through Baltimore. On Monday, May 13th, a train from Philadelphia passed through with the National flag displayed, and numbers were hung out from stores and dwellings. On the following day, the First Pennsylvania regiment passed through Baltimore fully equipped. In the afternoon of the same day, a train from the Relay House arrived with the Sixth Massachussetts, and the Eighth New York regiments, with a battery. They marched through South Baltimore and took possession of Federal Hill, a high point commanding both the city and Fort McHenry, which is east of it, one mile distant. Here General Butler fixed his head-quarters, and issued a proclamation intended to soothe the conquered citizens of Baltimore. He also demanded the delivery of a quantity of arms stored in the city, which was acceded to, and the Federal authority became fully established. On the 15th of May, the Star-spangled banner was raised once more over the post-office and custom-house.

CHAPTER V.

Confederate Congress.-Davis's Message.-Virginia.-Beauregard's Proclamation.— Border States' Convention.-Western Virginia.--State Re-orgaization.

ACCORDING to the proclamation of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate Congress met at Montgomery, Alabama, April 29th, and Mr. Davis delivered a message, which opened with assurances that the constitution framed for the establishment of a permanent government for the Confederate States had been ratified by conventions in each of those States to which it was referred. To inaugurate the Government in its full proportions and upon its own substantial basis of the popular will, it only remained that elections should be held for the designation of the officers to administer it.

He stated that the declaration of war against the Confederacy by the President of the United States, in his proclamation of April ⚫ 15th, made it necessary to convene the Congress at the earliest possible moment. He reviewed the events that, from the formation of the Government, had been gradually producing the present state of affairs, and recounted the circumstances that attended the mission of commissioners to Washington. The reply of the Federal Government, rendered only on April 8th, although dated March 15th, had, he said, been withheld, while assurances calculated to inspire hope in the success of the mission had been made.

“That these assurances were given, has been virtually confessed by the Government of the United States by its sending a messenger to Charleston to give notice of its purpose to use force, if opposed in its intention of supplying Fort Sumter. No more striking proof of the absence of good faith in the conduct of the Government of the United States towards this Confederacy can be required, than is contained in the circumstances which accompanied this notice. According to the usual course of navigation, the vessels composing the expedition designed for the relief of Fort Sumter, might be

expected to reach Charleston Harbor on the 9th of April; yet with our commissioners actually in Washington, detained under assurances that notice should be given of any military movement, the notice was not addressed to them, but a messenger was sent to Charleston, to give notice to the Governor of South Carolina, and the notice was so given at a late hour on the 8th of April, the eve of the very day on which the fleet might be expected to arrive. That this manœuvre failed in its purpose was not the fault of those who contrived it. A heavy tempest delayed the arrival of the expedition, and gave time to the commander of our forces at Charleston to ask and receive the instructions of this Government. Even then, under all the provocation incident to the contemptuous refusal to listen to our commissioners, and the tortuous course of the Government of the United States, I was sincerely anxious to avoid the effusion of blood, and directed a proposal to be made to the commander of Fort Sumter, who had avowed himself to be nearly out of provisions, that we would abstain from directing our fire on Fort Sumter, if he would promise not to fire upon our forces unless first attacked. This proposal he refused, and the conclusion was reached that the design of the United States was to place the besieging force of Charleston between the simultaneous fire of the fleet and the fort. There remained, therefore, no alternative but to direct that the fort should at once be reduced."

Mr. Davis then proceeded to recount the contents of the proclamation of President Lincoln, and the mandates of that document were received with "shouts of laughter."

"Apparently contradictory," said Mr. Davis, "as are the terms of this singular document, one point was unmistakably evident. The President of the United States called for an army of seventy-five thousand men, whose first service was to be the capture of our forts. It was a plain declaration of war which I was not at liberty to disregard, because of my knowledge that under the Constitution of the United States, the President was usurping a power granted exclusively to Congress."

IIe advised the immediate passage of a law authorizing the acceptance of proposals for privateers. He denounced the proclamation of the United States in relation to Southern ports, as a mere paper blockade. He stated, that under the law authorizing a loan of five million dollars, a call was promptly answered by offers of more than eight million dollars at par, and the whole was accepted. Mr. Davis said that a much larger amount was now become necessary to defray the expenses of the war.

"There are now in the field at Charleston, Pensacola, Forts Morgan, Jackson, St. Philip, and Pulaski, nineteen thousand men, and sixteen thousand are now en route for Virginia. It is proposed to organize and hold in readiness for instant action, in view of the present exigencies of the country, an army of one hundred thousand men."

In the Confederate army there was but one grade of general-that of brigadier-general, but in the State organization there were majorgenerals, and Mr. Davis advised the equalizing the rank. He concluded.

"We feel that our cause is just and holy; we protest solemnly in the face of mankind that we desire peace at any sacrifice, save that of honor and independence; we seek no conquest, no aggrandizement, no concession of any kind from t:e States with which we were lately confederated; all we ask is to be left alone; that those who never held power over us shall not now attempt our subjugation by arms. This we will, this we must resist to the direst extremity. The moment that this pretension is abandoned, the sword will drop from our grasp, and we shall be ready to enter into treaties of amity and commerce that cannot but be mutually beneficial. So long as this pretension is maintained, with a firm reliance on that Divine Power which covers with its protection the just cause, we will continue to struggle for our inherent right to freedom, independence, and self-government."

The military resources of the Confederacy were mostly those which had been derived from the Federal Government. Each State had seized the forts, arsenals, and munitions of war that were within its limits. The forts situated within the limits of the slave States were as follows:

In addition to these were incomplete works at Ship Island, Mississippi Sound; Georgetown, South Carolina; Port Royal Roads, South Carolina; Tybee Island, Savannah; Galveston, Brazos Santiago, and Matagorda Bay, Texas.

Hampton Roads is the great naval dépôt station and rendezvous of the Southern coasts, and the only good roadstead on the Atlantic, south of the Delaware.

Pensacola is very strong, and the only good harbor for vessels of war, and the only naval dépôt, on the gulf.

The fortresses at Key West and Tortugas, on the southern point of Florida, are among the most powerful in the world; and every vessel that crosses the gulf passes in sight of both.

With the exception of Fort McHenry, Fort Pickens, and others marked, (*) all these had passed into the possession of the Confederates. Each State in succession, by ordinance, turned over to the Confederate Government the fortifications within its limits. The Confederate Government had thus at its disposal all that in those States had belonged to the United States. After the proclamation of President Lincoln, calling for troops, an effort was made to force the Border States into

secession, and the rebel leaders began to send troops into those States. On the 6th of May an act was passed by the Confederate Congress, recognizing the existence of war with the United States, and authoriz ing the President of the Confederate States to use the whole land and naval forces, and to issue letters of marque, and prescribing regulations for the conduct of privateers. Another act prohibited the export of cotton or cotton yarn from any of the Confederate States except through their seaports, under penalty of a forfeiture of the cotton, a fine of $5,000, and six months' imprisonment. This did not apply to exports through Mexico. The act was to continue in force as long as the blockade should last. This Congress also proposed that the planters should be invited to put their crops into the hands of the Government, receiving bonds for their value. Meantime the Confederate troops continued to pour into Virginia, until in May considerably more than 50,000 had been collected at various points. Of these General Robert E. Lee* was on May 10th placed in command.

On the other hand, the Federal troops were not idle, and an advance into Virginia, which took place on the 23d of May, caused an immense excitement at the South. In Virginia, particularly, the influx of troops was hastened in consequence, and from all quarters they began to concentrate to defend Manassas Junction and the other approaches to Richmond. Brigadier-General Beauregard assumed command in the Department of Alexandria, and on the 1st of June issued the following remarkable proclamation:

A PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTIES OF LOUDON,
FAIRFAX, AND PRINCE WILLIAM.

"HEAD-QUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF ALEXANDRIA,
"CAMP PICKENS, June 1st, 1861.

}

"A reckless and unprincipled tyrant has invaded your soil. Abraham Lincoln, regardless of all moral, legal, and constitutional restraints, has thrown his abolition hosts among you, who are murdering and imprisoning your citizens, confiscating and destroying your property, and committing other acts of violence and outrage too shocking and revolting to humanity to be enumerated.

"All rules of civilized warfare are abandoned, and they prociaim by their acts, if not on their banners, that their war-cry is Beauty and Booty. All that is dear to manyour honor, and that of your wives and daughters-your fortunes and your lives, are involved in this momentous contest.

"In the name, therefore, of the constituted authorities of the Confederate States-in the sacred cause of constitutional liberty and self-government, for which we are contending-in behalf of civilization itself, I, G. T. Beauregard, Brigadier-General of the Confederate States, commanding at Camp Pickens, Manassas Junction, do make this my proclamation, and invite and enjoin you by every consideration dear to the hearts of freemen and patriots, by the name and memory of your revolutionary fathers, and by the purity and sanctity of your domestic firesides, to rally to the standard of your State

* Robert Edmund Lee is the son of General Harry Lee, of revolutionary fame, and was born in Virginia, about 1808. IIe was graduated at West Point, second in his class, in 1829, entered the Engineer Corps, became captain in 1838, and served in the Mexican war as chief engineer; was brevetted major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel for gallant conduct at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec; superintendent of West Point Academy 1852-55; lieutenant-colonel of Second Cavalry 1855, and colonel of First Cavalry, March 16th, 1861; resigned his commission

April 25, 1861, and joined the Southern Confederncy; was made general, and after holding commands in Western Virginia, and on the coast, succeeded General Johnson in command of the rebel army in Richmond, Jane, 1562; led the invasion into Maryland, and was defeated at Antietam, September, 1862; commander-in-chief in the campaigns of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg, and Richmond, 1862-63; appointed general-in-chief of the rebel army, January 31, 1565; capitulated to General Grant April 9, 1865.

and country, and by every means in your power compatible with honorable warfare, to drive back and expel the invaders from your land.

"I conjure you to be true and loyal to your country and her legal and constitutional authorities, and especially to be vigilant of the movements and acts of the enemy, so as to enable you to give the earliest authentic information at these head-quarters, or to the officers under this command.

"I desire to assure you that the utmost protection in my power will be given to you all. "G. T. BEAUREGARD, "Brigadier-General Commanding.

“THOMAS JORDAN, Acting Ass't Adj't-General.”

This mendacious and vindictive proclamation found ready believers and hearty sympathizers in the misguided masses, who were then gathering at Manassas Junction.

The course adopted by Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee, after the President's call for troops, has been elsewhere related. In all these States the leaders of the rebellion showed a determination to hurry the people out of the Union, without regard to a fair expression of opinion at the polls. A Border States' convention was summoned at Frankfort, Kentucky, but Virginia, North Carolina, and Arkansas, having joined the Confederacy, did not send delegates, neither did Maryland. One appeared from Tennessee and four from Missouri, to meet those of Kentucky. The convention met on May 27th, and Senator Crittenden was chosen president. Two addresses were adopted-one to the people of the United States, and the other to the people of Kentucky. The first proposed such amendments to the Constitution as should secure the rights of slaveholders, or on the failure of that, to call a convention of all the States to devise means of peaceable adjustment. The other address defended the course of the Executive in refusing troops to the United States, professed strong attachment to the Union, but urged the necessity of neutrality. It condemned the course of the Southern States in withdrawing from the Union, and expressed the determination of Kentucky to adhere to it. Notwithstanding this "conditional loyalty," as it was called, Kentucky, thanks to her proximity to the Free States, was sound to the core, and in her election for members of Congress, held in June, returned nine Unionists to one secessionist, by a vote of 92,365 to 36,995; showing a majority of 55,370 for the Union. In Missouri, Governor Jackson and the legislature endeavored to take the State out of the Union; but the State Convention called to promote secession proved loyal, and deposed both the Governor and the legislature.

The Southern Confederacy now began to concentrate its power, and the new machinery of its Government came daily more decidedly into action in place of the Federal authority. The Congress, having made all necessary provisions, adjourned on the 20th of May, to meet at Richmond, the proposed future seat of Government, on the 20th of July. The finances and military forces had been provided for as far as possible, and the new Postmaster-General, John H. Reagan, took charge of thet ransmission of mails on June 1st, the Postmaster-General of the United States, having announced that on that day postal communication would close with the seceding States, with the exception. of some counties in Western Virginia.