Departure for Washington--A “servant”--The American Press on
the War--Military aspect of the States--Philadelphia--Baltimore
--Washington--Lord Lyons--Mr. Sumner--Irritation against Great
Britain--“Independence” day--Meeting of Congress--General
state of affairs.
_July 3rd._--Up early, breakfasted at five a.m., and left my
hospitable host’s roof, on my way to Washington. The ferry-boat,
which is a long way off, starts for the train at seven o’clock; and
so bad are the roads, I nearly missed it. On hurrying to secure my
place in the train, I said to one of the railway officers, “If you
see a coloured man in a cloth cap and dark coat with metal buttons,
will you be good enough, sir, to tell him I’m in this carriage.” “Why
so, sir?” “He is my servant.” “Servant,” he repeated; “your servant!
I presume you’re a Britisher; and if he’s your servant, I think you
may as well let him find you.” And so he walked away, delighted with
his cleverness, his civility, and his rebuke of an aristocrat.
Nearly four months since I went by this road to Washington. The
change which has since occurred is beyond belief. Men were then
speaking of place under Government, of compromises between North and
South, and of peace; now they only talk of war and battle. Ever since
I came out of the South, and could see the newspapers, I have been
struck by the easiness of the American people, by their excessive
credulity. Whether they wish it or not, they are certainly deceived.
Not a day has passed without the announcement that the Federal troops
were moving, and that “a great battle was expected” by somebody
unknown, at some place or other.
I could not help observing the arrogant tone with which writers of
stupendous ignorance on military matters write of the operations
which they think the Generals should undertake. They demand that an
army, which has neither adequate transport, artillery, nor cavalry,
shall be pushed forward to Richmond to crush out Secession, and
at the same time their columns teem with accounts from the army,
which prove that it is not only ill-disciplined, but that it is
ill-provided. A general outcry has been raised against the war
department and the contractors, and it is openly stated that Mr.
Cameron, the Secretary, has not clean hands. One journal denounces
“the swindling and plunder” which prevail under his eyes. A minister
who is disposed to be corrupt can be so with facility under the
system of the United States, because he has absolute control over
the contracts, which are rising to an enormous magnitude, as the war
preparations assume more formidable dimensions. The greater part of
the military stores of the State are in the South--arms, ordnance,
clothing, ammunition, ships, machinery, and all kinds of _matériel_
must be prepared in a hurry.
The condition in which the States present themselves, particularly
at sea, is a curious commentary on the offensive and warlike tone
of their Statesmen in their dealings with the first maritime power
of the world. They cannot blockade a single port effectually. The
Confederate steamer Sumter has escaped to sea from New Orleans, and
ships run in and out of Charleston almost as they please. Coming
so recently from the South, I can see the great difference which
exists between the two races, as they may be called, exemplified in
the men I have seen, and those who are in the train going towards
Washington. These volunteers have none of the swash-buckler bravado,
gallant-swaggering air of the Southern men. They are staid, quiet
men, and the Pennsylvanians, who are on their way to join their
regiment in Baltimore, are very inferior in size and strength to the
Tennesseans and Carolinians.
The train is full of men in uniform. When I last went over the line,
I do not believe there was a sign of soldiering, beyond perhaps
the “conductor,” who is always described in the papers as being
“gentlemantly,” wore his badge. And, _à propos_ of badges, I see that
civilians have taken to wearing shields of metal on their coats,
enamelled with the stars and stripes, and that men who are not in the
army try to make it seem they are soldiers by affecting military caps
and cloaks.
The country between Washington and Philadelphia is destitute of
natural beauties, but it affords abundant evidence that it is
inhabited by a prosperous, comfortable, middle-class community.
From every village church, and from many houses, the Union flag
was displayed. Four months ago not one was to be seen. When we
were crossing in the steam ferry-boat at Philadelphia I saw some
volunteers looking up and smiling at a hatchet which was over the
cabin door, and it was not till I saw it had the words “States
Rights’ Fire Axe” painted along the handle I could account for
the attraction. It would fare ill with any vessel in Southern
waters which displayed an axe to the citizens inscribed with “Down
with States Rights” on it. There is certainly less vehemence and
bitterness among the Northerners; but it might be erroneous to
suppose there was less determination.
Below Philadelphia, from Havre-de-Grâce all the way to Baltimore,
and thence on to Washington, the stations on the rail were guarded
by soldiers, as though an enemy were expected to destroy the bridges
and to tear up the rails. Wooden bridges and causeways, carried over
piles and embankments, are necessary, in consequence of the nature
of the country; and at each of these a small camp was formed for the
soldiers who have to guard the approaches. Sentinels are posted,
pickets thrown out, and in the open field by the way-side troops
are to be seen moving, as though a battle was close at hand. In one
word, we are in the State of Maryland. By these means alone are
communications maintained between the North and the capital. As we
approach Baltimore the number of sentinels and camps increase, and
earthworks have been thrown up on the high grounds commanding the
city. The display of Federal flags from the public buildings and some
shipping in the river was so limited as to contrast strongly with
those symbols of Union sentiments in the Northern cities.
Since I last passed through this city the streets have been a scene
of bloodshed. The conductor of the car on which we travelled from
one terminus to the other, along the street railway, pointed out the
marks of the bullets on the walls and in the window frames. “That’s
the way to deal with the Plug Uglies,” exclaimed he; a name given
popularly to the lower classes called Rowdies in New York. “Yes,”
said a fellow-passenger quietly to me, “these are the sentiments
which are now uttered in the country which we call the land of
freedom, and men like that desire nothing better than brute force.
There is no city in Europe--Venice, Warsaw, or Rome--subject to such
tyranny as Baltimore at this moment. In this Pratt Street there have
been murders as foul as ever soldiery committed in the streets of
Paris.” Here was evidently the judicial blindness of a States Rights
fanatic, who considers the despatch of Federal soldiers through
the State of Maryland without the permission of the authorities an
outrage so flagrant as to justify the people in shooting them down,
whilst the soldiers become murderers if they resist. At the corners
of the streets strong guards of soldiers were posted, and patrols
moved up and down the thoroughfares. The inhabitants looked sullen
and sad. A small war is waged by the police recently appointed by the
Federal authorities against the women, who exhibit much ingenuity in
expressing their animosity to the stars and stripes--dressing the
children, and even dolls, in the Confederate colours, and wearing the
same in ribbons and bows. The negro population alone seemed just the
same as before.
The Secession newspapers of Baltimore have been suppressed, but
the editors contrive nevertheless to show their sympathies in the
selection of their extracts. In to-day’s paper there is an account
of a skirmish in the West, given by one of the Confederates who took
part in it, in which it is stated that the officer commanding the
party “scalped” twenty-three Federals. For the first time since I
left the South I see those advertisements headed by the figure of
a negro running with a bundle, and containing descriptions of the
fugitive, and the reward offered for imprisoning him or her, so that
the owner may receive his property. Among the insignia enumerated are
scars on the back and over the loins. The whip is not only used by
the masters and drivers, but by the police; and in every report of
petty police cases sentences of so many lashes, and severe floggings
of women of colour are recorded.
It is about forty miles from Baltimore to Washington, and at every
quarter of a mile for the whole distance a picket of soldiers guarded
the rails. Camps appeared on both sides, larger and more closely
packed together; and the rays of the setting sun fell on countless
lines of tents as we approached the unfinished dome of the Capitol.
On the Virginian side of the river, columns of smoke rising from the
forest marked the site of Federal encampments across the stream. The
fields around Washington resounded with the words of command and
tramp of men, and flashed with wheeling arms. Parks of artillery
studded the waste ground, and long trains of white-covered waggons
filled up the open spaces in the suburbs of Washington.
To me all this was a wonderful sight. As I drove up Pennsylvania
Avenue I could scarce credit that the busy thoroughfare--all red,
white, and blue with flags, filled with dust from galloping chargers
and commissariat carts; the side-walks thronged with people, of whom
a large proportion carried sword or bayonet; shops full of life
and activity--was the same as that through which I had driven the
first morning of my arrival. Washington now, indeed, is the capital
of the United States; but it is no longer the scene of beneficent
legislation and of peaceful government. It is the representative of
armed force engaged in war--menaced whilst in the very act of raising
its arm by the enemy it seeks to strike.
To avoid the tumult of Willard’s, I requested a friend to hire
apartments, and drove to a house in Pennsylvania Avenue, close to the
War Department, where he had succeeded in engaging a sitting-room
about twelve feet square, and a bed-room to correspond, in a very
small mansion, next door to a spirit merchant’s. At the Legation I
saw Lord Lyons, and gave him a brief account of what I had seen in
the South. I was sorry to observe he looked rather careworn and pale.
The relations of the United States’ Government with Great Britain
have probably been considerably affected by Mr. Seward’s failure in
his prophecies. As the Southern Confederacy develops its power, the
Foreign Secretary assumes higher ground, and becomes more exacting,
and defiant. In these hot summer days, Lord Lyons and the members of
the Legation dine early, and enjoy the cool of the evening in the
garden; so after a while I took my leave, and proceeded to Gautier’s.
On my way I met Mr. Sumner, who asked me for Southern news very
anxiously, and in the course of conversation with him I was confirmed
in my impressions that the feeling between the two countries was
not as friendly as could be desired. Lord Lyons had better means
of knowing what is going on in the South, by communications from
the British Consuls; but even he seemed unaware of facts which
had occurred whilst I was there, and Mr. Sumner appeared to be as
ignorant of the whole condition of things below Mason and Dixon’s
line as he was of the politics of Timbuctoo.
The importance of maintaining a friendly feeling with England
appeared to me very strongly impressed on the Senator’s mind. Mr.
Seward has been fretful, irritable, and acrimonious; and it is
not too much to suppose Mr. Sumner has been useful in allaying
irritation. A certain despatch was written last June, which amounted
to little less than a declaration of war against Great Britain.
Most fortunately the President was induced to exercise his power.
The despatch was modified, though not without opposition and was
forwarded to the English Minister with its teeth drawn. Lord Lyons,
who is one of the suavest and quietest of diplomatists, has found it
difficult, I fear, to maintain personal relations with Mr. Seward at
times. Two despatches have been prepared for Lord John Russell, which
could have had no result but to lead to a breach of the peace, had
not some friendly interpositor succeeded in averting the wrath of the
Foreign Minister.
Mr. Sumner is more sanguine of immediate success than I am, from
the military operations which are to commence when General Scott
considers the army fit to take the field. At Gautier’s I met a number
of officers, who expressed a great diversity of views in reference
to those operations. General M‘Dowell is popular with them, but they
admit the great deficiencies of the subaltern and company officers.
General Scott is too infirm to take the field, and the burdens of
administration press the veteran to the earth.
_July 4th._--“Independence Day.” Fortunate to escape this great
national festival in the large cities of the Union where it is
celebrated with many days before and after of surplus rejoicing,
by fireworks and an incessant fusillade in the streets, I was,
nevertheless, subjected to the small ebullition of the Washington
juveniles, to bell-ringing and discharges of cannon and musketry.
On this day Congress meets. Never before has any legislative body
assembled under circumstances so grave. By their action they will
decide whether the Union can ever be restored, and will determine
whether the States of the North are to commence an invasion for
the purpose of subjecting by force of arms, and depriving of their
freedom, the States of the South.
Congress met to-day merely for the purpose of forming itself into
a regular body, and there was no debate or business of public
importance introduced. Mr. Wilson gave me to understand, however,
that some military movements of the utmost importance might be
expected in a few days, and that General M‘Dowell would positively
attack the rebels in front of Washington. The Confederates occupy
the whole of Northern Virginia, commencing from the peninsula
above Fortress Monroe on the right or east, and extending along
the Potomac, to the extreme verge of the State, by the Baltimore
and Ohio Railway. This immense line, however, is broken by great
intervals, and the army with which M‘Dowell will have to deal may be
considered as detached, covering the approaches to Richmond, whilst
its left flank is protected by a corps of observation, stationed near
Winchester, under General Jackson. A Federal corps is being prepared
to watch the corps and engage it, whilst M‘Dowell advances on the
main body. To the right of this again, or further west, another body
of Federals, under General M‘Clellan, is operating in the valleys
of the Shenandoah and in Western Virginia; but I did not hear any
of these things from Mr. Wilson, who was, I am sure, in perfect
ignorance of the plans, in a military sense, of the general. I sat
at Mr. Sumner’s desk, and wrote the final paragraphs of a letter
describing my impressions of the South in a place but little disposed
to give a favourable colour to them.