HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

FROM THE COMPROMISE OF 1850

TO

THE FINAL RESTORATION OF HOME RULE AT THE SOUTH IN 1877

VOL. IV

HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE COMPROMISE OF 1850 TO THE FINAL RESTORATION OF HOME RULE AT THE SOUTH IN 1877 BY JAMES FORD RHODES, LL.D., Litt.D. MEMBER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Vol. Ill 1860-1862 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd.



CONTENTS

OF

THE FOURTH VOLUME

CHAPTER XVII

Recapitulation 1

Siege of Yorktown by McClellan 3

Yorktown to the Chickahominy 5

Destruction of the Merrimac 6

Alarm in Richmond 7

McClellan's lack of enterprise 10

Stonewall Jackson's campaign in the Shenandoah Valley 11

Ineffective measures to frustrate Jackson 16

Alarm in Washington 19

The President's plan for the capture of Jackson 20

Jackson eludes pursuit 21

The President's plan criticised 22

Battle of Fair Oaks 24

General Sumner saves the day 25

Richmond probably within McClellan's grasp 27

Robert E. Lee 29

McClellan in sight of the spires of Richmond 31

McClellan's plan 33

Lee's plan 35

The Confederates attack Porter 38 Battle of Gaines's Mill 40

McClellan demoralized 43

McClellan's retreat to the James river 45

Battles of Savage's Station and Glendale 46

Battle of Malvern Hill 47

Peninsular campaign a failure 49

McClellan criticised 49

Victory with the Confederates 53

Call for 300,000 men 55

Gloom at the North 57

Congress diligently at work 57

Tax Act of 1862 58

The Confiscation Act 60

Hunter's emancipation order 65

The President urges on the border slave States gradual abolition of slavery with compensation 65

The President believes the slaves must be freed in the Confederate States as a military necessity 69

First Emancipation Proclamation 71

Greeley and the Prayer of Twenty Millions 72

Lincoln's reply 73

English sentiment on the Civil War 76

The higher classes sympathize with the South 79

The Florida 80

The Times 82

The Alabama 85
 
Earl Russell and the Alabama 91  

English opinion 92  

McClellan and the Army of the Potomac 95

Pope in command of the Army of Virginia 97

Halleck General-in-Chief 97

Pope's address and orders 99

McClellan ordered to withdraw his army from the Peninsula... 104

McClellan's objections 106

McClellan suggests a feasible plan 110

Pope's campaign in Virginia 113

Jackson's movement 122

Lee's and Pope's armies 125 Battle of

Gainesville 126

Battle of Groveton 127

Second Battle of Bull Run 129

McClellan deprived of command 132

Alarm in Washington 134

McClellan restored to command 135

Sequences of Pope's Virginia campaign 137

CHAPTER XVIII

A picture of Lee 139

Lee's invasion of Maryland 140

Confederate prospects bright 142

Consternation in the North 143

Lee's order in McClellan's hands 145

Battle of South Mountain 146

Surrender of Harper's Ferry 147

Lee's campaign of invasion a failure 149

Battle of Antietam 150

Lee retreats into Virginia 155

The Emancipation Proclamation 157

The fall elections of 1862 163

Arbitrary arrests 165

The Democratic platform 167

The President's proclamation of September 24 169

Criticised by B. R. Curtis 170

Confidence in Lincoln 171

CHAPTER XIX

Buell's offensive movement 173

Bragg's invasion of Kentucky 175

Alarm in Cincinnati and Louisville 175

Battle of Perryville 179

Lincoln and East Tennessee 181

Influence of Oliver P. Morton 182

Removal of Buell 183

McClellan ordered to make an advance 185

Lincoln's letter of advice to McClellan 187

Removal of McClellan 188

Burnside in command 192

Battle of Fredericksburg 194

Lincoln's depression 199

Gloom at the North 200

Lincoln's painful perplexity 201

Burnside removed; Hooker placed in command of the Army of the Potomac 202

The cabinet crisis 203

Lincoln; Seward; Chase 207

Lincoln and Chase 208

Lincoln and Seward 211

The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 212

Compensated emancipation 215

Battle of Stone's River or Murfreesborough 219

Depression in Washington 221

Bitter opposition of the Democrats 223

The term "Copperhead " used freely 224

Seymour and Vallandigham 225

The Democratic opposition in Congress and in the country at large 227

The President's arbitrary exercise of authority criticised 229

Contrasted with the course of affairs in England 230

Number of political prisoners in both countries 230

So-called "reign of terror" in both countries 232

Condemnation of arbitrary arrests and arbitrary interference with freedom of the press 234

The President given control of the sword and purse of the nation 236

Conscription act; financial legislation 237

National Bank act 239

Union leagues 241

Success of the popular loan 242

Misfortunes 244

Vallandigham 245

Arrest of Vallandigham 247

Arbitrary proceedings 248

Lincoln's connection with the Vallandigham case 250

Suppression of the Chicago Times 253

CHAPTER XX

Hooker in command of the Army of the Potomac 256

Battle of Chancellorsville 259

Hooker out generalled by Lee 259

Jackson's flank movement 260

Rout of the Eleventh Corps 261

Sedgwick's movement 263

Death of Stonewall Jackson 264

Discouragement at the North 266

Business activity 266

Volunteering ceases 267

Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania 268

Lincoln's common-sense advice to Hooker 270

Harrisburg threatened 273

Popular demand for recall of McClellan 277

Alarm in Philadelphia and throughout the North 278

Hooker relieved; Meade placed in command of the Army of the Potomac 280

Battle of Gettysburg 282

Pickett's charge 288

Lee's self-control 290

Controversy between Longstreet and the friends of Lee 291

Rejoicing at the North 293

Lee retreats 293

Failure of Meade to attack 295

Lincoln's anxiety and irritation 296

Lincoln's Gettysburg address 297

CHAPTER XXI

The importance of the Mississippi River 299

Grant's Vicksburg campaign 300

Grant found fault with and slandered 301

Grant's bold plan 304

Grant's May battles 308

Siege of Vicksburg 311

Surrender of Vicksburg 317

Joy at the North over Gettysburg and Vicksburg 319

The draft in New York City 321

Draft riot in New York 322

Lincoln and Seymour 329

Robert Gould Shaw and his negro regiment 332

CHAPTER XXII

English sentiment on our Civil War 337

Indications of English interference 337

Gladstone's Newcastle speech 339

Sir George Cornewall Lewis's speech 341

Project of intervention abandoned 341

Non-intervention policy continued 342

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation 343

French expedition to Mexico 345

Louis Napoleon proposes mediation to England and Russia .... 346

Russia and England decline to join him 347

Louis Napoleon alone proposes mediation 347

Sentiment of the English common people 349

Anti-slavery sentiment; sympathy with the North 350

Enthusiasm for Lincoln 352

Sympathy of the higher classes with the South 354

Attacks on the Proclamation 357

Sympathy of the masses with the North 358

Grote criticises the Northern people 360

Carlyle's Ilias Americana in nuce 361

Dickens and Tennyson 362

The American question in Parliament, February and March, 1863 362

The depredations of the Alabama 365

Confederate loan; more vessels building 366

The Alexandra; the iron-clad rams 367

Palmerston's speech, March, 1863 368

Imminence of war with England 369

The Alexandra seized 371

Northern cause deemed hopeless 373

Louis Napoleon and Roebuck 374

Effect of Gettysburg and Vicksburg 375

The iron-clad rams 377

Earl Russell's honest purpose 381

Russell's promptness 382

The iron-clad rams detained 383

The iron-clad rams seized 384

A blow to the Confederate cause 385

Mason withdraws from London 386

Adams's course well-nigh faultless 387

England's course contrasted with Louis Napoleon's course 388

French and English sympathy 390

The question of selling arms 391

Friendly neutrality of England 392

Complete change in English opinion 394

CHAPTER XXIII

Rosecrans's brilliant strategy' 395

Rosecrans marches into Chattanooga 396

Battle of Chickamauga 397

Reinforcements for Rosecrans 399

Rosecrans unequal to the situation 400

Grant in command in the West 401

Battle of Chattanooga 405

The fall elections of 1863 408

Lincoln's letter to the Springfield mass-meeting 408

The Ohio canvass; Vallandigham the Democratic candidate ... 412

Defeat of Vallandigham 415

Elections in the other Northern States 416

The President's Proclamation of September 15, 1863 417

Louis Napoleon's designs in Mexico cause uneasiness 418

The assembling of Congress December 7, 1863 419

The President's message 419

Public opinion on the war 423

Lowell on Lincoln 424

Report of the Secretary of War 426

Report of the Secretary of the Treasury 427

Financial legislation 428

Drafts for troops ordered 429

Difficulty of obtaining recruits 430

Bounty-jumping 431

Lieutenant-General Grant 433

Grant's letter to Sherman 433

General Sherman's letter to Grant 434

Grant in the spring of 1864 436

Grant begins his advance 440

Battle of the Wilderness 441

Battles at Spotsylvania 443

Battle of Cold Harbor 445

Enormous loss in Grant's campaign 447

Sherman's Atlanta campaign 448

Assault at Kenesaw Mountain 454

Sherman and Thomas 455

The political campaign of 1864 456

Chase's desire for the Presidency 457

Lincoln's attitude towards Chase 459

Republicans generally favor the renomination of Lincoln 460

The people's confidence in Lincoln 461

Radicals oppose Lincoln 461

Radicals nominate Fremont for President 464

Public opinion of Grant's campaign 464

Discouragement at Grant's losses 467

Renomination of Lincoln 468

Andrew Johnson for Vice-President 469

Public opinion on the French occupation of Mexico 471

Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery proposed 473 The

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 repealed 474

Differences between Lincoln and Chase 475

Chase resigns his office 479

Fessenden Secretary of the Treasury 480

Relations between Lincoln and Chase 481

Differences between Lincoln and the Radicals 483

Radicals attack the President 487

Grant transfers his army to the south side of the James 488

Failure to take Petersburg 489

The President's visit to the army 491

Grant's disappointment 493

Grant and Butler 493

Early's invasion of Maryland 496

Washington in danger of capture 497

Grant needed in Washington 501

Confederates occupy Chambersburg July 30, 1864 504

Sheridan commander in the Shenandoah 505

Lincoln and Halleck regret Grant's losses 506

Gloom at the North 507

Deplorable state of the finances; gold, 285 509

Men no longer enlist 510

The Kearsarge sinks the Alabama 510

Sherman's Atlanta campaign 511

Battle of Atlanta; McPherson killed 512

Greeley's peace negotiations 513

"To whom it may concern" 514

Mission of Jaquess and Gilmore 516

Misfortunes of the North 516

Gloom; eagerness for peace 517

Dissatisfaction with Lincoln 518

Success of Democrats probable in the Presidential election 520

Lincoln's re-election seems impossible 521

Lincoln's magnanimity 522

McClellan nominated for President by the Democrats 522

The war-is-a-failure resolution 523

Sherman takes Atlanta 523

Farragut's victory in Mobile Bay 524

Grant's letter —a campaign document 525

The Vermont and Maine elections 526

Sheridan's victories in the Shenandoah 526

The political tide turns 527

Radicals support Lincoln 528

The Republican party united 529

"Resolved that the war is a failure" 530

Campaign slanders of Lincoln 531

Seymour's and Winthrop's speeches 531

Speeches of Carl Schurz 535

The October elections 536

Sheridan's victory at Cedar Creek 536

Sheridan's ride 537 Re-election of Lincoln 538

The war must go on 539



Source: Rhodes, James Ford. History of the United States; from the compromise of 1850 to the final restoration of home rule at the south in 1877, v.4. New York: Macmillan, 1910 [c1892].