"From the moment Mr. Stanton became secretary of war," says General E. D. Townsend, "he never relaxed his efforts to destroy slavery in the rebellious territory as the surest and cheapest, if not the only, salvation of the Union, and to win Mr. Lincoln over to that way of thinking."

In his first formal report to Congress Stanton declared:

Above all things it is our duty to disdain no legitimate aid that may save the lives of our gallant soldiers, diminish their labors, provide for their wants, and lessen the burdens of our people. So far from the Southern States being invincible, no enemy was ever more vulnerable if the means at hand be employed against them. The power of the rebels rests upon their peculiar system of labor which keeps laborers upon their plantations to support the ones who are devoting their time and strength to destroy our armies and our Government. It is, in my opinion, the duty of those conducting the war to strike down the system and turn against the rebels the productive power that upholds the insurrection.

In his official report for 1863 he said:

The colored troops have been allowed no bounty, and under the construction given by the Department they can only, by existing law, receive the pay of $10 per month; white soldiers being paid $13 per month with clothing and a daily ration. There seems to be an inequality and injustice in this distinction, and an amendment authorizing the same pay and bounty as white troops receive is recommended. As soldiers of the Union, fighting under its banner and exposing their lives in battle to uphold the Government, colored troops are entitled to enjoy its justice and beneficence.

"Stanton was the great emancipator," says Major A. E. H. Johnson. "He did infinitely more for the freedom of the black man. than the President and all others combined. He did more to make him a full soldier in the army than any other person in the nation, and he used the power of war to put the negro where he could help to save the Republic. Dr. Alexander T. Augusta, a skilful negro physician of Washington, showed his gratitude for this justice and courage in behalf of his race by bequeathing five hundred dollars to Mr. Stanton."*

The hand of the martyr Lincoln did indeed at last formally sign a partial emancipation, but the far-seeing brain of Stanton, much in advance of that document, found a way to enlist nearly

*Dr. Augusta was appointed by Stanton to be a surgeon in the army in 1863, the first colored man given such an appointment. He served till 1867 and was made brevet-colonel for meritorious service.

two hundred thousand slaves in the army; instigated the Confiscation Act of July 17, 1862; and finally urged through the Trumbull Amendment of the constitution, which must forever stand as the real death-blow to human bondage as a legal right.

That amendment passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31, 1865. When the vote was concluded at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Congressman J. M. Ashley (of Ohio), who carried the laboring oar in the House contest, jumped into a carriage and drove rapidly to the War Office with a list of those who had voted "aye."

Stanton had already received the news by telegraph and had ordered three batteries of artillery to "fire one hundred guns with their heaviest charges" in the heart of the city. Between the thundering reverberations of this salute, which shook every house in the national capital, Stanton read aloud the names of those who supported the amendment, saying: "History will embalm them in great honor."

CHAPTER XXXV.

MCCLELLAN RELIEVED STANTON VINDICATED.

Rehabilitating McClellan and placing him in charge of the defense of Washington on September 2, 1862, produced surprising results. He gathered up the inpouring streams of stragglers and, in a wonderfully short time, manned the forts and entrenchments, organized and disposed the forces, and brought order out of chaos; but he did not, as many have claimed, save Washington.

Lee "saved Washington." The capital was lost for not less than five days after and including August 30, if Lee had known it. Its capture would have been a mere holiday excursion, but Lee was unaware of the real situation, and, feeling the severity of the punishment he had received from Pope, retired on September 3 to replenish his exhausted stores of ammunition and food. Having revictualed his command, he inaugurated a march into Maryland towards Pennsylvania. McClellan, without direct orders to do so, suddenly marched away to intercept him.

Before engaging Lee at Antietam, however, he resumed his demand for the troops which had been retained for the defense of the capital, making this very extraordinary statement: "Even if Washington should be taken while these armies are confronting each other, this would not, in my judgment, bear comparison with the ruin and disaster which would follow a single defeat of this army. If we should be successful in conquering the gigantic rebel army before us, we would have no difficulty in recovering Washington."

"I have often heard Mr. Stanton speak of the singular conduct and expressions of McClellan as to the safety of Washington," says Major A. E. H. Johnson. "McClellan seemed to wish to put the capital in a condition that would compel the flight of the whole 'crew,' as he called the cabinet and the President."

Lincoln and his cabinet in flight or captivity would create a situation, McClellan believed, which would justify him in assuming