Mr.  Greeley's  lectures  and  essays  was; 
published,  under  the  title  of  "  Hints  toward  Eeforra."  In  April,, 
1851,  Mr.  Greeley  visited  England,  to  view  the  "  World's  Fair"' 
and,  on  his  arrival  there,  found  that  he  had  been  appointed,  by 
the  American  commissioner,  as  a  member  of  the  jury  on  hard- 
ware. The  first  month  of  his  brief  holiday  was  conscientiously 
employed  in  the  discharge  of  the  tedious  and  onerous  duties, 
thus  assigned  him ; — and,  at  the  banquet,  given  at  Richmond, 
by  the  London  commissioners  to  the  foreign  commissioners,, 
he  had  the  honor  of  proposing,  with  a  speech,  the  health  of 
Joseph  Paxton,  the  architect  of  the  Crystal  Palace.  He  also  didi 
good  service  to  the  cause  of  cheap  popular  literature,  by  his 
evidence  given,  as  an  American  newspaper  editor,  before  two 
sessions  of  a  committee  appointed  by  Parliament  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  proposed  repeal  of  "  t^^^^j^  on  knowledge,"  viz.: 
36 


562  MEN   OF   OUR  DAY. 

the  duty  on  advertisements,  and  on  every  periodical  containing 
news.  A  rapid  "  run"  througli  the  continent,  and  Greeley  was 
back  in  his  sanctum  in  the  Tribune  building,  by  the  middle  of 
August,  and  his  experiences  were  given  to  the  world  in  an 
interesting  volume  entitled,  "  Glances  at  Europe."  With  the 
defeat  of  General  Scott,  and  the  annihilation  of  the  old  Whig 
party,  in  November,  1852,  the  Tribune  ceased  to  be  a  party 
paper,  and  its  editor  a  party  man.  The  same  year  he  performed 
a  sad  but  grateful  token  of  regard  to  the  memory  of  one  whom 
he  devotedly  admired,  by  finishing  Sargent's  Life  of  Henry 
Clay.  And,  as  he  found  himself  now  released  from  the  shackles 
of  party  politics,  he  began  to  yearn  for  the  repose  and  calm 
delights  of  moral  life.  He  purchased  a  neat  farm  of  fifty  acres 
in  Westchester  county,  where,  in  such  scanty  leisure  as  his 
editorial  life  allows  him,  he  has  put  into  practical  operation 
some  of  his  long  cherished  theories  in  regard  to  farming,  etc. 

In  1856,  he  published  an  able  "  History  of  the  struggle  for 
Slavery  Extension,  or  Restriction,  in  the  United  States,  from 
1787  to  1856 ;"  and,  in  1859,  he  made  a  trip  to  California,  via 
Kansas,  Pike's  Peak  and  Utah,  being  received,  at  many  princi- 
pal towns  and  cities,  by  the  municipal  authorities  and  citizens, 
whom  he  addressed  on  politics,  the  Pacific  railroad,  tem- 
perance, etc.,  and  on  his  return,  published  the  facts  in  regard  to 
the  mining  regions  which  he  had  observed,  in  a  duodecimo 
volume,  which  sold  largely. 

Into  all  the  momentous  issues  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  Mr. 
Greeley,  as  was  to  have  been  expected  from  ms  position  and 
his  antecedents,  threw  the  full  weight  of  his  immense  influence 
and  endeavors.  During  the  great  "  Draft  Riot"  of  New  York, 
in  July,  1863,  he  was  "  marked"  as  an  obnoxious  person,  and 
a  house  where  he  had  formerly  boarded  was  entered  and  com- 
pletely sacked  by  the  mob.     The  office  of  the  Tribune  was  also 


HORACE   GREELEY.  563 

attacked  by  tlie  mob,  who  sought  diligently  for  him,  but  tte 
gallant  efforts  of  the  police  soon  dispersed  them.  In  July, 
1864,  he  was  induced,  by  the  pretended  anxiety  of  certain 
parties  claiming  to  represent  the  Confederate  Government,  and 
who  desired  to  enter  into  negotiations  for  peace,  to  use  his  per- 
sonal influence  with  President  Lincoln  for  an  interview,  but 
Mr.  Lincoln's  adroitness  soon  elicited  the  fact  that  these  self- 
styled  pacificators  had  no  real  authority  to  act  in  the  premises, 
and  the  matter  resulted  only  in  the  issue  of  the  celebrated  ''  To 
whom  it  may  concern"  message. 

In  1865-67,  Mr.  Greeley's  history  of  the  war  was  published  in 
two  volumes,  under  the  title  of  *'  The  American  Conflict,"  had  an 
immense  sale,  and  is  justly  regarded,  North  and  South,  as  the 
best  political  history  of  that  struggle,  yet  presented  to  the  public. 

Since  the  completion  of  that  work,  he  has  also  published  a 
series  of  essays  on  "Political  Economy,"  giving  in  his  own 
peculiar  yet  forcible  way  the  arguments,  new  and  old,  in  favor 
of  protection  to  American  industry ;  a  revised  and  enlarged 
edition  of  his  autobiography,  or  "Recollections  of  a  Busy 
Life,"  a  volume  of  *'  Letters  from  the  Southwest  and  Texas," 
first  contributed  to  the  Tribune  while  he  was  visiting  that  sec- 
tion of  country ;  and  a  very  sensible  and,  on  the  whole,  modest 
book  on  agricultural  topics,  entitled  "  What  I  Know  About 
Farming."  This  work,  mainly  in  consequence  of  its  title,  has 
been  the  fruitful  source  of  innumerable  jokes,  good,  bad  and 
indifferent,  by  all  the  newspaper  wits  and  witlings  from  Maine 
to  Mexico.  Probably  not  one  in  fifty  of  them  ever  saw  the 
book  or  read  a  page  of  it. 

Mr.  Greeley  is  a  very  good  farmer  ;  not,  perhaps,  so  observant 
of  all  those  niceties  and  elegancies  which  make  fancy  farming 
ordinarily  so  brilliant  but  costly  a  luxury  as  some  others,  but  a 
farmer  who  understands  how  to  make  farming  pay,  even  when 


564  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

the  farm  was  originally  a  poor  and  unpromising  one.  His  book 
is  a  plain  and  graphic  account  of  his  own  experiences,  not  spar- 
ing his  blunders,  and  it  is  a  book  from  which  any  practical 
farmer  can  derive  many  beneficial  hints  and  suggestions. 

It  has  always  been  a  matter  of  wonder  to  us,  who  have  known 
Mr.  Greeley  for  so  many  years,  that  he  should  be  ambitious  for 
office.  That  he  possesses  the  qualifications  in  the  way  of  broad 
and  comprehensive  views,  large  political  and  politico-economical 
attainments,  and  unflinching  honesty  and  uprightness,  which 
would  fit  him  for  almost  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people,  we 
do  not  doubt.  He  might  be  the  better  for  a  higher  degree  of  re- 
finement and  greater  courtesy  of  manner ;  but  his  bluft'  and  some- 
times awkward  address  is  a  part  of  his  nature,  and  is  as 
inseparable  from  him  as  his  skin.  Yet  why  he  should  be  am- 
bitious to  be  a  member  of  Congress,  a  Governor,  a  United  States 
Senator,  or  a  President,  has  always  passed  our  comprehension. 
As  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  he  wielded  an  influence  in- 
finitely greater  than  any  Congressman,  Governor,  Senator,  or 
President  could  ever  hope  to  exercise. 

From  a  quarter  to  half  a  million  of  men  believed  in  Horace 
Greeley  as  religiously  as  they  believed  in  their  Bibles,  and  many 
of  them  reverenced  his  opinions  more  than  those  of  any  other 
human  being.  He  was,  in  the  Eepublican  administration,  and 
had  been  for  a  dozen  years  and  more,  "the  power  behind  the 
throne  greater  than  the  throne."  It  could  not  be  for  the  emolu- 
ments of  office,  for  though  he  can  hardly  be  called  rich,  being 
too  liberal  and  lavish  a  giver  ever  to  roll  up  a  fortune,  still  his 
income  was  very  little,  if  at  all,  less  than  that  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  it  was  not  for  a  four  years'  term,  but 
for  life. 

Yet  there  could  be  no  question  about  the  ambition.  Though 
seldom  gratified,  (he  had  been  a  member  of  Congress  for  one 


HORACE   GREELEY.  565 

session,  aud  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  beside 
some  minor  appointments,  not  wliolly  political,)  its  exis- 
tence was  evident  always.  It  was,  perhaps,  most  conspicuous 
in  his  letter  to  the  old  firm,  as  he  termed  them,  of  Seward, 
Weed  &  Co.,  first  published  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  and  which 
he  has  republished  himself  within  the  present  year.  From  any 
other  standpoint  than  the  somewhat  peculiar  one  occupied  by 
Mr.  Greeley  himself,  the  complaints  that  Mr.  Seward  had  not 
bestowed  upon  him  this  or  that  office,  seem  whimsical  and  child- 
ish. At  the  time  when  this  letter  was  written,  tlorace  Greeley 
wielded  a  power  essentially  greater  than  William  H.Seward  had 
ever  exerted.  He  was  the  cause  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  nomination 
and  Mr.  Seward's  defeat  in  the  struggle  for  the  Presidency,  in 
1860  and  through  the  civil  war,  as  through  European  wars 
since,  if  he  did  not  organize  victory,  he  often  precipitated 
action. 

It  has  been  a  characteristic  of  Mr.  Greeley  hitherto,  that 
greatly  as  he  might  desire  office  (and  we  are  bound  to  believe 
for  no  ignoble  purpose,  but  solely  that  he  might  benefit  his 
country),  he  was  very  sure  by  bringing  forward  some  whim  or 
crotchet,  which  he  knew  to  be  unpopular,  but  which  he  had 
adopted,  to  destroy  his  chances  of  election.  He  had  done  this 
so  many  times  that  his  warmest  friends  had  begun  to  be  doubt- 
ful of  the  propriety  of  giving  him  a  nomination.  That  he  had 
any  aspirations  for  the  Presidency  would  two  years  ago  have 
been  regarded  as  a  huge  joke.  But  it  is  pretty  well  settled  that 
he  has  been  for  years  aiming  in  that  direction. 

Though  he  has  acted  with  the  Hepublican  party  ever  since  its 
existence,  except  in  some  local  matters,  where  a  bolt  was  cer- 
tainly allowable,  yet  he  was  known  to  entertain  views  differiii<T 
from  many  of  the  leaders  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of  the  war, 
the  proclamation  of  universal  amnesty  and  impartial  suflrage 


566  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

the  bailing  of  Jefferson   Davis,  compensation   for    the  slaves, 
etc.,  etc. 

About  a  year  and  a  half  since,  a  New  York  daily  paper, 
whose  editor  was  Mr.  Greeley's  bitterest  personal  enemy  (and  he 
has  some  very  bitter  ones),  began  to  dedicate  two  columns  of  his 
paper  daily  to  the  record  of  the  doings  of  "  Useless  S.  Grant  "  and 
his  rival  for  the  Presidency,  whom  he  announced  sometimes  as 
"  Useful  H.  Greeley,"  and  sometimes  as  "  The  Great  and  Good  Dr. 
Horace  Greeley  of  Texas  and  Oregon."  The  whole  affair  was  in- 
tended as  a  personal  joke  of  huge  proportions,  but  of  so  coarse  a 
character  that  it  was  supposed  every  one  would  see  through  it. 

But  what  this  Ishmaelite  editor  intended  as  a  stupendous  joke 
came  in  time  to  be  considered  by  a  large  proportion  of  the  peo- 
ple as  sober  earnest.  Mr.  Greeley  had  been  gradually  drawing 
away  from  the  Administration.  Identified  with  the  Fenton 
wing  of  the  Republican  party  in  New  York,  he  soon  drew  down 
upon  himself  the  bitter  hostility  of  Mr,  Roscoe  Conkling  and 
his  friends,  and  as  Mr.  Conkling  had  the  ear  of  the  President  in 
regard  to  New  York  appointments,  Mr.  Greeley's  friends  were 
mercilessly  slaughtered.  Soon  there  came  other  grievances ; 
Mr.  Greeley  had  labored  earnestly,  and  with  all  the  intensity  of 
his  will,  to  have  one  or  two  men  removed  from  important  and 
lucrative  Government  appointments  in  New  York  city,  on  the 
alleged  ground  of  their  incompetency  and  corruption.  That  he 
fully  believed  the  charges  which  he  brought  against  them,  and 
v/hich  he  brought  a  large  array  of  facts  to  sustain,  no  one  who 
knows  him  will  doubt  for  a  moment.  But  the  President  was 
reluctant  to  remove  these  men,  and  when  he  finally  felt  com- 
pelled to  do  so,  he  gave  to  the  chief  offender  a  certificate  of 
character,  which  was  in  substance  a  declaration  that  he  did  not 
believe  the  charges  made  against  him. 

Soon  after  this  there  was  a  strong  pressure  made  for  President 


HORACE   GREELEY.  567 

Grant's  renomination,  and  Mr.  Greeley,  who  has  been  a  consis- 
tent advocate  of  one  term  for  the  Presidency  for  many  years, 
denounced  this  movement  in  unmeasured  terms.  He  also  made 
charges  of  nepotism  and  favoritism  against  the  President.  Other 
prominent  men  joined  in  this  opposition  to  the  President,  and  it 
was  at  length  determined  to  hold  a  Convention  of  Republicans 
opposed  to  the  renomination  of  President  Grant,  in  Cincinnati, 
in  the  first  week  in  May,  1872.  The  call  for  this  convention 
came  from  Mr.  Greeley's  life-long  enemies,  the  Free-Traders,  and 
it  was  supposed  that  Judge  David  Davis  of  Illinois,  or  Mr. 
Charles  Francis  Adams,  or  possibly,  Judge  Trumbull  of  Illinois 
would  be  its  candidate.  But  Mr.  Greeley's  friends  (we  hardly 
believe  he  himself  gave  anything  more  than  a  passive  assent  to 
their  exertions)  had  been  active  in  securing  delegates  to  the  con- 
vention, and  at  its  meeting,  after  the  adoption  of  a  very  good 
platform,  which  referred  the  question  of  free-trade  back  to  the 
Congressional  Districts  for  full  adjudication  by  the  election  of 
representatives  on  that  issue,  Horace  Greeley  was  nominated  for 
the  Presidency  on  the  sixth  ballot. 

At  first  the  news  took  the  whole  country  by  surprise,  and  it 
was  received  in  many  quarters  with  distrust,  and  in  some  with 
denunciation.  But  it  soon  appeared  that  very  many  of  the 
Southern  people  were  in  favor  of  the  nomination.  The  Demo- 
cracy, though  acknowledging  that  it  was  a  bitter  pill  to  be 
obliged  to  vote  for  their  most  virulent  enemy,  yet  whet'led  into 
line,  and  having  no  nominee  of  their  own  on  whom  tliev  could 
unite,  in  their  State  Conventions,  with  an  extraordinary  unani- 
mity, sanctioned  the  nomination.  The  disaffected  Republicans, 
at  first  a  small  body,  grew  in  numbers  daily,  and  unlikely  as  it 
seemed  in  1871,  he  would  be  a  bold  man  who  should  sa}'  to-day, 
that  tFle  election  of  Horace  Greeley  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  November,  1872,  was  either  impossible  or  very  impro- 


668  MEN   OF    OUR   DAY. 

bable.  The  address  and  platform  of  the  Cincinnati  Convention,  to 
"which  we  have  already  alluded,  was  as  follows  : 

THE   ADDRESS. 

The  administration  now  in  power  has  rendered  itself  guilty  of  wanton 
disregard  of  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  usurped  powers  not  granted  by  the 
Constitution.  It  has  acted  as  if  the  laws  had  binding  force  only  for  those 
who  are  governed,  and  not  for  those  who  govern.  It  has  thus  struck  a 
blow  at  the  fundamental  principles  of  constitutional  government  and  the 
liberty  of  the  citizen.  The  President  of  the  United  States  has  openly  used 
the  powers  and  opportunities  of  his  high  ofBce  for  the  promotion  of  per- 
sonal ends.  He  has  kept  notoriously  corrupt  and  unworthy  men  in  places 
of  power  and  responsibility  to  the  detriment  of  the  public  interest.  He 
has  used  the  public  service  of  the  Government  as  a  machinery  of  partisan 
and  personal  intiuence,  and  interfered  with  tyrannical  arrogance  in  the 
political  affairs  of  States  and  municipalities.  He  has  rewarded,  with  influ- 
ential and  lucrative  oEBces,  men  who  had  acquired  his  favor  by  valuable 
presents ;  thus  stimulating  demoralization  of  our  political  life  by  his  con- 
spicuous example.  He  has  shown  himself  deplorably  unequal  to  the  tasks 
imposed  upon  him  by  the  necessities  of  the  country,  and  culpably  careless 
of  the  responsibilities  of  his  high  office.  The  partisans  of  the  Admin- 
istration,  assuming  to  be  the  Republican  party  and  controlling  its  organi- 
zation, have  attempted  to  justify  such  wrongs  and  palliate  such  abuses,  to 
the  end  of  maintaining  partisan  ascendancy.  They  have  stood  in  the  way 
of  necessary  investigations  and  indispensable  reforms,  pretending  that  no 
serious  fault  could  be  found  with  the  present  administration  of  public 
affairs ;  thus  seeking  to  blind  the  eyes  of  the  people.  They  have  kept 
alive  the  passions  and  resentments  of  the  late  civil  war,  to  use  them  for 
their  own  advantage. 

They  have  resorted  to  arbitrary  measures  in  direct  conflict  with  the  or- 
ganic law,  instead  of  appealing  to  the  better  instincts  and  latent  patriotism 
of  the  Southern  people  by  restoring  to  them  those  rights,  the  enjoyment 
of  which  is  indispensable  for  a  successful  administration  of  their  local 
affairs,  and  would  tend  to  move  a  patriotic  and  hopeful  national  feeling. 
They  have  degraded  themselves  and  the  name  of  their  party,  once  justly 
entitled  to  the  confidence  of  the  nation,  by  a  base  sycophancy  to  the  dis- 
penser of  executive  power  and  patronage  unworthy  of  Republican  free- 
men ;  they  have  sought  to  stifle  the  voice  of  just  criticism,  to  stifle  the 
moral  sense  of  the  people,  and  to  subjugate  public  opinion  by  tyrannical 
party  discipline.  They  are  striving  to  maintain  themselves  in  authority 
for  selfish  ends  by  an  unscrupulous  use  of  tlie  power  which  rightfully  be- 
longs to  the  people,  and  should  be  employed  only  in  tlie  service  of  the 
country.     Believing  that  an  organization  thus  led  and  controlled  can  no 


HORACE   GREELEY.  569 

longer  be  of  service  to  the  best  interests  of  the  Republic,  we  have  resolved 
to  make  an  independent  appeal  to  the  sober  judgment,  conscience,  and  pa- 
triotism of  the  American  people. 


THE   PLATFORM. 

We,  fhe  Liberal  Republicans  of  the  United  States,  in  National  Convention 
assembled  at  Cincinnati,  proclaim  the  following 'principles  as  essential  to 
just  government : 

I.  We  recognize  the  equality  of  all  men  before  the  law,  and  hold  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  Government  in  its  dealings  with  the  people  to  mete  out 
equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  of  whatever  nativity,  race,  color,  or  persua- 
sion, religious  or  political. 

II.  We  pledge  ourselves  to  maintain  the  union  of  these  States,  emancipa- 
tion and  enfranchisement,  and  to  oppose  any  reopening  of  the  questions 
settled  by  the  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  Amendments  to  the 
Constitution. 

III.  We  demand  the  immediate  and  absolute  removal  of  all  disabilities 
imposed  on  account  of  the  Rebellion,  which  was  finally  subdued  seven 
years  ago,  believing  that  universal  amnesty  will  result  in  complete  pacifica- 
tion in  all  sections  of  the  country. 

IV.  Local  self-government,  with  impartial  suffrage,  will  guard  the  rights 
of  all  citizens  more  securely  than  any  centralized  power.  The  public  wel- 
fare requires  the  supremacy  of  the  civil  over  the  military  authority,  and 
freedom  of  person  under  the  protection  of  the  habeas  corpus.  We  demand 
for  the  individual  the  largest  liberty  consistent  with  public  order;  for  the 
State,  self-government,  and  for  the  nation  a  return  to  the  methods  of  peace 
and  the  constitutional  limitations  of  power. 

v.  The  Civil  Service  of  the  Government  has  become  a  mere  instrument 
of  partisan  tyranny  and  personal  ambition  and  an  object  of  seltish  greed. 
It  is  a  scandal  and  reproach  upon  free  institutions,  and  breeds  a  demorali- 
zation dangerous  to  the  perpetuity  of  Republican  Government.  We  there- 
fore regard  such  thorough  reforms  of  the  Civil  Service  as  one  of  the  most 
pressing  necessities  of  the  hour  ;  that  honesty,  capacity,  and  fidelity  con- 
stitute the  only  valid  claim  to  public  employment;  that  the  offices  of  the 
Government  cease  to  be  a  matter  of  arbitrary  favoritism  and  patronage, 
and  that  public  station  become  again  a  post  of  honor.  To  this  end  it  is 
imperatively  required  that  no  President  shall  be  a  candidate  for  reelection. 

"VI.  We  demand  a  system  of  Federal  taxation  which  shall  not  unneces- 
sarily interfere  with  the  industry  of  the  people,  and  wliich  shall  provide 
tlie  means  necessary  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  Government,  economically 
administered,  the  pensions,  the  interest  on  the  public  debt,  and  a  mode- 
rate reduction  annually  of  the  principal  thereof;  and,  recognizing  that 


570  ME^i    OF   OUR   DAY. 

tliere  are  in  our  midst  honest  but  irreconcilable  differences  of  opinion  with 
regard  to  the  respective  systems  of  Protection  and  Free-Trade,  we  remit 
the  discussion  of  the  subject  to  the  people  in  their  Congress  Districts,  and 
to  the  decision  of  Congress  thereon,  wholly  free  of  Executive  interference 
or  dictation. 

Vil.  The  public  credit  must  be  sacredly  maintained,  and  we  denounce 
repudiation  in  every  form  and  guise. 

VIII.  A  speedy  return  to  specie  payment  is  demanded  alike  by  the 
highest  considerations  of  commercial  morality  and  honest  government. 

IX.  We  remember  with  gratitude  the  heroism  and  sacrifices  of  the 
soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Republic,  and  no  act  of  ours  shall  ever  detract 
from  their  justly  earned  fame  or  the  full  reward  of  their  patriotism. 

X.  We  are  opposed  to  all  further  grants  of  lands  to  railroads  or  other 
corporations.     The  public  domain  should  be  held  sacred  to  actual  settlers. 

XI.  We  hold  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government,  in  its  intercourse 
with  foreign  nations,  to  cultivate  the  friendship  of  peace,  by  treating  with 
all  on  fair  and  equal  terms,  regarding  it  alike  dishonorable  either  to  demand 
what  is  not  right,  or  to  submit  to  what  is  wrong. 

XII.  For  the  promotion  and  success  of  these  vital  principles,  and  the 
support  of  the  candidates  nominated  by  this  convention,  we  invite  and 
cordially  welcome  the  cooperation  of  all  patriotic  citizens,  without  regard 
to  previous  affiliations.  Horace  White, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 
G.  P.  Thurston,  Secretary. 

The  officers  of  the  Cincinnati  Convention  notified  Mr.  Greeley 
of  his  nomination  ill  the  following  terms: 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  May  3d,  1872. 
Dear  Sir  : — The  National  Convention  of  the  Liberal  Republicans  of 
the  United  States  have  instructed  the  undersigned,  President,  Vice-Presi- 
dent, and  Secretaries  of  the  Convention  to  inform  you  that  you  have  been 
nominated  as  the  candidate  of  the  Liberal  Republicans  for  the  Presidency 
of  the  United  States.  We  also  submit  to  you  the  Address  and  Resolutions 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  Convention. 

Be  pleased  to  signify  to  us  your  acceptance  of  the  platform  and  the 
nomination,  and  believe  us,     Very  truly  yours, 

C.  ScHURZ,  President, 

Geo.  W.  Julian,  Vice-President. 

Wm.  E.  McLean,      ] 

John  G    Davidson,  >  Secretaries. 
J.  H.  Rhodes,  J 

Hon.  Horace  Greeley.  New  York  City, 


HORACE    GREELEY.  571 

To  this  communication  Mr.  Greeley  replied,  on  the  20th  of 

May,  as  follows : 

New  York,  May  20th,  1872, 

(tEntlemen  : — I  have  chosen  not  to  acknowledofe  your  letter  of  the  3d 
inst.  until  I  could  learn  how  the  work  of  your  Convention  was  received  in 
all  parts  of  our  great  country,  and  judge  whether  that  work  was  approved 
and  ratified  by  the  mass  of  our  fellow-citizens.  Their  response  has  from 
day  to  day  reached  me  through  telegrams,  letters,  and  the  comments  of 
journalists  independent  of  official  patronage  and  indifferent  to  the  smiles 
or  frowns  of  power.  The  number  and  character  of  these  unconstrained, 
xmpurchased,  imsolicited  utterances,  satisfy  me  that  the  movement  which 
found  expression  at  Cincinnati  has  received  the  stamp  of  public  approval, 
and  been  hailed  by  a  majority  of  our  countrymen  as  the  harbinger  of  a 
better  day  for  the  Republic. 

I  do  not  misinterpret  this  approval  as  especially  complimentary  to  my- 
self, nor  even  to  the  chivalrous  and  justly  esteemed  gentleman  with  whose 
name  I  thank  your  Convention  for  associating  mine.  I  receive  and  wel- 
come it  as  a  spontaneous  and  deserved  tribute  to  that  admirable  Platform 
of  principles,  wherein  your  Convention  so  tersely,  so  lucidly,  so  forcibly, 
set  forth  the  convictions  which  impelled  and  the  purposes  which  guided  its 
course — a  Platform  which,  casting  behind  it  the  wreck  and  rubbish  of  worn- 
out  contentions  and  bygone  feuds,  embodies  in  fit  and  few  words  the  needs 
and  aspirations  of  to-day.  Though  thousands  stand  ready  to  condemn 
your  every  act,  hardly  a  syllable  of  criticism  or  cavil  has  been  aimed  at 
your  Platform,  of  which  the  sxibstance  may  be  fairly  epitomized  as  follows: 

I.  All  the  political  rights  and  franchises  which  have  been  acquired 
through  our  late  bloody  convulsion  must  and  shall  be  guaranteed,  main- 
tained, enjoyed,  respected,  evermore. 

II.  All  the  political  rights  and  franchises  which  have  been  lost  through 
that  convulsion  should  and  must  be  promptly  restored  and  reestablished, 
so  that  there  shall  be  henceforth  no  proscribed  class  and  no  disfranchised 
caste  within  the  limits  of  our  Union,  whose  long  estranged  people  shall 
reunite  and  fraternize  upon  the  broad  basis  of  Universal  Amnesty  with 
Impartial  Suffrage. 

III.  That,  subject  to  our  solemn  constitutional  obligation  to  maintain 
the  equal  rights  of  all  citizens,  our  policy  should  aim  at  local  self-govern- 
ment, and  not  at  centralization;  that  the  civil  authority  should  be  supreme 
over  the  military  ;  that  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  should  be  jealously  up- 
held as  the  safeguard  of  personal  freedom  ;  that  the  individual  citizen- 
should  enjoy  the  largest  liberty  consistent  with  public  order;  and  that 
there  shall  be  no  Federal  subversion  of  the  internal  polity  of  the  several 
States  and  municipalities,  but  that  each  shall  be  left  free  to  enforce  the 


672  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

rights  and  promote  the  well-being  of  its  inhabitants  by  such  means  as  the 
judgment  of  its  own  people  shall  prescribe. 

IV.  There  shall  be  a  real  and  not  merely  a  simulated  Reform  in  the 
Civil  Service  of  the  Republic;  to  which  end  it  is  indispensable  that  the 
chief  dispenser  of  its  vast  official  patronage  shall  be  shielded  from  the 
main  temptation  to  use  his  power  selfishly  by  a  rule  inexorably  forbidding 
and  precluding  his  reelection. 

V.  That  the  raising  of  Revenue,  whether  by  Tariff  or  otherwise,  shall 
be  recognized  and  treated  as  the  people's  immediate  business,  to  be  shaped 
and  directed  by  them  through  their  Representatives  in  Congress,  whose 
action  thereon  the  President  must  neither  overrule  by  his  veto,  attempt  to 
dictate,  nor  presume  to  punish,  by  bestowing  office  only  on  those  who 
agree  with  him  or  withdrawing  it  from  those  who  do  not. 

VI.  That  the  Public  Lands  must  be  sacredly  reserved  for  occupation 
and  acquisition  by  cultivators,  and  not  recklessly  squandered  on  the  pro- 
jectors of  Railroads  for  which  our  people  have  no  present  need,  and  the 
premature  construction  of  which  is  annually  plunging  us  into  deeper  and 
deeper  abysses  of  foreign  indebtedness. 

VII.  That  the  achievement  of  these  grand  purposes  of  universal  bene- 
ficence is  expected  and  sought  at  the  hands  of  all  who  approve  them  irre- 
spective of  past  affiliations. 

VIII.  That  the  public  faith  must  at  all  hazards  be  maintained,  and  the 
national  credit  preserved. 

IX.  Tliat  the  patriotic  devotedness  and  inestimable  services  of  our  fellow- 
citizens  who,  as  soldiers  or  sailors,  upheld  the  flag  and  maintained  the  unity 
of  the  Republic  shallever  be  gratefully  remembered  and  honorably  requited. 

These  propositions,  so  ably  and  forcibly  presented  in  the  Platform  of  your 
Convention,  have  already  fixed  the  attention  and  commanded  the  assent 
of  a  large  majority  of  our  countrymen,  who  joyfully  adopt  them,  as  I  do, 
as  the  bases  of  a  true,  beneficent  National  Reconstruction — of  a  New  De- 
parture from  jealousies,  strifes,  and  hates,  which  have  no  longer  adequate 
motive  or  even  plausible  pretext,  into  an  atmosphere  of  peace,  fraternity, 
and  mutual  good  will.  In  vain  do  the  drill-sergeants  of  decaying  organi- 
zations flourish  menacingly  their  truncheons  and  angrily  insist  that  the 
files  shall  be  closed  and  straightened :  in  vain  do  the  whippers-in  of  par- 
ties once  vital  because  rooted  in  the  vital  needs  of  the  hour  protest  against 
straying  and  bolting,  denounce  men  nowise  their  inferiors  as  traitors  and 
renegades,  and  threaten  them  with  infamy  and  ruin.  I  am  confident  that 
the  American  people  have  already  made  your  cause  their  own,  fully  re- 
solved that  their  brave  hearts  and  strong  arms  shall  bear  it  on  to  triumph. 
In  this  faith,  and  v»rith  the  distinct  understanding  that,  if  elected,  I  shall 
be  the  President  not  of  a  party,  but  of  tlie  whole  people,  I  accept  your 
nomination  in  the  confident  trust  that  the  masses  of  our  countrymen, 
North  and  South,  are  eager  to  clasp  hands  across  the  bloody  chasm  which 


HORACE   GREELEY.  573 

has  too  long  divided  them,  forgetting  that  they  have  been  enemies  in  the 
joyful  consciousness  that  they  are  and  must  henceforth  remain  brethren. 

Yours,  gratefully, 

Horace  Greeley. 

To  Hon.  Carl  Schurz,  President;  Hon.  George  W.  Julian,  Vice-Presi- 
dent; and  Messrs.  William  E.  McLean,  John  G.  Davidson,  J.  H. 
Rhodes,  Secretaries  of  the  National  Convention  of  the  Liberal  Republi- 
cans of  the  United  States. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  this  movement  if  successful, 
must  result  in  the  breaking  up  of  old  party  lines  and  organiza- 
tions, and  in  the  development  of  new  issues  and  questions  on 
which  men  who  have  hitherto  been '  bitterly  opposed  to  each 
other  will  find  themselves  working  shoulder  to  shoulder  ;  while 
many  heretofore  marching  in  the  same  ranks,  will  henceforth 
rally  under  difi'erent  leaders  and  banners.  Perhaps  this  may  be 
well ;  at  all  events  it  is  very  likely  to  come ;  but  whether 
the  motley  host  who  raise  the  Greeley  banner,  can,  in  the 
event  of  their  success,  be  kept  together  for  six  months  is 
not  so  certain ;  and  whether  Mr.  Greeley  will  be  the  man  to 
unite  them  in  a  harmonious  party,  when  the  great  majority 
have  hardly  an  opinion  in  common  with  him,  is  equally 
uncertain. 

It  had  long  been  supposed  by  all  who  knew  Mr.  Greeley,  that 
nothing  but  death  could  separate  him  from  his  beloved  I'ribune  ; 
but  it  is  due  to  him  to  say  that  within  a  week  after  his  nomina- 
tion he  withdrew  from  the  editorship  of  the  paper,  which  is, 
however,  carried  on  in  his  interest  by  Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid,  his 
able  managing  editor  for  the  past  three  years. 

We  cannot,  perhaps,  better  close  this  sketch  of  Mr,  Greeley, 
than  with  the  summary  of  his  character  given  by  his  friend, 
Rev.  Dr.  Bellows,  of  the  Liberal  Christian,  a  summary  which  is 
as  true  as  it  is  happy  in  its  characterization: 

*'  At  home  in  city  and  country,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  con- 


574  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

tinent ;  with  all  tLe  qualities  of  the  Yankee — simple  as  shrewd, 
and  shrewd  as  simple ;  good-natured  as  a  healthy  child,  and 
passionate  as  the  same  on  occasions ;  a  wide  lover  of  his  species, 
and  a  tremendous  hater  of  many  of  its  individual  varieties ; 
open  as  the  day,  and  inscrutable  as  the  night ;  devoted  to  princi- 
ple when  not  absorbed  by  measures ;  strong  as  a  giant  when 
some  political  Delilah  has  not  shorn  his  locks  in  her  lap  ;  so 
pure  that  dirt  won't  stick  to  him,  which  makes  him  a  little  too 
free  in  going  into  it ;  not  to  be  known  by  his  associates,  because 
quite  superior  to  many  of  them ;  capable  of  a  superhuman  frank- 
ness and  a  Trappian  silence — certainly  America  finds  in  him  at 
this  moment  its  most  characteristic  representative.  He  is  the 
American  ]par  excellence.^'' 


WILLIAM  S.  GROESBECK, 

OF    OHIO. 


"'^^  MONG  the  Democratic  members  of  Congress  from  Ohio, 
l|5  few,  if  any,  have  been  more  highly  esteemed  by  all  par- 
ties than  Mr.  Groesbeok.  He  has  always  borne  the 
reputation  of  being  a  fair  and  honorable  man,  not  a 
bitter  partisan  ;  and  though  he  clings  with  all  the  tenacity  of  his 
ancestry  to  the  Democratic  faith,  he  holds  to  its  large  and 
really  beneficent  theories  of  human  government,  rather  than  to 
the  narrow  and  pettifogging  views  of  the  lower  order  of  poli- 
ticians, who  proclaim  themselves  Democrats  without  any  just 
understanding  of  the  real  meaning  of  the  name. 

William  S.  Groesbeck  was  born  in  Albany  county,  New- 
York,  in  1826.  He  was  of  Dutch  ancestry,  the  Groesbecks  being 
a  numerous  and  highly  respectable  family  among  the  early  set- 
tlers of  the  Mohawk  valley.  We  think  he  did  not  have  the 
advantage  of  a  full  collegiate  course,  but  he  has  been  a  diligent 
student,  and  is  specially  well  versed  in  English  literature.  He 
studied  law  in  Albany,  and  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar 
removed  to  Cincinnati,  in  1847,  or  1848,  and  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  His  legal  attainments  were  such  as 
speedily  to  bring  him  into  prominence,  and  doubtless,  into  a 
lucrative  practice.  In  1852,  we  find  him  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
six,  employed  as  a  member  of  a  commission  in  the  difficult  and 

575 


576  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

responsible  work  of  codifying  the  laws  of  Ohio  ;  he  had  already 
(in  I80I)  been  a  member  of  the  State  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion ;  and  in  both  duties  he  had  distinguished  himself.  In  1856, 
he  was  elected  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  Cincinnati, 
and  was  then  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  affairs,  an 
important  position  for  so  young  and  new  a  member.  In  Jan- 
uary and  February,  1861,  he  was  a  member  of  the  "Peace  Con- 
gress," and  favored  compromise  measures.  The  next  year  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Senate,  but  never  a  bitter  opponent 
of  the  war.  In  1866,  when  the  "National  Union  Convention," 
or  as  it  was  appropriately  named  by  a  New  York  wit,  "the 
Arm-in-arm  Convention"  met  in  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Groesbeck 
was  one  of  its  ablest  members.  Here,  too,  his  best  efforts  were 
made  in  behalf  of  conciliation,  and  a  reunion  of  the  hitherto  dis- 
cordant elements  at  the  North  and  South.  When,  in  1868,  Pre- 
sident Johnson  was  put  on  his  trial,  he  secured  the  services  of 
Mr.  Groesbeck  as  one  of  his  counsel,  and  his  whole  bearing 
during  that  protracted  trial  was  such  as  to  win  for  him  the 
respect  of  his  opponents. 

Since  1868,  Mr.  Groesbeck  has  devoted  himself  very  sedu- 
lously to  his  profession,  but  his  party  claim  him  as  one  of  their 
very  ablest  men,  and  many  of  them  have  been  very  anxious  to 
nominate  him  for  the  Presidency,  but  he  has  steadfastly  resisted 
all  overtures  of  the  kind,  and  is  understood  to  favor  for  his 
party  the  nomination  of  the  Cincinnati  candidates  for  the  com- 
ing Presidential  campaign. 

Mr.  Groesbeck  is  more  a  jurist  than  a  politician,  and  though 
h-e  possesses  the  ability  to  fill  with  credit  any  position,  he  would, 
we  believe,  enjoy  judicial  much  more  than  political  honors. 


THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS, 

EX-UNITED    STATES    SENATOR   FROM    INDIANA. 


HE  name  of  Hendricks  is  an  honorable  one  in  Indiana. 
WHliam  Hendricks,  a  kinsman  of  Thomas,  and  an  early- 
settler  in  the  territory,  was  Secretary  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  which  formed  the  present  Constitu- 
tion of  the  State,  its  first  and  only  representative  in  Con- 
gress from  1816  to  1822  ;  its  Governor  from  1822  to  1825,  and 
a  United  States  Senator  from  1825  to  1837. 

Thomas,  the  subject  of  the  present  sketch,  was  born  in  Musk- 
ingum county,  Ohio,  September  7th,  1819.  He  graduated  from^ 
S.  Hanover  College,  Indiana,  in  1841,  studied  law  in  Ohio  and 
in  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1843.  He  removed  immediately  to  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  and 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  soon 
attained  reputation  and  success.  But  the  law  in  Indiana  as  well 
as  elsewhere  in  the  West,  is  only  a  stepping-stone  to  a  political 
career,  and  so  Mr.  Hendricks  very  naturally  glided  into  politics. 
In  184:8,  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  but  the  follow- 
ing year  declined  a  re-election;  in  1850,  he  was  an  active  and 
useful  member  of  the  Indiana  Constitutional  Convention,  and  in 
the  autumn  of  that  year  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
Indianapolis  district.  He  was  re-elected  in  1852,  and  at  the 
expiration  of  his  second  term  (in  March,  1855,)  was  appointed 
^"t  '  677 


578  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  in  which  post  he  was 
continued  by  President  Buchanan,  but  iu  1859  resigned. 

In  1862,  he  was  elected  United  States  Senator,  serving  from 
1863  to  1869,  and  was  a  member  of  several  important  com- 
mittees. Though  belonging  to  and  voting  with  the  small  Demo- 
cratic minority  in  the  Senate,  during  his  whole  Senatorial  term. 
Senator  Hendricks  was  not  factious  or  bitterly  partisan.  He 
secured  the  respect  of  his  opponents  by  his  manly  and  dignified 
course,  and  retained  the  confidence  and  regard  of  his  constitu- 
ents, though  the  Republicans  were  in  the  ascendancy  in  the 

State  during  most  of  his  term. 

» 
Since  leaving  the  Senate,  Mr.  Hendricks,  though  active  in 

politics,  has  not  sought  office.    He  exerts  a  controlling  influence 

in  Indiana,  and  has  the  confidence  of  the  rank   and  file  of  the 

party,  as  a  man  of  pure  and   patriotic   motives.     He  has  been 

often  named  for  the  Presidency,  but  is  wise  enough  to  see  that 

his  time  has  not  yet  come.     He  has  recently  been  nominated  by 

the  Democrats  for  Governor  of  the  State,  and  is  understood  to 

favor  a  coalition  with  the  Liberal  Republicans. 


WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON. 


IILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON,  one  of  the  earliest,  the 
most  persistent,  and  consistent  of  American  abolitionists, 
was  born  at  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  on  the  12th 
of  December,  1804.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  the 
Province  of  New  Brunswick,  of  English  stock,  born  in  the  faith 
of  the  established  church,  beautiful,  spirited,  and  gay.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen,  she  was  led  by  curiosity  to  attend  the  meetings 
of  some  itinerant  Baptists,  was  converted  and  became  a  member 
of  that  church.  For  this  her  parents  closed  their  hearts  and 
their  doors  against  her,  and  she  was  indebted  to  an  uncle  for  a 
home  until  ber  marriage.  She  was  a  woman  of  marked  in- 
dividuality, earnest  convicUons,  enthusiastic  temperament,  and 
possessed  a  native  gift  of  eloquence  in  prayer  and  exhor- 
tation, which  was  frequently  exercised  in  public,  as  was 
allowed  by  the  custom  of  that  denomination.  His  father, 
Abijah  Garrison,  was  master  of  a  vessel,  engaged  in  the  West 
India  trade,  and  was  possessed  of  considerable  literary  ability 
and  taste.  Unfortunately,  however,  he  became  a  victim  to  in- 
temperance ;  and,  under  its  baneful  influence,  abandoned  his 
family.  Ilis  wife,  thus  left  with  her  children,  in  utter  poverty, 
adopted  the  calling  of  a  nurse ;  and,  in  1814,  went  to  Lynn, 
Massachusetts,  and  "William  was  placed  with  Gamaliel  Oliver, 

a  Quaker  shoemaker  of  that  town,  to  learn  the  trade.     So  small 

579 


580  MEX    OF   OUR    DAY, 

for  his  ngo,  was  ho,  that  his  knees  trembled  under  the  weight 
of  the  hxpstone;  and  liis  mother  Ihidin};,  at  the  end  of  a  low 
months,  that  tho  business  would  not  agree  with  her  boy,  sent 
him  hack  to  Nowburyport.  There  he  was  placed  at  sehod,  and 
taught  the  usual  ri>utine  of  New  Mngland  distriet  schools,  at  that 
time — reading,  writing,  ciphering,  and  a  little  graninuir.  lie 
lived  in  the  family  of  Deaeou  E/.ekiol  Bartlett;  ami,  as  an 
equivalent  for  his  board,  employed  himself,  when  out  of  school, 
in  assisting  the  deacon  in  his  occupation  of  wood-sawyer,  going 
with  him  from  house  to  house.  In  18 lo,  ho  ai>eonipanied  his 
mother  to  Baltimore,  where,  after  a  year  sjient  in  the  capacity 
of  "  chore-boy,"  he  returned  to  Nowburyport.  Jn  1818,  he  was 
apprenticed  to  Moses  Short,  a  cabinet-maker  of  Haverhill, 
Massachusetts,  bi\t  linding  tho  trade  very  repugnant  to  his 
feelings,  ho  finally  succeeded  in  persuading  his  employer  to 
release  him,  anil  in  October  of  the  same  year,  became  indentured 
to  Kpliraim  W.  Allen,  editor  o['  the  ^^  Ni'wbnryport  //em/(/,"  to 
hvirn  the  art  of  printing.  Ho  Inul,  at  last,  found  an  om[>loyment 
congenial  to  his  tast(\>^,  and  speedily  beeamo  expert  in  tho 
mechanical  part  of  the  business.  His  mind,  also,  developed 
into  activity ;  and,  when  only  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  ago 
he  began  to  conti'ibute  to  the  columns  of  the  j^aper,  upon  j^olitieal 
and  other  topics — carefully  prosetving,  however,  his  incognito. 
On  one  occasion,  the  apprentice,  who  thus  had  the  pleasure  of 
setting  his  own  contributions  in  type,  was  the  amused  an  1 
flattered  recipient  oi'  a  letter  of  thanks  from  his  master,  w'  o 
urged  him  ti>  continue  his  communications, 

A  considerable  time  elapsed  before  Mr.  Allen  became  aware 
that  the  correspondent,  whose  communications  he  so  valued 
and  eagerly  welcomed,  was  his  own  apprentice.  The  ice  once 
broken,  however,  young  Garrison  launched  out  somewhat  more 
extensively  in  tho  literary  line,  his  contributions  bei ng  accepted, 


WILLIAM    LLOYD    (JAimiHON.  081 

with  inucli  favor,  by  the;  "  A'a/c/n  (iazdlv.^^  tlio  ^^  JIavcrhill 
OuztUlc,^'  und  the  ^^  JJuslou  Conr/ncrcial  (/azdle,^^  ospooially  by 
the  latter,  the  editor  of  wliieli,  Samuel  Ij.  Knapp,  was  a  iiiaii  of 
marked  eulturc  and  ;/oo<l  taste.  A  ^^eri(^s  of  (jianistjii'.s  aiLi(;Je.s, 
publisluid  ill  tli(<  "AW.Am  (/azdt<;,'^  (jvcr  the  .si;.^iiatiire  of 
'*  Aristides,"  attraeted  in  itch  attention  in  polilieul  cirele.s,  and 
were  hi^iily  eoinmendcd  \>y  Itobert  Walsh,  then  editor  <jf  tho 
"National  Cyazd/c"  (i'hiladelpliia),  who  attributed  their  author- 
ship to  the  venerable  Timothy  I'iekerin^,  In  18*24,  during  tho 
Bonutwhat  protracted  al).senee  of  Mr.  Alien,  tlic  " /Aru/'/"  was 
odit(id  by  CiarrLson,  who,  also,  HUfierintcnded  its  jninting. 
About  the  Hanio  time,  hiw  eiithusiaHtie  nature  l^eeaine  ho  inter- 
ested in  tho  cauHO  of  the  (ireelcH,  tiien  Ktruggling  I'or  their  free- 
dom, that  lie  was  strongly  inelined  to  Hocik  adminsion  to  tho 
Militury  Academy  at  Went  I'oint,  with  a  view  of  pi'i;))aring 
hirnaelf  for  a  military  earecr.  In  18'2(),  at  tho  elo.se  of  hin 
approntioenhij),  he  beeame  j)roprietor  and  editor  of  a  Journal  in 
his  native  town,  entitled  "  27ir,  Free  /■'mw;"  and  toiled  aiduouH- 
ly,  putting  hi.s  arti(;l(!H  in  type  with(jut  eommitting  them  to 
paper,  'i'he  ent<;r[)ri,se,  however,  |)rov(;d  unsue<',e.ssfijl,  and  he 
sought  and  obtained  (;mpl(»y nnrnt,  f^r  awhile,  as  u  journeyman 
pi'inter,  in  Bowton  ;  wheic,  in  18'27,  he  became  the  (;ditor  of  the 
"  Nalittnal  Pldhitdli.mpiHt^''  the  first  journal  ever  e.stabli.shed  lor 
the  ttdvoeaey  of  tho  eauso  of  "  total  abslinenee."  Before  the 
close  of  itH  first  year,  the  journal  ehanged  jjrojirietor.s  ;  and 
during  the  next  year,  182H,  he  joiiKjd  a  fiiciid  in  the  jmblieation 
o("  "  'ihc.  Journal  of  l/te  yVw.-*,"  at  ltenningt<m,  V<'.rmont.  'i'his 
journal  Kupfiorted  the  elaims  of  John  Quiney  Adams  to  tho 
pre.sideney,  and  was  devoted  in  part  to  tho  interests  of  peaeci, 
ternperanee,  anti-slavery,  and  kindred  reforms;  but  it  faihid  of 
a  sunTieient  support,  and  was  diwiontinued.  l)uring  liis  reHi<lenee 
at  Bennington,  Mr.  Garrison's  influence,  in  regard  to  slavery,  was 


582  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

felt  not  only  in  that  place,  but,  also,  throughout  the  entire 
State,  and  led  to  the  transmission,  to  Congress,  of  an  anti- 
slavery  memorial,  which  was  more  numerously  signed  than  any 
similar  paper  ever  before  submitted  to  that  tribunal.  This 
subject,  indeed,  had  now  fairly  enlisted  the  full  interest  of  Mr. 
Garrison's  mind,  and  he  delivered  an  address  before  a  religious 
and  philanthropic  assembly,  held  on  the  4th  of  July,  1829,  in 
the  Park  street  church,  Boston,  which  excited  general  attention 
by  the  boldness  and  vigor  of  its  tones. 

His  "  mission" — as  the  Germans  would  say — had  found  him, 
and  a  larger  sphere  of  usefulness  was  opening  before  him. 
During  the  previous  year  (1828)  he  had  become  acquainted  at 
Boston  with  one  Benjamin  Lundy,  a  Quaker  and  an  abolition- 
ist, who  had  been  publishing,  in  Baltimore,  since  1824,  "  The 
Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation'^  (established  in  1821),  "an 
anti-slavery  paper  which  was  read  only  by  a  few  people  in  the 
city  and  adjacent  country,  mostly  of  his  own  faith,  and  which 
the  southern  people  thought  was  not  of  sufficient  consequence  to 
be  put  down."  The  Baptist  and  the  Quaker  met  and  "  struck 
hands"  on  this  one  common  ground — their  duty  to  the  slave. 
So,  in  the  autumn  of  1829,  Garrison  went  to  Baltimore  and 
joined  Mr.  Lundy  in  the  editorship  of  the  Genius ;  making,  in 
the  first  number  issued  under  the  new  auspices,  a  distinct 
avowal  of  the  doctrine  of  immediate  emancipation.  Mr.  Lundy 
was  a  gradual  emancipationist  and  a  believer  in  colonization, 
which  Mr.  Garrison  entirely  repudiated ;  but,  as  each  of  them 
appended  his  initials  to  his  articles,  the  difference  of  opinion  in- 
terposed no  obstacle  to  a  hearty  co-operation.  But  the  zeal  of 
the  new  editor  produced  an  unwonted  excitement  among  the  sup- 
porters of  slavery,  while  his  denunciation  of  the  colonization 
project  aroused  an  equal  amount  of  hostility  among  the  friends 
of  the  paper.     "  From  tbe  moment,"  says  Garrison  (in  a  speech 


WILLIAM    LLOYD   GARRISOX.  5"83 

at  Philadelpliia,  1863),  "that  the  doctrine  of  immediate  emanci- 
pation was  enunciated  in  the  columns  of  the  Genius,  as  it  had 
not  been  up  to  that  hour,  it  was  like  a  bombshell  in  the  camp  of 
the  subscribers  themselves ;  and  from  every  direction  letters 
poured  in,  that  they  had  not  bargained  for  such  a  paper  as  that, 
or  for  such  doctrines,  and  they  desired  to  have  no  more  copies 
sent  to  them."  Lundy  seems  to  have  borne  patiently  with  the 
ruinous  "rumpus"  which  his  partner  had  raised;  but  an  event 
soon  occurred  which  occasioned  a  dissolution  of  the  firm.  It  so 
happened  that  the  ship  Francis,  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Francis 
Todd  of  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  came  to  Baltimore,  where 
she  took  in  a  cargo  of  slaves  for  the  Louisiana  market.  It 
roused  all  the  righteous  indignation  of  Mr.  Garrison,  who 
denounced  it  as  an  act  of  "  domestic  piracy,"  and  declared  his 
intention  to  "  cover  with  thick  infamy  all  who  were  engaged  in 
the  transaction."  Baltimore  had  patiently  stood  Lundy  and  his 
Genius  for  some  years,  but  it  could  not  brook  this  ferocious 
attack  upon  a  business  which  was  not  only  legitimized  by  use 
in  their  city  but  "  by  which  they  had  their  gain."  Garrisoa 
was  prosecuted  for  libel,  indicted  and  convicted  at  the  May  term 
(1830)  of  the  city,  court,  for  "  a  gross  and  malicious  libel" 
against  the  owner  and  master  of  the  vessel,  though  the  Custom 
House  records  proved  that  the  number  of  slaves  transported 
really  exceeded  the  editor's  statement.  In  spite  of  the  able  de- 
fence of  his  counsel,  Charles  Mitchell,  who  occupied  a  position 
at  the  Baltimore  bar  second  only  to  that  of  William  Wirt,  he 
was  fined  fifty  dollars  and  costs  of  the  court.  Mr.  Todd,  in  a 
civil  suit,  afterward  obtained  a  verdict  against  him  for  one  thou- 
sand dollars — but  the  judgment,  probably  on  account  of  his  well 
known  poverty,  was  never  enforced.  During  his  imprisonment 
he  was  considerately  placed  in  a  cell  recently  vacated  by  a  man 
who   had    been   hung  for   murder — but  he  experienced  much 


584  MEN   OF    OUR  DAY. 

kindness  from  the  jailer  and  his  family — and  was  visited 
frequently  by  Lundy  and  a  few  other  Quaker  friends.  The 
northern  press,  generally,  condemned  his  imprisonment  aa 
unjust,  the  South  Carolina  Manumission  Society  protested 
against  it  as  an  infraction  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  hia 
letters  to  the  different  newspapers,  as  well  as  several  sonnets 
which  he  inscribed  upon  the  walls  of  his  cell,  excited  considerable 
attention  in  various  quarters.  After  a  forty-nine  days'  confine- 
ment he  was  released  by  the  payment  of  the  fine  by  Mr. 
Arthur  Tappan,  a  New  York  merchant,  whose  generosity 
anticipated,  by  a  few  days,  a  similar  purpose  on  the  part  of 
Henry  Clay,  whose  interest  had  been  awakened  by  a  mutual 
friend.  To  Daniel  Webster,  also,  Mr.  Garrison  was  indebted, 
soon  after  his  release,  for  sympathy  and  encouragement. 

Freed  from  his  chains,  the  dauntless  champion  of  the  op- 
pressed issued  a  prospectus  for  an  anti-slavery  journal  to  be 
published  at  Washington,  and  with  the  design  of  exciting  a 
deeper  and  more  wide-spread  interest  in  his  proposed  enter- 
prise, he  prepared  a  course  of  lectures  on  slavery,  which  he 
■delivered  in  Philadelphia,  New  York,  New  Haven,  Hartford, 
and  Boston.  In  Baltimore,  he  failed  to  obtain  a  hearing.  In 
Boston,  all  efforts  to  procure  a  suitable  public  place  for  hia 
lectures  having  failed,  he  boldly  announced,  in  the  daily  prints, 
that  if  no  such  place  could  be  obtained  within  a  certain  speci- 
fied time,  he  would  address  the  people  on  "The  Common." 
"The  only  hall  placed  at  his  disposal  was  by  an  association  of 
infidels ;  and  Mr.  Garrison  accepted  the  offer,  and  there  de- 
livered his  lectures;  taking  care,  however,  to  distinctly  avow 
his  belief  in  Christianity,  as  the  only  power  which  could  break 
the  bonds  of  the  enslaved.  These  lectures  were  largely  attended, 
and  were  instrumental  in  awakening  an  increased  interest  in 
the  subject.     His  experiences  as  a  lecturer  convinced  him  thai 


WILLIAM    LLOYD    GARRISON.  585 

Boston,  rather  than  Washington,  was  the  best  location  for  an 
anti-slavery  paper ;  and  that  a  revolution  of  public  sentiment 
at  the  North  must  precede  emancipation  in  the  South.  It  was 
in  Boston,  accordingly,  that  he  issued  (January  1st  1831)  the 
first,  number  of  the  "Z/^erator,"  taking  for  his  motto,  "my 
country  is  the  world;  my  countrymen  arc  all  mankind;"  and 
declaring,  in  the  face  of  an  almost  universal  apathy  upon  the 
subject  of  slavery,  "/aw  in  earnest ;  I  will  not  equivocate  ;  I  will 
not  excuse  ;  /  will  not  retract  a  single  word,  and  I  will  he  heardP  And 
again:  "On  this  question  my  influence,  humble  as  it  is,  is  felt 
at  this  moment  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  shall  he  felt  in 
coming  years — not  perniciously,  but  beneficially — not  as  a  curse, 
but  as  a  blessing ;  and  posterity  will  bear  testimony  that 

I  WAS  RIGHT." 

Yet  this  earnest  young  man,  who  so  defiantly  threw  down 
the  gauntlet  to  the  world,  was  without  means,  or  promise  of 
support  from  any  quarter,  and  his  partner  in  the  proposed 
enterprise,  Mr.  Isaac  Knapp,  was  as  poor  as  himself.  Fortu- 
nately they  were  both  afforded  employment  in  the  office  of  the 
^^  Christian  Examiner,^^  the  foreman  of  which  was  a  warm  per- 
sonal friend  of  Garrison — and  were  thus  enabled  to  exchange 
their  labor  for  the  use  of  the  type,  Mr.  Garrison  working  labor- 
iously at  type-setting  all  day,  and  spending  the  night  in  his  edito- 
rial capacity.  The  initial  number  was  at  length  issued,  and  the 
young  men  waited  anxiously  to  see  what  encouragement  tliey 
should  receive.  The  first  cheering  return  for  their  labors 
was  the  receipt  of  fifty  dollars,  with  a  list  of  twenty-five  sub- 
scribers, from  James  Forten,  a  wealthy  colored  citizen  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  they  cast  aside  all  doubt  as  to  their  future.  At 
the  expiration  of  three  weeks  they  were  enabled  to  open  an 
office  for  themselves;  but,  for  nearly  two  years,  their  very 
restricted  resources  obliged  them  to  reside  in  the  ofl&ce,  making 


586  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

their  beds  upon  the  floor,  and  subsisting  upon  the  plainest  and 
humblest  fare.  In  all  sections  of  the  country,  both  North  and 
South,  the  "  Liberator'^  attracted  general  attention,  finding 
sympathy  in  some  quarters,  while  in  others  it  was  denounced 
as  fanatical  and  incendiary.  The  Hon.  Harrison  Gray  Otis, 
then  mayor  of  Boston,  having  been  urged,  by  a  southern  magis- 
trate, to  suppress  the  journal  by  law,  if  possible,  wrote  in  reply 
that  his  officers  had  "  ferreted  out  the  paper  and  its  editor, 
whose  office  was  an  obscure  hole,  his  only  auxiliary  a  negro 
boy,  his  supporters  a  very  few  insignificant  persons  of  all  col- 
ors." Almost  every  mail,  at  this  period,  brought  threats  of 
assassination  to  Mr.  Garribon,  if  he  persisted  in  publishing  his 
sheet ;  and  in  December,  1831,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Georgia,  ofiering  a  reward  of  $5000  to  any  one  who 
should  arrest,  bring  to  trial,  and  prosecute  to  conviction,  under 
the  laws  of  that  State,  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  obnox- 
ious journal.  His  friends,  becoming  alarmed  for  his  safety, 
urged  his  arming  himself  for  defence  ;  but  being  a  non-resistant 
he  was  conscientiously  restrained  from  following  their  advice. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1832,  he,  with  eleven  others,  organ- 
iised  "  The  New  England  (afterwards  the  Massachusetts)  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,"  upon  the  principle  of  immediate  emancipation  , 
and  this  was  the  parent  of  the  numerous  affiliated  societies  by 
which,  for  many  years,  the  anti-slavery  question  was  so  per- 
sistently kept  before  the  public  eye.  In  the  spring  of  the  same 
year,  he  published  a  work,-  entitled  "  Thoughts  on  African 
Colonization,"  etc.,  setting  forth,  at  length,  the  grounds  of  his 
opposition  to  that  scheme.  Immediately  after  (1833),  he  went 
to  England  as  an  agent  of  the  New  England  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  co-operation  of  the  peo 
pie  of  Great  Britain,  in  measures  for  the  promotion  of  emancipa- 
tion in  the  United  States,  and  as  opposed  to  the  colonization 


WILLIAM    LLOYD   GARRISON-.  587 

sclieme.  He  was  cordially  received  by  Wilberforce,  Buxton, 
and  their  noble  associates ;  and,  as  the  result  of  his  statements 
and  influence,  Wilberforce,  and  eleven  of  his  most  prominent 
coadjutors,  joined  in  the  issue  of  a  protest  against  the  American 
Colonization  Society,  whose  plans  they  pronounced  delusive, 
and  a  hindrance  to  the  abolition  of  slavery.  While  in  England, 
through  his  influence  also,  Mr.  George  Thompson,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  of  the  anti-slavery  champions  in  Great  Britain, 
was  induced  to  visit  the  United  States  as  an  anti-slavery 
lecturer. 

Shortly  after  Mr,  Garrison's  return  to  America,  "  The  Ameri- 
can  Anti-Slavery  Society"  was  formed  at  Philadelphia,  upon 
the  principles  advocated  by  him,  and  the  "  Declaration  of  senti- 
ments" issued  by  the  Society,  an  elaborate  manifesto  of  its 
principles,  aims  and  methods,  was  also  prepared  by  him.  Pub- 
lic interest  in  the  subject  had,  by  this  time,  deepened  into  ex- 
citement, and  this,  intensified  to  the  highest  degree,  developed 
a  mobocratic  spirit ;  so  that,  for  two  or  three  years,  the  assem- 
bling of  an  anti-slavery  meeting,  almost  anywhere  in  the  free 
States,  provoked  riotous  demonstrations,  dangerous  alike  to 
property  and  life.  Mr.  Thompson  (before  referred  to)  arrived 
here  from  England,  in  1834;  but  so  great  was  the  excitement 
occasioned  by  his  presence  here,  that  he  found  it  prudent  to  re- 
turn across  the  Atlantic,  leaving  his  promised  work  unfinished. 

In  October  1835,  a  mob,  composed  of  persons  who  were  de- 
scribed in  the  journals  of  the  day  as  "  gentlemen  of  property  and 
standing,"  broke  up  a  meeting  of  the  Female  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  at  Boston,  and  Mr.  Garrison,  who  was  announced  as 
one  of  the  speakers  of  the  occasion,  was  seized  and,  partially 
denuded  of  his  clothing,  was  violently  dragged  through  the 
streets  to  City  llall ;  where,  as  the  only  means  of  saving  his  life, 
ht  was  committed  to  jail  by  the  mayor,  on  the  nominal  charge  of 


5S3  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

being  "a  disturber  of  the  peace !"  He  was,  however,  released 
the  next  day,  and  sent,  under  protection  of  the  civic  authorities, 
to  a  place  of  safety  in  the  country,  leaving  pencilled  upon  the 
walls'of  the  cell  which  he  had  occupied,  the  following  inscription : 
"  William  Lloyd  Garrison  was  put  into  this  cell  on  Wednesday 
afternoon,  Octot)er,  21,  1835,  to  save  him  from  the  violence  of 
a  "  respectable  and  influential"  mob,  who  sought  to  destroy  him, 
for  preaching  the  abominable  and  dangerous  doctrine,  that  all 
men  are  created  equal,  and  that  all  oppression  is  odious  in  the 
sight  of  God.  Hail,  Columbia !  cheers  for  the  Autocrat  of 
Russia,  and  Sultan  of  Turkey  !  Reader,  let  this  inscription  re- 
main, till  the  last  slave  in  this  land  be  loosed  from  his  fetters  I'' 
In  the  discussion  of  the  peace  question  which  followed  these 
scenes  of  violence,  Mr.  Garrison  took  a  prominent  part  as  a 
champion  of  non-resistance ;  and,  in  1838,  led  the  way  in  the 
organization  of  the  *'  New  England  Kon-resistance  Society ;" 
the  "  Declaration  of  Sentiments"  issued  by  them,  being  also  his 
work.  About  this  time,  also,  arose  the  question  of  the  rights 
of  women  as  members  of  the  anti-slavery  societies,  and  Mr. 
Garrison  earnestly  advocated  their  right,  if  they  so  wished,  to 
vote,  serve  on  committees,  and  take  part  in  discussious,  on 
equal  footing  with  men.  The  American  Anti-Slavery  Society 
split  upon  this  question,  in  1840;  and,  in  the  "World's  Anti- 
Slavery  Convention,"  held  during  the  same  year  in  London, 
Mr.  Garrison,  as  a  delegate  from  that  society,  refused  to  take  his 
seat,  because  the  female  delegates  from  the  United  States  were 
excluded.  During  this  visit  to  England,  he  was  invited  to 
Stafford  House,  by  the  beautiful  and  distinguished  Duchess  of 
Sutherland,  who  treated  him  with  marked  attention,  and  at 
whose  request  he  sat  to  one  of  the  most  eminent  artists  of  the 
day  for  his  portrait,  which  was  added  to  the  treasures  of  thak 
palace. 


WILLIAM   LLOYD   GARRISON.  589 

Iq  1843,  lie  was  cboseii  president  of  the  society,  wliicli  office 
he  continued  to  hold  until  1865. 

In  1843,  a  small  volume  of  his  "  sonnets  and  other  poems" 
was  published;  and,  in  1846,  he  made  his  third  visit,  on  anti- 
slavery  business,  to  Great  Britain.  In  1852,  appeared  a  volume 
of  "  selections,"'  from  his  "  writings  and  speeches." 

Mr.  Garrison  has,  from  the  first,  kept  himself,  as  an  abolition- 
ist, free  from  all  politiciil  or  religious  complications,  or  affinities. 
Believing  most  thoroughly,  as  expressed  in  the  motto  of  the 
Liberator,  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  in  its  re- 
lations to  slavery,  was  "  a  covenant  with  death  and  an  agree- 
ment with  hell,"  he  has  acted  with  singular  and  unwavering 
consistency.  It  has  been  well  said,*  that  "  while  everybody 
else  in  the  United  States  had  something  else  to  conserve,  some 
Bide  issues  to  make,  some  points  to  carry.  Garrison  and  his  band 
had  but  one  thing  to  say — that  American  slavery  is  a  sin  ;  but  one 
thing  to  do — to  preach  immediate  repentance,  and  forsaking  of 
sin.  They  withdrew  from  every  organization  wiiich  could  in 
any  way  be  supposed  to  tolerate  or  hold  communion  with  it, 
and  walked  alone,  a  small,  but  always  active  and  po^volful 
body.  They  represented  the  pure  abstract  form  of.  every 
principle  as  near  as  it  is  possible  for  it  to  be  represented  by 
human  frailty." 

In  1861,  when  the  war  of  the  rebellion  broke  out,  Mr. 
Garrison  did  not  for  a  moment  hesitate  to  throw  the  whole 
weight  of  his  intellectual  and  moral  support  in  favor  of  the 
Government,  contrary  to  the  course  of  many  of  his  fellow 
abolitionists,  and  of  many  of  the  so-called  peace-men,  who 
thought  that  because  they  could  not  take  up  arms  in  defence  of 
any  cause,  they  could  neither  acknowledge  the  constitutional 
right  of  the  North  to  enforce  obedience  to  the  laws,  and  sup- 


By  Mrs.  Stowe,  in  the  Watchman  and  Elector,  May  24th,  186C    " 


690  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

press  rebellion,  nor  rejoice  in  anj  of  its  victories.  From  the 
very  first,  Mr.  Garrison  rejoiced  in  every  triumph  of  the  Federal 
arms,  as  a  patriot  and  a  philanthropist;  and  he  foresaw  the 
inevitable  disruption  of  slavery,  as  he  had  never  expected  to 
see  it.  In  all  his  criticisms  upon  the  course  of  the  administra- 
tion, he  remembered  its  grave  responsibilities,  and  placed  great 
faith  in  the  personal  integrity  of  President  Lincoln.  In  April, 
1865,  at  the  invitation  of  Secretary  Stanton,  he  visited  Fort 
Sumter,  to  attend  the  celebration  of  its  recapture,  and  went  up 
also,  to  Charleston,  where  he  addressed  a  great  gathering  of  the 
freedmen,  who  attended  him  with  flowers  on  his  departure.  In 
May,  1865,  at  the  anniversary  meeting,  in  New  York,  of  the 
American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  of  which  he  was  president, — 
after  vainly  trying  to  persuade  his  associates  to  disband,  on 
the  ground  that,  slavery  being  abolished,  the  society  became  a 
misnomer,  and  ceased  to  have  a  reason  for  existing,  while  for 
any  service  yet  to  be  performed  for  tlie  freedmen,  it  was  far 
better  to  work  in  unison  with  the  great  body  of  loyalists  all 
over  the  North,  than  to  continue  in  their  hitherto  enforced 
isolation, — he  resigned  his  oflSce,  and  withdrew  from  the 
society. 

Partly  on  the  same  ground,  and  partly  because  the  paper 
had  never  received  adequate  support,  he  discontinued  the  pub- 
lication of  the  " Liberator"  in  December  1865,  at  the  close  of 
its  thirty-fifth  volume. 

He  was  chosen  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  American 
Freedman's  Union  Commission ;  and  in  May,  1867,  his  health 
having  been  impaired  by  a  serious  fall,  he  made  a  fourth  visit 
to  England,  and  first  visit  to  the  Continent,  to  join  his  son  and 
married  daughter.  In  London  he  was  complimented  with  a  ban- 
quet by  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  kingdom, 
including  John  Bright,  John  Stuart  Mill,  the  Duke  of  Argyll 


WILLIAM   LLOYD   GARRISON.  59] 

and  Ear]  Russell,  the  latter  of  whom  made  a  handsome  apol- 
ogy for  his  mistaken  utterances  during  our  civil  war.  At 
various  other  places  in  England  and  Scotland  he  was  publicly 
entertained  in  a  similar  manner  for  his  connection  with  the 
anti-slavery  cause,  and  also  with  the  temperance  cause,  in 
America ;  and,  at  Edinburgh,  the  freedom  of  the  city  was  pre- 
sented to  him  by  the  Lord  Provost,  an  honor  never  before 
bestowed  upon  an  American,  exce})t  Mr.  Peabody.  At  Paris  he 
attended  and  addressed  a  World's  Anti-Slavery  Conference,  and 
returned  to  America  in  November,  1867,  since  which  he  ha3 
resided  in  Boston.  During  the  same  year,  also,  Mr.  Garrison's 
inestimable  services  to  the  cause  of  humanity  were  gracefully 
and  heartily  acknowledged  in  the  form  of  a  testimonial,  amount- 
ing to  about  $33,000,  raised  from  the  nation  at  large,  by  public 
and  private  appeals,  and  presented  to  him  in  a  strictly  private 
manner. 

The  letter  of  the  committee  who  presented  this  testimonial, 
contains  a  grateful  tribute  to  the  unflagging  zeal  of  Mr.  Gar- 
rison in  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  assures  him  of  the  truly 
national  character  of  the  testimonial,  coming  from  every 
quarter  of  the  country,  and  from  all  classes  of  people.  Mr. 
Garrison,  in  his  reply,  writes  as  follows : — "  Little,  indeed,  did 
I  know  or  anticipate  how  prolonged,  or  how  virulent  would  be 
the  struggle  when  I  lifted  up  the  standard  of  immediate  emanci- 
pation, and  essayed  to  rouse  the  nation  to  a  sense  of  its  guilt 
and  danger.  But,  having  put  my  hand  to  the  plow,  how  could 
I  look  back  ?  For,  in  a  cause  so  righteous,  I  could  not  doubt 
that,  having  turned  the  furrows,  if  I  sowed  it  in  tears,  I  should 
one  day  reap  in  joy.  But,  whether  permitted  to  live  to  witness 
the  abolition  of  slavery  or  not,  1  felt  assured  that,  as  I  demanded 
nothing  that  was  not  clearly  in  accordance  with  justice  and 


592  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

humanity,  some  time  or  other,  if  remembered  at  all,  I  should 
stand  vindicated  in  the  eyes  of  my  countrymen." 

In  connection  with  this,  we  may  quote  a  few  paragraphs 
from  a  recent  letter  of  this  whole-souled  pioneer  of  emanci- 
pation :  "  I  thank  you,"  says  he  to  an  old  and  valued  friend, 
'*for  the  warm  and  generous  approval  of  my  anti-slavery  career, 
and  rejoice  with  you  in  the  total  abolition  of  slavery,  through- 
out our  land.  If,  as  a  humble  instrumentality,  in  effecting 
the  overthrow  of  that  nefarious  system,  I  have  been  promi 
nent,  it  has  not  been  of  my  seeking ;  for,  at  the  outset,  I  ex- 
pected to  follow  others,  not  to  lead;  and  certainly,  I  neither 
sought  nor  desired  conspicuity.  Standing  for  a  time  alone  under 
the  banner  of  immediate  and  unconditional  emancipation,  I 
naturally  excited  the  special  enmity  and  wrath  of  the  whole 
country,  as  the  '  head  and  front'  of  abolition  offending ;  and  now 
that  the  cause,  once  so  odious,  is  victorious,  and  four  millions  of 
bondmen  have  had  their  fetters  broken;  it  is  not  very  surprising 
that,  in  this  '  era  of  good  feeling,'  my  labors  and  merits  are 
immensely  overrated.  Others  have  labored  more  abundantly, 
encountered  more  perils,  and  endured  more  privations  and 
sufferings;  but  every  one  has  been  indispensable,  in  his  own 
place,  to  bring  about  the  good  and  glorious  result ;  and  it  is  not 
a  question  of  comparison  as  to  who  was.  earliest  in  the  field,  or 
who  labored  the  most  efficiently,  but  one  of  sympathy  for  the 
oppressed,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  see  their  yoke  immediately 
broken.  There  should  be  no  boasting  on  the  one  hand,  nor 
jealousy  on  the  other.  Therefore,  while  disclaiming  any 
peculiar  deserts  on  my  part,  I  think  the 'testimonial,' which 
has  been  so  unexpectedly  raised  in  approval  of  my  anti -slavery 
career,  will  not  be  viewed  by  any  of  my  co-laborers  as  invidious, 
but  rather  as  symbolizing  a  common  triumph,  and  a  common 
vindication." 


WENDELL   PHILLIPS. 


OME  writer  has  said,  that  "oratory  is  a  peculi2xrly 
jl^  American  gift — not  that  there  have  not  been  elsewhere 
eloquent  speakers,  who  could  sway  senates  at  their 
will — but,  in  America,  public  speaking  is  so  universal, 
and  the  masses  are  so  intelligent,  that  the  inducements  to  culti- 
vate an  art,  which  will  enable  the  speaker  to  control  the  listen- 
ing crowds,  are  much  stronger  than  in  other  countries."  It  is' 
undoubtedly  true  that  there  are  more  examples  of  brilliant 
eloquence  in  the  pulpit,  at  the  bar,  and  on  the  platform  before 
public  assemblies,  here  than  in  any  other  country  where  the 
English  tongue  is  spoken  ;  and,  though  our  composite  language: 
may  not  possess  the  stateliness  of  the  Castilian,  the  liquid  music 
of  the  Italian,  or  the  colloquial  brilliancy  of  the  French,  there 
are  extant  orations  in  it,  which  are  surpassed  in  beauty  and 
grandeur  by  those  of  no  other  living  tongue. 

There  is  a  tendency  among  our  orators  to  verbal  diffuseness ; 
their  speeches  lack  condensation,  and  hence,  though  they  sound 
well,  when  delivered  ore  rotundo,  they  do  not  read  so  well.  We 
miss  the  vigor,  pith,  and  points  which  were,  in  part,  supplied 
by  the  earnestness  of  the  speaker's  delivery.  He  is,  all  things 
considered,  the  most  effective  orator,  who,  with  all  the  graces 
of  manner,  voice,  and  action,  utters  an  address  whose  every 

word  has  been  carefully  selected,  and  conveys  just  the  shade  of 
593  3d 


5)94  MEN'    OF    OUR    DAY. 

meaning  intended,  neither  less  nor  more,  and,  at  the  same  time. 
!50  combines  his  words  and  sentences  as  to  produce  the  best 
effect  of  which  the  language  is  capable.  It  is  just  the  power 
of  fully  accomplishing  this,  which  makes  Mr.  Phillips  the  ^nesl 
orator  in  Christendom.  His  position,  in  this  respect,  is  conceded 
alike  bj  friends  and  foes. 

Some  have  doubted  whether  eloquence  was  a  natural  or  as 
acquired  endowment,  and  those  who  inclined  to  the  latter  view 
have  adduced  the  long  and  painful  efions  of  Demosthenes;  and, 
in  our  own  time^  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  to  overcome  natural 
difficulties  of  delivejv .  We  cannot  doubt  that  these  men,  and 
many  others,  have  triumphed  over  great  obstacles,  in  attaining  a 
ready  and  effective  utterance  of  the  great  thoughts  which  were 
seeking  deliverance  from  the  prison-house  of  the  brain ;  but  the 
eloquence  was  behind  all  these  obstacles,  and  it  would  have 
vent.  It  was  the  gift  of  God,  and  however  it  might  be  ob- 
scured at  first,  by  imperfection  of  voice,  by  a  faltering  and  hesi- 
tating tongue,  or  other  impediments  of  speech,  it  was  there,  and 
must  eventually  force  its  way  out.  Happy  those  who,  like  Mr. 
Phillips,  possess  naturally  all  these  graces  of  deliv^,  and  who 
owe  little  to  the  help  of  art  Mr.  Phillips'  first  public  oration, 
delivered  impromptu,  possesses  all  the  fine  characteristics  of  his 
later  ones,  was  delivered  a\  'th  as  much  fervor  and  with  as  pow- 
erful an  effect  as  any  of  the  thousands  since,  which  have  held 
listening  crowds  in  speechless  delight.  There  was  the  same 
careful  and  apparently  instinctive  choice  of  the  Ivst  words  to 
express  his  thoughts,  the  same  keen  and  polished  invective,  the 
same  svstem  and  order  in  his  arrangement,  and  the  same  fervid 
and  brilliant  peroration.  If  he  has  never  improved  on  that 
eloquent  address,  delivered  now  nearly  thirty-five  years  ago,  it 
is  because  that  it  was  so  perfect  a  production  as  to  leave  uo 
room  for  improvement. 


WENDELL   PHILLIPS.  695 

Wkxpkll  Phillips  comes  of  the  best  blood  of  tlie  Puritan 
and  revolutionary  stock.  A  lineal  descendant  of  Rot.  George 
Phillips,  an  eminent  clergyman  and  scholar,  who  emigrated  to 
Massachusetts  from  Norfolk  county,  England,  in  1030,  and 
served  as  the  learned,  wise,  and  zealous  pastor  of  "Watertown, 
Massachusetts,  for  fourteen  years,  he  numbers,  also,  among  hia 
ancestry,  direct  or  collateral,  Samuel  Phillips,  Jr.,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  in  lSOl-2,  and  founder  of  Phillips' 
academy,  Andover;  John  Phillips,  LL.D.,  the  founder  and 
liberal  contributor  to  Phillips'  academy,  Exeter,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Dartmouth  college,  Phillips'  academy,  Andover.  and 
Andover  Theological  seminary :  his  honor,  William  Phillips, 
Jr.,  of  Boston,  also  a  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and 
his  father,  Hon.  John  Phillips,  who  was  the  first  mayor  of 
Boston.  Wendell  Phillips  was  born  in  Boston,  November  29, 
1311.  and  ^^r  enjoying  the  advantages  of  the  best  schools  of 
his  native  city,  entered  Harvard  college,  where  he  graduated 
with  high  honors,  in  1831,  and  commencing  the  study  of  law  in 
the  Cambridge  law  school,  received  his  diploma  there  in  1833, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  Suffolk  bar  in  1334. 

An  accomplished  scholar,  with  a  far  wider  range  of  general 
culture  than  is  ordinarily  possessed  by  educated  young  men  at 
the  age  of  twenty -four,  and  with  an  intense  fastidiousness  of 
taste  and  thought,  which  ever  made  absolute  perfection  its  ideal, 
Mr.  Phillips  was  in  danger,  at  this  time,  of  becoming  a  mere 
purist,  a  dUettaiite,  frittering  away  his  noble  powers  on  the 
8j>elling  of  a  word,  or  shades  of  thought  too  nice  to  be  distin- 
guished by  any  common  mind,  or  in  some  other  equally  profitless 
pursuit,  which  should  squander,  rather  than  exercise  his  great 
gitls.  But  he  was  happily  diverted  to  more  profitable  and 
useful  labors,  by  the  great  events  which  occurred,  just  as  he 
came  into  public  life. 


596  MEN   OF   OUR   l^AY. 

It  was  the  era  of  the  first  great  anti-slaverj  excitement.  TLe 
whole  country  was  in  arms  at  the  behest  of  the  slave  power, 
which  demanded  the  putting  down  of  the  men  who  had  dared 
to  question  its  authority.  For  his  attacks  on  this  monster 
iniquity,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  as  we  have  already  seen,  wad 
first  assailed  with  the  most  bitter  and  abusive  language,  and 
afterwards  dragged  through  the  streets  of  Boston  by  a  mob,  for 
his  advocacy  of  the  cause  of  freedom.  The  people  of  the  North, 
with  but  few  exceptions,  were  wedded  to  the  idol  of  slavery, 
and  were  indignant  that  any  man  should  dare  to  ofiend  the 
South,  by  whose  trade  they  had  their  gain. 

Phillips  had  witnessed  the  indignities  offered  to  Garrison,  and 
his  cruel  persecution  for  his  bold  defence  of  freedom  against 
oppression;  and  the  old  patriotic,  freedom-loving  blood  which 
had  made  the  Phillipses  among  the  foremost  of  the  patriots  of 
the  Revolution,  was  stirred  within  him.  He  avowed  himself  an 
abolitionist  and  co-worker  with  Garrison  in  1836,  and  in  1839 
withdrew  from  the  practice  of  law  because  he  could  not  con- 
scientiously take  the  oath  to  support  and  defend  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  believing,  as  he  did,  that  that  docu- 
ment was  tainted  with  complicity  with  slavery,  and  hence,  aa 
he  forcibly  expressed  it,  was  "  a  covenant  with  death  and  an 
agreement  with  hell." 

He  threw  himself  into  the  front  of  the  battle  against  slavery, 
and  for  thirty  years  and  more  has  fought  oppression ;  at  first 
with  a  little  but  gallant  band,  abused,  hated,  threatened,  a  price 
set  on  his  head,  and  the  object  of  all  the  obloquy  and  scorn 
men  could  visit  on  him.  After  years  of  this  strife,  in  which  he 
and  Mr.  Garrison  were  always  the  standard  bearers,  there  began 
to  be  signs  of  coming  success  for  their  principles ;  then  Phillips 
always  took  a  long  stride  forward,  and  fought  on,  waiting  for  the 
masses  to  advance.     His  mind  is  so  constituted  that  so  long  as 


WENDELL   PHILLIPS.  697 

there  is  a  possible  good  to  be  obtained,  an  ideal,  however  vague 
and  shadowy,  to  be  reached,  he  cannot  rest,  and  if  the  whole 
world  were  to  advance  to  his  ideal  of  to-day,  he  would  be 
found  far  beyond  in  the  distance,  with  aims  and  hopes  and  ends 
yet  to  be  attained. 

With  how  much  of  suffering  and  anxiety  he  has  maintained 
this  long  struggle,  none  but  himself  can  ever  know.  He  put 
aside  for  it  a  brilliant  future  in  his  profession,  and  made  opposi- 
tion to  slavery  the  great  business  of  his  life.  Yet  such  was  his 
winning  eloquence,  his  vast  learning,  and  his  brilliant  and 
versatile  powers  as  a  lecturer,  that  when  he  could  be  induced 
to  lecture  on  any  other  subject,  he  drew  larger  audiences  than 
any  other  man.  He  knew  the  unpopularity  of  his  favorite 
topic,  and  shrewdly  availed  himself  of  his  great  abilities  to 
secure  for  it  a  hearing.  For  years,  when  the  lecture  com- 
mittees applied  to  him  to  address  audiences  and  asked  his  terms, 
his  reply  was:  "  If  I  speak  on  slavery,  nothing:  if  on  any  other 
subject,  one  hundred  dollars." 

His  first  noteworthy  speech  on  slavery  was  unpremeditated, 
but  its  thrilling  eloquence  told  on  the  audience,  nine-tenths  of 
whom  were  bitter!y  opposed  to  him.  The  occasion  was  this. 
In  the  autumn  of  1837,  Rev.  E.  P.  Lovejoy  had  been  murdered 
at  Alton,  Illinois,  and  his  press  broken  up,  by  a  mob,  mostly 
from  Missouri,  on  account  of  the  anti-slavery  principles  he  had 
avowed  in  his  paper.  A  meeting  was  called  in  Boston,  by  Rev. 
W.  E.  Channing  and  others,  to  assemble  in  Faneuil  Hall  (the 
use  of  which  was  at  first  denied  but  finally  reluctantly  granted), 
to  notice  in  a  suitable  manner  Mr.  Lovejoy's  death  as  a  martyr 
to  freedom.  After  some  addresses,  a  Mr.  Austin,  attorney- 
general  of  Massachusetts,  rose  and  defended,  in  a  very  bitter  and 
violent  speech,  the  rioters,  declared  that  Lovejoy  came  to  hia 
death  by  his  own  imprudence,  and  that  the  utterance  of  such 


598  MEN   OP    OUR   DAY. 

sentiments  as  he  had  avowed,  ought  to  be  suppressed.  Mr. 
Phillips  replied  in  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  scathing  speeches 
ever  delivered,  running  a  parallel  between  the  conduct  of 
Warren  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  Lovejoj  at  Alton,  so  effective,  thai 
the  audience,  who  had,  at  first,  been  determined  that  he  should 
not  be  permitted  to  speak,  at  last  greeted  him  with  cheers. 

Mr.  Phillips  was  most  thoroughly  in  his  element  at  the  anni- 
versaries of  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  when,  from  year 
to  year,  he  would  review  the  progress  made,  and  hail  upon  the 
pro-slavery  leaders  and  partisans  such  a  storm  of  invective,  every 
sentence  polished  but  keen  as  a  battle  axe,  that  those  of  them 
who  were  present  would  writhe  under  it,  as  if  in  intense  agony. 
Year  after  year,  such  men  as  Isaiah  Rynders  and  his  comrades, 
would  attempt  to  break  up  these  anniversaries  by  mob-violence, 
and  often  was  Mr.  Phillips'  life  threatened ;  but  he  coiild  not  be 
put  down.  There  was  that  power  and  dignity  in  his  manner, 
which  would  quell  and  silence  the  fiercest  mob ;  and  when  they 
were  hushed,  he  would  take  the  opportunity  to  say  his  severest 
and  bitterest  words. 

No  man  living  excels  him  in  power  over  an  audience.  The 
writer  once  listened  to  his  lecture  on  Toussaint  L'Ouverture, 
and  was  surprised  to  see  a  man  in  the  audience  well  known  as 
a  Democrat  and  a  strongly  pro-slavery  partisan,  applauding  him 
to  the  echo,  and  most  vigorously  in  those  passages  which  were 
most  intensely  anti-slavery,  and  most  decided  in  their  depre- 
ciation of  the  white  general  (Napoleon),  as  compared  with  the 
negro  (Toussaint). 

At  the  close  of  the  lecture,  falling  in  with  this  Democrat,  the 
writer  could  not  avoid  saying  to  him,  "How  happens  it  that 
you,  an  intense  pro-slavery  man,  should  applaud  and  enjoy  the 
hard  hita  and  telling  blows  of  Wendell  Phillips  against 
slavery?"     "  Oh  I"  was  the  reply,  "of  course  I  don't  believe  a 


WENDELL   PHILLIPS.  599 

word  he  says,  but  he  did  say  it  so  well  and  so  neatly,  that  1 
couldn't  help  applauding."  Nothing  but  genuine  eloquence  of 
the  highest  character  could  have  produced  such  an  effect  as 
that. 

When  Mr.  Delane,  of  the  London  Times,  was  in  this  country,  a 
friend  asked  him  to  go  with  him  and  hear  Wendell  Phillips; 
he  declined  at  first,  saying  that  he  had  no  wish  to  listen  to  a 
foaming  abolition  lecture ;  but  at  the  urgent  request  of  his  friend 
finally  consented.  The  lecture  closed,  his  friend,  who  had 
watched  his  countenance  during  the  lecture,  asked  how  he  was 
]:)leased.  "  Pleased !"  answered  the  editor,  "  I  never  heard  any 
thing  like  it ;  we  have  no  orator  in  England  who  can  compare 
with  him.     He  is  the  most  eloquent  speaker  living." 

Mr.  Phillips  has  not  expended  all  his  force  on  opposition  to 
slavery;  temperance,  peace,  the  rights  of  woman,  and  other 
measures  of  reform,  have  ever  found  in  him  a  ready,  powerful, 
and  eloquent  advocate.  His  devotion  to  woman  partakes  much 
of  the  lofty  character  of  the  best  days  of  chivalry,  and  leads  one 
inevitably  to  the  conviction  that  his  own  wife  must  have  very 
nearly  filled  his  exalted  ideal  of  the  true  woman. 

The  few  review  articles  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Phillips  on  other 
than  reform  topics,  his  published  volume  of  orations,  and  the 
lectures  on  scientific  subjects  which  he  had  delivered  (the  lec- 
ture on  "  The  Lost  Arts"  has  been  repeated,  it  is  said,  many  hun- 
dreds of  times),  indicate  the  breadth  of  his  scholarship,  and  the 
great  loss  which  science  and  literature  have  sustained,  in  relin- 
quishing him  to  become  the  Apostle  of  Reform. 

Since  the  war,  Mr.  Phillips  has  not,  as  Mr.  Garrison  did  so 
gracefully,  accepted  the  verdict  of  the  people  that  his  work  was 
accomplished,  and  that  henceforth  he  might  peacefully  enjoj 
the  victories  which  his  good  sword  had  won.  A  little  younger 
than  his  friend  Garrison,  he  has  more  of  the  Ironsides  blood  iu 


600  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

him  than  he,  and  he  prefers  to  fight  on,  though  it  be  with 
invisible  foes,  or  even  with  windmills,  like  the  chivalric  Don 
Quixote. 

His  ideal  man  is  placed  on  a  higher  level  than  ever 
before,  and  his  long  continued  use  of  invective  has  made  him 
soured  and  bitter  toward  all  men  who  do  not  fully  come  up  to  it. 
He  is  a  man  who  will  always  do  best  to  head  a  forlorn  hope, 
always  win  the  greatest  triumphs  when  in  a  minority.  Indeed 
it  is  impossible  for  him  to  be  anywhere  else.  The  atmosphere 
of  a  majority,  in  agreement  with  him,  oppresses  him  as  an  en- 
-closed  house  does  a  Rocky  Mountain  trapper.  He  cannot 
breathe  in  it. 

Though  affiliated  by  all  his  past  labors  and  the  convictions 
..of  many  years  with  the  Republican  party,  he  persistently 
refuses  to  work  with  it ;  now  denouncing  its  candidates  with 
the  utmost  bitterness,  and  anon  accepting  a  nomination,  without 
the  slightest  hope  of  success,  for  Governor,  from  the  Labor- 
Reform  party;  an  apostle  of  temperance  for  five  and  thirty 
years,  he  accepts  the  support  of  the  Anti^Prohibitory  Liquor 
Law  men  in  Massachusetts,  to  shatter  and  rend  the  party  there 
from  whom  he  has  received  all  his  honors  and  applause  ;  and  after 
thus  seeking  its  disruption,  turns  about  and  berates  it  furiously 
for  not  doing  as  he  desired.  But  these  vagaries  are,  after  all, 
but  spots  on  the  sun  ;  we  could  wish  them  away,  or  at  all 
events  less  conspicuous ;  we  could  wish  our  peerless  orator 
more  practical  and  more  tractable  ;  but  we  cannot  forget  his 
brave  deeds  when  he  stood  almost  alone  against  the  world;  we 
cannot  cease  to  remember  that  he  was  in  those  days  always  in  the 
forefront  of  the  hottest  battle ;  and  though  some  of  the  hard 
blows  he  then  received  have  made  the  veteran  a  little  crusty, 
yet  we  can  well  afford  to  bear  with  him  for  the  good  he  has 
done  in  the  past. 


WENDELL   PHILLIPS.  601 

In  private  life  Mr.  Phillips  bears  the  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  most  genial  and  lovable  of  men,  and  in  all  the  social 
relations  of  family  and  friends,  his  presence  adds  new  zest  to 
society,  and  gives  increased  pleasure  to  the  circles  which  are 
favored  with  it. 


GERRIT  SMITH 


EKE  we  called  upon  to  point  out  a  man  whose  whole 

course  of  life  had  been  controlled,  both  in  public  and 

private,  by  the  conscientious  desire  to  obey  the  great 

law  of  love,  "  whatsoever  things  ye  would  that  men 

should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  unto  them,"  we  should  have 

no  hesitation  in  selecting  Gerrit  Smith  as  that  man. 

He  may  have  erred  in  judgment  at  times  ;   his  measures  for 

accomplishing  good  may  have  failed,  in  some  instances,  either 

from  their  own  imperfection,  or  the  weakness,  stupidity  or  un- 

worthiness  of  those  whom  he  has  sought  to  benefit ;  he  may,  in 

his  anxieties   to  benefit   his   fellow-man,  have   been  led   into 

erroneous  and   dangerous  views  of  the  plans,   purposes,    and 

revelation  of  Him,  v.'hom  yet,  in  his  heart  of  hearts,  we  believe 

be   reverently  worships ;    but  of  his   earnest  desire  to  do  his 

whole  duty  to  his  fellow-man  there  can  be  no  question. 

Gerrit  Smith  was  born  in  Utica,  New  York,  March  6th, 

1797.     His  father,  Hon.  Peter  Smith,  was  known  in  the  early 

part  of  the  present  century  as  one  of  the  largest  land-holders  in 

the  United  States.     At  his  death  his  great  fortune  was  divided 

mainly  between  his  two  sons,  Peter   Sken  Smith  and  Gerrit 

Smith,  the  former  receiving  the  larger  share  of  the  personal, 

and  the  latter  the  greater  part  of  the  real  estate. 

Gerrit  Smith  was  graduated   at   Hamilton  college,  Clinton, 
602 


GERRIT  SMITH.  .  603 

New  York,  in  1818.  He  never  entered  himself  as  a  student  of 
law,  but  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  State  and  Federal 
courts  of  New  York  in  1853,  and  has  participated  in  several 
important  trials. 

His  philanthropic  disposition  led  him  at  an  early  age  to  take 
an  active  part  in  the  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day.  In 
1825,  he  connected  himself  with  the  American  Colonization 
Society,  in  the  hope  that  it  would  facilitate  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves.  He  contributed  largely  to  its  funds,  but  finally 
becoming  satisfied  that  it  was  not  the  intention  of  its  founders 
or  directors  to  promote  general  emancipation,  he  withdrew 
from  it  in  1835,  and  has  been  ever  since  identified,  heart  and 
soul,  with  the  voting  portion  of  the  anti-slavery  party. 

Gifted  with  a  simple  and  natural  eloquence,  very  effective 
with  the  masses,  he  has  plead  the  cause  of  the  slave  for  thirty 
years  past  with  great  earnestness,  and  a  confiding  faith  in  the 
eventual  triumph  of  the  principles  of  emancipation  ;  and  that 
his  faith  might  not  be  unsustained  by  works,  he  has  given, 
with  a  princely  liberality,  to  every  effort  for  the  promotion  of 
the  abolition  of  slavery. 

It  is  a  characteristic  of  Mr.  Smith's  mind  that  he  must  push 
his  views  of  philanthropy  to  their  ultimate  logical  conclusions, 
and  he  cannot  rest  in  any  thing  short  of  these.  Thus  holding 
that  slavery  was  wrong,  and  that  no  man  had  a  right  to  enjoy 
the  rewards  of  the  enforced  labor  of  another,  he  came  to  the 
farther  conclusion,  that  it  was  wrong  to  purchase  or  use  any 
thing  produced  by  the  labor  of  the  slave,  and  hence  he  refused 
to  wear  or  use  any  article  made  of  cotton,  unless  he  could  be 
satisfied  that  it  was  free  labor  cotton,  any  sugar  except  that 
produced  by  free  labor,  any  rice  except  that  grown  in  India  or 
China. 

But  his  philanthropy  was   not  confined  to  the  slave;  the 


604  .      MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

victim  of  intemperance  was  equally  an  object  of  his  syinpatby 
and  commiseration,  and  his  own  eloquence,  and  bis  means,  were 
freely  expended  in  the  endeavor  to  restrain  or  prohibit  the  sale 
of  intoxicating  drinks.  He  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  use  of 
tobacco,  and  aided  in  the  publication  and  circulation  of  tracts 
to  dissuade  people  from  its  use.  He  believed  woman  oppressed 
by  the  laws,  and  exerted  himself  to  have  them  changed  so  aa 
to  better  her  condition.  He  aided  in  prison  reformation  and 
the  establishment  of  juvenile  reformatories  ;  and  when  the  news 
of  the  attempts  to  fasten  slavery  iipon  Kansas  came  to  his  ears, 
though  in  general  a  peace-man  and  non-resistant,  he  contributed 
largely  for  the  purchase  of  Sharp's  rifles,  and  for  the  outfit 
and  forwarding  of  large  bodies  of  sturdy  northern  settlers  to 
that  territory.  Though  by  inheritance  and  purchase  from  his 
fellow-heirs,  one  of  the  largest  land-holders  in  the  United 
States,  he  had  convinced  himself  of  the  wrongfulness  of  land 
monopoly,  and  practically  illustrated  his  views,  by  distributing 
two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,  partly  among  institutions 
of  learning,  but  mostly  among  the  poor  white  and  black  men, 
to  whom  he  allotted,  in  tracts  of  about  fifty  acres,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  acres  of  land,  accompanying  the  deed  in 
many  instances  with  a  sum  of  money  sufficient  to  enable  them 
to  erect  a  cabin,  and  procure  a  little  stock. 

Some  of  his  colonists  did  well ;  but  many,  a  majority,  we 
fear,  proved  unworthy  of  his  kindness,  and  after  receiving  his 
bounty,  abandoned  their  lands,  and  reviled  him  because  he 
would  not  support  them  in  idleness. 

It  was  in  connection  with  these  gifts  of  land,  that  he  first 
became  acquainted  with  John  Brown,  afterward  of  Kansas. 
Mr.  Brown  was  of  great  service  to  him  in  the  care  and  instruc- 
tion of  his  colored  colonists,  and  some  of  them,  under  his 
influence,  did  well.     In  the  Kansas  troubles,  Mr.  Smith  put 


GERRIT  SMITH.  605 

money  into  Brown's  hands  frequently,  to  distribute  among  the 
poor  in  that  territory.  Brown  visited  him  a  few  months  before 
his  Harper's  Ferry  raid,  but  did  not  communicate  to  him  his 
plans. 

In  1852,  Mr.  Smith  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the  twenty- 
second  Congressional  district  of  New  York,  but  resigned  at  the 
close  of  the  first  or  long  session,  on  account  of  the  pressure  of 
his  private  affairs,  and  his  extreme  disrelish  for  public  life. 
After  the  John  Brown  raid,  in  1859,  an  attempt  was  made  by 
Virginians,  and  other  pro-slavery  leaders,  to  identify  hirn  and 
other  prominent  anti-slavery  men  at  the  North  with  the  move- 
ment, and  to  demonstrate  that  it  was  an  extensive  conspiracy 
against  the  South.  The  charge  was  absolutely  false ;  but  Mr. 
Smith  being  at  the  time  in  very  feeble  health,  and  being 
excited  by  the  virulent  attacks  made  upon  him,  became  for  a 
short  time  insane.  He  speedily,  however,  recovered  his  reason, 
with  the  improvement  of  his  general  health.  In  1861,  he 
entered  with  great  spirit  and  patriotism  into  the  efforts  for 
raising  regiments  and  sustaining  the  Government  in  a  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war.  He  addressed  a  number  of  large 
gatherings  on  this  subject,  and,  as  usual,  gave  liberally  for  it. 

The  war  over,  he  inclined  to  the  policy  of  extreme  mercy  to 
the  South,  and  in  May,  1867,  at  the  request  of  one  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  Davis's  counsel,  became  one  of  the  signers  of  his  bail- 
bond,  qualifying  in  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  for  hi3 
appearance.  His  course  in  the  matter,  like  that  of  Mr.  Greeley, 
occasioned  considerable  animadversion,  but  both  gentlemen 
defended  themselves  by  published  letters,  to  the  best  of  their 
ability. 

For  several  years  past,  Mr.  Smith  has  advocated,  both  by 
published  speeches,  and  public  essays  and  appeals,  a  larger 
liberty  of  opinion,  and   freedom   from  what   he   believed   the 


606  WEN   OF   OUR   DAY, 

bondage  of  sect.  These  views,  which  at  first  took  only  the 
form  of  a  protest  against  denominationalism,  have  gradually, 
from  his  habit  of  pushing  his  speculations  to  their  ultimate 
conclusions,  developed  into  a  modified  deism,  rejecting  many 
of  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  assailing,  with 
great  vehemence,  the  Christian  church,  and  to  some  extent,  the 
Scriptures.  In  this  crusade  he  has  made  very  few  converts,  and 
in  common  with  most  of'  his  friends,  we  believe  his  errors  to 
be  rather  of  the  head  than  the  heart. 

Under  his  abundant,  almost  lavish  giving,  Mr.  Smith's 
princely  estate  has  diminished  till  he  is  now  comparatively  poor. 
Yet  his  generous  nature  remains,  and  we  doubt  not  he  suffers 
more  than  the  applicant  for  his  bounty,  when  he  is  obliged  to 
denv  or  diminish  the  amount  of  his  beneficence. 

Mr.  Smith  published  a  volume  of  his  "Speeches  in  Congress,*' 
in  1856  ;  a  volume  entitled  "  Sermons  and  Speeches  by  Gerrit 
Smith,"  in  1861 ;  and  numberless  pamphlets  and  broad  sheets. 
His  latest  pamphlets  are,  ''  The  Theologies,"  1866 ;  "  Nature's 
Theology,"  1867;  "A  Letter  from  Gerrit  Smith  to  Albert 
Barnes.''  1868 ;  and  several  other  pamphlets,  mostly  political,  in 
1870-72.  He  has  taken  very  decided  ground  in  favor  of  Presi- 
dent Grant's  reelection,  and  against  his  old  friend  Greeley,  in  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1872. 


REV.  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 


IE  hazard  little  in  saying  that  there  is  no  living  nan  in 
America  whose  name  is  more  widely  known  than  that 
of  the  Plymouth  pastor.  Other  clergymen,  other  public 
lecturers,  other  authors,  other  reformers  (for  he  is 
equally  popular  in  all  these  capacities),  may  have  a  wide  spread 
local  reputation ;  they  may  be  quite  well  known  in  one  section 
or  another  of  the  country,  and  their  names  may  have  some 
currency  in  all  sections,  but  from  the  inhabitant  of  the  re- 
motest province  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  on  the  northeast, 
to  the  Rio  Grande  in  the  southeast,  from  Alaska  to  the 
Capes  of  Florida,  there  is  no  man  of  ordinary  intelligence, 
black  or  white,  who  does  not  know  something  of  Henry  Ward 
Beecher. 

Yet  this  man  has  held  no  civil  office,  or  been  a  candidate 
for  any ;  he  has  commanded  no  armies,  fought  no  battles  with 
carnal  weapons ;  he  is  not  a  millionaire,  nor  has  he  ever  pos- 
sessed the  fortune  to  endow  or  establish  a  college,  a  hospital,  a 
seminary,  or  an  asylum.  He  is  eloquent,  but  he  has  not  the 
musical  voice,  nor  does  he  utter  the  polished  periods  of  Phillips, 
or  the  grand  and  stately  sentences  of  Sumner ;  he  is  brave  and 
fearless,  but  pluck  is  not  so  rare  an  attribute  in  American 
character,  as  to  make  its  possessor  an  object  of  such  universal 

note. 

607 


603  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

Yet  it  is  certain  that  he  possesses  qualities  and  talents  which 
have  made  him,  in  some  respects,  the  foremost  man,  and  the 
finest  representative  of  the  best  traits  of  American  character 
our  country  has  yet  produced. 

For  twenty-five  years,  he  has  drawn  to  the  plain  church 
edifice  in  which  he  preaches,  in  winter  and  summer,  in  spring 
and  autumn,  a  constant  congregation  of  from  twenty-five  hundred 
to  three  thousand  persons,  in  fair  weather  and  foul,  and  very 
often  hundreds  more  have  endeavored  in  vain  to  get  within  the 
sound  of  his  voice.  Among  his  audiences,  are  men  from  every 
State  in  the  Union,  some  of  them  renting  sittings  for  the  year, 
to  secure  seats  during  the  month  or  two  they  may  be  in  New 
York.  The  annual  rental  of  the  pews  of  this  church  brings  in 
a  revenue  of  from  $50,000  to  $60,000,  and  has  steadily  increased 
from  year  to  year. 

!N  o  such  audience  could  have  been  maintained  for  a  fourth 
of  that  period  by  any  clap-trap  or  artifice  on  the  part  of  the 
preacher;  certainly  not  in  a  community  as  intelligent  as  that  of 
Brooklyn. 

But  the  delivering  of  three  discourses  a  week,  of  such 
wonderful  freshness,  originality,  and  eloquence,  that  when  re- 
ported for  the  press,  as  they  have  been  regularly,  they  have 
secured  hundreds  of  thousands  of  readers  (and  during  the  w^hole 
period  of  twenty-one  years,  he  has  never  repeated  a  sermon, 
so  affluent  is  his  imagination,  and  so  abundant  his  mental  re- 
sources), and  the  pastoral  care  of  a  church  now  numbering 
about  two  thousand  members,  have  by  no  means  exhausted 
the  extraordinary  vitality  of  this  remarkable  man.  During  a 
period  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  he  was  a  constant  contributor  to 
the  Indepencknt  newspaper,  his  articles  being  signed  with  an 
asterisk,  and  was  generally,  but  erroneously  supposed  to  be  the 
editor  of  the  paper.     From  1861  to  1863,  he  was  its  editor-in- 


REV.  HENRY   WARD  BEECH ER.  609 

chief,  and  wrote  such  vigorous  stirring  leaders,  .is  are  seldom 
found  anywhere,  and  after  withdrawing  from  that  paper  he  was 
a  constant  contributor  to  others,  and  since  1869  has  been  the 
brilliant  editor  of  the  ChristiaH  Union,  now  the  most  widely  cir 
culated  religious  paper  in  the  world. 

For  the  whole  twenty-rive  years  he  has  been  an  able  and  promi- 
nent leader  in  most  oi  the  measures  of  reform,  addressing 
audiences  all  over  the  country  at  least  thirty  or  forty  times  in 
the  course  of  the  year,  on  Anti-Slavery  and  Republican  topics, 
Temperance,  the  Reformation  of  Morals,  Juvenile  Reform,  etc., 
and  until  the  past  two  or  three  years  delivered  about  fifty 
lyceum  lectures  a  year,  trom  Maine  to  Minnesota.  As  the  best 
extemporaneous  platform  speaker  in  America,  he  has  always 
been  in  demand  on  all  anniversary  occasions,  and  never  failed 
to  acquit  himself  with  credit.  He  has  found  time  to  prepare 
several  books  of  his  own,  and  to  revise  volumes  of  his  sermons, 
selected  passages  from  his  discourses,  etc.,  which  others  have 
compiled.  Within  the  past  year  and  a  half  he  has  written  and 
published,  first  as  a  newspaper  serial,  and  afterwards  as  a  volume, 
a  novel  of  New  England',  life,  and  is  now  engaged  upon  a  "Life- 
of  Christ,"  of  which  the  first  volume  has  recently  appeared.  In 
the  abundance  of  these  avocations,  and  the  immense  correspon- 
dence which  they  necessitate,  he  finds  leisure  for  the  cultivation 
of  his  artistic  tastes,  and  his  intense  love  of  the  beautiful,  both  in 
nature  and  art.  lie  ranks  very  high  as  a  connoisseur  in  all  art 
matters.  Ilis  bouse  is  filled  with  choice  pictures;  his  large 
library  contains  the  best  works  on  art,  many  of  them  with  costly 
illustrations ;  and  both  in  Brooklyn  and  at  his  Peekskill  farm,, 
where  he  spends  much  of  his  time  during  the  later  summer  and> 
early  autumn,  he  has  a  great  profusion  of  flowers. 

Let  us  turn  now  to  the  life  history  of  this  man,  so  wonderful 

for  his  genius,  the  versatility  of  his  talents  and  his  untiring 
39 


610  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

industry,  and  see  if,  by  so  doing,  we  can  obtain  any  insight  into 
the  sources  of  his  great  powers. 

The  Beecher  family  is  one  of  extraordinary  gifts  and  intel- 
lectual power.  They  trace  their  ancestry  to  John  Beecher,  who 
came  over  to  New  England  with  Davenport  in  1636,  and  set- 
tled, with  his  mother,  in  New  Haven,  His  descendants  seem 
to  have  been  favored  in  their  choice  of  wives,  and  some  of 
the  best  Scotch  and  Welsh  blood  in  the  nation  has  mingled 
with  the  powerful  physique  of  the  English  stock,  to  produce 
a  combination  of  remarkable  vitality  and  intellectual  energy. 
Eev.  Lyman  Beecher,  D,  D.,  the  father  of  Henry  Ward,  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  last  generation.  It 
was  said  of  him  that  he  was  the  father  of  more  brains  than 
any  other  man  in  America,"  and  the  remark  was  undoubtedly 
true.  Of  his  thirteen  children  eleven  grew  up  to  adult  age, 
and  all  his  seven  sons  became  clergymen,  and  most  of  them 
were  distinguished  for  intellectual  ability,  while  of  the  four 
daughters,  two.  Miss  Catharine  E.  Beecher,  and  Mrs.  Harriet 
Beecher  Stowe,  have  won  a  world-wide  reputation,  the  former 
by  her  able  works  on  education,  physiological,  social,  intel- 
lectual and  domestic ;  the  latter  by  her  brilliant  fictions,  which 
have  achieved  a  greater  success  than  was  ever  accorded  to 
those  of  any  other  writer.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  was  brought 
up  on  a  farm,  but  entered  Yale  college  in  1793,  and  graduated 
in  1797,  with  a  fair  standing.  He  was  a  vigorous  original 
thinker,  and  after  he  entered  the  ministry  soon  attained  a  high 
reputation  for  the  keenness  of  his  dialectic  powers,  and  the 
energv  and  fire  which  he  threw  into  his  public  and  private 
teachings.  He  vras  eloquent,  wonderfully  so,  after, his  fashion, 
and  his  powerful  denunciations  of  intemperance,  and  of  the 
Unitarian  dogmas,  have  never  been  surpassed  in  vividness  or 
point.     He  wrote,  too,  on  controversial  subjects,  with  decided 


REV.    HENRY   WARD   BKECHER.  611 

ability,  and  his  written  productions  were  remarkahle  for  finish 
and  purity  of  style.  He  was  successively  pastor  of  a  Presby- 
terian church  at  Easthampton,  Long  Island,  a  Congregational 
cliurch  at  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  and  the  Hanover  Square 
(afterwards  Bowdoin  street)  Congregational  church,  Boston.  In 
1882,  at  the  age  of  nearly  fifty-seven,  he  was  called  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Lane  Theological  seminary,  near  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
where  he  remained  till  1851,  when  he  returned  to  Boston,  and 
in  1856  to  Brooklyn,  where  his  last  years  were  spent.  He  was 
thrice  married.  His  first  wife,  the  mother  of  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  was  a  Miss  Eoxana  Foote  of  Guilford,  Connecticut,  a 
woman  of  remarkable  intellectual  powers,  great  personal  attrac- 
tions, and  a  most  gentle,  lovely,  and  engaging  temper.  The 
subject  of  our  sketch  inherits,  from  his  father,  his  abundant 
vitality,  his  intellectual  vigor  and  earnestness,  his  overflowing 
humor,  and  his  power  to  move  and  thrill  the  masses ;  and  from 
his  mother,  his  artistic  tastes,  his  fondness  for  nature,  his  intui- 
tions toward  the  beautiful,  and  that  delicacy,  tact,  refinement 
and  amiability,  which  have  made  him  so  widely  popular. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut, 
June  24,  1813.  The  first  thirteen  years  of  his  life  were  passed 
in  this  quiet  rural  village,  which  had  then  a  circle  of  intellec- 
tual, cultivated  men  and  women,  such  as  are  not  often  found  in 
much  larger  towns.  When  he  was  but  little  more  than  three 
years  of  age,  he  lost  his  mother,  a  great  loss  for  a  sensitive, 
affectionate,  and  thoughtful  child ;  but  one  made  up,  in  part,  by 
the  influence  of  the  gifted  and  accomplished  woman,  who,  some 
fourteen  months  later,  took  her  place  as  the  wife  of  Dr.  Beecher. 
It  is  indicative  of  his  thoughtfulness  and  affection,  young  as  he 
was,  at  the  time  of  his  mother's  death,  that  having  heard  that 
she  was  to  be  buried  in  the  ground,  and  again  that  she  had  gone 
to  heaven,   he  commenced  digging  very  earne.stly  under  the 


612  MEX    OF   OUR   DAY. 

Window  of  her  room,  and  could  hardly  be  persuaded  to  desist, 
saying  that  "  he  wanted  to  dig  down  and  get  to  heaven,  where 
his  mamma  wa8." 

As  he  grew  older,  lie  was  a  healthy,  robust  boy,  active  in  all 
outdoor  sports  and  exercises,  a  little  clumsy  perhaps,  but  affec- 
tionate and  loving.  He  gave  at  this  time  but  little  promise  of 
his  subsequent  intellectual  power ;  his  voice  was  husky  and 
thick,  and  he  spoke  so  indistinctly  that  it  was  a  cause  of  anxiety 
to  his  family ;  he  was  shy,  and  had  the  misfortune  of  losing 
his  memory,  or  rather  becoming  confused,  from  shyness,  when 
called  on  to  repeat  what  he  had  learned.  In  one  of  those  inter- 
esting reminiscences  of  his  childhood,  in  which  he  is  prone  to 
indulge  in  his  lecture-room  talks,  he  tells  us  that  he  was  at 
times  very  unhappy  in  childhood,  from  the  difficulty  he  found 
in  obtaining  from  any  body  any  clear  explanations  of  the  great 
ethical  and  theological  questions  which  haunted  his  soul.  He 
had  been  brought  up  under  a  very  rigid,  Calvinistic  training, 
and  the  dogmas  of  that  creed  puzzled  and  distressed  him,  and 
any  efforts  which  were  made  to  explain  them,  only  confused 
him  the  more.  In  the  end,  however,  this  exercise  of  the  mind 
with  great,  though  but  partially  understood  thoughts,  may  have 
been  a  benefit,  for  it  made  him  more  anxious,  in  ois  own  minis- 
try, to  use  the  utmost  clearness  and  simplicity  in  explaining 
these  truths  to  the  young,  the  simple  and  the  ignorant.  On  his 
father's  removal  to  Boston,  he  found  himself  in  a  new  sphere. 
He  was  sent  to  the  Boston  Latin  school,  but  the  impatience  of 
what  seemed  to  him  unmeaning  forms,  and  the  deficiency  of  his 
verbal  memory,  made  the  formal  training  there  inexpressibly 
irksome  to  him.  The  wharves,  and  the  ships,  with  their  precious 
cargoes  from  the  far  orient,  which  lay  beside  them,  roused  his 
passion  for  the  sea,  and  boy  like,  he  resolved  to  become  a  sailor. 
His  father  somehow  ascertained  his  restless  craving,  and  like  a 


BEV.    HENRY   WARD    BEECHER.  613 

skilfal  tactician,  did  not  discourage  it,  but  turned  it  into  a 
better  channel.  He  was  sent  to  the  Mount  Pleasant  school, 
at  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  to  study  mathematics  and  other 
branches,  to  qualify  himself,  should  he  subsequently  desire  it, 
to  enter  the  navy.  Here,  he  fell  under  the  care  of  excellent 
and  skilful  teachers,  who  roused  his  interest  and  ambition  in 
mathematical  studies;  by  careful  and  protracted  training  greatly 
improved  his  elocution,  and  gave  him  that  impulse  to  study 
which  made  him  a  really  brilliant  student.  Physiological  stu- 
dies, and  indeed  those  appertaining  to  physical  science  generally, 
had  a  strong  attraction  for  him,  and  the  charming  illustrations 
drawn  from  nature  and  natural  scenery  which  have  begemmed 
so  many  of  his  discourses  and  lectures,  have  been  among  the  re- 
sults of  these  favorite  pursuits. 

Though  decidedly  a  religious  man  in  his  college  course  (for 
he  entered  Amherst  college  in  1830)  the  superabundance  of  the 
humorous  element  in  his  nature,  made  him  something  of  a  wag, 
never  given  to  malicious  or  practical  jokes,  but  brimfull  and-. 
running  over  with  fun;  and  those  who  know  him  now,  do  not 
need  to  be  assured  that  he  did  not  leave  all  his  humorous 
propensities  behind  him  at  Amherst.  Yet  this  ga}'-,  joyous 
temper,  was  but  the  sparkle  and  foam  at  the  surface ;  below  it 
there  were  depths  of  earnest  tenderness,  which  demonstrated 
the  truth  of  the  old  ejugram,  that  "tears  are  akin  to  laughter." 

His  thorough  previous  training  had  given  him  more  than  the 
usual  time  for  general  reading  and  culture,  and  apart  from  his 
physiological  and  phrenological  researches,  he  read  largely  of 
the  works  of  the  great  divines  and  authors  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  thus  imbibed  that  intense  love  for  the  vigorous 
Saxon  of  that  period,  which  has  been  one  of  the  many  elements 
of  his  great  success  as  a  preacher.  The  taste  thus  formed  has 
been  since  sedulously  cultivated,  and  it  would  surprise  a  person 


614  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

whose  attention  had  not  previously  been  called  to  it,  to  note 
how  verj  few  words,  not  of  direct  Saxon  origin,  are  to  be  found 
in  his  sermons.  He  has,  indeed,  been  charged  with  making  an 
unwarrantable  use  of  the  sermons  of  the  old  divines,  but  the 
charge  is  as  absurd  as  it  would  be  to  accuse  him  of  borrowing 
from  Webster's  dictionary.  He  has  borrowed  their  quaint 
modes  of  thought,  at  times,  but  that  was  inevitable  in  the  effort 
to  express  the  ideas  of  our  time,  in  the  garb  of  Saxon  undeiiled 
which  they  used  and  delighted  in.  Beyond  this  there  has  been 
no  plagiarism  on  his  part. 

His  college  course  was  not  completed  till  1834,  two  years 
after  his  father  had  accepted  the  presidency  of  Lane  seminary, 
and  thither  he  went  to  pursue  his  theological  studies,  and  to 
find  his  father  in  the  fore-front  of  the  fierce  battle,  then  waging 
between  the  old  and  new  school  parties  in  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Under  such  circumstances,  his  theological  training 
was  likely  to  be  dialectic,  rather  than  practical ;  but  it  was  not 
in  the  power  of  even  his  father's  great  influence  to  make  him  a 
controversialist.  He  reverenced  his  father,  and,  as  in  duty 
bound,  took  up  arms  in  his  defence,  but  his  own  theology  was 
of  a  more  peaceful,  even  if  a  less  logical  character,  and  though 
in  the  battle,  he  was  not  of  it.  His  theological  course  completed, 
he  married,  and  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian 
church  in  Lawrenceburg,  Indiana.  His  fine  descriptive  powers, 
and  the  intensely  sympathetic  character  of  his  preaching,  led  to 
his  transference,  two  years  later  (in  1839),  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  church  in  Indianapolis.  Here  a  wide  door 
opened  before  him.  He  had  not  been  long  a  resident  of  the 
capital  of  the  State,  before  his  church  was  thronged  with 
crowds,  eager  to  hear  the  young  preacher,  whose  vivid  word 
painting  and  power,  in  presenting  Christ  in  his  relations  to 
humanity  in  all  the  forms  of  joy  and  sorrow,  was  something  so 


REV.   HENRY    WARD    BEECHER.  615 

new  and  impressive.  He  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  to  young 
men  while  in  Indianapolis,  which  were  published,  and  had  an 
immense  sale,  which  has  continued  to  the  present  day.  Even 
thus  early,  his  tendency  to  combine,  with  his  pastoral  duties, 
labors  not  usually  regarded  as  clerical,  began  to  manifest  itself. 
For  a  few  months  before  his  ordination,  he  had  edited  the 
organ  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  at  Cincinnati,  in  the  absence 
of  its  responsible  editor ;  but  at  Indianapolis,  in  addition  to  his 
other  duties,  he  undertook  the  editorship  of  an  agricultural 
paper,  and  discussed,  learnedly  and  interestingly  too,  the  rota- 
tion of  crops,  manures,  the  best  methods  of  cultivation,  breeds 
of  cattle,  horses  and  swine,  and  other  topics  which  most  interest 
the  farmer.  He  could  not  avoid,  however,  having  a  depart- 
ment for  floriculture,  and  in  that  he  poured  out  the  wealth  of 
his  love  of  nature.  The  paper  was  popular,  and  reached  a 
large  circulation  for  a  paper  of  that  class. 

Meantime  his  reputation  as  a  preacher  was  growing  also. 
Eastern  men,  making  a  tour  of  the  West,  were  attracted  by  the 
fame  of  the  young  Indianapolis  pastor,  went  to  hear  him  from 
curiosity,  and  were  delighted.  Some  of  these  men  being  about 
to  establish  a  new  Congregational  church  in  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  resolved  to  make  the  effori  to  obtain  him  for  their  pastor. 

Their  call  was,  after  some  hesitation,  accepted,  and  in  the 
autumn  of  1847,  he  entered  upon  his  labors  with  this  new 
church  in  Brooklyn,  to  which  the  name  of  Plymouth  church 
had  been  given.  They  met  at  first,  and  till  their  church  edi- 
fice was  erected,  in  a  rude,  plain,  but  capacious  "  tabernacle ;" 
and  this  was  at  once  filled  to  overflowing.  It  very  soon  be- 
came the  fashion  to  "go  and  hear  Beecher;"  and  those  who 
went  once,  were  very  sure  to  come  again.  The  boyish-looking 
pastor  (for  though  thirty-four  years  old  when  he  removed  to 
Brooklyn,  he  had  a  very  youthful  appearance),  with  his  easy, 


616  MEN    OF  OUR   DAT. 

careless  ways,  had  a  faculty,  when  the  inspiratioa  was  on  him, 
of  winning  all  hearts,  now  creating  a  smile  by  the  aptness  and 
homeliness  of  some  illustration,  or  by  the  slight  touch  of 
humor  which  he  could  not  wholly  suppress,  and  anon  melting 
them  to  tears  by  his  deep  pathos,  and  his  vivid  portrayal  of  the 
Divine  love.  When  the  church  edifice  was  completed,  that  too 
was  soon  filled,  nay,  crammed,  with  eager  listeners.  People 
said  that  it  would  not  last ;  that  as  soon  as  the  excitement  was 
over,  his  congregation  would  dwindle  till  it  was  no  larger  than 
that  of  other  pastors :  but  it  has  kept  up  to  its  first  standard, 
or  rather  increased,  for  twenty-fiive  years.  Repeated  attempts 
have  been  made  by  other  denominations  to  find  a  man  who 
would  draw  to  their  churches  such  a  body  of  worshippers,  but 
in  vain. 

Meantime,  Mr.  Beecher  never  seemed  elated  by  his  success ; 
he  knew,  of  course,  as  every  strong  man  does,  his  power,  but  it 
did  not  make  him  vain.  His  church  grew  in  numbers,  and  has 
been,  for  years  past  the  largest  evangelical  church  m  the 
Northern  States,  if  not  in  the  country.  In  the  Sunday-school, 
in  the  mission -schools,  and  in  its  ample  support  of  all  noble 
and  good  enterprises,  Plymouth  church  has  been  worthy  of  its 
pastor.  When  he  was  installed  as  pastor,  the  congregation 
gave  him  a  yearly  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  They 
have  increased  it,  till  now,  for  two  or  three  years  past,  it  has 
been  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

As  we  have  already  said,  Mr.  Beecher  does  a  vast  amount 
of  work  outside  of  his  duties  as  preacher  and  pastor.  He  has 
so  much  vitality,  such  a  power  for  work  in  him,  that  he  would 
be  wretched  if  he  could  not  expend  his  vital  force  on  good  and 
worthy  objects.  He  has  made  good  use  of  his  physiological 
studies  in  keeping  himself  always  in  the  best  possible  condition 
for  efl&cient  labor.     He  takes    much    active  exercise,   avoids 


EEV.   HENRY    WAKD    BEECHER.  617 

whatever  is  likely  to  impair  his  health,  and  trains  himself  to 
those  economies  of  time  and  toil  which  are  the  result  of 
thorough  system.  When  he  works  intellectually  it  is  with  all 
his  might,  and  when  he  rests,  he  does  it  as  thoroughly.  Ilia 
labors  as  contributor  and  editor  of  the  Independent,  his  plat- 
form speeches,  his  lectures,  his  efforts  to  benefit  the  city  of 
his  adoption,  his  active  political  canvass  in  1856  and  1860, 
for  Fremont  and  Lincoln,  his  great  expenditure  of  time, 
strength,  zeal  and  money  in  raising  the  Long  Island  regiment 
and  other  troops  for  the  war,  his  constant  and  effective  labors 
in  behalf  of  the  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions,  and  the 
efforts  necessary  to  keep  so  large  a  congregation  at  a  white 
heat,  in  their  interest  in  behalf  of  the  war  and  its  objects, 
though  in  him  only  the  natural  and  easy  manifestation  of  hia 
great  capacity  for  work,  would  have  been  of  themselves  more 
than  most  men  could  have  endured.  Yet  except  during  hia 
visit  to  Eugland  in  1863,  he  intermitted  none  of  his  ordinary 
pulpit  labors  during  the  war,  nor  did  he  manifest  any  less  than 
his  usual  fervor  and  eloquence  in  them. 

It  must  be  acknowledged,  however,  that  his  extraordinary 
exertions,  during  the  first  two  years  of  the  war,  together  with 
the  editorial  charge  of  the  Independent^  and  his  duties  as 
preacher  and  pastor,  had,  for  once,  sapped  his  strength,  and 
were  making  inroads  upon  a  constitution  so  vigorous  as  pre- 
viously to  require  no  seasons  of  relaxation  and  rest.  He  found 
himself  compelled  to  take  a  voyage  to  England,  and  endeavor 
thus  to  restore  his  wasted  strength,  and  fit  himself  the  better 
for  the  arduous  toils  yet  to  come.  It  was  his  intention,  as  he 
went  solely  for  the  restoration  of  his  health,  not  to  preach  or 
speak  in  public  during  his  absence,  and  to  this  resolution  he 
adhered  during  his  first  visit  to  England  and  while  on  tlie  Con- 
tinent.    But,  on  his  return  to  England,  in  October,  1863,  he 


618  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

found  that  our  friends  there  required  encouragement,  and  that 
there  was  a  necessity  for  disabusing  the  minds  of  the  English 
people  of  the  errors  and  falsehoods,  which  had  been  widely  pro- 
pagated among  them  by  the  emissaries  of  the  South.  He  spoke 
at  Manchester,  Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  Liverpool,  and  London,  to 
audiences  of  many  thousands,  and  though,  in  Manchester  and 
Liverpool,  the  friends  of  the  rebellion  had  assembled  mobs  to 
prevent  his  speaking,  and  had  attemped  to  accomplish  this,  not 
only  by  noise,  but  by  threats  of  personal  violence,  he  succeeded, 
by  dint  of  fearlessness,  good  humor,  and  the  power  of  his  voice, 
in  calming  the  tumult  and  making  himself  heard  on  all  the 
points  of  the  controversy  between  the  two  great  parties  at 
home,  as  well  as  on  the  dif&culties  between  the  United  States 
and  European  nations.  These  addresses  were  of  great  service  iu 
strengthening  the  hearts  of  our  friends  in  England,  in  diffusing 
correct  and  much  needed  information  in  regard  to  the  real 
issues  at  stake,  and  in  encouraging  the  true  men  at  home.  It 
was  a  noble  service,  nobly  rendered. 

After  his  return,  Mr.  Beecher  entered  with  renewed  zeal 
upon  the  work  of  aiding  our  soldiers,  providing  for  the 
wounded  and  their  families,  and  upholding  the  administratiou, 
during  the  trying  period  of  the  great  battle  year,  1864.  After 
the  close  of  the  war,  he  went  to  Charleston,  and  assisted  in 
raising  the  old  flag  upon  Sumter,  making  an  eloquent  address 
on  the  occasion. 

Since  that  time,  in  addition  to  his  clerical  and  editorial  labors 
(on  the  Christian  Union,  since  1869,)  he  has  been  active  in  other 
literary  enterprises,  has  devoted  much  time  to  public  addresses  of 
all  sorts,  political,  literary  and  religious;  and  during  the  past 
year  (1872)  has  delivered  a  course  of  theological  lectures  on 
jreaching  (on  the  Safe  foundation)  to  the  Yale  Divinity  School. 

Mr.  Beecher's   disposition,    though    brave,    as    becomes   his 


REV.   HENRY    WARD    BEECHER.  619 

lineage,  is  yet  greatly  inclined  to  mercy.  When  the  war  was 
over  he  was  in  favor  of  the  formula  of  Mr.  Greeley,  "  Uni- 
versal Amnesty  and  Universal  Suffrage,"  and  was  so  much 
inclined  to  forgive  the  rebels,  whom  he  supposed  to  be  gene- 
rally penitent,  that  he  would  have  been  disposed  to  accept  the 
universal  amnesty  without  the  suffrage,  for  the  present,  believ- 
ing that  this  would  come  by  and  by.  He  had  full  confidence, 
too,  in  Mr.  Johnson's  good  faith  and  real  desire  for  the  recon- 
struction of  the  rebellious  States  on  righteous  and  just  prin- 
ciples. For  a  while,  these  views  alienated  from  him  some  of 
those  who  had  long  been  his  warmest  friends,  and  caused  those 
who  had  been  his  bitter  enemies  to  praise  him,  and  to  offer 
him  political  positions.  This  and  the  course  of  events  soon 
opened  his  eyes  to  the  false  position  in  which  the  promptings 
of  his  generous  nature  had  placed  him.  It  is  needless  to  say, 
that  he  had  never,  for  an  instant,  faltered  in  his  devotion  to 
the  great  principles  for  which  he  and  his  friends  had  so  long 
contended.  It  was  only  a  question  of  the  propriety  of  certain 
measures,  and  ere  long,  he  saw  his  mistake,  and  took  his  place 
with  the  earnest  friends  of  reconstruction  on  the  principles  laid 
down  by  Congress. 

In  the  campaign  of  1872  he  supported  President  Grant,  though 
not  with  the  ardor  of  some  of  his  previous  campaign  speeches, 
and  with  a  fairness  and  justice  toward  those  who  held  other 
views,  which  was  higiily  honorable  to  him  and  worthy  of  gen- 
eral imitation  by  public  speakers. 

We  conclude,  then,  this  sketch  of  Mr.  Beecher,  with  the 
earnest  hope  that  a  life,  so  full  of  usefulness,  so  active  in  'every 
good  cause,  so  earnest  in  the  promotion  of  all  patriotic  meas- 
ures, may  be  long  protracted,  and  that  a  generation  yet  to  come 
may  be  blessed  by  his  ministrations. 


MATTHEW   SIMPSON,   D.D.,  LL.D., 

BISHOP   OF    THE    METUODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


HE  bishopric  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  involves 
for  the  discharge  of  its  multifarious  duties  such  an  in 
finitude  of  labor,  such  constant  and  active  exercise  of 
all  a  man's  powers,  physical,  intellectual  and  moral,  that 
it  seems  wonderful  that  any  of  the  bishops  can  ever  find  a 
moment's  opportunity  to  get  out  of  the  rut  of  official  duty. 
There  are  Conferences  to  be  presided  over,  on  both  sides  of  the 
continent,  causes  to  be  heard  and  decided  (for  the  bishops  are 
each  in  their  way  appellate  judges),  the  missionary  affairs, 
involving  an  expenditure  of  one  or  two  millions,  to  be  superin- 
tended, and  the  other  great  interests  of  the  denomination  looked 
after,  and  rightfully  or  wrongfully,  every  itinerant  who  has  just 
the  charge  he  did  not  want,  and  every  church  which  has  just  the 
pastor  they  did  not  ask  for,  feels  that  the  bishop  has  been  led 
astray  by  some  enemy  of  theirs.  But  if  this  is  ordinarily  the 
case,  how  much  more  onerous  have  been  the  duties  of  the 
bishops  for  the  last  few  years,  when  owing  to  the  death  of  seve- 
ral of  their  number,  and  the  failing  health  of  others,  the  work 
which  eight  men  could  not  acccomplish,  and  for  which  sixteen 
would  not  have  been  too  many,  was  laid  upon  the  shoulders  of 
four,  none  of  them  very  vigorous.  How  a  man  so  overworked 
can  find  time  for  any  literary  or  philanthropic  labor  outside  of 
his  offie^ial  duties  passes  our  comprehension.  Yet  Bishop  Simp- 
620 


MATTHEW   SIMPSON,    D.D.,  LL.D.  621 

son  has,  during  the  past  ten  or  twelve  years,  accomplished  an 
amount  of  work  outside  of  his  episcopal  duties  which  most  men 
would  consider  sufficient  to  entitle  them  to  a  retiring  pension. 

Matthew  Simpson  was  born  in  Cadiz,  Ohio,  June  21st,  1810. 
While  he  was  yet  an  infant  his  father  died,  and  his  mother,  an 
accomplished  and  highly  educated  woman  of  great  piety  and 
judgment,  undertook  to  educate  him  for  the  ministry.  She 
early  grounded  him  in  the  English  branches,  and  finding  him  an 
apt  and  ready  scholar,  with  a  remarkable  facility  for  acquiring 
the  languages,  encouraged  him  to  commence  the  study  of  Ger- 
man when  he  was  but  eight  years  of  age.  He  mastered  the 
language  so  readily  that  the  following  year  he  read  the  Bible 
through  in  German.  He  subsequently  studied  Latin,  Greek  and 
Hebrew,  as  well  as  some  of  the  modern  languages.  He  also 
became  a  proficient  in  physical  and  philosophical  studies.  In 
1829,  he  graduated  from  Madison  College,  though  he  had 
attended  but  very  few  terms  there.  The  same  year  he  joined 
the  Methodist  Church,  but  seemed  averse  to  preparing  himself 
for  the  ministry,  which  had  been  the  goal  of  his  mother's  hopes. 
He  preferred,  on  the  contrary,  the  medical  profession,  and  after 
a  very  thorough  course  of  medical  ,study,  graduated  M.  D.  in 
1833.  But  though  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession 
with  zeal  and  the  best  prospect  of  success,  his  mother's  prayers 
and  entreaties  still  followed  him,  and  almost  without  being  con- 
scious of  it,  he  found  himself  drawn  toward  the  ministry.  At 
first  he  contented  himself  with  exercising  his  gifts  according  to 
the  custom  of  his  church  as  a  local  preacher ;  but  presently  he 
began  to  devote  himself  to  theological  studies.  In  1835,  he  was 
admitted  to  deacon's  orders,  and  in  1837,  entered  the  itineracy. 
But  while  he  possessed  rare  abilities  as  a  preacher,  his  thorough 
and  extensive  scholarship  caused  his  services  to  be  in  demand 
for  the  collegiate  institutions  of  his  church.     In   1839,  he  was 


622  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

called  to  the  Presidency  of  Indiana  Asbury  University,  and  in 
1841,  transferred  to  the  Vice-Presidency  of  Alleghany  College, 
and  the  Professorship  of  Natural  Sciences  there.  He  remained 
in  this  position  till  1851,  but  from  1848  took  upon  him  the 
added  duties  of  editor  of  the  Western  (now  the  Pittsburgh) 
Christian  Advocate,  which  he  conducted  with  marked  ability  till 
his  elevation  to  the  bishopric  in  1852.  He  was,  when  elected, 
the  youngest  of  the  bishops,  and  though  all  have  been  abundant 
in  their  labors,  and  several  have  gone  down  to  their  graves 
from  overwork,  it  is  no  disparagement  to  the  others  to  say  that 
Bishop  Simpson  has  been  the  hardest  worker  in  the  episcopate. 
Blessed  with  a  vigorous  constitution,  great  powers  of  endurance, 
and  a  remarkable  aptitude  for  the  rapid  dispatch  of  business,  he 
had  not  until  the  last  year  shown  any  symptoms  of  exhaustion 
under  his  multitudinous  labors.  But  of  late  his  physicians  have 
insisted  that  absolute  rest  was  necessary  to  the  preservation  of 
his  valuable  life. 

From  1852  to  1860,  as  the  junior  bishop,  his  duties  were  per- 
haps no  more  arduous  than  those  of  his  colleagues,  though  as  a 
pulpit  orator  of  rare  eloquence  and  power,  he  was  constantly 
called  upon  to  preach  or  deliver  addresses  on  subjects  not  con- 
nected strictly  with  his  episcopal  duties,  and  sometimes  not  with 
Methodism  itself. 

But  after  the  commencement  of  the  war,  how  the  man  did 
work !  While  neglecting  none  of  his  ofl&cial  duties,  he  seemed 
the  very  embodiment  of  patriotism,  and  like  a  fire  on  the 
prairies,  he  set  everything  around  him  aflame  with  his  zeal.  He 
was  an  intimate  friend  and  often  the  wise  and  judicious  counsel- 
lor of  President  Lincoln  ;  from  East  to  West  he  preached  and 
lectured  on  the  duty  of  the  people  to  uphold  our  Government, 
and  rendered  more  efficient  aid  than  almost  any  other  man  to 
the   Christian   and   Sanitary  Commissions.     His  eloquence  in 


MATTHEW  SIMPSON,    D.D.,   LL.D.  623 

pleading  the  cause  of  our  country  and  its  wounded  heroes  was 
unsurpassed,  and  after  his  appeals,  so  full  of  pathos,  so  touching 
in  their  simple  beauty,  his  audiences  with  eyes  streaming  with 
tears,  were  ready  to  empty  their  purses  into  the  colIecto;'s'  plates, 
only  lamenting  that  they  were  not  larger  and  fuller. 

Other  clergymen  of  all  denominations  labored  zealously,  and 
accom.plished  great  things  for  the  country  in  its  hour  of  extreme 
need  ;  but  I  think  only  one,  or  perhaps  two  others  *  equalled 
Bishop  Simpson  in  the  vast  extent  of  their  beneficent  influence 
over  the  nation.     Certainly  no  one  surpassed  him  in  this  regard. 

Since  the  war,  though  overtasked  with  his  episcopal  duties 
from  the  unprecedented  mortality  among  his  colleagues,  Bishop 
Simpson  has  not  lost  his  interest  in  his  country.  Often,  amid 
the  utmost  weariness  and  physical  exhaustion,  he  has  lifted  up 
his  voice  in  warning  of  national  errors  or  in  the  encouragement 
of  the  nation's  faith,  and  it  is  largely  due  to  his  powerful  influ- 
ence that  the  great  denomination  of  which  he  has  been  so  earnest 
and  faithful  a  leader  has  kept  step  so  truly  and  uniformly  to  the 
music  of  the  Union. 

"We  can  spare  our  politicians ;  a  hundred  of  them  might  die 

and  our  country  and  the  world  be  none  the  worse ;  but  a  stanch, 

earnest,  true-hearted  patriot  like  Bishop   Simpson  cannot   be 

spared.   May  it  please  God  long  to  preserve  his  life  to  benefit  our 

^nation  and  the  world. 

*  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  possibly  Bishop  Rosecrans  (Roman 
Catholic)  of  Ohio. 


JAY  COOKE, 

BANKER    AND    FINANCIER. 


fe6/f  N  the  times  tLat  tried  men  s  souls,    the  dark  days  of  our 
^i  .  .  ■^ 

Qi\\     revolutionary  epoch,  there  was  a  time  when  there  was 

^^f  the  greatest  possible  danger  that  the  sufferings,  the 
^  bloodshed,  and  the  sacrifices  of  our  patriotic  heroes, 
might  all  fail  of  accomplishing  our  independence,  from  the 
want  of  the  sinews  of  war,  the  means  of  paying  the  troops,  of 
supplying  rations,  clothing,  arms,  and  ammunition.  At  this 
crisis,  when  the  treasury  of  the  confederation  was  bankrupt, 
and  there  seemed  no  more  room  for  hope,  a  Philadelphia 
banker,  Robert  Morris  by  name,  came  forward,  and  taking  upon 
his  own  shoulders  the  financial  burden  of  the  nascent  republic, 
obtained  for  it,  by  the  pledge  of  his  own  credit  and  private  re- 
sources, the  aid  it  could  not  otherwise  command. 

To  this  noble,  self  sacrificing  patriot,  as  much  perhaps  as  to 
any  other  man  of  the  revolutionary  period,  not  less  even  than 
to  Washington  himself,  do  we  owe  it,  that  we  are  not,  to  this 
day,  dependencies  of  the  British  crown. 

In  our  second  war  of  independence,  so  recently  passed,  a  war 

which  has  had  no  parallel  in  ancient  or  modern  times,  in  the 

extent  of  the  forces  brought  into  the  field,  or  the  vast  scale  of 

its  expenditure,  we  had  at  one  time  drawn  fearfully  near  the 

vortex   of  national    bankruptcy.     Our   currency    was   greatly 
624 


!i.;RAVEDBy  Samuel  SARTAiM.Piiii. 


JAY   COOKE.  625 

depreciated,  the  paper  dollar  being  at  one  time  worth,  in  tho 
market,  but  about  thirtj-six  cents  in  coin,  and  the  prices  of  all 
goods  of  permanent  value  being  inflated  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  alarm  the  cautious,  and  portend  speedy  ruin.  Meantime  the 
exigencies  of  the  war  demanded  a  constantly  increasing  force  in 
the  field,  and  the  expenditure  of  the  Government,  mainly  for 
the  army  and  navy,  was  enlarging  till  it  approached  three  mil- 
lions of  dollars  a  day. 

At  this  juncture,  when  the  ablest  financial  secretary  who  ever 
controlled  the  national  treasury  was  almost  in  despair,  another 
Philadelphia  banker.  Jay  Cooke  by  name,  brought  to  the  aid 
of  the  Government  his  enterprise,  financial  skill  and  extensive 
credit,  and  undertook  for  a  pittance  which,  if  he  had  failed  of 
complete  success,  would  not  have  been  sufficient  to  iiave  saved 
him  from  utter  ruin,  to  negotiate  and  sell  a  loan  of  five  hundred' 
millions  of  dollars,  an  amount  which  would  have  staggered  the 
Rothschilds.  He  not  only  accomplished  this,  but  subsequently,, 
to  meet  the  pressing  wants  of  Government,  sold  eight  hundred' 
and  thirty  millions  more.  More  fortunate  than  Mr.  Morris,  in- 
that  he  did  not,  in  the  final  result,  lose  his  own  fortune,  but  by 
the  extraordinary  enterprise  he  manifested,  paved  the  way  for' 
other  and  more  profitable  undertakings  with  private  corpora- 
tions, Mr.  Cooke  yet  manifested  a  spirit  as  truly  patriotic  as 
Mr.  Morris,  and  like  him,  is  entitled  to  the  honor  of  rescuing' 
the  nation  from  threatened  bankruptcy. 

The  Cooke  family  trace  their  lineage  back  to  Francis  Cooke,. 

one  of  the  godly  and  goodly  men  who  formed  the  company  which' 

landed  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  in  the  Mayflower,  in  1620, 

and  who  erected  the  third  house  built  in  Plymouth.     Of  his- 

descendants  one  branch  emigrated  to  Connecticut,  and  another 

to  northern  New  York.     From  the  latter  stock,  some  of  the 

descendants  of  which  are  still  living  in  Granville,  Washington 
40 


026  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

county,  New  York,  came  the  father  of  Jay  Cooke,  Eleutheroa 
Cooke,  an  eminent  lawyer  and  political  leader  of  northern  Ohio, 

Eleutheros  Cooke  was  born  in  Middle  Granville,  New  York, 
received  a  collegiate  education,  studied  law,  and  after  practicing 
for  a  few  years  in  Saratoga  and  its  vicinity,  removed,  with 
a  company  of  his  neighbors,  to  the  vicinity  of  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  in  1817.  Here  he  speedily  attained  distinction  in  his 
profession,  ranking  as  the  leading  lawyer  of  that  part  of  the 
State,  and  being  the  first  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ohio.  An  active  and  influential  Whig,  he  was  elected  to 
numerous  positions  of  trust  and  honor,  was  the  representative 
of  his  district  in  the  State  Legislature  for  many  years,  and  in 
1831  was  elected  to  Congress. 

In  his  early  candidacy  for  the  State  Legislature  he  found  his 
name  (Eleutheros)  a  great  disadvantage ;  the  illiterate  Germans 
of  Seneca  county  could  not  comprehend,  or  write  it  correctly, 
and  he  was  at  one  time  defeated,  by  the  throwing  out  by 
Democratic  judges  of  a  thousand  ballots  for  defective  spelling. 
lie  determined  thenceforward  to  give  his  children  short  and 
simple  names.  His  eldest  he  called  Pitt,  after  the  great  English 
minister;  the  second.  Jay,  after  our  illustrious  chief  justice,  a 
third,  Henry,  and  so  on. 

Jay  Cooke,  the  second  son  of  this  family,  was  born  at  Port- 
land (now  Sandusky),  Huron  county,  Ohio,  August  10,  1821. 
His  early  education  was  obtained  at  home,  for  there  were  few 
good  schools  in  that  region  at  that  early  period.  But  though  it 
was  home  teaching,  it  was  none  the  less  thorough  on  that 
account.  Mr.  Cooke  was  very  anxious  to  have  his  children 
well  educated.  When  at  home,  he  instructed  them  himself, 
and  when  absent,  his  wife,  a  well  educated  lady,  undertook  the 
woik.  In  his  more  distant  legal  or  political  excursions,  when- 
over  he  found  a  book  store,  he  laid  in  a  stock  of  books  for  the 


JAY   COOKE.  627 

honscliold  at  home.  The  boys  were  all  quick  to  learn,  and 
made  progress  in  their  studies.  During  Mr.  Eleufcheros  Cooke's 
term  in  Congress,  there  was  a  very  general  time  of  financial 
pressure  in  the  "West,  and  on  his  return  home,  he  found  his 
affairs  considerably  embarrassed,  and  became  somewhat  de- 
pressed. Standing  in  his  door  one  day,  and  seeing  his  three 
boys  coming  home  from  school,  (for  there  was  at  this  time  a 
school  of  some  merit  in  Sandusky,)  he  went  to  meet  them,  and 
putting  his  arms  around  them,  said,  half  sadly  and  half  in  jest, 
"  My  boys,  I  have  nothing  left  for  you ;  you  must  go  and  look 
out  for  yourselves."  The  elder  and  the  younger  remained  silent 
and  downcast,  but  Jay,  then  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  look- 
ing up  in  his  father's  face  with  great  earnestness,  said,  "  Father, 
I  am  old  enough  to  work.  I  will  go  and  earn  for  myself."  'Mr 
Cooke  did  not  regard  this  remark  as  any  thing  more  than  an 
expression  of  the  boy's  affectionate  and  enterprising  nature,  and 
as  he  had  no  intention  of  turning  either  of  his  boys  out,  ai  ihat 
time,  to  earn  their  own  living,  he  thought  no  more  of  it.  But 
the  next  day,  when  the  other  boys  went  to  school,  Jaj  slipped 
away,  and  went  to  the  store  of  a  Mr.  Hubbard,  in  Sandusky. 
and  asked  him  to  employ  him  as  a  clerk.  Mr.  Hubbard,  who 
was  doing  a  thriving  business,  happened  to  be  just  then  in  vvant 
of  a  clerk,  having  dismissed  his  only  one  a  few  days  before,  for 
dishonesty.  Jay  was  a  favorite  of  his,  and  admiring  his  artless 
ness  and  resolution,  he  forthwith  employed  him. 

That  night,  when  Mrs.  Cooke  reproached  the  boy  for  playing 
tiuant,  he  replied,  with  a  flush  of  noble  independence,  "  Why, 
mother,  I  won't  be  a  trouble  to  you  any  longer ;  I  am  now 
earning  for  myself." 

The  parents,  after  consultation,  determined  to  let  Jay  work 
out  his  own  destiny,  and  the  next  day,  and  every  day  thence- 
forward, the  boy  was  at  his  place  promptly,  and  proved  so  fiutb 


628  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

ful,  intelligent  and  apt  as  a  salesman,  and  was  so  ready  and 
quick  at  figures,  tliat  his  employer  formed  a  strong  attachment 
for  him,  taught  him  book-keeping,  and  instructed  him  in  other 
branches  which  he  had  failed  to  acquire  at  school. 

After  some  time,  Mr,  Hubbard's  partner  left  him  for  a  long 
journey,  and  Mr.  Hubbard  himself  fell  sick,  so  that  the  whole 
oare  of  the  store  came  upon  Jay.  He  attended  to  it  faithfully, 
and  at  evening  took  the  keys  and  the  day's  receipts  to  his  sick 
employer,  with  "whom  he  staid  usually  through  the  evenings. 
After  he  had  been  eleven  months  in  Mr.  Hubbard's  employ,  a 
Mr.  Seymour  who  was  about  starting  in  business  in  St.  Louis, 
prevailed  on  him  to  go  with  him  to  that  city  as  clerk  and  book- 
keeper. The  enterprise  did  not  prove  successful,  and  at  the  end 
of  about  nine  months  Seymour  and  Jay  Cooke  returned  to 
Sandusky.  While  the  latter  remained  at  home  for  a  time, 
awaiting  a  position,  he  attended  an  excellent  school,  in  which 
he  devoted  his  attention  almost  exclusively  to  algebra  and  the 
higher  mathematics.  In  these  he  soon  excelled.  His  only 
amusement  was  fishing,  among  the  islands  of  Sandusky  bay, 
a  pastime  which  he  still  enjoys  witn  all  a  boy's  enthusiasm. 
After  a  few  months  of  close  application,  his  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
William  G.  Moorhead,  then,  as  since,  largely  engaged  in  rail- 
road and  canal  enterprises,  and  residing  in  Philadelphia,  visited 
Sandusky,  his  former  home,  and  perceiving  young  Cooke's 
proficiency  in  mathematical  and  mercantile  studies,  offered  him 
the  position  of  book-keeper  in  his  office.  Jay  accepted  and 
spent  a  year  in  Philadelphia,  when  the  firm  was  dissolved,  and 
Mr.  Moorhead  received  the  appointment  from  the  Government, 
of  consul  to  Valparaiso. 

Jay  returned  to  Sandusky  and  entered  the  school  again,  when 
his  father  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  E.  W.  Clark,  of  E.  W.  Clark 
&  Co.,  a  leading  banking  firm  of  Philadelphia,  asking  permia* 


JAY   COOKE.  629 

sion  to  take  liis  son,  Jay,  of  whom  the  firm  had  had  very 
favorable  accounts,  into  their  establishment  and  give  him  a 
thorough  training  as  a  banker.  The  father,  after  some  hesita- 
tion, decided  to  send  his  son  to  Philadelphia,  and  this  proved 
the  turning  point  in  his  fortune.  The  house  of  E.  W.  Clark 
&  Co.,  was  one  of  high  reputation  for  probity  and  honor,  and 
had  its  branches  in  Boston,  New  York,  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis, 
and  Burlington,  Iowa.  It  was  at  that  time,  and  for  several 
years,  the  largest  domestic  exchange  banking  house  in  the 
United  States. 

Though  not  quite  seventeen  years  old  when  he  entered  this 
house,  Jay  Cooke  soon  impressed  the  partners  so  favorably  by 
his  earnest  zeal  to  understand  thoroughly  the  whole  business 
of  finance,  and  his  careful  attention  to  business,  that  he  was,  for 
some  time  before  he  became  of  age,  entrusted  with  full  powers 
of  attorney  to  use  the  name  of  the  firm.  An  act  of  kindness 
thoroughly  characteristic  of  him,  at  this  time,  was,  during  the 
war,  perverted  into  an  occasion  of  slander  and  abuse.  It  was 
stated  by  some  of  the  daily  papers  in  New  York  and  elsewhere 
that  he  was  of  low  origin,  an  obscure  western  banker,  and  that 
while  in  Philadelphia  he  had  been  bar  tender  to  a  third  rate 
tavern.  There  was  hardly  the  faintest  shadow  of  truth,  to 
serve  as  the  basis  of  those  preposterous  stories.  lie  was  never 
a  western  banker  in  his  life,  but  as  we  shall  show  presently 
had  been  for  twenty-five  years  a  member,  and  the  real  head  of 
one  of  the  largest  banking  houses  in  the  country ;  he  was  from 
an  honored  and  distinguished  family  in  northern  Ohio,  and  his 
only  connection  with  a  hotel  in  Philadelphia  consisted  in  the 
fact,  that,  during  his  first  residence  there,  he  boarded  with  an 
excellent  family  who  owned  a  small  hotel,  and  who  were  very 
kind  to  him  during  his  stay.  On  his  return  he  again  took  a 
room  with  this  family,  and  fin'Jing  that  the  worthy  landlor(^ 


630  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

who  was  somewhat  advanced  in  years  and  in  feeble  health,  was 
in  some  financial  difficulty,  and  had  been  obtaining  heavy  loans 
of  Messrs  E.  W.  Clark  &  Co.,  who  had  at  last  became  apprehen- 
sive of  his  solvency,  he  persuaded  the  old  man  to  let  him 
examine  into  his  condition.  He  found  that  he  was  nearly 
insolvent,  and  that  he  had  been  plundered  by  dishonest  bar- 
tenders and  book-keepers.  He  accordingly  volunteered  to 
make  up  his  cash  account  for  him  every  night,  when  he  came 
from  his  office,  and  to  do  this  was  under  the  necessity  of  enter- 
ing his  bar.  He  continued  this  kind  service  till  the  death  of 
his  old  friend,  and  had  the  happiness  of  knowing  that  he  had 
retrieved  for  him  a  part  at  least,  of  his  fortune.  For  this  he 
was  sneered  at,  as  a  bar-keeper. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  (in  1842),  he  became  a  partner  in 
the  house  of  E.  W.  Clark  k  Co.,  and  remained  in  it  until  1858, 
being  for  the  greater  part  of  that  time  its  active  business 
manager,  and  much  of  the  time  its  real  head.  During  this  time 
Government  had  issued  several  loans,  to  which  the  firm  had 
largely  subscribed.  In  1840,  when  but  nineteen  years  of  age, 
Mr.  Cooke  had  written  the  first  money  article  ever  published 
in  a  Philadelphia  paper,  and  for  a  year  continued  to  edit  the 
financial  column  of  the  Daily  Chronicle,  one  of  the  three  journals 
in  the  country,  which  then  had  a  daily  money  article.  On  his 
retirement  from  the  firm  of  E.  W.  Clark  &  Co.,  in  1858,  Mr. 
Cooke  had  amassed  a  comfortable  fortune,  and  had  purposed 
to  live  thenceforth  more  at  his  ease.  He  still,  however,  nego- 
tiated large  loans  fot  railroad  and  other  corporations,  and 
attended,  in  a  quiet  way,  to  other  financial  operations. 

At  the  commencement  of  1861,  Mr.  Cooke  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  William  G.  Moorhead,  in  tlie 
banking  business,  under  the  firm  name  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co. 
The  object  of  both  partners  was  to  provide  business  openings 


JAY   COOKE,  C"l 

for  tlieir  sons.  Mr.  Moorliead  brought  to  the  firm  a  long  and 
Buccessfal  experience  in  railroad  matters.  In  the  spring  of 
1861,  when  the  Government  sought  to  place  its  first  loan,  tho 
firm  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  procured  and  forwarded  to  "Washing- 
ton, without  compensation,  a  large  list  of  subscribers.  The 
State  of  Pennsylvania  required  a  war  loan  of  several  millions, 
and  it  was  negotiated  mostly  by  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  placing  it  at  par,  though  it  was  at  a  time  of  great 
commercial  and  financial  depression. 

These  successful  negotiations  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  their  ability  as  financiers.  Soon 
afterward,  having  failed  to  obtain  satisfactory  aid  from  the 
associated  banks,  Mr.  Chase  resolved  to  try  the  experiment  of  a 
popular  loan,  and  to  this  end,  appointed  four  hundred  special 
agents,  mostly  presidents  or  cashiers  of  prominent  banking 
institutions  throughout  the  country.  In  Philadelphia,  Jay 
Cooke  k  Company  were  selected,  and  they  immediately  or- 
ganized a  system  which  resulted  in  the  popularization  of  the 
loan,  and  secured  the  co-operation  of  the  masses  in  the  sub- 
scription to  it.  Of  the  entire  sum  secured  by  the  four  hundred 
agents,  not  quite  thirty  millions  in  all,  one  third  was  returned 
by  Jay  Cooke  &  Company.  As  this  did  not  fill  the  treasury, 
whose  wants  were  constantly  increasing,  with  sufficient  rapidity, 
Mr,  Chase,  after  consultation  with  eminent  financiers,  determined 
to  place  the  negotiation  of  the  five  hundred  millions  of  five- 
twenty  bonds,  just  authorized  by  Congress,  in  the  hands  of  a 
special  agent,  as  Congress  had  given  him. permission  to  do.  Mr. 
Cooke's  success  in  this  small  loan,  led  Mr.  Chase  to  select  him 
for  the  agent.  He  accepted  the  appointment,  and  organized 
his  plans  for  the  sale  of  the  loan,  with  what  success  is  now  a 
matter  of  history. 

A  bolder  and  more  daring  financial  undertaking  than  this  ia 


632  MEN   OF   OUR  DAT. 

not  to  be  found  in  the  records  of  monetary  history.  The  risks 
were  frightful,  the  compensation,  if  no  sales  were  made,  nothing; 
if  they  were  effected,  five  eighths  of  one  per  cent,  on  the 
amount  sold,  which  was  to  cover  all  commissions  to  sub-agents, 
advertising,  correspondence,  postage,  clerk  hire,  express  fees, 
and  remuneration  for  labor  and  superintendence.  The  Gov- 
ernment assumed  no  risks,  and  if  the  loan  failed  to  take  with 
the  people,  the  advertising  and  other  expenses  alone  would 
swallow  up  the  entire  fortune  of  Mr.  Cooke  and  his  partners. 
The  commissions  received  by  European  bankers  for  negotiating 
such  a  loan,  themselves  assuming  no  risks,  are  from  four  to 
eight  per  cent.,  and  there  was  not  another  banking  house  in  the 
United  States  which  would  have  taken  it  on  the  terms  accepted 
by  Mr.  Cooke ;  but  his  country  was  engaged  in  a  deadly  strife 
for  the  preservation  of  its  liberties;  it  needed  money  in  vast 
sums  to  conduct  this  gigantic  struggle  successfully,  and  if  it  did 
not  have  it  promptly,  the  great  sacrifices  made  already,  would 
prove  in  vain.  Some  one,  possessing  an  ample  fortune,  must 
have  patriotism  enough  to  take  the  risk,  great  as  it  was,  and  if 
it  must  be  so,  ruin  himself  in  the  effort  to  save  his  country.  In 
the  secretary's  tendering  him  this  position,  first  and  unhesitat- 
ingly, there  seemed  to  be  a  call  of  Divine  Providence  on  him  to 
undertake  this  great  responsibility.  He  accepted  it  as  a  Chris- 
tian and  a  patriot,  and  it  is  no  more  than  the  truth  to  say,  that 
in  the  history  of  the  war,  no  enterprise  was  undertaken  from  a 
higher  motive,  or  from  a  loftier  sense  of  duty  and  patriotism. 

His  labors,  during  this  sale  of  bonds,  were  incessant;  "he 
was,"  sa3'S  a  banker,  a  friend  of  his,  "  the  hardest  worked  man 
in  America."  Public  opinion,  in  favor  of  the  loan,  Avas  to  be 
created  and  stimulated  ;  the  loan  itself  was  to  be  made  accessible 
to  all  classes,  and  all  were  to  be  shown  that  it  was  for  their 
interest  and  benefit  to  invest  all  their  surplus,  be  it  little  or 


JAY   COOKE.  63S 

much,  in  these  bonds  of  the  nation ;  every  village  must  have 
its  agent,  so  that  all  parties,  the  sempstress,  the  domestic;,  the 
young  journeyman,  or  the  farmer's  boy,  who  had  but  fifty 
dollars  of  their  earnings  to  invest,  the  fruit  of  long  savings  and 
painful  toil,  might  be  as  well  and  as  promptly  accommodated 
as  the  rich  capitalist  who  wished  to  purchase  his  hundreds  of 
thousands.  Every  loyal  paper  in  the  nation  had  its  advertise- 
ments, and  every  vehicle  of  information  by  which  the  masses 
could  be  reached  its  carefully  written  articles  explaining  and 
commending  the  bonds.  Over  half  a  million  of  dollars  were 
expended  in  this  machinery,  before  the  receipts  began  to  come 
in.  Mr.  Cooke's  partners  were  getting  a  little  anxious,  but  his 
countenance  was  still  sunny,  and  his  faith  in  the  loyalty  of  the 
nation,  firm  as  a  rock.  Then,  after  awhile,  the  orders  began  to 
come ;  first,  like  the  few  drops  that  betoken  the  coming  storm, 
then  faster  and  thicker,  patter,  patter,  patter;  then  an  over- 
whelming flood,  that  kept  all  hands  busy  till  midnight,  day 
after  day.  So  great  was  the  rush  for  the  bonds  toward  the  last, 
that  when  Mr.  Cooke  gave  notice  that  no  more  could  be  sold 
after  a  certain  day  and  hour,  and  that  the  five  hundred  millions 
were  already  taken,  the  orders  and  money  poured  in,  till  he 
was  obliged  to  issue,  and  Congress  to  legalize,  fourteen  millions 
beyond  the  amount  first  authorized. 

It  was  a  grand,  a  glorious  success,  and  at  once  put  Mr.  Cooke 
in  the  first  rank  among  the  great  financiers  of  the  world ;  but 
the  immediate  pecuniary  profit  from  it  was  very  small.  As  we 
have  said,  the  commission  to  cover  all  expenditures  was  but  five- 
eighths  of  one  per  cent.,  and  from  this  were  paid  the  advertising, 
review  articles,  clerk  hire,  postage,  and  express  fees,  and  one 
fourth  of  one  per  cent,  commission  to  sub-agents.  But  this 
was  not  all  the  deductions  which  were  to  be  made  on  this  gross 
commission      The  nation  has  never  had  an  abler,  nor  a  more 


63-i  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

really  economical  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  thaii  Mr.  Chase. 
He  was  so  careful,  so  scrupulous,  in  regard  to  the  expenditures 
of  his  department,  that  even  in  these  great  enterprises,  his 
economy  almost  approached  to  penuriousness.  Though  the 
sales  of  the  five-twenty  bonds  were  solely  due  to  the  almost 
superhuman  efforts  of  Jay  Cooke  and  the  corps  of  agents  whom 
he  had  trained,  and  he  was  entitled,  therefore,  to  a  commission 
on  the  entire  amount,  under  the  ordinary  customs  of  financial 
transactions,  a  portion  of  the  sub-agents  had  applied  directly  to 
the  treasury  department  for  their  bonds,  and  Mr,  Chase  refused 
to  pay  him  a  commission  on  any  of  these,  so  that  he  actually 
received  his  commission  only  on  three  hundred  and  sixty- three 
millions.  A  selfish  and  mercenary  man  would  have  insisted  on 
his  right  to  the  entire  commission,  and  might  very  possibly 
have  secured  it,  but  it  was  from  no  selfish  or  mercenary  motive 
that  Mr.  Cooke  had  entered  upon  this  work,  and  he  allowed  the 
economical  secretary,  whose  ability,  integrity,  and  patriotism 
he  never  questioned,  to  settle  the  matter  as  he  believed  to  be 
most  for  the  interest  of  the  nation. 

Mr.  Chase  believed  that  the  popularization  of  this  loan  had 
so  enamored  the  people  with  Government  bonds,  that  he 
should  find  no  difficulty  in  floating  a  five  per  cent,  ten-forty 
loan,  without  the  aid  of  the  Philadelphia  banking  agency.  He 
tried  it,  but  the  public  mind  was  not  prepared  for  it,  and  he 
projected  a  large  issue  of  seven-thirty  three  year  bonds,  the 
interest  payable  in  currency,  and  the  bonds  convertible  at 
maturity  into  five-twenty  six  per  cent,  bonds,  the  interest  pay. 
able  in  coin. 

Meanwhile  the  price  of  gold  was  constantly  increasing,  or 
rather  the  gold  value  of  the  currency  was  rapidly  decreasing. 
The  national  banking  system  which  he  had  inaugurated,  and  in 
which  Mr,  Cooke  had  rendered  him  most  essential  aid,  was  as 


JAY   COOKE.  635 

yet  an  experiment,  and  for  the  want  of  some  additional  pro- 
visions, subsequently  made  by  Congress,  the  State  banks  and 
many  of  the  large  public  and  private  bankers  of  the  great  cities 
were  fighting  the  national  banks  with  great  ferocity.  This 
system  was  destined  ere  long  to  become  a  magnificent  success, 
and  to  displace  all  the  State  organizations  with  a  rapidity  which 
reminded  the  observer  of  the  transformation  of  the  genii  of 
Persian  story ;  but  for  the  present  affairs  looked  gloomy. 

The  great  fighting  was  going  on  from  the  Eapidan  to  the 
James  (for  it  was  the  early  part  of  the  great  battle  summer  ot 
1864),  and  every  department  of  the  Government  was  calling  for 
more  men  and  more  money,  and  as  yet  no  great  victories  had 
presaged  the  coming  overthrow  of  the  rebellion.  Sick  at  heart, 
worn  down  with  excessive  labor,  and  feeling  that  his  great 
efforts  had  not  been  fully  appreciated,  Mr.  Chase  suddenly  re- 
signed, in  June,  186-i,  and  Mr.  Fessenden,  an  able  financier, 
though  of  less  sunny -temper,  succeeded  him. 

The  rapid  depreciation  of  the  currency  which  ensued  on  the 
announcement  of  this  change,  is  one  of  the  cardinal  points  in  the 
memory  of  the  bulls  and  bears  of  our  generation.  In  fifteen 
days,  gold  rose  from  88  per  cent,  premium  to  185  per  cent.,  and 
there  was  a  fierce  outcry  against  the  Governmeni,  for  all  men 
feared  impending  bankruptcy. 

In  this  emergency,  Mr.  Fessenden  applied  to  Jay  Cooke, 
whose  abilities  he  well  knew,  to  put  his  strong  shoulder  again 
to  the  wheel,  and  lift  the  Government  out  of  the  slough  of 
despond,  in  which  it  was  fast  settling.  The  appeal  was  not  in 
vain.  Again  the  army  of  sub-agents  was  organized  ;  again  the 
loyal  papers  of  every  state  teemed  with  advertisements,  this 
time  of  seven-thirty  bonds;  again  the  pens  of  ready  writers 
were  in  demand  to  write  up  the  advantages  of  Government 
securities,  and  Mr.  Cooke  himself  essayed  the  defence  of  the 


636  MEN   OP   OUR   DAT. 

financial  paradox,  "a  national  Debt,  a  national  Blessing." 
Again  were  the  mails  burdened  with  orders,  and  men  and 
woman,  old  and  young,  of  all  stations  in  life,  hastened  to  secure 
the  Government's  promises  to  pay.  Mr.  Cooke  and  the  houses 
with  which  he  was  in  correspondence,  had,  meantime,  opened 
the  way  for  large  transactions,  at  rapidly  increasing  prices,  in 
our  bonds,  in  Europe ;  had  diffused  information,  especially  in 
Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Holland  in  regard  to  them,  till,  early 
in  1865,  nearly  two  hundred  millions  of  United  States  Govern- 
ment bonds  had  been  placed  in  Europe.  This  amount  was  subse- 
quently still  farther  increased  to  between  four  and  five  hundred 
millions,  and  those  bonds  are  to-day  as  regularly  called  at  the 
boards  of  London,  Paris,  Amsterdam,  Frankfort,  and  Berlin,  as 
at  those  of  our  American  cities. 

The  success  of  the  three  series  of  seven-thirty  loans,  was  as 
great  as  that  of  the  five-twenties  had  been ;  greater  if  we  take 
into  account  the  larger  amount,  the  already  great  indebtedness 
of  the  Government,  and  the  depressing  circumstances  under 
which  they  were  first  put  upon  the  market.  In  less  than  a 
year  eight  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  these  bonds  were  sold. 
During  this  period,  a  part  of  the  time,  the  Government  expendi- 
ture exceeded  three  millions  of  dollars  a  day,  but  soon,  under 
the  heavy  blows  of  great  armies  well  fed  and  clothed,  and  abun- 
dantly supplied  with  money  and  all  the  munitions  of  war,  one 
stronghold  o!'  the  enemy  after  another  fell  into  our  hands,  vic- 
tory resounded  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  and 
the  great  rebellion  was  crushed. 

After  the  war,  the  house  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  which  still  had 
its  branches  in  Washington  and  New  York,  confined  itself  to 
the  negotiation  of  loans  for  great  corporate  enterprises,  dealing 
in  Government  securities,  etc.,  etc.,  and  still,  in  the  vastness  of 
its  enterprises,  the  integrity  and  honor  of  its  dealings,  and  the 


JAY   COOKE.  637 

consummate  financial  ability  which  has  marked  all  its  operations, 
retains  and  is  ever  increasing  its  past  prestige. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1871,  Mr.  Cooke  established  a  branch 
of  his  banking  house  in  London,  under  the  firm  name  of  Jay 
Cooke,  McCulloch  &  Co.,  the  resident  head  of  the  London 
house  being  Hon.  Hugh  McCulloch,  the  late  able  and  trusted 
Secretary  of  the  United  States  Treasury.  The  new  American 
Banking  house  in  London  at  once  took  rank  beside  the  leading 
financial  institutions  of  the  Old  World,  such  as  the  Barings 
and  the  Rothschilds.  During  the  first  year  of  its  existence, 
and  in  co-operation  with  the  American  branches  of  the  house, 
it  achieved  a  success  in  connection  with  United  States  Govern- 
ment finances  which  gave  the  house  wide  and  deserved  prestige, 
and  brilliantly  proved  that  the  genius  which  enabled  Mr.  Cooke 
to  accomplish  such  vast  results  in  the  troubled  times  of  war,  is 
also  equal  to  the  greatest  and  most  difficult  monetary  negotia- 
tions in  time  of  peace. 

Congress  having  authorized  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to 
fund  a  large  part  of  the  public  debt  at  lower  rates  of  interest; 
in  other  words,  to  sell  at  par  in  coin  new  bonds  bearing  five  and 
four  and  a  half  per  cent,  interest,  and  with  the  proceeds  redeem 
an  equal  amount  of  outstanding  six  per  cent,  bonds,  the 
Treasury  Department  attempted  the  negotiation  of  $200,000,000 
new  five  per  cents.  After  six  months  of  active  effort  both  in 
America  and  Europe,  and  after  exhausting  all  expedients,  the 
Government  had  been  able  to  sell  only  some  $60,000,000,  which 
amount  was  almost  wholly  taken  by  the  National  Banks  of  the 
United  States.  Secretary  Boutwell  then  placed  the  agency  for 
the  sale  of  the  new  loan  in  the  hands  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  and 
Jay  Cooke,  McCulloch  &  Co.  The  latter,  having  associated 
with  themselves  several  leading  houses  in  London  and  New 
York,  promptly  brought  out  the  loan  on  the  markets  of  Great 


638  MEN"   OF   OUR  DAY. 

IVitain  and  the  Continent  of  Europe,  and  within  twelve  days  of 
tiie  first  offering  the  remainder  of  the  $200,000,000  was  all  sub- 
scribed and  the  loan  closed. 

The  brilliant  success  was  as  much  a  surprise  to  financial  cir- 
cles in  Europe  as  it  was  a  gratification  to  the  United  States 
Government.  In  opposition  to  the  prevalent  views  of  theoretical 
financiers  in  America,  it  practically  proved  that  the  entire  pub- 
lic debt  could  be  funded  at  such  low  rates  of  interest  as  to  save 
our  people  a  yearly  expenditure  of  twenty  to  thirty  million 
dollars. 

Soon  after  the  successful  closing  of  the  $200,000,000  loan, 
the  house  of  Jay  Cooke,  McCulloch  &  Co.,  and  that  of  L.  M. 
Rothschild  &  Sons  of  London,  made  a  joint  proposal  to  the 
United  States  Government,  looking  to  the  negotiation  of  a  fur- 
ther amount  of  $600,000,000  of  the  new  bonds,  on  terms  similar 
to  tho^e  attending  the  former.  This  proposition,  coming  from 
two  such  eminent  houses,  and  covering  the  largest  single  nego- 
tiation known  to  modern  finance,  was  favorably  received  by  the 
Government,  but  diplomatic  complications  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  growing  out  of  the  Alabama  claims 
and  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  temporarily  postponed  the  final 
consideration  of  the  matter. 

In  addition  to  the  above-named  negotiations,  and  the  general 
supervision  of  the  regular  and  ordinary  business  of  the  several 
branches  of  his  house,  Mr.  Cooke  has  since  1870  made  something 
of  a  specialty  of  the  finances  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad. 
After  thorough  and  conscientious  investigation  his  firm  accepted 
the  fiscal  agency  of  this  great  corporation,  and  undertook  the 
sale  of  its  construction  bonds. 

Under  his  careful  and  energetic  financial  management,  this 
greatest  commercial  enterprise  of  the  age  is  moving  forward  to 
assured  success.     The  building  of  this  second  highway  to  the 


JAY   COOKE.  639 

Pacific  is  the  leading  agency  in  the  settlement,  development  and 
tiivilization  of  the  Northwestern  part  of  the  continent. 

Mr.  Cooke  still  works  hard,  but  he  enjoys  life,  and  whether 
at  his  city  residence,  or  in  that  magnificent  palace  which  Iuh 
princely  fortune  has  enabled  him  to  rear  in  the  vicinity  of  Phila- 
delphia, or,  in  the  summer  months,  at  that  beautiful  country- 
seat  on  Gibraltar  island  in  Lake  Erie,  where,  as  in  boyhood,  he 
enjoys  trolling  for  the  scaly  denizens  of  the  lake,  he  is  the  satne 
sunny-faced,  genial,  who^.e-hearted  man,  as  when  years  ago  he 
managed  the  affairs  of  E.  W.  Clark  &  Co.  With  all  his  hard 
work  and  great  enterprises,  the  spirit  of  the  boy  has  not  died 
(Tut  of  him.  Mr.  Cooke's  liberality  is  as  princely  as  his  fortune. 
Throughout  the  war,  he  was  lavish  in  his  gifts  to  the  Sanitary 
Commission,  to  the  hospitals,  to  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  to 
the  Christian  Commission,  and  to  all  good  enterprises.  Since 
the  war,  the  recording  angel  alone  can  tell  how  many  of  our 
crippled  veterans  he  has  helped  to  attain  a  competency,  how 
many  soldiers,  widows,  and  orphans  he  has  aided  and  blessed, 
how  many  homes,  made  desolate  by  the  war,  he  has  cheered 
and  brightened.  To  Kenyon  college,  Ohio,  he  has  given 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  to  a  theological  seminary  of 
his  own  church  (the  Protestant  Episcopal)  a  still  larger  sum. 
In  the  vicinity  of  his  home  on  Chelton  Hills,  near  Philadelphia, 
he  has  built  several  country  churches. 

^  -"6  of  the  beautiful  islands  of  Lake  Erie,  near  Sandusky, 
he  has  erected  a  charming  country-seat,  and  has  built  a  nea' 
chapel  for  the  residents  of  the  island.  Here  he  spends  his  sum- 
mer resting  time,  and  plays  as  hard  as  he  works  the  rest  of  the  year. 
But  he  is  not  content  to  take  his  play-spell  alone,  and  for  some 
weeks  before  his  annual  visit  there,  his  leisure  moments  are  em- 
ployed in  sending  missives,  usually  with  check  enclosed,  to  hard 


G-iO  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY, 

worked  country  clergymen,  inviting  them  to  spend  their  sum- 
mer vacation  with  him  on  the  island.  Many  a  country  parson, 
in  a  poor  parish,  with  a  scattered  and  illiterate  population,  when 
just  ready  to  yield  to  discouragement,  has  found  his  heart 
cheered,  his  faith  strengthened,  and  his  capacity  for  efficient 
labor  greatly  increased,  by  a  visit  to  the  hospitable  home  of  the 
Philadelphia  banker. 

Wealth  hoarded  with  miserly  greed,  withheld  from  all  good 
and  wise  charities,  or  bestowed  only  on  the  gratification  of 
pride,  appetite,  or  lust,  is  a  curse ;  but  wealth  held  in  recognition 
of  man's  stewardship  to  the  God  who  has  given  it,  and  scattered 
so  wisely  as  to  comfort  and  cheer  the  unfortunate,  the  helpless, 
and  the  n^edy,  and  to  rear  the  institutions  of  religion,  is  a  bless- 
ing for  wi  ich  the  world  has  cause  to  be  grateful. 


ALEXANDER  TURNEY   STEWART. 


oC\f4  BOUT  1825,  an  alert,  sanguine,  and  active  young  man 
^i*^  commenced  the  dry  goods  business  in  Broadway,  nearly 
opposite  his  present  wholesale  warehouse,  with  a  capi- 
tal of  about  three  thousand  dollars.  In  the  three  years 
1865-'6-'7,  this  gentleman  sold  two  hundred  and  three  million 
dollars  worth  of  goods.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the 
young  man  was  Alexander  Turney  Stewart,  whose  income  for 
1864  was  the  largest  of  any  merchant  in  the  world. 

Carefully  reared  by  a  pious  grandfather  in  Belfast,  Ireland, 
Mr.  Stewart  received  an  excellent  classical  education  in  Trinity 
College,  Dublin.  His  grandfather  was  very  desirous  that  he 
should  become  a  clergyman,  but  his  death  occurring  before  the 
grandson  had  completed  his  college  course,  a  Quaker  friend  was 
appointed  his  guardian,  and  at  his  earnest  solicitation  procured 
for  him  letters  of  introduction  to  leading  merchants  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  in  New  York. 

On  reaching  New  York,  Mr.  Stewart  looked  around  for  a 
career.  He  taught  the  classics,  in  which  his  careful  study  had 
made  him  singularly  proficient,  not  with  a  view  of  making  it  a 
profession,  but  to  oblige  a  friend.  At  length  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  a  gentleman,  who  was  to  furnish  a  portion  of  the 
means  and  all  the  experience  for  a  mercantile  career.  For  some 
reason  or  other,  this  party  abandoned  the  enterprise.  Mr. 
Stewart,  not  daunted,  went  back  at  once  to  Ireland,  converted 

the  small  fortune  he  had  inherited  into  money,  invested  it  all  in 
41  641 


642  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

goods,  principally  Belfast  laces,  returned  to  New  York,  and 
opened  a  store,  in  1825,  at  262  Broadway.  Almost  in  the  first 
week  of  his  mercantile  career,  he  had  the  good  or  ill  fortune  to 
be  discharged  by  one  of  his  salesmen.  The  occasion  was  as 
follows : — 

One  day  an  old  lady  came  in  and  accosting  the  young  man 
alluded  to,  asked  to  see  some  calicoes. 

She  seemed  satisfied  with  the  style,  but  asked,  with  prudent 
caution — • 

"Will  this  wash?" 

"  Oh  !  yes,  ma'am." 

"  Then  I'll  take  a  little  piece  and  try  it,  and  if  the  colors  are 
fast,  I'll  get  some  of  it." 

""What's  the  use  of  taking  all  that  trouble,"  said  the  clerk. 
"  I  have  tried  it,  and  I  know  it  holds  its  color." 

The  old  lady  felt  assured  and  took  a  dress.  Ladies  did  wear 
calicoes,  then.  Mr,  Stewart  was  an  interested  auditor  during 
this  discourse.  When  the  lady  departed,  he  stepped  up  and 
said : 

"■  But,  Mr. ,  why  did  you  tell  that  old  lady  such  an  untruth 

about  that  calico  ?" 

"  Oh  I  that's  all  in  the  way  of  business,"  said  the  salesman, 

"But,"  said  Mr,  Stewart,  "that  doesn't  seem  a  good  way  of 
business.  That  lady  will  try  the  calico;  it  will  fade — she  will 
come  and  accuse  us  of  misrepresentation  and  demand  hei 
money  back,  and  she  will  be  right." 

"Oh!  then  I'll  say,  'you  are  quite  mistaken,  ma'am;  you 
never  got  the  goods  here ;  you  must  have  got  them  at  the  store 
above.' " 

"  Well  then,  if  that's  the  case,"  said  the  master  of  the  business, 
'  don't  let  it  occur  again.  I  don't  want  goods  represented  fof 
what  they  are  not.     If  the  colors  are  not  fast,  it  is  easy  to  ex- 


ALEXANDER  TURNEY  STEWART.  643 

plain  to  them  that  certain  colors  are  not  fast,  and  cannot  bo 
mad((  so  for  the  price  at  which  they  are  sold,  and  they  will  buy 
as  soon,  knowing  the  truth,  as  any  other  way." 

"  Look  here,  Mr.  Stewart,"  said  the  salesman,  "  if  those  are 
going  to  be  your  principles  in  trade,  I'm  going  to  look  for 
another  situation.     You  won't  last  very  long !" 

And  he  was  as  good  as  his  word.  It  appears,  however,  that 
Mr.  Stewart's  ideas  of  business  were  tolerably  successful,  for  to- 
day he  wields  a  capital  of  many  millions.  Apart  from  this  rigor- 
ous devotion  to  principle  in  his  business,  Mr.  Stewart  owes  much 
of  his  success  to  great  delicacy  of  touch  and  \aste,  and  judgment 
in  colors  and  textures,  almost  feminine  in  sensibility;  add  to 
these  qualities  a  masculine  grasp  of  events  and  an  instantaneous 
perception  of  those  shadows  which  are  cast  by  events,  and  you 
have  all  the  elements  of  the  great  merchant.  Mr.  Stewart  early 
began  to  survey  the  political  field,  and  when  he  forsaw  a 
storm  ahead,  there  would  be  a  silent  purchase  of  all  of  certain 
goods  in  the  market,  which  would  be  sure  to  rise  in  a  certain 
contingency.  At  other  times  he  was  the  first  to  foresee  a  fall- 
ing market  and  to  put  his  goods  before  the  public  with  such 
swiftness  and  address  that  he  cleared  his  shelves  with  the  least 
loss — while  his  slower  friends  were  carried  under  the  current 
of  thirty-seven,  forty-seven,  fifty-seven,  or  sixty-seven,  as  the 
case  might  be.  (Our  merchants  are  superstitious  about  the 
*  sevens,"  and  many  think  to-day  that  any  year,  with  a  seven  in 
it,  brings  misfortune  to  the  trade.)  There  was  a  time  during 
the  war  when  Mr.  Stewart  held  more  cotton  goods  than  all  the 
other  dry  goods  firms  put  together.  There  was  also  a  time 
when  he  was  the  first  to  sell  at  the  reduced  price.  Mr.  Stewart 
has  a  memory  for  his  business  as  remarkable  as  that  of  others 
for  languages  and  figures.  He  can  tell  to-day  the  ruling  prices 
of  staple  goods  for  every  year  of  the  last  forty. 


644  MEN   OF   OUR  DAY. 

Another  peculiarity.  The  house  of  A.  T.  Stewart  k  Co. 
has  always  bought  for  cash — and  one  more  and  striking  peculi- 
arity, full  of  its  lesson  to  American  merchants — he  has  never 
speculated  one  penny's  worth  outside  of  his  business,  nor, 
strictly  speaking,  in  it.  "When  he  has  bought  largely,  it  was 
to  supply  his  customers  with  a  greatly  needed  article — and 
when  he  reduced  prices,  it  was  not  to  injure  others,  but  a  ready 
submission  to  the  inevitable  in  trade.  His  advantage  consisted 
in  knowing  early  what  was  inevitable.  In  connection  with 
this,  let  us  remark  here,  that  reading  this,  one  might  suppose 
Mr.  Stewart  to  be  little  more  than  a  dealer  in  dry  goods.  There 
could  be  no  greater  mistake.  He  is  a  liberally  educated  gentle- 
man, as  we  said  before.  Like  all  leaders,  business  is  easy  to 
him  and  does  not  absorb  his  whole  soul.  There  are  few  men  in 
our  country  better  qualified  to  derive  enjoyment  from  Horace 
and  Tacitus,  than  Mr.  Stewart.  He  is  the  hope  and  refuge  of 
artists — for  he  is  an  admirer  and  enjoyer  of  good  works  of  art, 
and  if  he  does  not  buy  all  that  appears  meritorious,  it  is  only 
because  the  marble  mansion  in  Fifth  Avenue,  and  the  brown 
stone  opposite,  will  hold  no  more. 

There  is  in  some  circles  an  impression,  studiously  cultivated 
by  a  few,  that  Mr.  Stewart  squeezes  out  small  dealers  mercilessly 
— lest  they  grow  too  great  for  him.  It  is  entirely  unfounded. 
He  conducts  his  business  on  business  principles,  and  no  business 
can  last  long,  or  become  great,  that  is  conducted  otherwise. 
That  Mr.  Stewart  regrets  the  inevitable  injury  to  small  dealers^ 
which  his  large  operations  cause,  we  have  ample  evidence.  He 
said  recently  to  a  gentleman,  who  was  making  some  inquiries : 

"They'll  have  me  in  the  concert  saloon  business  next." 
Laughing  again,  probably  at  the  curious  figure  he  would  cut  in 
that  avocation,  "  The  truth  is,  I  intend  only  to  enlarge  the 
facilities  for  retail  trade  at  the  upper  store,  and  group  together 


ALEXANDER  TURNEY   STEWART.  '645 

those  departments  which  should  be  properly  associated,  and 
which  are  now  scattered  on  two  floors,  and  cause  a  great  deal 
of  running  up  and  down  stairs.  Here  is  the  Yankee  notion 
stock ;  we  have  no  room  for  it  here,  and  it  ought  to  be  moved 
Tip  to  the  other  store.  I  am  urged  to  do  this  constantly,  but 
hesitate  only  for  one  reason.  The  moment  we  throw  open  that 
department  to  the  retail  trade,  a  great  many  smaller  dealers  ia 
the  vicinity  will  suffer.  The  advantages  we  possess  are  so 
superior  that  competition  of  small  dealers  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, and  the  moment  they  feel  the  pressure  they  cry  out  against 
monopoly,  and  attribute  all  kinds  of  vindictiveness  to  the  firm. 
But,  after  all,  the  public  at  large  are  benefitted.  We  are 
enabled  to  offer  them  the  largest  stock  at  the  smallest  cost,  with 
all  the  guarantees  that  are  inseparable  from  a  responsible  house, 
whose  name  and  honor  are  part  of  the  business.  This  seems  to 
be  the  great  advantage  of  the  tendency  to  aggregate  business 
interests  of  a  kindred  nature.  It  cheapens  manufacture,  and 
capital  becomes  a  vehicle  between  the  petty  producer  and  the 
Consumer.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  the  system  economizes  power, 
it  should  be  remembered  that  it  is  better  calculated  to  foster 
native  industry  in  many  cases.  Take,  for  instance,  the  Ameri- 
can beaver  cloths,  made  for  this  house  expressly  by  ihe  Utica 
Steam  Mills.  They  are  now  conceded  to  be  equal  to  any  made 
anywhere,  and  lying  side  by  side  with  imported  goods,  suffer  no 
depreciiition.  They  are  perfecting  the  manufacture  so  rapidly 
in  cassi meres  and  similar  goods,  under  proper  stimulation,  that 
already  the  demand  for  American  manufacture  exceeds  the 
foreign.  It  is  absurd  to  suppose,  as  is  generally  the  case,  that 
the  increasing  facilities  and  demands  of  a  great  business  in  New 
York,  or  anywhere,  in  fact,  must  be  associated  with  rivalry  or 
greed;  generally  thj  magnitude  of  the  business  swallows  up  all 
■uch  eonsidtsratiofts ;  in  fact  the  growth  and  extension  are  not 


646  MEN  OF   OUR   DAY. 

Che  subject  of  special  endeavor,  but  are  the  inevitable  conse- 
quence of  a  healthy  organization.  Any  business  beyond  a 
certain  point  becomes  germinal,  and  grows  in  all  directions. 
The  greatest  care  has  to  be  exercised  in  its  training  and  prun- 
ing. People  come  to  me  and  ask  me  for  my  secret  of  success ; 
why,  I  have  no  secret,  I  tell  them.  My  business  has  been  a 
matter  of  principle  from  the  start.  That's  all  there  is  about  it. 
If  the  golden  rule  can  be  incorporated  into  purely  mercantile 
affairs  it  has  been  done  in  this  establishment,  and  you  must 
have  noticed,  if  you  have  observed  closely,  that  the  customers 
are  treated  precisely  as  the  seller  himself  would  like  to  be 
treated  were  he  in  their  place.  That  is  to  say,  nothing  is 
misrepresented,  the  price  is  fixed,  once  and  for  all,  at  the  lowest 
possible  figure,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  buyer  are  not 
suffered  to  influence  the  salesman  in  his  conduct  in  the  smallest 
particular.  I  think  you  will  find  the  same  principle  of  justice 
throughout  the  larger  transactions  of  the  house,  and  especially 
in  its  dealings  with  employees.  I  do  not  speak  of  it  as  deserv- 
ing of  praise — we  find  it  absolutely  necessary.  What  we  cannot 
afford  is  violation  of  principle." 

Here  Mr.  Stewart  has  given  his  whole  theory  of  business. 
To  another  gentleman,  who  said  to  him  one  morning — "  Mr. 
Stewart,  you  are  a  very  rich  man,  why  do  you  bother  yourself 
building  this  immense  place?" 

Said  Mr.  Stewart :  "  That  is  the  very  question  I  asked  myself 
this  morning,  when  I  took  a  look  at  that  big  hole  in  the  ground. 
The  worst  of  it  is,"  he  continued,  without  giving  a  complete 
reply,  and  with  a  regretful  tone,  as  if  the  thing  must  be  done, 
and  yet  cause  him  sorrow,  "  my  neighbors  don't  like  it." 

The  stories  of  Mr.  Stewart's  competition  with  other  houses, 
large  or  small,  are  all  mythical.  There  is  room  enough  for  all, 
ID  his  opinion,  and  we  may  say,  that  in  our  opinion,  when  an* 


ALEXANDER  TURNKY  STEWART.  6-47 

otber  man  comes  along  with  the  qualifications  of  a  Slew  art,  he 
will  acquire  the  fortune  of  a  Stewart. 

"  The  star  of  jour  fate  is  in  your  own  breast,"  says  the  Ger- 
man poet. 

Mr.  Stewart  is,  of  course,  the  recipient  of  a  vast  number  of 
applications  for  every  kind  and  form  of  charity.  To  deserving 
objects,  his  liberality  is  large  and  enduring — but  he  fights  the 
many  swindles  and  dribbles  that  eat  away  weaker  men's  for- 
tunes without  helping  the  receiver,  with  a  keenness  and  warmth 
that  is  acquainted  with  the  tricks  and  manners  of  the  begging 
tribe.  Many  old  merchants  of  New  York,  who  have  failed  in 
business,  have  had  their  declining  years  made  easy  by  the  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  Stewart,  but  he  is  as  reticent  of  these  deeds  as  he  is 
of  every  thing  that  tends  to  personal  praise.  The  large  way  in 
which  he  prefers  to  do  things,  is  evidenced  in  his  conduct  during 
the  last  season  of  great  distress  in  Ireland,  during  our  war,  when 
he  bought  a  ship,  loaded  her  with  stores,  shipped  them  to  Bel- 
fast, his  native  town,  and  brought  over  in  return,  a  ship  load  of 
young  men  and  women,  free  of  cost,  to  the  land  of  hope — ■ 
America,  and  at  the  same  time  repaying  to  Belfast,  with  interest, 
the  capital  he  had  brought  from  thence  at  the  commencement  of 
his  career.  To  the  relief  of  the  Lancashire  operatives  in  1863, 
he  contributed  $10,000,  and  to  the  sufferers  from  the  Chicago 
fire  $50,000,  and  subsequently  $50,000  more. 

As  to.  his  views  on  politics,  Mr.  Stewart  has  attempted,  as  far 
as  he  has  been  active  at  all,  to  get  public  affairs  out  of  the 
hands  of  professional  politicians,  into  those  of  men  who  will  do 
the  public  business  on  the  same  principles  upon  which  private 
business  is  done.  This  will  be  the  case  some  day,  but  Mr. 
Stewart  will  not  live  to  see  it.  lie  was  the  strong  and  active 
friend  of  General  Grant  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and 
was  one  of  the  large  contributors  to  the  present  of  one  hundred 


618  MEJf    OF    OUR    DAY. 

thousand  dollars,  made  him  by  the  merchants  of  New  York  city, 
as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  great  services  in  the  overthrow  of 
the  Rebellion.  After  General  Grant's  inauguration  he  was 
nominated  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  but  being  a  large  importer 
he  could  not  legally  hold  the  office,  and  his  name  was  withdrawn 
and  Mr.  Boutwell's  substituted  for  it. 

Mr,  Stewart  is  a  man  of  progress— of  the  modern  time — he 
is  a  man  for  improvement  and  enjoyment.  When  he  builds, 
he  does  it  with  iron,  and  plenty  of  glass — fire  proof — with  abun^ 
dant  light — the  structure  perfectly  adapted  to  all  its  purposes, 
and  securing  the  comfort  of  all  within — no  gothic  dimness,  or 
Grecian  anachronism  in  architecture,  has  a  chance  with  him. 
When  he  builds  a  house  for  another — as  his  marble  palace  in 
Fifth  Avenue — to  use  his  own  words,  "a  little  attention  to  Mrs. 
Stewart" — it  is  a  different  matter.     That  is  to  please  her. 

Mr.  Stewart  is  about  sixty-nine  years  of  age,  but  look^  good 
for  twenty  more.  His  eyes  twinkle,  as  blue  eyes  often  ao,  with 
the  coming  light  of  a  frequent  good  thing.  He  has  a  merry 
turn  of  mind,  and  enjoys  himself  in  a  little  party  with  young 
folks,  equal  to  any  of  his  juniors,  and  can  make  fun,  and  take 
fun,  equal  to  any. 

The  operations  of  the  ho\ise  of  A.  T.  Stewart  &  Co.,  are  liter- 
ally world  wide.  Mr.  William  Libby,  in  New  York,  Mr. 
Francis  Warden,  permanently  in  Paris,  and  Mr.  G.  Fox,  in 
Manchester,  England,  compose  the  firm.  It  has  three  foreign 
bureaus,  or  depots — one  on  a  triangular  square  at  Cooper  street, 
Manchester,  where  are  collected,  examined,  and  packed,  all 
English  goods.  One  at  Belfast,  for  linens,  which  partakes  of 
the  nature  of  a  factory  as  well,  the  linens  being  bought  in  the 
rough,  and  afterward  bleached  and  fitted  for  the  trade.  This 
establishment  is  about  the  size  of  a  double  New  York  store, 
that  is  fifty  by  one  hundred  feet.     In  Glasgow,  the  firm  have  a 


ALEXAWDKR   TURNET  STEWART.  649 

house  exclusively  for  Scotch  goods.  In  Pans,  the  magazin,  on 
the  Rue  Bergere,  has  been  known  to  continental  manufacturers 
for  many  years.  Here  are  collected  and  arranged,  for  shipping 
to  America,  all  East  Indian,  French  and  German  goods,  exclu- 
sive of  woolens.  In  Berlin  is  the  woolen-house,  equal  in  size 
to  three  ordinary  New  York  stores.  There  are  also,  at  Lyons, 
two  large  warehrvuses  for  silk  goods.  All  the  continental  buai* 
ness  is  transacted  at  the  Paris  bureau,  payments  are  made  there, 
and  a  general  supervision  extended  over  the  other  establish- 
ments. In  addition  to  these,  it  must  be  remembered  that  there 
are  a  number  of  manufacturers  who  do  work  exclusively  for 
this  firm,  and  are  really  branches  of  the  business.  For  instance, 
they  have  the  house  of  Alexandre,  in  Paris,  constantly  manu- 
facturing kill  gloves  for  Stewart  &  Co.,  exclusively,  while  in 
this  country  and  Great  Britain,  mills  run  all  the  year  round  to 
supply  the  New  York  house  with  goods.  One  such  customer 
taxes  all  their  powers. 

Then  there  are  buyers,  one  for  each  of  the  fifteen  departments 
in  this  house,  who  are  constantly  travelling  somewhere  between 
Hong  Kong  and  Chili,  and  who  are  in  a  measure  responsible 
for  the  condition  of  those  departments  at  home.  Special 
agents,  too,  on  important  embassies  of  a  confidential  nature, 
putting  up  in  Thibet,  or  Brussels,  or  found  on  the  Ganges,  or 
among  the  Chinese  cocoons.  In  fact,  the  cosmopolitan  part  of 
the  house,  the  circulating  human  capital,  must  be  formidable  in 
numbers  and  diplomacy  if  ever  assembled.  And  they  were  as- 
sembled once,  we  believe,  at  Manchester.  A  rumor  had  got 
abroad  in  Europe,  that  Mr.  Stewart  had  died.  To  correct  it,  and 
accomplish  some  important  movement,  Mr.  Stewart  telegraphed 
'extensively  over  the  hemisphere  for  his  ministers  to  meet  him 
in  Manchester,  on  a  certain  day,  and  there  is  a  legend  in  that 
place  of  a  mysterious  congress  having  been  held  there,  though 


650  MEN   OF   OUR  DAT. 

public  opinion  was  for  a  long  time  divided  as  to  whether  they 
were  Orsini  sympathizers,  or  Yankee  invaders. 

In  1863,  Mr.  Stewart  returned  an  income  of  $1,900,000— 
in  1864,  one  of  $4,000,000,  in  1865,  of  $1,600,000,  and  for  1866, 
of  $600,000— an  average  of  very  near  $2,000,000  per  year. 
Whether  this  rate  of  profit  can  be  kept  up  is  a  question,  but  it 
•s  probable  that  the  average  will  be  increased  instead  of  di 
minished.  Mr.  S^tewart  is  a  large  holder  of  real  estate,  owning 
three  or  four  of  the  largest  hotels  in  New  York,  besides  nume- 
rous stores  and  dwellings,  and  unimproved  lands.  He  has  also 
within  the  past  three  or  four  years  purchased  a  very  large  tract 
of  land  known  as  the  Hempstead  Plains,  on  Long  Island,  ten  oi 
twelve  miles  from  New  York,  where  he  is  building  a  large  city, 
and  to  which  he  has  completed  a  railroad  from  the  metropolis. 

Among  his  other  benevolent  enterprises  is  one  now  fast  ap- 
proaching completion,  of  a  hotel  for  workingwomen,  where 
all  the  comforts,  conveniences,  and  appliances  of  the  best  hotels 
are  to  be  furnished  to  workingwomen,  under  such  arrangements 
that  pleasant,  airy,  and  commodious  rooms,  well  furnished,  and 
excellent  board  can  be  had  by  those  women  for  from  $2.75  to 
$3.00  per  week.  He  has  projected  a  similar  establishment  for 
young  men,  and  has  also  in  view  a  large  number  of  model  tene- 
ment houses  much  after  the  plan  of  Mr.  Peabody's  in  London. 
It  is  a  grand  example  which  this  greatest  of  merchant  princes  is 
setting  to  the  world,  that  of  devoting  the  greater  part  of  his 
colossal  fortune  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  lowly.  "Would 
that  more  of  our  rich  men  had  the  same  spirit. 


ABIEL  ABBOT  LOW, 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE   NEW  YORK  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE. 


1^  E ACE,  said  Mr,  Sumner,  in  one  of  his  most  classic  and 
Y  '[\\  eloquent  orations,  "  hath  its  victories  no  less  than  war." 
cj^  1*2  The  merchant  prince,  whose  enterprise  has  included  with- 
al in  its  grasp  the  traffic  of  the  far  distant  lands  of  the  orient, 
whose  ships  are  on  every  sea,  and  who  brings  to  his  bursting 
warehouses,  the  products  of  all  climes,  has  really  achieved  as 
great  a  triumph,  and  one  far  more  beneficial  and  bloodless, 
than  the  warrior  who  has  led  his  conquering  legions  over 
desolated  homes,  and  amid  the  ruins  of  sacked  cities.  And  if 
this  peaceful  hero  uses  his  wealth  as  wisely  as  he  has  acquired 
it,  and  by  his  large  beneficence  makes  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  happy,  then  is  his  victory  greater  than  that  of  any 
leader  of  a  marshalled  host,  whose  garments  are  stained  with 
blood,  for  his  triumphs  are  over  the  forces  of  nature,  and  the 
selfish  and  unhallowed  passions  of  men,  and  "  greater  is  he  that 
ruleth  his  own  spirit,  than  he  that  taketh  a  city," 

Among  these  heroes  in  the  bloodless  strife,  Mr,  Low  is 
entitled  to  a  high  place  of  honor.  During  a  long  commercial 
life  of  wonderful  success,  and  filled  with  great  enterprises,  he 
has  ever  maintained  an  enviable  reputation  for  the  highest 
honor  and  principle,  and  no  unworthy  deed  or  word  has  ever 
linked  itself  with  his  name.  More  than  this,  in  all  great  mea- 
sures of  benevolence,  whether  for  aiding   the  poor  of  New 

65i 


652  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

York  or  Brooklyn,  sustaining  the  government  in  putting  down 
tlie  rebellion,  providing  bounties  for  tlie  soldiers,  and  supplies 
for  the  regiments,  or  succoring  the  families  of  our  bravo 
defenders,  sending  aid  to  the  famishing  sufferers  of  Lancashire, 
sustaining  the  Sanitary  Commission  in  its  noble  work,  manifest 
ing  the  grateful  emotions  of  the  commercial  class  toward  the 
leaders  of  our  army  and  navy,  establishing  and  endowing 
libraries  and  scientific  institutions,  or  in  the  more  direct  pro- 
motion of  the  interests  of  religion.  Mr.  Low's  contributions 
have  always  been  among  the  most  liberal.  Other  citizens  of 
New  York  possess  larger  wealth  than  he,  but  none  have  made 
a  more  admirable  and  beneficial  use  of  it. 

Abiel  Abbot  Low  was  born  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  we 
believe,  in  1796.  His  father,  the  late  Seth  Low,  was  himself 
an  eminent  merchant,  and  soon  after  Abiel  had  reached  his 
majority,  removed  to  New  York,  and  made  Brooklyn  his  place 
of  residence.  The  house  of  Seth  Low  and  Company,  (after- 
wards Seth  Low  and  Sons,)  had,  both  in  Salem  and  New  York, 
been  largely  engaged  in  the  China  and  East  India  trade,  and  it 
was  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  Mr.  Low  should  have  desired 
to  visit  China,  and  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  business  there,  in 
which  so  many  fortunes  had  been  made.  His  excellent  early 
business  training,  and  the  remarkable  capacity  for  great  enter- 
prises, which  he  had  early  manifested,  rendered  him  peculiarly 
adapted  to  attain  success  in  this  position.  Soon  after  his  arrival 
iu  China,  he  received  the  offer  of  a  partnership  in  the  well- 
known  house  of  Russell  and  Company,  of  Canton,  and  accepted 
it  in  1833.  His  connection  with  this  house  continued  till  1841, 
and  sometime  before  that  date,  he  had  come  to  be  its  head.  He 
returned  to  the  United  States  in  1841,  and  established  with  his 
two  brotbers  the  great  China  house  of  A.  A.  Low  and  Brothers, 
retaining  their  correspondents  in  China.     Under  his  wise  and 


ABTEL   ABBOT   LOW.  653^ 

able  management,  this  lias  been  for  several  years  past  tbe 
leading  American  house  in  the  China  trade.  Its  traffic  in  all 
descriptions  of  Chinese  goods  is  enormous.  Ships  freighted 
with  the  teas,  silks,  crapes,  nankeens,  lacquered  wares,  ginger, 
porcelain,  rice,  and  mattings  of  the  flowery  kingdom,  are  con- 
stantly arriving  in  New  York,  and  others^departing  laden  with 
such  goods  as  the  Chinese  require  in  their  trade.  Of  late  years 
this  trade  is  not,  to  the  extent  it  was  formerly,  the  payment  of 
silver  on  our  part,  and  the  delivery  of  their  goods  in  exchange 
for  that  alone.  Cotton  goods,  clocks,  ginseng,  and  a  yearly 
increasing  list  of  our  manufactured  goods  are  taken  by  the 
Celestials  in  exchange  for  their  products. 

Within  a  few  years  past,  the  Messrs.  Low  have  turned  their 
attention  also  to  the  Japan  trade,  and  in  the  beginning  of  1867, 
Mr.  Low  having  visited  San  Francisco,  sailed  thence  to  Hong 
Kong  and  Yokohama,  in  the  first  steamship  of  the  China  mail 
line,  and  after  establishing  a  branch  house  at  the  latter  point, 
returned  by  the  overland  route  to  Europe,  and  thence  home. 

During  the  war,  few  men  in  this  country  were  as  liberal,  as 
patriotic,  as  judicious  in  their  benefactions,  and  as  wise  in  their 
counsels  as  Mr.  Low.  He  lost  heavily  through  the  piratical 
conduct  of  the  Confederate  cruisers,  several  of  his  richly  laden 
ships  being  seized,  plundered  and  burned  by  those  ocean 
marauders,  Semmes  and  Maffit ;  but  amid  all  these  losses,  he  was 
ever  ready  to  aid  the  Government  in  every  emergency,  and  to 
respond  promptly  to  all  its  demands  for  counsel  and  encourage- 
ment. In  that  noble  oJBfering  of  aid  by  our  merchants  to  the 
famine  stricken  operatives  of  Lancashire,  Mr.  Low  not  only 
contributed  largely,  but  acted  as  treasurer  of  the  committee, 
and  at  no  small  personal  inconvenience,  kept  its  accounts,  made 
its  purchases,  and  transmitted  its  statements  to  the  committee 
m  England 


654  MEN   OF  OUR  DAY. 

The  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  most  eminent 
body  of  American  merchants  on  this  continent,  have  twice 
called  Mr.  Low,  the  last  time  by  acclamation,  to  preside  over 
their  deliberations  for  the  year,  and  would  have  continued  him 
in  that  high  position  for  a  succesj^.on  of  years,  but  for  his 
absence  from  the  CQijntry  in  1867.  This  honor,  so  freely  ac- 
corded, shows  the  estimation  in  which  he  is  held  by  those  who 
know  him  best  for  sound  judgment,  remarkable  foresight,  in- 
corruptible principle,  and  the  highest  executive  ability.  His 
action,  and  his  words  of  cheer  in  the  dark  hours  of  our  national 
history,  and  the  critical  condition  of  commercial  affairs,  and 
his  skill  in  the  management  of  the  grave  and  often  delicate 
and  dif&cult  topics  which  came  up  for  discussion  before  tho 
chamber  during  this  eventful  period  of  its  history,  fully 
justified  the  confidence  which  was  reposed  in  him. 

In  all  matters  appertaining  to  the  encouragement  of  art, 
literature,  and  higher  education,  as  well  as  in  all  the  charitable 
institutions  of  the  cit_y^  State,  and  nation,  Mr.  Low's  aid  is  con- 
stantly sought,  and  never  in  vain  in  a  worthy  caurfe.  The 
institutions  of  religion  find  in  him  a  zealous  and  consistent 
supporter.  In  private  life,  that  true  manliness  of  deportment, 
that  scorn  of  every  thing  base  and  mean,  and  that  genial  and 
kindly  nature,  which  have  always  characterized  him  in  public, 
find  still  more  adequate  and  complete  expression,  and  m  tho 
bosom  of  his  family,  he  ever  finds  his  highest  happiness. 


CORNELIUS    VANDERBILT. 


HE  name  of  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  is  inseparably  asso- 
ciated witli  the  commercial  history  of  the  country, 
with  the  rapid  growth  and  development  of  our  mer- 
cantile navy,  and,  more  lately,  with  our  great  national 
railway  interests.  With  a  steadiness  and  rapidity  almost 
romantic  he  has  pushed  his  way  to  a  position  in  which  he  wields 
an  immense  influence  over  the  material  interests  of  his  native 
land,  and  his  energy,  enterprise,  and  genius,  are  recognized 
the  world  over.  From  his  ancestors,  who  were  of  the  good 
old  Holland  stock  which,  over  two  centuries  ago,  settled 
that  portion  of  the  New  Netherlands  now  known  as  New 
York  State,  he  seems  to  have  inherited  the  sturdy  Knicker- 
bocker habits  of  industry  which  have  so  remarkably  charac- 
terized his  career.  His  father,  whose  name  was  also  Cornelius, 
was  a  well-to-do  farmer  on  Staten  Island,  in  New  York  harbor, 
the  island  being,  at  that  time,  divided  into  large  estates  which 
were  generally  farmed  by  their  owners,  with  especial  reference 
to  the  supply  of  the  city  markets.  In  those  days,  almost  every 
Islander  kept  his  own  boat  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  his  farm 
products  to  the  city ;  and  as  the  inhabitants  increased  and  more 
extended  facilities  for  communication  became  necessary,  Mr. 
Vanderbilt  fell  into  the  custom,  at  times,  of  conveying  to  New 

York  those  who  had  no  boat  of  their  own.     Out  of  this,  and  the 

b55 


006  MEN   OF    OUR    DAY. 

demand  for  some  public  and  regular  communication,  grew  up  a 
ferry,  which  he  established  in  the  form  of  a  "  perriauger,"  which 
departed  for  the  city  every  morning  and  returned  every  after- 
noon. To  this  farmer-ferryman  was  born,  on  the  27th  day  of 
May,  179-i,  a  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch — and,  even  as  a 
babe,  full  of  voice,  will,  and  muscle.  As  infancy  merged  into 
boyhood,  these  characteristics  developed  more  distinctly  into  a 
restless  activity  of  mind  and  body  which  seemed  to  take  a 
strongly  practical  turn.  Old  paths  of  thought  and  action, 
and  the  teachings  of  books  and  schools,  were  (much  to  the 
chagrin  of  his  parents)  neglected,  and  he  intuitively  sought 
to  draw  his  knowledge  from  Nature  herselt,  whose  wondrous 
book,  so  full  of  infinite  knowledge  and  suggestions,  claimed  all 
his  thoughts  and  time,  frequently  even  to  the  exclusion  of  his 
meals.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  made  his  first  step  mto  the 
world  of  activity  and  independent  life  in  which  he  was  ulti- 
mately to  hold  so  regal  a  sway.  Living  upon  the  Island,  and 
being  of  necessity  much  upon  the  water,  he  early  developed  a 
fondness  for  that  kind  of  life,  as  affording  the  widest  scoj  e  for 
his  ambition.  He,  naturally  enough,  washed  to  have  a  sail-boat 
of  his  own,  and  soon  made  known  the  desire  to  his  father. 
Tninking  him  yet  too  young  and  inexperienced  to  have  the 
sole  control  of  a  boat,  his  fiither  sought  to  discourage  him — ■ 
but,  finally,  yielding  to  his  importunate  pleadings,  he  gave  a 
qualified  promise  to  furnish  him  with  the  necessary  purchase- 
money,  provided  he  would  accomplish  a  certain  amount  of 
work  upon  the  farm.  The  "  stent"  given,  w^as  no  slight  affair, 
as  the  father  probably  intended  by  it  to  foil  his  son's  project ; 
and  the  latter  soon  found  that  it  would  require  more  time  than 
he  could  well  afford  to  bestow  upon  it,  with  his  enterprise 
delayed.  The  boy's  wit,  however,  did  not  fail  him  in  this 
emergency — in  his  father's  absence  he  summoned  to  his  aid  all  his 


CORNELIUS   VANDERBILT.  657 

young  companions  in  the  neighborhood,  witla  whom  he  was  a 
favorite,  and  bj  their  heartily-rendered  assistance  the  allotted 
task  was  soon  completed.  Reporting  the  successful  accomplish- 
ment to  his  mother,  he  claimed  the  reward — but  was  met  with 
dissuasives,  for  her  aversion  to  the  proposed  business  was  equal 
to  that  of  her  husband.  Remonstrances,  however,  were  use- 
less— and  fearful  lest  his  determined  will,  if  thwarted  in  thia 
matter,  might  lead  him  to  the  still  more  to  be  dreaded  alterna- 
tive of  running  away  to  sea — the  sum  of  a  hundred  dollars  was 
placed  in  his  hands.  Quickly  hastening  to  the  Port  Richmond 
shore,  he  at  once  purchased  a  boat,  which  he  had  previously 
selected,  joyfully  took  possession  of  his  long  coveted  prize,  and 
full  of  brilliant  visions  of  future  successes,  set  sail  for  home. 
But,  alas,  as  the  little  boat,  freighted  with  so  many  hopes,  sped 
through  the  waves,  it  struck  on  a  rock  in  the  kills  and  the  new 
fledged  captain  was  barely  able  to  run  his  vessel  ashore  before 
Bhe  sank.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  the  boy  sought  the: 
needed  assistance,  speedily  had  the  damage  repaired,  and,  in  a. 
few  hours  later,  brought  his  little  craft,  all  safe  and  sound, 
alongside  the  Stapleton  dock.  He  had  now,  in  a  measure,  cut 
loose  from  his  father's  care ;  and,  as  the  owner  and  captain  of  a 
boat,  had  fairly  launched  upon  life's  broad  sea,  as  a  man  of 
business.  Older  heads,  and  older  and  established  reputations 
were  to  be  competed  with — and  the  boy-captain  had  the  sense 
to  see,  and  the  courage  to  prove,  that  he  who  would  make 
headway  in  the  world's  strife,  must  do  so  with  stout  heart  and 
strong  arm — working,  not  waiting,  for  coy  Fortune's  gifts.  He 
was  no  idler — straightway  he  made  vigorous  attempts  to  secure 
business,  and  met  with  extraordinary  success.  He  soon  found 
plenty  of  remunerative  employment  in  carrying,  to  and  from 
New  York,  the  workmen  employed  upon  the  fortifications  then 

in  process  of  construction,  by  the  General  Government,  upon 
42 


658  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY 

Slaten  and  Long  Islands.  Amid  all  bis  success,  however,  his 
manly  spirit  of  independence  was  not  satisfied  until,  bj  scrupu- 
lous and  daily  saving,  from  his  first  earnings,  he  was  ena- 
bled to  repay  to  his  mother  the  hundred  dollars  she  had  given 
liira.  The  boy  had,  indeed,  taken  hold  of  life  in  earnest — • 
grasping  its  stern  realities  with  a  spirit  far  beyond  his  years. 
Among  the  self-imposed  rules  with  which  he  sought  to  regulate 
his  life,  and  which  serve  to  show  a  fixedness  of  purpose  aa 
invariable  as  the  circuit  of  the  sun,  was  a  determination  to 
spend  less  every  week  than  he  earned.  This  careful  manage- 
ment soon  produced  its  legitimate  results,  and  ere  long  he  was 
enabled  to  purchase  another  vessel  of  larger  dimensions,  and 
thus  considerably  to  extend  his  business.  And  so  he  went  on, 
until  his  eighteenth  birthday  found  him  part  owner  and  captain 
of  one  of  the  largest  perriaugers  in  the  harbor  of  New  York, 
and  he  shortly  after  became  interested  in  one  or  two  smaller 
boats  engaged  in  the  same  business.  His  life,  at  this  time,  Avag 
a  most  active  one,  spent  almost  entirely  upon  the  water,  carry- 
ing freight  and  passengers,  boarding  ships,  and  doing  every 
thing  which  came  to  his  hand.  In  addition  to  all  this  vigorous 
day-work,  he  undertook  and  continued,  through  the  whole  war 
of  1812,  to  furnish  supplies  by  night  to  one  of  the  forts  on  the 
Hudson  and  another  at  the  Narrows.  It  is  said  of  him  that 
•'  his  energy,  skill  and  daring  became  so  well  known,  and  his 
word,  when  he  gave  it,  could  be  relied  upon  so  implicitly,  that 
Corneile,  the  boatman,  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was  sought 
after  far  and  near,  when  any  expedition  particularly  hazardous 
or  important  was  to  "be  undertaken.  Neither  wind,  rain,  ice, 
nor  snow  ever  prevented  his  fulfilling  one  of  his  promises.  At 
one  time  during  the  war  (sometime  in  September,  1813),  the 
British  fleet  had  endeavored  to  penetrate  the  port  during  a 
severe  southeasterly  storm,  just  before  day,  but  were  repulsed 


CORNELIUS   VANDERBILT.  659 

from  Sandy  Hook,  After  the  cannonading  was  over,  and  tlie 
garrison  at  Fort  Richmond  had  returned  to  quarters,  it  was 
highly  important  that  some  of  the  of&cers  should  proceed  to 
headquarters  to  report  the  occurrence,  and  obtain  the  necessary 
reinforcements  against  another  attack.  The  storm  was  a  fear- 
ful one ;  still  the  work  must  be  done,  and  all  felt  that  there 
was  but  one  person  capable  of  undertaking  it.  Accordingly, 
Vanderbilt  was  sought  out,  and  upon  being  asked  if  he  could 
take  the  party  up,  he  replied  promptly :  "  Yes,  hut  I  shall  have 
to  carry  them  under  water  part  of  the  viay  P''  They  went  with 
him,  and  when  they  landed  at  Coffee-House  slip  there  was  not  a 
dry  thread  in  the  party.  The  next  day  the  garrison  was  re- 
inforced. 

Yanderbilt  also  showed,  in  these  earlier  days,  what  he  has 
frequently  exemplified  in  his  later  life,  that  he  was  very  tena- 
cious of  his  rights,  and  determined  that  no  one  should  infringe, 
them.  On  one  occasion,  during  the  same  war,  while  on  hia 
way  to  the  city  with  a  load  of  soldiers  from  the  forts  at  the 
Narrows,  he  was  hailed  by  a  boat  coming  out  from  the  shore, 
near  the  Quarantine.  Seeing  an  officer  on  board,  young  Yander- 
bilt allowed  it  to  approach  him  ;  but  as  it  came  nearer,  he  saw 
that  it  belonged  to  one  of  his  leading  competitors,  and  that  the 
owner  himself  was  with  the  officer.  Still  he  awaited  their 
approach,  preparing  to  defend  himself  in  case  of  any  unauthor- 
ized interference.  No  sooner,  however,  were  they  alongside  of 
his  boat,  than  the  officer  jumped  on  board,  and  ordered  the  sol- 
diers ashore  with  him  in  the  other  boat,  for  inspection,  etc 
Young  Yanderbilt,  seeing  that  the  whole  affair  was  a  trick  to 
transfer  his  passengers  to  his  competitor,  at  once  told  the  officer 
that  the  men  should  not  move,  that  his  order  should  not  be 
obeyed.  The  military  man,  almost  bursting  with  rage,  hastily 
drew  his  sword,  as  if  about  to  avenge  his  insulted  dignity,  when 


360  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

young  Vanderbilt  quickly  brought  him,  sword  and  all,  to  the 
deck.  It  did  not  take  him  many  minutes  more  to  rid  himself 
of  the  officer  and  his  companion,  and  quickly  getting  under 
way  again,  his  soldiers  were  soon  landed,  without  further 
molestation,  at  the  Whitehall  dock." 

These  anecdotes  serve  to  illustrate  the  character  of  the  man. 
By  this  time  young  Vanderbilt's  labors  had  placed  him  in  a 
position  where  he  could  reasonably  entertain  the  prospect  of 
maintaining  a  family  and  home  of  his  own,  and,  on  the  19th  of 
December,  1813,  he  married  Miss  Sophie  Johnson,  of  Port 
Richmond,  Staten  Island,  and  the  next  year  took  up  his  resi- 
dence at  New  York.  About  the  same  time  he  became  the 
master  and  owner  of  the  new  perriauger  "Dorad,"  which  was 
at  that  time  the  largest  and  finest  craft  of  that  kind  in  the 
harbor  of  New  York;  and,  in  the  summer  of  1815,  he  built,  in 
connection  with  his  brother-in-law,  De  Forest,  a  schooner 
named  the  "Charlotte,"  which  was  remarkably  large  for  her 
day,  and  which,  under  command  of  De  Forest,  was  profitably 
employed  as  a  lighter,  in  carrying  Ireights  between  numerous 
home  ports.  Thus,  up  to  the  year  1817,  with  varied  experi- 
ence but  unvarying  success,  Mr.  Vanderbilt  continued  in  this 
business,  improving  the  construction  of  vessels  and  adding  to 
his  reputation  among  nautical  men,  and  with  such  profit  that, 
in  the  four  years  preceding  his  twenty-third  birthday,  he  had 
laid  up  the  snug  little  sum  of  $9000 — hard  won  earnings.  Yet 
his  ambition  was  by  no  means  satisfied.  His  comprehensive 
mind,  ever  on  the  alert  to  catch  any  thing  new  or  valuable 
pertaining  to  his  chosen  profession,  saw  at  an  early  date  the 
inestimable  advantages  which  would  ultimately  accrue  to  the 
interests  of  commerce  from  the  use  of  steam,  which  had  but 
recently  formed  a  new  application  to  the  purposes  of  naviga- 
tion.    Happening  to  become  acquainted  with  Thomas  Gibbons, 


CORNELIUS   VANDERBILT.  ^61 

of  New  Jersey,  a  large  capitalist,  then  extensively  interested  lu 
the  transportation  of  passengers  between  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, he  received  from  him  an  ofl'er  of  the  captaincy  of  a 
little  steamboat,  at  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars  per  year. 
This,  to  a  man  who  had  always  been  his  own  master,  and  who 
was  then  engaged  in  suf6.ciently  lucrative  business,  presented 
but  few  inducements.  But  Vanderbilt's  prophetic  ken  antici- 
pated the  triumphs  of  steam,  and  he  had  resolved  to  participate 
in,  if  not  direct  them.  He  therefore  accepted  the  proffer,  and 
assumed  the  command,  in  the  fall  of  1817,  of  a  little  steamer,  so 
small,  that  its  owner  soon  re-christened  it  as  "  The  Mouse  of  the 
Mountain."  In  a  few  months  he  was  promoted  to  the  "  Bellona," 
a  much  larger  boat,  just  ready  for  her  trial  trip,  and  employed 
on  the  Philadelphia  line,  carrying  passengers  between  New 
York  and  New  Brunswick,  to  which  place  (after  a  temporary 
few  months'  stay  at  Elizabethport),  convenience  dictated  the 
removal  of  his  family  residence.  At  that  time,  passengers  en, 
route  for  Philadelphia,  stopped  at  New  Brunswick  over  night, 
taking  early  stage  next  morning  to  Trenton,  and  thence  boat  to 
Philadelphia.  The  stage-house  at  which  travellers  stopped  over 
night,  was  the  property  of  Gibbons,  whose  management  of  it 
proved  unfortunate,  and  who  was,  therefore,  induced  to  offer  it, 
rent  free,  to  his  new  captain,  shortly  after  his  removal  to  New 
Brunswick,  if  he  would,  in  addition  to  his  other  duties,  take 
charge  of  it — its  proper  keeping  being,  of  course,  an  indispen- 
sable condition  to  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  route.  Vander- 
bilt  accepted  the  proposition,  and,  during  the  remainder  of  hia 
business  connection  with  Mr.  Gibbons,  conducted  it  so  success- 
fully that  it  became  a  source  of  considerable  profit.  In  1827, 
he  hired  of  Mr.  Gibbons  the  New  York  and  Elizabethport 
Ferry,  which,  under  two  successive  leases  of  seven  years  each, 
he  managed  so  well  that  it  proved  very  profitable,  although  pre- 


662  MEN   OF   OUR    DAT. 

viouslj  it  had  been  unremunerative.  Twelve  years  had  elapsed 
since  he  had  entered  Mr.  Gibbons's  employ ;  and,  during  that 
time,  his  faithfulness,  care,  and  persevering  industry  had  so 
advanced  the  prosperity  of  the  line  that  it  was  now  netting, 
annually,  the  sum  of  nearly  $40,000.  Under  his  supervision, 
each  new  boat  added  to  the  line  had  been  made  better  and 
fleeter  than  its  predecessor,  and  his  keen  and  fertile  intellect 
was  quick  to  make  every  new  circumstance  subservient  to  the 
interests  of  his  employer  and  the  improvement  of  steam 
navigation. 

To  understand  some  of  the  difficulties  with  which  Yanderbilt 
was  surrounded,  at  the  time  he  first  became  captain  of  the 
Bellona,  we  must  recall  the  early  history  of  steam  navigation. 
It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  1798,  an  act  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  of  New  York,  repealing  a  previous  act,  and  trans- ' 
ferring  to  Mr.  Livingston,  the  exclusive  privilege  of  navigating 
the  waters  of  the  State  by  steam.  This  act  was  from  time  to 
time  continued,  and  Fulton  was  finally  included  in  its  pro- 
visions. In  1807,  after  the  trial  trip  of  the  Clermont,  the 
Legislature,  by  another  act,  extended  this  privilege,  and  in  the 
following  year,  subjected  any  vessel,  propelled  by  steam,  to 
forfeiture,  which  should  enter  the  waters  of  the  State  without 
the  license  of  those  grantees.  These  acts  were  in  force  when 
Vanderbilt  entered  the  employ  of  Mr.  Gibbons,  and  the  Phila- 
delphia line  violated  the  privilege  thus  granted,  in  case  the 
boats  stopped  at  the  city  of  New  York ;  and  hence,  for  a  long 
time,  whenever  Yanderbilt  ran  a  steamer  in  on  the  New  York 
side  of  the  river,  as  he  was  instructed  by  the  owner  to  do,  he 
was  arrested,  if  he  could  be  found.  As  an  expedient  to  avoid 
arrest,  he  taught  a  lady  how  to  steer  the  boat,  and  when  it 
neared  the  New  York  dock,  he  would  turn  it  over  to  her 
'iharge,  and  disappear  himself;  so  that  the  officers  were  fro- 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT.  66S 

quently  compelled  to  return  their  writs  against  him  non  est. 
At  this  time,  it  will  also  be  remembered,  the  New  York  Court 
of  Errors  had  pronounced  these  acts  constitutional ;  the  New 
Jersey  Legislature  had  passed  retaliatory  acts,  and  a  suit 
against  Gibbons  was  in  progress  in  the  United  States  Court. 
To  make  this  line  prosperous,  under  such  difficulties,  and 
against  such  opposition,  was,  of  course,  no  ordinary  task  ;  still 
it  was  at  once  accomplished,  as  we  have  stated.  At  length,  and 
in  182J:,  the  Gibbons's  case  was  decided.  Chief  Justice  Marshall 
delivering  the  opinion  of  the  Court,  to  the  effect,  that,  under 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  no  State  could  grant  an 
exclusive  right  of  navigation,  by  steam  or  otherwise,  on  any  of 
the  principal  rivers  of  the  country ;  and,  as  a  consequence, 
navigation  of  the  Hudson,  and  elsewhere,  became  free  to  all. 
With  this  obstacle  removed,  Vanderbilt  went  to  work  with 
renewed  vigor,  steadily  pushing  forward  his  employer's  enter- 
prise, until  it  produced  the  remarkable  revenue  noted  above. 

In  1829,  Vanderbilt  determined  to  commence  business  again 
on  his  own  account,  but  met  with  the  most  strenuous  ob- 
jections, and  the  most  liberal  inducements — even  to  the  offer 
of  the  ownership  of  the  entire  Philadelphia  route,  on  almost  hia 
own  terms — from  Gibbons,  who  confessed  his  inability  to  run 
the  line  without  him.  But  these  offers  were  firmly  yet  kindly 
put  aside,  and  Gibbons,  finding  the  life  of  his  enterprise  had 
gone,  shortly  after  sold  out  the  entire  business.  Once  again 
Vanderbilt  was  his  own  master,  and  possessed  such  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  details  and  practical  management  of  steam 
navigation,  as  placed  him  in  a  most  favorable  position  for 
further  usefulness  and  success.  The  next  twenty  years  of  hia 
life  we  must  sketch  rapidly.  Applying  to  his  work,  the  same 
wisdom  and  energy  which  he  had  ever  shown,  he  built,  during 
this  period,  a  very  large  number  of  steamboats,  and  established 


664  MEN    OF   OUR   DAY. 

iteamboat  lines  on  the  Hudson,  the  Sound  and  elsewhere.  Hia 
plan  was  to  build  better  and  faster  boats,  than  those  of  his 
competitors,  and  to  run  them  at  the  lowest  paying  rates.  He 
was  thus  enabled,  by  furnishing  passengers  with  the  best  and 
cheapest  accommodations,  to  distance  the  corporations  and 
companies,  whose  monopoly  of  the  carrying  trade  had  hither- 
to made  travelling  too  expensive  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  many. 
It  cannot  be  claimed,  that  in  every  act,  he  sought  the  public's 
welfare,  yet  the  great  result  of  his  "  opposition"  lines  has  been 
decidedly  beneficial  to  the  community,  for  commercial  growth 
and  rivalry  are  inseparable,  and  competition  is,  proverbially,  the 
life  of  healthy  trade.  Meantime,  the  gold  of  California  had 
been  discovered,  and  was  drawing  an  immense  rush  of  trade 
thitherward.  The  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  began  to 
run  its  steamers  in  18-i8,  and  in  1849  the  Panama  railroad  was 
surveyed  and  commenced.  The  same  year,  we  find  Mr,  Van- 
derbilt,  under  a  charter  obtained  from  the  Nicarauguan  govern- 
ment, for  a  ship-canal  and  transit  company,  seeking  another 
transit  route,  in  connection  with  which  he  could  establish  a 
competing  line  between  New  York  and  the  "  golden  land."  This 
charter  was  subsequently  enlarged  by  the  grant  of  an  exclusive 
right  to  transport  passengers  and  freight  between  the  two 
oceans,  by  means  of  a  railroad,  steamboats,  or  otherwise,  and 
sepaiating  the  transit  grant  from  the  canal  grant.  In  1850,  Mr. 
Vanderbilt  built  the  Prometheus,  and,  in  her,  visited  Nicaragua 
for  the  purpose  of  personally  exploring  the  country,  and  satisfy- 
ing himself  as  to  the  practicability  of  the  route.  The  harbor  of 
San  Juan  del  Sur,  was  fixed  upon  as  the  Pacific  port — a  little 
steamboat  built,  under  his  personal  inspection,  to  run  up  the 
San  Juan  river — and  finally,  in  the  face  of  many  obstacles,  a 
semi-monthly  line  to  California,  via  Nicaragua,  was  opened  in 
July,  1851,  and  speedily  became  the  favorite,  as  well  as  the 


CORNELIUS   VANDERBILT.  665 

cheapest  route  to  Sau  Francisco.  In  January,  1853,  Yanfierbilt 
sold  his  many  and  large  steamers,  on  both  sides,  to  the  Transit 
Company,  acting  as  their  agent  for  several  months — and  then 
his  connection  with  it  ceased,  until  he  became  its  president  in 
January  1856.  During  the  invasion  of  Nicaragua  by  "  Filibuster 
Walker,"  that  general,  to  whom  Yanderbilt  had  refused  transpor- 
tation for  his  men  and  munitions,  issued  a  decree  (February, 
1856,)  annulling  all  grants  to  the  company,  as  well  as  its  act  of 
incorporation ;  and,  when  the  long  series  of  plots  and  counter- 
plots to  which  this  gave  rise  were  settled,  a  sand-bar  was  found 
to  have  formed  at  the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan,  making  it  practi- 
cally useless.  Mr.  Vanderbilt  had  become  a  man  of  great  wealth, 
and,  in  1853,  he  conceived  the  novel,  and,  in  some  respects, 
grand  design  of  making  the  tour  of  Europe,  with  his  family,  in 
a  fine,  large  steamship  of  his  own. 

For  a  single  individual,  without  rank,  prestige,  or  national 
authority,  to  build,  equip,  and  man  a  noble  specimen  of 
naval  architecture,  and  to  maintain  it  before  all  the  courts  of 
Europe,  with  dignity  and  style,  was  an  extremely  suggestive 
illustration  to  the  Old  World,  of  what  the  energies  of  man  may 
accomplish  in  this  new  land,  where  they  are  uncramped  by 
oppressive  social  institutions,  or  absurd  social  traditions. 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt  is  a  natural,  legitimate  product  of 
America.  With  us,  all  citizens  have  full  permission  to  run 
the  race  in  which  he  has  gained  such  large  prizes,  while  in 
other  countries,  they  are  trammelled  by  a  thousand  restrictions. 

Accordingly,  a  new  vessel,  called  "  The  North  Star,"  was 
built,  as  all  his  vessels  are,  under  his  own  supervision,  in  a 
very  complete  manner,  perfect  in  all  its  departments,  and 
splendidly  fitted  up  with  all  that  could  tend  to  gratify  or  please, 
and  was  the  first  steamer  fitted  with  a  beam  engine,  that  ever 
attempted  to  cross  the  Atlantic. 


666  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

On  Friday,  the  11th  of  May,  1855,  the  comrijodore  and  his 
party  set  sail.  In  almost  every  country  visited  they  were  re- 
ceived by  all  the  authorities  with  great  cordiality,  as  well  as 
gre-.it  attention.  At  Southampton,  the  North  Star  formed  the 
topic  of  conversation  in  all  circles,  and  the  party  was  honored 
with  a  splendid  banquet,  at  which  about  two  hundred  persons 
sat  down.  When  in  Kussia,  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine  and 
the  chief  admiral  of  the  Russian  navy  visited  the  ship.  The 
former  solicited  and  obtained  permission  to  take  drafts  of  it, 
which  duty  was  ably  performed  by  a  corps  of  Russian  engineers. 
In  Constantinople,  in  Gibraltar,  and  Malta,  the  authorities  were 
also  very  cordial  and  polite.  But  in  Leghorn  (under  the 
government  of  Austria)  the  vessel  was  subjected  to  constant 
surveillance,  guard  boats  patrolling  about  her  day  and  night — 
the  authorities  not  being  able  to  believe  that  the  expedition  waa 
one  of  pleasure,  but  imagining  that  the  steamer  was  loaded  with 
munitions  and  arms  for  insurrectionary  purposes.  Thus,  after 
a  very  charming  and  delightful  excursion  of  four  months,  they 
returned  home,  reaching  New  York,  September  23d,  1853, 
having  sailed  a  distance  of  fifteen  thousand  miles.  This  cer- 
tainly was  an  expedition  worthy  and  characteristic  of  the  man 
who  undertook  it,  and  met  with  that  decided  success  which  his 
efforts  ever  seem  to  insure. 

Mr.  Vanderbilt's  observations,  while  abroad,  satisfied  him  of 
the  necessity  of  largely  increasing  the  facilities  of  communica- 
tion between  Europe  and  America;  and,  soon  after  his  return, 
he  made  an  offer  to  the  Postmaster-General  to  run  a  semi- 
monthly line  to  England,  alternating  with  the  Collins  line, 
carrying  the  mails  on  the  voyage  out  and  home  for  fifteen 
thousand  dollars.  The  Cunard  line  was  at  that  time  withdrawn 
from  the  mail  service  on  account  of  the  Crimean  war,  and  his 
plan,  therefore,  was  to  provide  for  weekly  departures,  filling  up 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT,  667 

tliose  thus  left  vacant.  This  proposition,  however,  was  not 
accepted;  but  unwilling  to  abandon  the  idea,  on  the  21st  of 
April,  1858,  he  established  an  independent  line  between  New 
York  and  Havre.  For  this  purpose  he  built  several  new  steam- 
ships, and  among  them  the  Ariel,  and  finally  the  Vanderbilt, 
and  the  line  was  kept  up  with  great  spirit  and  success.  Subse- 
quent to  the  building  of  the  Vanderbilt,  there  was  an  exciting 
contest  of  speed  between  the  boats  of  the  different  lines.  The 
Arabia  and  Persia,  of  the  Cunard,  the  Baltic  and  Atlantic,  of  the 
Collins,  and  the  Vanderbilt  of  the  independent  line,  were  the 
competitors.  Great  interest  was  taken  in  the  contest,  as  all 
will  remember,  but  the  Vanderbilt  came  out  victorious,  making 
the  shortest  time  ever  made  by  any  European  or  American 
steamer. 

The  subsequent  history  of  this  vessel,  and  the  use  which  has 
since  been  made  of  it,  are  well  known.  In  the  spring  of  1862, 
when  the  administration  needed,  immediately,  large  additions 
to  its  navy,  to  aid  in  carrying  on  its  military  operations  (an 
occasion  which  many  were  eager  to  turn  to  their  own  advantage, 
at  their  country's  expense).  Commodore  Vanderbilt  made  free 
gift  of  this  splendid  ship,  which  had  cost  $800,000,  to  the 
Government.  For  this  magnificent  act  of  patriotism  he  re- 
ceived, in  January,  1864,  a  resolution  of  thanks  passed  by 
Congress,  and  approved  by  the  President,  and  a  gold  medal, 
a  duplicate  copy  of  which  was  also  made  and  deposited  for  pre- 
servation in  the  library  of  Congress. 

Commodore  Vanderbilt  (he  was  long  since  given  the  title  ot 
commodore  by  acclamation,  and  as  the  creator  and  manager  of 
so  larg,e  a  fleet,  he  surely  merited  it)  has,  during  his  long  career 
of  activity,  built  and  owned  exclusively  himself,  upward  of  one 
hundred  steamboats  and  ships — none  of  which  have  been  lost 
by    accident.     He    had   extensive    machine-shops,    where    the 


663  MEN-   OF   OUR   DAT. 

machinery  was  made  according  to  his  own  ideas,  and  his  vessels 
were  almost  invariabl}''  constructed  by  days'  work,  under  his 
constant  supervision  and  from  plans  entirely  his  own.  It  was 
his  practice,  also,  to  employ  the  most  deserving  and  trustworthy 
commanders,  and  never  to  insure  a  vessel  or  cargo  of  any  kind, 
believing  that  "good  vessels  and  good  commanders  are  the  best 
kind  of  insurance  ;  "  and  also,  that  "  if  corporations  could  make 
money  in  the  insurance  business  he  could." 

It  is  now  nearly  ten  years  since  Commodore  Vanderbilt  began 
to  withdraw  gradually  from  his  marine  enterprises,  and  to  con- 
centrate his  energies  and  his  vast  capital  and  influence  upon 
railways,  and  his  movements  have  been  attended  with  their  usual 
success.  He  began  with  the  Harlem  Railroad,  which  had  been 
the  football  of  the  speculators  and  unfortunate  in  all  its  man- 
agement. Its  stock  had  ranged  from  forty  to  seventy  dollars 
the  share.  He  obtained  a  controlling  interest  in  it,  equipped  it 
anew,  and  made  it  one  of  the  best  as  it  had  previously  been 
one  of  the  poorest  roads  leaving  New  York.  The  stock  went 
up  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  and  even  higher.  Next 
he  obtained  control  of  the  Hudson  River  Road,  and  re- 
formed its  management,  and  then  stretched  out  his  hand  and 
grasped  the  New  York  Central.  His  management  was  so  suc- 
cessful that  he  met  with  little  or  no  opposition,  when  he  deter- 
mined to  consolidate  the  New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River 
in  one  gigantic  corporation,  and  lease  the  Harlem,  which  he  had 
now  extended  to  Vermont,  to  the  new  corporation.  The  stock 
of  this  mammoth  corporation  was  largely  watered,  but  under  his 
efficient  management  it  has  paid  liberal  dividends.  He  has 
bought  up  all  the  branches  and  collateral  roads  which  could  be 
bought  or  leased,  to  serve  as  feeders  for  his  great  line.  At  one 
time  he  had  almost  secured  control  of  the  Erie  Railway  also  (it 
mii-ht  have  been    better   for  the  stockholders    if  he   had  sue 


CORNELIUS   VANDKRBILT.  669 

ceeded);  but  the  cage  of  unclean  birds  which  in  the  spring  of 
1872  were  ousted  from  it,  by  their  sharp  practices  kept  him  out, 
though  not  without  heavy  expense  to  themselves.  He  next 
turned  his  attention  to  perfecting  his  connection  with  the  Pacific 
Railways,  and  now  controls  not  only  the  Lake  Shore,  Southern 
Michigan,  Chicago  and  Rock  Island,  and  Chicago  and  North- 
western, but  numerous  other  connecting  roads,  and  runs  his  palace 
cars  without  change  from  New  York  city  to  the  Golden  Gate.  Hi3 
only  formidable  competitor  now  for  the  monarchy  of  the  railroad 
system  of  the  United  States  is  Col.  Thomas  A.  Scott,  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  king.  Scott  has  youth  in  his  favor,  but  the  old 
commodore  is  tough,  and  carries  his  seventy-eight  years  as  jaun- 
tily  as  if  they  were  not  half  that  number.  He  controls  to-day, 
through  himself  and  members  of  his  family,  railway  property  of 
the  value  of  nearly,  and  perhaps  quite,  three  hundred  millions  of 
dollars.  His  personal  wealth  is  vast.  He  is  unquestionably  one 
of  the  three  richest  men  in  America,  the  other  two  being  Wil- 
liam B,  Astor  and  Alexander  T.  Stewart,  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  either  could  tell  the  amount  of  their  property  within 
ten  millions.  Commodore  Vanderbilt  makes  no  pretensions  of 
philanthropy.  He  is  not  even  for  his  means  a  large  or  liberal 
giver,  yet,  as  we  have  seen,  he  sometimes  gives  in  a  princely 
way.  He  became  very  much  interested  four  or  five  years  ago  in 
the  efforts  of  Rev,  Dr.  Deems  to  establish  a  "  church  for 
strangers  "  in  New  York,  and  finding  that  the  University  Place 
Church  was  for  sale,  a  fine  and  substantial  edifice,  he  bought  it, 
and  presented  it  to  Dr.  Deems.  He  has,  we  are  glad  to  say 
been  ever  since  a  frequent  attendant  on  the  Doctor's  ministra- 
tions. 

Yet  amidst  his  close  and  continued  application  to  the  busi- 
ness of  life,  the  kindly  feelings  of  childhood  have  remained 
unchanged.     The   eagerness   with    which    he    has   anticipated 


670  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

every  desire  of  an  aged  mother,  is  only  an  evidence  of  the 
heart  within  him.  He  was  as  devoted  to  her  in  manhood,  as 
she  to  him  in  early  youth.  The  pretty  home-like  cottage  con- 
structed for  her  under  his  eye,  and  in  accordance  with  the  tasto 
of  both,  surrounded  by  luxuriant  vines  and  evergreens,  was  a 
continual  joy  to  her  during  her  life.  There,  near  her  old  home, 
and  overlooking  the  water,  the  scene  of  his  early  exploits,  she 
happily  lived,  tenderly  cared  for,  and,  only  a  few  years  since, 
as  happily  and  peacefully  died.  How  consistent  with  all  his 
conduct  toward  her  was  the  thoughtfulness  which  prompted 
him,  upon  returning  from  his  triumphal  tour  of  Europe,  to 
stop  the  steamer  in  passing  up  the  bay,  and  give  that  mother 
his  first  greetings,  and  receive  her  welcome  home.  Few,  aa 
they  read,  at  that  time,  the  newspaper  accounts  of  his  arrival, 
could  have  failed  to  notice,  among  the  more  exciting  items,  the 
statement  of  this  simple  fact,  and  to  feel  that  it  was  an  honor  to 
the  son  as  well  as  to  the  mother. 

The  same  kindliness  of  feeling  he  has  always  exhibited  in 
every  other  position  in  life.  Deceit  and  underhand  dealing  he 
has  ever  quickly  detected  and  thoroughly  hated,  but  frankness 
and  honesty  of  speech  and  act  have  been  sure  to  find  a  ready 
and  kind  response.  During  all  his  contests  with  men,  he  had 
exemplified  the  truth  of  this,  ever  being  ready  to  act  with  the 
greatest  generosity,  when  thus  approached.  A  certain  captain, 
interested  in  a  line  of  boats  to  Hartford,  took  steps  which 
Vanderbilt  considered  dishonorable,  to  injure  his  line  of  boats 
to  the  same  place,  and  therefore  Yanderbilt  determined  to  run 
him  off,  and  did  it.  About  that  time  Captain  Brooks,  who  is  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  commodore,  met  the  defeated  party 
and  asked  him  how  he  got  on.  "  Why,  I  have  put  my  hand 
in  Vanderbilt's  mouth,  and  of  course  I  must  give  up,"  he 
replied.     "  But,"  said  Brooks,  "  go  and  see  him,  and  if  you  are 


CORNELIUS   VANDERBILT.  671 

frank  to  him,  he  will  be  generous  to  you."  "  Go  1"  said  he, 
"  he  would  not  see  me."  Yet  afterwards  he  concluded  to  go, 
and  sure  enough,  he  came  back  not  only  with  the  difficulty 
healed,  but  with  obligations  conferred,  which  he  will  very  long 
remember. 

Six  feet  in  height,  with  a  large  strong  frame,  a  bright  clear 
expressive  eye,  thin  white  hair,  and  ruddy  complexion,  Mr. 
Vanderbilt  combines  in  his  temperament  a  perfect  blending  of 
the  best  vital  motive  and  mental  characteristics.  His  will, 
self-reliance  and  ambition  to  achieve  success  are  immense, 
while  integrity,  self-respect  and  kindness  of  heart  are  not  less 
strongly  marked.  Socially,  he  is  one  of  the  most  affectionate 
of  men.  He  is  quick  to  read  the  characters  and  motives  of 
others ;  forms  his  own  judgments  with  intuitive  quickness  and 
correctness ;  executes  his  plans  with  rapidity  and  a  conscious- 
ness of  self-power.  With  such  mental  and  vital  characteristics, 
with  or  without  education,  the  "Commodore"  would,  almost 
inevitably,  have  been  at  the  head  of  any  calling  or  profession 
which  he  might  have  adopted.  Nature  created  him  for  a 
leader. 


THOMAS   ALEXANDER   SCOTT, 

RAILWAY    KING. 


[T  is  greatly  to  the  honor  of  most  of  our  leading  business 
men,  as  well  as  of  some  of  our  statesmen,  that  they  are 
emphatically  self-made  men.  Unfavored  by  fortune  in 
their  youthful  days,  struggling,  perhaps,  with  gaunt 
penury,  and  while  thirsting  for  knowledge  as  ravenously  as  the 
traveller  in  the  desert  thirsts  for  the  cooling  spring,  they  have 
been  denied  the  opportunity  to  enter  its  halls  and  slake  that 
thirst,  and  have  been  detained  at  the  bench,  the  counter,  or  the 
manufactory,  struggling  wearily  for  a  bare  pittance  for  their 
own  needs,  or  the  support  of  those  dear  to  them.  If  there  is 
any  one  person  endowed  with  all  his  natural  faculties,  who  is 
excusable  for  not  endeavoring  to  acquire  a  good  and  thonyugh 
education,  that  person  is  the  child,  who,  after  toiling  through 
the  long  day  to  and  even  beyond  his  strength,  finds  that  his 
only  opportunity  of  improvement  is  in  the  evening  hours.  The 
more  honor  then  would  we  bestow  on  the  young  clerk,  mechanic 
or  machinist,  who,  notwithstanding  intense  weariness  of  body, 
seeks  most  zealously  for  the  opportunities  of  improvement. 
And  when  a  lad  thus  struggles  and  fights  his  way  up  through 
diflSiculties  which  would  appal  an  ordinary  mind,  and  takes  his 
position  among  the  world's  great  men,  he  deserves  to  be  reck- 
oned as  a   hero.     It  is  in   this   class  that   Colonel  Thomas  A. 

Scott  has  won  and  maintained  his  position. 
672 


THOMAS   ALEXANDER  SCOTT  673 

Thomas  Alexander  Scott  was  born  in  the  village  of  Lou- 
don, Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  28tb,  1824:.  Of 
his  early  childhood  we  know  little.  It  must  have  V)een  one  of 
poverty  and  narrowness,  for  in  a  large  family,  of  which  he  was 
one  of  the  youngest  children,  he  attended  the  village  school  for 
but  a  short  time,  and  had  but  a  single  teacher,  Eobert  Kirby, 
of  Loudon.  His  father  died  when  he  was  but  ten  years  of  age, 
and  even  before  that  time  he  had  been  striving  to  earn  a  living 
as  clerk  in  a  little  country  store.  At  his  father's  death  his 
home  was  broken  up,  and  he  went  to  reside  with  an  elder  mar- 
ried sister,  near  Waynesborough,  Franklin  county,  whose  hus- 
band had  a  small  store,  in  which  Thomas  was  employed  for 
eighteen  months.  From  thence  he  went  for  a  short  time  to 
Bridgeport,  in  the  same  county,  where  an  elder  brother  was  en- 
gaged in  trade.  A  few  mouths  later  he  had  obtained  a  situa- 
tion with  a  good  firm  in  Mercersburg.  When  he  was  fourteen 
years  old,  another  brother-in-law  who  had  been  appointed  col- 
lector of  tolls  on  the  State  road  at  Columbia,  sent  for  him  to  be 
his  clerk,  and  a  year  or  two  after  he  became  a  clei'k  in  the  ex- 
tensive warehouse  and  commission  establishment  of  the  Messrs- 
Leech,  of  Columbia,  where  he  remained  until  1847.  During  all 
these  thirteen  or  fourteen  years,  he  had  sought  in  every  way  pos- 
sible to  train  himself  for  a  business  life.  Intensely  fond  of 
study,  he  yet  subordinated  his  study  to  his  employer's  interests,. 
and  did  everything  with  an  order,  system  and  judgment  which 
would  have  been  highly  creditable  to  a  man  of  twice  his  years. 
Everywhere  his  quickness  and  energy,  his  correctness,  ability 
and  integrity  inspired  all  who  had  to  do  with  him  with  con- 
fidence in  his  business  character  and  uprightness.  In  1847,  he 
came  to  Philadelphia  as  chief  clerk  under  A.  Boyd  Cummings, 
collector  of  tolls  at  the  eastern   end  of  the  puV)lic  works,     lie 

did  not  become  connected  with  the  Pennsylvania  Central  Rail 
43 


674  MEN  OF   OUR   DAY. 

road  until  1850,  when  he  was  appointed  General  Agent  of  their 
Mountain  or  Eastern  Division  at  Duncanville,  When  the 
Western  Division  was  opened  he  was  transferred  to  that,  and 
remained  there  until  the  health  of  General  Lombaert,  the 
Superintendent  of  the  road,  failed,  when  he  was  called  to  take 
his  place.  In  1860,  on  the  death  of  the  Hon.  William  B.  Foster, 
Vice-President  of  the  road,  Mr,  Scott  was  elected  to  that  posi- 
tion, and  it  was  from  that  time  that  the  Pennsylvania  Central 
railroad  began  to  comprehend  its  position  and  facilities  as  a 
great  trunk  road.  The  executive  ability,  order,  method  and 
enterprize  of  the  new  Vice-President  had  here  for  the  first  time 
their  legitimate  field  of  exercise,  and  the  road  began  at  once  to 
take  its  appropriate  place  as  one  of  the  four  great  highways 
which  were  competing  for  the  traffic  of  the  continent. 

But  there  was  higher  work  than  this  for  Mr.  Scott  to  under- 
take. The  civil  war  had  commenced,  and  our  War  Department 
was  inadequate  with  its  antiquated  and  contracted  machinery  to 
manage  the  aftairs  of  an  army  of  more  than  a  million  men  scat- 
tered over  half  a  continent.  Mr.  Scott's  executive  ability  was 
already  known  at  Washington,  and  he  was  called  thither  as 
Assistant  Secretary  of  War,  having  special  charge  of  .the  trans- 
portation of  troops,  and  their  movement  from  one  section  of  the 
country  to  another.  He  was  at  one  time  directed  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  take  possession  of  all  the  railroad  lines  of  the  Central 
States,  and  combine  them  into  one  harmonious  whole,  so  as  to 
render  the  Government  service  both  rapid  and  certain.  No 
other  man  had  ever  attempted  so  extensive  a  control  of  rail- 
roads as  this,  and  it  is  safe' to  say,  that  there  were  not  half-a-dozen 
men  in  the  country  who  could  have  done  it  successfully.  The 
late  Secretary  of  War,  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  was  one  of  the 
most  tireless  workers  who  ever  occupied  that  position,  and  he 
had  first  and  last  at  least  a  dozen  assistants,  all  of  them  men  of 


THOMAS   ALEXANDER   SCOTT.  675 

remarkable  business  capacity,  but  most  of  them  broke  down 
under  the  tremendous  strain  of  the  work  which  the  war  pro- 
duced. Mr.  Stanton  was  accustomed  to  say,  that  the  only  two 
assistants  he  ever  had  whom  he  could  not  kill  with  over-work, 
were  Thomas  A.  Scott  and  Charles  A.  Dana. 

Returning  to  his  work  as  Vice-President  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Central,  Colonel  Scott  (he  had  received  a  staff  commission 
from  the  War  Department)  began  at  once  to  develop  the  vast 
capacity  for  work  there  was  in  him,  and  while  most  men  would 
have  found  the  management  of  that  great  road  and  its  connec- 
tions with  the  West  sufficient  to  occupy  all  their  time  and 
thoughts,  to  him  it  was  mere  play.  He  accepted  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  "Pennsylvania  Company,"  the  corporation  by 
which  the  entire  system  of  roads  west  of  Pittsburgh,  which  are 
owned  or  leased  by  the  Pennsylvania  Central,  is  operated,  and 
in  that  capacity  he  controls  and  manages  over  4000  miles  of 
railroad.  He  took  the  Presidency  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
way, when  its  affairs  were  in  a  condition  of  great  confusion,  and 
m  a  few  short  months  brought  them  out  into  an  assured 
success.  He  is  the  right  arm  and  successful  manager  of  the 
"Southern  Railway  Security  Company,"  in  which,  profiting  by 
his  experience  during  the  war,  he  has  brought  into  one  orderly 
and  harmonious  system,  and  under  one  general  control,  the 
larger  part  of  the  Southern  railroads,  greatly  to  their  advantage 
and  that  of  the  public.  He  has  taken  an  interest  as  counsellor 
and  manager  in  many  other  great  railway  enterprises,  among 
which  we  may  name  the  Kansas  Pacific,  the  Denver  Pacific,  the 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Narrow  Gauge,  the  Northern  Pacific, 
the  Texas  Pacific,  and  other  railways,  including  several  on  the 
Pacific  coast. 

There  must  be  a  limit  somewhere  to  the  business  capacity  of 
even  a  man  of  Colonel  Scott's  comprehensive  and  methodical 


676  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY 

mind.  "We  do  not  know  that  be  has  reached  or  even  approached 
that  limit,  but  when  a  man  has  the  care  of  some  ten  thousand 
miles  of  railway  on  his  mind,  when  it  depends  upon  his  move- 
ments whether  a  capital  of  four  hundred  or  live  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars  shall  prove  profitable  or  unprofitable,  it  cer 
tainly  behooves  that  man  to  keep  his  head  "level."  Much  may 
be  accomplished,  and  undoubtedly  in  his  case  much  is  accom- 
plished, by  the  rare  power  he  possesses  of  dismissing  at  will  all 
care  and  anxiety  from  his  mind.  In  his  "off"  hours,  no  man  is 
more  blithe,  gay  and  hearty  than  he.  To  see  him  on  such 
occasions  you  would  hardly  suppose  that  anything  more  serious 
than  the  tie  of  his  cravat  or  the  fit  of  his  gloves  ever  occupied 
his  mind;  but  there  comes  a  time  sooner  or  later,  when  the 
spectre  of  brooding  thought  will  not  down  at  a  man's  bidding  ; 
when  he  cannot  shake  off  care  so  easily,  and  then  the  over- 
wrought brain  revenges  itself  for  its  excessive  toil,  and  the  man 
must  rest  or  die.  From  such  a  fate,  we  trust,  this  noble- 
hearted  and  greatly  gifted  son  of  Pennsylvania  may  long  be 
spared,  to  be  a  blessing  not  only  to  the  State  but  to  the  nation. 

Colonel  Scott  is  not  an  active  politician,  and,  indeed,  cares  but 
little  for  political  questions.  He  has  warm  friends  in  both 
parties,  but  has  generally  when  voting  at  all  voted  with  the 
Republicans.  In  the  multiplicity  of  names  mentioned  for  the 
Presidency,  at  a  time  of  such  general  political  upheaval,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  a  man  of  his  rare  executive  ability  should  have 
been  thought  of,  but  he  himself  has  no  aspirations  in  that  direc- 
tion. It  is  said  that  some  months  ago  some  anxious  politicians 
{ipproached  him  on  the  subject,  and  he  replied,  with  a  merry 
twinkle  of  his  eye,  and  an  evident  allusion  to  his  well-known 
propensity  to  taking  long  leases  on  every  railroad  within  his 
reach :  "  No,  gentlemen,  I  cannot  afford  it ;  time  is  altogether 
too  short.  If  I  could  have  a  ninety-nine  years'  lease,  I  might 
think  of  it." 


CYRUS   WEST   FIELD, 

THE    FOUNDER   OF    ATLANTIC    TELEGRATHY. 


HE  FIELD  famil}^  is  one  of  those  instances  of  which 
there  are  several  in  our  national  history,  in  which  the 
greater  part  of  the  children  of  a  large  family  springing 
from  a  respectable,  but  not  specially  eminent  ancestry, 
attain  high  distinction  either  in  kindred  or  diverse  pursuits. 
The  Edwards,  tlie  Dwight  and  the  Woolsey  families  in  various 
degrees  belong  to  this  class;  its  most  conspicuous  example  is 
"  the  Beecher  family  ; "  but  the  descendants  of  Eev.  David  Dud- 
ley Field,  D.D.,  who  died  at  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts,  in  1867, 
are  hardly  less  conspicuous  though  in  more  varied  careers. 
Dr.  Field  had  ten  children,  of  whom  nine  grew  up  to  maturity, 
viz. :  seven  sons  and  two  daughters.  Of  the  seven  sons,  David 
Dudley  has  attained  high  distinction  and  great  wealth  as  a  jurist, 
in  Kew  York  City ;  Timothy  B.  was  a  naval  officer  of  great 
promise,  but  was  lost  at  sea  in  1836 ;  Matthew  D.,  a  manufac- 
turer and  civil  engineer,  has  a  high  reputation  in  his  profession, 
and  has  been  a  State  Senator  in  Massachusetts ;  Jonathan  E., 
was  a  lawyer  of  great  ability,  several  times  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Senate,  and  once  or  twice  President  of  that  body; 
Stephen  J.,  also  a  lawyer,  formerly  Chief  Justice  of  California, 
is  now  one  of  the  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States;  of  Cyrus  W.  we  shall  have  more  to  sav. 
Kev.  Henry  M.,  D.D.,  is  an  eloquent  preacher  and  writer,  and 

677 


678  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

for  some  years  past  has  been  editor  and  proprietor  of  tbe  New 
York  Evangelist,  a  very  popular  and  widely  circulated  Presby- 
terian journal.  The  two  daughters  were  ladies  of  high  intellec- 
tual ability.  Both  were  married,  the  elder  to  a  missionary, 
with  whom  she  spent  some  years  in  missionary  labors  in  Syria. 
Several  of  Dr.  Field's  grandchildren  have  also  achieved  dis- 
tinction. 

Cyrus  West  Field  was  born  in  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts, 
November  30th,  1819.  He  received  a  very  thorough  English 
and  academical  education,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  went  to  New 
York  as  clerk  in  a  mercantile  house.  After  several  years'  ex- 
perience in  that  capacity,  he  entered  the  house  as  partner,  and 
finally  became  principal.  He  was  very  successful,  and  in  1853, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-four,  retired  from  business  with  an  ample 
fortune.  He  spent  six  or  eight  months  in  travel  in  South 
America,  and  soon  after  his  return  was  approached  by  Mr. F.N. 
Gisborne,  Engineer  and  Telegraph  operator,  and  the  founder  and 
chief  promoter  of  the  Electric  Telegraphic  Company,  an  organi- 
zation which  had  attempted  the  construction  of  a  telegraphic  line 
from  New  Brunswick  to  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  there  to  con- 
nect with  a  line  of  steamers  to  the  Irish  coast.  This  company 
had  become  bankrupt  before  the  completion  of  their  enterprize, 
and  Mr.  Gisborne  was  anxious  to  have  their  charter  taken  up 
by  New  York  capitalists.  Mr.  Matthew  D.  Field,  a  brotlier  of 
Cyrus,  and  an  engineer  by  profession,  had  formed  Mr.  Gisborne's 
acquaintance,  and  became  favorably  impressed  with  his  project, 
and  he  introduced  him  to  his  brother.  Mr.  Field  was  at  first 
averse  to  the  undertaking,  but  examining  it  carefully,  and  be- 
coming impressed  with  the  feasibility  of  carrying  a  telegraphic 
wire  across  the  Atlantic  from  St.  John's,  he  began  to  give  it 
more  attention.  He  wrote  at  once  to  Lieutenant  Maury,  then  at 
the  head  of  the  Naval  Observatory  at  Washington,  and  author 


CYRUS   WEST   FIELD.  679 

of  a  work  on  "The  Physical  Geography  of  tlie  Sea,"  inquiring  of 
him  concerning  the  practicability  of  carrying  an  insulated  wire  or 
wires  across  the  ocean,  i.  e.,  whether  there  were  any  insurmount- 
able physical  difficulties  in  the  ocean  bed.  At  the  same  time 
he  addressed  a  letter  to  Professor  S.  F.  B.  Morse  (lately  deceased) 
inquiring  as  to  the  possibility  of  transmitting  electro-magnetic 
signals  to  such  a  distance  through  the  ocean.  Lieutenant  Maury 
replied,  transmitting  a  report  he  had  just  made  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  of  Lieutenant  Berryman's  continuous  soundings 
across  the  ocean,  at  the  very  points  between  which  Mr.  Field 
had  thought  the  cable  should  be  laid,  showing  that  there  was 
an  oceanic  plateau  crossing  the  ocean,  whose  depth  nowhere  ex- 
ceeded two  miles,  and  whose  surface,  composed  of  the  debris  of 
microscopic  shells  unmixed  with  sand  or  gravel,  was  almost  as 
level  as  a  western  prairie.  Professor  Morse  came  to  visit  Mr. 
Field,  and  demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  the  transmission  of 
magnetic  signals  through  the  ocean  to  much  greater  distances. 
Having  thus  satisfied  himself  of  the  practicability  of  the  enter- 
prise, Mr.  Field  next  undertoook  to  enlist  several  capitalists  in 
it,  and  succeeded  in  persuading  Peter  Cooper,  Moses  Taylor, 
Marshall  O.  Roberts,  and  Chandler  White  to  join  him  in  form- 
ing a  company  to  undertake  the  work.  Subsequentl\'-  Professor 
Morse,  AVilson  G.  Hunt,  and  an  English  Telegraphic  Engineer, 
Mr.  John  W.Brett,- took  some  share  in  the  enterprise.  The  asso- 
ciates visited  Newfoundland,  and  procured  from  the  provincial 
legislature  a  new  and  very  favorable  charter;  bouglit  up  the  pro- 
perty of  the  old  Electric  Telegraphic  Company,  and  paid  its  debts; 
constructed  nearly  550  miles  of  road  and  telegrapic  lines  from 
New  Brunswick  to  Newfoundland,  and  at  their  direction  Mr. 
Field  visited  England,  and  ordered  a  telegraphic  cable  to  cross 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  this  being  lost,  went  again  and 
procured  another,  which  was  successfully  laid.     At  the  end  of 


680  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY 

two  years,  and  with  an  expenditure  of  about  a  million  of  dollars, 
nearly  all  of  which  had  come  from  their  own  pockets,  the  asso- 
ciates had  reached  Newfoundland,  and  were  ready  for  another 
step  in  advance.  Mr.  Field  again  visited  England,  empowered 
either  to  obtain  additional  subscriptions  to  the  New  York,  New- 
foundland and  London  Telegraph  Company,  organized  by  himself 
and  his  associates  two  years  before,  or  to  found  a  new  company 
to  lay  the  cable  alone.  The  latter  alternative  was  adopted,  a 
company  organized  with  guaranties  from  the  British  Govern- 
ment, and  its  capital  stock  fixed  at  350,000?.,=$!, 750,000.  Mr. 
Field  took  88,000/.,=$M0,000  of  this  stock  himself,  but  subse- 
quently disposed  of  $185,000  of  it  here.  The  cable  was  made 
by  Glass,  Elliot  &  Co.  The  first  attempt  to  lay  it  was  made 
in  1857.  The  United  Steamships  Niagara  and  Susquehanna, 
and  the  British  Steamships  Agamemnon  and  Gorgon  perform- 
ing the  work  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Field  and  his  associ- 
ates. The  cable  broke  Avhen  three  hundred  and  thirty-five 
miles  had  been  laid,  in  consequence  of  the  clumsiness  of  the 
paying-out  machine.  The  ships  returned  to  England  and  landed 
the  remainder  of  the  cable,  and  Mr.  Field  returned  to  the 
United  States,  to  find  that  in  the  financial  panic  nearly  his 
entire  fortune  had  been  swept  away.  The  next  year  the  effort 
to  lay  it  was  made  again,  and  after  two  or  tliree  failures,  proved 
successful  so  far  that  the  cable  was  laid,  and' imperfect  commu- 
nication kept  up  between  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  for  nearly 
a  month,  when  it  gave  out  entirely.  Meantime  Mr.  Field  had 
received  a  succession  of  ovations,  one  of  them  so  glowing  that 
it  set  on  fire  the  cupola  and  roof  the  City  Hall  in  New  York, 
and  came  very  near  destroying  the  whole  of  the  vast  building. 
But  the  sudden  news  on  the  5th  of  September,  1858,  that  "  the 
Atlantic  Telegraph  was  dead,"  would  have  killed  a  man  less 
sanguine  and  resolute.     Mr.  Field,  however,  went  to  England 


CYRUS   WEST   FIELD.  681 

repeated!}'-,  and  kept  the  matter  in  agitation,  and  under  the  en- 
couras^ement  of  added  subsidies  from  the  British  Government, 
and  the  promise  of  guaranties  if  it  should  be  made  to  write, 
succeeded  in  getting  again  under  way.  A  new  company  was 
formed,  called  the  Telegraph  Construction  and  Maintenance 
Company,  in  which  Messrs.  Glass,  Elliot  &  Co.,  the  manufac- 
turers of  the  cable,  Thomas  Brassey  and  others,  were  large 
stockholders;  the  Great  Eastern  secured  to  lay  the  cable,  and  in 
the  summer  of  1865  the  effort  was  made  again  with  a  greatly 
improved  cable.  Between  twelve  and  thirteen  hundred  miles 
were  laid,  not  without  some  slight  accidents,  when  once  more 
the  cable  was  broken  by  being  fouled  under  the  bow  of  the 
Great  Eastern.  For  nine  days  the  persevering  directors  and 
crew  grappled  for  the  lost  cable  ;  three  times  they  brought  it 
up  for  a  mile  or  more  from  the  bottom  (here  two  and  a  half 
miles  in  depth),  but  each  time  their  apparatus  gave  way  under 
the  terrible  strain,  and  finally,  marking  carefully  its  location 
with  buoys,  they  left  it.  Not  yet,  however,  did  the  brave  Field 
give  up  to  despair.  Again  he  crossed  the  ocean,  and  after  try- 
ing several  other  plans  organized  a  fourth  companj',  in  which 
the  previous  companies  became  stockholders,  with  three  million 
dollars  capital,  had  another  cable  made,  and  in  the  summer 
of  1866  it  was  laid,  and  has  proved  a  complete  success  from 
that  time  to  the  present.  -More  than  this;  the  same  expedition 
which  laid  this  grappled  for,  and  brought  to  the  surface  the  end 
of  the  cable  of  1865,  spliced  it,  and  successfully  completed  that 
also.  In  1869,  a  third  cable  was  laid  by  a  French  companv, 
which  has  since  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  London  company, 
and  although  we  believe  but  two  of  the  three  are  now  workino- 
successfully,  yet  there  is  very  little  danger  now  of  a  loss  of  our 
communication  with  Europe  by  telegraph,  especially  as  one 
or  two  other  lines  are  in  progress 


682  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY 

Mr.  Field's  indefatigable  zeal  and  persistency  in  thus  strug- 
gling through  thirteen  years  of  discouragement  and  disaster  to 
a  final  triumph,  and  his  courage,  which  rose  higher  with  each 
failure,  are  worthy  of  all  praise. 

With  his  great  enterprize,  at  last  an  assured  success,  and  his 
outlays  so  long  unproductive,  at  last  yielding  their  golden 
harvest,  it  would  seem  that  he  would  have  been  content  to  rest 
upon  his  laurels;  but  we  notice  that  beside  taking  an  interest 
in  most  of  the  telegraphic  cables  which  connect  the  great  divi- 
sions of  the  American  continent  and  the  adjacent  islands,  he  led 
the  way  a  few  months'  since  in  an  application'to  Congress  for  a 
charter  for  a  Telegraphic  Cable  Company  to  cross  the  Pacific 
from  San  Francisco  to  Japan,  taking  the  Sandwich  Islands  as  a 
half-way  house,  and  thus  solving  the  problem  of  the  Great  Eng- 
lish poet  and  dramatist  of  "Putting  a  girdle  round  the  earth  in 
forty  minutes."  We  have  not  yet  heard  that  the  company  is 
fully  organized,  or  the  cable  in  process  of  manufacture,  but  just 
as  sure  as  Cyrus  W.  Field  has  a  controlling  interest  in  it,  it  is 
bound  to  be  carried  through  triumphantly. 


HON.   EZRA   CORNELL. 


[<^MONG  the  names  of  tte  great  benefactors  of  education, 
that  of  Ezra  Cornell  must  always  occupy  a  place  in 
the  front  rank.  Yery  few  men  living  or  dead  have 
contributed  so  largely  to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men,  as  this  plain,  practical  business  man.  Though 
deprived  of  the  advantages  of  collegiate  training  in  early  life, 
he  has  sought  to  give  to  all  classes  the  boon  of  a  higher  educa 
tion  ;  and  he  has  done  this  so  wisely  and  well,  that  numberless 
generations  to  come  will  rise  up  and  bless  him  for  it. 

Ezra  Cornell  was  born  at  Westchester  Landing,  West- 
chester county,  New  York,  January  11th,  1807.  His  'parents 
were  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  His  father  was  by- 
trade  a  potter,  and  carried  on  the  business  extensively,  at  one 
time,  in  Tarrytown,  afterward  at  English  Neighborhood,  New 
Jersey.  Young  Cornell  made  himself  useful  in  his  father's  shop 
in  attending  to  customers  and  delivering  ware. 

In  1819,  his  father  removed  to  De  Ruyter,  Madison  county, 
New  York,  where  he  again  established  a  pottery,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  Ezra  and  a  younger  son  conducted  a  farm. 

The  advantages  for  early  scholastic  training  which  Mr.  Cor- 
nell enjoyed  were  few,  yet,  such  as  they  were,  he  eagerly 
availed  himself  of  them.     At  De  Ruyter,  his  father  taught  a 

district  school  during  the  winter  terms,   which   he   attended. 

633 


684:  MEN   OF   OUR   DAT. 

The  last  year  of  his  "  schooling,"  being  then  about  seventeen 
years  of  age,  he  obtained,  as  it  were,  by  purchase,  he  and  his 
brother  agreeing  to  clear  four  acres  of  wood-land  in  time  to 
plant  corn  in  the  following  spring.  This  was  done,  and  an  ex- 
cellent crop  of  corn  secured,  without  the  aid  of  a  day's  labor 
from  other  sources.  Notwithstanding  his  limited  facilities  for 
tuition,  Ezra  made  considerable  advancement  in  the  various 
bi-anches  of  common-school  learning,  and  was  even  advised  to 
teach  on  his  own  account.  This  advice  he  did  not  see  fit  to  fol- 
low, but  turned  his  attention  to  farming.  In  1825,  an  incident 
occurred  which  called  out  his  great  natural  mechanical  ability. 
His  father  hired  a  carpenter  to  build  a  shop,  and  Ezra  obtained 
permission  to  assist  in  preparing  the  frame.  While  the  work 
was  in  progress,  he  pointed  out  to  the  carpenter  an  error  in  the 
laying  out  of  one  of  the  corner  posts,  and  at  the  risk  of  a  flog- 
ging, convinced  him  of  his  mistake.  Soon  afterward  his  fa- 
ther requested  him  to  build  a  dwelling-house,  and  though  he 
had  never  seen  a  book  on  architecture,  taking  the  house  of  a 
neighbor  as  his  model,  he  went  bravely  at  it,  and  after  weeks 
of  persevering  effort,  although  annoyed  and  thwarted  by  of- 
ficious and  meddlesome  persons,  who  were  fearful  that  he  would 
succeed,  yet  he  finally  triumphed  in  the  construction  of  a  sub- 
stantial and  comfortable  house,  into  which  his  father  removed. 
The  execution  of  this  task  obtained  for  him  the  admiration  of 
his  neighbors,  and  a  good  knowledge  of  carpentry.  In  1826, 
we  find  the  elder  son  leaving  his  father's  house  to  seek  his  for- 
tune among  strangers.  During  the  next  year  he  found  employ- 
ment at  Homer,  Cortland  county,  iu  building  wool-carding  ma- 
chines. In  the  spring  of  1828,  he  went  to  Ithaca,  and  engaged 
with  a  Mr.  Eddy  to  work  in  the  machine  shop  of  his  cotton 
factory  one  year,  at  eight  dollars  per  month  and  his  board.  His 
services  were  evidently  appreciated,  as  he  says  himself:  "I  had 


HON.   EZRA    CORNELL.  685 

worked  six  montlis  on  this  contract,  when  Mr.  Eddj  surj  rised 
me  one  morning  bj  saying  to  me  that  he  thought  I  was  not 
getting  wages  enough,  and  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  pay 
me  twelve  dollars  per  month  the  balance  of  the  year.  I 
thanked  him  and  continued  my  labors.  At  the  end  of  the  year, 
I  had  credit  for  six  months,  at  eight  dollars  per  month,  and 
seven  months,  at  twelve  dollars  per  month,  having  gained  one 
month  during  the  year  by  overwork.  Twelve  hours  were  cre- 
dited as  a  day's  work,  and  I  have  found  no  day  since  that  time, 
which  has  not  demanded  twelve  hours'  work  from  me." 

In  1829,  the  success  gained  by  him  in  repairing  a  flouring- 
mill  at  Fall  Creek,  Ithaca,  led  to  his  effecting  an  engagement 
with  the  proprietor  of  the  mill  to  take  charge  of  it,  at  four 
hundred  dollars  a  year.  He  remained  in  this  position  ten  years, 
during  which  period  he  built  a  new  flouring-mill,  containing 
eight  runs  of  stones.  This  latter  mill  he  worked  two  years, 
turning  out  four  hundred  barrels  of  flour  per  day,  during  the 
fall  or  flouring  season,  and  employing  only  one  miller.  He  had 
so  admirably  adjusted  the  mechanism  of  this  mill,  that  manual 
labor  was  only  required  to  take  the  flour  from  the  mill. 

The  term  of  his  engagement  having  expired,  he  next  engaged 
in  business  of  an  agricultural  nature,  conducting  it  partly  in 
Maine,  and  partly  in  Georgia.  His  brother  was  associated  in 
this  business.  Their  plan  was  to  spend  the  summer  in  Maine, 
and  the  winter  in  Georgia.  These  operations  led  to  an  acquaint- 
ance which  terminated  in  his  becoming  interested  in  rendering 
available  the  magnetic  telegraph,  for  the  purpose  of  communica- 
tion between  distant  places. 

Mr.  Cornell's  history,  in  connection  with  the  early  introduc- 
tion of  telegraphing,  is  highly  interesting.  During  the  winter 
of  1842  and  1843,  while  in  Georgia,  he  conceived  a  plan  for  em- 
ploying the  State  prison  convicts  of  Georgia  in  the  manufacture 


686  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

of  agricultural  implements ;  and  after  thorouglily  examining  itg 
feasibility,  went  to  Maine  for  the  purpose  of  settling  some  un- 
finished business,  preparatory  to  entering  upon  the  execution  of 
his  project.  While  in  Maine,  he  called  upon  Mr.  F.  O.  J.  Smith, 
then  editor  of  the  Portland  "  Farmer.''^  He  was  informed  by 
Mr.  Smith,  that  Congress  had  appropriated  thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars toward  building  a  telegraph,  under  the  direction  of  Profes- 
sor Morse,  between  Baltimore  and  Washington,  and  that  he 
(Smith)  had  taken  the  contract  to  lay  the  pipe  in  which  the  tel- 
egraphic cable  was  to  be  enclosed,  and  he  was  to  receive  one 
hundred  dollars  a  mile  for  the  work.  Mr.  Smith  also  informed 
Mr.  Cornell  that,  after  a  careful  examination,  he  had  found  that 
he  would  lose  money  by  the  job,  and,  at  the  same  time,  showed 
him  a  piece  of  the  pipe,  and  explained  the  manner  of  its  con- 
struction, the  depth  to  which  it  was  to  be  laid,  and  the  difficul- 
ties which  he  expected  to  encounter  in  carrying  out  the  design. 
Mr.  Cornell,  at  this  same  interview,  after  the  brief  explanation 
which  Mr.  Smith  had  given,  told  him  that,  in  his  opinion,  the 
pipe  could  be  laid  by  machinery  at  a  much  less  expense  than 
one  hundred  dollars  a  mile,  and  it  would  be,  in  the  main,  a 
profitable  operation.  At  the  same  time,  he  sketched  on  paper 
the  plan  of  a  machine  which  he  thought  practicable.  This  led 
to  the  engagement  of  Mr.  Cornell  by  Mr.  Smith,  to  make  such 
a  machine.  And  he  immediately  went  to  work  and  made 
patterns  for  its  construction.  While  the  machine  was  being 
made,  Mr.  Cornell  went  to  Augusta,  Maine,  and  settled  up  his 
business,  and  then  returned  to  Portland  and  completed  the 
pipe  machine.  Professor  Morse  was  notified,  by  Mr.  Smith,  in 
regard  to  the  machine,  and  went  to  Portland  to  see  it  tried. 
The  trial  proved  a  success.  Mr.  Cornell  was  employed  to  take 
charge  of  laying  the  pipe.  Under  his  hands  the  work  advanced 
rapidly,  and  he  had  laid  ten  miles  or  more  of  the  pipe,  whet> 


HON.  EZRA  CORNELL.  687 

Professor  Morse  discovered  that  his  insulation  was  so  imper- 
fect that  the  telegraph  would  not  operate.  He  did  not,  how- 
ever, stop  the  work  until  he  had  received  orders,  which  orders 
came  in  the  following  singular  manner.  When  the  evening 
train  came  out  from  Baltimore,  Professor  Morse  was  observed 
to  step  from  the  car ;  he  walked  up  to  Mr.  Cornell  and  took 
him  aside,  and  said,  "  Mr.  Cornell,  cannot  you  contrive  to  stop 
the  work  for  a  few  days  without  its  being  known  that  it  is  done 
on  purpose  ?  If  it  is  known  that  I  ordered  the  stoppage,  the 
papers  will  find  it  out,  and  have  all  kinds  of  stories  about  it." 
Mr.  Cornell  saw  the  condition  of  affairs  with  his  usual  quick- 
ness of  discernment,  and  told  the  professor  that  he  would  make 
it  all  right.  So  he  ordered  the  drivers  to  start  the  team  of 
eight  mules,  which  set  the  machine  in  motion,  and,  while  driv- 
ing along  at  a  lively  pace,  in  order  to  reach  the  Eelay  House, 
a  distance  of  about  twenty  rods,  before  it  was  time  to  "  turn 
out,"  managed  to  tilt  the  machine  so  as  to  catch  it  under  the 
point  of  a  projecting  rock.  This  apparent  accident  so  damaged 
the  machine  as  to  render  it  useless.  The  professor  retired  in  a 
state  of  perfect  contentment,  and  the  Baltimore  papers,  on  the 
following  morning,  had  an  interesting  subject  for  a  paragraph. 
The  work  thus  being  suspended  of  necessity,  Professor  Morse 
convened  a  grand  council  at  the  Eelay  House,  composed  of 
himself,  Professor  Gale,  Dr.  Fisher,  Mr.  Vaile,  and  F.  O.  J. 
Smith,  the  persons  especially  concerned  in  the  undertaking. 
After  discussing  the  matter,  they  determined  upon  further 
efforts  for  perfecting  the  insulation.  These  failed,  and  orders 
were  given  to  remove  every  thing  to  Washington.  Up  to  this 
time,  Professor  Morse  and  his  assistants  had  expended  twenty- 
two  thousand  dollars,  and  all  in  vain.  Measures  were  taken  to 
reduce  the  expenses,  and  Mr.  Cornell  was  appointed  assistant 
superintendent,  and  took  entire  charge  of  the  undertaking.     Ho 


68S  MEN    OF    OUR    DAY. 

now  altered  the  design,  substituting  poles  for  the  pipe.  This 
may  be  regarded  as  the  commencement  of  "  air  lines"  of  tele- 
graph. He  commenced  the  erection  of  the  line  between  Balti- 
more and  Washington  on  poles,  and  had  it  in  successful 
operation  in  time  to  report  the  proceedings  of  the  Conventions 
which  nominated  Henry  Clay  and  James  K.  Polk  for  the  presi- 
dency. 

Although  the  practicability  of  the  telegraph  had  been  so 
thoroughly  tested,  it  did  not  become  at  once  popular.  A  short 
line  was  erected  in  New  York  city  in  the  spring  of  1845,  having 
its  lower  office  at  112  Broadway,  and  its  upper  office  near 
Niblo's.  The  resources  of  the  company  had  been  entirely  ex- 
hausted, so  that  they  were  unable  to  pay  Mr.  Cornell  for  his 
services,  and  he  was  directed  to  charge  visitors  twenty-five  cents 
for  admission,  so  as  to  raise  the  funds  requisite  to  defray  ex- 
penses. Yet  sufficient  interest  was  not  shown  by  the  communi- 
ty even  to  support  Mr.  Cornell  and  his  assistant.  Even  the  New 
York  press  were  opposed  to  the  telegraphic  project.  The  pro- 
prietor of  the  "  New  York  Herald^''''  when  called  upon  by  Mr. 
Cornell,  and  requested  to  say  a  good  word  in  his  favor,  emphati- 
cally refused,  stating  distinctly,  that  it  would  be  greatly  to  his 
disadvantage  should  the  telegraph  succeed.  Stranger  still  is  it, 
that  many  of  those  very  men,  who  would  be  expected  to  be  en- 
tirely in  favor  of  the  undertaking,  viz.,  men  of  scientific  pur- 
suits, stood  aloof,  and  declined  to  indorse  it.  In  order  to  put  up 
the  line  in  the  most  economical  manner,  Mr.  Cornell  desired  to 
attach  the  wires  to  the  city  buildings  which  lined  its  course. 
Many  house-owners  objected,  alleging  that  it  would  invalidate 
their  insurance  policies  by  increasing  the  risk  of  their  buildings 
being  struck  by  lightning.  Mr.  Cornell  cited  the  theory  of  the 
lightning-rod,  as  demonstrated  by  Franklin,  and  showed  that  the 
telegraphic  wire  would  add  safety  to  their  buildings.     Some 


HON.   EZRA    CORNELL.  689 

persons  still  refused,  but  informed  him  that  could  he  procure  a 
certificate  from  Professor  Ren  wick,  then  connected  with  Colum- 
bia college,  to  the  effect  that  the  wires  would  not  increase  the 
risk  of  their  buildings,  thej  would  allow  him  to  attach  his 
wires.  Mr.  Cornell  thought  the  obtaining  of  such  a  certificate 
a  very  easy  matter,  as  certainly  all  scientific  men  were  agreed 
upon  the  Franklin  theory.  He  therefore  posted  off  to  Columbia 
college,  saw  the  distinguished  savan,  stated  his  errand,  and  re- 
quested the  certificate,  saying  it  would  be  doing  Professor  Morse 
a  great  favor. 

To  his  utter  consternation,  the  learned  professor  replied,  "  No, 
I  cannot  do  that."'  alleging  that  "  the  wires  u'oi^/J  increase  the 
risk  of  the  buildings  being  struck  by  lightning."  Mr.  Cornell 
was  obliged  to  go  into  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the  Franklin 
theory  of  the  lightning-rod,  until  the  professor  confessed  him- 
self in  error,  and  prepared  the  desired  certificate,  for  which 
opinion  he  charged  him  twenty -five  dollars.  This  certificate 
enabled  Mr.  Cornell  to  carry  out  his  plans. 

In  1845,  he  superintended  the  construction  of  a  line  of  tele- 
graph from  Xew  York  to  Philadelphia.  In  1846,  he  erected  a 
line  from  New  York  to  Albany  in  four  months,  and  made  five 
thousand  dollars  profit.  In  1817,  he  erected  the  line  from  Troy 
to  Montreal,  by  contract,  and  was  thirty  thousand  dollars  the 
gainer  by  it,  which  he  invested  in  western  lands.  He  also  in- 
vested largely  in  telegraphic  stock  generally,  other  lines  having 
Deen  put  up  by  other  parties,  being  confident  in  the  ultimate 
success  of  the  magnetic  telegraph.  These  investments  in  the 
past  fifteen  years,  have  so  increased  in  value  as  to  make  Mr. 
Cornell  one  of  the  "solid  men"  of  the  country.  He  certainly 
has  deserved  success,  especially  as  he  was  foremost  in  carrying 
the  telegraph  through  the  gloomy  days  of  its  early  career. 

As  a  gentleman  of  fortune,  he  has  exhibited  great  liberality 
44 


690  MEN   OF   OUR    DAY. 

by  contributing  largely  toward  many  benevolent  enterprises. 
In  1862  be  was  President  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society; 
and  while  in  London  that  year  he  sent  several  soldiers  from 
England  to  the  United  States,  at  his  own  expense,  who  joined 
our  army  on  their  arrival  at  New  York.  In  1862-3  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  New  York  Assembly,  and  in  186-l-'5 
a  member  of  the  Senate. 

But  the  crowning  glory  of  Mr.  Cornell's  career  has  been  his 
munificent  educational  benefactions.  He  made  Ithaca,  New 
York,  his  home  some  years  since,  and  discerning,  in  his  quick 
way,  the  need  of  a  public  library  there,  he  erected  a  building 
and  gave  an  endowment  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  which 
he  has  since  increased  to  fifty  thousand,  for  the  purchase  of 
books,  and  the  support  of  the  necessary  librarian,  etc. 

At  this  time,  two  educational  institutions  had  been  started  in 
central  New  York,  intended  to  be  State  institutions,  and  with 
the  promise  of  considerable  endowments,  if  the  State  would 
lend  its  fostering  aid  in  enabling  them  to  get  under  way.  These 
were  the  People's  college  at  Ovid,  New  York,  and  the  Agricul- 
tural college  at  Havana,  New  York.  Both  received  large  sums 
from  the  State,  and  a  considerable  amount  from  private  benefac- 
tions, and  were  to  divide  between  them  the  agricultural  col- 
lege land  grant  of  Congress,  if  they  could  comply  with  certain 
conditions.  Both  failed  utterly,  and  rather  from  mismanage- 
ment than  from  lack  of  funds. 

Mr,  Cornell  had  been  an  attentive  observer  of  the  course  pur- 
sued by  these  two  colleges,  and  had  formed  a  plan  for  the  erec- 
tion and  endowment  of  a  university  which  should  not  prove  a 
failure.  He  was  at  this  time  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and 
having  matured  his  plan,  he  asked  for  a  charter  for  a  univer- 
sity, to  be  located  at  Ithaca  or  its  immediate  vicinity,  to  be  called 


HON.   EZRA    CORNELL.  691 

the  Cornell  uuiversitj,  which  he  proposed  to  endow  with  the 
Bum  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  charter  was  granted,  but  with  one  condition,  which  re- 
flects more  credit  on  the  shrewdness,  than  the  honor  of  the 
lobby.  It  was  that  he  should  be  permitted  to  make  this  muni- 
ficent endowment  of  a  university,  for  the  benefit  of  the  youth 
of  the  State,  if  he  would,  over  and  above  the  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  bestow  an  additional  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars upon  Genesee  college,  at  Lima,  New  York.  Most  men  would 
have  turned,  with  loathing,  from  a  Legislature  that  could  have 
the  meanness  to  couple  such  a  demand  with  their  offer  of  a 
charter ;  but  Mr.  Cornell  was  too  deeply  interested  in  the 
promotion  of  education  to  draw  back,  and  he  met  their  demand, 
paid  the  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  received  his  charter. 

The  next  year,  finding  that  both  the  colleges  referred  to  had 
failed  to  comply  with  the  conditions  on  which  they  were  to  re- 
ceive the  agricultural  land  grant,  he  asked  it  for  his  univer- 
sity on  the  same  conditions,  and  received  it.  He  had  been, 
during  all  this  time,  busy  in  procuring  the  views  and  plans  of 
the  most  eminent  educators  in  regard  to  the  organization  of  his 
university,  and  having  increased  his  endowment  to  $760,000, 
he  now  took  upon  his  own  shoulders  the  location  and  sale  of 
the  agricultural  land  scrip,  amounting  to  990,000  acres,  for  the 
university,  and  with  such  success,  that  the  ultimate  endowment, 
from  this  source,  will  probably  reach  two  millions  of  dollars  or 
more.  The  complete  and  ample  endowment  of  the  university, 
in  the  speedy  future,  being  thus  placed  beyond  a  contingency, 
he  has  superintended  the  erection  of  the  needful  buildings,  for 
commencing  the  work  of  instruction,  and  in  connection  with 
the  trustees  of  the  university,  elected  Hon.  Andrew  White,  an 
accomplished  scholar,  in  the  very  prime  of  life,  as  president,  and 
a  large  corps  of  able  professors  and  lecturers,  and  to  this  faculty 


692  MEN    OF    OUR   DAY. 

he  confided  the  duty  of  settling  the  course  of  study,  and  the 
general  principles  on  which  education  is  to  be  imparted  in  the 
new  university.  The  plan  adopted,  while  by  no  means  ignoring 
the  classics,  provides  for  optional  courses  of  study,  the  require- 
ments in  each  being  such  as  shall  entitle  the  student,  if  he  com- 
passes them,  to  a  degree ;  and  they  are  so  arranged,  as  to  leave 
no  loophole  for  any  student  to  obtain  his  degree  without  severe 
and  constant  study,  and  an  amount  of  attainment  which,  though 
more  in  the  direction  of  his  particular  tastes,  shall  be  fully 
equivalent  to  the  demands  of  the  best  universities,  either  here 
or  abroad.  The  university  is  most  amply  supplied  with  books, 
apparatus,  museums,  and  all  the  appliances  of  successful  study, 
which  are  to  be  found  in  any  institution  in  the  country,  and  its 
special  and  post  graduate  courses  comprise  many  topics  of  study 
not  hitherto  connected  with  any  university  in  the  country. 

Other  liberal  souls  have  availed  themselves  of  the  opportu- 
nity of  adding  special  endowments  to  the  different  departments 
of  this  great  school ;  and  Cornell  University,  though  an  infant 
in  years,  has  already  taken  its  place  among  our  collegiate  insti- 
tutions of  the  first  rank. 

A  noble,  grand,  and  praiseworthy  benefaction  is  this;  one 
whose  blessed  influences  shall  be  felt  in  all  the  ages  of  the 
future,  and  shall  exert  an  influence  npon  the  nation,  in  en- 
larging its  enterprise,  elevating  its  purposes,  and  refining  its 
intellectual  aspirations.  In  Mr.  Cornell's  history,  the  young 
may  see  what  industry  and  enterprise  can  accomplish ;  the 
mechanic  may  learn  the  results  of  energy,  and  the  possibility 
of  the  combination  of  a  great  success  with  an  active  benevo- 
lence ;  and  the  rich  may  find  that  a  wise  beneficence  brings  in 
the  largest  revenue  of  happiness,  and  that  it  is  better  for  a  man 
of  wealth  to  be  his  own  executor,  then  to  leave  his  fortune  to 
be  wasted  by  interminable  lawsuits,  and  the  bitter  quarrels  of 
heirs  who  neither  knew  nor  loved  him. 


DANIEL  DREW. 


rj^'T  would  seem  probable  to  an  abstract  reasoner  that  men 
"^  j  whose  early  advantages  for  education  were  very  limited, 
C^y  but  who  by  their  enterprise  and  native  capacity  for 
^  business  have  amassed  large  fortunes,  would  not  bestow 
any  considerable  portion  of  their  hard  earned  wealth  on  educa- 
tional institutions,  however  charitable  might  be  their  disposition 
toward  other  objects.  Experience  proves  this  deduction  incor- 
rect. The  largest  benefactors  to  education,  in  the  present  age 
certainly,  have  been  men  who  not  only  never  received  instruc- 
tion within  college  walls,  but  had  but  a  scanty  share  even  of 
the  ordinary  advantages  of  the  district  school.  Peabody,  Vassar, 
Cornell,  Packer,  Jay  Cooke,  are  all  examples  of  this,  and  the 
subject  of  our  present  sketch  is  not  less  remarkable  in  this 
respect  than  the  others. 

Daniel  Drew  was  born  at  Carmel,  Putnam  county,  New 
York,  July  29th  1797.  His  early  years  were  passed  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  his  education  in  youth  was  only  such  as  a 
country  district  school  in  that  rocky  farming  county  afibrded. 
"When  fifteen  years  old  his  father  died,  leaving  him  to  carve  a 
fortune  for  himself.  He  directed  his  attention  chiefly  to  the 
personal  driving  of  cattle  to  market,  and  selling  them,  until 
1829,  when  he  made  New  York  city  his  permanent  residence, 

and  there  continued  the  cattle  trade  by  establishing  a  depot, 

693 


694  MEN    OF   OUR    DAY. 

and  purchasing  largely  through  agents  anl  partners.  In  1834, 
Mr.  Drew  was  induced  to  take  a  pecuniary  interest  in  a  steam- 
boat enterprise.  From  that  time  his  history  is  identified  with 
the  inception  and  growth  of  the  steamboat  passenger  trade  on 
the  Hudson  river.  By  shrewd  management,  low  rates  of  fare 
and  good  accommodations,  the  line  which  Drew  promoted  grew 
in  favor  with  the  travelling  community,  notwithstanding  the 
powerful  opposition  brought  to  bear  on  it  by  other  steamboat 
men,  among  whom  was  Commodore  Vanderbilt.  Competition 
ran  so  high,  that  at  one  time  the  steamboat  Waterwitch,  in 
which  Drew  had  invested  his  first  venture,  carried  passengers 
to  Albany  for  a  shilling  each. 

In  1840,  Mr.  Isaac  Newton  formed  a  joint  stock  company,  in 
which  Drew  became  the  largest  stockholder.  This  was  the 
origin  of  the  famous  "  People's  Line,"  which  commenced  busi- 
ness by  running  new,  large,  and  elegantly  fitted-up  steamboats, 
and  from  time  to  time  added  new  and  improved  vessels  to  their 
running  stock.  When  the  Hudson  river  railroad  was  opened 
in  1852,  it  was  confidently  expected  by  many  that  the  steamboat 
interest  was  doomed.  Drew  thought  otherwise,  and  refused  to 
accept  the  advice  of  his  friends,  who  admonished  him  to  sell 
his  boats  and  withdraw  from  a  business  about  to  fail.  The 
event  justified  his  course.  The  railroad  served  but  to  increase 
travel,  and  rendered  the  steamboats  more  popular  than  ever. 
The  large  steamers  now  attached  to  the  "  People's  Line,"  which 
command  the  admiration  of  every  visitor  and  traveler  on 
account  of  their  superb  decorations,  and  the  extent  and  com- 
fortable character  of  their  accommodations,  attest  the  prosperity 
attendant  upon  the  management,  a  leading  spirit  of  which  Mr. 
Drew  has  been  from  the  beginning.  The  Dean  Richmond,  St. 
John,  and  Drew  are  unsurpassed  for  model,  machinery,  speed, 
and  finish,  by  any  river  steamboats  in  the  wide  world. 


DANIEL   DREW.  695 

Mr.  Drew  bas  not  only  boldly  adventured  in  "  steamboatiug," 
but  has  won  reputation  and  wealth  in  the  much  more  uncertain 
sphere  of  stock-brokerage.  In  1840  he  formed  a  co-partnership 
with  Mr.  Nelson  Taylor  and  Mr.  Kelly,  his  son-in-law,  in  that 
business,  which  was  carried  on  with  marked  success  for  more 
than  ten  years.  Both  these  partners,  although  much  younger 
than  Mr.  Drew,  are  sleeping  in  the  tomb,  while  he  is  still 
employing  some  of  his  large  capital  in  the  same  line  through 
confidential  hands.  He  has  been  for  some  years  past  an  active 
director  and  very  large  stockholder  in  the  Erie  and  several 
other  of  our  trunk  railroads,  and  his  transactions  in  the  stocks 
and  bonds  of  these  roads  have  been  very  large. 

The  noble  deed  which  has  brought  him  into  special  promi- 
nence, and  rendered  his  name,  like  those  of  Cornell  and  Pea- 
body,  a  synonym  for  active  benevolence,  is  the  founding  of  the 
Drew  Theological  Seminary,  at  Madison,  Morris  county.  New 
Jersey.  To  this  end  Mr.  Drew,  at  the  recent  centennial  of 
Methodism,  offered  half  a  million  dollars.  The  property  pur- 
chased for  the  seminary  is  pleasantly  situated  in  one  of  the 
most  thriving  towns,  and  in  the  midst  of  some  of  the  finest 
scenery  in  northern  New  Jersey.  Its  distance  from  New 
York  city  is  only  twenty-eight  miles. 

Besides  this  large  benefaction,  Mr.  Drew  has  contributed 
extensively  to  various  religious  and  educational  institutions, 
among  which  the  Wesleyan  University  and  the  Concord 
Biblical  Institute  are  prominent.  To  these  institutions  he  has 
given  in  all  about  $150,000. 

In  Putnam  county  he  owns  upward  of  a  thousand  acres  of 
land,  on  which  large  numbers  of  cattle  are  raised  for  the 
market.  The  pursuits  of  his  early  manhood  have  for  him  still 
strong  attractions,  but  here  again  his  management  is  marked 
by  a  generous  spirit.     On  this  estate  he  has  been  chiefly  instru- 


696  MEN   OF   OUR   DAY. 

mental  in  the  building  of  a  church  and  school-house.  In  the 
latter,  the  advantages  of  a  good  education  are  afforded  gratui- 
tously to  the  children  of  the  place.  lie  has  also  established  and 
endowed  with  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  an 
excellent  female  seminary  at  Carmel,  the  county  seat  of  this 
county,  intended  for  the  higher  education  of  young  women  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  to  which  he  has  recently  made  over  this 
princely  gift. 

In  form  and  physiognomy  Mr.  Drew  is  not  especially  impres- 
sive. His  height  is  about  six  feet,  his  person  slender,  and  his 
general  expression  and  manner  unassuming  and  mild,  but  firm. 
He  stands  before  us  as  an  example  of  the  persevering,  energetic, 
shrewd,  and  successful  business  man,  and  not  only  so,  but  also 
as  an  example  of  the  practical  workings  of  an  earnest  and  sin- 
cere philanthropy. 


THE   END.