rear. BATTLE OF SECESSIONVILLE. öperate by moving on his left and Stevens had two brigades, Colonel Fenton's (8th Michigan, 7th Connecticut, 28th Massachusetts) and Colonel Daniel Leasure's (46th and 79th New York and 100th Pennsylvania), and four guns. At 4 A. м. the column moved forward, Fenton leading, with a storming party of two companies of the 8th Michigan, closely followed by the other 8 companies of the regiment, the 7th Connecticut, and the 28th Massachusetts. Leasure followed Fenton. Lamar had knowledge of the movement and had sent for reinforcements, and as the leading regiment came within 300 yards and deployed into line his guns opened their canister-fire, and at the same time heavy volleys of musketry from dikes 109 and hedges were poured upon the right flank of the assaulting column. The Union regiments closed up rapidly and made a rush for the work, but became entangled in the abatis, and at 5 o'clock, after a severe contest of 25 minutes, they fell back 500 yards to a hedge, under cover of artillery, with a loss of over 500. At 9 o'clock Benham ordered Stevens back to the camp. The Union loss was 107 killed, 487 wounded, and 89 missing, an aggregate of 683. The Confederates reported a loss of 52 killed, 144 wounded, and 8 missing. Late in June the Union troops were ordered to withdraw from James Island and, for some time after, no further attempt was made to capture the city.* CHAPTER VI. 1861-1862. WORK OF THE CONFEDERATE AND UNION CONGRESSES. Davis' message to the Confederate Congress Financial measures - Conditions in Richmond and Charleston Lincoln's annual message to Congress Reports of the department officials Condition of the TreasurySpaulding's financial plan - Morrill's minority report - Passage of the legal tender act — Resolutions relating to slavery - Abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia - Lincoln's plan of compensated emancipation - Charges of corruption against Secretary Cameron — His appointment to a foreign mission Appointment of Stanton as Secretary of War. On November 18, 1861, the Confederate congress met at Richmond. Members were present from six of the seceded States sufficient to form a quorum, and the next day Davis sent in his message.* It was a document prepared with care, and evip. 404. *See Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. iii., dently intended to produce effect abroad quite as much as at home. * Official Records, vol. xiv.; Battles and Leaders, vol. iv., p. 21; Hazard Stevens, Military Operations in South Carolina in 1862, against Charleston, Port Royal Ferry, James Island and Secessionville (1912), and Life of I. 1. Stevens; Walter B. Capers, The Soldier Bishop — Ellison Capers (1912); Confederate Military History, vol. v., pp. 86-92. 110 CONFEDERATE FINANCES; DISTRESS IN THE SOUTH. There was a triumphant note in the message as he spoke of the succession of glorious victories at Bethel, Bull Run, Springfield, and other places, of the waxing strength of the Confederacy and of its well-regulated financial system. The financiering extolled by Davis consisted in meeting the expenses of the war by loans and the issue of treasury notes.* Between July 1 and November 16 less than 1 per cent. of the receipts had come. from customs and miscellaneous sources, more than $20,000,000 had been raised by loans, and $31,000,000 had been expended. A direct war tax imposed in August had not yielded any returns. So averse were the people to taxation that most of the States assumed this tax, paying it to the government, and raising the means by issuing State bonds and treasury notes. The proceedings of Congress were of no great importance. Kentucky and Missouri were admitted into the Confederacy; about $60,000,000 was appropriated for the army and $4,000,000 for the navy; and a resolution was adopted refusing to make any advance to planters, or to purchase their products. The session of the provisional Congress terminated February 17, when it was immediately succeeded by the permanent Congress. But while Davis appeared not to be discouraged, there were others who * Details of these transactions are given in the next chapter. † Davis, Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, vol. i., p. 495. did not take such a roseate view of the situation. The pressure of the blockade had begun to work hardship on the people of the South. Articles of necessity had advanced enormously in price, coal and wood were scarce, the supply of medicines was becoming low, and the scarcity of lint and surgical plaster was felt seriously by the surgeons in the hospitals. Shifts were made to get along without the comforts and necessaries of life. At first the people mixed rye with their coffee, and when the supply of that article ran short, substituted wheat or chickory. Many of the people dressed entirely in homespun, their clothes and even their hats and shoes being plantation-made. Fortunately, in 1861, the crops of wheat and corn were large, and this supply lasted for a considerable length of time. One of the greatest problems, however, was that of transportation, for at times. the railroads were unable to do more than transport troops to the front and keep the armies supplied. The cotton and tobacco crops were ready for the market, and both France and England were willing to pay high prices for these staples, but the Union blockade was an effectual barrier against its exportation and thus the Confederacy lost a large amount of money on which it had depended. But in spite of discomforts and business depression, life in Richmond. does not seem to have been especially severe in the latter half of 1861. Dividends were paid by the bank and LINCOLN'S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS. railroad companies; the civil and criminal courts held their appointed terms; the theatres were open, and generally crowded; and the Fourth of July and Christmas were celebrated in the usual merry manner. Charleston, however, presented a different picture. Public amusements were almost entirely forgotten, for the blockade had created widespread depression, since the prosperity of the section depended on the marketing of the cotton crop. When the Union troops captured Port Royal, and commanded the adjacent islands on which sea-island cotton was grown, the planters applied the torch to the year's product. Moreover, on December 11, the city had been visited by a disastrous fire entailing a loss estimated at more than $5,000,000. Nevertheless, the spirit of the people was undaunted, and the anniversary of the secession of the State was celebrated with noisy enthusiasm.* On December 2 the second session of the Thirty-Seventh (Union) Congress convened, Senators and Representatives from 25 States being present. On the next day President Lincoln sent in his annual message. In a few brief paragraphs he spoke of the foreign relations of the country, and of the efforts of the Confederacy to induce other nations to side with them against the North. His references to foreign affairs differed from Rhodes, United States, vol. iii., pp. 544-552. For which, see Richardson, Messages and Papers, vol. vi., pp. 44-58. 111 those in his previous message, the complacent tone having given way to one of sorrow and anxiety. Although he was as optimistic as possible under the circumstances, it was evident that he was laboring under a great weight. In his resumé of domestic affairs he spoke of the financial conditions in encouraging terms, stating that the revenues were nearly $87,000,000 and the expenditures about $85,000,000, thus leaving a balance of $2,000,000. "It is gratifying to know," he said, "that the expenditures made necessary by the rebellion are not beyond the resources of the loyal people and to believe that the same patriotism which has thus far sustained the government will continue to sustain it until peace and union shall again bless the land. It is gratifying to know that the patriotism of the people has proved equal to the occasion and that the number of troops tendered greatly exceeds the force which Congress authorized me to call into the field.” The reports of the secretaries were submitted. The Secretary of War estimated the strength of the army at 660,971, citing this as an evidence of the wonderful vigor of our institutions, since this vast army had been procured without conscriptions, levies or drafts. He discussed also the question as to what was to be done with slaves abandoned by their masters, recommending this problem to the earnest attention of Congress. The Secretary of the Navy reported 212 available vessels of all classes, 112 CONDITION OF THE TREASURY. and 52 others in process of construction. The seamen in service numbered 22,000. Undoubtedly the most important report was that of the Secretary of the Treasury. During the first quarter of the fiscal year (July 1 to September 30), he stated that the actual expenses of the Government had been $98,239,733.09, leaving a balance on October 1 of $4,292,776.18. Up to December 1 he had realized $197,000,000 from loans, of which $100,000,000 had been obtained from three-year bonds bearing 7.30 per cent. interest, and nearly $46,000,000 from the negotiation of $50,000,000 twenty-year 6 per cent. bonds on a 7 per cent. basis. Nearly $25,000,000 of notes payable on demand without interest had been issued, and the balance had been obtained by the sale of or by the payment to creditors of 6 per cent. notes, part of which ran for 60 days and part for two years. He estimated the expenditures for the fiscal year (1861-1862) at $543,500,000. As the ordinary revenues would not amount to more than $40,000,000, he recommended enough additional taxation to provide an aggregate of $50,000,000. The balance must come from loans, some of which had been negotiated, but about $250,000,000 remained to be provided for.* The loans of which Chase spoke, amounting to $146,000,000, had been taken by the banks of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. These transactions were made on a specie basis, involving the * Rhodes, United States, vol. iii., p. 559. actual disbursement by the banks of a large amount of coin. On December 28, however, the managers of the New York banks decided to suspend specie payments, and gold soon brought a slight premium. This condition had to be considered by Congress when financial matters were brought before it. In January of 1862 Congress passed a joint resolution declaring its purpose to raise at least $150,000,000 by taxation and additional duties on im ports. Accordingly a sub-committee of the Ways and Means Committee worked out a tax bill. But as considerable time must elapse before such a bill could pass both House and Senate and receive the President's signature, another sub-committee was appointed, with E. G. Spaulding as chairman, to advise immediate means for carrying on the war. The problem was to raise $100,000,000 to prevent the government from stopping payment. Spaulding planned to issue $100,000,000 of non-interest-bearing notes which would be receivable for all debts due the United States and legal tender in payment of all public and private debts, and to make legal tender also the $50,000,000 in Treasury notes authorized in July of 1861. There were to be $500,000,000 of legal tender notes which were to be exchangeable at par for 6 per cent. 20-year bonds. This plan in the form of a bill was reported to the House, and the debate began. Many denied the power of Congress to make Treas THE LEGAL TENDER ACT. ury notes legal tender. Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, asserted that the cost of carrying on the war would be greatly increased by inflating the currency, while Roscoe Conkling argued that the bill was of very doubtful constitutionality, and that its moral imperfections were equally serious, since it would "proclaim throughout the country a saturnalia of fraud, a carnival for rogues. 99 After the introduction of the legal tender bill, the New York, Philadelphia, and Boston bankers sent delegates to Washington to oppose its passage. On January 15 Chase and the delegates agreed upon a scheme for a National banking act, and a method by which they could avoid making the Treasury notes legal tender. The plan of the delegates, however, was not satisfactory to the majority of the bankers in their home cities, and as the Boston bankers withheld assent to assent to the proposed the proposed arrangements, Secretary Chase no longer objected to the legal tender clause. Morrill introduced the minority report from the Ways and Means Committee. He proposed to have $200,000,000 of the $500,000,000 of bonds issued at 7.30 per cent. besides $100,000,000 of Treasury notes bearing interest at 3.65 per cent. payable in two years, which notes should be receivable for all debts due the United States save duties on imports, *See E. G. Spaulding, History of the Legal Tender Paper Money Issued during the Great Rebellion, pp. 18-21. Ibid, p. 21 et seq.; Warden, Life of Chase, F. 406. 113 and should be paid out for government supplies and salaries, and exchangeable at par for the 7.30 bonds, but they were not to be made legal tender. So the choice lay between a voluntary loan from bonds and from interest-bearing Treasury notes which were not legal tender, and a forced loan without interest.* The majority in the House considered the measure a wise, judicious, and excellent one, believing that, since the Government could not be carried on without money, it was necessary to give it the support sought for in this bill; accordingly, on February 6, the legal tender act passed the House by a vote of 93 to 59 and was then sent to the Senate. Here the legal tender clause was opposed by Fessenden and Collamer, and advocated by Sumner and Sherman. A motion was made to strike out the legal tender clause, but this was lost by a vote of 22 to 17, whereupon with several amendments the bill passed the Senate, the most important amendment being that the $500,000,000 of bonds were made 5-20's, the interest on which was required to be paid in coin to be procured by exacting payment of customs duties in the same currency. The bill passed the Senate on February 25 by a vote of 30 to 7, and was approved by President Lincoln the same day.† During the current session an im *H. C. Adams, Public Debts, pp. 144-146. Rhodes, United States, vol. iii., pp. 562-572; Nicolay and Hay, Life of Lincoln, vol. vi., p. 11. |