ix

The Civil War: The First Year

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xixIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi

Charleston Mercury: What Shall the South Carolina Legislature Do?, November 3, 1860

Calling a Secession Convention: November 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . 1

John G. Nicolay: Memoranda Regarding Abraham Lincoln,November 5– 6, 1860

“Alarms from the South”: Illinois, November 1860 . . . . . . . . . 5

New-York Daily Tribune: Going to Go, November 9, 1860The Threat of Secession: November 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Jefferson Davis to Robert Barnwell Rhett Jr., November 10, 1860

The Need for Southern Cooperation: November 1860 . . . . . . . . 11

Benjamin Hill: Speech at Milledgeville, November 15, 1860Debating Secession: Georgia, November 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

New York Daily News: The Right of States to Secede, November 16, 1860

“States cannot exist disunited”: November 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Sam Houston to H. M. Watkins and Others, November 20, 1860

“I am for the Union as it is”: Texas, November 1860 . . . . . . . . 37

George Templeton Strong: Diary, November 20, November 26– December 1, 1860

“Our sore national sickness”: New York, November 1860 . . . . . 43

Edward Bates: Diary, November 22, 1860“This dangerous game”: Missouri, November 1860 . . . . . . . . . 48

William G. Brownlow to R. H. Appleton, November 29, 1860The “Wicked Spirit” of Secession: Tennessee,

November 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Frederick Douglass: The Late Election, December 1860Lincoln and Slavery: December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

William T. Sherman to Thomas Ewing Sr. and to John Sherman, December 1, 1860

Secessionism in Louisiana: December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

James Buchanan: from the Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1860

Washington, D.C., December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

J.D.B. DeBow: The Non-Slaveholders of the South, December 5, 1860

The Benefits of Slavery: December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Joseph E. Brown to Alfred H. Colquitt and Others, December 7, 1860

Advocating Secession: Georgia, December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Abraham Lincoln to John A. Gilmer, December 15, 1860Restating Positions on Slavery: December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

New-York Daily Tribune: The Right of Secession, December 17, 1860

Rejecting Coercion: December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Benjamin F. Wade: Remarks in the U.S. Senate, December 17, 1860

“I stand by the Union”: December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114John J. Crittenden: Remarks in the U.S. Senate, December 18, 1860

A Compromise over Slavery: December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr., December 18– 20, 1860

“Meanness and rascality”: Washington, D.C., December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

John G. Nicolay: Memorandum Regarding Abraham Lincoln, December 22, 1860

A Confidential Message: Illinois, December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . 147South Carolina Declaration of the Causes of Secession, December 24, 1860

Charleston, December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Abner Doubleday: from Reminiscences of Forts Sumter

and Moultrie in 1860– ’61Occupying Fort Sumter: South Carolina, December 1860 . . . . 156Catherine Edmondston: Diary, December 26– 27, 1860“A terrible revulsion of feeling”: South Carolina,

December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

x contents

Stephen F. Hale to Beriah Magoffin, December 27, 1860Urging Kentucky to Secede: December 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Herman Melville: Misgivings“The tempest bursting”: 1860 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Mary Jones to Charles C. Jones Jr., January 3, 1861“Sad foreboding”: Georgia, January 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr., January 8, 1861“All depends on Virginia”: Washington, D.C.,

January 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Mississippi Declaration of the Causes of Secession, January 9, 1861

Jackson, January 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Elizabeth Blair Lee to Samuel Phillips Lee, December 25, January 9– 10, 1861

“A warlike aspect”: Washington, D.C., January 1861 . . . . . . . 186

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, January 9– 13, 1861The “Star of the West”: South Carolina, January 1861 . . . . . . 189

Jefferson Davis: Farewell Address in the U.S. Senate, January 21, 1861

Washington, D.C., January 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Robert E. Lee to George Washington Custis Lee, January 23, 1861

The Evils of Anarchy and Civil War: January 1861 . . . . . . . . 199

Jefferson Davis: Inaugural Address, Feb ruary 18, 1861Montgomery, Alabama, Feb ruary 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Frederick Douglass: The New Presi dent, March 1861Hopes for Lincoln’s Administration: March 1861 . . . . . . . . . . 207

Abraham Lincoln: First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861Washington, D.C., March 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, March 4, 1861“That wretch Abraham Lincoln”: North Carolina,

March 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Alexander H. Stephens: “Corner-Stone” Speech, March 21, 1861

Vindicating Slavery: Georgia, March 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

contents xi

Edward Bates: Diary, March 9– April 8, 1861Relieving Fort Sumter: Washington, D.C.,

March– April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Gideon Welles: Memoir of Events, March 1861Seward and Fort Sumter: Washington, D.C., March 1861 . . . . 242

William H. Seward: Memorandum for the Presi dent, April 1, 1861

Challenging Lincoln: Washington, D.C., April 1861 . . . . . . . . 248

Abraham Lincoln to William H. Seward, April 1, 1861“I must do it”: Washington, D.C., April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Mary Chesnut, Diary, April 7– 15, 1861The War Begins: South Carolina, April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Abner Doubleday: from Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860– ’61

Bombardment and Surrender: South Carolina, April 1861 . . . 261

George Templeton Strong: Diary, April 13– 16, 1861New Yorkers Respond: April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

The New York Times: The People and the Issue, April 15, 1861

Vindicating National Honor: April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Pittsburgh Post: The War Begun— The Duty of American Citizens, April 15, 1861

Fighting “the mad rebellion”: April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

William Howard Russell: from My Diary North and South, April 17, 1861

Celebration in Charleston: South Carolina, April 1861 . . . . . . 281

Charles C. Jones Sr. to Charles C. Jones Jr., April 20, 1861“Infidel” Enemies: Georgia, April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

John B. Jones: Diary, April 15– 22, 1861Secessionism in Richmond: Virginia, April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . 297

John W. Hanson: from Historical Sketch of the Old Sixth Regiment of Mas sa chusetts Volunteers

The Baltimore Riot: April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Ulysses S. Grant to Frederick Dent, April 19, 1861, and to Jesse Root Grant, April 21, 1861

“I have but one sentiment now”: Illinois, April 1861 . . . . . . . . 310

xii contents

Jefferson Davis: Message to the Confederate Congress, April 29, 1861

Montgomery, Alabama, April 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Frederick Douglass: How to End the War, May 1861“Strike down slavery itself ”: May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Walt Whitman: First O Songs for a PreludeNew York, Spring 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Winfield Scott to George B. McClellan, May 3, 1861A Strategic Plan: May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Charles B. Haydon: Diary, May 3– 12, 1861Life in Army Camp: Michigan, May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Ulysses S. Grant to Jesse Root Grant, May 6, 1861Predicting a Short War: May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

John Hay: Diary, May 7– 10, 1861Life in the Executive Mansion: Washington, D.C.,

May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Judith W. McGuire: Diary, May 10, 1861Fearing Attack in Alexandria: Virginia, May 1861 . . . . . . . . 355

William T. Sherman to John Sherman, May 11, 1861Rioting in St. Louis: Missouri, May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Benjamin F. Butler to Winfield Scott, May 24, 1861Slaves Seeking Freedom: Virginia, May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

The New York Times: General Butler and the Contraband of War, June 2, 1861

Defining Runaway Slaves: Virginia, May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Kate Stone: Journal, May 15– 27, 1861“Our Cause is just”: Louisiana, May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

George Templeton Strong: Diary, May 29– June 2, 1861A Visit to Washington: May– June 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376

John Brown’s Body, May 1861Massachusetts, May 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

Roger B. Taney: Opinion in Ex parte Merryman, June 1, 1861The Writ of Habeas Corpus: Maryland, May 1861 . . . . . . . . . 386

Henry A. Wise: Speech at Richmond, June 1, 1861“I rejoice in this war”: Virginia, June 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401

contents xiii

Charles C. Jones Jr. to Charles C. Jones Sr. and Mary Jones, June 10, 1861

The “blinded, fanatical” North: Georgia, June 1861 . . . . . . . . 404

Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr., June 10– 11, 1861Anglo-American Relations: London, June 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . 407

John Ross to Benjamin McCulloch, June 17, 1861Cherokee Neutrality: Indian Territory, June 1861 . . . . . . . . . . 412

James Russell Lowell: The Pickens-and- Stealin’s Rebellion, June 1861

Emancipating Northern Opinion: June 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

Abraham Lincoln: Message to Congress in Special Session, July 4, 1861

Washington, D.C., July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Kate Stone: Journal, July 4, 1861An Unobserved Holiday: Louisiana, July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Ulysses S. Grant: from Personal Memoirs of U. S. GrantFacing the Enemy: Missouri, July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

Sallie Brock: from Richmond During the WarDefeats in Western Virginia: July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Sullivan Ballou to Sarah Ballou, July 14, 1861A Farewell Letter: July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

Charles Minor Blackford: from Letters from Lee’s ArmyBattle of Manassas: Virginia, July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

William Howard Russell: from My Diary North and SouthThe Union Army Retreats: Virginia, July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Samuel J. En glish to his M other, July 24, 1861“Death and confusion everywhere”: Virginia, July 1861 . . . . . . 491

Emma Holmes: Diary, July 22– 23, 1861News of Manassas: South Carolina, July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

Elizabeth Blair Lee to Samuel Phillips Lee, July 23, 1861Straggling Soldiers: Washington, D.C., July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . 498

Walt Whitman: from Specimen Days“A terrible shock”: Washington, D.C., July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Abraham Lincoln: Memoranda on Military Policy, July 23, 1861Washington, D.C., July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

xiv contents

Mary Chesnut: Diary, July 24, 1861Celebrating Victory: Virginia, July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

Crittenden-Johnson Resolutions, July 22– 25, 1861Noninterference with Slavery: July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522

George B. McClellan to Mary Ellen McClellan, July 27, 1861Assuming Command: Washington, D.C., July 1861 . . . . . . . . 524

William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, July 28, 1861“Our men are not good Soldiers”: July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526

Horace Greeley to Abraham Lincoln, July 29, 1861“Our late awful disaster”: July 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531

George B. McClellan: Memorandum for the Presi dent, August 2, 1861

Washington, D.C., August 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Confiscation Act, August 6, 1861A Measure Against Slavery: August 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538

George B. McClellan to Mary Ellen McClellan, August 8, 9, and 16, 1861

“The Presdt is an idiot”: August 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540

E. F. Ware: from The Lyon Campaign in MissouriBattle of Wilson’s Creek: Missouri, August 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . 543

W. E. Woodruff: from With the Light Guns in ’61– ’65Confederate Artillery at Wilson’s Creek: Missouri,

August 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

John C. Frémont: Proclamation, August 30, 1861Freeing the Slaves of Rebels: Missouri, August 1861 . . . . . . . . . 561

Abraham Lincoln to John C. Frémont, September 2, 1861Modifying a Proclamation: September 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563

Frederick Douglass: Fighting Rebels with Only One Hand,September 1861

The Need for Black Soldiers: September 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564

Abraham Lincoln to Orville H. Browning, September 22, 1861Revoking Frémont’s Proclamation: September 1861 . . . . . . . . . 568

John Ross: Message to the National Council, October 9, 1861A Cherokee-Confederate Alliance: Indian Territory,

October 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571

contents xv

Henry Livermore Abbott to Josiah Gardner Abbott, October 22, 1861

Battle of Ball’s Bluff: Virginia, October 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576

George B. McClellan to Mary Ellen McClellan, October 25, 26, 30, and 31, 1861

Replacing Winfield Scott: October 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

Charles Francis Adams Jr. to Henry Adams, November 5, 1861“I am tired of incompetents”: November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585

George B. McClellan to Samuel L. M. Barlow, November 8, 1861

Preparing for the Next Battle: November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

Ulysses S. Grant to Jesse Root Grant, November 8, 1861Battle of Belmont: Missouri, November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Lunsford P. Yandell Jr. to Lunsford Yandell Sr., November 10, 1861

A Doctor at Belmont: Missouri, November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . 592

Samuel Francis Du Pont to Sophie Du Pont, November 13– 15, 1861

The Capture of Port Royal: South Carolina, November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

Sam Mitchell: Narrative of the capture of the Sea Islands,November 1861

A Former Slave Remembers: South Carolina, November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603

Henry Tucker: God in the War, November 15, 1861A Confederate Sermon: Georgia, November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . 605

Jefferson Davis: Message to the Confederate Congress, November 18, 1861

Richmond, Virginia, November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627

Harper’s Weekly: The Great ReviewThe Army of the Potomac: Virginia, November 1861 . . . . . . . . 636

Ulysses S. Grant to Jesse Root Grant, November 27, 1861Slavery and the Press: November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639

Sallie Brock: from Richmond During the WarShortages and Inflation: Virginia, Autumn 1861 . . . . . . . . . . 641

Benjamin Moran, Journal, November 27– December 3, 1861The “Trent” Affair: London, November– December 1861 . . . . . 645

xvi contents

Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr., November 30, 1861

War with En gland: London, November 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

Abraham Lincoln, Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861

Washington, D.C., December 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653

Charles Francis Adams Jr. to Henry Adams, December 10, 1861

Preparing to Enlist: Boston, December 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672

Let My People GoA Song of the Contrabands: Virginia, 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674

Robert E. Lee to George Washington Custis Lee, December 29, 1861

Not Relying on Foreign Aid: December 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678

Edward Bates: Diary, December 31, 1861The Presi dent’s Duty to Act: Washington, D.C.,

December 1861 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681

Irwin McDowell: Memorandum, January 10– 13, 1862Lincoln and McClellan: Washington, D.C., January 1862 . . . 683

Montgomery C. Meigs, Memoir of Meetings with Presi dentLincoln, January 10– 13, 1862

“The bottom is out of the tub”: Washington, D.C., January 1862 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691

Edwin M. Stanton to Charles A. Dana, January 24, 1862“This army has got to fight”: January 1862 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693

Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697Biographical Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707Note on the Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793

contents xvii

The Civil War: The Second Year

Preface xxiIntroduction xxiii

Frederick Douglass: What Shall Be Done with the Slaves If Emancipated?, January 1862

“Do nothing with them”: January 1862 1

John Boston to Elizabeth Boston, January 12, 1862A Slave Escapes: Virginia, January 1862 6

Salmon P Chase: Journal, January 6, 1862“Vigorous prosecution of the war”: Washington, D C ,

January 1862 8

Abraham Lincoln to Don Carlos Buell and Henry W Halleck, January 13, 1862

“My general idea of this war”: January 1862 10

Abraham Lincoln: President’s General War Order No 1, January 27, 1862; President’s Special War Order No 1, January 31, 1862

War Orders: January 1862 12

George B McClellan to Edwin M Stanton, February 3, 1862

A Campaign Against Richmond: February 1862 14

Julia Ward Howe: The Battle Hymn of the Republic, February 1862; from Reminiscences, 1819–1899

“His terrible swift sword”: February 1862 24

The New York Times: An Important Arrest, February 11, 1862; The Ball’s Bluff Disaster—Gen McClellan and Gen Stone, April 12, 1863

A General is Arrested: Washington, D C , February 1862 28

x contents

Lew Wallace: from An AutobiographyAttack on Fort Donelson: Tennessee, February 1862 35

John Kennerly Farris to Mary Farris, October 31, 1862Fort Donelson Surrenders: Tennessee, February 1862 47

Henry Walke: The Western Flotilla at Fort Donelson, Island Number Ten, Fort Pillow and Memphis

The River War: February–June 1862 54

Braxton Bragg to Judah P Benjamin, February 15, 1862Confederate Strategy: February 1862 77

John B Jones: Diary, February 8–28, 1862“These calamities”: Virginia, February 1862 80

Jefferson Davis: Message to the Confederate Congress, February 25, 1862

Richmond, Virginia, February 1862 84

George E Stephens to the Weekly Anglo-African, March 2, 1862

“The boldest feat”: Maryland, March 1862 89

Orpheus C Kerr: from The Orpheus C Kerr Papers“All quiet on the Potomac”: March 1862 93

Dabney H Maury: Recollections of the Elkhorn CampaignBattle of Elkhorn Tavern: Arkansas, March 1862 99

Abraham Lincoln: Message to Congress on Compensated Emancipation, March 6, 1862; Abraham Lincoln to James A McDougall, March 14, 1862

Washington, D C , March 1862 110

Catesby ap Roger Jones: from “Services of the ‘Virginia’ (Merrimac)”

A Naval Revolution: Virginia, March 1862 114

Nathaniel Hawthorne: from “Chiefly About War-Matters”A Visit to Washington and Virginia: March 1862 121

George B McClellan to the Army of the Potomac, March 14, 1862, and to Samuel L M Barlow, March 16, 1862

The “grand campaign” opens: Virginia, March 1862 138

contents xi

Charles Francis Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr , April 4, 1862

Britain and the Ironclads: London, April 1862 141

Emily Dickinson to Louise and Frances Norcross, late March 1862

“His big heart shot away”: Massachusetts, March 1862 142

Frederick Douglass: The War and How to End It, March 25, 1862

“The lesson of the hour”: March 1862 144

Abraham Lincoln to George B McClellan, April 9, 1862“But you must act”: Washington, D C , April 1862 155

Ulysses S Grant to Commanding Officer, Advance Forces, April 6, 1862; to Julia Dent Grant, April 8, 1862; to Nathaniel H McLean, April 9, 1862; to Jesse Root Grant, April 26, 1862; and to Elihu B Washburne, May 14, 1862

Battle of Shiloh: Tennessee, April 1862 157

William T Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, April 11, 1862

“We caught the first thunder”: Tennessee, April 1862 165

George W Dawson to Laura Amanda Dawson, April 26, 1862

“They ran in every direction”: Tennessee, April 1862 168

Herman Melville: Shiloh, April 1862“The church so lone”: April 1862 171

Confederate Conscription Acts, April 16 and 21, 1862Richmond, Virginia, April 1862 172

Abraham Lincoln: Message to Congress, April 16, 1862Abolishing Slavery in the District of Columbia: April 1862 178

John Russell Bartlett: The “Brooklyn” at the Passage of the Forts

Running the Gauntlet: Louisiana, April 1862 180

George Hamilton Perkins to Susan G Perkins, April 27, 1862

The Fall of New Orleans: Louisiana, April 1862 194

Charles S Wainwright: Diary, May 5, 1862Battle of Williamsburg: Virginia, May 1862 199

xii contents

John B Jones: Diary, May 14–19, 1862“A critical condition”: Virginia, May 1862 210

Garland H White to Edwin M Stanton, May 7, 1862“A black regiment”: Canada, May 1862 213

Abraham Lincoln: Proclamation Revoking General Hunter’s Emancipation Order, May 19, 1862

Washington, D C , May 1862 215

Richard Taylor: from Destruction and ReconstructionMeeting Stonewall Jackson: Virginia, May 1862 218

Elizabeth Blair Lee to Samuel Phillips Lee, May 26, 1862“The progress of events”: Washington, D C , May 1862 224

Thomas O Moore: To the People of Louisiana, May 24, 1862

“No similar instance of infamy”: Louisiana, May 1862 227

Lord Palmerston to Charles Francis Adams, June 11, 1862; Benjamin Moran: Journal, June 25, 1862

“Revolting outrages”: London, June 1862 230

Henry Ropes to William Ropes, June 3–4, 1862Battle of Fair Oaks: Virginia, May–June 1862 233

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, June 5, 1862A Military Assessment: Virginia, June 1862 236

David Hunter to Edwin M Stanton, June 23, 1862Arming Freed Slaves: South Carolina, June 1862 238

Kate Stone: Journal, June 29–July 5, 1862Fear of the “Yankees”: Louisiana, June–July 1862 241

Edward Porter Alexander: from Fighting for the Confederacy

The Seven Days Begin: Virginia, June 1862 246

Charles A Page: from Letters of a War CorrespondentBattle of Gaines’s Mill: Virginia, June 1862 258

George B McClellan to Edwin M Stanton, June 28, 1862An Accusation of Betrayal: Virginia, June 1862 265

Abraham Lincoln to William H Seward, June 28, 1862“The present condition of the war”:

Washington, D C , June 1862 267

contents xiii

Charles B Haydon: Journal, June 25–July 1, 1862The Union Retreat: Virginia, June–July 1862 269

Asa D Smith: Narrative of the Seven Days’ BattlesWounded at Glendale: Virginia, June–July 1862 277

Judith W McGuire: Diary, June 27–30, 1862“Our beleaguered city”: Virginia, June 1862 290

Sallie Brock: from Richmond During the War“Death held a carnival”: Virginia, June–July 1862 294

Sara Agnes Pryor: from Reminiscences of Peace and WarA Richmond Hospital: Virginia, June–July 1862 297

Whitelaw Reid: General Hunter’s Negro Soldiers, July 6, 1862

Debating Black Soldiers: Washington, D C , July 1862 303

George B McClellan to Abraham Lincoln, July 7, 1862“Civil and military policy”: Virginia, July 1862 306

Thomas H Dudley and J Price Edwards: An Exchange, July 9, 10, and 16, 1862

Building a Confederate Cruiser: England, July 1862 309

Abraham Lincoln: Appeal to Border State Representatives for Compensated Emancipation, July 12, 1862

Washington, D C , July 1862 314

Second Confiscation Act, July 17, 1862Washington, D C , July 1862 317

John Pope: Address to the Army of Virginia, July 14, 1862

“Success and glory”: Washington, D C , July 1862 323

John Pope: General Orders Nos 5, 7, 11, July 18, 20, and 23, 1862

A Change in Policy: Washington, D C , July 1862 325

Fitz John Porter to Joseph C G Kennedy, July 17, 1862

The “idol” of the army: Virginia, July 1862 329

August Belmont to Thurlow Weed, July 20, 1862An Appeal for Negotiation: Rhode Island, July 1862 332

Salmon P Chase to Richard C Parsons, July 20, 1862A “shameful” defeat: Washington, D C , July 1862 338

xiv contents

Salmon P Chase: Journal, July 22, 1862Presidential Emancipation: Washington, D C , July 1862 342

Abraham Lincoln: First Draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, July 22, 1862

Washington, D C , July 1862 345

Francis B Carpenter: from Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln

Postponing Emancipation: Washington, D C , July 1862 347

Abraham Lincoln to Cuthbert Bullitt, July 28, 1862Saving the Government: Washington, D C , July 1862 349

Charles Sumner to John Bright, August 5, 1862Cotton and Emancipation: Massachusetts, August 1862 352

Henry W Halleck to George B McClellan, August 6, 1862

Evacuating the Peninsula: Washington, D C , August 1862 354

Memorial of a Committee of Citizens of Liberty County, Georgia, August 5, 1862

Fleeing Slaves: Georgia, August 1862 358

Confederate War Department: General Orders No 60, August 21, 1862

Retaliation for Arming Slaves: Virginia, August 1862 364

Abraham Lincoln: Address on Colonization, August 14, 1862

Washington, D C , August 1862 366

Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862“I would save the Union”: Washington, D C ,

August 1862 372

William T Sherman to Thomas Hunton, August 24, 1862

Slavery and the Laws of War: Tennessee, August 1862 374

John Lothrop Motley to William H Seward, August 26, 1862

Emancipation and Diplomacy: Austria, August 1862 377

Harriet Jacobs to William Lloyd Garrison, September 5, 1862

Aiding Contrabands: Washington, D C , Summer 1862 382

contents xv

Edward Porter Alexander: from Fighting for the ConfederacyThe Second Manassas Campaign: Virginia, August 1862 391

Charles Francis Adams Jr to Charles Francis Adams, August 27, 1862

“Treachery”: Washington, D C , August 1862 400

John Hampden Chamberlayne to Martha Burwell Chamberlayne, September 6, 1862

“These great operations”: Virginia and Maryland, August–September 1862 404

John Pope to Henry W Halleck, September 1, 1862“Unsoldierly and dangerous conduct”: Virginia,

September 1862 411

Clara Barton to John Shaver, September 4, 1862Aiding the Wounded: Virginia and Washington, D C ,

August–September 1862 413

Gideon Welles: Diary, August 31–September 1, 1862“McClellan must go down”: Washington, D C ,

August–September 1862 416

John Hay: Diary, September 1, 1862“We are whipped again”: Washington, D C , September 1862 425

Edward Bates: Remonstrance and Notes on Cabinet Meeting, September 2, 1862

“The Prest was in deep distress”: Washington, D C , September 1862 428

Salmon P Chase: Journal, September 2, 1862“A series of failures”: Washington, D C , September 1862 430

George B McClellan to Mary Ellen McClellan, September 2, 1862

Restored to Command: Washington, D C , September 1862 433

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, September 3, 1862Invading Maryland: Virginia, September 1862 435

George Templeton Strong: Diary, September 3–4, 1862“A state of nausea”: New York, September 1862 437

William Thompson Lusk to Elizabeth Freeman Lusk, September 6, 1862

A Demoralized Army: Washington, D C , September 1862 439

xvi contents

Abraham Lincoln: Meditation on the Divine Will, c early September 1862

“God wills this contest”: Washington, D C , September 1862 442

Lord Palmerston and Lord Russell: An Exchange, September 14, 17, and 23, 1862

Britain Considers Mediation: September 1862 443

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, September 8, 1862“Recognition of our independence”: Maryland,

September 1862 446

Lewis H Steiner: Diary, September 5–6, 1862A “dirty and repulsive” army: Maryland,

September 1862 448

James Richmond Boulware: Diary, September 4–14, 1862A Confederate in Maryland: September 1862 454

Alpheus S Williams to George B McClellan, September 13, 1862; Robert E Lee: Special Orders No 191, September 9, 1862

The Lost Order: Maryland, September 1862 459

George W Smalley: Narrative of Antietam, September 17, 1862

Battle of Antietam: Maryland, September 1862 462

Rufus R Dawes: from Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers

Fight for the Cornfield: Maryland, September 1862 479

Alpheus S Williams to Irene and Mary Williams, September 22, 1862

“The infernal music”: Maryland, September 1862 485

David L Thompson: With Burnside at AntietamA Landscape Turned Red: Maryland, September 1862 496

Samuel W Fiske to the Springfield Republican, September 20, 1862

After the Battle: Maryland, September 1862 503

Clifton Johnson: from Battleground Adventures“Our men had won”: Maryland, September 1862 505

Mary Bedinger Mitchell: A Woman’s Recollections of Antietam

“Noise, confusion, dust”: Virginia, September 1862 511

contents xvii

George B McClellan to Mary Ellen McClellan, September 20, 1862

“Our victory was complete”: Maryland, September 1862 524

Ephraim Anderson: from Memoirs: Historical and Personal

Battle of Iuka: Mississippi, September 1862 526

Gideon Welles: Diary, September 22, 1862“The cause of emancipation”: Washington, D C ,

September 1862 530

Abraham Lincoln: Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, September 22, 1862; Proclamation Suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus, September 24, 1862

Washington, D C , September 1862 533

L A Whitely to James Gordon Bennett, September 24, 1862

“The air is thick with revolution”: Washington, D C , September 1862 538

George B McClellan to William H Aspinwall, September 26, 1862

“Servile war” and “despotism”: Maryland, September 1862 540

Abraham Lincoln: Record of Dismissal of John J Key, September 26–27, 1862

“That is not the game”: Washington, D C , September 1862 541

Fitz John Porter to Manton Marble, September 30, 1862“Proclamations of a political coward”: Maryland,

September 1862 543

Braxton Bragg: To the People of the Northwest, September 26, 1862

A Confederate Invasion: Kentucky, September 1862 550

Ralph Waldo Emerson: The President’s Proclamation, September 1862

“An event worth the dreadful war”: Massachusetts, September 1862 554

Frederick Douglass: Emancipation Proclaimed, October 1862

“Your deliverance draws nigh!”: October 1862 561

xviii contents

Debate in the Confederate Senate on Retaliation for the Emancipation Proclamation, September 29 and October 1, 1862

Richmond, Virginia, October 1862 567

The Times of London: Editorial on the Emancipation Proclamation, October 7, 1862

“This gigantic wickedness”: London, October 1862 572

George B McClellan to Abraham Lincoln, October 7, 1862

Obeying Civil Authority: Maryland, October 1862 576

Oscar L Jackson: from The Colonel’s DiaryBattle of Corinth: Mississippi, October 1862 578

Charles B Labruzan: Journal, October 4, 1862“An awful day”: Mississippi, October 1862 585

J Montgomery Wright: Notes of a Staff-Officer at Perryville

Battle of Perryville: Kentucky, October 1862 589

Sam R Watkins: from “Co Aytch,” Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment

“This grand havoc of battle”: Kentucky, October 1862 593

Abraham Lincoln to George B McClellan, October 13, 1862

“Your over-cautiousness”: Washington, D C , October 1862 600

Lord Palmerston to Lord Russell, October 2 and 22, 1862

Reconsidering Mediation: England, October 1862 603

Charles Sumner to John Bright, October 28, 1862“The Presdt is in earnest”: Massachusetts, October 1862 606

Francis Preston Blair to Montgomery Blair, November 7, 1862

“An auger too dull to take hold”: Washington, D C , November 1862 609

George G Meade to Margaret Meade, November 8, 1862

McClellan’s Dismissal: Virginia, November 1862 611

Orville H Browning: Diary, November 29, 1862Lincoln and McClellan: Washington, D C , November 1862 614

contents xix

Abraham Lincoln: Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862

Washington, D C , December 1862 617

Edward Porter Alexander: from Fighting for the ConfederacyBattle of Fredericksburg: Virginia, December 1862 640

Samuel W Fiske to the Springfield Republican, December 15 and 17, 1862

“Murderous butchery”: Virginia, December 1862 657

Henry Livermore Abbott to Josiah Gardner Abbott, December 14, 1862, and to George B Perry, December 17, 1862

“Thoroughly licked”: Virginia, December 1862 660

Clifton Johnson: from Battleground Adventures“An awful day”: Virginia, December 1862 664

Walt Whitman: from Specimen Days“Hundreds die every day”: Virginia, December 1862 669

Louisa May Alcott: from Hospital Sketches“Torn and shattered”: District of Columbia,

December 1862 671

Orville H Browning: Diary, December 18, 1862A Cabinet Crisis: Washington, D C , December 1862 683

Gideon Welles: Diary, December 19–20, 1862Lincoln Resolves the Crisis: Washington, D C ,

December 1862 685

Harper’s Weekly: The Reverse at Fredericksburg, December 27, 1862

“Sickness, disgust, and despair”: December 1862 693

George Templeton Strong: Diary, December 27, 1862Lincoln and Emancipation: New York, December 1862 696

Fitz John Porter to Samuel L M Barlow, December 29, 1862

Porter’s Court-Martial: Washington, D C , December 1862 699

Cyrus F Boyd: Diary, December 22–25, 1862Looting in Holly Springs: Mississippi, December 1862 702

xx contents

Jefferson Davis: Address to the Mississippi Legislature, December 26, 1862

Jackson, December 1862 706

William T Sherman to John Sherman, January 6, 1863Battle of Chickasaw Bayou: Mississippi, December 1862 724

Samuel Sawyer, Pearl P Ingalls, and Jacob G Forman to Samuel R Curtis, December 29, 1862

Mistreatment of Contrabands: Arkansas, December 1862 727

Ira S Owens: from Greene County in the WarBattle of Stones River: Tennessee, December 1862–

January 1863 729

Lot D Young: from Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade

“Bloody and useless sacrifice”: Tennessee, December 1862– January 1863 733

Ambrose E Burnside to Abraham Lincoln, January 1, 1863

An Offer to Resign: Washington D C , January 1863 739

Abraham Lincoln to Henry W Halleck, January 1, 1863“You fail me precisely”: Washington, D C ,

January 1863 741

Abraham Lincoln: Final Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863

Washington, D C , January 1863 742

Benjamin Rush Plumly to Abraham Lincoln, January 1, 1863

Celebrating Emancipation: Philadelphia, January 1863 745

Abraham Lincoln to John A McClernand, January 8, 1863“Broken eggs can not be mended”: Washington, D C ,

January 1863 748

Chronology 753Biographical Notes 764Note on the Texts 798Notes 816Index 853

xi

The Civil War: The Third Year

Preface xxiiiIntroduction xxv

Edmund DeWitt Patterson: Journal, January 20, 1863Picket Duty and Snowballs: Virginia, January 1863 1

Theodore A Dodge: Journal, January 21–24, 1863The Mud March: Virginia, January 1863 3

Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr , January 23, 1863Emancipation and Public Opinion: London, January 1863 9

George G Meade to Margaret Meade, January 23, 26, and 28, 1863

A Change in Command: Virginia, January 1863 11

Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Hooker, January 26, 1863Advising a New Commander: Washington, D C ,

January 1863 18

John A Andrew to Francis Shaw, January 30, 1863Raising a Black Regiment: Massachusetts, January 1863 20

William Parker Cutler: Diary, February 2 and 9, 1863Debating Black Soldiers: Washington, D C , February 1863 23

George Templeton Strong: Diary, February 3–5, 1863“These be dark blue days”: New York, February 1863 25

Oliver W Norton to Edwin Norton, February 6, 1863“The soldier’s pest”: Virginia, February 1863 28

Robert E Lee to Mary Lee, February 8, 1863Short Rations: Virginia, February 1863 32

Robert Gould Shaw to Annie Haggerty, February 8, 1863Accepting a Colonelcy: Virginia, February 1863 34

Richard Cobden to Charles Sumner, February 13, 1863Emancipation and Intervention: London, February 1863 36

Isaac Funk: Speech in the Illinois State Senate, February 14, 1863

“These traitors right here”: Springfield, February 1863 39

xii contents

Taylor Peirce to Catharine Peirce, February 16, 1863“His wife crying over him”: Missouri, February 1863 44

William T Sherman to Thomas Ewing Sr , February 17, 1863, and to John Sherman, February 18, 1863

The Menace of the Press: Louisiana, February 1863 47

Clement L Vallandigham: Speech in Congress, February 23, 1863

Opposing Conscription: Washington, D C , February 1863 57

Samuel W Fiske to the Springfield Republican, February 25, 1863

“Vile and traitorous resolutions”: Virginia, February 1863 90

Charles C Jones Jr to Charles C Jones Sr and Mary Jones, March 3, 1863

Defending Fort McAllister: Georgia, March 1863 93

Charles C Jones Sr to Charles C Jones Jr , March 4, 1863“Fight more manfully than ever”: Georgia, March 1863 96

Harriet Jacobs to Lydia Maria Child, March 18, 1863Black Refugees: Virginia, March 1863 98

William Henry Harrison Clayton to Nide and Rachel Pugh, March 26, 1863

Unionist Refugees: Missouri, March 1863 101

Henry W Halleck to Ulysses S Grant, March 31, 1863Withdrawing Slaves from the Enemy: Washington, D C ,

March 1863 105

Frederick Law Olmsted to John Olmsted, April 1, 1863The Army before Vicksburg: Louisiana, March 1863 108

Frederick Douglass: Why Should a Colored Man Enlist?, April 1863

“A war for Emancipation”: April 1863 117

Jefferson Davis to William M Brooks, April 2, 1863Defending General Pemberton: Virginia, April 1863 122

John B Jones: Diary, April 2–4, 1863The Richmond Bread Riot: Virginia, April 1863 124

Whitelaw Reid to the Cincinnati Gazette, April 4, 1863The Necessity of Fighting: April 1863 127

contents xiii

Charles S Wainwright: Diary, April 5–12, 1863Lincoln Reviews the Army: Virginia, April 1863 129

Francis Lieber: No Party Now, But All for Our Country, April 11, 1863

Loyalty to the Nation: New York, April 1863 134

Catharine Peirce to Taylor Peirce, April 12, 1863Home and Family News: Iowa, April 1863 146

James A Connolly to Mary Dunn Connolly, April 20, 1863“Fighting goes like fortunes”: Tennessee, April 1863 148

Ulysses S Grant to Jesse Root Grant, April 21, 1863“I am doing my best”: Louisiana, April 1863 151

David Hunter to Jefferson Davis, April 23, 1863Threatening Retaliation: South Carolina, April 1863 153

Kate Stone: Journal, April 25, 1863“A night and day of terror”: Louisiana, March–April 1863 155

Wilbur Fisk to The Green Mountain Freeman, April 26, 1863Waiting to March: Virginia, April 1863 161

John Hampden Chamberlayne to Martha Burwell Chamberlayne, April 30, 1863

“Rain, mud, & night”: Virginia, April 1863 166

Sarah Morgan: Diary, April 30, 1863Expelling “enemies”: Louisiana, April 1863 169

Samuel Pickens: Diary, May 1–3, 1863Battle of Chancellorsville: Virginia, May 1863 172

Jedediah Hotchkiss: Journal, May 2–6, 1863“Disorder reigned supreme”: Virginia, May 1863 178

Taylor Peirce to Catharine Peirce, May 4, 1863Battle of Port Gibson: Mississippi, May 1863 184

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, May 5–7, 9, and 11–12, 1863“The nation’s idol”: North Carolina, May 1863 189

Charles F Morse to His Family, May 7, 1863“The great Joe Hooker”: Virginia, May 1863 195

Samuel W Fiske to the Springfield Republican, May 9 and 11, 1863

“Disgraceful and disastrous defeat”: Virginia, May 1863 205

xiv contents

Charles B Wilder: Testimony before the American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission, May 9, 1863

Escaping Slavery: Virginia, May 1863 213

Thomas Wentworth Higginson: Journal, May 10, 1863Commanding a Black Regiment: South Carolina, May 1863 216

Edward O Guerrant: Diary, May 15, 1863Mourning Stonewall Jackson: Kentucky, May 1863 219

George Richard Browder: Diary, May 17–26, 1863Swearing Allegiance: Kentucky, May 1863 222

Harper’s Weekly: The Arrest of Vallandigham, May 30, 1863“The people can be trusted”: New York, May 1863 226

Oliver W Norton to Elizabeth Norton Poss, June 8, 1863Meeting “Secesh” Civilians: Virginia, June 1863 229

Robert Gould Shaw to Annie Haggerty Shaw, June 9–13, 1863The Burning of Darien: Georgia, June 1863 232

William Winters to Harriet Winters, June 9, 1863Siege of Vicksburg: Mississippi, June 1863 238

Matthew M Miller to His Aunt, June 10, 1863Battle of Milliken’s Bend: Louisiana, June 1863 240

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, June 10, 1863“Dividing and weakening” the North: Virginia, June 1863 243

William T Sherman to John T Swayne, June 11, 1863“The hand of destruction”: Mississippi, June 1863 246

Henry C Whelan to Mary Whelan, June 11, 1863Battle of Brandy Station: Virginia, June 1863 249

Abraham Lincoln to Erastus Corning and Others, June 12, 1863

The Constitution in Wartime: Washington, D C , June 1863 254

William Henry Harrison Clayton to Amos and Grace Clayton, June 18, 1863, and to George Washington Clayton and John Quincy Adams Clayton, June 28, 1863

The Vicksburg Siege Continues: Mississippi, June 1863 264

Charles B Haydon: Journal, June 20, 1863“A soldier never knows”: Mississippi, June 1863 270

contents xv

William T Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, June 27, 1863“They have sowed the wind”: Mississippi, June 1863 273

Edmund DeWitt Patterson: Journal, June 24–30, 1863Invading the North: Maryland and Pennsylvania, June 1863 278

Lafayette McLaws to Emily McLaws, June 28, 1863“A very different race”: Pennsylvania, June 1863 281

Alpheus S Williams to Irene and Mary Williams, June 29, 1863

Changing Commanders: Maryland, June 1863 285

Samuel W Fiske to the Springfield Republican, June 30, 1863“This business of war”: Maryland, June 1863 288

Arthur James Lyon Fremantle: Diary, July 1–4, 1863Battle of Gettysburg: Pennsylvania, July 1863 292

Samuel Pickens: Diary, July 1–3, 1863“What terrible work”: Pennsylvania, July 1863 308

Francis Adams Donaldson: Narrative of Gettysburg, July 2–3, 1863

“This trial of the nerves”: Pennsylvania, July 1863 312

Elizabeth Blair Lee to Samuel Phillips Lee, July 3 and 4–5, 1863

News of Gettysburg: Washington, D C , July 1863 325

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain to George B Herendeen, July 6, 1863

Defending Little Round Top: Pennsylvania, July 1863 328

Henry Livermore Abbott to Josiah Gardner Abbott, July 6, 1863

Defeating Pickett’s Charge: Pennsylvania, July 1863 333

Lafayette McLaws to Emily McLaws, July 7, 1863“A series of terrible engagements”: Pennsylvania, July 1863 338

Cornelia Hancock to Her Cousin, July 7, 1863, and to Ellen Hancock Child, July 8, 1863

A Nurse at Gettysburg: Pennsylvania, July 1863 341

Catharine Peirce to Taylor Peirce, July 5, 1863Celebrating the Fourth: Iowa, July 1863 346

xvi contents

William Henry Harrison Clayton to Amos and Grace Clayton, July 5, 1863

Vicksburg Surrenders: Mississippi, July 1863 348

William T Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, July 5, 1863“The event of the war”: Mississippi, July 1863 352

William Winters to Harriet Winters, July 6, 1863A “forlorn and forsaken” place: Mississippi, July 1863 357

Benjamin B French: Journal, July 8, 1863“The glorious result”: Washington, D C , July 1863 360

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, July 8–11, 1863War News and Rumors: North Carolina, July 1863 362

George Hamilton Perkins to Susan G Perkins, July 29, 1863Fighting on the Mississippi: Louisiana, July 1863 368

Charles B Haydon: Journal, July 11, 1863“I must die very soon”: Mississippi, July 1863 372

John Hay: Diary, July 11–15, 1863“The Prest was deeply grieved”: Washington, D C ,

July 1863 375

Abraham Lincoln to Ulysses S Grant, July 13, 1863Acknowledging a Victory: Washington, D C , July 1863 377

Abraham Lincoln to George G Meade, July 14, 1863“Your golden opportunity is gone”: Washington, D C ,

July 1863 378

Samuel Pickens: Diary, July 14, 1863Crossing the Potomac: Maryland and West Virginia,

July 1863 380

George Templeton Strong: Diary, July 13–17, 1863The Draft Riots: New York, July 1863 382

Emma Holmes: Diary, July 16–19, 1863Battle of Charleston Harbor: South Carolina, July 1863 390

Walter H Taylor to Richard Taylor, July 17, 1863“We crippled them severely”: Virginia, July 1863 397

James Henry Gooding to the New Bedford Mercury, July 20, 1863

Battle of Fort Wagner: South Carolina, July 1863 402

contents xvii

Lewis Douglass to Amelia Loguen, July 20, 1863“Not a man flinched”: South Carolina, July 1863 405

Charlotte Forten: Journal, July 20–24, 1863Mourning Colonel Shaw: South Carolina, July 1863 407

Maria Lydig Daly: Diary, July 23, 1863“Four days of great anxiety”: New York, July 1863 411

Herman Melville: The House-top“The Atheist roar of riot”: New York, July 1863 414

Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr , July 23, 1863News of Victory: London, July 1863 416

George G Meade to Henry W Halleck, July 31, 1863Justifying a Decision: Virginia, July 1863 420

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, July 31, 1863“I am alone to blame”: Virginia, July 1863 423

Hannah Johnson to Abraham Lincoln, July 31, 1863“What is right”: New York, July 1863 425

Frederick Douglass to George L Stearns, August 1, 1863Refusing to Recruit: New York, August 1863 427

Frederick Douglass: The Commander-in-Chief and His Black Soldiers, August 1863

Demanding Retaliation: New York, August 1863 431

Walt Whitman to Lewis Kirk Brown, August 1, 11, and 15, 1863

Visiting the Wounded: Washington, D C , August 1863 435

George E Stephens to the Weekly Anglo-African, August 7, 1863

Demanding Equal Pay: South Carolina, August 1863 441

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, August 8, 1863An Offer to Resign: Virginia, August 1863 447

Jefferson Davis to Robert E Lee, August 11, 1863Refusing a Resignation: Virginia, August 1863 450

Wilbur Fisk to The Green Mountain Freeman, August 10, 1863

Pillaging Wood: Virginia, August 1863 452

xviii contents

Frederick Douglass to George L Stearns, August 12, 1863Meeting the President: Washington, D C , August 1863 457

William H Neblett to Elizabeth Scott Neblett, August 18, 1863

Demoralization at Galveston: Texas, August 1863 461

Richard Cordley: Narrative of the Lawrence Massacre“Such a scene of horror”: Kansas, August 1863 465

Ulysses S Grant to Abraham Lincoln, August 23, 1863 The Impact of Black Troops: Illinois, August 1863 488

Jonathan Worth to Jesse G Henshaw, August 24, 1863Peace Meetings: North Carolina, August 1863 490

John M Schofield to Thomas Ewing Jr , August 25, 1863 “The most radical remedy”: Missouri, August 1863 492

Abraham Lincoln to James C Conkling, August 26, 1863Emancipation and Black Soldiers: Washington, D C ,

August 1863 495

Ulysses S Grant to Elihu B Washburne, August 30, 1863“Slavery is already dead”: Mississippi, August 1863 500

Charles Francis Adams to Lord Russell, September 5, 1863The Laird Rams: London, September 1863 502

Charles C Jones Jr to Mary Jones, September 6 and 9, 1863The Siege of Charleston: South Carolina, September 1863 505

Raphael Semmes: Journal, September 16–24, 1863The Raider Alabama: Cape Colony, September 1863 508

William T Sherman to Henry W Halleck, September 17, 1863Reconstruction: Mississippi, September 1863 512

William W Heartsill: Journal, September 17–28, 1863Battle of Chickamauga: Georgia, September 1863 521

John S Jackman: Diary, September 18–21, 1863“Lying so thick over the field”: Georgia, September 1863 531

Kate Cumming: Journal, September 28–October 1, 1863“The nameless dead”: Georgia, September–October 1863 535

Jefferson Davis: Speech at Missionary Ridge, October 10, 1863Tennessee, October 1863 546

contents xix

Oliver W Norton to Elizabeth Norton Poss, October 15, 1863Becoming an Officer: Washington, D C , October 1863 548

Jefferson Davis: Speech at Wilmington, November 5, 1863North Carolina, November 1863 551

Walter H Taylor to Bettie Saunders, November 15, 1863“We have no fears”: Virginia, November 1863 555

Cornelia Hancock to an Unknown Correspondent, November 15, 1863

Contraband Hospital: Washington, D C , November 1863 560

John Hay: Diary, November 18–19, 1863A Trip to Gettysburg: Pennsylvania, November 1863 562

Abraham Lincoln: Address at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863Pennsylvania, November 1863 566

Petition from the Colored Citizens of Beaufort, November 20, 1863

Protesting Impressment: North Carolina, November 1863 568

William Wrenshall Smith: Journal, November 13–25, 1863Battle of Chattanooga: Tennessee, November 1863 569

Montgomery C Meigs: Journal, November 23–25, 1863“Wild with excitement”: Tennessee, November 1863 582

James A Connolly to Mary Dunn Connolly, November 26 and December 7, 1863

“The grandest sight I ever saw”: Tennessee and Georgia, November 1863 590

Theodore Lyman: Journal, November 26–December 2, 1863The Mine Run Campaign: Virginia,

November–December 1863 601

Wilbur Fisk to The Green Mountain Freeman, November 29 and December 8, 1863

A Soldier at Mine Run: Virginia, November–December 1863 611

George G Meade to Margaret Meade, December 2 and 7, 1863“My conscience is clear”: Virginia, December 1863 622

Frederick Douglass: Our Work Is Not Done, December 4, 1863“Every free man a voter”: Pennsylvania, December 1863 627

xx contents

Abraham Lincoln: Annual Message to Congress, December 8, 1863

Washington, D C , December 1863 637

Abraham Lincoln: Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, December 8, 1863

Washington, D C , December 1863 654

George Templeton Strong: Diary, December 11–13, 1863Subduing the South: New York, December 1863 658

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, December 11, 1863“One misfortune follows another”: North Carolina,

December 1863 661

Mary Chesnut: Diary, January 1, 1864“God help my country”: Virginia, January 1864 664

Judith W McGuire: Diary, January 1, 1864“And yet we must go on”: Virginia, January 1864 674

Patrick R Cleburne: Memorandum on Emancipation and Enlisting Black Soldiers, January 2, 1864

Sacrificing Slavery: Georgia, January 1864 677

William T Sherman to Roswell M Sawyer, January 31, 1864“They have appealed to War”: Mississippi, January 1864 687

Lois Bryan Adams to the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, February 8 and 23, 1864

Meeting “Father Abraham”: Washington, D C , February 1864 693

Francis J Higginson to John A Dahlgren, February 18, 1864Sinking of the Housatonic: South Carolina, February 1864 701

James H Tomb: Notes on the H L Hunley, January 1865A Submarine Torpedo Boat: South Carolina, October 1863–

February 1864 703

Judith W McGuire: Diary, February 28, 1864A Soldier’s Widow: Virginia, February 1864 705

John Paris: Sermon Preached at Kinston, February 28, 1864Hanging Deserters: North Carolina, February 1864 708

Oliver W Norton to Elizabeth Norton Poss, February 29, 1864

Battle of Olustee: Florida, February 1864 723

contents xxi

John B Jones: Diary, March 1–2 and 5, 1864The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid: Virginia, March 1864 728

Ulysses S Grant to William T Sherman, March 4, 1864Summoned to Washington: Tennessee, March 1864 733

William T Sherman to Ulysses S Grant, March 10, 1864“Come out West”: Tennessee, March 1864 735

Chronology 739Biographical Notes 755Note on the Texts 792Notes 809Index 883

ix

The Civil War: The Final Year

Preface xxiIntroduction xxiii

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, March 8, 1864“Yankee wickedness”: North Carolina, March 1864 . . . . . . 1

Ellen Renshaw House: Diary, March 9–11, 19, 1864Occupied Knoxville: Tennessee, March 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 4

Scientific American: New Rolling Mills in Pittsburgh, March 26, 1864

Northern Industry: Pennsylvania, March 1864 . . . . . . . . 9

Harriet Ann Jacobs and Louisa M Jacobs to Lydia Maria Child, March 26, 1864

Opening a Freedmen’s School: Virginia, March 1864 . . . . . 11

Jim Heiskell: Statement Regarding His Escape from Slavery, March 30, 1864

“My irons were taken off”: Tennessee, March 1864 . . . . . . . 16

Susan C Woolker to Zebulon B Vance, April 3, 1864Hungry Families: North Carolina, April 1864 . . . . . . . . 19

Ulysses S Grant to William T Sherman, April 4, 1864Planning the Spring Campaign: Washington, D .C .,

April 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

William Winters to Harriet Winters, April 4, 1864“A tear of sorow”: Louisiana, April 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Wilbur Fisk to The Green Mountain Freeman, April 7, 1864Freedom and Slavery: Virginia, April 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 27

Ellen Renshaw House: Diary, April 8, 1864An Expulsion Order: Tennessee, April 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 32

Lois Bryan Adams to the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, April 9, 1864

“A proud day”: Washington, D .C ., April 1864 . . . . . . . . 34

Achilles V Clark to Judith Porter and Henrietta Ray, April 14, 1864

The Fort Pillow Massacre: Tennessee, April 1864 . . . . . . . 42

x contents

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, April 15, 1864Predicting Union Plans: Virginia, April 1864 . . . . . . . 45

The New York Times: The Black Flag, April 16, 1864“Insatiate as fiends”: April 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Abraham Lincoln: Address at Baltimore Sanitary Fair, April 18, 1864

Defining Liberty and Considering Retribution: Maryland, April 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

R H C to The Christian Recorder, April 30, 1864“Take no prisoners”: April 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Gideon Welles: Diary, May 3, 5–6, 1864Debating Retaliation: Washington, D .C ., May 1864 . . . . . 57

Petition from the Slaveholders of Randolph County, Alabama, May 6, 1864

Protesting Slave Impressment: Alabama, May 1864 . . . . . . 60

Samuel W Fiske to the Springfield Republican, May 3, 1864

“Our right cause”: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Theodore Lyman: Journal, May 4–7, 1864Battle of the Wilderness: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . 68

Wilbur Fisk to The Green Mountain Freeman, May 9, 1864“The disaster came”: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 85

J F J Caldwell: from The History of a Brigade of South Carolinians

“Another struggle with death”: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . 90

Horace Porter: from Campaigning with GrantGrant Turns South: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Herman Melville: The Armies of the Wilderness“Strife in the pines”: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Ulysses S Grant to Edwin M Stanton and to Henry W Halleck, May 11, 1864

“If it takes all summer”: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . 110

Charles Harvey Brewster to Martha Brewster, May 11, 1864; to Mary Brewster, May 13, 1864; and to Martha Brewster, May 15, 1864

Battle of Spotsylvania: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 112

contents xi

J F J Caldwell: from The History of a Brigade of South Carolinians

The Bloody Angle: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Edward A Wild to Robert S Davis, May 12, 1864Whipping a Slavemaster: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . 130

James A Connolly to Mary Dunn Connolly, May 15 and 20, 1864

Battle of Resaca: Georgia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Alpheus S Williams to Mary Williams, May 20, 1864“These sad fields”: Georgia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Samuel T Foster: Diary, May 23–28, 1864Battle of Pickett’s Mill: Georgia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 140

Richard Taylor: General Orders No 44, May 23, 1864Proclaiming Victory: Louisiana, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 147

Charles Harvey Brewster to Mary Brewster, May 23, 1864; to Martha Brewster, May 24, 1864; and to Mattie Brewster, May 26, 1864

“I am scared most to death”: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . 150

Eugene Forbes: Diary, May 24–27, 1864Andersonville Prison: Georgia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Charles Francis Adams Jr to Charles Francis Adams, May 29, 1864

Appraising Grant: Virginia, May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Lorenzo Thomas to Henry Wilson, May 30, 1864Assessing Black Troops: May 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Cornelia Hancock to Her Sister, May 28, May 31–June 3, 1864Behind the Union Lines: Virginia, May–June 1864 . . . . . . 171

Frank Wilkeson: from Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac

Battle of Cold Harbor: Virginia, May–June 1864 . . . . . . . 178

Maria Lydig Daly: Diary, June 8, 1864“Born anew in blood and tears”: New York, June 1864 . . . . 189

Robert Patrick to Alonzo Lewis, June 9, 1864“The work of death”: Georgia, June 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Judith W McGuire: Diary, June 11, 1864Ruined Plantations: Virginia, June 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 195

xii contents

Charles Harvey Brewster to Mattie Brewster, June 11, 1864“Miserable long dreary days”: Virginia, June 1864 . . . . . . 199

Charles Francis Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr , June 17, 1864

Completing “the great idea”: London, June 1864 . . . . . . . 202

Charles B Fisher: Diary, June 19–21, 1864Fighting the Alabama: The English Channel, June 1864 . . . 205

Wilbur Fisk to The Green Mountain Freeman, June 19, 1864Battle of Petersburg: Virginia, June 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Stephen Minot Weld to Stephen Minot Weld Sr , June 21, 1864“Butchered time and again”: Virginia, June 1864 . . . . . . 216

George E Chamberlin to Ephraim Chamberlin, June 27, 1864“A horrid, hellish dream”: Virginia, June 1864 . . . . . . . . 218

Eugene Forbes: Diary, June 13–30, 1864Life at Andersonville: Georgia, June 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 222

William T Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, June 30, 1864The Atlanta Campaign: Georgia, June 1864 . . . . . . . . . 232

Horace Greeley to Abraham Lincoln, July 7, 1864An Appeal for Negotiations: New York, July 1864 . . . . . . 235

John White Geary to Mary Geary, July 8, 1864“An infinity of hills”: Georgia, July 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Abraham Lincoln: Proclamation Concerning Reconstruction, July 8, 1864

Washington, D .C ., July 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, July 9, 1864Conditions for Peace: Washington, D .C ., July 1864 . . . . . . 243

Eugene Forbes: Diary, July 11, 1864Hanging the Andersonville Raiders: Georgia, July 1864 . . . 244

Henry Robinson Berkeley: Diary, July 4–13, 1864Threatening Washington: Maryland, July 1864 . . . . . . . . 246

Lois Bryan Adams to the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, July 13 and 15, 1864

The Capital under Attack: Washington, D .C ., July 1864 . . . 250

Ulysses S Grant to Henry W Halleck, July 14, 1864Pursuing Early: Virginia, July 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

contents xiii

Charles A Dana to Ulysses S Grant, July 15, 1864“The deepest shame”: Washington, D .C ., July 1864 . . . . . . 258

Abraham Lincoln: Offer of Safe Conduct for Peace Negotiators, July 18, 1864

“To Whom it may concern”: Washington, D .C ., July 1864 . . 259

Clement C Clay and James P Holcombe to Horace Greeley, July 21, 1864

“War to the bitter end”: Canada, July 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 260

James R Gilmore to the Boston Evening Transcript, July 22, 1864A Meeting with Jefferson Davis: July 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Henry Robinson Berkeley: Diary, July 14–24, 1864Fighting in the Shenandoah: Virginia, July 1864 . . . . . . . 267

Samuel T Foster: Diary, July 18–23, 1864Fighting for Atlanta: Georgia, July 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 271

John Q A Dennis to Edwin M Stanton, July 26, 1864“Take my children from those men”: Massachusetts,

July 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Benjamin F McIntyre: Diary, July 29, 1864“A melancholy accident”: Texas, July 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . 280

David G Farragut: General Orders Nos 10 and 11, July 12 and 29, 1864

Preparing for Battle: Gulf of Mexico, July 1864 . . . . . . . . 283

Stephen Minot Weld: Diary, July 30, 1864, and Memoir from 1912

The Battle of the Crater: Virginia, July 1864 . . . . . . . . . 286

William Pegram to Virginia Johnson Pegram, August 1, 1864“Murder them in cold blood”: Virginia, July 1864 . . . . . . 291

C Chauncey Burr: from The Old Guard, August 1864“This abominable despotism”: New York, August 1864 . . . . 294

Edgeworth Bird to Sallie Bird, August 4, 1864“Retribution at last”: Virginia, August 1864 . . . . . . . . . 303

Benjamin F Wade and Henry Winter Davis: To the Supporters of the Government, August 5, 1864

“This dictatorial usurpation”: August 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 307

Robert Garlick Hill Kean: Diary, August 7, 1864“Stern retaliation”: Virginia, August 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 319

xiv contents

Mathella Page Harrison: Diary, August 17, 1864“Smoke and flame”: Virginia, August 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 322

Abraham Lincoln: Memorandum on Probable Failure of Reelection, August 23, 1864

Washington, D .C ., August 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

Benjamin F Butler to Robert Ould, August 27, 1864Exchanging Prisoners: Virginia, August 1864 . . . . . . . . . 325

Robert Toombs to Alexander H Stephens, August 30, 1864Defending Atlanta: Georgia, August 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 333

Platform of the Democratic National Convention, August 30, 1864

“Four years of failure”: Illinois, August 1864 . . . . . . . . . 336

James R Gilmore: Our Visit to Richmond, September 1864“We must conquer”: September 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, September 2, 1864Requesting Reinforcements: Virginia, September 1864 . . . . 358

Spottswood Rice to His Children and to Kitty Diggs, September 3, 1864

“My children is my own”: Missouri, September 1864 . . . . . . 362

Thomas Bramlette to Abraham Lincoln, September 3, 1864Preserving “our own race”: Kentucky, September 1864 . . . . 365

Gideon Welles: Diary, September 3, 1864“Shouting for McClellan”: Washington, D .C .,

September 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Clement L Vallandigham to George B McClellan, September 4, 1864

Political Advice: Ohio, September 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Kate Stone: Diary, September 5, 1864“The wrath to come”: Louisiana, September 1864 . . . . . . . 371

George Templeton Strong: Diary, September 5–8, 1864“Audacious infamy”: New York, September 1864 . . . . . . . 373

George B McClellan to the Democratic Nomination Committee, September 8, 1864

Accepting the Nomination: New Jersey, September 1864 . . . . 377

James A Connolly to Mary Dunn Connolly, September 11, 1864Jonesboro and Atlanta: Georgia, September 1864 . . . . . . . 380

contents xv

William T Sherman to James M Calhoun and Others, September 12, 1864

“War is cruelty”: Georgia, September 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 384

Rachel Ann Wicker to John A Andrew, September 12, 1864Equal Pay for Black Soldiers: Ohio, September 1864 . . . . . . 387

Alexander McKinley to Samuel Francis Du Pont, September 18, 1864

A Report from Mobile Bay: Alabama, September 1864 . . . . 389

Henry Robinson Berkeley: Diary, September 19, 1864Battle of Winchester: Virginia, September 1864 . . . . . . . . 396

Jefferson Davis: Speech at Macon, September 23, 1864Georgia, September 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

Elizabeth Blair Lee to Samuel Phillips Lee, September 24, 1864

A Cabinet Resignation: Maryland, September 1864 . . . . . 403

Jefferson Davis: Speech at Columbia, October 4, 1864South Carolina, October 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

Address of the Colored National Convention, October 6, 1864

A Call for Political Equality: New York, October 1864 . . . . 414

William T Sherman to Ulysses S Grant, October 9, 1864“Make Georgia howl”: Georgia, October 1864 . . . . . . . . . 432

Stephen Dodson Ramseur to Ellen Richmond Ramseur, October 10, 1864

“One great desert”: Virginia, October 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 434

John B Jones: Diary, October 10–13, 1864Desertion and “despotism”: Virginia, October 1864 . . . . . . 437

Samuel Francis Du Pont to William King Hall, October 13, 1864

England and the Civil War: Delaware, October 1864 . . . . 442

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, October 18, 1864War News: North Carolina, October 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 448

Francis Lieber: Lincoln or McClellan, October 1864Unity and Civil Freedom: New York, October 1864 . . . . . . 450

George Templeton Strong: Diary, November 9, 1864Election Results: New York, November 1864 . . . . . . . . . 458

xvi contents

John Hay: Diary, November 11, 1864Reading a Sealed Paper: Washington, D .C ., November

1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

John S Mosby to Philip H Sheridan, November 11, 1864Retaliatory Executions: Virginia, November 1864 . . . . . . . 463

Jane Kamper: Statement Regarding Her Emancipation, November 14, 1864

A Slaveowner’s Deception: Maryland, November 1864 . . . . 465

Maria Lydig Daly: Diary, November 15, 1864“Vox populi, vox dei”: New York, November 1864 . . . . . . . 466

James A Connolly: Diary, November 17–23, 1864Sherman’s March: Georgia, November 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 468

John Wilkes Booth: “To whom it may concern,” November 1864

“The bitter end”: November 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr , November 25, 1864Lincoln’s Reelection: London, November 1864 . . . . . . . . . 483

Joseph Miller: Statement Regarding His Family, November 26, 1864

“My boy was dead”: Kentucky, November 1864 . . . . . . . . 486

Samuel T Foster: Diary, November 30–December 1, 1864Battle of Franklin: Tennessee, November–December 1864 . . . 489

Abraham Lincoln: Annual Message to Congress, December 6, 1864

Washington, D .C ., December 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493

Henry Nutt to Zebulon B Vance, December 12, 1864Reports of a Slave Insurrection: North Carolina,

December 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510

John Chipman Gray to John C Ropes, December 14, 1864Meeting Sherman: Georgia, December 1864 . . . . . . . . . . 514

John White Geary to Mary Geary, December 17, 1864Besieging Savannah: Georgia, December 1864 . . . . . . . . 519

Mary S Mallard: Journal, December 15–21, 1864Union Looters: Georgia, December 1864 . . . . . . . . . . . . 522

Harper’s Weekly: Retaliation, January 7, 1865“The torture of loyal men”: New York, January 1865 . . . . . 536

contents xvii

Howell Cobb to James A Seddon, January 8, 1865“The most pernicious idea”: Georgia, January 1865 . . . . . . 538

Catherine Edmondston: Diary, January 9, 1865“The birthright of the South”: North Carolina,

January 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541

Petition of the Colored Citizens of Nashville to the Union Convention of Tennessee, January 9, 1865

The Right to Vote: Tennessee, January 1865 . . . . . . . . . . 546

Robert E Lee to Andrew Hunter, January 11, 1865Enlisting Slaves “without delay”: Virginia, January 1865 . . . 554

Meeting of Colored Ministers with Edwin M Stanton and William T Sherman, January 12, 1865

“To have land”: Georgia, January 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . 558

William T Sherman: Special Field Orders No 15, January 16, 1865

Land for Freedmen: Georgia, January 1865 . . . . . . . . . . 566

Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, January 31, 1865

Washington, D .C ., January 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

George W Julian: Journal, February 1, 1865“The greatest event”: Washington, D .C ., February 1865 . . . . 570

Robert Garlick Hill Kean: Diary, February 5, 1865Peace Talks: Virginia, February 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572

John H Stringfellow to Jefferson Davis, February 8, 1865“We must emancipate”: Virginia, February 1865 . . . . . . . 576

Henry Highland Garnet: A Memorial Discourse, February 12, 1865

“Let slavery die”: Washington, D .C ., February 1865 . . . . . . 583

Emma LeConte: Diary, February 17–18, 1865The Burning of Columbia: South Carolina, February 1865 . . 598

Luther Rice Mills to John Mills, March 2, 1865Confederate Deserters: Virginia, March 1865 . . . . . . . . . 609

Abraham Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865Washington, D .C ., March 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612

Frederick Douglass: from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass“A sacred effort”: Washington, D .C ., March 1865 . . . . . . . 615

xviii contents

Roanoke Island Freedmen to Abraham Lincoln and to Edwin M Stanton, March 9, 1865

“We have work faithful”: North Carolina, March 1865 . . . . 618

George Templeton Strong: Diary, March 10, 1865“The death flurry of a whale”: New York, March 1865 . . . . 623

Alpheus S Williams to His Daughter, March 12, 1865Marching through the Carolinas: North Carolina,

March 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626

Charles Sumner to John Bright, March 13, 1865Land and Votes: Washington, D .C ., March 1865 . . . . . . . . 629

Frances Johnson: Statement Regarding Her Whipping and Escape, March 25, 1865

“Give me a thousand”: Kentucky, March 1865 . . . . . . . . . 632

Clarissa Burdett: Statement Regarding Her Whipping and Escape, March 27, 1865

“A very cruel man”: Kentucky, March 1865 . . . . . . . . . . 635

John B Jones: Diary, April 2, 1865“Awaiting my fate”: Virginia, April 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . 637

Sallie Brock: from Richmond During the WarThe Fall of Richmond: Virginia, April 1865 . . . . . . . . . . 641

George Templeton Strong: Diary, April 3, 1865“Gloria in excelsis deo”: New York, April 1865 . . . . . . . . 650

William Gordon McCabe to Mary Pegram, April 4, 1865“This peerless comrade”: Virginia, April 1865 . . . . . . . . . 653

Thomas Morris Chester to the Philadelphia Press, April 4 and 6, 1865

Occupying Richmond: Virginia, April 1865 . . . . . . . . . . 656

Gideon Welles: Diary, April 7, 1865Southern “arrogance and folly”: Washington, D .C ., April

1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668

Ulysses S Grant to Robert E Lee, April 9, 1865Surrender Terms: Virginia, April 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

Robert E Lee: General Orders No 9, April 10, 1865A Commander’s Farewell: Virginia, April 1865 . . . . . . . . 673

Elizabeth Keckly: from Behind the ScenesLincoln’s Assassination: Washington, D .C ., April 1865 . . . . 675

contents xix

George Templeton Strong: Diary, April 15, 1865“A fearful, gigantic crime”: New York, April 1865 . . . . . . 684

Gideon Welles: Diary, April 18, 1865The President’s Deathbed: Washington, D .C ., April 1865 . . . 688

William T Sherman to Ulysses S Grant or Henry W Halleck, April 18, 1865

A Political Agreement: North Carolina, April 1865 . . . . . 696

Sarah Morgan: Diary, April 19, 1865“It is all murder”: Louisiana, April 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . 700

Robert E Lee to Jefferson Davis, April 20, 1865Explaining Surrender: Virginia, April 1865 . . . . . . . . . . 703

Jefferson Davis to Varina Howell Davis, April 23, 1865Fleeing Defeat: North Carolina, April 1865 . . . . . . . . . . 705

Stephen Minot Weld to Hannah Minot Weld, April 24, 1865“Something that haunted us”: Virginia, April 1865 . . . . . . 709

Samuel T Foster: Diary, April 18–May 4, 1865“What were we fighting for”: North Carolina, April–

May 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711

Ellen Renshaw House: Diary, May 2, 1865“A thousand rumors”: Georgia, May 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . 720

Walt Whitman: from Specimen Days“He behaved so brave”: Washington, D .C ., May 1865 . . . . . 722

New York Herald: The Grandest Military Display in the World, May 24, 1865

“Heroes of the sublimest conflict”: May 1865 . . . . . . . . . . 725

Lois Bryan Adams to the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, May 24 and 27, 1865

The Grand Review: Washington, D .C ., May 1865 . . . . . . . 728

Gordon Granger: General Orders No 3, June 19, 1865“All slaves are free”: Texas, June 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

Chronology 737Biographical Notes 754Note on the Texts 791Notes 808Index 863