Ci)c Librarp of tl?e Umtozmty of iSottl) Carolina THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL ENDOWED BY THE DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETIES ' E608 .G8 UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 10001404865 This book is due at the WALTER R. DAVIS LIBRARY on the last date stamped under "Date Due." If not on hold, it may be renewed by bringing it to the library. DATE DUE HAY I MAY 1 »211U5p EC 1 7 ?00b m -OK-S- JIJN 52005 i ] 21 NOV 1 5 _ Form No 513, mmm mn/sr m I Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://archive.org/details/myimprisonmentfiOOgree 9 // ' // //V ///// //-•//•' MY IMPRISONMENT FIRST YEAR OF ABOLITION RULE AT WASHINGTON. MES. GREENHOW. LONDON : RICHARD BENTLEY, PUBLISHES IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY. 1863, LONDON PRINTED BI SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. NEW-STUTET SQtTAKE • ■ LlbHAKX (JN'IV. OF N»«TH QARtLIWA gefoiainw. I RESPECTFULLY BEDICATE THESE PAGES BRAVE SOLDIERS WHO HATE FOUGHT AND BLED THIS OUR GLORIOUS STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. LOSDON : Nov. 6, 1863. i ROSE GREENHOW. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Introduction . page 1 CHAPTER II. ON TO EICHMOND ! My Arrest — Lincoln's Arrival — Scotcli Cap and Cloak — His Election an Invasion of Southern Rights — Order for the Advance of the Grand Army into Virginia — Its Departure — Battle of Manassas — Defeat and Rout — Its Return to Washington — Demoralisation — Quarrels between Executive, Legislative and Military — Panic . . . . 11 CHAPTER III. PANIC AT WASHINGTON. Attack upon the Prisoners — United States Troops obliged to . protect them — My Visit to the Prison — Mr. Commissioner Wood — Charles Sumner — Dismemberment of Virginia — Admission of Senators — Reign of Terror — Determination to remove Scott — Elevation of M'Clellan ... 25 VI CONTEXTS. CHAPTER IV. DAYS OF TRIAL. My Arrest — Search and Occupation of my House — Examination of my Papers — Miss Mackall — Mr. Calhoun — Destruction of my Cipher — Female Detective — Search of my Person — Resolution to fire the House — Arrest of Casual Visitors — Inebriation of the Guard — Outrage — Tactics of my Gaolers — Andrew J. Porter ..... page 52 CHAPTER V. REIGN OF TERROR. Abolition Effort to poison President Buchanan — Destruction of my Papers — Reward for my Cipher — Intercepting Des- patches — Mr. Seward — Personal Danger — Mr. Davis — Effort to bribe me — General Butler — Yankee Publications — Other Prisoners — Spoliation — Detective Police give place to Military Guards — Miss Mackall — Illness of my Child — Dr. Stewart — Prison Life — The Spy Applegate — Mr. Stanton — Judge Black and R. J. Walker — Foul Outrage — Yankee Policy — Petty Annoyances . 73 CHAPTER VI. OLLA PODRIDA. The Great Armada — My Anxiety — Its Destination revealed by Seward — Information sent to Richmond — Dr. Gwin — Equinoctial Gales — Proposition to escape — Insult to Ministers of the Gospel — Query of Provost-Marshal-— The Mother of Jackson — The First Victim of the War of Ag- gression — Visit from Members of my Family — Colonel Ins;olls — Letter to Mr. Seward .... 108 4 CONTEXTS. Vll CHAPTER VII. NEW TMALS. Abolition Difficulties — M'Clellan — Scott — Fremont brought forward — F. P. Blair — Reviews and Sham Battles — Seward's Policy — Destruction of Civil Rights — Armed Occupation of Maryland — Elections at the Point of the Bayonet — Despotism in Baltimore — My own Lot — Miss Mackall's Visit to Lincoln and Porter — Her Illness and De- sire to see me — Application to Lincoln — His Refusal — Death of Miss Mackall — My own Illness — Dr. M'Millen — Peculations of Cameron — Sent to Russia — Congressional Committee page 125 CHAPTER VIII. FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. Fremont — Fremont Pere — His Education — His Marriage — Career in California — His Trial — Dismissal from the U. S. Army — Senator for California — Retirement to Private Life — Appearance as Candidate for President — The Marri- posa — Financial Schemes — Defeat for President — Relapse — Reappearance — Charges against him — Mrs. Fremont and F. P. Blair — Removal as Chief of the Army of the West — Halleck — Myself— Trials — M'Clellan — Public Archives ........ 141 CHAPTER IX. DIABLERIE. Petty Annoyances — My Letters objected to — My Protest — ' New York Herald ' — Judge-Advocate Key — What he said — Christmas-day — Warning — Other Prisoners — Comic Scenes — Detective Police — Severe Ordeal — Seizure of my Journal, &c. — Writing Materials prohibited by Order of General Porter . . . . . . . 161 V1U CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. RECORD OF FACTS. My second Letter to Seward — Our Commissioners — At my own House — Seward's Sketch of John Brown — On Arts — Seward's Reveries — Bribery and Corruption . page 179 CHAPTER XL TRIALS AND DANGER. Stanton in Power — Mr. Buchanan — Ordinances — ' New York Herald' — M'Clellan's Humility — Ministerial Assumption — Financiering of Secretary Chase — New York Brokers and Bankers — Mrs. Lincoln — . Her Shopping Toilette — My Removal to the Old Capitol Prison — Lieutenant Sheldon — Newspaper Correspondents — Mr. Calhoun's Opinions — My Cell — Dr. Stewart again — Extracts from Journal kept in the Old Capitol — Nuisance — My Protest — My Child — Disgusting Sights — Protest . . . . . 195 CHAPTER XII. PROGRESS OF EVENTS. Congressional Committee — Dame Rumour and Mrs. Lincoln — 'Herald' on Mrs. Lincoln —M'Clellan — Policy of Ad- ministration towards him — Chance Prophecy — My Yankee Visitors — Abolition Policy, &c. — Southern Chivalry — ' Richmond Examiner ' — President Davis — ' On to Rich- mond,' 3rd — Estimate of our Forces — Expenditure — Pressure of Public Opinion — Reinforcements — Festive Scenes — Ball at the White House — Mrs. Lincoln's Toilette — General Magruder — M'Clellan's Ideas — Policy of the Government — Evacuation of Yorktown by Johnson — President Davis's Coachman, and what he said — Northern Credulity and Venality ... . . 225 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XIII. HOPES AND FEARS. Illness of my Child — Application for Medical Attendance — Dr. Stewart — Protest against his Insolence — General Johnson — Change of Programme — Homesteads in the South — Senator Wilson — Stanton's Order, &c. — My Letter an- nouncing it — Police-court — Letter to Stanton — General Wordsworth — His Order — Vexations and Annoyances — The Officers of the Guard — Extraordinary Drive — General Commotion ....... page 243 CHAPTER XP7. FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. Visit of United States Commissioners — Their Objects — Con- versation — My Child — General Dix — Insolence of Dr. Stewart — Rebuke to him — Stanton's Policy — Cause of his Appointment — His Political Programme — Lincoln and Abolition of Slavery — Demoniacal Intentions — Appearance before the Commissioners — Picture of Desolation — Sketch of Commissioners — The Object of the Commission — Gentlemanly Conduct of the Commissioners — Letter to Mrs. S. A. Douglas in answer to hers — Anxieties — Letter to General Wordsworth — Murder of Lieutenant Wharton — Letter to General Wordsworth .... 260 CHAPTER XV. RENEWED ANXIETIES. Visit of Hon. Mr. Ely — Cause of my Detention — New York Paper — Application to visit me refused — Tedium of Prison Life — The Guard — The Female Prisoners — Captain Higgins — My Child's Health — Dr. Miller — Federal Officers CONTEXTS. CHAPTER XV.— ■continued. — Ex-Governor Morton — Correspondence — Anxieties — Fate of New Orleans— Order No. 28 of General Butler — Caleb Cushing — Senator Bayard — Fate of Norfolk — Murder of Stewart — Examination — Yankee Panic — Sena- torial Committee — Disagreeable Rumours — Correspond- ence with Wood relative to my Papers — Gloom — Cheering News — Announcement of Departure for the South — Arrival in Baltimore — Kind Friends — General Dix — En Route — Arrival in Richmond — The President — Aspect of Richmond ....... PAGE 288 CHAPTER XVI. MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. The American Revolution — Slavery not the Cause of it — Po- litical Supremacy — Ex-President Fillmore's, Daniel Web- ster's, Lord John Russell's, and R. J. Walker's Opinions on the Subject — Non-intervention the best Policy, &c. 325 ■ MY IMPRISONMENT AjSTD the FIRST YEAR OF ABOLITION RULE AT WASHINGTON. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Whether a faithful record of my long and humiliat- ing imprisonment at Washington, in the hands of the enemies of my country, will prove as interesting to the public as my friends assure me it is to them, I know not. It is natural for those who have suffered captivity to exaggerate the importance and interest of their own experiences ; yet I should not venture upon publishing these notes and sketches merely as a narrative of indignities heaped upon myself per- sonally. It is hoped that the story may excite more than a simple feeling of indignation or commisera- tion, by exhibiting somewhat of the intolerant spirit in which the present crusade against the liberties of sovereign States was undertaken, and somewhat of the true character of that race of people who insist on 1 2 INTRODUCTION. compelling us by force to live with them in bonds of fellowship and union. I had been long a resident of Washington before the secession of the Confederate States, and, from my intimate acquaintance with public men and public measures under the old government, had peculiar and exceptional means of watching the progressive development of the designs of these leaders of opinion in the Federal States, which, as I had long foreseen, would necessarily end in forcing on a separation. Much of my information upon this subject had been derived from the intercourse of society in the Federal capital ; and would therefore have been unsuitable to be made public, if the relations of the North and the South had continued as they used to be — subjects of political discussion and party contest. But the Federal leaders have now carried the matter far beyond this point. After repeated and intolerable aggression upon the rights of these States — accompanied and aggravated by an insulting tone of moral superiority, until a union with such communities was no longer to be endured by any high-spirited people — they at length stirred up a furious and desolating war. For two years a torrent of blood has flowed between their people INTRODUCTION. 3 and my people. The noble State of Virginia, with which I am most nearly connected, has been devas- tated by hosts of barbarous invaders — always overthrown indeed in the field before Southern valour, but always destroying and plundering where they found the country unprotected ; whilst my own dear native State of Maryland has been subject to a still more stinging and maddening oppression, in the utter destruction of all her liberties, and in the establishment of a brutal and vulgar military despotism, which has reduced the gallant old State to the debased condition of Poland or Yenetia ; and such ' order reigns in Baltimore,' as that moral death which tyrants call ' order ' in Warsaw or n the beautiful City of the Sea. To me, therefore, the days of my former abode in Washington seem to belong almost to another state )f being. That time — when I, in common with all )ur people, looked up with pride and veneration to he banner of the stars and stripes — appears to be low with the years before the Flood. I look back o the scenes of that period through a haze of blood unci horror. Those men whom I once called friends — vho have broken bread at my table — have since then tirred up and hounded on host after host of greedy avaders, and precipitated them upon the beloved b2 4 INTRODUCTION. valleys where my kindred had their peaceful homes Many who were dear to me have been slain, or maimed for life, fighting in defence of all that makes life of value. Instead of friends, I see in those statesmen of Washington only mortal enemies. Instead of loving and worshipping the old flag of the stars and stripes, I see in it only the symbol of murder, plunder, oppression, and shame ! and, like every other faithful Confederate, I dwell with delight on the many glorious fields where this dishonoured standard has gone down before the stainless battle- flag of the Confederacy. In short, two years of terrible war, equivalent to an age of quiet life, have passed through the ex- istence of us all, leaving a deep and ineffaceable track. Between us and those former friends there is a gulf deep and wide as eternity ; and under these circumstances I have felt myself at liberty to be much more unreserved in the narrative of my per- sonal recollections : suppressing, in fact, nothing which I thought would be either interesting or useful to my Confederate countrymen — except only when reserve was dictated by self-respect, or by the duty of avoiding disclosures which mi^ht compromise the safety of certain Federal officers, whom I induced without scruple, as will be more fully seen in the INTRODUCTION. 5 following pages, to furnish me with information, even in my captivity, which information I at once ^communicated with pride and pleasure to General Beauregard, then commanding the Confederate forces near Washington. Whatever may be thought of the conduct of these Federal officers in betraying ito an avowed enemy secrets material to their own 'Government, it will readily be admitted that after ihaving made this use of them I should not have been trustified in naming them, or affording a clue by which they could be discovered. If, in detailing conversations which passed either 'with me or in my presence, before or after my arrrest, I may be thought to have exhibited too great 'bitterness, it is hoped that the circumstances under ; which I found n^self may plead my excuse. It will be seen that I was well aware from an early 'period of the dark designs of the Abolition leaders ■at Washington, and that while they were holding publicly the language of patriotic zeal for the con- stitution and the law, they were already meditating, and preparing, all the dreadful scenes of lawless out- rage and spoliation which have since that time rendered their names odious to the whole world. J[t was well known to me what fate they were re- serving for my own native State, and what diabolical 6 INTRODUCTION. agencies they were setting to work over all the country, both to destroy the Confederate States and to crush out the liberties of the North. The chief projectors of all these horrors, too, were well aware that I knew their plans and machinations intimately ; and that, weak woman as I was, I. possessed both the means and the spirit to throw serious obstacles in their way. Hence the keen and jealous surveil- lance by which my every motion was observed and noted, even long before my arrest. Hence, also, the useless series of torments and provocations to which I was subjected — the changes in my place of imprisonment, and the many attempts to entrap me into a betrayal of myself or the Confederate cause. Hence the long and wearisome captivity, to break my spirit, or goad me into undignified bursts of indignation — in all of which I trust I may flatter myself that they signally failed. Satisfied thoroughly of the justice and sacreclness of our great cause, and thinking only of the gallant struggle into which my kindred had thrown themselves, I was enabled, not only to ' possess my own soul ' and keep my own ; counsel, but also to establish and maintain a con- tinuous correspondence with Virginia, and reveal certain contemplated military movements of the enemy in time to have ; them thwarted by our INTRODUCTION. 7 generals. For this I clo not desire to take any special I credit in the eyes of the public. I only performed my Iduty, and have already been gratified by the thanks sof those who best can judge of the services which I ; endeavoured to render ; and the matter is mentioned ihere merely as one of the reasons why it has been -thought that a narrative furnished by one who en- joyed such opportunities of observation may be I found not uninteresting. It may be that the language which was sometimes 'extorted from me in conversation, or some of the remarks now found in my book, are more bitterly 'vituperative and sarcastic, than in ordinary times, •'and upon ordinary subjects, would be becoming in i'the personal narrative of a woman. Those who may 3 think so are only entreated, before they judge, to 'endeavour to imagine themselves in my position — subject to the stinging indignities of a Washington prison, having to encounter sometimes the vicious taunts of vulgar guards, sometimes the treacherous warnings or counsels of politicians pretending to be my friends ; a little daughter, too, always before my eyes, torn from the peaceful delights of home, and the flowery path of girlhood, and forced to witness the hard realities of prison-life, and hear the 'keys grating in dungeon locks. ISTo wonder if my 8 INTRODUCTION. nature grew harsh and more vindictive, and if the scorn and wrath that was in my heart sometimes found vent by tongue or pen. It was, above all things, when I thought of my own State of Maryland — where sleep the manes of my ancestors — that I burned with indignation in my prison. While the great State of Virginia, with her strong river frontier of the Potomac, was enabled to bid defiance to the utmost efforts of her enemies, it soon became evident that Maryland, penetrated by great bays and rivers, and with her very heart opened up to the naval forces of the enemy, would be, for the present at least, overpowered, and pre- vented from casting her lot openly and decisively with her sister States. I knew also that every genuine child of Maryland cherished in their souls but one feeling — one burning desire to share the destiny of their section, and to perish, if need be, in the glorious struggle ; and could well imagine how so proud and refined a people would suffer and chafe to see themselves treated as vassals and serfs by a race they have always despised. Yet the men were not so deeply to be pitied. They had always at least the resource of flinging themselves across the border, joining the Confederate service, and thus either opening a way to the re- INTRODUCTION. 9 demption of their country, -or at any rate meeting her oppressors on many a battle-field, and wreaking i a righteous vengeance upon their heads. But the women of Maryland — the far-famed, delicately- nurtured, and universally-courted ladies of that fair State — they, whose slightest notice in days gone by was so dearly prized by Northern men — they, so essentially Southern in taste, and style, and associa- tion — to see their country ruled by hordes of the despised Yankees, and their haughty city tamed and cowering under the insolent sway of the coarsest of i all human creatures ! — to know that ' the tinkling of that little belV at the State Department could tear the maiden from her mother's arms, to be dragged to the pollution of a Yankee prison ! The thought was often almost maddening ; and it may well be that my profound sympathy with my people has coloured with a deeper tinge of gloom jny views of the whole field of action. At all events, I have endeavoured in this sketch of my captivity to discharge a great duty. That duty was to contribute what I myself have seen and known of the history of the time. If the exposure therein made of the Yankee character, in the first year of its luxuriant and rampant development (after long compression in a condition of inferiority), 10 INTRODUCTION. shall add to the feeling of execration for such a racor Waterloo, which ended in the total defeat and 'rout of the entire ' Grand Army.' In the world's history such a sight was never wit- nessed : statesmen, senators, Congress-men, generals, and officers of every grade, soldiers, teamsters — all rushing in frantic flight, as if pursued by countless demons. For miles the country was thick with ambulances, accoutrements of war, &c. The actual scene beggars all description ; so I must in despair relinquish the effort to portray it. The news of the disastrous rout of the Yankee irmy was cried through the streets of New York on he 22nd. The whole city seemed paralysed by fear, l J ind I verily believe that a thousand men could have c y. 18 ON TO RICHMOND ! marched from the Central Park to the Battery with- out resistance, for their depression now was commen- surate with the wild exultation of a few days before. On the afternoon of that day I left New York for Washington, where I arrived at six o'clock in the morning of the 23rd, in a most impatient mood. Even at that early hour friends were awaiting my arrival, anxious to recount the particulars of the glorious victory. A despatch was also received from Manassas by me — ' Our President and our General direct me to thank you. We rely upon you for fur- ther information. The Confederacy owes you a debt. (Signed) Jordon, Adjutant-General' My first im- pulse was to throw myself upon my knees and offer up my tearful thanks to the Father of Mercy for his signal protection in our hour of peril. During my journey from New York the craven fear of the Yankees was manifested everywhere. At Philadelphia most of the women got off. I was advised to do so by Lieutenant Wise, of U. S. A. (son-in-law of Edward Everitt), as he said, ' It was believed that the rebels of Baltimore would rise, in consequence of the rout of the Federal army.' I laughingly replied, ' I have no fears ; these rebels are of my faith. Besides, I fear, even now, I shall not be in time to welcome our President, Mr. Davis, and the ON TO EICHMOND ! 19 glorious Beauregard.' He sneeringly replied, ' that I should probably see those gentlemen there in irons.' I received a scowl also from Mr. Winter Davis, who i was a passenger from New York, and had been loud- i mouthed and denunciatory against the South during j the journey. I observed, however, that he and Lieutenant Wise got off at Philadelphia, deeming ' discretion the better part of valour.' A lame force was distributed throughout Balti- more, and it was even difficult to thread one's way to . the train on account of the military, who crowded the , streets and the depot. Thence to Washington seemed . as one vast camp, and on reaching the Capitol, the 3 very carriage-way was blocked up by its panic-stricken g defenders, who started at the clank of their own muskets. After a hurried toilette and breakfast I went M up to the IT. S. Senate, where I saw the crest-fallen | leaders who, but a few days before, had vowed ' death | and damnation ' to our race. Several crowded round b ,1 me, and I could not help saying that, if they had not isi 'good blood,' they had certainly 'good bottom,' for they ran remarkably well. ]] For days after the wildest disorder reigned in ; the Capitol. The streets were filled with straggling : soldiers, each telling the doleful tale, and each p indulging in imaginary feats of valour, which Vould c 2 20 ON TO RICHMOND ! throw into the shade the achievements of Coenr cle Lion, Amadis de Gaul, or Jack the Giant- killer. Even senators entered into this scramble for stray laurels, for several assured me (Wilson and Chandler) that it was their individual exertions alone which had prevented the entire 'Grand Army' from precipi- tating itself pell-mell into the Potomac ; and they were really indebted to the discretion of a subordi- nate officer, that the alternative had not been forced upon them. A telegraphic order had been sent to Washington by General M'Dowell, to cut the draw of the Long Bridge, ' as Beauregard and Johnson were hotly pursuing him with fresh troops.' This bridge spanned the Potomac just opposite Washing- ton, and was the only means of crossing the river at that point. Crimination, and recrimination, now became the order of the day, and everybody shrank from the responsibility of the forward movement. The com- manding General, Scott, said, ' I did n't do it, for I teas not ready.'' The Political Directory said, ' We did nt do it — it was that old dotard Scott, whom ive will remove.' President Lincoln said, 6 I didn't do it — by jingo, I didn't!' And so, in the end, the world* was about as well informed as to who ON TO RICHMOND! 21 ordered the advance of the Grand Army as 'who killed Cock Kobin.' About this time I met Mr. Seward, who assured me that ' there was nothing serious the matter ; ' that I might assure my friends, upon his authority, that all would be over in sixty days. I answered him, ' Well, sir, you have enjoyed the first-fruits of the " irre- pressible conflict." ' Seward had, a short time prior to his visit to 1 England, in a speech delivered by him at Koch ester, New York, as a bid for the nomination as President by the Kepublican party,, made use of that remarkable expression of the irrepressible conflict between the ' white and black races, indicating, even at that early j day, the policy to which he would commit himself in order to attain the object of his ambition — the Executive chair. At a later period, he endeavoured to explain this away, and in conversation with me said, 'If heaven would forgive him for stringing together two high-sounding words, he would never do it again.' By-and-by things began to quiet down. The hirelings of the Government press exercised their ingenuity in mystifying the people. The count- less hosts of the enemy were described (these, be it known, at no time exceeded twelve thousand 22 OX TO RICHMOND ! actually engaged against the more than quadruple force of the invading army) ; their masked batteries and military defences threw into the shade the plains of Abraham, or even the fortifications of Sebastopol. It would be idle to recount the gasconade of those who fled from imaginary foes, or to describe the forlorn condition of the returning heroes, who had gone forth to battle flushed with anticipated triumph and crowned in advance with the laurel of victory. Alas ! their plight was pitiable enough. Some were described as being minus hat or shoes. Amongst this latter class was Colonel Burnside, who, on the morning that he sallied forth for the ' sacred soil,' is said to have required two orderlies to carry the flowers showered upon him by the women of Northern proclivities. Meanwhile the muttered sound of the people's voice was heard from far and near asking meaning questions of the why and wherefore of the disasters It was like the rumbling of the distant thunder pre saging the coming storm ; and well the Abolition Government knew that, if this discontent was al- lowed to gather strength, it would hurl them from their present lawless eminence to the ignominy they merited. The invaders had been taught to believe that a OX TO RICHMOND ! 23 bloodless victory awaited tliem— that the ' All hail ! ' of the witches of Macbeth would greet them : and . so possessed were they with the idea of their philan- thropic mission as hberators of an oppressed people, ' bowed under the yoke of a haughty aristocracy,' that many of their officers, particularly the famous New York 7th regiment, took far more pains to prepare white gloves and embroidered vests for ' the balls ' to be given in their honour at Eichmond than in securing cartridges for their muskets. When con- suited on the subject I said, ' No doubt they would receive a great many balls, but I did not think that a very recherche toilet would be expected.' The fanatical feeling was now at its height. Mad- dened by defeat, they sought a safe means of vent- ing their pent-up wrath. The streets were filled with armed and unarmed ruffians ; women were afraid to go singly into the streets for fear of insult ; curses and blasphemy rent the ah', and no one would have been surprised at any hour at a general massacre of the peaceful inhabitants. This appre- hension was shared even by the better class of U. S. officers. I was urged to leave the city by more than one, and an escort offered to be furnished me if I desired ; but, at whatever peril, I resolved to remain, conscious of the great service I could 24 on to Richmond! render ray country, rny position giving me remark- able facilities for obtaining information. In anticipation of more fearful scenes, the inha- bitants were leaving the city as rapidly as the means of transportation or conveyance could be obtained, and many even of the Federal officers sent their families to the North or other places of fancied security. 25 CHAPTER m. PANIC AT WASHINGTON. j ATTACK UPON THE PRISONERS — UNITED STATES TROOPS OBLIGED TO PROTECT THEM — MT VISIT TO THE PRISON — MR. COMMISSIONER WOOD — CHARLES SUMNER — DISMEMBEEMENT OP VIRGINIA — AD- MISSION OF SENATORS — REIGN OP TERROR — DETERMINATION TO REMOVE SCOTT — ELEVATION OP M'CLELLAN. A.T this time a number of Confederate prisoners, who had been taken in the first day's fight when our irmy fell back from Bull Eun, were brought to Washington, and on passing Willard's Hotel were set ipon by the crowd who usually congregated there, ind pelted with stones and other missiles, which seriously wounded a number. In order to prevent -he prisoners from being actually torn to . pieces, l company of U. S. regulars had to be called out to protect them to their quarters, the old Capitol prison ; md during the march to that point the soldiers had •epeatedly to threaten to fire upon the mob, who Pressed upon them with shouts and obscene re- ^ilincrs. o'- I 26 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. As soon as I heard of the circumstance, I went up; to the prison to minister to the wants of our sufferers] and found many with severe cuts and bruises. I was accompanied by my friend Miss Mackall, and had tin satisfaction of not only being the first friendly facq seen by them, but to know that I had arrived at the right time ; for I found there an 'emissary of Lincoln — I had like to have said Satan — dressed in black, with a white neckcloth, who I afterwards learnec was Mr. Commissioner Wood, one of the subscribers for Mrs. Lincoln's carriage and horses, and who had received his appointment in consequence thereof. He was with great earnestness haranguing the pri- soners, and trying to persuade them that they woulc all be hanged unless they took the oath of allegiance to the Abolition Government. I listened attentively to the man, who did not seem to relish the addition to his audience ; and afterwards, as rapidly as I could, assured each group of prisoners that this man's threat was idle, and only for the purpose of intimidation, and for some false announcement to the world ; that the Yankees were obliged to treat them as belligerents, and hold them as prisoners of war for exchange ; that our Government would fear- fully retaliate any violence against them, as we helc an excess of prisoners of a hundred to one. This PANIC AT WASHINGTON". 27 satisfied them, especially the younger portion, who "each refused the Yankee pardon on the terms pro- posed. I afterwards took the list of their various '(wants, and, in conjunction with high parties, whom it would be imprudent to name, supplied them with clothing and other needful things, food and beds and bedding inclusive, as the Yankees had made no pro- vision of any kind, save the naked walls of a prison. There was an ample Confederate fund in Washing- : ton for this purpose. Mrs. Philips and family also -exerted themselves in this holy work. This lady was arrested in Washington at the samejV^ time that I was, and after a short detention was sent ^ South. She then became a resident of New Orleans. 3 During the reign of terror of Butler in that city a (Yankee funeral passed her house, and she was seen Ho smile upon her balcony during the procession. "For this grave offence she was dragged before him, \ and questioned as to her motive for doing so, to which she dauntlessly replied, 'Because I was in a good ; humour.' She was condemned to three months' im- prisonment, upon a barren island, under a tropical sun, with soldiers' rations, and subjected to other gross and brutal indignities, until the poor lady's health gave way, and her life became imperilled. The f representations and remonstrances of the medical 28 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. attendant, who was more humane than his master, failed to procure any mitigation of the harsh sen- tence until the period had expired, when she was banished, an invalid for life. In the course of her examination before Butler, he said : ' I expect to be killed before I leave the South, by either you or Mrs. Greenhow ; ' to which she answered, ' We usually order our negroes to kill our swine ! ' Mr. Charles Sumner was said to have been a com- placent looker-on if not an actual participator in that chivalrous demonstration against unarmed prisoners. Mayhap his wrath was appeased by the sight of the bleeding victims, who could hold no correcting rod over his own coward shoulders. A few days after an order was given to exclude all visitors, in which I was specially named. In (^ spite, however, of the prohibition, I had no difficulty in communicating when I desired. Soon after I passed into other hands my share in this good work ; for more important employment occupied my time. The Yankee Government and Yankee Congress were now exercised upon the subject of reorganising their shattered hosts. The military committee was specially charged with the task, and certainly grave efforts were being made to this end, the primary PANIC AT WASHINGTON. 29 object being to mystify the people as to the past, in .order to make them blind instruments in the future ; Jbr it was now truly a nation of subterfuges and fiumbugs. At this time the solemn farce was enacted of ad- mitting as U. S. senators the bogus members from j Western Virginia. I was in the gallery of the Senate it the time, and happened to remark upon the pro- ceedings to my own party, when a man sitting before jne in the uniform of lieutenant-colonel of Yankee /olunteers, in company with a number of other s^x' officers, turned and said, ' That is treason ; we will (show you that it must be put a stop to ; we have a government to maintain,' &c. This was the first .effort of the kind to repress freedom of opinion tadrich had come under my observation, and the oeginning of that reign of terror for which we should be obliged to seek precedents in the age of i Nero or Caligula. Yet I confess that it did not surprise me. I leaned forward and said deliberately, I My remarks were addressed to my companions, and lot to you ; and if I did not discover by your lan- guage that you must be ignorant of all the laws of pod-breeding, I should take the number of your company and report you to your commanding officer o be punished for your impertinence ! ' Seeing me y^ ' 30 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. addressed by him, several gentlemen came forward. as also the door-keeper, who said, ' Madam, if he insults you I will put him out.' To which I replied. k Oh, never mind: he is too ignorant to know what he has done.' This defender of the faithful, mean- while, played most vehemently with his sword, and I expected momentarily to have it drawn against me. His brother officers one by one withdrew, and left him alone in his glory. A few moments after this scene a republican se- nator came up to the gallery to speak w r ith me, and I related the circumstance, and advised him to s^o down to the Senate and move a revival of the alien and sedition law, as I supposed it would come to that, since armed ruffians were placed in the gal- leries to awe the crowd. This ' brave ' bore it as long as possible, and finally got up and went out. I saw this man once more, upon the occasion of my being summoned before the IT. S. commission, after I had been some eight months a prisoner. He was stand- ing in the doorway of the building in which the commission was held, as if he expected to see me ; a look of triumph lighted up his face as his eye encountered mine. I could not resist the tempta- tion of significantly passing my finger across my throat, and saying, ' Beware ! ' — as Balzac's story of PANIC AT WASHINGTON. 31 the poor Marie Antoinette and Joseph Balsamo came to my mind. This was destined to be a day of adventure. Quite an excitement was caused by a rumour that 1 a battle was going on across the river. The Con- federate forces were at that time in possession of 1 Arlington Heights, the former residence of the ve- : nerable Park Custus, the grandson of Washington : from him it had come by inheritance to our own ' great General Lee. I went with my party to the portico of the Congressional Library, whence the best J view could be obtained, and saw the smoke from the 1 camp-fires gracefully curling up, and remarked, ) ' That is no battle. The rebels are cooking their • dinners.' A number of persons had crowded around jiand joined in the conversation. Some one proposed Ho send back to the Senate for Chandler, Wilson, land Foster, the heroic trio who had fled so va- lorously from the field at Manassas, spreading the news of the defeat. I objected on the score of j humanity, as it was not right to give such a shock to their nervous systems, since neither of those sena- tors had been able to stand the fire in their own -pipes since that hapless Gilpin race. { Finally I fell into conversation with a lank lean 'man, with a big nose and a pair of green spec- 'fr^ 32 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. tacles, who asked me if I had ever witnessed a battle. I replied that I had experienced a pro- nunciamento in the city of Mexico. In the course of his remarks he said that he would rather give up Washington than that it should be held by- means of fortifications, but that Lincoln, Seward, and the whole set were cowards, and a great deal more which I considered useful information. I knew that this man was a senator, and fancied that it might be ' Jim Lane ' of Kansas, he whom I have denominated as 'Balaam's Ass.' He said that he had seen me in the gallery of the Senate, and asked what I thought of the proceed- ings. I related the attack on my liberty of speech, and wondered what sort of performance we should be treated to next, whether a tragedy or another farce ; and, I confess, gave a most grotesque account of the speeches during the solemn mockery of the morning, expressing my surprise that more ingenuity had not been displayed to disguise the unconstitutionality of the act, to dismember and defraud a sovereign state of her territorial rights, individualising Trumbull's effort as one for which a schoolboy should have won a 'dunce cap.' I saw a suppressed laugh all around, and that the person to whom I spoke seemed embarrassed, PANIC AT WASHINGTON. 33 and finally fell back and spoke with a gentleman of I my party. This person came tome and said, 'Do you \ know that you have been talking to Senator Trum- bull all this while ? ' I was quite as much amused [: at the contretemps as any of my hearers. But I ! should have considered it a reflection upon my good i taste to have been previously cognisant of the fact, J so assured Senator Trumbull that I had no idea that [ the subject of my criticism was the patient listener d who stood before me — ' But for once in your life you It have heard an honest opinion fearlessly expressed.'; & Abolitionist as he was, I must do him the justice to say that he behaved very well. Humbug still continued the order of the day at : Washington. Another cry was raised that the Ca- l : pitol was again in danger. This time the programme ;was changed. The hero of Lundy's Lane and of e Mexico was to be laid on the shelf, to all purposes • superseded. But he still stood a mighty ruin in f their way, propped by the lingering confidence of a 'nation, and no man was bold enough to say, ' This is not the right man for the place.' Cunning and ; craft were the characteristic qualities called into {requisition here. Seward, with Jesuitical skill, II affected to support the weak old man, wishing to : 3nact the fable of 'the monkey and the chestnuts.' ......... J) , . ' 34 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. But even his selfish policy had to yield to the tempest he had aided to raise. ■ As a preparation for what was to follow, Congress passed an ' act regulating the pay of the Lieutenant-General in case of his resignation' 01 ' voluntary retirement.'' Young America now became the theme of every tongue. The great battles of the world, both in ancienl and modern times, were proved to have been foughl by generals who were adolescent. Cassar, Hannibal and JSapoleon were cited as examples, and even oui own immortal Washington had many years deductec from his actual age when he fought the battles o the revolution. The ears of the rabble were tickled by all this justice was lost sight of; — and so a young chieftah was summoned to the field of intrigue. Nothing remarkable thus far had distinguished him abov< his compeers ; but, touched by the magic wand o political expediency, he came forth full-fledged, witl honours thick upon him. In a single day, fron a subordinate position he became Major-Genera M'Clellan, the virtual head of the dictator's armie — whose policy of bestowing honours in advano differed widely from that of the greatest man o the present times, in the European world — Louis Napoleon, — by whom grades were always conferrec PANIC AT WASHINGTON. 35 after the battle won, as witness Magenta, Solferino, &c. Subsequent to the rout at Manassas, President Lincoln promoted all the officers, many of whom were proved to have fled from the field in advance of their regiments. Again comes into bold relief the sycophancy of President Lincoln's proteges. All the military qualities of any age were unscrupulously purloined, to deck the hero of the hour. By degrees they fixed upon the great Napoleon as his prototype — I suppose from the fact that he is short, and rather inclined to corpulency, as was latterly the ' Little Corporal ; ' and, besides, sycophants are ever ready to discern what pleases best. Under the auspices of the ' Young General,' the military are put in motion ; hither and thither they n are marched, and counter-marched ; mysterious movement being his forte. He, however, set himself energetically to the task of reorganising and disci- plining the demoralised rabble he was called upon to command. General Scott, who at this time was still the nominal commander-in-chief, wrote a letter to the Honourable Henry Wilson, lauding his patriotic ex- ertion, and urging him to accept military command, and commending his capacity for such position in very high terms. By a singular coincidence, M'Clellan x> 2 36 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. urcred the same gentleman ' to do him the honour to accept the position of chief of his staff! ' This propo- sition was made by M'Clellan in the reception-room of President Lincoln. I mention these incidents, to show the political bias of all parties at the time ; that the Abolition star was in the ascendant, and that everybody fawned upon its chosen apostles. M'Clellan also invited the Count de Paris and Duke d'Aumale to become members of his staff. Their acceptance was heralded with great circum- stance, as this infusion of the aristocratic element into the Abolition ranks was regarded as a national triumph. Edifying accounts were given of their in- troduction to President Lincoln, and especially to Master Bob, the Abolition scion of royalty. They were amiable ladylike-looking young Frenchmen, better fitted from their appearance to assist in Mrs. Lincoln's educational scheme (thus treading in the footsteps of their royal ancestor Louis-Philippe, who taught French in Philadelphia) than to win laurels enough to disturb the equanimity of that wise and sagacious Prince whom Providence has appointed to rule over France. A commission of Brigadier-General was also ten- dered to Garibaldi. Meanwhile the panic at Washington, instead of sub- PANIC AT WASHINGTON. 37 siding, received new impulse each day, from some extravagant rumours. A strong guard was stationed around all the public buildings. The redoubtable Jim Lane, of Kansas notoriety, and his band of ruffians, were quartered in the east room of the White House, for the protection of President Lincoln and his family. Sentinels paced to and fro in front of the house, and at six o'clock in the evening the gates were closed, and no one could enter without the countersign. Everything about the national Capitol betokened the panic of the Administration. Preparations were made for the expected attack, and signals arranged to give the alarm. The signal was three guns from the Provost-Marshal's office, followed by the tolling of the church bells at intervals of fifteen minutes. By a singular providence (for it would be wrong to ascribe these things to chance), I went round with the principal officer in charge of this duty, and took advantage of the situation. The alarm-guns of the Yankees were the rallying cry of a devoted band whose hearts beat high with hope. The task before them was worthy of aU hazard, and our gallant Beauregard would have found himself right ably seconded by the rebels of Washington had he deemed it expedient to advance on that city. 38 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. A part of the plan was, to have cut the telegraph wires connecting the various military positions with the War Department, to take prisoners M'Clellan and several others, thereby creating still greater confu- sion in the first moments of panic. Measures had also been taken to spike the guns in Fort Corcoran, Fort Ellsworth, and other important points, accurate drawings of which had been furnished to our com- C manding officer_at Manassas by me. Quite an ingenious plan was adopted at this time to discover if the ' rebel ' communication was unin- terrupted. Young Doolittle, the son of the senator of that name, and clerk of the military committee, who was an occasional and useful visitor at my house, brought me a letter for Colonel Corcoran at Richmond, with the modest request that I would send it. I told him that M'Clellan's excessive vigi- lance had rendered communication almost impos- sible, but that he might leave it and trust to the chance. He called repeatedly to ascertain whether the letter had been sent ; but I understood the motive, and was always very sorry that no oppor- / tunity had occurred. I need hardly say that during this period I was in almost daily correspondence with Manassas. The Capitol, by this, had been made one of the PANIC AT WASHINGTON. 39 strongest fortified cities of the world — every avenue to it being guarded by works believed to be impreg- nable. Thirty-three fortifications surrounded it. But this alone was not deemed sufficient. Extra- ordinary vigilance was exercised ; market-carts and news boys were overhauled, to look for treasonable correspondence — every box was either a masked battery, or infernal machine — but, alas ! without suc- cess, until a sudden inspiration seized them. The Southern women of Washington are the cause of the ) defeat of the grand army ! They are entitled to the laurels won by the brave defenders of our soil and institutions ! They have told Beauregard when to strike ! They, with their siren arts, have possessed themselves of the plans and schemes of the Lincoln Cabinet, and warned Jeff. Davis of them. The most skillful detectives were summoned from far and near, to trace the steps of maids and matrons. For several weeks I had been followed, and my / house watched, by those emissaries of the State De- partment, the detective police. This was often a sub- ject of amusement to me ; and several times, when accompanied by my young friend Miss Mackall, we ) would turn and follow those who we fancied were giving us an undue share of attention. Still I believed it private enterprise, originating with some philanthro- 40 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. pist who had my well-being at heart ; for I was slow to credit that even the fragment of a once glorious Government could give to the world such a proof of craven fear and weakness as to turn the arms, which the blind confidence of a deluded people had placed; in their hands, for the achievement of other ends, against the breasts of helpless defenceless women and children. Nevertheless it is a fact, significant of events to follow. Lawless acts of violence seldom stand alone ; and the careful readers of the history of the last two hundred years will find numerous parallel cases. No nation on the face of the globe has made such rapid strides to despotism as the Federal Govern- ment. The first acts of the Eepublican President were to violate the express provisions of the Consti- tution : those safeguards provided by the wisdom of our fathers for the protection of the rights of the citizen have been suspended, under the plea of military necessity. The law of the land has given place to the law of the despot. The first act of the Eepublican Congress assem- bled in this city of Washington on the 4th day of July, 1861, was to legalise the acts of their President, thereby admitting that he, the chief magistrate of the nation, had been guilty of perjury and treason PANIC AT WASHINGTON. 41 ' before God and man ; for his oath of office had been, to support the Constitution of the United States, and to administer the laws in accordance with its pro- i visions. But instead of being impeached for his I crimes, he was eulogised, and unlimited powers were conferred upon him. A few voices were raised in protest in both houses of Congress. Breckenridge made a speech on the i occasion which must transmit his name with undying ' honour to posterity ; for it was the last cry of free- i dom ever to be heard in those walls, until they shall have been purged by fire and blood. No voice of inspiration is needed to point where this nation is drifting. The crimes which have dis- graced other lands, from the contemplation of which - humanity shrinks appalled, will yet be enacted here. A people do not sink at once from the height of • prosperity, and power, and civilisation, to the lowest abyss of lawless despotism, without some spasmodic attempts at counteraction. But the systematic efforts at demoralisation will soon be apparent : the public taste will become vitiated ; the voice of con- science will be smothered by the craving for excite- ment ; fanaticism will assume the guise of patriotism, }and under that sacred name the rights of civilisation J will be trampled under foot. 42 PANIC AT WASHINGTON. The guillotine was a most humane invention ; but] in the hands of a lawless mob became a fearful in- strument of vengeance, and has damned to immor- tality its harmless inventor, who also perished by it. Mr. Lincoln and his Minister of State, Mr. Seward, have set at work the social guillotine ; and I am but} a poor prophet unless, in its evolutions, they also, become the victims ; for they have inaugurated a mighty revolution, the bitter fruits, of which will be brought home to them. It was the intention of the Abolitionists to arrest Breckenridge for treason immediately on the con- clusion of his speech, had he afforded the slightest pretext for doing so. Several of the prominent; leaders had told me, ' that they had committed a blunder in ever having allowed him to take his seat.', I warned Mr. Breckenridge of his danger, and gave him the names of the parties who had spoken thus to me. He at once recognised his peril, and so re-worded his speech as to avoid the threatened danger, at which the Abolitionists were greatly chagrined. Charles Sumner was anxious that a test-oath should be applied to those senators who were considered ol doubtful loyalty to the Lincolnites, as had been already done to officers of the army; Colonel John PANIC AT WASHINGTON". 43 'jee having the unenviable notoriety of being the rst Southern-born officer who subscribed to this •'ath of allegiance to the tyrant. It must not be supposed that the social element -as neglected in these times of stern alarm. Mr. Reward was too new in his character of diplomatist J) disregard so important a concomitant of success. le had recently returned from Europe — had basked h the smiles of Lord John Eussell and the Exeter [all clique — and had been taught by a charming iplomatic lady that a white neck-cloth was alone \i>mme il faut at a dinner or evening party. So he liok the Club House, made memorable in Washing- t>n on account of its proximity to the scene of that jarful Sickels tragedy, and commenced a series of atertainments, which were attended by a vast crowd P ? men in uniforms, and a sparse sprinkling of women, ^'ho, with few exceptions, were not of a class to shed iuch lustre on the Eepublican Court ; for the re- piement and grace which had once constituted the ;{;iarm of Washington life had long since departed, lid, like its former freedom, was now, alas ! a Jadition only. elow Stairs' being enacted at the White House. [idrs. Lincoln, disregarding, or more probably being ignorant of, the conventional usages which have from iime immemorial regulated the etiquette at the i Presidential mansion, created much amusement and tadiculous comment upon the first public occasion ifter the assumption of her new dignity in the •eception of the ladies of the diplomatic corps. The custom at Washington is precisely similar jio that practised at all other courts, that, as soon iilifter the installation of a new chief as is practicable, he representatives of foreign nations accredited i;o the Government should be formally introduced by he Secretary of State, and a complimentary address {delivered in their behalf by the doyen, or oldest unember of the diplomatic body, which is answered py the President — all being arranged beforehand, ven to the exchange of the addresses. In like manner the ladies of the diplomatic corps, after due notification, are presented to the feminine epresentative of the White House. This ceremony is always regarded as one of 48 THE XEW EEGIME. importance, second only to a presentation at St James's or St. Cloud. The ladies in question, aftei due notification, presented themselves en gtandi tenue at the White House, where they were ushered very unceremoniously into one of the reception- rooms, and left in a most uncomfortable state ol uncertainty as to the next step in the programme; After some time, and when speculation had well nigh exhausted itself, a young woman, dressed in a pink wrapper and tucked petticoat, came bounding in not making, however, the slightest recognition of thcl presence of the distinguished visitors assembled, but stood balancing herself first on one foot and then the other, surveying them meanwhile with a most non- chalant air, and after having gratified her curiosit\ withdrew with as little ceremony as she had entered. The surprised enquiry of the stranger ladies, ' Is this Mrs. Lincoln ? ' had scarcely subsided, when a smal dowdy-looking woman, with artificial flowers in hei hair, appeared. The first idea was that she was ; servant sent to make excuses for the singular dela\ of Mrs. Lincoln. But she approached and addressee herself in conversation to the wife of a secretary o: legation, and it gradually dawned upon the part) that this was the feminine representative of the Black Republican Eoyalty, and they made the best of the THE NEW REGIME. 49 j awkward situation. Mrs. Lincoln herself, however, ,not seeming to be aware that everything was not * conducted in the most orthodox fashion, had in- structed a little lady to inform Mine. Mercier that she was studying French, and would by winter be able to converse with her in that language. By this ,she has probably discovered that there is no ' royal I road to learning.' I had a most graphic description of this scene from more than one of the victims of this first Ee- publican Court ceremony, and only wish that I could give the picture with all its nicer touches. The young lady in the tucked petticoat was a niece of Mrs. Lincoln. j Owing to the fact of Mr. Seward being master of [the ceremonies, Mr. Lincoln was a little less bizarre in jhis ministerial reception. But at the dinner given [in honour of the occasion, when the different wines were served, and he was asked which he would take, lie turned to the servant with most touching sim- plicity and said : ' I don't know : which would you?' This anecdote is as well authenticated as the spilling of the cup of tea on Mrs. Masham's gown. A distinguished diplomatist, in discussing the merits of the illustrious pair, said : ' He is better than E 50 THE NEW REGIME. she, for lie seems by his manner to apologise foi being there.' President Harrison is said on his death-bed to have instructed the barber who shaved him, to carry oui the provisions of the Constitution ; and Presideni Lincoln, much to the chagrin of his constitutions advisers, was in the habit of discussing matters o: equal importance with his servants, or ' helps,' as In termed them. Mrs. Lincoln asserted with great energy her righ to a share of the distribution of the Executive patron age. She had received as a present, from a mai named Lammon, a magnificent carriage and horses promising him in return the marshalship of the dis trict of Columbia, one of the most lucrative offices ii the gift of the Executive. Mr. Lincoln had, however, determined to bestov the office upon another applicant, who had also pai< his douceur, and who was in attendance, waiting to receive the commission which was being mad< out. Mrs. Lincoln came into the President's office asked what commission it was that he was signing and on being told, seized it from his hands, tore it ii pieces, saying that she had promised it to 'Lammon. and he should have it, else her name was not ' Mar Lincoln.' THE NEW EEGIME. 51 1 Lammon of course received the commission, and i the discomfited applicant reported this conjugal ' scene ; and from that hour commenced the system ii of votive offerings at the shrine of Mrs. Lincoln. i It had been a custom at Washington to distribute i the hay and grass, cut from the public grounds, to I the poor and meritorious population of the city. '] It was a cheap and graceful charity on the part of the Government, duly appreciated by the recipients ; f for, thus aided, many a poor widow was enabled to ft buy bread for her children, from the proceeds of milk from her cow. Mrs. Lincoln put a stop to this praiseworthy custom, and claimed it as one of her perquisites. Commonplace and vulgar as these incidents may seem, they are, however, useful illustrations of the practical application of William M. Marcy's famous i aphorism, ' To the victors belong the spoils.' The it anecdotes of Queen Christina of Sweden present more clearly the character and degree of civilisation i 1 of the people over whom she reigned than any ; laboured historical effort could have done ; and i no one would dream of describing a royal banquet ': amongst the Fejee islanders and omit the cold bishop ■ j on the side-table. E 2 52 DAYS OP TKIAL. CHAPTER IV. DAYS OF TKIAL. MY ARREST — SEARCH AND OCCUPATION OF MY HOUSE EXAMINATION OF MY PAPERS — MISS MACEAXL — MR. CALHOUN - — DESTRUCTION OF MY CIPHER — FEMALE DETECTIVE — SEARCH OF MY PERSON — RESOLUTION TO FERE THE HOUSE — ARREST OF CASUAL VISITORS — INEBRIATION OF THE GUARD — OUTRAGE — TACTICS OF MY GAOLERS — ANDREW J. PORTER. The digression in the last chapter has drawn me from my purpose of telling how I became a prisoner of State. September the 6th was the first time since that eventful period that I had had access to pen and paper — all writing-materials having been hitherto withheld from me by order of the heads of the War and State Departments ; and, as I knew not at what hour the act of grace might be rescinded, I felt inclined to make the most of it. As I have said, on Friday, August 23, 1861, as I was entering my own door, on returning from a pro- menade, I was arrested by two men, one hi citizen's dress, and the other in the fatigue dress of an officer DAYS OF TRIAL. 53 ox the United States Army. This latter was called Major Allen, and was the chief of the detective police of the city. They followed close upon my footsteps. I had stopped to enquire after the sick children of one of my neighbours, on the opposite side of the street. From several persons on the side-walk at the time, en jjassant, I derived some valuable informa- tion ; amongst other things, it was told me that ia guard had been stationed around my house throughout the night, and that I had been followed during my promenade, and had probably been j allowed to pursue it unmolested, from the fact that a n distinguished member of the diplomatic corps had joined me, and accompanied me to that point. This j caused me to observe more closely the two men who (had followed, and who walked with an air of t conscious authority past my house to the end of the c pavement, where they stood surveying me. I continued my conversation apparently without ]• noticing them, remarking rapidly to one of our humble agents who passed, ' Those men will probably [ arrest me. Wait at Corcoran's Corner, and see. If I .raise my handkerchief to my face, give information of it.' The person to whom this order was given went whistling along. I then put a very important 54 DAYS OF TRIAL. note into my month, which I destroyed ; and turned, and walked leisurely across the street, and ascended my own steps. A few moments after, and before I could open the door, the two men above described rapidly ascended also, and asked, with some confusion of manner, 'Is this Mrs. Greenhow ? ' I answered, ' Yes.' They still hesitated ; whereupon I said, ' Who are you, and what do you want ? ' 'I come to arrest you.' ' By what authority ? ' The man Allen, or Pinkerton (for he had several aliases), said, ' By sufficient authority.' ' Let me see your warrant.' He mumbled something about verbal authority from the "War and State De- partments, and then both stationed themselves upon either side of me, and followed into the house. I rapidly glanced my eye to see that my signal had been understood, and remarked quietly, ' I have no power to resist you ; but, had I been inside of my house, I would have killed one of you before I had submitted to tins illegal process.' They replied, with evident trepidation, ' That would have been wrong, as we only obey orders, and both have families.' This scene occurred in much less time than is requisite to describe it. I took a rapid survey of the two men, and in that instant decided upon my own line of conduct ; for I knew that the fate of some DAYS OF TKIAL. 55 ,)f the best and bravest belonging to our cause hung rpon my own coolness and courage. By this the house had become filled with men ; who ilso surrounded it outside, like bees from a hive. The calmness of desperation was upon me, for I recog- lised this as the first step in that system of infamy vhich was yet to hold up this nation of isms to the corn of the civilised world. This was the first act >f the new copartnership of Seward, M'Clellan, & Co., j — the strategic step, on coming into power, of the '■oung general so lauded — an attack upon women aid children, and a brilliant earnest of the laurels o be won on his march to Eichmond. I asked, after a few moments' survey of the scene, What are you going to do ? ' ' To search,' Allen re- plied. i I will facilitate your labours ;' and, going to the nantel, I took from a vase a paper, dated Manassas, uly 23, containing these words — 'Lt.-Col. Jordon's :omphments to Mrs. E. Greenhow. Well, but hard- forked ' — the rest of the letter being torn off before t reached me, some ten days before, through the city )Ost-office. I suspected its delicate mission, so kept t, from an instinct of caution, and had shown it to '^lajor Bache, of U. S. A., Captain Eichard Cutts, *Vilson, of Massachusetts, and several others. I hrew it to Allen, saying, ' You would like to finish 56 DATS OF TRIAL. this job, I suppose ? ' He took it, discarding, how- ever, the city envelope in which I had received it. My cool and indifferent manner evidently discon- certed the whole party. They had expected that, under the influence of the agitation and excitement of the trying position, I should have been guilty oi some womanly indiscretion by which they could profit. An hidiscriminate search now commenced through | out my house. Men rushed with frantic haste into my chamber, into every sanctuary. My beds, drawers, and wardrobes were all upturned ; soiled clothes were pounced upon with avidity, and merci lessly exposed ; papers that had not seen the light for years were dragged forth. My library was taken possession of, and every scrap of paper, every idle line was seized ; even the torn fragments in the grates or other receptacles were carefully gathered together by these latter-day Lincoln resurrectionists. My library, be it remembered, was my sanctum ; it was there also that I gave lessons to my children, many of whose unlettered scribblings were tortured into dangerous correspondence with the enemy. I was a keen observer of their clumsy activity, and resolved to test the truth of the old saying that i the devil is no match for a clever woman ! ' I was DAYS OF TKIAL. 57 fully advised that this extraordinary proceeding might take place, and was not to be caught at a dis- advantage. ,1 I had received a note a few days before, stating that one of M'Clellan's aides had informed a lady in * George Town that I was to be arrested, also that the name of the Honourable William Preston, U. S. Minis- ter Plenipotentiary to Spain, who was at that time in ■.Washington, stood in the proscribed list. He was .warned by me in time to effect Iris escape. i Meanwhile I was a prisoner in one of my own nparlonrs, not allowed to move, with stern eyes fixed ^ upon my face, to read certainly what they did not i find ; for, although agonising anxieties filled my soul, I was apparently careless and sarcastic, and, I ^know, tantahsing in the extreme. My servants were subjected to the same surveillance, and were not allowed to approach me. Every effort was made to keep my arrest a secret. :My house externally was quiet as usual ; three sides .of it, being surrounded by a high wall, screened the •[guard from observation. It was considered the head- quarters of the Secessionists, and I being regarded as '.the head of the conspirators at Washington, a rich j jhaul was anticipated. They reckoned without their -host this time. 58 DATS OF TEIAL. In despite of all their wisely taken precautions, the news of my arrest rapidly spread. At eleven o'clock I was taken prisoner — at about three o'clock my young friend Miss Mackall, and her sister, came to make enquiries ; she had heard it in the city. As she entered she was rudely seized by the detective, who stood concealed behind the door, and pushed forward, as was also her sister. They were terrified at the siorht of the rude lawless men who o were in possession of my once peaceful quiet home. The dear, brave-hearted girl put her head on my shoulder and wept, for she said, ' I did not know what they had done with you.' I whispered, ' Oh, be courageous, for we must outwit these fiends.' But before I had succeeded in completely reassuring her, the detective called Captain Dennis approached, and in a loud authoritative voice demanded her name and residence, as well as that of her sister. We were all, after this; ordered to return to the back parlour, under escort of this Captain Dennis, whose duty for the time was to watch me. The work of examining my papers had already commenced. It was indeed a hard struggle to remain a quiet spectator of this proceeding, but I nevertheless nerved myself to the task, as my object was to throw the detectives off their guard. I had DAYS OF TEIAL. 59 10 fear of consequences from the papers which had is yet fallen into their hands. I had a right to my own political opinions, and to discuss the question at ssue, and never shrank from the avowal of my sen- irnents. I am a Southern woman, born with revo- utionary blood in my veins, and my first crude ideas >n State and Federal matters received consistency md shape from the best and wisest man of this :entury, John C. Calhoun. These ideas have been trengthened and matured by reading and observa- tion. Freedom of speech and of thought were my '•irthrights, guaranteed by our charter of liberty, he Constitution of the United States, and signed and ealed by the blood of our fathers. Mr. Calhoun had been the intimate friend of my ) tusband, and often our guest, having remained everal months at a time with us during his sena- torial sojourn at Washington. For many years, I had been honoured by a cor- espondence with him, and it was my privilege to it by his bedside and minister to his wants during uis last illness, and to treasure in my heart his words if wisdom ; and when he died, I followed his remains, ! s one of his children, to his last resting-place — the senatorial Committee of Arrangements, of which our ionoured Commissioner to England, Mr. Mason, 60 DATS OF TRIAL. was one, having assigned me that position in th solemn pageant. Mr. Webster walked by my sid as we turned from the tomb, and, with tears tricklim down his face, made use of these words : ' One c earth's princes hath departed — the purest, best, am greatest man I ever knew ! He was a Eoma senator when Eome was.' The same expression h had used in his eloquent oration of the mornim Mr. Clay, in his eulogy upon him in the Senate a, the same time, said, ' He was my senior in everythin but years.' After the examination of my papers by Seymoui the most respectable and the only educated ma amongst those detectives, he said, ' Well, madan you have no reason to feel anything but pride an satisfaction at the ordeal you have gone ' througl for there is not a line amongst your papers that doc not do you honour. It is the most extensive privat correspondence that has ever fallen under my e^ amination, and the most interesting and important there is not a distinguished name in America that not found here. There is nothing that can com under the charge of treason, but enough to mak the Government dread and hold you as a mo dangerous adversary.' But to return to the sad relation of my wrong DAYS OP TRIAL. 61 1 The search still went on. I desired to go to my \ chamber, and was told that a woman was sent for 1 to accompany me. It did not even then flash upon 1 my mind that my person was to be searched. I was, however, all the more anxious to be free from the sight of my captors for a few moments ; so, feigning the pretext of change of dress, &c, as the •day was intensely hot, after great difficulty, and ; thanks to the slow movements of these agents of [l evil, I was allowed to go to my chamber, and then resolved to accomplish the destruction of some 1 important papers which I had in my pocket, even ) at the expense of life. (The papers were my cipher, •with which I corresponded with my friends at Manassas, and others of equal importance.) Hap- pily I succeeded without such a fearful sacrifice. The detective Dennis little dreamed that a few paces only stood between him and eternity. He -rapped at my door, calling ' Madam ! madam ! ' and afterwards opened it, but seeing me apparently legitimately employed, he withdrew. Had he ad- v fcvanced one step, I should have killed him, as I iraised my revolver with that intent ; and so steady were my nerves, that I could have balanced a glass of water on my finger without spilling a drop. Shortly after the female detective arrived. I blush \ 62 DAYS OF TRIAL. that the name and character of woman should be prostituted. But she was certainly not above hcj honourable calling. Her image is daguerreotyp on my mind, and as it is an ugly picture, I wou willingly obliterate it. As is usual with fema employed in this way, she was decently arrayed, if to impress me with her respectability. Her fa reminded me of one of those india-rubber dol whose expression is made by squeezing it, wil weak grey eyes which had a faculty of weepin Like all the detectives, she had only a Christi; name, Ellen. I began to think that the who foundling hospital had been let loose for r benefit. Well, I was ushered into my chamber, a detecti standing on guard outside of the door to receive tl important documents believed to be secreted on n person — nothing less, I suppose, than a commissi of Brigadier-General from President Davis, upc the principle that, whereas President Lincoln h conferred that distinguished grade upon many w deserved to be old women, President Davis hi with characteristic acuteness, discovered qualities a woman equally entitled to reward. I was allowed the poor privilege of unfasteni my own garments, which, one by one, were receiv DATS OF TEIAL. 63 by this pseudo-woman and carefully examined, until I stood in my linen. After this, I was permitted to resume them, with the detectress as my tire-woman. During all this time, I was cool and self-possessed. I had resolved to go through the trying ordeal with as little triumph to my persecutors as possible. I had already taken the resolution to fire the house from garret to cellar, if I did not succeed in de- stroying certain papers in the course of the ap- proaching night ; for I had no hope that they would escape a second day's search. My manner was there- fore assumed to cover my intentions. I was also sustained by the conscious rectitude of my purpose, and the high and holy cause to which I had de- voted my life. I felt that a people struggling to maintain their rights and to transmit unimpaired to their children the glorious heritage of revolutionary i i fathers, was under the protection of that Divine overruling Providence, which could carry me un- scathed across the burning plough-shares spread A for my destruction. With this conviction in my m soul, I resigned myself to the law of the strongest, for I knew not what further trials were in store for me. aii The orders were to entrap everybody who called ; 1Vl at my house. Miss Mackall and her sister were ) 64 DAYS OF TRIAL. already in durance. Mrs. Mackall, who came in pur suit of her children, was seized and detained, as also several other casual visitors. I know not, in fact how many were taken into custody, for, as the evening advanced, I was ordered upstairs, accom- panied by my friends, a heavy guard of detectives being stationed in the rooms with us. A little later I had reason to regard it as a signal act of Divine mercy that those friends were sent me As I have said, it was believed that all the Secession- ists in the city were in communication with me, so everyone who called, black or white, was viewed as aE emissary ; a former man-servant of mine, and his sister, in passing the house, were made prisoners, The man was confined below stairs, and the youm girl taken into the parlour, with only those bruta men as her companions. I was not aware of her beina in the house until startled by a smothered scream. M3 first idea was that some insult had been offered t<^ my maid, but, being satisfied on that point, I tried t( believe that my sense of hearing had deceived me Still, I could not divest myself of the horrible fear and after a while succeeded in sending some on down. The girl was found in a state of great alarm from the rudeness to which she had been exposed and was sent below to her brother ; and I now begai DAYS OF TKIAL. 65 fully to realise the dark and gloomy perils wliicli environed me. The chiefs of the detectives having gone out, several of the subordinates left in charge now pos- sessed themselves of rum and brandy, which aided m developing their brutal instincts ; and they even boasted, in my hearing, of the '•nice times' 1 they 'expected to have with the female prisoners. - As every evil is said to be checkmated by some ^corresponding good, I was enabled by this means to \ 'destroy every paper of consequence. I had placed i&hem where they could be found by me at any hour of -the day or night, and was not slow to avail myself of ?:he state of inebriation in which the guards were plunged. Stealing noiselessly to the library in the 'dark, I mounted up to the topmost shelf, took from [t;he leaves of a dusty folio papers of immense value ' jio me at that moment, concealing them in the p bids of my dress, and returned to my position on the jOecl without my gaolers having' missed me. The (papers were much more numerous than I imagined, Hind the difficulty was how to dispose of them. L'The chance of my friends being searched on going tf)ut (as they were assured they should do) at three i 'tl'clock, made me hesitate as to that method. I \ remembered, however, that, in the search of my F 66 DAYS OF TRIAL. person in the morning, my boots and stockings had not been removed ; so Miss Mackall concealed the papers in her stockings and boots. This pro- ceeding of course occupied some time, but it wae noiselessly accomplished in the presence of the guard. It was agreed between Miss Mackall and myself, that if, after leaving my room, she learned that her person would be searched, she should be seized with compunction at leaving me, and return to share the honours of the conflagration. It is proper here to state that the mother of Mis.s Mackall was not cognisant of this, or any other cir- cumstance calculated to have involved her in the difficulties surroundino; me. The guard, meanwhile, all unconsciously continued, their conversation, which, under the influence of thq ardent spirits they had imbibed, became heated and angry. I exerted myself to promote the discussion, and arrayed their different nationalities one against the other — they were English, German, Irish, and Yankee.* I reasoned that so unusual a circumstance as men * Two of the most insolent of these men — an Englishman namec Lewis, and an Irishman named Scully — were, some time after apprehended in Eichmond as spies, and condemned to death. Oi my arrival there they wrote to me to petition my intervention id their behalf. DAYS OF TRIAL. 67 wrangling in my house would warn my friends of the existence of an extraordinary state of things. It 'was a clear moonlight night, and fear, like death, had hushed every sound in that section of the city. It was a judicious conclusion, as I subsequently learned. I must here record a circumstance which will 2ro 'far to prove that a certain gentleman in black does 1 not always take care of his own. The chief detective, Allen, having gone out on some other errand of mis- chief, on returning about nine o'clock encountered [,a gentleman who was at that time Provost-Marshal J of the city, and who was about to call to make a visit at my house. Allen, being ignorant of or dis- regarding his official position, attempted to arrest him. He ran, pursued by Allen, until he reached the Provost's quarters, when, ordering out his guard, 'he arrested Allen, and held him in close confinement until the next morning, regardless of his oaths, or %is prayers to be allowed to send a message to Lincoln, or Seward, or M'Clellan. By these indirect 'means Providence seems to have watched over and iverted destruction from me. Between the hours of three and four, on the norning of the 24th, my friends were permitted to depart, under escort of a detective guard, who were r 2 68 DAYS OF TRIAL. stationed around their houses for the following day. After this I was allowed to snatch a few hours of repose, much needed after the mental and bodily fatigue of that most trying day. But I must also state that the two doors leading into my chamber were kept open, with a guard stationed inside of each. On the morning of the 24th, at about eleven o'clock, my friend Miss Mackall, much to the sur- prise of the Yankee detective police, returned, and for several weeks shared my imprisonment. For seven days my house remained in charge of the detective police, the search continuing through- out all that time, as also the examination of my papers and correspondence. The books in the library were all taken down and examined leaf by leaf. There would have been some wisdom in this the first day. Several large boxes, containing books, china, and glass, which had been packed for several \ months, were subjected to the like ordeal. Finally, portions of the furniture were taken apart, and even the pictures on the walls received their share of attention also. My beds even were upturned many times, as some new idea would seize them. I now watched their clumsy proceedings free DAYS OF TRIAL. 69 .from anxiety, as I had, under their own eyes, sent off or destroyed all my papers of value. t The search still went on. My powers of observation f became quickened to a degree which would have tmade me a valuable auxiliary to the honourable fbody, to whose care the Abolition Government had 1 confided the lives and honour of helpless women and children. f Seemingly I was treated with deference. Once -only were violent hands put upon my person — the 1 detective, Captain Dennis, having rudely seized me to ! prevent my giving warning to a lady and gentleman, W the first evening of my arrest (which I, however, succeeded in doing), and as the birds escaped his -snare, his rage grew beyond bounds, and he seized -me with the spring of a tiger, and crushed my poor 'arm, which long bore the marks of the brutal out- rage. The story of the hapless Queen of Scots was oaost feelingly called to my recollection. A strong effort was afterwards made to drive this from my mind, as if aught but the life's blood of the dastard xnrid efface it. My orders were asked for my meals, which I aumoured as one of the necessities of my situation. But Lily and I were like the Siamese twins, insepa- rable. My pistol had been taken from me, and I 70 DAYS OF TRIAL. had no means of defence, and for the first time in my life I was exposed to the dread of personal violence. I had, however, the satisfaction, after a few days, of perceiving that even my lawless captors were rebuked into more quiet and reserve before me, although they still presumed to seat themselves at table with me, with unwashed hands, and shirt-sleeves. The tactics of my gaolers changed many times. Occasionally, it seemed that my confinement was only nominal ; all this, of course, was to throw me off my guard. The subordinates threw themselves in my way, as if disgusted with the task assigned them, and, with hearts overflowing with kindness^ and hands ready to be bribed, discoursed most fluently upon the outrage committed in my arrest. Two deserve especial notice. One was a burly Irishman, with smooth tongue, professing the religion of my ancestors, that of the Holy Catholic faith. He marvelled that so noble a lady should have been treated as a common malefactor ; and, by way of still further showing his sympathy, he set himself to the task of making love to my maid, hoping by this means to possess himself of the important State secrets of which he believed her to be the repository. Sentimental walks, and treats at confectionaries at Uncle Sam's expense, were a part of the programme. DAYS OF TRIAL. 71 She, Lizzy Fitzgerald, a quick-witted Irish girl, warmly attached to me as a kind mistress, and know- ing nothing which the severest scrutiny could elicit Uo my disadvantage, entered keenly into the sport, and, to use her own expressive words, ' led Pat a I dance,' and, under these new auspices, performed some very important missions for me. 1 The other, a canny Scotchman, whom they called i Robert, expatiated, with tears in his eyes, upon i the ^sublime fortitude' I had exhibited on this my moral gridiron ; and, seeking still further to commemorate :!the meek and lowly grace with which I had borne * myself, asked me to present him with M'Clellan's [report on the Crimea, with my autograph, for, he said, ' Madam,' choked with emotion, ' there is no telling what may happen ; and I would like to look iat your name, and know that you had forgiven me.' His manner was touchingly pathetic, and very like i what I should suppose Jack Ketch's to be, on asking (for the black cap after all was over. These two men offered to take letters for me. I learned, incidentally, that the Provost-Marshal's ; office was kept on the qui vive by the daily report of fthese proceedings, from which important results were (expected to be derived. During all this time I was never alone for a moment. 72 DAYS OF TRIAL. Wherever I went a detective followed me. If I wished to he down, he was seated a few paces from my bed. If I desired to change my dress, or any- thing else, it was obliged to be done with open doors, and a man peering in at me. That every sense of delicacy recoiled from this indecent exposure may well be imagined. But, alas ! I had no alter- native but to submit, for, when I remonstrated with the detective, Captain Dennis, I was met by the answer that it was the order of the "Provost-Marshal, and that I was indebted to him that more disgusting severity had not been enforced. General Mansfield had been superseded in the position of Provost-Marshal of the district of Colum- bia by Brigadier Andrew J. Porter, who was far more congenial, in his character and acquirements, with the Satrap and his minions, and not likely to entertain any conscientious scruples in the per- formance of any duty which might be assigned to him ; and who seemed to have been equally fortunate in the selection of his own principal police-officer, Captain Averil, of the U.S.A., whose genius certainly lay in his new line of duty. He was ever on the alert to discover some new persecution for the unfor- tunates within his power, in order to testify his zeal and fidelity. 73 CHAPTEE V. REIGN OF TERROR. ABOLITION EFFORT TO POISON PRESIDENT BUCHANAN — DE- STRUCTION OF MY PAPERS — REWARD FOR MY CIPHER — IN- TERCEPTING DESPATCHES — MR. SEWARD — PERSONAL DANGER — MR. DAYIS — EFFORT TO BRIBE ME — GENERAL BUTLER — YANKEE PUBLICATIONS — OTHER PRISONERS — SPOLIATION — DE- TECTIVE POLICE GIVE PLACE TO MILITARY GUARDS — MISS MACKALL — ILLNESS OF MY CHILD — DR. STEWART — PRISON I LIFE — THE SPY APPLEGATE — MR. STANTON — JUDGE BLACK AND R. J. WALKER — FOUL OUTRAGE — YANKEE POLICY — PETTY ANNOYANCES. Meanwhile, ray private papers and letters were (Still under the process of examination, and were divided off into parcels, marked ' highly important,' ' political,' ' legal,' &c. according to the perceptive faculty of the examining parties, and borne off to the LiWar Department. There was one paper amongst them which I ven- ture to assert will never be brought to light. It was a full and detailed account, so far as could be col- lected, of the appalling attempt of the Abolition party to poison President Buchanan, and the chiefs 74 REIGN OF TERROR. of the Democratic party, in Washington, at the Na tional Hotel, a few days prior to the inauguration of President Buchanan. This diabolical scheme was very near accomplish- ment, so far as regarded the life of President Buchanan, who was for a long time in a very critical condition, and it was only by the use of powerful stimulants that his constitution rallied from the effects of the poison. He told me that often during the day at this time he was obliged to drink several tumblers of unadulterated brandy, to keep himselt from entire physical exhaustion. This created great commotion in Washington, and various efforts were made to account for it in a natural way. One story was, that the rats, which were very troublesome, had been poisoned, and that they had fallen into the tanks which supplied the' hotel with water. But the corporate authorities took the matter in hand, and instituted a very thorough 1 examination ; the tanks were all emptied of water; and no rats could be found ; the sewers under and leading through the town were also opened, to see if any poisonous exhalations could come from them ; and the corporation reported that there was no local cause for the epidemic. Every- body fled from the plague-stricken spot; and the REIGN OF TERROR. 75 hotel, which was one of the largest in the city, /was closed. At the same time, information of a very important character came to the knowledge of the authorities. fjA druggist of Philadelphia wrote to the Attorney- General (Caleb dishing), at Washington, that, in his absence, an order had been received and filled by {One of his subordinates for thirty pounds of 3 arsenic, to be sent to Washington ; that so unusual a quantity had excited his alarm; that, upon further enquiry, he learned that the express charge had been prepaid at Philadelphia for its transportation, which was likewise unusual. It was also found that the package had reached Washington by Adams & Co. ? s Express, and had been called for and received by some unknown party. To show the pertinacity with j which the plot was followed up, Congress had made an appropriation for a Major-Domo of the White JHouse, with a salary of $1,200. The person who ■jihad charge of Mr. Buchanan's rooms at the National was the applicant for the post, and was on the eve of receiving the appointment, when a gentleman from LNew York, arrived in post haste, in the night, roused up the private secretary of the President, and gave him information of importance. The applicant for the place of Major-Domo of the White House, 76 REIGX OF TERROR. after tins, did not again present himself, but disap- peared from the city. Judge Black, the Attorney-General of the United States, under Mr. Buchanan, whose statements cor- roborated the above information, told me also that he had obtained a clue to the whole plot, but that Mr. Buchanan would not allow the affair to be pursued, because of the startling facts it would lay open to the world, and that he shrank from the terrible exposure. I considered it a great weakness on his part to have forbidden the investigation, as it might have averted the John Brown raid, and many other acts of the ' Irrepressible Conflict ' party. Between fifty and sixty persons fell victims to this wholesale poisoning experiment. A very large sum had been offered for my cipher. This extraordinary sum had stimulated the zeal of the employes of the Government to a very remarkable degree. I had, of course, too much control over myself to afford any indication of my knowledge of what they were seeking, but affected ignorance and unconcern. The tables were filled with fragments of old letters, and scraps in cipher, in several languages, from early morn till late at night. For seven days REIGN OF TERROR. 77 ,;hey puzzled over them. I had no fear. One by >ne they had allowed the clue to escape them, and ibr what remained Champollion himself would have required a key. Only once was I frightened. Miss iVEackall, who, like myself, was always on the alert, abstracted from a heap of papers a sheet of blotting- j)aper, upon which w_as__the whole of my despatch to /Manassas on July 16 — another evidence that Pro- vidence watched over me as an humble instrument a a glorious cause. ] I was at this time kept perfectly well posted with egard to matters outside, and sometimes received valuable information through the inadvertent con- versation of my gaolers. I had been already notified hat several of my despatches had been betrayed ito Seward's hands by a spy of the name of Lpplegate ; that a Cabinet Council had been onvened, assisted by Scott and M'Clellan ; and that 3veral Eepublican officials had been summoned, mongst the number Wilson of Massachusetts, as ^:eing implicated by my information. The despatches reatecl consternation. The whole Abolition Govern- lent were at this time shaking with fear of the pdvance of our glorious army, and their children ere even hushed to sleep with the cry, ' Jeff. Davis coming.' 78 EEIGN OF TEEE0E. I had deemed it important that the political intrigues then going on at Washington should be clearly understood by the Confederate Government ; and as I might almost be said to have assisted at! Lincoln's Cabinet Councils, from the facilities I enjoyed, having verbatim reports of them as well as of the Eepubhcan caucus, I was thoroughly com- petent to the task of giving a faithful synopsis of their deliberations. One of the despatches referred to was a long letter to President Davis, describing in detail the intrigues to get rid of Scott by the temporary elevation of M'Clellan, in which was repeated a conversation I had held with several members of the 'New York press, as an indication of the temper of the times, upon a proposition they had under discussion, of uniting to dethrone Seward and Cameron, and the reasons pro and con, for leaving Seward where he was ; that his time- serving policy was less conducive to unity and strength ; that he would never inaugurate any nev measures ; that if the faction which seemed stronger cried for the abolition of slavery, or renewed guarantees for its protection, he would lend himsel to it, or to anything else which could tend to hi; advancement ; that his genius lay in his faculty o; REIGN OF TERROR. 79 drawing to himself all the advantages of any suc- cessful measure, and of shuffling out of the way of an unpopular one ; that Bennett, of the ' New York (Herald,' had understood him perfectly, and had said of him, in reply to my remark that ' Seward was the only statesman amongst the Black Kepublican party,' | He has not the first principle of a statesman : lie \\s a miserable political charlatan, and has been the idvocate of every unconstitutional measure in this State from Anti-rentism clown to Abolitionism. He \has not blood enough in him to entertain an honest opinion on any subject, but wishes to be a great man, and will truckle to anything for power ; ' that he Chevalier Wikoff had gone to Seward and repeated to him some portion of this conversation, rkiid that he (Seward) had reddened to the roots of lis hair, but had appointed an hour to receive him, or the discussing certain propositions he had ^o make on the part of the New York press, on he peace question : that the Chevalier, after this conversation, came to me and proposed that I should . 4ve him a safe-conduct to General Beauregard, jidth a recommendation that he would forward him p Eichmond, from which city he could write a ^ 'eace letter : that Mr. Seward favoured the idea, le then said, ' Suppose you go to Manassas, and let 80 REIGN OF TERROR. me go under your protection.' I said, ' That would be impossible.' He replied quickly, 4 OA/ I have arranged all that with Seward.'' I said, ' You misunderstand me : your reputation is so bad, that no lady would travel in your company.' That, unabashed by this, he then said, ' But will you give me a letter which will take me through to Richmond ? I will be willing to go blindfold, and be 'put in a cage after I get there, so that I may write the letter.'' To which I replied, ' I have no authority to grant your request, and, so far from giving you facilities for carrying out your wishes, I should con- sider President Davis derelict in his duty if he did not cause any man to be hanged who would do what you propose ; ' that peace now, upon any other basis than separate independence, was out of the question ; and that, if he had any desire to aid in the accomplishment of that desirable end, he had better, through the New York papers, endeavour to enlighten the minds of the people on the subject; that we of the South had been driven to draw the sword in self-defence, &c. I told of Cameron's peculations, which were not then generally known — of M'Clellan's plans for reorganising the army — in short, of all that was proposed, or being done by the Yankees. REIGN OF TERROR. 81 The second despatch was entirely in cipher, but \ contained duplicate drawings of some fortifications ) tad weak points, which they complimented as being ipqual to those of their best engineers — as well they -night ; besides information of importance, in case our army advanced on Washington. My letter was Pronounced ' a very able production.' I had at feast the satisfaction of knowing that Lincoln and die assembled wisdom of Abolitionism did justice to fee zeal with which a Southern woman executed ler patriotic duty. Their fears elevated me to a most dangerous minence, and they deliberated whether I should ) Lot be publicly tried for treason, and made an Example of. The effort to obtain my cipher was fyith the hope of establishing direct evidence against ie, such as would be available in court upon a iiiblic trial, and as a justification to the world for %eir extraordinary proceedings, for which there had een no precedent, in a civilised age> save in France during the Revolution. v My social position was such, that they did not dare / )llow out the suggestions of their first excited con- Do iltations in disposing of me ; for in their own ranks had many devoted friends, who openly expressed v leir admiration of the position I took under the Q 82 REIGX OF TERROR. circumstances of danger and difficulty which envi roned me. Mr. Davis directed me, in a despatch receive* at this time, to give up the cipher, if I coulc thereby obtain any advantage. This discretion ary instruction of the President left me free t< follow my own judgment, and destroy it, for reason vital to me, and fraught with hazard to other? actually engaged and still unsuspected. My despatches were all written and received at thi time under a nom de plume, and Yankee cunning an ingenuity had, even at this early day, exhausted itse in efforts to enveigle me into an admission or recoj. nition which would compromise me or my friend: They had had the infamy to circulate a report tha for a lame sum, I had engaged to desert m cause and betray my party. But I thank God tha they did not succeed in shaking the confidence of m friends, which was an important object. That I could have made my own terms with thei can easily be seen from the importance they attachq to my capture. They had the effrontery to insinual to me, through their subordinates, that a ' yracefi concession ' on my part would be most cheerful- responded to by the Government. And when replied that if this was in furtherance of the repo REIGN OF TERROR. 83 they had set in circulation — an attempt to bribe me — my only response would be that, for weal or woe, I had cast my lot as God and nature directed, 'and that their whole bankrupt treasury could 'not tempt me to betray the meanest agent of our 'cause. I was asked if I knew that my life was in 'danger, and that probably, to save my neck, I might 'answer differently, to which I replied that the life of any one is in danger when in the power [^of lawless scoundrels. Beyond that I had no fears, for their own cowardice protected me, as they knew •ample retaliation would follow an attempt on my life. On Thursday, the 29th, the Yankee Government went through the farce of offering to hire my house and furniture. I asked to be allowed to see a lawyer Hot consultation, and was told that they would not f grant me that right. I then answered that, as a prisoner, I was not competent to any legal act, and that I declined all negotiations with them ; that they had already ruined, and destroyed, and stolen 'all that I valued in the house, and that they might ontinue to hold it by the same lawless tenure — that 3f brute force — as I would not become a party to my own robbery. This I said to Quartermaster Howard, "who came on the part of the Government, and, to 84 REIGN OF TERROR. do him justice, he appeared heartily ashamed of his mission. General Butler was with Cameron and other offi- cials, in the Provost-Marshal's Office, when Captain Howard went to report the result of his mission, which he did in terms complimentary to me, coupled with the remark ' that he felt like tearing the straps from his shoulders, from a sense of mortification at the part he was forced to play as he stood before the noble woman.' Butler said, ' If the Government will take my advice, and consign that haughty dame to my care at Fortress Monroe, I warrant to put her through an ordeal which will no longer endanger the loyalty of our officers,' &c. &c. Verily, a Roman tyrant made a consul of his horse, but Lincoln has exceeded him in enormity by making of Butler the beast a military governor. ' My object in seeing a lawyer was of course not with the idle hope of protecting my property. But up to this time the habeas corpus had not been sus- pended, and I wished to force the issue between the civil and military authorities, as a means possibly of arresting the coming evils. I was informed by the man Allen that I knew my rights too well, and that the Government did not intend to afford me the means of asserting them. REIGX OF TEKEOE. 85 I did, however, in spite of their vigilance, succeed in sending a message and note to Judge Black (late Attorney- General of the United States) and to the Honourable E. J. Walker, requesting them to call upon me. But those grave legal gentlemen, influenced iby prudential considerations, or sympathy with the .inquisitorial hierarchy, gave no heed to my request, and I was thus left in the hands of an unscrupulous Running enemy, with only my own judgment to guide me. I, To show the utter recklessness of the Abolition j, Government, and the extraordinary means they tem- porarily resorted to, to infuse valour into their de- noralised ranks, it was now authoritatively published hat our great and good President had died in Eich- ,nond a few weeks after the battle of Manassas. He vas said to have died of a slow fever, brought on by great mental anxiet} T , and compunction at the share ie was supposed to have had in bringing about the evolution ; that he had breathed his last sigh at t wenty minutes to six in the morning ; that his attend- ing physicians and family and friends were present ; hat his mind was clear, and that he solemnly ex- ported his friends to renew their allegiance to the Jnitecl States, and to do all in their power to put Lown the revolution. The flags were reported to 8G REIGN OF TERROR. be at half-mast at Arlington Heights, Manassas, and all other points in our possession, and that minute guns were fired during the day. This account went through the whole North, and was the cause of im- mense rejoicing, for our President had filled them with fear and dread, in proportion to the confidence and veneration with which he had inspired every Southerner. On Friday morning, the 30th of August, I was! informed that other prisoners were to be brought in, and that my house was to be converted into a prison, jr I and that Miss Mackall and myself, and little girl and servant, were to be confined in one room. After considerable difficulty and consultation with the Secre- tary of War, another small room was allowed for my child and maid, with the restriction, however, that: I should not go into it, as it was a front room, with a window on the street. Subsequently my library was also allotted to me. My parlours were stripped of their furniture, which was conveyed into the chamber for the use of the prisoners. By this time I had become perfectly callous. Everything showed signs of the containing nation. Those unkempt, unwashed wretches — the detective police — had rolled themselves in my fine linen ; their mark was visible upon every chair anc REIGN OF TERROR. 87 ofa. Even the chamber in which one of my child- en had died only a few months before, and the bed hn which she lay in her winding-sheet, had been desecrated by these emissaries of Lincoln, and the carious articles of bijouterie, which lay on her toilet | she had left them, were borne off as rightful spoils. |yery hallowed association with my home had been udely blasted — my castle had become my prison, me law of the land had been supplanted by the higher aw of the Abolition despot, and I could only say, Lord, how long will this iniquity be permitted ? ' But I stray from my story. Soon armed men rilled the house, the clank of whose muskets resounded through it like the voice of doom. I was confined 10 my chamber, at the door of which two soldiers tood, musket in hand. The commotion below told me that other prisoners ;vere arriving. They were the Philips family — Mrs. \ philips, and her two oldest daughters, and her sister "v**" iiiss Levi. A silent greeting, en passant, was all we /ere allowed to exchange. These ladies had been ;rrested the clay after I was, and were subjected to ae like, if not greater indignities, from which the Presence of the husband and the father could not protect them; and now they were dragged from iheir own homes, the mother from her little children, 88 EEIGX OF TERROR. several of whom were infants of tender age ; her house ransacked, her papers overhauled, without finding anything to base even a suspicion upon — the only circumstance against her really being, that she was a Southern woman, and a lady, scorning association with the ' mudsills ' whom the upheav- ing; of the revolution had brought to the surface of society. Another prisoner was to be conlined in the room (adjoining mine. A heavy bar of wood had been nailed across the door between, so as to prevent all communication. She was brought in late at night ; her deep and convulsed' sobs broke on the stillness of the hour. I sat by the door, and heard the officer in charge call her name. It was Mrs. Hasler, of whom I had some previous knowledge ; but, had she been a stranger, her hapless lot would have esta- blished a claim to my sympathy. I had sent to this person's house, the night of m\ arrest, to warn her, but found her house already in charge of soldiers, and my messenger barely escapee arrest. I was, of course, intensely anxious to let hei know that she was in my house, and to communicate with her. She had been accredited to me as a reli- able messenger by Colonel Jorden ; had successfully served in that capacity several times ; and it was REIGN OF TERROR. 89 through her means (most innocently, however) that [my despatches had been betrayed into the hands of the Government. Special care was taken to prevent this prisoner and myself from communicating, as they hoped through her to establish direct evidence against me. The morning after her arrival I diverted the attention of the guard, whilst Miss Mackall slipped into her room, and warned her to jjdeny all knowledge of me — which was, however, (limited to the fact of her having been an agent of [communication . Poor woman ! she had been most infamously used , — dragged from her own lodgings to a station-house, I CO O o ' where she had been kept for a whole week, lying on ^a dirty straw-bed, without sheets or pillow, amidst ,the lowest and most disgusting class of the com- imunity ; and her nervous system had been completely shattered by it. J All intercourse between the prisoners was inter- dicted. Had we been adjudged to the condemned cell more rigorous measures could not have been enforced. Miss Mackall was allowed to see her mother and ;lsisters only in the presence of an officer. Intercourse thus restricted afforded but little pleasure. Still, it was a link between us and the outer world, which 90 REIGX OF TERROR. had not been appreciated at its full value until we were deprived of it. It must not be supposed that I have related all the incidents which occurred in these first days. Under the eyes of the detective police I had received and answered despatches from my friends. Amongst them had been the order from my President to give up my cipher, upon specified contingencies. I am restrained, by prudential considerations, from men- tioning many, and Af here the parties only escaped by the stupidity of my gaolers. The efforts of the Black Republicans had been persistently to make the term Secessionist one of dis- grace and reproach, and although they had with great assiduity courted the few Southern families who remained, there was no language too coarse for them to use in describing Secessionists — always, of course, assuming that the person addressed had too much self-respect to be thus classified. Every social element was brought to bear against the unhappy Southerner ; ties of blood and kindred were arrayed in dread hostility, those who remained upon the Abolition side affecting to think that their family escutcheons had been tarnished by the misguided members who advocated the Southern cause, and .constitutional liberty. Xo one suffered in this respect REIGN OP TERROR. 91 nore than myself, for many members of my imme- diate family sided with the despot, and held high official position under him. The detective police, who had hitherto had charge |)f me, now gave place to the military guard selected jxom one of the volunteer companies — the Sturgis Rifles, who hitherto constituted M'Clellan's body- guard. A lieutenant and twenty-one men were detailed for this valorous duty. The detective police, on resigning their charge, were very anxious that I should not be apprised of their true characters. They had assumed to be officers of the United States regular army, and deluded themselves with the idea that I had not discovered ' the wolf under the sheep's clothing.' My wish had been to foster this delusion by every means ]in my power, as I thereby gained some advantages ; i and I very reluctantly allowed myself to be enlight- ened on the subject by some enthusiastic young -officers, who cherished the hallucination that honour istill lingered under the old livery of the United States. The officer in charge of my prison, Lieu- tenant Sheldon, was directed by Captain Averil, IfLS.A., chief of the Provost-Marshal's corps, to en- tourage me to write letters, which , were to be subjected to the inquisitorial examination. Of this 92 REIGX OF TERROR. fact I was, however, to be kept in ignorance. To the } honour of Lieutenant Sheldon, he did not lend him- self to the plot. I availed myself, however, of the privilege of writing, and have certainly to thank this most sagacious captain for having afforded me the means of communication. I was at this time seized with a taste for tapestry- work. The colours necessary for its prosecution came to me through the Provost-Marshal's Office, wound in balls, with simply a memorandum, by which I could always know the original arrange- ment of colours. I had made a vocabulary of colours, which, though not a very prolific language, served my purpose. My letters, above all things, puzzled these ' wise men of the East,' who finally came to the conclusion that, for a ' clever woman, Mrs. Greenhow wrote the greatest pack of trash that ivas ever read.'' By way of justifying this opinion, I will submit a specimen of my epistolary efforts : — ' Tell Aunt Sally that I have some old shoes for the children, and I wish her to send some one down town to take them, and to let me know whether she has found any charitable person to help her to tak care of them.' My immediate correspondent was of course ignorant of the true meaning. But, carried KEIGN OF TERROE. 93 'o that respectable old lady, ' Aunt Sally,' she read it 'hus : — ' I have some important information to send 'cross the river, and wish a messenger immediately. 'lave you any means of getting reliable information ? ' 1 Of course my versatility of mind was exercised to ary the style and character of these effusions, so. s not to attract attention to them, and I am glad to fate that in this effort I was eminently successful. Miss Mackall, although not a prisoner, was sub- jected to most of the restrictions in this house of "ondage, the freedom originally allowed her being, as 1 rightly judged, for the purpose of ensnaring others, hese clumsy tricksters could not comprehend the icrifices which a woman will make in the per- tenance of a duty which commends itself alike to er judgment and feelings. I could have escaped le snare set for me, but I should thereby have one great injury to our cause. Few would ive ventured, after such an example of timidity, to rnish the necessary information, or encounter the ilium of being supposed to sympathise with the bels. ■ I felt it to be my post of duty whatever danger 'reatened, and that I at least would cast no reproach >on my party in going through the trying ordeal ; -at every woman's heart, throughout the South, 9-1 REIGX OP TERROR. would make my cause their own ; and that, so fai from intimidating, the knowledge that one of then sex was suffering for the same faith, in th< prisons of the tyrant, would nerve the most timid t< deeds of daring. The idea of the Yankees at first was to hold m up conspicuously before the eyes of the public as i terrible example and a warning. In this they sig nally failed, for I became, even amongst their owi people, an object of interest. And one of their owi papers, the ' New York Times,' some months later said, ' Had Madam Greenhow been sent South im' mediately after her arrest, as we recommended, w< should have heard no more of the heroic deeds o' Secesh women, which she has made the fashion.' On the 7th of September my child was taken verj ill. In consequence I wrote to Provost-Marsha Porter, asking that my family physician might b< allowed to visit her. With characteristic humanit he refused, and proposed to send me one of his owi creatures, whom I declined to receive, preferring t< trust her life to the care of the o;ood Providene which had so often befriended me. A few days after, a Dr. Steward was introduced He was a vulgar, uneducated man, bedizened wit] enough gold-lace for three field-marshals; and en REIGN OF TERROR. 95 rdowed with a considerable degree of ' modest assur- ance.' He evidently expected, by affected bonhomie, to overcome my repugnance to his visits ; but he reckoned without his host, for, if my confessor had come to me under such auspices, I should think that jthe devil had been tampering with him, and refuse to receive him. I The routine of my prison-life was constantly varied P iby some new device, on the part of my captors, to Lfebtain legal evidence against me. They had already isubjected me to an ordeal little short of the ' cele- brated question' of the Spanish Inquisition, by a total disregard of all the laws of decency. Every feeling of the woman had been shocked and outraged, and ;hey now sought to act upon my nervous system, by lark insinuations and threats against my life and reputation. My papers had been examined with a ninuteness bordering upon the farcical. Letters were found from most of the gifted and great in our Southern land, whom they now branded as traitors ; f :opies of some of my own letters, also, both before did after Lincoln's ill-fated elevation, expressing in sarnest language my appreciation of the coming langers, and, in some instances, warning my corre- spondents to 'take time by the forelock.' These, lowever, added no link in the chain of evidence, but 96 EEIGX OF TERROR. only served to magnify in their eyes my mental ability, and consequent capacity to injure them, and redouble their anxiety to convict me. The despatches already in their hands, and which had caused them to tremble even in the midst of their armed Hessians, at best would be but circum- stantial evidence against me ; and my connection with these even would have to be established upon the testimony of that double spy, Applegate, whom Cameron had sent in that capacity to Manassas, under the pretext of obtaining the body of his brother ; and this man I could have proved to have been in the pay of our army, and had furnished some valu- able information. Mr. Seward, in spite of the obfuscation of his per- ceptive faculties, retained enough of his ]egal acute- ness to kitow that, in so grave a matter as trial for treason, the charge must be sustained by two respectable witnesses, and that any case made out against me, upon the evidence before them, Avould have been dismissed from every court in Christendom I did not shrink from this trial ; and when repeatedly warned that it might take place, said, 'Let it come. I will claim the right to defend myself, and there will be rich revelations.' The Government having come to the sao;e conclu- : REIGX OF TERROR. 97 ion that Mrs. Hasler was one of my agents, hoped, hrough her credulity or fears, to obtain additional estimony against me. With this object, the spy Ipplegate was brought to see her. She received lim with unsuspecting confidence, and drank in with (reedy ears his marvellous tales. He complained )itterly of having been searched and badly treated, ] )efore he was allowed to see her, and exhibited his torn hat in evidence. His great object, he said, was iO fall upon some plan of communicating with me, as le had information of importance for me, and asked ler if she could communicate. This programme had been all arranged at the ^rovost-Marshal's by General Porter and his sub- ordinate knaves ; Captain Averil being entitled to ..he suggestion of tearing the hat. i I had been warned of all this in advance, but had iOt thought it advisable to apprise Mrs. Hasler of it. t;ihe could not commit herself further to this man jhan she had already done ; neither had I any appre- ensions concerning myself, as she knew nothing, j aving simply acted as agent, on several occasions, cor the transmission of despatches, of the purport of finch she was as ignorant as the mail boy of the ontents of his bas;. It was proposed to confront this worthy agent H 98 REIGN OF TERROR. with me, but his own fears rendered abortive every effort of this kind. He lived in mortal dread of his life, and when a friend of mine went to see him, in order to obtain for me some information, he found 1 him double-locked in his room, with a pistol lying on either side of him. He soon after left the city, lest he should pay the penalty of his crimes.* This incident, as well as others which had preceded it, will convince the Abolitionists that,, although they held me in close confinement, my system of espionage was more perfect than their own. This Dr. Stewart was, I fancy, destined to be my bete noire. He said that he was ordered by Provosts Marshal Porter to make a daily inspection of my sanitary condition. His vanity was enlisted in this. He wished to be able to say, in the course of his morning rounds, ' I have just been to see the rebel prisoner Mrs. Greenhow, and she says so and so. I had no idea of permitting this, and therefore told him that I did not desire to receive his profes sional visits, as I was perfectly well, &c. He wrote * This man, Applegate, was subsequently chief of the detec live police at Memphis, where it is said he did a good business bj restoring to their masters, at 200 dollars per head, the negroei stolen by General Sherman, who was then, in command at thii place. . REIGN OF TERROR. 99 'i prescription for Miss Mackall, in English, every vord of which was misspelt, and signed himself In Brigand Sargent* I laughingly mentioned the bircumstance of a physician's writing a prescription n other than Latin. By some means my remarks ©ached him ; so, on the repetition of his visit on he following day, he addressed me with ' Good norning, Mistress Greenhow ; is there anything Materia Medico, can do for yon to-day ? ' Recalling orcibly to my mind the story of the Irishman : — IParlez-vous Franqais? — Oui. — Then lend me the oan of a gridiron.' I now told Materia Medica that his visits were intrusions on my privacy, offensive to me, and re- uested that they might be discontinued. It will ardly be credited that after this I should have been li| abject to the annoyance again. On the day suc- eeding he came in as usual, with unblushing (ffrontery, not even deigning to knock at my door. 1 took no notice of him, but sent for Lieutenant Sheldon to take charge of my formal protest against he continuance of the outrage. This he did, making Iso verbal representations which relieved me from outlier sanitary inspection. * About this time a stable in the rear of my whilom ome — my prison — caught on fire, through the H 2 100 REIGN OF TERROR. neglect of some drunken soldiers by whom it was occupied. It created the wildest alarm ; the whole of the provost-guard, headed by Captain Averil, rushed to the scene of action, and surrounded the house. The following morning the Government or- gan contained an account of ' a very daring attempt at rescue of the rebel prisoners (with a diatribe against me personally), of so resolute and desperate a character that it had to be repulsed at the point or the bayonet.' This veracious statement was concluded by a high compliment to the intrepidity and courage of Captain Averil, for having defeated this imaginary effort to defraud justice, which was furnished, I was told, by himself. Somewhere about the 8th of September, the Honourable Edwin M. Stanton, accompanied by Jud^e-Advocate Colonel Key, came to see Mm (Philips and family, to make arrangements for then ^ being sent South on parole, which was effected i day or two afterwards. Mr. Stanton came also to see me. I had, of course no idea of the position he was subsequently to holt in the Abolition Cabinet ; neither had he at that time After some preliminary conversation, he asked m« what I had done to bring down the wrath of tli- REIGN OF TERROR. 101 Abolitionists upon my head. I answered, I had been jguilty of leze-majeste, and hence my incarceration ; in fact, that I knew not the charge, and, for the purpose of ascertaining it, and forcing the Govern- ment to a consideration of my case, I now wished ( to employ him as my counsel, to obtain a writ of habeas corpus. This he declined, accompanied by expressions of aigh appreciation and proffer of service in any other way — to which I of course attached no value. I aad previously applied to Judge Black, Attorney- iijreneral under Mr. Buchanan, and to the Honourable ,R. J. Walker, both of whom I had known intimately; md this last effort, convinced me that no Northern nan had the courage or the desire to attempt to j item the tide of Northern usurpation, which was destined to sweep like an avalanche over the land, destroying civil liberty, and establishing in its stead m irresponsible military despotism. I felt now that I was alone, and that the wall of eparation from my friends was each hour growing |?aore formidable. A new grievance was also put upon me. Miss |/[ackall, who up to this time had remained with ae, was, on the 25th of September, abruptly taken way, and all intercourse or communication with me 102 REIGN OF TERROR. interdicted. So rigid had become the rules that per- sons were warned, under penalty of arrest, from walking or driving by the prison. A police-officer dogged eternally poor Lily's footsteps, which so ) harassed and annoyed her, that she often prayed for the protection of her prison-life. Wearily and heavily now passed the days and weeks. Another plan was also adopted to reduce me to submission. My food, which up to this time, though plain and often uneatable, had been sufficiently abundant, was now so reduced in quantity and 1 quality, as to be inadequate often to satisfy the crav- ings of hunger. My child, as well as myself, suffered greatly under this new infliction. I wrote to Pro- vost-Marshal Porter, protesting against this inhu- manity, but he turned a deaf ear to my remonstrance ; and my little Eose (who was allowed to play on the pavement, under escort of a guard) was often in debted to the kind friends who sent her food whilst there, that she should not cry herself to sleep from hunger. Those Yankee descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers had improved upon the ancestral practice of burn- ing and hanging and quartering their enemies, b^ quartering and starving theirs. An outrage was now perpetrated, more foul, more REIGN OP TEKROR. 103 galling to me as a woman, than any which had preceded it. A woman of bacl^repnte, known and ecognised by several of the guard as such, having peen seen in the streets of Chicago in the exercise )f her vocation, calling herself Mrs. Onderdunk, was xrought to my house, and placed_in the chamber of ny deceased child adjoining mine. For what object £ know not, but this woman was allowed unrestricted intercourse with me, the order being given that our neals should be served together. Here again my [hanks are due to Lieutenant Sheldon ; for so soon as die character of the woman became known to him, tie restricted her to her apartment, in which she frequently received Mr. Frederick Seward, Under- secretary of State ; Mr. Webster, Private Secretary if the Secretary of State, and other persons officially onnected with the Government. It might have been supposed that my former ocial position, and that which members of my im- mediate family still held in the Federal city, would tave protected me from this attempt to degrade me. 3ut surprise will cease when the character of this people has been exhibited more clearly, and the .mscrupulous and demoralising influences, brought •y them to bear amidst the social relations of life, ^xposed. 104 REIGN OF TERROR. Under the system established by Mr. Seward, of the secret police, a spy was in every household. These were often selected from the higher classes of i society, as witness Mrs. and Mrs. of Baltimore, and Mme. — and Mrs. of Washing- ton City. By such means the sanctity of home was invaded ; every unguarded expression uttered within its sacred precincts was sure to reach the ears of the secret police — those Thugs of America, who, less merciful than their Eastern prototypes (who warned their victims of their coming fate by a knife stuck in the wall), entered the houses and the chambers of women and children at the dead of night,* dragging them from their beds, and, regardless alike of tears and prayers, forced them to assume their garments under the eye, and often amidst the scurrilous jests, of their rude and licentious agents. One young girl, to my knowledge, died from the shame and horror of this ordeal. And yet this people, with the deep damnation ofi their acts before them, dare to proclaim their mission to be, the upholding of the Constitution, and the re- storation of the Union. I often wonder that the thunderbolts of heaven do not strike them as they utter the sacrilegious lie. Their leaders now, in all private circles, when they REIGN OF TERROR. 105 1 deemed themselves secure, unblushingly announced their real determination to abolish slavery. Sedgwick, lof New York, one of their most intelligent members lof the Lower House, told me ' that he did not care a rush for the flag ; that that was a claptrap for the -ignorant;'' and that if ' he thought that by this war the old Union could be restored, with its constitutional guarantees for slavery, that he would not vote a dollar or a man. No,' he said, ' it was for universal emanci' uation his party fought, and they were now strong enough to declare their true policy.' The Honourable Henry Wilson said, ' The country had been ruled long enough by Southern aristocrats, md that his party would enforce their principles at ilhe point of the bayonet ; ' and ' as to Maryland, they had put the iron heel upon her, and would crush out 'her boundary lines.'' Baker, of Oregon, one of President Lincoln's most confidential advisers, and United States senator, said, n a conversation which I held with him at the time it>f the pretended attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter, in answer to a remonstrance of mine on the subject, It is true a great many lives may be lost, and we nay not succeed in reinforcing Fort Sumter. But the President was elected by a Northern majority, and hey are now becoming dissatisfied ; and the President 106 REIGN OF TERROR. owes it to them to strike some blow by which he will make a united Northern party.'' Dickerson, of Rhode Island, said, ' that if the re- bellion could not be suppressed in any other way, he was for the abolition of slavery, as a certain means of reducing the South to a state of vassalage.' I state these conversations, and I might add many more to the list, in order to show that even at this early day, when the initiatory step in the revolution had scarcely been taken, all affectation was thrown aside as to the real object of the war — that of sub- jugation of the South by means of general emanci- pation of the slaves. Mrs. Hasler was at this time released, upon taking the oath of allegiance, and making a full confession of all she had done or knew. I was heartily glad of it. She had paid dearly for a momentary im- pulse, her sympathy or connection with our cause being confined to the transmission of a few letters. For this she was imprisoned two months in solitary confinement, and it required the stern faith of the martyrs of old to withstand the ordeal of our Lord Abraham the First. But even this was not done as an act of justice to the victim, whose health had become seriously impaired, but by the kindly exer- tions of a lady who exercised as potential an infiu- REIGN OF TERROR. 107 3nce over the wily Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, is the celebrated Madame du Barri did over the grandfather of Louis XVI. It would be impossible to record the daily, hourly, Setty annoyances to which I was exposed. Every irticle of clothing which went to the laundry had to oe examined by the corporal of the guard, in presence ; )f the officer of the guard. Upon one occasion the feorporal of the guard, on sending out some article of •ilothing for one of the prisoners, neglected this duty, ibr which he was tried, degraded to the ranks, with imprisonment for thirty days, and loss of pay for ihree months. '; Thus it will be seen that, whatever repugnance (day have been felt by an officer in the performance i»f this task, it was obligatory upon him by order of •he Provost-Marshal, who seemed to have had some 'riginal ideas on the subject of the transmission of ■reasonable communications, although none on the ubject of decency. The provost-guard was set in ommotion one day, headed by Captain Averil, on ccount of a sprig of jessamine having reached me without going through the usual examination. 108 CHAPTER VI. OLLA PODKIDA. THE GREAT ARMADA — MY ANXIETY — ITS DESTINATION REVEALED BY SEWARD — INFORMATION SENT TO RICHMOND — DR. GWIN — ■ EQUINOCTIAL GALES — PROPOSITION TO ESCAPE — INSULT TO MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL — QUERY OF PROVOST-MARSHAL — THE MOTHER OF JACKSON — THE FIRST VICTIM OF THE WAR OF AGGRESSION — VISIT FROM MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY — COLONEL INGOLLS — LETTER TO MR. SEWARD. The Abolition Government had been for some time amusing the minds of its credulous subjects with a new scheme for the annihilation of the South. The greatest naval expedition since that of Philip II. for the subjugation of England, because good Queen Bess turned a dull ear to his matrimonial scheme was being fitted out, and, regardless of lucky or unlucky synonymes, it was also called ' The Great Armada.'' Every invention of modern science was employed in arming and equipping this vast fleet, so as to insure the greatest amount of death and devastation to our unhappy doomed Southern land. Twenty ! ! OLLA PODRIDA. 109 thousand picked troops were sent as a part of the expedition, and, most terrible of all, Burnside was to command it — going South to look for his hat and iiis boots which he had lost at Manassas. It would be idle to record the anxieties which possessed me, as day by day I followed, through the New York Herald,' the progress of the preparation, md final equipment, and embarkation of the men. The destination of this formidable armada now >ecame an affair of vast moment, and I revolved in lay mind the various means by which this essential information could be obtained. Accident favoured his thirst for knowledge better than any plan, how- ever well arranged, could have done. \ We are told that Jove nods sometimes ; and Mr. j Secretary Seward, who in the morning is the most Reticent man in the world (admirably illustrating Oalieyrand's famous axiom, that language is given to ' onceal thought), is, after supper, and under the in- uence of the generous gifts which the gods provide, the most genial and confidential. I have often had ccasion to admire the confidingness of his nature on mese occasions, and wondered if the judgment of he world was correct in ascribing to him the cha- racter of a subtle schemer and tortuous intriguer. It was upon one of these festive occasions, when 110 OLLA PODRIDA. the mind of the great statesman had become properly attuned, and his thoughts soared above the sordid materialism which fettered his genius during the plodding methodical business hours, that he ad- dressed himself to the task of indoctrinating a dis- tinguished Foreign Eepresentative, whose views, I am sorry to say, were not dissimilar to his own, as to the utter hopelessness of the Southern cause, and assuring him that in thirty days (a favourite period of his) the rebellion would be crushed out — demonstrating this melancholy fact by describing in detail this ' in- vincible armada,'' and the devastating course it was predestined to take. This important information was conveyed to me ■■ by my little bird. Mayhap it was the bird sent out from the ark, and did not return, and now came back to me with better than the olive-branch. I leave this as an antiquarian speculation. But being satisfied by other means of the accuracy of the j intelligence, I lost no time in preparing one of those 'peculiar square despatches, written in that cipher for which a very large amount had been offered, and, with a prayer to Almighty God for its safe delivery, committed it to my faithful bird, and sent it across the waters to General Beauregard, to be forwarded to our great and good President at Eichmond. ! OLLA PODRIDA. Ill \ I might describe, if I chose, the clanger that my boor bird passed over, and how it at one time took fefuge in the dovecot of the enemy, and other things of startling interest ; but this would indicate the ;ourse of the heaven-sent messenger, and jeopardise he future. I learned at this time that Dr. Gwin, formerly iJnited States Senator for California, was in Wash- agton, a prisoner, although at large, and I desired ^ery much to communicate to him verbally some --etails which would have been useful to our Go- vernment, but which I did not dare write, as it pould have compromised the safety of a friend those position was one of prominence under the r ankee Government. I wrote a note to Dr. Gwin, feating this fact, and that I could arrange with erfect safety a personal interview. I laugh jow at the description of the Doctor's terror 3n receiving my note, and his earnest appeal or God's sake not to attempt to communicate • ith him, for he was surrounded by the detec- ^ve police, &c. He had not learned that therein Vas his immunity to do seemingly impossible lings. The equinoctial gales had now set in, and the ailing, shrieking, and howling of the tempest, as it 112 OLLA TODKIDA. swept along, fell on my ear like the soft cadences of sweet music. The Abolition fleet had been a little too tardy in its movements to reap the full benefit of the equinoc- tial blast ; still it was considerably damaged, several vessels being stranded. A large number of horses, and quantities of ordnance stores also, were thrown overboard, thereby causing considerable delay before the great armada finally set forth upon its devas- tating errand. Meanwhile my despatch reached Richmond. I was very much startled one day, somewhere about the 1st of October, at receiving a proposition from a Yankee officer to aid in effecting my escape. The first idea that flashed upon me was (for I con- fess that my bump of caution had been largely de- veloped by the events of the last few months), that this was a trick to ensnare some of my friends, or for the purpose of affording a pretext for conveying me to a Northern prison. Whatever my suspicions were, I deemed it politic to give no indications of them, so I responded to the proposal as if I believed it made in good faith, and opened communication with a friend on the subject, warning my friend secretly, however, of my suspicions, and giving instructions as to the programme to be followed. All things worked OLLA PODRIDA. 113 admirably. The real objects which I had in view (and which I refrained from stating, for reason that it might afford an imprudent indication) having been effected, I threw grave obstacles in the way of the accomplishment of the heroic feat, and it was finally abandoned, from seeming want of resolution on my part to undertake it. I can hardly tell now how my time was passed. I had gone through the heat of midsummer into the autumn, the severity of my imprisonment increasing ; all the while — my food so uneatable, that for days I had lived upon crackers and cheese. I was not i even allowed to take exercise in the yard ; and was i credibly informed that a proposition was discussed ; as to whether my windows should not be nailed up, so as to deprive me of light, as a means of forcing : me into the terms of the Government. 1 During all this period I was shut out from all i intercourse or communication with my friends. The interdict was absolute : no one was allowed to see 1 me. Even the religious consolation which is accorded Ho the lowest criminal in the Christian countries of 'Europe was denied me. Several members of the ■'Holy Catholic clergy applied to see me, and were repulsed with great rudeness at the Provost-Marshal's ; as being ' emissaries of Satan and Secesh.' i 114 OLLA PODRIDA. I wrote to enquire whether the Provost-Marshal had made a wholesale compact with the Devil, by which my child and maid were to be given over to destruction, as well as myself — reminding him that there was no monopoly in contracts with the Gentle- man in Black (the system of corrupt monopoly, of Government contracts was at this time being loudly denounced), and asking that the privilege might be accorded them of going to church. This was granted for the ensuing Sunday, and occasionally afterwards, but always under escort of a guard, whose orders were to sit in the same pew and allow no communi- cation with anyone. One morning, as I opened my chamber-door to pass to the library, I saw the detective, Allen, drag- ging an old lady up the stairs, who had great diffi- culty in ascending, even with his assistance. It was the venerable mother of the martyr Jackson ; and I honoured her grey hairs as being his mother more than if a diadem had circled her brow. She was placed in the room adjoining mine, the bar of wood having been removed after the last occupant left. The guard, however, were not aware of this fact, and I was amused as I heard the detective double the guard, and order that no one was to communicate with the prisoner. I cautiously opened the door between our OLLA PODRIDA. 115 apartments, and mounted over a divan which stood across the entrance. She sprang forward at seeing one of her own sex. I rapidly cautioned her, by pointing to the door leading into the hall, placed my finger on my lips, and softly approached her, when the venerable lady folded me in her arms, and gave me the information which I have stated above as to who she was. I then knelt at her feet, and she rapidly poured into my ear tales of the outer world. She told me that she had been dragged from her bed at midnight ; that she had been only allowed to throw a loose gown over her night-dress, and that even in the presence of her captors, and was thus brought forth. My heart bled to see this noble woman of eighty years subjected to such an ordeal. But she proved herself worthy of being the mother of her brave son, She recounted to me the heart-rending history of his ruthless murder, and how his body had been pinned to the floor by the demons, and kept there for many hours for them to ■ gloat over, until his heart-broken wife with her own feeble hands dragged it forth, for Christian burial. She told me also of the heroic deeds of our brave soldiers, which filled my heart with pride and thank- J fulness, and I bowed my head in her lap and said, i 2 116 OLLA PODEIDA. ' Mother, give me your blessing ! ' And the old matron's words of ' God bless you and give you sustaining strength, my child ! ' seemed to inspire me with new courage for what was to come. Soon the officer of the guard returned. The ter- rible bar was placed in the door, and I did not again enjoy the privilege of speaking with the mother of Jackson, neither was I allowed to minister to her comfort. She was kept in a room without fire or lights, the weather being very cold, until about twelve o'clock at night, when she was released. Jackson had been one of the first victims of this war of aggression. He was a resident of Alexandria, Va. Before the occupation of that city by the Yankee forces, a marauding party under Ellsworth, a New York fireman and desperado, strayed into Alex- andria one morning, about daylight, when Ellsworth, seeing the Virginia State flag floating from Jackson's house, detached himself from his party, and rushed into the house to tear it down. Jackson was roused from sleep in time to kill the daring ruffian who had thus violated his rights, and was himself murdered a short time afterwards, under circumstances of great barbarity, by the remainder of the gang, who then spread themselves through the city, plundering and committing outrages upon women of respectability. OLLA PODKIDA. 117 For this four of their number were condemned to be shot, but their escape was subsequently connived at by the authorities. A few days after this, a Miss Poole or Stewart was brought in. On the 16th clay of November I received a visit from my sister, Mrs. James Madison Cutts, and my niece, the Honourable Mrs. Stephen A. Douglass, ac- companied by Colonel Ingolls, U. S. A.— the permit to see me making the presence of an officer during the interview obligatory, and limiting it to fifteen minutes. I had been so ruthlessly debarred commu- nication with my kind, that I had long since arrived at the conclusion, that all human kindness had taken flight, along with my brethren of the South, and left this God-forsaken city of Washington, with its unfortunate detenue, at the mercy of the merciless Abolitionists. Colonel Ingolls earnestly recommended my ' grace- ful submission ' to the Government, and kindly offered to mediate in my behalf with Secretary Seward. I declined this amiable counsel and proffer of aid as inconsistent with my own feelings and derogatory to my honour. I had now been three months a prisoner, with no 118 OLLA PODEIDA. charge preferred against me, or reason assigned for the illegal act ; and 1 determined to address a re- spectful letter to Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, on the subject, hoping to obtain some elucidation of a matter certainly of personal interest to me. This I did on the 17th of November. I also sent a copy of this letter to my friends at Manassas, with no idea or intention, however, of its ever being given to the public, and I confess that at first I was deeply cha- grined at the circumstance. But when I afterwards knew the anger and annoyance of the Abolition- ists at having the secrets of their prison-house laid bare, I became perfectly satisfied of the superior wis- dom of my friends in giving it publicity. As a part of my story I subjoin the letter : — 'Washington : November 17, 1861. '398,16th. Street. ' HON. ¥M. II. SEWAED, SEC. OF STATE. ' Sie, — For nearly three months I have been con- fined a close prisoner, shut out from air and exer- cise, and denied all communion with family and friends. ' " Patience is said to be a great virtue," and I have practised it to my utmost capacity of endurance. OLLA PODRIDA. 119 ' I am told, sir, that upon your ipse dixit the fate of citizens depends, and that the sign-manual of the ministers of Louis XIV. and XV. was not more potential in their day than that of the Secretary of State in 1861. ' I therefore most respectfully submit that on Friday, August 23rd, without warrant or other show of authority, I was arrested by the detective police, and my house taken in charge by them : that all my private letters and papers of a life-time were read and examined by them : that every law of decency was violated in the search of my house and person, and by the surveillance over me. i We read in history that the poor Marie Antoinette had a paper torn from her bosom by lawless hands, and that even a change of linen had to be effected in sight of her brutal captors. It is my sad experience to record even more revolting outrages than that, for during the first days of my imprisonment, whatever necessity forced me to seek my chamber, a detective stood sentinel at the open door. And thus, for a period of seven days, I, with my little child, was placed absolutely at the mercy of men without character or responsibility ; that during the first evening a portion of those men became brutally drunk, and boasted in my hearing 120 OLLA PODRIDA. of the nice times they expected to have with the female prisoners, and that rude violence was used towards a servant girl during that first evening. For any show of .ttecorum afterwards practised towards me I was indebted to the detective called Captain Dennis. ' In the careful analysis of my papers I deny the existence of a line that I had not a perfect right to have written or to have received. Freedom of speech and of opinion is the birthright of Americans, guaranteed to us by our charter of liberty — the Constitution of the United States. I have exercised my prerogative, and have openly avowed my senti- ments. During the political struggle I opposed your Kepublican party with every instinct of self- preservation. I believed your success a virtual nulli- fication of the Constitution, and that it would entail upon us all the direful consequences which have ensued. These sentiments have doubtless been found recorded among my papers, and I hold them as rather a proud record of my sagacity. ' I must be permitted to quote from a letter of yours, in regard to " Eussell of the London Times" which you conclude with these admirable words : "Individual errors of opinion may be tolerated, so long as good sense is left to combat them." OLLA PODKIDA. 121 i By way of illustrating theory and practice, here am I — a prisoner in sight of the executive mansion — in sight of the Capitol, where the proud statesmen of our land have sung their oasans to the blessings of our free institutions. Comment is idle. Freedom of speech, freedom of thought, every right pertaining to the citizen, has been suspended by what, I suppose, the President calls a " military necessity." A blow has been struck by this total disregard of all civil rights against the present system of government far greater in its effects than the severance of the Southern States. The people have been taught to contemn the su- premacy of the law, to which all have hitherto bowed, and to look to the military power for pro- tection against its decrees. A military spirit has been developed which will only be subordinate to a military dictatorship. Eead history, and you will find that the causes which bring about a revolution rarely predominate at its close, and no people have ever returned to the point from which they started. Even should the Southern States be subdued, and \ forced back into the Union (which I regard as im- I possible, with a full knowledge of their resources), a different form of government will be found need- f the financiering talent of his friend. One of the charges made and substantiated against Cameron was, that he had drawn pay and rations and equipment for 8G,000 men more than had ever been mustered into the service, and that in every contract made by the War Department, wdiether for NEW TRIALS. 139 purchase of munitions of war or clothing for the soldiers, his profits had been upon a like gigantic scale. Cameron's friends had claimed for him, in the original cast of the Cabinet, to be made Secretary of the Treasury, as affording the widest scope for the expansion of his genius. But the north-eastern wing of the Abolitionists, headed by Sumner and Wilson, opposed this with great vehemence, indulging in animadversions not very flattering, and brought for- ward Chase in opposition, when a very animated contest began between the partisans of each, the conclusion of which it was difficult to foresee. From an unexpected quarter of the House, how- ever, a pacificator arose to ' pour oil upon the troubled waters' of Abolitiondom. Mr. Wigfall, of Texas, a United States senator, in his place said, addressing himself to Mr. Cameron — who was also a senator — ' Hearken unto the counsels of thine enemy. It is said that you are about to assume the portfolio of the Treasury Department. It is a mistake. With war comes the necessity for large supplies and big contracts. I would advise you to take the War Department, as best suited to you,' and fortified his advice by erudite and apt quotations. Whether Mr. Cameron was influenced by this 140 NEW TRIALS. well-timed advice I know not ; but it is a remarkable coincidence that his claims to the first position were soon after withdrawn, and he subsided quietly into the War Department. A Congressional Committee was appointed to in- vestigate these and other malpractices against the National Treasury. But long before they had fairly entered upon their labours, Cameron had been sent as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Russia. The Government by this act showed as reckless a disregard for international courtesy, as for its own national dignity, and manifested, more clearly than volumes could have done, the character it was hence- forward to maintain amongst the nations of the earth. For here was a man — driven ignominiously from the councils of the nation by the force of public opinion, for the meanest form of corruption — sent as a re- presentative of that nation, at one of the haughtiest Courts of Europe. The Government itself entertained, doubts of his reception ; and Cameron did not set out on his mission until they had received satisfac- tory assurances on the subject. 141 CHAPTER VIII. FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. FREMONT — FREMONT PERE— HIS EDUCATION — HIS MARRIAGE — CAREER IN CALIFORNIA — HIS TRIAL — DISMISSAL FROM THE TJ. S. ARMY — SENATOR FOR CALIFORNIA — RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE LIFE— ArPEARANCE AS CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT — THE MARRI- POSA — FINANCIAL SCHEMES— DEFEAT FOR PRESIDENT — RELAPSE — REAPPEARANCE — CHARGES AGAINST HIM — MRS. FREMONT AND F. P. BLAIR — REMOVAL AS CHIEF OF THE ARMV OF THE WEST — HALLECK — MTSELF —TRIALS— M'CLELLAN — PUBLIC ARCHIVES. : Fremont, in his administration of the department of the West, appears to have followed closely the precedent established by the Apostolic Simon in the War Department. Charges of an astounding nature were sent on to Washington against him of mal- feasance in office — in short, the old California charges of peculation, favouritism in the giving of contracts, and general reckless extravagance. He ihad also proved himself to be utterly incompetent in a military point of view ; and this even his most zealous partisans were obliged to admit. Conse- quently his removal was loudly demanded. 142 FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. No one who has followed the course of this ad- venturous aspirant for fame, will be surprised at any phase of his destiny. And as he has been brought forward conspicuously before the eyes of the world, it may not be amiss to give a slight sketch of his origin and antecedents. Like many of the soldiers of fortune whose names have been emblazoned on the scroll of fame in the Old World, he is entitled to the bar sinister on his shield. Fremont Pwe was a French dancing- master, and taught the graceful art in the city of Eichmond, about the year 1812 or 1814, to most of the belles and beaux of that period. The celebrated Miss Maria Mayo — afterwards Mrs. General Scott — was one of his pupils, and my husband, as a little boy, had the benefit of his instruction. This worthy son of la belle France was not con- tent with the golden harvest he could legitimately reap in the exercise of his professional skill, but essayed his talents in another field, and soon made himself master of the situation, and bore off in triumph a Mrs. Pryor, the wife of an old and re- spectable citizen of Eichmond, who, by the way, took a most philosophical view of the domestic calamity, and, instead of pursuing with fire and sword the enterprising Frenchman, left him in peaceful posses- FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. 143 sion of the truant fair, and took to himself a more congenial helpmate. The romantic pair had winged their flight to Charleston, in which city he resumed the practice of his profession ; and our hero, John Charles Fremont, was the fruit of this auspicious conjunction. Some of the citizens of Charleston took great inte- rest in young Fremont, who was educated at their expense and afterwards sent to West Point, where he graduated, without, however, giving any indi- cations of extraordinary capabilities, and was, some years afterwards, appointed as assistant to Mr. Nicholet, in his scientific explorations and surveys ; and here even he was regarded more for his me- thodical industry than for genius. He was a good draftsman, and, after Mr. Mcholet's death, was em- ployed to work out the result of his labours, which he did with accuracy and skill. Fremont had meanwhile married the daughter of the Honourable Thomas Hart Benton, who after a few years as- sumed his guardianship, and launched him on his career. By Benton's influence he was sent to explore the route across the Bocky Mountains to California, arriving there as the war with Mexico broke out ; and there is no doubt that in the illegal and high- 144 FKEMOXT AND OTHER THINGS. handed measures of which he was guilty, and the extraordinary assumption of power by him, he but acted strictly under the instruction of Benton, who expected himself to be sent to Mexico with vice- regal powers, as he happily said in the Senate, with ' the sword in one hand, and the purse in the other.' This scheme was exploded too soon for success, and the bitter denunciation of it by all parties in the Senate convinced the Administration that it was useless to propose it for their ratification. Bnt the failure, from whatever cause, drew upon the ad- ministration of Mr. Polk the antagonism of Benton from that period. The failure of Benton's scheme operated very injuriously upon Fremont. The commander of the department of California, General Kearney,* who was a most generous and high-toned officer, at first remonstrated with him upon the illegality of his pro- ceedings, but, failing to produce any effect, suspended and sent him to Washington under arrest for trial, where he arrived more with the air of a hero than one charged with high crime and misdemeanour. * This officer died some years since at St. Louis from the effects of disease contracted in Mexico, and must not be confounded with the Yankee General Phil. Kearney, who was killed in Vir- ginia on attempting to escape, after haying given up his sword as a prisoner of war. FKEMONT AND OTHEE THINGS. 145 The court convened at Washington for the trial of Fremont was composed of officers of the highest grade, General Kearney being himself president of the court. Since the days of Warren Hastings, perhaps no court had ever been invested with so much interest. It was crowded each day by high officers of the Government and other friends of the accused. Colonel Benton was allowed extraordinary latitude in the defence, and at times browbeat or threatened the various members composing the court, or the witnesses. In short, the whole power of the Administration was employed to screen the criminal, and even private courtesies to the members of the court by those connected with the Govern- ment were discouraged. I was severely remonstrated with by a high official, upon the occasion of receiving General Kearney and the other members of the court at dinner. Notwithstanding the extraneous pressure brought to bear upon it, the court maintained a dignified impartiality in the exercise of its judicial functions, giving the accused the benefit of all that could be .adduced in his favour, and not deterred by the array of power and influence from pronouncing judgment according to the proofs before them. So, after an arduous and exciting trial, which lasted several L 146 FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. weeks, the court found Fremont guilty upon every specification, and recommended that he should be severely reprimanded, and struck from the rolls of the army. The evidence, which is on file in the War Department at Washington, was so conclusive, and the charges of so flagrant a character, that the sentence was obliged to be confirmed. Mr. Polk subsequently, however, reappointed him : but Fremont refused to accept the executive clemency, knowing that he would be tabooed by the army. Shortly after he returned to California, and on her admission as one of the States of the Federal Union, he was selected by the Governor as one of the persons to represent her in the United States Senate. He drew the short term: consequently his legislative functions were only exercised for the space of three or four months, and so little did he impress the people, as to his capacity for the political arena, that although he sought, with great pertinacity, the re- newal of the honour, he was never after able to achieve it. Fremont had managed, during his first military sojourn in California, to establish a claim to the cele brated Marriposa Grant ; and he now proposed to build an adobe house upon a portion of it, and to settle himself there as a ranchero. It was at this FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. 147 time that I saw him in San Francisco, and spoke with him upon the subject. He seemed really to long for the primitive life he had marked out, and confessed himself utterly unsuited for the part he had been appointed to play upon the world's great stage — in which opinion I heartily concurred. He did not long, however, enjoy his Arcadian existence, Messrs. Palmer, Cook, & Co. being the evil spirits who tempted him from his retirement to the turmoils of life again. The above-mentioned firm of Palmer, Cook, & Co. were bankers of San Francisco, and the bona fide proprietors of the Marriposa, owning three-fourths of it, whilst Fremont represented one-fourth, subject to heavy mortgages upon it, for moneys advanced by them. The Marriposa was certainly a most royal demesne, of incalculable mineral wealth ; but, like the treasures -; described in Aladdin, locked in the bowels of the i earth, until the skill of the magician was employed to draw them forth. It was too vast and costly an undertaking for indi- j-r vidual enterprise, and it was consequently resolved (i by the parties interested to enlist European capitalists to: in the plan for working the mines, and otherwise 148 FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. developing its resources. Companies were formed in England to that end, which were to be chartered, and stocks issued, &c. It was scarcely secondary in magnitude to the famous Mississippi scheme. Fremont was supplied with ample funds, and sent to Europe as the agent of the prnjet ; and, in order to give eclat to his mission, these speculators resolved to nominate him as the Republican candidate for the Presidency, having no end in view but the in- flation of their bogus stock, and ultimate pecuniary advantage. Not content with the political prestige they had given him, those able financiers resolved to make him also appear as the richest man in the world. Circumstantial statements of his -daily income, of an incalculable amount, were published simultaneously in New York, Paris, and London. Rare gems, of great -size and value, were said to be found in the mineral regions of the Marriposa — amongst them, emeralds of such remarkable beauty, as to throw into the shade the crown jewels of Europe. These were advertised as having been set for Mrs. Fremont, In short, the Monte Christo of Dumas' creation was not the possessor of such countless riches as was this agent of a wholesale swindling firm. Meanwhile the Abolitionists resolved to accept the FKEMONT AND OTIIEE THINGS. 149 candidate which chance had furnished them, to try the strength of their party, of which they had no approximate idea. Charles Francis Adams (now United States Minister to England) had been nomi- nated with that object some years before at Chicago, but the result had demonstrated such a lamentable minority, that no prominent man was willing to risk his prospects of future success, by allowing his name to be used. Consequently, the whole strength of the Abolition party, by way of experiment, was con- centrated upon Fremont ; and, although the con- stitutional party triumphed in the election of their candidate, they were filled with dismay and grave misgivings for the future, at the formidable front which the higher law party presented, who, in their turn, were surprised at their own strength. And from that hour the Federal Government was doomed, and James Buchanan destined to be the last President of the United States. It was after this defeat of the Abolitionists, that the terrible poisoning scheme was attempted. The Marriposa humbug exploded, and Fremont was dropped by the party who had temporarily used him, and suffered to relapse into poverty and obscu- rity, until the revolution again brought him upon the surface. 150 FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. The current of my story has been somewhat im- peded by this long narrative. Fremont's removal from the command of the department of the West had been determined on at Washington. Mrs. Fre- mont came on herself to take counsel of F. P. Blair, and, if possible, delay the execution of the sentence. But the exertions of that clever lady produced no visible effect in her husband's favour, although they fired the zeal of her ancient servitor and friend, who redoubled his exertions, but also fruitlessly. Blair laboured under the hallucination, that his own posthumous fame was indissolubly connected with that of Thomas Hart Benton, and that this was in some way mysteriously associated with the fulfill- ment of Benton's prophecy as to Fremont's future greatness. Hence he laboured to bring about its accomplishment, even though he encountered the antagonism of his own sons, who violently opposed Fremont — regardless of the injunction, that a house divided against itself must fall. Blair had also a private score to settle with the Southern chivalry. It had been by the influence of the Southern members of the democratic party, that he had been deprived of his position as Government organ, and consequent loss of the splendid pickings from the national crib. So, in order that he might FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. 151 wreak his vengeance upon that section, he was willing to tear down the walls of the temple itself. Mrs. Fremont was treated with but scant cere- mony by the authorities at Washington. After many days of delay, she addressed a short but haughty note to President Lincoln, demanding; an answer to her communication, in order, as she stated, ' that she might return to her husband and children ; ' and the reply which this elicited from President Lincoln, was as curt as her own. So she returned West from her bootless mission at Washington, and was received at St. Louis with regal honours — a carriage and four awaited her, in which she was escorted by a troop of cavalry, with bands of music and bonfires, to her husband's quarters. So said the veracious chroniclers of the triumphal entry. Meanwhile the fiat had gone forth, and Halieck was appointed to the management of the depart- ment of the West, which Fremont had so lately mismanaged, having, however, greatly the advan- tage over his predecessor, in being of the genuine Abolition party. Edwin M. Stanton had been appointed to succeed Cameron in the War Department. The Abolition Congress was again in session, and its work of 152 FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. proscription renewed. General Seott held on with a tenacity only equalled by that of Daniel Webster during President Tyler's administration. But he was just now the fifth wheel to the Abolition wagon, and seriously clogged their movements, and they resolved to adopt measures for the accomplishment of his removal, which even they had shrunk from save in the last extremity. So charges of treason were trumped up, and articles of indictment actually prepared. This last feather broke the camel's back, and he succumbed. The first step accomplished, it was determined to indulge the old man's avarice to the extent of their power. The public mind was prepared for what was to follow by daily statements of his sinking health, which alarmingly increased. 'His resignation was prepared. Lincoln and his Cabinet attended at his lodgings to hear it read, which being received, Lincoln, "standing " read to him the gracious act, securing to him for life his pay, and all the perqui- sites he had hitherto enjoyed.' After this, General Scott took a solemn leave of Lincoln, and eulogised his patriotism as second only to Washington's. That same afternoon he departed for Xew York, and gave his parting benediction to ' the young General, who, with his staff, in a pelting rain, accompanied him to FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. 153 the train, all dressed in black, like the Knight of the Raven Plume.'' Mr. Secretary Seward and Mr. Secretary Chase — with the mockery of honour — accompanied him to New York. Telegrams from each stopping-point gave desponding accounts of the health of the illus- trious exile from power and place. At last he reached New York, saw only Mr. John Van Buren, and embarked, after a few days, for France. Arriving there in due course of time, he seized upon the pretext of the Mexican and French imbroglio, and returned, in the next steamer but one, to New York, where he lives in elegant state upon the price of his honour — sic transit. (This account has been almost entirely taken from the Government organ.) The public were for a little while amused with the rumour that the defunct hero was to be sent as special ambassador to Mexico, but that, of course, was only a canard. The espionage over me was now greater than at any previous period. Life was almost unendurable ; an undefined nameless terror was stealing; over me of something more dark and terrible than I had yet been exposed to. This feeling may be appreciated, when it is remembered that I was a defenceless woman, in the hands of a party which had shrunk 154 FREMOXT AND OTHER THINGS. from no crime to cany out its ends. I was constantly assailed in its papers ; and some of my former friends and connections sought, instead of protecting me, to palliate and excuse the cowardly attacks. My anxiety was not allayed by receiving a secret communication to be on my guard, ' as an infernal plot teas hatching against me ; ' at the same time en- closing extracts from Abolition papers, stating that I had ' lost my mind, and that it was rumoured that the Government intended to remove me to a private lunatic asylum.'' My blood freezes even now, when I recall my feelings at the reception of this com- munication, and I wonder that I had not gone mad. My equanimity was by no means restored at this time by the announcement that the Surgeon-General of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and several others, de- sired to pay their respects to me. I received him with smiles on my lips, and fear and hate in my heart. (I do not remember the name, as my journal was at a later period taken from me.) But he was very courteous, and apologised for intruding upon me, by saying that ' he had been most desirous of seeing a lady who had become so celebrated in the eyes of the ivorkV Our conversation was spirited, and upon the all-exciting topics of the times, in which I bore my part as an uncompromising rebel ; and, although FKEMONT AND OTHER THINGS. 155 the frightful idea was ever present, that this man had been probably sent for the purpose of dooming me to a madhouse, I jested lightly, defiantly, with him. Finally he said to me, ' Do you never find your mind giving way under this close solitary confinement?' I replied, ' Do you see any indications of aberration of mind?' He answered, 'Madam, you fill me with admiration and astonishment, not only by your cheerfulness, but from the wonderful knowledge 3^011 have of what is going on ! I had never believed that any person could rise so superior to surrounding circumstances. For I know,' he continued, ' that the Government has placed such an estimate upon your capacity, as to resort to measures of unusual harsh- ness in your imprisonment.' ' Well,' I said, ' Doctor, I defy their skill to thwart any purpose of mine ; and so far from succumbing, I never felt my mind clearer or more capable of mischief against your Govern- ment than at this moment.' The visit, after some further conversation, termi- nated ; and I know not whether I was indebted to this gentleman, but I heard no more of the mad- house scheme. The officer of the guard, Lieutenant Sheldon, was not now allowed to hold personal communication with me. The guard were set -as spies upon each other, 156 FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. and upon him. They were ordered not to speak to me or answer questions, under penalty of severe punishment. One day a guard, by name Hebburn, gave me some ordinary information. Miss Poole, hearing him, sent for the corporal of the guard, and reported it. The poor man was dealt with very harshly in consequence. She also reported that my little child received some communication for me on the pavement, which was untrue, and the poor child was, from that time, doomed to as severe imprison- ment as I now endured.* This was, perhaps, my hardest trial — to see my little one pining and fading under my eyes for want of food and air, without the power to avert the terrible doom which seemed im- pending. The health and spirits of my faithful maid also began to fail, and I felt often tempted to exclaim, 'My God, let this bitter cup pass from me ! ' The winter had set in with unusual severity, and the heavens seemed in accord with the gloom of my own destiny. By reason of the inclemency of the weather, I was now deprived of my only remaining pleasure — that of receiving from afar the stealthy greeting of friends — stealthy for the reason that if * Lieutenant Sheldon subsequently informed me that Miss Poole had made this statement. FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. 157 seen to wave a hand towards my prison, arrest was sure to follow ; the reign of terror being now at its height. ISTo one, unless under similar circum- stances, can realise the extent of this deprivation. I remember, some years ago, when I was very young, being invited to meet the celebrated Italian exile Gonfallonieri, who had been a victim of Aus- trian despotism, and was* for many years in solitary confinement as a state prisoner. No knowledge from the outer world ever reached his dungeon. Empires had changed their destiny, and kings had fallen. The great Napoleon had ended his mortal career at St. Helena. Charles X. had been hurled from the throne of France, and Louis Philippe reigned in his stead. Of this he knew nothing until he reached New York, a prisoner no longer, but exile from friends and fatherland. I wept as I listened to his sad recital, and thanked God that my destiny had been cast in a land where crimes like this could never be committed, I did not then foresee that the scourge of Black Republican rule was to come upon us, and sweep from the New World every vestige of civil rights and freedom, as had been often done in the Old. M'Clellan, from having been lulled into a false security by the flatteries lavished upon him to that 158 FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. end, began now to realise all the difficulties of his position. The insensate cry of ' On to Eichmond ! ' was again raised, and his judgment sought to be overruled as to the means by which that feat was to be accomplished. M'CleUan had laboured hard to make his army the best appointed, and best disciplined, in the world ; and, considering the heterogeneous materials he had to work upon, he certainly had effected marvels. The programme which he had marked out for himself was fully in accordance with the wisdom and fore- sight he had displayed in other respects. He under- stood thoroughly the morale of his army, and that his only hope of success in invading the South was by overwhelming numbers. But Seward and the other Sachems of Abolition- dom did not intend that M'Clellan should reap the substantial fruits which the success of his plans would have placed within his grasp. The object for which he had been inflated to his present eminence, had been fully accomplished. General Scott had as completely passed away from the public mind, as if his funeral dirge had been already sung. So these ' carpet warriors,' who had already slain their thousands by the stroke of their pens, addressed themselves seriously to the work of checkmating FKEMOXT AND OTHEE THINGS. 159 M'Clellan, and would, had they dared, have removed him from his ill-starred eminence. M'Clellan had, however, succeeded in gaining the confidence, as I have said before, of a large party. It is true that he had done nothing, so far, to establish a claim to high consideration, having as yet per- formed no deeds of valour to entitle him to his laurel wreath, although his achievements in Western Virginia, in the early part of the campaign, had been absurdly exaggerated, as an excuse for his undue elevation. The popular voice, nevertheless, was in his favour, and cried loudly that he should be re- tained to carry out his programme. His soldiers were attached to him, and any attempt to suspend him would have been attended with hazardous results, until that army had been again demoralised by the hardships and exposure of another unsuccess- ful campaign. Had M'Clellan possessed the moral courage at this time to have boldly stated his ultimatum, and given in his resignation in case it was not complied with, he would have triumphed temporarily over his adver- saries, who were not prepared to push things to this extremity. They still believed Washington to be threatened by Beauregard, and, amidst the feasting and revelry of the Capitol, they were tremblingly 160 FREMONT AND OTHER THINGS. alive to the idlest rumour of an advance. The forti- fications were being hourly strengthened and ex- tended, and large quantities of provisions and other stores were distributed in the basement of the Capitol, and public buildings, and throughout other portions of the city, in preparation for a siege. The public archives had been removed to Phila- delphia in the beginning of August, a short time after the battle of Manassas, when the panic was at its height, thereby creating great fright in the city of brotherly love, as the sealed yellow cases, in which those important State papers were conveyed, were supposed to be the Yankee dead from the disastrous plains of Manassas. So not only were the imagina- tions of the Philadelphians disturbed by the fear of the grim ghosts of the unassoilzied dead, but pesti- lence also ; and, hi order to allay the excitement consequent thereupon, it became necessary to make an official announcement of the character of the freight contained in the yellow cases. Unimportant as this incident may seem, it is still a part of the record of the days of panic. 161 CHAPTEE IX. DIABLERIE. PETTY ANNOYANCES — MY LETTERS OBJECTED TO — MY PROTEST — ■ ' NEW YORK HERALD ' — JHDGE-ADVOCATE KEY — WHAT HE SAID — CHEISTMAS-DAY ■ — WARNING — OTHER PRISONERS — COMIC SCENES — DETECTIVE POLICE — SEVERE ORDEAL — SEIZURE OF MY JOURNAL, ETC. — WRITING MATERIALS PROHIBITED BY ORDER OE GENERAL PORTER. As if for the purpose of annoying me at this time, the few short and unsatisfactory letters which I sent j through the Provost-Marshal's Office were, upon one pretext or another, objected to. Upon one occasion II wrote to a friend to ' tell Cousin Lucy that I had i firm reliance upon Divine Providence' That was ,t returned to me, with a note stating that 'all names ,must be written in full, and no ambiguous expressions • used.' I thereupon, by way of protest, wrote to s suggest that the Provost-Marshal should issue a ] printed circular, prescribing the formula to be used iby prisoners, as I was gifted with no faculty to ' divine what he might consider ambiguous ; that the only expression which could possibly be incompre- M 162 DIABLEEIE. hensible to him was that wherein I had expressed my reliance on Divine Providence ; and that he recalled to my mind a circumstance which had occurred in a much more civilised land than this. The British Parliament having, some years ago, instituted a commission to enquire into the moral] condition of the colliers, a learned divine, who formed part of that commission, reported on his return, in evidence of their state of moral iefore us — we have no doubt of that— men and women of ntelligence and refinement. There was a bright fire (lowing on the hearth, and a t6te-a-tete was drawn up in jiront. The two parlours were divided by a red gauze, ,nd in the back room stood a handsome rosewood piano- orte, with pearl keys, upon which the prisoner of the iouse, Mrs. Grreenhow, and her friends had often performed. fhe walls of the room were hung with portraits of friends nd others — some on earth and some in heaven — one of ihem representing a former daughter of Mrs. Grreenhow, Gertrude, a girl of sixteen summers, with auburn hair and ight-blue eyes, who died some time since. ' In the picture a smile of beauty played around the lips, ! nd the eyes are lighted with a strange fancy, such as is ften seen in the eyes of a girl just budding into woman- lood. P 210 TKIALS AND DANGER. ' On the east wall hangs the picture of Mrs. Florence Moore, whose husband is now in our army, while the walls of the back room are adorned with different pictures of the men and women of our time. Just now, as we are ex- amining pictures, there is a noise heard overhead — hardly a noise, for it is the voice of a child, soft and musical. ' " That is Eose Greenhow, the daughter of Mrs. Green- how, playing with the guard," says the lieutenant, who has noticed our distractment. " It is a strange sound here ; you do n't often hear it, for it is generally very quiet." And the handsome face of the lieutenant is relaxed into a shade of sadness. There are prisoners above there — no doubt of that — and may-be the tones of this young child have dropped like the rains of Spring upon the leaves of the drooping flowers. A moment more and all is quiet, and save the stepping of the guard above there is nothing heard. ' The Sixteenth Street gaol has been an object of conside- rable interest for months past, to citizens as well as visitors. Before the windows of the upper stories were " blinded," the prisoners often appeared at these points, and were viewed by pedestrians on the other side of the way ; but since the " cake affair " of New Year's Day, the prisoners have been forbidden to appear at the windows, and the excitement, instead of having been allayed, has been still further increased. . . . 'The report that the cake sent to Mrs. Greenhow, on New Year's Day, came from Mrs. Douglas, to whom Mrs. Greenhow sustains the relationship of aunt, is a mistake. The cake was sent by a party well known to the Govern- ment, upon whom a strict watch is kept.' . . . TRIALS AND DANGEE. 211 ' These extracts will be sufficient to show in what manner I was made a spectacle of, in order to gratify tthe greedy appetites of the sensational North, and I the unenviable publicity to which I was condemned. 1 Cause enough, if no other existed, for my deep ■ contempt and detestation of a Government so lost to every instinct of propriety as to descend to that meanest of all persecutions — that of dragging my ^name in the slough of its own hirelings. By I every principle of integrity and honour I was -i entitled to their protection, and they gave me such \ as the hyasna would give to the victim within reach of its fangs. The dignity of my little girl was very much " shocked at the part ascribed to her in the parting scene — that of throwing her arms around the neck of Lieutenant Sheldon — which, I need scarcely say, was i without a shadow of truth, being an effort of imagi- | nation on the part of the correspondent. Well, to continue my narrative, Mr. Win. P. Wood, the superintendent of the Old Capitol Prison, received me with great empressement. He appeared i fully sensible of the honour of being the custodian ) of ' so noted a rebel. 1 The building itself was familiar to me. The first Congress of United States in Washington had held its sessions there ; but it was f2 212 TRIALS AND DANGER. far more hallowed in my eyes by having been the spot where the illustrious statesman John C. Calhoun breathed his last. The tide of reminiscences came thronging back upon my memory. In the room in which I now sat waiting to be conducted to my cell, I had listened to the words of prophetic wisdom from the mouth of the dying patriot. He had said that our present form of Government would prove a failure ; that the tendency had always been, towards the centralisation of power in the hands of the general Government ; that the conservative element was that of States' rights ; that he had ever advo- cated it, as the only means of preserving the Govern- ment according to the Constitution ; that it was a gross slander to have limited his advocacy of those principles to the narrow bounds of his own State ; that he had battled for the rights of Massachusetts as well as for those of South Carolina ; and that, when- ever it came to pass, that an irresponsible majority would override this conservative element, that moment would the Union be virtually destroyed. That our system was not susceptible of long dura- tion ; that no Government could stand the shock of revolution every four years, and that as our popu- lation increased the danger became more imminent ; that upon this principle he had opposed the war TRIALS AND DANGER. 213 with Mexico and the proposition for the purchase i of Cuba, as all acquisition of territory was likely to I bring about the agitation of the slavery question, : and arouse the fanaticism of the North, which was destined, at no distant day, to set aside the consti- tutional restraints which now held them but feebly in check, and eventually bring about a revolution. ' I have lived,' he said, ' in advance of my time, but you in your generation will witness the fulfillment of my prophecy.' And now scarce a decade has passed, and his prophetic warnings have been realised ; and Abraham Lincoln has brought about the fulfill- ment of his prophecy, and written in words of blood upon the tablets of history that the ' Great Model Republic'' is a failure. After the lapse of some half-hour I was taken up to the room which had been selected for me by General Porter. It was situated in the back building of the prison, on the north-west side, the only view being that of the prison-yard, and was chosen purposely so as to exclude the chance of my seeing ia friendly face. It is about ten feet by twelve, and "furnished in the rudest manner — a straw bed, with ia pair of newly-made unwashed cotton sheets — a small feather pillow, dingy and dirty enough to have formed part of the furniture of the Mayflower — a few 214 TRIALS AND DANGER. wooden chairs, a wooden table, and a glass, six by eight inches, completed its adornment : soldiers' rations being only allowed me by this magnanimous Pennsylvanian, who was doubtless driving a good trade by his patriotism. The second day of my sojourn in this dismal hole a carpenter came to put up bars to the windows. I asked by whose order it was done, and was informed by the superintendent that General Porter not only ordered it, but made the drawings himself, so as to exclude the greatest amount of air and sunlight from the victims of abolition wrath. Wood remonstrated against the bars, saying that they had not been found necessary ; whereupon Porter said, ' Oh, Wood, she (alluding to me) will fool you out of your eyes — can talk with her fingers,' &c. But to speak of myself — the door of this den is locked and barred, and the sentinels pacing up and down before it. I had scarcely entered my cell, when this same Dr. Stewart came in, attended by his hospital steward. I received him very coldly, and he with- drew after showing himself. On the 21st Dr. Stewart came in again, with his hospital steward, very unceremoniously — for I had no fastening on my door. He seemed determined to disturb my equanimity. I was in bed, not having TRIALS AND DANGER. 215 arisen. The customs of our people made this seem a great outrage to me, so I told him that I trusted that his sense of delicacy would prevent his future visits to me, unless I desired his presence ; that I supposed that I had been sufficiently explicit upon former occasions ; that his Government had deprived me of my liberty, but that they could not force upon me civilities — and I supposed that his visit was intended as such — which I, from principle, declined to receive. With that he spread himself like a \Baslia with three tails, discoursed fluently upon the dignity of his position, and concluded by saying it iwas his pleasure to come ; to which I replied, ' It is mine not to receive you.' As he went out, he said tto the guard in a very loud voice, ' / am the first person who has made that woman feel that she is a iprisoner, and I will yet reduce her to the condition of 'the other prisoners.' I thereupon sent for the super- intendent, to make my protest against this renewed impertinence. In the course of the day he ob- tained authority to exclude ' Materia Medica ' from 'my presence. Extracts from notes kept in the Old Capitol : — 25th. — I have been one week in my new prison. My letters now all go through the detective police, 216 TRIALS AND DANGEK. who subject them to a chemical process to extract the treason. In one of the newspaper accounts, prepared- under the direction of the secret police, I am supposed to use sympathetic ink. I purposely left a preparation very conspicuously placed, in order to divert attention from my real means of communi- cation, and they have swallowed the bait and fancy my friends are at their mercy. How I shrink from the notoriety which these dastards force upon me : for five months I have had a daily paragraph. One would think that curiosity would have been satiated ; but not so. And I have the uneasy consciousness that every word I utter will appear with exaggeration in the newspapers. Even my child of eight years is deemed of import- ance enough to have her childish speeches recorded. Well ! I bide my time, confident in the retributive justice of Heaven. Eose is subject to the same rigorous restrictions as myself. I was fearful at first that she would pine, and said, 'My little darling, you must show yourself superior to these Yankees, and not pine.' She replied quickly, ' mamma, never fear ; I hate them too much. I intend to dance and sing "Jeff. Davis is coming," just to scare them ! ' January 28. — This day, as I raised my barred windows, and stood before one of them to get out of TEIALS AND DANGEK. 217 the smoke and dust, &c. the guard rudely called, f Go away from that window ! ' and raised his musket and levelled it at rne. I maintained my position without condescending to notice him, whereupon he sailed for the corporal of the guard. I called also Tor the officer of the guard, who informed me that I ' must not go to the window.' I quietly told him that, at whatever peril, I should avail myself of the largest liberty of the four walls of my prison. He told me that his guard would have orders to fire upon me. I had no idea that such monstrous regu- lations existed. To-day the dinner for myself and child consists of a bowl of beans swimming in grease, two slices of fat junk, and two slices of bread. Still, my consolation is, 'Every dog has his day.' January 30. — I wonder what will happen next. M.j child has been ill for several days, brought on by close confinement and want of proper food. Just aow I went to the door and rapped, that being the prescribed manner of making known my wants. The guard came. ' What do you want ?' ' Call the corporal of the guard,' I said. ' What do you want with him ? ' ' That Is no business of yours ; call aim ? ' 'I won't call him.' ' You shall ' (rap, rap, rap). The guard — ' G — d d — n you, if you do that again I will shoot you through the door.' * Call the corporal 218 TRIALS AND DANGER. of the guard ! ' Here horrid imprecations followed; I thereupon raised the window and called, ' Corporal of the guard.' The ruffian called also, finding that I was not to be terrified by his threats. But, when the corporal came and opened the door, I was seized n with laughter, for there stood the Abolitionist blub- bering like a child, that he had ' not orders to shoot the d — d Secesh woman, who was not afraid of the devil himself.'' b I sent for the officer of the guard, who was Lieute-r $ nant Carlton, of Zanesville, Ohio, and reported this outrage. He said that the guard had acted by his orders in refusing to call the corporal of the guard* and that he had no idea of allowing his non-com- missioned officers to act as servants, &c. I told him that my child was ill, and I demanded the use of a servant ; whereupon he told me that a servant should not be allowed me, save morning and night. I re- plied, ' Very well, sir. I will resort to the window, then, as my only expedient.' A servant after this was sent, but had to perform her functions with a sergeant of the guard standing over her. I told Lieutenant Carlton that I would report him to the || Provost-Marshal, which I accordingly did, and the | following is a copy of my letter : — TRIALS AND DANGER. 219 'TO GENERAL PORTER, PROVOST-MARSHAL. ' Old Capitol Prtsok : Jan. 81. ' Sir, — I feel it to be my duty to make a represen- tation of certain things clone here under sanction and uthority of your name. 'A few days since I went to my window and ieaned against the bars to escape the dust and bad >dours with which it was filled, when the guard >elow, No. 5, called to me in a rude manner to go iway, and threatened to shoot me. This morning . again went to my window, to escape the dust tad atmosphere of a room without ventilation, the vindows of which you well know are barred — as I im told that they evidence your mechanical skill — md the guard called to me in the same fashion, and igain levelled his musket at me. A few moments since I was threatened to be fired upon through the loor of my chamber, and your officer of the guard ustified the outrage, and assumed the responsibility )f the act. Sir, I call your attention to these and other gross outrages, and warn you that there is mother tribunal — that of the public opinion of the i'ivilised world — to which I will appeal against your icts of inhumanity. And I now formally demand hat you cause this officer, Lieutenant Carlton, to be mnished for his brutality ; and that you establish 220 TRIALS AND DANGER. rules and regulations here, in accordance with the | laws of humanity, and rny rights as a prisoner. * I have the honour to be, &c. &c. 1 Eose O'K Greenhow.' This brought no response, but I was subsequently !l informed that Lieutenant Carlton was temporarily i' c placed under arrest, although he was, in the order of rotation, again in command at the prison. I can give no idea of the petty annoyances to which I was j constantly exposed. I was never allowed to cross my chamber door. If a servant now entered to perform the smallest duty, the door was immediately II locked and bolted, so that it was necessary to rap or call some five or ten minutes before they could get i] out. And when it is remembered that these servants f were often negro men, who claimed perfect equality, and would tauntingly tell me that ' Massa Lincoln had made them as good as me — that they would not be called negroes, but gem' men of colour J some idea |j may be felt of the vague, undefined feeling of uneasi- ness that was constantly upon me. It is but justice to the superintendent of the prison, Mr. Wood, to ( state that, whenever the insolence of the negroes came to his knowledge, that he invariably sent them I away; and that, so far as he was able to do so, he i TRIALS AND DAXGER. 221 protected the prisoners from the insolence and out- age of the guard and officers. The rules with regard to rny child were barba- rously rigid. The act of commitment ran thus : — Miss Eose Greenhow, although not a prisoner, is -ubject to the same rules and regulations prescribed or a prisoner.' She was in fact as much a prisoner jus I was. I had never been consulted on the subject. fl.nd when occasionally, from very shame, she was Jillowed to go down in the yard, the child often came sjip crying, from the effects of the brutality and inde- cency to which she was exposed. The superin- •endeDt was, as I have above said, disposed to be dnd, but there was a constant struggle going on between him and the military authorities for supre- macy, by which the comfort of the prisoner was lacrificedj and his liberty abridged. It would seem •o have been purposely arranged that these respective jealousies, should result in stricter vigilance over the .aelpless victims. I can conceive no more horrible destiny than that vhich was now my lot. At nine o'clock the lights vere put out, the roll was called every night and norning, and a man peered in to see that a prisoner lad not escaped through the keyhole. The walls of ay room swarmed with vermin and I was obliged 222 TRIALS AND DANGER. to employ a portion of the precious hours of candle- light in burning them on the wall, in order that myself and child should not be devoured by them in the course of the night. The bed was so hard that I was obliged to fold up my clothing and place them under my child ; in spite of this she would often cry out in the night, ' Oh, mamma, the bed hurts me so much.' The portion of the prison in which I was con- fined was now almost entirely converted into negro quarters, hundreds of whom were daily brought in, the rooms above and below mine being appropriated to their use ; and the tramping and screaming of negro children overhead was most dreadful. The prison- yard, which circumscribed my view, was filled with them, shocking both sight and smell — for the air was rank and pestiferous with the exhalations from their bodies ; and the language which fell upon the ear, and sights which met the eye, were too revolting to be depicted — for it must be remembered that these creatures were of both sexes, huddled together in- discriminately, as close as they could be packed. Emancipated from all control, and suddenly endowed with constitutional rights, they considered the exer- cise of their unbridled will as the only means of manifesting their equality. TRIALS AND DANGER. 223 • In addition to all other sufferings was the terrible Jlread of infectious diseases, several cases of small-pox toccurring, and my child had already taken the camp- tmeasles, which had broken out amongst them. My clothes, when brought out from the wash, were often filled with vermin ; constantly articles were stolen. (Complaint on this head, of course, was unheeded. Our free fellow-citizens of colour felt themselves ■entitled to whatever they liked. Several times Jduring this period my child was reduced to a bare change of garments ; and the supreme contempt with which they regarded a rebel was, of course, very edifying to the Yankees, who rubbed their -hands in glee at the signs of the ' irrepressible con- micV One day I called for a servant from the ^window. A negro man, basking in the sun below, x called out — ' Is any of you ladies named Laura? dai -woman up dare wants you.'' And, by way of still -further increasing the satisfaction with this condition jof things, Captain Gilbert, of the 91st Pennsylvania -^Volunteers, drilled these negroes just below my ] window. I protested against these infamies, and threatened to make an appeal to the United States Senate to send a committee to enquire into our present hapless condition, as they had done in the case of the negro 224 TRIALS AND DANGER. thieves and felons confined in the gaol, many of whom had been released by habeas corpus^ and whose cases had been deemed worthy of a senatorial report. This threat procured the instant removal of the negroes to more comfortable quarters. 1 225 CHAPTER XII. PBOGEESS OF EVENTS. CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE — DAME RUMOUR AND MRS. LINCOLN — < HERALD' ON MRS. LINCOLN — M'CLELLAN — POLICY OE ADMINIS- TRATION TOWARDS HIM — CHANCE PROPHECY — MY YANKEE VISITORS — ABOLITION POLICY, ETC. — SOUTHERN CHIVALRY— 'RICH- MOND EXAMINER'— PRESIDENT DAVIS — ( ON TO RICHMOND,' 3RD. — ■ ESTIMATE OE OUR EORCES— EXPENDITURE — PRESSURE OE PUBLIC OPINION — REINFORCEMENTS — FESTIVE SCENES — BALL AT THE "WHITE HOUSE — MRS. LINCOLN'S TOILETTE — GENERAL MAGRUDER — M'CLELLAN'S IDEAS — POLICY OE THE GOVERNMENT — EVACUATION OE YORKTOWN BY JOHNSON — PRESIDENT DAVIS'S COACHMAN, AND WHAT HE SAID — NORTHERN CREDULITY AND VENALITY. Che Congressional Committee of Investigation, in- stituted on account of Mr. Secretary Cameron's eccentric financial dalliances, was still labouring imidst the turbid pools of corruption, whose depth hey were trying to fathom. Its researches had laken a far more extended range than was originally ntencled. The newspapers, in conjunction with Dame Eumour, sometimes lifted the screen, and gave he public a peep at the nature of the examinations vdth which the committee had charged themselves, nd they were certainly of a very extraordinary Q 226 PROGRESS OP EVENTS. character — the most remarkable being the charges against Mrs. Lincoln of corruption, &c. Mrs. Lincoln was said to have purchased from a New York hard- ware establishment a dinner service of china for the White House, to be paid for by the Government, for which the dealer presented a bill to Mr. Lincoln for the sum of 2,500 dollars ; that he refused to pay the exorbitant price, and sent for a hardware dealer of Washington to consult as to the real value, who estimated it at about 800 dollars ; that the New York dealer still insisted on his original demand, telling Mr. Lincoln significantly that he had better pay it without further question ; that Lincoln insist- ing to know what he meant, the dealer finally gave the history of the transaction, as follows : that the real price of the china had been 800 dollars, but Mrs. Lincoln had directed him to make out the bill for 2,500, and hand over the surplus to her. The nature of some of these charges can be bettei understood by the formal defence which the ' New York Herald ' thought fit to make of her charactei and domestic virtues. It deprecated the attempt o the committee to interfere with the harmoniow domestic relations of President Lincoln and his wife- said that 'she should be, like Caesar's w r ife, above suspicion,' &c. This was very noble and praise PROGRESS OF EVENTS. 227 i -worthy on the part of the ' Herald ; ' but the com- t mittee were dealing with things as they were, and - not as they ought to be, although they afterwards : came to the conclusion that it was incompatible with ! the good of public morals that their researches should be published. It will, however, at some future day form a curious appendage to the history ti of the times, in the hands of some chronicler of the ] rise and fall of the Model Republic, which has been i more recently characterised as ' the best Govern- ,\ merit the sun ever shone upon.' The movements of M'Clellan were now hurried, and he was forced to assume the defensive in the j manner and place indicated by others. The second ) advance on Manassas was in accordance with this 1 plan, and the result proved even more disastrous to the Abolition army than the first. They could no longer delude themselves as to the superiority of the k fighting qualities of the enemy they had to contend w with : it had been demonstrated at Manassas, and k equally fatally at Ball's Bluff — where the fanatical demagogue Baker met his just doom. And they k were now to learn that this hated Southern chivalry, whom they reported at Manassas to have laid ' down' behind their trenches, too enervated to load their own guns, which teas done by their negroes for them, Q 2 228 PEOGRESS OF EVENTS. exceeded them quite as much in hardy endurance as in strategy and skill — all qualities essential to success ; and in this instance, as if to show their contempt for the foe who had required almost eight months to recover from the last shock of arms, added insult toj injury by holding them in check with wooden guns ;, actually introducing with success the Chinese system of warfare against these puritan propagandists of the nineteenth century. It was at this time that I replied to the boast made by some Yankee officers of the ' total anni hilation of our army' — ' We will not fight you at Manassas, bat will lead you on to the Chickahominy where we will welcome you " to hospitable graves!" After the actual occurrence, this chance prophecy was published in the ' New York Herald,' and other papers, as an evidence of my uninterrupted commu- nication 'with the army at Manassas.' And the. Prince de Joinville, in his apologetic letter for M'Clellan's defeat, says, ' He was forced to reveal^ his plans in Cabinet, and a female spy immediately sent information of them across to Beauregard, whose strategic movement was consequent upon if M'Clellan did me the honour to say that I knew his plans better than President Lincoln or his Cabinet and had caused him four times to change them — PE0GRESS OF EVENTS. 229 ' this was a matter of public notoriety amongst the : Yankees, and fully believed. But he gave me credit sometimes for more information than I possessed. I was, of course, a close observer of the smallest indications, and often drew accurate conclusions -without having any precise knowledge on the sub- ject. I was in Washington, as the Indian savage in 5 the trackless forest, with an enemy behind every oiish. My perceptive faculties were under a painful tension, and every instinct was quickened to follow r T Jie doublings and windings of the ruthless foe who ^as hunting my race unto death ; and, of course, no flrord or indication was lost upon me. I was very often at this period intruded upon by arge parties of curious Yankees, who came with )asses from the Provost-Marshal, or Governor of the listrict, to stare at me. Sometimes I was amused, md generally contrived to find out from these par- ies what was going on. One set of men came, atroducing themselves as friends of Mrs. Timothy child's — as if this would furnish a passport to a outhern woman's confidence. This party affected to e literary, one of whom was editor of a Eochester Wnal : informed me that I was detained on account f my talents ' as a writer,' and classed me with Idme. de Sevigne. Another large party came a 230 PROGRESS OF EVENTS. few days after this : the women, very smartly dressed, helped themselves very unceremoniously to cake which had been just sent to my little one. A woman of this party, who claimed Boston as her residence, made quite a furious onslaught upon me, and said to me, ' Confess that it was love of notoriety which caused you to adopt your course, and you have been certainly gratified, for there is no one whom everybody has such a curiosity to see' — be- came very much excited, and said a great deal more. I told her that I had not supposed her object in visiting my prison was for the purpose of making a personal attack upon me, but that she did not sur- prise me. And afterwards I requested the superin- tendent not to allow any more of these parties to have access to me ; for the fish women of Paris in the French Eevolution were before my mind, and I feared that the next party might come armed with sticks or knives. The superintendent told me that numbers daily came to the prison who would gladh give him ten dollars a-piece to be allowed to pass nry open door, so as to obtain a view of the 'indomi- table rebel,' as I was sometimes called in their papers This was being ' damned to immortality.' The disappointment of the Abolitionists at Ma nassas by no means diminished the zeal of the ' On t< PEOGEESS OF EVENTS. 231 Richmond party,' although it must always be borne , in mind that the most bloodthirsty and desperate of I these mercenary patriots were, from the nature of j their positions, never likely to encounter the foe . whom they affected to despise. In the first battle of Manassas it was terrible to read the accounts of the masked batteries, and torpedoes, and infernal c machines, described as buried by the rebels, who were held up to the execration of the civilised world for resorting to such unfair practices against a trust- ing foe, who disdained the use of any but the most r orthodox means of destruction. Poor rebels, how bitterly they were denounced ! Unblushingly now I these same liberators avowed to the world that they had drawn on their imaginations — in plain English, had lied most egregiously : that instead of ' the country, for the space of twenty miles, being enfiladed with [mashed batteries, rifle-pits, tyc' — as they have since — only a few earthen defences, of but little strength, \ surmounted by wooden guns, were found ; and by consequence forced to admit that the formidable defences and breastworks against which their mighty /army had recoiled and fled like stricken hounds, had been formed of a small band of ' enervated Southern- ers,' whom they represented as an easy prey. And so they had been for long years, and the North 232 PROGRESS OF EVENTS. had grown rich and intolerant upon its monopoly of their material wealth ; but now they were banded together in the cause of their rights, and spirited on by the Lord of Hosts to victory. Shrewd calculations were now entered into as to the time when this ' invincible grand army ' (foi they still adhered to the name), would make its tri- umphant entry into Richmond. Extracts were con- stantly published from the ' Richmond Examiner,' to prove the utter want of confidence of the populace in our President, representing him as ruling with despotic power, exposing every salieut point — our exhausted resources and want of munitions of war, and other things which patriotism should have shrouded in silence, had it all been true. The 'Examiner' was also reported several times to have been suppressed by order of President Davis, on account, as they said, ' of its fearless ex- posure of his tyrannical government,' and our help less condition was bemoaned by the victims of a despotism more absolute than that which they in imagination inflicted upon the Confederacy. So convinced was I of the injury which the ' Examiner ' caused by exaggerating our internal differences and exposing our difficulties, that on arriving at Richmond I seriously asked the President PR OGRESS OF EVENTS. 233 "why, in view of the mischievous effects of this paper l:in giving aid and comfort to the enemy, it had not iibeen suppressed ; for that during the period of my imprisonment, I had had ample opportunity to know ipe important information which they derived through iits columns. The reply of the President was befit- ■ ting the head of a great nation — ' Better suffer from ■that evil which is temporary, than arrest it by a still \[gr eater one. It is a dangerous thing to interfere with jhe liberty of the press, for what would it avail us if [iwe gain our independence and lose our liberty V i Letters were also passed about purporting to come .from the ladies of our high officers and officials, re- gretting the erroneous judgments of their ' bosom lords,' and all sighing after the flesh-pots of Egypt ; >and Mr. John Minor Botts quoted openly, as autho- rity for our demoralised condition, and readiness to be taken into favour, if the conquering army could once get to Eichmond. But there was the rub. The iroad to Eichmond was studied on the maps, and it d seemed very easy. I had the one used by the Mili- tary Committee of the Senate, with the red dotted alines which they made of the route ; and thinking 'it might serve as a lesson to the Confederate engi- neers, sent it to Manassas — (I have often wondered if that might not be the identical map supposed to 234 PROGRESS OP EVENTS. have been furnished by General Scott's coachman). To their judgment, the ' On to Richmond' was un fait accompli ; and our noble President already dragged at the wheels of the ' coach with purple hangings,' to grace the triumph of the immortal rail splitter. This programme was only delayed. Who could doubt its fulfillment? Mr. Secretary Chase borrowed money upon it. The bulls and bears of Wall Street kept the ball constantly in motion. Richmond was the Palestine of these modern Cru- saders, and the freedom of the negro their sepulchre of Christ. M'Clellan, by order of the ' Great Secretary ,' now made the third move in the programme of ' On to Richmond,' by way of Yorktown. This was against his judgment ; but he, however, showed himself pos- sessed of the first requisite of a soldier — obedience to his superior. He had an effective force of 150,000 men, weU appointed and disciplined — somewhat, it is true, relaxed by the mistake at Manassas — and eager, if we could judge from the boastful bragging tone, for the onslaught. The only opposing army at this time on the peninsula was the small but gal- lant band, under Magruder, of eight or ten thousand men, which he managed with such skill, by marching and countermarching, as to give the idea of fifty or PEOGKESS OF EVENTS. 235 . sixty thousand : this estimate was constantly made by the Yankees. With this insignificant force he r ; held M'Clellan's whole army in check for two months. Upon the principle that one Confederate was equal to five Yankees, I aided in the mystifica- i tion by inadvertently supposing our force on the peninsula to be not less than 200,000 strong. H M'Clellan was evidently under the impression that a formidable force confronted him, and set to work - to entrench himself, at a cost of $3,000,000 ; and demanded that reinforcements, to the amount of 50,000 men, should be sent him from Washington, v Stanton haughtily replied to this requisition, in the i name of poor Lincoln, by enumerating the force 1 under his command, and ordered him to fight the battle with the army he already had ; and plainly \ insinuated that, if he asked for any more men, they would send him instead 'a commanding officer.' i M'Clellan maintained the impossibility of his com- J mencing offensive operations, unless reinforced. A S correspondence between him and the Great Secretary ' ensued, which created an active partisan warfare. -. M'Clellan's friends warmly espoused his cause, and I asserted boldly that it was Stanton's design to sacri- fice him. Under this pressure of public feeling, which was 236 PROGRESS OF EVENTS. aided by the 'New York Herald,' reinforcements were sent to M'Clellan; but the order was tardily given and tardily executed. It was determined, although there were over 75,000 men behind the fortifications of Washington, that none of these could be spared, as the gaieties of the Capitol might be suddenly interrupted by a foray of the ' rebel despe- radoes.' How my blood tingled with satisfaction at the estimate they put upon the daring feats of our men. The gallant Ashby and his black horse cavalry were viewed with as much terror as the wild hunts- man of the Black Forest. Thirty thousand men were at last grudgingly ordered to reinforce M'Clellan — 10,000 taken from each of the commands of Banks, M'Dowell, and Shields. Banks accounted for his subsequent defeat by Stonewall Jackson, from having had his command weakened by this reduction, and the movement of his remaining forces impeded by the wagons, &c. consequent upon the transfer of so large a body of troops. Meanwhile these stern alarums did not interrupt the merrymaking at the National Capitol ; perhaps, at no period of its history had there been such unre- strained indulgence of revelry and mirth. The court journals gave a daily account of balls, and dinners, PROGRESS OF EVENTS. 237 and routs, and exultingly proclaimed the fact that the Abolition ladies could ' dress and dance,' and • give suppers,' ' brilliant suppers,' in spite of the withdrawal of those 'Secesh dames and demoiselles — the Greenhows, Slidells, and Clays ' — and ' the foreign Ministers who were wont to sympathise with these fair traitors.' These gay doings ought to have been proof con- clusive that there was 'nobody hurt,' even though the city authorities of New York and Philadelphia ifound their resources strained to the utmost to give bread to the thousands of destitute and star vino; families in their midst, and their hospitals were crowded to overflowing with wounded and dying soldiers. The fashionable world of Abolitiondom was now put in a state of great excitement on account of the grand ball which Mrs. Lincoln had resolved to give at the White House, on February 9th. The invita- tions had been issued a month in advance, and the interest of the public kept alive by descriptions of the preparations as they progressed. It was got up truly upon a scale of royal magnificence. Maiard was brought on from New York to superintend the supper and its adornments ; and the Chevalier VVikofF was grand master of ceremonies. And, in 238 PROGRESS OF EVENTS. order that nothing connected with the august enter- tainment which could enhance the general interest should be lost, the 'New York Herald' published' the card of invitation sent to ' Mr. and Mrs. James Gordon Bennett,' which they, however, had the good taste to decline, dreading, I suppose, the ' irrepres- sible conflict.' The description of the ball in it:i various phases, and the beautiful toilettes, fillet many columns of the papers for days after, to thd exclusion of the exciting news from the seat of wan Mrs. Lincoln's costume received a large share o> attention. She was described as being dressed ii Court mourning — that is, with white and black, ros<> and white, and black lace intertwined and com mingled, ' as a delicate compliment to Queen Victori? upon the death of Prince Albert.' Her own son! during this heartless pageant, was lying at the poini of death, and a few days after breathed his last upon which occasion, however, she put on no mourn ing. Neither did she for the brother who fell after wards, fighting in defence of his home and fireside. These festivities at the National Capitol were m tended to divert the public mind from too close scrutiny of the policy of the Government. Th superficial observer supposed that all the energy c their rulers was directed to the reduction of Kiel" PROGRESS OF EVENTS. 239 rnond. M'Clellan was unsophisticated enough to suppose that lie had been sent to the peninsula for the accomplishment of that end, and he addressed himself to the task with great caution and not much relish for it. He would greatly have preferred to ?remain in Washington during its season of festivities, •enjoying the eclat and hero-worship of the hour, i He, however, proceeded to take the necessary ^measures for the advance of his army. He had the good sense never to have underrated the enemy he had to encounter ; on the contrary, he magnified tour force and capabilities beyond what our modesty would have allowed us to claim on our own behalf. M'Clellan rightly judged that the only chance of isuccess was to overwhelm us by numbers. Hence his requisition on the War Department at Washing- ton for reinforcements, which, when conceded, under iforce of the outside pressure, were several weeks before reaching him ; thus forcing him, whilst wait- ing for them, to extend and strengthen his original J. line of intrenchments and fortifications, to protect his iliirmy from the attack momentarily expected to be inade by General Johnson, who had been by this I [delay enabled to relieve Magruder and his gallant noand from the critical position they were in, for •liliiere is no doubt that had M'Clellan advanced upon 240 PROGRESS OF EVENTS. them they must have been cut to pieces. The) represented themselves as being somewhat in tin condition of' Admiral Hosier's army,' mere shadows from the severe marching and flying about to whicl they were subjected by Magruder, in order to de ceive the enemy. During this period of digging and trenching o the Grand Army, the ' Great Secretary ' issued one o those remarkable bulletins proclaiming a great batth and a great victory at Yorktown, and, as was usual a map and description of the seat of war appeared ii, all the Yankee papers. I confess to some uneasy feeling on the subjeci until a friend in the War Department sent me i copy of the genuine despatch from M'Clellan ' imploring reinforcements.' Mr. Stanton's was j financiering ruse, and proved very successful — fo Mr. Chase was enabled thereby to effect anothel considerable loan. I wrote a letter describing this same operatioi: which was mailed in Baltimore, and captured in thl Post-office of that city, and was afterwards showi me by General Dix at the time of my mock tria before him for treason. The Government at Washington never intendei that M'Clellan should advance beyond Yorktown PKOGEESS OF EVENTS. 241 jhe had played the role designed for him, and they were now determined to rid themselves of him, even Ithough they should also sacrifice the army under ■ his command. In preparation for this defeat, the 'transports were kept in a convenient position, and the gun-boats lay ready to cover the retreat of his 'forces. I 1 The evacuation of Yorktown by Johnson was ^conducted in a masterly manner : the enemy were fin complete ignorance of his design until it had been lentirely accomplished — held in check again by a few wooden guns. General Johnson, however, had the j-magnanimity to leave for their enlightenment an 1 intelligent contraband, well posted as to his future |(movements and the policy and views generally of the Confederate Government. At this time a very important character arrived at [the metropolis, in the person of President Davis's negro coachman. I was not informed whether Pre- sident Lincoln and his premier, Mr. Seward, invited i him to dinner, but I do know that he had frequent 'interviews with them, the result of which was given ;o the curious public through the press, as conversa- ions between the President and Mrs. Davis during 'heir evening drives. He also said that Eichmond iifvould be evacuated on the first sign of the approach R 242 PROGRESS OF EVENTS. of the Abolition army, and that President Davis had had a subterranean passage made, so as to secure his own escape. These ridiculous stories were greedily swallowed, and implicit credit given to them ; in truth, there was nothing too wild or extravagant for these Northern fanatics to seize hold of — and the Government offered a premium for this species of romance, as a sort of safety-valve for their own ulterior policy. 243 CHAPTER XIII. HOPES AND FEAES. ILLNESS OF MY CHILD — APPLICATION FOR MEDICAL ATTENDANCE — DR. STEWART — PROTEST AGAINST HIS INSOLENCE — GENERAL JOHNSON — CHANGE OF PROGRAMME — HOMESTEADS IN THE SOUTH y— SENATOR WILSON — STANTON'S ORDER, ETC. — MY LETTER AN- NOUNCING IT — POLICE COURT — LETTER TO STANTON — GENERAL 'WORDSWORTH — HIS ORDER — VEXATIONS AND ANNOYANCES — THE / OFFICERS OF THE GUARD — EXTRAORDINARY DRIVE — GENERAL COMMOTION. I became now seriously alarmed about the health and life of my child. Day by day I saw her fading away — her round chubby face, radiant with health, had become pale as marble, the pupils of her eyes were unnaturally dilated, and finally a slow nervous fever seized upon her. I implored in vain, both verbally and in writing, that a physician might be sent, and finally wrote the following letter to the Provost-Marshal : — ' Old Capitol Prison : ' Tuesday, February 18, 1862. ' I wrote yesterday to ask that Dr. M'Millen might be allowed to visit my child, who is suffering from B 2 244 HOPES AND FEAES. illness brought on by a system of severity and rigorous confinement, which, as regards children, has no precedent in a civilised age or civilised land, unless we seek a parallel in the confinement of the children in the Temple, in the beginning of the French Revolution. ' I ask, Sir, that my request may be complied with, with as little delay as possible, unless it be the intention of your Government to murder my child. ' I have the honour to be, &c. &c, ' Eose O'K Gkeenhow.' A few hours after I had despatched this note, my door was rudely thrown open, and Dr. Stewart, the ' Brigand Sergeant,' as he signed himself, unceremoni- ously entered, saying, ' Madam, I come to see you on official business.' I said, ' Sir, it ought to be of a very grave character to warrant this intrusion.' He seated himself, his hospital steward standing near the door. ' Madam, did you write a letter to the Provost-Marshal this day ? ' ' Yes, I wrote to the Provost-Marshal ; but I have yet to learn how you, a subordinate, dare question me hi regard to any correspondence I may hold with your superior.' ' Madam, I have every right : you have caused me to be rebuked by Major Allen and General Porter, HOPES AND FEARS. 245 I for neglect of duty,' &c. I said, ' Sir, in my letter to General Porter there was not the most distant reference to you ; I asked that Dr. M'Millen might j visit my child, knowing him to be a man of science ' and a gentleman, and my note furnished no warrant for General Porter to rebuke you. As to Major Allen, his impertinence is only equalled by your own at this moment.' He replied, ' Madam, I will believe General Porter in preference to you.' I thereupon arose from my seat, and said, ' Sir, I have borne with you quite as long as is consistent with my self- respect, and I now desire you to quit my room, as it is no part of my plan to submit to personal insult.' He arose also, foaming with rage, and stood con- fronting me — almost a giant in size — and said, ' I will not quit your room ; I am here by order of Brigadier-General Porter.' ' Sir, I command you to go out ; if you do not, I will summon the officer of the guard and the superintendent to put you out.' With that he attempted to lay hands upon my child. I interposed my own person and said, ' At your peril but touch my child. You are a coward and no gentleman, thus to insult a woman.' ' I will not go out of your room, madam,' he said, this time livid and trembling with rage or fear, I do n't know which. I then went to the door and rapped — for be it 246 HOPES AXD FEARS. remembered that he was locked and bolted in my room, that being the humane and Christian order. ' Call the officer of the guard.' The sentinel on duty being a friendly one, no time was lost in summoning him. When the officer appeared and the door was opened, it happened to be that same Lieutenant Carlton, from Zanesville, Ohio. He was very much. agitated, for this man was his superior officer. I said. ' Sir, I order you to put this man out of my room, for conduct unworthy of an officer and a gentleman, and I will report } t ou for having allowed him to enter here.' He nervously rubbed his hands, and said, ' 1 am sure Dr. Stewart will come out if you wish it/ ' Sir,' I said, ' do your duty ; order your guard to put him out.' The sergeant, corporal, and guard- who all hated Stewart for his arrogance — were eager to obey. Whereupon this valiant Dr. Stewart actually slunk out. Strange to say, this scene filled me with uncontrollable laughter. It was farcical in the extreme — this display of valour against a sick child and careworn woman prisoner. A few- hours later the kind and good Dr. M'Millen came in, accompanied by an officer, but under orders not to hold any conversation with me save that which was professional. I felt it incumbent upon me to report Dr. Stewart's HOPES AND FEAES. 247 i visit to the Provost-Marshal. The following is a ■ copy : — TO THE PROVOST-MARSHAL GENERAL ANDREW J. PORTER. ' Old Capitol Prison : ' Tuesday, February 20, 18G2. 'Sir, — I am constrained, in consequence of the ! insolence and ungentlemanly conduct of Dr. Stewart, to make my complaint to you, and to ask your pro- tection against his visits for the future. 'I wrote a note to you some days since, asking that Dr. M'Millen might be allowed to visit my child, [.who has been, and is, very ill. This Dr. Stewart , came to my room yesterday morning, and obtruded himself therein, together with his hospital steward, and rudely called me to account for having written to you ; said that I had caused him to be repri- manded by you and the detective called Major Allen, ■for neglect of duty, &c. I told him that, in my note to you, I had made no allusion to him ; that I had \ requested the attendance of Dr. M'Millen, because I y knew him to be a gentleman, and I had confidence cj in his professional skill ; and, moreover, that my >i note furnished you with no warrant for a rebuke to tj him, and that, if so, you had drawn a false con- clusion, as you well knew that I had always declined i his (Stewart's) professional visits. With that he told 248 HOPES AND FEARS. me that he would believe you in preference to me, &c. &c. I thereupon desired him to leave my room, as I did not choose to submit to his impertinence. He refused in a rude and violent manner ; said he was here by your order, and even had the audacity to approach my child to lay hands on her, which I prevented, and repeated my order that he should quit my room ; and, finally, was obliged to send down for the officer of the guard and superintendent, before I could be freed from his insolent intrusion. ' It would occupy more time than I am disposed to engross to give you a detailed account of this man's offensive conduct, which commenced with the first days of my imprisonment, for a corroboration of which I refer you to Lieutenant Sheldon. ' He claims your authority for his insolence, and I therefore respectfully demand that you will give such orders as that I may not be again exposed to it. ' I have the honour to be, &c. &c., ' Eose O'JST. Greexhow.' General Johnson's wise and judicious falling back from Yorktown completely upset the plans and pur- poses of the Abolition Directory at Washington, and forced upon them an entire change of policy to suit the new emergency. Their determination with re- HOPES AND FEAES. 249 ,gard to M'Clellan was necessarily suspended, although not weakened in the slightest degree. But their own political existence depended upon the employment or ^'defeat of the vast army under M'Clellan, which was mow 180,000 strong. To recall him at that juncture was to have him proclaimed Military Dictator. To avoid this danger, a vigorous prosecution of the ' On to Richmond ' was imperative. Homesteads in the South were offered to that horde of barbarians, who swarmed like locusts over line fairest fields of Virginia, desolating them as they advanced, and spurred on with the hope of posses- sion, and visions of orange groves and fair Southern Wives. This is no imaginary picture. Wilson, of Massachusetts, said, few of that army, ' our boys,' as die called them, will ever return to the North ; that 'they would have homesteads given them in the conquered country ; that Congress would apportion the land into quarter sections ; that they would settle and marry Southern girls. To which I re- plied, ' Never, sir. But our negroes will go North land marry yours, as far more fitting helpmates.' Wilson, in this instance, proved a true prophet ; -but not in the sense he intended. Few of that Van- Mai crew ever returned to the North ; but instead of ;■ homes in the sunny south, under the vine and the 250 HOPES AND FEARS. fig-tree, they found bloody graves amid the swamps of the Chicahominy, where their bodies lie unas- soilziecl, unburied, their bones bleaching in the sun, and a nation's anathema as their funeral dirge. General Andrew Porter, the Provost-Marshal, who had distinguished himself by the most wanton inva- sion of the rights of the people of the district, ac- companied M'Clellan to the field, followed by his bloodhounds, Allen and his gang of detectives. Porter was succeeded by a Mr. Biddle Pioberts, who signed himself with as many titles as a Spanish grandee, and determined to convince me in the out- set that I had gained nothing by the exchange. Stanton had the grace to give an order that members of my family should visit me, without the restrictions which had been hitherto imposed. This, however, displeased the Provost-Marshal and detec- tive police, who determined to deprive me of the power of making known this concession, and took upon themselves still to refuse all passes* to see me. The following is a copy of a letter which I wrote to Mrs. S. A. Douglas, which was returned to me : — 'Old Capitol Prison : March 3, 1862. ' My dear Adie, — The superintendent, Mr. Wood, informed me some days since that the Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, had ordered that Mrs. Douglas, Mr. HOPES AND FEARS. 251 and Mrs. Cutts, Mrs. Leonard, or any other member of my family, should have leave to visit me without a pass, or the accompaniment or presence of an officer, or anyone else, during the interview, which was to be t unlimited ; and I give you the words of the order, as . well as I can remember, made by the superintendent in presence of the officer of the guard, and the same g has been entered amongst the orders of the prison. ' Eose has been very ill, brought on by the un- heard-of cruelty of her incarceration. Just imagine a little child of eight years shut up for months, the only breath of air inhaled through the bars of a prison window. However, since two days we are actually allowed a half-hour's exercise in the prison- ers of my family to visit me without restriction. ' I wrote a letter a few days since to a member of ay family, communicating this information ; and it s with great surprise that I learn that the letter has >een detained by your detective police, or Provost- larshal. I did not suppose, Sir, that even their udacity could reach this point — to hold back or uppress a letter, simply because it annunciated an rder from the Secretary of War which did not meet nth their approbation. I refrain from further coin- lent, believing that you will properly rebuke the npertinence of your subordinates. ' I have the honour to be, &c. &c., 'Eose O'N. Greenhow.' This communication I purposely sent open through re Provost-Marshal's Office. A few hours after, I sceived the following : — * 254 HOPES AND FEAKS. ' Head-qjtaetees, City Police, &c. : March 5. 'MPtS. E. O'N. Greenhow, — I herewith return enclosed your letter to Mrs. S. A. Douglas, of" '3rd instant. It contains improper matter, and is impro- perly directed. ' Very respectfully, 6 S. BlDDLE BiOBERTS, &C. &C.' About the beginning of February, a woman named Ada Hewit, daughter of a mechanic of Alexandria, calling herself Mrs. Morris Mason, was brought to the prison. She had, however, never been married, although the mother of two children, one of whom 1 died a few days prior to her arrest. The immediate cause which led to her arrest was a letter written 1 by her to Seward, claiming his protection from the attentions of Colonel Marcy (the father-in-law of M'Clellan), with whom she assumed to have estab- lished previously very amicable relations. Seward, after consultation with M'Clellan, had her incarce- rated, in order to avoid & family scandal. Mrs. William Henry Norris, of Baltimore, was also : confined at the Old Capitol as a prisoner. She was a most excellent lady ; was detained about two' weeks, and was released upon parole through the influence of the Hon. Eeverdy Johnson. The new HOrES AND FEARS. 255 •egulations allowing half an hour in the prison yard lad only gone into operation a few days before tos. Norris left, so that it was but a brief pleasure hat I enjoyed in her society. Li On March 6th, General Wordsworth called to see ne in his character of Governor of the District, the irst appointment of the kind made by Abraham the 7 irst. Consequently, the Provost-Marshal became imply chief of police, without other authority. A ubordinate officer, Major Doster, was appointed to he place. General Wordsworth was gentlemanly and kind, .nd seemingly recognised the right of a prisoner to ' >e treated with humanity and respect. He appeared ,;reatly surprised to hear of the system pursued owards myself and child, and ordered that I should njoy, as a right, the usual exercise allotted to other irisoners ; also, that my child should have the •rivilege of going outside the walls, accompanied by tfi officer. But it was one thins; to make humane aws, and another to have them executed. The love r Vf tyranny had become too strong a passion within hose walls to be easily abolished ; any appeal re- uired two or three days to reach the proper quarter ; ach subordinate officer took upon himself to inter- pret the rules ; and corporals and sergeants assumed 256 HOPES AND FEARS. the airs of their chiefs, and had to be daily instructed; for, alas ! we were only rebels, and inhaled the air by sufferance. The vexations and annoyances on this head were unceasing. The most brutal of the officers with whom I was brought in contact was Captain Gilbert, of the 91st Pennsylvania Volunteers (the same who had drilled the negroes), and Lieute- nant Carlton, of Zanesville, Ohio. The most humane and kind were Captain Higgins and Lieutenant Miller. of New Jersey. These gentlemen merit the consi- deration of every prisoner for the reluctance with which they obeyed the harsh orders of their supe- riors ; and, if the chances of war ever throw them in our midst, I should deem it a privilege, by every means in my power, to ameliorate their condition. One day, on going down in the yard, the market- cart of the superintendent had just come in. My friend Charlie, who drove it, said, ' Will you take a, ride ? ' I immediately got in — the other female pri- soners following my example — exclaiming, ' I am ofli for Dixie ! ' and Charlie drove rapidly around the yard. It is impossible to describe the panic and confusion which ensued. All the prisoners rushed to the windows to enjoy the scene. The officer of the guard, Captain Gilbert, also rushed out, crying with might and main, ' Stop that wehickle ! ' The HOPES AND FEAKS. 257 ■ guard were doubled all around the yard, and, I i believe, were actually preparing to fire upon us. After driving around the enclosure two or three times, we drew up in front of our redoubtable cap- tain, who verily believed that an escape had been 'meditated, and that his timely intervention had alone frustrated it. March 10. — The greatest dismay and anxiety was felt at Washington on account of the extraordinary prowess of the Merrimac, or the Virginia, as she had ibeen newly christened. The War Department for- bade the publication of her glorious achievements : tone entire edition of a Baltimore paper was sup- pressed, from having contained a graphic account of ■'the engagement. In spite of these vigilant efforts it became widely spread ; and Mr. Seward even awoke 7to the conviction that there was ' something the 'matter,' and recommended to the Governors of the • lorth-eastern States the subject of their coast de- fences. The Chamber of Commerce of New York lastily convened to take into consideration the har- bour defences of that city. Each night the Abolition iijrovernment at Washington retired with the dread mticipation of seeing in the morning ' the Norfolk Turtle ' lying off the Potomac, ready to shell the iWhite House. The Abolitionists hastily sent off their 258 HOPES AXD FEARS. families, and a special train waited several days, with steam up, ready to bear off Lincoln and his Cabinet. Quite an excitement was created throughout the prison, about this time, by the arrest of a woman in ~^ male attire. She was apprehended at the hotel oi? y . a man named Donnelly, in Washington, who, un- jy3i fortunately for her, died a few days prior to her' c/ arrival. Her object had been to go to Eichmond with the proffer of a projectile which her husband, who was in England, had invented, the model of which she had in her trunk. Donnelly was to have* forwarded her over. She was very handsome, and was a woman of some cultivation and scientific attainments. She was a keen observer, and both spoke and wrote well. Her room was adjoining mine; and, although there was a double dooi 1 between, I was enabled to converse and pass com munications through the keyhole. This had beei arranged by a skilful use of the penknife by th< gentlemen who had been removed for this prisonei in order that we might in turn avail ourselves o each other's facilities in sending communications on of the prison. Mrs. M'Cartney was the name of this person, and apart from her costume, there was nothing about he but was calculated to inspire respect, as her conduc HOPES AND FEARS. 259 [was marked by great modesty and propriety. She ),was a monarchist in politics, had supreme contempt ,for the Abolition Government, and sneeringly enume- rated its lawless acts in support of her thesis — that ,50oner or later all republican forms of government f fesolved themselves into unlimited despotisms. I was not tempted to controvert this position, being, ,is it was, entirely in accordance with my own xperience of this ' most perfect Government the Min ever shone upon.' She demanded her freedom, as there was no proof against her ; and, for want of )0roof, she was, after a few weeks' imprisonment, discharged. I admired her spirit and independence, *- and wish her well wherever she may be. J This lady laid before the Government the most lorrible outrage committed in that Old Capitol frison — too dreadful, too revolting, to be mentioned fere. She also wrote to Miss Dix, with whom she (( vas well acquainted, describing the foul act, which paused Mr. Under-Secretary of War Watson to come io the prison under pretext of an investigation, which tufted the crime and responsibility from one set of officers and men to another, and was, in fact, a Aumbug, gotten up by the Superintendent Wood for 3 he purpose of clearing himself, and allaying the ixcitement consequent upon the dark deed. s 2 260 CHAPTER XIY. FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. VISIT OF UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS — THEIR OBJECTS — CON- VERSATION — MY CHILD — GENERAL DIN — INSOLENCE OF DR. STEWART — REBUKE TO HTM — STANTON'S POLICY — CAUSE OF HIS AFPOINTMENT — HIS POLITICAL PROGRAMME — LINCOLN AND ABO- LITION OF SLAVERY — DEMONIACAL INTENTIONS — APPEARANCE BEFORE THE COMMISSIONERS — PICTURE OF DESOLATION — SKETCH OF COMMISSIONERS — THE OBJECT OF THE COMMISSION — GENTLE- MANLY CONDUCT OF THE COMMISSIONERS — LETTER TO MRS. S. A. DOUGLAS IN ANSWER TO nERS — ANXIETIES — LETTER TO GENERAL AVORDSWORTH — MURDER OF LIEUTENANT WHARTON — LETTER TO GENERAL WORDSWORTH. Extracts from my Journal : — March 18. — This day the United States Com missioners for the trial of State prisoners, Genera Dix and Governor Fairfield, called upon me, accom panied by their secretary and several subordinat officers, and were introduced most pompously b} Dr. Stewart, or Cyclops, as he is now called in th< prison. I had known General Dix formerly ven well. He was one of the few Northern poli ticians in whose integrity I entertained any con FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. 261 Idence, or for whom I felt any respect. He advanced most kindly and courteously towards me, introducing his colleague, and said that he had come in his capacity of United States Commissioner, to ascertain my wishes and offer his mediation and services, and would be heartily glad to be able to ^erve me as an old friend. I thanked him, and replied that he had always had my most profound respect, but in his capacity of minister of a tyrant, I eould accept no service other than that he would * present my simple demand for justice against his Grovernment. He said that he regretted deeply to see my feelings so much embittered against the Grovernment whose flag we had alike honoured in Dther days ; that he had come here for the purpose 3f enquiring into the condition of State prisoners, would enter upon the examination of my case, and teet all things right, and particularly desired to serve line. I said that I believed in the Mosaic law, which xaxacted an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. - 1 have been now nearly eight months a prisoner. jt am not prepared to say whether I will appear ^^/U^. Ii'before you in your capacity of commissioner. I iieny the power of your Government lawfully to ijleprive me of my legal rights. And as to that old :flag — there was a time when I looked upon it as 262 FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. the proudest emblem of human freedom on earth, and have in other lands bowed before it in holy reverence ; but now there is no pirate flag that floats upon the sea which is not more honourable in my eye, for none covers such infamy.' General Dix made some deprecatory reply, and turned to my child, who was lying flushed with fever on her bed of straw. I told him she was in need of food and air — for, in spite of General Words- worth's order, the quarrels between the superinten- dent and the officer still kept her pent up in that foul atmosphere. He laid his hand softly upon her, and said, ' Why, she has fever.' I said, ' Yes, sir.' He said, ' Here is a physician.' I replied, ' I have sent for one, and decline the services of that gentle- man.' He looked pityingly upon her and upon me, and I thanked God that Lincoln had not often employed agents such as he. So soon as General Dix and party got outside of my door, the pent-up wrath of Dr. Stewart broke out, and he launched against me the most bitter vituperation. I approached General Dix, and said, ' Sir, I claim your protection against this indignity. I believed you ignorant of the con- duct of this man, else you would never have allowed him to attach himself to your suite and enter my room, from which I was forced to call upon the FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. 263 officer of the guard to expel him, for conduct un- jrorthy of a man, upon a former occasion ; and I .now demand that you put an end to this scene. Dr. Stewart, with wonderful pertinacity, attempted :o go on ; but General Dix and Governor Fairfield each said, ' Stop, sir, and retire, if you please,' which lie was accordingly obliged to do ; and I confess I enjoyed his crest-fallen discomfited look more than .•my incident of the day. March 19. — It may be supposed that visions of freedom mingled with my dreams that night — far otherwise was the case. I had an uneasy feeling that so far as I was concerned, it was only intended Xo gloss over their tyranny and afford a pretext for still greater oppression. I knew the chiefs of the [Abolition Government too well to believe that [humanity would guide their counsels. ' The con- sciences of these gentlemen never struggled with a maxim of State ;' and I had unfortunately pene- trated too deeply into their real plans and designs for the future to make them feel satisfied of the wisdom of releasing me. Stanton had avowed himself averse to the policy of the Government on the subject of arbitrary arrest. Yet he contented himself, and quieted his conscience by being a passive spectator of the 264 FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. unlawful acts of his coadjutors. He was, in fact, too busy with his own schemes of personal aggrandise*, ment and safety, for he was by no means blind to the frail tenure of his official dignity. He was a man, however, of inordinate vanity and great self- reliance — theoretically, he had been a democrat. On entering the Abolition Cabinet, he believed that he could shape its policy to suit his own ends. His first object had been to force M'Clellan to resign. His own appointment had been made as a conciliatory measure towards Pennsylvania with this contingency in view. That accomplished, Stanton's political pro- gramme was all mapped out, for his aspirations were directed towards being;; the candidate of the Conser- vative party for President in 1864. He had sagacity enough to see that the reckless course of the faction who now controlled the destinies of the nation, would either end in the entire overthrow of even the sem- blance of a constitutional form of government, and the establishment of an unlimited despotism ; or a revolution, in which the conservative element would predominate. The discontent which very generally prevailed at this time, encouraged the belief that this latter was more than problematical, although the most rigid measures were taken by the Government to suppress every demonstration, by the establish- FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. 265 client of the severest censorship of the press, and the imprisonment of everyone who dared to question its decrees. Stanton had resolved that his resignation of his office should be consequent upon the signing of the Bill for the abolition of slavery in the district of Columbia, by Lincoln ; calculating that this defiant dct would rally around him at once a party strong mough to divert the current of events into the channel he desired. But ' the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft aglee.' M'Clellan still meekly ■aeld on to his place in spite of the continued humi- liations put upon him, with a blind faith in the des- -iny which was to help him out of the slough, and ead him on to glory. The Conservative party still unstained him. In this dilemma Stanton had one of Jwo alternatives before him — that of resigning his oosition and retiring from the political arena, con- ient to believe that a righteous act would bring- its f»wn reward ; or to plunge into the gulf of Abolition- ism, upon whose poisonous and loathsome waters integrity, and honour, and honesty shrivelled and died. Judge Black was said to have been his steady counsellor and friend during this season of indecision, ,nd to have spirited him on by apt quotations from 266 FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT.' his favourite author Shakspeare, to take the fatal leap. Hence his resignation, which had been writ- ten out, was thrown into the lire, and he immersed himself in that foul pool, and entered the list of the champions for honours, to be achieved by the sacri- fice of the Government they affected to be waging war to uphold. Converts, whether in religion or politics, are uni- versally acknowledged to exceed in zeal or fanaticism the original professors. In politics this is peculiarly I the case, as the neophyte feels that, his antecedents being against him, he is specially called upon by some signal act of devotion to inspire confidence in his new associates. Hence we see greater activity infused into the councils of the Abolition Government, and a more demoniac policy announced for the future prosecu- tion of the war of subjugation. The flimsy mask which a wholesome dread of the world's opinion had forced them thus far to wear was thrown off, and the chances which a servile war would develope in their favour openly discussed ; and Lincoln, Seward, Stan- ton, and their confreres, chuckled in cold blood over the horrors — from which, to their minds, there was no escape — for the women and children, at least, of the whole South. FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. 267 Lincoln, to his credit be it said, was averse to this mancipation scheme in the manner proposed, for he even had heard of the horrors of St. Domingo ; )iit they plied him with strong arguments and -trong drinks, until his shallow reasoning faculties ivere confused, and he succumbed to the potent nfluences brought to bear upon him. Step by step t was resolved to develope this policy. The enor- aity of their wicked designs made them cautious ; nd they were not fully assured that some re- istance might not be offered to this worse than ravage warfare, against a people allied to them in naany instances by consanguinity, and with whom bey affected a desire to re-establish fraternal re- lations. Butler, Halleck, and Hunter were the appropriate gents selected at different times and places to raise he standard of insurrection amongst the slaves, and d send them, with all their evil passions excited, jimidst the defenceless homes of the South, there to Lent their fury upon the women and children — the ■I/hole male population being, as they well knew, in me service of their country. That this plan failed in :.s premeditated horrors, is due to that Divine mercy yhich has thus far thrown its protecting shield over ur young nation. 268 FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. Extracts from my Journal : — . March 25. — This clay I received a summons to appear before the United States Commissioners for the trial of State prisoners. I decided to obey the summons, as I felt some curiosity to know in what manner the trial would be conducted, what was the nature of the charges against me, and to what results it would be likely to lead. It was one of those raw uncomfortable days in which the cold penetrated to the marrow. The sun was obscured by clouds as dark as Yankee deeds, i and heavy flakes of snow were falling thick and fast. As I drove through the avenue from the prison to' the Provost-Marshal's Office, which was at the other end of the city, the filth and desolation were appal- ling, for even in those first days of the occupation the effects had not been so visible. However, I had no time for reflection upon the contrast which the: present and the past presented, as by this time the: carriage drew near the Provost-Marshal's. But hero n truly was there room for comparison. This had been the house of Mrs. Gwin, one of the j most elegant and agreeable in the city ; and, as I li passed up through the filthy halls and stairs, and the i filthy crowd of soldiers and civilians who lined the i way, my mind instinctively reverted to the gay and FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. 269 Irilliant scenes in which I had mingled in that house, and the goodly company who had enjoyed its hospi- tality. I was conducted to the third story, and put in r i room without fire, and kept there until my hands and ? eet were completely benumbed with cold. A guard was stationed at the door, who rattled his musket in irder that I should have a comfortable sense of his Droximity. Numbers of officers in gay uniforms :ame in,' upon one pretext or another, in order _;o stare at me. I was detained in this maimer for nearly an hour, when the superintendent of the :01d Capitol Prison, Mr. Wood, in whose custody I was still regarded as being, came to conduct me oefore the commissioners, whose presence I reached with difficulty — a passage being forced for me to pass ihrough the soldiers who rilled the ante-chamber. !j Arriving before the door of the room in which the 'commissioners held their seance, it was thrown open, mj name announced, and the commissioners ad- vanced to receive me, with ill-concealed embarrass- ment. I bowed to them, saying, ' Gentlemen, resume four seats' (for they were still standing). ' I recog- nise the embarrassment of your positions ; it was a joistake in your Government to have selected gentle- men for this mission. You have, however, shown jQe but scant courtesy in having kept me waiting 270 FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. your pleasure for nearly an hour in the cold.' The\ apologised, protesting their ignorance of my arrival &c. Some few complimentary remarks followed, anc I now took a survey of the scene. A large table was placed in the middle of the room at the upper end of which sat General Dix, and a the other extremity Governor Fairfield. Mr. Webster private secretary of Mr. Seward — as secretary of the commission — sat at a small table a little to the left o General Dix ; and two other persons at a similar tabh to the rear of Governor Fairfield. My own seat wa midway between the commissioners, in full view 0' the whole party. Large piles of papers lay befor General Dix, which he lingered uneasily, and seemec uncertain what to do. Governor Fairfield mad' ( some unimportant remark ; to which I replied, ' rSiippose this is a mimic court, and I can answer o P not, according to my own discretion.' One of tin reporters now said, ' If you please to speak louder madam.' I rose from my seat, and said to Genera Dix, ' If it is your object to make a spectacle of me and furnish reports for the newspapers, I shall havl the honour to withdraw from this presence.' Here upon both of the commissioners arose, and protested that they had no such intention ; but that it wa necessary to take notes, in order to lay before th< FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. 271 President and Congress. I then resumed my seat ; ,and Governor Fairfield continued in a strain in no irespects different from that of an ordinary conversa- tion held in a drawing-room ; and to which I replied isarcastically, or caustically, as suited my purpose ; and a careless listener would have imagined that the commissioner was endeavouring with plausible argu- ment to defend the Government, rather than crimi- mate me. Finally, and after it had continued some ifcime, I said, ' But when is this dreadful ordeal — this itrial for treason, which has been heralded to the world with so much circumstance — to commence ? For I can scarcely believe that I have been brought rom my prison on this inclement day for the pur- loose of this very facetious and irrelevant conversa- tion, or be induced to regard it in the lio-lit of a ibrmal trial for life, liberty, and estate, attainder of iblood, and all the other ills of feudal times.' At this [■the subordinates laughed outright. Governor Fair- field coloured, attempted to speak several times, and i 'hanged his mind; and finally said, ' General Dix, you mre so much better acquainted with Mrs. Greenhow, nuppose you continue the examination ? ' I laughingly biid, ' Commence it, for I hold that it lias not begun.' b General Dix turned over and over again the papers before him, which were my letters seized by 272 FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. the detective police, and which, though relevant t< the subject-matter, had no legal importance o: bearing at this time. He selected one, laying hi hand upon it, but still hesitated. I watched hinj keenly. At last he said, ' You are charged wit); treason.' ' I deny it, sir. During the eight month of my imprisonment I have had ample time to stud the Constitution of the United States ; and there il no act or provision in it which will justify a charg of that nature against me.' ' And so you deny th; charge of treason ? ' 'I do, sir, most emphatically and, moreover, retort the charge against yourself ti being the minister of a President w T ho has violate r the Constitution, destroyed the personal rights of th t- citizen, and inaugurated revolution. At this momen sir, you are presiding at, and conducting, a trial ui lawful in every sense, and without even a pretenc of the legal form prescribed ; for the Constitution ( the United States is very precise and specific as t the mode in which a trial for treason shall be co ducted. It requires that the charge for treason sha! be sustained by two respectable witnesses, which yd could not find in all Yankeedom.' He then held \i the letter which he had selected. I immediate recognised it as the one I had caused to be mailc in Baltimore, and to which I have before allude FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. 273 I held out my hand, saying, ' Let me see it.' After a moment of indecision he gave it to me. I glanced my eye over its contents and returned it to him, saying, ' It is rather a clever letter, is it not ? ' General Dix replied, ' Mrs. Greenhow requires no new testimony in favour of her ability in the use of her pen.' I bowed my head, and said, ' Well, General, what next have you to say ? ' ' You are charged, madam, with having caused a letter which you wrote to the Secretary of State to be published -jin Eichmond.' ' That can scarcely be brought for- yward as one of the causes for my arrest, as I was some three months a prisoner when that letter was written ; and I myself regarded its undue publicity [prior to its publication at Eichmond) as a grave cause of complaint against the Secretary of State.' ' You are charged, madam, with holding communi- cation with the enemy in the South.' ' If this were :jm established fact, you could not be surprised at it. J am a Southern woman, and I thank God that no ; lrop of Yankee blood ever polluted my veins ; and as ill that I have ever honoured or respected have been Iriven by ruthless despotism to seek shelter there, been felt to arrive at the source of my so-call treason, if only as a measure of prevention for t future — as it is but reasonable to suppose I mi have had able coadjutors high in the natioi councils, and that this information must have soug me at my own house — as it can be clearly est FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. '275 Wished that I have never crossed the threshold of a iLincolnite. ' Oh ! that reminds me,' resumed General Dix. ' Did Lieutenant Sheldon ever take out com- punications for you ? ' ' Oh, certainly, by authority bf the Provost-Marshal. But if you wish to criminate pLieutenant Sheldon, you had better send for him imd question him on that subject, as I certainly i should not betray him or anyone else who might nave rendered me a service.' General Dix asked, i Where is Lieutenant Sheldon ? ' Mr. Webster re- : olied, ' With his regiment in Virginia.' i General Dix then said, ' I shall be very glad to r serve you, madam, and shall certainly advise the government to allow you to go South, or consult ti four wishes in any other respects ;' that he regretted iileeply my extreme bitterness, for which he could if.iee no reason, &c. I replied, ' That is the differ- ence between meum and tuum. I have been now |ght months a prisoner, subject during that period !to every insult and outrage which capricious tyranny ljkould invent ; my property stolen and destroyed ; tllhut up in close imprisonment, and actually suffering iijfihe torments of hunger. To this treatment has my idld of eight years been also exposed, thereby ueriously impairing her health. Not content with ;his, I have been daily assailed in the journals of the T 2 276 FURTHER DEVELOPEMEXT. Administration, and sought to be dragged down t the level of the inmates of your White Hous Knowing me then as you do, it will not seei strange that, instead of crushing, this system shou have excited my contemptuous defiance and undyii hatred. On examining this evidence, you can bi smile at the absurdity of the charges, and tli extreme care not to extract any information froi; me. I have, however, sir, to return my most since] thanks to you and your colleague for the delicac and kind feeling which has characterised your bea ing towards me, and to congratulate you upon tl conclusion of a task which can be but httle in unisc with the feelings of gentlemen.' Thereupon bot commissioners advanced and shook hands, and e: pressed an earnest hope that I would very soon 1 sent South. March 26. — This evening Mr. Wood came my room to announce that the reporter who toe down the examination was below and requested \ see me. I authorised him to bring him up. T} came to ask my permission to furnish a report of tl proceedings to the newspapers, saying that a Ne York and a Philadelphia paper had each offered hii five hundred dollars for it, and as the curiosity w; very great to see it, it would be impossible to pr FURTHEE DEYELOPEMENT. 277 rent accounts of some sort from getting out. I told Ifm that I had no objection for anything I had said ;0 be known, my only desire being to avoid news- paper notoriety — besides, verbatim reports very arely did justice, &c. He replied : ' On the contrary, aadam, yours is calculated to make a great impres- ion. It has been read before the commissioners and fficial authorities, and the highest commendations estowed upon it.' He opened his papers and read 'ome portions of it, which read smoothly enough, and ]Sr eie certainly sufficiently explicit, so I withdrew my bjection as to its publication. That same night this erson received a peremptory order from Secretary sward, under penalty of imprisonment and heavy ;: ite, not to furnish any article on the subject for the ress. Authorised statements, however, came out in 1 of the papers that the arch-rebel, Mrs. Greenliow, id made a full confession of her acccomplices, &c. t On 30th March I received a letter from Mrs. S. A. ouglas, in which she said, ' I do believe you have Istern joy in your martyrdom, else you would em- face the opportunity to escape from it.' The -Ho wing is a copy of my reply : — ■ ' Old Capitol Prison : April 1. ' My dear Adie, — You seem to have received the ea that my imprisonment has been a voluntary 278 FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. thing on my part. Some one doubtless, my dea has imposed upon your credulity, or endeavoured mislead you in regard to the facts of the case ; feelin perhaps ashamed to meet the judgment of a pui and unsophisticated mind upon an atrocity revoltii alike to humanity and the civilisation of the age, ai which no State necessity can palliate. ' I have been now eight months a prisoner, ai 1 until about two weeks asro had no official visit notice from any person belonging to the Goverl ment, save its detective police and subordinate of cers. At the time mentioned, the middle of Marc! General Wordsworth called upon me in his capaci of military Governor of the district, and it was wi| a feeling of relief that I found myself once more the presence of a gentleman, with a right to app< to him against the insults and iniquities practisJ against helpless women and children, even in t old Temple of Liberty, with the proud emblem our former glory flaunting to the breeze. ' I have written repeatedly to the different me* bers of the Government, without being able to elil a reply. During all this period I have been in to ignorance of the charges against me. In the 1 days of December Colonel Key called upon me, a! held some amiable conversation on the subject FURTHEK DEVELOPEMENT. 279 my going South ; but he distinctly told me that his visit was unofficial, and subsequently called to say ithat he was unable to carry out his very humane desires, because of the adverse influence of some parties. He did not name them, but I was well in- formed on the subject. . . . ' No offer of release upon any terms has ever been made, and they cannot shield themselves from I the opprobrium of their acts by this means. I and j:my poor little child have been subject to barbarities which should call the blush to the cheeks of these jrpeople, if all sense of shame is not extinct. I will {not shock your modesty by narrating the various ex- it periences of my prison life ; but in my future use of these facts, I shall require no adventitious aid to :„make the narrative effective, for the simple stern ^realities will throw into the shade the most extra- vagant efforts of imagination. 'Since Mr. Stanton came into power a gradual change and amelioration of the prison system has\ been going on ; that he did not by one fell swoop :wipe them all out is, I suppose, because he had not the time. . . . ' I told you in a former note that I had appeared before the commissioners ; that the examination was ll farce, being merely an amusing conversation, from 280 FURTHER DEYELOPEMEXT. which nothing was expected to be elicited ; and as they are both gentlemen, it is needless to tell you that the most high-bred courtesy marked the inter- view. This evening the superintendent informed me that the sentence of exile had been passed upon me ; but until I have received the official notifica-' tion, I of course cannot decide upon my future. ' Do not, my dear, believe that I have any " stem joy in martyrdom.'" I am too keenly alive to the enjoyment of God's blessings to covet any such thing. I know now that hardships and severe triah are before me in the future. I am to be driver forth from my home by this magnanimous Govern- ment, in the midst of the bloodshed and carnage with which they are pursuing all who cherish mj own political faith. I may witness the horrors of r sacked city, or sleep within sound of the cannon't roar on the battle-field. These probable frightfu vicissitudes do not appal me, for a true woman haf her mission, even in scenes like this, in the exer- cise of the gentle charities which are her peculia] attributes. . . . ' I shall demand them to make some needful pre paration, as all my effects have been destroyed oi purloined ; for you are probably not aware that, fron the first day of my arrest, I was not allowed even tc FUETHEE DEVELOPEMENT. 281 i collect my own clothes, and other things scattered through the different rooms of my house — so all >-, became the spoil of the spoiler. ' I would to God I could obliterate the recollec- (. tions of the outrages of the last eighteen months, for I fear now that my capacity of hate will overshadow every other feeling. ' I have been betrayed into writing this long letter, h my dear, when I only intended to correct the im- j pression that the Government had ever signified, in tany shape or form whatsoever, a desire to release in me ; else why not have sent me South, with the Phil- ,-j lips family, seven months ago ? ' Come soon to see me, for you are almost the sole link with this place, which was once my happy home. ' Yours affectionately, ' Eose O'R Greenhow.' April 2. — The examination of the various State u prisoners was still going on before the commis- sioners ; great excitement, of course, existed in the h prison. The superintendent amused himself by prac- \i tising upon the hopes and fears of the prisoners. He has persuaded Harry Stewart that he will be sen- i) tenced as a spy. 282 FURTHER DEVELOPEMEXT. April 3. — The superintendent this evening read me a copy of the decree of the commissioners in reference to me. The following is a copy of a letter of mine to the Military Governor on the subject : — 'TO GENERAL WORDSWORTH, MILITARY GOVERNOR OF DISTRICT. ' Old Capitol Prison : April 4. ' General, — The superintendent of this prison has exhibited to me a paper purporting to be an official copy of a letter addressed to you by the commission sitting here for the trial of State prisoners. ' If every vestige of civil and constitutional liberty had not been swept from this land by the " irrepres- sible conflict " party, I should appeal from this deci- sion to the legal tribunals ; as it is, I can only submit. ' But hi yielding to the edict of this revolutionary commission of banishment, I do so under protest ; and shall bind myself by no act or word to respect its conditions of not returning, as I should thereby admit the legality of their right to pronounce judg- ment against me. ' I ask of your clemency time and freedom to make the necessary arrangements for clothes for myself and little child. Of course, if this is granted FURTHER DEVELOPEMEXT. 283 II me, I shall bind myself for the period allotted not to blow up the President's house, equip a fleet, break n open the treasury, or do any other small act which you may suppose comes within my limited powers to perform. ' I most respectfully disclaim any intention of dis- respect to you, Sir, in this letter, as your courtesy and kindness during your single visit to me entitles you to my highest consideration. ' I have the honour to be, most respectfully, ' Eose O'N. Greenhow.' General Wordsworth sent me a verbal answer to this communication, denying me the privilege I asked ; saying, that ' my capacity for observing was too great, and that I would be sure to obtain in- formation valuable to the Confederacy' Also, that he could not grant me the time or other facilities for preparation. I thereupon wrote to Stanton, who gave instructions that certain parties should have access to me. The few days I had asked having expired, and receiving no notice of the intention of the Govern- ment on the important subject of my departure, and seeing very frequent allusions to myself in the papers, I addressed the following 284 FURTHER DEYELOPEMENT. ' TO GENERAL WORDSWORTH, MILITARY GOVERNOR, ETC. ' Old CAriTOL Pnisoisr : April 14. ' Sir, — I am now ready to leave this prison to go South, according to the decree of the commissioners to that effect. ' I therefore pray that no unnecessary delay may take place on the part of the Government in allowing me to avail myself of the decision, and sincerely hope to be sent on Wednesday or Thursday, at furthest. ' I shall esteem it an act of kindness, Sir, on your part to receive some notification on the subject. ' I have the honour to be, very respectfully, ' Eose O'N. Greenhow.' The ' New York Herald' published, a statement that I had protested against being sent away, pre- ferring to remain a prisoner in Washington. I wrote to Bennett, enclosing a copy of the above, with the following note: — 'TO JAMES GORDON BENNETT. ' Old Capitol Prison : Tuesday night, April 15. ' Sir, — I submit the above, which is a true copy of a letter addressed to the Military Governor of this district, as an answer to the rather stupid and ill- natured article in this evening's " Herald." ' So far as regards myself, I should consider it a FURTHER DEVELOPEMEKT. 285 great trial to be obliged to live in this city under the present regime, for, according to my peculiar political ideas, all the refinement, all the intellect, which once constituted the charm of Washington society, has departed with my brethren of the South ; and I shall only too gladly avail myself of the edict which banishes me from my whilom home to go amongst kindred spirits, and to a land made glorious by its heroic resistance of the invader. ' I ask, Sir, of your sense of justice, the insertion of this my disclaimer in your paper.* ' Very respectfully, 'Eose O'K Greenhow.' My serious apprehensions were now excited in regard to the intentions of the Yankee Govern- ment. I had no faith in any offer or promise from them, and I could glean no satisfactory information from the subordinate officers who approached me ; and rumours reached me from outside that they again contemplated sending me to Fort Warren, f * It is due to the editor of the ' Herald' to state, that this note, ■which had necessarily to go through the hands of the Governor of the District, General Wordsworth, was by him torn in pieces, and thrown aside ; so it did not reach him. This information was given me by the officer who had charge of the note. f Colonel Dimick, the kind and gentlemanly officer in command at Fort Warren, was in great tribulation on account of the order 286 FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. Extract from my notes : — Sunday Morning, April 28. — This very hour, eleven o'clock, a prisoner — Mr. Wharton, of Mary- land — has been murdered in cold blood by a sentry. He was standing at his window, singing, and the sentinel, who was walking on his beat in the yard below, turned and deliberately shot him. It has been my fate, woman as I am, to have had a loaded musket pointed at my breast; and God alone knows what would have been my fate, had the superinten- dent of this prison not interposed. This appalling murder would be a reason, if no other existed, to make me wish to have the decree of the commis- sioners acted upon in good faith. On 21st of April I addressed the following note to General Wordsworth, Military Governor of the District : — 'Old Capitol Prison. ' Sie, — I addressed to you a note on the 14th instant, notifying you of my readiness to go South, according to the decree of the commissioners. ' I have the honour to call to your notice the fact to hold a room in readiness for me ; and I have subsequently learned, that the Confederate prisoners who were there contri- buted in various ways so as to render the apartment selected foi me comfortable. General Buckner and General Brown were removed to the room when the change of policy sent me South. FURTHER DEVELOPEMENT. 287 that I am now eight months a prisoner, and cannot regard any useless prolongation of that period but as a wanton act of cruelty ; and I would not willingly believe that you will lend yourself to it. ' I most respectfully and earnestly urge you, Sir, to i perform the condition of sending me South without I further delay. I accepted it in good faith, believing ! you all honourable gentlemen (General Dix, Governor ( Fairfield, and yourself), and have gone to expense and trouble, in order to meet your mandate with as little delay as possible. And I now urge that no pretext may be laid hold of, in order to delay or evade a decision which is binding upon you to execute. ' I ask your attention to this as a man of honour and a gentleman. Meanwhile, I have the honour of being, &c. &c, ' Eose O'K Greenhow.' To this I received no response, although it was, by the superintendent of the prison, placed in General do 'Wordsworth's hands. CHAPTER XV. KENEWED ANXIETIES. VISIT OF HON. MR. ELY — CAUSE OF MY DETENTION — NEW YORK PAPERS — APPLICATION" TO VISIT ME REFUSED — TEDIUM OF PRISON LIFE — THE GUARD — THE FEMALE PRISONERS — CAPTAIN HIGGTNS — MY CHILD'S HEALTH — DR. MILLER — FEDERAL OFFICERS — EX-GOVERNOR MORTON ■ — CORRESPON- DENCE — ANXIETIES — FATE OF NEW ORLEANS — ORDER NO. 28 OF GENERAL BUTLER — CALEB CUSHING — SENATOR BAYARD — FATE OF NORFOLK — MURDER OF STEAVART — EXAMINATION — YANKEE PANIC — SENATORIAL COMMITTEE — DISAGREEABLE RUMOURS — CORRESPONDENCE WITH WOOD RELATIVE TO MY PAPERS — GLOOM — CHEERING NEWS — ANNOUNCEMENT OF DE- PARTURE FOR THE SOUTH — - ARRIVAL IN BALTIMORE — KIND FRIENDS — GENERAL DIX — EN ROUTE — ARRIVAL IN RICH- MOND — THE PRESIDENT — ASPECT OF RICHMOND. On the 22nd of April, the Honourable Mr. Ely camd to call upon me, and seemed magnanimously bent 01 serving me in some way. He said that he had beei well and kindly treated at Eichmond (where he had been as a prisoner since the battle of Bull Eun), ancj he had come to see what he could do for me. told him that the only service I could receive iron him was, to ascertain from his Government th< RENEWED ANXIETIES. 289 reasons for my detention, after the notification I had received, and what they intended to do. On the 26th he again called upon me. He told me that General Wordsworth informed him ' that the order for my detention had been given by M'Clellan, who objected to my release on the grounds that I knew his flans better than Lincoln, fyc. fyc, and that he did not wish me sent South at this time.' •i Ely brought with him a New York paper, com- menting harshly upon his visit to ' a lady who had ! done the national cause so much injury, and hoping 'that he would not repeat it, as his patriotism would be damaged by it in the public estimation^ &c. He told me that this paper was brought to his seat by i member of Congress, with a friendly admonition igainst the ' repetition of the imprudence.'' Ely said that he took out the pass he had, and said, ' I am foing to see Mrs. Greenhow at this moment, and will do all I can to resist this fanatical persecution, hr they did not treat me so at Fachmond.' On Iking leave he asked me for my carte de visite •A; which I gave him), and said, 'Madam, I will call n. again to see if I can be of use,' &c. &c. I replied, 'No; you will be refused a pass. They are afraid oil.est my fearless denunciations of their infamies may tbji>pen the eyes of their followers, and make them u 290 RENEWED ANXIETIES. question the orthodoxy of Abolitionism.' I subse- quently learned, through a message from Ely, that my prediction had been verified ; for, on application again for a pass to visit me, it had been refused — and this was the last I heard of the Honourable Mr. Ely The tedium of my prison life at this time was greater than I can depict, and I now also began to realise the fact that my physical health was being gradually undermined by want of exercise and want of proper food. A feeling of lassitude was stealing / over me, and a nervous excitability which prevented me from sleeping. My child's health was failing alarmingly also. I had nothing to read, and even the newspapers were served or not, according to the caprice of my jailors, and were very sure to be with held whenever they contained Southern news. ■ M3 room swarmed with vermin, which the warm weathe: now caused to come out in myriads from their hiding places ; and, although at this time allowed the hall hour exercise in the prison yard, I could not regan it as relaxation, for the yard was filled with th stolen negroes, who lay about, obstructing the wall? or engaged in boisterous practical jokes during th while, in utter disregard of social distinction, an even ventured to seat themselves on the same bencl And I must also add that the association with th KENEWED ANXIETIES. 291 ' women prisoners was but a shade less obnoxious i| than that of this degraded servile class. Each 'i day brought some collision between them and the 1 guard, which was mortifying to me in the extreme. The guard were at this time often extremely inso- lent, and questioned the slightest rule of privilege, so that it was necessary to make constant appeals to the I officer on duty. One day, on going down, the guard very rudely placed his musket before me, and said, ' You shall not go down that way,' and ordered me wo go by a dirty back stair, which was not the usual I route. I immediately sent for the officer of the guard, Lieutenant Miller, who passed me down. Some time after the woman Baxley, and the one calling herself Mrs. Morris, or Mason, attempted to "go down, and were also stopped by the guard, with whom they entered into an angry contest, and re- solved in defiance to force their way through them. ^Morris was pushed into a corner, and held there by ' : ia bayonet crossed before her, whilst the more daring mi the two, Baxley, seized on the musket that ob- structed her passage, and attempted to pass under [ lit. The guard cursed her. She struck him in the f face, which caused his nose to bleed, and he knocked 'her down and kicked her. Attracted by the commo- ifbn, I went up, under escort of Lieutenant Miller, u 2 292 REXEWED ANXIETIES. when this statement was given to me and to the officer by the women, amidst sobs and cries — the guard, also, who witnessed it, giving substantially the same account. Thus it will be seen that I must have suffered much from this humiliating association. Captain Higgins came up to speak with me on the subject, greatly mortified at the occurrence, and said that he would punish the guard if he could have any justification in doing so. I told him that I thought it was a case which he could not take cognisance of, as he could only regard it as a fight between a prisoner and a guard, in which the prisoner was the aggressor. Captain Higgins then implored those prisoners to have no words with his guard, but to appeal to him in case of insolence or disrespect, and that they should be summarily punished. At this time I occasionally saw members of my' family, who were admitted to see me under the special order to that effect from Secretary Stanton: although the privilege was necessarily used with great caution, as all who were known to be m) friends were in consequence put under the surveil lance of the detective police. The health of m\ child troubled me greatly. All her buoyancy \va; gone, and she would now he for hours upon my lar with — ' Mamma, tell me a story ; ' and, with a heavy i RENEWED ANXIETIES. 293 '1 heart, I have often beguiled her with wild and [ mprobable legends, until she would fall into feverish i slumbers in my arms. Finally I resolved to make ft another appeal in behalf of my family physician •j being permitted to visit her, and wrote to General I- Wordsworth on the subject, stating her condition, &c. General Wordsworth, upon the receipt of my ' note, and the endorsement by the Superintendent of 1 the alarming condition of the child, gave orders that .'Dr. Miller (who was himself under surveillance) ; should have a special order to visit me. Dr. Miller, upon visiting me, found the condition i of the child critical, and represented to the General the necessity of her having more nutritious food, f i also air and exercise ; and thenceforward she was taken out very generally for a short time each day by one or other of the officers. Captain Higgins, Lieutenant Miller, and Lieutenant Holmes, were each .very kind to Eose ; they seemed to be ashamed of 'the persecution which could go so far as to threaten | the life of a little child of eight years. Several Federal officers were at this time confined lUias prisoners for various offences. One Dr. Cox, a surgeon in the regular United States Army, was p arrested for disloyalty to the Government and "[ sympathy with the rebels. I had a great deal of 294 BENE WED ANXIETIES. conversation with this officer through the keyhole of his door, the room being the same which had been occupied by Mrs. M'Cartney. He was the son of Dr. Cox, of Philadelphia, and a man of cultivation. After some weeks of imprisonment, his resignation, which had been previously tendered, was accepted, and he was liberated on parole. The others were mostly German officers taken up for stealing (or peculation, the term brought in vogue by Cameron), one the chief of Carl Schutts' staff. A Mr. Morton, ex-Lieutenant-Governor of the State of New York, was a prisoner by order of Seward, whose deadly animosity he had excited. Poor man ! he was most inhumanly treated, and was gradually dying from the effects of it. The keenest sympathy of all the prisoners was excited on his behalf. He was allowed communication with no one, not even his wife ; and when his half-hour of exercise in the prison yard came round, everyone was driven in as if he had been stricken with the plague, and a solitary walk prescribed, in sight but out of reach of communion with the guards even. I frequently sent out letters for him ; but as he was in solitary confinement it was very difficult, and required the cooperation of several persons. The process was this : Avhen Morton went down in the RENEWED ANXIETIES. 295 yard lie would watch his opportunity to bow to i me — I having been previously notified that he was below. If I had an opportunity to communicate , outside, I would hold up a letter — if not, would , shake my head; and bitterly would my heart ache ,when I would see the desponding manner with which the poor fellow would let his head fall upon yhis breast when I would give the negative signal. ,By means of a string he would pass his letter to Captain Pliny Bryan, C.S.A., who would pass it by e held a prisoner for the war ' — thus repeating ubstantially the old story. Mr. Bayard also ob- ained a pass to visit me, by reason of his having Xieen a class-mate of Wordsworth's. Meanwhile, eveiy species of annoyance was put • pon me. My friends, on calling at the Provost- larshal's, were often informed that I had been gone 300 RENEWED ANXIETIES. South some several weeks, and their newspapers pub- lished characteristic paragraphs about . me : some- times that I vehemently protested against leaving' Washington ; at others, that I had made a full con-! fession of my treason. In answer to a paragraph that went the rounds on this head, and which was 1 copied into the ' Baltimore News Sheet,' I wrote the following : — 4 Sir, — I wish to correct a statement which has been copied into your paper. I have made no con- fession of treason, or treasonable correspondence ; neither was I subjected to an examination intended to bring to the light my sources of information. I but claim the right which our fathers did in '76 — to protest against tyranny and oppression.* ' Very respectfully, 'Kose O'K Greenhow.' * This note accidentally found its way into some books sen by me to the President's house, and was returned to me with thi. following gratifying note from the President : — ' Richmond : May 26, 1863. ' Dear Madam, — The enclosed was found on the floor of ni} residence, and is returned to its owner. Accidentally I have thus been made acquainted with another of the many bitter trial: to which your free spirit was subjected while your person wa( in the power of a vulgar despotism. 'Very respectfully and truly yours, ' Jefferson Davis.' RENEWED ANXIETIES. 801 Extracts from my notes in Old Capitol Prison : — Saturday, May 10. — This clay at five o'clock the , Yankees formally took possession of Norfolk, our jifcroops having evacuated it in the forenoon. Direful events seem rapidly chasing each other. At first I did not credit it, the Yankee papers having for the last ten days heralded the important event. The Virginia, the noble Virginia, also destroyed ! I would rather have lost both of my hands than to be Ibliged to write this fact as un fait accompli. The exultation of the Yankees and their insolence are beyond all description. Strange, no feeling of de- spondency is in my heart. My confidence in the ultimate result — the achievement of our indepen- dence — is strong as the faith planted on the Eock of A.ges ; and even in this dark hour the star of hope irises steadily beyond the gloom, guiding us on to victory and to empire. These great calamities have Hfeen permitted in order to arouse our people to i full sense of their peril, and to corresponding neasures of resistance against our ruthless invaders. Altogether this has been a dark day in the prison. It may perhaps be well to say that my notes are Drincipally in cipher. Captain Bryan and Harry Stewart are going to escape to-night — the attempt to :>e made when the guard whom they have bribed 302 KENEWED ANXIETIES. comes on at midnight. I long for the morrow, and the ' All's well !' A presentiment of evil weighs me down. I have a raging nervous headache. I hav just bidden them both good-bye, and given Bryan my pistol. This continued anxiety is killing me. Sunday Morning, May 11. — I was aroused at a littl after five by the report of a rifle, and a cry enough t< startle the dead : Harry Stewart had been shot b} the guard whom he had bribed. Being disappointec in the attempt at night, Bryan had given it up But poor impetuous confiding Harry Stewart wa induced by the guard, when he came on again a five, to renew the attempt. Dr. Cox and the othel Yankee officers confined in the room above hean the plot between the guards to murder him ; the mai who was in his pay saying to the other, ' When h> gets fairly out of the window I will cry " Halt ! " anc fire at the same time ; you hold your fire until h< is down, and then give it to him.' The agreemen by Stewart had been to give the man fifty dollar after he got down. The supposition was that the' thought to rob him as they carried him round to th prison entrance. His friends, however, defeated thi by drawing him up into his room. His leg wa dreadfully shattered, making amputation necessary 1 but he was so much prostrated by loss of bloo RENEWED ANXIETIES. 303 previous to the operation that he could not rally from the effects of the chloroform, but died between three and four o'clock. On the evening of the 12th an examination took place in the prison, ostensibly for the purpose of establishing the fact of the bribery, and Dr. Cox iand the other Yankee officers made the statement i above ; and it is inexplicable why the victim had not ,been warned by them of the murderous plot. My own evidence was taken, having been cog- nisant of the whole affair, and hearing the agreement fwith the guard. I was asked if I would aid a ^prisoner in an attempt, &c. I answered ' Yes.' I considered it a point of honour to render any aid in money or otherwise. The woman calling herself Morris certified that I had furnished the means, through my sister, Mrs. Leonard, for the escape, &c, ^thereby causing the arrest and detention of my sister ,|for several days. She demanded to be brought i; j,'before the Secretary of War, when the Assistant- secretary Watson informed her that the charge had jjjpeen made against her by this woman ; at the same ji:ime he released her from custody. I saw my sister r ,j.3ut once afterwards, when she left the city as no , r ,onger a safe place for her. )0( My child is so nervous from a repetition of these 3C4 ItEXEWED ANXIETIES. dreadful scenes that she starts and cries out in her sleep. Horrors like this will shatter the nerves ol the strongest. loth. — The murderer has been released from custody, promoted to a corporal, and put again on duty on this post. I sent for the officer of the guard, and remonstrated against it as an outrage and insult to every prisoner, and that, if allowed to re-| main, he would probably be killed before the day was over. He was in consequence sent away. May 14. — The sky of our destiny is brightening The successes of the gallant Ashby and Jackson have inspired the Yankees with wholesome dread, and they again apprehend a descent on Washington; But they watch me more closely in consequence When will this end ? I am nearly starved. I haq a fowl served up to me to-day (or rather a small piece of one), which must have been the cock whicll crowed thrice to wake Peter; we could not get oui teeth through it. Eose cried heartily, for she wa very hungry. Captain Bryan, and the other gentle men below, have just smuggled me a supper, should starve but for the considerate kindness o| these gentlemen. May 15. — Last night the wildest panic prevailec] The long roll was beat : the guard doubled roun I BENE WED ANXIETIES. 305 the prison ; and the rumbling of artillery and 1 tramp of men, yelling and cursing as they marched, tept us all on the qui vive. Yet even amidst our mild, hopes mingled dread, for we believed that our 'brutal guard would endeavour to wreak their ven- Jgeance upon us in the event of an attempt at trescue : threats to that effect had often been vaguely "uttered. ; The panic was caused by a number of mules breaking their coral, and coming across the Long ^Bridge. The clatter of their hoofs alarmed the 'pickets, who fled in great terror, communicating the Jpanic in their route, that Jackson, Ashby, and Stuart Were in hot pursuit, with a mighty army. Oh that it had been true ! that our hosts could 'sweep over their lands, and leave behind the deso- lating footprint of war! for as yet this people have H'inown none of its horrors, but made mighty profit ! thereby. Their manufacturing interests are revived jjiivith renewed energy in the furnishing of implements epff war, clothing, and other supplies for their vast itrmies in the field, whilst Mr. Chase complacently duplicates greenbacks, chuckling over the issue of sach additional million as a step nearer to national bankruptcy, and the absolute despotism which is to ise out of the ruin of the old system. x 306 KENEWED ANXIETIES. Heaven speed them in their work ! and may nc ray of common sense stay their onward march ! How farcical now seem the boasted Government of our fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States ! — almost as much so as the Constitution of the kingdom oi Lilliput, and which the first rude shock has scatterec to the winds. That profound and thinking mer should now believe in the permanence of a system based upon such feeble security as the integrity of the governing power is still the wonder. I can only hope that the experience of the past will guide our own people in the formation of a Government which will be eternal, with no element of disruption in it. May 17. — We are all in good spirits. Account^ are received daily of skirmishes, in which our people are always successful. The Yankees are in continual dread of Jackson's advance on Washington. May 18. — A senatorial committee have just visitec the prison. I cannot understand precisely the object of it, although certainly not meant for the benefit ol the prisoners. Wood is very uneasy. Wilson, o1 Massachusetts, was brought by him to see me, anc in the course of conversation told me that I was, up to that period, the most important prisoner taken ; RENEWED ANXIETIES. 307 itat lie had, nevertheless, advised my being imme- liately sent South, but 4 that Seward, M'Clellan. md the rest ' thought differently ; that I would soon, however, be set free, as the rebellion would oe crushed out in a little while, as Eichmond had tlready fallen. I told him that, if Richmond fell, it vould bury the Abolitionists under its ruins, and rise rom its ashes the capital of a mighty empire. I do lot venture to repeat the whole of my conversation vith this Abolition leader, for all the bitterness and xmtempt which I felt for his race was thrown into I In the course of the interview I had the satis- action of seeing the jealousy and division amongst, hemselves, which I welcomed with joy, as the avant- ourier of the bitter retribution — in the shape of ivil war at the North — which is to terminate the tJ ational existence of that corrupt and debased people, he progress of events is slow but sure, for they now roan under the yoke of absolute despotism, although 111 outspoken expression of discontent is suppressed, he leaders are, however, aware of its existence, and ope to avert the catastrophe by a vigorous invasion 5 1 the South, and the employment of all the evil J assions of their race in that unholy crusade. May 19. — There is again a talk of removing me another prison. Since the murder of Harry x 2 308 REXEWED AXXIETIES. Stewart, all my friends are interdicted from visitim me ; and as I will not associate with the womer prisoners, I am in absolute solitude. The hope o being released has quite unsettled my prison routine and I find it very difficult to fix my mind on any thing but the unutterable weariness of my lot, Whei will it end ? I shrink with terror from the content plation of the indefinite future, and try to fix mj mind upon the heroic deeds of my countrymen — fo in them indeed is my trust, my only hope. May 21. — Mr. Wood came to me just now, an< told me, if I would write him a note asking him t< recover my papers, that he thought he could ge them. I question it very much ; nevertheless, I wil do it : so I addressed him the following note : — ' MR. WOOD, SUPERIXTEXDEXT, ETC. ETC. 'Old Capitol Prison: May 21. ' Sir, — Believing that the " decree " for my releas* of your Revolutionary Commission will be acte upon some time before the miUennium, I therefor most respectfully beg that you will use every ex ertion to obtain the restoration of my papers, seize some nine months ago, when I was first made prisoner by order of this invincible Government ' Very respectfully, ' Eose O'K Greexiiow.' RENEWED ANXIETIES. 309 To this demand I received the following reply : — i ' Mrs. Greenhow,— -If you will be kind enough to 'dispense with the God and Liberty style in your wonunciamento, and give me a plain power of ttorney to receipt for your papers, I shall use every tower to obtain them ; and I shall be happy to estore them to you (the proper person to have hem). C W. P. Wood.' To this I answered Mr. Wood : — - ' To make reference to God, or Liberty either, ©hind the bars of this prison, to its admirable mministrator, would be — knowing your peculiar iews — in as bad taste as writing in a dead language. Is to my papers, they may even remain where they re until I shake off the chains of tyranny. ' Very respectfully, ' Eose O'N. Greenhow.' In order to make the above intelligible, I must :ate that this man was an infidel — that he derided liristianity, and exercised his astute reasoning owers in the analysis of those mysteries which our ull materialism was not destined to fathom, as roofs of the absurdity of a faith founded upon 310 KENEWED ANXIETIES. theories and traditions so wild and vague as to b rejected when submitted to the test of reason. He als< rejected the evidence of the Bible in support ol Christianity, and denied its sacred character. His text-book was the writings of Paine ; and if anyone asked him for a book to read, lie was sure either tc give them, as a great favour, a folio volume of his own writings, collected in the form of a scrap-book with the ideas of Paine intensified or diluted, or else as a special mark of grace, the works of that infidel for, apart from other peculiarities patent to ever} prisoner, his desire to make proselytes to his owi ■want of faith was the ruling passion of his soul. H was vindictive, cunning, and ambitious, repelled witl warmth any claim to being considered a gentleman and yet, strange to sa} T , was by no means devoid o: some generous inspirations ; for I have known hin: to perform acts of great magnanimity and gene- rosity. Stanton was his patron, to whom he seemec bound by strong ties. So it will be readily seen thai he neither feared God nor man, and that Willian P. Wood, Abraham Lincoln, and the Emperor o Russia were the most irresponsible absolute despot: on earth. lord. — My existence is now a positive blank Day glides into day with nothing to mark the nigh EENEWED ANXIETIES. 311 of time, and hope paints no silver lining to the clouds which hang over rne. Wood tantalises me each day with expectation of something which never happens. In a fit of vexation I ordered him not to ■address himself to me save in his official capacity. I almost wish I had not done it ; for the chattering of a monkey would even break pleasantly on the monotony of my life. May 25. — To-day, as I walked in the prison yard, 'a prisoner captured at Front Eoyal, Virginia, threw at ;my feet a small piece of paper containing intelligence l [ which made my heart leap with joy. I eagerly de- voured its contents, which were that a battle had {■been fought on the 23rd and 24th at Front Eoyal, in 1 which we had gained a great victory, having driven •the Yankees from the town, and taken 1,470 pri- soners, besides a large quantity of stores, which we -very much needed. All honour to the brave Jack- '■ son, who is now the special terror of the Yankees ! 1 2Qth. — Great excitement prevails here. The Abo- ■'! litionists are again sending off their families. Last i night I put my candle on the window, in order to \ get something out of my trunk, near which it stood, all unconscious of committing any offence against \ prison discipline, when the guard below called out, ! ' Put out that light.' I gave no heed, and only 312 KENEWED ANXIETIES. lighted another ; whereupon several voices took up the cry, adding, ' D n you, I will lire into your room.' Eose was in a state of great delight, and collected all the ends of candle to add to the illumi- nation. By this the clank of arms and clatter of feet, in conjunction with a furious rap at my -door, and demand to open it, announced the advent of corporals and sergeants. My door was now secured inside by a bolt which had been allowed me. I asked their business. Answer — 'You are making signals, and must remove your lights from the window.' I said, ' But it suits my convenience to keep them there.' ' We will break open your door if you do n't open it.' ' You will act as you see fit, but it will be at your peril.' They did not dare to carry out their threat, as they knew that I had a very admirable pistol on my mantel-piece, restored to me a short time since, although they did not know that I had no ammunition for it. The guard, meanwhile, were doubled around the prison on every post, and the 'All's well' cried throughout the night. I subsequently explained to the officer of the guard the absurdity of the whole proceeding, which he had the good sense to admit. An order, however, came from the Provost-Marshal to capture my pistol, which was accordingly clone with reluc- RENEWED ANXIETIES. 313 tance by Lieutenant Miller. I relate this as one of the absurd events which were constantly occurring, sometimes in a far more offensive form. 27th. — Oh, how weary I am ! I have not had j even the newspapers for several days. An odd volume of ' Silvio Pellico ' has helped me to beguile ithe heavy hours ; but the similarity of my own fate iwith that of other victims of tyranny does not .diminish my sense of suffering. The heat is intense, with the sun beating down upon the house-top and In the windows ; the stench terrible ; and hunger ignawing at one's vitals ; for, alas ! I cannot eat the food set before me. My child is looking pale and ill. ' He who entereth here leaves hope behind' is written in letters of blood over the portal of (Lincoln's prison. But even in this bitter cup there is a sweet drop of consolation : it is that the gulf is widening between the two races ; each victim immo- lated by the tyrant but makes the barrier more impassable. That thought sustains me in the dread ordeal. 28th. — The Yankee papers this morning are cer- tainly trying to cover a defeat under extravagant boastings. Mr. Stanton is ae fully attained by a mere numerical majority. A najority of States was also necessary. To secure this najority, and thus complete the political ascendency i>f the North, the policy of ' no more Slave States ' vas formally set forth. A political party was formed, whose sole principle ifras the exclusion of slavery from the territories. [fhere was no moral sentiment involved in this. It »tid not alter the status of slavery. It made not a i.uman being free ; nor did it propose to do so. Sir,' said Mr. Webster in the Senate, ' this is not a horal question : it is a question of political power.' -iord Eussell has more recently corroborated this old assertion, by saying, that ' this icas a struggle ■ n one side for supremacy, and on the other for adependence.' On the other hand, the Southern States, struggling or equality, and seeking to maintain the equilibrium ( f the Government, insisted upon the rights of their itizens to enter and live in the new territories upon 326 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. terms of equality with the men north of Mason and Dixon's line. The) 7 contended for the right of ex- tending their social institutions, not to propagate! slavery — not to make a single human being a slave- that would otherwise be free — but simply to pre- serve the equilibrium of power between the twoi sections. It is true that the anti-slavery fanaticism wasii brought to bear ; and it is also true that there fol- lowed a rancorous agitation which divided churches, rent asunder political parties, diminished and em- bittered the intercourse of society, and unfitted Congress for the performance of its constitutional! duties, and resulted in the estrangement of the Southern people from their Northern connection, h But this estrangement was not an active or stimulatjj ing motive, and manifested itself rather in the want of any general anxiety to restrain the movement foi disunion. Equally unfounded is the allegation that the secession of the South originated in the exasperatioi of a defeated party, and hostility to the successful candidate. The personal character of Mr. Lincoln, and his political opinions (except so far as therti represented that ' armed doctrine ' which menaced the equality of the Southern States, and was contrived MAN" INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 327 .'or their oppression and degradation), had not formed ivith the Southern people the subject of either interest or enquiry. They knew that there were in the Constitution important checks which would urnish them with ample means of protecting thein- elves against the hostile purposes of the existing ncumbent, and even of repairing such violations of he fundamental law as might during his term of service be beyond their control. The stern protest of the Southern people, free [irom all party violence and recklessness, indicated i thorough knowledge of the extent and depth of :he grievances inflicted upon them ; and subsequent events have proved that they had both wisdom and caeroism adequate to evolve the proper remedy, and jfirmly to apply it. They regarded it as the first istep towards the overthrow of American representa- tive liberty. Even considering the Northern theory of government to be true — viz. that the Union was one consolidated Eepublic — it is essential that the cen- tral authority derive its powers and draw its force irom all the parts of the entire nation, so that by itheir reciprocal independence they can counteract ithe tendency of any one part to usurp the sovereignty hi the whole. When the North assumed the government over the 328 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. South, as its own exclusive possession, it sought to establish an unmitigated tyranny. For liberty, true civil liberty, cannot exist where rights are on one side of a geographical line, and the power on the other. The Southern people are law-abiding, long-suffer- ing, tenacious in their attachments, and opposed even to a fault to innovations ; but where the alternative was presented of an overthrow of their political liberty, or a change in their Federal relations, they did not hesitate. To prove that they were fully justified, I will cite the testimony of ex-President Fillmore, a Northern statesman, never charged with Southern or pro- slavery sympathies : — • ' We see a political party presenting candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency, selected for the first time from the Free States alone, with the avowed purpose of electing those candidates by the suffrage of one part of the Union only, to rule over the whole of the United States. Can it be possible that those who are engaged in such a measure can have seriously reflected upon the consequences which must inevitably follow in case of success? Can they have the madness or folly to believe that our Southern brethren would submit to be governed by such a chief magistrate ? ' MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 329 After inveighing with great earnestness against a i course so monstrous, he adds: — 'These are serious J but practical questions, and in order to appreciate them fully, it is only necessary to turn the tables . upon ourselves. Suppose that the South, having a ma- jority of the electoral votes, should declare that they would only have slaveholders for Presidents, and should elect such by their exclusive suffrages to rule over us at the North. Do you think that we would submit to it ? (Cries of " No, never ! ") No, not for oa moment. And do you believe that our Southern brethren are less sensitive upon this subject than you, . or less jealous of their rights ? If you do, let me tell you that you are mistaken. And, therefore, you must see that, if this sectional party succeeds, it leads inevitably to the destruction of this beautiful fabric reared by our forefathers, consolidated by s their blood, and bequeathed to us as a priceless 1 blessing.' 9 I call especial attention to the following views, not s only on account of their intrinsic value, but from i the notoriety which attaches to the author as the 1 interested advocate of the Lincoln Government. I i doubt if the annals of revolution furnish a more j flagrant instance of political apostasy. But I will appeal from 'Philip drunk to Philip sober.' 330 MAX INCAPABLE OP SELF-GOVERXMEXT. The following is a portion of the letter by the Hon. E. J. Walker, entitled 'An Appeal for the Union,' setting forth the enormity of the pretensions of the Abolition party, and the consequences certain to succeed their assumption of the control of the Government. LETTER FROM THE HON. ROBERT J. WALKER, ENTITLED 'AN APPEAL FOR THE UNION.' Hon. Charles Shaler and others, Democratic Committee, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. New Yokk : Tuesday, Sept. 30. 1856. We are approaching the close of a momentous struggle. On the one side is arrayed the Democratic party. It exists in every State, and over its united columns float the flag of the Constitution and of the Union. On the other side is found a sectional and geographical party, composed exclusively of the States of the North. The father of his country clearly foresaw the danger of such a party, and warned us against its fatal tendency, in his affectionate farewell address. But his solemn appeals and prophetic forebodings are swept from our memory, amid the wild uproar of geographical strife and sectional pre- judice. For the first time in our history, such a geographical party is now formed. It is composed exclusively of the States of the North, and is arrayed in violent hostility against the Southern section of the Confederacy. It draws MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 331 a line, clear and distinct, between the North and the South, and wars upon the people and institutions of the latter. It declares the institutions of the South so degraded and infamous, that Congress must exclude them from all that vast territory acquired by common blood and treasure, and which is the joint inheritance of all the States of the Union. Louisiana (including Kansas and Nebraska) was acquired by Jefferson and saved by Jackson. But the South are no longer held worthy to inherit any portion of that territory, acquired by the illustrious patriot of Vir- ginia, and saved by the immortal hero of Tennessee. So, too, with all the vast region acquired in the war with Mexico. Two gallant sons of Virginia, Scott and Taylor, were the leaders of those brilliant campaigns. The blood of the South was poured out in copious liba- tions, and mingled freely with the blood of the North, upon the many and well-fought fields of Mexico. Beside the gallant sons of the North an heroic regiment of South Carolina was swept by the deadly fire of the Mexican forces. Leader after leader, column after column, of that regiment fell mortally wounded, yet the survivors never wavered, and their arms were crowned with victory. Yet no son of Carolina, or of all the South, is held worthy to possess any, the smallest portion of all that territory acquired from Mexico. From the whole coast of the Pacific the South is already excluded, and now the plat- form of the Sectional party of the North is this : The universal Wilmot proviso — no slave territory, and no more Slave States north or south of the line of the Missouri Compromise. There shall be no division of the common territory, but 332 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. the North must have the whole. There are fifteen Southern and sixteen Northern States, seven organised Territories, and a vast region yet to be organised. The North must have all these, and all our future acquisitions. No matter what may be the voice or vote of the people of the Territory, or when becoming a State. You shall have no voice or vote in the matter, but the North, commanding a Northern majority in the Electoral College and in Con- gress, must have the whole. But it is said the North has the majority, and the South must submit. Has then the South no rights, or does she hold them merely at the mercy of a Northern majority? Has the South no claims on the justice of the North, and is it not unjust to exclude the South from all the common territory of the Union ? But this is not a mere question of justice, but of con- stitutional power. The Constitution ivas framed and ratified by the States, each voting and acting for itself alone. Thus we became ' United States ; ' a Confederacy, not a centred Republic — a Confederacy receiving all its power from the States, through an instrument called by them the Constitution, granting therein only certain specified powers, and reserving all others. It is clear, then, that Congress can exercise such powers only as are granted by the Constitution, and that all their laws, not based upon the delegated powers, are founded on usurpa- tion, and are absolute nullities. Now, the Constitution delegates no power to establish or abolish slavery in States or Territories. Such is the opinion of the South, and of a large minority (if not a majority) of the North. But, it is said, the North claims that such power in the Terri- I MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 333 'tories is granted to Congress by the Constitution. The South denies the existence of any such power. How is the question to be decided ? Most clearly, not by the Worth, or the South, but, as a disputed question of con- stitutional law, by the Supreme Court of the United States. Now, before the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, !the South proposed to carry that line to the Pacific, although it gave them but three degrees and a half on that ocean, leaving twelve degrees and a half to the North. That measure passed the Senate, but was voted down in the House by a Northern majority. Thus the North seized the whole coast on the Pacific, nearly equal to our entire front on the Atlantic. The South yielded, but uniformly thereafter most justly regarded the Missouri Compromise as repudiated by the North, rejected by their votes, and denounced by their addresses. The South next proposed to submit the disputed question of the power of Congress over slavery in the Territories to the adjudication of the Supreme Court of the United States. That measure, known as the Clayton Compromise, also passed the Senate, and was voted down in the House by a Northern majority. This most wise and patriotic measure submitted this question to the supreme judicial tribunal created by the •Constitution, clothed by it with full authority to expound ithat instrument, and to restrain Congress within the limits of the specific granted powers. But this peaceful and final arbitrament of this question, | proposed by the South, was rejected by the North. The so-called c Republican ' party does not adopt the restoration of the Missouri Compromise, but distinctly repudiates that measure, and declares there shall be no 334 MAX INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. Slave Territory and no more Slave States, anywhere or under any circumstances, admitted to the Union, however clear or unanimous may be the will of the people of such State or Territory, or how far South the location. The very question, then, on which tins party rests is sectional : its candidates are sectional, and, anticipating no electoral vote from the South, it looks for success exclusively to the North. Nay, more : it assumes the exclusive right of the North to decide this question, and rejecting all division of the common territory by any line, it claims the whole for the North, discards the vote of the people of the Territory, either before or in becoming a State, and rejects also the arbitrament of the Supreme Court of the United States. It is conceded that, under the Constitution of the United States, slaves are property ; and whether they may or may not be held as such in the Territories is the great dis- puted question of constitutional law. It involves rights of property, and as such is peculiarly a judicial question. But the Supreme Court of the Union is to be superseded by the popular suffrage of the North, and these rights of property are thus to be decided. Such a doctrine is not only sectioned, aggressive, and belligerent, but agrarian and revolutionary. It is an overthrow of the Constitu- tion, of all its guarantees, and of every Conservative principle on which it is founded. Such a Government would not be a Constitutional Republic, but an elective despotism. But it is said the North are the majority, and such is their will. Sic volo, sic jubeo, stat pro ratione voluntas. But the votes and will of the French people made Napoleon the Great first their Consul, and then their Emperor ; and the votes and will of the French people made Napoleon III. first their President, and then ]' MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOYEENMENT. 335 jlothed him with the imperial purple. Such was the will )f the people ; but with us the Constitution is the supreme law, and so declared in that instrument, as framed and "atified by the people of each State. That Constitution, ifter withholding all but the specifically granted powers, distributes their exercise between the legislative, execu- ive, and judicial authorities. It rendered paramount to Congress the decree of the Supreme Court of the United States. It gave to that Dourt the power to expound the law, and especially that supreme law called the Constitution. But this Court is superseded by the refusal of the North to submit this question to its decision, and the substitution of the will pf a Northern majority. If constitutional guarantees and judicial decisions are thus to be overthrown through the 7ote of the people by Congress, why not also in the States ,by the State Legislatures, and the doctrine established ;hat all rights of property in the Territories are held subject to the will of the people in the election of Con- gress ; and all rights of property in the States to the will }f the people in the election of State Legislatures? If the Constitution is to be disregarded, judicial tribunals i superseded, and questions involving rights of property lecided at the ballot-box by the people in one case, why lot in all others? The doctrine, if asked to be applied to ine species of property in Kansas to-day, may be extended So all property everywhere to-morrow. It may be ex- pended to lands, houses, rents, vessels, railroads, debts, stocks, and all other property, and may subject them all ;o division or confiscation by the decision of the people at ;he ballot-box. If it is right for the North, by the vote of die majority, to deprive the South, who are a minority, of 336 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOYEKNMEXT. all rights in the common territory of the Union, and to supersede judicial tribunals on disputed points of consti- tutional law involving - rights of property, will not the; same principle apply to the State Legislatures in each of the States, and the tenure of all property he decided by the people at each successive election ? The truth is, the Black ' Republican ' party is revo- lutionary and agrarian ; it involves principles which must strike down the tenure of all property in every State as well as in every Territory of the Union. It discards the peaceful arbitrament of the Supreme Court of the United States — the great Conservative feature of our institutions : it overthrows the Constitution and all its guarantees, and substitutes in their place an elective despotism, by which a majority of the people may abolish, divide, or confiscate all property at each successive election. It is said the majority of this tribunal are from the South, and therefore the North cannot trust them with the decision of this great constitutional question. It is but a majority of one, and that one the venerable Chief Justice, born and ever re- siding in the most conservative of all the States of the South, bordering upon the North, with but very few slaves, from which the Institution of Slavery is rapidly disappearing ; with its great river, the Susquehanna, leading into the heart of Pennsylvania and traversing large por- tions of the State of New York ; a State, three-fourths of whose trade and intercourse, hy bays and rivers, by railroads and canals, is with the Free States of this Confederacy. But if such a tribunal cannot be trusted, in executing the functions assigned to it by the Constitution, because it numbers from the South a majority of one, performing its high duties after full argument upon both sides, deep inves- MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVEKNMENT. 337 >■; ligation and research, calm and deliberate, uninfluenced It so far as humanity can be by passion or prejudice, en- lightened and incorruptible, far surpassing any other judi- cial tribunal upon earth for its talents, wisdom, and legal }1 knowledge — familiar with the Constitution, accustomed for many years to close examination of all its provisions, and to hear them constantly discussed on both sides by the great and distinguished jurists of our country — if such a tribunal cannot be trusted, because it holds accidentally at this time a majority of one from the South, can such a \ question be more wisely referred to the popular suffrage, where the North has a majority of fifty-four in the House of Eepresentatives, and fifty-six in the Electoral College, ^and that majority constantly and rapidly augmenting? 3 ' Will this controversy be more wisely decided by the people 3 of the North, a single geographical section, inflamed by 3 sectional passion and prejudice, impelled by newspaper I editors, and hustings orators, and political priests, with or : ' without knowledge, with or without patriotism, with or without sincere religion, with or without fanaticism, with ] ' or without mature investigation, with or without selfish aspirations? Day by day, from the press, the hustings, {' the bookstore, the pulpit, the lecture-room, the school- ■• house, the theatre, the library, the author's closet, the painter's brush, and the power of song, the North now is, '; and long has been, trained and educated to hate the South, J to despise their institutions, to trample upon their rights, to lacerate their feelings, to calumniate their character, to forget all their noble deeds in war and in peace, and all their generous qualities and high intellectual endowments, and to dwell only upon their faults, which are the lot of our common humanity. z 338 MAX INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. Nor is this all. A direct appeal is constantly made to the local interests of the North, to the spirit of avarice and love of power and domination, which unfortunately exist, more or less, in every age and country ; and the North are told that it is their interest to monopolise for ever, for themselves and their children, the whole of the common territory of the Union. Under these circum- stances, is the popular suffrage of the North that calm, wise, enlightened, unprejudiced, disinterested tribunal to which should be assigned the decision of the great ques- tion involved in this controversy ? In a matter involving the rights, interests, and property of the South, the North is asked to be the sole judge in its own case, and to decide this matter in its own favour, by its own exclusive suf- frage. No man respects popular suffrage more than myself: universal suffrage in this country, on all merely political questions, within the limits of the Constitution. But on judicial questions, involving rights of property of incalculable value, our fathers, in founding the Govern- ment, for the welfare and safety of all, discarded the French idea of their elective despotism of 1852, or of their popular assemblage of 1789, unrestrained by conservative checks or constitutional guarantees, and deciding through the popular vote upon rights of property. Division and confiscation, followed by sack, by plunder, and the guillotine, were there the inevitable consequence ; and similar doctrines would soon produce here the same dreadful catastrophe. No man respects the press and the pulpit more than myself. In discharging their appropriate functions they are the highest vocations upon earth, the one for time, the other for eternity. No one deems more useful than myself addresses to the people from the MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 339 hustings by able orators on political questions. But judi- ' cial questions, involving rights of property, requiring im- partial investigation, should not be decided by popular suffrage, and especially when, as in this case, the suffrage of one section of the Union, incited by interest, passion, or prejudice, is asked to decide for itself, and in its own favour, by its own exclusive electoral vote, against another great section of the Confederacy. But this so-called e Eepublican ' platform is not only revolutionary and agrarian, but by forming a sectional and geographical party, arraying the North against the South, and assailing the bulwarks of the Constitution, it exposes the Union to imminent peril. It is the Constitution that makes the Union, and the subversion of the Constitution is the overthrow of the Union. It is revolution, because it changes in fact our form of government. The parch- ment upon which the Constitution is written may still remain, the empty forms may still be administered, but even these will soon follow, until not a fragment remains of the Government formed by the patriots and sages of the Eevolution. If there are those that believe that the Union can long be preserved, when the Constitution shall have been subverted, and the supreme judicial tribunal of the Union expunged or obliterated, their delusive hopes, their dreams of dominion and power, will soon vanish. We have now not only a sectional and geographical party, based upon a sectional issue, and realising all the fears of the illustrious Washington, but we have a party advo- cating doctrines agrarian and revolutionary, subjecting all property to division or confiscation, and expunging the supreme judicial tribunal. I indulge in no menaces against the Union. I make no predictions on a subject of z 2 340 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. such fearful import. But this I can say, that the South will not and ought not to submit to degradation ; they tvill not be despoiled by the North of all rights in the common territory ; they will not surrender their constitutional guarantees ; they love the Union, but it is the Union of the Constitution, the union of equals with equals, and not of sovereign States of the North with subject States — say- rather, conquered provinces of the South. Eather than submit to this, they will adopt the last alternative — Sepa- ration — and will then exclaim : — Thy spirit, Independence, let me share, Lord of the Lion heart and Eagle eye : Thy steps I '11 follow with my bosom bare, Nor heed the storm that lowers along the sky. Indeed, it is a most remarkable fact, that while in their native Africa the race has made no progress, while in the mock Eepublic of Hayti or brutal despotism of Soulouque, in Jamaica and the British West Indies, the emancipated slaves have retrograded to barbarism, while even in our own North the free black race is generally found in the gaols, or poor-houses, or hospitals, the asylums of the deaf and dumb, the blind or insane, or in pestilent alleys or cellars, amid scenes of destitution and infamy, yet in Africa alone, a colony of emancipated slaves, born and raised in the much-abused South, and trained and manu- mitted by Southern masters, we find the only hope of the African race, and the only success they have ever achieved out of bondage. When anyone ventures to admonish the people of the danger of sectional or geographical parties, he is now de- nounced as a traitor or dis unionist. Washington, Jefferson, MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 341 Madison, Monroe, Franklin, Hamilton, Jackson, Clay, and Webster, all warned the people of the danger to the Union of sectional and geographical parties. But we who repeat these warnings are the true friends of the Union ; and those who disregard these admonitions, and form sec- tional and geographical parties, are the enemies of the Constitution and the Union. No, my countrymen, if, in the madness of sectional passions and geographical prejudice, you overthrow the Constitution framed by Washington and the sages of the Eevolution, you can never provide adequate substitutes. Those who have achieved our country's ruin can never regather the scattered fragments of the Constitution, and rebuild the sacred edifice. No, it will be war, civil war, of all others the most sanguinary and ferocious. The line which separates the North from the South will be known in all Iristory as the line of blood. It will be marked on either side by frowning fortresses, by opposing batteries, by gleaming sabres, by bristling bayonets, by the tramp of contending armies, by towns and cities sacked and pillaged, by dwellings given to the flames, and fields laid waste and desolate. No mortal hand can lift the veil which conceals the unspeakable disasters of such a conflict. No prophet vision can penetrate the dark abyss of such a catastrophe. It will be a second fall of maDkind, and while we shall be performing here the bloody drama of a nation's suicide, from the thrones of Europe will arise the exulting shouts of despots, and upon their gloomy banners shall be inscribed, as they believe never to be effaced, their motto, Man is incapable of self-government. 342 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. Nor let it be supposed by the North that superior numbers will give them the victory over the South, or exempt them from the calamities of such a conflict. The financial and industrial ruin of the North would be great and overwhelming. The annual products of the South have now reached at least thirteen hundred millions of dollars, and a' much larger portion of this is surplus for export than in the North. Thus the total exports abroad of the whole country, of our own products and manufac- tures (excluding specie), for the year ending 30th June, 1855, were $192,751,000, of which there were from the North $67,626,000, and from the South $125,124,000, cotton alone being $88,143,000, thus showing the export of the South nearly double that of the North. But in the table of these Northern exports is $5,857,000 of cotton piece goods. Now these were made out of 40,000 bales of Southern cotton, costing (at $50 a bale) $2,000,000, furnished by the South to the North, to be deducted from the Northern and added to the Southern export, making a difference in this article alone in favour of the South of $4,000,000. In the same manner, in the table of Northern exports, are found spirits of molasses, $1,448,000; manufactured tobacco, $1,486,000 ; spirits of turpentine, $1,137,000 ; and a vast number of other articles, of which the raw materials are chiefly from the South, amounting (including cotton) to at least $10,000,000, to be deducted from the Northern and added to the Southern export, making the former $57,626,000, and the latter $135,124,000, or vastly more than double. Thus it is that the South furnish vastly more than double those exports which constitute the basis of our exchange and commerce, which build up our com- MAX INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 343 mercial marine (the cradle of our navy), and employ our shipping, more than doubling our tonnage, and enabling us ultimately to command the commerce of the world. So also as to the articles not exported abroad. Those of the South being almost exclusively raw products, and those of the North, to a great extent, manufactures, the raw materials furnished by the South to the North must be deducted from the Northern product, and added to that of the South. The population of the Free States at the last census was 13,434,922, and that of the South, 9,664,656. The annual products of the South now reach at least #1,300,000,000, I which furnish the means of employment to more than three millions of the people of the North. This arises in various ways. In supplying so vast a portion of the freight and passengers for transportation abroad and coast- wise, on the ocean, lakes, bays, and rivers, railroads and canals, and which bring back the return cargoes, the timber must be cut, the iron and other materials furnished, the vehicles of commerce built, the railroads and engines con- structed, the crews and hands employed, the shipments and ; ; reshipments made, the stores occupied, the merchandise \i sold, furnishing profit, employment, and wages to thousands I at the North. Then, too, the farmers, workmen, and other | parties of the North and North-west, in supplying manufac- h tures and provisions to the South, increase the number to millions. Indeed, it would be impossible to enumerate jail the multiplied ramifications of the business of the ! North connected with the South that give employment to Northern capital and Northern labour. Now, by a dissolution of the Union and civil war, there would be total non-intercourse between the North and the 344 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. South, an absolute prohibition of all imports or exports, which would necessarily throw the trade of the South into other channels. This, we have seen, would throw out of employment more than three millions of the people of the North, including the families connected with them, most of whom woidd be reduced to absolute indigence. It would not be the case with them of low profits, low compensation or salaries, or low wages, but of none, because the business that gave them employment would have ceased. As these millions, thus reduced to want, would be unable as hereto- fore to make their former purchases, many thousands more in the North would, to a vast extent, lose their busi- ness and employment, and thus extend the disaster so as to affect most injuriously the whole people of the North. The northern railroads, vessels, and steamers, would lose their freight and passengers passing to and from the South ; the Northern stores connected with this trade would be closed, the Northern vessels lie idle at the wharves, the Northern manufactures no longer reach the markets of the South, nor the cotton be furnished in return ; the shipyards and engine-works thus employed would be discontinued ; the Northern farms would cease to supply breadstuffs and provisions to the South — these they would raise themselves at home, in lieu of that portion of their cotton heretofore supplied to the Northern market. Their own exports would be shipped abroad in their own or foreign vessels, from their own ports ; and to the same points, in the same manner, would be brought back the return cargoes. Indeed, such a cessation of business, of intercourse, of wages and employment, produced by civil war between the North and the South, would cause here a perfect paralysis. 4te MAJST IXCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVEEXMEXT, 345 Commerce would perish ; credit would decay; all pro- perty, real and personal, would rapidly depreciate in value; good debts to banks and others Avould become worthless ; wages or salaries would cease or decline ; stocks would sink to a nominal value; confidence would vanish; all available means would take the form of specie, which would be hoarded and seek its usual hiding-places as in all times of convulsion. To crown the disaster, more than - three millions of people at the North, receiving no wages or employment, must live. They must have houses, food, i' and raiment. But how to be obtained ? Would it be by the new agrarian doctrine of submitting rights of property to the decision of the ballot-box ? Would it be by divi- ', sion and confiscation ? Would the anti-rent doctrine become universal ? or is this too tedious a process ? : Would riots prevail ? Would plunder and pillage close the disaster ? But crimes, tumults, taxes, misery, deaths, government, state, city, and county debts, at enormous rates of interest, and emigration of persons and capital to other countries, would all increase, while liberty itself would expire in the conflict, and the bayonet, as in Europe, take the place of the ballot-box. The gaols and poor-houses would be multiplied, sieges and battles prevail, and thou- sands perish in fraternal strife. The taxes to support those who could not support themselves, and to maintain large and costly armies in the field, would be incalculable. Look at Europe. Her armies, now numbering nearly four millions of men (greater than our whole voting population), trample down the rights and interests of the people and consume their substance, while European government debts have nearly reached ten thousand millions of dollars. But at least they have suppressed 346 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. the guillotine, and possess what they call Law and Order. But would we have even these, until military usurpation had closed the drama of blood and violence, and written the last sad epitaph of human liberty? The picture is darkly shadowed, but it is by the pencil of truth, and k the gloomy reality would be darker still. My soul shrinks [ r from the contemplation of scenes like these, and my pen would refuse to perform its office in describing them, if a solemn sense of duty did not compel me to give these warnings, ere it is too late, and exert all my feeble efforts to prevent the ruin of my country. Now, these efforts may possibly accomplish something; after the election, my humble voice would be unheard or unheeded in the tempest of passion that would sweep the country. Let those of the North who tell you there is no danger shrink from the fearful responsibility they have assumed ere the evil day shall come upon us. They tell us there is no danger — that they have heard this cry before, of danger to the Union — but there is no peril. None in 1820, none in 1833, none in 1850, and the warnings of Washington were a delusion. Why, then, did they call Henry Clay the great pacificator, and announce that thrice he had saved his country ? How saved he the Union, if it never was in danger ? But it was imperilled, and it was saved by measures adopted by the votes of the North and the South. But now the union betiveen the North and the South, so far as the votes for the sectional candi- dates of the so-called ' Republican ' party are concerned, is already dissolved ; for no man anticipates a solitary electoral vote for those candidates in any State of the South, but this controversy is to be settled exclusively in MAX INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 347 •vour of and by the exclusive vote of the North ; and lie rights, wishes, and interests of the South are to be holly disregarded. f Beware, my countrymen, ere it is too late, how you lopt these perilous counsels. Give no vote that puts the nion in the slightest peril — make no such fearful expe- ment. Friends of the Union, of all parties, our enemies ive combined ; they have fused, and under their united forts, the pillars of the Constitution and of the Union •e rocking to their base, and we may have assembled l November next for the last time under our country's ; ig, and as citizens of a common Union. The enemies of le Union have united, and why should we be separated ? he flag of the North 'American' party, as they call lemselves, is trailing in the dust, and is replaced by the lack ' Eepublican ' standard. Your leaders have surren- 3red the American flag and taken in exchange the African inner. They have capitulated at discretion ; they have irrendered your candidates and principles, and demand mr votes for the candidates and platform of the Black Republican' party. Friends of the Union, come and unite ith us to save the Union ! Come, without any surrender of rinciple on your part or ours, to the rescue of our country, ome, my brother, give me your hand ; let us save the Duntry first, and then settle, at some future election, the iministrative measures about which we now differ. Come, 1 the name of our common country, now in the agony of n approaching convulsion ! Come, in the name of the onstitution and of the Union, now subjected to imminent eril ! Come, in memory of the commingled blood of the r orth and the South, poured out on the battle-fields of ' 348 MAX INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. the Eevolution ! Come, in the name of the liberties of the world, which would be crushed by the fall of the American |Q Union ! Eespectfully, your fellow-citizen, E. J. Walker. As my object is to give a simple record of events, I do not propose to attempt the vindication of the Institution which has been the fruitful theme of reproach and denunciation amongst the opponents of Southern independence. The English writers who discuss this subject seem to confine themselves to the consideration of the |c abstract principle of slavery, and entirely overlook \j t the facts and circumstances of the case. Few institutions of government or society could stand such a test. If the question were simply whether it would not be better for the South to have four millions of intelligent, industrious, and valiant freemen in the |\ place of four millions of African slaves, it would be neither so delicate nor difficult of solution. But the question which taxes the practical statesmanship and philanthropy of the Southern people is of a far graver character. It is this. Two races — one civi- lised, the other barbarous — being locally intermin- gled, what does the good of society require — the MAX INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 349 eedom or servitude of the barbarous race ? The puth believe that the freedom of the blacks, under ich circumstances, would result certainly in their nal extermination, and that servitude is best adapted p their intellectual and moral condition. i^ The antagonism of race is as fixed and immutable fa any other law of nature, and has been exemplified li the history of the world wherever the opposing dements have come in conflict. The North American adians were a race of warriors, with far higher tellectual capabilities than the negro, and not Siheriting that unutterable prejudice against amalga- mation which exists against the negro. But at the lime time, there being;; no motive of interest in the Prperior race to protect them, they have been driven : :, om their hunting-grounds, which at no distant period embraced half of the North American con- tinent, to a few acres on the confines of civilisation, allien they inhabit by the sufferance of the dominant Bace. | In support of the usages of civilisation in favour If this law of race, I can cite an example which koines within my own immediate knowledge, and -Vhich is uninfluenced by the fanaticism and dema- -ogism which attach to the negro question. In California, there are between sixty and seventy 350 MAX INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 11: v thousand Chinese, being about one-seventh of the whole population. They are a civilised, industrious, and most useful people. Yet they cannot be naturalised, cannot bear witness in court, cannot intermarry with the white race, or exercise a single right of citizenship, except pay taxes. a The wisdom of the policy of the South in regard to this inherited responsibility is abundantly vindicated by the very aspect which the Institution of Slavery now presents to the world. For thirty years its enemies have unceasingly assailed it by every agency of mind and heart. The pulpit, the press, hostile legislation, secret societies, armed robbers, have all been employed to excite discontent and insurrection in the Southern States. Their agitations have split the aspiring structure of the American Government from 'turret to founda- tion-stone.' They have caused the most bloody and implacable war known to modern history ; and yet the Institution of Slavery survives it all, firm and unimpaired. Nowhere on earth, not even in happy England, rejoicing in peace, does there exist between the various classes of society such harmony, such sym- pathy, as the South exhibits in the midst of her trials. Surely the condition of such a social com- MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVEENMENT. 3.51 aionwealth must rest upon the solid foundation allien supports all civil institutions — the good of the whole State. I But we are asked, ' Do not your statutes withhold Buy legal enforcement to the marriage relations imongst slaves ? ' I beg my readers to have this bbjection properly stated. It should be borne in [mind that we have not taken from them any rights which they had ever recognised or conferred among themselves. The race, as we found it, was destitute of any such institution, or even the knowledge of it. ^Nevertheless, it is true that our laws are justly ^chargeable with the reproach of not having secured ito them this blessing of civilisation. But what the law has failed to do, religion and usage have effected. 'The institution of marriage does exist anions slaves, and is encouraged and protected by their owners. The statesmen of the South, when free from the ;i embarrassment of their fanatical enemies, should lose no time in protecting all the domestic ties by laws forbidding the separation of families. That such i legislation is not inconsistent with the Institution is 'proved by the fact that some of the South- Western States have long since removed this evil by statutory j enactments. In point of fact, there is a greater amount of sepa- 352 MAN INCAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. ration in families and rending of domestic ties during one year in the United Kingdom of England, Scot- land, and Ireland, than takes place in ten years amc lg the negroes of the South. The South, however, does not feel herself called upon to vindicate this or any other of her institutions before the bar of the world ; and, I think, English philanthropists may safely leave to Southern states- men the removal of such abuses as cling to this in common with all other human institutions. Amelio- rations will continue to be adopted as this class of Southern society increases in its fitness to receive I and enjoy them. In the meantime I commend to the Abolition agitators of Great Britain the policy in which their puissant Government has taken refuge — Non-inter- vention. LONDON PHINTED BT SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. NEW-STKEET SQUAliE V 1 ill Mai ill HHKlim i!