sonable purposes, turned to the more disloyal Legislature for aid. The latter yielded to his wishes, and, under the inspiration of Daniel M. Frost, a native of New York, and a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, they made arrangements for enrolling the militia of the State, and placing in the hands of the governor a strong military force, to be used against the power of the National government. Arrangements were also made for seizing the National Arsenal at St. Louis, and holding possession of that chief city of the Mississippi valley. For this purpose, and with the pretext of disciplining the militia of that district, Frost, commissioned a brigadiergeneral by the Gover nor, formed a camp near

the city. But the plan was frustrated by the vigilant loyalists of St. Louis and Captain Nathaniel Lyon, commanding the military post there. When it became evident that Frost was about to seize the arsenal, Lyon, with a large number of volunteers, surrounded the traitor's camp, and made him and his followers prisoners.

The government and the authorities of Missouri now took open issue. Satisfied that the conspirators had resolved to secure to their interest that State and Kentucky, the National authorities took possession of and fortified Cairo, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and of Bird's Point, a low bluff opposite, on the Missouri side of the "Father of Waters." It was a timely movement, for Governor Jackson

speedily called [June 12, 1861] into the service of the State of Missouri fifty thousand of the militia, "for the purpose of repelling invasion," et cetera, and at Jefferson City, the capital of the commonwealth, he raised the standard of revolt, with Sterling Price' as military commander. At the same time the authorities of Tennessee, who, led by the disloyal Governor, Isham G. Harris, had placed that State in a military relation to the Confederacy similar to that of Virginia, were working in harmony with Jackson, their troops being under the command of General Gideon J.

2

STERLING PRICE.

Pillow. That officer was making earnest efforts for the seizure of Cairo, when, early in July, Leonidas Polk, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of

1 Page 565.

2

Page 556

the Diocese of Louisiana, and a graduate of West Point Academy, succeeded him in command. Meanwhile, Lyon, who had been promoted to Major-General, and placed in command of the Department of Missouri, moved a strong force against the insurgents at the State capital. With 2,000 men he went up the Missouri River in two steamers. When he approached Jefferson City the insurgents fled. He hotly pursued, and overtook, fought, and dispersed them near Booneville. The vanquished Missourians again fled, and halted not until they had reached the southwestern borders of the State. Lyon now held military control of the most important portions of it.'

earnest.

There was now great commotion all over the land. War had begun in Confederate pirate-ships were depredating upon the ocean. The fife and drum were heard in every hamlet, village, and city, from the St. Croix to the Rio Grande. Compromises and concessions seemed no longer possible. The soothing lullaby of the last "Peace Convention" was lost in the din of warlike preparations, and it was evident that the great question before the people, whether the retrogressive barbarism of slave institutions or the progressive civilization of free institutions should prevail in the Republic, could only be settled by the arbitrament of the sword, to which the friends of the former and the enemies of the Union had appealed. A mighty army of defenders of the Republic was rapidly gathering and earnestly drilling at its capital, and was animated by an intense desire (shared by the loyal people) to go forward, disperse the army of the conspirators, and drive their chief and his counselors from Richmond, where, with great energy, they were devising and putting into execution plans for the overthrow of their government. The gratification of that desire was promised when, at the middle of July, the General-in-Chief gave orders for the movement of the army upon the foe at Manassas, then commanded by Beauregard.3

Lieutenant-General Scott was too feeble to take command of the army in the field, and that duty was assigned to General Irwin McDowell, then at the head of the Department of Virginia. Already Ohio and South Carolina troops

1 He so held the whole region north of the Missouri River, and east of a line running south from Booneville on that stream to the Arkansas border, thus giving the government the control of the important points of St. Louis, Hannibal, St. Joseph, and Bird's Point, as bases of operations, with railways and rivers for transportation.

The Virginia conspirators repeated the trick of a "Peace Convention" [see page 549] on a more limited scale after they had dragged their State into the Confederation. They proposed a convention of delegates from the border Slave-labor States, to be held in Frankfort, Kentucky. The 27th of May was appointed as the day for their assembling. There were present no delegates from Virginia, and only five beside those appointed in Kentucky. Those present professed to be eminently "neutral," and talked of "wrongs endured by the South," and the "sectionalism of the North," and regarded the preservation and National protection of the slave-system as "essential to the best hopes of our country." The trick was too apparent to deceive anybody, and had no effect. It was the last "peace conference" of its kind.

3

Page 553. On taking command of that army, at the beginning of June, Beauregard, who was noted throughout the war for his official misrepresentations, ludicrous boastings, and signal failures as a military leader, issued a proclamation so infamous and shameless, considering the conduct of himself and his superiors at Richmond, that honorable Confederate leaders like Johnston, Ewell, and Longstreet blushed for shame.

He was afflicted with dropsy and vertigo, and for four months previously he had not been able to mount a horse.

had measured strength at Vienna, a few miles from Washington, in an encounter [June 17th] concerning the possession of the railway between

WINFIELD SCOTT IN 1865.3

Alexandria and Leesburg; and now the National army was eager to repeat the contest on a larger scale. The opportunity speedily offered. A little more than 30,000 troops moved from Arlington Heights and vicinity toward Manassas at the middle of July, and on the 18th a portion of these, under General Tyler, had a severe battle at Blackburn's Ford, on Bull's Run, not far from Centreville, in Fairfax County. The Nationals were repulsed and saddened, and the Confederates were highly elated. The loss of men was about equally divided between the

combatants, being about sixty on each side.

McDowell's plan was to turn the right flank of the Confederates, and compel both Beauregard and Johnston to fall back; and Tyler's movement near Blackburn's Ford was intended as a feint, but ended in a battle.

The result of that engagement, and his observations during a reconnoissance on the following day [July 20], satisfied McDowell that his plan was not feasible. He therefore resolved to make a direct attack on the foe. It was important that it should be done speedily, because the terms of enlistment of his "three months men" were about to expire, and Patterson, yet at Martinsburg, was in a position to give him instant assistance, if necessary. The latter had been ordered to so menace Johnston as to keep him at Winchester and prevent his re-enforcing Beauregard, or to go to the support of McDowell, if necessary. Such being the situation, the commander of the Nationals felt confident of success, and at two o'clock on Sunday morning, the 21st of July [1861], he set his army in motion in three columns-one under General Tyler, marching to menace the Confederate left at the Stone Bridge over Bull's Run, on the Warrenton road, while two others, under Generals Hunter and Heintzelman, taking a wide circuit more to the left, were to cross the stream at different points, and

1 The National troops were commanded by Colonel A. McD. McCook, who had been sent out to picket and guard the road. They were accompanied on this occasion by General Robert C. Schenck. The Confederates were in charge of Colonel Maxcy Gregg, who had been a leading member of the South Carolina Secession Convention.

2 At this time the main body of McDowell's troops, about 45,000 strong, occupied a line, with the Potomac at its back, extending from Alexandria, nine miles below Washington, almost to the Chain Bridge, six miles above the capital. The remainder of the National army, about 18,000 strong, was at or near Martinsburg, under General Patterson. Both armies were liable to a sudden decrease, for the terms of enlistment of the "three months men were about expiring. The main Confederate army, under Beauregard, was at and near Manassas Junction, in a very strong defensive position, about half way between the more eastern range of the Blue Ridge and the Potomac at Alexandria. Johnston's force at Winchester was larger than Patterson's, and was in a position to re-enforce Beauregard without much difficulty. He made his position quite strong, by casting up earthworks for defense.

See page 485.

4

Page 551.

make the real attack on Beauregard's left wing, menaced by Tyler. At the same time troops under Colonels Richardson and Davies were to march from near Centreville, and threaten the Confederate right.' These movements were duly executed, but with some mischievous delay, and it was well toward noon before the battle was

fairly begun. Beauregard had planned an attack on McDowell at Centreville, the same morning. The authorities at Richmond, informed of the latter's movements, had ordered Johnston to hasten to the aid of Beauregard, who was now compelled to act on the defensive. After several hours' hard fighting, with varying fortunes on both sides, and the mutual losses dreadful, the Nationals,

with superior numbers, were on the point of gaining a complete victory, when from the Shenandoah Valley came six thousand of Johnston's fresh troops, and turned the tide of battle. Johnston had managed to elude Patterson, and had hastened to Manassas, followed by his troops, and there, as senior in rank, he took the chief command. Patterson, awaiting promised information and orders from the General-in-Chief (which he did not receive), failed to re-enforce McDowell, and when, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, Johnston's troops swelled the ranks of Beauregard to a volume greater than those of his foes, the Nationals were thrown back in confusion, and fled in disastrous rout toward Washington City. Jefferson Davis had just arrived on the battlefield when the flight began. He sent an exultant shout by telegraph to his

1 The Confederate army lay along a line nearly parallel to the general course of Bull's Run, from Union Mills, where the Orange and Alexandria railway crosses that stream, to the passage of the Warrenton turnpike, at the Stone Bridge several miles above.

A large number of civilians saw the smoke of battle from Centreville and its vicinity. Several members of Congress, and many others, went out from Washington to see the fight, as they would a holiday spectacle, not doubting the success of the National troops. These were seen flying back in the greatest terror, while Congressman Alfred Ely, and one or two other civilians, were captured, and held as prisoners in Richmond for several months. Among the fugitives was W. H. Russell, correspondent of the London Times, who, notwithstanding he had not seen the battle, wrote an account of it the same night, while in an unfit condition, as he acknowledged, to write any thing truthfully. It was very disparaging to the Nationals, and filled the enemies of the Republic in Europe with joy, because of the assurance it gave of the success of the conspirators.

fellow-conspirators at Richmond,' and the whole Confederacy speedily rang with its echoes; while the remnant of the vanquished army hastened back in fragments to the defenses of Washington, and the gloom of deepest despondency overshadowed the loyal heart of the nation for a moment. While one section of the Republic was resonant with sounds of exultation, the other was silent and cast down for a moment.

The extraordinary session of Congress' had not yet closed, when the disaster at Bull's Run occurred. That event did not disturb the composure or the faith of that body. Friends of the Confederates who yet lingered in the National Legislature were using every means in their power to thwart legislation that looked to the crushing of the rebellion; but the patriotic majority went steadily forward in their efforts to save the Republic. When the battle occurred, they had under consideration a declaratory resolution concerning the object of the war on the part of the government, and while the capital was filled with fugitives from the shattered National army, and it was believed by many that the seat of government was at the mercy of its enemies, Congress deliberated as calmly as if assured of perfect safety, adopted the Declaratory Resolution, and made thorough provisions for prosecuting the war vigorously. The same faith and patriotic action were soon visible among the loyal people. Their despondency was momentary. Almost immediately they recovered from the stunning blow to their hopes and desires. They awakened from the delusive and dangerous dream that their armies were absolutely invincible. There was at once another wonderful uprising of the Unionists, and while the Confederates were wasting golden moments of opportunity in celebrating their victory, thousands of young men were seen flocking toward the National capital to join the great Army of Defense. Within a fortnight after the battle just recorded, when the terms of service of the "three months men" had

4

1 From Manassas Junction he telegraphed, saying:-"Night has closed upon a hard-fought field. Our forces were victorious. The enemy was routed, and fled precipitately, abandoning a large amount of arms, ammunition, knapsacks, and baggage. The ground was strewn for miles with those killed, and the farm-houses and the grounds around were filled with the wounded." "Our force," he said, "was 15,000; that of the enemy estimated at 30,000." This was not only an exaggeration, but a misrepresentation. From the most reliable authorities on both sides, it appears that, in the final struggle, the Nationals had about 13,000 men, and the Confederates about 27,000. The latter had been receiving re-enforcements all day, while not a man crossed Bull's Run after twelve o'clock at noon to re-enforce the Nationals.

2 Page 560.

Page 549. Slidell, Yulee, and other Senators, remained for some time, for the avowed purpose of preventing legislation that might strengthen the hands of the government.

4 J. J. Crittenden offered the following joint resolution :-" That the present deplorable Civil War has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt against the constitutional government, and in arms around the capital; that in this National emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to its country; that this war is not waged on our part in any spirit of oppression, not for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established usages of those States; but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and as soon as these objects are accomplished, the war ought to cease."

This resolution was adopted by an almost unanimous vote in both Houses of Congress. It alarmed the conspirators, for it positively denied those false allegations with which they had deceived the people. They were so fearful that their dupes might see it and abandon their bad cause, that no newspaper in the Confederacy, it is said, was allowed to publish the fact.