Upon the Altar of the Nation (85 page)
Read Upon the Altar of the Nation Online
Authors: Harry S. Stout
19. LINCOLN, EMANCIPATION, AND TOTAL WAR
5
In
Emancipation Moment,
19, David Brion Davis argues that “military reverses strengthened the pressure to enlist black troops and to invoke the ultimate weapon of slave emancipation.”
In
Emancipation Moment,
19, David Brion Davis argues that “military reverses strengthened the pressure to enlist black troops and to invoke the ultimate weapon of slave emancipation.”
6
See chapter 32.
See chapter 32.
9
Douglass,
Day of Jubilee Comes,
reprinted in Commager,
Civil War Archive,
578. For a fuller discussion of Douglass’s response to emancipation, see Blight,
Frederick Douglass’s Civil War,
106-15.
Douglass,
Day of Jubilee Comes,
reprinted in Commager,
Civil War Archive,
578. For a fuller discussion of Douglass’s response to emancipation, see Blight,
Frederick Douglass’s Civil War,
106-15.
14
The Liberator,
August 22, 1862. See also Liggett, “Our National Reverses,” 253-54: ”What means the recently enacted black code of the great, patriotic and Liberty professing State of Illinois? Do the sons of that would-be-glorious State die by the thousands for the liberty of the black man, as of the white man, and then by a vote almost unanimous, deny him a resting place for the sole of his weary foot on their own boasted free soil? What means the most extraordinary spectacle of the President of our great nation, inviting to his own council chamber a large number of as intelligent and respectable colored men as he could find ... to say to you that your expenses shall be paid, if you will be gone from our sight and the land of your unfortunate birth forever?” On the failure of Lincoln’s colonization scheme, see McPherson,
Battle Cry of Freedom,
508-9.
The Liberator,
August 22, 1862. See also Liggett, “Our National Reverses,” 253-54: ”What means the recently enacted black code of the great, patriotic and Liberty professing State of Illinois? Do the sons of that would-be-glorious State die by the thousands for the liberty of the black man, as of the white man, and then by a vote almost unanimous, deny him a resting place for the sole of his weary foot on their own boasted free soil? What means the most extraordinary spectacle of the President of our great nation, inviting to his own council chamber a large number of as intelligent and respectable colored men as he could find ... to say to you that your expenses shall be paid, if you will be gone from our sight and the land of your unfortunate birth forever?” On the failure of Lincoln’s colonization scheme, see McPherson,
Battle Cry of Freedom,
508-9.
15
This point is made in Belz,
Emancipation and Equal Rights
(New York, 1978), 30-31: ”A closer look at Republican Unionism will show ... that it contained a moral dimension identical to that which historians have more readily discerned in the emancipation policy. Instead of a two-stage progression of war aims from nationalistic reason-of-state to antislavery moral principle, there was in Republican war policy a continuous concern for both expediency and moral idealism in the defense of the Union and in the adoption of an emancipation policy.”
This point is made in Belz,
Emancipation and Equal Rights
(New York, 1978), 30-31: ”A closer look at Republican Unionism will show ... that it contained a moral dimension identical to that which historians have more readily discerned in the emancipation policy. Instead of a two-stage progression of war aims from nationalistic reason-of-state to antislavery moral principle, there was in Republican war policy a continuous concern for both expediency and moral idealism in the defense of the Union and in the adoption of an emancipation policy.”
17
Hodge, “The War,” 157-59.
Hodge, “The War,” 157-59.
19
On the advances of Lincoln’s proclamation over congressional acts, see Oates,
Man Behind the Myths,
106-7.
On the advances of Lincoln’s proclamation over congressional acts, see Oates,
Man Behind the Myths,
106-7.
20
For an insightful essay tracing the co-optation of Northern clergy by lawyers and politicians during the Civil War, see Fredrickson, “The Coming of the Lord,” in Randall M. Miller et al.,
Religion and the American Civil War,
110-30.
For an insightful essay tracing the co-optation of Northern clergy by lawyers and politicians during the Civil War, see Fredrickson, “The Coming of the Lord,” in Randall M. Miller et al.,
Religion and the American Civil War,
110-30.
21
See chapter 20.
See chapter 20.
24
Skinner, Light in Darkness, 4, 8, 11.
Skinner, Light in Darkness, 4, 8, 11.
28
Sutherland, “Abraham Lincoln, John Pope, and the Origins of Total War,” 580.
20. FREDERICKSBURG: ”SO FOOLHARDY AN ADVENTURE”Sutherland, “Abraham Lincoln, John Pope, and the Origins of Total War,” 580.
1
Lieber’s Code is printed in Friedman,
Law of War,
1:158-86, and Hartigan,
Lieber’s Code and the Law of War.
These provisions for protection of civilians are reiterated in the Geneva Convention, whose signators pledge: ”Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion, or faith.... Outrages upon personal dignity in particular humiliating and degrading treatment ... shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever.”
Lieber’s Code is printed in Friedman,
Law of War,
1:158-86, and Hartigan,
Lieber’s Code and the Law of War.
These provisions for protection of civilians are reiterated in the Geneva Convention, whose signators pledge: ”Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion, or faith.... Outrages upon personal dignity in particular humiliating and degrading treatment ... shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever.”
3
The same applied in subsequent American wars. When American officers were accused of torturing Filipino prisoners in the Spanish-American War, they defended themselves (successfully) with General Orders No. 100 and the doctrine of military necessity. In remonstrating against the excesses of American troops in the Philippines, Charles Francis Adams protested the token punishments imposed on American officers as “almost farcical” and continued: ”If we are, or appear to be, satisfied with them [the sentences], it would indicate that as a Nation we regard the killing of people and the devastation of a country, and the practice of torture as mere peccadilloes.” Quoted in Friedman,
Law of War,
foreword, xix.
The same applied in subsequent American wars. When American officers were accused of torturing Filipino prisoners in the Spanish-American War, they defended themselves (successfully) with General Orders No. 100 and the doctrine of military necessity. In remonstrating against the excesses of American troops in the Philippines, Charles Francis Adams protested the token punishments imposed on American officers as “almost farcical” and continued: ”If we are, or appear to be, satisfied with them [the sentences], it would indicate that as a Nation we regard the killing of people and the devastation of a country, and the practice of torture as mere peccadilloes.” Quoted in Friedman,
Law of War,
foreword, xix.
4
For an insightful collection of essays on the battle of Fredericksburg, see Gallagher,
Fredericksburg Campaign.
For an insightful collection of essays on the battle of Fredericksburg, see Gallagher,
Fredericksburg Campaign.
5
To be sure, Burnside’s plan was not wholly without merit if he could launch an immediate attack on Lee’s undermanned army. But like McClellan before him, a wary Burnside blinked when he should have attacked, by which time Jackson had rejoined Lee and Longstreet.
To be sure, Burnside’s plan was not wholly without merit if he could launch an immediate attack on Lee’s undermanned army. But like McClellan before him, a wary Burnside blinked when he should have attacked, by which time Jackson had rejoined Lee and Longstreet.
7
Ibid., 24.
Ibid., 24.
11
Ibid., 335, 339.
Ibid., 335, 339.
14
James Gassner to His Mother, December 22, 1862, Civil War Papers, Box 2, Folder 8, AAS.
James Gassner to His Mother, December 22, 1862, Civil War Papers, Box 2, Folder 8, AAS.
15
Henry Joslin to Mother, March 10 and April 15, 1863, Civil War Papers, Box 1, Folder 8, AAS.
21. “GOD HAS GRANTED US A HAPPY NEW YEAR”Henry Joslin to Mother, March 10 and April 15, 1863, Civil War Papers, Box 1, Folder 8, AAS.
2
Richmond Daily Dispatch,
February 23, 1863. Puritan fathers like Thomas Shepard and Cotton Mather, the paper argued, not only inherited the intolerance of their age but were intolerant on principle, with Roger Williams as the lone exception.
Richmond Daily Dispatch,
February 23, 1863. Puritan fathers like Thomas Shepard and Cotton Mather, the paper argued, not only inherited the intolerance of their age but were intolerant on principle, with Roger Williams as the lone exception.
3
Ibid., December 31, 1860; January and March 7, 1861.
Ibid., December 31, 1860; January and March 7, 1861.
4
Ibid., May 19, 1861.
Ibid., May 19, 1861.
5
Ibid., May 2, 1861; January 18, 1862.
Ibid., May 2, 1861; January 18, 1862.
6
Ibid., September 27, 1862.
Ibid., September 27, 1862.
8
Julia Williams to President Davis, Civil War Papers, Box 4, Folder 1, AAS.
Julia Williams to President Davis, Civil War Papers, Box 4, Folder 1, AAS.
10
For accounts of this battle I have relied chiefly on McPherson,
Battle Cry of Freedom,
580-83; Cozzens,
No Better Places to Die;
and Catton,
Never Call Retreat,
35-47.
For accounts of this battle I have relied chiefly on McPherson,
Battle Cry of Freedom,
580-83; Cozzens,
No Better Places to Die;
and Catton,
Never Call Retreat,
35-47.
13
John Emerson Anderson to Parents, March 3, 1863, Civil War Papers, Box 1, Folder 2., AAS.
John Emerson Anderson to Parents, March 3, 1863, Civil War Papers, Box 1, Folder 2., AAS.
14
Willoughby’s letter of January 1, 1863, is preserved in the “William Augustus Willoughby Papers, 1861-64,” Manuscript Collections, AAS.
Willoughby’s letter of January 1, 1863, is preserved in the “William Augustus Willoughby Papers, 1861-64,” Manuscript Collections, AAS.
22
For a sampling of the literature suggesting an erosion of nationalism, see Escott, “Failure of Confederate Nationalism,” in Owens and Cooke,
Old South in the Crucible of War,
15-28; Powell and Wayne, “Self-Interest and the Decline of Confederate Nationalism,” in ibid., 29-45; Lebergott, “Why the South Lost,” 58-74; or Faust,
Creation of Confederate Nationalism,
36-39. While these works document increasing conflicts they do not, in my view, document an erosion of nationalism any more than increasing controversies in the North indicate a loss of nationalism there. I am indebted to the argument put forward in Carp, “Nations of American Rebels,” 5—33.
For a sampling of the literature suggesting an erosion of nationalism, see Escott, “Failure of Confederate Nationalism,” in Owens and Cooke,
Old South in the Crucible of War,
15-28; Powell and Wayne, “Self-Interest and the Decline of Confederate Nationalism,” in ibid., 29-45; Lebergott, “Why the South Lost,” 58-74; or Faust,
Creation of Confederate Nationalism,
36-39. While these works document increasing conflicts they do not, in my view, document an erosion of nationalism any more than increasing controversies in the North indicate a loss of nationalism there. I am indebted to the argument put forward in Carp, “Nations of American Rebels,” 5—33.
23
This does not, however, mean that political news sheets critical of Davis were also critical of the rich. The
Richmond Examiner,
for example, ridiculed the “rioters” in the bread riots and suggested they be shot on the spot. In this sense, the poor had no vehicle to express their grievances other than oral demonstration and desertion.
This does not, however, mean that political news sheets critical of Davis were also critical of the rich. The
Richmond Examiner,
for example, ridiculed the “rioters” in the bread riots and suggested they be shot on the spot. In this sense, the poor had no vehicle to express their grievances other than oral demonstration and desertion.
24
J. B. Jones,
Rebel War Clerk’s Diary,
128, 120. On widespread anti-Semitism see Chesson,
Richmond After the War,
52.
22. “AS SAVAGE AS SAVAGES”J. B. Jones,
Rebel War Clerk’s Diary,
128, 120. On widespread anti-Semitism see Chesson,
Richmond After the War,
52.
3
Birdwhistell, “Extracts from the Diary of B. F. Hungerford,” 28.
Birdwhistell, “Extracts from the Diary of B. F. Hungerford,” 28.
8
MacDonell, “Sermon on Matthew 22:21,” in Sermons, 1861-67, Manuscript collection, Georgia Historical Society.
MacDonell, “Sermon on Matthew 22:21,” in Sermons, 1861-67, Manuscript collection, Georgia Historical Society.
11
See, for example, Lacy,
Address Delivered at the General Military Hospital,
or Milies,
God in History.
See, for example, Lacy,
Address Delivered at the General Military Hospital,
or Milies,
God in History.
17
Bunting’s sermon books and diaries are preserved in the Robert Franklin Bunting Papers, Barker Center for Texas History, University of Texas. For a brief sketch of his career see Marks, “Bunting Trusted in God and His Comrades.”
Bunting’s sermon books and diaries are preserved in the Robert Franklin Bunting Papers, Barker Center for Texas History, University of Texas. For a brief sketch of his career see Marks, “Bunting Trusted in God and His Comrades.”
23
Ann Grymes to Jefferson Davis, April 2, 1863, Civil War Papers, Box 4, Folder 1, AAS.
Ann Grymes to Jefferson Davis, April 2, 1863, Civil War Papers, Box 4, Folder 1, AAS.
24
Philo B. Buckingham to Mrs. Buckingham, April 8, 1863, Manuscripts Collection, AAS.
Philo B. Buckingham to Mrs. Buckingham, April 8, 1863, Manuscripts Collection, AAS.
28
Ibid.
Ibid.
29
Seth Sweetser Papers, 1834-78, AAS.
Seth Sweetser Papers, 1834-78, AAS.
30
Abijah Marvin, “Fast Sermon on Psalm 80:4-7,” April 30, 1863, Manuscript Collection, AAS.
23. CHANCELLORSVILLE: “THE CHAMBER OF DEATH”Abijah Marvin, “Fast Sermon on Psalm 80:4-7,” April 30, 1863, Manuscript Collection, AAS.
1
For this account of Chancellorsville, I have relied heavily on Furgurson,
Chancellorsville,
1863 and Catton,
Never Call Retreat,
144-67. For technical detail, maps, and complete coverage, the best work on Chancellorsville remains Bigelow,
Campaign of Chancellorsville.
For this account of Chancellorsville, I have relied heavily on Furgurson,
Chancellorsville,
1863 and Catton,
Never Call Retreat,
144-67. For technical detail, maps, and complete coverage, the best work on Chancellorsville remains Bigelow,
Campaign of Chancellorsville.
3
Robert E. Lee to “My Dear Mrs. Jackson,” January 25, 1866, Manuscript Archives, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond.
Robert E. Lee to “My Dear Mrs. Jackson,” January 25, 1866, Manuscript Archives, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond.
4
Hooker’s version made its way back to the press. A writer for the
New York Evangelist
on May 7, 1863, noted: “Jackson’s whole corps, reinforced by D. H. Hill’s men, had precipitated themselves on Howard’s corps ... without waiting for a single volley from the rebels, this corps disgracefully abandoned their position ... and commenced coming, panic stricken, down the road toward head-quarters.” In fairness to Hooker, though he was wrong to question Howard’s “manliness,” he didn’t do any worse in the Wilderness than Grant would do a year later. See Neely, “Wilderness and the Cult of Manliness, in Boritt,
Lincoln’s Generals,
79-120.
Hooker’s version made its way back to the press. A writer for the
New York Evangelist
on May 7, 1863, noted: “Jackson’s whole corps, reinforced by D. H. Hill’s men, had precipitated themselves on Howard’s corps ... without waiting for a single volley from the rebels, this corps disgracefully abandoned their position ... and commenced coming, panic stricken, down the road toward head-quarters.” In fairness to Hooker, though he was wrong to question Howard’s “manliness,” he didn’t do any worse in the Wilderness than Grant would do a year later. See Neely, “Wilderness and the Cult of Manliness, in Boritt,
Lincoln’s Generals,
79-120.
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