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 ADDEESSES 
 
 DEATH or HON. T. H. HICKS, 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE 
 
 SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 IVEDIVESDAV, FEBRIJARV 15, 1865. 
 
 U.S. 38TVj CorAfl. la Si;^'4. 
 
 7^0^'^ 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PKINTINO OFFICE. 
 
 18G5. 
 
 831- 
 
 •©1 
 
u m 
 
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 Saturday, February 25, 1865. 
 
 Resohcd, That five thousand copies of the eulogies on Senator HiCKS, 
 delivered in the Senate and House of Representatives, be printed for the use of 
 the members of this House. 
 
 -m 
 
-res 
 
 ADDRESSES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DEATH OF HON. T. H. HICKS. 
 
 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 Wednesday, February 15, l865. 
 
 Address of Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, 
 
 Mr. President : It is my painful duty to announce to 
 the Senate the death of my late colleague and friend, 
 Thomas Holliday Hicks. The sad event occurred at 
 his lodgings in this city on Monday morning, the loth 
 instant, at seven o'clock, A few days of indisposition, 
 so apparently slight as to give his friends no uneasi- 
 ness, was, without any seeming premonition, followed 
 on the Friday before his death by a sudden attack of 
 paralysis, so severe that its fatal result was at once seen 
 to be inevitable and near at hand. It rendered him 
 speechless, but did not so aifect his mind but that he 
 recognized the friends around him, and by whom, to the 
 last, he was carefully and affectionately attended, until 
 within a few hours of his decease. Governor Hicks 
 (a title by which he is best known and will be ever 
 gratefully remembered, not only by Maryland but by 
 the nation) was born in Dorchester county, Maryland, 
 on the 2d of September, 1798. His parents were 
 highly respectable, but with a large family and limited 
 
means they were unable to give their son a collegiate 
 education. What he was taught was merely rudimental, 
 and this was acquired in one of the common schools of 
 the county. 
 
 His father being a farmer, Governor Hicks assisted 
 him in that occupation until his minority terminated, 
 when he commenced a career of his own. With man- 
 ners and disposition that were native to him, and well 
 calculated to win esteem and confidence, he was at an 
 early age made a constable of his county, an office 
 humble but trustworthy, and discharged its duties so 
 satisfactory that, in 1824, at the early age of twenty- 
 six, he was elected its sheriff, an office of high grade 
 and of much importance and responsibility. This 
 office also he conducted with an intelligence and integ- 
 rity that commanded general approval, and gave him 
 even a stronger hold on the popular judgment. Its 
 term expired, he engaged in mercantile business in 
 Vienna, a village in his county, and in this position his 
 diligence and integrity were again exhibited. In 1836 
 he was elected a member of the electoral college which 
 at that period appointed the senators of the State, and 
 in the proceedings which ensued, and which for a time 
 filled our citizens with solicitude, and attracted the 
 attention of the whole country, he conducted himself 
 with his accustomed discretion and firmness, and evinced 
 his inherent love of law and order. He was at one time 
 one of the governor's council, a station of the greatest 
 trust and honor, and for several years was elected by 
 the people of Dorchester a member of the house of 
 delegates of the State; and on each occasion so dis- 
 
 m 
 
HON. T. H. HICKS. 5 
 
 charged his duties as to retain their confidence. In 
 1838 he was appointed by the governor register of 
 wills of the county, and when the office was made elective 
 by the people he was twice elected to it, and would 
 have been a third time if he had not declined it. In this 
 official and important trust he again displayed business 
 capacity and perfect integrity. In 1849 and 1850, by 
 the choice of his uniformly confiding constituents, he 
 was elected to the constitutional convention of the State, 
 and discharged its duties faithfully and with ability. He 
 was afterward chosen by popular vote governor of the 
 State, and held that station when the present rebellion 
 commenced and until 1862. 
 
 It is his official conduct in that office that has made 
 his name so well and favorably known to every loyal 
 man in the Union. 
 
 During this period his responsibility was such as to 
 task his firmness and his judgment, and to test his 
 patriotism. They proved equal to the emergency. 
 With a people whose feelings, from their locality and 
 sameness of habits and institutions, were so well calcu- 
 lated to cause them to sympathize with our southern 
 brethren, and who were sensitively alive to any inter- 
 ference with that particular institution they had known 
 and possessed from the colonization of the States, and 
 in which their pecuniary means were largely invested, 
 with business and social relations closely binding them 
 to the south, it was not surprising that they should for 
 a time forget the paramount duty which they owed to 
 the general government, or be blind to the consequences 
 that were sure to follow an attempt to dissolve the 
 
Union whicli that government created, and was wisely 
 designed, and endowed with powers amply adequate, if 
 properly exerted, to preserve forever. 
 
 In this interval of temporary forgetfulness an excite- 
 ment amounting to madness threatened the State with 
 a fraternal war, and with driving her into the rebellion, 
 that would have made her soil the battle-ground of the 
 strife which has deluged every seceding State in blood, 
 and would certainly have involved her in ruin. Against 
 every effort that ignorance or ambition could essay to 
 effect the insane and wicked purpose, Governor Hicks 
 interposed the whole power of his office, and succeeded 
 in defeating it. Nor was this accomplished without 
 personal peril. In April, 1861, when the blood of the 
 loyal soldiers of Massachusetts was treasonably shed in 
 the streets of our chief city, and its power for some 
 days was wielded by men who, for the most part, were 
 resolved on rushing the State into rebellion, it was 
 obvious to those who witnessed the scenes of the day, 
 and moved among the parties who engaged in them, 
 that Governor Hicks was an object of such intense 
 animosity that his safety was not assured. This is not 
 the occasion to dwell on these events. It is consoling 
 to her loyal sons, to whom the good name of the State 
 and city is so dear, that they terminated without effect- 
 ing their design ; and gladly would they have them 
 forever forgotten. In these trying moments the gov- 
 ernor was true to his duty. Throughout his term of 
 office he devoted himself with untiring industry and an 
 ever-watchful patriotism, by every legal means, to crush 
 out the spirit of secession and to retain the State in her 
 
1) 
 
 HON. T. n. HICKS. 7 
 
 allegiance to the Union; and he succeeded. When he 
 ceased to be her governor she was loyal in all the de- 
 partments of her government, and the people, by a voice 
 approaching unanimity, proclaimed their fixed resolve 
 to stand by the Union, not only as a matter of almost 
 holy duty, but as indispensable to their safety and pros- 
 perity; and so she and they have been ever since. It 
 is not going too far to declare that this result is in a 
 great measure to be referred to the conduct of Gover- 
 nor Hicks. Had he listened to those who counselled a 
 different poHcy; had he lent the power of his office to 
 accomplish their object ; had he even failed to devote it 
 entirely to their frustration, Maryland might this day 
 have been a desert, and her name dishonored in the 
 estimation of all good and wise men. To lose such a 
 citizen at any time would be cause of general sorrow; 
 to lose him now, before the rebeUion is terminated, is 
 to be the more lamented, even on his own account. 
 Who can fail to regret that a public servant so faithful, 
 so patriotic, and so efficient in his efforts to maintain 
 the authority of the Union in his own State, had not 
 been permitted to survive until that authority had been 
 securely extended over every other State ? 
 
 Such was his own prayer. In an address to the 
 people of the State, of the 7th of January, 1861, he 
 said : 
 
 " In the course of nature I cannot have long to live, and I fervently 
 trust to be allowed to end my days a citizen of tliis glorious Union. 
 But should I be compelled to witness the downfall of that govern- 
 ment inherited from our fathers, established as it were by the special 
 favor of God, I will at least have the consolation at my dying hour 
 that I neither by word or deed assisted in hastening its disruption." 
 
 m ^ m 
 
His prayer was not granted ; but his last days of intel- 
 ligence on earth were cheered by the sanguine hope 
 that the time was fast approaching when we should all 
 be again citizens of that glorious Union ; and if he ap- 
 prehended that that hope might be defeated and the 
 Union destroyed, he certainly had the consolation, so 
 faithfully secured to himself, that no word or deed of 
 his could have assisted or hastened the catastrophe. 
 To this body it is unnecessary to say anything of his 
 official conduct as one of its members. Ever courteous, 
 kind, and attentive, he possessed the esteem and confi- 
 dence of us all. Endowed with a sound judgment and 
 animated by a fervent patriotism, he supported every 
 measure that promised, in his opinion, to benefit the 
 country in its existing emergency. In private life, too, 
 he was always highly appreciated ; and by those who 
 knew him intimately loved as a brother. By the society 
 of his county his loss especially will be long and keenly 
 felt, and to his immediate family be irreparable. Their 
 consolation will be in knowing that he leaves behind him 
 an unstained name that will ever live and be honored, 
 and that his last thoughts were devoted to that religious 
 faith on which he relied with humble but Christian 
 confidence for future happiness. 
 
 I move the adoption of the following resolutions : 
 
 Resolved unanimously. That the members of the Senate, from a 
 sincere desire of showing every mark of respect to the memory of 
 Hon. Thomas Holliday Hicks, deceased, a senator from the State 
 of Maryland, will go into monrning for the residue of the present 
 session by the usual mode of wearing crape on the left arm. 
 
'(Ol 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 
 
 Resolved, unaninwusly. That the members of the Senate will attend 
 the funeral of the deceased from the Senate chamber at two o'clock 
 p. m. to-day, and that the committee of arrangements superintend the 
 same. 
 
 Ordered, That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to 
 the House of Representatives. 
 
 Address of Mr. Hale, of Neiv Hmnpshire. 
 
 Mr. President : One of the effects of that civil strife 
 which now afflicts and rends our unhappy country is 
 found in the indifference to human suffering, and to 
 death itself, consequent upon the frequency and rapidity 
 with which our daily narrative of blood presents to our 
 view scenes of carnage and slaughter such as the history 
 of the world has not hitherto disclosed. 
 
 As the panorama moves on, we are only relieved from 
 the contemplation of the mangled limbs and mutilated 
 bodies of the dead and the dying by the appaUing spec- 
 tacle of our more unfortunate brethren languishing and 
 dying in the hopeless and helpless condition of prisoners 
 of war, where manhood is worn out, hope crushed, and 
 life destroyed by the cruel and heartless privation of 
 the necessary provision of that scanty supply of food 
 and clothing by which human life can be sustained. 
 
 It is a most melancholy and humiliating fact that 
 pictures such as these, sketched from no creation of the 
 imagination, but drawn in the crimson hues of the best 
 blood of crur bravest and best, and proclaimed to us on 
 every breeze from the south in the agonizing cry of our 
 
 k ^ — ' fii 
 
m @ 
 
 10 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 languishing brethren, re-echoed by the wail of the 
 widow and the orphan in our midst, have failed to move 
 our hearts as but a little while since they would have 
 done, even had they been representations of what was 
 occurring among strangers of another country, and we 
 look upon them almost as the natural and necessary 
 consequences of the war we are waging for our national 
 life. 
 
 To-day we are called upon to witness another phase 
 of human experience by which it would seem that Divine 
 Providence would try upon us the experiment of a more 
 quiet, and, if it may be so expressed, a more unobtrusive 
 exhibition of the frailty of life and the certainty of death 
 than in the havoc and destruction of battle. Death has 
 now come, not clothed in the pomp and circumstance of 
 war, numbering his victims by hundreds and thousands; 
 but in the peace, the quiet, and serenity of a sick cham- 
 ber, an old man, full of years and of honors, has gone to 
 his reward. 
 
 But, although his years were not few, still they were 
 not so many that friendship might not have reasonably 
 hoped that they might have been extended yet longer, 
 and he been permitted to have witnessed in the future 
 history of his country, which he had loved and served so 
 well, the fruits of his labors and sacrifices. 
 
 When the history of our great struggle shall be 
 written, when the story of the toils, the suiferings, the 
 sacrifices, and the efforts by which our political salvation 
 was attained shall be told, and impartial posterity shall 
 inscribe on immortal tablets the illustrious * names of 
 those by whose clear sagacity, unshaken firmness, and 
 
 m 
 
p — _ u 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 11 
 
 patriotic devotion to duty in a great crisis of our coun- 
 try's history, her integrity was preserved and her ultimate 
 triumph secured, second to none on that proud roll of 
 fame shall stand the name of Thomas Holliday Hicks, 
 late governor of Maryland. 
 
 The political and especially the geographical position 
 of his State was such as to give pre-eminent consequence 
 at that very critical period of our history to the course 
 which she might take. The intense interest which was 
 excited all over the country in regard to the position of 
 affairs in Maryland cannot have escaped the recollection 
 of those who hear me. The extremely doubtful char- 
 acter of her legislature, to say the least, and the position 
 to which her people might be driven by popular appeals 
 of disloyal men to her prejudices and her supposed inter- 
 ests, filled the hearts of patriots throughout the land 
 with the most painful solicitude. Whatever may be 
 thought now, it is not too much to say that at that time 
 it was felt and feared that upon the decision which she 
 might make between loyalty and treason, in no small 
 degree dejDcnded the safety and salvation of the republic. 
 In saying this, I entirely disclaim any impeachment of 
 the loyalty and integrity of the great masses of the 
 people of Maryland. I have no doubt they are true 
 and loyal now, and that they were so then; neither have 
 I the slightest doubt that that was equally true then of 
 the great body of the people in numbers of those States 
 that now are, and for nearly four years have been, in open 
 rebellion against the government of the country ; but 
 by the bold and decisive action of bad men, forgetting 
 the claims of country, the obhgations of loyalty, and the 
 
 i) 
 
12 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 duty of patriotism, they were driven in an evil hour into 
 the vortex of treason, the crime of rebellion, and the 
 horrors of civil war. 
 
 From such a state of things it was the good fortune 
 of the people of Maryland to be saved in no small degree 
 by the peculiar sagacity and devoted patriotism of her 
 most excellent governor, whose death we are now called 
 upon to deplore. It was most providential and fortunate, 
 both for the State and the Union, that Maryland at that 
 time had a governor fully equal to the emergencies of 
 the hour. He saw and comprehended the danger from 
 a distance, and although we may not all of us approve 
 the wisdom of every step which he took and every 
 measure which he recommended, yet no one, it is 
 believed, will now doubt the unsullied integrity of his 
 conduct, the purity of his motives, or the entire devotion 
 of his patriotism. 
 
 Like the prophet standing on Mount Carmel, he saw 
 the cloud yet a great way off, while it was no bigger 
 than a man's hand, and did not wait till its portentous 
 blackness had shrouded the whole heavens in its gloom. 
 Of him, and in reference to his conduct in that hour, it 
 may with emphasis be said that 
 
 " Peace liath lier victories 
 No less reuowned than war." 
 
 Such, in brief, was the course of our friend in that 
 interesting and momentous period of our country. His 
 must be an overweening ambition that will not be 
 satisfied with such a record. 
 
 m- 
 
p ^ ^ jSl 
 
 HON. T. II. IIICKS. 13 
 
 Of the early history of Governor Hicks, of the dis- 
 cijiline and experience which formed the character so 
 admirably and exactly fitted for the extraordinary part 
 which Providence assigned him to perform in the great 
 drama of his country, I have no knowledge. My per- 
 sonal acquaintance with him commenced about the time 
 of the beginning of those troubles which have culmi- 
 nated in the present civil war ; and I hope I may be 
 permitted, without the imputation of unwarrantable 
 egotism, to add that that acquaintance originated in a 
 request communicated to me by his direction on the 
 occasion of a visit on his part to this city, that I would 
 call and consult and confer with him on the engrossing 
 questions of the day. That acquaintance thus com- 
 menced continued without interruption to the day of 
 his death. 
 
 When he was elected to this body, by the action of 
 the Senate he was assigned to a place on the Committee 
 on Naval Affairs, of which I was then chairman. 
 
 Our intercourse from that circumstance became more 
 intimate and familiar, and I will add that, in the course 
 of a life now numbering many years, I have never met 
 a more kind, genial, and courteous gentleman. 
 
 No man more sincerely sympathized with that awak- 
 ened philanthropy which seeks in overthrowing the 
 rebellion also to destroy its cause, than he. But he 
 entertained such a deep faith in the humanity and 
 Christianity of his own people that he preferred to 
 have the work done by them., unawed and uninfluenced 
 by any outside interference. Still, I speak from perfect 
 knowledge derived from frequent interviews and con- 
 
 m I — ii 
 
versations with him, when I say that the abohtion of 
 African slavery had no more sincere supporter. 
 
 Such was our friend. As death approached no retro- 
 spect of misspent time, of neglected opportunities for 
 good, cast fearful shadows on the future, but with a 
 consciousness that he had been permitted in the good 
 providence of God to do something, yea much, for a 
 great and good cause, to have his name written among 
 the benefactors of his country, and by his influence to 
 add strength to the cause of the weak, the oppressed, 
 and the humble, at peace with the world, and, as we 
 humbly and trustfully hope, with his God, he has gone 
 to his rest. 
 
 Address of Mr. Willey, of West Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Peesident : I had no personal acquaintance with 
 Governor Hicks until he took his seat as a member of 
 this body. But I had learned to honor and respect him 
 before I knew him. During the session of the Virginia 
 convention which passed the unfortunate ordinance 
 which assumed to renounce the allegiance due from 
 that State to the national government, the noble position 
 maintained by Governor Hicks, as the chief magistrate 
 of Maryland, won the confidence and admiration of the 
 loyal people of Virginia. Especially did we of West 
 Virginia feel grateful to him; for, if Maryland had 
 seceded, it would, we well knew, have greatly increased 
 our perils and embarrassed our efforts to preserve our 
 integrity. 
 
 m m 
 
m ^ 
 
 HON. T. n. HICKS. 15 
 
 I shall not, Mr. President, attempt to review the 
 connexion of Governor Hicks with the events of that 
 dark day in our country's history. The distinguished 
 colleague of the deceased has appropriately and eloquently 
 done so. Suffice it for me to say that the page on which 
 those events shall be recorded will be illustrious in the 
 history of Maryland, and will entitle the name of 
 Grovernor Hicks to be honored and revered as long as 
 that State or the nation endures. 
 
 It has been my privilege to occupy a seat by the 
 side of Governor Hicks ever since he entered this hall. 
 I had, therefore, an opportunity not only to witness his 
 course in relation to public aifairs, but also to observe 
 more closely the spirit and principles, the heart and 
 motive (so to speak) which seemed to prompt and 
 control his conduct. And I declare to you, sir, that I 
 never knew a man whose simplicity and singleness of 
 purpose — whose evident sincerity, purity, and unselfish- 
 ness of aim to promote the honor and welfare of his 
 country, commanded more of my confidence and respect. 
 I know not if he ever aspired to win the personal 
 distinction and renown which men of great intellectual 
 parts sometimes seem to seek with an ardor hardly 
 secondary to the promotion of the national welfare ; 
 but to me he ever appeared to forget himself in the 
 higher and holier purpose of securing the public good. 
 
 When he resumed his seat here in the earlier part 
 of this session, the ravages of disease upon him were 
 painfully apparent; and in conversation with him on 
 different occasions, he more than intimated to me his 
 presentiment that death was at his door. And, sir, you 
 
 m M 
 
will allow me to express my gratification that in his zeal 
 for his country he did not forget his obligations to his 
 Creator. And here, I think, we shall find the explanation 
 of his singular conscientiousness in the discharge of 
 his duty. He feared God ; and therefore he was true 
 to his country. Therefore it was that the hand so 
 affectingly raised by him in the dying hour, in token of 
 the favor and friendship of Heaven, refused, while 
 strong with vigor of health and manhood, to strike at 
 the life of the nation when surrounded by both friends 
 and foes vehemently urging him to perpetrate the deed. 
 
 Mr. President, I am a believer in the assertion that 
 pure and practical Christianity is a political necessity 
 under our form of government. I believe that it is 
 essential to the perpetuity of our free institutions. 
 Christian morality is the only sure basis of our civil 
 liberties; and I trust I may be pardoned for saying 
 that the Christian statesman is the only safe guardian 
 of the people's rights. Had the spirit and power of 
 the gospel controlled the conduct of the eminent and 
 highly accomplished men who occupied the seats 
 immediately surrounding me in 1861, I feel assured 
 that the horrors of the present civil war would never 
 have cursed the land. 
 
 I therefore think it is the highest tribute which could 
 be paid to the memory of the deceased to say, here in 
 this high place of the nation, that he was a conscientious, 
 Christian statesman. 
 
 The resolutions were unanimously adopted. 
 
 icS' 
 
m. 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 17 
 
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 Wednesday, February 15, ]865. 
 
 A message was received from the Senate, by Mr. 
 HiCKEY, their chief clerk, in reference to the death of 
 Thomas Holliday Hicks, a Senator from the State of 
 Maryland. 
 
 The message was read, as follows : 
 
 Resolved unanimously, That the members of the Senate, from a 
 sincere desire of showing every mark of respect to the memory of 
 Hon. Thomas Holliday Hicks, deceased, a Senator from the State 
 of Maryland, will go into mourning for the residue of the present 
 session, by the usual mode of wearing crape on the left arm. 
 
 Resolved unanimously, That the members of the Senate will attend 
 the funeral of the deceased from the Senate chamber at two o'clock 
 p. m. to-day; and that the committee of arrangements superintend 
 the same. 
 
 Ordered, That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to 
 the House of Representatives, with the request that that House 
 unite in the ceremonies of this occasion. 
 
 Address of Mr. Webster, of Maryland. 
 
 Mr. Speaker : I desire to say, preceding my remarks 
 on this sad occasion, that my colleague [Mr. Davis] is 
 detained from the House by indisposition ; otherwise 
 he would take part in these proceedings. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, it becomes my painfid duty to announce 
 to the House of Representatives the death of Hon. 
 Thomas Holliday Hicks, a Senator in Congress from 
 
 U' m 
 
the State of Maryland. He died at the Metropolitan 
 hotel, in this city, on Monday last, February 13, 1865. 
 
 In the winter of 1864 Mr. Hicks received a severe 
 injury to his left ankle, which, a few weeks later, 
 compelled the amputation of his foot above the ankle 
 joint. From the effects of this loss he never entirely 
 recovered, and though he continued to attend to the 
 laborious duties of his position, yet his friends perceived 
 that much of his former physical vigor was gone, and 
 that he was greatly overtaxing his strength. About 
 two weeks before his death he ceased to occupy his 
 seat in the Senate chamber, and a skilful physician 
 was called to see him. His friends still believed that 
 rest and quiet would restore to a considerable degree 
 his strength, and fondly hoped that his life might be 
 spared for many years to come. But on Friday morning 
 last he was entirely prostrated by an attack of paralysis, 
 and though he maintained his consciousness until within 
 a few hours of his death, yet all hope of his recovery 
 was then abandoned. From this time he sank gradually 
 until the hour of his dissolution, when calmly, without 
 a struggle or a groan, his spirit passed from earth. 
 
 It will be consoling to his afflicted children, who were 
 unable to reach this city before his death, as well as his 
 numberless friends, to know that loving hearts and 
 skilfid hands assiduously ministered to all his wants, 
 and strove, as far as human agency could, to alleviate 
 all his sufferings. Nor were the consolations of our 
 holy religion wanting. An eminent divine and his 
 personal friend (Rev. Dr. Nadal) piously attended at 
 his bedside and pointed his thoughts "to the world 
 
■m 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 19 
 
 that is to come." To him my dying and lamented 
 friend, even after the power of speech was gone, by 
 hand upraised to heaven, and face glowing with celestial 
 light, mimistakably declared his faith in a crucified 
 Redeemer, and his implicit trust in His promises and 
 atonement. 
 
 Governor Hicks was born in Dorchester county, 
 Maryland, September 2, 1798. His father was a 
 respectable farmer, with limited means and a large 
 family, able to give his son little advantages of educa- 
 tion. As a boy, he attended the common country schools 
 of the neighborhood, then even more indifferent than 
 now. As a youth, he assisted his father in the cultivation 
 of the farm; and when manhood came, he went forth 
 from the paternal roof to struggle unaided against the 
 rude buffetings of the world, and, by the fierce contests 
 he thus waged with the pride and prejudices and 
 position of those around him, to fit himself for that 
 fiercer contest which he was long after to wage with 
 the passions and prejudices of the enemies of his 
 country. Shortly after arriving at his majority he was 
 appointed a constable, and so diligently, so faithfully, 
 and with such uprightness did he discharge the duties 
 of this humble office, that in 1824, then in the twenty- 
 sixth year of his age, he was elected sheriff of his native 
 county, a position of importance and respectability, 
 which he filled much to his own credit and to the entire 
 satisfaction of the community. 
 
 After this, he was several times elected to the legis- 
 lature of his State, and in 1836 was chosen a member 
 of the senatorial electoral college of Maryland. He 
 
 m ii 
 
took a prominent part in the efforts to organize that 
 body, which attracted so much attention throughout 
 the country. Shortly afterward he was selected as one 
 of the members of Governor Vezey's council, and in 
 1838 was appointed by that gentleman the register of 
 wills for Dorchester county. This office, under the 
 testamentary system of Maryland, one of great import- 
 ance, he occupied for nearly twenty years, being reap- 
 pointed by Governor Pratt in 1844, and elected by the 
 l^eople in 1850. Never did a faithful officer more ably 
 discharge the responsible duties of this position. The 
 widow and the orphan always found in him a friend, 
 who spared no labor to protect their interests and defend 
 them from injustice and wrong. He soon became 
 perfectly familiar with the testamentary laws of the 
 State, and so completely did the people of his county 
 rely upon the wisdom of his official decisions, and the 
 purity and fairness of his friendly counsels, that it was 
 rare indeed that litigation grew out of his settlement 
 of the estates of deceased persons. In 1850 he took 
 part in the constitutional convention of Maryland, which 
 framed the constitution of that date, and was known as 
 a laborious and influential member of that body. 
 
 His reputation had now extended over his entire 
 State, and in 1857 he was elected governor of Maryland, 
 and entered upon the discharge of the duties of this 
 high office in January, 1858. For four years he 
 occupied the gubernatorial chair. A few months after 
 the conclusion of his term, in December, 1862, by the 
 death of the late lamented James A. Pearce, a vacancy 
 occurred from the State of Maryland in the Senate of 
 
 m m 
 
m^ ai 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 21 
 
 the United States. To this Governor Bradford, repre- 
 senting the wishes of the Union people of the State, 
 appointed Governor Hicks, and a year later, on the 
 assembling of the legislature, he was elected to fill the 
 balance of the unexpired term ending March 4, 1867. 
 
 This, in brief, is the history of my late lamented 
 colleague. There is one portion of his life, however, 
 that deserves, ay demands, at my hands more extended 
 notice. It was during his term as governor of Maryland 
 that the present wicked rebellion was inaugurated ; and 
 well was it for Maryland and her people, well was it 
 for the capital of the nation, and the national honor, if 
 not life, that Thomas Holliday Hicks was then the 
 governor of Maryland. Sir, as I sat in grief by his dying 
 bedside, and saw " the strong man bowed," palsied with 
 disease and helpless as an infant, in my inmost soul I 
 thanked God that that divine visitation had not come 
 while his hand yet held the helm of my native and 
 beloved State. What scenes of anarchy, of confusion, 
 of bloodshed, and desolation to her fair fields, would 
 have followed, my heart sickens to contemplate. But 
 his natural vigor was not then abated. The lessons of 
 self-reliance which he had learned in his early and 
 maturer manhood, that decision of character and firm- 
 ness of purpose which had become a part of his nature, 
 and above all his instinctive and unquenchable love of 
 country — that country under whose benign institutions he 
 had risen, and all others might rise, from the humblest 
 walks of life — had fitted and prepared him to resist all 
 efforts, coming from what quarter soever, which looked 
 to a disruption of the Union and placing Maryland by 
 
 m- 
 
the side of her rebeUious sisters. Any one who will 
 recall the history of the four months which immediately 
 preceded Mr. Lincoln's inauguration in 1861 will remem- 
 ber how repeated and persistent these efforts were. 
 
 The plan of the original conspirators, as has since 
 become apparent, was to unite, if possible, all the slave- 
 holding States in one common movement, seize the 
 capital and the public archives before the inauguration 
 of Mr. Lincoln, overthrow the government, establish a 
 southern confederacy, and then admit such of the non- 
 slaveholding States as might be willing to introduce the 
 institutions of the south among them. 
 
 It was essentially necessary to secure the co-operation 
 of Maryland to succeed in these infamous purposes. 
 The capital stood upon the ancient soil of that State, 
 and according to the peculiar views of these conspirators, 
 Maryland had the right, not only to sever her connexion 
 with the Union, but also to reclaim her grant of the 
 District of Columbia. This would have given them 
 color of authority in holding on to the capital, establish- 
 ing here the seat of their government, and demanding 
 recognition from foreign powers. It was also of the 
 first importance to these conspirators that their friends 
 in Maryland should be organized and armed, ready for 
 the emergency, that when the time for action came they 
 might swoop down upon the capital before assistance 
 could be obtained from the northern States. All this 
 could only be done through the legislature of that State. 
 Fortunately the sessions of the legislature were biennial. 
 It had been in session the winter before, and would not 
 again assemble until January, 1862. 
 
 13 m 
 
HON. T. 11. HICKS. 23 
 
 The great majority of this legislature was known to 
 be in sympathy with the southern leaders. At its session 
 in 1860 it had passed the most obnoxious law on the 
 subject of slavery ever placed on the statute-books of 
 Maryland. Contrary to the wishes of a great majority 
 of the people, contrary to their practices from time 
 immemorial, and contrary to their conscientious convic- 
 tions of right, they enacted that thereafter no slaves 
 should ever be emancipated by their owners in that 
 State. More than this. Taking advantage of the excite- 
 ment produced by John Brown's invasion of Virginia, 
 they had appropriated $70,000 for the purchase of arms, 
 and provided for their distribution throughout the State. 
 I repeat, a great majority of this legislature was known 
 to be in favor of Maryland taking her position with the 
 other slaveholding States, 
 
 In Maryland the governor has no power of veto, so 
 that when assembled the legislature is entirely beyond 
 his control; but he alone had the authority to assemble 
 it in special session. It was then of the highest import- 
 ance to the conspirators that he should exercise this 
 authority. Soon after Mr. Lincoln's election in 1860, 
 the public efforts to induce him to take this step began 
 to be made. Some of the most prominent men in that 
 part of the State in which Annapolis, the capital of the 
 State, is situated, assembled in that city, and requested 
 that this should be done. Governor Hicks emphatically 
 declined. Public meetings were then called in those 
 portions of the State where the slaveholding interest 
 predominated, demanding the assembling of the legisla- 
 ture. Governor Hicks refused to notice their demands. 
 
 — ^ 
 
m 
 
 24 OBITUAEY ADDRESSES. 
 
 Shortly afterward the president of the senate of Maryland 
 and the speaker of the house of delegates, for themselves 
 and in the nanie of their respective bodies, addressed 
 him, urging that they should be convened. Governor 
 Hicks stood like adamant, declaring that he saw no 
 good reason for such action, and that Maryland was, 
 and would be forever, for the Union. While thus beset 
 at home, he was also approached from beyond the limits 
 of the State. After the Congress assembled here in 
 December, 1860, the leading southern men who had 
 seats in these halls used all their efforts to inflame the 
 minds of the people of Maryland to compel the governor 
 to assemble the legislature. Commissioners were sent 
 to him directly from the States of Alabama, Mississippi, 
 and South Carolina, all urging that Maryland should 
 move in the same coUimn with them; but to no purpose. 
 The polar star to Governor Hicks was his country, the 
 union of these States. The waves of sectional strife 
 rose higher and higher. State after State fell away 
 from its allegiance. He stood firm. The day of the 
 inauguration came. President Lincoln assumed the 
 robes of office, and entered upon the discharge of the 
 high duties of the Chief Magistrate of the United 
 States. From many hearts in the loyal States, as well 
 as from the loyal people of his own State, earnestly 
 watching his course, and full of apprehension, there 
 rose up the prayer, "God bless Governor Hicks." 
 The capital was still in the hands of the friends of the 
 Union. The noble ship which soon was to drive into 
 the storm and tempest of civil war, which have not and 
 shall not destroy her, then, indeed, had made her most 
 
 M— m 
 
m- 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 25 
 
 narrow escape from destruction on the hidden rocks of 
 treachery and of treason. Sir, I doii])t not that the 
 impartial historian who shall hereafter write the story 
 of the perils of the Republic will declare that the most 
 critical period in its history was that which immediately 
 preceded the inauguration of President Lincoln; that 
 Thomas Holliday Hicks, by the blessing of God at 
 that time the governor of Maryland, did more than any 
 other man to save it from destruction. 
 
 I am aware, sir, that, a few weeks later, when an 
 infuriated mob, excited by rebel emissaries, and armed, 
 took possession of the city of Baltimore, murdering the 
 soldiers of the United States passing through to the 
 capital, and raising a great commotion throughout the 
 State, Governor Hicks, having gone to that city to secure 
 the peaceful passage through it of these troops, found 
 himself in the power of this mob, and seemed to yield 
 for a time in part to their demands. But never, even 
 then, for a moment did he give up his devotion to his 
 country, or counsel resistance to its laws. True, for 
 a few days he besought the President not to pass 
 troops through the State. This was done alone through 
 apprehension that the scenes of that bloody day just 
 passed would be re-enacted, while he was powerless to 
 prevent it, and that his beloved State and city would be 
 laid waste with fire and sword, destroying the innocent 
 with the guilty. I confess he was in error. I may 
 safely say that subsequent events convinced him that 
 he was in error; but it was an error of judgment only ; 
 and who is infallible ? Never for the briefest space of 
 time did he desire to aid the cause of the rebels, or 
 
 p ri 
 
intend to do aught to injure his country, or resist its laws. 
 It is true, too, that he then convened the legislature of 
 Maryland ; but this was done only after a revolutionary 
 call for it to assemble in the city of Baltimore, similar 
 to that which put the State of Texas into the attitude 
 of rebellion, had been issued by one of the most influ- 
 ential members of the State legislature, Coleman Yellott, 
 now in the rebel confederacy. Governor Hicks, to 
 prevent this revolutionary session which would have 
 taken place in Baltimore, then in the hands of the 
 secessionists, convened the legislature at Frederick city, 
 in the midst of a loyal population thoroughly roused, 
 and with a local organized military force of nearly four 
 hundred muskets. I have always thought that the 
 assembling of the legislature at that time and under 
 those circumstances was a wise exercise of executive 
 authority. It at once produced quiet in Maryland. It 
 gave time for many who had been swept away by the 
 first fierce gust of passion to indulge in " the sober 
 second thought," and to return to their allegiance. The 
 legislature, too, was powerless for mischief They dared 
 not, even if they had desired, while the loyal citizens 
 of western Maryland thronged in their halls, and scowled 
 defiance in their faces, put the State of Maryland into 
 an attitude of hostility to the general government. As 
 my venerable colleague who sits behind me [Governor 
 Thomas] once said in this House, they would have been 
 hurled from their windows upon the glistening bayonets 
 below ; and well they knew it. 
 
 Within ten days after the massacre of the troops in 
 Baltimore Governor Hicks was in cordial and earnest 
 
nON. T. H. HICKS. 27 
 
 co-operation with the national authorities in this city, 
 and a few days later issued his proclamation calling for 
 four Maryland regiments to march to its defence. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, however much others may have doubted 
 or may now doubt the loyalty of Governor Hicks 
 because of this one error during that terrible week, the 
 Union-loving people of Maryland, who knew him well, 
 never for one moment lost confidence in his patriotism. 
 No man, since the days of the Revolution, has lived in 
 Maryland, who has had so entirely the confidence and 
 affection of the patriotic people of that State as Governor 
 Hicks. They have loved him with a pure and an ardent 
 affection. They have trusted him without an appre- 
 hension or a doubt. He was their pilot in the hour of 
 deepest gloom and most threatening danger. They 
 gathered around him as the exponent of their principles 
 and the worthy representative of their love of country ; 
 and when the sad news went out from this city that he 
 was no more, there were thousands of eyes in his native 
 State, that had never seen him, dimmed with tears, and 
 thousands of hearts filled with sorrow for his loss. And 
 to-day the governor and legislature of his State, as well 
 as the corporate authorities of its great metropolis, fully 
 representing the people in their action, are here in the 
 capitol of the nation to pay the last tribute of respect 
 to his memory, not as a matter of form, not to join in 
 an empty pageant, but as exhibiting the love and rever- 
 ence of the entire people of the State for his character 
 and their sincere sorrow for his death. With them I 
 desire to pay my humble tribute to his worth, and to 
 drop a sorrowing tear on his grave. 
 
A few words more in regard to the character of my 
 colleague and I am done. Governor Hicks was entirely 
 a self-made man. He toiled up the mountain-side 
 unaided, and reached height after height through his 
 own manly exertions ; but never did he break the bond 
 which bound him to the people on the plain. He was 
 essentially a man of the people ; of them and from them, 
 his instincts, his sympathies, aifections, were all with 
 them, and his exertions and labors in their behalf The 
 poorest and most friendless boy received from him as 
 kindly a welcome as the men who held the most influ- 
 ential and important stations. The last note that I ever 
 received from him, only a few days before his death, 
 was written to ask my aid for a poor man, a sailor disabled 
 in the service of his country, and in which he regretted 
 that his health would not permit him personally to 
 render him such assistance as he desired. Governor 
 Hicks, from the character of his early pursuits, had no 
 opportunity for cultivating a taste for books, and was 
 consequently not a man of general reading or informa- 
 tion ; yet he possessed great natural sagacity, had a broad 
 and well-balanced mind, and easily mastered any subject 
 to which he turned his attention. He thoroughly under- 
 stood the political history of the country. There was 
 nothing narrow or illiberal in his character, and his 
 catholic spirit showed itself in almost every action of 
 his life. He was generous and sincere, quick to forgive, 
 and never cherished resentments. Though his mind 
 was not quick in its perceptions and conclusions, yet 
 when he had reached such conclusions, he was as firm 
 as a rock, fixed as the hills. No word of suspicion has 
 
 m- 
 
(D) 'm 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 29 
 
 ever been breathed against his integrity. He was an 
 honest man, 
 
 " The noblest work of God." 
 
 That, however, which has most distinguished him 
 and endeared him to the people of Maryland was his 
 unselfish and unyielding patriotism. In him was illus- 
 trated that patriotism which burned so purely in the 
 hearts of the men of '76. There was no personal 
 sacrifice which he deemed too great to be made for his 
 country. This was particularly illustrated in his course 
 on the question of emancipation. Though holding a 
 considerable number of slaves at the breaking out of 
 the rebellion, and entering into the war with the impres- 
 sion that it ought to be so conducted as not to interfere 
 with slavery, yet when he became convinced, as he 
 afterward did, that the most vulnerable point in the 
 rebellion was slavery, and that if we would crush the 
 rebellion we must strike at and crush slavery, he did 
 not hesitate to favor this policy both by the general 
 government and by his own State. A year ago he 
 favored the constitutional amendment lately passed 
 abolishing slavery throughout the United States, and 
 was the earnest friend of immediate emancipation in 
 Maryland, voting himself for the free constitution and 
 urging others to unite with him in its support. 
 
 But he has gone, never to return. To-day the grave 
 will close on his mortal remains. For the monument 
 which shall rise above his remains, he has prepared his 
 own epitaph. Addressing the people of Maryland by 
 
30 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 proclamation, in the midst of the dangers which encircled 
 them in June, 1861, he said : 
 
 '• In the course of nature I cannot have long to live, and I fervently 
 trust to be allowed to end my days a citizen of this glorious Union. 
 But should I be compelled to witness the downfall of that govern- 
 ment inherited from our fathers, established as it were by the special 
 favor of God, I will at least have the consolation at my dying hour 
 that I neither by word nor deed assisted in hastening its disruption." 
 
 Sir, let this sublime paragraph be engraved on his 
 tomb. It shall live when the marble shall have crumbled 
 and mingled with his dust. And let us, the living, 
 learn lessons of patriotism from his proud example, for 
 though dead he yet liveth. 
 
 I offer the following resolutions: 
 
 Resolved, That this House has heai-d with deep sensibility the 
 announcement of the death of Hon. Thomas Holliday Hicks, a 
 senator in Congress from the State of Maryland. 
 
 Resolved, That as a testimony of respect for the memory of the 
 deceased, the members and officers of this House will wear the 
 usual badge of mourning for thirty days. 
 
 Resolved, That the proceedings of this House in relation to the 
 death of Hon. Thomas Holliday Hicks be communicated to the 
 family of the deceased by the Clerk. 
 
 Resolved, That this House will, as a body, repair to the Senate 
 chamber to attend the funeral of the deceased, and upon its return 
 to the hall that the Speaker declare the House adjourned. 
 
 Address of Mr. Creswell, of Maryland. 
 
 Mr. Speaker : Duty imposes no unwilling task when 
 it demands my humble tribute to the memory of the 
 lamented deceased. The praises due to a long career 
 of honor and usefulness are always freely lavished upon 
 
 S- 
 
m T3 
 
 HON, T. H. HICKS. 31 
 
 the grave. The stranger, in seeking to give utterance 
 only to his admiration for the public life and character 
 of the dead, will be content with the employment of 
 merely formal and conventional terms of respect. But 
 the hand of affection, in its anxious desire to keep fresh 
 and green a cherished memory, would fain pluck from 
 heaven a sprig of the immortal amaranth, and plant it 
 upon the grave where the loved one sleeps, in the hope, 
 fond though vain, that even the tomb may be thus 
 clothed with the freshness and the bloom of eternal 
 beauty. 
 
 My colleague, who has preceded me, has spoken of 
 what Governor Hicks has accomplished for his State 
 and country. It is eminently proper that the record of 
 his public life should on this occasion be reviewed and 
 commended. But mine is a more sacred office. I 
 represent the county of his nativity, wherein he spent 
 his long life, surrounded by the friends and associations 
 of his youth. Among my constituents are those who 
 were captivated by his generous heart long before the 
 days of his political triumphs ; those who regarded 
 him, when living, with unselfish love, and who, now that 
 death has stricken him down, will receive the sad tidings 
 with tears of profound regret. It is my duty to attempt 
 in some measure to soothe the grief and to mitigate the 
 sorrow of his family and personal friends. 
 
 I have not known Governor Hicks as long as my 
 friend who to-day has made the formal announcement 
 of his decease. My personal acquaintance began late 
 in the year 1861, but long before the day of his death, 
 notwithstanding our disparity in years, his many generous 
 
qualities, combined with his fervent patriotism, had won 
 my affection and sincere esteem. I am not ashamed to 
 confess to the humblest of his friends that I, too, have 
 wept over his unexpected and painfLil death. 
 
 We who knew him well, who freely mingled with 
 him in social intercourse, who think we understood his 
 nature and fairly appreciated his faults as well as his 
 virtues, are unwilUng that posterity, in making an 
 estimate of the character of Governor Hicks, shall be 
 confined to the dry details of the historian: 
 
 " History preserves only the flesliless bones 
 Of what we are, and by the mocking skull 
 The would-be wise pretend to guess the features ! 
 Without the roundness and the glow of life 
 How hideous is the skeleton ! "Without 
 The colorings and humanities that clothe 
 Our errors, the anatomists of schools 
 Can make our memory hideous." 
 
 Thomas Holliday Hicks was no scholar, no orator. 
 Notwithstanding the many disadvantages under which 
 he labored, it is safe to say that no man has exerted a 
 greater influence on the politics of Maryland, or has 
 accomplished more for the good of his State and fellow- 
 citizens in his day and generation, than he. He chose 
 his party because of his approval of the principles which 
 it proclaimed, and then gave it his entire and cordial 
 support. A disciple of Henry Clay, he accepted the 
 teachings of the Sage of Ashland as the axioms of his 
 political creed. He was first a democrat of the old 
 school, then a whig, then an American, and on the 
 formation of the Union party he threw his whole soul 
 into that movement and labored unceasingly to promote 
 
HON. T. H. HICKS. 33 
 
 its success. To all the parties to which he was succes- 
 sively attached he rendered the most important services. 
 He was always looked up to as a leader, and always did 
 the work of a leader. 
 
 Yet he was not a brilliant man in any respect. His 
 great distinguishing mental characteristic was his intui- 
 tive knowledge of human nature, and his great capacity 
 for the management of men. His mind was eminently 
 practical, and he dealt with men and things as they were. 
 He sometimes entered into public discussions on the 
 hustings, and frequently exhibited great tact and astute- 
 ness in debate. He proclaimed his sentiments every- 
 where, and never ceased to inculcate what he believed 
 to be the truth. But the great arena of his triumphs 
 was the social circle. Wheresoever known, he had so 
 completely the confidence of men of every position in 
 life, high as well as low, that his views were often quoted 
 as having the weight of authority. The people of his 
 own county seemed to hang with pleasure on his words 
 and to delight in paying him honor. 
 
 His house at Appleby was open to all the world, and 
 especially was it the refuge of the afflicted. He was 
 the friend and counsellor of all in trouble. His purse 
 was open to every meritorious demand for assistance. 
 Although free from all ostentation, and for many years 
 in receipt of a respectable income, his boundless charities 
 and his disposition to aid others kept him continually 
 in straitened circumstances. He was in truth the friend 
 and benefactor of the poor, not only ministering to their 
 wants, but ever lending them a willing sympathy. 
 
 " When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept." 
 
m ' u 
 
 34 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 Even his political enemies acknowledged his manifold 
 and unwearied kindnesses, and his excellent qualities as 
 a man and a neighbor. So clear and pure was he in all 
 the relations of private life that even malice was com- 
 pelled to bear witness to his exalted worth. 
 
 Thomas Holliday Hicks was governor of his native 
 State in the early stages of the rebellion. His manage- 
 ment of State affairs during that period has been 
 subjected to the severest scrutiny and to the most unfair 
 criticism. It has been the habit to talk of him and his 
 conduct as if he had nothing to do but to call his friends 
 around him and summon the military of the State to 
 the defence of the national capital. Alas ! in that hour 
 of sore trial his friends were beyond the sound of his 
 voice, and the military were in arms against their country. 
 Those who clustered about him to proffer advice were 
 his life-long enemies. The host which gathered at his 
 hotel was a hooting mob, yelling like demons and 
 threatening to hang him to the nearest lamp-post. 
 Blood had already been shed ; treason was rife ; civil 
 war was flagrant. The dead of a sister State, foully 
 slain by traitors in the streets of Baltimore, had been 
 counted as the first mangled and blood-stained victims 
 of rebellion. Secession was fully armed. Much of the 
 machinery of government was in the hands of rebels. 
 Everything was uncertain. Men in high places were 
 no longer to be trusted. The Union sentiment was 
 utterly without organization, and was taken totally by 
 surprise. The governor stood alone among his foes. 
 Then the tempters said to him, " Let us avoid bloodshed 
 among Marylanders ; let us prevent war in our streets ; 
 
@ ■■ ^ m 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 35 
 
 let US have peace among ourselves." He cared not for 
 himself, and they knew it; but they appealed to his love 
 for his people, and exhorted him to quiet the excitement 
 and prevent further strife and massacre. It was a time 
 of great doubt and peril, such as comes but once in 
 centuries. He postponed the demands of the national 
 government until the loyal sentiment of the people 
 should gain confidence and find its voice. Of all those 
 who censure him, who would have done better ? Our 
 sturdy old governor never for a single moment sympa- 
 thized with treason in any form, or even doubted as to 
 the plain path of duty. His was never the heart of a 
 traitor. The best evidence of his fidelity may be found 
 in the unwavering devotion of all his life. He had not a 
 hope for himself, his children, his friends, or his country, 
 that was not based upon the integrity and perpetuity 
 of the Union. If it be true that the eye when glazino- 
 in death is endowed with prophetic vision, I doubt not 
 that his dying moments were cheered by the joyful 
 prospect, soon to be revealed to us, of peace and happi- 
 ness won by valor and restored by victory. 
 
 His days are numbered. The whole of his career is 
 before the world. Men may now pass judgment upon 
 another fellow-mortal who has gone from earth. If we 
 approach his bier and look down upon the mortal remains 
 of Thomas Holliday Hicks, and then recount the whole 
 story of his life and death, we must in justice say, 
 
 "Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail 
 Or knock the breast ; no weakness, no contempt, 
 Dispraise, or blame ; nothing but well and fair, 
 And what may quiet us in a death so noble." 
 
 fl. — • — _____ (Hi) 
 
m — — ^ p. 
 
 36 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 Address of Mr. Smithers, of Delaware. 
 
 Mr. Speaker : A good man has been gathered unto 
 his fathers, and it is meet that I should lay upon his 
 bier a simple testimonial of respect and gratitude. 
 
 Though it may not be permitted me to call him great, 
 yet if incorruptible integrity, unostentatious piety, and 
 unwavering devotion to his country be worthy to be 
 imitated or admired, then may it be truly said that 
 Thomas Holliday Hicks has not hved in vain. Born 
 with no accidental advantage of wealth, blessed with no 
 culture of liberal education, he so demeaned himself in 
 all the relations of life as to secure the affection and 
 confidence of his fellow-men, who having committed 
 to him the discharge of minor official duties, elevated 
 him to the position of governor of Maryland; and in 
 the darkest hour of the peril of the Republic he held 
 in his hands the welfare of his native State. 
 
 How well he executed his trust, how faithfully he 
 administered his high office, the aj^preciation of the 
 living manifests and the approval of posterity will attest. 
 Had he yielded to the blandishments of base conspira- 
 tors, had he blenched before the storm of indignation 
 that assailed him, no human power could have averted 
 from Maryland the miseries of civil strife. His fidelity 
 baffled the designs of domestic traitors and checked the 
 progress of rebellion; his temporizing policy held treason 
 in suspense, and gave opportunity to the loyal north to 
 rush to the succor of this threatened capital; and that 
 
we sit here to-day, in this council chamber of the nation, 
 is due, perhaps, under the favor of the Almighty, to the 
 faithfulness of him whom we mourn. Over the grave 
 of such a man it is pardonable to linger with unwonted 
 regret; but while we pay this tribute of honor to his 
 memory, let us rest in confidence that history will record 
 his virtues, and in assurance that, after a well-spent life, 
 he has calmly passed to the enjoyment of a Christian 
 immortality. 
 
 Address of Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Mr. Speaker: It has, by their kindness, been my 
 privilege to participate with some frequency in the 
 protracted and sometimes intense struggle of the people 
 of Maryland for the Union and freedom, and my State 
 is largely indebted to the late Senator Thomas Holliday 
 Hicks. It has therefore been thought fitting that I 
 should add my humble word to what has been so 
 appropriately said on this occasion. 
 
 In my many visits to Maryland during this trying 
 period I became somewhat familiar with Senator, or 
 Governor Hicks, as he was when I first knew him. I 
 found him ever frank and courteous to his peers, and 
 kind, kind but without condescension, to the young, the 
 poor, and the humble. His intercourse with all was 
 easy and natural, and his manners were but the fit 
 expression of his manly nature. This is well attested 
 by the constancy with which honors attended him. He 
 
 ai- 
 
g. 
 
 38 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 whose death we mourn, dying as a senator of the United 
 States, was once a constable, and doubtless proud of the 
 confidence in him exhibited by his fellow-citizens in 
 electing him to this humble office ; and from the day he 
 entered upon its duties to the moment in which he 
 breathed his last, and passed gladly to the bosom of 
 his Maker, the badge of office attested how fully he 
 enjoyed the confidence, the increasing confidence, of the 
 people among whom he lived. It has been said, and I 
 apprehend with perfect truth, that during this long career 
 no man ever doubted his integrity. 
 
 It seemed to me, sir, as I listened to the rapid sketch 
 of his biography, that he was a chosen instrument in 
 the hands of Providence for our good. The Almighty 
 sees the end from the beginning. It is not so with 
 men ; and the wealthy, the powerful, the arrogant, and 
 the aristocratic land and slave owners among whom 
 this poor child was born did not foresee, when they 
 gave him their confidence, and made him first constable, 
 then sherifi", and then promoted him from stage to stage, 
 that they were qualifying him to be the power to curb 
 their aspirations and control the destiny of their descend- 
 ants. They did not foresee that they were training in 
 that honest farmer boy a man who, by his will, should 
 contravene their ambitious purposes and determine 
 whether the capital of the country should remain so, or 
 become the capital of a foreign and despotic confed- 
 eracy. Yet more potent than any hundreds of men was 
 Governor Hicks in the decision of that question. 
 
 It is said that he wavered about the time that that 
 question was pending in nicest balance. No man will 
 
say that his loyalty yielded. The utmost that can be 
 said is, that in a period of revolutionary excitement, 
 when the armed men around him were all the foes of 
 his cause, when those whom the people of his State had 
 invested with power and indicated as his counsellors all 
 entertained views different .from his, and when those 
 who loved the Union came to him with multiplied and 
 diverse counsels, his judgment was for a moment 
 bewildered. His instincts, his purposes, were ever 
 true and patriotic. His caution, his courage, his will, 
 his devotion to the cause, saved Maryland to the Union, 
 in the crisis, and so secured the inauguration of the 
 President of the country in its capital, and enabled the 
 North to maintain him there without interval. In doing 
 this he saved Maryland, Delaware, and southeastern 
 Pennsylvania from becoming the Belgium of this terrible 
 war; and his name will be dear to the future people of 
 Pennsylvania and of Delaware, as it is to-day to those 
 of his native State. 
 
 I shall not attempt a sketch of his biography. I shall 
 utter no formal words of eulogy. His life, his character, 
 his deeds, are among the richest treasures of his native 
 State. Let them be faithfully told. History has been 
 to me through life valuable only as it gave me an insight 
 into the characters and motives of its actors. Let Mary- 
 land tell with pride the story of Thomas Holliday 
 Hicks. Let her speak of his humble origin. Let her 
 say that slavery denied him the advantages even of the 
 cheap country school. And let her show how, in spite 
 of all the curses inflicted on man by that institution, he 
 became what he was; and she will not only illustrate the 
 
 ii i 
 
IP m 
 
 40 OBITUAEY ADDRESSES. 
 
 beneficence of our republican institutions, but gladden 
 the heart of many a poor father and mother and quicken 
 the pulse and embolden the spirit of the poor and aspiring 
 boy through countless generations. Thomas Holliday 
 Hicks was a poor farmer's boy. He entered on his 
 official career a constable. He died a senator ; and a 
 grateful nation mourns his death. I apprehend that 
 rhetoric can add no force, and eulogy no power, to these 
 brief words. 
 
 The question was taken, and the resolutions were 
 unanimously adopted. 
 
 m- 
 
Sermon of the Rev. B. II. Nadai,, of the Methodist Episcopal 
 
 Church. 
 
 And the King said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and 
 a great man fallen this day in Israel? — 2 Samuel, iii, 38. 
 
 Thomas Holliday Hicks, recently governor of Maryland, and 
 more recently a Senator of the United States, is no more. His 
 earthly race of nearly threescore years and ten has come to an 
 almost sudden end. The news of this sad event has, by this time, 
 reached nearly every corner of the loyal States, and has carried 
 sorrow to every loyal heart. But most of all will the grief of this 
 event fall upon Maryland. Her heart will bleed, from the lowest 
 point of her soil that touches the Chesapeake to the very peaks of 
 the Alleghanies; and the iiastern and Western Shores shall inter- 
 change sorrowful greetings across the inland sea that divides them. 
 The wealthy merchant, the cultured professional man, the retired 
 scholar, and especially ohe sturdy yeoman, from whose class 
 Governor Hicks sprung, will drop a tear, and utter words of 
 fervent eulogy at the announcement of his death. 
 
 We have read as our text, "A prince and a great man has fallen 
 in Israel." Does any one doubt its appropriateness? We readily 
 concede that Mr. Hicks was not born to greatness. No family 
 made him; no college professors chiselled and moulded into form 
 and polished into beauty and grace his youthful mind. Like the 
 present Chief Magistrate of the country, he was born to rude 
 fortunes. He inherited only the brawny soul and body with which 
 to win his way in the coming struggle of life. When a poor man 
 refuses to remain in the lot to which he is born, and by the force of 
 his character comes to stand among the princes of the earth, and 
 in his lofty position plays his part honorably, he is great. Thus 
 was it with Governor Hicks. He was the son of a plain farmer on 
 the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He had a common country school 
 education, which in his day consisted wholly in reading, writing, 
 and arithmetic, with a little geography, and no grammar. His 
 occupation until he became a man was to work the farm on which 
 
mi 
 
 42 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 he was reared. He was not a genius. He did not achieve position 
 and greatness by a single leap. From the fresh furrow to the seat 
 of the governor, and to the chair of a United States senator, he 
 took the graded path. He began in the a, b, c of office. From the 
 humble position of constable, with growing influence, he proceeded 
 to that of sheriff; thence to a place in the governor's council; next 
 he was register of wills for his native county. In this position his 
 reputation attained a breadth equal to that of the State, and after a 
 long process of growth in public esteem and confidence, he was 
 elected governor, and finally, as the just reward of services to 
 which no price is equal, he became a member of the upper house 
 of Congi'ess ; and to-day, in the presence of this august assemblage 
 of the nation's chief men, in this hall of highest legislative dignity, 
 with all the solemn pomp of a nation's grief, we pay homage to the 
 man whose inheritance was poverty, whose only school-house was a 
 cabin, and whose first office was that of constable. Only in our 
 own nation, among all the peoples of the earth, could such a thing 
 occur. The life of Governor Hicks, out of the midst of these 
 obsequies, speaks to every poor boy in the land of the noble 
 possibilities of service and renown which may yet crown an in- 
 dustrious, honest, and patriotic life. It shows to men of the Old 
 World that, while our youthful nation holds sacred law and order, 
 it yet allows the freest play to individual enterprise ; that it furnishes 
 soil and atmosphere and market for every atom of talent springing 
 up under whatever shade of obscurity. 
 
 Those who knew our deceased friend best; those who were his 
 neighbors and life- long friends, unite in testifying most lovingly to 
 the excellence of his character, both in his private and public 
 relations. Kind to all, reaching out a hand of sympathy, especially 
 to the poor, dealing justly with every one, and mercifully with the 
 needy, he drew men to him and held them as by hooks of steel. 
 
 There was in him the rare union of a strength which was rather 
 moral than intellectural, with a most winning gentleness. We have 
 been informed, on the best authority, that while he was register of 
 wills for his native county, a period of twenty years, or thereabouts, 
 he managed the business of his office with such steady justice, with- 
 such complete knowledge of the law, with such tender consideration 
 
 m- 
 
for the interests of widows and orphans, as to establish a reputation 
 for complete honesty, firmness, and gentleness, thus mixing in one 
 character, and in one reputation, the most opposite virtues. 
 
 When such a man refuses one a favor, the pain is the least 
 possible and when he does a favor, the manner of it, the spirit of 
 it, binds the favored party to him by the very heart-chords. It was 
 our privilege to see the devotion of Governor Hicks's personal friends 
 at his bed-side, in the sickness which ended his life. With what 
 solicitude, as of sous in the absence of a son, they watched; with 
 what tender voices and eyes they spoke and looked ; how they wept 
 in the depth and reality of their grief! These, my friends, were 
 people whose hearts the dying veteran had won by long years of 
 intercourse or by acts of disinterested kindness. 
 
 Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how a plain man like Thomas 
 HoLLiDAY Hicks could have attained his eminent position in the 
 world without just such traits as these. He had to impress men, 
 not by resolving to do it, not by dazzling parts, but by the weight 
 and excellence of his manhood. Happy is the man whose character, 
 whose inmost and sole self, is his best talent; whose life, inner and 
 outer, carries him, as it were, naturally, into the very hearts of his 
 fellow-men. Such a man need not and will not trim his sails to 
 meet the varying breath of popular applause ; but, being in himself 
 the type of all honest men, can aiford to walk without looking 
 behind him. And when the hour comes to die, standing up among 
 his people, he can say with the ancient seer of Israel : "And now, 
 behold, I am old and gray-headed; and behold, my sons are with 
 you, and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this 
 day. Behold, here I am; witness against me before the Lord, and 
 before His anointed, whose ox have I taken, or whose ass have I 
 taken, or whom have I oppressed, whom have I defrauded, or at 
 whose hands have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith, 
 and I will restore it you." 
 
 In the pride and strength of life, especially of young life, we 
 prefer to prevail by eloquence, by superior learning, or skill, or by 
 some form of mental force. We wish to have ourselves to thank 
 for our own success. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we would build our 
 empire with the might of our own wisdom and the strength of our 
 
 it- 
 
•m 
 
 44 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 own hand ; but when age and just views sober us, by shoeing us 
 the littleness of the creature's force, and especially when death begins 
 to drop its dark curtain between us and the painted world, we are 
 compelled to feel that it were bttter to succeed by the aid of 
 character, and as the servants and stewards of God, than by the 
 proudest and profoundest human art. Nay, when the death that 
 comes to us is even not our own, but another's ; when the corpse lies 
 in state at the end of a noble career, aye, or of an ignoble one ; 
 when, in such an hour of sepulchral darkness, the light of heaven 
 sifts through the tight-woven tissues of. our pride and ambition, we 
 are made to feel the truth of the familiar couplet : 
 
 A wit's a feather, and a chief's a rod, 
 
 An honest man 's the noblest work of God. 
 
 And at least, for the moment of disenchantment, we conclude it 
 were nobler and better to succeed in life by what we are, than by 
 the highest earthly skill, or eloquence, or learning. The man whose 
 remains lie before us owed nothing to learning; he owed nothing 
 to the eloquence which stirs men's blood, or tickles their ears. In 
 spite of the want of these, by the native f jrce of sense, honesty, 
 moderation, gentleness, and courage, he won men's hearts, subdued 
 circumstances, achieved place, and did much, very much, towards 
 controlling events. 
 
 But to turn to the great epoch of Mr. Hicks's life, namely, the 
 period of his special connexion with the history of the war : we 
 have been strongly impressed with the wisdom and graciousness 
 of Divine Providence in allowing his term of office to fall precisely 
 where it did. Maryland has had governors under whose administra- 
 tion the rebellion would have met no ill greeting. It would be 
 painful to speculate as to what would have been the result had 
 Providence allowed treason to culminate a few years earlier. In 
 that case, we might have had in Maryland a governor who would 
 have forgotten his oath of paramount allegiance to the Union, who 
 would have called the legislature of the State together at the instance 
 of secession commissioners from Alabama and Mississippi, who would 
 have been a timid or even a ready tool under the persuasions or the 
 threats of virtual traitors : and before the blow was struck at Fort 
 
 ii- 
 
Sumter, the noble State might have been so committed to rebellion, 
 and so completely interlaced with treason in the far south, that when 
 the war came, she, and not Virginia, might have been the permanent 
 battle-ground, the Golgotha of the rebellion. In that case her fields 
 had now been bare, her acres fenceless, barnless, trampled, parched. 
 Baltimore might have been at this hour a rebel stronghold. Jeff. 
 Davis might have been at the White House, and the flag of treason 
 might have been flaunted in the face of the Goddess of Liberty on 
 the dome of this building. 
 
 But, in the good providence of the God of our fathers, Maryland 
 had a patriotic governor ; a man without the instincts of aristocracy ; 
 a man of the people; a Unionist without an if ; a man who did not 
 balance the life of the nation against the iniquitous institution of 
 slavery — who did not divide up and parcel out his patriotism between 
 the different States, but merged it and them, or, rather, built them 
 with it into the glorious fabric of the Union. And for the demon 
 of secession, with all its horrid solicitations, he had only the reply 
 of an unfaltering and unalterable No ! It was " no" to the southern 
 commissioners; "no" to traitorous domestic aristocrats; "no" to 
 slavery; "no" to the members of the legislature; "no" to the 
 bloody mob of the dreadful 19th of April; "no" ever, and "no" to 
 the end. If, for one moment, he seemed to falter, it was only a 
 seeming, under duress, that, like the great oak bent by the storm, 
 he might live to present an unblanched front to every succeeding 
 storm of treason. 
 
 What a noble sentiment, and how nobly uttered, was his reply to 
 a certain conspirator who visited Annapolis to induce him to issue 
 an untimely call of the old disloyal legislature. To the whole list 
 of his arguments the governor returned a firm denial. The next 
 resort was a threat ; he was told that he had better consult his 
 personal safety. "What ?" said Mr. Hicks, "do you mean to say 
 my life is in danger if I refuse]" " Yes !" " Well," said the noble 
 patriot, " if I had forty lives, I would lose them all rather than do 
 an act against my convictions of right." Thus spoke, my brethren, 
 not a Roman but a patriot's spirit, a Christian conscience, a soul 
 firmly built on right. To that " No," persistently repeated until 
 his native State is now free, Maryland owes a statue of marble or 
 
bronze, and another more enduring than metal or stone — one of 
 perennial, blessed, grateful remembrance, and in the golden age now 
 so brightly dawning upon her she will pay it. As one of her sons, 
 I feel my own instincts to be the voice of prophesy. 
 
 But for each individual human being there is a higher and more 
 enduring relation than that to the State; we mean his relation to 
 God, the final judge of all. Mr. Hicks became a professing 
 Christian early in life, and, so far as we know, cherished his 
 Christian convictions and maintained his Christian purity to the 
 last. The testimony of those who knew him best represents him 
 as pure and excellent in all the relations of life. On this 
 point, however, I will confine myself to matters within my own 
 knowledge. 
 
 When Governor Hicks arrived in Washington, during the present 
 session of Congress, I waited on him, and, after friendly conversa- 
 tion, proposed to be his pastor during his stay among us. I under- 
 stood him cordially to accept the proffer. I made several calls upon 
 him before his sickness. On Saturday I learned that he had been 
 stricken down with paralysis. I hastened to his room, where I 
 foundhim most faithfully and affectionately attended by several of 
 his personal friends. He was entirely speechless, but still clearly 
 and keenly conscious. He recognized me at once, and, against my 
 remonstrance, exerted himself to draw his right hand, which re- 
 mained untouched by the paralysis, from under the bed-cover, for 
 the customary greeting. I took a seat by his bed, and attempted 
 to elicit his state of mind. His lips moved, but yielded only 
 shapeless, inarticulate breath. I inquired whether he would have 
 me pray. His lips again moved fruitlessly, but his look clearly 
 answered " yes." The moment was deeply solemn ; all hearts were 
 affected. The prayer ended; though pained at the thought of de- 
 manding effort of any sort from him, I was still anxious to ascertain 
 his state of mind, and said, " Governor, do you trust for salvation in 
 our Lord Jesus Christ 1 If you do, lift your hand." In an instant 
 his hand went up with energy. This touched and animated all 
 present. My position at the side of the dying man now became 
 pleasant. He was evidently waiting for the consolations of religious 
 
 •m 
 
-m 
 
 HON. T. H. HICKS. 47 
 
 converse. I quoted numerous passages of Scripture; I recited 
 several hymns, particularly the one commencing 
 
 Jesus, tby blood and righteousness 
 My beauty are, my glorious dress ; 
 
 and that other, beginning 
 
 There is a fountain filled with blood, 
 Drawn from Immanuel's veins ; 
 
 and, finally, that noble gospel lyric of Charles Wesley, opening 
 with the stanza — 
 
 Jesus, lover of my soul, 
 
 Let me to thy bosom fly. 
 While the nearer waters roll, 
 
 While the tempest still is high ; 
 Hide me, oh, my Saviour, hide, 
 
 'Till the storm of life is past ; 
 Safe into the haven guide, 
 
 Oh, receive my soul at last. 
 
 These were the hymns in which, for years, he had been wont to 
 express his faith in the blessed Saviour's atonement. As he listened, 
 his face was overspread and made luminous by a smile ; then through 
 the sunshine came the grateful, happy tears, and his great frame, in 
 spite of the living death of paralysis, quivered and shook with 
 emotion. This was a scene to be long remembered by all who were 
 present. Our patriot and Christian brother stood on the confines 
 of eternity, about to enter the world of blessed spirits, and had 
 paused to let us know how the way looked before him. "We all 
 wept. 
 
 On another occasion, while talking with him, I said : " Governor, 
 you have borne an important part in the public service of the 
 country, and the nation is grateful to you ; it will remember you ; 
 but you no doubt feel that even suck services are nothing for a poor 
 sinner to rely on in approaching his God. Your trust is in the 
 mercy of God in Christ Jesus, is it not ?" And he again answered 
 with his uplifted hand. 
 
 On Sunday morning, about ten o'clock, I was again with him. 
 
 M' 
 
48 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 and asked him: "Shall we join in prayer, this Sabbath morning, 
 at your bedside?" Again he lifted bis hand, and gazed reverently 
 up toward heaven. 
 
 On Sunday night, about ten o'clock, I was with him for the last 
 time. His friends who had remained at his bedside during the day 
 now supposed his consciousness to be gone. But they were mistaken. 
 He recognized me immediately. "Governor," I said, "if you rest 
 upon Christ as your Saviour, raise your hand." It was done 
 instantly. Again, " If you feel assured that He will receive you to 
 himself when you pass away, lift your hand." The hand was 
 lifted once more, and waved back and forth as if in holy triumph. 
 In half an hour from that time be became unconscious, and the 
 next morning Thomas Holliday Hicks passed into history, and, 
 as we fully trust and believe, into the house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens. 
 
 We end where we began, and repeat, that a prince and a great 
 man has fallen in Israel — a great man grown up and out from the 
 level of the people — great without the aid of adventitious circum- 
 stances — great upon the basis of moral character — great by being 
 equal to the great emergencies of a great historic period — great, not 
 because a great occasion made him so, but because his simple, 
 truthful, honest, noble, incorruptible nature eminently fitted him to 
 accept the occasion when it came, and to wield it with a strong and 
 decided hand. 
 
 But finally, let us pause and stand in awe before God's messenger, 
 death. In the presence of that coffin " only God is great." 
 
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