CHAPTER VII.

THE SECESSION OF TENNESSEE-PARSON BROWNLOW-DECLARATION OF WAR BY THE CONFED. ERATE CONGRESS-SKIRMISH NEAR ST. LOUIS-SECESSION ELEMENT IN BALTIMORE-FORT MC'HENRY-SECESSION OF NORTH CAROLINA-ADJOURNMENT OF THE REBEL CONGRESS TO CONVENE AT RICHMOND ASSEMBLY OF FEDERAL TROOPS AT WASHINGTON—THE OCCUPATION OF ALEXANDRIA-ASSASSINATION OF COLONEL ELLSWORTH-SKETCH OF HIS CAREERHIS LIFE IN CHICAGO-FAMOUS TOUR OF THE CHICAGO ZOUAVES-ELLSWORTH'S MILITARY TASTES AND TALENTS-HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS-HIS PECULIARITIES AS A SPEAKER-HE ORGANIZES THE NEW YORK FIRE ZOUAVES-HIS DEATH A LOSS TO THE CAUSE OF THE UNION-GENERAL ROBERT PATTERSON'S CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA— CROSSING THE POTOMAC AT WILLIAMSPORT-BATTLE OF FALLING WATERS-PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY TO HAINSVILLE-TO MARTINSBURG-THE MARCH TO BUNKER HILLTO CHARLESTOWN -OCCUPATION OF HARPER'S FERRY-RESULTS OF THE CAMPAIGN.

On the 6th of May, 1861, another defection took place among the States of the Union, and another member was added to the cluster of apostate communities. On that day the Legislature of Tennessee passed the ordinance of secession, and adopted the terms of an alliance with the Confederate States. The instrument by which this act was accomplished was absurdly called a "Declaration of Independence;" and it set forth, as all its predecessors had in substance set forth, that the citizens of that State maintained the right of every free and independent people, to alter or abolish their form of government as they pleased; and that, in the exercise of this right, they, of Tennessee, ordained and declared that all laws which had heretofore constituted the State a member of the Federal Union, were thereby abrogated and annulled; and that henceforth the State should become, what they had indeed immediately before declared it had always previously been, "a free, sovereign and independent community." The announcement of this event elicited various and opposite expressions of sentiment throughout Tennessee, for a large Union element existed among her population. Parson Brownlow, the well-known editor of the Knoxville Whig, gave utterance to his indignation in terms extremely forcible and appropriate, in a torrent of invective which immediately afterward graced his journal. He stigmatized the act of secession as "a black deed," perpetrated by traitors who had taken a solemn oath to support the Constitution of the United States; and he affirmed that the ordinance itself was unconstitutional, unjustifiable, "a vile act of usurpation.". He characterized the agents of the movement as "unprincipled politicians;" and for this resolute and patriotic conduct he afterward became the victim of the vengeance of the Rebel authorities.

On the 7th of May the Congress of the Confederate States, convened at Montgomery, passed an act by which that important body recognized and declared the existance of war with the United States; and affirmed that

SKIRMISH NEAR ST. LOUIS.

107

hostilities had been begun against them by Abraham Lincoln, which it was their duty to resist and to suppress. The falsehood of this assertion stands out so plainly on the face and front of it, that none except rebels and traitors could be so blind as not readily to detect it.

It was in the State of Missouri that the warlike elements of the two parties first came into active collision. On the 10th of May a brigade of the militia of that State, commanded by General Frost, encamped on the western outskirts of St. Louis, and defied the forces of the Federal Government. The latter were then under the orders of Captain Lyon; who, before running the hazards of a battle against superior numbers, wisely resolved to try the effect upon the rebels of a formal demand to surrender. That demand was made, accompanied by the assurance that those who laid down their arms should be treated with humanity. The gallant Frost immediately complied with this requisition. Eight hundred men became prisoners of war, and were escorted into the city of St. Louis by the Federal troops. During this march an unfortunate conflict took place between the latter and a portion of the populace, in which about twenty persons in the crowd were killed. The captive State troops were afterward released on parole, having taken the oath not to serve again against the United States. Their officers, their camp equipage, their artillery, and their ammunition, were retained. These events formed the prelude to other and more important events, which subsequently occurred in that distant portion of the Union.

Meanwhile the proclamation of President Lincoln calling out seventyfive thousand troops for three months, had been responded to throughout all the loyal States. Thousands of men volunteered, whose superfluous services could not be accepted. The largest proportion of troops was required from New York and Pennsylvania; from the former eleven regiments, from the latter ten, were demanded. By the 15th of May Baltimore was occupied by a numerous Federal force commanded by General Butler. The secession element was still vigorous in that city, and it was strengthened from day to day by the treasonable conduct and influence of Marshal Kane, the head of the police force. Fortunately, Fort McHenry, which commands the city of Baltimore, was well provided with artillery, men and stores, and was in the possession of Federal officers. Its formidable guns, which in an hour might render the city a smouldering ruin, produced a beneficial effect in suppressing the treasonable spirit of rebellion. On the 21st of May the State of North Carolina consummated her misfortune and disgrace by seceding from the Federal Government and uniting with the Southern Confederacy. She was the last in the order of time to perpetrate this ignominious deed. Ten States had preceded her-South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Virginia and Tennessee. Immediately after receiving official notice of the defection of North Carolina, the Congress at Montgomery

adjourned-greatly elated by the success of their operations-to convene at Richmond on the 20th of July ensuing.

By the 20th of May the Federal Government possessed the number of troops called for by the proclamation of the President; and was prepared to commence active operations against the rebels, and invade their terri tory. The several loyal States had responded with alacrity to the requisi tion of the Chief Magistrate; and the soldiers who assembled at Washington, as well as those who occupied several positions in Maryland and Virginia, were eager to meet the enemy. On the 23d, the order was given to advance from the Federal capital to those regiments which had been selected to perform this service. The purpose of the movement was to take possession of Alexandria, on the opposite side of the Potomac, and attack and dislodge any rebel force which might have been posted on Arlington Heights. Eight thousand infantry, two companies of cavalry, and two sections of Sherman's artillery battalion, crossed the Long Bridge under the command of General Mansfield. Four New York regiments, which had been quartered at Georgetown, proceeded at the same time over the Chain Bridge, under the orders of General McDowell. The New York Zouaves embarked on board the "Baltimore" and "Mount Vernon," and proceeding down the Potomac, reached Alexandria at five o'clock in the morning. At six they landed, and formed in line upon the dock.

The main body of the Federal troops entered Alexandria at the same time. The first Michigan regiment immediately advanced to the railroad depot and took possession of it. They also surprised and captured a troop of rebel cavalry numbering one hundred. The Zouaves, commanded by Ellsworth, proceeded at once to active service, and commenced by destroying the railroad track to Richmond. Their next aim was to take possession of the telegraph office, and intercept its connection with the rebel camp. Ellsworth now led the way, but his gallant career was destined to be of short duration. As the Zouaves were advancing in double quick time up the street, Ellsworth observed that a secession flag was waving from the Marshal House, a prominent hotel of the place. To such a man such a spectacle could not be other than most offensive, and as his fearless eye gazedupon the floating emblem, he impulsively exclaimed, "That flag must come down!" Accompanied by a few privates he rushed into the house, ascended to the roof, eagerly cut down the flag, and taking possession of it, commenced his descent. He was met in the hall by Jackson, the enraged proprietor of the house, who, armed with a double-barreled gun, leveled it at Ellsworth, and discharged it. The instrument of death was but too well aimed. Its contents entered the body of Ellsworth, between the third and fifth ribs, and inflicted a mortal wound. He fell, attempted to open his dress and to staunch the flowing blood; but rapidly the pallor of death spread over his features, his hands became powerless, he sank

ASSASSINATION OF COLONEL ELLSWORTH.

109

upon the floor, gasped for breath, and quickly expired. Before this event occurred his assassin had himself been slain; for a private named Brownell, who had accompanied Ellsworth to the roof, the moment his commander was shot, leveled his musket at Jackson and discharged it. The rebel and the fallen hero died at the same moment, under the same roof, within a few feet of each other. The body of the former was soon riddled with balls by the frantic Zouaves, and his brains scattered over the scene of his crime and his punishment. The remains of Ellsworth were subsequently conveyed to Washington to be embalmed.

Immediately afterward the Federal troops occupied Alexandria without further opposition. A portion of the population, apprehensive of a hostile invasion, had previously deserted the town. The seventh New York regiment, with others, took possession of Arlington Heights. They met no resistance or interruption in the execution of their task, and they commenced to throw up intrenchments. Three thousand men were constantly employed in the works. General McDowell retained the command of all the troops which were placed beyond the Potomac, and superintended the necessary operations.

It is usual when a popular favorite passes away, for his admirers to magnify and exaggerate his merits to such an absurd and extravagant degree that could he return to life again, it would be impossible for him to recognize his own portrait in their delineations; and were he honest he would exclaim with astonishment, that he was not himself aware that he had ever been so wise. or so good, or so great a man. This declaration, which applies with truth to nine tenths of those whom mankind blindly but often unanimously agree to applaud, was not applicable to the case of Ellsworth. The report of his death was the signal for the outburst of such a deluge of regret and praise, as has rarely been accumulated upon the memory and the grave of any departed hero; but he really deserved it. He was in many respects, though young, a remarkable man, possessed of rare qualities, and adorned by great virtues.

Elmer E. Ellsworth was a native of Massachusetts, and at the period of his death was about twenty-six years of age. In his youth his father suffered serious reverses in business; and thus he was thrown upon his own resources, and initiated into a career of privation and toil, which commenced with his boyhood. The hope of finding a more congenial and facile field for pushing his fortunes induced him, as it has induced thousands of other aspiring and generous spirits, to journey westward; and in 1852 he reached Chicago, at that time the rising commercial metropolis of the West. But he was destitute of money and friends, without any profession or trade, and his first experiences of stern life in his new abode were sufficiently dark and cheerless. But he possessed the inestimable boons of health, youth and hope, and with the aid of these he soon acquired friends, and hewed out for himself an honorable name and a

means of living. His pursuits from time to time were somewhat diversified. At one period he commenced the study of law in the office of Mr. Lincoln, at Springfield. He had always felt a great fondness for military life, but no scope had yet been afforded to his martial aspirations.

When the exploits of the French Zouaves at Sevastopol excited the surprise and admiration of the world, they kindled the kindred sympathy and ardor of Ellsworth. He studied the principles and peculiarities of their drill with intense interest, and conceived the design of raising from the large circle of friends whom he had acquired among the young men of Chicago, a company who should imitate, and perhaps even emulate, the perfection of the genuine Zouave drill. He succeeded in his purpose; many of the most estimable and admirable youths of that city joined his company, and some months were spent by them and their young captain in laborious and assiduous drilling. At length Ellsworth found the grand conception which he had formed realized. The Chicago Zouaves, under his guidance, attained a degree of exactitude and skill in the manual of arms, such as had never before been seen in America, and which perhaps could be found alone in Europe among the genuine Zouaves from Algiers. It was very natural that Ellsworth should be proud of his handiwork, and that he should desire to exhibit to the world how much could be accomplished by industry and perseverance in that department of mental and physical effort. He published a respectful challenge to the military corps in the United States, inviting them to a trial of skill. Soon afterward that memorable tour was made by him and his associates through the chief cities and towns of the United States, which formed one of the most extraordinary military events of this age. But it should not be imagined that this famous expedition was undertaken simply for the purpose of display. In all that Ellsworth did-such was the inherent nobility and elevation of his nature-there was a lofty and noble aim. The chief design, therefore, of that journey, was to show, by a plain and practical example, how superior scientific drilling was in giving efficiency and power to the soldier, to the ordinary method; to illustrate what the great principle of military training should be, a principle of which not one commander or soldier in a thousand had the slightest conception, namely, that a perfect identity of spirit and feeling should exist, for the time being, between the commanding officer and those to whom his orders are given; as also to illustrate how the true soldier should inure himself to bodily fatigue and self-denial; how the accomplished soldier will also become an accomplished gymnast; and how, as much as any thing else, temperance in eating and drinking is not only promotive of bodily health and vigor, but is absolutely indispensable to it.

It was during the progress of this expedition that another remarkable quality of Ellsworth was revealed to the admiring public. This was his extraordinary power over the minds of his associates. He possessed that