"For the sentiment of pious duty which distinguished our fallen in the camp and in the field :

แ

"For the precious and rare possession was being gathered on many a battleof so much devoted valor and manly field for the historic life of the nation. heroism :"America," said he, was peculiarly a providential country. This was the continent upon which results were to be brought forth. Those were short-sighted men who supposed that the defeat of one party or other would injure the final result of Freedom. No man, no party, was responsible for this great commotion. One said it was the Abolition party; but who made the Abolition party? Another said it was the Secession party but what had made the Secession party? Underworking all was the providence of God. The harvest to which we were

"And for the sweet and blessed consolations which accompany the memories of these dear sons of Massachusetts on to immortality.

"And in our praise let us also be penitent. Let us Let us seek the truth and ensue it,' and prepare our minds for whatever duty shall be manifested here

after.

"May the controversy in which we stand be found worthy, in its consum-called was a terrible harvest, the harvest mation, of the heroic sacrifices of the people and the precious blood of their sons, of the doctrine and faith of the fathers, and consistent with the honor of God and with justice to all men.

And,

'Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: 'let them also that hate him flee before him.'-

Psalm 68, vs. 1, 2.

As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. 'Scatter them by thy power, and bring them down, 'O Lord, our shield.'-Psalm 59, v. 11.

of death. From many a Thanksgiving table there were noble sons absent today, some of them sleeping in unshrouded graves, where the breezes of the Potomac sighed their requiem, God grant that before another year the great national table may be spread, and there would be thirty-four plates and thirtyfour States, and a Star-Spangled Banner waving over all. Out of this trial the "Given at the Council Chamber, this thir- nation already had great gain. It had ty-first day of October, in the year of fused the discordant elements of the naOur Lord one thousand eight hundred tion; we should be a nobler nation hereand sixty-one, and the eighty-sixth of after than ever before. We had gatherthe Independence of the United States ed in a harvest of-noble names, and the of America. JOHN A. ANDREW. whole land was the richer for it. Ellsworth, Greble. Winthrop, Lyon, and "By His Excellency the Governor with the advice and consent of the Coun-harvests should yet be gathered. People Baker, were noble seed from whom rich cil. OLIVER WARNER, Secretary. had said that the American Revolution GOD SAVE THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS." The discourses delivered in the various pulpits breathed the most devoted patriotism, while the people were solemnly reminded of the work before them, and urged to new efforts. From numerous passages of kindling eloquence, which will be sought hereafter as memorials of these troubled days, we select one reflecting the spirit of many, that in which the eminent orator, the Rev. Dr. Chapin, from his pulpit, in New York, presented the terrible harvest" which

66

had secured our liberty for ever. But we could not live for ever on that; Liberty must be earned by a people at least as often as every century. It was the sad, sweet memories of heroic men which made nations truly rich. Over a harvest of weakness and national degeneracy, had it come, we might well have wept. But thank God we had a harvest of armed men. Let us put in the sickle, even though it be the sword, and thank God for the harvest before us, terrible with death but rich in the noblest and

FIGHT AT DRANESVILLE.

dearest beneficences demanded by freemen."

In Western Virginia a sharp engagement was fought, on the 13th of December, at Camp Alleghany, on the summit. of the Alleghany mountain, on the border of Pocahontas and Highland counties, the road to Staunton. The enemy having left their intrenched camp at Greenbrier river, where they had been assailed by General Reynolds, in October,* had fallen back to this place. An expedition to attack them in their new position, started from the Union camp at Cheat Mountain summit, seventeen miles distant, on the 12th, under the command of Brigadier-General Reuben H. Milroy, composed of about two thousand Indiana, Ohio, and Virginia troops, with a company of cavalry. On approaching the position the force was divided for a simultaneous attack on opposite sides. The division accompanied by General Milroy was first on the spot, at daylight of the 13th, and driving the pickets, reached the top of the mountain on the enemy's right. They then advanced toward the camp, where the enemy-two Georgia regiments, a Virginia regiment, and two battalions with two field batteries, under Colonel Edward Johnson, received them with vigor. The fight was kept up for several hours with heavy losses, when a retreat was ordered. Owing to the bad state of the road and its obstruction by the enemy, the other division intended to coöperate was delayed. It came into action, however, and kept up for several hours an "Indian fight," at close quarters with the foe. The losses of the Union side were reported at twenty killed, one hundred and seven wounded, and ten missing. An account published in the Richmond Enquirer, states that twenty of the enemy fell upon the field, while the wounded

* Ante, vol. i., p. 567

185

and missing were estimated at a hundred. The repulsed assailants returned to their camp at Cheat Mountain, and the enemy presently retired to Staunton.

A movement in the division of General McCall, from Camp Pierpont, on the Potomac, in December, exhibited the increasing discipline and soldierly spirit of the Union forces. Learning on the 19th, that the enemy's pickets had advanced to within four or five miles of the lines, and were carrying off and threatening good Union men, that officer determined to arrest their movements, and, if possible, capture the force which was assembled in the neighborhood of Dranesville. Brigadier-General E. O. Ord was accordingly sent forward with his command, early on the morning of the 20th, with instructions to surround and capture the party, and at the same time to collect a supply of forage from the farms of some of the rank secessionists in that vicinity. His brigade coninsisted of four regiments of Pennsylvania infantry, the Bucktail rifles, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Kane, a detachment of five companies of Pennsylvania reserve cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Jacob Higgins, and Captain Easton's battery of four guns, two 12 and two 24-pounders, altogether numbering a force of between 4,000 and 5,000. The force of the enemy which they were to meet, is represented in a letter, published in the Richmond Dispatch, as about 2,500. It was under the command of General Stuart, and was composed of the 11th Virginia regiment, Colonel Garland; the 6th South Carolina, LieutenantColonel Secrest; the 10th Alabama, Colonel John H. Forney; the 1st Kentucky, Colonel Tom Taylor; Captain Cutts' Sumter flying artillery, and detachments from Ransom's and Radford's cavalry. The parties met near Dranesville. The batteries of the two forces were placed opposite each other, at a distance of about five hundred yards, on the Centreville road. On either side were dense thick

Correspondence of the Cincinnati Commercial, Cheat Mountain Summit, December 20, 1861. Moore's Rebellion

Record, vol. iii., pp. 466–471.

ets. There was an attempt to turn the Union left, but it was at once checked by the battery. In front on the right, there was resolute fighting at close quarters. The excellent position of Easton's battery, however, soon drove the enemy's battery from its position, an advance was made, and the rebels fled toward their camp at Centreville, leaving their killed and wounded on the field. The road was strewed with men and horses, two caissons, one of them blown up, a limber, a gun carriage wheel, a quantity of artillery ammunition, small arms, and an immense quantity of heavy clothing, blankets, etc. The loss on the Union side was seven killed, sixty-one wounded, includ

ing one Lieutenant-Colonel and four Captains, and three missing. That of the rebels was some fifty killed, a hundred and thirty or more wounded, many severely, and seven prisoners. The Alabama and South Carolina troops suffered severely. The contest lasted an hour, between one and two o'clock in the afternoon. General McCall, who arrived on the field after the action commenced, ordered the return march to his camp, bringing with him sixteen wagon loads of excellent hay, and twenty-two of corn.*

* General McCall's Official Report, December 22 1861. Special correspondence of the Richmond Dispatch, Centreville, December 24, 1861. Correspondence New York Tribune, Camp Pierpont, December 22, 1861.

CHAPTER L.

THE MEETING OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS, DECEMBER 1861.

thy, and no vaunting display of home resources, the conviction so familiar to statesmen, that diplomacy in the long run must be based upon material interests, was forcibly impressed upon the suggestions which he offered. Master of the situation, the President evidently felt that he could rely on the obvious necessities of the case in working out a satisfactory solution of the problem. "You will not be surprised to learn," said he,

THE Second session of the Thirtyseventh Congress was promptly organized on the regular day of assembling, the 2d of December. President Lincoln's Message, delivered the following day, was a calm, temperate review of the position of the Government, and the progress of the war. In a single brief opening sentence, the usual acknowledgment was made of the mercies of Heaven to the nation" In the midst of unprecedented political troubles, we have cause" that in the peculiar exigencies of the of great gratitude to God for unusual good health and most abundant harvests." The foreign relations of the country were then taken up, and significantly touched in a few pithy paragraphs; a striking commentary upon or deduction from the mass of correspondence which the Secretary of State laid before the public, and which has been freely cited in these pages. * With no undue expectations from the justice of the National cause with no appeal to foreign sympa

* Ante, vol. i., chapter xxviii,, on Foreign Relations.

A

times, our intercourse with foreign nations has been attended with profound solicitude, chiefly turning upon our own domestic affairs. A disloyal portion of the American people have, during the whole year, been engaged in an attempt to divide and destroy the Union. nation which endures factious domestic divisions is exposed to disrespect abroad, and one party, if not both, is sure, sooner or later, to invoke foreign intervention. Nations thus tempted to interfere are not always able to resist the counsels of

PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S MESSAGE.

187

commendation was not forgotten, that "in view of the foreign dangers necessarily attending domestic difficulties, adequate and ample measures be adopted for maintaining the public defences on every side."

Reviewing the domestic affairs of the country. the President glanced at its

seeming expediency and ungenerous ambition, although measures adopted under such influences seldom fail to be unfortunate and injurious to those adopting them. The disloyal citizens of the United States, who have offered the ruin of our country in return for the aid and comfort which they have invoked abroad, have received less patronage and encour-present financial condition, leaving the agement than they probably expected. calculations for the future to the head If it were just to suppose, as the insur- of the Treasury department. A single gents have seemed to assume, that for- statement marks the position of affairs:eign nations in this case, discarding all The revenue from all sources, including moral, social, and treaty obligations, loans for the financial year ending on would act solely and selfishly for the the 30th June, 1861, was $86,835,900, most speedy restoration of commerce, and the expenditures for the same period, including especially the acquisition of including payments on account of the cotton, those nations appear as yet not public debts, were $84,578,034. For to have seen their way to their object the first quarter of the financial year more directly or clearly through the de- ending on the 30th September, 1861, struction than through the preservation the receipts from all sources, including of the Union. If we could dare to be- the balance of July 1st, were $102.532,lieve that foreign nations are actuated 509, and the expenses $98,239,723. by no higher principle than this, I am The expenditures of one quarter durquite sure a second argument could be ing a period of war were thus considermade to show them that they can reach ably in excess of the entire previous their aim more readily and easily by aid- year. The progress of the war ing to crush this rebellion than by giv- briefly described-the achievements of ing encouragement to it. The principal the navy, the preservation of Western lever relied on by the insurgents for ex- Virginia, the decision in favor of the citing foreign nations to hostility against Union of Maryland, Kentucky, and Misus, as already intimated, is the embar- souri. "The cause of the Union," he rassment of commerce. Those nations, said, "is advancing steadily and cerhowever, not improbably saw from the tainly southward." Various matters confirst that it was the Union which made nected with the administration of jusas well our foreign as our domestic com- tice, the efficiency of the Department, and merce. They can scarcely have failed other topics of domestic policy were reto perceive that the effort for disunion ferred to Congress; among them the produces the existing difficulty, and that project of a military railway connecting one strong nation promises more durable the loyal regions of East Tennessee and peace, and a more extensive, valuable, Western North Carolina with Kentucky and reliable commerce, than can the and other parts of the Union, an imporsame nation broken into hostile frag- tant measure looking to the pacification ments." With these pregnant hints were and further industrial interests of a vast coupled the reflection, the hope "that it district marked out by nature for the would appear that we have practiced development of free labor. With simiprudence and liberality toward foreign lar benefits in view the nation was conpowers, averting causes of irritation, and gratulated at the organization, “under with firmness maintaining our own rights auspices truly gratifying, when it is conand honor;" while the prudential re-sidered that the leaven of treason was

was

compensated emancipation afterward so strongly urged by the President. "Under and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled an Act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes, approved August 6, 1861, the legal claims of certain persons to the labor and service of certain other persons have become forfeited, and numbers of the latter thus liberated are already dependent on the United States and must be provided for in some way. Besides this, it is not impossible that some of the States will pass similar enactments for their own benefits respectively, and by the operation of which persons of the same class will be thrown upon them for disposal. In such case I recommend that Congress provide for accepting such persons from such States, according to some mode of valuation in lieu pro tanto of direct taxes, or upon some other plan to be agreed on with such States respectively, that such

found existing in some of these new coun- A passage in reference to the confistries when the federal officers arrived cation act of the recent session of Conthere, of the Territories created by the gress is noticeable for its suggestion of last Congress, of Colorado, Dacotah, and a measure which became afterward a Nevada." The retirement of General prominent subject of discussion-the fur-Scott was appropriately alluded to with therance of a system of colonization for a suggestion of some further mark of re- the disposal of negroes liberated by the cognition of his services. "During his war or by concert with some of the long life the nation has not been unmind-slaveholding States; while the suggesful of his merit; yet on calling to mind tion with which it was coupled of rehow faithfully, ably, and brilliantly he has muneration by Congress for the slaves served the country, from a time far back set free, paved the way for the plans of in our history, when few of the now living had been born, and thenceforward continually, I cannot but think that we are still his debtor." Of the appointment of Gen. McClellan as the successor of Gen. Scott, it was said, "It is a fortunate circumstance that neither in council nor country was there, so far as I know, any difference of opinion as to the proper person to be selected. The retiring chief repeatedly expressed his judgment in favor of General McClellan for the position, and in this the nation seemed to give a unanimous concurrence. The designation of General McClellan is, therefore, in a considerable degree the selection of the country as well as of the executive, and hence there is better reason to hope there will be given him the confidence and cordial support thus by fair implication promised, and without which he cannot with so full efficiency serve the country. It has been said that one bad General is better than two good ones; and the say-persons on such acceptance by the Gening is true, if taken to mean no more than that an army is better directed by a single mind, though inferior, than by two superior ones at variance and cross purposes with each other. And the same is true in all joint operations wherein those engaged can have but a common end in view, and can differ only as to the choice of means. In a storm at sea, no one on board can wish the ship to sink; and yet, not unfrequently, all go down together, because too many will direct, and no single mind can be allowed to control."

eral Government be at once deemed free, and that in any event steps be taken for colonizing both classes, or the one first mentioned if the other shall not be brought into existence, at some place or places in a climate congenial to them. It might be well to consider, too, whether the free colored people already in the United States could not, so far as individuals may desire, be included in such colonization. To carry out the plan of colonization may involve the acquiring of territory, and also the appropriation of money beyond that to be expended in the