A Short History of the War of Secession, 1861-1865

Front matter

BY THE AUTHOR OF THIS VOLUME. A HISTORY OF THE WAR OP 1812—15, between the United States and Great Britain. " It is the best condensed account of that war of which I have knowledge — a compact volume, easy of reference, wonderfully accurate in dates and numbers, grouping the events of the war of 1812 so as to form a strong link in the chain that binds the United States together in everlasting union. Perry's victory on Lake Erie and Harrison's at the Thames gave us possession of the great Northwest, a result mighty in its consequences/' — Gen, William T. Sherman. " It is history written like a novel. From the causes of the war and the beginning to the end, the interest is sustained as it were in the development of a plot." — Indianapolis Ne-ws. "The style is clear, the work honest, the sentences concise, and the spirit dispassionate and admirable, though thoroughly American.'' — Philadelphia Times.

"While it shows in every chapter the strict accuracy of the most exhaus tive history, it yet presents the story of the war in such attractive shape as to seem quite like a romance." — Milwaukee Wisconsin. " It is by an author whose language is free from all superfluity, and who presents dry fact in such a form that it becomes as interesting as fiction." — Detroit Commercial A dvertiser. A HISTORY OF THE FRENCH "WAR ending in the Conquest of Canada, with a preliminary account of the early attempts at colonization and struggles for the possession of the Continent. " The story of these colonial wars was well worth telling, and Mr. John son has told it clearly and unpretentiously. His book contains all that anyone not a specialist in the subject will care to know." — G00S. Literature. " It is not only highly valuable as a historical contribution, but many of its scenes are as interesting as any romance." — Lutheran Observer.

" A very serviceable book for those who wish for a short, connected account of the relations between the French and English colonies." — The Nation. " The story is told in the entertaining and truthful style which has made for him an enviable reputation."— Columbus Despatch. " The incidents of the period referred to are found in no other single volume, nor in so concise and satisfactory a form."— Ohio State Journal. v u " AJsu?cin£.t and graphic history of the bloody contests between the Eng lish and the French for the possession of American territory."— Chicago A SHORT HISTORY OF THE WAR OF SECESSION 1861 — 1865 BY ROSSITER JOHNSON AUTHOR OF "A HISTORY OF THE FRENCH WAR ENDING IN THE CONQUEST OF CANADA," AND '*A HISTORY OF THE WAR OF l8l2-*I5 BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN." BOSTON TICKNOR AND COMPANY 2U Fremont Street 1SS8 Copyright, 1888, BY TICKNOR & COMPANY. All rights reserved.

Preface

. I had been for some years collecting books, articles, and memoranda concerning the great insurrection and its causes, intending to write its history in full, when I received in 1885 an invitation to tell the story in thirty articles for the pages of the New York " Examiner." The reception given to those articles made it plain that there was a demand for a history of the war not so extended as to bewilder the reader with multiplicity of details, and not so concise as to preclude all color. Current literature abounds in minute studies of the separate campaigns and engagements, most of them purely military, and many of them exceedingly valuable ; but the reader finds no ready answer to his question, How did it happen that the war took place at all, what was its general course, and what were the motive forces that brought it on, prolonged it, and finished it ?

To meet this demand with a single compact volume, is the purpose of the present effort. The " Ex aminer " articles have been thoroughly revised and extended, and several new chapters are added ; so

PREFACE.

. IV that it is hoped the book will present a fair idea of the great conflict that so nearly wrecked the Republic, though innumerable interesting par ticulars are necessarily omitted. Scarcely another war in history has had a theatre so extended, few have called out so large armies, and none have sprung from a more popular cause. There were two thousand four hundred engagements of sufficient importance to be officially named, and many that were costlier of life and limb than some of the famous battles of the Revolution cannot even find mention in a volume like this. Current writers, intent upon military details, almost ignore the causes of the war, the spirit in which it was conducted, the complications that actually arose or were avoided by skillful diplomacy, and the significance of the results.

I have therefore treated these subjects in somewhat larger proportion than the battles and sieges. As the book is intended for easy reading, and not for hard study, I have avoided tripping up the reader on every page with foot-notes and references. In a few cases it seemed desirable to cite my authority, but generally the sources of information are such that this is unnecessary, and the reader that wishes to pursue the subject more minutely can readily find them. New York, April 19, 1888. r j PACE CONTENTS.

Chapter I

The Causes --------- . i Introduction of Slaves, I. — Growth and Protection of the Slave Trade, 2. — Invention of the Cotton-Gin, 3. — The First Fugitive-Slave Law, 4. — Liberty Laws, 4. — Vesey's Insurrection, 4. — Turner's Insurrection, 5. — Garrison's Liberator, 6. — Murder of Lovejoy, 6.— The Anti-Slavery Society's Publications, 7. — Extracts from the Slave Laws, 8. — Helper's Book, 9. — Replies of Southerners, 10. — Garbling the Census, 12. — The Underground Railroad, 13. — The Constitutional Dilemma, 14.— Attack on Sumner, 15. — The Missouri Compromise, 16. — Nullification, 17. — Texas and Oregon, 17.— The Compromises of 1850, 18. — The Dred-Scott Decision, 19. — The Political Division, 21. — The Struggle in Kansas, 22. — The Golden Circle, 24. — The Secession Crisis, 25.

Chapter II

The Outbreak --------- 26 Reliance of the South, 26. — Encouragement from the North, 27. — The Fallacy of Secession, 29. — State Allegiance, 31. — The Tendency to Centralization, 32. — The Question of Justification, 33. — The Presidential Election of 1860, 35. — Secession of the Cotton States, 35. — Formation of the Confederacy, 36. — Bombardment of Fort Sumter, 40.

Chapter III

The Beginning of Bloodshed ------ 41 Lincoln's Inaugural Address, 41. — Union Sentiment at the South, 43. — The Struggle for Virginia, 43. — The Vigintal Crop, 44. — Dragooned into Secession, 46. — Gov. Letcher's Treachery, 46. — Farragut's Patriotism, 46.-^Secession of Arkansas and North Carolina, 46. — The First Call for Troops, 47. — The Uprising at the North, 48. — Map Showing the Area of the Confederacy, 49. — Action of Prominent Men, 51. — Mob in Baltimore, 52. — The First Bloodshed, 53. — A CONTENTS. VI PAGE Week of Disasters, 54.— Occupation of Arlington Heights, 55.— Death of Ellsworth, Winthrop, and Greble, 56.

Chapter IV

The First Battle of Bull Run ------ 57 More Troops Called for, 57.— Blockade of Southern Ports. 57. — Action of Congress, 57. — Confederate Government Removed to Richmond, 58. — The Cry of On to Richmond, 58. — Concentration at Bull Run, 59. — Spies in Washington, 60. — McDowell's Army in Motion, 60. — Battle of Blackburn's Ford, 62. — Johnston Joins Beauregard, 63. — Battle of Bull Run, 64. — Effect in Europe, 69. — Effect North and South, 70.

Chapter V

Border States and Foreign Relations - - - - 71 Answers of the Governors, 71. — The Struggle for Missouri, 72. — The Capture of Camp Jackson, 74. — Exertions of Francis P. Blair, Jr., 74. — Lyon in Command, 75. — Proclamation of Gov. Jackson, 76. — Action at Booneville, 76. — Action at Carthage, 77. — Rise of Gen. Sigel, yy. — Death of Gen. Lyon, 78. — The Struggle for Kentucky, 78. — The Struggle for Maryland, 80. — Secession of North Carolina, 82. — The Struggle for Tennessee, 83. — Actions in Western Virginia, 84. — Formation of West Virginia, 85. —Capture of Mason and Slidell, 85. — Hostility in England, 87.— Attitude of Louis Napoleon, 88. — Friendship of Russia, 89.

Chapter VI

The First Union Victories ------ 90 Confederate Blockade-Runners Built in England, 90. — The Hatteras Expedition, 92. — The Port Royal Expedition, 94. — Capture of Hilton Head, 96. — Battle of Paintville, 97. — Battle of Mill Springs, 98. — Forts Henry and Donelson, 99. — River Gunboats, 100. — Capture of Fort Henry, 101. — Battle of Fort Donelson, 103.— Siege of Lexington, 106.— Affairs in Arkansas, 107.— Battle of Pea Ridge, 108.

Chapter VII

Capture of New Orleans - - - - - - . m Plans for Bombardment, 113.— The Fleet and the Commander, llS- — The Sailing-Orders, 116.— The Bombardment, 117. — Farragut's Orders, 118.— The Battle with the Forts, 119.— The Battle with the Fleet, 121.— Destruction of Confederate Vessels, 122. — Surrender of the City, 123. CONTENTS. VII PAGE

Chapter VIII

The Monitor and the Merrimac - - - - - 127 The Burned Merrimac Raised and Repaired, 127. — Sinking of the Cumberland, 129. — The Monitor, 130. — Destruction of both Iron-clads, 131.

Chapter IX

The Campaign of Shiloh ------- 132 Siege of New Madrid, 133. — Bombardment of Island Number Ten, 134. — Pope's Captures, 135. — Battle of Shiloh, 135. — Fall of Gen. Johnston, 139. — The Final Victory, 142. — The Turning-point of the War, 144.

Chapter X

The Peninsula Campaign ------- 146 Command Given to McClellan, 147. — His Plans, 148. — Appointment of Secretary Stanton, 150. — On the Peninsula, 152. — Battle of Williamsburg, 152. — On the Chickahominy, 155. — The Battle of Fair Oaks, 156.— Effect ofthe Swamps, 158.— Lee in Command, 1 58.— Stuart's Raid, 159. — Nearest Approach to Richmond, 162. — Action at Beaver Dam Creek, 163. — Battle of Gaines's Mills, 164. — Battle of Savage's Station, 166. — Battle of Charles City Cross-Roads, 167. — Battle of Malvern Hill, 169.

Chapter XI

Pope's Campaign - 173 Formation of the Army of Virginia, 173. — Halleck made General-in-Chief, 174. — McClellan Leaves the Peninsula, 175. — Battle of Cedar Mountain, 176. — Pope and Lee Manœuvre, 177. — Battle of Groveton, 179. — The Second Bull Run, 182. Battle of Chantilly, 183.— The Porter Dispute, 184.

Chapter XII

The Antietam Campaign - - - ** - - - 183 Confederate Advance into Maryland, 185. — The Army of the Potomac sent against them, 187. — Lee's Plans Learned from a Lost Despatch, 188. — Capture of Harper's Ferry, 189. — Battle of South Mountain, 189. — Battle of Antietam, 192.

Chapter XIII

Emancipation --------- 200 Lincoln's Attitude toward Slavery, 201. — McClellan's Atti tude,203. — The Democratic Party's Attitude, 204. — Predic- CONTENTS. PAG) tions by the Poets, 206.— Slaves Declared Contraband, 206. — Action of Fremont, 208. — Hunter's Proclamation, 209. — Blacks First Enlisted, 210.— Division of Sentiment in the Army, 211. — Maryland Abolishes Slavery, 212. — The Presi dent and Horace Greeley Correspond on the Subject, 212. — Emancipation Proclaimed, 214. — Autumn Elections, 216.

Chapter XIV

Burnside's Campaign -------- 218 McClellan's Inaction, 219. — Visit and Letters of Lincoln to Him, 219. — Superseded by Burnside, 221. — The Position at Fredericksburg, 223. — Attack upon the Heights, 227. — The Result, 229.

Chapter XV

Rosecrans and Hooker ------- 230 Battle of Perryville, 231. — Battles of Iuka and Corinth, 233. — Battle of Stone River, 235. — Enlistment of Negroes, 238. — The Black Flag, 239. — Black Men in Former Wars, 240. — Letter of the President to Hooker, 241. — Burnside Superseded by Hooker, 241. — Battle of Chancellorsville, 243. '

Chapter XVI

Gettysburg 248 Invasion of the North Determined on, 248.— Cavalry Skirmish at Fleetwood, which marks a Turning-Point in that Service, 250. — Hooker's Plans, 251. — Asks to be Relieved, 253. — Meade in Command, 253. — Battle of Gettysburg, 254.

Chapter XVII

The Vicksburg Campaign -----.. 2yo Operations on the Mississippi, 271.— Grant placed in Command, 272. — Plans the Campaign, 272. — Loss at Holly Springs, 273.— Sherman and Porter Descend the River, 274. —Sherman's Attempt on the Yazoo, 275. — At Haines's Bluff, 276.— Capture of Arkansas Post, 277.— Cutting a Canal, 278.— Yazoo Pass Attempted, 279.— Steele's Bayou, 280.— Grant Crosses the Mississippi, 281.— Grierson's Raid! 282.— Action at Raymond, 283.— Capture of Jackson, 284.— Battle of Champion's Hill, 285.— Pemberton in Vicksburg, 286.— Siege of the City Begun, 287.— Surrender, 289. CONTENTS. IX PAGE

Chapter XVIII

The Draft Riots -- 290 Attitude of the Democratic Party, 291. — Vallandigham Banished, 294. — Speech of ex-President Pierce, 294. — Speech of Horatio Seymour, 296. — Law of Substitutes Persistently Misinterpreted, 297. — The Draft in New York, 298. — The Riots, 299. — The Autumn Elections, 306.

Chapter XIX

The Siege of Charleston ------- 307 Blockade of the Harbor, 308. — Du Pont's Attack, 309. — Defeat, 310. — Capture of the Atlanta, 311. — Gillmore 's Siege, 312. — Assault on Fort Wagner, 313. — Its Capture,3i5. — The Swamp Angel, 316. — Bombardment of Charleston, 317.

Chapter XX

The Chattanooga Campaign 318 Rosecrans and Bragg, 318. — Fight at Dover, 318. — At Franklin, 318. — At Milton, 320. — Morgan's Raid, 321. — Manœuvring for Chattanooga, 323. — Battle of Chickamauga, 324. — National Forces in the West Reorganized, 329. — Battles of Chattanooga, 330. — The Battle Above the Clouds, 331. — Capture of Mission Ridge, 333.

Chapter XXI

The Black Chapter -------- 334 Persecutions of Union Men, 335. — The Black Flag, 336. — The Guerillas, 337. — Secession from Secession, 338. — Riot in Concord, N. H., 339. — Massacre at Fort Pillow, 340. — Care of Prisoners, 342. — Andersonville, 343. — Other Prisons, 345. — Suspension of Exchanges, 346. — Violation of Paroles, 347. — Principles relating to Captures, 349.

Chapter XXII

The Sanitary and Christian Commissions - - - 351 Women in the War, 356. — The Sanitary Commission Formed, 352. — The Popular Idea about it, 355. — Work of the Commission, 356. — Sanitary Fairs, 357. — The Christian Commission, 358. — Volunteer Nurses, 361.

Chapter XXIII

The Overland Campaign 362 Grant made Lieutenant-General, with Command of All the X CONTENTS. PAGE Armies, 365.— Headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, 365.— Plan of the Campaign, 366.— Position of the Armies, 367.— Relative Numbers, 368.— Grant Crosses the Rapidan, 370.— In the Wilderness, 371.— Battle of the Wilderness, 372. — Battle of Spottsylvania, 377. — Battle of Cold Harbor, 394. — The Losses, 396. — Grant moves to the James, 398. — Crosses the James, 398. — Ewell Sees the End, 399.

Chapter XXIV

The Confederate Cruisers ------ 400 The Alabama, 400. — Sunk by the Kearsarge, 402. — The Sumter, 402. — Other Cruisers, 403. — Protest of the Government, 404. — Secretary Seward's Despatches, 405. — Privateering, 410. — Why England did Not Interfere, 411. — Arbitration, 412.

Chapter XXV

The Atlanta Campaign ------- 413 The Meridian Campaign, 414. — The Shreveport Expedition, 415. — Battle of Sabine Cross-Roads, 416. — Battle of Pleasant Hill, 417. — Bailey's Dam, 418. — Sherman and Johnston, 419. — Sherman begins the Campaign, 421. — Johnston Abandons Resaca, 422. — Fighting at New Hope Church, 424. — The Position at Pine Mountain, 425. — Johnston at Kenesaw, 426. — Fall of Gen. Polk, 426. — Sherman Employs Negroes, 427. — Battle of Kenesaw, 428. — Crossing the Chattahoochee, 429. — Hood Supersedes Johnston, 430. — Action at Peachtree Creek, 432.— Battle of Atlanta, 433.— Fall of Gen. McPherson, 433. — The Losses, 435. — Cavalry Expeditions, 435. — Stoneman 's Raid, 436. — Fall of Atlanta, 437.

Chapter XXVI

The Battle of Mobile Bay 438 The Defences, 438.— Farragut's Preparations, 439.— Passing the Forts, 440.— Loss of the Tecumseh, 440. — Fight with the Ram Tennessee, 441.— Cost of the Victory, 441.— Craven's Chivalry, 442.

Chapter XXVII

The Advance on Petersburg 44, Butler's Movement, 443.— Beauregard's Counter Movement, 443.— Smith's Advance, 444.— Hancock's Attack, 445.— Cutting off the Railroads, 446.— The Fight for the Weldon Road, 446.— Burnside's Mine.— 447.— The Explosion, 448.— CONTENTS. XI PAGE The Slaughter at the Crater, 449. — Fighting at Deep Bottom, 450. — Action at Reams Station, 450. — Construction of an Army Railroad, 451. — The Siege of Petersburg Begun, 451. — Early's Raid toward Washington, 452. — Battle of the Monocacy, 453. — Engagement at Winchester, 454. — Burning of Chambersburg, 454.

Chapter XXVIII

Sheridan in the Shenandoah ------ 455 Importance of the Valley, 455. — Hunter Asks to be Relieved, 455. — Sheridan's Career, 456. — Grant's Instructions, 457. — Interference at Washington, 457. — Lincoln Gives Grant a Hint, 458. — Sheridan Marches on Winchester, 458. — Minor Engagements, 459. — Sheridan's Opportunity, 460. — Battle of the Opequan, 461. — Early goes Whirling through Winchester, 463. — Battle of Fisher's Hill, 463.— Destruction in the Valley, 465.— Action at Tom's Brook, 465.— Battle of Cedar Creek, 466.

Chapter XXIX

The Presidential Election 468 Efforts toward Peace, 468. — The Fremont Convention, 469. — The Republican Convention, 470. — Nomination of Lincoln and Johnson, 471. — The Democratic Convention, 472. — Its Denunciation of the War, 473. — Nomination of McClellan and Pendleton, 474. — Fremont Withdraws, 474. — Character of the Canvass, 475. — The Hope of the Confederates, 477. — The Issue as Popularly Understood, 478. — Election of Lincoln, 479. — Maryland Abolishes Slavery, 480, — The Highest Achievement of the American People, 480.

Chapter XXX

The National Finances - 481 An Empty Treasury, 481. — Borrowing Money at Twelve per cent., 481. — Salmon P. Chase made Secretary, of the Treasury, 481. — The Direct-Tax Bill, 482.— Issue of Demand Notes, 483. — Chase's Courage, 483. — The Banks form a Syndicate, 483. — Issue of Bonds, 484. — Amount of Coin in Circulation, 484. — Suspension of Specie Payments, 484. — Pay of Soldiers, 484. — Greenbacks, 485. — Chase's Plan for a National Banking System, 485. — The Fractional Currency, 486. — Fluctuations of Gold, 486.— The Cost of the War, 487. CONTENTS. XII PAGE

Chapter XXXI

The March to the Sea 488 Sherman makes Atlanta a Military Depot, 488.— His Peculiar Position, 489. — Disaffection in the Confederacy, 489. — Hood Attacks the Communications, 490. — Defence of Allatoona, 491. — Thomas Organizes an Army, 492. — Sherman Determines to Go Down to the Sea, 492. — Destruction in Atlanta, 493. — The Order of March, 494. — Sherman's Instructions, 495. — The Route, 495. — Incidents, 496. — Destruction of the Railroad, 497.— Killing the Bloodhounds, 497. — The Bummers, 497.— Capture of Fort McAllister, 498. — Hardee Evacuates Savannah, and Sherman Offers it as a Christmas Present to the President, 499. — Battle of Franklin, 500. — Battle of Nashville, 501. — Hood's Army Destroyed, 502.

Chapter XXXII

The Final Battles - 503 Sherman Marches through the Carolinas, 504. — Johnston Restored to Command, 505. — Columbia Burned, 507. — Charleston Evacuated, 508. — Capture of Fort Fisher, 509. — Battle of Averysboro, 509. — Battle of Bentonville, 510. — Schofield Joins Sherman, 510. — A Peace Conference, 511. — Battle of Waynesboro, 511. — Sheridan's Raid on the Upper James, 512. — Lee Plans to Escape, 512. — Fighting Before Petersburg, 513. — Battle of Five Forks, 514. — Lee's Lines Broken, 515. — Richmond Evacuated, 516. — Lee's Retreat, 516. — His Surrender, 518. — Grant's Generous Terms, 519. — Surrender of the Other Confederate Armies, 520.

Chapter XXXIII

Peace 521 The War Governors, 521. — Civilian Patriots, 521. — The Sudden Fall of the Confederacy, 522. — Capture of Mr. Davis, 523. — Character of the Insurrection, 524. — Magnanimity of the Victors, 525. — The Assassination Conspiracy, 526. — Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, 528. — Lincoln in Richmond, 529.— The Grand Review, 530.— The Home-Coming, 530. — Lessons of the War, 532. INDEX LIST OF MAPS. PAGE Charleston Harbor -------- 39 Showing the Area of the Confederacy - - - 49 Battle-field of Bull Run ------ 61 Borders of Kentucky and Tennessee - - - 100 Battle field of Pea Ridge ------ 108 Delta of the Mississippi - - - - - - -112 Hampton Roads -------- 129 Battle-field of Shiloh ------- ,\yy Battle-grounds North of Richmond ... 155 Battle-field of Malvern Hill 169 Battle-field of South Mountain - 189 Battle-field of the Antietam ----- 193 Battle-field of Fredericksburg ... - 224 Battle-field of Perryville ------ 231 Battle-field of Chancellorsville - - - - 244 Vicinity of Gettysburg ------- 255 Vicinity of Vicksburg - - - - - - - LIST OF MAPS.

XIV PAGE Fort Wagner and Approaches 3'3 Battle-field of Chickamauga --•»--- 324 Vicinity of Chattanooga ------ 332 The Wilderness Battle-field ----- 369 Battle-field of Spottsylvania ----- 377 Route from Chattanooga to Atlanta - - - 421 Mobile Bay ---------- 439 Defences of Richmond and Petersburg - - - 445 The Shenandoah Valley ------ 457 Sherman's Route to the Sea ----- 496 Battle-grounds of Nashville and Franklin - - 500 Sherman's Route through the Carolinas - - 505 Wilmington and Fort Fisher ----- 509 Route of Lee's Retreat ------ THE WAR OF SECESSION.

Chapter I. The Causes

When, within a period of eighteen months, a Dutch vessel entered the James River with a small cargo of African slaves (1619), and the "Mayflower" landed at Plymouth, Mass., a company of seekers after liberty (1620), the prime conditions were established for one of the mightiest conflicts that the world has ever seen. It is true that some of the descendants of those slaves, while still in bondage under indulgent masters, lived easy, careless, and even slothful lives ; it is true that the Pilgrims themselves had but a narrow definition of liberty ; but none the less the two antagonistic principles were there, and each was working toward an extreme development. When two centuries had gone by, the sorrowful negro knew the difference between his native Virginia and the horrors of the cotton plantations where he was sent in gangs to be used up in seven years ; while the educational advancement of a people endowed with democratic government, common schools, and a free press, [1772.

THE SLAVE TRADE. 2 had slowly expanded the Pilgrim's demand of " liberty for us" into "liberty for all." The" business of buying slaves in Africa and im porting them into America was very profitable, and for a longtime its moral character was not questioned. That same monarch by whose name we designate our accepted version of the Scrip tures, chartered companies to carry on the trade, and took stock in them. William of Orange, who invaded England to restore the liberties of Eng lishmen, especially fostered the traffic, and de clared it was " highly beneficial to the nation." A century and a half ago, the great evangelist, George Whitefield, was compelling a company of slaves to work a plantation for the support of an orphan asylum. In 1760, when the colony of South Carolina passed an act prohibiting the fur ther importation of slaves, the British government refused to sanction it, declaring that the trade was not only beneficial but necessary to the mother country.

Virginia met with a similar rebuff when she attempted to place a prohibitory tariff on slave importation in 1772. Indeed, the gov ernors of the various colonies, in the West Indies as well as on the continent, were commanded by the home government to sanction no law for the restriction of the slave trade. Such a law was passed in Jamaica in 1765, but was vetoed by the governor, who declared that he acted in accordance with his instructions. The opposition to the slave trade, which culminated in its abolition by the United States in 1808, has been attributed by THE COTTON-GIN. 1793.] 3 the apologists for slavery solely to motives of humanity ; by its antagonists, mainly to considerations of thrift, since that trade diminished the profits of the American slave-breeder. It is probable that it arose from both of these motives.

When the Federal Constitution was formed, the word " slave " was carefully excluded from it, al though three of its provisions relate to slaves ; but an attempt was made to protect the interests of slavery with compromises that have proved to be the weakest portions of that great instrument. The institution died out of the Northern States, partly because slave labor was not adapted to their in dustries and mode of life, and partly because of an awakening conscience on the question of its mor ality. On the other hand, the black man could do what the Southern climate almost prohibited white men from doing, and was especially useful in the cultivation of rice, tobacco, sugar, and cotton. Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton-gin in 1793 — a machine that takes the seeds out of 3,000 pounds of cotton in a day, which before had been done by negro women at the rate of one pound a day — increased the value of every slave in the country, and gave birth to dreams of empire such as had never before been known in the western world.

So quickly was its value seen, that before the model was quite completed the building was broken open at night and the machine stolen. The invention was pirated throughout the cotton States (the legis latures of but two of which, the Carolinas, gave Whitney even a small compensation), and all INSURRECTIONS. [1822. 4 attempts to renew the patent were voted down in Congress by the Southern members. In the same year in which the cotton-gin was in vented, a fugitive-slave law was passed by Con gress, to carry out that provision of the Constitu tion by which the return of runaway slaves was guaranteed. In time, as the anti-slavery sentiment grew in the Northern States, one after another of them enacted what were known as personal lib erty laws, which were calculated, some directly and some indirectly, to prevent the execution of any law for the reclamation of fugitive slaves.

That of Ohio prescribed a heavy penalty for kid napping a colored person with the intention of taking him out of the State. That of New Jersey granted a jury trial whenever a negro was claimed as a fugitive slave, and excluded the testimony_of the alleged owner. That of Pennsylvania forbade any judge or magistrate to take cognizance of any case under the Federal slave act. And so gener ally of others. Insurrections of a servile population are naturally to be expected, and it was constantly urged by the friends of slavery that agitation of the question of its rightfulness was liable at any time to produce a murderous outbreak. Many who admitted that the whole system was wrong and unfortunate, considered "the horrors of Santo Domingo" a sufficient argument against all discussion. And yet there were but two such affairs of any impor tance in the United States.

In 1822, Denmark Vesey, an intelligent and educated free negro in 1831.] INSURRECTIONS. 5 Charleston, planned an insurrection ; but the plot was discovered, and Vesey, with thirty-four of his followers, was hanged. In 1831, Nat Turner, a slave of Southampton County, Virginia, who saw visions and dreamed dreams, conceived that he had been chosen by the Lord to lead the blacks out of bondage. Setting out with six men, he undertook to rouse the entire colored population and kill all the whites. The band of insurgents increased as it went, and in two days fifty-five whites were murdered. But the alarm spread rapidly, the planters came riding in from all direc tions, armed to the teeth, and after a fight the insurgents were overcome. Seventeen negroes were hanged, and others who were suspected were tortured, burned, or shot.

In one respect, these two affairs produced precisely opposite effects. In South Carolina, after Vesey's insurrection, a law was passed forbidding free negroes to reside in the State, and reducing to slavery any black person that should enter it. In pursuance of this, negro sailors, citizens of Mas sachusetts, employed on vessels entering the port of Charleston, were seized and imprisoned ; and when Massachusetts sent a commissioner to lay her protest before the South Carolina authorities, he was ordered to leave that State at once, on peril of his life. On the other hand, Turner's insurrection was followed by a proposition in the Virginia Legislature to abolish slavery ; and though this was voted down, it received considerable support from able and earnest men. ANTI-SLAVERY PUBLICATIONS. [1837. 6 Almost simultaneously with the Southampton insurrection appeared in Boston the first number of a weekly paper entitled " The Liberator."

It was edited by William Lloyd Garrison, whose sole purpose was to declaim constantly against the injustice and sinfulness of slavery, and to demand its immediate abolition. His first words in the cause have become famous : " I am in earnest. I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retreat a single inch ; and I will be heard." Other publications of this character were established within a few years, at various points in the Northern States. Among them were the " Anti- Slavery Standard," New York, edited by Sydney Howard Gay, and the " North Star," at Rochester, edited by Frederick Douglass, a runaway slave from Maryland. The Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy attempted to establish a religious and anti-slavery paper, first at St. Louis and afterward at Alton, Illinois, in 1835-37; but three times a pro-slavery mob threw his press and types into the river, and the last time they murdered Lovejoy, who was defending his property.

Anti-slavery societies were formed, public addresses were issued, con , ventions were held, and lecturers went through the Northern States, to rouse the public conscience on the subject of the great national wrong, of which they held that the North was almost equally guilty with the South. They were hissed, ridiculed, and often mobbed, and the great political parties — Whig and Democratic — were very careful not to be identified with the cause. The now venerable 1837.] ANTI-SLAVERY PUBLICATIONS. 7 poet Whittier just escaped death at the hands of a mob in Concord, New Hampshire, when he went there with George Thompson in 1835 to hold an anti-slavery meeting. " They came with guns," said he in speaking of it recently, "though I didn't see the necessity, as we were not armed." The work of the journalists and lecturers was powerfully supplemented by publications in book form.