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A MILITARY GENIUS.
LIFE OF ANNA ELLA CARROLL OF MARYLAND
SARAH ELLEN BLACKWELL
[Illustration: Ex Libris]
[Illustration: Anna Ella Carroll]
A MILITARY GENIUS.
LIFE OF ANNA ELLA CARROLL,
OF MARYLAND,
("The great unrecognized member of Lincoln's Cabinet.")
COMPILED FROM FAMILY RECORDS AND CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS
BY
SARAH ELLEN BLACKWELL.
For Sale at the Office of the _Woman's Journal_, 3 Park Street,
Boston, Mass. Rooms of the Woman's Suffrage Society, 1406 G St.,
Washington, D. C.
Price: $1.10 (Forwarded free on receipt of price).
WASHINGTON, D. C.
JUDD & DETWEILER, PRINTERS.
1891.
Entered in the office of the Librarian of Congress, 1891.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The long years come and go,
And the Past,
The sorrowful splendid Past,
With its glory and its woe,
Seems never to have been.
Seems never to have been!
O somber days and grand,
How ye crowd back once more,
Seeing our heroes graves are green
By the Potomac, and the Cumberland
And in the valley of the Shenandoah!
When we remember how they died,
In dark ravine and on the mountain side,
In leaguered fort and fire-encircled town,
And where the iron ships went down.
How their dear lives were spent
In the weary hospital tent,
In the cockpit's crowded hive,
---- it seems
Ignoble to be alive!
THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH.
CONTENTS.
Chapter I.
Ancestry and Old Plantation Life............................... 1
Chapter II.
Childhood and Early Life -- Miss Carroll's Youthful Letters to
Her Father -- Religious Tendencies -- Letters from Dr. Robert J.
Breckenridge -- Sale of Kingston Hall -- Early Writings -- Letter
of Hon. Edward Bates -- Breaking Out of the Civil War --
Preoccupation in Military Affairs............................. 14
Chapter III.
Rise of the Secession Movement -- The Capital in Danger -- Miss
Carroll's Literary Labors for the Cause of the Union --
Testimonials from Eminent Men................................. 31
Chapter IV.
The Military Situation -- Goes to St. Louis -- Inception of the
Plan of the Tennessee Campaign -- Gives in The Plan at the War
Department -- President Lincoln's Delight at the Solution of the
Problem -- Account Written in 1889 -- Judge Wade at Bull Run --
Formation of the Committee for the Conduct of the War......... 59
Chapter V.
Miss Carroll's Papers to the War Department -- Plan of Campaign
-- Letters from Scott, Wade, and Others -- Discussions -- Papers
as the Campaign Progresses.................................... 81
Chapter VI.
Congressional Revelations -- Great Results -- Discussions -- Miss
Carroll Presents Her Claim -- Political Opposition -- Letters and
Testimony.................................................... 105
Chapter VII.
Miss Carroll's Pamphlets in Aid of the Administration -- The
Presentation of the Bill..................................... 124
Chapter VIII.
Miss Carroll Before Congress................................. 132
Chapter IX.
A Wounded Veteran Retires from the Field -- Interview with Grant
-- The Women of America make the Cause Their Own -- A National
Lesson....................................................... 150
PREFACE.
In commencing the attempt to portray a very remarkable career I had
hoped for the coöperation of the person concerned so far, at least, as
the supervision of any statements I might find it necessary to make.
But it was decided by her friends that it would not be well for her at
present to be troubled with new projects, or even informed of them. It
was at first a serious disappointment to me and seemed to increase my
difficulties, but as I was allowed access to sources of family
information I have been enabled to present a sketch, slight and
inadequate, but authentic, and greatly desired by many distant
friends. With continued improvement in health I trust that the wishes
of Miss Carroll's friends may be better met by an autobiography taking
the place of the present meager and imperfect sketch.
It should be at once understood that this is not a plea for Miss
Carroll.
Her work has but to be fairly presented to speak for itself.
Her claim was settled once and forever by the evidence given before
the first Military Committee of 1871, met to consider the claim, and
reporting, through Senator Howard, unanimously endorsing every fact.
The Assistant Secretary of War, Thomas A. Scott, the Chairman of the
Committee for the Conduct of the War, Benjamin F. Wade, and Judge
Evans, of Texas, testifying in a manner that was conclusive. These men
knew what they were talking about and human testimony could no farther
go. Congress, through its committees, has again and again endorsed the
claim, and never denied it, being "adverse" only to award as involving
national recognition.
Our great generals have left us one by one without ever antagonizing
the claim, and General Grant advised Miss Carroll to continue to push
her claim for recognition.
But this work is to be considered rather in the light of an historical
research bearing on questions of the day.
Are our present laws and customs just toward women? Are women ever
preëminently fitted for high offices in the State? Is it for our honor
and advantage when so fitted to avail ourselves of the whole united
intellect and moral power of men and women side by side in peril and
in duty? Such a life as this gives to all these questions the
authoritative answer of established facts.
NEW YORK, _April 21st, 1891_. (Summer address, Lawrence, Long Island,
N. Y.)
Miss Carroll's address is 931 New Hampshire Avenue, Washington, D. C.
A SEARCH FOR THE DOCUMENTS.
Arriving as a stranger in Washington, knowing nothing of libraries and
document rooms, Secretaries offices, and War departments, I was at
first greatly at a loss. For many years I had had in my possession two
very important documents, the last memorial of 1878 and the report of
the Military Committee thereon under General Bragg in 1881. With these
two in my hand I proceeded to consult the Descriptive Catalogue of the
Congressional Library. To my surprise, I found that these two very
important documents had been omitted from the index. Calling attention
to the fact, we looked them up in the body of the volume and Mr.
Spofford immediately added them in pencil together with the other
important documents, in Miss Carroll's favor, which had also been
omitted. When I made my way to the Senate document room I found that
this important Miss. Doc. 58 had been omitted there also, having been
set down under another name. Looking it up in the volume of
Miscellaneous Documents I again obtained the admission by Mr. Amzi
Smith. In the list at the Secretaries office Miss. Doc. 58 was also
omitted together with the last report by a Military Committee, under
General Bragg, endorsing the claim in the most thorough going way. The
index ending with an intermediate report mistakenly designated as
_adverse_, though the previous reports were not thus heralded as
favorable.
After the first report, as made by Senator Howard and the repeated
endorsements made by Wilson and Williams of succeeding Congresses,
these two documents are by far the most important and interesting.
The memorial of '78, containing additional evidence explaining some
things, otherwise unaccountable, and making some very singular
revelations. It is a mine of wealth for the future historian. At the
Secretary's office I showed the documents and stated that their
exclusion must have been unfavorable to the presentation of the case.
I was not equally fortunate in obtaining their immediate admission,
but trust the mistake has since been rectified.
The report marked as "adverse" would be more truly described as
"admission of the incontestable nature of the evidence in support of
the claim," admitting the services in every particular and being
"adverse" only to award involving national recognition.
At the Secretary's office I obtained permission to see the file of the
41st Congress, 2d. session. There I saw the first short memorial with
the plan of campaign attached as described by Thomas Scott. Then my
investigations were temporarily ended by the outside of a document
being shown me stating that the papers had been withdrawn by Samuel
Hunt, thus agreeing with the statement made by him in Miss. Doc. 58,
that they had been stolen from his desk while the committee were
examining the claim.
I found it very difficult to obtain the earlier documents. "Supply
exhausted" being the answer that has long been given, but all can be
looked up in the bound volumes.
When, at length, fairly started in my work I was disturbed by a rumor
that Miss Carroll's papers, formerly placed on file at the War
Department, were no longer to be found there. I set out as far as
possible to investigate. Provided with an excellent letter of
introduction to the Secretary of War I made my way, on March 6, 1891,
to the vast building of the War Department and sent in my letter with
a list of the documents I wanted to see. Miss Carroll's Military
papers, given in the Miss. Doc. 58, and a list of letters from the
same memorial by Wade, Scott, and Evans.
The permission being kindly accorded I was transferred to the Record
office and told that the file should be ready for me on the following
day.
Taking with me the Miss. Doc. 58, an unpublished manuscript of Miss
Carroll's, and specimens of the handwriting of Wade and Scott, I
punctually put in an appearance, was transferred to the office of the
Adjutant General, and Miss Carroll's file produced for my inspection.
I met with all possible courtesy and every facility for the
examination. I found two of the papers on my list in her now familiar
handwriting, and some others.
A letter to Secretary Stanton, of May 14, 1862, recommending the
occupation of Vicksburgh and referring to Pilot Scott, stating that
she had derived from him some of the important information which had
lead to her paper to the War Department on Nov. 30, 1861, which had
occasioned the change of campaign in the southwest and proved of such
incalculable benefit to the national cause.
A paper of May 15th, 1862, advising that Memphis and Vicksburgh should
be strongly occupied and the Yazoo river watched. Another letter to
Stanton concerning her pamphlets and proposing to write another one in
aid of Mr. Lincoln, unjustly assailed. There was a portion of a letter
written in great haste from St. Louis. There was an interesting letter
from Robert Lincoln when Secretary of War. A petition from a group of
ladies, asking for information concerning Miss Carroll's services and
several other documents, but most of the important papers on my list
were not on the file.
After examining the papers for some time I asked to see the originals
of the letters of Wade and Scott. I was told they were in another
department and would take some time to look up, but a gentleman was
politely detailed to conduct me there and look up the letters. I
opened my Miss. Doc. 58 and pointed out the long list of letters of
Mr. Wade's, on pages 23, 24, 25, and 26, and asked to see those first.
The gentlemen expressed his astonishment that, with _such_ a document
in my hand, I should ask for _originals_. He said that the documents
printed by order of Congress were to all intents and purposes the same
as the originals, as they were never so printed until those letters
and papers had been examined and proved to be genuine. I asked if the
printing was also a guarantee for Miss Carroll's papers as printed in
that document, though we were now unable to find the originals. He
replied assuredly it was; that I could positively rely upon all that
had been so printed. There was no going back upon the Congressional
records. Other gentlemen came up and confirmed the statement.
Under these circumstances it seemed unnecessary to carry the
investigation any further, so with thanks for the great friendliness
and courtesy that I had met with I took up my precious Miss. Doc. 58
and departed with a slight intimation that if anything more should be
needed they might have the pleasure of seeing me again.
The missing documents, after being on file for 8 years, were sent on
one or more occasions from the War Department to the Capitol for
examination by committees.
On page 30 of the Miss. Doc. 58 we learn the reason, on testimony of
Wade and Hunt (keeper of the records), why they are there no longer.
[Footnote: For list of documents see pages 29 and
82.]
MISS CARROLL'S MILITARY MAPS.
On page 178 of the memorial of '78 Judge Evans, in one of the many
repeated letters and statements of great interest that I have been
obliged to omit for want of space, relates how he stood beside Miss
Carroll in her parlor at St. Louis when she was gathering the
information for the preparation of her paper to the War Department of
November 30, 1861, and its accompanying map. He says, "I have a very
distinct recollection of aiding her in the preparation of that paper,
tracing with her upon a map of the United States, which hung in her
parlor, the Memphis and Charleston railroad and its connections
southward, the course of the Tennessee, the Alabama, and the Tombigbee
rivers, and the position of Mobile Bay; and when Henry fell she wrote
the Department, showing the feasability of going either to Mobile or
Vicksburg."
In his testimony given on page 85 of Miss. Doc. 179, he says, "On Miss
Carroll's return from the West she prepared and submitted to the
deponent, for his opinion, the plan of the Tennessee river expedition,
as set forth in her memorial. Being a native and resident of that part
of the section and intimately acquainted with its geography, and
particularly with the Tennessee river, deponent was convinced of the
vast military importance of her paper, and advised her to lose no time
in laying the same before the War Department, which she did on or
about November 30, 1861. The accompanying map, rapidly prepared by
Miss Carroll, was made on ordinary writing paper. An unpretentious
map, but fraught with immense importance to the national cause.
Assistant Secretary of War Thomas A. Scott, the great railroad magnate
and a man of remarkably acute mind, saw at a glance the immense
importance of the plan; he hastened with it to Lincoln, and when her
plan of campaign was determined on he studied her map with the
greatest care before going West to consolidate the troops for the
coming campaign.
The second map sent in with Miss Carroll's paper of October, 1862,
when the army before Vicksburg was meeting with disastrous failure,
was made on regular map paper, representing the fortifications at
Vicksburg, demonstrating that they could not be taken on the plan then
adopted and indicating the right course to pursue. Miss Carroll bought
the paper for the map at Shillington's, corner of Four-and-a-Half
street and Pennsylvania avenue; sketched it out herself with blue and
red pencils and ink and took it to the War Department.
On page 24 of Miss. Doc. 58, Judge Wade writes:
"Referring to a conversation with Judge Evans last evening he called
my attention to Colonel Scott's telegram announcing the fall of Island
No. 10 in 1862 as endorsing your plan, when Scott said, 'the movement
in the rear has done the work.' I stated to the Judge, as you and he
knew before, that your paper on the reduction of Vicksburg had done
the work on that place, after being so long baffled and with the loss
of so much life and treasure by trying to take it from the water; that
to my knowledge your paper was approved and adopted by the Secretary
of War and immediately sent out to the proper military authority in
that Department."
On April 16, 1891, by permission of the kindly authorities of the War
Department, search was made in the office of the Chief Engineer to see
if, by chance, these maps might have come to the War Department. No
trace or record was found and it seemed to be agreed that, considering
the circumstances of extreme secrecy attending the inauguration of the
campaign, it was unlikely that they should come there. Time, which so
often corroborates the truth, may possibly bring those maps to light.
At present I cannot trace them.
* * * * *
It is proposed to follow this volume with another, entitled "Civil War
Papers in Aid of the Administration," by Anna Ella Carroll, with notes
by the author.
CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY AND OLD PLANTATION LIFE.
In looking at the map of Maryland we find that the configuration of
the State is of an unusual character. The eastern portion is divided
through the middle by the broad waters of Chesapeake Bay, leaving nine
counties with the State of Delaware on the long stretch between the
Chesapeake, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. Of late years the
great tide of population has set toward the western side of Chesapeake
Bay, leaving the widely divided eastern counties in a comparatively
quiet and primitive condition. But in the earlier history of our
country these eastern counties, with easy access to the Atlantic
Ocean, were of greater comparative importance to the State, and were a
Center of culture and of hospitality. It was in Somerset, one of the
two southernmost of these eastern counties, that Sir Thomas King,
coming from England about the middle of the eighteenth century,
purchased an extensive domain.
Landing first in Virginia with a group of colonists, he there married
Miss Reid, an English lady also highly connected and of an influential
family. The estate which he subsequently purchased in Maryland
embraced several plantations, extending from the county road back to a
creek, a branch of the Annemessex river, then and since known as
King's creek.
Standing well back and divided from the county road by extensive
grounds, Sir Thomas King built Kingston Hall, a pleasant and
commodious residence. An avenue of fine trees, principally Lombard
poplars and the magnificent native tulip tree, formed the approach to
the Hall, and its gardens were terraced down to the creek behind.
On one of the outlying plantations Sir Thomas King also established
the little village of Kingston, of which he built and owned every
house. He brought hither settlers, but the little place did not
thrive. Plantation life and proprietary ownership were not conducive
to the growth of cities. As the old settlers died out the houses were
abandoned, and the post office was removed to a corner of the Hall
plantation, then known as Kingston Corner. A new settlement grew up
there, and since emancipation has changed the conditions of life it
has grown and thriven. It is now a promising little place of 250
inhabitants. It has assumed to itself the name of the older village
and is known as Kingston on the present maps.
At the Hall Sir Thomas King established his family residence. Here he
lived and here his wife died, leaving but one child, a daughter,
heiress to these wide estates, the future mother of Governor Thomas
King Carroll and the grandmother of Anna Ella Carroll, whose
interesting career is the subject of our present relation.
Through all the early history of Maryland the contests between
Catholic and Protestant form one of its most conspicuous features.
Early settled by Lord Baltimore, a Catholic proprietary, his followers
were at once involved in a struggle with still earlier settlers at
Kent Island, in the Chesapeake Bay, and the Protestants who followed,
while condemning Catholicism as a rule of faith, associated it also
with the doctrine of divine right and arbitrary rule. Bitter contests
followed. The most active minds of the Colony enrolled themselves
enthusiastically in the opposing parties.
St. Mary's, a little town on the western side of the Chesapeake, was
the ancient capital of the State and the headquarters of Catholicism.
Sir Thomas King, on his side, was a staunch Presbyterian. This
household was strictly ruled in conformity to his faith, and by
liberal contribution and personal influence he was largely
instrumental in building the first Presbyterian meeting-house, at the
little town of Rehoboth, a few miles from his own domain, a great
barn-like structure of red brick, which remains to this day. The
marriage of Miss King with her cousin, young Mr. Armstead, of
Virginia, the ward of Sir Thomas King, was an event that had been
planned for in both families, and was looked forward to with great
satisfaction on all sides.
One may well imagine, then, the consternation which ensued to the
proprietor of the Hall, to his relatives and friends, and all the
neighbors of that staunch Presbyterian region, when Colonel Henry
James Carroll, of St. Mary's, of the old Catholic family of the noted
Charles Carroll, and himself a Catholic by profession, came across the
waters of the Chesapeake, courting the only daughter of Sir Thomas
King, the heiress to all these estates and the reigning belle of the
county.
In vain was the bitter opposition of father and friends. The willful
young heiress insisted on giving to the handsome officer from St.
Mary's the preference over all her other admirers. It may be that a
reaction from the strict rules and the severe tenets of her education
gave to this young scion of another faith an additional charm. However
that may be, love won the day.
The father was compelled to yield, and the young heiress became the
wife of the intrepid Colonel Henry James Carroll. It could hardly have
been expected that Sir Thomas King should associate with himself under
the same roof a son-in-law of principles so opposed to his own; but he
established the young couple on the adjacent estate of Bloomsborough,
which he also owned, and here their little son, Thomas King Carroll,
first saw the light of day.
The old proprietor, in his great empty hall, coveted this little
grandson and proposed to adopt him as his own child and make him the
heir to all his estates.
In course of time a younger son, Charles Cecilius Carroll, was born to
the Bloomsborough household, the grandfather's proposition was
accepted, and little Thomas King Carroll, then between five and six
years of age, became an inmate of Kingston Hall and the object of Sir
Thomas King's devoted affection and brightest hopes.
Governor Carroll, in after times, used to relate to his children how
they spent the winter evenings alone in the old Hall. His grandfather,
in his spacious armchair, on one side of the open hearth, with a
blazing wood fire and tall brass andirons; the little boy, in a low
chair, on the opposite side, listening to the tales that his
grandfather related of ancient times and heroic deeds. By these means
Sir Thomas King strove to amuse his youthful heir and to train his
mind to high principles and brave aspirations. But Sunday must have
been a terrible day to the little boy, attending long services in the
red brick meeting-house and occupying himself as he best could between
whiles with the old English family Bible, with pictures of devils and
lakes of fire and brimstone, calculated to inspire his youthful mind
with horror and alarm.
At an early age the young heir was sent to college, to the
Pennsylvania University at Philadelphia, then the most famous seat of
learning for those parts. Here he graduated with distinguished honors,
at the age of seventeen. Among his classmates and intimate friends
were Mr. William M. Meredith, of Philadelphia; Benjamin Gratz, of St.
Louis, and the father of Mr. Mitchell, the author of Ike Marvel.
Returning to Maryland, Thomas King Carroll began the study of law with
Ephraim King Wilson, who had been named after Sir Thomas King. He was
the father of the late United States Senator for Maryland. His studies
being completed, arrangements were made to associate him as partner
with Robert Goodloe Harper, the son-in-law of Charles Carroll, of
Carrollton, in his lucrative law practice, and a house was engaged for
his future residence in Baltimore.
During the studies of Thomas King Carroll, his aged grandfather, Sir
Thomas King, having died, Colonel Henry James Carroll and his family
were residing at Kingston Hall and managing the estate for the young
heir.
An old friend of the family was Dr. Henry James Stevenson, one of the
prominent physicians of Baltimore. Dr. Stevenson had come over
formerly as a surgeon in the British army. He had married in England
Miss Anne Henry, of Hampton. Settling in Baltimore, he acquired a
large estate, then on the outskirts, now in the center of Baltimore.
On Parnassus Hill he built a very spacious and handsome residence.
During the Revolutionary War Dr. Stevenson remained loyal to his
British training and was an outspoken Tory. The populace of Baltimore
were so incensed against him that they mobbed his residence,
threatening to destroy it. The Doctor showed his military courage by
standing, fully armed, in his doorway and threatening to shoot the
first man who attempted to enter. The mob were so impressed by his
determined attitude that they finally retired, leaving the owner and
his property uninjured. Dr. Stevenson afterwards became much beloved
through his devotion and care, bestowed alike on the wounded of both
armies. He became noted in the profession from his controversy with
Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, the one advocating and the other
opposing inoculation for small-pox. Dr. Stevenson was so enthusiastic
that he gave up, temporarily, his beautiful residence as a hospital
for the support of his theory.
An ivory miniature in a gold locket, now in possession of Miss
Carroll, represents Dr. Stevenson in his red coat and white waistcoat,
and at the back of the locket there is a picture of Parnassus Hill,
crowned by the Doctor's residence, with a perpendicular avenue
straight up hill, and a negro attendant opening the gate at the foot
for Dr. Stevenson, mounted on his horse and returning home. It is a
very quaint and valuable specimen of ante-revolutionary art.
The daughter of this valiant doctor was a beautiful and accomplished
girl, Miss Juliana Stevenson. She is described as having very regular
features, a complexion of dazzling fairness, deep blue eyes, and
auburn hair flowing in curls upon her shoulders. She was a good
musician, playing the organ at her church, and educated carefully in
every respect. Her knowledge of English history was considered
something phenomenal.
Thomas King Carroll early won the affections of this lovely girl, and
they were married by Bishop Kemp before the youthful bridegroom had
completed his twentieth year.
Those that care for heraldry may be interested to know that at
Baltimore may be seen the eight coats-of-arms belonging to the
King-Carroll family, of which Miss Anna Ella is the eldest
representative.
When the question came of Miss Stevenson leaving home, her especial
attendant, a bright colored woman, had been given her choice of
remaining with Dr. Stevenson's family or accompanying her mistress.
The poor woman was greatly exercised in choosing between conflicting
ties.
Mrs. Carroll was accustomed to describe to her children, with much
feeling, the scene which followed. Sitting in her room she heard a
knock at the door and in rushed Milly, with her face bathed in tears,
and throwing herself at Miss Stevenson's feet she exclaimed "Oh,
mistis, I cannot, cannot, leave you!" It was a moment of deep emotion
for both mistress and maid. Milly followed Mrs. Carroll to her new
home and became the old mammy, the dear old mammy of all the Carroll
children.
Her daughter Leah was born on the Kingston plantation, and then her
granddaughter Milly, who in later times clung to the changing fortunes
of the Carroll family, and is at this day a devoted attendant on her
invalid mistress, Miss Anna Ella Carroll. A visitor to the modest home
in Washington, now occupied by the Carroll sisters, is met at the door
by the comely face and pleasant smile of this same faithful Milly. The
life-long devotion of the affectionate "Mammy" illustrates one of the
most touching features of the old plantation life; but the shadow of
slavery was over it all. To follow the fortunes of her adored
mistress, Mammy left behind her in Baltimore her husband, a free
colored man. But what was the marital relation to a slave! The
youthful couple set out on a wedding tour, but were unexpectedly
recalled by the sudden death of Colonel Henry James Carroll. It was
necessary for his son to return at once and take possession of his
inheritance.
The coming home of the proprietor and his youthful bride was a great
event at Kingston Hall. There were at that time on the plantation 150
slaves, besides the children. They are described as a fine and
stalwart people, looking as if they belonged to a different race from
the colored people that we now meet with in cities. They seemed like a
race of giants. The men were usually as much as six feet in height,
and broad and muscular in proportion. All these numerous dependents
were drawn up in lines on the long avenues, dressed in their livery of
green and buff, and must have presented an imposing appearance as the
stately family carriage was seen approaching through the long vista of
fine old trees. The arrival was heralded by a roar of welcome and
demonstrations of joy.
And thus the youthful couple took possession of the home that was to
be the scene of so many joys and so many sorrows, ending in troublous
times that completely changed the existing order of things, and which
witnessed the conclusion of the reign of the Kings and the Carrolls at
Kingston Hall.
Shortly after his return with his bride Thomas King Carroll was
elected to serve in the Legislature. He only attained the requisite
age of 21 years on the day before he took his seat. His birth-day was
celebrated at Kingston Hall after the old English fashion, and he was
feted and toasted and received congratulations on all sides. It is
said that he was the youngest member ever elected to the Legislature.
Thomas King Carroll commenced life not only with wide social
advantages, but with great natural gifts. He was striking in
appearance, and of so graceful and dignified a demeanor that it is
said that he never entered a crowd without a movement of respect and
appreciation showing the impression that he created.
He was a good orator and of unimpeachable integrity and lofty
character. This was early exemplified when as still very youthful he
was sent to represent his county at a political caucus in Baltimore.
The question of raising money for the approaching campaign came up,
and he was asked in his turn how much would be needed for his county
of Somerset. He arose and said: "With all due deference, Mr.
President, _not one cent_. We can carry our county without any such
aid!" There was a general laugh, and Robert Goodloe Harper, who was
present, said, "Very well, young gentleman, you will tell a different
tale a few years hence." He went home and related the proceedings to
his constituents, who applauded his answer, and that year Somerset was
the banner county of the State.
The early years succeeding the marriage were years of peace and
prosperity.
The young bride won all hearts by her beauty and the sweetness of her
disposition.
In time a lively group of children filled the old Hall with life and
gayety.
Thomas King Carroll, like many another Maryland planter, was fully
convinced that in itself slavery was wrong. The early settlers of
Maryland would gladly have excluded it, but the institution was forced
upon them by the mother country, the English monarch and his court
deriving large incomes from the sale of slaves and canceling every law
made by the early settlers to prevent their introduction into the
colony. Slavery had now become a settled institution, on which the
whole social fabric was built, and individual proprietors, however
they might disapprove of the system, could see no way to change it.
All that Thomas King Carroll knew how to do was to seek as far as
possible the happiness and welfare of his slaves, and slavery showed
itself on the Kingston plantation in its mildest and most attractive
form.
Not much money was made usually upon plantations, but everything was
produced upon the estate that was needed to feed and clothe the great
group of dependents. And this was the state of things at Kingston
Hall.
There was Uncle Nathan, the butler, whose wife was Aunt Susan, the
dairywoman; Uncle Davy, the shoemaker; Saul, the blacksmith; Mingo,
the old body servant of Colonel Carroll; Fortune, the coachman, etc.,
etc.--all very powerful men.
Every trade was represented upon the estate. There were blacksmith
shops; there were shoemakers, tanners, weavers, dyers, etc. All the
goods worn by the servants, male and female, were manufactured on the
place. The wool was sheared from the sheep, and went through every
process needed to produce the linsey-woolsey garments of men and
women. The women were allowed to choose the colors of their dresses,
and the wool was dyed in accordance with their tastes. Two of these
dresses were allowed for a winter's wear, and each woman was furnished
with a new calico print for Sundays.
There were few local preachers among them at that time, but two were
noticeable during the childhood of the Carroll children, Ethan Howard
and Uncle Saul. And there was an Uncle Remus, too, in Fortune, the
coachman, who told the children the stories of Brer Rabbit and the
Tar-baby quite as effectively as the Uncle Remus of our popular
magazines.
The servants had their own rivalries and class distinctions. One
portion of the house servants prided themselves as being the old
servants--born on the place. Another group plumed themselves as having
come in with the "Mistis," and having seen outside regions and a wider
range of life. But all the house servants considered themselves vastly
superior to the field hands and treated them with condescension.
The house servants, though slaves, in fact, were absolute despots in
their own department. The Carroll children would not have dared to
touch a knife or a fork without the permission of the butler, and if
they had attempted to enter the cellar or the dairy without leave from
their respective guardians a revolutionary war would have been the
result.
Mammy, too, was the absolute ruler over every shoe and stocking, and
was expected under all circumstances to be responsible for every
article of the children's toilet.
The largest quarter devoted to the slaves was a great circular
structure, with a central hall surrounded by partitions, giving to
each field hand a separate sleeping berth. The hall in the center was
devoted to those who were old or unfitted for work, and here the young
children were deposited while their parents were pursuing their tasks,
and they were expected to wait upon the "Grannies" and be cared for in
return.
Behind this central apartment was one in which the food was prepared,
and there was a great hand-mill, where the corn was ground for the
daily use.
The children at the Hall were seldom allowed to enter these quarters,
but were occasionally granted permission to go there when delicacies
for the sick or new caps and dresses for the babies were furnished
from the Hall.
There were also quarters for the married slaves, each family having
its little cottage and garden, which it was allowed to cultivate on
its own account, and great was the pride of its occupants if by dint
of especial care they could raise the spring vegetables earlier than
in the master's garden, and carry them up to the Hall in triumph.
There they always found a customer ready to purchase their produce.
Every Monday morning rations were given out for a week by the overseer
and they were cooked by the families in their own quarters.
The hours of work were moderate, and on Saturday they had a half
holiday.
Sometimes there were parties and merry-makings at the negro quarters.
On great occasions, such as the marriage of a house servant, the
family at the Hall, by their presence, gave dignity to the
festivities, and inwardly they greatly enjoyed the fantastic scene.
At Kingston Hall open house was kept, and numerous visitors and
entertainments made life gay for the children, who grew up in an
atmosphere of ease and hospitality, little anticipating the
vicissitudes of the future and the stormy and heart-rending times in
which their country was about to be involved.