History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880 Volume II Part 34

"CONTRABANDS IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

"DEPARTMENT OF STATE, } "WAs.h.i.+NGTON CITY, December 4, 1861. }

"_To Major-General George B. McClellan, Was.h.i.+ngton_:

"GENERAL: I am directed by the President to call your attention to the following subject:

"Persons claimed to be held to service or labor under the laws of the State of Virginia, and actually employed in hostile service against the Government of the United States, frequently escape from the lines of the enemy's forces and are received within the lines of the Army of the Potomac. This Department understands that such persons, afterward coming into the city of Was.h.i.+ngton, are liable to be arrested by the city police, upon presumption, arising from color, that they are fugitives from service or labor.

"By the fourth section of the act of Congress, approved August 6, 1861, ent.i.tled 'An Act to Confiscate Property Used for Insurrectionary Purposes,' such hostile employment is made a full and sufficient answer to any further claim to service or labor.

Persons thus employed and escaping are received into the military protection of the United States, and their arrest as fugitives from service or labor should be immediately followed by the military arrest of the parties making the seizure.

"Copies of this communication will be sent to the Mayor of the City of Was.h.i.+ngton and to the Marshal of the District of Columbia, that any collision between the civil and military authorities may be avoided.

"I am, General, your very obedient, "WM. H. SEWARD."

It was now 1862. The dark war clouds were growing thicker. The Union army had won but few victories; our troops had to fight a tropical climate, the forces of nature, and an arrogant, jubilant, and victorious enemy. Autumn had come but nothing had been accomplished.

The friends of the Union who favored a speedy and vigorous prosecution of the war, besieged the President with letters, memorials, and addresses to "_do something_." But intrenched behind his "const.i.tutional views" of how the war should be managed he heard all, but would pot yield. On the 13th of September, 1862, a deputation of gentlemen, representing the various Protestant denominations of Chicago, called upon the President and urged him to adopt a vigorous policy of emanc.i.p.ation as the only way to save the Union; but he denied the request. He said:

"The subject is difficult, and good men do not agree. For instance: the other day, four gentlemen of standing and intelligence from New York called as a delegation on business connected with the war; but before leaving two of them earnestly besought me to proclaim general Emanc.i.p.ation; upon which the other two at once attacked them. You know also that the last session of Congress had a decided majority of anti-slavery men, yet they could not unite on this policy. And the same is true of the religious people. Why, the Rebel soldiers are praying with a great deal more earnestness, I fear, than our own troops, and expecting G.o.d to favor their side: for one of our soldiers, who had been taken prisoner, told Senator Wilson a few days since that he met nothing so discouraging as the evident sincerity of those he was among in their prayers. But we will talk over the merits of the case.

"What good would a proclamation of Emanc.i.p.ation from me do, especially as we are now situated? I do not want to issue a doc.u.ment that the whole world will see must necessarily be inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the comet. Would my word free the slaves, when I cannot even enforce the Const.i.tution in the Rebel States? Is there a single court, or magistrate, or individual, that would be influenced by it there? And what reason is there to think it would have any greater effect upon the slaves than the late law of Congress, which I approved, and which offers protection and freedom to the slaves of rebel masters who come within our lines? Yet I cannot learn that that law has caused a single slave to come over to us. And, suppose they could be induced by a proclamation of freedom from me to throw themselves upon us, what should we do with them? How can we feed and care for such a mult.i.tude? Gen. Butler wrote me a few days since that he was issuing more rations to the slaves who have rushed to him than to all the White troops under his command.

They eat, and that is all; though it is true Gen. Butler is feeding the Whites also by the thousand; for it nearly amounts to a famine there. If, now, the pressure of the war should call off our forces from New Orleans to defend some other point, what is to prevent the masters from reducing the Blacks to Slavery again; for I am told that whenever the rebels take any Black prisoners, free or slave, they immediately auction them off! They did so with those they took from a boat that was aground in the Tennessee river a few days ago. And then I am very ungenerously attacked for it! For instance, when, after the late battles at and near Bull Run, an expedition went out from Was.h.i.+ngton, under a flag of truce, to bury the dead and bring in the wounded, and the Rebels seized the Blacks who went along to help, and sent them into Slavery, Horace Greeley said in his paper that the Government would probably do nothing about it. What _could_ I do?

"Now, then, tell me, if you please, what possible result of good would follow the issuing of such a proclamation as you desire?

Understand: I raise no objection against it on legal or const.i.tutional grounds; for, as Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy in time of war, I suppose I have a right to take any measure which may best subdue the enemy; nor do I urge objections of a moral nature, in view of possible consequences of insurrection and ma.s.sacre at the South. I view this matter as a practical war measure, to be decided on according to the advantages or disadvantages it may offer to the suppression of the Rebellion."

Not discouraged, the deputation urged in answer to his conservative views, that a policy of emanc.i.p.ation would strengthen the cause of the Union in Europe, and place the government upon high humane grounds, where it could boldly and confidently appeal to Almighty G.o.d in an honest attempt to save His poor children from the degrading curse of American slavery. But the President replied:

"I admit that Slavery is at the root of the Rebellion, or at least its _sine qua non_. The ambition of politicians may have instigated them to act; they would have been impotent without Slavery as their instrument. I will also concede that Emanc.i.p.ation would help us in Europe, and convince them that we are incited by something more than ambition. I grant, further, that it would help somewhat at the North, though not so much, I fear, as you and those you represent imagine. Still, some additional strength would be added in that way to the war; and then, unquestionably, it would weaken the Rebels by drawing off their laborers, which is of great importance; but I am not so sure we could do much with the Blacks. If we were to arm them, I fear that in a few weeks the arms would be in the hands of the Rebels; and, indeed, thus far, we have not had arms enough to equip our White troops. I will mention another thing, though it meet only your scorn and contempt. There are fifty thousand bayonets in the Union army from the Border Slave States. It would be a serious matter if, in consequence of a proclamation such as you desire, they should go over to the Rebels. I do not think they all would--not so many, indeed, as a year ago, or as six months ago--not so many to-day as yesterday. Every day increases their Union feeling. They are also getting their pride enlisted, and want to beat the Rebels. Let me say one thing more: I think you should admit that we already have an important principle to rally and unite the people, in the fact that const.i.tutional government is at stake. This is a fundamental idea, going down about as deep as anything."[90]

But there were millions of prayers ascending to the G.o.d of Battles daily that the President might have the courage and disposition to pursue a course required by the lamentable condition of the Union. And just nine days from the time he thought a proclamation not warranted and impracticable, he issued the following:

"I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States of America, and Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the const.i.tutional relation between the United States and each of the States, and the people thereof, in which States that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed.

"That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all Slave States, so called, the people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States, and which States may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt, immediate or gradual abolishment of Slavery within their respective limits; and that the effort to colonize persons of African descent, with their consent, upon this continent or elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the governments existing there, will be continued.

"That, on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States, by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have partic.i.p.ated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.

"That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress ent.i.tled 'An Act to make an additional Article of War,' approved March 13th, 1862; and which act is in the words and figures following:

"'_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress a.s.sembled_, That hereafter the following shall be promulgated as an additional article of war for the government of the Army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as such:

"'SECTION 1. All officers or persons in the military or naval service of the United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under their respective commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from service or labor who may have escaped from any persons to whom such service or labor is claimed to be due; and any officer who shall be found guilty of a court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed from the service.

"'SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That this act shall take effect from and after its pa.s.sage.'

"Also, to the ninth and tenth sections of an act ent.i.tled 'An Act to Suppress Insurrection, to Punish Treason and Rebellion, to Seize and Confiscate Property of Rebels, and for other Purposes,'

approved July 16, 1862; and which sections are in the words and figures following:

"'SEC. 9. _And be it further enacted_, That all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the Government of the United States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves captured from such persons, or deserted by them and coming under the control of the Government of the United States; and all slaves of such persons found _on_ [or] being within any place occupied by Rebel forces and afterward occupied by forces of the United States, shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude, and not again held as slaves.

"'SEC. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That no slave escaping into any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime, or some offense against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner, and has not borne arms against the United States in the present Rebellion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto; and no person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any pretense whatever, a.s.sume to decide on the validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service.'

"And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the military and naval service of the United States to observe, obey, and enforce, within their respective spheres of service, the act and sections above recited.

"And the Executive will in due time recommend that all citizens of the United States, who shall have remained loyal thereto throughout the Rebellion, shall (upon the restoration of the const.i.tutional relation between the United States and their respective States and people, if that relation shall have been suspended or disturbed) be compensated for all losses by acts of the United States, including the loss of slaves.

"In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

"Done at the City of Was.h.i.+ngton, this twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-seventh.

[L. S.] "ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

"By the President: "WILLIAM H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State_."

But why this change in the views of the President? History, thus far, is left to conjecture. It was hinted that our emba.s.sadors in Western Europe had apprised the State Department at Was.h.i.+ngton that an early recognition of the Southern Confederacy was possible, even probable.

It was also stated that he was waiting for the issue at the battle of Antietam, which was fought on the 17th--five days before the proclamation was issued. But neither explanation stands in the light of the positive and explicit language of the President on the 13th of September. However, he issued the proclamation,--the Divine Being may have opened his eyes to see the angel that was to turn him aside from the destruction that awaited the Union that he sought to save with slavery preserved!

The sentiment of the people upon the wisdom of the proclamation was expressed in the October elections. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois went democratic; while the supporters of the Administration fell off in Michigan and other Western States. In the Congress of 1860 there were 78 Republicans and 37 Democrats; in 1862 there were 57 Administration representatives, and 67 in the Opposition.

The army did not take kindly to the proclamation. It was charged that "the war for the Union was changed into a war for the Negro." Some officers resigned, while many others said that if they _thought_ they were fighting to free the "n.i.g.g.e.rs" they would resign. This sentiment was contagious. It found its way into the rank and file of the troops, and did no little harm. The following telegram shows that the rebels were angered not a little at the President:

"CHARLESTON, S. C., Oct. 13, 1862.

"HON. WM. P. MILES, Richmond, Va.:

"Has the bill for the execution of Abolition prisoners, after January next, been pa.s.sed? Do it; and England will be stirred into action. It is high time to proclaim the black flag after that period. Let the execution be with the garrote.

"(Signed) G. T. BEAUREGARD."

But the proclamation was a harmless measure. _First_, it declared that the object of the war was to restore "the const.i.tutional relation between the United States and each of the States." After nearly two years of disastrous war Mr. Lincoln declares the object of the war.

Certainly no loyal man had ever entertained any other idea than the one expressed in the proclamation. It was not a war on the part of the United States to destroy her children, nor to disturb her own const.i.tutional, comprehensive unity. It must have been understood, then, from the commencement, that the war begun by the seceding States was waged on the part of the United States to preserve the _Union of the States_, and restore them to their "const.i.tutional relation."

_Second_, the proclamation implored the slave States to accept (certainly in the spirit of compromise) a proposition from the United States to emanc.i.p.ate their slaves for a _pecuniary consideration_, and, by their gracious consent, a.s.sist in _colonizing_ loyal Negroes in this country or in Africa!

_Third_, the measure proposed to free slaves of persons and States in rebellion against the lawful authority of the United States Government on the first day of January, 1863. Nothing more difficult could have been undertaken than to free _only_ the slaves of persons and States in _actual_ rebellion against the Government of the United States.

Persons in _actual_ rebellion would be _most_ likely to have immediate oversight of this species of their property; and the owners of slaves in the States in _actual_ rebellion against the United States Government would doubtless be as thoroughly prepared to take care of slave property as the muskets in their rebellious hands.

_Fourth_, this emanc.i.p.ation proclamation (?) proposed to pay out of the United States Treasury,--for all slaves of loyal masters lost in a rebellion begun by slave-holders and carried on by slave-holders!

Under the condition of affairs no emanc.i.p.ation proclamation was necessary. Treason against the United States is "levying war against them," or "adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort."

The rebel States were guilty of treason; and from the moment Sumter was fired upon, every slave in the Confederate States was _ipso facto_ free!

But it was an occasion for rejoicing. The President had taken a step in the right direction, and, thank G.o.d! he never retraced it.