Four years with the Army of the Potomac ... Translated by G. K. Dauchy ... With portrait and maps

Preface

OF TRANSLATOR. In preparing this version of General de Trobriand's " Four Years with the Army of the Potomac," the translator has endeavored, so far as possible, faithfully to preserve the sentiments of the author, and the very, force of the French idioms themselves. The story was written soon after the war, from notes and a diary, and the lifelike manner in which are therein told incidents of army life, of the bivouac and of the battle, of the camp and of the field, renews to an old soldier of the East the many weary marches in the time of rain and in the time of hot sun, through the mud and dust of Virginia. It brings to his mind the weeks pleasantly spent along the banks of the Rappahannock, and near Brandy Station, both in summer and in winter, — the many awful and deadly combats through the Wilderness, along the rivers Po, North Anna, and James, around Petersburg, — and, finally, the fierce rush of the last campaign, ending at Appomattox.

It brings back to him the grim face of that indomi table soldier, Grant, the clear-sighted and tireless Sheridan, the resolute and cautious Meade, the brill iant Hancock, Reynolds, " Uncle John " Sedgwick, Humphreys, and hosts of able and devoted commanders of all ranks. And, finally, it cannot fail to sadden him as he thinks of the many friends loved and m

PREFACE.

OF TRANSLATOR. cherished, heroic and patriotic, left behind on those blood-stained fields, with hasty sepulture, with hardly time to think of their loss, much less to shed a tear to their memory, never again to meet them in this world. As we look back, in these days of peace, upon the years which have passed, we can with difficulty realize that those stirring times, which appear to us as of yesterday, are so far away ; and as we see those who were actors in the drama so rapidly " going over to the majority," we feel that soon the survivors of those great scenes will be few indeed. If this work is one-half as interesting to my old com rades of the Army of the Potomac, and especially those of the Third and Second Corps, as it has been to me, I shall be amply repaid for putting it before them in an English dress.

PREFACE.

. In France, the facts in regard to the late war in America are very little known. Errors industriously disseminated, political prejudices ably worked upon, have cooperated to disguise its origin, its character, and its results. We are surprised that public opinion has been so greatly controlled by these influences, considering the opportunities it has had to be better informed. But amongst people with traditional ideas, and under a great governmental mechanism, a party determined to adhere to opinions already formed closes its eyes to the light. This is what has happened when eminent men, who have made a study of the great republic of the New World, have clearly portrayed the true character of the gigantic struggle from which the American democracy has just emerged triumphant. However, the world advances ; principles are cleared from their surroundings, prejudices become feeble, pas sions subside, and time, that great enlightener, rapidly develops results which must necessarily assure the triumph of the truth.

Meanwhile, it has appeared to me that a narration of those events of that war in which I have taken some share might be interesting and useful. This book, then, is a narrative, and this narrative, as indicated by the title, embraces only the operations of v

PREFACE.

. VI the Army of the Potomac. I have not treated in extenso of the operations of the other armies. I have thus limited myself to those things which I have seen, quæque ipse vidi. I relate them, not as a Frenchman who has taken part in a foreign war, but as an American who has fought for the country of his adoption and for the institutions of his choice. My judgments are derived from convictions which I have reached by a long road, and by successive stages, through the teachings of a somewhat wandering life on both sides of the Atlantic. Whatever value the reader may attach to these convictions, I ask him to believe in the sincerity of my judgments and in the scrupulous exactness of my narration of facts. I tell of events as they have passed under my eyes, and as I wrote them down day by day, in a journal kept without interruption from my entrance into service until the disbanding of the last of my regiments.

Everything I have here related, which I have not myself seen, I have from the evidence of the actors themselves, and by a minute comparison with official documents and depositions in extenso taken before the congressional committee on the conduct of the war. I have deemed it my duty to avoid as untrustworthy all information derived from individuals, the exactness of which I have not been able to verify. The reader, then, can follow me in perfect security. He will live the life of the camp ; he will be present at the organization of the Army of the Potomac, at its apprenticeship, at its first efforts ; he will follow it in its marches and in its combats, in the bivouac and on the field of battle ; he will accompany it in its work, in its privations, in its successes and in its reverses. In fine, he will take part in the war, — the war itself, with all its realities, terrible or glorious.

PREFACE.

. VII This will not prevent us from following the march of events outside of the army. Together we will visit New York and Washington, when the course of events calls us there, and there we shall meet men great in the political field, as in the camp we shall meet men great in military life. Is it necessary for me to add that this book is written for every one, and that I have abstained from every thing which might give it a special character ? If it pleases, I -shall be glad ; if it is interesting, I shall be happy ; — and if it be useful, I shall have attained the object which I set before myself in writing it. May, CORRESPONDENCE. Chicago, December 4, 1886. Maj. Gen. Regis de Trobkiand, Washington, D.C. General, — Having read and enjoyed very much your " Quatre ans a l'Arm^e du Potomac," I thought it might be a pleasure to soldiers, especially of our old corps, to read it.

I have accordingly translated it, — but before revising it I wish to ask your consent to its publication. Trusting your favorable consideration, I am, Very truly yours, CEO. K. DAUCHY, Late Commanding Twelfth N. Y. Battery, Third aud Second Army Corps. New Orleans, La., December 14, 1S86. Mr. George K. Dauchv, Chicago. Dear Sir, — I feel much gratified with your favorable appreciation of my " Quatre ans de Compagnes a I'Armee du Potomac," as shown by your translation of the work, in view of the pleasure which the old comrades of the Third and the Second Corps who don't read French may find in reading it in English. Your asking my consent to its publication is an act of courtesy which I duly appreciate, and to which I can answer only by my thanks aud full authorization. There are two things only to which I beg leave to call your attention: — 1st. To try and keep as much as possible the color and form of. the style of the original, by using the equivalent in preference to the literal " mot k mot." 2d. To leave intact, without modification or extenuation, my judgments upon men and things — for, whatever may be otherwise their value, they have at least the recommendation in their favor that they are the honest expression of seasoned convictions based upon facts, and which I did not find cause to modify since the book was published.

I need not point out to you the many misprints in the French edition, especially in the spelling of the English names. It was published in Paris while I was in command in Dakota, whicli made it impossible for me to revise the proofs, so was it that some letter or speech of Mr. Lincoln, which I had called "modereV' appeared in print as " mediocre," quite another thing. With hope that your publication will be successful in every respect, and that I will hear from you again, I remain, my dear sir, Very truly yours, R. de TROBRIAND. Lx CONTENTS.

Chapter I. The Cause Of The War

The question of slavery — The Missouri Compromise — First attempt at secession by South Carolina — Abolition of slavery in the English colonies — Its effect in the United States — First Abolition candidate for the Presidency — Annexation of Texas — War with Mexico — Increased agitation — Wilmot Proviso — Van Buren, the anti-slavery candidate — Disorganization of the Whig party — Compromise of 1850 — Fugitive Slave Law — Kansas-Nebraska bill — Civil war in Kansas — Birth of the Republican party — Election of Buchanan — Affair of Harper's Ferry — The irrepressible conflict 1

Chapter II. The Manner Of Secession

Electoral campaign of 1860 — Direct menaces of secession — Violent scenes in Congress — Charleston convention — Baltimore convention — Chicago convention — Second Baltimore convention — Election of Lincoln to the Presidency — The Southern States take up arms — Passive complicity of Buchanan — Treason in the Cabinet — Secession of South Carolina — Last attempts at compromise — Secession of Mississippi — Of Florida — Of Alabama — Of Louisiana — Of Georgia — The first shot — Organization of the Southern Confederacy — Inauguration of President Lincoln 31

Chapter III. The Call To Arms

Capitulation of Fort Sumter — Call for seventy-five thousand men — Four States refuse to furnish their quota — First regiment en route for Washington — Bloody riot in Baltimore — No news — Secession of Virginia — New call for eighty-three thousand volunteers — Seces- CONTENTS. XII sion of Arkansas — Occupation of Alexandria by the Federals — Men, but no army — School of the battalion — First successes in Western Virginia — General G. B. McClellan — Battle of Bull Run 53

Chapter IV. From New York To Washington

The Guard Lafayette, Fifty-fifth New York militia — Camp at Staten Island — Departure for Washington — Collision — At Philadelphia — Through Baltimore — Arrival at the capital — Five hundred thousand men and five hundred million dollars — Tents — Organization of regiments of infantry — Composition of the Fifty-fifth — The insignia of rank, and the uniforms in the American army ... 70

Chapter V. The Formation Of The Army Of The Potomac

The brigade of General Peck — Surroundings at Washington — Regiments of cavalry — Batteries of artillery — Grand review — The Orleans princes — Lincoln and McClellan — Summer storm — General Buell — Inspections — The defences to the south of the Potomac — Arlington, and the Lee family — General Wadsworth at Upton Hill — Blenker's division — Movements of the enemy upon the upper Potomac 84

Chapter VI. Winter Quarters

Settled down at Tenallytown — Moonlight — Pay-day — A case of delirium tremens — Court-martial — General Keyes — Unfortunate affair of Ball's Bluff — Arrangements for winter — Officers' mess — Flag presentation — President Lincoln at the table of the Fifty-fifth Effects of the war around Washington 109

Chapter VII. Men And Things At Washington

Congress — The population of Washington — The lobby and the spectators — The contractors for the army — The faint-hearted — The general-in-chief —General Seth Williams — The Count de Paris — The Duke de Chartres — The diplomatic corps. — Its partiality for the South — Why? — Receptions at the White House— Mr. Stanton — Mr. Seward — President Lincoln 13-, CONTENTS. XIII

Chapter VIII. Commencement Of The Campaign

Opening of the campaign of 1862 — Disagreements at Washington — Adoption of McClellan's plan — Military excursion in Virginia — Organization of army corps — Embarking for Fortress Monroe — Fight of the Monitor and the Merrimac — Disembarking at Hampton — The surrounding country — Newport News — March upon Yorktown — The beseeching Virginians 152

Chapter IX. Apprenticeship Of The War

Siege of Yorktown — Attack on Lee's mill — The Harwood farm — Amongst the sharpshooters — The man hunt — Visit of the general-in-chief — Faults of administration — A black snake mayonnaise — Marching-out of the Confederate troops — The enemy abandons his positions — Evacuation of Yorktown 174

Chapter X. The First Battle

— WILLIAMSBURG. Pursuit — The enemy attacked at Williamsburg — He attacks Hooker's division — Peck's brigade the first to receive it — The Fifty-fifth under fire — Critical moment — Attack repulsed — Reenforcements arrive — Engagement of General Hancock — General McClellan's report — Advice of General Couch — A walk on the field of battle — Burial of the dead — Visit to the wounded — The amputated — The prediction of a Georgia captain 190

Chapter XI. Days Of Suffering

Forward march — Engagement at West Point — Subject for discontent — Dinner at Headquarters — Fight of a new kind — The bull and the Newfoundland dog — The death of Bianco — Virginia plantations — Marsh fever — The Turner house — Delirium — Manna in the desert — Anxieties — Battle of Fair Oaks — First days of convalescence — Departure for the North 213

Chapter XII. The Sanitary Commission

The victims of the Chickahominy — The army railroad — Peregrinations of a friend in search of me — Hospital tents— Agreeable surprise — CONTENTS. XIV Origin of the Sanitary Commission — Difficulties thrown in the way — Services rendered — The commission transports — Herculean la bors — Strifes — The loads of sick humanity — Horrible realities — The miracles of charity 235

Chapter XIII. The Seven Days' Battle

Contrasts — New York — The Newport steamer — Boston — Success of Stonewall Jackson — Stuart's raid — Return to Fortress Monroe — Interview with General Dix — Evacuation of West Point — Arrival at Harrison's Landing — The work of McClellan — A characteristic despatch — Battle of Mechanicsville — of Gaines' Mill — of Savage Station — of White Oak Swamp — of Glendale — of Malvern Hill — The port of refuge 261

Chapter XIV. From Charybdis To Scylla

Miserable condition of the army — Desertions — Military bravado and political manifesto of McClellan — Reconnoissances — Order to evacuate the Peninsula — Delay after delay — Pope on the Rappahannock — Delay at Alexandria — Night march — Fairfax Court House — Death of Kearney — Retreat on Washington — Pope and Mc- Clellan 283

Chapter XV. Better Times

Invasion of Maryland by the Confederates — Passage of the Fifty-fifth through Tenallytown — Advance posts on the Monocacy — Transfer to the Third Corps — Appearance of Washington — A legacy from Kearney — General Birney — How Harper's Ferry surrendered to the enemy — Battles on South Mountain — Condition of the two armies — Battle of Antietam — Attacks in detail — Incomplete Result — McClellan's hesitations — Lee returns to Virginia . . . 308

Chapter XVI. Interlude

General Berry — Volunteer recruiting — Antipathy of the people to the conscription — New regiments — Three hundred thousand men raised for nine months -The Fifty-fifth reorganized in seven companies — Raid of General Stuart into Maryland — The Third Corps at CONTENTS. XV Edwards Ferry — General Stoneman — Colonel Duffie— General Mc- Clellan's inaction — Correspondence with the President — The army returns to Virginia — The different classes of farmers — Forward march — General McClellan relieved of his command 328

Chapter XVII. Fredericksburg

Ambrose Burnside, general commanding — Organization of grand divisions — Mrs. L.'s honey — State elections — General Burnside's plan — The delay of the pontoons — Effect of snow — Passage of the Rappahannock — Doctor C.'s nerves — Battle of Fredericksburg — Attack of the enemy's positions on the left — Tragical episode — Whose fault was it ? — Disasters on the right — General Burnside's obstinacy — Dead and wounded — Return to our camp . . . 351

Chapter XVIII. Emancipation

Military balance-sheet for the year .1862 — The emancipation question — The inaugural address of Mr. Lincoln — Reserve of the President and of Congress — General Fremont — Abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia — Proposition for gradual emancipation — General Hunter — Confiscation act — Progress of emancipation — Letter of Mr. Lincoln — Religious deputation — Last scruples — Preparatory dispositions — Definite proclamation of emancipation . . 380

Chapter XIX. Last Efforts Of Burnside

The Fifty-fifth New York consolidated with the Thirty-eighth — New Year's day in camp — Abuse of strong liquor in the army — New projects of General Burnside — Plan of acavalry expedition by General Averill — Intervention of the President — Burnside at Washington — General Newton and General Cochrane — Complications — The army in motion — A gloomy night — The army buried in the mud — Return to camp — General order No. 8 — How General Burnside came to be relieved of the command of the army 397

Chapter XX. Hooker Commanding The Army

General Hooker's character — Improvements in the army — How promotions were made — Intrigues and rivalries — Political preferences CONTENTS. — Brigadier-generals' report — Special marks to designate the different army corps — Poverty of Virginia country people — A pastor with out a flock — Marriage under a tent — Camp fetes — Preparations for moving — Combined march on Chancellorsville — Brilliant commencement of a brilliant conception 4r3

Chapter XXI. Chancellorsville

First encounter with the enemy — Capital fault — Defensive position of the army — Advance position of the Third Corps — Engagement of Birney's division — Jackson's attack on the right — Rout of the Eleventh Corps — Counter charge of Berry's division — Death of Major Keenan — Artillery saved by General Pleasonton — Night encounter — Episodes — Death of Stonewall Jackson — Renewal of the battle — Accident to General Hooker — Remarks on the position — Bayonet charge — Movement backward — Sedgwick carries Fredericksburg Heights — Combat at Salem — The Sixth Corps at Banks Ford — General retreat 435

Chapter XXII. Invasion Of Pennsylvania

Position of Hooker after Chancellorsville — The President's letter — Lee's army in motion — March on Manassas and Centreville — Guerillas — Cavalry engagements — Entrance into Maryland — Welcome by the people — The enemy in Pennsylvania — Hooker relieved of his command — Meade appointed general commanding — Convent of St. Joseph at Emmittsburg — Bloody contest near Gettysburg — Death of General Reynolds — Report of General Hancock — Concentration of the two armies 47 1

Chapter XXIII. Gettysburg

Position of the two armies — Dangerous advance of the Third Corps — First attack on the extreme left — The fight of the Third Brigade — Double assault on the summit of Little Round Top — Caldwell's division in line — The enemy driven back — Graham in the peach orchard — General Humphreys — The left line driven in from one end to the other — Offensive return — The position recovered — Ewell's attack on the extreme right — Night spent in position — Renewal of the battle at Culp Hill — Interval — The scene of the action — Everything staked on one blow by the rebels — Account taken — Trophies of the Second Corps CONTENTS. XVII

Chapter XXIV. The Pursuit

The field of battle by moonlight — The wounded and the dead — Pursuit of the enemy — French's division added to the Third Corps — Political intrusions — Difficult position of General Meade — Council of war — General disappointment — The war carried again into Virginia — Battle of Manassas Gap — Lost opportunity — General French — Once more on the Rappahannock 512

Chapter XXV. Operations During The Latter Part Of

1863. White Sulphur Springs — The Vallandigham affair — Plots of the Copperheads — Bloody riots in New York — Attitude of Governor Horatio Seymour — Western regiments sent to enforce the law — Reenforcements hurried to Tennessee — Advance on Culpeper — The Sharpshooters — Movement to the rear — The engagement at Auburn — Battle of Bristoe Station — Remarks — Visit of General Sickles — Battle at Rappahannock Station — Engagement at Kelly's Ford — March in line of battle — Mr. John Minor Botts between two racks — Mine Run affair — Death labels — Raid on Richmond 532

Chapter XXVI. Ulysses

S. GRANT, LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. Condition of the rebellion at the beginning of 1864 — General Grant in the West — The capture of Vicksburg — Capitulation of Port Hudson — Victory of Missionary Ridge — Grant appointed lieutenant-general — His portrait — His stay at Washington — Reorganization of the Army of the Potomac — Official statement of the land forces of the United States — How I came to be appointed to the command of the garrison and defences of New York 557

Chapter XXVII. Battle After Battle

Battle of the Wilderness — Volleys <J outrance in the thickets — The diverse fortunes — Death of General Wadsworth — Fight in the midst of the flames— Result — Battle of Spottsylvania — Death of General Sedgwick — Attack on the intrenchments — Success of the Second Corps — Twenty hours of conflict — Night movements — Continued battles — Engagement on the North Anna — Cavalry expedition — Sheridan under the walls of Richmond — Death of CONTENTS. General Stuart — Battle of Cold Harbor — Account rendered of one month of campaign 57°

Chapter XXVIII. In Front Of Petersburg

Passage of the James — First attack on Petersburg — My return to the army — City Point — General Ingalls— A night at headquarters — General Hancock — Losses of my brigade during two months' campaign — Losses of the Second Corps — Fortnight of extra duty — The colored troops — Early's expedition against Washington — Between the cup and the lip there is room for: a hanging — First Deep Bottom expedition — Hurried return 5^9

Chapter XXIX. The Mine

Universality of Yankee genius — The mine dug by Colonel Pleasants — Project of assault — General Burnside's plan — Unfortunate modifications — Lots drawn — Last preparations — The match goes out — The explosion — The crater — Terrible fiasco — The double investigation — Different conclusions — The true cause of the want of success 608

Chapter XXX. Summer Harvests

General theory of the siege of Petersburg — The pick and the musket — Second expedition to Deep Bottom — Death of Colonel Chaplain — The trials of a regiment — The mark of death — Presentiments — Return to the trenches — Contest for the Weldon railroad — General Warren's success — Unfortunate affair of General Hancock at Ream's Station — Fort Hell — Origin of the name — Nocturnal coup de main — Muskets, cannons, and mortars — Southern deserters — Victories of Sheridan, Sherman, and Farragut 625

Chapter XXXI. October Vintage

General Butler's success north of the James — Line advanced to the Peeble's house — Return to Fort Hell — Misfortunes of a Virginian family — General Birney's death — Arrival of recruits at the army — Dearth of officers — Political prejudices — Too free talk — Expedition to Hatcher's Run — Battle of October 27 — Line broken — How the break was repaired — Cavalry on foot — Night retreat — The wounded — General Hancock leaves the army CONTENTS. XIX

Chapter XXXII. The Beginning Of The End

Presidential campaign of 1864 — Cleveland convention — Baltimore convention — Platforms — Nomination of Mr. Lincoln Chicago convention — Democratic profession of faith — The question of prisoners of war — Barbarities of the rebel government — Nomination of General McClellan — Desperate manœuvres — Election — The army vote — Counter-stroke by the Confederates — Thanksgiving . .671

Chapter XXXIII. The Last Winter

General Humphreys — A raid to the south of Virginia — Cloth pontoons Howa railroad is destroyed — A winter's night — Exodus of negroes Murder punished by fire — Military executions — Renewed operations on Hatcher's Run — Last extension of our lines — General Grant's chessboard — Sherman's march — Victories in Tennessee — Cavalry raids — Capture of Fort Fisher — Schofield in North Carolina — Sherman's arrival at Goldsborough — Sheridan at work — His return to the Army of the Potomac 687

Chapter XXXIV. The Great Stroke

Capture and recapture of Fort Steadman — Desperate combats along the lines of rifle-pits — General MacAllister — The conscripts under fire — The One Hundred and Twenty-fourth New York and the Fifty-ninth Alabama — General Lee's plans — General Grant's instructions — Opinions in the army — First movements — The battle of White Oak road — The battle of Five Forks — Warren and Sheridan — Anight of engagements — The last assaults — Meeting General Grant — Death of General A. P. Hill. — Veiiit summa dies 705

Chapter XXXV. The Denouement

Evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond — The pursuit — Arrival at Jetersville — The Confederates at Amelia Court House — Engagements of the rearguard — Fight at Deatonsville — Captures and trophies — A great cast of the net — Death of General Read — Opinion of a Confederate sergeant — The baggage — Meeting General Sheridan — High Bridge — The last battle of the Second Corps — Communications between Grant and Lee — The coup de grace — The Confederate army lays down its arms — Final tableau .... 731 Chapter XXXVI — Conclusion LIST OF MAPS. Page WlLLIAMSBURG 20O Fredericksburg 360 Chancellorsville 440 Gettysburg 500 Boydton Road 660 General Map of Virginia . . . At the end of the text. FOE YEARS WITH THE ARMY OP THE POTOMAC,

Chapter I. The Cause Of The War

The question of slavery — The Missouri Compromise — First attempt at secession by South Carolina — Abolition of slavery in the English colonies — Its effect in the United States — First Abolition candidate for the Presidency — Annexation of Texas — War with Mexico — Increased agitation — Wilmot Proviso — Van Buren, the anti-slavery candidate — Disorganization of the Whig party — Compromise of 1850 — Fugitive Slave Law — Kansas-Nebraska bill — Civil war in Kansas — Birth of the Republican party — Election of Buchanan — Affair of Harper's Ferry — The irrepressible conflict. The great American rebellion of 1861 had for its cause the maintenance and the perpetuation of slavery. From whatever point of view we study the develop ment of the facts and the march of events which cul minated in this great conflict, we find at bottom the question of slavery ; all else is merely subsidiary.

This question, pregnant with storms, dated from the very establishment of the Republic. The wise men who drew up the Constitution were, in principle, op posed to slavery, and could not logically sanction a right of property of man over man, when they proclaimed " Equality and the inalienable right to liberty " of all members of the human family. In their minds, slavery was condemned ; but, constrained to respect great interests, they left to time, and to the progressive march of civilization, the care of adjusting these transitory interests to permanent principles. Antagonism between freedom and slavery was devel oped rapidly by the voluntary extinction of slavery in the New England States, in New York, and in Pennsyl vania. The opposing forces beginning at that time to be equalized, an active struggle began when the crea tion of new States and the expansion of free labor tended to cause the balance to fall on the side of emancipation.

The whole political history of. the United States turns upon this strife, in which the statesmen of the country, for a half-century, expended their strength in vain. Their mistake consisted in believing in the effi cacy of compromises, a poor expedient to reconcile irreconcilable differences ; puerile efforts, which, in pres ence of the results, inevitably call to mind the image of the dikes of sand which children sometimes, for their amusement, raise along the shore, to stop the rising tide. The most astonishing of these childish freaks was the invention of an imaginary line across the American continent, to limit forever the domain of liberty and the domain of slavery, to give to each its part : this to civilization, that to barbarism. This compromise line was, as is well known, the re sult of the first great battle fought by the democratic and emancipating spirit of the North, against the oli garchic and pro-slavery principles of the South.

During the session of Congress in 1818 to 1819, Missouri had asked admission into the Union, but the House of Representatives attached to this admission the condition that slavery should cease to exist in the new State. The Senate refused to sanction this con dition, and the unsettled question was reserved for the decision of the next Congress. By both sides, advantage was taken of this delay, to inflame the passions and envenom the strife. The agitation, deep and violent, developed a startling difference between the North, which ardently sustained the condition im posed by the House of Representatives, and the South, which obstinately declared it unconstitutional. Matters had come to such a pass that Congress was frightened at probable consequences, and drew back before the responsibility of a solution by force of arms, in case a solution was not reached by ballot.

Could the young Republic, which had existed less than half a century, stand the terrible ordeal of a civil war, and would not the dismemberment of the Union lead to such results that both parties would be engulfed in one common ruin ? Such was, in fact, the determining cause of the " Missouri Compromise," which was not, nor could be, a solution. The danger was postponed, slavery had obtained a respite ; the respite of the condemned. It is difficult to suppose that the statesmen of that period could really have trusted in the permanency of their dike of sand, and that the American people could in good faith have believed in the efficacy of a geo graphic fiction to stop indefinitely the advance of lib erty. But the hostile parties accepted the compromise as a truce by which each might profit in recuperating its strength and in subsequently resuming the contest with greater advantage.