LINCOLN AND THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
=299. Abraham Lincoln; the Abiding Influence of his Good Mother.=--The
early settlers in the Western states were generally very poor. It was
the honorable poverty of the pioneer, who bravely begins with only his
axe and a few tools, with which he builds his log cabin, clears the
forest, and works his way to competence and comfort.
So lived in Larue County, in the state of Kentucky, about fifty miles
south of Louisville, Thomas Lincoln and his wife Nancy, in a rude log
cabin with no windows, a dirt floor, and only a flapping bearskin for a
door! In this humble abode, which they called home, there was born to
them on February 12, 1809, a son, Abraham.
The father was a strong and kindly man, and the mother was a woman
rather above her lowly position in life, and well educated for the time
and place. As her boy grew up she read to him stories from the Bible and
taught him to read for himself.
In after years, when Abraham Lincoln had gained the people's ear, men
noticed that he scarcely made a speech or wrote a state paper in which
there was not an 'illustration or a quotation from the Bible. He had
been thoroughly instructed in it by his mother. It was the one book to
which she, being a woman of deep religious feeling, turned for sympathy
and guidance. Out of it she taught her boy to spell and read, and with
its principles she so familiarized him that they always governed his
after life.
When Abraham was eight years old the family moved to Indiana, where, in
about a year, his mother died. This was an unutterable grief to him, for
he loved her most deeply and tenderly. Throughout his life he revered
her memory, and when he was in his prime he said, "All that I am or hope
to be, I owe to my mother."
=300. How Lincoln learned to read Good Books.=--Young Lincoln attended
school only six weeks. He was a tall, gaunt lad, and his long, stout
arms were very useful to his father on the farm.
Like Franklin, he had a hunger for books, and having none himself, he
used to walk miles to some family to borrow them. Every evening he used
to read by the log fire _Pilgrim's Progress_, the poems of Robert Burns,
_The Life of Washington_, or _Plutarch's Lives_. Think of that boy
sitting before the cabin fire, reading over and over the story of
Washington; and then think of what he came to be.
When the family went to bed he used to climb, on a rude ladder of stout
pegs driven in the logs, up to his bed made of hay, and there, by the
light of his tallow candle, would read over and over his precious books.
He bought a biography of Washington with three hard days' work at
twenty-five cents a day. He carried the book with him to the field, and
read it at the noon hour and while the horse rested.
[Illustration: LINCOLN READING HIS FAVORITE BOOKS BY THE FIRESIDE.]
=301. Some Things Lincoln did when a Young Man.=--When Lincoln was about
twenty-one, the family moved to Illinois. The young man was rugged and
tall, six feet and four inches, but very strong. In feats of running,
jumping, and wrestling he easily surpassed the best men in the county.
He was hired at ten dollars a month to go down to New Orleans on a
flatboat loaded with farm produce. On the trip he saw gangs of slaves
chained together, and he attended a slave auction, where men, women, and
children were bid off like cattle. The painful sight sank deep into his
heart, and he never forgot it. He was a soldier in the Black Hawk war,
and was chosen by his comrades captain of the company, for all the men
loved and respected him.
=302. Makes up his Mind to become a Lawyer.=--Young Lincoln grew rapidly
in public esteem. People took kindly to him, for he was himself kind and
unselfish. Though awkwardly tall and homely, there was a something
tender and friendly about him, which made every one feel that he was
honest and sincere.
As the years passed Lincoln kept on steadily educating himself by
devoting every leisure hour to his books. He took regular studies, such
as grammar, arithmetic, geometry, which he exceedingly enjoyed.
He was a thoughtful reader of a few of the great English classics. He
could repeat numerous scenes from Shakespeare and many of the poems of
Robert Burns. Whatever he read was read thoroughly--to understand it.
His need of money led the ambitious young man to study surveying, as
Washington did--a very desirable attainment in a new country. He
surveyed well Everything he did, he did well.
Visiting a courthouse one day, he heard for the first time the argument
of a lawyer. He was absorbed and delighted. Never before had anything so
captivated his imagination. From that day he made up his mind to be a
lawyer. Too poor to waste any money on shoes, he walked twelve miles
barefoot once to borrow a law book; and he came home reading it as he
walked.
=303. His Early Studies and Rapid Advancement in his Profession.=--The
struggling young lawyer now carefully studied the art of the clear and
exact expression of thought. He attended that nursery of American
oratory, the country debating club, and was a faithful student of the
best method of speaking, making rapid progress by long and patient
practice.
We no longer think of him as the boy of the log house, the homespun
clothes, the coon-skin cap, and the bare feet, but rather as the brave
young lawyer, studious, honest, persevering, self-reliant, and always
faithful to duty.
After this Lincoln's advancement is rapid. His worthy traits draw to him
many and strong friends. At twenty-five he is elected to the
legislature. He discharges the duties of the office so well that two
years later he is chosen again. Now an older lawyer invites him to be
his partner.
He has become a man of note. People come from far to consult him. His
growing fame daily widens. The people next call him to a higher place.
At thirty-nine he is honored by being chosen a member of Congress. He
fills the place with credit and honor. He is now the rising man of his
state.
=304. Slavery as a Menace to the Country.=--There had always been one
serious trouble in our republic--slavery. It began early. About a year
before the Pilgrims came over in the Mayflower a Dutch ship brought
twenty negroes from Africa to Virginia, and they were sold as slaves to
the planters.
As years passed the traffic rapidly increased, and paid an enormous
profit. Some of the colonists tried to stop this, but in vain; it was
profitable. Soon slavery spread all over the country; mostly in the
South, but somewhat even in New England. In the South, slaves were very
useful in raising tobacco and rice, and, later, cotton and sugar cane.
At the formation of the republic all the Southern states came in as
slave states. To this most of the Northern people, though they held
slavery to be a great wrong, and feared that it would some day bring
serious trouble, did not strenuously object, because it had long existed
throughout the colonies. But as years passed the North strongly opposed
the extension of slavery into new states or free territory. The South,
however, had come to believe that slavery was right. When Missouri asked
admission to the Union, the South claimed that it should be received as
a slave state. The North said, No! There was a great discussion over
this question, which was finally settled in 1821 by allowing Missouri to
come in as a slave state. After this it was understood that slavery
should never be introduced north of the line of its southern boundary.
[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.]
=305. Lincoln chosen President of the United States.=--In 1854 an effort
was made to bring in Kansas and Nebraska as possible slave states. This
at once aroused a storm of indignation throughout the North. Mr.
Lincoln stood forth as a champion of freedom, and Stephen A. Douglas,
popularly known as "the little giant of the West," supported the claims
of the South. They held public debates all through Illinois, being rival
candidates for the United States Senate.
These great debates were listened to by thousands. Lincoln's speeches
especially attracted much attention. They were printed and read in all
sections. Many a voter said, "How plain he makes it all! He says it far
better than I could." This contest raged in 1859. Douglas won the
smaller prize of senator; but Lincoln, suddenly lifted into national
fame by his splendid defense of freedom, was next year chosen President
of the United States.
He was elected because of the firm determination of the North that,
while they would not disturb slavery where it already existed, it should
not extend any farther into free territory. This resolve was not
unfriendly to the Southern people. It did not invade their rights as the
North understood them. It was not intended as a threat to the people of
that section; but they chose so to regard it and immediately took a
hostile attitude.
In December, 1860, South Carolina seceded, then other states; so that
before Mr. Lincoln began his duties as President the seven cotton
states had seceded. Believing that they had a right to do so, they
formed a government of their own and assumed a warlike attitude to the
general government.
=306. The Momentous Responsibilities of the Position.=--We have traced the
poor boy of the Western cabin step by step up to the highest office of
the nation, to rule as the chief magistrate of thirty millions of
people. It was not a nation in peace, but torn asunder, each half in
deadly conflict with the other. Upon him were to rest the control of
vast armies, of a great navy, the decision of questions of unspeakable
importance, and the solution of most perplexing international problems.
Can this self-trained lawyer from the Western prairies bear all this
sudden and tremendous burden, and bear it with courage, credit, and
success? Surely no man of modern times ever faced a greater or more
difficult task.
=307. War begins; the Effect at the North and in the South.=--The next
month (April 12, 1861) after Lincoln's inauguration, Fort Sumter, in
Charleston Harbor, was attacked by a circle of nineteen hostile
batteries. After thirty-six hours of furious bombardment, Major
Anderson, his powder and food being exhausted, his flagstaff shot away,
his fort crumbling and on fire, felt that he could do nothing but
surrender. He and his little force, carrying with them their tattered
flag, were taken on board a Union ship to New York.
The shots fired at Sumter kindled another fire all through the North. A
conflagration of patriotic zeal flamed up all over the loyal states. The
people accepted instantly the awful challenge and sternly resolved to
defend the endangered Union at every hazard.
Both sides had been deceived. Vast numbers through the North had not
believed the slave states would really carry out their threat of
secession. Vast numbers through the South had always believed the North
would never fight, but at the last moment would consent to some sort of
compromise.
Northern men felt that they had in no way wronged the South, that no act
of theirs and no word of President Lincoln had given cause for
precipitating the horrors of a civil war.
Southern men claimed that according to the Declaration of Independence
all governments derive their power from the consent of the governed, and
that the South had a right to withdraw its consent and establish a
government of its own. Although there were some disloyal men all through
the North, political parties vied with each other in the fervor of
general devotion to one country and one flag. The President's call for
seventy-five thousand volunteers was answered by the enthusiastic
enlistment of the whole number.
In the South the excitement was equally great, but different in
character. The masses went wild with passionate delight; but very many
thoughtful people lamented the bombardment of Sumter as hasty, reckless,
and ruinous. Some of the states were at first unwilling to secede, and
finally went out reluctantly; but a belief that they were right swept
them along, and, once out, they were as active as any.
=308. Vigorous Efforts to preserve the Union.=--Neither side was prepared
for a long war, but the South was much better prepared to begin it than
the North. Instantly every effort was put forth by the government to
preserve the Union. Scores of warships blockaded the Southern ports to
prevent cotton from being sent to England, and to cut off English ships
from bringing in supplies, especially military stores.
The governments of Europe, except the Russian, were unfriendly to us.
Four more states soon seceded, making eleven out of the fifteen slave
states. Thousands of troops were gathered for the defense of the
National Capital.
In July a Confederate army of about thirty thousand threatened
Washington. A battle was fought at Manassas, only thirty miles southwest
of the city. At first the Union forces had the advantage and seemed
victorious; but just then heavy reinforcements of fresh troops came to
help the Confederates, drove back the weary forces, and the day ended in
Union disaster.
[Illustration: MAP OF SEAT OF WAR IN VIRGINIA.]
This battle of Manassas, or Bull Run, was a severe and unexpected
defeat. It showed the scope of the tremendous conflict yet to come.
There was not much more heavy fighting during the remainder of that
year; both sides were busily making enormous preparations for the future
struggle.
=309. The Desperate Struggles of 1862.=--In the early part of the next
year (1862) each side had ready in the field about half a million of
men. In the East, General McClellan, with a large army, set out in April
from Washington for Richmond. He advanced within seven miles of that
city, where was fought the battle of Fair Oaks. Neither side was
victorious. The desperate seven days' battles soon followed, with result
still indecisive. This, the so-called Peninsular Campaign, failed of its
purpose.
In September the Confederate General Lee marched north and, invading
Maryland, fought the bloody battle of Antietam. He was slightly worsted,
and forced to retire into Virginia.
In the West, General Grant, the coming man, with the help of Commodore
Foote's fleet of gunboats, captured in February Forts Henry and Donelson
with ten thousand prisoners. Soon followed the desperate battle of
Shiloh, in which Grant, reinforced by General Buell, repulsed the
Confederates.
In April a great navy and army sailed up the Mississippi River,
bombarded the forts below New Orleans, then passed up and captured the
city. This was an important Union triumph.
The year had been one of many hard-fought battles, only a few of which
we are able to mention. The general result was in the East lamentable
failure, but in the West brilliant success, of the Union armies.
At the close of 1862, after a year and a half of fighting, the war had
already lasted longer than either side expected when it began. At first
both had hoped that after a few months the trouble would be settled by
some kind of agreement or compromise. Each side was surprised at the
vast number of soldiers, the immense military equipment, and the
determined spirit shown by the other.
=310. The Emancipation of the Slaves.=--As the war went on, it was plain
that the tens of thousands of slaves, although they did not actually
fight in the Southern armies, were helping the South just as much as if
they carried muskets. They built forts, toiled in gun shops and powder
mills, and raised crops at home. This, of course, released thousands of
whites from home duties and swelled the ranks of the Confederate army.
It was a terrible and costly war. The final result even seemed doubtful.
To save the Union the South must be crippled at every possible point. To
set the slaves free was to weaken the South. Mr. Lincoln held that a
sound principle of military law gave him the authority to abolish
slavery. He proposed to do it primarily as an act of military necessity
by virtue of his office as Commander-in-Chief of the army, just as when
a general in active warfare destroys buildings or burns bridges to aid
his army operations.
It was sound common sense, as well as a profound military policy, to
seize the most favorable opportunity to strike at the real cause of the
trouble. Public opinion was rapidly shaping itself to this end. Lincoln
was one of the most clear-sighted and sagacious of men. He patiently
abided his time for so momentous a step.
=311. The Proclamation of Emancipation.=--Finally, acting on his own
judgment and that of his trusted advisers, Lincoln issued in September,
1862, his warning proclamation to the effect that if the Confederate
States did not cease hostilities before the first of the next January,
all slaves within the Confederate lines should be thenceforth and
forever free.
The negroes very soon heard this wonderful news and many thousands of
them eagerly awaited the coming of the day when "Massa Linkum would set
'em free." They looked upon the good President as the savior of their
race.
On that famous morning, January 1, 1863, the prophecy was fulfilled.
That New Year's Day will be forever memorable as the date of the great
Emancipation Proclamation, an act by which four millions of slaves were
brought from the night of bondage to the sunlight of freedom.
This was the monumental event of the war, perhaps the wisest thing
President Lincoln ever did or ever could do. In after years it will
perhaps be regarded as the greatest event of the century. Few men in all
history have had an opportunity of doing a deed of so vast and
far-reaching importance.
Emancipation was quickly followed by the enlistment of negroes, or
"freedmen" as they were now called, as soldiers in the armies of the
Union. During the year 1863 more than fifty thousand of them, and before
the end of the war nearly two hundred thousand, had enlisted under the
banner of freedom. They were good soldiers, and on many a battlefield
they fought with an unflinching courage.