20 ANOTHER UPRISING.-UNIONISTS REPRESSED. 2 than its prescribed quota, stating that "it was more important to reduce than to enlarge the number," was now glad to receive all that might be offered from every quarter. Then it was that the Pennsylvania Reserves, called into existence by Governor Curtin, were so speedily transferred from Harrisburg to Washington, and gave security to the National Capital. Everywhere the people flew to arms with a feeling of devotion to their country, deeper, because born of serious contemplation, than when Fort Sumter was attacked. There was another grand uprising; and within a fortnight after the Battle of Bull's Run, when the terms of service of the seventy-five thousand three-months men had expired, more than an equal number were in camps or in the field, engaged "for three years or the war." Among them were a large portion of the three-months men, who had re-enlisted. Nine-tenths of the non-combatants shared in the fervor and the faith of those who took up arms, and the people of the Free-labor States presented to the world a sublime spectacle difficult to comprehend. That terrible crisis in the life of the nation was promptly met, and the salvation of the Republic was assured. In the mean time, the Confederates, flushed with victory, and satisfied that their so-called attorney-general (Benjamin) had predicted wisely, that pacification through recognition by France or England, or both, would occur "in ninety days," and their independence be secured, were wasting golden moments in celebrating their own valor. Yet, in the manner of that unthriftiness of time and opportunity, there was a potential force that gave amazing strength to the Confederacy. There was a prestige in that battle, and the celebration of the triumph, which almost silenced opposition to the war; for multitudes, who had loved the Union supremely, and had no faith in the success of the conspirators, now thought they saw a great revolution nearly accomplished, and themselves made part of a new nation carved suddenly by the sword out of the Republic, with whose fortunes it was their duty and their interest to link themselves. They had already suffered much from the despotism established by the conspirators; and now, by an act of the "Congress," threatened with banishment and confiscation, they were utterly helpless, and sought peace and reconciliation by a display of zeal in what was dignified by the name of a war for independence. That "united South" which the conspirators had falsely • Aug. 8 and 30, 1861. a 1 General Patterson's Narrative of the Campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. ? See note 2, page 520, volume I. It is reported that General Buckner, captured at Fort Donelson several months afterward, while on his way to Fort Warren, at Boston, as a prisoner of war, said to a gentleman in Albany: "The effect of that battle was to inspire the Southerners with a blind confidence, and lull them into false security. The effect upon the Northerners, on the other hand, was to arouse, madden, and exasperate." • The pressure brought to bear on the Union men was terrible, and the youth of that class were driven into the army by thousands, because of the social proscription to which they were subjected. The zeal of the women in the cause of rebellion was unbounded, and their influence was extremely potential. Young men who hesitated when asked to enlist, or even waited to be asked, were shunned and sneered at by the young women; and many were the articles of woman's apparel which were sent, as significant gifts, to these laggards at home. Men who still dared to stand firm in their true allegiance, were denounced as "traitors to their country," and treated as such; and the proscription and the persecution became so general and fiery, that Millie Mayfield was justified in singing, with scornful lips "Union men! O thrice-fooled fools! As well might ye hope to bind THE CONFEDERATE ARMY IMMOVABLE. 21 declared months before, now became a fact, and the terrible strife instantly assumed the proportions and the vigor of a civil war of unparalleled magnitude. Almost the entire resources of the inhabitants of the States in which rebellion existed were devoted to the cause, and with wonderful energy on both sides, the great conflict went on. During that conflict, while weaker men were in practical sympathy with the conspirators, there were thousands of the best men of the South, imbued with the martyr-spirit which reverences principle, who could not be made to yield to the terrible pressure, but maintained their integrity throughout. These unconditional Unionists suffered intensely in person and property, and large numbers perished. But the survivors were many, and offered to the nation, at the close of the war, the proper instrumentalities for co-operation with the Government in the reorganization of the disordered Union on a basis of justice, which should secure for the Republic, for all time, tranquillity and prosperity. When the shouts of triumph had died away, and the smoke of battle was dissipated, and the people of the Confederacy saw their victorious army immovable at Manassas and indisposed to follow up their victory, they were uneasy, and many a lip queried why "President" Davis, the chief of the army, returned so quickly to Richmond, and spent time in public boastings of the achievements of the present and in predictions of the future, instead of directing Johnston and Beauregard to press on after the fugitives and capture Washington City, the great and coveted prize? The immobility of their army was an enigma. It was an incubus on the spirits of the people. While their tongues were jubilant, their hearts were misgiving. Johnston and Beauregard desired to press on, but the wisdom and the prudence of the first-named officer restrained his own impatience and the folly and rashness of the Creole; and the perilous movement was delayed until it was too late to hope for success. Johnston knew that it would be madness to follow the retreating Nationals, and hurl his wearied troops against the strong defenses of Washington, behind which they were resting, supported by fresh soldiers. But he was anxious to carry out his original plan of crossing the Potomac above the National Capital, cut off that city's communications with the North, and capture it by a vigorous movement in the rear. But for a pursuit, or this grand flank movement, there were two essential requisites lacking—namely, a sufficient cavalry force, and means of subsistence, for which lack Confederate experts hold Davis responsible. It is agreed that he always seemed to take a delight in thwarting the wishes of others; and with a most mischievous obstinacy he followed the dictates. of his own will, passions, and caprice, rather than the counsels of judicious advisers. This disposition was conspicuous in his appointment to important offices of his incapable personal and political friends; and the best of the Confederate army officers declare that, by his interference in details, he was a Or to blend the shattered waves that lash The feet of the cleaving rock, When the tempest walks the face of the deep, And the water-spirits mock, As the sacred chain to reunite In a peaceful link again: On our burning homesteads ye may write, We found no Union men.'” 22 WHY THE CONFEDERATE ARMY WAS IMMOVABLE. marplot in the way of military affairs throughout the war. At the beginning he appointed an incompetent and vicious companion-in-arms at a former period, named Northrop, to the vitally important post of Chief of Subsistence. This was done in the face of earnest protests; and now, at the first momentous trial, this Chief Commissary's incapacity was fatally conspicuous. Under the sanction, if not at the command of Davis, he refused to allow his subordinates to purchase supplies for the army at Manassas in the fertile country adjacent, but sent others to gather them in the rear of the army, and forward them in daily doles, at heavy expense, by the Orange and Alexandria Railway, exposed to the vicissitudes of war. He allowed no deposits of supplies to be established near the army; and on the day of the battle, Beauregard had only a single day's rations for his troops.' For weeks afterward this state of things continued, and it was impossible for the army to move The physical disabilities of the Confederates alluded to, were, probably, not the only reasons for the immobility of their army after the battle. Davis and his associates at Richmond well knew the strength of the lion of the North, which their wickedness had aroused. They had promised their dupes "peaceable secession," because they thought that strength would not be put forth. They found themselves mistaken, and their cause in great peril; and they well knew, that if they should push on to the extremity of seizing Washington at that time, it would so consolidate and invoke to terrible action the power of the North, that the conspirators would not hold the National Capital ten days, nor prevent the utter extermination of the insurgent armies, and the desolation of their territories by an exasperated people. This moral effect they dreaded; so they were content to have the vanity of their followers gratified by the accident of a victory at Bull's Run, and hoped to accomplish, by negotiation and compromise, what they could not expect to win by arms. 1 Statement of General Thomas Jordan, then chief of Beauregard's staff, in Harper's Magazine, xxxi. 610. Jordan says: "Flour bought by speculators in the Valley and Loudon was carried to Richmond, sold to the Subsistence Bureau, and transported back to Manassas." Late in August, Johnston wrote to Beauregard: "It is impossible, as the affairs of the commissariat aro now managed, to think of any other military course than a strictly defensive base." From a photograph by Alexander Gardiner, of Washington City. NEW ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 23 a July 22, 1861. The National Government now acted with decision and energy. General McClellan, who, with able subordinates and brave troops, had made a brilliant and successful campaign in Western Virginia, was summoned to Washington on the day after the Battle of Bull's Run," and, with the approbation of the people, who were loudly sounding his praises, he was placed in command of the shattered army at and near the seat of Government. General McDowell, like a true soldier, gracefully withdrew, and on the 25th of July, the Adjutant-General announced the creation of a Geographical Division, formed of the Departments of Washington and of Northeastern Virginia, under the young chieftain, with head-quarters at Washington City. July. Other changes had already been determined upon. On the 19th,' an order was issued from the War Department for the honorable discharge from the service of Major-General Robert Patterson, on the 27th, when his term of duty would expire; and General N. P. Banks, then in command at Baltimore, was directed to take his place in charge of the Department of the Shenandoah, he being relieved by General John A. Dix. There was a new arrangement of Military Departments,' and Lieutenant-General Scott, who was the General-in-Chief of the armies, greatly disabled by increasing infirmities, was, at his own suggestion, relieved from active duties. General McClellan turned over the command of the army in Western Virginia to Brigadier-General Rosecrans, and entered with zeal and vigor upon the arduous task of reorganizing the army, of which he took charge on the 27th of July. He brought to the service, youth, a spotless moral character, robust health, a sound theoretical military education with some practical experience, untiring industry, the prestige of recent success in the field, and the unlimited confidence of the loyal people. He found at his disposal about fifty thousand infantry, less than one thousand cavalry, six hundred and fifty artillerymen, and thirty pieces of cannon. He found, in the men, excellent materials out of which to fashion a fine army, but in a disorganized and comparatively crude condition. His first care was to effect a moral improvement by thorough discipline; and then, under the sanction of a recent Act of Congress, to winnow the officers of all the volunteer regiments, and dismiss all incompetents. By this process no less than three hundred officers were compelled to leave the service in the course of a few months. Having laid the moral foundations for an efficient army organization, McClellan proceeded with skill and vigor to mold his materials into perfect symmetry. He made the regiment a unit. Four regiments composed a brigade, and three brigades a division. Each division had four batteries: three served by volunteers and one by regulars; the captain of the latter commanding the entire artillery of the division. With the assistance of Majors William F. Barry and J. G. Barnard, he organized artillery and engineering establishments; and the dragoons, mounted riflemen, and cavalry 1 The counties of Washington and Alleghany, in Maryland, were added to the Department of the Shenandoah, created on the 19th of July, with head-quarters in the field; and the remainder of Maryland, and all of Pennsylvania and Delaware, constituted the Department of Pennsylvania, head-quarters at Baltimore. A Board was also established at this time for the examination of all officers of volunteer regiments. 2 General McClellan's Report to the Secretary of War, Angust 4, 1863. 24 THE DEFENSES OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. were all reorganized under the general name of cavalry. To Major Barry were intrusted the details of the artillery establishment; and Major Barnard was directed to construct a system of defenses for Washington City, on both sides of the Potomac. In the course of a few months every considerable eminence in the vicinity of the National Capi tal was crowned with a fort or redoubt well mounted. Early in the following year the number of these works was fifty-two, whose names and locations are indicated on the accompanying map.' This system of works was so complete, that at no time afterward, during the war, did the Confederates ever seriously attempt to assail them. At no time was the Capital in danger from external foes. @ 1861. The work of organization was performed with such energy, that in the place of a raw and disorganized army of about fifty thousand men, in and around Washington City, at the close of July," there was, at the end of fifty days, a force of at least one hundred thousand men, well organized and officered, equipped and disciplined. Of these, full seventyfive thousand were then in a condition to be placed in column for active operations. The entire force under McClellan's command, at that time, including those under Dix, at Baltimore, was one hundred and fifty-two thou 1 According to General Orders issued by McClellan on the 30th of September, 1861, in which the names and locations of these forts were designated, thirty-two of them were then completed. At the beginning of December forty-eight were finished. |