THE FORMATION OF THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT, AND THE RESIGNATION OF
OFFICERS OF THE FEDERAL ARMY AND NAVY.
As I am not writing a history of the war, but only of a very small portion
of the war, it cannot be expected that I will follow events in a connected
train. I have detained the reader, so far, as to give him a continuous,
though hasty glance, of the causes of the war, but having brought him down
to the final rupture of the sections, I must leave him to supply for
himself many a link, here and there, in the broken chain, as we proceed.
Let him imagine then that the Southern States have seceded--the gallant
little State of South Carolina setting her larger, and more powerful
sisters, the example, on the 20th December, 1860--and that they have met
at Montgomery, in Alabama, by their delegates in Congress, to form a new
Confederacy; that a Provisional Government has been formed and that Mr.
Jefferson Davis has been elected President, and Mr. Alexander H. Stephens
Vice-President.
The time had now come for the officers of the old Army, and Navy to make
their election, as to which of the two Governments they would give their
adhesion. There were no such questions then, as rebellion, and treason in
the public mind. This was a Federal after-thought, when that Government
began to get the better of us in the war. The Puritan, if he had been
whipped, would have been a capital secessionist, and as meek, and humble
as we could have desired. He would have been the first to make a
"perpetual" alliance with us, and to offer us inducements to give him the
benefits of our trade. After the first drubbing we gave him, at Manassas,
he was disposed to be quite reasonable, and the Federal Congress passed
the conciliatory resolution I have quoted in a previous chapter,
intimating to us, that if we would come back, slavery should be secure in
the States, and our "rights and dignity" remain unimpaired. But as he
gained strength, he gained courage, and as the war progressed, and it
became evident that we should be beaten, he began to talk of traitors, and
treason.
As a general rule, the officers both of the Army, and the Navy sided with
their respective States; especially those of them who were cultivated, and
knew something of the form of government, under which they had been
living. But even the profession of arms is not free from sordid natures,
and many of these had found their way into both branches of the public
service. Men were found capable of drawing their swords against their own
firesides, as it were, and surrendering their neighbors, and friends to
the vengeance of a government, which paid them for their fealty. Some,
with cunning duplicity, even encouraged their former messmates, and
companions who occupied places above them, to resign, and afterward held
back themselves. Some were mere soldiers, and sailors of fortune, and
seemed devoid of all sensibility on the subject, looking only to rank and
pay. They were open to the highest bidder, and the Federal Government was
in a condition to make the highest bids. Some of the Southern men of this
latter class remained with the North, because they could not obtain the
positions they desired in the South; and afterward, as is the fashion with
renegades, became more bitter against their own people than even the
Northern men.
Civil war is a terrible crucible through which to pass character; the
dross drops away from the pure metal at the first touch of the fire. It
must be admitted, indeed, that there was some little nerve required, on
the part of an officer of the regular Army, or Navy, to elect to go with
his State. His profession was his only fortune; he depended upon it, for
the means of subsisting himself and family. If he remained where he was, a
competency for life, and promotion, and honors probably awaited him; if he
went with the South, a dark, and uncertain future was before him; he could
not possibly better his condition, and if the South failed, he would have
thrown away the labor of a life-time. The struggle was hard in other
respects. All professions are clannish. Men naturally cling together, who
have been bred to a common pursuit; and this remark is particularly
applicable to the Army, and the Navy. West Point, and Annapolis were
powerful bonds to knit together the hearts of young men. Friendships were
there formed, which it was difficult to sever, especially when
strengthened by years of after-association, in common toils, common
pleasures, and common dangers. Naval officers, in particular, who had been
rocked together in the same storm, and had escaped perhaps from the same
shipwreck, found it very difficult to draw their swords against each
other. The flag, too, had a charm which it was difficult to resist. It had
long been the emblem of the principle that all just governments are
founded on the consent of the governed, vindicated against our British
ancestors, in the War of the Revolution, and it was difficult to realize
the fact that it no longer represented this principle, but had become the
emblem of its opposite; that of coercing unwilling States, to remain under
a Government, which they deemed unjust and oppressive.
Sentiment had almost as much to do with the matter, as principle, for
there clustered around the "old flag," a great many hallowed memories, of
sacrifices made, and victories won.
The cadet at West Point had marched and countermarched under its folds,
dreaming of future battle-fields, and future honors to be gained in
upholding and defending it; and the midshipman, as he gazed upon it, in
some foreign port, flying proudly from the gaff-end of his ship, had drunk
in new inspiration to do and to dare, for his country. Many bearded men
were affected almost to tears, as they saw this once hallowed emblem
hauled down from the flag-staves, of Southern forts, and arsenals. They
were in the condition of one who had been forced, in spite of himself, to
realize the perfidy of a friend, and to be obliged to give him up, as no
longer worthy of his confidence or affection. General Robert E. Lee has so
happily expressed all these various emotions, in a couple of letters,
which he wrote, contemporaneously, with his resignation from the Federal
Army, that I give them to the reader. One of these letters is addressed to
General Winfield Scott, and the other to General Lee's sister.
ARLINGTON, VA., April 20, 1861.
GENERAL:--Since my interview with you on the 18th instant, I have
felt that I ought not longer to retain my commission in the army. I
therefore tender my resignation, which I request you will recommend
for acceptance. It would have been presented at once, but for the
struggle which it has cost me to separate myself from a service, to
which I have devoted all the best years of my life, and all the
ability I possessed. During the whole of that time--more than a
quarter of a century--I have experienced nothing but kindness from my
superiors, and the most cordial friendship from my comrades. To no
one, General, have I been as much indebted as yourself, for uniform
kindness and consideration, and it has always been my ardent desire
to merit your approbation. I shall carry to the grave the most
grateful recollection of your kind consideration, and your name and
fame will always be dear to me.
Save in defence of my native State, I never desire to draw my sword.
Be pleased to accept my most earnest wishes for the continuance of
your happiness and prosperity, and believe me most truly yours,
R. E. LEE.
_Lieutenant-General_ WINFIELD SCOTT,
_Commanding United States Army_.
ARLINGTON, VA., April 20, 1861.
MY DEAR SISTER:--I am grieved at my inability to see you * * * I have
been waiting "for a more convenient season," which has brought to
many before me deep and lasting regrets. Now we are in a state of war
which will yield to nothing. The whole South is in a state of
revolution, into which Virginia after a long struggle, has been
drawn, and _though I recognize no necessity for this state of
things_, and would have forborne and pleaded to the end, for redress
of grievances, real or supposed, yet in my own person I had to meet
the question, _whether I should take part against my native State_.
With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty, and
duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind
to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have
therefore resigned my commission in the army, and save in defence of
my native State, with the sincere hope that my services may never be
needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword.
I know you will blame me, but you must think as kindly of me as you
can, and believe that I have endeavored to do what I thought right.
To show you the feeling and struggle it has cost me, I send a copy of
my letter to General Scott, which accompanied my letter of
resignation. I have no time for more. * * * May God guard and protect
you, and yours, and shower upon you every blessing is the prayer of
your devoted brother.
R. E. LEE.
In the winter of 1860, I was stationed in the city of Washington, as the
Secretary of the Lighthouse Board, being then a commander in the United
States Navy, and was an observer of many of the events I have described. I
had long abandoned all hope of reconciliation between the sections. The
public mind, North and South, was in an angry mood, and the day of
compromises was evidently at an end. I had made up my mind to retire from
the Federal service, at the proper moment, and was only waiting for that
moment to arrive.
Although I had been born in the State of Maryland, and was reared on the
banks of the Potomac, I had been, for many years, a resident citizen of
Alabama, having removed to this State, in the year 1841, and settled with
my family, on the west bank of the Perdido; removing thence, in a few
years, to Mobile. My intention of retiring from the Federal Navy, and
taking service with the South, in the coming struggle, had been made known
to the delegation in the Federal Congress from Alabama, early in the
session of 1860-1. I did not doubt that Maryland would follow the lead of
her more Southern sisters, as the cause of quarrel was common with all the
Southern States, but whether she did or not, could make no difference with
me now, since my allegiance, and my services had become due to another
State.
The month of February, 1861, found me still at the city of Washington. The
following extract from a letter written by me to a Southern member of the
Federal Congress, temporarily absent from his post, will show the state of
mind in which I was looking upon passing events. "I am still at my post at
the Light-House Board, performing my routine duties, but listening with an
aching ear and beating heart, for the first sounds of the great disruption
which is at hand." On the 14th of that month, whilst sitting quietly with
my family, after the labors of the day, a messenger brought me the
following telegram:--
MONTGOMERY, Feb. 14, 1861.
SIR:--On behalf of the Committee on Naval Affairs, I beg leave to
request that you will repair to this place, at your earliest
convenience.
_Your obedient servant_,
C. M. CONRAD, _Chairman_.
_Commander_ RAPHAEL SEMMES, _Washington, D. C._
Here was the sound for which I had been so anxiously listening. Secession
was now indeed a reality, and the time had come for me to arouse myself to
action. The telegram threw my small family-circle into great commotion. My
wife, with the instincts of a woman, a wife, and a mother, seemed to
realize, as by intuition, all the dangers and difficulties that lay before
me. She had been hoping without hope, that I would not be subjected to the
bitter ordeal, but the die was now cast, and with a few tears, and many
prayers she nerved herself for the sacrifices, and trials that she knew
were before her. Her children were to be withdrawn from school, her
comfortable home broken up, and she was to return, penniless, to her
people, to abide with them the fortunes of a bloody, and a doubtful war.
The heroism of woman! how infinitely it surpasses that of man. With all
her gentleness, and tenderness, and natural timidity, in nine cases in
ten, she has more nerve than the other sex, in times of great emergency.
With a bleeding and bursting heart, she is capable of putting on the
composure, and lovely serenity of an angel, binding up the wounds of a
husband or son, and when he is restored to health and vigor, buckling on
his sword anew, and returning him to the battle-field. Glorious women of
the South! what an ordeal you have passed through, and how heroically you
have stood the trying test. You lost the liberty which your husbands,
sires, and sons struggled for, but only for a period. The blood which you
will have infused into the veins of future generations will yet rise up to
vindicate you, and "call you blessed."
The telegram reached me about four o'clock, P. M., and I responded to it,
on the same evening as follows:
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 1861.
Hon. C. M. CONRAD, Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs,
Congress of the Confederate States:--Despatch received; I will be
with you immediately.
Respectfully, &c.,
R. SEMMES.
The next morning, I repaired, as usual, to the office of the Light House
Board, in the Treasury building, General John A. Dix being then the
Secretary of the Treasury, and _ex officio_ President of the Board, and
wrote the following resignation of my commission, as a Commander in the
United States Navy:
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 15, 1861.
SIR:--I respectfully tender through you, to the President of the
United States, this, the resignation of the commission which I have
the honor to hold as a Commander in the Navy of the United States. In
severing my connection with the Government of the United States, and
with the Department over which you preside, I pray you to accept my
thanks for the kindness which has characterized your official
deportment towards me.
I have the honor to be very respectfully your obedient servant,
RAPHAEL SEMMES,
_Commander U. S. Navy_.
_Hon._ ISAAC TOUCEY, _Secretary of the Navy_,
_Washington, D. C._
On the same day, I received the following acceptance of my resignation:--
Navy Department, Feb. 15, 1861.
SIR:--Your resignation as a Commander in the Navy of the United
States, tendered in your letter of this date, is hereby accepted.
I am respectfully your obedient servant,
I. TOUCEY.
RAPHAEL SEMMES, Esq., _late Commander_
_U. S. Navy, Washington_.
A few days previously to my resignation, by the death of a lamented member
of the Light-House Board, I had been promoted from the Secretaryship, to a
Membership of that Board, and it now became necessary for me to inform the
Board officially, of my being no longer a member of it, which I did in the
following communication:--
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 16, 1861.
SIR:--I have the honor to inform you, that I have resigned my
commission, as a Commander in the Navy of the United States, and
that, as a consequence, I am no longer a member of the Light-House
Board. In severing thus my connection with the Board, at which I have
had the honor to hold a seat, since the 17th of November, 1858, I
desire to say to the members, individually, and collectively, that I
shall carry with me to my home in the South, a grateful recollection
of the amenities, and courtesies which have characterized, on their
part, our official intercourse.
I am very respectfully your obedient servant,
RAPHAEL SEMMES.
_Commander_ T. A. JENKINS, _U. S. N._,
_Secretary Light-House Board, Washington_.
I left in the Light-House Board, a South Carolinian, and a Virginian, both
of whom were too loyal to their places, to follow the lead of their
States. The South Carolinian has been rewarded with the commission of a
Rear-Admiral, and the Virginian with that of a Commodore. The presence of
these gentlemen in the Board may account for the fact, that my letter was
not even honored with an acknowledgment of its receipt.
I have said that there was no talk at this time, about traitors, and
treason. The reader will observe how openly, and as a matter of course,
all these transactions were conducted. The seceded States had been several
months in getting their Conventions together, and repealing, with all due
form, and ceremony, the ordinances by which the Federal Constitution had
been accepted. Senators, and members of the House of Representatives of
the Federal Congress had withdrawn from their seats, under circumstances
unusually solemn, and impressive, which had attracted the attention of the
whole country. Mr. Jefferson Davis, in particular, had taken leave of a
full Senate, with crowded galleries, in a speech of great dignity and
power, in the course of which he said: "We will invoke the God of our
Fathers, who delivered them from the power of the Lion, to protect us from
the ravages of the Bear; and thus putting our trust in God, and in our own
firm hearts, and strong arms, we will vindicate the right as best we may."
As the resignation of each officer of the Army, and Navy went in, it was
well understood what his object was, and yet we have seen, that up to this
period, the Government accepted them all, and permitted the officers to
depart to their respective States. It was not known, as yet, to what
extent the disintegration might go, and it was not safe therefore to talk
of treason. "The wayward sisters" might decide to go in a body, in which
event it would not have been _policy_ to attempt to prevent them, or to
discuss questions of treason with them. The Secretary of the Navy did not
think of arresting me, for telegraphing to the Congress of the Confederate
States, that I would be with it, immediately; nor did he, though he knew
my purpose of drawing my sword against the Federal Government, if
necessary, refuse to accept my resignation. Nay, President Buchanan had
decided that he had no power under the Federal Constitution, to coerce a
State; though, like a weak old man as he had now become, he involved
himself afterward in the inconsistency of attempting to hold possession of
the ceded places within the limits of the States which had withdrawn from
the Union. It could not but follow, logically, from the premise, that
there was no power in the Federal Constitution to coerce a State, that the
State had the right to secede; for clearly any one may do that which no
one has the right to prevent him from doing.
It was under such circumstances as these, that I dissolved my connection
with the Federal Government, and returned to the condition of a private
citizen, with no more obligation resting upon me, than upon any other
citizen. The Federal Government, itself, had formally released me from the
contract of service I had entered into with it, and, as a matter of
course, from the binding obligation of any oath I had taken in connection
with that contract. All this was done, as the reader has seen, before I
moved a step from the city of Washington; and yet a subsequent Secretary
of the Navy, Mr. Gideon Welles, has had the hardihood and indecency of
accusing me of having been a "deserter from the service." He has
deliberately put this false accusation on record, in a public document, in
face of the facts I have stated--all of which were recorded upon the rolls
of his office. I do not speak here of the clap-trap he has used about
"treason to the flag," and the other stale nonsense which he has uttered
in connection with my name, for this was common enough among his
countrymen, and was perhaps to have been expected from men smarting under
the castigation I had given them, but of the more definite and explicit
charge, of "_deserting from the service_," when the service, itself, as he
well knew, had released me from all my obligations to it.
Another charge, with as little foundation, has been made against myself,
and other officers of the Army and Navy, who resigned their commissions,
and came South. It has been said that we were in the condition of _eleves_
of the Federal Government, inasmuch as we had received our education at
the military schools, and that we were guilty of ingratitude to that
Government, when we withdrew from its service. This slander has no doubt
had its effect, with the ignorant masses, but it can scarcely have been
entertained by any one who has a just conception of the nature of our
federal system of government. It loses sight of the fact, that the States
are the creators, and the Federal Government the creature; that not only
the military schools, but the Federal Government itself belongs to the
States. Whence came the fund for the establishment of these schools? From
the States. In what proportion did the States contribute it? Mr. Benton
has answered this question, as the reader has seen, when he was discussing
the effect of the tariffs under which the South had so long been depleted.
He has told us, that four States alone, Virginia, the two Carolinas and
Georgia, defrayed three fourths of the expenses of the General Government;
and taking the whole South into view, this proportion had even increased
since his day, up to the breaking out of the war.
Of every appropriation, then, that was made by Congress for the support of
the military schools, three fourths of the money belonged to the Southern
States. Did these States send three fourths of the students to those
schools? Of course not--this would have been something like justice to
them; but justice to the Southern States was no part of the scheme of the
Federal Government. With the exception of a few cadets, and midshipmen "at
large," whom the President was authorized to appoint--the intention being
that he should appoint the sons of deceased officers of the Army and Navy,
but the fact being that he generally gave the appointment to his political
friends--the appointments to these schools were made from the several
States, in proportion to population, and as a matter of course, the North
got the lion's share. But supposing the States to have been equally
represented in those schools, what would have been the result? Why, simply
that the South not only educated her own boys, but educated three fourths
of the Northern boys, to boot. Virginia, for instance, at the same time
that she sent young Robert E. Lee to West Point, to be educated, put in
the public treasury not only money enough to pay for his education, and
maintenance, but for the education and maintenance of three Massachusetts
boys! How ungrateful of Lee, afterward, being thus a charity scholar of
the North, to draw his sword against her.