Makers and Romance of Alabama History Part 19

But his record does not end here. He was fifty-five years old when the war between the states began, and because of a crippled hand, he could not enter the ranks of the regular service, yet he offered his service to the Confederate government, to render what aid he might in a struggling cause.

He was commissioned a major, and a.s.signed to duty in the town of his residence. His capacious and splendid home in Jacksonville became a noted resort of rest and of recuperation to the sick and wounded of the southern armies, every man of which cla.s.ses, no matter what his condition, whether cultured or ignorant, met a greeting of cordiality at the thresh-hold of the Abernethy mansion. If he wore a gray uniform, he bore the credentials of worth to the inmates of that hospitable home. Here he was tenderly cared for till able to resume his place in the ranks, and with a blessing from the princely proprietor, he would take his leave. Beyond this still his beneficence extended. The families of the absent veterans were sought out, far and near, and cared for by this prince of benefactors. All this was done with an affableness and a tenderness so unostentatious, that frequently only the recipients of his bounties and the inmates of his home were aware of it.

Thus lived and wrought this n.o.ble citizen of Alabama, and this is the imperfect tribute to his worthy life and n.o.ble deeds.

GEORGE S. HOUSTON

No series of sketches of Alabama's great men would be complete with the omission of the name of Gov. George Smith Houston. His services were distinguished, and were rendered at a time when they could not have been more prized. This applies with special force to his services as governor.

Endowed with peculiar powers which fitted him for a crisis, these powers were brought into active requisition during his inc.u.mbency of the gubernatorial chair of the state.

Alabama was confronted by a dire crisis, and a man of many-sidedness and unique force was needed to meet it. The state had been gutted of its means and facilities of operation; the treasury was empty; the people demoralized, and the credit of the state sadly impaired. To fail under conditions like these, would have been fatal, and yet the lowest point of depression had been reached. The situation called for exalted and peculiar virtues. Robust manliness, rugged pluck which stood not on the order of its going, ability not only to compa.s.s a situation, but to grapple with it, a force of statesmanlike constructiveness, and a spirit which would not quail before colossal difficulties--all these were needed to revive a suspended interest, which is the most difficult of all tasks.

To enumerate these is to describe Gov. George S. Houston. He was gifted with a power to sway men, had an eye to details the most minute, business ac.u.men, familiarity with public affairs, patience to labor and to wait, and not least of all, physical endurance. He was an extraordinary man, and no governor has had more odds to encounter, nor has one ever met his obligation with more fidelity. With the state palsied in every pulse by misrule and wanton waste, he seized the reins, and from the outset guided the affairs of the commonwealth with the skill of a trained statesman.

The slogan of the time was retrenchment and reform. This alliterative legend was the watchword of the incoming administration. He met the issue like a combatant in the arena. He came not with empty demonstrations. No profuse promises filled the air. It was not promise that was needed, but performance. The tremendous task was a.s.sumed, and its execution has made the name of Houston forever famous in the chronicles of Alabama. Whatever others may have done, none have done more for Alabama than George S.

Houston. Pre-eminent as his greatness was, Mr. Houston was not unschooled in the affairs of the public when he was called to the chair of the governors.h.i.+p, in 1874. He had seen much of public life. Beginning life as a lawyer in 1831, he was made a legislator the next year, then came a career as a solicitor in his district, and within ten years after entering on public life he was sent to congress. His career in congress was a prolonged and notable one. With one slight intermission he was retained in congress for eighteen years, extending from 1841 to 1859. It was generally conceded in his district that he was an invincible candidate, for one after another of some of the most prominent men of the district were defeated by him, and some of them more than once.

His congressional career was distinguished by his positions as chairman of military affairs, chairman of the ways and means committee, and chairman of the judiciary. If this distinction has been exceeded by any one, the instance is not recalled. Certainly up to that time it had never been true of any other, and was a matter of comment at the time.

Politically, Mr. Houston was a Unionist and, therefore, opposed to the war. In this he was not unlike many others. But Unionist as he was, he suffered along with the others from the disastrous invasion to which North Alabama was subjected, declining with characteristic firmness to take the oath of allegiance to the United States government. Though honored by the people of Alabama with an election to the senate in 1865, his seat was denied him at Was.h.i.+ngton and he practiced law in Athens till 1874, when he was triumphantly elected governor of the state, under the conditions already described. He made a heroic canva.s.s of the state, and greatly impressed the people everywhere with his peculiar fitness for the position for which he had been nominated.

It is related that on one occasion, when Mr. Houston was to speak in a new town in the interior, the people of the town and of the region round about were all agog over the disposal of the great candidate on his arrival.

There was but one painted dwelling in the town, and that belonged to a well-to-do widow, who took it in a complimentary way that her home should be selected for the entertainment of the distinguished visitor. The day of the speaking arrived, and so did the speaker. The town was filled with country folk, drawn together to see and hear the man about which so much was being said. On his arrival, Mr. Houston was taken to "the white house," where a sumptuous dinner awaited him. He was a.s.signed to one end of the table, while the hostess occupied the other, no others being present except the waiters. Mr. Houston was invited with genuine country hospitality by the good woman, "Now, just help yourself, you see what's before you." Mr. Houston was an excellent converses and while keeping up a fusillade of conversation, he nibbled at the food, but really ate but little. Though hungry, and not without ample gastronomical powers, Mr.

Houston ate quite moderately. He soon finished the meal, and in wonder that her guest should prize her elaborate spread so lightly, the hospitable hostess rather chided him with, "Why, you don't eat anything. I got you the best dinner I could, and here it is, you don't eat." With characteristic courtliness, Mr. Houston said, "Madame, should I follow the dictates of my inclination, I should eat everything you have on your table. I have never tasted food that was better, and it requires restraint for me not to indulge to the fullest. But do you see that big crowd out yonder. I have to speak at once, and be away to another appointment for tonight. Should I eat as I am tempted, I should be too full for utterance." "Well, now," said the good woman, "that's what I've often hearn 'em say, an empty barrel sounds the loudest." Governor Houston used to relate this incident with great gusto.

Many were the anecdotes related of him as the retrenchment and reform governor of the state. One of these ill.u.s.trates the rigid management of affairs, under Governor Houston. It was reported to him that the wells for the supply of water on the capitol grounds were in an unsavory condition and needed to be rid of their unwholesome water, each of which contained a great deal. He caused it to be known that he was seeking one who would do the work at the lowest figure of clearing out the wells. The cheapest offer made was $7. The economic genius cudgelled his brain a bit, and the happy thought occurred to him of inviting the fire companies of the city to enter a contest on the capitol grounds, and so the invitation was extended to them to come to the capitol, and in the presence of the governor test their rival ability in seeking to throw the water highest on the dome.

The day was appointed, due notice of the contest given, and a crowd a.s.sembled to witness the proceedings. The full wells were placed at their disposal, and streams and jets of water played toward the summit of the dome. When it was over the governor, as an interested spectator, appeared before the successful contestant, made a speech on the value of fire companies, lauded the merits of the company that threw the water highest, and amid yells, the crowd dispersed. The wells were cleansed, the fire companies pleased, and $7 saved to the treasury of Alabama in vindication of a policy of retrenchment and reform. His policy arrested ruin in Alabama, restored confidence, re-established the credit of the state, and started it on a fresh career of prosperity.

Governor Houston was honored by an election to the United States senate, but died before he could enter on his duties, his death occurring at Athens on January 17, 1879.

JOHN T. MORGAN

Among the many distinguished sons of Alabama, none is held in higher or more deserving esteem, than the late Senator John Tyler Morgan. He was a man eminent of gifts, of the highest culture, and of reigning ability.

Patriot, statesman, jurist, orator, he was all of these in a pre-eminent sense, the recognition of which was shown in many instances, and through a long succession of years. The record of no man produced by the state is more interwoven into Alabama history than is that of this distinguished citizen. Nor is his fame based on other than on superior merit.

Not less distinguished is he in the annals of the nation. For a long period of years, Mr. Morgan was retained in the National Senate, a tower of strength, the acknowledged leader of southern statesmans.h.i.+p, the equal of any in the country. A great const.i.tutional lawyer, he stood the chief exponent and champion of the const.i.tution in the senate of the United States.

An arduous and industrious worker, his labors in behalf of Alabama were unremitting during a long term of years. The st.u.r.dy Welsh blood in his veins gave to him a steadfastness of poise, together with an immensity of reserve force which was meted out only in response to demand. Never spasmodic or impulsive, but steady and ready, he responded always with gigantic ability, and with a power exercised in such way as to be most effective. Possessed of a wide compa.s.s of valuable information, which sought expression in facility and fluency of diction, Morgan came to be a source of authority in the senate. When he spoke, all men listened with profound respect.

The name of Morgan descends from Revolutionary times, during which period it was represented by the famous General Daniel Morgan, who was among the distinguished officers of the first American army. Along the years of the history of America the name appears in different connections and always with credit. General John H. Morgan, the daring Confederate cavalry leader, was a kinsman of Senator John T. Morgan. The family was noted for its longevity, the father of Senator Morgan dying at the advanced age of ninety-four.

Mr. Morgan pursued his legal studies under his brother-in-law, William P.

Chilton. With the same a.s.siduity with which he did all that he undertook, he addressed himself to the acquisition of the profound principles of the law. From the beginning, he was a most diligent student, a skillful pleader, and a successful advocate. His first appearance in public life was on the occasion of the Alabama convention which chose delegates to the famous Charleston convention in 1860. The state convention of that particular date was composed of the giants of the state. Morgan was then just thirty-six years old, and his ability was unknown save in the local courts in which he practiced.

Sent as a delegate from Dallas County to the convention already named, he had just entered the hall when he heard his name called by the secretary as the chairman of the committee on credentials. He had heard much in the corridors of the hotels where the air was vibrant with the discussion of contesting delegations, in which discussions many of the most prominent men of the state shared. Devoted to his profession, he had never taken any active share in public questions, but was interested in the informal discussions.

On hearing the announcement of his name on entering the hall, he mounted a chair, addressed the presiding officer, and was about to decline the honor of the chairmans.h.i.+p, when Judge George W. Stone pulled his coat and begged him not to finish his sentence as he had begun it, but to change it and call his committee together. Yielding to the judgment of his senior friend, he did as he was bidden.

The work of the committee was both laborious and irksome, and many delicate and sensitive features were involved in the task committed to Mr.

Morgan. There was no avoidance of a storm on its presentation. The storm followed its submission. The young advocate, all unknown to the body, mingled in the forensic fray in a manly defense of his report, and so ably was it sustained by his power of presentation of the reasons for its adoption, and so tactfully did he parry the blows of the giants who came against him in the contest, that the question was heard all around--"Who is Morgan?" The brilliancy of his oratory, and the skill which he exhibited in debate, caught the attention of the public on that occasion, and he never again sank from view till his remains were deposited in the tomb.

His ability established on that occasion led to his becoming an elector in the approaching presidential contest in behalf of Breckenridge and Lane.

An elector for the state at large, he canva.s.sed Alabama throughout, and came to be known first, as an orator of great resource and power. This, in turn, led to his choice as a member of the secession convention of Alabama.

When the war began, he became major of the Fifth Alabama Regiment, and on the reorganization of the regiment, was chosen lieutenant colonel of that command. Authorized by the war department to raise a cavalry regiment, he returned to Alabama and did so. Going with his new regiment to the western army, he was later a.s.signed to the heads.h.i.+p of the conscript bureau in Alabama, according to the request of the Alabama delegation in congress.

Later still, he was notified by General R. E. Lee that he had been made a brigadier general and a.s.signed to the command of Rode's old brigade. While on his way to the Virginia front, he learned in Richmond of the death of Colonel Webb, who had been a.s.sociated with him in raising the cavalry regiment, and that he (Morgan) had been elected again to the colonelcy of the regiment. On learning this, he declined the offered promotion in the Army of Northern Virginia, and returned. He was again made a brigadier general, and toward the close of the war was in the command of a division in the Tennessee army.

During the period of the reconstruction, General Morgan became the most st.u.r.dy and famous champion of the people of Alabama, and greatly endeared himself to them by his incessant labor in resisting the encroachments on their rights. When, at last the power of reconstruction was broken, he was, in 1876, elected to the national senate to succeed the notorious George E. Spencer. From that time till his death, he was the political idol of the Democratic party in the state of Alabama. For full thirty years he served with distinguished ability in the senate, and died in the harness of a statesman.

One of the chief characteristics of Senator Morgan was his ability to think with unerring accuracy on his feet. His ability to husband rapidly his resources was remarkable. Nor in presenting these resources was there ever a lack of cla.s.sic diction. His chaste elegance commanded the attention of every listener, especially since it was voiced in musical tones. His power of application and his tenacity came to be known as dominant factors of his life. Once enlisted in a cause, he espoused it with undiminished zeal to the end. For many years he bent all his energy toward the construction of the Nicaraguan Ca.n.a.l, and resisted the change to that of the Panama Ca.n.a.l, and was fearless in his denunciation of the measures adopted to bring about the change, but was forced to yield to the numerical strength of partisans.h.i.+p. Another remarkable power which he possessed was that of physical endurance. During the contest in the senate over the Force bill he held the floor all night, speaking so as to consume the time, and thereby prevent the pa.s.sage of that measure.

Not Alabama alone, but the entire South owes to General Morgan a debt of grat.i.tude for the fearlessness of his defense of the South when an able defender was most needed.

With a versatility which seemed without limit, Senator Morgan was always prepared for any great junctures that might arise. He was equally at home upon a great const.i.tutional question, an issue of broad policy, or a tangled principle of international law. His career marks an era of greatness in the history of the state.

JAMES L. PUGH

For solid and substantial worth without ornament or frippery, no son of Alabama has surpa.s.sed the Hon. James L. Pugh. His presence and bearing and his conversation and speeches conveyed the same idea. Utterly without ostentation, he acted and spoke with an evident absence of self-consciousness.

Mr. Pugh was a man of stable rather than of brilliant qualities, hence he was an intensely practical man. He was indifferent to nothing of interest, was never superficial, and regarded everything from the viewpoint of the practical. He was studious, judicial in his cast of mind, of conservative temperament, and deliberate of speech. Often animated in public address, he was never excitable or explosive. His every utterance indicated deliberation.

The year of his birth was identical with that of the admission of Alabama into the Union--1819. He came from hardy North Carolina stock, and was brought by his father to Alabama when he was only four years old. At eleven he was an orphan boy, a most precarious condition for one so young in a frontier state. A bare-footed boy, left largely to s.h.i.+ft for himself, he afforded an index of his future worth and greatness, by engaging to ride the country mail on Sat.u.r.days in order to provide means for the payment of his tuition during the remainder of the week. Later, while yet a youth, he became a clerk in a dry goods establishment in Eufaula, where he obtained frugally h.o.a.rded means with which to prosecute his studies, meanwhile looking forward to the law as a profession. After a severe taxation of strength during the day as a clerk, he would study late at night, and by such studious application, qualified himself for entrance on his legal studies. He studied law in the office of John Gill Shorter, who afterward became governor of Alabama.

After the entrance of Mr. Pugh on the practice of law for a number of years, he was chosen an elector on the Taylor ticket, and later still, was a Buchanan elector. Thus, before the people, his way to congress was opened, and as a member of the house of representatives he was chosen in 1858. The outbreak of the war occurring two years later, like all other southern members, he withdrew from congress, shared in the secession sentiment of the state, and was among the first to enlist as a volunteer from Alabama in the service of the Confederacy. He was enrolled as a private soldier in the first Alabama regiment of infantry.

He shouldered his musket and went with his command to Pensacola, where he underwent all the fortunes of a soldier in the ranks, declining any consideration because of the position which he had held as a member of the national congress. Numerous were the offers made him by his comrades to a.s.sume his duties, and thus relieve him of hards.h.i.+p, but all this he politely declined, and met the exactions of military duty with cheerful alacrity. His position was one that tested his mettle, for often beneath the blazing sun he was engaged in common with his comrades in throwing up earthworks. The regiment of which he was a member, was ordered to Paducah, Kentucky, where he served for a year, when his const.i.tuents recalled him by electing him a member of the Confederate congress. In his first race he had no opposition, but in the second campaign, in 1863, he had three opponents, but was a second time elected, and served the state in the congress of the Confederacy till the downfall of the government. No one was more loyal to the young government than Mr. Pugh, for there was not a month, of the four years of its career, that he was not engaged in its service. After the capitulation of the armies, he returned to Eufaula, and resumed the practice of law.

An ardent southerner and patriot, he naturally shared in the resistance against carpetbag rule, and as occasion would demand he would lend a.s.sistance to his struggling people, though he sought no office, but was rigid in his devotion to his profession. In the memorable contest of 1876, he was a Tilden elector, and made an active canva.s.s in this and other states. In 1875, when the backbone of reconstruction was broken, he was chosen a member of the state const.i.tutional convention, and rendered valuable service as one of the most prominent members of that body.

In appreciation of worth and service, Mr. Pugh was chosen a National Senator from Alabama in 1880, and was a yoke-fellow of John T. Morgan in the senate for the s.p.a.ce of eighteen years. It was universally conceded that no state had a stronger brace of senators than Alabama during that period of southern rehabilitation. He was not conspicuous as a speechmaker in the senate chamber, though he was not silent, for as occasion demanded he was heard, and always effectively. When he did arise to speak, he commanded universal attention, partly because of the high esteem in which he was held, and partly because it was understood that when Senator Pugh spoke it was with well-digested views on measures of great importance. He retired from the senate in 1897, being at that time seventy-seven years old, and returned to his home at Eufaula, where he resided till his death.

A review of the career of Mr. Pugh will reveal the fact that in all his emergencies from private life it was in response to recognized duty. He was not spectacular, and never relied on his oratory for popular acclaim.

His power before the people lay in his impressiveness as a solid speaker, for no one could listen to him without the impression of the intensity of his conviction. Whether always right or not, he believed it, and therefore spoke. Only when he felt that he could be of service was that service tendered. No more convincing expression of his patriotism could be afforded than when as a returned congressman he quietly enlisted as a private in the ranks of the army, at a time when men vastly inferior to him were solicitous for commissions. This affords an index of the st.u.r.diness of the character of Senator Pugh. No position ever held by him was characterized by other than by the most substantial efficiency. No man who ever represented Alabama in any sphere was more practically and patriotically loyal than James Lawrence Pugh.