Girding for War: The North and the South 1861-1865 I consider the central idea pervading this struggle is the necessity that is upon 1s, of proving that popular government is not an absurdity. We must settle this question now, whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government whenever they choose. If we fail it will 40 far to prove the incapability of the people to govern themselves. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, MAY 7, 1861 Neer Lincoln solemnly took the presi dential oath of office on March 4, 1861, after having slipped into Washington at night, partially dis- guised to thwart assassins. He thus became president not of the United States of America, but of the dis-United States of America. Seven had already departed; eight more teetered on the edge. The girders of the unfinished Capitol dome loomed nakedly in the background, as if to symbolize the imperfect state of the Union. Before the nation was restored—and the slaves freed at last— the American people would endure four years of anguish and bloodshed, and Lincoln would face tortuous trials of leadership such as have been visited upon few presidents. +r 19-1 The Menace of Secession Lincoln's inaugural address was firm yet conciliatory: there would be no conflict unless the South provoked it. Secession, the president declared, was wholly imprac- tical because “physically speaking, we cannot separate.” Here Lincoln put his finger on a profound geo- graphical truth. The North and South were conjoined twins, bound inseparably together. If they had been divided by the Pyrenees or the Danube River, a sec- tional divorce might have been more feasible. But the Appalachian Mountains and the mighty Mississippi iver both ran the wrong way. Uncontested secession would create new con- troversies. What share of the national debt should the South be forced to take with it? What portion of the jointly held federal territories, if any, should the Confederate states be allotted? How would the fugitive-slave issue be resolved? The Underground Railroad would certainly redouble its activity, and it would have to transport its passengers only across the Ohio River, not all the way to Canada. Was it conceiv able that all such problems could have been solved without ugly armed clashes? Secretary of State William H. Seward (1801-1872) enter- tained the dangerous idea that if the North picked a fight with one or more European nations, the South would once ‘more rally around the flag. On April Fools’ Day, 1861, he submitted to Lincoln a memorandurn 44) would demand explanations from Spain and France, categorically, at once. | would seek explana- tions from Great Britain and Russia. .. . And, if sat- isfactory explanations are not received from Spain and France. .. would convene Congress and declare war against them)? Lincoln quietly but firmly quashed Seward’ scheme 427428+ CHaptente 191 Bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, April 1861 AL 4:30 on the morning of April 12, Confederate battery at Fort Johnson opened fire on the Union forces at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor Residents of Charleston ‘cheered trom their rooftops as the beleaguered garri- ‘son briefly returned fire, then surrendered, A united United States had hitherto been the Paramount republic in the Western Hemisphere. If this powerful democracy should break into two hos- tile parts, the European nations would be delighted. They could gleefully transplant to America their an- cient concept of the balance of power. Playing the no- less-ancient game of divide and conquer, they could incite one snarling fragment of the dis-United States against the other. The colonies of the European pow- ers in the New World, notably those of Britain, would thus be made safer against the rapacious Yankees. And European imperialists, with no unified republic to stand across their path, could more easily defy the Monroe Doctrine and seize territory in the Americas. + 19-2 South Carolina Assails Fort Sumter The issue of the divided Union came to a head over the matter of federal forts in the South. As the seceding states left, they seized the United States’ ar- senals, mints, and other public property within their borders. When Lincoln took office, only two signifi- cant forts in the South still flew the Stars and Stripes, The more important of the pair was square-walled Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, with fewer than a hundred men Ominously, the choices presented to Lincoln by Fort Sumter were all bad. This stronghold had pro- visions that would last only a few weeks—until the middle of April 1861. If no supplies were forthcom- ing, its commander would have to surrender without Girding for War: The North and the South, 1861-1865, firing a shot. Lincoln, quite understandably feel that such a weakkneed course squared with p, obligation to protect federal property. But ihe um inforcements, the South Carolinians would undeae. edly fight back; they could not tolerate a federal 1 blocking the mouth of their most important stlans seaport. After agonizing indecision, Lincoln adopted middle-of-the-road solution. He notified the Souts Carolinians that an expedition would be sent to rosin the garrison, though not to reinforce it. He promised “n, effort to throw in men, arms, and ammunition,” Bu Southern eyes “provision” still spelled “reinforcemen:” A Union naval force was next started on its ws to Fort Sumter—a move that the South regarded as an act of aggression. On April 12, 1861, the cannon ofthe Carolinians opened fire on the fort, while crowds Charleston applauded and waved handkerchiefs. Ate a thirty-four-hour bombardment, which took no lives, the dazed garrison surrendered, The shelling of the fort electrified the Nort which at once responded with cries of “Remenibe Fort Sumter” and “Save the Union.” Hitherto countlss Northerners had been saying that if the Southern sats wanted to go, they should not be pinned to the resto the nation with bayonets. “Wayward sisters, depatt it peace” was a common sentiment, expressed ever the commander of the army, war hero General Winkie Scott, now so feeble and overweix!| «| seventy tive that he had to be boosted onto his he But the assault on Fort Si North to a fighting pitch: the Union was saved. Lincoln had ly, did not provoked the 5 lost, but the sactical deleseceded ater fl of Fort Sumter Sve stately othe Union [ibree state or tertry 1 Order and date of secession Cull of Mexico Into a calculated victory. Southerners had wantonly fired upon the glorious Stars and Stripes, and honor demanded an armed response. Lincoln promptly (April 15) issued a call to the states for seventy-five thousand militiamen, and volunteers sprang to the colors in such enthusiastic numbers that many were turned away—a mistake that was not often repeated. ‘On April 19 and 27, the president proclaimed a leaky blockade of Southern seaports. The call for troops, in turn, aroused the South much as the attack on Fort Sumter had aroused the North. Lincoln was now waging war—from the Southern view an aggressive war—on the Confederacy. Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee, all of which had earlier voted down secession, reluctantly joined their embattled sis- ter states, as did North Carolina (see Map 19.1). Thus the seven states became eleven as the “submissionists’ and “Union shriekers” were overcome. Richmond, Virginia, replaced Montgomery, Alabama, as the Confederate capital—too near Washington for strate- ‘gic comfort on either side. +r 19-3 Brothers’ Blood and Border Blood ‘The only slave states left were the crucial Border States. This group consisted of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware. If the North had fired the first shot, some or all of these doubtful states probably The Crucial Border States * 429 MAP 19.1 Seceding States (with dates and order of secession) Note the long interval—nearly six months— between the secession of South Carolina, the first state to go, and that of Tennessee, the last state to leave the Union. These six months were a time of terrible trial for mod- erate Southerners. When a Georgia statesman pleaded for restraint and negotiations with Washington, he was rebuffed with the cry, "Throw the bloody spear into this den x of incendiaries!” ‘would have seceded, and the South might well have succeeded. The border group actually contained a white population more than half that of the entire Confederacy. Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri ‘would almost double the manufacturing capacity of the South and increase by nearly half its supply of horses and mules. The strategic prize of the Ohio River flowed along the northern border of Kentucky and West Virginia—the “mountain white” area that somewhat illegally tore itself from the side of Virginia to become a free state in mid-1861. Two of the Ohio River's navigable tributaries, the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, penetrated deep into the heart of Dixie, where much of the Confederacy’s grain, gun- powder, and iron was produced. Small wonder that Lincoln reportedly said he hoped to have God on his side, but he had to have Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), Kentucky-born like Jefferson Davis, was aware of Kentucky's crucial impor- tance. In September 1861 he remarked, 44) think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game. Kentucky gone, we cannot hold Missouri, nor, | think, Maryland. These all against us, and the job on our hands is too large for us. We would as well consent to separation at once, includ- ing the surrender of this capital [Washington]?430+ Aa ee the Border States, President Lincoln fe ot tcly solely on mora suasion but sucessfully cee aan dubious legality. In Maryland he de- ‘be federal army—something that only Cou. ‘0 Wander the Constitution (see Art. 1, Sec. VILM ngress later approved) He directed Oy Of the Treasury to advance $2 million Wile, Deopriation of security to three private ait (Al ary Purposes—a grave iegula esa Constitution (Gee Art , Se. 1X, patti Controversially, he suspended the Pt nit ‘he writ of habeas corpus, 50 Might be summarily arrested and€9 Amputation on the Battlefields of Virginia A surgeon weanng 2 hat and a sword amputates the leg ‘ofa woundes soldier, while an anesthetist facing the camera) nolss a sponge cipped in chloroform over tha patent's nose. A surgical assistant ties a tourniquet to ‘stem the flow of blood. Other soldiers, dressed in Zouave unforms modeled on North African designs, which were popular among some Northern and ‘Southern regiments, watch closaly, likely aware of the ‘dangers accompanying such crude surgery. An esti ‘matac 30 percent of amputees died from postoperative complications, most often infections. In taking this step, he defied a dubious ruling by the chief justice that the safeguards of habeas corpus could be set aside only by the authorization of Con- ares (see Art. I, Sec. IX, para. 2). Lincoln's regime was guilty of many other high- handed acts. For example, it arranged for “supervised” voting in the Border States. There the intimidated citizen, holding a colored ballot indicating his party preference, had to march between two lines of armed troops. The federal officials also ordered the suspen- sion of certain newspapers and the arrest of their edi- tors on grounds of obstructing the war. Jefferson Davis was less able than Lincoln to exer- cise arbitrary power, mainly because of confirmed states’ Tighters who fanned an intense spirit of localism, To the very end of the conflict, the owners of horse-drawn vans in Petersburg, Virginia, prevented the sensible join- ing of the incoming and outgoing tracks of a militarily Vital railroad. The South seemed willing to lose the war before it would surrender local rights—and it did, Lineomn's Wartime Rows * AD WE 19-10 Volunteers and Draftees: North and South Ravenons, the gods oF war demanded men lots oF wen, Novthern armies were ab fist manned solely by Volunteers, with each state assigned a qjmnta based on Population, Rab In 1864, after volunteering Had shiek ened, Congress paysed a federal consertption aw for he fist time on a nation the United States. The provisions were grossly unfaly fo the poor Rich boys, including young John D. Rockefeller, could Inive substitutes to go In thelr places or purehase ex: emption outright by paying $400, "Three hundred ollar men” was the scornful epithet applied to theve slackers, Drattees who dl not have the necessary cash complained that thetr bandittike government de manded “three hundred dollars oF your Ite" The dratt was espectally damned In the Democratic strongholds of the North, notably In New York City. frightful riot broke out in 1868, touched off largely by underprivileged and antiblack Irish Americans, who shouted, “Down with Lincoln" and "Down with the lraft!" Tor several days the New York draft riots put the city at the mercy of a rampaging, pillaging mob, Scores of lives were lost, and the vietims included many lynched blacks. Elsewhere in the North, conseription met with resentment and an occastonal minor rlot More than 90 percent of the Union troaps were volunteers because social and patriotic pressures to en- list were strong. As able-bodied men became generous bounties for enlistment were affered by fed- eral, state, and local authorities, An enterprising and money-wise volunteer might legitimately pocket more than $1000, With money flowing so freely, an unsavory crew of “bounty brokers” and “substitute brokers” sprang, up, at home and abroad. They combed the poorhouses, of the British Istes and western Europe, and many an, Irishman or German was befuddled with whiskey and induced to enlist. A number of the slippery “bounty boys” deserted, volunteered elsewhere, and netted another handsome haul. The records reveal that one ‘bounty jumper” repeated his profitable operation thirty-two times, But desertion was by no means con- fined to “bounty jumpers.” The rolls of the Union army recorded about 200,000 deserters of all classes, and the Confederate authorities were plagued with a runaway problem of similar dimensions. Like the North, the South at first relied mainly on volunteers, But since the Confederacy was much less populous, it scraped the bottom of its manpower bat- rel much more quickly (ee Table 19.3). Quipsters ob- served that any man who could see lightning and hear thunder was judged fit for service. The Richmond re gime, robbing both “cradle and grave” (ages seventeen reer,440 19.10 The New York City Anti-Draft Rioters, 1863 Mostly ish American mobs convulsed the city for days and were in the end put down only by a merci less application of Federal firepower. to fifty), was forced to resort to conscription as early as April 1862, nearly a year earlier than the Union, Confederate draft regulations also worked seri- us injustices. As in the North, a rich man could hire substitute or purchase exemption. Slaveowners or overseers with twenty slaves might also claim exemp- tion, These special privileges, later modified, made for bad feelings among the less prosperous, many of whom complained that this was “a rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight.” Why sacrifice one's life to save an affluent neighbor's slaves? No large-scale draft ri- ots broke out in the South, as in New York City. But the Confederate conscription agents often found it prudent to avoid those areas inhabited by sharpshoot- ing mountain whites, who were branded “Tories,” “traitors,” and “Yankee-lovers.” ‘July 1861 186,751 112,040 January 1862 «575.917 951,418 March 1862 637,126 401,395, January 1863 «918,121 446,622 vanuary 1864 860,737 481,180 vanuary 1865 959,460 445,203 Girding for War: The North and the South, 1861-1865 He 19-11 The Economic Stresses of W, fan Blessed with a lon’ share of the we ode through the financial breaken” he Non smoothly than the South. Excise taxes on alcohol were substantially increased by ee iagome tax was levied forthe frst time igen experience, and although the rates were pane a by later standards, they netted millions orga Customs receipt likewise proved to ba revenue-raiser. Eariy in 186, after enough pe tion Southern members had Seceded, Congeat the Morrill Tariff Act, superseaing the ype of 1857. It increased the existing duties wat, ll of the Walker Tariff of 1846. But these mogee were soon pushed sharply upward by the mega! of war. The increases were designed partly toga ditional revenue and partly to provide more nee! tion forthe prosperous manufacturers who were hes, pice byte fer ner wae ee thus became identified with the Republican pang American industrialist, mostly Repuben fat on these welcome benefits The Washington Treasury also issued greenbacid paper money, totaling nearly $430 million, a face ia This printing-press curtency was inadequately suppene by gold, and hence its value was determined by hen tion’s credit. Greembacks thus fluctuated withthe he tunes of Union arms and at one low point were wont only 39 cents on the gold dollar. The holders ofthe nay, victims of creeping inflation, were indirectly taxed sy the value ofthe curtency slowly withered in theizhande Yet borrowing far outstripped both greenback and taxes as a money-raiser. The Federal Treasury need $2,621,916,786 through the sale of bonds, wich tae Interest and which were payable ata ater date. The mod exn technique of selling these issues to the people rectly through "drives" and payroll deductions ha rt yet been devised. Accordingly, the Treasury was forced to market its bonds through the private banking hase of Jay Cooke and Company, which received a comms: sion of three-eighths of 1 percent on all sles. With bth profits and patriotism at stake, the bankers suceededin making effective appeals to citizen purchasers. A financial landmark of the war was the National Banking System, authorized by Congress in 186 Launched partly as a stimulant to the sale of gore" ment bonds, it was also designed to establish astandatd bank-note currency. (The country was then floods! with depreciated “rag money" issued by nelle bankers) Banks that joined the National Banklog System could buy government bonds and sue sun paper money backed by them, The war-bor Nation! Banking Act thus turned out tobe the frst sgn’ step taken toward a unified banking network 5 bacco ang anAcontemporary (October 92, 1864) Richmond di portrays the ruinous efits of i/lalon onan 44 poot woman yesterday applied to merchant In Carey Street to purchase a barrel of flout, The price he demanded was $70, ‘My God!" exclaimed she, ‘how can | pay suich prices? | have seven chil: dren; what shall do?" dlow’t know, madam! sald hhe coolly, ‘unless you eat your children ’?P 1846, when the “monster” Nank of the United States was Killed by Analrew Jackson, Spawned hy the mae this new system continued to (unetton for flty yey ut replaced by the Reveral Reserve System In LOT An Immpoveshed Sout vas beset by iiterent nnanclal woes, Customs dtley were choked off ay the calls of the Union blockade tightened Lange tee of Contederate bonds were sold at home ane aenal amounting 10 neatly $400 million. ‘The Richmond regime also Inereased Lanes. sharply and imposed Wartine € at 10 percent levy on farm procluce, Mut in general the states! rights Southerners were Inimovably apposed te heavy direct taxation by the central authority: only about J petvent of the fotal Income was raise this way As roventie began to dry up, the Contederate ment was forced to print bluesbacked paper ¥y With complete abandon, "Runaway: nt Uurted ay Southern presses continued to tel © poorly backed treasury notes, totally, 1 all ave than $1 billion, ‘The Confederate paper dollar Hnally sank to the polit where Ht was worth only Lo ¢ when Lee surrendered, Overall, the war tatliete 9000 percent Inflation rate an the Confederacy, con trasted with 80 percent for the Union, Fe 19.12. ‘The North’s Economic Bos Wartime prosperity In the North way little short of miraculous, The marvel ts that a divi lon could Fight a costly contlet for four tony years and then emerge seemingly more prosperous than ever before, 19.114 and B Booth at the Sanitary Fair in Chicago, 1009 ‘Tho Chicago Sanitary Fair was the fot of mary such fair throughout tho nation to raise funds for soldier rollototforts, Mainly organized by ‘women, tho fal told captured Confedorato flags, batto relia, ‘handloratts tk these pothokdors (see 19.116), and donated itoms, Including Prosidont Lincoln's original draft of {the Emancipation Proclamation (Which garnorad $3000 in auction), \Whon the fair closed, the Chicago headquarters of tho U.S. Sanitary ommisalon had raisod $100, ‘nd its female managers had gainad ‘organizational experionoa that many ‘would put to work in the postwar ‘movement for women's rights,442+ CHAPTER 19. Girding for War: The North and the South, 1861-1865 New factories, sheltered by the friendly umbrella of the new protective tariffs, mushroomed forth. Soar Ing prices, resulting from inflation, unfortunately Pinched the day laborer and the white-collar worker to some extent. But the manufacturers and business- People raked in “the fortunes of war.” The Civil War bred a millionaire class for the first time in American history, though a few individuals of extreme wealth could have been found earlier. Many of these newly rich were noisy, gaudy, brassy, and given to extravagant living. Their emergence merely illustrates the truth that some gluttony and greed al- ways mar the devotion and self-sacrifice called forth by war. The story of speculators and peculators was roughly the same in both camps. But graft was more flagrant in the North than in the South, partly be- cause there was more to steal. Yankee “sharpness” appeared at its worst. Dishon- est agents, putting profits above patriotism, palmed off aged and blind horses on government purchasers, Unscrupulous Northern manufacturers supplied shoes with cardboard soles and fast-disintegrating uniforms of reprocessed or “shoddy” wool rather than virgin wool. Hence the reproachful term “shoddy million- aires” was doubly fair. One profiteer reluctantly admit- ted that his profits were “painfully large.” Newly invented laborsaving machinery enabled the North to expand economically, even though the cream of its manpower was being drained off to the fighting front. The sewing machine wrought wonders in fabricating uniforms and military footwear. ‘The marriage of military need and innovs machinery largely ended the production of custom- tailored clothing. Graduated standard measurements were introduced, creating “sizes” that were widely used in the civilian garment industry forever after. Clattering mechanical reapers, which numbered about 250,000 by 1865, proved hardly less potent than thundering guns. They not only released tens of thou- sands of farm boys for the army but fed them their field rations. They produced vast surpluses of grain that, when sent abroad, helped dethrone King Cotton, They provided profits with which the North was able to buy munitions and supplies from abroad. They contributed to the feverish prosperity of the North—a prosperity that enabled the Union to weather the war with flying colors. Other industries were humming, The discovery of petroleum gushers in 1859 had led to a rush of “Fifty- Nines” to Pennsylvania. The result was the birth of a new industry, with its “petroleum plutocracy” and “coal oil Johnnies.” Pioneers continued to push west- ward during the war, altogether an estimated 300,000 people. Major magnets were free gold nuggets and free land under the Homestead Act of 1862, Strong pro- pellants were the federal draft agents. the Republicans’ comprehensive « would eventually remake the Amen 09M yy cast the federal government as an impart, Mes promoting and facilitating westward Homestead Act fulfilled a longstanaim promise to give free land to those witha?" The Morrill Tariff raised funds for the fee,” ment which, through the Pacific Raiin.? 1862, became a major investor in the trae” At tal railroad. By granting parcels of lan i! ual settlers and enormous swaths of terri, railroad companies, the Republicans hot!" the rapid colonization of the West and en? national government's long-term involsaut?! the region. meng ‘The Civil War was a women’s war, protracted conflict opened new opporty, women. When men departed in unifor, often took their jobs. In Washington, hundred women clerks (“government government workers, with over one hundius ‘reasury Department alone. The booming 3! demand for shoes and clothing, combina 1” technological marvels like the sewing nyc likewise drew countless women into industra ployment. Before the war one industrial wore four had been female; during the war the ran.» to one in three. z Other women, on both sides, stepped up » the fighting front—or close behind it. More tha, four hundred women fought alongside their hu. bands and sweethearts by posing as male soldien Other women took on dangerous spy mission: One woman was executed for smuggling gold » the Confederacy. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Ameria’ first female physician, helped organize the US. Sanitary Commission to assist the Union armies in the field. The commission trained nurses, ck lected medical supplies, and equipped hospital ‘Commission work helped many women to acquit the organizational skills and the self-confidene that would propel the women’s movement forward after the war. Heroically energetic Clara Barton and dedicated Dorothea Dix, superintendent of aur for the Union army, helped transform nursing fs a lowly service into a respected profession—and ie the process opened up another major sphere of = ployment for women in the postwar era. Equal renowned in the South was Sally Tompkins, vi ran a Richmond infirmary for wounded Conte ate soldiers and was awarded the rank of captait Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Still women, North as well as South, organized ti and fairs that raised millions of dollars for he * of widows, orphans, and disabled soldiers. Orta jy lemon ton ilies De Bitls") bees,-—o *« 19.13 A Crushed Cotton Kingdom south fought to the point of exhaustion, The suf- The Non caused by the blockade, together with the focal tection Fought Dy Invaders, took a terrible tll westesig 30 percent of the national wealth in 1860, ms Snuth clalmed Only 12 percent in 1870, Before the average pet capita income of Southerners ng slaves) Was about two-thirds that of North- The Clvil War squeezed the average Southern Game 0 two-fifths of the Northern level, where it impaired for the Fest of the century. The South's bid TRrindependence exacted a cruel and devastating cost transportation collapsed. The South was even given to the economic cannibalism of pulling up rails thom the less-used lines to repair the main ones. Wi {iow weights were melted down into bullets; gourds replaced dishes; pins became so scarce that they were joaned with reluctance, ‘To the brutal end, the South mustered remark able resourcefulness and spirit. Women buoyed up their menfolk, many of whom had seen enough of ‘war at first hand to be heartily sick of it. A proposal the war (includ exners aT KEY TERMS Fort Sumter (428) New York draft riots (439) Border States (429) Morrill Tariff Act (440) West Virginia (429) greenbacks (440) Trent affair (436) National Banking System Alabama (436) (440) Laird rams (437) Homestead Act (442) Dominion of Canada Pacific Railroad Act (£42) 437) US. Sanitary writ of habeas corpus Commission (442) 438) Chapter Review * 443 was made by a number of women that they cut off their long hair and sell it abroad. But the project was not adopted, partly because of the blockade. The self- sacrificing women took pride in denying themselves the silks and satins of their Northern sisters. The chorus of a song, “The Southern Girl,” touched a cheerful note: So hurrah! hurrak! For Southern Rights, hurrah! Hurrah! for the homespun dress the Southern ladies wear. At war's end the Northern Captains of Industry had conquered the Southern Lords of the Manor. A crippled South left the capitalistic North free to work its own way, with high tariffs and other benefits. The manufacturing moguls of the North, ushering in the full-fledged Industrial Revolution, were headed for increased dominance over American economic and political life. Hitherto the agrarian “slavocracy” of the South had partially checked the ambitions of the rising plutocracy of the North. Now cotton capital- ism had lost out to industrial capitalism. The South of 1865 was to be rich in little but amputees, war heroes, ruins, and memories, PEOPLE TO KNOW Charles Francis Adams |_Elizabeth Blackwell Napoleon It! Clara Barton Maximilian Sally Tompkins Jefferson Davis