THE WAR BEGINS.
No President ever assumed office under such circumstances as Abraham
Lincoln. Nominally chief magistrate of the whole United States, seven
members of the confederation had already seceded. These were South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, and Louisiana.
Some had been hurried out of the Union by a few hot-headed politicians,
against the wishes of a considerable part of their inhabitants. It is
known that General Lee and Alexander H. Stephens, though they ultimately
went with their States, were exceedingly reluctant to array themselves
in opposition to the Government.
Mr. Stephens used these patriotic words in an address before the
Legislature of Georgia, Nov. 14, 1860, after the result of the election
was made known: “The first question that presents itself is, shall the
people of the South secede from the Union in consequence of the election
of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency of the United States? My countrymen, I
tell you candidly, frankly, and earnestly that I do not think that they
ought. In my judgment the election of no man, constitutionally chosen to
that high office, is sufficient cause for any State to separate from the
Union. It ought to stand by and aid still in maintaining the
Constitution of the country. To make a point of resistance to the
Government, to withdraw from it because a man has been constitutionally
elected, puts us in the wrong.... We went into the election with this
people. The result was different from what we wished; but the election
has been constitutionally held. Were we to make a point of resistance to
the Government, and go out of the Union on this account, the record
would be made up hereafter against us.”
These wise and moderate counsels did not prevail. There was a feeling of
bitterness which impelled Southern men to extreme measures. More over,
the temper and firmness of the North were misunderstood. It was thought
they would make the most humiliating concessions to preserve the
integrity of the Union, while on the other hand the constancy and
determination of the Southern people were not sufficiently appreciated
at the North.
Mr. Lincoln’s first necessary act was to make choice of a Cabinet. He
demonstrated his sagacity in surrounding himself with trained and
experienced statesmen, as will be seen at once by the following list:
Secretary of State, William H. Seward, of New York; Secretary of the
Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio; Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, of
Pennsylvania; Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, of Connecticut;
Secretary of the Interior, Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana; Postmaster-General,
Montgomery Blair, of Maryland; Attorney-General, Edward Bates, of
Missouri.
These gentlemen were confirmed, and entered upon the discharge of their
duties. Thus the new Administration was complete. Simon Cameron, as
Secretary of War, was superseded in less than a year by Edwin M.
Stanton, who proved to be the right man in the right place. A man of
remarkable executive talent, never shrinking from the heavy burden of
labor and care which his office imposed, he worked indefatigably, and
though he may have offended some by his brusque manners, and unnecessary
sternness, it is doubtful whether a better man could have been selected
for his post. He had been a member of Mr. Buchanan’s Cabinet in its last
days, and did what he could to infuse something of his own vigor into
the timid and vacillating Executive.
It will be seen that Mr. Lincoln called to the most important place in
the Cabinet the man who was his most prominent rival for the nomination,
William H. Seward. In doing this he strengthened his administration
largely in the minds of the people at large, for who was there who was
ignorant of Mr. Seward’s great ability and statesmanship? It may be
remarked here that the new President left to each of his Secretaries
large discretion in their respective departments, and did not interfere
with or overrule them except in cases of extreme necessity. A man of
smaller nature would have gratified his vanity and sense of importance
by meddling with, and so marring the work of his constitutional
advisers; but having selected the best men he could find, Mr. Lincoln
left them free to act, and held them responsible for the successful
management of their departments.
The new President was not long left in uncertainty as to the intentions
of the seceding States. On the 13th of March he received a communication
from two gentlemen, claiming to be commissioners from a government
composed of the seven seceding States, expressing a desire to enter upon
negotiations for the adjustment of all questions growing out of the
separation. To have received them would have been to admit the fact and
right of secession, and therefore their request was denied. On the 11th
of April, General Beauregard, in accordance with instructions from the
rebel Secretary of War, demanded of Major Anderson, in command at Fort
Sumter, the surrender of the fort. Major Anderson declined, but was
compelled to do so on the morning of the 4th, after a bombardment of
thirty-three hours. Thus the South had taken the initiative, and had
made an armed attack upon the Government. Thus far the President had
pursued a conciliatory--some thought it a timid--policy, but when he
heard that Sumter had been taken forcible possession of by rebellious
citizens, he felt that there was no more room for hesitation. The time
had come to act.
On the day succeeding the evacuation of the fort, he issued a
proclamation calling for 75,000 soldiers to recover possession of the
“forts, places, and property which have been seized from the Union,” and
at the same time summoned an extra session of both Houses of Congress,
to assemble on Thursday, the fourth day of July, “to consider and
determine such measures as, in their wisdom, the public safety and
interest may seem to demand.”
It is needless to say that the evacuation of Fort Sumter, and the
President’s proclamation, created a whirlwind of excitement. The South
was jubilant, the North was deeply stirred, and the proclamation was
generally approved and promptly responded to. These spirited lines of
the poet Whittier are well called
THE VOICE OF THE NORTH.
Up the hill-side, down the glen
Rouse the sleeping citizen;
Summon out the might of men!
Like a lion growling low--
Like a night-storm rising slow--
Like the tread of unseen foe--
It is coming--it is nigh!
Stand your homes and altars by,
On your own free threshold die!
Clang the bells in all your spires,
On the grey hills of your sires
Fling to heaven your signal fires!
Oh! for God and duty stand,
Heart to heart, and hand to hand,
Round the old graves of the land.
Who so shrinks or falters now,
Who so to the yoke would bow,
Brand the craven on his brow.
Freedom’s soil has only place
For a free and fearless race--
None for traitors false and base.
Perish party--perish clan,
Strike together while you can,
Like the strong arm of one man.
Like the angel’s voice sublime,
Heard above a world of crime,
Crying for the end of Time.
With one heart and with one mouth
Let the North speak to the South;
Speak the word befitting both.
In contrast with this, I will cite a poem, which might be called, not
inappropriately,
THE VOICE OF THE SOUTH.
Rebels! ’tis a holy name!
The name our fathers bore,
When battling in the cause of Right
Against the tyrant in his might,
In the dark days of yore.
Rebels! ’tis our family name!
Our father, Washington,
Was the arch rebel in the fight,
And gave the name to us--aright
Of father unto son.
Rebels! ’tis our given name!
Our mother Liberty
Received the title with her fame,
In days of grief, of fear and shame,
When at her breast were we.
Rebels! ’tis our sealed name!
A baptism of blood!
The war--ay, and the din of strife--
The fearful contest, life for life--
The mingled crimson flood!
Rebels! ’tis a patriot’s name!
In struggles it was given;
We bore it then when tyrants raved,
And through their curses ’twas engraved
On the doomsday book of heaven.
Rebels! ’tis our fighting name!
For peace rules o’er the land,
Until they speak of craven woe--
Until our rights received a blow,
From foes’ or brother’s hand.
Rebels! ’tis our dying name!
For although life is dear,
Yet freemen born and freemen bred,
We’d rather live as freemen dead
Than live in slavish fear.
Then call us Rebels if you will--
We glory in the name;
For bending under unjust laws,
And swearing faith to an unjust cause.
We count a greater shame.