The second war of independence in America

Preface

THE SECOXD GEEMAN EDITION.

The motive for the publication of ' The Second War of Independence in America,' which appeared in January last, was the earnest desire, by means of a short and conscientious exposition of the American question, to correct, as far as possible, the erroneous notions which had been propagated in Germany with regard to this unholy conflict. The attention with which every event in the course of this war is followed, proves how intimately the sympathies and interests of Europe are concerned in it.

Since the appearance of the first edition some changes have taken place in the condition of things. Wherever these have been of any importance, I have communicated them in notes or additions, and ha-^'e called attention to their significance. In general, it

VI PREFACE TO SECOND GERMAN EDITION.

may be remarked that the conduct of the war on the part of the Confederates has been changed. Without seeking now, as formerly, to check the enemy on the frontiers of the Southern territory, it appears to be the intention of the Southern Government to draw him into the heart of the South ; for there the South will be able to oppose him, deprived of the protection of his navy, with equal arms and with greater prospect of success.

The lack of authentic information at that time was a sufficient ground for the publication of this volume. In consequence of the total suspension of postal communication between the South and Europe, no accounts of transpiring events were able to reach us ; and thus the people of Europe were able to base their judgement only upon statements both one-sided and coloured to suit party-purpose. The present condition of the press in the Northern States, however, is a still greater inducement for a caution against the credibility of all news emanating from that source. From the beginning, the South has suiFered severely from the difficulty of postal communication with Europe, as the North has by this means been enabled to deceive the nations of Europe. At the present moment, the state of affairs is far more a2:o:ravated. The Northern Government have issued a proclamation,

PREFACE TO SECOND GERMAN EDITION. Vll

prohibiting the publication of a word with reference to the events of the war, without special permission. And when it is borne in mind that the Federal Government are pledged to crush the rebellion by May 1, in order to avert European intervention, it will appear evident that no news favourable to the South can be expected from the North. We shall, however, now be able to estimate the value to be attached to Northern accounts.

On many sides regret has been expressed through the press that no special examination had been made of the question of Slavery in the former edition. I have, therefore, determined to add, as a supplement, a particular chapter on the condition of the slaves in America. This chapter is limited, however, to the actual condition of the African slaves, with brief reference to the question of emancipation. The moral side of Slavery I have left undiscussed.

No one who examines well all the circumstances can, in the face of these brief intimations, fail to be convinced that the North, in inscribing emancipation of the slaves upon its banner as the cause of the war against the South, has acted with an entire disregard of truth ; and this, in order to win the approval of the European States for its war of conquest, and to frustrate the recognition of the Southern States

Vlll PREFACE TO SECOND GERMAN EDITION.

as an independent power, or at least to delay it as long as possible, for the sake of self-preservation. An impartial examination of the action of the North towards its own emancipated slaves, which have not been made equals of the whites, and the endeavour, which it has never attempted to conceal, to disembarrass itself of the emancipated negroes, favoured with onlyinferior rights, by sending them beyond its borders, will prove to the conviction of any one that it is out of no considerations of humanity that the North is induced to raise such a 'hue and cry' about Slavery in the South. On the other hand, it will be e\ddent to those whose attention is directed to the peculiarities of the country and the character of the negro, that an emancipation of the slaves, in their own interest as well as in that of the country, could not, with any degree of reason, be eiFected by a sudden and hasty act ; but that in all cases, supposing emancipation to be desirable, well-matured plans of transition would be necessary to elevate the negro-race, so far below the whites in the scale of developement, to a condition for enjoying liberty, without certain destruction to itself and to the country. The Abolitionists would, without any sacrifice on their part, consecrate the country and its inhabitants to destruction for the sake of an idea,

Preface To Second German Edition. IX

and would apply to a condition, which they characterise as a malady, a radical cure which they refused to apply to their own body, as long as it was suffering from a similar one.

The want of accurate and true representations of the causes and objects of the war, because all accounts emanated from the North, has influenced the press of Germany warmly to espouse the cause of the Federal Government. It is, nevertheless, undeniable that the press has recently been more enlightened; but still prejudices, once awakened, have remained, as it was the impression in Europe that the abolition of Slavery was the great humanitarian object of the war in America. In confirmation of my ovra views upon the American question, I refer to the letter of Captain M. F. Maury to Admiral Fitzroy. The writer, who is well known throughout Europe for his extensive scientific attainments, gives a clear statement of the origin of the difficulty, criticises the measures of Lincoln, and exposes the resources of the South and the reasons for its eventual success.

With a quiet conscience, therefore, may I leave the final decision about this war to the intelligent public, who know very well that the faults of State Government cannot be corrected by brilliant theories.

X PREFACE TO SECOND GERMAN EDITION.

I may now lay aside my pen with the consciousness, equally free from over-estimation and self-praise, that I have fearlessly followed the voice of truth in contributing my mite, as in duty bound, to the welfare of my native land.

BERLm: March 28,1862.

Contents

PAGE

Preface to the Second German Edition . . v

Introduction ...... xiii

CHAPTER I. Political Relations of the States of the Union to

each other ..... 1

CHAPTER II. Causes of the Dissolution op the Union

I. Social causes . . . , .39

II. Economic causes . . . . .45

HI. Political causes . . . . .52

CHAPTER HI.

The War.

I. Unconstitutionality of the war . . .66

II. Commencement of the war . . . .69

III. Character of the war — on the part of the North, a

means for the acquisition of greater power ; on the part of the South, for securing its independence and liberty . . . . .87

IV. Contradictions in the representations made respect-

ing the motives for wajring the war . . 94

Xll

CONTENTS.

Chapter IV

Capacity of both Parties for carrying on this War.

I. Resources in men ....

. 100

II. The navy .....

. 109

III. Material resources ....

. 113

IV. Army-organization ....

. 125

V. Duration of the war ....

. 130

CHAPTER VI. African Slavery

I. General observations II. Status of the slaves .

III. Manumission and emancipation

136 153 162

Introduction

The interest evinced by the British public for everything pertaining to the war in America, and the success which the ' Second War of Independence in America ' has obtained in scientific and political circles in Germany, have induced Mr. Hudson to reproduce it in England. The second German edition has been made the basis of the English, some points being treated more in detail, while others, perhaps too elementary for this stage of the American war, have been omitted.

The constitutional right of secession is developed at length, and no point of discussion has been omitted; while the author has given special prominence to the historical foundation of the rigHt.

The causes which led to the exercise of this right will be found all duly arrayed, and prominent among them the original antipathy and antagonism of the Northern and Southern colonists, and the influences which have tended to keep these alive and active. Indeed, when we seek to determine the true character

XIV INTRODUCTION.

of these two nations by the experience of the present war, we are astonished that they could have lived so long under the same government. This difference was one of the principal reasons for the ardent attachment of the Southern people to the doctrine of ' State Rights.' All the elements of distinct national life being present, the South, plastic from the heat of political passion and war, has been moulded by her leaders into a nation as complete in all that is essential to the name, as though she were as old as the ' Celestial Empire.'

The subject of Slavery is briefly but fully treated. Here the author has avoided no question but that of the abstract right or wrong involved, deeming, very properly, this to be a point the discussion of which not being practical would be barren of results. He takes a great fact, and treats it in its practical bearings, leaving to time the solution of those problems which can never be determined by theoretical discussions, by fanatical abuse and interference, or by treaties which could never have any practical effect if made. This portion of the work embraces an historical sketch of African Slavery in th6 United States, and an exposition of the legal condition of the negro (free and slave) in America, thereby utterly confounding those calumniators of the South who have proclaimed the slave to be in the Southern code only a.' chattel.' Unfortunately, the European public

IXTRODUCTION. XV

seem to have been led, certainly not bytlie authorized organs of the Confederate States, to believe that the South was prepared to allow the condition of her negro population to be determined by the European powers. Nothing could be further from her intentions, since the question does not fall within the jurisdiction of the powers delegated to the Confederate Government. Moreover, it would be an endorsement of all the calumnies of her enemies, the admission that Europe knows her internal condition and interests better than herself, and is actuated by higher motives of humanity ; and finally, it would be a relinquishment of the dearest right of sovereignty, impossible to a proud and sensitive people.

The unparalleled growth of the United States in wealth, population, and power has been viewed with varied feelings by the different countries and classes of Europe. According to the peculiar interests or policy of the governments and people, or the political theories w^hicli happened to prevail with a given class, have opinions been formed. Upon the whole, the Union carried with it the moral weight of success, except "with a few far-seeing thinkers. This mighty empire fell hopelessly at a time, when even men hostile to its political ideas w'ere upon the point of acknowledging its success. The great majority in the South had long seen the approach of the catastrophe, and were divided only as to the best time and

a

Xvi INTRODUCTION.

means for securing themselves from a government that was fast becoming a tyranny of the most oppressive character. At the time of the secession of the Southern States, there was a party, largely in the minority, which thought that the appropriate time for separation had not arrived, and that in case of war the South, being unprepared, would be at a great disadvantage. In this party was to be found what of sentiment for the common history still existed, together with those interests which in case of a war are always the first to suffer. The right of secession was doubted by no party in the South ; it was with all purely a question of time and expediency. The secession of the South took the Xbrth by surprise, which, not at first appreciating that it was more than the impulse of sudden passion, affected to consider it as something exceedingly farcical, of which the South would soon become most heartily ashamed. How much of this was affected, and how much was the result of ignorance or policy, it is impossible to determine. Yet as the idea gained ground that the movement had a real meaning and a purpose, the Abolitionists who had expressed tlieir joy to be rid of the South, the more moderate Republicans who had disavowed any desire to preserve the Union by force, and the Democrats, who had till then been friendly to the South, seeing that great political and material interests were at stake, united to form tliat mass of

INTRODUCTION. XVll

fanaticism, hate, hypocrisy, and vandalism which has disgraced the nineteenth century. When the news of the dissolution of the Union reached Europe, there was, in England at least, a feeling of relief; for every trace of conservatism had disappeared from the Government ; while the foreign policy had come to be determined by the foreign population and the party of ' Manifest Destiny ' at the hustings. Under the influence of the lawless and socialistic elements from Europe, and the extreme democratic ideas prevalent in the North, the right of suffrage had lost its dignity, and political power had passed into the hands of those least capable of using it well. There was one party in Europe that saw the dissolution with deep and unconcealed disappointment. With the fall of the Union were lost to the party of revolution its hopes of powerful aid from that quarter, for removing the remaining restrictions upon their theory of universal equality. They had always hated the South, but now their hatred knew no bounds ; and, with the Republican party of the North, they demanded a war of extermination. A misconception as to the true character of the Union produced at first coolness on the part of the Conservatives, the natural allies of the South, which has happily passed away with the error that caused it. The whole of Europe, misled by the malignant misrepresentations of the Abolitionists of Europe and America, saw little

XVlll INTRODUCTION.

occasion for sympathy in the picture of a nation composed of a few cruel and voluptuous slaveholders, a large mass of ' white trash,' and millions of Africans smarting from the lash and groaning under the burdens of their taskmasters. Those interested in those branches of commerce and manufactures which were affected by the hostilities, naturally looked upon the South as a disturber of the public peace, asking few questions about the right or wrong of her actions. If, at the commencement of the war, the South had a friend in Euroj)e, there was no evidence of the fact. Some may have wished her success for political reasons, but there was no sentiment of sympathy for her cause, and but little hope that she would succeed in the unequal contest, while her enemies were confident of her speedy subjugation.

But what are the results of a war of nearly two years ? Considering the populations engaged, and the attending circumstances, they characterise it as a war almost unparalleled in histor}^ All the predictions of the enemies of the South have been falsified ; while her bold and defiant confidence, thought to be the result of ignorance, has been more than justified by the almost romantic success of her arms. We have seen a government spring into existence, exercising with dignity and consummate skill almost unlimited powers, without impairing the liberty of the individual. We have seen a people in

INTRODUCTION. XIX

the want of all the appliances of war, and supposed to be enervated by indolence and vice, accomplish all that could have been expected from a nation with a highly developed industrial and military organization. We have seen an army badly armed and equipped supply itself from its rich, numerous, and boasting enemy. We have seen a nation act as an unit, and find its strength where friends and foes had sought its weakness. In fine, every evidence of unity, vitality, courage, perseverance, and success has been presented to the world; and, upon the whole, the South has gained moral as well as physical victories, and has won the sympathy of all who admire heroic spirit, and abhor treachery, corruption, imbecility, and cruelty. In the meantime, she has invited the most searching scrutiny of her internal condition and institutions, knowing, as she does, that ignorance of -these has been the greatest obstacle in her way. It is highly probable that, had the governments of Europe had a clear view of the true state of America at the commencement of the struggle, their policy would have been somewhat different.

Apart from the causes which led to the dissolution, it was best for the world and for America itself that disunion should have taken place; for the idea of future irresistible power, and the absence of all conservative restraints, would soon have rendered peace impossible ; and had the warlike enthusiasm of

XX INTRODUCTION.

the combined nation once engaged it in war with a foreign power, it would have been the bloodiest of history. For America it was best, since the political system was fast demoralizing the people ; and the only hope was in the formation of two governments, by which a balance of power might be created on that continent, and with it more conservative political tendencies. Besides, the territory of the Union was too large to be longer well-governed; and this of itself would have made dissolution inevitable. War has its evils ; but, upon the whole, a long peace has evils perhaps equally great, which can only be remedied by war. In addition to the ill effects of a too-long peace, America had peculiar necessity for internal war, in order that the political and material forces of the continent should be measured, both for the benefit of herself and of Europe, as upon this point the ignorance seemed to be almost universal. Viewed in this light, it appears, then, that disunion was inevitable and desirable; and that war was necessary as a solid foundation for a long peace, undisturbed by those quarrels which take place between neighbours unacquainted with the horrors of a war brought home to themselves, and ignorant of their mutual strength. Great Britain, for obvious reasons, felt the deepest interest in what transpired in America. It was the fall of lier great future rival, the peculiarities of whose diplomacy she had learned

INTRODUCTION. XXI

to appreciate, and whose cotton-fields would have been so potent for evil in the event. of war. She saw that America, under the political guidance of the North, would inaugurate that system under which her own industrial grandeur had been built up, and which she has so recently learned to be a ruinous error. Trembling for her commercial sceptre, her relief must have been more profound than has ever been acknowledged. The question of the blockade came up and lessened somewhat this sense of satisfaction, in itself perfectly justifiable. But Manchester had studied political economy, which teaches that ' supply is regulated by demand.' And there were India, and Egypt, and Turkey, and Brazil, and Australia, and the West Indies, and Central America, and Mexico, and Africa, all ready to take part in this great plan for emancipating British industry from the American ' monopoly.' Besides, a blockade of the Southern ports, it was seen, would relieve the market of the excess of cotton cloths, and though a slight violation of Manchester philosophy, if not continued too long, might act beneficially as a stimulant for opening new cotton-fields. It has long been the dream of England to become totally independent of foreign countries for the supply of raw material for her manufactures, and it had always been especially galling to see herself dependent on the United States for her chief supply of cotton. This feeling had

XXU INTRODUCTION.

extended to the system of labour itself wliich produced it, and explains, much more than the English themselves are perhaps aware, their special hatred to negro slavery in the South. The South had also imprudently expressed the hope that the necessity for cotton would force England to prevent the blockade of her ports; and it was easy to see, by consulting the expressions of the various organs of public opinion at the time, that the English people felt it to be almost a national insult to suppose that they would be influenced in their political course by interest. It is difficult to conceive that England has been influenced as much by the threats of the Government at Washino-ton as the w^orld has been led to believe.

The idea that England, hating the institutions of each section, calmly awaits the ruin of both, is inconsistent with her character for humanity, and a clear view of her own interests. Though a rival, they have furnished her with the best market in which to buy and sell, and it is impossible to see how their ruin could result in her benefit.

The opinion of those who maintain that action of any kind whatever on the part of Europe, with regard to America, would only tend to lengthen the war and increase its bitterness, are not justified by experience or history, and are contrary to public opinion in America.

INTRODUCTION. XXIU

The commercial interests have been quieted by the repeated intimation of the danger of a war, a danger existing only in the imagination of the timid, or of those totally unacquainted with the Yankee character. Those eno;ao;ed in manufactures have been told that no action short of war would relieve their sufferings, while their fears about the destruction of their interests were quieted by the hope that the misfortune would be of short duration.

The Kadicals did not desire the termination of the war, their motto being sympathy and alliance with the North.

The war in America means not only the loss of that great political power so necessary to the North for her commercial and industrial schemes, but it means the loss of the very foundation of her naval and industrial greatness. The loss of the West will soon follow that of the South, already accomplished. It is useless for England to seek to make a friend of this people without a nationality; it is impossible. Their interests are diametrically opposed to hers, and of this the Morrill Tariff is a sufficient confirmation. Politically, she will gravitate anywhere else than towards Enerland.

o

Observed from the point of their geographical relations, climate, productions, stage of industrial developement, origin, character, and political interests, one cannot fail to be struck with the community of

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

interests between Great Britain and the Confederate States. The one a great manufacturer and importer of raw materials, the other a great producer of raw materials and importer of manufactured articles ; the one possessing a great commercial navy, the other producing in quantities, whose increase is hardly to be limited, all those products most adapted to the support of a large commercial navy; the one rich and mature, the other young, but full of ardour and enterprise, descended from England, speaking her language, possessing the same laws, and, for the most part, holding the same political ideas. The importance of the countries on the Mississippi and around the Gulf of Mexico to England, needs no explanation ; but, to make them fully available for her purposes, it is absolutely necessary that a powerful and well-ordered government should exist in the Southern States, the policy of which should be dictated by their obvious interests, and not by those of Xew Eno-land. Certain social accidents, conflictinc: with opinions that have gained ground only within the last sixty years, are thought by some to be sufficient to vitiate the benefit of this mutual interest. Nothing could be more false, and a more intimate mutual acquaintance would prove its falsity. Those who believe that it is the duty of England to demand conditions from the South in her present difficulties, may be referred to the result of the contest between

INTRODUCTION. XXV

Boreas and tlie Sun, of which a lonely traveller was the object. Free Trade is obviously to the interest of the Confederate States, yet there is reason to fear that, should the war continue, the Government of the Confederate States will encounter great difficulties in carrying out this policy, since the blockade has compelled the South to manufacture for herself. Large amounts of capital have been forced into this channel, and when the war ceases this must, without protection, become a total loss. It may well be asked, whether it would be just to sacrifice those who have saved the South, for the interest of those who saw the blockade — the true cause of the gi*eat length of the war — go into force without a protest. The wedge once introduced, we should in all probability have the history of the protective system of the old Union, which sprang up in this way, reenacted. The large national debt would also operate in the same dii'ection, and have a stronger ground for its defence in the fact that it would lighten in a high degree direct taxation.

The most important industrial considerations arising from the war, and consequent blockade, are the efi"ects upon the cotton interests of Great Britain and the Confederate States. Allusion to this subject must naturally be very incomplete here, as a careful investigation of all the questions involved would demand a separate volume.

XXVI INTKODUCTION.

A little over a century ago commenced in England that series of inventions which render it the most important era in her commercial history. Coincident with the improvements in the machinery for spinning cotton and weaving cotton cloth, came into operation the improvements in the application of steam power. Immediately after the above-mentioned inventions for the manufacture of cotton, followed that of the cotton gin, for separating the wool from the seed, an invention destined to revolutionise commerce. This gave the first impetus to the culture of cotton in the South, the rapid developement of which furnishes the most remarkable facts in the history of industry. Before the commencement of the cotton trade between Europe and the present Confederate States, the manufacture of cotton had slowly but steadily increased in England. The importation of cotton wool amounted in 1795 to 22,600,000 lbs., of which only 100,000 lbs. came from the East Indies. The cotton gin was introduced in 1793, and in 1794 1,601,760 lbs. and in 1795 5,276,300 lbs. of cotton were exported from the South. The total quantity of cotton exported from the South to Europe in 1860 was 1,767,686,338 lbs., valued at 191,806,555 dollars. This estimate of value does not of course include that of 1,000,000 of bales retained and consumed mostly in New England. This gives an additional

INTRODUCTION. XXVll

500,000,000 lbs, to the cotton production of the South, which may be valued at 50,000,000 dollars. The amount of capital invested in the manufacture of cotton in Great Britain in 1787 was 1,000,000/., the number of operatives employed being about 60,000. The total import of cotton into Great Britain in 1860 was 1,390,938,752 lbs., of which 1,115,890,608 lbs. were imported from the United States; 204,141,168 lbs. from the East Indies; 1,050,784 lbs. from the West Indies; 17,286,864 lbs. from the Brazils; and 52,369,328 lbs. from all other countries. Of the whole amount imported, 1,140,510,112 lbs. were retained for British manufactures. The declared value of cotton yarns and goods exported in 1860 was 44,104,636/., being about 4,100,000/. less than in 1859. The cheapness of cotton goods, as well as the enormous increase in the wealth of the country produced by the cotton trade, has been a source of incalculable benefit to all classes, and to all branches of industry. This cheapness of one of the principal necessaries of life has raised the standard of comfort and caused a greater demand for luxuries, affording increased means for their gratification. This fact applies not only to Great Britain, but to all other countries where cotton cloths are largely consumed; so that cotton may be considered one of the greatest agents for increasing commerce and extending civilization.

XXVIU INTRODUCTION.

It is an undisputed fiict, that the steady and rapid increase of the production of cotton in the South, its convenience to the British manufacturer, and its cheapness and superior quality, have been the causes of the great increase in this branch of British industry.

There being no way of accounting for the position of America in the cotton trade, except by the operation of natural laws, it is of great importance to have these clearly in view in discussing the general question of the cotton supply, the results of the American war, and the possible effects of the blockade of the Southern ports upon the future of the cotton trade.

The cotton plant is not an indigenous growth of the Southern States, having been imported from the West Indies in 1621. It was first cultivated upon the Southern coast, but its culture has gradually been extended northward, until it forms the principal article of export from eight of the Southern States ; and, great as is its production, there is every reason to believe that, without a revolution in the industry of the Southern States, it may be almost indefinitely increased.* In the extension of its cultivation northwards, the plant had to become acclimated ; but such was the natural adaptation of the soil and climate to the growth of those kinds of cotton demanded by commerce, that the quality of the cotton has been