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 THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE WILMER COLLECTION 
 
 OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. 
 
 
 
 
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Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/unionstoryofgreamusi 
 
A LAlUiK KOCNI) SHOT \\ KNT HISSlNli Tllliorcill THE AIU AND STKUCK AGAINST 
 THE SOLID WALL OF FOliT SlIMTEK. 
 
UNION 
 
 A STORY OF THE GREAT REBELLION 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHISr R MUSIOK 
 
 AUTHOK OF "COLUMBIA," "ESTEVAN," "SUSTAINED HONOR," 
 "HUMBLED PRIDE," ETC., ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY F. A. CARTER 
 
 "Nm ¥orfe 
 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 
 London and Toronto 
 
 1894 
 Printed in the United States 
 
Copyright, 1894, by the 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 
 
 [Registered at Stationers'' Hall, London, Eng.] 
 
^0 
 MY SISTER, 
 
 LIZZIE MUSICK, 
 
 WHO HAS GIVEN ME VALUABLE AID IN THE PREPARATION 
 OF THESE BOOKS, 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 603160 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This volume ends the series of Columbian 
 Historical Novels, designed to give a complete 
 history of the United States, in twelve complete 
 stories, chronologically arranged. Throughout the 
 series I have adhered to the original plan of mak- 
 ing fiction subordinate to history, even at the ex- 
 pense of unity. I have been censured by some 
 critics for deserting my fictitious characters in 
 order to bring up the historical events by which 
 they were surrounded, but as my design was to 
 make the series beneficial as well as interesting, I 
 have turned a deaf ear to all suggestions to sacrifice 
 usefulness to smoothness. 
 
 It is doubtful if the time has yet arrived to write 
 a fair and impartial history of the war of the Ee- 
 bellion, even as a historical romance. We are so 
 prone to let prejudice warp judgment that we can 
 hardly deal fairly with an opponent, even though 
 that opponent be a brother. 
 
 I believe the great civil war was not a war for 
 the freedom of the slaves, but for the preservation 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 of the Union. Slavery was a secondary issue, 
 merely a pretext to test the pernicious and danger- 
 ous doctrines of State supremacy. The seeds of 
 the great rebellion were really sown in the conven- 
 tion which framed our constitution, and the pro- 
 phetic eye of Washington early saw the danger. 
 Calhoun found this fire smouldering in the mem- 
 ories of men, and by his brilliant powers fanned it 
 into a dangerous conflagration. It spread and at 
 one time threatened the North more than the 
 South. There was no way to decide this great 
 question of constitutional law, save by the highest 
 court known, an appeal to arms. Had not slavery 
 formed the issue some other disputed point would. 
 In ISfil, the abolition of slavery was not contem- 
 plated by either the Republican party or President 
 Lincoln. In his inaugural address, March 4, 1861, 
 Mr. Lincoln said : " I have no purpose, directly or 
 indirectly, to interfere with the institution of 
 slavery in any State where it exists. I believe I 
 have no lawful right to do so, and I have no in- 
 clination to do so. " When the war had raged 
 almost two years, President Lincoln late in Septem- 
 ber issued a proclamation, in which he gave notice 
 that it was his purpose to declare the emancipation 
 of the slaves on the 1st of January, 1863, to take 
 effect immediately wherever a state of insurrection 
 might exist, unless the offenders should lay down 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 their arms. If the offenders had laid down their 
 arms and returned to their allegiance to the Union, 
 slavery would not have been abolished. Then it 
 is certain that the first two years' war was merely 
 for the preservation of the Union, and not for the 
 freedom of the slaves. If the first two years were 
 a war for the Union, and the fighting never ceased 
 until the Union was preserved, it is reasonable to 
 suppose that the whole war was for the Union, and 
 not for tlic freedom of the negro, as most writers 
 of late years declare. While the freedom of the 
 slaves was one of the beneficent results of the war, 
 it was not the cause. The soldier who donned the 
 •blue in 18G1, did so to defend his country, and 
 had no more thought of abolition of the slaves than 
 did Mr. Lincoln, on whom it was forced as a mili- 
 tary necessity. 
 
 Tlie grand central figure of this great period of 
 our nation's history is Abraham Lincoln. He was 
 the brilliant orb illuminating the republic's darkest 
 hour, and all others were but satellites borrowing 
 their brilliance from him. He planned those bril- 
 liant campaigns, and issued the orders to his lieu- 
 tenants to execute. He could be a soldier at 
 headquarters; but he had too much human kind- 
 ness in his soul to personally participate in such 
 butcheries as Gettysburg and the Wilderness. 
 
 John Brown is still an enigma to the American 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 liistorian, and it is too early to place him. Writers 
 call him a saint or a devil, according to their polit- 
 ical persuasions. When time shall have sifted all 
 the evidence, and our prejudices have had time to 
 cool, I believe that we shall learn that John Brown 
 was neither. A saint is not usually armed with a 
 gun, nor does he violate law, murder, nor stir up 
 wrath. Christ rebuked Peter for striking in self- 
 defence, then how much more would he rebuke the 
 bloody deeds of John Brown. Brown began his 
 Virginia career as a fraud, entering the State under 
 an assumed name, with a premeditated plan to 
 violate the laws of the State and general govern- 
 ment. When captured he was as much a rebel 
 against the government as was Jeff Davis or Lee 
 when captured in 1805; so he could not be called 
 a patriot. It is better to lay aside foolish senti- 
 ment and look at these matters in a sensible light, 
 even if we do shatter a cherished idol. Though 
 once an admirer of John Brown, after years of 
 careful study of the man and times, I can do no 
 more than pronounce him a dangerous fanatic 
 whom it were better to forget than to praise. In 
 these days, when men are thirsting after notoriety, 
 sounding the praises of a law breaker like John 
 Brown, stimulates such fanatics as the Chicago 
 anarchists to like deeds. Brown's motive may 
 have been a good one, but a man has no more right 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 to rob on tlie highway for charity, than had Brown 
 to adopt his means for freeing the slaves. It is 
 doubtfnl if his conduct did the cause he cLaimed to 
 represent any good. He was as much a detriment 
 to the Republican party, as the anarchists of to- 
 day are to the labor party. While representing 
 their righteous principles, he was lawless and un- 
 scrupulous in bringing about the desired reform. 
 He neither exercised prudence nor common sense 
 in any of his plans. His bravery was foolhardi- 
 ness which any true soldier would condemn. As 
 none of his sons took any prominent part in the 
 war which followed two years after their father's 
 death, it has led many to believe that their Kansas 
 career was more a war of plunder than sentiment. 
 That is a question, however, that we do not propose 
 to discuss in these pages. 
 
 The rebellion was brought about by a few " hot- 
 headed" southern politicians, of the aristocratic 
 class, who held honest labor in contempt, and who 
 regarded the man who toiled as no better than the 
 negro slave. This class of southern aristocrats 
 may be traced from the cavaliers of the Cromwellian 
 period. They early learned to call the New Eng- 
 landers Puritanic fanatics. Yet we would not deal 
 too severely with the southern people. It is diffi- 
 cult to judge the promptings of a man's heart if 
 one is unfamiliar with his surroundings. We 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 should not forget that slavery had existed from the 
 earliest civilization down to 1861. Cruel masters 
 were an exception. The slave was valuable prop- 
 erty, whom the sensible master was careful to keep 
 in good working condition. Naturally the aboli- 
 tionists told only the worst side of the story of 
 slavery. The effect of this system was worse on 
 the whites than on the blacks, yet the man born 
 and reared in the midst of such an institution could 
 not be made to see it. lie believed that the hated 
 " abolitionists" envied him his riches, and was 
 seeking to deprive him of them. He could not 
 believe that the northern people were sincere. To 
 him, all their pleading for the poor slave was sen- 
 timental hypocrisy, and his only design was to 
 deprive him of his property from malice or envy. 
 The underground railroads, and John Brown raids 
 only confirmed him in this belief, and made him 
 more stubborn. The South was greatly to blame, 
 yet the southern people are our brothers; let us 
 deal charitably with them. They took up the 
 sword, and their social system perished by the 
 sword, — let us be content. In military achieve- 
 ments, they were prodigies. They fought with a 
 valor worthy of a better cause. When we consider 
 that we enlisted almost two millions of men more 
 than the South; that we lost in killed, wounded 
 and from hospital deaths more than their entire 
 forces ; that with only one hundred thousand men 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 in the field tlie last year of the war, they fovight 
 over a million, we really have not much to boast 
 of. We may say what we please about general- 
 ship, military skill, yet the official reports of the 
 adjutant generals, give the greatest skill, general- 
 ship and courage to the defeated. There were acts 
 of cruelty on both sides, which had better be for- 
 gotten, and I have omitted all mention of them. 
 In this volume and throughout this series, I have 
 endeavored to teach the great moral principle of 
 patriotism both North and South. The sooner 
 that the South concedes that she was in the wrong, 
 the better it will be for the entire nation, for she 
 is a part of the grand whole. Her sons need not 
 be ashamed of their record as soldiers; but right, 
 justice, and numbers were against them, and it 
 was best that they should suffer defeat. 
 
 In writing this series, I have tried to get at the 
 truth, and have selected such matter as to me 
 seemed most reliable. No one knows better than 
 the historian how difficult it is to sift the truth 
 from the great mass of error. Official records and 
 documents are usually supposed to be correct; but 
 in them one finds such irreconcilable contradic- 
 tions, that the historian is at a loss which to choose. 
 This is especially true of the official reports of the 
 commanding officers in the late war. For certain 
 statements in a former volume of this series a critic 
 takes me to task, because I adopted the generally 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 accepted statements of nine-tenths of the standard 
 historians against an isolated favorite authority of 
 his, and in a private letter expresses his amaze- 
 ment that I should prefer Bancroft, Prince, Dr. 
 Eobinson, and like authority to his "one book," 
 which differs a hair on some immaterial points. 
 In this volume, from the multiplicity of worthy 
 witnesses on both sides, I have been frequently 
 at a loss which to choose; but have in every 
 case taken what to me seemed most authentic, 
 without fear or favor. 
 
 Mark Stevens, a brother of Arthur Stevens, hero 
 of the story " Humbled Pride," and son of Albert 
 Stevens, a soldier of the war of 1812, is the chief 
 actor in this volume. About this fictitious family, 
 whose ancestors are traced to the cabin boy on 
 board the SayHa Ilaria, coming with Columbus on 
 his first voyage in 1402, I have tried to weave the 
 history of the United States. As every life has a 
 plot of its own, each man having a destiny marked 
 out for himself, so have I given to the Stevens 
 family each a different career, at the same time 
 preserving inherent family characteristics, chief of 
 which are honesty and patriotism. I believe that 
 if those principles were taught at every fireside, 
 our country would never again be threatened with 
 dissolution. j^jj^ ^ MUSIGK. 
 
 KiRKViLLE, Mo., January 15, 1894. 
 
TABLE OF COI^TE^TS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Love and Madness, 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Sunny South 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Saint or Devil, 50 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Calhounism, . . . . 76 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Mrs. Anderson's Recruit 96 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Mark and Elsie 118 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Pirate 146 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Recruit, 165 
 
 xiii 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Love and Excitement, 183 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 First Fire, 210 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Shiloh - . . 233 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Alec and Mark, 256 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Pretty Spy, 272 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The Alabama and Kearsarge, ..... 296 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Deserter, 315 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Conflict in the Clouds, 335 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 An Ether Fantasy, ....... 354 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 " I Have a Wife, " 366 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 The Clouds Roix Away, 388 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Conclusion, 409 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Andrew Johnson and the Reconstruction, . . 433 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Grant's Two Administrations— Alabama Claim — 
 Trouble with Spain — Corruption of Officials 
 — "The Whiskey Ring," 448 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Hayes, Garfield and Arthur, ..... 463 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Cleveland's Administration and the Campaign of 
 1888 475 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Harrison's Administration— Trouble with Chile 
 — Defeat — Cleveland Again Elected — Ha- 
 wauan Trouble— Conclusion, .... 483 
 
 Historical Index, 495 
 
 Chronology, ....,,,. 507 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOJ^S. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A large round shot went hissing through the air and 
 
 struck against the solid wall of Fort Sumter, 
 
 (Frontispiece) 
 
 Crummels' Junction, 1 
 
 "When will the train come?" ..... 7 
 Away they flew, pursued bj' tlie angry male attendant, 
 
 whose horse fell and dislocated his shoulder, 27 
 
 "Florida Cracker," 41 
 
 A swish, a swirl in the water, a rush, a clicking reel, 
 
 the slender rod bent almost double, . . 47 
 
 John Brown, ........ 73 
 
 "The United States troops have arrived, and I am 
 
 sent to demand your surrender, " . . .74 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, ....... 90 
 
 "I have brought you Peter Hart, " she said, . . 115 
 
 "Elsie, I hope you realize our situation," . . . 141 
 "Hold on! stop that! . . . If you ever sing agin we'll 
 
 fire you through the lee port, " . . . 159 
 
 How " he" looked 177 
 
 "I pity the fellow who wears those pants, Elsie ; he'd 
 
 have to advance and retreat at the same time, " 188 
 
 Jeff. Davis, 201 
 
 " Now I lay me down to sleep, " was all he could think 
 
 of 207 
 
 "Boys, let's talk it over," 229 
 
 Duel between the Monitor and Merrimac, . . . 234 
 xvii 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "That you, Yank?" 259 
 
 "Even these sacred places have been made into bar- 
 racks," 268 
 
 "Tofool the Johnny Rebs?" 277 
 
 "My commission, my honor, my life you can take, 
 
 but you shall not have her !" .... 291 
 
 "I'm a rebel tii'ed of the business, " .... 333 
 
 General George G. Meade 340 
 
 "Mark! — cousin! — old friend, has it come to this?" . 353 
 
 Then a warm, soft, loving hand took his, . . . 3G4 
 
 General Robert E. Lee, 374 
 
 General W. T. Sherman, 379 
 
 "Elsie!" 385 
 
 "To think, I have been five years courting another 
 
 man's wife I " . . . . . . . 408 
 
 "When next you hear from me, it shall be in connec- 
 tion with some terrible deed," . . . 413 
 Booth was seen leaning on his crutches, trying to get 
 
 a shot at his enemies, . . . . . 424 
 
 Andrew Johnson, ........ 435 
 
 Ulysses S. Grant, 449 
 
 Horace Greeley, . 452 
 
 Samuel J. Tilden 462 
 
 Rutherford B. Hayes, 463 
 
 Winfield Scott Hancock, ...... 469 
 
 James A. Garfield, . 471 
 
 Chester A. Arthur, 472 
 
 Benjamin F. Butler, 474 
 
 James G. Blaine, 475 
 
 Grover Cleveland, 477 
 
 Benjamin Harrison, ....,,.. 484 
 
 William McKinley 488 
 
 Map of the period, .... = ,. 302 
 
UNION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 LOVE AND MADXESS. 
 
 BOUT the middle of the after- 
 noon on a bleak October day, 
 a close carriage driven by a 
 - negro coachman, drawn by 
 ^l--r a pair of blooded but jad- 
 ^■. ^ ed horses reached Crum- 
 mels Junction. Crummels 
 Junction in the ante-bel- 
 lum days was much like the ordinary junctions of 
 to-day. People who travel much, never cease to 
 wonder why the crossest depot agents that can be 
 found are always located at junctions, where there 
 is nothing but a depot, a store and a saloon, but 
 such seems to be the case. The carriage crossed 
 the track, which seemed to require all the strength 
 of the horses, for the rails and ties were above the 
 embankment, and tlie section manager apparently 
 1 
 
2 UNION. 
 
 had taken special pains to have that crossing par- 
 ticularly inconvenient and dangerous to anything 
 lighter than an ox cart. 
 
 The cold, raw wind sweeping across a stretch of 
 bleak prairie, dotted here and there with houses, 
 wood sheds, hay stacks, and rail fences, howled 
 about the store, saloon and depot in a mournful 
 manner. There was not a tavern or public house 
 at Crummels, and the travellers in the carriage 
 evidently did not expect to tarry long at this un- 
 inviting spot. 
 
 The vehicle was an elegant conveyance and, had 
 the air been balmy, would have brought all the 
 inhabitants of the junction out to gaze on it in 
 open-mouthed wonder. The negro coachman drove 
 it as near to the platform as he could and, alight- 
 ing with the good manners of a well-bred servant 
 in an aristocratic household, opened the door of 
 the carriage saying: 
 
 " Heah ye are, massa!" 
 
 A young man, well muffled, alighted from the 
 carriage to the platform, and assisted a tall lady, 
 heavily veiled, to get out. Another gentleman 
 appeared, and the two half led and half carried 
 from the coach a feeble young creature, who, 
 though she was closely veiled, one could see was 
 an invalid. 
 
 Her head drooped, and she seemed only half 
 
 RBO ■ 
 
 MoU 
 
LOVE AND MADNESS. 3 
 
 conscious. As soon as she was on the platform, 
 the woman who had preceded her came to her side 
 and in a low affectionate tone said : 
 
 " Do you feel stronger, dear?" 
 
 The invalid made no response, but stared at her 
 with her great eyes through the veil. Those large 
 and beautiful eyes, sad to say, were expressionless. 
 The blank stare of insanity or delirium beamed 
 from them. She saw nothing real and her poor, 
 tortured mind could scarce recognize those friends 
 who were doing all possible for her comfort. 
 
 " Let us go into the depot, " said one of the men, 
 shivering with cold. 
 
 "Do you see any one in there, George?" the 
 tall lady asked. 
 
 " No, the place seems almost if not quite de- 
 serted ; but I suppose some one will be here before 
 the train arrives. " They entered the depot wait- 
 ing-room, — one of those diminutive affairs always 
 found at out-of-the-way stations, over which the 
 most ill-natured and inaccessible agent presides. 
 The floor was freshly swept; there was a fire in the 
 round, large stove, three of the most inconvenient 
 benches which a depot architect's ingenuity can 
 invent, were fastened to the walls. The 'walls 
 were ornamented only with unreliable railroad 
 maps, timetables and misleading railroad advertis- 
 ing. There was a square box, two-thirds full of 
 
4 UNION. 
 
 sawdust, well moistened and stained with tobacco 
 juice. 
 
 The sad little party did not give the apartment 
 a detailed survey. Three of the party looked 
 fatigued, and the poor young lady, or rather girl, 
 for she was scarcely more, had an air of settled 
 melancholy and indifference. 
 
 " Here is a seat for you," said the young man 
 called George, with a sigh. " It is the best we can 
 do." 
 
 " Come, dear, sit down — there now, lean your 
 head on me if you are tired," the lady said to the 
 invalid. 
 
 George went to the office to see when the train 
 left, and found the ticket window closed. 
 
 "Isn't the agent in there, George?" asked the 
 other young man. 
 
 "No, Charles." 
 
 " Well, if you will look around you may find 
 him," said Charles with a grim smile. " Probably 
 he is helping unload freight, or upon a side track 
 coupling cars, or over across the railroad helping 
 a farmer kill hogs. Or maybe he has gone to 
 another town with a team to carry some passengers. " 
 
 George felt very much inclined to utter some 
 unpleasant remarks about the agent; but as his 
 pitying gaze alighted on the unfortunate object of 
 his journey, his eyes grew dim with moisture, and 
 
LOVE AND MADNESS. 5 
 
 lie heaved a sigh. Waiting at a depot is never 
 pleasant, and at a conntrv junction, such as Crum- 
 mels, it is particularly unpleasant. It seemed as 
 if the management of the road had determined that 
 no one who passed that spot should ever forget it. 
 
 "Are you tired?" asked the young man called 
 George, going over to where the woman and invalid 
 sat. 
 
 "Oh, yes," was the answer with a half -drawn 
 sigh; " but we must make the best of it; can you 
 learn nothing of the train?" 
 
 " No; the genius who presides over this impor- 
 tant post seems invisible," said George bitterly. 
 There was a spice of satire in his words, yet they 
 were full of sadness. Hopes and ambitions 
 crushed, a heart overburdened and bowed beneath 
 its weight of sorrow, were all exjiressed in his low, 
 sad voice. George with his hands clasped behind 
 his back, began walking back and forth across the 
 floor of the narrow depot. Charles went out to 
 the platform and instructed the colored driver to 
 go back about a mile to a farm house, feed the 
 horses, and wait until the train came, then to re- 
 turn for him. 
 
 " I am going to stay with them until they are 
 off," he added. 
 
 "Yes, massa — I'll come." 
 
 The negro was anxious to be gone, for the chill 
 
6 UNION. 
 
 winds seemed to pierce his bones, and he turned 
 the horses about and sped away. While all this 
 was transpiring, George was sadly pacing the nar- 
 row confines of the depot asking himself when and 
 how this would all end. The poor young girl, 
 whose white face rested on the shoulder of her lady 
 attendant, had closed her eyes as if to sleep, but 
 only to see visions more terrible than a sane mind 
 can imagine. Suddenly a rude, heavy tramp was 
 heard outside, the door was swung open, and a 
 man with red face, blue cap, and pencil behind his 
 ear entered. He closed the door with such a bang, 
 that the poor girl, whose nerves were already 
 shattered, started up with a half-uttered shriek, 
 and it required the soothing words and caresses 
 of her companion for several moments to quiet 
 her. 
 
 But what did the station agent care for a nervous 
 girl? He seemed to have more business than the 
 general manager of the road. Drawing a great 
 bunch of nerve-shattering keys, he dashed one 
 into the lock of the side door and, opening it, en- 
 tered, banged the door after him, and threw up 
 the ticket window, as if to give the outside world 
 a view of the great man at work. He sat at a 
 desk and proceeded to count some money which he 
 took from his vest pocket with an air of importance 
 of which the treasurer of the United States might 
 
LOVE AND MADNESS. 
 
 well be proud. Men have an idea that inaccessi- 
 bility is evidence of greatness, and there is not a 
 more inaccessible man than the manager of a coun- 
 try depot station. The 
 smaller the stiition the more 
 inaccessible. 
 
 " When will the train 
 come?" George ventured 
 to ask. 
 
 The brow of the superior 
 being corrugated, and he 
 went on counting a pile of 
 one-dollar bills, acting as 
 if he had a very dim idea / 
 that he had been spoken "^ 
 to; but he waited until the 
 monej^ was in the safe, and 
 he had turned the knob, 
 and then answered, " I 
 don't know," so sharply 
 that, had George been 
 alone, he would have walked to the next station. 
 This important task done, the agent bustled out of 
 his narrow box-like ofhce, slammed the door of the 
 stove, as though he was afraid George would steal 
 a stick of wood, or run away with the lining. 
 Although George was wealthy, and the care of his 
 horses cost him more than the agent's salary, the 
 
 'When will the train come?" 
 
8 UNION. 
 
 agent seemed to regard him as a three-card-monte 
 man, and his entire party as intruders. 
 
 Going out, the agent closed the door with an- 
 other bang which aroused the invalid, and once 
 more brought forth a cry of dread and fear. 
 George was inclined to follow him and punch his 
 head, but checked this impulse. He went out on 
 the platform, and saw this superior being helping 
 a woman, evidently his landlady, hang out clothes 
 in the back yard. This task done, he fell to split- 
 ting stove wood out of old railroad ties. 
 
 Night drew nearer, it became more drear, and 
 the station agent entered, lighted a greasy lamp in 
 the waiting-room, chucked more wood in the stove, 
 and lighted a lamp in his own apartment. 
 
 Uncomplaining and patient, the young woman 
 sat with the afflicted maiden at her side, trying to 
 keep her wandering mind to the realities of life. 
 This was impossible, for the vagaries of delusion 
 constantly haunted her. At times she saw what 
 seemed starry heavens, which were accompanied 
 by indescribable horrors, so that she wanted to lly. 
 There was ever present a demon of fear. She 
 heard voices calling her from out of space, and, 
 turning, found no one. She had the most unac- 
 countable nightmare, in which she was tormented 
 by fiends and goblins. At times, her tormentors 
 assumed the shape of the devil, and at others of 
 
LOVE AND MADNESS. 9 
 
 a sea serpent. Sometimes she seemed to go off 
 into space, eluding their grasp. This was accom- 
 panied by a sense of suffocation, a feeling as of one 
 coming out from the influence of ether. Kaising 
 her pale, yet beautiful face to the woman on whose 
 shoulder she had been resting, she asked: 
 
 " Has he come ? " 
 
 " Who, dear?" 
 
 " The doctor — the one who is to drive away 
 these demons." 
 
 " Not yet, be patient, dear — all will be well." 
 
 " Oh, you say so, Lucy, yet you don't know — 
 you can't know." 
 
 " Won't you try to sleep, dear?" 
 
 " No, this is no hotel. Call the servant — where 
 is Maria?" 
 
 The station-agent came back again. He was in 
 his element, for the train was two hours late, and 
 he sat working at his telegraphic instrument as if 
 the world rested on his shoulders. The patient 
 George listened to the constant click of the instru- 
 ment, and would have given ten dollars to know 
 what was going over the wires. Occasionally the 
 station-agent laughed at something the instrument 
 said, and just as George began to think the news 
 of the world was being stored in his massive brain, 
 a young country lout in blue drillen roundabout, 
 his pants in his boots, entered, wiping his nose on 
 
10 UNION. 
 
 his mitten. The agent turned and, in a most com- 
 monplace manner, said: 
 
 " Hello, Jack, there is goin' to be a dance at the 
 hop yard at Baylis Siding to-night, and they want 
 us to come up on No. 4. " 
 
 " How d'ye know, Charley?" the lout asked. 
 
 " Susie just now told me. " 
 
 George now realized that the agent, all these 
 long hours that he had been watching the varied 
 expressions of his calm and mysterious face, had 
 been chaffing with the female operator at the next 
 station. The big country bumpkin took a chew of 
 pi iig tobacco and said : 
 
 " I guess I will go and brush up a little and put 
 on a clean shirt before No. 4 comes. " To which 
 the operator responded : 
 
 "Be sure to be on hand, Jack; we'll have a 
 daisy time at the dance. " 
 
 Great consolation this bit of information was to 
 George, who was waiting with greatest of anxiety 
 to know how soon they could leave this miserable 
 place. He turned away from the narrow window 
 and glanced at the two females sitting in the cor- 
 ner. His brother Charles who had been prome- 
 nading a few moments on the damp platform en- 
 tered the station and in a subdued tone asked: 
 
 " Can you get anything out of that idiot?" 
 
 "No; he's too much interested in a dance that 
 
LOVE AND MADNESS. 11 
 
 comes off somewhere to-night, to pay much atten- 
 tion to the business of the road." 
 
 Then George turned his sad gray eyes in pity 
 on the unfortunate maiden, and asked: 
 
 " Do you think she can stand it much longer?" 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 "Oh, it is awful! My God! why should the 
 train be late at this time, above all others?" 
 
 " I don't know, George. This has been one of 
 the most unfortunate events of our lives. " 
 
 " Yes; it seems like a horrible nightmare.. " He 
 folded his arms across his breast and walked back 
 and forth, softly, so as not to disturb the unfortu- 
 nate maiden. Then he came to his brother's side 
 and said : 
 
 "Charles, try and console mother; if possible, 
 reconcile her to this step. It is the best that could 
 be done. " 
 
 " I know it, George." 
 
 " Mother is a true Christian. Tell her to put 
 her faith in Him who comforts the afflicted." 
 
 "I will, George, though I don't just now feel 
 very religious, " and he cast a savage glance at the 
 window of the ticket office. 
 
 George muttered some unintelligible words be- 
 tween his teeth and said something about horse- 
 whipping a puppy for his impudence, then went 
 out on the platform to try to pick up an acquaint- 
 
12 VIRION. 
 
 ance with the man who ran the horse -power 
 threshing machine. He was more communicative 
 than the station agent, for lie did not live in such 
 an exalted atmosphere. There is no man who 
 knows more than the junction agent, about every- 
 thing, if you only possess the gift of drawing him 
 out. Though only four trains a day stop at his 
 station, and they halt only long enough to let off 
 some unfortunate wretch whom circumstances 
 force to get off, however reluctant he may be to 
 do so, the agent is in his element for a brief mo- 
 ment. He addresses the conductor as "Jim," or 
 "George," or "Billy," and asks, with a show of 
 interest as deep as a division superintendent, where 
 he passed "No. 1," and if "No. 6" is going to 
 be on time. He may even ask something about 
 railroad stocks in a manner that would convince 
 one that he was bulling the market, when in real- 
 ity he might not have eleven dollars left from his 
 last month's salary. Such an agent was at Crum- 
 mels Junction , and had not George been weighed 
 down with grief and humiliation, he might have 
 resented the fellow's impudence. 
 
 After a fe\^ moments on the platform, George 
 took a glance down the long railroad track along 
 which it was hoped the train would come, and 
 strained his ear to catch the sound. Already it 
 was night, and the damp fog, which had settled 
 
LOVE AND MADNESS. 13 
 
 like a pall over the entire landscape, seemed to 
 cut off the entire world, and no sound save a 
 farmer calling hogs, or the barking of dogs reached 
 the ears of the young man. With a sigh, he en- 
 tered the depot, shivering with cold and damp. 
 The patient Lucy was still supporting the delirious 
 maiden. 
 
 " Is it coming?" she asked. 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " Are you tired, Lucy?" 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 " Let me sit by her while you walk about, and 
 rest yourself. " 
 
 " I think we had better not disturb her now. " 
 
 "Is she asleep?" he asked in low, cautious 
 voice. 
 
 " I don't know " 
 
 At this the afflicted maiden started up, saying: 
 
 " What is it? what did you say? Is she com- 
 ing? I have told you all the time she would; but 
 you would not believe me. George — George — 
 what are you thinking about?" 
 
 " It is all right," George said. 
 
 " All right — that is what you have told me all 
 the time; but didn't I see her put the poison in 
 the cup? Where is Maria? she saw her too. 
 Maria, Maria!" 
 
 "Hush, dear, Maria is not here," Lucy said in 
 
14 UNION. 
 
 a low, soothing tone. " We are travelling now, 
 we are going soon. " 
 
 " Are we going home, Lucy?" 
 
 "Yes, dear." 
 
 " Now you won't deceive me, will you?" 
 
 "No, no, dear." 
 
 " Oh, Lucy, I want to go home — I want to go 
 home — why did they ever take me away ? There 
 are no serpents nor insects there, such as I see 
 here, day and night, — oh — there is one on my 
 hand!" 
 
 " No, dear, it is not " 
 
 "Take it off!" 
 
 Lucy made a gesture, as if brushing something 
 away, and the invalid said: 
 
 " There, see, Lucy, you have taken off my hand ! 
 — put it on again. " 
 
 "It is all right, dear, " Lucy responded, care- 
 fully caressing her hand, and soothingly assuring 
 her that she would be cared for. 
 
 " I am so glad, Lucy, that we are going home 
 at last. Oh, it has been so long — so long since I 
 left my home — I have suffered so much — where is 
 Maria? — Has the doctor come yet?" 
 
 " Be quiet, dear, we have strangers about us 
 now." 
 
 " Sing to me, Lucy." 
 
 Lucy, whose voice was choking with grief, 
 
LOVE AND 3IADNESS. 15 
 
 whispered that she could not sing, and as a mother 
 soothes an affrighted child, so she quieted the 
 nerve -shattered maiden, coaxing her to be quiet 
 until the train came, when they would go. 
 
 For the hundredth time, George had gone to the 
 platform to look for the train and came back dis- 
 appointed. 
 
 "Can I get tickets now?" he asked, going to 
 the window. 
 
 "Yes; how many do you want?" growled the 
 agent. 
 
 " Three. " 
 
 " Eeturn-trip tickets?" 
 
 "Only two of us will return — one will not!" 
 and his voice was almost choked with grief. The 
 tickets were stamped and handed to him. He put 
 down a golden double eagle and received his 
 change. Then he sat down near his female com- 
 panions, and bowing his head on his chest, closed 
 his eyes. 
 
 People who travel soon learn to dread junction 
 waiting. Nowhere in the world does time hang 
 so heavily as at the station; but when one has an 
 invalid with whom it is important to reach their 
 destination as quickly as possible, time hangs with 
 double weight upon them. George was almost in 
 a state of unconsciousness when his brother Charles 
 said: 
 
16 UNION. 
 
 " George, it's coming." 
 
 "At last! — thank God!" he ejaculated, starting 
 up. 
 
 There was a little bustle in the depot. A dozen 
 people had entered to see the train come in. 
 Most of them were countr}- boys in brown home- 
 spun and slouched hats who stood with hands in 
 their pockets, and in open-mouthed wonder gazed 
 at the monster as it went puffing by. Through 
 this crowd of idle loafers, they conveyed the un- 
 fortunate maiden, who shrank from sight of every 
 one, and seemed liable to go frantic at the slight- 
 est noise. 
 
 George heard the agent accost the engineer 
 familiarly with: 
 
 "Hello, Roxy, you're late." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " How long before No. 4 will come?" 
 
 "In half an hour." 
 
 " Glad o' that, we're goin' up to the dance." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " At Baylises Siding. " 
 
 "Wish T could go." 
 
 It required the united efforts of the three rela- 
 tives to get the unfortunate maiden through the 
 noisy crowd and hissing steam to the cars. The 
 conductor was shouting: 
 
 "All aboard!" 
 
LOVE AXD MADXESS. 17 
 
 " Do you run a sleeping coach on this train?" 
 asked George. 
 
 "No." 
 
 Sleeping coaches at this time were very uncom- 
 mon. They were shown to the rear car, which 
 was reserved for ladies, and found seats upholstered 
 with dark leather, but more comfortable than the 
 benches of the depot. Tlie elegant red velvet 
 plush seats and reclining chairs which make rail- 
 road travel a luxury to-day were not common 
 then. 
 
 They got comfortable seats, and George said: 
 
 " Lucy, I will sit by and watch over her to-night- 
 Take this vacant seat behind us and try to get 
 some sleep. " 
 
 Charles, who had followed them into the train 
 with bandboxes and travelling bags, bade George 
 adieu, kissed Luc}" and the invalid affectionately, 
 and then darted out as the car began to move. 
 The louts on the platform uttered diabolical and 
 senseless yells as the train rolled away. 
 
 " What is it? George — George, are you here?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " We are going now I" 
 
 "Home?" 
 
 "Yes, home!" he answered with a suppressed 
 sob. 
 
 2 
 
18 UNION. 
 
 Then he thought that only two of them would 
 come back, and a moisture gathered in his eyes. 
 "It's for the best — I know it's for the best," he 
 said. 
 
 At his side the unfortunate being crouched, 
 sometimes covering her head, and shivering with 
 fear. The conductor passed through taking up the 
 tickets. When George, worn out from excessive 
 watching and anxiety, closed his eyes for a mo- 
 ment, he was startled by a movement on the part 
 of the girl at his side. Looking at her, he found 
 her sitting bolt upright staring about her, with her 
 great, insane eyes, as if she were seeking some 
 one, or looking for an opportunity to fly. 
 
 " Lie down ; place your head on my shoulder, " 
 he said in a low, gentle tone. 
 
 She obeyed and, nestling her head on his broad 
 shoulder, as she had so often done in childhood, 
 she whispered : 
 
 " George, are we going home?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 It almost broke his heart to deceive her; but he 
 could not tell the truth. Yes, George lied. The 
 home to which he was taking her was one from 
 which all shrink with dread. He had ever been 
 her favorite brother, for he was almost fifteen 
 years her senior, and she had looked up to him in 
 early childhood with the utmost confidence. In 
 
LOVE AND 3IADNESS. 19 
 
 all her career of fantastic madness, even thougli 
 she denied father and mother, George was to her 
 the same George of her early childhood, ever 
 trusted, ever noble and grand. His voice soothed 
 her alarm and drove away those demoniacal crea- 
 tures of " bromide," when no other would. 
 
 " George, am I going home?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Then she was quiet for awhile. Only the sullen 
 roar of iron wheels on the damp cold rails fell on 
 their ears. The seat before them was occupied by 
 a large middle-aged bald-headed gentleman, who 
 half lay and half sat in it. Over the back of the 
 seat could be seen his bald cranium, bare and 
 white, glistening in the dim light, and when the 
 train stopped as it occasionally did, the snoring of 
 the sleeper attested that his slumber was profound. 
 
 The sleeper was in blissful ignorance of the fact 
 that a madwoman was in the seat behind him, and 
 in his dreamland wanderings had forgotten railroad 
 travel and all its inconveniences. 
 
 George never slept. Once or twice he was 
 dozing, but at the slightest rustling of his sister's 
 silk dress, he was aroused. He found her sitting 
 up again leaning forward with fingers read}' to 
 pluck something, and, to his mortification, found 
 the bald head of the sleeper in front the object of 
 her diseased fancy. 
 
20 UNION. 
 
 " Come, come, sister," lie said soothingly, " don't 
 do that! lie down," and he drew her head on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 "George, am I going home?" she asked again. 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 " I don'tbelieve it. This is not the road," 
 
 " We will come to the right road." 
 
 " Where is Maria? I want Maria." 
 
 " Don't you remember you became angry at her 
 and said she should not come with you?" 
 
 " Yes, I believe I did ; but how am I to do 
 without a maid?" 
 
 "Lucy will be your maid," he answered. 
 " Come now, try to go to sleep. " 
 
 "I can't — when I try, there is something that 
 comes crawling all over me. " 
 
 "It is nothing; it is only your imagination. 
 Don't you know I won't let you be harmed?" 
 
 She was again soothed, and this time he thought 
 she slept. He was so tired that he could scarcely 
 keep his eyes open; and despite all his anxiety 
 and watchfulness, had once more begun to sink 
 away into slumberland, when the rustling of the 
 silk dress at his side awoke him. Again she was 
 sitting up leaning over the seat in front. That 
 bald head before her seemed to have some special 
 attraction, and fingers and thumb were held as if 
 to grab something. He was only in time to pre- 
 
LOVE AND MADNESS. 21 
 
 vent her giving the sleeper's bare pate a nip which 
 would undoubtedly have aroused him. 
 
 " You must not do this, — you must not." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " You must not wake the stranger. " 
 
 " But I saw it crawling there!" 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " The bug or spider. It's on his head, and I 
 want to pluck it off; look and you will see it." 
 
 "No, no; it's only your imagination. Do lie 
 quiet. Don't disturb the stranger." 
 
 "Stranger? why, brother, he is no stranger." 
 
 "He is." 
 
 " Isn't that brother Charles?" 
 
 " No ; Charles was left back at Crummels Junc- 
 tion." 
 
 " Is that so? well, I had forgotten. I thought it 
 was him, and that the spider might bite him." 
 
 Then she laid her head down against her 
 brother's shoulder and slept a long time. Fatigue 
 had at last overcome the abnormal activity of her 
 brain, and she did not awake until broad da3^ 
 The train was still flying along through a wooded 
 country. The trees and fences were dripping from 
 the dampness, and as they were whirled past farm 
 houses, they saw evidences of life. At one a man 
 was feeding some hungry pigs, at another a farmer 
 was seen washing his face in a tin basin by the rain- 
 
22 UNION. 
 
 water barrel. He took a towel and wiped his eyes, 
 then stared at the train. A little further on they 
 saw a negro boy riding a colt, which was fright- 
 ened at the train and trying to run away. On, 
 on and on they whirled, across a creek spanned 
 by a bridge and through a grove. Next they sped 
 through a village without stopping. They saw a 
 negro woman standing on the rear porch with a 
 broom in her hand, and a red bandanna handker- 
 chief about her head. There were people in the 
 streets, in stores and at the depot. 
 
 On they sped like the wind and a few moments 
 were among the stony hills. The train whirled 
 on, and as the hour grew later, they saw men and 
 negroes going to the villages in wagons, on horse- 
 back or on foot. The face of the country had 
 changed. 
 
 Soon there was evidence of approaching a larger 
 town or city. Lucy, who had been awake for 
 some time, asked George: 
 
 " Is she asleep?" 
 
 " No. " 
 
 " Did she sleep during the night?" 
 
 " Yes, some." 
 
 At this, the invalid started up and asked: 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " We will soon be there, dear, be quiet." 
 
 " Lucy, take my place in this seat, " said George. 
 
LOVE AND 3IADNESS. 2d 
 
 She did so. The sick girl had by this time at- 
 tracted the attention of nearly all in the car. 
 George went to the conductor, who was entering 
 at the front door, and held a short consultation 
 with him. On returning, the bald-headed man, 
 who had waked up, heard him say: 
 
 " The conductor says we will find carriages at 
 the depot to take us. " 
 
 "How far is it?" 
 
 " We will be there in ten minutes. " 
 
 " I am so glad. " 
 
 George was both glad and sorry. He was like 
 one going to the funeral of a near relative, glad 
 when it would be over, yet filled with grief while 
 it was transpiring. He was a young man, tall 
 and handsome, with a strong and vigorous frame, 
 but care had furrowed his cheeks, and there were 
 flecks of gray in his hair, which could not have 
 been seen six months ago. 
 
 At last the train ran into the depot, and the in- 
 valid was assisted from the coach. The two young 
 women sat in a great crowded depot, while George 
 went out to hunt for a convej^ance. He found 
 one and came back. There was a lunch room 
 near, and he said: 
 
 " Lucy, won't you have a bite of breakfast and 
 some coffee?" 
 
 " No. " 
 
24 UNION. 
 
 "Don't you feel faint?" 
 
 " Yes; but let us get tliis over with." 
 
 She asked the invalid, who sat staring into 
 vacancy, if she would not have some breakfast, 
 and she shook her head. The carriage was ready, 
 a trunk and travelling bags were placed on it, and 
 the three were soon ensconced in the vehicle, speed- 
 ing out of the town. 
 
 " Charles, Charles," called the invalid. 
 
 " Don't call, dear; it is not Charles." 
 
 " Isn't that Charles with Pete on the box?" 
 
 " No, dear. " 
 
 " Then tell Pete to go back. " 
 
 " It is not Pete; see, we are going to your new 
 home. " 
 
 At this moment, the carriage made a sweep 
 round the bend in the road and came in full view 
 of a large, elegant building several stories in 
 height, with vast wings and windows, and beauti- 
 ful grounds ornamented with trees. There was 
 ease and elegance evinced there; but the windows 
 had iron gratings like a prison. At sight of it, 
 George's head fell. The carriage rolled up a beau- 
 tiful drive to the front of the building, and the 
 party alighted. A negro slave showed them into 
 the institution, and on the right was an office where 
 the president and principal physician, a large, well- 
 preserved man, past middle age, with black eyes 
 
LOVE AND MADXESS. 25 
 
 and iron-gray hair, was found sitting at his desk. 
 He rose on their entrance, for by the air and rich 
 dress of the people, he saw at once that they were 
 of the wealthy class. It only needed a glance for 
 him to see his patient, and he said: 
 
 "She is tired, let her sit in this easy-chair." 
 When she was seated he asked of George, " How 
 long has she been in this condition?" 
 
 " It is about three weeks since we noticed any 
 change, doctor. " 
 
 Then the doctor opened a book, in which he 
 wrote a history of the young maiden and her dis- 
 ease. When he had done so, Lucy, whose anxiety 
 to understand the cause overcame all medical pro- 
 priety, asked : 
 
 "Doctor, what is it?" 
 
 The lii)s of the doctor were compressed a mo- 
 ment, and then he said: 
 
 "Bromide." 
 
 " Can she be cured?" 
 
 " There is a hope. " He got up, muttering 
 something about " accursed quackery," and rang a 
 bell. A lady with a mild, kind face appeared, 
 and to her the new patient was consigned, the doc- 
 tor merely saying: 
 
 " Take her to the hospital ward. " 
 
 They accompanied her through long corridors, 
 where there were iron doors, which closed with a 
 
26 UNION. 
 
 bang. They passed gibbering, cbattering idiots and 
 wild-eyed lunatics, until a quiet wing of the insti- 
 tution was gained, where they were raet by another 
 sweet-faced woman, a professional nurse. With her, 
 George and Lucy held a conversation, in which the 
 latter, with tears streaming down her cheeks, said: 
 
 " Be good to lier, give lier all the advantages you 
 can, and you shall be well paid for your trouble." 
 Some jingling coins fell in the nurse's hands. The 
 parting was heart-breaking. How could it be 
 otherwise, when the poor sick girl, scarcely more 
 than a child, begged them not to leave her in this 
 strange place? But necessity compelled them to 
 do so, and tliey went away. 
 
 Three weeks later the newspapers all over the 
 land published one of the most sensational stories 
 of which the American press can boast. As the 
 reader will see from the following clipping from 
 one of the daily papers, the names were sup- 
 pressed. This was obviously done to shield the 
 officials in charge of the institution, who must 
 have been guilty of the grossest negligence. One 
 of the newspaper statements was as follows : 
 
 "LOVE AND MADNESS. 
 "a pair of lunatics elope fkom an insane asylum 
 
 AND WED. 
 
 "A fact has just leaked out, which rivals anything in 
 romance. The novelist might cudgel his brain for years, 
 
AWAY THEY FLEW, PIHSUED BY THE ANGRY MALE ATTENDANT, WHOSE HORSE 
 FELL AND DISLOCATED HIS SHOCLDER. 
 
LOVE AND MADNESS. 27 
 
 and never invent a story more exquisitely fantastic. It 
 seems that an insane asylum, less than a thousand miles 
 from this city, is the theatre of this remarkable episode. 
 A few weeks ago, a young man, suffering from some 
 nervous complaint, aggravated by quack treatment, until 
 he was laboring under delirium, was confined in the 
 asylum. He soon evinced some signs of recovery and was 
 given the privilege of the grounds. One day, while with 
 his attendant, he met a young and very beautiful female 
 patient. Insane people have strange freaks, and it is sup- 
 posed that with these two lunatics it was a case of love at 
 first sight. How they wooed each other in the asylum, 
 where the male and female wards are kept separate, and 
 where they could hardly see each other, unless when with 
 attendants, is a mystery which the investigation now in 
 progress may clear up. Perhaps he, Romeo-like, met his 
 insane Juliet on the balcony while the nurses slept, as did 
 Capulet. Be that as it maj', they certainly met more than 
 once, and their plan of escape had method in it, even if it 
 was madness. The two, being children of wealthy parents, 
 had, among other privileges, saddle horses, and one day 
 while riding about the grounds, the insane Romeo espied 
 his Juliet mounted, and riding with her attendant, and at 
 a preconcerted signal the lovers dashed out at the open gate 
 like the wind, and away they flew along the road, pursued 
 by the angry male attendant, whose horse fell down and 
 dislocated his shoulder. On they sped for ten miles to the 
 house of a local minister, whom they asked to marry them. 
 Here the cunning peculiar to madness was exercised, and 
 the good parson who performed the ceremonj- had not the 
 slightest idea he was wedding a pair of lunatics. Having 
 imposed on the good parson, the youngster paid him ten 
 dollars in gold, and, with his bride, set out — Heaven only 
 knows where, when they were overtaken by the authorities 
 of the asylum, and taken back. It is said that these young 
 folks are both from wealthy and respectable families, and 
 
28 UNION. 
 
 under ordinary circumstances the wedding would have 
 been unobjectionable. As it is, however, the indignant 
 friends and relatives of these romantic patients have re- 
 moved them from the institution, and the atmosphere in 
 that locality is growing decidedly warm, in the nature of 
 a legal investigation." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SUNNY SOUTH. 
 
 Jacksonville, Florida, is famous all over the 
 world. To the pale-faced northerner it is the 
 Mecca of his hopes, and yet in the ante-bellum 
 days it was scarce known outside the State. It is 
 not two score years since there was a corn-field on 
 the site of Bay Street, now the chief avenue of a 
 city of over seventeen thousand inhabitants, which 
 from 1880 to 1890 increased in population 124.85 
 per cent. Jacksonville was once known as " Cow 
 Ford. " There the " King's Road" in the old days, 
 crossed the river, and connected the northern set- 
 tlements with St. Augustine. During the war, it 
 ran to decay. It was strongly fortified, and was 
 clung to desperately by the Confederates. The 
 Union troops occupied it several times, and on the 
 third assault a fire broke out, which did much 
 damage. At the close of the great struggle, the 
 grass stood waist high in the streets, and the cattle 
 had taken refuge from the sun in the deserted 
 houses. Since Florida became famous as a health 
 
 29 
 
So VISION. 
 
 resort and winter garden, northern people have 
 swept in so resistlessly that so far as its artificial 
 features are concerned, the city has grown up 
 according to the New England pattern, though the 
 foliage, climate and sun arc the antipodes of those 
 of the North. 
 
 It is not the Jacksonville of to-dav, but the 
 town or village which nestled there in 1858 and 
 1859 to which we call the attention of the reader. 
 It was a small, insignificant spot, yet as the to- 
 pography of the country never changes, one may 
 judge something of its characteristics then, by see- 
 ing it now. It was a frosty morning in January, 
 when the wheezy little coast steamer ran up the 
 river to the village of Jacksonville. Thin flakes 
 of ice had formed in the little pools along the 
 shore, and the pale young man who stood on the 
 deck, drew the folds of his cloak closer about him, 
 and grumbled : 
 
 "If this is the tropical region, where winter 
 never comes, I see but little change after all." 
 
 In vain those who had been there before told 
 him that this was an exceptional winter for Florida, 
 that this " cold snap" would last but a few hours; 
 he still grumbled and vowed he would find warmer 
 weather or cross the line. The scenery along the 
 shore was drear and uninviting. Here and there, 
 in the forest gaps, the negroes had kindled huge 
 
THE SUXNY SOUTH. 31 
 
 fires, and were grouped about them, toasting their 
 heads, and freezing their backs. Now and then 
 the traveller caught glimpses of beautiful thickets; 
 or long stretches of field carpeted with thick 
 growths of palmetto, while in other places might 
 be seen the distant pine barrens, and log cabins 
 swarming with black-skinned negroes. 
 
 Mark Stevens was entering the " Sunny South" 
 for the first time. Of northern climes and middle 
 States he was thoroughly familiar. He was a na- 
 tive of Kentucky; but the principal part of his 
 boyhood and young manhood had been spent in 
 Massachusetts. His pale cheeks and thoughtful 
 mien betokened the student. He had completed 
 a course at Harvard, and, as his health had suf- 
 fered from over-exertion, he had taken the advice 
 of some friends and gone South. Mark's parents 
 still lived in Kentucky. He had relatives in Mas- 
 sachusetts and some distant relatives in Florida, 
 whom he expected to meet. Reuben Stevens was 
 a wealthy planter in Florida. His son Alec, a wild, 
 harum-scarum 3'oung fellow, yet kind-hearted, 
 and generous, was with Mark one year in college, 
 and made him promise to come to Florida and visit 
 them. He was now on his way to make that visit, 
 and as he entered the gatewa}' of the great penin- 
 sula, he paused for a moment to reflect upon its 
 history. Fact and fancy here wandered hand in 
 
32 UNION. 
 
 hand. The aiiy chronicles of the ancient fathers 
 hovered upon the confines of the impossible. The 
 austere northerner and the cynical European mur- 
 mur incredulously at the tales of modern writers 
 who grow enthusiastic over the charms of this new 
 winter paradise. Yet what of fiction should ex- 
 ceed in romantic interest the history of this vener- 
 able State? What artist could paint foliage whose 
 splendors would ecfual that of the virgin forests 
 of the Oclawaha and Indian rivers? What " foun- 
 tain of youth" could be imagined more redolent 
 with enchantment than the " Silver Spring, " which 
 is to-day annually visited by fifty thousand tour- 
 ists? The subtle moonlight, the perfect glory of 
 the dying sun as he sinks below a horizon fringed 
 with fantastic trees, the perfume faintly borne 
 from the orange grove, the murmuring music of 
 the waves along the inlets, and the mangrove-cov- 
 ered banks are beyond words. 
 
 This American Italy lies in the latitude of north- 
 ern Mexico, the desert of Sahara, Central Arabia, 
 Southern China, and northern Hindostan; but its 
 heats are tempered by the Gulf of Mexico on one side, 
 and the Gulf Stream, which fiows along the eastern 
 coast for three hundred miles, on the other. Over 
 the level breadth of ninet}' miles between these two 
 waters, constantly blow odorous and health-giving 
 ocean winds, and under their influence, aided by the 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 33 
 
 genial sun, springs up an almost miraculous sub- 
 tropical vegetation. It is the home of the pal- 
 metto, and the cabbage palm, the live-oak and the 
 cypress, the mistletoe, with its bright green leaves 
 and red berries, the Spanish moss, the ambitious 
 mangrove, the stately magnolia, the smilax china, 
 the orange, the myrtle, the water-lily, the jasmine, 
 the cork tree, the sisal-hemp, the grape, and the 
 cocoanut. There the northerner, wont to boast 
 of the brilliant sunsets of his own clime, finds all 
 his past experiences outdone. In the winter 
 months, soft breezes come caressingly; the whole 
 peninsula is carpeted with blossoms, and the birds 
 sing sweetly in the untrodden thickets. It has 
 the charm of wildness, of mystery ; it is untamed ; 
 civilization has not stained it. No wonder the 
 Seminoles fought ferociously ere they suffered 
 themselves to be banished from this charming 
 land. 
 
 The vessel landed, and Mark was conducted to 
 one of those old-fashioned southern taverns by a 
 negro slave, while two or three more carried his 
 luggage. The sea air and frosty morning had 
 quite chilled his frame, and he asked to be taken 
 to a room at once where there was a fire. There 
 were fire-places in nearly all the rooms, but no fire. 
 Two negro boys brought pine sticks to his apart- 
 ment, and a fire was soon kindled. His room was 
 3 
 
34 UNION. 
 
 carpetless. There was a bed, two or three large 
 arm-chairs, an old-fashioned mantel on which were 
 a pair of old-fashioned candlesticks, a pair of fire 
 tongs, a centre table, and a quaint old bookcase, in 
 which were four or five odd -looking volumes. 
 
 "Won't you have breakfast?" the landlord 
 asked, entering the room. 
 
 " Can you serve it here?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I am so infernally chilled, I don't want to 
 leave the fire. " 
 
 " I guess it's a leetle airish on the river this 
 mornin'. " 
 
 " I thought you never had wnnter here?" growled 
 Mark. 
 
 " Wall, we do sometimes have a cold snap ; but 
 this'll be gone afore mo'nin'. Ye'll see it warm 
 enough in a few hours." 
 
 " I hope so. " 
 
 Breakfast was served as Mark requested in the 
 room. His host came and sat at his side, and 
 talked with him in the interval about the north 
 and the ever-interesting question of slavery and 
 thje "doings in congress." The landlord was a 
 typical southerner, who declared if the " Aboli- 
 tionists succeed, we'll secede." Mark was tired, 
 and the landlord, who was a kind-hearted man, 
 saw his condition, so he left him, advising him to 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 35 
 
 lie down and take a nap. He took the advice and 
 extended his nap late into the day. He had sup- 
 per and dinner together, and again went to bed to 
 sleep until sunrise. 
 
 The Jacksonville landlord proved to be a 
 weather prophet. There was a wonderful change 
 in a few hours. To Mark it was remarkable. 
 Transferred from the trying climate of the North 
 into the gentle atmosphere of the Florida penin- 
 sula, seemed like being transported to fairy land. 
 The sun was shining brightly and the balmy breeze 
 of summer was wafted in at the open casement. 
 After breakfast he went out on the veranda and, 
 seating himself in an arm-chair, gazed over the 
 pretty square in Jacksonville. His face was 
 fanned by the warm January breeze, and the chip- 
 pering of the birds mingled with the music of a 
 negro's banjo over in a shanty. The lazy, ne'er- 
 do-well black boys, sporting in the sand, so abun- 
 dant in all the roads, had the unconscious pose 
 and careless grace of Neapolitan beggars. Occa- 
 sionally a dusky Indian maiden, with her almost 
 Grecian features, and long, straight hair, was seen 
 crossing the road, with a face beautiful in its 
 duskiness, as was ever the face of olive-brown 
 maid in Messina. This is the South, slumbrous, 
 voluptuous, round and graceful. Here beauty 
 peeps from every door yard. Mere existence is a 
 
36 UNION. 
 
 pleasure, exertion a bore. Througli orange-trees 
 and grand oaks, thickly bordering the broad 
 avenues of the village, gleamed the wide current 
 of the St. John's river. 
 
 Mark sat gazing listlessly, dreamily upon the 
 enchanting vision before him, when he was sud- 
 denly startled from a revery, painful, but sweet, 
 by a merry peal of rippling laughter, and, turning 
 his eyes in another direction, he saw two lovely 
 girls, shy, blushing and mischievous, coming 
 slowly along the street. They could not have 
 been over eighteen years of age, perhaps not so 
 old. Mark saw that the one nearest him had 
 golden hair flowing in sunny waves about a pair 
 of beautiful shoulders. Her face was slightly 
 averted at first; but anon she turned the gaze of a 
 pair of large blue eyes full upon him. If the 
 peal of merry laughter was like rippling music to 
 his sad soul, the face was like a burst of sunshine 
 at midnight. The face was wondrous fair, every 
 feature was exquisite in its perfection, regularity 
 and the beauty of its curves. The form was 
 symmetrica], and as she walked by, it was with the 
 grace of a queen whose every motion might be set 
 to music. 
 
 Mark stared at her longer than good manners 
 would have warranted. She blushed slightly, her 
 head drooped, and she passed on, like a bright 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 37 
 
 dream which, once gone, "is forever beyond recall. 
 He thought of her, he dreamed of her, and in his 
 imagination wove bright castles for his nameless 
 love. How foolish he was — he knew her not — 
 and perhaps would never see her again. He spent 
 a whole week in Jacksonville before Alec arrived 
 to take him a twenty -five-mile ride to the plantation 
 of his father, and did not see the bright being 
 again. Had he known her name, he might have 
 inquired for her. 
 
 One bright day. Alec arrived in a two-wheeled 
 gig, quite suitable to Florida roads. He was the 
 same harum-scarum care-for-naught, but good- 
 hearted fellow , Mark had known three years before 
 at college. Leaping from his vehicle, he came 
 bounding up to the veranda where Mark sat, 
 crying : 
 
 " Hello, Mark ! Mark, old boy, what are you 
 doing here? Why didn't yo\x hire a nigger to 
 bring you out?" 
 
 " I was taking a rest. Alec. " 
 
 "A rest! by Jove, I believe you. Say, old 
 boy, how long have you been here?" 
 
 " A little over a week. " 
 
 " A week — great guns — over a week ! Why 
 didn't you send me word sooner, and I'd a been 
 after you in no time?" 
 
 " As I said. Alec, I was a little tired, and I 
 
38 UNION. 
 
 wanted to rest; besides I found this country an 
 excellent study — - — " 
 
 "Study! — by thunder, you've been studying 
 too much; that's what ails you. Why, you are 
 as pale as a ghost. Did you break down before 
 you got through?" 
 
 " No, I graduated with honors, " Mark answered 
 proudly; " but I was sick a long time afterward," 
 he added sadly. 
 
 " And you came here to recruit " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "By George, you couldn't a come to a better 
 place, my boy. Well, it's too much of a trip to 
 start back to-day. I'll stay over until to-morrow, 
 and then we will start early. " 
 
 This arrangement made, the mules were removed 
 from the vehicle to the stable by a pair of lazy 
 negroes, and Alec and Mark took a walk about 
 the village, talking over their old college days, 
 and laughing at some of their merry frolics more 
 easily remembered than Greek lessons. 
 
 " I am glad you came, Mark. It's just the 
 thing to do. We'll bring the color back to your 
 cheeks. Such hunting and fishing as we will 
 have, you never dreamed of in your philosophy. " 
 
 They sat up until late that night, and, like 
 school boys, both slept in the same bed and talked 
 each other to sleep. They got an early start next 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 39 
 
 morning and, with Mark's lightest trunk strapped 
 on behind the vehicle, rolled away along the sandy 
 road, which was a constantly shifting panorama of 
 scenery. 
 
 Eounding a bend in the road, they came npon a 
 scene which might have made a fortune for an 
 artist. Before them could be seen the deep, glossy 
 green of a thrifty orange grove, where nestled 
 enough well-set young oranges and white blossoms 
 to make glad the heart of the owner. In the fore- 
 ground was a mule, whose characteristics were a 
 meek and lowly carriage of- the head, a general 
 lack of adipose tissue and a gait that would have 
 made Jehu weep. Adorning her lank person was 
 a harness, mostly collar, by which she was attached 
 to an ancient buckboard. On the seat were two 
 persons, whom they failed to recognize because of 
 the broad rims of their sun-hats. Each held a 
 child, and the gentleman was supplied with a 
 small tree with which he evidently entertained 
 some hopes of animating the statue-like mule. A 
 lunch basket, wraps and fishing-rods were strongly 
 suggestive of a picnic excursion. The Ijttle group 
 of persons gathered near consisted of a white-haired 
 man who looked on the turnout with the proud 
 gaze of ownership, a lady in a sun-bonnet, who 
 took equal satisfaction in a brood of nine chickens 
 she was feeding, and a man with a hoe resting 
 
40 UNION. 
 
 on his shoulder, who resembled an exaggerated 
 exclamation point. About three-fourths of his 
 height was given up to a pair of spider-like legs, 
 and the other fourth to a set of ribs and a pair 
 of drooping shoulders from which dangled arms 
 reaching well down to the knees. An elbow in 
 his neck thrust his head far in advance of his body. 
 He had a weazened face, pinched features, and a 
 shaggy brown beard. This man is known to fame 
 all the world over by two euphonious titles — 
 " Before taking, " and " Florida Cracker. " 
 
 Passing over a slight eminence, this interesting 
 group was lost to their view, and they toiled on 
 through the deep sand. A landscape indescribably 
 beautiful lay about them. On every side was a 
 picture. On one side woods, thickly pillared with 
 tall pines and richly carpeted with their long 
 brown needles. Yellow, white and purple wild 
 flowers lifted their bright faces to be kissed by the 
 slanting sunbeams that fell through the scanty 
 foliage overhead. It seemed as if summer had 
 come in a day. Not two weeks before Mark had 
 seen thin flakes of ice near the coast, and not lift}' 
 miles away, he was in the midst of perpetual 
 blooming Spring. Mocking-birds, blue-birds, 
 butcher-birds and song sparrows vied with each 
 other in entertaining their feathered friends of less 
 vocal talent. Robins ran on the ground silent, big 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 
 
 41 
 
 and brilliant butterflies flitted to and fro, and the 
 wind soughing through the pines, breathed a tran- 
 quillizing lullaby over all. In other directions, 
 through clearings, lakes of various sizes and shapes, 
 having neither inlet nor outlet, yet clear as crystal, 
 gleamed in the morning sun. The graceful slopes 
 reaching to their banks were 
 covered with mingled forests 
 of pine and groves of ora-nge- 
 trees. Orchards of peach, 
 plum, persimmon and other 
 fruit trees, with large vegeta- 
 ble gardens in which negro 
 slaves were at work, told why 
 this country was called the 
 " winter garden" of the fro- 
 zen North. 
 
 They arrived at Alec's 
 home before nightfall. It was 
 one of those palatial houses of 
 the ante-bellum days. Before 
 the war, the wealth of the 
 South was in the country, where the rich planta- 
 tions were supported by slave labor, where each 
 planter was a petty feudal lord with his dusky 
 subjects. Mr. Reuben Stevens was a typical south- 
 erner. He had only emigrated from the cotton 
 districts of Georgia because he believed the devel- 
 
 Florida Cracker 
 
42 UNION. 
 
 opment of orange groves in Florida would pay 
 better. He was a cavalier of the old type; one 
 who believed that slavery was a divine institution, 
 and yet he was one of the kindest men in the 
 world. He would protect one of his dusky sub- 
 jects with his life, and when they were sick, he 
 and his amiable wife nursed them. Those who 
 have travelled in the South will bear me out in the 
 statement that there does not exist more hospitable 
 people than the people of the South, They are 
 easily touched by a story of wrong or oppres- 
 sion; they are patriotic as they understand patri- 
 otism ; they were, as a rule, kind and indulgent 
 masters with their slaves. Only the worst side of 
 the picture of slavery was presented by the Aboli- 
 tionists. Some masters assigned their slaves 
 tasks, and all over the task was their own, and 
 many of the thriftier darkies accumulated consid- 
 erable money in this way. The author knew 
 many masters, who, after President Lincoln's 
 proclamation, freed their slaves, gave them nice 
 little homes of thirty or forty acres of land, 
 mules and wagons, and set them up in their new 
 life. 
 
 Uncle Eeuben Stevens, as he was known, was a 
 kind master and loved by all his slaves, save one 
 or two vicious fellows incapable of gratitude. 
 
 The old planter, with his Panama hat on his 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 43 
 
 head, stood in sliirt sleeves on the broad piazza, 
 when the young men drove up. 
 
 " Well, this is Mark Stevens, is it?" said Uncle 
 Reuben, grasping Mark's hand with an assuring 
 welcome. 
 
 '* Yes, sir, and I suppose we are distantly re- 
 lated. " 
 
 " Oh, yes, all o' the same branch. My folks 
 came from Virginia. Sit down ; Alec, send Cater 
 to put up the mules. " 
 
 Alec called a negro who was playing with a 
 hound on the grass, and sent him to unharness the 
 mules. 
 
 "Sit down, Mark; let me see; — is 3'our father 
 livin'?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; he still lives in Boone County, 
 Kentucky. " 
 
 " What's his name?" 
 
 " Fernando. " 
 
 " Yes, warn't he in the war of 'twelve?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, he was a major and fought at New 
 Orleans. " 
 
 " Yes, yes, I remember now. I was thar my- 
 self. I tell you, boy, we did some good shootin' 
 that day. I was with the Tennessee troops and he 
 with Kentucky ; but we were stationed close 
 enough together to swap jokes." 
 
 " I don't suppose you did?" 
 
44 UNION. 
 
 " Some of the boys said some jiretty sassy tilings. 
 I tell you the Americans showed spunk there. 
 What was your grandfather's name?" 
 
 "Albert^' 
 
 " That's it. He and my father were brothers, 
 I reckon, well w^e are all of one branch, why I 
 trace my family back to Captain John Smith." 
 
 " Farther than that, father, " interposed Alec. 
 " It goes clear back to Columbus. " 
 
 " Oh, Alec, you always want to overdo the 
 thing. But, Mark, was your father in the war 
 with Mexico?" 
 
 " No ; my brother Arthur was. " 
 
 "Where is he?" 
 
 " Living in Boone County; married a Mexican 
 wife, and is now one of the richest planters in the 
 county ; but I believe he is going to Mexico to 
 live. " 
 
 " Foolish to do it. Well I warn't in the Mexican 
 w^ar. Didn't take much stock in it. Shouldn't 
 wonder we have to whip the Abolitionists yet. 
 Hope you and Alec didn't imbibe any o' the doc- 
 trine o' the North while at college." 
 
 Mark hoped there would be no war between the 
 North and South. At this moment Mrs. Betty 
 Stevens came out to form the acquaintance of Mark 
 and scold Uncle Keuben for talking politics while 
 the young man was tired. The colored cook soon 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 45 
 
 had supper ready, and the journey had given Mark a 
 splendid appetite. Alec, with a glow of satisfac- 
 tion, noted Mark's increased appetite, and said: 
 
 "I told you we'd bring the color back to your 
 cheeks, ray cousin." 
 
 Next day Alec planned a fishing excursion. 
 
 " You must come back to-night, Alec, " said his 
 mother. " Clara and Richard will be here to- 
 night, with Miss Elsie Cole from Charleston." 
 
 " I wish Dick had come this morning to go with 
 us. I tell you, Dick is a jolly good fellow; but 
 if Elsie is coming, I'll be back." 
 
 The young men set out on a buckboard on their 
 fishing expedition. The scenery was somewhat 
 similar to the day before. A thick jungle of semi- 
 tropical trees and plants was penetrated, and they 
 came to a huge spring, boiling from the earth in a 
 volume sufficient to form a stream twenty feet 
 wide and deep enough to row a boat upon. On 
 all sides was a great " bay head," with its wealth 
 of palmettoes, cactuses, live-oaks, ferns and flowers 
 like an immense conservatory. The trees were 
 festooned from their highest branches to the ground 
 with the graceful gray Florida moss and a tangled 
 network of vines. Here and there a great monarch 
 had fallen and, unable to reach the earth, rested 
 in the outstretched arms of his comrades, who 
 pityingly wove a shroud of trailing plants about 
 
46 UNION. 
 
 him. The boys, leaving mule and buckboard 
 among the trees, launched a skiff and, climbing 
 into it, glided noiselessly down the stream, until 
 they suddenly came into a lake, several miles wide, 
 fringed for many rods with lily-pods, reeds and the 
 wonderful " Cypress Knees, " looking wonderfully 
 like so many champagne bottles set in the water to 
 cool. White herons and other water fowls glided 
 along the margin, or floated gracefully overhead. 
 
 The boat had come to a stop, and while Mark 
 was contemplating the scene, Alec with all the 
 keen instincts of a sportsman was busy preparing 
 his rod, line and bait. A swish, a swirl in the 
 water, a rush, a clicking reel, the slender rod bent 
 almost double, — and a big black bass lay flopping 
 in the boat at Mark's feet. He awoke to the 
 realities of sport. In a short time they had an 
 abundant supply, and started homeward. 
 
 The sun had set, and the new moon was looking 
 down upon them out of the liquid blue of a cloud- 
 less sky that Ital}^ herself might claim. The 
 crescent moon and her infinite number of starry 
 companions shone witli that softened splendor only 
 seen in southern lands. The air was heavy with 
 dew-kissed orange buds. Night birds were flitting 
 by; katydids gossiped merrily, and from the lake 
 came the deep tones of an alligator, very much like 
 the hoarse croaking of a bull -frog. As they jour- 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 
 
 47 
 
 neyed on, a weird and novel sight came in view — 
 a large pine forest on fire. The trees were ablaze 
 from the ground to the top branches, and great red 
 tongues leaped and danced fantastically in the 
 air. Leaving the blazing forest, they came to a 
 
 A «WISH, A SWIRL IN THE WATER, A RUSH, A CLICKING REEL, 
 THE SLENDER ROD BENT ALMOST DOUBLE. 
 
 quaint nook in which stood a negro's cabin. 
 There were no windows, but the door stood wide 
 open, showing an immense log fire over which the 
 "old mammy" bent, preparing the evening meal. 
 There was only one room in the house, scantily 
 
48 UNION. 
 
 fiirnisLed, with " yarbs" in abundance hanging 
 from the rafter overhead. There were big darkies, 
 little darkies and middle-aged darkies. A young 
 negro man was picking an old banjo and singing 
 "Nelly Grey." They still heard his not un- 
 musical voice when the lights of the old mansion 
 house came in sight, and they drove hastily for- 
 ward. 
 
 "Here we are!" cried Alec leaping out at the 
 great front gate. " Cater, Cater come here. " 
 
 " Yes, raassa." 
 
 " Take this mule out and put him in the barn." 
 
 "Git many, massa?" asked Cater straining his 
 eyes to look into the basket. 
 
 " Yes, more than you would catch in a week, 
 you can't fish. " 
 
 " Bet I kin, massa, Cater'll show ye some 
 time, — golly, ain't dis a whopper!" 
 
 " Carry them in to Liza, Cater, and then come 
 and get the mule. " 
 
 "Golly, ain't dey heaby, massa? Dem's all 
 whoppers. " 
 
 "Hurry up, Cater; the mule is hungry and so 
 are we." 
 
 " Is that Alec?" asked a voice which the young 
 men recognized as Uncle Eeuben. 
 
 " Yes, father. " 
 
 " Come right in. Dick's come with the gals. 
 
THE SUNNY SOUTH. 49 
 
 Go in the back way and slick np a bit, for them 
 Charleston gals are monstrous fine. " 
 
 The young men soon arranged their toilet. 
 Mark seemed to evince eagerness. 
 
 " You never saw my cousin Clara, did you 
 Mark?" asked Alec. 
 
 " No. " 
 
 " She's a beauty; you can fall in love with her; 
 but you must let Elsie Cole alone. I'll get jealous 
 there in a minute. " 
 
 " Never fear, Alec, I'll not rob you of your 
 sweetheart," said Mark with a sigh which might 
 have been interpreted as meaning that he had liad 
 his love's romance. 
 
 They met the young folks in the large parlor, 
 where Dick, a tall, handsome young fellow, and 
 two young ladies were awaiting them. Alec did 
 the presenting and right gracefully too. 
 
 Mark glanced at Elsie Cole, then started back 
 covered with confusion. She was the vision of 
 his last week's dreams, seen but a moment from 
 the veranda of the Jacksonville hotel. 
 4 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 SAINT OR DEVIL. 
 
 The confusion of Mark Stevens was so great 
 that all present observed it. The effect on Elsie 
 was strange. She recognized the young man as 
 the person who had given her an impudent stare 
 at Jacksonville, and for whom she had entertained 
 no other thought than that he was some impudent 
 fellow from the North. Alec noticed Mark's em- 
 barrassment and said: 
 
 " By Jove! have you folks met before?" 
 
 " If I mistake not I saw these young ladies in 
 Jacksonville about two weeks ago, " said Mark. 
 
 " We were there," said Elsie, " and if I mistake 
 not you sat on the hotel veranda and stared at us, " 
 
 " Don't talk that way, Elsie," put in Clara. 
 
 "Well, Clara, you said lie stared at one just 
 like an impudent northerner. " 
 
 " But I did not know he was a Stevens then." 
 
 " Oh !" said Elsie with a curve of her pretty lip. 
 " I suppose his being a Stevens makes a difference. 
 Are the Stevens family infallible?" 
 
 50 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 51 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 "Thank you, cousin Clara," put in Mark, 
 whose face was flaming crimson. " One ma}^ well 
 be proud of a relative that always comes to help a 
 fellow out of a bad scrape." 
 
 " Come, come, you folks get out to supper," in- 
 terrupted Uncle Reuben. " Let us not have a 
 quarrel the first meeting." 
 
 " We are not quarrelling Mr. Stevens, I was 
 Just rebuking your kinsman for staring at us," 
 said Elsie. 
 
 " I appeal to Uncle Reuben, who has not lost 
 his gallantry, if I was not justified." 
 
 It was Elsie's turn to blush, and look confused, 
 and Uncle Reuben answered: 
 
 " He's got ye, Elsie. By Gineral Jackson, I'd 
 not think much of a young man's taste who 
 wouldn't stop and stare a second on such faces as 
 yours. " 
 
 Aunt Betty came to the rescue by declaring 
 that Uncle Reuben ought to be ashamed of him- 
 self, and the party were soon in the ample dining 
 room seated at the table. The young people from 
 Charleston were vivacious; conversation never 
 flagged, and Mark soon overcame his temporary 
 embarrassment, and before the evening was over 
 was one of the merriest of the happy group. 
 
 Alec noticed with some degree of uneasiness 
 
53 UNION. 
 
 the interest which Mark seemed to take in Elsie. 
 He gave his attention to both young ladies, but 
 Alec thought he devoted most of his time to Elsie. 
 That evening Alec said: 
 
 " Well, Mark, what do you think of her?" 
 
 "Who, Alec?" 
 
 " Elsie. " 
 
 " She is a very pretty girl." 
 
 " Yes and as good as she is beautiful. I'll tell 
 you a secret, Mark; now don't tell anybody for the 
 people might laugh at me; — I like that girl. I just 
 want to put you on your guard, Mark ; I love her. " 
 
 " Are you betrothed?" 
 
 " No——" 
 
 " Well , have you ever proposed ? " 
 
 " No, I never had a chance. That is, I mean I 
 never could pluck up courage when I had a 
 chance. I've tried to, but when I get at it I 
 always feel just like a fool, and quit." 
 
 "Is Dick a rival?" 
 
 " Oh, no, she's Dick's own cousin, — his 
 mother's niece, you see, but that makes her no 
 relative of mine. " 
 
 Mark felt little interest in Alec's love affair; 
 but his friend went on telling him that Dick had 
 said he didn't believe she cared a fig for him, but 
 he knew better. Dick was not in the way; but 
 be feared Mark might be, 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 53 
 
 " Fact is, Mark, you are a plaguy fine-looking 
 fellow, and it would just be my luck for Elsie to 
 take a fancy to you, and it might cause me a 
 thundering lot of trouble.'' 
 
 Mark Stevens could not refrain from smiling; 
 but his answer did not alleviate the anxiety of 
 Alec. Long after the other members of the house- 
 hold had sunk into slumber Alec tossed restlessly 
 on his bed unable to sleep. After heaving sighs 
 which would run up into the third notation he 
 muttered : 
 
 " I do wonder, now, if I have played the very 
 devil with my chances by bringing Mark here. 
 Well, I don't care; Mark's a good fellow; I like 
 him, and if Elsie prefers him to me, let her have 
 him. " 
 
 With this sensible conclusion he fell asleep. 
 
 Weeks rolled on. Mark Stevens evinced more 
 pleasure in the society of the young ladies than 
 with the gentlemen. He went on picnic excur- 
 sions with them, while Dick and Alec were hunt- 
 ing and fishing. There could be no question that 
 Mark was a great favorite with the girls. Josie 
 Stevens, Alec's sister w^as about the same age as 
 the visiting ladies, none of whom exceeded seven- 
 teen or eighteen. For awhile, Mark seemed an 
 equal favorite of all, but at last, by law of instinct 
 or mutual attraction, it became evident that Elsie 
 
54 UNION. 
 
 and Mark were partial to each other. They were 
 seen walking and talking together often, her blue 
 eyes seemed brighter when with him, and her cheek 
 glowed with a warmer tint when at his side. 
 
 " Alec, if you don't watch, you will be cut 
 out!" declared Josie to her brother. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " I saw Mark and Elsie talking very low last 
 evening, as we came from the lake. They were 
 walking behind us, some distance, and Clara says 
 that she believes he squeezed her hand. " 
 
 Alec sighed and then, like the generous fellow 
 that he was, said : 
 
 " I like Mark better than a brother, and he's 
 worthy of her. If she prefers him to me, I have 
 nothing to say, only God bless them." 
 
 The winter passed and the time came for Mark to 
 go to Virginia where he had some business to trans- 
 act. On the night before his departure he and Elsie 
 once more walked alone in the delightful orange 
 grove. Her small hand rested gently on his arm, 
 her beautiful face was upturned to his, half seri- 
 ously half roguishly, but ravishingly beautiful. 
 Their voices were low and tender. The heart of 
 each was throbbing violently, and she finally said: 
 
 " You are going away in the morning?" 
 
 " Yes, Elsie ; but I hope to see you again before 
 many months. " 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 55 
 
 " Where are you going?" 
 
 " To Harper's Ferry, Virginia." 
 
 " I thought 3-our home was in Kentucky." 
 
 "It is; but I am not going home: I am going 
 to meet Mr. Smith at Harper's Ferry. I Jon't 
 know the nature of the business. A friend has 
 written me to meet Mr. Smith. That friend is an 
 old college classmate, and I am going on his honor 
 and judgment. But I shall see you again, Elsie." 
 
 "Why?" she asked, sighing. 
 
 " I must. Please say I ma}^ come to visit you 
 at Charleston. I can say something to you there, 
 which I cannot say here. " 
 
 " Perhaps you had better not say it at all," and 
 she glanced archly at him from the corners of her 
 eyes. 
 
 " We have passed many pleasant hours in each 
 other's society, Elsie. Let us hope they will not 
 be the last. " 
 
 She hoped they might not, and then began prais- 
 ing the beauty of Florida and talking of Ponce de 
 Leon and his fountain of youth. He thought 
 there was but one fountain of youth and that was 
 in the honest love of a fond heart, which never 
 grew old. She again warded off the subject by 
 saying the gray hairs of a father or mother en- 
 hanced their beauty, in the eyes of a loving child. 
 Mark, all the while he was making or trying to 
 
56 UNION. 
 
 make love to Elsie, felt that he was serving his 
 cousin Alec a mean trick. His conscience smote 
 him in more wa_ys than one. He wanted Elsie to 
 know he loved her; he wanted to know whether 
 he was loved in return ; yet he would have been 
 horrified at the thought of a betrothal. 
 
 Their interview that evening was unsatisfactory 
 to either party. Alec took Mark to Jacksonville 
 next day. The old college friends had for several 
 days been a little cool toward each other; for Alec 
 thought Mark had treated him badly. As they 
 rode along the sandy thoroughfare, Alec said : 
 
 " It was all right, Mark. I hoped you wouldn't 
 take Elsie away from me; but you have; yet it is 
 all right. She is a lovely girl. Southern, too. You 
 are a handsome fellow, and I can't blame you for 
 loving her. When is it to be, Mark?" 
 
 Mark started, and answered: 
 
 " Alec, we are not betrothed." 
 
 " Not betrothed ! then what in the name of 
 General Jackson were you doing so much courting 
 for?" 
 
 " I don't know, " he sighed, looking guilty. " I 
 like Elsie, — I believe I do — but" — he hesitated. 
 " Alec, I am miserable — if you knew my heart, you 
 would pity me. I don't intend to be a villain — I 
 don't want to; but circumstances seem driving me 
 to crime, ruin and wretchedness. " 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 57 
 
 Alec's eyes opened wide in wonder, and he gave 
 his unfortunate relative a fixed stare, as if he 
 feared he was losing his mind. He had never 
 seen him until they met at Harvard, and after he 
 left the college, almost three years before Mark's 
 visit, he had not heard from him, until he received 
 the letter in which he stated that his health was 
 shattered and he was coming South to rest and 
 recruit. Mark had always seemed to live in an 
 atmosphere of mystery, that was sometimes puz- 
 zling and aggravating to Alec, who was like an 
 open page to be read by ever3"body. 
 
 "Well, Mark, if she likes you I— I shan't 
 blame you. We've been good friends, and I'd 
 do anything for a friend, " said the noble Alec. 
 
 " Thank you. Alec ; you are the best friend I ever 
 had, and God forbid I should ever wrong you. I 
 don't know that Miss Cole cares for me; but if 
 she did not, — if she preferred you to me, I should 
 not blame her. Alec, you are better than I." 
 
 "Oh, nonsense! — a great harum-scarum good- 
 for-nothing fellow like me better than you?" 
 
 " Yes, you are. " 
 
 "No; but let us change the subject. Mark, 
 whdt are you going to Virginia for?" 
 
 " I don't know. Mr. Sewall of Boston wrote 
 me to call on Mr. Smith near Harper's Ferry and 
 he would explain." 
 
58 UNION. 
 
 " Mark, I'll bet it's an abolition scheme." 
 
 Mark thought not, for the question of slavery 
 seemed about to take a long rest. 
 
 " But you used to declare in our debates at col- 
 lege that slaverj' was a curse to our institutions, 
 and that you wished there was not a slave in the 
 United States. " 
 
 " I did ; yet the abolition of slavery cannot be 
 brought about suddenly, without violence. I 
 would favor gradual emancipation. The abolition- 
 ists want to obtain by violence, what cannot be 
 obtained by law." 
 
 "That's so, Mark; and I heard that there was 
 a plot on foot to set all the niggers in the South 
 free. To rouse the slaves to an insurrection and 
 have them murder their masters." 
 
 " Such a thing could not be accomplished. It 
 would only result in the suffering of the slaves. 
 Masters now lenient would become severe and dis- 
 trustful." 
 
 Jacksonville was reached and the cousins bade 
 each other adieu, and Alec drove sadly away, 
 while Mark stood on the veranda of the hotel gaz- 
 ing after him. 
 
 " Noble fellow !" he sighed. " Would to heaven 
 I had such a heart! but I am either a fool or a 
 knave. Ah, fate, fate, you have played me some 
 scurvy tricks. " 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 59 
 
 Mark retired early, for he expected to start on 
 his northward journey early in the morning. We 
 need not give an account of that journey, as it 
 would prove uninteresting to the reader. He 
 reached Harper's Ferry in due time, and at once 
 began to inquire for Mr. Smith. 
 
 "Mister Smith? dun know any sich a man, 
 stranger," said an old Virginian in blue drillen 
 trowsers and straw hat. " Maybe they kin tell ye 
 at the post-office or over at Sheppard's store." 
 
 At the former place, he learned that a stranger 
 named Smith had just come into the neighborhood 
 and hired a farm a few miles from Harper's Ferr3^ 
 He was a queer old case everybody declared, and 
 always had a suspicious gang about him. Yet 
 they all seemed civil and polite. Mark resolved 
 to call upon the mysterious farmer as soon as he 
 could, and he set out next day for the home of 
 Mr. Smith. It was late in the evening when he 
 reached the house of the pretended farmer. 
 
 The cloudless June day was almost done, and 
 the farmer was resting from his toil, if he toiled 
 at all. He was sitting on the broad piazza of an 
 old-fashioned Virginia mansion. Mark advanced 
 to the gate and the man rose. He was tall and 
 rather ungainly looking. His beard was long 
 and almost white; his eyes were restless and stern. 
 
 " Are you Captain Smith?" Mark asked. 
 
60 UNION. 
 
 "Yes, sir," was the answer, after a moment's 
 hesitation. 
 
 " I have a letter here which may explain itself 
 to you." 
 
 Mark gave him Sewall's letter, which he read 
 carefully and then, glancing keenly at the young 
 man, seemed to size him up, as a recruiting officer 
 would a candidate for enlistment. 
 
 " You are Mr. Mark Stevens, who graduated at 
 Harvard?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " Are you willing to follow the commands of 
 God Almighty?" 
 
 Mark gazed at him as if he had met a lunatic. 
 He was speechless with astonishment, while the 
 old man went on. 
 
 " Your fame has gone forth. We know you 
 are on our side, young man, and there is a great 
 work to do; let us do it. Don't you believe that 
 one should do his duty?" 
 
 " Certainly. " 
 
 " Are you willing to die for your country and 
 your principles?" 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 " Give me your hand. Come in. " 
 
 Mark was bewildered and mj^stified. He 
 entered the old-fashioned Virginia house, where 
 he met half a dozen white men who seemed to 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 61 
 
 have no particular business, and with them fully 
 as many negroes. There existed among the blacks 
 and whites a certain degree of social equality quite 
 disgusting to a man of Mark's taste. 
 
 Captain Smith did not fully explain his business 
 then. He was a shrewd man and moved with the 
 utmost caution. He sounded Mark carefully as 
 to his views on the question of slavery and found 
 him strongly opposed to it, but at the same time 
 he did not favor violation of law. fie was op- 
 posed to anarchy or insurrection. If they had 
 laws, observe them. 
 
 " Well, you sav you want to go home to Ken- 
 tucky. Go, and return here in the fall. I'll be 
 ready to tell you all then. " 
 
 " Mr. Smith, I can hardly understand what you 
 want with me,'' said Mark. " This mystery is to 
 me inexplicable. If you require any act of law- 
 lessness from me, I assure you I will not take any 
 hand in it. " 
 
 Mr. Smith, or Captain Smith, as he called him- 
 self, ansTi'ered: 
 
 " I ask nothing of you save what will be ap- 
 proved by God Almighty." 
 
 " I must be the judge of what my God deems 
 lawful." 
 
 " Have you faith in the author of that letter?" 
 
 "Yes."^ 
 
63 UNION. 
 
 " Then believe in me." 
 
 Mark went home, after having first promised 
 Mr. Smith to keep secret their interview. Mark's 
 health and spirits were fully restored. He kept 
 up a correspondence with his southern friends 
 Elsie, Clara, Jack and Alec, and promised on the 
 next winter to return. 
 
 In the fall of 1859, there was a brighter hope 
 of peace than the country had known for years. 
 The vehement discussion of the slavery question 
 had somewhat subsided; there was a lull in the 
 border war in Kansas; the Mormons were quiet; 
 difficulties between the United States and Paraguay, 
 in South America, had been settled ; troubles with 
 Indians on the Pacific coast were drawing to a 
 close, and the filibustering operations of Walker 
 in Nicaragua were losing much of their interest. 
 The summer had passed away like a peaceful 
 dream, and such wholesome topics as the Pacific 
 Railway, Homestead and Soldiers' pension bills, 
 and other measures for the promotion of peace and 
 national prosperity were engaging the attention of 
 the people. The slavery agitators seemed to be 
 quiet, and it was hoped the question might be at 
 rest; but all the while ambitious if not unscrupu- 
 lous men were at work fomenting discontent and 
 using every effort to kindle civil war. 
 
 It was late in October when Mark returned to 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 63 
 
 Virginia, determined to have an end of the late 
 mystery with Captain Smith. He found the phiin, 
 unassuming, strange and incomprehensible old 
 man at the farm house. He was told to wait until 
 the morrow and he would outline his plans and 
 business to him. On the morrow he led Mark to 
 the forest above the bluff of Harper's Ferry and 
 said : 
 
 " Here we can talk alone and understand each 
 other. Sit down on that stone, my friend." 
 "When Mark was seated, he asked, " Do you be- 
 lieve that slavery is against the law of God?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 " I knew I was not mistaken. Slavery curses 
 our land, and I feel that I am ordained by Heaven 
 to free these toiling millions. First, I shall com- 
 * meuce here!" and the speaker swept his hand over 
 toward the valley below him. " I will liberate 
 these first. " 
 
 " How, Mr. Smith?" asked Mark. 
 
 " Mark Stevens, it is time that we let the mask 
 fall. Let us understand each other fully. You 
 are a mystery to me and I to you. Call me, when 
 alone. Brown, not Smith. I am John Brown, the 
 hero of Ossawattomie, Kansas, of 1856. Have you 
 never heard of that battle?" 
 
 Of course Mark had, and he gazed in amazement 
 at the man before him. Old John Brown was 
 
64 UNION. 
 
 thoroughly hated or admired at the time of this 
 story, and friends and foes both tended to give 
 him a liberal advertisement. He had participated 
 in the Kansas troubles and it is said by his enemies 
 that he murdered and plundered. That he took 
 human life cannot be denied, perhaps not for the 
 sake of plunder, but from the extreme fanatical 
 bent of his mind. Brown was a native of Connec- 
 ticut, and at this time in the sixtieth year of his 
 age. He espoused the cause of abolition very 
 early in life, and was enthusiastic and brave. If 
 history is to be believed, he was unscrupulous as 
 to the methods by whicli he sought to gain his 
 ends. He had been active in the midst of the 
 troubles in Kansas, and had suffered much; and 
 he believed himself to be the destined liberator of 
 the slaves in the American Eej^ublic. 
 
 " We have established Freedom in Kansas, and 
 we can do it here, " he said, 
 
 "How?" asked Mark. 
 
 Then he explained that with a few white fol- 
 lowers and twelve slaves from Missouri, he had 
 gone into Canada West, and at Chatham a conven- 
 tion of sympathizers was held in May, 1859, 
 whereat a " provisional constitution and ordinances 
 for the people of the United States" was adopted, 
 " not," as the instrument declared, " for the over- 
 throw of any government, but simply to amend 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 65 
 
 and repeal. " This was, of course, a part of the 
 scheme for promoting the uprising of the slaves 
 for obtaining their freedom. 
 
 Mark listened carefully to the wild plans of 
 Brown, and when he had concluded asked: 
 
 " How do YOU propose to succeed, Mr. Brown?" 
 
 " The blacks will rise in a body and flock to my 
 standard. Do you see that?" he asked pointing 
 to the United States arsenal. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " We will seize that first, and arm every negro, 
 and free Virginia. " 
 
 Mark looked at him a moment incredulously 
 and said: 
 
 " Mr. Brown, you must be mad. Such a thing 
 is impossible. " 
 
 " All things are possible with God." 
 
 " But God does not ordain any such work." 
 
 For the first time in his acquaintance with John 
 Brown, he saw his face flame with a passion. The 
 old man's eyes gleamed from under his shaggy 
 eyebrows, as he cried : 
 
 "Does not God ordain me for this work? — I 
 know it — I know it! I shall go down in history 
 as the liberator of slaves. " 
 
 " Mr. Brown, you are a mistaken man. Your 
 faith will be shattered when you see how your 
 plans fail. You do not understand the negroes as 
 
66 UNION. 
 
 well as I. They will not flock to your standard. 
 You people of the North count too much on the 
 intelligence and patriotism of the black man. 
 While I believe he should be free, while I believe 
 his slavery is a curse to the land, yet I have no 
 confidence in the negro's fidelity and intelligence. 
 You forget that he is of an inferior race, and that 
 his only enlightenment from barbarism has been in 
 his slave state. It would take one hundred years 
 of freedom to bring the negro to the point in per- 
 fection you* now believe he has attained, even if 
 he ever reaches it. You will hardly be able to 
 muster a score to your side, when you strike a 
 blow for freedom." 
 
 " I am called of God " 
 
 "No, no, Mr. Brown," interrupted Mark. 
 " Again you are deluded. God does not call upon 
 you to commit murder. Christ said to Peter, 
 'Put up thy sword,' and He healed the ear of the 
 high priest. To succeed, you would have to shed 
 rivers of blood. Thousands of ignorant, half -sav- 
 age negroes would be turned loose to murder and 
 plunder their masters. I hope you will forbear so 
 mad a project. " 
 
 Pleading with a man of Brown's temperament 
 was in vain. He had so long brooded over the 
 subject of slavery that he saw but one vision, that 
 of freedom of the negroes. He had only one idea. 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 67 
 
 To him there was but one wrong, and to right that 
 wrong any amount of wrongs might be committed. 
 John Brown is a study for the impartial histo- 
 rian. With those who lived in his day he was a 
 saint or a devil, a man ordained of God to bring 
 about the redemption of the black race from 
 slavery, or a dark-hearted, ambitious murderer. 
 The sooner the American people get over their 
 prejudice on one hand, and foolish admiration of 
 John Brown on the other, the sooner will they 
 come to a just and true apprehension of the man. 
 He was neither a saint nor was he a devil. He was 
 more nearly a madman than either. John Brown's 
 whole soul was wrapped up in the liberation of 
 the slaves, his motive was good ; but his means 
 were foolish and diabolical. He was no Christian; 
 for he killed and incited others to do the same. 
 He was no soldier ; for a good general would never 
 have allowed himself to be caught in such a trap, 
 as he was at Harper's Ferry. To tell the real 
 truth, John Brown's act was a piece of stupendous 
 folly, which must cause any fair-thinking man to 
 smile. Just what he intended is a mystery. Be- 
 fore his capture, while seizing Harper's Ferry, he 
 declared his intention to " free the slaves. " After 
 his capture, he stated that he never intended a 
 general insurrection. John Brown violated the 
 laws of Virginia by inciting the slaves to rise 
 
68 UNION. 
 
 against their masters; he violated the laws of the 
 nation in seizing United States arms ; he committed 
 murder while resisting arrest; was tried, convicted 
 and hung. When we come to look calmly at the 
 cold facts in the light of reason, with eyes unprej- 
 udiced and mind unbiased by the nonsensical sen- 
 timentality of the abolitionist, John Brown de- 
 served his fate, as much as the Chicago Anarchists, 
 or any other failures at a revolution. That he 
 was a martyr to the freedom of the negroes, there 
 is cause for dispute, for it may be doubted if his 
 death had anything to do with their freedom. 
 
 While Brown was trying to convert Mark 
 Stevens to his mode of thought and action, his 
 son, John Brown Jr., was in Canada. His father 
 had sent him there to enlist the active support of 
 the better class of colored men who had escaped 
 from bondage; in fact to recruit soldiers for their 
 cause. He had been quite successful, and had 
 just returned to their home in Ashtabula County, 
 intending to rejoin his father near the scene of 
 action, when the combat took place. It was the 
 intention not to make the attack for some months ; 
 but when Mark Stevens, on whose support Brown 
 had calculated, refused to enter into his scheme, 
 the liberator determined to strike at once. 
 
 Mark Stevens was perplexed as to what he 
 should do. Although born and raised in Ken- 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 69 
 
 tuckj, and the son of a slave-holder, he had been 
 an advocate of abolition. He was a strong ad- 
 mirer of the new Republican party, which had 
 freedom of mankind for its platform ; bnt he dared 
 not enlist under the banner of this madman. He 
 dared not raise his hand against the laws of his 
 land to bring about a reform. 
 
 " Two wrongs cannot make a right, " he thought. 
 Besides the plan must fail. Brown's only hope of 
 success was in a general uprising of the negroes, 
 and Mark knew negro character too well to believe 
 any concert of action on their part possible. Many 
 loved their masters too well to slay them, even 
 though they might desire their own freedom. 
 
 Mark went to the house of Mr. Beverly near 
 Harper's Ferry, a gentleman of strong common 
 sense, who was cool, unprejudiced and capable of 
 advising in such a matter. He reached his house 
 Sunday, October 16, 1859. Brown and his spies 
 had been watching him, and Mark was really in 
 danger. Those men fresh from the battlefields of 
 Kansas did not hold life in the highest esteem. 
 
 He held a long consultation with Mr. Beverly 
 as to what he should do in the premises. Mr. 
 Beverly was a Republican, but a law-abiding citi- 
 zen, and he could not favor such a scheme as John 
 Brown's. 
 
 " He must be arrested," said Mr. Beverly. " It 
 
70 UNION. 
 
 will not do to permit so dangerous a, man to be at 
 large. We will inform on him in the morning." 
 
 But John Brown acted on that very night. One 
 Ijy one, his followers had been stealthily congre- 
 gating, and pikes, guns and ammunition gathered 
 together for striking the first blow at Virginia and 
 arming the slaves. The refusal of Mark to take 
 part in the insurrection, and the fears that he 
 might betray his plans caused him to act at once. 
 Under cover of profound darkness. Brown, at the 
 head of seventeen white men and five negroes, 
 entered the village of Harper's Ferry on that fatal 
 Sunday night, put out the street lights, and seized 
 the armory and the railway bridge, and quietly 
 arrested and imprisoned in the government build- 
 ings the citizens found in the streets at the earliest 
 hours of the next morning, each one being igno- 
 rant of what had happened. The invaders seized 
 Colonel Washington, living a few miles from 
 Harper's Ferry; with his arms and horses, and 
 liberated his slaves, and at eight o'clock on Mon- 
 day morning, the 17th of October, Brown and his 
 followers (among whom were two of his sons) had 
 full possession of the village and government 
 works. His action was as much an act of open 
 rebellion as the attack and capture of Fort Sumter. 
 When asked what his purpose was, and by what 
 authority he acted, Brown replied: 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 71 
 
 " To free the slaves, and by the authority of 
 God Almighty. " 
 
 He thought that when he struck this blow the 
 negroes of the surrounding country would rise and 
 flock to his standard. He believed that a general 
 uprising of the slaves of the whole country would 
 follow, and that he would win the satisfaction of 
 being a great liberator. He was mistaken. While 
 the martyr to their liberty was offering up his life 
 and the lives of his sons at Harper's Ferry, a 
 dozen miles away, the negroes were singing, play- 
 ing the banjo and dancing, not caring a fig for 
 Brown and his sentimental notions. 
 
 Mark was sleeping soundly, when Mr. Beverly 
 came to his room and cried: 
 
 "Awake, Mark! for Heaven's sake, wake and 
 fly for your life! Brown has already struck." 
 
 Plurriedly dressing, Mark raised his window and 
 looked down on the village not a fourth of a mile 
 away, but all was utter darkness. Only the wild 
 tumult of voices and deep, stern tones of John 
 Brown in command told of danger. 
 
 " The madman has done his work, " thought 
 Mark, as he hurried away from the house, went to 
 a farmer's, mounted a horse and riding to the 
 nearest telegraph station, telegraphed the news all 
 over the country. Governor Henry A. Wise, at 
 once ordered out the militia, and by noon a com- 
 
72 UNION. 
 
 pany of the State Guards was at Harper's Ferry. 
 Mark returned to the town with the militia and 
 from an eminence saw the puffing of smoke and 
 heard the sharp crack of musketry. Brown and 
 his forces were driven into the fire-engine house, 
 where they defended themselves with great bravery. 
 
 On Monday evening, Colonel Eobert E. Lee 
 arrived at Harper's Ferry, Mnth ninety United 
 States marines and two pieces of artillery. The 
 instructions of President Buchanan were to use 
 caution. The last orders from Secretary Floyd to 
 Lee was to, " Give 'em h — 1, colonel." 
 
 When Colonel Lee arrived on the scene, he 
 found Brown with his band and the prisoners he 
 had taken, in the engine-house. It was a small 
 house inside the grounds of the arsenal, exactly 
 like an ordinary fire-engine house in cities — with 
 large folding -doors. The Virginia militia had 
 been deliberating upon the best means of assault; 
 but when Colonel Lee arrived he assumed com- 
 mand, and the first step he took was to send Lieu- 
 tenant J. E. B. Stuart forward to demand a sur- 
 render. He accordingly walked into the enclosure, 
 and approached the engine-house, waving a white 
 handkerchief, and, when he got to the door, called 
 out that he wished to see Captain Smith ; for up 
 to this time but few knew that the insurrectionist 
 was in reality John Brown of Kansas fame. At 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 
 
 73 
 
 Lieutenant Stuart's call, Brown came and opened 
 one fold of the door a little way. Behind it was 
 a heavy rope stretched across, better security than 
 a bar, as it would yield if a 
 battering ram of any sort were 
 used, but would not give way. 
 
 Brown had a gun in his 
 hand, and below appeared the 
 head of a big bull dog, which 
 kept snarling at Stuart, and 
 causing him to feel unpleas- 
 antly. No sooner had the 
 Lieutenant seen the insurgent, 
 than he remembered him and 
 asked : 
 
 " You are Ossawattomie 
 Brown of Kansas, are you 
 not?" 
 
 Old John Brown gazed at him keenly from 
 under his grizzly, shaggy eyebrows, and coolly 
 answered : 
 
 " Well, they do call me that sometimes, Lieu- 
 tenant. " 
 
 " I thought I remembered meeting you in Kan- 
 sas, " the lieutenant gravely said. " This is a bad 
 business you are in. Captain. The United States 
 troops have arrived and I am sent to demand your 
 surrender. " 
 
 John Brown. 
 
74 UNION. 
 
 " Upon what terms?" he asked without display- 
 ing the least sort of excitement. 
 
 " The terms are that you must surrender to the 
 officer commanding the troops, and he will protect 
 you from the crowd, and guarantee you a fair trial. " 
 
 Brown shaking his head answered: 
 
 " I can't surrender on. such terms. You must 
 allow me to leave this engine-house with my com- 
 rades and the prisoners, and march across the river 
 to the Maryland side: there I will release the 
 prisoners, and, as soon as this is done, your troops 
 may lire on and pursue us. " 
 
 Lieutenant Stuart answered that he had no 
 authority to agree to any such arrangement, and 
 was ordered to demand his surrender on the terms 
 first proposed. 
 
 "Well, Lieutenant," Brown answered, coolly, 
 " I see we can't agree. You have the numbers on 
 me ; but you know we soldiers are not afraid of 
 death. I would as lief die by a bullet as on the 
 gallows. " 
 
 "Is that your final answer, Captain?" asked 
 the Lieutenant.* 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Stuart turned sadly away and went back to 
 Colonel Lee, saying they refused to surrender. 
 
 * Historical account in Cooke's "Surry of Eagle's- Nest." 
 
"the united states TROOrS HAVE AlUtlVED, AND I AM SENT To DEMAND VOUR 
 SURRENDER." 
 
SAINT OR DEVIL. 75 
 
 " Take that ladder and batter down the door, " 
 commanded Lee of the marines. As they ap- 
 proached the door, Brown and his party opened 
 fire and two or three fell. The fire was returned 
 and for several moments the conflict raged. One 
 of Brown's sons lay dead on the floor, another lay 
 dying in his father's arms; yet with one hand he 
 felt the pulse of his dying child, held his gun 
 with the other and coolly issued his commands. 
 The door was battered down and after a brief 
 struggle the whole party was captured. 
 
 Brown was tried for treason, convicted and hung 
 on December 3d, 1859, and ever since his enthusi- 
 astic admirers have sung: 
 
 "John Brown's soul goes marching on." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CALHOUNISM. 
 
 It is easy, after events have transpired, for 
 would-be philosophers to see what means brought 
 them about; but it requires a sage or prophet to 
 penetrate into the future. The war of 1861 had 
 its origin in the constitutional convention. Wash- 
 ington and Hamilton foresaw the danger of State 
 supremacy, when they urged a strong centralized 
 power. A Union of sand was dangerous, and they 
 knew it. Thomas Jefferson and his school, equally 
 as patriotic as Washington and Hamilton, never- 
 theless from their bitter experience with mon- 
 archies and centralized power, advocated different 
 principles in the doctrine of State supremacy. 
 This doctrine, however, was first fully promulgated 
 by John C. Calhoun and may be attributed to 
 him. This pernicious doctrine gave warning of 
 the evil fruits it was bearing long before it cul- 
 minated in the tempest of carnage and blood. We 
 can see its effects as early as 1812, when the New 
 England States refused to obey the order of the 
 
 76 
 
CALHOVNISM. 77 
 
 general government for troops to defend the north- 
 ern frontier; again m the revolt of South Carolina 
 under Jackson's administration. Again and again 
 the republic was warned of its danger, until the 
 sages of the day predicted that State supremacy 
 was a nice point of constitutional law which must 
 be settled in the highest court, a resort to arms. 
 
 The time for that appeal was coming. When 
 James Buchanan was inaugurated the fifteenth 
 president of the United States on the 4th of 
 March,' 1857, and chose for his constitutional ad- 
 visers, Louis Cass, secretary of state; Howell 
 Cobb, secretary of the treasury; John B. Floyd, 
 secretary of war; Isaac Toucey, secretary of the 
 navy ; Jacob Thompson, secretary of the interior, 
 Aaron V. Brown, postmaster-general, a new era 
 in the history of our country dawned. It was the 
 beginning of a great political and social revolution 
 in the republic which entirely changed the indus- 
 trial aspects in many of the States of the Union. 
 
 It was during the administration of Mr. Buchan- 
 an that the preliminary skirmishes, moral and 
 physical, which immediately preceded the war, 
 occurred. Both parties were then putting on their 
 armor and preparing their weapons for the struggle. 
 There were two wings of the democracy at this 
 time. One leaning toward an anti-slavery policy, 
 advocating gradual emancipation, and the other 
 
78 UNION. , 
 
 declaring slavery a divine institution. The doc- 
 trine of Calhounism was no doubt advocated 
 merely as a convenience for the promulgation of 
 slavery; but in the nomination of Mr. Buchanan 
 the two branches of democracy harmonized. In 
 their resolutions, put forth as a platform of prin- 
 ciples, they approved the invasion and usurpation 
 of Walker in Nicaragua, as efforts of the people of 
 Central America " to regenerate that portion of the 
 continent which covers the passage across the in- 
 teroceanic isthmus." They also approved the 
 doctrine of the " Ostend Manifesto," by resolving 
 that " the Democratic party was in favor of the 
 acquisition of Cuba. " 
 
 One of the most vital preliminary skirmishes, 
 though wholly of a moral nature, to the great civil 
 war began just about the time of the accession of 
 Mr. Buchanan to the presidency. 
 
 This skirmish is known in history as the " Dred 
 Scott decision." Dred Scott was a young negro 
 owned by Dr. Emerson of the United States army, 
 living in Missouri. When the doctor was ordered 
 to Rock Island, Illinois, in 1834, he took Scott 
 with him. There Major Taliaferro of the army 
 had a female slave, and when the two masters were 
 transferred to Fort Snelling (now in Minnesota) 
 next year, the two slaves with the consent of their 
 masters were married. They had two children 
 
CALHOUNISM. 79 
 
 born in the free-labor Territory, and the mother 
 was bought by Dr. Emerson in order to keep the 
 family from being separated. He brought the 
 parents and children to Missouri and sold them to 
 a New Yorker. Scott sued for his freedom, on 
 the plea of his involuntary residence in a free- 
 labor State and Territory for several years, and the 
 circuit court of St. Louis decided in his favor. 
 The supreme court of Missouri reversed the deci- 
 sion of the inferior court, and the case was carried 
 by an appeal to the supreme court of the United 
 States, presided over by Chief Justice Eoger B. 
 Taney, a Maryland slave-holder. A majority of 
 the court was composed of men in sympathy with 
 slavery, and their decision, about to be given in 
 1856, was, for prudential reasons, withheld until 
 after the president's election. 
 
 The chief justice who rendered the decision 
 went out of the way to so firmly establish the in- 
 cubus of slavery on the government, that nothing 
 save arms could free it. He declared that any 
 person " whose ancestors were imported into this 
 country and held as slaves" had no right to sue in 
 any court of the United States. The only ques- 
 tion upon which the court could have legitimately 
 decided was the question of jurisdiction; but the 
 chief justice, with the sanction of a majority of 
 the bench went outside to declare that the fraraers 
 
80 UNION. 
 
 and supporters of the Declaration of Independence 
 did not include the negro race in our country in 
 the great proclamation that " all men are created 
 equal;" that the patriots of the Revolution, and 
 all their progenitors " for more than a century 
 before," regarded the negroes as beings of an in- 
 ferior race, and altogether unfit to associate with 
 the white race either in social or political relations, 
 and so far inferior that they had no rights which a 
 white man was bound to respect, and that the 
 negro might lawfull}^ be reduced to slavery for the 
 white man's benefit. 
 
 Chief Justice Taney then hurled a firebrand 
 into the camp of friend or foe which kindled the 
 destructive war that followed, by declaring that 
 the Missouri Compromise Act and all other acts 
 for the restriction of slavery were unconstitutional, 
 and that neither congress nor local legislature had 
 any authority for restricting the spread of the in- 
 stitution all over the Union. Although a State 
 or Territory might be supreme and independent of 
 the general government in all other things, it had 
 no power to settle the question of slavery accord- 
 ing to the Dred Scott decision. 
 
 There was civil war in Kansas in the earlier 
 part of 185(). As is always the case, outrages too 
 terrible to mention were committed by both parties. 
 Lawlessness has ever hovered on the frontier and 
 
CALHOUNISM. 81 
 
 under the mask of Free-State or Proslavery many 
 depredations were committed. During 1856, the 
 war in Kansas assumed an alarming aspect. The 
 actual settlers of Kansas from free-labor States out- 
 numbered the emigrants from elsewhere, and a 
 regiment of young men from Georgia and South 
 Carolina, under Colonel Bufford, fully armed went 
 into the territory for the avowed purpose of mak- 
 ing it a slave-labor State " at all hazards." They 
 were joined by armed Missourians, and for several 
 months spread terror over the land. They sacked 
 the town of Lawrence, and murdered and plundered 
 people in various places. Steamboats ascending 
 the Missouri Elver with emigrants from free-labor 
 States were stopped, and the passengers were fre- 
 quently robbed of their money, and persons of the 
 same class, crossing the State of Missouri, were 
 arrested and turned back. Lawlessness reigned su- 
 preme in all that region. Justice was bound, and 
 there was general defiance of all mandates of right. 
 The civil war in Kansas was more wasteful than 
 bloody. It was more a war more for personal gain 
 than principle. Eobbery and horse-stealing was 
 practised more than military movements. Assas- 
 sinations were common and conflicts few. Neither 
 side did anything praiseworthy. John Brown, 
 with twenty-eight emigrants, fought H. Clay Pate 
 of Virginia with fifty-six armed men, on the 
 6 
 
82 UNION. 
 
 prairie at Ossawattomie. An early account of the 
 fight reports Brown as defeated, and sa3^s he re- 
 treated. It also gives the number of border ruf- 
 fians or proslavery men at six hundred. Later 
 histories say Brown gained a victory. It was very 
 insignificant either way. The term border ruffian 
 might be applied alike to the free -soil and pro- 
 slavery men. Finally, John W. Geary, afterward 
 a major-general and governor of Pennsylvania, 
 who succeeded Shannon as chief magistrate of 
 Kansas, by judicious administration of affairs 
 there, smothered the flames of civil war, and both 
 parties worked vigorously with moral forces for 
 the admission of Kansas as a State of the Union, 
 but with ends in view diametrically opposed. 
 Though the war in Kansas never fully subsided 
 until it was swallowed up by the great rebellion, 
 there was a lull in hostilities after John Brown 
 left the Territory, and human life became more 
 safe. Most of the killing was done by assassina- 
 tion. Men were called to their doors at night and 
 shot down by unknown assassins. 
 
 The fugitive -slave law now began to bear bitter 
 fruit, and it soon became one of the most prolific 
 causes of the continually increasing controversies 
 between the upliolders and opposers of the slave- 
 labor system. It was made more offensive by the 
 evident intention of the friends of the institution 
 
CALHOUNISM. 83 
 
 everywhere to nationalize slavery, and the perver- 
 sion of the obvious meaning of the vital doctrine 
 of the Declaration of Independence, by the judicial 
 branch of the government, while the executive 
 branch was ready to lend his tremendous power in 
 giving practical effect to the system, which awak- 
 ened in the breasts of the people of the free -labor 
 States a burning desire to wipe the stain of human 
 bondage from the escutcheon of the Republic. 
 Seizures under the fugitive-slave law were becom- 
 ing more and more frequent, with circumstances 
 of increasing injustice and cruelty. The business 
 of arresting and remanding to hopeless slavery, 
 men, women and children, was carried on all over 
 the free-labor States, and the people stood appalled. 
 By that dreadful law, every man, under certain 
 conditions, was compelled to become a slave hunt- 
 er; and every kind-hearted woman, who might 
 give a cup of cold water, or the shelter of a roof 
 to a suffering negro, bleeding from intolerable 
 bondage, incurred the penalty of felony. The 
 law became a broad cover under which the kid- 
 napping of free persons of color was extensively 
 carried on, and scores of men, women and chil- 
 dren, born free, were dragged from their homes 
 and consigned to hopeless bondage. 
 
 The abolitionists were not wholly blameless. 
 They were constantly irritating the proslavery 
 
84 UNION. 
 
 peoj^le and inciting their negroes to run away. 
 Many a poor negro witii a good master was living 
 comfortably and contentedly at home until the dis- 
 turber came to put the idea of escape into his head. 
 Then came flight and misery. There is no im- 
 partial historian in America who has dealt with 
 this subject. No historian will deal impartially 
 with it for the next hundred years — if ever. The 
 author confesses that his prejudices against the 
 slave-holder mislead him to some extent, yet from 
 personal observation he knows that only the worst 
 examples of slavery were recorded in history. 
 Those rare examples were made to represent the 
 conditions of human beings in bondage. While 
 they were rare exceptions of cruelty and degrada- 
 tion, they showed to what ends the system might 
 go. The abolitionists placed a barrier between 
 master and man and often increased the severity of 
 the former, and misery of the latter. 
 
 On a cold day in January, 1856, two slaves, 
 with their wives and four children, all thinly clad, 
 escaped from Kentucky into Ohio. They crossed 
 the frozen river to Cincinnati, closely pursued by 
 the master of three of them on horseback. In 
 Cincinnati, they were harbored by a colored man. 
 Their retreat was discovered by the pursuing mas- 
 ter, who repaired to the house with the United 
 States marshal and his deputies, and demanded 
 
CALHOUNISM. 85 
 
 their surrender. They refused ; and after a des- 
 perate struggle, the door was broken open and the 
 fugitives were secured. They had determined to 
 die rather than to be taken back into shivery. 
 The mother of the three children, in despair, tried 
 first to kill her offspring and then herself. When 
 she was seized, she had slain one of her children. 
 A coroner's jury decided to hold the mother for 
 murder under the laws of Ohio; but it was dis- 
 covered that the fugitive-slave law had been made 
 so absolute by the terms of its enactments and the 
 opinion of the chief justice of the United States, 
 that a State law could not interfere with it; so the 
 mother and her surviving companions were taken 
 back into slavery. 
 
 We see by this construction of the fugitive- 
 slave law and the Dred Scott decision, the incon- 
 sistency of the enemies of the Union. On the one 
 hand, they were States-rights men, strong be- 
 lievers in State supremacy, when the working of 
 that doctrine was to their own advantage; but 
 wlieu the authority of a State was attempted to be 
 exercised against a woman who had murdered her 
 own child, the government was strong enough to 
 take her across the river and restore her to her 
 master. 
 
 It was the ok] fable over again of whose ox was 
 gored, 
 
86 UNION. 
 
 Early in 1857, the public mind was for awhile 
 diverted from the absorbing topic of slavery by 
 trouble with the Mormons in Utah Territory. The 
 Mormons incensed because their Territory was 
 not admitted into the Union as a State, commenced 
 revolutionary proceedings. Under the instruc- 
 tions of Brigham Young, the successor of Joseph 
 Smith, and their spiritual head and appointed 
 governor, they destroyed the records of the United 
 States Court in their district. They also resolved 
 to set up an independent government, and looked 
 to Young for all laws, in defiance of those of the 
 United States. President Buchanan resolved to 
 enforce the latter, and, depriving Young of the 
 office of governor of the Territory, he put Colonel 
 Alfred Cumming, a superintendent of Indian 
 affairs on the upper Mississippi, in his place. Pie 
 also ajDpointed Judge Eckles chief justice of the 
 Territory, and sent twenty-five hundred armed 
 men, with experienced officers to protect them in 
 the discharge of their duties. Young at first de- 
 termined to resist the national government. He 
 issued a proclamation denouncing the army as a 
 mob, forbidding it to enter the Territory, and call- 
 ing the people of Utah to arms to repel its advance. 
 When it entered the Territory early in Autumn, 
 it was assailed by Mormon cavalry who destroyed 
 several supply trains and seized eight hundied of 
 
CALHOUNISM. 87 
 
 the oxen at the rear of the army. The little force, 
 thus crippled, and caught among the snows in the 
 mountains, went into winter quarters. Colonel A. 
 Sidney Johnston was in command of them ; and 
 Governor Gumming proclaimed the Territory of 
 Utah to be in a state of rebellion. The spring of 
 1858 howeyer, found the Mormons in a less bel- 
 ligerent mood. The president offered to pardon 
 all who should submit to national authority, and 
 Brigham Young, evidently believing discretion a 
 better part of valor, received the new governor 
 courteousl}', but I'esolved to leave the country 
 rather than submit to gentile rule. He changed 
 his mind, however, and lived there until he died. 
 
 The Republican part}^ had been rapidly acquir- 
 ing strength. It was not an abolition party in the 
 sense that is usually supposed ; that is, it was not 
 the intent of the party, nor its leaders to forcibly 
 free all the slaves in the South, though the Repub- 
 lican party was in apogee to the burning crime of 
 slavery. The great leaders of the party favored 
 first checking the spread of the disease, and then 
 gradually extinguishing it. Just how they would 
 do so, the wisest among them could not determine; 
 but they trusted to God to help them out of the 
 difficulty. 
 
 One thing is certain, — such grand men as Lin- 
 coln and Sumner never desired bloodshed and war. 
 
88 UNION. 
 
 That idea was inculcated by foolish fanatics like 
 John Brown, the surviving members of whose 
 family took scarcely any part in the war after it 
 began. There was talk of purchasing the slaves 
 at the expense of the government, of gradual 
 emancipation and many theories proposed, none of 
 which would suit the southern people, who, hug- 
 ging to their l)reast the idea of divine right of 
 slavery with the twin delusion of State supremacy, 
 prepared to ruin themselves or their country. 
 
 One author said : " It was the dream of the 
 chiefs of the Great Rebellion to dissolve the Union 
 and set up a great slave empire. " We hardly be- 
 lieve that. The South was not fully organized 
 when the time came, or between Lincoln's election 
 and his inauguration they would have throttled the 
 government. It might have been the dream of a 
 few; but they must have been few indeed. 1860 
 came, and, being a presidential year, the State- 
 rights Democracy determined that they would 
 nominate a man of their proclivities or divide the 
 part}^ The history of the convention \vhich met 
 in the South California Institute Hall, in Charles- 
 ton, is interesting to tlie scholar, but has no place 
 in a novel like this. Jefferson Davis was a prom- 
 inent candidate of the State-rights Democracy, 
 while Stephen A. Douglas, the Union Democrat, 
 was the favorite of his class. The Democratic 
 
CALHOUNISM. 89 
 
 convention, after adjourning to meet in Richmond, 
 and again adjourning to meet in Baltimore, finally 
 split, and one faction nominated Stephen A. 
 Douglas, and the other faction John C. Breckin- 
 ridge. A third faction, or party, called Constitu- 
 tional Union Party, nominated John Bell. 
 
 The Republican party nominated Mr. Abraham 
 Lincoln for president, with Mr. Hannibal Hamlin 
 for vice-president. The party could not have 
 made a wiser choice for the head of its ticket. 
 Lincoln was a man who came from among the 
 people. He had drunk the cup of poverty to its 
 bitter dregs. He had lived in a slave State where 
 he knew the curse that slavery was to the poor 
 whites. He knew the curse of slave-holding aris- 
 tocracy. Neither Lincoln nor his party intended 
 the freedom of the negroes. Their platform never 
 hinted at it, and subsequent events prove that 
 Lincoln was averse to the act. It was forced upon 
 him in the third year of the war, when he was 
 compelled to do so, first warning the States in re- 
 bellion. 
 
 Had the Democratic party not been divided, the 
 Republicans would probably have been defeated, 
 for although Lincoln received 180 electoral votes to 
 84 for Breckinridge and 12 for Douglas, he did 
 not receive one-half of the popular vote. Be that 
 as it may, he was fairly and honorably elected, and 
 
90 
 
 UNION. 
 
 the loyal Democrats of the Stephen A. Douglas 
 school resolved to support him, while the State- 
 supremacv Democrats once more revived in full 
 
 force the pernicious doc- 
 trines of Calhoun, and 
 were loud in their de- 
 mands for disunion. 
 The plans taken to force 
 States out of the Union 
 were contemptible. 
 Wild, incendiary 
 speeches were made 
 everywhere, calculated 
 to drive the people to 
 the most desperate meas- 
 ures. One orator named 
 Yancey, of Alabama, 
 during the canvass is re- 
 ported as having said: 
 " Organize commit- 
 tees all over the cotton States; fire the southern 
 heart; instruct the southern mind; give courage 
 to each other ; and at the proper moment, by one 
 organized, concreted action, precipitate the cotton. 
 States into revolution." 
 
 Calhounism, or State-supremacy was the rock 
 on which dashed the ship of state, producing the 
 war, all sages, statesmen and philosophers to the 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
CALHOUNISM. 91 
 
 contrary notwithstanding. The seed of secession 
 sowed by Calhoun was independent of slavery. 
 Slavery was only an excuse for testing the theor}^, 
 and had it not been tested by slavery it would 
 have been tried by a minority holding some other 
 view. It was a question of unwritten constitu- 
 tional law which had to be settled by blood. No 
 court was high enough to appeal to for a decision, 
 save the appeal to arms. A close student of our 
 government will see at once that there was some 
 excuse for the error. Like all qviestions it had 
 two sides. We were on the side that prevailed. 
 Our southern brother was on the side which failed, 
 consequently we were right and he wrong. As 
 historians we have been unduly harsh with our 
 southern brother, though as soldiers we showed 
 great magnanimit}' to him when conquered. Had 
 there been no slavery to uphold by the South, 
 perhaps they might never have put in force the 
 dangerous doctrines of Calhoun. Had there been 
 some local question in the North which affected 
 that section as did slavery affect the South, who 
 knows but that the North might have adopted the 
 same theory and become the secessionists? 
 
 Before the articles of confederation, Virginia 
 was as independent of Massachusetts or any other 
 colony, as is Mexico of Peru ; but the confederation 
 of States united them for mutual protection, and 
 
93 UNION. 
 
 then came the constitution, making the Union still 
 stronger. Mr. Calhoun treated the union of States 
 simply as a copartnership, from which an}^ member 
 of the firm might withdraw at will. There is 
 direct evidence to prove that the politicians of 
 South Carolina and elsewhere had been making 
 preparations for revolt for many years, and that 
 the alleged violations of tlie fugitive-slave act and 
 the election of Mr. Lincoln were only made pre- 
 texts for stirring up the " common people" to sup- 
 port and do the fighting for them. The testimony 
 of the speakers in the convention at Charleston, 
 that declared the secession of that State from the 
 Union, was clear and explicit. 
 
 "It is not an event of a da}^" declared Mr. 
 Robert Barnwell Rhett, one of the most violent 
 declaimers of his class; "it is not anything pro- 
 duced by Mr. Lincoln's election, or by the non- 
 execution of the fugitive slave law. It is a matter 
 which has been gathering head for thirty years. 
 In regard to the fugitive-slave law, I myself 
 doubted its constitutionality, and doubted it on 
 the floor of the senate when I was a member of 
 that body. The States, acting in their sovereign 
 capacity, should be responsible for the rendition 
 of slaves. " 
 
 Mr. Francis S. Parker, another member of the 
 convention, declared: 
 
CALHOUNISM. 93 
 
 " It is not a spasmodic effort tLat lias come sud- 
 denly upon us; it has been gradually culminating 
 for a long period of thirty years. " 
 
 Had he added, ever since Mr. Calhoun began 
 teaching and preaching his fallacious doctrines of 
 State sovereignty, he would have been more correct. 
 
 The South was now in a fever of the wildest ex- 
 citement. There were many loyal men in the 
 South who opposed secession until they were ab- 
 solutely driven into it by the politicians and 
 leaders. Long before secession was declared, there 
 were secret orders and minute-men. There were 
 midnight musters and enrolments. Arms were 
 secured and every effort made for a terrible war. 
 
 When the election of Mr. Lincoln was certified, 
 the political leaders in South Carolina were eager 
 to begin the contemplated revolution. To be pre- 
 pared for immediate action, an extraordinary ses- 
 sion of the legislature was assembled at Columbia 
 on the 15th' of November; and as the news of the 
 result of the election went over the land, the gov- 
 ernor of the State received congratulatory dispatches 
 from other commonwealths wherein the politicians 
 were in sympathy with the secessionists. " North 
 Carolina will secede," a dispatch from Raleigh 
 said. " A large number of the Bell men have de- 
 clared for secession; the State will undoubtedly 
 secede, " said another from the capital of Alabama. 
 
94 UNION. 
 
 Another from Milledgeville, Georgia, said, " The 
 hour for action has come. This State is ready to 
 assert her rights and independence. " 
 
 The men sending those telegrams perhaps only 
 gave their individual opinions, yet they claimed to 
 bind the whole State by them. The South Caro- 
 lina legislature was bent on separation from the 
 Union; and on November 12, 1860, an act was 
 passed authorizing a convention. The legislature 
 also formulated the doctrine of " State sovereignty, " 
 or State supremacy, in a resolution that declared 
 that a " sovereign State" of the Union had a right 
 to secede from it, adopting as its own the doctrine 
 that the States of the Union are not subordinate 
 to the national government; were not created by 
 it, and do not belong to it; that they created the 
 national government; from them it derives its 
 powers; to them it is responsible, and when it 
 abuses the trust reposed in it, they, as equal sov- 
 ereigns, have a right to resume the powers respec- 
 tively delegated to it by them. This is the sum 
 and substance of the doctrine of State supremacy 
 (" State rights, " as it was adroitly called) , which 
 dwarfs patriotism to the narrow dimensions of a 
 single State, denationalizes the American citizen, 
 and opposes the fundamental principles upon which 
 the founders of the republic securely built our 
 noble superstructure of a free, powei-ful and sover- 
 
CALHOUNISM. 95 
 
 eign commonwealth. It perverts the plain mean- 
 ing of the preamble to the national constitution, 
 which declared that the ^;eo/)/e (not the States) of 
 the whole country had given vitality to that fun- 
 damental law of the land, and to the nation. 
 James Madison, one of the founders of the repub- 
 lic, in a letter to Edmund Eandolph in April, 
 1787, wrote: "I hold it for a fundamental point, 
 that an individual independence of the States is 
 utterly irreconcilable with the idea of aggregate 
 sovereignty," and Washington wrote in a letter to 
 John Jay, in March, 1787, on the subject of the 
 national constitution, " A thirst for power and the 
 bantling — I had liked to have said monster — sov- 
 ereignty, which have taken such fast hold of the 
 States individually, when joined by the many 
 whose personal consequence in the line of State 
 politics will, in a manner be annihilated, form a 
 strong phalanx against it. " In the face of these 
 sage remarks, Mr. Calhoun sowed the fatal seed, 
 and now the harvest of woe, misery and death was 
 ripening. Could all the poor boys in blue and 
 gray rise from their tombs and confi'ont John C. 
 Calhoun, they would point their skeleton fingers 
 at him and sa}^ : 
 
 " This is the result of Calhounism."' 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 MRS. Anderson's recruit. 
 
 Never did the ship of State so need a master at 
 the helm as in the dark hours which marked the 
 dose of Buchanan's administration. Oh, for a 
 Washington, Jackson, or Jefferson to throttle the 
 growing monster, rebellion, before it could gain 
 dangerous proportions! 
 
 Mr. Buchanan was ill fitted for the exalted 
 place he held. Never did a man have a greater 
 opportunity to immortalize himself than Buchan- 
 an, but he failed to avail himself of the opportu- 
 nity, and his name- is the insignia of weakness, 
 while his memory is darkened with obloquy. We 
 suspect that in after years, when the American 
 people have had time to cool down, it will be 
 found that we have done Mr. Buchanan an in- 
 justice. He was a weak man, incapable of grasp- 
 ing with great questions. He was a lawyer, and 
 a- good lawyer too. In fact, Mr. Buchanan was 
 too much of a lawyer to be a good practical states- 
 man. He depended upon precedents, while " honest 
 
 96 
 
MRS. AXDERSOXS RECRUIT. 97 
 
 old Abe Lincoln" depended on common sense. 
 While Mr. Buchanan was ransacking the law 
 books and studying the constitution for some legal 
 escape from the dilemma, the South was preparing 
 and arming for battle. Had Mr. Buchanan been 
 a farmer in youth, instead of a college student; 
 had he been compelled to wrestle with the world 
 for existence in early life, he would have realized 
 that exigencies arise in the lives of nations as well 
 as people, where common sense counts for more 
 than law or precedent, and instead of burning mid- 
 night oil to see if there were any way in the con- 
 stitution whereby he might put an end to the 
 trouble, he would have ordered an army into 
 South Carolina, and nipped the rebellion in the 
 bud, by arresting the ringleaders. 
 
 Some accuse Mr. Buchanan of being a traitor 
 to his country, but I would prefer to place a man- 
 tle of charity about his shoulders, and call him 
 "weak." Mr. Buchanan was a native of a free - 
 labor State, and had never lived in a slave State; 
 so he could hardly have been in sympathy with 
 them ; but he was surrounded by traitors and spies. 
 He trusted men who hourly betrayed him. John 
 C. Floyd, his secretary of war, was prostituting his 
 office to aid the enemies of his country. Howell 
 Cobb, the secretary of the treasury, was endeavor- 
 ing by every possible means to ruin the credit of 
 7 
 
98 UNION. 
 
 the government; yet in the beginning, lie trusted 
 these men as his constitutional advisers. A weak 
 man lil^e Buchanan could not do otherwise than 
 he did. He was surrounded by public and secret 
 foes of the nation, he lived in an atmosphere of 
 secession and unconsciously breathed it. Many 
 of his regular army officers, such as Pillow, Lee, 
 and others, on whom he depended, were secretly 
 conspiring to aid the State in rebellion. South 
 Carolina, at a quarter before one o'clock, Decem- 
 ber 20, 18()0, passed the following ordinance of 
 secession : 
 
 " We, the people of th.e State of South Carolina, 
 in convention assembled, do declare and ordain, 
 and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the 
 ordinance adopted by us in convention, on the 23d 
 day of May, in the 3'ear of our Lord one thousand 
 seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the con- 
 stitution of the United States was ratified, and 
 also all acts and parts of acts of the general assem- 
 bly of the State, ratifying amendments of the said 
 constitution, are hereby repealed, and the union 
 now subsisting between South Carolina and other 
 States of America, is hereby dissolved." 
 
 The cry at once went forth, " The Union is dis- 
 solved!" It was echoed and re-echoed in the 
 streets of Charleston, and hurried on the wings of 
 lightning all over the republic. The people in 
 
3IRS. ANDERSON'S RECRUIT. 99 
 
 Charleston were wild with excitement. All busi- 
 ness was suspended and liuzzas for " Southern Con- 
 federacy" filled the air. Women appeared in the 
 streets with secession bonnets, the invention of a 
 northern milliner in Charleston. Flags waved; 
 church-bells pealed merrily, and cannon boomed ; 
 and some enthusiastic young men went to the 
 grave of John C. Calhoun, in St. Philip's church- 
 yard and, forming a circle around it, made a sol- 
 enm vow to devote their " lives, their fortunes, 
 and their sacred honor, to the cause of South 
 Carolina independence." A drunken rabble ran 
 through the streets crying, " The old union is gone 
 toh— 1." 
 
 Before night, the ordinance of secession was en- 
 grossed on a sheet of parchment; and at the ap- 
 pointed time, in the evening, Institute Hall was 
 crowded with eager spectators to witness the sign- 
 ing of the instrument. Back of the president's 
 chair was suspended a banner of cotton cloth, on 
 which was painted a significant device. At the 
 bottom was a mass of broken and discolored blocks 
 of hewn stone, on each of which were the name 
 and arms of a free-labor State. Kising from this 
 mass were two columns made of perfect blocks of 
 stone, each bearing the name and arms of a slave- 
 labor State. The keystone of an arch that crowned 
 the two columns had the name and arms of South 
 
100 UNION. 
 
 Carolina upon it, and it bore tlie figure of Cal- 
 houn. In the space between the columns was a 
 palmetto tree, with a rattlesnake coiled around its 
 trunk, and on a ribbon the words, " Southern 
 Republic." Beneath all, in large letters, were the 
 significant words, " Built from the ruins. ''^ 
 
 As time went on, and other States either passed 
 articles of secession, or sent South Carolina assur- 
 ances that they would enter into a confederacy for 
 the destruction of the Union, Charleston harbor 
 became the theatre of stirring events. John B. 
 Floyd, Buchanan's treacherous secretary of war, 
 was secretly weakening the physical power of the 
 government by stripping the arsenals of the North 
 of their arms and ammunition, and strengthening 
 the secessionists by filling the arsenals of the South 
 with an abundance of weapons. He paid no at- 
 tention to the words of General Winfield Scott, 
 the chief of the arm}^, when, so early as the end 
 of October, he observed signs of incipient insur- 
 rection in South Carolina, and recommended the 
 strengthening of the forts near Charleston. And 
 when, at the close of the same month, Colonel 
 Gardener, in command of the fortifications near 
 that city, attempted to increase his supply of am- 
 munition, Floyd removed him, and in November 
 placed Major Eobert Anderson, a meritorious 
 officer in the war with Mexico, in his place. That 
 
MRS. ANDERSON'S RECRUIT. 101 
 
 loyal Kentuckian surprised and disappointed Floyd. 
 Perceiving at once by various acts, the designs of 
 the secessionists to seize the fortifications in the 
 harbor, he urged his government to strengthen 
 them with men and munitions of war, especially 
 Fort Moultrie, in which there was but a feeble 
 garrison ; but his constant yearnings were unheeded, 
 even when he wrote: 
 
 " The clouds are threatening, and the storm may 
 burst at any moment. J need not say to you how 
 anxious I am, indeed determined, so far as honor 
 will permit, to avoid collision with the people of 
 South Carolina. Nothing will, however, be better 
 calculated to prevent bloodshed, than our being 
 found in such an attitude that it would be madness 
 and folly to attack us. " 
 
 He continually urged the war department to 
 give him more strength, and send him explicit in- 
 structions; and when he found his warnings treated 
 with contemptuous silence, he wrote: 
 
 " Unless otherwise directed, I shall make future 
 communications through the regular channel — the 
 general-in-chief." Little did Major Anderson 
 dream that he was addressing an enemy of his 
 country. 
 
 The secretary of war found Major Anderson too 
 loj'al for his purpose ; but it was too late to displace 
 him, so he left him to his own feeble resources, 
 
102 UNION. 
 
 satisfied that the military companies then in proc- 
 ess of organization in South Carolina would be 
 able to seize the forts of Charleston harbor in good 
 time. Moultrie was weak, and many of the little 
 garrison in Sumter were known to be disloyal. 
 The latter fort was by far the stronger and more 
 important work; and as evidence hourly increased, 
 especially after the passage of the ordinance of 
 secession, that the South Carolinians intended to 
 seize Fort Sumter, Anderson being commander 
 of all the forts in the harbor, resolved to transfer 
 the garrison of Fort Moultrie to Sumter. It was 
 a delicate undertaking, for the secessionists had 
 watch-boats out upon the waters. Of course he 
 did not entrust his secret to the secretary of war, 
 for Floyd was even then supplying the Confeder- 
 ates with arms at the expense of the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Only three or four of Major Anderson's most 
 trusted officers were aware of his intentions. He 
 resorted to a stratagem to get the women and chil- 
 dren into Fort Sumter first. They were taken 
 in a vessel, with ample provisions, to Fort Johnson 
 on James Island, where, under pretext of difficulty 
 in finding quarters for them, they were detained 
 on board until evening. Three guns fired at Fort 
 Moultrie were to be the signal for immediately 
 consigning them to Fort Sumter. The move- 
 
MRS. ANDERSON'S RECRUIT. 103 
 
 ment was regarded by the people of Charleston as 
 a natural and prudent measure of Anderson, who, 
 they knew, believed they were about to attack 
 Fort Moultrie, and so all suspicion was allayed. 
 
 The sun had set; an almost full-orbed moon 
 was shining brightly, when the greater portion of 
 the little garrison of Moultrie embarked for Sum- 
 ter. The three guns were fired ; the women and 
 children were quickly taken from before Fort 
 Johnson to Sumter, and the movement was suc- 
 cessful. Two or three officers remained at Fort 
 Moultrie to spike the guns, and cut down the flag- 
 staff, that no secession banner might float from the 
 peak from which the national flag had so long 
 fluttered. When the soldiers and their families, 
 with many weeks' provisions, were safely within 
 the granite walls of Fort Sumter, Major Anderson 
 wrote to the secretary of war: 
 
 " I have the honor to report that I have just 
 completed, by the blessing of God, the removal to 
 this fort, of all my garrison, except the surgeon, 
 four North Carolina officers and seven men." 
 
 Floyd had already received intelligence of the 
 act by a telegram from the Confederates, and he 
 was enraged that his plans to entrap Anderson had 
 failed. Governor Pickens sent a boat to Sumter 
 with a demand to Major Anderson to ev^acuate the 
 fort and return to Moultrie. This he courteously, 
 
104 UNION. 
 
 yet firmly refused to do, and he was denounced as 
 a traitor to the South. 
 
 Floyd sought to have Anderson removed ; but 
 Buchanan refused to do so, and Floyd left the 
 cabinet in a huff, and was succeeded by Joseph 
 Holt, a loyal Kentuckian, who wrote to Major 
 Anderson that his movement in transferring the 
 garrison from Moultrie to Sumter, " was in every 
 way admirable, alike for its humanity and patriot- 
 ism, as for its soldiership." 
 
 Major Anderson's cause was approved by loyal 
 people everywhere, for they saw in it nothing but 
 wisdom and patriotism ; but Major Anderson and 
 his little band of soldiers, were in extreme peril 
 from the hour when they entered Fort Sumter. 
 His friends knew that he was exposed to treachery 
 within and foes without, and all were anxious. 
 
 Mark Stevens, one of the characters of this 
 story, was an acquaintance of Major Anderson. 
 His brother Arthur had served with Anderson in 
 the Mexican war, and the strong friendship which 
 sprang up between the two soldiers, was kept up 
 after Arthur, the volunteer, was discharged. 
 
 While Major Anderson was transferring his 
 forces from one fort to another, and undergoing 
 trials of patience and temper almost unendurable, 
 Arthur was on his way by rail to New York city. 
 
 He had taken a lively interest in the political 
 
3IRS. ANDERSON'S RECRUIT. 105 
 
 situation. Mark had been in Charleston during the 
 autumn and witnessed something of the excitement. 
 He had heard the most inflammatory speeches 
 of the " fire-eaters" with cabmiess; yet every word 
 they uttered was sophistry and fallacy to him ; but 
 Mark kept a close mouth, for he had many friends 
 in Charleston. Elsie Cole was still the great ob- 
 ject of attraction to him. He loved Elsie desper- 
 ately, though no avowal had as yet passed his lips. 
 Mark was a mystery to all who knew him. Alec, 
 an unfavored suitor for Elsie's hand, often asked 
 himself why Mark did not propose. He was sure 
 all was clear sailing. 
 
 Mark reached New York and, having transacted 
 his business, was almost ready to go home, when 
 one day, boarding the uptown stage, he saw sitting 
 opposite him, a pale, small lady, whom he thought 
 he had seen before. He noticed that her gaze was 
 fixed upon him, and a half smile of recognition 
 started two or three times upon her face, but faded 
 away, as if in doubt. 
 
 " Who the deuce is she?" he asked himself 
 again and again. He tried to look out of the stage 
 window on the busy throngs hurrying along Broad- 
 way; but he found his glance again and again re- 
 verting to the little pale lady. They had gone 
 several blocks before he finally determined to 
 know who she was. 
 
106 UNION. 
 
 " I beg pardon," be said polite]}^, bowing to tbe 
 unknown ; " it may seem rude in me ; but I have 
 surely seen you before. Are 3'ou not from Ken- 
 tucky?" 
 
 " I am, and you are Mr. Stevens, are you not?" 
 she asked. 
 
 •" I am Mark Stevens. " 
 
 " I thought you must be one of the boys, as I 
 recognized a family resemljlance. " 
 
 " May I make so bold as to ask your name?" 
 
 " Anderson." 
 
 " I knew Major Anderson; are j-ou his wife?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. " 
 
 Mark shook her hand, and she, recognizing in 
 him a friend and acquaintance, made room for him 
 at her side. They had attracted some attention 
 from the people in the stage; but Mark paid no 
 heed to the other passengers. 
 
 " Mrs. Anderson, is your husband still in the 
 South?" 
 
 " Yes, sir; he is in Charleston." 
 
 "Charleston? why, it is thought that the first 
 blow will be struck in Charleston." 
 
 " Yes ; I have great fears ; but, " she added in a 
 low tone, " let us not talk here. It is too public. 
 Will you come to my house? I want to consult 
 with you." 
 
 " Where do you live?" he asked. 
 
3IRS. ANDERSON'S RECRUIT. 107 
 
 Slie hastily wrote lier address on a card and 
 handed it to him. 
 
 " When shall I call?" he asked. 
 
 " Any time this evening. I need your counsel, 
 and must talk with you. Be sure and come." 
 
 He promised, and she motioned for him to pull 
 the strap and stop the stage. Mark did so, and 
 the brave little woman got out. He rode two 
 blocks further, then alighted from the vehicle and 
 went to a public house, where he ordered a meal. 
 After supper he called on Mrs. Anderson. 
 
 The little lady was pale but calm. She was an 
 invalid and certainly the last person one would 
 expect to engage in a hazardous enterprise. Mrs. 
 Anderson was the daughter of General Clinch of 
 Georgia, and a more devoted wife, or a more pa- 
 triotic woman never lived. Mark found her sur- 
 rounded by her children whom she was endeavoring 
 to amuse. 
 
 She warmly greeted the young man, and asked 
 about his father and mother and the remainder of 
 the family, especially his brother Arthur, who had 
 married a Spanish lady. He told her that Arthur 
 had gone to Mexico to live. His father-in daw, 
 Senor Kodrigo Estevan, had died leaving a vast 
 fortune to be divided between his son and daughter. 
 
 " He has left in time to escape a terrible war, 
 Mr. Stevens." 
 
108 UNION. 
 
 " Do you think there will reall}^ be war?" 
 
 "Undoubtedly!" 
 
 " I hope not ; yet I am willing to do all I can 
 for my country's cause, if it comes to blows," he 
 said. 
 
 " I want your assistance, Mr. Stevens." 
 
 " You can have it in anytliing, Mrs. Anderson." 
 
 " I have resolved to go to my husband." 
 
 " And you want me to accompany you? I will 
 do it," said Mark, as hope of meeting Elsie once 
 more rose in his mind. There was an impassable 
 barrier between him and Elsie, yet it was so 
 pleasant to be with her, to gaze on her face and 
 listen to the music of her voice, that he could not 
 resist the temptation though it seemed a sin to 
 think of her. To him that voice was the unfor- 
 gotten music of some delightful dream recalled in 
 after years. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson dispelled his pleasant delusion 
 by saying : 
 
 " I did not send for you with that design, Mr. 
 Stevens; but there is a man in this town who was 
 a sergeant under my husband in Mexico. I want 
 to find him." 
 
 " What is his name?" 
 
 " Peter Hart. He is brave, faithful and shrewd, 
 perfectly devoted to my husband, and I want to 
 take him to Major Anderson." 
 
MRS. ANDERSON'S RECRUIT. 109 
 
 " Have you seen this Peter Hart since you came 
 to the city?" 
 
 " No, sir, nor have I communicated with him 
 in any way; but to-day I incidentally learned that 
 there was a man named Peter Hart on the police 
 force. " 
 
 " If that be true, it will be the easiest matter 
 possible to find him. " 
 
 " Yet you will have to exercise some caution, 
 Mr. Stevens, for New York is not entirely free 
 from traitors. If they should learn that I was 
 preparing to visit ray husband, I would in all 
 probability be prevented. " 
 
 " Leave the matter of finding Peter Hart to me, 
 Mrs. Anderson. I will manage it so carefully, 
 that should it turn out to be some other Peter 
 Hart than the one you want, he shall not suspect 
 why I want him." 
 
 Next day Mark went to the chief of police and 
 inquired if there was a man on the force named 
 Peter Hart. There was. Was he an Irishman? 
 That was his nationality, the l)ald-headed clerk 
 answered. Next Mark asked if he could see 
 officer Hart. When he was off duty, he could, 
 and he took the policeman's address and went to 
 look him up as soon as he was at liberty. 
 
 To his ring at the door of the small house, a 
 stout Irish woman appeared. Was this the home 
 
110 UNION. 
 
 of Mr. Hart? " To be sure it was. " Was he in? 
 He was, the Hibernian female answered. Could 
 Mark see him? "Indade," he could, and then 
 she called, " Paythur, here's a gintleman as wants 
 to see ye." 
 
 Peter Hart appeared in the hall, and Mark ex- 
 pressed a wish to ask him some questions, and the 
 policeman, supposing that he had some grievance 
 to lay before him, suggested that he had better go 
 to the station. 
 
 "But this concerns you personally, Peter," said 
 Mark. " Do you know Major Eobert Ander- 
 son?" 
 
 " Do I know the major? why, sir, I know him 
 as well as me own wife Maggie. I was his ser- 
 geant when we fit the Mexicans. " 
 
 " Then you are acquainted with his wife?" 
 
 " Know her like a book." 
 
 " She wants to see you, Peter, on some very 
 important business. " 
 
 " Faith, I'll go at once," Peter declared. 
 
 That evening, accompanied by his wife, Peter 
 Hart called on Mrs. Anderson. The meeting was 
 very cordial and friendly. 
 
 " I have sent for you, to ask you to do me a 
 favor," said Mrs. Anderson. 
 
 "Anything Mrs. Anderson wishes, I will do," 
 was Hart's prompt reply. 
 
3IRS. AyDERSON'S RECRUIT. Ill 
 
 " But it may be more tlian you imagine," added 
 Mrs. Anderson. 
 
 "Anything Mrs. Anderson wishes," the brave 
 fellow declared. 
 
 " I want you to go with me to Fort Sumter. " 
 
 Peter looked at his wife a moment, and promptly 
 responded: " I will go, madam." 
 
 Then the earnest woman added : 
 
 " But, Hart, I want you to stay with the major; 
 you will have to leave your family and give up a 
 good situation. " 
 
 Again Hart looked at his wife and, receiving an 
 assenting glance, replied: 
 
 " I will go, madam !" 
 
 Mrs. Anderson, not willing to take away the 
 husband without his wife's consent, turned to Mrs. 
 Hart and asked: 
 
 " But, Maggie, what do you say?" 
 
 " Indade, ma'am, an' it's Maggie's sorry she 
 can't do as much for you as Paythur can," was 
 the reply of the warm-hearted woman. 
 
 " Then, Peter, be ready to start in twenty -four 
 hours," said Mrs. Anderson. 
 
 Mark interposed a mild remonstrance. 
 
 " Mrs. Anderson, will you be strong enough?" 
 
 " I must be strong enough." 
 
 " Do 3^ou make this journey with the advice of 
 your physicians?" 
 
113 UNION. 
 
 "I do it against their advice," she declared; 
 " but Robert is there peaned up in the fort. I 
 must see him; he needs Peter Hart's aid, and he 
 shall have it. " 
 
 Mark Stevens decided to accompany them to 
 Charleston, for he wished to see Elsie once more 
 before the chasm between them widened into im- 
 passibility. 
 
 Twenty-four hours later, Mrs. Anderson, con- 
 trary to the advice of her physicians, started by 
 railwa}^ for Charleston, accompanied by Peter 
 Hart in the capacity of a servant, and Mark Stevens 
 as friend and protector. 
 
 As the train thundered along the iron rails, 
 Mark Stevens, who occupied the seat behind Mrs. 
 Anderson, leaned his head against the cushion 
 and, closing his eyes, tried to sleep; but strange 
 fancies came into his head and drove slumber 
 away.- Why was he making this journey ? In one 
 sense it was a crime to even think of Elsie Cole. 
 When he remembered his relative, the tender- 
 hearted Alec, desperately in love with Elsie, and 
 yet willing for his friend's sake to yield her to 
 him, Mark thought himself the greatest villain on 
 earth. He had played the traditional dog in the 
 manger; but even with the knowledge of how he 
 had wronged poor Alec, he seemed drawn by some 
 irresistible force to further crimes for which he 
 
MRS. ANDERSOX'S RECRUIT. 113 
 
 despised himself. This journey could only result 
 in additional misery, yet he could not forego it. 
 
 " No, no, " his weaker self seemed to plead with 
 his better self, " let me go and bask in the sun- 
 light of those bright blue eyes once more ; let me 
 hear the music of that voice again ; let me dream 
 just a little longer, then I will awake and shake off 
 this guilty vision. It is so sweet to dream on, 
 that I cannot awake just yet. " 
 
 Self condemnation, the ruin to which he was 
 rushing, the misery he was entailing, not only for 
 himself but for the being who had for months been 
 the bright vision of his fancy, could not drive the 
 subject from his mind. Mark was selfish even 
 against his own interests. For the pleasure of a few 
 days he would endanger life, honor and happiness. 
 
 It is ever thus. Pleasure is always deceptive, 
 so alluring that one runs great risks to enjoy the 
 present. Mark had always been a dreamer, and 
 as he lay back in his seat, he seemed to mingle 
 the present, past and the impenetrable future into 
 one glorious picture the central figure of which 
 was Elsie Cole. 
 
 As the train thundered on, the sullen roar 
 seemed a lullaby to Mark's waking senses. He 
 slept; he dreamed. As usual, the vision of his 
 dreams was a fairy-like creature. She seemed an 
 angel hovering over him with the sweetest smiles. 
 
114 UNION. 
 
 On either side of her were two dark clouds, on one 
 of which was painted the past, on the other the 
 future. She wore sweet, entrancing smiles and 
 whispered peace to his soul. That dread, that 
 long doubt of years was removed by a single 
 whisper, and he clasped her in his arms. Impara- 
 dised in a vision of glory, he seemed wafted from 
 the world to happiness unknown to mortals on 
 earth ; but such joys are always delusive. He 
 awoke to find himself on the train, still thundering 
 southward on a doubtful mission. 
 
 According to authentic history, from Thursday 
 night, the time of her departure, until Sunday 
 morning, when she arrived at Fort Sumter, Mrs. 
 Anderson neither ate, drank nor slept. When they 
 reached the State of Virginia, her ears were con- 
 stantly greeted with curses and threats of violence 
 against her husband. 
 
 " Old Bob Anderson at Sumter won't surren- 
 der to General Beauregard," said one of the Vir- 
 ginians, who had but just come aboard the train. 
 "D — n him for a traitor! We'll hang him when 
 we get him." 
 
 " That we will," another declared. 
 
 The pale little woman shuddered as these words 
 fell on her ears; but she did not allow them to 
 suspect that she was the wife of Major Anderson, 
 whom they were maligning and slandering. 
 
"1 HAVK BROUGHT YOC PeTER HaRT, ' SUK SAID. 
 
116 UNION. 
 
 " Anderson is a southern man," said one. " He 
 was born in Kentucky and is, or has been a slave- 
 holder. Why does he cling to the Union?" 
 
 " Oh, it's some false notion of duty to the 
 nation." 
 
 " Well, that false notion of his may stretch his 
 neck." 
 
 She had difficulty at times to suppress her rising 
 indignation ; but she controlled herself, and the 
 train thundered on. She gained considerable in- 
 formation which was valuable to her husband, for 
 the Confedei'ates talked quite freel3^ Having 
 reached Charleston, on Sunday morning, after 
 some difficulty she procured permission to visit 
 Fort Sumter with Peter Hart. As the little boat 
 touched the wharf of the fortress near the sally- 
 port, and the name of Mrs. Anderson was announced 
 to the sentry, the major, informed of her presence, 
 rushed out and clasped her in his arms with the 
 exclamation in a vehement whisper, intended for 
 her ears only : 
 
 " My glorious wife!" 
 
 "I have brought you Peter Hart," she said.. 
 " The children are well ; I return to-night. " 
 
 She then partook of some refreshments, and 
 after resting a few hours, returned to New York, 
 wliere she was for a long time threatened with 
 brain fever, the result of excitement and her long, 
 
MRS. ANDERSON'S RECRUIT. 117 
 
 toilsome journey. This. devoted wife and patriotic 
 little woman, had given her husband a most faith- 
 ful friend and assistant under all circumstances, in 
 the fort, during the three months of severe trial 
 that ensued. She had done what the government 
 would not or could not do, — not sent but taken a 
 most valuable reinforcement to Fort Sumter. A 
 recruit, as history shows, that saved the fort from 
 burning two or three times during the siege. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MARK AND ELSIE. 
 
 The suburban home of Mr. Henry Cole, father 
 of Elsie, was a neat cottage of the familiar south- 
 ern type, which nestled near the bosom of a grove 
 of sweet gum and pine trees, in a little village 
 about three miles from Charleston. In the grove 
 sang a mocking-bird family. Around the house 
 were a few acres of ground, which were carefully 
 cultivated. In one corner grazed a group of beau- 
 tiful Minerva-eyed Jerseys. At one side of the 
 house, hives of bees were placed near a flower gar- 
 den, sloping down to the street, which passed in 
 front of the house several rods distant. At the 
 foot of the hill was a bubbling spring, whose 
 sparkling waters supplied the needs of the house- 
 hold. A superb English mastiff eyed with digni- 
 fied glance the casual visitor, whose coming was 
 apt to be announced by the bark of two of the 
 finest dogs in the country ; one a Newfoundland, 
 and the other a white English bull-terrier. The 
 interior of the cottage was simple and unassuming. 
 118 
 
MARK AND ELSIE. 119 
 
 Bric-a-brac and trumpery " articles of bigotry and 
 virtue" were wanting. The places tbey usually 
 occupy were taken up with wide windows and 
 generous hearths. There was a library of choice 
 books in the house, for Mr. Cole was not only one 
 of the leading lawyers of Charleston, but a man of 
 considerable literary attainments ; but this summer 
 cottage, as he called it, was neither a library, a 
 museum, nor an art gallery, but a delightful home. 
 He had two sons and a daughter. One son was 
 an oflicer in the army; one had graduated in the 
 naval academy and was in England on business; 
 while his daughter, the peerless Elsie, was at 
 home. She was the idol of her parents, and, had 
 she not possessed remarkably good sense, would 
 have been spoiled. Mr. Cole was wealthy and in- 
 fluential. He not only enjoyed a very lucrative 
 practice, but owned half a dozen cotton and rice 
 plantations and several hundred slaves. In 1860 
 and 1861, no man in South Carolina was better 
 or more favorably known than Henry Cole. He 
 had served several terms in the State Legislature, 
 and had been " talked of for congress. " While Mr. 
 Cole was decidedly Southern in sentiment, he 
 lacked that peculiar " fire-eating," reckless speech, 
 necessary to make him popular. He was conser- 
 vative in his views, and when it came to the dis- 
 cussion of questions of secession, he counselled 
 
120 UNION. 
 
 moderation. In a speech shortly after Lincoln's 
 election he said: 
 
 " My heart is with South Carolina, for her des- 
 tiny is mine. On her soil I was born, in her ter- 
 ritory I found my wife, in Charleston my children 
 were born, and I love my dear native State next 
 to my God and family. As to slavery, an institu- 
 tion tolerated since the Christian era began, I be- 
 lieve it must be right. As for the negro, I know 
 his condition in slavery is better than when free. 
 Give him his freedom, and he becomes a worthless, 
 drunken vagabond. The northern people envy 
 our wealth and prosperity, which they see consists 
 in slaves, and they have worked up their sympa- 
 thies for the downtrodden African race, until they 
 believe they have a religious cause at stake. Some 
 may be sincere; but the masses are instigated by 
 envy. Nevertheless, felhnv citizens, they dare 
 not touch a slave. They have elected Mr. Lincoln 
 president" — at this some one in the audience cried, 
 "Yes, by fraud" — ^" T am not sure it was as 
 much Republican fraud as Democratic foil}-. Had 
 we not become divided, the Republican party 
 would have dwindled away, the craze have blown 
 over, and, like the Know-Nothings, the Whigs 
 and Federalists, the Republicans would have 
 quietly passed out of existence. But Mr. Lin- 
 coln has been elected; let us give him a chance. 
 
MARK A^D ELSIE. 121 
 
 Let him take his seat. If he breaks the constitu- 
 tion, or abrogates the decisions of the supreme 
 court, then we can easily impeach him. 
 
 " If South Carolina does secede, I will go with 
 her : but I warn you that only war and misery can 
 follow such an act. We have a powerful North 
 with unbounded resources, and the South must be 
 the battle-ground. They can grow up and import 
 soldiers faster than we can kill them. This fair 
 city, these lovely plantations, and our beautiful 
 homes will be ruins ere the war is over; and the 
 chances are that humiliation, defeat and the loss 
 of every slave will be the result. " 
 
 Mr. Cole's remarks were greeted with hisses 
 and groans. No sooner had he quit the stand, 
 than a fiery South Carolinian mounted it and be- 
 gan in an eloquent wa}' to "' show up" the fallacy and 
 sophistry of his remarks. lie asserted that if they 
 lay supinely on their backs until Lincoln was 
 seated, and had their hands tied, they would be 
 powerless. Let Lincoln once get in control, and 
 the}' would find an armed host in the South, and tlie 
 abolition of slavery declared. Better be cautious 
 and, as Patrick Henry of old said, resist while they 
 could. The doctrines of the immortal Calhoun had 
 established the proof of State-supremacy and he 
 who was not with South Carolina was against her. 
 He who was against South Carolina was a traitor. 
 
122 UNION. 
 
 Mr. Cole was an even-tempered man, and did not 
 become angry at the tirade. He was as lo3'al as 
 the speaker before him ; but he foresaw what the 
 inevitable result would be, if war should follow. 
 
 But as time went on, and as the southern States, 
 one by one went out, and formed the Southern 
 Confederacy, he became an enthusiastic supporter 
 of the new republic, and was chosen colonel of one 
 of the provisional regiments which had been organ- 
 ized. He displayed as much military genius as he 
 hatl legal ability, and his regiment was thoroughly 
 equipped and well drilled long before the shot was 
 fired on Fort Sumter, and when General Beaure- 
 gard came to Charleston as commander of the Con- 
 federate armies, he was among the first to apply 
 for an assignment. 
 
 The war was still brewing. Since the 9th of 
 January, 1861, when Major Stevens, in command 
 of a Confederate battery on Morris Island, fired on 
 the Star of the TFes^ sent with supj^lies for Fort 
 Sumter, and drove her from the harbor, all had 
 been comparatively at peace, though drilling and 
 mustering was constantly going on, and all prepa- 
 rations were being made for war. 
 
 It was near the close of day, in the first w^eek 
 of April, which in that semi-tropical land was like 
 summer, that pretty Elsie Cole stood at the gate 
 gazing down the broad street, which, after leaving 
 
MARK AND ELSIE. 123 
 
 the village, gradually became a country turnpike. 
 The excitement in the city was so great, that Colo- 
 nel Cole had removed his family to this quiet 
 nook, where they might for awhile be free from 
 the shock of war. 
 
 Merry, light-hearted Elsie had little thought of 
 the coming storm. She was like a sunbeam, dis- 
 pelling gloom wherever she went. Some who 
 were intimate with Elsie thought she had never 
 known a sorrow, or that no cloud had ever passed 
 over her sky; yet there were times when she was 
 sad, and sighed as if there had been a dark period 
 somewhere in her life. Those melancholy mo- 
 ments came when she was alone. On this CA^ening 
 her face had lost some of its sunlight. Was it 
 because her brothers were away, or that her father 
 was in danger? 
 
 She had a rose in her hair, and as she stood 
 leaning against the gate post which was overgrown 
 with creeping vines, she looked the very picture 
 of loveliness. 
 
 A carriage driven at a brisk pace came down 
 the quiet street. The clattering of hoofs and roll 
 of wheels first attracted her attention, and, glanc- 
 ing up, she discovered that the negro coachman 
 was driving toward the gate. Her large blue eyes 
 grew round with wonder as the door was thrown 
 open, and a young man leaped from the vehicle. 
 
124 UNION. 
 
 "Elsie!" he cried. 
 
 " Mr. Stevens! where did you come from?' 
 
 For a moment it would have been difficult to 
 tell whether she was more astonished than de- 
 lighted at the appearance of the stranger. In the 
 dimming light of the departing day, her face 
 flushed to the hue of the rose in her hair. 
 
 " I came from the North," Mark answered. 
 
 "From the North, and dare come here?" and 
 she tried to assume a haughty expression, but 
 failed. 
 
 "Yes, Elsie; I must come and see you once 
 more, before " 
 
 " Before the war begins?" 
 
 " Yes; for it now seems inevitable." 
 
 " Have you come to the South to join the noble 
 race of Stevens who have sworn to die for their 
 country? It was like a Stevens for you to do so. 
 Your name can claim the honor of firing the first 
 gun of the war. It was Major Stevens, a relative 
 of yours, who fired the first shot at the Siar of (he 
 West.'' 
 
 " I do not wish to discuss the war," said Mark. 
 " Let us forget the past and cease to speculate on 
 the future. The present is too glorious to think 
 of either, Elsie. To be with you, to hear your 
 voice, to gaze into your eyes is a joy which I 
 would not have alloyed by dread for the future. " 
 
MARK AND ELSIE. 125 
 
 "Don't be sentimental, Mr. Stevens," said 
 Elsie, as they walked toward the vine-clad cottage. 
 
 " Then let us talk of other matters. Where is 
 your cousin Dick?" 
 
 " He is in England. " 
 
 "When did he sail?" 
 
 " A few weeks ago. " 
 
 " I suppose he will return soon?" 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 "And Clara?" 
 
 " Didn't you see her in Charleston?" 
 
 " No. " 
 
 " Surely 3-ou did not stop long." 
 
 " Only long enough to change, and hire a coach 
 to bring me here. " 
 
 " She is in Charleston and would have been 
 glad to see you." 
 
 There was a beautiful vine-clad veranda in front 
 of the house, with a rustic seat on which she asked 
 him to be seated. The twibght hours flew bv as 
 silent and free as birds on the wing. The sable 
 cloak of night pinned with millions of glittering 
 stars, had already been flung over the earth, and 
 the disk of the rising moon began to appear over 
 the distant city. Tliere is a charm in a southern 
 night, with all its voluptuousness, that seems to 
 enchant one. Those who have experienced an 
 evening in South Carolina never forget it. The 
 
126 UNION. 
 
 balmy breezes, the soft southern skies and the 
 voluptuous foliage all bespeak richness, splendor 
 and generosity. But the South is not now what it 
 was before the war. Almost thirty 3^ears have 
 not sufficed to restore the ravages and devastation 
 of four years. 
 
 "Did you come from Kentucky?" Elsie asked, 
 plucking a ffower. 
 
 " No, not direct. I came from New York." 
 
 " I read in the paper this morning that Major 
 Anderson's wife had come. I hojie she will per- 
 suade him into surrendering." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Because it will save bloodshed. " 
 
 " Do 3'ou believe Beauregard will fire on 
 Sumter?" 
 
 " As sure as the world moves. The people 
 don't like the actions of Anderson. His remov- 
 ing his troops from Fort Moultrie into Fort Sumter 
 is regarded as an act of open hostility. " 
 
 " But was it not prudent?" 
 
 "If he expects to resist, it was: but he sliould 
 surrender and save bloodshed. " 
 
 Mark had it on his lips to answer that it was his 
 duty as a soldier to defend his fort as long as he 
 could; but he refrained from saying anything. 
 He could not find it in his heart to quarrel with 
 Elsie, no matter how much they might differ. 
 
MARK AND ELSIE. 121 
 
 After several moments' silence and deliberation, he 
 said : 
 
 " Elsie, I have come to i)ay a short visit to my 
 friends in Charleston, more to you than to any 
 other. I will not discuss the present political 
 trouble. Friendship is dearer than all, Elsie, and 
 though persons may differ it is no reason they 
 should quarrel. I leave soon, perhaps never to 
 return. We may never meet again on earth; let 
 our last meeting be pleasant." 
 
 She assented, and both being sensible agreed to 
 refrain from discussing the situation at all. Mark 
 remained until late. Colonel Cole came home be- 
 fore he left and shook the hand of the young Ken- 
 tuckian warmly. He wore the uniform of his 
 rank; but there was nothing offensively partisan 
 in his conversation. He talked of the coming 
 trouble as a matter of news, and seemed to regard 
 it more as a calamity than a blessing to the South. 
 
 Mark met Mrs. Cole, a mild, sweet woman of 
 forty-five or fifty, whose cheek was furrowed with 
 care, and whose hair was becoming streaked with 
 gray. Both father and mother joined Elsie in 
 extending a warm invitation to the young man to 
 return every day during his stay. He accepted 
 gladly. In fact, had they forbidden his coming, he 
 could not have refrained from doing so. 
 
 Next day he was standing on the [)iazza of the 
 
128 UNION. 
 
 city hotel, when his attention was drawn to a fresh 
 arrival, consisting of a spruce rockaway carriage 
 drawn by a fine pair of spirited horses, which were 
 driven by a self-possessed, good-looking young 
 gentleman. As he drew up at the door, the clerk, 
 bar-tender, porter, hostler, and " boots" were at 
 the side of his carriage in a jiffy, obsequiously 
 assisting the young man to alight and bring in his 
 baggage. Giving these worthies a cool survey, as 
 if he would judge by their appearance whether the 
 remainder of the establishment occupied a satis- 
 factory standard of respectability, he threw the 
 reins to the colored hostler and sprang to the 
 ground. Casting a rapid glance at his baggage to 
 see that all was right, he turned upon his heel and 
 for the first time saw Mark. Fixing his eyes upon 
 him for a moment, he made a rush at him, and, 
 grasping his hand with a vigor that recalled to 
 Mark's mind all he had ever read of the thumb 
 screws of the inquisition, he cried: 
 
 " How are you, my dear fellow? What? don't 
 know me ! Well, that's a good joke, as sure as you 
 are my old friend and cousin Mark Stevens, whom 
 I have roomed with, ate with and fought with for 
 a whole year and a half at Harvard. Why, you 
 precious old muff! Oho! you do remember me, 
 do you?" 
 
 Mark recotiiiized him at ouce, when he heard 
 
MARK AND ELSIE. 129 
 
 his voice. It was his chum at school, Alexander 
 Stevens, his cousin and rival. 
 
 Though a few months had made quite a change, 
 yet he could now recognize in the newly polished 
 individual before him the harum-scarum, devil- 
 may-care boy of school days. Before he had time 
 to mumble out his surprise. Alec in his roistering 
 way continued: 
 
 " But come in, come in ! I must get the dust 
 out of my oesophagus, my throat, gullet, or what- 
 ever you have a mind to call it. Ah!" said he as 
 his eye caught the glitter of the contents of the 
 bar, " 'is this a dagger which I see before me, the 
 handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch 
 thee' — what'll you have, mon cher? As for me, 
 give me brandy in the virgin state, I thank you. 
 Water is very good for navigable purposes, some 
 one says, but for a constant beverage give me 
 pony brandy. Come, name the nectar. Under 
 what disguise will you imbibe a modicum of the 
 invisible spirit of wine? If you are not familiar 
 with its nomenclature, call it a cocktail, hey!" 
 
 Mark, who had had hardly time to get in a word 
 edgeways until now, managed to say that his 
 habits, religion and constitution all combined 
 would not permit his taking anything stronger 
 than lemonade. Alec made a wry face and, shiv- 
 ering, declared that Mark had surel}- become 
 9 
 
130 UNION. 
 
 ■wholly Yankeefied in the last few months ; but 
 nevertheless he declared that he was willing to 
 allow his friend to indulge his whim to its utmost 
 on this their first meeting. 
 
 Who does not feel his heart leap with joy in 
 meeting such a friend and relative as Alec Stevens? 
 War, storm, and disaster, even rivalry in love 
 made no difference with him. He was still the 
 rattle-headed chatterbox, possessed of a gift of 
 word and an endless flow of language, that would 
 run Webster's unabridged dictionary to the very 
 last syllable every day in the year if enough listen- 
 ers could be obtained. It seemed almost impossi- 
 ble for him to desist, when he had fairly com- 
 menced talking, and should he be fortunate enough 
 to get a fellow cornered for a long evening, he 
 would inundate him with conversation and be in 
 his most delightful element. 
 
 His happiness at this meeting was fully recipro- 
 cated by Mark. He shook hands with him half 
 a dozen times within twenty minutes, and then 
 they could be content with doing nothing less than 
 joining arms as they walked the piazza, reviewing 
 the cherished reminiscences of their first acquaint- 
 ance. He insisted so stoutly on Mark's taking 
 dinner with him, that he was forced to do so. 
 
 " You see, my boy, I have a great deal to sa}' 
 to you and a very limited time to say it in, as the 
 
3IARK AND ELSIE. 131 
 
 fiat lias gone forth that I depart from tliis burg in 
 the morning at precisely ten A.M. There sounds 
 the loud hewgag. Let us grub. I am as fero- 
 cious as a vulture, and if there is any thing in this 
 world I like when I am hungry, it is victuals and 
 drink. Come " 
 
 At the stroke of the gong, they joined in the 
 general rush for the dining-room door, and by dint 
 of good generalship secured seats in the vicinity of 
 the most tempting viands, where, after they became 
 firmly settled. Alec continued his conversation. 
 
 " It is barely possible you may have some curi- 
 osity to know why I am in Charleston, and it is 
 also quite possible that you may guess," remarked 
 Alec, as he proceeded to make use of the best of 
 the viands placed before him. " You might guess 
 that I was an ofiicer recruiting for the southern 
 army, or on some secret mission from Jefi^ Davis. " 
 
 " Aha!" grunted Mark, his mouth full of beef- 
 steak. 
 
 " But I am not. Then again you might think 
 that I am here on a certain love affair in which I 
 am so unfortunate, and somebody else is so suc- 
 cessful " 
 
 " Ahem ! pass the biscuit, please. " 
 
 " But I am not, " answered Alec, as he passed 
 the plate of biscuit to his friend. " I have de- 
 generated into a negro hunter. " 
 
132 UNION. 
 
 " Why, Alec, I thought you were opposed to 
 the traffic." 
 
 " Well, on general principles I am ; but Aunt 
 Aggy is old and weak. She is not long for this 
 world. Father has bought her children one by 
 one in order to have them near the poor old 
 thing; but one boy named Eph for a long time 
 disappeared. He had been sold to a rice planter, 
 and we did not know where he was, until by acci- 
 dent we learned that Eph was near Charleston. 
 Father, with his great heart overflowing with sym- 
 pathy, resolved to send his wayward boy with 
 sufficient of the filthy lucre to purchase Eph, and 
 take him home wliere he might make glad the 
 kind heart of his mother." 
 
 " Your mission is a noble one. Alec, " said 
 Mark. " But won't you stojD on your return?" 
 
 " Why, Mark, do you want me to?" 
 
 " Of course I do. " 
 
 " You know you and I are so unfortunate as to 
 both love the same girl " 
 
 " Don't allow that to interfere with our friend- 
 ship. " 
 
 " It shall not, my good fellow, so far as I am 
 concerned. Win Elsie, and I wish you much jo}^, 
 and hope you won't forget me when it comes to 
 naming babies. Again, I more than suspect that 
 this big rumpus which is coming on will find us 
 
:\IARK AXD ELSIE. 133 
 
 holding different opinions. It won't affect my 
 friendship. Nothing wilL" 
 
 "Alec," said Marie, grasping his friend's hand, 
 " you are a noble-hearted fellow and ten times 
 more of a man than I!" 
 
 "Hush, hush! There is no need of that. I 
 am only a wild, rattle-brained fellow; but I like 
 you, Mark; I can't help it. You always have 
 been a little mysterious to me; but all the same I 
 like you. If you really wish me to stop on my 
 way back I will do so; but, Mark, you never 
 loved Elsie more than I. I may be wrong, for 
 she loves you; but I can't help it, though it 
 makes me feel like a fool." 
 
 " I want you to stop, Alec, and stay as long as 
 I do. I am going away, and I feel that we will 
 not meet again soon." 
 
 Alec declared he would stop, hoped Mark would 
 not grow sentimental, and promised if he could 
 help it, not to interfere with him and Elsie. 
 
 " But, Mark, I want to warn you to go in, or I 
 shall not wait always. Win that girl, you can — I 
 may never do it; but as sure as you leave Charles- 
 ton without having popped the question, I will 
 lay siege. Now I have been fair with you, and 
 given you a clear road for a long time. If you 
 don't take advantage of it, don't blame me." 
 
 "I won't." 
 
134 UNION. 
 
 Mark was miserable that night and almost 
 wished he was dead. While unable to win Elsie 
 himself, he was standing between the best man in 
 the world, and the truest woman. But for him, 
 she might love Alec, and to him, she was lost. 
 
 Next morning, Mark called on his friend after 
 breakfast. 
 
 "Aha!" cried Alec in a loud, cheery voice. 
 "Good morning, old chap! how d'ye feel this 
 morning? Let's go and get a cigar." 
 
 They adjourned to a cigar store, in front of 
 which was a wooden Indian, to procure a weed. 
 The man behind the short, dingy counter passed a 
 box out to them, and Alec, taking one, said: 
 
 " Here's a light. Those cigars cost about 
 twenty-five cents a hundred, and were made in 
 Pennsylvania, or I am no judge. What a hum- 
 bug ! Real Havana ! They have the poorest 
 cigars in Charleston imaginable. Now, this roll 
 of leaves, for instance, is more of cabbage, and 
 less of nicotina., than is desirable. I am exceed- 
 ingly fond of savory cauliflower, broccoli colewart 
 h-aut-salaat, and other plants of the genus Bras- 
 sica, but then I don't like them put up this way, 
 by any manner of means. " 
 
 " When do you start. Alec?" 
 
 " Within an hour and sixty minutes, my cher- 
 ished friend and cousin, and now, by the way, as 
 
MARK AND ELSIE. 135 
 
 I have half a dozen letters to post and wish to get 
 twice as many, let us go to the post office. The 
 carrier does not know me well enough to bring the 
 mail to me." 
 
 Sauntering leisurely along the sunn}" side of the 
 street, they came to the post office, and Alec 
 called out his name. One was handed out b}- the 
 putty-faced individual who presided within. 
 
 "If this isn't provoking!" said Alec. "Only 
 one solitary epistle, when I expected a dozen at 
 least. If they can't keep a better and fuller 
 assortment of this kind of literature on hand, I've 
 a mind to lease a room across the street and start 
 an opposition post office, where I will supply nice 
 printed letters in any quantity at two cents apiece. " 
 
 The individual who glanced lightning at Alec 
 through the orifice made no response. Alec re- 
 marked that the envelope was a dainty, perfumed 
 affair, and the writing in a neat, feminine hand. 
 Opening it, he cried: 
 
 " Hello, what is this? How did she know I 
 was here! Why, Mark, here's an invitation to a 
 ball at the home of Major Stevens, my uncle, on 
 the evening of the eleventh, given in honor of the 
 nineteenth birthday of cousin Clara. Look here, 
 Mark, I'll bet my head for a football, there is one 
 for you. Ask that hatchet-faced Lord Bj'ron, if 
 he can't treat you as well as me." 
 
136 rxioN. 
 
 Mark did so and found a similar invitation for 
 himself. This made Alec more determined to stop 
 on his return. "It will he just one week," he 
 said. " I will be here by that time and for once 
 we will shake off dull care and enjoy ourselves. 
 I will buy Eph and send him home to his old 
 mother, with the horses and rockaway, and then I 
 can go home by rail." 
 
 Alec departed at the time agreed upon, and 
 Mark hastened to assure his cousin he would be 
 present at the ball. Most of the intervening time 
 was spent with Elsie, and Mark was a score of 
 times on the point of declaring his love, but from 
 a sense of right refrained from doing so. They 
 walked and rode together, sang together, played 
 duets, and she never seemed more nearly perfect. 
 Sweet, happy days were those, days which Mark 
 to the hour of his death will never forget. While 
 all about him was a furious uprising, wild excite- 
 ment, maddening speeches, the marshalling of clans 
 for the conflict, he was living a life of bliss and 
 peace, — a sweet dream, without a single care. 
 Oh, that such a lot could be his, forever, though 
 guilt at times made him almost hide his face in 
 shame. 
 
 The Confederacy had been formed out of the 
 seceded States, and on February 9, 1861, Jeffer- 
 son Davis and Alexander H. Stevens were elected 
 
3IARK AXD ELSIE. 137 
 
 president and vice-president of the new republic. 
 Fort after fort in the South had been surrendered 
 by treacherous commanders, until the South had 
 almost complete control of the principal strong- 
 holds in that territory. E'loj^d had planned and 
 executed matters with a cunning hand. Southern 
 congressmen and United States senators were re- 
 signing their seats. On the 29th of January, 
 Kansas, over which there had been so much dis- 
 sension, became the 34th State of the Union. 
 Lincoln had been inaugurated on the 4th of 
 March as fourteenth president of the United States, 
 and he was taking vigorous measures to stop the 
 progress of tlie rebellion. 
 
 While lounging about the rotunda of the hotel, 
 Mark learned much of what was goina; on. He 
 heard one man sa}^ that their agents and friends in 
 New York had telegraphed them that the steamer 
 Atlantic had sailed with troops and supplies for 
 Fort Sumter on the Tth. He also learned that 
 there was a rumor that troops were soon to gather 
 at Washington, and that the government of South 
 Carolina had been notified that provisions would 
 be sent to Major Anderson by force if necessary ; 
 but Mark hardly realized the danger. He was too 
 much lost in the mazes of a happy dream to dread 
 a coming shock. 
 
 The evening of the 11th came, and the palatial 
 
138 UNION. 
 
 mansion of Major Stevens was a scene of brilliance. 
 The dlite and beauty of Charleston, that proud city 
 of the South, were there. Major Stevens was ad- 
 mired by all. He had commanded the battery 
 that fired on the Star of the TFes^, was a brave and 
 determined man and known by all to be an honor- 
 able, upright gentleman. His daughter Clara was 
 quite a favorite, and the young people anticipated 
 an excellent time. Mark was there among the 
 first. Alec had come back ; but Mark, with Elsie 
 leaning on his arm as he passed through the bril- 
 liant halls and art galleries beneath gilded chande- 
 liers, seemed to have almost forgotten his cousin. 
 
 "Well, Mark is enjoying himself," Alec said 
 with a sigh. " It's at the cost of my happiness; 
 but I don't blame Mark. Let him go in and win 
 her, — I would. If he don'tdo it, I will. I prom- 
 ised Mark a clear field while he is here, so he 
 had better make hay while the sun shines. " 
 
 Mark was enjoying just a little while longer the 
 music of a voice which reason had taught him he 
 was never more to hear, was basking in the sun- 
 light of a pair of lovely eyes he was soon to see 
 no more. The crowd was gay. The room was 
 brilliant with uniforms and glittering epaulettes. 
 General Beauregard himself was present early in the 
 evening, but urgent duties called him elsewhere. 
 
 The home of Major Stevens overlooked the bay, 
 
3IARK AND ELSIE. ■ ia9 
 
 and far in the distance Fort Sumter loomed. 
 Mark, in his love, bewilderment and self-condem- 
 nation, had almost forgotten his country and the 
 brave men in the distant fort. 
 
 When music rose in its softest strains and with 
 voluptuous swell, he joined in the dance with 
 Elsie. Once she left him for a few minutes for a 
 Confederate colonel ; but he sought her as soon as 
 the set was over, and when they were again apart 
 from the others, he said: 
 
 " Elsie, I want to be with you all the remainder 
 of the evening. " 
 
 "Why?" she asked. 
 
 " Because I leave earlv in the morning, and- 
 
 and- 
 
 " We may never see each other again ! " 
 " That is exactly what I mean, Elsie. I go 
 perhaps never to return." 
 
 They went into the conservatory where the light 
 of a southern moon fell gently upon them. For a 
 long time both were silent, and then he said : 
 " Elsie, I hope you realize our situation." 
 "I do," she sighed. It was a favorable omen, 
 yet how dared he propose? He a loyal unionist, 
 about to engage in a desperate struggle, could not 
 avow his love for this pretty rebel even had he 
 been otherwise at liberty to love. After a long 
 silence, he said : 
 
140 UNION. 
 
 " Elsie, you have two brothers and a father, 
 who will probably engage in the coming struggle. 
 You appreciate what it is, and for your sake I 
 hope it may not come. " 
 
 By an effort she threw off the spell, which 
 seemed bowing down her spirits, and said : 
 
 " Let us not be gloomy. Nothing is so bad as it 
 seems. Did you notice Captain Taylor, how atten- 
 tive he was to Cousin Clara? Now she don't care a 
 fig for him, and he is almost breaking his heart for 
 her. I would not allow myself to be so ridiculous. " 
 
 " Were you ever in love?" 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Stevens, what a question!" she cried, 
 her eyes growing round with wonder. 
 
 " It is a question that admits of an answer by 
 yes or no. " 
 
 " It is a question that provokes one to falsehood. 
 One in love never admits it, save in the most sa- 
 cred confidence to a special friend. If one has 
 never been in love, — but this is all nonsense." 
 
 " Do you ever feel melancholy?" 
 
 " Sometimes. " 
 
 " Do you believe in presentiments?" 
 
 " I hardly know. " 
 
 Before they could say more, Alec came hur- 
 riedly forward ; his face flushed with excitement. 
 
 " Mark, you here? I have been hunting you 
 and Elsie. Have you heard the news?" 
 

 XiS"^ 
 
 
 
 ^^v 
 
 "Elsie, I hope you realize our situation." 
 
143 UNION. 
 
 " What news?" both asked. 
 
 " General Beauregard has demanded the sur- 
 render of Fort Sumter, and if it is not surrendered 
 by four o'clock they will fire on the fort." 
 
 " Heaven forbid !" 
 
 "It is true. The soldiers have been summoned 
 to their posts, and four thousand new troops have 
 entered the city." 
 
 Mark now remembered having noticed a consid- 
 erable stir among the soldiers and citizens. Elsie, 
 who had been inclined to make light of the pros- 
 pect of war, shuddered with dread, when she found 
 it so near a realization. " I am going down to the 
 battery to see what all that whooping and yelling 
 means, " cried Alec. " Come along, Elsie, you 
 had better go home. There will be trouble soon, 
 for the big shells from Sumter may reach Charles- 
 ton." 
 
 Alec was gone in a moment, and Elsie, shud- 
 dering, said: 
 
 " Let us go in." 
 
 As they passed along the narrow 'garden path 
 toward the house, he said: 
 
 " Elsie, I regret this. " 
 
 " Will it drive you away?" 
 
 "Yes." Then, after a moment's silence, he 
 asked, " Will you think of me when I am gone?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
MARK AND ELSIE. 143 
 
 They entered the house, where all had been joy 
 and gayety a few moments before ; but people were 
 now dispersing. Men were hurrying down to the 
 batteries in their ball dress, and crossing over to 
 James Island. 
 
 Mark consulted his watch and found that it was 
 after three o'clock. He would just have time to 
 reach the battery before the fearful blow was 
 struck. The city was ablaze with torches, and 
 although the throngs were silent, there was uneasi- 
 ness in their manner. 
 
 " Elsie, I must go. I don't know why; but I 
 shall die if I don't," said Mark. 
 
 " Will you come back?" 
 
 "I hope to, Elsie!" he whispered in her ear. 
 " Forgive me, — it is wrong, I know it. God 
 knows I would not say this if I could help it; I 
 ought never to have come here ; but I could not 
 help it ; — you are the magnet which drew me. 
 Elsie, I hve you!" 
 
 They were alone in one of the many bay win- 
 dows which adorned the house. She started back 
 and gave him such a look of horror that he never 
 forgot it. She was turning coldly away, when he 
 hoarsely gasped : 
 
 " Forgive me !" and was gone. 
 
 No sooner was she alone than she fell weeping 
 on a sofa. 
 
144 UNION. 
 
 Mark, meanwhile, was hurrying as rapidly as 
 he could toward Cumings' Point. He saw wild- 
 eyed men on every hand. There were no yells 
 nor cheers; but a silent excitement, more awful 
 than the loudest thunders of battle, seemed to pre- 
 vail. Mark gained the island just as some one 
 said : 
 
 " Time is up!" 
 
 The battery was lighted by brilliant torches, and 
 he saw the wild, excited faces of men everywhere. 
 
 " There is old Ruffin at the gun," said one man, 
 " Beauregard gave him permission to fire the first 
 shot." 
 
 Mark looked and saw an old man with a face 
 like a devil, his long, gray hair streaming in the 
 night wind. This was the white-haired Virginian 
 Euffin, who begged the privilege of firing the first 
 shot, — a deed of which he boasted as long as he 
 lived.* 
 
 When the hour of four in the morning arrived, 
 the fort had not surrendered. Then came an order 
 from Beauregard to fire the shot. The old white- 
 haired monster could be seen dancing about like a 
 fiend incarnate. Suddenly he seized the lanyard 
 and gave it a jerk. There was an earth-shaking 
 
 * In tlie summer of 1865, Ruffin, at the age of seventj' 
 years, committed suicide, declaring in a note left behind, 
 "I cannot survive the liberties of my country." 
 
MARK AND ELSIE. 145 
 
 report, and a large round shot went hissing through 
 the air and struck against the solid wall of Fort 
 Sumter with fearful force. 
 
 A few moments' silence, — then tremendous yells 
 rose on the air, and a storm of cannon-balls and 
 shells flew over Fort Sumter. 
 
 Not a shot was returned until after seven o'clock. 
 Mark, in his anxiety, asked himself again and 
 again : 
 
 " Can it be that they will surrender without 
 firing a shot?" 
 
 Day dawned, and the thunder of guns went on. 
 
 " Hello, Mark, are you here?" suddenly cried 
 a voice at his side, and, turning about, he saw 
 Alec. " The terrible war has begun, and God 
 only knows how it will end; but Sumter don't 
 seem to be doing anything. The fight is all on 
 one side. By the way, Mark, do you know tliat 
 cuss of a nigger Eph has played me a mean trick. 
 I bought him to send him to his old mother, be- 
 fore she died. I started him home with my fine 
 team. Some of the infernal abolitionists persuaded 
 him to escape, and he has gone North, horses and 
 all. I say cuss a nigger, anyhow " 
 
 At this moment, a puff of smoke was seen to 
 issue from the top of Fort Sumter, and a shell 
 came screeching through the air. The famous 
 siege of Fort Sumter had begun, 
 lu 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PIRATE. 
 
 The first year of the war, Dick Stevens, whom 
 we met in Florida, was in England. He had been 
 travelling in Europe, and his father, having some 
 interests in a Liverpool cotton house, ordered his 
 son there to look after them. This was not un- 
 pleasant to Dick, especially as he had met with a 
 Miss Lorena Lancaster, a Liverpool girl, while 
 travelling on the continent, and had formed a warm 
 attachment for her. 
 
 Dick had heard much of the war. He knew 
 that his father was in the command of a regiment, 
 had fought valiantly at Bull Run, and that his 
 country was all in the wildest state of excitement; 
 yet so wholly were his thoughts taken up with his 
 love affair, that war, country and friends were of 
 minor consideration. Of course the South would 
 gain her independence. Such a thing as defeat had 
 never entered his mind. He did not suppose that 
 Yankees could fight. They had taken but little 
 part in the war of 1812, and practically no part in 
 146 
 
THE PIRATE. 147 
 
 the war witli Mexico. The West and South had 
 fought those battles, and the idea that the specu- 
 lating, canting, psalm-singing Puritan could or 
 would fight, was too ridiculous to be entertained. 
 The}' could organize negro -stealing societies, and 
 incite slaves to murder masters; but he never 
 dreamed they would fight. In France and in 
 England he found strong sympathizers with the 
 South. He was assured again and again that 
 Great Britain would declare war against the United 
 States and assist the South to obtain her indepen- 
 dence. 
 
 He reached Liverpool in May, and one day, as 
 he was walking leisurely down the street, he was 
 accosted by some one with : 
 
 "Hello, Dick Stevens, what are you doing here?" 
 
 Dick looked up and saw a young man coming 
 toward him. His voice and face were familiar, 
 and, recognizing him a moment later, he cried: 
 
 "Charley Cole, can it be possible this is you? 
 Where have you been?" 
 
 " Cruising about, my fine fellow. I supposed 
 you were at home in the army, winning battles for 
 your country. " 
 
 " No, " Dick answered blushing. " I am looking 
 after some of my father's interests here; though I 
 am going to help the South. But Charley, why 
 are you not in the service?" 
 
148 UNION. 
 
 "lam." 
 
 " And why are you here?" 
 
 With a smile, Charley Cole said: 
 
 " I am engaged in a service for the South, Dick. " 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " Do you really wish to help your country?" 
 
 " Certainly. " 
 
 " Then you can have an opportunity," Charley 
 Cole remarked. " We are organizing a crew, and 
 are building a vessel to driva the Yankee com- 
 merce from the seas. This ship will soon be com- 
 pleted and will want recruits." 
 
 " I am no sailor, Charley. You graduated at 
 Annapolis and served in the United States Navy ; 
 — you have experience, and I have none." 
 
 " But we'll soon make a sailor of you. I am 
 going to ship as a common seaman. You can 
 also." 
 
 " What is to be the name of this ship?" 
 
 " T/ie ^290* The Lairds of Birkenhead, Eng- 
 land, are building her for the Confederate States 
 government. Captain James D. Bullock, as agent 
 for the Confederacy, is superintending her con- 
 struction." 
 
 " How will you get her out?" 
 
 " As a ruse, she is to be sent on a trial trip with 
 a large party of ladies and gentlemen." 
 
 *The name by which the Alabama was first known. 
 
THE PIRATE. 149 
 
 After that, Dick met his cousin Charley Cole 
 quite frequently ; but although Charlej- often en- 
 deavored to persuade him to join the cruiser, his 
 argument had little effect, until one day, while in 
 company with Miss Lancaster, she asked : 
 
 " What are you doing for the South, Mr. 
 Stevens ? " 
 
 Stammering and blushing, he answered : 
 " I am superintending my father's business." 
 " And your State, your kindred, all struggling 
 with an invader! Oh, Mr. Stevens, I thought 
 you a brave man ! " 
 
 Dick blushed to the tips of his ears and felt his 
 blood tingling to the ends of his fingers. How he 
 got through the evening he never exactly knew. 
 To be called a coward by the woman he loved, 
 and, what was worse, in his own heart to realize 
 that he was a cow^ard, was humiliating. In his 
 bewilderment, he asked : 
 
 " Would you advise me to ship as a common 
 sailor?" 
 
 " Certainly, if your country needs your services." 
 He thought of the new privateer and his cousin's 
 desire to have him ship with him. He left the 
 house like one in a daze. The street lights glim- 
 mered, and he saw as through a mist. He had 
 been reproved by the only being for wdiose opinion 
 he cared. Dick resolved to prove his courage. 
 
150 UNION. 
 
 Next day, July 3, 1862, he signed the articles 
 which made him one of the " '290, " afterward the 
 Alabama. The shipping agent, Mr. Campbell, 
 warned him against Yankee spies, and assured 
 him that in three months Great Britain -would de- 
 clare war against the United States. 
 
 Dick hurriedly arranged his father's affairs, 
 wrote a letter to his iTiother informing her of what 
 he had done, and called on Miss Lancaster. She 
 was out riding, the servant said, but would return 
 soon. Would Mr. Stevens wait? He would, and 
 it seemed ages before she returned. He spent 
 most of the time in the picture gallery and library, 
 trying to entertain himself, but feeling decidedly 
 miserable. At last her coupe dashed up to the 
 door; the lady was assisted to alight, and entered 
 the house. A few minutes later she was at his 
 side, her great blue eyes smiling as she said: 
 
 "I know all about it, Mr. Stevens; you have 
 enlisted. " 
 
 " How did you learn it?" 
 
 " Mr. Campbell told me. I am going on the 
 trial trip." 
 
 " I shall be pleased to see you aboard, Miss 
 Lancaster, and I hope that I may prove to you 
 that I can defend my country." 
 
 She smiled, and he, in a very serious tone, 
 added, " You first inspired me with the thought. 
 
THE PIRATE 151 
 
 and I trust you will not think me bold when I say 
 that you inspire me to do only what is right and 
 noble." Her eyes drooped and a faint flush suf- 
 fused her face. He said when his ship had cleared 
 the seas of Yankee merchantmen, and the great 
 and glorious Confederacy had l)een established, he 
 would ask her hand in marriage. Dick was of a 
 good family ; his father was wealthy, and there 
 was no obstacle to such a union. 
 
 Witli a naive smile and an arch look from the 
 corner of her pretty eyes, she intimated that when 
 he had built up the great southern empire, she 
 might say yes. Until then she preferred single 
 blessedness. 
 
 The following day, Dick went aboard the vessel, 
 and was very well pleased with it. To even an 
 unpractised eye, everything indicated the character 
 of the ship. There were no platforms, but the 
 places for the pivot guns were plainly marked. 
 Her magazines were iinislied, and shot boxes were 
 lying about. 
 
 It was the 28th of July that the 290 went 
 out of the Mersey, on what was supposed to be 
 a trial trip, loaded with ladies and gentlemen. 
 Among the former was Miss Lancaster, of course. 
 Though Dick was trying to learn the mysteries of 
 seamanship, he managed to snatch a few moments 
 and hold a short conversation with her. He 
 
152 UNION. 
 
 squeezed her hand at parting and received an as- 
 suring squeeze in return. 
 
 The vessel anchored in a bay on the Welsh 
 coast, where the ladies and gentlemen left, and 
 they "were joined by most of the crew. They had 
 about one hundred men aboard now, half of them 
 sailors, the others being coal-passers and long- 
 shoremen, and, in fact, a more motley crowd per- 
 haps was never seen. They represented every 
 nationality and every type of vice. After a day's 
 delay, they sailed around the northern coast of 
 Ireland, and in thirteen days arrived at Terceira, 
 one of the Azore Islands. 
 
 Charley Cole was one of the crew, and he and 
 Dick were assigned to the same mess and quarters. 
 But for Charley, who had some knowledge of 
 sailor life, Dick would have fared hard. The 
 290 was by no means as fast as had been ex- 
 pected. During her first trip, she did not make 
 over ten knots an hour, and had a most disagree- 
 able habit, when driven to the top of her speed, of 
 burying her head and setting everything afloat. 
 This was decidedly unpleasant for the crew in the 
 berth deck. 
 
 A few days later, they were joined by an Eng- 
 lish bark, loaded with guns and munitions of war, 
 and went to work laying platforms for the heavy 
 guns and mounting the pivot guns, one a very line 
 
THE PIRATE. 153 
 
 Blakely hundred -pound rifle cannon, and the other 
 an eight-inch sixty-eight-pounder smooth bore. 
 The Portuguese governor having ordered them out 
 of the harbor, they were compelled to do their 
 work in a rolling sea, three miles from an anchor- 
 age. Before they had finished, the steamer Ba- 
 hama came alongside, bringing Captain Semmes 
 and the remainder of the crew, also more guns, 
 munitions of war, and, it was whispered, a large 
 sum of money. 
 
 Dick had heard much of Captain, or rather 
 Rear- Admiral, Raphael Semmes, and he was a little 
 disappointed on seeing him. He was a tall, rather 
 spare built man, with a light mustache and dark 
 brown hair. He wore no beard, and his face 
 would indicate that he was more for reflection 
 than action. He seemed to lack the firmness 
 necessary for such an undertaking as was before 
 him; but Dick was in a measure mistaken. 
 Semmes was a bolder and more daring man than 
 he seemed. 
 
 Shortly after the arrival of Semmes, the crew 
 all got liberty to go on shore. Dick, unfamiliar 
 with sailors' actions, was shocked at the conduct 
 of his shipmates. In common parlance " they took 
 the town." The few policemen of the place were 
 powerless; they were seized and mounted on the 
 men's backs. The authorities were defied, and 
 
154 UNION. 
 
 althougli no serious outrage was committed, the 
 Portuguese officials remonstrated with Semmes for 
 letting loose such a party of ruffians on them. 
 Dick Stevens was appalled at their acts; but his 
 cousin Charley Cole only laughed, and remarked: 
 
 " You'll think nothing of this, Dick, after a six 
 months' cruise." But few of the men had yet 
 signed articles, and the officers of the Alabama had 
 no legal control over them. When the time for 
 signing came, they were told they could go or 
 stay, but if they went they must " quit backing 
 and filling, and come aboard at once." 
 
 They went on board to a man and signed the 
 papers, and for two days worked hard cleaning the 
 ship. The crew was divided into watclies, and 
 the routine life of a man-o'-war commenced. Dick 
 was delighted to have his cousin Charles assigned 
 to the same watch with himself. 
 
 One bright Sunday morning they left Angra in 
 company with the Baluuna. The officers came 
 out in full uniform ; the band played " Dixie;" all 
 hands were mustered, and the flag under which 
 they were to sail was unfurled for the first time, 
 and they heard the first of Captain Semmes's ex- 
 hortations, in which he expressed his hope that 
 Providence would bless their efforts to free the 
 South from a grasping and unreasonable Nortli. 
 
 " Yass, Providence likely to bless this ere crew !" 
 
THE PIRATE. 155 
 
 growled a boatswain's mate behind Dick, and Dick 
 tliouglit he was right. 
 
 Sailors' pranks began early. Daring the night, 
 some one, appreciating the piratical nature of the 
 craft, ornamented a bread-bag with a skull and 
 cross-bones and fastened it to one of the mizzen 
 braces. In the morning the master-at-arms was 
 hunting for the delinquent; but the sailors laugh- 
 ing declared that Chucks* the marine had been at 
 his tricks. 
 
 Dick was not long in coming to the conclusion 
 that never in his life had he seen such a bad lot. 
 All were sailors, — not a haymaker, or landlubber 
 among them, — but they were mostly of that class, 
 found in seaport towns, which on lakes and rivers 
 would be " roust-abouts, " and on the whole were 
 a rough and mutinous set. They cared little for 
 the ship's officers, and, according to a sailor called 
 " Shakings," on account of his bushy yellow hair, 
 "they'd stand no man-o'-war dicky from 'em." 
 
 Such yarns as they spun when off watch would 
 put both Gulliver and Munchausen to shame. 
 Dick, having never been to sea and not possessing 
 extraordinary inventive powers, kept out of the 
 lying contest. A Scotchman named Gill, in Dick's 
 watch, was perhaps the greatest character on board 
 the ship. He was in his prime, about forty years 
 * A sort of a "Robin Goodfellow" on a man-of-war. 
 
156 UNION. 
 
 of age, and could hold two ordinary men at arm's 
 length, as if they were children. He could quote 
 scripture and sermons, drink more whiskey and 
 tell more lies than any man on board the Alabama- 
 and that was saying a great deal. He was a daring, 
 dangerous ruffian, who had been engaged in a score 
 of mutinies, and was even accused of murdering 
 the officers of one vessel and beaching her. 
 
 The first officer, John Mcintosh Kell, was most 
 respected of any ; but such a crew could not respect 
 Semmes, whom some one accused of having once 
 been a preacher. Shakings indignantly sized him 
 up as follows: 
 
 "He's a d — d psalm-singer, an' jury captain." 
 The diversion on deck, when off duty, was chiefly 
 fencing with broadswords, wrestling and fighting. 
 
 September 3, 1862, the Alabama took the first 
 prize, a whaling schooner. It was no difficult job 
 to capture the poor vessel. A shot across her 
 bow, — she came to, and then boats were sent out 
 to bring in the prisoners and the booty, which was 
 not much. Dick here witnessed the burning of 
 the first ship, and as he watched the flames ascend- 
 ing the tall, tapering masts, crackling and roaring, 
 he asked himself : 
 
 " Is this legitimate warfare, or is it piracy?" 
 
 The prisoners were placed on deck under a spar- 
 rigged sail, and fared br.dly in stormy weather. 
 
THE PIRATE. 157 
 
 They soon began taking prizes quite rapidly, 
 and were so crowded with prisoners, that the crew 
 became discommoded. Their hammocks touched 
 each other, and the roughs took advantage of this 
 to annoy their more quiet shipmates. Dick's 
 hammock was cut down by a fellow called 
 " Spotty." He watched his chance and, pouncing 
 on the offender, almost pounded the life out of 
 him. He was made to do double duty for three 
 days, but was dumped no more. 
 
 "You must be careful, Dick!" said Charles to 
 his cousin. " Spotty is a chum of old Gills." 
 
 "I care as little for Gills as Spotty," Dick an- 
 swered, and his boldness to a certain degree won 
 the respect of the tough element of the crew. 
 
 They were now within four hundred miles of 
 New York in the "rolling forties," and directly 
 in the track of American commerce. 
 
 Save plundering the prisoners when captured, 
 they were treated fairly well; but the boarding 
 crews were veritable pirates and quite beyond the 
 control of their officers. They looted a prize when 
 captured, going through the chests of the sailors 
 and taking from the persons of the prisoners, such 
 things as they wished. 
 
 Among the many prizes captured and destroyed, 
 there were many varieties of character. Some 
 were so odd as to cause Dick and Charley to smile. 
 
158 UNION. 
 
 On one occasion they accompanied officer Kell to 
 the deck of a prize. The captain of the captured 
 vessel stood trembling aft the main gangway, as if 
 he expected to lose his head. The executive 
 officer of the Alabama said: 
 
 " Captain, you many bring away such of your 
 personal effects as you desire. " 
 
 " Thank you, sir, I have one request to make 
 of you," said the captain. 
 
 " Name it," said officer Kell. 
 
 " I beg you will permit me to bring away a copy 
 of Spurgeon's sermons and a keg of very fine 
 whiskey." 
 
 With a smile, the officer answered : 
 
 " You can take your sermons, — they will be safe 
 from molestation ; but your keg of whiskey would 
 be taken from you and make half the men furious. 
 It must go overboard." 
 
 It is not our intention to give a detailed account 
 of the cruises of the Alabama. That has been 
 done by many other historians, and only so far as 
 it relates to the characters of our story can the 
 reader be interested. Dick had little sympathy 
 with the lawless crew, for they were too coarse for 
 his refined taste. He could not spin yarns; but 
 he had a splendid baritone voice, and often amused 
 them with songs. Some one composed a song re- 
 flecting on the supposed clerical character of their 
 
" HOLD ON ! STOr THAT ! 
 
 'if you ever sing ag'in we'll fire you 
 
 THHOIGH THE LEE PORT." 
 
THE PIRATE. 159 
 
 captain. This was bawled out in tones loud 
 enough to be heard in the mess room aft : 
 
 "Oh, our captain said, when my fortune's made, 
 I'll buy a church to preach in, 
 And fill it full of toots and liorns. 
 And have a jolly Methodee screechin'. 
 
 "And I'll pray the Lord, from night to morn, 
 To weather old Yankee Doodle — 
 And I'll runahinfant Sunday-school 
 With a part of the Yankee boodle. " * 
 
 Top-Robbin, as one sailor was called, was a 
 prolific story teller; but as yet had never taken 
 any part in the singing. It was decreed one even- 
 ing while the watch were amusing themselves, 
 that Top-Robbin should take his part in singing. 
 
 " Come now, Top-Robbin, pipe up an' spread 
 all canvas," said Shakings. With a look of in- 
 tense misery, Top-Robbin commenced in the most 
 terrible squeaky treble and hoarse voice one ever 
 heard : 
 
 "How Jerry Lee was hung at sea. 
 For stabbing of his messmate true. 
 And his body did swing, a horrible thing 
 At the sport of the wild sea mew — " 
 
 " Hold on ! stop that!" screamed one of the sail- 
 ors, and his request was backed by a general plead- 
 ing yell from all. 
 
 * Century Magazine. 
 
160 UNION. 
 
 " If you ever sing agin in this 'ere watch while 
 we're off soundings, we'll lire you through the lee 
 port, " declared Shakings. " Such a voice as that 
 would raise a hurrycane. " 
 
 " I wan't a-doin' this for my own amusement," 
 said Top-Eobbin meekly. 
 
 " Well, you needn't do it for mine," responded 
 Shakings. 
 
 They arrived at Martinique, and Charley and 
 Dick, who had about all the patriotism of the crew, 
 were pleased to see the enthusiasm of the French 
 over their success in driving Yankee commerce 
 from the seas. Dick got leave and went ashore, 
 as he had acquaintances on the island. There he 
 heard the brightest side of the war. The Confed- 
 erate victories were made large, and their reverses 
 small. 
 
 Next day, Charley came ashore and went to the 
 house where his cousin was staying. 
 
 " You missed the biggest row of the cruise last 
 night, Dick!" 
 
 "Why, Charley?" 
 
 " Old Gill was on the warpath. The French 
 corvette gave a dinner to our officers. Gill licked 
 two of the Frenchman's petty officers almost to 
 death, as his part of the entertainment, and our 
 liberties were stopped as a result. Forest eluded 
 the lookouts, swam ashore and from some place, I 
 
THE PIRATE. 161 
 
 know not where, stole five gallons of the worst 
 fighting whiskey I ever saw. It set the whole 
 watch crazy. Forest kept pretty straight; but old 
 Gill 'bowsed up his jib,' until he could scarce 
 stand. Then such an uproar I never heard ; the 
 lanterns were lit in defiance, and when the watch 
 was called, the officer of the deck was saluted with 
 all manner of 'skrim-shander. ' The boatswain 
 fell by a blow from a belaying pin and everything 
 loose was fired aft. The officers and marines, with 
 the sober part of the crew, charged, and such a 
 fight you never saw. Gill knocked the jaw of the 
 gunner's mate out of place, but was finally laid 
 out by a capstan-bar, and the drunken men secured. 
 All are now under double irons." 
 
 Dick bowed his head and said : 
 
 " Charley, this society may be all right in time 
 of war; but it is not elevating." 
 
 Charley whistled and turned his eyes toward the 
 ceiling. 
 
 "I have sailed with many a crew, Dick; but 
 this is undoubtedly the toughest I ever knew." 
 
 They went aboard, and that evening a rumor 
 reached them that a Yankee cruiser, the San 
 Jacinto, was outside waiting for them. Nearly 
 all the crew, worn out with the monotony of tak- 
 ing merchantmen, wanted to fight; but Captain 
 Semmes and his officers were against it, and by 
 11 
 
162 UNION. 
 
 the open and undisguised assistance of the French 
 naval officers they got out. 
 
 Sunday, January 11, 1863, they had their first 
 conflict. Hitherto, nothing but prizes and easy 
 captures had fallen to their lot; but on this day 
 the men were ordered to their guns in a rather 
 business-like manner. Dick felt his heart beating 
 wildly as he stood by his gun. Old Gill, Top- 
 Robbin and Shakings were swearing on his left, 
 while Charley, as cool as a veteran, stood on his 
 right. Through the dusk he saw the bows of a 
 small steamer coming toward them. Her officers 
 must have seen that the men were at their quar- 
 ters, with guns manned. She came within one 
 hundred yards before hailing. Captain Kell an- 
 swered : 
 
 " This is Her Britannic Majesty's steamer 
 Petrel! " The answer came back: 
 
 " This is the United States steamer Hatteras ! " 
 At the same moment Captain Kell cried: 
 
 " This is the Confederate steamer Alabama ! " 
 
 "Fire — Fire!" rang throughout the ship, and 
 the Alabama poured in a whole broadside from 
 their starboard batteries. They were not more 
 than fift}' yards away, and Dick could plainly hear 
 the awful crash of their shot tearing the hull and 
 rigging of the enemy. Soon bright flashes came 
 from the enemy's decks, and they heard the whiz 
 
THE PIRATE. 163 
 
 of sLots above their heads. For ten minutes the 
 conflict was sharp and terrible. Dick was ram- 
 ming home a charge, when he heard a voice for- 
 ward cry out: 
 
 " The enemy is sinking. " 
 
 "Cease firing!" cried Captain Kell. Captain 
 Semmes came along a moment later, and the officers 
 ordered boats to be lowered. 
 
 Dick was almost exhausted with the violent ex- 
 ercise and nervous strain. He sat on the gun car- 
 riage and laid his hand on the barrel of the cannon. 
 It was so hot he took it away. Meanwhile, boats 
 had been lowered and brought off the enemy, and 
 then the Hatteras went down stern foremost. 
 
 As Captain Blake of the Hatteras came over the 
 side of the Alabama, he seized the hand of Captain 
 Kell, saying: 
 
 " Aye, Captain Kell, we have sailed together in 
 other years. " 
 
 " Yes, Captain Blake, and under other circum- 
 stances. " 
 
 " Fortune favors the brave!" 
 
 " I trust, captain, you will have a pleasant voy- 
 age on the Alabama.^'' 
 
 Only five of the Hatteras' crew had been killed 
 and wounded. The others were paroled at King- 
 ston. While they were lying at Jamaica one day, 
 Charles came aboard and said : 
 
164 UNIOX. 
 
 " Dick, I believe that Gill and Forest have 
 killed that Irishman King-post." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " They do not like him, because he has reported 
 on them several times. P. D. Haywood, the Eng- 
 lishman, told me that he saw them going with 
 King-post out of the town. The Irishman was 
 drunk, and, suspecting foul play, Haywood tried 
 to follow them; but they eluded him. They 
 came back without him, and when Haywood asked 
 Gill where King-post was, the old Scotchman gave 
 him a significant glance and answered : 
 
 "'I dunna know, laddie; but he'll hand his 
 tongue noo; and ye better say naithing, yir a wise 
 fallou. ' King-post has not shown up yet, and I 
 doubt if he ever will. " King-post was never seen 
 afterward, and was no doubt murdered by those 
 ruffians. 
 
CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 THE RECRUIT. 
 
 The border States, Virginia, Kentuck}-, and 
 Missouri, felt in full the curse of civil war. Po- 
 litical leaders of these States took positions which 
 finally brought great distress upon the inhabitants. 
 A number of these leaders professed to be condi- 
 tional friends of the Union. They would be its 
 friends so long as the national government did not 
 interfere with slavery, nor " attempt to bring back 
 the seceded States;" in other words, they were 
 friends of the republic so long as it did not raise 
 a finger for the salvation of its life. When the 
 president's call for troops to suppress the rebellion 
 appeared, the Louisville Journal, the organ of the 
 professed unionists of Kentucky, hastened to say, 
 " We are struck with mingled amazement and in- 
 dignation. The policy announced in the procla- 
 mation deserves the unqualified condemnation of 
 every American citizen. It is unworthy, not 
 merely of a statesman, but a man. It is a policy 
 utterly hairbrained and ruinous. If Mr. Lincoln 
 165 
 
166 UNION. 
 
 contemplated this policy in his inaugural address, 
 he is a guilty dissembler. If he conceived it 
 under the excitement aroused by the seizure of 
 Fort Sumter, he is a guilty hotspur. In either 
 case, he is miserably unfit for the exalted position 
 in which the enemies of the country have placed 
 him. Let the people instantly take him and his 
 administration into their own hands, if they would 
 rescue the land from bloodshed and the Union 
 from sudden and irretrievable destruction." 
 
 At a large " union meeting" in Louisville, over 
 which James Guthrie and other leading men in 
 the State held control, it was resolved that " Ken- 
 tucky reserves to herself the right to choose her 
 own position ; and that, while her natural sympa- 
 thies are with those who have a common interest 
 in the protection of slavery, she still acknowledges 
 her loyalty and fealty to the government of the 
 United States, which vshe will carefully render 
 witil tJ/at government becomes aggressive, tyrannical 
 and regardless of our rights in slave property. ^^ 
 They furthermore declared that the States were 
 peers of the national government; and gave the 
 world to understand that the latter should not be 
 allowed to use sanguinary or coercive measures 
 to " bring back the seceded States. " The " Ken- 
 tucky State Guard," which the governor had or- 
 ganized for the benefit of the secessionists, were 
 
THE RECRUIT. 167 
 
 commended by this miion meeting as " the bul- 
 wark and safety of the commonwealth," and its 
 members were enjoined to remember that they 
 were pledged equall}' to fidelity to the United 
 States and Kentucky. 
 
 " The Guard" was placed under the command of 
 Captain Simon B. Buckner of the national army, 
 who was then evidently in the secret service of 
 the Confederac}', for he effectively used his posi- 
 tion in seducing large numbers of the members of 
 the Guard from their allegiance to the old flag, 
 and sent them as recruits to the Confederate 
 armies. It was not long before he led a large 
 portion of them into the camp of the enemy, and 
 he became a Confederate major-general. Then the 
 Louisville Journal, that had so savagely condemned 
 the president, more savagely assailed Buckner with 
 curses, saying, " Away with your pledges and 
 assurances — with your protestations, apologies and 
 proclamations — at once and altogether! Away, 
 parricide, away, and do penance forever! — be 
 shriven or slain — away! You have less palliation 
 than Atilla, — less boldness, magnanimity and no- 
 bleness than Coriolanus. You are the Benedict 
 Arnold of the day ! You are the Catiline of Ken- 
 tucky ! Go, thou miscreant!" And when in Feb- 
 ruary, 1862, Buckner and some of the State Guard 
 were captured at Fort Donelson, and he was sent 
 
168 UNION. 
 
 to Fort Warren, Boston, many of those who were 
 deceived by the pretence that the Guard was the 
 " bulwark of the commonwealth," demanded his 
 delivery to the authorities of Kentucky, to be 
 tried for treason against the State. As a little 
 leaven leavens the whole loaf, so had a little 
 Calhounism even imj^regnated the thoughts of 
 those naturally inclined to be loyal to the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The South treated with derision President Lin- 
 coln's first call for seventy -five thousand volun- 
 teers to put down the rebellion, and the Mobile 
 Advertiser inserted an advertisement for seventy- 
 five thousand cofiins for Lincoln's soldiers. 
 
 While Virginia suffered for her hesitation, and 
 Kentucky for her attempt at neutrality, Missouri 
 also became a four years' battle-field by trying to 
 follow their example. But for the prompt and 
 wise action of Captain, afterward General, Na- 
 thaniel Lyon, Missouri would have been forced 
 into the Southern Confederacy. Lyon's prompt 
 seizure of the Home Guards at Camp Jackson, his 
 rapid descent on the disloyal governor, whom he 
 sent flying from the capital, saved the State. Had 
 Lyon lived, he undoubtedly would have been the 
 hero of the war. No man displayed more courage 
 or ability; but unfortunately he fell at the battle 
 of Wilson Creek, August 10, 1861. 
 
THE RECRUIT. 169 
 
 Soon after the bombardment and evacuation at 
 Fort Sumter, Mark Stevens returned to bis borne 
 in Boone County, Kentucky. Tbe dear old plan- 
 tation with tbe blue bills in tbe distance, tbe 
 wbite-baired fatber sitting beneatb bis favorite 
 tree, tbe negro sbauties, tbe merry laugbter of 
 slaves going to or returning from tbe fields, all 
 made up a pleasant scene for tbe memory of tbe 
 youtb wben away. 
 
 Tbey knew be was coming, and Jobn, a mulatto 
 man, wbo bad once tried to run away, but instead 
 of gaining bis liberty bad been kidnapped and 
 sent to tbe West Indies, was sent for bim. Since 
 Jobn's terrible experience in trying to gain bis 
 freedom, it was tbougbt be would never make tbe 
 effort again, especially as be declared tbat be would 
 not leave " moster Stevens." even if be gave bim 
 his freedom; but John, like tbe majority of bis 
 race, was fickle, and in 1862 accepted a fine oppor- 
 tunity to escape and went over into Obio, afterward 
 joined in a colored regiment, went to tbe war, and 
 perisbed at Fort Pillow. 
 
 Wben Mark returned, be found tbe old farm but 
 little cbanged. His aged fatber, wbose venerable 
 locks were wbite as snow, was sitting on tbe long 
 piazza witb tbe wife and motber at bis side. 
 
 Tbey rose and greeted tbe return of tbeir son 
 witb smiles of joy. Otber members of tbe family 
 
170 UNION. 
 
 had been summoned from the surrounding planta- 
 tions to make the return pleasant. They talked 
 of almost everything save the coming struggle. 
 
 It was not until next day that Mark mentioned 
 it to his father. 
 
 "Well, my son," said the old major, shaking 
 his gray head, " I have long seen it coming. 
 When I first began reading the speeches of Cal- 
 houn, I knew it was not far off. It was dangerous 
 doctrine. In our institutions it was like a living 
 coal of fire in a powder-mill. Washington and 
 Hamilton saw this, and they tried to prevent it. 
 Had their words of wisdom been heeded, it might 
 have been averted. " 
 
 " Father, I have made up my mind to enlist 
 under the president's call." 
 
 The gra}' -haired patriot was silent a few mo- 
 ments; then he said: 
 
 " It is no eas}^ thing for one to give up his child ; 
 but I will do it. Yes, you may go. I hope you 
 will be an honor to the name of Stevens. Re- 
 member that you can look back through twelve 
 generations to the ship in which Columbus sailed 
 and see your ancestor Hernando Estevan among 
 the first to touch the soil of the new world. Your 
 grandfather fought under Washington for this 
 country. Your father fought under General Scott 
 and Andrew Jackson to sustain its honor, and 
 
THE RECRUIT. 171 
 
 your brother fought to humble tlie pride of the 
 Mexicans. Now, if Heaven lias decreed that you 
 shall fight for the preservation of the Union, I 
 shall not oppose it. Do as your convictions dic- 
 tate; but don't forget you are a Stevens." 
 
 Volunteer" companies in Kentucky at this time 
 were scarce. There was not one at this time or- 
 ganized in Boone County, and Mark was compelled 
 to pass over the river and enlist in an Indiana 
 company. 
 
 Mark learned that Captain Hawk was recruiting 
 a company in Indiana, just across the river near 
 the village of Eising Sun. He determined to take 
 the first opportunity that offered and enlist. As- 
 certaining the day of muster, he went across the 
 river. 
 
 Rising Sun was not wholly loyal. In fact, 
 there were some of the most desperate sympathizers, 
 copperheads and rebels in the southern part of 
 Indiana anywhere to be found. Entering Rising 
 Sun, he inquired of a man who kept a grocery 
 store for Captain Hawk. The Rising Sun mer- 
 chant gave him one or two fiery glances, and 
 answered : 
 
 " I dun know where he is, an' I care less." 
 " Don't they muster in Rising Sun?" 
 " Not by a h — 1 of a sight ! If they want their 
 necks stretched, let 'em try it." 
 
172 UNION. 
 
 Mark turned away somewhat discouraged, when 
 a stranger beckoned him aside. 
 
 " D'you want to find Captain Hawk?" he asked. 
 
 " Yes; I heard he had regular muster days, and 
 that he organizes for the war. " 
 
 " D'you want to enlist?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Well then, if you're all right, I will tell you 
 something." Mark assured him he was all right, 
 and the stranger said: " This part of the State is 
 pretty nigh all secesh, and you've got to look out. 
 Cap 'in Hawk musters to-night at moonlight at the 
 Kholmier School House. " 
 
 "Where is that?" 
 
 He was informed it was in the forest about three 
 miles away, but if he would meet him at the big 
 bridge in the west part of town, he would show 
 him to it. Mark made the appointment and went 
 at nine o'clock. 
 
 The moon was shining brightly from a clear 
 sky, and he found the stranger standing by the 
 bridge, while two or three more were a short dis- 
 tance away. The men were armed with shot guns 
 or rifles and looked more like a party of hunters 
 than soldiers. 
 
 "So ye've come," said Mark's first acquaint- 
 ance. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
THE RECRUIT. 173 
 
 They started along a narrow, lonesome path, 
 leading through the wood, and Mark at times en- 
 tertained a fear that they might be enemies leading 
 him into a snare. Such was not the case, how- 
 ever, for in due time the sehoolhouse loomed up 
 before them, and they saw fully a score of men 
 sitting or standing about it. They were mostly 
 farmers. Each man had brought a gun of some 
 kind, the rifle prevailing. Two or three survivors 
 of the Mexican war had brought their old-fashioned 
 yagers, which were a curiosity to those unac- 
 quainted with military arms. 
 
 Bill Simms, who had never seen a day's service 
 in his life, was holding the crowd spellbound with 
 hair-raising stories of the trying times he had seen 
 under old " Gineral Percy." 
 
 " It's a fact," said Bill, " we marched for a hull 
 week on only three meals a day, and had nothin' 
 but bread, beef and potatoes, cabbage and beans 
 at that. " 
 
 "It's a wonder ye hadn't a starved to death. 
 Bill," remarked Nick Marks. 
 
 " I tell ye, boys, I never want ter see sich days 
 as them agin." 
 
 " What warye fightin'?" 
 
 "Injuns." 
 
 The appearance of the group to which Mark be- 
 longed put an end to the discussion. A man who 
 
174 UMON. 
 
 looked much more like a farmer than a soldiei- 
 came forward, and was introduced as Captain 
 Hawk. He asked Mark if he came to enlist, and 
 Mark answered in the affirmative. 
 
 " Well, we're trying to get up a company here, 
 but hain't got it full yet. Hope we will soon. 
 You make sixty-five. If they'll take us, we'll 
 go right off. Some say Lincoln's got his seventy- 
 five thousand men; but they won't be enough." 
 
 Mark signed a paper, and Captain Hawk went 
 through the formality of swearing him into service, 
 though his authority was so questionable that 
 afterward they were again "mustered in." The 
 men were ordered into line, and stood very straight 
 while Captain Hawk harangued them for a few 
 moments on loyalty, and the necessity of securing 
 thirty-five more volunteers in order to make up 
 the company. Almost everybody knew of some 
 one else who ought to join, and Captain Hawk 
 disbanded them, sending each man as a " recruiting 
 officer on his own hook. " 
 
 There lived in Boone County. Kentucky, not 
 far from Major Stevens, a man named Abe Bolton. 
 Abe was not far from twenty-five, and a loud- 
 blowing Unionist. Mark went to see him and at 
 the next muster brought Abe along. 
 
 To the surprise of all, the company was filled 
 up, and everything ready to move. The first 
 
THE RECRUIT. 175 
 
 move was on Rising Sun, where they rendezvoused 
 at midnight, formed in something like order, and 
 marched away to Dearborn, where they went into 
 camp. 
 
 By reading general history, one can have little 
 knowledge of how soldiers are made. They 
 seemed to spring up from the ground as it were, 
 at the order or proclamation of the president, 
 already armed, equipped, drilled, and ready to 
 perform prodigies of valor. Such was not the 
 case in 1861. The South had most of the experi- 
 enced officers. The American regular army never 
 amounts to much in either peace or war, and when 
 the volunteers were mustered into service they had 
 to be educated in the art of war. 
 
 At Dearborn the company was organized and 
 the men drilled in platoons and squads. The 
 long months of drilling three and four hours per 
 day, the inabilit}^ of some of the " tangle feet" to 
 get the step, the mysteries of the manual of arms, 
 all engaged the attention of the company. Some 
 had drill books showing the various positions of 
 the soldier, and these were read and discussed with 
 avidity by the men. 
 
 They were quartered in old houses, but at night 
 built camp fires to look as much like soldiers as 
 possible. Among the many curious specimens of 
 the genus homo belonging to the company was a 
 
176 UNION. 
 
 tall youth about seventeen or eighteen years of 
 age, who answered, when the roll was called, to 
 the name of George F. Ellis; but the sobriquet 
 by which he was known in camp was " Sis. " This 
 had probably been given hini on account of his 
 beardless face, though his features were too coarse 
 to be feminine. At first Sis was remarkably bash- 
 ful. He was a tall, slender, awkward youth 
 dressed in a striped linsey roundabout, a pair of 
 blue jeans trousers and a low cap, the peak of 
 which did not protect over half of his prominent 
 nose. 
 
 Sis soon became the butt of half the jokes in 
 the company ; but he had the good sense to pre- 
 serve his humor, and possessing some native wit, 
 he retaliated on his persecutors, until they came 
 to respect him. 
 
 Bill Simms was the most persistent persecutor 
 of Sis. Bill claimed to have all the knowledge of 
 military matters there was to learn, and the stories 
 he told were calculated to raise him in the estimation 
 of the volunteers. At last after long waiting the 
 uniforms and blankets came. Every volunteer in 
 1861 knows what a scramble there was for uni- 
 forms. They could hardly wait until the boxes 
 were open. Blue coats, trousers and vests with 
 brass buttons and caps, were jerked out at a lively 
 rate. The misfits were laughable. Sis had a pair 
 
THE RECRUIT. 
 
 177 
 
 of pants wliicli came little below the knees, and 
 Bill Simms bawled out: 
 
 " Hello, Sis, yer must think yer a revolutionary 
 soldier wearin' knee breeches. '' 
 
 " These pants are a leetle short, " returned Sis 
 good humoredly; *' but they're wide enough to let 
 out the slack. " 
 
 " Well, may be ye could piece 'em." 
 
 Mark had a coat large enough for a two-hundred- 
 pounder; but Abe Bolton had a coat and pair of 
 pants too small, so that by trading around, Mark 
 managed to get something like a fit. When he 
 was presentable he went out on the street and 
 roared with laughter to see at least fifty recruits in 
 the most ill-fitting uniforms he ever beheld filing 
 away to the picture gallery to have their pictures 
 taken. Many of those tin -types are still in exist- 
 ence. The reader may have met them. They 
 represent the recruit, in a coat much too big, 
 holding a cocked revolver in one hand and a mus- 
 ket in the other, and trying to look very fierce. 
 They were sent to wives and sweethearts to let 
 them know how " he" looked in his new soldier 
 clothes. 
 
 " I wonder when we are goin' to git out o' here 
 and be givin' the secesh a race," said Nick, one 
 evening. 
 
 "Wall now, Nick, ye may soon git more o' 
 12 
 
178 UNION. 
 
 figbtin' than ye want. I remember duriu' the five 
 years I was with Percy o' sayin' once just what 
 you did. Next day we jumped up fifty thousand 
 Crows an' fit the whole week." 
 
 " What war the Crows doin', Bill?" Sis asked. 
 
 " Waitin' to grab us by the hair." 
 
 " Oh, 1 thought they were a-pullin' up corn;" 
 
 The roar of laughter which followed this sally 
 of wit Bill Sirams did not relish. In a voice of 
 thunder, he responded : 
 
 "I mean Crow Injuns, you igiot! Did ye 
 think I meant birds?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "So did we, Bill." 
 
 " You're all as big fools as John Barnhart. We 
 called him Knuckle Bone Johnny, I met him 
 durin' the ten years I war out in Pike's Peak, and 
 he couldn't tell the difi'erence between a Injun and 
 a stump. " 
 
 "How long were you at Pike's Peak?" asked 
 Sis. 
 
 " Igiot! didn't ye just hear me say ten years?" 
 
 " How long war ye with Gineral Percy?" 
 
 " Five. " 
 
 " How long on Red River?" 
 
 '■ Eleven." 
 
 ■' You must be purty old. Bill," said Sis. 
 
 '•Why?" 
 
THE RECRUIT. 179 
 
 " Your ten years at Pike's Peak and five years 
 with Gineral Percy makes fifteen. Eleven on 
 Eed River twenty-six; and four on White River, 
 thirty," Sis went on, marking on the ground 
 with his finger. " Then the ten on Black River, 
 twenty on the plains, thirty on the sea and all the 
 other places ye've been, makes ye about two hun- 
 dred and thirty years old. Bill." 
 
 There was a roar of laughter at this, and Bill, 
 puffing away at his pipe, coolly remarked : 
 
 " I guess yeVe made some mistake there, Sis." 
 
 The company were getting fairly well drilled. 
 Sis was perhaps the most awkward. He could not 
 keep step. His long legs rebelled against the 
 regulation twenty-eight inches. He was fully as 
 awkward in the manual of arms, in wheeling and 
 facing for awhile, and the drill sergeant who took 
 him in hand to give him some private lessons was 
 almost in despair. 
 
 " Now look here. Sis. This is yer right foot." 
 
 " Is it?" Sis asked innocently. 
 
 "Yes, and when I say 'right,' put the hollow 
 o' yer left foot behind yer right heel. When I 
 saw 'face,' raise yourself on both toes, turn half 
 way round to the right, raise yer left foot, bring, 
 it down by the right, and there you are!" 
 
 The movement looked very simple; but for Sis 
 to perform it exactly and neatly seemed impossible. 
 
180 UNION. 
 
 " Heavens ! did ever anybody see such tangle 
 legs as you have? Why, I'd as soon try to teach 
 a daddy-long-legs to waltz as to give you the 
 movements of a squad. " 
 
 Mark learned very rapidly, for he had the ad- 
 vantages of an excellent education and a retentive 
 mind, which received and comprehended the orders. 
 He had not been appointed to any of the non-com- 
 missioned offices ; but he sought no such appoint- 
 ment. He had gone into the service fully imbued 
 with the idea of fighting for his country, and he 
 believed that the best way to do it was with a 
 musket. 
 
 While lying in the camp, he heard of the bloody 
 fight and defeat at Bull Bun. Then came still 
 later the news of the disaster at Wilson Creek, 
 with the loss of General Lj^on, a loss that was 
 sadly felt, as he could not be replaced. 
 
 The fiery, impetuous General John C. Fremont, 
 a good explorer, but too impetuous and hot-headed 
 for a general, was placed in command of the western 
 army with his headquarters at St. Louis. For a 
 while, it had been feared that this city would be 
 seized by the enem}^ ; but Fremont soon had it 
 too well fortified for them to attempt it. Mean- 
 while, Captain Hawk's company had been placed 
 in a regiment and ordered back to Eising Sun, 
 The southern sympathizers in this part of the State 
 
THE RECRUIT. 181 
 
 were very bold and outspoken, and it was said that 
 rebels were coming over from Kentucky to attack 
 the Yankees. 
 
 Colonel Belcher, who had been a volunteer 
 officer in the Mexican war, was a man of more 
 military ability than many of his superiors. 
 Though they were expected to stay but a short 
 time at the place, their colonel ordered them to 
 entrench and prepare against an attack. He laid 
 out a line of earthworks, and pick and shovel were 
 plied until the work was completed. 
 
 " I tell ye, ye needn't fear the secesh," declared 
 Abe Bolton. " The3^'d never git us out o' here." 
 
 This recalled to Bill Simms' mind some remi- 
 niscences of his experiences with General Percy, 
 and he set about telling a new recruit in company 
 A a story that almost raised his hair on end. 
 
 It was reported after the work was completed 
 that the enemy were contemplating crossing the 
 river at Grummet's landing from Kentuck}^ and 
 attacking them. Mark was sent with Sis and 
 Nick to the river to reconnoitre, with orders to 
 remain all night, unless the enemy appeared sooner. 
 It was no pleasant situation with two raw recruits, 
 one of whom (Nick) was especially nervous, wait- 
 ing for an enem}^ reported to be ten thousand 
 strong, to come over and cut their throats. 
 
 Nick started at every sound, the falling of a 
 
183 UNION. 
 
 leaf, or dropping of a clod of earth in the water, 
 and exclaimed : 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 On the other hand, Sis lay down at the root of 
 a tree and snored. Between keeping one awake 
 and the other from running away, Mark had his 
 hands full, and lie welcomed the approach of dawn 
 with delight. Shortly after daylight a boat was 
 seen to put out from the opposite shore, and Nick 
 wanted to open fire on it, then run to town and 
 tell the Colonel they were coming. 
 
 " Say, Nick, I believe you're a blamed coward, " 
 said Sis, rubbing his eyes and j-awning. 
 
 " No, I'm not; I'm as brave a body as any in 
 the regiment." 
 
 "Yes; but you've got a pair o' cowardly legs, 
 that runs away at first sign of fight. " 
 
 The skiff landed, and it proved to contain some 
 loyal Kentuckians, whom Mark knew, and who 
 came to inform them that there was not an armed 
 rebel within a week's march. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 
 
 It was certainly a cause for congratulation that 
 from the first to the last the war had its humorous 
 side, and that in the southern as well as those 
 northern and border States, even in the midst of 
 greatest trials, their spirits were never so crushed as 
 to not appreciate the reflex view of their misfor- 
 tunes. From their very necessities the most absurd 
 dilemmas and exigencies arose which would have 
 been annihilating mortifications had they not had 
 the presence of mind to treat them as capital jokes. 
 No doubt this, and this only, enabled them to 
 endure to the end trials and disasters which other- 
 wise would have been overwhelming. In looking 
 back now to the vicissitudes of the struggle, they 
 confess the fact that they never neglected a single 
 opportunity for amusement which the situation 
 admitted. Being a child during the struggle, the 
 author visited the armies of the Confederates and 
 Federals without fear or hindrance, and he never 
 saw a jollier set. Such practical jokes, such 
 183 
 
184 UXIOX. 
 
 singing and dancing, such laughter — it seemed 
 more ])lay than war. Tlie author once watched a 
 Confederate army retreating from a lost battle- 
 field, and most of the soldiers seemed merry, 
 jesting over their own defeat. Even some of the 
 slightly wounded were laughing at the drollery of 
 others. 
 
 Early in the war Colonel Cole's regiment was 
 removed to Richmond, Virginia, where it was 
 thought the seat of the Confederate government 
 would be established. The colonel's wife and 
 daughter accompanied him, and thither came Alec, 
 who, after Mark's desertion of the fair prize, be- 
 gan to woo Elsie in earnest. 
 
 Elsie seemed glad to have the young Floridian 
 with her. She treated him sometimes like a dear 
 friend, but most of the time as a trusted servant, 
 a real good fellow whom she could trust, and who 
 was absolutelv indispensable to her happiness; but 
 she never looked on him in the light of a lover. 
 She told him her plans, sent him on errands, had 
 him for a companion; but when he began to men- 
 tion love, she laughed outright. 
 
 " Elsie, you are the most singular person I ever 
 saw. You must be a new and unclassified speci- 
 men of the female order " 
 
 "Oh, hush, Alec I I want you to come with 
 me to the lecture room at St. Paul's this evening. 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 185 
 
 There is to be a meeting of southern girls to do 
 what they can for the army. '' 
 
 He looked at her strangeh' and, giving utterance 
 to a prolonged whistle, rose to his feet, saying: 
 
 '' AVell, of all the girls I ever saw, you do beat 
 them. I'll go and join the army and let the 
 Yankees shoot me " 
 
 " If it is such an irksome undertaking, I will 
 excuse you. " 
 
 '' Now, Elsie, why do you say that, when you 
 know that I am never so happy as when I am 
 your slave?" 
 
 " But I don't blame you if you join the arm3^ 
 Every lo3'al son of the South should fight for his 
 country. " 
 
 " I intend to serve my country. Just give me 
 time, Elsie, and I will be a full-fledged soldier." 
 
 " Well, run along now, Alec, like a good boy, 
 and play soldier with a broomstick until I want 
 you," and she gave him a push toward the door, 
 laughing in a way that vexed poor Alec. 
 
 " I never saw any one who could so completely 
 get away with me as she can," he said as he 
 strolled out into the street. " I declare I feel just 
 like a fool. I wish I was a thousand miles from 
 here. Sometimes I am tempted to go and join the 
 Yankees just for spite. Why didn't I go to Eng- 
 land with Dick? Now that Mark's gone, I don't 
 
186 UNION. 
 
 seem to "be any nearer to the prize than I was be- 
 fore. I've a notion to never see her again." 
 
 All the same Alec M'as on time to escort Elsie to 
 the lecture-room. It was a little odd for a young 
 lady to ask a gentleman to be her escort, and it 
 would have been highly improper in any other per- 
 son than the pretty, saucy, jolly Elsie Cole. Alec 
 was quite sure she would ask no one but himself. 
 
 They went together to the lecture-room at St. 
 PauTs Church, where, after a short patriotic ad- 
 dress, the ladies were asked to aid in making 
 trousers for the soldiers. When all who would 
 sew were called upon to rise, Elsie Cole was among 
 the first to spring to her feet. 
 
 " Elsie, Elsie, haven't you made a mistake?" 
 asked Alec. " Why, girl, you never threaded a 
 needle in your life. " 
 
 " I will take you along to thread my needles. " 
 
 " No you won't, by ginger! You may lead me 
 around by the ear like a poodle dog; I'll drive 
 your coach, make your bouquets, sharpen your 
 lead pencils, give you my coat to walk upon, run 
 your errands, make your fires, carry you across 
 muddy brooks, fight for you, lie for you, steal for 
 you ; but may I be teetotally thunderstruck, dragged 
 through a crab -apple thicket, and squeezed to death 
 in a cider-press, if I am going to any female sew- 
 ing society." 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 187 
 
 She asserted that he would go just wherever she 
 wanted him; but in tliis Alec was firm. He 
 vowed his intention to enlist at once, and next day 
 volunteered in a company of infantry ; while Elsie, 
 who had scarcely ever had a needle in her hands, 
 went to show her patriotism by making soldiers' 
 trousers. War is a great leveller. There were 
 scarcely any grades in society then. Eich and 
 poor labored alike, and the wife of a poor black- 
 smith, who had enlisted in iVlec's company, gave 
 Elsie her first lesson in sewing. She bravely 
 threaded her needle and set to work upon a pair 
 of trousers. Never did woman have a more diffi- 
 cult task. Nothing but the lovely rebel's patri- 
 otism for a cause that she believed just, could 
 have induced her to sew away for hours. She 
 finally presented the trousers to the directress, as 
 she thought nearly finished, for further instructions. 
 The directress looked at them rather gravely for 
 a second, turned them round with' a furtive smile, 
 and then, to Elsie's horror and mortification, held 
 them up to the general view. A shout of laughter 
 went up from the busy women and girls. Elsie 
 had carefully sewed the front of one leg to the back 
 of the other, and so joined the parts in a most 
 discordant unity. But for the directress, she would 
 doubtless have faced them down, put on the buttons 
 and sent them off to camp, when, alas! the poor 
 
188 UNION. 
 
 fellow to whom they fell must evidently have 
 marched two ways at once in order to wear them, for 
 as they hung in mid-air, the legs seemed to step out 
 in opposite directions, and if the wearer had gone 
 persistently forward, one leg of those trousers 
 would have stayed behind. Amid the peals of 
 laughter which overwhelmed Elsie with confusion, 
 a voice from the window cried : 
 
 " I pity the fellow who wears those pants, Elsie; 
 he'd have to advance and retreat at the same time, 
 which would be a little inconvenient." Turning 
 her eyes toward the window, Elsie saw Alec, lean- 
 ing his elbows on the window-sill with a trium- 
 phant smile on his face. She " flashed up" in a 
 moment and declared : 
 
 " Alec Stevens, I warrant that I know as much 
 about sewing as you do about soldiering." 
 
 "I don't know, little girl; I would not try to 
 march two ways at once. " 
 
 She ordered him away, and he, like a willing 
 slave, obeyed. That evening he went to see Elsie 
 and found her with her hand tied up. She had 
 pricked her fingers until they were quite sore, and 
 declared that she was among the first martyrs to 
 the southern cause. Alec stuck his hands very 
 deep into his pockets, and tried to look very brave 
 and dignified in his new uniform; but he didn't. 
 
 "I declare I feel just like a fool," he thought. 
 
.,i:\'^f;rr^-r-,<-V-«^--'' . 
 
 'I PITY THE FELLOW WHO WEAHS THOrSE PANTji. ELSIE; HE'LL HAVE TO ADVANCE 
 AND RETREAT AT THE ^^AME TIME." 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 189 
 
 At last lie managed to recall a part of the pretty 
 speech he had been all day making up, and began: 
 " Elsie, I have something that I want to say to 
 you." 
 
 "I know what it is," she interrupted. "You 
 want to pity me, Mr. Alec, for having pricked my 
 fingers with the needle. You may suggest that if 
 I had learned to sew before I came to Richmond, 
 I would not be wounded and in pain now. Very 
 well, Mr. Alec, it is none of j^our business." 
 
 " Oh, Elsie, don't fly to flinders that way. 
 Who in the name of Tom Walker's ghost is say- 
 ing anything about sewing? I suspect that you 
 do as well as a good many others, who never tried 
 to work before; but what I wanted to say was — 
 was " 
 
 " Was what? Can't you speak?" 
 
 " Not when you keep interrupting me. I want 
 to say something of importance, of great impor- 
 tance, and I don't want you to say 'no.'" 
 
 "Then don't say it." 
 
 "Oh, Elsie!" 
 
 " It will be safest not to say anything." 
 
 " Don't talk that way. Mark is gone now " 
 
 " Well, what can that have to do with what you 
 are going to say, Alec?" she asked, turning her 
 pretty face on him. 
 
 " Why, you see, Elsie, " said Alec with his gaze 
 
190 UNION. 
 
 riveted on the floor, " I liked Mark ; he was 
 more than a brother to me ; and when he came, 
 and I saw that he loved you, I said nothing. I 
 left the whole field to him. It almost killed me; 
 but I did. He was a dear, noble, good fellow, 
 and I knew he was more worthy of you than a 
 wild, harum-scarum, good-for-nothing scamp like 
 me. So 1 gave him a free field ; but he went 
 away without telling you how he loved you. He 
 has joined the Yankees, and we will never see him 
 again, and now that the field is clear, I want to tell 
 you how I love you, Elsie; but you must know 
 it " 
 
 "Hush!" she cried, so sharply that he started 
 back in alarm. " Alec Stevens, you should be 
 above such nonsense. This is no time to talk of 
 love. If you are a soldier, you belong to your 
 country, and to none other." 
 
 She had risen to her feet, her face had suddenly 
 become white as marble, while her breath came in 
 fitful labored gasps. For a moment she gazed on 
 him in silence, and then, turning coldly about, she 
 glided silently from the room. Alec gazed after 
 her retreating form and scratching his puzzled 
 head, dashed on his cap and left the house, de- 
 claring : 
 
 " That woman beats thunder. She makes me 
 feel just like a fool." 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 191 
 
 When next they met, she was the same superior 
 but kind being of yore. So long as he did not 
 approach that most vital of all subjects to him, 
 love, she seemed to like him as a lad}^ of fashion 
 does her pet poodle, or a trusty faithful servant. 
 All this was gall and bitterness to the proud Alec. 
 
 The first movement of the military in Virginia, 
 momentous as it then appeared, was the most ab- 
 surd fiasco of the war. It was on a memorable 
 Sabbath, April 21, 1861, that the alarm bell at 
 the capitol sounded at mid-day its first call to 
 arms. The churches were crowded, and the com- 
 munion was about to be administered, when the 
 dread sounds smote upon the air. In an instant 
 all was confusion ; congregations rose en masse and 
 ran into the streets ; delicate women shrieked and 
 fainted ; children were knocked down and trampled 
 on; while one and all in breathless excitement de- 
 manded an explanation. It was quickly given. 
 Dispatches had been received by the governor of 
 Virginia (Mr. John Letcher) that the United States 
 warship Pmvnee was moving up the river to shell 
 the city. Hundreds of soldiers, who might be 
 compared to Falstaff's band of warriors, were 
 marched down to Rockets to meet this terrifying 
 vanguard of the United States nav}'. Two old 
 bronze cannon that had done service in no telling 
 how manv Fourth-of-Julv celebrations were started 
 
133 UNION. 
 
 down Main Street at a run. One broke down in 
 front of the Post Office, and was abandoned, while 
 they hurried on with the other; and every man 
 and boy in Richmond, clergy and all, indiscrimi- 
 nately armed with pistols, shotguns, rifles, swords, 
 and even clubs, were hurrying to the seat of war. 
 Alec, with a double-barrelled shotgun in one hand 
 and a pitchfork in the other, joined the rabble. 
 
 Left to themselves, the women and children 
 next took up the line of march and flocked by 
 thousands to the brow of Church Hill, immediately 
 overlooking the river, in which position they must 
 inevitably have received the full force of the bom- 
 bardment, had there been one. The city was in a 
 tumult, and the wildest confusion prevailed until 
 twilight, when it was ascertained that the alarm 
 was wholly unfounded. 
 
 Alec Stevens was slowly making his way back 
 to the city, his gun on his shoulder and his hay- 
 fork in his hand, when a voice called out from 
 the stream of women and children pouring into 
 town : 
 
 " Alec, Alec, what have you been doing with 
 that hayfork?" 
 
 The merry voice was familiar, and through the 
 gathering shades of twilight he saw the lovely face 
 of Elsie Cole, gleaming like a ray of sunlight in 
 the sombre shadows. 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 193 
 
 " I was going to tight the Yankees, '' he answered. 
 A scream of laughter went up from a dozen girls, 
 and Elsie, finally getting control of her merriment, 
 said: 
 
 " So, you propose to fight men-of-war with a 
 hayfork!" 
 
 " Oh, confound it, Elsie, why do you make 
 sport of everything I do?" cried Alec, throwing 
 his fork into the river, and walking home at her 
 side, quarrelling all the way. 
 
 The Pawnee did, at some time during her opera- 
 tions in Virginia, ascend the James Eiver to a 
 point some fifty or sixty miles below Richmond ; 
 but at the moment- the citizens of the Confederate 
 capital M'ere rushing en masse to fight her she 
 was lying harmlessly at rest, and the telegram 
 sent from Norfolk was said to refer to Elizabeth 
 River. 
 
 The retreat of the valiant army from the blood- 
 less battle-iield was very droll, and those whose 
 patriotic eyes had actually descried the dread 
 man-of-war, and had been able through their 
 glasses to detect her movements, were naturally a 
 little " touchy" on the subject, which, however, 
 did not exempt them from the merciless raillery of 
 their companions. Neither Burnside, McClellan, 
 nor Grant, with their "grand armies," ever occa- 
 sioned so great a panic in the Confederate capital, 
 13 
 
194 UNION. 
 
 Later on, the inhabitants of Richmond grew more 
 accustomed to war's alarms, and could lie down 
 and sleep with the cannon of the enemy thunder- 
 ing at their gates. 
 
 Those were the gala days of the war. The 
 ladies were full of ardor, and spent their time sew- 
 ing on the clothes of the soldiers. Love affairs 
 were plentiful ; but the girls postponed all engage- 
 ments until their lovers had fought the Yankees. 
 Their influence was very great. Dav after day 
 they went in crowds to the fair grounds, where 
 the First South Carolina volunteers were encamped, 
 showering upon them smiles and such delicacies as 
 the city could afford. There were young men 
 worth from one hundred thousand to half a million 
 dollars in that regiment, serving as privates. 
 
 The camps of instruction were crowded with 
 soldiers. The cadets from the Virginia military 
 institute, rendered good service as drill-masters. 
 The Maryland boys began to gather into compa- 
 nies in Richmond and to form the Maryland line. 
 South Carolina sent her braves, Louisiana her 
 magnificent "Washington artiller}'," superbly 
 equipped. From the Lone Star State came her 
 rangers, and as the different banners floated in the 
 air at the head of their columns, they cheered to 
 the echo. In all the excitement attending the 
 marshalling of the clans from the sunnv land, Mars 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 195 
 
 and Cupid clasped hands, and many a bud of love 
 was then first blown, which, ere it proved a 
 beauteous flower, was twined in a funeral wreath. 
 
 There was no more ardent lover among those 
 southern soldiers than honest, good-hearted, but 
 reckless Alec ; whose ill-starred fate is only another 
 exemplification of the proverb that the course of 
 true love does not always run smooth. Alec, 
 temporarily offended at some slight on the part of 
 Elsie, strolled off to camp, and sat down at the 
 root of a tree, heartily wishing that the Yankees 
 would come up and put him out of his misery. 
 A group of Kentucky soldiers who had been quar- 
 tered near attracted his attention by their peculiar 
 quarrel. It was quite evident that prior to enlist- 
 ment they had been farmers in the bottom regions 
 of Kentucky, where ignorance and poverty pre- 
 vailed. Of the four principals in the animated 
 discussion he soon learned that one was named 
 Long, one Brown, one Jones and another Smith. 
 The conversation seemed to grow out of some re- 
 marks about the drought which prevailed in the 
 month of May in Virginia. 
 
 " Don't rain putty soon, everything '11 be burnt 
 bodaciously up, " remarked Brown, as he fingered 
 a deck of greasy cards. " Hain't had 'nuff rain 
 fur three weeks ter lay the dust. " 
 
 " Hain't had nuff ter lay an egg," put in Long. 
 
196 UAION. 
 
 At this there was a roar of laughter, and Jones 
 remarked : 
 
 " Ef I could say as many funny things as Long, 
 ye wouldn't ketch me in the army; dinged ef I 
 didn't go to town an' practise law. Bet I'd win 
 every case. Why didn't you do it, Long?" 
 
 " Feered I mought hatter whup somebody. 
 Never did like ter fight. It's too much like hard 
 work ter suit me. " 
 
 " Sensible, thar, dinged ef you ain't. I had a 
 fight once, an' afo' I got through, wush I may die 
 ef I didn't think I wuz breakin' a yoke ov steers," 
 remarked private Brown. 
 
 " Ur that tother feller war a-whuppin' a calf," 
 put in Long, which produced another roar. 
 
 " Jes' so; but I give him a mighty good tussle. 
 Who's got that canteen?" 
 
 " Here she is," said Smith. 
 
 " Wall, send her on th' warmin' rounds of 
 charity agin," returned Brown. 
 
 " Calls it charity, I reckin, 'cause it didn't cost 
 him nuthin'," the witty Long remarked. 
 
 " Eeckin it cost me about ez much ez it did 
 you. Wall here's at you, dod rot you, had never 
 seed you, would never a toch you," and after a 
 drink Brown added, " Boys, that's poetry." 
 
 " 'Tain't as strong as the licker, " asserted Smith. 
 
 " Nur as good," said Long. 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 197 
 
 " But jist as free, " declared Brown. 
 
 " Things that are bad are ginerally free. Flat 
 terbacker costs money, but jou can git the chills 
 for nothin'." 
 
 " An' ter git well is good. You've got ter pay 
 for that. " 
 
 " Er man pays mighty dear fur bein' sick. Last 
 fall I tuk sick standin' at the 'lection poles, an' 
 it cost me five dollars. " 
 
 " Guess it was th' result of th' 'lection made 
 ye sick." 
 
 "Let's all lickerl" They did so, and the con- 
 tents of the canteen began to show its effects on 
 them. 
 
 " Bet thar ain't a mess in th' regiment whar th' 
 soldiers are so good humored," said Smith. 
 
 "Bet so too," added Brown. "Hain't had a 
 fight since I enlisted. " 
 
 " That's cause everybody knows ye. Brown, I 
 reckin you air about th' best man in th' com- 
 pany," suggested Long, ironically. 
 
 " Reckin not. Don't think I am ez good a man 
 ez you are. " 
 
 " Didn't you outlift me at Fergurson's log 
 roUin'?" asked Long. 
 
 "No, don't think I did." 
 
 " I hearn you did. " 
 
 " I don't know who told it. " 
 
198 UNION. 
 
 " I hearn you did. " 
 
 " You hearn sometliiu' that ain't so. I don't go 
 round blowin' my own ho'n." 
 
 " Wall, somebody's been blowin' it." 
 
 " 'Twarn't me." 
 
 " Guess you furnished a good deal uv th' wind." 
 
 '* Come, boys, let's licker an' then sing a song," 
 interposed Jones to prevent trouble. They all 
 drank, and Smith, wlio was a tall man, said: 
 
 " A leetle o' that goes a long way. " 
 
 " Does when you swaller it, cause it hez a long 
 ways to go," remarked Brown. 
 
 " That remark was about ez sharp ez a cabbage, " 
 Long declared. 
 
 " All remarks in shape of cabbages should come 
 from your head . " 
 
 "I'druther be a fresh cabbage, than an old 
 bellows. " 
 
 "Who's a old bellows?" 
 
 " A man what goes round tellin' how much he 
 can lift. " 
 
 "There ain't no ill wind in the truth," Brown 
 declared. 
 
 " But thar ain't no truth in th' wind you blow," 
 Long, quite exasperated, replied. 
 
 "Wall, now, ef you are still harpin' on that 
 log-rollin', I want to say right here, afore all these 
 gentlemen, that I did outlift you. When you an' 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 199 
 
 me was under the same handspike, at the end of 
 th' old sycamore log, you come mighty nigh 
 cavin'." 
 
 " Here, boys, this has gone fur enough. Let's 
 licker," interposed Smith, and again the canteen 
 was passed as a peace offering. But Brown was 
 by no means satisfied, and after smacking his lips, 
 he mopped his florid brow, and ironically remarked : 
 
 " It ain't agin the arm}^ regulations to tell the 
 truth." 
 
 " Ef it was, you'd not be court martialled for 
 violation of th' rules," growled Long. 
 
 " An' ef every coward was drummed out o" th' 
 service, you'd be hoin' co'n in Kentucky." 
 
 "You're a liar." 
 
 At this the angrj- Kentuckians flew at each 
 other, and the blows were flying fast and reckless, 
 when their two half-tipsy companions, aided by 
 Sergeant Bragg of the same company, tore them 
 asunder. 
 
 " What air you'uns quarrellin' about?" the ser- 
 geant asked. 
 
 The malefactors stood panting and silent with 
 downcast eyes, while Smith explained that the 
 casus belli was over which had outlifted the other 
 at the Fergurson log-rolling last fall. 
 
 " Why, yon dinged fools, you warn't neither of 
 you at the log-rollin'," declared the sergeant. 
 
200 UMON. 
 
 Brown and Long exchanged glances, and the 
 former remarked : 
 
 " Come to think of it, I war at town that day, 
 and got drunk afo' noon. Guess I didn't go." 
 
 " An' now I come to think, I had the chills, an' 
 never left the house," returned Long. The bel- 
 ligerents shook hands, all took a drink, and next 
 moment all were singing the " Old Folks at Home. " 
 
 On the 20th of May, the Confederate govern- 
 ment was removed to Richmond, and a few days 
 after that, there was an immense popular furore 
 over the arrival of the president. The presidential 
 mansion, at the corner of Twelfth and Clay streets, 
 now a public-school building, had not been pro- 
 cured, and the president and his family were tem- 
 porarily provided for at the Spotswood Hotel. An 
 immense concourse of people assembled at the 
 depot and thronged the streets leading to the hotel. 
 On the way numbers of bouquets were thrown or 
 handed into the carriage. One thrown by a pretty 
 little child fell just a short distance from it, and 
 Mr. Davis stopped the carriage, got out and }iicked 
 it up amid tremendous applause. That night 
 there was a serenade, and Mr. Davis spoke briefly 
 from the window of the hotel. Alec, who had 
 come from the camp to escort Elsie to the scene, 
 managed to get himself and his fair companion 
 near enough to see and hear the president. , 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 
 
 201 
 
 Mr. Davis was at that time a man of very strik- 
 ing appearance, tall, lithe and graceful, straight 
 as an Indian, dignified and reposed in manner, but 
 without hauteur. His address was scarce more 
 than an acknowledgment of the enthusiastic wel- 
 come and a word of encour- 
 agement. He was followed 
 by Senator Wigfall of Texas, 
 General Henry A. Wise and 
 others. 
 
 During the speaking, Mrs. 
 Davis was discovered near the 
 parlor window, and was vo- 
 ciferously and persistently 
 cheered, until she advanced 
 to the window and acknowl- 
 edged the compliment by bow- 
 ing to the immense concourse assembled to wel- 
 come her. She was of commanding height, with 
 dark hair, eyes and complexion, with strongly 
 marked and expressive mouth. It was a line face, 
 indicative of intellect, energy, and strength of 
 character, yet beautifully softened by the gentle 
 expression of her dark, earnest eyes. Her man- 
 ners were kind, graceful and affable, her conversa- 
 tional powers brilliant, and her receptions, which 
 Elsie attended, were characterized by a dignity 
 very properly belonging to the drawing-room 
 
 Jeff Davis. 
 
202 UNION. 
 
 entertainments of the chief magistrate of a re- 
 public. 
 
 As Alec was conducting Elsie home that even- 
 ing, he overheard a voice near him in the crowd 
 saying : 
 
 " Yaas, we war 'bout ter fight, Long an' me, 
 'boat liftin' at th' log-rollin' at Fergurson's last 
 fall, an' then come ter find 'at neither one o' us 
 war there at all, huh, huh, huh, huh!" 
 
 In the speaker, Alec recognized one of the Ken- 
 tuckians whose humorous quarrel he had overheard 
 a short time before. 
 
 Military discipline soon put a stop to the fre- 
 quent visits of Alec to the home of Elsie. Leave 
 of absence was hard to obtain, and he began to see 
 much less of the fair damsel than was agreeable to 
 the lovesick swain. Alec soon realized his mis- 
 take in not starting into the service as a commis- 
 sioned officer. It is a long and hard road to climb 
 from a knapsack to shoulder-straps. 
 
 His regiment was ordered to the front. By 
 June 1, 1861, there had been some skirmishing, 
 and the two armies were preparing for the great 
 struggle which was soon to commence. West 
 Virginia had refused to secede, and there was 
 already talk of forming a new State out of the ter- 
 ritory west of the mountains. General Robert E. 
 Lee was made commander of the Confederate army 
 
LOVE AXD EXCITEMENT. 203 
 
 of Virginia, while General George B. McClellan 
 was placed in command of the department of the 
 Ohio. 
 
 Alec's regiment left Eichmond, May 26th, and 
 the young soldier, unaccustomed to such hardships, 
 gloomily trudged along the dusty road with his 
 gun on his shoulder. 
 
 They camped on the banks of a stream. He 
 never knew the name of it nor did he ever know 
 why the regiment halted there for almost two 
 weeks. Thousands of rumors were floating in the 
 air and more than two-thirds of them were be- 
 lieved. Steel -clothed Yankees, with bristling 
 horns, were said to be just beyond the hills, ad- 
 vancing to cut them to pieces. Mark took his 
 first turn on picket duty. Perhaps there is noth- 
 ing more trying on the nerves of a raw recruit, 
 than midnight duty on a solitary picket post. 
 But Alec had left Elsie in a huff, and declared he 
 hoped the Yankees would kill him, so it did not 
 make much difference whether he was killed on 
 picket, or in line of battle; but when the captain 
 called him to his tent and gave him his final in- 
 structions before going to his post. Alec felt his 
 blood congeal. The captain sought to impress on 
 his mind that the post was important, the danger 
 imminent, and the foe near. If attacked he was 
 to fire and fall back on the reserves. He was to 
 
204 UMON. 
 
 be on the alert for an ambuscade or some trick of 
 the enemy. Above all things, he was to remem- 
 ber that the safety of the regiment, the army, and 
 the Southern Confederacy depended on his vigi- 
 lance. 
 
 Although Alec thought the officer overdoing the 
 matter a little, the great responsibility made him 
 exceedingly nervous. A more drear, wilder or 
 lonelier place, could not have been found, and Alec 
 declared : 
 
 " Hang me if I could find my way back to 
 camp, if I was attacked. " 
 
 Alec never realized what it was to be alone on 
 picket before, until he found himself alone on this 
 dreary post, with the blackest of nights gathered 
 all about him. A melancholy breeze was abroad, 
 and the rustling leaves seemed moved by the wings 
 of ghosts. Black clouds thickened in the sky, 
 shutting out the faint light of the stars and leav- 
 ing all plutonian darkness. Alec seemed all of a 
 sudden to feel that he was alone, and helpless, 
 with an enemy in front who was probably at tliat 
 very moment creeping foi'ward to stab him dead 
 at his post. Retreat was utterly impossible, and 
 for the first time in his life, he began to feel all 
 the pangs of fear. Naturally Alec was brave; 
 but he was unacquainted with war and danger, 
 and this new experience had been thrust on him 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 205 
 
 so suddenly, and with such little preparation, that 
 he was seized with the strange and unknown sen- 
 sation of dread. 
 
 Alone with the dark night, the forest all about 
 him, not a companion to whom he might whisper 
 a word of consolation, or hope, — no wonder he 
 began to quake with fear. At times the silence 
 was so deafening, and the darkness so appalling 
 that he felt as if he must cry out in his agony. 
 Not even a night bird fluttered by, not an owl 
 uttered its thrilling hoot, nor the mournful cr}^ of 
 the coon reached his ears. All was silence, deep, 
 awful silence. It seemed as if an icy blast from 
 off some frozen river had suddenly struck him, 
 causing his form to tremble with an unknown sen- 
 sation, while he grasped his musket with an 
 energy of despair. 
 
 He stood near a small oak, and at last leaning 
 against it, tried to hum a tune in order to convince 
 himself that he was not scared. His own voice 
 seemed to sound hoarse and uimatural, and though 
 he did not hum above his breath, it went out on 
 the air, like the boom of a cannon, as if its rever- 
 berations would never cease. 
 
 At last he heard an awful tread. It was a 
 stealthy, terrible, tramping sound, moving slowly 
 and cautiously through the bushes, like some giant 
 rifleman creeping forward to slay him. At first 
 
206 UNION. 
 
 he thought his ears were deceiving him; but at 
 last he became convinced that there could be no 
 mistake. He could hear the bushes parting care- 
 fully, as if a man were pushing them aside with 
 his hands to thrust the barrel of his gun forward, 
 in order to make a sure shot at the guard. 
 
 In the first trans}iorts of his dread, Alec thought 
 to fly, but having forgotten the direction to the 
 camp, he knew that he was as liable to run right 
 into the arms of the enemy. Then his heart be- 
 gan to palpitate, his hair stood on end, and his 
 knees tottered; his thoughts teemed with presages 
 of death and destruction ; his conscience rose up 
 in judgment against him, and he underwent a 
 severe paroxj'sm of dismay and distraction. 
 
 In that awful moment, poor Alec remembered 
 his misspent life, his many sins, and fully realized 
 how uniit such a wild, harum-scarum fellow as he 
 was to appear at the bar of eternal justice, and yet 
 here was a whole army of Yankees creeping for- 
 ward to blow him into eternity. Appreciating 
 the uncertainty of life, and the certainty of death, 
 lie for the first time entertained serious thoughts 
 of preparation for the latter. He sank on his 
 knees and tried to pray, but " Now I lay me 
 down to sleep" was all that he could think of at 
 that moment, which in the least resembled a 
 prayer. From one extreme of fear he rushed to 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 
 
 307 
 
 another. His last desperate idea was to fire and 
 run. He knew not where he would run, nor what 
 would be the result of 
 the flight ; but he deter- 
 mined to run. 
 
 At this moment the 
 clouds parted, and the 
 pale lambent glow of a 
 star, dimly lighting the 
 scene, fell upon a spot 
 in the bushes where they 
 had been separated and 
 he saw a pair of slender 
 objects, which to his 
 heightened imagi- 
 nation, might be 
 either swords or 
 bayonets, pointed 
 directly at his 
 breast, ready to 
 slay him. Nerved 
 with an energy of 
 despair, he took a 
 hasty aim and 
 pulled the trigger. There was a stunning report, 
 and Alec was sent heels over head by the recoil of 
 the musket, into a thorn bush. 
 
 Scratched, torn and bleeding, he crawled out 
 
 Now I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP," WAS 
 COULD THINK OF. 
 
208 UNION. 
 
 from bis uncomfortable position, and ran as fast 
 as bis legs could carry bim, sbouting: 
 
 " To arms ! to arms ! tbe foe ! tbe foe ! " 
 
 More by good luck tban judgment, bis mad 
 fligbt took bim in tbe direction of tbe camp, wbere 
 be found tbe long roll beating, and men falling 
 into ranks. Guards came burrying in from otber 
 points, and tbe brass six-pound cannon was loaded. 
 
 Alec was running up and down tbe line, wildly 
 yelling " To arms!" wben bis captain seized bim, 
 sbook bim, and demanded : 
 
 " Wbat's tbe matter? Wbo bred tbat sbot?" 
 
 "I did." 
 
 " Wbat did you sboot at?" 
 
 " Tbe Yankees. " 
 
 " How many are tbey ? " 
 
 " I saw fifty at least, and I am sure tbere are 
 ten tbousand bebind tliem. " 
 
 A reconnoitring part}*, one bundred strong, 
 was finally sent forward to see wbat bad become 
 of tbe enemy, wbo were making no noise. Alec 
 was cbosen to guide tbem to tbe spot. 
 
 "Wbere is your musket?" tbe officer in com- 
 mand asked. 
 
 "I don't know," be answered. In fact be had 
 not thought of bis musket since he fired. 
 
 Slowly, carefully, yet boldly, they advanced 
 through tbe bushes to tbe outpost. Not a word 
 
LOVE AND EXCITEMENT. 209 
 
 was spoken, save when the commanding officer 
 issued some order. 
 
 The place was at last reached, and the captain, 
 with drawn sword, led the way to the thicket 
 where Alec had seen the phalanx of bayonets. 
 The spot was reached, and the commanding officer 
 flashed a light over a dark object lying on the 
 ground, and burst into a roar of laughter. 
 
 "What is the matter?" asked Alec, fearing 
 that he had made some miserable blunder. 
 
 " Why, you idiot, you have killed a cow!" was 
 the answer, and then the forest rang with a hun- 
 dred peals of laughter. 
 14 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 FIRST FIRE. 
 
 Mark Stevens had been two months at Rising 
 Sun before his regiment moved. Then they went 
 down the river to Cairo, where General Benjamin 
 M. Prentiss, a brave Illinois brigadier of volun- 
 teers, was in command. General Prentiss, not 
 having been a regular-army officer, was not in 
 favor with the war department. Shortly after 
 Mark's arrival, he was superseded by General 
 Grant. Soon after taking command, Grant sent 
 a force to seize Paducah, Kentucky. Tiiis was 
 done just in time to prevent the Confederates from 
 making a like effort. This was of course in viola- 
 tion of the disloyal Kentucky governor's ideas of 
 armed neutrality. 
 
 Murk took no part in the capture of Paducah, 
 and in fact had not yet seen an armed Confederate, 
 nor heard a gun fired in conflict. He had learned 
 that General Fremont was in the field. On Au- 
 gust 31st, Fremont had proclaimed the freedom 
 of the slaves, and confiscated the property of the 
 disunionists of Missouri. This was a dangerous 
 210 
 
FIRST FIRE. 211 
 
 proclamation, but in keeping with a man whose 
 ideas are based on the force of the armj^, instead 
 of statesmanship. No one jet thought of the free- 
 dom of the slaves, and not one soldier in ten had 
 enlisted with that object in view, and the procla- 
 mation, had it been enforced, would have driven 
 thousands of soldiers out of the army, Lincoln 
 seeing the folly, checked the wild career of Fre- 
 mont before he had gone far enough to do any 
 great mischief. 
 
 Fremont moved against Price. Fearing that 
 the Confederate troops at Columbus might rein- 
 force Price, General Grant, who with twenty thou- 
 sand men was at Cairo, was ordered to make a 
 demonstration on both sides of the Mississippi, in 
 order to engage the attention of the forces at Co- 
 lumbus. Colonel Richard Oglesby was dispatched 
 with troops to meet about three thousand of the 
 enemy on the St. Francois River, fifty miles south 
 of Cairo. On the 5th, Grant dispatched Colonel 
 W. H. L. Wallace from Bird's Point to overtake 
 and reinforce Oglesby, with orders to march to 
 New Madrid, a point some distance on the Mis- 
 souri side. General Smith was ordered, at the 
 same time, to make a direct demonstration against 
 Columbus with what troops he could spare from 
 Paducah. He was ordered to make only a demon- 
 stration, and to halt a few miles from town. 
 
212 UNION. 
 
 Some of these orders reached the ears of the pri- 
 vates, and Mark felt that an attack was not very 
 far off; but where or how the bolt would strike 
 he could not tell. On the evening of November 
 5, lSf»l, the soldiers were sitting about their camp 
 iires smoking and telling stories. 
 
 Bill Simms was lying on a bundle of straw, his 
 hands clasped behind his head and a pipe in his 
 mouth. It was already conceded that Bill was 
 the chief liar in the regiment. 
 
 " Boys, we're goin' to have some hot work be- 
 fore three days," said Bill. 
 
 "How d'ye know. Bill?" Abe Bolton asked, 
 while Sis rubbed his smooth chin in silence. Bill, 
 giving an extra puflE or two at his pipe, went on : 
 
 " I see them ginerals puttin' their heads to- 
 gether. Then they hutry Oglesby ofi one way, 
 and send Wallace after him with a thousand men. 
 I tell ye, boys, there's goin' to be trouble. I 
 remember one time when I was with Gineral 
 Percy!" 
 
 "Say, Bill, let up on your Percy experience," 
 interrupted one of the soldiers. 
 
 "Well, lemme tell this story — — " 
 
 "Don't do it. Bill; it'll only add one more lie 
 to the long list you'll have to answer fur, when 
 the rebels till you full o' lead." 
 
 "Now, boys, there ain't no need to be makin' 
 
FIRST FIRE. 213 
 
 light o' this, for we "re goin' to have trouble. 
 What do you say about it, Sis?" 
 
 Sis pressed his finger to his beardless chin, and 
 asked : 
 
 " What did we come for?" 
 
 Mark joined the group, and a moment later a 
 corporal came and detailed the guard. Bill Simms 
 was put on that duty, and it freed his mess from 
 any further Percy reminiscences. Next da}- the 
 men were ordered to provide themselves with three 
 days' rations and forty rounds of cartridges. That 
 sounded verv much like business, and the soldiers 
 began to ask each other where the}' were going. 
 Large steamboats at the landing, sending forth 
 volumes of black smoke, were strongly suggestive 
 of an expedition on the water. 
 
 Mark's regiment was ordered aboard one of the 
 boats. The vessels were partially provided against 
 bullets, their sides being guarded by thick boards 
 which might turn an ordinary musket-ball. The 
 firemen were shovelling in coal, the steam escaping 
 in deafening hisses, so that the vessel seemed to actu- 
 ally tremble beneath the struggles of the confined 
 monster. The soldiers were silent, all realizing 
 that they were about to embark on an expedition 
 from which many would never return. 
 
 Mark gazed at the shore and camp, which had 
 for weeks been his home, and asked himself, 
 
214 UNION. 
 
 would he ever see it again? He knew not whither 
 he was going. All was surmise. Columbus was 
 down the river, and yet Mark did not believe that 
 General Grant would be foolish enough to attack 
 it. Grant had " gathered up all the troops at Cairo 
 and Fort Holt, excejDt suitable guards," and took 
 them aboard the steamers convoyed by two gun- 
 boats. The forces of General Grant were between 
 four and five thousand men, embracing five regi- 
 ments of infantry, two guns, and two companies 
 of cavalry. 
 
 General Grant had no idea of making an attack 
 at the outstart, and the glory of the fight at Bel- 
 mont belongs to the troops. The conflict was 
 forced on the general by the volunteers. They 
 had enlisted to fight, and were heartily tired of the 
 inactivity of camp life. Nothing is so calculated 
 to discourage and demoralize a soldier as inactivity. 
 When General Grant saw how elated his officers 
 and soldiers were at the prospect of the long-prom- 
 ised engagement with the enemy, he realized 
 that, in order to retain their respect, he must make 
 some effort before returning to Cairo. Grant, in 
 a great measure, owed his success to his having 
 the good sense to take advice from others ; to his 
 ability to appreciate the situation and to act ac- 
 cordingly. He knew that it would be folly to 
 attack Columbus; but about two o'clock, he 
 
FIRST FIRE. 215 
 
 learned tliat the enemy was crossing troops from 
 Columbus to the west bank, to be dispatched, pre- 
 sumabh', after Oglesb}'. There was a small camp 
 of Confederates at Belmont immediateh' opposite 
 Columbus, and at this point he resolved to make 
 the attack. 
 
 The great steamers at last began to move. As 
 thej cast off from the shore, and glided out into 
 the stream, Bill Simms, who stood on the for- 
 ward deck smoking his pipe, said: 
 
 " Now, boj's, look at Cairo. Some o' you may 
 never come back." 
 
 Mark felt the full force of this idle speech. He 
 was no coward; but any reflecting man who comes 
 face to face with danger, experiences a sensation 
 called fear. The man who says that he goes into 
 battle without an}- of the pangs of dread either 
 does not possess the good sense requisite to self- 
 protection, or is an unmitigated liar. The man 
 whose fears are subordinate to pride and patriot- 
 ism makes the best soldier. The brave man 
 dreads going into battle, but when he feels tlie 
 touch of his comrade's elbow, it seems to inspire 
 confidence, and he looks forward, not backward. 
 
 As Mark stood in the stern of the boat, his mind 
 went back over the past. The sun set, and dark- 
 ness gathered over the scene as the steamers sped 
 on their "vvay, trailing showers of sparks and vol- 
 
216 UNION. 
 
 umes of black smoke in their wake. Mark glanced 
 at the stars, asking himself if he woiikl ever see 
 them again. He realized that a broadside of artil- 
 lery, or the explosion of a torpedo might, at any 
 moment, send them to the bottom. His aged 
 parents, in their Kentucky home, might pass 
 many anxious days ere they learned his fate. 
 Then his mind wandered to another. That one 
 was the peerless Elsie in her far off southern home. 
 No wonder that Mark thought of her on this occa- 
 sion, for she was scarce ever out of his mind. 
 Months of excitement had failed to efface the 
 image of the beautiful maid of the South from his 
 memory, and he realized that time would never 
 do so. 
 
 " O life ! what a mystery, " soliloquized Mark. 
 " Men are born, enter on the stage of action, per- 
 form their little part and pass away. The past 
 has been dark and stormy, while the future is 
 darker than this starless night. We may talk of 
 happiness, but where is it found?" Then his mind 
 reverted to that dark shadow blighting his own 
 life, and he said: "But for that, I might have 
 been happy. A cruel fate is mine. Why was 
 it decreed that I should meet her, when such a 
 meeting was only productive of misery? Is it 
 Providence, or is it fate, that makes puppets of 
 men, plays with them for awhile and then casts 
 
FIRST FIRE. 217 
 
 them aside? There seems no ease from this strain 
 called life, save the grave; then how foolish to fear 
 death." 
 
 Mark Stevens felt bitter against the capricious 
 fortune which had seemed to play with him as a 
 cat does with the mouse. Misery had claimed 
 him at his birth, for he had ever been unfortunate, 
 and he might reasonably presume that he would 
 fall in the coming struggle. What was death that 
 he need fear it? When the sickly dream of life 
 was over, then he would be at peace from the war- 
 ring elements of outrageous fortune. 
 
 Thinking was painful, and Mark rose and went 
 toward the pilot house. A score of soldiers 
 wrapped in blankets lay snoring on the deck. 
 
 ' Happy fellows!" sighed Mark. " Care sits so 
 lightly on your brows that you sleep in peace, 
 even while rushing to what may be your eternal 
 doom. Perhaps it is wisest after all. Wh}^ take 
 thought for the morrow, when the morrow is be- 
 yond control, and we know not what it may 
 bring forth — sunshine or shadow?" 
 
 It was two o'clock on the morning of the 7th 
 before Mark Stevens had even attempted to sleep. 
 He was only dozing when the boats came to, and 
 the ofl&cers on each met in general consultation. 
 Then all pushed boldly down the river again. 
 When day dawned they were tied up under the 
 
218 UNION. 
 
 banks ; but the pickets above Columbus were drawn 
 in, and about daylight the boats moved out from 
 the shore. Mark, who had been in a fitful slum- 
 ber, awoke as the boats started from the shore. 
 
 " Where are we going?" he asked Bill Simms, 
 who was filling his pipe. 
 
 " We seem to be goin' over to the Missouri side. " 
 
 " Have you heard nothing of our destination?" 
 
 " No, old Grant and all the rest keep a close 
 mouth." 
 
 The soldiers were gathered about the deck in 
 groups, either silent, or talking in whispers. 
 Mark saw Sis, a little apart from the others, sitting 
 on a coil of rope, yawning, and only half awake. 
 
 " Sis, we'll be in Missouri soon," said Mark. 
 
 " Tho't we were goin' to Columbus, " Sis growled. 
 
 " We will probably have some fighting any 
 way," Mark returned, gazing at the shore they 
 were approaching. The land was low and in 
 places cut up with sloughs. Sis, who had followed 
 the direction of his glance, with another careless 
 yawn remarked : 
 
 " Good place fur ducks. " 
 
 The soil on the west side was rich, and the tim- 
 ber large and heavy. There were some small 
 clearings between Belmont and the point for which 
 they were heading, but most of the country was 
 covered with native forests. 
 
FIRST FIRE. 219 
 
 " We are goin' to land right in front of them 
 corn fields," growled Bill Simms, puffing away at 
 his pipe. " Now it's bad policy. Gineral Percy 
 would know better than that. " 
 
 " Perhaps there is no other place to land," Mark 
 ventured to answer; " and then, this may be only 
 a feint." 
 
 " Wall, a feller'd faint afore he'd take Columbus 
 from this side o' the river." 
 
 "There's one boat rounding to," put in Abe 
 Bolton, pointing to one of the boats. " Slie's 
 goin' to land." 
 
 " Yes, there goes the line. See the niggers 
 jump ashore!" 
 
 " And the gang plank is run out. " 
 
 In an incredible short time orders could be heard 
 from the landed boat. 
 
 " Attention ! Eight face. By fours — forward — 
 march!" and a long line of blue coats, with glit- 
 tering muskets and bayonets were seen leaving the 
 boat. 
 
 "There goes the gineral's boss," said Sis. 
 " Wonder if he run at the fair last fall?" 
 
 General Grant went ashore, formed the first regi- 
 ment that landed, and marched it down the river a 
 short distance, to guard against surprise. In the 
 woods, a short distance below the landing, was a 
 depression, where the men were stationed with 
 
220 UNION. 
 
 orders to remain until properly relieved. These 
 troops with the gunboats were left to protect the 
 transports. 
 
 " Wonder if they've gone off to do all the lightin' 
 themselves?" asked Sis with another yaAvn. 
 
 " No, our boat is goin' ashore," some one said. 
 
 " Fall in!" cried the lion-like voice of the colo- 
 nel, then the captains took command of their 
 companies, and in a moment every man was be- 
 hind the stacked muskets. 
 
 Here they waited until the boat ran in to shore, 
 and lay alongside the muddy bank. Mark watched 
 a negro leap ashore and seize the cable which he 
 wound about an old stump. The boat was soon 
 secured, and then came the command: 
 
 "Take— arms!" 
 
 In two seconds' time a thousand muskets were 
 seized as one, and brought to an order. 
 
 " Carry — arms!" 
 
 They brought their muskets to their sides. 
 
 "Right— face!" 
 
 That pretty movement was executed, and they 
 received the command to march. They stepped 
 off as one man, and walked do.wn the stage plank 
 to the shore. 
 
 "I believe they kin see us from Columbus," 
 said Nick timidly. 
 
 " What if they do? We ain't hurtin' 'em over 
 
FIRST FIRE. 331 
 
 there," growled Bill Simms, who still clung to his 
 pipe. They marched a few hundred paces away, 
 and the regiment came to a halt. 
 
 All the transports had landed, and the men were 
 rapidly coming ashore. A long line of blue coats 
 was seen forming. Up to this time, Mark and his 
 companions were in utter ignorance of the inten- 
 tion of the officers; but when they had been 
 formed and stood waiting the order to advance, a 
 whisper ran down the line: 
 
 " There's Johnny rebs over there?" 
 
 "Where?" asked Nick. 
 
 " Just over the hill." 
 
 Then came the order to march by the left flank, 
 and they advanced a mile and a half, and halted 
 in a low, flat, marshy place covered with a heavy 
 growth of timber in front. Then came a requisi- 
 tion on each captain to detail ten men from his 
 company for skirniishers. 
 
 Mark, Sis, Bill Simms and Abe Bolton were 
 detailed as four of the ten from their company. 
 They deployed at the distance of about four rods 
 apart at first, and began to advance carefully into 
 the heavy timber. . Mark could see no one, yet 
 his heart was beating wildly, his face was very 
 pale, though he was not trembling. 
 
 Sis was on his left, and Bill Simms on his 
 right. They had not gone far when a hare 
 
222 UNION. 
 
 started up before the former, and went bounding 
 away. 
 
 "There goes a rabbit!" cried Sis, cocking his 
 gun. 
 
 "You dern fool, don't you shoot!" cautioned 
 Bill Simms. " Don't you see there is bigger game 
 ahead?" 
 
 It was hard for Sis to resist his natural desire 
 for sport, but he did so, and let the hammer of his 
 musket down. The officers in charge of the skir- 
 mishers were passing quickly up and down the 
 line, giving commands and words of encourage- 
 ment. 
 
 As yet, not a shot had been fired, and Mark 
 had not seen a sign of an enemy ; but it became 
 quite evident from the caution exercised, that they 
 were nearing danger. Mark saw some of his fel- 
 low soldiers crawling among the trees and bushes. 
 
 "Bang!" 
 
 The shot was fired two or three hundred yards 
 on his left. Whether it was a Union or Confed- 
 erate shot, he never learned. A moment later he 
 heard two or three more in quick succession, and 
 then he thought he saw something moving in the 
 bushes directly before him. It might have been 
 a man, or some dome^^tic animal. Once or twice 
 he raised his gun, intending to shoot it, but not 
 being quite certain lowered his piece. 
 
FIRST FIRE. 223 
 
 Suddenly there came a burst of flame and smoke 
 from the bushes on the hill above, and the woods 
 were filled with echoing shots. Bill Simms blazed 
 away into the woods, and Mark did likewise, 
 though he could see nothing to shoot at. All 
 along the entire skirmish line, everybody was 
 firing, save Sis, who stood in plain view erect and 
 undaunted. 
 
 " Sis, why donH you shoot?" cried Bill Simms. 
 
 "Shoot, thunder! I don't see nuthin' t' shoot 
 at." Sis answered. 
 
 Mark Stevens had fired twice before he was 
 quite sure he saw a man. Then he distinctly saw 
 one, not two hundred paces away, running obliquely 
 to his right carrying a gun in his hand. The man 
 had no coat, and wore a red shirt and white hat. 
 Before Mark could put a cap on his musket, the 
 fellow was out of sight. But a moment later he 
 saw another two hundred paces directly in front of 
 him. This one had fired at some of the Federal 
 skirmishers, and pausing in a cleared spot was de- 
 liberately reloading his gun. Mark blazed away 
 at him, and was amazed to discover that he had 
 missed. The ball evidently went close, for the 
 fellow sought shelter behind a tree. The enemy 
 now ap23eared in front in large numbers, but were 
 falling back. 
 
 The skirmishers cheered and pressed on, gradu- 
 
224 UNION. 
 
 ally closing up as they did so. A man, named 
 Jack Flint, in Company H, was a little to the right, 
 and in the advance of Mark, loading his gun. He 
 had rammed home the charge, returned the ramrod 
 to its thimbles, when he dropped his piece, yelling: 
 
 " Oh, mercy!" Clapping his left arm with his 
 right hand, he danced about very much like a. boy 
 who has been stung by a hornet. 
 
 " What is the matter?" Mark asked. 
 
 He made no answer, but dashed back toward 
 the rear slinging his arm, from which the blood 
 was trickling, back and forth, and screaming: 
 "Oh, mercy!" 
 
 The first person Mark saw slain was a red- 
 headed boy belonging to Company E. He had 
 pressed forward ahead of the others, and was 
 almost fifty paces in front, and a little to the right, 
 when he fell among some under bushes. Mark 
 did not see him fall, nor was he aware of his fate 
 until, pressing on through the thicket, he suddenly 
 came upon an object that caused him to start. 
 Lying among the grass and bushes was the red- 
 headed boy, shot through the heart. His cap and 
 his gun lay at his side, his eyes wide open, staring, 
 and glassy, and his face had about it something 
 truly appalling. He had large front teeth which 
 protruded, and the lips being slightly drawn re- 
 vealed them in a terrifying grin. Mark had seen 
 
FIRST FIRE. 225 
 
 the boy in camp, but did not know his name. 
 There was something so terrible in the spectacle, 
 that he shuddered, and for a moment was seized 
 with something bordering on a panic. He was re- 
 called to the present situation by the shouting and 
 firing ahead, and with a vow of vengeance, he 
 leaped over the body, and hurried forward to join 
 his companions. 
 
 The firing was continuous, and the whiz of ene- 
 my's balls constant. They cut the bark from the 
 trees at Mark's side, clipped the leaves from off 
 the branches overhead, and dug up the earth at 
 his feet. It was a veritable baptism of fire. 
 Again and again had they been reinforced by skir- 
 mishers, until Mark thought their whole force 
 must be in the field. Suddenly the colonel cried: 
 
 " Eally on the centre!" 
 
 Then they came elbow to elbow, met by a solid 
 phalanx of the enemy. The sharp crack of mus- 
 ketry had been growing more incessant, until it be- 
 came a steady roar. 
 
 " Thunder and lightnin'! that ain't no skirmish 
 line," cried Bill Simms. "We're fightin' a line 
 o' battle." 
 
 Mark discovered a Confederate officer riding a 
 
 short distance in front of him, and determined to 
 
 give him a shot as soon as he had got his gun 
 
 loaded; but while he was ramming home the car- 
 
 15 
 
326 UNION. 
 
 tridge, Sis raised his musket and fired, and when 
 next Mark looked, a riderless horse was gallo})ing 
 through the woods. Eeinforcements came to the 
 Federals, and they drove the rebels back pell mell 
 through their own camp, following them and yell- 
 ing like demons. 
 
 The mania for plunder seized both men and 
 officers, and General Grant was unable to control 
 them. Regimental organizations were lost, and 
 the army became a mob. 
 
 The rebels had retreated over the hill, and but 
 few had shown any inclination to follow them. 
 General Grant's original design was only to break 
 up their camp, and he made no particular effort at 
 pursuit. 
 
 There was one, however, who had little thought 
 of })1 under. It was Sis. As Mark entered the 
 camp of Confederates, and heard the cry to halt, he 
 saw the beardless youth giving chase to the flying 
 enemy. 
 
 " Run down the hellions! Shoot 'em! Bannet 
 'em; Don't let a single gray back git away!" 
 roared the angr}" Bill Simms, who instead of set- 
 ting the example himself, fell to plundering the 
 camp. 
 
 Sis, hearing his command, su})posed that it came 
 from headquarters. There is an excitement about 
 a man chase, which exceeds any other specimen of 
 
FIRST FIRE. 227 
 
 hunting, and Sis was fairlj intoxicated with it. 
 He soon overtook two or three of the slower-paced 
 Confederates, who surrendered quietly, and were 
 turned over to the other boys, as they came up, 
 and were conducted to the rear. 
 
 But Sis was not satisfied with the glory he had 
 already won. A hundred yards ahead of him was 
 a tall, gaunt Kentuckian, clad in butternut-colored 
 jeans of a queer cut and pattern, and a great bell- 
 crowned hat of rough, gray beaver. Though his 
 gait was shambling, and his huge, splay feet rose 
 and fell in a most awkward way, he went over the 
 ground with a speed that seemed to defy even 
 Sis's long legs to overhaul him. But ere long, 
 the boy pursuer was encouraged by signs of dis- 
 tress; first the bell-crowned hat was thrown aside, 
 then he flung off his haversack, and this was fol- 
 lowed by a canteen of Kentucky whiskey. Next 
 followed the fugitive's belt, loaded down with an 
 antique cartridge box, a savage looking knife made 
 from a rasp, and handled with buckhorn, and a fierce 
 looking horse-pistol, ornamented with a flint-lock. 
 
 "Jerusalem, guess I'm bustin' up a moosyum 
 o' revolutionary relics," cried Sis. "That feller 
 drops his forefathers' keepsakes like a bird a 
 moultin' on a windy day in May. 'Spect he'll 
 shed Continental money and three-cornered hats 
 next. " 
 
328 UNION. 
 
 Sis did not, look to see if the whole Federal 
 force was at his back or not. The fugitive turned 
 off to the right and he followed. The youth's 
 gun was empty, but he had his bayonet fixed, and 
 expected every moment to be within lunging dis- 
 tance. He had foreshortened his gun for the 
 plunge, when three or four Confederates suddenly 
 started up from behind a stone and some trees, 
 crying: 
 
 " Stop, you Yankee cuss, or we'll let some 
 streaks o' daylight through .you." 
 
 Sis halted with his breast almost against four 
 dark muzzles. Panting he said : 
 
 " Look here, boys, this is all infernal nonsense. 
 Our fellers are comin' ; they've got ye sure." 
 
 " Yaas, you think they hev," growled one. 
 " Don't ye see our fellers comin' over from Colum- 
 bus by the million ? Look at them boats ! " 
 
 Sis glanced in the direction indicated by the 
 Confederate's hand, and saw two steamers coming 
 over the river black with Confederate soldiers. 
 
 " Now, honey, you'uns'll git aw^a}^ from that 
 camp faster than ye come. " 
 
 All the while there could be heard from the 
 camp, the loud cheering of the foolish Federals, who 
 were congratulating themselves over their victory. 
 Sis saw he was trapped; but he did not lose his 
 wits. Coolly seating himself on a stump, he said : 
 
FIRST FIRE. 
 
 229 
 
 "Boys, let's talk it over." 
 
 " Give us that gun iirst. " 
 
 " No, it's my gun; you wouldn't rob me, would 
 ye? Besides, I saw a rabbit down under the hill, 
 and I want to go back and shoot it. " 
 
 "Look here, Yank, we don't intend to stand 
 
 "BoTS, let's talk it over." 
 
 any o' your tom-foolery, — give up that gun or I'll 
 blow yer head off. " 
 
 In a moment Sis was an unarmed prisoner. 
 
 " Have ye any flat terbacker about ye'/" one of 
 his captors asked. He had, and they took it. 
 
230 UNION. 
 
 He was then marched down under the hill, and 
 shortly afterward volumes of smoke and flames 
 told that the Confederate camp was burning. Im- 
 mediately after that came the boom of cannon from 
 Columbus. The prisoner was marched a mile 
 down toward the transports, for the Confederate 
 troops were moving in that direction. 
 
 Mark Stevens had noted the continued absence 
 of Sis and had reported the matter to his captain, 
 who sent a lieutenant with twenty men, among 
 whom was Mark, in search of him. By accident 
 they came on the guard just as the advancing Con- 
 federates began exchanging shots with the Union 
 troops. The tables were turned and Sis was liber- 
 ated, his captors made prisoners, and all set out 
 toward the transports. 
 
 "Now see here, sir, " said Sis to the man who 
 had taken his tobacco, " I want my flat terbacker 
 agin. It was blamed mean o' you t' take it from 
 a feller that way. Ef ye'd a wanted a chaw, I'd a 
 gin it to you, 'cause I ain't one bit stingy." 
 
 "Boys, we've got to make a run for it," said 
 Lieutenant Tull, when they came to the cornfield 
 on the river banks above the transports. " Our 
 fellows are all aboard, and they are about to shove 
 off." 
 
 Already the enemy had appeared, and opened a 
 brisk fire on the boats. 
 
FIRST FIRE. 231 
 
 "Git!" cried Sis to the prisoners. "Run, con- 
 sarn yer picturs, ur I'll jab ye with my bannit. " 
 
 They all ran, and when within a few hundred 
 paces of the transports, the}^ discovered that they 
 were pushing off from shore. A horseman was 
 seen riding toward the boat frantically waving 
 his hat, and ordering them to return for him. 
 The captain of the boat ordered it back, and the 
 horseman dismounted and went down the bank 
 and entered the boat by the gang plank. The 
 horse taking in the situation, determined to follow 
 his master. There was no path down the bank, 
 and every one acquainted with the Mississippi 
 River knows its banks, in a natural state, are not 
 far from perpendicular. The horse put his fore- 
 feet over the edge of the bank and with his hind 
 feet well under him, slid down the bank, and 
 trotted on board the boat, twelve or fifteen feet 
 away, over a single gang plank. They afterward 
 learned that the horseman who j^receded them on 
 the boat, was General Grant. Mark and the 
 party that had rescued Sis came up at this moment. 
 
 " Hold just a minute, captain," cried Lieutenant 
 Tull. 
 
 " I can't, run and jump aboard." 
 
 It was a risky business to force the prisoners to 
 jump on the boat, as it was pushing off, and the 
 gang plank was dragging along the muddy bank, 
 
282 UNION. 
 
 but they got three of them on the boat, while the 
 fourth ran away. Mark slipped on the stage plank 
 as it was being drawn in, and fell in the water; 
 A rope was tossed to him, and by the aid of Sis 
 and Abe Bolton he was pulled on board, where he 
 sank, almost exhausted, on the boiler deck. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 SHILOH.* 
 
 A FEW days after the fight at Belmont, Mark 
 Stevens was seized with a lingering fever and, for 
 months, lay in the hospital at Cairo. Then he 
 went to his home in Boone County, Kentucky, on 
 a sick furlough, where he remained through the 
 months of January and February, and until the 
 middle of March, 1S62. He kept posted on army 
 movements, and read in the newspapers how 
 Commodore Foote, on February 6, IS 52. captured 
 Fort Henry on the Tennessee. On the Sth, Burn- 
 side captured some forts and valuable supplies on 
 Roanoke Island. On the 12th, General Grant and 
 some gunboats invested Fort Donelson. On 13th, 
 General Curtis advanced to Springfield, Missouri. 
 The Confederates lost Nashville, Tennessee, on the 
 23d of February, and, on the 27th, abandoned 
 Columbus. March also proved a memorable 
 
 *For the personal adventures of Mark Stevens in this 
 chapter tlie author is indebted to O. C. Snider, late of 
 Company H, 6th Iowa Infantry Volunteers. 
 233 
 
234 UNION. 
 
 month. On the 2d, the Union gunboats captured 
 a battery at a place called Pittsburg Landing on 
 the Tennessee On the 6th and 8th, Curtis fought 
 the combined forces of Price and McCullough at 
 Pea Ridge, defeating them. McCullough was 
 among 'the Confederate slain. On the 9th, the 
 Monitor defeated the terrible rebel ram, the Merri- 
 mac, and forever silenced the dread of the Atlantic 
 coast. On the 13th, the Confederates evacuated 
 New Madrid, Mo. ; on the l-ith, General Burnside 
 captured New Berne, North Carolina. On the 
 23d a battle was fought at Winchester, Virginia, 
 in which the southern forces were defeated. On 
 the 28th. three thousand Union troops had an un- 
 successful engagement with about eleven hundred 
 Texans at Union Branch, New Mexico. 
 
 These were the chief stirring events that had 
 transpired while Mark was away from camp. 
 When he started, March loth, to his regiment, he 
 could not at first locate them. On the restora- 
 tion of General Grant to the immediate command 
 of the troops, and his arrival at Savannah, March 
 17. 1862. he converted an expeditionary encamp- 
 ment, at Pittsburg Landing, into rendezvous of 
 the armies of the Cumberland and Ohio, by plac- 
 ing his whole force on the west side of the river, 
 where Sherman with his division alread}^ was. No 
 rule of military art or common expediency could 
 
DUEL BETWEEN THE •MuMTcii; ' AND "MERRIMAC." 
 
SHILOH. 235 
 
 justify such an arrangement. In fact it was Gen- 
 eral Grant's greatest blunder, and proves that, 
 great military hero as he was, his education was 
 not complete. A militia captain of this day who 
 should be guilty of such a blunder ought to be 
 court-martialled for incompetency. An invading 
 army may, as a preliminary step, throw an inferior 
 force in advance upon the enemy's coast, or across 
 an intervening river, to secure a harbor or other 
 necessary foothold; but, in such a case, a good 
 general would see that his advanced force was 
 securely entrenched. Pittsburg Landing was in 
 no sense a point of such necessity or desirability 
 as to require any risk, or any great expenditure of 
 means for its occupation. General Grant, for some 
 unknown reason, had his headquarters at Savan- 
 nah, leaving Sherman with some sort of control at 
 Pittsburg Landing. 
 
 The official reports of the battle of Shiloh are 
 so conflicting that, from the commander-in-chief 
 down to the lowest officer who has made a report, 
 one can hardly find two that agree. General 
 Grant's own report shows that he was at Savannah, 
 about ten or twelve miles away, when the battle 
 began. The conflict must have raged three or four 
 hours before he was within hearing of it. General 
 Grant censures General Lew Wallace for not obey- 
 ing his orders to join him. and belittles the services 
 
236 UNION. 
 
 of Buell. General Biiell, on the other hand, in an 
 article in the March, 1886, number of the Century 
 31agazine, shows how the aro-ival of General Nelson 
 with the head of his division, saved the army from 
 being crushed. General Grant, in his memoirs, 
 volume I., page 347, infers that it was night that 
 saved his army from suffering defeat, and that 
 Buell and Wallace had little to do with it. Some 
 one made a blunder at Shiloh; and, but for the 
 gunboats, Buell,Wallace and night, General Grant's 
 brave army would have been utterl3^ destroyed. 
 In fact, the first day's fight must be regarded as a 
 Union defeat. When victories are won, it is com- 
 mon to give all credit to the commander of the 
 army, although he might not have been near 
 enough to see an enemy, or hear the whistle of a 
 bullet; and where mistakes are made, the com- 
 manding officer should be made to bear the blame. 
 The disposition of troops would be a discredit to a 
 three months' volunteer colonel. General Benja- 
 min M. Prentiss, with a brigade of raw troops, 
 but few of whom had ever been under fire, was 
 placed on the frontier. There they lay almost two 
 weeks, while Johnson and Beauregard were care- 
 fully advancing on them. Not a ditch was dug, 
 not a tree felled for protection. If they were sur- 
 prised at Shiloh, neither General Grant nor his 
 friends can offer any excuse for such surprise. 
 
SHILOH. 237 
 
 They should have sent scouting and reconnoitring 
 parties out ; and known that an army was advanc- 
 ing. If they were not surprised, if General Grant 
 knew of the near proximity of a large Confederate 
 army, why was he ten or twelve miles away when 
 his forces were attacked? Why did he not have 
 his troops entrenched, and so distributed that they 
 should not be compelled to fall back every time 
 their cartridge boxes were empty? The general" s 
 only possible excuse was that he was not certain 
 whether the attack would be made at Pittsburg, or 
 Crump's Landing. In such a dilemma he would, 
 in later years, have entrenched at both places. 
 
 Instead of admitting his mistake, as Washington 
 would have done, General Grant falls to scolding 
 Wallace and Buell, the men who ultimately saved 
 his army from ruin. 
 
 The real hero of Shiloh was the man who carried 
 the knapsack and not the one who wore the shoul- 
 der straps. The privates deserved the glory, the 
 officers none, or little. The officer most worthy 
 of praise has always received least. That man 
 was Brigadier-General Benjamin M. Prentiss of 
 volunteers. General Prentiss being a volunteer, 
 as is usual, the regular army officers sought to 
 make him the scapegoat for all the blunders. He 
 was on the left of Sherman, and on the morning 
 of the 6th, in the advance. General Prentiss be- 
 
238 UNION. 
 
 lieved that there was a large force in their advance, 
 and recommended the necessity of entrenching; 
 but as Braddock replied to Washington, that a 
 Provincial Colonel could not teach one of His Maj- 
 esty's officers the art of war, so the West Pointers 
 thought the opinions of " Ben Prentiss" not worth 
 considering. After the battle was fought and he 
 and his brigade, with a part of W. H. L. Wal- 
 lace's, became sacrifices for the army, they sought 
 to malign him, by circulating the report that he 
 was captured early in the morning. He was the 
 only general officer that was not surprised. Who- 
 ever may have been expecting a fight, General 
 Grant was not; for on the 5th, he was at Nelson's 
 camp, and said he would send the boats for his 
 division, " Monday or Tuesday, or some time early 
 in the week. " He added : " There will be no fight 
 at Pittsburg Landing; we will have to go to 
 Corinth where the rebels are fortified." 
 
 General Prentiss, volunteer as he was, believed 
 there was danger, and his vigilance gave first 
 warning of it. The two or three days' skirmishing 
 told him something, even if it did not a West 
 Pointers. On Sunday morning, April 6, 18G2, at 
 about three o'clock, he sent Colonel David H. 
 Moore, of the 21st Missouri Infantry volunteers, 
 with five companies to strengthen the picket guard. 
 On the way. Colonel Moore met the picket guard 
 
SHILOH 239 
 
 as it was being driven in by the enemy; and, 
 forming his regiment, he advanced and began to 
 open fire on the enem3^ The steadily increasing 
 roar of musketry and artillery swelled in volume: 
 but the little band of brave Missourians held their 
 ground, until Colonel Moore's leg was shattered 
 by a grapeshot, his horse killed under him, and his 
 brave little baud flanked on both sides. Then 
 they began to fall back, fighting as they ran. 
 
 General Prentiss' brigade was under arms and 
 waiting when the remnant of Colonel Moore's 
 brave band came in. According to the accounts 
 of both Grant and Buell, General Prentiss' raw 
 troops fought like veterans. They would not run 
 to the river as many of the veterans did. General 
 Buell says : " General Prentiss })romptly formed his 
 division (doubtless meaning brigade) at the first 
 news from the front, and moved a quarter of a 
 mile in advance of his camp, where he was attacked 
 before Sherman was under arms. " 
 
 But enough of wrangling and dispute among 
 men thirsting for glory. We find it difficult to 
 believe all that either side has said, and think it 
 best to listen for once to men who fought the bat- 
 tle, the " rank and file. " " Old Eank-and-File" is 
 seldom allowed to speak. It is supposed that he 
 knows little about battles, and has less to do with 
 fighting them ; and it is only when the " big bugs" 
 
240 UNION. 
 
 fall out, and cannot agree in the division of glory 
 and spoils, that " Eank-and-File" gets a hearing. 
 As he fought the battle of Shiloh, we will listen 
 to his account of it. Some critics suggested a few 
 years ago, when the Century Magazine was publish- 
 ing its excellent series of war-sketches, that the 
 private soldiers should not be permitted to give 
 their views, that battles were fought at headquar- 
 ters, and not in the ranks. Headquarters were at 
 Savannah on this day, and there was no battle 
 fought there ; so we can be excused for giving the 
 battle as a private saw- it. 
 
 Mark Stevens reached Shiloh on March 29th, 
 and went at once to his regiment, which was in 
 Sherman's division in the front, two or three miles 
 out from the river. On the way from the river to 
 the camp, he noticed that the land was nearly level, 
 or slightly undulating, covered with forests, with 
 an occasional cleared field. He passed the log 
 house known as Shiloh Church, from which the 
 conflict took its name. 
 
 Reaching his company, Mark was warmly wel- 
 comed by his companions. Bill Simms, lighting 
 his pipe, declared that he was as proud to see him 
 as a comrade who once served with him under 
 " Gineral Percy." Sis rubbed his smooth chin 
 and grinned, while Abe Bolton began to narrate 
 their service at Donelson, frequently interrupted 
 
SHILOH. 241 
 
 by Bill, who had had a similar experience while 
 under " Gineral Percy." 
 
 Mark was not yet strong, and was exempted 
 from picket duty. All day long occasional shots 
 had been fired, and sometimes a volley was heard 
 in the distance. 
 
 " I wonder why them infernal pickets air fight- 
 in'?" Nick nervously asked. 
 
 " Jist for the fun of it," Bill answered, lighting 
 his pipe. 
 
 Sis came in from the picket line, and showed a 
 musket ball half buried in the stock of his gun. 
 
 " Who did that?" asked Nick. 
 
 " A Johnny reb," answered Sis. " Two o' th' 
 boys were playin' keards and blamed if they didn't 
 shoot one's fingers off." 
 
 "And spiled his hand," put in Bill. 
 
 Shortly after this, Mark and Sis went down to 
 the sutler's tent to make some purchases. The 
 sutler's name was L. M. Blakeley. He had grown 
 a trifle nervous, and when he and his assistant, a 
 negro called Dock, were alone, he cursed the offi- 
 cers from Grant to corporal for incompetency. 
 
 " I'll bet. Dock, we git licked like thunder right 
 here," Blakeley declared. When Sis and Mark 
 approached the sutler's tent, he asked: 
 
 " Wall, boys, what news in front? Have ye been 
 on picket, Sis?" 
 16 
 
•243 UNION. 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 " Will there be a fight?" 
 
 " Yes; ye kin look for it right soon." 
 
 " Why, I heard Gineral Grant say they wouldn't 
 dare figlit us. " 
 
 " He'll find he is mistaken before this time to- 
 morrow," Sis answered. 
 
 As they returned to their quarters, Mark asked: 
 
 " Sis, do you really think there is going to be a 
 fight?" 
 
 " I do ; I tell you we'll have it before two days. " 
 
 Mark spent the day in lying about camp, reading 
 a novel. At taps he turned in and went to sleej). 
 He remembered that just before closing his ej^es, 
 he heard distant firing a mile or two away, and he 
 entertained a vague suspicion that the pickets were 
 shooting at somebody, or being shot, he was not 
 certain which. Then he closed his eyes and went 
 to sleep. 
 
 Mark never had sweeter sleep. His dreams 
 were clear, distinct and pleasant. He was once 
 more with Elsie Cole, roaming through the flowery 
 plains of Florida. They walked hand in hand 
 with the confidence of children and the affection of 
 lovers. That great load which had been bowing 
 him down, had roHed away, — that skeleton in the 
 closet was forever gone, and he was free to love, 
 woo and win. 
 
* SHILOH. 243 
 
 At two, he was parti all}' roused by one of the 
 pickets coming in off duty. As he unbuckled his 
 belt and laid his accoutrements awaj", he casually 
 remarked m answer to some question which Mark 
 did not hear: 
 
 " We'll have h — 1 afore mornin' !" 
 
 The tired soldiers paid such little heed to the 
 remark, that nearly all sunk into profound slum- 
 ber a moment later. Mark had been asleep about 
 two hours longer, when he was awakened by 
 some one shaking his shoulder, and heard the voice 
 of the orderly sergeant saying: 
 
 " Hurr}^ up, boys, dress and fall in!" 
 
 Some one had lighted a candle in the tent, and 
 Mark, glancing at his watch, saw that it was four 
 o'clock. With the aid of Sis, he found his gun 
 and accoutrements. 
 
 " Is your box full of cartridges?" Sis asked. 
 
 " Yes, I have forty rounds. " 
 
 "That'll be more'n we need," some one boast- 
 ingly put in. " They will run after the third 
 round. " 
 
 The men were hurriedly buckling on belts and 
 adjustmg straps over their shoulders. When 
 Mark left the tent, he found Captain Hawk and 
 his lieutenants forming their line directl}' in front 
 of their tents, about a hundred paces from them. 
 Mark took his place in the line, and then they 
 
244 UNION. * 
 
 stood at a parade rest, listening for some sound of 
 the enemy. Only the wailing of the night wind, 
 like some lost spirit as it sighed through the tree 
 tops, could be heard. Mark found his imagina- 
 tion grown active, and the effect it had on his 
 nerves no one can understand, save those who have 
 gone through similar experiences. He imagined 
 every snapping of a twig an enemy. He could 
 not determine whether there were skirmishers or a 
 picket line in front, and sometimes was quite sure 
 he heard a line of battle advancing. At times he 
 shivered with mingled dread and cold. The 
 hours wore on, daylight came, and thej' were or- 
 dered to stack arms and get breakfast. 
 
 "Keep 3-our accoutrements on," said Captain 
 Hawk. " You may have to jump to your line at 
 any moment. " Mark went to the rear of the tent 
 where there was a barrel of water, filled his can- 
 teen and, dipping out a basin full, washed his 
 hands and face. By the time he had completed 
 his toilet, breakfast was ready, and he sat down 
 with his mess to eat it. 
 
 During the meal, they heard a steady noise, left 
 in front, which gradually drew nearer and swelled 
 into a continuous roar. This was the attack on 
 General Prentiss' advance. Mark had just finished 
 his breakfast and was wiping his mouth with his 
 handkerchief, wlien the drums sounded the lone; roll. 
 
SHILOH. 245 
 
 "Fall in! Fall in!" 
 
 The terrible command rang out along the entire 
 line. He who has never heard the long roll on 
 the battle field, can form but slight conception of 
 the sensations it produces. It is the dread alarm 
 which summons men forth to die. 
 
 In three or four seconds, the entire division was 
 in line and, taking arms, stood ready and waiting. 
 By this time the roar of l)attle was growing heavier 
 and heavier, and the thunder of cannon was shak- 
 ing the earth. Mark heard one of the file closers 
 say: 
 
 " Old Ben Prentiss is havin' it hot and heavy 
 over there. " 
 
 The officers were hurrying up and down the 
 ranks, trying to conceal their own anxieties by 
 saying : 
 
 " Keep cool, boys, — keep cool, — take it easy, 
 and wait until they are near enough to see them, 
 and make your shots sure. " 
 
 How long the line stood thus with the wild 
 storm of battle raging over where Prentiss' brigade 
 was fighting forty thousand Confederates, Mark 
 never knew ; but it seemed hours. 
 
 So ill formed were the troops, that there were 
 wide gaps between the divisions. As they stood 
 in front of their tents listening t(^ the trembling 
 thunder, the rolling storm sweeping down on Pren- 
 
246 UNION. 
 
 tiss, a liorseman suddenl}' appeared from their left, 
 spurring at full speed toward a group of officers 
 already in consultation. It proved to be .an orderly 
 with dispatches from some one. 
 
 A few moments later, the command rang alons; 
 the line. 
 
 "Carry arms!— left face!" 
 
 In a moment the entire line had faced to the 
 left. "Trail arms! Forward, double quick — 
 march!" 
 
 Away they went at full speed, running in a south- 
 east direction, toward the storm. All the while 
 the battle was approaching, and from the woods 
 on their right, the rebel skirmishers were firin"; 
 through their ranks. Lieutenant Guinn suddenly 
 uttered a groan and grasped his leg m his hraids. 
 It had been shattered by a bullet. He was the 
 first man Mark Stevens saw struck that day. 
 Three of his comrades took him up and hurried 
 him from the Held. 
 
 By this time, all was wild confusion. The up- 
 roar was tremendous. On every side came the 
 peals of cannon, the crack of musketry, while the 
 earth trembled beneath the explosion of shells. 
 
 The sutler, L. M. Blakeley, took fright at first 
 shock of battle and ran, leaving all his stores. 
 Ilis negro assistant " Dock" harnessed the mules 
 amid the flying bullets, loaded the w^agon to its 
 
SHILOH. 24T 
 
 fullest capacity, and drove off at a gallop toward 
 the river amid the screaming shells and whizzing 
 bullets. 
 
 As the regiment was running left oblicjue, double 
 quick, Mark heard a crashing, tearing and snort- 
 ing of horses, and oaths of drivers, and turning his 
 eyes in that direction, saw^ a battery hopelessly 
 tangled up in the l)ushes and trees. 
 
 During the time they were changing position, 
 thev paid no attention to the shots of the enemy, 
 which whistled like hail through their ranks. 
 
 "Halt!" 
 
 They had run about a mile when this command 
 came. They obeyed, and changed front, march- 
 ing by the right flank forward, and formed a line 
 of battle. Through the opening in the wood, 
 Mark now saw the enemy not over two or three 
 hundred yards distant. The crashing of cannon 
 and falling of branches, cut oft' by the iron balls, 
 mi no-led with the roar of small arms, and continuous 
 yelling, made it seem as if pandemonium reigned. 
 
 Some one gave the command to charge; and 
 companies B and H, of the Sixth Iowa infantry, 
 with fixed bayonets charged the enemy. Ere they 
 had run a hundred paces, half of their number had 
 been shot down. In Company B, John Uphard 
 fell with a leg shattered by a musket ball. His 
 brother "Billy," who was a favorite in the regi- 
 
248 UNION. 
 
 ment, ran to his assistance, and was standing over 
 him to lift him up, when two bullets passed 
 through his body, and he fell dead on his wounded 
 brother. Companies H and B fell back to their 
 regimental line, and then there rang out along the 
 line, the command : 
 
 " Lie down, — down all !" 
 
 In a moment the men fell upon the ground, 
 firing and turning over on their backs to load. 
 The oft repeated command given by the petty offi- 
 cers, " Give 'em h — 1 1" rang along the line. 
 
 When they commenced shooting, the enemy's 
 fire slackened. On Mark's right. Captain White, 
 of an Iowa regiment, was killed by a shell. 
 
 As Mark could not shoot very well from the 
 ground, he crept to a tree near, and kneeling by 
 it, loaded and fired as rapidly as he could. In 
 the hurried formation or rapid march, Mark's com- 
 pany had become partially mixed with some Iowa 
 troop?. One of these, named Bill Spain, belong- 
 ing to Compan}' II, 0th Iowa Infantry volunteers, 
 was shot through the body and fell within a few 
 feet of Mark. He begged some one to cut off his 
 cartridge box, as it was hurting him. 
 
 " I will do it, as soon as I am out of cartridges, " 
 said another of the same company, named Orcinas 
 Snider, who standing behind a tree not ten feet 
 away, was loading and firing with marvellous 
 
SHILOH. 249 
 
 rapidity. Mark, moved by tlie cries of the fallen 
 Spain, went and got bis cartridge box, and again 
 liugged tbe tree. 
 
 Soon tbe bullets began flying all about bini, 
 and be discovered tbat tbey were knocking tbe 
 bark up in bis face. Glancing off to tbe left, 
 be saw tbat tbe enemy bad flanked bim and tbat 
 but few of bis comrades could be seen. Orders 
 bad been given to fall back, wbicli be bad not 
 beard. 
 
 At tbe rear was an open field of a few acres. 
 Most of tbe army bad retired beyond tbat. Grape- 
 shot, canister and musket balls were raking the 
 open field, and be dreaded to attempt to cross it. 
 
 Biting cartridges soon filled bis mouth with 
 powder, and provoked a thirst tbat was madden- 
 ing. There was a pile of logs at his right, where 
 tbey had been carried off tbe field to make a re- 
 view ground. He saw Dick Mattern, a musician, 
 Sis, and two or three others, behind the logs, and 
 halted with them to load and shoot a few more 
 rounds. He was reloading bis gun when Sis look- 
 ing up cried: 
 
 " Great Scott, look at tbe rebels!" Tbey were 
 flanking them on both sides, and tbe only show 
 now was to cross the open field, which was con- 
 tinually swept with grape, canister and musket 
 balls. Mark was already reeking with perspira- 
 
250 UNION. 
 
 tion, and the constant wiping his face witli his 
 powder covered hands had smeared it until he was 
 black as a negro. 
 
 Half a dozen or more started to run across the 
 field, and Mark saw two go down. A grapeshot 
 cut off the stock of his gun, and he threw the use- 
 less barrel away. A soldier was lying dead aljout 
 forty yards before him, his gun at his side. Mark 
 discovered that their guns were of the same cali- 
 bre, and he picked up the dead man's musket as 
 he ran. 
 
 He saw a tall man just in front of him, seem- 
 ingly outstripping the wind. Mark envied him 
 his long legs, yet they were not sufficient to save 
 him. The tall man suddenly tumbled head fore- 
 most on the ground, face downward. 
 
 "He stumbled, and is stunned by the fall," 
 Mark thought. 
 
 His course took him past the fallen man, and 
 he was about to call to him to get up, when he 
 discovered that the top of his head had been shot 
 away. 
 
 Mark felt a slight sting at his side, and some- 
 thing trickling down. At first he thought himseL" 
 wounded, but it proved to be that a bullet had 
 gone through his canteen. The same shot had 
 cut the string of his haversack, and he lost his 
 rations. 
 
SHILOH. 251 
 
 Dick Mattern ^ got across safe, tliongli a bullet 
 cut off the mouth -piece of. his cornet, and Sis 
 reached the woods beyond, unhurt. B}' this time 
 Mark was suffering so from thirst that he resolved 
 to drink at the first pool of water lie came to. re- 
 gardless of danger. He soon discovered a pool 
 twenty feet long by five wide, and ch-opping on 
 his hands and knees, thrust his face into the water, 
 until it almost came in at his ears and drank. 
 Having slaked Ihs thirst, he raised his head and 
 saw a dead man lying near the edge of the pool. 
 He had been sliot in the head, and the blood was 
 trickling down to the water's edge. 
 
 About one hundred yards from the pool, he 
 found the regiment. They had fallen back for 
 two reasons; first, they were out-flanked, and, 
 second, they were out of ammunition. So poorly 
 was the army managed, that they were out of am- 
 munition half the time. The want of cohesion and 
 concert of action in the Union ranks that day is 
 conspicuously indicated in the official reports. A 
 regiment was rarely ever overcome in front, but 
 fell back because the regiment or division on the 
 right or left had done so, and thus left its flank 
 exposed. It then continued its backward move- 
 ment until it was well under shelter, thus exposing 
 
 * Two or three years ago Dick Mattern was still living. 
 He was then a musical director in Chicago. 
 
252 UNION. 
 
 the flanks of its neighbor, who in turn also fell 
 back. Once in operation, tlie process repeats itself 
 indefinitel}^, sometimes step by step and again by 
 flight and rout. The out-flanking, so common at 
 Shi loll, could not be excused on the plea that 
 they had inferior commanders; but it was the 
 practical consequence of the absence of a common 
 head, and the want of judicious use of reserves to 
 counteract partial reverses, and preserve the front 
 of the battle. 
 
 In a short time after the regiment had made a 
 stand, it was again out of ammunition. Again 
 they were out-flanked and fell back. ■ They hugged 
 the swamp on their right, and had only their left 
 to fear. Another stand was made, and they fought 
 until after the sun had passed the meridian. By 
 this time their prospects of success seemed poor. 
 Again they were compelled to fall back. A 
 branch, cut from a tree hy a cannon ball, fell upon 
 Mark, knocked him senseless and broke his gun. 
 He recovered in time to join the regiment. He 
 had no trouble now to find another gun, for the 
 field was strewn with arms of all kinds. 
 
 It was late in the day when the regiment made 
 its last stand. By this time regimental organiza- 
 tions were almost wholly lost, and Mark found 
 himself mixed up with Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio 
 soldiers. The enemy could be seen on the hill 
 
SHILOH. 253 
 
 above them, bringing up batteries and siege guns. 
 Cannon roared, and storms of grapesliot and canis- 
 ter swept through their ranks ; but the soldiers 
 held their ground. Few commands were given, 
 and for a long time there seemed to be no one to 
 command. The men acted on impulse in concert. 
 Three times thej repelled the fierce charges of the 
 enemy ; but the day was well nigh spent, and so 
 was the fury of the attack. Far on their left could 
 be heard the roar of Webster's artillery, and the 
 cannon from the gunboats, Tyler and Lexington. 
 Bugles sounded, wild cheers rose on the air. Buell 
 had come, and they, were saved. Nelson, leading 
 Buell 's advance, had crossed the Tennessee, and 
 regiment after regiment quickly formed and hur- 
 ried to the front. The roar of battle was momen- 
 tarily renewed and the Confederates fell back, re- 
 lieving the exhausted soldiers who had fought 
 since early morning. The storm of battle retired, 
 leaving the officers and men huddled together in an 
 indiscriminate mass. It was some hours before 
 they began to re-form and re -organize. 
 
 Darkness came quickly over the scene, and the 
 woods having been fired by the explosion of shells, 
 a terrible conflagration threatened to add to the 
 other horrors. About ten o'clock that night, a 
 merciful Providence drenched the field with pour- 
 ing rain, which lightened the suffering of many a 
 
254 UNION. 
 
 wounded hero, and extinguished the fire which 
 threatened him with a terrible death. Mark 
 thought it the darkest night he had ever seen. The 
 air was filled with groans and cries of the wounded. 
 Part of the time he stood up, and a part of the 
 time lay down in the mud and rain ; but he could 
 not sleep. 
 
 About two o'clock in the morning. General 
 Grant came to within a few rods of him and lay 
 down on a board to sleep or rest. By this time 
 the rain had ceased, falling in torrents, though 
 all night long it came in a fine mist. 
 
 Mark spent the night wandering up and down 
 the line for food. He was hungry after the long 
 hard fight, and had lost his rations. It was broad 
 day before he found Sis, who had some " soft 
 bread" and raw bacon, which he divided with him, 
 and which they ate without cooking. It was still 
 drizzling when morning came. 
 
 The bugle sounded, they fell in, and the roll 
 was called. Many a gallant fellow failed to answer 
 to his name. Abe Bolton was dead, Nick Marks 
 and Chris Creps both mortally wounded. But 
 Bill Simms answered while he filled his pipe, and 
 muttered, " I swear this beats anything I ever 
 saw with Gineral Percy." 
 
 Shortly after roll call, they began to advance. 
 But Buell's army was now doing the work. The 
 
SHILOH. 255 
 
 roar of guns told that the battle was still stub- 
 born. The Confederates, overwhelmed by num- 
 bers, retreated from the field, leaving Buell in 
 possession. Blakeley came back and set up his 
 sutler's shop, and Mark and Sis bought some food ; 
 then helped gather up the dead and wounded, after 
 which came a short season of rest. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ALEC AND MARK. 
 
 For some time after the battle of Shiloh, Gen- 
 eral Grant was under a cloud. Various unjust 
 charges were laid at his door. Under all the abuse 
 heaped upon him, General Grant had a firm friend 
 in President Lincoln, and though for awhile he re- 
 mained under the cloud, in time he came out into 
 the sunshine of almost unparalleled popularity. 
 General Halleck superseded Grant, and, on May 
 10th,. captured Island Number Ten, a Confederate 
 stronghold, which greatly encouraged the loyal 
 people in the North and South. 
 
 The summer passed with alternating success and 
 disaster to the Union cause. At times freedom's 
 lamp seemed burning low, and loyal hearts were 
 almost ready to despair. 
 
 One afternoon, just before the battle of luka, 
 Mississippi, Mark Stevens was on one of the extreme 
 outposts. It began to rain. There was a lull m 
 hostilities just then, and there was a sort of tacit 
 understanding between opposing pickets that there 
 should be no firing. Mark's post was under a 
 256 
 
ALEC AND MABK. 257 
 
 dead, leafless tree, with a screen of bushes in front. 
 Having no poncho to keep him dry, and knowing 
 it would be over an hour before he would be re- 
 lieved, he advanced at " left oblique" about forty 
 paces to a large tree which promised shelter. He 
 had stood with his back to the trunk for ten or fif- 
 teen minutes listening to the rain pattering on the 
 leafy roof above him, when he thought he heard a 
 noise on the other side. Pigs were often met with 
 in the woods on their front, and as Mark turned 
 and carefully poked his head out from behind the 
 trunk he fully expected to see one. What he did 
 see was a man, who poked his head out to look 
 around on Mark's side. It w^as a sun-browned 
 face covered with a scraggy beard, surmounted by 
 an old, drab-colored hat, with a narrow rim and 
 peaked crown. Below the face was the collar of 
 the gray coat of a Confederate. The tree was only 
 about three feet through, and their faces were 
 within a foot of each other. Mark knew at a 
 glance that he was a Confederate, and the other 
 seemed to realize that he was a United States sol- 
 dier. They gazed at each other for half a minute, 
 and then the man in gray clothes, in a hoarse, un- 
 natural voice, asked : 
 
 "That you, Yank?" 
 
 "Yes; that you, Johnny?" asked Mark in a 
 voice made husk}' by surprise. 
 17 
 
258 UNION. 
 
 " Thought you was hogs. " 
 
 "So did I." 
 
 " What you going to do about it?" 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " That suits me. Come round here on m}- drj^ 
 spot." 
 
 Without any hesitation, Mark Stevens complied. 
 There was something frank and lionest in that 
 sunbrowned bearded face and the voice, which, liice 
 his own, was hoarse from sleeping on the ground, 
 exposed to all sorts of weather. There was some- 
 thing strangely familiar in l)otli voice and face. 
 
 He came round to where the rebel was, and for 
 a moment they stood gazing at each other in amaze- 
 ment. Then, droppiiig muskets to the earth, they 
 cried : 
 
 '•Mark!" 
 
 "Alec!" 
 
 Next moment they were clasped in each other's 
 arms, tears streaming down their cheeks. It 
 might seem foolish and unmanly for those great, 
 bearded men to cry like children; but the lieart of 
 the bravest soldier is tender, if his trade is cruel. 
 After the first tempest of emotion had passed away, 
 they sat down side by side alternately laughing 
 and crying. Alec was first to speak. He said: 
 
 " Mark, are 3'ou a soldier or an officer?" 
 
 " Only a private, Alec." 
 
"That you, Yank?" 
 
260 UNION. 
 
 "So am I." 
 
 " I enlisted as a private. " 
 
 " So did I, and I have not gone back any, nor 
 have I gone forward. I have been at a standstill. 
 Promotions from the ranks come precious slow. 
 They have flown all around me, and sometimes I 
 can't see why they missed me. I tell you, Mark, 
 it is in the army just like in everything else; if a 
 fellow gets caught in the current, he goes flying 
 on to success. If he don't, he has a hard time of 
 it. Why, there are some fellows who went right 
 up from captain to general, who don't know any 
 more than I do; but they were in the swim, and 
 I was left out. I think that fate has put her 
 thumb on me to hold me down. Then I don't 
 care. I am not fighting for glory or fame, and the 
 fact is I am sometimes so infernally befuddled that 
 I don't know what I am fighting for. Mark, you 
 may not believe it, but the other night as I lay on 
 picket line, and heard your bands playing the old 
 'Star Spangled Banner,' some kind of a weakness 
 came over me, and I cried like a baby; I couldn't 
 help it. Once, wdien I saw the head of your col- 
 umn marching, and caught sight of those glorious 
 old Stars and Stripes, under which I was born and 
 used to make so many Fourth of July speeches, I 
 took off my hat and began to cheer. My lieuten- 
 ant grabbed me by the shoulders and asked : 
 
ALEC AND 3IARK. 261 
 
 " "What the d — 1 are you cheering for?' 
 
 "It's the old flag. See, it's the old flag!" I 
 cried, pointing to your banner. The officer did 
 not like it one bit, and he shoved me down the 
 road saying: 
 
 " 'You fool, if you don't want to be killed or 
 captured, you had better turn your back on the 
 old flag, and skeedaddle!' 
 
 " Then I remembered, Mark, that that old ban- 
 ner, that pretty banner under which my great- 
 grandfather fought with Washington, and my 
 grandfather fought under at Lundj-'s Lane, was 
 my flag no longer, and I shed tears. Oh. Mark! 
 this cussed war is just killing all of us. It makes 
 brothers hate brothers. " 
 
 " It is an unfortunate war, Alec. " 
 
 " I believe the South were fools to secede. The 
 North couldn't have got their niggers. Now 
 they'll have 'em as sure as guns made of iron. 
 The impudent black cusses are alread}- getting un- 
 bearable. I wish they were all in Africa." 
 
 Alec ran on in his usual strain for some time, 
 and Mark was unable to get in a word, while there 
 was so much he wished to talk about. He wanted 
 to know when Alec was transferred from the eastern 
 to the western army. 
 
 "Oh, yes; well, you see it was when General 
 Beauregard was sent over to this country that I 
 
263 UNION. 
 
 came. They sent several of his old regiments with 
 him, and mine among the others. Say, Mark, do 
 you have any coffee in your camp?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Great guns ! I wish 3'ou had brought some. " 
 
 " Alec, if I had known that I was going to meet 
 you, I would have filled my pockets. You poor 
 boys must fare badly." 
 
 " Fare badly is no name for it, Mark. Why, I 
 tell you, we live on corn pone and sorghum half 
 the time. We marched to Shiloh and fought two 
 days on less than half rations. Great goodness, it 
 is no wonder that we were whipped. A spoonful 
 of rice often makes a meal, and I have lived two 
 days on an ear of raw corn. We have no money, 
 except Confederate shinplasters, so depreciated in 
 value that it takes twent3^-five dollars to buy the 
 commonest kind of a pair of shoes. " 
 
 " Don't your government furnish you with 
 clothes?" 
 
 " Sometimes, and sometimes we are compelled 
 to go barefooted. " 
 
 " Do you have no hard money ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 Mark drew from his pocket ten dollars in gold, 
 and some silver coin. Gold and silver were scarce 
 in both armies; but Mark had managed to get 
 some, and he gave all he had freely to Alec. 
 
ALEC AXD MARK. 263 
 
 "What! what! Mark, do you intend giving me 
 this money?" he asked, quite overcome. 
 
 " Yes. " 
 • " Gold and silver! where did you get it?" 
 
 " From liome; father sent it to me." 
 
 " Why, Mark, a handful of that would buy our 
 entire camp. No one there has seen as much gold 
 as this in a year. " 
 
 " Alec, I want to ask you about home." 
 
 "Well, Mark, last I heard from home, mother 
 and father were well and still living on the old 
 farm. My brother Geoi'ge was killed at Pensa- 
 cola." 
 
 " And your relatives in Charleston?" 
 
 " Dick Stevens went to England, and I heard 
 was on board the Confederate cruiser Alabama, 
 with Charles Cole, a cousin of his, and a brother 
 of Elsie Cole." 
 
 Mark was silent for a few moments. The vital 
 question had not been asked. How dared he ap- 
 proach a subject so much and yet so little to him? 
 
 " Alec, are you married?" 
 
 "Married? No. Why, do you think I look 
 like a married man? These times are Loo hard to 
 marry or think of giving in mai-riage. A countr}' 
 that's a military camp from one end to the other; 
 — a land that has for its chief diet rice and cotton- 
 seed ; where the masters are begging their niggers 
 
264 UNION. 
 
 to let them share their quarters with them, is too 
 poor to think of marrying. " 
 "Where is Elsie Cole?" 
 
 " I don't know, Mark. I last saw her in Rich' 
 mond." 
 
 " Is she the same determined little rebel?" 
 " Yes, yes, Elsie is Secesh through and through. 
 I never saw such a girl, Mark. She was raised in 
 ease and luxury like most of the girls of the South. 
 Life with them was a pleasant summer picnic, and 
 they never had a care; but the southern girls have 
 spirit, Mark, and when the war broke out all went 
 to work doing something for the southern cause. " 
 "Elsie, too?" 
 
 " Yes ; those pretty white fingers learned to 
 handle the needle. They were awkward at first, 
 but they soon came to manage it. " 
 
 " Alec, why did you not marry Elsie?" 
 " A good reason. I could never get her in the 
 notion. Whenever I began to mention the sub- 
 ject, or even approach it, she would just laugh at 
 me, and then I felt just like a fool. Why didn't 
 you marry her, Mark?" 
 
 Mark, shuddering, answered: 
 " Alec, I am a consummate villain." 
 " No, you are not. Why do you say you are? 
 You loved Elsie, and she loved you, and yet you 
 never proposed?" 
 
ALEC AND MARK. 265 
 
 " No, no, thank Heaven I never did. I tried 
 never to talk of love to her ; but in some of my 
 insane moments, I might have said something ap- 
 proximating the subject. " 
 
 Alec was silent a moment, as he punched the 
 point of his bayonet into a bit of rotten wood. 
 
 " And it was all on my account, Mark," he said. 
 " You did it all on my account; but you needn't. 
 Elsie don't care for me only as a sort of a conve- 
 nience to run errands and such like. " 
 
 " Alec, it was not on your account. No, you 
 make me too good, too noble to accredit such 
 action to your account, or an}^ regard I may have 
 for any one. I am miserabl}" selfish. I am 
 wretched." 
 
 " Well, Mark, on whose account was it? Why 
 didn't you propose?" 
 
 "I cannot tell." 
 
 "You loved Elsie?" 
 
 " Loved her. Heaven ! yes, I did ; I love her yet. 
 I would give every moment of life, every drop of 
 blood to make her happy; yet I was too foolish, — 
 too selfish to permit you to woo and win her. " 
 
 Shaking his head gravely. Alec answered: 
 
 " 'Twouldn't a done any good, Mark, not a bit. 
 She didn't care one bit for me, and she was never 
 happy unless she was making me feel just like a 
 fool. " 
 
266 UNION. 
 
 " Yet, but for me, she might have learned to 
 love you, Alec." 
 
 Alec sighed, and after giving two or three more 
 punches at the rotten wood with his bayonet, 
 answered : 
 
 " No, it wouldn't have done any good, Mark, 
 not a bit. Some other fellow would have taken 
 her from me. But, Mark, when I saw that she 
 loved you, and only liked me as an easy, good- 
 natured kind of a cuss, who would run errands for 
 her and be her nigger, I said, 'Let Mark go in 
 and win her, I won't interpose.' It was only 
 right. " 
 
 Alec Stevens, careless and jolly as he was, had 
 some excellent qualities. He was one of the few 
 who are willing to make martyrs of themselves for 
 their friends. The class to which he belonged is 
 very nearly extinct at this day. He was kindness, 
 gentleness and simplicity itself. Poor Alec was 
 never designed for a soldier; for there was nothing 
 cruel in his nature. He could not liurt a worm, 
 and though a harum-scarum fellow, with but little 
 apparent refinement, he was almost effeminate on 
 some subjects and had a great respect for the rights 
 of others. No child loved birds and llowers more 
 than he. To him they were emblems of innocence, 
 happiness and beauty, and he was in love with 
 nature. 
 
ALEC AND MARK. 267 
 
 "Yon don't know where Elsie is now?" Mark 
 asked. 
 
 " I heard about six months ago that she had 
 gone back to Charleston, though I have not seen 
 her for over a year. " 
 
 " Alec, did you ever hear her speak reproach- 
 fully of me?" 
 
 " No. " 
 
 " She knew I had gone to the Federal army?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And never even reproached me for it?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 Mark sighed and murmured: 
 
 " Oh ! would to God it had been different, or 
 that I had never seen her. " 
 
 '■ Well, Mark, you are the greatest mystery I 
 ever met. Why, you are worse than a quadratic 
 equation to solve. You love Elsie Cole, and I am 
 dead certain that she loves you. Now, why in the 
 name of Tom Walker's ghost don't you say so, 
 and marry her?" 
 
 " Alec, you don't know all." 
 
 "No; I've all along been impressed with the 
 notion that there are several things I am incapable 
 of comprehending, and you and Elsie are among 
 them. " 
 
 " You don't know after all. Alec, that my love 
 is returned. You have never heard her say so." 
 
268 UNION. 
 
 " No, and I wouldn't know it was so, even if I 
 had heard her say so; but, Mark, there are some 
 things that speak louder than words. " 
 
 "Actions?" 
 
 " Yes, and eyes, cheeks, faces, which turn red 
 and pale by turns. These tell a great deal more 
 than words do. " 
 
 Mark was silent, while Alec continued to thrust 
 his bayonet into the rotten wood. After a few 
 moments, he asked: 
 
 " Mark, how is all this going to end?" 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Blamed if I know either. " 
 
 " I wish it was over. " 
 
 " Well, Mark, there are thousands of people in 
 the same fix on our side. You don't know much 
 of the South now; it is changed; — oh, there is an 
 awful change. The great snow-banks of cotton 
 have disappeared, giving place to blackened ruins. 
 The good, old-fashioned country mansions are no 
 more. They have been burned down, or converted 
 into hospitals or stables. Why, few of the towns 
 throughout the South can boast of a church suit- 
 able to worship in. Even these sacred places have 
 been made into barracks, hospitals and stables. 
 I entered a church in Richmond a few months ago, 
 and what a change war had made of it! Nearly 
 all the pews had been split up for wood. The 
 
EVEN THESE SACRED PLACES HAVE BEEN MADE INTO BAll 
 
ALEC AND MARK. 269 
 
 doors of the vestibule were wide open. A com- 
 pany of cavalry was quartered there, and in one 
 corner was a pile of saddles, bridles and halters. 
 In another were carbines and swords; while sol- 
 diers were sitting or standing about in groups, 
 profaning the house of God with vulgar stories 
 and oaths. On the right, to the rear, was a man 
 kneading dough to bake bread for his mess in a 
 large cook stove, which had been set up in the 
 church, while in the gallery w^as a great black - 
 haired fellow, combing his head. 
 
 " All ornamentation had disappeared, and that 
 church, once the beauty and pride of the people 
 who worshipped there, was little more than a 
 dilapidated ruin. " 
 
 " Alec, terrible as this war is, I fear that it is 
 not half over. " 
 
 " Not half over ! Oh, heaven, Mark, I hope it is ! 
 We cannot stand this much longer, — I won't!" 
 
 " What are you going to do. Alec?" 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 Mark rose to his feet and said : 
 
 " Alec, it is about time for my relief to come. " 
 
 " Must you go, Mark?" 
 
 " Yes. When are you relieved?" 
 
 "It'll be an hour." 
 
 " I must not be found here when the corporal of 
 the guard comes with the relief." 
 
270 UNION. 
 
 " Mark, it's blamed hard to have von go away. 
 Say, Mark, if we meet in a fight, I believe I will 
 know you now; but I would not before." 
 
 " Nor would I have known you. " 
 
 " I'll shoot high, if you are in front." 
 
 " Alec, I would rather shoot myself than you." 
 
 " Same with me. If you never fall until by my 
 bullet, you'll die with old age or sickness." 
 
 Mark had risen to his feet, and grasped Alec's 
 hand. It had almost ceased drizzling, and the 
 sun which had been hidden by the clouds promised 
 to soon burst forth in all its glory and splendor. 
 As Alec saw it, he squeezed his cousin's hand and, 
 with strong emotion, said : 
 
 " Mark, maybe it will be so with our troubles. 
 The sun may break through, and our sorrows pass 
 away like a storm cloud, and leave the sun of hap- 
 piness shining upon us. " 
 
 " Let us hope so. Alec. I am going now. In 
 less than ten minutes I will be relieved. Stay by 
 this tree and don't let the picket who takes my place 
 see you. I know not who he may be, and some 
 of them are unscrupulous enough to shoot you." 
 
 "I'll lie low, Mark." 
 
 " If it should be a friend of mine on picket, I 
 shall tell him of you, and then you will be safe. 
 In that case I will tie a white handkerchief on the 
 point of my bayonet." 
 
ALEC AND MARK. 271 
 
 "All right, and I will let him alone." 
 
 The man sent to relieve Mark was Sis. Mark 
 knew he could trust him, and before he returned 
 to camp he said : 
 
 " Sis, do you see that large oak tree?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " On the other side of that tree I have a friend 
 with whom I have been talking for an hour. He 
 is a noble fellow, whom I love as a brother. You 
 must not know that he is there. " 
 
 " Is he a Johnny reb?" 
 
 "Yes; but my relative, my friend, my more 
 than brother. He will not harm you, and, what- 
 ever happens, do him no harm." 
 
 "I won't." 
 
 Mark tied a white handkerchief to the end of 
 his bayonet and went back to camp. Alec saw 
 him from behind the tree and knew that he was 
 safe from molestation. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE PRETTY SPY. 
 
 It is not the intention to make this volume a 
 history of marches and battles. Such a narrative 
 would consume too much s^jace and destroy the 
 unity of the story. The author aims to narrate 
 only such phases of the war as directly relate to 
 the characters in the story, and are essential to 
 the development of the plot. We must step aside 
 to note some very patent facts of the period, which 
 have a greater bearing on the story than may at 
 })resent seem. 
 
 It is a singular fact that, though England had 
 been sneering at the United States for half a cen- 
 tury because of the toleration of slavery, yet when 
 the South w^ent to war, she secretly, and, one 
 might almost say, openly espoused her cause. 
 It was not so much England's wish to perpetu- 
 ate slavery, as it was her great desire to wit- 
 ness the disruption of a country whose example 
 is a standing menace to monarchy. The Con- 
 federate government early in the struggle sent 
 372 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 273 
 
 diplomatic agents to Europe; but these proving 
 incompetent, they dispatched John M. Mason, 
 author of the Fugitive Slave act, and John Slidell. 
 They were captured on board a British vessel, the 
 Trent^ by an American war ship, the San Jacinto, 
 commanded by Captain Wilkes, and taken to Bos- 
 ton ; but, after some diplomatic correspondence of 
 a threatening nature, the United States govern- 
 ment was forced to give them up. 
 
 Early in 1862, the Confederate government was 
 changed from a " provisional" to a permanent one. 
 The war had been going on almost two years, be- 
 fore the thinking men of the Republican partv be- 
 gan to seriously consider the idea of the abolition 
 of slavery. Perhaps it would not have been car- 
 ried out then, had not Mr. Lincoln and his advisers 
 discovered that slavery gave the Confederate cause 
 its sinews of strength. It nurtured a producing 
 class that fed, b}^ its labor, the armies arraved 
 against the Republic; and onlj- a very small pro- 
 portion of that class were drawn from the pursuits 
 of agriculture to the camps. 
 
 It was not until this had become verified, that 
 the president of the United States and the loyal 
 people resolved to destroy the system. Mr. Lin- 
 coln proposed to give pecuniary aid to any State 
 government which might provide for the abolition 
 of slavery; but the interested friends of the insti- 
 18 
 
274 UNION. 
 
 tution refused to listen to any sort of compromise. 
 Congress proceeded to abolish slavery in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia, over which that body had di- 
 rect control; and gave the president discretionary 
 powers to declare the emancipation of the slaves in 
 States wherein insurrection existed. Finally, late 
 in September, 1862, President Lincoln issued a 
 proclamation in which he gave public notice that 
 it was his purpose to declare such emancipation on 
 the first day of January, 1863, to take effect im- 
 mediately wherever a state of insurrection might 
 then exist, sinless tJie offenders should lay doion their 
 arms. 
 
 This friendly warning, this forbearance to strike 
 the blow that was to free millions of bondsmen, 
 was treated by the slave holders with scorn ; sneered 
 at by them as an act of sheer impuissance. It 
 was compared to the " Pope's bull against the 
 comet; " and because of this menace, resistance 
 to the government was more rampant than e^'er. 
 It was evident that this warning would not be 
 effectual, and the President prepared a proclama- 
 tion of emancipation. It was submitted to his 
 cabinet and approved; and on the first of January, 
 1863, it was promulgated with the whole force of 
 the Republic — its army, its navy, and its judiciary, 
 its executive and legislative powers — back of it, to 
 enforce its provisions. The moral force of that 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 275 
 
 proclamation was tremendous. Bj its act, nearly 
 four million slav^es of African descent were set free. 
 From the hour of the promulgation of the procla- 
 mation of emancipation, the power of the enemies 
 of the government began to wane. The South has 
 hardly recovered her former prosperity since, and 
 will never again outstrip the North in wealth and 
 power. Slave labor made cotton king, and the 
 loss of slave labor dethroned the monarch. 
 
 But enough of philosophizing; let us return to 
 our stor}-. In the fierce battle of luka, won by 
 General Rosecrans, Mark Stevens, by personal 
 bravery, saved the regimental colors and the life 
 of his colonel, who mentioned him in his official 
 report. The second lieutenant, who had been ac- 
 cused of cowardice and dishonesty, resigned, to 
 save a trial by court-martial, and Mark, upon a 
 petition by the entire compan3\ was promoted over 
 all of the non-commissioned officers to fill the va- 
 canc}'. 
 
 Never did man feel ]irouder of his shoulder 
 straps. He determined, now that he had entered 
 that mysterious and aristocratic circle, " commis- 
 sioned officers," to retain his position if honesty, 
 industry and courage would do it. 
 
 The battle of luka was fought September 20, 
 1862, and General Rosecrans, who comm.anded the 
 army, fell back shortly after, to Corinth, to give 
 
276 UNION. 
 
 his army a little rest and be prepared to meet the 
 greater storm that was to come early in October. 
 
 Shortly after Rosecrans' army entered Corinth, 
 there appeared a young woman, scarce more than 
 a girl, very beautiful, refined and accomplished. 
 She played the piano, sang well, and soon became 
 a general favorite. She expressed much interest 
 in military movements and asked a great many 
 questions of the officers. She gave her name as 
 Miss Estella Mott from Tennessee, declared that 
 she was thoroughly loyal, and dared any one to 
 prove she was not. 
 
 This lovely creature, who was a mystery to all, 
 seemed to have no particular acquaintances in the 
 town. She excused her presence by saying she 
 had come to look for a brother, who belonged to a 
 loyal Tennessee regiment, and had been captured 
 by the rebels. She thought that he might have 
 been exchanged and sent to Corinth. 
 
 This very interesting 3'oung creature boarded at 
 the Corinth Hotel, the proprietor of which held 
 flexible views on politics. She became a great 
 favorite with many Union officers, and proved to 
 be an untiring coquette. 
 
 Major Micks, a gay bachelor of thirty-five or 
 forty, was thonglit to be the favorite of the blonde. 
 The Major discovered that she was M'ell educated 
 and did not talk, look, or act like a Tennessee 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 
 
 277 
 
 girl. She was bright and cheerful, all smiles and 
 animation, winning her way to every heart by her 
 subtle charms. When she asked Major Micks to 
 show her about the 
 works, he of course 
 assented. 
 
 "When can we 
 go?" slie asked. 
 
 " This very after- 
 noon I shall be off 
 dut}'," the major de- 
 clared. 
 
 " Oh, major, 1 shall 
 be so happy. I am 
 so interested in mili- 
 tar}^ matters," 
 
 Major Micks never 
 felt so happy as when, 
 with the beautiful 
 Estella Mott on his 
 arm, he started to go the rounds. Having the 
 password, he was admitted to everj' part of the 
 works, and took particular pains to explain every- 
 thing to her, and her interest in the matters seemed 
 only equalled by her admiration of the major. 
 
 " And those outworks, major, are your troops 
 going to occupy them?" she asked, glancing at 
 the outside rows of trenches, inside of which 
 
 "To FOOL THE Johnny Rebs?" 
 
278 UNION. 
 
 smaller works were being constructed by the en- 
 gineers. 
 
 " Oh, no, those are only a sham," the major an- 
 swered. 
 
 "To fool the Johnny Rebs?" she asked, with 
 an arch smile. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 She laughed a merry peal at the proposed trick, 
 and the major joined her. 
 
 " When do you expect an attack, major?" 
 
 " Almost any time. We are prepared for Price 
 and Van Dorn whenever they come. " 
 
 "Oh, are you?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " I suppose, if they knew it, they would not 
 come. " 
 
 " No doubt they already know it, but tliere are 
 some things they don't know." 
 
 "What are they?" 
 
 " They don't know our weak points." 
 
 Then, with a girl's iuquisitiveness, she asked: 
 
 " What are your weakest points?" 
 
 "Forts Robinette and Williams," answered the 
 major. " But we have no fears of their attacking 
 at these points. " 
 
 " Haven't you, really?" 
 
 "Oh, no." 
 
 So simple, so guileless, and so girlishly inquisi- 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. '279 
 
 tive was the fair Estella, that the major never 
 once dreamed she was aught than she seemed, a 
 beautiful Tennessee girl, loj^al to the core. Next 
 day. Colonel Grafton, of an Illinois regiment, 
 seemed the favorite of the fickle coquette. She 
 was in the colonel's society most of the time, ask- 
 ing him as many questions as she had asked the 
 major, and gaining very much valuable informa- 
 tion from personal observation. They were re- 
 turning to the hotel, when she esjjied a man across 
 the street in the uniform of a lieutenant. The 
 girl shrank back, clinging nervously to the colonel's 
 arm, while she gasped: 
 
 "Who is he, colonel?" 
 
 " The lieutenant?" 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 " That is Lieutenant Stevens of an Indiana regi- 
 ment, recently promoted from the ranks. " 
 
 She made no response. The colonel thought 
 her conduct rather peculiar, but gave it no thought 
 at the time, and a moment later, when they passed 
 out of sight of the lieutenant, she became the same 
 gay, prattling, charming, vivacious little creature 
 she had been before. 
 
 That night Mark Stevens was in his tent writing 
 some letters, when an officer entered and asked : 
 
 " Lieutenant Stevens, have you heard the latest?" 
 
 " No; are Price and Van Dorn coming?" 
 
280 UNION. 
 
 " Worse than that." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " A spy has been captured to-night. " 
 
 " A spy? Where?" 
 
 " At the Corinth Hotel. It seems she has heen 
 there for several days, flirting with the officers: 
 and one of Baker's secret service men, having his 
 suspicions roused, got on the trail and followed 
 her for two or three days, and to-night, caught 
 her. " 
 
 " Is she really a spy?" 
 
 " Yes, — no doubt of it. She was turned over 
 to our colonel." 
 
 Mark taking an indifferent interest in the matter 
 a.sked : 
 
 " Is the proof clear?" 
 
 " Not a doubt of it. She had made out a com- 
 plete map of the fort; had even written down some 
 of the information she had gained from some of 
 the officers; and, besides, Joe Putnam, of Com- 
 pany B, saw her in Van Dorn's camp when he was 
 there a prisoner. lie says she is related to Van 
 Dorn, a niece, cousin or something of the sort. 
 He recognized her the moment he set eyes on her, 
 and set Trotter at once on her trail. He caught 
 her just as she was about to skip with all her in- 
 formation." 
 
 " Surely, she has played her part well !" 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 281 
 
 " You are riglit she lias. She is as pretty as a 
 picture, and I don't blame those officers one bit 
 for falling in love with her. She is in a bad fix 
 now though; for, pretty as she is, she will hang 
 for this. " 
 
 With a momentary shudder, Mark dismissed the 
 pretty spy from his mind, and turning into his 
 bunk, was soon sleeping soundly. Next morning, 
 shortly after roll call, an orderly summoned Lieu- 
 tenant Stevens before the colonel. He found the 
 colonel, a stout, bald gentleman with a very large 
 face, and his hands in his pockets, looking very 
 much perplexed. 
 
 "Lieutenant," he said, "I have detailed you to 
 take four men and guard the new captive, the spy. 
 Confound this business! We can't confine her 
 with the men, for, spy though she is, she is, be- 
 yond question, a lady." 
 
 Guarding a woman was not a duty congenial to 
 an ambitious young officer, like Mark Stevens; 
 but he made no complaint. He was longing for 
 an opportunity to win honors, and what honors 
 could be won guarding a female? 
 
 " I want to impress on you, lieutenant, the neces- 
 sity of guarding the prisoner with the utmost care, " 
 said the colonel. " I hope that you fully appre- 
 ciate the importance of this prisoner, at the same 
 time remembering that she is a lady, who is so 
 
283 UMON. 
 
 full of secession, that she has forfeited her life for 
 what she calls patriotism." 
 
 Mark went from the headquarters of the colonel, 
 to the hotel where the sp}^ was to remain. Mr. 
 Trotter, the secret service agent, was at the door 
 of the prisoner. Mark handed him his order to 
 relieve the detective. 
 
 " Thank you, lieutenant, I am pleased to know 
 you. " Through the door, which was partially 
 ajar, Mark saw a slender, graceful girl reclining 
 cm a sofa, gazing from an open window. Her face 
 was from him, and he could only see that she had 
 golden hair, and a faultless form. But when he 
 spoke to Mr. Trotter, she suddenly turned so he 
 had a full view of her face. 
 
 It was Avell for Mark that he had his hand on 
 the door; had he not, he would have staggered 
 and betraj'ed his emotion. Stunned, confused and 
 bewildered as he was, he realized that he must 
 conceal everything from the keen eyes of the de- 
 tective. He averted his face for a moment to gain 
 strength. Mark still retained his presence of 
 mind, though in a bewildered sort of a way. In 
 five or six seconds, each of which was an age to 
 him, he had regained his composure, and turning 
 his back upon the prisoner said : 
 
 " Mr. Trotter, will you be kind enough to keep 
 watch until I select my guard? It is not every 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 283 
 
 one that can be entrusted with such a delicate 
 matter, you know. " 
 
 " Certainly, lieutenant; go and select your men, 
 and select those on whom you can rely." 
 
 Mark hurried away. He felt that to remain 
 longer he would betray himself. No clearly de- 
 fined plan had yet been formed in his mind. It 
 required time and careful deliberation to form a 
 plan. On reaching the street he hoped that fresh 
 air would revive him, but he staggered, and the 
 sun seemed to glimmer as if there were an eclipse. 
 He was forced to recall himself constantly to the 
 terrible present, to convince himself that it was 
 not all a horrible dream. 
 
 Nevertlieless, his mind was active and intuitively 
 planning. He knew that he must have four men 
 whom he could trust, and going to his company, 
 he selected Bill Simms, Sis, and two others, named 
 Collins and Bradford. 
 
 " Report at the Corinth Hotel in an hour," said 
 Mark. 
 
 "Are we to be quartered at th' hotel?" asked 
 Collins. 
 ■ "Yes." 
 
 " Wall, that's jolly good luck for us." 
 
 " You bet it is. I remember once when with 
 
 Gineral Percy " Mark did not wait to hear Bill 
 
 Simms" reminiscences, but hurried back to relieve 
 
284 UNION. 
 
 the secret service agent. Mr. Trotter was sitting 
 near tlie door of the room in which he ke|)t his 
 fair prisoner, reading a newspaper, and at the same 
 time keeping a lookout for her. By a great 
 effort, Mark had wholly regained his self-pos- 
 session, and there was not the quiver of a mus- 
 cle when he reported ready to relieve the detective. 
 
 " I am very glad you came, lieutenant, for I 
 have some very important matters on hand, " said 
 the detective, as he hurried away. 
 
 Mark remained at the door listening to his re- 
 treating footsteps until he was well below: then, 
 closing the door, he turned to the prisoner and said : 
 
 "Elsie!" 
 
 Coldly, proudly, and with supreme hauteur, she 
 raised her queenly head and gave him a stare. 
 
 "Elsie, what does this mean? Why are you 
 here a prisoner on such a charge?" 
 ■ Though much of the sunlight in her face had 
 been obscured by the clouds of sorrow which had 
 hovered over her, she was still beautiful. 
 
 "I suppose you are my jailer?" she remarked, 
 coldly. 
 
 " Not of my own choice. God knows, when de- 
 tailed for this service, I never dreamed who my 
 prisoner was to be." 
 
 " It is all the same. You consented to guard a 
 woman, and it may as well be me as any other." 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 385 
 
 " Elsie, — you surely do not know the duties of 
 a soldier. " 
 
 "I do, Lieutenant Stevens. Do your dvity!" 
 She turned coldly away to the window. Had she 
 rebuked him sharply, had she melted into tears and 
 sobs, she would not have wounded his feelings 
 half so much as by her indifference. 
 
 He closed the door and, sinking in a chair, 
 buried his head in his hands, and trembled as if in 
 an ague lit. Elsie Cole could be haughty, cold 
 and indifferent, so long as her captors were stern; 
 but when she witnessed the mental agony of Mark 
 Stevens, she was amazed, disnia3'ed, humiliated 
 and crushed. Kising, she hastened to his side, 
 and gently laying her hand on his shoulder said : 
 
 "Mark, — Mark — why this emotion? Surely it 
 is not on my account — I am not worth it!" 
 
 " Elsie!" he gasped in a hoarse whisper, " don't 
 you realize your situation?" 
 
 "1 do. I understand it fully!" she answered 
 in a voice that was strangely calm. " I have been 
 captured as a spy in the enemy's camp. The rule 
 of war is that a spy suffers death. I knew it 
 when I undertook the dangerous task. I was only 
 as patriotic to the poor, losing South as you have 
 been to the arrogant, haughty North. You staked 
 your life for your principles, and I staked my life 
 for mine. I lost. Am I any better than the 
 
286 UNION. 
 
 countless thousands of other brave men and women, 
 who are dying all over the South, for their native 
 land?" 
 
 Her voice was firm and calm, but had nothing 
 arrogant about it. She offered no censure, and 
 asked no favor. She had never seemed more 
 beautiful and angelic than now. 
 
 Mark went to the door, glanced out into the 
 hall to assure himself no one was listening, then 
 returned to the room, gently closing the door and 
 bolted it to secure them against intrusion. She 
 stood with her back to the window. Her face was 
 calm, unmoved, with all the sweet confidence of 
 innocence, which a consciousness of right gives. 
 With Mark it was different. When he returned, 
 she noticed his cheeks were wet with tears. A 
 look of pain swept over her fair face. 
 
 " Mark, don't give way like that. Remember 
 you are a man, and should be strong. If I can 
 bear it, you should." 
 
 "Elsie, Elsie!" he groaned, "may God have 
 mercy on the man who prompted you to this step. " 
 
 " Blame no one; I came of my own free will," 
 she answered. 
 
 " Did you not come at the request of General 
 Van Horn?" 
 
 "No," she quickly answered. "General Van 
 Dorn seriously objected to my coming at first, but, 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 287 
 
 when lie found me determined to serve my country 
 in the only manner I could, he assented." 
 
 " Why did you leave the East?" 
 
 " My father's regiment was sent to Atlanta, and 
 I came with him. When I reached this country, 
 I could not remain inactive when the South needed 
 my services. I could not fight in the ranks like a 
 man ; but I could do good service as a spy, and, 
 dangerous as the undertaking was, I resolved to 
 make the risk. I failed, and — " her voice fal- 
 tered a little — " I am willing to suffer." 
 
 " Do you know the fate of a spy, Elsie?" 
 
 " It is death. Not even the death of a soldier, 
 but a criminal ; but so many have suffered this 
 ignominious death, they have made it honorable." 
 
 " Elsie, you shall not!" Mark said with spirit. 
 
 " What do you mean?" 
 
 " You sliall not die. " 
 
 " Mark, remember that you are a soldier fighting 
 for your country." 
 
 " I will remember nothing of the sort. Wliat 
 is country, what is principle, what is honor, or 
 even the soul's salvation, compared to your life? 
 Elsie, you know I would give them all for you. " 
 
 " Mark, do you mean ?" she began. 
 
 " Hush — your fate is in my hands, and I can 
 and will save you." 
 
 " You forget, I am a spy. " 
 
288 UNION. 
 
 " I remember only that your life is in danger, 
 and tliat you shall be saved. " 
 
 " Would you betray your country?" 
 
 " To save you I would. If they wish to hang 
 me for a traitor they can do so. I have never 
 shirked duty. I have slept on the frozen ground, 
 faced storms of iron and leaden hail for my coun- 
 try ; I would do more for her, — I would give my 
 limbs one by one, my life inch by inch ; but I can- 
 not, I will not give you. You shall be saved." 
 
 It was her turn to become weak now, and she 
 trembled, while great tears stole down her cheeks. 
 
 " Mark, Mark ! I am not worth this !" she said. 
 "Don't place yourself in danger for me." 
 
 " I will! Listen, Elsie," he went on hurriedly. 
 " I enlisted because I loved the Union. I did not 
 enter the army as an officer, though I might have 
 organized a company, but enlisted as a private 
 soldier. There I soon learned the weight of the 
 iron heel of military despotism, which makes the 
 rank and tile underlings and machines. I longed 
 to get above a private, and by risking my life a 
 dozen times to almost certain death, I did so. No 
 man was ever prouder of his honors than I ; but 
 I will lose them all — will suffer court-martial and 
 an ignominious death — rather than you shall suffer 
 the fate of a spy." 
 
 " No, no, " she sobbed ; " please don't, Mark. I 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 289 
 
 might accept such a sacrifice from any other, but 
 from you, I cannot!" 
 
 " You must, Elsie. Hush, don"t interpose any 
 objection to my plan, or I shall go mad. Listen! 
 My men are coming. I can trust them. There 
 is not one of the four who would not lay down his 
 life for me. They will aid me, and you shall 
 escape. " 
 
 Quite overcome, she fell down upon the sofa 
 and wept. Elsie would not have shed a tear to 
 have saved herself from death at the stake, but the 
 thought of bringing all this woe on one so devoted 
 to her, was overwhelming. 
 
 The four guards came, and though they kept a 
 strict surveillance over her, she could not have 
 been treated with greater respect had they been 
 her own brothers. Only one was on guard, just 
 outside the door, at a time. The others had a 
 room set apart for them in the hotel. 
 
 "I am going away. Sis," said Mark to the 
 smooth-faced boy-soldier. " I leave you in charge 
 of the prisoner, see that she is not disturbed." 
 
 "I'll do et, leftenaut, " Sis answered, "cos I 
 know she's a leddy. I told Bill Simms thet she 
 wuz a leddy from 'way back." 
 
 Had Mark been severe, had he even confessed 
 his love for her, she would have remained defiant 
 and would have died scorning his proffered aid. 
 19 
 
290 UNION. 
 
 But when his actions revealed his solicitude, when 
 she witnessed his agony of spirit, when she real- 
 ized his determination to give position, honor, 
 country, and life itself, her proud spirit broke 
 down. Hatred, patriotism, mistaken principle, 
 all gave way before a storm of overpowering emo- 
 tion, which she was unable to explain, and with 
 her face buried in her hands, she wept bitterly. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mark Stevens was hurrying to the 
 headquarters of his colonel. Having saved his 
 life on two occasions, Mark had special claims on 
 his friendship. The young officer did a very 
 manly, yet a very dangerous thing. He told the 
 colonel all, and that officer listened in open-mouthed 
 amazement. Two hours were spent pleading, with 
 tears on bearded cheeks, for a life, — the life of the 
 being he loved. The colonel's duty made him 
 stubborn. His honor, his official pride, his patri- 
 otism, his ^ country's interest, were all arrayed 
 against this girl. She was a spy, a most dan- 
 gerous spy, and must be treated as such. AVhat 
 mattered it if she did come of the best family in 
 the South, and if Mark was in love with her? She 
 was still a spy. 
 
 At last, Mark, growing desperate in his appeal, 
 sublime in his oratory, and supreme in his agon3^ 
 declared : 
 
 " Colonel, forgive me, — I admire your ideas of 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 
 
 291 
 
 duty, but I love that woman, and I will live or 
 die with her!" The colonel was stunned by the 
 declaration, and Mark continued: "My life has 
 been offered on more than one battle-field. I 
 
 "My commission, my honor, my life you can take, but 
 you shall not have her !" 
 
 never shrank from duty before, but so help me 
 high heaven, I will save that girl or die with her. 
 My commission, my honor, my life you can take, 
 but you shall not have her ! " 
 
392 UNION. 
 
 The colonel bowed his head in his hands for 
 moment, and when he looked up his cheeks were 
 wet. After several efforts he finally said: 
 
 " Lieutenant, hang me if I wouldn't do the same 
 thing, and so would any other man, who had a spark 
 of manhood in his soul. Go now — I cant help you 
 — God may, and I believe he will, but I cannot." 
 
 Mark left the headquarters of the colonel, feel- 
 ing that he had, at least, one sympathetic friend. 
 That evening, while Sis was on duty in the hall, 
 two horses, ready saddled and bridled, might have 
 been seen tied in an alley, at the rear of the hotel. 
 Over each saddle a blanket was thrown, so that 
 the passer-by might not notice that one was a 
 lad3^'s saddle. Sis had had his suspicions roused, 
 and when Mark came to send him on an errand, 
 he hesitated. 
 
 " Leftenant, I am afraid you are going to do 
 wrong," he said. 
 
 " It is for me to command, and you to obey. " 
 
 Sis did not think he was in duty bound to obey 
 a superior whom he doubted as true to the cause 
 for whicli he was fighting, and he asked : 
 
 " What air them bosses doin' in the alley?" 
 
 " Ask no questions." 
 
 '■ Leftenant, I promised I would treat the pris- 
 oner ez a leddy, an' I'll do it; but I swear she 
 shan't escape." 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 293 
 
 " Sis. I am yoin- superior officer, and you must 
 obey ; and if any wrong is done you will not be 
 responsible for it. " 
 
 Sis liesitated. He realized that the army would 
 be ruined by the escape of the sp}', and his quick 
 perceptions had penetrated Mark's secret. For a 
 moment Mark Stevens was perplexed. Then he 
 wrote a message to the colonel which he folded 
 and gave to Sis, ordering him to deliver it at once. 
 
 Sis was too good a soldier to disobey. Placing 
 his gun against the wall, he hurried off, and when 
 he was gone, Mark took from under his coat a 
 long, dark cloak and veil, and entering the room 
 of the prisoner gave them to her, with instructions 
 to don them at once. When she had done so, 
 he told her to walk boldly down the stairs and oat 
 into the street. At a certain corner, she was to 
 wait until he came with the horses, for Sis' stub- 
 bornness and suspicions had, to a certain ex- 
 tent, disarranged his plans. She returned not a 
 word, but obeyed his instructions. When she 
 was gone, Mark locked her door, and called to Bill 
 Simms, who was in the room where the guard was 
 quartered, at the upper end of the hall, and bade 
 him guard the prisoner's door for two hours, and 
 to allow no one enter her room under any circum- 
 stances. Then Mark went leisurely downstairs, 
 to the alley where the horses were. He mounted 
 
294 UNIOX. 
 
 one and, leading the other, rode quickly to the dark 
 corner where she was to meet him. He suffered 
 much apprehension until he came in sight of the 
 spot, and found her waiting. 
 
 " We have not a moment to lose, " he whispered, 
 as he sprang from the saddle, and lifted her to her 
 seat. 
 
 Not a word was spoken as they galloped out of 
 town. Mark had the password, and they passed 
 the guards without any trouble. He suffered the 
 greatest anxiety and dread until the last picket 
 post was passed. They might not even yet be 
 safe, for, at any time, a pursuing party might be 
 sent to bring them back. Often they paused, list- 
 ening for some sounds of pursuit, and then pressed 
 on. 
 
 " Elsie, have you any friend near?" 
 
 " Mr. Myers lives only twelve miles away. His 
 wife is my father's cousin; but Mr. Mj'ers is in 
 the Confederate army." 
 
 " Can you trust his wife?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " We must go there. " They rode on for a few 
 moments, and Mark added : " I have a request to 
 make of you. It may do neither of us any good, 
 yet it would relieve my conscience if you granted 
 it." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
THE PRETTY SPY. 295 
 
 " Promise me not to use any information, you 
 may have gained this time, against the Union 
 army. " 
 
 ■' If I should promise, 3'our officers would not 
 believe me. " 
 
 " Promise me, and I will believe 3"ou." 
 
 " Then, to you, I promise." 
 
 " I ask no better assurance, for I know you nvIII 
 keep your word." 
 
 They reached the home of Mrs. Myers, and, 
 leaving Elsie safe with friends, Mark bade her 
 adieu and, wheeling his horse about, started back 
 to meet his fate. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE ALABAMA AND KEARSARGE. 
 
 In Chapter VII. of this story, we told how 
 Dick Stevens with Charley Cole, Elsie's brother, 
 shipped on board the Confederate cruiser, the 
 Alabama; and it will be necessary at this point to 
 return to them, as their exploits form a part of the 
 warp and woof of the romance. Dick Stevens was 
 heartily disgusted with the crew of l\\e Alabama \ 
 but he was in for it, and must either serve his 
 time oat, or desert. The crew broke all bounds, 
 and nearly all the petty officers were disrated, 
 much to their satisfaction, as- they had no respect 
 from the crew and were responsible for them to 
 their superior officers. Dick was offered the posi- 
 tion of quartermaster, but declined. 
 
 Off the coast of San Domingo, the crew of the 
 Alabama had a little fright over lire ; but the flames 
 were easily extinguished, and no damage done. 
 They had been taking prizes very rapidly and 
 burning them; but on July 2d, they fell in with a 
 sailing vessel which fairly outstripped them. It 
 296 
 
THE ALABAMA AND REARS ARGE. 297 
 
 was near sunset when the look-out at the mast- 
 head descried her, and the Alabama as usual hoisted 
 the English ensign; but the Yankee captain was 
 wide awake, and piling on all canvas, he kept the 
 weather-gage. It was quite apparent that he was 
 using every device known to a good sailor to beat 
 them. Dick asked their boatswain, an old clipper 
 sailor, if they were gaining. 
 
 " Not an inch, and we are doin' our best," the 
 old man answered. The wind freshened, and they 
 tried a long shot with their rifle gun, but it was 
 no use. The escaping ship was a cloud of canvas, 
 and beautifull}^ handled, and in his heart Dick could 
 not but wish her success. 
 
 It soon grew dark, and they espied a light on the 
 water which made the pirates cheer, as they were 
 quite sure they were overhauling the prize. They 
 headed the vessel for the light, and when within 
 two or three hundred yards of it, the look-out cried : 
 
 " That's a floating light." 
 
 The Yankee had deceived them by an old ruse. 
 The light proved to be only a lantern tied to a 
 spar fastened in the centre of a raft. 
 
 The Yankee escaped, and when Dick and Char- 
 ley were alone, the former said : 
 
 " I am almost glad of it. Charley." 
 
 "So am I." 
 
 " I feel that this life is decidedly demoralizing. " 
 
398 UiXION. 
 
 " It is. It is piracy, not honest warfare." 
 
 " If Captain Semmes would give his crew an 
 occasional opportunit}' to fight, it might reconcile 
 them to this sort of thing, and the}* would not 
 be compelled to resort to outlawry for amusement. " 
 
 Dick and Charley, who were often together on 
 the watch, made each other confidants in many 
 personal and family secrets. On one dark night, 
 as they were howling along through the troubled 
 waters, Charley Cole narrated a part of his family 
 history, that was sad, mysterious and romantic. 
 It was, as yet, an unfinished story, and little did 
 they dream that they were to be living witnesses to 
 the sequel. The strange, dark, sad story made an 
 impression on Dick Stevens that he never forgot. 
 
 They sailed for tlie eastern seas and made many 
 captures on the way. They had a long chase after 
 a fine clipper ship called the Contest. She was a 
 swift sailor, and but for tlie Blakely rifle might 
 have escaped. Her mate was an Englishman and 
 resisted to the last. He knocked one of the officers 
 down, and offered to fight any pirate aboard the 
 ship. Dick took part in the stand-up fight with a 
 gang of large babogns on a small island near the 
 Straits of Sunda. He had his jacket ripped off at 
 one clutch, and came very nearly being torn to 
 pieces. The baboons threw stones and clubs like 
 men. 
 
THE ALABAMA AM) KEARSARGE. 2\)0 
 
 Shortly after leaving Singapore, Dick was ap- 
 prised of an effort on the part of some of the rough 
 members of the crew to take the ship. " Shak- 
 ings," a cron}^ of Gill, told Dick that if he would 
 stand in with them, thej would make a rush aft 
 on the next night, and could easily capture the 
 ship ; that the American consul would guarantee 
 them one hundred thousand dollars, and see that 
 no harm would come to them. 
 
 " Who are with you?" Dick asked. 
 
 " Four of the petty oflficers and about twenty 
 men," Shakings answered. Dick did not like this 
 man, for he had a bad countenance. He did not 
 dare openly refuse, for he remembered the fate of 
 Kingpost, so he said: 
 
 " I will think about it. " 
 
 Next clay Dick was accosted by Gill, who was 
 strongly in favor of the mutiny. He assured him 
 they would not be opposed by the petty officers, 
 and one determined rush would do it I Dick list- 
 ened attentively to his plan, and then interposed a 
 carefully worded objection. 
 
 " I am afraid the officers are on the alert, " he 
 said. " And besides as we are going to England 
 soon, it would scarce pay. And again, Gill, I 
 have not much faith in the American consuls; 
 they would repudiate the whole affair, and l)ring 
 us within the grip of the English law, where we 
 
300 UNION. 
 
 would be hung as pirate?. If we could run her 
 into a Yankee port it would be different. " 
 
 Gill gazed hard at the young sailor, and Dick, 
 understanding the man's dangerous character, as- 
 sured him that he was one to keep his counsel 
 under all circumstances. 
 
 The sailors were given to understand that their 
 course was now for England, wliich news had a 
 very wholesome effect on tlie men. The Stars and 
 Stripes were seldom seen floating from the mast- 
 heads of any of the merchantmen, for the Alabama 
 had almost swept the commerce of the United 
 States from the seas, and after leaving the African 
 coast they had dull times aboard the cruiser. They 
 were off Lizard Point, June 8th, with England 
 dimly visible from the port bow. Taking a pilot 
 aboard they sailed for Cherbourg on June, the 
 13th. It was quite evident that the Alabama 
 needed repairs. She forged through the waters in 
 a way that told that her copper was stripping, and 
 in sailors' parlance she had become a veritable 
 " tub." Her engines being out of order produced 
 a constant thumping and fizzing in the engine 
 room. Charley Cole, who was a pretty fair sea- 
 man, told his cousin that her cruising would soon 
 come to an end. It was thought that, if she went 
 into an English port, that government would not 
 permit her to come out again. 
 
THE ALABAMA AND KEARSARGE. 301 
 
 Dick was never so glad to get asliore in his life, 
 as when tliey reached Cherbourg. He had not 
 been long on land, when he met Charley Cole, 
 who said: 
 
 " Dick, I heard the Kearsarge is coming into 
 port. " 
 
 " Who is the Kearsarge ? " Dick carelessly asked. 
 
 " A Yankee man-of-war, by Jove! and you may 
 get acquainted with her before we get out of port. " 
 
 "Is that so?" 
 
 " Yes, and old Captain Winslow is said to be a 
 fighter. " 
 
 " Very well, we will have a chance at last to try 
 our guns. " 
 
 " I should not be surprised, for I heard that 
 Captain Semmes has expressed his intention to 
 fight the Kearsarge. " 
 
 The rumor was correct; for that same day. Cap- 
 tain R. Semmes had sent to Mr. Bonfils, the Con- 
 federate commercial agent, a message to be for- 
 warded to the United States Consul, Mr. Liais, at 
 Cherbourg. It read as follows : 
 
 "C. S. S. 'Alabama,^ Cherbourg, June 14, 1864.* 
 " To A. Bonfils, Esq. , Cherbourg. 
 
 "Sir: — I hear that you were informed by the United 
 States Consul that the Kearsarge was come to this port 
 solely for the prisoners landed by me, and that she was to 
 depart in twenty-four hours. I desire to say to the United 
 
 * Century Magazine. 
 
303 UNION. 
 
 States Consul that it is my intention to fight the Kcar- 
 sarge, as soon as I can make the necessary arrangements. 
 I hope these will not detain me longer than until to-mor- 
 row evening, or the morning after at the furthest. I beg 
 that she will not depart before I am ready to go out. 
 
 "I have the honor to be very respectfully, your obedient 
 servant, R. Semmes, Captain."' 
 
 On sending this communication, Captain Semmes 
 requested that a copy would be furnished Captain 
 Winslow for his guidance. Thus the giants of 
 the ocean began to prepare for battle. 
 
 When Dick and Charley v/ent on board at an 
 early hour, June 15th, it was told through the 
 ship that the Kearsargewas coming through the east 
 end of the harbor. From the berthdeck ports they 
 had a good look at her. 
 
 "What do you think of her, Charley?" Dick 
 asked. 
 
 "She seems to rest rather low in the water; 
 but there is no doubt that she is in fighting trim." 
 
 At the rate of nine knots she steamed past them, 
 and out at the west opening. Through the ward- 
 room servants, the report of Captain Semmes' chal- 
 lenge reached the ears of the crew, and most of 
 them were eager for the conflict. 
 
 " I believe we shall have a fight, Charley, " said 
 Dick. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " What do you think of the chances?" 
 
IGQ LoDgitude 150 West IQO 200 400 
 
 Matamoraa 
 
 Lougritude 
 
THE ALABAMA AND KEARSARGE. 303 
 
 " The crew who work the guns have no confi- 
 dence in any but the Blakely rifle." 
 
 Everything was in order by Sunday, June 19tli, 
 and early on that bright morning, the Alabama 
 steamed out oi Cherbourg for her hist cruise, whicli 
 was destined to be a short one, A beautiful Eng- 
 lish yacht called the Deerhound was discovered fol- 
 lowing in their waive. Dick did not dream who 
 was aboard that yacht, until he heard the name 
 Lancaster mentioned. Then he turned to Charles 
 Cole and asked : 
 
 "Lancaster? Charley, did you hear the name? 
 Was it Lancaster?" 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 " Perhaps Lorena Lancaster is aboard. " 
 
 " Pshaw ! wh}' do you think so?" 
 
 " She lived with her uncle, John Lancaster, who 
 was very fond of yachting. " 
 
 " Well, if she did, does that signify that she is 
 aboard that yacht?" 
 
 •' It would be a little romantic, Charley, if she 
 should be aboard that yacht. She sent me to the 
 war. For her, I signed as one of the crew of the 
 Alabama^ and now she has come to see me win my 
 victory. " 
 
 Dick was in the highest spirits this morning. 
 Charley had never seen him so confident, and 
 having more knowledge of naval warfare than he, 
 
304 UNION. 
 
 could scarce repress a sigh, for be knew that 
 chances were against them. Walking slowh^ for- 
 ward to the Blakely rifle, Charley said: 
 
 " You must do the work to-day, if it is done." 
 
 A full head of steam was on, and the Alabama 
 was soon gliding boldly out of the harbor escorted 
 by a French armored vessel. The crew were all 
 at quarters, and every man ready and eager for 
 the fight. Dick turned his eyes toward the harbor 
 as they glided out, and clutching Charley's arm, 
 said : 
 
 " She is following. She is going to witness the 
 fight. " 
 
 Charley turned his eyes in the direction indicated 
 by Dick's finger, and saw the Deerhound following 
 in their wake. When they got outside the har- 
 bor, Dick heard some one say : 
 
 " There she is ! " and going forward saw the low 
 dark hull and rigging of the Kearsarge, with the 
 black smoke issuing from her great dark chimney. 
 
 Yes, there lay the enemy not over four or five 
 miles away, waiting for them, and a sight of her 
 sent a thrill to Dick's heart. He was not afraid 
 to fight, in fact was rather eager for the conflict, 
 yet he would have been more highly pleased had 
 she run away or surrendered without exchanging 
 a shot. 
 
 The report of their going out to fight the Kear- 
 
THE ALABAMA AND REARS ARGE. 305 
 
 sarge had been widely circulated, and many persons 
 from Paris and the surrounding country had come 
 down to witness the engagement. They, with a 
 large number of inhabitants of Cherbourg, assem- 
 bled on every point of the shore that would afford 
 a view seaward. On discovering the Kearsarge, 
 the Alabama immediately headed for her with all 
 hands at the quarters, and the starboard battery 
 cast loose. The men were neatly dressed and the 
 officers in full uniform. Upon reporting to Cap- 
 tain Semmes that the ship was ready for action, he 
 directed Captain Kell to send all hands aft, and 
 mounting a gun-carriage, he made the following 
 address : 
 " Officers and Seamen of the Alabama : 
 
 " You have at length another opportunity of 
 meeting the enemy — the first that has been pre- 
 sented to you since you sunk the Hatteras ! In 
 the mean time you have been all over the world, 
 and it is not too much to say that you have de- 
 stroyed, and driven for protection under neutral 
 flags, one-half of the enemy's commerce, which at 
 the beginning of the war covered every sea. This 
 is an achievement of which you may well feel 
 proud, and a grateful country will not be unmind- 
 ful of it. The name of your ship has become 
 a household word, wherever civilization extends! 
 Shall that name be tarnished by defeat? The 
 20 
 
306 UMON. 
 
 thing is impossible! Remember that you are in 
 the English Channel, that theatre of so much of. 
 the naval glory of our race, and that the eyes of 
 all Europe are at this moment upon you. The 
 flag that floats over you is that of a young lie- 
 public, which bids defiance to her enemies, when- 
 ever and wherever found ! Show the world that 
 you know how to uphold it ! Go to your quarters ! " 
 
 The crew with a cheer hastened to their quarters, 
 and the friendly French vessel, having done all she 
 dared, left the Alabama, which steered straight for 
 the Kearsarge, tliat, like a marine monster, awaited 
 the assault. As the Alabama was steaming toward 
 her enemy. Captain Semmes passed the quarters 
 where Dick and Charley stood. Chai-ley whis- 
 pered to his cousin : 
 
 " Something is the matter with Captain Semmes; 
 he seems flurried." 
 
 " What are they going to do, Charley?" 
 
 " Going to fire the Blakely." 
 
 " It is folly at this distance." 
 
 " The captain is unstrung. " 
 
 " See, there comes the Kearsarge. By Jove ! she 
 has got her bristles up, and coming right at us. " 
 
 "Boom!" The sea seemed to tremble beneath 
 the heavy report of the Blakely 100-pounder. 
 
 "The shot did not strike her, Charley," said 
 Dick. 
 
THE ALABAMA AND KEARSARGE. 307 
 
 " Why did they waste the shot at that distance?" 
 
 "What is she doing?" 
 
 " Going to circle around us, so she can get us at 
 a point that she may rake us fore and aft." 
 
 All the while, the gunners at the Blakely were 
 bus}' ramming home another charge, 
 
 " They are sighting her again, Dick. " 
 
 "It's all nonsense, and I wonder Captains Sem- 
 mes and Kell don't see it." 
 
 " She is still circling about us and getting 
 nearer. " 
 
 " We'll feel her iron soon." 
 
 The two ships were caught in the current which 
 set westward at the rate of about three knots per 
 hour. Like two pugilists, they did an immense 
 amount of sparring and circling about each other, 
 all the while, in order to get in a position for a 
 telling blow. 
 
 Dick saw old Gill, like a grim monster, at the 
 eight-inch gun waiting for the time to come when 
 he should make the attack. Shakings was near 
 the port bulwarks, handling shot, swearing all the 
 while and wishing that they could carry the enemy 
 by the board. 
 
 As yet the enemy had not fired a shot. Sud- 
 denly Charley, who had been watching her, cried: 
 
 " She is in position; now look out!" 
 
 The Kearsarge was within seven or eight hundred 
 
308 UNIOX. 
 
 yards, wLen, suddenly gracefully rounding about, 
 her entire broadside became a sheet of flame, and 
 the Alabama seemed to reel and shake all over 
 from the force of the shot. 
 
 Dick and Charley were serving on one of the 
 thirty-twos, and they fired with the others, but 
 could observe no visible effect from the discharge 
 of their guns. Their sponger, an old man-of-war's 
 man, remarked: 
 
 " We might as well fire batter puddens as these 
 pop-guns ; a few more biffs like that last, and we 
 may turn turtle. " 
 
 His speech was cut short by a tremendous crash. 
 A shell had burst under the pivot gun, tilting it 
 out of range and killing five of the crew. 
 
 "What is wrong with the rifle gun?" Charley 
 asked. " We don't seem to be doing the enemy 
 any harm." 
 
 Boom!- — ^boom, boom! with slow precision came 
 the crash of heavy shells from the Yankee. One 
 missile, which to Dick seemed as large as a hay- 
 stack, whizzed over their heads, tearing away a 
 section of the port bulwarks, and missing Shakings, 
 who was handling shot, b}^ not more than two feet. 
 That individual, glancing at the wreck made by 
 the shot, coolly remarked : 
 
 " I believe the cussed Yankees are firin' steam- 
 bilers at us." 
 
THE ALABAMA AND KEARSARGE. 309 
 
 Shot and shell were striking them thick and fast, 
 and, to their amazement, even their Blakely rifle, on 
 which they had put so much reliance, seemed to 
 make little or no impression on the enemy. On 
 finding that their shells failed to penetrate the 
 enemy's sides, their captain ordered them to lire 
 solid shot. These seemed to have us little effect as 
 the shells, and from that to the end of the conflict, 
 the Blakely alternated between solid shot and shell. 
 Captain Kell claimed that the Kearsarge was pro- 
 tected by chain armor, and that the powder of the 
 Alabama was so defective that they failed to hurl 
 projectiles with the force of the enemy's shot. 
 Charley in an undertone to Dick said: 
 " We are going to get it this time. " 
 " No, let us hope not. We may whip her yet." 
 " We are not doing it, fate is against us ; our 
 shot has no visible effect, while they are raking 
 us fore and aft. " 
 
 At this moment, a shell struck them amidships, 
 exploding, and causing the ship to list to port, so 
 that the gun of our friends raced in, pinning one 
 poor fellow against the port-sill. They made 
 frantic efforts to get him clear; but he was dead 
 when rescued. The shell which caused the disas- 
 ter was evidently the terrible eleven-inch shell 
 that sank the Alabama, for a few seconds after it 
 exploded, Dick heard the cry : 
 
310 UNION. 
 
 " She's going down !" 
 
 All was confusion and some of the men deserted 
 the guns, though the officers ordered them back. 
 
 A moment later another shell struck about the 
 water-line, and the vessel reeled like a drunken 
 man. The dead and wounded now strewed the 
 bloody deck. 
 
 " We are whipped, Dick. The ship is going 
 down." 
 
 Grinding his teeth in rage, Dick answered: 
 
 " Let us send them down with us. " 
 
 The officers did their duty and made every effort 
 to get up the wounded men. The cutter and 
 launch were in the water, and Dick heard Captain 
 Semmes tell Officer Kell to go below and see how 
 badly the vessel was injured. 
 
 All the while, the Alabama's crew was firing as 
 rapidly as they could, receiving crash after crash 
 from the enemy in return. In a few seconds Officer 
 Kell came back, saluted Captain Semmes, and 
 said: 
 
 "Captain, she cannot keep' afloat ten minutes.'' 
 
 Captain Semmes replied : 
 
 " Then, sir, cease firing, shorten sail, and haul 
 down the colors; it will never do in this nineteenth 
 century for us to go down, and our decks covered 
 with our gallant wounded. " 
 
 " I felt it from the first!" sighed Charley as the 
 
THE ALABAMA AND KEARSARGE. 311 
 
 colors were hauled down, and orders given to cease 
 tiring. " I suppose now we will have to go to some 
 infernal Yankee prison and rot. I would rather 
 go to the bottom." 
 
 Though thej had ceased firing and hauled down 
 their colors, the enemy's guns still roared, and their 
 shot still came tearing through the sinking ship.* 
 
 " Why, in thunder, are they firing at us 3'et?" 
 cried Charley Cole. " Do they intend never to 
 sto]) until they have murdered us outright?" 
 
 " Stand hy your quarters and don't flinch from 
 their shot," cried Captain Kell. "Quartermaster, 
 show the white flag over the stern." 
 
 A few moments later the lire of the enemy 
 ceased. A boat was dispatched to the ^m/-.9a/-^e to 
 notify Captain Winslow of the surrender of the 
 Alabama^ to report the ship sinking, and to ask 
 aid in rescuing the wounded. They began at once 
 to get up the wounded. Every effort was made to 
 keep the men back from the cutter and launch 
 until the wounded were put in ; but Dick was quite 
 sure that many of the disabled were left behind, 
 for he saw several on the berthdeck after they 
 had pushed off. 
 
 * Captain Winslow of the Kearsarge gives his reason for 
 firing on the Alabama after she had struck, that he sup- 
 posed her colors shot away, or that it was a trick of Captain 
 Semmes to get back into neutral waters, and thus escape. 
 
312 bWION. 
 
 When it was ascertained to a certainty that the 
 ship was going down, all order was at an end, and 
 men ran here and there in every direction. 
 
 Dick's few effects, with two or three valnable 
 keepsakes, were in the locker between the decks, 
 and he ran below to secure them. He had scarce 
 done so when lie heard the cry from the deck : 
 
 " All hands on deck — ship is going down !" He 
 had just reached the upper step of the forward 
 companion-way, when the water entering the berth- 
 deck ports forced the air up, and almost carried 
 him off his feet. He called for Charley and cast 
 his eyes around on the horrible scene, the result of 
 the conflict. Shakings lay near the main gang- 
 way, his body torn open by the explosion of a shell. 
 Old Gill, with his head crashed under the carriage 
 of an eight-inch gun, was lying there, his brawny 
 hands clutching the breast of his jumper. 
 
 "Charley!" Dick called. 
 
 For a moment he was appalled lest his compan- 
 ion, friend, and kinsman had met with an accident; 
 but a moment later he received an answer, and 
 saw Charley lashing two spars together to form a 
 sort of a raft. Just as the water came over the 
 stern, the two sailors launched their frail craft, 
 and went over the port bulwarks. Both men were 
 good swimmers, and were pushing their raft along, 
 when the yacht, which they had seen watching the 
 
THE ALABAMA AND KEARSARGE. 313 
 
 fight from a distance, bore clown upon them, and 
 picked them up. 
 
 This was Mr. Lancaster's yacht, the Deerhound. 
 A few moments later Captain Semmes and his 
 officers were also taken aboard the yacht. Wheff 
 Mr. Lancaster had rescued Captain Semmes, he 
 said: 
 
 " I think every man has been picked up. Where 
 shall I land you?" 
 
 " I am now under English colors, and the sooner 
 you put me with my officers on English soil, the 
 better," replied Captain Semmes. 
 
 "I will do it in a few hours," Mr. Lancaster 
 answered, and at once steamed away to Southamp- 
 ton. 
 
 Everything had happened so rapidh^ that Dick's 
 brain was in a whirl. But a short time before he 
 was on the unconquerable ^/aiama; then the fight 
 and sinking of the ship, all seemed like a vivid 
 dream. When he closed his eyes, he could still 
 see her going down stern foremost, and her head 
 high in the air. 
 
 The sailors were given an opportunity to wash 
 the powder and stains of battle off their faces. 
 Dick was standing aft gazing on the fast disap- 
 pearing coast and sighing at the terrible fate of his 
 ship, when he heard a light step near him, and 
 turning beheld Lorena Lancaster. He started and 
 
314 UNION. 
 
 for a few moments was overwhelmed and unable 
 to speak. At last he went boldly to her side and 
 said : 
 
 "You saw it all?" 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 " Lorena, I enlisted for you. I failed. We 
 are defeated. Will 3'OU forsake me in my dis- 
 tress?" 
 
 They were alone. Everybody was forward, 
 and the cabins and rigging hid them from view. 
 For a moment the beauty of England hung her 
 head, then, blushing, answered: 
 
 " No. " 
 
 It was all arranged in a few moments, and he 
 was the accepted lover of the proud English beauty, 
 who averred that she would marry him out of pity 
 for his misfortunes; but it was determined to 
 postpone the wedding until the war was over. 
 After a few weeks' sojourn in England, Dick and 
 Charley took passage for their own country to con- 
 tinue the battle on land which had proven a failure 
 on sea. We shall meet them again in the course 
 of this story. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE DESERTER. 
 
 The very least Mark Stevens could expect for 
 aiding the spy to escape was a trial and conviction 
 by court-martial. His past good conduct might 
 tend to mitigate the sentence ; but disgrace and dis- 
 charge must inevitably follow. 
 
 " I have saved Elsie, that is one consolation." 
 There was a sweet, holy satisfaction in the thought. 
 His love for the proud little rebel was of a purely 
 unselfish sort, and surmounted every obstacle. 
 For no other person would he have given so much. 
 Glancing at the shoulder straps which he had won 
 after so much hard work, he sighed : " It is all 
 over now. I shall soon lose them ; but I lose them 
 for her. '' 
 
 It was noon on the 3d of October when he came 
 in sight of Corinth. The air was suddenly filled 
 with the sharp crack of musketry, and roll of 
 artillery. 
 
 " They have come. Price and Van Dorn have 
 come," cried Lieutenant Stevens, and forgetting 
 315 
 
816 UNION. 
 
 all else, save the coming battle, he plunged his 
 spurs into his horse's flanks and galloped down 
 the road. Before he was aware of it, he actual! v 
 rode over the enemy's skirmish line and. with 
 bullets whistling like hail about him, dashed into 
 his own lines, waving his sword and cheering the 
 soldiers. 
 
 Rosecrans had not long been in Corinth after 
 the battle of luka before he ascertained that the 
 enemy was concentrating on that place, or some 
 other point, which would cut off his communica- 
 tions and compel him to evacuate it. Price, Van 
 Dorn and Lovell had united their entire forces for 
 the purpose of crushing his comparatively small 
 army, before he could receive reinforcements. 
 Rosecrans, calling all his troops from adjacent posts, 
 watched with deepest solicitude the development 
 of the hostile plan. At length, discovering that 
 the rebels had marched around him to the east- 
 ward, and were moving down on Corinth from the 
 north and northeast, he formed his plan, and 
 disposing his troops to the best possible advantage, 
 calmly awaited the attack. He knew he was out- 
 numbered two to one ; but he relied on the strength 
 of his position, and the indomitable character of 
 his troops. McKean commanded the left. Davies 
 the centre, and the gallant Hamilton the right, 
 where Rosecrans supposed the weight of the strug- 
 
THE DESERTER. 317 
 
 gle would fall. The old fortifications thrown up 
 bj Beauregard were too extensive for his little 
 army to hold, and so he erected works within 
 them. 
 
 The plan of Kosecrans was to advance on the 
 enemy as he approached, make an attack, thus 
 forcing him to develop his lines, and then retire 
 behind his own works, so that the batteries could 
 sweep the rebels as they emerged into the open 
 ground in front. 
 
 This was the programme that the Union army 
 was carrying out when Lieutenant Mark Stevens 
 came on the scene, rode through the extending skir- 
 mish lines, and without fully realizing it, joined his 
 own company. The skirmishing was hot and 
 lasted all day, and night found the Union forces 
 in a town which the enem}- had closely invested. 
 Much uneasiness was felt on the part of the soldiers 
 because they had been so easily driven back into 
 the place, where the enemy's shells could reach 
 them; but they did not understand the motive of 
 their able commander. All night long the tramp 
 of marshalling hosts could be heard, and the plant- 
 ing of batteries within close range. 
 
 Not a word had been .spoken to Mark since his 
 arrival. In fact they had been too busily engaged 
 with the enemy to give thought to aught else. 
 When they were all finally drawn within their 
 
318 UNION. 
 
 newly constructed works, and night was falling on 
 the scene, the captain came to him and said : 
 
 " Well, lieutenant, you got off from that de- 
 tailed service to help us in this fight, did you?" 
 
 " Yes, " he mechanically answered, wondering if 
 the captain was in earnest, or speaking ironically. 
 
 " I am glad you are here, for Lieutenant Grafton 
 will never fight again." 
 
 Mark had missed the first lieutenant for some 
 hours, but had not, up to this time, learned his 
 fate. 
 
 " Is Lieutenant Grafton dead?" 
 
 " No, he is still living, I believe, but he has a 
 bullet through his chest and will die before morn- 
 ing." 
 
 " It is sad. " 
 
 " Yes, but it is your promotion. You may be 
 captain before the setting of to-morrow's sun." 
 
 " I hope not, Captain Hawk. I don't want 
 promotion that way. " 
 
 They listened for awhile to the low rumbling of 
 artillery wheels, and Lieutenant Stevens said : 
 
 " Captain , we are going to have a hard struggle 
 in the morning. " 
 
 " It will be two to one. " 
 
 " But we can beat them off. " 
 
 Shortly after this he felt some one touch his 
 arm, and looking about saw Bill Simms. 
 
THE DESERTER. 319 
 
 " Leftenant, I wanter speak t' ye," said Simms. 
 Mark sufJered himself to be led aside, and Simms 
 whispered: "D'ye know that blamed gal got 
 away." 
 
 " How?" he asked evasively. 
 
 " Hang me ef I know. When I was relieved 
 by Collins, he asked if she wanted anything, and 
 she made no answer. He supposed she was asleep 
 and did not disturb her. At breakfast time I 
 rapped at her door, and when she made no answer, 
 opened it and went in. She wasn't there. Col- 
 lins and I kept the secret to ourselves, and went 
 out to look for her, but she couldn't be found, 
 though how in thunder she got away, I don't 
 know." 
 
 " Have you reported the matter?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "To whom?" 
 
 "The colonel." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 " He said keep it still ; not to say a word that 
 would get out among the men, but he thought I 
 might tell you." 
 
 Mark thanked the colonel from the bottom of 
 his heart; yet he felt some misgivings about 
 meeting him. He did not meet the colonel until 
 after midnight; then, as he chanced to pass his 
 quarters, he was summoned to his side. 
 
320 UNION. 
 
 "You were in tbe front to-day, lieutenant?" 
 said the colonel. 
 * " Yes, colonel," he answered with a salute. 
 
 " I wish 3'OU would take this dispatch to General 
 Rosecrans. " 
 
 He hurriedly wrote the dispatch and handed it 
 to Mark. It contained some information concern- 
 ing the front. General Rosecrans was busy that 
 night. It was almost three o'clock before he 
 wrapped his blanket about him, and lay down to 
 catch a few moments' sleep before the coming dawn 
 which was to usher in a scene of fire and death. 
 
 At last the long wished for, but much dreaded, 
 dawn streaked the eastern sky, and the rolling of 
 drum, and pealing of bugle awoke the morning 
 echoes, and were answered by those of the enemy 
 in the dark forests beyond. 
 
 The rebel force was massed in the angle formed 
 by the Memphis and Columbus railroads. The 
 left of the Union army rested on the batteries ex- 
 tending west from Fort Robinette, the centre on 
 the slight ridge north of the houses, and the riglit 
 on the high ground which covered the Pittsburg 
 and Purdy roads, that led away to the old Shiloh 
 battle-ground. The rebel plan was to mass their 
 force against the Union batteries and overwhelm 
 them by their impetuous charge. This could be 
 done only by a terrible sacrifice ; for four redoubts 
 
THE DESERTER. 331 
 
 covered all the approaches, while batteries were in 
 every place where guns could be advantageously 
 posted, so that the whole open space in front of 
 the Union lines could be swept by a storm of fire 
 and iron hail. 
 
 With daylight skirmishing began, and the heavy 
 boom of cannon here and there shook the field 
 long before the enemy's lines became visible. 
 They were forming in the roads running through 
 the forest, half a mile or more in front, and every 
 eye was strained to catch the heads of the columns 
 as they moved out for the final advance. The 
 very mystery that shrouded the attacking host, 
 hidden in those stirless woods, added to the im- 
 pressiveness of the scene. At length, a little after 
 nine o'clock, the fearful suspense was ended by 
 the heads of the columns issuing from the leafy 
 covering. In columns and divisions the whole 
 host moved in splendid order up the Bolivar road, 
 straight toward the mysterious batteries. Long 
 lines of glittering steel crested the gray formation 
 below, as, with steady step and closed ranks, they 
 swept forward. Like a great wedge at first, but 
 slowly unfolding two expanding wings, the enemy 
 swept down on Corinth. It was a beautiful move- 
 ment and well executed. 
 
 Price on the left and Van Dorn on the right 
 moved on together; but the latter, meeting with 
 . 21 
 
322 UNION. 
 
 unexpected obstacles, lost a little time, and the 
 division of General Price cangbt tlie first fury of 
 the storm. Eight up the turfy slope, the steady 
 columns pressed, swept by the whole line of bat- 
 teries, sending shot and shell tearing through their 
 ranks, and like clouds shattered by lightning, tbey 
 wavered. The ground was covered by a dense 
 white smoke, the line of breastworks being marked 
 only by a fierce angry light playing through the sul- 
 phurous vapor. It was the constant flashing from 
 thousands of muskets, and so continuous was the 
 fusillade that the flame never entirel}^ died away. 
 The entire field was a scene of terrible confusion. 
 Ammunition wagons were being hurriedly un- 
 loaded in the centre, the boxes of cartridges were 
 moving on men's shoulders in the direction of the 
 engaged lines, while hundreds of wounded men 
 were streaming to the rear, a long string of 
 stretchers accompanying them. The dead and 
 dying darkened the ground ; but the firing never 
 faltered. . With bent heads and leaning forms like 
 those who breast a driving sleet, they pressed 
 sternly forward, making straight for Eosecrans' 
 centre. Onward and upward, through fire and 
 death and tempests of bullets, grapeshot and crash- 
 ing bombs, they pressed like the march of fate. 
 At last they reached the crest of the hill, and 
 Davies' division gave way in disorder. 
 
THE DESERTER. 323 
 
 The eye of Rosecrans never for a moment left 
 the rolling mass, and when he saw this disaster, 
 he dashed amid the broken ranks, heedless of the 
 raining shot and shell and rallied them in person ; 
 but the enemy seeing their advantage, sprang for- 
 ward with a shout, and the headquarters of Rose- 
 crans was overrun with Confederate troops, and 
 the next moment their fire was pouring into the 
 public square of the town itself. Hamilton's divi- 
 sion of veterans was compelled to fall back, and 
 with a shout of victory the Southern troops rushed 
 on to Fort Richardson, the key to the position. 
 
 A single sheet of flame burst from its sides, and 
 when the smoke rose, the space where they stood 
 was clear of living men ; only the dead and bleed- 
 ing were left. But those brave men had not trod 
 death's highway so far to yield at the first wither- 
 ing blast of destruction, especially when they 
 found victory almost in their grasp; and once 
 more rallying, they reformed their shattered ranks, 
 and precipitated themselves forward with the fury 
 and clamor of demons. Richardson sank dying 
 among his guns, and next moment the Confeder- 
 ates with wild cheers were running over them. 
 But the gallant Fifty-sixth Illinois were hidden in a 
 ravine near, and springing to their feet they poured 
 in a close and deliberate volley, dashed across the 
 plateau, and into the fort, almost lifting the Con- 
 
324 UNION. 
 
 federates bodily out of it, so sudden, desperate, 
 and wild was tbeir charge. 
 
 "Forward!" cried Hamilton, and the command 
 ran along the glorious line. Sweeping forward 
 with a front of bristling steel, he completed the 
 overthrow. Price's host was at last shattered. 
 Human endurance had reached its limit; despair 
 took the place of courage, and, flinging away their 
 useless arms they broke wildly for the woods. 
 And then such a shout of victory went up as those 
 who heard it will never forget to their latest day. 
 It rolled down the line and Van Dorn, on the left, 
 heard it with a sinking heart. Struggling through 
 a ravine, thickets and abatis, he was a moment 
 too late to have his blow fall simultaneously with 
 that of Price, else the issue might have been dif- 
 ferent. He was now in front of Fort Eobinette, 
 within a hundred and fifty yards of which stood 
 Fort Williams. These guns had poured a deadly 
 enfilading fire through his ranks as he advanced, 
 and now the former with the ten -pound Parrott 
 gun stood right in his path. Over these he must 
 go, or turn back over the field, gained at such 
 horrible sacrifice. The shouts of victory borne to 
 him from the left sounded like the knell of doom. 
 Price had failed at Fort Eichardson, and now 
 alone and unaided, he must carry the works before 
 him, or all was lost. It was a terrible task and 
 
THE DESERTER. 325 
 
 one could' iiot have blamed liim, had he paused 
 before undertaking" it. Did he falter? No! Did 
 he shrink? No — but gathering up all his energies 
 for one desperate effort, he rushed to the awful 
 undertaking. Two brigades, led by Colonel Rog- 
 ers of Texas, swiftly advanced on the fort. In- 
 stantly its guns and those of Fort Williams opened 
 their fire, and shot and shell went tearing through 
 the dense columns; but they braced themselves 
 for the fearful work they knew was before them, 
 and breasted the iron storm with sublime devotion. 
 
 Coming nearer they were mowed down by the 
 infantry. Their solid formation caved before it, 
 as the sand-bank before the torrent; but, closing 
 up compact as iron, the diminished numbers, with 
 their e3'es bent sternly on the prize before them, 
 kept on their terrible way. 
 
 " Forward! — Forward!" shouted Rogers, strid- 
 ing along at their head, and seeming to possess a 
 charmed life. His voice was heard even above 
 the din and roar of battle. Struggling through 
 the fallen timber, they fell and were caught among 
 the branches, presenting a ghastly spectacle. Still 
 the living never faltered — -with eyes fixed on their 
 heroic leader, they let the volleys crash, and the 
 devastating fires burn along their lines, with stoical 
 indifference. At last they neared the ditch, and 
 for one awful moment paused. Rogers, still tower- 
 
326 UNION. 
 
 ing in front nnhurt, waved the rebel flag in his 
 left hand, holding a revolver in his right, — still 
 shouting : 
 
 ''Forward/'' 
 
 With one bound he cleared the ditch. Leaping 
 up the slope, he planted his standard on the ram- 
 parts. The next moment he fell a corpse, and 
 rolled banner and all into the ditch. Five brave 
 Texans, who had never for a single moment left 
 their brave leader's side, pitched heavily forward 
 into the fort, sharing his fate. 
 
 The Ohio brigade commanded by Colonel Fuller 
 had lain flat on their faces just over the ridge, and 
 now in close range, rose and delivered six swift 
 volleys, and cleared the front of the enemy. The 
 supporting Confederate brigade now advanced into 
 the same volcano, bent on the same hopeless 
 errand. Taking the close and swift volleys into 
 their bosoms without shrinking, they kept on until 
 maddened into desperation, they made one wild 
 rash on the Sixty-third Ohio that crossed their 
 path ; but the brave fellows stood like a rock in 
 their places, and, in a moment, friend and foe 
 were locked in a hand-to-hand death-struggle. 
 Bayonets, clubbed muskets and, when these failed, 
 clenched fists were used. The fight was brief but 
 terrible, and the shouts, yells and curses that 
 arose on the air seemed wrenched from the throats 
 
THE DESERTER. 337 
 
 of demons. At last the Confederate hosts gave 
 way, when the Eleventh Missouri and Twenty- 
 seventh Ohio sprang forward and chased them to 
 cover. 
 
 The battle was over. No second charge could 
 be made, for the victory was won, though at a 
 fearful cost. 
 
 As Kosecrans rode along the whole line of battle, 
 he was greeted with thundering cheers. Even the 
 wounded, the faint and the dying lifted their 
 feeble voices to cheer their favorite commander. 
 He told his brave troops, that although they had 
 been two days marching and preparing for battle, 
 and had passed two sleepless nights, and endured 
 two days' fighting, he wanted them to fill their 
 cartridge boxes, haversacks and stomachs, take an 
 early sleep, and at daylight press after the flying 
 foe. 
 
 McPherson, having in the mean time arrived at 
 Corinth with a fresh brigade, was immediately 
 started in pursuit, and the roar of cannon died 
 away in the distance, as he closely pressed the re- 
 tiring columns of the enemy. The roads and 
 fields were strewn with the wrecks of the fight, 
 and the Confederates narrowly escaped destruction 
 in the Forks of the Hatchie. The battle-fields 
 about Corinth presented a frightful spectacle, and 
 for vreeks the stench was terrible. The great vie- 
 
338 UNION. 
 
 tory made Eosecrans almost invincible. Victory 
 followed his standard wherever he w^ent, and with 
 that fondness for nicknaming beloved commanders 
 so common to American soldiers, his troops chris- 
 tened him, " Old Rosy." 
 
 " Eosecrans believed that if Grant had supported 
 him, as he requested him to do, he could easily 
 have entered Vicksburg and saved the sacrifice of 
 men and money. " * 
 
 Lieutenant Mark Stevens' regiment had borne 
 the brunt of the assault at Fort Robinette. Con- 
 spicuous at every point where danger was greatest 
 was the brave lieutenant. When the Texans 
 rushed pell-mell into the fort, he, with drawn 
 sword, faced bayonets and clubbed guns. He 
 rallied the few men who were about to fly ; others 
 came to their aid; and as they held in check the 
 on-surging foe, who were appalled at their stub- 
 bornness, hundreds and thousands of bluecoats 
 came to their aid, and they drove the enemy back. 
 
 Mark had faced death for an hour, and the fight 
 was over, and he unhurt; though Captain Hawk 
 lay dead in the trenches witli a bullet in the centre 
 of his forehead. Mark was now the only com- 
 missioned oflficer in the company. Next day after 
 the battle, he reported to the colonel. 
 
 Collins and Bradford were killed in the fight, 
 *Headley's "Great Rebellion," vol. ii., page 103. 
 
THE DESERTER. 329 
 
 Sis was badly wounded, and in the hospital, and 
 Bill Simras was too stupid to suspect that his cap- 
 tain had had any hand in the escape of the spy. 
 So Mark went with tolerable good grace to the 
 presence of his colonel; thougli he felt some mis- 
 givings, for he believed that the colonel suspected 
 that he had been guilty of aiding the spy to escape. 
 
 Of course in the heat of battle, there was no 
 time to consider his case. A captaincy was in 
 sight, and yet when he remembered what he had 
 done, he thought the sergeant might have as good 
 a showing as himself. 
 
 He consoled himself all along with the reflec- 
 tion, that whatever he might have lost, he had 
 saved Elsie. The colonel greeted him with a 
 fatherly smile, and grasping his hand said : 
 
 " M}' boy, I had my eye on you yesterday, and 
 your gallantry shall not escape mention in my 
 report. " 
 
 " But, colonel " began Mark, determined to 
 
 confess everything. 
 
 " Oh, I know what you would say. It's your 
 commission. Go on and take charge of the com- 
 pany, and it shall be sent you in due time." 
 
 Mark breathed easier. He thanked the colonel, 
 and wrung his hand while his eyes grew dim. He 
 felt in his heart that the colonel must know all, 
 and must suspect him. He received some orders 
 
330 UNION. 
 
 and was about to leave the headquarters, when his 
 blood was suddenly frozen by the appearance of 
 the secret service agent, Mr. Trotter. 
 
 " Well, Colonel Belcher, you had some rough 
 work yesterday, " said Mr. Trotter. " I was an 
 eye-witness to part of it, — oh, I see here is Lieu- 
 tenant Stevens, whom I have been looking for " 
 
 " Captain Stevens now, Mr. Trotter, " corrected 
 the colonel. 
 
 " So, he is promoted. Well, Captain Stevens, 
 how about the prisoner, — the pretty spy?" 
 
 Mark realized that the truth had to come at last; 
 but before he could speak, the colonel put in: 
 
 " Why you see, Mr. Trotter, we had it so 
 devilish close here yesterday, and all got so badly 
 mixed up, that your prisoner, I am afraid, got 
 away. " 
 
 " You were not guarding her yesterday, then?" 
 asked Mr. Trotter fixing his keen eyes on Mark. 
 
 " No, the captain was in the front. Now, cap- 
 tain, you can go to your quarters and make an 
 early report of how many men you have fit for 
 duty!" 
 
 Mark Stevens left the colonel, blessing his 
 name. In due time Mark's commission came. 
 Next day the regiment pushed on after the flying 
 Confederates, and on the third night Mark's com- 
 pany held a picket post on the extreme front. 
 
THE DESERTER. 331 
 
 Every man not on actual duty was sleeping on his 
 arms. The enemy were at times so near that they 
 conld distinctly hear them talking, and some 
 averred that they could even distinguish their 
 words. 
 
 The night was dark and gusty. A fine mist 
 like rain was falling, and the soldiers drawing 
 their capes about their ears sat in groups under 
 the trees, some of them nodding, and some wide 
 awake. Their young commander was ever watch- 
 ful, ever on the alert. He stood with his back 
 against a tree, his eyes fixed front, as if he would 
 pierce the intense darkness. Half a dozen men 
 had been thrown forward to reconnoitre, and one 
 of these came back, shortly after, with the report 
 that the enemy were retiring. Suddenly the sharp 
 report of a musket rang out on the rainy night. 
 
 "Fall in!" commanded Mark. In a moment 
 his company was in line. 
 
 They waited for several moments and then all 
 became still. At last they heard voices approach- 
 ing. Perhaps their advance was falling back or 
 had sent some one to report. Mark stepped out 
 in front of his company, and ordered the man who 
 was advancing to halt. 
 
 "It's all right, captain. It's Jack Weston. 
 Friend with the countersign. " 
 
 "Who fired that shot?" 
 
333 UNION. 
 
 "Tom Hall." 
 
 "At whom?" 
 
 " We've got a prisoner, captain." 
 
 " Where did you get him?" 
 
 " He came to us, and says he is a deserter from 
 the enemy. " 
 
 " Bring him here!" 
 
 The soldier disappeared in the darkness, and 
 a few moments later returned with two more 
 men, leading a man in badh^ faded and much 
 worn gray uniform. It was too dark to see his 
 features. 
 
 " Capen, here's a chap who thinks Judpment 
 Day's comin', and he's not saved,'' said Bill 
 Sirams with a hoarse laugh. 
 
 " Come here, sir, and tell me who you are!" said 
 Mark to the prisoner. 
 
 " I am a rebel tired of the business, and, if there 
 is a peaceful s^Dot on all the broad green earth, I 
 want to find it. " 
 
 The voice was familiar, and Mark Stevens, with 
 a gasp of surprise said: 
 
 " So you have surrendered, Alec ?" 
 
 " Mark, Mark ! Great Noah's flood, it's Mark !" 
 cried the prisoner embracing him. " Oh, this is 
 too good to be true. Say Mark, I dreamed last 
 night that I found you. Have you anj^thing to 
 eat over there? Have you any coffee, and good 
 
THE DESERTER. 
 
 333 
 
 bread. I've lived on hard-tack and English sea 
 biscuit, until mj poor stomach almost rebels 
 
 against it " and the 
 poor fellow lattled on 
 
 "I'm a rebel, tired of the business." 
 
 at this rate, alternately exciting his captors to 
 laughter and tears for ten minutes. 
 
 Mark then got him quieted and leading him 
 aside asked : 
 
334 UNION. 
 
 " Alec, did you really intend to desert." 
 
 " I did, Mark, for I tell yon I am tired of this. 
 Besides, I heard one of the Southern Independence 
 Association agents, from England, tell my colonel 
 they aided the South because they hated the 
 United States, which had defeated them in two 
 wars, and was a living menace to monarchical 
 forms of government. Mark, our fathers and our 
 grandfathers fought the British, and, by the Eter- 
 nal, I won't fight for them. They are just mak- 
 ing cat's paws of us, that's all, and I am going to 
 pull no more of their chestnuts out of the fire. 
 Henceforth I am for Uncle Sam, if Uncle Sam 
 wants me. " 
 
 " Do you intend to enlist?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 " Let us think the matter over, Alec, " suggested 
 Captain Stevens. " Meanwhile, stay in our camp. " 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 
 
 Time and trying circumstances make some 
 changes in men; but characteristics so indelibly 
 stamped on one as were the peculiarities of Alec 
 Stevens could not be wholly changed. He was 
 the same loquacious, jolly companion of old, and 
 had more amusing stories to tell than any one in 
 the regiment. 
 
 " So, Mark, you've got a pair of shoulder straps 
 at last. I dare say you didn't get them before 
 you earned them. I have come to the conclusion 
 that in this world, poor fellows like you and me 
 get nothing gratuitously. You look like a mili- 
 tary man now, one of the solid stuff, too ; no West 
 Point martinet, fit only for dress parade or the 
 ballroom, 'bout you; no weak-minded, effeminate, 
 pedantic, pedagogical, carpet-pantalooned, long- 
 haired, goatee and sweet-scented creatah about you, 
 I'll bet. No sir, you are here to knock the John- 
 nies on the head, and I am glad to know that you 
 have climbed completely and teetotally over the 
 335 
 
336 VNION. 
 
 sun-baked, clam-headed fools, the half-finished 
 squirts, the verdant dandies, lions of codfish aris- 
 tocracy, coxcombs and scapegraces, who are a 
 disgrace to the nation." 
 
 In order to change the current of his thought, 
 Mark asked: 
 
 " When did you see your parents. Alec?" 
 
 " It's been more than a year." 
 
 " But you have heard from them?" 
 
 " Well, yes, I have. I had a letter from home 
 about three months ago. " 
 
 " Have you heard from Charleston?" 
 
 " Not for four or five months. " 
 
 Mark was silent. He knew it was useless to 
 ask about Elsie, for the chances were that he had 
 seen her last. Mark went with Alec to the colonel 
 of the regiment and the matter was laid before 
 him. 
 
 " So, young man, you have deserted the cause 
 of the South and come back to the defence of your 
 country," said the colonel kindly. 
 
 " Yes, sir. As Patrick Henry said, I am no 
 longer a Virginian, but an American. I realize 
 that we were all teetotally bamboozled, befuddled 
 and befooled by the wiles, traps and snares of Cal- 
 hounism. Others can do as they please about it, 
 but, as for me, I am back under the old flag, and 
 I have come to stay." 
 
THE CONFLICT IX THE CLOUDS. 337 
 
 Colonel Belcher grasped tlie convert's band and 
 answered : 
 
 " You have chosen wisely. You should have 
 made this choice in the beginning; but it is never 
 too late to mend. I hope the same truth may 
 dawn on the minds of all jour deluded fellow 
 Confederates, and bring them all back to the fold." 
 
 After the conference was over, the colonel took 
 Captain Stevens aside and asked : 
 
 " Do you know him?" 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 "Is he sincere?" 
 
 " I would stake my life on it. " 
 
 " Then I will parole him for a few days and 
 give him an opportunity to enlist. " 
 
 Mark Stevens impressed on his cousin the dan- 
 ger that would follow his enlistment should he be 
 captured by his former friends; but he declared 
 himself willing to rislv it. 
 
 " I felt all along that I was not exactly in my 
 element, Mark. That was one reason that I never 
 sought to elevate myself in the ranks. I was only 
 a private in an humble place, for I felt that the 
 less the responsibility on me, the smaller would be 
 my crime. The South has good officers, Mark. 
 You must admit that Lee, Jackson, and Joe and 
 Sidney Johnston are away ahead of your Grant, 
 McClellan, Sherman, or any other officer j^ou 
 22 
 
338 UNION. 
 
 have; but I tell you their hearts are not really in 
 it. With all the enthusiasm they claim, they feel 
 way down deep in their souls that they are not 
 rio;ht. Thev won't admit even to themselves that 
 they are in the wrong; but they feel a keen sense 
 of doubt. If it was under the old flag that they 
 were fighting it would be quite different. Why, 
 I can hardly keep from throwing up my old slouch 
 hat every time I see the old Stars and Stripes." 
 
 Although Mark Stevens often wished to speak 
 to Alec of Elsie, he refrained from doing so, and 
 Alec, from some cause, though he was a fluent 
 talker on all other subjects, had not mentioned the 
 name of the maiden whom they both loved. 
 
 In due time, Alec was enrolled in Mark's com- 
 pany, and made a trusty, brave soldier. 
 
 Meanwhile the great war went on. They heard 
 the thunders of it all about them, and frequentl}^ 
 saw the blinding flash, and were buried in the 
 sulphurous smoke. The battle of Perryville, 
 Kentuck}^, was fought on the 8th and 9th of Octo- 
 ber. Then quickly followed Stuart's raid on 
 Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on the 10th, with a 
 battle near Richmond, Kentucky. The armies in 
 the East were moving about Richmond and Wash- 
 ington, and in the West about Vicksburg. The 
 combats "were many and terrible; but as yet the 
 Southern troops seemed on the whole to have an 
 
THE CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 339 
 
 advantage, and they threatened to invade the 
 Northern States. On November 5th, General Mc- 
 Clelland was superseded by Burnside as comman- 
 der in Virginia. The same day the Confederates 
 were repulsed at Nashville, Tennessee. Novem- 
 ber was noted for its many conflicts especially in 
 the South and West. 
 
 December, 1862, was even more noted for its 
 series of bloody conflicts than the preceding month. 
 It ended with the terrible battle of Stone River or 
 Murfreesboro raging. 
 
 January, 1863, brought the emancipation of the 
 slaves, and the end of the battle of Stone River in 
 favor of the United States troops. The remainder 
 of the month was taken up with fighting and 
 blockading. In fact, the year of 1863 was a year 
 of decisive battles, and the historian and reader 
 becomes sick of the horrible details. The Fourth 
 of July, 1863, may be regarded as the turning 
 point in the war for the Union. On this day, 
 Vicksburg surrendered to General Grant, after a 
 siege of forty -one days. On the same day, Major- 
 General Benjamin M. Prentiss, at Helena, Arkan- 
 sas, set a trap for a rebel army five times as large 
 as his own and drew them into it. He gained a 
 wonderful victory, and perhaps against greater 
 odds than any Union general during the war. 
 Four days later, Port Hudson with seven thousand 
 
340 
 
 UNION. 
 
 men, surrendered to General Banks. On the 13th 
 of this month, there was a great riot in New York 
 city brought about by the threatened draft. 
 
 The greatest battle of the war was fought on 
 July 3, 1863. This was the battle of Gettysburg, 
 Pennsylvania, where General 
 Meade with a little over one 
 hundred thousand men fought 
 General Robert E. Lee with 
 almost as many. This was the 
 greatest battle of the war in 
 many respects. It was fought 
 in a loyal State. Lee had left 
 his own territory and invaded 
 the enemy's country. It was 
 the battle in which there were 
 the largest number of men engaged on either side, 
 and the battle in which Lee was defeated when his 
 own numbers were almost as great as the Union 
 forces. Lee was defeated and forced to retreat 
 from Pennsylvania. 
 
 In August, General Gillmore, having invested 
 Charleston, South Carolina, bombarded Fort Sum- 
 ter most of the month. On the 19th and 20th of 
 September was fought the terrible battle of Cliicka- 
 mauga, in which the Union forces, some fifty or 
 sixty thousand strong, were defeated, by Bragg 
 with forty-five thousand men. The Federal loss 
 
 GEN. GEORGE G. MEADE. 
 
THE COyPLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 341 
 
 was about fifteen thousand, yet they prevented 
 Bragg from capturing Chattanooga. On October 
 16th General Grant took command of the Western 
 armies. 
 
 Shortly after the battle of Corinth, Colonel 
 Belcher's regiment was assigned to Sherman's 
 division and served under that general to the end 
 of the war. As soon as Grant heard of Rosecrans' 
 disaster at Chickamauga, he ordered Sherman on 
 the Black River, twenty miles east of Vicksburg, 
 to send a division to his aid. Sherman received 
 this dispatch on the 22d of September, and at four 
 o'clock that day, Osterhaus with his division was 
 on his way to Yicksburg, and the next day was 
 steaming toward Memphis. On the 23d, Sherman 
 was ordered to follow with his whole army, and 
 he pushed forward in the manner which his judg- 
 ment approved. 
 
 In the mean time. Grant was getting everything 
 ready for his arrival, when he designed to make a 
 general assault on the enemy's strong position. 
 
 Both troops and animals were suffering for want 
 of provisions, which the obstruction of transporta- 
 tion rendered extremely scarce. Missionary Ridge 
 drops like a pendant in a southwesterly direction 
 from the Tennessee River above Chattanooga, and 
 Lookout Mountain in the same direction from the 
 river below. Chattanooga, lying in a bend of the 
 
343 UNION. 
 
 river between the two mountains, was overlooked 
 and commanded by both heights, and hence both 
 must be taken. Hooker was selected to operate 
 against Lookout Mountain ; but in order to make 
 a lodgement on the south side of the river, it was 
 necessary to occupy Brown's Ferry, wliich was 
 three miles below it by the river, and six miles 
 from Chattanooga, yet, owing to the sharp bend of 
 the stream that here runs back almost parallel to 
 its course, was only half a mile from the latter 
 place by land. The possession of this ferry must 
 also lessen the distance of transportation to Bridge- 
 port. 
 
 The chief -engineer. General W. F. Smith, pro- 
 posed a plan for seizing it, which was adopted. 
 Four thousand men were at once placed under his 
 command. Fifty pontoons, capable of holding 
 twenty-five men each, besides oarsmen, and also 
 two flatboats for carrying about a hundred more, 
 were built, in which fifteen hundred picked men, 
 under General Hazen, were placed. It was six 
 miles by the tortuous river to the ferry, three 
 miles of which were picketed by the enemy. On 
 the night of the 2Tth of October, these pontoons, 
 mere boxes, were quietly pushed off and floated 
 noiselessly down the current. It was very dark, 
 and the current rendering oars unnecessary, they 
 silently glided past the pickets on the shore, un- 
 
THE CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 343 
 
 heard and unseen. Down, around Moccasin Point, 
 in front of Lookout Mountain, they rapidly floated, 
 without being observed. 
 
 While landing, they were discovered, and soon 
 the flash of musketry lit up the darkness. This 
 roused the neighboring camps of the enemy; but 
 the Union troops landed and quickly formed to 
 repel an attack, while the empty boats were 
 swiftly propelled across the river to transfer the 
 remainder of the four thousand, who. had secretly 
 marched thither by land. These having been fer- 
 ried over, a strong position was immediately se- 
 cured, and entrencliments were thrown up. The 
 enemy, taken wholly by surprise, after a feeble 
 resistance retreated up the valley. The materials 
 for a pontoon bridge, which had also been brought 
 by land, and concealed, were now brought forth, 
 and by noon a bridge, nine hundred feet long, 
 spanned the river, by which supplies and reinforce- 
 ments could be forwarded to the troops. On the 
 following day, the whole of the Eleventh Corps was 
 across, and encamped in Lookout Valley. The 
 enemy, alarmed at this demonstration, made an 
 attempt to drive them back by a night attack. 
 This conflict was by moonlight, after midnight, 
 amid those hills, that blazed the while with mus- 
 ketry and exploding shells, — presenting a strange 
 spectacle. " Fighting Joe Hooker, " as he was 
 
344 UNIOX. 
 
 termed, was in the thickest of the conflict encour- 
 aging his men. 
 
 Tlie Union forces maintained their ground, and 
 being firmly established, steamboats could come 
 up to Brown's Ferry, from which it was but a 
 mile and a half to the upper bridge opposite Chat- 
 tanooga. Unless the bridge should be carried 
 away by rafts sent down the stream b}^ the enemy 
 from above, the army was now relieved from star- 
 vation. 
 
 Though this was a great improvement in the 
 condition of affairs. Grant felt too weak to assume 
 the offensive, until Sherman should arrive. 
 Though Sherman crossed the Tennessee on the 
 1st of November, there was no way to get his 
 army over, and it had to take the long marcli 
 by Fayetteville to Bridge}iort. On the loth, 
 Sherman rode into Chattanooga. General Grant 
 was never more pleased to see a man. He had 
 received a summons from Bragg to remove the 
 non-combatants from Chattanooga, as he was about 
 to bombard the town, to which he had made no 
 reply; but he now felt that with his strong lieu- 
 tenant he would be able to meet General Bragg 
 beyond the walls of the city. Sherman's troops, 
 after their long and wearisome march, were sadly 
 in need of rest, and expected it, before entering on 
 one of the most hazardous undertakings of the war. 
 
THE CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 345 
 
 With a part of his command, he was directed to 
 make a demonstration on Lookout Mountain, while 
 with the main army he crossed the river^ and 
 marched up above Chattanooga, opposite Mission- 
 ary Eidge. Eeturning to Bridgeport, Sherman 
 took a rowboat and passed down the river to hurry 
 forward his weary, foot-sore divisions. Ewing's 
 division was the force left to make the demonstra- 
 tion on Lookout Mountain. The rest were hurried 
 forward along almost impassable roads. Though 
 foot-sore, weary and hungry, the troops toiled 
 cheerfully on in obedience to the orders of their 
 commander, and by the 23d were well up, and 
 lav concealed behind the hills opposite Chicka- 
 mauga Creek, which, skirting the extremity of Mis- 
 sionary Kidge, here emptied into the Tennessee. 
 One division, however, was left behind — a delay 
 caused by the breaking of a pontoon bridge at 
 Brown's Ferry — and it was compelled to join 
 Hooker's Corps, and operate with him in the bat- 
 tle that followed. 
 
 By a skilful manoeuvi'e the same night, a small 
 force was silently moved along the river, captur- 
 ing every guard of the enemy's pickets but one. 
 Next thing was to get the army across the Tennes- 
 see, which at this point was nearl}' thirteen hun- 
 dred feet wide. About three miles above Sher- 
 man's army was a stream emptying into the 
 
346 UNION. 
 
 Tennessee. Thither one hundred and sixteen 
 boats were conveyed by a concealed road and 
 launched ; while three thousand men lay ready to 
 embark in them. An hour after midnight, on the 
 24th, these boats floated silently down into the 
 Tennessee, and passing within three miles of the 
 enem3'-'s pickets, landed the troops on both sides 
 of Chickamauga Creek, which emptied into the 
 river opposite Sherman's army. Two divisions 
 with artiller}" were soon ferried over, and a tete- 
 de-pont established. In a few hours, a bridge 
 fourteen hundred feet long was completed, and 
 shaking to the tread of Sherman's mighty columns. 
 Another bridge two hundred feet long was flung 
 across the Chickamauga Creek. The extreme 
 north point of Missionary Eidge was not occupied 
 by the enemy, — his right wing being further back, 
 near the tunnel through which the railroad passed. 
 This extremity, Sherman at once seized, thereby 
 threatening Bragg's communications. In the 
 meantime, a cavalry force was sent off eastward 
 toward Cleveland. 
 
 Grant now had Sherman's army above, and 
 Hooker's below him, and both on the same side of 
 the river; while Thomas lay in front of Chatta- 
 nooga. Missionary Ridge, extending southward 
 from Sherman, passed in front of Chattanooga, 
 where the centre lay. 
 
THE CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 347 
 
 General Bragg was amazed at the appearance of 
 a powerful army on his extreme right, and imme- 
 diately made arrangements to dislodge Sherman. 
 In the mean time, Hooker, from below, moved 
 against Lookout Mountain, and, by dark, carried 
 the nose of it, thus opening up communications 
 with Chattanooga. His advance up the steep sides 
 of the mountain had been made with great celerity 
 and skill. A thick fog for awhile concealed him, 
 but, as it lifted before the sun, the cliffs above 
 were seen crowded with the enemy, while their 
 cannoii sent a plunging fire from the heights. 
 Grant, far down in the mist-shrouded valley below, 
 could hear the thunder of guns, and crash of mus- 
 ketry high up in the clouds above, as though the 
 gods were battling there. An eye-witness to the 
 scene says of it: 
 
 " At this juncture, the scene became one of 
 most exciting interest. The thick fog, which had 
 heretofore rested in dense folds upon the sides of 
 the mountain, concealing the combatants from 
 view, suddenly lifted to the summit of the lofty 
 ridge, revealing to the anxious gaze of thousands 
 in the valleys and on the plains below, a scene 
 such as is witnessed but once in a century. Gen- 
 eral Geary's columns, flushed with victory, grap- 
 pled with the foe upon the rocky ledges, and drove 
 them back with slaughter from their works. While 
 
348 UNION. 
 
 tlie result was uncertain, the attention was breatli- 
 less and painful ; but when victory perched upon 
 our standards, shout upon shout rent the air. The 
 whole army with one accord, broke out into joy- 
 ous acclamations. The enthusiasm of the scene 
 beggars description. Men were frantic with joy, 
 and even General Thomas himself, who seldom 
 exhibits his emotions, involuntarily said, 'I did 
 not think it possible for men to accomplish so 
 much.'" 
 
 Before dawn, on the 25th, Sherman was in the 
 saddle, and by the dim light which streaked the 
 cloudy east, as if foretelling a stormy day, he rode 
 along the entire line. A deep valley lay between 
 him and the steep hill beyond, which was partly 
 covered with trees to the narrow wooded top, 
 across which was a breastwork of logs and earth, 
 dark with men. Two guns enfiladed the narrow 
 way that led to it. Further back arose a still 
 higher hill, lined with guns that could pour a 
 plunging fire on the first hill if it should be taken. 
 The depth and character of the gorge between 
 could not be ascertained. Just as the rising sun 
 was tinging with red the murky rain-clouds, the 
 bugles sounded the advance, and Corse taking the 
 lead, briskly descended the hill, crossed the val- 
 ley, and under a heavy fire began to ascend the 
 opposite heights, and soon gained a foothold, 
 
 li 
 
THE CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 349 
 
 though the spot where he stood was swept by the 
 enemy's artillery. 
 
 It was in Sherman's advanced columns that 
 Belcher's regiment fought that day. Mark Stevens, 
 with his footsore and weary soldiers, fatigued 
 with marches and midnight reconnoissances, were 
 in the van. Mark was cool, and his soldiers were 
 all veterans. Sis had recovered from his wound 
 and was again in the ranks. Bill Simms was 
 with him. Alec was near his captain loading and 
 firing, as he advanced, at his former friends. 
 
 " We are going to have some hot work!" said 
 Alec, during a brief lull in the attack, as they 
 paused behind a large oak tree. 
 
 " Alec, do you believe in impressions?" asked 
 Mark. 
 
 "What do you mean?" Alec asked fixing his 
 eyes on the face of his cousin^ " Now look here, 
 Mark, for Heaven's sake don't go to making out 
 that you are expecting something bad. " 
 
 " Alec, I have passed through many conflicts 
 without a scratch, but never have I before felt as 
 I do now, and have felt, ever since we commenced 
 the march on Missionary Ridge. If I should be 
 slain, all m}' effects, my money and a letter which 
 you will find addressed to my mother are in the 
 pocket of my coat. You will also find a letter 
 addressed to Elsie Cole, please send it to her." 
 
350 UNION. 
 
 " Do you know where she is?" 
 
 " No. " 
 
 Before more could be said, the order was given 
 to advance and the great battle opened. For more 
 than an hour it swayed back and forth in Sher- 
 man's front. Bringing up brigade after bi'igade, 
 this galkmt commander nobly strove to carry the 
 lofty heights above him. By ten o'clock, it was 
 one peal of thunder from top to base, while tlie 
 smoke, in swift puffs and floating masses, draped 
 it like a waving mantle. Corse, severely 
 wounded, was borne to the rear, but the columns 
 still stubbornly held their ground. At this point 
 the battle raged furiously all forenoon. This most 
 northern and vital position must be held by the 
 rebels at all hazards, for if once taken, their rear 
 and all their stores at Chickamauga would be threat- 
 ened. So here Bragg massed his forces, and at 
 three o'clock p.m. was hurling column after col- 
 umn upon Sherman's advance, while gun after 
 gun poured its concentrated fire on them from 
 every hill and spur that gave a view of any part 
 of the ground. Once the Union lines were par- 
 tially forced back; but Sherman, by a skilful move, 
 recovered his lost ground, and drove the enemy to 
 cover. His men were sternly held to their terrible 
 work; but Sherman was growing impatient for 
 Grant to move on the centre, as he had promised 
 
THE CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 351 
 
 on the night before that he would. From his ele- 
 vated position, he could see the flags of Thomas' 
 corps waving in the murky atmosphere, but hour 
 after hour passed away, and still they did not ad- 
 vance. The enemy was still steadily massing his 
 forces against Sherman, and his troops having 
 fought from early dawn were almost exhausted. 
 
 For hours Grant sat on his horse, listening to 
 the thunder of artillery on his right, as Hooker 
 came down like an avalanche from the heights of 
 Lookout Mountain, and the deafening uproar on 
 his left, where Sherman, his favorite lieutenant, 
 was hurling his brave columns on the batteries of 
 the enemy, and still he moved not. Thinking at 
 one time that Sherman was too hard pressed, he 
 sent a brigade to his relief; but Sherman, who had 
 become thoroughly aroused at the resistance he 
 was meeting, sent it back saying that he did not 
 need it. And so, hour after hour, for six miles 
 the battle flamed and thundered along the rocky 
 crests, until, at last, the decisive moment looked 
 for by Grant had arrived. 
 
 Thomas' corps was moving on the acclivity four 
 hundred feet high in front. Upward, step by 
 step, the irrepressible Thomas pressed his way. 
 Bragg displayed wonderful generalship. He was 
 confronted by Grant, Hooker. Sherman and 
 Thomas, with forces vastly superior to his own, 
 
353 UNION. 
 
 and yet held his post with great fortitude and 
 bravery, until overpowered by odds and driven 
 from the field. 
 
 It was in the last charge up the heights of Mis- 
 sionary Kidge, that Mark pressed forward in the 
 extreme advance with Alec, Sis, and Bill Simms 
 at his side. The enemy were but a few feet away. 
 He saw Sis and a Confederate both fire at each 
 other at the same moment not ten paces apart, and 
 both missed. Sis began to reload as he advanced, 
 and the Confederate did the same. As Sis had to 
 climb up the steep and rocky acclivity, he dis- 
 covered that the Confederate would get loaded first. 
 The rebel was already feeling for his cap, when 
 Sis suddenly bounded forward, and with the butt 
 of his gun knocked him down, fracturing his skull 
 so that he died from the effects of the blow. They 
 were soon so close that bayonets were used, then 
 the sickening horrors of war were fully realized. 
 One man went down with two bayonets through 
 his body, the points crossing as they came out at 
 his back. 
 
 Amid all the uproar and excitement, Mark felt 
 a quick and sudden pain in his side, a mist came 
 before his eyes and his head swam. Alec saw 
 him, and leaping to his side cried: 
 
 "Mark, Mark!" 
 
 He caught him in his arms and let him down 
 
.MAKK; — eilLMN . — OLD FRIEND, HAS IT lO.ME To THIS 
 
THE CONFLICT IN THE CLOUDS. 353 
 
 easily. The captain closed his eyes, Alec glanced 
 to the West. The sun was setting and the Con- 
 federates, broken and defeated at every point, were 
 flying from the victorious Union arm}*. With 
 tears in his eyes, the kind-hearted Alec turned his 
 anxious gaze upon his captain lying on the ground 
 as peaceful as if asleep, and said : 
 
 "Mark! — cousin! — old friend, has it come at 
 last?" 
 
 23 
 
CHAPTER XYn. 
 
 AN ETHER FANTASY. 
 
 When Mark Stevens awoke, almost a week after 
 the fight on Missionary Ridge, he was lying in a 
 hospital with Alec at his side. He never forgot 
 how that friend bent over him with tears of joy, 
 and said : 
 
 " Tiiank God, you are better, — yes, thank God, 
 you won't die." 
 
 " How long have I been here?" he feebly asked. 
 
 "A week." 
 
 " A whole week?" 
 
 " Yes, you are very weak. You almost bled to 
 death." 
 
 " Were you wounded, Alec?" 
 
 " No. I took you in my arms and ran down 
 that accursed hill, which I believe was bloody 
 from top to bottom. I got detached to watch over 
 you. Mark, Colonel Belcher is dead, and there is 
 talk of " 
 
 Mark shook his head. He felt that this was no 
 time to talk of promotion. He was weak, very 
 354 
 
AN ETHER FANTASY. 355 
 
 weak,- but the surgeon came along and, with an 
 encouraging smile, said : 
 
 " You are better, my boy, but you must keep 
 very quiet, for you have no strength to spare. " 
 
 By a nod of his head, Mark intimated his will- 
 ingness to submit to hospital regulations. Days 
 wore on and Mark grew stronger, though the bullet 
 was still in his side. At times it pained him, so 
 that he wished that the surgeons had cut it out 
 before he recovered consciousness. He soon be- 
 came convinced that the operation would yet have 
 to be performed, before he would fully recover. 
 He talked with Alec about it one day, and he said 
 he had heard the surgeon major say as much him- 
 self ; so that Mark began to realize that some time 
 in the future he would have to submit to the opera- 
 tion. Though he shuddered with dread at the 
 thought, he was glad to know that he would be 
 relieved of the burden, which was becoming op- 
 pressive to him. 
 
 It seemed like a dream, yet it was a reality, — 
 that story he heard of a woman, young and fair, 
 who had suddenly appeared like an angel of mercy 
 on the field, and in the hospital, ministering to the 
 wants of the wounded. Another Miss Dix had 
 come, and all Chattanooga rang with her praise. 
 She was kind and gentle alike to Confederate and 
 Federal. Many a hero in blue or gray, blessed 
 
356 UNION. 
 
 her name with his dying breath. The Women's 
 Central Association for Relief, the United States 
 Sanitary Commission, and Young Men's Christian 
 Associations, were all doing good and noble work, 
 but all these were not enough. 
 
 There were many evidences of individual hero- 
 ism and exertion in relieving the sick and wounded. 
 Scarce had the smoke of battle rolled away from 
 about Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, 
 when there came from some place, no one knew 
 where, one of the fairest of Columbia's daughters. 
 Her sole mission was to do good, and her soft, 
 tender hands soothed many a fevered brow, or 
 bound up many a painful wound. 
 
 But she was searching for some one. General 
 Sherman, who met her one day, ascertained that 
 she was searching for a missing friend. 
 
 " Is he among the Federal troops or rebels ? " 
 asked Sherman. 
 
 "He is a Federal," she answered. As she 
 did not give his name, Sherman could not help 
 her. 
 
 She found him at last. It came about through 
 Alec. He had gone from the side of his wounded 
 captain for a few moments to get a few whiffs 
 of fresh air, with which, in spite of all the power- 
 ful disinfectants, modern science cannot fully sup- 
 ply a hospital. Alec was walking slowly down 
 
AN ETHER FANTASY. 357 
 
 the street, reflecting on the past, the present, and 
 trying to conjecture as to the future. 
 
 "How different — what changes!" he was think- 
 ing. " Who knows how it will end?" Then he 
 almost ran against some one. He stopped and 
 looked at the some one in astonishment, for he saw 
 a pair of roguish blue eyes, saddened by care and 
 grief, a wealth of golden hair, and a face which 
 had never failed to wonderfully impress him. He 
 bounded forward, and caught her hand, crying: 
 
 "What! Thunderation !— Old Nick and Gen- 
 eral Jackson! Can it be? By the Holy Jumping 
 Moses, it is! Well, may I be teetotally smashed, 
 girl, where did you come from?" 
 
 " Alec, — Alec Stevens, and in a Yankee uni- 
 form!" 
 
 " Yes, Elsie. I've turned over. I was a little 
 in doubt about which side was right in this quar- 
 rel, and I've fought on both so as to be sure." 
 
 Elsie's face wore a look of anxiet3^ She had 
 some curiosity to know Alec's history; but her 
 desire to know the fate of Mark Stevens was far 
 greater. She asked Alec about his cousin. Yes, 
 he knew where he was, had, in fact, just come 
 from his bedside. He was a captain now, and, if 
 he survived the operation of cutting a ball of lead 
 out of his side, he might be a colonel, as there was 
 a vacancy. Alec would show her to the hospital 
 
358 UNION. 
 
 where Captain Stevens was; but she must pass 
 inspection by the surgeon major before she would 
 be allowed to enter. 
 
 She had met the surgeon major, who knew 
 something of the noble, self-sacrificing lal)ors of 
 this young woman ; but the old major was a good 
 judge of human nature, and readily saw that the 
 young lady had something more than a general 
 interest in the wounded captain. He held quite a 
 lengthy interview with her before he decided to 
 admit her to the ward where the wounded captain 
 lay. 
 
 Even then, she was only admitted while he was 
 under the influence of opiates, or sleeping, so that 
 Mark was not sure, at first, that the sweet musical 
 voice and soothing touch were not only the pleasant 
 vagaries of a fevered vision. 
 
 Gradually he began to expect this sacred pres- 
 ence, and when he began to recover, felt fears that 
 he might lose it. The presence grew more and 
 more tangible, until he came to realize that she 
 was something more than the baseless fabric of a 
 dream. When he was able to be propped up in 
 bed, she sat by his side and held his fevered hand. 
 They did not talk of the past nor the future, for 
 they were forbidden to talk at all. Sometimes he 
 asked himself how she had come there, and won- 
 dered if she would remain until all was over one 
 
AN ETHER FANTASY. 359 
 
 way or the other. She had relatives somewhere, 
 why was she not with them? She did not speak 
 of them to him, nor was he at liberty to ask her 
 any questions. Since the appearance of Elsie 
 Cole, Alec did not come near the hospital. He 
 returned to his company, though he frequently 
 inquired after the captain. 
 
 Though Mark grew stronger, he was assured 
 that he must undergo the surgical operation. The 
 bullet must be removed, and the sooner it was 
 done, after he was strong enough to stand the 
 operation, the better. He became able to sit up, 
 and even walk about the room, and it seemed too 
 bad to be cut and hacked to pieces by those sci- 
 entific butchers. 
 
 Mark asked himself if he would have the nerve 
 to face the ordeal coolly. Any man, who is not a 
 poltroon, can find courage to fight when he is in 
 danger, and excited, but a surgical operation, with 
 all its calm, ghastly preparations, is another mat- 
 ter. To get on a table, lie down and take ether 
 or chloroform, with the knowledge that one is to 
 be carved, and aware that he has an even chance 
 of never waking up again, calls for a pluck of a 
 different order. At least, Mark thought so, and 
 suffered from a secret fear that he might make a 
 humiliating exhibition of himself. 
 
 Like one doomed to execution, the conscious- 
 
360 UNION. 
 
 ness that it had to be endowed him with self-con- 
 trol. And like a man who is going to be hanged, 
 he was anxious to have it over, and hastened 
 things by helping the doctors to move and arrange 
 the tables. He even rebuked one of the surgeons 
 quite severely, who was rather late in coming. 
 
 " Thank God!" he mentally ejaculated between 
 commands and queries as he lay stretched on his 
 back with the ether funnel over his mouth and 
 nostrils. At last the cursed thing that had made 
 his life a load was to be put to the sword. The 
 thing was personified to his mind, at that moment, 
 as a personal enemy, and the thought that if he 
 lived it must perish gave him a glow of revenge- 
 ful satisfaction. 
 
 That first inhalation of ether went into his lungs 
 like peppermint, and brought on a fit of coughing. 
 After the third or fourth whiff, he squeezed the 
 physician's hand, and experienced a desire to sit 
 up and propose ether all round. 
 
 " Doctor, " he said from under the paper cone, 
 " this is delightful ; it's as good as champagne. " 
 
 " Whir, whir, whir-r. " 
 
 "Heavens! doctor, this is most extraordinary. 
 Here, here, here! This won't do at all!" " Tap- 
 tap-tap-tap!" "Why, confound you, I'll knock 
 your head off!" " B'rr b'rr b'rr ! Whir, whir, 
 whir-r-r-rip!" "Let go, you scoundrel! You 
 
AN ETHER FANTASY. 361 
 
 won't? Murder me, would you?" " B'rr, b'rr, 
 b'rr!" "Ha, ha, ha, ha!" 
 
 He came to consciousness in his coffin. The 
 darkness was black and so thick that to breathe it 
 stifled him. The weight of six feet of earth 
 pressed upon his breast. Although the coffin lid 
 was really between him and this mass, he panted 
 under its crushing pressure. The sweat burst 
 coldly through his skin, the blood rushed into his 
 brain, and it oozed from his eyes and ears. Each 
 hair tingled to its very end. He felt in an instant 
 that he should go mad and lay there in his rayless 
 prison shrieking, foaming and gnashing his teeth, 
 but was held from movement by the walls of wood 
 and earth. If he could turn and try to lift the lid 
 and the filled grave with his back, perhaps there 
 might be one chance in a million that the frenzied 
 strength of despair would prevail. 
 
 Turn ! He might as well attempt to fly. The 
 lid was within an inch of his chest — his chin 
 touched it. His hands were by his sides and there 
 was not room to move them. His fingers and toes 
 answered to his will, and he could roll his head 
 from side to side. That was all. 
 
 To be a raving maniac in a bare, stone cell — 
 that would be freedom, happiness; but this! 
 Hissings and flashings of dazzling light within his 
 brain warned him. It was better to lie still and 
 
362 UNION. 
 
 die by suffocation, than to go mad and perish in a 
 hurricane of impotent agony. 
 
 It would soon be over. The air in the coffin, 
 ah'eady hot, humid and sickening with the odors 
 of decay, could not last long. So he composed 
 himself, closed his eyes, and all his consciousness 
 was centred in the one purpose of keeping an iron 
 clutch upon his will. Every other thought, 
 whether of life or death, self, or those he loved, he 
 held at bay. 
 
 There darted out of his memory a long, tun- 
 nel-like hall of stone, in which he had once sat 
 grieving for a friend. It was very dark — dark as 
 this grave in which he lay manacled, shackled and 
 gnashing his teeth until they cracked. This tun- 
 nel-like hall was in the cemetery where he was 
 buried. While he sat, his elbow on a little, 
 wooden table and his head bowed upon his hand, 
 far away at the end of the strange tunnel, a bright 
 blue electric spark appeared, for an instant, like a 
 minute star, and then came a faint ringing. 
 Twice this flash and sound were repeated, and 
 then all was as before, dark, damp, silent and sad. 
 
 In his coffin he understood, and a torrent of 
 horror swept over him. His friend had been 
 buried alive, and had sent this appeal from the 
 tomb for succor. And he had sat there dumb and 
 motionless, while the one whom he loved had lain 
 
 I 
 
AN ETHER FANTASY. 363 
 
 and faced an awful death such as he was facing 
 now; had gone through this ordeal, which no one 
 can understand, until he has endured it! Oh, 
 horrible! horrible! 
 
 He beat his temples on the coffin's sides in an 
 ecstasy of remorse. Such dulness destined him 
 thus to die. Some one should always be on the 
 watch in that cavern read}' to spring to the rescue 
 of such poor buried wretches as touched the bell 
 coi-d, with which, he now remembered, every coffin 
 was provided. 
 
 There was hope then. They could dig him out 
 before life was wholly gone. 
 
 He knew where the cord was, — just under the 
 lid, above his left shoulder. He could not raise 
 his hands to it, and his head was beyond it ; but 
 he thought he might raise his shoulder and press 
 it against the knotted end of the cord, so as to 
 pull it and ring the bell. Of course it would be 
 easy enough. Those who arranged such matters 
 knew what they were about. 
 
 He raised his .shoulder. 
 
 The knotted cord, his only hope of life, was be- 
 yond his reach. 
 
 He must go mad. Life was within two inches 
 of him, and he unable to reach it. If he could 
 turn, his right shoulder in coming in contact with 
 the knotted cord, would certainly pull it down- 
 
364 
 
 UNION. 
 
 ward and so ring the bell. But turning was im- 
 possible. 
 
 No, it was not impossible. He would turn if 
 it broke every bone in liis body to splinters. 
 
 The lid — oh, curse that lid, with a world's 
 
 Then a warm, soft, loving hand took his. 
 
 weight upon it, it was as immovable as a moun- 
 tain! A living demon must be holding it against 
 his shoulder to keep him from rubbing the cord 
 which would ring away the darkness, the torture, 
 and the grave. Forty men could not, all together, 
 
AN ETHER FANTASY. 365 
 
 possess the splendid, furious strengtli with which 
 he steadily, surely turned. Crack, bones! Bleed, 
 flesh! Roar, thunder! flash, lightning! Heavens! 
 can it be 
 
 "Well, sir, how are you feeling?" 
 
 " Hello, doctor! Haven't you begun the " 
 
 "It's all over, my boy, and as pretty a job as I 
 ever did in my life. " 
 
 Then a warm, soft, loving hand took his. The 
 mists gathered, but through them dimlv he saw 
 her face, and sank into a sweet, painless slumber. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 " I HAVE A WIFE. '" 
 
 The recovery of Mark Stevens was rapid. The 
 bullet, wliich had been the thorn in his side, and 
 the great hindrance to his recovery, being removed, 
 his youth, strong constitution, and everything now 
 was in his favor. During all that critical period 
 in his illness, Elsie hovered over hira, like an 
 angel of mercy and love. 
 
 They spoke of neither the past nor the future. 
 • They talked of the present only, when they talked 
 at all, which was seldom. Theirs was a silent de- 
 votion, and he was never happier than when she 
 was at his side, holding his thin, wasted hand in 
 hers; but he instinctively realized that this could 
 not last always. She must go away. Elsie was 
 like the angels. They approach nearer when 
 comes the grim monster death, and recede with re- 
 turning health. When he had recovered, she was 
 gone; he knew not whither, nor could any one 
 inform him. She had last been seen about the 
 hospitals, flitting here and there, a ray of sunshine 
 366 
 
"I HA VE A WIFE. ' ' 367 
 
 wherever she went. Then she disappeared as 
 completely as if she had melted into air. On 
 returning to his headquarters, he found Alec, and 
 asked him whither she had gone. 
 
 " I don't know," the soldier answered, rubbing 
 away on his gun barrel, which he was brightening. 
 
 " Did she tell you she was going. Alec?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 Alec seemed averse to talking on the subject, 
 and Mark asked him no more questions about 
 her. 
 
 " She is gone, " thought Mark. " Perhaps it 
 were better if we never saw each other again. In 
 time I might forget her. No, — no, I could never 
 do that, — though I will not allow myself to believe 
 that Elsie Cole loves me. She feels grateful, be- 
 cause I saved her life ; but she has surely repaid 
 the debt with interest. " 
 
 Mark was soon able to assume command of his 
 company, and a part of the time commanded the 
 regiment. After the severe struggle at Missionary 
 Ridge and Lookout Mountain, a short season of 
 rest was granted the regiment. 
 
 There was no slackening in the war, however. 
 It raged in North Carolina, where General J. F. 
 Foster, quartered at New Berne, was sending out 
 raiding parties to scatter Confederate forces gather- 
 ing here and there to recover the lost posts in that 
 
368 UNION. 
 
 State. Althougli Charleston had become a com- 
 paratively unimportant point in the grand theatre 
 of war, its possession was coveted by the national 
 government because of the salutary effect it would 
 produce. General Quincy A. Gillmore, who suc- 
 ceeded General Hunter in the command of the 
 Southern department, planned an expedition against 
 Charleston by land and water. After a futile 
 effort to capture Fort Wagner, he began a regular 
 siege. With infinite labor, a battery was con- 
 structed in a morass, half-way between Morris and 
 James Islands, upon a platform of heavy timbers 
 standing in the deep black mud. When a lieu- 
 tenant of engineers was ordered to construct it, he 
 declared : 
 
 " It is impossible. " His commanding officer 
 replied : 
 
 " There is no such word as impossible ; call for 
 what you need." 
 
 Whereupon the lieutenant, who was a wag, 
 made a requisition on the quartermaster for " one 
 hundred men, eighteen feet high, to wade in mud 
 sixteen feet deep;" and he gravely inquired of the 
 engineer if these men might not be spliced if re- 
 quired. The lieutenant was arrested for contempt, 
 but soon after released ; when he built the redoubt 
 with the services of men of ordinary height. Upon 
 the redoubt was erected a Parrott gun, which they 
 
 I 
 
"I HAVE A WIFE.'' 369 
 
 called " The Swamp Angel," tLat sent shells into 
 Charleston, five miles away. 
 
 General Gillmore was ready for another attack 
 on Forts Wagner and Sumter, on the 17th of 
 August, and on that day the guns of twelve bat- 
 teries and of the fleet opened upon them. Be- 
 fore night the walls of Sumter began to crum- 
 ble, and its cannon, under the pressure of Dahl- 
 gren's guns, ceased to roar. The land troops 
 pushed their parallels nearer and nearer to Fort 
 Wagner; while the fleet continually pounded 
 away, day after day, until the 6th of September, 
 when General Terry was prepared to storm the 
 latter work. Then it was ascertained that the 
 Confederates had evacuated it, and fled from 
 Morris Island. Gillmore took possession of Fort 
 Wagner, and turned its guns on Fort Sumter, bat- 
 tering it terribly, and, it was thought, driving away 
 the garrison ; but when a force in boats attempted 
 to seize the fort, they found a strong force there, 
 which repulsed them with heavy loss. Late in 
 October (1863), Gillmore brought his heaviest guns 
 to bear on Sumter and reduced it to a heap of ruins. 
 As a commercial mart, Charleston now had no exist- 
 ence. For months, not a blockade runner had en- 
 tered its harbor. Wealth and trade had departed. 
 The first city to strike at the flag of the Union had 
 paid in fire, tears and blood, for the great wrong. 
 24 
 
370 UNION. 
 
 In the West and Southwest, the war was on the 
 decline. The Confederates reoccupied all Texas 
 in 1863, and carried on a sort of guerilla warfare 
 in Arkansas during most of that year. On the 
 20th of April, 1863, Marmaduke, the Confederate 
 general, fought a strong Union force at Cape 
 Girardeau, and was defeated and driven out of the 
 State. 
 
 General Banks, from his Red River expedition, 
 marched to the siege of Port Hudson, and General 
 Taylor, the Confederate, for awhile overran 
 Louisiana and Texas; but the middle of July 
 witnessed the fall of Port Hudson, and then Banks 
 expelled the meddlesome Taylor from the country 
 eastward of the Atchafalaya. This was the last 
 struggle of Taylor's forces to gain a foothold on 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 At the opening of the third year of the civil 
 war, 1864, there were many hopeful signs of suc- 
 cess for the defenders of the life of the republic. 
 Though the national debt exceeded a billion dol- 
 lars, the public credit was never better. Loyal 
 people stood for the government and trusted it 
 with a faith that was sublime. Those who trusted 
 the government in its hour of adversity, made 
 money. Many a man in but moderate circum- 
 stances in 1861, was a millionaire in 1871. The 
 Confederate debt was almost as great as the Na- 
 
"J HAVE A WIFE.' 371 
 
 tional debt, witli a prospective increase during the 
 year likely to double that amount. The Con- 
 federate government had contracted loans abroad, 
 to almost 115,000,000, of which sum the South- 
 ern Independence Association in England (composed 
 chiefly of British aristocracy) loaned a large share 
 and lost it ; the security offered for the Confederate 
 bonds being cotton to be forwarded. This was 
 never delivered. The producers of the Confed- 
 eracy, better informed than their English sympa- 
 thizers, were unwilling to trust the promises of 
 their own government, and withheld supplies ; for 
 they preconceived the worthlessness of the bonds 
 and paper currency of the Confederates. The 
 people in the South were no longer willing to vol- 
 unteer for the military service ; and Davis and his 
 associates at Richmond, in their desperation, pro- 
 ceeded to the exercise of a despotic act which has 
 no parallel in the history of any republic. By 
 the passage of a law they declared every ivhite man 
 in the Confederacy, liable to bear arms, to be in the 
 military service ; and that, upon his failure to report 
 for duty at a military station within a certain time, 
 he was liable to the penalty of death for a deserter ! 
 While the authorities at Richmond were prepar- 
 ing to carry out these measures, they received a 
 dispatch from Lord John Russell, the British For- 
 eign Secretary, which deprived them of the last 
 
372 UNION. 
 
 prop of liope for the recognition of the indepen- 
 dence of the Confederate States from any foreign 
 State, excepting that of the Roman Pontiff. That 
 dispatch gave notice that no more vessels should 
 be fitted out in Great Britain (nor tolerated in 
 British waters) for depredating on the commerce 
 of the United States by the " so called Confederate 
 States." The last expression, ignoring the very 
 existence of the Confederacy, was significant and 
 offensive to the heads of the government. Davis 
 made a sharp reply protesting against the "studied 
 insult;" and from this time on to the end, the 
 Southern Confederacy felt that England coi^ld no 
 longer be looked upon as a trusted friend. 
 
 France, in the last year of the war, took advan- 
 tage of the distracted condition of the country to 
 violate the })rinciples of the Monroe Doctrine sacred 
 to every American; and, by the establishment of 
 Maximilian as emperor of Mexico, overthrew a 
 republic and set up an empire on the Western con- 
 tinent; but the ambitious Napoleon III. brought 
 ruin upon Maximilian and himself. 
 
 Early in 1804, in order to more completely 
 unify the army. Congress created the office of 
 Lieutenant-General, and Ulysses S. Grant was 
 nominated to fill the office. He became general- 
 in-chief of the armies of the Republic, and fixed 
 liis headcpiarters with the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 11 
 
"J HAVE A WIFE." 373 
 
 In the Southwest, Sherman was making war 
 terrible. The destruction of public and private 
 property was enormous, and can only be excused 
 on the ground that it was necessary to conquer so 
 stubborn an enemy as the South. Nevertheless 
 the Christian must admit there was little of the 
 humane or Christian about it. There is nothing 
 humane or Christ-like in war. No])ublic property 
 of the Confederates was spared, and in many in- 
 stances private houses were burned. The station 
 houses and rolling-stock of the railroads were re- 
 duced to ashes. The tracks were torn up, and the 
 rails, heated by burning ties cast into heaps, were 
 twisted and ruined, and by bending them, while 
 red hot, around a sapling, converted into what the 
 men called "Jeff Davis neck-ties." General Sher- 
 man intended to push on to Montgomery, Ala- 
 bama, and then, if circumstances appeared favora- 
 ble, to go southward and attack Mobile. 
 
 In May, 1864, General John Morgan, a daring 
 Confederate cavalryman, who had been a terror to 
 Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, was driven out of 
 Kentucky into East Tennessee, where he was sur- 
 prised at Greeneville and shot dead in a vineyard, 
 while trying to escape. 
 
 General Robert E. Lee was the master soldier of 
 the war. Though an enemy to his countr}' and 
 Qurs, though an enemy to the very nation his noble 
 
374 
 
 UNION. 
 
 Gen. Robert E. Lee. 
 
 ancestors bad helped build, and though his crimes 
 cannot be condoned, we must nevertheless regard 
 him as the superior military genius of either army. 
 The man, who came nearest being 
 his match, was General Meade, at 
 Gettysburg. For fighting and re- 
 treating, for holding together a 
 poorly equipped and poorly fed 
 army, for skilful flank movements, 
 for fruitfulness in resources, and 
 all that goes to make up a great 
 military genius, Lee rises above 
 any man in either the northern or 
 southern armies. 
 When General Grant, flushed with the victories 
 of the west, took up his headquarters with the 
 Army of the Potomac with the finest army ever 
 on American soil, great things were expected, nor 
 was the public disappointed ; but had not Grant 
 possessed inexhaustible resources, of men, money, 
 arms, clothing and food, his bull-dog tenacity 
 would have proved his ruin. 
 
 These two giants, with their sjjlendid corps of 
 officers, first met in the Wilderness, May -f and 
 5, 1864, when the long stubborn conflict began. 
 It was during this conflict that Grant sent his 
 famous dispatch to the president: '' I propose to 
 fiijld it out on tl/is line if it takes all summer. ^^ 
 
 i 
 
"7 HAVE A WIFE." 375 
 
 General Grant had an army of one hundred and 
 forty thousand men under such lieutenants as 
 Sheridan and Custer, Sedgwick, Meade, and 
 others. Lee had sixty thousand men, less than 
 half of Grant's forces. In two days General Grant 
 lost thirty thousand men, of which only five tliou- 
 sand were prisoners, while Lee's losses were but 
 ten thousand. The battle of the Wilderness can- 
 not be claimed as a victory for Grant, and the 
 reckless loss of life can only be excused on the 
 ground that the " hotter the war, the sooner would 
 they have peace." May 7, 1SG4, Lee retreated 
 toward Spottsylvania Court-IIouse, the Union 
 army following and still fighting. On the 8th the 
 battle of Spottsylvania was fought with an indeci- 
 sive result. On the 10th, the battle was continued 
 with a loss of ten thousand on the Union side. 
 The result was still doubtful. On the 12th, Lee 
 and Grant again fought with an indecisive result. 
 On the 13th, General Sheridan destroyed Lee's 
 depot of supplies in his rear near Beaver Dam. 
 By the 21st, Lee, being flanked by overwhelming 
 masses brought against him, retired from Spottsyl- 
 vania to the North Anna. On the 25th, General 
 Stuart, the able Confederate cavalry leader, was 
 killed, and General Sheridan, who was fast rising 
 in military fame, after pei'forming a series of bril- 
 liant and daring deeds in Lee's rear, joined General 
 
376 L^.ViU.V. 
 
 Grant. Grant seldom lost a foot of ground that 
 he had gained, and at any and all cost pushed on. 
 While there may have been more brilliant officers 
 in the field, he possessed the excellent faculty of 
 " hanging on" to an extraordinary degree. His 
 frightful losses of three to one of the enemy, 
 would have disheartened an}' other general. Al- 
 though he had lost an army of soldiers during the 
 month of May, on the 2Tth of that month he crossed 
 the Pamunky and flanked Lee at Hanovertown. 
 
 On June 1, 1864, the battle of Cold Harbor was 
 fought, the result indecisive, but loss on both sides 
 fearful. Tliough the rebel losses were much less 
 than Grant's, they had no resources to draw from. 
 
 On the loth, an unsuccessful assault of three 
 days was made on Petersburg, with a loss on the 
 Union side of ten thousand men. General Grant 
 had been at the head of the Arnw of the Potomac 
 less tluin three months, and had lost the enormous 
 number of sixty-four tliousand men, four thousand 
 men more than comprised Lee's army in the lie- 
 ginning, and almost as many as were thouglit 
 necessary, in 1861, to })ut down the rebellion. 
 Lse's losses were a little over half as many. It 
 was now c|uite evident that the war was to be a 
 war of endurance. On the 20th of June, Peters- 
 burg was strongly reinforced by Lee, and Grant's 
 advance checked. 
 
"J HAVE A WIFE." 377 
 
 In the west, GenerrJ Sherman was following the 
 plan of General Grant. In fact, there was a won- 
 derful similarity between these officers. Neither 
 seemed to know the word failure. 
 
 On the loth of Ma}-, while Grant and Lee were 
 fighting at Spottsylvania, Sherman, after a two 
 days' fight, drove Johnston from Resaca, Georgia. 
 Sherman pushed on after Johnston, and these giants 
 again met at Kenesaw Mountains on June 27tli. 
 Johnston had been compelled to abandon post after 
 post before the approach of Sherman's conquering 
 columns. The Kenesaw Mountains overlook Mari- 
 etta. Around these great hills and upon their 
 slopes and summits, and also upon Lost and Pine 
 Mountains, the Confederates had cast up intrench- 
 nients and planted signal stations; but, after a des- 
 perate struggle — fighting battle after battle for the 
 space of about a month, while the rain was falling 
 copiously, almost without intermission — the Con- 
 federates were forced to leave these strong positions. 
 They fled toward the Chattahoochee River, in tlie 
 direction of Atlanta, closely pursued by the Nation- 
 als. One of the corps commanders. Bishop Polk, 
 was killed by a sliell on the summit of Pine Moun- 
 tain. So persistently did Johnston dispute the 
 way from Dalton, in northern Georgia, to Atlanta, 
 that when he reached the entrenchments at the latter 
 place, he had lost nearly one-fourth of his army. 
 
378 UNION. 
 
 On the evening of July 2d, Sherman's cavalry 
 threatened Johnston's flanks, also menacing the 
 ferry at Chattahoochee, and the Confederates aban- 
 doned the Great Kenesaw, and fled. At dawn 
 next morning, when the national skirmishers 
 planted the stars and stripes over the Confederate 
 battery on the summit of that eminence, they saw 
 hosts of the enemy flying in hot haste toward At- 
 lanta. At eight o'clock Sherman entered Marietta, 
 close on the heels of Johnston's army. He hoped 
 to strike the Confederates a fatal blow while they 
 were crossing the Chattahoochee; but Johnston, by 
 quick and skilful movements, passed the stream 
 without molestation, and made a stand along the 
 line of it. General Howard laid a pontoon bridge 
 two miles above the ferry where Johnston had 
 crossed, and at the same time there was a general 
 movement of Sherman's forces all along the line. 
 The imperilled Confederates were forced to aban- 
 don their works near the Chattahoochee, and retreat 
 to a new line that covered Atlanta, their left rest- 
 ing on the Chattahoochee and their right on Peach 
 Tree Creek. The two armies rested until the mid- 
 dle of July. The able and judicious leader, John- 
 ston, was succeeded by Hood of Texas, a dashing 
 but less cautious officer than his predecessor. 
 Sixty -five days after Sherman had put his army 
 in motion southward, he was master of the whole 
 
/ HAVE A WIFE.'' 
 
 379 
 
 country north and west of the river on the banks 
 of which he was resting (nearly one-half of 
 Georgia) and had accomplished one of the chief 
 ol)jects of the campaign, namely, the advancement 
 of the National lines from the 
 Tennessee to the Chattahoochee. 
 
 The possession of Atlanta, the 
 key-point of military advantage in 
 that region, was the next prize to 
 be contended for. About the 16th 
 of July, the National army began 
 its advance, destroying railways 
 and skirmishing bravely; and on 
 the 20th, the Confederates, led by 
 Hood in person, fell upon the corps 
 of Howard, Hooker, and Palmer, with heavy force. 
 The assailants were repulsed after a sharp battle 
 in which both parties suffered severely. 
 
 There were indications that Hood intended to 
 evacuate Atlanta; but when Sherman's troops 
 moved rapidly toward the city, they encountered 
 strong entrenchments. Before these, a part of 
 Hood's army held their antagonists; while the 
 main body, led by General Hardee, made a long, 
 night march, gained the rear of Sherman's forces 
 on the morning of July 22d, and fell on them with 
 crushing weight and numbers. A terrific battle 
 ensued, lasting many hours ; and after a brief inter- 
 
 Gen. W. T. Sherman. 
 
380 UNION. 
 
 val, one still more sanguinary was begun, which 
 resulted in a victory for the United States troops, 
 and the retreat of the Confederates to their works. 
 General McPherson was that day killed by sharp- 
 shooters in the woods, and General John A. Logan 
 took his place in command. On the 28th of July, 
 another terrible battle was fought before Atlanta, 
 and the Confederates were again driven to their 
 lines ; and from that time until the close of August, 
 hostilities in that region were confined, chiefly, to 
 raids upon railways and the interruption of each 
 other's supplies. On the 31st of August, the forces 
 of Howard and Hardee had a severe battle at 
 Jonesboro, twenty miles below Atlanta, in which 
 the Confederates were defeated. When Hood 
 heard of this disaster, he perceived his j^eril, and 
 blowing up his magazine at Atlanta, formed a 
 junction witli Hardee, and with his whole army 
 soon recrossed the Chattahoochee. Hood had lost 
 nearlv half his infantry in the space of a few weeks. 
 The Union army entered Atlanta September 2, 
 1864. 
 
 Mark Stevens, since his recovery and return to 
 the command of his company, had seen active 
 service. Though he had been promoted to major, 
 he never lost interest in his company. For merito- 
 rious conduct, and through the influence of his 
 cousin Mark, Alec, despite the fact that he had 
 
"J HAVE A WIFE." 381 
 
 come, as he said, to serve the coinitry as a private, 
 and carry a musket, was made lieutenant. At 
 Kenesaw Mountains, the mortality of the officers 
 was very great and when the conflict was over 
 Alec had a captain's commission. 
 
 While the army was operating about Atlanta 
 just previous to the fall of that city, Major Stevens 
 was sent with a force of one hundred and fifty men 
 to a small village at the head of a creek to capture 
 a Confederate colonel, who was reported to be 
 lodging in a large stone house. He took witli him 
 Alec and his company, and a part of two other 
 companies. The country was full of Confederate 
 cavalry, and there was great danger of their de- 
 tachment being cut off. The night was dark and, 
 as the men began the march, a fine driz/le of rain 
 commenced. Bill Simms said: 
 
 " This reminds me o' one night when I was 
 with Gineral Percy." 
 
 Upon which a comrade put in: 
 
 " Oh, Bill Simms, for goodness sake give Gin- 
 eral Percy an' all the rest o" us a rest." 
 
 " No talking in ranks I Forimrd !"' 
 
 Awa}' they marched in gloom, darkness and 
 falling mist. Not one of the men knew the object 
 of the expedition. That secret was known only to 
 Mark and the two captains. For hours they 
 marched in an unknown land. A forest loomed 
 
382 UNION. 
 
 up before them. The major walked at the side of 
 his cousin Alec, leading the force, preceded by 
 the guide, a bright young mulatto, tlioroughly 
 acquainted with the country. 
 
 About two o'clock in the morning, having 
 traversed a dark forest, they came in sight of the 
 village. Mark and Alec held a short consultation, 
 after which they drew up their forces in a peach 
 orchard near the house. Accomj^anied by Alec, 
 Bill Simms, Sis and Lieutenant Black, Mark went 
 to the big stone house, not over fifty paces away. 
 
 The night was dark and there was but one 
 light visible at a window. This light was in the 
 gable. 
 
 The reconnoitring party went completely round 
 the bourse searching for some means of entering it 
 unperceived. When they had reached the rear, 
 they were assailed by a ferocious dog, which Lieu- 
 tenant Black ran through with his sword. 
 
 There was a broad piazza, or high porch in 
 front; and, finding no means of entering the build- 
 ing save the doors which were closed, Mark deter- 
 mined to demand admittance at the great front 
 entrance. He left Lieutenant Black at the south 
 end of the house, Bill Simms was in the rear. Sis 
 at the north wing, while Alec was to remain on the 
 piazza, as it would be nearest to the major. All 
 were to keep their positions unless summoned by 
 
"/ HAVE A WIFE." 383 
 
 the major to come to his aid. Mark went to the 
 door and rapped lightly. There being no re- 
 sponse, he rapped again louder than before, and 
 still receiving no answer, he struck the door with 
 the butt end of his revolver, a blow which made 
 it tremble. 
 
 Listening carefully, he was soon rewarded by a 
 light footstep inside. 
 
 " That is surely a woman's footstep, " he thought. 
 
 The door opened just a little, and he heard a 
 whispered: 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 Quickly throwing all his force against the door, 
 he pushed it open wide enough to enter, and 
 sprang into a dark corridor. As he did so, he 
 heard the voice of a negro woman exclaim, 
 
 " De good lawd a massy !" and the sound of re- 
 treating feet on the carpeted hall, fell on his ears; 
 but some one remained, and he grappled with this 
 person. The slender wrist he caught, he knew to 
 be a woman's. 
 
 "Come, I won't harm you," he said in an 
 undertone. " Get me a light. Lead me to a room 
 where there is a light. " 
 
 She made no answer, and he pushed her back 
 toward the rear end of the hall, where there was a 
 door opening into an apartment on the right. Into 
 this he forced his prisoner. It was too dark to 
 
384 UNION. 
 
 recognize her features! Pushing her into the 
 apartment on the right, Mark took a match from 
 his pocket and struck it, and lighted a candle that 
 stood on the low mantel. Turning, he saw the 
 face of his astonished prisoner, and, starting back 
 with an exclamation of wonder, he gasped: 
 
 "Elsie!" 
 
 She stood giving him a look of cold, though 
 tender reproach. For a full minute, neither spoke. 
 Then recovering himself, he asked : 
 
 " Elsie, in Heaven's name, why are you here?" 
 
 " Do you come for any one in this house?" 
 
 " Is there a Confederate colonel here?" 
 
 " Yes. " Her face was pale as death , and her 
 voice faltered as she answered his question. " But 
 he is wounded and would die if an attempt were 
 made to remove him, " she added in a broken voice. 
 
 Mark then asked : 
 
 " Has he any troops with him?" 
 
 " No, he is alone." He saw tears gathering in 
 her eyes and asked : 
 
 " Elsie, is that colonel your father?" 
 
 "He is." 
 
 " God forgive me. I would die before I would 
 harm him." 
 
 " Where are you going?" 
 
 " Back to camp to perjure myself, " he answered. 
 " I will swear there is no Confederate here. " 
 
I HAVE A WIFE." 
 
 385 
 
 " Mark, Mark !" She held her hand toward him, 
 and he paused. " Will you do this for — for me?" 
 
 For a moment a flood of emotion swept over 
 him, and he almost forgot himself. He had taken 
 a step toward her, when he paused and said: 
 
 " Yes, and I would do a thousand times more. " 
 
 Quickly wheeling about, he left the house and 
 calling Alec, Black, and the others, returned to 
 his troops in the peach orchard. In ten minutes 
 they were on their wa}' 
 to their camp, which was 
 reached at daylight. In 
 a charge that day Lieu- 
 tenant Black was killed. 
 Mark never mentioned 
 the affair to any one, 
 until after the fall of 
 Atlanta. 
 
 Three days after the 
 capture of the city, he 
 and Alec were together, 
 when the latter said-. 
 
 " Mark, you remem- 
 ber the night we went 
 to capture the colonel at the old stone house?" 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 " Well, I would like to know whom you saw 
 there?" 
 35 
 
 'Elsie!' 
 
386 UNION. 
 
 "Elsie Cole." 
 
 " I thought so. You need not have been afraid 
 of telling me. I'd a been racked on the rack, 
 burnt on the stake, drawn through a thorn thicket 
 and squeezed to death in a cider-press, before I 
 would have peached. " 
 
 " Alec, I never doubted you, but having been 
 untrue to my trust, I did not want to make an- 
 other an accessory to my crime. " 
 
 " He was there?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Who was it?" 
 
 "Elsie's father." 
 
 For a moment Alec was silent, then in his charac- 
 teristic manner he seized his friend's hand and cried : 
 
 " Mark, I am proud of you, cussed if I ain't. 
 You have showed yourself a man with a heart as 
 big as an ox, and I know it. Talk about duty 
 and sentiment and all that, but I would not give a 
 tinker's cuss for a man who would sacrifice a 
 friend, because he holds to a different notion of 
 things. But, Mark," and then his face grew more 
 mysterious, and his voice dropped almost to a whis- 
 per, " tell me what all this mystery is? Why 
 don't you propose to that girl, whom you love, 
 and marry her? What is in the way? Is it me? 
 If it is I'll swear I'll put myself out of the way 
 very soon. " 
 
"7 HAVE A WIFE." 387 
 
 " You are not in the way, Alec. " 
 " Why don't you marry her, then?" 
 " Because I already have a wifeV 
 Alec uttered a yell and stared at his cousin as if 
 he thought him suddenly gone mad. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE CLOUDS KOLL AWAY. 
 
 " Yes, Alec, I am a married man and have been 
 all these years," continued Mark Stevens in a low, 
 melancholy voice. " I don't blame you for start- 
 ing and staring at me. There you have it all. Alec, 
 — you know what a villain I am, and I would not 
 blame you, if you cut my acquaintance entirely." 
 
 For several minutes Alec Stevens was silent. 
 They had walked a long distance into the suburbs 
 of the city, and reached a dismantled fort. Alec 
 sat down on a gun-carriage and with his honest 
 brow gathered into a knot, tried hard to solve the 
 difficult and delicate problem. 
 
 Could it be possible that his dearest friend for 
 whom he had so often risked his life, and for 
 whom he would have staked his all, was a villain? 
 Alec would not have listened to such an im})uta- 
 tion from other lips, and even now it seemed im- 
 possible. Mark could not have been all these 
 years living a double life. Alec's voice was some- 
 what husk}', when he asked: 
 388 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 389 
 
 " Mark, when was it? Before the war began?" 
 
 " Yes, before I ever saw Elsie at your home in 
 Florida, " the major answered. 
 
 " Where is your wife?" 
 
 " I don't know. Heaven knows I would give 
 all I possess to know." 
 
 " Did she desert you?" 
 
 " No. " 
 
 " You left her?" 
 
 " No. " 
 
 " Well, who? — how? — what in thunder happened 
 to separate you anyway? Did the earth split in 
 two and one slide off on each side?" 
 
 " We were torn asunder within two hours after 
 we were married. " 
 
 Alec sat on the cannon gazing in open-mouthed 
 amazement at his cousin for several seconds, and, 
 at last, finding voice, asked: 
 
 "Who did it?" 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Well, but your wife's family name, you could 
 surely find her by " 
 
 " I never knew her name, " Mark interrupted. 
 " Nor do I know from whence she came." 
 
 "Oh, thunderation! Mark, are you mad — what 
 kind of a cock-and-a-bull story are you telling me 
 anyway ? " 
 
 " Be patient and I will relate this melancholy 
 
390 UNION. 
 
 story, which may throw some li^ht on the mystery 
 that has enshrouded my life. When you left me 
 in college, you know how ambitious I was to finish 
 up my education, and get out into the great, busy 
 world. After you left me at old Harvard, I 
 studied so hard that my mind became confused. 
 Horace, Plato and Integral Calculus became badly 
 mixed in my brain, and I failed to sleep. I went 
 to a physician, who instead of prescribing rest and 
 fresh air for my insomnia, dosed me wi.th bromide 
 until my mind was full of wild fantasies, and 
 then to cap the climax with his stupidity, hurried 
 me oS. to an asylum for the insane. 
 
 " I have little knowledge of how I came there, 
 and still less of what transpired while I was there. 
 It seems my bromide delirium took a strange turn. 
 My mind was full of horses and lovely maidens. 
 Like Don Quixote, I imagined myself some knight 
 of the past centuries, destined to rescue a fair lady 
 from some enchanted castle, and one day while 
 riding on horseback about the grounds with my 
 attendant, we came upon a patient, fair and young, 
 accompanied by her attendant, also riding on 
 horseback. In my mad fancy, I supposed this the 
 lady whom I was to rescue. I charged down upon 
 the attendant, and with the affrighted girl fled 
 through the open gate. She was a superb horse- 
 woman, as I remember her now, and lovely as 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 391 
 
 Venus. In our mad ride, we outstripped our pur- 
 suers, went to a local preacher's house, about five 
 miles from the institution, and were married. 
 Within an hour after, we were both arrested, and 
 taken back to the institution, from which mj 
 friends immediately removed me, and in a few 
 weeks I recovered. My recollection of the whole 
 affair is vague and dream -like, yet it has left a 
 lasting impression on my life. " 
 
 At the conclusion of Mark's storj-. Alec gave 
 vent to a prolonged whistle and exclaimed : 
 
 " Shades of the Arabian Nights, Don Quixote 
 outdone! I'll be hanged if I know whether to 
 laugh or cry. Mark, have you made any great 
 effort to learn who your insane bride was?" 
 
 " Yes, I have searched everywhere, and done 
 everything possible to find her. All that I could 
 learn is that her parents, who were wealthy, became 
 indignant at the carelessness of the officials and 
 removed her. I did hear an unreliable story about 
 her recovering almost immediatel}' on her removal. 
 She had been entered under an assumed name. 
 Her friends hoped that she might recover, and the 
 world never know that she had been in such an in- 
 stitution. She was from some distant state, and 
 every clew to her identity is lost. " 
 
 " What are your recollections of the affair?" 
 
 " Very meagre. I seemed actuated bv some 
 
392 UNION. 
 
 inward impulse wholly uncontrollable. Horace, 
 Ovid and bromide badly befuddle the brain, and 
 bring up strange fancies. " 
 
 " I suppose you remember how she looked ? " 
 
 "Yes," he answered slowly and sadly. "To 
 me she was the perfection of beauty and grace. 
 She was young, childlike and innocent; but 
 whether dark or fair, I have no recollection. She 
 was no type. In beauty she stood alone, no ante- 
 cedents, no followers and no successors. To me 
 she is an ideal, a dream, bright as the morning, 
 fair as the day, when there is not a cloud in the 
 sky. Did I love her then? Yes. Do I love her 
 yet? I certainly do, but as the recollection of a 
 bright dream which it is a pleasure to recall. You 
 may call me still mad, but through all these years, 
 I have felt a moral obligation to this wedded un- 
 known. I never loved any one more than I love 
 her. I never loved any one so ardently as 1 love 
 Elsie Cole; yet with all my love for Elsie, there 
 constantly rings in my ears, the word 'duty, duty 
 and honor to the one whom you wedded in the 
 darkest hour of your existence I ' " 
 
 A serio-comic expression took possession of 
 Alec's features as he responded: 
 
 " Mark, I'll be hanged if I believe you have 
 recovered your good sense yet. " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 393 
 
 " That marriage is uo marriage at all. That 
 wife was a dream, and I think you got too much 
 of Ovid's Metamorphoses in your noggin. You 
 were drunk on lore and bromide, and yow have not 
 got sober yet. After all that has passed between 
 you and Elsie, you love each other. That other 
 marriage was a dream, — forget it and have a real 
 wedding. " 
 
 "I can't." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " My honor. " 
 
 " Tell Elsie all about it. She is a sensible girl 
 and will laugh at such a notion. A contract made 
 when neither party is comjyos mentis is wholly in- 
 valid. Elsie will look over all that, unless she is 
 not the girl I take her to be. " 
 
 "But the other?" 
 
 " Oh, the dream-wife. Why she is nothing to 
 you. Forget her. " 
 
 Mark slowly shook his head as he answered : 
 
 " Alec, I don't blame you for thinking me still 
 mad. You do not know, and the world can never 
 know, how strangely I am impressed b}^ the dream- 
 wife as you call her. It was not all a dream. To 
 me she is more realit}^ than dream. I have seen 
 her a thousand times since, and if I should dwell 
 long on her I would go mad in earnest. I can't 
 explain to you how her vision rises before me 
 
394 UNION. 
 
 every time I have thought of matrimony, and 
 madly as I love Elsie, this figure comes between 
 us when I think of her and says, 'I am your wife, 
 will you desert me?' What can I do under such 
 circumstances?" 
 
 " I swear, I don't know," Alec answered. Soon 
 after, they rose from the gun and went back to 
 their camp. Mark watched his cousin, as he went 
 to his quarters and murmured : 
 
 " He is the most remarkable man I ever knew. 
 He loves Elsie as devotedly as I ; yet, knowing me 
 to have been a villain all these years, he still in- 
 sists on our marriage. Alas, poor Alec, there 
 never lived another such as you." 
 
 The above occurred on November 13th, and on 
 the morning of November 14, 1864, Sherman 
 marched from Atlanta with sixty-five thousand 
 men, in two columns, commanded respectively by 
 Generals Howard and Slocum, and preceded by 
 General Kilpatrick with five thousand cavalry, on 
 his famous march to the sea. The army subsisted 
 by ravaging the country, wherein they found 
 ample supplies, leaving a desolate waste of smok- 
 ing and blackened ruins behind. They also met 
 very little opposition on tlieir march of thirty-six 
 days through the heart of Georgia. It was a mili- 
 tary promenade, requiring very little skill in the 
 performance, and as little personal prowess- 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 395 
 
 On that march, Mark often wondered what had 
 become of Elsie and her father. Were they shar- 
 ing the hard fate of these poor people, who were 
 rendered homeless and deprived of the means of 
 sustaining life? Sometimes his heart almost re- 
 belled against Sherman's cruel orders. When he 
 saw women and children, some of the latter of 
 tender age weeping at sight of blazing homes, he 
 thought, "What a monster is war!" Wh}^ is it 
 that the weak and innocent are the greatest suf- 
 ferers? 
 
 Finally, as the Federal army approached the 
 Atlantic seaboard, they attacked and captured Fort 
 McAllister, on the Ogeeehee River. That was on 
 the 13th of December, and four days later, Sher- 
 man appeared before Savannah and demanded the 
 surrender of that city. Hardee was there with 
 fifteen thousand men, and on the 20th abandoned 
 the city and fled to Charleston. On the 21st, 
 Sherman entered the city in triumph. By his 
 march through Georgia, he discovered that the 
 Confederacy in that region was a mere shell. To 
 every sensible man it was quite apparent that its 
 days were numbered. 
 
 November 8, 1SG4, Abraham Lincoln had been 
 re-elected to the presidency of the Cnited States 
 by an overwhelming majority over General Mc- 
 Clellan, the Democratic nominee. His re-election 
 
a'J6 umoN. 
 
 was conclusive evidence to the world and to liim- 
 self that liis course in putting down the rebellion 
 was approved by the people, and on the 19th of 
 December, he issued a call for three hundred 
 thousand men to finish the war. On the 2 5th of 
 November, an attempt was made to burn New 
 York, but it failed. On the 30th, Hood with 
 forty thousand men attacked General Schofield 
 eight miles from Nashville, where, with only 
 seventeen thousand troops, he successfully re- 
 sisted four desperate assaults of the rebels, and 
 then fell back to Nashville and joined Thomas. 
 Hood's loss was reported at six thousand. On the 
 loth and 16th of December, Hood was defeated by 
 General Thomas, and fled, pursued by the victori- 
 ous Federal troops. 
 
 On December 6th, Mr. Chase, ex -secretary of 
 the treasury, was appointed chief justice of the 
 United States supreme court. On December 20th, 
 General Stoneman captured some Confederate 
 forts, salt works, lead mines and railroad bridges 
 at Saltville, in East Tennessee. 
 
 The year 186-1 closed in general disaster to the 
 Confederacj', Sherman had broken the Confeder- 
 ate power in Georgia, destroying its communica- 
 tions with the States on the Mississippi, and taken 
 Savannah. General Thomas had broken up Hood's 
 army in Tennessee, and Grant had closely belea- 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 397 
 
 guered the southern army in Virginia, within Rich- 
 mond and its defences; while Sheridan had quite 
 ruined the army of Early in the Shenandoah 
 valley. 
 
 As the year 1865 dawned, the end was drawing 
 near. On January 15th, Fort Fisher on the coast 
 of North Carolina was captured by General Terry. 
 On the 16th, a magazine exploded, killing and 
 wounding three hundred Union men. On the 
 17th, a Federal monitor was blown up by torpedoes 
 in Charleston Harbor, On the 20th, the southern 
 troops evacuated Corinth, Mississipj^i. On the 
 3d, General Hood surrendered his command in 
 the southern army to General Taylor. On the 
 21st, General Breckenridge became the Confeder- 
 ate secretary of war, and southern commissioners 
 sought a peace interview with the president, hop- 
 ing yet to retain slavery ; but the day of grace had 
 passed, and slavery had already gone to protest. 
 Two days later, congress, by joint resolutions, 
 voted to submit an amendment called the 14th 
 Amendment, abolishing slavery, and nine States 
 ratitied the amendment within the next month. 
 
 On the 5th of Februarv, General Grant was de- 
 feated at Hatcher's Run, where he had met a 
 similar defeat on 27th of October. On the 17th, 
 Columbia, South Carolina, was burned. On the 
 18th, Sherman took possession of Charleston, and 
 
398 UNION. 
 
 Major, now General, Anderson raised the flag over 
 Fort Sumter, which he had been compelled to 
 lower, after a most gallant resistance, four years 
 before. 
 
 Strange emotions swayed the breast of Mark 
 Stevens as he entered the city of Charleston after 
 the flames had been extinguished. What a sad 
 change in the once proud, gay southern city. 
 Many elegant mansions which had stood in the 
 town when he left were in ashes or ruins. And 
 the once happy families — where were they? He 
 •wandered to the beautiful suburban home of Colo- 
 nel Cole. It was deserted now. No glad, laugh- 
 ing eyes met him at the gate. No gaj^, happy 
 voice was there to welcome him. He walked 
 through the silent halls, heavily oppressed Vvrith 
 woe. All were gone. Not even the echo of an 
 old familiar song remained. 
 
 The house had been used alternately as hospital, 
 a barracks and a stable. It was sadly defaced, and 
 the carpets and most of the furniture had almost 
 entirely disappeared. He found one parlor chair, 
 minus the upholstering, in the hall. An old, de- 
 cayed sofa, faded and worn and only the shadow of 
 its former self, was in one of the upper chambers. 
 
 He wandered to her favorite room, and almost 
 shed tears. Oh, what a change! In one corner 
 was the skeleton of her piano, at which she used 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 399 
 
 to sit and ging such songs as seemed to charm the 
 seraphims ; but it was husky now and gave forth 
 only discordant sounds. It was all that was left 
 to remind any one of the fair being, who, in the 
 years gone b}^, had been the joy and sunlight of 
 a happy home. There is little consolation in 
 wandering about the tombs of buried happiness, 
 and Mark returned to his regiment. 
 
 He met Alec, who had been wandering about 
 the ruined city. For once, the light of mischief 
 had gone out of his eyes, and in a voice of sad- 
 ness, he said : 
 
 "It don't look like Charleston. It's not the 
 Charleston we used to know. I've been all over 
 it and don't see much that's familiar. I was up 
 at the church and saw where a shell had torn away 
 all but two of the ten commandments: 'Thou 
 shalt not kill,' and 'Thou shalt not commit adul- 
 tery;' but this will soon be over. The rebels are 
 everywhere following my example, deserting and 
 coming back to the old flag. " 
 
 On the 4th of March, Lincoln was inaugurated 
 for his second term. On the 10th, General Bragg 
 was defeated at Kingston, North Carolina. On 
 the 8th of February, the Confederate congress ad- 
 journed and never met again. 
 
 When Sherman left Charleston in pursuit of the 
 rebels, Mark and Alec were both glad to leave the 
 
400 UNION. 
 
 dismal place. Charleston seemed only to mock 
 them as the grinning skeleton of a once-beloved 
 friend. After a three days' rest at Fayettesville, 
 Sherman moved his army forward in another dis- 
 tracting march, puzzling his antagonists. On 
 March 16th, while moving toward Goldsboro, his 
 troops fought twenty thousand Confederates under 
 General Hardee at Averysboro and defeated them. 
 
 Mark's regiment was with Slocum's division of 
 Sherman's army, and the day after the fight at 
 Averysboro, they wheeled to their right, crossed 
 South Eiver, swollen by rains, and took the road 
 to Goldsboro, whither Howard, farther east, was 
 marching, " wallowing along the miry roads." 
 
 On the 18th, both wings were witliin a few miles 
 of the place, and Sherman, thinking there would 
 be no more opposition to his advance, left Slocum 
 and started across the country to see Howard. 
 He had gone scarce six miles, when he was startled 
 b}' the sudden, angry roar of cannon behind him, 
 evidently coming from the spot where Slocum's 
 army lay. While listening to the heavy explo- 
 sions, wondering what they could mean, a stafi" 
 officer galloped up and quieted his anxiety by say- 
 ing it was merely an affair between Carlin's divi- 
 sion and the rebel cavalry, and that the latter were 
 in full retreat. In a few moments, other officers 
 arrived with the alarming intelligence that John- 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 401 
 
 ston's whole arm}^ near Beiitonville had assailed 
 Slocum. Comprehending at once the new, dan- 
 gerous position of affairs, he sent word Ijack to 
 Slocum to stand solely on the defensive, until he 
 could forward troops to his relief. Officers imme- 
 diately dashed off over the country, hearing dis- 
 patches — one to Blair, to make a night march 
 with his corps, to Falling Creek church, and with 
 three divisions oi the Fifteenth Corps, to come up 
 in Johnston's rear, from the direction of Cox's 
 bridge, — another to Howard to move at daylight 
 on Bentonville, leaving his wagons behind. 
 
 While thus engaged, couriers arrived from 
 Schotield and Terry. Ordering the former to 
 march on Goldsboro, and the latter to move to 
 Cox's bridge, ten miles above, and establish a 
 crossing there, he once more gave his individual 
 attention to Slocum, and the unexpected battle 
 thus suddenly thrown upon him. 
 
 He found the latter not the least alarmed. He 
 had chosen an admirable position and placed his 
 artillery so as to sweep the front. He then sent 
 Morgan's division to establish another line about 
 half a mile in advance. Against this Johnston ad- 
 vanced in overwhelming numbers and hurled it 
 back in confusion, capturing three guns and cais- 
 sons. Slocum, seeing the heavy force opposed to 
 him, at once deployed the two divisions of the 
 26 
 
403 UNION. 
 
 Fourteenth Corps, under General Davis, and liur- 
 ried forward at their utmost speed the two divi- 
 sions of the Twentieth Corps. A line of barricades 
 was hastily prepared, and the whole force put 
 strictly on the defensive. In the mean time, Kil- 
 patrick, aroused by the roar of artillery, cametliun- 
 dering down the roads and massed his squadrons 
 on the left. It was now four o'clock in the after- 
 noon, and Slocum had hardly got ready to meet 
 the enemy, when they came pouring in upon him 
 like an avalanche. In three massive columns they 
 swept up to his frail barricades and threatened b}^ 
 mere weight of numbers to carry everything before 
 them. Mowed down by Federal batteries and the 
 deliberate volleys of infantr}^, the first column re- 
 coiled, when the second, undaunted by the repulse 
 of the first, charged with a cheer; but right in its 
 path stood Davis' Corps — which had won such im- 
 mortal honors on the bloody field of Chickamauga 
 — and stopped it with one terrible blow. The 
 whole fury of the attack spent itself in less than 
 an hour, and yet in that time the enemy had made 
 six successive assaults, and in the last charge had 
 broken Slocum's line; but it rallied and, charging 
 in turn, drove Johnston back. So close and des- 
 perate was the combat, that man}' of the rebel dead 
 lay within the lines of the government troops and 
 around the headquarters of the generals. 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 403 
 
 It was in that last mad charge, that Mark hap- 
 pened to be near Sis, when the brave boy dropped 
 his gun. Leaping from his saddle, he ran to him 
 and caught him in his arms as he was sinking to 
 the earth. His face bore a peaceful look, almost 
 to be envied in all that turmoil and uproar. Mark 
 spoke to him, shook him, then gently laid him on 
 the ground soaked with his own blood, and folded 
 the arms of the youth across his breast. They 
 found him thus when they came next day to bury 
 the dead. 
 
 Mark had the third horse shot under him that 
 day. He sat on the fourth, under a tree, when he 
 heard a wild, whirring noise, then came a blinding 
 flash as if a bolt of lightning had struck his head. 
 There was a deafening explosion, and it seemed as 
 if the tree had been torn up by the roots. He felt 
 himself sinking. Horse and rider went down, and 
 he was conscious of his steed making some spas- 
 modic plunges, while it uttered one or two almost 
 human cries of agony. 
 
 Mark was carried to the rear. Though his horse 
 had been killed by the explosion of the shell, he 
 had not been touched. A branch torn from the 
 tree had struck his shoulder and he was badly 
 shocked, bruised and insensible when, taken to the 
 rear. When he recovered, the fighting was over 
 for the present. 
 
404 UNION. 
 
 As has been stated on another page, many of 
 the Confederates, in their wild, impetuous charge, 
 rushed into the Union lines. Alec saw a fine op- 
 portunity to cut off a small detachment of these, 
 and, by a skilful flank movement, dashed into 
 their rear and swooped up the entire party, whom 
 he quickly marched to the rear. The party was 
 led by two brave young officers, whose uniforms 
 were faded and mud-stained, and whose hard- 
 pinched features told of privation and suffering for 
 a cause which they now knew to be hopelessl}' lost. 
 Alec led the two young Confederates aside and said : 
 
 " You fellows are brave as hedgehogs, and I am 
 going to parole you, and give you the liberty of 
 the camp. I know that men so brave as you must 
 be honorable " 
 
 "Alec Stevens, a Yankee! Heavens! is it pos- 
 sible?" interrupted one. 
 
 " Dick — Dick ! what, great guns! tar and pitch ! 
 is it really you? Why, I thought you were off on 
 a ship somewhere. " 
 
 Dick hastily explained that he had been aboard 
 the Alabama when she sank, and that he came to 
 America with his cousin Charley Cole to try bat- 
 tling for the Confederacy on land; but both Dick 
 and Charley, for the other was Charley, wanted tq 
 know how Alec had "flopped." Alec made an 
 explanatioii, declaring that he had felt just like a 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 405 
 
 fool all the time be was fighting the old flag. It 
 is doubtful if his explanation was satisfactory to 
 the prisoners; but Charley Cole said: 
 
 " I think that you did a wise thing, Alec, 
 whether you acted from principle or not, for the 
 bottom is knocked out of the Southern Confederacy, 
 and the old tub is sinking. " 
 
 "You are right there, boys; but now that this 
 present little squall is over, make yourselves at 
 home. Here is a cracker apiece to amuse your 
 stomachs, until supper is ready. I must go and 
 look after our major. The last I saw of him he 
 was batting off a shell with his elbow, and I want 
 to see if there's enough left of him to hold a funeral 
 over. I will be back soon, and we will talk over 
 old times and enjoy ourselves." 
 
 Alec expected to find Mark dead, and was re- 
 joiced to learn that he was alive and not seriousl}- 
 injured. The major had been badly shaken up, 
 and the surgeon declared that he must be kept 
 quiet for a few hours. 
 
 That night Mark lay in a hospital tent on tlie 
 field listening to the far-off thunder of cannon and 
 the rattle of musketry, which seemed to proclaim 
 to everybody that the four years' storm was subsid- 
 ing. It was midnight, and he was in a semi-con- 
 scious state produced by the narcotics of the sur- 
 geon, when he heard the nurse ask some one; 
 
406 UNION. 
 
 " When did jou come?" 
 
 " I retiched the camp but two hours ago, heard 
 of his injuries and, after a long search, found him. " 
 
 How like the tender notes of a fairy's shell, as 
 she winds them mellow and clear on the glistening- 
 beach, enchanting the sailor, sounded those silver 
 tones. He half opened his eyes, and, weak as he 
 was from the shock, he could have sworn he saw 
 Elsie at his side, arrayed in riding habit, her face 
 very white, but beautiful as ever. He tried to 
 speak, but could not. Thej^owerof the drug held 
 his tongue. He heard her ask : 
 
 " Is he dangerously hurt?" 
 
 "Oh, no," the nurse answered. "It is only a 
 shock to his nervous system, and with proper care 
 he will be over it in a day or two. He is very 
 still now ; but it is the effect of an opiate the doc- 
 tor gave him. There is a widow lad}' living just 
 across the street. You had better go there and 
 stay until morning. " 
 
 " I will. At eight I will call, for j3erhaps by 
 that time I can see him?" 
 
 " Perhaps. " 
 
 Mark again sank into a state of unconsciousness. 
 He awoke next morning and was trj'ing to settle 
 in his own mind the incidents of the preceding 
 night, when Alec came bounding into the tent cry- 
 ing: 
 
THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY. 407 
 
 "By George, Mark! — thunder and lightning! — 
 
 it's all right " He was almost out of breath 
 
 with running and excitement. " I've been all night 
 working on it, and have just got it fixed. The 
 problem of five years is solved." 
 
 " What do you mean, Alec? What problem 
 have you solved?" 
 
 "Your problem. You, — Great Jehosaphat! 
 don't you understand me? It's you. You mar- 
 ried the right girl after all." 
 
 "Alec, are you crazy?" 
 
 " No ; but you have been all along, or you 
 might have saved yourself lots of trouble and me 
 too. I tell you, you married the right girl. Look 
 here," and he held up a clipping from an old 
 newspaper. Mark glanced at it, and saw that it 
 was one of the many accounts of his mad flight and 
 marriage from the insane asylum. 
 
 " Where did you get that?" he asked. 
 
 " Charley Cole and Dick Stevens were captured 
 yesterda}^, after that shell kissed your face. We 
 talked nearly all night, and after I had told them 
 everything else, I told them about you and Elsie 
 and your runaway from the madhouse with a girl 
 whom you never knew, never expect to know, and 
 never will know. Then Charley, he up and says 
 that girl you eloped with and married, while ^'our 
 head was full of Horace, Ovid and bromide, was 
 
408 UNION. 
 
 his sister, Elsie. They had been on a visit in 
 the North, and Elsie, for a temporary nervous 
 trouble, was treated by a quack on bromide, until 
 she had a bromide delirium and was taken there 
 under an assumed name " 
 
 "Elsie! Elsie!" cried Mark at this moment, 
 leaping to his feet and clasping in his arms the beau- 
 tiful woman who had just entered the tent. " It 
 was you, after all. Oh, Elsie, our love in mad- 
 ness has been perpetuated through all these years. 
 Tell me, darling, you who accepted me for better 
 or for worse, when our miiids were clouded, will 
 you still do so, now that the clouds have rolled 
 away?" 
 
 Her head rested on his shoulder, and she faintly 
 sobbed : 
 
 "Yes!" 
 
 Alec, who had retreated to the door at the start- 
 ling and romantic denouement, paused for a mo- 
 ment to gaze on the scene, and muttered : 
 
 " To think, I have been five years courting an- 
 other man's wife! It makes me feel like a fool." 
 
'TO THINK, I HAVE BEEN EIVE TEARS COURTING ANOTHER MAN's WIFE 1 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The great struggle was almost over. General 
 Grant captured Richmond April 3d. Jefi' Davis 
 had fled to Danville. On the 9th, terms were 
 agreed upon between Grant and Lee for the sur- 
 render of thelatter'sarmy at Appomattox, and next 
 day Lee delivered his farewell address to the 
 army. On the 12th of April, Lee's ami}-, number- 
 ing 27,805, was surrendered at Appomattox Court 
 House. The same day, Stoneman defeated the 
 Confederates at Salisbury, North Carolina, and 
 General Conly occupied Mobile, Alabama. 
 
 The spunky little South was at last thrown flat 
 on her back ; but it took four years to do it. Four 
 years, with more than two millions of men and 
 billions of money. Of the two millions of soldiers, 
 two hundred and seventy-five thousand had died 
 on the field of battle and in the hospitals. It has 
 been stated by the adjutant -general of the Confed- 
 erate army, since the close of the war, that the avail- 
 able Confederate force during the entire war was 
 409 
 
410 UNION. 
 
 six Imndrecl thousand men, and that tliey never 
 had more than two hundred thousand in the field 
 at any one time. This is the only official data we 
 have, and it must be taken as correct. He states 
 that the Confederate force opposing Grant, Sher- 
 man and Thomas at the close of the contest was 
 only one hundred thousand. According to the best 
 authority, the Union forces were a million, if they 
 did not exceed that number. According to the 
 best statistics obtainable, the Federal army lost 
 more from deaths on the battle-field, in the hospi- 
 tals and wounded, than the entire rebel army ever 
 enrolled. Victory was won, but we can see at 
 what a terrible price. The contest was fearful, and 
 the cost great. The lost in killed and wounded is 
 not the only loss, and in fact not the greatest. 
 There are hundreds of thousands, disabled by dis- 
 eases contracted in the army, many thousands of 
 whom are unable to earn a livelihood, and are pen- 
 sioners on the bounty of a grateful country, that 
 never forgets its brave defenders. 
 
 A few weeks before the surrender of Lee's army, 
 yet when all seemed to read the inevitable, there 
 was a handsome, talented young actor, playing an 
 engagement at De Bar's Opera House in St. Louis. 
 The name of this actor, a promising young trage- 
 dian, was John Wilkes Booth, the son of the elder 
 Booth. Critics had said that John Wilkes Booth 
 
CONCLUSION. 411 
 
 would never equal his father, as an exponent of 
 Shakespearian tragedy, and some think that his 
 sensitive nature was soured and he was jealous of 
 the reputation of his sire. He was a handsome 
 man with a magnificent forehead and fine face. 
 He wore a mustache, as many actors did in those 
 days. One night, Booth played " Richard III. " 
 with James Garden, an English actor, in the role, 
 as Richmond. Those who saw Booth that night 
 never forgot him. The soul of the murderous 
 Richard seemed to have found its way back to 
 earth, and taken lodgment in Booth's body. So 
 intense was the interest, that several ladies, una- 
 ble to endure the strain, were taken away by their 
 escorts. It was a relief when the play was over, 
 and they could breathe freely. Shortly after the 
 performance, Booth was seen to enter a restaurant 
 in company with a lad}'-, who proved to be Maggie 
 Mitchell, the sparkling soubrette, then attracting 
 the attention of the world. The appearance of 
 Booth and Miss Mitchell attracted no special atten- 
 tion. A boy showed them to a private dining 
 room , and waited on them himself. Being a young- 
 ster, he heard more of their conversation than he 
 should, and soon discovered that Booth was mak- 
 ing violent love to Miss Mitchell, who had evidently 
 rejected him. Booth was very much in earnest, 
 and, finally working himself into a passion, he 
 
412 UNION. 
 
 straightened himself up and, witli a dramatic ges- 
 ture, said: 
 
 "Maggie Mitchell, I love you! You know I 
 speak the truth. Should you reject me now, you 
 shall never, so help me God, hear another word of 
 love from me ; and I swear to you that when next 
 you hear from me, it shall be in connection with 
 some terrible and desperate deed." * 
 
 Miss Mitchell, wlio, up to this time, had been 
 tolerably composed, began to cry bitterly. This 
 aroused in Booth's breast the sense of the gentle- 
 man, inherent in him, and he attempted to soothe 
 her. He had entirely forgotten the boy, who stood 
 at the other end of the room a spellbound spectator. 
 At sight of the lad, the actor's eyes suddenly flashed 
 witli anger, causing the youngster to tremble in 
 his shoes; but Booth said nothing beyond asking 
 for some water. The boy brought it, and in a few 
 moments Maggie Mitchell became somewhat com- 
 posed, and they left the restaurant. 
 
 John Wilkes Booth was a moody man, who 
 seemed brooding over real or imaginary wrongs. 
 Sunday, April 9, 1865, he passed almost entirely 
 
 * The above is from the personal statement of a waiter in 
 Merkle's restaurant, in 1865, on the corner of Sixth and 
 Cliestnut Streets, who was the boy in question, and saw and 
 heard the above. This statement was first published in the 
 Cincinnati Tribune a year or two ago. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 413 
 
 alone with an actor named Charles Chrone, who 
 for a long time played " leads and heavies" in Ben 
 De Bar's St. Louis stock company. Mr. Chrone 
 
 "When next you hear from me, it shall be in connection 
 with some terrible deed." 
 
 says that he discovered that there was something 
 on Booth's mind that day, and he tried to get at 
 the trouble, but was unable to do so. His nature 
 
414 UNION. 
 
 was peculiar. He was sometimes enthusiastic and 
 jolly; but usually Lie was taciturn, and seemed to 
 be meditating on something. Cbrone supposed 
 his present melancholy was the result of some ad- 
 verse criticism on his ability as an actor, in which 
 he had been unfavorably contrasted with his 
 father. 
 
 On the fatal April 14, 1865, Booth was seen 
 in Washington City. About midday, he went to 
 Ford's theatre on Tenth Street. Harry Ford saw 
 him sitting on the steps, and, knowing his strong 
 southern sentiments, said: 
 
 "Well, Booth, President Lincoln and General 
 Grant are going to witness Laura Keene in the 
 'American Cousin' to-night!" Booth raised his 
 fierce eyes to the manager and gave him a silent 
 stare. With a laugh, Harr}^ Ford added: "Yes, 
 Lincoln and Grant will occupy one box, and Lee 
 and Jeff Davis another. " 
 
 At this, Booth broke forth with : 
 
 "Lee! — Lee is a coward and a traitor to his 
 country, or he would never have surrendered. He 
 should have died at his post, and could have 
 whipped Grant yet. " 
 
 He went away and was seen no more about the 
 theatre, until after the curtain had rung up and 
 the performance begun. Then he came to the the- 
 atre, and as he passed the box-office, he looked into 
 
CONCLUSIOX. 415 
 
 the window, and, putting his arm through, placed 
 a cigar, which he had partly smoked, on a shelf 
 inside, and said, in mock heroic style: 
 
 " Whoe'er this cigar does displace 
 Must meet Wilkes Booth face to face." 
 
 Then he passed into the theatre, and later in the 
 evening, while Mr. Ford and his assistant JoeSess- 
 ford were in the treasurer's office, they heard a 
 pistol shot. They thought at first that it was the 
 pistol fired by Mr. Harry Hawk, as Asa Trenchard 
 in "Our American Cousin;" but Sessford said it 
 was too early in the evening, and suggested that it 
 must be an accident. They opened a little win- 
 dow and, looking into the theatre, saw Booth 
 crouching on the stage, with a knife in his hand. 
 Even then, they could not tell what bad happened, 
 and no one seemed to know. They at first thought 
 that some one had insulted Booth, and he had pur- 
 sued the man across the stage, and several minutes 
 elapsed before they learned the terrible truth. 
 
 While the interest of everybody was attracted to 
 the stage. Booth had entered the theatre unper- 
 ceived, made his way to the president's box and, 
 with a Derringer pistol, shot him in the back of 
 the head. The sharp report startled, stunned and 
 petrified everybody. The president sat bolt up- 
 right for a moment, then swayed and sank forward, 
 
416 UNION. 
 
 while the assassin, leaping on the stage, holding a 
 gleaming dagger in his hand, shouted: 
 
 " Sic semper tyrannis ! " He was booted and 
 spurred for the night ride, and shouting to the au- 
 dience: "The South is avenged!" escaped by a 
 back stage door, mounted a horse that was in readi- 
 ness for him, dashed across the Anacostia,and found 
 temporary shelter in Maryland. In the excitement 
 and confusion, it was noticed by some that he was 
 quite lame, and limped as he ran from the stage. 
 
 Laura Keene the actress was one of the first to 
 realize the awful truth. She saw the president 
 swaying in his chair and ran to him as he fell. 
 She clasped his dying head in her arms, and 
 his life-blood stained her beautiful robes, while 
 her tears mingled with those of the grief-stricken 
 and horrified friends and relatives. The president 
 never spoke after he was shot. He was carried to 
 a house near, and expired next morning at twenty- 
 two minutes past seven o'clock. There was a con- 
 spiracy to kill Lincoln, Johnson, the vice-president, 
 and Seward, secretary of state. An assault was 
 made on Seward, and both he and his son were 
 dangerously stabbed; but they recovered. For 
 awhile, there was the wildest excitement in Wash- 
 ington. People believed that there was a general 
 and wide-spread conspiracy to overthrow the coun- 
 try by assassination ; but the conspiracy evidently 
 
CONCLUSION. 417 
 
 never extended beyond a few deluded fanatics, 
 who should have been kept in madhouses to pre- 
 vent their doing injury. 
 
 Near Front Koyal, in Virginia, there still stands 
 the old Garrett Homestead. About the ISth day 
 of April, Captain Jett and a handsome young man, 
 who was quite lame, came to the house. Jett told 
 Mr. Garrett that the stranger was a wounded Con- 
 federate soldier ; that he had surrendered with Lee's 
 army and gone home to Maryland, where they de- 
 manded that he take the oath of allegiance, which 
 he would not do. and that he was now on his way 
 to join Johnston's army in North Carolina. 
 
 " Of course, in that case, I will do what I can 
 for him," said the farmer, who had entertained 
 some suspicious that they were not what they pre- 
 tended to be. 
 
 This handsome stranger had very little to say. 
 He spent most of his time alone, or with Mr. 
 Garrett's son William, who had been a Confeder- 
 ate soldier. He talked most with the children, and 
 esjjeciall}' a little three-year-old girl, of whom he 
 became very fond, and called his little blue -eyed 
 pet. For hours he would lie on the grass in the 
 yard alone and speak with no one. While pla}-- 
 ing with some of the younger children on the grass, 
 a little girl saw on his arm the tattooed initials 
 "J. W. B." 
 27 
 
418 UNION. 
 
 " What are those letters for?" she asked. 
 
 " Why, child, those are the initials of my name, 
 — James W. Boyd. " 
 
 This was the name by which Captain Jett had 
 introduced him. Mr. Boyd claimed to be from 
 Baltimore, and stated that he was there when the 
 Massachusetts troops were attacked. When he 
 came to the Garrett house, he had a very rude pair 
 of crutches; but William Garrett, who had been 
 wounded in the Confederate arm}', and still had a 
 fine pair of crutches, gave them to him. William 
 Garrett also had a Confederate uniform, which the 
 pretended Mr. Boyd wanted, and agreed to ex- 
 change with him. 
 
 " I am going back into the army and need youv 
 uniform; and 3^ou are going to be a citizen and 
 need my citizen's clothes," he argued. 
 
 It was well for Mr. Garrett that the exchange 
 was not made. 
 
 There was nothing whatever in the man's manner 
 that would lead one to suspect that he was the terri- 
 ble criminal he afterward proved to be. Tiie first 
 night he was at the Garrett house, he slept in the 
 same room with Jack and William Garrett. The 
 next day, he was with William Garrett most of 
 the day, without arousing his suspicions. William 
 had a pistol, and they went to shoot at a mark. 
 The stranger claimed to be an excellent marksman, 
 
CONCLUSION. 419 
 
 and said that he could fire five balls in succession 
 through a knot-hole in the gate some two inches 
 in diameter. Taking a position about two rods 
 off, he fired all five shots and, leaning on his 
 crutches, sent William to ascertain the result. As 
 he could find no mark of the bullets on the gate, 
 Boyd insisted that they had all gone through the 
 knot-hole in the gate. When they came to reload 
 the pistol, however, they found all the five bullets 
 still in it, and he laughed as heartily as any at the 
 mishap. 
 
 One day, while the family were at dinner. Jack 
 Garrett, who had been to town, brought a paper 
 in, saying: 
 
 " President Lincoln has been shot, and they have 
 offered one hundred thousand dollars for the man 
 who did it. " 
 
 "Gracious! don't I wish he would come this 
 way, and I could capture him!" said William. 
 
 The lame stranger turned his melancholy eyes 
 upon him, and asked: 
 
 " Would you betray him for one hundred thou- 
 sand dollars if you could?" 
 
 " I would, indeed. One hundred thousand dol- 
 lars is a great lot of money. " 
 
 The stranger turned away and became thought- 
 ful, and had very little to say after that. Some 
 time after that, the man called Harold came from 
 
420 UNION. 
 
 Bowling Green, and he and Boyd were seen talk- 
 ing together for a long time. This was the first 
 time that Mr. Garrett had his suspicions fully 
 aroused. On the way back from the woods, they 
 paused near the fence and held a long con vei'sation. 
 Then Boyd came to the house and was standing on 
 the porch in his shirt-sleeves, when some soldiers 
 passed down the road toward Bowling Green. He 
 seemed very uneasy, and Mr. Garrett said to him: 
 
 " You seem very much excited. Have you been 
 doing anything that makes you afraid of soldiers? 
 K you have, you will have to find some other place 
 to stay than here. " 
 
 " Oh, no," he quickly replied. " I did get into 
 a little difficulty over in Maryland, and one man I 
 believe was killed ; but it was nothing with which 
 the soldiers could possibly have anything todo. " 
 Shortly after this, he and Harold again went off into 
 the wood and did not come back until nearly night. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Garrett and his two sons had 
 discussed the matter well, and finally decided that 
 the two men must be members of Mosby's gang, 
 and that their object probably was to steal horses. 
 On their return, Mr. Garrett informed them that 
 they could not sleep in the house. 
 
 " Why can't we sleep in the house?" the lame 
 man asked. This man, as the reader supposes, 
 was none other than John Wilkes Booth. " If 
 
CONCLUSION. 421 
 
 you will not let us sleep in the house, let us sleep 
 under the house. " 
 
 " That would not do, for the dogs would get 
 after you. " 
 
 " Let us go into one of the outbuildings, then," 
 plead the lame man. To this Mr. Garrett finally 
 consented, and they went into the barn, which was 
 filled on one side with corn-blade fodder, the other 
 side containing a lot of farming utensils and fur- 
 niture belonging to refugees from Front Royal. 
 After they went to the barn, William Garrett, still 
 fearing they might be horse thieves, went out and 
 locked the door with a padlock on the outside, so 
 they could not get out without making a noise; 
 but on returning to the house he was still not sat- 
 isfied, and told his brother Jack they would take 
 their pistols and go and sleep in the corn crib near 
 the barn, that they might be ready to prevent any 
 attempt to steal their horses. 
 
 About two o'clock in the morning, they jvere 
 awakened by a terrible commotion at the house, 
 and both Jack and William ran to see what was 
 the trouble. They found their father in his night 
 clothes in the custody of the soldiers, who threat- 
 ened to kill him if he did not reveal the where- 
 abouts of the two men. Jack Garrett, coming up, 
 said: 
 
 " I will show you where the two men are, " and 
 
432 UNION. 
 
 the officers released Mr. Garrett and took his two 
 sons into custody. "The men are in the barn," 
 Jack added. 
 
 " Show us the way," commanded the officer, and 
 a moment later the soldiers had surrounded the 
 barn, while Jack and William were kept under ar- 
 rest. One of the detectives called the name of 
 Booth and demanded his surrender, and, unlocking 
 the door, pushed Jack Garrett in, with orders for 
 him to go and tell the others to come out. Jack 
 Garrett, trembling with dread, approached the point 
 where Booth was lying on the corn blades and said : 
 
 " The sohliers are here after you, and they want 
 you to surrender. If you don't come out, they 
 threaten to bum the barn and destroy our property. " 
 
 " Get out of here, 3'ouiig man, or I will take 
 your life," Booth whispered, desperately. "You 
 have betrayed me. " 
 
 Jack Garrett tried to convince him of the folly 
 of resistance and appealed to Booth to prevent the 
 destruction of property. Booth grew violent, 
 threatened to kill him, and Jack came out and told 
 the officer that he would not surrender. The offi- 
 cer then placed the Garrett brothers a short distance 
 from the barn and set a light directly in front of 
 them. Two men were placed to guard them with 
 instructions to kill them at the first shot Booth or 
 his companion fired at any of the soldiers. 
 
CONCLUSION. 423 
 
 Booth, who had been watching the proceeding 
 through a crack in the barn, on hearing the order 
 of the officer, shouted at the top of his voice: 
 
 " That is unfair ; those men are innocent. These 
 people do not know who I am. " 
 
 The officer revoked the order he had given, and 
 Colonel Conger, one of the detectives, ordered 
 William to pile dry brush against the corner of the 
 barn, so that it could be fired. He had commenced 
 doing this, when Booth called to him: 
 
 " Young man, you had better stop that. If you 
 put any more against that place, I will shoot you. " 
 
 Colonel Conger then ordered William to stop, 
 and Lieutenant Baker began a parley for the sur- 
 render of the fugitives. Booth was determined 
 from the first that he would not be taken alive, 
 and he so informed Lieutenant Baker. Harold, 
 however, wanted to give himself up, and Booth, 
 after calling him an arrant coward, virtually drove 
 him out of the barn into the hands of the officers. 
 Another long parley between Baker and Booth en- 
 sued, during which Booth begged the officer to 
 draw his men ofi' fifty yards, then twenty-five 
 yards, and at last came down to ten yards, and 
 give him a chance for his life. 
 
 "Be fair, captain," said Booth, coolly — "be 
 fair and give me a show for my life. I could have 
 killed you a dozen times to-night; but I took you 
 
. 424 UNION. 
 
 to be a brave man. Now give me a chance for 
 my life." 
 
 " You must surrender, " replied Baker. " We 
 came to take you prisoner, not to kill you." 
 
 "I will never be taken alive," retorted Booth. 
 " You may make up your mind I will light to the 
 death." 
 
 Hardly had the last words died upon his lips, 
 before a blaze shot up among the dry fodder. 
 Colonel Conger had, during the talk, slipped around 
 to the back of the barn and, lighting a handful of 
 dry straw, had passed it through a crack in the 
 boards and fired the building. The combustible 
 material inside the barn burned like tinder, and in 
 a moment the whole inside of the building was a 
 blaze of light, and in the middle Booth was seen 
 leaning on his crutches, with his carbine in his 
 hands, trying to get a shot at his enemies. He 
 could not see beyond the light which surrounded 
 him, while those outside could see plainly. At 
 last when the fire was fast approaching him, he 
 started for the door as if about to take his last des- 
 perate chance for life. He had only advanced a 
 step or two, when Boston Corbett, a sergeant, got 
 an aim at him through a crack. There was a sharp 
 report, and Booth dropped his crutches and fell, 
 shot through the neck. 
 
 Lieutenant Baker and William Garrett ran into 
 
BOOTU WAS SEEN LEANING ON HIS CRUTCHES 
 
 ENEMIES. 
 
 TRYING TO GET A SHOT AT HIS 
 
CONCLUSION. 425 
 
 the burning building and carried him to the house 
 and laid him on the porch with his head toward 
 the door. He made several efforts to speak ; but 
 only inarticulate gurgling sounds issued from his 
 wounded throat. They tried to place him on a 
 mattress ; but he would not let them ; nor would 
 he allow them to put a pillow under his head. He 
 was suffering such intolerable agony, that to move 
 him was torture. He could utter but few words 
 for the wound was in his throat. 
 
 " Tell mother," he began, and then the detective 
 who bent his ear close to his lips heard him add, 
 " that I died for my country. " 
 
 The detectives would allow no one to come near 
 him, for they wanted all the secrets he had to re- 
 veal. They were constantly bending over him, to 
 catch any word he might utter. When they wanted 
 anything they ordered the Garrett girls, who pale 
 and horrified stood on the porch gazing on the 
 scene, to bring it to them. Pieces of cloth saturated 
 with brandy were frequently held to Booth's lips, 
 and he sucked it eagerly. This seemed to revive 
 him for the time being; but he was of course grow- 
 ing weaker all the while. An eye-witness to the 
 scene said : 
 
 " I can never forget the sad scenes of that night. 
 They fixed themselves indelibly upon my mind. 
 I remained around during all the bustle that at- 
 
426 UNION. 
 
 tended tbe affair and looked on, little realizing the 
 meaning of what was passing. Booth died just as 
 the sun came up." 
 
 This is the history of America's greatest assas- 
 sination. What inspired John Wilkes Booth to 
 kill the great and good man, just as he was bring- 
 ing the nation from turmoil, war and bloodshed to 
 peace, is a mystery to this day. Booth had never 
 been active in politics and certainly was derange'd. 
 His was not a family of warriors or desperadoes, 
 but scholars. No one had ever before deemed 
 him capable of a desperate or cruel act. His 
 brother Edwin Booth lived to be one of the world's 
 greatest Shakespearian exponents. Undoubtedly 
 the shadow of the great historic crime that insep- 
 arably connected the name of Booth with that of 
 Lincoln lay, throughout all his subsequent life, 
 upon the melancholy spirit of Edwin Booth, who 
 died this year (1893), and in the same year, al- 
 most at the same time. Ford's Theatre, in which 
 the tragedy occurred, and which had since been 
 used by the government as a national museum, fell 
 and buried a number of employees in its ruins. 
 
 There has never been known such a funeral on 
 this continent as that of the martyr president. 
 His body was taken iu solemn procession to his 
 home in Springfield, Illinois, by way of Baltimore, 
 Philadelphia, New York, Albany and western 
 
CONCLUSION. 427 
 
 cities, everywhere receiving tokens of respect and 
 grief. Funeral honors were displayed in many 
 cities of the land. 
 
 OnthelSth of April, General Sherman arranged 
 the preliminaries for the surrender of all the re- 
 maining Confederate forces under General John- 
 ston, commanding the southern army in North Caro- 
 lina, with the consent of the Confederate secretary 
 of war and President Davis. This included the 
 basis of a general peace, and a policy of reconstruc- 
 tion ; but the Federal government rejected the prop- 
 osition and ordered hostilities to be resumed. On 
 the 26th of April, Johnston finally surrendered. 
 
 Nearly all the armed Confederates had now sur- 
 rendered. General Kirby Smith and a few men 
 leading the lives of guerillas rather than soldiers 
 were still at large. Jeff Davis at last lost all hope 
 and began his flight across Georgia, doubtless in- 
 tending to make his way to Mexico. On the 10th 
 of May, he was captured in Georgia. On the 26th 
 of the same month, General Kirbv Smith, the last 
 leader of a military organization, surrendered his 
 command, and the last shadow of war passed awa}', 
 leaving the glorious Union stronger and more firmly 
 cemented than ever before, and so, let us hope, it 
 will remain until time shall be no more. 
 
 We must not end this volume without personal 
 mention of some of the characters in the storv, in 
 
428 UNION. 
 
 which the reader may have some interest. Not- 
 withstanding Dick Stevens failed to build vip a great 
 southern empire, Miss Lorena Lancaster, the Eng- 
 lish beauty, kept her promise, and a year after the 
 war closed she became his wife, and they to-day 
 form one of the happiest families in Charleston. 
 Nearly all our southern friends came out of the 
 war financial wrecks ; but they went to work with 
 a hearty good will, building up the devastated 
 country, and it is hoped that the South will soon 
 reach its former power and glory, and even surpass 
 it. They have learned a sad lesson ; — let us forgive 
 them, take them by the hand, call them brothers, 
 and remember their wrongs no more. 
 
 Alec Stevens fared better than most of his south- 
 ern relatives. His father's plantation suffered 
 little, save, as Alec puts it, " in the loss of a hun- 
 dred worthless niggers." Alec got over his love 
 affair with Elsie Cole, when he learned that all the 
 time she had been the wife of another. He soon 
 made another discovery which was very important 
 to his future happiness. It was that his cousin 
 Clara was a very sweet, amiable girl, and that she 
 was very kind to him, even though he had turned 
 Yankee. He found tljat he could talk to her with- 
 out " feeling just like a fool, " and the upshot of the 
 whole thing was, he and Clara were married shortly 
 after her brother Dick brought home his wife from 
 
CONCLUSION. 429 
 
 England. Colonel Cole survived tlie war but a 
 ^iew mouths, and his son Charles, after vainly try- 
 ing to resurrect the lost fortune of his parents, 
 went to California, where he has been extensively 
 and profitably engaged in fruit growing. 
 
 Bill Simms lives at Eising Sun, Indiana, and is 
 regarded as the champion liar of the town. He 
 draws a pension of twenty-two dollars per month, 
 quite sufficient for his modest wants. He is a 
 member of the " G. A. R. " and spends most of his 
 time around Grand Army headquarters, or the 
 offices of examining boards, telling stories of the 
 war and " trying for an increase. " One, to hear 
 Bill and put any confidence in one-half he says, 
 need not be surprised that victory should perch on 
 the banners of Grant and Sherman, so long as they 
 hud Bill Simms with them. And they would be 
 at a loss to tell what those generals would have 
 done, if Bill Simms had not been along. 
 
 In Boone County, Kentucky, near the old orig- 
 inal Stevens homestead, lives Major Mark Stevens, 
 now past the meridian of life. He is happy with 
 his children and grandchildren about him, while 
 his wife, once known as the " Peerless Elsie of 
 Charleston, " seems to still possess a matured beauty, 
 to him more lovely than when she outshone the 
 splendor of the southern sun. The major is not 
 rich, but "well-to-do in the world." He often 
 
430 UNION. 
 
 looks back over the past twelve generations of the 
 Stevens family, to the time when his first ancestor, 
 Hernando Estevan, touched the western continent 
 with Columbus. By stories of their forefathers for 
 the last four hundred years, in establishing this 
 great republic, he tries to inspire his children and 
 grandchildren with a love for this land of the free 
 and home of the brave, which should be dear to 
 every American, whether native or adopted, and 
 which we trust may forever remain one, complete 
 and indissoluble Union. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
II 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANDREW JOHXSON AND THE RECONSTRUCTION. 
 
 At no time during the great struggle of our coun- 
 try was Abraham Lincoln more needed than at his 
 death. After the conflict of arms came the conflict 
 of reorganization, and the same hand that had steered 
 the ship of state safely through the dangerous reefs 
 was now needed to land her in port. Six hours after 
 the death of President Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, 
 his constitutional successor, took the oath of office as 
 president of the United States, which was adminis- 
 tered by Chief Justice Chase. 
 
 It was believed by many, that the assassination of 
 President Lincoln, was only part of a plan, in which 
 the murder of the cabinet ministers and i^rominent 
 Republicans was contemplated. Jefferson Davis and 
 many prominent southern people were thought to be 
 in the plot, and large rewards were offered for them ; 
 but there was never any evidence implicating the chief 
 rebel or any of his officials. It seems to have been 
 only a plot concocted by a few fanatical, maddened 
 and disappointed southerners about Washington. 
 
 After the terrible convulsions produced by the civil 
 war, by which a deep-rooted social system had been 
 overthrown, by the euactment, early in 1865, of the 
 XIII Amendment to the national constitution, the 
 country was far from gliding at once into that peace 
 28 433 
 
434 UNION. 
 
 and trauquillity, which was so much desired. The 
 XIII Amendment was as follows: 
 
 " Section I. Neither slavery nor involuntary ser- 
 vitude, except as punishment for crimes, whereof the 
 party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist with- 
 in the United States, or any place subject to their 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 "Section II. Congress shall have power to enforce 
 this article by appropriate legislation." 
 
 The slave was free; now what was going to be done 
 with him? That was a serious question in that day. 
 It is a serious question at this day. The leaders of 
 the Eepublican party were eager to have the black 
 become a citizen of the United States with all tiie 
 rights and j^rivileges of any white man. The Dem- 
 ocrats claimed that their pretended symjDathy for the 
 negro was only to get his vote, to perjDetuate that 
 party in power. Thus the unfortunate black man 
 has been a bone of contention, muclito his detriment, 
 between the two great political parties ever since he 
 became a political factor. 
 
 President Johnson took a preliminary step toward 
 reorganization, on April 29, 1865, when he jDro- 
 claimed the removal of restrictions on commercial in- 
 tercourse between all the States. A month later he 
 issued a proclamation stating the terms by which the 
 people of the late seceded States, with specified excep- 
 tions, might receive full amnesty and pardon, and be 
 reinvested with the right to exercise the functions of 
 citizenship, supposed to have been destroyed by par- 
 ticipation in the insurrection. This was followed by 
 the appointment of provisional governors for seven of 
 those States Avhich had formed tlie original fabric 
 known as the "Confederate States of America," 
 clothed with authority to assemble citizens in con- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 435 
 
 ventioii, who had taken the amnest}' oath with power 
 to reorganize State governments, and secure the elec- 
 tion of representatives in the national congress. 
 
 When Andrew Johnson was inaugurated president, 
 there were painful apprehensions among men who 
 knew hira intimately, that he would not act with the 
 j)arty in power. He was from 
 Tennessee and was strongly sus- 
 pected of Democratic proclivities, 
 which at this time were rejiugnant 
 to the Republicans. His nomi- 
 nation and election on the ticket 
 with President Lincolu, has 
 proved the folly of political 
 comjoromises. The Republicans 
 claimed that they had put down 
 the rebellion, and that they should 
 have the reorganization. A pilot 
 was needed at the helm, possessed 
 of a combination of moral and in- 
 tellectual forces of a rare order, 
 strong and unswerving convic- 
 tions, sobriety of conduct, firm- 
 ness of will, a thorough knowledge 
 of men, an accurate and impartial judgment, a will- 
 ingness to take counsel, a clear perception of righteous- 
 ness, and all the acuteness of a true statesman. 
 
 Much as historians and politicians have attempted 
 to mask the cause of the quarrel between Johnson and 
 his Republican cabinet and congress, it arose on the 
 very subject it might have been expected to rise, " the 
 enfranchisement of the negro. " Johnson was a south- 
 ern man with all the prejudices and instincts of a 
 southerner. Although of humble parentage, by his 
 own indomitable will and energy, he had worked his 
 way up, until he now occupied the chief place in the 
 
 Andrew Johnson. 
 
436 UNIOX. 
 
 nation. He was loyal to his government in its hour 
 of peril ; but he could not bring himself to believe in 
 the doctrine of enfranchisement of the negro. ]S'ot 
 onl}' did it smack of the " doctrine of equality," offen- 
 sive to every southern man, but he seriously doubted 
 the propriety of placing the ballot in the hands of a 
 horde of ignorant blacks who must become the tools 
 of scheming politicians. The Republican party, 
 partly from a sense of right to men made citizens of 
 the United States, and partly from hope of perpetuat- 
 ing their party in power, held that now that the slave 
 was free, he should be made a citizen. Johnson, 
 driven to extremes, proposed to make intelligence the 
 test, to grant every negro capable of reading the 
 Amendment that made him free, or who owned a cer- 
 tain amount of property, the right to vote. This did 
 not answer the purpose of the opposition, who knew 
 that there were perhaps not a dozen negroes in Mis- 
 sissippi who could read or write. The negro problem 
 was far from being solved, and wise and patriotic men 
 began to seriously consider the matter. Of course 
 the colored vote of the South far exceeded the white 
 vote, and many thinking men, regardless of party, to- 
 day doubt the propriety of turning the government 
 of those southern States over to that mass of unintel- 
 ligent beings. 
 
 The quarrel between Johnson and the liepulMican 
 party grew more and more acrimonious. The })resi- 
 dent was charged with being more friendly to the hite 
 enemies of his country than its defenders. As in all 
 quarrels, both parties were to blame. Johnson was 
 stubborn and unwilling to take advice from any one. 
 The Republicans ])elieved that the enfrnnchisement 
 of the negroes would give them the " Solid South." 
 They did not understand the negro, or they would 
 have seen that, as a political factor, he would be more 
 
APPENDIX. 437 
 
 likely to turn against them, than act with them. The 
 negro does not live for the past, nor the future, but 
 for the present. The result is that the Eepublicans 
 were surprised and disappointed in him, though 
 hardly willing eveu to this day to admit it. 
 
 The cpiarrel between the Republicans and Johnson 
 became more and more earnest. People looked with 
 great anxiety to the assembling of congress, hoping 
 for some relief from the impending danger. 
 
 The 39th Congress assembled December 4, 18G5, 
 and took up, among the first orders of business, the 
 subject of reorganization. On the first day of the 
 session, congress agreed by a joint resolution to appoint 
 a joint committee to be composed of nine members of 
 the house and six of the senate, to " inquire into the 
 condition of the States which formed the so-called 
 Confederate States of America, and report tliose en- 
 titled to be represented in either house of congress, 
 with leave to report at any time by bill or otherwise ; 
 and until such report shall have been made and finally 
 acted upon by congress, no member shall be received 
 in either house from the so-called Confederate States, 
 and all papers relating to the representatives of the 
 States shall be referred to said committee." This 
 body was known as the " Reconstruction Committee." 
 
 This act of congress was a virtual condemnation of 
 the action of the president. It was an interference 
 of the representatives of the people with his policy of 
 reorganization, and he was highly olfended. His 
 opposition to the legislative branch soon became open 
 and active. In his public addresses, he displayed, 
 in a most unguarded way, his antipathy to the legis- 
 lative branch of the government. He exercised the 
 veto power as no other man save Grover Cleveland 
 has done. In February, 1800, he vetoed an act for 
 enlarging the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau, 
 
438 UNION. 
 
 which had been established for the relief of freed ref- 
 ugees, and for the cultivation of abandoned lands. 
 In March, he vetoed an act known as the Civil Rights 
 Law, which was intended to secure to all citizens, 
 without regard to color or previous condition of ser- 
 vitude, equal rights in the republic. These acts be- 
 came law by the constitutional two-thirds vote of both 
 houses. The president was soon involved in a bitter 
 quarrel with his cabinet, and all resigned save Ed- 
 ward Stanton, secretary of war. He wns urged to re- 
 main, and, by doing so, became an object of the 
 president's bitter hatred. 
 
 Notwithstanding the quarrel between congress and 
 the president, the work of reorganization went on; 
 and on the 29th of July, after a long and laborious 
 session, congress adjourned. The president had by 
 proclamation on April 2d, formally declared the civil 
 war at an end. The first fruits of the congressional 
 plan of reorganization were seen in the restoration of 
 the State of Tennessee to the Union, six days before 
 the adjournment of congiess. 
 
 Meanwhile, notable events in the foreign relations 
 of the government had occurred. The emperor of 
 France had been informed by Secretary Seward that 
 the continuation of French troops in Mexico was not 
 agreeable to the United States; and on April 5, ISOd, 
 Napoleon's minister for foreign affairs gave assurance 
 to our government that those troops should be with- 
 drawn within a specified time. This was done; and 
 the Grand Duke ^[aximilian of x\ustria, whom Louis 
 Na]ioleon had, by military power, placed on the throne 
 in the neighboring republic, with the title of emperor 
 of Mexico, was deserted by the perfidious ruler of 
 France. The deceived and betrayed Maximilian, 
 after a struggle against the native republican govern- 
 ment for awhile, was captured at Qneretero and shot, 
 
APPENDIX. 439 
 
 and liis loving wife, Curlotta, overwhelmed bv her 
 misfortune and grief, became hopelessly insane. Such 
 was the sorrowful ending of one of the schemes of 
 the emperor of France for the gratification of his am- 
 bition. He had longed to aid the Confederates, with 
 a hope that the severance of our Union would give 
 him an opportunity to successfully defy the " Monroe 
 Doctrine," and extend the dominion of the Latin 
 race on the American continent, as well as monarchi- 
 cal institutions. It is thought by well-informed his- 
 torians, that Louis Napoleon picked a quarrel with 
 Mexico, solely to seize that weak country, and have 
 the soldiers on the frontier ready to aid the southern 
 Confederacy; but the quarrel and seizure of ]\Iexico 
 came too late. Already the war of the rebellion was 
 waning, and it was ended before he could render any 
 effective aid. 
 
 There is no doubt that the English ministry was 
 anxious to render service to the cause of the Confed- 
 eracy. In fact, our country has never had a foreign 
 or domestic quarrel, in which Great Britain did not 
 openly or secretly espouse the other cause. The Brit- 
 ish government not only desired to aid the Confeder- 
 acy, but did so, until the enormous reserve power of 
 the United States alarmed them, when they aban- 
 doned the insurgents, whom they had deceived with 
 false promises, and sneeringly called their ]iolitical 
 organization the " so-called Confederate States of 
 America. " Notwithstanding this faithlessness to their 
 traditions and fairly implied, if not absolutely stated, 
 treaty stipulations on the part of tlie rulers of Great 
 Britain, our government was faithful to them all. 
 When, in 1866, a military organization of Irish resi- 
 dents in our country, known as the Fenian Brother- 
 hood, associated for the avowed purpose of freeing 
 Ireland from British domination, in May and June, 
 
440 UNION. 
 
 for a formidable invasion of the neighboring British 
 province of Canada, the United States Government, 
 instead of investing them with " belligerent rights," 
 was true to its pledges to Great Britain concerning 
 neutrality laws, interfered and suppressed the warlike 
 movement. Though these are events of the past and 
 should not be cherished in hatred, we would be foolish 
 to forget what may be to our interest to remember, in 
 order to guide our footsteps aright in the future. 
 There is no reason why Great Britain and the United 
 States, both people of the same language and nation- 
 ality, should not be friendly. They are of one com- 
 mon ancestry, and save the political ditfereucein their 
 governments, there is little difference in their tastes 
 and desires. It is gratifying to note that, in 1866, 
 a peaceful bond of union was formed between the two 
 countries, by the successful establishment of perma- 
 nent telegraphic communication between the two 
 countries. 
 
 On May 15, 1866, the ];)resident vetoed a bill ad- 
 mitting Colorado. On the 2i»th of this month, Gen- 
 eral Winfield Scott, the hero of two wars, died at 
 West Point, Xew York. 
 
 Trouble between the white and colored races in the 
 South began soon after the Avar, aud continues yet. 
 It was no more than might have been expected when 
 the negro was made apolitical factor. On July 30th, 
 there was a great riot in New Orleans, in which many 
 colored people were killed. 
 
 On December 14, 1866, congress passed a bill grant- 
 ing the elective franchise in the District of Columbia 
 to persons " without any distinction on account of 
 color or race." The president vetoed the bill, on the 
 7th of January, 1867, when it was immediately passed 
 by the constitutional majority of both houses in its 
 favor. 
 
APPENDIX. 441 
 
 On the same da}", Mr. Ashley of Ohio, ai'ose in his 
 place, and charged " Andrew Johnson, Vice president 
 and acting-president of the United States, with the 
 commission of acts, which, in the estimation of the 
 constitution, are high crimes and misdemeanors, for 
 which he ought to be impeached." He arraigned 
 the president on the following charges: (1) In that 
 he has corruptly used the appointing power; (2) in 
 that he has corru^itly nseil the pardoning power; (3) 
 in that he has corruptly used the veto power; (4) in 
 that he has corruptly disjiosed of public property of 
 the United States; and (5) in that he has corruptly 
 interfered in elections, and committed acts which, 
 in the contemplation of the constitution, are high 
 crimes and misdemeanors. Mr. Ashley also olfered a 
 resolution, instructing the committee on the Judiciary 
 to make inquiries on the subject. This resolution 
 was adopted, and Avas the first move in the impeach- 
 ment of Andrew Johnson, president of the United 
 States, which terminated in his trial in 18G8. On 
 March 1, 18U7, Xebraska was admitted as a State. 
 
 An act was passed for limiting the authority of the 
 president in making official ap})ointments and in re- 
 moval from office. Among otiier provisions, was one 
 to deprive him of the power to remove a member of 
 the cabinet without permission of the senate, declar- 
 ing they should hold office for and during the term 
 of the president by whom they had been appointed, 
 and for one month thereafter, subject to removal by 
 and with the consent of the senate. This law, known 
 as the "Tenure of Office Act," was vetoed by the 
 president, when it was passed over his veto by a large 
 majority. The fight between the legislative and the ex- 
 ecutive powers of the government from this on became 
 doubly acrimonious. Congress passed laws depriv- 
 ing him of the power to grant amnesty and pardon to 
 
443 UNION. 
 
 those who had been eugaged in the great rebellion, 
 for a military government in the disorganized States, 
 which were divided into five districts: 1st, Virginia, 
 2d, North and South Carolina, 3d, Georgia and Ala- 
 bama, 4th, Mississippi and Arkansas, and 5th, Lou- 
 isiana and Texas. 
 
 The thirty-ninth congress closed its session at mid- 
 day, March 4, 18(J7, and twelve hours after, the first 
 session of the fortieth congress was begun. The fight 
 between the president and the new congress was not 
 one whit less bitter. Both were petulant, aggressive 
 and foolish. A hundred side issues became iuvolved, 
 so that the main subject of dispute was almost hidden. 
 Johnson was charged with seeking to destroy the gov- 
 ernment. This charge was as foolish as it was false. 
 He had been loyal to the Uuion during the war of 
 the rebellion, and no sane man, looking at the matter 
 with unprejudiced eyes, can for a moment believe 
 that he ever harbored such an idea. He wislied to 
 forgive the southern people at once and take theui 
 back as "erring brothers." Perhaps he had his own 
 political schemes as well as his Republican opponents. 
 They wished to enfranchise the negro to perpetuate 
 their party in power. He wished to issue a general 
 amnesty to the late Confederates, in order that they 
 might have an opportunity to aid the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 The " Tenure of Ofiice Act" was a slur on Johnson, 
 and congress seemed determined to strip him of offi- 
 cial power. In violation of the act, he removed the 
 secretary of war, Mr. Stanton, and put General Grant 
 in his place. Johnson's personal friends were amazed 
 at this and declared that he had gone too far. At 
 the second session of the fortieth congress, the strife 
 showed no signs of abating. Tlie president's annual 
 message was so offensive in tone and temper, that, 
 
APPENDIX. 443 
 
 when the usual resolution was offered in the senate to 
 print it, Mr. Sumner took fire and vehemently de- 
 nounced it as a "libel and insult to congress." Wiser 
 and less impulsive counsel prevailed, and, while "the 
 tone and temper and doctrines of the message" were 
 decidedly condemned, 'it was thought best to print it. 
 
 On December 5, 1867, the judiciary committee 
 offered the following resolution: 
 
 " Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, president of the 
 United States, be impeached of high crimes and mis- 
 demeanors." After a long debate, the resolution was 
 rejected by a decided majority. 
 
 A week later, the president sent to congress a mes- 
 sage, in which he gave his reasons for removing the 
 secretary of war, whicli not being satisfactory, the 
 senate reinstated Stanton, January 13, 1868, and 
 General Grant retired from the office. The strife was 
 far from being over, for, on February 21st, Mr. John- 
 son issued an order directing Mr. Stanton to vacate 
 the office of secretary of wjir, also another order to 
 Adjutant-General Lorenzo B. Thomas to enter and 
 take the place of the deposed secretary. Mr. Stanton 
 refused to be deposed in this manner, and congress 
 Avas driven to a frenzy. On the following day, Feb- 
 ruary 22, 1868, the house of representatives, by an 
 almost strictly party vote of 12(5 to 47, " Resolved, 
 That Andrew Johnson, president of the United States, 
 be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors." 
 
 The charges against liini were, (1) unlawfully or- 
 dering the removal of Mr. Stanton as secretary of 
 war, in violation of the provisions of the " Tenure of 
 Office Act;" (2) unlawfully appointing General Lo- 
 renzo B. Thomas as secretary of war ad interim; (3) 
 substantially the same as the second charge, with the 
 additional declaration that there was, at the time of 
 the appointment of General Thomas, no vacancy in 
 
444 UNION. 
 
 the office of secretary of war; (4) conspiring with 
 Lorenzo B. Thomas and other persons to the House 
 unknown, to prevent, by intimidation and tlireats, 
 Mr. Stanton, the legally appointed secretary of war, 
 from holding his office; (5) conspiring with (xeneral 
 Thomas and others to hiiider the execution of the 
 ■Tenure of Office Act, and, in pursuance of this con- 
 spiracy, attempting to prevent Mr. Stanton from act- 
 ing as secretary of war; (6) conspiring with (General 
 Thomas and others to take forcible possession of the 
 war department; (7) and (8) substantially charged 
 conspiring to prevent the execution of the Tenure of 
 Office Act, and for taking possession of the war de- 
 partment; (?) charged that the president called be- 
 fore him the commander of the forces of Washington 
 and declared to him that a law, passed the 30th of 
 June, 18t)7, directing that " all orders and instruc- 
 tions relating to the military operations, issued by 
 the president or secretary of war, shall be issued by 
 the general of the army, and, in case of his inalnlity, 
 through the next in rank," was unconstitutional and 
 not binding on the commander of the department at 
 Washington, the intent being to induce the com- 
 mander to violate the law and to obey the orders issued 
 by the president directly. 
 
 For the impeachment and prosecution of the presi- 
 dent of the United States, the house of representatives 
 appointed the following managers: Thaddeus Stevens 
 of Pennsylvania, Benjamin F. Butler of Massachu- 
 setts, John A. Bingham of Ohio, George S. Boutwell 
 of Massachusetts, James F. Wilson of Iowa, Thomas 
 Williams of Pennsylvania, and John A. Logan of 
 Illinois. 
 
 Two additional charges were adopted against the 
 president, on March o, 18(iS. Tlie hrst charged him 
 with making inflammatory speeches, during a jour- 
 
APPENDIX. ■ 445 
 
 ney lie made through the country. The second that 
 the president had in August, ISGfi, in a public speech 
 in \Vashiugton, declared that congress was not a body 
 authorized by the constitution to exercise legislative 
 powers. The Democratic members of the house, 
 forty-live in number, entered a formal protest to the 
 whole proceeding. This makes the impeachment of 
 Andrew Johnson purely a partisan measure, and it 
 was wholly unworthy patriotic Americans, acting in 
 their cool, sober senses. Johnson had not the power 
 to check the fiery, impetuous course of tlie politicians, 
 flushed with victory over the South, as Lincoln could 
 have done, had he lived, and as he did do during his 
 administration. 
 
 The United States senate was organized into a high 
 court of impeachment, with Chief Justice Salmon P. 
 Chase as president, and on March 30th, the trial be- 
 gan. The details of that trial are too long for this 
 volume. It continued until May 25th, when the 
 president was acquitted. Secretary Stanton left the 
 cabinet, and General John ]M. Schofield wasapjiointed 
 secretary of war in his })lace. 
 
 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 
 Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, having ratified the 
 amendments, and having, by the adoption of a State 
 constitution, approved by congress and by the election 
 of national senators and representatives, complied 
 with prescri])tions of congress, took their places as 
 revived States of the Union. The perfect reorgani- 
 zation was not ett'ected until the spring of 1872, when, 
 on the2;kl of May, the remaining States having taken 
 their places with their sisters, every seat in congress 
 was filled, for the first time since the winter of 18GL 
 
 In the Summer of 18G8, General U. S. Grant and 
 Schuyler Colfax were nomiiuited for president and 
 vice-president of the United States on the Republi- 
 
446 UNION. 
 
 cn,n ticket, and Horatio Seymour of New York and 
 General Frank P. Blair of Missouri, for president 
 and vice-president on the Democratic ticket. The 
 election resulted favorably to Grant and Colfax. 
 
 Daring the year 1868, there was considerable trouble 
 with Indians on the frontier. It was at this time 
 that General Sherman is accused of saying, " Tliere 
 is no good Indian, but the dead Indian." The ex- 
 pression is consistent with a soldier whose trade is 
 blood; but to a humane man and a Christian, it is 
 wholly repugnant. Besides, the statement was in 
 contradiction of facts. Missionaries and educators 
 among the Indians have proved that there are many 
 good Indians. In his report in 1S75, Commissioner 
 E. P. Smith says: 
 
 " The civilization of the Indian is not only entirely 
 possible, but is fairly under way." He reported that 
 out of the entire Indian population within the do- 
 main of the United States. (278,003 souls), 40,(;38 
 men and boys supported themselves by the labor of 
 their own hands. About one-sixth of the barbarian 
 population in our republic had become producers. 
 "Five years ago," said the Commissioner, "10, .329 
 Indian families were living in houses. This year 
 shows i9,i)02; again of 92 percent." He also re- 
 ported that the number of children attending school 
 was 10,000. The increase has been very satisfactory 
 since, and the red man, under honest treatment, and 
 in the light of Christian development, will soon be- 
 come a respected and valuable citizen. 
 
 February 26, 1869, the following resolution, as 
 the fifteenth amendment, passed both houses: 
 
 "Section I. — The right of citizens of the United 
 States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the 
 United States, or by any other State, on account of 
 race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 
 
APPENDIX. 447 
 
 " Sectiost II. — The congress, by appropriate legis- 
 lation, ma}' enforce the provisions of this article." 
 
 The tnrbulent administration of Andrew Johnson 
 came to an end March 4, 18G9. On the day he re- 
 tired, he issned a long address to the people of the 
 United States in vindication of his conduct. It is 
 too soon yet to say Just how much Johnson and the 
 Keiiublicans were to blame, or to fasten the blame on 
 either. The whole contest was a political battle over 
 partisan issues, and though it did not appear in the 
 impeachment at all, the great question between John- 
 son and Congress v;as extending the elective franchise 
 to the negroes. The Republicans won, and it is doubt- 
 ful if the whites or the blacks are any better off for 
 it, and certain it is, the Republicans were losers in 
 the game. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 grant's two administrations— "ALABAMA" CLAIM 
 — TROUBLE WITH SPAIN — COKRUPTION OF OFFI- 
 CIALS — THE "whiskey ring." 
 
 Ulysses Simpson Grant was inaugurated president 
 of the United States March -i, 1SG9. His cabinet 
 was as follows: Hamilton Fish, secretary of state; 
 George S. Boutwell, secretary of treasury; John A. 
 Rawlins, secretary of war; Adolph E. Borie, secretary 
 of the navy; Jacob D. Ooxe, secretary of the interior; 
 A. J. Creswell, postmaster-general, and E. Rockwood 
 Hoar, attorney-general. 
 
 The beginning of President Grant's administration 
 was bright with hope and promise. The only cloud 
 that darkened the tirmament was the nnsettled ac- 
 count for the depredations committed by the Alahaina, 
 fitted out in England by tacit sanction of the British 
 government. To eifect a peaceful solution of the 
 problem, Reverdy Johnson of Maryland was sent to 
 Enghmd, in 1868, to negotiate a treaty for that pur- 
 pose. The treaty was rejected by the American sen- 
 ate. Johnson was recalled, and J. Lothrop Motley 
 was appointed minister to the British court, charged 
 with the negotiation of another treaty for the same 
 purpose; but Mr. Motley met with no greater suc- 
 cess than his pr^lecessor. 
 
 The reduction of tlie national debt over $600,000,- 
 000 in the space of three years and eight months, at 
 the accession of President Grant, made the outlook 
 448 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 449 
 
 encouraging. The country was prosperous. Return- 
 ing soldiers, with back pay and bounties, were pur- 
 chasing farms, horses and cattle, and spreading money 
 all over the country. In 1864, a laAV was passed pro- 
 viding for a separate bureau in the treasury depart- 
 ment, the chief otticer of which was called the comp- 
 troller of the currency, Avhose office is under the 
 general direction of the secretary of the treasury. It 
 also provided for the formation of private banking 
 associations, within defined limits, to have existence 
 for twenty years, the stockholders to be equally liable 
 to the extent of the stock for the debts and contracts 
 of the bank. Every such association was required, 
 preliminary to the commence- 
 ment of banking, to transfer 
 bonds of the United States to an 
 amount not less than $30,000, 
 and not less than the capital 
 stock paid in. Then the asso- 
 ciation was entitled to receive 
 from the comptroller of the cur- 
 rency, circulating notes equal in 
 amount to twenty })er cent of 
 the current market value of the 
 bonds transferred, but not ex- 
 ceeding ninety per cent of the 
 par value of such bonds. The 
 government of the United States 
 was thus made the basis of se- 
 curity for the redemption of 
 paper currency, and that circu- 
 lating medium was of equal value in all parts of the 
 United States. This was the formation of national 
 banks, which system, in LS75, was made free, without 
 any restrictions as to the amount of circulating notes 
 that might be issued by the comptroller of the treas- 
 :i9 
 
 \ 
 Ulysses S. Grant. 
 
450 UNION. 
 
 ury. The system is condemned by certain classes and 
 npheld by others. 
 
 At an early period of Grant's administration, an 
 important amendment to the national constitution 
 was proposed by Mr. Julian of Indiana, for securing 
 the ballot to women, in the following terms: 
 
 "The right of suffrage in the United States: — citi- 
 zens, whether native or naturalized, shall enjoy the 
 right equally, without any distinction or discrimi- 
 nation whatever, founded on sex." 
 
 This never became a law. It was thought that the 
 fourteenth amendment, declaring " that all persons, 
 born or naturalized in the United States and subiect 
 to the jurisdiction thereof (without any allusion to 
 sex) are citizens of the United States and the State 
 wherein they reside," clearly gave women the rights 
 and privileges of citizens-. 
 
 An important event of 1860 was the completion of 
 the Pacific Railroad, thus uniting the Atlantic and 
 the Pacific coasts by a band of steel. The impressive 
 ceremony of laying the last" tie" and driving the last 
 "spikes" took place on May 10, 1869, in a grassy val- 
 ley, near the head of the great Salt Lake, in Utah. 
 It was performed in the presence of many hundred 
 people of various nationalities, including Indians of 
 the plains. That " tie" was made of laurel wood, 
 brightly polished, its ends bound with silver bands. 
 The " spikes" were three in number. One of solid 
 gold came from California; another of solid silver 
 from Nebraska; and a third, composed of gold, sil- 
 ver and iron, was furnished by the citizens of Arizona. 
 That great railway crosses nine mountain ranges in 
 its passage of about three thousand four hundred 
 miles, between New York and San Francisco by way 
 of Chicago. 
 
 Early at the close of the war, the subject of a ship 
 
APPENDIX. 451 
 
 canal across the Isthmus of Darien, to connect the 
 waters of the two oceans, was brought before the 
 American people, and has occupied much public at- 
 tention ever since, though it has not become a reality. 
 In 1871, the United States and Great Britain, having 
 agreed to arbitrate the Alabaina claim, the tribunal 
 for that purpose assembled at Geneva, in Switzerland, 
 where Count Sclopis was chosen to preside. After 
 several meetings, in September, 1872, the tribunal de- 
 cided that the government of Great Britain should 
 pay to the government of the United States, the sum 
 of $15,500,000 in gold, to be given to citizens of the 
 latter country, for losses by depredations of the Ala- 
 bama and other Anglo-Gonfederate cruisers. 
 
 On October lOtli and 12th, 1871, there occurred at 
 Chicago the great fire, in which over 1300,000,000 
 was lost. Many insurance companies were forced to 
 make assignments. It is said that the fire originated 
 from a cow kicking down a lamp. It was during 
 this year that the Grand Duke Alexis of Eussia paid 
 the United States a visit and made a tour through 
 several States and Territories. On January 3,. 1872, 
 Brigham Young, the great Mormon chief, was arrested 
 for murder, being charged with complicity in the 
 Mountain Meadow massacre. He was not convicted; 
 but a jury found a Mormon official named Lee guilty, 
 and he was afterward executed. On March 7th, three 
 members of the Kuklux Klan were convicted and 
 sentenced to twenty years in the penitentiary. The 
 Kuklux Klan was a southern organization to prevent 
 negroes from enjoying the elective franchise. 
 
 May 3, 1872, the Liberal Republicans, in conven- 
 tion at Cincinnati, nominated Horace Greeley for 
 president, with B. Gratz Brown of Missouri for Vice- 
 President. Mr. Greeley, the eminent editor of the 
 New York Tribinie, and one of the greatest men of 
 
452 
 
 UNION. 
 
 his age, had been an earnest advocate of abolition, 
 and was thought to be one of the stanchest Repub- 
 licans in the nation. He was loyal and true; but 
 when the Confederates surren- 
 dered, he believed the war over 
 and was willing to take them by 
 the hand and forgive them. He 
 became one of the bondsmen for 
 Jefferson Davis, which made him 
 repugnant with the mass of Re- 
 publicans, who seemed to still 
 snifp the smoke of battle. Hor- 
 ace Greeley was not the political 
 mountebank that he has been 
 accused of being. He was a hu- 
 mane man. His love of human- 
 ity made slavery of the blacks 
 hateful, and his love of human- 
 ity revolted at the oppressive 
 means suggested to humiliate 
 the conquered people of the 
 South. His views on the tariff 
 Uvere thoroughly Republican and not far from the 
 ideas held by the party to-day. 
 
 The Republican ])arty had determined to renomi- 
 nate General Grant. Though Grant had not evinced 
 any brilliant statesmanship, yet he had made no seri- 
 ous mistakes, and his brilliant military record made 
 him popular. On June (i, 1872, he was renominated. 
 William H. Seward, Lincoln's secretary of state, 
 stabbed on the night of the president's assassination, 
 died October 1-i, 1872. The presidential election re- 
 sulted in the election of Grant and Wilson. On the 
 25th of November, after the election on the 5th, 
 Horace Greeley died, at the age of G2. 
 
 On the 9th of this month a destructive fire broke 
 
 Horace Greeley. 
 
APPENDIX. 453 
 
 out in Boston, resulting in a loss of about $75,- 
 000,000. 
 
 President Grant's second term of office began March 
 4, 1873. It was an intensely cold day at the national 
 capital ; but the inaugural ceremonies were performed 
 as usual, in open air, at the east front of the capitol. 
 Chief Justice Chase administered the oath of oflfice. 
 It was one of the last public acts of that distinguished 
 jurist. His health had been failing for some time, 
 in consequence of a paralytic stroke in 1872, and he 
 died two months after the imposing ceremonies. 
 President Grant's second cabinet was as follows: 
 Hamilton Fish, secretary of state; William A. Eich- 
 ardson, secretary of the treasury; William W. Bel- 
 knap, secretary of war; George A. Robeson, secretary 
 of the navy; Columbus Delano, secretary of the in- 
 terior; John A. J. Creswell, postmaster-general. 
 Changes in the personnel of the cabinet afterward took 
 place, and only Mr. Fish remained in General Grant's 
 cabinet during the eight years of his administration. 
 
 At the close of the third session of the forty-second 
 congress, which closed March 4, 1873, at noon, there 
 was rushed through the infamous salary-grab bill. 
 Had this law been enacted prior to the presidential 
 election, it would have materially aided Horace Gree- 
 ley. By this law, the president's salary was raised from 
 125,000 a year to $50,000 a year, payable in monthly 
 instalments. The salary of the vice-president was 
 fixed at $10,000; chief justice of the supreme court, 
 $10,500, and the associate justices at $10,000 each; 
 the heads of the several departments, attorney-general 
 and sjieaker of the house of representatives at $10,000 
 each, and senators and representatives at $7,500 each. 
 President Grant signed this bill, and it became a law, 
 just before he began his second term of office. 
 
 The South was in a miserable condition. Intelli- 
 
454 UmON. 
 
 gence under the ban of rebellion was disfranchised, 
 and ignorance and imported politicians called " carpet 
 baggers" controlled the country. It was still under 
 military rule. Ignorance, to a certain extent, ruled 
 intelligence in local affairs. The enfranchised negro 
 was about the only citizen in the South entitled to 
 vote or hold office. Local offices were in many cases 
 held by negroes incapable of reading or writing. 
 There was a gradual lightening of the burdens of tax- 
 ation which the war had imposed, and this made the 
 masses of the people hopeful for the future. The 
 protective tariff, proposed as a war measure, was prov- 
 ing beneficial in peace. Manufacturing industries 
 sprang up all over the land; labor was in demand, 
 and wages were good. This soon began to attract the 
 attention of the laboring people of the old world. 
 The wage earner in the United States was receiving 
 double the wages the laborer received in the old world, 
 and emigration from Europe poured into America in 
 one continuous stream. In the year 1873, the emi- 
 gration reached the unprecedented figures of 473,000. 
 The great panic of 1873 prostrated thousands of 
 commercial and manufacturing institutions, cutting 
 off, or reducing the wages of thousands of people, 
 which put a check to emigration, though it has never 
 ceased. The vast unoccupied lands in the western 
 States and Territories have been rapidly filling up 
 with foreign emigrants and people from the over- 
 crowded eastern States. 
 
 November 6, 1873, an American vessel named the 
 Virginius was captured by Spanish authorities near 
 Cuba. Her crew and persons aboard of the vessel 
 were accused of aiding the insurgents in Cuba. They 
 were taken to Santiago, Cuba, where several were 
 shot. This brought about some diplomatic corre- 
 spondence with Spain. It was supposed that General 
 
APPENDIX. 455 
 
 Grant would stubbornly insist on satisfaction, which 
 Spain seemed not in the least inclined to give. One 
 of the men killed by the Spanish authorities was a 
 citizen of Iowa, and it was declared that he was in no 
 way connected with "filibusters," if any of them 
 were. To the surprise of all, the matter passed away 
 and was hushed up. Some of the newspai)ers at the 
 time intimated that Secretary Fish had a son or a 
 son-in-law at this time interested in some financial 
 matters in Spain, and that this probably accounted 
 for the unsatisfactory way in which the matter ended. 
 
 Through the unwise " peace policy" of President 
 Grant, by contiuuing the vicious system of treating 
 the Indians as foreigners and at the same time wards 
 guarded by rapacious and unscrupulous agents, who 
 swindled and continually excited their righteous an- 
 ger, the Modocs became incensed and took up the 
 hatchet. In their mountain fastnesses and lava beds, 
 they made a desperate resistance. General Canby and 
 Reverend Dr. Thomas were commissioned to treat 
 with them, and were treacherously murdered by the 
 infuriated Modocs. 
 
 The government became roused, and the Modocs 
 were driven to their lava beds and forced to surrender. 
 Captain Jack and three of his companions were tried 
 by a court-martial and hanged at Fort Klamath, in 
 Oregon, October 3, 1873. 
 
 The trouble originating in the South from giving 
 the negro the elective franchise was renewed in ls74, 
 and in fact in every biennial, or quadrennial election, 
 tliere are reports of outrages in the South, until people 
 have come to expect trouble at the polls when an elec- 
 tion is held. 
 
 A report of the discovery of gold in the Black Hills 
 caused the government to send Mr. Jenny, govern- 
 ment geologist, to make a survev of that region. He 
 
456 UNION. 
 
 was escorted into the reservation b}' six companies of 
 cavalry and two of infantry. The Sionx, at once 
 suspecting that they were to be deprived of their lands, 
 began their dances and prepared for war. In 1.S76, 
 a campaign against them was organized. The general 
 plan was for the military force to make a simulta- 
 neous movement under experienced leaders, in three 
 columns, — one from the department of the Platte, led 
 by General Crook ; one from the department of Da- 
 kota, commanded by General Terry ; and a third from 
 the Territory of Montana, led by General Gibbon. 
 The latter was to move with his columns down the 
 valley of the Yellowstone, to prevent the Sioux from 
 escaping northward. General Custer, at the same 
 time, pushing across the country from the Missouri 
 to the Yellowstone, was to drive the Indians toward 
 General Gibbon, while General Crook was to scout 
 the Black Hills and drive out any of the hostile Sioux 
 that might be found there. The expedition was un- 
 der the chief command of General Alfred H. Terry, 
 a brave, judicious and experienced officer. He and 
 his staff accompanied Custer from Fort Abraham 
 Lincoln to the Yellowstone River. On their arrival 
 in the vicinity, about June 1, 1876, by communi- 
 cating with General Gibbon, they learned that the 
 Indians were in that neighborhood, in large numbers, 
 and well supplied with munitions of Avar. 
 
 The reports of scouts caused a belief that the In- 
 dians, with their great movable village, were in the 
 meshes of the net prepared for them near the waters 
 of the Big Horn and Little Horn, Powder and Tongue 
 rivers (tributaries of the Yellowstone), and Rosebud 
 Creek. The concentrated troops began to feel for 
 themselves. On the 17th of June, Crook had a 
 sharp fight with a superior force of Sioux, who were 
 thoroughly armed and equipped, and he was obliged 
 
APPENDIX. 457 
 
 to retreat. Terry and Gibbon met at the moutli of 
 the Rosebud. Custer was there, at the head of the 
 stronger column, consisting of the whole of the Tth 
 regiment of cavalry, composed of twelve companies, 
 and was ordered to make the attack. He and Gibbon 
 marched to the vicinity of the Big Horn Eiver. 
 Custer arrived first and discovered an immense In- 
 dian camp on a plain. He liad been directed to await 
 the arrival of Gibbon, to co-operate with him, before 
 making the attack; but, inferring that the Indians 
 were moving off, he directed Colonel Reno to attack 
 them at one point with seven companies of the cav- 
 alry, while he dashed off with five companies (about 
 three hundred men) to attack at another point. A 
 terrible struggle ensued on the 25th of Ji;ne, 1870, 
 with a body of Indians, five to one of the white men. 
 The savages were led by a chieftain named "Sitting 
 Bull," a man with more than ordinary ability, and 
 who, had he been Christianized and civilized, might 
 have been a power in the land. Custer and almost 
 his entire command were slain. Two hundred and 
 sixty-one were killed and fifty wounded. With Gen- 
 eral Custer, perished two of his brothers, a brother- 
 in-law, and other gallant officers; but the Indians 
 were finally driven from their lands to a reservation 
 set apart for them, and a peace established. 
 
 The Territory of Colorado was admitted as the 
 thirty-eighth State in the year 1876. 
 
 General Grant's second administration was sad- 
 dened by some of the most gigantic frauds and swin- 
 dles ever brought to light against government officials 
 and prominent men in political circles. During the 
 latter part of tlie year 1875, disclosures were made 
 of a wide-spread conspiracy among the United States 
 revenue officers, distillers and others to defraud the 
 government of its revenue on whiskey. This was 
 
458 
 
 UNION. 
 
 known as the "whiskey ring." 0. E. Babcock, 
 President Grant's private secretary, was one of the 
 accnsed, but on trial was acquitted. 
 
 Tlie " whiskey ring" seemed to have its headquarters 
 in St. Louis, though there were branches extending 
 to Kansas City and St. Joseph. It was wholly witli- 
 in the ranks of Kepublican officials and Eepublican 
 leaders, whose object was to increase their own wealth 
 by violating the law and defrauding the govern- 
 ment. Eespectable Kepublicans kept aloof from the 
 gigantic fraud, and saved their good names from 
 reproach. Those familiar with the ring and its 
 schemes understand its strenuous and persistent ef- 
 forts to dominate and control city, State and national 
 politics. 
 
 For six years, all else had to yield to or feel its in- 
 fluence. The chief Republican paper of St. Louis 
 and Missouri was the iSf. Louis Democrat, owned by 
 Fishback, Houser and William McKee, all three hav- 
 ing an interest in it. This paper, from its skill and 
 enterprise, had gained a wide influence during the 
 war. March 23, 1872, William McKee and D. M. 
 Houser sold their shares in the Democrat to Fishback 
 & Co. for 1-450,000. On July 18, 1872, McKee and 
 Houser established a new Republican paper, called 
 the Glolie, which it is supposed derived its flrst vigor 
 from the proceeds of the whiskey ring fi'auds, though 
 there is no evidence that Mr. D. M. Houser, or any 
 one else, connected with the paper, save McKee, had 
 anything whatever to do with the whiskey ring frauds. 
 The emoluments of the whiskey frauds, according to 
 the statement of General McDonald, reached the enor- 
 mous amount of 12,786,000. Of this, it is said that 
 McKee of the Gloie received $;300,000. On March 
 19, 1875, McKee and Houser purchased the Democrat 
 from Fishback & Co., and, consolidating it with the 
 
APPENDIX. 459 
 
 Glohe, it became tlie St. Lonis Glohe-Democrai ., wliicli 
 name it bears to-day. 
 
 The power of the whiskey riug was ahiiost unlimited. 
 Scarce any dared oppose it, and he who did was crushed 
 by the weight of its influence. Republican State 
 conventions were manipulated in its interest, and 
 Ohauncey I. Filley, the Republican leader then and 
 now in the State, because he would not accede to the 
 wishes of the ring, was retired from the State com- 
 mittee. He was, at the time of its exposure, by Geo. 
 AV. Fishback to Secretary Bristow, postmaster of St. 
 Louis. These gigantic frauds on such a wholesale 
 plan could not go entirely unnoticed. On May 10, 
 1875, seizures were made by two revenue oificers 
 going to St. Louis for that purpose after Fishback 
 had given into the hands of Bristow the sworn proof. 
 The parties in St. Louis who aided in furnishing tlie 
 information were Jesse B. Woodward, an attorney, 
 and Myron Coloney, a special agent. 
 
 On May 15, 1875, the commissioner of revenue 
 was superseded by Commissioner Pratt of Indiana, and 
 in June, McDonald, Joyce and Fitzroy were indicted. 
 In July, General John B. Henderson was appointed 
 special attorney to assist Colonel Pat Dver, the district 
 attorney, in the ])rosecution of the frauds. Hender- 
 son, being a politician, hesitated to incur the displeas- 
 ure of the great opposing newspaper, and a ring tliat 
 had gained such a wonderful power. He consulted 
 with Mr. Filley, the postmaster, also a prominent Re- 
 publican, who wielded wide influence in the State and 
 nation. Mr. Filley said that the way to favor was to 
 "stand up for the country and the right," and Hen- 
 derson, having his spiritual strength renewed, decided 
 to take hold and prosecute witli a vengeance. 
 
 Henderson had been an applicant for a foreign mis- 
 sion in 1872, and President Grant, having been in- 
 
460 UNION. 
 
 formed of a personal attack made by Henderson on 
 him, refused to appoint the general. It is said by 
 one who knew Grant well, that he never overlooked 
 a personal attack. On being appointed to prosecute 
 the whiskey ring, Henderson could not resist tlie tem- 
 tation to vent his spleen on the president, and he de- 
 clared that the whiskey frauds were a ring that ex- 
 tended to the AVhite House. Henderson was at once 
 removed, and Hon. James 0. Broadhead, an eminent 
 lawyer and Democratic statesman, was appointed in 
 his place. General Grant, in making this appoint- 
 ment, gave utterance to the famous order: 
 
 " Let no guilty man escape!" 
 
 November 4, 1875, McKee and Maguire were in- 
 dicted for " consjiiracy to defraud the government." 
 In September, John A. Joyce was indicted in the 
 western district court at Jefferson City for failure 
 to report official investigation. On November 13, 
 Joyce was sentenced to three years in the peniten- 
 tiary and 12,000 fine. McDonald was convicted in 
 the same month. W. 0. Avery, a clerk in the com- 
 missioner's office, was tried at St. Louis and convicted 
 December 3d. In February, 1876, Babcock was 
 acquitted by a jury. On February 1st, William 
 McKee was convicted. The same day collector of in- 
 ternal revenue Con. Maguire plead guilty. McKee 
 was fined ten thousand dollars and sentenced to two 
 years in the county jail. Maguire was sentenced to 
 six months in the county jail. In St. Joseph, John 
 L. Bittinger was, on April 15, 1876, sentenced to 
 two years in the State penitentiary, and to pay a 
 fine of one thousand dollars. Other members of the 
 ring were more or less punished ; but there is no doubt 
 that many of the guilty escaped. So many promi- 
 nent politicians, newspaper men and men wealthy 
 and occupying high places in society, were per- 
 
APPENDIX. 461 
 
 haps never before convicted by their own political 
 friends. 
 
 The Kepublican party in Missouri has never yet 
 gotten over the blighting effects of the whiskey ring. 
 Ever since, the State has been Democratic. Chauncey 
 I. Filley, the great Eepublican organizer and leader, 
 refused to sign a petition or write a letter for the 
 pardon of William McKee of the St. Louis Glohe- 
 Democrat, and has ever since been the object of that 
 paper's hate. Mr. Filley gives the following reason 
 for declining to sign a petition, or write a letter to 
 President Grant for the pardon of William McKee: 
 
 " 1 declined to sign a letter or petition for the par- 
 don of McKee, not upon any personal grounds, but 
 because he, as an intelligent man and publisher of a 
 great newspaper, whose duty it was to be faithful to 
 the public as a public educator, had been false to his 
 public and individual duty, and the means of suborn- 
 ing and contaminating so many young men, and so 
 many public officers, federal, State and city, that he 
 had no claims for consideration, and should be made 
 to suffer for his own acts, and to atone for the homes 
 he had destroyed, as well as the lives of so many who 
 fell under his blight." 
 
 Filley has never ceased to feel the effects of his re- 
 fusal. William McKee died in 1879, and a statement 
 published in many of the leading papers and never to 
 our knowledge denied, is to the effect that he called 
 his wife, Joseph McCullagh, editor of the St. Louis 
 GloJje-Deiiiocrat, and D. M. Houser, its manager, to 
 his death-bed, and made them promise never to cease 
 to fight Chauncey I. Filley so long as he lived and 
 the Glol)e-Democrat existed. Wliether such an obli- 
 gation was imposed on the survivors of William Mc- 
 Kee or not, it has been acted upon. When Filley or- 
 ganized the shattered ranks of the Republican party 
 
463 UNION. 
 
 ill his part of tlie nation, after the defeats of 1870 
 and 1874, and led them to victory in 1876, 1880 and 
 1888, the UloI)e-Democrat assailed him, and soon had 
 the ear of the administration turned against him 
 in each case. Filley went down in 181)2, and so did 
 the Republican party. The Glohe- Democrat and its 
 followers are denominated the " silk-stocking" faction 
 of the Eepublican party, while Filley and his followers 
 are called " hoodlums. " Both pseudonyms are misno- 
 mers, as one can see by the history 
 of the origin of the factions. 
 
 1870 was not only a presidential 
 year, but also the year of the great 
 centennial exposition, celebrating 
 the one hundredth anniversary of 
 American Independence. The 
 centennial exposition was held 
 in Philadelphia. Kutherford B. 
 Hayes of Ohio and William A. 
 Wheeler of New York were nom- 
 inated for president and vice- 
 president of the United States on 
 the Kepublican ticket at Cincin- 
 nati, June 16, 1876. Belknap, 
 secretary of war, left the cabinet, 
 Samuel J. Tilden. and on June 17th, B. H. Bristow, 
 
 secretary of the treasury, resigned. 
 On the 28th and 29th of June, Samuel J. Tilden 
 and Thomas A. Hendricks were nominated for presi- 
 dent and vice-president of the United States on the 
 Democratic ticket. The election was so close that for 
 months it was in doubt. At last an electoral com- 
 mission was agreed upon, and the result was that 
 Hayes and Wheeler were declared elected. The com- 
 mission was very unsatisfactory, and we hope will 
 never be resorted to again. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 HAYES — GAKFIELI) — AND ARTHUR. 
 
 Many evil things were said of the manner in 
 which President Hayes Avas elected. He was called 
 the "Fraudulent President;" but whatever may be 
 said of the fraud, if there were a 
 fraud, which placed him in the 
 presidential chair, President 
 Hayes was no party to it himself. 
 He found himself chief magistrate 
 of a mighty nation, and perhaps 
 in as trying a position as ever a 
 man was placed in time of peace. 
 He proved himself conscientious 
 and worthy of the high trust re- 
 posed in him. His cabinet was, 
 William- M. Evarts of New York, 
 secretary of state; John Sherman 
 of Ohio, secretary of the treasury ; 
 George W. McCrary of Iowa, sec- 
 retary of war; Richard W.Thomp- 
 son of Indiana, secretary of the 
 navy; Carl Schurz of Missouri, 
 secretary of the interior; David 
 M. Key of Tennessee, postmaster-general, and Charles 
 Devens of Massachusetts, attorney-general. 
 
 Mr, Hayes at once set about a much needed reform 
 in the South. He realized that the war had ended 
 twelve years before, and that a standing army was no 
 463 
 
 Rutherford B. Hayes. 
 
464 UNION. 
 
 longer necessary in the South. He believed the peo- 
 ple of the South capable of controlling their own 
 affairs without the intervention of federal or military 
 authority, and South Carolina and Louisiana, being 
 left to themselves, declared the Democratic nominees 
 for governor of those two States elected. The South- 
 ern States have been solidly Democratic ever since 
 and are rapidly recovering from the devastation of 
 war. 
 
 Mr. Hayes, on June 22, 1877, issued the folloAving 
 circular letter to all government office holders: 
 
 " Sir : — I desire to call your attention to the following 
 paragraph in a letter addressed by me to the secretary of the 
 treasury on the conduct to be observed by officers of the 
 government in relation to elections : 
 
 " ' No officer shall be required or permitted to take any 
 part in the management of political organizations, cau- 
 cuses, conventions, or election campaigns. Their right to 
 vote and express their views on public questions, either 
 orally or through the press, is not denied, provided it does 
 not interfere with the discharge of their otficial duties. No 
 assessments for political purposes on officers or subordi- 
 nates should be allowed. This rule is applicable to every 
 department of the civil service. It should be understood 
 by every officer of the general government i^hat he is ex- 
 pected to conform his conduct to its requirements. '" 
 
 The summer of 1877 was memorable for the Nez 
 Perce (Pierced-Nose) Indian war in Idaho. The his- 
 tory of this war is only another record of a series of 
 aggressions and impositions of the white men upon 
 the red. The Nez Perces were first discovered in 
 1803, by a party of explorers. They were quite 
 friendly and continued so until about twenty years 
 ago. They were organized, like most of the tribes 
 west of the Rocky Mountains, with no general chief. 
 An Indian agent was sent among them, who forced 
 upon them a principal chief, whose only recommenda- 
 tions were that he could speak English, and could be 
 
APPENDIX. 465 
 
 controlled in the interest of the agent. They waited 
 patiently for the appointed chief to die, that they 
 might again enjoy their old political system ; hut when 
 this event did transpire, another chief was chosen in 
 opposition to "Joseph," a member of one of the most 
 illustrious families of the tribe. He was the father 
 of Joseph, the leader of the band in war. Old Josejjh 
 withdrew in disgust from the councils of the Nez 
 Perces. 
 
 The Nez Perces had lived from time immemorial 
 in the Wallowa valley, distinguished for its wealth 
 of roots and fishing. The white men envied them 
 their lands, and by various treaties, which they in 
 their ignorance could not understand, provided them 
 with reservations and annuities. Old Joseph and his 
 band refused to go upon the reservation, and remained 
 in their ancestral home in the Wallowa valley. 80 did 
 many others who refused to become parties to the 
 treaty. 
 
 In 1871, old Joseph died and left his son Joseph at 
 the head of his band. Like his father, he denied the 
 right of a portion of the tribe to give up their lands. 
 Not having signed the treaty, they determined to re- 
 main in the Wallowa. White people came into the 
 valley for the purpose of crowding them out. The 
 oppression of the Indians became terrible and, as 
 might be supposed, resulted in war. Joseph, at the 
 head of a few followers, made a gallant fight. A dis- 
 tressing war continued from June until the second 
 month in Autumn of 1877, when, on the 5th of 
 October, Joseph and his band surrendered to General 
 Nelson A. Miles at Eagles' Creek, Montana Terri- 
 tory. Joseph in his speech said to General Miles: 
 
 "Tell General Howard I know his heart. What 
 he told me before I have in my heart. I am tired of 
 fighting. Our chiefs are all killed. Looking-glass 
 30 
 
466 UNION. 
 
 is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young 
 men who must say yes or no. He who led the young 
 men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets. 
 The little children are freezing to death. I want 
 time to look for my children and see how many of 
 them I can find. May be I shall find them among 
 the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My 
 heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now 
 stands, I shall fight no more forever." 
 
 A more pathetic speech has not been heard since 
 the time of Logan the famous Mingo chief. 
 
 Since the death of Custer, Sitting Bull, the terri- 
 ble Sioux, and his followers had been at large. Gen- 
 eral Terry, commander of the military department of 
 the Northwest, was placed at the head of the com- 
 mission, and on hearing of the surrender of the Nez 
 Perces, and considering it a favorable time to nego- 
 tiate, started for the rendezvous of Sitting Bull, near 
 Fort Walsh, where they met the chief, who rejected 
 the proposals of peace made by the commissioners, 
 and the commission returned. The British authori- 
 ties gave Sitting Bull notice that if he should attemjit 
 to cross the border with hostile intentions, he would 
 have the English as well as the Americans for his 
 enemies. In 1881, about one thousand of Sitting 
 Bull's followers surrendered ; but it was several years 
 before the chief would consent to be placed on a 
 reservation. 
 
 January 1, 1879, was the time set for the resump- 
 tion of specie payment, and as the time drew near, 
 timid persons began to fear a panic; but resumption, 
 like many anticipated evils, proved a blessing. In 
 1878, the "Bland Silver Bill," of which Mr. Richard 
 Bland of Missouri was author, became a law. It pro- 
 vided for the coinage of silver dollars of the weight 
 of 412^ grains and that the rate of coinage should be 
 
 I 
 
APPENDIX. 467 
 
 at least 12,000,000 a month, and not more than 
 14,000,000. In the fall of 1878, the yellow fever pre- 
 vailed as a fearful epidemic in the region of the 
 Lower Mississippi, from Memphis to New Orleans. 
 In his annual message, the j^resident called the atten- 
 tion of congress to the necessity for investigating the 
 causes of the epidemic. The senate appointed a 
 committee to act in the matter in conjunction with 
 one from the house, and 850,000 was appropriated. 
 
 On January 1, 1879, the much-dreaded specie re- 
 sumption came. In fact, under the wise manage- 
 ment of Secretary Sherman, it had been reached 
 weeks before. As the time approached, all dread of 
 the monster passed away, and, instead of producing 
 the tinancial panic predicted by so many, 1879 was 
 the most prosperous year the nation had seen since the 
 war. 
 
 On the Pacific coast there has long existed a strong 
 prejudice to the Chinese, and in 1879 the matter was 
 brought to the attention of congress in an effort to 
 restrict Chinese emigration. A bill was passed to 
 that effect; but the president vetoed it. 
 
 Early in the Autumn of 1879, there was an upris- 
 ing of the Ute tribe of Indians. They murdered 
 N. C. Meeker, the Indian agent at White Eiver, and 
 for several weeks held his wife and daughter in cap- 
 tivity. Major Thornbreak of the United States Army 
 was sent with a force to suppress the hostiles, and in 
 a battle with them on Milk River, he and ten of his 
 men were killed. The Indians were finally subdued, 
 and the captives released. 
 
 1880 was another presidential year. General Grant's 
 friends set on foot a movement to break the precedent 
 set by George Washington, which until this year had 
 been respected by the most ambitious politician Amer- 
 ica had ever produced. Early in the year, in fact, 
 
468 UNION. 
 
 the year before General Grant was announced us a 
 candidate for the "third term," he had taken a tour 
 around the world, and an admiring press had given 
 him a liberal amount of laudation. Ilis chief oppo- 
 nent was that brilliant statesman, James G. Blaine. 
 Koscoe Conkling and General John A. Logan were 
 the special champions of General Grant. 
 
 This mistake, to a considerable extent, dimmed the 
 lustre which General Grant's name had already ac- 
 quired. The campaign was very bitter, and some 
 hard things were said of the general who liad received 
 the sword of Lee. The convention was held in Chi- 
 cago, and the ex-president was accused of imperialism 
 and Ca?sarism. Washington Avas held up in contrast 
 with the third-term candidate. The salary grab, the 
 whiskey frauds, and many other things for which the 
 general was not responsible were charged against him. 
 The Young Men's Republican Clulj from New York 
 had their headquarters at the Palmer House, and 
 with them was a chorus of excellent singers and a 
 number of orators, the lay of whose songs and the 
 burden of whose speeches were against the " third 
 term." 
 
 It soon became evident that safety to the party lay 
 in a comiDromise candidate. The galleries rang with 
 applause whenever James A. Garlield, avIio was a dele- 
 gate, appeared in the convention hall, and the del- 
 egates wisely decided that he was the coming man. 
 General Grant received 306 votes; but the Blaine and 
 Sherman men went to Garfield, and he was nominated 
 for president, with Chester A. Arthur for vice-presi- 
 dent. 
 
 The Democrats nominated General Winlield Scott 
 Hancock, a brave soldier in the late war, with William 
 H. English for vice-president. The National ((jreen- 
 back) party nominated General John B. Weaver of 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 469 
 
 
 Iowa and Benjamin J. Chamber? of Texas. The Pro- 
 liibition candidates were Neal Dow of Maine and 
 A. H. Thomi)son of Ohio. Gar- 
 field and Arthur were elected. 
 President Hayes' adminis- 
 tration was prosperous and, 
 save the Indian troubles, peace- 
 ful from beginning to end. 
 Honor was never done him dur- 
 ing his life, and the world can- 
 not honor him now. Mrs. 
 Hayes was more nearly a Mar- 
 tha Washington, in her sweet 
 Cliristian-like spirit and sim- 
 plicity, than any woman who 
 has ever graced the White 
 House. Her character was a 
 power for good. Unlike the 
 weak ladies who preceded her, 
 she refused to allow liquors to 
 ever appear on her table. No foreign diplomat was 
 ever known to taste wine in the White House while 
 she presided over it. It is to be regretted that her 
 successors have not all followed her example. 
 
 WiNFiELD Scott Hanc 
 
 Garfield. 
 
 President Garfield's constitutional advisers were: 
 secretary of state, James G. Blaine of Maine; secre- 
 tary of the treasury, William Windom of Minnesota; 
 secretary of war, Robert Todd Lincoln of Illinois, 
 son of President Lincoln; secretary of the navy, 
 William H. Hunt of Louisiana; secretary of the in- 
 terior, Samuel J. Kirkwood of Iowa; postmaster-gen- 
 eral, Thomas L. James of New York ; attorney-gen- 
 eral, Wayne McVeagh of Pennsvlvania. 
 
470 UNION. 
 
 Soon after the inauguration of President Garfield 
 and the selection of his cabinet, there sprang up a 
 bitter fight between Senator Koscoe Conkling and the 
 administration. Conkling, still smarting under his 
 defeat in his efforts to nominate General Grant for 
 the "third term," and the elevation of his personal 
 enemy Mr. Blaine to the highest place in his cabinet, 
 became doubly bitter against President Garfield. 
 
 Conkling, Logan and all tlie supporters of Grant 
 were styled "Stalwarts," while the Pejiublicans that 
 had opposed him for the "third term," were called 
 " Half-Breeds. " Judge Robertson had been a New 
 York delegate to the Chicago convention, and refus- 
 ing to be bound by the uuit rule which they sought 
 to impose on the delegates to insure the State for 
 Grant, and being friendly to Blaine, he incurred the 
 displeasure of Senator Conkling and all his followers. 
 A foolish custom has prevailed for many years in pub- 
 lic affairs at Washington. Not only is it foolish but 
 dangerous. That custom is to allow the congressmen 
 and senators from each State to select such persons as 
 they choose, and nominate them for the various 
 federal offices within their State or district. Con- 
 gressmen and senators are elected to make laws for the 
 people, and not as patronage brokers. Besides, the 
 system is dangerous in this, that it enables a wily and 
 corrupt politician to perpetuate himself in office, by 
 having that powerful weapon, patronage, by which 
 he can sway his constituents as a master does his 
 slaves with the lash. Garfield and some of the best 
 of our presidents, have paid little attention to this 
 rule. 
 
 When President Garfield ap{)uinted Kubei'tson col- 
 lector of New York, Conkling became enraged and 
 resigned his seat in the senate, and Senator Thomas 
 C. Piatt followed his example. They went home re- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 471 
 
 lying on being returned by the New York legislature 
 then in session in Albany. Tlie legislature failed to 
 return tliem, and Conkling became soured and retired 
 from i)olitics, tliougli Thomas C. Piatt has ever re- 
 mained loyal to the party of his choice. 
 
 President Garfield's administration was full of 
 bright promise. The country was at peace with all 
 the world and was never more 
 prosperous, and everybody felt 
 that a long era of good times was 
 at hand. Among the army of 
 office seekers who had been prowl- 
 ing about Washington, was one, 
 Charles J. Guiteau, who wanted a 
 foreign mission. But little atten- 
 tion was paid him, until, mad 
 with a desire for notoriety, on July 
 2, 1881, he shot President Gar- 
 field, in the depot at Washington 
 City, as he and Mr. Blaine were 
 about to take the train. From 
 the very first, it was feared the 
 wound was mortal. For long 
 weeks, the president lingered be- 
 tween life and death, and the people waited with deep- 
 est anxiety. As a last resort, he was taken to the sea- 
 coast at Elberon, where he died, September 19, 1881. 
 
 Charles J. Guiteau was arrested and put in prison. 
 While incarcerated, Sergeant Mason of the United 
 States Army fired at him, but missed. Mason was 
 promptly arrested on a charge of assault with intent 
 to kill, was tried and convicted. 
 
 Guiteau's trial was a farce. He was defended by 
 his brother-in-law Mr. Scoville. The prisoner was 
 more like a low comedian in a farce comedy than a 
 man on trial for his life, and he continually inter- 
 
 James a. Garfield. 
 
472 
 
 UNION. 
 
 rupted the proceedings with the most ridiculously 
 foolish remarks. There can be little doubt of Gui- 
 teau's insaiiity, and it is even questioualjle if he was 
 accountable for the act. Nevertheless, public opin- 
 ion v,?as greatly against him, and he was convicted 
 on January 25, 1882, and hanged on the 30th of the 
 following June. 
 
 Arthur, 
 
 The constitutional successor of James A. Garfield 
 was Mr. Chester A. Arthur. The first change Mr. 
 Arthur made in the cabinet was in Noveml)er, 1881, 
 when Secretary Windom was suc- 
 ceeded by Judge Folger of New 
 York. On January 1, 1882, Mr. 
 James resigned as postmaster-gen- 
 eral and was succeeded by Mr. 
 Howe. 
 
 Slight trouble between Chili, 
 Peru and the United States gave 
 rise to some diplomatic corre- 
 spondence. Mr. William H. Tres- 
 cott was sent as a special envoy to 
 Chili and Peru. These countries 
 were at war with each other at the 
 time; but after some delay and 
 trouble, matters, so far as the 
 United States of America were 
 concerned, were adjusted. 
 
 The famous "star route" trials 
 were during the administration of 
 Arthur. Senator Dorsey, and second assistant i)ost- 
 master-general Tliomas J. Brady were indicted for 
 defrauding the government in postal contracts, were 
 tried and acquitted. 
 
 Chester A. Arthur. 
 
APPENDIX. 473 . 
 
 Duriug this year, the United States contested the 
 riglit of any European power to guarantee the neu- 
 trahty of the Panama canal, maintaining that the 
 United States had the sole right so to do. It inti- 
 mated an intention of withdrawing from the Clayton- 
 Bulwer treaty, wherein a joint guaranty of those 
 powers was established. This position was taken by 
 the United States because of the changed condition 
 of affairs since that treaty was made. Then the 
 United States made concessions to England, because 
 possessed of resources and wealth too limited for so 
 arduous an undertaking. Now the country was larger, 
 twice as populous and richer by far. Above all, its 
 possessions on the Pacific coast would be exposed to 
 attacks from the enemy in case the neutrality of the 
 canal were guaranteed by European powers alone. 
 
 The Mormon question, which has for years been 
 troubling Americans, was the occasion of some restric- 
 tive legislation during President Arthur's adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 With Germany, an extensive corresponden'ce took 
 place, not on such lofty subjects as the rights of 
 American citizens, or treaty obligations, but on that 
 harmless, necessary animal, the American hog. In 
 consequence of alleged discoveries of trichinte in pork 
 imported from the United States, the question was, 
 in 1878, raised in Germany as to the advisability of 
 allowing its consumption. After much correspond- 
 ence, the "American hog" was, for a time, prohibited 
 from taking European tours. 
 
 A panic, started early in 1884, almost prostrated 
 business. General Grant and his son had gone into 
 business in Xew York City with a man named Ward. 
 General Grant seems to have given little attention to 
 the business in which he had staked his all, but en- 
 trusted it to Ward and his son. Ward evidently 
 
474 
 
 UNION. 
 
 proved too much for his son. The concern went down 
 in ruins. Ward was arrested for swindling and sent to 
 the penitentiary. Other banks tumbled in ruins, and 
 the panic became general. It was over a year before the 
 country fully recovered, and confidence was restored. 
 There were two notable deaths during Arthur's 
 administration. One was the poet Henry W. Long- 
 fellow, who died March 24, 1883, 
 and the other the great philan- 
 thropist, Peter Cooper. 
 
 It was Arthur's desire to be 
 his own successor; but the Ke- 
 publican convention, which met 
 in Chicago, nominated James G. 
 Blaine of Maine and John A. 
 Logan of Illinois for president 
 and vice-president of the United 
 States. The Democratic party 
 nominated Grover Cleveland, of 
 New York, and Thomas A. Hen- 
 dricks of Indiana. General But- 
 ler was nominated for president 
 on the Greenback ticket, and 
 John P. St. John of Kansas on 
 the Prohibition ticket. The 
 campaign was the most exciting and enthusiastic since 
 the hard-cider campaign of 1840. Conkling sulked 
 in his tent. George William Curtis, who had been 
 in the convention that nominated Mr. Blaine, went 
 over to the Democracy, Henry Ward Beechpr de- 
 clared for Cleveland, yet Mr. Blaine went to work 
 with an energy such as no candidate lias ever dis- 
 played. He still had a few faithful leaders, and with 
 these he entered into the conflict. He made a grand, 
 noble fight ; but he lost New York by a few hundred, 
 which gave the election to Grover Cleveland. 
 
 Benjamin F. Butler. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CLEVELAND'S ADMIXISTIiATIOX AXD THE CAMPAIGX 
 
 OF 1888. 
 
 James G. Blaixe was for years known as the Glad- 
 stone of America. His defeat was u surprise to his 
 friends, but Mr. Blaine liimself had })redicted it, be- 
 fore he was nominated. The week before the meeting 
 of the Kepublican national convention in 1884-, on 
 Thursday, Mr. Blaine telegraphed 
 Murat Halstead at Cincinnati, 
 saying he would be glad to see him 
 at his residence in Washington, 
 before the convention assembled. 
 Late next day, Mr. Halstead rang 
 the door bell of Blaine's house, 
 which was on the opposite side of 
 Lafayette Square from the place 
 where Blaine died. He took Mr. 
 Halstead into his back parlor and 
 said he had sent for him on an im- 
 pulse, and did not know but that 
 he had caused him a journey with- 
 out suflticient errand to warrant it, 
 and it might seem very peculiar 
 and unreasonable. He added: 
 
 *' I am alarmed about this convention." Mr. Hal- 
 stead assured him there was no reason for alarm so 
 far as he was concerned, for things were going his 
 way as well as his friends could desire. 
 475 
 
 James G. Blaine. 
 
476 UNION. 
 
 "All, that is what I am afraid of," answered Mr. 
 Blaine. "As the case stands I shall be nominated, 
 and I do not desire to be, and it ought not to be. It 
 would be a mistake. I ought not to be nominated, 
 for I could not carry New York. The Arthur ad- 
 ministration would be inefficient, at least, and faction 
 would do its work. I could not carry New York, and 
 defeat is certain without that State. We might 
 work ourselves up, during the campaign, to the belief 
 that we could carry the essential State; but at last 
 we should miss it, may be just a little, but enough. 
 1 feel that there is no doubt about it. Why should 
 we be defeated, when we can name the candidate, a 
 ticket certain to be elected? Put up William Te- 
 cumseh Sherman and Robert T. Lincoln, and we 
 shall go right through to certain victory. The names 
 of Sherman and Lincoln would be irresistible. I 
 have written fully to General Sherman and he under- 
 stands my views. He says 'No' of course; but he has 
 a sense of duty through which he may be controlled. 
 I want you to assist at Chicago to carry out the Lin- 
 coln and Sherman programme. I wanted to see you 
 to tell you so myself, that there might be no mistake 
 about it, that you could act with the knoAvledge that 
 I do not want to be a candidate, and should not be, 
 and the reasons why. I have said so many times to 
 William Walter Phelps aniong others, and to friends 
 now in town from Virginia." 
 
 Mr. Halstead listened with profound surprise and 
 concern. Through State and personal associations he 
 was for the nomination of John Sherman, and asked : 
 
 " You could not make the ticket John Sherman 
 and Robert Lincoln?" 
 
 Mr. Blaine doubted the ability of John Sherman 
 to get the nomination, or carry New Y'ork even if he 
 did get it, whereas General Sherman was a certainty. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 477 
 
 Mr. Blaine's excuse for not having spoken sooner, 
 was because there was one thing needful, the pre- 
 vention of the nomination of Arthur, whose candi- 
 dacy would be a fatality. Arthur was skilfully man- 
 aging the whole power of the administration to secure 
 the nomination ; but he would be slaughtered in New 
 York and Ohio. Mr. Blaine added that he had not 
 seen the time when he could safely withdraw in the 
 positive terms that would carry conviction, that he 
 Avas really out of the field, without preparing the way 
 for Arthur's success in the convention, and defeat of 
 the party at the polls. Mr. Halstead assured Mr. 
 Blaine it was now too late to recede. That liP fould 
 not convince Mr. Blaine's friends 
 in the convention that he was in 
 earnest or not a traitor. Mr. 
 Blaine was nominated, was de- 
 serted by Carl Schurz, George 
 William Curtis, Henry Ward 
 Beecher, and many others, who 
 had heretofore claimed to be Re- 
 publicans, while Roscoe Coukling 
 sulked, if he did not give his se- 
 cret influence to the Democracy, 
 and Mr. Blaine, as he predicted, 
 was " beaten at least just a little. " 
 On March 4, 1885, Grover 
 Cleveland was inaugurated presi- 
 dent of the United States with the 
 usual ceremonies. His cabinet advisers were as follov/s : 
 Thomas F. Bayard, secretary of state; Daniel Man- 
 ning, secretary of the treasury; AVilliam C. Whitney, 
 seci'etary of the navy; William C. Endicott, secretary 
 of war; L. Q. C. Lamar, secretary of the interior; 
 Augustus H. Garland, attorney-general, and William 
 F. Vilas, postmaster-general. During the latter part 
 
 Grover Clevei.anu. 
 
478 umox. 
 
 of Mr. Cleveland's administration, another cabinet 
 position was created, called the department of agricul- 
 ture, and Norman J. Colman, of Colman's Rural 
 World, St. Louis, Mo., was appointed secretary of 
 agriculture, which position he held but a short time, 
 retiring with the administration. 
 
 After twenty-four years, the Democratic party 
 again held the reins of government. An attempt 
 was made to change the tariff, by the introduction of 
 the " Mills bill," of which Mr. Mills of Texas was the 
 author; but it was checked in the Senate, which had 
 a Republican majority, and failed to become a law. 
 The Mills bill, however, formed the issue for the next 
 campaign. The first business that attracted the at- 
 tention of the new administration was the civil war 
 raging in the Central American States, to the detri- 
 ment of American interests there. A naval force was 
 dispatched to the scene of disturbance, and a force of 
 marines landed to protect life and property at Aspin- 
 wall, which had been occuj)ied and burned by one of 
 the belligerent forces. 
 
 About the time of the election of Mr. Cleveland, 
 the public was shocked and grieved by the report that 
 General Grant, the distinguished soldier, was afflicted 
 by an incurable disease, a cancer of the tongue. The 
 last act of President Arthur was signing a bill restor- 
 ing him to his rank in the army; but the old liero 
 was not destined to hold the honor long. Bowed 
 down with financial trouble and affliction, his last 
 days were full of pain and sorrow. He died, July 
 23d, at Mount MacGregor, and on August 8th his 
 remains were taken to New York. The body lay in 
 state two days in the city hall, and was then trans- 
 ported to a spot on the banks of the Hudson in River- 
 side Park, which the city had assigned for that pur- 
 pose. The procession which accompanied the funeral 
 
APPEXDIX. 479 
 
 car was immense. The president, vice-president and 
 cabinet, as well as ex-Presidents Hayes and Arthur, 
 Generals Sherman and Sheridan, and hosts of his old 
 comrades, who came from far and near to pay the 
 last honors to their chief, were j^resent. 
 
 On the 28th of November, Vice-President Hen- 
 dricks died suddenly. By his decease before the 
 meeting of congress, the succession to the presidency, 
 in case of the death or disability of the president, 
 was left undetermined. By the constitution, con- 
 gress has the power to provide for filling the vacancy in 
 case of the president's and vice-president's death or re- 
 moval; but congress had not yet been organized. 
 When it did meet, on the 7th of December, the senate 
 elected Senator John Sherman its president p7'o tem- 
 pore, the acting vice-president thus being the leader 
 of the opposition to the president's policy. So great 
 was the anxiety felt at this unexpected state of affairs 
 that, by the advice of his cabinet, the president de- 
 clined to attend the funeral of his colleague. Vari- 
 ous proposals have been made with a view to settling 
 beyond peril the question of succession. In the early 
 part of 1883, a bill for this purpose was brought in, 
 and the death of Mr. Hendricks again called the at- 
 tention of congress to this important matter. A bill 
 prepared by Senator Hoar was finally passed. By its 
 provisions in case of the death of both president and 
 vice-president, the functions of the office are to be dis- 
 charged, until an election can be held under tlie 
 articles of the constitution, by the cabinet officers, in 
 the order of the authority of their offices. 
 
 Among the chief events of Grover Cleveland's ad- 
 ministration, no*" already mentioned, were the dedi- 
 cation of the Washington Monument, February 21, 
 1885; the publication of the revised Old Testament, 
 May loth; the arrival of Bartholdi's statue of Liberty 
 
480 UXIOJV. 
 
 in New York, July IStli; the blowing up of Flood 
 Kock, in East River, New York, October 10th. On 
 October 29th, General George B. McClellan died. 
 On December 8th, William H. Vanderbilt, the 
 great New York millionaire, died suddenly of heart 
 disease, with which he had long been afflicted, and 
 which had for years been a clond npon his life. 
 
 The year 1886 was also notable for the death of 
 many prominent men. General Winfield S. Hancock 
 died February 18th; Horatio Seymonr, Democratic 
 statesman, died February 12th; John B. Gongh, the 
 noted temperance lecturer, died February 13th; 
 Judge David Davis died at Bloomington, Illinois, 
 June 26th; Samuel J. Tilden died August 4th; Ex- 
 President Chester A. Arthur died November 18th, 
 and General John A. Logan died December 18th. 
 Scarcely any of these men were far enough advanced 
 in life to have died of old age. 
 
 During the month of May, there were great labor 
 agitations throughout the United States, and on the 
 fourth of that month occurred the Haymarket riots 
 in Chicago, during which, one of the rioters called 
 anarchists threw a dynamite bomb, which exploded 
 and killed and wounded a number of police. Seven 
 of the accused were sentenced to be hanged, and one 
 to serve fifteen years in the penitentiary. On No- 
 vember 10th, 1887, Governor Oglesby commuted the 
 sentence of Samuel Fielden and Michael Schwab, two 
 of the anarchists, to imprisonment for life. The 
 same day, Louis Ling, one of the anarchists, com- 
 mitted suicide, and on August 11th, August Spies, 
 A. R. Parsons, Adolph Fisher and George Engel were 
 Ining. In 1 893, (Tovernor Altgeld of Illinois pardoned 
 the remaining anarchists in prison, who are now at 
 large. 
 
 On June 2, 1886, Mr. Grover Cleveland, president 
 
APPENDIX. 481 
 
 of the United States, was married to INIiss Frances 
 Folsoni. 
 
 Early in 1887, an interstate commerce law was en- 
 acted. On March 8th, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher 
 died. On Angnst 10th, there was a terrible railroad 
 accident near Chatsworth, Illinois, in which nearly 
 one hundred persons were killed. 
 
 There arose in congress some bitter discussion on 
 the question of American fisheries. It was reported 
 that Canadian authorities had been imposing on 
 American fishermen. That able American, Senator 
 Fry of Maine, declared that " England had played the 
 bully with the United States," and the silver-tongued 
 orator from the Sunflower State, Senator John J. 
 Ingalls of Kansas, raised his powerful voice in the in- 
 terest of American liberties. Efforts were made to 
 adjust the matter of American right and more clearly 
 define the three-mile limit as contemplated in the 
 treaty with Great Britain, also to include the s.al- 
 fishery question in Alaskan waters; but these are still 
 disputed points that may at some time in the future 
 cause trouble. 
 
 From March 12th to 14th, 1888, occurred a terrible 
 blizzard in New York city, such as was never known 
 before. Ex-Senator Roscoe Conkling, being caught 
 in that blizzard, contracted a severe cold in his head, 
 from the effects of which he died August 5th. On 
 October 1st, President Cleveland signed the Chinese 
 Exclusion Bill. 
 
 The year 1888 was a presidential year. The Re- 
 publican convention at Chicago in 1888 liad many 
 candidates, all prominent and able men. New York 
 asked for Chauncey M. Depew. Ohio was divided be- 
 tween John Sherman and the brilliant statesman 
 AVilliam McKiiiley. Kansas put forth her talented 
 John J. Iiigalis. Iowa had Senator Allison, and 
 31 
 
482 UAION. 
 
 Michigan had General Russell A. Alger, the great 
 statesman, soldier, Huancier and philanthropist, 
 lllinios was divided between Walter Q. Gresham and 
 Robert T. Lincoln, while Indiana advanced the claims 
 of Benjamin Harrison. 
 
 The Democrats met in national convention at St. 
 Louis, June 6th, and nominated Grover Cleveland 
 and Allan G. Thurmau. During the same month, 
 the Republicans met at Chicago and nominated Ben- 
 jamin Harrison of Indiana for president and Hen. 
 Levi P. Morton for vice-president. Streeter was the 
 labor candidate, and the j^rohibition candidate. Gen. 
 Clinton B. Fisk. Harrison was a grandson of William 
 H. Harrison, and his managers raised the old Tippe- 
 canoe enthusiasm of 1840. Old campaign songs, 
 badges and medals, that had slumbered for almost 
 half a century, were resurrected and brought to swell 
 the campaign. The l)all-rolIing, and everything that 
 would rouse the early patriotism and enthusiasm of 
 the nation Avas brought to bear, and Harrison and 
 Morton were elected November 6, 1888. 
 
 The latter part of Cleveland's administration wit- 
 nessed a slight cloud in the firmament with Germany 
 over -that country's aggression in the Samoan Islands. 
 It was claimed that Germany was trying to secure a 
 ruler in Samoa whom they could control in the in- 
 terests of that nation. This matter was not adjusted 
 duri7ig Cleveland's administration. 
 
 Almost the last official act of President Cleveland 
 was to sign a bill admitting as States, North and 
 South Dakota, Montana and Washington. He re- 
 tired on the 4th of March and went to New York, 
 where he engaged in the practice of law. 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 Harrison's administration — trouble with chile 
 — defeat — cleveland again elected — ha- 
 waiian trouble — conclusion. 
 
 Benjamin Harrison was inaugurated president of 
 the United States March 4, 1889. His cabinet ad- 
 visers were: secretary of state, James G. Blaine; 
 secretary of the treasury, William Windom ; secretary 
 of the navy, Benjamin F. Tracy; secretary of war, 
 Eedfield Proctor; secretary of the interior, John 
 W. Noble; attorney-general, Wm. H. H. Miller; 
 postmaster-general, John W. Wanamaker; secretary 
 of agriculture, Jeremiah M. Rusk. 
 
 The first thing requiring the attention of the new 
 administration was the settlement of the Samoan dif- 
 ficulty. A peaceful and satisfactory adjustment was 
 quickly made. 
 
 Oklahoma, a portion of the Indian Territory, was 
 opened up for settlement April 32, 1889, and in a 
 month the wilderness became a well-populated coun- 
 try. 
 
 On the 30th of April of this year was the centennial 
 celebration of the inauguration of George Washing- 
 ton, as first president of the United States. The cel- 
 ebration was observed with appropriate ceremonies 
 all over the land. 
 
 On May 31st and June 1st of this year, there oc- 
 curred the greatest disaster ever known in the history 
 of America, the Johnstown flood. A dam on the Cone- 
 483 
 
UNION. 
 
 maugh lake gave way, and the whole valley was 
 flooded. Thousands of lives were lost, and property 
 amounting to millions of dollars was destroyed. 
 
 From August to December, the Clan-na-Gael, or 
 Cronin murder trials attracted the general interest of 
 the public. The Clan-na-Gael was 
 an Irish political society on the 
 Fenian order, having for its object 
 the liberation of Ireland, and 
 Cronin, who was a member of the 
 society, it was claimed, had re- 
 vealed some of its secrets, for 
 which, it was claimed, he was 
 murdered. At least, he mysteri- 
 ously disappeared. Three men 
 accused of his murder got life sen- 
 tences, and another, John Kunze, 
 was sentenced to three years in 
 the penitentiary. 
 
 The year 1890 was eventful. 
 Samuel J. Eandall, Democratic 
 statesman, died April loth. As the 
 fourth century had almost elajjsed since the discovery 
 of the New World by Columbus, it was decided to 
 hold a quadro-ceutennial celebration in the form of a 
 Columbian exposition and world's fair. A world's 
 fair bill passed the senate April 21st, and on the 25th, 
 President Harrison signed it, making it a law. Idaho 
 became a State, July 3d, 1890. Gen. Clinton B. 
 Fisk, the great temperance advocate, died July 9th; 
 Gen. John C. Fremont, the explorer, July 13th. 
 
 The new Republican congress had formulated a 
 new tariff bill, arranged by Hon. AVilliam McKinley, 
 known as the "McKinley Bill." This bill passed 
 both houses, was signed by the president, October 
 1st, and went into effect October 6th. Early in De- 
 
 Benjamin Harrison. 
 
APPENDIX. 485 
 
 cember of this year, there was an outbreak of the 
 Sioux Indians, who, it is reported, were driven to 
 desperation on account of the scarcity of food. They 
 began their ghost dances, and soldiers were hurried 
 to their reservation. Tliere were some skirmishes 
 with tliem, in which several Indians were killed. It 
 was reported by the newspapers that even the women 
 Avere fired upon. On the loth. Sitting Bull, the 
 great chief, was killed. 
 
 Chicago having won the AVorld's Fair in the con- 
 test between many of the prominent cities of the 
 United States, the president issued a proclamation on 
 the 2-ith of October, announcing the fact that the 
 World's Fair would be held in that city in 1893. 
 
 On December 31st, Gen. F. E. Spinner, ex-treasurer 
 of the United States, died. January 29, 1891, William 
 Windom, secretary of the treasury, died, February 
 13th, Admiral David D. Porter died. On the next 
 day, February 14th, Gen. AYilliam T. Sherman died. 
 
 On March 14th, a mob of American citizens broke 
 open the jail in New Orleans, in which there were 
 eleven Italians, who had been accused of murdering 
 David Hennessey, a police (tflficer, and hung them all. 
 Some of the Italians had been tried for the murder 
 and acquitted by a jury. As some of the lynched 
 men had never been naturalized, the Italian govern- 
 ment demanded satisfaction and temporarily withdrew 
 their minister. 
 
 April 7th, 1891, P. T. Barnum, the great Ameri- 
 can showman, died. 
 
 On the 9th of July, this year, ground was broken 
 for the exhibition at the fair grounds in Chicago, and 
 after that time the work of erecting enormous build- 
 ings went steadily forward until they reached comple- 
 tion, making the grandest exposition buildings the 
 world has ever known. 
 
4«0 UNIOX. 
 
 During the winter of 1891 and 1892, the United 
 States of America became embroiled in a quarrel with 
 our sister republic Chile. The unfortunate aifair 
 which was the immediate cause of the trouble occurred 
 in the streets of Valparaiso on October 16, 1891. A 
 party of sailors from the United States cruiser Balti- 
 mo7'e, then lying in the harbor at Valparaiso, went on 
 shore and were attacked by a mob of Chileans. The 
 Chileans were armed with pistols and knives, while 
 the American sailors were unarmed. In the fight, a 
 boatswain's mate was dragged from a street car by a 
 mob and shot to death. Five other n)en, William 
 Turnbull, a coal heaver; John Hamilton, a carpenter; 
 David N. Andrew, a painter; George Panter, a coal 
 heaver, and John W. Talbot, an apprentice, were 
 dangerously wounded with bayonets. Turnbull died 
 from the effects of his wounds. Thirty-five other 
 sailors were arrested by main force and dragged 
 through the streets of the city and locked up in prison. 
 
 Captain Schley of the Baltimore made a careful in- 
 vestigation and reported it to the government at 
 Washington. President Harrison made a demand 
 for full satisfaction for the insult. ^Maiiy of the op- 
 position papers thought Harrison a little severe, es- 
 pecially as it had only been a few common sailors 
 who had been killed and maltreated ; but Harrison 
 believed the life of a common sailor as dear to him as 
 that of an admiral, and was determined in his demand 
 for reparation. Chile was a little slow, and he was 
 on the eve of asking congress to declare war, and 
 had already ordered many war ships to the Chilean 
 coast, when that government hastened to make such 
 reparation as they could. The attack on the Ameri- 
 can sailors is said to have resulted from hatred of the 
 United States, from some supposed meddling on the 
 part of that government in the war with Balmaceda. 
 
APPENDIX. 487 
 
 July 6th, 1892, witnessed one of the most terrible 
 conflicts since the war, at Homestead, Pennsylvania. 
 At this place, is located the Carnegie iron and steel 
 works. Owing to the lowering of wages, the hands 
 to the number of several hundred struck, and the 
 Carnegie iron works officials at once brought a body 
 of Pinkerton's detectives from Chicago, Philadelphia 
 and New York, armed with Winchesters. They came 
 in a boat partially bullet-proof. The workmen as- 
 sailed the boat, and for ten hours a conflict raged in 
 which a number were killed and wounded, when the 
 Pinkerton detectives surrendered and were led through 
 the town by the victors to a hall where they were im- 
 prisoned, until they could escape the fury of the 
 mob. 
 
 During the latter part of President Harrison's ad- 
 ministration, the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands 
 to the United States became an absorbing topic in 
 diiDlomatic circles, and was freely discussed in the 
 newspapers. Some of the natives and American citi- 
 zens had overthrown the government, dethroned the 
 queen, and set up a provisional government, in the 
 form of a republic with Mr. Dole at the head, and 
 sent commissioners to the United States to ask to be 
 annexed to this nation. The party in power seemed 
 friendly to annexation, and President Harrison sub- 
 mitted a treaty to the United States senate, but a 
 change of administration interrupted the proceedings. 
 
 The year 1802 being a presidential year, the Repub- 
 licans renominated Benjamin Harrison for president 
 Avith Mr. Whitelaw Keid of New York for vice-pres- 
 ident. The Democratic Party nominated G rover 
 Cleveland of N^ew York for president and Mr. Steven- 
 son of Illinois for vice-president. The Po])ulists, 
 or People's Party, which had gained considerable 
 strength, nominated General Weaver of Iowa at the 
 
UNION. 
 
 head of its ticket. General Bidwell of California 
 was the standard-bearer of the Prohibition party. 
 
 Cleveland and Stevenson were elected president and 
 vice-president of the United States. 
 
 The mortality during Harrison's administration 
 was great. His own family and his political associ- 
 ates were very unfortunate. The daughter and wife' 
 of Secretary Tracy perisheil iu a conflagration which 
 consumed the house. President Harrison's wife, an 
 estimable Christian lady, died during the campaign 
 which witnessed her husband's defeat. On January 
 16, 1893, Rutherford B. Hayes, ex-president of the 
 United States, died. On January 11th, Gen. Ben- 
 jamin F. Butler died, and on Jan- 
 uary 27th, at 11 A.M., Hon. James 
 G. Blaine died. Phillips Brooks 
 and Confederate General Double- 
 day died the same month. Dur- 
 ing the month of February, Con- 
 federate General Beauregard died. 
 During this month, Hon. William 
 ^IcKinley suffered great financial 
 losses from having indorsed notes 
 for friends. He was heavily em- 
 barrassed, but refused aid, saying 
 that he would redeem all the 
 obligations he had assumed for 
 others. McKinley was, in 1892, 
 elected governor of Ohio, the 
 greatest honor the State could 
 confer upon him. 
 During the campaign of 1892, Judge Walter Q. 
 Gresham announced his intention to vote for Grover 
 Cleveland. That announcement alone no doubt car- 
 ried thousands of votes to the Democratic candidate. 
 He was rewarded by Mr. Cleveland with the first 
 
 AViLLiAM McKinley. 
 
APPEXDIX. 489 
 
 place iu his cabinet, that of secretary of state, an 
 appointment astonishing to both Eepublicans and 
 Democrats. The remainder of the cabinet is as fol- 
 lows: secretary of the treasury, John G. Carlisle of 
 Kentucky; secretary of war, Daniel S. Lament of 
 New York; attorney-general, Richard Olney of Mas- 
 sachusetts; postmaster-general, Wilson S. Bissell of 
 New York ; secretary of the navy, Hilary A. Her- 
 bert of Alabama; secretary of the interior, Hoke 
 Smith of Georgia; secretary of agriculture, J. Ster- 
 ling Morton of Nebraska. 
 
 On March 4, 1893, G rover Cleveland took the oath 
 of office for a second time as president of the United 
 States. 
 
 Reference has been made to the dethronement of 
 the queen of the Hawaiian Islands, during President 
 Harrison's term. There was a division of opinion in 
 regard to the subject of annexation, and unfortunately 
 this division seemed to assume the form of a political 
 question. Mr. Cleveland withdrew from the senate 
 tlie treaty which Mr. Harrison had submitted and 
 dispatched Hon. James H. Blount of Georgia as 
 special commissioner, or minister plenipotentiary and 
 envoy extraordinary to the Hawaiian islands to make 
 full inquiry as to what part the minister of the United 
 States and the officers and sailors of the United States 
 man-of-war had taken in dethroning the queen. The 
 theory of the president, based on the report of Com- 
 missioner Blount, was that the queen of the Hawaiian 
 islands had been overawed by United States officers, 
 including the minister and the captain of the man- 
 of-war, and that her abdication was only temporary, 
 with the understanding that her cause might be sub- 
 mitted to the government of the United States, and 
 she be restored if found to be in the right. 
 
 This representation induced ex-Minister John L. 
 
490 UNTON. 
 
 Stevens to publish ti letter giving his version of what 
 had happened at Hawaii. Mr. Stevens stated that 
 on the death of King Kalakaua, his sister Liliuokalani 
 succeeded him to the throne, and surrounded herself 
 with libertines and gamblers, taking her paramour 
 to live with her in her palace. The biennial legis- 
 lature of 1893 voted out the queen's immoral minis- 
 try. She seemed for a while to acquiesce, but, aided 
 by her friends, she carried by bribery the opium and 
 lottery bills, which were odious to the more intelligent 
 and honorable people of her country, and then forced 
 out the Wilcox-Jones ministry, and appointed in their 
 places four of her palace retainers, two of whom the 
 legislature and a responsible public had recently and 
 repeatedly rejected. Minister Stevens was absent 
 from Honolulu at the time on board the Boston. As 
 he was coming into the harbor at noon on January 
 14, 1892, the legislature was prorogued. The revolu- 
 tionary edict of Hawaii's misguided queen, was about 
 to be proclaimed; rumors of it had already reached 
 the public ear. A few minutes before the appointed 
 hour for the coNp (rvtai, immediately npon Minister 
 Stevens reaching the legation from the Boston, he 
 was urged to go at once to the British minister, and 
 ask him to accompany him to the queen, and try to 
 dissuade her from her revolutionary design; but it 
 was too late. The maddened and misguided woman 
 had already launched the revolution. Saturday night 
 told every intelligent man in Honolulu that the Ha- 
 waiian monarchy was at an end forever. There was a 
 great mass meeting on Jannary 16th, representing the 
 wealtli, influence and patriotism of the islands. They 
 resolved to be no longer ruled by an immoral queen, 
 but to overthrow her, set up a provisional government, 
 and then ask to be annexed to the United States, so 
 they might be j)rotected by that great power. They 
 
APPENDIX. 491 
 
 appointed a "committee of public safety," which ap- 
 pealed to Minister Stevens to land a force of men from 
 the Boston^ lest a riot and incendiarism should burst 
 forth in the night, for no reliable police force longer 
 existed, and whatever there w-as of force was then in 
 the control of the usur2)ers, and lottery gamblers, who 
 had inaugurated the revolution by forcibly ejecting 
 the Wilcox-Jones ministry. Minister Stevens con- 
 cluded his statement as follows: 
 
 " Under the diplomatic and naval rules which were 
 and are imperative, the United States minister and 
 naval commander would have shamefully ignored 
 their duty, had they not landed the men of the Bos- 
 to)i for the security of American life and property, 
 and the maintenance of public order, even had the 
 committee of public safety not requested us to do so. 
 As American representatives, five thousand miles 
 away from our government, we could not have escaped 
 the responsibility, even had we desired to do so. 
 Fortunately, the commander of the Boston^ and those 
 under his command had no desire to shirk their duty. 
 On shore and in perfect order, they stepj^ed not an 
 inch from their line of duty. They never lifted a 
 Unger to aid the fallen monarchy nor the rising pro- 
 visional government. The former sought their aid, 
 but neither party had the least assistance of force by 
 Captain Wiltse and those under his command. All 
 assertions to the contrary^ Ijy whomsoever uttered^ are 
 audacious falsehoods witliout a semblance of truth." 
 
 On November 10, 1893, the secretary of state issued 
 a letter in which it was intimated that it was the in- 
 tention of the president to restore the queen to her 
 throne in accordance with the knowledge gained bv 
 the report of Commissioner Blount. This announce- 
 ment caused excitement all over the United States, 
 and for weeks the papers were full of rumors. The 
 
492 UNION. 
 
 Hawaiian question unfortunately became more a party 
 issue, which always hinders a fair and impartial inves- 
 tigation. One of the conditions ujjon which President 
 Cleveland j^roposed restoring the queen Avas that she 
 should grant general amnesty to all those who had 
 been concerned in the revolution that dethroned her. 
 This she at tirst refused to do, but after it was too 
 late she assented to the condition. 
 
 lu accordance with Mr. Cleveland's instructions, 
 Minister "Willis, who succeeded Mr. Stevens, on De- 
 cember 22, 1893, went to Mr. Dole, the ^iresident of 
 the Hawaiian government, and in the name of the 
 United States demanded that the provisional govern- 
 ment should abdicate in favor of the deposed queen. 
 This President Dole took under advisement, and 
 finally refused to do, and for many days, even up to 
 this writing, great excitement has prevailed in the 
 Plawaiian Islands and in the United States. On 
 January 10, 1894, Mr. Gresham announced that the 
 policy of the administration of " restoring the queen 
 had been dropped." 
 
 The summer of 1893 was noted for the great World's 
 Fair held in Chicago. It was officially ojjened May 
 1st, and closed October 30th of that year. It was 
 the most successful exhibition ever known, and ex- 
 ceeded in attendance even the Paris exposition. As 
 an educational feature, the World's Fair has perhaps 
 done more for the American people, than any exhibi- 
 tion since the formation of the government. Among 
 the many distinguished visitors at the Columbian ex- 
 position was the Duke of Yeragua, who is said to be 
 a lineal descendant of Christopher Columbus. 
 
 As early as April, 1893, evidences of a business de- 
 pression were discernible, which in May culminated 
 in a financial panic. From that time to the end of 
 the year and into the first month of 1891, the present 
 
APPENFIX. 493 
 
 writing, the depression increiised. Some financiers 
 thouglit the cause of the sudden and unexpected 
 "hard times" was the "Sherman Law," which pro- 
 vided that the secretary of the treasury should pur- 
 chase 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion every mouth 
 to he hoarded away in the treasury, on which treasury 
 notes were issued payable in coin, which were invari- 
 ably paid in gold. Though this law was known as 
 the "Sherman Law," and was enacted as a compro- 
 mise to prevent "free silver," Senator John Sherman 
 denied arny responsibility for it. 
 
 President Cleveland called an extra session of con- 
 gress to meet August 7th, and take action on the 
 silver question, and after a long session and many de- 
 bates, the Sherman Law was repealed on November 
 1, 1893. It was predicted that "good times" would 
 be restored as soon as the iniquitous silver law was 
 "wiped off the statute books," but the prediction 
 failed. Financial matters grew worse. Railroads 
 were seriously nifected, and at this writing, more 
 than one-fifth of the railroads of the L'^nited States 
 are in the hands of receivers. Corporations and in- 
 dividuals failed for millions, and factories closed their 
 doors, throwing many thousands of people, dependent 
 on their daily labor for support, out of employment. 
 Millionaires, common people, and ])aupers suffered. 
 
 Disasters went on multiplying until it is estimated 
 that more than fifty-five millions of dollars were lost 
 in failures in 1893. 
 
 There were State elections in many of the States 
 on November 7th. Greatest interest centred in 
 Hon. William McKinley, who was a candidate for re- 
 election for governor of Ohio. The election was on 
 purely party lines, for both Governor McKinley and 
 his opponent were men of unimpeachable characters. 
 The tariff became the issue, and ^IcKinley won by a 
 
494 UNION. 
 
 majority of nearly ninety thousand. New York also 
 went Republican, and other States showed Eepuhlicau 
 gains. 
 
 On January 1, 1894, New York City had half a 
 million unemployed people, many of whom were des- 
 titute and suffering, while the proportion in Chicago 
 and other cities was equally great. 
 
 The principal events of the year 1893, not already 
 mentioned, were the opening of the Cherokee Strip, 
 September 16th; the assassination of Carter Harrison, 
 mayor of Chicago, by an ex-policeman, October '28th ; 
 the strike on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which for 
 a while tied up the business of that great thorough- 
 fare, but which, thanks to prudence, reason and 
 justice, was amicably settled ; the steps taken for the 
 erection of a monument at Wakefield, Virginia, to 
 mark the birthplace of George A\'ashington, and the 
 unveiling in New York City, on November 25th, of 
 the statue of Captain Nathan Hale, the young i^atriot 
 who was hanged by the British for a spy. 
 
 The year 1894 dawned gloomy and depressing on our 
 glorious republic, yet the American people are ever 
 hopeful, and through the darkest clouds the sun may 
 sometimes break forth in radiance and glory. AVe 
 are at peace with all the world, while the crowned 
 heads of Europe constantly watch each other with 
 suspicion. Though financial panics have wrought 
 disaster to countless thousands, the American people 
 are not a nation to despair, and already the people 
 are grasping all the vital questions of the day with a 
 boldness and patriotism that will soon set matters 
 right, and this model republic which Ave have traced 
 from its formation will then enter upon a new era of 
 prosperity and will grow in strength and glory with 
 each additional age of wisdom. 
 
 THE EXD. 
 
HISTOEIOAL IJSTDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Alabama at Cherbourg 300 
 
 Alabama claims against England settled 451 
 
 Alabama, the, built at Birkenhead, England 148 
 
 Alabama's fight with the Kearsarge 306 
 
 Alabama, on board the 296 
 
 Alabama, originally the "390," fitting out and sailing 151 
 
 Alabama received as a state of the Union 445 
 
 Alabama claims, trouble with England over 448 
 
 Alabama, the, sinks the Hutteras 162 
 
 Amendment, thirteenth, to constitution 434 
 
 Anderson, Major, in command of troops in South 
 
 Carolina harbor 100 
 
 Anderson, General, raising the American flag, over 
 
 Fort Sumter in 1865 398 
 
 Anderson takes command of Fort Sumter 103 
 
 Anderson, Mrs., visits her husband at Fort Sumter 
 
 and takes him Peter Hart 116 
 
 Appomattox, Lee surrenders at 409 
 
 Arthur, Chester A., death of 480 
 
 Arthur, Chester A., president of the United States. . . 470 
 
 Ashley of Ohio offers resolutions of impeachment. . . . 441 
 
 Banks, General, captures Port Hudson 340 
 
 Banks, General, on Red River 370 
 
 Battle of Belmont 224 
 
 Battle of Bentonville 401 
 
 Battle between the Alabama and the Kearsarge 306 
 
 Battle of Cold Harbor 376 
 
 Battle of Corinth 316 
 
 495 
 
496 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Battle of Gettysburg 340 
 
 Battle of Jonesboio 390 
 
 Battle of Kenesaw Mountain 377 
 
 Battle of Lookout Mountain 347 
 
 Battle of Missionary Ridge 350 
 
 Battle of Pea Ridge 334 
 
 Battle of Perryville 338 
 
 Battle of Resaca, Georgia 377 
 
 Battle of Shiloh 236 
 
 Battle of Spottsylvania Court House 375 
 
 Battle of the Wilderness 374 
 
 Barnuni, P. T., death of 485 
 
 Bartholdi's statue, arrival of, in New York 479 
 
 Beauregard orders the bombardment of Fort Sumter. . 142 
 
 Beecher, Henry Ward, death of 480 
 
 Bell, John, nominated by the Union party for presi- 
 dent in 1861 89 
 
 Birkenhead, England, where the Alabama was built. 148 
 
 Black Hills, gold discovered in 455 
 
 Blaine, Conkliug's opposition to 470 
 
 Blaine, James G., nomination and defeat 474 
 
 Blaine, James G., death of 488 
 
 Blizzard in New York 481 
 
 Blair, Frank P., nominated for vice-president on 
 
 Democratic ticket 446 
 
 Bland silver dollar law 466 
 
 Booth assassinates Lincoln 416 
 
 Booth at Garrett's 417 
 
 Booth discovered by detectives and soldiers in a barn 
 
 at Garrett's 433 
 
 Booth, Edwin, the actor, effects of his brother's crime 
 
 on 436 
 
 Booth in Washington 414 
 
 Booth, John Wilkes, playing Richard HI. atDe Bar's 
 
 Theatre, St. Louis, in 1865 401 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 497 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Booth killed by Boston Corbett 424 
 
 Booth's threat to Maggie Mitchell 412 
 
 Breckinridge nominated by one portion of the Demo- 
 cratic party in 1861, for president 89 
 
 Bragg, General, makes arrangements to dislodge Sher- 
 man at Missionary Ridge B47 
 
 Buchanan, James, president of the United States. ... 77 
 
 Buchanan, weakness of 99 
 
 Buckner, S. B. , captain Kentucky State Guard 167 
 
 Buell arrives at Shiloh 253 
 
 Bull Run, battle of 214 
 
 Burnside supersedes McClellan 339 
 
 Butler, Benjamin F. , nominated for president on 
 
 Greenback ticket 474 
 
 Butler, Benjamin F. , death of 488 
 
 Cabinet of Buchanan 77 
 
 Cairo, Grant and Prentiss at 210 
 
 Calhoun, John C, promulgation of the doctrine of 
 
 State Supremacy 76 
 
 Campbell, shipping agent for the Alabama 150 
 
 Corse, General, severely wounded 350 
 
 Centennial 462 
 
 Charleston, excitement in 99 
 
 Chase, Chief Justice, death of 453 
 
 Cherokee Strip opened 494 
 
 Chicago, great fire at 451 
 
 Chicago, World's Fair held at 485 
 
 Chile, trouble with 472 
 
 Chilean authorities kill American sailors 486 
 
 Clan-na-g ael trials 484 
 
 Cleveland elected president of the United States 474 
 
 Cleveland 's cabinet — his inauguration 477 
 
 Cleveland again elected president of the United 
 
 States 488 
 
 Cobb, Howell, aiding the secessionists 97 
 
 32 
 
498 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Colfax, Schuyler, nominated for vice-president 445 
 
 Conkling and Gariield fight 476 
 
 Conkling, death of 481 
 
 Congress appoints the reconstruction committee 437 
 
 Constitution, fifteenth amendment to 44(5 
 
 Corbett, Boston, the man who shot John Wilkes Booth 424 
 
 Corinth, battle of 31(5 
 
 Corinth, General Rosecrans at 275 
 
 Crook sent to fight the Sioux in Dakota 456 
 
 Cummings Point, place from which first shot was 
 
 fired at Sumter 142 
 
 Custer, General, and command slain by Sitting Bull's 
 
 Indians 457 
 
 Darien ship canal 451 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, candidateforpresident of the United 
 
 States in 1860 88 
 
 Davis, Jelferson, capture of 427 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, description of 201 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, entrance to Richmond 200 
 
 Davis flees to Danville 409 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, president of the Confederacy 136 
 
 De Bar's theatre, Booth at 411 
 
 Democratic convention at Charleston 88 
 
 Democratic party, division in 77 
 
 Donelson, Fort, invested 233 
 
 Douglas, Stephen A. , nominated for president 89 
 
 Dred Scott decision 78 
 
 Emancipation of slaves advocated by a part of the 
 
 Democratic party 77 
 
 Emancipation proclamation in 1863 349 
 
 Fenians suppressed 439 
 
 Fisheries, Canadian, troubles 481 
 
 Floyd fails to have Anderson removed and leaves the 
 
 cabinet 104 
 
 Floyd, John C. , secretary of war, aiding the South. .. 96 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 499 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Ford's Theatre, Laura Keene playing "American 
 
 Cousin" in 414 
 
 Fort Fisher captured 397 
 
 Fremont, Jolm C. , death of 484 
 
 Fugitive slave law, fruits of 82 
 
 Gardner, Colonel, removed from command at Charles- 
 ton 100 
 
 Garfield, assassination of 470 
 
 Garfield's inauguration and cabinet 469 
 
 Garfield, James A. , and Arthur nominated by Repub- 
 licans 468 
 
 Geneva, arbitration of Alabama claims at 451 
 
 Georgia revived as a state of the Union 445 
 
 Germany's embargo on American pork 473 
 
 Gillraore, General, besieging Charleston 368 
 
 Gillmore, General, investing Charleston 340 
 
 Gough, John B. , death of 480 
 
 Grant and Ward failures in 1884 473 
 
 Grant and Colfax, election of 446 
 
 Grant and Wilson elected 452 
 
 Grant, General, death of \ . . 478 
 
 Grant defeated at Hatcher's Run 397 
 
 Grant's inauguration and cabinet 448 
 
 Grant, General, investing Lookout Mountain and Mis- 
 sionary Ridge 341 
 
 Grant made Lieutenant-General 372 
 
 Grant landing troops at Belmont 219 
 
 Grant, General, moves on Belmont 214 
 
 Grant nominated for President, 1868 445 
 
 Grant renominated for President in 1872 451 
 
 Grant, General, seizes Paducah 40 
 
 Grant's third term campaign 467 
 
 Greeley, Horace, nominated by Liberal Republicans, 
 
 1872 451 
 
 Greeley, Horace, death of 453 
 
500 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Guiteau, the assassin of Garfield .471 
 
 Hale, Nathan, unveiling of statue of 494 
 
 Halleck, General, supersedes Grant 359 
 
 Halstead, Mr. Murat, and Mr. Blaine 475 
 
 Hamlin, Hannibal, nominated for vice-president. ... 87 
 
 Hancock and Englisli nominated by Democratic party 468 
 
 Hancock, Winfield Scott 480 
 
 Harrison, Benjamin, elected president of the United 
 
 States 482 
 
 Harrison, Carter, mayor of Chicago, assassinated 494 
 
 Harrison, Mrs. , deatli of 488 
 
 Hart, Peter, a New York policeman, goes to aid Major 
 
 Anderson 109 
 
 Hatc;her's Run, General Grant defeated at 397 
 
 Hatteras, the, sunk by the Alabama 163 
 
 Hawaii revolts and asks to be annexed 487 
 
 Hawaii, trouble with 489 
 
 Hayes' administration, his cabinet 463 
 
 Hayes and Wheeler nominated and elected 463 
 
 Hayes, ex-President, death of 488 
 
 Hayes, President, brings about a reform in the South 463 
 
 Hayes', President, Civil Service order 464 
 
 Haymarket riots 487 
 
 Hendricks nominated for vice-president 463 
 
 Hendricks, Thomas A., vice-president, death of 479 
 
 Henry, Fort, captured 333 
 
 Homestead riots 487 
 
 Hooker's gallant fight at Lookout Mountain 347 
 
 Hooker, General, at Lookout Mountain . . 343 
 
 Huntei- succeeded by General Gillniore 397 
 
 Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, articles of 443 
 
 Impeachment of Johnson, prosecutions in 444 
 
 Indians, trouble with 446 
 
 Island No. 10 captured 356 
 
 Italians hung at New Orleans 485 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 501 
 
 PAGE 
 
 luka, battle of 275 
 
 Jack, Captaiu, the Modoc, hanged 455 
 
 Jett, Captain, the*nian who took Booth to Garrett's. . 417 
 
 Jolnison, Andrew," character of 435 
 
 Johnson, charges in impeachment 443 
 
 Johnson, Andrew, inauguration of 433 
 
 Johnson, retirement of 447 
 
 Jolmson tried and acquitted 445 
 
 Johnston, Col. A. Sidney, sent with soldiers to attact 
 
 Mormons at Salt Lake 87 
 
 Johnston, General, surrenders to Sherman 437 
 
 Johnstown flood disaster .' 483 
 
 Joseph's, Chief, capture, his pathetic address 465 
 
 Kansas admitted to the Union 137 
 
 Kansas, civil war in 80 
 
 Kearsarge, the, at Cherbourg 301 
 
 Keene, Laura, at the side of the dying president 416 
 
 Kell, Mcintosh, Captain, of the Alabama 162 
 
 Kell, officer, reports the Alabama ready for action. . . . 305 
 
 Kentucky's stand in 1861 165 
 
 Kuklux Klan trials and convictions 45d 
 
 Lee, Colonel Robert E., sent to capture John Brown. 72 
 
 Lee, General, as a soldier 374 
 
 Lee, General, surrendering at Appomattox 409 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, nominated for president, 1860 ... 89 
 
 Lincoln's assassination 416 
 
 Lincoln's impressive funeral 426 
 
 Lincoln inaugurated 137 
 
 Lincoln proposes to abolish slavery 274 
 
 Lincoln re-elected president 395 
 
 Lincoln's second inauguration 399 
 
 Logan, John A. , death of 480 
 
 Longfellow, H. W. , poet, death of 474 
 
 Mason and Slidell captured aboard a British ship. . . . 273 
 
 Marmaduke, General, in Southwest 370 
 
503 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Maximilian in Mexico 373 
 
 Maximilian seized by Mexicans and shot 438 
 
 McKinley's, Wm. , great victory in Ohio 494 
 
 McKinley Law 484 
 
 McPherson, General, killed by sharpshooters 380 
 
 Meade, General, hero of Gettysburg 340 
 
 Meeker massacre 467 
 
 Mitchell, Maggie, and John Wilkes Booth 412 
 
 Mississippi revived as a Stg-te of the Union 445 
 
 Modoc War 454 
 
 Monitor and Merrivuic 234 
 
 Mormons, trouble with 86 
 
 Morton, Levi P. , vice-president 482 
 
 National banking system, how originated 449 
 
 Negroes granted a vote in District of Columbia by 
 
 congi'ess 440 
 
 Negro suffrage, Andrew Johnson's opposition to 436 
 
 Nez Perce War 465 
 
 North Carolina, General J. F. Foster in 367 
 
 North Carolina revived as a State of the Union 445 
 
 Oglesby, Colonel Richard, sent to St. Francois River. . 211 
 
 Oklahoma Territory opened up 483 
 
 Old Testament, revised, published . . 479 
 
 Pacific Railroad, completion of 450 
 
 Panic of 1884 473 
 
 Peace in 1859 59 
 
 Pea Ridge, battle of 234 
 
 Pittsburg Landing captured 234 
 
 Pittsburg Landing, Grant at 234 
 
 Prentiss, General B. M. , at Cairo 210 
 
 Prentiss, General, brings on engagement at Shiloh. . . 236 
 
 Prentiss, General, great victory at Helena 389 
 
 Price, General Sterling, at Corinth 321 
 
 Prosecutions in the Johnson impeachment trial 444 
 
 Quarrel between Johnson and congress comes off 435 
 
HISTORICAL INDEX. 503 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Question of slavery 77 
 
 Race war in the South began 440 
 
 Randall, Samuel J. , death of 484 
 
 Reconstruction committee appointed by congress .... 437 
 
 Reorganization began bj' President Johnson 434 
 
 Republican party gaining strength 87 
 
 Resumption of specie payment 466 
 
 Richmond, false alarm in 191 
 
 Richmond, Grant enters 409 
 
 Richmond made seat of Confederate government .... 200 
 
 Rogers, Colonel, killed at Corinth 320 
 
 Rosecrans, General, at luka 275 
 
 Rosecrans, General, victory at Corinth 327 
 
 Ruffin, the man who fired the first shot at Fort Sumter 144 
 Russell, Lord John, refuses to allow war-ships built 
 
 in England, for so-called Confederate States. 371 
 
 Salary grab 453 
 
 Savannah, Ga. , captured 395 
 
 Scott, General, urges the fortifying of Charleston. . . . 100 
 
 Scott, General Winfield, death of 446 
 
 Secession advocated - 90 
 
 Semmes, Captain Raphael, of the Alabama 153 
 
 Serames, Captain, rescued by Mr. Lancaster 313 
 
 Semmes' speech to crew 305 
 
 Seward, Secretary, and son stabbed 416 
 
 Seymour, Horatio, nominated for president on the 
 
 Democratic ticket 446 
 
 Seymour, Horatio, death of 480 
 
 Sioux, trouble with 456 
 
 Sitting Bull placed on a reservation 466 
 
 Sitting Bull, the great Sioux chief 457 
 
 Sherman's advance on Missionary Ridge 347 
 
 Sherman's army at Missionary Ridge 345 
 
 Sherman in the Southwest 373 
 
 Sherman Law on silver purchase clause, repeal of . . . . 493 
 
504 HISTORICAL INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Sherman's march to the sea. 394 
 
 Shiloh, battle of 236 
 
 Slocum, General, attacked near Bentonville 401 
 
 Smith, General Kirby, surrender of 437 
 
 South Carolina revived as a State of the Union 445 
 
 South Carolina secedes 98 
 
 South, condition of 454 
 
 South, excitement in, over Lincoln's election 93 
 
 Southern Confederacy in straitened circumstances. . . 371 
 
 Specie payment, resumption of 466 
 
 Spottsylvania Court House, fight at 375 
 
 Star of the West fired on — first shot of the war 132 
 
 Star Route trials 473 
 
 State Supremacy, early development of 76 
 
 Stanton removed and Grant given his place 443 
 
 Stephens, Alexander H., vice-president of the Con- 
 federacy 136 
 
 Stevens, Major, commanding Confederate battery 
 
 that fired on Star of the West 133 
 
 Stuart, Lieut. J. E. B., sent to demand surrender 
 
 of John Brown at Harper's Ferry 73 
 
 Sumter, ineflfectual efforts to capture 369 
 
 Sumter retaken by United States forces 397 
 
 Taney, Roger B. , chief justice of the United States, 
 
 renders the Dred Scott decision 79 
 
 Taylor supersedes Hood 397 
 
 Tenure of office Act a slur on Johnson 443 
 
 Tilden, Samuel J., nominated by Democrats for presi- 
 dent 463 
 
 Tilden, Samuel J., death of 480 
 
 Union Branch' fight of 334 
 
 United States senate organized into a high court of 
 
 impeachniMit to try President Johnson 445 
 
 Ute Indian War 407 
 
 Van Dorn, General, at Corinth 331 
 
HISTORICAL ISDEX. 505 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Veto power exercised by Andrew Johnson 437 
 
 Vicksburg surrenders to General Grant 339 
 
 Virginius captured by Spanisli authorities and 
 
 American sailors shot 454 
 
 Wallace, General Lew, at Shiloh 234 
 
 War of the Rebellion, causes of 90 
 
 War vigorously prosecuted in the South 399 
 
 Washington Centennial celebration 483 
 
 Washington's, Colonel, horses taken and slaves set at 
 
 liberty by John Brown 70 
 
 Weaver, General John B. , nominated by the Green- 
 back party 468 
 
 Wilderness, battle of 374 
 
 Winchester, battle at 234 
 
 Windom, William, death of 485 
 
 Winslow, Captain of Kearsarge, sinking the Alabama 311 
 
 Whiskey ring frauds 457 
 
 World's Fair decided on 484 
 
 World's Fair at Chicago 492 
 
 Yancey advocates secession 90 
 
 Young, Brigham, arrested for Mountain Meadow 
 
 massacre 451 
 
 Young, Brigham, Mormon ruler, declares w«r agninst 
 
 the United States 86 
 
OHROlSrOLOGT. 
 
 PERIOD XII.— AGE OF UNION. 
 
 From a.d. 1854 to a.d. 1894. 
 
 1864. Kansas-Nebraska Biix. repealing Compromise of 
 1850, passed, —March 3. 
 Kansas Territory formed, — Maj' 30. 
 Nebraska Territory formed,— Maj'^ 30. 
 OsTEND Manifesto issued by American ministers, 
 Oct. 21. 
 1855. Kansas troubles ; emigration from slave and free 
 States. 
 Niagara Suspension Bridge completed. 
 
 1857. James Buchanan inaugurated president, —March 4. 
 Dred Scott Decision ; opinion delivered by Chief 
 
 Justice Taney, — March 6. 
 Trouble with Mormons in Utah ; militarj' sent by 
 the United States. 
 
 1858. Minnesota admitted into the Union, — May 11. 
 First Message by the Atlantic cable, — Aug. 16. 
 
 1859. Oregon admitted into the Union, — Feb. 14. 
 John Brown seized United States arsenal at Har- 
 per's Fei'ry, — Oct. 16. 
 
 Victoria Bridge, Montreal, opened. 
 
 1860. South Carolina seceded, — Dec. 20. 
 
 1861. Star of the West fired upon off Charleston Har- 
 
 bor, — Jan. 9. 
 Kansas admitted into the Union, — Jan. 9. 
 507 
 
508 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Confederate Government organized at Mont- 
 gomery, Ala., — Feb. 8. 
 
 Jefferson Davis, president ; Alexander II. Ste- 
 phens, vice-president, — Feb. 9. 
 
 Colorado Territory formed, — Feb. 28. 
 
 Dakota Territory formed, — March 2. 
 
 Nevada Territory formed, — March 2. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln inaugurated president, — March 
 4. 
 
 Fort Sumter, S. C, bombarded by Beauregard, — 
 April 12. 
 
 United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry de- 
 stroyed by Federals, — April 18. 
 
 GOSPORT Navy- yard destroyed by Federals (Nor- 
 folk, Va.),— April 20. 
 
 Battle of Philippi, W.Va. ; Confederate defeat, 
 June 3. 
 
 Battle of Big Bethel, Va. ; Pierce defeated, — 
 June 10. 
 
 Battle of Romney, Va. ; Federal victory, — June 
 11. 
 
 Battlb of Boonville, Mo. ; Lyon victorious, — 
 June 17. 
 
 Battle op Carthage, Mo. ; Gov. Jackson and 
 Sigel ; indecisive, — July 5. 
 
 Battle of Rich Mountain, W. Va. ; Rosecrans 
 victorious, — July 11. 
 
 Battle near Centreville, Va., — July 18. 
 
 Confederate capital changed to Richmond, Va. , 
 —July 20. 
 
 Battle of Bull Run, Va. ; McDowell defeated, 
 —July 21. 
 
 Battle of Dug Spring, Mo. ; Lyon victorious, — 
 Aug. 2. 
 
 Battle of Wilson's Creek, Mo. ; Lyon killed, — 
 Aug. 10. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 509 
 
 Battle of Hatteras Inlet, N. C. : Federal vic- 
 toiy,— Aug. 28, 29. 
 
 Columbus, KJ^, seized and fortified by Confeder- 
 ates, — Sept. 4. 
 
 Grant occupied Padueah , Kr. , — Sept. 6. 
 
 Battle of Lexington, Mo. ; Price defeated Mul- 
 ligan,— Sept. 17-20. 
 
 Battle of Ball's Bluff, or Edwards' Ferry ; 
 Baker killed,— Oct. 21. 
 
 Scott retired and McClellan appointed general-in- 
 chief, —Nov. 1. 
 
 Battle of Port Royal Entrance, S. C. ; Feder- 
 als victorious, — Nov. 7. 
 
 Battle of Belmont, Mo. ; Grant and Polk, inde- 
 cisive, —Nov. 7. 
 
 Mason and Slidell taken from the Trent, — Nov. 8. 
 1802. Battle of Mill Springs, Ky. ; Thomas victori- 
 ous,— Jan. 19, 20. 
 
 Fort Henry, Tenn., captured by Foote, — Feb. 6. 
 
 Battle of Roanoke Island, N. C. ; Bumside 
 victorious. — Feb. 8. 
 
 Fort Donrlson, Tenn., surrendered to' Grant, — 
 Feb. 16. 
 
 Battle of Pea Ridge, Ark. : Curtis victorious, 
 —March fi-8. 
 
 The Virginia {Merrimac) destroyed the Cumber- 
 land and Congress, at Hampton Rords, Va., — 
 March 8. 
 
 Battle between the Virginia {Merrimac) and 
 Monitor, at Hampton Roads, Va., — March 9. 
 
 Battle of New Madrid, Mo. ; Pope victorious, 
 — March 14. 
 
 Battle of New Bern, N. C. ; Bumside victori- 
 ous, — March 14. 
 
 Battle near Winchester, Va. ; Shields victori- 
 ous, — March 23. 
 
510 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Battle of Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh. Tenn. ; 
 Grant defeated Beauregard ; A. S. Johnson 
 killed ; 20,000 men lost ; April 6-7. 
 
 Island No. 10, with 6,000 men, captured by Foote 
 and Pope, — April 7. 
 
 Battle of Fort Pulaski. Ga. ; Gillmore victo- 
 rious, — April 10-13. 
 
 Farragut's fleet passed Forts Jackson and St. 
 Philip, La.,— April 24. 
 
 New Orleans, La., captured by Farragut's fleet, 
 —April 25. 
 
 New Orleans, La., occupied by Federals under 
 Butler,— May 1. 
 
 Battle of Williamsburg, Va. ; McClellan vie- 
 torious, — May 5. 
 
 Norfolk, Va. , captured by Wool, —May 10. 
 
 Hanover Courthouse, Va. , captured by Fitz 
 John Porter, —May 27. 
 
 Beauregard evacuated Corinth, Miss., — May 27. 
 
 Battles of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, Va. ; 
 McClellan victorious, — May 31 and June 1. 
 
 Lee appointed to chief command of the Confeder- 
 ate army, — June 3. 
 
 Gunboat fight near Fort Pillow, Tenn.,— June 6. 
 
 Davis, successor of Foote, captured Memphis, 
 Tenn., — June 6. 
 
 Seven Days' Battles in Virginia ; McClellan and 
 Lee, — June 26 to July 1. (Mechanicsville, June 
 26 ; Gaines' Mill, 27 ; Cliickahominy, 28 ; Sav- 
 age's Station, 29 ; White Oak Swamp, 29-30 ; 
 Glendale. 30; Malvern Hill, July 1.) 
 
 Battle of Cedar Mountain, Va. ; Jackson vic- 
 torious ; Winder killed, — Aug. 9. 
 
 Sioux war in Minnesota began, — August. 
 
 Pope's battles, between Mana.ssas and Washing- 
 ton, D. C.,— Aug. 26 to Sept. 1. (The more 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 511 
 
 important were Groveston, Aug. 39 ; second 
 Bull Run, 30 ; Chantilly, Sept. 1 ; victorious 
 campaign for Lee ; Kearney and Stevens 
 killed.) 
 Battle of Richmond, Ky. ; Kirby Smith victori- 
 ous, — Aug. 30. 
 Invasion of Maryland by Lee ; crossed the Poto- 
 mac near Point of Rocks, — Sept. 4-7. 
 Battle of South Mountain, Md. ; McClellan vic- 
 torious, — Sept. 14. 
 Harper's Ferry, with 13,000 men, surrendered 
 
 to Jackson by Miles,— Sept. 15. 
 Battle of Antietam, Md. ; McClellan and Lee,— 
 
 Sept. 17. 
 Munfordsville, Ky. , captured by Confederates,— 
 
 Sept. 17. 
 Battle of Iuka, Miss. ; Rosecraus victorious,— 
 
 Sept. 19-30. 
 Battle of Corinth, Miss. ; Rosecrans victorious, 
 
 —Oct. 3-4. 
 Battle of Perryville, Ky. ; unsuccessful attack 
 
 by Bragg. — Oct. 8. 
 Battle of Prairie Grove, Ark. ; Blunt victori- 
 ous, — Dec. 7. 
 Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. ; Lee victorious, 
 
 Federals lost 13,000 men,— Dec. 13. 
 Battle of Kingston, N. C. ; Foster victorious.— 
 
 Dec. 14. 
 Battle of Stone River, or Murfreesboro, Tenn., 
 —Dec. 31 to Jan. 3. (One of the fiercest of the 
 war, — Rosecrans victorious.) 
 
 1863. Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Lincoln, 
 — Jan. 1. 
 Battle of Fort Hindman, or Arkansas Post; 
 McClernand victorious, — Jan. 11. 
 
512 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Second expedition to the Yazoo ; Giaut arrived 
 at Young's Point, La., — Feb. 2. 
 
 Arizona Territory formed,— Feb. 24. 
 
 National Bank Act approved, — Feb. 25. 
 
 Idaho Territory formed, — March 8. 
 
 Third expedition to the Yazoo, under Porter,— 
 March 15. 
 
 Fort Sumter, S. C, bombarded by the Federals; 
 Du Pont unsuccessful, — April 7. 
 
 Grierson's cavalry raid through Mississippi; 
 left La Grange, Tatm., — April 17. 
 
 Battle of Port Gibson, Miss. ; McCJellan victori- 
 ous, — May 1. 
 
 Battle of Chancellorville, Va. ; Lee victori- 
 ous ; Federals lost 18,000 men, — May 3, 3. 
 
 Battle of Fredricksburo, Va. ; Early victori- 
 ous,— May 3, 4. 
 
 Battle of Raymond, Miss. ; McPherson victori- 
 ous, — May 12. 
 
 Battle of Big Black River, Miss. ; McClernand 
 victorious, — May 17. 
 
 Battle of Vicksburo, Miss. ; Federals rejiulsed, 
 —May 23. 
 
 Battle of Port Hudson, La. ; Federals repulsed, 
 —May 27. 
 
 Battle of Brandy Station, Va. , by cavalry ; 
 Gregg victorious, — June 9. 
 
 Maryland and Pennsylvania invaded by Lee, — 
 June. 
 
 West Virginia admitted into the Union, — June 19. 
 
 Morgan's raid crossed the Cumberland River, 
 near Bucksville, Ky.,^ — June 27. 
 
 Battle of Gettysburg, Pa. ; Meade and Lee ; 
 50,000 men lost,— July 1-8. 
 
 Battle of Helena, Ark. ; attack by HoIn>es re- 
 pulsed ; Prentiss victorious, — July 4. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 51« 
 
 Surrender op Vicksburg to Graut by Pember- 
 tou, — July 4. 
 
 Port Hudson, La., surrendered to Banks, — July 
 8. 
 
 Riots in New York City ; opposition to the draft, 
 —July 13-16. 
 
 Jackson, Miss., destroyed by Sherman, — July 16. 
 
 Fort Wagner, S. C, captured by Federals, — 
 Sept. 6. 
 
 Chattanooga, Tenn. , occupied by Crittenden, — 
 Sept. 8. 
 
 Little Rock, Ark., occupied by Steele, — Sept. 10. 
 
 Battle of Chickamauga, Ga. ; Bragg victorious ; 
 Rosecrans lost 16, 000 men, — Sept. 19, 20. 
 
 Battles of Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain ; 
 Federals defeated Bragg, — Nov. 23-25. 
 
 Battle of Knoxville, Tenn. ; Longstreet raised 
 the siege, — Dec. 4. 
 1864. Sherman's raid, from Vicksburg ; reached Merid- 
 ian, Miss., — Feb. 14. 
 
 Battle of Olustee, or Ocean Pond ; Finnegau 
 defeated Seymour, — Feb. 20. 
 
 Banks' Red River Expedition moved up the river, 
 March 12. 
 
 Battle of Mansfield, or Sabine Crossroads ; 
 Banks defeated, — April 18. 
 
 Battle of Pleasant Hill, La. ; Banks victori- 
 ous, — April 9. 
 
 Battle of Fort Pillow^, Tenn. ; captured by 
 Forrest.— April 13. 
 
 Plymouth, N. C. , surrendered to Confederates 
 under Hoke, — April 20. 
 
 Bermuda Hundred seized and intrenched by But- 
 ler, — May 5. 
 
 Battles of the Wilderness between Grant and 
 Lee ; 30,000 men lost,— May 5-7. 
 38 
 
514 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Sherman's Georgia Campaign, with 110,000 men, 
 began at Chattanooga, Tenn., — May 7. 
 
 Battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse, Va. ; 
 20, 000 men lost, —May 10. 
 
 Battle of Resaca, Ga. ; Sherman defeated 
 Johnston,— May 13-15. 
 
 Battle of Newmarket, Va. ; Sigel defeated, — 
 May 15. 
 
 Battles of North Anna, Va. ; Federals victori- 
 ous,— May 23-27. 
 
 Montana Territory formed,— May 26. 
 
 Battles of Dallas, Ga. ; Sherman victorious, — 
 May 25-28. 
 
 Battle of Totopotomoy Creek, Va. , — May 30. 
 
 Battle of Cold Harbor, Va. ; Grant repulsed 
 by Lee, — June 1-3. 
 
 Battle of Petersburg, Va. ; Grant repulsed ; 
 10,000 men lost, —June 16-18. 
 
 Siege of Petersburg, Va. , by Grant, begun, — 
 June 18. 
 
 The Alabama sunk by the Kearsarge, off Cher- 
 bourg, France, — June 19. 
 
 Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. ; Sherman 
 repulsed, — June 27. 
 
 Invasion of Maryland by Early ; Washington, 
 D. C. , threatened,— July 9-14. 
 
 Battle of Monocacy, Md. ; Early defeated by 
 Wallace,— July 9. 
 
 Battles at Atlanta, Ga. ; Sherman victorious ; 
 McPherson and Walker killed,— July 22-28. 
 
 Chambersburg, Pa., attacked and burned by Mc- 
 Causland, — July 30. 
 
 Battle of Petersburg ; explosion ; Federals re- 
 pulsed, — July 30. 
 
 Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala. ; Farragut victori- 
 ous, — Aug. 5. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 515 
 
 Weldon Railroad, running south from Rich- 
 mond, seized by Federals, — Aug. 18. 
 ' Battle of Beam's Station, Va. ; Weldon Rail- 
 
 road ; Hancock repulsed, — Aug. 25. 
 
 Battle of Jonesboro, Ga. ; Sherman victorious, 
 — Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. 
 
 Atlanta, Ga. , occupied by Sherman, — Sept. 2. 
 
 Battle of Winchester, Va. ; Sheridan victori- 
 ous; — Sept. 19. 
 
 Battle of Fisher's Hill, Va. ; Sheridan vic- 
 torious, — Sept. 23. 
 
 Nevada admitted into the Union,— Oct. 31. 
 
 Battle of Franklin, Tenn. ; Schofield victori- 
 ous, — Nov. 30. 
 
 Fort McAllister, Ga. , captured by Hazen, — 
 Dec. 13. 
 
 Battle of Nashville, Tenn. ; Thomas victori- 
 ous, — Dec. 15-16. 
 
 Savannah, Ga. , occupied by Sherman's army, — 
 Dec. 22. 
 1865 Fort Fisher, N. C, captured by Porter and Terry, 
 — Jan. 15. 
 
 Sherman's march northward from Savannah, Ga. , 
 —Feb. 1. 
 
 Columbia, S. C. , surrendered to Federals ; Sher- 
 man's march, — Feb. 17. 
 
 Charleston, S. C. , occupied by Federals ; Sher- 
 man's march, — Feb. 18. 
 
 Wilmington, N. C. , captured by Schofield, — 
 Feb. 22. 
 
 Lincoln began second presidential term, — March 
 4. 
 
 Battle of Averysboro, N. C. ; Slocum victori- 
 ous, — March 16. 
 
 Battle of Bentonsville, N. C. ; Slocum victori- 
 ous, — March 19. 
 
516 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Armies of Sherman, Terry, and Scliofield united 
 at Goldsboro, N. C.,— Marcli 23. 
 
 Battle of Fort Stedman, at Petersburg, Va. ; 
 indecisive, — March 25. 
 
 Battle of Dinwiddie Courthouse, Va. ; Slieri- 
 dan victorious, — Marcli 31. 
 
 Battle of Five Forks, Va. ; Sheridan victori- 
 ous, — April 1. 
 
 Battle of Petersburg, Va. ; Grant carried outer 
 lines, — April 1, 2. 
 
 Battle of Selma, Ala. ; Wilson captured the 
 city, — April 2. 
 
 Petersburg and Richmond occui)ied by Grant, — 
 April 3. 
 
 Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court- 
 house, Va., — April 9. 
 
 Mobile, Ala., occupied by Canby, — April 12. 
 
 President Lincoln assassinated at Washington, 
 D. C— April 14. 
 
 Andrew Johnson inaugurated president, —April 
 15. 
 
 Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution de- 
 clared in force, — Dec. 18. 
 1866. Fenian Raids into Canada. 
 
 Tennessee reconstructed by Act of July 24. 
 
 Civil War proclaimed to be at an end, — Aug. 
 20. 
 1S67. Nebraska admitted into the Union,— March 1. 
 
 Reconstruction Act passed over i^resident's veto, 
 March 2. 
 
 Tenure of Office Act passed over president's 
 veto, — March 2. 
 
 DovsfNFALL of MAXIMILIAN in Mexico (shot at 
 Queretaro), — June 19. 
 
 Alaska purchased of Russia, — June 20. 
 
 Dominion of Canada established, — July 1. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 517 
 
 1808. Secretary Stanton declared removed from office 
 by President Jolinson, — Feb. 31. 
 
 Johnson's Impeachment trial begun, — March 
 30. 
 
 Johnson acquitted by a vote of 35 to 19, not two- 
 thirds,— May 26. 
 
 Arkansas reconstructed, — June 2fS. 
 
 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and North 
 Carolina reconstructed, — June 25. 
 
 Wyoming Territory formed, — July 25. 
 
 Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution de- 
 clared in force, — July 28. 
 
 General amnesty proclaimed by President John- 
 son, — Dec. 25. 
 
 1869. Ulysses S. Grant inaugurated president, — 
 
 March 4. 
 Pacific Railroad (Union and Central) completed, 
 
 —May 10. (Length, 1,910 miles; cost, $252,- 
 
 000,000.) 
 Woman Suffrage in Wyoming, — Dec. 6. 
 
 1870. Virginia reconstructed,— Jan. 27. 
 Mississippi reconstructed, —Feb. 3. 
 Fenian raids in Canada resumed. 
 Texas reconstructed, — March 30. 
 
 Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution de- 
 clared in force, — March 30. 
 
 War between France and Germany begao, July 
 10, ended May 10, 1871. (Sales of arms diffi- 
 culties in the United States resulted from this 
 war. ) 
 
 1871. National Park established in Yellowstone Valley, 
 
 —Feb. 28. 
 Legal-tender laws declared constitutional by 
 
 Supreme Court, — May 1. 
 Fire at Chicago, 111. ; estimated loss, |300,000, - 
 
 000,— Oct. 10-12. 
 
518 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Treaty of Washington, providing for arbitration 
 on the Alabama claims, etc., agreed upon by 
 Joint High Commission, — Dec. 15. 
 
 Civil Service Reform Commission, established by 
 the act of March 3, promulgated report Dec. 
 19. 
 
 1872. National Bureau of Education established, — 
 
 Feb. 8. 
 Geneva Award ; $15, 500, 000 awarded to the United 
 
 States by the arbitrators on the Alabama claims, 
 
 etc., — Sept. 14. 
 San Juan boundary dispute decided in favor of 
 
 the United States ; San Juan Island to the 
 
 United States,— Oct. 21. 
 Fire at Boston, Mass. ; estimated loss, |100,000, - 
 
 000,— Nov. 9-10. 
 Modoc vstar in California began, — Nov. 39. 
 
 1873. Credit Mobilier Committee appointed, Dec. 3, 
 
 1872, to investigate frauds in the construction 
 of the Pacific Railroad reported, — Feb. 24. 
 
 "Salary Grab " act passed,— March 3. 
 
 Grant began second presidential term, — March 4. 
 
 1875. Act providing for specie payments on Jan. 1, 1879, 
 
 approved, — Jan. 14. 
 
 Death of Vice-President Wilson, at Washing- 
 ton, D. C— Nov. 32. 
 
 Thomas W. Ferry, president pro tempore of the 
 senate. 
 
 1876. Centennial Exhibition opened at Philadelphia, 
 
 May 10, closed Nov. 10. 
 Colorado admitted into the Union, — Aug. 1. 
 Presidential election, — Nov. 7. (Contest be- 
 
 tvpeen the Republican and Democratic parties 
 
 as to its validity. ) 
 
 1877. Electoral Commission provided for by act of 
 
 Jan. 29. 
 
 1 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 519 
 
 Hayes and Wheeler declared elected by con- 
 gress, — March 2. 
 
 Rutherford B. Hayes inaugurated president, — 
 March 5. 
 
 President Hayes' civil-service order issued, — 
 June 23. 
 
 Railroad riots at Pittsburg, Albany, Chicago, 
 St. Louis, etc.,— July 22-24. 
 
 1878. Yellow fever in Louisiana, Mississippi, Ten- 
 
 nessee, Kentucky, etc. 
 Silver dollar made legal tender over president's 
 
 veto,— Feb. 28. 
 Gold sells at par in Wall street, — Dec. 17. 
 
 1879. Resumption of specie payments ; Act of Jan. 14, 
 
 1875,— Jan. 1. 
 Jeannette sails from San Francisco for North Pole, 
 —July 9. 
 
 1880. Increasing immigration, —456, 000 immigrants ar- 
 
 rived during year ending Dec. 31. 
 Population of United States over 50,000,000,— 
 Tenth census. 
 
 1881. James A. Garfield inaugurated president, — 
 
 March 4. 
 President Garfield shot at Washington, D. C, 
 
 —July 2. 
 Death of President Garfield at Long Branch, 
 
 N.J.,— Sept. 19. 
 Chester A. Arthur inaugurated president at New 
 
 York City,— Sept. 19. 
 560,000 immigrants arrived in the United States 
 
 during the nine months ending Sept. 30. 
 Centennial Celebration at Yorktown, — Oct. 
 
 10. 
 Survivors of Jeannette heard from, — Dec. 20. 
 
 1882. Terrible accident at Spuyten Duyvil, N. Y., 
 
 —Jan. 13. 
 
530 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 GuiTEAU, the assassin, found guilty, Jan. 25. 
 
 Hanged June 30. 
 Transit of Venus, — Dec. 6. 
 
 1883. New York and Brooklyn Bridge opened May 24. 
 Great Strike of Telegraphers' Brotherhood in the 
 
 United States,— July 19 to Aug. 18. 
 Northern Pacific Railroad open for traffic. 
 
 —Sept. 8. 
 Two-cent letter postage went into effect 
 
 throughout the United States, — Oct. 1. 
 Lord Lansdowne inaugurated Governor- General 
 
 of Canada vice the Marquis of Lome, — Oct. 23. 
 
 1 884. Bodies of Jeannette explorers arrived in New York, 
 
 —Feb. 22. 
 
 Washington Monument completed, — Dec. 6. 
 
 Opening of "World's Fair and Cotton Centen- 
 nial Exposition " in New Orleans, — Dec. 16. 
 
 1885. Dedication of Washington Monument, — Feb. 21. 
 Grover Cleveland inaugurated president, — 
 
 March 4. 
 Rebellion in Saskatchewan, British America, 
 
 began, March 23 ; Riel captured. May 15, and 
 
 executed at Regina, — Nov. 16. 
 Revised Old Testament published,— May 15. 
 Bartholdi Statue of Liberty arrived in New 
 
 York, — June 19. 
 . Niagara Park thrown open to the public, — July 15. 
 General U. S. Grant died at Mount McGregor, 
 
 N. Y., July 23, and buried at Riverside Park, 
 
 N. Y.,— Aug. 3. 
 Flood Rock, East River, blown up, — Oct. 10. 
 Gen. George B. McClellan died, — Oct. 29. 
 Vice-President Thomas A. Hendricks died, — 
 
 Nov. 25. 
 William H. Vanderbilt, the noted millionaire, 
 
 died, — Dec. 8. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 521 
 
 United States Senate passed the Presidential 
 Succession bill,— Dec. 17. 
 
 1886. Gen. Win field S. Hancock died, — Feb. 9. 
 Horatio Seymour died, — Feb. 13. 
 
 John B. Gough, noted temperance lecturer, died, 
 —Feb. 18. 
 
 Great labor agitations throughout tlie United 
 States, — May 1. 
 
 Railroad strike in the Southwest ended, — May 
 4. 
 
 Anarchists explode a dynamite bomb, killing and 
 wounding many policemen and rioters, at 
 Haymarket Square, Chicago, — May 4. 
 
 Odell, III., wrecked by the wind,— May 13. 
 
 Grover Cleveland, president of United States, 
 married to Miss Frances Folsom, — June 3. 
 
 Judge David Davis died at Bloomington, 111., 
 — June 36. 
 
 Samuel J. Tilden died, — Aug. 4. 
 
 The great anarchist trial commenced at Chi- 
 cago, 111., at 10 a. m., June 21, and ended at 
 10 A. M., Aug. 20. (The jury brought in a ver- 
 dict of murder in tlie first degree in the case 
 of seven of defendants, and of fifteen years in 
 prison for the eighth. ) 
 
 Dedication of the famous Bartlioldi Statue of 
 "Liberty Enlightening the World, "—Oct. 28. 
 
 Death of ex-President Chester A.Arthur, — Nov. 18. 
 
 Death of General John A. Logan, — Dec. 26. 
 
 1887. The Inter- state Commerce bill passed the senate, 
 
 — Jan. 14. 
 The president signed the Inter-state Commerce 
 
 Bill,— Feb. 4. 
 Rev. Henry Ward Beecher died, —March 8. 
 William A. Wheeler, ex-vice-president of 
 
 United States, died, — June 4. 
 
532 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Terrible railroad accident near Chatsworth, 
 111.,— nearly 100 killed,— Aug. 10. 
 
 Governor Oglesby commuted the sentence of 
 Samuel Fielden and Michael Schwab, the 
 Chicago Anarchists, to imprisonment for life, 
 —Nov. 10. 
 
 Louis Lingg committed suicide, — Nov. 10 ; August 
 Spies, A . R. Parsons, Adolpli Fischer and Geo. 
 Engel, executed, — Nov. 11. 
 
 1888. Terrible blizzard in New York and vicinity, — 
 
 Marcli 18-15. 
 
 Ex-Senator Roscoe Conkling died, — April 18. 
 
 Democratic National Convention at St. Louis, 
 nominated Grover Cleveland, of New York, 
 for president, and Allan G. Thurman, of Ohio, 
 for vice-president, — June 6. 
 
 Republican National Convention at Chicago 
 nominated Benjamin Harri.son, of Indiana, for 
 president, and Levi P. Morton, vice-president, 
 — June 25. 
 
 Philip H. Sheridan, general of United States 
 army, died, — Aug. 5. 
 
 The president signed the Chinese Exclusion Bill, 
 —Oct. 1. 
 
 The presidential and congressional elections 
 were held. Benjamin Harrison was elected 
 president of United States, and Levi P. Mor- 
 ton vice-president, — Nov. 6. 
 
 1889. The president signed a bill, making the following 
 
 new States : North Dakota, South Dakota, 
 Montana and Washington, — Feb. 22. 
 
 President Benjamin Harrison and Vice-Presi- 
 dent Levi P. Morton inaugurated, — March 
 4. 
 
 The proclamation opening the Territory of Okla- 
 homa was issued by the president, March 27, 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 523 
 
 the proclamation to take effect April 22 at 
 high noon. 
 
 Centennial celebration throughout the United 
 States, — April 30. 
 
 Terrible flood at Johnstown, Pa., caused by the 
 bursting of a reservoir ; the entire valley of 
 the Conemaugh flooded ; loss of life esti- 
 mated about 5,000; loss of property almost 
 incalculable, — May 31-June 1. 
 
 The business portion of Seattle, Washington, — 
 destroyed by fire, — June 6. 
 
 Disastrous fire at Spokane Falls, Washington, 
 Aug. 4. 
 
 The Cronin trial began August 30, ended Decem- 
 ber 16 ; John F. Beggs was acquitted ; John 
 Kunze found guilty of manslaughter, and sen- 
 tenced to three years, and Daniel Coughlin, 
 Patrick O' Sullivan and Martin Burk received 
 life sentences. 
 1890. Terrible storm passed over the Mississippi valley, 
 —March 27. 
 
 Samuel J. Randall died, — April 13. 
 
 Great floods in Mississippi vallej' during April. 
 
 The World's Fair Bill passed the senate, — April 
 21. 
 
 President Harrison signed the World's Fair Bill, 
 — April 25. 
 
 Monument to Robert E. Lee was unveiled at Rich- 
 mond, Va., — May 29. 
 Idaho became a State, — July 3. 
 
 Wyomino became a State, — July 10. 
 
 Death of Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, — July 9. 
 
 Death of Major- General John C. Fremont. —July 
 13. 
 
 The McKinley Tariff Bill signed by President 
 Harrison, — Oct. 1. 
 
534 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 New Tariff Bill went into effect, — Oct. 6. 
 
 Outbreak of the Indians, — December. 
 
 Death of Sitting Bulf, — Dec. 15. 
 
 The president issued a proclamation announcing 
 
 the fact that the World's Fair would be held 
 
 in Chicago in 1893„— Dec. 24. 
 Death of Gen. F. E. Spinner, ex-treasurer of 
 
 United States,— Dec. 31. 
 
 1891. Death of William Windom, secretary of the treas- 
 
 ury, — Jan. 29. 
 
 Death of Admiral David D. Porter,— Feb. 13. 
 
 Death of Gen. W. T. Sherman,— Feb. 14. 
 
 A MOB in New Orleans attacked the jail and killed 
 eleven Italians who were indicted for the 
 murder of David Hennessey; intense excite- 
 ment all over the country, — March 14. 
 
 Death of P. T. Barnum, the great showman, — 
 April 7. 
 
 Ground broken for the first exhibition building 
 at World' s Fair grounds, — the Woman 's Build- 
 ing, — July 9. 
 
 1892. United States Regulars and Texas Rangers 
 
 opposed the movements of Garza, the Mexi- 
 can revolutionist on the Texas border, — Jan. 
 2. 
 
 Cyclones devastated several towns in Georgia and 
 Florida, — Jan. 6. 
 
 Terrific explosion at the Osage Coal-Mining 
 Company's mine at Krebs, I. T., resulting in 
 great loss of life and property, — Jan. 7. 
 
 The eminent American sculptor, Randolph Rogers, 
 died at Rome, Italy, — Jan. 15. 
 
 Free silver-coinage debate in congress, — March 
 22-24. 
 
 Grover Cleveland elected a second time presi- 
 dent of the United States, — November. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 535 
 
 1893. Ex-President Rutherford B. Hayes died, — Jan. 
 16. 
 
 Gen. Benjamin F. Butler died, — Jan. 11. 
 
 Hon. James G. Blaine died, — Jan. 27. 
 
 General Beauregard died, — February. 
 
 Grover Cleveland inaugurated President of the 
 United States, —March 4. 
 
 Financial depression began ; Secretary Carlisle 
 'conferred with bank presidents, — April 27. 
 
 The Duke of Veragua (a descendant of Colum- 
 bus) arrived in Chicago, — April 29. 
 
 World's Columbian Exposition formally opened, 
 —May 1. 
 
 PAific OF 1893 began with several failures in New 
 York, — May 4. 
 
 James K. Blount appointed by President Cleve- 
 land envoy extraordinary and minister pleni- 
 potentiary to Hawaii, — May 10. 
 
 Governor McKinley renominated for governor 
 of Ohio, — June 8. 
 
 Governor Altqeld, of Illinois, pardoned the Chi- 
 cago anarchists Fielden, Schwab, and Neebe, 
 —June 26. 
 
 President convened congress in extra session to 
 consider the repeal of the Sherman Silver Law, 
 —Aug. 7. 
 
 Parliament of Religions in session in Chicago, 
 — September. 
 
 Carter Harrison, Mayor of Chicago, assassinated 
 by an ex-policeman, — Oct. 28. 
 
 World's Fair closed, Oct. 30. 
 
 Sherman Silver Law repealed, Nov. 1. 
 
 Fall Elections— Great Republican victories in 
 New York and Ohio ; Governor McKinley re- 
 elected by nearly ninety thousand majority, — 
 Nov. 7. 
 
526 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 President Cleveland, through the Secretary of 
 State, announced his intention to restore the 
 monarchy in Hawaii —Nov. 10. 
 
 Steps taken to erect a monument on the birth- 
 place of Washington at Wakefield, Virginia, — 
 Nov. Ifi. 
 
 Great strike on Lehigh Valley Railroad began, — 
 Nov. 16. 
 
 Statue of Nathan Hale unveiled at City Hall 
 Park, New York City,— Nov. 25. 
 
 New Tariff Bill to change McKinley Law sent to 
 Ways and Means Committee, — Nov. 27. 
 
THE 
 
 COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL NOVELS. 
 
 A Complete History of Our Country, from the Time of Colurabl:^ 
 down to tiie present Day, in the form of Twelve Complete 
 Stories. By John R. Musick. Uniform Size and 
 Style; 8vo, Half Morocco, and Cloth Bind- 
 ings, One Hundred Half-Tone Plates, 
 Maps of the Period, and numer- 
 ous Pen and Ink Drawings 
 by F. A. Carter. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 I. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 II. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 III. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 X. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 XII. 
 
 TITLES : 
 
 Columbia : A Story of the Discovery of America. 
 Estevan : A Story of the Spanish Conquests. 
 St. Augustine: A Story of the Huguenots. 
 Pocahontas : A Story of Virginia. 
 The Pilgrims: A Story of Massachusetts. 
 A Century Too Soon: A Story of Bacon's Rebellion. 
 The Witch of Salem ; or, Credulity Run Mad. 
 Braddock : A Story of the French and Indian Wars. 
 Independence: A Story of the American Revolution. 
 Sustained Honor: A Story of the War of 1812. 
 Humbled Pride : A Story of the Mexican War. 
 Union : A Story of the Great Rebellion and of Events 
 down to the Present Day. 
 
 The Historical Divisions are : ist. Age of Discovery ; 2d. 
 Conquest ; 3d. Bi<;otry ; 4th. Colonization ; 5th. Reason ; 6th. 
 Tyranny ; 7th. Superstition ; 8th. Contention of Powers for 
 Supremacy ; 9th. Independence ; loth. Liberty Established ; 
 iith. Supremacy Abroad; 12th. Union. 
 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COHPANY, Publishers, 
 
 30 Lafayette Place, New York. 
 
 LONDON: TORONTO, CAN.: 
 
 44 Fleet Street. 11 Richmond St., W. 
 
RARE BOOK 
 COLLECTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT 
 
 CHAPEL HILL 
 
 Wilmer 
 826 
 

 
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