The Great Conspiracy, Part 5 - John Alexander Logan
On the 5th, McClellan was relieved,--Burnside taking the command,--and
Union men breathed more freely again.
But to return to the subject of Emancipation. President Lincoln's own
words have already been given--in conversation with Carpenter--down to
the reading of the Proclamation to his Cabinet, and Seward's suggestion
to "wait for a victory" before issuing it, and how, adopting that
advice, he laid the Proclamation aside, waiting for a victory.
"From time to time," said Mr. Lincoln, continuing his narration, "I
added or changed a line, touching it up here and there, anxiously
waiting the progress of events. Well, the next news we had was of
Pope's disaster at Bull Run. Things looked darker than ever. Finally,
came the week of the Battle of Antietam. I determined to wait no
longer.
"The news came, I think, on Wednesday, that the advantage was on our
side. I was then staying at the Soldiers' Home (three miles out of
Washington.) Here I finished writing the second draft of the
preliminary Proclamation; came up on Saturday; called the Cabinet
together to hear it; and it was published the following Monday."
It is not uninteresting to note, in this connection, upon the same
authority, that at the final meeting of the Cabinet prior to this issue
of the Proclamation, when the third paragraph was read, and the words of
the draft "will recognize the Freedom of such Persons," were reached,
Mr. Seward suggested the insertion of the words "and maintain" after the
word "recognize;" and upon his insistence, the President said, "the
words finally went in."
At last, then, had gone forth the Fiat--telegraphed and read throughout
the Land, on that memorable 22d of September, 1862--which, with the
supplemental Proclamation of January 1, 1863, was to bring joy and
Freedom to the millions of Black Bondsmen of the South.
Just one month before its issue, in answer to Horace Greeley's Open
letter berating him for "the seeming subserviency" of his "policy to the
Slave-holding, Slave up-holding interest," etc., President Lincoln had
written his famous "Union letter" in which he had conservatively said:
"My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or
destroy Slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any Slave, I
would do it--and if I could save it by freeing all the Slaves, I would
do it--and if I could save it by freeing some, and leaving others alone,
I would also do that."
No one outside of his Cabinet dreamed, at the time he made that answer,
that the Proclamation of Emancipation was already written, and simply
awaited a turn in the tide of battle for its issue!
Still less could it have been supposed, when, on the 13th of September
--only two days before Stonewall Jackson had invested, attacked, and
captured Harper's Ferry with nearly 12,000 prisoners, 73 cannon, and
13,000 small arms, besides other spoils of War--Mr. Lincoln received the
deputation from the religious bodies of Chicago, bearing a Memorial for
the immediate issue of such a Proclamation.
The very language of his reply,--where he said to them: "It is my
earnest desire to know the will of Providence in this matter. And if I
can learn what it is, I will do it! These are not, however, the days of
miracles, and I suppose it will be granted that I am not to expect a
direct revelation. I must study the plain physical aspects of the case,
ascertain what is possible, and learn what appears to be wise and
right"--when taken in connection with the very strong argument with
which he followed it up, against the policy of Emancipation advocated in
the Memorial, and his intimation that a Proclamation of Emancipation
issued by him "must necessarily be inoperative, like the Pope's Bull
against the Comet!"--would almost seem to have been adopted with the
very object of veiling his real purpose from the public eye, and leaving
the public mind in doubt. At all events, it had that effect.
Arnold, in his "Life of Lincoln," says of this time, when General Lee
was marching Northward toward Pennsylvania, that "now, the President,
with that tinge of superstition which ran through his character, 'made,'
as he said, 'a solemn vow to God, that, if Lee was driven back, he would
issue the Proclamation;'" and, in the light of that statement, the
concluding words of Mr. Lincoln's reply to the deputation aforesaid:--"I
can assure you that the subject is on my mind, by day and night, more
than any other. Whatever shall appear to be God's will, I will do,"
--have a new meaning.
The Emancipation Proclamation, when issued, was a great surprise, but
was none the less generally well-received by the Union Armies, and
throughout the Loyal States of the Union, while, in some of them, its
reception was most enthusiastic.
It happened, too, as we have seen, that the Convention of the Governors
of the Loyal States met at Altoona, Penn., on the very day of its
promulgation, and in an address to the President adopted by these loyal
Governors, they publicly hailed it "with heartfelt gratitude and
encouraged hope," and declared that "the decision of the President to
strike at the root of the Rebellion will lend new vigor to efforts, and
new life and hope to the hearts, of the People."
On the other hand, the loyal Border-States men were dreadfully exercised
on the subject; and those of them in the House of Representatives
emphasized their disapproval by their votes, when, on the 11th and 15th
of the following December, Resolutions, respectively denouncing, and
endorsing, "the policy of Emancipation, as indicated in that
Proclamation," of September 22, 1862, were offered and voted on.
In spite of the loyal Border-States men's bitter opposition, however,
the Resolution endorsing that policy as a War Measure, and declaring the
Proclamation to be "an exercise of power with proper regard for the
rights of the States and the perpetuity of Free Government," as we have
seen, passed the House.
Of course the Rebels themselves, against whom it was aimed, gnashed
their teeth in impotent rage over the Proclamation. But they lost no
time in declaring that it was only a proof of what they had always
announced: that the War was not for the preservation of the American
Union, but for the destruction of African Slavery, and the spoilation of
the Southern States.
Through their friends and emissaries, in the Border and other Loyal
States of the Union,--the "Knights of the Golden Circle,"--
[The "Knights of the Golden Circle" was the most extensive of these
Rebel organizations. It was "an auxiliary force to the Rebel
Army." Its members took an obligation of the most binding
character, the violation of which was punishable by death, which
obligation, in the language of another, "pledged them to use every
possible means in their power to aid the Rebels to gain their
Independence; to aid and assist Rebel prisoners to escape; to vote
for no one for Office who was not opposed to the further
prosecution of the War; to encourage desertions from the Union
Army; to protect the Rebels in all things necessary to carry out
their designs, even to the burning and destroying of towns and
cities, if necessary to produce the desired result; to give such
information as they had, at all times, of the movements of our
Armies, and of the return of soldiers to their homes; and to try
and prevent their going back to their regiments at the front."
In other words the duty of the Organization and of its members, was
to hamper, oppose, and prevent all things possible that were being
done at any time for the Union Cause, and to encourage, forward,
and help all things possible in behalf of the Rebel Cause.
It was to be a flanking force of the Enemy--a reverse fire--a fire
in the rear of the Union Army, by Northern men; a powerful
cooperating force--all the more powerful because secret--operating
safely because secretly and in silence--and breeding discontent,
envy, hatred, and other ill feelings wherever possible, in and out
of Army circles, from the highest to the lowest, at all possible
times, and on all possible occasions.]
--the "Order of American Knights" or "Sons of Liberty," and other
Copperhead organizations, tainted with more or less of Treason--they
stirred up all the old dregs of Pro-Slavery feeling that could possibly
he reached; but while the venomous acts and utterances of such
organizations, and the increased and vindictive energy of the armed
Rebels themselves, had a tendency to disquiet the public mind with
apprehensions as to the result of the Proclamation, and whether, indeed,
Mr. Lincoln himself would be able to resist the pressure, and stand up
to his promise of that Supplemental Proclamation which would give
definiteness and practical effect to the preliminary one, the masses of
the people of the Loyal States had faith in him.
There was also another element, in chains, at the South, which at this
time must have been trembling with that mysterious hope of coming
Emancipation for their Race, conveyed so well in Whittier's lines,
commencing: "We pray de Lord; he gib us signs, dat some day we be Free"
--a hope which had long animated them, as of something almost too good
for them to live to enjoy, but which, as the War progressed, appeared to
grow nearer and nearer, until now they seemed to see the promised Land,
flowing with milk and honey, its beautiful hills and vales smiling under
the quickening beams of Freedom's glorious sun. But ah! should they
enter there?--or must they turn away again into the old wilderness of
their Slavery, and this blessed Liberty, almost within their grasp,
mockingly elude them?
They had not long to wait for an answer. The 1st of January, 1863,
arrived, and with it--as a precious New Year's Gift--came the
Supplemental Proclamation, bearing the sacred boon of Liberty to the
Emancipated millions.
At last, at last, no American need blush to stand up and proclaim his
land indeed, and in truth, "the Land of Freedom."
CHAPTER XXI.
THE ARMED-NEGRO.
Little over five months had passed, since the occurrence of the great
event in the history of the American Nation mentioned in the preceding
Chapter, before the Freed Negro, now bearing arms in defense of the
Union and of his own Freedom, demonstrated at the first attack on Port
Hudson the wisdom of emancipating and arming the Slave, as a War
measure. He seemed thoroughly to appreciate and enter into the spirit
of the words; "who would be Free, himself must strike the blow."
At the attack (of May 27th, 1863), on Port Hudson, where it held the
right, the "Black Brigade" covered itself with glory.
At Baton Rouge, before starting for Port Hudson, the color-guard of
the First Louisiana Regiment--of the Black Brigade--received the
Regimental flags from their white colonel, (Col. Stafford,) then
under arrest, in a speech which ended with the injunction:
"Color-guard, protect, defend, die for, but do not surrender these
flags;" to which Sergeant Planciancois replied: "Colonel, I will
bring these colors to you in honor, or report to God the reason
why!" He fell, mortally wounded, in one of the many desperate
charges at Port Hudson, with his face to the Enemy, and the colors
in his hand.
Banks, in his Report, speaking of the Colored regiments, said: "Their
conduct was heroic. No troops could be more determined or more daring.
They made, during the day, three charges upon the batteries of the
Enemy, suffering very heavy losses, and holding their positions at
nightfall with the other troops on the right of our line. The highest
commendation is bestowed upon them by all the officers in command on the
right."
The New York Times' correspondent said:--"The deeds of heroism performed
by these Colored men were such as the proudest White men might emulate.
Their colors are torn to pieces by shot, and literally bespattered by
blood and brains. The color-sergeant of the 1st Louisiana, on being
mortally wounded (the top of his head taken off by a sixpounder), hugged
the colors to his breast, when a struggle ensued between the two
color-corporals on each side of him, as to who should have the honor of
bearing the sacred standard, and during this generous contention one was
seriously wounded."
So again, on Sunday the 6th of June following, at Milliken's Bend, where
an African brigade, with 160 men of the 23rd Iowa, although surprised in
camp by a largely superior force of the Enemy, repulsed him gallantly
--of which action General Grant, in his official Report, said: "In this
battle, most of the troops engaged were Africans, who had but little
experience in the use of fire-arms. Their conduct is said, however, to
have been most gallant."
So, also, in the bloody assault of July 18th, on Fort Wagner, which was
led by the 54th Massachusetts (Colored) Regiment with intrepidity, and
where they planted, and for some time maintained, their Country's flag
on the parapet, until they "melted away before the Enemy's fire, their
bodies falling down the slope and into the ditch."
And from that time on, through the War--at Wilson's Wharf, in the many
bloody charges at Petersburg, at Deep Bottom, at Chapin's Farm, Fair
Oaks, and numerous other battle-fields, in Virginia and elsewhere, right
down to Appomattox--the African soldier fought courageously, fully
vindicating the War-wisdom of Abraham Lincoln in emancipating and arming
the Race.
The promulgation of this New Year's Proclamation of Freedom
unquestionably had a wonderful effect in various ways, upon the outcome
of the War.
It cleared away the cobwebs which the arguments of the loyal
Border-State men, and of the Northern Copperheads and other Disunion
and Pro-Slavery allies of the Rebels were forever weaving for the
discouragement, perplexity and ensnarement, of the thoroughly loyal
out-and-out Union men of the Land. It largely increased our strength in
fighting material. It brought to us the moral support of the World,
with the active sympathy of philanthropy's various forces. And besides,
it correspondingly weakened the Rebels. Every man thus freed from his
Bondage, and mustered into the Union Armies, was not only a gain of one
man on the Union side, but a loss of one man to the Enemy. It is not,
therefore, surprising that the Disunion Conspirators--whether at the
South or at the North--were furious.
The Chief Conspirator, Jefferson Davis, had already, (December 23,
1862,) issued a proclamation of outlawry against General B. F. Butler,
for arming certain Slaves that had become Free upon entering his lines
--the two last clauses of which provided: "That all Negro Slaves captured
in arms, be at once delivered over to the Executive authorities of the
respective States to which they belong, to be dealt with according to
the laws of said States," and "That the like orders be executed in all
cases with respect to all commissioned Officers of the United States,
when found serving in company with said Slaves in insurrection against
the authorities of the different States of this Confederacy."
He now called the attention of the Rebel Congress to President Lincoln's
two Proclamations of Emancipation, early in January of 1863; and that
Body responded by adopting, on the 1st of May of that year, a
Resolution, the character of which was so cold-bloodedly atrocious, that
modern Civilization might well wonder and Christianity shudder at its
purport.
[It was in these words:
"Resolved, by the Congress of the Confederate States of America, In
response to the Message of the President, transmitted to Congress
at the commencement of the present session, That, in the opinion of
Congress, the commissioned officers of the Enemy ought not to be
delivered to the authorities of the respective States, as suggested
in the said Message, but all captives taken by the Confederate
forces ought to be dealt with and disposed of by the Confederate
Government.
"SEC. 2.--That, in the judgment of Congress, the proclamations of
the President of the United States, dated respectively September
22, 1862, and January 1, 1863, and the other measures of the
Government of the United States and of its authorities, commanders,
and forces, designed or tending to emancipate slaves in the
Confederate States, or to abduct such slaves, or to incite them to
insurrection, or to employ negroes in war against the Confederate
States, or to overthrow the institution of African Slavery, and
bring on a servile war in these States, would, if successful,
produce atrocious consequences, and they are inconsistent with the
spirit of those usages which, in modern warfare, prevail among
civilized nations; they may, therefore, be properly and lawfully
repressed by retaliation.
"SEC. 3.--That in every case wherein, during the present war, any
violation of the laws or usages of war among civilized nations
shall be, or has been, done and perpetrated by those acting under
authority of the Government of the United States, on persons or
property of citizens of the Confederate States, or of those under
the protection or in the land or naval service of the Confederate
States, or of any State of the Confederacy, the President of the
Confederate States is hereby authorized to cause full and ample
retaliation to be made for every such violation, in such manner and
to such extent as he may think proper.
"SEC. 4.--That every white person, being a commissioned officer, or
acting as such, who, during the present war, shall command negroes
or mulattoes in arms against the Confederate States, or who shall
arm, train, organize, or prepare negroes or mulattoes for military
service against the Confederate States, or who shall voluntarily
aid negroes or mulattoes in any military enterprise, attack, or
conflict in such service, shall be deemed as inciting servile
insurrection, and shall, if captured, be put to death, or be
otherwise punished at the discretion of the Court.
"SEC. 5.--Every person, being a commissioned officer, or acting as
such in the service of the Enemy, who shall, during the present
war, excite, attempt to excite, or cause to be excited, a servile
insurrection, or who shall incite, or cause to be incited, a slave
to rebel, shall, if captured, be put to death, or be otherwise
punished at the discretion of the court.
"SEC. 6.--Every person charged with an offense punishable under the
preceding resolutions shall, during the present war, be tried
before the military court attached to the army or corps by the
troops of which he shall have been captured, or by such other
military court as the President may direct, and in such manner and
under such regulations as the President shall prescribe; and, after
conviction, the President may commute the punishment in such manner
and on such terms as he may deem proper.
"SEC. 7.--All negroes and mulattoes who shall be engaged in war, or
be taken in arms against the Confederate States, or shall give aid
or comfort to the enemies of the Confederate States, shall, when
captured in the Confederate States, be delivered to the authorities
of the State or States in which they shall be captured, to be dealt
with according to the present or future laws of such State or
States."]
But atrocious as were the provisions of the Resolution, or Act
aforesaid, in that they threatened death or Slavery to every Black man
taken with Union arms in his hand, and death to every White commissioned
officer commanding Black soldiers, yet the manner in which they were
executed was still more barbarous.
At last it became necessary to adopt some measure by which captured
Colored Union soldiers might be protected equally with captured White
Union soldiers from the frequent Rebel violations of the Laws of War in
the cases of the former.
President Lincoln, therefore, issued an Executive Order prescribing
retaliatory measures.
[In the following words:
"EXECUTIVE MANSION,
"WASHINGTON, July 30, 1863.
"It is the duty of every Government to give protection to its
citizens, of whatever class, color, or condition, and especially to
those who are duly organized as soldiers in the public service.
The Law of Nations, and the usages and customs of War, as carried
on by civilized Powers, permit no distinction as to color in the
treatment of prisoners of War, as public enemies.
"To sell or Enslave any captured person, on account of his Color,
and for no offense against the Laws of War, is a relapse into
barbarism, and a crime against the civilization of the age.
"The Government of the United States will give the same protection
to all its soldiers, and if the Enemy shall sell or Enslave any one
because of his color, the offense shall be punished by Retaliation
upon the Enemy's prisoners in our possession.
"It is therefore Ordered, that, for every soldier of the United
States killed in violation of the Laws of War, a Rebel soldier
shall be executed; and for every one Enslaved by the Enemy or sold
into Slavery, a Rebel soldier shall be placed at hard work on the
public works, and continued at such labor until the other shall be
released and receive the treatment due to a prisoner of War.
"By order of the Secretary of War. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. E. D.
TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General."]
It was hoped that the mere announcement of the decision of our
Government to retaliate, would put an instant stop to the barbarous
conduct of the Rebels toward the captured Colored Union troops, but the
hope was vain. The atrocities continued, and their climax was capped by
the cold-blooded massacres perpetrated by Forrest's 5,000 Cavalry, after
capturing Fort Pillow, a short distance above Memphis, on the
Mississippi river.
The garrison of that Fort comprised less than 600 Union soldiers, about
one-half of whom were White, and the balance Black. These brave fellows
gallantly defended the Fort against eight times their number, from
before sunrise until the afternoon, when--having failed to win by fair
means, under the Laws of War,--the Enemy treacherously crept up the
ravines on either side of the Fort, under cover of flags of truce, and
then, with a sudden rush, carried it, butchering both Blacks and Whites
--who had thrown away their arms, and were striving to escape--until
night temporarily put an end to the sanguinary tragedy.
On the following morning the massacre was completed by the butchery and
torture of wounded remnants of these brave Union defenders--some being
buried alive, and others nailed to boards, and burned to death.
[For full account of these hideous atrocities, see testimony of
survivors before the Committee on Conduct and Expenditures of the
War. (H. R. Report, No. 65, 1st S. 38th Cong.)]
And all this murderous malignity, for what?--Simply, and only, because
one-half of the Patriot victims had Black skins, while the other half
had dared to fight by the side of the Blacks!
In the after-days of the War, the cry with which our Union Black
regiments went into battle:--"Remember Fort Pillow!"--inspired them to
deeds of valor, and struck with terror the hearts of the Enemy. On many
a bloody field, Fort Pillow was avenged.
It is a common error to suppose that the first arming of the Black man
was on the Union side. The first Black volunteer company was a Rebel
one, raised early in May, 1861, in the city of Memphis, Tenn.; and at
Charleston, S. C., Lynchburg, Va., and Norfolk, Va., large bodies of
Free Negroes volunteered, and were engaged, earlier than that, to do
work on the Rebel batteries.
On June 28th of the same year, the Rebel Legislature of Tennessee passed
an Act not only authorizing the Governor "to receive into the Military
service of the State all male Free persons of Color between the ages of
fifteen and fifty, or such number as may be necessary, who may be sound
in mind and body, and capable of actual service," but also prescribing
"That in the event a sufficient number of Free persons of Color to meet
the wants of the State shall not tender their services, the Governor is
empowered, through the Sheriffs of the different counties, to press such
persons until the requisite number is obtained."
At a review of Rebel troops, at New Orleans, November 23, 1861, "One
regiment comprised 1,400 Free Colored men." Vast numbers of both Free
Negroes and Slaves were employed to construct Rebel fortifications
throughout the War, in all the Rebel States. And on the 17th of
February, 1864, the Rebel Congress passed an Act which provides in its
first section "That all male Free Negroes * * * resident in the
Confederate States, between the ages of eighteen and fifty years, shall
be held liable to perform such duties with the Army, or in connection
with the Military defenses of the Country, in the way of work upon the
fortifications, or in Government works for the production or preparation
of materials of War, or in Military hospitals, as the Secretary of War
or the Commanding General of the Trans-Mississippi Department may, from
time to time, prescribe:" while the third section provides that when the
Secretary of War shall "be unable to procure the service of Slaves in
any Military Department, then he is authorized to impress the services
of as many male Slaves, not to exceed twenty thousand, as may be
required, from time to time, to discharge the duties indicated in the
first section of the Act."