March 31, 1861 (Easter Sunday)

The Rose of Sharon

 Hat tip to The American Interest -- The Long Recall, March 31, 1861:  Sermon comparing Hebrew slavery in the Old Testament to modern African slavery.

"Is not this the fast I have chosen?  to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke;"  Isaiah 58:6

Also this from The Long Recall:  same link as above....

"...early last week a number of Southern papers reported that Confederate commissioners had met with a Minister to the Emperor of France and secured a promise that the Emperor would shortly recognize the Confederacy.  Only a few days later, a report from the U.S. Ambassador to France said that, not only had that meeting not in fact occurred, but also that the commissioners had not even arrived in the city.

...reports seem to indicate a split in attitudes in Britain:  some advocate closer ties with the Confederacy due to British dependence on Southern cotton; others are sufficiently repulsed by the idea of slavery to reject this option out of hand.  The disagreement has been sharp enough to create a stalemate of sorts in the British legislature.  Although reliable reports from France are a bit harder to come by, similar considerations likely hold true there as well.  Thus, we may not see a coherent or decisive foreign response to the American crisis for some time yet."


From the Baptists and the American Civil War site:  Of Note....

Monday, March 25:  Story of Woodson Cummings, Confederate soldier
Tuesday, March 26:  Story of James Stokes Dickerson, Baptist pastor and abolitionist from Delaware.
Thursday, March 28:  Article in the Charleston Mercury gets wide approval from white Baptists in South Carolina
Saturday, March 30:  A story about Robert E. Lee accepting a commission as colonel with the First Cavalry of the United States of America.

Two diary entries from Daily Observations from The Civil War: March 31, 1861.

Diary of William Howard Russell:  "The Washington Navy Yard"

A Diary from Dixie, Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut:  "Every election now will be a surprise.  New cliques are not formed yet.  The old ones are principally bent upon displacing one another."


The news of the day from Civil War Daily Gazette, March 31, 1861: "Fort Pickens Gets Some Needed Attention

March 30, 1861 (Saturday)

This weeks edition of the Harper's Weekly is available:  a number of pictures and stories about Fort Sumter and other interesting anecdotes of the day.



Civil War Daily Gazette, "Everything Quiet, Must Be Some Action Soon." March 30, 1861.  The Gazette gives an update of today's news around Fort Sumter.

"In Charleston, the members of the State Convention were given a tour of Fort Moultrie and Morris Island.  Many large guns were fired in their honor, some with live shot.  Anderson was able to take note of which batteries had increased in strength.

On this same date he wired Washington wondering about Fort Sumter's surrender.  Governor Pickens wired Confederate Secretary of War LeRoy Pope Walker telling him of the arrival of 2,000 muskets for General Beauregard.  'Everything quiet,' Pickens writes in closing, 'must be some action soon.' "


The Diary of William Howard Russell, hat tip Daily Observations from The Civil War:

"The religious observance of the day was not quite as strict as it would be in England.  The Puritan aversion to ceremonials and formulary observances has apparently affected the American world, even as far south as this.  The people of color were in the streets dressed in their best..."  (some very derogatory remarks follow...read the link above to get the details.)

"It is on such radical differences of ideas as these, that the whole of the quarrel, which is widening every day, is founded.  The Federal Compact, at the very outset, was written on a torn sheet of paper, and time has worn away the artificial cement by which it was kept together.  The corner stone of the Constitution had a crack in it, which the heat and fury of faction have widened into a fissure from top to bottom, never to be closed again."

"In the evening, as were we going home, notwithstanding the cold, we saw a number of ladies sitting out on the door steps, in white dresses.  The streets were remarkably quiet and deserted; all the colored population had been sent to bed long ago.  The fire bell, as usual, made an alarm or two about midnight."

March 29, 1861 (Good Friday)

News of the day concerning Fort Sumter:

From Tulane University, Dept. of History, "The Cabinet Meets" -- with Commentary, March 29, 1861.


Civil War Daily Gazette:  "Lincoln Polls Cabinet, Orders to Ready the Ships."

This was included in the article above:  "Confederate Secretary of War LeRoy Pope Walker, writing to General Beauregard, commander of rebel forces in Charleston, ordered that all communication between Fort Sumter and Washington be stopped...."


Hat tip Seven Score and Ten:  "Charleston Anxious," March 29, 1861.

"We have no expectation that Fort Sumter will be evacuated on Saturday.  The delay is worrying the people here greatly... Governor Pickens says he is ready for a fight...."

From The American Civil War, "Diary of Margaret Ann Meta Morris Grimball,"  March 29, 1861.

"...Things are just the same in regard to the Fort.  Anderson is now to be starved out.  All this time he has been allowed to furnish himself from the Market with fresh Provisions, -- which is carrying out Scripture "feeding our enemy, and doing good to those who do evil to us...."

From The American Interest -- The Long Recall, Friday, March 29, 1861:

"It appears that there will soon be an audience to the current struggles.  A report from a New York Times correspondent dated March 10 claims that the French and English governments have sent a fleet of war steamers towards the United States.  The exact mission of the fleet is unknown.  There is also speculation that Spain is preparing to send ships, as well."

And finally, from Daily Observations from The Civil War, "Diary of William Howard Russell -- White House State Dinner," March 28, 1861.

"I was honored today by visits from a great number of Members of Congress...the cold shoulder is given to Mr. Lincoln, and all kinds of stories and jokes are circulated at his expense."  (He goes on to describe the State Dinner and then his activities afterwards.)

March 28, 1861 (Thursday)

A Nice, Bright Spring Day....

The envoys sent by Lincoln to Charleston are back in Washington and give their reports.   The links below give the details to the decision-making process which is leading up to the re-inforcing of Fort Sumter or its evacuation. 

From  Civil War Daily Gazette: "Reports of the Missions to Fort Sumter, "  March 27, 1861 AND  "First Fort Sumter, and Now Fort Pickens to be Surrendered?", March 28, 1861.


From Tulane University, Dept. of History, "Hurlbut and Lamon Report,"  March 27, 1861   AND  "Scott's Shocking Recommendation with Commentary,"  March 28, 1861.


And finally, "The Choice is Charybdis," by Jamie Malanowski, Disunion-New York Times, March 28, 2011.   An excellant narrative of the events this week with many detailed anecdotes about Lincoln.  Read the link above for all the details...a couple excerpts below:

" 'I have no hesitation in reporting as unquestionable,' Hurlbut wrote to Lincoln, 'that Separate Nationality is a fixed fact -- that there is an unanimity of sentiment which is to my mind astonishing -- that there is no attachment to the Union -- that almost every one of those very men who in 1832 . . .were in fact ready to draw the sword in civil war for the Nation, are now as ready to take arms if necessary for the Southern Confederacy....Merchants and businessmen act upon the belief that great growth of trade and expansion of material prosperity will follow the Establishment of a Southern Republic.  They expect a golden era, when Charleston shall be a great commercial emporium, and control the South as New York does the North.'

The next day the [cabinet] met.  They found a haggard-looking president who obviously had not slept...Lincoln again asked his advisors to repeat the exercise they had undertaken two weeks before, and place their views in writing.  Two weeks ago, six members favored the evacuation of Sumter, only Blair was in favor...Now four favored re-inforcing Sumter and two were inclined to give it up...the cabinet was tilting towards action. 

Later in the evening, Seward was visited by George Harrington, the assistant secretary of the treasury, who had just been at the White House, where he had seen Lincoln meeting with Blair, Fox and Navy Secretary Welles.  'The president has made up his mind,' Harrington said.  'He's decided to reinforce Fort Sumter.'  'Thunder, George!' Seward exlaimed.  'What are you talking about?  We are not yet in a position to go to war!'  All the next day Lincoln's head pounded with a migraine headache.  Finally, in the afternoon, he 'keeled over,' as his wife put it, and had to be put to bed."


Diary entries from William Howard Russell:  Hat tip Daily Observations from the Civil War.

Arrival in Washington City -- Willard's Hotel -- Dinner at Mr. Sanford's -- Meeting with Secretary of State Seward

Introduced to Abraham Lincoln at the White House

March 27, 1861 (Wednesday)

Rained during the night
and into the morning hours....

 

   Harper's Weekly, March 23, 1861, has a number of articles relating to Fort Sumter.  "The March 23, 1861 edition of Harper's Weekly featured a stunning portrait of Major Anderson's command at Fort Sumter.  The paper also features important news associated with the opening days of the Civil War.  The issue also features a portrait of Abner Doubleday, popularly remembered as the inventor of baseball, on the cover."


From Son of the South, an interesting article on "Civil War Medicine."  An excerpt below...very informative about the lack of sanitation and what was done about it...

"The state of medical knowledge at the time of the Civil War was extremely primitive.  Doctors did not understand infection, and did little to prevent it.  It was a time before antiseptics, and a time when there was no attempt to maintain sterility during surgery.  No antibiotics were available, and minor wounds could easy become infected, and hence fatal.  While the typical soldier was at very high risk of being shot and killed in combat, he faced an even greater risk of dying from disease.

Twice as many men died of disease than of gunshot wounds in the Civil War.  Dysentery, measles, small pox, pneumonia, and malaria were the soldier's greatest enemy.  The overall poor hygiene in camp, the lack of adequate sanitation facilities, the cold and lack of shelter and suitable clothing, the poor quality of food and water, and the crowded condition of the camps made the typical camp a literal breeding ground for disease.  Conditions, and resulting disease, were even worse for Civil War prisoners, who were held in the most miserable of conditions."   (Many more details at the link above.)


An article by Gene Dattel, "When Cotton Was King," Disunion--New York Times, March 26, 2011.   

" 'Slavery in time will not be a speck in our country,' opined Oliver Ellsworth, a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention.  Indeed, it was that assumption that allowed the anti-slavery delegates to cede easily to a compromise in writing the Constitution:  slavery would never be mentioned, but it would be given legal protection.  Founding a nation, Ellsworth and others decided, was more important than eradicating a 'moral anachronism.'

That assumption, however, proved disastrously wrong, thanks to a new, much more valuable cash crop then still on the horizon:  cotton.  Over the next 70 years this new cash crop would revolutionize the American economy and breathe new life into the institution of slavery.  On the eve of the Civil War, far from facing imminent decline, slavery, and the cotton economy that depended on it, was going strong."  (Read all the details on the interaction of slavery and cotton in the years leading up to the Civil War at the link above.)

March 26, 1861 (Tuesday)

Another warm pleasant day....

From GeorgiaInfo, "This Week in Georgia Civil War History, March 26, 1861:    "The Milledgeville Southern Federal Union reprinted an editorial from a New York newspaper wondering if President Lincoln had the backbone to do what he had claimed about using force to save the Union, and commented on the commercial battle impending between the two countries."

"In the midst of the 'rumors of wars' which agitate the public mind, it seems to escape attention that the most pregnant source of trouble between the slave-holding and non-slave-holding States, must inevitably grow out of the foreign commercial relations of the two sections.  With every disposition to pursue a financial and vicious policy, Mr. Lincoln has so evidently been wanting in the backbone, in the matter of Fort Sumter, that it is doubted by many whether he will attempt to carry out any part of the aggressive, coercive policy, indicated in his inaugural.  Active efforts to collect the revenue by a blockade, or to throw troops into Forts Jefferson, Taylor, and Pickens, would be regarded by Jefferson Davis and his administration as a commencement of civil war, and it may be questioned whether the President will dare, in defiance of public opinion, to push to such an extreme the un-conciliatory measures that he and his advisers have lately initiated...."

The on-going story at Fort Sumter is provided to us today by Civil War Daily Gazette, "Beauregard and Anderson Prepare for Surrender", March 26, 1861. 


Three diary links today--very interesting reads, full of trivia... Hat tip Daily Observations from the Civil War:

William Howard Russell's Diary:  "England might dispute the right of the United States Government to blockade the ports of her own States..."  ---Departure for Washington City


A Diary from Dixie by Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut


The on-going story of Spencer Kellogg Brown, "His Life in Kansas and Death as a Spy."

March 25, 1861 (Monday)

Delightful day, bright and warm....

The following links keep you informed about the on-going story in Charleston and Fort Sumter.  The Civil War Daily Gazette has been following the events of the last several days.  In about two-and-a-half weeks, Fort Sumter is fired upon....these links give some prelude information.

By Jing!  I'll Risk Him!  The Journey of Hurlbut and Lamon


Lamon arrives in Charleston, What About Hurlbut?


Ward Hill Lamon Really Messes Things Up


And then, we have a report today given to President Lincoln by Fox as he has returned to Washington.  Hat tip Tulane University, History Dept., Hesitation and Decision, "Fox's Report," March 25, 1861.


As an aside, there is a narrative of William Howard Russell, some said the most famous war newspaper correspondent at this time of history, employed by The London Times.  Fascinating story of his attempt to record the early part of the Civil War.  Read at the link below to see what happened....

"The Special Correspondent," by Louis P. Masur, Disunion--New York Times, March 24, 2011.

March 24, 1861 (Palm Sunday)

Palm Sunday

Hat tip Seven Score and Ten, March 24, 1861, "Keziah Brevard's diary."

"...I came to Beulah Church...music was too fast for church music...some good voices in the choir...we need more intelligent preachers with the true spirit, if we had such a one they would draw hearers...after preaching I came home...."

A bit of trivia:  Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865 which was Palm Sunday...four "Palm Sunday" years from now.



From the Baptists and the American Civil War, week of March 18-24, I read  the following:

"Charles Spurgeon, famed British Particular Baptist preacher,  moved into a newly constructed church in England with seating estimated at five thousand people and standing room for another one thousand...it was the largest church building of its day and the forerunner of late 20th century mega-churches.  White Baptists in the South have little appreciation for the work of Charles Spurgeon.  The British preacher for years has been speaking out unequivocally against slavery, and his books are now routinely burned and banned by white Southern Baptists."

"Both Charleston and Richmond are centers of Baptist influence.  Charleston is home to the oldest Baptist church in the South...home to the oldest Baptist association in the South, the Charleston Baptist Association...and boasts a Southern Baptist publishing house.   Virginia in the post Revolutionary War era emerged as a center for Baptist activity in the South and home to some of the most prominent Baptist congregations in the South.  The Baptist congregations in both cities will not emerge from the impending Civil War unscathed."


"Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederate States of America, gives an impromptu speech [Cornerstone speech] in Savannah, Georgia in which he echoes what many Baptists have been saying for months;  that slavery is the cause of the division between North and South.  Many Baptist leaders in the South publicly support Stephens, including editors of Baptist newspapers."

"...while white southern slave-holders and other pro-slavery advocates (including many Baptist preachers and editors) frequently cite the less-than-human nature of blacks as a rationale for enslaving Africans.  The Georgia Constitution officially proclaims that blacks are indeed human.  This inherent tension will remain throughout the war, playing out in the pulpit and religious press, among other venues."

Hat tip Daily Observations from the Civil War, March 23, 1861, "Diary of William Howard Russell -- ...the Government appears to be helplessly drifting with the current of events, having neither bow nor stern, neither keel nor deck, neither rudder, compass, sails, or steam."

March 23, 1861 (Saturday)

A Winter-March Storm


From a New York Times article published March 23, 1861 on "The Great Storm--The Storm at the East.  Excerpts below....

"The snow-storm of Thursday last will stand in weather chronicles as one of the greatest severity experienced during March for many years.  Mr. Valentine, the honored Clerk of the Common Council, who is entitled to be recognized as one, at least, of the oldest inhabitants, says he does not remember to have witnessed so heavy a fall of snow, in that month, during his residence in New York, which dates from childhood.

The snow-fall culminated about midnight of Thursday, but the gale continued with increasing fury until after daylight yesterday morning.  Broadway, and indeed all the main thoroughfares, were so obstructed by the fallen snow, kneaded by the moving vehicles into muddy slush, as to greatly interrupt travel of every kind.  Nearly all the avenue cars had four horses attached, and even with this extra force their motions were too slow for persons at all hurried by business engagements.

...At some places the snow was drifted five and six feet deep, making it next to impossible to drive the locomotive through it without danger of being thrown from the track.  On the New York and Erie Railroad...snow-drifts were encountered from six to ten feet deep; and on some portions of the road as many as five locomotives were required to force their way through.  The Milk train, which was unable to proceed, was combined with the passenger train due at the same hour yesterday morning.  The Philadelphia train was two hours behind time on Thursday night and the 'Owl train,' due at 2 o'clock A.M., did not arrive until 11 A.M., yesterday.

On Long Island, the storm exceeded in severity any which has heretofore been experienced during the Winter.  All the roads were blocked with snow...the snow along the [railroad] tracks was, in some places, piled up to the height of the cars.  Travel by the wagon roads was wholly out of the question and the markets yesterday were consequently without the customary supplies from the Island."

An added note:  Hat tip The American Civil War:  The Daily Dispatch:  "Virginia's wealth, power and influence rest upon her slave system," March 23, 1861.

"The question is secession or emancipation.  It is whether Virginia shall destroy or preserve her slave system of labor -- the grandest and most efficient agency of wealth ever enjoyed by any community on the globe."   Read the details at the link above....

March 22, 1861 (Friday)

An extreme winter snowstorm has covered
the Northeast for the past few days

Hat tip The American Civil War, March 22, 1861:  "Fort Sumter" in Charleston Mercury.  "On March 22, 1861 the Charleston Mercury reacted to the news that Fort Sumter had received a visitor from the North the evening before.  The fire-eating editors of the Charleston Mercury could only guess at the reasons for the visit by Gustavus V. Fox."   Excerpt below:

"Now as the communication between Fort Sumter and Washington is open to the garrison of the former, are we to believe the object of Mr. Fox's excursion was simply to ascertain whether Major Anderson was in a temper to have his military prestige sacrificed upon the alter of Black Republicanism?  By this we would inquire whether it is the intention of Lincoln and his pack to leave him to eat his last ounce of bread, and then to let loose the Northern howl, which has already commenced, again him for retiring?  So far as South Carolina is concerned, we believe that Major Anderson will be permitted to salute his flag on hauling it down, and to march out of the fort with his side arms, leaving the property intact."


Hat tip Civil War Daily Gazette:  "By Jing!  I'll Risk Him!  The Journey of Harlbut and Lamon, March 22, 1861.    More Lincoln anecdotes and the journey of Hurlbut and Lamon who also were in Charleston at the time of Fox's visit.  Also, some information about General Beauregard, head of the Confederate forces in Charleston. 

"Captain Abner Doubleday, in his book of 'remembrances' states that it was on this date that they learned about General Beauregard being in command of the rebel forces in Charleston.  Fox must have delivered the news.  'It is said,' wrote Doubleday, 'he displayed a good deal of feeling at finding himself opposed to the flag under which he had served so long.'

Beauregard had been a student and then assistant of Major Anderson's at West Point.  Fox must have related that Beauregard 'expressed much sympathy for his old friend, Anderson, who, he stated, was merely fulfilling his duty as a soldier in fighting for his own Government, and asserted that he would not attack us, even if we withdrew all our sentinels, but would force us to surrender by cutting off our supplies.' "

From The Lincoln Log:  President and Mrs. Lincoln greet guests attending the second White House reception of the season.  More details at the link.

March 21, 1861 (Thursday)

The Tenacity of Life

 Vice-President Alexander Stephens of the Confederacy gave his famous Cornerstone Speech today.  Below are some excerpts.  I shudder to read this.

The Cornerstone Speech

"The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution -- African slavery as it exists among us -- the proper status of negro in our form of civilization.  This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution.  Jefferson in his forecast, had anticipated this, as the 'rock upon which the old Union would split.'  He was right.  What was conjecture with him, is now a realized fact.  But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted.  The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically.  It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away.  This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea of that time...Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong.  They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races.  This was an error.  It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the 'storm came and the wind blew.'

Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery -- subordination to the superior race -- is his natural and normal condition.  [Applause.]  This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.

It is the first government ever instituted upon the principles in strict conformity to nature, and the ordination of Providence, in furnishing the materials of human society.  Many governments have been founded upon the principle of the subordination and serfdom of certain classes of the same race...our system commits no such violation of nature's laws.  With us, all of the white race, however high or low, rich or poor, are equal in the eye of the law.  Not so with the negro.  Subordination is his place.  He, by nature, or by the curse against Canaan, is fitted for the condition which he occupies in our system."  (This speech was widely read in the North in the coming weeks.)


In January, Stephens had said to the Georgia Secessionist Convention:  "When we and our posterity shall see our lovely South desolated by the demon of war which this act of yours will inevitably invite and call forth; when our green fields of waving harvests shall be trodden down by the murderous soldiery and the fiery car of war sweeping over our land; our temples of justice laid in ashes; all the horrors and desolations of war upon us -- who but this Convention shall be held responsible for it?"  Hat tip, GeorgiaInfo, January 17, 1861

What a sad commentary....   Hat tip The American Civil War, March 21, 1861 has this statement:  "Years after the end of the American Civil War, Alexander H. Stephens denied that he had ever said any of this."

March 20, 1861 (Wednesday)

Budding

A fascinating article today on the relationship of Abraham Lincoln and Henry J. Raymond, founder and editor of The New York Times.  This was one of the most important relationships Lincoln had with the press during his Presidency.  However, at this time between his inauguration and the start of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, the relationship between these two men became testy... a few excerpts follow below.  To read all the details of this relationship, go to the following narrative at the link provided:  "A Very Mad-Man," by Ted Widmer, Disunion--New York Times, March 19, 2011.

"The Times and Lincoln were helpful to each other on their way up, and that newspapers were anything but gray ladies as the conflict drew closer.  It also shows that their symbiotic relationship was seriously strained in the weeks between the inaugural on March 4 and the outbreak of war on April 12.  Like so many presidents since then, Lincoln found that The Times was getting on his nerves."

"...these two defenders of the Union also managed to irritate each other in the tense days leading up to the outbreak of war.  In the weeks after the inaugural, Lincoln immersed himself in the necessary tedium of filling government offices, and Raymond finally erupted in an editorial entitled "Wanted -- A Policy!"  'It is idle to conceal the fact that the Administration thus far has not met public expectation.'  The times huffed, and it got worse from there, using italics to convey the full force of disapproval:  'the fact is, our Government has done absolutely nothing, ... it allows everything to drift.'  The last sentence was the worst:  'In a great crisis like this, there is no policy so fatal as that of having no policy at all.'   Lincoln clipped the editorial, along with several others, and filed them under 'villainous articles.' "   (More on this on April 3rd.)


New York had three main newspapers during the Civil War:  The New York Herald, The New York Tribune, and The New York Times.  At the link below, an article on the relationships of these three newspapers with President Lincoln, their personal histories and biases, and the in-fighting between them gives us some context in which to read these articles from the 1860's.  I found this very informative.  "Mr. Lincoln and New York," The Lincoln Institute. 


On another note:  Hat tip The Lincoln Log:  "Willie and Tad Lincoln have measles."

March 19, 1861 (Tuesday)

Greeting Spring

The news today reports on Gustavus Fox's mission to visit Fort Sumter and get a picture of the exact nature of the situation.  Fox had proposed a plan to re-enforce Fort Sumter and Lincoln wanted to pursue the idea and see if it was feasible.  Below are several links to the story of the day....

From the American Civil War, "A Mission for Gustavus V. Fox."  


From the Civil War Daily Gazette:  "Gustavus Vasa Fox Heads to Fort Sumter." 


From Tulane University, Dept. of History:  "Hesitation and Decision--Fox's Mission."


Also, a fascinating article on the changes of divorce law in the 1850-1860's and how that affected the debate on the South leaving the Union.  Many interpreted the situation like a divorce.  "Divorce, Antebellum Style," by Adam Goodheart, Disunion--New York Times, March 18, 2011. 

"The New York journalist John O'Sullivan likewise compared the sectional crisis to a 'divorce for incompatibility of temper and interests' in which 'it will be better...to part in peace' than to launch a bloody civil war.  A Unionist orator, on the other hand, compared the disagreements between North and South to 'occasional bickerings between husband and wife, which ought not to lead to an immediate divorce.'

Yet divorce was no mere metaphor on the eve of the Civil War.  In fact, it was a volatile political issue, one that occasionally seemed to divide the nation as sharply as the slavery question did.  In early 1861, the question of when -- or even whether -- a man and woman should be permitted to end their marriage was being hotly debated by many of the same legislators, journalists and activists who were also arguing over national disunion.  Like slavery and secession, divorce was an issue involving civil rights, moral responsibilities and conflicts over state and federal authority.  It was a controversy that, in many ways, foreshadowed present-day debates over marriage laws and rights."
Read more details about this debate at the link above....

March 18, 1861 (Monday)

"Mercury down to 20 this morning
with quite a cold wind,
the day closing with a snowstorm.
It has been about as cold
and wintry a day as we have had."

Diary of a Yankee in the Patent Office:  hat tip Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War.  ----weather for the day.


Hat tip The American Civil War:  "Lincoln weighs his options", March 18, 1861.   "We are fortunate in that Lincoln himself left behind an artifact -- a memorandum of his thoughts about Fort Sumter at this particular moment in time."  Click on the link to read the memorandum of his thoughts on the issues facing the Presidency. 

An article by William Moss Wilson, "The 'Foreign War Panacea'" by Disunion--New York Times, March 17, 1861, addresses what happened today in the Dominican Republic.  Spain was handed the country...which was a violation of the Monroe Doctrine.  See how this plays out with Seward and Lincoln.  Again, we see Lincoln stand to his convictions in the face of Seward, his Secretary of State.  Seward had the idea of making war  with an European nation--hoping this would draw in the South and unite the Union.  It would appear Seward had his own mind about how the Union should address a lot of issues, and many were contrary to Lincoln.  This article is a good read...

"'Our domestic dissensions are producing their natural fruits,' the New York Times declared.  'The terror of the American name is gone, and the powers of the Old World are flocking to the feast from which our eagle has hitherto scared them.' 

On the night of March 31, Seward gathered with his trusted advisers...the result of the secret meeting was Seward's strident missive 'Some Thoughts for the President's Consideration' delivered to Lincoln the next morning.  'We are at the end of a month's administration and yet without a policy either domestic or foreign,' the memo began, 'but further delay to adopt and prosecute our polices for both domestic and foreign affairs would not only bring scandal on the Administration, but danger upon the country.' "  Read the link above to see what happens next....

Hat tip Civil War Daily Gazette:  "Lincoln's Pros and Cons of Sumter."  An article on how Lincoln thought through the issues of Fort Sumter...he wrote out a list of pros and cons...  read the link to find what his list included.

Hat tip Seven Score and Ten:  Keziah Brevard's Diary, March 18, 1861. 
Anecdotes about a cold, wet day; freezing, then snowing in the afternoon; worrying about the chickens freezing and the slaves she owns -- doing as they please. 

March 17, 1861 (Sunday

"...the silent ballot."



"Guns, Blood, and Congress":  by Adam Goodheart, Disunion--New York Times, March 16, 1861.  Read the story of Congressman Charles H. Van Wyck or Orange County, New York...an attempt made on his life the very same night Lincoln silently passed through Baltimore on his way to Washington.  Wyck had given a speech a year earlier:

"Van Wyck delivered one of the most blistering denunciations of slavery ever uttered in the Capitol.  'I believe slavery to be a crime against the laws of God and nature, violative of the instincts of a common humanity...we [Northerners] threaten not with bayonet, revolver and bowie knife, but with the silent ballot.'"

Sunday evening lecture given in Portland, Maine, March 17, 1861:  Institution of slavery:  viewed in the light of divine truth by William Hayden    Hat tip The Long Recall:  The American Interest, Marcy 17, 1861.

Happy St. Patrick's Day:

Here are some links to events today related to St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1861.  Hat tip Seven Score and Ten.

"Friendly Sons of St. Patrick:  Dinner at the Astor House", New York Times -- Unionists

St. Patrick's Day -- Celebration, Southerners, Daily Constitutionalist, Georgia

 

More on St. Patrick's Day.   Hat tip Blue Gray Review....

March 16, 1861 (Saturday)

Spring buds....

Harper Weekly has photos of Lincoln's Inauguration


An anecdote about Lincoln's Hat:  Richmond Daily Dispatch, March 16, 1861.



Slow news day... 
Enjoy the little signs of spring...

March 15, 1861 (Friday)

"Rain turned into snow."
Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft

From the Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1861:  "Fort Sumter", hat tip The House Divided.

"The great and seemingly insurmountable difficulty consists in the fact that the President is without adequate means for meeting the emergency.  Through the imbecility, if not actual treason, of the late Administration, the opportunity to re-enforce and re-provision the fort was wickedly thrown away; the army and navy were so widely separated that a sufficient force cannot be concentrated for that purpose now before starvation would have destroyed the garrison or compelled its surrender; and Congress adjourned without providing for the emergencies through which the country is passing.  The hands of the President are effectually tied.  He can only proceed by those steps pointed out in the Constitution and through the laws of Congress.  Had Congress clothed him with the necessary power to call upon the country for assistance, instead of holding Cabinet councils over the question of the evacuating of Fort Sumter, Mr. Lincoln would 'put his foot down firmly,' and every loyal citizen would rally to his support."


The Civil War Daily Gazette writes in "The Decision to Surrender Fort Sumter" a rundown of today's events.  The cabinet meets and almost unanimously (except for one person) agrees to surrender Sumter.  Read the link above for the cabinet member responses. 

"Everyone left the meeting thinking that Sumter was to be surrendered.  Everybody except Lincoln, apparently."  Lots of details about Seward behind the scenes, perhaps without Lincoln's knowledge. "

"After the meeting, Seward was at the State Department when he was called upon by two Supreme Court Justices...who urged him to meet with the Confederate Commissioners.  Seward said that he could not, Lincoln would never consent to such a thing.  The Justices offered to inform the Commissioners...what should they say to Davis?

'You may say to him,' Seward allowed, 'that before that letter reaches him, the telegraph will have informed him that Sumter shall have been evacuated.'  The Justices informed the Commissioners that Sumter would be surrendered in five days.  Now, it was certain.  Jefferson Davis, the Commissioners and, soon, the whole South would know that Fort Sumter was to be surrendered to the Confederacy in five days.  

Everybody knew this, except Lincoln."


Four-minute audio:  Lincoln Ponders Fort Sumter, March 13-19, 1861, hat tip That A Nation Might Live, The Civil War's Sesquicentennial One Week at a Time.

March 14, 1861 (Thursday)

Courage

President Lincoln submitted an idea to his cabinet to re-enforce Fort Sumter.  He asked the cabinet members to give a response in writing as to what should be done.  Almost unanimously they said it was best to surrender the fort and withdraw the soldiers back to the Union.  The Postmaster General, Montgomery Blair vehemently disagreed and thought that Fort Sumter should be re-enforced.  Here are a couple of quotes:

From the Charleston Mercury:  "Sumter is to be ours without a fight!  To those who have troubled themselves with vague fears of war on a large scale...the relief will be as great as the apprehensions have been grievous."

From Montgomery Blair: "The surrender of Sumter would be the surrender of the Union.  Every new conquest made by the rebels strengthens their hands at home and their claim to recognition as an independent people abroad.  The rebellion was checked in 1833 by the promptitude of the President in taking measures which made it manifest that it could not be attempted with impunity, and [the current rebellion] has grown to its present formidable proportions only because similar measures were not taken...it was not only Buchanan's weakness the rebels relied for success.  They for the most part believe that the Northern men are deficient in the courage necessary to maintain the Government ... No men or people have so many difficulties as those whose firmness is doubted."   The President was impressed.  ("A Letter from the Postmaster", by Jamie Malanowski, Disunion--New York Times, March 13, 2011.)

Another account at "Initial Problems at Forts Pickens and Sumter," Tulane University, History Department, March 11-12, 1861.)

"The surrender of Sumter was 'virtually a surrender of the Union.' and, unless done under absolute military necessity, constituted treason."


From Civil War Daily Gazette, "Lincoln Tries to Sell the Fox Plan," March 13, 1861.

From "A Diary From Dixie," Daily Observations from the Civil War, March 13, 2011.     "Now this, they say, is positive:  'Fort Sumter is to be released and we are to have no war.' "    Click on the link above to get all the details of her diary for this day...lots of talk about Lincoln.

And lastly, "We have the rascals on the hip," The American Civil War, March 14, 1861.  Report written by Southern Commissioner Forsyth about developments in Washington about Fort Sumter.

"...they believe, and we encourage the pleasant thought, that in case of war their precious persons would not be safe in Washington.  With prudence, wisdom, and firmness we have the rascals on the hip."

March 13, 1861 (Wednesday)

A Little Rainy This Morning

In an article by Edward Rothstein entitled "Emancipating History", New York Times, March 11, 2011, he writes about what Charleston is doing to bring to light the issue of slavery.  Excellent article...click on the link for details.

"The sesquicentennial of the Civil War that is about to be commemorated means that it has been nearly 150 years since American slavery was brought to an end.  But even in the North, the subject is still approached with caution, delicacy, and worry.  It inspires profound shame, guilt, anger, recrimination and remorse, aimed in many directions for many reasons on both sides of the racial divide.

Of course, in the North slavery can seem like a distant abstraction, creating its own problems.  But in Charleston all abstractions are gone.  The strange thing is how long it has taken to see the substance, and how much more is yet to be shown.  Several directors of the region's historical plantations and homes, which offer tours of these once-prosperous estates, told me that until the 1990s, slavery's role was generally met with silence."

An article written by Richard J. Tofel of the New York Times entitled "Abraham Lincoln, Rookie Executive, March 12, 2011" explores the first several weeks in Lincoln's young presidency.  He had over a 1000 jobs he needed to fill and spent hours and days interviewing people -- which slowly wore him down and became sick with migraines.  For more details, click on the link above to get the story of his learning curve.

"Finally, Nicolay convinced Lincoln to restrict the hours during which he was available to office seekers.  He cut back from an average of 12 hours a day to a daily window from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., six days a week.  The next day, still weakened, Lincoln acquiesced to a further cutback, restricting his public office hours to three hours a day and eliminating Saturday hours.  The pressure from office seekers had taken a toll on both president and policy, and the president knew it.  'I am,' Lincoln told the editor of the New York Times, 'like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of the his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning in the other.' "

March 12, 1861, (Tuesday)

Promise of Spring

A fascinating article on some of the "inside stories" going on as we head to the firing of guns at Fort Sumter.  Southern Unionists wanted Lincoln to call back the Union troops at Fort Sumter.  They felt it was the the only way to eventually save the Union.  The Southern leadership was growing in its feeling that if they started firing upon Sumter they could draw in the Upper-Southern states into the Confederacy, but they needed a reason.  This article enlightens us on some of the intrigue leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter. 

"John Gilmer's Last Stand", by Daniel W. Crofts, Disunion--New York Times, March 11, 2011.


From the American Civil War, "Winfield Scott to Vodges:  'Re-enforce Fort Pickens' "   Lincoln begins to fulfill one of his pledges...to re-enforce the forts.


"The Finances of the Confederate States", New York Times article, March 12, 1861.

"The Congress of the 'Confederate States' is proposing to effect a loan of $15,000,000, on a pledge of an export duty of one-eight of a cent on a pound of cotton, redeemable, in ten years.  The purpose is to raise an army.  The 'Confederate States' desire to put an army of 50,000 men in the field.  They will have to make several such loans before the year is out.  They must have $50,000,000 yearly for military purposes alone.  It costs about $1,100 annually per head, to maintain an army in quarters; when moving, a much larger sum.

They [the Southern Confederacy] have yet to show authority from the people to contract any debt whatever.  Those who know the South well, know that there is very little public spirit there at any time.  The planter is the most selfish man in the world, and as soon as the passional phase of secession is over, they are not going to give their money to a Government whose only function will be to oppress them. 

The 'Confederate States' can get their loan taken neither at home nor abroad.  The Southern people are beginning to find that they have been most egregiously sold.  The raising for $50,000,000 annually in the Cotton States, by imposts, duties, or direct taxes, is an utter impossibility.  It is a larger sum than the net profits of their whole industry." 


"A Diary of a Yankee in the Patent Office":  Hat tip Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War.

"...Fine day and quite warm tonight...."

March 11, 1861 (Monday)

Lincoln and the Forts....

What to do about Fort Sumter?   This is occupying most of the attention of President Lincoln.  At the links below, we read several discussions about that issue is in Washington and the South.


From Tulane University--History Department, "Initial Problems at Forts Pickens and Fort Sumter, March 11-12, 1861:  "A Confusion of Counsel" and "Lincoln Responds."


From the New York Herald, "Interesting from Washington",  hat tip Daily chronicles of the American Civil War, March 19, 1861:


Winfield Scott responds in a letter to Abraham Lincoln:  March 11, 1861.  Hat tip House Divided. 

From Civil War Daily Gazette, "Sumter Really to be Surrendered?"


"General Winfield Scott closed, stating that his opinion and advice was that 'Major Anderson be instructed to evacuate the Fort...immediately on procuring suitable water transportation.'

Rumors were spreading (and being wired to the Charleston press) that Fort Sumter was to be evacuated.  Senator Louis Wigfall of Texas (still in Washington) announced that it would happen within five days.  Even friends of Seward were agreeing with this.  It appeared that the statements originated from Seward himself."

March 10, 1861 (Sunday)

Stories about slaves....

A number of stories showed up today on a number of sites about slaves as the Civil War approached.  Below are links to those stories.


("A Glimmer in the Darkness" by Adam Goodheart writing for Disunion--New York Times, March 9, 2011)  A couple of stories about slaves escaping their masters and looking for Union help in protecting them in Charleston and Florida.  A look initially on Lincoln's understanding of the Fugitive Slave Laws that existed and a comment by Fredrick Douglass on his Inaugural address.


From Baptists and the American Civil War, March 3, 1861, an article on Edward Bates of Missouri who was appointed Postmaster General who no longer owns slaves.  His story of releasing his slaves is recorded in the New York Times. 


From Baptists and the American Civil War, March 7, 1861, an article on President Lincoln's barber which leads to certain tensions.


(From the War Diary of a Union Woman in the South, March 10, 1861:  Hat tip Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War.)    As the tension grew in the days before the outbreak of the war at Fort Sumter, some comments about slaves and how they were handled by some.


From Seven Score and Ten, Keziah Brevard's Diary, March 9, 1861:  She, (a widow, fifty-year old slave owner), complains about the impudence she takes from slaves...she calls them "sausy."

And a letter written to Ma and Pa, from a recruit at the Virginia Military Institute, March 10, 1861.  Hat tip Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War.


From the Lincoln Log, March 10, 1861:  The Lincoln family attends church at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington.  Also, Civil War Daily Gazette has an article on this today, "Quiet Sunday and a Daring Plan."

March 9, 1861 (Saturday)

A Rainy Morning

"Lincoln convened his cabinet this Saturday night and informed them of the situation at Sumter.  This was the first cabinet session to discuss the state of the country and the issue of the forts, particularly Sumter.  The general effect of Lincoln's remarks was that of dismay and even consternation.  'I was astonished to be informed that Fort Sumter...must be evacuated.'  -- Attorney General Edward Bates noted in his diary...." ("Initial Problems at Forts Pickens and Sumter" , Crisis at Fort Sumter, Department of History, Tulane University.)    Also, General Beauregard, commanding the forces of the Confederate Army in Charleston has received his orders from Montgomery:

"...to prevent the reinforcement of Fort Sumter 'at all hazards' by the 'use of every conceivable agency.' "



Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter to Winfield Scott:  Hat tip House Divided.

"Will you oblige me by giving answers, in writing, to the following interrogatories:  (1) To what point of time can Major Anderson maintain his position at Fort Sumter, without fresh supplies or reinforcement?  (2)  Can you, with all the means now in your control, supply or re-enforce Fort Sumter within that time?  (3)  If not, what amount of means and of what description , in addition to that already at your control, would enable you to supply and reinforce that fortress within the time?"


More from the Civil War Daily Gazette:  "Lincoln's First Cabinet Meeting; Her Guns Would Fire Upon You."


Diary of a Yankee in the Patent Office:  Hat tip Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War. 

" A rainy morning...."


From Daily Observations from the Civil War, "A Diary from Dixie"


Also, from Daily Observations from the Civil War, "Life in Kansas and Death as a Spy" --an ongoing account of the life of a man in the Civil War

On another note:  Missouri votes at their Secessionist Convention to stay with the Union...read some history about the state of Missouri and St. Louis, in particular, that gave rise to this outcome.  ("The Rise of the West," by Adam Arenson, Disunion--New York Times, March 8, 2011)

March 8, 1861 (Friday)

A letter from a wife, mother,
hard-working woman, and tax-paying citizen
to President Lincoln

Some interesting pieces of news at The Long Recall today.  An interactive secession map, Charleston fortifications are now strong enough to attack Fort Sumter, high prices of homes in Montgomery, Spain is pleased about the possibility of disunion (catch there reasons why), European powers assert some pro-Southern positions, and Italy compares the body image of Italian and American women.

From The Lincoln Log:  An anecdote about President Lincoln's first reception, including shaking hands and some people disappointed in not seeing the President. 

A Letter by Lydia Hasbrouck to Abraham Lincoln:  Hat tip House Divided.

"May I a wife, mother, tax payer and hard working woman of America be heard, when I ask from you, a man in power a just recognition of woman's individuality -- than has hitherto been shown her in the distribution of such offices as she is well fitted to fill?  [I remind you] of the growing spirit of discontent among the hard working, unrespresented tax paying women of America in relation to the manner in which men arrogate to themselves all power offices.  The power is now yours to heal to some extent this growing spirit of discontent and wounded selfhood by giving to the working intelligent tax paying women...a small share in the many offices at your disposal;  it will be only an act of simple justice which thousands of women trust you will honor your administration...."


News around Fort Sumter: 

Hat tip Seven Score and Ten, "The South eyes Sumter -- 'calculating the probable number of killed' "

Hat tip Blue Gray Review, "Dog Tax"  -- Someone has to pay for all those new guns they have ordered

March 7, 1861 (Thursday)

Lincoln rides horseback
before breakfast

From The Lincoln Log, we have this anecdote today:  "Lincoln rides horseback before breakfast to Soldiers' Home."   (N. Y. Times, March 8, 1861)


Lincoln's plate is starting to get filled with issues.  Follow the links below.


Reaction to Lincoln's Inaugural Address and the transition with Buchanan:

"The First Trick" by Jamie Malanowski, Disunion--New York Times, March 6, 2011


Fort Sumter is heating up:

"No Resupply, No Surrender", Civil War Daily Gazette, March 7, 2011


Sides are being formed in the Virginia convention -- western Virginia extremely against secession and eastern Virginia pro-secession.  A map is provided at this link to show the percentage of slave population in Virginia at the time.

"John Carlile against secession", Seven Score and Ten, March 7, 2011.


A New York Times article written on March 7, 1861 by the editors points out a key factor driving the Southern reactions to Lincoln's inaugural.  It states that the Southern leadership has an enormous incentive to provoke war with the North.  Read the article to see the reasoning.

"The Disunionists and the Inaugural", The American Civil War, March 7, 2011.


To get the flavor of a Southern Newspaper, here is today's edition from the Richmond Daily Dispatch:

March 6, 1861 (Wednesday)

"Apathy in the North?" --Indifference
----Charleston Mercury

Lincoln has picked his cabinet and Congress has approved of his selections.  Below are a couple links on the men with some personal information on each one. 

Secretary of State:  William H. Seward
Secretary of Treasury:  Salmon P. Chase
Secretary of War:  Simon Cameron
Secretary of the Navy:  Gideon Welles
Secretary of the Interior:  Caleb Blood Smith
Postmaster General:  Montgomery Blair
Attorney General:  Edward Bates

The Rumored Cabinet:  The Long Recall -- The American Interest, March 5, 2011.

Lincoln's Cabinet Confirmed:  Seven Score and Ten...


More news from the South in reaction to President Lincoln's address:

New York Times reports on an article in the Richmond Enquirer--"A Bloody Programme"--March 6, 1861:

"The Richmond Enquirer is playing a very bold, but a very hazardous game, in the interest of secession.  It is insisting that the Gulf States shall immediately attack Forts Sumter and Perkins, as the only mode of securing the cooperation of Virginia.  The fact that 'the Confederate Government still permits the occupation of forts by Federal troops,' the Enquirer urges, is the great argument on which the Unionists of Virginia rest their hopes of reconstruction.  (Read more at the link above.)"

From the Charleston Mercury -- "Our Washington Correspondence", March 6, 1861 -- Hat tip Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War:

"It sounds monstrous, but is only the plain truth, that hardly a man in either House [U. S. Congress] seems to realize, even at this last moment, the imminent, and terrible calamities with which the country is threatened...their apathy may be traced to a number of ideas:  first, they are no longer frightful having become accustomed to its form over the past months; second, since Fort Sumter has not been attacked yet, they believe there will never be any fighting; third, they seem to think majorities of people in the South are already heartily sick of secession and anxious to get back to the Union--from letters received and travellers to the South....

"It is thought there will be no fight.  If there should be, no one cares...and if there is a fight, it will be a brief one.  Many believe the war will be so far off not to bother us here."

 New York Times  and Richmond Daily Digest articles on reaction to Inaugural Address.

"Father has volunteered." ---Through Some Eventful Years: Daily Observations from the Civil War.

"...it does not seem as though there could be war!"  ---Village Life in America; Daily Observations from the Civil War

March 5, 1861 (Tuesday)

Watchfulness and the Growing Angst

Hat tip from the Civil War Daily Gazette:  a paragraph on responses from Southern papers to Lincoln's Inaugural Address:

"In the South, 'war' was the watchword.  'There will, then, as they must have it, be war,' wrote the Atlanta Southern Confederacy.  The Nashville Union and American (perhaps not as accurately named as Atlanta's journal) wrote:  'No man can read the Inaugural, without coming to the conclusion that it is a declaration of war against the seceded States, and in less than thirty days, if its avowals are carried out, we shall have the clangor or resounding arms, with all its concomitants of death, carnage and woe.'  'The sword is drawn and the scabbard thrown away,' proclaimed the Richmond Daily Dispatch.'

From Daily Observations from the Civil War:  The Confederate Records...the response to Lincoln's Inaugural.

"The inaugural undoubtedly means war, and that right off.  We agreed that it was Lincoln's purpose at once to attempt the collection of the revenue, to re-enforce and hold Fort Sumter and Pickens, and to retake the other places.  He is a man of will and firmness."


More Lincoln Inaugural Coverage at the links below:

From The American Interest -- The Long Recall, March 5, 1861:  Special Edition -- Lincoln Inaugurated!



New York Times, March 5, 1861 writes the narrative of the Lincoln Inauguration:  'The Inauguration Ceremonies:  The New Administration  --  great article



From Blue Gray Review:  two short articles on how modern technology of 1861 was used to report the words of Lincoln's Inaugural Address.


Richmond Daily Dispatch:  The Inaugural.   More negative it its narrative of the event.



Walter Russell Mead:  "Lincoln, Davis in Inaugural Shuffle".  Hat tip The Long Recall.


An article by Disunion -- New York Times, March 4, 2011 written by Michael O'Brien entitled "The Minds of the South."