by John McElroy
CHAPTER XVI.
A HAPPY WEDDING.--MARRIAGE OF SERAINE WHITCOMB AND HENRY LYON.--FIRE AND PLAGUE.--THE PLOTTING IN CANADA TO BURN CITIES AND SPREAD DISEASE.
"I did not fall in love--I rose in love."--Bulwer.
"After Jacob Thomlinson and C. C. Carey had recovered somewhat from theiralarm and demoralization, they spoke freely to their friends in Montreal(and they had many there) about the burning of the Will-o'-the-Wisp,saying it was a great loss to their interests, without specifying inwhat way. In a few days Jackson, (after finding that they had invitedValamburg, of Ohio, Strider, Bowen, and Bryan, of Indiana, forconsultation,) could remain no longer, as he would be known by Valamburgat once. He bade his friends good-by, saying he would travel throughthe West and would return if it became important to do so. He left forToronto, remained there a day or so, and then came to Windsor, where heremained for several days. Finally he met Henry, who had just returnedfrom Montreal to Windsor, where he was known as Henry Davis. He wasintroduced by Henry to one Samuel Wintergreen, who was in the employ ofthe Confederacy, or, in other words, of the rebels, getting everythingready for raids on the cities and villages in Ohio and Illinois. Thisman was very shy of Jackson, but spoke freely on all subjects save whathe was himself doing. Henry and he were chums and seemed to understandeach other perfectly.
Thomlinson and friends in Consultation 299]
"Wintergreen was from Thomlinson's town in the South, and was fullytrusted and posted by him with all their plans and schemes. The onlyremark he made to Jackson was that he knew, from Mr. Thomlinson,who Jackson was, and merely asked if he saw the burning of theWill-o'-the-Wisp; to which Jackson replied in the affirmative. Jacksonand Henry had arranged so that they should leave for Detroit the nextday. Henry informed Wintergreen that he must visit Detroit on mattersof importance, and that he might, perhaps, be detained for someconsiderable time, but that he would keep his eyes and ears open atall times during his absence. The next morning Jackson and Henry met inaccordance with their agreement and immediately left for Detroit. Uponarriving they drove directly to the house of Mr. Whitcomb, where theyfound the old gentleman, his wife, and Seraine; James, her brother, nowa Lieutenant and Aide-de-Camp to Gen. Anderson, having some time priorleft for Allentown, in order to be with the General, where he had sinceremained, giving to him every attention. While spending a pleasantevening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb, in conversation, inreference to the army, Henry remarked that he longed to be in thecavalry service once more, so that he might get even for the sufferinghe had experienced at the hands of our enemies while nearly starving todeath in Pine Forest Prison.
"Miss Seraine here spoke with much feeling, her eyes filling with tearsas she said: 'I think there are quite a sufficient number of your familyalready in their graves by the hands of the rebels without any more ofyou taking the chances of death that must be taken in the army.'
"'Yes,' said Jackson; 'and there seems to be one less at almost everyturn. I feel that my time will surely come sooner or later, before thiswar closes.'
"This was uttered in such a sad and melancholy tone that Henry could notfor a moment control his feelings. Recovering, he said:
"'It does seem that our family are struggling against fate; justthink of the barbarous manner in which Harvey was killed, and see how,recently, the fiendish bushwhackers murdered poor brother Stephen. Wouldyou not desire to be avenged on such wretches as these? Ever since Iheard this, which was but a short while ago, (first told me by Seraine,)I have felt almost desperate, and certainly very revengeful.'
"'Yes,' said Jackson, 'revenge is saia to be sweet; but suppose youcannot get it, and instead of being revenged, you lose your own life?'
"'That is not all, Capt. Lyon,' as Seraine called him by his title; 'Mr.Henry Lyon promised me that he would not enter the service again, butthat he would stay at home and take care of his father and mother, andI hope he will do so, and not break his promise to me. I have periled mylife for him, and would do the same again.'
"Henry clasped her in his arms and said: 'Seraine, I will do anythingfor you, and now I want to say right here, in the presence of mybrother, that I am now and ever have been, ready to fulfill all of mypromises to you.'
"Seraine looked him in the face and said: 'I have never doubted you,Henry, nor do I now.'
"'Jackson here interrupted, and turning to Henry, said: 'What are yourpromises to Seraine?'
"'That she and I would become man and wife whenever she should say thatthe time had arrived to have the marriage take place. Is it not so,Seraine?'
"'Yes, Henry, that is true; but I have never thought that the propertime had arrived.'
"'Well,' said Jackson, 'if you will allow me to suggest, I think thetime has now arrived. Seraine, your father and mother are growing old;your only brother is in the army and may never return.' And to Henry hesaid: 'Our mother and father are also growing feeble from so much grief.Mother, I think, cannot survive very much longer, and all of us who arenow left, save yourself, are in the army. From our experience thus farthe future is not full of hope. You and Seraine may soon be all that areleft of both families, except, perhaps, some one or more of our parents.Now, Seraine, let us get your father and mother to go with us toALLentown, and there, in the presence of both families who yet remainabove the sod, (save brother Peter, who cannot be with us,) have thismarriage solemnized. Henry, our mother and Jennie would be very happyover this, and so would Mary Anderson and the children, all of whom loveSeraine very much.'
"By this time the tears were rolling down Seraine's cheeks. Henry stoodlooking at her, and grasping her by the hand, when Jackson had finished,he led her into the presence of her father and mother and told them theproposition, and asked them to consent. They gave Seraine to Henry,and blessed them both as their children. Seraine, in answer to Henry,thought, in consideration of the whole situation, that the time hadcome, and that she would acquiesce in the arrangements as proposed byJackson, who was happier now than he had been since the beginning of thewar, and so expressed himself to Seraine and Henry. The next day beingagreed upon for their departure for ALLentown, Jackson repaired to hisroom, leaving Henry and Seraine together to talk over the details oftheir prospective marriage.
"Leaving Detroit the following morning they arrived at my house in theafternoon and found a warm welcome awaiting them, my wife and the twoother ladies of my household doing everything to make Seraine's fatherand mother feel that they were more than merely welcome. When we wereall together Jackson became spokesman, and waxed quite eloquent over thewhole affair. When he had finished Gen. Anderson cried out:
"'Bravo! Bravo! Henry and Seraine!'
"My wife drew Seraine to her bosom as she would have taken a child, andembraced her and wept, until, from sympathy, we all were overcome withemotion. The family congratulated Henry. The two little girls did notquite understand it all, and began plying us with questions until wehad to explain all about it, and tell them Seraine was going to be their'aunty.' This delighted them, and they commenced climbing upon Henry'slap, and questioning him about their 'Aunty Seraine,' until finally hemade his escape from the house.
Marriage of Henry and Seraine 313]
"The preliminaries were soon arranged, and Mr. Whit-comb and I procuredthe necessary license. I then called in our minister, the Rev. Mr. Lowe,who performed the marriage ceremony in the parlor of our home. We werevery happy that evening in celebrating Henry's and Seraine's wedding,and seemed to have forgotten for the time being all our misfortunesand griefs. In speaking of Seraine's success in visiting the Southernprison-pens and rescuing Henry, I came very near letting out the secretkept from her father and mother about the visit of Mary Anderson to thePresident in order to rescue her brother, but caught myself in timeand changed the conversation. Our minister, a truly loyal man, wasmost enthusiastic over the marriage, insisting that this was just as itshould be, and at the same time expressing some surprise that it hadnot taken place before. I said to him that I felt so, but
had notinterfered. I had allowed the two young people to arrange the matter tosuit themselves. I must confess, however, that I was well pleased, andcertainly should never have been satisfied if Henry had not marriedSeraine. No more devoted woman ever lived.
"Just at this moment Aunt Martha announced tea. We all entered thedining-room and sat down to tea, as she called it, but found, instead,a right royal wedding feast, which all enjoyed exceedingly. YoungJames Whitcomb, who had been very quiet during the evening, though veryattentive to his mother and father, now asked the minister if he thoughtit right for him to keep from his parents anything pertaining to himselfwhich might distress them in his absence.
"Mr. Lowe replied that he thought they should know all. All turnedand looked at each other with surprise. The young man was silent for amoment, and his great blue eyes filled with tears. He said:
"'I have never heretofore kept anything from my mother, father orsister, and I am now fully determined to tell them all about myself.'
"We enjoyed our dinner, however, and joked Henry by telling him thatSeraine would have to look after him, as she had been doing all throughthe war up to this time.
"Here Aunt Martha had to come in; we could not stop her. She said:
"'Yes, sah; dat gal takes kear of Marsa Henry. If it not done beenfor her he done starved to deff, he would. Dem Sesh, dey be affer disfambly. Dey done kill mos' all, and am still affer you. I tells you, deyam; I knows dem, I do. Marsa Henry, you mus' stay home wid de folks, youmus'.'
"At this my wife became much distressed. I told Aunt Martha to stop,which she did. Aunt Sarah then referred to Peter, saying that her dreamswere now entirely about him, and that she was sorely troubled on hisaccount. Ham stood near by, listening, and said:
"'No mistake, Marsa Peter all right. I see him las' night in my headglass when I's sleep. He all right, sho'.'
"By this time we had finished dinner, or tea, and were returning to thesitting room, when James Whitcomb took his parents out on the verandaand told them all about his trouble, the kindness of our family, MaryAnderson's trip to see the President, his clemency, etc.; his presentsituation, and how he obtained his position. We thought that this wasa mistake, but he felt relieved, and his parents and sister, after theywere satisfied of his having done no wrong intentionally, felt that itwas the best for them to know it. We had intended it should be kept fromthem, but it was now no longer a secret in my family, and it was perhapsbest that his father and mother should know all.
"The next day Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb thought that they must return home.Mr. Whitcomb said to Henry and Seraine that they must come as soon asthey could do so to their house and make it their home, as he andhis wife being alone at such a time it was very hard, and made themdiscontented. They thanked all of us for our watchfulness over theironly son, and it seemed that they could not thank the General and hiswife sufficiently for what they had done for him. They bade us allgood-by and separated from Henry and Seraine with many regrets.
"After they had gone Jackson entertained us by a recital of his visitto Europe, and, in addition to what he had written me, he gave us all hehad seen and heard. His recital of the burning of the Will-o'-the Wispwas quite graphic, and excited Henry and the General very much. No oneexcept those who were in the secret knew what she had on board, nor theimportance to the Confederacy of the men that were lost with her. Thelanguage used by Gen. Anderson against such fiendishness as Jackson'sstatement disclosed I will not attempt to repeat. It was strong anddenunciatory, such only as men like himself, versed in letters, couldemploy.
"I requested Jackson to make me a detailed report from the day he leftmy house up to the date of his return, which he did. I retained a copyof his report, and still have it. We did not call on Henry for hisreport that day, but on the next told Henry that if he could leaveSeraine long enough (you know how young people are), we would like himto tell us what he learned in Canada. I really did not suppose that hecould tell us a very great deal of interest, as I presumed he had spentmuch of his time in Detroit, as there was an attraction for him in thatplace which would naturally draw him thither. He said, however, thathe was ready to tell us all that he had discovered in reference to theconspiracy; that when he went to Canada he formed the acquaintance ofa Mr. Samuel Wintergreen, and soon they became great friends, as hesatisfied Winter-green that he was ready to carry out any plan to aidthe Confederacy. The passwords, signs and grips of the Golden Circleseemed to be all that any one needed in order to be at once recognizedas a friend to those people. In Canada the people, almost withoutexception, were in sympathy with the rebellion. After traveling forquite a while he came back to Windsor, and there again met his friendWintergreen. Remaining there for some time and talking with many personswithout any material results, Wintergreen invited Henry to accompanyhim to Toronto, and finding nothing of importance there, they left forMontreal On arriving at Montreal they found Jacob Thomlinson, C.C. Carey, and many other distinguished men. Wintergreen met JacobThomlinson, and reported to him that his friend of whom he had writtenwas with him. Thomlinson asked him to come to his rooms, and to bringhis friend Davis. That evening they visited Mr. Thomlinson, and foundMr. Carey and two other gentlemen--a Mr. Landers and Ben Wudd. Henry waspresented as Henry Davis, one of the agents under Mr. Wintergreen whowas to assist (as it was then understood) in carrying out such plansas might be agreed upon in the interest of the rebel or ConfederateGovernment.
"They remained together till a late hour discussing various points. Oneof the topics was the great loss the Confederacy had sustained in theburning of the Will-o'-the-Wisp, in the material, and by the deathof Prof. McCul-lough and Dr. Mears, as they alone held the secret ofmanufacturing the wonderful explosive. Thomlinson and Carey insistedthat there should be no let-up, and that they must now resort to othermeans, in which the other gentlemen agreed. It was thought best to tryreleasing prisoners and arming them and such others as would join them,and make portions of the North a desolate waste, as they said was nowbeing done in the South by the Union army. Thomlinson said in referenceto releasing prisoners that he intended in a very short time to makepreparations in Illinois for an attack on Camp Douglas, near Chicago.
"'I think,' said he, 'that will result in the burning of the city. It isone of the worst places in the North. The influence of Lincoln over thepeople there is very great, and extremely bad for us, and that city mustbe destroyed by some means. If the Will-o'-the Wisp had not been lost,Chicago would now be in ashes.'
"After some further discussion on this subject, all went their wayfor the night, with an understanding that there would be a meetingof delegates from the Northern States, called by Jacob Thomlinson,to assemble at St. Catharines in one month from that time, wheremany matters of interest would be discussed and considered. Henry andWinter-green then returned to Windsor with the understanding thatthey would attend the meeting at St. Catharines. At Windsor, Henryand Jackson met, and that which followed their meeting I have alreadystated. What Henry ascertained in Canada was only important in this,that it had opened the way for discovering that which was important toknow, which probably would occur afterwards. I requested Henry to do asJackson was doing,--to write out his statement in full. After bothwere prepared, I sent Henry with them to the President. He thought it alittle hard to be sent so summarily away from his bride. The Presidentreceived Henry with great kindness, and told him to inform me that thewhole matter had been more skillfully and successfully managed thananything in this line since the war began. He also said, that he and theSecretary of War could breathe freer since they had learned the fate ofthe cargo of the Will-o'-the-Wisp, and that McCullough and M ears hadtheir deserts.
"The President requested Henry to continue his investigations, andespecially to attend the meeting of the leading Knights of the GoldenCircle, who were soon to meet at St. Catharines, in Canada, and sendthrough me, without delay, his report. The President inquired veryparticularly about all our family, including Gen. Anderson and Jackson.He also desired to know what had become
of James Whitcomb and hissister. Henry explained fully about them all, and when he mentioned thatSeraine was his wife, the President shook his hand most heartily, andtold him that he was a very fortunate man.
"When Henry returned home and had sufficient time for rest we held aconsultation, and agreed to the following plan: Henry was to start atonce with his wife for Detroit, leave her with her parents, and passover to Windsor, and there, in company with Wintergreen, visit allplaces that Wintergreen might suggest, and then go to St. Catharinesto the meeting arranged for the delegates from the Golden Circle of theNorthern States; that when he had obtained information of any value, hewas to return to Detroit, write his report in full, give it to his wifeSeraine, and she was to come in person with it to me."
"She was a jewel," said Dr. Adams.
"Yes," said Col. Bush; "there were but few like her."
Uncle Daniel continued: "Our lines of communication now being safelyestablished, we were all anxious for Henry's departure; therefore, Henryand Seraine left for Detroit, leaving all of us almost heartbroken tobe forced to give them up. But the hope of seeing them very soon againreconciled us to some extent. The two children said they loved theirAunty Seraine so much that they did not wish her to go away any more.After they were gone, it now being far into the Winter--in fact, Springwas approaching--Gen. Anderson said he felt that he could again takethe field and perform his duty without endangering his health, andtherefore must make preparations for returning to his command. We triedto dissuade him from it, but it was of no avail, so the next day he toldthe family that he should leave very soon. In the conversation he saidthat he had felt all the time that there was a void in his militaryfamily that could not easily be filled. He felt the loss of Capt. Dayvery much, but said he would try James Whitcomb thoroughly and hadgreat hopes of him. Aunt Martha was near by and heard what was said. Sheimmediately hunted up Ham and said: 'Marsa Gen'l is gwine off to fightdem Sesh agin, and I 'spect he want Ham to go, too.'
"Ham said: 'Well, Marfa, maybe he not want me any more. I's not well;I's got dem pains in de knees and de breas' and de shouldars and destomach. What is it dey calls dem pains?'
"'Rumatiks, you ole fool; doesn't you know nuffin'?'
"'No, Marfa, I not know nuffln'; you know I doesn't. I 'spect you bettertold de Gen'l, Marfa, I's sick. I go off and die wid dem pains, den whatyou do, Marfa? You be all by yerself, and don't you see dat won't do,Marfa. No, indeed, dat won't do.'
"'Well, now, Ham, I's not goin' to tell Marsa Gen'l no such way as dat.No, sir. Ham, you jes' got to go wid de Gen'l; dat's what you do, so youneedn't be tucken sick jes' for to skeer me, kase I know you, Ham. Youno get kill. No, sah, no danger; so you jes' go, dats what you do.'
"'Well, Marfa, jes' as you say. If you say Ham go, he goes, dats all;but de good Laud love you, Marfa, I's powerful sick, sho'.'
"'No you isn't; you play dat afore. I knows you, Ham; you knows I do.You jes' stop dis rumatiks and go wid de Gen'l, dat's what you do. Whendid you get sick? I not hear it afore. You not sick. Let me see youwalk.'
"Old Ham hobbled off and Martha laughed at him. This nettled the old manand he straightened up and said: 'Well, I guess I's not bery bad, butI's not well, all de same.'
"I came up to them, and nothing more was said.
"I told Ham to go out to the farm and ask Joseph Dent to come into myhouse in the morning. His sickness all left him and he did the errand.The next morning Dent came in with Ham and we interrogated him on thequestion of his friends and what they were doing. He said that two daysprior to this they had a meeting and were notified that they mustchange their name to the 'Sons of Liberty'; that the object of theirorganization was becoming too well known, and that they could notoperate any longer under their old name. This was being done all overthe country and in Canada. He also stated that Thos. A. Stridor hadordered them to send delegates to Indianapolis secretly, in order toassist in appointing delegates to go to St. Catharines, in Canada, ina few days, to consult as to the best means to be adopted to aid theirfriends, as they had met with a great loss. They had lost a ship and avaluable cargo, as well as their most important men who were to operatein burning cities. This was so true of what had occurred that we nolonger had any doubt as to their certain communication one with another,as well as their perfect organization. This was all they did at thattime. We excused Dent, and he returned home.
"That evening at tea my wife (Aunt Sarah) said to Jackson and the Generalthat she wished Peter to come home.
"'But,' said Jackson, 'mother, you must remember he has been promoted,and is now a Brigadier-General commanding a brigade, and he cannot verywell get away. He might lose his command by leaving.'
"'Well,' said his mother, 'I want to see him. I am dreaming about himwhenever asleep, and I feel there is something sure to happen to him. Ihave seen all the rest of you who are alive, and I want to see him.'
"Here Jennie broke down and cried, remembering the death of her poorhusband when mention was made of all being present who were then alive.Jackson spoke to Jennie and his mother and quieted them. We all repairedto the sitting-room and talked over Gen. Anderson's returning to hiscommand. This was Saturday evening. So he instructed Capt. Jackson andLieut. Whitcomb to be ready on Monday morning, as they would thenleave for Chatteraugus. They were well pleased with the General'sdetermination. His poor wife was depressed, and said she felt as thoughhe had made so many narrow escapes that perhaps he might not escapeagain. But grief and sorrow had been such constant visitors at our housethat we were all prepared for almost anything, and always looking forthe worst. We enjoyed ourselves, however, as best we could until Monday.Jackson took in the situation, and kept us interested by givingaccounts of many things seen and heard by him in England. This was veryinteresting to us, but more especially to the ladies and little girls.
"On Monday they left for their command. The parting with the family wasone of those affecting scenes natural under the circumstances. When poorold Ham bade good-by to all, after kissing Aunt Martha, his wife, heturned to my wife and Mary Anderson, and said: 'You need not to cry nomo.' I be 'sponsible for de General and Capt. Jackson.'
"This was too much for Mary Anderson. Although weeping, she could notrestrain a smile, nor could the others; but Ham was in good faith, poorold man.
"After they had gone I felt keenly, and drove out to the farm, and therespent the rest of the day with Joseph Dent. He, however, knew nothingmore than he had disclosed to us, about which I have already spoken. Onreturning in the evening I found all the family very lonely and solemn.They felt the loss of that portion of our family who were compelledto leave. Our little children climbed upon my knees and talked andchattered about their Uncle Henry and Aunty Seraine, as well as theGeneral and Jackson, but 'Aunty Seraine' seemed to be the favorite.I did the best I could to gratify them by trying to answer theirquestions. Some two weeks had passed in this way when one morning I wasnotified to meet Seraine at the depot. I did so and brought her to thehouse. When the very hearty and affectionate greetings were over, andthe two poor little girls had gotten through climbing on Seraine andasking her questions, which she did the best she could to answer, shegave me a paper which was Henry's report, accompanied by a good letterfrom him, stating that he would come soon himself. This was not signed.
"I carefully examined his report, and was almost dumfounded at some ofhis statements; but he had gone into such minute details and given suchindubitable proofs that no one could for a moment doubt. Henry saidthat on his arrival again at Windsor he met Wintergreen, and afterpreliminaries were arranged they traveled about the country from onetown to another, until the time had arrived for the assembling of theprominent friends of the rebellion at St. Catharines in accordance withJacob Thomlinson's request. They started for that place, and on arrivingstopped at the Victoria Hotel, where they met a great number of persons,strangers to both, but well known in the Circle. Henry, on recoveringfrom his prison starving and sickness, had grown quite stout, and wasso different in his appearance fr
om what he had ever been prior tohis recovery that his own acquaintances would not have recognized him,therefore he did not feel that he was in any danger of being detected.He had heretofore claimed to Wintergreen that he was from Parkersburg,W. Va., and having been raised near there in Ohio could speak quiteunderstandingly of the country thereabouts, as well as about a number ofpeople.
"On Wednesday, being the day fixed, quite a number of men from differentparts of the country assembled. Quite a large room in the rear of theVictoria Hotel had been procured, in which the gentlemen were to meet,and Wintergreen, having been designated by Jacob Thomlinson for thatpurpose, notified the various delegates of the time and place ofmeeting. When all were assembled each one was required to give thesigns, grips and passwords of the Golden Circle, or the 'Sons ofLiberty,' as the name had been changed within a few days from theKnights of the Golden Circle to the Sons of Liberty. Henry did notfind the slightest difficulty in being recognized, as he had perfectedhimself in all the signs, grips and passwords of the order in histravels with Wintergreen.
"After Jacob Thomlinson, Mr. Carey and their committee were satisfied asto those present, they were called to order and seated in as regulara manner as would have been done in any deliberative body, by Mr.Valamburg, of Ohio, who, in taking the chair, said that as GrandCommander of all the Sons of Liberty in the United States, Canada andthe Southern Confederacy he desired to occupy the time of the delegatesfor a few moments, in order that he might explain the object for whichthey had met. The assembling at that place, he said, was in order to bewithout the jurisdiction of the United States; that while together andout of the way of danger they were to deliberate in reference to mattersthat were best calculated to effectively aid the Southern people, whowere struggling for an independent constitutional government; thatthe Government of the United States had become intolerable in itsoppressions and tyranny. He made a long speech, presenting a list ofabuses by our Government against the Southern people, and urged thenecessity for aid to the South at once, in some way that would bemost potent. When he took his seat he was loudly applauded by all hishearers. In this meeting were B. Wudd and McMasterson from New York, Mr.Woodsen and Mr. Moore from Pennsylvania, Valamburg and Massey from Ohio,Dan Bowen and Dorsey (who was a substitute for Thos. A. Strider) fromIndiana, N. Judy Cornington and a Mr. Eagle from Illinois (both fromChicago). Other States were represented--Missouri, Kentucky, Iowa,Wisconsin, Maine and Massachusetts; but Henry did not give the names ofthe delegates from those States.
"Many propositions were discussed. Jacob Thomlinson gave the fulldetails of what Prof. McCullough and Dr. Mears were preparing to do;their loss by the burning of the Will-o'-the Wisp; also, Dr. Blackman'sproposition and the loss of his goods, and he now wanted to see whatcould be devised as substitutes. All of the representatives presentseemed to deeply deplore the loss to the Confederacy of the secret onlyknown to the men who went down with the Will-o'-the Wisp.
"Jacob Thomlinson explained that he had been instructed by theauthorities at Richmond to lay several matters before this or anymeeting they might have of representative men from the North. It wasdesirable to have these matters fully understood, so that the friends ofthe South in their meetings could commit all who were willing to aid theSouth in carrying out the various propositions. First, he would lay themessage of President Davis on only one important subject before thismeeting. It was dated January 13, 1863, and was in reference to theProclamation of Emancipation by Mr. Lincoln. Thomlinson said:
"'Mr. Davis claims that "by it the negroes are encouraged to generalassassination of their masters by the insidious recommendation toabstain from violence unless in necessary self-defense. Although ourown detestation of those who have attempted the most execrable measuresrecorded in the history of guilty man is tempered by profound contemptfor the impotent rage which it discloses so far as regards the actionof this Government on such criminals as may attempt its execution, Iconfine myself to informing you that I shall, unless in your wisdom youdeem some other course more expedient, deliver to the several States'authorities all commissioned officers of the United States who mayhereafter be captured by our forces in any of the States embraced in theproclamation, that they may deal with them in accordance with the lawsof those States providing for the punishment of those criminals engagedin inciting servile insurrection."'
"At the conclusion of the reading of this extract loud cheers went upfor Jeff Davis. Jacob Thomlinson continued reading:
"'On the first day of May last the Confederate Congress passed a seriesof resolutions. The fourth resolution declares that every white person,being a commissioned officer, or acting as such, who during the presentwar shall command negroes or mulattoes in arms against the ConfederateStates, shall be deemed as inciting servile insurrection, and shall,if captured, be put to death. The seventh resolution declares that allnegroes and mulattoes who shall engage in war, or shall be taken inarms against the Confederate States, or shall give aid or comfort tothe United States, shall, when captured in the Confederate States, bedelivered to the authorities of the State or States in which they shallbe captured, to be dealt with according to the present or future laws ofsuch States.'
"After reading the message and resolutions, he said that in order tounderstand the full scope of both, it would be proper for him to statethat the laws of all the Southern States for the crime of incitingservile insurrection fixed the penalty of death, so that the meaningof the whole proposition is, that any white man commanding negroes ormulattoes, who shall be captured, shall suffer death, and it will bethe same when negroes or mulattoes are captured in arms against theConfederacy. With this explanation he submitted these documents, whichwere all printed and distributed in confidence, and in this way Henrywas enabled to give the whole proceedings. Mr. Valamburg decided thatthe proposition might be debated, and on this being so determined, DanBowen, of Indiana, arose and made a most inflammatory speech. He saidhe was born in Virginia, and would stand by her in her trials. He wasin favor of Jeff Davis's message, and not only so, but would favor thehanging of any white man who would lead negroes against his Southernfriends, and would sustain them in any measure of punishment that theymight adopt in such cases.
"Mr. Eagle, of Illinois, made quite a speech on the same line. He wasfrom Kentucky originally, and was for the South getting their rights atany cost. He said: 'Let blood flow like rivers, sir. Yes, sir; let firerain upon Northern cities, and let the destruction of property becomegeneral, if necessary to produce the desired result. You must make theNorthern people feel poverty, sir, if you wish to succeed. They caremore for their property than for their lives. You must touch theirpockets and then you touch their hearts. They are a fast-going people.I would just as lief as not they would know after the war is over, ifit ever is, that I was in this meeting. No matter how the war mayterminate, they will forget it all in a month, especially if times aregood and money shall be plenty.'
"This caused a great laugh, and the speaking ended. The question wastaken and decided unanimously in favor of the proposition. None butdelegates were allowed to vote.
"Mr. Carey then presented his views, which were that their Northernfriends must encourage raids and guerrilla warfare in their own States,and that they must commence it themselves. Burning must be resorted towhen it could be done. He said that it had been so managed at Camp Chasein Ohio, by their friend, the Grand Commander of the Sons of Liberty,that a great many very excellent Confederate officers had made theirescape, and were ready at any time to take command of men whenever theirfriends were ready, and that those officers were brave and fearless menready to undertake any kind of enterprise or daring exploit. He didnot look for any more foolish expeditions like the one made by Gen.Morganson. That it was not successful is easily understood. The Southernpeople were in too great haste in trying raids by large bodies of menwhere there were no lines of escape or retreat."
"Yes," said Col. Bush; "they counted their chickens before they werehatched."
"I think they were stale eg
gs," said Capt. Inglesby.
"Mr. Carey said," continued Uncle Daniel, 'We have now entered upona system of small raids and destruction of property, so as to be veryeffective. And although we fear that we cannot repair our loss inthe kind of material we had secured and had on board of theWill-o'-the-Wisp, yet we may, by good management, in some degreecompensate for it, and, in order that you may understand how we proposeto operate, I will read to you the order of the Secretary of War ofthe Confederate States to one J. C. S. Blackman, the brother of Dr.Blackman, whose poisoned goods were lost on the Will-o'-the-Wisp. Theorder is dated Richmond, 1863, and signed J. A. Seddon, Secretary ofWar, C. S. A., authorizing Blackman to enlist a company of men, not toexceed fifty in number, for special service on the Mississippi River. Inlieu of pay or other compensation they are to receive such percentage ofthe value of all property of the United States or loyal people destroyedby them as may be awarded by an officer selected by the Department incharge of such duty, but in no case to exceed fifty per centum of thevalue.'
"Carey said that under this order it was understood as soon as Blackmanshould enlist twenty-five men for this purpose he was to receive acommission in the provisional army without pay. This commission was forhis protection in case he should be captured. Said he:
"'We are now issuing quite a number of these commissions, and muchgood has already resulted. Blackman has destroyed a great quantity ofproperty on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. A man by the name of J.G. Beall, who holds a like commission, has destroyed a great amount ofsupplies and other property on the Chesapeake. He is near here now,has a vessel, and is recruiting men for the Sons of Liberty in New Yorkcity, with a view of running over to St. Albans, in Vermont, and is notonly to destroy property, but is to terrify those rich old Vermont Yanksout of their wits. It is by such means that we must alarm the Northernproperty-holders into peace measures and into voting the anti-warticket. This is the only sure way to success, in my opinion.'
"They all laughed and agreed that a St. Alban's raid would be a splendidthing, as the old Yankees would do anything to save their money andproperty. Mr. Carey continued:
"'I think Mr. Beall is known to Mr. Wudd and Mr. McMasterson.'
"They both replied that they knew him well, and he could be relied uponto do whatever he should undertake.
"'Now,' said Mr. Carey, 'the prisoners at Camp Douglas, near Chicago,Ill., and at Camp Chase, in Ohio, must be released. Mr. Thomlinson hasthe money to pay all expenses. Cannot you men in the Northern Statesassist in this? Can you not get up organizations such as Blackman andBeall have done? The Richmond authorities will pay the same percentagefor the destruction of all property necessary for the use of the army,as they do Blackman and Beall. Why, gentlemen, crops enough might bedestroyed in one night by a simultaneous move to very badly embarrassthe prosecution of the war.'
"A man by the name of Burnett H. Yonkers, who was present, said he wouldundertake to release the Camp Douglas prisoners if the gentlemen herefrom Chicago would render their assistance, to which the gentlemenreplied that they would give any aid in their power; that already therehad been arms sufficient for this purpose secured by Thomlinson andplaced in the hands of a friend in Chicago by the name of Wall; that ifMr. Yonkers should go to Chicago on that business he should stop at theRichmond House and inquire for Mr. John Wall, Mr. Morris Buckner, oreither of the gentlemen present; that any of the clerks of the RichmondHouse would know where to send for either of the persons mentioned.
"Mr. Walters, of Arkansas, being present, (the same that Gen. Andersonmet in Colestown, Ill.,) and being one of the chief Organizers, wasasked in reference to the condition of the Sons of Liberty. He said hehad been traveling for more than a year in the Northern States. He hadnever been molested, nor had he been questioned as to his business. Hehad organized thousands of Lodges and found the friends--that is to say,the common people, who connected themselves with the order--readyand willing to act at any time, and willing to do anything that wasrequired. The only trouble he found was in the cowardice of the leaders.To illustrate what he meant, he said: 'I came from Indianapolis here.Thos. A. Stridor promised me faithfully that he would be here, butyou do not see him. He is the one man of all others in the West who isexpected to advise and suggest.'
"Dan Bowen here interrupted, saying: 'Strider has been at work. He hasbeen in Washington, and has sown seeds of dissension in the army; hascreated jealousies between the Eastern and Western commanders, andproduced much trouble on account of the Emancipation Proclamation.'
"'Yes,' said Col. Walters, 'that I believe to be true; but why is he nothere? I see he sends a substitute; is he afraid? Mr. Eagle was correctwhen he said the people of the North will forget all about the war in amonth, if you will only give them a chance to make money. I can go intoany city and proclaim myself in sympathy with the rebellion, and no onewill molest me. If we should fail, and our cause go down, it would notbe one year before Jeff Davis would be invited to attend agriculturalshows North, so as to draw a crowd and increase the gate money.' Thiscaused great laughter. 'I want now to ask my friend Bowen why his friendThos. A. Strider is not here.'
"'Well,' said Bowen, 'I cannot say. I had hoped that he would be here,but I find he is not.'
"Mr. Eagle, who seemed to be rather sarcastic, said he understoodStrider was compelled to stay at home on account of a cow case in whichhe was employed. They laughed at this, and then proceeded to business.The propositions and suggestions were all indorsed, and many promisesmade on the part of each one present as to the part he would take in thematter when he returned home.
"Jacob Thomlinson said to Mr. Yonkers that he wished him to remain a dayor so longer, as he desired to confer with him about the prisoners atChicago. He then made quite an address to those present, saying thesuccess of the Confederacy depended largely upon their friends in theNorth; that if the war continued two or three years longer the supply ofmen and money would fail. All their available men were in the army, andthere was now nowhere whence they could draw recruits. Their friends inthe North must wake up and help. They had friends enough in the North tomake the Confederacy a success in six months, if they would only come upto the work manfully. "'Let our friends do as our friend Carey suggests,get up raids, organize companies for spoils; this is seductive andcalculated to gather in young men. We will release our men who are nowprisoners and turn them loose full of fiendish revenge, and alarm ourenemies into peace measures. You who are our friends in the North mustgo home determined to carry the next election. This is important. If wecan defeat Lincoln at the next Presidential election we are safe. Thewatchword must be that the war has been a failure; that the North cannotsubdue the South; that foreign countries are ready to recognize theConfederacy, which will involve the United States in other wars; thatthe people are being taxed unmercifully; that the war should stop andthe unbearable taxation cease. Your next Democratic platform shouldstart out with the proposition that the war has been prosecuted onlyfor the freedom of the negroes, and not for the Union, and that theirfreedom can only be maintained by the Union armies being entirelysuccessful, and that during years of horrible, bloody war the Governmenthas failed to conquer the rebellion and must continue to fail. Do this,and stand by it with a good candidate, and you must succeed. I wouldsuggest that you take your "Little Napoleon," General Mac, for yourcandidate. He is exceedingly popular with the soldiers of the East,and with the people also, as I am told. The sympathy will be with him,having been relieved from the command of the Eastern armies becausehe could not whip us, which was no fault of his, as none of theircommanders will succeed in doing that on our own ground. We were foolishto undertake an invasion of the North. But no matter, we will soon makeup for this. If you will take up Little Mac there will be no trouble inyour giving him the nomination, and then one united effort on the partof our party will send him into the White House. If he can be electedthat will end the war, as he is a peace man and a Democrat. We wouldthen have another advantage. Many of the officers of the Union army ofthe
East do not believe in our subjugation, and are bitterly opposedto the Emancipation Proclamation. Some of them have large commands.For instance, there is Gen. Farlan, who is a friend of mine of longstanding; he is violently opposed to the Lincoln administration, andwould at once favor a cessation of hostilities. So also is Gen. Smiteand General Cross, both leading Generals. I may also mention Gen.Fitzgibbon. He has been ready for some time to stop the war, because heis thoroughly satisfied that we have been wronged and oppressed. He isin favor of putting Little Mac in as President. He would be ready forpeace on our terms, which would be to withdraw the Union forces and letus alone. We have been robbed of our property, but should we gain ourindependence we care nothing for this, as we would reclaim our slaves,such as have not been stolen by the Abolition army. This, gentlemen, iswhat we desire and expect you to aid us in securing. If these thingsall fail us we will, in our desperation, make the homes of many of yourNorthern men miserable and desolate.'
"When he was through with his suggestions they all cheered him, and eachone, by short speeches, pledged a faithful adherence to the Confederacy.When they adjourned it was to meet again at some place in Canada to benamed by Jacob Thomlinson, and the representatives to be notified by Mr.Valamburg. They separated with three cheers for the Confederacy."
Dr. Adams said: "I am desirous of knowing if Jacob Thomlinson and Mr.Carey are the same persons whom your son Jackson met in London?"
"Yes; they are the same men who were engaged in procuring explosives andpoisoned clothes, of which I have heretofore given you a full account."
Col. Bush asked if this man Blackman, who took out a commission in orderto depredate and plunder, is still living?
"Yes, he is not only living, but is now holding one of the highestpositions in the United States, as a Reformer."
"What?" said Dr. Adams.
"Yes, sir, as I once before have stated, his brother, who was todistribute poisoned clothing to our soldiers and in our hospitals, wasmade Governor of one of the adjacent States, and this marauder has beengiven one of the highest and most honorable positions. But why? You looksurprised, Doctor. Has this not been so ever since the war? The mostdesperate and reckless men have been given the highest places by theopponents of the war, while our people, many of them, are only too gladto find something against one of our good soldiers as an excuse forlaying him aside as useless furniture."
Said Maj. Clymer: "Valamburg is dead, I believe."
"Yes; he shot himself accidentally soon after the war, and died of hiswound."
Uncle Daniel proceeded by saying: "I made my arrangements to leave forWashington at once, in order to have this information in the hands ofthe President as soon as possible. I requested Seraine to remain withthe rest of the family until I should return, as I might wish to sendsome word to Henry. When I arrived at Washington and called upon thePresident I told him the reason I had not visited him recently, and whyI had sent my son with the last report. Our afflictions had been severeand my wife was in such a condition, both in mind and body, thatI really feared to leave her, except under very extraordinarycircumstances. The President was very glad to see me and very gratefulfor what my sons were trying to do for our country He asked after thehealth of my family, Gen. Anderson, and all of whom he knew as in anyway a part of us, and the poor man seemed almost as much grieved overour misfortunes as myself. He seemed to be full of hope, however, andspoke to me very freely about the war and our chances of final success.
"He strode across the room and, turning to me, said: 'We are now on theright road, I think. I have rid myself of some of those Generals thatwe spoke about when we last met, and I intend to be rid of them forthe remainder of the war. If they want dictators, and will not obey thePresident, they will have to organize outside of the army. I have nowa new commander for the Army of the East who seems to be doing well. Ihope he may continue as he began. He won the battle of Gotlenburg andbroke the rebel army to pieces. 'I think,' said he, 'that Gen. Meadorshould have followed up his victory; but perhaps not. If he should notexactly fill the bill my eye is on a Western man who seems to know whathe is about, and I think of bringing him East and giving him control ofall the armies; but I will determine this later.'
"I then gave him the statement made to me by Henry. He read it overcarefully, and in an excited manner ordered a messenger to go for theSecretary of War. He soon arrived, and after greetings the Presidenthanded the statement to the Secretary. He also read it carefully. Theythen discussed the matter, and concluded to order an additional forceto Camp Chase, relieve the commandant, and place a more careful andefficient officer in his place. This was done by telegraph, with awarning to the new commander to look out for an attempt to release theprisoners.
"The Secretary said to the President: 'The rebels are desperate, andsince they lost their shipload of explosives and poisoned clothes, withtheir two friends who were to carry out their plans, they are determinedto attempt something else equally desperate, and we must look for raids,fire and plunder. By the way,' said the Secretary to me, 'that wasrather a nice thing your son Jackson did in finding out all theirschemes in London. Had it not been for his discovery we never would haveknown the desperation and infamy to which those men were driven.'
"'Yes,' said the President. 'Mr. Lyon, is he your eldest son now in thearmy?'
"'I have but two left in the army--Jackson and Peter. The latter youpromoted for gallantry at Middleton Ridge. Jackson is now my oldest sonin the service.'
"'Mr. Secretary,' said the President, 'you will make out a commissionfor him as Brigadier-General, and give it to Mr. Lyon to take home withhim as an evidence that we appreciate the services of his family, andespecially Jackson's great service in this most important matter.'
"I was visibly affected. The President saw it as he stood by a windowfor a moment. I arose and thanked him. He said:
"'No, the obligation is the other way.'
"Just then a dispatch was handed the President, stating that quitea number of prisoners had escaped from Camp Chase. He gave it to theSecretary, saying:
"'I guess we were a little late in removing the commander of Camp Chase;it ought to have been done sooner. Mr. Lyon,' said the President tome, 'we will have to watch those fellows. They are doubtless up to somegame.'
"He asked me to keep Henry in Canada if I thought he could do good bystaying there. I promised him to do so, and after getting Jackson'scommission and bidding the President good-by I left for home, feelinggratified at the recognition given me. Arriving at home, I found mywife better, and when she found that Jackson had a commission asBrigadier-General she seemed so happy that we felt that she wouldentirely recover.
"I placed Jackson's commission in an envelope with a letter explaininghow the President came to promote him. When the boy returned from thepost-office he brought me a morning paper containing an account ofBeall's raid on St. Albans, Vt.; how he had sacked the town, robbed thebanks and alarmed the people. I said to Seraine, 'There it is! They havecarried out the first part of their program, and we will soon hearof trouble in all the prison camps. I regard this as the beginning ofdesperate work.'
"'Yes,' said Seraine; 'Henry was very sure that they were desperatelyin earnest; but I thought, perhaps, the warning we had given to thePresident might save any further disaster in that direction.'
"Seraine remained about a week longer, and then left for Detroit. Isent a letter to Henry, directing him to remain in Canada as long asnecessary to find out when, where and how they were to move and operate.My poor wife was soon taken ill again, and was quite feeble and almosthelpless for some weeks. Aunt Martha was constantly by her bedside,waiting on her, as well as trying to entertain her with her curiousinterpretations of dreams and her experience while in slavery. Myfriends, this did not last a great while. More sorrows soon came to us."
