war without end

Posted on June 6, 2014 by SUMPTER

“until all resistance to the national authority ceases”

the national authority embodied by the vote of the people

abrham-lincoln-cartoon (Harper's Weekly 6-18-1864


JUST SO!
FREMONT. “Well, Sir ! I am nominated, you see!”
COCHRANE. “Yes, Sir; WE are nominated.”
LINCOLN. “Well, Gentlemen; and what then?”
FREMONT and COCHRANE. ” Oh! nothing, Sir; nothing—that’s all!”

Campaign season was heating up. On May 31, 1864 the Radical Democracy nominated John C. Fremont as its presidential standard-bearer. The Republican (National Union) convention was scheduled for June 7th and 8th in Baltimore. Here’s an endorsement of President Lincoln.

From The New-York Times June 6, 1864:

A Voice from Rebeldom on the Presidential Question.

We publish this morning a brief letter, (which we know to be genuine,) from the interior of Texas, relative to the necessity of reelecting President LINCOLN. The writer declares that nothing would give the loyal men of the South so much satisfaction; and that nothing would more discourage rebels. This testimony from the very bosom of rebeldom, is but a corroboration of our argument, that the Union cause cannot have its complete vindication short of compelling the South to submit to the national authority, as exercised by the very man against whose constitutional election by the people they rebelled.

The uniform representation of the Southern leaders has been, as our correspondent states, that this war upon the South has been mainly the doing of “Old ABE,” and a little knot of desperadoes around him. The lower classes of the South have no conception that the majority of the North are really in favor of the war — far less, that they are enlisted in it heart and soul, and are determined to fight it through till the rebellion is crushed, whatever blood, or treasure, or time it may cost. Such an idea has not been entertained, for the simple reason that these classes have been precluded from every source of true information. Almost by a natural necessity, they believed what has been incessantly told them. Ignorant at best, unaccustomed to draw inferences or form independent judgments of any sort, habitually looking to their political leaders for information and direction, and as completely unacquainted as the South Sea Islanders with Northern newspapers, they do not consider the reelection of ABRAHAM LINCOLN among the possibilities.

It is a great fact we must never forget, that ABRAHAM LINCOLN stands before the South as the embodiment of the war. It is that for which the Southern leaders so intensely hate him. It is that which has made it easy to present him to the people as the author of all their woes, and the only obstacle to their independence and peace. Therefore there can possibly be no such effectual method of evincing to the South the Northern determination to cleave to the war, than to vote by an overwhelming majority to continue the executive power in the hands of Mr. LINCOLN. Let any other man be chosen, no matter on what platform or by what party, and it would be represented at the South to be a proof of the dissatisfaction of the Northern people with the war, and a sign that the war would be soon abandoned. No such interpretation could be put on their election of ABRAHAM LINCOLN that would not be on its face preposterous. The very contumely which the Southern leaders have been pouring upon him for the last four years without stint, would estop them from uttering a syllable after his reelection in pretext that it was his usurped authority, and not the will of the North, that sustained the war. They have advertised him to the “white trash” of the South a little too freely to make it possible to falsify the meaning of his being chosen to a second Presidential term.

The reelection of President LINCOLN will be a solemn proclamation by the people to the rebellious South and to the whole world, that this war can have no end until all resistance to the national authority ceases. It will dispel a thousand mischievous delusions. It will present to the Southern people, for the first time, in all its reality, the appalling vista of war down which they must go to inevitable ruin, unless they return to their old allegiance. As merely the means of imposing upon the South a sense of the Northern determination to subdue this rebellion, this reelection would be worth a new army of half a million. It is already known well enough that we have the strength. What is especially needed is, the conviction that this strength will be used to the uttermost limit, if necessary to maintain the Government. To establish that conviction, we must attest our purpose in the most unmistakeable of all ways — the reelection to power of him, who, more prominently than any other man, has been identified with the war.

As a war measure, then, as a matter of military expediency, nothing could be wiser than this reelection. But there is an intrinsic justice in it which still more commends it. It was the national authority as vested in ABRAHAM LINCOLN that was defied; and it is preeminently fit that the submission, when made, should be made to the same exponent of that authority. No chance should ever be given for the future apologists of this rebellion to pretend that it was provoked and sustained only by the odiousness of Mr. LINCOLN’s political doctrines, and by his unfitness to be at the head of the Government. This business should be so settled as to render forever impossible the slightest idea that the recognition of a President elect depends in the least upon his party connections or his personal character. This cardinal principle can be reaffirmed in no better way than by making the rebellion succumb in its death to the very President whom it repelled and defied in its birth. It is not in any spirit of petty revenge, any desire to inflict needless humiliation, that this is urged. The effectual pacification of the country, so soon as the war closes, is a matter of too great concern to allow the slightest play to any feeling of that sort. Indeed, no personal feeling to any kind would justify any act that would operate against the speediest and easiest return to the line of duty. But there is a principle involved here; and it touches the vital issue of this struggle. It is the principle of implicit submission to the legal authority of the elect of the people. Had Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, or Mr. DOUGLAS, or Mr. BELL been elected, there would have been no rebellion. The South rebelled because the plurality of the people chose to be served by Mr. LINCOLN. It is for the people to reassert their absolute and indefeasible right, under the Constitution, to elect to the Presidency of this Republic whosoever they may choose to elect, and their determination, through all time to come, to put down any resistance to that right, whenever and wherever it is attempted. This reassertion can be made in no way so distinctly and effectually as by the reelection of President LINCOLN.

The political cartoon of President Lincoln and the candidates of the Radical Democracy was published in the June 18, 1864 issue of Harper’s Weekly (at Son of the South).

_______________________________________________
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New York, New York. June 6, 1944. D-day sevices in a synagogue on West Twenty-third Street (1944 June 6; LOC: LC-USW3-054043-C)

“New York, New York. June 6, 1944. D-day sevices in a synagogue on West Twenty-third Street”

New York, New York. June 6, 1944. Times Square and vicinity on D-day (1944 June 6; LOC: LC-USW3-054024-C)

“New York, New York. June 6, 1944. Times Square and vicinity on D-day”

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relative Sabbath

Posted on June 5, 2014 by SUMPTER

According to the following editorial 150 years ago today was a remarkably quiet Sunday up at the Cold Harbor front. Also, if Grant can’t do to Lee what Lee did to McClellan, then the Confederates must be the best soldiers. The piece following disdains the war advice offered by The New-York Times’ Henry Raymond.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 6, 1864:

Richmond Dispatch
Monday morning…June 6. 1864.
The front.

Yesterday was an uncommonly quiet day, undisturbed, as far as we could learn, by more than a single rumor, which, however, if there is any truth in it, is of more importance than the generality of rumors it bore that one of Grant’s couriers had been intercepted with a note from Grant himself to his Chief of Commissarial, instructing him to use his stores with the utmost economy, and saying that he could get no more until he reached James river. The impression has very generally prevailed that Grant is trying to force his way to that river, and that impression may have given rise to the rumor. If there be any truth in it, he must feel some doubt about the policy or possibility of establishing his base at the White House. Of this we know nothing; but, from appearances, he is evidently trying to reach the James, either to establish his base there or to cross over to the opposite side. This, we suppose, is the secret of his furious attacks upon the positions at Cold Harbor and Gaines’s Mill, and their neighborhood, and of his having assembled a large force at Bottom’s Bridge. If he can get over this side, he hopes to get possession of White Oak Swamp and Malvern Hill, as McClellan did, and thus to open the way to the river. These positions are both in our hands, and we hardly think they will be abandoned without a struggle. How capable they are of defence McClellan made it appear upon his retreat. Being now in our possession, we shall be in the position that McClellan was then, and Grant will be in the position that Gen. Lee then occupied.–Now, in 1862, our men carried the positions of Cold Harbor and Gaines’s Mill, which McClellan held then as we do now, while we occupied the position now held by Grant. Thus far Grant has been unable to make the slightest impression upon these positions. On the contrary, he has been repulsed in every attack he has made, most signally and most murderously. The affair of Friday was a mere massacre, and the attack of Fridaynight was repulsed with heavy loss on the part of the enemy and scarcely any loss on our part. If we could take the same positions when they held them, which they cannot take while we hold them, the inference is, that ours are the best troops. We have, therefore, no great fears for White Oak Swamp or Malvern Hill, even if Grant should cross the Chickahominy, which he has not done yet. Meanwhile we congratulate our brave soldiers, and their officers, upon being able to pass one Sabbath without losing or shedding blood. We scarcely heard the sound of a cannon yesterday — a circumstance which, just at this time, may be regarded as somewhat remarkable.

Raymond disappointed.

Raymond may be a “little villain””those who ought to know say he is — but he is a big soldier. He studied at Solferino, and took the degree of “Master” at the White House. If Richmond has not yet been taken it is no fault of Raymond’s. He gave the best possible advice, but those who had the ordering of the campaign would not follow it. …

Maybe the Richmond editors wrote their lead article late in the afternoon on the 5th, because according to Union General Meade the rebels launched a failed assault that very Sunday evening.

From The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade … (page 201):

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, 9 P.M., June 5, 1864.

[It had been comparatively quiet since the 3rd, but the rebels had just been repulsed that evening.] Indeed, we are pretty much engaged all the time, from early in the morning till late at night. I don’t believe the military history of the world can afford a parallel to the protracted and severe fighting which this army has sustained for the last thirty days. You would suppose, with all this severe fighting, our severe losses, constant marches, many in the night, that the physical powers of the men would be exhausted. I have no doubt that in time it will tell on them, but as of yet they show no evidences of it.

I feel a satisfaction in knowing that my record is clear, and that the results of this campaign are the clearest indications I could wish of my sound judgment, both at Williamsport and Mine Run. In every instance that we have attacked the enemy in an entrenched position we have failed, except in the case of Hancock’s attack at Spottsylvania, which was a surprise discreditable to the enemy. So, likewise, whenever the enemy has attacked us in position, he has been repulsed. I think Grant has had his eyes opened, and is willing to admit now that Virginia and Lee’s army is not Tennessee and Bragg’s army. Whether the people will ever realize this fact remains to be seen.

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brothers’ war?

Posted on June 4, 2014 by SUMPTER
Booths_Caesar

John Wilkes, Edwin, and Junius (Jr) Booth in Julius Caesar

Some Southerners didn’t take kindly to famous native Marylanders who were unabashedly pro-Union. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 3, 1864:

Edwin Boot[h] at the North.

–This young actor, a native of the State of Maryland, and whose engagements in the South previous to the war were attended with so much success, has lately been performing at the North for the benefits of the Sanitary Committee, When [t]old in Washington by a Southern lady a short time since that the people of the South would surely remember him in this matter, he repeated: “He did not care what they remembered? He knew no country but the Union.–no flag but the stars and stripes.” So much for Edwin Booth!

According to Wikipedia sometime in 1864 Edwin Booth performed in Julius Caesar with his brothers John Wilkes and Junius, Jr. It was the only time they appeared together on stage.

Civil War envelope showing Columbia with American flag bearing message "For the Union" and state seal of Maryland (N.Y. : C. Magnus, 12 Frankfort St. ; [between 1861 and 1865]; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-26468)

state seal of Maryland now appearing with the Stars and Stripes!

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“Our loss was not severe”

Posted on June 3, 2014 by SUMPTER
NYT 6-5-1864

NYT 6-5-1864

On the evening of July 2, 1864 the Union troops on the front lines at Cold Harbor knew the assault ordered for the next morning was madness. They were close enough to see the strength of the rebel works. They knew they were going to get killed. Shelby Foote recounted [1] the scene that one of General Grant’s aides, Lieutenant Colonel Horace Porter witnessed in the federal camps the evening of July 2nd. Porter said that he “found that the men were calmly writing their names and home addresses on slips of paper and pinning them on the back of their coats, so that their bodies might be recognized and their fate made known to their families at home.” Mr. Foote added:

Some went even further in their gloom. A blood-stained diary, salvaged from the pocket of a dead man later picked up on the field, had this grisly final entry: “June 3. Cold Harbor. I was killed.”

Here are a couple reports from the June 3rd battlefield.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 4, 1864:

The war News — heavy fighting all along the lines — the enemy every where repulsed with great slaughter.

Yesterday was a day of excitement in the city. At a very early hour of the morning our inhabitants were aroused from their slumbers by heavy and incessant reports of artillery, which seemed to extend from the right to the left of our line. As usual, many rumors were in circulation during the day, but everything subsided towards evening under a knowledge of the fact that the Confederate arms were everywhere victori[ous]. Below we give a summary of recent operations on the lines. …

[from our own correspondent.]

Army of Northern Virginia,
Battle-Field of Cold Harbor,
June 3d-4 P. M.

General Early, commanding Ewell’s corps’ attacked the enemy’s right yesterday afternoon, and drove him with great slaughter out of his works, suffering but slight loss himself. Among his killed was the brave Gen. Doles, of Georgia.

At the same time, Breckinridge, on the right, supported by Wilcox, attacked the enemy on Turkey Hill, and drove them some distance, thus securing an important position.

Skirmishing and picket firing all night.

This morning at daylight the enemy assaulted Anderson’s corps (Longstreet’s) in the centre with great violence; also, Breckinridge’s and Hoke’s positions. He renewed the assault seven times against Fields and Kershaw, or Anderson’s corps.–He was beaten back each time with a loss that has no parallel, except at Spotsylvania Court-House. Indeed, the battle is but a repetition of that at Spotsylvania, with this important difference: Our own loss is almost incredibly small. Anderson’s loss, including Hoke’s, will not reach 500.

The enemy assaulted Early also, but only once, and was repulsed with great loss.

The enemy gained a salient in Breckinridge’s front, and held it for a few minutes, but Finnegan’s Floridians swept them back like a whirlwind. Our troops generally never fought better.

The enemy was repulsed at all points by 10 o’clock, since which time there has been heavy skirmishing only.

We had the ground on the enemy, to such an extent, indeed, that he could bring but little of his artillery to play. Our loss it, prisoners very slight, and we took but few.

I regret that my engagements are such that it will be impossible for me to continue my correspondence. This will be but little loss to you, however, as you already have a very faithful correspondent in the field. Besides, I hope the campaign of 1864, and the war itself, is fact drawing to a close.

Sallust.

In the North, even the Secretary of War was not going to take general Grant’s word for the Union losses, as Stanton telegraphed the news to general Dix in New York. From The New-York Times June 5, 1864:

BEFORE RICHMOND.; A BATTLE ON FRIDAY. THE REBEL LINES ASSAULTED. The Enemy Driven Within Their Intrenchments. The Ground Gained Held by Our Troops. THREE HUNDRED PRISONERS TAKEN. OUR LOSS ABOUT THREE THOUSAND. …

WASHINGTON, June 4, 1864.

To Major-Gen. Dix:

Dispatches from Gen. GRANT’S headquarters, dated 3 o’clock yesterday, have just been received. No operations took place on Thursday. Yesterday, at 4:30 o’clock A.M., Gen. GRANT made an assault on the enemy’s lines, of which he makes the following report:

“We assaulted at 4:30 A.M., driving the enemy within his intrenchments at all points, but without gaining any decisive advantage. Our troops now occupy a position close to the enemy, some places within fifty yards, and are remaining. Our loss was not severe, nor do I suppose the enemy to have lost heavily. We captured over three hundred prisoners, mostly from BRECKINRIDGE.”

Another later official report, not from Gen. GRANT, estimates the number of our killed and wounded at about three thousand. The following officers are among the killed:

Col. HASKELL, Thirty-sixth Wisconsin.

Col. PORTER, Eighth New-York Heavy Artillery.

Col. MORRIS, Sixty-sixth New-York.

Among the wounded are Gen. R.O. TYLER — seriously — will probably lose a foot; Col. MCMAHON, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth New-York; Col. BYRNES, Twenty-eighth Massachusetts — probably mortally; and Col. BROOKE, Fifty-third Pennsylvania.

EDWIN M. STANTON,

Secretary of War. …

Cold Harbor, Virginia. U.S. Grant at his headquarters

General Grant to the front? (headquarters at Cold harbor sometime in June 1864)

  1. [1]Foote, Shelby. The Civil War, A Narrative. Vol. 3. Red River to Appomattox. New York: Random House, 1986. Print. page 290.↩
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insurrection bad

Posted on June 2, 2014 by SUMPTER

Nothing new here. For the South to win its war for independence, the South has to guard against negro insurrections. In fact, slaveown shouldn’t even let their slaves go at large.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 2, 1864:

Charged with Insurrection.

–A negro named Thomas, the slave of Mrs. Charlotte Wright, was brought before the Mayor yesterday, charged with giving information to the enemy, and with making use of insurrectionary language. It appeared that Tom has been running about for a long time doing pretty much as he pleased; going to his wife’s at Mr. Smith’s, in Henrico, near the Meadow Bridges when he pleased, and coming back when it suited him. Last week Mrs. Wright threatened to hire him to some of the hospitals, when he refused to go, saying that the Yankees would soon have the city, when she would be humble enough, and showing her a pass which he said had been given him by the Yankees. She asked him if he would give the Yankees the information necessary to enable them to get here, and he said he would.

We give a copy of the pass alluded to, which was found on him at the time of his arrest:
“Pass the bearer to his house to set some clothes.

“J. B. Scintosh, [McIntosh]

“Colonel commanding.”

Mr. Smith, at whose house Tom’s wife lives, stated that, on the morning when Sheridan’s raiders had possession of the country about Meadow Bridges, the shells alarmed the negroes at his house, and they, Tom among them, ran off to the woods, where they were caught by the Yankees. –Tom then obtained this pass from the Yankee Colonel to go back to the house to get his clothes. Tom and the rest of the negroes, though invited to go off with the Yankees, rinsed to go. Mr. Smith said this was all he knew about the matter, and he had thought it proper to state it. He knew nothing of what had passed between Mrs. Wright and the negro. The Mayor continued the case till this morning. If no “insurrection” can be proved against the negro, he should be severely punished for his insolence. All this comes of permitting negroes to go at large. Wherever insolent negroes are found further inquiry will disclose the fact that they have been indulged by their owners and permitted to do pretty much as they please. This practice of permitting slaves to go at large ruins the negroes and inflicts a wrong upon the community.

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The trials of Silas Moore

Posted on May 31, 2014 by SUMPTER
Silas G Moore 33rd

Moore’s record in the 33rd Volunteer Infantry

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1864:

Returned to the Service.

The trial of SILAS MOORE, of this village, at Elmira, for desertion, resulted in his conviction and he was sentenced to serve in the army for the term of one year and ten months. MOORE enlisted with Capt. GUION in the old 33d regiment, but soon after the regiment was mustered into the service, deserted and returned home. He claims, however, that he was not regularly mustered, and that under some arrangement with the Captain, he was not to serve. The military authorities thought otherwise, and the fact of his name being found on the muster roll at Washington, was pretty conclusive that he ought to serve out his time.

MOORE has been acting Deputy Provost Marshal in this vicinity for the last eight or ten months, putting on a great many airs, and doing pretty much as he pleased with the volunteers. He has evidently made a good thing speculating upon the short comings and misfortunes of the soldiers.

It looks like Mr. Moore at least began serving his sentence in the N.Y. 179th Volunteer Infantry:

Silas G Moore 179th

just deserts? (recorded in the 179th roster)

The 179th New York Infantry Regiment joined the Army of the Potomac at Cold Harbor on June 11, 1864.

According to a report at the National Archives one of the responsibilities of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau was to oversee the arrest of deserters.

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Captain Brett killed

Posted on May 30, 2014 by SUMPTER

During the Civil War New York’s 33rd Volunteer Infantry was a two-year regiment. After it was mustered out on June 2, 1863, one of its members who re-enlisted was Robert H. Brett, who later joined the 1st Veteran Cavalry and went back for more. Despite some date discrepancy there is a good chance Captain Brett was killed or mortally wounded 150 years ago today.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in June 1864:

Capt. Brett Killed in a Skirmish.

A corresponend [sic] of the Baltimore American gives the following account of the skirmish, in which Capt. BRETT was killed:

MARTINSBURG, May 31st, 1864. – On Monday morning early, as a train of sixteen wagons, loaded with medical stores, with a guard of eighty-five men from this place, was proceeding to general Hunter’s headquarters, when at Newton, eight miles beyond Winchester, they were assailed by about three hundred and fifty Rebel cavalry, under the notorious Gilmore. After a gallant resistance our men were obliged to leave their train in the hands of the enemy, who cut the horses loose and burnt the wagons. Just at the time they were winding up their little programme a train of empty wagons, with a guard of infantry coming this way, came upon them, when they were obliged to beat a hasty retreat, leaving some twenty prisoners in our hands. We have to regret the death of Captain Brett, of the 1st New York Veteran Cavalry, who fell gallantly leading his men. Yours, D.J.A.

I did not notice anything about this skirmish in Harry Gilmor’s book
Another clipping from a Seneca County, New York newspaper in June 1864:

CAPT. BRETT’s FUNERAL. – The funeral of ROBERT H. BRETT, of the 1st Veteran cavalry, took place at Waterloo on Sunday afternoon, and was very largely attended. – He was buried with Masonic honors, and delegations of the order were present from Geneva, Seneca Falls, and Bearytown.

RH Brett 1st NY Vet Cavalry

Robert H. Brett

You can see captain Brett’s grave stone in Waterloo, New York here. Waterloo still observes the traditional May 30th Memorial Day.

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hopeful thinking

Posted on May 29, 2014 by SUMPTER
map of the York River Watershed and includes the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers. I, Karl Musser, created it based on USGS data.

now south of the Pamunkey

After church five weeks ago (in 1864 time) General George Meade drove some visitors over to Culpeper to see the new Lieutenant General. 150 years ago today the Army of the Potomac had spent almost four weeks of fighting and flanking and slogging its way toward the rebel capital. He at least wrote to his wife that he hoped a grand finale at Richmond might be soon. From The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade … (page 199):

SOUTH SIDE OF PAMUNKEY RIVER, HANOVERTOWN,
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, 10 A.M., May 29, 1864.

We have crossed the Pamunkey, and are now within eighteen miles of Richmond. Lee has fallen back from the North Anna, and is somewhere between us and Richmond. We shall move forward to-day to feel for him. We are getting on very well, and I am in hopes [we?] will continue to manœuvre till we compel Lee to retire into the defense of Richmond, when the grand decisive fight will come off, which I trust will bring the war to a close, and that it will be victory for us.

General Meade’s tone changed over the next few days. For example, the “grand decisive fight” at Richmond became a “quasi-siege” of Richmond on June 1st.

Hanovertown Ferry, Virginia. Canvas pontoon bridges at Hanovertown Ferry, constructed by the 50th N.Y.V. Engineers, May 28, 1864 (by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, May 1843; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpb-00369)

pontoons bridging the Pamunkey – built by 50th NY Engineers May 28, 1864

The following drawing by Edwin Forbes is dated May 29, 1864 and said to be “contrabands escaping” and I think it might say “Hanover Town”:

Contrabands escaping (LOC: C-DIG-ppmsca-20701)

Contrabands escaping

Karl Musser’s map of the York River watershed is licensed by Creative Commons

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capital gratitude

Posted on May 28, 2014 by SUMPTER
[Illustrated Civil War "Union Envelopes"]: Rebel arms of Virginia (between 1861 and 1865; LOC: LC-USZ62-53595)

Union take on Virginia’s State arms

150 years ago this week VMI cadets were in Richmond, where the were thanked for their valor in helping the Confederates win the Battle of New Market. Governor “Extra Billy” Smith also presented them with a new flag.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch May 28, 1864:

The Lexington Cadets — Presentation of a flag.

The Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute were last evening the recipients of well-deserved honors at the hands of the State authorities. At about half-past 6 o’clock they marched into Capitol Square, headed by Smith’s band, and were drawn up in line on the avenue fronting the Governor’s mansion. They bore with them their tattered colors, which waved triumphantly through the battle in the Valley, and which were soon to be replaced by a new and handsome flag. Governor Smith, General Bragg, and General E. L. Smith (of the Institute) soon made their appearance in front, and the Governor unfurled a flag of blue silk, bearing the State arms of Virginia, which he presented to the Cadets with appropriate remarks, in which he told them that he placed implicit confidence in their ability and determination to defend it. The flag was gracefully received by the color bearer. The corps was then reviewed by General Bragg, who seemed much pleased with its fine soldierly bearing. After this the Cadets marched to the east front of the Washington Monument, and were addressed by Speaker Bocock. He told them of the resolution, unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives, thanking them for their gallant conduct in the battle of the 15th of May, under General Breckinridge, and added that the country expected them to maintain the reputation they had so heroically won. He continued some fifteen or twenty minutes in a strain of patriotic eloquence, and closed by invoking the blessing of God upon their future movements.–This over, the Cadets marched back to their quarters.

The ceremonies throughout were of a highly interesting character, and were witnessed by an immense throng, including a large number of ladies.

From Encyclopedia Virginia:

Shortly after three o’clock, the Confederate general ordered another attack on Bushong Hill, this time calling in the boys from VMI. “They are only children,” he had told an aide earlier in the day, but in fact their average age was eighteen, and reminiscent of the “foot cavalry” made famous two years earlier by Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson they had marched eighty miles from Lexington to New Market in just a few days. When a hundred-yard-or-more gap in the Confederate lines opened up where the Virginians had retreated under heavy artillery fire, Breckinridge used the cadets to plug the hole and sent them after the Union battery. The cadets charged across a field so muddy that some of their shoes were sucked off their feet—hence the legendary “Field of Lost Shoes”—and eventually they were able to take Kleiser’s battery and even a few members of the 34th Massachusetts. Sigel’s men began to panic, with Sigel himself riding up and down the line, “all jabbering in German,” as one of his officers recalled, so that “the purely American portion of his staff were totally useless to him.”

Moses Jacob Ezekiel, one of the wounded cadets, eventually sculpted “Virginia Mourning Her Dead”, which is still situated at VMI:

The state of Virginia "Mourning Her Sons". The young Virginia Military Institute Cadets killed at the Battle of New Market defending Virginia are buried behind the memorial and headstones appear as white "blocks".

“Virginia Mourning Her Dead”

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“salutary retaliation” plank

Posted on May 27, 2014 by SUMPTER
Frederick Douglass, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right (ca. 1850-1860?; LOC: LC-USZ62-15887)

no Government positive or negative discrimination based on class

150 years ago this week anti-Lincoln Republicans convened in Cleveland to set up an alternative party to contest the 1864 presidential election. Here Frederick Douglass set out his expectations for the fledgling party’s platform. Understandably (Mr. Douglass pushed for the enlistment of blacks), Fort Pillow and Southern treatment of black soldiers in general seems to have been one of his main concerns.

From The New-York Times May 27, 1864:

THE CLEVELAND CONVENTION.; Letter from Mr. Fred. Douglass.

From the New-York Tribune of yesterday.

SIR: I mean the complete abolition of every vestige, form and modification of Slavery in every part of the United States, perfect equality for the black man in every State before the law, in the jury-box, at the ballot-box and on the battle-field; ample and salutary retaliation for every instance of enslavement or slaughter of prisoners of any color. I mean that in the distribution of offices and honors under this Government no discrimination shall be made in favor of or against any class of citizens, whether black or white, of native or foreign birth. And supposing that the convention which is to meet at Cleveland means the same thing, I cheerfully give my name as one of the signers of the call.

Yours, respectfully,

FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

E. GILBERT, Esq.

ROCHESTE[R], May 23, 1864.

You can read a review of the Radical Democracy (and the 1864 campaign) at HarpWeek. On May 31st the delegates nominated the first Republican presidential candidate, John Fremont, for president and John Cochrane as his running mate. The June 11, 1864 issue of Harper’s Weekly (at Son of the South) published a one paragraph summary of the convention and its platform. I did not notice a salutary retribution plank. The delegates voted to call themselves the Radical Democracy party.

Grand banner of the radical democracy, for 1864 ( New York : Published by Currier & Ives, c1864; LOC: v)

Fremont and Cochrane

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