SUMTER FIRED UPON.

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carpentry, and in all kinds of farm work. He said of himself he went to school "by littles," and that "in all it did not amount to more than a year. But he read every book and newspaper he could get hold of, and everything he read he made his own. Whatever he undertook he mastered. He was a storekeeper, a postmaster, and a land surveyor; later he studied law, was elected to the legislature, and was representative in Congress 1847-49 (Sect. 259). He was can

didate for United States senator in 1858, but was defeated by Stephen A. Douglas, with whom he had travelled through the state debating political questions. When nominated for the Presidency he was comparatively unknown outside of Illinois. His kindly nature, great ability, and broad statesmanship gained him the affection and confidence of the people to a degree unequalled except in the case of Washington (Sect. 354).

300. Sumter fired upon. (April 12, 1861.) - Shortly after the inauguration, the Secretary of State, William H. Seward, refused to recognize a delegation sent from the Confederate Congress at Montgomery, to treat for an amicable separation. On the 8th of April President Lincoln's official notification that Fort Sumter would be provisioned by force, if necessary, reached the governor of South Carolina, orders having been given to send a fleet thither. Before the fleet could reach its destination, fire had been opened upon Fort Sumter, April 12, by the batteries which had been built along the shores of Charleston harbor, and to which Major Anderson had replied. After a steady fire of over twenty-four hours, having exhausted his ammunition and the fort being on fire, he surrendered, receiving the honors of war, and with his troops sailed to New York. during the bombardment.

No one was killed on either side

CHAPTER XV.

CIVIL WAR.

REFERENCES.

Note. It is still too soon to look for a calm history of the Civil War and of the years immediately succeeding it. Much light is thrown upon the period by the volumes of personal memoirs, recollections, and diaries. The periodical literature of the last few years, particularly the articles which have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Century, Forum, Harper's, and the North American Review, is the source of much information. Poole's Index to Periodical Literature has made these articles easy of consultation.

General. - John C. Ropes, The Story of the Civil War; Bryant and Gay, Popular History of the United States, iv. 447-568; W. Wilson, Division and Reunion (Epochs of American History), pp. 218-233, 239-250; E. Channing, The United States, pp. 258-289; Horace Greeley, The American Conflict, i. 449-630, ii. 1-528; James G. Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, i. 313-487; John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Abraham Lincoln, vols. vi.-x.; Alex. H. Stephens, The War between the States, ii. 370-575; Jefferson Davis, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, i. 301-519, ii. 11-515; E. A. Pollard, The Lost Cause, pp. 108-489; H. A. Wise, Seven Decades of the Union, Chaps. xiv., xv.; Goldwin Smith, The United States, pp. 253-273. Biographies. J. T. Morse, Abraham Lincoln; Ida M. Tarbell, Life of Abraham Lincoln; U. S. Grant, Personal Memoirs; W. T. Sherman, Memoirs; P. H. Sheridan, Memoirs; G. B. McClellan, McClellan's Own Story; A. A. Long, Robert E. Lee; J. E. Cooke, Robert E. Lee; J. E. Cooke, "Stonewall" Jackson; R. M. Johnston and W. H. Browne, Alex. H. Stephens; J. E. Johnston, Personal Memoirs; J. B. Hood, Personal Memoirs; A. T. Mahan, Admiral Farragut.

Special. Alex. Johnston, American Politics, Chap. xx.; Appleton's Annual Cyclopædia, 1861-1863 (contains many valuable documents and much important information, but the conclusions and opinions given often need revision). For Military Histories: Campaigns of the Civil War"

66

EFFECT OF THE FALL OF SUMTER.

277

and "The Navy in the Civil War," a series of volumes written by specialists; T. A. Dodge, A Bird's-eye View of the Civil War; R. Johnson, A Short History of the Civil War. Foreign Affairs: W. H. Seward, Diplomatic History of the Civil War; E. Schuyler, American Diplomacy. F. W. Taussig, Tariff History of the United States; John Jay Knox, United States Notes; Ben Perley Poore, Reminiscences; L. E. Chittenden, Recollections of President Lincoln and his Administration. Emancipation Proclamation : Old South Leaflets, No. 11; Alex. Johnston, American Orations, iii. 127198; Edward McPherson, Political History of the Rebellion. Life in the South Thomas Nelson Page, The Old South; George Cary Eggleston, A Rebel's Recollections; R. B. Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary; Atlantic Monthly, lviii. 229, lxiv. 449; Harper's Monthly, xxxiii. 576; Century Magazine, xxx. 752, xxxviii. 931. Capture of New Orleans: Century Magazine, xxix. 918. Negro Troops: Horace Greeley, The American Conflict, ii. 511528. Prisoners: Alex. H. Stephens, The War between the States, ii. 498– 521; Horace Greeley, The American Conflict, ii. 761; Goldwin Smith, The United States, pp. 283, 284.

301. Effect of the Fall of Fort Sumter; Baltimore. (1861.)The effect of the news of this engagement was marvellous. Up to this time most of the northern men had not believed that the South was in earnest; they thought that the questions were political, and like similar ones in the past would somehow be settled as heretofore. Others, like Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune, had said if the South wished to go she should be allowed to go in peace. A few sympathized wholly with the South; but when the news of the fall of Sumter was received, the people of the free states seemed to be of one mind, everything else was forgotten; and when President Lincoln, on April 15, two days after the surrender, issued his call for 75,000 volunteers, "to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our national union," the answer was prompt. Thousands more than were called for volunteered, and provisions, money, arms, and supplies of all kinds were tendered by states and by individuals.

The first object of the government was to provide for the

safety of the city of Washington, for there was a strong probability that Virginia would secede. What course the state of Maryland would pursue was uncertain; the politicians, and the people of the southern counties were almost wholly in sympathy with the South, while the majority of the people of the whole state disapproved of secession. At this time, however, the true condition of affairs was difficult to ascertain, and it was due to the promptness of the national government, and the skill of the governor, supported by some able and prominent men, that the state did not secede. As a Massachusetts regiment was passing through the city of Baltimore, on the 19th of April, it was attacked by a mob, and a number were killed. This was the first blood shed in the strife. For a few days the troops avoided Baltimore by going down the Chesapeake Bay, landing at Annapolis, and proceeding thence to Washington. But direct communication was soon resumed, and there was no more trouble with Maryland.

302. Effect of the Fall of Sumter in the South and in the Border States. (1861.) — If the effect of the fall of Sumter was to unite the North, it also had a similar effect on the South. Many who thought secession inexpedient rushed to the defence of their states as soon as coercion was begun, and the call for troops by the Confederate government was answered with as much enthusiasm as the call of Lincoln in the North. Of the slave states which had not seceded, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia joined the Confederacy, upon call of the United States government for troops to put down the rebellion. Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri, though containing many secessionists, remained loyal, while in Delaware there was little or no sympathy with secession.1

the

1 The states seceded in the following order: Arkansas, May 6; North Carolina, May 20; Virginia, May 23; Tennessee, June 8. In no case was

THE TWO SECTIONS COMPARED.

279

303. The Blockade. (1861.)-Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, replied to Lincoln's call for troops and proclamation of April 15, by a proclamation on the 17th offering "letters of marque and reprisal" against the United States. Lincoln, on the 19th, proclaimed a partial, and, on the 23d, a general, blockade of all southern ports. As the South had few manufactures, she was largely dependent upon supplies from abroad, and in

order to pay for these it was necessary to export cotton or tobacco, almost the only articles she produced which were wanted in Europe. The importance to the United States of maintaining the blockade will readily be seen. The Confederate states, assuming the position

CONFEDERATE FLAG.

of an independent power, formally declared war against the United States in April, and war was actually begun.

304. The Two Sections compared. (1861.) - It will be well to review briefly the condition of the whole country, and also to compare the two sections now arrayed against each other, about to enter the conflict. By the census of 1860 the population was found to have increased more than one-third over that of 1850. In material interests, railroads showed the most striking increase, there being a total of about 30,000 miles against 7500 in 1850. In shipping, every country except Great Britain was surpassed, while in agriculture the lead was taken, the cotton crop alone being estimated at 5,000,000 bales of 400 pounds each. Manufactures were daily increasing, and the country, as a whole, was a hive of industry. the action ratified by an untrammelled popular vote. Virginia and Tennessee were both in the possession of the Confederate troops when the vote was taken in those states, and no vote at all was taken in the others.