POLITICAL PARTIES.—Three parties now divided the suffrages of the people. The whigs nominated General Taylor for President; the democrats, Lewis Cass; and the free-soilers, who were opposed to the extension of slavery, Martin Van Buren. The personal popularity of General Taylor, on account of his many sterling qualities and his brilliant victories in the Mexican war, made him the favorite candidate, and he was elected.



* * * * *



TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: Zachary Taylor was born in Virginia in 1784 Soon after his birth his parents removed to Kentucky. His means of education were extremely scanty, and until he was twenty-four years of age he worked on his father's plantation. Madison, who was a relative and at that time Secretary of State, then secured for him an appointment in the army as lieutenant. From this he rose by regular and rapid degrees to a major-generalship. Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, and Buena Vista, won him great applause. He was the hero of a successful war, and the soldiers admiringly called him "Old Rough and Ready." Many whig leaders violently opposed his nomination. Daniel Webster called him "an ignorant frontier colonel." The fact that he was a slaveholder was warmly urged against him. He knew nothing of civil affairs, and had taken so little interest in politics that he had not voted in forty years. His nomination caused a secession from the whigs, resulting in the formation of the free-soil party; yet he maintained his popularity as President, and was one of the most esteemed who have filled that office. He died July 9, 1850, at the Presidential mansion, after an illness of five days.]



(TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH PRESIDENTS: 1849-1853)

General Taylor, like General Harrison, died soon after his elevation to the Presidency. Millard Fillmore, Vice-President, succeeded him.

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.—Slavery questions were the great political topic of this administration. When California applied for admission to the Union as a free State, all these subjects were brought to a focus. A hot debate ensued, and for awhile it seemed as if the Union would be rent asunder. At this terrible crisis Henry Clay, the "Great Pacificator," came forward, and, with his wonderful eloquence, urged the necessity of mutual compromise and forbearance. Daniel Webster warmly seconded this effort at conciliation.



[Footnote: When Daniel Webster, the great American statesman and jurist, was fourteen years old, he first enjoyed the privilege of a few months' schooling at an academy. The man whose eloquence was afterward to stir the nation, was then so shy that he could not muster courage to speak before the school. He says, "Many a piece did I commit and rehearse in my own room, over and over again; yet when the day came, when my name was called, and I saw all eyes turned toward me, I could not raise myself from my seat." In other respects, however, he gave decided promise of his future eminence. One year after, his father resolved to send him to college—a dream he had never dared to cherish. "I remember the very hill we were ascending through deep snow, in a New England sleigh, when my father made known this purpose to me. I could not speak. How could he, I thought, with so large a family, and in such narrow circumstances, think of incurring so great an expense for me? A warm glow ran all over me, and I laid my head on my father's shoulder and wept."—Having finished his collegiate education and entered his profession, he at once rose to eminence. Elected to Congress, in his maiden speech he "took the House and country by surprise." By rapid strides he placed himself at the head of American orators. His speeches are masterpieces, and may well be the study of every aspirant for distinction. It was a disappointment to many of Webster's friends, as it was, perhaps, to himself, that he was never called to the Presidential chair. But, like Clay, although he might have honored that position, he needed it not to enhance his renown. His death, which occurred in 1852, called out, it is said, more orations, discourses, and sermons, than had any other except that of Washington.]

The Compromise of 1850.—The Omnibus Bill, Clay's measure, was adopted as the best solution of the problem. It proposed (1) that California should come in as a free State; (2) that the Territories of Utah and New Mexico should be formed without any provision concerning slavery; (3) that Texas should be paid $10, 000,000 to give up its claim on the Territory of New Mexico; (4) that the slave trade should be prohibited in the District of Columbia, and (5) that a Fugitive Slave Law should be enacted providing for the return to their owners of slaves escaping to a free State.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.—Invasion of Cuba.—About six hundred adventurers, "fillibusters," undertook to effect the annexation of Cuba to the United States. The attempt ended in utter defeat, and in the execution, at Havana, of Lopez, the leader.

POLITICAL PARTIES.—The democratic and whig parties both declared that they stood by the provisions of the Omnibus Bill. The free-soil party was outspoken against it. Franklin Pierce, the Presidential nominee of the democratic party, was elected by a large majority of votes over General Scott, the whig candidate.

* * * * *



PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: Franklin Pierce was born 1804; died 1869. He had barely attained the requisite legal age when he was elected to the Senate. He there found such men as Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Thomas H. Benton, and Silas Wright. Nathaniel Hawthorne says in his biography of Mr. Pierce: "With his usual tact and exquisite sense of propriety, he saw that it was not the time for him to step forward prominently on this highest theatre in the land. He beheld these great combatants doing battle before the eyes of the nation, and engrossing its whole regards. There was hardly an avenue to reputation save what was occupied by one or another of those gigantic figures." During Mr. Tyler's administration, he resigned. When the Mexican war broke out, he enlisted as a volunteer, but soon rose to the office of brigadier-general. He distinguished himself under General Scott, against whom he afterward successfully ran for the Presidency, and upon whom, during his administration, he conferred the title of lieutenant-general. Pierce opposed anti-slavery measures in every shape. He, however, espoused the national cause at the opening of the Civil War.]



(FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1853-1857.)

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.—Kansas-Nebraska Bill.—The Compromise Bill of 1850 produced only a lull in the slavery excitement. It burst out anew when Stephen A. Douglas brought forward (1853) his famous bill organizing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and advocating the doctrine of "squatter sovereignty;" i. e., the right of the inhabitants of each Territory to decide for themselves whether the State should come into the Union free or slave. This bill being a virtual repudiation of the Missouri Compromise, excited the most intense feeling. It, however, became a law (May, 1854).

[Footnote: During the discussion, which was exciting almost beyond precedent, Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, made some severe reflections upon Senator Butler, of South Carolina. For this he was assailed by Preston S. Brooks, a nephew of Senator Butler and a South Carolina representative, and so severely injured that for three years he could not resume his seat. Mr. Brooks was censured for this act, but, having resigned his seat, was immediately returned without opposition.]

[Footnote: The public lands have often threatened the peace of the nation. (1.) The question of their ownership was one of the greatest obstacles to the Union of the States. In 1781, New York was the first to present her western territory to the general government. Virginia followed her example in 1784, donating tho great Northwestern Territory—a princely domain, which, if retained, would have made her the richest of the States; she reserved only 3,700,000 acres in Ohio, which she subsequently sold in small tracts to settlers. Massachusetts, in 1785, relinquished her claim, retaining a proprietary right over large tracts in New York. Connecticut, in 1786, did the same, and from the sale of her lands in Ohio laid the foundation of her school fund of $2,000,000. Georgia and the Carolinas gave up their right to territory from which have since been carved the States of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. (2.) Since these lands became the property of the general government, a most perplexing question has been, Shall they be free? Upon it has hinged largely the politics of the country. The admission of Missouri, Texas, California, and Kansas has each been the signal for the reopening of this vexed question.—Though the public lands have been the cause of intestine strife, they have been a great source of national wealth. Their sale has brought large sums into the treasury. They have been given to settlers as a stimulus to emigration. They have been granted to endow colleges and schools, to build railroads, to reward the soldiers and support their widows and orphans. In every township to be incorporated hereafter in the great west, a portion of the land must be reserved for school purposes. By the Homestead Act of 1862, any citizen may secure one hundred and sixty acres.]

"Border Warfare." —The struggle was now taken from Congress to Kansas. A bitter contest arose between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery men—the former anxious to secure the State for slavery; the latter, for freedom. Each party sent bodies of armed emigrants to the Territory and civil war ensued. Bands of "armed men" crossed over from Missouri, took possession of the polls, and controlled the elections. Houses were attacked and pillaged, and men murdered in cold blood. For several years Kansas was a scene of lawless violence.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.—Mexico.—Owing to the inaccuracy of the map used in the treaty between the United States and Mexico, a dispute arose with regard to the boundary line. General Gadsden negotiated a settlement whereby Mexico was paid $10,000,000, and the United States secured the region (map, Epoch VI) known as the "Gadsden purchase."

Japan.—Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan (1854) excited great attention. He negotiated a treaty which gave to the merchants of the United States two ports of entry in that exclusive country.

POLITICAL PARTIES.—The compromises of 1820 and 1850 being now abolished, the slave question became the turning-point of the election. New party lines were drawn to meet this issue. The whig party ceased to exist. The republican party, absorbing all who opposed the extension of slavery, nominated John C. Fremont, who received the vote of eleven States. The democratic party, retaining its organization, nominated James Buchanan, who was elected President.

[Footnote: A third party, called the Know-Nothing or American party, was organized to resist the influence of foreigners. It carried the vote of only one State, Maryland. Its motto was "America for Americans." The party aroused bitter feelings, but had a transient existence. (Read list of Political Parties, Barnes's Pop. Hist., p. 654.)]



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: James Buchanan was born 1791; died 1868. The "bachelor-President" was sixty-six years old when he was called to the executive chair. He had just returned to his native country, after an absence of four years as minister to England. Previously to that he had been well known in public life, having been Representative, Senator, and Secretary of State. As Senator in Jackson's time, he heartily supported his administration. With Van Buren, he warmly advocated the idea of an independent treasury (see p. 179), against the opposition of Clay, Webster, and others. Under Tyler, he was urgently in favor of the annexation of Texas, thus again coming into conflict with Clay and Webster. He cordially agreed with them, however, in the compromise of 1850 (see p. 193), and urged the people to adopt it. Much was hoped from his election, as he avowed the object of his administration to be "to destroy any sectional party, whether North or South, and to restore, if possible, that national fraternal feeling between the different States that had existed during the early days of the Republic." But popular passion and sectional jealousy were too strong to yield to pleasant persuasion. We shall see in the text how the heated nation was drawn into the horrors of civil war. When Mr. Buchanan's administration closed, the fearful conflict was close at hand. He retired to his estate in Pennsylvania, where he died.]



(FIFTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1857-1861.)

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.

Dred Scott

[Footnote: Scott and his wife were slaves belonging to a surgeon in the United States army. They were taken into and resided in Illinois and at Fort Snelling, in territory from which, by the ordinance of 1787, slavery was forever excluded. Afterward they were carried into Missouri, where they and their children were held as slaves. They claimed freedom on the ground that, by the act of their master, they had been taken into free territory. The decision of the court against their claims created an intense excitement throughout the country.]

Decision.—The Supreme Court of the United States (1857), through Chief-Justice Taney, declared that slave-owners might take their slaves into any State in the Union without forfeiting authority over them. At the North, this was considered as removing the last barrier to the extension of slavery, and as changing it from a local to a national institution; at the South, only as a right guaranteed them by the Constitution, whereby they should be protected in the possession of their property in every State.

The Fugitive Slave Law had intensified the already heated controversy, and the subject of slavery now absorbed all others. The provision which commanded every good citizen to aid in the arrest of fugitives was especially obnoxious to the North. Disturbances arose whenever attempts were made to restore runaways to their masters. Several of the northern States passed "Personal Liberty" bills, securing to fugitive slaves, when arrested, the right of trial by jury.

John Brown, a man who had brooded over the exciting scenes through which he had passed in Kansas until he thought himself called upon to take the law into his own hands, seized upon the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry (1859), and proclaimed freedom to the slaves in the vicinity. His feeble band was soon overpowered by United States troops, and Brown himself hanged as a traitor. Though it was soon known that in his wild design he had asked counsel of no one, yet at the time the Southern feeling was aroused to frenzy, his act being looked upon as significant of the sentiments of the North.

POLITICAL PARTIES.—The fall elections again turned on the question of slavery. The democratic party divided, and made two nominations for President: Stephen A. Douglas, who favored squatter sovereignty, and John C. Breckinridge, who claimed that slavery could be carried into any territory. The republican party nominated Abraham Lincoln, who held that while slavery must be protected where it was, it ought not to be carried into free territory. Lincoln was elected.

[Footnote: The "Union" party put up John Bell, of Tennessee. Their motto was, "The Union, the Constitution, and the Enforcement of the Laws."]



THE SOUTH SECEDES.—Throughout the fall campaign the Southern leaders had threatened to secede if Mr. Lincoln were elected.

[Footnote: This was not a sudden movement on their part. The sectional difference between the North and the South had its source in the difference of climate, which greatly modified the character and habits of the people; also, while the agricultural pursuits and staple products of the South made slave labor profitable, the mechanical pursuits and the more varied products of the North made it unprofitable. These antagonisms, settled first by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, reopened by the tariff of 1828, bursting forth in the nullification of 1832, pacified by Clay's compromise tariff, increased through the annexation of Texas and the consequent war with Mexico, irritated by the Wilmot Proviso, lulled for a time by the compromise of 1850, awakened anew by the "squatter sovereignty" policy of 1853, roused to fury by the agitation in Kansas, spread broadcast by the Dred Scott decision, the attempted execution of the Fugitive Slave Law and the John Brown raid, had now reached a point where war was the only remedy. The election of Lincoln was the pivot on which the result turned. The cause ran back through thirty years of controversy to the difference in climate, in occupation, and in the habit of life and thought. Strange to say, each section misunderstood the other. The Southern people believed the North to be so engrossed in money-making and so enfeebled by luxury that it could send to the field only mercenary soldiers, who would easily be beaten by the patriotic Southerners. They said, "Cotton is King;" and believed that England and France were so dependent upon them for that staple, that their republic would be recognized and defended by those European powers. On the other hand, the Northern people did not believe that the South would dare to fight for slavery when it had 4,000,000 slaves exposed to the chances of war. They thought it to be all bluster, and hence paid little heed to the threat of secession or of war. Both sides sadly learned their mistake, only too late.]

They now declared that it was time to leave a government which had fallen into the hands of their avowed enemies. Since the time of Calhoun they had been firm believers in the doctrine of State rights, which taught that a State could leave the Union whenever it pleased. In December (1860) South Carolina led off, and soon after Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas passed ordinances of secession. In February (1861) delegates from these States met at Montgomery, Ala, and formed a government called the "Confederate States of America". Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was chosen President, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President. United States forts, arsenals, customhouses, and ships were seized by the States in which they were situated. Buchanan did nothing to prevent the catastrophe. General Scott urged action, but the regular army was small, and the troops were widely scattered. The navy had been sent to distant ports. The Cabinet largely sympathized with the secessionists. Numerous unsuccessful efforts were made to effect a compromise.



It was the general expectation that there would be no war, and the cry, "No coercion," was general. Yet affairs steadily drifted on toward war.

[Footnote: Even the New York Tribune declared—"Whenever any considerable section of our Union shall deliberately resolve to go out, we shall resist all coercive measures to keep them in."]



FORT SUMTER—All eyes were now turned on Fort Sumter. Here Major Anderson kept the United States flag flying in Charleston harbor. He had been stationed in Fort Moultrie (map, p. 280), but fearing an attack, had crossed over (December 26) to Fort Sumter, a stronger position. The South Carolinians, looking upon this as a hostile act, took possession of the remaining forts, commenced erecting batteries, and prepared to reduce Fort Sumter. Major Anderson was compelled by his instructions to remain a quiet spectator of these preparations. The Star of the West, an unarmed steamer, bearing troops and supplies to the fort, was fired upon and driven back. The Southern leaders declared that any attempt to relieve Fort Sumter would be a declaration of war. The government seemed paralyzed with fear. All now waited for the new President.



STATES ADMITTED DURING THE FOURTH EPOCH.

The number of States increased during this epoch from thirteen to thirty-four. The following is the order in which they were received:

VERMONT, the fourteenth State, and the first under the Constitution, was admitted to the Union March 4, 1791. It was so called from its principal range of mountains (verd, green, and mont, mountain). Champlain discovered and explored much of it in 1609. The first settlement was made in 1724, in the present town of Brattleborough, where Fort Dummer was erected. The region was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York (see p. 110). In 1777, the inhabitants declared the "New Hampshire grants" an independent State, under the title "New Connecticut, alias Vermont." In 1791, however, New York consented to relinquish her claim on the payment of $30,000, and Vermont was accordingly admitted into the Union.

KENTUCKY, the fifteenth State, was admitted to the Union June 1, 1792. The name, "dark and bloody ground," had its origin in the fierce conflicts which took place between the whites and the Indians. Daniel Boone, a famous hunter, for two years rambled through the forests of this region, delighted with its scenery and the abundance of game. After many thrilling adventures and narrow escapes from the Indians, he established a fort at Boonesborough, and removed his family thither in June, 1775. This was the first permanent settlement in the State, then a part of Virginia, from which it was not separated till 1790.

TENNESSEE, the sixteenth State, was admitted to the Union June 1, 1796. It was named from the river Tennessee, the "river with the great bend." It is thought that DeSoto, in his wanderings, visited the spot where Memphis now stands. The first permanent settlement in the State was at Fort Loudon, thirty miles from the present site of Knoxville, in 1756. In 1780, James Robertson crossed the mountains with a party, and located where Nashville now stands, but which was then a wilderness. In 1789, North Carolina gave up her claim on the region, and the next year it was joined with Kentucky to form an independent territory. It received a distinct territorial government two years before it became a State.

[Footnote: This was the first permanent English settlement south of Pennsylvania and west of the Alleghanies.] was at Fort Loudon, thirty miles from the present site of Knoxville, in 1756. In 1780, James Robertson crossed the mountains with a party, and located where Nashville now stands, but which was then a wilderness. In 1789, North Carolina gave up her claim on the region, and the next year it was joined with Kentucky to form an independent territory. It received a distinct territorial government two years before it became a State.

OHIO, the seventeenth State, was admitted to the Union November 29, 1802. It was so called from the river of that name, signifying the "beautiful river." The first explorations were made by the French, under LaSalle, about 1680. The first permanent settlement was at Marietta, in 1788. It was the first State carved out of the great Northwestern Territory.

[Footnote: This territory was created in 1787, and included all the public land north of the Ohio. It embraced the present States of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. It was a part of New France before the French authority ceased in 1763. The British held possession for twenty years, when the country was ceded to the United States (see Map of VIth Epoch, and p. 146)]

LOUISIANA, the eighteenth State, was admitted to the Union April 8, 1812. The territory was named in honor of Louis XIV, king of France. The French explored the river Mississippi to the sea in 1682 (see p. 34), but their first settlement was made by Iberville at Biloxi, near its mouth, in 1699. New Orleans was founded in 1718.

[Footnote: The colony was granted to the great Mississippi Company, organized by John Law, at Paris, for the purpose of settling and deriving profit from the French possessions in North America. When this bubble burst, the French crown resumed the country. (See Brief History of France, p. 176.)]

The territory was ceded to Spain in 1762, but in 1800 was receded to France. When the United States purchased it (see p. 155), Louisiana included all the region north and west between the Mississippi and the Pacific (except those portions then occupied by Spain: see California) and north to the British possessions. In 1804, this region was divided into two parts—the territory of Orleans, which included the present State of Louisiana, and the district of Louisiana, which comprised the remainder. The former was admitted to the Union as Louisiana, and the name of the latter changed to Missouri.

INDIANA, the nineteenth State, was admitted to the Union December 11, 1816. The name is derived from the word Indian. The exact date of the first settlement is undetermined. When Ohio was taken from the Northwestern Territory, the remainder was called Indiana. It was reduced to its present limits in 1809, and was the second State admitted from the Northwestern Territory. After the Indian difficulties which hindered its early development had subsided, its growth was very rapid. Between 1810 and 1820, its population increased five hundred per cent.

MISSISSIPPI, the twentieth State, was admitted to the Union December 10, 1817. It is named from the Mississippi River, the "Great Father of Waters." De Soto was the first European who traversed this region. In 1700, Chevalier de Tonty, with a party of Canadian French, ascended the river to the Natchez country, where they selected a site for a fort and called it Rosalie. A settlement called St. Peters was made in 1703, on the Yazoo. In 1728, the Indians swept every vestige of civilization from the present limits of the State. Under the French governors who followed, fierce and bloody wars were waged with the Natchez, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Indians. In 1763, Louisiana east of the Mississippi, including a part of what is now Mississippi and Alabama, was ceded to the British, and became a part of Georgia. The Mississippi Territory was created in 1798, and lands were afterward added until it embraced the present States of Mississippi and Alabama. The latter became a separate Territory in March, 1817.

ILLINOIS, the twenty-first State, was admitted to the Union December 3, 1818. Its name is derived from its principal river, signifying "River of men." Its first settlements were made by La Salle.

[Footnote: That enterprising traveler, after exploring the Illinois River, built a small fort which he called Crevecoeur (krave-kur), and left it in command of the Chevalier de Tonty. Three years afterward he returned with some Canadians and founded Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and other towns, which early became flourishing, though the settlers, in manners and habits, were assimilated to the Indians.]

After the States of Ohio and Indiana, and the Territory of Michigan had been taken from the Northwestern Territory, the remainder was styled the Illinois Territory, and comprised the present States of Illinois, Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota. The settlement of this Territory was greatly impeded by Indian hostilities. The massacre at Fort Chicago, August 15, 1812, and the Black Hawk war, are instances of the dangers and trials which beset the pioneer. The great prosperity of the State dates from the year 1850, when munificent grants of land were made to the Central Railroad. The prairie wilderness was rapidly settled, and towns and cities sprang up as by magic.

ALABAMA, the twenty-second State, was admitted to the Union December 14, 1819. Its name is of Indian origin, and signifies "Here we rest." It was originally a part of Georgia. (See Mississippi.) The fierce contests with the Creek Indians, ended by Jackson, gave to the State a vast and fertile region. The first settlement was made by Bienville on Mobile Bay, in 1702. Nine years afterward, the present site of Mobile was occupied. Mobile was the original seat of the French colonization in Louisiana, and for many years the capital. Having been ceded to Great Britain and then to Spain, in 1813 it was surrendered to General Wilkinson, and has since remained in the possession of the United States (p. 146).

MAINE, the twenty-third State, was admitted to the Union March 15, 1820. (See p. 60.)

MISSOURI, the twenty-fourth State, was admitted to the Union August 10, 1821. Its name is derived from its principal river, and means "Muddy water." Its oldest town, St. Genevieve, was founded in 1755. St. Louis was settled nine years after, but was not incorporated as a town until 1809; its first newspaper was published in 1808, and the first steamboat arrived at its wharf in 1817. The District of Louisiana was organized as Louisiana Territory in 1805, with St. Louis as its capital. When Louisiana became a State, the name of the Territory was changed to Missouri.

ARKANSAS, the twenty-fifth State, was admitted to the Union June 15, 1836. It took its name from a now extinct tribe of Indians. It was discovered and settled by the French under Chevalier de Tonty, as early as 1685. It followed the fate of the other portions of Louisiana. On the admission of the State of Missouri, Arkansas was organized as a Territory, including the present State and a part of Indian Territory.

MICHIGAN, the twenty-sixth State, was admitted to the Union January 26, 1837. The name is of Indian origin, signifying "Great Lake." It was early visited by missionaries (see p. 33) and fur traders. Detroit was founded in 1701 by Cadillac. This region, first a part of the Northwestern Territory, then of Indiana Territory, was organized as a separate Territory in 1805. The country north of the present States of Indiana and Illinois was annexed to Michigan in 1818. The act of admission gave the State its present boundaries.

FLORIDA, the twenty-seventh State, was admitted to the Union March 3, 1845. The Spanish word florida, means "blooming" (see p. 27). Its early visitors, Ponce de Leon, De Narvaez, and De Soto, its first settlement at St. Augustine, its history under the Spaniards, and the Seminole war, have been incidentally described. It was organized as a Territory March 3, 1819.

TEXAS, the twenty-eighth State, was admitted to the Union December 27, 1845. It was explored by De Leon and La Salle. The latter, intending to found a French settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi, sailed by it unawares, and, landing at Matagorda Bay, built Fort St. Louis on the Lavaca. The Spaniards afterward explored and partially settled the country, establishing missions at various points. These did not prosper, however, and the region was populated mainly by roving bands of Indians. Civil war had impoverished the few settlers who were unable to flee from the country, and Galveston was nearly deserted, when, in 1820, Moses Austin, a native of Connecticut, obtained from the Spanish authorities in Mexico a grant of land. Emigration from the United States was encouraged, and in 1830 there were twenty thousand Americans in Texas. The jealousy of Mexico being excited, acts of oppression followed, and in 1835 the Texans were driven to declare their independence. After a year of severe fighting and alternating victories, Santa Anna was conquered.

[Footnote: Santa Anna, with four thousand men, having attacked the Alamo, a fort garrisoned by only one hundred and seventy-two men, every one of that gallant few died at his post except seven, who were killed while asking for quarter. Here David Crockett, the famous hunter, who had volunteered to fight with the Texans for their liberty, fell, pierced with wounds, but surrounded by the corpses of those whom he had cut down ere he was overpowered. In the battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna, with fifteen hundred men, was defeated by eight hundred, under General Sam. Houston (See Barnes's Popular History of the United States, p. 445.)]

The next year (1837) Texas sought admission into the Union. In 1844 the question was revived. The last act of Tyler's administration was to sign a bill for its admission. This bill was ratified by a convention of the State, July 5th of the same year.

IOWA, the twenty-ninth State, was admitted to the Union December 28, 1846. Its name is of Indian origin, signifying "Drowsy ones." Julien Dubuque, a Canadian Frenchman, obtained, in 1788, a large tract of land, including the present site of Dubuque. He there built a fort and traded with the Indians till 1810. The first permanent settlement was made at Burlington in 1833, by emigrants from Illinois. The same year, Dubuque was founded. This Territory belonged to the Louisiana tract and partook of its fortunes. It was successively a part of Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin Territories, but was organized separately in 1838. It then included all of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River, but when admitted as a State was reduced to its present limits.

WISCONSIN, the thirtieth State, was admitted to the Union May 29, 1848. Its name is derived from its principal river, and signifies "The gathering of the waters." It was explored by French missionaries and traders as early as 1639. Green Bay was founded in 1745. This region was also a part of the Northwestern Territory. It was comprised in the Territory of Illinois, then of Michigan, and in 1836 became a separate Territory.

CALIFORNIA, the thirty-first State, was admitted to the Union September 9, 1850 (see p. 190). Sir Francis Drake, in 1579, sailed along its coast, naming it New Albion, and visited San Francisco harbor (see p. 35). In 1769, the Spaniards established the mission of San Diego (de-a'-go), and in 1776 (the year of the Declaration of Independence), one at San Francisco.

[Footnote: In 1835, a shanty owned by one Richardson was the only human habitation and the vast bay was a solitude The first survey of streets and town lots was in 1839 The principal trade was in exporting hides and that was small. In 1846 an American man of war entered the harbor and took possession in the name of the United States. The town was known as Yerba Buena (good herb) until 1847 when it was changed to its present name. About that time it had a population of four hundred and fifty nine. The discovery of gold in 1848 gave the city its first start toward its present distinction. Within eighteen months following December 1849, the city lost by fire $16,000,000 of property though its population did not exceed thirty thousand. Such however, was the enterprise of its citizens that these tremendous losses scarcely interrupted its growth or prosperity. Its magnificent harbor and its railroad communications give it an extensive commerce on the Pacific Coast.]



In 1803, they had eighteen missions with over fifteen thousand converts, and the entire government of the country was in the hands of the Franciscan monks. The Mexican revolution, in 1822, overthrew the Spanish power in California, and in a few years the Franciscans were stripped of their wealth and influence. In 1831, the white population did not exceed five thousand. From 1843 to 1846, many emigrants from the United States settled in California, and, under the leadership of Fremont and others, wrested the country from Mexico (see p. 188). By the treaty at the close of the Mexican war, Upper California was ceded to the United States. It embraced about 450,000 square miles, comprising what is now known as California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and parts of Colorado and New Mexico. (Maps of IVth and VIth Epochs.)

MINNESOTA, the thirty-second State, was admitted to the Union May 11, 1858. It is so called from the river of that name, and signifies "Cloudy water." In 1680, La Salle and Hennepin penetrated this region. Other travelers followed, and within the present century the whole country has been thoroughly explored. Fort Snelling was established in 1819. St. Paul was settled in 1846 by emigrants from the East. The Territory of Minnesota was organized in 1849, with the Missouri and White rivers for its western boundary, thus embracing nearly twice the area of the present State. At this time its population was less than five thousand, consisting of whites and half-breeds settled about the various missions and trading-posts. In 1851, the Sioux ceded a large tract of land to the United States. After this, the population increased so rapidly that in six years Minnesota applied for admission into the Union.

OREGON, the thirty-third State, was admitted to the Union February 14, 1859. It is said to derive its name from the Spanish oregano, wild marjoram, abundant on its coast. It constituted a part of the Louisiana purchase, though for a long time little was known of this portion of that vast territory. In 1792, Captain Gray, of Boston, entered the river to which he gave the name of his ship, the Columbia. On his return, he made such a flattering report that there was a general desire to know more of the country. In 1804, the year after the Louisiana purchase, Jefferson sent an exploring party, under the command of Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clark, which followed the Missouri to its source and descended the Columbia to the Pacific. The history of their adventures is one of the most romantic of the century. An extensive fur-trade soon began. Fort Astoria was built in 1811 by the American Fur Company, of which John Jacob Astor was a prominent member. Hunters and trappers in the employ of American and British companies roamed over the whole region. Fort Vancouver was occupied by the Hudson Bay Company, a British organization, till 1860. In 1839, the first American emigration set toward this region. The danger of war which had seriously threatened its dawning prosperity was averted when the northwest boundary was settled by the treaty of 1846. In 1848, it was organized as a Territory, and included all the possessions of the United States west of the Rocky Mountains. In 1850, Congress granted three hundred and sixty acres to every man, and the same to his wife, on condition of residence on the land for four years. Eight thousand claims were made for farms. In 1853, Washington Territory was organized north of Columbia River. When Oregon was admitted as a State, it was reduced to its present limits.

KANSAS, the thirty-fourth State, was admitted to the Union January 29, 1861. The name is of Indian origin, and is said to mean "Smoky water." This region was also a part of the Louisiana purchase. After the States of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota had been carved from it, there was left a vast, unoccupied tract at the west, which was organized by the Kansas and Nebraska Act of 1854. The history of the strife which decided whether it should be slave or free has been narrated.



Summary of the History of the Fourth Epoch, arranged in Chronological Order.

1789. Washington inaugurated, April 30 1791. Vermont admitted to the Union, March 4 1792. Kentucky admitted to the Union, June 1 Discovery of Columbia River by Captain Gray, May 11 1793. Difficulties with Genet 1794. The Indians defeated by Wayne, August 20 Whisky insurrection 1795. Jay's treaty ratified, June 24 1796. Tennessee admitted to the Union, June 1 1797. John Adams inaugurated, March 4 1799. Washington died at Mount Vernon, December 14 1800. Capitol removed to Washington Treaty with France, September 30 1801. Thomas Jefferson inaugurated, March 4 War declared by United States against Tripoli, June 10 1802. Ohio admitted to the Union, November 29 1803. Louisiana purchased from France, April 30 Fleet sent against Tripoli 1804. Lieut. Decatur destroyed frigate Philadelphia, Feb. 15 Hamilton killed by Burr, July 11 1805. Treaty of peace with Tripoli, June 3 1807. The Chesapeake fired into by the Leopard, June 22 Embargo on American ships, December 22 Fulton first ascended the Hudson, September 14 1809. James Madison inaugurated, March 4 1811. Action between the President and the Little Belt, May 16 Battle of Tippecanoe, November 7 1812. Louisiana admitted to the Union, April 8 War declared against England, June 19 Hull invaded Canada, July 12 Mackinaw surrendered, July 17 Detroit surrendered, August 16 The Constitution captured the Guerriere, August 19 Battle of Queenstown, October 13 The Wasp captured the Frolic, October 13 1813. Battle of Frenchtown, January 22 Capture of York, April 27 Siege of Fort Meigs, May 1 Sackett's Harbor attacked, May 29 American frigate Chesapeake captured by the Shannon, June 1 1813. Battle of Fort Stephenson, Ohio, August 2, Massacre of Fort Mimms, August 30, Perry's victory on Lake Erie, September 10, Battle of the Thames, October 5, Battle of Chrysler's Field, November 11, 1814. Battle of Horse-shoe Bend (Tohopeka), March 27, Battle of Chippewa, July 5, Battle of Lundy's Lane, July 25, Washington captured by the British, August 24, Battle of Plattsburg and Lake Champlain, September 11, Bombardment of Fort McHenry, September 13, Hartford Convention, December 15, Treaty of Peace, December 24, 1815. Battle of New Orleans, January 8, War with Algiers, 1816. Indiana admitted to the Union, December 11, 1817. James Monroe inaugurated, March 4, Mississippi admitted to the Union, December 10, 1818. Illinois admitted to the Union, December 3, 1819. Alabama admitted to the Union, December 14, Florida purchased of Spain, February 22, 1820. Missouri Compromise passed, March 3, Maine admitted to the Union, March 15, 1821. Missouri admitted to the Union, August 10, 1824. Visit of La Fayette, August 15, 1825. John Quincy Adams inaugurated, March 4, 1826. Adams and Jefferson died, July 4, 1829. Jackson inaugurated, March 4, 1832. Black Hawk War, Nullification in South Carolina, 1835. Dade's massacre by the Seminoles, December 28, 1836. Arkansas admitted to the Union, June 15, 1837. Michigan admitted to the Union, January 26, Martin Van Buren inaugurated, March 4, Battle of Okechobee, Seminoles routed by Taylor, Dec. 25, 1837-8. The "Patriot War"—Canada, 1841. Wm. H. Harrison inaugurated, March 4, President Harrison died, April 4, John Tyler inaugurated, April 6, 1842. Dorr's Rebellion, 1845. Florida admitted to the Union, March 3, James K. Polk inaugurated, March 4 Texas admitted to the Union, December 27, 1846. Battle of Palo Alto, May 8, Battle of Resaca de la Palma, May 9, Congress declared war against Mexico, May 11, Monterey captured, September 24, Iowa admitted to the Union, December 28, 1847. Battle of Buena Vista, February 23, Vera Cruz captured, March 29, Battle of Cerro Gordo, April 18, Battle of Contreras, August 20, Capture of Chapultepec, September 13, Mexico surrendered, September 14, 1848. Treaty of peace with Mexico, February 2, Gold discovered in California, February, Wisconsin admitted to the Union, May 29, 1849. General Taylor inaugurated, March 5, 1850. General Taylor died, July 9, Millard Fillmore inaugurated, July 16, California admitted to the Union, September 9, 1853. Franklin Pierce inaugurated, March 4, 1854. Commodore Perry's treaty with Japan, March, Kansas-Nebraska Bill passed, May, 1857. James Buchanan inaugurated, March 4, 1858. Minnesota admitted to the Union, May 11, 1859. Oregon admitted to the Union, February 14, 1860. South Carolina seceded from the Union, December 20, 1861. Steamer Star of the West fired upon, January 9, Kansas admitted into the Union as a State, January 29, Southern Confederacy formed at Montgomery, Feb. 4,

* * * * *



REFERENCES FOR READING.

Lossing's Field Book of the War of 1812.—Lewis and Clarke's Journal.—Mackenzie's Life of Paul Jones. —Parton's Life of Jackson; also of Aaron Burr.—Cooper's History of the American Navy.—Irving's Astoria. —Powell's Life of Taylor.—Fremont's Explorations. —Benton's 30 Years View of Public Affairs. —Street and Reid's Osceola (Poem).—Ripley's War with Mexico.—Hull's Military and Civil Life. —Parker's Historic Americans.—Lossing's Eminent Americans.—McPherson's Political History of the United States.—Tome's Battles of America by Sea and Land. —Lowell's Bigelow Papers.—The Exiles of Florida, by Giddings.—Jay's Mexican War and Dawson's American Battle-fields.—"The Mississippi Scheme" in Mackay's Popular Delusions.—Mrs. John Adams's Correspondence. —Headley's Second War with England.—Whittier's Angel of Buena Vista (Poetry).—Randall's and Tucker's Lives of Jefferson.—Griswold's Court of Washington. —Clarke's Campaign of 1812.—Ingersoll's Second War with Great Britain—Wilson's Sketches of Illustrious Soldiers.—Martin's Civil Government (Constitution of U. S.).



EPOCH V.



THE CIVIL WAR.

From 1861—Inauguration of Lincoln, To 1865—Surrender of Lee's Army.



LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

[Footnote: Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, February 12, 1809; died in Washington, April 15, 1865. His father was unable to read or write, and his own education consisted of one-year's schooling. When he was eight years old his father moved to Indiana, the family floating down the Ohio on a raft. When nineteen years of age, the future President hired out as a hand on a flat-boat at $10 per month, and made a trip to New Orleans. On his return he accompanied the family to Illinois, driving the cattle on the journey. Having reached their destination he helped them to build a cabin, and to split rails to enclose the farm. He was now in succession a flat-boat hand, clerk, captain of a company of volunteers in the Black Hawk War, country store-keeper, postmaster, and surveyor, yet he managed to get a knowledge of law by borrowing books at an office before it closed at night, returning them at its opening in the morning. On being admitted to the bar, he rapidly rose to distinction. At twenty-five he was sent to the Legislature, and was thrice re-elected. Turning his attention to politics, he soon became a leader. He was sent to Congress; he canvassed the State, haranguing the people daily on great national questions; and, in 1858, he was candidate for Senator, a second time, against Stephen A. Douglas. The two rivals stumped the State together. The debate, unrivalled for its statesmanship, logic, and wit, won for Lincoln a national reputation, but he lost the election in the Legislature, his party being in the minority. After his accession to the Presidency, his history, like Washington's, is identified with that of his country. He was a tall, ungainly man, little versed in the refinements of society, but gifted by nature with great common sense, and everywhere known as "Honest Abe." Kind, earnest, sympathetic, faithful, democratic, he was anxious only to serve his country. His wan, fatigued face, and his bent form, told of the cares he bore, and the grief he felt. His only relief was when, tossing aside for a moment the heavy load of responsibility, his face would light up with a humorsome smile, while he narrated some incident whose irresistible wit and aptness to the subject at hand, convulsed his hearers, and rendered "Lincoln's stories" household words throughout the nation.]



(SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1861-1865)



[Footnote: Questions on the Geography of the Fifth Epoch. —Locate the following places noted as battle-fields. Names of places in italic letters, as well as the Battles before Richmond, may be found on pages—and—. Philippi. Big Bethel. Boonville (Booneville). Carthage. Rich Mountain. Bull Run. Wilson's Creek. Hatteras Inlet. Lexington, Mo. Ball's Bluff. Belmont. Port Royal. Mill Spring. Fort Henry. Roanoke Island. Fort Donelson. Pea Ridge. New Berne (Newberne). Winchester. Pittsburg Landing. Island No. 10. Fort Pulaski. Fort Jackson. Fort Macon. Beaufort. Yorktown. Williamsburg. Corinth. Fair Oaks. Mechanicsville. Gaines's Mill. Malvern Hill. Cedar Mountain. South Mountain. Antietam. Fredericksburg. Holly Springs. Murfreesboro. Galveston. Fort Sumter (see map, p—). Chancellorsville. Vicksburg. Gettysburg. Port Hudson. Chickamauga. Chattanooga. Knoxville. Fort de Russy. Sabine Cross Roads. Fort Pillow. Wilderness. Bermuda Hundred. Spottsylvania Court House. Resaca. Dallas. Cold Harbor. Lost Mountain. Petersburg. Atlanta. Mobile. Fort Gaines. Fort Morgan. Cedar Creek. Fort McAlister (or McAllister). Nashville. Savannah. Fort Fisher. Columbia. Goldsboro. Fort Steadman. Five Forks. Appomattox Court House. (The battles above are named in chronological order)]

INAUGURATION.—Rumor of a plan to assassinate Lincoln impelled him to come to Washington in disguise. He was inaugurated March 4, 1861, surrounded by troops under the command of General Scott.

CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY—All was now uncertainty. The southern officers in the army and navy of the United States were daily resigning, and linking their fortunes with the Confederate cause.

There was still, however, a strong Union sentiment at the South. Many prominent men in both sections hoped that war might be averted. The Federal authorities feared to act, lest they should precipitate civil strife. In striking contrast to this indecision was the marked energy of the new Confederate government. It was gathering troops, voting money and supplies, and rapidly preparing for the issue.

CAPTURE OF FORT SUMTER (April 14).—Finding that supplies were to be sent to Fort Sumter, General Peter G. T. Beauregard (bo-re-gard), who had command of the Confederate troops at Charleston, called upon Major Anderson to surrender. Upon his refusal, fire was opened from all the Confederate forts and batteries.

[Footnote: The first gun of the war was fired at half-past four o'clock Friday morning, April 12, 1861.]

This "strange contest between seventy men and seven thousand," lasted for thirty-four hours, no one being hurt on either side. The barracks having been set on fire by the shells, the garrison worn out, suffocated, and half-blinded, were forced to capitulate. They were allowed to retire with the honors of war, saluting their flag before hauling it down.

The Effect of this event was electrical. It unified the North and also the South. The war spirit swept over the country like wild-fire. Party lines vanished. The Union men at the South were borne into secession, while the republicans and democrats at the North combined for the support of the government, Lincoln issued a requisition for seventy-five thousand troops. It was responded to by three hundred thousand volunteers, the American flag, the symbol of Revolutionary glory and of national unity, being unfurled throughout the North. The military enthusiasm at the South was equally ardent. Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee, which had before hesitated, joined the Confederacy. Virginia troops seized the United States armory at Harper's Ferry, and the Navy Yard at Norfolk.

[Footnote: Here were foundries, ship-yards, machine shops, two thousand cannon, two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of gunpowder, great quantities of shot and shell, and twelve ships of war. The ships were scuttled or fired, but vast stores, which were of inestimable value at the beginning of the war, fell into the Confederate hands.]

Richmond, Va., was made the Confederate capital. Troops from the extreme South were rapidly pushed into Virginia, and threatened Washington. A regiment of Massachusetts militia hurrying to the defence of the national capital, was attacked in the streets of Baltimore, and several men were killed. Thus the first blood shed in the civil war was on April 19, the anniversary of Lexington and Concord.

[Footnote: A Union soldier who was shot in this affray, turned about, saluted the flag, and exclaiming, "All hail the stars and stripes!" fell lifeless.]



THE WAR IN VIRGINIA.



ARLINGTON HEIGHTS AND ALEXANDRIA

Were seized (May 24) by the national troops. This protected Washington from any immediate danger of attack.

[Footnote: Alexandria is on the southern side of the Potomac, eight miles below Washington. Arlington Heights are directly opposite the capital.]

[Footnote: Alexandria was occupied by Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth and his Zouaves. After the capture, seeing the Confederate flag still flying from the roof of a hotel, he went up and took it down. As he descended, he was shot at the foot of the stairs, by the landlord, Jackson, who in turn fell at the hands of private Brownell.]



FORTRESS MONROE Was now garrisoned by a heavy force under General B. F. Butler.

[Footnote: This is located at the entrance of the Chesapeake, and is the most formidable fortification in the United States. It covers over sixty acres of ground, and is nearly a mile in circuit. Its walls are of granite, thirty-five feet high. Its garrison, at this time, consisted of a small body of artillerists, under General Dimick.]

[Footnote: At Hampton, which had been occupied by the Confederates, some negroes were captured who had been employed in building fortifications. Butler declared them "contraband of war," and this gave rise to the popular term, "Contrabands."]

An expedition made soon after against Big Bethel was singularly mismanaged. On the route the troops fired into each other by mistake, and when they came to attack the Confederate defences, they were repulsed with loss.

[Footnote: In this attack, Major Theodore Winthrop, who had achieved some literary reputation, was killed; as was, also, Lieutenant Greble, who gave great promise as an officer.]

WESTERN VIRGINIA adhered to the Union, and was ultimately formed into a separate State. The Confederates, however, occupied it in force. The Federals, under General George B. McClellan, afterward commander of the Potomac army, defeated them at Philippi, Rich Mountain, and Carrick's Ford, thus wresting the entire State from their control. Shortly afterward, Governor Wise and General Floyd (President Buchanan's Secretary of War) led a Confederate force into that region; but Floyd was suddenly attacked by General Rosecrans at Carnifex Ferry, and, Wise failing to support him, was compelled to retreat. General Robert E. Lee, McClellan's future antagonist on the Potomac, having been repulsed at Cheat Mountain (September 14), now came to the rescue. Nothing decisive being effected, the Confederate government recalled their forces. The only Union victories of this year were achieved in this region (map opp. p.223).

BATTLE OF BULL RUN (July 21).—The Northern people, seeing so many regiments pushed forward to Washington, were impatient for an advance. The cry, "On to Richmond!" became too strong to be resisted. General Irvin McDowell, in command of the Army of the Potomac, moved to attack the main body of the Confederates, who were strongly posted under Beauregard at Bull Run.

[Footnote: This is near Manassas Junction about twenty-seven miles from Alexandria]

After a sharp conflict the Confederates were driven from the field. They were rallied, however, by General T. J. Jackson and others, on a plateau in the rear. While the Federal troops were struggling to drive them from this new position, at the crisis of the battle, seventeen hundred men, under Kirby Smith, rushing across the fields from Manassas Station, struck the Union flank and poured in a cross fire. The effect was irresistible. McDowell's men fled. As the fugitives converged toward the bridge in the rear, a shell burst among the teamsters' wagons, a caisson was overturned, and the passage choked. The retreat now became a panic-stricken rout. Traces were cut, cannon abandoned, mounted men went plunging through the struggling mass, and soldiers threw away their guns and ran streaming over the country, many never stopping till they were safe across the Long Bridge at Washington.

[Footnote: General Bee, as he rallied his men shouted 'There's Jackson standing like a stone wall' "From that time" says Draper "the name he had received in a baptism of fire displaced that he had received in a baptism of water and he was known as Stonewall Jackson."]



[Footnote: These troops composed a part of General Johnston's command at Winchester. General Patterson, with twenty thousand men, had been left to watch him, and prevent his joining Beauregard. Johnston was too shrewd for his antagonist, and, slipping out of his hands, reached Bull Run in time to decide the battle.]

The Effect of this defeat was momentous. At first the Northern people were chagrined and disheartened. Then came a renewed determination. They saw the real character of the war, and no longer dreamed that the South could be subdued by a mere display of military force. They were to fight a brave people—Americans—who were to be conquered only by a desperate struggle. Congress voted $500,000,000 and five hundred thousand men. General McClellan, upon whom all eyes were turned, on account of his brilliant campaign in Western Virginia, was appointed to the command of the Army of the Potomac.

[Footnote: Soon after, General Scott, weighed down by age, retired from active service, and General McClellan became General-in-Chief of all the armies of the United States.]

BALL'S BLUFF (October 21).—About two thousand Federals, who had crossed the Potomac at Ball's Bluff on a reconnoitering expedition, were attacked by the Confederates, and forced down the slippery, clayey bluff, fifty to one hundred and fifty feet high, to the river below. The two old scows in which they came were soon sunk, and, in trying to escape, many were drowned, some were shot, and scarcely half their number reached the other bank Colonel Baker, United States Senator from Oregon, was among the killed.

[Footnote: December 20, General E. O. C. Ord, having gone out on a foraging excursion to Dranesville, in a severe skirmish routed the Confederates. This little victory greatly encouraged the people at the North, who had been disheartened by the disastrous affair of Ball's Bluff.]



THE WAR IN MISSOURI.

This State was largely Union. The Convention had declined to pass an ordinance of secession; yet there was a strong effort made by Governor Jackson to preserve, at least, an armed neutrality. Captain Lyon foiled this attempt. He broke up Camp Jackson, saved the United States arsenal at St. Louis, and defeated Colonel Marmaduke at Booneville (June 17). General Sigel (se-gel), however, having been defeated by the Confederates in an engagement at Carthage (July 5), Lyon, now General, found that he must either fight the superior forces of Generals McCulloch and Price, or else abandon that part of the State. He chose the former course. At the head of about five thousand he attacked more than twice that number at Wilson's Creek (August 10). He fell, gallantly leading a bayonet charge. His men were defeated. Colonel Mulligan was forced to surrender Lexington after a brave defence. General John C. Fremont now assumed charge, and drove Price as far south as Springfield. Just as he was preparing for battle, he was replaced by General Hunter, who took the Union army back to St. Louis. Hunter was soon superseded by General Halleck, who crowded Price south to Arkansas. Later in the fall, General Grant made an unsuccessful attack upon a Confederate force which had crossed over from Kentucky and taken post at Belmont (map opp. p. 222).

[Footnote: The Confederates, in their final assault, fought behind a movable breastwork, composed of hemp-bales, which they rolled toward the fort as they advanced.]

[Footnote: Kentucky, like Missouri, had tried to remain neutral, but was unsuccessful. Soon both Confederate and Union troops were encamped on her soil, and the State was ravaged by hostile armies. In all the border States affairs were in a most lamentable condition. The people were divided in opinion, and enlisted in both armies. As the tide of war surged to and fro, armed bands swept through the country, plundering and murdering those who favored the opposite party.]

Early in the war, Davis issued a proclamation offering to commission privateers. In reply, Lincoln declared a blockade of the Southern ports. At that time there was but one efficient vessel on the Northern coast, and only forty-two ships in the United States navy; but at the close of the year there were two hundred and sixty-four.

[Footnote: The Savannah was the first privateer which got to sea, but this vessel was captured after having taken only a single prize. The Petrel, also from Charleston, bore down upon the United States frigate St. Lawrence, which the captain mistook for a merchant ship; his vessel was sunk by the first broadside of his formidable antagonist. The Sumter, under Captain Semmes, captured and burned a large number of Federal ships, but, at last, it was blockaded in the Bay of Gibraltar by a Union gunboat, and, being unable to escape, was sold.]

Two joint naval and military expeditions were made during the year. The first captured the forts at Hatteras Inlet, N. C. The second, under Commodore Dupont and General Thomas W. Sherman, took the forts at Port Royal Entrance, S. C., and Tybee island, at the mouth of the Savannah. Port Royal became the great depot for the Union fleet.

[Footnote: During this engagement the ships described a circle between the forts, each vessel delivering its fire as it slowly sailed by, then passing on, and another taking its place. The line of this circle was constantly changed to prevent the Confederates from getting the range of the vessels.]

THE TRENT AFFAIR.—England and France had acknowledged the Confederate States as belligerents, thus placing them on the same footing with the United States. The Southern people having, therefore, great hopes of foreign aid, appointed Messrs. Mason and Slidell commissioners to those countries. Escaping through the blockading squadron, they took passage at Havana on the British steamer Trent. Captain Wilkes, of the United States steamer San Jacinto, followed the Trent, took off the Confederate envoys, and brought them back to the United States. This produced intense excitement in England. The United States government, however, promptly disavowed the act and returned the prisoners.



GENERAL REVIEW OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR.—The Confederates had captured the large arsenals at Harper's Ferry and Norfolk. They had been successful in the two great battles of the year—Bull Run and Wilson's Creek; also in the minor engagements at Big Bethel, Carthage, Lexington, Belmont, and Ball's Bluff. The Federals had saved Fort Pickens* and Fortress Monroe, and had captured the forts at Hatteras Inlet and Port Royal. They had gained the victories of Philippi, Rich Mountain, Booneville, Carrick's Ford, Cheat Mountain, Carnifex Ferry, and Dranesville. They had saved to the Union Missouri, Maryland, and West Virginia. Principally, however, they had thrown the whole South into a state of siege—the armies on the north and west by land, and the navy in the east by sea, maintaining a vigilant blockade.

[Footnote: This fort was situated near Pensacola. Lieutenant Slemmer, seeing that an attack was about to be made upon him, transferred his men from Fort McRae, an untenable position, to Fort Pickens, an almost impregnable fortification, which he held until reinforcements arrived.]



1862.

THE SITUATION.—The national army now numbered 500,000; the Confederate, about 350,000. During the first year there had been random fighting; the war henceforth assumed a general plan. The year's campaign on the part of the North had three main objects: (1) the opening of the Mississippi; (2) the blockade of the Southern ports; and (3) the capture of Richmond.



THE WAR IN THE WEST.

The Confederates here held a line of defence with strongly fortified posts at Columbus, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Bowling Green, Mill Spring, and Cumberland Gap. It was determined to pierce this line near the centre, along the Tennessee River. This would compel the evacuation of Columbus, which was deemed impregnable, and open the way to Nashville (map opp p 222).

CAPTURE OF FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON.—Accordingly, General Giant with his army, and Commodore Foote with his gunboats, moved from Cairo (kay'-ro) upon Fort Henry.

[Footnote: As a part of the general movement, in January General Thomas had advanced against Mill Spring and on the 19th driven out the Confederate force at that place, with the loss of General Zolhcoffer (tsol'le ko-fer) a favorite Southern leader]

A bombardment (Feb. 6) from the gunboats reduced the place in about an hour. The land troops were to cut off the retreat; but as they did not arrive in time, the garrison escaped to Fort Donelson. The fleet now went back to the Ohio, and ascended the Cumberland, while Grant crossed to co-operate in an attack on Fort Donelson. The fight lasted three days.

[Footnote: For four nights of inclement winter weather, amid snow and sleet, with no tents, shelter, fire, and many with no blankets, these hardy western troops maintained their position. The wounded suffered intensely, and numbers of them froze to death as they lay on the icy ground.]

The fleet was repulsed by the fire from the fort, and Commodore Foote seriously wounded. Grant, having been reinforced till he had nearly thirty thousand men, defeated the Confederates in an attempt to cut their way out, and captured a part of their intrenchments. As he was about to make the final assault, the fort was surrendered (Feb. 16), with about fifteen thousand men.

[Footnote: When General Buckner, commander of the fort, wrote to General Grant, offering capitulation, Grant replied that no terms would be received except an "unconditional surrender," and that he "proposed to move immediately upon their works." These expressions have been much quoted, and U. S. Grant has been often said to signify "Unconditional Surrender Grant."]

Effect of these Victories.—As was expected, Columbus and Bowling Green were evacuated, while General Buell at once occupied Nashville. The Confederates fell back to Corinth, the great railroad centre for Mississippi and Tennessee, where their forces were gradually collected under the command of Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and Beauregard. The Union army ascended the Tennessee to Pittsburg Landing. Grant was placed in command, and General Buell ordered to reinforce him.

The next movement was to capture the Memphis and Charleston railroad, thus cutting off Memphis and securing another section of the Mississippi Eiver.

BATTLE OF SHILOH (April 6, 7).—The Confederates determined to rout Grant's army before the arrival of Buell. On Sunday morning, at daylight, moving out of the woods in line of battle, they suddenly fell on the Union camps.

[Footnote: On the very heels of the pickets, who rushed in to give the alarm, came the shells, and then, pouring at double-quick from the woods, the regular lines of battle. Whether or not this attack was a surprise, has been one of the mooted questions of the war. Le Comte de Paris said, "The surprise was complete and unquestionable; the Union commanders sought in vain to excuse themselves;" and it was currently stated at the time that so unexpected was the attack that many of the "men were bayoneted in their beds." On the other hand, General Sherman asserts that his "troops were in line of battle and ready" before the engagement began, and he personally assures the writer that after the battle he offered in vain a reward for the body of any person killed by a bayonet-wound. General Grant, also, denies that the attack was a surprise to him, and declares that so well satisfied was he with the result of the first day's struggle, that at night he gave orders for a forward movement early in the morning.]

On the one side were the Southern dash, daring, and vigor; on the other, the Northern firmness and determination. The Federals slowly yielded, but for twelve hours obstinately disputed every inch of the way. At last, pushed to the very brink of the river, Grant massed his artillery, and gathered about it the fragments of regiments for the final stand. The Confederates, to meet them, had to cross a deep ravine, where, struggling through the mud and water, they melted away under the fire of cannon and musketry from above, and the shells from the gunboats below. Pew reached the slippery bank beyond. At the same time, Buell's advance came shouting on the field. The tide of battle was stayed. The Confederates fell back. They possessed, however, all the substantial fruits of victory. They had taken the Union camps, three thousand prisoners, thirty flags, and immense stores; but they had lost their commander, General Albert Sidney Johnston, who fell in the heat of the action (map opp. p. 222).

The next morning the tide turned. Buell's army had come, and fresh troops were poured on the wearied Confederates. Beauregard, obstinately resisting, was driven from the field. He retreated, however, in good order, and, unmolested, returned to Corinth.

General Halleck now assumed command, and by slow stages followed the Confederates. Beanregard, finding himself outnumbered, evacuated Corinth, and Halleck took possession (May 30).

ISLAND NO. 10.—The Confederates, on retreating from Columbus, fell back to Island No. 10. There they were bombarded by Commodore Foote for three weeks, with little effect. General Pope, crossing the Mississippi in the midst of a fearful rain-storm, took the batteries on the opposite bank, and prepared to attack the fortifications in the rear. The garrison, seven thousand strong, surrendered (April 7) the very day of the conflict at Shiloh.

[Footnote: The islands in the Mississippi are numbered in order from the mouth of the Ohio to New Orleans.]

[Footnote: Pope, with his army, was on the Missouri side of the river. He could not cross, as the Confederate batteries were planted on the opposite shore. A canal was therefore dug through Donaldson's Point. It was twelve miles long and fifty feet wide. Part of the distance was among heavy timber, where the trees had to be cut off four feet below the surface of the water. Yet the work was accomplished in nineteen days. Through this canal steamboats and barges were safely transferred below the newly-made island, while the two largest gunboats ran the batteries. Under their protection Pope crossed the river.]



The Effects of the desperate battle at Shiloh were now fully apparent. The Union gunboats moved down the river and (May 10) defeated the Confederate iron-clad fleet. On the evacuation of Corinth, Fort Pillow was abandoned. The gunboats, proceeding, destroyed the Confederate flotilla in front of Memphis, took possession of that city, and secured the Memphis and Charleston railroad. The great State of Kentucky and all Western Tennessee had been wrenched from the Confederacy.

[Footnote: Besides the results here named, the concentration of troops at Corinth had absorbed the troops from the South. Thus New Orleans, as we shall see hereafter, fell an easy prey to Farragut.]

[Footnote: Gen. Halleck having been called to Washington as General-in-Chief of the armies of the United States, General Grant was appointed to the command of this army.]

The Union army now held a line running from Memphis, through Corinth, nearly to Chattanooga, toward which point General Buell was steadily pushing his troops. We shall next consider the efforts made by the Confederates to break through this line of investment. At this time they were concentrated under Bragg at Chattanooga, Price at Iuka, and Van Dorn at Holly Springs.

BRAGG'S EXPEDITION.—The first movement was made by General Bragg, who with rapid marches, hastened toward Louisville. General Buell fell back to Nashville, where he found out his enemy's plan. Now commenced a race between them of three hundred miles. Buell came out one day ahead. He was heavily reinforced to the number of one hundred thousand men. Bragg then fell back, Buell slowly following.

[Footnote: At Frankfort, Bragg was joined by the part of his army under Kirby Smith, who had marched from Knoxville, routed a Union force under General Manson at Richmond, Ky., inflicting a loss of six thousand, and had then moved north as far as Cynthiana. There he threatened to attack Cincinnati, but was repelled by the extensive preparation made by General Lew Wallace]

At Perryville (October 8), Bragg fiercely turned upon Buell, and a desperate battle was fought. In the darkness, however, Bragg retreated, and finally escaped, though his wagon train extended a distance of forty miles. At this juncture (October 31), General Buell was superseded by General Rosecrans.

BATTLES OF IUKA AND CORINTH (September 19, October 4).—Every one of Grant's veterans who could possibly be spared had been sent north to help Buell. Price and Van Dorn, taking advantage of the opportunity, were manoeuvring to get possession of Corinth. Grant, thinking that he could capture Price and then get back to Corinth before Van Dorn could reach it from Holly Springs, ordered Rosecrans to move upon Iuka. Through some mistake, Rosecrans failed to occupy Price's line of retreat, and after a severe conflict (Sept. 19), the latter escaped. Thereupon the two Confederate generals joined their forces, and attacked Rosecrans in his intrenchments at Corinth. The Confederates exhibited brilliant courage, but were defeated, and pursued forty miles with heavy loss.

[Footnote: The Texas and Missouri troops made a heroic charge upon Fort Robinette. They advanced to within fifty yards of the intrenchments, received a shower of grape and canister without flinching, and were driven back only when the Ohio brigade poured a full volley of musketry into their ranks. They were then rallied by Colonel Rogers, of the Second Texas, who, at their head, led them to a fresh charge up through the abattis, when, with the colors in his hand, he sprang upon the embankment and cheered on his men. An instant more and he fell, with five brave fellows who had dared to leap to his side in this desperate assault. The Union troops admiringly buried his remains, and neatly rounded off the little mound where they laid the hero to rest.]

BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO (December 31, January 2).—Rosecrans, on assuming command of Buell's army, concentrated his forces at Nashville. Thence he marched to meet Bragg, who, with a heavy column moving north on a second grand expedition, had already reached Murfreesboro (map opp. p. 222). Both generals had formed the same plan for the approaching contest.

[Footnote: This coincidence reminds one of the battle of Camden (see p. 133). The plan was to mass the strength on the left, and with that to fall upon and crush the enemy's right. The advantage clearly lay with the army which struck first. Bragg secured the initiative, and Rosecrans's only course was to give up all thought of an attack and to save his right and centre from a rout.]

As the Union left was crossing Stone River to attack the Confederate right, the strong Confederate left fell heavily on the weak Union right. At first the onset was irresistible. But Gen. Sheridan was there, and by his consummate valor held his ground until Rosecrans could recall the left, replant his batteries, and establish a new line. Upon this fresh front the Confederates charged four times, but were driven back with very great loss. Two days after, Bragg renewed the attack, but being unsuccessful, retreated. This was one of the bloodiest contests of the war, the loss being one-fourth of the number engaged.

The Effect of this Battle.—The attempt of the Confederates to recover Kentucky was now abandoned. The way was open for another Union advance on Chattanooga. Bragg's force was reduced from an offensive to a defensive attitude.

FIRST VICKSBURG EXPEDITION.—While Rosecrans was repelling this advance of Bragg, an expedition against Vicksburg had been planned by Grant. He was to move along the Mississippi Central Railroad, while Sherman was to descend the river from Memphis with the gunboats under Porter. In the meantime, however, by a brilliant cavalry dash, Van Dorn destroyed Grant's depot of supplies at Holly Springs. This spoiled the whole plan. Sherman, ignorant of what had happened, pushed on, landed up the Yazoo River, and made an attack at Chickasaw Bayou (bi-yoo), north of Vicksburg. After suffering a bloody repulse, and learning of Grant's misfortune, he fell back. The capture of Arkansas Post (Jan. 11, 1863) by a combined army and naval force, closed the campaign of 1862 on the Mississippi Eiver.

THE WAR IN MISSOURI.—In February, General Curtis pushed General Price out of Missouri into Arkansas. The Confederates, by great exertion, increased their army to twenty thousand—General Van Dorn now taking command. General Curtis, in a desperate battle, totally defeated him at Pea Ridge (March 7, 8). During the rest of the war no important battles were fought in this State.

[Footnote: Some four or five thousand Indians had joined the Confederate army, and took part in this battle. They were difficult to manage, says Pollard, in the deafening roar of the artillery, which drowned their loudest war-whoops. They were amazed at the sight of guns which ran around on wheels; annoyed by the falling of the trees behind which they took shelter; and, in a word, their main service was in consuming rations.]

[Footnote: The next year, Quantrell, a noted guerrilla, with three hundred men, entered Lawrence, Kansas, plundered the bank, burned houses, and murdered one hundred and forty persons. Before a sufficient force could be gathered, he escaped.]



THE WAR ON THE SEA AND THE COAST.

CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS (April 25).—The effort to open the Mississippi was not confined to the north. Early in the spring, Captain Farragut, with a fleet of forty-four vessels, carrying eight thousand troops under General Butler, attempted the capture of New Orleans, which commands the mouth of the river. The mortar-boats, anchored along the bank under the shelter of the woods, threw thirteen-inch shells into Forts Jackson and St. Philip for six days and nights, with little effect.

[Footnote: To conceal the vessels, they were dressed out with leafy branches, which, except by close observation, rendered them undistinguishable from the green woods. The direction had been accurately calculated, so that the gunners did not need to see the points towards which they were to aim. So severe was the bombardment that "windows at the Balize, thirty miles distant, were broken. Fish, stunned by the explosion, lay floating on the surface of the water."]

Farragut then boldly resolved to carry the fleet past the defences to New Orleans. A chain supported on hulks and stretched across the river closed the channel. An opening broad enough to admit the passage of the gunboats having been cut through this obstruction, at three o'clock in the morning (April 24) they advanced, and poured grape and canister into the forts at short range, receiving in return heavy volleys from the forts and batteries on shore.

[Footnote: The vessels were made partly iron-clad by looping two layers of chain cables over their sides, and their engines were protected by bags of sand, coal, etc.]

After running a fearful gauntlet of shot, shell, and the flames of fire-rafts, they next encountered the Confederate fleet of thirteen armed steamers, including the steam-battery Louisiana and the iron-plated ram Manassas. After a desperate struggle twelve of the Confederate flotilla were destroyed. The fleet then steamed up to New Orleans, which lay helpless under the Union guns. The forts being now threatened in the rear by the army, soon surrendered. Captain Farragut afterward ascended the river, took possession of Baton Rouge and Natchez, and, running the batteries at Vicksburg, joined the Union fleet above.

[Footnote: Steamers, ships, vast quantities of cotton, etc., were burned by the order of the governor of Louisiana, and the military commander of the Confederate States, to prevent their falling into Federal hands. Pollard says: "No sooner had the Federal fleet turned the point and come within sight of the city, than the work of destruction commenced. Vast columns of smoke darkened the face of heaven and obscured the noonday sun; for five miles along the levee fierce flames darted through the lurid atmosphere. Great ships and steamers wrapped in fire floated down the river, threatening the Federal vessels with destruction. Fifteen thousand bales of cotton, worth one million and a half of dollars, were consumed. About a dozen large river steamboats, twelve or fifteen ships, a great floating battery, several unfinished gunboats, the immense ram Mississippi, and the docks on the other side of the river, were all embraced in the fiery sacrifice."]



BURNSIDE'S EXPEDITION AGAINST ROANOKE ISLAND

Was an important step toward the enforcement of the blockade. The Confederate forts were captured, and the ships destroyed. Newbern—an excellent seaport—Elizabeth City, and, finally, Fort Macon, at the entrance to Beaufort harbor, were taken. Thus all the coast of North Carolina, with its intricate network of water communication, fell into the Union hands.

[Footnote: Roanoke Island, the scene of Raleigh's colonization scheme, was the key to the rear defences of Norfolk "It unlocked two sounds, eight rivers, four canals, and two railroads" It controlled largely the transmission of supplies to that region afforded an excellent harbor and a convenient rendezvous for ships, and exposed a country to attack]

FLORIDA AND GEORGIA EXPEDITIONS.—After its capture in the autumn of 1861, Port Royal became the base of operations against Florida and Georgia. Fernandina, Fort Clinch, Jacksonville, Darien, and St. Augustine, were taken. Fort Pulaski, also, was reduced after a severe bombardment, and thus the port of Savannah was closed. At the end of the year every city of the Atlantic sea-coast, except Savannah and Charleston, was held by the Federal armies.

THE MERRIMAC AND THE MONITOR.—About noon, March 8, the long-looked-for iron-clad Merrimac, convoyed by a fleet of small vessels, steamed into Hampton Roads. Steering directly for the sloop-of-war Cumberland, whose terrific broadsides glanced harmlessly "like so many peas" from the Merrimac's iron roof, she struck her squarely with her iron beak, making a hole large enough for a man to enter. The Cumberland, with all on board, went down.

[Footnote: As the Cumberland sank, the crew continued to work their guns until the vessel plunged beneath the sea. Her flag was never struck, but floated above the water from the mast-head after she had gone down. ]

[Footnote: When the United States navy-yard at Norfolk was given up, the steam-frigate Merrimac, the finest in the service, was scuttled. The Confederates afterward raised this vessel, razed the deck, and added an iron prow and a sloping roof made of railroad iron. The ship thus prepared looked not unlike a great house sunk in the water to the eaves. The Federals knew that the Merrimac was fitting for battle, and her coming was eagerly expected. ]

Warned by the fate of the Cumberland, the captain of the frigate Congress ran his vessel ashore, but the Merrimac, taking a position astern, fired shells into the frigate till the helpless crew were forced to surrender. At sunset, the Merrimac returned to Norfolk, awaiting, the next day, an easy victory over the rest of the Union fleet. All was delight and anticipation among the Confederates; all was dismay and dismal foreboding among the Federals. That night the Monitor arrived in harbor.

[Footnote: This "Yankee cheese-box," as it was nicknamed at the time, was the invention of Captain Ericsson. It was a hull, with the deck a few inches above the water, and in the centre a curious round tower made to revolve slowly by steam power, thus turning in any direction the two guns it contained The upper part of the hull, which was exposed to the enemy's fire, projected several feet beyond the lower part, and was made of thick white oak, covered with iron plating six inches thick on the sides and two inches on deck]

Though of but nine hundred tons burden, she prepared to meet her adversary of five thousand. Early in the morning the Merrimac appeared, moving toward the steam-frigate Minnesota. Suddenly, from under her lee, the Monitor darted out, and hurled at the monster two one hundred and sixty-eight pound balls. Startled by the appearance of this unexpected and queer-looking antagonist, the Merrimac poured in a broadside, such as the night before had destroyed the Congress, but the balls rattled harmlessly off the Monitor's turret, or broke and fell in pieces on the deck.



Then began the battle of the iron ships. It was the first of the kind in the world. Close against each other, iron rasping on iron, they exchanged their heaviest volleys. Five times the Merrimac tried to run down the Monitor, but her huge beak only grated over the iron deck, while the Monitor glided out unharmed. Despairing of doing anything with her doughty little antagonist, the Merrimac now steamed back to Norfolk.

[Footnote: As the Merrimac drew off she hurled a last shot, which, striking the Monitor's pilot-house, broke a bar of iron nine by twelve inches, seriously injuring the eyes of the gallant commander, Lieutenant Worden, who was at that moment looking out through a narrow slit and directing the fire of his guns]

The Effect of this contest can hardly be overestimated. Had the Merrimac triumphed, aided by other iron vessels then preparing by the Confederacy, she might have destroyed the rest of the Union fleet in Hampton Roads, reduced Fortress Monroe, prevented the Peninsular campaign (see below), steamed up the Potomac and terrified the capital, sailed along the coast and broken up the blockade, swept through the shipping at New York, opened the way for foreign supplies, made an egress for cotton, and perhaps secured the acknowledgment of the Confederacy by European nations. On this battle hinged the fate of the war.



THE WAR IN THE EAST.

THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.-Kichmond was here the objective point. It having been decided to make the advance by way of the Peninsula, the Army of the Potomac was carried in transports down the river from Washington. Landing at Fortress Monroe about one hundred thousand strong (April 4), they marched toward Yorktown.

[Footnote: Previous to this (March 10), McClellan made an advance toward Manassas, where the Confederates had remained intrenched since McDowell's defeat. The fortifications, which were evacuated on his approach, were found to be quite insignificant, and to be mounted partly with "Quaker guns," i. e., logs shaped and painted to imitate artillery. This incident excited much ridicule through the country.]

Siege of Yorktown.—At this place, General Magruder, with only about five thousand men, by his masterly skill maintained so bold a front along a line thirteen miles in length, that McClellan was brought to a stop. Heavy guns were ordered from Washington, and a regular siege was begun. As McClellan was ready to open fire, Magruder, having delayed the Union army a month, quietly retired. When the movement was discovered, a vigorous pursuit was commenced.

[Footnote: On the evacuation of Yorktown—the Confederate forces being concentrated for the defence of Richmond-Norfolk was abandoned, the Navy Yard burned, and the Merrimac, the pride of the South, blown up. United States troops from Fortress Monroe took possession of the city, and gunboats sailed up James River as far as Fort Darling. Here a plunging fire from the bluff forbade further advance.]



Battle of Williamsburg (May 5).—The Confederate rearguard, now reinforced from Johnston's army at Richmond, stopped in the forts at Williamsburg to gain time for the baggage train and a fierce battle at once ensued.

[Footnote: This was General Joseph E. Johnston, who so unexpectedly brought his men to take part in the battle of Bull Run (p. 220). He was wounded in the battle of Seven Pines, but appeared again in two campaigns against Sherman (pp. 257, 272). General Albert Sidney Johnston was killed in the battle of Shiloh (p. 226).]

General Hooker, "Fighting Joe," with his division, maintained the contest for nine hours. Other troops at last arrived on the bloody field, and, Williamsburg having been evacuated in the night, the pursuit was continued to within seven miles of Richmond.

Richmond Threatened.—There was a great panic in that city, and the Confederate Congress hastily adjourned. Everything looked like an immediate attack, when McClellan discovered that a Confederate force was at Hanover Court House. This threatened his communications by rail with White House Landing, and also with General McDowell, who, with thirty thousand men, was marching from Fredericksburg to join him. General Fitz John Porter, after a sharp skirmish, captured Hanover Court House. The army looked now hourly for McDowell's aid in the approaching great contest. "McClellan's last orders at night were that McDowell's signals were to be watched for and without delay reported to him" But General Johnston was too shrewd to permit this junction. He accordingly ordered General Jackson to move up the Shenandoah Valley and threaten Washington.

Jackson in the Shenandoah.—Stonewall Jackson having been reinforced by General Ewell's division of ten thousand men, hurried down the valley after Banks at Strasburg. The Union troops fell back, and by tremendous exertion—"marching thirty-five miles in a single day"—succeeded in escaping across the Potomac. Great was the consternation in Washington. The President took military possession of all the railroads. The governors of the Northern States were called upon to send militia for the defence of the capital. Fremont at Franklin, Banks at Harper's Ferry, and McDowell at Fredericksburg, were ordered to capture Jackson. It was high time for this dashing leader to be alarmed. He rapidly retreated, burning the bridges as he passed. Fremont brought him to bay at Cross Keys (June 8), but was hurled off. Shields struck at him at Port Republic, the next day, but was driven back five miles, while Jackson made good his escape from the Shenandoah Valley, having burned the bridges behind him.

[Footnote: When the Federal forces took possession of the bridge over the Shenandoah, Jackson and his staff were on the south side, his army being on the north side. It is said that "he rode toward the bridge, and rising in his stirrups, called sternly to the Federal officer commanding the artillery placed to sweep it: 'Who ordered you to post that gun there, sir? Bring it over here!'" The bewildered officer bowed, limbered up his piece, and prepared to move. Jackson and his staff seized the lucky moment and dashed across the bridge before the gun could be brought to bear upon them.]

The Effect of this adroit movement was evident. With fifteen thousand men, Jackson had occupied the attention of three major-generals and sixty thousand men, prevented McDowell's junction, alarmed Washington, and saved Richmond.

Battle of Fair Oaks (May 31, June l).—While these stirring events had been going on in the Shenandoah Valley, McClellan had pushed his left wing across the Chickahominy. A terrible storm had flooded the swamps, turned the roads to mud, and converted the Chickahominy Creek into a broad river. Johnston seized the opportunity to fall with tremendous force upon the exposed wing. At first, the Confederates swept all before them, but General Sumner throwing his men across the tottering bridges over the Chickahominy, checked the column which was trying to seize the bridges and thus separate the two portions of the army. General Johnston was severely wounded. Night put an end to the contest. In the morning, the Confederates renewed the attack, but the loss of their general was fatal, and they were repulsed in great disorder.

The Union Army Checked.—General Lee, who now took command of the Confederate army, was anxious to assume the offensive.

[Footnote: Robert Edward Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia, Jan. 19, 1807; died in Lexington, Oct. 12, 1870. His father, Henry Lee, was the celebrated "Light-horse Harry" of Revolutionary fame. Robert early evinced a love for a military life, and during his West Point course became noted for his devotion to his studies. In the Mexican war he was Scott's chief engineer, and was thrice brevetted for his services. When Virginia seceded, he threw in his fortunes with his native State, although Scott had already intimated his intention of nominating him as his successor. Lee was immediately appointed major-general of the Virginia forces, and was soon after designated to fortify Richmond. The wonderful success he achieved in the Seven-Days fight made "Uncle Robert," as he was familiarly called, the most trusted of the Confederate leaders. For three years he baffled every attempt to take Richmond, which fell only with the government of which it was the capital, and the army and general which were its defence. General Lee was handsome in face and figure, a graceful rider, grave and silent in deportment—just the bearing to captivate a soldier; while his deep piety, truth, sincerity, and honesty won the hearts of all.]

General Stuart led off (June 12) with a bold cavalry raid, in which he seized and burned supplies along the railroad leading to White House, made the entire circuit of the Union army, and returned to Richmond in safety. McClellan also meditated an advance, and Hooker had pushed his pickets within sight of the Richmond steeples.

At this moment, there came news of the "same apparition which had frightened Banks" in the Shenandoah. Stonewall Jackson had appeared near Hanover Court House, and threatened the Union communications with White House. There was no longer any thought of moving on Richmond. Hooker was recalled. McClellan resolved to "change his base" of supply from the York River to the James.



The Seven-Days Battles.—The very morning McClellan came to this decision, and ere the flank movement had commenced, Lee, massing his strength on his left, fell upon the Union right at Mechanicsville (June 26). Having repulsed this attack, at dawn the troops retired to Gaines's Mill, where by the most desperate exertions Porter held the bridges across the Chickahominy until night, and then, burning them, withdrew to the south bank. That night (June 28) Lee detected McClellan's movement, and instantly started columns along the roads that intersected the line of retreat. Magruder struck the Federal flank (June 29) at Savage's Station. The Union troops maintained their position till night, and then continued the movement. Longstreet and Hill encountered the line of march as it was passing Frazier's Farm (June 30), but could not break it. During the darkness, the Union troops, worn out by the constant marching or fighting and the terrible heat and dust, collected at Malvern. On an elevated plateau rising in the form of an amphitheatre, on whose sloping sides were arranged tier upon tier of batteries, with gunboats protecting the left, the broken fragments of the splendid Army of the Potomac made their last stand (July 1). Here Lee received so bloody a check that he pressed the pursuit no further. The Union troops retired undisturbed to Harrison's Landing.

The Effect of this campaign was a triumph for the Confederates. The Union retreat had been conducted with skill, the troops had shown great bravery and steadiness, the repulse at Malvern was decided, and Lee had lost probably twenty thousand men; yet the siege of Richmond had been raised, ten thousand prisoners captured, immense stores taken or destroyed, and the Union army was now cooped up on James Kiver, under the protection of the gunboats. The discouragement at the North was as great as after the battle of Bull Run. Lincoln called for a levy of three hundred thousand troops.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST POPE.—Richmond being relieved from present peril, Lee threatened to march his victorious army against Washington. General Pope, who commanded the troops for the defence of that city, was stationed at the Rapidan. General McClellan was directed to transfer his army to Acquia Creek (see map), and put it under the command of General Pope. Lee, now relieved from all fear for Richmond, immediately massed his troops against Pope to crush him before the Army of the Potomac could arrive.

[Footnote: In the meantime Jackson attacked Banks at Cedar Mountain (August 9) and defeated him after a bloody battle, but, unable to maintain his position, fell back on Lee's advancing army. Pope, seeing the fearful odds against which he was to contend, took post behind the Rappahannock.]