CHAP. LXIII.]

WAR REPORT FOR 1862.

579

against so formidable an enemy. . . . A chief hope of Disloyal practices those who set the rebellion on foot was for in the North. aid and comfort from disloyal sympathizers in the Northern States, whose efforts were relied upon to divide and distract the people of the North, and prevent them from putting forth their whole strength to preserve the national existence. The call for volunteers and a draft of the militia afforded an occasion for disloyal persons to accomplish their evil purposes by discouraging enlistments, and encouraging opposition to the war and the draft of soldiers to carry it on.

"Anxiety was felt in some states at the probable sucMeasures for their cess of these disloyal practices, and the gov suppression. ernment was urged to adopt some measures of protection by temporary restraint of those engaged in these hostile acts. To that end provost-marshals were appointed in some of the states, upon the nomination of their governors, to act under the direction of the state executive, and the writ of habeas corpus was suspended by your (the President's) order. By the order of the department, arrests were forbidden unless authorized by the state executive or by the judge advocate. Some instances of unauthorized arrests have occurred, but when brought to the notice of the department the parties have been immediately discharged. By a recent order, all persons arrested for discouraging enlistments, or for disloyal practices in states where the quotas of volunteers or militia are filled up, have been released. Other persons arrested by military commanders, and sent from departments where their presence was deemed dangerous to the public safety, have been discharged upon parole to be of good behavior, and do no act of hostility against the gov ernment of the United States. While military arrests of disloyal persons form the subject of complaint in some states, the discharge of such persons is complained of in

other states. It has been the aim of the department to avoid any encroachment upon individual rights as far as might be consistent with public safety and the preservation of the government. But reflecting minds will perceive that no greater encouragement can be given to the enemy, no more dangerous act of hostility can be perpe trated in this war, than efforts to prevent recruiting and enlistments for the armies upon whose strength national existence depends. The expectations of the rebel leaders and their sympathizers in loyal states that the call for volunteers would not be answered, and that the draft could not be enforced, have failed, and nothing is left but to clamor at the means by which their hopes were frustrated, and to strive to disarm the government in future, if in the chances of war another occasion for increasing the military force should arise.

Magnitude of the military opera

tions.

"The successful movement of the various expeditions by sea, the transportation of such large bodies of troops and their regular supply at distant points of the coast, afford striking proofs of the greatness of the military resources of the nation. These movements have been upon a scale of great magnitude. The collection of the vast armies which have been raised, and their transport to the field of operations in so brief a period, would not have been possible but for the extent of our system of steam transport by railroad, river, and sea.

"In general terms, it may be stated that the issues by the Ordnance Department include 1926 field and siege, and 1206 fortification cannon; 7294 gun-carriages, cais sons, mortar-beds, traveling forges, and battery wagons; 1,276,686 small-arms; 987,291 sets of equipments and accoutrements, and 213,991,127 rounds of ammunition for artillery and small-arms, still leaving large supplies of ordnance stores at the arsenals and dépôts.

CHAP. LXIII.]

THE SLAVE ELEMENT.

581

"It appears from the report of the acting paymaster general that during the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 1862, the sum of $5,550,039 was paid to the regu lar troops; that $91,116,610 were paid to volunteers; and that $38,597,819 have been paid since the 30th of June, 1862.

From this report "it is seen that a force has been Great strength of placed by the people of the United States the army. at the command of the government to maintain its authority more mighty in all the elements of warfare than was ever before arrayed under one banner. How shall that force be employed? To smite the ene my on every hand, to attack his armies and strong-holds, to occupy his ports, clear the great rivers of the West from his obstructions, and pause not until he is subdued, is our great duty. Above all, it is our duty to disdain Necessity of using no legitimate aid that may save the lives of the slave element. our gallant soldiers, diminish their labors, provide for their wants, and lessen the burdens of our people. No aphorism is more universally received than that 'the sole object of a just war is to make the enemy feel the evils of his injustice, and by his sufferings amend his ways; he must therefore be attacked in the most accessible quarter.' The power of the rebels rests upon their peculiar system of labor, which keeps laborers on their plantations to support owners who are devoting their time and strength to destroy our armies and destroy our government. Whenever that system is in hostility to the government, it is, in my opinion, the duty of those conducting the war to strike down the system, and turn against the rebels the productive power that supports the insurrection. Rightly organized in the recoverAdvantages of its ed territory, the laborers of the rebel states military use. will not only aid in holding fortified posi tions, but their labor will, as in India, free the white sol

diers from the most unwholesome exposure of the South. They will cultivate the corn and forage, which will feed our cavalry and artillery horses, and save the country a portion of the enormous burden now attending their pur chase and transportation from the North. This cultiva tion would have been of greater advantage to us on the southeastern coast than even that of the great staple of the Sea Islands. Probably the people who remained upon these islands, within protection of our armies, could, under wise control, have supplied all the forage needed Its effect on military this year by the forces in the department of the South. The full ration for a horse weighs twenty-six pounds, that of a soldier three pounds. An army, well-organized and equipped for active operations, with a due proportion of cavalry, artillery, and bag. gage-trains, will have not less than one horse or mule to every four soldiers, so that the weight of food for the an imals is more than double that of the rations for the men. How important an aid, how great an economy, in a long contest, therefore, there would be in raising by this cheap labor the greater part of the forage alone for the Southern department-thus, for a great portion of our wants, transferring the base of supplies, now at New York, to Hilton Head or New Orleans.

transportation;

"The department has found it difficult to transfer this labor from one part of the seat of war to another. Local and family ties seem to be very strong with these people, and, with all their faith in the power and good-will of our military commanders, it was found difficult to get volunteer laborers to leave Port Royal for other dépôts.

"A population of four millions, true to the interests of the Union, with a slight assistance from the army, will, under proper regulation and government, be of the greatest assistance in holding the territory once recovered. The principal staples of the South are the products ex

CHAP. LXIII.]

EFFECTS OF USING THE SLAVES.

583

clusively of their labor. If protected upon the lands they have heretofore cultivated, with some organization, and with support from small detachments of loyal troops, they would not only produce much of what is needed to feed our armies and their trains, but they would forever cut off from the rebellion the resources of a country thus occupied.

"The rebel armies move with ease through portions of the Border States, living upon the country in which our commanders find no supplies. The people bring forth their hoards and offer them to the rebels for sale or gift. Protect the laboring population, who are the majority in the greater part of the South, in the possession of the land and its products, and this great advantage will, for whatever portion of the country we occupy, be transferred to us. As soon as the coast is thoroughly occupied and the people organized, trade will revive. Cotton, rice, sugar, and other products will be exchanged by the producer for what he needs. Their wants will be in restoring indus- supplied direct from the Northern factories, try to the South, and the cultivation of the great staples will pay for what they use. A perfectly free trade may thus again grow up between the North and the South, and, with greater or less rapidity, it will spread over the whole country as our forces succeed in meeting and dispersing the rebel armies.

"The greater part of the whole country which formerly produced the sea-island cotton is now thoroughly restored to the Union. The laborers are there-the soil and climate. It needs only assurance of protection to revive the cultivation of the staple, as well as to produce vast quantities of corn and forage for our troops. Since this war must be conducted by marches, and battles, and sieges, why neglect the best means to make them successful and their results permanent? It is worthy of notice