MY DEAR SIR,--I am directed by the President of the United States to
communicate to you, and through you to the officers and men of your
command at Forts Moultrie and Sumter, the approbation of the government
of your and their judicious and gallant conduct there, and to tender you
and them the thanks of the government for the same.
SIMON CAMERON,
_Secretary of War_.
The conspiracy had now ceased to be such. Revolution and war had begun,
and by the firing upon Fort Sumter the political atmosphere was cleared
up as if by magic. If there were now any _doubters_ on either side
they had betaken themselves out of sight; for them, and for all the
world, the roar of Beauregard's guns had changed incredulity into fact.
Behind those guns stood seven seceded States, with the machinery of a
perfectly organized local government and with a zeal worthy of a nobler
cause.
The news of the assault reached the Capitol on Saturday, April 13th, On
Sunday, the 14th, the President and his cabinet held their first council
of war. On the following morning the first "call for troops" was
proclaimed to the whole country, in a grand "appeal to all loyal
citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the
honor, the integrity, and existence of our National Union, and the
perpetuity of popular government."
The North was now aroused. Within forty-eight hours from the publication
of the proclamation armed companies of volunteers were moving towards
the expected scene of conflict. For the first time in the history of
this nation parties vanished from politics, and "universal opinion
recognized but two rallying points,--the camps of the South which
gathered to assail the Union, and the armies of the North that rose to
defend it."
The watchword of the impending conflict was sounded by Stephen A.
Douglas, one of the most powerful and energetic of public leaders, a
recent candidate for the presidency, and the life-long political
antagonist of Abraham Lincoln. On Sunday, the 14th of April, while the
ink was scarcely yet dry upon the written parchment of the proclamation,
Mr. Douglas called at the White House, and, in a long interview, assured
his old antagonist of his readiness to join him in unrelenting warfare
against Rebellion. Shortly afterwards he departed for his home in
Illinois, where, until his death, which occurred a few weeks later, he
declared, with masterly eloquence, that,--
"Every man must be for the United States or against it; there can
be no neutrals in this war--only patriots and traitors."
"Hurrah! the drums are beating; the fife is calling shrill;
Ten thousand starry banners flame on town, and bay, and hill;
The thunders of the rising wave drown Labor's peaceful hum;
Thank God that we have lived to see the saffron morning come!
The morning of the battle-call, to every soldier dear,--
O joy! the cry is "Forward!" O joy! the foe is near!
For all the crafty men of peace have failed to purge the land;
Hurrah! the ranks of battle close; God takes his cause in hand!"
[Footnote 1: "If, through the madness of Northern abolitionists, that
dire calamity (disruption of the Union) must come, the fighting will not
be along Mason and Dixon's line merely. It will be _within our own
borders, in our own streets_, between the two classes of citizens to
whom I have referred. Those who defy law, and scout constitutional
obligation, will, if we ever reach the arbitrament of arms, find
occupation enough at home."--_Letter to Jefferson Davis, dated
January_ 6, 1860.]
[Footnote 2: The word "must" is italicized in the original letter.
See _Official Records of the Rebellion_, Vol. I., p. 76.]
[Footnote 3: See _Official Records of the Rebellion_, I., p. 77.]
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