THE CASE OF VALLANDIGHAM. 123 rankled in the hearts of a few which that few strove to impart to the mass: only by exciting the mass against the Government could the few hope to become, once more, a political power. Following up this meeting, and the further to organize their partisans, the Democratic members of the New York Legislature, April 28th, 1863, issued an address most artfully concocted to catch the popular ear, but which, as a whole, was not less full of treasonable intent than the expressions of the New York City meeting. The Case of Vallandigham. An event occurred in Ohio which served as a lever to move the disaffect ed to unity in their efforts against the Administration. This was the arrest of C. L. Vallandigham—a member of the thirtyseventh Congress, A recognized leader of the disloyal element, and in sympathy with the secession cause, this man presumed so far upon his rights of free speech as to deliver addresses to assemblies of his partisans, designed not only to alienate the people from the Government, but to excite them to open antagonism. For these expressions he was arrested early in May, by order of General Burnside, then commanding the Department of the Ohio, and, being tried by a military tribunal (court martial), after a long investigation he was sentenced to close imprisonment during the war. This arrest and trial by a military court was in virtue of Burnside's order of April 3d, wherein the Department commander announced: "All persons found within our lines who commit acts for the benefit of the enemies of our country, will be tried as spies or traitors, and, if convicted, will suffer death. "The habit of declaring sympathies for the enemy will not be allowed in this Department. Persons committing such offenses will be at once arrested with a view to being tried, as above stated, or sent beyond our lines into the lines of their friends. "It must be distinctly understood, that treason, expressed or implied, will not be tolerated in this Department." That the speeches made by Vallandigham rendered him fully amenable to the penaltics of the above order, was not denied. Entrenching himself behind his inalienable right to The Case of Vallandigham. say what he pleased, the accused and his friends plead the unconstitutional and purely arbitrary nature of his arrest and trial. The military court, however, assuming cognizance over the case by reason of its contravention of the Department commander's order, instituted the trial and condemned the prisoner as noted. This finding the President endorsed, but commuted the sentence into an order that Vallandigham be sent through the rebel lines; in case of any return therefrom the original sentence was to be enforced. The prisoner was, thereupon, sent through the lines, into the enemy's country. Refusing while there to affiliate with the Confederates, or to accede to their demands, he was held as a prisoner of war on parole, and, seeking the coast at Wilmington, ran the blockade to Nassau, from whence he made his way to Halifax and Canada. The excitement which followed this arrest and banishment was intense. It brought up afresh the rights of the citizen, the power of military arrests, the jurisdiction of military courts, etc. The Democracy beheld in it a fresh invasion of despotic power, and so cxpressed itself, in numerous mass-meetings, That party action by committees, etc., etc. in Ohio hastened to express its affinities and nominated Vallandigham as its candidate for Governor of the State, at the then approaching election. In the East the affair lent fresh strength to the efforts of those leaders bent upon creating an open breach with the Government. The "Regency" at Albany, speaking for the "Union Democracy," called and held a very la: ge meeting, May 16th, at which resolutions were passed condemning the arrest and military procedure as a tyrannous exercise of power, highly dangerous to the liberties of the people, etc. The closing resolve read: "Resolved That in the election of Governor Seymour, the people of this State, by an emphatic majority, declared their condemnation of the system of arbitrary arrests and their determination to stand by the Constitution. That the revival of this lawless system can have but one result: to divide and dis tract the North, and destroy its confidence in the purposes of the Administration. That we deprecate it as an element of confusion at home, of weakness to our armies in the field, and as calculated to lower designed as a representative document and published as a text with which to fight the political campaign of 1863, received its most emphatic reply at the ballot box. The Democratic candidate was beaten by a majority of more than one hundred thousand, counting the soldiers' vote, or of more than sixty thousand counting the home vote! Public Disquietude. This controversy, occurring at a most exciting moment of the National fortunes, when Lee was thundering at the gates of the great Northern capitals, and the public mind was disquieted to an alarming degree, happily illustrated the confident, resolute nature of the President; while the tenacity and bitterness with which the subject was canvassed by many so called Democratic papers, as well as by numerous prominent leaders of that party, cannot fail, in the future, to reflect discredit upon their patriotism, and distrust of their motives. the estimate of American character and magnify the apparent peril of our cause abroad. And that. regarding the blow struck at a citizen of Ohio as aimed at the rights of every citizen of the North, we denounce it as against the spirit of our laws and Constitution, and most earnestly call upon the Presi dent of the United States to reverse the action of the military tribunal which has passed a cruel and unusual punishment' upon the party arrested, prohibited in terms by the Constitution, and to restore him to the liberty of which he has been deprived." A copy of these being submitted to the President, with the request that he would give them his earnest consideration, Mr. Lincoln replied, under date of June 12th, reviewing the case at length. Involving a discussion of the question of arbitrary arrests, suspe sion of the writ of habeas corpus, power of military tribunals to punish crimes of the citizen, etc., etc., we elsewhere* give the President's reply at length. It was a most lucid an admirable State Paper, which, if it did not appease the clamor of the malcontents, nor quiet the apprehensions of those who The rapid series of ill-successes which atjealously adhered to the letter of the law intended the operations of armies in the East, the conduct of the war, sufficed to justify the Administration in the eyes of its friends.† Vallandigham, having ran the blockade and taken up his quarters in Canada, addressed his Ohio constituents and the country, discussing the question of his rights and This address, (dated July 15th,) wrongs. * See Appendix, page 518. + The President became involved in a discussion of the question of arbitrary arrests, etc., with the Ohio State Convention's Committee, in which the correspondence terminated by the Executive's promise to restore Vallandigham to his liberty upon certain pledges being made by the Committee, which were, in effect, that to recognise the existence of a rebellion, and the army and navy as the constitutional means to suppress it; to do nothing which might tend to hinder the increase or favor the decrease of the Federal forces, etc. etc. The committee declined to enter into any bargains, terms, contracts or conditions," regarding "the proffer as involving an imputation on their sincerity and fidelity as citizens of the United States''-they "asked the revocation of the order of banishment, not as a favor, but as a right," etc., etc. Mr. V. was, therefore, constrained to tarry in Canada,until several months later, when, considering the favorable condition of the Federal cause, it was no longer dangerous to the peace to permit his return. and the want of success in prosecuting the campaigns in the West, while they did not depress the truly loyal, yet added to the complications of the hour. Disquietude existed in all circles. The growing disaffection of the foreign element, in consequence of the incendiary appeals and mischievous sentiments of the journals and orators referred to, produced a feeling of danger totally unconnected with the Union cause in the field. The occasion of the National enrolment and draft, ordered in July, was seized upon by those inimical to the Government to excite a public resistance to its enforcement, and, so successful were those emissaries of discontent that, had Lee sustained himself at Gettysburg, there must have been an uprising in the North that would have filled the land with mourning and terror. Meade's comparative victory was, also, a death blow to the friends of disorder in the loyal States; and if that commander can urge, in justification of his cautious conduct of the campaign, his full knowledge of the evils attendant upon a Federal defeat, he is entrenched behind an argument which must excuse much of his seeming incertitude of action. The final grand success of Grant; the fail THE NEW YORK CITY RIOTS. 125 The New York City The New York City of Port Hudson; the advance of Rosecrans to show you a test of my and the retreat of Bragg in lower Tennessee; frien ship.* I wish to inLee's repulse at Gettysburg-all following form you that I have sent rapidly, early in July, gave to the Union off my Adjutant General to Washington, to cause a buoyancy which, for a while, rendered confer with the authorities there, to have this intolerable all disloyal expressions, and of draft suspended and stopped." This was all fenders against the popular sympathy were —not a word to the offenders; but kind assummarily quieted. But, in the large cities, surance that their wrongs should be righted! where the foreign born element was concen- adding the humiliating, most dangero s contrated and powerful, there was evidence fession that, "the safe keeping of persons and enough of the power for evil yet existing; property rests with you." "It is your duty and when an order for the draft to begin was to maintain the good order of the city, and I made, there came with it the certainty of know you will do it." The whole address bloodshed in its enforcement. waз an amazing exhibition of partisan devotion and want of courage to discharge an imperative duty. It becoming evident that to the military alone could the people look for permanent relief, on the second and third days boaies of troops from the forts, and the National Guard (local militia) were thrown into the streets. These, co-operating with the powerful police force, drove the mob to certain districts, shooting those whose blind fury led them to further acts of violence toward persons. It was not until several days had elapsed, however, that the riot was fully subdued and the municipal law-officers were able to commence the process of arrest. Over one thousand men, it is estimated, perished by this lawless outbreak and the efforts for its suppression. July 13th, the wheel was set in motion in New York city; but, ere a hundred names had been called the mob rushed in, seized and destroyed the enrolment lists then fired the premises. Forewarned of the threats to suppress the draft, the Chief of Police and a large squad of his men were present, to preserve the peace; but, before the infuriate mob, composed chiefly of Irishmen, the officers of the law were powerless. With this initial act the spirit of violence broke loose, and for three days raged with sanguinary fury. Citizens of well known loyal sympathies-"Black Republicans"--were chased down, or driven off by "warnings"; the negro population of New York and vicinity was hunted down like wild beasts, and murdered, in some cases, with the most heart-rending cruelty; dwellings were plundered and fired; the spacious and costly negro Orphan Asylum was sacked and given up to the flames, amid an orgie of devils incarnate; everywhere, in the city, reigned terror; work was suspended, crowds gathered, American flags mysteriously disappeared: it was a carnival of ferocity and passion, wherein ten thousand Irishmen were deaf, alike to the calls of their priests, the appeals of their friends, the threats of the law and the cries of the unoffending sufferers. For three days and nights this reign of terror was unabated. Governor Seymour appearing on the ground on the second day, did nothing This most disgraceful episode found its only excuse in the "injustice of the excessive quota levied by the tyranny of a National draft;" but, after all, that excuse was so flimsy as a pretext that few cared to plead it in justification of the atrocities committed. The riot was but a vent to the earthquake of passion fomented by the leaders and journals already noticed, and may be regarded, simply and purely, as an expression of the more ignorant and brutal element of the "opposition." This must be the verdict of any dispassionate inquirer who seeks for the truth beneath the surface of events. * Seymour was, in fact, only chosen by the vote of the "terrible Wards," in New York City. to allay the fierce spirit of the riot. Address-Through the State the vote was heavily against him; ing the mob as my friends," he simply assured them that justice should be done them! "You have been my friends, and now I assure you, my fellow-citizens, that I am here but the vice, crime, ignorance and liquor of the great Metropolis gave him the majority which elected him. Therefore, in calling that blood stained mob his 'friends," he repeated what was expected of him. Efforts to Suspend the Draft. As promised by Governor Seymour, attempts were made to procure a suspension of the draft-the reasons urged being, first, the unconstitutionality of the Conscription Act, and, second, the excessive quota assigned to the cities of the State. In his communication (of August 3d) on the subject, to the President, the Democratic Governor not only demanded the postponement to abide the test of the courts, but threatened as well: "I do not dwell," he said, "upon what I believe would be the consequence of a violent, harsh policy, before the constitutionality of the Act is tested. You can scan the immediate future as well as I. The temper of the people of to-day you can readily learn." The President's reply, characterised by kindness and firmness, gave the Governor no hope to expect a cessation of conscription at that most critical hour, when every available man was needed in the rauks. "I do not object," the Executive wrote, "to abide the decision of the United States Supreme Court, or of the Judges thereof, or the constitutionality of the draft law. In fact, I should be willing to facilitate the obtaining of it. But I cannot consent to lose the time while it is being obtained. We are contending with an enemy who, as I understand, drives every able bodied man he can reach into his ranks, very much as a butcher drives his bullocks into a slaughter-pen. * It produces an army with a rapidity not to be matched on our side, if we first waste time to re-experiment with the volunteer system, already by Congress deemed, and palpably in fact so far exhausted as to be inadequate; and then more time to obtain a Court decision as to whether the law is constitutional; * and still more time to determine with absolute certainty that we get those, who are to go, in precisely the exact proportion to those who are not to go." * ** those bad localities from whence his elective majority came. Efforts to Restore Mo Clellan to Command. Wednesday, August 19th, the wheel was again set in motion in the revolutionary districts of New York city. No effort at disturbance was made. General Dix, summoned from Fortress Munroe, was placed in command of a large force, quietly thrown into the forts of the harbor. August 17th he issued an Address to the Citizens of New York, setting forth the necessity for the draft, the duty of the people to submit to it, its perfect propriety and constitutionality, etc., at the same time stating that he was prepared to punish any who presumed to interfere with the officers deputed to draw the names. The excellent tone of this document, coming as it did from an old citizen of New York and a Democrat, had a very soothing effect upon the troubled temper of the turbulently inclined. Backed up, as the General was, by twenty thousand troops from Meade's army, only too eager to be permitted to deal with the malcontents, to have attempted a second riot would have incurred a speedy death. Among other influences against which the President was called to contend, was the one which had for its object a restoration of General McClellan to command of the Army of the Potomac. Hooker's defeat at Chancellor's gave fresh power to the old feuds, in and out of the army, excited by McClellan's deposition; and when Lee's invasion of the North was announced, the clamor for the change took shape in public meetings in various cities, in the action of Common Councils, etc., etc. The New York Board of Aldermen by only two negative votes, July 2d, requested the President to recall the deposed officer, and "place him in the position which the crisis demands"— meaning, thereby, the old position of Generalin-Chief. The Philadelphia Select and Common Councils "resolved" "that we have unbounded confidence in the patriotism, integrity and military capacity of Major-General Geo. B. McClellan, and urgently call upon the President of the United States to have him made commander of the forces raised and to be raised for the protection of this Common The difference between the President and Governor was, really, irreconcilable, since the first regarded his duty "to maintain the unity and free principles of our common country" as paramount to the views of strict constructionists, while the Governor's ideas of duty, apparently, were circumscribed by the horizon of New York State, and his "friends" within | wealth." THE GOVERNMENT FINANCES. 127 The Union Cause So long as a These and other similar resolves by corpo- | would warrant an uprising and co-operation. rate authorities were, to a large extent, the But not all these could move the President to expressions of partisans who beheld in the the course proposed; and he wisely permitted great crisis at hand a favorable moment in events to take their course. As a significant which to compel the Administration to re-incident of the political events of the year, place McClellan in power. If that could be the matter deserved mention. effected it not only rendered the restored chief The attitude of the Fedsecure in the practical independency of bis eral Government toward authority, but it must have made him Presi- the Confederate cause was dent, at the coming election. That he would one incapable of compromise. have treated for peace, with Lee on Pennsyl- single man remained in arms against the suvania soil, upon the basis of his (McClellan's) premacy of the United States authority, so Letter to the President, of July 7th, 1862,* |1 ng must war be waged. The introduction of was among the probabilities. Hence the an outside party as intercessor, arbitrator or pressure for his restoration, during the mo- protestant against further bloodshed, must mentous days preceding the Gettysburg cam- have complicated issues, and, in no wise, efpaign, was very persistent. This movement fected any abatement of the prosecution of for his reinstatement was seconded by a large | the contest; the decision of arms alone could class of those timid people who looked to his effect a settlement. Feeling this, foreign powrecall as the lesser of two evils-they havingers, in 1863, more than ever were chary of no confidence in any other man to control the Potomac army. The Syracuse (N, Y.) Common Council, by resolutions dated June 29 said: "We, your petitioners, do earnestly beseech your Excellency to place again in command of the Grand Army of the Potomae its favorite chieftain, George B. McClellan, believing, as we do, that he is capable of restoring confidence and enthusiasm in the ranks of that army, necessary to drive the invaders back from Northern soil and lead the army again on to that victory which will soon crown the National flag with honor and our armies with glory, and soon restore that peace that will welcome the restoration of our once proud and glorious Union." To resist this current Mr. Lincoln had to exercise that firmness which, at rare intervals, he displayed. Convinced of the danger and folly of the course prescribed, no popular expression, it is certain, could have induced him to restore the deposed chief. The crisis was one to test the nerves and fortitude of the strongest. A depot in Penns Ivania or Maryland would have given Lee the entree to P..iladelphia and Baltimore, and have severed the Federal Capital from communication with the North; then came the great danger from internal foes-from those treason tainted and turbulent masses in the North who stood ready to use their power the moment a rebel success * See Vol. II., page 96. nances their proffers of sympathy and mediation. |