until Mr. Seward, with a brusqueness entirely prepense upon his part but surprising to us, drew the attention of all by saying:

"GENTLEMEN: There is only one man in this country to whom I allowed unrestricted communication with Jefferson Davis, since the war. I never asked him what he wrote to Mr. Davis. I trusted his honor and loyalty. He is here. I drink the health of Mr. Crittenden!"

Mr. Crittenden, throwing back his shoulders, as was his custom when pleased or excited, said:

"MR. SECRETARY: I never told you what I wrote to Jeff. Davis. I will tell you now, sir. I have two sons in the war one is a Union and the other a Confederate general. They are both, of course, dear to my heart. I wrote Mr. Davis, for God's sake, sir, since you have the gallantry of one of my boys on your side, don't send him to or against Old Kentucky.'"

6

This little by-play sent out a gleam of pleasure that sparkled around the board. It was intended by Mr. Seward to placate Mr. Crittenden for what was to follow, and it did. Then Mr. Seward, with his exquisite diplomatic savoir-faire, said, looking around the board:

"I think I must now trust my guests, as I trusted Mr. Crittenden. I will divulge to you a secret. To-day, the order was issued to release Mason and Slidell."

A dead pause ensued! All awaited the response of the venerable and patriotic chairman of Foreign Affairs. He was known not to be partial to England. He was not entirely cordial with the Confederate ambassadors. With a puzzled look of anger and chagrin, the great Kentuckian hesitated for a moment. He seemed held back by the hand of courtesy. He then brought down his dainty glass of sherry with a sudden crash upon the table. The little fragments flew about his plate. The golden contents bejeweled the writer's investments. Then pausing another moment, half ironically and half jocosely, he exclaimed:

"A good riddance, sir! You sent them away none too soon, sir! They were doing much mischief here"; and, regardless of the occasion, a little murky cloud of profanity dimmed the atmosphere about the table. Never, since the days of good old Uncle Toby, was emphasis more excusable.

Then the Secretary gave us the observations which appeared in the National Intelligencer the next morning; and which this chapter is intended to illustrate.

It was not until nine days after the release of the prisoners that the public were brought to realize what a great diplomatic victory Mr. Seward had won. The demand of the British Government had no foundation in international law. It was against British precedent. It harmonized only with distinctively American doctrine. It would have come well from our government had Great Britain been the aggressor. Mr. Sumner, than whom no one was

better qualified to discuss the true merits of Mr. Seward's course, delivered a masterly speech in the Senate on the 9th of January, 1862. He set the public mind at ease by showing that we had emerged from the impending trouble not only with honor, but by putting England in a position in which neither former diplomacy nor, as Secretary Seward said, "the arbitrament of war" itself, had placed her.

In the Napoleonic wars, when England had closed the coast of Europe from the Elbe to Brest by a paper blockade, and her own ports were similarly closed, our ships were everywhere subjected to the most arbitrary searches by British and French cruisers. Even our war vessels were fired into on our own coast. We were treated with the utmost contempt. The British press and British officers openly boasted that we "could not be kicked into a war." -We taught them a wholesome lesson on this point afterwards. We had always refused to recognize the right of any belligerent power to take from an American neutral ship, under the right of search, "any description of persons except soldiers in the actual service of the enemy." Since the establishment of the United States as an independent government, our constant endeavor had been to get Great Britain to agree to this doctrine, but without success. Mr. Sumner applied this historic fact in his grand speech:

"In the struggle," said he, "between Laertes and Hamlet, Hamlet was armed with the rapier of Laertes, and Laertes was armed with the rapier of Hamlet. And now, on this sensitive question, a similar exchange has occurred. Great Britain is armed with American principles, while to us are left only those British principles which throughout our history have been constantly, deliberately, and solemnly rejected." But it was only for a moment that Mr. Seward fenced with the rapier of Earl Russell. He soon threw it aside as a mere foil. He recovered his own American weapon. He saluted his disarmed antagonist. Great Britain bowed to a rule of cop flict for which we had so long contended. As Mr. Sumner aptly said, "Y, e did not even stoop to conquer."

Great Britain had at last admitted our doctrine. The high seas were free to neutral ships in the transportation of all persons excepting only "soldiers in the actual service of the enemy." Hence, Messrs. Mason and Slidell were permitted to re-embark in their fruitless mission on an ocean whose waters would be forever after free from unlawful search and British arrogance. Where our humiliation had been sought we won the laurels of victory, and all the cabinets of continental Europe applauded.

CHAPTER XV.

THE CONFEDERATE AND OTHER GOVERNORS.

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ISHAM G. HARRIS, OF TENNESSEE HEADING THE LIST OF FIVE EXECUTIVES HIS OFFICIAL TRUSTS - HIS CONGRESSIONAL SERVICE-GOVERNOR FROM 1857 TO 1865-HM ENERGY AND ABILITY HIS EXILE, RETURN, AND PREFERMENT-SERVICE AND POSITION IN THE SENATE; JOHN LETCHER, OF VIRGINIA - HIS EARLY LIFE - HIS SERVICE IN VIRGINIA AND IN CONGRESS WATCH-DOG OF THE TREASURY HIS ACTION AS GOVERNOR DURING THE CIVIL WAR, AND HIS DEATH-SAM: HOUSTON HIS ECCENTRIC LIFE AND HIS COURAGEOUS CONDUCT - THE BATTLES OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE HIS SERVICE TO ANNEXATION-GOVERNOR AND SENATOR HIS HESITATION AS TO SECESSION-JOSEPH E. BROWN, OF GEORGIA GEORGIA'S RESOURCES HER WISDOM AT THE END OF THE WAR - HER FOREMOST GOVERNOR HIS BUSINESS ENERGY DURING THE WAR AND AT ITS END - HIS CONTESTS WITH THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT GOVERNOR VANCE'S LETTER TO HIM-CONSCRIPTION DEFIED - HIS CHARACTER HIS CHARITIES HIS PRESENT SERVICE - ZEBULON B. VANCE, OF NORTH CAROLINA — BORN AMONG THE MOUNTAINS REPRESENTATIVE OF BUNCOMBE HIS LOVE OF BOOKS -THE BASIS OF HIS EDUCATION · HIS UNCLE'S LIBRARY— HIS EXPERIENCES IN CONGRESS AND IN WAR HIS EXECUTIVE ABILITY AND INTEGRITY.

N some of the preceding chapters there has been more emphasis laid upon abstract theories and polities, than upon the personal administration of affairs and the actual legislation which the Executive branch has sought to carry out. But a history of these stirring times, in a Federal sense, would be incomplete without some reflections upon the constituent elements of the Federal system, namely, the states and their exponents. These exponents were their executives. A list of the Confederate governors of 1861 is as follows: Alabama, Andrew B. Moore; Arkansas, Henry M. Rector; Florida, John Milton; Georgia, Joseph E. Brown; Louisiana, Thomas O. Moore; Mississippi, John J. Pettus; Missouri, Claiborne F. Jackson; Kentucky, Beriah Magoffin; North Carolina, John W. Ellis; South Carolina, Francis W. Pickens; Tennessee, Isham G. Harris; Texas, Samuel Houston; and Virginia, John Letcher.

ROSTER OF CONFEDERATE AND PROVISIONAL GOVERNORS. 295

Each of these Confederate governors, except Governor Ellis, of North Carolina, who died and was succeeded by H. T. Clark, the Speaker of the State Senate, and General Sam: Houston, of Texas, who was succeeded by F. R. Lubbock,—remained in office during 1862 and 1863. Several of them served during 1864. One of them, John Milton, of Florida, served until the surrender, in 1865.

The governors of Kentucky and Missouri are included in this list, from the fact that one took a prominent part as a Confederate general, while the other was a Unionist, though not favorable to aggressive war measures. He resigned in 1862. He was succeeded by James F. Robinson, a Unionist.

In 1864, the Confederate governors were: Alabama, Thomas H. Watts; Arkansas, Harris Flannegan; Florida, John Milton; Georgia, Joseph E. Brown; Louisiana, Henry W. Allen; Mississippi, Charles Clarke ; North Carolina, Zebulon B. Vance; South Carolina, Milledge L. Bonham; Texas, Pendleton Murrah; and Virginia, John Letcher.

Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee had ceased, in 1864, to have resident Confederate governors. The above names include those who were in

office at the time of the surrender at Appomattox.

In 1863, Francis H. Pierpont was elected governor of Virginia, by the people inhabiting the western counties. When these counties formed a constitution for West Virginia, Arthur I. Boreman was chosen governor.

Michael Hahn was elected governor of Louisiana by the so-called loyal people, in February, 1865. In Tennessee, William G. Brownlow was elected in 1865, to succeed the provisional, or military governor, Andrew Johnson, appointed by President Lincoln.

The provisional governors appointed by President Andrew Johnson were as follows: North Carolina, William W. Holden; South Carolina, Benjamin F. Perry; Georgia, James Johnson; Alabama, Lewis E. Parsons; Mississippi, William L. Sharkey; Florida, William Marvin; and Texas, Andrew J. Hamilton.

President Johnson recognized Michael Hahn as elected by the people, to be governor of Louisiana.

William G. Brownlow was elected in like manner as governor of Tennessee, Francis H. Pierpont as governor of Virginia, and Isaac Murphy as governor of Arkansas.

The military commanders under the Reconstruction acts of 1867 were named on the 11th of March, 1867, by the order of Adjutant-General E. D. Townsend. The order is number 10. It reads thus:

"In pursuance of the act of Congress, entitled An Act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel states,' the President directs the following assignments to be made :

"First District, State of Virginia, to be commanded by Brevet Maj.Gen. J. M. Schofield. Headquarters, Richmond, Virginia.

"Second District, consisting of North and South Carolina, to be commanded by Maj.-Gen. Daniel E. Sickles. Headquarters, Columbia, South Carolina.

"Third District, consisting of the states of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, to be commanded by Maj.-Gen. George H. Thomas. Headquarters, Montgomery, Alabama.

"Fourth District, consisting of the states of Mississippi and Arkansas, to be commanded by Brevet Maj.-Gen. Edward O. C. Ord. Headquarters, Vicksburg, Mississippi.

"Fifth District, consisting of the states of Louisiana and Texas, to be commanded by Maj.-Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. Headquarters, New Orleans, Louisiana."

By an order dated March 15, 1867, Maj.-Gen. George H. Thomas, by his request, was relieved from the duty of commanding the Third District. Major-General John Pope was assigned to that district.

General Schofield having been appointed Secretary of War, was succeeded in the command of the First District on the 2d of June, 1868, by Major-General Stoneman. On March 5, 1869, an order was issued for the removal of General Stoneman, and Maj.-Gen. E. R. S. Canby was appointed to succeed him. But he was not relieved until March 31. In the meantime he removed Gov. H. H. Wells and assumed the functions of the civil government. On the 31st, General Stoneman was relieved by Gen. A. S. Webb, who held the command until General Canby could arrive. General Webb's first act was to restore Wells to the office of governor. General Canby took command of the district on the 20th of April.

General Sickles was removed from the command of the Second District on the 26th of August, 1867, and was succeeded by Brevet Major-General Canby. On Dec. 28, 1867, General Pope was relieved from the command of the Third District, and Maj.-Gen. George G. Meade was appointed to succeed him. Dec. 28, 1867, General Ord was relieved from the command of the Fourth District, and Brevet Maj.-Gen. Irwin McDowell was appointed to succeed him. On Nov. 29, 1867, Maj.-Gen. W. S. Hancock was appointed to succeed General Sheridan in the command of the Fifth District.

In all these changes there will appear much to ponder over. The executive was not in harmony with the legislature; and the attempt to resurrect order out of chaos by military rule seems to have been a great fiasco.

Sketches of a few of these governors and their service are not here inappropriate. They were all men of ability, but none more so than Governors Harris, Letcher, Houston, Brown, and Vance. No one of this galaxy of executive intelligence and determination was more sagacious and courageous than the governor of Tennessee, whose portrait is at the head of the five Confederate governors in plate three of the volume.