The Greater Republic Part 50

SHERMAN'S NORTHWARD ADVANCES.

The army of General Jo Johnston did not surrender until after the death of President Lincoln. Sherman, as will be remembered, made the city of Savannah a Christmas present to the President. Leaving a strong detachment in the city, Sherman moved northward with an army of 70,000 men, including artillery, the start being made on the 1st of February.

Charleston, where the first ordinance of secession was pa.s.sed and which had successfully defied every movement against it, now found itself a.s.sailed in the rear. The garrison, after destroying the government stores, the railway stations, blowing up the ironclads in the harbor, bursting the guns on the ramparts of the forts, and setting the city on fire, withdrew. This took place February 17th. The next day General Gillmore entered Charleston and his troops extinguished the few buildings that were still burning.

It has not been forgotten that Wilmington, North Carolina, had become the great blockade-running port of the Southern Confederacy. The mouth of Cape Fear River was defended by Fort Fisher, a very powerful fortification. General Butler made an attempt to capture it in December, but failed. Another effort followed January 15th, under General Alfred Terry, and was successful. The defeated garrison joined Johnston to help him in disputing the northward advance of Sherman.

There was severe fighting, especially at Goldsborough, but the Union army was so much the superior that its progress could not be stayed.

There Schofield reinforced Sherman, who, feeling all danger was past, turned over the command to his subordinate and went north to consult with Grant, reaching his headquarters on the 27th of March. Soon after the surrender of Lee, the whole Confederacy was in such a state of collapse that the Union cavalry galloped back and forth through every portion at will.

Returning to his command, Sherman moved against Johnston, April 10th.

Four days later, Johnston admitted in a communication to the Union commander that the surrender of Lee meant the end of the war, and he asked for a temporary suspension of hostilities, with the view of making arrangements for the laying down of the Confederate arms. Sherman consented, and these two commanders met and discussed the situation.

SURRENDER OF JO JOHNSTON AND COLLAPSE OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY.

In the exchange of views which followed, the great soldier, Sherman, was outwitted by Johnston and the Confederate president and cabinet, who were behind him. They secured his agreement to a restoration, so far as he could bring it about, of the respective State governments in the South as they were before the war, with immunity for the secession leaders from punishment, and other privileges, which, if granted, would have been throwing away most of the fruits of the stupendous struggle.

Sherman thus took upon himself the disposition of civil matters with which he had nothing to do. The more sagacious Grant saw the mistake of his old friend, and, visiting his camp, April 24th, told him his memorandum was disapproved, and notice was to be sent Johnston of the resumption of hostilities. Two days later, Sherman and Johnston again met, and the Confederate commander promptly agreed to surrender his army on the same conditions that were given to Lee.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE DESPERATE EXTREMITY OF THE CONFEDERATES AT THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR.]

General J.H. Wilson and his cavalry captured Macon, Georgia, April 21st, and, on the 4th of May, General d.i.c.k Taylor surrendered the remainder of the Confederate forces east of the Mississippi, at which time also Admiral Farrand surrendered to Admiral Thatcher all the naval forces of the Confederacy that were blockaded in the Tombigbee River. At that time, Kirby Smith was on the other side of the Mississippi, loudly declaring that he would keep up the fight until independence or better terms were secured, but his followers did not share his views, and deserted so fast that he, Magruder, and others made their way to Mexico, where, after remaining awhile, they returned to the United States and became peaceful and law-abiding citizens. The troops left by them pa.s.sed under the command of General Brent, who, on the 26th of May, surrendered to General Canby, when it may be said the War for the Union was ended.

After the surrender of Johnston, Jefferson Davis and the members of his cabinet became fugitives, under the escort of a few paroled soldiers. It was feared they might join Kirby Smith and encourage him to continue his resistance, while others believed he was striving to get beyond the jurisdiction of the United States.

The party hurried through the dismal wastes of Georgia, in continual fear that the Union cavalry would burst from cover upon them and make all prisoners. In the early morning light of May 10th, Mr. Davis, while asleep in his tent, near Irwinsville, Wilkinson County, Georgia, was aroused by the alarming news that the camp was surrounded by Union cavalry. He leaped to his feet and ran for his horse, but the animal was already in the possession of a Federal trooper. His wife threw a shawl over his shoulders, and he attempted to escape from the camp without being recognized, but he was identified and made prisoner. He had been captured by a squad of General J.H. Wilson's cavalry, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Pritchard of the Fourth Michigan. His fellow-prisoners were his wife and children, his private secretary, Burton Harrison, his aide-de-camp, and Postmaster-General Reagan, all of whom were taken to Macon, and thence to Fort Monroe, Virginia.

It was a serious problem, now that the president of the defunct Confederacy was captured, what should be done with him. He was kept in Fort Monroe until his health was impaired, when he was released on bail; Horace Greeley, the well-known editor of the _New York Tribune_, being one of his bondsmen. He had been indicted for treason in 1866, being released the following year, but his trial was dropped on the 6th of February, 1869. He pa.s.sed the remainder of his life in Memphis, and later at Beauvoir, Mississippi, dying in New Orleans, December 6, 1889, in the eighty-second year of his age.

STATISTICS OF THE WAR.

The most carefully prepared statistics of the Civil War give the following facts: Number of men in the Union army furnished by each State and Territory, from April 15, 1861, to close of war, 2,778,304, which, reduced to a three years' standing, was 2,326,168. The number of casualties in the volunteer and regular armies of the United States, according to a statement prepared by the adjutant-general's office, was: Killed in battle, 67,058; died of wounds, 43,012; died of disease, 199,720; other causes, such as accidents, murder, Confederate prisons, etc., 40,154; total died, 349,944; total deserted, 199,105. Number of soldiers in the Confederate service, who died of wounds or disease (partial statement), 133,821. Deserted (partial statement), 104,428.

Number of United States troops captured during the war, 212,508; Confederate troops captured, 476,169. Number of United States troops paroled on the field, 16,431; Confederate troops paroled on the field, 248,599. Number of United States troops who died while prisoners, 30,156; Confederate troops who died while prisoners, 30,152. It is safe to say that the number of men killed and disabled on both sides during the War for the Union was fully one million. The public debt of the United States, July 1, 1866, was $2,773,236,173.69, which on the 1st of November, 1897, had been reduced to $1,808,777,643.40.

Mention has been made of the frightful brutalities of Captain Wirz, the keeper of Andersonville prison. He richly merited the hanging which he suffered on the 10th of November, 1865. As has been stated, he was the only person executed for his part in the Civil War.

England, upon receiving news of the arrest of Jefferson Davis, declared all ports, harbors, and waters belonging to Great Britain closed against every vessel bearing the Confederate flag. The French government took the same action a few days later.

More than a generation has pa.s.sed since the close of the great Civil War, which resulted in the cementing of the Union so firmly that the bonds can never again be broken. Whatever resentment may have been felt lasted but a brief while, and the late war with Spain removed the last vestige.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HORACE GREELEY.

(1811-1872.)]

A little incident may serve as one of the thousand similar occurrences which prove how perfectly the North and South fraternized long ago. The officer who did the most effective work for the Union in the South during the closing months of the war was General James H. Wilson, a detachment of whose cavalry captured the fugitive Jefferson Davis. It was General Wilson, who, on the 21st of April, 1865, rode into Macon, Georgia, and took possession of the city. In the month of December, 1898, while on a visit to Macon, he made an address to the citizens, from which the following extract is given:

THIRTY-THREE YEARS LATER.

FELLOW-CITIZENS: It is with infinite pleasure that I address myself in words of peace to a Macon audience. [Cheers.] Thirty-odd years ago I came into this town with 15,000 cavalry thundering at my heels.

[Laughter and shouts.] I was met with the roaring of cannon and the firing of musketry. [Cheers.] I was greeted by the burning of warehouses and the destruction of property, which I now profoundly regret.

[Cheers.] The welcome that was extended to me then was of the silent quality. [Laughter.] An ill.u.s.trious citizen, then your chief magistrate, the Hon. Joseph E. Brown, after a four-hours' interview, speaking of me then, said to another gathering of ill.u.s.trious citizens, at the head of which was Howell Cobb: "He is a clever young man, but, gentlemen, he takes the military view of the situation." [Laughter.] That was a fact then, but now I come among you and I receive a different welcome. I was then a victor; to-day I am a captive. [Cheers.] I must say I am a willing captive of your city. The fair women and the brave and excellent gentlemen of your town have, by their open and generous hospitality, imprisoned me deep down in their hearts, and I would be recreant to every feeling of my own if I desired release from such pleasing bondage.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LINCOLN'S GRAVE, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.]

CHAPTER XIX.

ADMINISTRATIONS OF JOHNSON AND GRANT 1865-1877.

Andrew Johnson--Reconstruction--Quarrel Between the President and Congress--The Fenians--Execution of Maximilian--Admission of Nebraska--Laying of the Atlantic Cable--Purchase of Alaska--Impeachment and Acquittal of the President--Carpet-bag Rule in the South--Presidential Election of 1868--U.S. Grant--Settlement of the _Alabama_ Claims--Completion of the Overland Railway--The Chicago Fire--Settlement of the Northwestern Boundary--Presidential Election of 1872--The Modoc Troubles--Civil War in Louisiana--Admission of Colorado--Panic of 1873--Notable Deaths--Custer's Ma.s.sacre--The Centennial--The Presidential Election of 1876 the Most Perilous in the History of the Country.

THE SEVENTEENTH PRESIDENT.

As provided by the Const.i.tution, Andrew Johnson, Vice-President, took the oath of office as President on the day that Abraham Lincoln died. He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, December 29, 1808, and his parents were so poor that they did not send him to school at all. When only ten years old, he was apprenticed to a tailor, and anyone who at that time had prophesied that he would some day become President of the United States would have been set down as an idiot or a lunatic.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ANDREW JOHNSON.

(1808-1875.) One partial term, 1865-1869.]

Among the visitors to the tailor shop was a kind-hearted old gentleman who was in the habit of reading to the boys and men. Andrew became interested in what he heard, and, seeing how much better it would be for him to be able to read for himself, set to work and learned. He removed to Greenville, Tennessee, in 1826, and there married a n.o.ble woman, who encouraged his ambition and helped him in his studies. Nature had given him marked ability, and he became interested in local politics. The citizens had confidence in him, for he was twice elected alderman, twice mayor, was sent three times to the State Legislature, and in 1843 was elected to Congress. He remained there for ten years, when he was chosen governor of Tennessee, and, in 1857, became United States senator.

Johnson had always been a Democrat, and, when the political upheaval came in 1860, he supported Breckinridge. While he favored slavery, he was a Unionist in every fibre of his being, and declared that every man who raised his hand against the flag should be hanged as a traitor.

Tennessee was torn by the savage quarrel, and for a time the secessionists were rampant. When Johnson returned to his home in May, 1861, his train was stopped by a mob who were determined to lynch him, but he met the angered men at the door with a loaded revolver and cowed them.

It was such men as Johnson that President Lincoln appreciated and determined to keep bound to him. He appointed him military governor of Tennessee in 1862, and it need hardly be said that Johnson made things lively for the secessionists, and did not forget to give attention to those who had persecuted him. His personal courage and honesty won the admiration of the North, and, as we have shown, led to his being placed on the ticket with President Lincoln, when he was renominated in 1864.

The reader will not forget that the surrender of Johnson and the capture, imprisonment, and release of Jefferson Davis occurred while Johnson was President.

THE PROBLEM OF RECONSTRUCTION.

Reconstruction was the grave problem that confronted the country at the close of the war. The question was as to the status of the States lately in rebellion. It would not do to restore them to their full rights, with the same old governments, for they might make better preparations and secede again. Nothing was clearer than that slavery was the real cause of the war, and the safety of the nation demanded that it should be extirpated forever. The Emanc.i.p.ation Proclamation was a war measure and simply freed the slaves, but did not prevent the re-establishment of slavery. In December, 1865, therefore, the Thirteenth Amendment, having been adopted by three-fourths of the States, was declared a part of the Const.i.tution. By it slavery was forever abolished, and one of the gravest of all perils was removed.

President Johnson was a man of strong pa.s.sions and prejudices. He had been a "poor white" in the South, whose condition in some respect was worse than that of slaves. He held a bitter personal hatred of the aristocratic Southerners, who had brought on the war. His disposition at first was to hang the leaders, but after awhile he swung almost as far in the opposite direction. At the same time, he was not particularly concerned for the welfare of the freed slaves, who were called "freedmen."

THE PRESIDENT'S POLICY.

President Johnson termed his plan "my policy," and briefly it was: To appoint provisional or temporary governors for each of the States lately in rebellion. These governors called conventions of delegates, who were elected by the former white voters of the respective States. When the conventions met they declared all the ordinances of secession void, pledged themselves never to pay any debt of the Southern Confederacy, and ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, as proposed by Congress early in 1865, and which abolished slavery. Before the close of the year named, each of the excluded States had been reorganized in accordance with this plan. Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas took the step while Lincoln was President.

The vexatious question was as to the treatment of the freedmen. The South had no faith that they would work, except when compelled to do so by slave-overseers. The new governments pa.s.sed laws, therefore, to compel them to work, under the penalty of being declared vagrants and sent to jail, where they would be forced to hard labor. This method was denounced in the North as a re-establishment of slavery under a new name. The Republican majority in December, 1865, refused for a time to admit any members from the States that had been in rebellion.

QUARREL BETWEEN CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT.