526

PEACE SEEKERS IN RICHMOND.

CHAPTER XX.

PEACE CONFERENCE AT HAMPTON ROADS.-THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST RICHMOND.

T THE opening of the spring of 1865, the Rebellion was so shorn of its inherent strength and props that it was ready to fall. The last effort to win peace by other means than by conquering it, had been tried in vain. That effort was a notable one, as the outline here given will show.

We have seen how futile were the missions of Mr. Greeley to Niagara, and of Messrs. Jaques and Gillmore to Richmond, the previous summer, in the interest of peace.' A few months later, Francis P.

• 1864.

Blair, senior, a venerable politician of Maryland, who had given his support to the administration, and who was personally acquainted with the principal actors in the rebellion, then in Richmond, conceived the idea that he might bring about reconciliation and peace by means of his private influence. So he asked the President for a pass through Grant's lines, and on the 26th of December," Mr. Lincoln handed him a card on which was written-"Allow the bearer, F. P. Blair, Sr., to pass our lines to go south, and return," and signed his name to it. "I was informed," said Mr. Lincoln, in response to a resolution of the House of Representatives," "that Mr. Blair sought the card as a means of getting to Richmond, Virginia, February 8, but he was given no authority to speak or act for the Government, nor was I informed of any thing he would say or do, on his own account, or otherwise."

1865.

ROBERT OULD.

With this the self-constituted peace commissioner went to Richmond, where, for several days, he was the guest of Robert Ould, the Confederate Commissioner for the exchange of prisoners, and had several interviews with Davis. Finally, at the middle of January, he made his way back to Washington, with a letter written to himself by Jefferson Davis, in which the

PEACE CONFERENCE IN HAMPTON ROADS.

527

Chief Conspirator expressed a willingness to appoint a commission "to renew the effort to enter into a conference with a view to secure peace to the two countries." This letter Blair placed in Mr. Lincoln's hands. Ready to show his willingness for peace on proper terms, the President wrote a note to Blair, that might be shown to Davis, in which he said, "You may say to him that I have constantly been, am now, and shall continue ready to receive any agent whom he or any other influential person, now resisting the National authority may informally send me, with a view of securing peace to the people of our common country." With this letter Blair returned to Richmond, and his reappearance there excited high hopes of peace, for he was regarded as a commissioner authorized by the Government. The expression "our common country," in Mr. Lincoln's letter, as opposed to Davis's words, "the two countries," deprived the latter of all hope of a negotiation on the terms of independence for the "Confederate States." But he was compelled to yield to the popular desire for an end of the war, and appointed commissioners to proceed to Washington to confer on the subject. These were Alexander H. Stephens, John A. Campbell, and R. M. T. Hunter. The latter was one of the most active members of the Confederate "Senate.” They were permitted to go on a steamer only as far as Hampton Roads, without the privilege of landing, and there, on board of the vessel that conveyed them, they held a conference of several hours with the President and Secretary of State.'

a

Feb. 8, 1865.

Davis's commissioners were very cautious, yet, during the conference, what they desired and what the Government expected, were clearly defined. An amicable spirit prevailed, and question after question was deliberately discussed and disposed of. What they seemed most to desire was a postponement of the settlement of the real question at issue, and upon which the war was waged, namely, the separation of the "Confederate States" from the Union. They desired to bring about a sort of armistice, by which an immediate peace might be secured, and the trade and commerce of the different sections of the Union might be resumed. To this the President firmly replied, that the Government would agree to no cessation or suspension of hostilities, except on the basis of disbandment of the insurgent forces, and the recognition of the National authority throughout the Republic; also, that the complete restoration of the National authority, everywhere, was an indispensable condition of any assent, on the part of the Government, to whatever form of peace might be proposed. He declared that he should not recede from the position he had taken on the subject of slavery. The commissioners were then informed that Congress had, three days before,' adopted an amendment to the Constitution, which would

January 31.

He arrived at

1 The President first sent Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, to meet the commissioners. Fortress Monroe on the night of the first of February. He was instructed to insist upon (1.) the restoration of the National authority throughout the Republic; (2.) no receding on the part of the Executive from his position on the subject of slavery; and (3.) no cessation of hostilities until the Confederates should lay down their arms and disband. On this basis alone, he might hear what they had to say, and report to the President, but not definitely consummate any thing. Meanwhile a note, sent to General Grant by the commissioners, requesting permission for them to go to Washington, had reached the President, in which he found that they desired a conference" without any personal compromise on any question in the letter" of the President to Mr. Blair, meaning his expression of our common country." On account of this proviso, Mr. Lincoln was about to recall the Secretary of State, when he was assured by an electrograph from Grant that the commissioners doubtless had a real desire for peace. With a desire that something might be done that should lead to a cessation of hostilities, he went immediately to Fortress Monroe, to join in the conference.

528

WAR MEETING IN RICHMOND.

doubtless be ratified by the requisite number of States,' for the prohibition of slavery throughout the Republic.

• Feb. 5, 1865.

66

The conference had no other result than that of the efforts made in July, which was to more clearly define the views of the Government and the Conspirators. The commissioners returned to Richmond, when Davis laid their report, submitted to him, before the "Congress." On the following day a great meeting was held in Richmond, which was addressed by Davis and the Governor of Virginia. The former said, in reference to Mr. Lincoln's expression our common country": "Sooner than we should ever be united again, I would be willing to yield up every thing I have on earth, and, if it were possible, would sacrifice my life a thousand times before I would succumb." Then, with his usual pretense of confidence in final victory, he called upon the people to unite with those already in arms, "in repelling the foe, believing," he said, "that thereby we will compel the Yankees, in less than twelve months, to petition us for peace upon our own terms.' The meeting passed resolutions spurning with indignation the terms offered by the President, as "a gross insult" and "premeditated indignity" to the people of the "Confederate States." And at a great war-meeting held on the 9th, at which R. M. T. Hunter presided, it was resolved they would never lay down their arms until their independence was won. They expressed a belief that their resources were sufficient for the purpose, and they invoked the people, "in the name of the holiest of all causes, to spare neither their blood nor their treasure in its support."

It has transpired that at that time, Davis and his fellow-Conspirators had strong hopes of the support of foreign armies. But the speech of Benjamin

See page 454.

At that conference, it is related that Mr. Lincoln insisted that the States had never separated from the Union, and consequently he could not recognize another Government inside the one of which he alone was President, nor admit the separate independence of States that were a part of the Union. "That," he said to Mr. Hunter, who had urged him to treat with Davis as the head of a Government de facto, "would be doing what you so long asked Europe to do, in vain, and be resigning the only thing the armies of the Union are fighting for." Hunter made a long reply, insisting that the recognition of Davis's power to make a treaty was the first and indispensable step to peace, and cited, as a precedent, the correspondence of Charles the First with the Parliament-a constitutional ruler treating with rebels. "Mr. Lincoln's face," says the narrator (said to be Alexander H. Stephens), "then wore that indescribable expression which generally preceded his hardest hits, and he remarked: Upon questions of history I must refer you to Mr. Seward, for he is posted in such things, and I don't profess to be. But my only distinct recollection of the matter is, that Charles lost his head. That settled Mr. Hunter for awhile." From the Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle, cited in Raymond's Life, Public Services, and State Papers of Abraham Lincoln, page 663.

3 Davis appears to have spoken with much folly and arrogance. He denounced the President as "His Majesty, Abraham the First," and said that “ before the campaign was over, he and Seward might find they had been speaking to their masters, when demanding unconditional submission."-A Rebel War Clerk's Diary, Feb. 7, 1965.

4 Jones, in his Rebel War Clerk's Diary, under date of January 24th, 1865, in recording the presence of Blair, in Richmond, says: "The Northern papers say he is authorized to offer an amnesty, including all persons, with the Union as it was-the Constitution as it is," my old motto in the Southern Monitor in 1857); but gradual emancipation. No doubt some of the people here would be glad to accept this; but the President will fight more, and desperately yet, still hoping for foreign assistance."

Henry S. Foote, a member of the Confederate Congress (once United States Senator), says: "The fact was well known to me that Mr. Davis and his friends were confidently looking for foreign aid, and from several quarters. It was stated, in my hearing, by several special friends of the Confederate President, that one hundred thousand French soldiers were expected to arrive within the limits of the Confederate States, by way of Mexico; and it was more than rumored that a secret compact, wholly unauthorized by the Confederate Constitution, with certain Polish commissioners, who had lately been on a visit to Richmond, had been effected, by means of which Mr. Davis would soon be supplied with some twenty or thirty thousand additional troops, then refugees from Poland, and sojourning in several European States, which would be completely at the command of the President for any purpose whatever." He adds, in that connection, that he was satisfied that Mr. Davis would, in sending peace commissioners, “so manacle their hands by instructions as to render impossible all attempts at successful negotiation."- War of the Rebellion, &c., by Henry S. Foote.

PROPOSITION TO ARM SLAVES.

529

on that occasion was calculated to prevent the feeling of confidence which Davis and his friends tried to inspire. It produced indignation and alarm, and the press did not report it literally as it was spoken. He declared that the white fighting men of the Confederacy were exhausted, and that black men must recruit the army. He told the slaveholders, that they must either fight themselves, or let their slaves fight; and that Lee had told him that 66 negroes would answer," and that he must abandon Richmond if not soon re-enforced. "Let the negroes volunteer and be emancipated," said Benjamin, "it is the only way to save the slave-women and children.”1 These words, from a member of the "cabinet," produced great commotion. There was a general aversion to putting the slaves into the army, and it was not done. A bill was introduced in the Confederate "Congress," authorizing the enlistment of two hundred thousand slaves, with the consent of their owners. It passed the lower House, but was lost in the Senate, notwithstanding General Lee wrote a public letter, advocating the measure, in which he admitted that the white people could not well meet the demands of the army for more men. It was afterward passed.

Feb. 18, 1865.

▸ March 4.

The Peace conference in Hampton Roads did not affect the armies in the field. The National forces were quite sufficient for all practical purposes," and Mr. Lincoln entered' upon the second term of his Presidency of the Republic with the most abundant hopes of a speedy return of peace. His address on the occasion of his second inauguration, commanded the most profound attention among thinking men, loyal and disloyal, throughout the entire Union. It was marked by the greatest solemnity and tenderness, and was imbued with the deepest religious spirit. Its chief burden was the emancipation of the slaves, and the triumph of justice and mercy; and it closed with the following remarkable sentence: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in, to

1 See A Rebel War Clerk's Diary, ii., 415. Speaking of Benjamin, the Diarist says:-"No doubt he is for a desperate stroke for independence, being out of the pale of mercy; but his moral integrity is impugned by the representatives from Louisiana, who believe he has taken bribes for passports, &c., to the injury of the cause."

2 In July, as we have observed, the President called for 500,000 men. This produced a goodly number of recruits, and none of the armies suffered for lack of re-enforcements, yet the requisition was largely filled by credits given for men already in the army or navy. In view of this, and with a determination to crush the rebellion in the spring campaign, if possible, the President issued another call, on the 19th of December, for 200,000 more.

3 After speaking of slavery as the cause of the war, Mr. Lincoln remarked: "To strengthen, perpetuate and extend this interest, was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude nor the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God, and each invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces. But let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayer of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to them by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a loving God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 'The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.""

VOL. III.-112

530

POSITION OF THE BELLIGERENT FORCES.

bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."1

Let us now return to a consideration of the operations of the armies of Grant and Lee, on the borders of the James and Appomattox rivers. We have seen nearly all of the other armies of the Conspirators discomfited, and these, with those of Sherman and Johnston not far off, now demand our exclusive attention, for they, at the period we are considering, were about to decide the great question whether the Republic should live or die. Let us see in what manner that question was decided.

We left the armies of the Potomac and the James in winter quarters in front of Lee's army of Northern Virginia, with which he was defending the Confederate capital. The left of the Army of the Potomac was maintaining its firm grasp on the Weldon road; and the Army of the James on the north side of that river, and forming the right of the besiegers, had its pickets within a few miles of Richmond. Sheridan was in good quarters at Kernstown, near Winchester, full master of the Shenandoah Valley, from Harper's Ferry to Staunton, and bearing the honors of a major-general in the regular army.

Grant held the besieging forces in comparative quiet during the winter of 1864-'65, their chief business being to keep Lee from moving, while Sherman, Thomas, and Canby were making their important conquests in accordance with the comprehensive plan of campaign of the General-in-chief. To this business those forces were specially directed, when the operations against Wilmington, and Sherman's approach to the coast and his march through the Carolinas, were going on, for it was well known that the Conspirators were contemplating a transfer of both the Confederate "Government" and Lee's army to the Cotton States, where that of Johnston and all the other forces might be concentrated. No doubt this would have been ordered by Davis before it was evidently too late, had not the politicians of Virginia clamored loudly against the abandonment of that State, and the almost certainty that the Army of Northern Virginia would not have been permitted to go.5

• 1865.

It was at about the close of March" before Grant was ready for a general movement against Lee. Meanwhile, there had been some events that broke the monotony of his army in winter quarters; and Sheridan had been performing gallant and useful services north and west of Richmond. To prevent Lee from receiving any supplies by the Weldon road, Meade sent Warren, early in December, with his own (Fifth) corps, Mott's division of the Third Corps, and Gregg's mounted men, to destroy that

1 On entering upon his second term, Mr. Lincoln retained the members of his cabinet then in office. There had been some changes. For the public good he had requested Montgomery Blair to resign the office of Postmaster-General. He did so, and William Dennison, of Ohio, was put in his place. On the death of Chief-Justice Taney, a few months before, he had appointed Salmon P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, to that exalted station, and Hugh McCulloch was placed at the head of the Treasury Department.

2 See

page 361.

3 See page 362.

4 See page 372.

5 Alluding to this contemplated abandonment of Richmond, Mr. Jones, in his Diary, says, after mentioning the gayety with which Davis and his aids had ridden past his house: "No one who beheld them would have seen any thing to suppose that the capital itself was in almost immediate danger of falling into the hands of the enemy; much less that the President himself meditated its abandonment at an early day, and the concentration of all the armies in the Cotton States."