Walter Coffey's Blog, page 198

Interview with American Civil War Today

I recently had the privilege to be interviewed by Charles Cummings at American Civil War Today. The interview is now available at Charles’s site, and you can listen by clicking here. The interview is also posted on YouTube here. Thanks to Charles for his time and consideration!

Speaking with the Sons of Confederate Veterans

On October 1, I had the privilege to speak to a group of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Waul’s Texas Legion, Camp 2103 in Katy, Texas. Below is a summary of what I discussed with them:

Most history books state that the war was fought because of slavery. But that’s not the real truth. The two main causes of the war were too many taxes and too much government. For anybody following current events, that should sound familiar!

Cause 1 – Too Many Taxes

Before the war, there was no federal income tax. Most federal revenue came from tariffs, which were taxes on goods imported from other countries.

When countries have to pay more to trade their goods, they usually raise their own prices to offset the costs. This made imports more expensive than goods made here in America. Since the southern economy was based on farming, the South relied a lot more on imports than the North. So southerners generally paid more for their goods than northerners.

Another way that countries offset high tariffs is to raise tariffs of their own, making it more expensive for Americans to export their goods. The South exported more goods than the North, which meant it was usually more expensive for southerners to do

international business than it was for northerners.

On top of this, northern business leaders lobbied the federal government for even higher tariffs because raising the cost of foreign goods protected cheaper American-made goods from competition. These were known as “protectionist” tariffs because they were taxes raised solely to protect American business, not to raise revenue.

So then along comes the Republican Party, which (not so coincidentally) was organized just a few years before the war. The Republicans made it plain and clear that they supported northern business interests, which couldn’t help but hurt southern interests.

Now back then there was lots of debate about whether protectionist tariffs were even constitutional. In fact, southerners were so strongly opposed to these types of taxes that when they formed the Confederacy, protectionist tariffs were outlawed under the

Confederate Constitution.

While the war was being fought, the Republicans took advantage of no southern opposition in Congress and sent tariffs through the roof. And they pretty much stayed that way until the Sixteenth Amendment came along in 1913 and started the progressive income tax we have today.

Incidentally, the progressive income tax was actually first introduced in the North during the Civil War. The high tariffs weren’t enough to cover the costs of the war, so the federal government created a bureaucracy to collect taxes on income, which was the

forerunner of the IRS. It went away after the war ended, but of course it came back in 1913 under the Sixteenth Amendment.

So starting with tariffs and continuing with income taxes, the floodgates were opened for the government to tax and spend just about as much as it pleased. And this was one of the main causes of the Civil War.

Cause 2 – Too Much Government

The founders knew that centralizing power in the federal government would threaten state sovereignty. The founders also knew that centralization just wasn’t practical in a country like ours. This is because one region will always get preferential treatment over the other regions, depending on who’s in power.

Before the Civil War, the differences between North and South were like night and day. When all the country’s power gets put into a central government, only one region’s interests can be served at a time. This naturally leads to one region exploiting the other for economic and political gain. It can also force one region to compromise its sovereignty at the hands of the other.

As stated before, the Republican Party served mostly northern business interests. So we know what region it favored. Republicans also wanted to centralize government by teaming up with preferred businesses. They did this by supporting what was called

“internal improvements” back then, or what we call pork-barrel spending today.

Republicans knew that a good way for government to grow was to use taxpayer

money to dole out pork.

Most of this went to the hottest new industry of the time, which was the railroad. Politicians talked up the railroads just like they talk up stuff like green energy and health care today. At the same time that the North was spending millions of tax dollars per day

fighting the war, it was also spending millions more on companies like the Union Pacific to build a transcontinental railroad, which was the biggest public works project of its time. The line got built, but not before unprecedented scandals took place and the project cost millions more than originally estimated.

Most southerners strongly opposed this type of government spending because they believed it would only increase lobbying, corruption, and abusing tax dollars. That’s why most types of pork barrel spending were prohibited in the Confederate Constitution. And ever since the war, government pork-barrel spending and corruption has gotten bigger

and bigger until it’s nearly bankrupting our country today. And all this started—at least on a major scale—during the Civil War.

Northern industry boomed in the decade before the war, and the northern population was skyrocketing because immigrants were coming to America to take on the new industrial jobs. The population growth meant that the North was getting more representation in Congress. And when the Republicans won control of Congress and the White House in 1860, southerners were about to be consistently outvoted in Washington for the first time. America was about to turn into what James Madison once feared would be the “tyranny of the majority,” under which minority interests would be

constantly ignored. To fix this, southerners played what they thought was their final trump card to stop big government taxing and spending—and that was

secession.

There was a time when most Americans took the Constitution literally, especially the Tenth Amendment, which says that all powers not granted to the federal government belong to the states and the people. Southerners not only took this literally, but they

invoked the Tenth Amendment as a check against a growing federal power. In fact, the South invoked not only the principles of the Constitution, but also the Declaration of Independence, which was essentially an announcement of secession from England.

So we all know how the war ended, but what have we seen since then? Well, to fight and win a war in which over 600,000 people were killed, the federal government had to balloon to a size never seen in this country before. The massive mobilization of troops and industry that was needed to win turned America into the centralized world power

that we are now.

When the war ended, the government did shrink quite a bit, but it never shrank back down to its pre-war size. And as time went on, it gradually got bigger and bigger with each Congress and each president, eventually becoming the giant that we have today.

What It Means Today

The greatest legacy of the war was the end of slavery and the movement toward equal rights for all Americans. But I also contend that another extremely important legacy was the removal of that check that states once had on federal power. Since the war, the

federal government hasn’t had to worry about states challenging its power or

nullifying laws or seceding from the Union. And it’s no surprise that government has grown ever since, after all, when federal politicians are allowed to go unchecked by the states, there’s no limit to the power they’ll grant themselves.

And that’s why I needed to write The Civil War Months. I wanted to provide a comprehensive account of the most important event in our history and explain the truth about why it happened, how it happened, and why it’s still so very important to understand if we are going to honestly handle the issues that we’re facing today.

This Week in the Civil War: Oct 8-14, 1862

Wednesday, October 8.  In Kentucky, the Battle of Perryville occurred as parts of General Don Carlos Buell’s Federals fought a portion of General Braxton Bragg’s Confederate army. Buell was unaware that a battle was taking place until afternoon due to an atmospheric phenomenon that prevented him from hearing the fighting. Part of Bragg’s force was still in Frankfort. The Federals fought off hard Confederate attacks until Bragg withdrew to the southeast. This was the largest battle fought in Kentucky, and it stopped the Confederate invasion of the state, just as Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Maryland had also been stopped.

Confederate General Jeb Stuart

Thursday, October 9.  General Jeb Stuart led Confederate cavalry in a reconnaissance and raid into Maryland en route to Pennsylvania. Federal cavalry unsuccessfully tried stopping this ride around General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. The Confederate Congress established military courts with defined powers.

Friday, October 10.  Braxton Bragg’s Confederates began their withdrawal from Kentucky. Jeb Stuart’s Confederate cavalry crossed the Potomac River into Maryland on the reconnaissance and raid of the Federal Army of the Potomac. Stuart reached Chambersburg, Pennsylvania by evening. In the Dakota Territory, Dakota Sioux Indians battled miners on the upper Missouri River below Fort Berthold. In Indiana, home guards drove off a band of Confederate guerrillas at Hawesville. President Jefferson Davis asked Virginia to provide 4,500 slaves to complete fortifications around Richmond. Confederate General John B. Magruder was assigned to command the Department of Texas.

Saturday, October 11.  In Pennsylvania, Jeb Stuart’s Confederates drove residents and officials out of Chambersburg and cut telegraph wires, destroyed railroad depots and equipment, seized horses, and burned any supplies they could not take. Stuart then moved southeast toward Emmitsburg, Maryland. The Confederate commerce raider Alabama destroyed the grain ship Manchester. Jefferson Davis signed a bill into law adding more exemptions to the Confederate draft. The most controversial provision exempted an owner or overseer of over 20 slaves. Richmond newspapers began discussing a possible end of the war due to recent Confederate victories.

Sunday, October 12.  Jeb Stuart’s Confederates crossed the Potomac back to Virginia after skirmishing at the mouth of the Monocacy River. General Earl Van Dorn assumed command of all Confederate troops in Mississippi. President Abraham Lincoln asked General Don Carlos Buell for updates in Kentucky; Lincoln was concerned that Buell was not pursuing the withdrawing Confederates fast enough.

Monday, October 13.  The second session of the First Confederate Congress adjourned after approving a bill suspending habeas corpus (with some exceptions) until February 12, 1863. President Lincoln wrote a letter to George McClellan urging him to renew the offensive against Robert E. Lee in Virginia: “Are you not over-cautious when you assume that you can not do what the enemy is constantly doing?” Federal General Jacob D. Cox assumed command of the District of Western Virginia. In Kentucky, Braxton Bragg’s Confederates began moving through Cumberland Gap back to Tennessee.

Tuesday, October 14.  In elections for congressional seats in Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, Democrats gained seats in every state except Iowa. Many cited the Lincoln administration’s war policies and the Emancipation Proclamation as reasons why voters turned against Lincoln’s Republicans. Confederate General John C. Pemberton assumed command of the Department of Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana.

A Soldier’s Letter: John Burnham

Letter from Lieutenant Burnham, 16th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, to his family following the Battle of Antietam dated October 4, 1862.

My Dear Mother and Family,

I received a short note from Lottie enclosing extracts from newspapers about the fight of the 17th or the “Battle of Antietam.” One thing is certain, it was a “big fight,” as the sixteenth found to their severe cost, and although we got the best of it, on the whole I am unable to key myself up to a very high pitch of exultation over the day’s work. We had the best of the fight because we had advanced our position during the day, but it was at heavy cost and the ground gained was contested inch by inch.

There has been no fighting since, and if our army was not pretty badly handled and about used up, I can imagine no earthly reason why we did not go at them the next day with a vengeance. We lay on our arms all day, the day after the battle, and all night the next night, expecting momentarily to be ordered forward, but we were not.

On Friday, we went on the field and gathered the dead and wounded. The rebels held the field in which the 16th were cut up so badly, and we had to leave the dead and wounded on that account over the whole of Thursday. They were there about forty-eight hours, but most of them, the wounded, said the rebs treated them kindly and gave them water. It was very hot weather but fortunately there was a heavy rain on Thursday night and they managed to catch a canteen or two full of water by holding up the corners of their rubber blankets. One of our men, who was unable to get off the field, managed to pull off one of his boots and caught water in that and drank it.

I was on the field from noon until eleven o’clock at night of Friday, giving my personal supervision to the collection of the dead and wounded. You may be assured it was a trying position.

The position we occupy now is a pleasant one and I would like it if we could remain in it. Thus far, since we have been out, we have seen little but the “circumstance of glorious war,” as someone has aptly said. Yesterday we saw a little of the “pomp” for the first time. The army was received by President Lincoln and Gen’l McClellan, and of course we did our share. Our division happened to be the first one reviewed in Gen’l Burnside’s corps. As soon as the ceremony was over, the division and brigade commanders were ordered to dismiss their commands and join the President’s escort.

If we had been in command of the regiment, we should have trotted back to camp, but I was lucky once again and as we stood for the time being in a Brig. Gen’l and Adj. Gen’l's shoes, respectively, we had the honor of tagging old “Abe” around on his reviewing tour for a couple of hours and taking a look at between fifteen and twenty thousand men. I had seen “Abe” before but I thought him half so homely. He ought to be wise and good and honest.

Lottie wished me to write what were my personal feelings in the fight. You have all heard a great deal about men going into battle and, after the fighting had commenced, forgetting all about what they were doing. This may be the case to some extent, but in my opinion nothing like what is represented. I had no time to think of danger. I am frank to confess that although I had no idea of running away I trembled.

In relation to the condition of the rebels, I can answer that unequivocally I saw as many as five hundred prisoners I should think in one day and I never saw anything like it. Their hair was long and uncombed and their faces were thin and cadaverous as though they had been starved to death. It is of course possible that it is the natural look of the race, but it appeared mightily to me like the result of short fare. They were the dirtiest set I ever beheld. A regiment of New England paupers could not equal them for the filth, lice and rags.

I hope as I always have, that I may have the courage to do my duty well, not recklessly but with simple bravery and fidelity, so that if I fall you may have the consolation of knowing that I not only lose my life in a good cause but die like a man. One thing I wish to say particularly–this romance about men being shot in the back is all a humbug. A mounted officer is as likely to be hit in the back, and more likely to be hit in the side, than in the front, and don’t ever do an officer the injustice to think ill of him for such a wound…

Bless you all. Yours affectionately,

John

This Week in the Civil War: Oct 1-7, 1862

Lincoln and McClellan in Maryland

Wednesday, October 1.  In Kentucky, Federals under General Don Carlos Buell reinforced towns along the Ohio River against the advancing Confederates under General Braxton Bragg. Confederate General John C. Pemberton replaced General Earl Van Dorn as commander of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. Pemberton’s main task was to defend the stronghold of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. President Abraham Lincoln and advisors traveled to Harpers Ferry to confer with General George B. McClellan. Lincoln had been dissatisfied with McClellan’s lack of activity since the Battle of Antietam 13 days ago. Federal Admiral David Dixon Porter replaced Charles Davis as commander of the new Mississippi Squadron. The Richmond Whig issued an editorial about the Emancipation Proclamation: “It is a dash of the pen to destroy four thousand millions of our property, and is as much a bid for the slaves to rise in insurrection, with the assurance of aid from the whole military and naval power of the United States.”

Thursday, October 2.  President Lincoln set up a tent besides George McClellan’s at Army of the Potomac headquarters and estimated that the army contained 88,095 effectives. Skirmishing occurred at several points in Kentucky and Texas. Confederate troops under Generals Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn advanced on Corinth, Mississippi.

Friday, October 3.  In Mississippi, the Battle of Corinth occurred as Confederates reached the town from the northwest and attacked the Federals stationed there under General William S. Rosecrans. Confederate General Van Dorn hoped that defeating the Federals at Corinth would compel Federals to withdraw from western Tennessee and Kentucky to meet the threat. After hard fighting and piecemeal Confederate assaults, the Federals withdrew to stronger defenses closer to the city as night fell. In Maryland, President Lincoln continued conferring with George McClellan, referring to the Army of the Potomac as “General McClellan’s bodyguard.” The Confederate commerce raider Alabama captured three more prizes, prompting Federal shippers to plead for more government support.

Saturday, October 4.  In Mississippi, the Battle of Corinth continued as the Confederates resumed attacks on the strong Federal defenses. After unsuccessful attacks and counterattacks, the Confederates finally withdrew to Chewalla, 10 miles northwest from Corinth. Confederate General Van Dorn had succeeded in preventing Federal reinforcements from reaching Kentucky, but he failed to capture Corinth, relieve Federal pressure in Tennessee, or destroy General Rosecrans’s army. In Kentucky, Confederate General Bragg and others attended the inauguration of pro-Confederate Richard Hawes as governor at Frankfort. In Maryland, President Lincoln continued conferring with General McClellan and visited hospitals, camps, and battlefields before returning to Washington.

Sunday, October 5.  In Mississippi, Rosecrans’s Federals ineffectively pursued Van Dorn’s Confederates. However, Federals under General E.O.C. Ord caught up with the Confederates at the Hatchie River in Tennessee, and severe fighting occurred until the Confederates withdrew to Holly Springs. This ended the Corinth campaign. In Texas, Federals captured Galveston without a fight and occupied the island. In Kentucky, Bragg’s Confederates began withdrawing from the Bardstown area with Federal General Don Carlos Buell pursuing; Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith remained in the Frankfort area.

Monday, October 6.  Disturbed by George McClellan’s delays, President Lincoln sent him a wire through General-in-Chief Henry Halleck: “The President directs that you cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy or drive him south. Your army must move now while the roads are good.” In Kentucky, Bragg’s Confederates moved toward Harrodsburg as Buell’s Federals pursued.

Tuesday, October 7.  In Kentucky, Buell’s Federals approached the village of Perryville while the Confederates were divided between Perryville and Frankfort. Federal General Gordon Granger became the commander of the Army of Kentucky, and Federal General E.A. Carr became commander of the Army of the Southwest. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard absorbed middle and eastern Florida into his southeastern command. In Great Britain, Chancellor of the Exchequer W.E. Gladstone proclaimed that Jefferson Davis and the Confederate leaders “have made a nation,” and he anticipated Confederate success. His remarks were highly criticized in Britain and the U.S.

The Loyal War Governor’s Conference

A group of 12 northern governors, mostly Radical Republicans, met in Altoona, Pennsylvania to discuss the Federal war effort and, according to Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew, “save the President from the infamy of ruining the country.” The governors resolved to withhold troops from Federal service unless President Lincoln emancipated the slaves and recruited them into the military, and replaced George McClellan, a Democrat, with Radical Republican John C. Fremont.

Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew

Before the governors could present their demands, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Then Lincoln appealed to conservative Republicans, particularly Ohio Governor David Tod, to persuade Radicals to withdraw their demands for Fremont. The proclamation appeased enough Radicals to allow Lincoln to make his own decisions concerning the military command.

The governors’ conference revealed a growing rift in the Republican Party between the Radicals and the conservatives. The Emancipation Proclamation had significantly shifted Lincoln toward the Radical faction, but it also further alienated him from McClellan, who had urged Lincoln not to interfere with slavery. The press and members of Congress began questioning how long the relationship would last between the Democratic general and his Republican commander-in-chief.

This Week in the Civil War: Sep 24-30, 1862

Wednesday, September 24.  President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus and provided for the military trial of “all Rebels and Insurgents, their siders and abettors within the United States, and all persons discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting militia drafts, or guilty of any disloyal practice, affording comfort to Rebels against the authority of the United States.” The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was released to the public through various newspapers. In Pennsylvania, 14 northern governors met at Altoona and approved emancipation, even though the conference had originally been called to criticize the Lincoln administration’s policies on slavery and the war. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard replaced General John C. Pemberton as commander of the Department of South Carolina and Georgia. Federal General Samuel R. Curtis assumed command of the Department of the Missouri. The Confederate Senate approved a seal for the Confederacy.

Thursday, September 25.  In Kentucky, Federals under General Don Carlos Buell reached the vital city of Louisville ahead of the Confederate advance. Various skirmishes occurred in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Friday, September 26.  Federals conducted an expedition from Helena, Arkansas to Marianna, Tennessee. In the Dakota Territory, skirmishing continued between Federals and Sioux Indians. In Washington, President Lincoln discussed black colonization with his cabinet.

Saturday, September 27.  The Confederate Congress passed the Second Conscription Act, which authorized President Jefferson Davis to draft men between 35 and 45 years old for military service. President Lincoln interrogated Major John J. Key and dismissed him from military service for allegedly saying that the object of the Battle of Antietam was “that neither army shall get much advantage of the other; that both shall be kept in the field till they are exhausted, when we will make a compromise and save slavery.” This reflected the view of many Federal troops, and it highlighted Lincoln’s irritation with Federal General George McClellan’s lack of activity since the battle.

Sunday, September 28.  Skirmishing occurred in Kentucky, Missouri, and western Virginia. President Davis wrote to Confederate General Robert E. Lee of his concern over enrolling conscripts “to fill up the thinned ranks of your regiments.”

Monday, September 29.  Federal General Jefferson C. Davis shot and mortally wounded Federal General William “Bull” Nelson during an argument at a hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. Skirmishing occurred in Kentucky and Virginia. In Mississippi, General Earl Van Dorn’s 22,000-man Confederate Army of West Tennessee began advancing on Corinth.

Tuesday, September 30.  Skirmishes occurred in Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and western Virginia. Federal expeditions began from the Savannah River in Georgia and from Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Source: The Civil War Day-by-Day by E.B. Long and Barbara Long (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1971)

This Week in the Civil War: Sep 17-23, 1862

The Battle of Antietam

Wednesday, September 17.  The bloodiest single day of the war occurred at the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland. General Robert E. Lee’s outnumbered Confederate Army of Northern Virginia assembled along Antietam Creek to meet the attack by General George B. McClellan’s Federal Army of the Potomac. The first wave of assaults took place on the Confederate left against General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s corps in the woods, the cornfield, the Bloody Lane, and the Dunkard Church. Federal gains were small and costly. The battle then shifted to the center of the Confederate line, with uncoordinated Federal attacks again achieving little. Finally, the battle moved to the Confederate right, where Federals crossing a bridge finally broke through and headed for Sharpsburg. However, they were halted by General A.P. Hill’s “Light Division” arriving from Harpers Ferry to save Lee’s army. McClellan’s piecemeal attacks and failure to use all his reserves also helped save the Confederate army from destruction. The battle ended when McClellan disengaged, making it a draw. Total casualties for this single day were estimated at over 26,000 killed, wounded, or missing. In Kentucky, a Federal garrison of over 4,000 men surrendered to General Braxton Bragg’s Confederates. Federal General Ormsby M. Mitchel assumed command of the Department of the South, stationed along the southeastern coast.

Thursday, September 18.  In the evening, Robert E. Lee began withdrawing the remnants of his army from Maryland. George McClellan did not attack, despite having up to 24,000 fresh reserves. Lee’s withdrawal made the Battle of Antietam a tactical Federal victory, even though McClellan ignored pleas from President Abraham Lincoln to pursue and destroy Lee’s army. On the Atlantic Ocean, the Confederate commerce raider C.S.S. Alabama destroyed the whaler Elisha Dunbar off New Bedford, Massachusetts. Braxton Bragg announced that his Confederate troops had come to Kentucky to free the people from tyranny, not as conquerors or despoilers. Federal General James H. Carleton replaced General E.R.S. Canby as commander of the Department of New Mexico.

Friday, September 19.  In Mississippi, Federals under General William Rosecrans defeated General Sterling Price’s Confederates at the Battle of Iuka. Rosecrans had arrived at Iuka as part of General Ulysses S. Grant’s advance guard, and the Confederates sought to prevent Grant from reinforcing General Don Carlos Buell in Kentucky. Price was awaiting the arrival of General Earl Van Dorn’s Confederates when the battle occurred. Rosecrans, knowing that Federal reinforcements were forthcoming, withdrew southward during the night. The Federal Department of the Missouri was reestablished, and the Department of Kansas was discontinued. In Maryland, George McClellan’s halfhearted pursuit of Robert E. Lee was halted by Confederate artillery.

Saturday, September 20.  In Maryland, George McClellan’s Federals made one last effort at catching Robert E. Lee’s Confederates, but the Federals were repulsed at various points. In Washington, President Lincoln prepared the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which he had first introduced to his cabinet in July.

Sunday, September 21.  In Kentucky, Braxton Bragg’s Confederates advanced to Bardstown in preparation for linking with General Edmund Kirby Smith’s forces. However, this enabled Don Carlos Buell’s Federals to reach Louisville. In California, San Francisco residents raised $100,000 for aid to wounded and sick Federal troops.

Monday, September 22.  In Washington, President Lincoln presented the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. Lincoln had been waiting for a military victory to issue the order, and Antietam provided the opportunity. The proclamation technically freed no one since it only applied to slaves in states that rebelled against the U.S.; it exempted rebellious states from freeing their slaves if those states rejoined the U.S. before January 1, and it exempted regions under Federal military occupation. Lincoln also called for congressional approval of compensated emancipation. Thus, the path was partially opened toward a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery.

Tuesday, September 23.  In the Dakota Territory, Federals clashed with Indians at Fort Abercrombie. In Minnesota, Federals under H.H. Sibley defeated the Sioux Indians at the Battle of Wood Lake as part of the Dakota War. On the Ohio River, Confederate guerrillas plundered the steamer Emma at Foster’s Landing. In Tennessee, Federals retaliated against an attack on a ship by burning the town of Randolph. Word of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was beginning to spread throughout the North.

The Emancipation Proclamation

Five days after the Battle of Antietam, President Abraham Lincoln summoned his cabinet to the White House. He reminded them of the proclamation draft he had read to them in July and said he had resolved that if Robert E. Lee was driven out of Maryland, he would issue the proclamation. Lincoln said, “I think the time has come now. I wish that we were in a better condition. But the rebel army is now driven out, and I am going to fulfill that promise.”

Thus, Lincoln issued the preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring “that all persons held as slaves” within rebellious areas “are, and henceforward shall be free” if those areas did not return to the Union within 100 days, or January 1. The decree was made public on September 24.

The proclamation technically freed no one because it only freed slaves in seceded states, which considered themselves part of a separate nation and not bound by Federal authority. Slave states remaining loyal to the Union (Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri) were exempted, as were southern regions under Federal military occupation, mostly in Louisiana. Seceded states would also be exempted if they renounced secession and returned to the Union by January 1.

Lincoln cited “military necessity” under his power as commander-in-chief to issue such a proclamation. However, outraged southerners viewed this as an unconstitutional attempt to make law, which was a right belonging only to Congress. Southerners also believed this was an attempt to encourage slaves to rebel against their masters, which was especially despicable since most masters were off to war, leaving women and children to fend for themselves against potentially hostile slaves. However, the proclamation ultimately caused no mass slave uprisings.

Knowing that the proclamation was unconstitutional and could not be enforced without military success, Lincoln hoped to achieve two goals. First, he sought to turn European opinion against the South by making the war a moral struggle between a slaveholding nation and a nation taking the first steps toward ending slavery. Second, Lincoln sought to motivate slaves to escape their masters and support the Federal cause.

The Emancipation Proclamation radically shifted the primary Federal war aim from preserving the Union to freeing slaves. This drastically changed the scope of the war and subsequent American history. While it had no constitutional authority, it ultimately paved the way for a constitutional amendment permanently abolishing slavery in America.

A Soldier’s Letter: Frederick Pettit

Letter from Corporal Pettit (Company C, 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry) to his family after his involvement in the Battle of South Mountain on September 20, 1862

Dear Parents, Brothers and Sisters:

Having a little spare time this morning, I will commence to give you a short account of what our regiment has done since I came to it.

I overtook it about twenty miles from Washington at Brookeville, Md. It was dark when I found them. They had been resting a day to get provisions. The next morning, we started out a little before dark. Our rations are crackers, coffee, sugar, and beef when the cooks have time to boil it.

The next day, we started on our march again and passed through New Market, where the rebel pickets had been the night before. This town is eight miles from Frederick. After passing about two miles from the town, we halted and the cavalry and artillery were sent forward to reconnoiter. After waiting about four hours, we again moved forward. About three miles from Frederick, we again halted.

The front skirmishers loaded their guns and advanced cautiously. The artillerymen ran two guns to the top of a hill on the right. But the rebels had gone. A shot or two at their rear sent them flying. We marched about a mile further and encamped two miles from the city. The next day we could plainly see the cannonading. We could not see any effects of it except a dead horse or two and houses turned into hospitals. After going some distance further, we encamped and lay down and slept during the remainder of the night.

The next morning we started early toward Middletown. It was not long before we heard cannonading in front. About a mile from Middletown, we found a large barn and bridge burned. But the stream was shallow, and we had no difficulty in crossing. After going a short distance further, we could see the batteries at work and hear the whizzing of the shells. The rebels occupied a wooded pass in the mountains. The turnpike runs through the middle of the pass. On the right of it, the rebels had a battery in a ploughed field and others on the left in the woods.

When we came in sight of the enemy, our division halted and our regiment was sent forward as skirmishers. We advanced along the turnpike in plain view of their batteries on the right until we came within a half mile of it. We halted and protected ourselves as well as we could under the bank at the side of the road. The enemy sent their shell amongst us thick and fast. They exploded above and all around us. Shortly an orderly came and told us to fall back. When we commenced to move, the shot and shell flew faster than ever. Our loss this time was only one man wounded, but if we had stayed fifteen minutes longer we would have been cut to pieces…

We advanced up the hill steadily under a shower of shot until we came near the top of the hill, where the road ran between two high banks. Just had we halted when a number of cavalrymen and artilleries came rushing down upon us crying, “Clear the road for the cannon, we are beaten.” Then the artillery came galloping down with the guns and caissons. And to make things worse, the rebels were sending grape shot and shell amongst us in a perfect shower.

We clambered out of the road as fast as we could, and our officers soon formed us in line of battle on the right of the road. We were ordered to fix bayonets and expected to make a charge, but after we started down the hill again and marched on up the valley about a mile, we halted, about faced, and started back across the hill. While coming up the valley, a number of men gave out; amongst them Lieutenant Morton. We saw him no more that day. We soon met General Wilcox and, as we were almost exhausted, he ordered us to lie down and rest.

After resting about three hours, we formed in line of battle. The rebels had advanced upon our cannon and we must drive them back. The 45th Reg. Pa. and 17th Michigan went in before us and drove them behind a stone wall. We then advanced to the top of the hill through a shower of musket balls. When we came to the edge of the woods, we halted and commenced firing. We were about as far from them as from our corn crib to the barn. They were in a lane behind a stone fence and we were in the edge of a woods with a clear lot between us. I fired eleven shots. Most of the boys fired fifteen before the rebels ran. The lane was piled full of killed and wounded rebels…

I have a chance to send this now. We are all well and near the Potomac River. We move soon. I send you a rebel envelope I picked up on the battlefield.

F. Pettit

Source: The Brothers’ War by Annette Tapert (Vintage Books: New York, NY, 1988)