A Youth's History of the Great Civil War
Van Evrie, Horton & Co., ©1866
Revised edition, ©2006 www.ronie-mooney-encs.us
The views expressed in the following document do not necessarily represent the views of www.ronie-mooney-encs.us. This document, originally published in 1866, has been provided to the public based solely on its potential value as a historical document.
CHAPTER XIII,"THE FIRST GUN OF SUMTER"
IMMEDIATELY after the inauguration of Mr.Lincoln, the Confederate Government appointed Commissioners to proceed to Washington for the purpose of negotiating for a peaceable settlement of all matters connected with the forts and other United States property situated within the seceded States. Arriving in Washington, these Commissioners addressed a note to Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, explaining the purposes of their embassy, and expressing in the most respectful terms the strong desire for an amicable and just understanding between the two sections. Mr. Seward answered, in language well calculated to deceive as to the belligerent intentions of the Administration, that at that moment it would be impossible to receive these Commissioners in an official capacity, but left upon their minds the impression that some amicable adjustment would ultimately be entered into.
And there these Commissioners remained deceived, from week to week, by verbal assurances,which all turned out to be cheats and delusions. For in the end, it was proved that all the time Mr.Seward and Mr.Lincoln were holding these Southern Commissioners contented in Washington, they were secretly planning and organizing one of the largest naval war fleets to attack Fort Sumter and Charleston, that is known to modern history. While Mr.Seward was blandly exhorting these Commissioners that they should be patient and trustful, he was preparing to strike a fatal and deadly blow, and lay the Southern cities in ashes. He promised these Commissioners that no demonstration should be made upon Fort Sumter; and it was cunningly given out in the Administration papers, that the fort was about to be evacuated by the Federal troops.
This was all a part of the general game of deception. For, even while these Commissioners were trusting that the arrangements entered into between themselves and Mr.Lincoln and Mr.Seward, to the effect that the Federal troops in Fort Sumter should have access to the markets of Charleston for provisions, and that no attempt to reinforce the garrison should be made, the most stupendous preparations to reinforce, and to make war, were secretly progressing. Fortunately for the honor of the Southern Commissioners, Judge Campbell, of the Supreme Court of the United States, was the agent through whom this friendly verbal treaty had been made. And after the mask fell from the faces of Mr.Lincoln and Mr.Seward, Judge Campbell wrote to the latter, fully accusing him of his whole course of fraud and deception in the matter. To those grave charges Mr.Seward has never dared to attempt an answer to this day. Judge Campbell read to Mr.Seward a letter which he had written to President Davis, detailing the agreement entered into between Mr.Lincoln and the Southern Commissioners; and Mr.Seward, pointing to the letter, said, "Before that letter reaches its destination, Fort Sumter will be evacuated." At that very moment he was making the most gigantic preparation not to evacuated, Judge Campbell became uneasy as to the good faith of Mr.Seward in all his promises, and wrote him a letter to that effect, to which Mr.Seward telegraphed this laconic answer - "Faith as to Sumter fully kept - wait and see." Judge Campbell and the people of Charleston had only to wait six short days, and they did "see" - the largest war fleet threatening the destruction of their city that had ever traversed the waters of this continent before.
By the law of nations the appearance of such a fleet these, under the circumstances, was a declaration of war. It needs not the firing of a gun to make war. The putting of the first gun into a warship, with the design of using it against a city, or a State, is a declaration of war against that city or State. This fact was stated by the leading journals of Europe in commenting upon these events at the time they occurred. It was correctly held by them that the war was opened not by the South,in firing upon Fort Sumter, but was fully begun by the abolitionists of the North in the very act of fitting out that vast war fleet. To allow Mr.Lincoln's troops to reinforce Fort Sumter would have been to put the fate of the city of Charleston, with all its priceless treasure of life and property at the mercy of the men in power at Washington, who had just proved that they were incapable of showing the least respect to their own most solemnly uttered promises.
The preventing of the reinforcement of the fort was held to be a necessary act of self-preservation. Under the circumstances, it was not, properly speaking, an act of aggression, but of self-defense. The first gun at Fort Sumter was not, then, in a legal point of view, the beginning of the war. It was morally begun by the abolitionists more than thirty years ago. It was fully organized by the formation of the Black Republican party, and the election of Lincoln on the platform of the Helper Book. And it was formally opened and declared by the sailing of the great war fleet against Charleston. The "first gun" of the war was the first gun put into that war fleet. The "first gun" at Sumter was only the first gun of self-defense. This is the simple fact of the case stripped of all the nonsensical verbiage with which it has been surrounded by the abolitionists.
General Beauregard, in order to prevent Fort Sumter from being reinforced by abolition soldiers, opened fire upon it, on the morning of the 12th day of April, 1861, at day-break. The firing was continued without intermission for twelve hours; the fort under the command of Major Anderson, returning the fire constantly all that time. At dark the firing from the fort almost stopped, but it was kept up by General Beauregard at intervals during the whole night. At seven o'clock in the morning,however, the fort resumed its fire; but shortly afterwards it was seen that it was on fire, and Major Anderson was compelled to run up a signal flag of distress. General Beauregard immediately sent a boat to Major Anderson, offering to assist in putting out the fire, but before it had time to reach the fort, Major Anderson hoisted the flag of truce.
This was the whole of the famous bombardment of Fort Sumter. Not a man was killed on either side. When Major Anderson surrendered his sword, General Beauregard instantly returned it to him, and permitted him on leaving the fort to salute the United States flag with fifty guns. In doing this, however, two of his guns burst and killed four men.
It is a remarkable fact, that during the whole time of the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Mr.Lincoln's war-fleet, embracing two or three of the most powerful United States sloops-of -war lay in sight of all that was passing, without offering to fire a gun or to render the least assistance to the fort. The real object of all that warlike display was to produce a battle-to force upon the South the necessity of "firing upon the flag," as they called it. Mr.Lincoln and Mr.Seward had calculated rightly upon the use they could make of such an event in the grand scheme of raising an immense army.
The very night on which the news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter came, Mr.Lincoln was particularly cheerful, and gave a reception at the White House, at which he displayed more than his usual vivacity. Two days after he issued his first war proclamation. It was the occasion of all others that suited him and his party. Without some such event as the bombardment of Fort Sumter, it was impossible for him to raise a respectable army to effect the grand scheme of abolition. The news of that bombardment was therefore received with delight by the whole abolition party. Those who had been praying for such a thing rubbed their hands for joy, exclaiming, "Now we have got 'em! now we can make an end of slavery!"
Then commenced the business of "working up the Northern mind," as they called it. Then they instantly started the "flag mania." By a concert of action the cry was everywhere shouted forth, "the flag has been fired upon!" Those who for years and years had denounced the flag of our country as "a flaunting lie," and "a polluted rag," ran out a flag from their window, or went into the streets to mob every house which had not a flag out. Men who saw, and dared to smile at the bold and impudent hypocrisy of all this sort of demonstration,were knocked down by the bullies whom the Black Republicans had engaged to perambulate the streets for this purpose. In the beginning of this sort of display the whole was a piece of sheer hypocrisy on the part of the leaders of abolitionism. But gradually the thing grew into an absolute mania, and swept over the North like a hurricane.
Many years ago, in the early history of New England, what is now known as the witchcraft mania stained that section of our country with innocent blood. Hundreds who had always borne a good character believed themselves bewitched. Respectable men and women testified under oath that they had seen certain old women riding broomsticks a mile high in the air. These old women were arrested and tried and hanged as witches. The most remarkable part is, that many of the accused admitted themselves to be witches, and died on the gallows confessing that they were witches, and that they had ridden on broomsticks through the air.
All this monstrous delusion began, in the first place, by the imposture of a few bad people, but it went on until the thing grew to be a mania, infecting the whole community with a belief in witchcraft; and it was not until many innocent persons had suffered death that it could be stopped. Now, that was a case where a whole community became insane on the subject of witchcraft. The ministers of the Gospel were among the most deluded victims of the insanity, and were the most zealous advocates for the hanging of all who were accused of witchcraft. But the mania at last passed off, and all who had been engaged in the matter were ashamed of the part they had borne in the fatal business. Perpetual infamy attaches to the memory of those days.
Our war excitement was not less a mania than that of witchcraft. Started, in the first place, and worked by a thousand cunning tricks of bad people, and of abolitionists who were bent upon the insane idea of making negroes the equal of white people, it was driven on until hundreds of thousands who had really no sympathy with the abominable objects of the war, were swept into its bloody current. Hundreds of thousands of honest soldiers who, in their own hearts, firmly believed that the negro was best off in "slavery," enlisted and risked their own lives in fighting to emancipate him.
Two-thirds of all our soldiers abhorred the idea of negro equality, even while they were fighting for it. Had they been allowed to follow the bent of their own reason and their own sympathies, they would a thousand times sooner have fought to keep him in his natural place of subordination than to elevate him to an equality with themselves. It was only through a great excitement, amounting to a mania, and through the most stupendous deception, that they were drawn into the business of fighting for the sole benefit of Sambo.
As I have shown you in former chapters, the cry for the "flag," and for the "Union," was all an hypocrisy and a cheat on the part of the Black Republicans. They had been long known as enemies of the Union, and as despisers of the flag of our country.
And it was a cunning trick, precisely worthy of Mr.Seward and Mr.Lincoln, to cause the bombardment of Fort Sumter, in order to "fire up the Northern heart," as they called it. The sole design of the whole thing was to "fire up the Northern heart" to fight the guilty battle of abolitionism. The war was gotten up with as much trick and skill in management as a showman uses to get the populace to visit his menagerie. Our whole country was placarded all over with war posters of all colors and sizes. Drums were beating and bands playing at every corner of the streets. Nine-tenths of all the ministers of the Gospel were praying and preaching to the horrible din of the war-music, and the profane eloquence of slaughter.
There was little chance for any man to exercise his reason, and if he attempted such a thing he was knocked down and sometimes murdered. If an editor ventured to appeal to the Constitution, his office was either destroyed by the mob, or his paper suspended by "the order of the Government." The moment the war opened for the emancipation of the negroes, the liberty of the white man was suspended.
The historian of these shameful and criminal events needs no other proof that the managers of the war knew that they were perpetrating a great crime than the fact that they refused to allow any man to reason or speak in opposition to their action. The cause of truth and justice always flourishes most with all the reasoning that argument and controversy can give it. Whenever men attempt to suppress argument and free speech, we may be sure that they know their cause to be a bad one.
Return to History of the Great Civil War
RELATED ARTICLES
Biography of Abraham Lincoln
Biography of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States (1861-1865).
General PGT Beauregard You Found It!
A stunning picture, portrait and biography of Confederate General PGT Beauregard.
Abraham Lincoln Online--Your Source for Lincoln News
Presents news about Abraham Lincoln books, speeches and writings, historic places, and events.
The Battle of Fort.Sumter Official Records and Battle Description
At 2:30 pm, April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter,...The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War...
Jim Crow Laws-Separate Is Not Equal Ballot-No Negro Equality
The fight over civil rights was never just a southern issue. This ballot is from the race for governor of Ohio in 1867.
Abolition: The African-American Mosaic
(Library of Congress)...Like many other reformers, abolitionists felt that good crusades required singing. Hence,many abolitionists expressed themselves in verse and songs...
Was Lincoln An Abolitionist?
There was little to no consideration for the well being or equality of the Negro(Fonner, Free, 265). Though Lincoln did believe that the Negro was a man,...
The Underground Railroad Site-Abolitionists
Other important people in American history who were Abolitionists include Thaddeus Stevens, Alan Pinkerton, Henry David Thoreau, Harriet Beecher Stowe,...
