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The Commercial
Community.

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The Commercial
Community.

inquisition, the "Commer- | other in their efforts in becial Agency," before he half of the National cause. could secure a dollar's From the spirit of patriotworth of goods. This partiality was a base ism thus engendered, it was only necessary reflection on the integrity of the Northern cus- to open the volunteer lists to place Govtomer, and a pusillanimous concession to ernment in possession of six hundred and "Southern honor," as events only too painfully sixty thousand of the best men ever brought demonstrated. The shipwreck of hundreds of into the field. business houses in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Providence, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Pittsburg, doing a "Southern business," was an argument wiser than words to prove the infatuation of Northern business men in the matter of Southern credits. [See Vol. I., page 497.]

A meeting of the New York Chamber of Commerce, held April 19th, more distinctly represented the commercial sentiment of the North. The resolutions, unanimously adopted by that eminent corporate body, deserve quotation for their determined expression of opinion and purposes:

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Chamber of Com

merce Resolutions.

The unanimity in sustaining the course of the National Administration, manifested by the commercial men of the North, reflected honorably on their patriotism. If their patriotic ardor was intensified by their losses and insulted confidence, it may be excused. In all the imposing demonstrations made in the loyal States, the men of commerce sustained a leading part-committing themselves, without reserve, to the work of suppressing the rebellion and of punishing its abettors.* At the vast meeting held in Newed state of national affairs, as well as a jealous reYork city, April 20th, to sustain the Government, almost every "solid" man of the city participated. The wealth and influence there represented it was estimated comprised, in a merely material point of view, an amount sufficient to arm, equip and keep in the field an army of two hundred thousand men--so truly gigantic was the demonstration. Similar meetings were held in all the great commercial centres of the North, while interior cities, towns and villages vied with each

Whereas, Our country has, in the course of events, reached a crisis unprecedented in its past history, exposing it to extreme dangers, and involving the most momentous results; and whereas, the President of the United States has, by his Proclamation, made known the dangers which threaten

the stability of Government, and called upon the people to rally in support of the Constitution and laws; and whereas, the merchants of New York, represented in this Chamber, have a deep stake in the results which may flow from the present expos

The case of the eminent dry-goods merchant, Alexander T. Stewart, of New York city, is a representative instance of the feeling prevalent in his class. It having been rumored that he had given the Government one million of dollars, he stated in a communication to the public, that, all he had was at the service of his country-that he owed all to the inestimable blessings bestowed by the Union, and would freely give all in defense of that Union. Cornelius Vanderbilt, the great ship-owner, hastened to present his finest ocean steamer to the Government, and to offer a second steamer for what the Government saw proper to pay. These instances of magnanimous devotion were, indeed, so numerous that it is difficult to choose which to mention.

gard for the honor of that flag under whose protection they have extended the commerce of this city to the remotest part of the world; therefore,

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'Resolved, That this Chamber, alive to the perils which have been gathering around our cherished form of Government, and menacing its overthrow, has witnessed with lively satisfaction the determination of the President to maintain the Constitution and vindicate the supremacy of Government and law at every hazard.

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Resolved, That the so-called secession of some of the Southern States having at last culminated in open war against the United States, the American people can no longer defer their decision between anarchy or despotism on the one side, and on the other liberty, order, and law under the most benign Governmeut the world has ever known.

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Chamber of Commerce Resolutions.

try by the madness of the South, the Chamber is persuaded that policy and humanity alike demand that it should be met by the most prompt and energetic measures; and it accordingly recommends to Government the instant adoption and prosecution of a policy so vigorous and resistless, that it will crush out treason now and forever.

"Resolved, That the proposition of Mr. Jefferson Davis to issue letters of marque to whosoever may apply for them, emanating from no recognized Government, is not only without the sanction of public law, but piratical in its tendencies, and therefore deserving the stern condemnation of the civilized world. It cannot result in the fitting out of regular privateers, but may, in infesting the ocean with piratical cruisers, armed with traitorous commissions, to despoil our commerce, and that of all other maritime nations.

"Resolved, That in view of this threatening evil, it is, in the opinion of this Chamber, the duty of our Government to issue at once a proclamation, warning all persons that privateering under the commissions proposed will be dealt with as simple piracy. It owes this duty not merely to itself, but to other maritime nations, who have a right to demand that the United States Government shall

ports of such States, or any other State that shall join them, and that this measure is demanded for defense in war, as also for protection to the commerce of the United States against these so-called privateers,' invited to enroll under the authority of such States. Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York pledges its hearty and cordial support to such measures as the Government of the United States may, in its wisdom, inaugurate and carry through in the blockade of such ports."

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The Religious Sentiment.

The participation of religious bodies in the events of the day was not the least memorable feature of the great uprising. As the churches of the South lent their aid to the cause of secession, [see Vol. I., pages 136, 137,] and, eventually, became one of the most virulent elements in propagating hates at which devils must have stood aghast, so the religious element at the North entered into the contest, but in a spirit of solemnity appropriate to From the spires of Roman Catholic Cathedra's, Jewish Synagogues, and of “Orthodox" churches generally, from "Trinity" and "Grace," down to the humble chapel on the obscure street, floated the American flag—a

its

Christian character.

promptly discountenance every attempt within its sight to arrest attention and to excite com

borders to legalize piracy. It should, also, at the earliest moment, blockade every Southern port, so as to prevent the egress and ingress of such vessels. "Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to send copies of these resolutions to the Chambers of Commerce of other cities, inviting their co-operation in such measures as may be deemed effective in strengthening the hands of Government in this

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mingled emotions of reverence and military enthusiasm. Trinity's chimes pealed forth, and the very atmosphere seemed resonant of "Hail Columbia," "Star Spangled Banner," "Red, White and Blue" and "Yankee Doodle," as regiment after regiment pressed onward, over the thronged highway, to take transport for Washington. This patriotic outburst of the wealthiest religious body in the country was not the exception of churches of its denomination. It is charged that during the first War for Independence the Episcopalians were not, as a body, loyal; but, it will not be said that, in the second War for Independence they were found wanting in devotion to their country. Bishop Potter, of Pennsylvania, published a form of prayer for his congregations, embodying most loyal sentiments-an example soon followed by every Protestant Episcopal Bishop of the Free States, as well as by the Bishops of Delaware and Maryland. The Bishop of Delaware took early occasion to express his views and wishes in the crisis. He said:

:

"Another duty that I feel bound to present to the

THE RELIGIOUS

SENTIMENT.

107

Christian citizen, is that of sustaining the constituted authorities, and rallying under our country's banner. We have been for years, enjoying the blessing of a mild, paternal, and Constitutional Government, under whose gentle, beneficent sway every citizen has been safe at home and respected abroad; liberty and property have been secure; industry has been encouraged, and every civil right and social blessing has been enjoyed to the fullest extent. "When such a Government is assailed by violence, shall not those who have so long experienced its benefits rise as one man in its defense, and present a solid front to its enemies?

"The question is not now one of names, or of men, or of parties. It is one of country, of liberty, of national existence, of life or death. The Chief Magistrate of the great American Republic represents in his person the majesty of the law. He is the nation's head, and the blow struck at him is aimed at the Constitution and at the people, at every home and every bosom. We are in the midst of a sterner crisis than were the men of '76. What would have been the restoration of British rule over the thirteen colonies--a rule which had proved so generally beneficent and honorable to its subjects what would this have been in comparison with the danger now threatening the subversion of all au

thority-the tyranny of an unprincipled and despotic usurpation, and the reducing of the goodly fabric of national grandeur to a shapeless heap? Our dearest earthly interests are now at stake, and the welfare of children, and of children's children, trembles in this balance."

The venerable Bishop McIlvaine, of Ohio, in his address to the forty-first annual convention of his diocese, uttered most decided sentiments, demanding devotion to the cause of the Union as a solemn and imperative duty. Archbishop Hughes, one

Loyalty of Archbishop Hughes.

of the acknowledged heads of the Roman Catholic Church in America, placed the American flag upon his cathedral spire, and by his loyal sentiments, freely uttered, served to inspire the multitudes of his people with unbounded enthusiasm in the Union's cause. The Archbishop addressed a letter to the Chairman of the committee calling the great Union meeting in New York, April 20th, expressing his sentiments on the question of the hour. We quote:

"It is now fifty years since, a foreigner by birth, I took the oath of allegiance to this country, under

its title of the United States of America. As regards conscience, patriotism, or judgment, I have

no misgiving. Still desirous of peace, when the Providence of God shall have brought it, I may say that since the period of my naturalization, I have none but one country. In reference to my duties as a citizen, no change has come over my mind since then. The Government of the United States was then, as it is now, symbolized by a national flag, popularly called The Stars and Stripes.' This has been my flag, and shall be to the end. I trust it is still destined to display in the gales that sweep every ocean, and amid the gentle breezes of many a distant shore, as I have seen it in foreign lands, its own peculiar waving lines of beauty. May it live and continue to display these same waving lines of beauty, whether at home or abroad, for a thousand years and afterwards, as long as Heaven permits, without limit of duration." The Jews came up to the crisis with earnestness and real devotion. The Rev. Dr. Raphael, who, in the fall of 1860, had preached a powerful sermon in behalf of the righteousness and beneficence of human slavery, invoked the God of Israel to crush out the enemies of the Union, and to bless the cause of the North. Many of the rabbis preached quite in the spirit of the days of the prophets.

The Jews.

The Methodists.

The spirit of the Methodists was happily illustrated in the opening prayer of the New York East Methodist Conference, April 16th:

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Grant, O God, that all the efforts now being made to overthrow rebellion in our distracted country, may be met with every success. Let the forces. that have risen against our Government, and thy law, be scattered to the winds, and may no enemies that those who have aimed at the very heart of the be allowed to prevail against us. Grant, O God, Republic may be overthrown. We ask thee to the face of the country!" bring these men to destruction, and wipe them from

The Baptists expressed their convictions in the following stirring resolves :

The Baptists.

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ther reference to church resolves and addresses.

our loyal adhesion and unstinted support in its wise,
forbearing, and yet firm maintenance of its national
unity and life; and that sore, long, and costly as
the conflict may be, the North has not sought it,
and the North will not shun it, if Southern aggres-ple.
sions persist; and that a surrender of the National

Union and our ancestral principles would involve
sorer evils of longer continuance and vaster cost-
liness."

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Resolved, That in the present resort to arms we recognize no war of the North against the South, but a contest of democracy against despotic aristocracy; and that as Christian pastors and people, within our sphere, we prepare for battle, confident of God's approval of our course."

The Old School PresbyThe Presbyterians. terians, in their more sober way, were quite up to the prevalent spirit, although, as a Church, they ever had been noted for their "conservative" tendencies on the question of slavery and relations with the South. The General Assembly of that denomination for 1861 resolved:

The clergy were, if possible, in advance of the peo

Antagonism Excited by the South.

In the pulpit, on the tions, and in conversation, the responsibility public platform, in newspaper communicaof the citizen was their unfailing theme. Their discourses, reported for the daily and weekly press, sped over the country to inspire ardor in the cause of human liberty and order for such they quite generally regarded the contest. The position so boldly assumed by the designers of the new Southern Government, viz:-that its corner-stone was negro bondage, [see Stephens' Exposition, vol. I, page 30,] enlisted the clergy in the struggle from humanitarian, as well as patriotic, motives, and aroused in their breasts all the antagonism which such a retrogressive assumption might be expected to create in the bosoms of Christian men. Hence their sermons fairly scintillated with the eloquence of feeling and the lightnings of their righteous indignation, and thus became potent agents in awakening the masses to a correct apprehension of the great issues involved in the contest. Better had it been for the conspirators against liberty had they, for a season at least, masked their designs. "Whom the Gods would destroy they first make mad," was verified in their case. The avowal of the true character of their Government, their unscrupulous seizure of United States property, their lawless Convention proceedings and usurpations, their early call into the field of an army to drive out the Union garrisons, their reckless assault upon Sumter, and their avowed purpose to seize Washing

"That the members of this General Assembly, in the spirit of that Christian patriotism which the Scriptures enjoin, and which has always character-ton-all combined to alienate from them and ized this Church, do hereby acknowledge and declare their obligation, so far as in them lies, to maintain the Constitution of these United States, in

their cause not only all the mighty moral and physical energies of the North, but also the full exercise of all its legitimate powers, to pre-forth branded with infamy, notwithstanding the intelligence of Europe. Their cause went serve our beloved Union unimpaired, and to restore its inestimable blessings to every portion of the land."

It would be interesting to quote from the recorded proceedings of the several other leading denominations of the North, expressive of sympathy for the National Administration; but, our point having been sufficiently illustrated, we are not permitted fur

so many men, made eminent by the Union, had embarked in the revolution. If a few sympathizers for the movement were found in Great Britain it was but natural, considering that "King Cotton" had whispered their moral sense asleep; but, even at the most despondent moment of the Union's fortunes, the vast majority of England's people gave

MAJOR ANDERSON'S RECEPTION.

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the Southern cause no sympathy. Impu-sation which directly came for the appalling dently assuming that one Southern man was equal to three Northerners, and that, for the sake of cotton, both England and France would give the Pro-Slave Confederacy an early recognition, the conspirators plunged headlong into the contest with a recklessness only equalled by its stupidity. Only the sword and the ordeal of trial could undeceive such madmen; and the only compen

disasters of the war was the poor satisfaction of having taught the South its physical inferiority. If the incidental blessings of liberty of conscience, liberty of press, liberty of speech, and liberty of person should follow, in those States where all have been denied with most virulent pertinacity for two generations, the sacrifices in the cause of the Union will not have been in vain.

CHAPTER V.

MAJOR ANDERSON
ING HIM.

IN NEW YORK. EXCUSE FOR NOT RE-ENFORCFORT PICKENS SAFE. PARTICULARS OF ITS RETHE HARPER'S FERRY DESTRUCTION AND

ENFORCEMENT.

EVACUATION. THE NORFOLK (GOSPORT) NAVY-YARD DESTRUCTION. PARTICULARS OF THE AFFAIR. MOVEMENT OF TROOPS UPON ANNAPOLIS. OPERATIONS OF THE UNION DEFENSE RECEPTION OF THE NEW

COMMITTEE." WASHINGTON SAFE.

YORK SEVENTH.

Major Anderson's

New York Reception

APRIL 18th witnessed several events of interest, viz: the arrival of Major Anderson in New York, and his enthusiastic reception; the arrival in New York of the Massachusetts Sixth, and its departure for Washington; the destruction of Harper's Ferry arsenal by fire, and its evacuation by the U. S. garrison under command of Lieutenant Jones. The reception of Anderson was one of the most memorable ovations in the annals of a city noted for its popular demonstrations. The Baltic's arrival at Sandy Hook becoming known early in the day, the Bay was soon alive with sail and steam craft making their way to the Narrows to give him welcome. The passage up to the city was like an old-time triumph. Guns boomed from the forts and the Battery. Numberless water-craft, densely loaded with people of all classes, glided around the stately steamer in happy confusion, rendering her progress slow. The air was rent with shouts, huzzas, the whistles of engines, and the ring

ing of bells-to all of which the city sent up answering notes. The reception at the Battery was impressive and enthusiastic in the extreme--recalling that spectacle when Lafayette received the congratulations of the American people at the same spot. The Major proceeded to his hotel, to become, for a few days following, the recipient of attentions and honors which must have oppressed while they gratified him.

The non-Re-enforce

- ment.

With the Baltic returned the re-enforcements dispatched to the Major's relief. The Harriet Lane, Pawnee, the transport Baltic, and tug Yankee, it appeared from report of the returned officers of the expedition, neared Charleston Friday morning, April 12th, taking up position near the Swash Channel bar. Over the bar it was found the transport and convoys could not pass. A vessel from Boston, loaded with ice, was seized, and the plan formed of running her in, loaded with troops and provisions, during the darkness of Friday night. Oliver W. Clapp, an old

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