82

GIVES HER RESOURCES TO THE CONFEDERACY. [SECT. VII.

Her resources turned over to the Confederacy.

had prevented Virginia from seizing Washington before the Republican hordes got possession of it." The latter declared that if the Slave States only presented a united front, no war of any consequence would ensue. When the President's proclamation reached Richmond, every exertion was made by the malcontents to misrepresent it. They succeeded in causing such an excitement that under cover of it the secession ordinance was passed. To that ordinance another was added, adopting the Constitution of the provisional government at Montgomery, and, also an agreement giv ing to that government the whole military resources of the state, and turning over to it whatever public property Virginia might seize from the United States. These were passed, however, upon condition that the vote of the people upon the ordinance of secession should sustain it, and that vote was directed to be taken one month subsequently (May 23d). With a view of enabling the people to come to a suitable conclusion, some minor points were enacted, as that any Virginian holding office under the United States after the 31st of July should be banished from the state and declared an alien enemy, and any Virginian undertaking to represent the state in the Congress of the United States should, in 'addition to the above penalties, be considered guilty of treason, and his property be liable to confiscation.

Means used to se

cure the popular

consent.

But this submission to the people was insincere. The allotted month had scarcely begun, before the affair had passed out of their control. Without a moment's delay, the leaders of the movement made war on the Union; they attempted to seize the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and took possession of the navy yard at Norfolk. Indeed, they actually commenced obstructing the channel to the latter place on April 16th, the night

CHAP. XXXVIII.]

CAPTURES HARPER'S FERRY.

83

before the ordinance was passed. And when the popu lar vote for secession was taken, a large part of it came from soldiers of the Confederate army who had just arrived from other states.

Fortress Monroe.

Through all the subsequent years of the war it was a Her failure to seize source of profound regret in the Confeder acy that Virginia had acted so tardily, and that she had not at this time secured the great national work-Fortress Monroe. It would have been of incalculable advantage to her, and have changed the whole current of events. Her governor had contemplated the possibility of seizing it even before the state had seceded, but had been less resolute than the South Carolinians. In his annual message to the Legislature of the state (December 31st, 1861), he regretted that it was not in his possession. He stated that he had "consulted with a person of experience whose position enabled him to know all about the fortress," and that he had been discouraged, by reason of the strength of the place, from attempting its capture; that at no time previously to secession had Virginia a military' organization powerful enough for that purpose.

She captures the arsenal at Harper's Ferry.

The attack on Harper's Ferry was made on the 18th of April. The officer in charge of that establishment had, however, become aware of what was intended. He blew up or set on fire the various workshops and the arsenal, and effected a safe retreat into Pennsylvania. Though many arms were in this manner destroyed, much of the machinery was saved by the assailants, and subsequently carried to Richmond.

Simultaneously with the attack on Harper's Ferry, VirValue of the naval ginia accomplished the seizure of the great station at Norfolk. naval station, the Gosport navy yard, near Norfolk. It contained founderies, ship-yards, docks, ma

84

THE NORFOLK NAVY YARD.

[SECT. VII. chine shops. There were in it at least two thousand cannon, three hundred of them being Dahlgren guns. In connection with it, too, were magazines containing more than a quarter of a million pounds of gunpowder, and

great quantities of shot and shell. There were twelve war ships, of various rates. Among them may particularly be mentioned the Merrimack, a very fine steam frigate of 40 guns. The value of the entire establishment was estimated at more than ten millions of dollars.

fense.

No measures had been taken for the protection of this Its inefficient de- great dépôt beyond general instructions to Captain M'Cauley, the officer in command, to "put the shipping and public property in condition to be moved and placed beyond danger, but in doing so to take no steps that could give needless alarm." In Norfolk the militia was defiantly paraded, and threats made that if any action were taken by the government for the protection of the yard, it should be attacked. On the night of April 16th, the entrance to the harbor was ob

CHAP. XXXVIII.] THE NORFOLK NAVY YARD.

85

structed by sinking two light-ships. Captain M'Cauley suffered himself to be overpersuaded by the sinister advice of his junior officers, and acted with irresolution. Orders had been received from Washington on April 12th to have the Merrimack instantly removed to Philadel phia, the chief engineer being sent down to Norfolk expressly for that purpose. Yet when her steam was up, and she was ready to leave, Captain M'Cauley directed her to be detained, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the engineer.

The officers in command destroy or abandon it,

Indeed, it was not until many of his officers, who were from the Slave States, had resigned, and the Confederate general Taliaferro had arrived from Richmond, that he seemed to comprehend the condition of things. On the 19th he made preparations for abandoning the place, and commenced spik ing the guns, doing it, for the most part, ineffectually, with cut nails. Next day he promised the insurgents that none of the vessels should be taken away, nor a shot fired except in defense. He then ordered all the ships, except the Cumberland, of 24 guns, to be scuttled. That ship, with a full armament and crew on board, ample means for lay in such a position as to command the entire harbor, the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, the navy yard, and the approaches to it. The mere threat of her broadside would have quelled the trouble. The whole militia force of the place was not five hundred men, inadequately armed, and with only eight or ten little field-pieces.

though they had

its defense.

The government, now becoming alarmed, sent Captain Paulding from Washington with orders to take command of all the naval forces afloat at Norfolk, and defend the property of the United States, repelling force by force. He had fully 1000 men, among whom were 350 Massachusetts troops obtained at Fortress Monroe. But, in his

86

Report of the Vir

THE NORFOLK NAVY YARD.

[SECT. VII.

judgment, nothing remained except to complete the work of destruction, and abandon the place. The scuttled ships were in the act of settling under the water. He therefore gave directions to fire the yard and what remained of the ships. The ships, which might have been removed, were accordingly destroyed, but the shops in the yard were unaccountably spared, and were subsequently of great use to the Confederacy. A large amount of war material fell into the hands of the insurgents. A commissioner of the State of Virginia, subsequently ginia commissioner authorized to take an inventory of the propon its acquisition. erty thus seized, reports: "I had purposed some remarks upon the vast importance to Virginia, and to the entire South, of the timely acquisition of this extensive naval dépôt, with its immense supplies of munitions of war, and to notice briefly the damaging effects of its loss to the government at Washington; but I deem it unnecessary, since the presence, at almost every exposed point on the whole Southern coast, and at numerous inland intrenched camps in the several states, of heavy pieces of ordnance, with their equipments and fixed ammunition, all supplied from this establishment, fully attests the one, while the unwillingness of the enemy to attempt demonstrations at any point, from which he is obviously deterred by the knowledge of its well-fortified condition, abundantly proves the other, especially when it is considered that both he and we are wholly indebted for our means of resistance to his loss and our acquisition of the Gosport navy yard."

Disastrous consequences to the nation.

This great national disaster, which, as thus affirmed, in reality armed the South, and gave it the means of resistance to the government, must be imputed partly to irresolution at Washington, and partly to the indecision of the commanding officer. The money loss to the government was great,