"The

ler refused the terms, demanding unconditional surrender. Adelaide," he reports, "on carrying in the troops, at the moment my terms of capitulation were under consideration by the enemy, had grounded upon the bar. ** At the same time, the Harriet Lane, in attempting to enter the bar had grounded, and remained fast; both were under the guns of the fort. By these accidents, a valuable ship of war, and a transport steamer, with a large portion of my troops, were within the power of the enemy. I had demanded the strongest terms, which he was considering. He might refuse, and seeing our disadvantage, renew the action. But I determined to abate not a tittle of what I considered to be due to the dignity of the government; nor even to give an official title to the officer in command of the rebels. Besides, my tug was in the inlet, and, at least, I could carry on the engagement with my two rifled six-pounders, well supplied with Sawyer's shell." It was an anxious moment, but his terms were accepted, and the victory was complete.

One of the guns of the Minnesota was worked during the action by contrabands from Fortress Monroe. The danger was slight, for the enemy's balls fell short. But it was observed and freely acknowledged on all hands, that no gun in the fleet was more steadily served than theirs, and no men more composed than they when danger was supposed to be imminent. In action and out of action their conduct was everything that could be desired.

The other matter which demands a word of explanation, relates to General Butler's sudden return from Hatteras, which elicited sundry satirical remarks at the time. He had been ordered not to hold but to destroy the port. But on surveying the position, he was so much impressed with the importance of retaining it, that he resolved to go instantly to Washington and explain his views to the gov ernment. He did so, and the government determined to hold the place. Nor was haste unnecessary, since supplies had been brought for only five days. The troops must have been immediately withdrawn or immediately provisioned.

And now again he was without a command. The government did not know what to do with him, and he did not know what to do with himself. Recruiting was generally at a stand still, and there were no troops in the field that had not their full allowance of major generals. West Point influence was in the ascendant, as

surely it ought to be in time of war; and this lawyer in epaulets seemed to be rather in the way than otherwise.

CHAPTER XI.

RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.

GENERAL BUTLER now recalled the attention of the government to his scheme for expelling rebel forces from the Virginia peninsula, which had been suspended by the sudden transfer of Colonel Baker and his command from Fortress Monroe. He obtained authority from the war department to recruit troops in Massachusetts for this purpose. Recruiting seemed to be proceeding somewhat languidly in the state, although her quota was yet far from full; and it was supposed, that General Butler could strike a vein of hunker democrats which would yield good results. Not that hunker democrats had been backward in enlisting; but it was thought that many of them who still hesitated would rally to the standard of one who had so often led them in the mimic war of elections. On going home, however, he found that General Sherman was before him in special recruiting, and that to him Governor Andrew had promised the first regiments that should be completed. He hastened back to Washington. He had been engaged to speak in Faneuil Hall, but left a note of excuse, ending with these words: "That I go for a vigorous prosecution of the war is best shown by the fact that I am gone." At Washington, a change of programme. He penned an order, dated Sept. 10th, enlarging his sphere of operations to all New England, which the secretary of war signed:

66

'Major-General B. F. Butler is hereby authorized to raise, organize, arm, uniform, and equip a volunteer force for the war, in the New England states; not exceeding six (6) regiments of the maximum standard, of such arms, and in such proportions, and in such manner as he may judge expedient; and for this purpose his orders and requisitions on the quartermaster, ordnance, and other

staff departments of the army, are to be obeyed and answered: provided the cost of such recruitment, armament, and equipment does not exceed, in the aggregate, that of like troops, now or hereafter raised, for the service of the United States."

To make assurance doubly sure, he asked the additional sanction of the president's signature. The cautious president, always punctiliously respectful to state authority, first procured by telegraph the assent of all the governors of New England, and then signed the order.

It was upon General Butler's return to New England to raise these troops, that the collision occurred between himself and the governor of Massachusetts, which caused so much perplexity to all the parties concerned. Without wishing to revive the ill feeling of a controversy between gentlemen equally devoted to the common cause, it appears, nevertheless, unavoidable to explain the point of collision. At first, I was inclined to think that General Butler, in the impetuosity of his desire to take the field, had given the governor just cause of offense. Upon a review of the whole case, as published in divers pamphlets, official and unofficial, it appears clearly enough, that Governor Andrew was justified in taking offense; but it is equally clear that no offense was intended by General Butler; and that, hurried as he was, he employed reasonable means to come to a friendly understanding with the governor. The case, as I understand it, illustrates the old Spanish maxim, that when two honest men differ, both are in the right.

Perhaps, there was already a slight soreness in the governor's mind owing to the publication by General Butler of the correspondence relating to the offer of Massachusetts troops to Governor Hicks, for the suppression of an insurrection of the slaves. General Butler published these letters, because the Boston correspondent of the Tribune had informed the public that Governor Andrew disapproved the offer of the troops for such a purpose. The act was also freely commented upon in the newspapers. A question arose as to the source of the correspondent's information. General Butler emphatically exonerated the governor, but intimated that, perhaps, some clerk or copyist had betrayed his trust. The private secretary of the governor, who alone had charge of the governor's papers, conceived that this intimation was pointed at him, and resented it accordingly. A private secretary, posted as he is close to

the ear of his chief, can not but have considerable influence over him. A private secretary has sometimes been a governor's governor, a general's general, a prime minister's prime minister. Private secretaries have ruled empires. It is, at least, not desirable to have the ill-will of a private secretary if you wish to stand well with his chief. You might almost as well slight the king's mistress, and then ask a favor of the king. I do not suppose that the worthy and patriotic governor of Massachusetts was unduly influenced by his secretary. But he is a human being, and his secretary felt aggrieved at General Butler.

The true cause of the difficulty was the chaos that reigned in the war department at Washington. Mr. Cameron was a faithful and most laborious minister; but probably no man ever existed capable of really doing the work suddenly accumulated upon the secretary of war by the stupendous scale upon which the military operations of the government were undertaken. We did not embrace the war as the settled business of the country for years, but as if preparing for two or three enormous raids into an enemy's country. Hurry, confusion, incoherence, marked all our first proceedings. Mr. Cameron did what he could; but much remained undone; much was done amiss; much was necessarily left to subordinates. There was no time for deliberation; everything had to be decided on the instant. In such circumstances, a man must have the memory of a Butler to avoid giving contradictory orders. It should be also noted, that General Butler is one of those gentlemen who can say No, with delightful promptness and unmistakable emphasis, but to whom it is difficult to say No; and both the president and the secretary of war were disposed to comply with the desires of a man whose talents and energy they appreciated.

General Sherman, as we have said, was already in Massachusetts recruiting for Port Royal. Another gentleman had also received authority from the war department to raise a regiment in Massachusetts. The governor objecting to this special recruiting, remonstrated, and the secretary promised, August 28, that no more such authorizations should be issued. The president, also, September 6th, spoke of "the impossibility of relying upon the states to respond promptly to regular requisitions for troops, if their recruiting system should be harassed by the competition of individuals

engaged in recruiting under independent permissions; but he said such independent permissions as had hitherto been issued, had been extorted by the pressure of certain persons, who, if they had been refused, would have accused the government of rejecting the services of so many thousands of imaginary men; a pressure, of the persistency of which, no person not subjected to it could conceive. He said that perhaps he had been in error in granting such independent permissions at all, even under this pressure."

Hence, before sanctioning General Butler's scheme of raising six regiments in New England, the president procured by telegraph the consent of all the governors.

Now, the point of collision between Governor Andrew and General Butler was this: The governor desired to fill the regiments already begun before any others were started; the general was anxious to open his vein of hunkers at once, and avail himself immediately of his personal popularity. He thought he could enlist men who would not join regiments already begun; and he was right; for more than a thousand men enlisted under his banner as soon as it was set up.

When General Butler presented himself at the State House, September 14th, armed with authority to raise six regiments in New England, Governor Andrew received him with all his wonted cordiality, and promised hearty co-operation. He requested, however, that he would announce no new regiments till General Sherman's were filled, which would require another week. The general consented and went to Maine, where his efforts, promptly seconded by the governor of that State, were immediately successful. He returned to Boston, to find that Governor Andrew had caused at formal order to be published, which forbade new recruiting until regiments already begun were completed. Two of these incomplete regiments he had, indeed, assigned to General Butler, one of which existed only in skeleton. General Butler fearing delay, and desiring himself to have a voice in selecting the officers who were to accompany him, hit upon an expedient to remove the unexpected obstacle. He flew to Washington, and to General Scott. Result, the following order:

"The six New England States will temporarily constitute a separate military department, to be called the Department of New England. Head-quarters, Boston. Major-General B. F. Butler, United