RALEIGH, WHEN UNCOVERED--THE COMMISSIONERS TO GENERAL SHERMAN--THEY
START--ARE RECALLED BY GENERAL JOHNSTON--ARE STOPPED BY KILPATRICK'S
FORCES--THEIR INTERVIEW WITH KILPATRICK--ARE CALLED TO SHERMAN'S
HEADQUARTERS--HIS REPLY TO GOVERNOR VANCE--THE FURTHER PROCEEDINGS
OF THE COMMISSION--A PLEASANT INCIDENT--THE COMMISSIONERS RETURN TO
RALEIGH--GOVERNOR VANCE HAD LEFT--HIS LETTER TO SHERMAN--THE FEDERAL
TROOPS ENTER RALEIGH--INCIDENTS.
The commissioners to General Sherman from Governor Vance left Raleigh
on Wednesday morning, April twelfth, at ten o'clock, as before stated.
They were expected to return by four o'clock that afternoon, at the
farthest, as General Sherman was understood to be not more than
fourteen miles from the city.
That day Raleigh presented, perhaps, less external appearance of terror
and confusion than might have been supposed. That General Sherman
would arrive there in the course of his march, had been anticipated
ever since his entrance into the State; and General Johnston, on the
tenth, had given Governor Vance notice of his intention to uncover
the city, so that such preparations as could be made to meet their
fate had been completed. An immense amount of State property had been
removed to various points along the Central Railroad. Some forty
thousand blankets, overcoats, clothes, and English cloth equal to at
least one hundred thousand suits complete; leather and shoes equal
to ten thousand pairs; great quantities of cotton cloth and yarns,
and cotton-cards; six thousand scythe-blades; one hundred and fifty
thousand pounds of bacon; forty thousand bushels of corn; a very large
stock of imported medical stores; and many other articles of great
value, together with the public records, Treasury and Literary Board,
and other effects, were mostly deposited at Graham, Greensboro, and
Salisbury. Governor Vance and the State officers under his direction
had worked day and night, with indefatigable zeal, to effect this
transportation, so that before mid-day on the twelfth every thing was
in readiness. Every suggestion of ingenuity, meanwhile, had been put in
practice by the citizens in concealing their private property, though,
indeed, with very little hope that they would escape such accomplished
and practiced marauders as those who composed the approaching "grand
army." Men who had been on the _qui vive_, ever since leaving Atlanta,
to discover and appropriate or wantonly destroy all of household
treasures and valuables that lay in their way, or anywhere within sixty
miles of their way, snappers-up of even such unconsidered trifles as
an old negro's silver watch or a baby's corals--from the hands of such
as these what was to be expected; what nook, or cranny, or foot of
inclosed ground would be safe from their search! Many citizens repaired
to Governor Vance's office for advice and comfort, and none left him
without greater courage to meet what was coming. Though overburdened
with cares and unspeakable anxieties on this memorable day, all found
him easy of access and ready to give prudent counsel to those who asked
for it. He advised the citizens generally to remain quiet in their
own houses, and, as far as possible, protect their families by their
presence. He himself was resolved to await the return of the embassy to
Sherman, and learn upon what conditions he could remain and exercise
the functions of his office, or if at all.
When the train bearing the commissioners reached General Hampton's
lines, they requested an interview with him. The safe-conduct from
General Hardee, and the letter from Governor Vance to General Sherman
were shown him. He remarked that General Hardee was his superior,
and that of course he yielded to authority, but expressed his own
doubts of the propriety or expediency of the mission. He prepared a
dispatch, however, immediately, and transmitted it by a courier to
General Sherman, together with a note from Governors Graham and Swain,
requesting to be advised of the time and place at which a conference
might take place.
General Hardee then retired with his staff, and the train moved slowly
on. When at the distance, perhaps, of two miles, one of his couriers
dashed up, halted the train, and informed the commissioners that he
was directed by General Hampton to say that he had just received an
order from General Johnston to withdraw their safe conduct, and direct
them to return to Raleigh. They directed the courier to return and
say to the General that such an order ought to be given personally or
in writing, and that the train would be stationary till he could be
heard from. This message was replied to by the prompt appearance of the
General himself. The extreme courtesy of his manner, and his air and
bearing confirmed the impression made in the previous interview, that
he was a frank, and gallant, and chivalrous soldier. He read the copy
of a dispatch that he had sent by a courier to General Sherman, which
in substance was as follows:
"GENERAL: Since my dispatch of half an hour ago, circumstances have
occurred which induce me to give you no further trouble in relation
to the mission of ex-Governors Graham and Swain. These gentlemen will
return with the flag of truce to Raleigh."
This dispatch he had sent immediately on receiving General Johnston's
order to direct their return. The commissioners were of course
surprised and disappointed. The mission was not entered upon without
the deliberate assent and advice of General Johnston, after a full
consultation with Governor Vance, and also with General Hardee's entire
concurrence, and a safe-conduct from him in General Johnston's absence.
The engine, however, was reversed, General Hampton retired, and the
train had proceeded slowly about a mile or so in the direction of
Raleigh, when it was again halted, and this time by a detachment of a
hundred Spencer rifles, a portion of Kilpatrick's cavalry, under the
command of General Atkins. The commissioners were informed that they
must proceed to the headquarters of General Kilpatrick, distant a mile
or more. While waiting for a conveyance they were courteously treated,
and a band of music ordered up for their entertainment. After a brief
interval General Kilpatrick's carriage arrived for them, and they
proceeded in it under escort to the residence of Mr. Fort, where the
General then was. He received them politely, examined the safe-conduct
of General Hardee, and the dispatches for General Sherman, and then
remarked that the circumstances in which they were placed, according
to the laws of war, gave him the right, which, however, he had not the
smallest intention of exercising, to consider them as prisoners of war.
"It is true, gentlemen," said he, "that you came under the protection
of a flag of truce, and are the bearers of important dispatches from
your Governor to my Commanding General, but that gave you no right to
cross my skirmish-line while a fight was going on."
Governor Graham remarked that the circumstances under which they came
explained themselves, and were their own justification. That in a
special train, with open windows, proceeding with the deliberation
proper to a flag of truce, with only five persons in a single car, they
had little temptation to proceed if they had known, in time to stop,
that they were to be exposed to a cross-fire from the skirmish-lines of
the two armies.
General Kilpatrick replied that all that was very true, but that it was
proper, nevertheless, that he should require them to proceed to General
Sherman's headquarters. He then remarked that the war was virtually
at an end, and that every man who voluntarily shed blood from that
time forth, would be a murderer; and read a general order from General
Sherman, congratulating the army on the surrender of General Lee,
intelligence of which had just reached him by telegraph. This was the
first intimation our commissioners had received of this final blow to
the Southern cause. It was indeed not unexpected, but no anticipation
of such tidings can equal the moment of realization; and to receive
it under such circumstances, where extreme caution and self-command
were an imperative duty, and where no expression could be allowed to
the natural feelings of anguish and dismay with which it filled their
breasts, gave an additional pang.
General Kilpatrick further stated, among other things, that the course
pursued by General Lee was illustrative of the importance of regular
military training; that an able and skillful commander knew when to
fight, and when it was a more imperative duty to surrender; that a
brave but rash and inexperienced officer would have sacrificed his
army, and involved the whole country in ruin for the want of the proper
skill to direct, and the _prestige_ to sustain him in the discharge of
a duty requiring more than courage.
After an hour or two's delay, the commissioners were escorted back to
the train which was in waiting where they had left it, and thence
proceeded to General Sherman's headquarters, passing for several miles
through open columns of large bodies of troops, amidst the deafening
cheers with which they welcomed the surrender of the great Confederate
commander, and the arrival of a commission which, as they supposed, was
authorized to treat for the surrender of General Johnston's army.
General Sherman, attended by his aids, met the commission at the
station-house at Clayton, and conducted them to his tent. Governor
Graham presented the letter from Governor Vance, and entered into
a discussion of the various points it embraced, and found General
Sherman apparently desirous to accede to its propositions as far as
was possible for him, and ready to make an amicable and generous
arrangement with the State government.
I have endeavored to procure copies of all the official letters written
by Governor Vance at this important crisis in our affairs, but, with
one exception, have failed. Copies of these letters, together with his
letter-book then in use, with other important documents, were packed in
a box which was captured at Greensboro, and taken to Washington City,
as I have elsewhere mentioned. These records will doubtless be restored
to the State at no distant day; and our people will yet have proof
that their Governor did all that man could do--I may say all that a
man thwarted by undue interference could do--to save the State and her
capital from outrage, and humiliation, and anarchy.
I subjoin General Sherman's reply to the letter delivered by the
commission:
HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION }
OF THE MISSISSIPPI, IN THE FIELD, }
GULLY'S STATION, N.C., April 12, 1865. }
_To his Excellency Z.B. Vance, Governor of the State of
North-Carolina_:
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication
of this date, and inclose you a safeguard for yourself and any
members of the State government that choose to remain in Raleigh. I
would gladly have enabled you to meet me here, but some interruption
occurred to the train by the orders of General Johnston, after it had
passed within the lines of my cavalry advance; but as it came out of
Raleigh in good faith, it shall return in good faith, and will in no
measure be claimed by us.
I doubt if hostilities can be suspended as between the army of the
Confederate government and the one I command; but I will aid you all
in my power to contribute to the end you aim to reach--the termination
of the existing war.
I am, truly, your obedient servant,
W.T. Sherman,
Major-General.
In however unfavorable a light strict regard for the truth of history
places General Sherman as a disciplinarian and leader of the great army
that swept the Southern States with a besom of destruction; however
dark the pictures of lawless pillage and brutal outrage, unrestrained
and uncensured by the Commanding General--if indeed they were not
especially directed and approved by him and his officers; however
unenviable General Sherman's fame in _these_ respects, equal regard for
truth demands that in representing him at the council-board he shall
appear in a much more commendable aspect, exhibiting there feelings
of humanity and a capacity for enlarged and generous statesmanship
entirely worthy of a really great general. If General Sherman's views
and plans for closing the war had been adopted by his government, there
can be no doubt that peace would have been _accomplished_ in less than
two months from the surrender of our armies; peace that would have been
speedily followed by good-will in every Southern State, in spite of the
waste and burning track of his army.
The hope which the commissioners had entertained of being able to
return to Raleigh on the evening of the same day, was now found to
be impracticable, owing to the various delays and impediments they
had met with. General Sherman promised that their detention should
be as brief as possible; but it soon became obvious that he intended
they should spend the night at his headquarters. He had been promptly
advised of General Hampton's having required their return to Raleigh,
and had taken the necessary measures to prevent it, and was now equally
determined that nothing should thwart the beneficial results of their
conference, or any advantage that might accrue therefrom. The gentlemen
were in his power, and submitted to his requisitions quietly, not
cheerfully. It was intimated to them that the engine which brought
them down required some repairs, and so soon as this could be effected,
the train should again be at their service. The reply to Governor
Vance's letter was placed in their hands, and a safe-conduct and
permission to proceed in the train to Hillsboro, after the necessary
interview with Governor Vance. General Sherman hoped they might be
able to get off by midnight; but if that should be found impossible,
they might retire to rest, take a cup of coffee with him at daylight,
and breakfast in Raleigh. A couple of hours were spent in general
conversation on public affairs, and less exciting topics.
At the close of the official conference between Governor Graham and
General Sherman, Governor Swain remarked to the latter that, at the
beginning of their troubles they were engaged in kindred pursuits.
"Yes, sir," said the General. "I am aware that you are the President
of the University of North-Carolina; and I was the Superintendent
of the State Military Academy of Louisiana." "Two or three of your
boys," said the Governor, "were with me for a time." "Yes," replied
the General, "and many more of yours have been with me during the war,
who came, poor fellows, before they were men, and when they ought
to have remained with you; and they too frequently helped to fill
my hospitals. I think, however, when they return, they will do me
the justice to tell you that I treated them kindly." Governor Swain
inquired for General Blair, remarking that he was his pupil in 1837.
General Sherman replied that he was only two hours in the rear, and
that he had just been reading terrible accounts in a Raleigh paper
of his proceedings in Fayetteville, adding, "I will turn Frank over
to you to answer for it in the morning." In connection with this,
reference was made to the burning of Columbia. The General remarked
with great emphasis: "I have been grossly misrepresented in regard to
Columbia. I changed my headquarters eight times during that night, and
with every general officer under my command, strained every nerve to
stop the fire. I declare in the presence of my God that Hampton burned
Columbia, and that he alone is responsible for it. He collected immense
piles of cotton in the streets and set them on fire; the wind rose
during the night, and dispersed the flakes of burning cotton among the
shingle-roofs, and created a conflagration beyond human control."
At the close of the conversation General Sherman intimated that the
gentlemen had better retire to rest; that he would have them called at
any hour that the train might be in readiness; and that, at all events,
they should be ready to proceed by sunrise. Governor Graham was invited
to occupy the General's tent, and they shared the same apartment. Every
courtesy was extended to the other members of the commission.
And now occurred one of those little coïncidences which brighten life
under its best aspects, and which are capable of giving pleasure even
in such dispiriting circumstances as these; which, from constitutional
predilections, no man appreciates more highly than Governor Swain,
and which, perhaps, for that very reason, happen more frequently to
him than to most men. One of General Sherman's aids approached the
Governor, inviting him to go with him--that he had vacated his tent for
his benefit. The Governor replied that he must object to turning him
out, but would occupy it with him with pleasure. The officer replied
that he could find a lodging elsewhere, and wished to make the Governor
comfortable. He then apologized for desiring to introduce himself, by
remarking that no name was more familiar than Governor Swain's in his
mother's household. The Governor inquired his name, and found him to
be the son of a school-companion, the beloved friend of earlier years,
a lady of rare merits and accomplishments, who had long since entered
upon her rest. She, with the mother of Governor Vance, had been in
early girlhood the Governor's schoolmates, and competitors with him
for school distinctions in the most anxious and generous strife he has
ever known. Governor Graham and Governor Swain both voted, in 1860,
for the uncle of this gallant young officer, for President of the
United States, as the advocate of "the Union, the Constitution, and the
enforcement of the laws," in the vain hope that the evils which then
threatened and have since overwhelmed the country might be averted. To
such offered kindness from such a quarter, under such circumstances,
one might well respond,
"I take thy courtesy, by Heaven,
As freely as 'tis nobly given."
At sunrise the next morning the commissioners proceeded on their
return in the train, somewhat in advance of the army, with the
understanding that they were to go to Raleigh, notify Governor Vance
of the conditions agreed upon, and return to advise General Sherman of
their acceptance before he should reach the boundaries of the city.
When within a mile of the capital they saw the flames rising to a great
height above the station-house, which had been first plundered and
then set on fire by stragglers from the retreating forces of General
Wheeler. The fire put a sudden stop to the progress of the train. The
commissioners alighted, and passed around the blazing building in the
hope of finding another train on the other side in which they might
proceed to Hillsboro, on the conclusion of their business in Raleigh,
but were disappointed. They went to the house of a friend at the
head of Hillsboro street, but found it shut up, and the proprietor a
refugee. They walked the entire length of the street, and did not see
a human being till they reached the State House. Every door was shut,
every window-blind was closed. The same absence of all signs of life,
the same death-like silence and air of desertion, the same precautions
against intrusion characterized Fayetteville street from the Capitol to
the Palace. The very air seemed shriveled. In the brief interval that
elapsed from the retreat of her protectors to the arrival of her foes,
the beautiful city of Raleigh stood under the outstretched arms of her
noble oaks, embowered in the luxuriant shrubbery of a thousand gardens,
just touched with vernal bloom and radiance--stood with folded hands
and drooping head, in all the mortal anguish of suspense, in a silence
that spoke, awaiting her fate.
Governor Vance, it was soon ascertained, had left the city, together
with all the State officers, having heard the night before that the
commission had been captured, and detained as prisoners of war.
Despairing then of obtaining any terms from General Sherman, and
unwilling to surrender himself unconditionally into his hands, in
entire uncertainty of what treatment he might expect, Governor Vance
had decided to leave for Hillsboro, after making every possible
arrangement for the surrender of the city by the Mayor and Council. He
wrote the following letter to General Sherman, to be delivered by the
city authorities:
STATE OF NORTH-CAROLINA, }
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, }
RALEIGH, April 12, 1865. }
_General W.T. Sherman, Commanding United States Forces_:
GENERAL: His Honor, Mayor William B. Harrison, is authorized to
surrender to you the city of Raleigh. I have the honor to request the
extension of your favor to its defenseless inhabitants generally; and
especially to ask your protection for the charitable institutions of
the State located here, filled as they are with unfortunate inmates,
most of whose natural protectors would be unable to take care of them,
in the event of the destruction of the buildings.
The capitol of the State, with its libraries, museum, and most of the
public records, is also left in your power. I can but entertain the
hope that they may escape mutilation or destruction, inasmuch as such
evidences of learning and taste can advantage neither party in the
prosecution of the war, whether destroyed or preserved.
I am, General, very respectfully,
Z.B. Vance.
The Governor lingered in Raleigh till midnight, hoping to receive some
news of the commission, and then, _without a single member of his
staff_, accompanied by Captain Bryan and Captain J.J. Guthrie, who
volunteered to escort him, he rode out to General Hoke's encampment,
not far from Page's, (Carey's,) some eight miles from the city.
Generals Hardee, Hampton, Hoke, and Wheeler, with their commands, had
passed through Raleigh in the evening.
Leaving Governor Vance's course for future consideration, I return to
the group of gentlemen standing in front of the State House shortly
after sunrise on the morning of Thursday, thirteenth. The only person
they met at the capitol was the servant who waited in the executive
office, and who had been intrusted by Governor Vance with the keys.
True to the trust reposed in him, he was present at the proper time
to deliver the keys as he had been directed--an instance of fidelity
and punctuality under trying circumstances that would, doubtless, have
been rewarded with his freedom, even had there been no liberating army
at hand. The commission received the key from him, and after a hasty
consultation, it was agreed that one should open the State House and
remain till the arrival of the Federal army, taking such measures as he
might deem most expedient; and that the other should make his way, with
the best means he could command, to Hillsboro, taking the University
in his way, and endeavoring to provide for the safety of friends and
neighbors in that quarter.
When walking from the railroad station to the city, the commissioners
had passed through the lines of General Wheeler's cavalry, pressing in
the direction of Chapel Hill. Half an hour after reaching the State
House, a dozen men, the _débris_ of our army, were observed at the
head of Fayetteville street, breaking open and plundering the stores.
Governor Swain, who had remained at the State House, approached them,
and stated that he was immediately from General Sherman's headquarters,
and had assurance from him that if no resistance was offered to his
advance-guard, the town should be protected from plunder and violence,
and urged the soldiers to leave at once and join their retreating
comrades. They replied, "D----n Sherman and the town too; they cared
for neither." Robert G. Lewis, Esq., the first citizen of Raleigh
who had yet been seen, came up just then, and joined his entreaties
with earnestness. More and more vehement remonstrances were used
without effect, till the head of Kilpatrick's column appeared in sight
advancing up the street, when they all, with a single exception,
sprang to their horses and started off in full gallop. Their leader, a
lieutenant whose name and previous history are yet unknown, mounted
his horse, and took his station midway between the old New-Berne bank
and the book-store, drew his revolver, and waited till Kilpatrick's
advance was within a hundred yards, when he discharged it six times in
rapid succession in the direction of the officer at the head of the
troops. He then wheeled, put spurs to his horse, and galloped up Morgan
street, followed by a dozen fleet horsemen in hot pursuit. Turning a
corner his horse fell. He remounted, and dashed round the corner at
Pleasant's store on Hillsboro street. A few yards further on, near
the bridge over the railroad, he was overtaken, and was brought back
to the Capitol Square, where General Kilpatrick ordered his immediate
execution. It is said that he asked for five minutes' time to write to
his wife, which was refused. He was hung in the grove just back of Mr.
Lovejoy's, and was buried there. He died bravely--a vile marauder, who
justly expiated his crimes, or a bold patriot, whose gallantry deserved
a more generous sentence, as friend or foe shall tell his story. No
Southerner will cast a reproach on that solitary grave, or will stand
beside it with other than feelings of deep commiseration. His crime was
more the rash act of a passionate and reckless boy, an aimless bravado
from one wild and despairing man to a hundred and twenty thousand. What
our soldiers did or did not do in those last dark days of confusion and
utter demoralization, we record with sad and tender allowance. Wrong
was done in many instances, and excesses committed; but we feel that
the remembrance of their high and noble qualities will in the end
survive all temporary blots and blurs. And for those who perished in
the wrong-doing engendered by desperation and failure and want, their
cause has perished with them. _So perish the memory of their faults!_
Governor Graham, accompanied by Colonel Burr, set out for Hillsboro on
foot, the road to Chapel Hill being blocked up by Wheeler's retreating
squadrons, and resolved to trust to the chances of obtaining horses by
the way. Finding themselves, however, involved in a skirmish between
Hampton's rear-guard and Kilpatrick's advance, and in somewhat perilous
circumstances, they made the best of their way back to Raleigh, where
they arrived in the course of the morning.
Governor Swain, meanwhile, had received at the State House the Federal
officer charged with the erection of the national flag over the dome
of the building. He met him with the remark, "I am just from your
Commanding General, and have his promise that this edifice shall not
be injured." The officer replied, "I know you, sir, and have orders to
attend to your wishes." They took quiet possession, and the Stars and
Stripes were soon waving from the summit. Governor Swain remained at
the capitol, in company with Mayor Harrison, who, assisted by Mayor
Devereux, Major Hogg, and Surgeon-General Warren, and other gentlemen,
advised with the Provost-Marshal in relation to the stationing of
guards for the protection of the citizens, and other matters, until
two o'clock, when, with Governor Graham, he went to General Sherman's
quarters in the Government house, and delivered the keys to him.
General Sherman regretted Governor Vance's departure from the city, and
desired his return as speedily as possible. He therefore wrote him a
letter inviting his return, and inclosing a safe-conduct through his
lines for him and any members of the State or city government.
HEADQUARTERS RALEIGH, N.C., }
ARMY IN THE FIELD, April 13, 1865. }
_To all Officers and Soldiers of the Union Army_:
Grant safe-conduct to the bearer of this to any point twelve miles
from Raleigh and back, to include the Governor of North-Carolina and
any members of the State or city government, on his way back to the
capital of the State.
W.T. Sherman.
Major-General Commanding.
This letter the commission undertook to transmit to Governor Vance
without loss of time; but no horses were to be had among their friends
in the city, nor could any messenger be got willing to undertake
the errand. As soon as General Sherman heard this, he directed his
adjutant-general to furnish the gentlemen with the means of locomotion,
which was promptly done. The next morning (Friday) they left Raleigh
for Hillsboro, where it was supposed Governor Vance was; passed rapidly
through Kilpatrick's columns, and then through Hampton's; had a short
interview with the latter at Strayhorns, where he was to spend the
night; reached Hillsboro in the evening, and, entering Governor
Graham's parlor, found Governor Vance there, with Colonel Ferebee,
quietly awaiting intelligence. Till informed by the commissioners,
neither he nor General Hampton had heard of the surrender of General
Lee, and even then could hardly be induced to believe it.
General Sherman's letter inviting his return to Raleigh was put in
his hands, and he was urged to return thither immediately with the
commissioners; but he had also just received a dispatch from President
Davis, urging him most earnestly to meet him in Greensboro by the
returning train. General Johnston had also gone on to Greensboro, and
before returning to Raleigh, Governor Vance desired to see both him
and the President--the former to get his permission to pass his lines,
and the latter, to learn his future plans and acquaint him with his
intention to surrender. This much was due, at least in courtesy, to the
falling chieftain, though he was President only in name of a nation
that had no longer any existence. Governor Vance was never the man to
turn his back upon the setting sun to pursue his own advantage. So he
decided to obey President Davis's last requisition before accepting
General Sherman's invitation, and left Hillsboro for Greensboro on
Saturday morning.
Governor Graham remained at home with his family, and Governor Swain
proceeded to Chapel Hill, where he arrived on Saturday morning, and
found it occupied by General Wheeler's cavalry, General Hoke's command
having passed through, pressing on to Greensboro.