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FROM   THE   BXqiJE^  OK 

MRS.    ANNE    E.    P.    SEVER, 
OF  BOSTON, 

Widow  of  Col.  James  Warren  Sever, 


1 


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PUBLICATIONS 


OP  THB 


Southern  History  Association 


Publication  Committee: 

Gen.  M.  J.  Wright.  Mr.  T.  L.  Colb. 

Mr.  THOBiAS  H.  Clark.        Dr.  Stbphbn  B.  Webks. 

Mr.  John  B.  Brownlow.      Dr.  Coi^yer  Mbriwether. 


VOLUME  V. 


WA8HINOTON,  D.  C. 

THE  ASSOCIATION. 
1901. 


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OFFICERS,  1901. 


PRESIDENT: 
Dr.  J.  L.  M.  CURRV. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 

General  M.  C.  BuTi^BR.  Mr.  Thomas  Nsi«son  Page. 

General  M.  J.  Wright.  Professor  Woodrow  Wii«son. 

Colonel  G90RGQ  A.  PorTQRpikld.        Senator  S.  Pasco. 

SECRETARY  AND  TREASURER: 
COLY9R  MSRiw^HER,  Ph.  D.,  Washington,  Z>.  C. 

ADMINISTRATIVE  COUNCIL: 
(In  addition  to  the  above-named  Officers) : 

Professor  Kemp  P.  BATT13.  Stephen  B.  Weeks,  Ph.  D. 

Colonel  R.  A.  Brock.  Professor  H.  Schoenfei^d. 

Mr.  T.  L.  Cole.  Professor  Lucian  Johnston. 

Professor  R.  Heath  Dabney.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Clark. 

Professor  John  R.  Picklen.  Mr.  Alexander  Summers. 

Professor  Chas.  Lee  Smith.  President  Geo.  T.  Winston. 

Professor  W.  C.  Stubbs.  J.  B.  Killbbrew,  Ph.  D. 

PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE: 

Gen.  M.  J.  Wright.  Mr.  T.  L.  Cole. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Clark.  Dr.  Stephen  B.  Weeks. 

Mr.  John  b.  Brownlow.  Dr.  Colyer  Meriwether. 


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CONTENTS. 


No.  I.JANUARY,  1901. 

PAOB 

History  of  the  Cokfkderatb  Treasury, E.  A.  Smith,      i 

The  South  in  Oi*den  Times, J.  L.  M.  Curry.    35 

Edward  Ireland  Renick,  ...  .....      Gaillard  Hunt.  49 

Reviews  and  Notices,  .  .  53 

Notes  and  Queries, 85 

No.  2,  MARCH,  1901. 

Report  of  the  Fifth  Annuai,  Meeting,  .  .  Colyer  Meriwether,  Sec'y.    95 
History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  (Continued),     .  E.  A.  Smith.    99 

WiixiAM  Vans  Murray, Clement  Sulivane.  151 

The  Calhoun  Letters,         J.  L.  M.  Curry.  159 

Reviews  and  Notices, 164 

Notes  and  Queries, 175 

No.  3,  MAY,  1901. 

Sketch  of  General  Muhlenberg, M.  J.  Wright.  181 

History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury,  (Concluded)  .  .  B.  A.  Smith.  188 

Carrington  Genealogy, J.  B.  Killebrew.  228 

Reviews  and  Notices,  .  .  - 232 

Notes  and  Queries, 260 

No.  4,  JULY,  1901. 

WiLUAM  Lyne  Wilson, William  H.  Wilson.  263 

Davis*s  Last  Official  Meeting, M.  E.  Robertson.  291 

Kinsey  Family  Data, Miles  White,  Jr.  300 

On  the  History  of  Slavery, ........   304 

John  A.  Broadus, J.  L.  M.  Curry.  310 

Reviews  and  Notices, 313 

Periodical  Literature, 334 

Notes  and  Queries, 344 

No.  S.SEPTEMBER,  1901. 

The  Louisiana  Purchase  vs.  Texas John  R.  Ficklen.  351 

Henry  Baker  and  Descendants, Miles  White,  Jr.  388 

Lost  Colony  of  Roanoke, ....   401 

Book  Reviews, 406 

Periodical  Literature,     438 

Notes  and  Queries, 446 

No.  6,  NOVEMBER,  1901. 

The  Organization  OF  THE  Texas  Revolution,  .   .  Eugene  C.  Barker.  451 
Henry  Baker  and  Descendants  (Concluded),   ....  Miles  White,  Jr.  477 

Canada's  Work  for  History, 497 

Herbert  Baxter  Adams, 500 

The  Struggle  of  the  Confederacy, J.  L.  M.  Curry.  504- 

Reviews  and  Notices ....   512 

Periodical  Literature, 530 

Notes  and  Queries, ...   541 

In  Memoriam, 548 

Index,     551 


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»  >/    J  ■ 


Vol.  V.  JANUARY,  1901. 


PUBLICATIONS 


OP  THE 


Southern  History  Association. 


ISSUED  BI-MONTHLY. 


OONTEISTS : 

PAOft 

History  of  thic  Coitfkdicrata  Trqasurv  (Oouthiued),  .  .  E.  A.  Smith,      i 

Thb  South  IN  Oij)BnTimks, ,  J.  I*- M.  Ciirry.    35 

Bdward  Irblanb  Rbnick, GaUlard  Hunt.  49 

Rkvibws  and  Notices, 53 

Notes  AND  QuKRiKs, 85 


I 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Published  by  the  aIbociation. 

January,  1901. 


•3>00  per  aA»am|  fl.OO  p«r  number. 

Ko  retponsiUlity  assumed  for  opinions  of  contributors. 


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OFFICERS,  1901. 


PRESIDENT: 
Dr.  J.  I^.  M.  Curry. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 

General  M.  C.  BaTi.BR.  Mr.  Thomas  Nex^omt  Pagb. 

General  M.  J.  Wright.  Profeasor  Woodrow  Wh^son. 

Colonel  Gborgb  A.  Portbrfibu).       Senator  S.  Pasco. 

SECRETARY  AND  TREASURER: 
CoitYRR  Mbriwbthbr,  Ph.  D.,  WashingUm,  D.  C. 

ADMINISTRATIVE  COUNCIL: 
(in  addition  to  the  aboTe-oamed  OAoen) : 

Professor  Kemp  P.  Battia.  Stbphbn  B.  Wbbks,  Ph.  D. 

Colonel  R.  A.  Brock.  Professor  H.  Schobnfbi«d. 

Mr.  T.  L.  Coi^.  Professor  Lucian  Johnston. 

Professor  R.  Hbath  Dabnby.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Cuoik. 

Professor  John  R.  Picki^bn.  Mr.  Ai^bxandbr  Sommbrs. 

Professor  Chas.  Lbb  Smith.  President  Gbo.  T.  Winston. 

Professor  W.  C.  Stubbs.  J.  B.  ELiixbbrbw,  Ph.  D. 

PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE: 

Gen.  M.  J.  WRIGHT.  Mr.  T.  I*.  C01.B. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Ci^ark.  Dr.  Stbphbn  B.  Wbbks. 

Mr.  John  B.  Browni^ow.  Dr.  C01.YBR  Mbriwbthbr. 


Pursuant  to  a  call  signed  by  nearly  a  hundred  representative  persons  of 
the  South,  the  Southern  History  Association  was  organized  at  the  Columbian 
Uniyersity,  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  evening  of  April  24,  1896,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  history  of  the  Southern  States.  In  carrying  out  this  aim 
an  annual  meeting  is  held,  and  a  Bi-monthly  Publication  issued.  The  Associ- 
ation also  desires  contributions  of  journals,  letters,  manuscripts  and  other  ma- 
terial towards  the  beginning  of  a  collection  of  historical  sources.  It  will  gladly 
accept  papera  based  on  research  and  documents  on  all  subjects  touching  the 
South. 

All  persons,  as  well  as  libraries,  interested  in  the  work  are  eligible  for 
membership,  without  initiation  fee ;  annual  dues  $3.00,  life  dues  $30.00.  There 
is  no  other  expense  to  members,  who  receive  all  current  publications  of  the 
Association  free  of  charge. 

The  Publications  alone  can  be  had,  postpaid,  at  $3.00  per  volume,  un- 
bound, or  $1.00  per  number. 

All  communications  should  be  addressed  to 

COLYER  MERIWETHER,  Secretary, 
P.  O.  Box  65.  Washington,  D.  C. 


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PUBLICATIONS 


SOUTHERN  HISTORY  ASSOCIATION. 


Vol.  V.  January,  1901.  No.  1. 


THE     HISTORY    OF    THE    CONFEDERATE 
TREASURY. 

By  Professor  Ernest  A.  Smith,  Allegheny  College. 

CHAPTER  I.— CREATION  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

The  history  of  war  is  not  alone  the  account  of  the 
movements  of  hostile  men.  Other  agencies  than  bullet 
and  bayonet  have  their  share  in  deciding  the  issue.  Valor 
and  numbers  are  largely  determining  factors,  yet  eco- 
nomic forces  play  a  part  whose  importance  needs  to  be 
carefully  measured.  The  war  chest  of  a  Frederick  the 
Great  indicates  one  method  of  establishing  an  absolute 
guarantee  of  victory.  Modern  conflicts  cause  to  be  levied, 
when  the  emergency  arises,  more  direct  contributions 
from  the  accumulations,  possessions  and  transactions  of 
the  nations'  subjects.  That  people  which  has  the  full  en- 
listment of  its  financial  resources  and  the  mustering  of  its 
complete  industrial  strength  is  well  nigh  thrice  armed. 

The  Confederate  States  of  America  was  naturally  en- 
gaged from  its  inception  in  a  struggle  for  existence.  The 
creation  of  its  Treasury  and  the  establishment  of  a  rev- 
enue were  a  concern  of  vital  consequence,  which  was  to 
be  vastly  emphasized  by  the  mounting  demands  of  a  land 
widely  assaulted.    Thus  the  test  from  the  start  was  the 


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6  2  Southern.  History  Association. 

\*  V,  ... 

more  severe  in  that  the  Treasury  was  engaged  in  deficit 
financiering.  Every  device  which  opportunity  or  neces- 
sity could  urge  was  the  subject  of  experiment  by  the  De- 
partment in  its  eflforts  to  supply  the  sinews  of  war. 

In  addition  to  the  ordinary  fiscal  operations  there  de- 
volved on  the  officials  the  diverse  and  difficult  problems  of 
loans,  currency,  taxation,  commerce  and  produce  pur- 
chasing. The  study  of  these  activities  suddenly  thrust  on 
the  Treasury  will  portray  phases  of  public  finance,  profit- 
able both  for  instruction  and  for  warning. 

The  Provisional  Congress  of  the  Confederacy  of  six 
Southern  States  met  in  Montgomery,  Alabama,  February 
4,  i86i.     Within  four  days  the  Provisional  Constitution 
was  drafted  and  adopted  to  remain  in  force  one  year.    The 
United  States  laws  in  operation  on  November  i,  i860,  and 
not  otherwise  inconsistent  with  the  new  instrument  were 
enacted  as  binding  on  the  Confederacy.    The  following 
day  brought  the  election  of  the  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent, while  the  interval  until  the  inauguration  on  the  i8th 
of  February  was  occupied  by  the  organization  of  an  army 
and  a  navy,  the  adaptation^  of  the  former  national  system 
of  revenue,  the  declaration'  of  a  temporary  internal  free 
trade,  and  other  appropriate  legislation.    Cabinet  officers 
were  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  for  a  term  of  s« 
years,  and  the  choice  of  Mr.  Davis  for  his  Secretary  of  the 

Secrbtary  C.  G.  Mbmminger. 
Treasury  was  announced  February  19th  to  be  Mr.  C.  G. 
Memminger,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  The  experi- 
ence of  this  gentleman  consisted  of  a  long  service-  in  the 
Legislature  of  his  State,  where  as  chairman  of  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  he*  had  charge  of  the  special  finan- 

» Act  of  Feb.  14.  1861. 
•  Act  of  Feb.  18,  1861.  -, 

•Capers*sL<f*o/Memm.«jr*f,  pp.  106-186  Nayhingen. 

•Christopher  Gustavus  ilemm.n^^  was   boni  a         y^^ 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.        3 

cial  measures,  growing  out  of  the  crisis  of  1837  and  1857, 
relating  particularly  to  banks,  specie  payments  and  note 
issues. 

Mr.  Memminger  was  then  in  the  Provincial  Congress, 
serving  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Commerce.  As 
the  minister  of  finance  he  received  his  appointment  before 
the  Congress  had  formally  created  the  Department,  for 
not  until  February  21st  was  the  law  framed**  establishing 
and  defining  the  offices.    Under  the  Secretary  were  Co'mp- 

Organization  op  the  Treasury. 
troller,  Auditor,  Register,  Treasurer  and  Assistant  Secre- 
tary. The  Treasury^  in  embryo  at  once  found  a  local 
habitation  for  itself  under  the  charge  of  the  chief  clerk  of 
the  Secretary,  Col.  Henry  D.  Capers.  The  first  requisi- 
tion^Dn  it  to  provide  blankets  and  rations  for  100  men, 
the  first  volunteers,  a  company  from  De  Kalb  county, 
Georgia,  had  to  be  met  by  the  personal  credit  of  the 
Secretary.  The  State  of  Alabama  had  offered  Congress 
a  loan  of  half  a  million  dollars,  but  the  bonds  were  not 
then  available. 

Within  a  short  time  the  organization  of  the  Treasury 
Department  in  its  several  divisions  was  perfected  on  the 
system  devised  by  Alexander  Hamilton.  Several  of  the 
ofiScials  had  served  in  the  United  States  Treasury  and 
had  resigned  to  tender  their  services  to  the  new  govern- 
ment. Notably  was  Philip  Clayton,  former  assistant  sec- 
retary in  Buchanan's  administration,  who  now  assumed 
the  same  position  at  Montgomery.  C.  T.  Jones  came  to 
the  register's  office  as  chief  clerk,  well  equipped^,  bring- 
ing from  Washington  copies  of  all  the  forms  in  use  in  the 
several  bureaus.  The  second  auditor,  W.  H.  S.  Taylor, 
had  been  twenty-five  years  in  the  employ  of  the  United 
States.    He  said  in  his  first  report  of  December  31,  1861, 

•  Session  I,  Ch.  VIII,  Confederate  Acts. 

•  Capcrs's  Memminger,  p.  310. 

'  Capers's  Ufe  of  Memminger,  p.  319. 


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4  Southern  History  Association. 

that  after  taking  the  oath  to  the  Confederacy,  when  he 
went  back  to  Washington  to  obtain  books,  forms  and 
precedents  he  was  sternly  denied  all  access.  The  first 
auditor  was  Boiling  Baker,  who  continued  in  his  office  to 
the  end.  A.  B.  Clitherall  was  register  and  E.  C.  Elmore, 
treasurer.  There  were  assistant  treasurers  at  New  Or- 
leans, Charleston,  Savannah  and  Mobile.  The  deposi- 
tories performed  essential  functions  of  the  Treasury 
mechanism.  They  were  located  in  the  larger  cities  at  first, 
their  number  being  less  than  forty  for  two  years,  but  in- 
creasing during  the  great  funding  operations  by  three 
hundred  at  a  time.  They  were  in  a  way  the  banking 
branches  of  the  Department  without  the  discount  provis- 
ion. Here  public  moneys  were  received  and  disbursed, 
government  accounts  kept,  taxes  prepaid  for  interest  cer- 
tificates, and  the  various  Confederate  bonds  oflFered  for 
sale.  Under  the  funding  acts  they  were  to  furnish  the 
government  securities  in  exchange  for  notes. 

The  Congressional  provisions  of  the  first  session  in- 
dicate that  the  financial  system  then  in  view  had  customs 

Customs  the  Chief  Sourcb  of  Revenub. 
duties  for  its  chief  source  of  revenue.  All  United  States 
collectors  who  joined  the  new  government  were  appointed 
with  the  original  powers  and  pay.  Free  admission  until 
March  15th  had  been  extended  to  all  meats,  grains,  pro- 
visions and  war  material.  Revenue  depots*  were  placed 
after  that  date  in  northern  Alabama,  Georgia  and  South 
Carolina,  but  duties  were  generally  suspended  on  goods 
from  border  States  expected  to  join  the  Confederacy. 
Upon  the  accession  of  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  the 
interior  customs  offices  were  abolished.  A  provisional 
tariff  of  15%  ad  valorem  on  coal,  iron,  wood  and  paper 
was  adopted  March  15th,  and  a  duty  of  five  cents  per  ton, 
called  light  money,  was  ordered  on  all  vessels  entering 

•  Order  of  March  21,  1861. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.        5 

ports.  The  Federal  blockade  early  interfered  with  this 
policy  of  relying  upon  import  returns,  for  on  July  9th  the 
collectors  at  all  small  ports  were  dismissed. 

The  first  actual  money  came  to  the  Treasury  March 
14th,  through  the  Bullion  Fund*  of  $389,267.46,  in  the 
hands  of  the  State  Depository  of  Louisiana,  and  $147,- 
519.66,  the  balance  from  customs  at  New  Orleans,  which 
sums  were  transferred  to  the  Confederate  Government 
by  the  Convention  of  the  State. 

To  meet  rapidly  developing  emergencies, 

Thb  First  Financial  Lbgislation 
of  Congress  was  the  fifteen  million  dollar  loan  authorized 
February  28th.  The  bonds  were  for  ten  years,  bearing  8% 
coupons,  payable  semi-annually.  This  interest  was  de- 
finitely guaranteed  by  the  pledge  of  the  duty  of  1-8  of  one 
per  cent,  per  pound  on  all  raw  cotton  exported  after 
August  I,  1 861.  The  interest  coupons  were  receivable  for 
this  export  duty.  This  beginning  was  on  a  sound  basis, 
and  the  loan's  success  demonstrated  the  correct  principles 
of  finance  recognized.  But  more  immediate  funds  were 
needed  for  urgent  disbursement  and  the  second^®  financial 
legislation  provided  for  the  issue  of 

Onb  Mn^uoN  Dollars  of  Treasury  Notes. 
These  were  to  be  one  year  notes,  bearing  $3.65  interest  on 
$100,  similar  to  the  issue  by  the  United  States  under  the 
regime  of  Buchanan's  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Howell 
Cobb,  of  Georgia,  now  President  of  the  Provisional  Con- 
gress.^^  They  were  made  receivable  for  duties  and  taxes, 
except  export  duty  on  cotton. 

•This  was  coin  kept  at  the  New  Orleans  mint  for  the  con- 
venience of  those  bringing  bullion;  the  fund  had  been  $3,000,000 
up  to  i£te6. 

"•Act  of  March  9,  i86x.    Session  I,  Chapter  XXXII. 

"The  absence  of  engravers  in  the  South  led  to  a  contract  for 
preparing  the  issue  with  the  American  Bank  Note  Company,  of 
Kew  York.  There  is  a  current  tradition  that  these  notes  were 
•eized  as  contraband  of  war  by  the  United  States  Government,  it 


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6  Southern  History  Association. 

Placing  of  the  Loan. 
"A  Loan  for  the  Defense  of  the  Confederate  States," 
subscriptions  of  five  million  dollars  of  the  fifteen  million, 
was  invited  by  Secretary  Memminger  the  day  Congress 
adjourned,  March  i6th.  Leading  business  men  took 
charge  as  commissioners  of  the  loan,  four  from  Louisiana, 
three  each  from  six  other  States.  The  Secretary  worked 
enthusiastically  to  place  the  investment",  hoping  at  first 
to  dispose  of  a  million  in  New  York.  He  wished  to  get 
a  subscription  twice  the  sum  named",  believing  that  such 
an  expression  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  people 
must  have  marked  influence  on  European  diplomacy. 
The  loan  indeed  went  well,  for  in  two  days  after  the  books 
were  opened  the  five  million  dollars  were  taken  in  Savan- 
nah, New  Orleans  and  Charleston  alone,  while  it  seemed 
the  subscription  would  reach  $8,000,000.  The  banks  were 
largely  the  investors  and  in  addition  furnished  their  notes 
for  the  deposits  on  the  loan  and  ag^in  paid  them  out  on 
the  Treasurer's  draft.  All  the  banks  except  those  of  New 
Orleans  and  Mobile  had  suspended  specie  payments  in 
March.  Rates  of  exchange  already  varied  in  the  several 
States,  and  the  agreement  was  to  make  all  notes  equiva- 
lent to  specie.  The  payments  were  due  by  May  ist,  and  as 
the  affair  at  Fort  Sumter  had  brought  definite  hostilities 
with  increasing  war  estimates,  the  balance  of  the  fifteen 
million  was  called  for  May  7th.  Prominent  commercial 
men  were  invited  to  suggest  plans.  The  advice"  of  James 
D.  Denegree,  president  of  the  Citizens'  Bank,  of  New  Or- 

having  learned  of  the  shipment  by  the  telegraphic  communica- 
tions. However,  on  April  3,  the  letter  book  *^B"  of  the  Secretary 
has  the  entry  of  607  unpressions  of  each  denomination  of  fifty, 
one  hundred,  five  hundred  and  one  thousand  dollars,  beingscnt  to 
the  Treasurer,  E.  C.  Elmore,  and  his  receipt  for  them.  The  two 
or  three  specimens  extant  are  quoted  extravagantly. 

"To  G.  B.  Lamar,  Bank  of  Republic,  N.  Y.  City,  March  23, 
1861,  Letter  Book  "B.'* 

"To  Edw.  Frost,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.  April  2,  1861. 

**  Letter  of  May  4.  1861. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.       7 

leans,  a  frequent  counselor  of  Mr.  Memminger's,  was 
against  the  reopening  of  the  loan  because  the  people  had 
no  money  and  must  wait  for  their  crops.  The  suggestion 
of  this  banker  was  an  issue  of  $30,000,000  interest  bearing 
Treasury  notes  and  a  direct  tax  payable  before  March  i, 
1862.  He  particularly  urged  that  there  be  "no  half-way 
measures  at  this  time."  The  loan  met  with  a  tardy  re- 
sponse and  on  May  21st  the  balance  untaken  was  adver- 
tised to  be  five  million.  A  new  appeal  now  included  Vir- 
ginia, Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  lately  come  into  the 
Confederacy,  and  in  some  States  public  addresses  were 
made  to  induce  subscriptions. 
The  first  public  expression  of  the 

Fiscal 'Policy  of  thb  Government 
is  found  in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury at  the  second  session  of  Congress.  More  than 
ordinary  financiering  was  warranted  by  the  situation*",  in- 
dicated in  estimates  for  the  year's  expenditures  of  $54,- 
129,464.  The  appropriations  of  the  first  session  had  been 
$171683,370,  and,  now  within  ninety  days  of  the  formation 
of  the  nation,  the  provisions  of  the  fifteen  million  loan^ 
when  realized,  of  the  million  treasury  note  issue  and  of 
the  receipts  of  over  a  million  dollars  from  customs  and 
the  bullion  fund  would  not  be  fully  adequate.  The  past  ex- 
penditures had  been  $993,308.  The  deficit  in  view  was 
$38,000,000.  The  plans**  presented  fairly  foreshadowed 
the  fiscal  practice  of  the  administration.  There  were  four 
chief  recommendations;  a  tariff  of  12^%,  a  war  tax  of 
$15,000,000,  an  issue  of  $20,000,000  Treasury  notes  and  a 
loan  of  $50,000,000  at  home  and  abroad.  Such  a  program 
appears  comprehensive,  but  there  were  lacking  esssential 
elements  of  accuracy,  vigor  and  definiteness.  The  cur- 
tailment of  the  tariflF  resource  by  the  possible  success  of 

*  Report  of  May  10,  1861. 

"  Capcrs's  Ufe  of  Memmmger,  pp.  417-421. 


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8  Southern  History  Association. 

the  blockade  was  admitted,  yet  it  was  none  the  less  con- 
fidently counted  as  an  available  asset.  The  arbitrary 
figure  of  $235,000,000  was  assigned  to  the  exports  of  the 
country  and  the  value  of  the  imports  calculated  to  be  the 
same,  upon  which  a  tariff  of  $25,000,000  was  apportioned, 
one-half  of  it  to  be  collected  by  February  18,  1862. 

In  this  initial  scheme,  loans  and  direct  taxes  were  recog- 
nized as  the  chief  sources  of  reliance,  yet  the  practical 
concern  appeared  to  be  to  develop  a  resource  that  could 
bring  more  speedy  returns  to  the  exchequer.  The  Secre- 
tary stated  that  all  the  ready  money  of  the  country  until 
the  fall  crops  were  sold  would  be  absorbed  by  the  fifteen 
million  loan,  and  this  induced  him  to  urge  on  Congress 
the  issue  of  Treasury  notes.  The  application  of  this  prin- 
cipal financial  measure  was  to  be  a  matter  of  experiment, 
ascertaining  how  the  public  regarded  the  notes.  The  De- 
partment purposed  to  use  the  issue  at  first  to  anticipate 
other  income,  but  the  final  aim  was  to  familiarize  the 
people  with  this  form  of  money  until  it  had  replaced  every 
other  circulating  medium  and  become  a  permanent  loan. 

The  way  for  the  general  use  of  the  government  paper 
was  naturally  prepared  by  making  Confederate  dues  pay- 
able in  the  notes.  Thus,  Mr.  Memminger  came  to  advo- 
cate taxation,  as  a  means  to  another  financial  end,  rather 
than  as  the  main  support  of  his  whole  system.  He  called 
for  the  sum  of  $15,000,000,  which  was  the  estimated  ex- 
penditure up  to  October  ist,  and  the  implication  was  that 
the  collections  could  be  made  within  four  months.  In 
fact,  the  suggestion  was  to  use  the  State  machinery  or  by 
a  discount  cause  the  States  to  pay  the  whole  quota.  There 
was  a  suggestion  to  Congress  that  the  tax  levy  might  not 
be  needed  in  full,  nor  was  the  placing  of  the  $50,000,000 
loan  on  the  market  urged.  Other  sources  of  revenue  and 
readjustments  through  foreign  aid  were  probabilities  en- 
tertained.    This  hope  was  expressed  very  strongly  in  a 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.       9 

private  report"  of  the  Secretary  to  an  official  of  Con- 
gress.   The  same  document  contains  a  vigorous  and  note- 

CORRECT  PrIVATB  ViBW  OF  TAXATION. 

worthy  appreciation  of  taxation  which  unfortunately  was 
not  emphasized  to  the  same  degree  in  a  paper  of  state 
until  a  year  later.  It  said  "the  most  certain  and  most  en- 
during resources  must  be  sought  out  by  the  Government 
and  taxes  are  the  only  sure  reliance  under  all  circum- 
stances. Loans  come  from  only  a  portion;  duties  reach 
farther,  yet  not  all;  but  direct  taxes  pervade  the  whole 
body  politic  and  bring  forth  the  contributions  of  the  will- 
ing and  the  imwilling."  Here  spoke  the  political  econo- 
mist; his  practice  was  that  of  an  experimenting  public 
servant. 

Bonds  and  Tariff. 
The  response  of  Congress  to  the  report  was  the  author- 
ization** to  issue  $50,000,000  in  8%  bonds,  or  in  lieu  of 
bonds  $20,000,000  non-interest  bearing  Treasury  notes. 
The  bonds  might  be  sold  for  specie,  military  stores  or 
the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  raw  produce  or  manufactured 
goods.  The  notes  were  receivable  for  all  public  dues  ex- 
cept cotton  export.  The  desire  of  Mr.  Memminger  for 
8%  interest  on  the  notes  in  order  to  have  them  withdrawn 
from  circulation  as  an  investment  had  been  refused.  The 
guarantees  of  the  issue  were  redemption  in  specie  within 
two  years,  convertibility  into  an  8%  bond,  provided  ex- 
pressly for  the  purpose,  and  a  pledge  of  the  faith  of  the 
Confederate  States  to  raise  sufficient  revenue  to  pay  the 
interest  and  redeem  the  stock.  Congress  named  $10,- 
000,000  as  the  necessary  sum  to  be  raised  within  the  year 
by  direct  taxation  for  a  fund  of  ultimate  redemption,  yet 
the  sole  evidence  of  a  movement  towards  furnishing  this 
guarantee  was  instructions  to  the  Secretary  to  ascertain 

"To  HowcU  Cobb,  May  i,  1861. 

"  Act  of  May  16.    Session  II,  Ch.  XXIV. 


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lo  Southern  History  Association. 

the  valuation  of  all  the  property  in  the  eleven  States  and 
learn  the  nature  of  the  revenue  systems.  A  complete 
tariff^*  measure  was  passed  to  take  eflFect  August  31, 
1861.  It  was  a  tariff  of  seven  schedules  of  duties, 
comprising  those  on  articles  at  25%,  20%,  10%  and 
5%,  specific  duties  and  the  free  list.  Compared  with  the 
U.  S.  tariflf  of  1857,  its  rate  was  15%  on  woolens,  cotton 
goods,  oil,  iron,  coal  and  manufactured  products,  while 
that  of  the  United  States  was  24%.  Congress  adjourned 
May  21,  to  meet  in  the  new  capital,  Richmond,  on  July  21. 

A  Nkw  Currency. 

The  Treasury  Department  was  chiefly  concerned  about 
the  establishment  of  the  system**  of  national  currency  and 
comprehensive  and  persistent  plans  to  that  end  were  laid. 
Upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Memminger,  a  convention*^  of 
bankers  was  held  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  in  June.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  meeting  was  expressed  in  the  final  resolution, 
that  all  banks  were  recommended  to  receive  for  all  dues 
the  Treasury  notes  soon  to  be  issued. 

The  administration"  anticipated  a  small  requirement  of 
coin  for  its  purposes  and  pronounced  gold  a  matter  of 
merchandize  and  not  a  true  standard  of  measure,  unless  it 
flowed  freely.  Therefore  new  currency  had  to  be  devised 
for  the  Confederacy.  That  want  made  imperative,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Memminger,  the  introduction  and  wide  rise  of 
Treasury  notes.  He  addressed**  the  banks  individually, 
citing  the  action  of  the  Atlanta  convention,  and  arguing 
the  advantage  of  a  currency  circulating  everywhere  and 
sustained  by  the  united  credit  of  the  Confederacy.     He 

"Act  of  May,  1861.    Session  II.  Oh.  XLIV. 

"For  the  present  Treasury  needs  and  owing  to  difficulty  in 
printing  the  notes  authorized,  the  banks  famished  the  Govern- 
ment a  temporary  loan  of  $5,000,000  of  their  several  note  issues. 

"^  G.  B.  Lamar,  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  was  president  of  the  conven- 
tion and  J.  S.  Gibbs,  of  Columbia,  S.  C,  secretary. 

*  To  E.  Stamcs,  of  Augusta,  Ga.,  May  24,  1861. 

"  Circular  to  banks  of  June  17,  1861. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith,      ii 

assured  them  that  the  notes  would  be  safeguarded  by  an 
early  levy  of  a  direct  tax  and  also  be  fundable  in  8% 
bonds,  preventive  of  depredation. 

LOYAI,TY  OP  THE   BANKS  AND  CAPITALISTS. 

The  banks  of  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  alone  refused 
to  make  the  new  money  paramount,  but  in  August  Mobile 
suspended  specie  payment  and  the  Canal  and  Citizens' 
banks  of  New  Orleans  were"  besougjit  by  the  Secretary, 
and  the  aid  of  the  Governor  and  Attorney  General  of 
LrOuisiana  was  invoked  to  have  them  accept  the  Treasury 
notes  as  the  currency  of  the  land.  They  were  told  that 
they  could  keep  their  specie  in  their  vaults,  but  the  good 
of  the  country  demanded  that  they  place  their  bank  notes 
•  and  those  of  the  Confederacy  on  the  same  footing.  Ac- 
cordingly in  Septembei  they  consented  to  do  that  to  which 
the  stress  of  conditions  would  have  eventually  led.  Their 
patriotism  is  well  indicated  in  the  statement"  of  James  D. 
Denegree,  that  in  a  conflict  between  the  credit  of  the 
banks  and  of  the  Government,  the  banks  must  see  their 
own  interests  destroyed,  but  the  credit  of  the  nation  must 
not  be  restricted  nor  the  banks  incur  the  responsibility  of 
defeating  the  resolution.  No  authorities  could  ask  for 
more  unquestioning  support  and  the  loyalty  of  the  credit 
organizations  of  the  towns  and  cities  manifested  itself 
largely  irrespective  of  true  economic  considerations. 

Material  Basis  for  Treasury  Notes. 
The  third  session  of  Congress,  assembling  in  Richmond, 
was  met  with  the  announcement  of  the  purpose  to  estab- 
lish a  national  currency.  Expressed  apprehensions  of 
danger  were  answered"  by  a  reference  to  the  banking 
capacity  of  the  South.  From  1852-8,  the  circulation  and 
deposits  in  eight  Confederate  States  where  banks  were 

"Letter  of  Sept.  11,  1861. 

"  Letter  of  Oct.  2,  1861,  to  Memminger. 

"  Special  report  of  Memminger,  July  20. 


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12  Southern  History  Associatiottx 

located  amounted  to  $85,000,000,  with  coin  of  $18,500,000. 
There  was  estimated  to  be  $200,000,000  on  interest  out- 
side of  the  banks,  whose  capital  aggregated  $85,000,000. 
The  Secretary  reasoned  that  the  country  could  easily  sus- 
tain $100,000,000  of  Treasury  notes,  especially  if  a  large 
portion  of  them  being  made  interest  bearing  should  come 
to  take  the  place  of  an  investment.  Their  use  as  money 
was  conceived  to  increase  their  value  by  one-half  and  the 
figure  of  safe  absorption  of  notes  was  forthwith  raised  to 
$150,000,000.  The  recommendation  of  the  report  was  for 
notes  to  bear  two  cents  interest  per  day  on  the  hundred 
dollars.  The  demand  was  urgent  since  the  one  million  of 
March  9  had  been  issued  and  the  fifteen  million  loan  was 
still  going  slowly  with  a  balance  of  five  million  untaken. 
For  immediate  claims  one  million  more  of  the  interest  notes 
of  March  9  was  ordered.*^  Congress  was  planning  larger 
legislation,  which  was  guided  by  the  statistics"  submitted 
by  the  Treasury  as  a  result  of  the  inquiry**  directed  to- 
ward revenue  raising  in  the  previous  session.  By  this 
showing  the  g^oss  valuation  of  property  in  the  eleven 
States,  based  on  a  previous  general  statement  of  the  U.  S. 
Treasury,  was  $5,202,176,109.  Taking  as  a  basis  the  arti- 
cles taxed  in  most  of  the  States,  the  valuation  of  $4,632,- 
160,541  was  given.  Instead  of  $10,000,000  as  before,  now 
a  tax  of  $25,000,000  was  advised  by  means  of  a  levy  of  54 
cents  on  the  $100  of  the  value  of  slaves,  real  estate,  mer- 
chandise, bank,  railroad  and  other  stocks  and  money  at 
interest.  In  this  scheme  an  ad  valorem  was  preferred  to  a 
direct  tax  and  a  different  basis  than  that  of  the  revenue 
systems  of  the  States  was  advocated. 

The  extent  of  appropriations  and  estimates  warranted 
another  appeal*®  from  Mr.  Memminger.    $50,000,000  of 

"  Act  of  July  24,  1861. 

*•  Report  of  State  Auditors,  July  24 

"Act  of  May  16. 

••  Special  report  of  July  29. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.      13 

the  amounts  voted  by  the  First  and  Second  Sessions  re- 
mained to  be  met  and  the  increase  of  the  estimates  to 
$100,000,000  emphasized  the  defects  of  bonds  as  an  avail- 
able resource.  This  was  the  time  and  place  to  substitute 
Treasury  notes  for  the  bank  circulation  in  part;  at  least 
one-half  ought  to  be  replaced,  the  Secretary  said,  to  the 
extent  of  $43,000,000.  He  had  proposed**  to  set  apart 
the  crop  subscriptions,  now  being  taken,  as  additional 
security  for  the  notes,  declaring  the  value  of  such  a  basis 
was  second  to  coin  itself.  But  the  banks  in  convention 
assembled  in  Richmond,  July  24,  assured  him  that  they 
did  not  require  the  pledge  of  the  proceeds  of  the  produce 
subscribed.  This  popular  movement  of  the  planters  was 
then  used  in  another  form  for  Treasury  purposes  and  a 
plan**  outlined,  which  was  to  be  worked  extensively  at  a 
later  time,  of  issuing  bonds  in  exchange  for  crop  sub- 
scriptions. 

Thb  FntsT  Largb  Financlax  Legislation 
The  first  large  financial  legislation  of  the  war  was  the 
One  Himdred  Million  Loan  of  August  19;  1861.  The 
bonds  were  for  twenty  years,  bearing  8%  interest,  and  the 
shorter  term  bonds  of  May  16  were  revoked  in  favor  of 
the  new  stock.  They  were  to  be  issued  for  funding  Treas- 
ury notes,  for  exchange  for  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  raw 
produce  and  for  the  purchase  of  military  stores.  The 
notes  were  non-interest  bearing  and  payable  six  months 
after  peace  was  declared.  There  was.  a  limit  placed,  in- 
cluding former  issues,  of  $100,000,000.  The  loan  was  ac- 
companied by  the  first  war  tax,  which  was  expected  to 
pay  the  interest  on  the  public  debt  and  establish  a  sinking 
fund  to  discharge  the  principal.  The  rate  was  fifty  cents 
on  $100;  the  assessment  was  set  for  November  i,  1861, 
and  collections  by  May  i,  1862.    This  was  a  much  longer 

"  Report  of  July  20. 
"  Act  of  August  19. 


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14  Southern  History  Association. 

period  than  the  Secretary  had  once''  calculated  and  the 
realization  was  to  extend  it  farther.    The  Department 

Running  the  Printing  Presses- 
was  now  concerned  with  the  printing  of  the  Treasury 
notes.    The  banks  had  been  supplying  the  currency  of  the 
Government  since  May,  when  the  issue  of  $20,000,000  was 
authorized,  loaning  their  notes  at- 5%. 

The  intention  had  been  to  pay  back  the  loan  in  its  own 
notes  within  three  months.  Contracts"  had  been  made 
with  S.  Schmidt,  of  New  Orleans,'*  but  he  proved  most 
unsatisfactory  and  his  output  was  very  small,  resulting  in 
his  dismissal  in  October.  Meanwhile  Hoyer  and  Ludwig, 
of  Richmond,  had  been  engaged  on  the  notes^  and  by  the 
latter  part  of  August'*  were  furnishing  almost  $2,000,000 
a  week.  The  rapid  increase  of  output  was  indicative  of 
the  demand  as  well  as  of  the  workings  of  the  policy  of 
note  supply.  On  October  i,  a  contract  was  let  for 
$600,000  a  day,  and  by  November  the  daily  manufacture 
of  money  was  $800,000,  yet  the  most  serious  difficulties 
had  confronted  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing.'^ 
There  had  not  been  a  single  bank  note  engraver  in  the 
South,  nor  was  bank-note  paper  manufactured  therein. 
Lithographs  were  used  in  place  of  steel  engravings,  and 
the  first  workmen  came  from  Baltimore,  as  did  the  sup- 
plies of  paper.  But  the  Federal  pickets  could  not  always 
be  evaded,  and  soon  three  local  manufactories  of  paper 
were  started.  The  steady  increase  of  requisitions  on  the 
Treasury  could  not  be  met  with  sufficient  notes  from  the 

••  Report'  of  May  10,  1861. 

••  Letter  to  A.  B.  Githerall,  May  7. 

•  The  mint  at  New  Orleans  had  coined  in  April  four  half-dollars 
and  then  stopped  for  lack  of  bullion.  On  reverse  were:  Goddess 
of  Liberty,  13  stars,  1861 ;  on  obverse :  shield  with  7  stars,  a  liberty 
cap  and  entwined  around  it  stalks  of  sugar  cane  and  cotton;  in. 
scribed  with  "Confederate  States  of  America." 

••  Reports  of  Thompson  Allan,  clerk  of  Bureau. 

•'The  first  bonds  were  prepared  in  Charleston  and  New  Or- 
leans. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.      15 

presses,  so  that  by  October  24,  $12,000,000  of  claims  were 
unpaid,  and  a  second  resort  was  had  to  the  banks  of  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  for  a  loan  of  ten  millions  of  their 
notes. 

By  the  time  of  the  installation  of  the  permanent  con- 
stitution in  February,  1862,  this  defect  had  been  remedied 
and  Treasury  notes  held  the  field  alone. 

SuBi^iMB  Faith  in  Paper  Money. 
The  dominance  of  the  Government  credit  instruments 
was  hastened  by  the  action  of  the  fifth  and  last  session 
of  the  Provisional  Congress,  which  met  November  18. 
Appropriations'*  had  reached  $124,301,038,  although  the 
estimates  of  six  months  earlier  were  $71,812,834.  Ex- 
penditures had  been  $70,666,715,  while  receipts  were  $61,- 
870,216  of  which  $18,000,000  was  from  loans.  Up  to  this 
date,  $32,000,000  in  notes  had  been  issued  and  the  Secre- 
tary asked'®  for  authority  to  issue  $50,000,000  in  excess 
of  the  $100,000,000  of  the  Act  of  August  19.  But,  when 
additional  estimates  for  $99,000,000  were  submitted  on 
December  10,  he  demanded**^  $100,000,000,  boldly  assert- 
ing that  the  scheme  of  finance  adopted  by  Congress 
looked  to  Treasury  notes  as  the  supply  of  means  for  pub- 
lic expenditures.  He  proposed  no  measures  looking  be- 
yond April  I,  1862,  and  expressed  faith  in  the  attempted 
blockade  being  set  aside  and  the  present  embarrassments 
relieved.  The  attitude  of  Mr.  Memminger  is  revealed  in 
a  communication*^  to  G.  A.  Trenholm,  of*  Charleston,  who 
became  his  successor  in  the  final  year  of  the  Confederacy. 
He  said,  "our  Treasury  cannot  be  guided  by  experience, 
since  history  furnishes  no  parallel  of  circumstances.  It 
must  feel  its  way."  His  November  report  showed  a  reali- 
zation of  the  perils  of  redundancy  and  sounded  that  help- 
less warning  which  was  the  characteristic  feature  of  sub- 

•  Capers's  Life  of  Memminger,  pp.  422-42S. 

"Report  of  Nov.  20,  1861. 

•To  Howell  Cobb,  Dec.  10,  1861. 

**  Letter  of  Feb.  17,  1862,  Letter  Book  "C." 


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1 6  Southern  History  Association, 

sequent  official  utterances.  Congress  began  in  this  last 
session  its  oft  repeated  practice  of  raising  the  limit,**  vot- 
ing $50,000,000  additional  notes. 

Thb  Delusion  of  Funding. 
Among  the  measures  adopted  to  sustain  the  value  of 
the  notes,  funding  was  judged  an  absolute  specific  from 
the  very  start,  nor  was  this  delusion  lost  under  changed 
conditions  and  unfavorable  experiences.    The  $20,000,000 
notes  of  the  Act  of  May  16  could  be  funded  in  ten  year 
bonds,  bearing  8%  interest  which  were  re-exchang^able  for 
notes.    This  was  an  experiment  and  the  banks  were  large- 
ly induced  to  fund  accordingly.     The  $100,000,000  note 
issue  of  the  Act  of  August  19  was  fundable  in  8%  bonds, 
running  from  three  to  eighteen  years,  excepting  $20,000,- 
000,  which  could  be  exchanged  for  ten-year  bonds  of  7% 
interest,  reconvertible  in  notes.    The  demand  for  this  7% 
security  was  so  strong,  exhausting  the  amount,  that  in 
the  November  Congress,  the  Department  asked  permis- 
sion to  lower  the  interest  further,  and  a  new  device**  took 
the  place  of  the  bond,  a  6%  call  certificate.    The  amount 
of  these  was  to  be  $30,000,000  and  their  operation  was  to 
convert  the  depositories  into  savings  banks,  where  Treas- 
ury notes  were  deposited  and  drew  6%  interest,  until  they 
were  ag^in  brought  out  into  the  circulation.    In  address- 
ing** President  Davis,  the  Secretary  stated  that  the  time 
for  the  payment  of  these  bonds  was  not  material  as  their 
exchange  for  currency  would  likely  be  required  before 
the  time  fixed  for  payment,  and  thus  be  a  class  of  bonds 
outside  the  general  funded  debt.    Twenty  years  was  fixed. 
While  the  purpose  avowed  for  these  certificates  was  the 
absorption  of  notes,  yet  at  best  it  could  furnish  only  a 
temporary  check  on  redundancy,  since  there  was  to  be  a 
return  sooner  or  later  into  notes. 

•  Act  of  Dec.  24,  1861. 

•Act  of  Dec.  24.    Session  V,  Chapter  XXVI. 

*•  Letter  of  Jan.  7,  1862. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.      17 

Strengthening  Public  Credit. 

Another  measure  that  had  given  credit  to  the  Govern- 
cmment  paper  was  its  acceptance*'  for  all  public  dues  ex- 
cept the  export  duty  on  cotton,  which  was  reserved  to 
sustain  the  fifteen  million  loan.  It  was  particularly  en- 
joined that  the  war  tax*«  should  be  paid  in  Treasury  cur- 
rency. The  proposition  to  make  the  notes  a  legal  tender, 
which  was  to  be  a  contention  in  vain  for  four  years,  was 
early  discussed.  In  its  third  session  Cong^ess*^  had  re- 
ferred the  matter  to  its  finance  committee  on  the  motion 
of  A.  H.  Garland,  of  Arkansas;  and  two  weeks  later  on 
the  motion  of  James  A.  Seddon,  of  Virginia  to  make 
Treasury  notes  receivable  in  payment  of  any  debt  due 
corporations  or  individuals,  the  vote  was  adverse. 

A  third  plan  to  strengthen  the  credit  of  the  Government 
was  devised  out  of  the  liberty  allowed  Mr.  Memminger 
to  decide  how  he  should  pay  the  interest  on  the  funded 
debt.  He  announced  on  December  19  that  coin  would 
be  used,  expecting  thereby  to  increase  the  desire  to  fund 
notes  into  bonds.  He  asked**  a  loan  of  $1,000,000  from 
the  New  Orleans  banks  for  this  purpose.  Although  James 
D.  Denegree  arranged  to  get  the  amount  for  him  by  Janu- 
ary 16,  1862,  it  was  done  with  a  sharp  protest**  against 
the  method  of  financiering.  The  banker  contended  that 
the  coin  received  by  bond  holders  would  be  put  on  the 
market  and  go  from  the  country.  He  said  that  such  a 
policy  of  payment  could  not  be  maintained  over  six 
months  unless  the  blockade  was  lifted.  Then  a  resort  to 
the  payment  of  interest  in  notes  would  make  a  worse  con- 
dition than  the  one  sought  to  be  avoided.  The  prediction 
was  confirmed  and  specie  gathered  later  went  for  supplies 
to  preserve  national  existence. 

*  Acts  of  March  9,  May  16,  August  19,  1861. 
•Act  of  August  19. 

*'July  19. 

•Letter  of  Dec  4,  1861. 

•  Letter  of  Jan.  16,  1862. 


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1 8  Southern  History  Association. 

The  legislative  and  financial  policy  of  the  Provisional 
Congress  employed  bonds  and  stocks  mainly  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Treasury  notes.  The  initial  fifteen  million 
loan  was  not  completed*®  until  October,  the  banks  being 
pressed  into  subscribing  the  balance.  A  very  small  por- 
tion*^ of  the  one  hundred  million  loan  was  placed  within 
the  year.  The  safety  fund  provision  attached  to  the 
bonds  promised  an  inviting  guarantee.  This  divided  the 
principal  into  thirty-six  installments,  beginning  January  i, 
1864,  and  a  fixed  sum  was  to  be  appropriated  to  pay  semi- 
annually the  whole  interest,  together  with  the  portion  of 
the  principal.  Though  this  stock  had  not  been  sold  di- 
rectly to  the  public,  it  was  hoped  that  it  would  be  largely 
available  through  the  agency  of  the  produce  loan. 

Crops  as  a  Financial  Basis. 
The  subscription  of  crops  was  a  natural  device  for  an 
agricultural  people,  especially  during  the  season  when 
there  was  little  ready  money.  The  second  session  of  Con- 
gress had  looked  towards  this  resource  when  it"  provided 
bonds  to  be  sold  for  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  raw  pro- 
duce and  of  manufactured  goods.  Treasury  circulars  of 
June  18  and  26  emphasized  this  use  of  bonds  and  called 
for  subscriptions.  This  notice  was  directed  to  reach  the 
growing  crop  of  cotton  and  a  response  of  500,000  bales 
was  estimated.  By  August  several  sections  began  to 
make  liberal  returns,  the  planters  offering  one-third  to 
one-half  their  yield.  In  other  places,  no  support  was 
given  and  agents  of  the  Treasury  were  sent  to  address  the 
people  on  the  loan.  Various  conventions  gave  enthusias- 
tic approval.  James  E.  B.  DeBow'^'  was  made  clerk  of  the 
Produce  Loan  Bureau,  and  in  the  November  report**  to 

"  Circular  of  Oct.  10,  1861. 

•*  Letter  to  E.  Stearns,  Nov.  20. 

"Act  of  May  16. 

"August  3,  1861. 

•*  Capers's  Memminger,  p.  425. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.      19 

Congress  the  subscriptions  when  paid  were  conjectured 
to  reach  likely  $40,000,000.    The  patriotism  of  this  official 
had  led  him  to  the  work  gratuitously,  but  on  January  20, 
1862,  he  turned  over  the  office  to  a  salaried  chief  clerk, 
A.  Roane.    At  that  time  the  subscriptions  were  approxi- 
mately placed  at  418,000  bales  of  cotton,  7,000  hogsheads 
of  tobacco,  3*500  hogsheads  of  sugar,  3,500  barrels  of  mo- 
lasses and  $500,000  cash.    But  there  had  been  no  proceeds 
realized  by  the  bureaji  and  sales  depended  upon  the  open- 
ing   of    the    markets,    which    was    confidently    expected 
through  the  lifting  of  the  blockade  within  the  year.    While 
the  organization  for  subscription  had  been  fairly  effective, 
the  system  for  collection  required  more  detail  and  was 
planned  under  the  direction  of  the  register's  office,  of 
which  the  bureau  remained  a  division  until  1863.    General 
agents  were  located  in  the  larger  cities  where  subsdrip- 
tions  were  payable  and  their  subordinates  were  scattered 
through  the  adjoining  territory  to  solicit  signing  of  addi- 
tional produce  and  attend  to  the  collection.    The  practice 
was  for  the  planter  to  indicate  the  portion  to  be  given, 
name  the  place  and  time  of  delivery  and  allow  his  factor 
to  pay  the  proceeds  to  the  agent,  getting  in  turn  a  receipt 
for  the  8%  bonds. 

Government  I<oan  on  Cotton. 
As  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  products  offered  was  cot- 
ton, this  gave  force  to  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  Govern- 
ment control  of  this  resource.  A  common  theory*"  of 
subsequent  years  has  been  that  the  failure  to  seize  the 
cotton  made  the  fatal  economic  error  of  the  first  year  of 
the  war ;  even  in  the  second  year  certain  newspapers  urged 
purchase  by  the  Confederacy.  But  the  early  advocates  of 
a  Government  loan  on  cotton  were  of  two  classes,  those 
who  favored  it  as  a  basis  of  the  financial  system  and  the 
planters  who  wanted  aid  for  themselves  privately.  The 
earliest  advocate  of  the  first  plan  was  C.  T.  Lowndes,  of 

"•  Joseph  E.  Johnston's  Military  Operations;  Pollard's  Lost  Cause. 


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20  Southern  History  Association. 

Charleston,  who  urged"'  securing  the  staple  by  an  ad- 
vance of  five  cents  a  pound  and  issuing  notes  on  it  as  a 
real  source  of  value.  The  cotton  was  to  be  kept  with  the 
Government  loan  on  it  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when 
the  advance  would  be  refunded.  Lowndes  placed  this  plan 
above  the  produce  loan  notion  of  that  date,  which  could 
yield  no  money  until  after  the  blockade  unless  there  was 
a  forced  sale.  The  Secretary  promptly*^  opposed  gov- 
ernment purchase.  His  argument  was  that  the  circula- 
tion just  established  would  be  ruined  by  the  amount  of 
notes  needed  to  buy  cotton.  Notes  paid  for  a  pledge  of 
cotton  must  be  an  exchange  of  cash  for  a  lien,  and  when 
the  cotton  was  sold,  the  Government  had  its  notes  back 
and  was  where  it  started.  He  judged  there  was  no  ad- 
vantage in  the  control  of  cotton  since  notes  were  deemed 
adequate  for  all  demands.  Again,**  he  said,  the  notes 
were  already  currency  by  the  banks'  action  and  required 
no  exchange  for  cotton  to  sustain  them. 

The  second  class,  which  wanted  advances  on  their  staple 
to  promote  commercial  activity,  was  a  very  large  one, 
and  in  a  communication**  to  General  W.  W.  Hardie,  of 
Manor,  S.  C,  Mr.  Memminger  seemed  to  incline  to- 
ward it.  Shortly,  though,  he  took  a  decided  stand  against 
this  plan,'**  asserting  that  the  sooner  planters  learned  to 
rely  on  themselves,  and  not  the  Government,  the  quicker 
their  relief.  The  true  remedy  was  to  divert  labor  and 
capital  to  raising  supplies  and  furnishing  food,  and  such 
advances  as  were  necessary  could  be  obtained  from  pri- 
vate sources.  The  New  Orleans  mentor®^  had  spoken 
against  the  scheme  of  public  advances  saying  that  was  the 
function  of  banks  or  States.    A  Treasury  circular'*  was 

••  Letter  of  June  13,  1861. 

"  Letter  of  June  20. 

"  To  W.  C.  Bibb,  of  Montgomery,  Ala.,  June  21. 

"  Letter  of  July  9,  Letter  Book  "C." 

••To  R.  D.  Powell,  of  Columbus,  Miss.,  Oct.  9,  1861. 

"Letter  of  Denegree,  Oct.  2. 

•*Oct.  15;  published  in  Capers's  Memminger,  pp.  352-5- 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.      21 

finally  sent  to  the  commissioners  of  the  produce  loan, 
which  announced  the  decision  that  such  material  aid  as 
Government  purchase  was  unconstitutional,  power  exist- 
ing only  for  borrowing  and  not  lending.  The  one  to  two 
hundred  million  of  notes  proposed  for  the  advance  must 
disarrange  all  contracts  and  prices,  making  the  Govern- 
ment the  largest  loser.  The  history  of  all  such  public  un- 
dertakings was  said  to  advise  against  the  course. 

Cotton  Through  thb  Bi^ockade. 
A  subsequent  use  made  of  cotton  by  the  Confederacy 
was  to  purchase  it  for  shipment  through  the  blockade  to 
furnish  specie  in  Europe  for  absolutely  essential  war  sup- 
plies. This  practice  began  as  soon  as  specie  was  hoarded 
and  rates  of  exchange  increased.  John  Frazer,  of 
Charleston,  was  directed,  November  20,  1861,  to  buy  cot- 
ton and  ship  by  the  "Fingal"  to  Liverpool.  In  response 
to  an  inquiry  of  Congress,  February  12,  1862,  as  to  this 
purchase,  it  was  learned  that  after  the  "Fingal"**  was 
loaded,  it  was  so  effectually  blockaded  at  Savannah,  that 
the  cotton  was  returned  to  the  interior.  Movements** 
were  made  looking  to  the  purchase  of  cotton  in  Texas 
and  shipment  to  Mexico  because  of  this  failure  in  the 
East.  Afterwards,  large  operations  were  begun  under 
the  plan  established  by  the  First  Permanent  Congress. 

Summary  of  thb  First  Year. 
The  change  from  the  provisional  constitution  to  the 
permanent  on  February  18,  1862,  was  accompanied  by 
the  assembling  of  a  new  congress  of  two  branches  instead 
of  one,  but  the  administrative  personnel  of  the  Govern- 
ment was  not  altered.  President  Davis  in  his  message®* 
said  that  the  financial  system  of  the  first  year  had  proven 
adequate  to  supply  all  wants,  although  there  had  been  a 

•Afterwards  was  converted  into  ironclad  Atlanta. 
•Letter  to  Secretary  of  War  Benjamin,  Nov.  23,  1861. 
•  February  18,  1862. 


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22  Southern  History  Association, 

vast  increase  of  expense  for  defense.     He  found  much 
gratification  in  an  unimpaired  credit  and  the  absence  of 
a  floating  debt.    Yet  such  a  flattering  condition  was  pos- 
sible only  because  this  was  the  year  of  the  organization 
of  the  Confederate  finances.    The  issue  of  Treasury  notes 
was  bordering  on  $125,000,000,  with  the  limit  of  .$150,- 
000,000,  set  by  Congress,  not  far  away.    The  notes  had 
displaced  the  circulation  of  the  banks,  which  on  January 
I,    1859,   aggregated    only   $60,000,000,   the  total   notes, 
deposits  and  coin  reserve  in  the  South  having  been  $100,- 
000,000.     Mr.  Memminger's  estimate  in  July  had  been 
that  the  country  could  safely  float  $150,000,000  of  notes, 
and  to  that  extent  the  financial  policy  thus  far  pursued 
may  be  considered  a  positive  gain.     But  the  conduct  of 
the  Department  in  the  past  year  did  not  presage  favor- 
ably for  the  maintenance  of  the  bounds  appointed  to  the 
paper  issue.*    Depreciation  began  to   show   itself  quite 
plainly.     In  the  early  months,  the  paper  money  was  at 
actual  par  with  gold ;  in  August  it  was  at  8%  discount,  at 
15%  in  November,  and  25%  in  February.    The  receipts 
from  loans  were  less  than  $40,000,000.    The  tariff  law  of 
May  2 1  St,  which  had  been  carefully  framed  and  was  cal- 
culated to  bring  in  a  revenue  of  $12,500,000,  was  practi- 
cally inoperative  on  account  of  the  blockade.    The  re- 
ceipts®* of  duties  from  July  ist  to  December  31st  amounted 
to  $63,138,  while  the  expenses  of  the  custom  houses  for 
the  same  period  was  $63,774.    The  total  customs  of  the 
year  were  $1,270,875,  of  which  $742,475  came  in  within 
two  months  after  the  formation  of  the  Confederacy.  The 
war  tax  was  not  yet  collectible  and  notes  and  bonds  had 
furnished  98  1-3%  of  the  total  receipts.     The  estimates 
for  this  year  had  been  $72,000,000,  but  the  expenditures 
had  proven  to  be  $165,000,000.    The  certainty  of  a  steady 
increase  of  demands  with  a  protracted  war  and  a  con- 
tinued blockade  faced  Congress  and  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment. 

•  Report  of  Jan.  13,  1862,  Treasury  Book  "C." 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.      23 


CHAPTER  II— OVER-ISSUE. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury'^  formulated  for  the 
new  Congress  after  it  had  been  in  session  almost  a  month 
a  financial  program  that  was  mainly  an  enlarged  applica- 
tion of  his  previously  established  policy.  The  expendi- 
tures were  estimated  for  the  next  nine  months  at  $215,- 
000,000.  Authority  was  asked  to  increase  the  issue  of 
notes  by  $50,000,000,  newly  fixing  a  limit  of  $200,000,000. 
The  report  recognized  such  issues  as  the  most  dangerous 
of  all  methods  of  raising  money  and  accurately  described 
the  deplorable  possibilities  which  in  less  than  two  years 
were  made  real.  Although  a  currency  having  value  only 
in  its  own  country  is  peculiarly  liable  to  lose  its  security 
against  excess,  every  addition  becoming  permanent  cir- 
culation, the  confidence  of  the  administration  was  not 
shaken  in  the  efficacy  of  8%  bonds  and  call  deposits  to 
keep  down  redundancy.  However,  it  was  plain  that  the 
credit  of  the  notes  would  be  completely  shattered  if  they 
were  used  for  all  expenditures. 

A  leading  recommendation  then  was  that  supplies 
largely  be  procured  in  exchange  for  bonds.  Loans  were 
not  being  placed  directly  with  the  public  to  any  extent, 
and  both  for  investment  and  for  pajrment  on  produce 
Congress  was  shown  there  must  be  the  certainty  of  pro- 
vision for  the  interest.    If  loans  were  to  be  enlarged,  the 

Small  and  Inefficient  Tax. 
taxes  must  be  enlarged.  The  next  recommendation  then 
was  an  increase  of  the  present  moderate  tax  rate  of  a 
half-cent  on  the  dollar,  yet  there  was  not  that  insistence 
upon  such  a  measure  which  the  occasion  warranted.  A 
possibly  difficulty  had  now  arisen  in  the  fact  that  the  per- 
manent constitution'*  had  a  different  clause  on  the  tax- 

^  Report  of  March  14,  1862,  Capers's  Memminger,  pp.  429-437. 
•Art.  I,  Sect  II,  Par.  3. 


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24  Southern  History  Association. 

ing  power  from  that  of  the  provisional  constitution,'* 
whose  only  requirement  was  that  the  taxes  should  be 
uniform.  The  new  provision  was  similar  to  the  one  pre- 
vailing in  the  United  States  Constitution,  that  direct  taxes 
and  representation  shall  be  levied  according  to  population. 
This  difference  could  be  met,  the  Secretary  suggested,  by 
assuming  the  assessments  already  made  under  the  war 
tax  of  August,  1861,  as  a  basis  for  the  distribution  of  the 
proposed  increased  tax,  as  soon  as  Congress  decided  what 
aggregate  amount  must  be  raised. 

The  preparations  for  laying  the  war  tax  and  the  ma- 
chinery for  its  collection  were  arranged  with  a  hesitation 
and  lack  of  dispatch  that  marked  a  people  not  accustomed 
to  general  government  revenues.  The  auditors  of  the 
several  States  had  been  asked  May  21,  1861,  to  report  the 
value  of  their  property  to  the  Confederate  States  Treas- 
ury. Two  months  later  the  results'**  were  laid  before 
Congress.  Of  the  total  valuation  of  $4,632,160,500,  real 
estate  and  negroes  were  respectively  $1,758,238,000,  and 
$2,142,635,000  constituting  85%.  There  had  been  no 
revenue  system  of  the  States.  Taxes  on  slaves  were  both 
by  poll  and  ad  valorem.  The  assessment  was  adopted'^  of 
$600  each  on  the  three  million  and  a  half  blacks.  There 
had  been  no  returns  of  land  in  South  Carolina  since  1840, 
so  the  listed  property  was  assigned  an  increase  in  value 
o^  75%'  The  ad  valorem  tax  was  employed  instead  of  the 
direct,  since  it  lightened  the  burden  upon  States  less  able 
or  willing  to  bear  it.  If  the  proposition  had  been  levied 
according  to  representation,  the  quotas  of  the  richer 
States  of  Louisiana,  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  would 
have  been  less  than  under  the  ad  valorem  by  more  than 
half  a  million  dollars  each.    The  levy'^  of  50  cents  on  $100, 

•Art.  I,  Sect.  VI,  Par.  i. 
'"  Report  of  July  24,  1861,  Treasury  MMS. 
"  Instructions  of  Sept.  24,  1861. 

"$500  worth  of  property  was  exempt  in  each  family;  also  the 
property    of    educational,    religious    and    charitable    institutions. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.      25 

passed  August  19th,  was  estimated  to  produce  $21,000,- 
000. 

DBLAYS  in  C0I.LECTION. 

Assessments  were  to  be  made  as  early  as  November 
1st,  and  collections  were  due  May  i,  1862.  When  the 
measures  looking  towards  a  valuation  of  Confederate 
property  were  taken,  Congress  passed  a  provision,  four 
months  before  the  tax  act  was  voted  upon,  that  the  sev- 
eral States  might  anticipate  the  payment  of  the  tax  and 
assume^*  their  quotas,  receiving  a  rebate  of  10%. 

The  chief  collectors'*  of  the  war  tax,  one  for  each  State 
were  appointed  September  24th,  and  the  States  were  di- 
vided into  districts  with  subordinate  collectors  at  their 
head,  who  in  turn  appointed  district  assessors.  But  the 
selection  of  all  these  officers  was  a  work  that  required 
time.  Some  of  the  chief  appointees  could  not  be  prompt- 
ly reached.  Certain  States,  as  Texas  and  Florida,  had 
laws  forbidding  their  State  collectors  to  serve  the  na- 
tional system.  The  majority  of  the  assessors  could  not 
beg^n  their  duties  until  1862,  and  extensions  of  time  were 
being  constantly  granted  in  addition  to  the  supplementary 
act  of  Congress  of  December  19,  1861,  which  fixed  Feb- 
ruary 1st  as  the  limit.  Alabama  through  the  unfortunate 
selection  of  a  chief  collector  had  no  assessment  made 
when  collections  were  due. 

Georgia  made  the  best  record,'**  reporting  its  assess- 
There  were  seven  schedules  on  which  the  levy  was  placed:  real 
estate,  slaves,  merchandise,  bank  and  corporate  stock,  monev 
at  interest  or  in  securities  other  than  Confederate  bonds,  casn 
on  hand,  cattle  and  household  goods.  Under  household  goods 
the  objects  taxed  were  gold  watches,  gold  and  silver  plate, 
pianos  and  pleasure  carriages. 

"This  was  an  American  practice,  having  been  used  in  the  tax 
bill  of  the  War  of  1812,  and  also  in  the  Federal  direct  tax  of  1861. 

"The  chief  collectors  were:  H.  T.  Gamett,  Virginia;  E. 
Steames,  Georgia;  R.  M.  Lusher,  Louisiana;  W.  K.  Lane,  North 
Carolina;  J.  D.  Pope,  South  Carolina;  A.  Martin,  Alabama;  E. 
E,  Blackburn,  Florida;  John  Handy,  Mississippi;  G.  J.  Durham, 
Texas;  J  G.  M.  Ramsey,  Tennessee,  and  W.  H.  Halliburton, 
Arkansas. 

•  Letter  to  E.  Stearnes,  collector 


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26  Southern  History  Association, 

ments  fairly  promptly.  The  State  Legislatures  were  ex- 
ceedingly slow  in  acting  on  the  assumption  of  the  tax,  and 
the  period  was  extended  from  November  to  January  and 
then  to  February,  1862.  Congress  had  to  offer  final  en- 
couragement, April  22d,  to  enable  some  of  the  States  to 
assume  their  quotas,  the  call  certificates  being  taken  by 
South  Carolina  for  that  purpose.  The  collectors  were 
notified^*  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  begin  work, 
for  even  after  many  of  the  Legislatures  had  voted  to  take 
up  the  quota,  there  was  much  delay  in  attending  to  the 
payment.  Accordingly  when  May,  the  appointed  time 
for  the  receipts,  had  come  there  were  few  returns  made, 
but  Mr.  Memminger  was  expecting  large  relief  for  the 
Treasury  speedily."'^ 

In  August  one-half  the  contemplated  returns,  $10,000,- 
000,  was  announced.^®  All  the  States  but  Mississippi  and 
Texas  had  assumed  the  tax.  Thompson  Allan,  chief  of 
the  War  Tax  Bureau,  submitted  his  report  January  6, 
1863,  showing  the  receipts  to  be  then  $16,664,573.  The 
rebate  to  the  States  had  reduced  the  original  levy  $1,- 
700,000.  Tennessee  fell  short  $1,000,000  by  the  occu- 
pancy of  its  territory,  and  other  States  had  various  de- 
ficits. Congress  had  allowed  109&  in  case  of  State  respon- 
sibility for  the  tax,  presumably  to  cover  the  expense  of 
collection,  yet  in  Mississippi,  where  collected  by  the  Con- 
federate Treasury,  the  actual  cost'*  had  been  2%,  The 
several  Legislatures  had  issued  their  own  notes  to  pay  the 
assessments  or  borrowed  on  their  bonds,  so  instead  of  a 
real  taxation,  this  operation  resulted  in  swelling  the  gen- 
eral indebtedness  of  the  country. 

Accordingly  with  such  manifestation  of  the  sentiment 
against  direct  taxation,  the  first  session  of  Congress,  Feb- 
ruary i8th  to  April  21st,  did  nothing  to  increase  the  al- 

"  April  2,  1862. 

'^To  G.  W.  Randolph,  Secretary  of  War,  May  5th. 

"Report  of  Memminger,  Aug.  21st. 

"  War  Tax  Report. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.      2y 

HosTiuTY  TO  Legal  Tender. 
ready  small  and  inefficient  tax.  Yet  much  time  was  spent 
in  discussion  of  the  adoption  of  a  legal  tender  clause,  the 
question  starting  on  February  25th,  the  date  of  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Federal  legal  tender  act.  A  majority  of 
neither  the  House  nor  the  Senate  received  the  sugges- 
tions favorably  and  the  Secretary  gave  expression®*  to 
L.  J.  Gartrell,  chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  of 
the  fixed  hostile  policy  of  the  administration  to  the  plan. 
His  argument  was  that  the  notes  needed  no  aid  to  enable 
them  to  perform  the  functions  of  a  legal  tender,  and  if 
force  were  used  suspicion  would  be  aroused  and  credit 
affected.  He  further  urged  that  such  a  law  would  not 
prevent  depreciation,  while  the  experience  of  all  nations 
attested  to  the  utter  failure  of  forcing  notes  at  a  penalty. 

Currency  Act  of  April,  1862. 
The  currency  bill®^  added  the  $50,000,000  notes  asked 
for  and  a  reserve  of  $10,000,000,  to  be  kept  for  issuance 
to  holders  of  the  deposit  certificates   upon  any  sudden  f 

call.  Besides.  $^,000,000  in  denominations  of  ones  and  ^  i^f**^  f , 
twos  were  ordered.  All  notes  of  former  issues  were  of  t^X^^  *^J»vA 
larger  denomination  and  it  was  thought  this  incon- 
venience increased  the  depreciation.  The  full  recommen- 
dation of  bonds,  $165,000,000,  was  voted,  but  without  the 
accompanying  additional  guarantee  of  interest  through 
adequate  taxation.  These  bonds  were  for  a  yet  larger 
period,  30  years,  with  right  to  be  redeemed  within  10 
years.  In  the  sum  total  voted,  there  were  the  various 
forms  of  substitutes,  brought  into  use  during  the  year 
past.  The  call  certificates  at  6%  interest  were  allotted 
$50,000,000  of  the  issue.  In  December  this  class  of  ab- 
sorbents had  been  fixed  at  $30,000,000.  The  increased  de- 
mand for  them  was  another  sign  of  the  depreciation  of 
the  notes. 

••  Letter  of  March  13,  1862. 

"  Act  of  April  12,  1862,  Statute  I,  Chapter  XXVII. 


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28  Southern  History  Association. 

Bonds  Refused,  Notes  Taken. 

A  large  share  of  the  bonds  was  intended  to  be  ex- 
changed for  supplies  and  subsistence.  It  was  expected  to 
give  an  opportunity  for  investment  to  people  who  had  no 
surplus  capital  in  money.  From  the  first  the  railroads  had 
taken  a  portion  of  their  pay  for  government  transporta- 
tion in  bonds.  The  same  bargain  was  to  be  struck  with 
the  farmer  for  his  produce  and  the  manufacturer  for  his 
clothing.  This  was  an  extension  of  the  spirit  of  the  pro- 
duce loan,  for  the  act  of  one  of  the  parties  to  the  trade 
was  yet  left  voluntary.  If  the  public  responded,  that 
mounting  tide  of  notes  could  be  stayed. 

The  purpose  of  the  Department  was  to  keep  the  notes 
for  the  pay  of  the  army,  for  the  wages  of  mechanics  and 
such  expenditures  not  able  to  be  met  by  bonds.  But  it 
was  difficult®*  to  get  the  War  and  Navy  Departments  to 
cooperate  in  the  new  plan  of  payment.  Previously,  it  had 
been  urged  that  requisitions  be  satisfied  one-half  in  cash 
and  one-half  in  bonds.  Now  when  the  law**  was  tried,  the 
disbursing  officers  reported  that  the  owners  of  supplies 
would  not  part  with  them  except  for  notes.  Friction  be- 
tween the  Departments  arose  and  the  Secretary  was 
thought  to  be  unfavorably  discriminating  when  he  paid  in 
bonds. 

In  an  appeal  to  President  Davis  on  April  9th,  Mr.  Mem- 
minger  wrote  that  if  the  whole  expense  of  the  Govern- 
ment was  paid  in  notes,  the  $50,000,000  provided  would  be 
exhausted  in  sixty  days  and  the  Confederacy  brought  to 
a  stand.  The  $181,000,000  of  bonds  was  an  asset  which 
no  power  or  skill  that  he  knew  could  convert  into  cash. 
Still  further  harrassed,  the  Secretary®*  asserted  that  he 

"  Letter  to  Secretary  Randolph,  March  27,  1862. 

"•The  requisitions  of  the  War  and  Navy  Departments  were 
much  in  advance  of  the  means  of  the  Treasury  to  pay,  and  Mr. 
Memminger  asked  that  note  issues  be  reserved  for  the  soldiers, 
and  creditors  generally  be  tendered  the  bonds. 

•*To  Col.  Northrop,  May  10,  1862,  Letter  Book  "C." 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.      29 

had  not  suggested  the  law  of  payment  by 'bonds,  but  the 
blame  for  it  belonged  to  Congress.  It  was  known  that 
New  Orleans  refused  to  take  the  bonds,  as  also  in  the 
past  it  had  made  little  use  of  the  call  certificates  for  fund- 
ing. Wherever  the  sections  were  threatened  by  the 
enemy,  the  people  would  accept  nothing  but  notes  in  their 
dealing  with  the  Confederacy.  By  June  the  situation  was 
critical,  only. a  few  million  dollars  of  notes  remaining  un- 
issued of  the  prescribed  $200,000,000.  The  bond  measure 
of  Congress  being  a  failure,  the  next  device  of  the  Treas- 
ury was  foreshadowed  in  a  communication®*  to  the  Presi- 
dent. The  Secretary  insisted  that  in  the  event  of  the  calls 
for  notes  exceeding  the  amount  for  which  legislative  au- 
thority had  been  given,  the  Executive  must  meet  the 
emergency  unless  interest-bearing  notes  could  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  many  millions  of  bonds,  which  had  few 
takers.  In  the  recent  currency  bijl  it  had  been  provided 
that  one  hundred  dollar  notes,  bearing  an  interest  of  two 
cents  a  day,  commonly  known  as  seven-thirty  notes, 
might  be  issued  for  the  purpose  of  having  notes  of  smaller 
denomination  exchanged  for  them,  while  the  interest- 
bearing  notes  at  the  same  time  would  be  kept  out  of  cir- 
culation for  the  sake  of  the  investment.  By  addressing*® 
the  banks  on  this  new  form  of  note,  which  had  been  fre- 
quently®^ advocated  by  Mr.  Memminger,  a  considerable 
demand  was  established,  and  within  two  months  $23,000,- 
ooo**  were  used.  The  original  bill  contained  no  provisions 
for  the  time  and  means  of  paying  the  interest  on  this  form 
of  credit,  so  that  the  following  session  of  Congress®* 
designated  the  use  of  non-interest  notes  annually  for  the 
purpose. 

"•  Special  report  of  June  7th. 

"To  Savannah  and  Charleston  banks. 

"Reports  of  May  10,  July  20,  1861. 

"•  Report  of  Aug.  21,  1862. 

"Act  of  Sept  23,  1862. 


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30  Southern  History  Association, 

FlNAX  RBI.IANCE  ON  PAPER. 

The  second  session  of  the  First  Congress  placed  the 
final  seal  of  approval  on  the  program  of  printing  govern- 
ment paper  in  response  to  every  claim  of  its  creditors.    It 
first  granted*®  an  additional  $50,000,000  of  the  ordinary 
circulation,  then  threw  aside  the  limit  of  $250,000,000  by 
authorizing  notes  to  be  put  forth  in  such  amounts  as  were 
needed  to  meet  appropriations.     In  the  Treasury  report 
there  seemed  satisfaction  in  the  workings  of  the  financial 
measures.    Excessive  note  issue  was  held  up  as  a  disas- 
trous evil,  but  no  immediate  danger  was  sounded.    Never- 
theless, for  six  months  notes  had  continued  the  chief  re- 
source, $115,000,000  being  used.    Bonds  available  for  the 
conversion  of  notes  and  for  the  payment  of  supplies  ag- 
gregated $25,000,000.    This  stock  having  been  placed  on 
sale  with  the  depositories,  found  little  demand.    The  call 
certificates  for  deposits  of  notes  at  6%  was  more  accept- 
able to  the  public,  and  since  the  passage  of  the  act  in 
December,  1861,  $37,585,200  had  been  taken.    The  Presi- 
dent in  his  message  of  August  19th  favored  giving  the 
people  what  they  wanted,  notes  and  not  bonds,  saying  that 
the  accumulated  debt  was  insignificant  compared  with  the 
magnitude  of  the  war.     However  sanguine  the  expres- 
sions of  the  authorities,  the  small  amount  of  bonds  used 
for   funding,    thereby   possibly   carrying   off   the    money 
stream  that  was  being  bid  flow  so  freely,  required  some 
remedial  action.    The  seven-thirty  note  was  designed*^  to 
combine  the  features  of  funding  and  currency.     The  in- 
terest was  expected  to  cause  it  to  be  hoarded.    The  De- 
partment hoped  to  attract  $70,000,000  said  to  be  in  the 
hands    of   private   capitalists.     But   the    interest-bearing 
notes  came  to  be  used  for  current  expenses  along  with 
the  non-interest  notes.    Thus  the  second  device  in  credit 
instruments  of  the  year  failed  to  attain  the  purpose  for 

•*Act.  of  Sept.  23,  1862. 
•*  Report  of  Aug.  21,  1862. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.      31 

which  it  was  put  forth,  and  the  fancied  barriers  to  over- 
issue were  proven  insufficient. 

Secretary's  Ai.arm  and  Reason  for  It. 

The  Secretary  now  evinced®*  the  first  serious  alarm. 
He  acknowledged  the  unfavorable  turn  of  the  experiment 
which  he  had  planned'*  six  months  earlier,  that  "after  the 
issue  of  notes  had  been  raised  to  $200,000,000,  there 
should  be  a  pause  iii  this  direction,  until  we  can  see  the 
eflfects  on  the  country." 

At  the  same  period  he  had  written'*  to  Jas.  D.  Dene- 
gree,  of  New  Orleans,  "I  have  endeavored  to  restrain  the 
issue  of  Treasury  notes,  so  as  not  to  have  a  currency  of 
assignats.''  But  familiarity  with  French  financial  history 
had  not  brought  the  Secretary  through  safely,  and  his 
wamii^  to  Congress  was  that  there  are  indications  of 
various  kinds  that  some  support  of  the  currency  will  soon 
be  required.  The  new  appropriations  for  the  last  quarter 
of  the  year  reached  $150,000,000.  To  meet  these  the  gov- 
ernment printing  presses  contributed  a  monthly  increase 
of  $40,000,000  of  notes.  The  estimate  on  September  30th 
was  that  the  total  circulation  outstanding  by  January  i, 
1863,  would  be  $433,000,000.  The  report*'  afterwards 
made  the  actual  amount  $410,000,000,  the  general  cur- 
rency being  $290,000,000.  To  the  extent  of  $120,000,000 
were  the  seven-thirty  notes  used  for  current  purposes,  be- 
ing issued-  in  practically  equal  sums  with  ordinary  notes 
in  the  last  half  year.  In  ten  months  there  had  been  a 
more  than  three-fold  increase  of  Treasury  paper  over  the 
amount  of  the  provisional  year  of  the  Confederacy ;  while 
in  the  first  year  there  had  not  been  an  adequate  concep- 
tion of  the  size  of  the  war;  neither  in  the  plans  for  the 
second  year  were  the  provisions  of  the  necessary  propor- 

"To  A.  H.  Stephens,  Oct.  3d. 
"•  Report  of  March  14,  1862. 
••Letter  of  April  ist. 
"Jan.  10,  1863. 


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32  Southern  History  Association, 

tions.  The  estimates  were  submitted  for  an  aggregate  of 
$298,000,000  by  December  ist;  the  expenditures  on  De- 
cember 31,  1862,  had  reached  $417,000,000,  and  there 
were  $81,879,913  undrawn  appropriations,  making  a  total 
of  $498,851,648. 

In  the  face  of  such  demands  government  paper  gave  the 
easiest  answer.  The  administration  cannot  be  charged 
with  ignorance  of  the  results  of  such  a  policy,  yet  it  cham- 
pioned no  comprehensive  financial  system.  The  economic 
axiom  that  it  is  far  more  difficult  to  recover  a  failing  cur- 
rency than  to  sustain  a  sound  one  brought  with  its  utter- 
ance'*  no  adequate  solution  of  the  growing  perplexity. 

Three-fold  Over-issue  and  Prices. 
As  the  issue  of  notes  was  three-fold  larger  than  the  South 
needed  for  its  business  transactions,  by  that  degree  were 
prices  being  theoretically  enhanced.  The  response  was 
not  so  immediate,  and  impaired  transportation  caused 
great  variations  in  localities.  In  December,  1862,  wheat 
in  Richmond  was  selling  at  four  dollars,  corn  at  three 
dollars,  and  oats  at  two  dollars  per  bushel,  and  flour  at 
from  $20  to  $25  per  barrel.  Gold  had  risen  from  $1.70 
in  March  to  $3.00.  The  steady  rise  of  general  prices  had 
well  entered  on  its  ruinous  course. 

Printing  and  Counterfeiting. 
In  view  of  the  financial  methods  of  this  period  the 
preparation  of  notes  and  bonds  was  a  most  important  de- 
partment of  the  Treasury.  Contracts  with  the  Richmond 
firms  of  Hoyer  &  Ludwig,  and  Keatinge  &  Ball,  furnished 
the  material,  and  the  registry  and  signing  were  done  by 
the  government.  In  May,  1862,  when  McClellan  waged 
the  James  River  campaign,  for  safety  the  issue  division 
was  removed  to  Columbia,  South  Carolina.  The  delay 
of  two  weeks  and  more  caused  an  accumulation  of  unpaid 
requisitions,  already  largely  on  the  increase,  and  there 
was  serious  embarrassment  of  the  Treasury  for  a  con- 

••  Report  of  Oct.  3,  1862. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.      33 

siderable  period.  At  the  same  time  the  method  of  signing 
the  notes  increased  the  difBcuUies,  although  a  large  force 
of  ladies  and  men  was  employed.  The  Secretary  asked 
Congress  in  vain  to  allow  the  signatures  to  be  engraved. 
The  creation  of  a  distinct  bureau  was  advised  in  1862, 
but  not  until  May  i,  1863,  was  the  act  passed  establishing 
the  Treasury  Note  Bureau,  and  S.  G.  Jamison  became 
chief,  directing  from  Richmond.  The  plant  at  Columbia*^ 
was  operated  to  the  end,  but  as  necessities  increased, 
lithographers  and  other  skilled  workmen  were  imported 
from  England. 

The  character  of  the  note  was  susceptible  to  counter- 
feiting, and  in  August,  1862,  an  epidemic  of  false  money 
was  thought  to  threaten  the  South.  Certain  plates  were 
stolen  from  Hoyer  &  Ludwig,  and  the  spurious  issue  was 
started  in  the  West.  There  was  a  popular*®  belief  that 
firms  in  the  North**  were  engaged  in  introducing  coun- 
terfeits. Much  indignation  was  aroused,  and  President 
Davis  gave  official  expression  of  it  in  a  message.  The 
most  vigilant  measures  were  taken  by  the  Department 
and  severe  penalties  enacted.  One  counterfeiter  of  Rich- 
mond was  hanged.  During  1863  unsigned  notes  were 
stolen  from  Columbia  and  sporadic  cases  of  counterfeit- 
ing came  to  light.  Yet  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  suf- 
ficient false  notes  were  uttered  to  affect  the  depreciation 
of  the  true.  The  best  evidence  was  the  amounts  received 
at  the  depositories.  The  proportion  was  quite  small,  an 
extreme*^  case  being  at  Charleston,  where  out  of  $2,- 
000,000  the  aggregate  counterfeits  was  $2,340.     Agents 

"  C.  F.  Henckle  was  made  chief  clerk  on  June  3,  1862,  and  over- 
saw the  contract  of  Evans  &  Cogswell. 

"•  Letter  to  P.  C.  Clayton,  Asst.  Sec'y,  Sept.  i,  1862. 

"S.  G.  Uphem,  403  Chestnut  St.,  Phila.,  advertised  $20  Con- 
federate bonds  and  15  difiFerent  fac-similes  of  bonds  and  notes  of 
1862  issue. 

*"  Return  of  Nov.  5,  1862. 
3 


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34  SoiUhern  History  Association. 

were  not  allowed  to  suffer  for  their  receipt  of  bad  money. 
The  currency  of  the  land  was  no  longer  sound  in  1862, 
and  in  the  first  uncertainty  of  diagnosing  the  causes  of  im- 
pairment, minor  disturbing  elements  were  likely  to  as- 
sume undue  importance. 

(To  be  Continued.) 


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THE  SOUTH  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME. 

By  J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

Probably  no  people  nor  institutions  have  been  more 
misunderstood  than  those  of  the  Southern  States.  One 
need  not  go  far  to  find  the  cause.  Southern  books  and 
newspapers  are  little  read.  Their  circulation  is  mainly 
local  and  provincial.  The  war  between  the  States  so  un- 
expectedly protracted,  the  terrible  casualties  connected 
therewith,  involving  so  many  families,  political  antagon- 
isms, and  the  discolored  and  exaggerated  statements  in 
fiction  and  more  serious  literature  and  in  partisan 
speeches,  have  prevented  the  calm  investigation  and  the 
sound  judgment  given  to  other  questions  which  have  not 
so  much  sentimentality.  One  speech  in  the  Senate  pre- 
cipitated a  war  with  Spain.  One  novel  was  largely  in- 
strumental in  exciting  the  Northern  mind  to  a  determina- 
tion of  "no  Union  with  slaveholders." 

Unanimous  Satisfaction  Ov^r  Abolition. 

The  South  retained  the  "peculiar  institution"  of  Afri- 
can slavery,  fastened  on  her  against  her  protests,  while 
the  North,  where  it  existed  in  every  State  at  the  time  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  1776,  liberated  herself 
from  it  more  than  half  a  century  ago.  The  "institution" 
for  many  reasons  became  so  incorporated  in  the  social, 
political  and  industrial  life  of  the  South  that  its  sever- 
ance, by  slow  and  natural  causes,  was  almost  an  impos- 
sibility. Property  interests,  pride  of  opinion,  jealousy  of 
alien  interference,  resistance  to  aspersions  and  aggres- 
sions, consolidated  the  South  and  induced  action  which 
under  other  conditions  would  have  been  the  very  reverse. 
That  is  made  plain  by  the  unanimity  which  now  exists  of 


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36  Southern  History  AssocuUion. 

satisfaction  at  abolition,  of  unwillingness  at  any  cost  to 
have  the  negroes  reenslaved,  and  of  the  depth  of  con- 
viction that  slave  labor,  instead  of  being  a  benefit,  was 
the  prolific  parent  of  a  thousand  evils. 

Southern  Civilization. 

The  marked  civilization  which  distinguished  the  South 
was  not  altogether  due  to  slavery,  but  unquestionably  it 
largely  contributed  to  the  creation  and  maintenance  of 
certain  social  peculiarities  which  are  rapidly  disappearing. 
In  proportion  to  the  whole  white  population  the  slave- 
holders were  few  in  number,  and  of  those  who  owned 
slaves  a  very  large  majority  owned  only  a  few,  from  one 
to  five.  When  slaves  were  held  in  numbers  sufficiently 
large  to  give  character  to  the  plantation,  some  results 
were  easily  discovered.  The  estates  were  large  and  this 
necessitated  overseers  or  subordinate  managers,  the  con- 
centration of  labor  on  a  few  crops,  and  prevented  that 
desirable  subdivision  of  land  which  improves  ag^culture 
and  gives  to  a  country  an  independent  yeomanry.  Popu- 
lation was  sparse,  roads  were  neglected,  free  schools 
could  not  be  established,  and  the  estates  became  a  species 
of  baronies,  where  the  lords  of  the  manor  exercised  an 
inferior  government  quite  apart  from  the  general  civil 
jurisdiction. 

Slaveholders  and  Statesmanship. 

As  a  rule,  the  owners  of  many  slaves  and  of  large  plan- 
tations were  men  of  intelligence,  of  masterful  qualities 
and  often  of  much  culture.  Governing  a  community  of  de- 
pendents in  such  a  way  as  to  temper  control  with  modera- 
tion and  justice,  to  exact  obedience  and  steady  labor  with- 
out provoking  ill-feeling,  rebellion,  escape  or  anarchy,  to 
insist  upon  order  and  authority  and  have,  at  the  same 
time,  cheerful  and  productive  work  and  great  affection, 
developed  a  habit  of  government   at  home  which  was 


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The  South  in  Olden  Times, — Curry.  37 

ripened  into  statesmanship  on  larger  fields.  The  isola- 
tion of  plantation  life  and  unshared  responsibility  stimu- 
lated individuality,  self-reliance,  acting  on  one's  own  judg- 
ment. In  most  matters  of  domestic  concern  there  was  no 
public  opnion  to  which  they  could  be  referred,  no  tribunal 
for  arbitration,  and  the  master  was,  under  the  general 
laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  sole  and  supreme  legisla- 
tive and  executive  authority.  This  independence,  self- 
government,  and  the  presence  of  a  subject  class  made  the 
slaveholder  the  vigilant,  sometimes  hasty  protector  of  the 
honor  of  himself  and  family,  the  stern  advocate  of  limita- 
tions upon  the  powers  of  the  civil  government  and  the 
valiant  defender  of  the  liberties  of  his  race.  Hence, 
Burke's  well-known  tribute  to  the  unconquerable  love  of 
freedom  and  manly  insistence  upon  their  rights,  of  the 
Southern  colonies  in  the  earliest  days  of  conflict  with  the 
mother  country. 

The  Neighborhood  Store  a  Civic  Center. 

That  slaveholders  were  the  leaders  in  politics  and  held 
many  influential  positions  in  the  State  and  the  Federal 
governments  is  not  strange.  Where  people  were  segre- 
gated and  families  were  sometimes  miles  apart,  the  court 
house,  the  militia  musters,  the  elections,  the  public  speak- 
ings, the  rural  churches,  were  the  places  and  the  occa- 
sions for  the  discussion  of  agricultural  needs,  of  prices  of 
products,  of  taxes,  of  conduct  of  representatives  and  pub- 
lic officers,  of  neighborhood  affairs.  The  shire-town  was 
generally  a  small  village  and  offered  no  inducements  for 
assemblages  of  the  people,  except  when  twice  a  year  the 
Circuit  Courts  were  held.  In  nearly  every  country 
neighborhood  was  a  store  where  everything  of  a  miscel- 
laneous character  was  kept,  and  at  the  same  place  was  the 
post  oflSce.  Every  day  persons,  not  kept  at  home  by 
necessary  work,  were  at  these  stores,  and  everything  per- 
taining to  human  life  was  brought  under  consideration. 


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38  Southern  History  Association. 

What  more  natural  and  proper  than  that  those  who  had 
wealth,  were  men  of  affairs,  were  familiar  with  markets, 
read  newspapers  and  traveled,  should  be  consulted  and 
deferred  to.  When,  as  often  happened,  there  were  present 
those  who  had  been  in  the  Legislature  or  in  Congress  or 
had  visited  the  seaport  cities  to  buy  merchandise  or  sell 
produce,  they  would  be  called  on  for  information  or  opin- 
ions, and  they  were  listened  to  with  respect  and  atten- 
tion. My  earliest  recollection  is  associated  with  spon- 
taneous, somewhat  unpremeditated,  gatherings  of  farm- 
ers at  stores  and  the  conversational  discussion  of  ques- 
tions far  beyond  my  boyish  comprehension. 

Majority  of  Farmers  Without  Slaves. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  nearly  every  person  look- 
ed forward  to  the  time  when  family  work  or  cares  would 
be  lightened  by  the  ownership  of  a  slave.  Still,  I  have 
known  hundreds  of  lawyers,  doctors,  merchants,  farmers, 
preachers,  mechanics  who  did  not  in  their  own  right  pos- 
sess slaves.  The  majority  of  farmers  had  no  slaves,  but 
sometimes  hired  them  by  the  year.  These  farmers  worked 
their  own  fields  side  by  side  with  the  negroes  and  their 
children.  The  widely  prevalent  notion  that  the  cultivation 
of  cotton  and  tobacco  at  the  South  is,  or  ever  was,  de- 
pendent upon  negro  labor  is  an  error,  unsupported  by 
fact.  Far  more  than  half  of  the  present  ten  million  bales 
of  cotton  have  been  produced  by  white  labor.  The  stig- 
ma of  "poor  whites,"  so  often  us^ed  in  derision  and  con- 
tempt, is  unwarranted  and  grossly  unjust.  Many  non- 
slaveholders  and  persons  of  small  means  have,  in  peace 
and  in  war,  signalized  their  lives  by  all  the  virtues  which 
ennoble  humanity  and  advance  civilization. 

Illiteracy  Not  Ignorance  Then. 

Illiteracy  was  unfortunately  not  confined  to  the 
negroes,  as  sparseness  of  population  prevented  State  sys- 
tems of  free  schools.    It  would  be  an  erroneous  inference 


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The  South  in  Olden  Times. — Curry.  39 

that  these  illiterate  people  were  wholly  uninformed.  The 
assemblages  to  which  reference  has  been  made  were  valu- 
able schools  and  educatory  in  a  high  degree.  In  ante- 
bellum days  political  discussions  prevailed  universally. 
Candidates  for  governorship,  Congress,  for  Legislature, 
often  for  other  offices,  engaged  in  joint  discussion  before 
the  people.  Appointments  were  made  for  public  speak- 
ing, time  was  divided  equally  among  contestants  or  be- 
tween parties,  and  for  hours  there  was  earnest  attention 
to  debates  upon  the  most  important  questions.  Let  me 
illustrate.  In  1847  ^^  1853,  when  a  candidate  for  the 
Alabama  Legislature,  education,  finances,  taxation,  State 
aid  to  railways,  were  discussed.  In  1855,  when  the  Know- 
Nothing  or  American  party,  was  seeking  power  in  the 
State  and  Federal  governments,  the  tenets  and  purposes 
of  that  party  were  presented  by  the  chosen  champions  on 
each  side.  In  1856,  as  a  candidate  for  Presidential  elec- 
tor, and  in  1857  and  1859,  when  seeking  a  seat  in  Con- 
gress, making  forty  or  fifty  speeches  in  the  district,  the 
issues  were  internal  improvements  by  the  general  Gov- 
ernment, distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  public  lands,  veto 
power,  tariff,  expenditures,  power  of  Congress  over  the 
Territories,  "Squatter  Sovereignty,"  and  in  i860  and  1861, 
right  and  expediency  of  secession  and  relation  of  the 
States  to  the  Federal  Union.    In  those  days,  while  parties 

No  BossiSM,  No  Contributions,  No  Corruption. 

were  distinct  and  party  feeling  was  strong,  party  ma- 
chinery hardly  had  an  existence ;  "bossism"  was  unknown, 
voting  by  sections  was  unheard  of.  As  a  general  rule, 
each  man  voted  as  an  independent  citizen  and  bribery  or 
corruption  in  elections,  when  it  occurred,  made  the  place 
and  persons  a  by-word  and  a  scorn.  My  contests  for  the 
Legislature  and  for  seats  in  the  Federal  and  Confederate 
Congress  cost  me  practically  nothing.     The  whole  ex- 


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40  Southern  History  Association. 

pense  was  covered  by  a  few  hotel  bills,  announcement  of 
candidacy  in  the  newspapers  and  the  printing  of  tickets. 

Not  a  Dollar  i^or  Campaign  Expenses. 
In  the  eight  times  I  sought  the  suffrage  of  the  electors 
of  county  and  district  and  State,  I  did  not  pay  a  dollar 
for  campaign  expenses;  no  such  contribution  was  asked 
or  expected,  and  I  never  knew  of  a  dollar  being  paid  for 
a  vote  or  a  nomination.     . 

No  Social  Divisions  Among  Whites. 
There  was  in  the  ante-bellum  days  no  perceptible  social 
division  between  slaveholders  and  non-slaveholders  as 
classes.  No  sharp  lines  of  separation  were  drawn  be- 
tween them.  In  marriage,  in  visiting,  in  office  holding, 
in  professional  or  other  employment,  no  question  was 
raised  as  to  the  ownership  of  slaves  or  interest  in  this 
species  of  property.  I  recall  several  members  of  Con- 
gress who  helcj  no  slaves.  Merit,  respectability,  virtue, 
was  the  open  sesame  to  dinners,  entertainments,  marital 
relations.  Color  drew  a  broad  and  ineffaceable  line  of 
demarcation.  The  least  taint  of  inferior  racial  blood 
operated  semper  ubique  as  an  exclusion.  Piety,  church 
membership,  was  not  the  social  standard,  but  integrity 
and  proper  treatment  of  slaves  were.  I  have  known 
wealthy  men,  according  to  the  estimate  of  wealth  in  those 
days,  indicted  and  convicted  for  the  cruel  treatment  of 
their  negroes.  The  counts  of  the  indictment  were  insuf- 
ficient food  and  clothing,  over  work  and  harsh  and  un- 
usual punishment.  The  marriagd  relationship  was 
sacred.  A  person  divorced  for  other  cause  than  the  awful 
sin  of  adultery  was  tabooed.  Separation  of  husband  and 
wife  was  tantamount  to  social  proscription.  The  family 
was  the  unit  and  relationship  of  the  worthy  to  a  remote 
degree  was  recognized,  and  the  bond  of  fellowship  em- 
braced all  except  those  who  offended  the  laws  of  decency 
and  honesty. 


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The  South  tn  Olden  Times. — Curry.  41 

Pure  Angi.o-Saxon  Blood. 

The  white  population  of  the  Southern  States  was  An- 
glo-Saxon. Homogeneity  was  not  much  disturbed  by 
alien  immigration.  It  often  excites  remark  and  surprise 
to  find  that  Southerners  know  their  kin  in  different  States 
and  have  such  minute  personal  knowledge  of  many  famil- 
ies. 

Hospitality  a  Characteristic. 

Home  was  sacred  and  the  dearest  place  on  earth,  and 
Christmas  was  the  time  for  reunion,  from  grandparents  to 
grandchildren.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  see  from  twen- 
ty-five to  sixty  relatives  seated  at  the  bounteous  board. 
In  the  country,  with  a  sparse  population,  clubs  and 
theatres  did  not  exist  to  seduce  young  men  from  parental 
supervision.  Between  parents  and  children  the  inter- 
course ordinarily  was  unconstrained  and  affectionate. 
Schoolmates  often  spent  the  night  with  their  fellows,  and 
this  neighborly  courtesy  was  freely  reciprocated.  Co- 
education in  the  country  schools  and  academies  was  uni- 
versal, and  no  harm  but  much  benefit  came  from  this 
companionship.  Hospitality  abounded  and  was  a  charac- 
teristic trait.  There  was  rarely  a  single  night  for  years 
when  there  was  not  under  the  roofs  of  my  neighbors  a 
welcome  guest.  The  entertainment  was  lyithout  formal- 
ity, and  the  guests  were  treated,  and  acted,  as  members 
of  the  family.  With  the  slaveholders,  or  with  such  of 
them  as  had  a  number  of  dependents,  the  cost  and  trouble 
of  entertaining  were  almost  nil.  The  table  for  the  family 
bountifully  supplied  needed  no  additions.  There  was  lit- 
tle economy,  perhaps  much  waste,  in  the  food  provided, 
for  what  was  unconsumed  by  the  "white  folks,"  to  use  the 
common  phrase  of  the  black  people,  was  used  in  the 
kitchen,  or  in  "the  quarter,"  as  the  village  where  the  ne- 
groes had  their  houses  was  called.  Gardens  supplied 
vegetables;  the  orchards,  fruits.     Com,   ripe  or  green, 


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42  Southern  History  Association. 

peas,  pumpkins,  sweet  potatoes,  watermelons,  etc.,  were 
in  the  fields.  Besides  cooks  and  maids  and  butlers,  etc., 
the  children,  too  young  for  outdoor  work,  or  selected  for 
skill  and  intelligence,  were  on  hand  to  do  superfluous  or 

House  Partik  of  Seventy. 

extra  work.  The  entertainment  in  the  country  included 
horses.  I  have  been  at  houses  where  seventy  guests,  with 
nearly  as  many  horses,  were  cared  for  during  three  or 
four  days.  The  one-crop  system,  pernicious  in  the  light 
of  political  economy,  left  but  few  products  for  market. 
When  cotton,  tobacco,  sugar,  rice,  and  sometimes  wheat 
and  corn  were  sold,  nothing  else  had  a  marketable  value. 
To  sell  milk  or  butter  or  vegetables,  was  an  unknown 
commercial  transaction.  Watermelons,  apples,  peaches, 
cherries,  turnips  were  free.  At  least,  persons  traveling 
on  the  road,  did  not  regard  it  as  wrong,  or  forbidden,  or 
any  violation  of  rights  of  property,  to  enter  orchards  or 
fields  and  take  what  was  wanted  for  immediate  personal 
use.  This  prodigal  living  has  often  been  condemned,  and 
is  described  here  to  give  a  true  picture  of  the  South. 

No  Isms,  No  Skepticism. 

The  country  churches  have  been  mentioned  as  furnish- 
ing opportunities  for  talking  over  questions  of  common 
concern.  Conflicts  as  to  the  Sundays  of  worship  were 
avoided  as  far  as  possible,  and  accessible  places,  within 
six  or  eight  miles,  had  a  general  attendance.  Ecclesiasti- 
cal or  denominational  differences,  while  fully  recognized, 
did  not  interfere  with  social  or  political  affiliations. 
Neighborliness,  kinship,  personal  friendships,  did  not  al- 
low ecclesiastical  estrangements.  The  religion  was  of  the 
accepted  orthodox  character.  The  new  isms  were  un- 
known or  promptly  rejected.  Infidelity  or  skepticism, 
used  in  a  broad,  undefined  sense,  was  regarded  with  hor- 
ror and  not  unfrequently  made  synonymous  with  untrust- 
worthiness.     Sickness  in  a  family  called  forth  practical 


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The  South  in  Olden  Times. — Curry.  43 

sympathy  and  helpfulness.  Funerals  or  burials  Jiad  the 
presence  of  the  whole  community  as  a  mark  of  respect  or 
to  honor  those  highly  esteemed. 

Reciprocity  in  Kindness. 

Agricultural  life  evoked  much  helpful  cooperation  in 
cases  of  exigency  or  special  need,  and  these  services, 
cheerfully  rendered,  were  always  returned  in  full  tale. 
Not  to  reciprocate  put  one  as  much  without  the  pale  as 
if  he  had  committed  a  dishonorable  act. 

Snake-head  Railroads. 

That  useful  vade  mecum,  the  World's  Almanac,  gives  the 
total  track  of  railways  in  the  United  States  at  245,238 
miles,  and  the  passengers  carried  as  514,982,288;  904,633 
miles  of  telegraph  wire,  with  61,398,157  messages,  and 
772,989  miles  of  telephone  wire.  When  we  consider  how 
our  country  is  now  covered  with  a  net  work  of  railways 
and  telegraph  and  telephone  wires,  it  is  hard  to  realize 
how  recent  was  their  origin  and  how  rapid  has  been  their 
progress.  In  my  boyhood  days,  railways  were  few  and 
short.  In  Alabama,  in  1843,  there  were  only  two,  one 
around  Muscle  Shoals,  and  the  other  between  Mont- 
gomery and  Franklin,  and  it  was  put  down  on  string 
pieces  with  flat-iron  bars,  which,  torn  up  by  wheels, 
occasionally  projected  into  the  cars,  impaling  passengers 
on  what  were. termed  "snake-heads.'*  In  1843,  ^^  route  to 
Harvard,  I  traveled  from  Augusta  to  Charleston  by  rail, 
built  nearly  all  the  way  on  trestle  work,  and  by  steamer 

The  Stagedriver  a  Chance  eor  the  Pen  and  Pencil. 

from  Charleston  to  Wilmington.  Much  travel  in  those 
days  was  on  horseback,  or  in  hacks,  or  picturesque  stage 
coaches,  which  signalled  their  arrival  in  towns  and  vil- 
lages, and  notified  the  taverns  of  number  of  passengers 
by  long  tin  horns  or  by  making  more  ambitious  music 
on  bugles.    The  stagedrivers  knew  everybody  on  the  road. 


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44  Southern  History  Association. 

carried  packages  and  messages,  and  were  sometimes  the 
confidants  of  country  lasses  and  bashful  beaux.  The 
Bonifaces  are  often  drawn  in  character  sketches,  but  the 
stagedriver  of  the  olden  time,  a  typical  class,  has  escaped 
portraiture  by  pen  or  pencil.  Romances  of  the  road  are 
unused  material. 

Shinplasters. 
In  these  days  of  plentiful  gold  and  silver,  inquiries  are 
sometimes  made  of  me  about  shinplasters.  During  the 
financial  stress,  beginning  with  1837,  in  the  absence  of 
a  sound  circulating  medium  of  "specie"  or  bank  notes, 
banks,  corporations,  towns,  stores  and  individuals  issued 
small  notes  for  the  fractional  part  of  a  dollar,  to  be  re- 
deemed in  current  bills  when  the  sum  of  five  dollars  was 
presented.  These  notes,  usually  printed  on  thin  and 
worthless  paper,  were  circulated  far  and  wide,  and  when 
mutilated,  as  soon  occurred  from  handling,  or  sent  so  far 
away  as  never  to  return,  the  issue  of  the  notes  enured  to 
the  benefit  of  the  voluntary  banker.  A  number  of  these 
notes  are  now  before  me,  and  were  issued  in  South  Caro- 
lina, Alabama,  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  one,  on  the 
Union  Bank,  Pulaski,  Tennessee,  sent  out  in  1837,  is 
decorated  by  a  pretentious  stage  coach,  full  of  passengers, 
drawn  by  four  stylish  horses. 

Caricatures  on  Slavery. 
On  no  single  phase  of  life  or  civilization  has  the  South 
been  so  much  misunderstood  and  misrepresented  as  on 
the  subject  of  slavery,  in  its  varied  and  manifold  connec- 
tions. The  caricatures  of  the  relation  of  master  and  ser- 
vant in  popular  fiction,  the  honor  of  canonization  con- 
ferred on  John  Brown,  whose  acts  can  find  excuse  or  pal- 
liation solely  on  the  plea  of  insanity,  or  fanaticism  run 
mad ;  the  descriptions  of  superficial  observers  like  Dickens, 
Hall,  Featherstonhaugh,  have  made  impressions  which, 
however   unjust,   are   almost   impossible    of   eradication. 


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The  South  in  Olden  Times. — Curry.  45 

That  there  were  cruel  taskmasters,  that  slavery  had  in- 
defensible features  and  consequences,  no  reasonable  per- 
son can  deny,  any  more  than  he  can  deny  cruelty  in  hus- 
bands, neglect  in  fathers  and  oppression  in  employers 
since  the  world  began.  The  relation  of  master  and  ser- 
vant was  not  one,  generally,  of  hardship  or  cruelty.  After 
the  exaction  of  labor,  not  paid  for  in  money  wages,  the 
interest  of  owners  dictated  such  treatment  as  would  not 
impair  the  productiveness  or  value  of  labor,  nor  depreci- 
ate the  property.  Apart  from  humanity,  selfishness  made 
it  desirable  and  necessary,  in  food,  clothing,  shelter,  ser- 
vice, to  consult  the  physical  well-being  of  the  slave.  A 
standard  of  morals  and  of  intelligence,  as  far  as  com- 
patible with  the  condition  of  servitude,  also  enhanced  his 
pecuniary  and  industrial  value.  Bearing  in  mind  the  fact, 
the  biblical  fact,  the  legal  fact,  the  traditional  fact,  that 
property  in  man  existed  and  was  to  be  maintained,  the  re- 
lation of  master  and  servant  was  one,  in  the  main,  of  good 
treatment,  kindness  and  affection. 

A  Radical  Revolution  in  Southern  Views. 

Of  course,  it  is  difficult  for  persons  outside  the  South, 
or  bom  since  1861,  to  form  even  a  partial  conception  of 
slavery  as  it  existed  before  secession.  As  well  may  the 
people  of  Cuba  or  the  Philippine  Islands,  fifty  years 
hence,  be  expected  to  understand  the  Cuba  and  Philip- 
pines of  1898.  Since  i860.  Southern  sentiment  and  law 
have  undergone  a  radical  revolution.  Nine  hundred  and 
ninety  out  of  every  one  thousand  white  people  in  the 
South  rejoice  that  the  negro  is  unalterably  free,  and  about 
the  same  ratio  regards  slavery  as  a  wrong,  or  a  gross 
economical  blunder.  As  Mr.  Lincoln's  policy  and  earnest 
effort  at  deportation  were  not  accomplished,  a  less  ratio 
concedes  that  citizenship  was  an  unavoidable  consequence 
of  emancipation.    Now  comes  "the  rub"  which  Northern 


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46  Southern  History  Association. 

Negro  Suffrage  an  Indescribable  Blunder. 

opinion  fails  to  grasp.  Suffrage  was  not  a  legal  nor  a 
desirable  sequence  of  emancipation  or  citizenship,  and  has 
been  a  curse  to  the  South,  to  the  whole  Nation,  and  so 
far  as  the  negroes  are  concerned,  in  their  bewildering 
freedom,  an  indescribable  blunder.  Denounced  as  the 
South  may  be  for  its  persistent  opposition  to  negro  suf- 
frage in  the  aggregate,  it  may  as  well  be  understood  that 
the  conviction  will  increase  in  intensity  unless  deporta- 
tion or  diffusion,  or  some  other  effective  agency,  reduce 
the  evils  of  the  congestion  of  the  black  population.  The 
Southern  people  approve  the  limitation  of  the  elective 
franchise  as  ordained  by  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
Louisiana,  Mississippi  and  South  Carolina.  The  more 
intelligent  and  conservative  regard  an  educational  quali- 
fication as  an  indispensable  condition  precedent  to  voting, 
and  coincide  with  the  most  worthy  and  remarkable  leader 
of  his  race,  Mr.  Booker  T.  Washington,  in  wishing  the 
same  restriction  made  applicable  to  both  races  and  en- 

Impoverished  Whites  and  Negro  Education. 

forced  with  equal  justice  and  impartiality.  Hard  as  has 
been  the  burden,  which  the  general  Government,  wicked- 
ly, cruelly,  suicidally,  has  refused  to  aid  the  South  in  bear- 
ing, thus  abdicating  the  logical  and  patriotic  duty  in- 
separably connected  with  emancipation  and  citizenship 
and  suffrage,  every  Southern  State  has  established  a  pub- 
lic school  system,  sustained  by  taxation,  conferring  equal 
school  privileges  upon  the  two  races.  The  Bureau  of 
Education  says  the  South  has  expended  since  the  war 
over  $100,000,000  for  the  education  of  the  negro.  It 
should  not  be  forgotten  by  the  censorious  that  fully  $90,- 
000,000  of  this  money  came  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  im- 
poverished white  people. 


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The  South  in  Olden  Times. — Curry.  47 

The  Virulence  of  Race  Prejudice. 

The  friction  between  races  at  the  South  finds  painful 
parallel  in  New  York,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  It  is  but 
fair  to  remember  that  the  negroes,  in  the  Northern  towns 
and  cities,  where  mob  violence  occurred,  were  insignificant 
in  numbers.  Lawlessness  and  revenge  were  far  less  ex- 
cusable, in  the  light  of  relative  provocation,  than  in  the 
South  where  the  negroes  outnumbered  the  incensed  white 
people.  The  virulence  of  race  prejudice  overwhelmed  the 
forces  of  law  and  order  in  communities  where  the  in- 
habitants were,  in  part,  of  New  England  origin,  and  where 
an  appeal  to  competent  civil  authority  should  have  had 
prompt  and  protective  response.  Some  one  has  said  that 
there  is  no  alchemy  to  get  golden  conduct  out  of  leaden 
instincts.  Infuriated  mobs  violate  recklessly  all  laws,  hu- 
man and  divine.  Social,  political  and  industrial  upheaval, 
and  the  ill-advised  and  revengeful  reconstruction  legisla- 
tion have  failed  to  produce  legitimate  results  because  of  the 
former  good  feeling  between  master  and  servant  and  the 
patient  and  good  conduct  which,  in  the  aggregate,  has 
marked  the  two  peoples.  The  inexcusable  lynchings  and  the 
atrocious  crimes  which  caused  them  have  been  surprisingly 
few,  and  are  not  justly  chargeable  against  the  great  mass  of 

A  Tremendous  Push  Upward. 

either  race.  The  exemption  from  strikes  at  the  South, 
from  the  lawlessness  of  organized  and  assertive  labor,  the 
beneficial  effects  of  good  climate,  fertile  soil,  rich  mineral 
resources,  the  spur  from  impoverishment  to  greater  indus- 
try and  economy,  the  better  prices  for  some  agricultural 
products,  have  lately  g^ven  the  South  a  tremendous  push 
upward.  Every  patriot  should  labor  for  a  better  under- 
standing of  his  fellow  citizens,  for  the  obliteration  of  the 
last  vestige  of  sectional  prejudice  and  bitterness,  for  the 
enlightenment  of  opnion,  for  the  consummation  of  equal 
and  exact  justice  to  both  races,  for  the  uplifting  of  Ameri- 


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48  Southern  History  Association, 

can  citizenship,  for  the  strengthening  and  ennobling  of  all 
influences  which  will  perpetuate  free,  representative  insti- 
tutions, add  to  our  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  make 
more  lustrous  and  beneficent  our  example  to  all  peoples, 
struggling  for  free  government,  based  on  intelligence, 
integrity  and  capacity. 


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EDWARD  IRELAND  RENICK.^ 

By  Gaillard  Hunt. 

The  Executive  Departments  of  the  general  Govern- 
ment are  popularly  supposed  to  be  a  burial  ground  to 
talent  and  ambition  in  young  men,  but  occasionally  there 
rises  an  exception  to  this  rule  and  it  is  proved  that  even 
here  much  can  be  done  by  one  who  has  steadfastness  of 
purpose  and  constantly  exercises  his  mental  capabilities. 
Such  a  shining  exception  was  Edward  Ireland  Renick, 
who  died  April  ii,  1900. 

Government  Service. 

When  he  was  appointed  chief  clerk  of  the  Department 
of  State,  April  17,  1894,  he  had  been  continuously  in  the 
civil  service  of  the  Government  for  ten  years.  He  was 
appointed  to  a  position  in  the  Treasury  Department,  Feb- 
ruary II,  1884,  where  he  served  until  April  17,  1893,  when 
Walter  Q.  Gresham  appointed  him  Chief  of  the  Bureau 
of  Statistics  (now  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  Commerce)  in 
the  State  Department.  The  reports  issued  under  his  di- 
rection were  notable  for  their  excellence,  and  the  volume 
of  business  transacted  by  his  bureau  increased  greatly. 
The  oflSce  of  chief  clerk  falling  vacant  he  was  promoted 
to  it,  and  served  until  May  20,  1897.  He  was  a  man  of 
methodical  mind  and  he  adhered  strictly  to  rules.  He 
was  perfectly  impartial  and  an  untiring  worker,  and  he 
infused  into  the  whole  department  staff  a  new  spirit  of  in- 
dustry and  individual  energy,  bringing  it  up  to  a  greater 
average  of  efficiency  than  it  had  attained  for  many  years. 
Himself  a  fine  example  of  the  merit  system  he  was  an 

^  Mr.  Renick  was  an  active  and  devoted  member  of  the  South- 
em  History  Association  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

4 


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50  Southern  History  Association, 

ardent  believer  in  it,  and  never  deviated  from  the  letter  or 
spirit  of  the  civil  service  rules.  He  was  punctilious  in  his 
conscientiousness  and  performed  the  duties  of  his  office 
without  fear  or  favor.  His  studies  and  his  aspirations  had 
set  towards  an  under  secretaryship,  rather  than  towards  a 
purely  administrative  office,  but  his  talents  were  diversi- 
fied and  his  administration  as  chief  clerk  did  credit  to 
himself  and  his  department. 

Ancestry  and  Earl,y  Life. 

He  was  born  at  Baltimore,  June  5,  1846,  his  father  be- 
ing William  Hamilton  Renick  and  his  mother  Elizabeth 
Ireland.  On  her  side  he  was  a  descendant  of  John  Moale, 
one  of  the  "Sons  of  Liberty"  of  Maryland  immediately  be- 
fore the  Revolution,  a  member  of  the  Maryland  conven- 
tion of  1775,  of  the  committee  of  correspondence,  and  the 
holder  of  several  important  civil  offices  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. In  the  same  line,  another  ancestor  was  Jesse  Hol- 
lingsworth,  of  the  revolutionary  council  of  safety ;  another 
was  Zebulon  Hollingsworth,  Attorney  of  the  United  States 
at  Baltimore  under  appointment  of  General  Washington. 

Mr.  Renick  received  his  early  education  at  the  Balti- 
more City  College,  whence  he  went  to  Roanoke  College, 
Virginia,  and  then  to  the  law  school  at  the  University  of 
Virginia,  where  he  took  the  course  under  the  celebrated 
Professor  Minor.  A  year  after  graduation  he  went  to 
Atlanta,  where  he  practiced  law  until  he  came  to  Wash- 
ington to  enter  the  Treasury  Department. 

His  Literary  Work. 

In  1882  he  made  his  first  important  appearance  in  print 
in  an  article  in  The  Nation,  and  continued  to  contribute 
to  that  paper  and  the  Evening  Post  at  intervals  for  twelve 
years. 

In  1889  appeared  his  article  in  the  Political  Science 
Quarterly,  on  "The  Control  of  National  Expenditures," 
and  in  June,  1890,  in  the  same  periodical,  his  paper  on 


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Edward  Ireland  Renick, — Hunt.  51 

"The  Comptrollers  and  the  Courts,"  a  lucid  account  of 
the  old  system  under  which  the  comptrollers  were  all- 
powerful.  It  showed  a  complete  grasp  of  the  subject,  and 
was  written  in  the  simple,  clear  style  which  characterized 
everything  that  came  from  his  pen. 

One  year  later  appeared  his  more  elaborate  article  "The 
Decisions  of  the  Comptroller"  in  the  same  review.  In 
July,  1898,  the  Southern  History  Association  published  his 
paper  on  Christopher  Gadsden.  For  years  he  was  a  stud- 
ent of  Gadsden's  career,  and  always  insisted  that  history 
had  failed  to  render  him  full  justice.  The  paper  presented 
only  a  portion  of  the  data  he  had  gathered  and  which  are 
now  among  his  posthumous  papers.  At  about  this  time 
he  published  important  papers  on  alien  ownership  of  land 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  in  the  Washington  Post 
and  Evening  Star  and  American  Law  Review.  They 
were  reprinted  in  1900  by  the  Senate  committee  on  the 
District  of  Columbia. 

Entering  a  New  Career. 

The  years  spent  by  Mr.  Renick  in  the  Government 
service  had  sharpened  instead  of  blunting  his  powers.  He 
won  his  promotions  entirely  by  deserving  them,  and  when 
he  had  reached  a  height  where  he  became  a  shining  mark 
to  the  spoilsmen  and  resigned  his  office,  it  fell  about  that 
his  career  instead  of  being  ended  was  really  about  to  be- 
gin. He  loved  the  law  better  than  anything  else,  and  he 
studied  it  profoundly,  but  thus  far  the  application  of  his 
studies  had  been  confined  almost  entirely  to  Government 
business.  Freed  from  official  life  he  was  almost  imme- 
diately invited  into  the  firm  of  eminent  international  law- 
yers, the  Coudert  Brothers,  of  New  York,  and  placed  in 
charge  of  their  Washington  office.  Here  he  spent  the 
busiest  and  most  promising  years  of  his  life.  He  was  still 
a  young  man  and  the  world  lay  before  him,  when  he  went 
to  Paris  to  manage  a  case  of  the  Duke  de  Castellane. 


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52  Southern  History  Association. 

It  was  his  first  visit  to  Europe,  and  he  looked  forward  to 
it  with  keen  anticipation,  but  it  was  destined  that  there 
should  be  an  untimely  end  to  a  career  which  promised 
many  years  of  progress,  usefulness  and  distinction.  He 
had  been  in  Paris  but  a  few  weeks  when  he  was  stricken 
by  t)rphoid  fever  and  died  after  an  illness  of  eleven  days. 

A  Southerner  of  the  Higher  Type. 

His  personal  qualities  were  most  engaging.  He  never 
spoke  harshly  or  unkindly.  He  never  forgot  a  kindness. 
He  was  the  soul  of  truth  and  honor.  He  was  a  South- 
erner of  the  higher  typt,  devoted  to  his  section,  proud  of 
its  history  and  confident  of  its  future. 


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REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES. 

The  Reign  of  Law.  A  Tale  of  the  Kentucky  Hemp 
Fields.  By  James  Lane  Allen.  With  illustrations  by 
Harry  Fenn  and  J.  C.  Earl.  New  York:  The  Macmillan 
Company.  London:  Macmillan  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  1900,  12**, 
pp.  vii+38s,  cloth,  $1.50. 

This  tale  of  the  Kentucky  hemp  fields  is  the  story  of  a 
few  years  out  of  the  life  of  David,  a  strong,  honest,  vigor- 
ous-minded, and  independent  country  boy,  who,  under  the 
influence  of  Nature,  the  Bible,  and  Christianity  as  he 
knew  it,  determined  to  become  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
but  who  abandoned  that  determination  because  of  a 
change  in  his  beliefs  about  Christianity  and  man's  place 
in  Nature.  This  change  came  about  during  the  year  and 
a  half  that  he  was  at  the  Bible  College  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity. It  was  the  result  of  his  studying  the  forms  of 
religion  of  the  other  churches  in  the  town  besides  his 
own,  and  comparing  them  with  each  other;  and  of  his 
reading  the  works  of  Darwin  and"  other  leaders  of  the 
"new  science."  He  became  so  radical  in  his  views  that 
he  not  only  of  his  own  accord  decided  that  he  could  not 
preach,  but  he  was  expelled  from  college  and  from  his 
church.  He  had  in  the  meantime,  by  adopting  his  new 
views,  alienated  himself  from  his  college  friends;  and  he 
returned  home  to  find  that  his  parents,  unable  to  under- 
stand him,  or  to  sympathize  with  him  in  his  position,  had 
no  welcome  for  him. 

The  hardness  of  David's  lot  at  home  was  made  endur- 
able by  the  peace  of  mind  which  followed  the  settling  of 
his  doubts,  and  by  his  association  with  Gabriella.  In  Ga- 
briella,  although  she  was  a  devout  churchwoman,  he  found 
sjrmpathy,  and,  later,  love. 

In  less  than  two  years,  then,  David  passed  out  of  the 


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54  Southern  History  Association, 

period  of  simple,  unquestioning  faith  in  which  his  re- 
ligion gave  him  all  that  he  wanted ;  through  the  period  of 
doubt  and  unbelief,  and  into  that  of  firm  convictions  of  a 
new  kind,  a  steady  purpose  as  to  his  life  work,  and  a 
realization  of  the  necessity  of  a  woman's  love  in  his  na- 
ture. 

At  this  point  two  criticisms  of  the  story  may  be  offered. 
It  is  doubtful  whether,  in  1867,  enough  of  the  new  scien- 
tific and  theological  spirit  existed  in  America  to  affect 
seriously  the  beliefs  of  a  college  sophomore ;  certainly  the 
spirit  was  not  so  much  in  the  atmosphere  as  Mr.  Allen 
represents  it  to  have  been.  Then,  when  it  did  come,  it  is 
not  likely  that  the  faculty  of  even  a  Bible  college  would 
have  regarded  a  student's  views  as  important  enough  to 
be  so  seriously  treated. 

Although  these  criticisms  may  be  offered,  the  author's 
course  is  justified.  By  putting  David,  whose  mind  felt  the 
effect  of  the  great  modern  revolution  in  scientific  and  re- 
ligious thought,  in  the  late  "sixties,"  the  author  made  it 
possible  to  link  his  fortunes  with  those  of  Gabriella,  a 
victim  of  the  gjeat  social  revolution  in  the  Southern 
States  brought  about  by  the  Civil  War.  For,  while  he, 
the  son  of  lowly  parents,  was  fighting  his  intellectual  and 
spiritual  battles  in  the  Bible  college,  she,  the  daughter  of 
wealthy,  aristocratic  and  cultivated  parents,  was  making 
her  own  living  by  teaching  a  district  school  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  his  father's  home.  She  thus  learned  of  his 
ambitions  and  his  struggles,  and  when  he  came  home  in 
disgrace  she  was  ready  to  be  his  friend,  and,  later,  his  wife. 
To  show,  then,  the  change  in  conditions  which  made  it 
possible  for  a  young  man  and  a  young  woman  of  widely 
different  social  classes  to  unite  their  fortunes,  justifies  put- 
ting David  several  years  before  his  natural  time. 

As  to  the  expulsion  of  David  from  the  college  and  the 
church  on  account  of  his  views  about  religion  and  sci- 
ence, while  that  is  scarcely  the  treatment  which  a  sopho- 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  55 

more  in  an  American  college  would  have  received  at  any 
time  during  the  last  third  of  a  century,  it  represents  the 
inward  battles  which  as  honest  a  soul  as  David's  must 
have  on  the  breaking  up  of  a  faith  which  has  been  held 
unquestioningly,  and  which  has  come  to  fill  a  large  part, 
if  not  all,  of  the  man's  life. 

These  struggles  do  not,  however,  call  out  the  greatest 
amount  of  sympathy.  The  reader  feels  that  David  is 
strong  enough  to  bear  all  of  them,  and  that,  when  he  has 
settled  his  beliefs  on  a  more  rational  basis,  he  himself  will 
realize  how  valuable  the  experience  has  been  to  him.  The 
real  tragedy  ifi  David's  life  is  found  in  his  home.  That  is 
the  tragedy  which  is  inevitable  when  thriftless,  narrow- 
minded,  sternly  pious  parents  have  an  industrious,  large- 
souled,  broad-minded,  generously-reverent  son,  whotn 
they  can  neither  understand  nor  sympathize  with.  In  this 
case  the  father  has  in  himself  the  strain  of  a  noble  ances- 
try ;  and,  but'  for  the  mother,  would  have  been  more 
lenient  towards  his  son.  She,  however,  is  "a  lowly  mother 
who  has  given  birth  to  a  lofty  son,  and  who  has  neither 
the  power  to  understand  him  nor  the  grace  to  realize  her 
inferiority."  Having  nothing  in  common  with  him,  she 
led  on  her  husband  to  exaggerate  the  difference  between 
himself  and  his  son. 

A  more  stupefying  home  atmosphere  than  David's 
mother  made  would  be  difficult  to  find.  A  single  scene 
will  represent  all.  One  winter's  day,  David  had  been  un- 
avoidably delayed  by  his  work.  When  he  went  to  his 
supper  in  the  cold  dining-room,  he  saw  "at  the  foot  of 
the  table  where  his  father  had  sat,  *  *  two  partly 
eaten  dishes:  one  of  spare-ribs,  one  of  sausage.  The 
gravy  in  each  had  begun  to  whiten  into  lard.  Plates 
heaped  with  corn-bread  and  with  biscuit,  poorly  baked 
and  now  cold,  were  placed  on  each  side.  In  front  of  him 
had  been  set  a  pitcher  of  milk ;  this  rattled,  as  he  poured 
it,  with  its  own  bluish  ice."  When  he  had  seated  himself, 
his  mother's  remarks  were:  "What  makes  you  so  late?" 


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56  Southern  History  Association. 

"Is  it  going  to  snow?"  "I  got  three  fresh  eggs  to-day; 
one  had  dropped  from  the  roost  and  frozen;  it  was 
cracked,  but  it  will  do  for  the  coffee  in  the  morning/' 
"The  cook  wants  to  kill  one  of  the  old  ones  [hens]  for 
soup  to-morrow."  "We  opened  the  last  hill  of  turnips  to- 
day." "You  needn't  pack  any  more  chips  to  the  smoke- 
house :  the  last  meat's  smoked  enough."  To  all  of  these 
questions  and  observations  David  replied  cheerfully,  but 
he  could  not  change  the  situation. 

The  relief  to  this  dreariness  is  in  the  fresh  air  of  the 
woods  and  fields,  the  pungent  smell  of  the  hemp,  and  the 
sweet,  strong  spirit  df  Gabriella.  It  is  Gabriella  who 
nurses  David  through  a  severe  attack  of  illness,  and 
brings  about  enough  of  an  understanding  between  him 
and  his  parents  for  him  to  leave  them  with  a  kindly  feel- 
ing in  their  hearts  for  him  when  he  goes  away  from  home 
to  take  up  his  work — ^the  study  of  physical  science. 

Running  through  the  entire  story  is  that  influence  of 
nature  which  the  readers  of  Mr.  Allen's  books  have 
learned  to  know  so  well — an  influence  as  fresh  as  the 
smell  of  newly-plowed  earth  in  the  spring,  and  as  delicate 
as  the  odor  of  a  bed  of  wild  violets  on  a  mossy  bank.  A 
strong  local  color  is  given  by  the  hemp.  The  reader 
never  loses  its  rich,  aromatic  odor,  nor  forgets  what  the 
plant  means  to  a  Kentuckian  who  has  lived  where  it 
grows.  '  George  S.  Wills. 

The  Strength  of  Gideon  and  Other  Stories.  By 
Paul  Laurence  Dunbar.  New  York :  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co., 
1900,  pp.  362,  i2mo.,  cloth,  illus.  by  E.  W.  Kemble. 

Until  recently  the  portrayal  of  negro  character  in  fic- 
tion has  been  done  entirely  by  the  pens  of  white  men,  but 
now  at  least  two  negroes,  Charles  W.  Chesnutt  and  Paul 
Laurence  Dunbar,  have  won  favorable  recognition  in  this 
field. 

This  book  contains  twenty  short  stories,  depicting  the 


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negro  in  phases  ranging  from  the  ante-bellum  "mammy" 
tip,  or  down,  to  the  fin  de  siecle  colored  politician  and  office- 
seeker. 

Who  can  read  these  stories  without  feeling  the  super- 
iority of  Gideon,  who,  with  the  old-time  loyalty  of  the 
slave,  kept  his  promise  to  remain  as  the  protector  of  his 
master's  wife  and  children,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
girl  he  was  to  marry  begged  him  to  follow  the  Yankee 
army  with  her  from  the  old  plantation,  to  Mr.  Cornelius 
Johnson,  who  goes  to  Washington  in  patent-leather 
shoes.  Prince  Albert  coat  and  "shiny  top  hat,"  in  quest  of 
office  ?  The  contrast  between  the  two  marks  the  entrance 
of  a  new  character  into  fiction,  that  of  the  educated  negro, 
the  imitator  and  would-be  rival  of  the  white  man,  and 
raises  the  question  whether  the  new-comer  will  interest 
the  reading  public.  However  successful  he  may  become 
as  a  rival  of  the  white  man  in  real  life,  he  will  never  be 
able  to  compete  with  his  slave  brother  on  the  field  of  fic- 
tion. The  old-fashioned  darky  of  the  South  was  as  abso- 
lutely unique  as  the  civilization  of  which  he  was  a  factor. 
In  him  simple  pathos  and  natural  humor  found  a  new  ex- 
pression, which  can  never  be  reproduced  in  the  same  form 
in  human  history.  For  this  reason,  perhaps,  Mr.  Dunbar 
is  at  his  best  in  the  stories  of  the  old-time  negro ;  but  he 
by  no  means  equals  such  writers  as  Joel  Chandler  Harris 
and  Thomas  Nelson  Page  in  subtle  insight  and  sympa- 
thetic touch.  This  is  not  his  fault;  for  it  may  well  be 
doubted  whether  it  is  possible  for  one  of  his  own  race  to 
catch  some  phases  of  the  old  darkey's  character,  and 
these  the  most  attractive  phases,  as  they  were  impressed 
on  the  heart  and  memory  of  his  master's  children. 

But  Mr.  Dunbar's  stories  are  very  readable,  and  several 
of  them  are  marked  by  considerable  artistic  skill.  The 
only  notes  of  bitterness  in  the  book  are  called  forth  by 
lynchings  in  the  South  and  by  the  hard  conditions  that 
confront  the  ambitions  of  the  educated  negro  at  the 
North.  R.  F.  Campbell. 

AshevHU,  N,  C. 


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58  Southern  History  Association. 

A  Cumberland  V^detta.  A  Novel.  By  John  Fox, 
Jr.  New  York  and  London:  Harper  &  Brothers,  1900, 
pp.  181,  8vo.,  illus.,  cloth,  $1.25. 

In  his  Cumberland  Vendetta,  John  Fox,  Jr.,  employs 
an  old  motive.  Nor  is  this  in  the  least  a  detriment  to  his 
story,  being  in  some  sense  inevitable.  Indeed,  it  may  be 
asked  if  there  are  any  new  motives  in  present  literature : 
as  the  etymologist  traces  the  hundred  thousand  words 
of  a  modern  language  to  a  few  crude  roots,  so  the  literary 
source-hunter  learns  from  his  quest  that  the  great  stories 
of  the  world  are  but  varied  aspects  of  a  half-dozen 
strangely  familiar  conceptions.  Nemesis,  irony  of  fate, 
poetic  justice  have  stood  artists  in  stead  since  long  before 
the  days  of  Greek  tragedy,  and  will  continue  to  serve 
them  until  the  time  of  the  last  play-going,  novel-reading 
man.  Now  in  this  artistic  seed-stock  there  is  no  embryo 
more  venerable  and  consequently  more  effective  than  that 
labeled,  "The  love  of  a  chieftain  for  the  daughter  of  a 
rival  house."  Montagues  and  Capulets,  Rodrigues  and 
Chimenes,  Porphyros  and  Madelines,  Cranstouns  and 
Margarets — lords  and  ladies,  Italian,  Spanish,  English, 
Scottish — have  thus  found  being.  The  germ-plasm  is 
once  more  expanded  to  full  life — this  time  among  the 
mountaineers  of  the  Cumberland  range. 

The  title  tells  the  whole  story  of  the  book.  We  postu- 
late a  hero  and  heroine  divided  in  mind  between  their 
loyalty  to  traditions  of  blood-feud  and  their  ripening  love 
of  each  other.  We  know  before  the  title  page  is  passed 
just  what  part  father  and  brother  will  play  in  the  drama ; 
we  anticipate  the  endeavor  of  blood-guiltiness  to  make 
fitting  atonement ;  and  we  should  be  not  in  the  least  sur- 
prised by  a  tragic  culmination.  In  this  last  expectation, 
however,  we  are  deceived.  This  version,  though  neces- 
sarily serious,  is  not  keyed  to  tragedy.  The  deaths  are  so 
thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the  fitness  of  things,  as  or- 
dained by  the  little  gods  of  literature  (father  and  brother 


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Reviews  and  Notices,  59 

must  be  taken  off,  or  else  violence  is  done  to  a  long-stand- 
ing altar),  that  they  hardly  seem  the  outcome  of  mighty 
passions.  Reconciliation  and  sympathy^  in  sorrow,  pa- 
thetic but  not  tragic  elements  conduct  the  last  strong 
scene  to  its  close;  and  the  final  note  is  that  of  hope,  as 
the  lovers  pass  across  the  hills  into  a  new  world. 

A  story  that  follows  in  the  main  a  convention  might 
properly  be  deemed  conventional.  This  is,  however,  ex- 
actly what  Mr.  Fox's  tale  is  not.  The  background  of 
wild  life  and  nature  is  so  fresh  and  true,  the  persons  of 
the  drama  are  so  humanly  probable,  the  action  is  so  rapid 
and  tense,  that  the  rare  ozone  of  spurs  and  cliffs  makes 
the  reader  gasp  for  breath  as  he  is  hurried  over  rough 
roads.  First  of  all,  the  author  knows  his  mountaineer 
(the  reviewer  is  now  speaking  from  the  experience  of 
many  months  in  "them  parts"),  and  describes  him  sen- 
sibly, not  sentimentally.  "Among  mountain  women,  the 
girl  was  more  than  pretty;  elsewhere  only  her  hair,  per- 
haps, would  have  caught  the  casual  eye"  (p.  36).  There  is 
a  clue  to  the  whole  method  of  treatment.  The  realist 
painting  things  as  they  are  is  not  inclined  to  ascribe  to 
this  primitive  life  all  the  virtues  and  all  the  gp-aces;  he 
does  not  find  Arcadia  in  the  shadow  of  Thunderstruck 
Knob.  No,  Highland  beauty  and  charm  do  not  belong  to 
the  women,  nor  Swiss  cheerfulness  and  love  of  country 
to  the  men  of  our  Southern  mountains;  but,  in  lieu  of 
these,  often  appear  genuine  frankness,  rough  courage, 
crude  chivalry  and  real  kindliness  of  heart.  Unfor- 
tunately contempt  of  law  and  order  and  lack  of  reverence 
and  of  respect  for  life,  with  other  things  that  minister  to 
ugliness  of  existence  justify,  indeed  give  color  to  this 
medieval  kit-motif.  The  artist  does  not  moralize,  save 
once  or  twice  through  the  mouth  of  his  miller,  the 
"chorus"  of  the  play ;  it  is  left  to  the  reader  to  make  what 
he  will  of  these  people  and  their  deeds.  The  characters 
are  strongly  drawn,  admirably  so,  if  we  consider  the  nar- 


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row  compass  of  the  story:  Rome,  Marthy,  Old  Jas,  Jas- 
per, Isom  and  the  Stetson  mother  are  all  fashioned  from 
mountain-rock,  but  each  creation  presents  a  different 
phase  of  Cumberland  personality. 

Mr.  Fox  knows  the  hills  as  well  as  the  men.  It  is  true 
that  he  does  not  delay  us,  as  his  predecessors  on  those 
heights  have  invariably  done,  with  elaborate  word-pic- 
tures often  of  great  beauty;  he  loves  compactness  too 
well,  thus  to  tax  the  reader's  patience.  The  traits  of  the 
good  story-teller  are  not  those  of  the  poet.  Mountain 
and  stream  and  flower  life  are  not  introduced  for  their 
own  sake— except  perhaps  in  his  spring  and  June  land- 
scapes (pp.  151,163) — 'but  as  a  background  to  humanity. 
The  moods  of  nature  reflect  those  of  his  characters,  par- 
ticularly in  the  scene  between  Rome  and  Marthy  before 
the  burning  cabin  under  the  rim  of  Wolfs  Head,  a  very 
pretty  bit  of  "pathetic  fallacy."  It  is  seldom  that  he 
strikes  such  a  false  note  as  that  on  his  second  page :  "The 
stalks  and  hooded  ears  looked  in  the  coming  dusk  a  little 
like  monks  at  prayer."  This  simile  transports  us  at  once 
into  an  alien  atmosphere. 

As  has  been  intimated,  the  story  moves  rapidly,  almost 
breathlessly.  The  love-element  is  thus  somewhat  subor- 
dinated to  the  "moving  incidents"  of  the  feud:  there  is 
little  time  for  the  dallyings  of  courtship  amid  the  threats 
and  vows  of  vengeance  rising  on  the  powder  smoke  that 
hangs  like  a  cloud  over  Hazlan.  The  retarded  movement 
of  the  last  part  of  the  tale  is  therefore  necessary  and  fur- 
nishes a  restful  relief  to  the  acceleration  of  the  early  chap- 
ters. A  more  prolix  writer  might  easily  have  expanded 
this  short  story  into  a  volume.  Mr.  Fox's  artistic  con- 
science has  left  that  task  to  his  publishers,  who  have  em- 
ployed their  thicjcest  paper  and  provided  margins  wider 
than  the  print-matter.  Palpably  mercantile  book-making, 
this ! 

The  style  of  the  story  is  clear,  cogent,  incisive,  rather 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  6i 

than  graceful  or  elegant.  Short  sentences  and  terse  epi- 
thets are  well  suited,  however,  to  the  speed  of  the  narra- 
tive, which  is  too  naive  to  permit  the  slightest  suggestion 
of  "fine  writing."  The  dialogues  are  on  the  whole  well 
conceived  and  well  executed,  with  due  regard  to  dialect; 
though  we  miss  certain  picturesque  provincialisms  famil- 
iar to  our  ears,  and  all  traces  of  the  dry  humor  that  glim- 
mers in  the  darkness  of  mountain-life.  To  conclude,  the 
tale  is  a  capital  one,  and  loses  nothing  in  the  telling. 

Frederick  Tupper,  Jr. 
Burlington,  Vt, 

Southern  Echoes.  By  Louise  Pike.  Boston:  East- 
em  Publishing  Co.,  1900,  i2mo.,  pp.,  131,  cloth,  $1.00. 

This  interesting  little  work  is  a  collection  of  negro  dia- 
lect stories.  In  the  preface,  the  author  speaks  of  the 
passing  away  of  the  old-time  negro ;  his  dialect  and  song 
will  soon  be  numbered  among  the  things  that  were,  and 
in  these  sketches  Miss  Pike  shows  a  desire  to  perpetuate 
that  dialect.  She  has  evidently  made  a  close  study  of  the 
old-time  negro,  and  her  little  volume  is  a  comprehensive 
one,  dealing  with  the  religion,  superstition,  and  other 
peculiar  phases  of  the  negro  character.  There  is  a  good 
deal  of  quiet  humor  in  the  sketches,  and  Miss  Pike  has 
taken  pains  to  express  the  ideas  of  her  character  as  nearly 
as  possible,  in  the  old-time  negro  dialect.  There  are  a 
dozen  of  these  sketches,  the  first  one,  "A  Prank  of  Hy- 
men/' relating  an  amusing  account  of  a  negro  suitor  who 
failed  to  marry  because  he  heard  that  his  sweetheart  was 
"a  dissipated  'oman."  The  next  sketch — "Clarissa's 
Maw" — is  an  account  of  a  high-tempered  old  maumer 
who  believed  in  whipping;  in  this  sketch  we  have  a  pic- 
ture of  the  pillaging  of  a  Southern  home  by  Union  sol- 
diers. One  of  the  most  amusing  among  the  sketches  is 
"Tobit's  call,"  which  narrates  about  an  old  uncle  who 
"gained  a  precarious  living  by  doing  odd  jobs  for  different 


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62  Southern  History  Association, 

families  and  paying  court  to  the  cooks  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. He  was  great  on  quoting  Scripture  and  he  had  a 
prayer  for  potatoes  answered  in  a  novel  and  unexpected 
manner,  which  resulted  in  his  being  cklled  to  preach.  "A 
game  of  crap"  gives  a  good  insight  into  the  peculiar  su- 
perstition of  the  negro  race.  One  of  the  most  realistic  of 
the  sketches  is  "Tempers  Venture,"  which  tells  of  the  un- 
successful undertaking  of  a  woman  who  undertook  to  sell 
dinner  during  court  week — a  country  negro  came  along 
who  desired  to  eat  and  with  whom  Tempe  made  this 
agreement:  "You  gib  meh  half  a-dollah  an*  eat  all  yuh 
wants."  The  negro  eat  so  much  that  when  he  quit  Tempe 
said:  "Dat  nigger  done  clean  meh  plumb  out.  Nothin' 
left  but  de  plates."  "A  No.  'Count  Nigger"  tells  of  a 
phenomenally  lazy  member  of  the  race  whose  master 
made  him  industrious  by  having  him  placed  in  a  coffin  and 
threatened  to  bury  him — ^when  he  was  released  from  the 
coffin  "Br'er  Ira  he  run  ter  dat  co*ne  house  and  had  all 
that  co'nes  shucked  'long  'fo'  hit  was  night."  We  will  not 
attempt  here  a  synopsis  of  all  the  sketches  in  this  volume, 
but  recommend  it  as  a  very  readable  one.  It  shows  the 
kindly  feelings  which  existed  between  the  races  in  the  old 
days  of  slavery.  McDonald  Furman. 

Privaieery  S.  C. 

Who  Goes  There?  The  Story  of  a  Spy  in  the  Civil 
War.  By  B.  K.  Benson.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Co., 
1900,  8vo.,  pp.  xviii+485,  4  maps,  cloth,  $1.50. 

This  is  an  account  of  the  experiences  of  a  man  subject 
to  amnesia.  He  purports  to  relate  them  himself,  and  does 
so  in  detail,  and  very  realistically.  When  a  boy  at  school 
he  met  with  an  accident,  which  caused,  or  developed,  the 
peculiar  mental  malady  to  which  he  afterwards  from  time 
to  time  became  subject.  Under  this  condition  he  would 
entirely  forget  his  past  life,  but  be  perfectly  sane  as  to 
the  present.     In  the  war  between  the  States  (spoken  of 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  63 

by  the  misnomer  "rebellion")  he  commenced  as  an  en- 
listed man  in  a  Massachusetts  regiment,  serving  in  Vir- 
ginia, and,  through  the  influence  apparently  of  a  person 
having  highly  developed  hypnotic  powers,  becomes  a  Fed- 
eral scout,  degenerating  into  a  spy.  While  operating  in 
this  latter  capacity  within  the  Confederate  lines,  and  in 
their  uniform,  he  is  accidentally  desperately  wounded  by 
the  explosion  of  a  shell,  loses  consciousness,  and  on  re- 
covering his  senses  finds  himself  in  a  field-hospital  under 
the  kind  treatment  of  a  surgeon  of  A.  P.  Hill's  corps,  but 
his  past  is  a  perfect  blank.  Of  his  name  he  has  a  vague 
semi-recollection,  but  otherwise  his  personal  indentity  is 
as  much  a  mystery  to  himself  as  to  the  kind  surgeon  and 
his  comrades,  who  take  great  interest  in  his  case,  and  be- 
friend him.  From  his  uniform  it  is  naturally  supposed 
that  he  had  been  a  Confederate  soldier,  and  as  the  com- 
mand to  which  he  belonged  could  not  be  discovered,  he 
enlists,  when  well,  in  one  of  the  South  Carolina  regi- 
ments belonging  to  the  corps.  As  the  past  is  a  blank,  he 
knows  nothing  at  all  about  the  war,  dr  the  merits  of  the 
controversy,  but  on  the  facts  being  explained,  readily 
adopts  the  Southern  views  (which  is  not  surprising,  in  his 
peculial"  condition,  free  from  all  prejudice).  Finally,  after 
going  through  many  battles  creditably,  and  being  several 
times  wounded,  he  gradually  awakes  to  a  consciousness 
of  previous  personal  identity,  and  remembers  his  past 
life.  Being  on  picket  one  night,  he  deserts  to  the  Fed- 
erals, and  carries  to  them  information  of  Lee's  move- 
ments, which  saves  Meade  from  destruction.  This  deser- 
tion not  being  brought  about  by  amnesia,  shows  the 
moral  unsoundness  of  the  man,  when  in  full  possession  of 
his  faculties.  In  places  in  the  story  we  hear  many  words 
of  wisdom  from  the  hypnotic  doctor,  and  there  are  the 
faintest  glimpses  of  a  woman's  face. 

Edward  L.  Wells. 


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64  Southern  History  Association. 

Thkir  Shadows  Befork.  By  Pauline  Carrington 
Bouve.  (Boston:  Small,  Maynard  &  Company,  1899,  D, 
pp.  202,  $1.00).  This  volume,  about  32,000  words  in 
length,  is  a  story  of  the  insurrection  of  the  slaves  under 
Nat.  Turner  in  Southampton  county,  Va.,  in  1832.  The 
scene  is  laid  in  that  county  in  1830-31,  with  a  rapid  ex- 
tension to  the  time  of  John  Brown's  raid.  The  principal 
characters  are  Charles  Christopher  Winston,  lord  of  the 
Winston  Manor,  country  squire  of  influence  and  promi- 
nence locally,  a  slave  owner,  irrascible,  and  a  typical  South- 
ern gentleman;  Penelope  Contesse  Winston,  his  grand- 
daughter, heroine  and  narrator  of  the  story,  who  is  easily 
influenced  by  Basil  Mortimer,  her  Northern  tutor,  who 
comes  to  Virginia  with  ideas  of  freedom  and  negro  equal- 
ity and  gets  mixed  up  in  the  minds  of  the  people  with  Nat. 
Turner's  movement  and  narrowly  escapes  hanging;  a 
Yankee  overseer  of  the  conventional  type,  various  ne- 
groes and  pickaninnies  who  speak  in  excellent  dialect  and 
more  important  still  Nat.  Turner  himself. 

An  effort  is  made  to  show  the  feeling  of  unrest  among 
the  slaves  at  that  period,  superinduced  by  the  preaching 
and  mesmeric  influence  of  "Old  Nat,"  but  their  devotion 
to  their  masters  is  not  forgotten,  for  here  as  was  many 
times  the  case  during  those  frightTul  days  in  August,  1831, 
the  lives  of  the  masters  were  saved  by  their  slaves  at  the 
imminent  peril  of  their  own. 

The  action  of  the  tale  moves  rapidly;  the  heroine  is 
herself  captured  by  the  insurgents  and  imprisoned  in 
Nat's  cave ;  she  is  released  by  him  from  captivity,  but  not 
from  his  mesmeric  influence  (or  as  the  negroes  of  Vir- 
ginia would  call  it,  "conjure  spell").  His  capture,  bearing 
during  his  trial  and  execution,  his  calm,  unwavering  con- 
fidence in  his  own  mission  as  a  prophet  from  God  to  his 
people  are  all  clearly  portrayed  and  in  substantial  agree- 
ment with  the  record  of  history.  (See  Publications,  vol. 
4,  p.  360,  for  review  of  W.  S.  Drewry's  book.  The  South- 


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Reviews  and  Notices,  65 

ampton  Insurrection.  Washington,  1900).  Terrified  by 
her  experience  the  heroine  liberates  her  slaves  and  mar- 
ries her  abolitionist  tutor.  The  dialect  and  local  color 
are  good;  the  characters,  with  the  exception  of  Squire 
Winston  and  Nat.  Turner,  are  weak. 

Historical  Sketches  and  Reminiscences  of  an 
Octogenarian.  By  Thomas  L.  Preston.  Richmond:  B. 
F.  Johnson  Publishing  Co.,  1900,  8vo.,  cloth,  portrait,  pp. 
170,  index. 

Together  with  a  short  account  of  the  exploration  and 
settlement  of  Southwest  Virginia  and  an  account  of  some 
of  the  more  important  episodes  of  its  early  history,  this 
book  gives  the  writer's  reminiscences  of  men  and  man- 
ners as  they  were  in  that  section  more  than  half  a  century 
ago.  The  writer,  through  both  father  and  mother  the 
descendant  of  men  most  conspicuous  among  the  early 
settlers  and  among  those  who  made  the  later  history  that 
he  records,  is  to  the  manner  born  and  speaks  with  au- 
thority; and  though  the  reader  may  find  things  here  and 
there  to  criticise,  the  book  should  certainly  be  pronounced 
one  of  much  interest  and  value. 

Looked  at  from  a  strictly  historical  standpoint,  the 
defects  of  the  book  arise'  mainly  either  from  the  tendency 
of  the  author  to  place  rather  too  high  a  value  on  family 
tradition  or  from  a  failure  on  his  part  to  estimate  cor- 
rectly the  general  history  of  the  country  at  the  time  of  the 
local  event  of  which  he  may  be  treating.  As  an  example 
of  error  arising  from  the  latter  source  the  comment  on 
the  resolutions  and  address  drawn  up  by  the  patriots  of 
Fincastle  county,  January  20,  1775,  may  be  taken.  The 
First  Continental  Congress  having  recommended  that  a 
committee  be  appointed  in  each  county  in  the  Colonies  to 
see  that  the  agreement  in  reference  to  the  non-importa- 
tion and  non-consumption  of  British  articles  should  be 
carried  out,  the  voters  of  Fincastle  met  on  January  20, 
1775,  chose  such  a  committee,  and  drew  up  an  address 

5 


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66  Southern  History  Association. 

to  the  delegates  who  had  represented  Virginia  in  the 
Congress.  Toward  the  close  of  this  address  the  following 
spirited  language  occurs:  "We  by  no  means  desire  to 
shake  off  our  duty  or  our  allegiance  to  our  lawful  sov- 
ereign, but,  on  the  contrary,  shall  ever  glory  in  being  the 
loyal  subjects  of  a  Protestant  Prince,  descended  from 
such  illustrious  progenitors,  so  long  as  we  can  enjoy  the 
free  exercise  of  our  Religion  as  Protestants,  and  our 
Liberties  and  Properties  as  British  subjects. 

"But  if  no  pacific  measures  shall  be  proposed  or 
adopted  by  Great  Britain,  and  our  enemies  shall  attempt 
to  dragoon  us  out  of  these  inestimable  privileges,  which 
we  are  entitled  to  as  subjects,  and  to  reduce  us  to  a  state 
of  slavery,  we  declare  that  we  are  deliberately  and  reso- 
lutely determined  never  to  surrender  them  to  any  power 
upon  earth,  but  at  the  expense  of  our  lives."  In  connec- 
tion with  his  account  of  Fort  Chiswell,  the  county  seat  of 
Fincastle,  Colonel  Preston  has  the  following  to  say  about 
the  "Fincastle  Resolutions,"  evidently  basing  his  remarks 
mainly  on  the  passage  quoted  above:  "Fort  Chiswell  has 
other  claims  to  historical  association.  It  was  the  meeting 
place,  in  all  probability,  of  that  band  of  *West  Augusta' 
patriots  who  were  the  first  to  resolve  *to  resist  the  ag- 
gressions of  England  by  force.'  The  author  of  those  cele- 
brated 'Fincastle  Resolutions'  is  not  authentically  ascer- 
tained. ***********  They  are  dated 
January  20,  1775,  ^^^^^  months  before  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton; four  before  the  patriotic  resolves  of  the  people  of 
Mecklenburg,  North  Carolina;  Hve  before  the  battle  of 
Bunker's  Hill,  and  nearly  a  year  and  five  months  before 
the  Declaration  of  Independence."  The  Fincastle  address 
is  in  truth  a  remarkable  paper,  but  it  is  remarkable  rather 
for  its  clear  and  forceful  style  than  for  its  note  of  resist- 
ance ;  for  similar  resolutions  and  addresses,  with  just  the 
same  note  of  resistance,  were  at  that  time  being  drawn  up 
by  the  patriots  all  over  the  land.  Any  one  who  will  examine 
the  collection  of  historical  documents  published  in  "Ameri- 


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Reviews  and  Notices,  67 

can  Archives/'  Fourth  Series,  Vol.  I,  may  read  a  number 
of  such  papers  as  the  Fincastle  address.  One  of  the  docu- 
ments given  (p.  1031)  contains  the  resolutions  passed  by 
a  convention  of  delegates  from  the  various  counties  of 
Maryland.  This  convention,  which  met  the  12th  of  De- 
cember, I77'4,  went  so  far  as  to  resolve  unanimously  to 
recommend  to  the  committee  of  each  county  that  money 
be  raised  for  the  purchase  of  arms.  But  this  Maryland 
convention  was  not  the  first  body  that  had  determined  on 
armed  resistance  to  England.  The  First  Continental 
Congress  itself  had  decided,  if  peaceful  means  failed,  to 
go  to  this  length.  The  language  of  its  address  to  the 
American  people,  though  veiled  it  may  be,  cannot  be  mis- 
understood. And  even  before  the  address  was  prepared, 
the  body  had,  on  October  8,  "Resolved,  That  this  Con- 
gress approve  the  opposition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  to  the  execution  of  the  late  Acts  of 
Parliament ;  atid  if  the  same  shall  be  attempted  to  be  car- 
ried into  execution  by  force,  in  such  case  all  America 
ought  to  support  them  in  their  opposition"  (p.  907). 
Space  is  wanting  here  for  further  extracts,  but  attention 
is  called  to  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  delegates  from 
the  towns  of  the  county  of  Suffolk,  Massachusetts,  Septem- 
ber 6,  1774  (p.  902).  It  was  these  resolutions  that  called 
forth  from  Congress  the  resolution  quoted  above.  At- 
tention is  called,  too,  to  the  instructions  given  the  Vir- 
ginia deputies  to  the  Congress  (p.  689),  and,  going  a 
step  farther  back  still,  to  the  resolutions  of  the  citizens  of 
Fairfax  county,  passed  when  they  met  to  choose  repre- 
sentatives to  the  convention  that  was  to  elect  deputies  to 
Congress  (p.  598).  In  both  cases  armed  resistance,  under 
certain  circumstances,  is  unmistakably  advocated.  Thus 
it  is  seen  that  the  men  of  Fincastle  were  not  the  first  to 
resolve  "to  resist  the  aggressions  of  England  by  force." 
They  were,  however,  in  line  with  the  patriots  of  the  entire 
country,  and  when  the  time  came  to  discard  the  pen  for 


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68  Southern  History  Association, 

the  rifle  they  proved  that  they  could  shoot  as  well  even 
as  the  draughtsman  of  their  resolutions  could  write. 

The  student  of  the  economic  history  of  Virginia  will 
find  Chapter  III.  of  this  book,  in  which  chapter  is  given 
the  history  of  the  manufacture  of  salt  at  Saltville,  of  much 
interest.  The  chapter  is  spetially  to  be  commended  to  the 
consideration  of  those  who  may  be  under  the  impression 
that  combinations  among  manufacturers  to  prevent  ex- 
cessive production  have  never  been  heard  of  in  industrial 
history  up  to  the  present  evil  days.  In  this  chapter,  too, 
is  to  be  found  perhaps  the  best  work  in  the  book  from  a 
literary  point  of  view,  the  description  of  the  early  scenery 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  salt  wells  being  excellent. 

The  most  generally  entertaining  parts  of  the  book, 
however,  are  those  devoted  to  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  mountain  people  in  early  days;  and  those  parts, 
with  the  part  containing  the  sketch  of  the  town  of  Abing- 
don, are  probably  the  most  valuable ;  though  the  sketches 
of  Colonel  William  Preston,  the  author's  grandfather; 
Gen.  Francis  Preston,  the  author's  father,  and  the  Hon. 
William  Campbell  Preston  and  Colonel  John  S.  Preston, 
the  author's  brothers,  both  of  whom  removed  to  South 
Carolina,  are  also  of  importance. 

The  lover  of  Virginia  history  will  close  the  book  with 
regret  that  it  is  not  longer. 

Prof.  H.  R.  McIlwaine. 

North  Carolina  Sketches,  phases  of  life  where  the 
galax  grows.  By  Mary  Nelson  Carter.  Chicago :  A.  C. 
McClurg  &  Co.,  1900,  cloth,  i2mo.,  pp.  313,  $1.00. 

This  little  volume  is  a  very  neat  production  from  the 
printer's  standpoint.  It  contains  essays  on  quite  a  variety 
of  subjects:  Mrs.  Smith,  Stepping  Backward,  A  Foggy 
Day,  Mr.  Timmins,  Playing  with  Fire,  Neighborly  Gossip, 
Barter,  The  Course  of  True  Love,  Hiding  Out,  In  Maria's 
Garden,  The  Summer  is  Ended,  A  White  Day,  Now  is  the 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  69 

Winter  of  Our  Discontent,  Sally,  Old  Times,  Getting  an 
Education,  Like  other  Children. 

Some  of  these  essays  are  very  short,  others  of  greater 
length;  and  they  are  for  the  most  part  in  the  supposed 
North  Carolina  mountain  dialect.  The  descriptive  style  is 
very  good,  better  than  the  dialect  style.  The  women  are 
energetic  and  interesting,  far  more  so  than  the  men ;  and 
this  upon  the  whole  is  probably  a  truer  estimate.  The 
author  brings  out  the  extreme  simplicity  of  the  life  of  these 
mountain  folks,  their  poverty,  their  little  huts  and  farms, 
the  prevalent  influence  of  whisky  among  the  men,  es- 
pecially the  younger  men,  their  habits  of  courting  and 
marrying,  their  virtue.  The  positioa  these  people  took 
during  the  Civil  War  is  also  brought  out  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent. There  were  men  among  them  who  fought  for  the 
Northern  cause;  there  were  others  who  fought  for  the 
South  willingly,  while  others  were  compelled  to ;  there  were 
many  others  who  hid  themselves  in  their  mountain  caves. 
The  author  has  also  brought  out  the  missionary  attempts 
to  give  these  folks  an  education  and  the  rival  claims  of 
the  Baptists  and  Methodists  to  give  them  denominational 
religion. 

The  book  makes  no  pretensions  of  being  a  historical 
work.  The  characters  treated  in  it  are  highly  idealized,  as 
they  are  to-day,  or  as  they  have  been  in  the  past.  Upon 
the  whole  the  book  is  most  interesting;  its  spirit  is  very 
fair ;  its  plan  and  execution  are  both  good. 

Charles  Lee  Raper. 

Columbia  University,  New  York  City. 

Johnson's  Physical  Culture  Primary  Book.  By 
B.  F.  Johnson.  B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing  Co.,  Richmond, 
Va. 

This  little  book  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  pages, 
handsomely  bound  and  illustrated,  has  just  been  issu,ed. 

It  is  written  in  a  plain  forcible  style,  and  treats  of  mat- 


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70  Southern  History  Association. 

ters  hitherto  and  generally  neglected  by  children,  and  es- 
pecially by  those  attending  public  schools. 

It  is  true  that  in  most  of  the  public  schools  in  the  larger 
cities,  something  of  physical  culture  is  a  part  of  the  cur- 
riculum, but  in  most  cases  it  is  perfunctory.  Mr.  John- 
son has  covered  the  field  in  a  brief  but  plain  manner,  and 
the  use  of  his  book  in  the  schools  and  the  carrying  out 
of  his  suggestions  would  no  doubt  add  to  the  healthy 
growth  of  the  pupils.  M.  J.  W. 

As  with  previous  years,  volume  27  of  the  Southern 
Historical  Society  Papers  (Richmond,  Va.,  1899,  paper, 
pp.  395),  IS  filled  with  valuable  historical  contributions, 
counting  up  48  titles,  very  largely  reprinted  from  the 
daily  and  weekly  papers  of  the  South.  The  Secretary, 
Colonel  R.  A.  Brock,  could  hardly  do  better  service  than 
thus  to  preserve  in  handy  shape  the  mass  of  important 
data  that  is  being  continually  poured  forth  from  the 
periodical  press  throughout  the  South.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  best  of  this  widespread  output  is  here  gathered 
up  for  reference.  Without  this  watchfulness  of  the  Sec- 
retary it  would  be  almost  hopelessly  buried,  and  would 
besides,  after  a  few  years,  be  lost  forever  because  of  the 
disappearance  of  the  issues,  and  of  the  deterioration  of 
the  paper  the  most  of  transient  literature  is  printed  on. 
It  might  be  suggested  though  that  a  few  of  these  ar- 
ticles are  mere  rehashes  of  general  historical  knowledge, 
and  in  consequence  are  no  additions  to  the  present  stock 
of  information.  In  this  day  of  liberality  in  matters  of 
faith,  it  seems,  also,  a  useless  glance  backwards  to  dis- 
cuss Lincoln's  religious  views.  If  the  test  of  orthodoxy 
is  to  be  applied  some  of  the  giants  of  the  past  would  be 
read  off  the  rostrum,  Jefferson  in  the  number.  It  is  a 
question,  further,  at  this  time  of  fraternal  breadth, 
whether  it  would  not  be  well  to  print  together  fair- 
minded  accounts  from  both  sides  of  some  prominent  in- 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  7^ 

cident.     It  would  be   unique  certainly,  and  very  likely 
elevating. 

The  tenth  volume  of  the  Official  Records  of  the  Union 
and  Confederate  Navies  recently  issued  (Washington: 
Government  Printing  Office,  1900,  O.,  pp.  xxii+il+902), 
continues  the  history  of  the  operations  of  the  North  At- 
lantic Blockading  Squadron,  already  treated  in  part  in 
volumes  6  to  9.  The  blockade  by  the  North  Atlantic 
Squadron  extended  from  the  mouth  of  the  Plankatank 
river,  Va.,  to  the  southern  boundary  line  of  North  Caro- 
lina, except  the  ports  of  Norfolk,  Va.,  and  Beaufort,  N. 
C,  which  were  occupied  by  Federal  troops  and  open  to 
trade.  The  volume  in  hand  contains  the  reports  on  the 
capture  of  the  blockade  runner  Advance  (humorously 
written  here  A.  D.  Vance ;  had  it  been  Z.  B.  Vance  there 
would  have  been  reason  in  the  form),  September  10,  1864, 
which  did  so  much  to  supply  North  Carolina  with  neces- 
sities from  abroad ;  the  blowing  up  of  the  C.  S.  Ram,  Al- 
bemarle, at  Plymouth,  N.  C,  October  27,  1864,  by  Lieut. 
Cushing,  with  cuts  of  his  launch  and  the  torpedo  used, 
and  preliminary  reports  on  the  investment  of  Fort  Fisher 
and  Wilmington.  The  index  covers  96  pages.  There 
are  illustrations  and  charts  of  the  moveiAents  of  vessels. 

The  Proceedings  (University  Press,  Cambridge,  paper, 
8vo.,  pp.  58),  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Peabody  fund  at 
their  39th  meeting,  October  3,  1900,  is  composed  chiefly 
of  the  comprehensive  report  of  the  General  Agent,  Dr. 
J.  L.  M.  Curry,  with  supplements  from  the  Peabody  Nor- 
mal College  and  two  State  Superintendents,  data  from 
other  States  being  incorporated  in  the  Agent's  report. 
If  possible  with  more  force  and  vigor  than  ever,  does 
Dr.  Curry  emphasize  the  value  and  importance  of  pro- 
viding educational  facilities,  declaring  "the  paramount 
issue"  to  be  the  furnishing  by  the  Government  "of  the 
widest  possible  opportunities  for  the  development  of  the 
faculties  and  personality  of  every  citizen."    In  the  finan- 


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72  Southern  History  Association. 

cial  statement  we  see  how  the  $84,000  of  income  are  dis- 
tributed among  twelve  Southern  States. 

Of  late  years,  the  Rocky  Mountain  plateau,  on  account 
of  its  height,  dryness  and  equability  of  temperature,  is 
rapidly  becoming  noted  as  a  vast  natural  sanitarium  for 
pulmonary  troubles.  Hence,  to  show  the  special  advan- 
tages of  New  Mexico,  we  have  from  the  Bureau  of  Im- 
migration of  that  Territory,  Climatology,  with  an  ac- 
count of  the  resorts  and  mineral  springs  in  that  section 
(paper,  8vo.,  pp.  100,  illus.).^ 

In  Bulletin  No.  4,  of  the  department  of  geolog^^  of  the 
South  Dakota  School  of  Mines  (Rapid  City,  April,  1900, 
pp.  88,  paper,  illus.,  index),  C.  C.  O'Harra  gives  us  a 
very  full  and  interesting  history  of  geological  investiga- 
tion of  the  Black  Hills  region,  followed  by  an  exhaustive 
bibliography.  When  we  learn  that  this  particular  spot 
was  not  even  mentioned  until  the  Lewis  and  Clark  ex- 
pedition in  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
was  not  noticed  scientifically  until  fifty  years  ago,  our 
amazement  is  excusable  to  see  the  bibliography  mount 
up  to  217  titles.  Bulletin  No.  3  from  the  same  institu- 
tion is  a  paper  on  "Cyanide  experiments"  by  two  mem- 
bers of  the  school  staff  to  show  the  use  of  this  process 
in  treating  gold  ores  (paper  28,  April,  1900). 

A  very  valuable  little  work  has  been  compiled  by  the 
Rev.  G.  T.  Gusham,  of  Manning,  S.  C.  It  is  entitled 
Clarendon  County  Directory,  and  is  a  pamphlet  of  over 
100  pages.  It  gives  sketches  of  the  towns  and  villages 
of  the  county,  a  list  of  the  county  officers,  churches  and 
pastors,  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  tax  j)ayers  of  both 
races,  with  their  occupations  and  post  offices,  besides 
other  matter. 

Mr.  Charles  Lee  Raper,  instructor  in  history,  Colum- 
bia University,  New  York  City,  has  in  preparation  a 
book  on  Royal  Government  in  North  Carolina,  1729- 
1776.  The  chapters  may  be  summarized  as  follows:  (i) 
Land  System,  1663-1776;  (2)  Review  of  Proprietary  Gov- 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  73 

ernment,  1663-1729;  (3)  The  Executive:  the  Governor; 
(4)  The  Executive :  the  Council ;  (5)  The  Legislative  Sys- 
tem: the  Council  or  Upper  House;  (6)  The  Legislative 
System:  the  Lower  House;  (7)  The  Conflicts  of  Gover- 
nor and  Lower  House;  (8)  The  Conflicts  of  Council  and 
Lower  House;  (9)  The  Judicial  System;  (10)  The  Mili- 
tary System;  (11)  The  Fiscal  System;  (12)  The  Down- 
fall of  Royal  Government. 

In  its  Roster  of  the  North  Carolina  Volunteers  in  the 
Spanish-American  War,  1898-1899  (Raleigh:  Edwards  & 
Broughton  and  E.  M.  Uzzell,  State  Printers,  1900,  O., 
pp.  131),  that  State  has  again  put  students  under  obliga- 
tions for  the  completeness  of  its  war  records.  The 
State's  contributions  to  our  last  war  were  two  regiments 
of  12  companies  each  and  one  regiment  of  ten  companies, 
the  last  being  composed  of  and  officered  by  negroes.  A 
sketch  of  each  regiment  is  given,  together  with  the  war 
history  of  each  volunteer.  The  State  now  possesses  a 
fair  Roster  of  its  Revolutionary  soldiers  (published  in 
1869),  of  the  soldiers  of  1812  (1851  and  1873),  of  the  Mexi- 
can war  (1887),  and  of  the  Civil  War  (1881,  3  vols.). 

A  rare  North  Carolina  book  which  has  recently  come 
into  the  hands  of  the  writer  for  the  first  time  is  Let- 
ters I  from  the  |  Forty-fourth  regiment  M.  V.  M. :  |  a 
record  of  the  |  experience  of  a  nine  months'  regiment  |  in 
the  I  department  of  North  Carolina  in  1862-3.  |  By  Cor- 
poral. I  Boston:  |  printed  at  the  Herald  job  office,  No.  4 
Williams'  Court,  |  1863,  |  O.,  pp.  121.  The  regiment  was 
enlisted  in  Boston;  had  its  headquarters  in  the  field  in 
Newbern,  N.  C,  and  was  under  command  of  Gen.  J.  G. 
Foster.  It  was  in  four  battles,  Rawls'  Mills,  Kinston, 
Whitehall  and  Washington.  It  lost  102  men  and  at  the 
end  of  its  term  of  service  was  disbanded  in  Boston.  The 
author  of  the  letters  was  Zenas  T.  Haines,  and  they  were 
first  published  in  the  Boston  "Herald."  Another  history 
of  the  same  regiment  is  the  Record  of  Service  of  the  44th 


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74  Southern  History  Association. 

Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia  in  North  Carolina,  Au- 
gust, 1862;  May,  1863,  maps,  ports,  and  illus.,  O.,  Boston, 
1887. 

Hon.*Richard  H.  Battle  has  issued  in  pamphlet  form  his 
Address  on  occasion  of  the  unveiling  of  the  bronze 
statue  to  Gov.  Z.  B.  Vance  in  Capitol  Square,  Raleigh,  N. 
C,  August  22,  1900  (Raleigh:  Raleigh  Advocate  Co. 
Print.  O.,  pp.  74,  port,  of  Vance  and  illustration  of  statue 
and  pedestal).  There  is  an  account  of  the  ceremonies 
attending  the  unveiling,  a  short  hist6ry  of  the  efforts  to 
secure  money  for  the  same,  and  for  which  $5,000  was  given 
by  the  State.  Numerous  instances  are  given  of  Vance's 
wit  and  badinage — elements  which  contributed  very  largely 
to  his  popularity  in  the  State. 

Apropos  of  the  contents  of  Vot.  17  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Records  in  the  September  number  of  the  Publications 
(IV,  374),  Maj.  Graham  Daves,  of  Newbern,  N.  C,  writes 
that  there  is  a  complete  and  well-preserved  copy  of  the 
Abstract  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Superior  Court 
of  Craven  county,  N.  C,  at  Newbern.  The  book  con- 
tains 224  pages,  and  is  entitled.  Abstract  of  the  Army  Ac- 
counts of  the  North  Carolina  Line,  settled  by  the  Commis- 
sioners at  Halifax^  from  the  ist  September,  ^7^4,  to  the  ist 
February,  1785)  and  at  Warrentown  in  the  year  1786. 
The  accounts  set  forth  the  names  and  rank  of  the  claim- 
ants, the  amount  paid  to  each,  which  is  expressed  in 
pounds,  shillings  and  pence,  and  the  person  by  whom  re- 
ceipted for,  all  of  which  is  reproduced  in  the  State 
Records  (xvii,  pp.  189-263).  Filed  with  the  book  are 
quite  a  number  of  the  original  certificates  of  the  Com- 
missioners, showing  the  names  of  some  of  those  entitled, 
and  the  sum  due  each.  Apparently  these  were  never 
paid,  as  they  are  not  receipted.  The  copies  of  the  settle- 
ments were  furnished  for  publication  by  the  agents  to 
make  the  same,  agreeably  to  an  act  of  the  General  As- 
sembly passed  at  Newbern  in  1792.  The  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati  of  North  Carolina  has  a  partial  copy  of  the 


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Reviews  and  Notices,  75 

Abstract,  and  one  is  thought  to  be  in  the  office  of  the 
clerk  of  Carteret  county. 

From  the  American  Anthropologist  for  July,  1900, 
Albert  S.  Gatschet,  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, Washington,  D.  C,  has  reprinted  his  "Gram- 
matic  sketch  of  the  Catawba  language"  (paper,  8vo.,  pp. 
23).  This  tribe  of  Indians,  in  South  Carolina,  now  sur- 
vives only  as  a  remnant,  less  than  100  in  all,  and  have 
become  so  civilized  that  not  more  than  a  third  know  any- 
thing of  their  vernacular.  It  is  practically  a  dead 
language  and,  but  for  the  liberality  of  the  Government, 
and  the  scientific  study  and  devotion  of  such  investiga- 
tors as  Mr.  Gatschet,  every  vestige  of  it  would  be  swept 
into  oblivion. 

An  important  bit  of  historical  testimony  appears  in  the 
daily  New^s  and  Courier  (Charleston,  S.  C),  November 
IS,  1900,  from  General  Wade  Hampton,  to  the  effect  that 
Gen.  Lee  felt  no  doubt  or  hesitancy  as  to  the  proper 
course  to  pursue  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  that 
he  felt  it  was  his  duty  to  go  with  his  State,  and  that  if 
the  thing  had  to  be  done  over  he  would  do  the  same. 
All  this  he  remarked  to  Hampton  some  time  after  the 
conflict  had  ended,  at  the  same  time  expressing  an  inten- 
tion to  write  a  history  of  the  war. 

Periodical  Literature. 

The  October  issue  of  the  Texas  Historical  Quarterly 
is  largely  composed  of  those  personal  narratives  and 
reminiscences,  full  of  human  interest,  that  the  editors  are 
so  lucky  or  skilful  in  getting.  In  a  simple,  straightfor- 
ward way,  R.  M.  Potter  relates  the  escape  of  Karnes 
and  Teal  from  the  Mexicans  at  Matamoras  during  the 
Texan  revolutionary  struggle.  They  were  Texan  officers 
sent  there  under  a  flag  of  truce  to  arrange  for  exchange 
of  prisoners,  but  were  unjustly  detained  by  the  Mexican 
General  Urrea.    With  the  connivance  of  some  American 


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76  Southern  History  Association. 

traders  there,  Potter  himself  aiding,  they  slipped  away 
from  their  guards  and  fled  across  the  plains  to  their  own 
forces. 

Frontier  life,  hardship,  dangers,  disasters,  deaths, 
squabbles,  hunger,  losses,  loneliness,  its  grim  realities, 
are  all  painted  with  the  unconscious  fidelity  of  a  private 
journal  in  the  first  installment  of  the  "Reminiscences  of 
Mrs.  Dilne  Harris."  Her  father,  a  retired  United  States 
army  surgeon,  after  service  in  St.  Louis  and  New  Or- 
leans, went  to  the  very  fringe  of  Texas  civilization  in 
1833,  when  she  was  only  eight  years  of  age.  He  kept  a 
detailed  record  of  his  existences  at  different  points  which 
is  preserved  only  by  the  parts  that  she  copied  and  blend- 
ed with  her  ^wn  impressions.  When  she  says  that  at 
Harrisburg  "they  had  no  use  for  a  jail;  everybody  hon- 
est," we  might  think  that  there  was  the  golden  age  of  the 
world,  a  return  to  nature,  but  a  few  pages  farther  on  we 
come  to  a  family  fuss  that  finally  ended  in  a  killing. 
Other  unlovely  details  are  not  spared— distress,  scarcity 
of  food,  lack  of  ordinary  comforts  in  the  household,  hard 
toil,  half  rewarded.  But  there  is  the  best  material  for  the 
historian  when  he  comes  to  describe  the  hot  feeling  and 
excitement  among  the  people  against  Mexican  rule.  In 
one  place  we  are  told  that  the  teacher  complained  about 
the  boys  not  studying,  as  they  talked  war  all  the  time, 
bragging  that  200  or  300  Texans  could  whip  all  of 
Mexico.  Subsequent  events  showed  they  were  not  far 
wrong.  One  curious  custom  is  brought  to  light.  As  no 
preacher  or  priest  was  settled  near,  young  people  would 
start  in  as  man,  and  wife,  first  signing  an  agreement  to 
remarry  when  the  priest  came  around.  It  would  thus 
happen  at  times  that  he  would  marry  the  couple  and  bap- 
tize the  children  at  the  same  time.  But  the  spirit  of  the 
whole  thing  was  appreciated  and  no  breath  of  scandal 
ever  arose  so  far  as  we  are  informed. 

It  seems  impossible  that  only  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago,  in  1875,  such  terrible  deeds  could  have  been  com- 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  77 

mittcd  by  Mexicans  on  Americans  as  those  described  by 
Leopold  Morris  in  "Mexican  Raid  on  Corpus  Christi," 
when  numbers  of  men  were  captured,  stripped,  whipped, 
bound  and  marched  with  all  cruelty  across  the  country. 
Houses  were  burned,  property  destroyed,  and  several 
men  inhumanly  killed,  and  yet  the  band  got  back  across 
the  Rio  Grande  with  the  loss  of  only  one  man,  who  was 
brought  down  by  a  chance  shot  and  afterwards  hanged. 
In  an  account  of  "New  Orleans  newspaper  files," 
Alex.  Dienst  incidentally  illustrates  how  far  behind  pro- 
portionately that  Southern  metropolis  is  as  compared 
with  her  place  in  1835.  Then  she  was  the  third  city  in 
population,  second  in  commercial  importance,  and  had 
five  out  of  the  35  daily  papers  then  in  the  Union.  He 
points  out  the  unmatched  value  of  those  publications  for 
the  Texas  historian  of  the  period. 

In  the  Confederate  Veteran  for  October,  1900  (Nash- 
ville, Tenn.),  Major  Graham  Daves,  New  Berne,  N.  C, 
essays  that  wearisome  but  noble  task  of  correcting  grave 
mistakes  that  are  so  endlessly  palmed  off  as  history.  He 
wipes  away  that  myth  of  North  Carolina's  voting,  in 
1861,  by  thirty  thousand  majority,  against  secession, 
showing  that  there  was  no  popular  balloting  on  that 
question  at  all.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  was,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1861,  when  there  was  a  majority  of  two  hundred 
against  holding  a  convention  that  was  to  decide  on  the 
matter  of  secession. 

Another  brave  attempt  in  this  issue  to  point  out  truth 
and  avoid  error  and  sensationalism  is  a  short  sketch  of 
the  Hatfield-McCoy  feud  in  West  Virginia,  by  F.  S.  Har- 
ris, Nashville,  who  declares  that  "Devil  Anse"  Hatfield 
is  a  well-behaved  man  apart  from  that  family  squabble. 

A  Confederate  Paul  Revere  is  described,  except  that  it 
was  a  woman,  Mrs.  Hannah  Tunnell,  who  sprang  from 
her  vehicle  and  ran  through  the  woods  several  miles  to 
give  notice  to  the  Southern  general,  Magruder,  of  the 


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78  Southern  History  Association. 

advance  of  the  Union  forces  up  the  Peninsula  to  surprise 
their  opponents  at  Big  Bethel  on  the  morning  of  June 
5.  1861. 

In  the  November  issue  is  a  summary  of  a  very  interest- 
ing historical  investigation  contained  in  Randolph  Bar- 
ton's address  at  the  reunion  of  the  Stonewall  brigade  last 
June  in  Louisville.  By  correspondence  with  a  propor- 
tionate number  he  infers  that  the  2,600  men  who  com- 
posed the  famous  "stone  wall"  at  Manassas  received  an 
average  of  a  wound  each  before  the  end  of  the  conflict. 
He  also  estimated  that  the  vast  majority  of  those  form- 
ing that  inflexible  line  were  beardless  boys  between  six- 
teen and  twenty  years  of  age,  and  that  about  fifty  only 
were  left  to  stack  arms  at  Appomattox. 

Evidence  is  submitted  to  show  that  to  Mrs.  M.  C. 
Goodlett,  of  Nashville,  belongs  the  honor  of  originating 
the  idea  of  the  U.  D.  C.  A  discussion  has  arisen  among 
the  members  of  this  memorial  organization,  and  at  the 
annual  meeting  in  Richmond,  1899,  **  ^'^s  resolved  that 
proof  should  be  gathered  so  as  to  settle  the  question  now 
before  the  witnesses  were  all  dead. 

A  vexed  question  of  historical  terms  is  introduced  by 
O.  W.  Blacknall  in  an  effort  to  choose  a  name  for  the 
war  waged  in  the  sixties.  Of  course,  he  rejects  "Rebel- 
lion," but  mentions  several  others:  "War  for  Secession," 
"Confederate  War,"  "War  between  the  States,"  and 
"War  for  Southern  Independence."  The  last  he  con- 
cludes is  the  one  truest  to  fact,  to  history  and  to  senti- 
ment. 

Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnson  furnishes  the  text  of  the  act 
passed  by  the  Virginia  Legislature  on  February  9,  1898, 
on  the  matter  of  the  Confederate  muster  rolls  for  the 
State. 

Four  pages  of  "revolutionary  records,"  composed  of 
the  names  of  some  Georgia  patriots,  some  prison-ship 
martyrs,  and  Michigan  pensioners  in  1840,  make  up  the 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  79 

documentary  portion  of  the  November  (1900),  American 
Monthly  Magazine  (Washington,  D.  C).  These,  with 
eight  pages  of  family  sketches  of  "real  daughtef"s,"  form 
the  additions  to  the  knowledge  of  the  past  that  this  issue 
contains.  The  remainder  consists  of  news  of  the  organ- 
ization (D.  A.  R.),  and  essays  on  MoUie  Pitcher,  Samuel 
Adams,  Sergeant  MacDonald,  State  of  Wisconsin,  with 
poems,  a  revolutionary  calendar,  notes  and  queries. 

A  splendid  work  is  the  aim  of  the  Georgia  D.  A.  R., 
as  explained  by  the  State  Regent,  Emily  Hendree  Park, 
in  the  December  issue.  It  is  no  less  a  thing  than  to  get 
an  appropriation  from  the  Legislature  so  as  to  obtain 
transcripts  of  the  documents  in  England  relating  to  the 
colonial  history  of  the  State.  This  was  done  in  1837- 
1838,  but  the  collection  was  lost  by  fire. 

Bell  Bayless  edits  the  account  of  the  battle  of  King's 
Mountain,  written  by  Capt.  David  Vance,  a  survivor,  in 
1799.  Tho  this  has  been  printed  before.  We  are  not  so  told, 
but  are  assured  that  it  is  the  basis  for  Draper's  description 
of  the  conflict  itself,  in  his  book.  King's  Mountain  and 
Its  Heroes.  It  covers  about  six  pages,  or  about  2,500 
words,  and  is  a  very  readable  story  of  the  fight  from  the 
standpoint  of  a  subordinate. 

Another  contribution  of  historical  value  is  "Revolu- 
tionary Records,"  four  pages,  comprising  the  names  of 
some  of  the  "heroes  of  King's  Mountain,"  of  some  pa- 
triots in  the  battle  of  Cowan's  Ford,  of  the  reception 
committee  of  the  Boston  Tea  Party,  December  16,  1773, 
and  of  pensioners  in  Missouri  in  1840. 

The  Treasurer  General  writes  that  in  1898  the  organi- 
zation decided  to  report  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
so  that  the  annual  account  of  the  society  could  be  print- 
ed by  the  United  States  Government.  This  is  done,  but 
not  for  general  distribution  to  the  members,  or  even  a 
few  copies  to  the  headquarters,  unless  paid  for.  The  first 
report  contained  129  pages,  the  second  340  pages.  Of 
this  second  report,  to  be  out  by  middle  of  November, 


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8o  Southern  History  Association. 

there  were  to  be  1,682  copies,  600  for  the  legislative 
branch,  the  remainder  for  binding,  with  500  of  these  to 
go  to  public  libraries.  It  is  likely  that  the  influence  of 
the  Daughters  will  be  exerted  to  have  one  copy  furnished 
free  to  each  member.  Like  all  Government  publications, 
the  work  can  be  obtained  at  cost,  with  ten  per  cent,  ad- 
ded, if  the  public  printer  is  notified  in  time. 

In  the  Methodist  Review  (Nashville),  for  November, 
1900,  is  a  most  eloquent  estimate  of  the  famous  Method- 
ist bishop,  George  F.  Pierce,  by  Rev.  Walker  Lewis.  As 
a  man,  as  a  preacher,  as  a  bishop,  Mr.  Lewis  considers 
him  peerless.  He  even  compares  him  with  the  great 
biblical  leaders:  "The  stainlessness  of  his  soul  sets  him 
beside  the  Hebrew  Daniel;  its  aim  and  zeal  and  energy, 
beside  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles." 

After  several  pages  of  introduction.  Prof.  W.  L.  Weber 
finally  concludes  that  the  "Southern  romantic  move- 
ment" began  in  1870,  and  has  been  carried  on  chiefly  by 
Harris,  Page,  Allen,  Cable,  Murfree.  His  title  is  apt  to 
be  misleading,  as  he  devotes  nearly  all  of  the  paper  to 
similar  literary  conditions  and  developments  in  the  litera- 
ture of  England. 

With  a  rapid  sketch  of  Thaddeus  Sanford,  Mr.  Geo. 
F.  Mellen  begins  a  series  on  "famous  Southern  editors." 
Sanford,  although  born  in  Connecticut,  was  one  of  the 
earliest  of  the  prominent  ones.  Not  until  manhood  did 
he  go  South,  to  Mobile,  where  he  engaged  in  merchan- 
dising for  six  years,  and  then  entered  on  his  life  work 
by  the  purchase  of  the  Commercial  Register  of  that  city. 
Here,  as  journalist  for  the  most  part,  and  as  public  of- 
ficial for  a  few  years  in  later  days,  he  labored  with  cour- 
age and  fairness  for  the  interests  of  the  locality  and  sec- 
tion he  had  cast  his  lot  with  until  his  death  in  1867. 
Naturally,  as  a  business  man,  he  saw  the  importance  of 
building  up  the  commerce  and  agriculture  of  the  South, 
and  of  encouraging  learning,  and  advancing  the  morals. 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  8i 

Necessarily,  if  he  wanted  his  paper  to  live,  he  had  to 
feed  the  fierce  fires  of  politics,  but  it  is  highly  creditable 
to  him  that  he  could  so  early  and  so  clearly  grasp  the 
things  that  were  of  vital  importance  to  his  chosen  land. 
He  hammered  away  on  the  deepening  of  the  harbor,  es- 
tablishing of  steamship  lines,  construction  of  railways, 
and  other  topics  bearing  on  the  tnaterial  improvement  of 
the  people.  He  must  have  been  often  heavy  with  disap- 
pointment, but  perhaps  the  seed  sown  then  may  be  bring- 
ing the  industrial  fruit  of  the  present. 

With  the  righteous  indignation  of  the  scholar,  who 
hates  to  see  material  botched  up,  Mr.  A.  S.  Salley,  editor 
of  the  South  Carolina  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Magazine,  in  his  issue  of  October,  1900,  points  out  the 
slovenly  editing  of  the  Greene  and  Sumter  letters  that 
appeared  in  the  Charleston  Year  Book  for  1899,  though 
of  course  this  scientific  and  valuable  criticism  does  not 
affect  the  high  credit  due  the  authorities  of  Charleston  in 
making  this  correspondence  available.  If  Mr.  Salley  is 
right  himself  in  stating  that  the  Sumter  letters  are  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Nightingale,  then  that  gentleman 
must  have  separated  them  from  those  of  Greene  when 
he  disposed  of  the  Greene  collection  some  years  ago. 

According  to  Mr.  J.  L.  Tribble,  of  South  Carolina,  it 
seems  possible  that  Lincoln's  mother,  Nancy  Hanks, 
came  from  Anderson  county,  S.  C. 

.A  circular  letter  from  a  South  Carolina  Governor, 
Benjamin  Guerard,  in  1783,  shows  that  Greene's  unceas- 
ing cry  for  rations  for  his  army  continued  even  after  the 
close  of  hostilities,  as  this  document  is  authority  to  an 
agent  to  gather  food  for  the  troops  quartered  on  the 
State. 

The  papers  of  the  first  Council  of  Safety  and  the  diplo- 
matic dispatches  of  Colonel  Laurens  are  continued,  the 
former  covering  some  thirty  pages,  and  the  latter  twelve. 

Genealogy  is  represented  by  the  "Colleton  Family"  in 

6 


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82  Southern  History  Association. 

seventeen  pages,  while  a   comprehensive  index   for  the- 
whole  of  this  first  volume  counts  up  44  pages,  the  whole 
volume  being  396. 

The  October  Lost  Cause  (Louisville,  Ky.),  is  mainly 
filled  with  sketches  of  prominent  workers  in  the  United 
Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  and  other  organizations 
of  the  kind  in  the  South. 

The  November  issue  contains  an  account  of  the  sev- 
enth annual  convention  of  the  U.  D.  C,  held  at  Mont- 
gomery, Ala.,  November  14th,  though  the  most  dignified 
articles  are  a  sketch  of  the  inauguration  of  Davis  and  the 
"battle  of  Gettysburg,"  continued  from  the  September 
issue.  There  are  several  short  biographies,  and  numer- 
ous notes  on  the  work  of  the  U.  D.  C. 

We  regret  to  announce  that  the  North  Carolina  Baptist 
Historical  Society  Papers,  edited  by  Mr.  T.  M.  Pittman,  at 
Henderson,  N.  C.,and  which  has  frequently  been  favorably 
noticed  in  these  pages,  has  been  forced  to  suspend  publica- 
tion for  lack  of  adequate  support.  Rev.  Dr.  J.  D.  Huf- 
ham,  whose  work  appeared  regularly  in  the  Papers,  an- 
nounces that  he  has  prepared  a  history  of  the  North 
Carolina  Baptist  State  Convention  covering  a  hundred 
years,  from  the  first  efforts  until  its  permanent  organiza- 
tion in  1832.  At  the  last  meeting  of  the  body  a  commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  raise  a  fund  to  be  devoted  to  his- 
torical investigation. 

The  American  Historical  Review  for  October  prints 
from  the  original  manuscript  the  Journal  of  John  nar- 
rower, a  Scotch  indentured  servant  in  Virginia,  1773-76. 
The  book  in  which  the  diary  is  written  is  a  small  quarto 
volume  and  contains  at  present  145  pages.  It  once  con- 
tained a  few  more.  It  was  found  among  the  papers  of 
the  Corbin  family  of  Moss  Neck  and  Farley  Vale,  Vir- 
^nia.     There  is  a  biographical  introduction  and  notes. 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  83 

in  part,  by  Mrs.  Sally  Nelson  Robins,  of  the  Virginia 
Historical  Society.  Harrower  went  down  from  his  home 
in  Lerwick,  in  Shetland,  to  seek  employment  in  London, 
but  found  none,  and  "This  day  I  being  reduced  to  the 
last  shilling  I  hade,  was  obliged  to  engage  to  go  to  Vir- 
ginia for  four  years  as  a  schoolmaster  for  Bedd,  Board, 
washing  and  five  pound  during  the  whole  time."  He  was 
settled  with  Col.  William  Daingerfield  at  Belvidere,  on 
the  Rappahannock,  seven  miles  from  Fredericksburg, 
and  taught  the  children  of  the  neighborhood.  He  was 
evidently  above  the  average  of  intelligence  of  his  class. 
His  diary  comes  to  an  abrupt"  conclusion  in  July,  1776, 
after  which  date  he  became  manager  for  Richard  Cor- 
bin,  at  Moss  Neck,  near  Fredericksburg.  A  study  of 
"Some  Political  Aspects  of  Homestead  Legislation,"  by 
John  Bell  Sanborn,  shows  another  phase  of  the  everlast- 
ing struggle  between  North  and  South,  the  bill  which 
passed  the  House  in  1857  being. "a  northern  Emigrant 
Aid  measure,"  and  the  bill  passed  in  i860  being  vetoed 
by  Buchanan.  In  1862  another  bill  became  a  law.  Mr. 
Walter  L.  Fleming  gives  an  account  of  the  Buford  Ex- 
pedition to  Kansas  in  1856,  organized  by  Maj.  Jefferson 
Buford  in  Alabama  in  1855,  and  by  which  he  hoped  to 
win  Kansas  to  the  pro-slavery  cause.  There  are  reviews 
of  Latane's  Diplomatic  Relations  of  the  United  States  and 
Spanish  America,  of  DuBois's  The  Philadelphia  Negro,  and 
of  other  books  concerning  the  South  less  directly. 

In  the  Review  of  Reviews  for  November,  Dr.  W.  E.  B. 
DuBois  has  an  article  on  the  exhibition  of  the  American 
negro  at  Paris.  "This  is  the  exhibit  of  American  ne- 
groes, planned  and  executed  by  negroes,  and  collected 
and  installed  under  the  direction  of  a  neg^o  special  agent, 
Mr.  Thomas  J.  Calloway."  It  undertakes  to  show  (a) 
The  history  of  the  American  negro ;  (b)  His  present  con- 
dition; (c)  His  education;  (d)  His  literature.  There  are 
charts,  photographs,  models  of  progress,  pictures  and 
maps  illustrating  his  condition  present  and  past.     One 


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84  Southern  History  AssocioHon. 

set  of  charts  undertakes  to  show  his  condition  in  the 
United  States  as  a  whole;  another  shows  conditions  in 
the  typical  State  of  Georgia.  There  are  exhibits  of  vari- 
ous institutions  of  learning  for  that  race ;  a  record  of  350 
patents  granted  black  men  since  1834,  while  his  literature 
makes  a  bibliography  of  1^00  titles,  of  which  200  are  on 
exhibition.    A  list  of  awards  granted  the  exhibit  is  added. 

The  first  number  of  the  Patriotic  Review  (Boston, 
Mass.),  a  monthly  claiming  to  be  devoted  to  the  "inter- 
ests of  the  patriotic  and  historical  organizations  of  the 
United  States,"  but  almost  exclusively  in  earlier  issues 
filled  with  D.  A.  R.  work,  appeared  last  September.  It 
is  to  contain  usually  about  16  pages,  with  illustrations. 

As  a  serial  in  Harper's  Mag^azine  for  1901,  under  the 
title  of  "Colony  and  Nation,"  Professor  Woodrow  Wil- 
son will  give  a  history  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
doing  for  this  country  what  J.  R.  Green  has  done  for 
England.  If  possible  it  will  be  more  vivid,  more  inter- 
esting and  more  profound  than  Green's. 

It  is  announced  that  the  old  Magazine  of  American 
History  will  be  revived  this  year  (1901),  under  the  man- 
agement of  William  L.  Stone  and  William  Abbatt.  Pre- 
sumably, it  is  to  be  located  in  New  York  City. 


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NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Survivors  op  the  Confederate  Congress. — ^An 
item  in  a  former  number  of  the  magazine  Qanuary,  1900, 
p.  68),  in  reference  to  survivors  of  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress has  elicited  much  comment,  and  some  statements 
inconsistent  and  unverifiable.  They  show,  however,  an 
increasing  interest  in  Confederate  history,  notwithstand- 
ing the  misapprehension  or  ignorance  of  the  real  facts. 
The  first  Confederate  Congress,  which  was  provisional, 
and  to  meet  the  exigency  of  a  new  government,  met  in . 
Montgomery,  Ala.,  February  4,  1861.  In  its  early  period, 
the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Mississippi  and  Louisiana  were  represented,  and  the 
deputies  from  these  States  framed  and  adopted  a  pro- 
visional constitution,  organized  the  government  and 
elected  a  President  and  Vice-President.  Of  those  who 
participated  in  this  action  only  two  members  survive, 
Judge  Campbell,  of  Mississippi,  and  Mr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry, 
of  this  city.  Later,  during  the  same  session,  which  did 
not  close  until  the  i6th  of  March,  Texas  representatives 
appeared  and  took  their  seats,  and  by  vote  of  the  body, 
and  at  their  request,  had  the  liberty  of  signing  the  Con- 
stitution. Two  of  those  members,  the  venerable  and 
most  highly  esteemed  Judge  Reagan  and  Gen.  Waul,  still 
live. 

At  the  second  session  of  this  Congress  in  April,  Vir- 
ginia had  four  •  delegates,  namely:  Brockenbrough, 
Staples,  Hunter  and  Rives.  At  the  third  session  in  July 
others  came  in,  among  them  President  Tyler.  Of  the 
Virginia  delegation  in  the  Provisional  Congress,  Gen. 
Roger  A.  Pryor,  of  New  York,  alone  survives. 

Arkansas  was  admitted  in  May  at  the  third  session 
held  in  Richmond,  and  Tennessee  at  a  later  day.  Kentucky 


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86  Southern  History  Association. 

and  Missouri,  somewhat  informally,  sent  commissioners 
or  deputies  in  December  of  that  year. 

Besides  the  two  survivors  of  the  first  days  of  the  Pro- 
visional Congress,  and  Gen.  Pryor,  already  mentioned, 
and  Judge  Reagan  and  Gen.  Waul,  there  still  live  among 
the  representatives  of  that  body,  one  from  Alabama,  H. 

C.  Jones ;  two  from  Tennessee,  John  F.  House  and  John 

D.  C.  Atkins ;  one,  Senator  Vest,  from  Missouri ;  one.  Dr. 
Ford,  from  Kentucky,  and  two  from  North  Carolina,  W. 
W.  Avery  and  A.  T.  Davidson. 

There  were  two  Congresses  under  the  permanent  con- 
stitution of  the  Confederate  government;  four  sessions 
of  the  first,  and  two  of  the  second.  Unlike  the  provis- 
ional, there  were  in  the  permanent  Congress  two  bodies, 
a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  Of  the  first 
Congress  no  Senator  survives;  of  the  representatives 
there  still  live  three  from  Alabama,  Curry,  Pugh  and 
Ralls;  two  from  Kentucky,  H.  W.  Bruce  and  Robt.  J. 
Breckinridge;  one  from  Missouri,  Vest;  one  from  North 
Carolina,  Davidson;  three  from  Tennessee,  Atkins, 
Menees  and  John  V.  Wright;  and  two  from  Virginia, 
Pryor  and  Goode.  Of  the  second  Congress,  which  ex- 
pired on  the  3d  of  March,  1865,  ^^^  Senator  lives,  from 
Missouri,  Vest,  and  one  representative  from  Alabama, 
Pugh;  two  from  Georgia,  Lester  and  Bell;  one  from 
Kentucky,  Bruce;  one  from  Mississippi,  Orr;  one  from 
Missouri,  Vest,  until  transferred  to  the  Senate;  four 
from  Tennessee,  Atkins,  Colyer,  Menees  and  Wright, 
and  one  from  Virginia,  Goode. 

It  is  well  known  that  Mr.  Curry  has  prepared,  with 
much  care,  from  personal  recollection  and  available 
documents,  a  Civil  History  of  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment, which  will  be  published  during  the  winter.  At  the 
last  Confederate  Reunion,  held  in  Louisville,  a  strong 
resolution  was  passed  in  favor  of  the  publication  of  this 
then-contemplated  work. 

Southern'  Industrial  Convention. — History  can  be 


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Notes  and  Queries.  87 

^graphically  shown  as  an  ever  widening  circle.  How  many 
of  the  1,200  delegates  that  attended  the  third  session  of 
the  Southern  Industrial  Convention  at  New  Orleans,  De- 
cember 4-9th,  have  even  an  inkling  that  they  were  simply 
treading  in  the  tracks  of  their  forefathers  ?  The  spirit  of 
De  Bow  must  have  hovered  over  the  scene  with  philo- 
sophical satire,  to  see  the  children  of  his  generation  go- 
ing tlie  same  round  that  his  contemporaries  tramped,  the 
process  to  be  enthusiastically  revived  after  nearly  half 
a  century.  Certainly  if  lessons  are  to  be  learned  from 
the  past,  nothing  wiser  could  be  done  by  the  managers 
than  to  have  at  every  meeting  some  competent  hand  to 
draw  warning  and  inspiration  from  those  efforts  of  our 
grandfathers ;  thus  mistakes  could  be  avoided,  suggestions 
cotdd  be  gathered  and  ideals  cherished.  But  in  the  pro- 
gram there  was  no  title  that  touched  these  helpful  ex- 
amples behind  us.  In  attendance,  earnestness  and  pub- 
lic interest,  the  occasion  was  a  great  success,  and  a  wide 
range  of  topics  on  material  development  was  presented 
and^  discussed.  Only  the  strongest  endorsement  can  be 
given  of  the  spirit  and  attitude  of  the  organization,  as 
set  forth  in  the  motto :  "Business.  No  politics.  No  Sec- 
tionalism." 

The  Alabama  Historical  Society  held  their  annual 
meeting  at  Tuscaloosa,  June  18,  1900,  completing  the  fif- 
tieth anniversary  of  the  existence  of  the  Society.  It  was 
organized  July  8,  1850.  The  morning  session  was  held 
in  Clark  Hall,  at  the  State  University,  at  11  a.  m.  Col. 
M.  S.  Stansel,  one  of  the  vice-presidents,  presided.  The 
annual  oration,  which  was  the  event  of  this  session,  was 
delivered  by  Capt.  William  C.  Ward,  on  "The  Building 
of  a  State." 

The  afternoon  session  was  held  in  the  county  court 
house,  at  3  p.  m.  Peter  J.  Hamilton,  one  of  the  vice- 
presidents,  presided,  and  Thomas  M.  Owen,  the  secre- 
tary, was  in  attendance.  A  number  of  contributed  papers 
were  announced  by  title.    Peter  J.  Hamilton  read  a  paper 


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88  Southern  History  Association. 

on  "The  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo,"  in  which  he  reached  the 
conclusion  that  the  bay  known  to  ancient  cartographers 
as  the  Bay  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  present  Mobile  Bay. 
Col.  Charles  G.  Brown,  in  behalf  of  Mrs.  Margaret 
Ayres,  of  Washington,  presented  the  Society  a  fac- 
simile of  the  impression  of  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Con- 
federacy. Prof.  Joel  C.  DuBose  read  a  paper  on  "The 
Uses  of  Bibliography;"  and  Rev.  C.  E.  Crenshaw,  on 
"Indian  Massacres  in  Butler  County  in  1818."  Prof.  W. 
C.  Richardson  read  a  poem — Semi-Centennial  Ode — 
which  breathed  the  true  poetic  spirit  and  was  full  of  pa- 
triotic favor.  Dr.  Joshua  H.  Foster,  one  of  the  original 
founders  of  the  Society  fifty  years  ago,  then  followed 
with  a  paper  on  "The  Alabama  Historical  Society — 
Reminiscences  of  Fifty  Years,"  in  which  he  told  of  the 
various  events  in  the  history  of  the  organization.  A 
number  of  reminiscent  talks  followed.  As  particularly 
appropriate  to  the  occasion,  Thomas  M.  Owen  read  a 
paper  on  "Dr.  Basil  Manly,  the  founder  of  the  Alabama 
Historical  Society."  A. short  talk  was  made  by  Mrs.  P. 
H.  Mell  on  the  Spirit  of  cooperation  which  should  exist 
between  the  Society  and  the  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution,  which  she  represented.  The  reports  of  the 
Secretary  and  Treasurer  showed  the  Society  to  be  in  ex- 
cellent condition. 

In  order  to  better  accomplish  the  object  of  the  Society, 
the  headquarters  were  permanently  located  in  Birming- 
ham, where  a  library,  museum  and  art  gallery  will  at  once 
be  established.  The  Secretary  was  authorized  to  employ 
an  assistant  to  place  in  charge  of  the  work.  The  work 
of  collecting  will  now  go  on  more  successfully  under  the 
intelligent  direction  of  the  Secretary. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing 
year:  President,  Joseph  F.  Johnston;  Vice-Presidents,  Dr. 
W.  T.  Broun,  E.  L.  Russel,  T.  C.  McCorvey,  J.  M.  Falk- 
ner,  S.  W.  John,  and  Mrs.  W.  E.  Sorsby;  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  Thomas   M.   Owen;  and  Executive  Committee, 


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Notes  and  Queries.  89 

Peter  J.  Hamilton,  O.  D.  Street,  Asa  Rountree,  W.  C. 
Ward,  Joel  C.  DuBose,  and  John  S.  Gillespy^ 

Mississippi  Histoky  Commission. — On  October  17, 
1900,  at  Jackson,  the  Mississippi  History  Commission 
held  its  first  meeting.  The  members  of  the  Commission, 
appointed  by  Gen.  Stephen  D.  Lee,  President  of  the 
Mississippi  Historical  Society,  under  act  of  March  2, 
1900,  are:  Dr.  Franklin  L.  Riley,  University  of  Missis- 
sippi, chairman;  Col.  J.  L.  Power,  Jackson;  Bishop 
Charles  B.  Galloway,  Jackson ;  Hon.  Gerard  C.  Brandon, 
Natchez;  and  Hon.  P.  K.  Mayers,  Pascagoula.  Messrs. 
Riley,  Galloway  and  Powers  were  present.  An  organi- 
zation was  perfected,  an  outline  and  an  assignment  of 
work  was  agreed  upon.  The  work  projected  is  similar 
to  that  undertaken  by  the  Alabama  History  Commission. 
Under  the  act  referred  to  $2,000  was  appropriated  to  aid 
the  Society  in  printing  its  publications,  including  the  Re- 
port of  the  History  Commission.  Since  the  meeting  Mr. 
Mayers  has  resigned,  and  Prof.  J.  M.  White,  of  the  A. 
and  M.  College,  Starkeville,  has  been  substituted. 

The  Louisiana  Histomcal  Society  held  its  regular 
monthly  meeting  October  17,  1900,  in  the  Tulane  Uni- 
versity Building,  for  the  first  time  since  June.  Dr.  Alc6e 
Fortier,  recently  returned  from  Europe,  presided.  There 
was  a  long  discussion  with  regard  to  the  celebration  of 
the  Centennial  of  purchasing  the  Louisiana  Territory, 
and  with  regard  to  obtaining  documents  relating  to  that 
event.  Prof.  Fortier  gave  a  full  account  of  the  large  col- 
lection of  archives  on  colonial  Louisiana  now  in  Paris. 
He  showed  the  importance  of  these  as  throwing  much 
light  on  disputed  or  obscure  points  in  e/irly  local  history. 
So  impressed  were  the  members  with  the  value  of  these 
data  that  they  decided  to  invite  the  cooperation  of  the 
other  historical  societies  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  in  an 
effort  to  have  all  this  material  copied  and  published  by 
the  United  States  Government. 


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90  Southern  History  Association. 

NoKTH  Carolina  Literacy  and  Historical  So- 
ciety.— In  Raleigh,  N.  C,  on  October  23d,  the  North 
Carolina  Literary  and  Historical  Society  was  formally 
inaugurated.  At  last  reports  it  has  attained  a  member- 
ship of  167.  On  that  occasion  the  program  included  talks 
on  the  collection  and  preservation  of  historical  material 
by  Maj.  Graham  Daves  and  Dr.  J.  S.  Bassett;  Practical 
plans  for  publishing  what  we  produce,  by  Maj.  E.  J. 
Hale ;  How  we  may  stimulate  the  production  of  literature 
in  North  Carolina,  by  Prof.  B.  F.  Sledd.  So  far  as 
known,  no  plan  for  a  regular  publication  has  been  for- 
mulated. 

The  United  Daughters  oe  the  Confederacy  held 
their  seventh  annual  session  in  the  city  of  Montgomery, 
Ala.,  November  14-17,  1900.  Since  the  last  session  at 
Richmond,  Va.,  in  November,  1899,  seventy-nine  new 
Chapters  have  been  chartered.  The  organization  now 
has  four  hundred  and  fifteen  Chapters,  with  20,000  mem- 
bers. In  every  department  interest  appears  to  be  in- 
creasing. The  next  convention  will  be  held  at  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C.  The  officers  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  are 
as  follows:  President,  Mrs.  E.  G.  Weed,  Jacksonville, 
Fla.;  First  Vice-President,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Read,  New 
York;  Second  Vice-President,  Mrs.  S.  T.  McCuUough, 
Staunton,  Va. ;  Recording  Secretary,  Mrs.  JoEn  T.  Hick- 
man, Nashville,  Tenn.;  Corresponding  Secretary,  Miss 
Mary  Meares,  Wilmington,  N.  C. ;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  J. 
Jefferson  Thomas,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

The  Wisconsin  State  Historical  Society  dedi- 
cated their  fine  new  library  building  at  Madison,  October 
19,1900.  Mr.  John  Johnston,  of  Milwaukee  President  of 
the  Society,  presided  at  the  meeting,  and  delivered  an 
address.  Ten-minute  speeches  followed,  participated  in 
by  Charles  Francis  Adams,  of  Boston;  Dr.  James  K. 
Hosmer,  librarian  of  the  Minneapolis  Public  Library; 
Governor  Schofield,  of  Wisconsin;  Senator  Stout,  presi- 
dent of  the  board;  Secretary  R.  G.  Thwaites,   Charles 


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Notes  and  Queries.  9^ 

Kendall  Adams,  president  of  the  State  University,  and 
Prof.  McLaughlin,  of  the  University  of  Michigan.  In  the 
evening  Charles  Francis  Adams,  president  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts State  Historical  Society,  the  oldest  in  America, 
delivered  an  oration.  This  Society  is  one  of  the  most 
handsomely  equipped  and  best  conducted  institutions  of 
the  kind  in  America,  and  is  rich  in  Americana,  manu- 
scripts and  newspaper  files.  It  has  the  Lyman  C.  Draper 
collection,  and  much  Southern  MSS.  material. 

CoNGiuessioNAi,  Centennial. — November  19,  1900, 
was  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  meeting  of  the 
First  Congress  which  assembled  in  Washington  after  the 
capital  of  the  ?.epublic  was  transferred  to  that  city  from 
Philadelphia.  The  centennial  anniversary  of  the  removal 
of  the  seat  of  government  to  Washington  was  elaborately 
celebrated  December  12th.  Exercises  were  held  at  the 
Capitol  and  the  White  House  of  an  appropriate  charac- 
ter. 

The  Maryi^and  Society,  of  New  York,  of  which  Wil- 
liam Woodward  Baldwin  is  President,  and  George  B. 
Covington,  Corresponding  Secretary,  has  decided  upon 
the  19th  of  October  as  the  regular  day  on  which  it  will 
hold  its  anniversaries.  This  is  the  day  on  which  the  an- 
cestors of  the  Marylanders  burned  the  ship  Peggie 
Stuart,  loaded  with  tea,  in  the  harbor  of  Annapolis  in 
1774,  just  after  the  Boston  "Tea  Party."  It  is  also  the 
anniversary  of  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  at  York- 
town. 

Monument  to  James  Oglethorpe. — On  November 
17,  1900,  an  organization  was  perfected  by  the  Sons  of 
the  Revolution  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  monument  to  Gen.  James  Oglethorpe,  the  foun- 
der of  the  colony  of  Georgia.  The  movement  will  have 
the  cooperation  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  the  State.  It 
is  the  design  that  the  base  of  the  monument  shall  be  con- 
structed of  stone,  one  to  be  contributed  by  each  county  in 
the  State.  Funds  amounting  to  several  thousands  of  dol- 
lars are  now  available  for  the  work. 


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92  Southern  History  Association. 

A  CoNi^EDERATE  Monument  was  dedicated  at  Owens- 
boro  Ky.,  September  21,  1900,  the  thirty-seventh  anniver- 
sary of  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  The  monument  was 
designed  and  executed  in  bronze  by  George  Julian  Zol- 
nay,  of  New  York,  "the  sculptor  of  the  Confederacy." 
The  unveiling  was  done  by  Mrs.  Sarah  S.  Moorman, 
aged  81  years,  mother  of  George  Moorman,  of  New  Or- 
leans. It  is  estimated  that  nearly  15,000  people  were 
present  and  viewed  the  ceremonies. 

Key  West  Monument. — ^The  unveiling  of  the  monu- 
ment dedicated  by  citizens  of  Key  West  to  the  heroes  of 
the  battleship  Maine  who  died  in  Havana,  February  15, 
1898,  and  were  buried  at  Key  West,  took  place  March 
i5»  1900.  Over  10,000  people  were  present.  A  proces- 
sion composed  of  a  detachment  from  the  gunboat  Ma- 
chias,  two  companies  of  the  First  Artillery,  representa- 
tives of  the  army  and  navy  and  city  officials,  local  civic 
organizations  and  hundreds  of  school  children,  marched 
from  the  naval  station  to  the  cemetery.  At  the  cemetery 
Col.  George  Patterson,  in  behalf  of  the  Monument  Com- 
mittee, presented  the  monument  to  Commander  Impey, 
acting  for  the  Navy  Department.  Rev.  Charles  W.  Fra- 
zer,  orator  of  the  day,  made  an  eloquent  address  and 
benediction  was  pronounced  by  Chaplain  Leroyce.  After 
the  unveiling  hundreds  of  school  children  covered  the 
graves  with  flowers. 

Jefferson  Davis  Houday. — In  the  daily  press  re- 
ports of  November  23,  1900,  it  was  stated  that  the  Legis- 
lature of  Alabama  had  passed  a  bill  making  Davis's 
birthday,  June  3d,  a  legal  holiday. 

Bancroft  Centennial. — ^The  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  birth  of  the  historian,  Bancroft,  who  was  bom  Oc- 
tober 3,  1800,  was  appropriately  celebrated  in  Worcester, 
Mass.,  the  place  of  his  nativity.  To  a  Southern  man,  Mr. 
McDonald  Furman,  Privateer,  S.  C,  belongs  the  honor 
of  suggesting  such  a  commemoration.     In  a  letter  last 


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Notes  and  Queries.  93 

June  to  the  Worcester  Gazette  he  called  attention  to  the 
propriety  of  recalling  the  memory  of  this  distinguished 
author  and  outlined  the  exercises. 

Pasco. — ^A  son  of  Hon.  S.  Pasco,  Lieut.  W.  D.  Pasco, 
was  killed  in  an  engagement  in  the  Philippines  on  October 
29,  1900. 


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PUBLICATIONS 

OP 

Southern  History  Association, 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


VOLUME  I.  1897,  pp.  336.  $3.00  UNBOUND. 

ELisTORicAi,  Sketch  of  the  Association— Historicai,  Studies  in 
THE  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks— The  Pi^anter  of  the  Ou)  South, 
Richard  Malcolm  Johnston— Two  Southern  Magazines,  Edward  Ingle 
—David  Crockett,  Marcos  J.  Wright— Bibuography  of  the  Statute 
Law  of  the  oouthern  States,  Theodore  I^.  Cole— John  Owen's  Jour- 
NAi.  IN  i8i8 — Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journai.  on  North  Carouna— 
Bryant  Lester  and  Descendants,  Thomas  M.  Owen— John  Brown's 
Raid,  Andrew  Hunter— A  Bibuography  of  John  Brown,  Thomas 
Peatherstonhaugh— Thomas  Lamar  and  Some  Descendants,  W.  H. 
Lamar— HuCK's  Defeat,  Marcos  J.  Wright— A  Question  of  Fact,  C. 
C.  Pinckney-JouRNAi,  OF  THE  SiEGE  OF  Savannah  in  1779,  General 
Provost— A  Bibuography  of  Wii,i.iam  OiUfORE  Sibcms,  A.  S.  Salley, 
Jr.— Book  Notes— Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  II,  1898,  pp^  390,  ^5^3.00  UNBOUND. 


Report  of  Second  Annuai,  Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  Secy.-^ 
Unpublished  Letters  of  Andrew  Jackson— Transfer  of  Louisiana, 
Marcos  J.  Wright— Society  of  the  Cincinnati  in  the  South,  Charles 
L.  Davis— Dismemberment  of  Virginia,  William  Baird— Anti-Sla- 
very Sentiment  in  the  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks— Pelatiah  Webs- 
ter's Journal,  Thomas  P.  Harrison— Wiluam  Strother  and  Des- 
cendants, Thomas  M.  Owen— Richard  Winn,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Mary- 
land's Greatest  Poutician,  Edward  Ingle— Christopher  Gadsden, 
E.  I.  Renick— Virginia  Women  and  the  Civil  War,  B.  W.  Arnold— 
Early  Southern  Institutions,  Peter  J.  Hamilton— Button  Gwin- 
nett's Commission— Richard  Malcolm  Johnston,  Edmund  Clarence 
Stedman  and  Stephen  B.  Weeks— Sir  Richard  Everard,  Marshall  De 
Lancey  Haywood— Mount  Vernon,  Alababia,  T.  H.  Ball— Monroe's 
Poverty,  Thomas  M.  Owen — Social  Affairs  in  1760— Book  Notes- 
Notes  AND  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  III,  1899,  pp.  384,  $300  UNBOUND. 


The  Florida  Mound-Builders,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh- Ed- 
ward MosELEY,  James  Franklin  Shinn— Jacob  Ammonet,  of  Virginia, 
Cliiton  Wood  Brausfbrd— SoBiE  Difficulties  of  a  Texas  Empresario, 
Lester  G.  Bugbee— The  Texan  Expedition  Against  Mier,  Thomas  J. 

Green— ERSONNEL   OF  THE   NORTH  CAROLINA  CONVENTION  OF    I788 — 

A  Confederate  Incident,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Report  of  Third  Annual 
Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  Sec*y. — Sidney  Lanier,  George  S.  Wills 
— Nulufication  Resolutions,  A.  S.  Salley — The  Renick  Family  of 
Virginia,  E.  I.  Renick— Henry  Timrod,  Henry  E.  Shepherd  and  A. 
S.  Salley— John  Brown,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh — Salisbury  (N.  C.) 
Confederate  Prison,  A.  W.  Mangum— Book.  Notes— Notes  and 
Queries— Index. 


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VOLUiME  IV,  i9o6>  pp.  py,  5J»^lfNB0Uf 
No.  I.JANUARY,  1900. 

K  L-  it.  Cwrrv-       i 
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,  Daniel  E.  GitodlocL  149 

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J].,x. 


Vol..  V.  MARCH,  1901.  No.  2. 


PUBLICATIONS 


OP  THE 


Southern  History  Association. 


ISSUED  BI-MONTHLY. 


CONTENTS : 

PAOB 

RkporT  op  THK  Fifth  Annuai,  Mkbting,  .  .  Colyer  Meriwether,  Sec*y.    95 
History  op  ths  Conprdsratk  Treasury  (Continued),  .   .  B.  A.  Smith.    99 

WnxiAM  Vans  Murray, .  Clement  SuUivane.  151 

Thk  Caxhodn  I^bttsrs,      J.  I4.  M.  Curry.  159 

RKviEws  AND  Notices, 164 

NoTBS  AND  Queries,     175 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Published  by  the  Association. 

March,  1901. 


•3.00  per  annum  |  Ol.OO  per  number. 

No  responsibility  ssBumed  for  opinions  of  contributors. 


Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


OFFICERS,  1901. 


PRESIDENT: 
Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 

General  M.  C.  BoTi^R.  Mr.  Thomas  Nbwon  Pagb. 

General  M.  J.  Wright.  Professor  Woodrow  W1Z.SON. 

Colonel  Ghorgb  A.  Portbrfield.        Senator  S.  Pasco. 

SECRETARY   AND  TREASURER: 
Coi,Y«R  Mkriwhthkr,  Ph.  D.,  Washington^  D.  C 

ADMINISTRATIVE  COUNCIL: 
(In  addition  to  the  above-named  Officers): 

Professor  Krmp  P.  Batti^b.  Stephen  B.  Weeks,  Ph.  D. 

Colonel  R.  A.  Brock.  Professor  H.  Schobnfei«d. 

Mr.  T.  I4.  Coi^E.  Professor  Lucian  Johnston. 

Professor  R.  Heath  Dabnby.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Ci«ark. 

Professor  John  R.  Ficklen.  Mr.  Ai,exander  Summers. 

Professor  Chas.  Lee  Smith.  President  Geo.  T.  Winston. 

Professor  W.  C.  Stubbs.  J.  B.  Kii,i,ebrew,  Ph.  D. 

PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE: 

Gen.  M.  J.  Wright.  Mr.  T.  L.  Coi,B. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Clark.  Dr.  Stephen  B.  Weeks. 

Mr.  John  B.  Browni.ow.  Dr.  Coi^yer  Meriwether. 


Pursuant  to  a  call  signed  by  nearly  a  hundred  representative  persons  of 
the  South,  the  Southern  History  Association  was  organized  at  the  Columbian 
University,  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  evening  of  April  24,  1896,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  history  of  the  Southern  States.  In  carrying  out  this  aim 
an  annual  meeting  is  held,  and  a  Bi-monthly  Publication  issued.  The  Associ- 
ation also  desires  contributions  of  journals,  letters,  manuscripts  and  other  ma- 
terial towards  the  beginning  of  a  collection  of  historical  sources.  It  will  gladly 
accept  papers  based  on  research  and  documents  on  all  subjects  touching  the 
South. 

All  persons,  as  well  as  libraries,  interested  in  the  work  are  eligible  for 
membership,  without  initiation  fee  ;  annual  dues  $3.00,  life  dues  $30.00.  There 
is  no  other  expense  to  members,  who  receive  all  current  publications  of  the 
Association  free  of  charge. 

The  Publici^tions  alone  can  be  had,  postpaid,  at  $3.00  per  volume,  un- 
bound, or  |i.oo  per  number. 

All  communications  should  be  addressed  to 

COI.YER  MERIWETHER.  Secretary, 
P.  O.  Box  65.  Washington,  D.  C. 

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PUBLICATIONS 

OP  THB 

SOUTHERN  HISTORY  ASSOCIATION. 


Vol.  V.  March,  1901.  No.  2. 

THE  REPORT  OF  THE  FIFTH  ANNUAL  MEET- 
ING OF  THE  SOUTHERN  HISTORY 
ASSOCIATION. 

By  CotYER  Meriwether,  Secretary. 

The  fifth  annual  meeting  of  the  Southern  History  Asso- 
ciation, for  the  transaction  of  business  and  election  of 
officers,  was  held  in  the  library  of  the  President,  Dr.  J.  L. 
M.  Curry,  1736  M  street.  Northwest,  Washington,  D.  C, 
on  the  evening  of  Friday,  January  11,  1901.  The  reports 
of  the  Secretary  and  the  Treasurer  were  presented.  Mr. 
T.  L.  Cole  was  appointed  auditor  for  the  latter.  An  al- 
lowance of  seventy-five  dollars  was  voted  to  the  Secre- 
tary. The  Secretary  was  empowered  to  obtain  the  ser- 
vices of  some  distinguished  gentleman,  if  possible,  to  de- 
liver an  address  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  Association. 
At  the  close  of  the  regular  duties  the  members  were  very 
pleasantly  entertained  with  refreshments  by  Dr.  Curry. 

The  following  were  elected 

Officers  for  1901 : 

President:  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Vice-Presidents:  General  M.  C.  Butler,  Washington,  D. 
C. ;  General  M.  J.  Wright,  War  Department ;  Mr.  Thomas 
Nelson  Page,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Professor  Woodrow 


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96  Southern  History  Association, 

Wilson,  Princeton,  N.  J.;  Hon.  S.  Pasco,  Isthmian  Canal 
Commission;  Col.  George  A.  Porterfield,  Charlestown, 
W.  Va. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer:  Colyer  Meriwether,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

Administrative  Council  (in  addition  to  above  officers): 
Prof.  Kemp  P.  Battle,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C;  Col.  R.  A. 
Brock,  Richmond,  Va. ;  Mr.  T.  L.  Cole,  Washington,  D. 
C;  Prof.  R.  H.  Dabney,  University  of  Virginia;  Prof. 
John  R.  Ficklen,  Tulane  University;  Prof.  Chas.  Lee 
Smith,  Liberty,  Mo.;  Prof.  W.  C.  Stubbs,  New  Orleans, 
La. ;  Dr.  S.  B.  Weeks,  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico ;  Prof.  H. 
Schoenfeld,  Columbian  University ;  Prof.  Lucian  Johnston, 
Notre  Dame,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Mr.  Thos.  H.  Clark,  Law 
Librarian  of  Congress ;  Mr.  Alexander  Summers,  Bureau 
of  Education;  President  George  T.  Winston,  Raleigh,  N. 
C,  and  Col.  J.  B.  Killebrew,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

By  vote,  the  Publication  Committee  is  composed  of 
Gen.  M.  J.  Wright,  Mr.  Thos.  H.  Clark,  Mr.  T.  L.  Cole, 
Dr.  S.  B.  Weeks,  Col.  John  B.  Brownlow  and  the  Secre- 
tary. 

SKCRirrARY'S  RilPORT   FOR   I9OO. 

At  this  our  fifth  annual  meeting,  the  Secretary  can 
report  undiminished  interest  in' the  work  of  the  Associa- 
tion. Our  printed  output  is  the  largest  in  our  history, 
aggregating  525  pages.  The  experiment  of  bi-monthly 
issues,  instead  of  quarterly,  seems  to  have  been  successful 
enough  to  warrant  a  consideration  of  monthly  numbers 
if  arrangements  could  be  made  as  regards  time  and 
means. 

As  in  previous  years,  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in 
getting  material  for  publication,  and  hence  issues  have 
been  delayed.  It  would  be  easy  enough  to  fill  our  pages 
by  lowering  the  standard,  but  that  would  be  endorsed  by 
none,  and  would  in  time  defeat  its  own  aim.  It  would 
be  beyond  our  present  means  to  pay  for  contributions,  and 


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Report  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Meeting, — Meriwether.     97 

besides  learned  organizations  do  not  generally  make  such 
compensation  unless  in  some  special  cases.  It  would  cer- 
tainly, though,  be  advi§able  to  purchase  original  historical 
material  when  we  have  the  means. 

In  our  own  field,  among  all  agencies,  conditions  re- 
mained practically  unchanged  for  the  past  year,  except  a 
decline  of  one,  possibly  two,  in  the  number  of  historical 
periodicals.  The  various  organizations,  historical,  patri- 
otic, memorial  and  historico-social,  seem  to  be  in  vigorous 
health.  One,  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy, 
shows  a  gratifying  growth. 

Naturally,  the  most  prominent  effort,  the  one  most 
likely  of  the  greatest  results,  one  that  affects  the  South 
in  common  with  the  whole  country,  is  the  movement  in 
Congress  for  an  appropriation  to  carry  out  a  comprehen- 
sive research  into  the  archives  of  the  different  States.  It 
would  be  an  unspeakable  boon  for  all  students  and  readers 
of  history,  if  this  vast  wealth  of  records  and  documents 
could  be  accurately  pointed  out  and  described.  It  is  only 
proper  to  add  that  the  father  of  this  noble  conception  and 
the  chief  promoter  of  it  is  a  member  of  our  Association, 
Hon.  J.  W.  Stokes,  of  South  Carolina. 

It  is  a  sad  duty  to  chronicle  the  death  of  our  first  presi- 
dent, Mr.  William  L.  Wilson,  who,  as  we  all  know,  had 
been  at  the  head  of  Washington  and  Lee  University  since 
1897,  at  the  end  of  the  Cleveland  Administration.  An 
authentic  sketch  of  his  life  will  appear  in  one  of  the  early 
issues  of  our  Publication. 

Treasurer's  Report  for  1900. 
Receipts. 

Balance  from  1899, $462  28 

Membership  fees, 462  95 

Sales,    108  50 

Reprints,    24  75 


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gS  Southern  History  Association. 

Advertisements,   i6  lo 

Interest,  1 1  32 

Cash  from  the  petty  cash  account, 8  30 

Total, $1,094  20 

Expenditures  for  ipoo. 

Printing,  .vouchers,  i,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, $579  07 

Postage,  voucher  10, 60  26 

Secretary's  allowance,  voucher  11, 50  00 

Freight  and  expressage,  vouchers  12,  16, ^3  99 

General   and   miscellaneous   expenses,   vouchers 

14,  15,  17,  18, 21  03 

Cash  on  hand,  voucher  13, 8  30 

Rebates,  voucher  19, 2  80 

Total,   $735  45 

Surplus,  voucher  20,  certified  check, $3S8  75 

CoLYER  Meriwether, 
Treasurer. 
December  31,  ipoo. 

Washington,  D.  C,  January   15,   1901,  examined  and 
believed  to  be  correct. 

T.  L.  Cole, 
Auditing  Committee. 


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THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  TREAS- 
URY   (Continued.) 

By  Professor  Ernest  A.  Smith,  Allegheny  College. 

CHAPTER  HI.— REMEDIES. 

In  the  second  year  of  the  Confederacy  the  tendency  of 
the  financial  policy  was  variously  interpreted.  The  prac- 
tice of  the  Administration  was  to  make  cheerful  reports 
on  the  condition  of  the  public  credit.  The  press  was  in 
the  main  conservative  and  loyal  and  not  disposed  as  yet 
to  judge  harshly  the  Treasury  methods,  excepting  the 
utterances*®^  of  the  Richmond  Examiner.  There  was  a 
popular  notion  of  vast  resources  in  the  South,  and  none 
but  the  ignor^pt  or  timid  dared  question  whether  its  debts 
could  be  paid,  however  enlarged.  But  the  proposition 
in  Congress  of  a  high  rate  of  taxation  brought  forth  very 
divergent  opinions  on  the  economic  measures  feasible  and 
adequate.  A  bill  was  reported  September  23  by  Mr. 
Kenner,  of  Louisiana,  chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 

Forced  Loan  Rejected. 

Committee,  which  provided  for  the  levy  of  a  uniform  in- 
come tax  of  20%.  This  was  to  be  assessed  on  January  i, 
1863,  on  the  gross  products  of  the  year  1862.  All  sources 
of  income  were  liable  except  bonds  and  Treasury  notes. 
The  minimum  exemption  of  total  products  and  income 
was  $500.  In  return  for  paying  this  tax,  the  collectors 
were  to  give  bonds  of  the  Treasury,  called  "Income  Tax 
Bonds,"  bearing  6%  interest  and  the  principal  payable 
from  10  to  30  years. 
This  plan  was  thus  a  forced  loan  under  the  name  of  a 

*"Apr.  4,  Apr.  11,  .Sept.  16,  1862,  etc. 


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loo  Southern  History  Association, 

tax.  The  line  of  support  of  the  bill  by  Mr.  Kenner  gave 
the  type  of  the  new  resolute  policy  that  would  have  re- 
paired earlier  mistakes.  His  argument^^^  was  that  things 
had  been  going  smoothly,  but  now  the  time  had  come  for 
vigorous  action.  With  one  slight  exception  the  credit  of 
the  South  had  been  based  on  its  future  resourt:es.  The 
printing  presses  could  no  longer  carry  on  the  war,  but 
well  defined  revenues  must  be  created  to  sustain  the  gov- 
ernment. It  was  not  the  business  of  Congress  to  lighten 
the  burdens  of  the  people,  but  to  devise  measures  that 
will  meet  the  heavy  expenses  of  the  present.  Mr.  Kenner 
paid  a  high  tribute  to  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  the 
notes  when  he  said  they  would  receive  them  until  it  took 
a  barrel  of  notes  to  buy  a  barrel  of  flour,  while  meantime 
inevitable  financial  law  was  working  the  nation's  irretriev- 
able ruin.  There  was  hesitation  on  the  part  of  many 
members  to  admit  the  serious  depreciation  of  the  currency 
and  sums  ranging  from  $300,000,000  to  $400,000,000  were 
thought  by  some  to  be  not  excessive  for  the  circulation. 

The  opposition  to  the  tax  measure  was  many-sided  and 
determined.  Those  who  were  working  for  a  legal  tender 
law  did  not  favor  the  system.  The  charge  of  unconstitu- 
tionality was  urged  by  Mr.  Boyce,  of  South  Carolina,  and 
Mr.  Bridgers,  of  North  Carolina,  on  the  ground  of  its 
being  a  forced  loan.  Other  representatives  denied  that 
the  measure  was  expedient  or  necessary.  Mr.  Bruce,  of 
Kentucky,  took  the  position  that  no  tax  could  be  relied 
upon  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  debt,  which  required  for 
its  successive  levies  the  action  of  future  Congresses.  It 
was  also  declared  that  the  proposed  revenue  could  not  be 
applied  to  aid  the  currency.  While  some  hailed  the  plan 
as  a  satisfactory  relief  from  possible  impressment  of  mili- 
tary supplies,  yet  the  more  general  sentiment  prevailed 
that  the  country  was  not  ready  for  such  a  measure.  The 
scheme  was  thought  to  have  been  arranged  hastily  and  to 

""Richmond  Sentinel,  Examine,  Sept.  23,  1862. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    loi 

have  not  included  all  revenues.  Mr.  Chambers,  of  Mis- 
sissippi, voiced  the  attitude  of  the  House  in  his  statement 
that  since  the  money  could  not  be  collected  until  April 
there  wks  no  injury  from  waiting,  and  the  House  was  not 
then  prepared  to  perfect  a  plan  of  taxation.  Accordingly, 
in  the  face  of  the  protests  of  Mr.  Perkins,  of  Louisiana, 
that  they  had  passed  appropriations  increasing  the  ex- 
penses for  one  month  by  $80,000,000,  the  measure  of  re- 
lief was  postponed^®*  on  October  9th  to  the  next  session 
by  a  vote  of  36  to  28. 

Legal  Tender  Unconstitutionai.. 

The  legal  tender  measure  fared  no  better  than  in  pre- 
vious sessions.  Mr.  Poote,  of  Tennessee,  by  his  advocacy 
of  it  established  his  career  as  the  notorious  opponent  of 
the  Administration.  A  motion  to  make  the  bill,  introduced 
by  Mr.  Gartell  August  i8th,  a  special  order,  was  defeated 
by  a  vote  of  54  to  28. 

The  Judiciary  would  not  report  favorably  then  nor  at 
the  third  session  in  January,  1863,  when  Mr.  Swan,  of 
Tennessee,  offered  a  bill  to  grant  an  issue  of  $250,000,000 
notes  receivable  for  all  debts.  The  amount  of  circulation 
had  reached  such  proportions  that  a  legal  tender  act  would 
have  either  created  two  currencies  or  had  an  ex  post  facto 
application.     The  view  of  the  unconstitutionality  of  such 

""The  motion  of  Mr.  Jones,  of  Tennessee,  was  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  Congress  to  pass  a  bill  at  its  present  session  to  raise 
revenue  by  taxation  and  that  the  resolution  for  adjournment  on 
Monday,  Oct.  13,  be  rescinded.  The  vote  was — ^yeas,  Ashe.  Bald- 
win, Barksdale,  Bonham,  Boyce,  Bridgers,  Currin,  Elliott,  Farrow. 
Foote,  Goode,  Graham,  Gray,  Harris,  Hartridge,  Hilton,  Hol- 
combe.  Holt,  Tones,  Kenner,  Lyons,  McRae,  Menees,  Miles, 
Perkins,  Russell,  Sexton  and  Swan — 28.  Nays — Atkins,  Batson, 
Bell,  Boteler,  Chambers,  Chilton,  Clapp,  Clark,  Clopton,  Collier, 
Dargan,  Dupre,  Foster,  Freeman,  Gardenhier,  Garland,  Garnett, 
Gartrell,  Hanly,  Heiskell,  Herbert,  Johnson,  Kenan  of  Ga.,  Kenan 
of  N.  C.,  Lauder,  McDowell,  McQueen,  Pugh,  Ralls,  Rqyston, 
Smith  of  Ala.,  Smith  of  N.  C,  Trippe,  Wilcox,  Wright  of  Texas, 
and  Wright  of  Tenn.--36. 


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legislation  continued  to  extend  more  widely,  until  a  year 
later,  when  under  new  currency  plans  the  proposition  being 
again  made,  there  were  very  few  supporters. 

Fatal  Inaction  of  Congress. 

.  Congress  did  not  escape  condemnation  for  its  failure  to 
pass  a  proper  tax  law.  The  Richmond  Whig  of  October, 
1862,  said:  "The  country  will  not  accept  its  leaving  im- 
portant public  questions  ^o  settle  themselves  as  duty  done. 
All  know  that  the  currency  question  imperiously  demands 
some  sort  of  decision."  The  condition  of  the  currency 
received  increasing  public  attention  and  the  demand  for 
heavy  taxation  to  secure  the  bonds  which  would  relieve  the 
inflation  came  to  be  a  national  propaganda.  But  the  evil 
was  wrought  in  the  postponement  of  that  which  had  been 
almost  fatally  delayed,  and  scores  of  millions  of  notes  were 
to  be  added  monthly  before  measures  for  relieving  eco- 
nomic mistakes  would  be  ^acted.  The  inaction  of  Con- 
gress in  October  was  an  added  blow  to  credit,  reflected  by 
the  increase  of  speculation  and  the  desire  to  get  rid  of  the 
notes  in  all  forms  of  investments.  Manufacturers  were 
charged  with  unwarranted  advance  of  prices  and  extortion 
was  not  confined  to  place  or  party. 

The  Produce  Loan. 

Although  increased  receipts  from  taxes  were  denied,  the 
Treasury  worked  diligently  to  render  available  other  re- 
sources than  notes.  The  bonds  had  found  comparatively 
few  direct  purchasers,  for  they  were  allowed  to  be  sold 
only  above  par.  After  July,  1862,  they  were  not  thrown 
open  to  general  bids.  The  funding^®*  of  notes  and  ex- 
change for  produce  did  hot  exhaust  during  this  year  the 
one  hundred  million  loan  of  August  19,  1861,  and  the 
bonds  of  the  new  loan  of  April  12,  1862,  were  not  even 
issued.    However,  foreign  markets  now  offered  an  inviting 

*•*  Report  of  Jan.  10,  1863. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    103 

prospect  for  the  sale  of  special  cotton  bonds.  This  oppor- 
tunity arose  out  of  changes  in  the  Produce  Loan.  The 
large  subscription  list  of  1861  had  not  silenced  objection 
to  this  project.  The  collections,  being  at  the  discretion  of 
the  planters,  continued  to  be  delayed,  since  the  blockading 
of  the  ports  hindered  the  marketing  of  the  produce.  The 
sentiment  in  favor  of  government  control  of  cotton  opposed 
the  double  plan  of  exchange  which  put  products  into  notes 
and  these  proceeds  in  bonds.  The  Richmond  Examiner^^^ 
said  the  Produce  Loan  was  a  sham  and  a  delusion,  but  if 
all  the  cotton  was  delivered  to  the  government  and  formed 
the  basis  of  a  bona  fide  loan  of  money  value,  it  would  be 
more  desirable  than  gold  or  silver,  and  more  valuable  after 
the  blockade. 

The  First  Congress  favored  a  new  adjustment  and 
passed  a  law  on  April  21,  1862,  allowing  the  products  to  be 
sold  direct  to  the  Treasury  for  8%  bonds,  $35,000,000  be- 
ing appropriated  for  the  purpose.  The  produce  loan  con- 
tinued to  receive  cotton  and  tobacco  by  subscription,  but 
this  act  gave  much  wider  power  to  the  Secretary  for  the 
control  of  the  staples.  It  looked  to  a  possibly  larger  use 
of  bonds  than  had  been  gained  up  to  this  time  by  the  pro- 
duce subscriptions.  This  legislation  was  not  radical 
enough  for  those  who  advocated  government  purchase, 
nor  could  the  amount  to  be  secured  warrant  the  statement 
that  the  cotton  of  the  country  created  an  actual  g^rantee 
of  all  the  Treasury  notes  issued.  Yet  the  arguments  for 
entire  ownership  continued  to  be  advanced  intermittingly 
in  the  newspapers. 

The  Scheme  Not  Successful. 

In -his  report  of  October  2,  1862,  Mr.  Memminger  ad- 
mitted the  failure  of  the  Produce  Loan  as  a  means  of  con- 
verting currency  into  bonds.  Nor  as  a  collecting  agency 
was  it  bringing  satisfactory  results,  though  an  order  had 

"•Apr.  II,  1862, 


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been  issued  under  the  new  act  that  the  subscribers  at  once 
discharge  their  obligations  and  allow  exchange  for  bonds. 

The  report  of  the  chief  clerk  on  January  9,  1863,  gave 
the  first  accurate  gauge  of  the  usefulness  of  the  Bureau. 
The  returns  for  1861-2  were  431,347  bales  of  cotton,  worth 
$21,567,350,  at  $50  to  the  bale;  other  products  worth 
$895,180,  cash  $608,375,  a  total  of  $23,070,905.  Of  this 
amount  only  $2,000,000  had  been  added  in  1862,  as  the 
result  of  the  solicitations  directed.  The  agency  had  not 
been  effective  in  drawing  the  support  of  the  people  during 
the  second  year  of  the  war,  and  had  made  only  fair  pro- 
gress in  realizing  on  the  early  pledges,  whose  payment 
was  no  longer  optional.  The  collections  amounted  to 
$7,633,044,  less  than  one-third  of  the  total,  at  an  expense 
of  one-third  of  one  per  cent. 

The  next  report  of  Mr.  Roane,  the  chief  clerk,  on  No- 
vember 30,  1863,  placed  the  value  of  the  old  subscriptions 
at  $28,070,905,  an  increase  of  $5,000,000  being  allowed  for 
the  appreciation  of  cotton.  Of  this  amount  now  $14,940,- 
950  was  collected  and  new  subscriptions  had  been  secured 
to  the  sum  of  $16,956,000.^°'  The  final  report  of  the  Pro- 
duce Loan  on  November  10,  1864,  showed  that  $11,173,095 
of  the  original  list  could  not  be  collected  on  account  of 
lost  property  and  withdrawal  of  the  8%  bonds.  This  was  a 
shrinkage  of  40%  of  contributions  pledged  under  the  more 
favorable  conditions.  The  additional  returns  of  1863-4 
were  $17,579,400,  raising  the  total  receipts  to  $34,476,400,. 
secured  during  the  war  by  this  agency  of  the  Treasury. 
The  Bureau,  however,  from  May,  1863,  had  two  other  di- 
visions, which  were  managed  separately,  the  branch  for 
the  purchase  of  cotton,  and  the  branch  to  collect  the  tax 
in  kind. 

Mr.  Memminger  did  not  at  once  employ  the  authority 
Congress  gave  him  to  buy  cotton  with  bonds.     He  was 

*"*Of  this  South  Carolina  gave  $11,171,250;  Alabama  $3»4S7.500; 
Florida,  $1,217,200;  Georgia,  $1,110,100. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    105 

only  driven  to  such  purchases  when  the  possession  of  cot- 
ton furnished  the  sole  means  to  secure  the  specie  de- 
manded for  European  supplies.  The  supply  of  coin  in  the 
flood  of  paper  issues  rapidly  disappeared,  for  the  amount 
in  the  Southern  banks  on  January  i,  1861,  was  estimated 
at  $27,000,000.^®'  Preparations  had  been  made  at  the  New 
Orleans  Mint  for  the  coinage  of  silver,  but  after  four  half 
dollars  were  struck  in  April,  1861,  the  work  was  not  re- 
sumed. During  the  first  year  the  depositories  of  the  cities 
bought  sterling  exchange  for  the  Treasury,  driving  the 
price  to  a  steadily  rising  rate.  Fraser,  Trenholm  &  Co., 
of  Liverpool,  .were  the  foreign  bankers,  and  to  them  in  the 
first  three  years  some  sum^®^  less  than  $10,000,000  must 
have  been  remitted.  By  June,  1862,  the  premium  on  ex- 
change had  passed  100%,  and  coin  was  difficult  to  secure. 
At  this  time  the  military  authorities  seized  $2,500,000  of 
the  coin  of  the  New  Orleans  banks  to  prevent  its  capture 
by  the  Federals.    Blockade  runners  were  beginning  to  take 

Sending  Cotton  Abroad. 

out  cargoes  of  cotton  to  Nassau  and  to  England,  and  the 
Treasury  saw  here  an  opening  for  converting  the  staple 
into  the  greatly  demanded  specie.  John  Fraser  &  Co.,  of 
Charleston,  the  correspondent  of  the  Liverpool  house,  was 
one  of  the  most  trusted  agents  and  assisted  in  the  devel- 
opment of  this  government  shipping.  A  considerable 
trade  both  for  public  and  private  purposes  was  carried  on 
until  the  ports  were  captured  by  the  North. 

In  order  to  have  stocks  of  cotton  to  ship  the  general 
agents  of  the  Produce  Loan  were  instructed^***  to  buy  with 
vigor;  Phinzy  &  Clayton,  at  Augusta;  J.  S.  K.  Bennett, 
at  Charleston;  and  L.  W.  Lawler,  at  Mobile.  But  not  until 
the  crop  was  being  marketed  did  the  activity  beg^n.  Then 
J.  E.  B.  DeBow  had  been  sent  to  Mississippi,  and  this  was 

•"Eighth  Census.  • 

'"Reports  of  sub-treasurers. 
"•May  28,  1862. 


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'  the  region  from  which  the  largest  supplies  were  drawn ; 
2,492  bales  were  first  bought  on  September  9,  1862,  and 
by  December  70,000"®  bales  had  been  secured  for  $4,474,- 
400,  at  I3i  cents  per  pound.  The  payment  was  almost 
entirely  in  bonds,  the  cash  outlay  being  only  $46,026. 
Texas  was  expected  to  be  a  good  field  for  operations,  but 
at  first  the  planters  refused  to  sell  for  bonds,  and  the 
transportation  planned  to  Matamoras  was  thought  too  far. 
A.  W.  McKee  was  afterwards  placed  in  charge  there,  and 
the  larger  share  of  the  purchases  was  turned  over  to  the 
army  of  the  Trans-Mississippi.  The  general  report  of 
November  30,  1863,  showed  that  399,753  bales  had  been 
bought  for  $30,314,766,  bonds  having  been  taken  for  five- 
sixths  of  the  amount.  The  average  price  per  pound  was  17 
cents,  ranging  from  12  in  Mississippi  to  36  in  South  Caro- 
lina. Alabama,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  furnished  90 
per  cent,  of  the  stock. 

Value  of  Cotton  Purchase. 

The  report  of  November  ib,  1864,  gave  an  approximate 
estimate  of  the  value  of  government  cotton  purchase. 
The  number  of  bales  had  reached  430,724,  at  a  cost  of 
$34,525,220.  Of  this  amount  129,771  bales  were  lost  by 
capture,  burned  by  the  Confederacy  "and  used  for  war  pur- 
poses ;  67,653  were  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  subject  to 
military  uses ;  6,961  were  sold  by  the  Treasury  and  19,683 
sent  to  England  to  pay  the  foreign  debt,  leaving  a  balance 
yet  available  of  191,049  bales.  When  De  Bow  was  engaged 
in  Mississippi,  he  estimated  that  he  secured  one-third  of 
the  stock  in  that  State.  The  yearly  crop  had  been  greatly 
diminished  during  the  war  both  from  the  necessities  of  the 
times  and  because  of  agitation  against  growing  it.  The 
Senate  had  recommended"^  that  no  planter  produce  more 
than  3  bales  to  the  man.    At  that  time  the  limitation  of 

"•Produce  Loan  report  of  Jan.  9,  1863. 
"*Mch.  13,  1862. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    107 

cotton  growing  was  yet  expected  to  exert  a  political  in- 
fluence in  drawing  the  support  of  Europe.  The  crop  of 
1862  was  commonly  put  at  2,000,000  bales,  and  as  the 
tithes  reported  from  the  yield  of  1863  were  only  15,000 
bales,  the  depression  of  agriculttye  is  well  indicated.  It 
was  thought^'*  that  2,000,000  bales  remained  in  private 
stocks  in  the  South,  November,  1864.  The  fact  that  130,- 
000"'  bales  went  to  New  Orleans  that  year  shows  that 
prohibitions  of  exportation  were  not  effectual.  The  Con^ 
federacy  was  able  to  control  a  fair  proportion  of  the 
staple  within  its  borders,  but  only  a  small  part  of  this  was 
utilized  in  furnishing  the  most  important  war  supplies. 
After  the  war,  the  United  States  disposed  of  this  Confed- 
erate cotton  to  the  value  of  $29,500,000. 

The  Erlanger  Loan. 

However,  the  possession  of  cotton  by  direct  purchase 
and  the  subscriptions  to  the  Produce  Loan  gave  effective 
form  to  the  effort  to  place  a  foreign  loan.  The  plan^^*  was 
to  issue  cotton  certificates  on  the  purchases  and  hypothe- 
cate them  to  contractors.  They  called  for  delivery  at  cer- 
tain ports  after  peace,  20  bales  constituting  a  certificate 
worth  $1,000;  $1,500,000  of  these  were  sent  in  November, 
1862,  to  James  Spence,  the  English  agent.  Through  Com- 
missioner J.  M.  Mason  the  firm  of  Erlanger  &  Co.,  of 
Frankfort  and  Paris,  was  interested  in  the  investment. 
Negotiations  were  carried  on  in  strict  secrecy,  and  a  con- 
tract between  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  Jules 
Beeri  for  Emile  Erlanger  &  Co.  was  signed  Janu- 
ary 8,  1863.  The  Secretary  engaged  to  get  full  power 
from  Congress  for  raising  in  Europe  75,000,000  francs, 
equal  to  £3,000,000.  President  Davis  was  told"**  the  funds 
were  immediately  required  and  prompt  action  must  be 

"■Report  of  Treasury,  Nov.  7,  1864. 
'"Report  of  Produce  Loan,  Nov.  10,  1864. 
"*To  J.  M.  Mason,  Oct.  24,  1862. 
"•Letter  of  Jan.  9,  1863. 


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taken.  On  January  29,  1863,  Congress  allowed  the  loan, 
and  C.  J.  McRae  was  sent  as  loan  agent  to  Paris  to  sign 
the  bonds,  together  with  Commissioner  Slidell. 

The  bankers  made  their  arrangements  so  that  the  bonds 
were  put  on  the  market  March  19th.  The  loan  was  in 
denominations  of  £100  to  ii,ooo,  with  interest  at  7%, 
payable  half  yearly,  and  one-fortieth  of  the  face  value  of 
the  loan  was  redeemable  at  half  yearly  drawings,  com- 
mencing March  i,  1864.  The  iioo  bond  was  made  con- 
vertible into  4,000  lbs.  of  cotton  at  6d.  a  pound  at  any  time 
not  later  than  six  months  after  peace.  Notice  of  60  days 
to  the  Confederate  foreign  representative  was  required  for 
such  exchange.  If  after  peace,  the  delivery  was  to  be  at 
the  chief  ports,  but  during  the  war  at  points  within  ten  miles 
of  transportation.  The  conditions  of  the  contract  required 
the  price  of  the  bonds  to  be  77%-  The  bankers  received 
5%  commission  on  their  sales  and  were  allowed  all  excess 
of  77%.  Payments  of  the  loan  were  to  be  made  within  six 
months  by  fixed  installments. 

The  bonds  were  floated  in  Paris,  Frankfort,  Amsterdam, 
and  London,  and  the  full  amount  was  subscribed  at  90%. 
Cotton  was  then  quoted  at  21  pence,  promising  heavy 
profits,  and  over  300,000  bales  were  announced  as  the  guar- 
antee. Although  the  loan  was  taken  with  a  rush,  the  dif- 
ficulties of  getting  the  cotton  out  seemed  to  come  as  a 
later  consideration.  In  April  the  price^^^  began  to  drop, 
and  though  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  amount  had  been  paid, 
it  was  feared  that  the  whole  transaction  would  be  forfeited. 
Erlanger  &  Co.  were  accordingly  authorized  by  Mr.  Mason 
to  buy  back  heavily  of  the  bonds,  but  this  bulling  of  the 
market  kept  the  rate  up  only  for  a  timp.  A  portion  of  the 
repurchased  stock  was  placed  again,  but  £704,000  remained 
untaken,  and  for  two  years  there  were  frequent  Treasury 
orders*^'  to  dispose  of  this.    Their  rate  greatly  fluctuated 

"•Report  of  Dec.  15,  1863,  to  the  Senate. 

"'To  Gen.  McRae,  Sept.  15,  Dec.  10,  1863,  Aug.  2,  1864. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    109 

in  this  time,  declining  sharply  after  the  loss  of  Vicksburg 
and  sinking  to  37%  in  December,  1863.  The  following 
year  the  increased  shipments  of  cotton  through  the  block- 
ade cau'sed  a  marked  rise  in  quotations,  closing  again  in 
a  fall  to  57%. 

The  report  of  October  i,  1864,  gave  the  following  state- 
ment of  the  dealings : 

Total  amount  of  the  loan,  £3,000,000;  bonds  bought 
back,  £704,000;  bonds  of  repurchase  resold,  £195,000; 
whole  amount  actually  sold,  £2,491,000,  par  value;  g^oss 
proceeds,  £1,772,855;  commission  and  expenses,  £173,792; 
net  proceeds,  £1,599,063  or  $7,675,500. 

The  bankers,  in  addition  to  their  five  per  cent.,  had  the 
excess  of  77%  on  the  sales.  This  profitable  venture  in- 
duced Erlanger  &  Co.  to  offer  a  new  loan  of  £5,000,000, 
September  23,  1863,  on  the  same  conditions^^^  as  the  first, 
except  that  the  profits  above  ^7%  would  be  divided 
equally.  Mr.  Memminger  did  not  press  this  contract  on 
Congress,  though  it  was  renewed  in  December,  1864.  A 
balance  of  the  first  loan  yet  remained  untaken,  and  on  that 
venture  the  government  had  realized  a  bare  fifty  per  cent., 
which  in  turn  did  not  yield  the  best  returns^^*  upon  its 
investment  abroad,  yet  the  loan  as  establishing  the  for- 

SUCCESS  OF  THE  LOAN. 

eigti  credit  of  the  Confederacy  may  be  considered  a  suc- 
cess, in  comparison  with  the  other  financial  experiences 
of  the  South.  This  was  due  to  two  reasons ;  first,  the  con- 
fidence of  the  holders  of  the  bonds  that  they  would  get 
cotton  in  any  event ;  second,  the  payments  of  interest  semi- 
annually and  the  drawings  of  one-fortieth  of  the  principal 
were  faithfully  redeemed.  The  first  drawing  was  paid  out 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  loan,  March  i,  1864,  the  second 

*" Agreement  of  Memminger  and  Viscomte  H.  de  St.    Ronan, 
Letter  Book  "E." 
"•  Bulloch,  Secret  Service  of  C.  S.  in  Europe,    i,  Vol  11,  p.  245. 


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no  Southern  History  Association. 

from  the  Navy  fund,  and  the  third  was  made  under  act  of 
February  2,  1865,  the  total  being  £212,800. 

The  London  Index  of  September  15,  1864,  in  comment- 
ing on  the  fact  that  the  Confederate  cotton  loan  was 
quoted  at  73%,  while  that  of  the  United  States  was  41%, 
said  that  this  superior  credit  abroad  was  derived  from  the 
inestimable  strength  of  the  broad  substratum  of  hypothe- 
cated cotton.  While  the  general  bonds  of  the  Confederate 
funded  debt  represented  a  home  currency  more  or  less 
deranged,  the  foreign  credit  was  on  a  different  basis. 
However  this  condition  was  true  when  a  relatively  small 
amount  was  involved,  and  it  is  highly  problematic  to  say 
what  would  have  been  the  outcome  of  a  broader  financial 
application,  unless  it  had  been  made  in  the  first  year,  al- 
though then  the  economic  magnitude  of  the  struggle  was 
no  bett^  estimated  than  the  military. 

State  Guarantee  01?  IvOans. 

Another  possible  means  of  strengthening  the*  national 
credit  arose  out  of  the  constitutional  relations  of  the  States 
to  the  Confederacy.  State  bonds  on  the  market  with  the 
Treasury  loans  rated  at  a  higher  premium,  and  it  was  con- 
ceived that  if  the  several  legislatures  would  guarantee  the 
Confederate  bonds,  a  readier  sale  would  be  commanded. 
Virginia  asked  Congress  on  May  19,  1862,  to  devise  a  plan, 
but  the  initiative  belonged  properly  to  the  States.  General 
resolutions  were  passed  by  several  legislatures,  but  when 
it  came  to  deciding  on  a  definite  sum  the  scheme  failed. 
South  Carolina,  on  December  i8th,  agreed  to  underwrite 
its  quota  of  a  total  $200,000,000.  But  Mr.  Memminger*^* 
saw  such  vast  results  from  this  plan  through  the  reduction 
of  the  interest  to  6  per  cent,  by  reason  of  the  added  se- 
curity and  "by  the  saving  in  interest  being  so  great  annu- 
ally as  to  create  a  sinking  fund  to  pay  off  the  entire  debt," 
that  he  urged  the  amount  be  made  $500,000,000.     South 

"•Report  of  Jan.  10,  1863. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith,    iii 

Carolina  agreed  to  this  sum  if  the  other  States  assumed 
their  share.  J.  P.  Boyce,  of  Greenville,  was  engaged  by 
the  Treasury,  March  lo,  1863,  to  represent  the  movement 
before  other  legislatures,  but  his  address  in  Georgia  was 
negatived  by  the  message^^^  of  Gov.  Brown  against  any 
guarantee  at  all,  declaring  that  such  action  would  make 
the  central  government  too  strong.  The  Secretary  severe- 
ly blamed^*^  Georgia  for  the  failure  of  the  scheme,  and 
declared  that  the  guarantee  would  have  created  a  sure 
market  in  Europe;  but  any  advantage  gained  from  the 
States'  credits  would  have  been  temporary,  for  their  finan- 
cial affairs  became  equally  involved  with  those  of  the  na- 
tional government. 

Financial  State  in  January,  1863. 

The  message  of  President  Davis  on  January  12,  1863, 
to  the  third  session  of  the  First  Congress  contained  brief 
notice  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Treasury  report, 
expressing  a  belief  that  all  the  measures  would  be  readily 
adopted,  so  that  the  redundancy  would  be  easily  and 
promptly  relieved.  The  estimates  for  the  half  year  were 
submitted^**  in  fairly  relative  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  expenditures.  An  aggregate  of  over  $300,000,000  em- 
phasized the  extent  of  revenues  that  must  be  definitely  pro- 
vided. One  item  of  the  budget  was  the  provision  for  the 
public  debt  at  $30,000,000;  the  estimate  of  the  previous 
year  had  been  $1,500,000,  but  interest  arid  redemption  of 
certificates  and  notes  had  cost  $41,000,000  in  1862.  The 
public  debt  was  now,  in  bonds  and  stocks,  $145,475,370, 
and  in  Treasury  notes  $410,629,692,  a  total  of  $556,105,062. 
Ten  months  earlier  it  had  been  a  matter  of  congratulation 
that  there  was  no  floating  debt,  but  the  other  obligations 
now  had  proportions  not  so  satisfactory.     One  of  the 

.""April  2,  1863. 

***To  H.  Tutwiler  of  Havana,  Ala.,  Sept.  29,  1863. 

"•Report  of  Jan.  10,  1863. 


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112  Southern  History  Association. 

earliest  acts"*  of  the  session  was  to  pass  an  appropriation 
of  $20,000,000  to  pay  interest  on  the  debt.  The  problem 
submitted  by  the  Secretary  was  to  reduce  the  volume  of 
Treasury  notes  from  $450,000,000  to  $150,000,000.  A  cur- 
rency measure  again  took  precedence  of  taxation,  and  the 
immediate  present  was  provided  for  in  the  usual  manner. 
The  act  of  March  23,  1863,  limited  the  issue  of  notes  to 
$50,000,000  a  month.  It  also  contained  a  complexity  of 
refunding  provisions  which  established  the  new  policy  for 
the  withdrawal  and  discrediting  of  the  excessive  issues. 

The  Demand  for  Taxation. 

On  the  subject  of  taxation,  Mr.  Memminger  in  his  re- 
port of  January  10,  1863,  had  spoken  with  a  resoluteness 
and  insistence  not  found  in  his  previous  recommendations. 
He  said:  "Ample  means  in  the  form  of  a  permanent  tax 
must  be  provided  to  secure  and  pay  the  principal  and  in- 
terest of  the  securities  in  which  the  holders  are  required  to 
invest.  Such  a  tax  is  the  corner-stone  of  the  whole  fabric. 
Without  it  the  scheme  has  no  foundation  and  can  secure 
neither  public  confidence  nor  success."  The  President  had 
said  the  people  will  freely  meet  adequate  taxation.  The 
popular  tide  was  now  running  strongly  towards  such  a 
measure.  The  press  demanded  that  the  nation  be  bled 
heavily.  The  Richmond  Enquirer^*^  called  for  a  tax  of 
$200,000,000.  The  delay  of  action  by  Congress  was  bit- 
terly arraigned.  The  burden  of  the  charge  was  that  the 
South  had  "representation  without  taxation."  The  House 
was  said  to  have  shamefully  neglected  its  duty  to  originate 
a  bill.  The  Revolutionary  note  issues  had  depreciated  be- 
cause there  was  no  central  power  to  lay  revenues,  but  in 
the  Confederacy  the  right  of  ample  taxation  was  held  as  a 
power  of  last  resort. 

"*  Feb.  2,  1863. 
"•Feb.  17,  1863. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    113 

The  plan^^*  of  the  Secretary  was  to  follow  the  system 
used  in  the  War  Tax  and  make  the  levy  upon  property  and 
income.  He  thought  that  the  vexatious  and  expensive 
machinery  incidental  to  a  system  of  stamp  duties,  excises 
and  licenses  precluded  the  use  of  such  sources.  A  tax  on 
property  alone  was  too  great  a  burden,  and  while  the  in- 
comes might  partly  evade  assessment,  yet  profits  had  been 
so  large,  it  was  deemed  imperative  that  by  some  device 
they  be  made  to  contribute.  The  size  of  the  revenues  was 
gauged  by  the  interest  demands  of  the  Treasury  notes  and 
the  funded  debt,  a  total  charge  then  of  $48,000,000.  A 
property  tax  of  one  per  cent,  was  estimated  to  yield  $36,- 
000,000,  with  deductions  for  occupied  territory,  based  on 
the  War  Tax  returns  for  1862.  The  possible  yield  of  in- 
come tax  was  arrived  at  by  rating  the  property  of  the 
South  at  $4,000,000,000,  and  allowing  7%  interest  on  that 
sum,  then  fixing  the  levy  at  10%,  returning  $28,000,000. 
Thus  would  be  furnished  a  tax  of  $60,000,000,  less  contin- 
gencies, and  the  excess  was  to  be  applied  to  making  re- 
demptions of  the  principal  of  the  debt  yearly.  Such  re- 
demption was  a  condition  of  the  one  hundred  million  loan, 
but  had  been  omitted  for  subsequent  bonds. 

On  January  13,  1863,  a  bill  to  levy  a  War  Tax  was  sub- 
mitted, but  other  matters  than  currency  engrossed  first 
attention,  the  House  engaging  in  debates  on  exemption, 
and  the  Senate  on  a  judiciary,  neither  of  which  measures 
was  adopted.  The  Ways  and  Means  Committee  reported 
a  bill  on  February  25th,  which  provided  for  a  tax  of  one 
per  cent,  on  all  property,  an  income  tax  and  a  system  of 
licenses.  The  bill  was  debated  a  month  and  then  passed 
with  minor  changes.  The  Senate  took  a  strong  stand 
against  the  property  tax,  declaring  that  it  was  unconstitu- 
tional, for  direct  taxes  must  be  laid  according  to  represen- 
tation, and  the  limit  of  taking  the  census  had  been  placed 

"•  Capcrs's  Memminger,  pp.  447-451 ;  Records  of  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion. Series  IV,  Vol.  II,  pp.  317-322. 


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1 14  Southern  History  Association, 

at  February,  1865.  The  Senate  changed  the  system  of 
income  taxation,  which  had  been  little  graded  in  the  House 
bill.  Instead  of  14%  on  incomes  up  to  $10,000,  and  24% 
on  excess  of  $10,000,  the  proposal  was  5%  on  incomes 
from  $500  to  $1,500,  10%  on  incomes  from  $1,500  to  $10,- 
000,  I2i%  on  $10,000  to  $15,000,  and  15%  on  excess.  The 
Senate  also  inserted  the  provision  for  the  tax  in  kind  or 
the  tithe  of  one-tenth  of  the  products  of  the  farm.  This 
plan  was  advocated  in  order  to  avoid  the  policy  of  impress- 
ment,^^' regulations  for  which  had  been  adopted  by  Con- 
gress. 

In  a  special  communication^^®  Mr.  Memminger  argued 
strongly  for  the  tithe.  With  so  many  changes  the  confer- 
ence committees  of  the  Houses  had  a  labor  of  adjustment, 
and  their  agreement  was  pushed  through  in  the  last  ten 
days  of  the  session. 

Tax  Act  op  April,  1863. 

The  Act^**  of  April  24,  1863,  was  planned  to  be  exhaus- 
tive, property  in  realty  and  personalty  and  negroes  being 
excepted.  There  were  four  chief  sources  of  revenue;  an 
ad  valorem  tax  on  surplus  products,  the  specific  taxes  and 
licenses  on  occupations,  trades  and  business,  the  graded 
income  tax  and  the  tax  in  kind.  The  tax  on  surplus  pro- 
ducts was  made  retroactive  in  order  to  levy  on  the  output 
of  1862,  and  was  in  operation  for  one  year,  its  place  after- 
wards being  taken  by  the  tithe.  It  required  a  payment  of 
8%  on  naval  stores,  liquors,  cotton,  sugar,  rice,  and  flour 
held  July,  1863.  The  gains  of  speculation,  which  was  so 
popularly  denounced,  and  so  universally  practiced,  were 
aimed  at  in  a  fashion  similar  to  the  surplus  products  by  the 
section  of  the  Act,  that  placed  a  10%  tax  on  profits  by  pur- 
chase or  sale  in  1862  of  flour,  corn,  bacon,'  oats,  hay,  rice, 

'"Mch.  26,  1863. 
"•April  2,  1863. 

*" Confederate  Acts,  Statute  III,  Ch.  38,  Sec.  1-18,  Records  of 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  Series  IV,  Vol.  II,  pp.  513-24. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    115 

salt,  iron,  sugar,  leather,  woolens,  shoes,  etc.    This  did  not 
apply  to  the  retail  trade. 

Though  personal  property  was  exempt,  a  tax  of  one 
per  cent,  was  placed  on  moneys.  In  many  of  the  occupa- 
tions ^*^  there  was  a  double  levy  of  a  license  and  a  percent- 
age on  g^oss  sales  for  1863.  Each  business  was  required 
to  register  within  60  days  after  the  Act,  and  thereafter  on 
January  ist,  at  which  time  the  license  was  payable.  The 
taxes  on  occupation  and  business  were  to  be  in  force  two 
years.  The  income  tax  was  a  modification  of  the  plan  of 
the  two  Houses  and  a  further  grading.  Incomes  under 
$500  were  exempt;  those  from  $500  to  $1,500  were  as- 
sessed 5%;  those  from  $1,500  to  $3,000  paid  $%  on  the 
first  $1,500,  and  10%  on  the  excess ;  $3,000  to  $5,000  paid 
10% ;  $5,000  to  $10,000  paid  12^%,  and  those  above  $10,- 
000  paid  15%.  These  assessments  were  to  be  collected 
July  I,  1864.  Salaries  were  required  to  contribute  in  the 
following  proportion:  After  an  exemption  of  $1,000,  there 
was  a  tax  of  one  per  cent,  on  the  first  $1,500,  and  two  per 
cent,  on  the  excess.  These  levies  were  payable  January 
I,  1864.  The  tax  in  kind  was  one-tenth  of  the  produce,*'* 
and  must  be  delivered  within  two  months  after  the  esti- 
mates at  a  depot  not  more  than  eight  miles  from  the  place 
of  growth.    The  obligation  could  be  commuted  for  cash. 

"•On  the  following  simply  a  license  was  placed:  bankers,  $500; 
brokers,  pawn  and  otherwise,  $200;  doctors,  dentists,  jugglers,  law- 
yers and  liverymen,  $50  each.  The  combined  license  and  tax  on  sales 
applied  to  the  following:  auctioneers,  apothecaries,  confectioners, 
photographers  and  tobacconists  paid  $50  each  and  2^^%  on  gross 
sales,  butchers  and  bakers  with  1%  on  sales.  Retail  dealers  gen- 
erally were  taxed  $50  and  2Va%  on  sales,  while  wholesale  dealers 
paid  $200  and  2Vi%;  wholesale  liquor  dealers,  $200  and  5%;  retail 
liquor  dealers,  $100  and  10%;  distillers,  $200  and  20%;  brewers, 
$100  and  2^^%;  hotels  and  inns  were  assessed  on  the  yearly  rental, 
those  bringing  $10,000  paid  $500;  $S,ooo  at  $300;  $2,500  rentals  at 
$200;  $1,000  rentals  at  $100;  less  than  $1,000  at  $30.  Theatres  were 
rated  at  $500  and  5%  of  the  receipts. 

"•The  tithe  applied  to  oats,  rice,  sugar,  cotton,  tobacco, 
molasses  and  slaughtered  animals,  in  addition  to  the  following 
products  where  an  initial  exemption  was  allowed  to  the  planter 
of  50  bu.  of  sweet  potatoes,  50  bu.  of  Irish  potatoes,  100  bu.  of 
corn,  50  bu.  of  wheat  and  20  bu.  of  peas  or  beans. 


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ii6  Southern  History  Association. 

Approval  and  Objections. 

The  law  received  popular  approval  because  it  was  ex- 
pected to  yield  heavy  returns  and  bring  relief  from  depre- 
ciated currency.  Later  it  was  found  to  be  a  complex  sys- 
tem of  many  valuations  and  of  many  times  of  payments. 
The  taxation  was  thought  to  be  equitable  in  that  it  did 
not  place  a  tax  on  land,  then  largely  unremunerative,  but 
the  burden  was  to  come  upon  the  actual  products  in  hand. 
Yet  with  all  this  the  farmer  was  not  satisfied,  and  be- 
lieved^" that  the  tax  should  have  been  on  the  profits  of  his 
crop,  and  not  on  the  g^oss  value.  He  would  have  the 
graded  principle  applied  to  the  amount  of  his  products  as 
well  as  to  incomes.  His  proportion  looked  large  in  com- 
parison with  the  two  per  cent,  on  salaries  above  $1,500. 
The  licenses  and  taxes  on  sales  were  commended  in  that 
the  incidence  came  on  the  consumer. 

The  assumption  of  the  license  power  by  the  national 
government  was  a  distinct  encroachment^"  on  the  reserved 
rights  of  the  States.  In  this  matter,  as  in  others,  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  central  government  was  fixed  by  the  stress 
of  practical  conditions.  In  the  tax  on  the  occupations  the 
range  of  discrimination  was  slight,  and  the  assessment  on 
gross  sales  was  by  no  means  in  accordance  with  the  ability 
and  real  profits  of  the  business.  A  very  large  share  of  the 
tax  returns  was  expected  from  a  year  that  was  past.  The 
surplus  products  and  profits  of  trade  were  very  difficult  to 
measure,  and  the  probabilities  of  evasion  were  very  great. 
The  entire  system  as  one  of  direct  taxation  was  not  pos- 
sible to  be  equalized. 

The  revenues  from  the  Act  were  expected  to  be  ample. 
The  Senate  Finance  Committee  announced  that  it  would 
raise  one-third  of  the  expense  of  the  war  and  have  no 
parallel  in  history.  There  was  a  vagueness  in  the  esti- 
mates, although  the  tax  on  surplus  products  and  profits 

"■Richmond  Sentinel,  Apr.  27,  1863. 
"•Richmond  Enquirer,  Mch.  8,  1863. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    117 

was  listed  to  yield  $35,ooo,ocx).  After  the  law  began  to 
operate  so  as  to  allow  a  reasonable  conjecture,  the  Com- 
missioner expected  a  total  sum  of  $100,000,000. 

Machinery  of  Administration. 

A  comprehensive  Assessment  Act***  accompanied  the 
Taxation  Bill.  A  Commissioner  of  Taxes  was  created, 
and  Thompson  Allan  was  promoted,  July  2,  1863,  to  this 
position  from  that  of  chief  of  the  War  Tax  Bureau.  The 
machinery  of  the  War  Tax  of  1861  was  utilized  to  some 
extent,  six**"  of  the  State  Collectors  being  reappointed  for 
the  larger  work.  But  collections  and  not  assessments 
alone  now  engaged  the  national  concern,  and  collection 
districts  were  constructed  in  ten  of  the  States,  not  pre- 
viously admitting  the  Treasury  agents.  It  was  provided,, 
that  appraisements  of  property  submitted  would  be  open 
to  appeal  for  fifteen  days.  Then  notices  of  the  times  and 
the  places  of  collection  were  given  and  the  assessed  taxes 
were  a  statutory  lien  for  two  years.  Fines  and  penalties 
were  to  be  recovered  in  the  name  of  the  Confederate  States 
of  America. 

The  Department  promptly  appointed  its  new  forces  and 
sent  out  portions  of  the  printed  forms,  so  that  general 
instructions  could  be  issued  by  July  23d.  But  the  new 
undertaking  was  vastly  different  from  the  earlier  taxing, 
when  there  was  a  simple  form  for  a  uniform  tax  on  twelve 
objects.  Now  there  were  hundreds  of  subjects  embraced 
under  different  classes.  The  object^**  of  the  schedule  was 
to  reach  things  of  which  no  tangible  evidence  of  liability 
existed;  only  the  taxpayer  having  the  knowledge.  The 
different  times  of  making  returns  and  receiving  collections 
formed  an  involved  system.    A  portion  of  the  Act  called 

"•May  I,  1863. 

"*The  new  collectors  were  T.  C.  Green,  Va.;  E.  G.  Cabaniss, 
Ga.;  G.  F.  Neill,  Miss.;  D.  N.  Kennedy,  Tenn.;  A.  B.  Greenwood, 
Ark. 

"•Allan  B.  E.  G.  Cabaniss,  July  30,  1863. 


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ii8  Southern  History  Association. 

for  almost  immediate  assessment,  the  date  of  July  ist  for 
the  produce  on  hand  from  1862,  and  for  the  profits  on 
purchases  and  sales  in  1862.  These  taxes  were  to  be  col- 
lected October  i,  1863.  Payments  on  retail  and  wholesale 
business  were  to  be  made  quarterly,  while  many  other  col- 
lections were  postponed  to  1864. 

The  Tax  in  Kind. 

The  tax  in  kind  was  the  novel  feature  of  the  system  and 
was  conducted  under  a  separate  organization.  Its  esti- 
mates were  to  be  additional  to  those  of  the  money  return. 
It  was  planned  to  provide  supplies  for  the  army  mainly, 
and  was  capable  of  very  efficient  contribution,  appealing 
strongly  to  the  highest  patriotism  of  the  people.  It  fur- 
nished what  the  government  needed  and  lessened  the  use 
of  currency,  although  the  magnitude  of  its  operations 
made  it  liable  to  g^eat  abuses.  Also  in  subsequent  taxa- 
tion it  served  as  an  instrument  to  prevent  the  Treasury  re- 
ceiving vital  pecuniary  support.  In  Secretary  Memmin- 
ger's  advocacy"^  of  the  plan,  he  had  placed  the  possible 
receipts  from  the  tithe  at  an  aggregate  value  of  $83,000,000. 
The  estimate  of  the  Senate  Finance  Committee  in  advance 
was  $135,000,000.  It  was  confidently  expected  that  the 
cotton  tenth  would  materially  supplement  the  Produce 
Loan  stock. 

Collection  by  the  Army. 

After  the  assessment  of  the  products  of  the  planters,  the 
collection  was  given  over  to  the  army,  unless  commuta- 
tion was  elected  by  the  owner.  Col.  Larkin  Smith,  A.  Q. 
M.  G.,  was  appointed.  May  23,  1863,  ^^  have  supervision 

"'He  used  the  crop  statistics  of  i860,  although  in  1863  agricul- 
ture was  greatly  diminished.  On  the  other  hand  his  estimate  of 
prices  was  lower  than  the  market  rate,  the  chief  items  being 
28,000,000  bu.  of  corn  at  $1.50  per  bu.,  100,000  bales  of  cotjton  at 
$120  each,  3.000,000  bu.  of  wheat  at  $2  per  bu.,  4,000,000  bu.  of 
potatoes  at  $1  per  bu.,  meats  to  value  of  $8,000,000  and  10,000,000 
Jbs.  of  tobacco  at  40  cts. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    119 

of  this  tithe,  and  a  corps  of  68  assistants  were  put  in  the 
eleven  States.  Quartermasters  and  commissaries  serving 
wnth  the  troops  were  authorized  to  take  the  produce  and 
give  receipts.  Upon  reports  by  these  officers  to  the  dis- 
trict collector,  credits  for  the  amounts  were  entered  on  the 
assessor's  estimates.  After  March,  1864,  the  Tax  Bureau 
of  the  Treasury  transferred  the  entire  management  of  the 
tithe  to  the  War  Department.   The  yield  of  these  resources 

Yield  From  the  Tax. 

can  be  known  only  by  indirect  measure,  reckoning  from 
the  deductions  for  tithes,  entered  against  the  total  tax 
assessments. 

The  progress  of  the  ingathering  is  indicated  for  the  first 
five  months  by  a  statement^*®  of  produce,  worth  $6,000,000, 
the  main  portion  of  which  was  corn,  wheat,  cured  hay 
and  fodder.  The  report  announced  that  the  tithe  had 
largely  supported  the  armies  in  Virginia  after  September 
1st.  The  record"*  to  March  i,  1864,  placed  the  value  of 
the  tenth  at  about  $40,000,000,  using  the  current  market 
prices.  North  Carolina,^**  Georgia  and  Alabama  were  the 
chief  sections  from  which  large  supplies  were  drawn. 
From  entire  States  nothing  was  realized,  and  the  fertile 
area  of  others  was  curtailed  by  the  enemy.  Moreover, 
transportation  was  attended  with  increasing  difficulties, 
giving  cause  for  complaints  against  the  efficiency  of  the 
tax.  Its  thorough  management  was  a  highly  responsible 
and  complex  undertaking  in  its  provisions  for  collecting, 
parceling,  storage  and  protection.  It  is  not  strange  that 
large  quantities  of  the  produce  were  lost,  aside  from  the 
neglect  and  incompetency  charged.^*^    The  expense  of  the 

"•Report  of  Col.  Smith,  Nov.  30,  1869. 

"•Richmond  Enquirer^  Mch.  8,  1863. 

**•  N.  C.  gave  in  8  months,  517,687  bu.  of  corn,  3,950,000  lbs  of 
cured  hay,  10,280,000  lbs  of  cured  fodder,  919,000  bu.  of  oats.  1,500,- 
000  !bs  of  tobacco. 

•**  Echols  of  Ga.,  December  21,  1864,  Richmond  Enquirer; 
Stephen's  Const.  View,  Vol.  II,  p.  572. 


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I20  Southern  History  Association. 

collection  was  borne  by  the  army,  and  for  six  months  of 
1864  the  appropriation  was  $12,250,000.  In  the  first  opera- 
tions of  Col.  Smith  the  cost  had  been  7%.  From  reports 
of  the  Tax  Bureau  and  Secretary  Trenholm^*^  the  probable 
yield  of  the  tax  in  kind  may  be  placed  at  $145,000,000. 


Price  Commissions. 

The  tithe  was  of  service  in  postponing  and  lessening  the 
necessity  of  the  impressment  of  supplies  for  the  army. 
This  practice  had  been  resorted  to  in  1862,  and  the  planters 
were  so  dissatisfied  with  the  prices  assigned,  that  the  crops 
were  decreased.  As  an  arbitration  of  the  dispute.  Con- 
gress, on  March  26,  1863,  created  a  Board  of  Commission- 
ers in  each  State,  whose  duty  it  was  to  publish  a  schedule 
of  prices  every  two  months.  Beginning  in  May  with  56 
articles,  the  list  had  grown  to  93  by  November.  There  was 
yet  complaint  that  the  schedule  did  not  conform  to  market 
prices,  and  a  Commissioners'  Convention  in  Augusta,  Ga., 
October  26,  1863,  endeavored  by  a  series^*^  of  resolutions 
to  regulate  the  abuses  and  inequalities.  Through  1864  the 
undervaluation  continued,  and  a  certain  sharp  increase  of 
the  schedule  in  Virginia  was  revoked'**  because  of  the 
presumed  influence  on  the  currency. 

Act  S1.0W  AND  Inadequate. 

The  administration  of  the  Tax  Act  of  1863  called  for  a 
multiplicity  of  executive  directions.  The  law  was  ambigii-  ^ 
ous  on  many  points,  and  the  rulings  of  the  Commissioner 
had  vast  scope  and  authority.  A  complete  system  of  regu- 
lations was  issued  on  December  23,  1863,  replacing  the 
several  provisional  orders  and  minimizing  further  causes 
of  delay  by  the  officials.  The  assessments  of  quarterly 
sales,  surplus  and  occupations  were  variously  completed, 

**•  Report  of  Nov.  7,  1864. 
'"Richmond  Sentinel,  Nov.  2,  1863. 
'**  Richmond  Enquirer,  Aug.  i,  1864, 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    121 

and  the  first  receipts  were  realized  by  September,  Wake 
county,  North  Carolina,  having  the  credit.  By  October, 
the  volume^**  of  payment  was  well  increased,  yet  the  cities 
were  not  returning  the  proportion  expected,  and  of  their 
dues  Augusta  and  Richmond  had  discharged  only  one- 
third  by  the  end  of  the  year.  Nine  of  the  States  undertook 
to  handle  the  tax  on  quarterly  sales. 

The  chief  collectors  announced^**  that  speculators 
evaded  the  levy  on  profits  and  many  other  frauds  and  fail- 
ures were  noted.  After  a  few  months,  it  was  generally 
admitted  that  the  Act  would  not  bring  in  an  adequate  tax. 
This  was  caused  partly  by  evasion  and  the  system  itself, 
yet  largely  by  increased  national  demand  and  higher  prices. 
The  President  said  the  taxation  was  too  slow  for  exigen- 
cies since  it  was  not  available  within  a  year.  But  that  was 
a  commendable  showing  in  comparison  with  the  War  Tax 
of  August,  1861,  which  had  not  been  announced  as  com- 
pleted until  November,  1863,  the  avails  having  been  raised 
to  $19,500,000  from  $16,660,000,  reported  a  year  earlier. 

By  February,  1864,  the  Commissioner  had  collected  $35,- 
000,000  from  seven  States,  Georgia  leading  with  $10,876,- 
000.  Up  to  April  16,  1864,  receipts  were  reported^*^  of 
$82,262,349  from  471  collection  districts ;  133  districts  had 
been  cut  off  by  the  enemy,  an  aggregate  embracing  one- 
third  of  the  population  of  the  Confederacy.  The  actual 
value  of  this  amount  6i  revenue  must  be  viewed  in  the 
light  of  the  depreciated  currency  of  the  time.  The  state- 
ment of  Mr.  Allan  was  that  property  had  become  enhanced 
five-fold  over  the  prices  of  i860,  although  at  the  same  time 
he  quoted  gold  at  $1  for  $17  Treasury  notes.  It  was  the 
persistent  argument  of  the  Treasury  officials  and  of  the 
press  throughout  the  war  that  on  account  of  the  peculiar 
conditions  in  the  South  gold  was  no  longer  the  standard 
of  value,  but  land  and  negroes  had  taken  its,  place. 

*•  Allan's  War  Tax  Correspondence  Book  "C." 

***W.  K.  Lane's  letter,  Nov.  17,  1863;  J.  D.  Pope's,  Jan,  4,  1864. 

'**  Report  to  Congress,  Apr.  29,  1864. 


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122  Southern  History  Association, 

Direct  Taxation. 

The  recognition  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  Act  in  force 
brought  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  direct  taxation  to  pre- 
vail. Secretary  Memminger,  in  his  report^**  to  the  fourth 
session  of  the  First  Congress,  on  December  7,  1863,  said 
that  the  necessities  of  the  situation  no  longer  allowed  a 
hesitancy  /or  the  letter  of  the  Constitution,  requiring  a 
census  to  be  taken  before  direct  taxes  could  be  levied. 
"The  land  and  negroes  in  the  Confederate  States  con- 
tributed two-thirds  of  the  taxable  values,  and  the  policy 
on  the  part  of  the  States  which  had  ratified  the  Constitu- 
tion, was  to  withhold  from  contribution  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  war  the  very  property  for  which  they  were 
contending.  In  war  time  the  tax  ad  valorem  would  be 
even  more  equitable  than  one  based  on  representation, 
since  so  many  districts  were  occupied  by  the  enemy." 
President  Davis  joined  the  Secretary  in  urging  a  property 
tax;  he  said  in  his  message  of  December  8,  1863,  '*The 
special  mode  for  levying  a  tax  is  now  impracticable,  but 
Congress  is  not  excused  from  the  general  duty;  I  shall 
approve  any  taxation  of  yours  in  any  mode  which  puts  the 
burden  uniformly  on  the  whole  property." 

Confederate  Inefficient  Taxation. 

The  Treasury  asked  for  a  rate  of  5%  upon  a  taxable 
basis  of  $3,000,000,000  of  property,  and  allowing  20%  for 
evasions,  expenses  and  contingencies,  the  proceeds  were 
reckoned  at  $120,000,000.  Half  of  this  sum  was  to  go  for 
supplies  and  half  to  sustain  a  new  issue  of  bonds  planned  to 
consolidate  the  public  debt.  It  was  asserted  that  the  bonds 
would  not  secure  credit  unless  definitely  guaranteed  by  a 
tax  on  real  property.  The  House  showed  its  estimate  of 
the  need  of  financial  legislation  by  refusing  to  refer  the 
recommendations  to  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  or 
to  the  committee  of  the  whole,  but  a  special  committee  of 

^^'Capers's  Memminger,  pp.  457-476. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    123 

one  from  each  State  was  instructed^*®  to  prepare  a  bill  for 
taxation  upon  real  and  personal  property,  according  to 
values.  There  was  again  a  popular  cry  for  heavy  taxation, 
but  the  enormous  rise  in  prices  since  the  original  act  made 
estimates  of  the  amount  very  uncertain.  The  House  was 
disposed  ^'®  to  levy  a  sum  aggregating  $400,000,000,  and 
the  suggestion  of  a  10%  call  on  property  had  many  sup- 
porters. But  the  traditional  policy  of  the  avoidance  of 
direct  payments  could  not  be  forgotten,  and  the  spirit  in 
the  Senate  was  opposed  to  that  of  the  House.  Gov. 
Brown,  of  Georgia,  even  called  strongly  for  a  repeal  of  the 
tax  in  kind.  Final  action  on  the  bill  was  ag^in  left  to  the 
day  of  adjournment,  when  the  rate  proposed  by  Mr.  Mem- 
minger  was  finally  accepted. 

However,  there  were  various  amendments  to  the  Act  of 
1863  of  such  a  character  as  to  emasculate  it  entirely  and 
complete  the  record  of  the  Confederate  Congress  for  in- 

AcT  o^  February,  1864. 

efficient  taxation.  The  bill  was  passed  on  February  17, 
1864,  along  with  the  Currency  Act  and  Compulsory  Fund- 
ing. Its  chief  feature  was  the  system  of  rebates ;  the  new 
5%  tax  on  property  was  offset  by  the  tax  in  kind,  and 
the  income  tax  was  credited  with  the  ad  valorem  tax  on 
property.  The  additions^*^  of  the  law  were  taxes  of  10% 
on  gold  and  silver  plate  and  watches,  etc.;  5%  on  gold 
and  silver  coin,  bullion,  and  dust  held  by  banks  or  people ; 
5%  on  solvent  credits,  bills  of  exchange,  moneys  held 
abroad  and  on  paper  issued  as  currency;  10%  in  addition 
to  the  tax  of  1863  on  profits  made  in  trade  and  business 
from  January  i,  1863-65;  also  2$%  on  profits  exceeding 
25%  made  by  any  bank,  joint  stock  company,  corporation, 
or  manufacturing  concern.  In  the  assessments  property 
was  strangely  rated  at  the  prices  of  1861,  unless  sold  after 

**'Dcc.  9,  1863. 

"•Montgomery  Mat'/,  Tan.  12,  1864. 

"*Acts  of  Congress,  Statute  IV,  Ch.  64. 


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124  Southern  History  Association. 

1863,  while  other  values  were  estimated  in  current  prices 
of  February  17,  1864. 

Criticisms  and  Defects. 

The  application  of  these  laws  called  forth  the  most  bitter 
criticism  and  opposition.  The  two  rates  of  assessment 
were  charged  to  have  been  made  in  the  interest  of  the 
agricultural  class.  The  banks  were  very  persistent  ob- 
jectors. A  convention  of  the  Virginia  and  North  Carolina 
banks  was  held  to  protest.  The  memorial  of  the  South 
Carolina  banks  of  April  7,  1864,^''  summarized  their  griev- 
ances ;  they  were  taxed  twice,  on  their  capital  and  on  their 
deposits  and  issues,  which  were  invested  in  solvent  securi- 
ties. As  the  credits  exceeded  the  capital  two  and  three- 
fold, the  banks  were  contributing  from  15  to  20%.  Be- 
sides the  stock  was  valued  at  such  a  high  rate  that  the 
tax  often  exceeded  the  dividends.  The  tax  on  government 
securities  was  loudly  denounced  as  a  breach  of  contract. 
The  levy  on  all  these  forms  of  investment  worked  a  great 
hardship.  While  it  was  aimed  against  speculators,  the 
chief  sufferers  were  trust  funds,  widows  and  those  depend- 
ent on  such  incomes. 

The  landed  interests  in  contrast  bore  a  valuation  ad- 
mittedly five  times  less  in  proportion,  and  probably  much 
lower.  Also,  the  tax  on  coin  had  a  special  interpretation, 
for  the  "amount"  of  all  gold  and  silver  coin  was  the  word- 
ing of  the  section.  The  levy  was  made  accordingly  in  kind 
and  the  share  of  coin  then  converted  into  currency  notes 
at  the  ratio  of  18  to  i  by  the  Treasury  order  of  March  9, 

1864.  This  action  was  held  to  serve  as  a  check  on  de- 
preciation, as  if  the  gold  in  itself  was  to  be  legislated 
against.  Thus  land  worth  $10,000  on  the  basis  of  i860, 
paid  $500  tax  in  notes,  while  $10,000  in  coin  was  assessed 
$9,000  in  paper. 

But  the  culminating  defect  of  the  amended  Act  was  that 

***  Report  to  Memminger. 


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Th^  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    125 

the  tax  could  be  paid  by  the  four  per  cent,  certificates  in 
which  the  compulsory  funding  of  the  redundant  notes  was 
proceeding.  The  wise  plan  of  Mr.  Memminger  had  been 
to  use  the  coupons  of  the  new  bond  issue  and  the  new 
notes,  but  this  alteration  by  Congress  precluded  the  Treas- 
ury's receiving  any  considerable  pecuniary  aid  from  tl\e 
Act  in  1864. 

Rei^orm  of  the  Cumbrous  System  Demanded. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  Second  Congress  on  May  2, 
1864,  the  Secretary  demanded^*^*  firmly  the  reforms  of  the 
system,  specifying  particularly  the  repeal  of  the  tax  in  kind, 
deduction  from  the  five  per  cent,  property  tax,  the  repeal 
of  the  deduction  of  the  ad  valorem  tax  from  the  income 
tax  and  a  correction  of  the  discrimination  as  to  the  dates 
of  assessment  of  real  and  personal  property  with  respect 
to  other  values.  He  also  pointed  out  the  inequalities  suf- 
fered by  the  banks  and  corporations.  His  arraignment  of 
the  system  gives  an  estimate  of  what  real  worth  there  was 
in  this  presumedly  large  attempt  at  taxation.  He  said  it 
was  marked  by  inequality,  amounting  to  injustice,  and  so 
cumbrous  and  intricate  that  delay  and  disappointment  were 
its  inevitable  results. 

Further  Compucations. 

Congress  refused  to  make  the  chief  reforms  and  brought 
the  final  alienation  with  Mr.  Memminger.  Moreover,  to 
meet  the  increased  pay  of  the  troops,  the  Soldiers'  Tax 
was  created,  an  added  20%  to  all  assessments  then  opera- 
tive. On  the  last  day  of  the  session,  June  14th,  there  was 
an  amendment^*^*  to  the  Acts  of  April  24,  1863,  and  of 
February  17,  1864,  to  the  extent  of  relieving  the  banks 
merely  of  the  tax  on  deposits.  Another  effort  was  made 
to  reach  speculation  in  an  extra  30%  tax  placed  against 
profits  realized  on  trade  and  sale  between  February  17th 

"■  Capers's  Memminger,  pp.  484-7. 
***Acts  of  2nd  Congress,  Statute  I,  Ch.,  44. 


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126  Southern  History  Association. 

and  July  i,  1864.  Congress  approved  the  ruling  of  the  5% 
tax  on  coin  or  exchange  to  be  in  specie  or  in  notes  at  rela- 
tive value,  t.  e.,  market  rate,  thus  discrediting  its  own 
money  by  legislative  sanction. 

Administration  of  the  Measure. 

There  had  been  ambiguity  as  to  which  year  the  abate- 
ment of  the  tax  in  kind  had  application,  and  as  the  general 
taxes  were  due  June  i,  1864,  the  property  tax  would  be 
collected  in  advance  of  the  ascertaining  of  the  tithe.  Fur- 
ther delay  resulted  at  this  juncture  by  the  order^*'  that  the 
property  tax  be  suspended  until  the  value  of  the  tenth  was 
known.  Hence,  when  the  commissioner  made  his  re- 
port,"* the  collections  were  $118,000,000  on  an  assessment 
of  $145,527,421,  a  comparatively  small  increase  over  the 
report  of  six  months  earlier.  This  total  included  the  re- 
ceipts under  the  Acts  of  April  24,  1863,  February  17  and 
June  14,  1864,  and  was  the  taxation  for  two  years  on 
several  sources  of  revenue,  being  also  inclusive  of  the  levy 
on  surplus  products  of  1862. 

No  complete  new  assessment  of  property  other  than  the 
valuation  under  the  War  Tax  of  1861  was  made.  In  pre- 
paring the  statements  there  was  much  approximate"' 
figuring.  The  Commissioner  had  to  estimate  the  probable 
portion  of  the  territory  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy  and 
then  make  deductions.  Using  the  assessment  return  of 
1861  for  a  State,  to  this  would  be  added  20%  for  property 
not  subject  then,  but  taxable  under  the  Acts  of  1863-64. 

*"  Regulations  of  Commissioner  Allan,  June  14,  1864. 

'"  To  Secretary  Trenholm,  Oct.  28,  1864,  letter  book  "E." 

**^The  tax  for  Georgia  was:  Real  and  personal  property,  assess- 
ed under  Act  of  Aug.  19,  1861, $564,173,946.82.    To  this  add  20% 

for  property,  taxable  after  1861, $112,834,789.36.    Total,  ^7, 

008,736.18.  Tax  thereon  at  5%  is  $33»850,436.8o;  jewelry  and 
watches  (say)  $2,500,000,  at  5%  more,  equals  $125,000,  total,  $33,- 
975,036.60. 

Deductions,  destroyed  by  the  enemy  (say)  5%,  $1,698,771,  credit 
of  tax  in  kind  (say)  two-thirds,  $21,517,776;  credit  of  income  tax 
(say)  10%,  $3,227,(>66,  net  proceeds,  $7,431,218. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    127 

From  the  5%  levy  on  this  sum,  successive  deductions  were 
made  for  the  destroyed  proportion  and  for  the  credits  by 
the  tax  in  kind,  frequently  two-thirds  of  the  total,  and  by 
the  income  tax  reckoned  at  10%. 

These  rebates,  charged  against  the  property  tax,  left 
comparatively  small  net  proceeds  to  be  collected  from 
April  to  October,  1864.  With  the  removal  of  the  system 
of  abatements,  the  total  receipts  would  have  been  almost 
trebled,  counting  the  tax  in  kind  at  $145,000,000  and  the 
income  tax  with  other  credits  at  a  less  figure.  The  esti- 
mate"* of  Secretary  Trenholm  was  $374,188,414. 

Mr.  Memminger  had  asked  for  too  small  an  amount  at 
the  inception  of  the  Act  of  1863.  Congress  had  been  still 
more  niggardly  in  responding  and  finally  had  so  vitiated 
the  eflSciency  of  the  revenues  voted,  that  the  Treasury 
was  forced  to  continue  to  the  end  the  policy  it  too  readily 
had  adopted  at  the  beginning,  the  payment  of  its  debts  with 
government  paper. 

"•Report  to  Congress,  Nov.  7,  1864. 


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128  Southern  History  Association. 


CHAPTER  IV.— REPUDIATION. 

The  financial  policy  of  the  Confederacy  was  inaugurated 
with  loans  and  issues  of  government  money.  When  the 
circulation  of  the  banks  of  the  South  had  been  more  than» 
displaced  in  the  first  year  of  the  war,  the  emission  of  paper 
did  not  cease.  With  the  certainty  of  depreciation  realized, 
the  problem  then  was  to  retire  the  surplus  currency  by 
some  measure  that  would  make  room  for  further  new  is- 
sues of  notes  to  meet  the  increasing  appropriations.  The 
reliance  on  the  efficacy  of  the  provisions  for  funding  was 
implicit.  When  the  first  payment  of  interest  on  the  bonds 
in  January,  1862,  had  been  made  in  coin,  there  was  a 
standard  set  that  the  administration  had  not  adequately 
planned  to  continue.  The  succeeding  payments  on  bonds 
had  to  be  made  in  Treasury  notes,  and  these  beginning  to 
depreciate,  the  bonds  likewise  cheapened.  The  working 
of  this  system  was  such  that  the  one  resource  proved  an 
imperfect  check  in  preventing  the  abuse  of  the  other. 

Again,  the  payment  of  interest  on  Treasury  notes  in 
1862  operated  against  a  larger  sale  of  bonds  in  that  year. 
The  guarantee  back  of  the  bonds  was  not  definite  enough. 
The  property  of  the  Confederacy  was  viewed  as  a  security 
only  in  a  general  way.  The  continued  higher  quotations 
of  the  first  loan  of  fifteen  millions,  with  its  pledge  of  the 
duty  of  cotton  export,  testified  to  the  superiority  of  this 
.  tock.  As  a  pledge  against  the  one  hundred  million  loan, 
the  War  Tax  was  not  sufficient  to  give  absolute  security. 
Suggested  reforms'**^  always  included  a  plan  for  coin  or 
cotton  back  of  the  government  obligation. 

As  the  emission  of  notes  was  the  established  resource 
to  replenish  the  Treasury,  so  changes  in  the  methods  of 
funding  became  a  sovereign  remedy  for  redundancy,  be- 
ing directed  to  induce  a  larger  use  of  bonds.    Yet  the  rate 

"•Richmond  Examiner,  Apr.  i,  1862;  Richmond  Sentinel,  Aug.  12, 
1863. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    129 

on  the  highest  stock,  eight  per  cent.,  was  small  in  com- 
parison with  the  profits  to  be  gained  in  the  most  ordinary 
trade.  An  accurate  reflex  of  the  depreciation  of  the 
finances  was  found  in  the  increase  of  speculation.  This 
contagion^*®  was  well  spread  in  1862,  and  in  the  tendency 
to  dispose  of  the  notes  quickly,  prices  were  steadily  ipount- 
ing  and  the  standards  of  gain  proportionately  swollen. 

A  Currency  Corrective. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs  Congress  took  its  first  step 
in  altering  the  terms  of  the  contract  offered  for  funding 
notes  into  bonds.  It  was  in  the  second  session  after  the 
unfortunate  bill  for  taxation  in  the  shape  of  a  forced  loan 
had  been  postponed  on  the  plea  that  the  country  was  not 
yet  ready.  On  October  9,  1862,  a  bill  was  reported  by 
Chairman  Kenner  that  reduced,  after  Deceriiber  ist,  the 
interest  of  all  bonds  to  6%,  and  the  holders  of  notes  were 
given  four  months  to  get  the  advantage  of  the  higher  rate 
of  funding.  This  was  amended  by  the  Senate  to  7%,  and 
six  months  allowed  in  which  note  holders  could  fund  at  8%. 
The  bill  was  passed  October  ijth,  and  constituted  the  sole 
currency  corrective  of  the  second  year  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  advocates  of  the  measure  believed  that  it  would 
bring  in  so  vast  a  quantity  of  notes  as  to  remedy  deprecia- 
tion and  also  would  so  enhance  the  value  of  8%  bonds  that 
the  Secretary  would  make  large  sales.  The  Richmond 
Whig  was  incredulous  and  expressed^*^  the  opinion  that 
Congress,  in  announcing  the  panacea  of  one  per  cent,  dif- 
ference in  interest,  had  undertaken  to  settle  the  currency 
question  by  an  expedient  which  seemed  trifling  and  con- 
temptible in  view  of  the  magnitude  of  the  attempted  re- 
sults. In  December  the  most  sanguine  estimated  that  by 
April  22,  1863,  the  limit,  $120,000,000  of  notes,  would  be 
funded  and  thus  relieve  the  new  issues,  which  were  half  a 

^**Examiner,  Sept.  23,  Oct.  22,  1862. 
""Oct.  14,  1862. 


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130  Southern  History  Association. 

million  daily.  In  February  the  experiment^'*  was  going 
well.  The  new  notes,  fundable  in  7%  bonds,  being  issued 
after  December  i,  1862,  were  displacing  the  old  notes, 
whose  holders  hoarded  them.  The  bonds  had  gone  to  a 
premium  of  looj,  and  by  April  reached  105.  The  fund- 
ingi«»  induced  by  the  Act  amounted  to  over  $50,000,000 
from  January  ist,  as  against  $17,500,000  for  the  previous 
five  months.  But  within  the  same  period  $130,000,000  in 
notes  had  been  paid  out,  and  this  increased  scale  of  fund- 
ing was  yet  far  too  small. 

The  Secretary's  Funding  Scheme. 

The  Secretary  in  his  report  of  January  7,  1863,  had 
marked  out  the  way  for  the  extension  of  the  policy  which 
had  met  with  such  a  fair  measure  of  success.  His  recom- 
mendation^** was  radical  and  a  precursor  of  the  final  des- 
perate solution  of  the  currency  difficulties.  It  was,  that 
after  a  reasonable  lapse  of  time  the  Treasury  notes,  bear- 
ing date  previous  to  December  i,  1862,  should  cease  to 
be  currency.  To  carry  out  this  plan  the  notes,  already 
fundable  until  April  22,  1863,  in  S%  bonds,  and  thereafter 
in  7%  bonds,  must  have  a  period  of  limitation  also  for 
the  lower  rate  of  conversion,  and  that  date  to  be  July  i, 
1863.  The  results  from  the  limitation  to  S%  funding  were 
believed  to  have  failed  of  their  highest  efficiency,  because 
six  months  grace  was  too  long  a  time  allowed  for  its 
operation.  Sixty  days  were  now  considered  ample  as  a 
stiipulant  for  a  new  funding  provision.  The  financial 
policy  was  to  be  definitely  changed  from  one  of  oflering 
inducements  to  take  the  government  obligations  to  that 
of  applying  a  small  portion  of  constraint  on  the  note 
holders.    An  abundance  of  money  in  the   country  was 

*«  Whig,  Feb.  5,  1863. 

*"  Letter  Book  "E,"  Apr.  11,  1863. 

*•*  Caper's  Memminger,  pp.  445,  44^. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    131 

proven  by  the  large  sums  held  on  deposit  and  by  the 
amounts  invested  at  interest  in  private  hands,  as  reported 
by  the  War  Tax. 

The  Secretary  believed  that  two-thirds  of  the  currency 
could  be  funded  without  material  danger  to  private  inter- 
ests. He  met  the  charge  of  infringement  of  contract  with 
a  combination  of  excuse  and  argument.  The  first  plea 
was  that  Congress  had  already  established  the  principle 
by  the  act  reducing  the  interest  on  the  bonds  to  seven  per 
cent.  Ag^in,  the  time  of  the  contract  was  not  prohibitory 
of  change,  if  a  full  opportunity  was  allowed  to  receive  the 
benefits  of  its  performance.  Finally  the  modification  of 
the  conditions  of  the  note  would  be  a  benefit  to  both 
parties  in  the  increased  purchasing  power  of  the  remain- 
ing currency.  Thus  expediency  was  the  main  determinant, 
however  questionable  the  legal  warrant.  To  the  further 
objection  that  the  note  lost  its  value  as  money,  Mr.  Mem- 
minger  replied  that  although  this  function  was  gone,  its 
intrinsic  value  would  be  unimpaired,  being  yet  receivable 
for  public  dues  and  having  the  faith  and  property  of  the 
Confederate  States  pledged  for  its  payment. 

But  it  was  evident  that  a  body  of  notes  yet  accepted 
for  government  obligations  would  continue  to  circulate  and 
choke  the  channels  of  trade,  and  it  was  only  a  question  of 
time  until  more  heroic  measures  must  cause  their  removal. 
The  Treasury  may  be  judged  to  have  realized  that  this 
limited  funding  measure  was  a  temporary  expedient  at 
best.  No  sudden  large  contraction  was  feared  by  reason 
of  it,  for  the  circulation  of  new  notes  for  the  six  months 
of  1863  was  calculated  to  reach  $200,000,000,  a  very  low 
estimate.  Then  the  situation  of  January,  1863,  would  be 
repeated  and  the  saihe  redundancy  must  be  ag^in  faced. 
The  possible  depreciation  in  the  price  of  the  bonds  from 
the  large  funding  of  notes  induced  was  looked  upon  as  the 
lesser  of  two  evils,  since  the  depreciation  of  the  notes  much 
exceeded  that  of  the  market  value  of  the  bonds. 


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132  Southern  History  Association. 

Action  of  Gdngress. 

The  recommendations  of  the  Secretary  found  Congress 
ready  with  many  plans  of  tampering  with  the  currency, 
including  an^  advocacy  of  a  legal  tender  measure.  Mr. 
Baldwin,  of  Virginia,  had  the  anticipatory  plan  of  funding 
all  notes  prior  to  April  i,  1863,  at  a  monthly  decline  in 
the  interest  rate  of  bonds  of  one  per  cent,  from  July  to 
December  and  then  declare  all  notes  discharged.  Another 
measure  was  to  exchange  the  old  issue  on  the  basis  of 
$300,  allowing  $200  in  bonds  and  $100  in  legal  tender. 
The  bill  of  Mr.  Hunter,  chairman  of  the  Senate  Finance 
Committee,  was  introduced  to  embody  the  wishes  of  the 
Treasury,  and  was  passed  January  30,  1863,  with  amend- 
ments. The  limitation  of  7%  funding  was  July,  but  notes 
issued  since  December  i,  1862,  were  included,  with  the 
added  privilege  that  after  July  they  could  be  funded  in 
4%  bonds.  The  new  notes  to  be  issued  after  April  2,  1863, 
were  to  have  the  fundable  provision  for  six  months  at  6%, 
and  then  to  be  converted  at  4%.  Mr.  Hunter  admitted 
a  breach  of  promise  in  limiting  the  time  of  funding,  but 
defended  it  as  an  imperative  measure  without  which  the 
currency  must  expand  until  the  public  debt  was  so  large 
that  there  would  be  slight  hope  of  payment. 

When  the  bill  went  to  the  House,  it  was  debated  until 
March  4th,  the  leg^  tender  remedy  being  again  urged. 
The  minority  fought  the  measure  on  the  ground  that  the 
periodical  demonetization  of  the  notes  would  be  unintel- 
ligible to  most  people  and  the  funding  not  largely  ob- 
served. However,  the  House  sent  the  bill  back  to  the 
Senate  with  changes  in  the  times  of  funding  which  were 
finally  accepted,  and  the  Act^***  as  passed  on  March  23d, 

A1.1.  Kinds  of  Financial  Paper. 

established  three  classes  of  notes ;  those  prior  to  Decem- 
ber I,  1862,  $290,000,000  originally  in  amount,  were  fund- 
able in  7%  bonds  until  August  ist,  and  then  ceased  to  be 

*"Acts  of  Congress,  Statute  III.  Ch.  IX. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    133 

currency;  notes  issued  between  December  i,  1862,  and 
April  7, 1863,  were  fundable  in  7%  bonds  up  to  August  ist, 
and  then  in  4%  stock;  notes  after  April  6,  1863,  were 
fundable  for  12  months  in  6%  bonds,  and  thereafter  in  4%. 

Besides  the  legislation  on  the  notes,  there  were  many 
other  financial  provisions  in  the  Act.  A  further  use  of 
call  certificates  was  arranged  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest. 
The  six  per  cent,  bonds  and  notes  issued  after  April  i, 
1863,  could  be  put  into  5%  call  certificates.  The  4%  bonds 
were  convertible  into  4%  call  certificates.  All  former  6% 
call  certificates  were  considered  to  be  funded  into  bonds 
on  June  7  and  lost  the  power  of  conversion  into  notes. 
The  seven-thirty  notes  had  been  discontinued  as  an  issue 
when  the  first  limitation  of  funding  began,  and  now  they 
were  also  classed  as  funded. 

While  the  Act  contained  authority  to  issue  $50,000,000 
of  notes  a  month,  it  had  the  provision  that  the  Secretary 
use  any  disposable  means  in  the  Treasury  to  purchase 
notes  until  the  whole  amount  was  reduced  to  $175,000,000. 
To  accomplish  this  three  classes  of  bonds  were  named;  (i) 
$200,000,000  of  6%  stock,  to  be  sold  to  any  of  the  States ; 
(2)  if  guaranteed  by  the  States,  the  special  bonds  to  be  sold 
for  notes  to  the  highest  bidder ;  (3)  $100,000,000  of  bonds 
at  6%,  with  coupons,  payable  in  notes  or  in  cotton  certifi- 
cates, which  pledged  the  government  to  pay  in  cotton  at 
the  rate  of  8d.  sterling  and  delivered  within  six  months  at 
certain  points. 

The  first  two  securities  were  never  issued,  but  the  thifd 
class,  modified  by  the  Act  of  April  30,  1863,  represented 
the  first  extensive  effort  to  sell  bonds  direct  since  the 
fifteen  million  loan  of  1861.  In  all  seven  classes  of  stock 
were  authorized. 

The  Depositories. 

The  increased  funding  plans  called  for  an  enlargement 
of  the  force  of  depositories.  By  the  Act  of  April  15,  1862, 
there  had  been  an  increase  of  these  officials,  when  to  their 
duties  of  disbursement  and  deposit  were  added  the  ex- 


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134  Southern  History  Association. 

change  of  certificates  for  notes.  They  were  also  made 
agents  for  the  sale  of  bonds  and  were  the  great  intermedi- 
aries for  the  funding*  transactions.  The  notes  were  re- 
ceived by  them  and  forwarded  to  the  Treasury  at  Rich- 
mond, which  performed  the  cancellation  and  sent  back  the 
bonds  in  exchange.  In  March,  1863,  the  demand  to  fund 
before  April  22d  necessitated  the  second  greater  extension 
of  the  depositories.  With  the  passage  of  the  new  law,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  create  a  special  district  in  the 
West,  the  Trans-Mississippi,  which  military  operations  had 
cut  off  from  the  East,  and  Gen.  Kirby  Smith  was  di- 
rected***  to  form  a  Treasury  Note  Division  at  Monroe,  La. 
The  reduction  in  offering  bonds  from  8%  to  7%  for 
notes  did  not  cause  any  cessation  of  funding.  Rather  an 
end  had  been  made  to  the  hoarding  of  notes,  for  the  an- 

Fear  o^  Repudiation. 

ticipation  of  demonetization  was  taking  possession  of  the 
public.  Many  of  the  banks  helped  increase  the  feeling  of 
insecurity  by  refusing  to  take  the  paper  issued  previous 
to  December  i,  1862.  Their  excuse  was  the  desire  to 
induce  greater  funding  within  the  limitation.  It  was  nat- 
ural that  they  attempted  to  save  themselves,  though  later 
they  were  persuaded  to  receive  the  notes  on  deposit.  Cir- 
culation had  been  loyally  given  in  the  past  to  the  govern- 
ment obligations  by  the  people  at  large,  but  now  discrimi- 
nation began  to  be  made  against  issues  of  certain  dates, 
for  it  was  said"^  repudiation  had  set  in. 

In  such  a  state  of  affairs  prices  were  not  slow  to  re- 
spond, and  gold  experienced  the  sharpest  and  greatest  rise 
of  the  war.  In  March  the  premium  was  300,  on  April  30th 
500,  on  June  11,  700,  and  in  August  $12  in  notes  exchanged 
for  $1  in  specie. 

>-July  3,  1863. 

^'^ Enquirer,  June  20,  1863. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    135 

Progress  OF  Funding. 
The  reports  of  funding  showed  that  by  June  8th  $64,- 
000,000  of  notes  had  come  in  under  the  two  Acts  of  Octo- 
ber 13,  1862,  and  March  23,  1863.  This  had  increased  in 
July  to  $84,000,000,  and  the  total  funding  was  announced 
by  Auditor  Robert  Tyler,  on  August  i8th,  to  be  $126,- 
000,000.  This  represented  over  forty-three  per  cent,  of  the 
proscribed  issue  prior  to  December  i,  1862,  yet  it  left  a 
bulk  of  $165,000,000  demonetized  currency  which  was  ac- 
ceptable for  public  dues,  and  the  $120,000,000  of  7-30  notes 
besides  had  full  circulation.  The  relief  was  small  when  the 
extent  of  the  new  issues  was  taken  into  consideration, 
since  within  that  period  $380,000,000  must  have  been  emit- 
ted, the  statement  for  the  three  quarters  ending  September 
30,  1863,  being  $391,000,000. 

A  Sanguine  Secretary. 
Nevertheless,  Mr.  Memminger  was  sanguine,  as  was  his 
wont,  and  in  a  communication***  of  August  24th  to  R.  M. 
T.  Hunter,  said  that  the  funding  had  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful, since  the  outstanding  notes  were  within  the  limits 
of  depreciation  reported  at  the  last  Congress.  At  that 
time  the  total  amount  had  been  three-fold  greater  than 
the  estimated  required  circulation  of  $150,000,000.  The 
reassuring  figuring  of  the  Secretary  was  based  on  the  con- 
clusion that  $150,000,000  of  the  outstanding  circulation 
was  held  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  there  then  remained 
in  the  east  a  proportion  much  less  than  three  to  one. 
On  the  date  of  July  22d,  he  had  written**"  to  G.  B.  Lamar, 
of  Savannah,  that  while  the  loss  of  the  Mississippi  river 
was  a  very  serious  injury  to  the  cause,  yet  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  Providence  it  had  its  counterpoise  in  cutting  off 
the  old  currency  there  from  affecting  this  side.  He 
thought  if  the  Treasury  were  rid  of  the  old  currency  in  the 
east,  it  could  get  along  for  another  year. 

"•Richmond  Enquirer,  Aug.  24,  1863. 
'•Letter  Book  "E/' 


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136  Southern  History  Association. 

But  depreciation  could  not  be  arbitrarily  measured  by 
the  excess  of  outstanding  notes  over  an  assumed  limit. 
The  military  reverses  were  adding  their  effect  to  the  finan- 
cial situation  and  the  merchants  of  that  period  were  de- 
manding $12  in  currency  for  goods  that  $1  in  specie  would 
buy. 

Failure  in  the  Sale  of  Bonds. 

The  attempted  large  sale  of  bonds  was  likewise  impaired. 
The  stock  offered  had  for  security  what  many  considered 
the  ultimate  standard  of  value  in  the  South.  But  some  of 
the  conditions  of  the  contract  were  in  a  measure  respon- 
sible for  the  wide  non-acceptance  of  the  investment.  The 
$100,000,000  bonds  of  the  Act  of  March  23,  1863,  with  6% 
coupons,  payable  in  notes,  or  cotton,  the  cotton  to  be  de- 
livered within  six  months,  at  the  option  of  the  holder, 
had  the  supplementary  legislation  of  April  30,  1863,  applied 
to  it,  by  which  the  new  stock  was  authorized  to  be  $250,- 
000,000,  with  coupons  payable  in  specie  or  cotton,  the  cot- 
ton to  be  delivered  at  the  option  of  the  government  six 
months  after  peace.  These  cotton  interest  bonds  must  be 
sold  for  Treasury  notes  alone,  and  the  proceeds  devoted 
to  the  purchase  of  produce.  This  was  a  double  scheme  of 
funding  notes  and  buying  cotton,  but  as  the  stock  was  so 
little  taken,  the  resources  for  the  purchase  of  the  staple 
were  limited,  and  from  1863  there  were  slight  accessions 
to  the  holdings  for  the  Produce  Loan. 

Mr.  Memminger  was  not  pleased^'®  with  the  new  form  of 
bonds,  yet  he  extensively  advertised  them  to  be  offered 
to  the  highest  bidder  on  July  20th.  The  stock  was  to  be 
confined  to  home  purchasers,  whereas  the  original  form 
could  have  been  sent  abroad.  The  investment  seemed 
most  profitable,  for  the  $1,000  bond  would  pay  interest  in 
500  lbs.  of  cotton  at  6d.  or  12^  cents,  while  cotton  was 
then  selling  at  the  ports  from  32  to  40  cents.    The  first 

*^To  Secretary  Mallory,  June  16,  1863. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    137 

bids  were  too  few  to  allow  a  sale,  and  upon  the  second 
advertisement  a  number  of  offers  were  accepted  at  50% 
premium  in  paper  money,  then  rated  at  12  to  i  of  gold. 
The  bonds  were  widely  placed  with  the  depositaries  and 
their  sale  strongly  urged,  with  the  insignificant  result  of 
placing  $2,000,000.  The  quotations  of  the  market  were 
such  that  large  investments  in  these  bonds  must  have  en- 
tailed a  heavy  loss  on  the  government,  if  they  had  ever 
come  to  payment. 

However,  the  public  was  not  taken  by  these  induce- 
ments, since  it  judged  the  cotton  interest  certificates  to  be 
a  form  of  general  liability  for  the  indefinite  delivery  of  the 
staple.  Other  bonds  were  quoted  at  a  premium  in  Treas- 
ury notes,  but  their  specie  value  declined  through  the  year 
along  with  that  of  the  notes.  The  funding  of  notes  into 
4%  bonds  after  August  ist  was  practically  stopped,  while 
only  a  small  exchange  was  made  for  6%  bonds.  Prices 
grew  intolerably  high  for  necessaries.  Fuel  was  $40  a 
cord  in  Richmond  in  September;  bacon  sold  at  $3  a  lb., 
and  corn-meal  brought  $12  per  bushel,  when  formerly  it 
sold  at  75  cents.  Prices  in  the  interior  also  fluctuated 
widely.  A  feverish  condition  of  the  markets  was  dominant. 
Brag^s  victory  caused*^^  gold  to  fall  from  15  to  i  to 
8  to  I. 

Desperatk  Remedies  Considered. 

The  currency  had  now  reached  a  condition  where  it 
held  the  supreme  public  attention.  Innumerable  remedies 
were  offered  on  every  hand.  The  position  of  the  adminis- 
tration was  expressed  in  a  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  to  President  Davis  on  September  i,  1863.  He 
said,  "Plans  for  meetings  to  discuss  aid  are  futile.  I  en- 
deavor to  correspond  with  individual  merchants  and  bank- 
ers. The  two  difficulties  that  confront  us  are  distrust  of 
the  stability  of  the  government,  to  be  relieved  only  by 

'"Richmond  Sentinel,  Sept.  22,  1863. 


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138  Southern  History  Association. 

military  successes,  and  expectation  that  tfie  issue  of  notes 
will  be  indefinitely  continued ;  this  can  be  relieved  by  the 
determinate  refusal  of  Congress  and  by  a  resolute  effort 
to  raise  money  by  taxes  and  bonds." 

There  was  nothing  new  in  this  program,  but  the  prevail- 
ing popular  expression  was  likely  to  decide  the  final  policy. 
One  remedy  was  strongly  advocated  by  a  portion  of  the 
press,  and  had  the  approbation  of  many  public  men.  That 
was  the  plan^^*  of  compulsory  funding,  which  would  free 
the  country  of  its  excessive  currency  by  a  disguised  repu- 
diation. The  two  preceding  Acts  limiting  the  time  of 
funding  were  considered  as  merely  voluntary,  appealing  to 
the  patriotism  of  the  people.  The  banks  and  retired  mer- 
chants had  f  esponded,  but  the  great  majority  of  note  hold- 
ers preferred  to  speculate  in  other  investments.  Now,  as 
conscription  had  to  be  applied  to  the  military  necessities, 
so  forcible^'*  conversion  of  the  currency  was  to  be  appor- 
tioned as  taxation,  thus  gathering  from  all  their  share. 

Bankers'  Convention  at  Augusta. 

The  banks,  as  representing  conservative  interests,  met 
in  Augusta,  Ga.,  November  16  and  17,  1863,  when  thirty- 
six  institutions  from  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Caro- 
lina, Tennessee  and  Virginia,  had  delegates.  Mr.  G.  A. 
Trenholm,  afterwards  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  present- 
ing a  line  of  action  adopted  by  the  South  Carolina  banks, 
was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  which  drafted  the 
resolutions  sent  to  Mr.  Memminger  as  the  sense  of  the 
convention.  The  recommendations*'*  declared  that  dues 
collected,  and  for  which  Treasury  notes  were  made  receiv- 
able, had  proven  inadequate  to  absorb  a  sufficient  amount 
of  notes  to  prevent  redundancy  and  now  measures  must 
be  taken  to  reduce  the  circulation  to  $200,000,000.  The 
following  means  of  doing  this  were  suggested:  (i)  A  new 

'"Charlotte  Democrat,  Nov.  7,  1863. 
"•Richmond  Sentinel,  Oct.  27,  1863. 
"*MSS.  of  Treasury  Department. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    139 

issue  of  coupon  bonds  of  one  billion  dollars,  bearing  six 
per  cent,  interest,  with  the  coupons  payable  in  coin  yearly  ; 
(2)  To  meet  the  wants  of  the  government  in  the  future  a 
sufficient  tax  should  be  adopted,  and  notes  be  issued  as 
little  as  possible;  (3)  A  levy  of  $60,000,000  to  meet  the 
interest  *of  the  new  bonds  and  the  tax  be  paid  in  specie  or 
coupons  of  the  bonds  in  lieu  of  coin;  (4)  the  bonds  first 
to  be  apportioned  to  the  States  and  notification  to  the 
taxpayers  in  each  district  to  provide  themselves  for  the 
tax;  the  bonds  hitherto  issued  and  all  Treasury  notes 
were  to  be  received  in  pay  for  the  new  bonds ;  (5)  all  exist- 
ing distinctions  between  Treasury  notes  of  different  issues 
and  dates  were  to  be  abolished ;  (6)  increased  duty  on  all 
imports  and  exports  during  the  war  to  be  paid  in  coin  and 
exchange ;  (7)  an  Issue  Department  be  created  and  kept 
separate  from  the  Treasury  Department. 

'     '. 
The  Secretary's  Plan. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  been  invited  to  at- 
tend this  convention,  but  sent  as  his  personal  representa- 
tive Wm.  Johnson,  President  of  the  Charlotte  and  Colum- 
bia R.  R.  Mr.  Memminger  had  well  in  mind  the  plan  that 
he  would  present  to  Congress  in  the  following  month,  and 
his  delegate  was  thoroughly  acquainted  wi^Ji  it.  It  was  to 
resemble  the  scheme  of  the  banks,  yet  have  peculiar 
features  of  its  own,  as  the  letter  of  instructions  to  Mr. 
Johnson  on  November  nth  discloses.  The  Secretary  told 
him  to  hold  back  part  of  the  plan,  for  it  would  probably 
do  harm  if  there  were  information  beforehand  of  the  pre- 
cise compulsory  measures  intended.  He  was  directed  to 
present  the  other  portions,  and  if  the  convention  approved, 
it  might  advise  measures  which  would  bring  in  those  dis- 
posed to  hold  back. 

Mr.  Memminger  said  it  Would  be  very  unfortunate  if  by 
giving  the  politicians  information  in  advance  of  the  action 
of  Congress,  they  should  agitate  against  his  plan.    The 


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I40  Southern  History  Association. 

Treasury  remedy  was  clearly  outlined^'"  to  G.  B.  Lamar, 
of  Savannah,  the  leading  idea  being  a  fancied  return  to 
specie  values.  A  sufficient  tax,  payable  in  coin,  and  levied 
on  property,  was  to  guarantee  the  interest  on  a  new  loan 
that  would  absorb  the  whole  public  debt.  In  lieu  of  coin, 
the  coupons  of  the  loan  could  pay  the  tax.  Tlfe  writer 
said  the  country  was  now  prepared  to  cooperate  in  re- 
tiring the  currency,  and  stringent  provisions  would  make 
the  measure  certain,  for  no  more  risks  could  be  run. 

Criticisms  of  Augusta  Plan. 

The  Augusta  plan  caused  considerable  discussion  and 
was  criticised  as  being  impracticable.  The  nature  of  the 
objections  was  that  the  distrust  of  the  government  would 
not  allow  a  sum  of  bonds  to  be  taken  that  was  twenty 
times  the  banking  capital  of  the  South,  and  that  little  short 
of  general  confiscation  would  put  the  currency  on  a  safe 
basis.  There  had  been  from  time  to  time  various  expres- 
sions^'* of  a  want  of  confidence  in  ultimate  redemption. 
In  the  main,  the  sentiment^''  had  grown  more  pronounced 
in  favor  of  compulsory  funding. 

The  Shattered  Currency. 

The  Secretary  matured  his  plans,  bearing  a  marked  re- 
semblance to  that  of  the  banks,  yet  containing  features 
of  temporizing  and  of  radical  variance.  His  statement*'* 
to  the  Fourth  Session  of  Congress  made  evident  the  un- 
sound condition  of  the  finances.  The  receipts*'"  of  the 
Treasury  from  January  ist  to  September  30,  1863,  had 
been  $601,522,893,  and  the  expenditures  $519,368,559. 
Civil  purposes  had  demanded  $11,629,278,  while  war  re- 

^"  Letter  of  Nov.  9,  Book  "E." 

"•Augusta  Chronicle,  Sept.  26,  1863. 

'"  Richmond  Enquirer,  Nov.  19,  1863. 

'^Caper's  Memminger,  pp.  457,  458. 

"•Bonds  were  credited  as  follows:  8%  stock,  $107,292,900;  7%* 
$38,737,650;  6%,  $6,810,000;  call  certificates,  $23,475,100.  Treasury 
note  issues  were  $39i>^3iS30. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    141 

quired  the  balance,  excepting  $32,212,290  on  the  public 
debt  and  $59,000,000  for  notes  cancelled.  At  the  same 
date  $65,000,000  of  notes  were  held  for  cancellation.  The 
funded  .debt  had  reached  $293,000,000 ;  the  unfunded  was 
$701,500,000,  consisting  of  notes,  excepting  $26,000,000 
five  per  cent,  call  certificates. 

Of  the  total  receipts,  notes  had  supplied  65  per  cent,  and 
loans  30  per  cent.,  but  the  very  large  part  of  the  latter  was 
the  compulsory  creation  of  the  funding  by  limitation  of 
the  old  and  new  issues  of  notes. 

Taxation  in  this  period  of  rapid  depreciation  had  fur- 
nished a  proportion  of  two-thirds  of  one  per  cent.  The 
proportion  in  the  previous  report,  from  the  establishment 
of  the  permanent  government,  February  i8th  to  December 
31,  1862,  was  seventy  per  cent,  from  notes,  twenty-two  per 
cent,  from  loans  and  three  and  two-thirds  per  cent,  from 
taxation. 

On  September  30,  1863,  there  were  $476,000,000  of  un- 
drawn appropriations.  The  estimates  for  expenses  up  to 
July  I,  1864,  were  $475,500,000.  Doubling  this  latter  sum 
to  have  the  total  for  the  calendar  year,  a  need  to  provide 
for  almost  one  billion  and  a  half  dollars  faced  Congress 
when  it  met  December  7,  1863.  It  was  admitted  officially 
that  prices  were  inflated  five-fold,  while  at  the  same  time 
tax  assessments  were  made  at  a  rate  of  ten  to  one  for  gold. 

Billion  Dollar  Loan  Scheme. 

The  administration  program*®*  was  directed  to  the  ab- 
sorption of  the  mass  of  notes.  Accepting  $200,000,000  as 
a  necessary  circulation,  $500,000,000  had  to  be  retired. 
With  such  a  reduction  prices  were  expected  to  become 
more  normal,  and  the  expenditures  for  1864  would  be 
about  $400,000,000.  The  oft-quoted  fifteen  million  loan 
was  taken  as  a  model,  and  a  new  loan  of  one  billion,  pay- 
able in  twenty  years,  was  projected,  whose  six  per  cent. 

**MSS.  of  Treasury  Department. 


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142  Southern  History  Association, 

interest  coupons  should  be  m^de  available  in  public  pay- 
ments as  the  equivalent  of  specie  dues.  This  loan  was  to 
serve  a  double  purpose,  $500,000,000  to  be  devoted  to  the 
funding  of  the  excess  of  notes,  and  $500,000,000  to  be  sold 
to  furnish  supplies  and  to  be  exchanged  to  consolidate  the 
debt  already  funded.  This  new  stock  was  to  be  made  pre- 
sumably as  good  as  gold  by  having  specifically  pledged  for 
its  interest  $60,000,000  of  taxes  on  all  values,  to  be  paid  in 
coin  or  the  interest  coupons  of  this  loan.  Taxation  was 
conceived  to  create  a  similar  demand  for  these  coupons 
to  that  which  the  export  duty  on  cotton  fixed  for  the  cou- 
pons^®* of  the  fifteen  million  loan,  and  thu§  the  bonds  were 
said  by  the  Secretary  to  have  the  best  security  which  the 
government  had  yet  offered.  In  addition,  for  the  ultimate 
redemption  and  for  the  interest  of  the  honds  not  used  in 
funding  there  was  to  be  a  definite  guarantee  of  a  duty  on 
exports  and  imports  for  a  period  of  five  years  after  peace. 

CoMPUi^ORY  Funding  the  Chief  Feature. 

The  new  obligation  of  the  Treasury  remedial  plan  re- 
sembled that  of  the  Augusta  Convention,  excepting  that 
the  interest  of  the  bonds  and,  preferably,  the  taxes,  were 
to  be  paid  in  specie  by  the  Augusta  plan,  instead  of  some 
arbitrary  equivalent  of  specie.  In  further  agreement,  in 
order  to  prohibit  future  over-issue,  the  Secretary  asked 
Congress  for  an  absolute  limit  of  $200,000,000  of  notes. 
But  the  compulsory  funding  was  the  feature  of  the  recom- 
mendations, which  in  severity  well  answered  the  popular 
clamor  and  at  the  same  time  was  certain  to  meet  the  con- 
demnation of  the  conservative  interests.  It  required  all 
notes  in  excess  of  $200,000,000  to  be  funded  by  April  I, 
1864,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  by  July  ist  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  After  these  dates  the  notes  not  only  lost  their 
funding  privilege,  as  in  the  Act  of  March  23,  1863,  but 
ceased  to  be  receivable  for  public  dues.    They  remained 

^  Capers's  Memminger,  pg.  467. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    143 

only  as  evidences  of  debt  payable  according  to  their  tenor. 
All  notes  were  required  by  the  plan  to  be  funded  except 
those  under  five  dollars.  The  $200,000,000  of  the  old  cur- 
rency not  immediately  retired  could  be  exchanged  within^ 
six  months  for  an  equal  sum  of  the  definitely  limited  new 
issue.  These  notes  were  to  be  accepted  along  with  the 
interest  coupons  for  the  proposed  property  tax. 

Some  Justification  Urged. 

The  earUer  partial  repudiation  had  prepared  the  way  for 
these  more  radical  measures,  and  the  plea  of  expediency 
again  sufiiced.  Mr.  Memminger  admitted*®*  the  violations 
of  the  note  contract  in  the  right  to  receive  a  sum  of  money 
two  years  after  peace  and  the  right  to  use  them  for  gov- 
ernment dues.  He  offered  no  defense  of  the  second  in- 
fringement, which  the  sovereign  power  of  the  nation  alone 
was  left  to  justify.  But  in  the  first  alteration  the  Treasury 
was  argued  to  have  maintained  its  good  faith  by  offering 
the  bonds  during  ninety  days  for  the  notes,  and  in  lieu  of 
the  specie  promised  this  was  the  best  security  to  be  given 
for  the  present,  unless  the  actual  payment  was  postppned 
until  better  times.  Such  an  enactment  was  urged  to  be  in 
compliance  with  the  spirit  of  the  law,  if  not  the  letter,  and 
the  only  measure  that  would  save  the  value  of  the  notes 
issued  and  likewise  prevent  the  ruin  of  public  and  private 
credit. 

The  admininstration,  to  exonerate  itself  further,  made 
an  ungrateful  denial  of  the  resource  which  had  served  so 
faithfully,  even  if  to  its  destruction.  It  declared  that  the 
legislation  now  against  the  notes  would  be  no  interference 
with  the  rights  of  the  people,  as  between  each  other,  since 
there  had  been  no  express  contract  to  make  them  currency, 
and  Congress  had  always  refused  to  pass  a  legal  tender 
act  for  them.  The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  was  that 
no  contract,  however  solemn,  could  require  national  ruin. 

"•Caper's  Memminger,  p.  469-470.    Report  to  Congress. 


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144  Southern  History  Association. 

The  sanguine  Secretary  believed  that  the  compulsory  fea- 
ture would  be  less  objectionable  because  the  inducements 
of  the  bonds  would  bring  in  a  vast  part  of  the  currency 
voluntarily. 

The  President  seconded  unqualifiedly  in  his  message  of 
December  7,  1863,  the  heroic  policy  outlined.  He  said^** 
that  taxation  was  too  slow  for  exigencies,  and  the  amount 
of  notes  was  so  swollen  that  to  remove  the  cause  of  it  no 
measures  could  be  too  stringent.  He  asked  Congress  to 
give  its  earliest  and  entire  attention  to  the  currency.  The 
chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee,  Mr.  Hunter,  was 
ready  for  a  revolution  in  finances.  He  contended^'*  that 
precedents  were  against  paying  debts  in  full.  The  United 
States  had  not  done  it.  The  Confederate  notes  had  been 
greatly  superior  to  the  Continental  issues,  which  were  not 
fundable.  This  had  been  a  good  feature,  while  currency 
was  not  in  excess,  but  now  it  had  become  utterly  destruc- 
tive of  public  credit.  Mr.  Hunter  thought  the  govern- 
ment should  confess  like  a  merchant  who  is  involved  and 
start  again.  But  such  absolute  repudiation  was  very  little 
approved. 

Clash  of  Views  and  Interests. 

The  plans  of  the  Treasury  were  subjected  to  sharp  criti- 
cism in  Congress  by  the  advocates  of  contending  policies. 
The  funding  was  objected  to  as  the  chief  remedy  of  the 
currency  rather  than  taxation.  Such  a  policy  was  thought 
to  place  too  high  a  value  on  the  notes,  in  addition  to  the 
ruinous  practice  of  exchanging  non-interest  bearing  notes 
for  high  rate  government  securites.  Under  the  direction*** 
of  Senator  Brown,  of  Mississippi,  the  proposition  to  tax 
the  notes  25  or  33  1-3  per  cent.,  received  increasing  favor. 
The  right  to  tax  notes  was  held  to  be  the  same  as  that 

'"Richmond  Enqurier,  Dec.  8,  1863;  Records  of  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion, Series  IV,  Vol.  II,  pp.  1035-1040. 
"*  Richmond  Sentinel,  Dec.  4,  1863. 
"*  Richmond  Sentinel,  Dec.  24,  1863. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    145 

over  any  other  property.  President  Davis  had  hinted  in 
this  direction,  saying  if  each  person  held  notes  according 
to  his  ability,  it  would  be  the  best  form  of  taxation.  The 
supporters  of  a  legal  tender  measure  renewed  their  efforts. 
A  bill  of  Senator  Phelan  to  make  the  interest  coupons 
of  the  new  bonds  legal  tender  received  an  unfavorable  re- 
port and  was  tabled  February  3,  1864.  Gen.  Duff  Green, 
who  had  been  connected  with  various  financial  projects, 
memorialized  Congress  January  6, 1864,  against  converting 
the  mass  of  depreciated  notes  into  a  funded  debt.  He 
wanted  a  direct  tax  on  notes  and  the  use  of  bonds  for 
expenses. 

The  double  remedy  for  the  currency  of  funding  under  a 
penalty  and  of  heavy  taxation  of  notes  brought  a  clash 
of  the  branches  of  Congress  and  led"*  to  confusion  and 
delay.  There  was  a  divergence  of  opinion  as  to  the  pro- 
portion of  notes  to  be  given  for  bonds  and  for  the  new 
currency.  The  House  voted  to  tax  the  notes,  while  the 
Senate  rejected  the  proposition;  yet  after  conference  a 
measure  was  enacted  that  combined  many  of  the  features 
of  the  administration  plan  with  radical  Congressional 
amendments.  The  objection  to  treating  the  whole  sum  of 
notes  to  the  same  process  and  the  fear  that  special  bonds 
with  coupons  receivable  for  taxes  would  be  used  as  cur- 
rency shaped  the  legislation. 

The  Ruinous  Culminating  Act. 
The  Act  of  February  17,  1864,' was  the  culmination  of 
the  currency  laws  of  the  Confederacy.  It  was  heralded 
as  "marking  an  epoch  in  the  monetary  department  of 
modern  polity."  But  the  discrediting  of  the  public  obliga; 
tions  by  this  act  so  paralyzed  the  national  finances  that 
no  more  serious  repudiation  needed  to  be  projected  for 
enactment  in  the  succeeding  final  year.  It  was  a  combina- 
tion of  funding  currency  and  taxation.    As  complex  as  had 

*"  Savannah  Republican,  Feb.  4,  1864;  Richmond  Examiner ,  Feb. 
6,1864. 


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146  Southern  History  Association. 

been  the  Act  of  March  23,  1863,  in  dividing  the  notes  into 
three  classes  with  reference  to  the  date  of  issue  and  pre- 
scribing different  times  and  lates  of  funding,  the  new  act"^ 
divided  the  notes  on  the  basis  of  denominations  and  de- 
monetized portions  by  application  of  progressive  taxation. 

The  compulsory  funding  was  required  in  four  per  cent, 
certified  stock  of  twenty  years.  All  notes  above  five  dol- 
lars were  allowed  this  form  of  exchange  until  April  ist, 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  July  ist  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
After  those  dates  the  one  hundred  dollar  notes  were  taxed 
^^  33  1-3%  and  jo%  added  monthly.  Notes  other  than 
one  hundred  were  also  taxed  33  1-3%,  but  could  be  ex- 
changed from  April  ist  to  January  i,  1865,  for  four  per 
cent,  bonds,  with  the  proportionate  deduction.  They  also 
could  be  traded  for  a  new  issue  of  notes  at  the  rate  of  two 
for  three,  but  on  January  i,  1865,  a  tax  of  100%  was  to  be 
levied  on  all  the  old  issue,  wiping  it  out  of  existence.  The 
five  dollar  notes  had  a  longer  duration  of  grace,  their 
funding  period  running  to  July  ist  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  October  ist  west  of  the  Mississippi;  then  a  tax  of 
33  I "3%  was  applied.  The  seven-thirty  interest  notes  which 
had  been  practicably  counted  as  funded,  were  forthwith 
converted  into  six  per  cent,  bonds.  Call  certificates  for 
notes  issued  since  September,  1863,  must  be  put  into  four 
per  cent,  bonds  or  lose  one-third  by  taxation. 

The  four  per  cent,  certified  stock  in  which  the  old  notes 
were  funded  was  to  be  accepted^in  payment  of  taxes.  An 
exception  was  made  of  States  which  held  notes  in  their 
treasuries,  the  limitation  of  funding  being  placed  at  Janu- 
ary I,  1865,  and  six  per  cent,  bonds  given.  Since  future 
issues  were  to  be  checked  the  two  sources  of  supplies  now 
provided  were  certificates  of  indebtedness,  bearing  six  per 
cent,  and  transferable,  and  non-taxable  bonds  to  the  au- 
thorized amount  of  $500,000,000.  In  view  of  the  tax  levied 
on  all  government  securities  by  the  Act  of  February  17th, 

"'Acts  of  Congress,  Statute  IV.  Ch.  LXIII. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    147 

the  immunity  of  this  obligation  was  expected  to  enhance 
greatly  its  value  and  the  demand  for  it.  As  definite  se- 
curity for  the  payment  of  the  six  per  cent,  interest  a  pledge 
was  made  of  the  export  and  import  duties,  payable  in 
specie  or  coupons  of  the  bonds. 

Appucation  of  the  Measure. 

The  provisions  of  the  Act  modified  materially  the  pro- 
gram of  Mr.  Memminger.  All  the  notes  were  not  per- 
emptorily funded  at  an  early  date.  A  cheaper  security  was 
offered  for  the  funding  and  the  new  six  per  cent,  stock  was 
not  guaranteed  by  direct  taxation.  Taxes  were  to  be  paid 
not  in  the  interest  coupons  of  special  bond  issue,  but  in 
the  four  per  cent,  certificates,  which  were  both  non-taxable 
and  the  funded  representatives  of  the  redundant  currency 
being  retired.  But  the  Secretary  set  himself  faithfully  to 
the  administration  of  the  legislation;  112  new  depositaries 
were  appointed  for  one  year  to  aid  the  refunding.  Quar- 
termasters in  the  armies  were  selected  to  discharge  similar 
offices.  The  old  notes  were  to  be  cancelled  by  being  cut 
and  hammered  at  these  agencies. 

Barely  forty  days  existed  for  the  operations,  and  in  that 
period  it  was  impossible  to  prepare  the  stock  and  have  the 
new  notes  issued.  Congress  had  again  refused  the  request 
to  allow  the  engraving  of  signatuf  es,  and  the  delay  of  hav- 
ing scores  of  ladies  serve  as  signers  of  the  currency  was 
not  remedied.  A  circular  appeal^®*  was  made  to  175  banks 
that  they  accept  certificates  issued  by  the  depositaries  in 
lieu  of  bonds.  Their  help  was  further  invoked  for  the  ad- 
justment of  prices  and  business  operations  to  the  new  cur- 
rency. The  Secretary  thought  if  they  would  advertise  to 
accept  the  old  notes  and  give  credit  for  them  in  proportion 
of  $2  for  $3,  the  rating  would  be  established.  Bank  checks 
and  temporary  certificates  of  the  funding  were  to  tide  over 
until  the  new  notes  and  bonds  were  issued. 

""Treasury  Letter  Book  "E,"  Mch.  15,  1864. 


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148  Southern  History  Association. 

Panic  and  Prices. 

The  publication  of  the  Act  of  February  17th  caused  a 
panic  in  commercial  circles.  Prices^"  at  once  mounted 
higher.  Whisky  that  had  sold  for  $90  a  gallon  brought 
$120.  Various  dealers  would  do  no  business  unless  they 
were  paid  in  $5  notes,  and  an  increase  of  price  was  de- 
manded equal  to  the  tax  of  33  1-3%,  to  be  imposed  after 
April  1st. 

Mr.  Memminger  noted  the  unfavorable  effect  on  prices 
of  the  tax  on  the  notes  for  which  the  seller  of  commodities 
was  bound  to  indemnify  himself  in  advance.  He  said*** 
that  his  plan  of  cutting  off  all  the  notes  at  one  time  would 
have  made  holders  of  goods  anxious  to  get  the  notes  at 
their  highest  rates,  and  prices  had  fallen.  Now  Congress 
by  depreciating  the  currency  had  brought  the  opposite 
result.  Gold  quotations  rose  from  21  to  i  in  February  to 
35  to  I  in  March.  Many  having  requisitions  refused  to 
present  them,  awaiting  the  new  issue  after  April  ist. 

Brown's  Dekunciation. 

The  legislation  was  received  loyally  at  first  by  those*** 
who  expected  a  reduction  in  the  circulation  of  from  $300,- 
000,000  to  $500,000,000,  yet  violent  criticism  was  not  en- 
tirely withheld.  Gov.  Brown,  of  Georgia,  led  in  denuncia- 
tion in  his  message  of  March  10,  1864.  He  said,  'The 
act  has  shaken  confidence  in  the  justice  and  competence  of 
Congress.  The  country  was  prepared  to  pay  cheerfully  a 
heavy  tax,  but  it  did  not  expect  repudiation  and  bad  faith." 
Georgia  was  obliged  to  use  Confederate  currency,  and  the 
tax  of  the  notes  would  be  a  direct  levy  on  the  State  by  the 
national  government,  which  must  not  be  allowed.  He  ad- 
vised to  accept  only  the  notes  at  par  and  then  issue  a  State 
currency  to  be  exchanged  for  the  new  notes. 

"•Richmond  Enquirer,  Feb.  24. 
*••  Letter  to  J.  K.  Sass,  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  Feb.  26. 
"*  Augusta  Chronicle,  Feb.  22,  1864;  Montgomery  Advertiser,  Apr. 
21,  1864. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.    149 

Progress  o^  Funding. 

In  the  brief  period  allotted  the  operations  of  the  funding 
of  the  notes  made  a  large  showing.  A  statement**^  of  the 
Register  of  the  Treasury  on  April  30,  1864,  gave  a  com- 
prehensive view  of  the  currency  issues  from  the  origin  of 
the  Department  which  were  affected  by  the  Act  of  Febru- 
ary 17,  1864. 

Redundancy  Theoretically  Relieved. 

The  Treasury  report^**  for  the  period  up  to  the  time  the 
taxation  on  the  notes  began  estimated  that  $250,000,000 
had  come  in  for  cancellation,  east  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
depositaries  observed  that  only  about  one-half  of  this 
amount  was  in  one  hundred  dollar  bills.  The  redundancy 
was  figured  out  by  the  Secretary  to  have  been  relieved 
in  the  following  manner :  $800,000,000  was  the  amount  of 
the  general  currency  on  April  ist.  Fifty  millions  being 
to  the  credit  of  disbursing  officers,  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  were  in  actual  circulation.  Fifty  millions 
were  presumed  to  be  funded  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and 


193 

Issued. 

Redeemed. 

OuUUnd- 
inir. 

Act  of  Mth.  9, 1861,  Int-bearin^  notes  ($3.65), . 
V  *  '*    May  15, 1861,  Two  jears  after  date, .  .  . 

"    Apr.  17, 1862,  Int.-beariiiK  notes  (I7.30),  • 
'*    Apr.  17, 1863,  DenomlnationB  of  9(j|,  $2, . 
"    Oct.  13, 1863, General  currency,    .^.  .  . 
"    Oct.  13,  i86a,  DenominaUona  of  $1 W  $3, . 
••    Mch.  33, 1863.  General  currency. .  .  .  •  • 

••    Mch.  33, 1863,  Ones  and  Twos, 

'•    Mch.  33, 1863,  Fifty  cents. 

$a,o3i,ioi 

17,347,955 

391,961.830 

133,640,000 

5,600,000 

138,056.000 

a,344,8oo 

514,032.000 

3,033,000 

915*758 

$1495,150 

9.172,580 

141,034,709 

33,658,100 

1,103.383 

36,159,960 
44,737,957 

$525,950 

8,175.375 

150,937,121 

99.981.500 

4.497.618 

114.a40.839 
473.233,322 

1,097,943,963 

246360,838 

851,582,135 

In  this  table  the  redemptions  were  for  worn  currency  and  earlier  cancellations, 
the  notes  on  hand  of  the  last  funding  not  counted. 

Of  the  $973,281,863  non-interest  notes,  the  One  Hundred  denomi- 
nations aRRregated  $318,038,200;  the  remainder  was:  Fifties,  $188,- 
861,400;  Twenties,  $217,425,020;  Tens,  $i57»982,75o;  Fives,  $79r 
090,315. 

""To  Congress  May  2,  1864;  Caper's  Memminger,  pp.  480-1. 


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I50  Southern  History  Association. 

thus  with  the  deduction  for  notes  to  be  cancelled,  there 
remained  in  circulation  four  hundred  and  fifty  millions. 
One  hundred  and  twenty-eight  millions  of  the  one  hundred 
dollar  notes  were  assumed  to  be  unfunded  and  no  longer 
a  medium.  Finally  the  residue  of  three  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-two millions  was  brought  to  a  minimum  of  two  hundred 
and  fourteen  million  dollars  by  the  tax  of  one-third.  Pro- 
vided this  vast  contraction  did  not  shatter  all  business  ex- 
change, and  granted  that  market  values  had  been  fairly  and 
effectively  touched,  then  this  splendid  result  on  paper  of 
the  currency  legislation  ought  to  have  restored  prices  to 
a  healthy  condition. 

(To  be  continued.) 


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A  SKETCH  OF  WILLIAM  VANS  MURRAY. 

By  CLBMENt  SULIVANE. 

f 

Having  been  requested'  to  write  a  memoir  of  the  Hon. 
William  Vans  Murray,  United  States  Minister  to  The 
Hague,  and  AssQciate  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  France, 
under  the  Administration  of  President  John  Adams,  I 
cheerfully  do  so  to  the  best  of  my  ability  with  the  ma- 
terials at  my  command. 

Original  Materials  on  the  Subject. 

Being  a  collateral  relative,  and  the  Murray  family 
eo  nomine  being  extinct,  I  came  into  possession  of  Mr. 
Murray's  letter-books,  containing  copies  of  his  official 
correspondence  with  Mr.  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State, 
and  of  his  private  correspondence  with  Gen.  Washington, 
Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams  (subsequently  President),  aijd 
various  other  distinguished  politicians  of  his  day;  his 
"common-place  book,"  as  he  styled  it,  being  a  diary  kept 
by  him  for  several  years;  his  elegant  library,  and  the 
family  Bible  of  the  Murray's,  containing  the  record  of 
marriages,  births  and  deaths  of  all  the  members  of  that 
family  from  the  arrival  of  William  Murray,  the  first  of  the 
name  to  cross  the  Atlantic  in  the  early  part  of  the  i8th 
century,  down  to  a  generation  ago.  The  Bible  was  lost 
by  a  fire  in  this  town  in  1892,  but  the  remaining  data  are 
intact,  and  it  is  from  them  and  family  tradition  and  old 
family  letters  that  I  gather  the  facts  about  to  be  narrated. 

William  Murray,  His  Grandfather. 

The  William  Murray  referred  to  was  a  cousin  and  ward 
of  the  then  Duke  of  Athol,  chief  of  the  Murray  clan  in 
Scotland,  and  having  embraced  the  cause  of  the  Preten- 
der in  the  rebellion  of  171 5,  after  its  suppression  he  was 


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152  Southern  History  Association. 

obliged  to  fly  for  his  life  and  escaped  to  France,  whence 
in  or  about  the  year  1717  he  emigrated  to  Maryland,  and 
settled  in  the  village  of  Cambridge,  Dorchester  county. 
He  was  a  very  young  man  at  the  time,  and  landed  (as 
himself  wrote),  with  no  possessions  in  the  world  besides 
50  guineas  in  his  pocket.  He  appears  not  to  have  been 
educated  as  a  physician,  but  being  a  young  man  of  liberal 
education  and  accomplishments  he  resorted  to  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  for  a  livelihood,  educated  Bimself  by  ex- 
perience and  acquired  a  large  fortune.  Among  other  in- 
vestments, he  in  the  year  1739  purchased  from  the  origi- 
nal patentee  of  Lord  Baltimore  about  one-third  of  the 
land  forming  the  present  site  of  Cambridge.  Dr.  Murray 
died  in  1759,  leaving  five  children,  one  of  whom  (James 
Murray  by  name),  was  the  father  of  William  Vans  Mur- 
ray, the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

Dates  of  Birth  and  Death. 

The  circumstance  of  the  loss  of  the  Murray  Bible  and 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Murray  died  while  on  a  visit  to  Phila- 
delphia and  was  buried  there  (so  that  there  is  no  tomb- 
stone to  his  memory  in  our  old  church-yard),  make  us  un- 
able to  give  the  exact  dates  of  his  birth  and  death.  But 
from  the  record  of  the  birth  and  death  of  his  younger 
brother.  Dr.  John  Murray,  his  admission  to  the  bar,  and 
the  deeds  passed  between  his  widow  and  his  brother  just 
after  his  death,  I  am  able  to  state  that  he  was  bom  in 
Cambridge,  Md.,  about  the  year  1765  or  1766  and  died  in 
Philadelphia,  Penna.,  in  the  year  1803. 

Education  in  England. 

Immediately  after  the  Revolution,  Mr.  Murray  was  sent 
to  England  to  be  educated,  as  was  common  with  the 
young  men  of  fortune  in  his  day,  and  from  his  diary  I  find 
him  in  the  year  1786  studying  the  classics,  with  a  certain 
Mr.  Price,  at  Chelsea.  He  subsequently  read  law  at  the 
Temple  Inn,  and  at  this  time  married,  young  as  he  was. 


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A  Sketch  of  William  Vans  Murray. — Sulivane.     153 

"My  Beloved"  Wife,  Charlotte  Higgins. 

His  wife's  name  was  Charlotte  Higgins.  She  was  a  very 
beautiful  young  woman,  as  I  know  from  her  picture  in 
my  possession,  and  the  representations  of  the  old  mem- 
bers of  my  family  who  knew  her  in  their  youth.  She  was 
also  refined  and  accomplished,  but  belonged  to  the  middle 
class  in  England,  and  young  Murray  not  only  married  her 
without  the  knowledge  of  his  family,  but  concealed  the 
marriage,  and  did  not  bring  her  home  with  him  when  he 
returned  to  Maryland.  Some  years  later  she  came  over, 
and  from  his  diary  I  find  that  he  lived  with  her  in  great 
happiness  until  his  death,  and  by  his  will  he  devised  to  her 
all  his  property  for  her  life  time.  There  were  no  children 
bom  to  them,  and  after  his  death  in  1803,  she,  in  December 
of  that  year,  sold  her  life  estate  in  all  the  property  to  her 
brother-in-law.  Dr.  John  Murray,  the  reversioner  under 
the  will,  and  returned  to  her  own  people  in  England,  and 
disappeared  from  all  knowledge  of  people  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic. 

A  Federalist  Congressman. 

At  the  March  term  of  our  court,  1791,  Mr.  Murray  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  thence  on  practiced  law  until  his 
death.  He  must  at  once  have  engfaged  actively  in  politics 
upon  his  return  from  abroad,  as  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress from  this  district  in  the  fall  of  the  last  named  year, 
and  was  twice  re-elected  thereafter,  only  leaving  Congress 
when  appointed  to  his  foreign  mission  in  1797.  I  find  the 
following  entry  in  his  diary :  "27  Nov.  Sat.  night.  I  start 
on  Monday  at  2  p.  m.  with  my  beloved  for  Congress.  God 
grant  me  strength  and  wisdom  to  discharge  my  duty  to 
my  happy  country."  Just  following  this  entry  appear 
notes  of  the  efforts  of  the  Federal  party  to  get  Mr.  Shem- 
burgh  out  of  the  Speaker's  chair  by  the  election  of  Mr. 
Dayton,  a  movement  in  which  the  Federalists  succeeded 
on  December  7th,  by  a  vote  of  46  to  31.     For  Murray  was 


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154  Southern  History  Association. 

a  Federalist  after  the  straightest  sect,  feared  and  distrust- 
ed Jefferson  and  Jacobinism,  and  was  closely  allied  both 
with  Alexander  Hamilton  and  John  Adams.  His  reverent 
love  and  affection  for  Gen.  Washington,  and  his  enthusias- 
tic admiration  of  the  latter's  character,  are  beyond  all 
bounds,  and  it  is  really  touching  to  read  his  occasional 
outbursts  on  this  head. 

Washington  and  "the  Damndest  Scoundrel," 
Randolph. 

I  pause  here  in  my  narrative  to  write  the  precise  reason 
Gen.  Washington  had  for  his  outburst  against  Edmund 
Randolph,  his  Attorney  General,  when  he  denounced  him 
as  "the  damnedest  scoundrel  on  the  face  of  the  earth." 
It  appears  from  the  Murray  diary  that  among  certain  dis- 
patches of  Fauchet  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  admin- 
istration (Murray  does  not  tell  how)  was  found  a  letter 
to  him  from  Mr.  Randolph,  in  which  the  latter  says :  "The 
reason  why  the  French  Government  has  so  little  influence 
over  ours  is  because  the  French  are  niggardly  of  their 
louisTdores"  "This  was  in  answer  to  Fauchet's  letter  in- 
quiring the  reason  of  the  French  Government's  having  so 
little  influence,"  &c.,  writes  Murray. 

DiPU)MATic  Appointment. 

To  resume.  Mr.  Murray  was  evidently  a  young  man  of 
the  most  brilliant  talents.  This  is  evidenced  by  the  extra- 
ordinary eloquence  of  his  pen  as  shown  even  in  his  diary, 
and  yet  more  so  in  the  letter  books'  copy  of  his  public 
and  private  correspondence  above  referred  to.  And  his 
rise  in  political  life  was  simply  astonishing.  I  presume 
I  am  historically  correct  in  affirming  that  there  lived  a 
greater  number  of  conspicuously  able  men  in  America 
during  the  last  twenty  years  of  the  last  century  than  have 
ever  before  lived  at  any  one  time  in  any  one  nation  before 
that  period  or  since.  And  yet,  after  entering  Congress 
at  25  years  of  age  and  remaining  there  three  sessions,  at 


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A  Sketch  of  William  Vans  Murray, — Sulivane.     155 

31  years  of  age  we  find  him  appointed  to  the  (then)  most 
important  and  responsible  mission  in  Europe.  On  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1797  (he  writes),  he  received  the  first  intimation 
of  the  wishes  of  Gen.  Washington — then  President —  in 
respect  to  this  matter.  The  information  came  through 
Mr.  Pickering  (already  selected  Ky  Mr.  Adams,  President- 
elect, as  his  Secretary  of  State),  who  stated  to  Murray 
that  Gen.  Washington  had  determined  to  appoint  him  to 
The  Hague.  Pickering  further  informed  him  that  when 
he  (Pickering)  had  suggested  his  name  to  the  President 
for  this  mission,  the  latter  had  anticipated  him ;  "also  that 
Mr.  Adams  had  asked  him  [Mr.  Pickering]  if  a  nomina- 
tion would  take  place  this  session — for  if  it  did  not  he 
would  send  tne.'*  Such  was  the  impression  made  by  this 
young  man  of  30  or  31  years  of  age  on  such  men  as  Wash- 
ington, Pickering  and  Adams.  During  his  congressional 
life  his  most  intimate  friend  and  companion  seems  to  have 
been  Robert  Goodloe  Harper. 

"His  beloved"  (as  he  always  refers  to  Mrs.  Murray)  was 
delighted  at  his  appointment,  which  was  made  by  Gen. 
Washington  a  few  days  later,  and  the  nomination  was  con- 
firmed by  the  Senate  on  March  2,  1797;  and,  to  his  g^eat 
surprise,  without  opposition.  A  certain  Van  Polanan(?) 
told  him  at  Mrs.  Washington's  that  night,  .that  he  "was 
not  considered  as  either  British  or  French,"  and  that  he 
would  be  so  considered  in  Holland.  That  the  then  Minis- 
ter, John  Q.  Adams,  was  very  unpopular  there  because  of 
his  being  "British" — not  so  considered  from  his  own  con- 
duct, but  because  of  American  enemies  here  so  writing 
across  the  Atlantic.  Mr.  Murray  anticipated  the  same 
misrepresentation  of  himself  from  the  same  quarter,  but 
how  this  turned  out  I  cannot  say. 

The  Last  Day  o]?  Washington's  Administration. 

The  next  entry  in  his  diary  is  so  interesting  that  I  tran- 
scribe it  in  full  for  your  benefit.  "3.  March,  Friday, 
1797!!!  'Tis  the  last  day  of  Washington's  administra- 
tion!   We  went  to-night  to  the  drawing-room — Mrs.  W. 


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156  Southern  History  Association. 

was  very  much  affected — ^the  President  certainly  so,  but 
apparently  not  so  much  so — ^all  the  company  was  deeply 
affected.  Well  they  may  be.  God  knows  if  this  machine 
of  ours  will  go  without  him.  Alas,  as  yet  so  all-efficient 
has  been  this  great  man's  character  that  we  can  hardly  say 
that  the  Constitution  has  been  try'd — ^as  yet  it  is  a  thing 
of  paper.  Opinion — ^public  confidence  has  kept  it  up. 
This  man  has  focussed  the  public  opinion  absolutely.  He 
was  the  public  confidence.  When  he  goes  out — &  it  is 
to-morrow  I  we  know  not  the  Power  that  we  lose  out  of 
the  machine  I! 

This  night  ends  my  sixth  session  in  Congress ! 

While  writing  a  short  eulogy  upon  George  Washington 
for  [somebody's,  I  can't  make  out  the  name]  answer,  the 
clock  strikes  12 — and  Washington  no  longer  presides 
over  the  Union!  I  swear  this  very  moment  appears  im- 
mensely awful  to  my  foreboding  mind.  May  his  great 
spirits-example,  &  character  that  so  long  has  invigorated 
the  virtue  of  America  by  its  exalted  standard  still  operate 
to  the  good  of  my  country,  &  may  heaven  preserve  him 
to  long  life  in  happiness  and  honour ! 

ten  minutes  past  Twelve  4  March  1797." 

At  Mrs.  Washington's  Tea  Party  the  Next  Night. 

On  the  following  night  the  next  entry  was  made  in  the 
diary,  as  follows : 

"To-night  I  went  to  tea  at  Mrs.  Washington's — ^the 
General  came  in  and  I  got  a  seat  by  him.  He  asked  me 
when  I  embarked  for  Holland.  I  told  him  this  month,  as 
he  had  wished.  I  spoke  highly  of  our  present  Minister, 
Mr.  Adams.  He  said  he  thought  very  highly  of  his  pene- 
tration and  talents — that  he  had  not  found  him  fail  in  any 
anticipation  or  intelligence  he  had  given.  I  told  him  I  had 
heard  (from  Mr.  Lear)  that  what  I  had  been  very  solicitous 
about  had  taken  place.  That  my  credentials  were  signed 
by  Him,  &  expressed  my  delight.  He  told  me  that  I  had 
his  best  wishes,  and  hoped  I  would  write  to  him.     I  thank- 


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A  Sketch  of  WiUiam  Vans  Murray. — Sulivane.     157 

ed  him  for  the  permission,  &  mentioned  to  him  the  con- 
versation I  had  with .    This  man  will  have  done 

Washington's  Work  ]?or  Humanity. 

more  to  establish  human  rights — ^to  harmonize  the  duties 
&  rights  of  citizenship  with  the  energies  of  Government 
than  all  the  books  ever  written.  In  time  his  opinions  on 
public  law  will  operate  as  the  highest  authority  among 
nations.  Their  profound  justice — their  humanity — & 
their  liberality  will  be  generally  admitted  among  nations 
who  stand  in  need  of  exalted  authority  to  support  their 
honest  pretensions. 
Sunday  night,  5  March.  1797. 
Wednesday  for  Maryland." 

Departure  Mr  Europe. 
We  find  from  the  foregoing  that,  unless  circumstances 
transpired  to  delay,  Mr.  Murray  embarked  for  Holland  in 
March,  1797.  Anyway,  I  find  that  on  June  7th,  at  6 
o'clock  p.  m.,  according  to  the  diary,  he  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Texel  with  Mr.  Dandridge,  his  secretary, 
and  on  proceeding  to  The  Hague  he  found  Mr.  Adams 
still  there.    Also  Gen.  Pinkney. 

Political  Precocity. 

The  U.  S.  Government  had  but  four  Ministers  abroad 
at  that  early  period  in  the  life  of  the  Republic,  viz :  at  Lon- 
don, Berlin,  St.  Petersburg,  and  The  Hagfue,  our  relations 
with  France  having  been  ruptured,  and  our  poverty 
preventing  others.  And  as  Mr.  Murray  had  charge  of 
all  our  relations  with  France,  Spain,  and  Switzerland  (such 
as  they  were,  or  might  arise),  in  addition  to  those  of  Hol- 
land, at  a  time  when  he  could  not  at  the  utmost  have  been 
over  31  or  32  years  of  age,  his  political  precocity  and  ad- 
vancement are  the  most  remarkable  within  my  knowledge, 
next  to  that  of  the  younger  William  Pitt  alone. 

His  life  in  Holland  is  part  of  the  archives  in  the  State 
Department,  and  I  pretermit  any  account  of  it.    While 


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158  SoiUhem  History  Association. 

there  he  was  appointed  one  of  three  Ministers  Plenipoten- 
tiary to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  France,  in  1799;  but,  for 
reasons  unknown  to  me,  just  as  he  had  received  passports 
from  M.  Talle)rrand,  Foreign  Minister  of  France  under 
the  consulate,  his  name  on  the  commission  was  replaced 
by  another ;  and  in  point  of  fact  he  did  not  go  to  Paris  in 
that  capacity,  if  he  went  at  all,  which  I  do  not  know. 

Washington  underhanded  about  LAI^AYETTE. 
To  me  the  most  remarkable  fact  that  I  discover  among 
the  Vans  Murray  papers  was  his  correspondence  with 
Gen.  Washington,  then  retired  to  Mount  Vernon,  from 
which  it  transpires  that  in  1799,  just  after  the  liberation  of 
Lafayette  from  Olmutz,  and  when  Gen.  Washington 
had  written  to  the  marquis  urging  him  to  come  to  this 
country  to  escape  the  storms  of  Europe,  and  to  make 
Mount  Vernon  his  home  so  long  as  it  pleased  him,  Wash- 
ington was  energetically  engaged  in  preventing  that  gen- 
tleman from  coming  over  here.  It  is  indisputably  and  un- 
mistakably proven  that  Washington  wrote  to  Murray  to 
engage  him  to  embarrass  Fayette  by  difficulties  about 
passports,  weather,  anything,  to  prevent  his  coming  to 
America,  and  that  Murray  promised  Washington  that  he 
would  prevent  it,  and  in  fact  did.  For  the  marquis  was 
crazy  to  come,  and  chafed  under  the  pretexts  and  delays 
invented  by  Mr.  Murray  at  Washington's  request,  as  we 
also  find  these  papers.  The  secretary  of  the  Philadelphia 
Historical  Society,  when  I  wrote  on  this  subject  about 
fifteen  years,  or  more,  ago,  informed  me  that  this  fact 
was  known  to  litterateurs,  but  for  reasons  of  a  public  char- 
acter was  suppressed  from  history. 

His  Death. 
Mr.  Murray  only  lived  a  couple  of  years,  or  thereabouts, 
after  his  return  home  upon  the  accession  of  Mr.  Jefferson 
to  the  Presidency;  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  and  as 
stated  above,  died  in  Philadelphia  in  1803,  during  a  visit 
to  that  city. 


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THE  CALHOUN  LETTERS— A  REVIEW. 

By  Hon.  J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

The  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  Historical  Manu- 
scripts Commission  appears  as  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
American  Historical  Association  for  the  year  1899,  Vol.  • 
I.  This  covers  the  correspondence  of  John  C.  Calhoun, 
and  is  a  volume  of  invaluable  historical  and  political  inter- 
est. Fortunately  the  correspondence  has  been  edited  by 
Dr.  J.  Franklin  Jameson,  the  accomplished  editor  of  the 
American  Hstorical  Review.  There  is  probably  no  scholar 
in  our  country  whose  well-balanced  judgment,  political  and 
sectional  impartiality  and  large  historical  knowledge,  so 
eminently  fit  him  for  such  a  delicate  and  difficult  task. 
After  most  laborious  and  conscientious  research,  pursued 
for  four  years.  Prof.  Jameson  succeeded  in  securing  about 
800  letters  written  by  Calhoun,  "illustrating  all  periods 
of  his  career  in  all  aspects  of  his  life."  Besides  these  and 
throwing  a  flood  of  light  on  the  man  and  the  history  of  the 
South  and  the  Federal  Government  there  have  been  found 
over  2,000  letters  written  to  Mr.  Calhoun  by  nearly  900 
different  writers,  representing  all  classes  of  Southern  so- 
ciety, and  by  many  Northerners  as  well.  It  is  evident  to 
any  one  who  appreciates  "the  greatness  of  Calhoun,  the 
large  space  which  he  occupied  in  the  public  thought  of  his 
time,  and  the  importance  of  his  career  in  relation  to  Ameri- 
can political  history  that  we  have  here  a  great  gap  in  our 
historical  record."  Dr.  Jameson  commends  the  uni- 
formity which  letters  of  correspondents  reveal  on  the  part 
of  his  political  supporters.  "No  one  expects  any  thing  of 
him  but  the  most  high-minded  political  conduct;  and,  in 
this  respect,  also,  the  letters  that  are  not  printed,  though 
many  of  them  are  from  office-seekers  and  second-rate  poli- 


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i6o  Southern  History  Association. 

ticiaifs,  tell  the  same  story  as  those  that  are  printed." 
They  are  in  striking  contrast  to  the  letters  of  Cicero  which 
were  the  utterances  of  a  vain  and  wary  politician  and  were, 
in  fact,  political  pamphlets  designed  for  the  public  eye. 

If  one  can  have  "the  stomach"  to  wade  through  the 
shameful  and  disgusting  details  brought  to  light  in 
Mackenzie's  Lives  of  Benj.  F.  Butler,  Jesse  Hoyt  and  Van 
Buren,  in  1845  ^"d  1846,  he  will  see  a  disclosure  of  the  cor- 
rupt practices  and  low  political  morality  of  the  Swartwouts, 
Hoyts,  Glentworth,  etc.,  which  will  make  him  blush  for  a 
degeneracy  which  has  not  been  surpassed  in  more  modern 
days  in  New  York  or  Philadelphia  or  Chicago.  The  ma- 
chinery of  political  jugglers  brings  into  happy  contrast  the 
ingenuous,  transparent  honesty  of  the  Carolinian,  "with  no 
other  guide  but  truth,"  discharging  his  duty  fearlessly  and 
disregarding  the  opposition  excited  by  interest,  envy  and 
jealousy. 

So  far  as  the  writer  of  this  review  recalls,  in  Calhoun's 
published  letters  and  speeches,  there  is  quoted  but  one  line 
of  poetry — "Truth  crushed  to  earth  will  rise  again."  Col. 
Starke,  in  the  brief  but  interesting  sketch,  wisely  incor- 
porated into  the  volume,  says  the  young  lawyer  and  farmer 
and  prospective  statesman  never  invoked  the  muse  but 
once,  and  "she  refused  to  come  at  his  bidding,"  for  what 
could  she  make  of  an  invocation  commencing — "whereas." 
After  more  than  a  half  century  of  misunderstanding  and 
obloquy,  the  prophecy  of  Bryant  is  slowly  coming  true, 
for  the  truth  does  not  remain  crushed  to  earth.  The  pub- 
lication of  these  letters  confirms,  in  a  most  convincing 
manner,  the  judgment  of  devoted  followers,  and  he,  who 
was  to  most  people  "a  mere  abstraction,  a  purely  political 
eidolon/'  is,  through  his  numerous  letters  and  those  of 
family  and  friends,  for  the  first  time,  disclosed  to  the  pub- 
lic as  a  man,  "as  a  human  being  and  a  member  of  a  family, 
showing  his  constant  devotion  to  his  wife  and  her  mother. 


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The  Calhoun  Letters. — Curry.  i6i 

his  strong  affection  for  his  children,  his  anxious  care  for 
their  well-being  and  improvement,  his  abiding  interest  in 
all  kinsmen." 

It  was  once  very  common  in  the  rabid  newspapers  to 
substitute  "Catiline"  for  "Caldwell,"  his  middle  name.  No 
public  man  was  ever  more  misunderstood;  no  one's  mo- 
tives more  slandered,  nor  principles  more  misrepresented 
and  perverted  and  maligned.  Some  modern  histories 
speak  of  him  as  per  se  a  disunionist,  and  as  conspiring 
and  laboring  for  the  separation  of  the  States.  Nothing 
could  be  farther  from  the  truth.  His  last  breath  was  in 
favor  of  the  union  of  the  Constitution,  of  the  fathers  of  the 
Republic.  He  distinguished  sharply  and  clearly  between  an 
association  of  individuals,  or  a  mere  government  of  States 
acting  according  to  their  own  discretion,  and  a  compact  of 
sovereign  political  communities,  held  in  political  union  by 
a  common  bond,  the  written  Constitution,  which  contained 
the  full  gjant  of  the  powers  delegated  to  the  general  Gov- 
ernment. The  Union  was  the  result  of  the  ratification  of 
the  Constitution  by  the  separate  States,  each  acting  for 
itself.  The  Constitution  destroyed,  the  Union  ceases  in- 
stantaneously. Within  the  limits  of  the  granted  powers 
the  States  are  united  and  the  Government  is  sovereign  and 
the  Union  exists ;  without  those  limits,  the  States  are  sep- 
arate and  the  Federal  Government  has  no  authority.  Ob- 
viously, those  are  the  truest  friends  of  the  Union  who 
conserve  its  spirit,  its  true  end,  and  strive  most  earnestly 
to  preserve  in  its  integrity  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the 
Constitution.  "Those  are  the  Disunionists  who  sacrifice 
the  Constitution  and  pervert  the  Government  from  its  true 
and  defined  functions."  Thus  interpreted  there  never  was 
in  public  life  a  more  consistent  and  devoted  friend  of  the 
Union. 

"It  might  be  said  of  him,  as  of  very  few  public  men,  that 
he  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  posthumous  publication 
of  his  papers."    His  letters  will  disappoint  if  they  are  ex- 


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1 62  Southern  History  Associqtion. 

pected  to  minister  to  a  depraved  taste,  or  to  contribute 
to  public  or  private  scandal.  He  was  "neither  gossipy  nor 
spiteful,  nor  was  he  a  man  of  active  personal  animosities, 
for  his  politics  revolved  around  principles  rather  than  per- 
sonalities." "My  policy,"  he  said,  "has  never  depended  on 
my  position,  but  on  principles  and  truth." 

Mr.  Webster,  who  had  been  his  associate  for  40  years, 
said:  "There  was  nothing  groveling  or  low  or  meanly 
selfish  that  came  near  the  head  or  the  heart  of  Mr.  Cal- 
houn. If  he  had  aspirations,  they  were  high  and  honor- 
able and  noble."  Prof.  Jameson  evidently  has  a  keen  de- 
light in  being  privileged  to  make  known  to  Americans  "the 
character  and  the  career  of  one  of  the  greatest  ^nd  most 
elevated  of  American  statesmen,"  and  to  do  justice  to  the 
"memory  of  a  great  and  noble  statesman." 

The  questions  which  aroused  such  vindictive  attacks 
and  such  strong  prejudices  having  passed  away,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  these  letters  and  documents,  now  published  for 
the  first  time,  will  enable  and  incite  some  able  writer,  like 
Prof.  Jameson  himself,  to  write  a  veritable  biography  of 
one  who  has  been  justly  called  the  Aristotle  of  American 
politics.  The  only  authentic  biography  of  Calhoun  was 
written  by  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  of  Virginia,  and  was  pub- 
lished in  1843  by  Harper  &  Brothers,  as  introductory  to 
his  speeches,  reports  and  other  writings.  Calhoun  lived 
seven  years  afterwards,  and  was  active  as  Senator,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  as  the  author  of  the  most  profound 
disquisition  on  government  and  of  the  best  exposition  of 
the  Constitution,of  the  United  States  which  have  appeared 
in  this  country.  While  the  writings  of  Washington, 
Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Hamilton,  and  Morris  have 
been  collected  and  edited  for  general  reading,  it  may 
be  expected  that  after  the  revelation  which  comes  from  this 
publication,  there  will  be  found  some  enterprising  pub- 
lisher who  will  give  to  our  American  youth  and  the  world 
easy  access  to  the  grand  thoughts  of  the  great  political 


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The  Cdhoufu  Letters. — Curry.  163 

philosopher.  Eulogies  at  the  time  of  his  death  by  Rhett, 
Hammond,  Barnwell,  Miles,  Campbell,  and  Yancey,  and 
the  masterly  address  of  Justice  Lamar  at  the  unveiling 
of  the  monument  in  Charleston,  may  be  referred  to  as  the 
best  portraitures  of  the  man  and  the  best  elucidation  of  his 
principles.  It  may  be  permitted  to  refer  to  an  address 
made  before  the  University  of  Chicago,  July  4,  1898,  as  a 
demonstration  that  the  principles,  utterances  and  acts  of 
Calhoun  were  promotive  of  the  true  Union  of  the  States. 


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REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES. 

The  Bright  Side  of  Humanity.  Glimpses  of  Life  in 
Every  Land,  showing  the  Distinctive  Noble  Traits  of  all 
Races.  By  Edward  Leigh  Pell,  D.  D.  (Richmond,  Va. : 
The  B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing  Co.  [1900],  O.,  pp.  602, 
116  illus.,  $ .) 

This  work  is  perhaps  unique  in  character.  Its  leading 
motive  may  be  found  in  the  opening  lines  of  the  Introduc- 
tion :  "The  virtues  are  modest,  one  must  look  for  them  or 
one  will  overlopk  them.  The  vices  are  shameless — ^they 
force  themselves  upon  our  attention,  they  insist  upon  be- 
ing seen  and  talked  about."  Of  more  than  a  thousand 
books  of  travel  examined  in  the  preparation  of  the  volume 
"scarcely  one-fourth  give  fitting  recognition  to  the  vir- 
tues of  the  people  at  all,  while  most  of  them  faithfully 
mirror  all  the  vices  in  sight." 

The  task  must  have  been  a  pleasant  one  to  gather  to- 
gether from  many  sources  for  the  general  reader  the 
noble  traits  of  many  peoples.  Many  expressions  indicat- 
ing these  qualities  appear  in  the  chapter  headings:  "The 
hospitable  Arab;"  "The  sunny  side  of  the  South  Sea;" 
"The  tidiest  Nation"  (Holland);  "The  chivalrous  Mexi- 
can;" "A  people  who  cannot  hate"  (Hawaiians);  "The 
gentle  Esquimos;"  "The  friendly  Tibetans"  (A.  H.  Sav- 
age Landor  is  not  quoted  in  the  text);  "The  polite  Per- 
sian;" "The  home  loving  German;"  "The  dourest  and 
tenderest  of  men"  (Scotch);  "The  generous  Hibernian;" 
"The  courageous  Welshman,"  &c. 

These  and  similar  adjectives  show  the  general  character 
of  the  book.  There  is  a  full  table  of  contents  and  an  in- 
dex. There  is  no  fixed  or  formal  arrangement,  for  the 
author  has  avoided  the  conventional  grouping  of  subjects 
according  to  geographical  or  political  divisions  and  the 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  165 

lack  of  uniformity  in  fulness  in  the  various  chapters  is 
explained  by  the  scarcity  of  materials.  Many  travelers 
are  quoted  in  the  text,  while  the  accounts  written  in  the 
past  are  supplemented  by  contemporaneous  ones  from 
many  eminent  living  missionaries  and  others.  While  pre- 
senting the  bright  side  of  humanity  the  author  has  not 
failed  to  remember  that  there  is  a  dark  side  to  his  picture ; 
in  some  cases  he  has  sought  to  explain  this  as  due  to 
wrong  training,  to  misconceptions  or  to  inherited  cus- 
toms. It  may  be  presumed  that  these  accounts,  based  on 
such  authorities,  are  generally  accurate  and  fairly  repre- 
sentative, but  a  year's  acquaintance  with  the  Indians  of 
the  Southwest  has  led  the  writer  to  doubt  all  the  good 
things  said  of  that  race  and  to  conclude  that  Sherman 
was  right  when  he  scoffed  that  the  only  good  Indian  was 
the  dead  Indian. 

To  the  readers  of  the  Publications  the  most  interesting 
chapters  are  those  of  the  American  negro.  Here  the  au- 
thor has  changed  the  general  outline  of  his  work.  He 
speaks  with  authority  and  presents  a  common  sense  dis- 
cussion of  the  problem  which  is  made  up  neither  of  ex- 
tracts from  Northern  travelers,  who  know  nothing  of 
their  subject,  nor  entirely  from  Southern  men,  who  can 
hardly  expect  in  this  generation  to  have  their  practical 
knowledge  of  a  difficult  subject  accepted  by  other  sec- 
tions. Little  space  is  given  to  the  generalities  most  em- 
phasized with  other  nations,  but  the  lines  along  which 
improvement  is  possible  and  the  nature  of  that  improve- 
ment are  pointed  out.  Doctor  Pell  steers  a  direct  course 
between  the  opposing  forces  of  negrophiles  and  negro- 
phobes.  He  denies  that  the  negro  editors,  who  strive  so 
hard  to  injure  the  relations  between  the  races,  are  more 
than  small  politicians  at  best,  and  that  they  are  represen- 
tative of  their  people.  The  race  is  defended  against  the 
charges  of  the  lack  of  patriotism.  The  Negro's  crimes 
are  largely  those  of  environment,   for  while  the  unde- 


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1 66  Southern  History  Association, 

veloped  mass  are  a  horde  of  petty  thieves  and  hence 
monumental  liars,  the  race  as  such  is  not  a  criminal  one. 
Its  crimes  are  against  person  and  property,  never  against 
government,  for  the  Negro  has  no  isms.  The  lack  of 
home  life  and  the  necessities  of  mothers  who  must  go  out 
to  service  are  the  hot-beds  of  crime.  The  great  agencies 
have  had  as  their  watchword  "mentality  rather  than  mor- 
ality." "The  loudest  crying  need  in  every  negro  quarter 
in  the  South  is  a  day  nursery  for  the  benefit  of  the  multi- 
tudes of  mothers  who  are  compelled  to  go  out  to  service." 

The  author  denies  that  education  has  solved  or  is  solv- 
ing the  Negro  Problem;  he  denies  further  that  there  has 
been  to  an  appreciable  extent  any  higher  education 
among  them,  that  which  passes  for  such  being  at  best  but 
secondary  in  character.  He  claims  that  both  industrial 
and  literary  training  are  necessary  and  suggests  that  the 
Negro  colleges  turn  their  attention  to  a  study  of  this 
subject.  He  deplores  the  passing  of  the  House  Darkey 
of  the  ante-bellum  period  and  suggests  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  more  cordial  relations  between  the  older  peo- 
ple of  the  South  and  the  Negro  would  go  far*  toward  solv- 
ing the  problem.  This  "must  be  done  by  this  generation, 
for  it  cannot  be  done  by  the  next.  And  it  is  not  a  forlorn 
hope.  Race  prejudice  as  it  exists  in  the  South  to-day  is 
largely  a  post-bellum  growth.  The  feeling  that  the  neg^o 
is  inferior  to  the  white  man  of  course  existed  before  the 
war;  but  the  idea  that  one  cannot  afford  to  take  a  per- 
sonal interest  in  a  Negro's  welfare  is  clearly  a  modern 
conception.  The  highest  born  women  of  the  old  South 
never  heard  of  it." 

In  its  typographical  make  up  the  book  is  the  best  pro- 
duct that  we  remember  to  have  seen  issued  from  a  South- 
ern publishing  house.  The  half-tone  illustrations  are 
generally  well  printed,  some  of  them  being  in  colors. 
The  paper  is  heavy,  and  while  glazed  and  hard  on  the  eyes, 
the  print  is  large  and  clear.    A  few  omissions  of  leads,  a 


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Reviews  and  Notices,  167 

misprint  in  a  proper  name  here  and  there  are  all  the  er- 
rors of  this  kind  noted,  and  these  serve  by  their  fewness 
to  diflferentiate  the  book  from  the  usual  slipshod,  "cheap 
and  nasty"  issues  of  the  Southern  press.  The  B.  F. 
Johnson  Company  deserves  high  credit  for  the  attention 
which  they  have  here  paid  to  typographical  details  and 
to  general  appearance. 

Although  "prepared  for  the  Columbia  Historical  So- 
ciety" and  largely  at  their  expense,  we  do  not  know 
whether  Mr.  W.  B.  Bryan's  Bibliography  of  the  District 
of  Columbia  (W^ashington :  Government  Printing  Office, 
1900,  paper,  pp.  v-f-211,  8vo.),  is  to  be  considered  as 
one  of  their  publications  or  not — an  omission  that  will 
be  a  pest  to  librarians.  It  is  worse  than  a  puzzle  though, 
it  is  an  incomprehensible  blunder  that  a  reader  must  go 
to  volume  three  of  the  Society  Records  for  the  real  preface 
to  this  Bibliography.  There  he  will  find  the  plan  of  the 
work,  the  scope,  the  method  of  procedure,  the  cost  (over 
$300),  the  home  of  much  of  the  material  and  many  inter- 
esting facts  and  conclusions  discovered  in  the  course  of 
the  investigation.  It  is  there  stated  to  him  that  United 
States  Government  publications  touching  the  subject  are 
not  included  as  being  too  numerous  to  undertake  at  pres- 
ent. He  will  also  be  informed  that  nearly  700  news- 
papers have  been  published  in  the  District  of  Columbia — 
a  striking  total  that  few  persons  would  have  dreamed  of. 
No  explanation  is  offered,  why  this  outline  of  the  scheme 
and  summary  of  results  are  separated  from  the  main  body 
that  they  logically  and  customarily  precede. 

But  it  was  a  huge  task  that  Mr.  Bryan  set  himself,,  to 
note  "books  and  pamphlets  and  maps,  titles  of  articles  in 
periodicals,  and  names  of  newspapers  published  in  the 
District"  and  he  very  modestly  refuses  to  claim  that  suc- 
cess has  crowned  his  effort.  Everything  of  the  sort  is 
incomplete  and  yet  the  compiler  can  always  know  that 
his  labor  is  in  large  part  valuable  if  he  honestly  does  his 


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1 68  Southern  History  Association. 

best.  Mr.  Bryan  had  a  virgin  soil  to  strike  into,  and  who- 
ever follows  him  will  have  to  make  full  acknowledgment 
of  deep  obligations. 

While  making  allowance  for  the  enormous  difficulties 
of  the  task  there  are  some  shortcomings  that  it  seems 
fair  to  mention.  We  are  not  told  which  of  the  material 
is  rare  and  where  such  material  is  to  be  found.  The  col- 
lation of  the  periodicals  is  very  unsatisfactory,  as  we  do 
not  know  in  the  case  of  many  of  the  dead  ones  how  long 
they  were  published,  whether  a  complete  file  is  in  exist- 
ence, or,  if  so,  where  it  is  to  be  seen.  Of  many  of  those 
named,  we  cannot  always  tell  whether  they  still  breathe 
or  not.  It  is  admitted  that  vast  toil  might  have  been 
necessary  to  get  this  data.  A  query  also  arises  why  the 
Star  is  honored  with  two  entries,  while  the  Post  has  only 
one. 

The  Columbia  Historical  Society  has  issued  volume  3 
of  their  Records  (Washington,  1900,  paper,  pp.  366,  8vo, 
index)  filled  with  contributions  roughly  divisible  into  two 
classes,  reminiscences  and  researches.  The  former,  giv- 
ing us  views  of  old  Washington  days  and  people,  are  not 
only  entertaining,  but  valuable,  as  they  are  to  a  consid- 
erable extent  authoritative,  and  add  to  the  sum  total  of 
historical  knowledge,  containing  personal  information  of 
the  writers.  Partaking  of  this  character  and  much  to  be 
commended,  are  the  articles  by  J.  M.  Cutts,  Mrs.  J.  T. 
Rives,  Mrs.  V.  C.  Moore,  Judge  W.  S.  Cox,  E.  L.  Morse, 
Miss  V.  Miller,  W.  Tindall,  F.  M.  Howe  who  has  a  very 
fulsome  adulation  of  Governnor  A.  R.  Shepherd,  practi- 
cally claiming  for  him  the  credit  of  ever)rthing  worthy  in 
Washington's  material  development.  Such  broad,  sweep- 
ing assertions  ^re  very  well  suited  to  newspaperdom,  but 
are  hardly  in  keeping  with  the  dignity  of  an  established 
historical  organ,  as  there  is  a  great  deal  to  be  said  on  the 
other  side  that  Mr.  Howe  seems  hopelessly  unaware  of. 
The  warmth  of  his  testimonial  may  be  excusable  on  the 


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Reviews  and  Notices,  169 

ground  that  he  was  the  Governor's  private  secretary,  as 
he  himself  states. 

The  articles  depending  primarily  on  research  are  open 
to  the  criticism  that  they  do  not  show  the  sources  of  in- 
formation either  in  a  bibliography  or  in  foot-notes,  with 
three  exceptions,  W.  C.  Clephane,  S.  C.  Busey  and  J.  B. 
Osborne.  Even  these  are  not  as  full  and  clear  as  they 
might  be,  as  books  in  some  instances  are  quoted  without 
being  named,  and  in  other  cases  are  indicated  in  the  body 
of  the  paper,  and  not  at  bottom  of  page.  In  subjects  re- 
quiring investigation  beyond  the  ordinary  stock  authori- 
ties handy  to  all,  modem  methods  of  historical  writing 
demand  that  references  be  g^ven,  so  that  others  can  inter- 
rogate the  same  witnesses  if  desired.  This  is  a  high 
standard  that  few  historical  publications  reach  in  all  their 
output,  but  it  is  something  to  be  striven  for. 

The  society  seems  to  be  in  a  healthy  condition,  as  there 
are  over  an  hundred  members  in  full  standing,  and  there 
are  funds  at  times  for  engaging  clerical  assistance  in  his- 
torical work.  The  members  also  are  unusually  active  as 
nearly  all  this  volume  comes  from  their  pens. 

Whoever  wants  to  see  the  Old  South  in  a  miniature  of 
gentle  mellowness,  as  painted  by  one  of  the  noblest  and 
sincerest  of  observers,  let  him  read  Col.  R.  M.  Johnston's 
Autobiography  in  the  issues  of  the  Conservative  Review 
(The  Neale  Co.,  Washington,  D.  C).  It  is  also  an  ex- 
quisite record  of  the  inner  life  of  a  refined  man  and  great 
author.  It  is  the  world  as  viewed  by  a  genuine,  simple- 
hearted  man  of  letters,  who  vividly  and  humorously  re- 
lates his  experiences.  With  ideal  modesty  does  he  re- 
count his  achievements  in  the  field  of  literature,  a  career 
that  he  might  have  pardonably  enlarged  on  because  of  its 
uniqueness  in  winning  success  after  the  genial  colonel 
had  passed  fifty.  Yet  at  that  advanced  age  he  practically 
creates  a  new  school  of  fiction,  and  thus  makes  for  him- 
self an  imperishable  niche  in  the  hall  of  fame.    Even  with 


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I70  Southern  History  Association, 

this  incentive  to  vanity,  the  closest  scrutiny  will  fail  to 
find  the  slightest  trace  of  self-complacency.  Again  he 
might  have  been  excused  to  dwell  at  length  on  some  of 
the  worries  and  disappointments  that  arise  from  a  change 
of  locality,  from  words  of  reproach  or  from  coldAss  of 
friends,  yet  not  a  tinge  of  sadness  mars  the  innate 
serenity  of  this  gallant  knight  oi  ^^e^f^l  hum^ity: 
When  he  tells  of  his  cordial  friendship  with  the  lead- 
ing public  men  of  Georgia,  with  Alexander  and  Lin- 
ton Stephens,  with  Colquitt  and  Lumpkin,  with  Toombs, 
who  "possessed  an  intellect  above  that  of  any  other 
man  with  whom  I  ever  had  acquaintance,"  there  is 
no  note  of  pride  or  exultation,  no  parading  of  inti- 
macy, but  the  calm,  shrewd,  faithful  tribute  and  judi- 
cious estimate  of  one  strong  man  for  another.  But  when 
we  come  to  the  account  of  his  authorship^wje.find  thj» 
topmost  level  of  this  well-balanced  diat-dctef.  Every 
parent  is  allowed  considerable  latitude  in  talking  q|  his 
children,  but  Colonel  Johnston  asks  for  Jl<>  indulgence, 
makes  no  demand  on  our  charity,  but  in  the  clearest, 
most  straightforward  way,  without  hint  of  affectation, 
sets  forth  his  labors  and  rewards  as  a  writer  and  lecturer,  ^ 
all  in  the  honest,  open-minded  way  he  might  have  de- 
scribed the  progeny  of  a  Cicero  oV  a  Thackeray.  So*  the 
limpid  stream  of  his  narrative  runs  on,  no  fretting,  no 
snarling,  but  the  beautiful  picture  of  a  candid  heart,  that 
not  only  shows  its  excellencies  for  itself,  but  is  also  a 
mirror  for  that  old  bygone  system  of  which  it  is  a  pro- 
duct. 

Last  summer,  on  May  8-10,  1900,  there  was  held  at 
Montgomery,  Ala.,  a  conference  on  the  race  problems  of 
the  South,  that  was  addressed  by  prominent  men  from 
North  and  South,  and  that  attracted  the  widest  attention 
in  the  daily  press.  The  meeting  was  the  result  of  a 
movement  begun  in  that  city  in  January  preceding  to 
form  an  organization  for  the  study  of  the  vexed  ques- 


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Reinews  and  Notices.  171 

tions  arising  from  the  ethnological  conditions  in  that  sec- 
tion. Under  these  auspices,  speakers  of  national  reputa- 
tion were  brought  before  large  audiences  there,  and,  un- 
der the  same  fostering  care,  their  utterances  are  now 
preserved  in  print  (Richmond,  B.  F.  Johnson  Pub.  Co., 
paper,  8vo,  pp.  240,  $1.00).  From  the  standpoint  of  the 
scientific  investigator,  one  serious  defect  is  to  be  noted 
in  the  discussion;  the  other  side  was  not  presented,  the 
Negro's  voice  was  not  heard.  He  might  not  have  added 
another  fact,  or  another  argument,  but  he  would  have  of- 
fered a  new  attitude  that  might  have  forced  other  views 
or  strengthened  old  ones.  But  as  it  is,  the  only  deliver- 
ances were  from  whites.  Among  the  eminent  men  in  at- 
tendance were  W.  B.  Cochran,  of  New  York ;  Herbert 
Welsh,  of  Philadelphia;  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  H.  A.  Herbert, 
C.  R.  Breckenridge,  P.  B.  Barringer,  H.  B.  Frissell,  J.  D. 
Dreher  and  A.  M.  Waddell.  The  overruling  note  sound- 
ed through  all  their  words  is  pessimistic.  Economically, 
morally,  religiously,  even  physically,  this  sad  key  was 
struck  time  and  again.  There  was  one  variation  of  relief 
to  this  solemn  strain,  the  hope  placed  on  the  uplifting 
power  of  education.  Especially  was  this  emphasized  by 
Dr.  Curry.  The  society  has  been  successful  in  enlisting 
cooperation,  as  they  have  over  300  members  in  all  the 
Southern  States.  It  is  a  select  list  as  there  are  no  dues, 
and  only  those  with  the  greatest  interest  in  the  purposes 
are  invited  to  join.  The  expenses  of  the  meeting  and  of 
the  publication  were  readily  met  by  local  contributors. 
By  way  of  commendation,  there  is  a  pretty  full  bibliog- 
raphy on  the  Negro  question;  by  way  of  criticism,  there 
should  be  a  table  of  contents  at  least,  and  an  index  if 
possible.  But  these  omissions  are  insignificant  by  the 
side  of  the  heavy  task  which  the  indefatigable  secretary, 
Rev.  E.  G.  Murphy  (Montgomery),  discharged  so  hap- 
pily.   Much  more  will  also  be  excused  when  it  is  known 


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172  Southern  History  Association. 

that  the  book  is  stitched  with  thread,  and  not  with  that 
nuisance,  steel  wire. 

The  very  best  and  most  advanced  work  on  the  socio- 
logical conditions  of  the  Negro  is  being  d<5tie  by  Atlanta 
University,  through  its  courses  of  study,  through  its 
teaching  corps,  through  its  publications,  through  dis- 
semination of  information  and  through  its  stimulus  to 
the  Negro  conference  that  meets  in  that  city.  Especially 
to  be  commended  on  the  Negro  problem  is  its  series  of 
studies  of  which  No.  5  is,  The  Negro  in  Business  (Atlanta ; 
paper,  pp.  78,  1899,  25  cents),  edited  by  W.  E.  B.  DuBois. 
Mr.  DuBois  very  skilfully  and  wisely  seized  on  the  best 
machinery  for  making  a  wide  and  detailed  examination  of 
the  subject,  he  enlisted  the  aid  of  the  students,  graduates 
and  teachers  of  all  the  leading  Negro  colleges  and  uni- 
versities. By  this  comprehensive  method  he  could  in- 
clude in  the  scope  of  his  inquiry  some  1900  business  men 
or  nearly  one-half  of  the  total  of  5,000  that  are  estimated 
for  the  whole  land.  It  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  that 
so  many  are  to  be  found  in  this  class  which  he  limited  for 
his  purposes  to  those  living  in  towns  on  trade  or  invested 
capital,  thus  excluding  all  farmers.  In  his  list  are  seen 
nearly  all  the  vocations  that  involve  buying  and  selling, 
even  banks,  real  estate  dealers  and  building  and  loan 
associations.  Two  serious  handicaps  are  noted,  the  re- 
luctance of  Negroes  to  patronize  their  own  race,  and  the 
crushing  influence  of  the  trusts  and  department  stores  in 
stifling  individual  efforts.  The  conference  earnestly 
urged  the  Negroes  to  stand  together  and  support  their 
own  enterprises,  possibly  at  a  loss  for  a  time,  but  such 
appeals  can,  of  course,  do  no  good,  as  purchasers, 
whether  white  or  black,  will  go  where  they  get  the  most 
for  their  money.  Another  injunction  though  is  eminent- 
ly sound,  that  they  get  education,  both  mental  and  moral. 

A  special  summary  is  g^ven  to  newspapers,  disclosing 
one  monthly,  two  quarterlies,  and  three  dailies,  11  peda- 


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Reviews  and  Notices,  173 

gogical  journals  and  136  weeklies,  or  a  remarkable  total 
of  153.  Georgia  and  Texas  lead  with  23  each.  Only  one 
antedates  the  civil  war  (1839),  while  the  bulk  of  the  fore- 
most ones  have  been  born  within  the  past  decade. 

President  W.  H.  Council,  Normal,  Ala.,  has  printed 
a  Synopsis  of  Three  Addresses  delivered  last  summer  at 
as  many  educational  institutions  in  Iowa,  on  (i)  "Build- 
ing the  South,"  (2)  "The  Children  of  the  South,"  and  (3) 
"Negro  Religion  and  Character."  (No  date,  no  place, 
paper,  pp.  22,  though  they  are  not  numbered).  They  at- 
tracted marked  attention,  such  observers  as  the  Spring- 
field Republkcm,  daily,  declaring  them  "quite  the  most  re- 
markable recent  contribution  to  the  discussion  of  the 
Negro  problem  at  the  South."  Even  this  condensation 
furnishes  justification  for  this  strong  endorsement  as  we 
have  here  the  most  beautiful  incidents  and  thoughts  put 
before  us  in  the  most  glowing  language.  Almost  ideal- 
ized, is  his  tribute  to  the  reverent- nature  of  the  race:  "It 
is  not  extravagant  to  say  that  a  people  so  spiritual,  so 
vivid  in  imagination,  will  yet  put  an  interpretation  upon 
the  religion  of  Christ  which  will  startle  and  refine  more 
.  favored  races.  *  *  *  There  is  more  of  God  to  be 
brought  down  to  man.  If  the  Negro  is  true  to  himself, 
he  may  be  God's  instrument  to  bring  it  all  about."  We 
may  not  accept  this  high  estimate,  we  may  not  have  faith 
in  this  bright  future,  but  we  must  yield  a  meed  of  s^dmira- 
tion  to  the  orator's  eloquence. 

The  Atlantic  Monthly  (Boston),  for  January,  begins  a 
historical  series  on  the  Reconstruction  Period,  with  a  bril- 
liant introductory  article  by  Professor  Woodrow  Wilson, 
of  Princeton,  who,  with  the  poise  and  grasp  of  a  philoso- 
pher, writes  with  the  vividness  and  clearness  of  a  man  of 
letters  and  a  man  of  affairs  combined,  a  Bagehot  for  in- 
stance.   So  sure  is  he  in  his  strength  that  he  can  afford 


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174  Southern  History  Association. 

to  be  humorous  on  such  a  portentous  matter,  and  tells  us 
that  on  such  a  mighty  subject  "it  is  a  wonder  that  his- 
torians who  take  their  business  seriously  can  sleep  at 
night."  With  such  a  guide  we  can  feel  safe  in  going  to 
the  foundations  of  that  tangled  mass  that  Professor  Wil- 
son seems  to  think  a  fateful  landmark  in  our  progress. 
The  action  of  Congress  in  stepping  outside  of  the  Consti- 
tution to  settle  the  mixed  questions  has  furnished  a  prece- 
dent that  only  those  few  with  the  rare  insight  of  Professor 
Wilson  have  been  able  to  see.  Seven  otner  papers  on  lead- 
ing features  of  the  movement  for  rehabilitation  of  the 
South  are  to  follow  this  striking  contribution.  In  the  num- 
ber are  Mr.  Thos.  Nelson  Page,  Hon.  H.  A.  Herbert,  and 
Hon.  D.  H.  Chamberlain. 

In  the  catalogue  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina  for 
1 899-1900,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  Stockard's  monograph  on 
the  History  of  Alamance  County,  which  was  reviewed  in 
these  Publications  last  November  (p.  485),  was  her  thesis 
in  the  English,  not  in  the  History  Department.  In  fact, 
history  was  not  in  her  course,  which  included  English, 
Greek  and  Philosophy.  Inadvertently,  the  review  might 
have  left  the  impression  that  her  major  work  was  history. 


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NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Traveling  Libraries  in  Georgia. — Hon.  Hoke 
Smith  has  recently  made  a  contribution  to  the  educa- 
tional facilities  of  Georgia.  .He  has  sent  to  each  of  six- 
teen counties  a  library  of  sixty  selected  volumes.  These 
libraries  are  to  be  itinerants.  They  will  travel  into  every 
part  of  the  counties  and  stop  a  month  or  two  at  every 
school-house.  Each  is  strongly  boxed  in  a  case  built  for 
hard  traveling.  The  cases  were  made  especially  for  Mr. 
Smith,  and  are  his  own  invention.  Each  school  superin- 
tendent will  have  charge  of  the  library  in  his  county,  and 
will  direct  where  it  shall  go,  also  how  long  it  shall  stay 
at  each  school.  Mr.  Smith's  idea  is  to  have  a  library 
remain  at  one  place  for  from  one  to  two  months,  or  as 
long  as  the  school  superintendent  may  think  it  advisable 
in  order  that  every  school  child  may  enjoy  the  unusual 
advantages  aflforded  by  the  books.  Down  in  Jones  coun- 
ty, a  few  months  ago,  Mr.  Smith  saw  a  little  library  in  a 
little  hamlet.  It  was  an  insignificant  collection  of  books, 
but  the  people  had  worked  hard  to  gather  them,  and  the 
whole  community  had  great  pride  in  the  library.  This 
was  a  suggestion  to  him.  He  saw  exemplified  by  the 
people  there  a  passion  for  reading  and  for  knowledge 
that  he  knew  was  not  uncommon,  but  general.  It  oc- 
curred to  him  that  by  gratifying  this  thirst  for  good  read- 
ing matter  he  could  further  the  cause  of  education.  Mr. 
Smith  made  out  a  list  of  books  that  he  thought  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  intelligent  country  children.  He 
cut  this  list  down  to  sixty  books  and  ordered  sixteen 
copies  of  each.  Then  he  had  his  cases  made,  and  boxing 
up  his  books,  sent  them  to  the  counties  to  which  he  had 
decided  to  give  libraries.  The  school  superintendents 
have  entered  enthusiastically  into  the  library  movement. 


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176  Southern  History  Association. 

and  are  doihg  all  in  their  power  to  carry  out  the  purposes 
of  the  donation. 

State  Aid  to  History  Work  in  Maryland. — The 
librarian  of  the  Maryland  State  Library,  Annapolis,  fur- 
nishes the  following  facts  concerning  local  State  aid  in 
behalf  of  history  work:  "In  1834  the  General  Assembly 
having  accepted  the  manuscript  of  Bozman's  History  of 
Maryland,  authorized  the  Governor  and  Council  to  con- 
tract for  its  publication  and  distribution.  Several  subse- 
quent resolutions  appear  in  regard  to  it,  but  no  where 
any  date  as  to  the  cost  of  the  work.  A  little  later,  by 
resolution,  McMahon's  History  was  published  by  like 
resolution,  but  again  no  cost  is  given  and  the  Treasur- 
er's reports  for  these  years  makes  no  mention  of  it.  In 
1876  the  General  Assembly  subscribed  in  advance  for  300 
copies  of  Scharf's  History  at  ten  dollars  p*r  copy  (3 
vols.).  In  1882  the  first  appropriation  for  the  publication 
of  the  Archives  was  made  and  two  thousand  dollars 
g^ven.  In  1884  the  appropriation  was  continued,  two 
thousand  dollars  being  granted  for  each  year,  and  this 
custom  has  been  kept  up  to  this  date.  In  all  19  vols,  of 
the  Archives  have  been  published  and  the  total  appro- 
priation for  this  purpose  amounts  to  thirty-six  thousand 
dollars  ($36,000).  In  1896  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was 
appropriated  for  the  publication  of  the  roster  of  the 
Maryland  Volunteers  in  the  Civil  War.  Some  provision 
has  been  made  for  the  publication  of  th6  roster  of  volun- 
teers of  the  Spanish-American  War,  but  as  yet  I  have 
not  been  able  to  find  any  bill  or  resolution." 

Charleston  Historicai.  Exhibition. — On  the 
grounds  which  have  been  selected  as  the  site  of  the 
South  Carolina  Inter-State  and  West  Indian  Exposition, 
there  stands  an  old  colonial  home,  wl)ich  was  the  scene 
of  lavish  comfort  and  open-hearted  hospitality  in  days 
gone  by.  It  is  proposed  to  restore  this  old  home,  now 
somewhat  touched  by  tlTe  tooth  of  Time,  to  something 


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Notes  and  Queries,  i77 

of  its  original  state,  and  to  collect  within  its  walls  valu- 
able relics  of  the  past.  No  State  in  the  Union,  perhaps, 
contains  more  of  these  relics  than  South  Carolina,  and 
some  of  these  are  not  only  notable  as  antiques,  but  have 
the  added  value  of  being  historic.  The  table  which  Henry 
Laurens,  President  of  the  Congress  of  1717,  used  while 
he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower  of  London,  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  a  lady  of  South  Carolina;  few  cities  possess 
finer  specimens  of  the  work  of  the  most  famous  of  the 
early  miniaturists  than  Charleston  does,  while  the  old 
plantation  homes  on  the  Ashley  and  the  Cooper,  which  in 
some  cases  have  been  in  the  same  family  for  more  than 
two  hundred  years,  are  full  of  reminders  of  the  men  who 
made  South  Carolina  a  great  State  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Republic,  and  whose  memories  are  still  kept  green. 

South  Carolina  Land  Records. — ^When  the  City  of 
Columbia,  S.  C,  was  destroyed  by  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman, 
February  17,  1865,  all  records  were  destroyed  except  the 
Land  Books,  the  Council  Journal,  the  Common  House 
Journals,  and  some  miscellaneous  Records,  which  were 
saved  by  their  removal  from  the  city  by  Mr.  Hunt,  Sec- 
retary of  State.  The  saving  of  them  has  been  invaluable 
to  the  State. 

The  Land  Records  consist  of  about  100  volumes  of 
Grants,  about  500  pages  each,  extending  from  1678  to 
present  time.  There  are  8  or  9  Books  of  General  In- 
dexes, but  most  volumes  of  Grants  have  indexes  also. 
These  Grant  books  are  not  geographically  arranged,  all 
parts  of  the  State  are  indiscriminately  included. 

There  are  about  100  Plat  Books,  including  grants  from 
about  1680  to  the  present,  but  they  are  not  very  com- 
plete, till  after  1730.  Plats  from  1678  to  1730  are  dif- 
ficult to  find.  There  are  eight  Books  of  Indexes  from 
1730  to  1785,  and  from  1785  to  the  present.  These  vol- 
umes are  most  of  them  in  good  order.  All  grants  and 
plats  of  land  made  since  about  1730  can  be  found  quite 


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178  Southern  History  Association. 

readily.  They  are  in  the  custody  of  the  Secretary  of 
State.  The  cost  of  copies  of  grants  and  plats  is  usually 
$1.00  each.  When  grants,  plats  (or  in  fact)  any  papers 
are  wanted,  and  to  be  certified  under  the  great  seal  of 
State,  there  is  a  fee  of  $1.00  for  this  certification. 

The  books — grants  and  plats — ^are  generally,  about  gx 
15  inches,  and  about  500  pages,  although  they  vary  a  lit- 
tle. One  of  the  defects  of  these  books  is  that  all  portions 
of  the  State  are  mixed  up  indiscriminately.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  South  Carolina  was  never  surveyed 
in  a  regular  way.  Persons  applied  for  and  secured 
grants,  just  as  they  had  the  land  run  out  (in  no  regular 
way;  and  the  result  is,  that  now  it  is  a  matter  of  doubt 
as  to  whether  or  not  the  State  owns  a  single  acre  of  land. 
We  know  what  the  State  did  grant,  but  nothing  as  to 
what  was  left  and  all  the  older  grants  and  plats  were  so 
badly  described  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  fit  them  to- 
gether. My  own  opinion  is  that  there  is  no  vacant  land 
left  in  the  State.  Of  course  there  is  some  unclaimed  and 
of  unknown  owners,  but  that  is  generally  in  small  pieces 
and  only  discovered  by  the  adjoining  land  owners. — 
James  A.  Gibbes. 

Department*  of  Archives  and  History  of  the  State 
OF  Alabama. — ^The  establishment  of  a  permanent  "De- 
partment of  Archives  and  History"  by  the  present  General 
Assembly  of  Alabama,  is  by  far  the  most  progressive  and 
important  step  yet  taken  by  any  Southern  State  in  the 
matter  of  historical  work  and  research.  The  act  was  ap- 
proved February  27,  1901.  The  Department  is  to  be  lo- 
cated in  the  State  Capitol  at  Montgomery.  "The  objects 
and  purposes  of  the  said  Department  are  the  care  and  cus- 
tody of  official  archives,  the  collection  of  materials  bearing 
upon  the  history  of  the  State,  and  of  the  territory  included 
therein,  from  the  earliest  times,  the  completion  and  pub- 
lication of  the  State's  official  records,  and  other  historical 
materials,  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  in  reference  to  the 


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Notes  and  Queries.  179 

history  and  resources  of  the  State,  the  encouragement  of 
historical  work  and  research/*  etc.  It  is  placed  under  the 
administrative  control  of  a  board  of  nine  trustees,  but  the 
immediate  management  and  direction  is  committed  to  a 
director  to  be  elected  by  the  board.  The  director  is  to 
receive  an  annual  salary  of  $1,800,  with  a  contingent  fund 
of  $700  yearly.  The  establishment  of  the  Department  is 
due  almost  entirely  to  the  zeal  and  well-directed  energies 
of  Thomas  M.  Owen,  who  was  on  March  2,  1901,  elected 
director  for  a  term  of  six  years. 

School  Histories. — A  good  stroke  for  the  dignity  of 
history  was  made  in  the  latter  part  of  February  by  Gen. 
H.  V.  Boynton,  the  newly-chosen  president  of  the  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  school  board,  in  publicly  and  officially 
pointing  out  the  errors  and  exaggerations  he  Had  found  in 
histories  adopted  several  years  ago  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  city.  He  condemned  four  out  of  the  seven  in  use — 
Barnes's,  Montgomery's,  Johnston's  and  McMaster's — 
and  urged  their  exclusion  from  the  class-room.  Two  of 
these  are  of  the  type  of  text-books  made  to  order  and  to 
sell.  A  third,  McMaster,  with  his  slavish  imitation  of  Ma- 
cauley's  style,  has  always  Had  a  wide  reputation  for  loose- 
ness of  statement.  But  it  will  be  something  of  a  shock  to 
the  sincere  admirers  of  Alexander  Johnston  that  he  has 
been  caught  up  for  inaccuracy.  Many  of  the  instances 
adduced  by  Gen.  Boynton  relate  to  the  Civil  War  and  the 
late  Spanish  one,  in  both  of  which  he  was  engaged. 

North  Carolina  Tea. — Major  Graham  Daves,  in  the 
Weekly  Journal  of  February  8,  1901  (New  Bern,  N.  C), 
has  sketched  the  history  of  the  Yaupon  tea  found  in  that 
locality.  It  was  ^sed  by  the  Indians  and  is  believed  to 
have  great  commercial  possibilities. 


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PUBLICATIONS 


Southern  History  Association, 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


VOLUME  I,  1897,  pp.  336.  (Out  of  Print). 


[  HisTORiCAi,  Sketch  of  the  Association—Historicai,  Studies  in 

THE  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks— The  Pi^nter  of  the  Oi,d  South, 
}  Richard  Malcolm  Johnston— Two  Southern  Magazines,  Edward  Ingle 

}  —David  Crockett,  Marcus  J.  Wright— Bibliography  of  the  Statute 

i  lyAW  of  the  nouTHERN  STATES,  Theodore  L.  Cole— John  Owen's  Jour- 

i  NAL  IN  1818— Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal  on  North  Carolina- 

Bryant  Lester  and  Descendants,  Thomas  M.  Owen— John  Brown's 
Raid,  Andrew  Hunter— A  Bibliography  of  John  Brown,  Thomas 
Featherstonhaugh— Thomas  Lamar  and  Some  Descendants,  W.  H. 
Lamar— Huck's  Defeat,  Marcus  J.  Wright— A  Question  of  Fact,  C. 
C.  Pinckney  -  Journal  of  the  Siege  of  Savannah  in  1779,  General 
Provost— a'  Bibliography  of  William  Gilmore  Simms,  A.  S.  Salley , 
Jr.— Book  Notes— Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  II,  1898,  pp,  390,  J553-(X)  UNBOUND. 


I  Report  of  Second  Annual  Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  Secy.— 

!  Unpublished  Letters  of  Andrew  Jackson— Transfer  of  Louisiana, 

I  Marcus  J.  Wright — Society  of  the  Cincinnati  in  the  South,  Charles 

L.  Davis— Dismemberment  of  Virginia,  William  Baird -Anti-Sla- 
very Sentiment  in  the  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks— Pelatiah  Webs- 
ter's Journal,  Thomas  P.  Harrison— William  Strother  and  Des- 
cendants, Thomas  M.  Owen— Richard  Winn.  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Mary- 
land's Greatest  Politician,  Edward  Ingle— Christopher  Gadsden, 
E.  I.  Renick— Virginia  Women  and  the  Civil  War,  B.  W.  Arnold — 
Early  Southern  Institutions,  Peter  J.  Hamilton— Button  Gwin- 
nett's Commission— Richard  Malcolm  Johnston,  Edmund  Clarence 
Stedman  and  Stephen  B.  Weeks— Sir  Richard  Evkrard,  Marshall  De 
Lancey  Haywood— Mount  Vernon,  Alabama,  T.  H.  Ball— Monroe's 
Poverty,  Thomas  M.  Owen— Soclal  Affairs  in  1760  -Book  Notes- 
Notes  AND  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  III,  1899,  pp.  584,   $300  UNBOUND 


The  Florjda  Mound-Builders,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh— Ed- 
ward MosELEY,  James  Franklin  Shinn— Jacob  Ammonbt,  of  Virginia, 
Clifton  Wood  Bransford— Some  Difficulties  of  a  Texas  Empresario, 
Lester  G.  Bugbee— The  Texan  Expedition  Against  Mier,  Thomas  J. 
Green  — brsonnel  of  the  North  Carolina  Convention  of  1788 — 
A  Confederate  Incident,  J.  L.  M.  Curry  -Report  of  Third  Annual 
Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  5^^:';^.— Sidney  Lanier,  George  S.  Wills 
— Nullification  Resolutions,  A.  S.  Salley — The  Renick  Family  of 
Virginia,  E.  I.  Renick — Henry  Timrod,  Henry  E.  Shepherd  and  A. 
S.  Salley— John  Brown,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh — Salisbury  (N.  C.) 
Confederate  Prison,  A.  W.  Mangum— Book  Notes— Notes  and 
Queries— Index.  r^^^r^T^ 

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VOLUME  IV,  1900,  pp.  52?,  «3.oo  UNBOUND. 


Washington  and  the  Constitution,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Andrew  R.  Govan, 
A.  S.  Salley,  Jr.— The  Revoi,dtionary  War  in  N.  C— Why  the  Confed- 
eracy HAD  NO  Supreme  Court— The  Texas  Frontier.  1820-1825,  Lester 
G.  Bugbee— A  Baptist  Appeal— Report  ok  Fourth  Annual,  Meeting, 
Colyer  Meriwether,  ^>c>— The  Purchase  OF  Louisiana,  Daniel  R.  Goodloe— 
The  Journal,  of  Thomas  Nichoi^on— Anecdotes  of  General,  Winfieu) 
Scott- Congressman  Stokes  and  Pubuc  Archives— The  Southern 
Planter  of  the  Fifties,  Louisa  P.  Looney— Letter  from  a  Revolution- 
ary Officer — Governor  Richard  Bennett,  I.  T.  Tichenor — Light  on 
the  Negro  Problem — Lee  and  the  Confederacy,  Peter  Joe  Hamilton — 
The  Battle  of  King's  Mountain — Cincinnati  Society  in  Vlrglnia,  John 
Cropper — Some  Colonial  Ancestors  of  Johns  Hopkins,  Miles  White — 
Southern  Revolutionary  Frontier  Life,  William  Martin— John  Wrlght 
Stanly,  J.  D.  Whitford — The  Highlandfjis  in  America — Reviews  and 
Notices — Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUIVIE  v.,  1901,   $3.00.  UNBOUND. 
No.  I.JANUARY,  1901. 

PAOB 

History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  (Coatinued),  .   .  E.  A.  Smith.      i 

The  South  IN  Olden  Times, J.  L.  M.  Curry.    35 

E  WARD  Ireland  Renick, Gaillard  Hunt.  49 

Reviews  and  Notices, 53 

Notes  and  Queries, 85 


EXTRA  VOLUME  I. 

INDEX  to  Meade*8  Old  Churches^  Ministers  and  Families  oj  l^irginia. 
By  J.  M.  Toner,  M.  D.,  8vo.,  pp.  63,  cloth  or  paper  $1.00.  Indispensable  for 
prompt  and  ready  reference  to  the  mass  of  names  in  Meade's  two  volumes. 
Indorsed  for  accuracy  and  completeness  by  Colonel  R.  A.  Brock,  the  well- 
known  authority  on  Virginia  history. 

Address  Southern  History  Association, 

P.  O.  Box  65.  Washington,  D.  C. 


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V- 


Vol.  V.  MAY,  1901.  No.  3. 


PUBLICATIONS 


OP  THE 


Southern  History  Association. 


ISSUED  BI-MONTHLY. 


CONTENTS  : 

PAGE 

Sketch  op  Gensrai*  Mdhi<fcnbkrg, .  .  .  M.  J.  Wright.  i8i 

History  of  thb  Confsdbratr  Treasury,  (Concluded)  .  .  E.  A.  Smith.  i88 

Carrington  GbnbaW)GY, J.  B.  Killebrew.  228 

Reviews  and  Notices, 232 

Notes  and  Queries, ....  260 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Published  by  the  Association. 

May»   1901. 


•3.00  per  «iuiam|  fl.OO  per  nviniber. 

No  retponsibility  usumed  for  opinions  of  contributors. 


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OFFICERS,  1901. 


PRESIDENT: 
Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 

General  M.  C.  BUTI.ER.  Mr.  Thomas  Nbi,son  Pagb. 

General  M.  J.  Wright.  Professor  Woodrow  Wii<son. 

Colonel  Gborgb  A.  Portbrfieu).        Senator  S.  Pasco. 

SECRETARY  AND  TREASURER: 
Coi^YRR  Meriwether,  Ph.  D.,  Washington^  D.  C. 

ADMINISTRATIVE  COUNCIL: 
(In  addition  to  the  above-named  Officers): 

Professor  Kemp  P.  Batti^e.  Stephen  B.  Weeks,  Ph.  D. 

Colonel  R.  A.  Brock.  Professor  H.  Schoenfei»d. 

Mr.  T.  L.  Coi^K.  Professor  Lucian  Johnston. 

Professor  R.  He^Th  Dabney.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Ci«ark. 

Professor  John  R.  Ficki^en.  Mr.  Ai,exander  Summers. 

Professor  Chas.  LEE  Smith.  President  Geo.  T.  Winston. 

Professor  W.  C.  Stubbs.  J.  B.  Kii,i,ebrew,  Ph.  D. 

PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE: 

Gen.  M.  J.  Wright.  Mr.  T.  L.  Coi,E. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Ci^ark.  Dr.  Stephen  B.  Weeks. 

Mr.  John  b.  Browni.ow.  Dr.  Coi^yer  Meriwether. 


Pursuant  to  a  call  signed  by  nearly  a  hundred  representative  persons  of 
the  South,  the  Southern  History  Association  was  organized  at  the  Columbian 
University,  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  evening  of  April  24,  1896,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  history  of  the  Southern  States.  In  carrying  out  this  aim 
an  annual  meeting  is  held,  and  a  Bi-monthly  Publication  issued.  The  Associ- 
ation also  desires  contributions  of  journals,  letters,  manuscripts  and  other  ma- 
terial towards  the  beginning  of  a  collection  of  historical  sources.  It  will  gladly 
accept  papers  based  on  research  and  documents  on  all  subjects  touching  the 
South. 

All  persons,  as  well  as  libraries,  interested  in  the  work  are  eligible  for 
membership,  without  initiation  fee  ;  annual  dues  {3.00,  life  dues  I30.00.  There 
is  no  other  expense  to  members,  who  receive  all  current  publications  of  the 
Association  free  of  charge. 

The  Publicf»tions  alone  can  be  had,  postpaid,  at  I3.00  per  volume,  un- 
bound, or  |i.oo  per  number. 

All  communications  should  be  addressed  to 

COLYER  MERIWETHER,  Secretary, 
P.  O.  Box  65.  Washington,  D.  C. 


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PUBLICATIONS 

OP  THE 

SOUTHERN  HISTORY  ASSOCIATION. 

Vol.  V.  Mat,  1901.  No.  3. 

A  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JOHN 
PETER  GABRIEL  MUHLENBERG.^ 

•  By  General  Marcus  J.  Wright. 

It  has  been  said  that  "the  names  of  Washington,  Lafay- 
ette and  Greene,  are  the  property  of  the  world;  those  of 
Steuben,  Sullivan,  Reed,  Muhlenberg,  Morgan,  Weedon, 
and  Knox  and  many  others,  are  more  exclusively  that  of 
the  American  people."  It  might  have  been  added,  that  the 
history  of  the  latter  and  others  who  aided  in  the  achieve- 
ment our  liberties,  have  not  been  forgotten,  but  by  reason 
of  great  historical  events,  notably  our  great  Civil  War,  have 
for  the  time  being,  been  relegated,  not  to  forgetfulness ; 
but  to  a  quiet  from  which  their  descendants  will  lovingly 
relieve  them.  It  being  one  of  the  objects  of  the  Society 
of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution  "  to  perpetuate  the 
memories  of  the  men  who  by  their  services  or  sacrifices 
during  the  war  of  the  American  revolution,  achieved  the 
independence  of  the  American  people,"  I  propose  in  obe- 
dience to  this  purpose,  as  far  as  I  may  be  able,  in  a  brief 
way,  to  claim  your  attention  to  some  account  of  the  history 

'Read  before  the  District  of  Columbia  Society  of  the  Sons  of 
the  American  Revolution,  January  i6,  1901. 


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i82  Southern  History  Association. 

of  General  John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg,  a  distin- 
guished Major  General  in  the  revolutionary  army.  Gen- 
eral Muhlenberg's  father,  Doctor  Henry  Melchior  Muhlen- 
berg, was  a  native  of  Hanover,  Germany,  and  was  the 
founder  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  of  which  he 
was  its  most  distinguished  minister,  both  in  Germany  and 
.America.  General  Peter  Muhlenberg,  as  he  was  usually 
termed,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Trappe,  Montgomery 
county,  Penna.,  Oct.  ist,  1746.  His  brother,  Frederick  Au- 
gustus Conrad,  was  also  a  Lutheran  minister,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  twice  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives.  General  Muhlenberg's 
early  teaching  was  under  charge  of  a  Dr.  Smith,  at  an 
academy  in  Philadelphia. 

In  April,  1763,  when  in  his  i6th  year,  Peter  was  sent  with 
his  two  younger  brothers  to  Halle,  in  Germany,  where  he 
entered  school.  About  a  year  after  his  entrance  into  this 
school  an  insult  was  offered  him  by  one  of  his  teachers, 
which  he  at  once  resented  by  a  blow.  Knowing  that  this 
would  result  in  his  expulsion,  he  enlisted  in  a  regiment  of 
dragoons  passing  through  the  town,  but  through  the  in- 
tervention of  a  British  officer  he  was  discharged,  and  re- 
turned to  America  some  time  in  1766.  Early  in  the  year 
1768,  he  was  ordained  a  minister  of  the  Evangelical  Luth- 
eran Church,  and  soon  afterwards  appointed  assistant  rec- 
tor of  a  church  in  New  Jersey.  Subsequently  he  was  called 
to  the  charge  of  a  church  in  Woodstock,  Va.,  where  a 
number  of  German  Lutherans  were  settled.  In  order  to 
meet  the  public  laws  of  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  relating  to 
church  establishment,  and  the  collection  of  tithes,  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  receive  ordination  in  the  church  of 
England.  Accordingly,  he  proceeded  to  London,  and  on 
April  23d,  1772,  was  ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  at 
King's  Chapel,  St.  James,  in  company  with  Dr.  White  and 
^r.  Braidfoot,  alsoAmericans. 

During  his  incumbency  of  the  church  at  Woodstock,  he 


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John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg. — ^Wright.  183 

was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  of  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  won  the  confidence  and  friendship  of 
George  Washington  and  Patrick  Henry.  On  the  passage 
of  the  Boston  Port  Bill  in  1774,  a  meeting  of  the  citizens 
was  called  at  Woodstock,  of  which  Mr.  Muhlenberg  was 
made  chairman,  and  which  passed  resolutions  asserting 
the  inherent  right  of  British  subjects  to  be  governed  and 
taxed  by  representatives  chosen  by  themselves  only.  He 
was  placed  on  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and  became  prom- 
inent in  all  measures  relating  to  the  assertion  of  the  rights 
of  the  colonies.  When  the  Virginia  House  of  Delegates  in 
1775  passed  a  resolution  to  raise  six  additional  regiments, 
Mr.  Muhlenberg  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  Eighth 
regiment. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  he  and  Patrick  Henry  were  the 
only  civilians  or  men  without  previous  military  service 
who  were  appointed  Colonels.  After  his  appointment  he 
caused  the  announcement  to  be  made  at  Woodstock,  and 
to  the  people  of  other  Lutheran  churches  under  his  charge, 
that  on  the  following  Sunday  he  would  preach  his  farewell 
sermon.  On  the  appointed  day,  the  church  at  Woodstock 
was  filled  to  overflowing.  At  the  close  of  the  sermon,  he 
pronounced  the  benediction,  and  walking  out  into  the 
midst  of  the  congregation  and  divesting  himself  of  his  cler- 
ical gown,  he  displayed  the  uniform  of  a  Colonel  in  the  Vir- 
ginia army. 

Turning  then  to  the  people  he  said:  "There  is  a  time 
for  all  things — z  time  to  preach,  and  a  time  to  pray,  but 
there  is  also  a  time  to  fight,  and  that  time  has  now  come." 
Passing  to  the  door,  he  ordered  the  drums  to  beal  for  re- 
cruits, and  proceeded  to  read  his  commission.  He  secured  « 
that  day,  about  three  hundred  recruits,  and  continued  re- 
cruiting until  some  time  in  March.  To  a  relative  who  com- 
plained that  he  had  abandoned  the  church  for  the  army, 
he  said :  "I  am  a  clergyman  it  is  true,  but  I  am  a  member 
of  society,  as  well  as  the  poorest  layman,  and  my  liberty  is 


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i84  Southern  History  Association. 

as  dear  to  me  as  to  any  man.  Shall  I  then  sit  still  and  en- 
joy myself  at  home,  when  the  best  blood  of  the  continent 
is  spilling?  Do  you  think  if  America  should  be  conquered, 
I  would  be  safe  ?  Far  from  it !  And  would  you  not  sooner 
fight  like  a  man,  than  die  like  a  dog?" 

He  was  first  ordered  to  Portsmouth,  Va.,  to  oppose  the 
movements  of  Lord  Dunmore,  who  after  his  defeat  at 
Great  Bridges  and  the  destruction  of  Norfolk,  had  raised  a 
command  consisting  chiefly  of  negro  slaves  whom  he  had 
enticed  from  their  masters,  and  declared  free;  and  was 
committing  depredations  on  the  adjoining  county.  Lord 
Dunmore  was,  however,  not  the  only  enemy  to  meet.  A 
strong  detachment  of  land  forces  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
with  a  large  naval  force,  had  sailed  from  Boston,  and  their 
destination  was  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  southern  col- 
onies. General  Henry  Lee  was  then  ordered  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  Southern  Department.  Colonel  Muhlenberg^ s 
command  was  now  actively  employed  against  the  enemy, 
his  regiment  being  stationed  near  Portsmouth  protecting 
the  removal  of  stores  and  provisions,  during  which  time  he 
had  several  affairs  with  Lord  Dunmore's  forces.  Colonel 
Muhlenberg  was  next  ordered  by  General  Lee  to  accom- 
pany him  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina.  This  was  the 
result  of  changes  in  the  movements  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
and  soon  after  a  further  change  resulted  in  his  being  or- 
dered to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  arrived  on 
the  23d  of  June.  In  the  engagement  at  Charleston,  Col- 
onel Muhlenberg  was  complimented  by  General  Lee  in  his 
official  report  as  follows :  "I  know  not  what  corps  I  have 
the  greatest  reason  to  be  pleased  with,  Muhlenberg's  Vir- 
ginians, or  the  North  Carolina  troops;  they  were  both 
equally  alert,  zealous  and  spirited." 

For  some  time  after  these  events  Colonel  Muhlenberg 
was  engaged  in  recruiting  his  command  in  Virginia,  and 
while  thus  engaged  he  was  promoted  Brigadier  General 
(21st  Feb.),  and  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Continen- 


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John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg, — ^Wright.  185 

tal  troops  in  Virginia.  In  April,  1777,  his  brigade  consisted 
of  the  First,  Fifth,  Ninth  and  Thirteenth  regiments  of  the 
Virginia  Line,  and  he  was  ordered  to  collect,  equip  and 
put  in  condition  to  take  the  field,  all  troops  under  his  com- 
mand and  to  be  raised. 

It  would  extend  this  paper  beyond  a  length  suitable  for 
this  occasion,  to  enter  farther  into  details,  and  I  shall 
therefore  confine  myself  to  a  general  statement. 

After  participating  in  the  engagements  of  the  Brandy- 
wine,  Germantown,  Monmouth  and  Stony  Point,  where  he 
commanded  the  first  brigade  of  light  infantry,  and  in*  all 
of  which,  he  won  for  himself  .the  reputation  of  a  gallant 
and  skilful  officer,  he  was  again  ordered  to  command  in 
Virginia.  His  duties  there  were  to  superintend  the  collec- 
tion of  troops,  provisions  and  munitions  of  war,  for  the 
southern  armies,  and  in  the  event  of  any  advance  of  the 
enemy  in  that  direction,  to  assume  command  of  all  the 
troops  necessary  for  defense.  This  assignment  was  made 
by  the  Congress  on  the  recommendation  of  General  Wash- 
ington, and  was  a  high  compliment ;  for  the  exercise  of  the 
command  required  not  only  military  skill  and  ability,  but 
great  good  judgment  and  firmness  of  purpose.  Following 
soon  after,  was  the  battle  of  Blansford,  where  General 
Muhlenberg  was  in  immediate  command  of  the  troops  en- 
gaged, the  chief  command  devolving  on  Baron  Steuben, 

General  Muhlenberg  was  now  relieved  from  the  command 
of  the  division  of  militia  which  remained  with  Baron  Steu- 
ben, and  as  senior  Continental  Brigadier  General  he  took 
command  of  the  regulars,  about  one  thousand  strong,  his 
immediate  commander  being  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette. 
With  this  command  he  was  engaged  in  the  closing  battle  of 
the  war,  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  at  Yorktown. 
It  has  been  generally  stated  and  believed  that  the  American 
light  infantry  corps  which  stormed  and  captured  the  re- 
doubt on  the  left  of  the  British  works,  was  commanded  by 
Col.  Alexander  'Hamilton.    A  careful  study  of  the  question 


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1 86  Southern  History  Association. 

has  satisfied  me  of  the  incorrectness  of  this  view.  Colonel 
Hamilton  up  to  a  short  time  before  the  siege  of  Yorktown 
was  an  aid-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  General  Washington, 
but  having  received  what  he  deemed  an  unmerited  rebuke 
from  the  Commander-in-Chief,  he  resigned  that  position, 
and  joined  General  Lafayette,  who  assigned  him  to  the 
command  of  a  regiment  in  General  Muhlenberg's  brigade. 
The  date  of  his  commission  made  him  the  senior  Colonel. 
To  this  brigade,  ^nd  that  of  Hazen,  was  assigned  the  duty 
of  attacking  the  redoubt,  the  whole  being  under  the  com- 
mahd  of  General  Muhlenberg.  The  light  infantry  brigade 
was  composed  of  the  regiments  of  Hamilton,  Gimat,  Bar- 
ber and  Vose,  and  were  disposed  as  follows:  The  ad- 
vanced corps,  consisting  of  Hamilton's  and  Gimat's  regi- 
ments, commanded  by  Colonel  Hamilton;  while  at  the 
usual  distance  in  the  rear  came  the  remainder  of  the  col- 
umn, consisting  of  Barber's  and  Vose's  regiments  and  Ha- 
zen's  brigade,  all  under  the  command  of  General  Muhlen- 
berg. Almost  at  the  moment  of  the  attack,  thinking  the 
advance  not  sufficiently  strong.  General  Muhlenberg  dis- 
patched Colonel  Barber's  regiment  to  its  aid,  which  ar- 
rived at  the  instant  the  advance  forces  were  getting  over 
the  works,  and  executed  its  order  with  great  gallantry.  It 
is  not  intended  by  this  statement,  which  is  fully  sustained 
by  ofiicial  history,  to  detract  in  the  least  from  the  laurels 
of  the  gallant  and  able  Hamilton,  who  undoubtedly  ad- 
vanced in  immediate  command  of  the  storming  party  of 
two  regiments,  and  captured  the  redoubt;  but  simply  to 
correct  a  popular  error  as  to  the  part  performed  as  com- 
mander of  the  brigade  by  General  Muhlenberg.  In  the 
spring  following  the  capitulation  at  Yorktown,  General 
Muhlenberg  received  the  appointment  of  Major  General, 
and  some  few  months  afterwards  the  army  was  disbanded, 
and  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Woodstock,  Virginia.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  order  of  The  Cincinnati. 
In  1784,  he  removed  from  Virginia  to  Philadelphia,  and  in 


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John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg, — ^Wright.  187 

the  succeeding  year  was  elected  Vice-President  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  being  President.  This 
office  he  held  until  1788.  On  the  ratification  of  the  Con- 
stitution he  was  elected  to  Congress  to  serve  from  March 
4th,  1789,  to  March  4th,  1791,  and  of  this  Congress  he  was 
elected  Speaker.^  He  was  re-elected  to  the  Second  and 
Third  Congresses,  serving  until  March  4th,  1795,  and  after 
an  interregnum,  was  again  elected,  serving  from  Decem- 
ber 2d,  1799,  to  March  3d,  1801,  in  which  year  he  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  but  r,esig^ed  before 
the  meeting  of  Congress,  having  accepted  an  appointment 
from  President  Jefferson,  to  the  office  of  supervisor  of  rev- 
enue of  the  district  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  1803  he  was  appointed  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Phila- 
delphia, which  he  retained  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
near  Philadelphia,  October  ist,  1807. 

His  remains  lie  by  the  side  of  those  of  his  father,  near 
the  peaceful  village  church  which  witnessed  his  baptism. 
The  following  inscription  marks  the  spot : 

Sacred 

to  the  memory  of 

General  Peter  Muhlenberg. 

Born  Oct.  i6th,  1746.    Died  Oct.  ist,  1807. 

He  was  brave  in  the  field. 

Faithful  in  the  Cabinet, 

Honorable  in  all  his  transactions, 

a  sincere  friend, 

and 
an  honest  man. 

*It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Gen.  Muhlenberg  and  Hon.  Henry 
Qay  were  the  only  two  representatives  in  the  U.  S.  Congress,  who 
were  ever  elected  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
their  first  term. 


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THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  TREAS- 
URY.   (Concluded  in  this  Number.) 

By  Professor  Ern^t  A.  Smith,  Allegheny  College. 

CHAPTER  v.— COLLAPSE. 

The  Second  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  con- 
vened May  2,  1864,  under  conditions  temporarily  more^** 
hopeful.  The  winter  had  not  been  unfavorable  to  the 
Southern  arms  and  the  collection  of  supplies  was  im- 
proved. The  currency  measures  were  presumed  to  have 
furnished  the  needed  remedy  and  President  Davis"*  said 
the  effect  would  be  the  reduction  of  the  circulation  to 
$230,000,000  by  July  first.  After  the  first  rise  in  specie 
quotations  of  paper  to  23  for  i  in  March,  there  had  been  a 
fall  to  20  in  April,  and  18  in  May. 

The  government^*'  expenses  for  the  two  preceding 
quarters  were  proportionately  decreased,  though  partly  be- 
cause of  requisitions  held  back  for  the  new  note  issue.  The 
army  aijd  navy  had  cost  $249426,097  in  the  inflated  cur- 
rency, but  the  public  debt  under  the  provisions  for  interest 
and  redemption  of  notes  had  required  one-third  of  the  to-* 
tal  outlay  of  $383,110,559.  The  past  estimates  were  now 
seen  to  be  much  too  great,  for  the  balance  on  April  ist  of 
$608,000,000  of  undrawn  appropriations  was  sufficient  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  succeeding  nine  months  in  1864, 
allowing  a  rate  of  expenditure  based  on  fifty-four  millions 
monthly.  The  reported  receipts  of  $690,000,000  since  Oct. 
I,  1863,  established  apparently  a  large  surplus,  but  a  con- 
siderable source  of  this  income  had  been  $250,000,000  of 


•Pollard's  Fcurth  Year,  p.  14. 
^Message  of  May  2,  1864. 
•Capers^s  Memminger,  pp.  477,  8. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.  189 

four  per  cent,  stock  and  $39,000,000  of  call  certificates,  real- 
ized by  the  compulsory  funding. 

The  tax  of  1863  was  credited  with  $59*400,000,  but  the 
actual  resource  meeting  the  half  year's  accounts  had  been 
the  unfailing  Treasury  note. 

A  Last  Attempt  to  Limit  Note  Issue$. 

The  problem  of  the  new  Congress  was  to  satisfy  the 
claims  on  the  Treasury  without  a  speedy  recurrence  of  the 
condition  of  over-issue  from  which  legislation  had  so  lately 
set  it  free.  The  note  issues  were  in  theory  limited  to  $200,- 
000,000,  notwithstanding  the  statute  allowed  three  dollars 
of  the  old  tenor  to  be  exchanged  for  two  of  the  new,  a  pro- 
viso estimated  to  require  $214,000,000.  Hence  there  was 
a  perilous  probability  of  an  output  that  would  thwart  the 
projected  improvement  of  inflated  prices.  As  a  relief  from 
^this  danger,  the  Administration^**  offered  the  familiar  rem- 
edies of  the  past.  The  public  might  be  diverted  from  ex- 
changing its  old  currency  for  the  new  by  remitting  taxa- 
tion on  the  four  per  cent  stock  into  which  the  notes  had 
also  the  option  of  being  funded.  Requisitions  on  the 
Treasury  could  be  met  by  certificates  of  indebtedness, 
taxes  and  the  sales  of  the  new  half-billion  non-taxable 
bonds. 

The  experience  of  earlier  efforts  did  not  promise  much 
for  the  success  of  this  latest  government  security.  Its  cou- 
pons, payable  for  export  duties  would  have  little  demand 
under  the  effective  blockade.  The  immunity  from  taxa- 
tion was  a  small  inducement  in  contrast  with  the  exag- 
gerated values  of  the  period.  The^*^  advertisements  stated 
that  $5,000,000  was  to  be  offered  at  public  outcry  in  Rich- 
mond, May  12,  but  the  business  men  had  then  been  called 
to  the  field  so  largely  to  repel  Grant's  attacks  that  the  day 
of  sale  was  postponed  to  June  8th.   The  Secretary  was  de- 

"•Capers's  Memminger,  pp.  481-484. 

*" April  19,  1864,  in  leading  Southern  newspapers. 


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sirous  of  securing  50%  premium  in  paper  money  on  the 
first  bids,  and,  the  same  conditions  prevailing  upon  the 
second  offering  at  the  capital,  the  place  of  sale  was  changed 
to  Columbia,  S.  C. 

There  the  price  was  established  at  135  in  Confederatie 
paper  on  June  21st,  and  forty-eight  special  agents  were  ap- 
pointed to  handle  the  bonds.  Several  million  dollars  worth 
were  sent  abroad  and  the  agent,  Gen.  C.  J.  McRae,^**  was 
told  to  take  six  cents  in  specie  on  the  dollar  for  them.  This 
foreign  offering  came  to  nothing,  as  General  McRae^**  re- 
ported that  five  cents  was  the  top  of  the  market,  since  the 
speculators  in  the  South  had  sent  over  their  holdings  at 
that  quotation. 

Use  of  Certificates  of  Indebtedness. 

By  September  30th  the  sales  of  the  Treasury  had*^^ 
amounted  to  $14481,650,  and  on  February  i,  1865,  Con-^ 
gress  was'^®^  informed  that  $44,517,500  had  been  taken  at 
par,  with  a  premium  of  $14,660,000.  $30,000,000  of  the 
bonds  were  used  in  discharge  of  public  indebtedness,  but 
there  was  no  additional  demand  for  them.  The  plan  to  use 
the  certificates  of  indebtedness  met  with  even  less  success 
than  the  earlier  effort  to  exchange  bonds  for  subsistence. 
Every  inducement  was  furnished  to  urge  these  credit  de- 
vices, yet^the  holders  of  supplies  would  not  take  the  certi- 
ficates, nor  did  the^®*  army  quartermasters  co-operate  in 
disposing  of  them,  so  that  by  September  30th,  only  $1,740,- 
000  had  been  placed. 

Under  such  conditions  the  pressure  for  the  issue  of  notes 
proved  irresistible  by  an  Administration  committed  for 
three  years  to  that  financial  policy.    Yet  it  was  com- 


uly  17,  1864,  Letter  Book  "E." 
To  Secretary  Trenholm,  Nov.  4,  1864. 
Report  of  Nov.  7,  1864,  Treasury  MSS. 
Letter  of  Trenholm.  Book  "F." 
To  Seddon,  Secy,  of  War,  Apr.  25,  1864 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  191 

monly*®*  thought  that  "the  paper  money  machine"  had 
been  stopped,  as  though  a  legislative  act  of  this  date  were 
adequate  to  prevent  further  perils  from  the  currency,  what- 
ever should  be  the  demands  for  expenditures. 

The  Treasury  Note  Bureau  was  slow  in  preparing  the 
issues  for  which  heavy  demands  were  made  after  April  ist. 
The  army  had  drawn  previously  $72,609  per  diem,  when 
expenses  were  $600,000.  Holders  of  old  notes  succeeded 
in  making  an  exchange  only  after  long  delay.  There  arose 
much  irritation  and  the  Department  was  charged  with 
holding  back  the  new  notes.  Mr.  Memminger  incurred  the 
blame  of  this  and  had  to*®*  explain  the  expediency  of  his 
instructions  to  Congress. 

Accordingly,  the  note  circulation  started  again  surely  on 
a  course  of  redundancy.  On  May  31st,  $57,000,000  had 
been  paid  out,  while*  $200,000,000  were  reported  as  need- 
ed. The  value  of  the  notes  was  lessened  by  the  fact  that 
taxes  were  being  paid  in  the  four  per  cent,  certificates,  and 
thus  the  paper  money  affected  by  the  repudiation  of  Feb- 
ruary 17th  could  yet  be  made  available.  The  largest  pro- 
ducers, the  farmers,  were  independent  of  money  claims 
by  reason  of  the  tithe,  so  that  the  additional  currency 
served  as  in  the  past  to  foster  speculation,  and  the  public 
appraised  the  first  and  the  second  tenor  with  little  dif- 
ference. 

Congress  Repudiates  Secretary  Memminger. 

The  second  Congress  was  early*®'  disposed  to  adjourn 
and  made  a  record  of  irresolution  after  debate  surpassing 
that  of  the  First  Congress.  Many  currency  measures  were 
introduced  and  agreement  reached  on  none.  The  Senate 
voted  to  reduce  the  limit  of  note  issue  to  $100,000,000,  in 
which  the  House  would  not  concur.    In  an  effort  to  make 

"•Richmond  Enquirer,  Mch.  12,  1864. 
•^Question  of  Congress.  May  20,  Book  "E." 
"•Richmond  Enquirer,  May  31,  1864. 


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192  Southern  History  Association. 

the  certificates  of  indebtedness  a  chief  resource,  the  Senate 
alone  adopted  the  provisions  of  ultimate  redemption  in 
specie  and  payment  of  interest  in  notes  at  a  coin  rating. 
This  was  on  the  recommendation*®'  of  Mr.  Memminger; 
but  the  House  declared  war  on  him  in  a  resolution  of  May 
26th  calling  for  his  resignation,  as  follows :  "In  a  Congress 
entrusted  with  the  control  of  the  currency  it  is  impossible 
to  perform  the  duty  effectually,  unless  the  oflBce  of  Secre- 
tary is  filled  by  some  person  of  high,  unquestioned  ability 
as  a  financier,  whose  views  in  regard  to  important  matters 
of  finance,  especially  the  currency,  are  in  harmony  with 
those  of  Congress,  and  who  is  willing  to  carry  into  prompt 
and  eflBcient  operation  the  deliberate  enactments  of  Con- 
gress on  this  subject.  The  Secretary  is  thus  made  respon- 
sible to  Congress,  and,  without  touching  a  right  of  the 
President,  public  welfare  demands  tlie  retirement  of  Mr. 
Memminger,  not  questioning  his  honesty  and  patriotism, 
to  be  succeeded  by  some  individual  of  proper  ability  as  a 
financier  and  more  likely  to  command  public  confidence." 
The  motion  to  table  these  resolutions  was  lost  by  a  vote 
of  37  to  45,  and  they  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Judiciary.  The  report  was  not  made,  because  it  was  an 
open  secret  that  the  Secretary  would  resign  at  the  close  of 
the  session. 

On  June  15th,  he*®^  asked  to  be  released  from  his  office 
because  there  had  come  an  essential  divergence  in  the 
plans  of  the  Department  and  those  adopted  by  Congress. 
He  said  his  action  had  been  delayed  by  his  sense  of  obliga- 
tion to  put  into  operation  immediately  upon  its  passage 
the  Act  of  February  17,  1864,  but  now  the  machinery  for 
the  plans  of  Congress  in  finance  and  taxes  was  so  adjusted, 
that  a  new  head  could  readily  assume  control. 

Congress  in  its  adjournment  on  June  14th  had  refused 
to  allow  the  reforms  in  taxation  so  strongly  urged  and 

■••To  the  Senate,  May  20,  1864. 
*"Capers's  Memminger,  p.  365. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.  193 

thus  continued  a  policy  of  unfairness  and  discrimination. 
Its  attack  on  the  Treasury  Department  was  the  opening  of 
its  opposition  to  the  rest  of  the  Cabinet  and  reflected  that 
condition*®*,  in  some  quarters  prevalent,  of  a  lack  of  con- 
fidence in  the  President  and  his  advisers. 

Treasury  Supervision  of  Bi^ockade  Running. 

Additional  powers  were  conferred  upon  the  Treasury 
Department  in  1864  for  the  control  of  commerce.  The 
previous  blockade  running  had  been  by  private  companies, 
which  were  commonly  required  to  bring  one-third  of  the 
importations  in  government  supplies.  But  by  the  Act  of 
February  6,  1864,  the  character  of  the  trade  was  closely 
supervised  and  the  entrance  of  luxuries  was  debarred,  a 
wide  range  of  articles  being  designated.  A  maximum  of 
prices  was  assigned  to  manufactured  goods  of  cotton, 
wool,  flax  and  silk  received,  and  these  values  were  invoiced 
by  the  Treasury  in  coin  at  the  place  of  export.  The  fur- 
ther enactment,  that  one-half  of  the  cargo  in  and  out  must 
be  reserved  for  the  Government,  caused  conflict  with  sev- 
eral States  which  were  engaged  in  trade  on  their  individual 
account.  Against  many  remonstrances  the  Department 
held  firm,  and  the  Congress  of  the  Governors,  debating  the 
restriction,  at  Augusta,  Georgia,  was  told*®®  that  the 
united  interest  of  all  was  paramount  to  the  particular  con- 
cerns of  one  State.  Yet,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  the  con- 
cession was  made  to  the  States.  Cotton  was  the  valuable 
export  that  induced  various  English  companies  to  secure 
contracts  for  its  shipment. 

After  the  available  sterling  exchange  and  coin  had  been 
exhausted  by  Mr.  Memminger,  he  had  traded  cotton  to 
Europe  for  the  imperative  war  supplies.  The  Navy,  War 
and  Treasury  Departments  operated  at  cross  purposes  for 
a  time  in  foreign  financial  negotiations  until  by  an  agree- 

*•  Pollard's  Fourth  Year  of  the  War,  pp.  75,  76, 

"•To  Gov.  Bonham,  of  South  Carolina,  Oct.  28,  1864. 


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194  SotUhern  History  Association. 

ment*^®,  the  Treasury  assumed  direction  of  handling  the 
cotton  and  ordered  vessels  to  be  purchased  exclusively  for 
the  purpose.  Four*^^  boats  were  at  once  secured  and  con- 
tracts let  for  ten  others,  of  which  only  a  few  got  to  sea 
before  the  surrender.  From  July  to  December,  1864^", 
11,795  bales  of  cotton,  worth  $1,500,000  in  gold,  $45,000,- 
000  in  paper,  were  exported,  the  Produce  Loan  furnishing 
the  stock.  The  Department  did  not  ship  as  largely  as  it 
had  planned,  being  hampered  by  the  contracts  with  private 
companies.  The  trade*^*  of  blockade  runners  flourished, 
43  arrivals  being  entered  at  Wilmington  and  Charleston  in 
May  and  June,  and  43  again  in  November.  The  most 
pressing  army  supplies  were  thus  enabled  to  be  furnished. 

The  Trans-Mississippi  Department. 

The  cutting  in  twain  of  the  Confederacy  caused  a  separ- 
ate establishment  of  the  Treasury  in  Texas  and  there  the 
Trans-Mississippi  Department  was  created  by  Act  of  Con- 
gress in  March,  1864.  P.  W.  Gray  was  placed  in  charge  at 
Marshall  on  July  ist,  and  carried  on  the  independent  ad- 
ministrative duties  of  that  section.  Taxes  were  collected 
and  the  funding  conducted,  old  notes,  however,  being  com- 
monly stamped  and  reissued  in  place  of  the  new,  which 
could  not  be  secured  in  suflScient  quantities  from  the  East. 
The  impressment  of  supplies  was  conducted  by  Gen.  Kirby 
Smith  and  cotton  shipments  made  from  Matamoras.  The 
trade  from  the  Mexican  port  was  directed  by  the  Texas 
Cotton  Bureau,  which  was  active  to  the  last.  One  re- 
port^^*  from  this  self-sufficient  country  was  made  for  the 

"« March  29,  1864,  Book  "E." 

*"  Bulloch's  Secret  Service  of  C.  S.,  Vol  II,  p.  245. 

*"Trenholm  to  Senate,  Dec.  12. 

*"  Cargoes  went  to  Nassau,  Bermuda  and  Havana  and  thence 
re-shipped.  Vessels  were  most  active  in  1863;  in  6  months  32,- 
07s  bales  being  carried.  From  November,  1861,  to  March.  i8i64, 
84  steamers  were  engaged,  making  363  trips  to  Nassau  and  65  to 
other  ports.    Scharf  s  C.  S.  Navy. 

•^*Gray  to  Congress,  Feb.  20,  1865. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  195 

quarter  of  July  to  October,  and  showed  $95,000,000  re- 
ceipts against  $6,500,000  expenditures ;  $55,000,000  of  the 
old  currency  had  been  retired  and  $50,000,000  were  yet  to 
come  in. 

PoucY  OF  THE  New  Secretary. 

The  selection  of  the  successor  of  Mr.  Memminger  was  a 
guarantee  of  the  continuance  of  his  policy.  Mr.  G.  A. 
Trenholm,  of  Charleston,  assumed  the  Treasury  portfoUo 
on  July  20,  1864.  He  had  been  a  trusted  counsellor  of  his 
fellow-townsman  in  preceding  years,  and  was  connected 
with  the  firm  of  John  Fraser  &  Company,  which  had  been 
the  principal  agent  of  the  Department  in  South  Carolina, 
and  also  was  commercially  connected  with  Fraser,  Tren- 
holm &  Company,  of  Liverpool,  the  foreign  agents. 

Mr.  Trenholm  began  with  the  Department-honored  de- 
vice of  getting  deposits  of  four  per  cent,  call  certificates 
that  should  be  exchanged  for  $120,000,000  of  new  notes 
then  in  process  of  emission.  He  advertised  widely  and 
urged  persistently  the  sale  of  Government  securities.  A 
convention  of  the  Commissioners  of  Prices  of  the  States 
in  session  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  September  2d,  was 
told  that  the  great  mass  of  citizens  of  every  class  must  buy 
bonds  and  nothing  else.  The  exhortation  of  the  Secretary 
was  to  stand  by  the  Treasury,  but  the  sentiment  of  the 
public  found  expression  in  the  statement  of  the  Richmond 
Enquirer^^^  that  no  one  expects  miracles  from  Mr.  Tren- 
holm. 

Under  appeals  for  home  purchasers,  $15,000,000  of  the 
non-taxable  stock  was  disposed  of  in  two  months,  and 
twice  the  amount  in  the  succeeding  three  months.  The 
certificates  of  indebtedness  were  also  used  to  the  sum  of 
$30,000,000  and  other  bonds  sold,  together  with  temporary 
loans  placed,  so  that  the  Secretary  stated*^'  he  had  realized 

"•Aug.  22,  1864. 

"•To  Secretary  Seddon,  Dec.  31. 


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196  Southern  History  Association. 

$197,000,000  from  these  various  sources.  This  showing  is 
rendered  improbable  by  a  report  of  the  Treasury  Note 
Bureau,  No.  10,  that  it  had  furnished  a  total  of  $120,000,- 
000  of  bonds  and  also  by  the  fact  that  the  issue  of  paper 
money  was  considerably  in  excess  of  the  amount  an- 
nounced as  paid  out.  However,  the  activity  of  the  Admin- 
istration was  neutralized  by  the  resumed  inflation  of  prices 
on  to  final  ruin  and  by  the  variety  of  government  securi- 
ties which  speculators  hawked  about  at  complex  quota- 
tions of  depreciation. 

PjtoposED  Mui<Tipi<E  Standard  of  Value. 

The  official  policy  found  utterance  on  the  occasion  of 
the  report*"  to  Congress  for  the  half  year  ending  Septem- 
ber 30,  1864.  There  was  frank  confession  of  the  failure 
of  the  Currency  Act  of  February  7,  1864,  attested  by  the 
same  rating  for  old  and  new  issues,  and  a  present  re- 
dundancy, requiring  $25  for  $1  of  gold. 

The  Secretary  proposed  to  originate  a  multiple  standard 
of  value,  founded  on  the  agricultural  staples  of  cotton, 
corn  and  wheat.  This  would  bring  stability  into  the  finan- 
cial reckoning  hitherto  convulsed  by  the  variableness  of 
gold.  Heavy  taxation  was  the  foundation  of  the  plan  and 
the  redemption  of  notes  and  funded  debt  was  to  be  made 
from  the  tithes  of  the  three  staple  products,  at  prices  fixed 
by  legislative  act.  The  pledge  of  the  tax  in  kind  was  to 
extend  very  resolutely  into  the  years  after  peace  and  mean- 
while the  circulation  was  to  be  reduced  to  $150,000,000  by 
its  proceeds.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  practicability  of  the 
scheme  depended  upon  the  adoption  of  the  same  recom- 
mendations which  Mr.  Memminger  had  made,  that  agricul- 
tural property  be  assessed  on  the  values  of  i860  and  that 
the  abatements  for  the  tax  in  kind  and  the  property  tax  be 
not  allowed. 

"'Nov.  7, 1864. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  197 

The  funding  operations  and  the  public*^®  debt  during 
the  six  months  had  required  $342,000,000  of  the  $615,- 
000,000  expenditure  over  against  receipts  of  $415,000,000. 
Of  the  $65,000,000  of  the  currency  that  had  been  impaired 
by  the  Act  of  Congress,  there  wai  yet  credited  to  the 
funded  debt  $325,000,000.  It  had  been  impossible  to  pre- 
vent the  continued  use  of  the  interest-bearing  notes  of 
1862,  nor  did  the  other  denominations,  excepting  the  One 
Hundred  Dollar,  cease  to  be  accepted  with  the  one-third 
discount  on  the  first  of  July  and  October.  Furthermore, 
by  executive  direction,  on  the  plea  of  the  discount  of  the 
impoverished  holders,  the  absolute  retirement  of  all  the 
old  currency  was  postponed*^*  from  January  to  July  ist, 
1865. 

The  money  machine  continued*^*  to  operate  and  it  was 
as  impossible  as  ever  to  keep  within  the  bounds  appointed. 
The  recurring  rising  tide  was  marked  by  the  successive"* 
issues  of  $57,500,000,  May  31,  1864;  $120,000,000,  July  ist ; 
$345,000,000,  November  loth,  and  $468,000,000,  January 
21,  1865.  The  large  portion  of  the  notes  was  for  direct 
demands,  the  exchange  of  the  old  currency  for  the  new 
requiring  $121,000,000  the  first  six  months. 

FiNAi<  Financial  Deliberations. 

In  the  second  and  final  session  of  the  Second  Congress, 
sundry  bills  incorporated  the  financial  plans  of  Mr.  Tren- 
holm,  and  President  Davis  encouraged^**  the  Houses  with 
the  oflBcial  opinion  that  judicious  legislation  could  meet 

"•  The  aggregate  at  this  time  was  placed  at  $1,126,000,000,  being 
only  $96,000,000  in  advance  of  the  statement  of  six  months 
earlier.    The  funded  proportion  was  $738,340,000. 

"•  Act  of  Congress,  Dec.  29,  1864. 

"*The  Treasury  Note  Bureau  was  removed  to  Columbia,  April 
26,  1864.  The  Treasurer  was  at  first  ordered  to  accompany  it. 
Later,  July  2,  Mr.  Elmore  resigned  and  J.  N.  Hendren  succeeded, 
October  i. 

•"  Reports  of*  Note  Bureau. 

"Message  of  November  7,  1864. 


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igS  Southern  History  Association. 

all  exigencies  of  war  and  prevent  a  g^eat  accumulation  of 
debt.  The  press"*  demanded  a  trial  of  the  Treasury  pro- 
gram since  it  could  not  make  affairs  worse.  The  legisla- 
tors debated  as  lengthily  and  differed  as  widely  as  in  the 
three  winters  past,  various  groups  advocating  utter  re- 
pudiation, aboUtiori  of  tithe,  of  impressment  and  quarter- 
masters, and  seizure  of  c6tton  and  tobacco  to  pay  the  sol- 
diers. 

A  portion  of  the  session  was  devoted  to  assaults  upon 
the  President  and  the  Cabinet.  Commissions^**  investi- 
gated the  Commissary  Department  to  discover  that  it  was 
entirely  without  supplies.  Arrears  of  pay  had  been  accu- 
mulating for  nine  months,  reaching  $180,000,000,  and  the 
Quartermaster  General  reported**"  that  the  army  was  par- 
alyzed for  want  of  funds.  Desperate  conditions  did  not 
avert  the  habitual  remedy,  but  before  the  Senate  joined 
the  House  in  ordering  fresh  issues  of  paper  money,  the 
capture  of  the  Note  Bureau  at  Columbia  necessitated  an 
inexorable  cessation.  In  the  theorizing***  of  the  Secretary, 
taxation  was  now  the  sole  relief  and  the  dissolving  Con- 
gress was  asked  to  pass  a  levy  of  one  hundred  per  cent, 
additional  to  the  rate  of  1864.  After  a  protracted  dis- 
agreement of  the  Houses,  a  measure  was  passed  on  March 
nth,  which  contained  the  reforms  whose  advocacy  had 
partly  discredited  Mr.  Memminger.  The  tax  in  kind  and 
on  income  must  be  paid  in  addition  to  an  eight  per  cent, 
levy  on  property.  All  taxes  for  1863  were  doubled  save 
that  of  the  tithe  on  the  farmer. 

Impressment  of  Coin. 

But  the  practical  planning  of  Mr.  Trenholm  had  been 
directed  to  getting  possession  of  the  coin  remaining  in  the 

**•  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  8. 

*^  Pollard's  Fourth  Year,  pp.  184-5. 

"■  A.  R.  Lawton  to  Trenholm,  January  2,  1865. 

"•To  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  February  20,  1865. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  199 

banks  and  concealed.  Secret  trade  had  been  allowed**^ 
with  the  enemy  to  secure  gold  for  cotton,  and  even  the 
States  were  advised^^®  to  get  the  metal  within  their  borders 
in  order  to  liquidate  their  portions  of  the  national  indebt- 
edness under  conditions  of  vast  depreciation.  A  law  of 
dire  necessity  came  forth  in  the  Act  of  March  17,  1865, 
which  asked  for  a  loan  of  $3,000,000  in  coin,  and  if  not 
contributed,  a  tax  of  25  per  cent,  was  to  follow  before 
April  1st.  As  security  for  the  loan  50,000  bales  of  Gov- 
ernment cotton  were  hjrpothecated.  Virginia  furnished  the 
gold  and  the  money*^®  was  used  to  pay  the  troops  in  the 
rating  of  Treasury  notes  at  60  for  i. 

The  utter  collapse  of  the  Department  was  confessed  by 
the  call  for  donations  from  the  citizens  of  the  Confederacy. 
Joint  resolutions  came  from  Congress  and  the  Secretary 
gave  oflBcial  utterance,  March  20,  1865,  that  the  Treasury 
being  straitened,  it  is  deemed  not  incompatible  with  the 
public  dignity  to  accept  the  free-will  offerings  of  a  gener- 
ous people.  The  final  receipts  were  acknowledged  and  re- 
corded in  family  plate,  church  vessels,  jewels,  ornaments, 
rings  and  personal  effects. 

■"  To  T.  D,  Wagner,  of  Charleston,  January  10,  1865,    Book  "F." 

"•To  Chairman  F.  S.  Lyon,  January  16. 

"•Secretary  Trcnholm  encouraged  Judge  Gray,  of  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  Department,  by  his  advice  of  March  17,  to  continue 
financial  operations.  When  the  Government  moved  from  Rich- 
mond southward,  at  Danville,  Va.,  the  gold  was  drawn  on  at 
tiie  rate  of  70  to  i  to  pay  the  army.  Mr.  Trenholm  being  left  ill 
at  Catawba,  S.  C,  the  last  executive  deed  of  Mr.  Davis  was  the 
appointment  of  J.  H.  Rea^n,  P.  M.,  as  Acting  Treasurer.  The 
funil  in  coin  then  was  $228,022,  which  was  paid  over  to  the  sol- 
diers, the  navy  and  the  agents  at  Washington,  Ga.,  May  4. 
Southern  Historical  Society  Papers,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  542-558. 


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200  Sottthem  History  Assodaiion. 


CHAPTER  VI.— COMPARATIVE  FINANCIERING. 

The  similarity  of  the  Revolutionary  and  the  Confederate 
financial  history  is  commonly  observed  in  the  vastness  of 
the  depreciation  of  the  paper  currencies.  The  causes  of 
this  condition  were  in  some  degree  the  same,  while  the 
state  of  the  circulating  medium  made  necessary  like 
methods  of  correction  and  the  adoption  of  analogous  sub- 
stitutes and  experiments.  There  was  the  cycle  of  early  re- 
sort to  paper  money,  regular  and  finally  rapid  additions 
to  the  issue,  limitation  of  prices,  assessment  of  taxes  in 
kind,  impressment  and  repudiation.  Yet  in  the  details  and 
the  results  of  the  operation^,  the  experiences  of  the  two 
governments  are  by  no  means  parallel. 

The  emission  of  bills  of  credit  was  largely  under  differ- 
ent circumstances.  The  colonies  had  been  familiar  with 
the  use  of  paper  money  and,  though  the  practice  had  not 
been  engaged  in  with  unvarying  honesty,  the  demand  for 
a  continental  issue  was  general  and  was  urged'*^  on  Con- 
gress by  the  people.  In  the  Southern  Confederacy  many 
mediums  of  exchange  had  been  prevalent,  and  the  bills  of 
many  systems  of  banks  were  used.  Specie  payments  hav- 
ing been  suspended  early  in  1861,  the  plan  of  establishing 
a  Government  currency  was  the  conception  of  the  Treas- 
ury administration  for  the  express  purpose  of  replacing 
the  circulation  of  the  various  financial  institutions. 

The  Two  Fi<ooDS  of  Paper  Money. 

The  first  issue  of  $2,000,000  on  June  22,  1775,  was  ex- 
pected to  be  suflBcient;  at  least,  the  subsequent  anwunts 
would  be  small  and  rigorously  limited.  Protestations  pre- 
faced each  grant  as  the  sum  of  notes  at  more  frequent 
intervals  g^ew  larger.    The  first  Confederate  issue  of  $1,- 

"*Bolles'  Financial  History,  Vol.  I,  p.  37. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  201 

ooo,cxx)  on  March  9,  1861,  was  appointed  to  furnish  im- 
mediate funds,  but  the  decision  of  May  i6th  to  emit  $20,- 
000,000  in  notes  indicated  a  purpose  to  employ  this  form 
of  credit  extensively.  The  initial  calctjlation  was  to  dis- 
place half  the  circulation  of  the  banks,  then  the  whole 
amount,  and  next  to  have  a  moderate  increase  over  what 
the  country  had  actually  required  in  business.  Legislative 
bounds  were  touched  and  lifted  again  until  the  national 
money  making  was  entrusted^*^  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Secretary. 

The  record***  of  the  Continental  currency  inundation 
was  $6,000,000  in  1775,  $19,000,000  in  1776,  $13,000,000  in 
^777>  $63,000,000  in  1778,  $140,000,000  in  1779,  ^otzl  $242,- 
000,000.  In  the  South  the;,  figures  approximately  were 
$96,000,000  in  1861,  $329,000,000  in  1862,  $525,000,000  in 
1863,  $600,000,000  in  1864,  total  $1,550,000,000.  Five- 
sixths  of  the  Revolutionary  issue  came  in  the  fourth  and 
fifth  years  of  the  war ;  three-fifths  of  the  Confederate  issue 
was  uttered  in  the  first  three  years.  At  the  end  of  the 
periods  named  the  two  governments  had  practically  ceased 
to  print  their  bills,  since  they  were  worth  little  better  than 
nothing,  the  quotations  of  each  currency  being  quite  simi- 
lar, between  40  and  60  to  i  of  specie. 

Repudiation,  Partiai<  and  Compi<ete. 

However,  the  more  accurate  dates  of  comparison  are 
those  of  the  legislative  acts  of  March  18,  1780  and  Febru- 
ary 17,  1864.  The  Continental  Congress  was  guilty  of 
direct  repudiation,  though  it  had  expressly  denied***  that 
it  would  proceed  in  "wanton  violation"  of  the  pledges  of 
the  United  States.  It  ordered  the  old  tenor  to  be  ex- 
changed for  new  at  the  valuation  of  40  to  i,  and  the  second 
issue  was  to  be  limited  to  $10,000,000.    The  enactment  of 

~Antc,  Chapter  II,  sub-head,  "Final  reliance  on  paper." 
"*  Phillips*  Continental  Money,  p.  198. 
**•  Address  of  Sept.  13,  1779- 


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202  Southern  History  Association. 

the  Southern  Congress  was  not  a  complete  repudiation. 
For  six  weeks  the  currency  could  be  transformed  into  in- 
terest-bearing stocks,  and  then  only  one-third  of  the  notes 
was  progressively  taxed  out  of  existence,  while  the  larger 
portion  was  to  be  rated  at  three  to  two  of  the  new  issue 
for  a  period  of  nine  months. 

The  relative  stages  of  the  results  of  the  two  statutes 
were  dissimilar.  The  second  Continental  tenor  ran  a  head- 
long course,  passing  at  once,  2  for  i  of  hard  money ;  then  in 
1781  at  4  for  I,  and  next  vanishing.  Pennsylvania***  State 
mofiey  had  been  quoted  at  3  to  i  of  specie,  arid  when  the 
Continental  was  commercially  published  at  175  to  i  of 
specie,  the  public  in  its  calculation  substituted  the  State 
notes  as  the  measure  and  killed  the  emission  of  Congress 
by  a  listing  of  525  to  i.  The  guarantee  of  this  last  money 
had  been,  as  of  the  early  notes,  the  illusory  pledge  of  the 
faith  of  the  United  States,  not  yet  confederated,  and  the 
statutory  valuation  was  notoriously  out  of  accord  with  the 
market**"  acceptance  of  the  old  tenor,  60  and  more  to  i. 

The  Confederate  Congress  attempted  no  valuation  of  its 
past  issues  other  than  three  dollars  of  the  old  tenor  for 
two  of  the  new,  but  since  denominations  of  five  dollars 
were  not  taxed  at  once  after  April  ist,  1864,  depreciation 
increased  for  a  month,  then  was  followed  by  a  period  of 
slightly  improved  quotations.  March  conditions  of  the 
currency  were  not  reproduced  until  October,  although  the 
proportion  of  exchange  for  gold  was  so  exaggerated  that 
the  relief  was  practically  trifling  in  degree.  The  scales  of 
the  lessening  worth  of  the  paper  mediums  of  the  two  wars 
have  marked  resemblance. 

A  Common  Worthlessness. 

In  Revolutionary  times,  within  two  years  of  the  first 
issue,  the  quotation  was  2  of  paper  for  i  of  specie ;  by  the 

"^Sumner's  Financier  of  the  Revolution,  p.  95. 
"*  Bolles'  Financial  History,  Vol.  I,  p.  94. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  203 

close  of  1777,  4  to  I,  and  in  1778,  a  variation  between  4 
to  I  and  6  to  I.  The  year  preceding  repudiation,  the  re- 
dundancy was  measured  by  $41  of  paper  in  December 
required  to  purchase  what  $8  had  secured  in  January. 

Likewise  the  depreciation  of  Confederate  currency  from 
a  discount  of  20  to  300  per  cent,  during  1862  passed  to  the 
ruinous  fall  in  the  third  year  of  19  of  paper  for  i  of  gold. 
After  the  temporary  checking  of  1864,  the  stress  of  need 
and  disaster  restored  the  retrograde  tendency  and  the 
drop  from  20  to  40  for  i  was  the  record  of  a  few  months. 
So  then  the  quotation  of  60  to  i  in  March,  1865,  on  the  eve 
of  dissolution  was  no  less  than  the  market  estimate  of  the 
notes,  which  the  First  American  Congress  voted  to  ex- 
change. Public  opinion  of  these  contrasted  periods  would 
have  shaken  off  the  inexorable  standard  of  hard  money. 
The  Penn  Packet  of  February  16,  1779,  proclaimed  that 
land,  not  gold  nor  silver,  subject  to  monopoly,  was  the 
true  measure  of  value.  The  Richmond  Sentinel  of  August 
23, 1863,  argued  that  gold  was  not  a  standard  for  the  South 
and  suggestions  from  many  sources  were  persistent  that 
cotton  or  land  should  be  substituted.  Each  government 
had  its  currency  counterfeited  by  the  enemy.  No  estimate 
can  be  given  of  English  importations.  Upham**'^^,  of  Phila- 
delphia, placed  the  value  of  his  Confederate  fac-similes  at 
$15,000,000,  .alleging  that  they  were  issued  to  satisfy  curi- 
osity, not  as  forgeries.  But  New  York  firms  took  his 
designs  and  Jew  brokers  carried  the  issue  South. 

Inefficient  taxation  was  a  common  fatal  fault  of  these 
two  governments  and  the  legitimate  cause  of  the  currency 
disasters.  The  united  colonies  could  not  demand  of  them- 
selves that  which  they  had  denied  England.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Southern  States  would  not  lay  on  the 
people  burdens  in  the  season  when  they  had  proven  the 
lightest. 

"^  Lee's  The  Currency  of  the  C.  S.  A.,  p.  24. 


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204  Southern  History  Association, 

The  Slight  Aid  of  Taxation. 

General  advice  and  then  earnest  recommendation  to  the 
States  in  1777  to  apportion  $5,000,000  in  taxes  were  the 
strongest  measures  open  to  the  Continental  Congress. 
The  belated  collections  of  the  tardy  levy  yielded  by  Sep- 
tember, 1779,  $3,000,000,  a  sum  equal  to  one-sixtieth  of  the 
note  issues.  The  fiscal  policy  of  Robert  Morris  was  based 
on  taxation,  yet  with  all  his  insistence  and  the  modest 
requisitions  of  Congress,  the  returns  in  three  years,  to 
November  i,  1784  ,were  $2,000,000  in  actual  value.  There 
was  no  executive  power  to  compel  the  payment  of  taxes  in 
the  nascent  American  nation. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  ample  authority  of  the  Confeder- 
ate States  was  not  used  with  a  largeness  and  a  promptness 
demanded  by  its  needs.  After  a  tax  levy  within  six  months 
of  the  organization  of  the  government,  a  year  elapsed 
before  the  Treasury  had  received**'  slightly  more  than  half 
the  assessment.  It  was  eighteen  months  after  these  re- 
ceipts before  the  returns  of  the  second  and  heavier  tax 
were  appreciable.  The  presumed  vigorous  system  of  tax- 
ation with  its  countervailing  rebates  was  applied  in  the 
last  year  of  inflated  values,  when  total  avails  of  $101,- 
000,000  are  correctly  estimated  upon  being  divided  by  20 
or  30. 

In  the  face  of  the  final  paper  money  issues  and  because 
of  an  unresponsive  public,  the  Revolutionary  Congress  of 
December  14,  1779,  called  for  specific  supplies  and  appor- 
tioned to  the  States  amounts  of  flour,  corn,  oats  and  to- 
bacco. Much  produce  was  secured,  notably  in  Virginia, 
but  the  device**^  lacked  administrative  direction,  so  that 
supplies  rotted  and  were  not  transported  because  of  ex- 
pense. The  tax  in  kind  of  the  Confederacy  was  introduced 
to  enable  the  farmer  to  pay  most  easily  his  share  of  taxa- 

"•Ante,  Chapter  II,  sub-head,  "Delays  in  Collection." 
""Sumner's  Financier  of  the  RevoUUion,  I,  p.  154. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  205 

tion.  Large  collections  of  the  products  were  wasted,  their 
control  was  not  well  centralized  and  by  reason  of  the  im- 
paired transportation  the  tithe  afforded  a  national  service 
relatively  small  to  the  burden  on  the  people. 

COMPUI^ORY  CoNTrRiBirrioNS. 

Again,  impressment  of  supplies  for  the  army  was  com- 
mon throughout  the  war  with  England,  beginning  in  New 
England  in  1775;  frequent  in  Pennsylvania  in  1778,  and 
severe  in  Virginia  in  1781.  The  vexations  common  to  it 
in  that  period  were  reproduced  in  the  South,  where  im- 
pressment began  in  1862.  The  schedule  of  prices  ap- 
pointed by  the  commissioners  of  the  various  States  for 
seized  products  did  not  remove  objections,  and  at  last  cer- 
tificates of  indebtedness  were  forced  on  the  public  in  some 
sections  for  their  supplies.  Often  the  payments  allowed 
were  notoriously  less  than  the  market  quotations,  thus 
arousing  the  resentment  of  the  planter  class.  Price  con- 
ventions during  the  Revolution  were  the  constant  resort 
of  the  States  to  urge  the  use  of  a  money  they  had  already 
made  a  legal  tender.  Schedules**®  of  prices  were  adopted 
in  futile  effort  against  depreciation,  Congress  recommend- 
ing in  1779  that  they  do  not  exceed  20  fold  those  of  1774. 
The  Confederate  Congress  never  enacted  a  law  of  maxi- 
mum prices  for  trade  in  general  though  Virginia  persist- 
ently urged  it. 

In  the  fiscal  resource  of  loans  a  contrast  of  practice  and 
conditions  in  the  two  Treasury  Departments  is  to  be  ob- 
served, for  the  results  were  as  widely  different  as  the  at- 
tendant realities  of  national  triumpfi  and  defeat.  The  loan 
was  an  early  experiment  of  the  Revolution,  $5,000,000  be- 
ing invited  in  1776.  Loan  oflBce  commissioners  were 
placed  in  each  State  and  fair  returns  secured. 

"•  Bollcs'  Financial  History,  I,  pp.  159,  seq. 


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2o6  Southern  History  Association. 

Success  and  Faii^urb  of  Foreign  Loans. 

But  when  France  in  1778  agreed  to  pay  the  interest  on 
the  loans  in  specie,  a  guarantee  was  afforded  that  caused 
subscriptions  to  aggregate  $60,000,000  by  1782.  These 
loan  office  certificates  were  not  used  by  Robert  Morris, 
but  the  timely  aid  of  Louis  XVI.  had  begun  the  salvation 
of  the  Treasury.  To  the  18,000,000  livres  of  France  were 
added  the  first  installment  of  1,500,000  gulden  of  the  Dutch 
loan  in  June,  1782,  and  the  financial  crisis  had  been 
passed.***  When  the  paper  money  was  reformed  by  law 
in  1780  and  banished  by  commerce,  a  providential  supply 
of  a  medium  was  furnished  by  specie  from  the  West  In- 
dies and  the  European  loans,  enabling  the  master  financier 
to  bring  stability  out  of  ruin. 

In  the  Confederacy,  commissioners  placed  largely  the 
Fifteen  Million  Loan  of  the  first  year.  The  depositories 
then  served  as  agents  of  the  Treasury,  but  the  loans  went 
slowly,  th^  One  Hundred  Million  being  taken  after  two 
years  by  exchanges  for  cotton,  subscriptions  of  the  Pro- 
duce Loan  and  funding  operations.  Other  stocks  sold 
slightly,  for  the  guarantee  was  a  substratum  of  cotton  un- 
der limitations  not  attractive  to  the  public.  The  Erlanger 
loan  was  well  conceived  and  the  risk  of  getting  cotton 
through  the  blockade  the  only  uncertainty.  However,  the 
proceeds  of  $7,500,000  did  not  strengthen  the  financial  sys- 
tem, but  were  applied  to  the  purchase  of  foreign  war  ma- 
terials. The  large  proportion  of  the  stocks  and  certificates 
represent  the  loyal  support  of  the  citizens  in  the  various 
funding  struggles  to  remove  the  incubus  of  Treasury  notes 
that  eventually  overwhelmed  all. 

SK11.1.FUI.  Rehabiutation  vs.  Lack  o^  Initiative. 

There  is  no  common  basis  for  estimate  of  Robert  Morris 
and  C.  G.  Memminger.   The  Treasury  of  the  United  States 

**  Sumner's  Financier  of  the  Revolution,  I,  p.  58. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.  207 

was  under  the  direction  of  a  Board  of  Administration  until 
1781,  when  Mr.  Morris  was  installed  as  financier.  Then 
the  Government  currency  had  disappeared  and  foreigjn 
specie  was  furnishing  the  standard  of  circulation.  The 
Bank  of  North  America  was  organized  as  an  efficient  aid 
of  the  Treasury,  furnishings  in  loans  five  times  the  sum  in- 
vested. The  commercial  credit  of  Robert  Morris  per- 
sonally counted  for  much,  and  he  employed  every  device  of 
discount  and  bill  kiting  until  the  immediate  national  obli- 
gations were  balanced.  Therefore  his  biographer  can 
say**®  that  favorable  bookkeeping  extricated  him,  for  he 
did  well  not  with  reasonable  means,  but  much  with  noth- 
ing. On  the  contrary,  Mr.  Memminger,  having  direction 
of  Confederate  finances  in  the  beginning,  might  have  dic- 
tated a  sound  economic  policy  to  a  Congress  which  later 
would  not  yield  him  leadership.  'He  invoked  the  plague 
of  paper  money,  which  he  could  not  remove.  No  real  for- 
eign aid  came  to  his  entanglements,  nor  did  the  Treasury 
hold  practical  commercial  relations  with  the  financial  in- 
stitutions. Resources  depleted,  a  second  tide  of  notes  ris- 
ing, variance  with  the  legislative  body  brought  the  retire- 
ment of  the  Secretary. 

The  expenditures**^  of  the  Revolutionary  War  were 
$92,485,693,  of  which  sum  $83,135,000,  specie  value,  went 
out  before  1781.  The  note  issues  may  be  regarded  as  a  tax 
unequally  borne  during  the  years  of  most  active  opera- 
tions. The  expenditures  of  the  Confederacy,  to  October 
I,  1864,  may  be  approximated  on  a  specie  basis  at  $510,- 
000,000,  but  the  burden  of  the  notes  is  evident  in  the  last 
year,  when  the  one  billion  outlay,  on  a  currency  valuation, 
shrinks  to  fifty  million  dollars,  the  average  inflation  being 
twenty  fold. 

•*  Sumner's  Financier  of  the  Revolution,  II,  p.  131. 
•"  Treasury  Report  of  1790. 


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2o8  Souihem  History  Association. 

Loan  Poucy  of  North  and  South. 

A  more  pertinent  comparison  is  that  of  the  financial 
policies  of  the  North  and  the  South,  parties  to  the  same 
conflict.  The  sections  having  a  common  fiscal  training, 
interesting  analogies  occur  in  the  measures  of  anticipation, 
the  programs,  and  the  readjustments  to  vaster  emergen- 
cies. The  period  produced  a  new  national  conception  of 
taxation,  and  an  extreme  application  of  the  loan  policy  was 
made,  helping  to  the  destruction  of  one  government,  while 
the  same  fate  was  averted  from  the  other  only  by  radical 
remedies  and  the  favorable  fortunes  of  war. 

The  nature  and  form  of  the  various  Treasury  operations 
of  the  North  and  the  South  were  largely  shaped  by  the 
respective  Secretaries  of  the  Departments.  Each  came  to 
the  position  with  a  legfal  and  legislative,  rather  than  a  com- 
mercial training.  One  was  led  by  his  Congress  into  a  vig- 
orous policy,  the  other  was  not  able  to  get  his  belated 
recommendations  adopted  in  their  entirety  and  severity. 
There  was  a  common  failure  to  appreciate  the  size  of  the 
war  and  a  tendency  to  employ  temporary  measures.  Both 
Mr.  Ohase  and  Mr.  Memminger  looked  to  loans  as  the 
adequate  resource  for  deficit  financiering;  then  after  the 
failure  of  the  policy,  they  desperately  demanded  heavy 
taxation.  The  Federal  Congress  of  July,  1861,  was  asked 
for  an  increase  of  only  $20,000,000  above  the  ordinary  tax, 
while  the  loan  was  fixed  at  $240,000,000.  The  banks  came 
to  the  support  of  the  first  loans  in  each  section  and  then  in 
turn  they  were  driven  to  suspend  specie  payment.  In  the 
North,  this  result  came  from  the  drain*"  of  coin  into  the 
government  vaults;  in  the  solidly  solvent  portion  of  the 
South,  it  was*"  demanded  in  order  to  give  a  clear  field  for 
the  Treasury  note  circulation. 

••  Bolles'  Financial  History,  III,  p.  3^ 

•*Ante,  Chapter  I,  sub-head,  "Loyalty  of  the  banks  and  capi- 
talists." 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.  209 

Narrow  Vision  of  the  Secretaries. 

Mr.  Chase  planned  in  1862  to  replace  the  banknote  cir- 
culation of  the  North  with  a  national  currency,  and  his 
modified  program  found  expression  in  the  Banking  Act  of 
Feb.  25,  1863,  which,  however,  required  two  years  before 
being  fully  operative.  In  contrast  with  the  large  use  by  the 
South  of  the  government  issue,  the  North  persisted  in  ac- 
cepting the  money  of  the  private  banks,  these  being  more 
favorably  rated  than  the  greenbacks.  The  first  emergency 
medium  of  the  North,  $50,000,000  of  demand  notes,  non- 
interest  bearing,  was  paid  in  the  fall  of  1861  to  a  very  re- 
luctant*** public.  The  purport  of  the  messages  of  the  two 
Secretaries  to  the  respective  Congresses  after  several 
months  of  the  war  was  the  same.  Mr.  Memminger  af- 
firmed that  note  issues  were  the  chief  revenue  contem- 
plated and  all  measures  were  for  an  emergency  of  limited 
duration.  Likewise,  Mr.  Chase  spoke  with  uncertainty,**' 
discussing  government  paper  disparagingly,  yet  debated 
whether  to  have  specie  or  paper  as  the  basis  of  his  system. 

Loans  were  not  being  placed,  so  the  Federal  Congress 
took  the  initiative  Feb.  25,  1862,  resorting  to  notes  with 
the  legal  tender  quality.  Thus  the  law  of  the  North  in- 
duced an  acceptance  which  the  devotion  of  the  South  ac- 
corded without  compulsion.  Within  a  year  the  authoriza- 
tion of  greenbacks  was  $450,000,000,  while  the  note  issue 
of  the  South  for  about  the  same  period  was  $329,000,000. 
When  the  third  appointed  limit  to  irredeemable  money 
was  reached,  Mr.  Chase  employed  in  1863  interest'  bearing 
notes  quite  like  Mr.  Memminger  had  done***  in  1862.  The 
Federal  Treasury  also  secured  a  large  acceptance  of  certifi- 
cates of  indebtedness,  placing  $160,000,000  by  June  30, 
1864,  at  which  period  the  Confederate  Administration  be- 
gan to  urge  in  desperation  this  form  of  temporary  loan. 

"*  Hart's  Chase,  p.  223. 

••Sumner's  American  Currency,  p.  193. 

••Ante,  pp.  29,  31. 


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2IO  Southern  History  Association. 

North  Helped  by  Loans  Other  Than  Currency. 

But  the  radical  distinction  of  these  two  financial  histor- 
ies is  that  the  North  decreased  its  note  issues,  developing 
after  two  years,  auxiliary  revenues  from  bond  sales  and 
taxation.  The  loan  of  $150,000,000  in  1861  consisted  of 
seven  thirty  notes  and  bonds.  But  in  1862  Mr.  Chase  sold 
few  U.  S.  stocks,  because  he  refused  all  offers  below  par, 
just  as  Mr.  Memminger  persisted  in  doing.  However,  the 
loan  of  $900,000,000  in  1863  became  a  popular**^  security, 
and  was  floated  by  the  thorough  business  methods  of  Jay 
Cooke.  Later,  when  the  Secretary  managed  a  new  secur- 
ity, his  conditions  of  offer  checked  its  success.  Although 
the  currency  was  increased  in  order  to  promote  the  sale 
of  bonds,  multitudes  of  people  were  productively  employed 
by  the  demands  of  the  war  and  constituted  a  body  of  in- 
vestors, not  similarly  existant  in  the  South.  Mr.  Mem- 
minger's  efforts  to  sell  bonds  were  made  in  1863  and  1864, 
but  the  responses  were  very  meager,  the  public  being 
blamed  for  complete  absorption  in  speculation.  Commer- 
cial institutions  as  agents  rather  than  the  depositories 
might  have  operated  to  better  advantage.  Mr.  Trenholm 
early  in  his  term  had  to  admit**®  the  apathy  of  the  planters 
to  all  inducements. 

The  chief  utilization  of  Confederate  bonds  and  securities 
was  in  the  funding  system,  which  had  its  affinity  in  Federal 
theory,  although  the  Northern  practice  of  it  was  not  so 
great  contemporaneously.  The  seven  thirty  notes  of  1861 
could  be  funded  into  eight  per  cent.  U.  S.  Stock  and  the 
certificates  of  deposit,  exchanged  for  notes,  were  employed 
by  Mr.  Chase  from  1862  on.  But  instead  of  forcing  these 
certificates  of  deposit  into  permanent***  loans  as  in  the 
South,  they  were  redeemed  on  one  occasion  to  the  amount 
of  $50,000,000  in  order  to  relieve  the  currency  stringency. 

109. 
Gash  of  views." 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  211 

The  Simii^r  Fundinc  Systems. 

Two  identical  funding  measures  were  prescribed  about 
the  same  time.  The  Confederate  Act  of  March  23,  1863, 
limited  the  conversion  qf  notes  into  seven  per  cent,  stock 
to  August  1st,  while  the  Federal  Act  of  March  3d,  declared 
the  privilege  of  funding  previous  note  issues  would  end 
on  July  1st.  These  legal  tender  notes  continued  to  be  used 
by  the  North  and  other  bonds  being  sold  at  this  period  for 
notes,  the  limitation  was  less  felt  and  later  repealed.  Yet 
the  act  checked  funding  and  is  thought*****  to  have  delayed 
the  resumption  of  specie  payment.  The  Southern  Con- 
gress did  not  revoke  its  limitation  of  the  funding  contract, 
but  advanced  to  more  violent  measures  in  the  following 
year.  The  funding  system  which  the  biographer*'^  con- 
siders a  chief  trumph  of  Mr.  Chase  was  effective  in  absorb- 
ing temporary  loans  largely  in  the  year  of  peace  and  after. 

Another  financial  analogy  is  found  in  the  record  of  tax- 
ation introduced  with  the  same  delay  to  each  section,  but 
developed  with  widely  divergent  results.  The  taxes  of 
1861  of  the  two  governments  were  levied  according  to  the 
schedule  of  the  old  U.  S.  system  and  were  assumed  gener- 
ally by  the  respective  States  of  the  North  and  the  South. 
The  Federal  tax  of  $20,000,000  was  lessened  by  a  fourth 
by  reason  of  apportionment  to  the  seceding  region  and 
slight  returns  were  made  in  either  country  within  a  year. 
In  his  plans  for  1862,  the  Northern  Secretary  apologized 
for  the  amount  of  ta^es  named,  although  the  New  York 
Chamber  of  Commerce  called  for  a  sum  three  times  as 

Taxation  Without  and  With  Exemptions. 

large.  The  first  real  Federal  tax  law  of  July  i,  1862,  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  internal  revenue  system,  besides  as- 
sessing incomes,  occupations  and  transactions.     A  tax 

»•  Knox  U.  S.  Notes,  p.  138. 
"'  Schncker's  Chase,  p.  407. 


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ai  2  Southern  History  Associatum. 

commissioner  was  appointed,  but  the  administration^"'  of 
the  complex  measure  was  inevitably  faulty  and  the  returns 
very  slow,  $37,000,000  being  received  in  ten  months  of 
1863.  Mr.  Chase  awaked  to  the  need  of  taxation  and 
urged  in  December,  1863,  an  excessive  levy  to  oflFset  the 
vast  indebtedness.  The  third  measure  of  the  North  was 
the  act  of  June  30,  1864,  which  doubled  the  previous  as- 
sessment and  caused  the  receipts  of  that  year  to  double 
those  of  the  preceding. 

No  imperative  initiative  to  taxation  having  been  taken 
by  Mr.  Memminger  in  1862,  the  Southern  Congress  was 
excused  in  postponing  the  crude  and  unpopular  measure 
considered.  But  this  Secretary  also  changed  the  spirit  of 
his  recommendations  and,  backed  by  popular  clamor,*"*  de- 
manded a  comprehensive  tax  system,  which  was  answered 
after  a  fashion  by  the  legislation  of  April  24,  1863. 

Mr.  Memminger  was  thence  to  his  retirement  in  conflict 
with  Congress  urging  a  more  efficient  measure  through  a 
tax  on  property,  and  correction  of  the  method  of  rebates 
and  valuation.  Besides,  with  all  vigilant  collection,  the 
laws  were  highly  susceptible  to  evasion,  so  that  Secretary 
Trenholm  had  to  say*"*  that  the  taxes  of  1864  were  prac- 
tically nothing.  To  the  contrary,  in  the  North  there  was 
a  large  increase,  the  record  of  revenue,  internal  and  cus- 
toms, being  $112,000,000  in  1863,  $264,000,000  in  1864, 
$333>ooo,ooo  in  1865. 

A  Vast  Fiscai.  and  Economic  Inequawty. 

The  disastrous  year  in  Federal  financial  history  was 
that  of  1864,  when  the  depreciation  of  greenbacks  fell 
from  155  in  January  to  270  in  July.  Mr.  Chase  had  poor 
results  in  floating  a  new  loan  and  political  reasons  arising, 

"•  Howe's  Internal  Revenue  System,  p.  60. 

*■  Ante,  Chapter  III,  sub-head,  "Tax  act  of  April,  1863." 

»*To  T.  H.  Ivey,  Lynchburg,  Va.,  Jan.  18,  1865,  Letter  Book 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  213 

he  resigned.  The  two  Treasury  Departments  had  new 
Secretaries  at  the  same  time,  and  the  Richmond  Enquirer 
of  July  22,  1864,  said  that  Trenholm  and  Fessenden  start 
under  equal  circumstances,  with  enormous  debts,  immense 
issue  of  paper  money,  heavy  taxes,  no  real  money  and  little 
credit. 

However,  taxes  were  coming  into  the  Northern  Treas- 
ury at  almost  a  million  dollars  a  day,  military  successes 
improved  its  credit,  and  Mr.  Fessenden  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing various  loans  which  culminated  in  the  sale  of  $600,- 
000,000  of  the  Act  of  March  3,  1865,  in  seven  thirty  notes. 
Mr.  Trenholm  placed  bonds  better  than  his  predecessor, 
but  the  excessive  depreciation  of  the  period  multiplied  the 
ratio  of  expenditures,  and  though  the  form  of  tax  g^ather- 
ing  in  the  uninvaded  districts  was  continued  to  February, 
1865,  the  inevitable  financial  ruin  was  consummated. 

The  public  debt  of  the  North  on  March  31,  1865,  was 
$2,366,955,077,  of  which  there  was  funded  $1,100,361,241. 
The  last  Confederate  showing  of  Secretary  Trenholm  up 
to  Sept.  30,  1864,  made  a  debt  of  $1,126,381,095,  of  which 
was  approximately  funded  $738,340,090.  Yet  in  this  state- 
ment $649,000,000  of  Treasury  notes  in  addition  were  re- 
pudiated, being  called  in  for  cancellation.  The  gross  ex- 
penditures of  the  North  from  June  30,  1861  to  June  30, 
1865,  were  $4,655,000  000.  If  the  value  of  the  tax  in  kind 
of  the  South,  the  unpresented  claims,  and  the  various  do- 
nations were  counted,  it  is  probable  that  the  Confederate 
outlay  would  have  reached  $3,000,000,000,  paper  valuation. 
Of  the  $3,264,000,000,  current  expenditures  of  the  North, 
it  has  been  estimated**'  that  depreciated  currency  con- 
tributed $600,000,000.  If  an  average  annual  discount  of 
15%  in  1861,  200%  in  1862,  500%  for  nine  months  in  1863, 
and  2,000%  in  1864  to  September  30th  is  allowed,  the  in- 
crease of  Confederate  expenditure  by  reason  of  paper 

*"  Journal  of  Political  Economy,  March,  1897. 


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214  Southern  History  Association. 

money  is  $1,590,000,000.  This  currency  by  no  specious 
reasoning  can  be  considered  a  tax  as  was  the  wont  in 
Revolutionary  times,  for  it  more  than  doubled  the  cost  of 
all  outlay.  It  produced  irritation  and  unreality  which  ended 
in  a  public  sense  of  helpless  entanglement.  It  was  thus  a 
forerunner  of  the  military  vanquishment.  The  operation 
of  relentless  economic  law  was  in  the  main  vaguely  com- 
prehended, but  not  a  few  were  convinced  that  somewhere 
fatal  errors  had  been  made  by  the  authorities. 


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CHAPTER  VII.— LIMITATIONS  OF  THE  TREAS- 
URY. 

Political  differences  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Republic  led  to  the  Civil  War,  But  other 
differences,  economic  and  social,  distinguished  the  sec- 
tions." As  parties  to  the  conflict,  twenty-two  States  with 
22,000,000  population  were  arrayed  against  eleven  States 
with  9,000,000,  of  whom  3,500,000  were  slaves.  The  wealth 
of  the  contestants  was  quoted****  in  the  valuation  by  coun- 
ties of  real  and  personal  property  at  $12,230,000,000 
against  $6,740,000,000,  and  in  the  rating  of  improved  land 
for  agriculture  at  $4,865,000,000  against  $1,780,000,000. 
In  the  assessed  value  of  property  per  capita  nine  of  the 
Southern  States  were  ranked  between  third  and  sixteenth 
places  in  the  total  of  thirty-three. 

In  the  various  products  of  the  field,  the  showing  of  the 
North  and  South  for  i860  was  556,169,962  bu.  of  corn 
against  282,626,778;  141,663,098  bu.  of  wheat  against  31,- 
441,826;  13,119,169  tons  of  hay  against  709»997;  3*560,032 
bu.  of  peas  and  beans  against  11,501,936.  The  valuation  of 
the  live  stock  was  $707,550,000  against  $381,778,000.  The 
staples  of  the  South  were  represented  »in  5,196,000  bales  of 
cotton,  357,500,000  pounds  of  tobacco,  302,000,000  pounds 
of  sugar  and  187,000,000  pounds  of  rice.  In  the  total  mar- 
ketable worth  of  the  agricultural  products  of  the  sections 
there  was  not  the  same  disparity  shown  as  in  the  relative 
yield  of  some  of  the  competing  products. 

Industrial  and  Monetary  Weakness. 

But  in  relative  strength  of  the  manufacturing,  mineral 
and  commercial  resources,  the  South  had  excessive  limita- 
tions.   The  capital  invested  in  manufacturing  in  the  North 

"^Eighth  Census,  U.  S. 


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was  $993,881,130,  having  a  product  worth  $1,700,330,395, 
while  in  the  South  the  sum  was  only  one-tenth  of  this,  $95,- 
974,585,  with  an  output  of  $155,531,281.  The  volume  of 
the  iron  industries  was  in  the  proportion  of  $48,346,803  to 
$3412,022,  and  the  amounts  of  coal  mined  were  13,648,- 
182  and  649,760  tons  respectively.  The  lengths  of  the  rail- 
roads of  the  sections  were  19,022  and  9,897  miles.  In  the 
financial  statistics  the  odds  were  heavy  against  the  Con- 
federacy, which  possessed  only  221  banking  institutions 
with  a  capital  of  $92,048,159,  in  comparison  with  1,421 
banks  of  its  opponent,  capitalized  at  $329,841,836. 

The  ratio  of  capital  and  deposits  in  the  South  was  small 
in  proportion  to  the  other  forms  of  wealth  of  the  section 
itself;  besides,  the  deposits  of  $47,204,111  equaled  barely 
a  fifth  of  the  money  so  held  in  the  North.  There  was  a 
scarcity  of  specie  from  the  first,  the  total  return  being  $27,- 
200,000.  Of  the  specie,  the  banks  of  New  Orleans  held 
two-fifths,  as  well  as  two-fifths  of  the  aggregate  deposits. 
This  city  had  been  one  of  the  soundest  commercial  centers 
in  the  United  States,  for  in  the  panic  of  1857  but  four  of  its 
nine  banks  suspended  specie  payment  for  a  brief  time. 
The  loss  of  this  financial  base  was  a  severe  blow  to  the 
Confederate  Treasury,  especially  as  it  had  recently  aided 
in  the  first  pa)rment'of  government  interest  in  coin. 

The  Vague  Security  ^or  Paper  Issues. 

There  was  a  common  expression  by  public  men 
throughout  the  most  of  the  war  that  the  wealth  of  the 
land  was  to  be  measured  simply  by  the  money  paid  for  its 
products  by  other  countries.  Conditions  had  changed  and 
the  economic  isolation  of  the  period  was  more  severe  than 
before  the  war,  when  by  deliberate  choice  the  South  was 
not  industrially  self-sufficient.  The  blockade  of  the  sea 
was  effective  to  a  degree  that  fatally  weakened  the  section. 
Back  of  the  Confederate  currency  and  loans  were  not  vast 
quantities  of  cotton  and  tobacco.    Of  the  3,849,000  bales  of 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  217 

the  cotton  of  1860-1,*"  all  virtually  had  been  exported  be- 
fore a  paper  dollar  was  voted  by  Congress.  Of  the  esti- 
mated crop  of  2,000,000  bales  in  1862,  about  one-fifth  was 
presumably  subscribed  to  the  Produce  Loan,  yet  actual 
collections  and  direct  purchases  realized  in  three  years 
only  430,000  bales,  of  which  300,000  were  pledged  against 
the  Erlanger  loan.  There  was  for  a  financial  system  an 
undoubted  foundation  of  material  value,  to  the  extent  of 
the  fruitful  return  of  an  agricultural  economy,  in  the 
form  of  assessments  on  the  fundamental  capital  of  the 
nation.  Yet  there  were  not  such  industries  created  by 
the  war  demands  as  in  the  North,  which  by  a  reflex  power 
could  yield  their  share  of  the  enlarged  support  of  the  gov- 
ernment. 

Unacquainted  With  Vai.ue  oi^  Taxation. 

The  subject  of  finance  had  been  little  regarded  by 
Southern  statesmen  on  account  of  their  concern  for  politi- 
cal and  constitutional  questions.  There  was  no  adequate 
training  by  any  previous  acquaintance  with  financial  oper- 
ations of  the  government  at  Washington  for  the  public 
men  of  the  Confederacy  who  had  to  direct  the  vast  prepar- 
ations and  expenditures  of  the  four  years.  Heavy  taxa- 
tion was  then  an  unknown  experience  to  an  American. 
The  several  messages  of  President  Davis  devoted  a  rela- 
tively small  portion  of  space  to  the  discussion  of  fiscal  af- 
fairs. 

Again,  the  several  States  competed  with  the  Confed- 
eracy in  demanding  of  the  citizens  subscriptions  to  the  vari- 
ous loans  for  their  individual  purposes.  On  the  proposed 
purchase  of  cotton,  the  Richmond  Examiner  had**®  said  it 
would  be  a  vast  Federal  stretch  of  power.  Any  opposi- 
tion, however,  to  the  national  right  of  taxation  was  slight, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  tax  in  kind,  which  received  bitter 

*^  Capcrs's  Memminger,  p.  356. 
"•  Oct  12,  1861. 


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condemnation  from  several  quarters.  Georgia  particularly 
through  its  Governor,  Joseph  E  Brown,  clashed  with  the 
Treasury  Department  in  its  revenue  and  currency  meas- 
ures. South  Carolina  had  independently  laid  a  prohibi- 
tion on  exports,  but  removed***  it.  The  States  being  en- 
gaged in  commerce  on  their  official  account  resented  the 
trade  regulations  of  1864,  pre-empting  half  of  the  ship- 
ments for  national  purposes,  and  at  the  very  last  they  re- 
gained their  privilege.  In  the  main,  the  States  displayed 
a  laudable  rivalry  in  meeting  the  formal  demands  of  the 
Administration. 

Confidence  Affecting  Credit. 

The  credit  of  the  government  obligfations  became  notice- 
ably impaired  in  1862,  though  the  issue  of  interest  bearing 
notes  made  the  depreciation  stationary  for  the  summer. 
Later,  it  was  affirmed****  that  distrust  arose  not  concerning 
the  Confederacy,  but  from  the  superabundance  of  cur- 
rency, for  all  knew  that  tenure  to  any  Southern  property 
at  all  depended  upon  the  maintenance  of  the  nation.  Yet 
in  those  days  the  opinion**^  was  uttered  and  thought  to 
be  gaining  credence  in  Richmond  that  the  cause  was  lost. 
The  failure  to  induce  the  States  to  guarantee  a  new  form 
of  bonds  was  a  blow  to  confidence  and  the  funding  legisla- 
tion quickened  the  decline  in  quotations  of  currency  val- 
ues, so  that  Mr.  Memminger  in  July,  1863,  spoke  of  one 
more  year  being  assured  to  the  Treasury,  provided  current 
measures  were  executed.  But  the  fortune  of  arms  was  the 
supreme  arbiter  of  credit  and  after  the  disasters  of  July,  it 
was  not  long  until  the  national  finances  were  hopelessly 
shattered,  the  currency  manipulations  completing  .the  con- 
dition. 

If  unfavorable  tide  of  battle  was  reflected  in  the  esti- 

"•Apr.  21,  1862. 

^  Richmond  Examiner.  Oct.  22,  1862. 

•"  DeBow's  Diary.    DeBow's  Review,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  549,  N.  S. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  219 

mates  of  the  nation's  financial  integrity,  the  military  re- 
sources were  in  turn  impaired  by  the  inefficiency  of  the 
Treasury  provisions.  The  Quartermaster  GeneraP*^^  de- 
clared to  the  Secretary  of  War  that  since  the  first  of  1864 
credit  had  been  injured  by  the  lack  of  finances.  More  es- 
pecially, the  industrial  limitations  of  the  South  necessitated 
desperate  efforts^®*  to  furnish  in  part  munitions  and  arms, 
which  the  Administration  endeavored  to  supplement  from 
abroad. 

"        Loans  Confined  Largely  to  Currency. 

The  foremost  and  fatal  limitation  of  the  Confederate 
Treasury  was  the  introduction  and  maintenance  of  the 
loan  policy.  This  plan  of  financiering  was  due  to  a  lack 
of  political  foresight  and  the  arrangements  for  revenues 
contemplated  an  emergency  system  solely.  The  theory  of 
credit  was  blindly  optimistic  and  deprecated  an  appeal  to 
the  sources  of  income,  best  available  at  the  beginning. 
The  resort  to.  loans  was  the  easiest  method  of  raising 
funds,  but  it  was  the  most  unfortunate  in  the  instance  of  a 
country  so  completely  isolated  and  inevitably  compelled 
to  devote  all  in  sacrifice  to  the  cause.  It  was  an  effort  to 
project  payment  into  the  future,  which  if  met  would  have 
been  vastly  more  costly  than  in  the  present. 

When  this  loan  took  chiefly  the  form  of  borrowing  the 
circulating  medium  of  the  people  and  additions  continued 
to  be  made  to  the  currency  without  any  regard  to  the 
needs  of  exchange,  there  were  possibilities  of  failure  that 
were  appalling.  There  were  few  enterprises  open  for  em- 
ployment  of  the   superabundant   notes,   and   the   public 

"^Southern  Historical  Papers,  Vol.  11,  p.  86. 

*"A  remarkable  development  of  material  resources  under  stress 
of  war  was  that  of  the  Ordinance  Bureau  under  Gen.  Josiah  Gor- 
gas.  He  created  powder  mills  at  Augusta,  armories  at  Richmond, 
Rome,  Favetteville  and  Selma  and  various  arsenals,  mining,^  foun- 
deries  and  nitre  manufacture  were  conducted,  and  by  1863  a  large 
share  of  the  ordinary  equipments  were  furnished. — Gorgas' 
Monograph,  Southern  Historical  Society,  Vol.  XII. 


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220  Southern  History  Association. 

turned  to  speculation  as  an  outlet,  creating  fictitious  val- 
ues within  a  circumscribed  trade.  The  first  sale  of  bonds 
was  thought  to  have  exhausted  disengaged  capital  and 
this  form  of  loan  was  not  actively  pushed  again  until  the 
full  flood  of  paper  money  yielded  unmistakable  signs  of 
wreckage  and  commercial  disaster.  Then  with  the  rates 
of  depreciation  prevalent,  the  bonds  were  not  inviting  in- 
vestments; compulsory  funding  also  operated  as  a  deterrent 
to  direct  sales  in  the  final  years.  The  Produce  Loan  in  its 
original  plan  was  a  failure,  because  it  required  the  sales 
of  products  to  be  exchanged  for  bonds.  There  was  no 
market,  so  the  subscriptions  of  cotton  had  to  be  taken 
direct  for  the  securities  and  the  government  gained  by 
purchase  the  staple  it  had  refused  in  1861  to  Handle. 

Landed  Interests  Prevent  Taxation. 

Several  causes  contributed  to  the  failure  to  employ  tax- 
ation extensively  as  a  source  of  revenue.  There  was  ex- 
perimental ignorance  of  its  real  importance  as  the  founda- 
tion of  a  system  of  deficit  financiering,  and  it  was  not  un- 
equivocally demanded  by  those  in  authority.  Congress 
lacked  the  courage  to  place  the  definite  burden  on  its  con- 
stituency. The  constitutional  objection  served  as  a  pre- 
text of  postponement,  for  in  the  provisional  instrument  of 
government  there  was  no  apparent  limitation.  The  suc- 
cessive tax  measures  show  a  disinclination  to  make  a  com- 
prehensive, rigorous  requisition  of  the  people.  The  first 
enlarged  taxing  spared  real  property  and  fell  on  incomes, 
occupations  and  sales.  The  greatest  hindrance  to  an  ade- 
quate measure  was  the  agricultural  class,  which  in  the 
amendments  of  1864  inserted  the  conditions  which  nulli- 
fied the  value  of  the  direct  levy  by  the  rebates  for  tax  in 
kind  and  for  income,  in  addition^®*  to  the  discriminating 

•"Ante,  Chapter  III,  sub-head,  "Criticisms  and  defects." 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  221 

valuation  in  favor  of  the  land.  At  the  same  time,  the  banks 
and  the  merchants  were  heavily  assessed,  but  under  such 
conditions  that  many  of  the  latter  class  practiced  evasion. 
In  the  final  receipts  of  the  bureau,  the  cities  and  towns  are 
exclusively  the  contributors.  When  revenues  were  finally 
realized  in  1863-4  directly  from  the  substance  of  the  coun- 
try, the  financial  status  of  the  nation  was  so  impaired  that 
the  taxes  had  in  specie  a  worth  of  six,  then  four  cents  to 
the  dollar  in  paper. 

The  Legislative  Failure  of  the  Second  Year. 

The  opportune  time  for  taxation  in  the  Confederacy  was 
in  1862.  Yet  with  the  message  of  President  Davis  affirm- 
ing the  high  credit  of  the  nation,  addressed  to  Congress 
in  February,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  bring  that  body 
to  a  revenue  enactment.  However,  when  the  proposition 
was  postponed  in  October,  depreciation  was  pronounced 
and  increasing,  a  situation  certain  to  have  been  modified 
by  resolute  action  six  months  earlier.  Even  a  tax  or- 
dered at  the  later  date  would  have  brought  a  degree  of  re- 
lief before  the  untoward  influence  of  the  military  reverses 
of  1863  was  felt.  In  the  North,  the  readjustment  of  indus- 
try counseled  a  late  resort  to  taxation;  in  the  South,  the 
first  and  the  second  years  could  have  been  used  most 
efficaciously.  The  loyalty  of  the  people  would  have  re- 
sponded to  a  fearless,  positive  demand  and  the  cost  to  the 
people  would  have  been  no  more  than  actually  borne  in 
the  latter  tax  in  kind.  The  tax  in  kind  was  the  device  of 
a  dire  emergency,  but  it  required  a  degree  of  supervision 
that  was  scarcely  to  be  furnished  and  the  chance  esti- 
mate *•*  of  the  realization  of  products  worth  $40,000,000 
out  of  a  contribution  of  $130,000,000  indicates  its  expen- 
siveness. 

"*  Stephens'  War  Between  the  States,  Vol.  II,  569. 


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222  Southern  History  Association. 

The  Censure  of  Secretary  Memminger- 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Secretary  Memminger  the  Rich- 
mond Enquirer,^^^  the  Administration  org^n,  said  Con- 
gress had  produced  the  causes  of  the  financial  failure  and 
the  recommendations  of  the  Treasury  Department  had 
never  been  adopted,  so  it  was  not  responsible  for  the  re- 
sults. The  variance  of  the  legislative  body  and  the  Secre- 
tary had  grown  intense,  but  in  earlier  years  the  relations 
had  been  more  harmonious.  Mr.  Memminger  certainly 
is  responsible  for  the  failure  to  present  a  large,  compre- 
hensive plan  of  national  finance  in  his  recommendations 
of  thf  first  year.  His  estimates  were  small  in  comparison 
with  the  needs,  and  his  anticipations  of  foreign  aid  held 
him  from  the  .large  action  that  would  have  brought  future 
security.  The  President  seems  to  have  seconded  the  suc- 
cessive suggestions  of  his  cabinet  officer  and  originated  no 
solution  of  later  monetary  difficulties.  In  the  crucial  year 
of  1863  he  did  not  yield  to  an  appeal  to  call  Congress  in 
special  session,  while  market  valuations  were  ruinously  ad- 
vancing from  May  to  December. 

After  the  nation  was  financially  involved,  Congress 
failed  to  do  its  duty  and  the  consideration  of  revenue 
measures  was  always  postponed  to  the  very  close  of  the 
sessions.  In  the  main  the  recommendations  of  the  Treas- 
ury Department  were  carried  out.  Congress  being  de- 
terred by  its  influence  from  the  purchasing  of  the  cotton 
crop,  and  from  making  a  legal  tender  of  the  paper  money. 
The  Houses  adopted  the  earlier  funding  suggestions,  but 
it  was  the  agricultural  influences  that  finally  brought  the 
rupture  in  the  contest  over  heavy  general  taxation. 

Late  Economic  Wisdom  and  Helplessness. 

Mr.  Memminger  must  be  commended  for  his  late  but 
courageous  fight  to  establish  adequate  taxes,  but  his  treat- 

"■Junc  20,  1864. 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  223 

ment  of  the  note  redundancy  proved  his  helplessness  to 
avert  its  evils.  He  had  in  the  beginning  sounded  the  dan- 
gers of  over  issue,  yet  had  gone  the  full  length,  and  at  the 
end  with  a  new  tenor  emerging,  he  urged  that  legislative 
fiat  set  a  limit  to  the  amount.  It  was  thought  that  he  did 
not  have  proper  conception  of  the  sums  he  handled  and  it 
was  told***  as  a  joke  in  Congress,  that  in  speaking  of  the 
debt  he  had  said  it  was  eight  thousand  million  or  eight 
hundred  million  dollars,  not  being  certain  which.  He  had 
a  firm  faith  in  his  funding  devices  and  believed  that  a 
change  of  percentage  could  call  in  large  sums  of  notes  at  a 
time  when  all  values  were  paralyzed.  His  last  large  form 
of  bonds  had  as  a  chief  inducement  that  they  were  non- 
taxable. 

It  was  a  remedy  of  desperation  to  propose  the  retire- 
ment of  all  the  notes  in  1864,  and  it  was  proclaimed  as 
though  values  would  thereby  be  restored.  But  previous 
changes  of  the  loan  contracts  with  the  public  had  prepared 
the  Secretary  for  a  sweeping  measure.  Had  Congress 
consented  the  result  in  the  end  would  have  been  little 
changed.  Faith  was  already  largely  shaken  and  the  grad- 
ual retirement  of  the  notes  did  not  lessen  the  general  dis- 
trust. 

The  North  by  paying  its  interest  faithfully  in  specie  pre- 
served at  the  worst  a  measure  of  confidence.  The  Conti- 
nental finances  were  conducted  with  foreign  coin  after 
the  paper  money  was  repudiated.  But  there  was  no  coin 
available  in  the  South  to  furnish  a  basis  for  a  new  venture, 
and  the  taxation  ordered  for  the  year  was  payable  in  the 
certificates  issued  for  the  notes,  being  funded  under  pen- 
alty. 

No  Contribution  to  Paper  Money  History. 
The  persistent  practice  of  the  Treasury  then  was  to  rely 
upon  the  issue  of  government  paper  to  meet  national  ex- 

^  DeBow's  Review,  Vol.  IV,  p.  531. 


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224 


Southern  History  Association. 


penditure,  and  the  history  of  paper  money  has  been  in 
no  way  altered  by  the  experiment  of  the  Confederacy. 
The  influence  was  disastrous  upon  all  the  activities  of  the 
government  and  of  the  land.  It  induced  speculation,  which 
corrupted  business  morality.  In  the  excessive  redundancy  . 
all  values  were  permanently  distorted.  Industries  were 
increasingly  crippled,  transportation  companies  were  una- 
ble to  make  repairs,  farmers  evaded  sales  under  impress- 
ment, and  the  products  of  the  country  were  decreased. 
The  Confederacy  had  been  progressively  prostrated.  The 
resources  for  the  army  had  all  but  failed.  The  money  ma- 
chine was  operated  until  it  fell  before  the  same  military 
might  which  was  bringing  an  end  at  the  capital.  And  the 
soldiers,  who  had  borne  the  brunt  at  the  last  received  not 
the  discredited  money  of  the  nation,  but  the  coin  which 
had  come  from  its  hiding  places  at  the  final  legislative  be- 
hest. 


Receipts. 

Appendix^!. 

Bonda. 

Call  Cer- 
tificates. 

Notes. 

Tazea. 

Cuatoms. 

Bank 

Feby.  x8, 1861- 

Peb.i8,i863to 
Jan.  1, 1863. 

Jan.  I,  X863  to 
Oct.  1. 1863. 

Oct.  1.  1863  to 
Oct.  z.  X864. 

$31,153,660 
43,773,573 
154.840,600 
313.404,900 

$59,743,796 
33.475,100 
6i.i38.66o 

$95,790,350 
339.394,885 
391,633,530 
543,364.878 

$16,664,513 

4,128.988 

101,701^)38 

$1,370,875 
668,566 
943,900 
518.750 

•9.813,545 
3.539.799 

Total,    .  . 

541.171.733 

I4i,346,556 

1,359,973,543 

133494,539 

3401,089 

13,353,344 

Seques* 
tralion. 

Patent 
Fund. 

Repay- 
ments. 

MisceUa- 
neoos. 

Tax  on 
Notes. 

Total. 

1861^2,       ... 

$1,022,673 
2.291,812 

$139,051,003 
457i8SS,704 
601,533,893 

1.106,584831 

ia6a-3 

$13,930 
10,794 
36.957 

62.891,596 

1863-^  :  .  :  : 

$1,862,500 
4,539490 

1863-4 

6.964,383 

$14440^67 

Total,    .  . 

$6401,990 

$51,671 

$91,395,875 

10,278366'   $14440,567 

$3,305,014,431 

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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury. — Smith.  225 

Bends.  Appendix^2, 


Eisfatper 
cent. 

cent. 

Six  per 
cent. 

Pour  per 
cent 

Cotton        Non-tM- 
Certificates  able  6  p.  c. 

Peby.  x86i- 
Feby.  x86a- 

jMi.-Oct. 

X863. 
Oct.  x863- 

X864. 

$31,153,660 

43.773.573 

xo7,39a,90o 

2433450 

118,737.650 
2,364.000 

$6,810,050 
14,306400 

$3639394.050 

$3,000,000 

8.975.000 

$19,303,900 

Total.  . 

1x83.641.583 

$4Xiiox.65o 

$21,016450 

$363,394,050 

$10,975,000 

119.303,900 

CetHfUates, 


Six  per 
cent  calL 

Fire  per 
cent  calL 

Four  per 
centcaU. 

Certificates 
Indebtedness 

Total. 

1861-1862, 

$3X,X52,66o 
X02.5X6,368 
178,315,700 
373.533.560 

i86a-i86«     

I59.743.796 

xISi . . '.     ; 

$33,092,900 
38313,500 

$483,200 

22,316,160 

$ii739.*i«> 

x^, : : . . . : : : 

Total, 

$59,743,796 

$61315400 

$33,798,360 

$1,739,100 

$685,518,288 

Expenditures, 

Appendix^ 

•J. 

War. 

Navy. 

CivU. 

Public 
Debt. 

Total. 

Feby.x8,  x86x-x862, 
Peby.  x8,  x862-Jan. 

x,i8^ 
Jan.  1,1863-Oct  I, 

1863. 
Oct.  1,  x863-Oct  X, 

1864- 

$152,844430 
3*i,oii,754 

377.988.244 

484,939.8x6 

$7,600,^5 
30,599.383 

38437.661 
36408,535 

$5,045,660 
13.673.376 

xx,629,278 
16,038.973 

'$4ii737.*3» 
91.356.739 
470,607.163 

$165,490,575 
416,971.735 

510,311,935 

997.994473 

Total, 

$1,356,784,344 

$93,005,954 

$46,387,387 

$603,591,322 

$3,099,768,707 

Appendix^i^ 

Depreciation  o^  Treasury  Notes  Rated  in  $i.oo  of 

Goij>. 

1861 — August,  1.05;  October,  i.io;  Nov.,  1.15-1.17; 
Dec,  1.18-1.20. 

1862— Jan.,  1.18-1,22;  Feb.,  1.25-1.26;  Mch.,  1.28-1.30; 
Apr.,  1.38-140;  May,  1.50;  August,  1.50;  Sept.,  1.75;  Oct., 
2.00;  Nov.,  2.50;  Dec,  3.00. 


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226  Southern  History  Association. 

1863— Jan.,  3.10;  Feb.,  3.33;  Mch.,  4.20;  Apr.,  5.00; 
May,  6.00;  June,  7.50;  July,  9.00;  Aug.,  12.00;  Sept.,  12.50; 
Oct.,  14.00;  Nov.,  15.00;  Dec,  19.00. 

1864 — ^Jan.,  21.00;  Feb.,  23.00;  Mch.,  25.00;  Apr.,  21.00; 
May,  19.00;  June,  18.00;  July,  20.00;  Aug.,  22.00;  Sept., 
23.00;  Oct.,  26.00;  Nov.,  27-33.00 ;  Dec,  34-42.00. 

1865 — Jan.,  45-50.00 ;  Feb.,  50-60.00 ;  Mch.,  60.00;  Apr., 
100.00. 

Bibliography. 

Appleton's  Annual  Encyclopedia,  1861,  2,  3,  4,  5. 
Bigelow,  Jno. — France  and  the  Confederate  Navy. 
Bolles,  A.  S. — Financial  History  of  the  United  States, 
I,  III. 

Bulloch,  J.  D. — ^The  Secret  Service  of  the  Confederate 
States  in  Europe. 
Capers,  H.  D. — Life  and  Times  of  C.  G.  Memminger. 
Century  Magazine,  LIII.,  Feb.,  1897. 
Correspondence  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  Depart- 
ment, now  kept  in  the  U.  S.  Treasury  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
Currency  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  com- 
piled by  Wm.  Lee,  M.  D. 
Davis,  Jefferson — Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederacy. 
DeBow's  Review,  II,  IV,  V,  (New  Series). 
Documents  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  Department, 
now  kept  in  the  "Rebel  Archives"  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment, Washington,  D.  C. 
Eighth  Census  U.  S. 
Hart,  A.  B.— Life  of  S.  P.  Chase. 
Hdwe,  F.  C. — ^Taxation  in  the  U.  S.  under  Internal 

Revenue. 
Jones,  J.  W.— Rebel  War  Clerk's  Diary. 
Journal  of  Political  Economy,  Mch.,  1897. 
Knox,  J.  J. — ^U.  S.  Notes. 

Newspapers — ^Augusta  Chronicle,  Charleston  Courier, 
Montgomery  Mail,  Richmond  Dispatch, 


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The  History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury, — Smith.    227 

Enquirer,     Examiner    and    Whig,    and 
Savannah  News  as  preserved  in  the  files 
of  the  "Rebel  Archives"  at  Washington. 
Phillips — Continental  Paper  Money. 
Pollard,  E.  A.— The  Lost  Cause. 

The  First,  Second,  Third  and  Fourth 
Years  of  the  War. 
Records  and  Correspondence  of  the  Confederate  War 
Tax  Bureau. 

Reports  of  the  Commission  of  Taxes. 
Reports  of  C.  G.  Memminger  and  G.  A.  Trenholm,  Sec- 
retaries of  the  Confederate  Treasury. 
Scharf,  J.  T. — History  of  the  Confederate  States  Navy. 
Schuckers,  J.  W. — Life  and  Public  Services  of  Salmon 
P.  Chase. 
Schwab,  J.  C. — ^The  Finances  of  the  Confederacy,  Pol. 
Science  Quarterly,  VIII. 
The  Confederate  Foreign  Loan.    Yale 

Review,  I. 
The    Financier    of    the    Confederate 
States.    Yale  Review,  II. 
Senate  and  House  Journals  of  the  Confederate  States, 
Secret  and  Open  Sessions. 
Southern  Historical  Society  Papers,  II,IX,  XII. 
Statutes  of  the  Provisional,  the  First  and  the  Second 
Congresses  of  the  Confederate  States. 
Stephens,  Alexander  H. — ^War  between  the  States. 
Sumner,  W.  G. — ^American  Currency. 

The  Financier  and  the  Finances  of  the 
American  Revolution. 
Tariff  and  Tax  Laws  of  the  Confederate  States. 
(Concluded.) 


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INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  GENEALOGY  OF  THE 

DESCENDANTS  OF  JUDGE  PAUL  CARRING- 

TON  AND  HIS  WIFE  PRISCILLA  (nee)  SIMS. 

By  Col.  J.  B.  Kii^lebrew. 

Judge  Paul  Carrington,  the  eldest  son  of  Judge  Paul 
Carrington,  I,  was  bom  in  Charlotte  county,  Virginia, 
February  24,  1733,  and  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
men  of  his  time.  His  father  died  intestate  and  at  that 
period  the  laws  of  primogeniture  being  in  force  in  the 
State  of  Virginia,  he  did  not  claim  his  rights  to  all  the 
real  estate  of  his  father  under  that  law  but  generously  di- 
vided it  equally  with  his  brothers  and  sisters.  He  never  re- 
fused to  take  from  his  creditors  Continental  money,  and  in 
doing  so,  much  reduced  the  value  of  his  estate.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  from  1765,  and  of  the 
Conventions  of  1776  and  1788,  the  last  being  held  to  ratify 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  In  1779  he  was 
appointed  Second  Judge  of  the  General  Court  of  Virginia, 
and  was  Chief  Justice  in  1780.  He  was  appointed  Judge 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  1789  and  resigned  in  1807  at 
the  age  of  74.  He  died  at  his  country  seat  June  20,  1818. 
He  had  three  sons  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

His  second  wife,  Priscilla  Sims,  was  the  daughter  of 
David  Sims,  Jr.,  and  his  wife  Lettice  May,  the  daughter 
of  Humphrey  May,  of  Halifax  county,  Virginia.  David 
Sims,  Jr.,  and  Lettice  May  had  the  following  children  to 
reach  the  years  of  maturity,  viz :  John,  Betsy  and  Priscilla. 

John  was  a  large  planter  and  lived  and  died  on  Staunton 
river  in  Halifax  county,  Virginia.  His  descendants  still 
reside  on  the  same  estate. 

Betsy  married  first,  David  Clark;  her  second  husband 
was  her  cousin.    David  Sims,  and  her  third  husband  was 


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Descendants  of  Judge  Paul  Carrmgtm. — Killebrew.  229 

Thomas  Read,  whom  she  married  in  1806.  The  father  of 
Thomas  Read,  also  named  Thomas,  was  a  member  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1776  and  a  brother-in- 
law  of  Judge  Carrington. 

Priscilla  Sims,  as  has  already  been,  mentioned,  was  the 
second  wife  of  Judge  Paul  Carrington. 

After  the  death  of  David  Sims,  Jr.,  his  wife,  Lettice  May, 
married  Joseph  Ligon,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
who  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House, 
March  15,  1781.  He  was  a  member  of  Gen.  Stevens'  bri- 
gade, Nathaniel  Cooke's  regiment,  and  John  Thompson's 
company.  Joseph  Ligon  was  born  in  1755  and  removed 
after  a  second  marriage,  with  his  sons  and  daughters  to 
Montgomery  county,  Tennessee,  where  many  of  his  de- 
scendants now  reside.  He  died  September  21,  1842,  in  the 
87th  year  of  his  age.  But  few  of  the  pioneers  of  Tennessee 
were  more  highly  esteemed  for  solid  virtues  and  noble 
qualities  of  head  and  heart.  When  he  was  about  80  years 
of  age  he  became  totally  blind,  but  his  cheerfulness,  good 
temper  and  sweetness  of  disposition  never  deserted  him. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  dignity  of  manners  and  severity  of 
morals.  He  always  spoke  of  Judge  Carrington  with  deep 
veneration  and  the  most  respectful  admiration.  Though 
twenty-two  years  older  than  Mr.  Ligon,  Judge  Carring- 
ton married  his  stepdaughter,  Priscilla. 

It  may  be  added  that  Judge  Carrington  at  the  time  of  his 
marriage  to  Priscilla  Sims  was  sixty  years  of  age  and  his 
wife  sixteen.  Their  marriage  was  one  of  great  happiness 
and  their  descendants  have  always  been  noted  for  their 
intelligence,  high  moral  worth  and  unswerving  integrity. 

The  Genealogy  of  the  Descenbants  of  Judge  Paul 
Carrington  and  His  Wife  Priscilla  (nee)  Sims. 

Judge  Paul  Carrington  and  Priscilla  Sims  had  three  chil- 
dren: 

I.  Henry*  married  Louisa  Cabell  and  had  six  children:  A. 
William*;  B.  Edmonia*;  C.  Elizabeth*;  D.  Agnes*;  E.  Henry*; 
F.  Emma*. 


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i 
230  SoiUhern  History  Association. 

A.  William*  married  Maria  Dabuly  and  has  two  children:  i. 
Bessie*;  2.  Williamine*. 

B.  Edmonia'  married  William  Read  and  has  nine  chil- 
dren: I.  Maria^;  2.  Louisa*;  3.  Howard*;  4.  Edmonia*;  5. 
Anne*;   6.  Sara*;   7.  Abram*;   8.  Agnes*;  9.  May*. 

C.  Elizabeth*  married  George  H.  Gilmer  and  had  three  chil- 
dren:   I.  Louisa*;   2.  Peachy*;   3.  George*. 

D.  Agnes*  married  Joel  Marshall  and  has  two  children:  i. 
Bessie*;   2.  Henry* — ^both  unmarried. 

E.  Henry*  married  Lottie  Cullen,  had  ten  children:  i.  Louise*; 
2.  William^;  3.  Cullen*;  4.  Henry*:  5.  Randolph*;  6.0telia*;  7. 
Matthew*;    8.  Florence*;    9.  Lottie*;    10.  Gilmer*. 

F.  Emma*  married  John  W.  Reiley  and  had  five  children:  i. 
Louisa*;   2.  Frances*;   3.  Henry*;   4.  Emma*;  5.  John*. 

2.  Lettice*  Carrington  married  Walter  Coles  and  had  four  chil- 
dren:   G.  Helen*;    H.  Mildred*;    I.  Walter*;   J.  Agnes*. 

G.  Helen*,  unmarried. 

H.  Mildred*  married  Stanhope  Flourney  and  had  five  children: 
I.  Stanhope*;    2.  Coles*;    3-  Helen*;    4.  Letty*;  5.  Charles*. 

I.  Walter*  married  Lavinia  Jordan  and  had  five  children:  Wal- 
ter*, Russell*,  Agnes*,  Thomas*,  Henry*;   all  unmarried. 

J.  Agnes*  married  Grattan  Cabell  and  had  two  children:  Wal- 
ter*, Florence*;   both  unmarried. 

3.  Robert'  Carrington  married  Johanna  Bouldin  and  had  five 
children:  K.  Thomas*;  L.  Jane*;  M.  John*;  N.  Mildred*;  O. 
Paul*. 

K.  Thomas*  married  Pauline  Cabell.  One  child,  Martha*,  died 
a  nun. 

L.  Jane*  married  Albert  Rush  and  had  one  child,  Robert*,  living 
in  New  Orleans  when  last  heard  from. 

M.  John*  married,  name  of  wife  unknown;  was  last  heard  from 
as  living  in  Leadville  with  several  children. 

N.  Mildred*  died,  unmarried. 

O.  Paul*  died,  leaving  a  widow  and  several  children;  where- 
abouts unknown. 

A.  (i)  Bessie*  married  James  N.  Demlope  and  had  five  chil- 
dren:   Maria*,  Anne*,  Bessie',  James*,  Williani*. 

A.  (2)  Williamine*  married  Robert  Lancaster,  had  four  chil- 
dren:   William'    Carrington*,  Kitty*  and  Dabney*. 

B.  (i)  Maria  married  Thomas  Watkins  and  had  three  children: 
Edmonia',  Henrietta'  and  Virginia*. 

B.  (2)  Louisa*  married   Isaac    Read — two   children:    , 

Howard*. 

B.  ^3^  Howard*  married  Mary  Pierce;    no  children. 

B.  u)  Edmonia*  married  M.  M.  Martin;  four  children:  Ed- 
monia', Alexander*,  John*,  William', 

B.  (5)  Anne*,  unmarried. 

B.  (6)  Sara*  married  John  Martin;    one  child,  William*. 

B.  (7)  Abram*  married  Guilielmo  Lawton;  one  child,  Eliza- 
beth'. 

B.  (8)  Agnes*  married  John  Lancaster;  two  children:  Mary* 
and  Edmonia*. 

B.  (9)  May*,  unmarried. 


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Descendants  of  Judge  Paul  Carrington.  — Killebrew.  231 

C.  (i)  Louisa*  married  Holt  Easley;  four  children:  Lizzie", 
Florence*,  James*,  Gilmer*. 

C.  (2)  Peachy*  married  John  Craddock  and  had  four  children: 
Gilmer ,  Charles*,  Elise*,  John". 

C.  (3)  George*  married  Rena  Patton. 

E.  (i)  Louise*  married  William  Leigh  and  had  four  children: 
Henry*,  Mary^,  Emma*,  John*. 

E.  (2)  William*,  unmarried. 

E.  (3)  Cullen*  married  Mary  Hannah  and  had  five  children: 
Ella*,  Lottie*,  Mary*,  Louise*  and  Ruth*. 

E.  (4)  Henry*,  died  unmarried. 

E.  (5)  Randolph*  married  Ella  Gordon;  two  children:  Ran- 
dolph* and  Elisc*. 

E.  (6)  Otelia  married  John  Cunningham;  four  children:  John', 
Helen*,  Lottie*,  Otelia*. 


E.  (7)  Matthew*,  unmarried. 
^.  (8)  -  '  •    -  ^ 

E.  (9)  Lottie*,  immarried. 


E.  (8)  Florence*  married  Sydney  Stevens. 


E.  (10)  Gilmer*,  died  voung. 

F.  (i)  Louisa  marriecf  Henry  Edmunds;  two  children:   Emma* 
and  John*. 


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REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES. 

American  Reference  Library,  or  Library  of 
American  History.  6  volumes.  American  History  So- 
ciety, Washington. 

These  volumes,  with  some  artistic  illustrations,  in  bind- 
ing, paper,  type  and  wide  margin,  are  so  attractive  as  to 
make  reading  a  luxury.  The  substance  so  far  as  examined, 
corresponds  with  the  external  features.  The  first  volume, 
by  Dr.  Buel,  relates  to  Columbus  and  the  New  World. 
The  second  and  third  volumes  by  Drs.  Ridpath  and  Buel 
are  a  history  of  the  United  States  under  such  compre- 
hensive heads  as  Discovery,  Planting,  Independence, 
Nationality,  War  and  Greatness.  Volume  four  appears 
under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Buel  and  Gen.  Marcus  J. 
Wright,  wrongly  placing  our  friend,  the  General,  in  the 
Bureau  of  Government  Statistics  instead  of  in  the  Bureau 
for  the  "publication  of  the  Official  Records  of  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion."  The  account  of  our  new  possessions, 
brought  down  to  date,  is  very  interesting  and  contains 
what  is  of  great  value  in  all  the  discussions  which  are  not 
likely  to  be  finally  settled  for  months  to  come. 

Volumes  five  and  six  are  an  encyclopedic  Dictionary  of 
American  History  by  Drs.  Jameson  and  Buel,  which  is, 
in  some  respects,  the  more  valuable  part  of  the  library. 
While  the  first  four  volumes  are  chronological,  the  Dic- 
tionary is  alphabetical  and  is  closely  correlated  with  what 
is  in  the  preceding  historical  volumes.  That  Prof.  Jame- 
son has  charged  himself  with  the  work  of  verifying  state- 
ments and  bringing  them  down  to  date,  is  the  best  guar- 
anty that  what  has  been  done  is  in  accordance  with  his- 
torical accuracy.  These  volumes,  kept  in  the  revolving 
library,  will  be  a  vade  tnecum,  a  Who's  Who  for  one  un- 
willing to  be  other  than  accurate. 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  233 

In  the  third  volume  is  a  relation  of  the  war  between  the 
States.  This  paper  appears  under  the  criticism  of  General 
Wright,  an  authority  on  all  matters  of  Confederate  history, 
and  while  all  his  corrections  and  suggestions  were  not 
adopted,  still  the  work  is  the  fairest  which  has  proceeded 
from  Northern  authorship,  both  as  to  the  war  itself  and 
the  causes  of  the  war.  We  take  pleasure  in  sajdng  that 
this  portion  of  the  history  seems  to  have  been  prepared 
with  an  honest  effort  at  fairness  and  impartiality.  The 
writers  and  publishers  deserve  much  credit  for  the  suc- 
cess they  have  attained.  The  "British  Almanac"  for  1901, 
in  the  74th  year  of  issue,  aspiring  to  be  an  authority,  con- 
tains amusing  illustrations  of  the  difficulty  of  being  ac- 
curate when  a  multitude  of  facts  are  to  be  detailed.  In 
giving  the  great  battles  of  the  last  century,  it  says  that 
Antietam,  or  Sharpsburg,  was  fought  on  the  17th  Sept., 
1862,  by  87,000  Federals  under  McClellan,  who  defeated 
97,000  Confederates  under  General  Lee.  The  historical 
truth  is  that  while  McClellan  did  have  87,000  men,  Gen- 
eral Lee,  after  all  his  troops  came  up,  had  only  35,000. 
The  loss  of  the  Federals  was  12409  and  of  the  Confed- 
erates 8,600.  General  Lee  "expected  and  hoped  for  an- 
other attack,"  but  as  it  was  npt  made  and  McClellan  was 
reinforced  by  two  strong  divisions,  General  Lee,  "wiser 
than  his  antagonist,"  withdrew  to  the  south  side  of  the 
Potomac.  The  almanac,  on  the  same  page,  says  "San- 
tiago was  fought  on  July  3,  1898,  and  the  American  fleet 
under  Admiral  Dewey  annihilated  the  Spanish  fleet  of  six 
vessels  under  Admiral  Cervera!" 

J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

A  Higher  History  of  the  United  States  for 
Schools  and  Academies.  By  Henry  E.  Chambers.  Re- 
vised edition.  University  Put|lishing  Company,  New  York 
and  New  Orleans. 

A  distinguished  professor  in  one  of  our  great  Ameri- 


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2  J4  SotUhem  History  Associaiian. 

can  universities*  has  recently  said:  "In  the  amplest  sense 
of  the  term,  history  is  everything  true  about  everything 
which  man  ever  did,  thought,  hoped  or  felt.  It  is  the  limit- 
less science  of  past  human  affairs —  a  theme  unmeasura- 
bly  vast  and  exceedingly  vague.  We  are  within  the  bounds 
of  history  whether  we  decipher  a  mortgage  or  an  Assy- 
rian tile,  come  at  the  value  of  the  Diamond  Necklace,  or 
describe  the  over-short  pastry  to  which  Charles  V.  was 
addicted  to  his  undoing.  The  tragic  reflections  of  Eli's 
daughter-in-law  when  she  learned  of  the  discomfiture  of 
her  people  at  Ebenezer,  are  history ;  so  are  the  provisions 
of  Magna  Charta,  the  origin  of  the  doctrine  of  tran- 
substantiation,  the  fall  of  Santiago,  the  difference  be- 
tween a  black  friar  and  a  white  friar,  and  the  certified  cir- 
culation of  the  New  York  Journal  upon  February  ist  of 
the  current  year.  Each  fact  has  its  importance,  all  have 
been  carefully  recorded.  *  *  It  is  clear  that  in  treating 
history  for  a  general  reader  and  for  the  boys  and  girls  in 
our  schools  and  colleges  the  question  of  selection  and  pro- 
portion is  momentous  *  *  My  whole  contention  may 
be  summed  up  in  the  plea  that  the  general  reader,  and  the 
boys  and  girls  in  our  high  schools  and  colleges  be  brought 
directly  in  contact  with  the  living  past,  in  the  generous 
hope  of  immediate  fruition.  'The  outlines  of  history'  its 
'leading  facts'  as  usually  conceived,  constitute  at  best  the 
viaticum  for  a  journey — 3,  journey,  too,  which  is  frequently 
never  taken." 

These  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  are  words  that 
cannot  be  gainsaid.  We  have  read  dozens  of  higher  his- 
tories of  the  United  States,  which  teach  not  history,  but 
give  us  dates  and  names  which  were  only  confusing  and 
left  us  after  the  reading  totally  uninformed  of  what  we 
wanted  to  know.  The  history  here  under  review  is  some- 
thing more  than  a  mere  statement  of  dates  and  names — it 

♦Prof.  J.  H.  Robinson,  of  Columbia  University. 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  235 

tells  us  what  actuated  men  in  certain  great  events,  how 
those  holding  opposite  opinions  sustained  tjieir  side,  and 
leads  us  to  know  not  only  that  a  certain  thing  was  done, 
but  why  it  was  done.  The  book  begins  with  the  period 
of  the  discovery  of  the  country  and  going  on  through  the 
early  settlements  by  Spaniards,  French  and  English,  leads 
up  to  the  periods  of  colonization,  of  colonial  govern- 
ment, revolution,  the  war  for  independence,  the  institution 
of  self-government  and  through  the  historic  channel  to 
the  war  between  the  States,  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Southern  States  and  the  war  with  Spain,  down  to  the 
treaty  of  Paris.  There  are  certain  portions  of  the  book  to 
which  we  desire  to  call  special  attention,  and  which  not- 
withstanding their  great  value  have  been  systematically 
omitted  from  all  other  United  States  histories  which  we 
have  read.  These  omitted  facts  are  the  identical  ones 
which  are  absolutely  necessary  in  order  that  the  reader  or 
pupil  may  understand  what  the  Southern  States  did  when 
they  seceded,  and  what  constitutional  grounds  they  had  for 
believing  that  they  had  a  right  to  secede.  No  one  can 
understand  this  unless  he  first  learns  what  a  State  was 
in  1776,  at  the  time  of  the  revolution  when  the  colonies 
declared  themselves  to  be  States  what  a  State  was  in 
1782  when  the  articles  of  confederation  were  adopted,  and 
what  a  State  was  in  1789,  when  the  Constitution  was 
adopted.  It  is  necessary  that  this  should  be  known,  for  a 
State  to-day  has  a  very  different  meaning  from  what  it 
had  an  hundred  years  ago. 

Turning  to  page  252  of  the  book  you  will  find  a  chapter 
on  government,  very  simple  and  very  easily  understood. 
Farther  on  you  will  find  chapters  on  the  org^anization  of 
the  Federal  Government  of  the  United  States,  equally  as 
important  for  a  clear  understanding  of  the  original  idea 
of  the  Constitution  and  of  the  powers  of  government  un- 
der it.  A  very  important  chapter  is  to  be  found  at  page 
350,  clearly  setting  forth  the  development  of  sectional  an- 


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236  Southern  History  Association. 

tagonism,  and  the  issues  then  raised  which  divided  the 
North  and  South.  The  conditions  of  the  country  in  i860 
are  set  forth  and  the  real  reasons  given  of  the  cause  of 
the  division  of  the  Democratic  party.  Usually  school  his- 
tories state  that  in  i860  the  Democratic  party  was  divided, 
but  omit  any  reason  or  explanation,  leaving  the  impression 
that  it  was  probably  a  mere  capricious  division  and  thus 
failing  to  do  justice  to  those  who  whether  wisely  or  un- 
wisely demanded  recognition  of  their  constitutional  rights 
under  the  government,  and  refused  to  remain  in  a  party 
which  refused  them. 

We  are  told  in  most  of  these  histories  that  the  Southern 
States  seized  the  forts  and  arsenals  within  their  borders, 
leaving  the  impression  that  these  were  acts  of  aggression, 
but  in  the  work  before  us  a  full  explanation  is  g^ven.  The 
organization  of  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  the  manner 
of  its  "taking  off"  from  Virginia  with  interesting  details 
is  given.  What  Mr.  Lincoln  did  towards  reconstruction  is 
told,  and  the  reason  given  why  slavery  was  not  abolished 
by  presidential  proclamation,  but  by  the  adoption  of  the 
thirteenth  amendment  of  the  Constitution  by  the  South- 
ern States.  All  these  important  historical  facts  are  stated 
clearly  and  dispassionately.  There  are  statements  in  re- 
gard to  battles  and  campaigns  of  the  war  between  the 
States,  written  from  the  lights  then  before  the  editor, 
which  ought  to  be  amended,  and  no  doubt  will  be  in  a 
future  edition.  These  corrections  being  made  in  the  light 
of  official  history,  will  make  this  part  of  the  work  exceed- 
ingly valuable. 

The  mere  statement  of  which  side  won  this  or  that  bat- 
tle, while  interesting  to  this  generation,  will  excite  but  lit- 
tle interest  in  the  next  century,  but  the  great  point  will  be 
to  know  the  constitutional  grounds  on  which  the  South 
acted,  and  only  upon  a  clear,  dispassionate  statement  of 
the  whole  question  will  depend  the  verdict  of  future  gen- 
erations as  to  whether  the  Southern  leaders  were  moved 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  237 

by  patriotism  and  a  firm  adherence  to  constitutional 
rights  or  by  treason.  The  leading  battles  of  the  war  are 
fully  noticed  and  plans  of  the  more  important  ones  are 
given.  See  for  instance  Gettysburg,  the  plan  of  which 
shows  the  troops  which  participated  in  Pickett's  charge 
and  the  position  of  the  divisions,  brigades  and  regpiments. 
Attention  is  called  to  the  chapters  on  the  tariff  controversy 
of  1832,  and  specially  to  the  reopening  of  the  tariff  ques- 
tion (Chap,  xxii)  and  the  succeeding  chapter  on  "Home 
Productions."  These  chapters  are  the  products  of  the  pen 
of  Major  C.  L.  Patton,  of  the  University  Publishing  Com- 
pany, and  are  quite  in  keeping  in  their  excellence  with  the 
remainder  of  Professor  Chambers'  most  valuable  book. 
The  author  does  not  deal  in  ipse  dixits  or  unfounded  as- 
sertions, but  states  distinctly  the  facts  from  which  his  de- 
ductions are  drawn. 

We  very  heartily  commend  it  as  a  book  of  exceeding 
value.  M.  J.  W. 

Southern  Historical  Society  Papers,  Volume 
xxviii.  Edited  by  R.  A.  Brock,  (Secretary.  Richmond, 
Va.,  1900,  pp.  viii.-f  387,  -Svo.,  paper,  index.  As  with 
former  volumes.  Colonel  Brock  has  added  a  vast  deal  to 
the  great  repository  of  Civil  War  history  that  he  has  been 
collecting  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Not  only  the  de- 
scendants of  those  who  fought,  not  only  the  student  of 
history,  but  the  novelist,  the  dramatist  and  the  poet  will 
in  the  years  to  come  turn  to  this  series  of  Papers  for  facts, 
for  color,  for  inspiration.  Especially  treasured  will  they 
be,  if  the  same  thing  happens  in  the  case  of  this  terrible 
struggle,  as  in  all  former  ones,  that  all  the  romance  and 
sentiment  will  cling  to  the  defeated  side.  This  volume, 
composed  of  forty-one  selections,  is  filled  with  this  valu- 
able kind  of  material,  containing  adventures,  hair-breadth 
escapes,  endurance,  humor,  pathos,  suffering,  death,  de- 
struction, the  most  told  by  the  actors  themselves,  or  by 


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238  Southern  History  Association. 

those  having  first-hand  knowledge.  Not  to  make  invid- 
ious distinctions,  but  to  illustrate  the  whole  bulk,  especi- 
ally interesting  is  Major  J.  H.  Claiborne's  "Last  Days 
of  Lee  and  his  Paladins,"  which  is  narrated  in  a  charming, 
clear  and  simple  fashion.  There  are  other  contributions 
on  Lee,  including  one  from  Professor  E.  S.  Joynes,  of 
Columbia,  S.  C,  describing  the  earnestness  and  gfreatness 
of  Lee  as  president  of  the  Washington  College  (now 
Washington  and  Lee  University).  In  giving  a  faithful  ac- 
count of  the  death  of  Walter  Bowie,  Lieutenant  J.  G. 
Wiltshire  essays  that  noble  but  apparently  endless  task 
of  correcting  the  mistakes  and  fabrications  of  ignorant 
and  sensational  writers  for  the  periodical  press,  who  are 
often  either  too  hurried  or  too  incompetent  to  get  at  the 
real  facts  which  would  generally  be  far  more  striking  and 
more  wonderful  than  their  weak  inventions.  So  distaste- 
ful to  this  officer  was  a  distorted  article  on  the  subject  in 
a  popular  magazine  that  he  gives  the  full  story  of  Bowie's 
expedition  into  Maryland  in  1864  to  capture  the  Governor 
and  hold  him  as  hostage.  His  bare  statement  of  the  reali- 
ties of  this  daring  incursion,  in  which  he  took  part,  are 
enough  to  stir  any  except  jaded  or  diseased  imaginations. 
From  memoranda  left  by  J.  L.  Porter,  chief  constructor 
of  the  Confederate  navy,  we  have  a  brief  condensed  history 
of  each  vessel,  the  whole  arranged  alphabetically. 

Chickens  Comb  Home  to  Roost.  By  L.  B.  HUles. 
New  York:  Wright  &  Co.,  1899,  pp.  vii.-f307,  8vo.,  cloth. 

Scenes,  incidents,  situations,  the  author  has  produced, 
striking,  startling  and  potential  enough  in  the  hands  of  a 
master  to  have  made  a  realistic  novel  of  great  force  and 
sensation,  but  as  it  is,  it  touches  too  much  on  the  merely 
material,  gross  and  vulgar,  without  any  of  those  uplifting 
influences  that  an  artistic  pen  would  have  given.  The 
writer  may  have  this  divine  power — ^the  very  strength  and 
coarseness  of  his  imagination  might  indicate  some  gift 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  239 

out  of  the  ordinary — ^but  there  are  no  marked  traces  of 
it  in  his  pages.  There  is  stirring  adventure,  with  the 
basis  laid  in  Virginia  during  the  Civil  War  and  coming 
down  to  the  present,  the  interest  being  heightened  by  the 
mixture  of  love  and  passion.  There  is  some  thrilling 
description,  with  passages  of  faithful  dialogues.  But  the 
improbable  actions,  the  impossible  conduct,  the  incredible 
combination  of  characteristics  leave  only  a  blurred  im- 
pression of  crudity  and  confusion,  with,  perhaps,  a  faint 
hint  of  native  vigor  underneath. 

The  Elements  o^  the  Geology  o^  Tennessee,  pre- 
pared for  the  use  of  the  schools  of  Tennessee  and  for  all 
persons  seeking  a  knowledge  of  the  resources  of  the  State. 
By  J.  M.  Safford,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  M.  D.,  and  J.  B.  Kille- 
brew,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.  Nashville,  Tenn.:  Foster  &  Webb, 
1900,  pp.  vii.+264,  boards. 

This  little  volume  is  a  condensation  of  SafFord's  classic 
work,  "The  Geology  of  Tennessee,"  published  in  1869. 
As  the  title  indicates,  it  has  been  prepared  with  special 
reference  to  its  use  in  the  elementary  schools  of  the  State. 
Pupils  of  the  Tennessee  schools  are  fortunate  in  having 
prepared  for  their  use  so  excellent  an  introduction  to  the 
science  of  geology.  While  the  treatment  is  strictly  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  State,  and  therefore,  to  a  certain 
extent,  gpives  a  narrow  and  local  view,  it  renders  the  sub- 
ject concrete,  and  for  the  beginner  this  is  all  important. 
It  will  be  a  comparatively  easy  matter  for  the  student 
who  has  mastered  this  book  to  pass  to  the  broader  study 
of  the  same  problems  as  exemplified  in  the  world  at  large. 
Certainly  this  is  a  more  natural  method  than  to  begin 
with  the  broader  and  less  tangpible  problems. 

Most  of  the  topographic  and  stratigjaphic  subdivisions 
of  SafFord's  earlier  work  are  retained  in  this  book.  Some 
changes,  however,  are  made  in  the  stratigraphic  nomen- 
clature.   An  elementary  text-book  is  scarcely  the  place 


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240  Souihem  History  AssociaHon. 

to  look  for  newly-announced  stratigraphic  names,  since 
it  is  impossible  to  give  there  a  full  and  satisfactory  defini- 
tion of  the  unit  named.  It  is  somewhat  unfortimate, 
therefore,  that  certain  new  terms  have  been  introduced; 
for  example,  the  term  Maury  shale  for  what  has  previously 
been  described  as  a  member  of  the  Devonian,  the  green- 
sand  bed  of  the  Chattanooga.  This  bed  is  here  placed  in 
the  Carboniferous,  although  the  gfrounds  for  the  classifica- 
tion are  not  gpiven.  The  name  chosen  is  also  unfortunate, 
since  the  bed  is  generally  absent  in  Maury  county  and 
never  possesses  its  characteristic  features  there.  Similar 
criticism  might  be  offered  to  the  names  Hardin  sandstone, 
Camden  chert  and  Linden  limestone.  These  are  small 
matters,  however,  when  the  general  excellence  of  the  work 
is  considered  and  the  extremely  important  place  which  it 
occupies  in  the  educational  system  of  the  State.  Special 
attention  is  paid  to  economic  geology  9.nd  the  varied 
resources  of  the  State  are  briefly  but  clearly  described. 
The  wide  dissemination  of  the  rudiments  of  the  science 
which  the  use  of  this  book  in  the  schools  must  secure  will 
be  an  important  factor  in  the  industrial  development  of  the 
entire  region. 

A  History  of  Alabama  for  Use  in  Schools,  based 
as  to  its  earlier  parts,  on  the  work  of  Albert  J.  Pickett. 
By  William  Garrott  Broun.  New  York  and  New  Orleans : 
University  Publishing  Company. 

This  is  a  book  of  over  three  hundred  pages,  besides  an 
appendix  which  contains  the  physical  geography  and 
natural  divisions  of  Alabama,  by  Eugene  Allen  Smith,  Ph. 
D.,  Professor  of  Geology,  University  of  Alabama ;  a  list  of 
the  counties  in  the  State,  showing  county  seats,  when  laid 
out,  and  population ;  list  of  all  the  governors  and  lieuten- 
ant governors  and  other  State  officers,  representatives  in 
United  States  Congress  and  in  the  Confederate  Congress, 
and  the  Constitution  adopted  in  1875.    It  gives  an  inter- 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  241 

esting  account  of  the  Spanish  invasion,  the  settlement  by 
the  French,  the  Crozart  experiment  and  the  John  Law 
scheme.  The  English  settlement  and  rule,  and  McGil- 
Uvray  resolution  and  concurrent  events  are  told  in  a  plain, 
brief  manner  up  to  the  establishment  of  the  Mississippi 
Territory.  The  Creek  War,  Gen.  Jackson's  campaigfns, 
and  the  admission  of  the  territory  as  a  State  into  the 
Union  follow  in  an  interesting  narrative. 

The  leading  features  of  the  administrations  of  all  the 
governors,  from  Bibb  to  Johnston,  are  plainly  set  out,  and 
the  war  period  is  treated  in  a  fair  and  terse  manner,  in- 
cluding also  the  period  of  reconstruction. 

The  typography,  illustrations  and  binding  are  very 
creditable. 

The  book  forms  a  valuable  addition  to  the  State  His- 
tory Series. 

The  author  is  a  native  of  Alabama,  but  has  for  some 
years  been  connected  with  the  library  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity.— M.  J.  W. 

A  History  of  Georgia  for  the  Use  of  Schools.  By 
Lawton  B.  Evans.  New  York  and  New  Orleans:  Uni- 
versity Publishing  Company,  1900. 

This  is  one  of  the  very  interesting  and  valuable  numbers 
of  the  State  History  Series  published  by  this  company. 
The  history  proper  is  divided  into  eight  epochs,  to  .wit : 
I.  Georgia  before  English  colonization,  2.  Under  Trus- 
tees, 3.  Under  the  royal  governors,  4.  An  independent 
State,  1776-1789,  5.  In  the  Federal  Union,  6.  In  the  Con- 
federate States,  7.  Reconstruction,  8.  Again  in  the  Union. 
It  is  illustrated  with  well  executed  portraits  of  the  lead- 
ing men  in  the  State  during  all  of  the  eight  epochs,  in 
both  military  and  civil  life.  The  narration  is  in  plain, 
simple  language,  adapted  for  young  students,  and  is  writ- 
ten in  a  very  entertaining  style.  An  appenHix  of  56  pages 
contains  the  topography  of  the  State,  the  cession  of  lands 


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242  Southern  History  Association. 

by  Indians  and  a  list  of  counties  in  the  State,  giving  the 
name  of  person  or  object  for  whom  named,  the  name  of 
the  county  seat,  when  laid  out,  and  population.  It  also 
contains  the  Constitution  adopted  in  1877  and  list  of 
names  of  all  the  governors,  colonial,  provincial,  pro- 
visional and  State. 

We  have  received  from  the  University  Publishing  Com- 
pany, of  New  York  and  New  Orleans,  a  copy  of  Maury's 
Elementary  Geography  (revised).  This  is  one  of  the 
scries  of  geographies  prepared  by  that  learned  and 
eminent  man  Matthew  Fontaine  Maury.  Nothing  in 
the  line  of  geographies  has  achieved  the  reputation 
with  scientific  and  scholarly  men  as  has  this  series. 
The  series  consists  of  Maury's  Manual  of  Geography, 
Elementary  Geography,  Physical  Geography,  First  lessons 
in  geography.  The  world  we  live  in,  and  the  wall  maps, 
altogether  making  the  most  useful  and  comprehensive 
work  on  geography  which  has  ever  been  published. 

A  Bibliography  of  Mississippi.  By  Thomas  Mc- 
Adory  Owen,  A.  M.,  LL.  B.  Report  of  American  His- 
torical Association  for  1899,  Washington,  1900,  O.  pp.  633- 
828. 

This  Bibliogfraphy  of  Mississippi  while  not  so  extensive 
as  far  as  mere  titles  go,  is  even  more  complete  than 
that  of  Alabama,  compiled  by  Mr.  Owen,  published  in 
1897  by  the  American  Historical  Association.  This,  like 
the  earlier  one,  is  arranged,  so  far  as  possible,  under  au- 
thors, all  of  the  publications  of  one  author  being  brought 
together  whether  they  are  historical  or  not.  When  pos- 
sible titles  are  gpiven  in  full  with  uprights,  and  accom- 
panied by  full  collations,  historical,  literary  and  critical 
notes,  and  in  many  cases  with  reference  to  the  libraries 
where  copies  may  be  seen.    In  this  connection  the  libra- 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  243 

ries  of  Mr.  Owen,  of  Dr.  Geo.  W.  Hamner  and  of  Con- 
gress are  most  frequently  mentioned.  The  compiler  has 
treated  his  subject  in  a  liberal  spirit,  including  such  titles 
as  Field's  Essay  toward  an  Indian  Bibliogfraphy  and 
Morse's  Gazetteer,  while  it  is  particularly  full  under  such 
titles  as  Codes,  Conventions,  Laws,  Supreme  Court,  Edu- 
cation, Indians,  maps,  the  various  railroads,  Baptist  and 
Presb)rterian  churches.  State  offices,  Romans,  Shipp, 
Pickett  and  Jefferson  Davis. 

The  work  is  made  still  more  valuable  by  cross-indexing 
under  general  subject  heads.  It  is  thus  made  possible 
to  survey  in  one  alphabet  the  whole  literature  of  Missis- 
sippi both  by  subjects  and  authors. 

An  Addr^s  delivered  at  the  Unveiling  of  the 
Henry  County  Coni^ederate  Monument,  Paris,  Ten- 
nessee, Saturday,  October  13,  1900.  By  Ex-Governor 
James  D.  Porterw 

This  is  the  title  of  a  24  page  pamphlet,  illustrated  by  a 
picture  of  the  Governor  and  containing  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  military  organizations  and  of  many  of  the 
soldiers  furnished  by  Henry  county  to  the  Confederate 
Army.  No  county  had  a  more  brilliant  record  in  cam- 
paigns which  have  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  any  other 
country.  The  Governor  says:  "The  Army  of  Tennessee 
killed. and  disabled  more  men  of  Sherman's  army  than 
we  had  on  our  muster  rolls,  yet  Sherman  was  stronger 
in  numbers  when  he  moved  against  Rocky  Face  Ridge, 
100  days  before  that  date,  after  fighting  a  battle  almost 
every  day."  It  is  a  matter  of  just  complaint  against  the 
South  that  from  Revolutionary  days  to  the  present  time 
great  achievements  on  the  field  have  been  left  without 
chronicle.  To  have  done  them  satisfied  the  heroes  and 
their  descendants.  Other  people  have  taken  care  of  the 
fame  of  soldiers  and  sailors  and  left  no  act  without  due 
and  careful  and  eulogistic  mention.    This  address  shows 


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244  Southern  History  Association. 

what  can  and  should  be  written  of  our  Southern  braves. 
Fortunately,  Gov.  Porter  was  a  conspicuous  actor  in  much 
of  what  he  recites,  and  knew  and  admired  the  officers  and 
privates  whose  memories  he  seeks  to  preserve  by  pen  as 
well  as  by  bronze  and  marble.  Cheetham,  Forrest  and 
others  from  Shiloh  to  Johnston's  surrender  in  North 
Carolina  were  his  companions.  Writers  on  both  sides 
have  drawn  freely  on  his  minute  and  full  memory  for 
what  he  saw  and  shared  in,  and  his  comrades  feel  that 
instead  of  a  short  address  like  this  he  should  give  his 
countrymen  a  full  account  of  what  he  witnessed  and  won. 

GamiitEl's  Reprint  of  the  Laws  of  Texas,  as  first  an- 
nounced more  than  three  years  ago,  is  now  complete. 
The  tenth  and  last  volume  contains  the  work  of  the  22nd, 
23rd,  24th  and  25th  Legislatures,  of  the  laws  general  and 
special  of  the  Hogg  and  Culberson  administrations.  This 
period  marks  the  rise  and  culmination  of  the  first  fierce 
struggle  in  Texas  between  corporate  power  and  popular 
rights.  Some  of  the  fruits  of  the  victory  for  the  people 
under  the  leadership  of  Hogg  were  the  Railroad  Commis- 
sion and  the  law  regulating  the  issuance  of  stocks  and 
bonds  by  the  railroads. 

Besides  these  there  were  other  important  acts  of  the 
Hogg  administration,  such  as  the  creation  of  a  Commis- 
sion of  Appeals,  the  establishment  of  a  Confederate  Home 
and  the  Alien  Land  Law. 

In  general,  Hogg's  policy  was  continued  under  Cul- 
berson, the  previous  laws  regulating  corporations  not  be- 
ing disturbed. 

Among  the  acts  of  the  24th  Legislature  was  one  making 
it  a  penal  offense  to  sow  Johnson  grass  on  another  per- 
son's land.  An  interesting  concurrent  resolution  granted 
John  B.  Hood  Camp  of  Confederate  Veterans  the  right  to 
place  in  the  Capitol  grounds  a  monument  to  the  Confed- 
erate dead. 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  245 

The  following  were  some  of  the  acts  of  the  25th  Legis- 
lature :  One  for  the  establishment  of  a  public  park  on  the 
site  of  the  battlefield  of  San  Jacinto;  one  to  set  apart 
lands  for  the  permanent  endowment  fund  for  the  Branch 
University  for  the  colored  people  of  this  State ;  a  concur- 
rent resolution  granted  to  the  Association  of  Terry's 
Texas  Rangers  the  right  to  place  in  the  Capitol  grounds 
a  monument  to  their  heroic  dead,  and  a  joint  resolution 
submitted  to  the  people  a  constitutional  amendment  au- 
thorizing State  pensions  to  disabled  and  dependent  ex- 
Confederate  soldiers  and  sailors. 

This  last  volume  of  Gammei^'s  Reprint  of  the  Laws  of 
Texas  brings  the  Legislation  down  to  the  year  1897.  The 
first  volume  began  with  the  Austin  colonial  document  of 
1822,  and  also  brought  out  many  other  important  politi- 
cal papers  rarely  seen  in  print.  Gammel  has  redeemed 
his  pledge  made  at  the  outset  of  his  undertaking.  For  his 
monumental  work  as  first  outlined  by  him  is  before  the 
public.  And  it  now  only  remains  to  say  that  an  index 
volume  is  in  course  of  preparation  by  an  expert.  This  will 
add  immensely  to  the  value  of  the  work,  which  is  steadily 
winning  recognition  in  our  highest  courts  while  making 
its  way  into  the  various  departments  of  the  State  govern- 
ment. 

Volume  III  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Texas  Academy 
of  Science,  for  1899,  (Austin,  Texas,  October,  1900,  paper, 
large,  8  vo.  pp.  308)  is  practically  an  F.  W.  Simonds  issue, 
as  he  takes  up  14  pages  with  his  annual  address  as  Presi- 
dent and  265  pages  with  his  "Record  of  Geology  of  Texas, 
1887-1896,"  the  remaining  space  being  gpiven  to  title  pages, 
index  and  lists  of  members.  The  whole  is  a  well  printed, 
handsome  product,  and  it  is  the  highest  tribute  to  the  com- 
munity that  such  fine  scientific  work  can  find  the  support 
of  some  150  adherents  of  the  organization.  Dr.  Simonds 
is  professor  of  geology  in  the  State  University,  and  his 


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246  Southern  History  Association, 

bibliography  of  466  titles  supplements  that  of  Mr.  Robert 
T.  Hill,  made  in  1887.  Mr.  Hill  has  been  unusually  pro- 
lific since  then  as  his  labors  furnish  some  32  pages  for  Mr. 
Simonds,  covering  titles  196-250. 

The  papers  in  the  Report  of  the  American  Historical 
Association  for  1899  (Washington.  Government  Printing 
Office.  1900.  O.  Vol.  I,  pp.  xii+871 ;  Vol.  2,  pp.  1218) 
of  most  value  to  Southern  students  are  Bibliography  of 
Mississippi,  compiled  by  Thomas  M.  Owen,  and  the  cor- 
respondence of  John  C.  Calhoun,  collected  and  edited  by 
Prof.  J.  Franklin  Jameson.  The  Calhoun  Letters  were  no- 
ticed in  the  previous  issue,  March,  pp.  159-163  of  Volume 
V  of  these  Pubucations  ;  the  Owen  bibliography  on  pp. 
242-243  of  this  number. 

Besides  the  report  of  the  Boston  meeting  of  1899  and  the 
address  of  President  James  Ford  Rhodes,  there  is  a  paper 
on  Removal  of  Officials  by  the  Presidents  of  the  United 
States,  by  Carl  Russel  Pish,  with  tables  of  removals. 
Frank  Hayden  Miller  discusses  Legal  Qualifications  for 
Office  in  America,  both  in  the  Colonial  and  State  periods. 
Prof.  Edward  G.  Bourne  treats  the  Proposed  Absoption  of 
Mexico  in  1847-8,  while  Dr.  Bernard  C.  Steiner  contributes 
a  long  chapter  on  the  Restoration  of  the  Proprietary  of 
Maryland  and  the  Legislation  against  the  Roman  Catholics 
during  the  Governorship  of  Capt.  John  Hart  (1714-1720). 
Hart  seems  to  have  been  a  man  far  in  advance  of  his  day 
as  far  as  political  liberty  is  concerned,  but  he  suffered 
continual  interruptions  and  irritations  from  the  Catholic 
party  of  which  Charles  Carroll  was  the  head. 

Dr.  Walter  F.  Prince  examines  the  First  Criminal  Code 
of  Virginia,  generally  known  as  Dale's  Code.  He  believes 
it  more  severe  than  were  contemporary  laws  in  England, 
and  that  it  violated  the  charter.  The  Code  is  three  fold 
in  its  division,  "Articles,  Laws  and  Orders — Divine,  Po- 
litique and  Martlall.''    It  has  been  claimed  that  they  were 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  247 

of  Dutch  origin,  but  this  writer  says  there  is  "little  or  no 
proof  that  they  were  "translated  or  even  derived  from  the 
Dutch  models."  He  believes  that  Dale  and  Gates  are  re- 
sponsible for  them  and  not  Sir  Thomas  Sriiythe,  against 
whom  they  are  usually  charged. 

Dr.  O.  G.  Libby  finds  that  Gordon  in  his  History  of  the 
American  Revolution  borrowed  without  stint  and  without 
acknowledgment  from  the  Annual  Register.  There  are  a 
number  of  papers  dealing  with  various  phases  of  European 
history  and  colonial  policy,  and  one  by  James  IngersoU 
Wyer  on  the  Study  and  Teaching  of  History  with  an  ex- 
tensive bibliography. 

The  Fifth  General  American  Tyler  Family  Gathering 
on  September  12,  1900,  at  Philadelphia,  must  have  been  a 
successful  and  enjoyable  occasion.  There  were  represent- 
atives of  the  clan  from  nine  States.  There  was  a  good 
dinner  and  entertaining  toasts  and  speeches.  Especially 
bright  and  instructive  for  investigfators  in  English  libraries 
and  depositories  was  the  description  of  his  English  trip  for 
genealogical  research,  by  the  Secretary,  W.  I.  Tyler  Brig- 
ham.  This  paper,  some  of  the  addresses,  account  of  the 
meeting;  Tyler  weddings,  deaths,  notices  and  Tyler  infor- 
mation generally,  are  all  included  in  the  Report  by  Mr. 
Brigham  (paper,  8vo.,  pp.  38,  steel  portrait,  illus.)  The 
President  for  next  year  is  Prof.  Charles  M.  Tyler,  Ithaca, 
N.  Y. 

President  W.  H.  Council,  of  the  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical College,  for  Negroes,  at  Normal,  Ala.,  in  the'22d 
annual  of  the  Chattanooga  Tradesman,  Jan.  i,  1901,  has 
words  of  the  wisest  advice  to  his  race  in  trying  to  point  out 
what  seem  to  be  the  best  lines  of  progress  for  them.  With 
rare  common  sense  and  moderation  he  realizes  the  hard 
conditions  that  environment  and  ethnic  prejudice  have  put 
on  this  people,  and  he  urges  that  they  follow  the  "lines 
of  least  resistance,"  which  he  finds  to  be  "agriculture  and 


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248  Southern  History  Association. 

personal  service."  In  these  two  paths  they  are  successful 
and  steadily  growing  more  so,  as  President  Council  shows 
by  facts  and  figures. 

Colonel  J.  B.  Killebrew,  of  Nashville,  has  reprinted, 
from  Manufacturers'  Record,  in  leaflet  form  (7  pages, 
8vo.)  his  strong,  vigorous  summary  of  the  material 
features  of  the  South.  His  buoyant  tone  is  indicated  by 
one  quotation :  "Traversed  by  some  of  the  grandest  rivers 
on  earth  and  washed  by  the  waves  of  the  greatest  oceans ; 
occupying  the  most  temperate  portions  of  the  temperate 
zone ;  in  that  latitude  where  man  has  reached  in  all  ages 
the  highest  civilization,  the  Southern  land  may  well  chal- 
lenge every  other  on  this  old  earth  of  ours  in  a  contest  for 
supremacy  in  material  magnificence." 

A  new  literary  venture  for  the  South  is  The  Bookworm 
Birmingham,  Ala.,  monthly,  $1.00,  yearly),  devoted  to  re- 
views and  notices.  The  February  number,  42  pages, 
claims  a  paid  circulation  of  1,000  copies,  which  is  a  most 
hopeful  beginning. 

Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  New  York,  ask  subscriptions 
for  a  new  edition  of  the  writings  of  Colonel  William  Byrd, 
of  Westover,  Va.,  to  be  edited  by  Professor  J.  S.  Bassett, 
in  one  handsome  volume,  about  400  pages,  with*  illustra- 
tions, at  $10.00.  Byrd,  as  well  known,  was  one  of  the 
most  cultivated  men  of  his  day.  His  manuscripts  were 
printed  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  but  are  not  now  to 
be  found  on  the  market. 

Mr.  M.  DeL.  Haywood,  Raleigh,  N.  C,  has  in  prepara- 
tion the  life  of  William  Tryon,  a  Colonial  Governor  of 
North  Carolina. 

Periodicai.  Literature. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  papers  in  the  Virginia  Mag- 
azine ot  History  and  Biography  for  January,  1901 
(Richmond,  Va.),  is  the  will  of  Mrs.  Mary  Hewes,  the 
mother  of  Mary  Ball,  who  was  the  mother  of  George 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  249 

Washington.  From  the  terms  ift  this  instrument,  little 
Mary,  then  only  thirteen  years  old,  seems  to  have  been  a 
favorite  child  of  her  mother,  who  left  her  negroes,  furni- 
ture and  several  riding  horses.  She  afterwards  received 
land  from  her  half-brother,  in  addition  to  what  Tiad  come 
to  her  from  her  father. 

The  letters  of  a  Massachusetts  loyalist,  Harrison  Gray, 
from  1760  to  177s,  are  chiefly  filled  with  personal  items, 
but  some  of  his  references  to  our  struggle  g^ve  us  an  in- 
sight into  the  views  of  the  other  side.  He  mentions  "the 
battle  of  Charlestown,  where  the  British  army  attained  a 
complete  victory  over  the  Rebels.*'  Then  after  reaching 
England,  he  writes  on  Oct.  6, 1775,  how  much  the  deluded 
Americans  are  to  be  pitied  as  there  is  no  hope  for  them 
since  the  English  were  all  determined  to  push  the  war  vig- 
orously. 

The  first  Bank  of  the  United  States,  established  in  1791, 
had  many  supporters  in  Virginia,  if  we  are  to  judge  from 
the  petitions  sent  up  from  several  towns  to  have  branches 
operated.  Richmond,  Alexandria  and  Norfolk  all  urged 
arguments  to  show  their  advantages  for  such  a  fiscal 
agency,  and  the  original  documents  with  autograph  signa- 
tures are  here  reprinted.  It  is  not  likely  that  they  were 
successful  in  their  appeals.  ^ 

A  most  entertaining  sketch  is  that  of  General  Joseph 
Martin,  by  his  son,  William  Martin,  in  the  April  issue. 
Dr.  S.  B.  Weeks  made  use  of  this  narrative  in  his  study  of 
Martin's  career,  but  it  is  highly  worthy  of  appearing  in 
full. 

Through  the  aid  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  a  list  of 
the  Virginia  newspapers  in  that  institution  is  given  with 
annotations,  and  it  is  the  intention  to  follow  this  with  an- 
other of  Virginia  papers  in  all  public  receptacles  so  far  as 
can  be  learned. 

There  is  a  very  exhaustive  and  caustic  criticism  of  Eg- 
gleston's  Transit  of  Civilization  to  America  in  the  17th 


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250  Southern  History  Association. 

Century.  He  is  shaq)ly  arraigned  for  his  positive  state- 
ments on  matters  that  he  showed  "a  lack  of  proper  in- 
formation" about,  in  fact  that  he  could  know  almost 
nothing  about  unless  he  painfully  went  through  the  mass 
of  manuscript  records  in  Virginia,  as  but  little  of  them  are 
in  print.  A  writer  on  the  life  of  a  people,  even  tho'  they 
are  a  colony  of  only  a  few  thousands,  needs  an  infinity  of 
details  at  his  command.  These,  the  reviewer  seems  to 
think,  Mr.  Eggleston  did  not  have  a  sufiiciency  of  for  his 
ambitious  purpose.  Yet  he  admits  the  volume  is  "full  of 
interest  and  information." 

In  both  of  these  numbers  several  serial  articles  are 
found;  "Nicholson  and  Blair,"  "House  of  Burgesses," 
"Council  and  General  Court  Records,"  ^'Virginia  in  1635," 
the  event  being  the  deposing  of  Governor  Harvey.  The 
genealogy  includes  the  Throckmorton,  Adams,  Fitzhugh, 
Green,  Eskridge,  Towles,  Robards  and  Farrar  families. 

The  Society  has  just  done  a  most  commendable  thing 
in  getting  out  a  supplement  entitled  a  Catalogue  of  its 
manuscripts,  making  120  pages,  which  note  some  printed 
sources  also.    It  is  for  sale  at  $1.00. 

Not  even  the  cold  formality  of  bills,  returns,  muster  rolls 
and  other  official  papers  of  the  First  Council  of  Safety 
of  the  Revolutionary  Party  of  South  Carolina,  continued 
in  January  (1901)  issue  of  the  South  Carolina  Histori- 
cal AND  Genealogical  Magazine  (Charleston,  S.  C), 
could  keep  out  obtrusive  human  nature  in  search  of  ofiice. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  application  for  appointment  in  our 
war  with  Spain  quite  came  up  to  the  praise,  pathos  and 
patriotism  of  David  Gould  in  his  letter  of  Sept.  27,  1775. 
His  high-flown  style  is  indicated  in  one  of  his  closing  par- 
agfraphs : 

"Now,  Gentlemen:  If  on  perusing  this  Paper  you 
shou'd  think  proper  in  any  manner  to  honour  me  with 
your  commands,  I  shall  endeavour  to  evince  my  gratitude 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  251 

by  discharging  any  trust  reposed  in  me  to  the  best  of  my 
abilities  and  with  the  utmost  integrity."  There  is  almost 
unconscious  humor  in  a  foot  note  giving  the  record  of  a 
David  Gould  as  surgeon,  in  the  list  of  Continental  officers, 
from  1777  to  1781. 

These  papers  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  and  the  dis- 
patches of  John  Laurens  on  his  mission  to  Europe  during 
our  revolutionary  war,  are  continued  in  the  April  number 
of  the  magazine.  A  genealogy  by  the  editor,  Mr.  A.  S. 
Salley,  Jr.,  appears  in  each  of  these  two  issues:  "Barn- 
well of  South  Carolina^'  in  January,  and  "Col.  Miles  Brew- 
ton  and  some  of  his  Descendants"  in  April. 

According  to  an  article  in  the  Wiluam  and  Mary 
College  Quarterly  for  January,  1901,  Virginia  has 
nourished  in  each  of  the  three  last  centuries  a  great  poet: 
in  the  17th,  Sandys  who  translated  Ovid  at  Jamestown ;  in 
the  i8th,  Goronwy  Owen,  who  wrote  such  extraordinary 
poetry  in  Welsh ;  and  in  the  19th,  Poe.  Owen  was  a  native 
of  Wales  and  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1758  to  be  master  of 
the  William  and  Mary  grammar  school,  tempted  by  the 
salary  of  two  hundred  pounds  sterling.  His  merry  habits 
prevented  him  from  holding  the  place  longer  than  two 
years.  He  then  served  a  frontier  parish  as  minister  till  his 
death  in  1770.  An  edition  of  his  poetry  appeared  in  1763 
and  several  more  in  the  last  century,  after  the  revival  in 
Welsh  literature.  Rev.  Robert  Jones  issuing  the  completest, 
with  life,  in  1876.  He  is  said  to  have  been  "a  perfect 
master  of  the  Welsh  language  and  Welsh  metres."  A 
sketch  of  the  Alabama  branch  of  his  offspring  is  appended, , 
coming  down  to  the  present,  taken  from  the  Columbia 
(March  10,  1892,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.)  written  by  Dr.  W. 
G.  Owens.  But  little  is  known  of  the  poet  Owen,  and  Pres- 
ident Tyler,  in  hopes  of  calling  forth  other  facts,  prints 
some  extracts,  not  entirely  complimentary  to  Owen's  be- 


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252  Southern  History  Association. 

havior  from  parish  and  county  records,  including  the  will 
and  inventory.    The  last  shows  a  few  books. 

According  to  another  article,  a  French  artist,  St.  Memin, 
diu-ing  the  years  1805-1808,  made  portraits  of  some  two 
hundred  Virginians,  including  Jefferson,  Lewis  and  many 
other  leading  public  men.  He  also  worked  in  other  parts 
of  America,  and  his  collection  mounted  up  to  800.  For- 
tunately he  kept  copies  of  each  of  them,  and  to-day  two 
sets  are  known  to  be  in  existence,  that  of  Hampton  L. 
Carson,  in  Philadelphia,  and  that  in  the  Corcoran  Art  Gal- 
lery, in  Washington. 

The  April  number  contains  a  most  stirring  tale  of  ad- 
venture, realistic  and  true,  the  account  of  two  events  of 
great  importance  in  early  Colonial  Virginia;  a  terribly 
bloody  fight  in  1620  between  an  English  boat  and  two 
Spanish  men-of-war  in  the  West  Indies,  resulting  as  usual 
down  to  Santiago,  in  a  thorough  walloping  of  the  Latins ; 
and  the  Indian  massacre  of  1622.  Originally,  the  narra- 
tive of  both  occurrences  appeared  in  English  and  in  Dutch. 
The  source  for  this  story  is  a  Dutch  pamphlet  printed  at 
Leyden  in  1707,  and  translated  for  the  Quarterly  by  Pro- 
fessor Charles  E.  Bishop,  of  William  and  Mary  College. 

Another  article  carefully  traces  out  the  history  of  the 
name  of  the  g^rowing  city  of  Newport  News.  The  evi- 
dence seems  clear  that  it  came  from  Sir  William  Newce, 
an  English  soldier  of  means  and  enterprise,  who  had  al- 
ready founded  a  port,  Newce's,  in  Ireland.  It  was  easy  to 
pass  to  "Port  Newce,"  then  only  natural  that  a  second 
town  should  be  "New  Port  Newce,"  which  soon  wears 
down  to  present  form. 

Some  letters  copied  from  the  library  of  the  Bishop  of 
London,  at  Fullham,  throw  light  on  Virgfinia  life  and  edu- 
cation in  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Colonial  patents  (James  City  and  Charles  City  Coun- 
ties) genealogy,  notes,  reviews,  make  up  the  balance  of 
these  two  numbers.     An  evidence  of  literary  culture  in 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  253 

colonial  times  is  the  inventory  of  Rev.  William   Key's 
books,  showing  a  couple  of  hundred  volumes  or  so. 

Nearly  half  of  the  January  (1901)  issue  of  The  Ameri- 
can Historical  Magazine  (quarterly,  by  Peabody  Nor- 
mal College,  Nashville,  Tenn.)  is  devoted  to  "The  records 
of  Washington  County,"  one  of  the  first  judicial  units  in 
the  State  of  Tennessee. 

Some  light  on  Indian  troubles  in  Tennessee  during 
revolutionary  times  is  seen  in  "A  Memoir  of  John  Sevier," 
written  in  1839  for  Lyman  C.  Draper  by  James  Sevier,  a 
son  of  John  Sevier.  The  original  is  presumably  in  pos- 
session of  Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  but  a  copy  was 
some  years  ago  furnished  to  the  Tennessee  Historical  So- 
ciety, from  whence  the  Magazine  obtained  this. 

A  pamphlet  by  W.  R.  Garrett,  in  1884,  discussing  the 
Northern  boundary  of  Tennessee,  is  reprinted,  with  slight 
revisions. 

An  essay  on  George  Rogers  Clark  and  Kentucky 
pioneers,  by  General  Gates  P.  Thruston,  extract  of  a 
statute  from  Martin's  Private  Acts  of  North  Carolina,  Ku 
Klux  Cypher,  and  editorial  notes,  complete  this  number. 

In  the  April  issue  we  have  more  Indian  history  in  the 
"Letters  from  General  Coffee"  in  the  years  1813-1816,  in- 
terspersed with  interesting  fragments  describing  the  oper- 
ations against  the  British  around  New  Orleans  in  1815. 
The  correspondence  closes  with  one  letter  in  1832,  ex- 
pressing the  general  belief  then,  in  Washingfton,  that  "nul- 
lification will  go  down  to  rest,  never  again  to  raise  its 
head/' 

The  Washingfton  county  records  are  continued  and  an- 
other essay  appears,  "Freedom's  namesake,"  by  John  M. 
Gaut,  who  ranges  through  the  past  back  to  the  birth  of 
Christ  to  show  the  significance  of  the  name  "Cumberland" 
applied  to  river  and  mountain  in  Tennessee. 

More  than  half  of  the  pages  are  a  reprint  of  Dr.  W.  R« 


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254  Sauthern  History  Association. 

Garrett's  nine  articles  in  the  Sunday  editions  of  the  Jour- 
nal and  Tribune  (Knoxville,  Tenn.)  from  January  27  to 
March  17th,  1901,  in  answer  to  criticisms  by  A.  B,  Wil- 
son on  a  History  of  Tennessee  by  Garrett  and  Goodpas- 
ture. Dr.  Garrett  seems  thoroughly  at  home,  and  mar- 
shals his  authorities  with  ease  and  effectiveness,  but  a  large 
part  of  it  is  a  waste  of  valuable  space  because  some  of  the 
discussion  deals  with  the  author's  attitude,  his  emphasis, 
his  sense  of  proportion,  matters  almost  necessarily  from 
the  nature  of  things  dependent  on  the  writer's  person- 
ality. Cross-firing  on  the  questions  of  fact  and  of  credi- 
bility of  sources  of  information  may  bring  out  results  of 
incalculable  value.  On  these  Dr.  Garrett  impresses  as 
sure  of  his  position.  Further  than  this  no  historian  ought 
to  trouble  himself  to  go. 

The  Quarterly  of  the  Texas  Historical  Association  for 
January,  1901,  has  a  continuation  of  the  highly  interesting 
"Reminiscences"  of  Mrs.  D.  Harris,  covering  period  1835- 
1837,  the  larger  part  detailing  the  experiences  of  her  fam- 
ily's flight  from  home  upon  the  Mexican  invasion  after  the 
fall  of  the  Alamo.  The  editorial  sub-heads  containing 
dates,  also,  are  a  g^reat  aid  to  the  reader  in  such  a  narra- 
tive. 

Eugene  C.  Barker  sets  forth  the  "Difficulties  of  a  Mexi- 
can Revenue  Officer,"  one  Captain  Antonio  Tenario,  who 
was  sent  in  1835  to  Anahuac  to  re-establish  the  custom 
house  there.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  some  char- 
acter put  in  a  most  trying  position,  and  perhaps  secretly 
sympathized  with  the  American  settlers  in  their  opposition 
to  the  tariff.  At  any  rate  he  made  no  great  objection  when 
Travis  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  thus  furnishing 
the  Mexican  commander  a  good  excuse  to  leave. 

From  his  own  experience,  old  associates,  and  from  a 
local  printed  source,  W.  D.  Wood  g^ves  a  "Sketch"  of 
Leon  county,  including  in  it  a  very  interesting  description 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  255 

of  the  simplicity  of  those  former  days,  and  paying  a  high 
tribute  to  the  worth  and  work  of  the  preacher. 

Considering  it  as  a  link  in  the  chain  of  aggfressive  move- 
ments by  Americans  against  Spanish  rule  on  this  con- 
tinent, W.  F.  McCaleb  narrates  "The  first  period  of  the 
Guiterrez-Magee  Expedition,"  a  filibuster  headed  by  a 
Mexican  and  an  American  in  1812  against  Spanish  author- 
ity in  Texas.  This  action  was  one  of  a  series  composed  of 
the  "Kemper  raid,  the  Miranda  Expedition,  the  Aaron 
Burr  Conspiracy,  and  the  overwhelming  of  West  Florida." 
We  are  not  carried  farther  in  this  paper  than  the  issuing 
of  the  manifestoes  on  Sept.  i,  1812,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  Mr.  M'Caleb  will  continue  the  story  that  he  has 
started  so  well. 

A  new  and  most  valuable  feature  is  added  to  the  Con- 
federate Veteran,  the  portrayal  of  the  devotion  and  in- 
tegrity of  the  Negro  during  the  Civil  War.  Some  most 
beautiful  and  touching  instances  have  already  been  de- 
scribed in  the  pages  of  the  magazine,  and  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  no  vein  will  yield  more  valuable  ore  for  the  future 
historian  and  man  of  letters  to  work  over.  In  the  Febru- 
ary number  notice  was  given  of  an  amendment  to  the 
constitution  to  be  offered  at  the  meeting  in  Memphis  to 
the  effect  that  no  one  shall  be  invited  to  attend  Confeder- 
ate reunions  except  Confederates.  This  proposal  is  the 
result  of  the  agitation  that  arose  over  the  invitation  ex- 
tended to  President  McKinley  to  attend  the  annual  gath- 
ering at  Memphis,  May  28-30.  The  March  issue  has  very 
interesting  reminiscences  of  Forrest  by  Otey,  a  reprint  of 
President  Davis's  address  at  a  meeting  of  the  Southern 
Historical  Society  in  New  Orleans,  and  notice  of  the 
movement  to  erect  a  monument  to  Lizzie  Rutherford  Ellis, 
who  is  claimed  to  be  the  first  to  propose  a  memorial  day 
for  the  South.  If  possible  the  personal  incidents  and 
anecdotes  of  the  war  are  more  valuable  and  entertaining 
than  usually.  « 


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256  Southern  History  Association. 

A  most  readable  article  is  the  account  of  a  visit  to 
Roanoke  Island  by  Rev.  T.  N.  Ivey,  in  the  M^hodist 
Review  for  January,  1901  (Nashville,  Tenn.),  under  the 
heading,  "Where  the  English  First  Settled  in  America." 
It  is  a  vivid  description,  mingled  with  a  thread  of  lively 
narrative.  In  the  next  issue  of  the  magazine  (March),  we 
have  Mr.  S.  A.  Link's  "Fiction  Writers  of  the  South,"  a 
rapid  summary  of  names  and  titles,  like  many  others  that 
have  appeared  of  late  years.  It  is  a  most  capital  sign  of 
the  literary  awakening  of  the  section  and  is  a  preparation 
for  a  dictionary  of  Southern  authors  that  a  scholar,  James 
Wood  Davidson,  has  been  faithfully  working  at  for  years. 
Mr.  G.  J.  Leftwich  has  an  interesting  paper  on  the  political 
conditions  in  Mississippi  in  the  forties  in  his  sketch  of  the 
career  of  Alexander  G.  M'Nutt.  Incidentally  the  biog^ra- 
phy  opens  up  the  wholesale  repudiation  that  the  State 
went  into,  showing  M'Nutt  as  Governor  to  have  been  one 
of  the  leaders,  in  fact  he  was  proud  of  the  epithet,  "the 
repudiator."  With  regard  to  many  of  the  historical  pa- 
pers in  the  Review,  it  is  to  be  reluctantly  admitted  that 
they  are  not  up  to  the  standard  of  modern  historical 
methods,  in  that  they  do  not  contain  reference  to  the 
sources  of  information.  This  would  make  them  of  far 
gfreater  value  to  the  student  and  careful  reader. 

A  strong  tribute  to  Mr.  William  L.  Wilson,  the  late 
president  of  Washington  and  Lee  University,  does  Pro- 
fessor J.  A.  Quarles  render  in  the  Sbwanee  Review  for 
January,  1901  (Sewanee,  Tenn.).  It  is^  happily  summar- 
ized :  "Take  him  all  in  all,  in  public  and  private,  in  Con- 
gress and  college,  in  richly  stored  intelligence,  in  power 
to  marshal  his  forces,  in  convincing  persuasive  influence 
upon  men,  in  attractive,  winning  personality,  in  generous 
nobility  of  spirit,  in  courage  that  marks  the  hero,  in  the 
usefulness  of  an  earnest,  high-idealed  life,  we  say — ^and  we 
can  say  no  more — ^that  he  was  worthy  to  sit  in  the  seat 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  257 

once  filled  by  Robert  E.  Lee."  F.  R.  Lassiter  has  the 
half  of  a  very  careful  scholarly  investigation,  from  the 
sources,  of  Arnold's  invasion  of  Virginia.  Professor  W. 
P.  Trent  contributes  "A  New  South  View  of  Reconstruc- 
tion," taken  from  a  lecture  he  had  delivered  at  Pough- 
keepsie  some  months  before.  In  this  instance  he  finds 
some  one  besides  the  South  to  blame.  S.  S.  P.  Patterson 
laments  the  folly  and  evils  of  the  free  silver  agitation  in 
politically  isolating  the  South  and  reviving  the  sectional 
issue.  Bishop,  in  a  review  of  Wyeth's  Life  of  Forrest, 
summarizes  the  marvelous  military  career  of  General  For- 
rest, whose  eminence  Wyeth  has  so  indelibly  fixed  for  all 
time. 

In  the  mass  of  essays,  genealogical  sketches  and  doings 
of  the  various  organizations  of  the  D.  A.  R.  in  the  first 
three  issues  of  the  American  Monthly  for  1901  (Wash- 
ingfton,  D.  C),  we  find  several  things  of  permanent  addi- 
tion to  historical  knowledge:  notably,  the  revolutionary 
diary  of  Rev.  David  Avery  in  year  1776;  the  official  report 
of  casualties,  Sept.  13,  1755,  at  Lake  George,  in  the  regi- 
ment of  Colonel  Ephraim  Williams,  who  was  the  original 
founder  of  Williams  College;  brief  notes  on  members  of 
the  "Boston  Tea  Party"  who  threw  the  tea  overboard; 
names  of  Revolutionary  soldiers  buried  at  several  places ; 
names  of  prison-ship  martyrs ;  and  names  of  Revolution- 
ary pensioners  living  in  1840  in  Alabama,  Arkansas  and 
Mississippi. 

The  American  Historical  Review  for  January  con- 
tains an  article  by  Prof.  Edward  G.  Bourne  in  which  he 
demolishes  the  legend  "How  Whitman  Saved  Oregon,*' 
which  has  grown  up  with  the  last  thirty  years.  The  story 
runs  that  Whitman  journeyed  to  the  East  during  the  win- 
ter of  1842-3,  visited  Washington  and  induced  the  Govern- 
ment to  change  its  policy  towards  Oregon  and  thus  saved 


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258  Southern  History  Association, 

that  territory  for  our  domain  instead  of  swapping  it  oflf  for 
a  cod  fishery.  Professor  Bourne  says:  "In  both  the  es« 
sentials  and  the  explanatory  details  the  story  of  how  Mar- 
cus Whitman  saved  Oregon  is  fictitious.  It  is  not  only 
without  trustworthy  contemporary  evidence,  but  is  ir- 
reconcilable with  well  established  facts/^  The  object  of 
Whitman's  trip  to  the  East  was  entirely  religious,  to  per- 
suade the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions  to  reverse  their  order  discontinuing  the  southern 
branch  of  the  Oregon  mission.  There  is  little  or  no  con- 
temporary evidence  to  show  that  Whitman  was  in  Wash- 
ington or  that  he  had  any  influence  on  the  policies  of  the 
time.  The  story  of  Whitman  originated  witK  his  col- 
league, H.  H.  Spaulding,  and  curiously  enough  has  at- 
tained its  widest  circulation  since  1885,  when  H.  H.  Ban- 
croft's History  of  Oregon  was  published  giving  a  clear  ac- 
count of  what  Whitman  actually  attempted  and  what  he 
achieved. 

The  Review  of  Reviews  for  March  has  an  illustrated 
article  by  Leonora  Beck  Ellis  on  American  Tea-Gardens, 
Actual  and  Possible,  dwelHng  especially  on  the  experiment 
at  Pinehurst,  near  Summerville,  S.  C,  by  Dr.  Charles  U. 
Shepard,  who  has  met  with  more  success  than  attended 
the  earlier  efforts  of  the  U.  S.  Government.  Other  at- 
tempts are  being  made  in  South  Carolina,  Georgia  and 
Louisiana.  Dr.  Shepard*s  tea  acreage  is  now  75  acres  and 
the  actual  cost  of  production  for  market  is  27J  cents  per 
pound,  the  cost  of  picking  being  eight  times  as  gfreat  in 
South  Carolina  as  in  Asia.  It  retails  readily  at  $1.00  per 
pound. 

The  same  number  of  the  Review  has  a  summary  of  Dr. 
George  T.  Winston's  article  published  in  the  Southern 
Workman,  of  Hampton,  Va.,  on  Industrial  Training  in  the 
South.  Dr.  Winston  declares  that  the  result  of  the  well- 
meaning  but  ignorant  efforts  of  many  philanthropists  just 


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Reviews  and  Notices.  259 

after  the  Civil  War  was  to  arouse  the  energies  of  the 
negro  in  the  direction  of  political,  religious,  social  and 
educational  rather  than  towards  industrial  achievement. 
He  urges  industrial  training,  especially  in  agriculture,  and 
advises  the  Negro  to  let  politics  alone.  The  friendly  rela- 
tions so  long  existing  between  the  two  races  in  the  South 
should  be  restored,  and  both,  he  argues,  should  be  trained 
industrially  or  the  one  will  pull  back  the  other. 

The  Lost  Cause,  organ  of  Confederate  Women's  Asso- 
ciations (Louisville,  Ky.),  have  begun  to  publish  on  the  first 
page  of  each  number  fac-similes  of  Confederate  Notes, 
with  the  aim  of  thus  reproducing  every  one  issued.  It  is 
said  that  there  are  only  three  complete  collections  of  Con- 
federate paper  money,  and  hence,  some  of  the  series  are 
worth  face  value. 

In  the  Sunday  News  (Charleston,  S.  C),  of  February 
24th  is  the  translation  of  a  chapter  from  a  German  work 
by  Mr.  Felix  Clacius,  giving  his  account  of  the  burning  of 
Columbia,  S.  C,  at  the  time  Sherman's  army  marched 
through  in  February,  1865.  Mr.  Clacius  was  a  citizen  of 
Germany,  serving  as  consul  from  Hanover,  and  his  book 
came  out  in  his  native  land  some  twenty  years  ago.  Other 
excellent  historical  articles  in  this  journal  have  appeared  as 
follows : 

On  January  ist,  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  city  of 
Charleston,  by  A.  S.  Salley,  Jr. ;  on  March  24th,  a  summary 
of  the  work  done  by  the  Irish  in  South  Carolina  since  the 
first  representative  of  the  race  landed  there  more  than  two 
centuries  ago;  and  on  March  31st,  the  narrative  of  "The 
Charleston  Ancient  Artillery  School" — ^both  these  latter 
being  from  the  pen  of  General  Edward  McCrady,  the  learn- 
ed historian  of  South  Carolina. 


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NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

The  Southern  Educational  Conference  was  organ- 
ized at  a  series  of  meetings  held  in  Salem,  N.  C,  closing 
on  April  20.  A  number  of  prominent  men  and  women 
from  both  North  and  South  were  in  attendance,  including 
Mr.  R.  C.  Ogden,  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  Dr.  Parkhurst,  Dr. 
Albert  Shaw,  Mr.  Walter  H.  Page,  Bishop  Doane  and 
others  from  New  York;  Dr.  MacAlister  and  Mr.  Julian 
Hawthorne,  of  Philadelphia;  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  from 
Washington,  and  many  representatives  from  other  points. 
There  was  a  manifest  determination  to  do  something  more 
than  talk,  and  this  feeling  crystallized  in  the  resolution  to 
appoint  an  executive  board  of  seven  members  to  be  em- 
powered to  carry  on  a  "campaigjn  of  education  for  free 
schools  for  all  the  people  by  supplying  literature  to  the 
newspaper  and  periodical  press,  by  participation  in  edu- 
cational meetings,  and  by  general  correspondence ;  and  to 
conduct  a  bureau  of  information  and  advice  on  legislative 
and  school  organization. 

"For  these  purposes  this  board  is  authorized  to  raise 
funds  and  disburse  them,  to  employ  a  secretary  or  agent, 
and  to  do  whatever  else  may  be  necessary  to  carry  out 
these  measures  and  others  that  may  from  time  to  time  be 
found  feasible  and  desirable." 

This  conference,  a  continuation  of  the  Capon  Springs 
Confel'ence,  promises  from  the  action  taken  to  be  a  per- 
manent and  useful  body.  The  general  sentiment  was  one 
of  hopefulness  and  of  united  action  for  the  improvement  of 
Southern  schools,  both  white  and  colored.  Aid  to  South- 
em  colleges  and  universities  was  emphasized  in  nearly  all 
the  papers  and  addresses,  and  one  cannot  but  hope  that 
our  institutions,  dismantled  and  crippled  by  the  war,  may 


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Notes  and  Queries,  261 

be  included  in  the  benefactions  which  have  enriched  so 
many  Northern  centres  of  learning. 

Virginia  Mourning  for  Her  Dead  is  the  descriptive 
title  given  to  a  bronze  statue  in  memory  of  the  cadets  of 
the  Virginia  Military  Institute  who  fell  in  the  battle  of 
Newmarket,  May  15,  1864.  It  is  the  work  of  an  eminent 
artist,  Sir  Moses  Ezekiel,  who  was  then  a  member  of  the 
battalion  and  took  part  in  the  engagement.  He  offers  it  as 
a  tribute  to  his  comrades.  It  is  a  somewhat  unusual  de- 
sign, representing  a  mail-clad  mourning  female  figure 
seated  upon  a  piece  of  breastwork,  her  foot  resting  upon 
a  broken  cannon  overgrown  with  ivy,  and  holding  a  re- 
versed lance  in  her  hands.  The  whole  is  of  bronze,  seven 
feet  in  height,  weighing  nearly  2,000  pounds,  and  cost  for 
casting  and  freight  charges  some  three  thousand  ddllars, 
the  labor  of  the  sculptor,  Ezekiel,  being  donated.  The 
base,  of  granite,  oval  in  shape,  a  little  over  four  feet  high 
and  three  feet  thick,  with  four  massive  metal  tablets  con- 
taining names,  is  to  be  built  as  soon  as  sufficient  funds  can 
be  raised.  The  site  for  the  monument  has  been  chosen  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Institute  grounds,  and  the  dedication 
with  appropriate  ceremonies  is  expected  to  take  place  in 
a  short  time. 

The  Confederate  Reunion  convening  at  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  May  28th,  met  in  the  largest  hall  for  such  pur- 
poses in  the  South.  Built  specially  for  the  occasion  at  a 
cost  of  nearly  $20,000,  with  a  length  of  265  feet  and  width 
of  205  feet,  it  will  have  a  seating  capacity  of  15,000,  with 
a  dance  hall  for  750  couples  and  sleeping  acconunodations 
for  800  people  underneath  the  main  floor  of  the  west  side. 

Francis  Scott  Kxy,  the  author  of  one  of  our  national 
songs,  is  remembered  as  occupying  for  a  time  a  certain 
house  in  Washington  near  the  aqueduct  bridge,  leading  to 
Arlington  Cemetery.  An  effort  is  now  being  made  to  in- 
terest the  Historic  Preservation  Society  to  take  steps  to 


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262  Southern  History  Association, 

have  the  mansion  saved  as  a  memorial  of  the  patriotic 
author. 

The  St.  Louis  Exposition  to  celebrate  the  L#ouisiana 
Purchase,  received  an  appropriation  of  five  million  dollars 
at  the  last  session  of  Congress.  The  same  body  refused  to 
vote  a  quarter  of  a  million  to  the  Charleston  Exposition 
to  be  held  this  fall  as  that  was  considered  too  local  in 
scope.  It  is  likely  though  that  the  U.  S.  Government  will 
transfer  a  part  of  its  own  exhibit  there  as  a  loan. 

/Lectures  on  Southern  History. — Prof  Ernest  A. 
Smith,  Allegheny  College,  Meadville,  Pa.,  will  deliver  a 
series  of  lectures  in  July  before  the  Chautauqua  Assembly 
Chautauqua,  N.  Y.,  on  the  social  and  industrial  develop- 
ment of  the  South  during  the  past  half  century.  It  will  be 
recalled  that  Professor  Smith's  treatment  of  Confederate 
finances — ^the  most  comprehensive  investigation  of  that 
subject  in*  print — lately  appeared  in  these  Publications. 

TiMROD  Memorial.— On  May  ist,  in  Washington 
Square,  Charleston,  S.  C,  with  appropriate  ceremonies, 
there  was  dedicated  the  monument  to  the  poet  Henry 
Timrod.  For  several  years  past  strong  efforts  have  been 
made  by  a  public  spirited  committee  in  South  Carolina  to 
raise  the  necessary  funds  for  this  testimonial,  and  it  is  a 
matter  of  sincere  gratification  that  their  labors  have  been 
successful. 

T^  Soldiers  op  1812  are  remembered  by  a  tablet  to 
their  honor,  placed  in  the  West  Point  Chapel  by  the  Em- 
pire State  Society  of  the  Daughters:  of  1812,  by  the  per- 
missioaof  Secretary  Root,  and  Colonel  Mills,  the  superin- 
teodent  of  the  Academy. 


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PUBLICATIONS 


Southern  History  Association, 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


VOLUME  I,  1897,  pp.  336,  (Out  of  Print). 


HisTORiCAi,  Sketch  of  thk  Association— Historicai.  Studies  in 
THE  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks— The  Pi*anter  of  the  Old  South, 
Richard  Malcolm  Johnston  -Two  Southern  Magazines,  Edward  Ingle 
—David  Crockett,  Marcus  J.  Wright— Bibuography  of  the  Statute 
Law  of  the  Southern  States,  Theodore  L.  Cole— John  Owen's  Jour- 
nal IN  1818— Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal  on  North  Carolina- 
Bryant  Lester  and  Descendants,  Thomas  M.  Owen— John  Brown's 
Raid,  A?:drew  Hunter— A  Bibliography  of  John  Brown,  Thomas 
Featherstonhaugh— Thomas  Lamar  and  Some  Descendants,  W.  H. 
Lamar— Huck's  Defeat,  Marcus  J.  Wright— A  Question  of  Fact,  C. 
C.  Pinckney  -  Journal  of  the  Siege  of  Savannah  in  1779,  General 
Pr6vost— a' Bibliography  of  William  Gilmore  Simms,  A.  S.  Sallcy, 
Jr.— Book  Notes— Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  II,  1898,  pp.   390,  j??,00  UNBOUND. 


Report  of  Second  Annual  Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  Sec^y, — 
Unpublished  Letters  of  Andrew  Jackson— Transfer  of  Louisiana, 
Marcus  J.  Wright— Society  of  the  Cincinnati  in  the  South,  Charles 
L.  Davis— Dismemberment  of  Virginia,  William  Baird  -Anti-Sla- 
very Sentiment  in  the  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks — Pelatiah  Webs- 
ter's Journal.  Thomas  P.  Harrison  -William  Strother  and  Des- 
cendants, Thomas  M.  Owen -Richard  Winn,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Mary- 
land's Greatest  Politician,  Edward  Ingle —Christopher  Gadsden, 
E.  I.  Reuick— Virginia  Women  and  the  Civil  War,  B.  W.  Arnold— 
Early  Southern  Institutions,  Peter  J.  Hamilton— Button  Gwin- 
nett's Commission -Richard  Malcolm  Johnston,  Edmund  Clarence 
Stedman  and  Stephen  B.  Weeks— Sir  Richard  Everard,  Marshall  De 
Lancey  Haywood— Mount  Vernon,  Alabama,  T.  H.  Ball— Monroe's 
Poverty,  Thomas  M.  Owen — Social  Affairs  in  1760— Book  Notes — 
Notes  and  Queries — Index. 


VOLUME  III,  1899,  pp.  384,   $3.00  UNBOUND. 


The  Florida  Mound-Builders,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh— Ed- 
ward MosBLEY,  James  Franklin  Shinn— Jacob  Ammonet,  of  Virginia, 
Clifton  Wood  Bransford— Some  Difficulties  of  a  Texas  Empresario, 
Lester  G.  Bugbee — The  Texan  Expedition  Against  Mier,  Thomas  J. 
Green— Personnel  of  the  North  Carolina  Convention  of  1788— 
A  Confederate  Incident,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Report  of  Third  Annual 
Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  Sec'y. — Sidney  Lanier,  George  S.  Wills 
—Nullification  Resolutions,  A.  S.  Salley— The  Renick  Family  of 
Virginia.  E.  I.  Renick— Henry  Timrod,  Henry  E.  Shepherd  and  A. 
S.  Salley— John  Brown,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh — Salisbury  (N.  C.) 
Confederate  Prison,  A.  W.  Mangum— Book  Notes— Notes  and 
Queries— Index. 


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VOLUME  IV,  1900,  pp.   J2^.  $3.00  UNBOUND. 


Washington  and  the  Constitution,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Andrew  R.  Gov  an, 
A.  S.  Salley,  Jr.— The  Revoi^utionary  War  in  N.  C— Why  the  Confed- 
eracy   HAD   NO    SOPREME  COURT— ThE  TbXAS  FRONTIER,  182O-1825,  I^CStCr 

G.  Bugbee— A  Baptist  Appeai,— Report  of  Fourth  Annual  Meeting, 
Colyer  Meriwether,  Secy^Taz  Purchase  of  Louisiana,  Daniel  R.  Goodloe— 
The  JouRNAi,  OF  Thomas  Nichoi^son— Anecdotes  of  Generai.  Winfieu) 
Scott— Congressman  Stokes  and   Pubwc  Archives— The    Southern 

PI.ANTER  OF  the  FIFTIES,  Louisa  P.  Looney— LETTER    FROM  A  REV0I,UTI0N- 

arv  Officer— Governor  Richard  Bennett,  I.  T.  Tichenor— Light  on 
the  Negro  Problem— Lee  and  the  Confederacy,  Peter  Joe  Hamilton— 
The  Battle  of  King's  Mountain— Cincinnati  Society  in  Virginia,  John 
Cropper— Some  Colonial  Ancestors  of  Johns  Hopkins,  Miles  White — 
Southern  Revolutionary  Frontier  Life,  William  Martin— John  Wright 
Stanly,  J.  D.  Whitford— The  Highlanders  in  America— Reviews  and 
Notices— Notes  AND  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  v.,  1901,  J53.00.  UNBOUND. 
No.  I.  JANUARY,  1901. 

PAOR 

History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  (Continued),  .  .  E.  A.  Smith,      i 

The  South  IN  Olden  Times, J.  L.  M.  Curry.    35 

Edward  Ireland  Renick, Gaillard  Hunt.  49 

Reviews  and  Notices, 53 

Notes  and  Queries 85 

No.  2,  MARCH,  I901. 

PAOB 

Report  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Meeting,  .  .  Colyer  Meriwether,  Sec'y.    95 
History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  (Continued),     .  E.  A.  Smith.    99 

William  Vans  Murray, Clement  Suli vane.  151 

The  Calhoun  Letters,        J.  L.  M.  Curry.  159 

Reviews  and  Notices 164 

Notes  and  Queries, 175 


EXTRA  VOLUME  I. 

INDEX  to  Meade's  Old  Churches^  Ministers  and  Families  0/  Virginia. 
By  J.  M.  Toner,  M.  D.,  8vo.,  pp.  63,  cloth  or  paper  |i.oo.  Indispensable  for 
prompt  and  ready  reference  to  the  mass  of  names  in  Meade's  two  volumes. 
Indorsed  for  accuracy  and  completeness  by  Colonel  R.  A.  Brock,  the  well- 
known  authority  on  Virginia  history. 

Address  Southern  History  Association, 

P.  O.  Box  65.  Washington,  D.  C. 


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/J'.^'»7    / 


V'i.  \  JULY,  11)01.  No.-L 


prrBrJOATTONs 


09  t&% 


Soi'TiiKRN  History  Association. 


ISSUED  BI-MONTHLY. 


OONTENl^ : 

MBSTTlir; 

MUc»  Willie.  Jr.  3CO 

-runiu 

5i4 

.^^.'li.T    APi'    V^-' •-•*■••■''- 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

PcnXiietiXD  BY  Tur  AsaocuTioK. 

iut.T,  luai. 


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OFFICERS,  1901. 


PRESIDENT: 
Dr.  J.  I^.  M.  Curry. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 
Oeaenl  M.  C.  BoTUCR.  Mr.  Thomas  Nki^son  Paok. 

General  M.  J.  Wright.  Professor  Woodrow  W1130N. 

Colonel  Gborgk  A.  Portbrpibld.       Senator  S.  Pasco. 

SECRETARY  AND  TREASURER: 
CotYKR  Mbriwbther,  Ph.  D.,  Wfl^hington,  D.  C. 

ADMINISTRATIVE  COUNCIL: 
(In  addition  to  the  above>named  Officers) : 

Professor  Kbmp  P.  Batti«s.  Stephen  B.  Weeks,  Ph.  D. 

Colonel  R.  A.  Brock.  Professor  H.  Schoenfei^d. 

Mr.  T.  L.  Coi,B.  Professor  Lucian  Johnston. 

Professor  R.  He^TH  Dabnev.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Ci«ark. 

Professor  John  R.  Picki«bn.  Mr.  Auszander' Summers. 

Professor  Chas.  LBE  Smith.  President  Geo.  T.  Winston. 

Professor  W.  C.  Stobbs.  J.  B.  K:ii.lebrew,  Ph.  D. 

PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE: 

Gen.  M.  J.  Wright.  Mr.  T.  L.  C01.E. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Ci^rk.  Dr.  Stephen  B.  Weeks. 

Mr.  John  B.  Browni^w.  Dr.  Coi^yer  Meriwether. 


Pursuant  to  a  call  signed  by  nearly  a  hundred  representative  posons  of 
the  South,  the  Southern  History  Association  was  organized  at  the  Columbian 
University,  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  evening  of  April  24,  1896,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  history  of  the  Southern  States.  In  carrying  out  this  aim 
an  annual  meeting  is  held,  and  a  Bi-monthly  Publication  issued.  The  Associ- 
ation also  desires  contributions  of  journals,  letters,  manuscripts  and  other  ma- 
terial towards  the  beginning  of  a  collection  of  historical  sources.  It  will  gladly 
accept  papers  based  on  research  and  documents  on  all  subjects  touching  the 
South. 

All  persons,  as  well  as  libraries,  interested  in  the  work  are  eligible  for 
membership,  without  initiation  fee ;  annual  dues  $3.00,  life  dues  $30.00.  There 
is  no  other  expense  to  members,  who  receive  all  current  publications  of  the 
Association  free  of  charge. 

The  Publicf^tions  alone  can  be  had,  postpaid,  at  $3.00  per  volume,  un- 
bound, or  $1.00  per  number. 

All  communications  should  be  addressed  to 

COLYER  MERIWETHER,  Secretary, 
P.  O,  Box  65.  Washington,  D,  C. 


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PUBLICATIONS 

OF  THE  ' 

SOUTHERN  HISTORY  ASSOCIATION. 

Vol.  V.  July,  1901.  No.  4. 

WILLIAM  LYNE  WILSON. 
By  W11.UAM  H.  Wilson. 

William  L)^e  Wilson,  only  child  of  Benjamin  and  Mary 
Lyne  Wilson,  was  born  near  Middleway  in  Jefferson 
county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  'May  3,  1843. 

Benjamin  Wilson  was  a  native  of  King  and  Queen 
county.  He  lost  his  father  in  childhood,  and  was  indebted 
for  much  of  his  early  training,  as  well  as  for  his  later  edu- 
cation, to  the  Rev.  R.  B.  Semple,  one  of  the  most  famous 
teachers  of  Virginia  at  that  day.  So  high  was  the  regard 
of  Dr.  Semple  for  his  pupil,  that,  when  his  kinsman,  Wil- 
liam Baylor  of  Jefferson,  wrote  to  him  for  a  tutor  for  his 
children,  he  at  once  named  young  Wilson,  who,  going  to 
Jefferson,  made  it  his  home  thereafter.  He  was  a  man  of 
scholarly  attainments,  a  hard  and  zealous  student.  But 
he  was  not  too  engrossed  in  his  books  to  take  an  active 
interest  in  national  affairs  or  an  active  part  in  the  politics 
of  his  county,  where  he  soon  became  a  recognized  leader 
among  the  Democrats.  It  was  his  ambition  that  his  son 
should  receive  a  more  thorough  education  than  most 
youths  of  that  time  enjoyed,  and  it  was  his  wish,  often  ex- 
pressed, that  he  himself  might  live  to  plan  and  direct  his 


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264  Southern  History  Association. 

studies.  The  wish  was  denied  him.  He  died  before  the 
boy  had  reached  his  fourth  year. 

Mary  L)me,  kinswoman  to  William  Baylor,  was  a  grand- 
daughter of  William  L)^e,  member  from  King  and  Queen 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses  during  the  memorable  years 
1769-71.  She  was  a  woman  of  mtore  than  usual  intelli- 
gence and  education,  of  marked  piety,  and  of  a  modest 
and  retiring  disposition.  Upon  her  devolved  the  training 
and  education  of  her  son.  She  sold  the  home  in  the 
country  and  moved  to  Charlestown,  the  county-seat. 
Here  private  teiachers  were  secured,  under  whose  instruc- 
tion and  that  of  his  mother,  the  boy  made  good  progress 
and  entered  the  Charlestown  Academy  in  his  ninth  year. 

The  following  extract,  from  a  letter  recently  published, 
pictures  his  early  boyhood : 

"I  was  his  most  intimate  associate  and  playiellow.  His 
mother,  a  widow,  his  maiden  aunt,  Miss  Lucy  Lyne,  and 
himself,  an  only  child,  formed  the  household  next  door  to 
my  father's  house  in  Charlestown.  His  health  was  always 
delicate.  One  of  my  earliest  recollections  is  of  the  little 
fellow  standing  at  the  pump  on  our  comer  answering 
puzzling  questions  in  mathematics  put  to  him  by  my 
father  and  Mr.  Edwin  Moore.  His  reading  was  remark- 
able, although  he  was  never  a  bookworm.  We  were  fel- 
low students  at  the  Academy,  and  he  was  at  the  same 
time  my  admiration  and  my  envy.  He  distanced  all  his 
companions  and  in  time  was  in  classes  beyond  all  others. 
He  acquired  his  lessons  with  astounding  facility,  almost 
without  study  as  it  appeared  to  me.  He  was  good  in 
everything.  He  would  go  up  and  read  off  his  Latin, 
Greek  and  French  with  scarcely  a  pause  or  an  interrup- 
tion from  his  teacher.  His  compositions  were  my  admira- 
tion. He  was  modest  and  free  from  braggadocio,  but  had 
a  quiet  confidence  in  his  own  powers,  and  his  superiority 
was  always  acknowledged.  He  was  never  expert  in  games 
or  athletics.     He  had  an  old  short  and  crooked  bandy- 


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William  Lyne  Wilson. — ^Wilson.  265 

stick  with  which  he  used  to  get  in  some  good  plays.  When 
teased  about  its  ugly  appearance,  he  would  say,  'Age 
makes  no  difference;  blood  will  tell.'  He  was  an  ardent 
Democrat,  and  used  to  raise  flag-poles  at  election  times, 
and  illuminate  his  windows  when  the  Democrats  were 
successful.  With  me  for  an  audience,  he  would  deliver 
Democratic  harangues.  He  read  the  papers  and  kept  well 
informed  on  politick.  He  made  no  attempt  at  superiority, 
but  was  very  sociable,  and  had  great  tact,  good  nature  and 
common  sense.  He  was  a  pure-minded  boy,  free  from 
vulgarity  and  profanity,  and  disliking  it  in  others." 

One  of  his  teachers,  the  Rev.  C.  N.  Campbell,  writing 
to  a  Charlestown  paper  shortly  after  Mr.  Wilson's  death, 
says,  speaking  of  his  last  year  at  the  Academy,  "He  was 
the  most  advanced  pupil  in  school,  and  was  alone  in 
almost,  if  not  in  all,  his  studies,  though  at  the  time  there 
were  bright  boys  among  his  schoolmates,  several  of  whom 
have  since  risen  to  distinction.  In  the  memory  of  all  my 
connection  with  him,  there  is  nothing  disagreeable.  In 
all  his  conduct  there  was  nothing  that  left  an  impression 
to  come  up  in  after  years  with  any  other  feeling  than  one 
of  pleasure,  or  that  I  would  desire  to  have  effaced." 

He  attended  the  Academy  seven  years. 

In  the  autumn  of  1858  he  went  to  Columbian  College, 
Washington,  D.  C,  entering  the  Junior  class.  Two  years 
later,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  graduated  with  distinc- 
tion and  was  offered  an  assistant  professorship;  this  he 
declined,  and  a  few  months  later  entered  the  University  of 
Virginia  with  the  intention  of  spending  several  years  there 
in  study. 

The  war  came,  and  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  South- 
ern army.  This  was  in  April,  1861,  and  before  the  com- 
pletion of  a  year's  work  at  the  University. 

For  the  first  year  of  the  war,  he  served  in  the  infantry, 
and  then  joined  Company  B  of  the  12th  Virginia  Cavalry, 
a    company    whose    organization    is   thus   described    by 


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266  Southern  History  Association. 

George  Baylor,  its  captain  for  the  greater  part  of  the  war, 
in  his  recently  published  book,  "Bull  Run  to  Bull  Run." 

"This  company  was  composed  largely  of  men  who  had 
entered  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  and  served  one  year 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Second  Virginia  Regiment  of  Infantry,, 
in  the  famous  '  Stonewall  Brigade/  Its  members  were 
principally  sons  of  farmers  of  Jefferson  county,  Virginia, 
mere  schoolboys  who  had  not  attained  their  majority  or 
completed  their  education.  *  *  *  We  bore  the  relation 
of  brother,  cousin,  schoolmate,  neighbor  and  friend.  No 
arms  or  equipment  were  furnished  us  by  the  Confederate 
Government." 

Under  Captain  Baylor's  gallant  leadership,  ,this  com- 
pany became  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  Confederacy. 
It  carried  no  carbines,  but  only  revolvers  and  sabres,  and 
its  equipment  was  of  the  lightest  sort.  "Its  business  was 
to  ride  hard  and  fast  and  do  its  fighting  at  close  quarters." 
Frequently  mentioned  in  the  reports  for  gallantry,  this 
company  was  to  receive  the  signal  honor  of  a  ten  days' 
furlough,  granted  by  General  Lee,  for  its  charge  at  War- 
renton  Springs. 

In  this  company  young  Wilson  served  'to  the  end  of 
the  war.  Made  prisoner  on  December  20th,  1862,  by  the 
fall  of  his  horse,  he  was  taken  to  Fort  McHenry,  where, 
mistaken  for  another  who  was  charged — unjustly — ^with 
having  fired  on  a  flag  of  truce,  he  was  confined  in  the 
dungeon.  His  imprisonment  lasted  but  a  few  days;  he 
was  exchanged  and  rejoined  his  company. 

Several  horses  were  shot  under  him,  but  he  himself 
received  no  hurt.  Writing  to  his  mother  in  October,  1864, 
he  says,  "My  mare  has  received  a  painful  wound  in  the 
jaw.  It  seems  I  am  doomed  to  misfortune  with  my 
horses;  but,  when  I  am  disposed  to  grumble,  I  feel  I 
ought  to  be  thankful  that  the  bullets  which  strike  them  do 
not  strike  me."  Few  companies  in  the  Southern  army  suf- 
fered more  in  killed  and  wounded :    of  the  four  Baylors 


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William  Lyne  Wilson. — ^Wilson.  267 

who  were  in  it,  father  and  three  sons,  the  father  died  of 
wounds,  two  of  the  sons  were  killed  outright,  and  the 
third  son  was  twice  wounded. 

Speaking  of  Wilson  as  a  soldier,  Captain  Baylor  some 
years  ago  used  these  words :  "He  was  never  a  strong  boy, 
and  his  habits  of  study  had  not  improved  his  health.  But 
he  was  in  the  thick  of  it  every  time,  and  could  ride  as  far 
and  as  fast  as  the  best.  You  could  always  depend  upon 
him  when  a  fight  was  on.  I  don't  think  he  had  any  idea 
of  what  fear  was." 

Impoverished  by  the  war,  it  was  urgent  that  he  enter 
at  once  upon  some  work  which  should  provide  a  support 
for  himself  and  contribute  to  the  support  of  his  mother. 
The  offer  of  an  assistant  professorship  of  Ancient  Lan- 
guages at  Columbian  College  was  renewed,  and  he  ac- 
cepted it  gladly,  entering  upon  his  duties  there  in  Sep- 
tember, 1865.  Here  he  enrolled  himself  a  student  in  the 
law  school,  from  which  he  was  graduated  two  years  later, 
June,  1867.  Prevented  by  the  test-oath  from  offering  for 
practice  in  his  native  county  in  West  Virginia,  he  con- 
tinued in  his  professorship,  rather  reluctantly,  as  is  shown 
by  the  following  entry  in  his  journal : 

"Dec.  7th,  1867.  I  have  had  many  thoughts  of  late  of 
cutting  loose  from  my  present  mooring  and  profession 
with  the  advent  of  another  year,  and  throwing  myself,  with 
all  the  energy  I  can  muster,  and  all  that  necessity  and 
poverty  would  supply,  into  the  practice  of  law.  There  are 
so  many  considerations  just  now  to  be  weighed  that  it 
will  require  both  time  and  anxious  reflection  to  reach  a 
satisfactory  conclusion.  There  is  the  test-oath  in  West 
Virginia,  and  the  entire  prostration  of  business  in  the 
Southern  States,  from  the  imminency  of  negro  rule,  oflfers 
no  inducement  to  a  young  lawyer  now.  In  the  West  there 
is  room,  and  some  of  my  friends  have  gone  thither,  but 
my  mother's  precarious  health,  were  there  no  other 
reason,  would  make  me  hesitate  long  to  place  such  a  dis- 


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268  Southern  History  Association, 

tance  between  my  home  and  myself.  The  idea  to  which 
I  now  incline  is  to  remain  in  my  present  quarters  till  I 
can  oflFer  for  practice  in  Jefferson." 

In  the  following  year,  Latin,  which  had  been  classed 
with  Ancient  Languages,  was  made  a  chair  to  itself,  and 
he  became  full  professor  on  an  increased  salary. 

During  the  six  years  which  he  spent  as  teacher  at  Co- 
lumbian College,  he  contributed  many  articles,  usually 
upon  some  topic  of  timely  interest,  to  his  home  and  other 
papers.  During  the  session  1867-8  he  wrote  weekly  let- 
ters to  the  Winchester  Times.  He  makes  this  entry  in 
his  journal:  "J^^-  ^^9  1868.  Have  resumed  my  corres- 
pondence with  the  Times.  It  was  my  original  purpose  to 
attempt  a  few  sprightly  communications  upon  the  various 
interesting  objects  and  occurrences  at  the  capital,  making 
political  news  only  subordinate.  But  latterly  I  have  fotmd 
myself  devoting  the  whole  letter  to  politics,  which  ad- 
monishes me  to  beware  of  devoting  too  much  time  to 
this  unprofitable  subject.  Indeed  a  disposition  to  politics 
seems  to  have  descended  to  me  from  my  father." 

A  scrap-book,  kept  by  him  from  his  fourteenth  to  his 
sixteenth  year,  is  mainly  filled  with  clippings  relative  to 
public  measures,  debates  in  Congress,  tables  of  commerce 
and  the  like.  The  letters  which  he  wrote,  while  a  college 
student,  to  his  mother,  contained  much  of  the  political 
news  and  gossip  of  the  capital  and  are  filled  with  enquiries 
as  to  political  happenings  in  Jefferson.  He  was  at  this 
time  one  of  the  editors  of  the  "Bee,"  a  written  paper  read 
weekly  in  the  college  literary  society,  and  most  of  his 
editorials  were  upon  some  political  question;  several  of 
them  are  signed,  in  a  spirit  of  boyish  humor,  "Hon.  Wil- 
liam L.  Wilson,  of  Virginia." 

On  August  6,  1868,  he  was  married  at  "Hewick,"  the 
home  of  the  bride's  grandfather.  Dr.  Richard  Allen  Chris- 
tian, in  Middlesex  county,  Virginia,  to  Nannie  Hunting- 


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William  Lyne  Wilson, — ^Wilson.  269 

ton,  only  child  of  Dr.  A.  J.  Huntington,  piofessor  of 
Greek  in  Columbian  College. 

His  mother  died  on  the  evening  of  July  4,  1870.  Greatly 
weakened  in  health  by  the  strain  and  anxiety  which  his 
four  years  of  service  in  the  war  had  brought  her,  she 
had  never  regained  her  former  strength  and  cheerfulness. 
Her  death  was  a  great  blow  to  him,  made  harder  by  his 
enforced  absence  at  a  time  when  he  had  expected  to 
be  with  her,  and  by  its  suddenness  which  robbed  him  of 
all  warning. 

At  the  close  of  the  next  session  he  resigned  his  pro- 
fessorship at  Columbian  College,  and,  forming  a  partner- 
ship with  his  cousin,  Capt.  George  Baylor,  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  Charlestown.  The  new  firm  prospered  from 
the  start,  Mr.  Wilson  quickly  gaining  prominence  as  an 
advocate  and  having  much  fiduciary  business  placed  in 
his  hands. 

On  August,  1874,  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  Con- 
gressional convention  at  Piedmont.  Made  chairman  of  his 
county  delegation,  he  placerf  Hon.  Chas.  J.  Faulkner  (Sr.) 
in  nomination  for  Congress.  The  correspondent  of  the 
Wheeling  Register y  writing  to  his  paper,  says,  "The  speech 
of  Wm.  L.  Wilson,  of  Jefferson  county,  was  one  of  the 
most  impressive  and  eflFective  I  have  ever  heard  in  a  po- 
litical convention.  It  was  really  a  splendid  speech,  very 
earnestly  pronounced,  and  was  listened  to  with  a  stillness 
and  attention  that  showed  it  was  having  effect." 

In  June,  1880,  he  was  chosen,  by  the  convention  of  his 
Congressional  district,  one  of  the  two  delegates  to  the 
Democratic  Convention  at  Cincinnati.  A  few  weeks  later, 
when  the  State  Convention  met,  he  was  nominated  for 
elector-at-large,  and  at  once  began  an  active  canvass  for 
Gen.  Hancock. 

Judge  Hoge  having  in  the  meantime  been  nominated 
for  Congress,  a  vacancy  was  ^made  in  the  office  of  circuit 
judge,  and  the  members  of  the  county  bar  and  the  citizens 


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270  Southern  History  Association. 

generally  seemed  to  designate  Mr.  Wilson  as  his'  succes- 
sor. A  state  senator  was  to  be  elected  at  the  same  time 
from  the  same  counties,  and  this  opened  a  way  to  politi- 
cal deal  and  strategem.  The  judicial  convention  met  at 
Martinsburg.  Mr.  Wilson  was  defeated  by  the  fraction 
of  one  vote,  owing  to  the  treachery  of  several  delegates 
from  his  own  county  who  had  traded  him  off  for  senator. 

West  Virginia  went  Democratic  in  the  national  election, 
and  he  was  appointed  messenger  and  carried  the  vote  to 
Washington. 

In  June,  1881,  he  was  sounded  by  the  board  of  regents 
as  to  whether  he  would  accept  the  presidency  of  the  West 
Virginia  University.  He  was  not  inclined  to  view  the 
offer  favorably,  but  the  demands  of  a  large  and  growing 
family,  with  four  sons  to  educate,  made  him  hesitate  to 
decline  it.  In  a  letter  written  at  this  time  he  says,  "All 
my  feelings  fasten  me  to  Charlestown.  But  for  the 
gloomy  outlook  here  in  the  law,  and  the  tempting  salary 
attached  to  the  office,  I  should  not  think  of  it,  although 
the  position  would  not  for  some  reasons  be  unpleasant 
to  me."  In  June,  1882,  at  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the 
board  of  regents,  he  was  unanimously  elected,  and  soon 
after  signified  his  acceptance  of  the  office.  On  Septem- 
ber 6,  accompanied  by  several  young  men  of  his  county, 
he  went  to  Morgantown  and  quietly  entered  upon  his 
duties  as  president.  This  was  done  "with  many  mis- 
givings." 

On  September  20,  exactly  two  weeks  after  the  session 
opened,  the  new  Congressional  convention  met  at  Pied- 
mont to  select  a  candidate  in  place  of  Messrs.  Hoge  and 
Lucas  who,  after  a  hopeless  deadlock,  had  been  withdrawn 
by  the  State  Executive  Committee.  Mr.  Wilson's  name 
had  been  suggested  as  a  compromise  candidate  to  the 
first  convention  held  at  Keyser  some  weeks  before,  and  he 
had  probably  been  nominated  had  not  one  of  the  two 
rival  candidates  withdrawn  his  following  before  his  name 


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William  Lyne  Wilson, — ^Wilson.  271 

could  be  brought  to  a  ballot.  Jefferson  county  sent  a 
solid  delegation  for  him  to  the  new  convention.  On  the 
night  of  September  20,  while  attending  the  prayer-meet- 
ing of  the  little  Baptist  church  in  Morgantown,  he  was 
called  to  the  door  and  informed  that  he  had  been  nomi- 
nated for  Congress. 

The  election  was  less  than  three  weeks  off,  and  his  op- 
ponent had  been  long  in  the  field.  Then,  too,  the  feud 
between  the  Hoge  and  Lucas  factions  had  dampened  party 
ardor.  He  made  an  active  canvass  in  the  brief  time  al- 
lowed him,  being  hampered  by  heavy  rains  which  swelled 
the  streams  and  made  travel  through  his  mountain  dis- 
trict hard  and  at  times  hazardous. 

The  vote  was  close,  and  it  was  many  days  before  the 
result  was  known.  Then  it  was  shown  that  he  had  been 
elected  by  eight  votes.  On  recount  his  plurality  was  in- 
creased to  ten. 

He  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  university  to  take 
eflfect  March  4,  1883,  ^^  ^he  commencement  of  his  Con- 
gressional term,  but,  upon  being  presented  with  a  peti- 
tion signed  by  the  board  of  regents,  the  faculty  and  stu- 
dents, he  consented  to  remain  to  the  end  of  the  session, 
refusing,  however,  to  accept  pay  for  this  period.  He 
makes  the  following  entry  in  journal,  June,  1883,  ^  ^^w 
days  before  the  close  of  his  term  of  office :  "I  have  worn 
out  most  if  not  all  of  the  personal  prejudices  which  con- 
fronted me  on  coming  here,  and,  despite  my  Demo- 
cracy and  Confederate  record,  believe  I  could  live  pleas- 
antly in  Morgantown." 

In  this  journal,  a  month  later,  he  writes,  "The  boys  are 
completely  absorbed  in  baseball  and  have  a  club  of  which 
I  am  informed  W.  is  captain.  Sure  I  am  that  they  seem 
in  perpetual  session  at  the  captain's  house,  and  the  noise 
of  their  deliberations  and  plannings  is  good  preparation 
for  my  Congressional  tumults."  Ten  years  later,  when 
he  had  risen  to  the  leadership  of  the  House,  and,  worn 


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272  Southern  History  Association. 

and  exhausted  by  the  labors  of  his  tariff  bill,  he  lay  ill 
with  typhoid  fever  in  a  car  sidetracked  for  the  night  at  a 
little  station  in  Mexico,  a  cattle  train  was  run  in  upon  an 
adjacent  switch,  and  there  shunted  back  and  forth  for 
many  hours,  with  a  great  noise  of  bumping  cars  and  bel- 
lowing cattle.  When  one  who  was  with  him  drew  aside 
the  curtains  of  his  birth  at  early  morning,  fearing  to  note 
what  harm  the  night  had  done  him,  and  asked  if  the 
noise  had  not  disturbed  him  greatly,  he  smiled  and  said, 
"Not  a  bit !  I  thought  I  was  back  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives." 

He  was  met  at  the  very  threshold  of  his  entrance  to 
the  House  by  a  question  whose  decision  bade  fair  to 
determine  his  chances  of  further  congressional  life.  The 
two  leading  candidates  for  the  Speakership  of  that  Con- 
gress were  Mr.  Randall  and  Mr.  Carlisle.  Agreeing  with 
the  latter  in  his  tariflF  views,  he  yet  felt  that  the  fine 
record  of  Mr.  Randall,  in  his  former  tenure  of  that  oflSce, 
was  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  his  re-election.  The 
coal  and  iron  interests  of  West  Virginia  had  made  most  of 
the  influential  Democrats  there  incline  to  protection,  and 
the  State  had  hitherto  been  represented  by  such  men  in 
both  Houses  of  Congress.  It  was  therefore  taken  for 
granted  that  West  Virginia  would  be  solid  for  Mr.  Randall 
in  this  contest.  News  of  Mr.  Wilson's  leaning  to  Carlisle 
got  out,  and  great  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
him,  the  senators,  governor,  and  others  of  the  highest 
State  officials  urging  him  to  vote  for  Randall. 

At  this  time  he  wrote,  "I  wish  I  could  bring  myself  to 
vote  for  Randall.  It  would  relieve  me  of  any  doubt  and 
trouble  as  to  re-election,  and  be  taken  as  a  matter  of 
course  by  the  great  bulk  of  our  people,  although  it  would 
be  a  vote  against  the  interests  of  nine-tenths  of  them.  All 
the  politicians  and  papers  are  for  Randall." 

On  Sunday,  December  2,  he  makes  this  entry  in  his 
journal:    "Well,  the  agony  is  over  and  Carlisle  is  nomi- 


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William  Lyne  Wilson. — ^Wilson.  273 

nated ;  and  I  fear  my  first  act  as  a  politician  has  ended  my 
career.  Yet,  when  I  faced  the  alternative  of  giving  my 
first  vote  as  a  policy  one  or  a  conscientious  one,  I  was 
unable  to  do  violence  to  my  convictions,  and  accordingly, 
in  the  caucus  last  night,  voted  for  Carlisle." 

When  the  committees  were  announced,  he  found  him- 
self a  member  of  the  Committee  on  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia. This  was  a  disappointment  to  him,  as  he  was  de- 
sirous of  getting  on  some  committee  which  dealt  with  the 
general  business  of  the  country.  A  few  days  later,  the 
Speaker  appointed  him  a  regent  of  the  Smithsonian. 

His  first  speech  was  made  in  the  second  session  of  this 
Congress,  when  he  spoke  for  a  few  minutes  in  advocacy 
of  the  Morrison  bill 

In  July,  1884,  he  was  renominated  for  Congress  by  ac- 
clamation, and  was  reelected  by  a  plurality  of  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  votes.  / 

When  Congress  met,  he  was  assigned  to  the  Committee 
on  Appropriations  of  which  Mr.  Randall  was  chairman, 
and  reappointed  a  regent  of  the  Smithsonian. 

In  March,  1886,  he  delivered  a  speech  on  the  Pension 
Appropriations  bill  which  ranked  him  at  once  among  the 
best  speakers  of  the  House,  and  was  widely  praised  by  the 
press  of  the  country. 

He  ¥ras  again  renominated  by  acclamation,  and  was 
elected  by  the  small  plurality  of  ninety  votes.  This  fall- 
ing oflf  was  due,  in  large  measure,  to  a  feeling  in  his  dis- 
trict that  no  representative  should  be  given  more  than 
two  consecutive  terms,  the  nomination  then  passing  to 
one  who  lived  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain  range  by 
which  the  district  was  divided ;  and  to  disappointed  office 
seekers,  and  to  enmities  and  resentments  unavoidably  in- 
flamed in  discriminating  among  applicants  for  postmaster- 
ships  in  making  his  recommendations. 

In  this  Congress  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  and  also  a  member  of  the 


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274  Southern  History^  Association. 

Committee  on  Manufactures.  As  a  member  of  the  for- 
mer committee,  he  aided  in  the  preparation  of  its  tariflf 
bill,  and,  on  May  3,  1888,  made  a  speech  in  advocacy  of 
its  passage  which  was  held  to  be  one  of  the  ablest  of  that 
debate. 

Renominated  for  a  fourth  term  by  acclamation,  he  was 
elected  by  a  plurality  of  378  votes. 

During  the  summer  of  1889  he  wrote  a  series  of  articles, 
eleven  in  number,  on  "Trusts  and  Monopolies"  for  the 
Baltimore  Sun. 

The  House  was  now  Republican;  Mr.  Thos.  B.  Reed 
became  Speaker,  and  Mr.  Wilson  was  removed  from  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  and  assigned  to  the  Com- 
mittees of  Judiciary  and  Manufactures,  and  to  two  special 
committees,  one  upon  the  Quadro-Centennial  and  the 
other  to  investigate  alleged  ballot  box  frauds  in  Ohio. 

On  February  3,  a  few  weeks  after  the  convening  of 
this  Congress,  he  made  his  speech,  "General  Parliamen- 
tary Law,"  a  satiric  attack  upon  what  he  considered  the 
arbitrary  rulings  of  the  Speaker.  This  speech  attracted 
wide  attention,  was  printed  in  full  in  many  of  the  lead- 
ing papers,  and  added  not  a  little  to  his  reputation.  He 
made  four  other  speeches  during  this  session ;  presenting 
the  claims  of  Washington  City  for  the  World's  Fair ;  on 
the  bill  to  class  worsteds  as  woolen  goods ;  against  trusts ; 
and  on  the  Bankruptcy  bill. 

He  was  made  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  National  Association  of  Democratic  Clubs,  and  de- 
livered many  political  addresses,  on  invitation,  in  different 
parts  of  the  country. 

To  the  editor  of  a  paper  in  his  district,  who  wrote  cau- 
tioning him  not  to  break  himself  down  by  overwork,  he 
replied,  "As  few  people  enjoy  more  uniform  good  health, 
I  ought  to  be  able  to  carry  a  good  and  steady  load." 

Ag^in  renominated  by  acclamation,  he  had  for  his  op- 
ponent a  Republican  who  was  likewise  a  member  of  the 


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WiUiam  Lyne  Wilson. — Wilson.  275 

Farmer's  Alliance,  an  organization  now  of  considerable 
strength  in  his  district  at  that  time.  In  this  campaign  he 
made  thirty-four  speeches  in  thirty  days,  traveling  long 
distances  in  buggy  and  on  horseback.  His  victory  was 
the  most  decisive  he  had  yet  gained — ^a  plurality  of  more 
than  two  thousand  votes. 

The  new  House  was  Democratic,  and  he  was  promi- 
nently mentioned  among  those  most  likely  to  be  chosen 
Speaker.  He  had  pledged  his  support  to  Mr.  Mills ;  nor 
in  the  deadlock  which  followed,  though  strongly  urged 
to  do  so,  would  he  allow  his  name  to  be  presented. 

He  was  restored  by  the  Speaker,  Mr.  Crisp,  to  a  place 
on  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  and  took  part  in  the 
preparation  of  the  several  and  separate  bills  for  tariff  re- 
duction which  it  reported. 

In  April  and  May,  1891,  he  made  a  tour  of  the  North- 
west, under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Association  of 
Democratic  Clubs,  speaking  in  all  of  the  largest  cities  of 
that  section. 

In  the  summer  he  took  charge  of  the  Tariff  Reform  De- 
partment in  the  St.  Louis  Republic,  and  conducted  it  for 
more  than  a  year.  He  went  to  Massachusetts  and  en- 
listed in  the  gubernational  campaign,  making  a  number 
of  speeches  there  for  Governor  Russell. 

On  April  7,  1892,  he  made  the  dosing  speech  for  the 
Free  Wool  bill.  A  few  weeks  later,  when  the  free  silver 
debate  came  on  in  the  House,  he  voted  to  lay  the  bill 
on  the  table,  well  knowing  that  in  so  doing  he  was  putting 
his  political  life  to  hazard.  "This  vote  has  lost  him  hun- 
dreds of  votes,"  said  the  official  organ  of  the  Farmers'  Al- 
liance in  his  district. 

When  the  National  Democratic  Convention  met  at  Chi- 
cago that  summer^  he  was  made  permanent  chairman,  and 
afterwards  notified  Mr.  Cleveland  of  his  nomination  in  a 
speech  at  Madison  Square  Garden,  New  York. 

A  few  days  later,  on  July  20th,  he  was  renominated  by 


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276  Southern  History  Association. 

acclamation  for  a  sixth  term  of  Congress,  despite  the  fact 
that  one  of  the  primaries  in  his  own  county  had  gone 
against  him  because  of  his  vote  on  the  free  silver  bill. 

He  was  elected  by  a  thousand  plurality. 

In  August,  1893,  when  the  new  Congress  met  in  extra 
session,  called  by  the  President  to  repeal  the  Sherman 
silver  purchasing  law,  Mr.  Wilson  was  designated  to  pre- 
pare and  introduce  the  bill,  which  he  did,  carrying  it 
through  the  House  by  a  surprisingly  large  majority. 

He  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee,  and  set  at  once  to  work  to  prepare  a  tariff 
measure  which  should  redeem  the  pledges  upon  which  the 
partly  had  won  in  the  national  election. 

Soon  after  passing  the  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  Sher- 
man law,  the  House  took  a  recess,  but  the  Democratic 
members  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  remained  at 
Washington,  working  daily,  and,  at  times,  far  into  the 
night.  When  the  House  reassembled,  the  measure  was 
nearly  complete,  and,  on  the  19th  of  December,  Mr.  Wil- 
son reported  the  bill. 

On  January  8,  1894,  he  opened  the  debate  with  a  speech 
an  hour  and  a  half  in  length.  On  the  next  day  he  con- 
cluded his  arguments,  speaking  for  an  hour,  and  finished 
in  an  utterly  exhausted  condition.  This  speech  was  gen- 
erally held  to  be  the  best  he  had  delivered  in  Congress. 

On  February  i,  he  closed  the  debate  in  a  speech  which 
led  to  a  scene  of  enthusiasm  never  before  witnessed  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  when  he  was  lifted  and  borne 
upon  the  shoulders  of  his  colleagues. 

The  passage  of  the  bill  left  him  in  broken  health,  and 
he  now  sought  rest  and  recuperation  in  a  trip  to  Mexico. 
There  he  was  stricken  with  typhoid  fever.  For  a  time  his 
life  was  despaired  of;  but  he  rallied  slowly,  and  by  April 
was  able  to  begin  the  homeward  journey,  traveling  by 
easy  stages.  He  reached  Washington  in  May,  still  weak- 
ened and  exhausted  by  his  long  illness. 


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William  Lyne  Wilson, — ^Wilson.  277 

On  July  3,  the  tariff  bill  passed  the  Senate,  but  so  al- 
tered by  the  protection  amendments  which  had  been 
placed  upon  it,  that  conferees  of  the  two  Houses  were 
appointed,  between  whom  there  began  in  committee  a 
long  and  trying  struggle.  On  July  19,  Mr.  Wilson  re- 
ported to  the  House  the  inability  of  the  committee  to 
reach  an  agreement.  He  spoke  with  eyes  tightly  ban- 
daged against  all  light,  in  intense  physical  suffering,  and 
in  such  weakness  that  he  was  compelled  at  times  to  clutch 
his  desk  for  support. 

A  month  later,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  further  strug- 
gle, he  moved  that  the  House  concur  in  the  amendments 
of  the  Senate.  The  bill  was  passed ;  and,  on  August  28, 
it  became  a  law  without  the  signature  of  the  President. 

Speaking,  the  day  after,  to  the  convention  which  had 
unanimously  renominated  him  for  a  seventh  term,  Mr. 
Wilson  said,  "The  country  knows  and  history  will  show 
where  to  put  the  responsibility  for  our  failure  to  redeem 
our  pledges  to  the  people." 

Referring  to  the  impaired  state  of  his  healtli,  he  said, 
"In  other  campaigns  I  have  accepted  this  trust  at  your 
hands  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  labor  and  strain  re- 
quired for  so  large  and  so  stoutly  contested  a  district  as 
our  own,  but  also  with  a  confidence  in  my  ability  to  meet 
that  labor  and  strain.  To-day  I  cannot  have  that  confi- 
dence, and  I  shall  be  constrained  to  ask  at  your  hands 
some  remission  of  the  labors  of  public  canvassing  which  I 
have  heretofore  so  greatly  enjoyed." 

In  the  campaign  which  followed,  a  great  and  unusual 
effort  was  made  to  defeat  him;  speakers  from  other 
parts  of  the  country  overran  his  district,  and  money 
was  freely  contributed  to  the  fund  of  the  rival  party.  These 
efforts  were  successful,  and  he  was  beaten  at  the  polls 
in  November.  His  action  in  putting  coal  upon  the  free 
list  of  his  tariff  bill  had  contributed  not  a  little  to  this 
result,  furnishing,  as  it  did,  a  text  for  speeches  to  the 


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278  Southern  History  Association. 

miners  of  his  district,  who  were  told  that  free  coal  meant 
closed  mines  or  lessened  wages.  He  had  been  warned  of 
the  hurt  which  such  action  would  do  him ;  even  the  Demo- 
cratic Governor  of  his  State  had  appeared  before  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  to  argue  for  a  retention  of  this 
duty.  But  the  underl3ring  principle  of  his  tariff  bill  had 
been  free  raw  material:  if  a  large  part  of  the  public 
revenues  must  needs  be  gathered  from  a  tax  upon  con- 
sumption, then  there  should  be  but  one  tax  and  that  upon 
the  finished  product,  not  upon  the  processes  and  materials 
of  industry.  Speaking  to  his  convention  he  had  said,  "I 
knew  that  the  Democrats  of  West  Virginia  were  not  pro- 
tectionists for  West  Virginia  and  reformers  or  free  traders 
for  other  States.  But,  even  if  I  had  known  otherwise,  I 
would  not  have  gone  aside  one  step  from  what  was  to 
me  the  clear  pathway  of  my  duty  to  all  the  people." 

During  the  session  of  Congress  which  followed,  he 
opened  the  debate  on  the  Sugar  bill,  January  26,  1895, 
speaking  for  an  hour  and  a  half  in  favor  of  a  repeal  of  the 
additional  or  differential  duty  imposed  by  the  Senate ;  and 
two  weeks  later  presented  to  the  House  a  resolution  au- 
thorizing the  bond  issue  contracted  for  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  on  which  he  made  the  opening  and  closing 
speeches,  February  14th. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Gray,  Minister  to  Mexico,  occurring  at 
this  time,  Mr.  Wilson  was  prominently  mentioned  as  his 
successor,  and  many  of  his  friends  in  the  House  were 
eager  to  see  the  President  in  his  behalf.  But  to  this  he 
would  not  consent,  feeling  that  the  President  should  be 
free  to  act  as  he  thought  best,  unembarrassed  by  any  hint 
or  solicitation  from  him. 

In  view  of  the  weakened  state  of  his  health,  this  posi- 
tion, bringing  as  it  would  a  chance  for  rest  and  recupera- 
tion, was  not  without  allurement,  and  it  was  with  some 
feeling  of  disappointment  that  he  saw  it  given  to  another. 
Writing  in  his  journal,  he  says,  "The  President  has  done 


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wisely  and  for  the  best.  But  to  a  tried  soldier,  who  needs 
a  furlough,  the  two  years  in  Mexico  and  the  pleasant 
residence  there  are  very  attractive,  and  I  fear  I  wanted 
the  place  more  than  I  confessed  even  to  myself."^ 

The  day  after  making  this  appointment,  the  President 
sent  for  Mr.  Wilson,  and  offered  him  a  place  in  his  Cabi- 
net. A  few  days  later  his  name  was  sent  to  the  Senate  and 
his  appointment  as  Postmaster  General  was  promptly  con- 
firmed. On  April  3,  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  new 
office,  Mr.  Bissell  having  considerately  extended  the  date 
at  which  his  resignation  was  to  take  effect,  so  that  Mr. 
Wilson  might  have  a  month's  rest  after  the  adjourn- 
ment of  Congress. 

But  his  holiday  had  not  brought  him  strength,  for  two 
weeks  after  assuming  charge  of  his  Department,  he  writes 
in  his  journal :  ''I  attempted  to  make  some  memoranda  for 
my  speech  to-morrow  night,  but  my  fatigue  from  the 
day's  labors  was  too  great,  and  I  soon  fell  asleep  at  my 
desk,  with  .only  a  line  or  two  marked  on  the  paper." 

During  his  two  years'  term  of  office,  the  Rural  Delivery 
system  was  put  into  operation:  rules  governing  promo- 
tion in  the  Department  itself,  and  in  the  railway  mail  ser- 
vice, were  adopted,  whose  purpose  and  result  was  to 
stimulate  and  reward  merit:  and  a  strong  and  persis- 
tent effort  was  made  to  secure  from  Congress  the  passage 
of  laws  for  the  correction  of  abuses  in  second  class  mail 
matter,  and  for  the  consolidation  of  post  offices  into  dis- 
tricts, thereby  bringing  a  large  number  of  the  fourth  class 
offices  under  Civil  Service;  reforms  whereby  the  postal 
service  of  the  country  would  be  improved  and  ma^e  self- 
supporting. 

In  its  leading  editorial,  May  16,  1896,  the  New  York 

*When  he  made  this  entry  in  his  journal,  Mr.  Wilson  did  not 
know  that  he  was  to  be  offered  a  place  in  the  Cabinet.  Had  both 
positions — Minister  to  Mexico  and  Postmaster  General— been  ten- 
dered him,  he  would  have  chosen  the  latter. 


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28o  Southern  History  Association. 

Times  thus  speaks  of  Mr.  Wilson's  work  as  Postmaster 
General : 

"There  is  not  at  this  moment  a  single  man  in  public  life 
in  the  United  States,  who  has  rendered  more  practical,  dif- 
ficult and  enduring  service  under  conditions  more  remote 
from  those  to  which  his  tastes  incline." 

The  Times  erred  however  in  thinking  that  Mr.  Wilson 
found  his  work  uncongenial.  "I  have  found  it  very  pleas- 
ant," he  wrote,  "always  full  of  interest,  and  shall  give  it  up 
with  regret." 

Asked  by  a  constituent  of  his  former  Congressional  dis- 
trict to  meet  and  address  the  Democratic  Convention  of 
Hardy  county,  and  finding  himself  unable  to  leave  Wash- 
ington, owing  to  important  and  urgent  matters  then  be- 
fore the  Department,  he  wrote  him  a  letter,  May  i8,  1896, 
in  which  he  argued  earnestly  and  at  length  against  free 
silver,  now  a  strong  and  growing  issue  with  the  Democrats 
of  West  Virginia.  This  letter  was  afterwards  printed  and 
sent  out  in  the  State. 

"To  the  Democrats  of  Hardy,"  he  wrote,  "I  owe  a 
special  debt  of  gratitude.  They  not  only  supported  me  in 
all  my  candidacies  with  party  loyalty  and  enthusiasm,  but 
with  a  personal  friendship  that  I  can  never  forget  or  re- 
quite. If  it  were  possible  for  me  to  respond  to  any  sum- 
mons from  them,  I  should  do  so  with  alacrity;  and  I 
should  especially  feel  it  a  privilege  and  a  duty,  just  now,  to 
urge  upon  them  continued  fidelity  to  Democratic  princi- 
ples, and  to  warn  them  against  that  disaster  to  our  party 
which  now  hangs  so  portentously  over  its  immediate  fu- 
ture, and  even  threatens  its  disruption  as  a  national  party, 
after  a  history  co-extensive  with  that  of  our  Government 
and  a  record  of  patriotic  achievements  that  ought  to  in- 
spire it  to  a  still  greater  future.  *  *  *  If  by  any  mis- 
fortune the  party  should  espouse  the  cause  of  free  silver, 
its  future  is  doomed.  From  being  a  great  national  party, 
the  advocate  of  individual  freedom,  local  self-government, 


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William  Lyne  Wilson. — ^Wilson.  281 

moderate  and  just  taxation,  and  other  great  and  inspiring 
national  policies,  it  becomes  a  small  and  powerless  sec- 
tional party,  embarked  on  what  a  vast  majority  of  the 
American  people  believe  to  be  a  crusade  against  the  finan- 
cial credit,  the  prosperity  and  the  progress  of  the  Union. 
It  will  voluntarily  surrender  not  only  the  Northeast,  dis- 
solving party  connection  with  New  York,  New  Jersey  and 
Connecticut,  who  have  three  times  turned  the  scale  in  the 
election  of  Democratic  Presidents;  with  the  Democratic 
constituencies  of  New  England  and  the  Middle  States,  who 
have  furnished  so  many  votes  since  the  war  to  save  the 
South  from  proscriptive  legislation,  and  with  those  of  the 
Middle  West;  but  doubtless  part  of  the  border  States  of 
the  South.  *  *  *  Shall  we  turn  our  weapons  against  our 
best  friends,  and  go  down  into  remediless  defeat?" 

When  Mr.  Bryan  was  nominated  at  Chicago  upon  a  free 
silver  platform,  Mr.  Wilson  promptly  avowed  his  unwill- 
ingness to  support  him,  and  identified  himself  with  the 
sound  money  wing  of  the  party,  which,  meeting  some 
weeks  later  at  Indianapolis,  named  General  Palmer  as  its 
candidate. 

Having  occasion,  about  this  time,  to  make  a  journey 
which  carried  him  through  a  section  of  his  old  district,  he 
writes  in  his  journal,  "I  find  myself  now  isolated  from  the 
enthusiastic  people  who  once  gave  me  so  many  tokens  of 
their  friendship  and  devotion.  It  is  a  hard  experience  to 
go  through,  but  I  must  face  it  cheerfully,  in  the  full  confi- 
dence that  I  shall  regain  the  friendships  now  lost  to  me, 
and,  in  any  event,  enjoy  what  is  even  dearer  than  those 
friendships,  the  consciousness  that  I  am  true  to  my  coun- 
try and  to  my  sense  of  right" 

On  the  afternoon  of  October  17,  he  spoke  at  Charles- 
town,  his  home,  in  advocacy  of  the  sound  money  ticket. 
This  speech  was  made  under  trying  conditions,  laboring  as 
he  was  from  physical  weakness  and  addressing  a  hostile* 
audience,  and  one  filled  with  all  that  excitement  and  bitter- 


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282  Southern  History  Association. 

ness  which  was  so  marked  and  so  deplorable  a  feature  of 
the  campaign.  None  of  the  leaders  of  the  local  Democracy 
were  present,  but,  despite  their  absence  and  the  eflFort  they 
had  made  to  keep  others  away,  the  court-room  was  packed 
to  its  walls  and  doors.  No  one  accompanied  him  into  the 
building,  no  one  presided  over  the  meeting  and  no  words 
of  introduction  or  of  welcome  were  spoken.  He  made  his 
way  alone  through  the  crowd  and  ascended  the  platform. 
When  he  attempted  to  speak,  cries  and  cheers  for  the  rival 
candidate  drowned  his  voice,  which  lacked  much  of  its  old 
strength  and  clearness.  He  stopped  and  waited  patiently 
for  the  noise  to  cease;  but,  when  he  began,  the  tumult 
broke  out  afresh.  Then  strength,  bom  of  the  hour's  need, 
•came  to  him  as  it  had  done  so  often  in  his  last  term  in  the 
House,  and,  standing  upon  the  edge  of  the  platform,  with 
uplifted  arm,  he  cried,  "I  have  a  right  to  be  heard  and 
shall  be  heard  by  the  men  of  this  county !"  His  voice  rose 
clear  and  strong  over  the  contending  voices,  and  men  stop- 
ped crying  out  and  began  to  listen.  "I  have  a  right  to  be 
heard  by  the  men  of  this  county.  I  have  a  right  to  be 
heard  with  open  and  unprejudiced  minds  and  with  the  pre- 
sumption arising  from  all  my  past  relations  to  them,  that 
I  will  speak  my  sincere  and  mature  convictions.  For  fifty 
years,  as  boy  and  man,  I  have  enjoyed  and  reciprocated 
their  friendship;  have  possessed  and  prized  their  confi- 
dence. They  have  loaded  me  with  honors  without  requir- 
ing me  to  sue  and  importune  for  them.  As  no  present  cen- 
sure or  harshness  of  judgment  can  dim  my  gratitude  for 
all  they  have  done  for  me  in  the  past,  so  no  consideration 
of  personal  consequences  can  excuse  me  now  from  trying 
to  guide  them  in  the  path  of  patriotic  duty  in  such  a  difficult 
crisis.  I  am  a  Democrat,  the  son  of  a  Democratic  father. 
From  my  boyhood,  the  principles  and  history  of  that  party, 
the  teachings  and  deeds  of  its  leaders,  have  been  my  fa- 
vorite study.  In  all  my  manhood  these  principles  and 
teachings  have  guided  my  political  action  because  I  believe 


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William  Lyne  Wilson. — ^Wilson.  283 

them  to  be  the  proyed  safeguards  of  free  government.  It 
is  because  the  recent  Convention  at  Chicago  has  aban- 
doned those  principles  that  I  cannot  as  a  Democrat  give 
its  nominees  my  support." 

As  he  proceeded  quiet  came  to  the  court-room,  and  he 
spoke  without  interruption  to  the  end. 

Turning  aside  for  a  moment  from  the  line  of  his  argu- 
ment, he  said,  "You  have  been  told  that  I  have  changed 
my  views  and  position  on  the  silver  question  because  of 
the  office  I  now  hold;  and  one  paper  in  the  State,  from 
which  I  have  a  right  to  expect  at  least  honest  treatment, 
has  gone  so  far  as  to  say  that  I  taught  this  people  free 
coinage.  I  would  not  deserve  the  trust  you  have  hereto- 
fore given  me  if  I  did  not  try  to  be  right  to-day  even  if  I 
were  wrong  in  the  past.  But  I  want  to  say  now,  so  that 
everyone  of  you  may  hear  me,  that,  in  the  twelve  years  I 
represented  this  district  in  Congress,  and  in  the  seven  ac- 
tive canvasses  I  made,  speaking  from  court-house  to 
school-house  in  every  county,  no  man,  woman  or  child 
ever  heard  one  utterance  from  my  lips  in  favor  of  free  sil- 
ver coinage.  I  have  spoken  in  most  of  the  States  of  the 
Union,  in  the  mining  States  of  the  West,  and  no  man  there 
ever  heard  from  me  one  word  in  favor  of  free  silver  coin- 
age. In  1892  I  voted  against  a  free  coinage  bill.  That  bill 
failed  by  a  practically  tie  vote,  and  it  was  charged  against 
me  by  the  free  silver  papers  of  this  district  that  I  defeated 
it,  because  my  vote  might  have  carried  the  bill.  Yet,  in 
the  face  of  that  well  known  vote,  I  was  unanimously  re- 
nominated and  sent  back  to  Congress.  Again  in  1893, 
when  Congress  was  called  in  extra  session  because  of  the 
panic,  I  was  designated  by  the  Democratic  opponents  of 
the  Sherman  law  to  introduce  the  bill  repealing  that  law 
and  to  lead  the  fight  in  the  House.  I  introduced  that  bill, 
carried  it  through  the  House,  and,  in  closing  the  debate 
upon  it,  took  strong  ground  against  the  purchase  of 
any    more    silver    bullion    or    the    issue    of    any    more 


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284  Southern  History  Association. 

depreciated  dollars.  I  voted  against  every  ratio  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Bland  and  against  the  revival  of  the  Bland 
bill.  In  the  face  of  these  votes  I  was  again  unanimously 
renominated  and  borne  in  triumphal  procession  around 
this  district.  Pardon  this  personal  recital.  I  desired  to 
remind  you  that  I  have  not  changed  on  a  question  so  vital 
to  the  welfare  and  honor  of  my  country,  nor  will  I  change 
at  the  command  of  any  convention." 

Only  once  again  did  he  digress  from  the  straight  line  of 
his  argument.  Then  he  said,  "I  know  that  a  large  part  of 
this  campaign  is  vituperative  abuse  of  the  President  and 
his  great  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  I  shall  not  stop  to 
defend  them.  When  a  Confederate  soldier  is  willing  to 
stand  up  and  declare  that  General  Lee  sold  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  for  Union  gold,  then  will  be  found  a  fitting 
companion  for  the  Democrat  who  accuses  the  President 
and  his  Secretary  of  dishonesty.  General  Lee  was  no 
clearer  in  his  great  office  than  President  Cleveland  and 
Secretary  Carlisle  have  been  in  theirs." 
He  spoke  for  two  hours,  closing  with  these  words : 
"This  question  is  not  only  a  financial  one;  it  is  even 
greater — a  moral  question.  Financial  integrity  is  the  test 
of  nations.  The  prosperity  of  our  people,  and,  still  more, 
the  honor  of  our  country,  are  at  stake.  I  will  not,  at  the 
behest  of  any  power  or  authority,  not  even  of  a  national 
convention  of  my  party,  vote  or  help  to  put  a  stain  upon 
the  flag  of  my  country.  If,  in  doing  this,  I  lose  the  friend- 
ship and  alineate  the  support  of  those  who  have 
been  so  true  and  devoted  to  me  in  the  past,  I 
must  meet  that  penalty  grievious  as  it  is.  Even  if 
the  acclamations,  with  which  you  have  heretofore 
greeted  and  cheered  me,  give  place  to  mutterings  and 
curses,  I  have  no  right  to  swerve  from  the  path  of  duty 
as  it  stretches  before  me.  If  one  so  humble  as  myself 
may  apply  the  words  of  Mr.  Calhoun  in  a. like  crisis,  I 
would  say  *I  am  not  one  of  those  who  pay  no  regard  to 


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WiUiam  Lyne  Wilson, — Wilson.  285 

party  obligations ;  on  the  contrary  I  place  fidelity  to  party 
among  the  political  virtues,  but  I  assign  to  it  a  limited 
sphere.  I  confine  it  to  matters  of  detail  and  arrangement, 
and  to  minor  questions  of  policy.  Beyond  that,  on  all 
questions  involving  principles  or  measures  calculated  to 
affect  materially  the  permanent  interests  of  the  country,  I 
look  only  to  God  and  my  country.'  If  I  am  able  to  live  up 
to  the  spirit  of  these  lofty  words,  I  shall  not  be  unhappy 
or  lonely. 

'He's  a  slave  who  dare  not  be 
In  the  right  with  two  or  three.'    . 

For  one  of  the  two  or  three  is  sure  to  be  God  himself." 

This  speech,  the  last  he  was  to  make  in  a  political  cam- 
paign, delivered  with  intense  feeling  and  with  an  oratory 
such  as  he  had  never  equalled  in  the  House,  was  probably 
the  greatest  of  his  life — a  speech  whose  true  strength  was 
little  indexed  by  the  imperfect  synopses  of  the  press. 

"It  hypnotized  the  Democrats  for  a  time,"  said  a  local 
paper,  "but  has  intensified  their  bitterness  against  him." 

February  11,  1897,  he  was  unanimously  elected  presi- 
dent of  Washington  and  Lee  University,  and,  shortly  after, 
signified  his  acceptance  of  the  office. 

Writing  in  his  journal,  March  6,  the  day  on  which  he 
surrendered  his  desk  in  the  Post  Office  Department  to  his 
successor,  he  says,  "During  my  term  I  have  turned  out  no 
man  or  woman  for  political  reasons.  In  all  promotions, 
I  chose  the  name  with  the  highest  record,  in  no  case  en- 
quiring or  knowing  the  politics  of  the  party." 

In  the  month  which  followed,  he  wrote  a  series  of  ar- 
ticles, twelve  in  number,  for  the  New  York  Herald^  in  re- 
view of  the  Dingley  tariff  bill. 

He  moved  to  Lexington  in  August,  and,  on  September 
15,  was  formally  installed  as  president  of  the  University. 

In  the  quiet  and  pleasant  life  now  opened  to  him,  he 


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286  Southern  History  Association. 

hoped  soon  to  regain  his  health;  but  the  ravages  upon  it 
had  been  greater  than  he  knew.  His  journal  of  1898 
closes  with  these  words:  "I  have  not  done  the  work  I 
expected.  The  year  has  been  for  me  one  of  weakened 
health  and  lessened  working  power.  At  times  this  has 
given  me  serious  forebodings  and  anxieties  I  could  not 
share.  I  still  have  work  I  want  to  do.  I  still  cherish  plans 
for  this  University  which  I  hope  to  carry  out,  and  my  age 
is  not  such  as  to  make  these  plans  improbable  of  execu- 
tion. But  I  cannot  hide  from  myself  the  fact  that  my  phy- 
sical vigor  has  been  waning,  that  bodily  exercise  becomes 
more  fatiguing  and  mental  work  more  impossible  of 
steady  pursuit.  At  times  I  feel  hopeless  of  ever  regaining 
the  health  I  used  to  enjoy,  and  again  I  find  myself  buoyed 
up  with  hope  and  full  of  plans  for  my  future  work.  God 
give  me  a  thankful  heart  for  all  the  blessings  of  the  year 
now  closed,  and  grant  me  health  and  strength  and  wisdom 
for  the  year  that  is  beginning." 

His  strength  declined  steadily,  but  he  continued  in  the 
active  discharge  of  his  olBce,  meeting  fully  all  its  calls  and 
duties  until  January,  1900,  when,  upon  the  advice  of  an 
eminent  specialist  whom  he  had  consulted,  he  went  to 
Arizona,  where  he  remained  until  the  latter  part  of  April. 
Urged  by  the  faculty  and  board  of  trustees  to  prolong  his 
stay,  he  yet  felt  it  his  duty  to  return  to  Lexington  in  time 
to  prepare  his  annual  report  and  to  make  arrangement  for 
the  University  Commencement. 

When  the  school  reopened  in  September,  he  had  be- 
come so  weakened  that  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  walk 
to  his  office  in  the  college  building. 

He  died  on  the  morning  of  October  17,  less  than  two 
weeks  after  he  had  last  addressed  the  students  at  the  week- 
ly meeting  in  the  college  chapel. 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Wilson's  work  as  president  of  Wash- 
ington and  Lee,  Dr.  James  A.  Quarles,  one  of  the  Univers- 
ity faculty,  in  an  article  in  the  January  number  of  the 


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William  Lyne  Wilson. — Wilson.  287 

Sewanee  Review,  says,  "His  physical  condition  was  not  vig- 
orous, as  he  had  never  fully  recovered  from  the  excessive 
strain  connected  with  the  framing  and  passage  of  the  Wil- 
son tariff  act.  His  mind,  however,  was  clear  and  strong; 
his  sympathy  with  his  work  deep  and  decided ;  his  success 
in  speedily  mastering  the  details  in  the  history  and  organ- 
ization of  the  institution,  marvelous.  He  identified  himself 
at  once  with  the  university  over  which  he  was  called  on  to 
preside,  and  showed  himself  the  intelligent  and  sincere 
friend  of  every  student  and  professor.  During  the  three 
years  of  his  administration  there  was  progress  all  along 
the  line.  He  instituted  a  weekly  assemblage  of  all  the 
faculty  and  students,  which  he  addressed  with  rare  elo- 
quence, giving  both  entertainment  and  instruction.  He 
converted  the  library  into  a  working  laboratory  for  the 
Departments  of  History  and  Political  Science,  the  begin- 
ning of  a  beneficent  reformation.  The  academic  school 
was  strengthened  by  the  establishment  of  two  important 
professorships,  *  *  *  and  the  law  faculty  gjew  to  three 
full  professorships  and  four  lectureships.  By  its  entrance 
requirements  the  sympathy  and  support  of  many  prepara- 
tory schools  have  been  secured,  resulting  in  an  increased 
attendance  of  students  amounting  to  sixty  per  cent.  Al- 
together new  heart  and  hope  was  given  to  students  and 
faculty,  causing  quickened  interest  and  efiiciency  in  all  de- 
partments." 

While  president  of  Washington  and  Lee,  he  delivered 
the  Kent  Course  of  lectures,  five  in  number,  to  the  Yale 
Law  School;  the  Convocation  Address  at  the  University 
of  Chicago ;  spoke  before  the  Bar  Association  of  Georgia, 
and,  by  a  vote  of  the  Georgia  Legislature,  addressed  that 
body  on  the  question  of  imperialism. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  regent  of  the  Smithson- 
ian, member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Slater  and  of 
the  Peabody  Funds,  fellow  of  the  Royal  Institution  of 
England,  and  a  member  of  many  scientific  and  historical 


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288  Southern  History  Association. 

societies.  Five  universities  had  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  of  LL.  D.,  and  five  universities  had  offered  him 
their  presidencies. 

He  was  possessed  of  a  remarkably  happy  and  buoyant 
disposition,  of  which  neither  ill-health,  nor  the  knowledge 
long  had  of  approaching  death,  could  rob  him.  He  had 
his  moments  of  gloom,  but  none  witnessed  them.  The 
laugh  choked  by  a  fit  of  coughing  came  again  as  soon  as 
the  cough  had  stopped.  He  judged  no  man  harshly,  and 
unkind  speech  was  a  stranger  to  his  tongue.  He  had  a 
woman's  quick  pity  for  the  suffering  of  others ;  he  bore  his 
own  with  manly  indifference,  without  mention  or  com- 
plaint. He  had  a  great  love  for  children ;  among  letters, 
dating  back  through  the  busy  years  of  his  life  in  Wash- 
ington, are  to  be  found  many,  written  in  large  childish 
hands,  thanking  him  for  some  little  act  of  kindness  he  had 
done,  for  foreign  stamps  torn  from  his  letters,  for  mono- 
grams and  crests  cut  from  the  same  source,  for  some  non- 
sense-rhyme or  jingle  illustrated  with  a  crude  drawing  of 
his  pen.  On  the  day  before  he  was  forced  to  give  up  the 
fight  and  seek  his  bed,  where  he  was  to  die  one  week  later, 
he  and  a  neighbor's  child,  a  little  girl  of  three,  "took  turns" 
swinging  each  other  in  a  hammock  on  the  porch. 

One  of  the  University  faculty,  in  an  address  delivered  at 
the  memorial  services  held  in  the  college  chapel,  said,  "The 
last  time  the  speaker  saw  him,  his  little  dog  jumped  upon 
his  bed  and  coddled  closely  to  his  side,  and  the  great  man 
reached  out  and  patted  'Dixie'  on  the  head."  This  dog,  a 
young  fox  terrier,  when  the  cofiin  had  been  borne  down- 
stairs, took  her  station  on  the  floor  beneath  it,  and  re- 
mained lying  there  for  hours,  in  the  cold  and  darkened 
room,  heedless  of  all  effort  to  coax  her  away. 

A  student  declared  himself  unable  to  keep  up  in  his 
mathematics  and  announced  his  intention  to  drop  it  from 
his  ticket.  This  would  mean  the  loss  of  his  degree..  Mr. 
Wilson  persuaded  him  to  persevere,  and,  having  him  come 


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William  Lyne  Wilson, — ^Wilson.  289 

to  his  office,  there  assisted  him  in  the  preparation  of  his 
lessons  until  he  had  attained  a  sure  footing  in  his  class. 

Grave  indeed  was  the  sinning  of  that  student  for  whom 
the  president  would  not  ask  of  the  faculty  "another 
chance/'  He  disliked  to  mete  out  punishment,  but  did  not 
hesitate  when  he  thought  the  good  of  the  school  required 
it.  When  the  football  team  used  a  non-student  in  a  game 
played  in  Kentucky,  he  promptly  ordered  them  to  return 
to  Lexington,  where  he  called  them  before  him  and  dis- 
banded them  for  the  rest  of  the  season.  He  was  an  ardent 
champion  of  athletics,  but  it  must  be  clean. 

In  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  mass-meeting  of  the 
students  are  these  words :  '*He  was  the  beloved  friend  and 
elder  brother  of  every  student  in  this  institution'* 

On  October  19th,  followed  by  a  sorrowing  crowd  of 
old  neighbors  and  friends,  he  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  family 
lot  at  Charlestown.  A  headstone,  recently  placed  at  his 
grave,  bears  this  inscription,  chosen  by  one  who  had 
known  him,  as  none  other  had,  both  in  his  public  and  pri- 
vate life.  "William  Lyne  Wilson.  Born,  May  3,  1843. 
Died,  October  17,  1900.    'Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart.' " 


The  Secretary  has  received  the  following  letters  bearing 
on  the  above  sketch  of  Mr.  Wilson. 

From  Hon.  Grover  Cleveland. 

Princeton,  N.  J.,  June  7,  1901. 
Dear  Sir:  I  desire  to  thank  you  for  the  opportunity  you  have 
ffiven  me  of  reading  the  advance  sheets  of  a  sketch  of  the  life  of 
William  L.  Wilson  which  is  to  appear  in  a  publication  of  the 
Southern  History  Association.  *****  i  return  the  sketch. 
It  is  so  complete  and  presents  the  character  of  this  noble  man  so 
well  and  so  fully  that  I  do  not  think  I  ought  to  attempt  to  sup- 
plement it. 

Our  public  life  will  never  see  a  better,  purer  or  more  patriotic 
man. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Grovbr  ClEvkland. 


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290  Southern  History  Association. 

From  iHon.  Thos.  B.  Reed. 

25  Broad  Street,  New  York  City,  June  ii,  igoi. 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  have  read  with  much  interest  the  proofs  you 
sent  me.  I  had  great  respect  for  Mr.  Wilson  because  he  had  con- 
victions and  was  true  to  them.  There  was  something  very  pathe- 
tic in  his  last  struggle,  death-struck  as  he  was,  with  that  greatest 
of  all  human  forces,  popular  feeling  gone  wrong.  That  that  feel- 
ing is  doomed  to  revulsion  does  not  lessen  its  power.  Human 
life  is  too  short  for  the  vindication  of  the  wise  man  while  yet 
alive.  Many  suns  may  set  and  many  dark  nights  cover  the  earth 
with  clouds  before  the  truth  is  ripened  into  fruitage.  He  is  hap- 
pier who  is  wrong  when  others  are  wrong;    but  no  Darwinian 

survival  of  the  fittest  to  survive"  will  ever  convince  the  manly 
man  that  there  is  not  something  higher  than  happiness.    Doing 
your  duty,  and  facing  the  consequences,  is  success  itself. 
Yours  very  truly, 

T.  B.  Reed. 


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PRESIDENT  DAVIS'S  LAST  OFFICIAL  MEETING. 

The  Last  Meeting  of  President  Davis  With  His  Officers 
and  Those  of  His  Cabinet  Remaining  With  Him,  in  the 
"Old  State  Bank  Building"  at  Washington,  Georgia. 

By  Mrs.  M.  E.  Robertson. 

I  have  written  from  my  own  personal  recollection  of 
"The  Lost  Cause,"  as  it  has  been  called,  especially  at  the 
time  of  Mr.  Davis's  visit  to  Washington,  Ga.,  after  the 
surrender  of  our  army  in  Virginia,  and  will  give  a  simple 
narrative  of  the  facts  which  occurred  at  that  eventful  time. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Confederacy  died  in  Washing- 
ton, Ga.  It  was  brought  there  dead,  though  President 
Davis  could  not  and  would  not  believe  in  a  "Lost  Cause." 
I  remember  well  how  camly  and  hopefully  he  spoke  of  the 
army  under  Kirby  Smith,  Price  and  others,  and  of  tmiting 
with  them  the  scattered  forces  of  the  Army  of  Virginia  and 
Tennessee ;  that  there  would  be  a  reorganization  of  these 
forces  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  struggle  maintained 
in  that  department.  This  seemed  to  be  a  fixed  hope  in  the 
mind  of  Mr.  Davis ;  in  fact  so  much  so  that  he  appeared, 
and  doubtless  was,  perfectly  unconscious*  of  his  own  dan- 
ger, while  his  friends,  realizing  his  situation,  were  in  eager 
haste  and  excitement  to  get  him  on  his  journey.  Mrs. 
Davis  had  been  in  Washington,  Ga.,  for  two  or  three  days, 
she  having  arrived  on  Friday,  just  two  weeks  after  General 
Lee's  surrender,  and  remained,  no  doubt  awaiting  Mr. 
Davis,  until  the  following  Monday.  At  that  time,  nothing 
having  been  heard  of  him,  her  friends  thought  it  advisable 
for  her  to  tarry  no  longer ;  so,  with  her  party  and  baggage 
train,  she  left  Washington  at  noon.  Scarcely  an  hour  after 
her  departure  a  messenger  arrived  with  a  dispatch  from 


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292  Southern  History  Association. 

Mr.  Davis,  saying  he  would  be  in  Washington  the  follow- 
ing day.  The  dispatch  was  at  once  sent  forward  to  her  by 
the  kind  friends  who  had  entertained  her.  This  found  her, 
with  her  party,  about  twenty  miles  from  Washington, 
where  she  decided  to  remain  until  Mr.  Davis  should  join 
her.  Mrs.  Davis's  party  had  traveled  through  the  country 
from  Richmond  to  Washington  in  ambulance  and  baggage 
wagons,  quite  a  train  of  them.  These  remained  in  front 
of  Dr.  Ficklen's  house  the  entire  time  of  her  stay  in  Wash- 
ington, ready  to  move  at  any  moment.  She  received  much 
kindness,  courtesy  and  sympathy  from  the  people,  every- 
thing having  been  done  for  her  comfort  that  was  possible 
in  this  dark  hour  of  trial  and  suspense.  She  bore  up  won- 
derfully, receiving  and  entertaining  her  visitors  with  per- 
fect self-forgetfulness.  In  her  party  were  her  children,  her 
sister  and  Burton  N.  Harrison,  private  secretary  to  Mr. 
Davis.  Mrs.  Davis  and  family  were  entertained  at  Dr. 
Ficklen's,  Mr.  Harrison  coming  to  us  to  be  with  a  sick 
friend.  Major  Hall,  of  Baltimore,  whom  Dr.  Robertson 
had  found  ill  and  brought  home  to  be  nursed  and  cared  for. 
We  also  had  as  guests  General  and  Mrs.  Elzey  and  their 
son,  Arnold,  of  Baltimore ;  General  Elzey  having  been  on 
parole  for  several  months. 

My  husband's  health  was  such  that  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  go  into  active  service,  and  all  that  he  could  do  for 
the  "cause"  was  to  entertain  and  care  for  sick  soldiers,  and 
many  an  invalid,  needing  care  and  nourishment,  was  sent 
us  from  the  hospital. 

Washington  was  singularly  blessed.  Removed  entirely 
from  the  seat  of  war,  we  were  spared  much  of  its  terrors 
and  distress,  and,  as  yet,  the  foot  of  a  Federal  soldier  had 
never  trodden  our  streets.  But  now  our  quiet  little  town 
was  stirred  to  its  very  foundation.  Following  in  quick 
succession  were  the  announcements  of  Lincoln's  assassina- 
tion, the  surrender  of  General  Lee,  the  evacuation  of  Rich- 
mond, Mrs.  Davis's  flight  but  nothing  of  Mr.  Davis.    What 


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President  Davis's  Last  Official  Meeting, — Robertson.  293 

next?  Where  was  the  President?  All  information  was 
vag^e  and  meagre,  depending  entirely  upon  straggling 
soldiers  going  South  and  West,  Washington  being  on  the 
direct  route  from  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas. 

The  bank  in  Washington,  Ga.,  was  a  branch  of  the  Bank 
of  the  State  of  Georgia,  the  mother  bank  being  located  in 
Savannah,  Ga.,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  solid  institutions 
of  the  State,  with  a  number  of  branches.  My  husband. 
Dr.  J.  J.  Robertson,  was  cashier  of  the  Washington  branch 
and  resided  in  the  building  with  his  family  (this  being  the 
common  custom  with  cashiers  of  country  banks  in  those 
days),  where  the  business  of  the  mother  bank  was  still 
carried  on.  This  building  was  the  most  prominent  on  the 
public  square,  in  the  center  of  the  town,  and  immediately 
upon  the  street  leading  from  the  Danburg  and  Abbeville 
road.  It  was  in  this  way  that  our  scraps  of  news  were 
gathered,  as  any  one  coming  into  the  town  would  pass  the 
bank,  and  invariably  some  one  was  stationed  upon  the 
piazza  to  interview  the  passers-by.  On  this  special  morn- 
ing (and  a  more  lovely  May  morning  never  was  seen),  the 
third  day  of  May,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
five,  there  were  assembled  upon  this  old  bank  piazza  the 
entire  household,  men  and  women,  in  troubled,  earnest, 
eager  conversation.  Mrs.  Davis  had  left  the  day  previous 
and  as  yet  nothing  had  been  heard  of  Mr.  Davis.  In  the 
midst  of  conjecture  and  surmise,  between  nine  and  ten  a. 
m.,  we  saw  a  man  on  horseback  coming  down  the  street 
from  the  Abbeville  road.  His  dress  and  whole  appearance 
indicated  a  common  countryman — dressed  in  a  suit  of 
homemade  cloth.  Attracted  either  by  the  party  on  the 
piazza  or  the  appearance  of  two  of  them  having  on  Con- 
federate uniforms,  he  rode  directly  up,  halted  and  uncon- 
sciously gave  the  military  salute,  at  the  same  time  asking 
in  a  drawling  tone :  "Are  there  any  soldiers  in  the  town  V* 
"What  soldiers  do  you  mean?"  inquired  one  of  the  gentle- 
men.   "Why,"  said  he,  "any  kind  of  soldiers — soldiers  are 


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294  Southern  History  Association. 

soldiers,  ain't  they?"  Whereupon  General  Elzey  re- 
marked, "Ah,  my  friend,  you  are  no  ignorant  countryman ; 
you  betrayed  yourself  by  that  military  salute,  and  we 
strongly  suspect  your  being  one  of  the  President's  party. 
Tell  us  of  him.  Is  he  safe  ?  Where  is  he  ?"  The  man,  or 
courier,  as  he  proved  to  be,  upon  this  forced  his  horse  upon 
the  pavement  until  he  touched  the  railing  of  the  piazza, 
then  leaning  forward,  asked  in  cautious,  low  tones,  "Are 
you  Confederates?  Are  you  all  friends?"  With  one  voice 
came  the  answer,  "We  are."  He  then  asked  if  there  were 
any  Federal  soldiers  in  the  town.  Dr.  Robertson  replied, 
"There  are  none,  and  you  can  speak  freely.  We  are  all 
friends  and  most  anxious  to  know  of  the  President's 
safety."  The  courier  replied,  "I  have  just  left  Mr.  Davis, 
and  he  is  not  an  hour's  ride  from  here."  This  announce- 
ment was  received  in  perfect  silence ;  for  several  moments 
not  a  word  was  uttered.  Then  arose  a  commotion.  Who 
was  to  receive  him  ?  Where  was  he  to  go  ?  How  was  he 
to  be  entertain-ed  ?  and  so  on.  While  the  men  were  talking 
and  planning  I  decided:  "Bring  him  here.  I  will  be 
charmed  to  have  him.  This  is  the  largest  house  in  the 
town  and  the  most  central."  The  men  were  delighted  at 
my  proposition.  General  Elzey,  Dr.  Robertson  and  Major 
Hall  went  into  the  bank  and  after  a  short  consultation  Dr. 
Robertson  wrote  a  note  of  invitation  to  Mr.  Davis,  mount- 
ed Willie  Robertson  (who,  I  am  sure,  imagined  himself 
embassador  plenipotentiary),  and  sent  him  with  the  courier 
to  deliver  the  invitation. 

He  found  the  President  and  his  party  stopping  for  break- 
fast and  to  feed  their  horses,  a  few  miles  from  Washington. 
At  the  breakfast  halt,  when  the  road  was  again  taken,  Mr. 
Benjamin  said  "Good-bye."  Not  intending  to  go  farther 
with  the  party,  he  turned  off  South  from  that  point,  Mr. 
Davis  and  escort  coming  on  to  Washington.  He  was  on 
horseback,  dressed,  as  well  as  I  remember,  in  a  full  suit  of 
Confederate  grey.    He  was  accompanied  by  some  of  his 


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President  Davis's  Last  Official  Meeting, — Robertson.  295 

Cabinet  officers  and  distinguished  Confederate  leaders  and 
eminent  soldiers,  a  small  escort  of  cavalrymen,  together 
with  a  few  wagons  and  several  ambulances.  He  came  in 
apparently  much  fatigued  and  retired  at  once  to  his  room, 
where  he  remained  until  a  late  dinner. 

Many  were  astonished  at  my  temerity  in  attempting  to 
entertain  them,  but  I  was  perfectly  sure  of  my  cook,  a 
young  negro  woman,  whose  ancestors  had  served  in  my 
family  for  generations ;  her  mother  was  my  mother's  cook, 
her  grandmother  my  grandmother's  cook,  and  in  those 
days  there  was  perfect  trust  and  confidence  between  mis- 
tress and  maid.  I  shall  never  forget  her  untiring  devotion 
to  our  poor  soldiers  as  they  straggled  through  our  little 
town,  hungry  and  tattered,  often  hatless  and  shoeless.  I 
have  seen  my  husband  take  the  shoes  from  his  feet  and 
the  hat  from  his  head  and  hand  them  over  to  some  poor 
soldier  as  he  would  stop  to  rest  on  the  old  bank  steps.  And 
Mary  Green  (my  cook),  never  failed  to  have  ready  some 
palatable  dish.  I  have  known  her  to  spend  hours,  day  after 
day,  making  biscuits  and  preparing  some  nourishing  food 
for  "them  poor  soldiers."  Finally,  Dr.  Robertson's  last 
hat  and  shoes  had  departed  with  "them  poor  soldiers."  I 
had,  fortunately,  some  woolen  cloth  and  a  sewing  machine, 
and  made  him  a  hat ;  and  we  had  a  g^eat  institution  in  one 
Ben  (a  negro  man  belonging  to  General  E.  P.  Alexander's 
father),  who  was  the  shoemaker  of  the  village.  There  was 
nothing  that  Ben  could  not  accomplish  in  the  shoe  line, 
from  a  lady's  boot  to  a  man's  brogan,  and  the  patching  and 
mending  of  the  worn.  But  for  Ben  we  might  have  come 
down  to  moccasins. 

Now,  how  could  I  provide  for  such  a  retinue  in  those 
hard  war  times  ?  But  it  must  be  remembered  we  were  in  a 
little  out-of-the-way  village,  in  a  farming  country,  where 
the  hardships  and  deprivations  of  the  war,  for  food,  had 
never  penetrated.  I  had  good  soup,  vegetables  from  our 
garden,  a  splendid  roast  of  turkey,  a  fine  large  ham, 

3 


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296  Southern  History  Association. 

chicken  and  eggs,  salads — lobster,  salmon  and  lettuce — tea 
and  coffee — genuine  coffee,  which  surprised  many  present, 
who  were  eager  to  learn  how  I  became  so  well  provided 
for.  The  tea  and  canned  articles  had  been  received  from 
Boston,  almost  the  last  communication  between  the  North 
and  South.  The  coffee  was  an  accidental  find.  In  passing 
through  Macon,  Ga.,  as  late  as  1863,  my  husband  having 
heard  of  a  man  who  had  many  sacks  of  good  coffee  stored, 
persuaded  him  out  of  one. 

It  was  the  next  morning,  May  the  fourth,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five,  Mr.  Davis  held  his  last  meeting,  in  the 
old  bank,  Washington,  Ga.  It  was,  so  I  understood  at  the 
time,  an  informal  meeting — more  of  a  consultation  with 
his  staff  and  principal  officers  and  those  of  his  Cabinet 
who  still  remained.  Along  the  route  the  various  bureaus 
of  the  departments  had  been  abandoned.  Hon.*  John  H. 
Reagan,  Postmaster  General,  arf9  S.  R.  Mallory,  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  came  in  with  Mr.  Davis.  Mr.  Mallory  re- 
mained but  a  few  hours.  Bidding  Mr.  Davis  "Good-bye," 
he  left  Washington  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Mr. 
Trenholm,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  had  been  left  quite  ill 
at  the  Catawba  river.  South  Carolina.  Gen.  John  C. 
Breckenridge,  Secretary  of  War,  who  had  been  left  behind 
at  the  Savannah  river,  reached  Washington  the  4th  of  May, 
after  the  President  had  left,  and  spent  the  day  and  night 
at  my  house.  Those  present  at  the  meeting  were :  Hon. 
John  H.  Reagan,  Postmaster  General,  whom  the  Presi- 
dent had  appointed  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury; 
Col.  William  Preston  Johnston,  Aide-de-Camp ;  Col.  John 
Taylor  Wood,  Aide-de-Camp ;  Col.  Lubbock,  ex-Governor 
of  Texas,  Aide-de-Camp ;  Col.  C.  E.  Thorburn,  Naval  Pur- 
chasing Agent;  Gen.  Bragg,  Gen.  Robertson,  of  Texas, 
and  many  other  distinguished  officers.  At  this  meeting, 
after  a  lengthy  consultation,  it  was  decided  thiit  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Mississippi  river  and  the  prolonging  of  the 


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President  Davis's  Last  Official  Meeting. — Robertson.  297 

struggle  was  not  practicable,  and  here,  in  this  "Old  Bank 
Building,"  the  Government  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America  was  formally  and  officially  dissolved.  It  was  evi- 
dently not  until  that  point  was  reached  that  Mr.  Davis 
gave  up  all  hope  and  acknowledged  the  uselessness  of  at- 
tempting to  continue  the  struggle  longer  this  side  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  yielded  to  the  only  plan  possible, 
to  disband  the  last  faithful  remnant  of  the  grandest  army 
that  ever  marched  to  battle.  He  rode  away  on  horseback, 
accompanied  by  a  portion  of  his  staff.  Col.  Lubbock,  Col. 
John  Taylor  Wood,  Col.  Wm.  Preston  Johnston,  and  Col. 
Thorburn. 

While  standing  on  the  pavement  in  front  of  the  build- 
ing, his  horse  saddled,  the  bridle  in  his  hand,  just  ready  to 
mount,  he  was  approached  by  our  Baptist  minister,  the 
Rev.  H.  A.  Tupper,  who  spoke  some  words  of  encourage- 
ment and  Christian  comfort  to  him.  Mr.  Davis,  taking 
him  by  the  hand,  said  with  the  greatest  fervor,  "Though 
He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Him."  He  mpunted  his 
horse  and  made  way,  disappearing  in  a  few  minutes  from 
the  gaze  of  hundreds  of  tearful  eyes;  and  thus  Washing- 
ton, Ga.,  saw  the  last  of  the  "Glorious  Old  Confederacy." 

Another  week  found  Mr.  Davis  almost  alone,  a  fugitive 
in  the  forests  of  Georgia,  with  his  wife  and  a  few  devoted 
adherents.  On  the  tenth  of  May  he  was  captured  near 
Irwinville,  Ga.,  by  a  body  of  cavalry  under  Lieut.  Col. 
Pritchard. 

The  last  official  signature  President  Davis  affixed  to  any 
paper  was  appointing  Capt.  M.  H.  Clark  Acting  Treasurer 
of  the  Confederate  States.    The  paper  reads  thus : 

"Washington,  Georgia,  May  4,  1865. 
"M.  H.  Clark,  Esq.,  is  hereby  appointed  Acting  Treas- 
urer of  the  Confederate  States,  and  is  authorized  to  act  as 
such  during  the  absence  of  the  Treasurer. 

Jefferson  Davis." 


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298  Souihern  History  Association. 

The  treasure  train  arrived  shortly  after  Mr.  Davis's 
party  left,  reporting  at  Gen.  Basil  Dukes's  camp,  about  a 
mile  from  Washington,  where  the  cavalry,  baggage  wag- 
ons and  so  on,  were  camped.  Mr.  Clark  went  out,  with 
proper  authority,  and  the  whole  was  turned  over  to  him. 
Selecting  the  shade  of  a  large  elm  tree  as  the  "Treasury 
Department,"  he  commenced  his  duties  as  "Acting  Treas- 
urer C.  S." 

A  portion  of  the  specie  belonging  to  the  general  Govern- 
ment consisting  of  silver  coin,  was  divided  out  amongst 
the  soldiers,  each  one  obtaining  a  small  sum,  about  $26.00, 
and  the  troops  composing  the  escort  were  disbanded. 

Before  leaving  Washington,  Mr.  Davis  made  certain  dis- 
tributions of  his  belongings.  To  a  Col.  Weems  he  gave 
his  mess  chest;  the  china  contained  therein  was  given  to 
jGen.  McLaws.  To  me  he  was  specially  thoughtful  and 
generous;  among  other  things,  presenting  to  me  some 
valuable  books,  also  a  goodly  supply  of  tea,  coflfee  and 
brandy,  most  acceptable  at  that  time.  Some  of  each  I  have 
retained  to  this  day  as  relics  of  the  "Lost  Cause."  But  the 
gift  most  valued  and  treasured  is  the  inkstand  used  by  him 
as  President,  and  his  dressing  case,  containing  many  me- 
mentos of  him.  There  was  also  a  framed  certificate  of  his 
honorary  membership  with  the  Mobile  Cadets.  This  I 
sent  to  the  Cadets. 

The  table  upon  which  President  Davis  affixed  his  last 
signature  and  around  which  he  held  his  "Last  Meeting," 
deliberating  and  discussing  with  his  advisors  the  affairs 
of  an  already  "Lost  Cause,"  is  still  in  my  possession,  valued 
as  having  been  used  by  the  Head  of  a  Republic  that  has 
ceased  to  exist. 

The  above  mentioned  inkstand  and  dressing  case  are 
now  in  the  Georgia  room  of  the  Museum  in  Richmond, 
Va. 

Many  articles  have  been  published,  both  North  and 
South,  giving  the  erroneous  impression  that  the  room 


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President  Davis's  Last  Official  Meeting. — Robertson.  299 

which  Mr.  Davis  occupied  has  remained  "intact."  Not  so. 
Upon  leaving  the  bank  we  removed  all  furnishings  and  the 
building  was  sold,  and  it  has  since  been  occupied  by  vari- 
ous persons  for  different  purposes,  postofiice,  millinery, 
boarding  house  and  so  on,  and  is  at  the  present  time 
owned  by  the  county.  Two  rooms  in  the  building  have 
been  given  to  the  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy.^ 

*There  is  probably  no  one  subject  connected  with  the  downfall 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  of  which  there  has  been  so  much 
written  and  about  which  there  have  been  so  many  confused  ac- 
counts as  that  of  the  last  meeting  of  the  Confederate  cabinet,  and 
the  circumstances  attending  upon  the  final  dissolution  of  the  Con- 
federate Government.  It  has  been  discussed  and  written  of  with  a 
freedom  and  disregard  for  real  facts,  until  the  real  history  of  that 
period  has  become  involved  in  a  web  of  romance.  Being  an  eye 
witness  and  participator  in  these  events,  I  have  written  the  above 
narrative  to  preserve  the  truth  of  history. — M.  E.  R. 


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THE     KINSEY     FAMILY.— SUPPLEMENTARY 

DATA  ON   THE  ANCESTORS   OF 

JOHNS  HOPKINS.^ 

[Mr.  Samuel  Troth,  of  Philadelphia,  author  of  Prbston  at 
Patuxent,  in  sending  me  the  data  given  below  regarding  the 
Kinsey  family,  writes:  **A  few  years  ago  I  spent  some  time  in 
Lancaster  county,  Virginia,  tracmg  my  ancestors  Howell  Powell 
and  Hugh  Kinsey  around  Corotoman  and  from  the  old  records 
at  Lancaster  Court  House.  So  far  have  found  very  little  about 
Kinsey  in  Virginia,  and  am  limited  to  not-proven  theories;  for 
instance  I  will  guess  that  Hugh  Kinsey's  brother  Robert  was 
older  and  preceded  Hugh  in  Virginia  and  settled  in  York  county. 
That  Hugh  Kinsey  came  to  Virginia  before  1655,  bringing  wife 
Margaret  and  probably  some  of  his  younger  children,  leaving  the 
two  elder,  Paul  and  Hu^h,  in  the  old  country,  who  came  later  in 
1655.  That  Hugh,  Jr.,  married  in  Virginia,  had  children  Daniel 
and  Sarah  and  possibly  Margaret,  the  latter  mentioned  in  Will 
of  Hugh,  Sr.,  as  a  grandchild  (she  must  have  been  a  child  of 
Paul  or  some  other  son  of  Hugh,  Sr.).  That  Hugh,  Jr.,  remained 
on  the  Virginia  homestead  1659,  and  that  his  mother  Margaret 
stayed  with  him  until  1661,  coming  into  Maryland  then  and 
assigned  her  head  right  to  her  son  Paul.  That  the  wife  of 
Hugh,  Jr.,  died  in  Virgfinia  (the  mortgage  to  John  Fish  ignores 
wife,  and  the  head  rights  for  those  transported  into  Maryland  1662 
has  no  mention  of  wife).  Such  are  fancies  built  upon  the  meagre 
data  which  may  be  displaced  by  later  discoveries." 

I  think  Mr.  Troth  is  in  error  as  to  at  least  one  of  his  theories, 
viz.,  that  Daniel  and  Sarah  were  children  of  Hugh,  Jr.,  and  that 
he  brought  them  into  Maryland  in  1662.  I  believe  that  the  list 
of  children  of  Hugh  Kinsey.  Sr.,  as  given  by  me  in  VoL  IV  of 
Publications,  p.  433,  is  correct  so  far  as  gfiven,  though  there 
may  have  been  other  children,  including  Hugh,  Jr.  That  Daniel 
and  Sarah  were  children  of  Hugh,  Sr.,  would  appear  from  the 
following  data: 

The  mortgage  from  Hugh  Kinsey  fjr.?]  to  John  Fish  dated 
21  May,  1662,  and  mentioned  below,  states  that  Kinsey  was  then 
living  on  a  plantation  on  Rappahannock  River  in  Virginia,  while 
two  years  before,  viz.,  22  May  1660,  Hugh  Kinsey  [Sr.J,  as  shown 
p.  431,  Vol.  IV  Publications,  entered  right  for  400  acres  of  land 
at  Patapsco  in  Maryland  for  transporting  himself  and  others  in- 
cluding his  son  Paul  and  his  daughters,  Elizabeth  Kinsey  and 
Mary  Humphreys  (Land  Office  Records,  Liber  IV  fol  565); 
and  the  entry  for  300  acres  granted  to  Hugh  Kinsey  (Liber  V 
fol  413)   for  transporting  in   1662  his  son  Daniel,  his  daughter 

*  See  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  395-442  of  these  Publications. 


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The  Kinsey  Family.  301 

Sarah  and  four  others,  does  not  include  any  right  for  his  own 
transportation,  and  evidently  refers  to  the  elder  Hugh  who  then 
lived  in  Maryland,  having  come  into  the  Colony  in  1659,  and  not 
to  the  younger  Hugh  as  supposed  by  Mr.  Troth. 

The  data  given  below  Mr.  Troth  states  was  obtained  from 
official  records.— Miles  White,  Jr.] 

Maryland  Archives,  Vol.  IV.— At  a  Court  held  March 
1645.  Rob*  Kinsy  of  virginea  p.  attorn  Jo.  wayvill  de- 
mandeth  of  Rob*  nicolls  1500^  tob  for  a  debt  due  by  bill,  & 
damage  of  non  paym*  retraxit  attachm*  in  form:  consuet 
retorn  5*^  Apr :  next. 

York  County  Virginia  Deeds — 14  Aug  1642. 
Geo  Ludlowe  to  Robert  Kinsey,  100  acres. 

Att  a  Quarter  held  att  James  Citty  the  io*»»  8^'  1656 
Edward  Diggs  Esq,  Governor 

It  appearing  in  Court  that  Hugh  Kinsey  is  heire  to  his 
brother  Robert  Kinsey  dec^  in  this  County  [York]  who 
dyed  without  any  written  Will,  It  is  ordered  according  to 
Law  that  the  said  Hugh  Kinsey  be  possessed  of  the  land 
belonging  to  his  said  brother  and  that  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
Esq.,  Lt  Coll.  W"  Barber,  Coll.  George  Read  and  Lt.  Coll, 
Thomas  Ludlow  or  any  three  of  them  are  hereby  enabled 
to  make  division  of  the  houseing,  cleared  ground  and 
Woodland  into  Three  equal  parts  of  which  Mr.  Gooch  who 
married  the  relict  of  Robert  Kinsey  is  to  be  possest  of  the 
one  third  part  and  to  have  his  choice,  the  time  appointed 
for  the  division  being  Thursday  next. 

Record  15***  8*»'  1656 — ^Whereas  by  an  order  of  Quarter 
Court  the  above  mentioned  made  the  division  between 
Capt.  Henry  Gooch  in  right  of  his  wife  Millicent  &  Mr. 
Hugh  Kinsey  heire  of  his  s^  dec^  brother. 

Hugh  Kinseys  share  being  the  two  thirds  part  amount- 
ing to  7250  lbs.  tobacco  &  cask. 

Lancaster  Co.  Virginia  Vol  3  Deed  Book  or  Court  Record. 


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302  Southern  History  Association. 

28  Jany  1645 — It  is  ordered  by  this  Court  that  Mr.  Peter 
Walker  shall  pay  unto  Robert  Kinsey,  Glazier  (sic)  the 
quantity  of  five  hundred  pounds  of  merchantable  Tobacco 
&  caske  and  seven  barrells  of  good  &  sound  Indian  Com 
within  thirty  days  at  Capt  Wormeley  his  Creek  upon  York 
River  with  Court  charges  or  else  execution  &c. 

Vol  2 — 14  March  1647— This  Bill  bindeth  me  John  Simp- 
son of  York,  glazier  &c,  to  pay  to  Robt  Kinsey  &c,  1500 
lbs  tobacco  and  one  anchor  of  dutch  drams  on  the  tenth 
day  of  October  next  the  same  to  be  in  the  most  convenient 
place  that  may  be  &c 

Recorded  in  Cur.  Com.  Lancaster  20  June  1657 

Virginia  Land  Grants,  Book  No.  4. 

Hugh  Kinsey — ^Jany  25,  1655 — 100  acres — Co  Lancas- 
ter.— On  north  side  of  Rappahanock  River  &  north  east 
side  of  Corotoman  River  and  on  the  westward  of  a  Div- 
idend of  400  acres  whereon  the  said  Kinsey  now  liveth  be- 
ing the  moiety  or  half  of  a  patent  of  800  acres  formerly 
granted  to  John  Mungoe  and  extending  into  the  woods  for 
length  by  the  aforesaid  Dividend  North  North  West  320 
poles — West  by  North  50  poles — South  South  east  parallel 
to  the  first  course  and  east  by  South  by  the  side  of  Coroto- 
man River  to  the  place  where  this  land  first  began — ^The 
said  land  being  due  unto  the  said  Hugh  Kinsey  by  &  for 
the  Transportation  of  two  persons  into  the  Colony  &c. 
To  hold  &c.,  yielding  and  paying  &c.  Which  payment  is  to 
be  made  &c.,  dated  the  8***  of  October  1655 — Paul  Kinsey, 
Hugh  Kinsey. 

Granted  by  Edward  Diggs  Esq  to  Mr.  Hugh  Kinsey. 

Taxables  in  Lancaster  Co.  Va.  List  7  Dec.  1665. 

Mr.  Kinsey 2  persons. 

Lancaster  Co.  Virginia  Court  Records,  Vol  2. 

9  May  1660 — Hugh  Kinsey  ordered  to  be  paid  200  lbs. 
of  tobacco  for  one  gnnne  lost  in  the  late  service. 


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The  Kmsey  Family.  303 

Vol  2.-^Hugh  Kinsey  of  the  County  of  Lancaster  in 
Rappahanock  River  in  Virginia,  planter  is  due  to  John  Fish 
of  London,  Fletcher  for  33£.  6s.  Sd.  of  current  English 
money  and  in  security  for  the  Loan  to  Jan.  25*^  next,,  all 
that  plantation  whereon  the  said  Hugh  Kinsey  now  liveth 
containing  500  acres. 

21  May  1662  Hugh  Kinsey  [Seal.]  * 


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ON  THE  HISTORY  OF  SLAVERY.^ 

The  last  decade  was  unusually  fertile  in  books  treating 
the  history  of  slavery  in  the  United  States.  There  have 
been  noticed  already  in  the  pages  of  these  Publications 
Du  Bois's  Suppression  of  the  African  Slave  Trade  to  the 
United  States  of  America,  1638-1870;  Bassett's  Servitude 
in  North  Carolina,  his  Anti-Slavery  Leaders  in  North 
Carolina  and  his  History  of  Slavery  in  North  Carolina; 
Weeks's  Southern  Quakers  and  Slavery ;  Drewry's  History 
of  Southampton  Insurrection  in  Virginia  in  1832  and 
others. 

These  books,  avowedly  scientific  in  method  and  for  the 
most  part  scholarly  in  the  treatment  of  their  respective 
subjects,  do  not  appeal  to  the  general  reader.  A  book  of 
the  latter  class,  one  which  appeals  to  the*general  reader 
and  to  him  only,  is  John  R.  Spear's  American  Slave  Trade. 
Mr.  Spears  begins  his  narrative  with  the  coming  of  the 
Dutch  man-of-war  to  Jamestown  in  1619.  He  denies  that 
there  was  present  with  the  Virginia  planters  any  other 
idea  than  the  economic  one.  "Were  men  who  had  never 
obtained  a  laborer  save  by  purchase,  and  men  who  them- 
selves had  voluntarily  submitted  to  being  bought  and  sold, 
to  have  their  consciences  afflicted  at  the  thought  of  buying 
these  strangers  ?"  To  sum  up  the  facts,  slaves  were  intro- 
duced into  United  States  territory  in  answer  to  a  demand 
for  labor.    They  were  purchased  by  men  who  were  accus- 

*The  American  Slave-Trade.  An  account  of  its  Origin, 
Growth  and  Suppression.  By  John  R.  Spears.  Illustrated  by 
Walter  Appleton  Clark.  New  York:  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
1900.    O.  pp.  xvii  +  232.    12  Ills.    Cloth.    $2.50. 

Slavery  in  New  York.  A  historical  Sketch  by  Ex- Judge  A. 
Judd  Northrup,  B.  A.,  M.  A.,  LL.  D.  New  York  State  Library 
Bulletin.  History  No.  4.  May,  1900.  Albany:  University  of  the 
State  of  New  York.    1900.    O.  pp.  243-313.    Paper.    10  cents. 


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On  the  History  of  Slavery,  305 

tomed  to  the  purchase  and  sale  of  laborers,  and  no  one's 
conscience  was  in  any  way  hurt  by  the  transaction  (pp.  12, 

13). 
With  this  frank  enunciation  of  the  economic  principle  he 

discusses  briefly  the  influence  of  Las  Casas  on  the  intro- 
duction of  slavery  into  America  and  the  great  influence  of 
the  trade  itself  on  English  sailors  and  English  seamen. 
Time  was  when  the  trade  was  eminently  genteel  and  was 
engaged  in  by  kings  and  nobles.  It  tended  to  develop  a 
race  of  sea  kings:  "As  the  most  important  branch  of 
British  commerce — ^the  commerce  of  New  England  as  well 
as  the  commerce  of  old  England — the  slave-trade  became 
the  chief  nursery  of  British  seamen.  The  instincts  inher- 
ited from  viking  ancestors  were  fostered  and  encouraged 
then."  The  seamen  who  manned  our  ships  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  and  **by  their  pluck  and  skill  captured  the 
munitions  of  war  that  enabled  Washington  to  win  at  last, 
were  trained  on  the  decks  of  slavers.  And  John  Paul 
Jones,  one  of  the  'true  sea-kings,  whose  claim  to  the  title 
lies  in  the  qualities  of  the  head  as  well  as  of  the  heart/ 
came  through  the  forecastle  of  the  slaver  King  George  to 
hoist  the  first  American  naval  ensign  above  the  quarter 
deck  of  the  first  American  flagship"  (p.  29-30).  But  "it  is 
a  most  interesting  fact  that  while  the  slave  trade  developed 
vikings  when  it  was  a  leg^l  and  reputable  traffic,  it  de- 
veloped a  race  devoid  of  every  manly  instinct  when  it  be- 
came unlawful"  (p.  79). 

Not  less  important  was  the  influence  of  the  trade  on  ship 
building.  It  was  responsible  for  the  improvements  in  mer- 
chant vessels  made  towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  for  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  there  was 
nothing  afloat  of  their  size  that  could  overhaul  the  slavers 
that  were  turned  into  privateers  during  the  war  of  1812, 
while  at  a  later  period  the  Venus,  of  Baltimore,  became  the 
forerunner  of  "the  splendid  Yankee  clippers  whose  voy- 
ages previous  to  the  Civil  War  astonished  the  maritime 


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3o6  Southern  History  Association. 

world"  (p.  40).  A  few  steamers  were  known  in  the  later 
trade.  Some  vessels  carried  an  armament  sufficient  to  beat 
oflf  the  smaller  armed  cruisers,  while  they  trusted  to  their 
speed  to  save  them  from  the  grasp  of  the  heavier  man-of- 
war.  "The  old  whaler  became  a  favorite  slaver  type,  be- 
cause her  try-pots  could  cook  yams  and  rice  as  well  as  try 
oil,  and  her  barrels  carry  either  oil  or  water." 

The  commercial  enthusiasm,  the  keen  instinct  of  the 
Yankee  in  pursuit  of  the  dollar,  comes  out  nowhere  more 
clearly  than  here.  Even  before  the  assiento  of  1713,  when 
England  and  her  colonies  gained  a  monopoly  of  the  trade, 
he  had  broken  through  the  trust  which  English  merchants 
had  sought  to  establish  and  had  induced  Parliament  to 
enact  that  private  ships  should  be  free  to  enter  the  trade 
on  the  payment  of  10%  duty  on  English  goods  exported 
to  Africa — a  victory  which  the  author  characterizes  as  "the 
first  Yankee  conflict  for  'Free  Trade  and  Sailors'  Rights.'  " 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  was  the  earliest  center  of  the 
trade  in  America  and  never  lost  its  pre-eminence.  "Rhode 
Island  has  been  more  deeply  interested  in  the  slave  trade, 
and  has  enslaved  more  Africans  than  any  colony  in  New 
England,"  wrote  Samuel  Hopkins  in  1770,  and  it  was  a 
pious  Newport  elder  who  "always  returned  thanks  on  the 
Sunday  following  the  arrival  of  a  sl?iver  in  the  harbor  of 
Newport,  that  an  .overruling  Providence  has  been  pleased 
to  bring  to  this  land  of  freedom  another  cargo  of  benighted 
heathen,  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  a  Gospel  dispensation" 
(p.  41).  Had  this  good  brother  and  his  fellow  citizens  been 
as  full  of  the  love  of  humanity  and  as  free  from  the  g^eed 
of  gain,  had  they  seen  the  heinousness  of  slavery  as  clearly 
as  their  great-grandchildren  saw  it  (aided  by  the  facts  that 
the  trade  was  then  outlawed  and  that  slavery  was  no 
longer  a  paying  institution  in  the  North)  what  a  world  of 
misery  and  sorrow  had  been  spared  the  suffering  South  I 

The  author  treats  his  subject  mainly  from  the  economic 
standpoint.    The  early  chapters  discuss  also  the  outfit  of 


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On  the  History  of  Slavery.  2P1 

the  slaver,  the  methods  of  dealing  for  slaves  when  on  the 
slave  coast,  the  horrors  of  the  middle  passage  and  the  ex- 
traordinary profits  of  the  trade.  The  risks  however  were 
great,  the  rate  of  insurance  for  slaves  as  early  as  the  mid- 
dle of  the  eighteenth  century  being  about  20%. 

From  chapter  eight  to  the  end  the  narrative  concerns 
itself  mainly  with  the  history  of  the  efforts  towards  sup- 
pressing the  trade,  which  are  almost  as  old  as  the  trade 
itself.  In  a  general  way  it  parallels  the  work  of  Dr.  Du 
Bois,  but  the  two  books  are  very  different  in  character. 
Mr.  Spears  says  that  his  work  "has  been  written  almost 
wholly  from  public  documents,  biographies,  stories  of  trav- 
ellers and  other  sources  of  original  information."  He  has 
produced  a  narrative  of  thrilling  interest  for  the  general 
.  reader,  but  his  book  lacks  all  of  those  scholarly  parapher-  • 
nalia  which  characterize  -the  work  of  Dr.  Du  Bois.  He 
seldom  cites  authorities  in  the  text;  there  are  no  foot 
notes ;  there  is  no  bibliography,  and  while  there  are  appen- 
dixes setting  forth  the  names  of  vessels  and  persons  ar- 
rested and  placed  under  bond,  there  is  no  index,  an  un- 
pardonable blunder  in  an  historical  work  published  by  a 
reputable  firm.  It  is  doubtful  also  if  any  service  is  ren- 
dered the  cause  of  exact  history  by  inserting  purely  im- 
aginary drawings,  nor  does  the  author  add  to  its  value  by 
borrowing  as  a  peroration  the  turgid  rhetoric  of  the  daily 
press. 

The  type,  paper  and  press  work  are  all  that  could  be  de- 
sired. 

As  Judge  Northrup  pertinently  remarks  at  the  beginning 
of  his  monograph,  the  histories  of  negro  slavery  have  dealt 
mainly  with  its  existence  in  the  Southern  States.  Many  of 
them  have  been  partisan  in  purpose  and  directed  chiefly  to 
the  vilification  of  the  South ;  and  so  many  have  been  tainted 
with  the  "holier  than  thou"  feeling  that  we  are  apt  to  for- 
get that  slavery  was  for  many  years  a  "national  institu- 
tion."   It  is  therefore  cheering  to  read  a  fresh  treatment 


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3o8  Southern  History  Association, 

of  this  subject  as  it  concerns  a  Northern  State  and  to  learn 
from  a  native  student  that  the  difficulties  and  troubles  of 
slave  holders  in  the  North  were  similar  to  those  encoun- 
tered in  the  South ;  that  these  difficulties  were  met  in  sub- 
stantially the  same  way,  and  that  the  main  reasons  for  the 
disappearance  of  slavery  in  that  section  were  economic. 

Such  is  Judge  Northrup's  Slavery  in  New  York,  recently 
published  by  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  author  divides  his  subject  into  three  pirts:  (i)  Slavery 
.  under  the  Dutch,  from  1626,  the  date  of  its  introduction, 
till  1664 ;  (2)  Under  the  English,  from  1664  till  1776 ;  (3) 
Under  the  State  Government,  from  1776  till  it  oame  to  an 
end,  by  legislative  act,  on  July  4,  1827. 

The  course  of  its  history  there  was  not  essentially  differ- 
ent from  that  in  the  Southern  States,  as  is  shown  in  public 
documents  and  laws.  Slaves  were  introduced  in  response 
to  a  demand  for  labor.  The  West  India  Company  im- 
ported slaves  for  in  this  way  it  was  possible  to  better  de- 
velop their  property  and  pay  better  dividends.  The  Eng- 
lish, in  characteristic  fashion,  mingled  a  little  piety  with 
their  slave  trading  and  slaveholding.  This  did  not  mitigate 
the  evils  of  servitude,  but  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  ex- 
ploit religion  in  "a  harmless  and  ineffectual  way."  The 
notion  prevailed  in  New  York,  as  it  did  in  the  South,  that 
conversion  and  baptism  liberated  the  slave,  and  it  re- 
quired positive  legislation  to  remove  this  belief. 

The  New  Yorker  had  his  own  troubles  with  slavery.  He 
had  to  contend  with  insurrections.  He  had  to  guard 
against  harboring  runaways;  against  trafficking  with 
slaves;  against  selling  them  liquor  and  against  thefts  by 
them.  He  sought  to  set  limitations  on  the  importation  of 
negroes  into  the  province;  to  check  running  of  slaves  to 
Canada  or  to  the  neighboring  Indian  tribes;  to  provide 
for  the  execution  or  transportation  of  slave  criminals ;  to 
secure  payment  by  the  government  for  those  executed; 
and  to  guard  against  the  casting  of  old  and  helpless  slaves 


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On  the  History  of  Slavery.  309 

as  a  burden  upon  the  public.  Slaves  were  regarded  and 
treated  in  New  York  solely  as  property,  and  the  laws  were 
framed  to  this  end.  These  similar  matters  are  duly  set 
forth  by  this  candid  historian  and  the  presentment  is  suffi- 
cient to  make  many  a  modern  philanthropist  pale  with 
righteous  indignation. 

But  economic  conditions  were  against  slavery  in  New 
York.  They  were  few  in  number,  the  highest  estimate  be- 
ing 21,993  i^  1774  2i^d  "their  employment  was  of  little  pe- 
cuniary value."  In  1799  the  State  passed  its  first  act  look- 
ing toward  the  abolition  of  slavery.  This  provided  that  all 
children  bom  of  a  slave  parent  after  July  4,  1799,  should  be 
esteemed  free,  but  be  bound  to  service,  the  males  until  28 
and  the  females  until  25  years  of  age.  An  act  of  1817  pro- 
vided that  all  slaves  bom  before  July  4,  1799,  should  be  free 
after  July  4,  1827,  and  at  the  latter  date  slavery  as  such 
came  to  an  end.  A  section  is  added  on  Indian  slaves.  The 
impartiality  and  fairness  of  this  monograph  are  most 
highly  commendable. 


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JOHN  A.  BROADUS— A  REVIEW.^ 
By  J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

Prof.  A.  T.  Robertson's  book  deserves  more  than  casual 
mention.  What  Thackeray  said  of  Theodore  Parker  was 
eminently  true  of  Dr.  Broadus,  that  few  men  in  America 
were  so  well  worth  knowing.  Dr.  Broadus  was  born  in 
Culpeper  county,  Virginia,  January  24, 1827,  and  was  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  Virginia  in  1850.  Beginning 
to  preach  at  an  early  age,  he  became  what  most  persons 
regarded  as  the  prince  of  preachers.  At  all  religious  as- 
semblies and  in  hundreds  of  churches,  his  services  were  in 
demand  and  houses  of  worship  were  often  unable  to  hold 
the  eager  and  delighted  audiences.  Simplicity,  earnest- 
ness, pathos,  great  power  of  sympathy,  clearness  of  state- 
ment, apposite  illustration,  exaltation  of  the  Scriptures, 
persuasiveness,  were  among  his  characteristics.  A  treatise 
on  the  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons  is  used  in 
theological  seminaries  and  in  colleges  in  this  country  and 
in  Great  Britain,  and  has  been  translated  into  Chinese  and 
other  languages. 

The  careful  preparation  of  lectures  on  homiletics  for  a 
blind  student  led  to  the  preparation  of  a  volume,  which  has 
become  the  standard  work  "and  the  best  single  treatise 
existing  on  the  subject." 

Dr.  Strong  says  he  was  our  most  persuasive  preacher 
and  our  best  teacher  of  the  art  of  preaching.  An  intellect 
made  aglow  by  the  heart  makes  truth  attractive  and  lov- 
able. Robertson  says :  "It  is  half  way  toward  making  me 
believe  when  a  man  believes  himself."    Great  as  he  was 

*  Life  and  Lbtters  op  John  Albert  Broadus.  By  Archibald 
Thomas  Robertson.  I^iladelphia:  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society.    1901.    pp.  xiv  +  462.    Illus.    i2mo.    QoUi.    $1.50. 


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John  A,  Broadus — A  Review. — Curry.  311 

as  a  preacher,  he  was  greater  as  a  teacher.  Dr.  Way- 
land  said  no  one  was  fit  to  have  a  pupil  unless  he  could 
make  his  mark  upon  him.  Tried  by  this  test  Dr.  Broadus 
was  almost  peerless.  Teaching  was  his  forte  and  the. 
Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  built  up  by  Dr. 
Broadus  and  Dr.  Boyce,  to  which  they  gave  toil  and  sacri- 
fice, and  almost  blood  and  martyrdom,  furnished  ample 
scope  for  the  display  of  pre-eminent  abilities.  The  Beecher 
Lectures  on  Preaching,  in  Yale,  and  similar  service  in 
Greenville  enlarged  the  sphere  of  usefulness  and  enabled 
him  to  make  permanent  impressions  on  the  life  and 
thought  of  professors,  students  and  general  audience. 
Choice  English,  a  winning  manner,  a  conversational  tone, 
wide  reading,  perfect  assimilation  and  control  of  stores  of 
knowledge,  an  irresistible  magnetism  of  Voice,  eye,  ges- 
ture, sympathy,  made  an  hour  in  his  class  room  an  era 
in  the  life  of  a  conscientious,  thoughtful  student. 

Dr.  Broadus  was  a  g^eat  scholar.  He  was  acquainted 
with  Latin,  Hebrew,  Anglo-Saxon,  German,  French,  Span- 
ish, Italian,  Gothic  and  Coptic.  With  classic  and  modern 
•  Greek  he  was  thoroughly  familiar,  but  his  acquaintance 
with  patristic  Greek,  with  New  Testament  Greek,  was  his 
chiefest  attainment  in  scholarship.  Drs.  Hovey,  Sdhaflf, 
Endicott,  Lightfoot,  Westcott  and  Hart,  were  glad  to  con- 
sult him  and  avail  themselves  of  his  learning  and  criticisms. 
As  a  member  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Lesson 
Committee,  he  was  so  thoroughly  prepared  and  useful  that 
Dr.  Moses  Hoge,  his  colleague,  said  "he  came  prepared 
with  the  scheme  of  the  lessons  already  formulated,  written 
out  wholly  or  so  planned  that  he  was  ready  to  lead  and 
guide  through  the  whole  discussion."  The  distance  of 
South  Carolina  from  New  York  made  it  impossible  for  him 
to  join  the  American  Company  of  Revision,  but  when  he 
was  in  England  Bishop  ElHcott  introduced  him  to  the  Eng- 
lish Revisers,  assembled  in  Jerusalem  Chamber,  who 
greeted  him  warmly  and  did  him  unusual  honor. 

4 


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312  Southern  History  Association. 

Dr.  Broadus's  Harmony  of  the  Gospels  and  Commentary 
on  Matthew  show  wealth  of  learning,  critical  acumen, 
soundness  of  interpretation,  clearness  of  statement  and  a 
well-balanced  judgment  which  have  made  them  authorita- 
tive with  expositors  and  New  Testament  students. 

Dr.  Robertson  in  writing  this  interesting  and  valuable 
memoir  of  one  whom  Dr.  Carroll  characterizes  as  the 
wisest  man  he  ever  knew,  has  wisely  permitted  Dr. 
Broadus  to  come  before  us  himself,  "with  all  his  rich  en- 
dowments of  nature  and  grace,  his  victory  over  difficulties, 
his  mastery  of  self,  his  influence  with  men,  his  world-wide 
usefulness,  his  power  from  God."  In  letters  to  and  from 
Dr.  Broadus  the  writer  possessed  an  etnbarras  de  richesses, 
which  he  has  managed  with  skill,  but  there  remains  an 
unused  mass  of  the  same  material  which  could  be  used 
for  as  large  and  as  instructive  a  volume  as  that  under 
review. 


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BOOK  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES. 

( 

On  Southern  Poetry  Prior  to  i860.  By  Sidney 
Eraest  Bradshaw,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of  English,  Bethel 
College,  Ky.  Richmond,  Va.:  B.  F.  Johnson  Pub.  Co. 
(copr.  1900),  D,  pp.  162,  $1. 

This  monograph  inaugurates  the  Studies  in  Southern 
Literature  undertaken  by  the  University  of  Virginia  and 
edited  by  Professor  Charles  W.  Kent,  Ph.  D,  The  first 
series  is  to  be  devoted  to  Southern  Poetry.  The  idea  of 
these  Studies  is  an  excellent  one.  The  literature  of  the 
South  is  not  great  in  amount  and  most  of  it  not  extra- 
ordinary in- character ;  yet  it  has  a  distinguished  place  in 
the  history  of  American  ai>d  English  literature,  for  in  the 
field  of  poetry  alone  two  authors  have  gained  a  national 
reputation,  while  the  fame  of  a  third  is  as  wide  as  civiliza- 
tion. 

In  undertaking  to  review  the  field  of  Southern  Poetry  up 
to  i860,  t)r.  Bradshaw  has  suffered,  as  he  often  remarks, 
from  the  scarcity  of  materials.  This  is  due  to  sev- 
eral causes.  Many  of  the  periodicals  in  which  much  verse 
appeared  were  emphemeral.  The  newspapers  of  the  period 
disappeared  more  rapidly  still.  Much  of  the  poetry  was 
published  anonymously  and  has  never  been  identified.  The 
author  knows  of  no  bibliography  of  Southern  Poetry; 
practically  all  of  it  is  out  of  print  and  seemingly  few  col- 
lectors have  turned  their  attention  to  this  field. 

The  plan  of  the  author  is  to  cover  the  field  chronolog- 
ically, taking  for  his  first  period  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  work  itself  is  largely  biographical  and  bibliographical 
in  character.  There  are  few  poetical  quotations  and  of 
literary  and  artistic  criticism  of  particular  poets  there  is 
alntost  none.  That  this  is  a  defect  is  felt  by  the  author,  who 
time  and  again  excuses  the  imperfection  of  his  work.    His 


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314  Southern  History  Association. 

plea  that  he  is  a  pioneer  in  an  unworked  field,  and  that 
material  is  largely  inaccessible  must  be  admitted  in  part. 
But  it  is  painful  to  notice  the  constancy,  the  persistence 
one  might  almost  say,  with  which  he  has  relied  for  his 
literary  facts  and  criticisms  on  the  well  known  general 
reference  works  like  Allibone,  Duyckinck,  Griswold  (!!!) 
Manly,  Rutherford,  Stedman  and  Hutchinson  (who  did  not 
trouble  themselves  to  make  use  of  Southern  material  that 
was  proffered  them),  Tyler  and  others.  For  biography 
almost  his  sole  dependence  is  that  g^eat  thesaurus  of  ig- 
norance and  error,  known  to  the  trade  as  Appleton's  Cy- 
clopaedia of  American  Biography,  which  as  far  as  the 
South  is  concerned  is  famed  for  two  things — ^the  worthy 
names  that  are  omitted  and  the  blunders  that  are  ad- 
mitted. 

It  is  little  to  the  author's  credit  that  he  has  relied  on 
such  secondary  authorities  for  his  biographies,  his  bibli- 
ographies and  his  literary  criticisms.  His  bibliography  of 
works  consulted  contains  much  stuff  in  the  shape  of  com- 
pends  of  literature  but  few  sources  that  deal  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  with  the  subject  under  consideration.  The 
author  has  browsed  widely  in  the  general  literature  of  his 
subject,  but  his  lack  of  acquaintance  with  the  local  histor- 
ical literature  of  the  South  is  profound.  For  instance  he 
knows  nothing  of  the  bibliographical  work  of  Mr.  A.  S. 
Salley,  Jr.,  on  Simms  and  Timrod,  published  in  this  jour- 
nal, a  knowledge  of  which  would  have  saved  him  from 
painful  blunders  in  the  account  of  Timrod;  he  actually 
writes  of  Alabama  without  knowing  Owen's  Bibliography 
of  Alabama ;  and  according  to  this  authority  North  Caro- 
lina has  produced  a  single  poet  in  the  person  of  Lemuel 
Sjiwyer !  Had  the  author  been  only  to  a  small  degree  ac- 
quainted with  the  literature  of  that  State  he  could  not  have 
missed  all  the  following:  Herman  Husband  and  the  Songs 
of  the  Regulation  War,  1766-1771 ;  George  Moses  Horton, 
the  slave  poet ;  George  V.  Strong ;  Attempts  at  Rhyming, 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  3»5 

by  an  Oldfield  Schoolmaster,  1837;  Thomas  Godfrey,  au- 
thor of  the  Prince  of  Parthia,  the  first  American  drama ; 
Philo  Henderson;  William  Henry  Rhodes;  A.  W.  Man- 
gum  ;  Mrs.  Mason,  author  of  A  Wreath  from  the  Woods 
of  Carolina,  and  a  number  of  others  whose  work  has  been 
preserved  in  Mrs.  Clarke's  Wood  Notes. 

It  can  hardly  be  said  that  the  author  has  added  much  to 
the  meager  total  of  what  was  already  known  of  ante  bellum 
Southern  poets  and  which  was  fairly  accessible  to  students. 
He  has  rendered  a  service  in  bringing  these  notes,  extracts 
and  criticisms  together,  but  his  persistent  quotations  from 
secondary  authorities  when  primary  ones  were  either  at 
hand  or  obtainable  for  work  shows  an  astonishing  ignor- 
ance of  university  methods. 

A  Reprint  of  Satula  and  Other  Selected  Poems, 
from  the  Portfolio  of  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Pinkerton,  Augusta, 
Ga.    Cloth,  pp.  52  (no  place). 

"A  gentleman  of  the  old  school"  is  a  phrase  much  abused 
by  us  now.  The  thing  itself  can  never  suffer  abuse:  a 
blending  of  severity  of  garb,  dignity  of  manner,  stateliness 
of  carriage,  formality  of  diction,  loftiness  of  thought  with 
inward  sweetness  and  grace,  bares  the  head  of  the  most 
irreverent.  To  sneer  at  this,  one  must  be  indeed  a  scof- 
fer. "A  book  of  the  old  school,"  a  somewhat  rarer  thing 
in  nature,  is  entitled  to  some  regard.  The  reviewer's  hat 
is  off  to  the  slender,  sedate,  dark-clad  volume  before  him 
with  its  traits  of  an  earlier  time. 

The  book  is  valuable  as  a  survival,  as  a  relic  of  the  Old 
South.  It  bears,  it  is  true,  the  date  1900;  it  records  no  in- 
cident of  our  past ;  but  the  tone  and  manner  are  those  of 
a  far-away  consulship.  The  very  themes  belong  to  the 
tokens  and  gift  books  of  fifty  years  ago.  The  poems  of 
nature — of  highland  ridge  and  coast  inlet — ^the  songs  of 
the  seasons,  the  birthday  and  memorial  lines,  the  verses 
in  a  minor  key,  universal  as  may  be  the  ideas  there  em- 


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3i6  Southern  History  Association. 

bodied,  are  laden  with  the  traditions  of  a  bygone  taste  for 
generalities.  The  didactic  note,  surprisingly  dominant  in 
our  elder  poetry,  is  all  powerful  here ;  every  sheet  from  the 
portfolio  is  fraught  with  its  lesson.  The  language  is  clas- 
sical, often  ponderously  formal;  plain  Saxon  is  pushed 
aside  by  periphrases:  "Youth"  gives  to  "adolescent 
life;"  "perennial,"  "verduous"  and  "abororeous"  perform 
a  schoolmaster's  duty.  The  dignified  lines  move  with  a 
heavy  step,  often  pausing  too  long  at  an  accent  or  stum- 
bling over  a  rhyme.  Even  the  work  of  the  unknown 
printer  and  proof-reader  abounds  in  atavisms:  "plaintiff 
chords"  is  among  their  quaint  blunders. 

To  summarize  in  a  sentence — ^This  book  is  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  word,  old-fashioned — ^there  can  be  no  finer 
praise  than  that. 

Frederick  Tupper,  Jr. 

Red  Blood  and  Blue.  By  Harrison  Robertson.  New 
York:    Charles  Scribner's  Sons,   1900,  pp.  324.     Cloth, 

$1.50. 

Mr.  Robertson,  in  Red  Blood  and  Blue,  and  Miss 
Glasgow  in  The  Voice  of  the  People,  write  on  the  same 
theme — life  in  the  South  as  affected  by  the  results  of  the 
Civil  War.  Miss  Glasgow's  story  is  of  political  life  in 
Eastern  Virginia ;  Mr.  Robertson's,  of  social  life  in  Middle 
Tennessee.  In  each  story  the  hero,  a  "poor  white,"  by  his 
ability  to  work,  good  sense,  force  of  character,  and  in- 
tegrity, wins  for  himself  the  recognition  and  respect  of  all 
classes.  Each  loves,  and  is  loved  by,  a  daughter  of  one  of 
the  "aristocratic"  families.  Here,  however,  the  parallelism 
stops.  Nick  Burr,  in  Miss  Glasgow's  story,  only  for  a 
time  loses  sight  of  the  social  barrier  between  himself  and 
Eugenia  Battle ;  and  when,  in  spite  of  their  mutual  love,  he 
must  leave  her  finally,  he  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  hope 
of  breaking  down  the  barrier  between  them  had  always 
been  vain.     But  Andrew  Outcault,    in    Mr.    Robertson's 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  317 

story,  while  knowing  that  society  had  placed  a  barrier  be- 
tween him  and  Victoria  Torrance,  at  no  time  regards  it  as 
a  real  barrier,  and  does  not  for  a  moment  admit  that  it 
can  prevent  him  from  marrying  her.  "I  have  never  loved 
you  for  a  moment,"  he  said  to  her,  when  first  telling  her  of 
his  love,  "when  I  did  not  know  that  there  were  strong  bar- 
riers .between  us.  At  first  I  did  not  understand  clearly 
what  they  were ;  but  neither  then  nor  later,  when  I  under- 
stood them  fully,  did  I  ever  waver  in  my  determination  to 
beat  them  down  or  break  over  them.  I  knew  that  I  did  not 
put  them  there,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  not 
be  denied  the  best  there  was  in  life  because  of  the  acts  of 
others,  or  the  prejudices  of  caste,  for  none  of  which  I  was 
responsible." 

By  "the  acts  of  others"  Andrew  meant  his  father's 
swindling  Victoria's  father  and  a  good  many  of  the  neigh- 
bors out  of  some  thousands  of  dollars  and  then  leaving  the 
country.  The  determination  to  pay  back  this  money  and 
thus  take  from  the  family  name  that  burden  of  dishonor, 
was,  in  his  effort  to  rise,  an  earlier  and  a  stronger  incen- 
tive than  his  love  for  Victoria  Torrance. 

How  Andrew  succeeds  in  his  efforts,  and  how  he  does 
win  for  himself  the  best  in  life,  Mr.  Robertson  tells  in  a 
story  that  runs  forward  rapidly  and  steadily ;  and  that  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  loses  sight  of  the  goal.  The.  story  presents 
types  rather  than  individuals.  Feme  Run,  with  its  harm- 
less, gossiping  social  life,  its  indolent  business  life,  and  its 
smiling  contempt  for  Andrew  Outcault's  "projickin'  "  with 
"new-fangled"  notions  is  a  typical  Southern  country  vil- 
lage. James  York  Torrance,  a  proud,  high-bred,  gentle- 
manly relic  of  the  days  before  the  war ;"  Captain  Hallibur- 
ton, the  kind-hearted,  unselfish,  hot-tempered  Confederate 
veteran,  who  always  believed  that  if  Forrest  had  com- 
manded at  Fort  Donelson  the  Confederacy  would  have 
succeeded ;  and  Ony  Swangs,  the  illiterate,  vulgar,  shrewd. 


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3i8  Southern  History  Association. 

but  honest,  man  of  affairs,  are  all  types  that  can  be  found 
in  many  a  Southern  community. 

Outcault  wins  the  love  and  the  hand  of  Victoria  Tor- 
rance. In  such  mingling  of  the  red  blood  and  the  blue,  a 
contributor  to  a  recent  issue  of  the  Atlantic  MontMy  sees 
the  hope  of  the  "New  South."  In  this  writer's  opinion,  the 
union  of  the  culture,  refinement,  and  distinction  of  the 
"old-time"  Southern  gentle-folk  with  the  energy,  aggres- 
siveness and  thrift  of  the  "middle  class"  will  produce  a  race 
inferior  to  none  in  the  world.  If  this  is  correct,  "Red  Blood 
and  Blue"  is  not  only  a  good  story  of  contemporary 
Southern  life,  but  it  is  a  prophecy  of  that  which  is  to  come. 

Gl^RGE  S.-WlI^LS. 

A  Carolina  Cavalier.  A  romance  of  the  American 
Revolution.  By  George  Cary  Eggleston.  Illustrated  by 
C.  D.  Williams.  Boston:  Lothrop  Publishing  Company. 
12  mo,  pp.  448,  6  illus.,  cloth,  $1.50. 

As  a  romance  this  book  is  fairly  readable,  the  plot  is  well 
conceived,  but  the  characters  are  not  well  developed, 
though  the  interest  of  the  reader  should  never  flag  for 
want  of  exciting  incident.  But  Mr.  Eggleston  has  signally 
failed  in  his  endeavor  to  make  all  of  his  "historical  refer- 
ences accurate,"  and  that  concerns  us  most. 

On  page  35  the  author  makes  it  appear  that  there  was 
"for  many  years  a  constant  illicit  trade  between  the  West 
Indies  and  other  countries  and  the  Carolina  coast,"  yet  on 
the  very  next  page  he  quotes  Governor  Glen  to  the  con- 
trary effect.  Corroboration  of  Governor  Glen  is  abundant 
in  the  South  Carolina  records. 

Beginning  with  Mrs.  Vargave's  conversation  on  page  61, 
and  continuing  it  throughout  the  entire  book,  the  author 
repeats  the  old  and  hackneyed  charge  that  there  were  a 
great  many  Tories  in  South  Carolina.  At  the  outset  of 
the  Revolution  most  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina — 
many  of  the  leaders  of  the  Revolution — ^were  sincerely  op- 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  319 

posed  to  a  separation  from  England,  but  after  the  massacre 
of  Buford's  regiment  in  the  Waxhaws  by  Tarleton  there 
were  very  few  Tories  in  all  South  Carolina  who  had  been 
citizens  of  the  province  previous  to  1776,  and  there  were 
still  fewer  fighting  Tories.  As  a  proof  that  few  citizens  of 
South  Carolina  were  Tories  it  is  only  necessary  to  look  at 
the  list  of  confiscated  estates.  After  the  British  captured 
the  State  they  filled  it  with  Tories,  but  they  were  brought 
from  the  other  colonies. 

On  pages  154-5  Mr.  Eggleston  gives  brief  sketches  of 
General  Marion  and  Colonel  Peter  Horry,  and  for  his 
statements  he  must  have  consulted  Weems  as  authority,  for 
he  is  wrong  in  almost  every  statement. 

On  page  202  Mr.  Eggleston  gives  us  a  fictitious  letter 
from  Governor  Rutledge,  dated  "Charles  Town,  April  8, 
1779."  At  that  very  time  Governor  Rutledge  was  in  Or- 
angeburgh.  On  page  224  it  is  asserted  that  General  Moul- 
trie's force  was  too  small  to  even  check  Prevost's  army  on 
its  invasion  of  South  Carolina.  It  did  check  it  at  the 
gates  of  Charles  Town.  Mr.  Eggleston  accuses  Prevost 
of  showing  "indecision  and  hesitation,'*  which  is  directly 
contrary  to  the  facts,  as  his  conduct  on  the  occasion  of  his 
invasion  of  South  Carolina  was  particularly  "dashing." 

In  dealing  with  the  battle  of  Stono  Mr.  Eggleston  states 
that  the  bulk  of  Lincoln's  army  consisted  of  militia.  Gen- 
eral McCrady's  History  of  South  Carolina  in  the  Revolu- 
tion will  refute  this,  as  al^  will  original  papers  in  the 
South  Carolina  Historical  Society's  collection. 

On  page  282  Mr.  Eggleston  says  of  Governor  Rut- 
ledge's  powers :  "Not  property  alone,  but  human  life  and 
human  death  also  were  at  his  unchecked  disposal."  This 
is  directly  contrary  to  the  expressed  terms  of  the  act  con- 
ferring the  extraordinary  powers  on  Rutledge. 

A  hundred  errors  of  more  or  less  importance  could  be 
pointed  out  in  this  historical  novel,  but  space  forbids. 

A.  S.  Salley,  Jr. 


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320  Southern  History  Association. 

The  Louisiana  Purchase  and  Our  Title  West  of 
THE  Rocky  Mountains,  With  a  Review  of  Annexation 
BY  THE  United  States.  By  Binger  Hermann,  Commis- 
sioner of  the  General  Land  Office.  Washington :  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  1898.    Ills.,  maps,  portraits. 

It  is  a  fact  not  creditable  to  the  officials  of  the  Federal 
Government  that  the  public  utterances  on  the  subject  of 
the  boundaries  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  have  been  to- 
tally lacking  in  consistency.  The  average  school  boy  who 
views  the  series  of  maps  issued  by  our  Government  must 
be  sorely  puzzled  what  to  believe.  For  instance  the  map 
of  Public  Domain,  issued  in  1880,  and  the  volume  of  House 
Miscellanies,  bearing  the  title  of  "Public  Domain  of  the 
United  States,"  (1883),  both  include  the  so-called  Oregon 
territory  in  the  accessions  obtained  through  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  of  1803.  Yet  two  years  later  (1885),  H.  Gannett, 
Chief  Geographer  of  the  United  States,  in  his  "Boundaries 
of  the  United  States,"  printed  by  the  Government,  says: 
"It  is  certain  that  the  area  comprised  in  Washington,  Ore- 
gon and  Idaho  was  not  included  in  the  Purchase  of  1803." 
Then,  in  1896  the  Land  Office  published  a  large  wall  map, 
which  represented  the  Oregon  region  as  ceded  to  the 
United  States  by  France  in  1803.  But  two  years  later 
(1898)  there  comes  into  court  Hon.  Binger  Hermann,  Com- 
missioner of  the  General  Land  Office,  who  declares  that 
the  previous  map  was  incorrect,  and  in  his  "Louisiana  Pur- 
chase," which  bears  the  imprimatur  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  gives  us  a  new  official  map  of  the  United  States, 
excluding  the  Oregon  territory  from  the  cession  of  1803. 

If,  in  two  brief  years,  such  a  change  in  the  point  of  view 
can  take  place,  the  public  is  justified  in  awaiting  with  curi- 
osity the  next  expression  of  official  opinion. 

We  wish  to  preface  our  brief  review  of  this  work  by 
saying  that  we  are  heartily  in  accord  with  Mr.  Hermann  in 
his  special  contention.  We  appreciate,  moreover,  the  in- 
teresting and  important  statistics  which  he  has  collected  to 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  321 

illustrate  the  value  of  the  accessions  of  territory  made  pre- 
vious to  the  conclusion  of  the  Spanish- American  war.  But 
this  is  not  all  that  Mr.  Hermann  has  done  for  us.  He  has 
utilized  the  opportunity  to  incorporate  in  his  book  a  gen- 
eral plea  for  expansion,  which  finally  bursts  into  a  fulsome 
eulogy  of  President  McKinley  for  his  wisdom  in  annexing 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  to  the  Public  Domain.  "As  the  illus- 
trious Thomas  Jefferson,"  we  are  told,  "crowned  his  mem- 
ory with  imperishable  fame  by  his  annexation  of  the  em- 
pire west  of  the  Mississippi,  so  President  McKinley  has 
added  to  his  renown  and  forever  endeared  himself  to  his 
fellow-countrymen,  for  [sic]  his  safe  counsels  and  his  un- 
tiring and  zealous  aid  in  the  annexation  of  Hawaii." 

As  this  work  was  published  after  our  victories  of  1898  in 
the  Spanish  war,  the  reader  begins  to  suspect  that  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  work,  if  not  the  whole,  is  a  thinly  disguised 
campaign  document,  directed  to  the  anti-expansionists, 
but  published  at  the  public  cost.  Whatever  may  be  the 
merits  of  the  controversy,  it  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Her- 
mann's book,  viewed  with  reference  to  the  issues  of  the 
day,  exhibits  either  good  taste  or  good  rhetoric. 

In  dealing,  moreover,  with  historical  material,  Mr.  Her- 
mann does  not  show  himself  at  his  best.  His  researches 
seem  to  have  been  neither  wide  nor  deep,  and  as  a  result 
we  find  in  his  book  a  curiously  one-sided  view  of  some  of 
the  g^eat  questions  concerning  our  national  boundaries. 

In  his  discussion  of  the  Oregon  question,  he  treats  as 
insignificant  the  early  claims  advanced  by  Great  Britain  to 
that  region — a  point  of  view  that  will  not  be  generally  ac- 
cepted by  students  of  American  history.  Then  again,  Mr. 
Hermann  evidently  believes  that  Texas  was  included  in  the 
Louisiana  Purchase.  "For  nearly  eighty  years,"  he  teljs  us, 
"following  La  Salle's  discovery  the  country  named  by  him 
as  Louisiana  remained  intact  as  French  possessions."  In 
support  of  this  statement  Mr.  Hermann  seems  to  rely  on 
the  English  maps  of  I\)pple,  Moll,  and  Bowen.    Mr.  Her- 


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322  Southern  History' Association, 

mann  should  at  least  have  told  his  readers  that  from  1715 
to  1762  Texas  was  actually  occupied  and  in  the  possession 
of  the  Spanish  Government,  and  that  while  some  valuable 
maps  may  be  cited  to  uphold  his  contention,  the  excellent 
French  map  of  Vaugondy  (1762)  and  that  of  D'Anville  and 
other  geographers  contradict  the  claim  set  up  for  the 
French  by  omitting  Texas  from  the  boundaries  of  Louis- 
iana. Nothing,  nroreover,  is  said  by  Mr.  Hermann  of  the 
views  of  Henry  Adams  and  H.  H.  Bancroft,  the  principal 
authorities  on  the  Texas  boundary  question. 

Finally  the  map  of  the  United  States,  as  given  us  by  Mr. 
Hermann,  has  the  old  fault  of  marking  the  boundaries  of 
Louisiana  in  1803  with  the  same  definiteness  with  which 
they  were  fixed  at  later  dates.  For  instance  the  south- 
western boundary  of  "Louisiana  as  ceded  by  France  1803" 
is  given  as  it  was  fixed  by  the  treaty  of  1819  and  the 
northern  boundary  as  it  was  fixed  by  the  treaty  of  1818. 
Does  Mr.  Hermann  mean  to  assert  that  these  were  the 
proper  boundaries  in  1803,  and  not  merely  compromise 
lines  determined  at  later  dates?  He  evidently  believes 
(correctly)  that  they  were  compromise  boundaries,  and 
therefore,  he  should  have  placed  along  these  lines  the  dates 
of  the  treaties,  as  Dr.  Channing  has  wisely  done  in  his  map 
of  the  United  States  (see  his  "Students'  History  of  the  U. 

S."). 

This  same  lack  of  accuracy  is  found  in  the  large  map  of 
the  United  States  (published  by  the  U.  S.  Land  Office, 
1898),  which  is  evidently  based  on  Mr.  Hermann's  investi- 
gations. It  and  its  prototype  convey  a  false  idea  of  our 
history. 

An  accurate  official  map  of  the  United  States,  showing 
the  accessions  of  territory,  has  not  yet  appeared.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  American  Historical  Association  will 
undertake  to  prepare  this  important  aid  to  the  study  of 
our  history. 

John  R.  Ficklen. 

Tulane  University. 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  323 

The  Germans  in  Coi^onial  Times.  By  Lucy  Forney 
Bittinger.  Philadelphia  and  London:  J.  B.  Lippincott 
Company,  1901,  D.,  pp.  314,  map. 

This  is  pre-eminently  a  Pennsylvania  book.  It  was  to 
Penn's  colony  that  the  first  German  immigp-ation,  dating 
front  1683,  was  directed;  here  it  reached  its  high  water 
mark  and  from  Pennsylvania  it  started  again  on  a  second 
migp-ation  which  contributed  largely  to  the  peopling  of  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  and  the  Piedmont  region  of  the  Caro- 
linas. 

The  proportions  of  this  Volkerwanderung  are  seldom 
realized,  yet  it  brought  to  America  prior  to  1783,  150,000 
people,  composing  one-half  of  the  population  of  Pennsyl- 
vania besides  large  settlements  in  New  York,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  with  smaller  and  un- 
successful'ones  in  Maine,  New  Jersey  and  Louisiana.  The 
causes  of  this  movement  were  two  fold,  religious  and  so- 
ciological. 

This  work  traces  the  effects  of  Penn's  visit  to  Germany, 
the  first  settlement  at  Germantown  and  the  coming  of  the 
Labadists  to  Maryland.  It  reviews  at  some  length  the 
many  religious  quarrels  and  controversies  that  occupied 
the  minds  of  the  brethren  of  Ephrata  and  the  energies  of 
the  press  of  Christopher  Saur,  the  first  man  in  America  to 
print  books  in  German  and  the  first  who  printed  the  Bible 
in  an  European  language. 

The  chapter  on  the  Germans  as  pioneers  is  poorly 
worked  out.  Those  on  German  settlements  in  States  other 
than  Pennsylvania,  especially  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia, 
are  short,  fragmentary  and  very  insufficient.  The  book  is 
a  popular  presentation  only  of  an  interesting  subject.  The 
bibliogp^aphy  attached  (6  pages)  contains  few  sources  and 
there  is  no  evidence  in  the  work  itself  that  it  is  other  than 
a  compilation.  The  author  would  seem  to  be  ignorant  of 
the  sources  of  her  subject  and  such  a  book  as  Salley's  His- 
tory of  Orangeburg  County,  S.  C,  with  all  its  wealth  of 


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324  Southern  History  Association, 

materiafs  on  the  Germans  finds  no  place  in  the  bibli- 
ogp-aphy.  There  is  an  excellent  index — ^perhaps  the  spirit 
of  AUibone  still  hovers  over  the  Lippincott  office ! 

In  and  Around  the  Grand  Canyon.  By  George 
Wharton  James.  Boston:  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  1900.  O., 
pp.  xxiv  +  341-  30  full  page  plates  and  70  ills,  in  text. 
Cloth,  $3.00. 

The  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  River,  lying  in 
Northern  Arizona,  has  greatly  increased  in  interest  in  the 
last  few  years.  With  the  development  of  railroad  faciHties 
and  other  provisions  for  physical  comfort  it  is  destined  to 
more  and  more  attract  visitors  to  its  marvelous  scenery 
and  to  its  unending  series  of  changing  phenomena.  The 
Grand  Canyon  is  itself  an  extensive  series  of  canyons  and 
(together  with  Marble  Canyon)  extends  for  many  miles  up 
and  down  on  both  sides  of  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Colo- 
rado, which  river  presents  the  very  curious  phenomenon 
of  not  draining  directly  its  own  banks.  The  canyon  is  in 
places  more  than  a  mile  in  depth  and  extends  sometimes 
more  than  twelve  miles  from  rim  to  rim. 

This  book  is  not  an  account  of  hasty  travel  and  hurried 
description.  It  is  the  result  of  ten  years'  visits  by  the  au- 
thor to  "the  most  sublime  spectacle  on  earth.*'  The  en- 
thusiasm of  the  author  knows  no  bounds;  he  describes 
conditions  under  which  the  work  was  written  and  they  are 
most  surely  enough  to  arouse  enthusiasm.  He  has  fol- 
lowed carefully  the  trails  of  early  pioneers  and  explorers ; 
there  are  many  quotations  from  early  historians  and  from 
late  writers  who  have  visited  this  g^eat  phenomenon.  In 
fact  it  is  mainly  on  these  later  writers  that  the  author  de- 
pends for  his  description  of  this  vast  amphitheatre  and 
its  ever  changing  panorama.  He  confines  his  own  ac- 
counts largely  t6  the  many  interesting  and  often  harrow- 
ing experiences  which  he  has  met  with  in  this  wild  region. 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  325 

He  has  also  given  names  to  many  important  points  in  the 
Canyon,  some  of  which  are  meritorious 'and  appropriate, 
others  fanciful  and  some  foolish. 

While  treating  of  a  country  inhabited  by  Indians  and 
while  the  Canyon  itself  was  used  for  many  centuries  by 
the  peaceful  Hopis  as  a  place  of  refuge  and  defense  against 
the  more  warlike  Apaches,  the  Indian  appears  compara- 
tively little  in  its  pages  apart  from  two  or  three  chapters 
devoted  to  the  Supais  who  still  have  their  home  within  the 
limits  of  the  lower  end  of  the  Canyon. 

The  work  is  intended  in  part  as  a  guide  book  for  the 
Canyon  traveller  and  of  the  ten  main  trails  seven  are  de- 
scribed. These  include  the  Lee's  Ferry  trail ;  Red  Canyon 
trail ;  the  Old  trail,  incorrectly  known  as  the  Hance  trail ; 
the  Grand  View  trail;  the  Bright  Angel  trail;  Mystic 
Spring  trail;  and  Peach  Spring  road.  The  three  unde- 
scribed  are  now  practically  inaccessible.  These  trails  are 
described  with  more  or  less  minuteness  and  consequently 
to  the  reader  are  dull  and  tiresome,  but  to  the  traveller 
they  must  be  of  much  service. 

There  is  a  chapter  on  the  geological  formation  of  the 
country ;  one  on  its  botany  and  a  three-page  bibliography 
of  canyon  literature.  Heavy  plate  paper  is  used ;  the  type 
is  large  and  the  illustrations  clear.  There  is  no  index. 
The  work  is  popular,  not  scientific  in  character.  Its  key- 
note is  enthusiasm.  It  is  always  and  unreservedly  enthusi- 
astic, sometimes  undeservedly  enthusiastic  and  this  exhu- 
berant  enthusiasm  commits  the  author  to  many  expres- 
sions which  are  more  rhetorical  and  verbose  than  critical. 

In  the  Second  Part  of  the  Seventeenth  Annual  Report 
of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology  (Washington: 
Government  Printing  Office,  1898)  Mr.  Cosmos  Mindeleflf 
has  an  interesting  study  of  Navajo  Houses.  The  Navajo 
Indians  live  on  a  reservation  of  about  11,000  square  miles 
in  northwest  New  Mexico  and  northern  Arizona.     The 


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326  Southern  History  Association, 

whole  is  an  elevated  plateau,  very  broken  in  character, 
and  arid,  almost  worthless. 

But  the  fortune  of  the  tribe  is  by  no  means  as  hard  as 
it  might  appear,  since  they  have  many  large  herds  of  sheep 
and  ponies,  the  progeny  of  the  flocks  stolen  in  former  days 
from  the  more  peaceful  Pueblos,  for  prior  to  the  American 
occupation  the  Navajos  lived  by  war  and  plunder.  As 
flocks  and  herds  necessitated  a  movement  from  place  to 
place  this  had  its  influence  on  the  character  and  style  of 
their  architecture.  Houses  are  divided  into  two  classes, 
for  summer  and  winter  use,  the  form,  the  location  and  the 
ceremonies  at  the  dedication  of  these  houses  have  been 
rigidly  fixed  by  immemorial  custom.  But  reservation  life, 
the  introduction  of  agriculture,  and  a  desire  to  imitate  the 
whites  are  rapidly  changing  the  architecture  of  the  tribe. 

The  same  volume  contains  the  report  of  Mr.  Jesse  Wal- 
ter Fewkes  on  his  Archaeological  Expedition  to  Arizona 
in  1895,  containing  many  illustrations  of  pottery  and  tools 
collected. 

To  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General  J.  W.  Floyd,  of 
South  Carolina,  the  greatest  credit  is  due  for  his  Histor- 
ical Roster  and  Itinerary  of  S.  C.  volunteer  troops  in 
the  Spanish-American  War  (Columbia  S.  C,  R.  L. 
Bryan  Co.,  1901,  pp.  268,  illus.,  cloth).  It  contains  a  narra- 
tive of  the  movements  of  every  regiment  and  company  or 
other  unit  of  organization  with  biographical  data  of  every 
man  in  the  service.  The  general  regimental  sketches, 
composed  by  an  officer  in  each,  are  especially  interesting 
reading  apart  from  their  value  as  military  history.  ^  One 
criticism  seems  fair,  there  should  have  been  an  index  of 
names,  for  which  space  could  have  been  easily  found  by 
leaving  out  several  pages  of  the  official  orders  and  routine 
matters.  This  defect  affects  the  permanent  value  of  this 
full  record  of  the  S.  C.  volunteers. 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  327 

One  of  the  most  valuable  of  recent  contributions  to  Con- 
federate literature  is  the  History  of  K:eRSHAw's  Brigade, 
by  Col.  D.  A.  Dickert,  of  Newberry,  S.  C,  who  was  a  cap- 
tain in  the  Confederate  war  and  entered  service  at  the  ten- 
der age  of  fifteen  years.  This  work  is  a  volume  of  nearly 
600  pages  and  is  written  in  a  style  graphic  and  clear.  Col. 
Dickert  has  done  his  work  carefully  and  fully.  Besides  giv- 
ing accounts  of  battles  in  which  the  brigade  took  part,  the 
work  abounds  with  well  written  and  valuable  biographical 
sketches.  A  number  of  amusing  war  anecdotes  are  nar- 
rated and  the  volume  abounds  in  likenesses.  A  very  val- 
uable part  of  the  work  is  the  appendix  giving  a  roll  of  all 
the  members  who  belonged  to  Kershaw's  Brigade.  The 
chapter  on  Secession  might  well  be  read  to  the  higher 
grades  of  all  the  graded  schools  in  the  South.  We  cheer- 
fully recommend  this  as  a  good  historical  work  to  place  in 
all  Southern  graded  school  libraries. 

McDonald  Furman. 

A  stirring  narrative  that  seizes  the  imagination  with  its 
fire  and  force,  and  yet  tempers  it  with  a  wholesome  gen- 
erous appreciation  of  noble  qualities  on  the  opposing  side, 
is  A  Soldier  of  the  Civil  War,  by  a  "member  of  the 
Virginia  Historical  Society"  (privately  printed  by  Burrows 
Bros.  Co.,  Cleveland,  O.,  paper,  pp.  63,  illus.).  It  is  a 
vivid  condensation  of  Mrs.  G.  E.  Pickett's  life  of  her  hus- 
band, the  famous  leader  in  Pickett's  charge  at  Gettysburg. 
The  writer  has  the  rare  gift  of  using  the  thoughts  and  facts 
of  the  larger  work,  so  skillfully  inwoven  with  his  own 
views,  as  to  make  his  review  seem  an  original  production. 
Of  course  he  gives  frank  acknowledgment  to  Mrs.  Pickett. 

In  a  modest  little  volume,  entitled  Inside  of  Rebeldom 
(Washington,  D.  C,  1900;  8  vo.  pp.  288),  Dr.  J.  P.  Cannon, 
now  of  McKenzie,  Tenn.,  tells  the  dramatic  story  of  the 
daily  life  of  a  private  soldier  in  the  Confederate  army.    It 

5 


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328  Southern  History  Association. 

contains  an  account  of  personal  experiences  in  camp,  on 
the  march,  and  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  truthful  narra- 
tive of  actual  facts  in  those  trying  years,  1861  to  1865,  is 
far  more  thrilling  than  fiction.  Dr.  Cannon's  work  is 
based  on  notes  made  in  "a  good-sized  memorandum  book" 
during  the  war.  He  was  a  member  of  Co.  C,  27th  Regi- 
ment of  Alabama  Infantry,  and  the  book  presents  in  a  large 
measure  the  history  of  this  command. 

•One  of  the  most  useful  publications  coming  from  a 
Southern  State  in  recent  years  is  the  North  Carolina 
Year  Book  for  1901,  published  by  the  News  and  Observer, 
Josephus  Daniels,  editor,  Raleigh,  N.  C.  (n.  d.,  n.  p. 
[Raleigh  (?),  1900],  D.  pp.  [2]+i42+[i8] ;  paper,  25 
cents ;  cloth,  50  cents). 

The  avowed  object  of  the  Year  Book  is  to  be  to  North 
Carolina  what  the  World  Almanac  is  to  the  United  States. 
There  are  gathered  here  items  of  information  and  statistics 
concerning  most  phases  of  the  religious,  intellectual  and 
industrial  life  of  the  State,  including  statistics  of  the  vari- 
ous religious  denominations,  with  lists  of  ministers ;  cotton 
mills,organization  and  management,  number  of  spindles 
and  looms  and  amount  of  capital ;  banks ;  the  organization 
of  various  State  boards ;  lists  of  the  present  county  officers 
and  of  all  State  officers  past  and  present. 

For  a  new  effort  in  an  unworked  field  the  Year  Book  is 
creditable,  but  a  more  careful  proof-reading  and  more 
careful  editing  are  required  if  it  is  to  become  an  authority. 
Thus  there  are  errors  in  the  list  of  governors  and  in  the 
dates  assigned  to  senatorial  terms.  Under  the  heading, 
"Presidents  of  the  U.  S.  Senate,"  it  is  said  "North  Carolina 
has  furnished  three  presidents  pro  tempore  of  the  United 
States  Senate,"  Franklin,  Macon  and  Mangiim.  The  com- 
piler has  omitted  Rans"om  from  the  list  entirely.  He  should 
have  also  pointed  out  that  Mangum  took  the  place  of  a 
vice-president,  as  Tyler  became  president,  while  Franklin 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  329 

and  Macon  served  while  the  regular  vice-president  was  still 
in  oflSce,  thus  making  Mangum's  case  different  from  theirs. 
In  another  edition  the  literary  and  intellectual  life  of  the 
State  should  be  better  represented.  Further,  in  the  "His- 
torical events"  inserted  against  various  days  in  the  calen- 
dar why  not  use  North  Carolina  names?  Mangum's,  for 
instance,  for  September  7th,  instead  of  Whittier's? 

Mr.  James  F.  Hurley,  editor  of  the  Tribune,  of  Con- 
cord, N.  C,  has  issued  a  second  edition  of  William  S.  Har- 
ris's Historical  Sketch  of  Poplar  Tent  Church, 
Cabarrus  Co.,  N.  C.  (Concord,  N.  C. :  The  Tribune,  1901, 
O.  pp.  18, 25  cents).  The  sketch  was  first  published  in  1873 
(Charlotte,  N.  C,  O.  pp.  17).  The  church  is  located  in  a 
strong  Presbyterian  community,  which  dates  from  1732. 
The  church  was  organized  in  1751  by  Rev.  John  Thomp- 
son, the  first  Presbyterian  missionary  in  N.  C.  It  has 
been  long  noted  for  its  devotion  to  the  cause  of  education. 
Rev.  John  Robinson  had  a  school  here  (and  also  in  Fay- 
etteville)  for  many  years,  which  was  hardly  less  famous 
than  that  of  Rev.  David  Caldwell  near  Greensboro,  for  he 
numbered  among  his  pupils  Governor  Owen,  of  North 
Carolina;  Govs.  Israel  Pickens  and  John  Murphy,  of  Ala- 
bama; Hons.  Charles  Fisher,  Daniel  M.  Forney,  Henry 
W.  Conner  and  D.  M.  Barringer,  all  of  whom  were  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  the  latter  also  being  minister  to  Spain. 
Dr.  Charles  Caldwell,  world-famous  seventy  years  ago  as 
a  physician,  and  Charles  W.  Harris,  first  acting  president 
of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  also  went  out  from 
this  congregation.  The  account  of  Harris  is  based  on  tra- 
dition and  on  Footers  Sketches.  Mr.  Hurley  has  done 
good  service  in  reprinting  it. 

The  North  Carolina  Bar  Association  was  formed  in 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  February  10,  1899,  succeeding  an  earlier 
organization  which  had  been  allowed  to  lapse.    The  new 


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330  Southern  History  Association. 

society  has  more  than  300  of  the  foremost  lawyers  in  the 
State  as  members,  holds  an  annual  meeting  and  publishes 
its  proceedings  in  full.  This  is  one  of  the  best  signs  of  its 
vitality  and  usefulness.  It  has  issued  two  volumes  of  its 
Proceedings.  Volume  I  (Durham,  N.  C:  The  Seeman 
Printery,  1899,  O-  PP-  ^5^)>  contains,  besides  verbatim  re- 
ports of  debates,  constitution,  roll  of  members,  &c.,  the 
annual  address  by  the  president,  Piatt  D.  Walker,  Esq., 
anid  an  historical  and  legal  review  of  the  work  of  the  North 
Carolina  Legislature  of  1899,  ^Y  Hon.  H.  G.  Conner. 
Volume  II  (Durham,  N.  C. :  The  Seeman  Printery,  1900, 
O.  pp.  210),  contains,  besides  the  formal  details  of  the 
Asheville  meeting  June  27-29,  1900,  well  executed  por- 
traits of  Piatt  D.  Walker,  Charles  F.  Warren  and  Charles 
M.  Stedman,  the  three  presidents  of  the  Association,  with 
biographical  sketches,  and  the  formal  addresses  delivered 
during  the  session,  among  them  being  one  of  ex-Chief 
Justice  James  E.  Shepherd,  entitled  "Some  Leaves  from 
Colonial  History,"  which  deals  with  the  law  in  early  North 
Carolina.     Each  volume  is  supplied  with  a  full  index. 

Besides  his  summary  of  deaths  and  events  in  Camp  435, 
United  Confederate  Veterans  (Augusta,  Ga.),  the  his- 
torian, Charles  E.  Jones,  includes  in  his  Eighth  Annum, 
Report  several  short  addresses  by  members  and  comrades 
(paper,  16  pages). 

The  New  York  Monument  Commission  for  the  Battle- 
fields of  Gettysburg  and  Chattanooga  has  issued  its  final 
REPORT  ON  THE  Battlefield  op  Gettysburg  in  three 
volumes,  extending  to  1462  large  quarto  pages  (Albany: 
1900,  J.  B.  Lyon  Company).  There  are  maps,  many  illus- 
trations and  an  index  of  ten  pages  only. 

Few  books  in  local  and  State  history  have  commanded 
a  greater  degree  of  respect  from  students  and  scholars 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  331 

than  the  History  of  Alabama  and,  incidentally,  of 
Georgia  and  Mississippi,  by  Albert  James  Pickett.  This 
work  was  first  published  in  two  volumes  in  1851  (Charles- 
ton, i2mo.,  pp.  xix+377  and  viii+445),  and  ran  through 
three  editions  in  that  year.  It  is  based  in  part  on  original 
printed  sources  in  English,  French  and  Spanish,  and  in 
part  on  the  interviews  of  the  author  with  Indian  chiefs  and 
white  pioneers  during  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century. 
It  is  far  above  the  average  State  history  in  the  author's 
grasp  of  his  subject,  and  has  been  accepted  as  an  authority 
on  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats.  A  fourth  edition  of  this 
valuable  work  was  published  by  Robert  C.  Randolph,  of 
Sheffield,  Ala.,  in  1896,  in  8vo.,  pp.  669.  It  is  a  verbatim 
reprint  of  the  earlier  editions,  the  illustrations  are  the 
same,  and  a  portrait  of  Pickett  has  been  added.  For 
present  day  use  the  weakness  of  Pickett  lies  in  the  fact 
that  his  narration  closes  with  the  admission  of  the  State 
to  the  Union  in  1819.  This  defect  has  now  been  remedied 
by  Mr.  Thomas  M.  Owen.  He  has  prefixed  to  a  new  edi- 
tion of  Pickett  published  by  the  Webb  Book  Company 
(Birmingham,  1900,  8°,  pp.  773,  port,  and  ills.),  a  valuable 
appendix  which  he  calls  Annals  of  Alabama,  1819-1900.  He 
modestly  says  "they  are  not  designed  to  be  in  any  sense  a 
history  of  the  period  covered,  and  are  only  intended  to  em- 
brace in  the  briefest  possible  form,  consistent  with  clear- 
ness and  accuracy,  the  outline  facts  of  that  history  from 
the  admission  of  the  State  into  the  Union  in  1819  to  the 
present  time.  There  is  no  attempt  at  literary  style.  The 
facts  are  presented  as  nearly  as  practicable  in  chronologi- 
cal order.^*  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Annals  will  serve  the 
general  student  as  a  well  connected  and  sufficiently  full 
history  for  the  time  covered.  Mr.  Owen  has  given  some 
attention  to  the  industrial  growth  of  the  State,  has  added 
chapters  on  literary  history  and  bibliography,  and  has  pre- 
pared an  extensive  index  which  is  wanting  in  all  earlier 
editions.     The  text  of  Pickett  is  from  the  plates  of  the 


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332  Southern  History  Association. 

1896  edition,  the  portrait  of  Pickett  and  the  illustrations 
being  the  same.  Mr.  Owen's  work  adds  200  pages  to  the 
size  of  the  original. 

Among  the  pamphlets  relating  to  the  industrial  life  of 
Alabama,  the  following  have  been  recently  published: 
Birmingham  District  and  the  Advantages  it  Offers 
(8vo.,  pp.  27);  Commercial  Club  Exchange  (Birming- 
ham; 8vo.,  pp.  31);  and  The  New  South,  Its  Steel 
Plant  and  Ensley,  Ala.  (Svo.,  pp.  16). 

The  story  of  the  efforts  of  the  women  of  Alabama,  in 
erecting  the  Confederate  Monument,  on  Capitol  Hill, 
Montgomery,  Ala.,  is  beautifully  told  by  Mrs.  I.  M.  P. 
Ockenden  in  a  small  octavo  pamphlet  of  95  pages  (Mont- 
gomery, 1900).  The  effort  is  traced  from  the  latter  part 
of  1865,  when  formal  steps  were  taken  looking  to  the  erec- 
tion of  a  monument  down  to  the  7th  of  December,  1898, 
when  it  was  unveiled.  One  of  the  most  valuable  features 
of  the  brochure  is  the  account  of  the  unveiling,  and  the 
orations  and  speeches  in  full  of  the  several  participants. 

Professor  Ernst  von  Halle,  a  German  student,  is  at 
present  in  this  country  making  a  full  study  of  the  South 
with  a  view,  perhaps,  to  a  comprehensive  history  of  that 
section  from  the  economic  side.  He  has  also  investigated 
the  Civil  War  from  that  standpoint,  and  in  1906  published 
a  pamphlet  of  46  pages  on  the  influences  of  the  blockade 
on  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy.  He  considers  the 
work  of  the  Northern  vessels  as  really  decisive  of  the  re- 
sult reached.  Several  years  since  he  put  forth  a  >^de 
research  on  the  cotton  planting.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
so  far  none  of  his  labors  have  appeared  in  English  dress. 

Mrs.  A.  R.  Watson,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  asks  for  subscrip- 
tions to  A  Royal  Lineage,  a  work  of  75  pages,  tracing 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  333 

back  a  number  of  American  families  to  Alfred  the  Great, 
price  $4.50.  It  is  cordially  commended  by.  President  Lyon 
G.  Tyler,  William  and  Mary  College,  for  "its  general  inter- 
est and  accuracy." 


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PERIODICAL  LITERATURE. 

The  birth  of  another  historical  periodical  is  to  be  chron- 
icled, The  West  Virginia  Historical  Magazine  Quar- 
terly, published  by  the  West  Virginia  Historical  and 
Antiquarian  Society,  Charleston,  W.  Va.  The  first  issue, 
January,  1901,  appears  under  the  editorship  of  J.  P.  Hale, 
President  of  the  Society,  and  contains  68  pages,  subscrip- 
tion one  dollar  per  annum.  Mr.  Hale  asks  from  members 
and  "others  who  may  have  the  will"  "trustworthy  accounts 
concisely  written  of  past  and  current  events  local.  State 
and  general,  of  historical  interest  pertaining  to  the  State," 
including  traditions  and  unpublished  matter  bearing  on 
early  frontier  life  and  explorations,  our  two  wars  with 
England,  Mexican,  Civil,  Spanish,  Philippine  and  Chinese 
Wars,  also  "short  biographical  sketches  of  persons  who 
have  taken  a  prominent  and  useful  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 
State."  It  is  a  very  comprehensive  scheme  and  Mr.  Hale 
makes  a  good  beginning,  though  it  is  unfortunate  that  he 
has  to  give  up  space  to  reprints  from  a  contemporary,  the 
West  Virginia  School  Journal.  As  these  articles  are  al- 
ready in  durable  form,  a  reference  to  them  would  guide 
the  future  investigator,  and  Mr.  Hale  could  devote  his 
strength  to  making  available  material  not  yet  published, 
but  of  course  at  the  start  he  will  suffer  from  scarcity  of 
such  offerings.  Naturally,  there  is  a  sketch  of  Charleston, 
giving  considerable  details  of  local  interest  and  value. 
There  is  a  rather  full  discussion  of  the  formation  of  the 
State,  of  West  Virginia  with  some  light  on  the  present  con- 
dition of  mining  in  the  State.  Arguments  to  prove  Rum- 
sey  the  inventor  of  the  steamboat,  a  short  life  of  John 
Laidley,  a  personal  reminiscence  of  the  Battle  of  Scary  in 
1861,  an  enquiry  on  the  disappearance  of  "wild  pigeons," 
and  an  extract  from  a  diary  giving  a  very  readable  descrip- 


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Periodical  Literature.  335 

tion  of  Washington's  daily  existence  in  1785,  complete  the 
number  with  the  exception  of  "First  Settlers  of  West  Vir- 
ginia/' a  list  of  frontiersmen,  which  is  perhaps  the  most 
important  addition  to  historical  knowledge  here  set  forth. 
In  the  April  number,  the  editor,  J.  P.  Hale,  gives  a  sketch 
of  a  part  of  the  Great  Kanawha  valley,  and  describes  the 
improvement  of  the  river  for  navigation  purposes.  The 
detailed  steps  for  organizing  the  State  are  given,  with  lists 
of  State  officers  to  the  present.  A  genealogical  paper  be- 
gins in  "The  Ruff ners,"  who  are  traced  to  Peter  Ruffner,  a 
German  emigrant  to  America  in  1732.  His  posterity  are 
now  claimed  to  considerably  "exceed  one  thousand  in 
number."  Running  heads  on  every  other  page  would 
greatly  assist  a  reader  in  rapidly  grasping  the  contents. 

The  American  Monthly  (organ  of  D.  A.  R.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C),  for  April  and  May,  a  double  number,  consists 
of  the  stenogp-aphic  record  of  the  Tenth  Continental  Con- 
gress, held  February  18-23,  1901.  It  does  seem  a  waste  of 
valuable  printing  space  to  give  up  some  500  pages  to 
preserving  all  the  words  uttered  during  the  six  days'  ses- 
sions. But  few  State  legislatures  go  to  such  expense,  and 
even  the  English  Parliament  is  content  with  a  condensa- 
tion of  its  debates.  From  the  official  reports,  the  organi- 
zation, though,  has  had  a  most  wonderful  growth,  averag- 
ing nearly  3,200  new  names  yearly  for  the  decade  of  life. 
The  rate  of  loss  for  the  same  period  by  death,  resignation 
and  non-payment  of  dues,  has  been  less  than  300.  At 
present  there  are  about  32,000  paying  members.  The  total 
receipts,  excluding  the  balance  from  previous  year,  are  but 
slightly  more  than  expenditures,  each  being  about  $34,000. 
Hence,  a  favorable  balance  is  obtainable  only  through  the 
addition  to  the  roll  bringing  initiation  and  annual  fees.  The 
magazine,  with  about  2,800  subscribers,  does  not  pay  for 
itself  in  money  returns,  as  it  costs  about  $6,000  yearly, 
while  its  own  receipts  are  some  $2,500.    The  chief  items 


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33^  Southern  History  Associaiion. 

of  expense  are  printing,*  over  $4,000,  and  salaries,  $1,600. 
But  this  expense  is  properly  disregarded  because  of  the 
great  advantages  to  the  society  of  having  an  organ,  and 
furthermore  it  is  cheaper  to  have  this  monthly  publication 
than  an  annual  report,  because  the  latter  would  have  to  be 
mailed  at  eight  cents  a  pound,  while  the  other  goes  at  one 
cent.  Mrs.  E.  M.  Avery,  who  served  as  editor  for  1900,  is 
retained  for  the  present  year,  and  it  is  certain  that  she  will 
continue,  as  far  as  in  her  power,  that  admirable  feature 
of  real  contributions  to  history  in  the  shape  of  documents, 
archives  and  other  original  material. 

The  June  number  consists  of  the  annual  reports  of  the 
State  Regents  with  the  official  doings  of  the  parent  organi- 
zation at  its  monthly  sessions.  Although  to  masculine 
students  it  seems  queer  to  find  scattered  over  the  pages  of 
a  historical  periodical  such  terms  as  "musical  teas,"  "pink 
teas,"  "literary  teas,"  "light  teas,"  "rich  colonial  costumes," 
"rummage  sales,"  "delicious  refreshments,"  "series  of  tab- 
leaux," etc.,  yet  the  most  of  these  accounts  are  filled  with 
the  details  of  the  work  and  standing  of  the  local  chapters. 
A  few  only  are  gush  and  splutter. 

It  is  only  natural  that  women  should  cultivate  the  social 
features  of  their  meetings  as  much  as  possible,  still  there 
are  two  lines  of  genuine  historical  effort  that  seem  to  ap- 
peal strongly  to  these  fair  devotees  of  history ;  listing  and 
collecting  revolutionary  relics,  and  marking  revolutionary 
graves.  ? 

The  Regent  of  Iowa,  Ida  W.  Armstrong  (these  good 
ladies,  whether  "strong-minded"  or  not,  all  drop  the  "Mrs." 
or  "Miss"  from  their  signatures),  makes  a  departure  from 
the  beaten  path.  She  has  a  grave  criticism  of  the  general 
meetings-ih  Washington,  so  just  and  well-balanced,  that  it 
would  be  wise  to  consider  her  pregnant  warning  when  she 
speaks  of  "a  large  proportion  of  delegates  who  experience 
nothing  but  keen  disappointment  at  these  annual  Con- 
gresses" (p.  1038).     The  Georgia  Regent  very  candidly 


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Periodical  Literature.  337 

refers  to  three  "languishing  chapters"  that  she  has  been 
"unable  to  rally"  (p.  1017). 

From  the  monthly  Treasurer's  report,  it  is  seen  that  the 
Congress  last  February  cost  $4,742,  the  largest  items  being 
$2,800  for  hire  of  the  Opera  House,  and  about  $400  for  the 
reception  at  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery. 

A  very  handy  grouping  of  the  sources  of  information  on 
the  San  Jacinto  Campaign,  fought  in  Texas  in  1836,  and 
ending  in  the  complete  defeat  of  the  Mexicans  and  capture 
of  their  general,  Santa  Anna,  is  Mr.  E.  C.  Barker's  "The 
San  Jacinto  Campaign,"  occupying  practically  all  of  the 
April  (1901),  issue  of  the  Quarterly  of  the  Texas  State 
Historical  Association.  Mr.  Barker  ransacked  all  the  au- 
thorities available,  both  printed  and  manuscript.  He 
found  so  little  of  the  latter  that  he  makes  but  small  claim 
to  "originality  of  matter."  In  fact  he  declares  that  though 
there  is  a  good  deal  published  in  English,  only  a  slight 
part  is  contemporaneous.  His  compilation  covers  more 
than  a  hundred  pages,  and  no  one  who  ever  looks  into  the 
subject  can  fail  to  be  under  the  deepest  obligation  to  him. 

Volume  four  of  the  Records  of  the  Columbia  Histori- 
cal Society  (Washington,  D.  C,  paper,  pp.  248,  illus.),  is 
filled  with  articles  that  indicate  a  very  worthy  aim  to  culti- 
vate the  local  field,  but  fortunately  all  such  material  often 
touches  on  the  limits  of  the  broader  domain.  Mr.  J.  H. 
Smith  a  descendant  of  the  founder  of  the  National  Intel- 
ligencer, gives  two  selections  from  a  manuscript  collec- 
tion that  he  has  inherited,  one  a  private  letter  of  1829, 
throwing  light  on  the  spcial  life  of  political  leaders  of  the 
day,  and  the  other  a  letter  from  Thomas  Jefferton  (per- 
haps printed  before),  giving  his  well-known  views  on  re- 
ligion. Mr.  Smith  has  "several  hundred  autographic  let- 
ters of  distinguished  persons"  of  the  i8th  and  19th  cen- 
turies, "with  a  large  amount  of  seemingly  valuable  manu- 


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338  Southern  History  Association 

script."  There  are  letters  from  John  and  John  Quincy 
Adams,  from  Jefferson,  Monroe,  Madison,  Jackson, 
Franklin,  Clay,  Calhoun,  Randolph,  Wirt,  and  others,  with 
25  from  George  Washington.  The  Society  could  not  do 
better  than  to  exploit  Mr.  Smith's  files. 

There  are  two  biographical  contributions  on  two  pic- 
turesque early  citizens  of  Washington:  A.  B.  Woodward 
and  Thomas  Law.  Two  municipal  features  are  traced 
to  their  origin,  the  Parking  system  and  the  Building  Regu- 
lations. Other  articles  bear  on  early  printing  in  the  city, 
Washington's  interest  in  the  founding  of  the  Capitol  here, 
the  Capitol  in  1800,  the  Navy  Yard  section,  and  the  at- 
tack on  Washington  in  1864.  The  Society  has  in  view  no 
small  undertaking,  the  gathering  of  material  on  the  old 
families  resident  in  the  District  in  1800.  For  advancing 
this  purpose  the  rather  unusual  experiment  was  tried  of 
inserting  an  advertisement  in  the  daily  press  asking  for 
the  cooperation  of  descendants.  It  is  very  gratifying  to 
note  that  Mr.  James  F.  Hood,  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee having  the  matter  in  charge,  realizes  the  great  dan- 
gers of  this  expedient  and  the  enormous  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  getting  full  and  accurate  data  except  at  consider- 
able expenditure  of  time  and  money.  This  spirit  of  care  on 
all  the  pages  would  make  these  Records  more  valuable, 
though  it  is  recognized  that  the  members  might  wish  to 
combine  the  interesting  and  serious.  Several  of  the  con- 
tributions, while  very  readable,  are  faulty  from  the  stand- 
point of  permanent  additions  to  historical  knowledge  in 
that  they  ignore  foot  notes  and  fail  to  g^ve  sources  of 
information.  These  defects  put  them  far  below  the  best 
methods  of  historical  work,  even  though  they  may  be 
entertaining  to  the  audience  when  delivered. 

The  Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  9th 
annual  meeting  of  the  Southern  Educational  Association, 
held  at  Memphis,  December  27-29,  1899,  is  a  well  printed. 


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Periodical  Literature.  339 

cloth-bound  volume  of  333  pages  (for  sale  by  the  Secre- 
tary, P.  P.  Claxton,  Greensboro,  N.  C).  It  is  filled  with 
educational  papers  on  a  level  with  the  best  from  similar 
organizations  anywhere  in  this  country.  Naturally,  we 
should  not  expect  much  history  in  these  pages,  but  there 
is  one  article  permeated  with  that  element.  President 
Charles  W.  Dabney's  "Washington's  Work  for  Educa- 
tion," which  is  really  a  strong  plea  for  a  national  univer- 
sity. President  Dabney  reads  that  conclusion  from  Wash- 
ington's life  and  writings  and  a  skilful,  masterly  argument 
does  he  base  on  this  foundation. 

Financially  the  Association  seems  to  be  on  solid  ground, 
as  there  is  a  fair  surplus  in  the  treasurer's  report.  The 
membership,  too,  is  very  representative,  covering  all  the 
Southern  States  and  mounting  to  some  250.  The  success 
of  this  body,  which  is  only  ten  years  old,  would  appear 
significant  as  indicating  that  regional  combinations  are 
needed  intermediate  between  the  national  unit  and  local 
ones.  The  smaller  branch  may  be  too  limited  and  isolated 
for  greatest  good,  while  the  central  one  is  too  large,  un- 
unwieldly  and  remote.  The  three  kinds  might  meet  all 
demands  and  provide  opportunity  for  fullest  measure  of 
all  activities. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  the  Trustees  of  the  John  P. 
Slater  Fund  for  the  Education  of  the  Preedmen  (paper,  pp. 
46,  1901),  we  have  a  most  profound  summary  of  the  vast 
importance  of  the  negro  question  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  J.  L. 
M.  Curry,  the  chairman  of  the  Educational  Committee. 
He  makes  an  earnest  appeal  for  a  thorough  consideration 
of  the  matter  by  the  President  and  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  In  the  line  of  this  view,  the  Trustees  at 
the  annual  meeting,  April  3,  1901,  passed  resolutions  em- 
powering "the  Chairman,  the  Treasurer  and  the  General 
Agent"  to  take  steps  "for  bringing  before  the  next  Con- 
gress the  desirability  of  the  appointment  of  a  National 


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340  Southern  History  Association, 

Commission,  to  inquire  into  the  present  condition  of  edu- 
cation among  the  negroes  of  the  South."  Dr.  Curry  was 
also  requested  in  his  next  report  "to  add  a  brief  history 
of  the  John  F.  Slater  Fund  and  state  what  it  has  accom- 
plished." A  highly  appreciative  minute  of  the  character 
and  services  of  the  Hon.  W.  L.  Wilson,  as  trustee,  was 
adopted.  The  Treasurer's  report  shows  an  income  of  $77r 
637,  and  an  expenditure  of  nearly  the  same  amount,  includ- 
ing $16,000  for  investments.  The  appropriations,  $55,000, 
go  chiefly  to  some  ten  institutions  through  the  South, 
mainly  to  encourage  industrial  training.  The  reports  from 
these  schools  indicate  great  hopefulness. 

Thb  Confederate  Veteran  for  May  (Nashville, 
Tenn.),  contains  very  pleasant  reminiscences  of  the  spring 
of  1861,  before  the  storm  burst,  by  Mrs.  P.  F.  Edmonds, 
showing  how  little  the  bulk  of  people  anticipated  the  war, 
and  how  painful  it  was  to  break  the  ties.  Among  the  mass 
of  thrilling  adventures  and  incidents  described  in  this  issue, 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  is  the  account  of  Adam  John- 
son, a  daring  soldier  of  the  type  of  Forrest. 

The  Lost  Cause  (Louisville,  Ky.),  for  April,  is  chiefly 
filled  with  announcements  and  other  advance  information 
of  the  Confederate  Reunion  to  be  held  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
May  28-30th.  There  are  now  1,331  camps  noted,  with 
applications  for  over  a  hundred  more.  The  sponsors  are 
increasing  very  rapidly,  there  being  some  5,000  of  these 
entitled  to  attend,  but  not  to  be  entertained.  Only  46  of 
these  will  be  officially  recognized  as  guests  of  the  Re- 
union, in  consequence  there  will  be  much  pouting  and  dis- 
appointment. 

In  the  issue  for  May  is  the  address  of  Hon.  J.  L.  M. 
Curry  before  the  Southern  Society  of  New  York,  on  Feb- 
ruary 22d,  a  profound  discussion  of  the  consequences  of 
the  Civil  War.     Incidentally  he  makes  a  strong  appeal  for 


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Periodical  Literature .  341 

better  educational  facilities  and  for  a  memorial  to  South- 
ern women. 

The  Methodist  Review  (Nashville,  Tenn.),  for  May- 
June,  contains  two  historical  articles,  both  popular  in 
character,  but  neither  one  making  any  addition  of  import- 
ance to  exact  historical  knowledge:  "Lorenzo  Dow  in 
Mississippi,"  by  Bishop  C.  B.  Galloway;  and  "Rev.  John 
W.  P.  McKenzie,"  by  G.  C.  Rankin. 

The  American  Historical  Review  for  April  has  an 
article  by  Prof.  George  L.  Burr,  in  which  he  reviews  the 
arguments  against  the  well-accepted  belief  that  the  world 
was  coming  to  an  end  in  the  year  1000.  The  earliest  refer- 
ence to  this  belief  dates  from  1605,  but  "like  all  good 
stories  it  grew."  Not  only  is  there  no  contemporary  evi- 
dence to  show  that  this  belief  was  general,  and  hence  a 
leading  cause  of  the  first  Crusade,  but  at  that  date  the 
Christian  calendar  was  itself  yet  a  novel  thing.  Monkish 
chronicles  had  begun  to  employ  it  at  an  early  date,  but 
John  XIII.  was  the  first  Pope  to  use  it  and  this  was  about 
970  A.  D.  Its  use  "did  not  become  general  in  the  west  of 
Europe  till  after  the  year  1000."  The  story  was  exploded 
in  France  by  Plaine  in  1873,  irkdependently  by  Rosieres  in 
1878,  and  by  Roy  in  1885 ;  in  Germany  by  Von  Eicken  in 
1883,  and  in  Italy  by  Orsi  in  1887. 

The  rise  of  Metropolitan  Journalism,  1800-1840,  is  treat- 
ed by  Charles  H.  Levermore.  James  Ford  Rhodes  has  a 
chapter  on  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,  in  which  both  the 
strategic  importance  and  the  brutal  ruthlessness  of  the 
march  are  emphasized.  The  reviews  include  one  on 
Stevens's  Thomas  iHariot,  by  C.  S.  Peirce,  in  which  the 
subject  is  considered  only  as  a  mathematician  and  not  as 
the  first  historian  of  Virginia.  Edward  D.  Collins  reviews, 
unfavorably,  Spears's  American  Slave  Trade;  Gen.  Basil 
W.  Duke  reviews  Fiske's  Mississippi  Valley  in  the  Civil 


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342  Southern  History  Association. 

War,  and  Gen.  H.  V.  Boynton  Cox's  Military  Reminiscen- 
ces of  the  Civil  War. 

A  short  time  since  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly 
(November,  1900),  Prof.  Geo.  P.  Garrison,  University  of 
Texas,  Austin,  Tex.,  had  a  very  broad  and  thoughtful  dis- 
cussion of  the  views  on  history  advanced  by  Mr.  Jas.  P. 
Rhodes  in  his  address  before  the  American  Historical  As- 
sociation as  President,  at  the  previous  annual  meeting  of 
that  body.  In  the  world  of  the  intellect  Mr.  Rhodes  ranks 
history  below  literature,  below  mathematics  and  below  the 
physical  sciences.  He  also  considers  ancient  writers  on 
Jthe  subject  greater  than  modern.  Prof.  Garrison  criticises 
these  conclusions  in  a  very  scholarly  spirit,  but  he  and 
Mr.  Rhodes  ag^ee  in  condemning  the  prolixity  of  the  au- 
thors in  the  present  era. 

A  strong  and  beautiful  appeal  did  Major  Graham  Daves 
make  in  his  memorial  address  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  on  May 
loth  (The  Morning  Post,  May  11,  1901),  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  noble  deeds  and  undying  devotion  to  duty.  As  ex- 
amples of  valor  and  endurance,  he  graphically  sketched  the 
part  North  Carolina  troops  have  taken  in  the  wars  waged 
in  this  land. 

In  the  Washington  Post  of  March  14  and  19,  1901,  it 
was  said  that  in  1865  the  Confederate  Government  sent  an 
agent  to  offer  retrocession  of  Louisiana  to  Napoleon  III. 
in  return  for  his  armed  intervention  in  our  Civil  War.  C. 
J.  Polignac,  who  was  claimed  to  have  been  the  bearer  of 
this  message,  denied  the  whole  story  in  a  letter  of  April 
17th,  from  Cannes,  France,  to  Gen.  M.  J.  Wright,  which 
subsequently  appeared  in  the  daily  press,  one  instance 
being  the  Charleston  News  of  May  26,  1901. 

In  the  Buffalo  Courikr  (N.  Y.),  of  June  5,  1901,  is  a 
very  interesting  interview  with  Col.  John  B.  Brownlow, 
who  has  charge  of  the  U.  S.  Post  Office  exhibit  at  the 
Pan-American  Exposition,  describing  some  of  the  rare  his- 


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Periodical  Literature.  343 

torical  relics  that  are  shown.  One  of  the  most  striking 
is  a  small  ledger  of  a  little  over  100  pages  in  which  Frank- 
lin kept  the  accounts  of  the  whole  Post  Office  Department 
for  three  years,  from  1775  to  1778.  Another  is  the  desk 
that  Jeflferson  used  in  penning  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. 


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NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Ture  Eleventh  Confederate  Veteran  Reunion,  held 
at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  May  28-30,  1901,  was  in  many  respects 
the  most  successful  ever  held.  There  were  2,309  delegates, 
representing  some  1,350  Camps,  Texas  leading  with  451 
delegates  from  129  Camps.  The  total  number  of  visitors 
brought  into  the  city  was  claimed  by  the  local  committees 
of  management  to  be  over  125,000. 

In  the  regular  parade  on  the  third  day  4,000  veterans 
were  in  line.  The  procession  composed  of  these,  of  the 
carriages  of  the  sponsors  and  guests,  and  other  organiza- 
tions, required  one  and  a  half  hours  to  pass  a  given  point. 

A  very  unusual  feature  on  such  occasions  was  the  flower 
parade,  on  the  second  day.  May  29th,  in  which  paper  imita- 
tions were  used  instead  of  the  natural  blossoms. 

There  were  two  balls,  to  both  of  which  veterans  were 
admitted  free ;  one  on  the  night  of  May  29th,  by  the  Sons 
of  Veterans,  and  the  other,  the  regular  one  on  such  occa- 
sions, on  the  night  of  May  30th.  Both  were  held  in  the 
Reunion  Hall,  and  were  largely  attended. 

On  the  third  day.  May  30th,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Forrest  Monument  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 

At  the  opening  session  of  the  convention.  General  Geo. 
W.  Gordon,  of  Memphis,  was  the  temporary  presiding  of- 
ficer. Mr.  Bennett  H.  Young,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  was  the 
annual  orator,  an  address  being  also  delivered  by  Bishop 
Gailor.  The  most  important  measures  of  the  Convention 
were:  (i)  the  decision  to  take  steps  within  ninety  days, 
for  the  construction  of  the  Battle  Abbey  at  Richmond,  Va., 
for  which  there  were  reported,  cash  $81,296,  subscriptions 
$81,307,  balance  on  Rouss  offer  $60,000,  totaling  with  other 
items  $228,170;  (2)  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  absolutely 
forbidding  the  invitation  of  non-Confederates  to  a  Re- 


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Notes  and  Queries.  345 

union,  except  by  the  delegates  in  convention  assembled; 
(3)  adoption  of  a  resolution  requesting  Congress  to  appro- 
priate a  sufficient  amolint  to  care  for  Confederate  graves 
in  Northern  cemeteries;  (4)  adoption  of  a  resolution  of 
thanks  to  Congress  and  the  President  for  the  appropria- 
tion to  reinter  the  Confederate  dead  of  Washington  in  the 
National  Cemetery;  (5)  adoption  of  the  historical  report 
which  breathed  the  most  fraternal  sentiments ;  (6)  adoption 
of  resolution  asking  for  subscriptions  to  erect  a  monu- 
ment to  Southern  women,  with  Gen.  A.  P.  Stewart,  secre- 
tary, Chattanooga,  Tenn. ;  (7)  report  of  Davis  Monument 
Association  of  cash  $32,672,  subscriptions  $10,727;  (8) 
services  in  memory  of  Winnie  Davis,  with  prayer  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Perry,  and  address  by  Rev.  Geo.  C.  Harris. 

By  unanimous  acclamation,  all  the  old  officers  were  re- 
elected, as  follows :  Commander-in-Chief,  General  John  B. 
IGordon;  Commander  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
General  Wade  Hampton;  Commander  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee,  General  S.  D.  Lee;  Commander  of  the 
Army  of  the  Trans-Mississippi,  General  W.  L.  Cabell. 

After  a  spirited  contest,  by  a  vote  of  1,263  to  1,046,  Dal- 
las, Texas,  was  selected  as  the  next  meeting  place,  against 
Louisville,  Ky. 

The  Southern  Ladies'  Memorial  Association  met  also  in 
Memphis,  one  of  their  most  important  exercises  being  the 
solemn  services  in  memory  of  Jefferson  Davis. 

The  Sons  of  Confederate  Veterans  also  convened  in 
Memphis,  holding  their  Sixth  Annual  Convention.  They 
reported  $700  collected  for  the  monument  to  Southern 
Women,  with  $5,000  of  subscriptions.  They  chose  officers 
for  the  coming  year  as  follows:  Commander-in-Chief, 
Judge  R.  B.  Haughton,  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  Commander  of 
the  Department  of  Northern  Virginia,  Edwin  P.  Cox,  of 
Richmond,  Va.;  Commander  of  the  Department  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  W.  A.  Collier,  Jr.,  of  Memphis, 


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346  Southern  History  Association. 

Tenn. ;  Commander  of  the  Department  of  the  Trans-Mis- 
sippi,  W.  M.  Kavanaugh,  of  Little  Rock,  Ark. 

The  Chapman  Paintings. — ^Through  the  energy  of  Mrs. 
Joseph  Bryan,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  the  Confederate  Museum 
there  has  come  into  the  possession  of  a  very  rare  and  valu- 
able memento  of  the  Civil  War,  the  31  oil  paintings  made 
at  Charleston,  S.  C,  during  the  winter  of  1863-1864,  by 
Conrad  Wise  Chapman,  an  artist  of  distinction,  who  left 
his  studio  at  Rome  to  assist  the  South.  These  produc- 
tions are  of  special  historical  importance,  as  he  chose  his 
subjects  from  the  forts,  batteries  and  other  defences  for 
Charleston,  a  very  unusual  design.  Mrs.  Bryan  raised  the 
purchase  funds  by  appeals  through  the  South,  securing 
contributions  from  every  Southern  State  except  Louisiana 
and  Arkansas. 

Reburial  of  Confederate  Dead. — In  keeping  with 
President  McKinley's  fraternal  sentiments  at  Atlanta,  De- 
cember 14,  1898,  Congress  in  the  summer  of  1900  (June 
6th),  appropriated  $2,500  for  removing  the  remains  of  128 
Confederate  soldiers  from  the  National  Soldiers'  Home 
at  Washington  to  Arlington,  and  for  marking  the  graves 
of  these  and  136  others  already  buried  at  Arlington.  But 
quite  a  protest  has  been  made  against  this  step  by  some 
members  of  Confederate  Women's  Memorial  Societies  on 
the  ground  that  no  monument  could  ever  hereafter  be 
erected  to  these  dead  without  the  consent  of  Congress. 
Prominent  leaders  though  among  Confederate  veterans 
have  strongly  endorsed  the  act  of  Congress,  and  have  in- 
terested themselves  in  quieting  the  opposition  to  it.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  they  will  be  successful. 

South  Carolina  Monument  at  Chickamauga. — On 
May  27th,  with  solemn  exercises,  there  was  dedicated  in 
Chickamauga  Park,  a  monument  to  the  South  Carolina 
soldiers  who  fought  in  that  bloody  battle.  Addresses  were 
delivered  by  Gen.  C.  Irvine  Walker,  Governor  M.  B.  Mc- 
Sweeney,  Hon.  D.  S.  Henderson,  Col.  J.  Harvey  Wilson, 


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Notes  and  Queries,  347 

Bishop  Ellison  Capers,  and  Gen.  Henry  V.  Boynton,  the 
last  a  Northern  general  whose  speech  seems  to  have  par- 
ticularly touched  the  hearts  of  has  former  opponents  as  he 
paid  such  frank  and  hearty  tribute  to  Southern  courage 
and  valor.  The  memorial  is  a  product  of  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  designed  and  built  by  a  local  firm  in  Co- 
lumbia, of  granite  from  the  State.  It  is  some  37  feet  high, 
surmounted  by  a  bronze  palmetto  tree,  with  metal  tablets 
at  the  base,  bearing  inscriptions  composed  by  Bishop 
(General)  Ellison  Capers. 

Th^  Olivia  Raney  Free  Library,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C, 
which  has  been  mentioned  in  the  Publications  already  (III. 
p.  264),  was  formally  dedicated  and  opened  to  the  public 
on  January  24th.  The  speech  of  presentation  was  made  by 
Rev.  Dr.  M.  M.  Marshall  for  the  trustees,  and  that  of  ac- 
ceptance on  behalf  of  the  people  of  Raleigh  by  R.  T.  Gray, 
Esq.  The  Library  occupies  its  own  home,  which  is  a  new 
brick  building  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  Capitol.  It 
contains  some  5,000  volumes  and  is  intended  to  be  both 
a  reference  and  a  circulating  library,  but  mainly  the  latter. 
The  building  and  library  are  the  gift  of  Mr.  Richard  Bev- 
erly Raney  to  the  city  in  memory  of  his  deceased  wife,  who 
was  Miss  Olivia  Blount  Cowper,  and  represents  an  outlay 
of  about  $40,000.  No  other  library  gift,  equal  in  value, 
has  ever  been  made  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  believed  that 
the  library  will  be  supported  and  enlarged  out  of  the 
municipal  treasury. 

The  Race  Issue  seems  very  likely  to  come  up  even  in 
the  D.  A.  R.,  as  there  is  a  probability  that  some  colored 
ladies  will  apply  for  membership  in  this  hereditary  organi- 
zation on  the  basis  of  help  furnished  the  American  cause 
by  the  loaning  of  money  to  the  American  Government  dur- 
ing the  war  with  England.  Through  the  energy  of  Mrs. 
Amos  G.  Draper  a  list  has  been  compiled  from  U.  S. 
Treasury  records  of  persons  who  lent  capital  to  the  Ameri- 


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34^  Southern  History  Association. 

can  authorities.  Some  of  these  patriots  were  negroes,  and 
it  is  said  that  some  of  their  descendants  will  make  applica- 
tion for  membership,  claiming  eligibility  under  that  clause 
of  the  constitution  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution  which  admits  those  who  "rendered  material 
aid." 

The  Lee- Washington  relics,  which  have  been  in  the 
National  Museum  in  the  possession  of  the  United  States 
'Government  for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century,  have  been 
ordered  by  President  McKinley  to  be  restored  to  Gen. 
C  W.  C.  Lee.  When  General  R.  E.  Lee's  home,  Arling- 
ton, was  occupied  by  the  General  Government  during  the 
Civil  War,  these  interesting  mementoes  of  Washington 
were  removed  for  safe  keeping  by  the  officer  in  command. 
President  Johnson,  in  1869,  instructed  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  to  return  them  to  Mrs.  R.  E.  Lee,  but  the  House 
of  Representatives  passing  a  resolution  against  this  step, 
nothing  further  was  done  until  the  action  of  the  President 
in  April,  though  the  Lee  family  made  eflforts  to  get  them. 
They  comprise  Washington's  tent,  several  china  services, 
vases  and  other  household  articles. 

A  Tablet  to  Washington  in  commemoration  of  his 
visit  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1791,  has  been  erected  on  the 
house  that  he  occupied,  at  that  time  the  residence  of  Judge 
Heyward,  and  now  that  of  Mr.  Fuseler.  This  memorial 
is  due  to  the  efforts  of  a  member  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
Revolution. 

At  the  unveiling  of  this  tablet  on  May  23d,  in  Charles- 
ton, Mr.  Yates  Snowden  delivered  a  very  interesting  ad- 
dress, dealing  with  the  incidents  of  the  occasion  and  de- 
tailing some  of  the  traditions  connected  with  those  who 
entertained  the  august  visitor.  Happily,  Mr.  Snowden's 
investigations  are  preserved  in  the  Sunday  News 
(Charleston,  May  26,  1901). 

The  Remains  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene  were 


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Notes  and  Queries.  349 

discovered  in  the  Colonial  Cemetery  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  last 
March  by  Colonel  Asa  B.  Gardner,  President  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  The  identification  was 
made  by  means  of  the  name-plate,  army  buttons  and  rusted 
fragments  of  the  sword. 


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What  a  Young  Husband  Ought  to  Know 
(and  the  above) 

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philanthropists,  includmg  Rev.  Prank  S^  Clark,  Bishop  Vincent,  Rev 
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It  is  the  oldest  of  the  high  class  educational  monthly  magazines.  Fully 
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fact  that  teaching  is  a  great  profession  and  not  a  mere  **make-shift"  to  get  a 
living:. 

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teachers  and  of  others  who  would  keep  abreast  of  the  best  educational  thought. 
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PUBLICATIONS 

OP 

Southern  History  Association, 


WASHINGTON.  D.  C. 


VOLUME  I,  1897,  pp.  3^6,  (Out  of  Print). 


HlSTORICAi:*  SKBftCn  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION— HlSTORICAI,  STUDIES  IN 

THE  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks— The  Planter  of  the  Old  South, 
Richard  Malcolm  Johnston— Two  Southern  Magazines,  Edward  Ingle 
—David  Crockett,  Marcns  J.  Wright— Bibliography  op  the  Statute 
Law  op  the  Southern  States,  Theodore  L.  Cole  -John  Owen's  Jour- 
nal in  i8i8 —Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journal  on  North  Carolina- 
Bryant  Lester  and  Descendants,  Thomas  M.  Owen— John  Brown's 
Raid,  Andrew  Hunter— A  Bibliography  of  John  Brown,  Thomas 
Peatherstonhangh— Thomas  Lamar  and  Some  Descendants,  W.  H. 
Lamar— HucK's  DEFEAT,  Marcus  J.  Wright— A  Question  of  Pact,  C. 
C.  Pinckncy— Journal  of  the  Siege  of  Savannah  in  1779,  General 
Prevoei— A  Bibliography  of  William  Gilmore  Simms,  A.  S.  Salley, 
Jr.— Book  Notes— Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  II,  1898,  pp,  390,  $J,00  UNBOUND. 


Report  of  Second  Annual  Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  Secy.-- 
Unpublished  Letters  op  Andrew  Jackson— Transfer  of  Louisiana, 
Marcus  J.  Wright— Society  of  the  Cincinnati  in  the  South,  Charles 
L.  Davis— Dismemberment  of  Virginia,  William  Baird— Anti-Sla- 
very SenTibient  in  the  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks— Pelatiah  Webs- 
ter's Journal,  Thomas  P.  Harrison- William  Strother  and  Des- 
cendants, Thomas  M.  Owen— Richard  Winn,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Mary- 
land's Greatest  Politician^  Edward  inglc—CHRisTOPHER  Gadsden, 
E.  I.  Renick— Virginia  Women  and  the  Civil  War,  B.  W.  Arnold — 
Early  Southern  Institutions,  Peter  J.  Hamilton— Button  Gwin- 
nett's Commission— Richard  Malcolm  Johnston,  Edmund  Clarence 
Stedman  and  Stephen  B.  Weeks — Sir  Richard  Everard.  Marshall  De 
Lancey  Haywood— Mount  Vernon,  Alabama,  T.  H.  Ball— Monroe's 
Poverty,  Thomas  M.  Owen— Social  Affairs  in  1760— Book  Notes — 
Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  III,  1899,  pp.  584,  *3.oo  UNBOUND. 


The  Florida  Mound-Builders,  Thomas  Peatherstonhangh — Ed- 
ward MosELKY,  James  Franklin  Shmn— Jacob  Ammonet,  of  Virginia, 
Clifton  Wood  Brausford— Some  Difficulties  of  a  Texas  Emprbsario, 
Lester  G.  Bugbee— The  Texan  Expedition  Against  Mier,  Thomas  J. 
Green — Personnel  of  the  North  Carolina  Convention  of  1788 — 
A  Confederate  Incident,  J  L.  M.  Curry— Report  of  Third  Annual 
Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  KS>r>.  —  Sidney  Lanier,  George  S.  Wills 
—Nullification  Resolutions,  A  S.  Salley— The  Renick  Family  of 
Virginia,  E.  I.  Renick— Henry  Timrod,  Henry  E.  Shepherd  and  A. 
S.  Sslley— John  Brown,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh— Sausbury  (N. 
C.)  Confederate  Prison,  A.  W.  Mifigum— Book  Notes— Notes  and 
Queries— Index. 


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VOLUME  IV,  1900,  pp.  J25.  *3.oo  UNBOUND. 


Washington  and  the  Constitution,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Andrew  R.  Gov  an, 
A.  S.  Salley,  Jr. —The  Revoi^utionary  War  in  N.  C— Why  the  Confed- 
eracy HAD  NO  Supreme  Court— The  Texas  Frontier,  1820-1825,  Lester 
G.  Bugbee—A  Baptist  Appeai.— Report  of  Fourth  Annual  Meeting, 
Colyer  Meri-wether,  Sec'y—TRV,  Purchase  of  Ix)Uisiana,  Daniel  R.  Goodloe— 
The  Journai.  of  Thomas  Nichoi^on— Anecdotes  of  Generai.  Winfieu) 
Scott—Congressman  Stokes  and  Public  Archives— The  Southern 
Planter  of  the  Fifties,  Louisa  P.  Looney— Letter  from  a  Revolution- 
ary Officer — Governor  Richard  Bennett,  I.  T.  Tichenor — Light  on 
the  Negro  Problem — Lee  and  the  Confederacy,  Peter  Joe  Hamilton — 
The  Battle  of  King's  Mountain — Cincinnati  Society  in  Virginia,  John 
Cropper— Some  Colonial  Ancestors  of  Johns  Hopkins,  Miles  White— 
Southern  Revolutionary  Frontier  Life,  William  Martin— John  Wright 
Stanly,  J.  D.  Whitford— The  Highlanders  in  America— Reviews  and 
Notices— Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  v.,   1901,    $3,00.  UNBOUND. 

No.  I.  JANUARY,  1901. 

PAOX 

History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  ^Continued),  .   .  E.  A.  Smith,      i 

The  South  in  Olden  Times J.  L.  M.  Curry.    35 

Edward  Ireland  Renick, ....  Gaillard  Hunt.  49 

Reviews  and  Notices, 53 

Notes  and  Queries, 85 

No.  2,  MARCH,  I901. 

PAOB 

Report  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Meeting,  .   .  Colyer  Meriwether,  Sec'y.    95 
History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  (Continued),        E.  A.  Smith.    99 

William  Vans  Murray, Clement  Sulivane.  151 

The  Calhoun  Letters,         J.  L.  M.  Curry.  159 

Reviews  and  Notices, 164 

Notes  and  Queries,     175 

No.  3,  MAY,  1901. 

PAOB 

Sketch  of  General  Muhlenberg, M.  J.  Wrieht.  181 

History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury,  (Concluded)  .  .  E.  A.  Smith.  188 

Carrington  Genealogy, J.  B.  Kjllebrew.  228 

Reviews  and  Notices, 232 

Notes  and  Queries, 260 


EXTRA  VOLUME  1. 

INDEX  to  Meade's  Old  Churches^  Ministers  and  Families  of  Virginia, 
By  J.  M.  Toner,  M.  D.,  8vo.,  pp.  63,  cloth  or  paper  $1.00.  Indispensable  for 
prompt  and  ready  reference  to  the  mass  of  names  in  Meade*s  two  volumes. 
Indorsed  for  accuracy  and  completeness  by  Colonel  R.  A.  Brock,  the  well- 
known  authority  on  Virginia  history. 

Address  Southern  History  Association, 

p.  O.  Box  65.  Washington,  D.  C. 


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V 


Vol.  V.    S^j^MBEEvl90l. No.  5. 

OF  THE 

Southern  History  Association. 


ISSUED  BI-MONTHLY. 


CONTENTS : 

PAGE 

The  Louisiana  Purchase  vs.  Texas John  R.  Ficklen.  351 

Henry  Baker  and  Descendants, Miles  White,  Jr.  388 

Lost  Cow)ny  of  Roanoke, 401 

Book  Reviews, 406 

Periodical  Literature,     438 

Notes  and  Queries 446 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Published  by  the  Association. 

September,  1901. 


•3.00  p«r  aaaom)  tl.OO  per  namber. 

No  revponfiibllitf  utumed  for  opinions  of  contxibuton. 


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OFFICERS,  1901. 


PRESIDENT: 
Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 
General  M.  C.  BuTi.BR.  Mr.  Thomas  Nki^on  Pack. 

General  M.  J.  Wright.  Professor  Woodrow  Wh^on. 

Colonel  Gborgb  A.  P0RTERFIE1.D.        Senator  S.  Pasco. 

SECRETARY  AND  TREASURER: 
Coi^YBR  Meriwbthrr.  Ph.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

ADMINISTRATIVE  COUNCIL: 
(lu  addition  to  the  aboTc-named  Officers): 

Professor  Kkmp  P.  BatTi.b.  Stkphbn  B.  Wbbks,  Ph.  D. 

Colonel  R.  A.  Brock.  Professor  H.  Schobnfbi.d. 

Mr.  T.  L.  Coi,E.  Professor  Lucian  Johnston. 

Professor  R.  Heath  Dabney.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Culrk. 

Professor  John  R.  Ficki^en.  Mr.  Ai^xander  Summers. 

Professor  Chas.  Lee  Smith.  President  Geo.  T.  Winston. 

Professor  W.  C.  Stubbs.  J.  B.  Kim.ebrew,  Ph.  D. 

PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE: 

Gen.  M.  J.  Wright.  Mr.  T.  I,.  Cow. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Culrk.  Dr.  Stephen  B.  Weeks. 

Mr.  John  b.  Browni^ow.  Dr.  Colyer  Meriwether. 


Pursuant  to  a  call  signed  by  nearly  a  hundred  representative  persons  of 
the  South,  the  Southern  History  Association  was  organized  at  the  Columbian 
University,  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  evening  of  April  24,  1896,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  history  of  the  Southern  States.  In  carrying  out  this  aim 
an  annual  meeting  is  held,  and  a  Bi-monthly  Publication  issued.  The  Associ- 
ation also  desires  contributions  of  journals,  letters,  manuscripts  and  other  ma- 
terial towards  the  beginning  of  a  collection  of  historical  sources.  It  will  gladly 
accept  papers  based  on  research  and  documents  on  all  subjects  touching  the 
South. 

All  persons,  as  well  as  libraries,  interested  in  the  work  are  eligible  for 
membership,  without  initiation  fee ;  annual  dues  $3.00,  life  dues  $30.00.  There 
is  no  other  expense  to  members,  who  receive  all  current  publications  of  the 
Association  free  of  charge. 

The  Publications  alone  can  be  had,  postpaid,  at  $3.00  per  volume,  un- 
boimd,  or  $1.00  per  number. 

All  communications  should  be  addressed  to 

COLYER  MERIWETHER,  Secretary, 
P.  O.  Box  65.  Washington,  D.  C 

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PUBLICATIONS 

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SOUTHERN  HISTORY  ASSOCIATION. 


Vol.  V.  SsPTiMBBB,  1901.  No.  6. 


WAS   TEXAS    INCLUDED    IN    THE    LOUISIANA 
PURCHASE? 

By  Professor  John  R.  Ficklkn. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  discuss  the  question 
whether  the  present  State  of  Texas  was  included  in  the 
territory  of  Louisiana  as  purchased  in  1803  during  the 
administration  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  It  may  seem  to 
many  persons  that  this  question  was  practically  settled  in 
1819  when  by  treaty  with  Spain  we  acquired  the  Floridas 
and  gave  up  all  claims  to  Texas;  or  that  in  any  case,  it 
has  been  sufficiently  discussed  in  the  past.  It  should  be 
remembered,  however,  that  nearly  all  the  distinguished 
American  statesmen  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  last  century 
maintained  that  in  the  treaty  of  1819  with  Spain,  the 
United  States,  for  reasons  of  expediency,  relinquished 
claims  to  Texas  that  could  have  been  made  good  before 
any  fair-minded  court  of  arbitration.  Moreover,  a  reason 
for  reopening  the  discussion  may  be  based  on  the  fact  that 
a  few  years  ago,  Mr.  Henry  Adams,  a  grandson  of  John 
Quincy  Adams,  published  in  his  History  of  the  United 
States  the  recently  discovered  instructions  given  by  Napo- 
leon to  General  Victor  when  the  latter  was  preparing  to 


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352  Southern  History  Association. 

take  possession  of  Louisiana  in  the  name  of  France.  As 
these  instructions  show  the  intention  of  France  to  occupy 
Louisiana  as  far  as  the  Rio  Grande,  at  least  one  distin- 
guished student  of  history,  Dr.  Channing,  of  Harvard,  de- 
clares that  it  was  reserved  for  Mr.  Adams  to  prove  con- 
clusively that  "in  1803  the  United  States  had  a  perfect  title 
to  Texas."  Accordingly,  in  Dr.  Channing's  own  History 
of  the  United  States  (1899),  ^^  ^"^  ^  "^^P  ^^  ^^^  Louisi- 
ana Purchase,  which  embraces  in  the  territory  acquired  all 
Texas  to  the  Rio  Grande. 

History  has  been  described  as  "a  collection  of  prob- 
lems rather  than  a  statement  of  facts."  Whether  Mr. 
Adams  has  really  discovered  the  key  to  the  Texas  prob- 
lem seems  to  the  present  writer  an  open  question. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  subject  has  of  late  acquired  a 
new  interest  from  the  fact  that  the  centenary  of  the  pur- 
chase of  Louisiana  is  to  be  celebrated  in  1903,  and  it  is  ex- 
pected that  even  if  the  several  States  carved  out  of  the 
purchased  territory  do  not  decide  to  hold  separate  cele- 
brations, they  will  at  least  send  representatives  to  the 
splendid  ceremonies  to  be  held  in  St.  Louis.^  The  State 
of  Texas  has  already  thrown  down  the  gage,  and  one  of 
her  Senators,  after  quoting  a  number  of  authorities  (not 
including,  however,  either  Mr.  Henry  Adams  or  Dr.  Chan- 
ning), has  recently  asserted  that  "there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Texas  was  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase." 

The  question,  therefore,  is  once  more  befo.re  us,  with 
new  light  thrown  upon  it  by  Mr.  Adams,  and  with  the 
kindest  of  feelings  towards  the  State  of  Texas,  the  present 

*  It  would  certainly  seem  that  the  appropriate  place  in  which  to 
celebrate  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  is  New  Orleans;  for  this 
city  was  long  the  capital  of  the  province,  and  it  was  here  that  the 
transfer  from  Spain  to  France  and  from  France  to  the  United 
States  took  place.  Unfortunately  for  New  Orleans  the  wealthy 
city  of  St.  Louis  was  able  to  bid  a  lar^e  sum  for  the  honor  and 
its  action  was  rewarded  by  a  large  subsidy  from  Congress. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  353 

writer  wishes  to  advance  a  view  that  is  adverse  to  her 
present  claims. 

For  the  sake  of  clearness  in  dealing  with  a  subject  on 
which  diplomatists  and  historians  have  taken  opposite 
sides  for  a  hundred  years,  it  will  be  best  to  give  a  brief 
historical  sketch  of  Texas  history  and  then  consider  under 
separate  heads  the  testimony  of  the  old  cartographers,  the 
testimony  of  the  diplomatic  agents  who  represented 
France,  Spain,  and  the  United  States  whenever  the  ques- 
tion came  up  for  discussion ;  the  testimony  of  writers  on 
international  law,  and  the  testimony  of  the  historians,  and 
the  conclusions  which  this  paper  is  intended  to  embody. 

Historical  Skctch. 

On  Easter  Sunday  of  the  year  1513  Ponce  de  Leon  dis- 
covered the  land  of  Florida  for  the  Crown  of  Spain;  but 
the  earliest  explorers  to  reach  the  shore  of  Texas  were 
the  ill-fated  followers  of  Panfilo  de  Narvaez.  In  the  year 
1528  De  Narvaez  landed  in  Florida  with  a  commission  to 
govern  the  provinces  on  the  mainland  from  the  "Rio  de  las 
Palmas  in  Mexico  to  the  Cape  of  Florida."  After  a  fruit- 
less attempt  to  conquer  the  western  portion  of  Florida, 
the  Spaniard  sailed  westward  with  his  followers  until  some 
forty  of  them  under  the  treasurer  of  the  expedition,  Ca- 
beza  de  Vaca  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
finally  landed  on  the  coast  of  Texas,  either  at  Galveston 
or  at  St.  Joseph's  Island.  Here  they  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Indians,  and  for  six  years  those  that  survived  were 
treated  as  slaves.  Finally,  De  Vaca  and  three  companions 
made  their  escape,  marched  across  Texas  by^  route  the 
exact  line  of  which  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute*  among 
scholars,  and  reached  a  little  Spanish  settlement  in  Mex-  . 
ico.  They  brought  with  them  such  wonderful  stories  of  the 
"seven  cities  of  Cibola,"  described  to  them  by  the  Indians 

*  See  Quarterly  of  Tex.  State  Hist.  Assoc,  1899-1900. 


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354  Southern  History  Association. 

as  full  of  gold  and  precious  stones,  that  several  ex^pedi- 
tions  were  sent  out  by  the  excited  Spaniards  to  penetrate 
through  Texas  to  the  north.  Moreover,  when  De  Vaca 
returned  to  Spain,  the  recital  of  his  adventures  stirred  the 
famous  De  Soto  to  undertake  the  exploration  in  which 
he  rediscovered  the  Mississippi,  and  lost  his  life  on  its 
banks.  His  followers  descended  the  river,  and  coasted 
Texas  until  they  reached  Mexico  (1539-1542).' 

One  hundred  and  fifty  years  passed.  The  Spaniards, 
though  they  had  explored  Texas,  and  though  they  con- 
tinued throughout  this  period  to  traverse  its  broad  plains 
from  time  to  time,  had  made  no  actual  settlements  within 
its  limits.  Santa  Fe,  in  New  Mexico,  had  been  settled 
perhaps  as  early  as  1605,  ^"^  St.  Augustine  in  1565 ;  but  in 
the  year  1685  Santa  Fe  had  been  temporarily  wrested  from 
the  Spaniards  by  the  Indians.  The  Spaniards  had  retired 
to  El  Paso  del  Norte  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande ; 
there  was  no  settlement  east  of  that-  river. 

About  this  time  vague  rumors  reached  Mexico  that  the 
French  were  going  to  attempt  a  settlement  in  Texas.  As 
the  Spaniards  regarded  Texas  as  part  of  the  royal  domain 
discovered  and  explored  by  their  countrymen,  and  as  the 
King  Philip  II.  had  issued  a  decree  excluding  all  for- 
eigners from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  as  a  niare  clatistim,  steps 
were  taken  to  prevent  all  intrusions.  Nevertheless  in  the 
year  1685  the  famous  Frenchman,  Robert  Cavelier  de  la 
Salle,  with  a  band  of  colonists,  landed  at  Matagorda  Bay 
on  the  coast  of  Texas.  Three  years  before  La  Salle  had 
penetrated  from  Canada  to  the  Mississippi,  and  following 
the  river  to  its  mouth,  he  had  taken  possession  of  the 
whole  Mississippi  valley  and  of  the  coast  "as  far  west  as 

"Brown  (History  of  Texas,  I.  p.  6)  says:  "The  first  formal 
claim  of  the  Spanish  crown  to  Texas  was  made  in  1540  by  Cor- 
onado  at  the  Indian  village  of  Ysleta  on  the  Rio  Grande,  now  in 
El  Paso  County,  Texas." 


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^  The  Louisiana  Purchase, — Fitklen.  355 

the  River  of  Palms."*  After  making  this  splendid  prepara- 
tion to  settle  a  region  discovered  by  Spain  so  many  years 
before  and  still  claimed  by  that  power,  La  Salle  returned 
to  France,  and  in  1685  brought  over  a  colony  destined  for 
the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  Unfortunately,  he  missed  the 
mouth  of  the  great  river,  and  landed  400  miles  to  the 
west.*'  On  his  arrival  in  Matagorda  Bay,  La  Salle  at  first 
believed  that  he  was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
when  he  discovered  his  error,  he  determined  to  transport 
his  colonists  in  his  only  remaining  vessel  to  the  banks  of 
the  great  river.  The  boat,  however,  was  wrecked  and 
La  Salle  built  a  fort  for  his  colonists,  and  made  a  little 
settlement  on  the  Lavaca  river.  Then  with  some  of  his 
trusty  followers  he  made  several  explorations  with  the 
hope  of  finding  the  Mississippi  and  obtaining  assistance 
,  for  his  colony.  Two  years  passed ;  the  colonists  were  re- 
duced to  about  a  score  in  number.  It  seemed  as  if  they 
would  soon  perish  utterly,  and  in  1687  La  Salle  himself 
fell  by  the  bullet  of  one  of  his  own  dastardly  companions. 
His  tragic  death  casts  a  dark  shadow  across  the  romantic 
history  of  early  Texas.  It  is  noteworthy  that  La  Salle's 
brother,  who  escaped  to  Canada,  tells  us  that  forty-five 
miles  from  the  settlement  in  Texas  he  found  the  arms  of 
Spain  at  an  Indian  village.  They  were  engraved  on  a 
copper  plate  and  bore  the  date  1588.  The  Indian  inhabit- 
ants of  the  village  had  two  cannon,  some  old  sword 
blades,  some  books  of  Spanish  comedy;  "all  which  con- 

*The  Rio  de  las  Palmas  on  Sanson's  map  of' 1757  seems  to  be 
the  Rio  Bravo,  but  Vaugondy's  map  of  1762  makes  it  a  river  south 
of  Nouveau  Leon  in  Mexico,  or  the  modern  Conchas(}), 

•J.  G.  Shea,  quoting  some  significant  passages  m  Margry's 
Documents  I.  and  II,  maintains  that  the  real  object  of  La  Salle 
was  not  to  settle  Louisiana,  but  to  conquer  for  France,  the  Santa 
Barbara  mines  in  Mexico.  He  certainly  meditated  hostile  ex- 
peditions against  the  Spaniards,  but  Shea  does  not  prove  his  con- 
tention that  **La  Salle  went  intentionally  to  Texas  as  part  of  his 
operations  against  New  Biscay."  Compare  Shea's  Penalosa  with 
Margry  IL  515,  et.  seq. 


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35^  Southern  History  Association. 

vinced  us  that  the  Spaniards  had  been  there."*  However 
this  may  be,  it  was  upon  this  unintentional  landing  and 
brief  settlement  by  La  Salle  that  the  French  ever  after- 
wards based  their  strongest  claim  to  the  plains  of  TexasJ 

It  would  have  been  a  sad  day  for  La  Salle's  colonists  if 
the  Spanish  troops,  sent  out  in  1686-7  had  discovered 
them;  it  would  doubtless  have  been  a  repetition  of  Me- 
nendez's  descent  on  Ft.  Caroline  in  1565.  Finally,  a  de- 
serter from  La  Salle's  fort  reached  Mexico,  and  in  1689 
another  expedition  under  Governor  Alonzo  de  Leon 
reached  the  spot  on  which  the  foundations  of  French  do- 
minion in  Texas  had  been  temporarily  laid.  Here  De 
Leon  found  not  a  living  soul ;  only  ruins  and  the  bodies  of 
two  Frenchmen  left  unburied.  Evidently  the  Indians  had 
fallen  upon  the  weak  little  band  of  settlers  and  massacred 
the  greater  number.  Later  on  two  of  La  Salle's  follow- 
ers, "naked  except  for  an  antelope's  skin,  with  their  faces, 
breasts  and  arms  painted  like  Indians,"  presented  them- 
selves to  the  Spaniards,  and  under  a  promise  of  good 
treatment,  were  carried  off  to  Mexico,  and  thence  to  the 
dungeons  of  Spain.  Subsequently  the  Indians  surrendered 
to  the  Spaniards  a  few  more  of  La  Salle's  followers,  whom 
they  had  captured  in  the  fort. 

Much  disturbed  by  the  possibility  of  losing  Texas 
through  another  incursion  of  the  French,  the  Spanish 
government  decided  to  adopt  its  usual  method  of  occupy- 
ing a  country.  This  was  to  send  out  missions  among  the 
Indians,  which  should  gather  around  them  the  savages  to 
be  christianized  and  civilized,  while  attached  to  each  mis- 
sion for  its  protection  against  the  converts  {Indios  redu- 

•  See  Parkman's  La  Salle  for  this  incident. 

'Texas  seems  to  have  gotten  its  name  from  the  Tejas  Indians 
living  between  the  Colorado  and  the  Trinidad.  Bancroft  thinks 
it  was  perhaps  a  descriptive  term  meaning  friends,  "At  first,'* 
says  Dr.  McCaleb,  "it  was  applied  to  the  principal  settlement  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  then  extended  to  the  whole  country."  Sec 
Yoakum  for  another  interpretation  of  the  word. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  357 

cidos),  and  the  unconverted  (Indies  braves),  was  a  presidio 
or  fort,  filled  with  soldiers.  Accordingly,  in  1690,  one  year 
after  the  destruction  of  La  Salle's  colony,  the  first  Span- 
ish mission,  San  Francisco  de  los  Tejas,  was  established 
among  the  Texas  Indians  to  the  east  of  the  Trinidad  river. 
But  neither  this  nor  a  second  mission  that  followed  it  was 
successful.  The  Indians  rebelled  against  the  enforced 
civilization,  especially  when  the  licentious  soldiery  began 
to  treat  them  with  gross  indignity.  Nothing  seemed  pos- 
sible except  to  give  up  the  occupation  of  the  country 
until  some  pressing  necessity  made  it  expedient,  or  the 
disposition  of  the  savages  showed  itself  more  amenable 
to  Spanish  domination.  For  more  than  twenty  years, 
therefore  (1693-1716),  neither  Spain  nor  France  made  any 
further  attempt  to  occupy  Texas.  Claims  to  the  national 
ownership  of  the  country  remained  in  abeyance.  The  first 
quarter  of  the  i8th  century  was  to  witness  a  vigorous  re- 
vival of  the  contention. 

The  first  move  was  made  by  the  French.  Though  La 
Salle  had  perished  and  his  colony  had  perished  with  him, 
the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi  named  ip  honor  of 
Louis  XIV.  was  not  forgotten  by  that  monarch.  In  1699, 
not  without  a  protest  from  Spain,  the  French  government 
sent  another  colony  to  take  possession  of  the  country 
watered  by  the  great  river.  The  first  permanent  settle- 
ment was  made  on  what  is  now  the  site  of  Ocean  Springs, 
Mississippi  (Old  Biloxi).  The  colony,  however,  did  not 
flourish,  and  in  171 2  the  whole  province  of  Louisiana,  as 
far  north  as  the  Illinois  and  westward  to  New  Mexico  and 
Old  Mexico,  was  transferred  to  Crozat,  a  rich  banker  of 
France,  as  chartered  owner. 

There  now  appears  upon  the  scene  one  of  the  most  ro- 
mantic characters  in  the  early  history  of  Louisiana.  This 
was  the  shrewd  trader,  bold  explorer,  and  gallant  lover, 
Louis  de  St.  Denis.  In  1713  or  1714  Crozat's  governor 
conceived  the  plan  of  sending  St.  Denis  to  Mexico  to  open 


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358  Southern  History  Associdtion. 

trade  with  the  Spaniards.  The  execution  of  this  plan  re- 
quired consummate  skill ;  for  the  Spaniards  were  as  jealous 
of  their  commerce  as  of  their  possessions.  St.  Denis,  hop- 
ing for  advancement  and  private  profit,  entered  into  the 
plan  with  enthusiasm.  Passing  through  the  Indian  settle- 
ment of  Natchitoches,  he  crossed  Texas  in  1714,  and  vis- 
ited the  Spanish  presidio  of  San  Juan  Bautista  to  the  west 
of  the  Rio  Grande.  Here  he  fell  in  love  with  the  grand- 
daughter of  the  commandant,  whom  he  afterwards  mar- 
ried. In  the  following  year  we  find  him  in  Mexico,  still 
carrying  on  negotiations  with  the  government.  What 
agreement  he  made  with  the  Spanish  government  is  dis- 
puted, but  it  sems  likely  that  he  agreed  to  assist  the  Span- 
iards in  establishing  missions  in  Texas,  and  that  in  return 
he  was  taken  into  the  employment  of  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment, and  vague  promises  of  trade  between  the  French  and 
Spanish  possessions  were  held  out  by  the  Spanish  viceroy. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  exact  terms  agreed  upon,  St. 
Denis  actually  accompanied  a  Spanish  expedition  which  in 
1 716  established  a  number  of  missions,  with  a  presidio, 
between  the  Trinity  and  Red  rivers.  This  step  taken  by 
St.  Denis,  doubtless  with  the  consent  of  the  French  gover- 
nor, proved  fatal  to  French  claims  to  the  soil  of  Texas. 
Spain  never  relinquished  her  grasp  until  she  lost  her  Mexi- 
can colonies  in  the  19th  century.  When  St.  Denis  at- 
tempted actually  to  open  trade  with  Texas  and  Mexico, 
his  goods  were  seized  and  he  himself  was  thrown  into 
prison.  The  French  governor  soon  discovered  that  he  had 
introduced  into  his  neighborhood  an  enemy  that  would 
have  to  be  kept  in  check  to  prevent  his  occupying  the 
country  as  far  as  the  Mississippi  itself.® 

"  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  French  established  themselves 
at  Natchitoches.  Penicant,  who  is  not  trustworthy  in  the  matter 
of  dates,  says  St.  Denis  left  merchandize  at  Natchitoches  on  his 
way  to  Mexico  in  I7i4(?)  with  ten  men  to  guard  it,  and  that 
soldiers  were  sent  there  in  1715  to  build  a  fort,  which  was  visited 
in  1716  by  the  Spanish  commandant.    H.  H.  Bancroft  is  not  de- 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase, — Ficklen.  359 

In  1 719,  either  through  the  influence  of  his  Spanish 
wife  or  his  own  ingenuity,  St.  Denis  had  escaped  from  his 
Mexican  prison  and  was  back  in  Louisiana.  This  very 
year  the  welcome  news  came  to  him  at  Natchitoches  that 
war  had  been  declared  between  France  and  Spain.  While 
Bienville  attacked  the  Spaniards  at  Pensacola,  St.  Denis 
conducted  a  raid  into  Texas.  Priest  and  soldier  alike 
fled  before  his  onslaught,  and  all  that  could  took  refuge 
in  the  Spanish  mission  of  San  Antonio.  Here  they  re- 
mained for  two  years,  when  the  governor  of  Coahuila  and 
Texas  received  orders  to  reconquer  all  Texas.  This  task 
he  promptly  accomplished.  St.  Denis,  who  met  him  on 
the  river  Neches,  seems  to  have  made  no  objection  to  the 
reoccupation  of  the  missions,  which  ^nakes  Bancroft  sus- 
pect that  the  raid  of  two  years  before  was  intended  only  to 
give  the  Spaniards  "a  temporary  scare."  Yet  in  the  year 
of  the  counter  raid,  Benard  de  la  Harpe,  who  two  years 
before  had  penetrated  into  Texas  some  eighteen  leagues 
west  of  Natchitoches  and  had  carried  on  a  spirited  corre- 
spondence with  the  Spaniards  in  regard  to  his  right  to  be 
there,  was  sent  to  establish  a  French  settlement  on  Mata- 
gorda Bay.  His  force  was  not  strong  enough  to  meet  the 
opposition  of  the  Indians,  who  declared  that  "it  was  not 
proper  for  people  of  their  colors  to  remain  together,"*  and 
compelled  this  last  of  French  colonies  on  the  coast  of 
Texas  to  depart. 

A  few  years  later  the  Spanish  government  made  great 
preparations  to  introduce  into  Texas  bona  Me  settlers,  who 
should  hold  the  country  more  firmly  than  either  mission 
or  presidio.    But  out  of  four  hundred  families  that  were 

finite  as  to  the  date  of  the  establishment,  though  he  indicates 
that  it  was  already  occupied  as  a  fort  by  the  French  in  1716. 
Finally  the  Journal  Historique  (Beaurain)  says:  "In  January. 
1717*  Cadillac  sent  a  sergeant  and  some  soldiers  to  take  possession 
of  the  post  at  Natchitoches,  which  the  Spaniards  were  about  to 
seize."  The  Spanish  mission  of  Adaes  not  far  away  was  certainly 
established  in  1716. 
•  See  the  Journal  Historique  (Beaurain). 


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360  Southern  History  Association. 

to  be  brought  over  from  the  Canaries,  only  15  came. 
Homesick  and  wretchedly  poor  they  eked  out  a  miserable 
existence  at  San  Antonio.  They  served  the  purpose,  how- 
ever, to  reinforce  the  claims  of  Spain.  "One  family,"  said 
the  Marquis  de  Aguayo,  "is  worth  a  hundred  soldiers.'' 

The  occupation  of  Texas  by  the  Spaniards  seems  to  have 
been  accepted  by  the  French  as  an  accomplished  fact.  An 
occasional  murmur  of  protest  comes  from  New  Orleans ; 
but  in  1735,  when  the  French  moved  their  post  of  Natchi- 
toches to  the  west  bank  of  the  Red  river,  the  Spanish  com- 
mandant was  bold  enough  to  protest  against  what  he 
termed  an  encroachment  on  Spanish  soil,  which  he  main- 
tained extended  to  the  banks  of  the  Red.  St.  Denis,  who 
must  have  been  handicapped  by  the  part  he  had  played  in 
establishing  the  missions  of  1716,  refused  to  suspend  the 
transfer  of  the  post ;  but  modestly  claimed  as  a  boundary 
between  Texas  and  Louisiana  a  line  running  between  the 
Adaes  and  Natchitoches  tribes.  Unfortunately,  no  of- 
ficial boundary  line  was  thought  necessary,  and  though  the 
question  was  discussed  in  the  diplomatic  circles  of  Spain, 
the  answer  was  left  to  the  future.*® 

The  Province  of  Louisiana  Ceded  to  Spain. 

In  the  meantime  the  rival  claimants  traded  with  each 
o<her  and  ceased  to  be  enemies.  At  the  end  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War  in  1762  a  sudden  and  secret  diplomatic  move 
on  the  chess  board  of  Europe  dispelled  the  possibility  of 
conflict  by  transferring  to  Spain  all  that  portion  of  Louis- 

"  Judge  Martin  in  his  History  of  Louisiana  says:  "On  Bayou 
des  Lauriers  six  miles  S.  W.  by  South  from  Natchitoches,  and 
fifteen  miles  from  Adaes,  where  the  road  to  Nacogdoches  crossed 
the  Bayou,  the  French  had  placed  leaden  plates  on  a  tree  on  each 
side  of  the  road,  with  an  inscription  expressing  that  the  spot  was 
the  boundary  between  the  French  and  Spanish  dominions,  without 
indicating  the  continuation  of  the  line  on  either  side.  Similar 
plates  were  placed  at  Yatassees,  50  miles  N.  W.  of  Natchitoches. 
The  line  from  Bayou  des  Lauriers  to  the  sea  was  never  run,  and 
each  party  claimed  more  than  the  other  would  allow." 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  361 

iana  lying  west  of  the  Mississippi  with  the  island  of 
Orleans  on  the  left  bank."  Spain  had  received  more  than 
she  had  asked  for — nay,  more  than  she  really  wanted. 
She  accepted  the  gift,  however,  and  kept  it  until  the  treaty 
of  Ildephonso  in  1800,  but  it  is  noteworthy  that  she  never 
put  Louisiana  and  Texas  under  one  Government;  she 
always  regarded  them  as  separate  provinces. 

Louisiana  Re-Ceded  to  France. 

In  the  year  1800,  by  the  secret  treaty  of  Ildephonso^a 
second  secret  treaty,  it  will  be  noted — the  king  of  Spain 
ceded  to  Napoleon  Bonaparte  all  Louisiana  in  return  for 
certain  rights  guaranteed  to  the  Duke  of  Parma.  The 
third  article  of  this  important  treaty  was  as  follows :  "His 
Catholic  Majesty  promises  and  engages  to  retrocede  to 
the  French  Republic  *  *  *  the  colony  or  province  of 
Louisiana  with  the  same  extent  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of 
Spainy  and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,  and  such  as 
it  should  be  after  the  treaties  subsequently  entered  into  between 
Spain  and  other  States.*' 

Louisiana  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

In  May  1803  Napoleon  decided  to  sell  the  territory  to 
the  United  States  for  $15,000,000;  but  the  treaty  of  ces- 
sion cast  much  obscurity  on  the  boundary  question  by 
citing  the  ambiguous  words  of  the  treaty  of  Ildephonso, 
and  then  declaring  that  Napoleon  ceded  the  territory  to 
the  United  States  '*with  all  its  rights  and  appurtenances  as 
fully  and  in  the  same  manner  as  they  have  been  acquired 
by  the  French  Republic  in  virtue  of  the  above  mentioned 
treaty."  When  the  first  consul  was  asked  to  define  the 
boundary  of  Louisiana  he  declared  that  the  treaty  was  ob- 
scure, but  that  "if  there  were  no  obscurity  it  would  be  good 

"  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  thou^fh  France  had  secretly  pre- 
sented the  isle  of  Orleans  and  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi 
to  Spain  in  1762,  she  declares  in  the  treaty  of  Paris,  ratified  in 
1763,  that  she  still  owns  the  isle  of  Orleans.     • 


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362  Southern  History  Association. 

policy  to  insert  some."  Whether  this  remark  was  in- 
tended as  a  compliment  to  the  diplomatic  astuteness  of  the 
United  States  is  a  matter  of  doubt ;  but  in  any  case,  there 
was  thus  opened  the  way  to  long  and  complicated  negotia- 
tions over  the  possession  of  Oregon,  the  Floridas  and 
Texas." 

As  soon  as  the  United  States  got  possession  of  Louisi- 
ana, a  claim  was  made  through  our  commissioners,  Messrs. 
Monroe  and  Pinckney,  to  both  East  and  West  Florida  and 
Texas  as  parts  of  the  Louisiana  purchase;  but  Spain  re- 
fused to  recognize  the  claim  and  the  matter  was  dropped 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  the  meantime  Aaron  Bun- 
took  advantage  of  the  strong  feeling  against  Spain  and 
prepared  to  invade  the  Spanish-American  States.  In  1806 
General  Herrera,  representing  Spain,  and  General  Wilkin- 
son, representing  the  United  States ,  met  in  western 
Louisiana  and  agreed  to  regard  the  country  between  the 
Aroyo  Hondo^'  and  the  Sabine  as  neutral  territory, 
pending  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  dispute.  This 
agreement  or  sponsion  was  ratified  by  both  governments 
doubtless  for  the  purpose  of  discouraging  such  expedi-r 
tions  as  Burr  designed. 

In  1815  Spain  had  as  minister  to  the  United  States  a 
Spaniard  named  Onis,  who  was  typically  proud  and  sensi- 
tive, and  much  given  to  ingenious  delays  and  elaborate 
arguments.  After  some  years  of  correspondence  with 
our  Secretary  of  State,  John  Quincy  Adams,  a  treaty  was 
agreed  upon  and  finally  ratified  in  1821,  by  which  the 
United  States  gave  up  all  claim  to  Texas  west  of  the  Sa- 
bine, received  from  Spain  the  two  Floridas,  and  agreed  to 
pay  $5,000,000  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States  against  Spain. 

By  his  arguments  in  the  long  negotiations  with  Spain 

"  See  the  "Oregon  Boundary  Question,"  by  J.  R.  Ficklen,  Pubs, 
of  La.  Historical  Soc,  1898. 
"  A  branch  of  Red  River. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  363 

John    Quincy    Adams    seems    to    have    convinced    the 
majority  of  Americans  of  that  day  that  the  claim  of  the 
United  States  to  Texas  was  a  just  one,  but  that  for  reasons 
of  expediency  it  had  been  relinquished.    The  disappoint- 
ment and  dissatisfaction,  however,  were  so  great  that  in 
1827  and  again  in  1829  the  United  States  tried  to  purchase 
Texas ;  but  Mexico,  which  was  now  independent  and  which 
regarded  Texas  as  a  valuable  possession,  refused  to  sell. 
In  1836  the  people  of  Texas,  consisting  largely  of  immi- 
grants from  the  United  States,  declared  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  Mexico,  and  nine  years  later  the  admission  of 
Texas  into  the  Union  plunged  us  into  a  war  with  Mexico, 
which  resulted  in  a  wide  expansion  of  the  United  States. 
When  Texas  was  seeking  admission  to  the  Union,  the 
Democratic  platform  signified  that  Texas  had  been  an- 
nexed in  1803,  sacrificed  in  the  treaty  of  1821,  and  should 
be  reannexed  to  the  United  States.      It  does  not  appear, 
however,  that  the  statesmen  of  that  day  made  any  original 
investigation  of  the  Texas  question ;  they  doubtless  adopt- 
ed the  views  held  by  John  Quincy  Adams  and  others  in  the 
first  quarter  of  the  century;  it  was  a  political  cry  echoed 
from  the  past. 

Testimony  of  the  Maps. 

Professor  E.  A.  Freeman  once  remarked  that  in  study- 
ing the  charts  of  the  world  made  by  ancient  geographers, 
we  must  free  ourselves  from  the  bondage  of  the  modern 
map.  We  are  easily  misled  if  we  think  for  an  instant  that 
early  discoverers  and  explorers  in  describing  the  lands 
they  visited  had  in  mind  the  clear,  concise  notions  of 
topography  which  are  easily  obtained  by  any  school  boy 
of  to-day.  Confusion  reigned  supreme  in  the  minds  of 
such  men  as  Columbus  and  Cabot — not  to  mention  the 
lesser  lights;  and  to  understand  their  descriptions  of  the 
lands  they  saw,  we  must  strive  to  put  ourselves  in  their 
places  and  study  their  limitations.      To  appreciate  the  die- 


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364  Southern  History  Association. 

turn  of  Mr.  Freeman,  however,  we  have  only  to  examine 
the  old  maps  that  cartographers  of  reputation  even  as 
late  as  the  eighteenth  century  have  handed  down  to  us.  A 
river  or  a  place  will  appear  in  different  localities  in  two 
contemporary  maps  or  in  maps  produced  by  the  same 
cartographer  at  different  times.  It  is  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, that  such  maps  should  reflect  also  the  uncertainty 
that  existed  in  regard  to  the  proper  boundaries  of  the 
provinces  that  were  held  in  America  by  European  powers. 
If  then  I  cite  some  of  the  important  maps  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  it  is  not  because  they  are  to  be  regarded 
as  final  authorities  on  the  Texas  boundary  question,  but 
because  it  would  appear  that  some  of  our  own  diplomat- 
ists have  brought  forward  maps  in  support  of  their  asser- 
tions, when  neither  they  nor  their  opponents  seemed  to 
suspect  that  other  maps  of  equal  authority  could  be  cited 
to  controvert  those  assertions.  This  is  partcularly  true  of 
Messrs.  Monroe  and  Pinckney,  who  in  attempting  to  set- 
tle the  Texas  boundary  question  with  Senor  Cevallos  in 
1805  assured  his  Spanish  Excellency  that  besides  other 
evidences  of  ownership  as  far  as  the  Rio  Grande,  the 
United  States  could  show  the  important  map  of  Lopez,** 
geographer  to  the  King  of  Spain  in  1762,  which  "appears 
to  make  the  Rio  Bravo  (Grande)  the  western  boundary  of 
Louisiana ;"  while  the  French  map  of  De  Lisle,  revised  and 
published  in  1782,  clearly  recognized  this  boundary. 
These  pieces  of  testimony  Cevallos  seems  to  have  been 
totally  unable  to  rebut.  However,  when  the  controversy 
was  renewed  fifteen  years  later,  and  our  Secretary  of  State, 
John  Quincy  Adams,  cited  five  other  maps  in  support  of 
our  claims,  the  Spanish  Minister  Onis  had  made  sufficient 
researches  to  be  able  to  bring  forward  a  number  of  maps 

"  The  Lopez  map  is  in  Harvard  Library.  A  photograph  of  it  is 
owned  by  the  writer.  Legend  says  it  is  based  on  the  map  of 
D'Anville.  While  Lopez  does  not  seem  to  exclude  all  Texas  from 
the  Louisiana  territory,  he  by  no  means  makes  the  matter  clear. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  365 

which  upheld  the  Spanish  side  of  the  contention.^*  But 
neither  of  these  diplomatists  exhausted  the  list  of  maps 
which  are  divided  on  this  subject.  From  the  valuable  col- 
lection of  maps  in  the  Howard  library  in  New  Orleans,  it 
may  be  shown  that  while  the  maps  of  Homann  (i7i2[?]), 
Leutter  (i74o[?]),  Moll  i7io[?],  and  (1732),  and  De  Lisle 
(1782),  place  the  western  boundary  of  Louisiana  at  the 
Rio  Grande,  the  same  boundary  is  fixed  somewhat  to  the 
east  of  the  Sabine  River  (its  present  boundary)  on  the 
maps  of  Kitchen  (1765),  Peter  Bell  (1772),  Pownall  (1777), 
and  Vaugondy  (1762).  We  may  well  imagine  that  Onis 
would  have  been  delighted  to  find  the  map  of  Vaugondy; 
for  the  authority  of  Vaugondy  wins  importance  from  the 
fact  that  he  was  Geographe  Ordinaire  to  the  King  of  France 
and  published  his  map  in  1762,  the  same  year  as  Lopez, 
Geographe  Ordinaire  to  the  King  of  Spain.  As  Lopez  the 
Spaniard  seems  to  give  Texas  to  France,  and  Vaugondy 
the  Frenchman  presents  it  to  Spain — both  in  the  year  1762, 
before  the  secret  treaty  could  have  been  known — Onis 
might  well  have  urged  that  neither  one  should  be  cited  in 
evidence ;  that  they  were  only  exhibiting  that  exquisite  po- 
liteness which  was  characteristic  of  the  two  nations  in 
their  diplomatic  relations. 

To  return  to  our  collection  of  maps,  however,  it  would 
be  easy  to  emphasize  the  uncertainty  existing  in  the  minds 
of  the  cartographers  by  citing  the  maps  of  Mitchell,  1755, 
and  Bellin,  1744,  which  place  the  boundary  at  an  inter- 
mediate line,  beginning  about  Matagorda  Bay;  the  map 
of  Bonne,  1781,  which  gives  the  Trinidad  (Trinity)  River; 
the  map  made  for  the  French  Minister  Decres  in  1807, 

"  Adams  quoted,  in  addition  to  those  mentioned  by  Monroe  and 
Pinckney,  the  Atlas  Geographicas  (1717).  Bowen  (1755),  Henne- 
pin (1683),  and  Alcedo  (1788-9);  while  Onis  gave  as  his  author- 
ities Bowen  (1757)  (also  claimed  by  Adams),  D'Anville  [1746I, 
Bonne,  (no  date),  Janvier  (no  date),  Jeffreys  (i775)f  Baron  Hum- 
boldt (no  date),  and  Pierson  (181 1).  Onis  added:  *'It  is  well 
known  that  Lopez,  wholly  uninformed  as  to  the  country,  copied 
from  De  Lisle  all  his  errors  and  handed  them  on  to  Alcedo." 


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which  includes  in  Louisiana  only  a  portion  of  Texas,  and 
last  of  all,  the  two  maps  of  Jeffreys  (1763  and  1776),  the 
first  of  which  limits  the  province  of  Louisiana  on  the  west 
to  a  line  east  of  the  Sabine,  while  the  second  extends  it  to 
the  Rio  Grande.^* 

Comment  is  unnecessary ;  the  reader  can  judge  for  him- 
self whether  there  is  anything  conclusive  in  the  testimony 
of  the  maps.".  It  would  seem  that  as  to  number  and 
trustworthiness,  they  are  about  equally  divided. 

Views  of  Statesmen  and  Diplomatic  Agents. 

As  Senator  Culberson,  of  Texas,  said  in  a  recent  ar- 
ticle,^^  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  of  our  distin- 
guished American  statesmen  have  held  that  Texas  was 
properly  included  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase.  It  is  possi- 
ble to  marshal  a  formidable  list  of  names ;  it  would  include 
Jefferson,  Madison,  Clay,  Monroe,  Polk,  Benton,  and  a 
number  of  others.  It  is  true  that  Lowndes,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, and  a  few  other  speakers  maintained  against  Clay 
that  the  ''ownership  of  Texas  was  debatable  and  had  been 
given  up  as  such,"^*^  but  they  seem  to  have  been  rare  ex- 
ceptions in  their  day  and  generation.    Jefferson,  who  said 

"Could  Jeffreys  have  intended  the  first  to  represent  French 
Louisiana  and  the  second  Spanish  Louisiana? 

"  In  the  discussion  of  map  values,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
in  1762  all  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  transferred  to 
Spain.  We  have  seen  that  Spain  always  kept  the  ceded  province 
and  Texas  under  separate  governors  and  allowed  the  line  of 
cleavage  to  remain  just  where  it  had  been  under  the  French  re- 
giffte;  but  there  was  no  occasion  for  the  Spanish  map-makers 
after  the  cession  of  the  province  to  lay  any  stress  on  the  location 
of  the  actual  western  boundary  between  Adais  and  Natchitoches. 
For  all  diplomatic  purposes  it  disappeared  until  the  question  was 
revived  by  the  Louisiana  purchase.  Hence  it  is  of  no  par- 
ticular import  that  in  1786  a  Spanish  Dictionary  (geographical  and 
historical)  dedicated  to  Charles  IV,  represents  Louisiana  as  "ex- 
tending 650  miles  from  longitude  86^^  to  96°"  («.  e)  from  the 
Apalachicola  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande.  (This  is  Alcedo's 
work,  quoted  by  Adams.) 

"  See  his  dispatch  to  daily  press,  May  5,  1900. 

"See  Schurz:  Life  of  Clay;  also  McMasters,  IV,  p.  483. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  367 

he  had  investigated  the  subject  in  his  "spare  moments/* 
wrote  to  Madison  in  1803 :  "Our  right  westwardly  to  the 
Bay  of  St.  Bernard  (Matagorda)  may  be  strongly  main- 
tained." In  1816,  he  had  extended  in  his  mind  the  limits 
of  Louisiana  and  wrote  to  Mr.  Mellish :  "The  western 
boundary  of  Louisiana  is  rightly  the  Rio  Bravo  *  *  * 
when  La  Salle  took  possession  of  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard, 
Panuco  (in  Mexico)  was  the  nearest  settlement  of  Spain, 
and  the  Rio  Bravo  the  natural  halfway  boundary  between 
them." 

I  cannot  find  that  the  other  gentlemen  advanced  any 
more  forcible  arguments  in  support  of  their  opinion,  and 
I  think  it  fair  to  presume  that  they  based  their  conclusions 
on  the  able  statements  of  the  American  side  of  the  contro- 
versy advanced  by  Messrs.  Monroe  and  Pinckney,  in 
1804-5,  ^"d  by  J.  Q.  Adams  in  1818-9. 

Let  us  pass  in  rapid  review  these  statements  as  they  are 
found  in  the  American  state  papers  .^'^  It  was  on  March 
16,  1805,  that  Pinckney  and  Monroe,  having  failed  to  settle 
the  West  Florida  question,  wrote  to  the  Spanish  Commis- 
sioner Cevallos  to  obtain  his  opinion  as  to  the  proper 
southwestern  boundary  of  Louisiana.  The  purchase  had 
been  made  two  years  before,  and  the  United  States  had 
not  yet  been  able  to  determine  what  she  had  purchased. 
At  first  Cevallos  answered  that  he  was  studying  the  his- 
tory of  the  subject,  but  later  he  replied  that  Texas  ex- 
tended from  the  Medina  river  to  the  Adaez  mission ;  that 
in  1689  the  Governor  of  Coahuila  was  sent  to  the  Bay  of 
St.  Bernard  (Espiritu  Santo  or  Matagorda);  and  that  in 
1690  he  founded  the  Mission  of  St.  Francisco  de  Texas, 
and  that  other  missions  were  established  from  that  time 
on.  It  was  true,  he  added,  that  France  had  claimed  the 
coast  of  Texas,  but  these  claims  were  preposterous  and 
were  never  recognized  by  Spain.    The  proper  boundar>' 

••Vol.  IV  and  Vol.  XII. 

2 


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368  Southern  History  Association, 

between  Texas  and  Louisiana  should  be  a  line  beginning 
on  the  coast  between  the  rivers  Carcassiu  (Calcasieu)  and 
Marmentoa  (Mermentau)  and  passing  north  between 
Adaes  and  Natchitoches  to  the  Red.  In  answer  to  this 
communication  Pinckney  and  Monroe  declared  that  the 
Spanish  missions  were  merely  encroachments,  which  were 
resisted  by  the  French ;  that  when  La  Salle  settled  Texas 
in  1685,  the  Spaniards  had  no  settlement  nearer  than 
Panuco,  and  that  by  international  law  the  boundary  was 
the  middle  distance,  or  Rio  Grande.  To  reinforce  this 
claim,  afterwards  advanced  by  Jefferson,  they  quoted  the 
charter  to  Crozat  in  1712,  the  history  of  Champigny  (1773), 
and  the  words  of  Vergennes,  Louis  XVI's  minister,  in  all 
of  which  the  boundary  was  stated  to  be  the  Rio  Grande. 
To  clinch  the  argument  the  Commissioners  cited  in  con- 
clusion the  maps  of  De  Lisle  and  Lopez. 

As  no  agreement  could  be  reached,  negotiations  were 
dropped  until  they  were  renewed  in  1817  between  J.  Q. 
Adams  and  Onis.  Spain  now  claimed  that  she  had  "col- 
lected documents,  both  French  and  Spanish,  especially 
respecting  the  western  boundary  of  Louisiana,  which  ren- 
dered that  line  susceptible  of  the  most  exact  and  rigorous 
demonstration."  While  Adams  did  not  at  any  time  accept 
this  view  of  the  matter  it  soon  appeared  that  Onis  was  far 
better  informed  than  Cevallos,  and  that  J.  Q.  Adams  was 
armed  with  superior  evidence  to  that  of  Messrs.  Pinckney 
and  Monroe. 

The  argument  of  the  Spanish  minister  was  to  the  effect 
that  Texas  had  always  been  the  property  of  Spain.  He 
showed  that  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  had  been  visited  by 
Ponce  de  Leon  in  1513,  by  Narvaez  and  Cabeza  de  Vaca  in 
1528  (though  he  was  evidently  ignorant  that  De  Vaca  ac- 
tually visited  Texas),  by  De  Soto  in  1539;  that  foreigners 
by  order  of  the  Spanish  King  had  never  been  permitted  to 
visit  the  Gulf — a  decree  which  he  said  was  justified 
by  the  principle  generally  recognized  that  the  property  of 


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The  Lotiisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  369 

a  lake  or  narrow  sea  and  that  of  a  country,  however  ex- 
tensive, provided  no  other  power  is  established  in  the  in- 
terior, is  acquired  by  the  occupation  of  its  principal  points. 
Thus  the  Spaniards  had  occupied  Leon  and  Santander 
1595,  Santa  Fe  [i6o5(?)],  Texas  1690.  Since  1690,  he 
said,  Texas  had  remained  quietly  under  Spanish  rule,  and 
there  had  been  no  further  attempts  of  the  French  to  pene- 
trate it.  It  was  true  that  the  French  (in  1699)  had  settled 
Biloxi  and  other  points;  but  this  was  by  sufferance  and 
through  the  friendship  of  Philip  V.^^  The  charter  to  Cro- 
zat  in  1 71 2  extended  Louisiana  to  the  Rio  Grande,  but 
this  charter  was  "an  emanation  of  the  disordered  brain  of 
old  Louis  XIV.'' 

Our  skilful  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Adams,  answered 
the  communication  of  Onis  with  sarcastic  remarks  on  the 
vast  and  ridiculous  pretensions  of  the  Spanish  King  to 
the  Gulf  coast  and  the  interior  of  the  country.  He  then 
reiterated  the  arguments  of  Monroe  and  Pinckney,  and  as 
we  have  seen  above,  quoted  a  number  of  other  im- 
portant maps  upholding  the  French  claims.  He  then 
quoted  the  narrative  of  Hennepin  1683,  of  Tonty  1697,  of 
Joutel  1719,  together  with  the  spirited  correspondence  of 
La  Harpe  (1719),  and  Bienville's  order  to  occupy  the  Bay 
of  St.  Bernard  in  1721.  He  summed  up  the  Spanish  claims 
with  contempt  and  vigorously  upheld  the  claims  of  France. 
Onis  answered  sharply  that  at  least  one  of  Mr.  Adams' 
authorities,  Hennepin,  was  regarded  by  his  contempo- 
raries in  Canada  as  a  liar  (and  this  point  he  conclusively 
proved).  As  to  the  rest  he  evidently  wished  Mr.  Adams 
to  call  to  mind  the  Latin  saying,  ex  una  disce  omnes.  Then 
after  criticising  unfavorably  the  geographers  cited  by 
Adams,  he  added,  as  we  have^een  above,  an  important 
list  of  maps  upholding  the  Spanish  view. 

"  Onis  does  not  mention  that  when  the  French  settled  Louis- 
iana, the  Spaniards  were  already  at  Pensacola  and  protested 
against  French  occupation. 


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370  Southern  History  Association. 

Taking  the  controversy  as  a  whole  Onis  seems  to  have 
had  rather  the  better  of  the  argument.  It  is  true  that  he 
had  injured  his  case  at  some  points  by  trying  to  prove  too 
much,  and  had  been  sharply  called  to  task  by  Adams — 
especially  when  he  endeavored  to  show  that  France  had 
not  settled  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi  without  first  ask- 
ing the  permission  of  Spain.  Nevertheless  he  had 
strengthened  his  argument  by  a  reference  to  the  early 
Spanish  settlements  and  especially  by  the  citation  of  maps 
that  flatly  contradicted  those  of  Mr.  Adams.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  neither  side  quotes  history  or  interna- 
tional law  for  precedents;  which  would  have  lent  much 
interest  to  the  controversy.  Still  the  cold,  cutting  logic 
of  the  Puritan  pitted  against  the  elaborate  and  rather  pon- 
derous propositions  of  the  Spaniard  makes  this  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  diplomatic  duels  in  our  history." 

"  It  has  been  asserted  that  Spain  was  really  convinced  of  the 
legality  of  our  claim  to  Texas,  and  was  only  "bluffing"  to  gain 
what  advantage  she  could»  There  is  no  intimation  of  this  in  the 
arguments  of  Onis  at  this  time,  but  when  the  King  of  Spain 
seemed  on  the  point  of  refusing  to  ratify  the  treaty  of  1819,  Onis 
published  in  Spain  a  Memoria  Sobre  las  Negociaciones  [Publ.  in 
Madrid,  1820.  In  the  Library  of  Congress  there  is  a  translation 
by  T.  Watkins  (1821),  from  which  the  extracts  were  kindly  made 
for  the  writer  by  the  efficient  Secretary  of  the  Southern  History 
Assoc,  Dr.  Colyer  Meriwether.  The  Spanish  version  is  in  the 
Department  of  State,  and  Dr.  Meriwether  has  verified  the  ac- 
curacy of  the  translation  of  the  extracts.],  in  which  he  defended 
the  treaty  and  made  the  following  statement: 

"An  impartial  publick  will  judge  whether  the  treaty  of  February 
22,  1819  (which  is  improperly  called  a  treaty  of  cessum,  as  it  is  in 
reality  one  of  exchange  or  permutation  of  one  small  province  for 
another  of  double  the  extent,  richer,  and  more  fertile),  deserves  the 
epithet  of  disgraceful,  under  which  it  has  been  painted  to  His  Ma- 
jesty. *  *  *  *  I  will  agree,  however,  that  for  greater  per- 
spicuity I  might  have  extended  the  3d  article  in  the  following 
terms:  7n  exchange  the  United  States  cede  to  his  majesty  the 
Province  of  Texas,'  &c.,  as  the  government  wished  me  to  ex- 
press it;  but  as  I  had,  in  t^  correspondence  which  is  inserted^ 
for  three  years  contended  Wat  that  province  belonged  to  the 
King,  it  would  have  been  a  contradiction  to  say  in  the  treaty  that 
the  United  States  cede  it  to  his  Majesty,  the  same  thin^  being 
obtained  by  the  terms  in  which  it  is  expressed,  the  limits  that 
adjudge  it  to  his  Majesty  being  fixed,  and  the  United  States  ex- 
pressly renouncing  all  rights  which  they  had  or  can  have  to  it. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase, — Ficklen.  371 

The  citation  of  the  maps  doubtless  made  an  impression 
on  Adams;  but  neither  antagonist  convinced  the  other, 
and  nothing  seemed  to  be  left  except  war  or  a  compro- 
mise. President  Monroe  thought  it  unwise  to  press  our 
claims  to  Texas  any  further,  for  he  was  persuaded  that  it 
would  one  day  come  into  our  hands.  Accordingly  in  1819 
a  treaty  was  signed,  to  which  reference  has  been  made 
above.  It  settled  at  the  same  time  the  Florida  claims  and 
the  western  boundary  of  Louisiana.  Like  many  other 
boundary  treaties,  it  resulted  from  a  compromise. 

Testimont  of  International  Law. 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  inter- 
national law  had  by  no  means  reached  its  present  point  of 

This  charge  with  which  they  have  soup^ht  to  obscure  the  ad- 
vantages or  disadvantages  of  the  treaty  is  a  new  triumph  to  the 
nation,  which  is  the  only  object  I  have  always  had  in  view." 

At  first  reading  this  passage  seems  to  be  a  declaration  on  the 
part  of  Onis  that  he  had  been  lying  systematically  for  three  years 
— in  other  words,  that  Spain  had  never  had  a  legal  claim  to 
Texas.  His  real  plea,  however,  is  that  the  treaty  did  not  rep- 
resent simply  a  cession  on  the  part  of  Spain  without  any  quid 
pro  quo.  The  United  States,  also,  had  ceded  claims  that  had 
some  basis,  and  Onis^nhances  their  value  in  order  to  exalt  his 
own  services.  These  claims  he  had  quieted  forever,  and  he  asks 
recognition  of  the  fact.  The  third  article  of  the  treaty  to  which 
he  refers,  after  citing  the  Sabine  river,  &c.,  as  the  western  bound- 
ary, says:  *The  United  States  hereby  cede  to  his  Catholic  Ma- 
jesty and  renounce  forever  all  the  rights,  claims,  and  pretensions 
to  the  territories  lying  west  and  south  of  the  above  described 
line." 

The  territonr  thus  ceded  might  seem  indefinite,  and  Onis  adds 
that  for  perspicuity  he  might  have  substituted  "the  province  of 
Texas"  as  territory  given  "in  exchange;"  but  that  the  word  "cede" 
used  in  the  treaty  would  have  made  this  a  contradiction  of  his 
public  utterances.  Besides  the  cession  of  Texas  was  sufficiently 
indicated  by  the  terms  actually  used  in  the  treaty. 

This  statement  of  Onis,  therefore,  seems  to  the  present  writer 
only  a  weak  attempt  to  make  his  King  believe  that  the  treaty 
Onis  had  negotiated  was  not  so  disgraceful  after  all.  Though 
Spain  afterwards  ratified  the  treaty,  we  know  that  she  paid  no  at- 
tention to  the  protestations  of  Onis  and  persisted  m  thinking 
that  the  treaty  did  her  injustice.  ["En  Espagne  Onis  fit  de  vains 
efforts  pour  demontrer  aux  ministres  de  Ferdinand  qu'il  6tait  de 
Tint^rct  de  TEspagne  de  ratifier  ce  traite"  &c.  See  Diet,  of  La- 
rousse,  sub.  Onis.j 


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37^  Southern  History  Association. 

development,  and  we  find  the  eminent  diplomatists  of  that 
day  quoting  little  from  the  authorities  on  international 
conduct  except  the  general  rules  of  discovery  and  occu- 
pation. In  fact  the  United  States  was  just  taking  its 
proper  place  among  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  being 
untrammeled  by  traditions,  was  striking  out  along  some- 
what independent  lines  in  the  solution  of  the  problems 
that  arose.  Reverence  for  authorities  has  never  been  the 
characteristic  of  the  Americans,  and  this  has  been  pecu- 
liarly the  case  in  regard  to  questions  of  international  law 
even  down  to  the  present  day.  This  independence,  how- 
ever, has  not  been  without  satisfactory  fruits.  The  United 
States  has  contributed  in  an  important  degree  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  principles  of  international  law  and  has  won 
praise  on  more  than  one  occasion  from  foreign  critics. 
Some  years  ago,  for  example,  the  Ediriboro  Review  said: 
"The  international  law  of  the  United  States  is  character- 
ized by  a  marked  individuality  and  independence  of 
thought.  The  statesmen  of  the  Republic  have  not  felt 
themselves  bound  by  theories,  however  venerable,  or  been 
troubled  by  the  conflicting  views  of  eminent  jurists.  They 
have  rested  their  contentions  on  clear  principles  which 
they  have  evolved  for  themselves,  and  they  have  enun- 
ciated their  views  without  obscurity  and  with  perfect 
straightforwardness."*' 

While,  however,  American  statesmen  deserve  praise  for 
the  fearlessness  and  acumen  with  which  they  have  dis- 
cussed matters  of  international  equity  and  justice,  it  is  to 
be  remembered  that  the  Texas  boundary  question  is  one 
that  properly  dates  back  to  a  period  not  much  later  than 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  that  in  dis- 
cussing it  we  should  consider,  first  of  all,  the  principles  of 
international  law  as  they  existed  at  that  time.  These  prin- 
ciples had  been  formulated  and  had  reached  a  certain  de- 

*•  Quoted  by  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  in  Mag.  Amer.  Hist..  Vol. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase, — Ficklen.  375 

gree  of  clearness  in  the  works  of  eminent  writers,  and 
while  practice  did  not  always  coincide  with  the  more  or 
less  ideal  rules  of  conduct  laid  down  by  the  expounders, 
still  these  jurists  may  be  said  to  have  reflected  the  con- 
sensus of  opinion  among  the  civilized  nations  on  many 
points  concerning  the  discovery  and  possession  of  terri- 
tory. We  may  even  discover  in  the  writers  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries  a  modification  of  certain 
earlier  views  held  in  the  period  immediately  following  the 
discovery  of  America.  For  instance,  as  Dr.  Scaife**  has 
pointed  out,  the  nations  of  Europe  first  claimed  in  prac- 
tice that  discovery  of  a  country  with  the  formal  declara- 
tion of  taking  possession  gave  the  right  of  excluding  the 
rest  of  the  civilized  world  forever.^*^  Spain,  England  and 
other  countries  acted  on  this  principle  for  a  considerable 
period ;  but  as  competition  for  possession  of  the  new  world 
became  sharper,  it  was  only  natural  that  this  theory 
should  yield  to  the  more  sensible  one  that  actual  occupa- 
tion was  necessary  to  validate  a  title  to  a  discovered  coun- 
try. As  early  as  1625  we  find  Grotius,  the  father  of  inter- 
national law,  declaring  in  his  famous  work :  "As  to  things 
without  a  master,  if  we  follow  nature  alone,  they  belong 
to  him  who  discovers  and  occupies  them."*' 

Next  comes  Bynkershoef  (about  1737)  with  the  asser- 
tion that  "cultura  utique  et  cura  agri  possessionem  quam 
maxime  indicat.''^^  Finally  Vattcl  (1758),  says:  "The 
title  (to  discovered  land)  has  been  usually  respected  pro- 
vided it  was  soon  afterwards  followed  by  real  possession." 

"  See  his  Development  of  Internat.  Law.  Pubs,  of  Amer.  Hist. 
Asst.,  Vol.  IV. 

"  It  is  presumable  that  the  natives,  in  case  they  became  civ- 
ilized, would  be  unable  to  assert  any  former  claims;  but  if  they 
did  not  subscribe  to  the  articles  of  the  Christian  faith,  the  rule 
was  that  they  might  be  reduced  to  slavery  by  fire  and  sword. 
(See  the  advice  of  the  councillors  of  Ferdmand,  quoted  by 
Scaife.) 

■•  Quoted  by  Scaife. 

"  Quoted  by  Phillimore. 


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374  Southern  History  Association. 

Already  in  1670  Spain  and  England  had  signed  a  treaty 
at  Madrid  by  which  each  promised  not  to  sail  or  trade  in 
the  ports  or  places  of  the  other.  "This/*  says  Scaife, 
"shows  a  virtual  recognition  of  the  right  conferred  by 
possession  but  not  by  discovery/'  It  may  show,  however, 
that  the  principle  was  not  then  strong  enough  to  stand  by 
itself  and  had  to  be  confirmed  by  a  treaty. 

When  the  necessity  of  occupation  was  once  insisted 
upon,  it  remained  to  determine  how  soon  it  must  follow 
discovery,  how  long  it  must  last  to  make  good  a  title,  and 
how  much  of  a  country  must  be  occupied  to  give  a  title 
to  the  whole.  But  here  great  difficulty  was  encountered, 
and  no  perfect  agreement  on  these  subjects  was  reached 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
England  did  not  hesitate  to  claim  that  discovery  and  a 
small  settlement  on  the  coast  one  hundred  years  later, 
gave  her  the  right  to  grant  a  charter  controlling  a  piece 
of  territory  many  leagues  broad  and  stretching  across  a 
continent  of  three  thousand  miles  in  width.**  Such  pre- 
tensions recklessly  crossed  ranges  of  mountains  and  vast 
rivers,  of  the  very  existence  of  which  the  grantors  of  the 
charters  were  ignorant.  But  this  position  England  was 
unable  to  niaintain,  and  the  far-reaching  character  of  the 
English  charters  did  not  prevent  the  French  from  explor- 
ing the  Mississippi  Valley  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
making  good  their  claims  by  occupation.  In  a  vague  way 
natural  boundaries  began  to  be  recognized,  but  it  was  still 
uncertain  how  much  territory  in  the  vicinage  of  a  settle- 
ment could  be  held.  Pufendorf  (1762)  had  given  a  valua- 
ble hint  when  he  said :  "Since  property  implies  a  right  of 
excluding  others  from  your  possession,  which  right  would 
be  altogether  insignificant  if  it  could  not  be  effectually  ex- 
ercised, it  would  be  in  vain  for  you  to  claim  as  your  own 

"  Professor  Alexander  Johnston  insists  that  these  extensive 
claims  were  not  based  upon  a  mistaken  idea  of  the  breadth  of  the 
American  continent.    See  Hinsdale's  "Old  Northwest." 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase, — Ficklen.  375 

that  which  you  can  by  no  means  hinder  others  from  shar- 
ing with  you;"^^  but  this  suggestion  was  quite  generally 
disregarded  by  the  great  powers.  In  1758  Vattel  throws 
no  light  on  the  subject  save  to  say :  "If  at  the  same  time 
two  or  more  nations  discover  and  take  possession  of  an 
island  without  an  owner,  they  ought  to  agree  between 
themselves  and  make  equitable  partition,  but  if  they  can- 
not agree,  each  will  rightly  have  empire  and  dominion 
over  those  portions  in  which  it  was  the  first  to  establish 
itself/'*^ 

No  ruling,  moreover,  is  to  be  found  as  to  whether  occu- 
pation must  follow  discovery  within  twenty-five  or  fifty 
or  more  years,  though  the  nations  seem  to  have  acted 
on  the  idea  that  a  very  long  delay  weakened  a  title.  Nor 
was  it  determined  with  any  greater  accuracy  how  long 
occupation  must  last  in  order  to  establish  a  prescription. 
In  fact  these  two  questions  have  never  been  settled  to  the 
present  day,  though  some  important  recommendations 
have  been  made  by  writers  on  international  law  in  our 
own  time.'^ 

Before  dismissing  the  older  writers  on  international 
law  it  is  necessary  to  consider  one  other  question. 
Spain  at  an  early  period  claimed  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  as 
a  closed  sea,  and  declared  that  she  could  justly  exclude 
from  it  all  foreigners.  While  Grotius  in  1609  held  that 
England  could  not  be  said  to  own  her  narrow  seas,  Selden 
a  few  years  later  maintained  the  contrary.  Sir  Matthew 
Hale  held  that  Selden  had  proved  his  contention."  It  is 
certainly  true,  however,  that  the  French  never  acknowl- 
edged this  pretension  on  the  part  of  England,  and,  as  Vat- 
tel says,  Louis  XIV  would  not  suffer  the  channel  to  be 

*•  Pufen'dorf  Edit.,  1729,  p.  378. 

~  Vattel:  Droit  des  Gens  I,  p.  381. 

"Vattel  (1758)  recognizes  the  value  of  some  rule  in  regard  to 
prescription  and  usucaption  (which  he  distinguishes),  and  recom- 
mends that  the  number  of  years  necessary  to  establish  a  lawful 
prescription  be  fixed  by  treaties. 

"  See  Snow's  International  Law. 


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37^  Southern  History  Association, 

called  the  English  Channel  or  the  British  Sea  in  the  Treaty 
of  Breda.'*  Kent,  however,  holds  that  it  would  be  proper 
for  the  United  States  to  claim  as  closed  sea  the  waters  be- 
tween headlands,  as  between  the  South  Cape  of  Florida 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  If  the  views  of  Selden 
and  Kent  are  accepted,  it  would  seem  that  it  was  not  so 
preposterous  for  Spain  in  the  seventeenth  century  to  claim 
as  mare  clausum  the  Gulf  as  enclosed  within  a  line  drawn 
around  the  coast  and  from  the  extreme  point  of  Yucatan 
to  the  southern  extremity  of  Florida.  She  had  explored 
the  country  surrounding  the  gulf  and  had  a  number  of 
settlements,  while  the  distance  across  from  Yucatan  to 
Florida  was  only  about  500  miles,  with  the  Spanish  pos- 
session of  Cuba  lying  between  them.  Such  a  claim  would 
not  stand  in  the  nineteenth  century,  but  according  to  the 
ideas  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was  not  destitute  of  a 
certain  show  of  justice.  Such  pretensions,  as  Professor 
Snow  remarks,  were  not  given  up  until  the  nineteenth 
century. 

If,  therefore,  we  ask  which  nation  in  the  light  of  inter- 
national law,  as  it  then  existed,  had  the  better  title  to 
Texas  in  1762" — the  year  in  which  all  grounds  of  conten- 
tion were  quieted,  we  find  no  decisive  answer.  It  is  alto- 
gether probable,  however,  as  it  seems  to  the  writer,  that  if 
the  decision  had  been  left  to  an  impartial  tribunal  of  jur- 
ists, judgment  would  have  been  given  in  favor  of  the  Span- 
iards.    They  had  discovered  the  Mississippi  Valley  and 

"Vattel,  p.  191. 

•*  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  words  of  the  cession  (1800) 
were  "Louisiana  with  the  same  extent  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of 
Spain,  and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,*'  &c.  France  gave 
it  to  Spain  in  1762,  and  though  this  year  may  not  be  the  most 
favorable  in  which  to  review  the  claims  of  France,  we  are  auth- 
orized in  choosing  it  by  the  rule  of  international  law  in  the  in- 
terpretation of  treaties.  Clauses  inserted  at  the  instance,  or  for 
the  benefit  of  one  party,  are  strictly  construed;  that  is,  they  are 
given  the  meaning  least  favorable  to  the  party  at  whose  instance 
they  were  inserted:  it  is  his  fault  if  he  has  not  expressed  himself 
clearly.    See  Davis,  Internat.  Law,  p.  246. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  377 

Texas  long  years  before  the  French,  they  had  occupied 
Santa  Fe  and  El  Paso  del  Norte  for  a  considerable  period 
before  La  Salle  landed  on  the  coast  of  Texas.  The  settle- 
ment of  La  Salle,  though  it  was  the  first,  lasted  only  two 
or  three  years;  while  the  Spaniards  occupied  the  country 
very  soon  afterwards  and  held  it  under  their  dominion 
from  1690  to  1693  and  again  from  171 6  to  1762.  "Since 
property  implies  a  right  of  excluding  others,''  to  repeat 
the  words  of  Pufendorf,  *  *  *  *  "  it  would  be  in  vain 
for  you  to  claim  as  your  own  that  which  you  can  by  no 
means  hinder  others  from  sharing  with  you/'  Or  as  Dr. 
Johnson  said  with  reference  to  the  title  to  the  Falkland 
Islands:  "Till  the  controversy  is  decided,  all  that  can  be 
had  is  real  possession  and  actual  dominion."*'  As  for  the 
map  makers,  we  have  seen  that  there  were  as  many 
French  maps  acknowledging  the  Spanish  claim  as  there 
were  Spanish  maps  acknowledging  the  French  claim. 
Moreover,  before  1762,  a  compromise  line  had  been 
agreed  upon  between  the  rival  settlements  at  Adaes'*  and 
Natchitoches. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  rules  of  international  law  as 
they  have  been  developed  since  1762.  While  strictly 
speaking  these  rules  have  no  bearing  on  the  subject,  it  may 
be  urged  that  like  all  other  rules  of  international  law,  they 
are  based  not  only  on  national  expediency,  but  also  on 
principles  of  justice  that  are  as  true  for  the  eighteenth 
century  as  for  the  nineteenth  century.  Accepting  this 
view  of  the  matter,  let  us  see  what  rules  were  laid  down 
by  our  diplomatists  in  the  nineteenth  century  and  by  the 
writers  on  international  law.  The  rules  offered  for  accept- 
ance by  Monroe  and  Pinckney  were  as  follows :'' 

I.  Possession  of  sea  coast  extends  to  the  interior  to  the 
sources    of   rivers    emptying   within   that    coast   and   to 

"  Quoted  by  Dr.  Scaife. 

••  Modern  Adais. 

"American  State  Papers,  Vol.  XII. 


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378  Southern  History  Association, 

branches  and  to  the  country  they  cover,  and  gives  the 
right  to  exclude  all  other  nations. 

2.  When  one  European  nation  makes  a  discovery  and 
takes  possession  of  any  waters  of  this  continent,  and  an- 
other afterwards  does  the  same  at  some  distance  from  it, 
where  the  boundary  between  them  is  not  determined  by 
the  principle  above  mentioned,  the  middle  distance  be- 
comes such  of  course. 

3.  Rights  thus  acquired  cannot  be  affected  by  grants  of 
the  natives  to  another  power. 

Such  general  rules  by  no  means  settled  the  fine  ques- 
tions involved ;  but  in  1818  Jefferson,  as  we  have  seen,  held 
that  the  Rio  Grande  was  the  western  boundary  of  Louis- 
iana because  in  1685  ^^  was  midway  between  the  settle- 
ment of  La  Salle  and  the  Spanish  settlement  at  Panuco. 
The  great  English  authority  Phillimore  (1843)  ^s  more 
definite:  "Writers,"  he  says,  "agree  that  use  and  settle- 
ment, or  in  other  words,  continuous  use  are  indispensable 
•elements  of  occupation  properly  so  called."  As  to  the  ex- 
tent of  territory  that  may  be  appropriated,  he  adds :  "The 
right  of  occupation  incident  to  settlement  extends  over  all 
territory  actually  and  bona  Me  occupied,  over  all  that  is 
essential  to  the  real  use  of  the  settlers  *  *  *  over  all  in 
fact  that  is  necessary  for  the  integrity  and  security  of  the 
possession.  *  *  *  Ibi  finitur  imperium  ubi  finitur  ar- 
morum  vis."*® 

Pomeroy  tells  us  that  natural  boundaries  must  have 
great  influence  in  determining  the  limits  of  national  do- 
main, and  Lawrence  holds  that  in  the  absence  of  these 
natural  boundaries,  the  boundary  of  contiguous  settle- 
ments should  be  drawn  middle  way  between  the  last  posts 
on  either  side. 

D.  D.  Field,  in  his  "Outlines  of  an  International  Code" 

1872),  recommends  that  to  obtain  a  legal  title  occupation 

"  Quoted  by  Scaife. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase, — Ficklen.  379 

should  follow  discovery  within  twenty-five  years,  while 
occupation  during- fifty  years  should  give  a  prescriptive 
right.'* 

It  is  certainly  not  clear  that  the  rules  laid  down  by  these 
more  modern  jurists  uphold  the  French  claims  to  Texas. 
Granted  that  La  Salle  formed  a  settlement  in  Texas  in 
1685,  and  that  the  line  between  his  colony  and  that  of  the 
Spaniards  should  have  been  immediately  fixed  at  the  Rio 
Bravo  (which  was  not  done).  It  surely  seems  unjustifiable 
to  maintain  that  this  comparatively  brief  sojourn  of  a 
colony  (which  had  no  intention  of  remaining  there)  enti- 
tled the  French  to  include  Texas  in  the  province  of  Louis- 
iana under  a  treaty  (Jldephonso)  which  defines  that  pro- 
vince as  possessing  "the  same  extent  as  it  now  has  in  the 
hands  of  Spain  and  as  it  had  when  France  possessed  it." 
Spain,  ^  we  have  seen,  never  placed  Texas  under  the 
government  of  Louisiana,  and  "when  France  possessed  it" 
is  a  clause  that  should  reasonably  refer  to  the  year  1762, 
when  France  possessed  it  and  transferred  it  to  Spain.  At 
this  period  Spain  had  already  held  Texas  continuously  for 
forty-six  years,  or  in  all  forty-nine  years.  Prescription 
was  obviously  on  the  Spanish  side.  The  French  failed  to 
keep  the  advantage  they  had  in  1685.  The  rules  laid  down 
by  Pinckney  and  Monroe  do  not  settle  in  their  favor  the 
important  point  of  occupation,  while  the  later  jurists  in- 
sist on  continuous  use  in  the  establishment  of  a  claim. 

"  Glenn  (Intemat.  Law,  pp.  48-9)  cites  the  following  interest- 
ing case,  which  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  Texas  question. 
In  1639  Santa  Lucia  was  occupied  by  an  English  colony,  which 
was  massacred  by  Caribs  in  1040.  No  attempt  was  made  by  the 
English  to  re-colonize.  In  1650  the  French  took  possession  and 
held  it  till  1664,  when  they  were  attacked  by  the  English  and 
driven  into  the  mountains.  Three  years  later  they  re-occupied 
the  land  when  the  English  had  retired.  It  does  not  appear  what 
became  of  the  colony,  but  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  (1713)  declared 
the  Island  to  be  neutral  and  in  1763  it  was  declared  by  treaty  to 
belong  to  France.  Hall  says  that,  all  things  considered,  the 
French  occupation  was  good  in  law. 


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3^0  Southern  History  Association 

Testimony  of  the  Historians. 

Among  the  writers  of  American  history  only  a  few  can 
be  cited  within  our  limits.  First  of  all,  Dr.  Scaife,  who  is 
an  expert  in  regard  to  the  early  Spanish  explorations,  tells 
us  very  cautiously  that  the  United  States  had  at  least  "a 
ihow  of  title  to  land  south  of  the  line  agreed  upon  in 
1819 ;"  but  he  does  not  elaborate  his  position.*® 

Yoakum,  in  his  History  of  Texas,  says:  "From  the 
year  171 5  [1716?]  dates  the  permanent  occupation  of 
Texas  by  Spain.  She  had  wrested  it  from  France  the 
rightful  discoverer;  yet  it  must  be  admitted  she  had  ac- 
quired full  possession.'*  Yoakum,  it  may  be  added,  holds 
mistakenly  that  De  Vaca  did  not  discover  Texas. 

Schouler,  in  his  History  of  the  United  States  (Vol.  HI, 
p.  176)  says:  "Our  title  to  Texas  as  legally  a  part  of  the 
Louisiana  cession  had  little  strength,  but  a  hint  8f  a  legal 
claim  was  enough  to  make  men  deplore  what  they  termed 
the  gift  to  Spain  of  a  domain  worth  fifty  times  as  much  as 
the  Floridas." 

H.  H.  Bancroft,  in  speaking  of  the  unsettled  boundaries 
of  Louisiana,  says:  "In  1803  the  government  at  Wash- 
ington, in  its  aggressive  policy,  claimed  all  east  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  which  included  the  whole  of  Texas  and  the  best 
part  of  New  Mexico — a  pretension,  as  far  as  the  French 
were  concerned,  long  obsolete."*^ 

As  we  saw  above.  Dr.  Edward  Channing,  of  Harvard, 
in  his  recent  History  of  the  United  States  (1899),  gives  us 
a  map  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  which  embraces  Texas, 
and  tells  his  readers  that  Henry  Adams  has  proved  con- 
clusively that  the  United  States  had  a  perfect  title  to 
Texas.  As  Mr.  Adams  is  supposed  to  have  given  a  final 
solution  of  this  intricate  question,  I  have  reserved  his  tes- 
timony to  the  last.*^    He  is,  moreover,  the  only  historian 

**  Amer.  Hist.  Assoc.  Pubs.,  Vol.  IV. 

**  See  his  Texas  and  North  Mex.  State,  II,  p.  9. 

**See  Adams:    History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  II,  passim. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase, — Ficklen.  381 

(except  his  disciple  Dr.  Channing),  as  far  as  the  writer 
knows,  who  has  taken  positive  ground  in  the  Texas  bound- 
ary controversy. 

As  was  stated  in  the  beginning  of  this  paper,  Mr.  Henry 
Adams  bases  his  conclusion  that  Texas  was  included  in 
the  territory  acquired  by  the  Louisiana  Purchase  upon  his 
own  special  discoveries  in  the  Archives  of  France.  The 
evidence  he  has  produced  is  as  follows:  When  General 
Victor  was  about  to  sail  for  Louisiana  to  take  possession 
of  the  province  in  the  name  of  France,  he  received  from 
the  Minister  of  Marine  certain  secret  instructions"  to 
guide  him  in  proclaiming  the  authority  of  France  in  New 
Orleans.  General  Victor  never  came  over ;  but  a  copy  of 
the  instructions  was  given  to  Laussat,  who  was  sent  to 
Louisiana  as  the  French  Commissioner.  As  Laussat, 
when  he  took  possession  of  Louisiana,  knew  that  it  had 
been  sold  to  the  United  States,  he  did  not  publish  the  in- 
structions; but  he  seems  to  have  let  it  be  known  what 
they  were. 

The  text  of  this  valuable  document,  published  for  the 
first  time  by  Mr.  Adams,  gives  the  boundaries  of  Louis- 
iana as  follows :  "The  extent  of  Louisianna  is  well  deter- 
mined on  the  south  by  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  west  by  the  river  called  Rio  Bravo  from  its  mouth 
to  about  30*"  parallel  of  latitude.  The  line  of  demarcation 
stops  after  reaching  this  point,  and  there  seems  to  have 
been  never  any  agreement  in  regard  to  this  part  of  the 
frontier.  The  farther  we  go  northward,  the  more  unde- 
cided is  the  boundary.  There  also  exists  none  between 
Louisiana  and  Canada.  *  *  *  The  eastern  boundary  is 
the  Iberville  river.'* 

Besides  this  important  testimony  that  Louisiana  ex- 
tended to  the  Rio  Bravo,  Mr.  Adams  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  when  Laussat  began  to  confide  to  the  Americans 

*•  Dated  November  26,  1802. 


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382  Southern  History  Association. 

that  France  had  intended  to  occupy  Texas,  the  Spanish 
Minister  at  Washington  wrote  a  letter  to  Talleyrand  in 
which  he  did  not  deny  the  correctness  of  Laussat's  posi- 
tion, and  tacitly  admitted  it  by  appealing  to  Talleyrand  '*to 
send  orders  to  the  French  Commissioner  Laussat,  enjoin- 
ing him  to  restrain  the  pretension  of  the  Americans  re- 
garding the  limits  of  Louisiana  and  not  to  show  himself 
favorable  to  the  wishes  of  the  Americans,  as  there  is  rea- 
son to  suspect  him  of  doing."  "Now,  Talleyrand,"  de- 
clares Mr.  Adams,  "knew  that  by  the  instructions  to  Laus- 
sat the  First  Consul  had  given,  as  far  as  he  could,  the 
authority  of  both  French  and  Spanish  governments  to  the 
claim  of  the  United  States  that  Louisiana  extended  to  the 
Rio  Grande."  Yet,  to  please  Spain,  the  unscrupulous  Tal- 
leyrand now  disregarded  the  secret  instructions  to  Victor 
and  Laussat,  and  actually  declared  to  the  United  States 
that  in  fixing  the  western  boundary  of  Louisiana,  France 
would  have  drawn  the  line  (not  at  the  Rio  Bravo),  but 
midway  between  the  French  and  Spanish  settlements  i.  e., 
between' Adais  and  Natchitoches. 

This  affair  certainly  shows  Talleyrand  in  a  bad  light, 
and  in  these  negotiations  Mr.  Adams  seems  to  find  a  con- 
spiracy concocted  by  France  and  Spain  to  defraud  the 
United  States  of  a. province  which  was  rightly  ours,  and 
which  these  two  countries,  in  their  secret  hearts,  knew  to 
be  ours.  That  his  theory  is  a  plausible  one  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  it  has  brought  conviction  to  the  mind  of  Dr. 
Channing,  and  we  may  imagine  that  Mr.' Adams  felt  pro- 
found satisfaction  in  unearthing  these  documents  and 
thus  justifying  the  views  held  by  his  distinguished  grand- 
father. 

For  the  present  writer,  however,  the  conclusion  at 
which  Mr.  Adams  seems  to  arrive,  that  the  proper  western 
boundary  of  Louisiana  in  1803  was  the  Rio  Grande,  is  not 
proved  by  the  facts  alleged.  To  sum  up  briefly  Mr.  Adams 
seems  to  hold  that,  as  the  secret  instructions  indicate  that 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  383 

France  intended  to  push  her  claim  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
as  the  Spanish  Minister  tacitly  admitted  the  justice  of  this 
claim,  the  said  river  in  the  eyes  of  France  and  Spain  was 
the  correct  boundary.  Other  testimony  than  this  Mr. 
Adams  does  not  bring  forward. 

In  opposition  to  his  view  of  the  matter,  however,  may 
be  urged  some  important  considerations.  While  it  is  true 
that  Cevallos  in  his  correspondence  with  Talleyrand,  did 
not  deny  that  Louisiana  was  bounded  by  the  Rio  Grande, 
there  is  no  evidence  that  he  wrote  with  the  approval  of  his 
government  on  this  point.  Moreover,  in  1805,  when  he 
was  asked  by  Monroe  and  Pinckney  for  his  opinion  on  this 
very  subject,  he  asked  for  time  to  investigate  and  in  his 
later  correspondence  he  showed  that  his  investigations 
never  went  very  far.  Moreover,  though  the  First  Consul 
may  have  given,  "as  far  as  he  could  the  authority  of  the 
French  and  Spanish  governments  to  the  claim  of  the 
United  States,"  it  has  not  been  shown  that  the  Spanish 
government  ever  admitted  in  terms  that  Louisiana  ex- 
tended to  the  Ria  Grande  during  the  domination  either  of 
Spain  or  of  France.  It  is  possible  that  under  the  treaty  of 
Ildephonso  Spain  might  have  been  bullied  into  yielding 
Texas  to  the  powerful  First  Consul  as  a  part  of  the  terri- 
tory ceded  to  France;  but  such  an  act  would,  of  course, 
prove  nothing  as  to  the  merits  of  the  question. 

Finally,  the  secret  instructions  upon  which  Mr.  Adams 
lays  so  much  stress,  were  doubtless  drawn  up  at  the 
French  Court — in  the  department  presided  over  by  Tal- 
leyrand himself — without  consultation  with  the  Spanish 
Court.  For  in  the  archives  of  the  Louisiana  Historical 
Society,  there  is  an  excerpt  from  the  papers  of  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Marine,  made  in  1848,  which  reads  as  follows: 

'  *  An  XI  Vend^miaire.  Extraits  d'une  d^^che  du  minist^re  des  re- 
lations exterienrs  an  minist^e  de  la  marine  et  des  colonies.  '  Une 
partie  des  limites  du  Nouveau  Mexiqne  et  de  la  Louisiane  est  d^ter- 
min^  avec  assez  de  pr^ision.  Le  Rio  Bravo,  en  le  remontant  depuis 
son  embouchure  jusque  vers  le  30  degr^»  sert  de  ligne  de  demarcation, 

3 


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384  Southern  History  Associatiofu 

maifl  depuis  ce  demi-point  la  ligne  est  moins  exacte.  II  ne  parait  pas 
quil  y  ait  jamais  en  de  convention  de  limites  sur  cette  partie  de  la 
fronti^re.  Plus  on  avance  vers  le  nord,  plus  la  demarcation  doit  ^tre 
ind^ise."*** 

This  dispatch,  which,  as  far  as  the  writer  knows,  has 
never  been  pubHshed  before,  was  sent  by  the  Ministr>'  of 
Foreign  Affairs  to  the  Ministry  of  Marine,  and  evidently 
formed  the  text  of  the  instructions  drawn  up,  two  months 
later,  for  General  Victor  by  Decres,  minister  of  the 
Marine.**^ 

It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Adams  has  proved 
nothing  more  than  that  France,  under  the  Treaty  of  Ilde- 
phonso,  intended  to  claim  Texas  as  a  part  of  Louisiana; 
he  has  not  proved  that  this  claim  was  valid  or  that  Spain 
so  regarded  it.    Interpretation  of  treaties  must  be  mutual. 

Conclusion. 

In  reviewing  calmly  the  facts  that  have  been  given  in 
the  preceding  pages  it  seems  to  the  writer  a  correct  con- 
clusion to  declare  that  the  present  State  of  Texas  has  no 
just  claim  to  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  territory  pur- 
chased from  France  in  1803.  As  we  have  seen,  that  claim 
rests  upon  the  fact  that  in  the  year  1685  the  adventurous 
La  Salle,  who  three  years  before  had  taken  possession  in 
grandiloquent  terms  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  and 
of  the  coast  as  far  as  the  River  of  Palms  in  Mexico,  landed 
by  accident  on  the  coast  of  Texas  and  there  planted  a 
colony.  This  colony  by  the  next  year  had  dwindled  from 
185  to  45  persons  and  in  the  following  year  only  about 
twenty  of  these  were  left.  La  Salle  had  not  proposed  to 
settle  on  that  coast,  and  it  was  his  intention  to  remove  his 
dwindling  colony  as  soon  as  possible,  to  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi.     Before  this  intention  could  be  carried  out,  he 

**  Notes  et  Documents,  Vol.  I.  p.  919. 

•This  document  places  in  a  still  worse  light  the  character  of 
Talleyrand;  for  though  it  emanated  from  his  office,  he  after- 
wards denied  its  provisions.  However,  he  has  no  reputation  for 
consistency  or  honesty  to  sustain. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase. — Ficklen.  385 

was  killed,  and  his  settlement  was  destroyed  by  the  In- 
dians. 

As  soon  as  the  Spaniards  learned  of  what  they  regarded 
as  an  invasion  of  their  rights,  they  sent  a  strong  force  into 
Texas,  and  carried  off  all  the  members  of  La  Salle's  colony 
that  they  could  find  among  the  Indians — ^an  act  for  which 
they  were  never  called  to  account  by  France.  They  then 
proceeded  to  plant  missions  and  a  presidio  in  Texas  (1690). 
After  three  years  these  were  abandoned;  but  twenty- 
three  years  later,  when  the  French  once  more  threatened 
occupation,  the  Spaniards  took  permanent  possession  of 
Texas  and  with  missionaries  and  colonists  they  held  it 
against  the  French  for  forty-six  years — until,  in  fact,  all 
contention  was  quieted  by  the  transfer  of  Louisiana  to 
Spain. 

Spain  had  also  a  claim  of  prior  discovery,  weak  until  re- 
inforced by  occupation ;  but  she  based  her  strongest  claim 
on  the  exclusion  of  the  French  from  the  soil  of  Texas  dur- 
ing a  long  period  and  upon  the  fact  that  between  Adaes 
(Adais)  and  Natchitoches  a  boundary  line  was  practically 
agreed  upon.  The  French,  it  is  true,  had  protested  on 
several  occasions  against  Spanish  occupation,  but  to  bor- 
row a  term  from  internatiohal  law,  this  seemed  to  the 
Spaniards  like  establishing  "a  paper  blockade'*  around 
Texas,  and  they  very  properly  refused  to  recognize  a  claim 
which  France  never  enforced.  It  is  noteworthy  that  La 
Salle's  settlement  had  no  real  significance  in  the  history  of 
Texas- 

In  the  nomenclature  of  town  and  river,  in  the  gov- 
vernment  and  life  of  the  people,  no  influence,  with  one 
slight  exception,**  save  that  of  Spain,  can  be  detected  until 
the  American  settlers  came  crowding  into  the  province 
during  the  nineteenth  century.  As  to  the  maps,  we  have 
seen  that  they  differ  so  much  as  to  the  limits  of  Louisiana 

**This  exception  is  the  word  Lavaca  applied  to  a  river  called 
Lavache  by  La  Salle;  but  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  even  this  word 
has  assumed  a  Spanish  form. 


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386  Southern  History  Association. 

that  they  neutralize  one  another.  The  curious  phenom- 
enon has  been  noted  that  the  best  Spanish  map  (Lopez's) 
gives  (doubtfully)  Texas  to  the  French;  while  the  best 
French  maps  (Vaugondy  and  D'Anville)  give  it  to  the 
Spaniards ! 

Finally  the  treaty,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  by  which  the 
United  States  acquired  Louisiana  gave  it  "with  the  extent 
it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain  and  which  it  had  when 
France  possessed  it."  Now,  as  "Louisiana  in  the  hands 
of  Spain"  never  embraced  Texas  under  its  government, 
it  would  certainly  seem  that  by  this  clause  our  country 
was  precluded  from  advancing  a  claim  to  the  province. 
The  two  clauses  should  be  regarded  as  reinforcing  each 
other  in  support  of  the  Spanish  claim. 

The  Floridas  and  Oregon,  which  at  various  times,  were 
claimed  by  the  United  States  as  portions  of  the  Louisiana 
Purchase,  have  been  declared  by  the  sober  judgment  of 
history  to  have  formed  no  part  thereof.  A  similar  judg- 
ment, it  may  be  predicted,  will  finally  be  pronounced  in 
the  celebrated  case  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  vs.  Texas. 

The  writer  wishes  to  thank  Mr.  Wm.  Beer,  librarian  of  Howard 
Library,  New  Orleans,  for  the  use  of  his  invaluable  private  collec- 
tion of  maps,  and  for  the  privilege  of  having  the  copy  made  of  the 
Vaupfondy  map  which  accompanies  this  article;  also,  Dr  Colyer 
Meriwether,  secretary  of  the  Southern  History  Association,  for 
his  helpful  investigations  in  the  Library  of  Congfress. 

Bibliography. 

American  State  Papers,  Vols.  IV,  XII,  etc. 

Archives  of  La.  Historical  Society:  Notes  et  Documents,  Vol.  I. 

Annuaire  de  La  Nouvelle  Orleans,  1808. 

Adams,  Henry:  History  of  U.  S. 

Bancroft,  H.  H.,  Texas  and  Northern  Mexican  States,  2  Vols. 

Brown,  History  of  Texas. 

Curry,  T.  L.  M.,  The  La.  Purchase,  in  Mag.  of  Amer.  Hist.,  Vol. 
XIV. 

Ficklen,  J.  R.,  The  Oregon  Boundary,  in  Pubs.  La.  Hist.  Soc, 
1898. 

Journal  Historique  (La  Harpe  or  Beaurain). 

Margry,  Pierre;  Docs.  Tome  11. 

McCaleb,  W.  F.,  Obscure  Points  in  Mission  History,  Tex.  Quar. 
1898. 

McMasters,  History  of  Amer.  People. 


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The  Louisiana  Purchase, — Ficklen.  387 

Martin,  History  of  La. 

Onis,  Memoria  Sobre  Las  Negociones,  1821. 

Penicaut's  Narrative  in  Margry's  Docs. 

Parkman,  La  Salle. 

Quart.  Tour.  Tex.  Hist  Ass.,  1898-1900. 

Scaifc,  Pubs.  Amer.  Hist.  Ass.  Vol.  IV. 

Schouler,  Hist.  U.  S. 

Shea,  Penalossa's  Expedition. 

Yoakum's  Hist,  of  Texas  and  "Testimonio  de  un  Parecer,"  in 
appendix. 

Wilson,  Division  and  Reunion. 

Maps.  See  collection  in  Harvard  Library  and  in  Howard 
Library,  N.  O. 

International  Law.  See  works  of  Grotius,  Vattel,  Pufcndorf, 
Selden,  Scaife,  Davis,  Phillimore,  Kent,  Hall,  Lawrence,  Pomeroy, 
Glenn,  etc. 


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HENRY  BAKER  AND  SOME  OF  HIS  DESCEND- 

ANTS. 

By  Miles  White,  Jr.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

The  fact  that  Henry  Baker  was  through  his  son  Samuel 
an  ancestor  of  Johns  Hopkins,^  the  founder  of  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  and  Hospital  in  Baltimore,  and  was 
through  his  son  Nathan  an  ancestor  of  Charles  Robert 
Leslie,  R.  A.,*  the  distinguished  author  and  artist,  so 
highly  commended  by  Ruskin  in  his  Modem  Painters,  prob- 
ably will  give  an  added  general  interest  to  any  account  of 
him  and  his  family. 

I.  Henry  Baker,  ^^  in  his  day  and  generation  filled  a 
useful  and  honorable  position  in  the  communities  in  which 
he  resided  and  was  held  in  good  esteem  by  his  neighbors 
and  friends,  both  in  England  and  America.  The  first 
record  seen  of  him  is  found  in  the  Records  of  Lancashire 
Quarterly  Meeting  of  Friends,  England,  which  state  that 
Henry  Baker,  of  Newton  or  New  Town,  Lancashire,  Hus- 
bandman, and  Margaret  Hardman  of  AspuU,  Lancashire, 
Spinster,  were  married  8  mo.  6tli,  1667,^  under  the  auspices 
of  Hardshaw  West  Monthly  Meeting.  The  births  of  their 
eight  children  are  also  therein  recorded,  some  of  whom 
were  bom  at  Hindley  and  the  others  at  West  Derby. 
These  Records  also  contain  the  following  two  entries  of 
deaths  which  may  refer  to  Margaret  Baker's  father,  and 
to  one  of  his  grandsons. 

''John  Hardman  d.  10  mo.  ist  1722,  son  of  Hen'f  Hard- 

'  For  an  account  of  Some  Colonial  Ancestors' of  Johns  Hopkins,  see 
Publications  Southern  History  Association,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  395-442. 

"  For  an  account  of  C.  R.  Leslie,  see  his  Autohiographwal  Kecol- 
lectionSf  edited  by  Tom  Taylor;  also  Quarterly  Review,  April,  i860; 
North  American  Review,  January,  1861. 

■  All  dates  in  this  article  prior  to  1752  are  Old  Style. 


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Hmry  Baker  mid  Descmdants, — ^White.  389 

man,  of  Habersham  Eaves,  and  grandson  of  old  John 
Hardman  of  Habersham  at  Rose  Green.    John  Hardman 

Sen^  aged  97  of  Habertsham  eaves*  bur.  5  mo. ,  1728, 

at  Marsden  height." 

In  Besse's  Sufferings  of  the  Quakers  mention  is  made  of 
various  persons  named  Baker  (some  of  whom  bore  the 
names  of  Henry  and  Margaret)  who  were  fined  and  im- 
prisoned for  attending  meetings,  refusing  to  take  Oaths, 
and  non-payment  of  Tithes,  but  none  of  them  are  stated 
to  have  resided  in  Lancashire.  John  Hardman  or  Hardi- 
man,  of  Lancashire,  however,  is  said  to  have  had  his  goods 
taken  for  tithes  in  1671,  and  with  eleven  others  in  1683  to 
have  been  committed  to  Prison  for  refusing  to  answer  oa 
Oath  when  prosecuted  for  tithes.*^ 

Of  Henry  Baker's  parentage  and  ancestry  no  record  has 
been  seen.  There  were  Bakers  in  Lancashire  in  early 
times.  In  1346  William  de  Doncaster  (the  Sheriff)  made 
a  deed  to  Roger  le  Baker,  of  Pecforton,  and  Margery  his 
wife,  of  a  third  part  of  a  burgage  in  Flint  ;•  and  the  various 
Parish  Registers  contain  numerous  entries  of  Bakers,  the 
name  being  quite  common.  The  Index  to  the  Wills  and  In- 
ventories now  preserved  in  Court  of  Probate  at  Chester y^  shows 
that  between  1593  and  1700  there  were  19  Baker  Wills  or 

*Mr.  Thomas  Stewardson  suggests  in  Pa.  Mag.  Hist,  and  Biog. 
(Vol.  X,  p.  481),  that  Walton  in  Lancashire  referred  to  in  the 
Phila.  List  of  Arrivals  as  the  place  whence  Henry  Baker  came 
was  probably  Walton-le-Dale  near  Preston,  and  not  Walton-on- 
the-Hill,  now  a  suburb  of  Liverpool;  but  the  fact  that  Henry's 
children  were  born  at  West  Darby,  shows  this  supposition  to  be 
erroneous,  for  West  Darby  and  Walton-on-the-Hill  are  both  sub- 
urbs of  Liverpool  and  are  now  incorporated  in  the  City.  Mr. 
J.  D.  Crossfieid,  the  custodian  of  Lancashire  Friends'  Records, 
informs  me  that  AspuU  and  Hindley  are  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  Wigan;  Newton  is  probably  Newton-in-Makesfield 
near  Warrington,  as  this  is  the  only  Newton  in  Hardshaw  West 
Monthly  Meeting;  and  Habergham  Eaves  is  in  the  Parish  of 
Burnley. 

•  Besse,  Vol.  I,  pp.  318,  326. 

•  Journal  of  Chester  Arch.  &  Hist.  Soc,  1888,  p.  177. 

^  Publications  of  The  Record  Society  of  Lancashire  and  Cheshire^ 
edited  by  J.  P.  Earwaker,  Vols.  H,  IV,  XV,  XVIIL 


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390  Southern  History  Association 

Administrations,  which  are  still  preserved,  the  testators  of 
which  lived  at  Horton,  Nantwich,  Oldcastle,  Ashton, 
Wrexham,  Pickmere,  Crew,  etc.,  but  there  is  no  external 
evidence  to  show  that  any  of  these  were  of  the  family  from 
which  Henry  was  descended  unless  it  was  Alice  Baker  of 
Newton  within  Makesfield,  widow,  1669.  And  though  she 
lived  at  the  same  place  and  time  as  Henry,  the  names 
mentioned  in  her  Will®  are  not  similar  to  those  in  Henry's 
immediate  family. 

There  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Pennsylvania  His- 
torical Society  "A  Partial  List  of  the  Families  who  arrived 
at  Philadelphia  between  1682  and  168/'  in  which  is  the  fol- 
lowing entry  :• 

"William  Preeson,  M"^  of  the  Vine  of  Leverpoole  arrived 
the  17^^  day  of  the  7  mo.  1684  At  Philadelphia  ffrom  Doly- 
serne  near  dolgules  in  Merionethshire," 
among  the  passengers  were, 
**From  Walton  in  Lancashire 

Henry  Baker*  Margaret  his  wife  their  Daughters  Rachell, 
Rebecca,  Phebey,  Hester  and  Nathan,  Samuel  their  sones. 
Mary  Becket  10  servts  named  John  Siddell  for  4  years, 

•Her  Will  bears  date  i6th  March,  1661,  she  is  described  as  Ales. 
Baker,  alias  Fleeming,  of  Newton,  in  Makesfield,  Lancashire, 
Widow,  and  the  following  names  and  places  are  mentioned: 
Testatrix  desired  to  be  buried  in  Winwick  Church  yard.  Eldest 
son  Roger  Baker  als.  Fleeming;  Children  Richard,  John.  Anne, 
Ales,  Margaret  Baker,  als.  Fleeming;  Daughter  Elizabeth  White- 
head and  John  Whitehead  her  Son;  John  Ellam,  of  Winwick  Lan- 
cashire Yeoman;  Richard  Baker,  the  Elder  of  Newton  Husband- 
man; Executors,  Richard  Baker,  als.  Fleeming,  the  Elder,  and 
son  Roger.  Testatrix  held  an  estate  in  Newton  for  a  term  of 
99  years,  subject  to  an  ancient  yearly  rent  of  32  j.,payable  to  Rich- 
ard Legh.  Witnesses,  Henry  Houghton,  Robert  Hey,  John  Tay- 
lor. Proved  in  Consistory  Court,  Chester,  ist  September,  1669, 
by  Richard  Baker,  als.  Fleeming,  Sen,  Power  of  proving  being 
reserved  to  Roger  Baker,  als.  Fleeming.  No  gross  amount  of  the 
value  of  the  Estate  appears  in  the  Inventory  which  was  appraised 
by  Robert  Hey,  Peter  Oackell,  Henry  Houghton  and  George 
Tomlinson. 

*Pa.  Mag.  Hist.  &  Biog.,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  333;  Futhey  &  Cope's 
Hist.  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  p.  23. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Descendants, — White.  391 

Hen :  Siddell  4  ye",  James  Yates  5  ye",  Jno  Hurst  4  ye" ; 
Tho:  ffisher  4  yrs,  John  Stedman  4  years,  Thos  Candy^® 
for  Joseph  Feoror  4  yr*,  Deborah  Booth  4  yrs,  Joshua 
Lert  4  yrs." 

Only  four  daughters  are  recorded  above  as  having  ac- 
companied Henry  and  his  family  to  America,  but  a  fifth 
one,  Sarah,  probably  also  came  with  him  then,  though  she 
may  possibly  have  come  a  few  years  later  when  he  visited 
England.  The  entries  in  the  Philadelphia  List  were  not 
made  at  the  time  of  the  various  arrivals  recorded  therein, 
but  like  Pemberton's  List  of  Arrivals  in  Bucks  County 
were  begun  in  compliance  with  a  law  passed  in  1684.^^ 
Pemberton's  List  in  some  cases,  as  in  that  of  Wm.  Biles 
and  family  records  arrivals  of  children  who  were  subse- 
quently born  in  America,  and  in  most  cases  both  Lists 
probably  contain  names  of  all  persons  in  the  various  fam- 
ilies at  the  time  the  entries  were  made.  It  is  even  possible 
that  Henry  Baker  came  at  a  later  date  than  the  other 
members  of  his  family,  for  in  a  letter  from  Roger  Hay- 
dock  from  Warrington,  in  Lancashire,  4  mo.  7th,  1684,  to 
Phineas  Pemberton  was  an  enclosure  dated  Liverpool  the 
i6th  of  the  same  month,  which  speaks  of  Henry  Baker's 
detention  '*by  a  wicked  priest"  and  the  axiety  lest  he  be 
not  able  "to  come  along  w^  his  wife  family."^^ 

Dr.  John  Watson  states  that  Thos.  Canby  was  brought 
to  America  by  Mr.  Baker  on  his  second  voyage,^'  and  it  is 
quite  possible  that  others  of  Henry  Baker's  ten  servants 
came  at  a  subsequent  date  to  1684,  for  we  find  that^*  "one 
Margaret  Bradley,  writing  from  England  to  the  elder 
Pemberton,  4  mo.  i,  1684,  says  T  can  heare  of  no  hus- 
bandman that  is  willing  to  come  so  far,  but  Margaret 

"  Should  be  Canby. 

^'Pa,  Mag,  Hist.  &  Biog.,  Vols.  VIII,  p.  328;   IX,  p.  223. 

"Ibid,  Vol.  X,  p.  482. 

^Memoirs  Pa,  Hist,  Soc.,  1826,  Vol.  I,  p.  299. 

^*  Pa.  Mag.  Hist,  &  Biog,,  Vol.  XI,  p.  125. 


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392  Southern  History  Association. 

Baker  tould  me  she  intended  to  take  over  4  or  5  men 
she  thought  they  might  help  *  *  *  with  one  to  hould 
him  plowe  *  *  **  It  is  not  unlikely  that  when  she 
learned  of  the  needs  in  the  colony  she  concluded  to  bring 
more  than  the  four  or  five  at  first  thought  of." 

In  an  account  of  Sarah  (Baker)  Milner  which  appeared 
in  The  Friend, ^^  we  are  told  that : 

"She  was  eight  or  nine  years  of  age  when  she  accompanied  her 
parents  to  settle  in  the  wilderness.  *  *  *  *  She  had  doubt- 
less good  instruction  at  home,  for  her  father  was  one  who  had 
obtained  the  confidence  of  Friends  of  his  meeting,  and  at  times 
represented  them  in  the  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings.  He  also 
stood  high  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow  citizens  generally,  and 
was  their  representative  in  the  provincial  assembly,  at  different 
times  from  1685  to  1698." 

The  Records  of  Middletown  Quarterly  Meeting  of 
Friends,  Bucks  County,  Penna.,  contain  the  following  Cer- 
tificate which  Henry  Baker  brought  with  him  from  Eng- 
land: 

"Whereas,  Henry  Baker,  of  Darby,  in  the  County  of  Lan- 
cashire, did  at  our  last  meeting  acquaint  us  with  his  intention  of 
removing  himself,  his  wife,  and  family  from  thereto,  into  the 
province  of  Pennsylvania  in  America.  Not  wishing  to  go  without 
our  knowledge  and  consent,  as  one  belonging  to  our  men's  meet- 
ing, did  desire  our  certificate  according  to  truth  on  his  behalf, 
as  touching  our  unity  with  him  whilst  here  among  us,  and  also  at 
our  parting. 

These  may  therefore  certify  whom  it  may  concern,  that  the  said 
Henry  Baker  and  Margaret  his  wife,  have  lived  among  us  for 
many  years,  and  have  all  along  behaved  themselves  as  far  as 
we  know,  or  have  heard,  as  becoming  those  professing  truth,  and 
he  having  for  several  years  the  employment  of  a  carrier,  hath  had 
occasion  to  deal  for  many  people,  and  with  much  goods,  and 
wherein  his  dealings  for  what  was  known  hath  been  very  honest 
and  true;  and  they  have  been  in  their  places  very  servicible  to 
friends.  And  they  have  also  gained  a  good  report  of  the  neigh- 
bors amongst  whom  they  live,  by  their  quiet  and  honest  behavior 
towards  them.  And  that  we  have  been  and  are  now  at  our  meeting 
in  unity  and  fellowship  with  the  said  Henry  Baker  and  Margaret 
his  wife;  and  in  the  same  unity  of  that  spirit  do  desire  the  Lord 
to  be  with  them. 

"Vol.  XXVIII,  p.  197. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Descendants. — ^White.  393 

Dated  and  subscribed  by  us  at  our  meeting  at  Hardshair,  in  the 
said  county,  the  27th  day  of  third  month,  i^. 

John  Charley,  Alexander  Charley, 

Heskin  Fell,  Richard  Cobbon, 

{ames  Laithwaite,  Roger  Haddon, 

ames  Lenketh,  Richard  Johnson, 

George  Burch,  John  Bispham, 

Joseph  Coppock,  Godfry  Atherton, 

Joshua  Crosby,  William  Croudson, 

James  Stretteil,  Samuel  Barnes, 

Sarah  Mason,  George  Shaw, 

Thomas  Crosbie,  Nathaniel  Atherton/ 
Henry  Mellineux. 

The  various  local  histories  make  mention  of  Henry 
Baker,  who,  they  state,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of 
Bucks  County  and  a  landowner  in  (Upper)  Makefield 
Township  in  1684,  and  that  as  late  as  1692  when  Lower 
Makefield  was  organized,  Upper  Makefield  was  still  a 
wilderness ;  His  name  appears  among  the  owners  of  cattle 
in  1684,  and  later  he  was  dealt  with  by  the  meeting 
"for  buying  a  negro ;"  He  was  one  of  the  original  14  lot 
owners  in  Bristol,  which  was  estabHshed  as  a  market 
town  in  1697,  and  became  the  capital  of  Bucks  county.^* 
He  was  one  of  the  original  purchasers  of  land  in  Wrights- 
town,^^  and  at  the  houses  of  Henry  Baker  and  a  few 
others  the  Friends  of  the  neighborhood  held  their  meet- 
ings till  the  erection  of  Falls  Meeting  House  in  1690;^® 
He  was  foreman  of  the  first  Grand  Jury  of  Bucks  County 
in  1685,  and^*  in  1690  the  Court,  following  the  suggestion 
made  by  the  grand  jury  in  March  of  that  year,  made  an  or- 
der that  Henry  Baker,  Thomas  Janney,  William  Biles, 
Phineas  Pemberton,  Arthur  Cook,  Edmund  Bennett,  James 
Boyden,  Nicholas  Walne,  Joshua  Hoopes,  John  Rowland, 
Joseph  Growden  and  Samuel  TUen  meet  together  at  the 

"Proud's  Hist.  Penna.,  Vol.  I,  p.  217;  Davis'  Hist.  Bucks  Co,, 
Pa,,  pp.  77,  106,  119,  256,  340,  471.  JoUiffe  Neill  &  Janney 
Families,  p.  163. 

"  Buck's  Hist,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  p.  113. 

^  Hist,  early  settlement  of  Wrightstown,  p.  107;  Hasarcfs  Register, 
Vol.  VII,  p.  116. 

"  Battle's  Hist,  Bucks  Co.,  pp.  184,  190. 


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394  Southern  History  Association. 

court  house  the  day  before  the  next  court  "and  then  and 
there  divide  this  county  into  townships,  that  the  same 
may  be  presented  to  the  next  court  to  have  the  approba- 
tion thereof."  For  some  reason  this  order  was  not 
obeyed,  and  in  September,  1692,  the  court  again  took  up 
the  matter  and  appointed  the  following  persons  (most  of 
whom  were  among  those  previously  appointed),  viz:  Ar- 
thur Cook,  Joseph  Growden,  John  Cook,  Thomas  Janney, 
Richard  Hough,  Henry  Baker,  Phineas  Pemberton,  Joshua 
Hoopes,  William  Biles,  Nicholas  Wain,  Edmund  Lovet, 
Abraham  Cox  and  James  Boyden,  and  ordered  that  they 
"or  the  greater  number  of  them  meet  together  at  the  meet- 
ing-house at  Neshaminah  the  27th  day  of  this  instant,  and 
divide  this  county  into  townships,"*®  which  they  accord- 
ingly did. 

The  Council  on  2d  of  11  mo.  1689-90,  ordered  that  Com- 
missions of  ye  Peace  be  made  for  all  ye  Counties  and 
these  persons  following  to  be  Inserted,  viz:  for  Bucks 
Co.:*^  Art.  Cook,  Jos.  Growdon,  Wm.  Yardly,  Tho. 
Janney,  Wm.  Byles,  Nich.  Newlin,  Jo°.  Brock  and  Hen. 
Baker. 

The  years  that  Henry  Baker  represented  the  county  in 
the  Assembly  were  1685,  1687,  1688,  1690  and  1698,"  but 
not  having  seen  Votes  of  Assembly  I  am  unable  to  state 
how  active  a  part  he  took  in  its  proceedings.  The  Min- 
utes of  the  Council  show  that  at  least  upon  one  occasion 
he  was  sent  by  the  Assembly  to  communicate  its  desire 
concerning  proposed  legislation." 

It  is  shown  in  the  records  of  Falls  Monthly  Meeting 
that  in  1688  meetings  were  held  at  the  houses  of  Richard 

"  Davis*  Hist.  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  p.  loi;  Pa.  Mag.  Hist.  &  Biog.,  Vol. 
XVIII.  p.  24. 

"  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  I,  p.  278;  Buck's  Hist.  Bucks  Co.,  p.  23: 
Pa.  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  IX,  p.  744. 

"  Proud's  Hist.  Petma.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  292,  335,  353.  416;  Pa.  Archives, 
2d  Series.  Vol.  IX,  pp.  752-3;   Battle's  Hisf.  Bucks  Co.,  p.  700. 

"  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  I,  p.  82. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Descendants. — White.  395 

Hough,  Henry  Baker  and  Ann  Harrison;  that  in  1691, 
certain  Friends,  among  whom  was  Henry  Baker,  agreed 
to  take  the  Meeting's  share  of  all  books  that  shall  be 
printed  in  the  unity  of  Friends  and  by  them  approved. 
In  1685  Falls  Meeting  appointed  Henry  Baker  and  Wil- 
liam Biles  to  settle  a  boundary  dispute  between  William 
Yardley  and  Eleanor  Pownall,  and  they  decided  in  favor 
of  the  former,  reporting  that  the  line  should  be  run  as  the 
surveyor  first  laid  it  out.  In  the  same  year  Bucks  Quar- 
terly Meeting  appointed  Thomas  Janney,  William  Biles, 
Henry  Baker,  and  Richard  Hough  to  adjust  a  difference 
between  John  Brooks  and  Lydia  Wharmby. 

George  Keith,  a  minister  in  the  Society  of  Friends, 
caused  the  Society  much  trouble,  and  at  last  succeeded 
in  bringing  about  a  division  amongst  its  members,  owing 
to  the  views  he  promulgated;  and  the  various  meetings 
took  action  to  disavow  their  approval  of  him,  and  finally 
the  Yearly  Meeting  held  at  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  7  mo. 
7th,  1692,  sent  out  a  Testimony  against  him  which  was 
signed  by  more  than  two  hundred  of  the  most  prominent 
Friends  and  Colonists  of  that  day,  including  Thomas 
Lloyd,  John  Simcock,  Thomas  Janney,  Phineas  Pember- 
ton,  Richard  Gove,  Mahlon  Stacy,  Henry  Baker,  Abra- 
ham Hardiman,  Reuben  Pownall,  David  Lloyd,  Thomas 
Stackhouse  and  William  Biles." 

The  Records  of  Falls  and  Middletown  Meetings  also 
show  the  birth  and  death  of  a  sort  of  Henry  and  Margaret 
Baker,  and  that  Margaret  was  buried  6  mo.  5,  1688 ;  also 
that  6  mo.  13th,  1692,  and  7  mo.  8th,  1692,  Henry  Baker 
and  Mary  Radcliff  of  Neshaminie  laid  their  intentions  of 
marriage  before  the  meetings,  and  that  8  mo.  13th,  1692, 
Henry  Baker,  of  Bucks  County  Yeoman  and  Mary  Rad- 
cliffe,  widow,  were  married  under  the  auspices  of  Middle- 
town  Mtg.,  at  the  house  of  Henry  Baker;  Jacob  Janney, 

** Hazard's  Register,' Vol  VI,  p.  301;  The  Friend,  Vol.  XIX, 
p.  109. 


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39^  Southern  History  Associatioti, 

Job  Bunting  and  38  others  signing  the  certificate  as  wit- 
nesses. The  birth  of  a  daughter  is  recorded,  and  Mary 
Baker  who  survived  her  husband  was  buried  3  mo.  13th, 

1715. 

Mary  RadcHflfe  was  the  widow  of  James  Radcliffe  of 
Chapel  Hill,  Co.  Lancaster,  England.  She  is  said  to  have 
married  him  June  ist,  1673,^°  and  to  have  come  to  Amer- 
ica with  him  and  their  four  children  in  the  "Rebecca"  of 
Liverpoole,  which  arrived  at  Philadelphia  the  31st  of  8 
mo.  1685.  In  the  List  of  Arrivals,^*  they  are  recorded  as 
"James  Ratclife,  Mary  Ratclife,  Richard  Ratclife,  Edward 
Ratclife,  Rebecca  Ratclife,  Rachell  Ratclife,  free  persons 
from  Monsebury  in  Lancashire."  Edward  Radcliffe,  her 
son,  afterwards  married  Henry  Baker's  daughter  Phebe, 
and  Mr.  Oliver  Hough  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  their  de- 
scendants, has  given  me  the  following  information  in  re- 
gard to  Mary  (Radcliflfe)  Baker : 

"Mary  Radcliffe,  Henry  Baker's  wife,  was  widow  of  James  Rad- 
cliffe, a  noted  minister  of  Friends,  who  came  to  Penna.  from 
Chapel  Hill,  Rossendale  (formerly  Forest  of  Rossendale),  Lan- 
cashire. Middletown,  Mo.,  Mtg.  record  says  he  came  from  Mus- 
berry  in  Rossendale,  which  no  doubt  meant  the  Park  of  Mus- 
bury  in  same  district,  which  had  been  held  by  a  gentle  family  of 
Radcliffes  as  early  as  temp.  Edw.  IV.  James  Radcliffe  died  March 
•29,  1690, 

Before  marfying  James  Radcliffe,  Mary  was  widow  of  

Rawsthorne  (erroneously  spelt  "Rawthorpe"  and  her  residence 
given  as  '"Olden"  instead  of  "Holden"  in  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  XI,  p. 
315),  and  lived  in  Holden,  in  or  near  the  Rossendale  district.  Co. 
Lancaster.  She  was  married  to  James  Radcliffe  at  her  own  house 
in  Holden.  The  Rawsthornes  were  a  very  prominent  gentle 
family  in  the  locality,  but  I  have  not  yet  settled  which  one's  widow 
she  was,  nor  what  was  her  maiden  name.  She  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  founders  of  the  Chapel  Hill  meeting  of  Friends 
in  Rossendale.  James  Radcliffe,  his  mother  and  sister  being  the 
same." 

Henry  Baker  was  a  large  holder  of  real  estate,  the 
Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Property  of  the  Province  of 

»  Pa.  Mag.  Hist.  &  Biog.,  Vol.  XI,  p.  315. 

**Pa.  Mag.  Hist.  &  Biog.,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  336;  Futhey  &  Cope's 
Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  p.  23. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Descendants. — White.  397 

Penna.^'^  as  well  as  the  land  records  of  Bucks  county  con- 
taining many  references  to  tracts  of  land  owned  by  him, 
some  of  which  are  alsb  shown  upon  Holme's  Map^^,  but 
extended  reference  to  them  is  not  necessary. 

The  date  of  his  death  is  uncertain ;  he  was  perhaps  alive 
II  mo.  nth,  1700,  but  had  died  before  12  mo.  i6th,  1701." 

His  Will  dated  3  mo.  7th,  1698,  was  proven  May  23, 
1705.'®  His  residence  is  given  as  Bucks  County  and  men- 
tion is  made  of  his  wife  Mary  and  his  children  Margaret, 
Phebe,  Hester,  Nathan  and  Samuel;  Dau.  Rachel  Bunt- 
ing's children;  Dau.  Sarah  Wilson  and  her  3  children; 
Dau.  Rebecca  Willford;  Counsin  Samuel  Canby.  The 
Executors  were  his  son  Samuel  and  Enoch  Yardley. 

The  Will  of  his  widow  Mary  Baker  dated  3  mo.  loth, 
1715,  was  proven  that  year,*^  she  is  described  as  of  the 
town  of  Bristol,  and  mentions  her  daughter  Margaret 
"Baker  and  her  son  Richard  Radcliff. 

Henry  Baker  had  ten  children,  eight  of  whom  were 
born  in  England,  whose  names  are  entered  in  several 
books  of  Meetings  composing  Lancaster  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, and  there  are  variations  of  a  few  days  in  the  dates 
given  as  of  their  births,  and  some  difference  as  to  their 
parents  abode  at  time  of  these  dates. 

Eight  of  his  children  reached  maturity  and  these  all 
married  in  Pennsylvania,  and  into  families  which  were 
then  among  the  most  prominent  in  Pennsylvania  and  Jer- 
sey. 


"Pa.  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  XIX,  pp.  45,  270,  318,  423,  482. 
594,  611.  ^     .  ,  „    .. 

"  This  map  has  been  republished  in  reduced  size  m  Davis  Bucks 
Co.,  Pa.,  and  in  Fiskc's  Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies  in  Amenca, 
Vol.  II. 

**Pa.  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  271. 

**  Phila.  Wills,  Liber  B,  fol  427. 

"  Bucks  Co.  Wills,  Liber  1,  fol  19. 


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398  Southern  History  Association. 

Children"  (by  2  wives:  ist,  Nos.  1-9;  ^nd,  No.  10): 

1.  Rachel,  b.  Hindley  or  West  Derbye,  2  mo.  23,  1669;  m.  at 
Henry  Baker's,  4  mo.  27,  1689,  Robert  Bunting,  of  West  New  Jer- 
sey, Carpenter,  under  auspices  of  Middletown  Mo.  Mtg.  Thos. 
Janney,  Rich.  Hough,  Mahlon  Stacy  and  39  other  witnesses. 

2.  Nathan,  b.  West  Derbye  or  Thornley,  10  mo.  21,  1^0;    d. 

5  mo.  27,  1680;   bur.  5  mo  28,  1680. 

3.  Sarab,  b.  West  Derbye,  8  mo.  18,  1672;  d  Penna.,  2  mo.  — , 
1715;  bur.  2  mo.  29,  1715;  m.  ist,  at  Henry  Balcer's,  8  mo.  13,  i6p2, 
Stephen  Wilson,  of  Bucks  Co.,  Carpenter,  under  auspices  of  Mid- 
dletown Mo.  Mtg.,  Job  Bimting,  Jacob  Janney  and  38  other  wit- 
nesses; m.  2ly,  8  mo.  19,  1708L  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.,  Isaac  Milncr. 

4.  Rebekah,  b.  Hindley  or  West  Derby,  6  mo.  24,  1674;  m.  1695, 

ifohn  Wilsford,  of  West  New  Jersey.  Intentions  of  marriage 
aid  before  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  2  mo.  3,  1695. 

II.  5.  Samuel,  b.  West  Derbye,  8  mo.  i,  1676;  m.  at  Falls  Meet- 
ing House,  9  mo.  4,  1703,  Rachel  Warder,  dau.  of  Willoughby.  An 
account  of  Samuel  is  given  hereafter. 

6.  Phebe,  b.  West  Derby,  5  mo.  26,  1678;   m.  Falls  Mo.  Mtg., 

6  mo.  18,  1703,  Edward  Radcliflfe,  son  of  James  and  Mary  Rad- 
cliflfe.  Mary  Radcliffe  had  previously  married  Henry  Baker, 
father  of  Phebe. 

7.  Esther  or  Hester,  b.  West  Derbye,  6  mo.  28,  1680;  m.  ist, 
1700,  Thomas  Yardley,  of  Bristol,  Penna.,  son  of  William  and  Jane 
(Heath)  Yardley.  Intentions  of  marriage  laid  before  Falls  Mo. 
Mtg.,  9  mo.  3,  1700.  His  Will  dated  11  mo.  27,  1702/3  was  proven 
March  10,  1702/3  (Phila.  Wills,  B,  287). 

m  2ly.  1701,  William  Browne,  son  ot  James,  of  Chichester,  Ches- 
ter Co.  Intentions  of  marriage  laid  before  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  6  mo. 
2,  1704. 

w.  Sh*  1711/12,  Richard  W  Hough,  son  of  Richard  C^)  and 
Margery  (Clows)  Hough.  Intentions  of  marriage  laid  before 
Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  12  mo.  5,  171 1. 

For  account  of  Richard  (i)  Hough,  see  Pa.  Mag.,  XVIII,  20-34. 

III.  8.  Nathan,  b.  West  Derby,  i  mo.  8,  1684;  m.  May  15,  1705, 
Sarah  Collet,  dau.  of  Jeremiah.  An  account  of  Nathan  is  given 
hereafter. 

9.  Henry,  b.  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  12  mo.  12,  1685;  d.  there,  12  mo.  16, 
1685. 

10.  Margaret,  b.  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  6  mo.  4,  1693;  d.  December  — , 
1748;  m.  4  mo  5,  1722,  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.,  William  Atkinson,  son  of 
Thomas  and  Jane.  Margaret  Baker  was  his  2d  wife.  For  account 
of  Wm.  Atkinson,  see  Pa.  Mag.,  XI,  316;  XVIII,  33. 

There  were  two  members  of  Henry  Baker's  household, 
Mary  Becket  and  Thomas  Canby,  concerning  whom  a  . 
good  deal  has  been  written,  and  probably  a  brief  mention 
of  them  here  will  be  of  interest. 

Mary  Becket  seems  to  have  been  sent  to  America  with 

■*  Dates  of  Birth  of  Nos.  1-8,  and  death  of  No.  2,  as  given  in 
Books  732,  756,  783,  of  Lancashire  Qtl.  Mtg.;  Births  of  Nos.  9 
and  10  as  given  in  Records  of  Middletown  Qtl.  Mtg. ;  Falls,  Mo., 
Mtg.  Register  varies  the  dates  somewhat. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Descendants. — White.        '  399 

Henry  Baker's  family  by  Roger  Haydock,**  a  prominent 
preacher  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  his  wife  Eleanor 
of  Lancashire.  In  their  letters  they  address  her  as 
"daughter,"  and  she  calls  them  "father"  and  "mother"  in 
her  letters.  The  degree  of  relationship  between  them,  if 
any,  is  now  a  matter  of  dispute. 

After  living  a  while  at  Henry  Baker^s,  Mary  seems  to 
have  lived  with  the  Pembertons;  and  Roger  Haydock 
in  writing  to  Phineas  Pemberton  said :" 

"As  to  her  table  wages  the  Agreement  w***  H :  B :  was  onely  for 
one  year,  w^^  wee  were  free  in  because  of  his  trouble  in  taking 
her  over,  then  she  was  left  to  you"  *  ♦  *  "wee  are  content 
the  same  be  allowed  for  2  years  and  for  y^  tyme  shee  is  there 
longr  shall  leave  to  you"  ♦  *  ♦  "^e  tould  them  they  might 
expect  some  place  in  due  tyme"  ♦  *  ♦  "till  some  place  offer, 
if  you  think  it  is  for  y«  child's  good,  we  are  content,  shee  be 
wtb  them." 

Davis  in  his  History  of  Bucks  County  says  in  regard  to 
her:" 

"Among  the  members  of  Pemberton's  household  was  Mary 
Becket,  a  young  girl  descended  from  the  great  family  of  North- 
umberland. *  *  *  When  her  mother  married  Becket  she  was 
a  ward  in  chancery,  and  they  had  to  fly  to  the  Continent,  where 
he  was  killed  in  the  religious  war  in  Germany.  Mary  was  the  only 
child.  Eleanor  Becket,  her  mother,  now  married  one  Haydock, 
had  two  daughters  who  bacame  Friends,  and  came  to  America, 
but  the  time  is  not  known."  "We  **  mentioned  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter  that  among  the  inmates  of  Phineas  Pemberton's 
family,  of  Falls,  was  Mary  Becket,  a  young  English  woman,  a 
descendant  of  the  great  Northumberland  house  of  Percy.  She 
was  married  at  Falls  Meeting  the  4  of  8  mo.  1691  to  Samuel 
Bowne,  of  Flushing,  L.  I.  Below  we  give  a  copy  of  a  letter  "  he 
wrote  to  Mary  durmg  their  courtship." 

"  In  1674  Roger  Haydock  was  prosecuted  in  the  Ecclesiastical 
Court  at  Chester  for  Tithes  of  about  30  s.  value  and  was  sent  to 
Lancaster  Goal  for  8  mos.  In  September,  1675,  he  was  again  sent 
to  Lancaster  Goal  at  the  suit  of  the  Bishop  of  Chester  who  wrote 
to  the  Goaler  charging  him  not  to  let  Roger  have  any  liberty. 
Besse's  Sufferings,  Vol.  I,  pp.  319,  320. 

**Pa.  Mag.  Hist.  &  Biog.,  Vol.  XI,  p.  125. 

"  Pp.  86-7. 

"  Ibid,  p.  106. 

"  For  this  letter  and  also  an  account  and  Genealogy  of  the 
Bowne  Family,  see  Some  Colonial  Mansions,  2d  Series. 

4 


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400  Southern  History  Association, 

Further  accounts  of  Mary  Becket  will  be  found  in  Pa. 
Mag.  Hist.  &  Biog.,^^  in  which,  after  investigation,  issue  is 
taken  with  some  of  the  statements  of  Davis. 
(To  be  continued.) 

"Vol.  X,  p.  481;  Vol.  XI,  pp.  124,  245. 


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THE  LOST  COLONY  OF  ROANOKE.^ 

No  other  subject  in  American  history,  perhaps,  has 
been  the  cause  of  such  perennial  interest  as  has  the  first 
attempt  at  settlement  in  the  New  World  by  Englishmen 
under  direction  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  1584-91.  Those 
who  seek  the  sources  at  first  hand  may  consult  Hakluyt's 
Voyage  and  study  De  Bry's  engravings ;  or  they  may  read 
Hawks'  North  Carolina  or  Tarbox's  Raleigh.  Or  if  they 
wish  to  see  the  latest  popular  account  they  may  read 
Major  Graham  Daves's  Virginia  Dare,  which  appears  as 
number  one  of  the  North  Carolina  Booklet.  This  fol- 
lows the  fortunes  of  the  colony  only  so  far  as  they  are  re- 
corded in  history. 

In  its  voyages  of  Elizabethan  seamen  to  America  the 
Clarendon  Press  reprints  select  narratives  from  the  prin- 
cipal navigations  of  Hakluyt.  The  first  series  contains  the 
voyages  of  Hawkins,  Frobisher  and  Drake.  The  second 
has  that  of  Gilbert,  Amandas  and  Barlow,  Cavendish's  two 
voyages  and  Raleigh's  discovery  of  Guiana.  Of  these  the 
voyage  of  Gilbert  is  older  in  point  of  time  and  is  the  pre- 
cursor of  all  the  others.     Gilbert's  occupation  of  New- 

*  Voyages  of  the  Elizabethan  Seamen  to  America. — Edited  by 
Edward  John  Payne.  Second  series.  Gilbert,  Amandas  &  Bar- 
low, Cavendish,  Kaleigh.  Second  edition.  (Oxford:  The  Clar- 
endon Press.    O.  pp.  xlix+298.    3  parts.    $1.25). 

John  Vytal.  A  tale  of  the  Lost  Colony.  By  William  Far- 
quahr  Payson.  (New  York  and  London:  Harper  &  Brothers. 
1901.    D.  pp.  vi-|-3iS-|- [i].     I  ill.    $1.20,  net.) 

The  White  Doe.  By  Sallie  Southall  Gotten.  ([Philadelphia.] 
Printed  for  the  author  by  the  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company.  1901. 
D.  pp.  89.    Ills.) 

Virginia  Dare.  By  Major  Graham  Daves.  (N.  G.  Booklet, 
Vol.  I,  No.  I.  Raleigh:  Gapitol  Printing  Company,  igoi.  S. 
pp.  16.    10  cents.) 

The  Lost  Colony  of  Roanoke:  Its  Fate  and  Survival.  By 
Stephen  B.  Weeks.  (New  York:  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.  1891. 
O.  pp.  42.) 


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402  Southern  History  Association. 

foundland  was  intended  as  the  first  step  in  a  scheme  drawn 
up  by  himself  for  expelling  the  Spaniards  from  America 
and  transferring  it  to  the  English  crown.  Gilbert  went 
by  the  northern  route,  met  with  reverses  and  lost  his  life. 
The  northern  was  the  less  favored  route,  for  the  plundering^ 
of  homeward  bound  Spanish  vessels  was  always  a  part  of 
these  enterprises.  Raleigh  succeeded  to  the  undertaking 
of  Gilbert,  his  vessels  were  ordered  to  go  by  way  of  the 
Canaries  and  West  Indies  and  exploration  on  the  North 
Carolina  coast  was  the  result.  Cavendish,  the  second 
Englishman  to  circumnavigate  the  globe,  was  himself  a 
member  of  the  colony  of  1585  and  Raleigh's  search  for  El 
Dorado  in  Guiana  was  another  effort  to  fulfill  the  predic- 
tion of  Hayes,  one  ol  Gilbert's  captains,  "that  the  countries 
lying  north  of  Florida  God  hath  reserved  the  same  to  be 
reduced  unto  Christian  civility  by  the  English  nation." 

There  is  a  scholarly  introduction  showing  the  relations 
of  these  voyages  to  each  other  and  to  the  general  trend  of 
English  and  European  history  with  an  extended  account 
of  the  various  efforts  to  find  El  Dorado.  There  are  also 
short  introductions  to  the  separate  voyages  and  a  few  foot- 
notes explaining  obsolete  and  foreign  words.  These 
series  will  greatly  facilitate  study  of  the  earliest  period  of 
English  America. 

The  story  of  John  Vytal,  founded  on  the  mysterious 
fate  of  the  colony  of  1587,  of  whose  fortunes  no  authorita- 
tive account  has  been  vouchsafed  us,  breathes  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  the  sixteenth  century  atmosphere  of  England, 
that  century  of  blood  and  iron,  the  sturm  and  drang 
period,  when  no  Englishman  was  willing  to  live  or  con- 
tent to  die  until  he  had  rendered  due  service  to  God  and 
native  land  by  striking  a  blow  at  the  Spaniards.  When 
the  story  opens  the  everlasting  duel  between  Protestant 
England  and  Catholic  Spain,  which  had  been  begun  be- 
tween the  Roman  and  the  Teuton  as  long  ago  as  the  days 


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The  Lost  Colony  of  Roanoke,  403 

of  Arminius  and  the  Roman  legions  of  Varus  and  which 
saw  its  final  culmination  at  Santiago  de  Cuba,  was  on. 
The  author  has  caught  something  of  the  spirit  and  fire 
of  the  times  of  which  he  writes  for  John  Vytal,  the  hero, 
reproduces  in  a  limited  way  something  of  the  spirit  and 
determination  of  Drake.  Vytal  is  a  strong  man  who  had 
fought  Spaniards  in  the  Low  Countries  and  whose  parents 
had  perished  on  St.  Bartholomew's  night  and  who  now 
devoted  all  his  strength  and  powers  to  the  defence  of  the 
little  colony  against  his  ancient  enemies. 

The  story  opens  in  London  where  the  hero,  Vytal,  and 
the  heroine,  Eleanor  Dare,  and  the  chief  conspirators  are 
introduced.  From  London  and  from  the  thick  of  one  of 
those  hand-to-hand  encounters  for  which  that  age  was 
noted  the  scene  shifts  to  the  second  expedition  sent  out  to 
settle  Old  Virginia,  now  North  Carolina. 

The  main  course  of  the  history  of  that  famous  voyage 
and  the  fortunes  of  the  ill-fated  and  mysterious  colony  are 
followed  and  there  is  more  than  one  clash  with  their 
hereditary  enemies  of  Spain.  When  the  settlement  had 
been  begun,  according  to  this  story,  they  were  visited  by 
the  Spaniards  from  St.  Augustine,  as  Fort  Caroline  had 
been  twenty  years  before,  now  under  the  traitor  Sir  Wal- 
ter St.  Magil,  and  in  a  vessel  whose  name  was  suggestive 
of  the  Spanish  inquisition,  Madre  de  Dios.  But  St. 
Magil  and  Ralph  Contempt  and  their  Spanish  confeder- 
ates were  less  successful  than  Melendez  had  been  and 
after  their  first  attempt  sailed  away  little  better  than  shat- 
tered wrecks.  Then  come  the  return  of  White  to  Eng- 
land, the  removal  to  Croatan,  various  deaths  and  other 
misfortunes  until  the  colony  had  dwindled  much  in  num- 
bers. They  fail  to  hear  from  England!  no  help  of  any 
kind  comes  to  them.  Vytal  acts  as  governor;  he  is  the 
moving  spirit  of  the  colony,  its  life  and  strength,  an  in- 
carnation of  the  i6th  century  Englishman  in  his  hatred 
and  contempt  of  Spain.     But  the  Madre  de  Dios  comes 


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404  Southern  History  Association. 

again  and  in  the  struggle  which  follows  the  English  col- 
ony is  wiped  almost  out  of  existence.  John  Vytal  and 
Eleanor  Dare,  the  latter  now  freed  from  the  marital  yoke 
of  the  drunken  and  imbecile  Ananias,  are  among  the  few 
who  survive  and  they  hand  in  hand  go  off  the  scene  into 
that  wilderness  of  oblivion  from  which  the  art  of  the  his- 
torian has  not  yet  been  fully  able  to  rescue  them. 

This  explanation  of  the  fate  of  the  colony  as  due  to  a 
descent  of  the  Spaniards  is  a  new  one.  So  far  as  the  re- 
viewer is  aware  no  evidence  has  come  to  light  showing 
that  Roanoke  was  visited  by  the  Spaniards  during  those 
tiresome  years  of  waiting  and  watching  that  followed  the 
defeat  of  the  Great  Armada.  The  historical  explanation 
of  the  fate  of  this  colony,  even  more  terribly  suggestive 
than  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  is  unknown  to 
the  author  of  this  book.  This  explanation  is  briefly  as 
follows:  The  colonists  after  the  departure  of  White  re- 
moved to  Croatan  which  was  a  part  of  the  mainland ;  here 
they  joined  the  Hatteras  Indians,  whose  chief  was  Man- 
teo;  they  lived  there  for  a  number  of  years;  about  the 
beginning  of  the  17th  century  most  of  the  remaining 
whites  and  spme  of  the  half  breeds  were  killed  by  emis- 
saries sent  out  by  the  Virginia  Indians  under  Powhatan ; 
the  remainder  now  thoroughly  intermixed  with  the  Hat- 
teras tribe  took  up  their  wanderings  towards  the  South, 
and  within  the  course  of  the  17th  century  found  a  home 
in  what  is  now  Robeson  county,  N.  C,  and  their  de- 
scendants, now  known  as  Croatan  Indians,  can  be  identi- 
fied to-day  by  means  of  their  language  and  family  names, 
by  their  traditions  and  by  various  references  to  them  in 
the  works  of  white  explorers.  Here  is  indeed  a  most  fit- 
ting subject  for  romance ! 

The  author  shows  himself  largely  dominated  by  the 
influence  of  Marlowe.  Quotations  from  his  works  serve  as 
introductions  and  he  is  made  to  go  on  the  Virginia  voy- 
age.   But  the  author  seems  not  well  acquainted  with  the 


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The  Lost  Colony  of  Roanoke.  405 

history  of  that  unfortunate  attempt  at  settlement  nor  with 
the  character  of  the  savage.  There  was  no  preacher  with 
the  emigrants;  there  are  no  cliffs  and  rocks  on  Roanoke 
Island ;  Croatan  is  given  two  different  locations  and  those 
who  write  of  the  Indian  as  "straight  as  a  spear"  write  of 
him  as  pictured  by  imaginative  novelists  and  historians, 
not  from  an  original  study  of  the  bent,  underfed  and  un- 
dersized savage  as  he  appears  in  the  Southwest  to-day. 
Some  of  the  characters  are  well  drawn.  The  action  is 
well  conceived  and  rapid.  The  interest  in  the  story  does 
not  lag,  but  there  are  among  the  original  settlers  no  char- 
acters that  can  compare  in  force  and  power  with  John 
Vytal  and  Eleanor  Dare  as  drawn  by  the  novelist. 

The  fortunes  of  the  Colony  of  Roanoke,  productive  of 
the  deepest  historical  interest  according  to  the  story  of 
John  Vytal,  full  of  fascinating  romance  according  to  the 
researches  of  scholars,  has  been  not  less  fruitful  in  legend. 
In  The  White  Doe  Mrs.  Robert  R.  Gotten  has  gathered 
together  the  threads  of  an  Indian  legend  of  love  and  re- 
venge and  woven  them  into  a  narrative  of  what  we  may 
justly  call  the  oldest  American  love  romance  in  which  the 
English  race  has  a  personal  concern. 

The  argument  of  the  story  is  that  the  English  colonists 
of  1587  having  been  attacked  and  decimated  by  hostile 
Indians,  seek  help  and  comfort  among  the  followers  of 
Manteo  on  Wokokon.  Here  the  young  Virginia  Dare 
grows  up  into  a  beautiful  womanhood,  beloved  of  all,  es- 
pecially by  Okisko,  a  young  warrior,  and  Chico,  an  old 
magician.  The  girl  prefers  the  younger  man  and  is  car- 
ried by  Chico  to  Roanoke,  turned  into  a  white  doe  and 
condemned  to  a  wandering  immortality.  Okisko  seeks 
for  his  lost  love,  goes  to  a  rival  magician  and  secures  a 
magic  arrow  by  means  of  which  he  can  bring  her  back  to 
her  human  form.  In  the  meantime  the  immortality  of  the 
white  doe  had  been  noised  abroad.  She  is  a  cause  of 
chagrin  to  all  the  warriors  who  fail  to  make  her  their 


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prize.  Then  comes  Wanchese — ^that  foil  to  the  good  Man- 
teo — ^with  a  silver  arrow  given  him  by  Queen  Elizabeth. 
He,  too,  lies  in  wait.  Two  arrows  strike  the  white  doe's 
heart  at  the  same  instant.  Under  the  magic  influence  of 
Okisko's  she  reassumes  her  human  form  only  to  die  from 
the  mortal  hurt  of  Wanchese's. 

The  poem,  with  prologue  and  introduction,  extends  to 
about  1,200  lines.  The  body  of  the  poem  is  in  trochaic 
tetrameter,  without  rhyme,  after  the  style  of  Hiawatha, 
with  which,  in  cadence  and  flow  of  verse,  in  subject  and 
use  of  Indian  ideas,  forms  and  figures,  it  has  much  in 
common.  The  prologue  and  epilogue  are  written  in 
rhymed  hexamter,  dactylic  and  anapestic,  while  the  second 
division,  "The  Seeds  of  Truth,^'  is  in  the  form  of  an  eight- 
line  stanza  where  2  rhymes  with  4  and  6  with  8,  the  others 
being  without  rhyme  in  tetrameters  and  pentameters, 
mostly  trochaic.  All  of  these  forms  are  less  successful 
than  the  trochaic  tetrameter. 

There  are  notes  based  on  historical  sources.  The  ideal- 
ization of  Virginia  Dare  as  she  recovers  human  shape, 
which  serves  as  a  frontispiece,  is  the  work  of  Mary 
Louise  Barrett,  while  the  other  illustrations  are  repro- 
duced from  DeBry  and  labelled  to  suit  the  text.  Typo- 
graphically the  book  is  the  highest  product  of  the  printer's 
art  and  comports  well  with  the  pleasing  story. 


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BOOK  REVIEWS. 

Civil  History  of  the  Government  of  the  Confed- 
erate States  with  personal  reminiscences.  By  J.  L.  M. 
Curry,  LL.  D.  Richmond,  Va.:  B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing 
Company,  1901.    Price  $1.25. 

This  book  is  dedicated  in  very  graceful  and  appropriate 
language  to  Gen.  John  B.  Gordon,  Gen.  Stephen  D.  Lee, 
Gen.  Joseph  Wheeler   and  All   survivors   of  the   "Lost 
Cause,"  "and  especially  to  the  surviving  women  of  the, 
Confederacy." 

The  introductory  chapter  discusses  in  an  able  and  im- 
partial manner  the  causes  and  rights  of  secession,  actual 
nullification,  the  fugitive  slave  law,  and  action  of  the  States 
on  the  same.  A  lucid  account  follows  of  the  organization 
of  the  government,  and  the  provisional  constitution,  the 
selection  of  President  and  Vice-President,  initiatory  leg- 
islation, and  the  selection  of  the  first  cabinet.  The  simil- 
arity and  differences  of  the  Confederate  constitution  from 
that  of  the  United  States  is  shown,  embracing  the  sub- 
jects of  Executive  responsibility,  ineligibility,  restraints 
on  expenditures,  executive  patronge  and  relation  of  the 
members  of  the  cabinet  with  the  Congress.  Protection 
and  the  slave  trade  are  discussed  and  also  the  wisdom 
of  the  changes  or  differences  in  the  light  of  present  con- 
ditions. Interesting  accounts  are  given  of  actions  of  the 
border  States,  the  Peace  Congress. 

The  fifth  chapter  gives  very  valuable  information  re- 
garding the  revenues  of  the  Confederacy,  the  tax  in  kind, 
the  depreciation  of  the  currency  and  the  uses  made  of  cot- 
ton to  strengthen  the  finances.  The  foreign  relations  of 
the  Confederacy,  the  commission  to  Washington,  efforts 
in  behalf  of  belligerent  rights,  are  the  main  subjects  of 
the  sixth  chapter,  while  the  two  following  chapters  are 


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devoted  to  the  selection  of  President  Davis,  the  unanimity 
of  the  South,  the  contrast  between  the  resources  of  the 
Northern  and  Southern  States,  the  individuality  oi  the 
States  as  seen  in  North  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Virginia, 
what  the  Southern  woman  did,  accounts  of  hospitals,  com- 
parative strength  of  the  armies,  religion  in  the  camps,  and 
religious  persecution.  The  ninth  and  last  chapter  is  an 
able  justification  of  the  right  of  secession. 

The  appendix  contains  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  of  the  Confederate  States  in  parallel  lines, 
the  changes  made  in  the  former  being  shown  in  italicised 
letters  in  the  latter. 

The  book  is  interspersed  with  characteristic  sketches 
of  members  of  the  Confederate  Cabinet,  and  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  Congress. 

While  the  entire  book  is  one  of  rare  interest  and  written 
in  the  author's  best  style,  the  chapter  that  is  likely  to  ob- 
tain the  most  attention  is  the  one  entitled  "Legal  Justifica- 
tion of  the  South  in  Secession." 

The  author  gives  a  historical  review  of  the  separation 
of  the  colonies  from  Great  Britain,  and  the  formation  of 
the  Constitution,  and  divides  his  treatise  under  the  fol- 
lowing heads:  "Equality  and  Sovereignty  of  the  States," 
"The  Constitution  Made  by  the  States,"  "Relation  of 
States  to  the  Union  under  the  Constitution,'*  "States  Must 
Decide — Sectionalism  produced  disunion."  "Why  the 
South  resisted  Federal  encroachments,"  "Secession  the 
separate  and  legal  act  of  the  States." 

It  may  be  well  to  give  the  author's  own  language  in  the 
beginning  of  his  able  argument  on  the  right  of  secession 
as  it  existed  in  i860: 

"*all  concerned  wish  to  disclaim  in  advance  any  wish  or 
purpose  to  reverse  the  arbitrament  of  the  war,  to  repeal  the 
late  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  to  revive  African  slav- 
ery, or  secession  as  a  right  or  remedy;  or  to  organize  any 
party  or  cultivate  an  opinion  which,  directly  or  indirectly 


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shall  inculcate  disloyalty  to  the  union  or  affect  the  alle- 
giance of  citizens  to  the  Federal  Government.  Let  it  be 
stated  once  for  all  that  this  argument  as  to  the  right  of 
the  South  to  be  protected  in  property  in  slaves,  and  the 
exclusive  right  of  a  State  to  be  the  final  judge  of  the 
power  of  the  General  Government,  and  to  apply  suitable 
remedies,  is  based  on  the  Constitution  and  the  rights  of 
the  States  as  they  existed  in  i860." 

The  book  is  heartily  commended  to  all  who  wish  to  dis- 
pasionately  consider  the  grave  subjects  of  which  it  treats. 

M.  J.  W. 

Numbers  and  Losses  in  the  Civil  War  in  America, 
1861-65.  By  Thomas  R.  Livermore,  member  of  the  Mili- 
tary Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts,  and  during  the 
war  Major  and  Brevet  Colonel  of  the  5th  New  Hampshire 
Volunteers,  and  Colonel  of  the  i8th  New  Hampshire 
Volunteers.  Boston  and  New  York :  Houghton,  Mifflin  & 
Co.  (The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge),  1901,  8vo.,  pp.  x.+ 
150,  cloth. 

This  is  the  second  edition  of  a  careful  survey  of  a 
mooted  question.  This  question  is  one  of  much  more  than 
sectional  sentiment. 

Underlying  the  fabric  of  our  indestructible  asylum  for 
the  oppressed  of  all  peoples — our  reunited  Nation,  as  our 
thoughtful  and  studious  author  or  compiler,  presents  it — 
there  must  be  self-respect.  It  is  idle,  or  may  be  mis- 
chievous, to  intimate  that  the  people  of  sister  States  of 
such  a  provident  abiding  place  as  the  United  States  of 
America,  do  not  love  another,  when  they  have,  shoulder 
to  shoulder,  met  so  recently  misery  and  lurking  disease 
in  so  many  insidious  forms,  on  soil  outside  of  naturally 
marked  domain,  as  constitutionally  provided. 

If  the  sons  of  the  South  have  cheerfully  rallied,  to  the 
glory  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  knowingly  in  face  of  dis- 
tempers fatal ;  as  well,  has  Time,  sweet  solace,  quite  dissi- 
pated all  of  mist  which  might  have  obscured  the  charity 


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of  the  sweet  ministrant — the  blessed  woman  of  the  South 
— whose  devotion  and  sacrifices  encircle  her  with  an  au- 
reola of  sanctity. 

She,  with  her  honored  husband  or  lover,  is  now  in  sweet 
and  regardful  pace  with  national  power,  harmony  and 
greater  stride  of  beneficence  and  progress. 

Colonel  Livermore,  it  is  evident,  has  been  actuated  by 
the  best  of  motives,  and  it  would  seem  that  he  has  sought 
the  truth  diligently,  and  in  this  aspiration  and  happy  ac- 
complishment he  has  essentially  lessened  dispute  and  un- 
seemly wrangle. 

If  some  might  dissent  from  his  conclusions  just  now, 
the  careful  historian  will  commend  him. 

It  may  only  be  necessary  to  state  that  in  the  absence  of 
record  in  the  several  Southern  States,  and  in  matters  of 
jealous  disagreement,  in  some  of  them  as  to  the  number 
for  the  Confederate  States  Army  furnished  by  them  sev- 
erally, might  He  the  futility  of  assumptive  estimate  of  the 
strength  or  losses  of  and  sustained  by  the  defenders  of 
Southern  Rights. 

In  the  State  of  Virginia,  it  is  true,  quite  literally, 
in  the  knowledge  of  many  surviving,  that  in  the 
exigencies  of  self-preservation  we  "robbed  the  cradle  and 
the  grave."  Constantly  were  our  manufactories  not  only 
left  without  workmen,  but  every  one,  however  young,  or 
howsoever  enfeebled  by  years,  repaired  to  the  front,  in 
defence  of  our  menaced  capital  or  other  important  points. 
Thus,  as  urged  by  Colonel  Livermore,  may  we  have  had 
in  our  armies  of  the  South  more  than  may  have  been  re- 
ported, or  officially  estimated. 

Our  careful  author  seems  to  have  availed  himself  by 
reference  to  all  that  has  been  made  public  or  may  be 
referred  to,  citing,  it  may  not  be  questioned,  accurately. 

Therefore,  it  might  not  be  the  province  of  this  review 
to  question  adduction  of  authority,  and  it  is  a  hearty  sat- 


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isfaction  to  commend  what  it  is  evident  has  been  done 
with  excellent  purpose. 

As  Colonel  Livermore  remarks:  "The  sustained 
conflict  and  terrible  loss  of  four  years  of  war  placed  the 
reputation  of  Southern  valor  so  high,  that  exaggerated 
statement  of  numbers  cannot  further  exalt  it  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  world." — Col.  R.  A.  Brock. 

East  Tennessee  and  the  Civil  War.  By  Oliver  P. 
Temple.  Cincinnati:  Robt.  Clarke  Co.,  1899,  8vo,  pp.  xvi. 
+604,  portraits  and  map,  index,  cloth  $3.50. 

This  is  a  well-printed  book  with  an  appendix  containing 
a  declaration  of  grievances  adopted  at  the  Greenville  con- 
vention, and  a  list  of  names  of  the  delegates.  The  book 
is  more  comprehensive  in  its  scope  than  its  title  indicates. 
It  begins  with  the  first  settlements  in  Tennessee,  and  gives 
a  very  full  account  of  the  Wautauga  Association,  the  his- 
tory in  detail  of  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  with  an 
interesting  description  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  the 
State.  It  deals  with  character  of  Covenanters,  of  whom 
the  author  has  written  a  very  readable  and  valuable  work. 
Slavery  in  the  State,  and  legislation  on  the  subject,  with 
an  account  of  anti-slavery  newspapers  in  Tennessee,  form 
an  interesting  part  of  the  work.  Chapters  VII.  and  VIII. 
are  devoted  to  a  review  of  the  political  canvass  of  i860 
and  1861,  and  succeeding  chapters  give  accounts  of  the 
Ordinance  of  Secession,  the  gubernatorial  convention  of 
1861. 

The  relations  of  East  Tennesseans  to  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  and  the  abolition  party,  are  fully  discussed  and  a 
minute  account  of  the  celebrated  bridge  burning  affair 
is  given,  with  an  account  of  executions  and  imprison- 
ments, the  exodus  of  citizens  loyal  to  the  Union,  the 
siege  of  Knoxville,  and  an  interesting  survey  of  the  ante- 
cedents of  the  Union  party  in  East  Tennessee.  In  fact, 
all  the  phases  civil  and  military  of  those  momentous  times 


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412  Southern  History  Association. 

receive  a  share  of  attention.  A  very  thorough  review  of 
the  book  has  been  made  by  Hon.  John  Allison,  of  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee,  to  which  we  refer  such  readers  as  desire 
a  more  comprehensive  statement  than  we  can  give  in  this 
magazine.  On  one  point,  however,  we  wish  to  take  ex- 
ceptions with  the  author,  and  that  is,  as  to  the  leadership 
of  the  Union  people  of  East  Tennessee.  Judge  Temple's 
statement  of  the  leaders  in  his  book  may  be  entirely  just 
to  most  of  those  whom  he  names,  but  he  does  not  do 
justice  to  Gov.  Wm.  G.  Brownlow. 

It  is  a  well  known  historical  fact  accredited  by  all  who 
are  familiar  with  the  history  of  those  events  and  times 
that  Governor  Brownlow  was  par  excellence  the  recognized 
and  accredited  leader  of  the  Union  party  in  East  Ten- 
nessee, and  that  he  not  only  led  but  dominated  public  sen- 
timent, and  that  to  him  all  Union  people  looked  for 
advice.  Gov.  Brownlow  was  a  unique  character.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  natural  ability,  a  fluent  speaker,  agree- 
able conversationalist  and  bold  and  determined.  He  as- 
serted in  his  newspaper,  and  proclaimed  on  the  rostrum, 
what  he  believed  to  be  right.  He  defied  opposition,  and 
invited  controversy.  He  knew  the  people  of  East  Ten- 
nessee, and  all  their  ideas,  and  had  the  fullest  sympathy 
with  them,  and  always  boldly  espoused  their  cause.  He 
was  a  Unionist  of  the  deepest  dye — "for  the  Union,  the 
Constitution  and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws."  When 
the  war  ended  he  was  made  governor,  it  may  be  said 
practically  by  acclamation.  The  State,  of  course,  was 
swarming  with  Confederate  soldiers  returned  from  the 
war.  The  ears  of  the  governor  were  filled  by  designing 
men  with  charges  of  disloyal  designs  on  the  part  of  these 
Confederate  soldiers  and  he  instituted  and  approved  meas- 
ures of  severity  which  he  would  not  have  done  in  calmer 
times,  and  with  a  better  understanding  of  the  facts.  He 
showed  in  many  instances  (notably  in  his  reception  and 
treatment  of  Gov.  Isham  G.  Harris,  for  whose  apprehen- 


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sion  he  had  offered  a  reward),  his  kindness  for  Confed- 
erate soldiers,  and  his  broad  nationality.  Any  history  of 
Tennessee  which  omits  mention  of  Gov.  Brownlow  as  the 
great  and  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Union  party  of 
East  Tennessee  is  necessarily  imperfect. 

Judge  Temple's  book  is  a  very  valuable  one,  containing 
a  mass  of  information,  and  is  very  fair  in  its  treatment  of 
Confederates,  and  is  a  valuable  addition  to  the  history  of 
the  war  between  the  States. 

The  Dipix)matic  History  oj?  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy. The  Albert  Shaw  lectures  on  Diplomatic  His- 
tory, 1900.  By  James  Morton  Callahan,  Ph.  D.  Balti- 
more: The  Johns  Hopkins  Press,  1901,  pp.  304,  doth. 

The  military  history  of  the  Confederacy  has  been  treat- 
ed with  great  fulness  from  within  and  without,  in  a  thou- 
sand different  phases,  but  on  the  civil  side  almost  nothing, 
in  comparison,  has  been  published.  Hence,  Dr.  Callahan 
had  substantially  virgin  soil  to  delve  in  and  every  careful 
student  of  the  subject  could  have  only  warm  welcome  for 
his  eflfort.  In  the  preface  he  would  have  been  still  further 
encouraged  by  the  promise  that  the  author  was  going  to 
study  the  question  from  within,  to  trace  "the  inner  work- 
ing of  the  diplomatic  machine." 

Even  here  though  suspicion  is  aroused  as  to  our  guide's 
reliability  by  the  word  "Secessionists,"  in  capitals,  as  it  is 
not  likely  that  the  Confederates  ever  officially  so  de- 
scribed themselves.  Further  examination  is  followed  by 
doubt,  distrust  and  finally  loss  of  all  confidence,  for 
whether  or  not  Dr.  Callahan  has  the  fitness  for  such  labor, 
it  is  clear  that  he  did  not  give  either  the  time  or  the 
preparation  required  for  this  difficult  task.  It  may  be  his 
temperament  simply  to  skim  over  the  surface  of  a  matter. 
As  advertised  here,  his  "recent  studies  in  Diplomatic  His- 
tory" include  (i)  Neutrality  of  the  American  lakes,  199 
pages,  1898;  (2)  Cuba  and  International  Relations,  503 


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414  Southern  History  Association. 

pages,  1899;  (3)  American  Relations  in  the  Pacific,  177 
pages,  1901.  If  we  add  the  one  under  review,  304  pages, 
we  find  nearly  1,200  pages.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  hu- 
man beings  for  one  man  thoroughly  to  cover  all  these 
lines  in  such  short  period.  But  if  the  others  show  the 
same  loose  grasp,  indefinite  conception,  careless  arrange- 
ment, useless  repetitions  and  awkward  expressions,  we 
can  understand  his  rapidity. 

At  least  one-third  of  the  book  does  not  bear  on  the 
topic,  but  rather  on  the  general  history  of  the  Confeder- 
acy. Some  of  the  chapter  headings  tell  but  little  more  of 
what  is  to  come  after  than  a  street  name  on  the  comer 
discloses  of  the  people  who  live  on  the  next  square.  The 
one  reading  "Confederate  Foreign  Policy"  starts  out  with 
the  assertion  that  there  was  no  "foreign  policy,"  a  true 
statement.  More  than  half  of  chapter  nine  is  devoted  to 
other  points  than  "Kenner's  mission,"  the  generality  not 
being  even  diplomatic.  Not  satisfied  with  ranging  over 
the  whole  life  of  the  Confederacy,  Dr.  Callahan  has  to  put 
on  an  appendix  of  fifteen  pages  on  the  "Causes  of  Seces- 
sion." We  wonder  why  he  did  not  go  on  and  remove 
other  "bones  of  contention,"  as  the  cause  of  the  downfall 
of  the  Confederacy,  the  cause  of  the  defeat  at  Gettysburg, 
who  killed  Jackson,  etc.  He  informs  us  (p.  39),  that  "the 
Confederacy  had  all  the  paraphernalia  of  a  constitutional 
government" — perhaps  he  does  not  know  that  it  never 
had  a  supreme  court. 

Possibly  hasty  revision  can  be  charged  with  the  isolated 
paragraph  on  page  70,  and  for  the  loose  one  on  page  98, 
the  latter  being  composed  of  two  unrelated  ideas.  To  the 
same  source  we  may  credit  the  bold  figure  in  "the  letter 
suspected  from  appearances  that  the  proposition  would 
not  be  accepted"  (p.  263).  Similarly  we  might  excuse  the 
grammatical  blunder  in  "whom  he  said  was  not  afraid'^ 
(p.  no).  For  the  same  reason  we  can  overlook  the  classi- 
fication (last  words,  p.  35),  of  men  still  in  the  flesh  under 


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the  term  "late  survivors" — ^words  almost  as  contradictory 
as  "dead  livers." 

As  specimens  of  duplication  we  twice  have  Vance's  ap- 
peal to  Davis  to  bring  about  peace  (pp.  240,  253);  the 
Yancey  trip  to  Europe  (pp.  84-92,  and  Chapter  III),  the 
Davis  squabble  with  Congress  in  March,  1865  (pp.  49-51 
and  268-269). 

As  a  scholarly  contribution  to  a  historical  problem  the 
book  is  worth  almost  nothing,  but  as  a  course  of  lectures 
it  might  have  been  of  interest.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
a  great  university  lent  its  indorsement  to  such  skimpy 
work  unless  the  title  had  been  changed  to  "Lectures  on 
the  Confederacy,"  a  topic  elastic  enough  to  embrace  all 
these  odds  and  ends. 

Life  and  Times  oe  Wii^wam  Lowndes  of  South  Caro- 
lina. By  Mrs.  St.  Julien  Ravenel.  Boston  and  New  York : 
Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  1901,  i2mo,  illus.,  pp.  ix.+257, 
cloth. 

It  is  with  rare  pleasure  that  one  opens  this  book,  if 
"Eliza  Lucas,"  the  charming  story  of  a  young  girl  and  ma- 
tron of  Colonial  days  in  Carolina,  written  by  the  same  au- 
thor, is  fresh  in  his  memory,  and  fresh  it  is  sure  to  be  if 
he  has  ever  read  it. 

The  life  of  William  Lowndes  was  passed  in  stirring 
times,  and  in  them  he  was  a  prominent  actor,  "a  maker 
of  history."  By  reading  this  memoir  of  Mr.  Lowndes,  it 
will  also  be  discovered  that  the  "burning  questions"  of 
to-day,  which  many  suppose  "modem,"  are  as  old  as  the 
country— old  indeed  as  the  dawn  of  history.  Thus  will 
be  learned  the  diflference  between  legitimate  expansion 
and  imperialism — ^between  necessary  defensive  war  and 
"criminal  aggression" — between  a  revenue  tariff  and  pro- 
tection. 

Mr.  Lowndes,  a  statesman,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the 
term,  of  the  highest  ability  and  most  exalted  character, 

5 


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41 6  Southern  History  Association. 

was  of  the  new  political  party  of  Jefferson,  a  Republican, 
or,  as  we  should  now  say,  a  Democrat.  He  commenced 
his  national  political  career  at  Washington  as  a  Represen- 
tative from  South  Carolina  in  the  Twelfth  Congress,  and 
died,  virtually,  in  harness,  in  October,  1822,  having  mean- 
time repeatedly  declined  Cabinet  positions.  He  was  very 
independent  and  if  alive  to-day,  what  a  thorn  in  the  flesh 
,  he  would  be  to  "steering  committees,"  and  what  a  bdc 
noire  to  "bosses." 

Mr.  Lowndes  was  largely  instrumental  in  bringing 
about  many  measures  of  vital  importance  to  the  United 
States,  as  a  Federal  Government,  and  these  were  not  in- 
frequently at  the  expense  of  the  supposed  temporary  in- 
terests of  his  constituents,  and  to  his  own  personal  dis- 
advantage. Of  these,  the  one  of  most  far-reaching  im- 
portance was  the  second  war  with  England.  American 
commerce  had  been  driven  from  the  seas  by  the  British 
Cabinet  under  the  plea  of  European  politics.  The  ships 
of  the  Middle,  and  Eastern  States,  were  rotting  at  their 
wharves ;  the  produce  of  the  South  was  valueless  without 
a  market;  wide-spread  distress  prevailed;  American  sail- 
ors were  kidnapped  on^the  ocean  and  forced  under  the 
lash  to  serve  British  masters ;  others  were  butchered  with- 
in sight  of  their  own  homes.  The  flag  of  the  United  States 
became  consequently  despised  throughout  Europe,  and 
diplomatic  requests  for  redress  were  again,  as  in  Frank- 
lin's time,  "greeted  with  roars  of  laughter"  by  the  English 
Ministry.  Weak-kneed  Americans  in  the  Eastern  States 
clamored  for  peace  at  any  price,  and  threatened  to  secede 
from  the  Union,  which  seemed  to  have  become  but  a  rope 
of  sand.  All  this  was  changed,  and  changed  forever,  by 
the  war.  The  Union-Jack  went  down  in  defeat  on  the 
water,  its  own  chosen  fighting  ground,  and  the  South- 
western riflemen  at  New  Orleans,  with  greatly  inferior 
numbers,  made  short  work  of  Wellington's  Peninsular 
veterans. 


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Book  Reviews,  417 

Mr.  Lowndes  had  foreseen  that  war  was  inevitable,  if 
the  country  was  to  be  preserved,  and  had  worked  hard, 
against  great  obstacles,  to  place  her  in  a  state  of  pre- 
paredness. In  the  creation  of  the  navy  his  work  was  very 
noteworthy.  When  the  war  came,  the  South  suffered 
greatly,  but  there  was  no  flinching  by  Lowndes  and  he 
maintained  an  abiding  faith  in  ultimate  success.  At  last 
it  came,  and  with  it  the  birth  of  the  United  States,  as  a 
nation,  that  is  to  say,  in  so  far  as  foreign  powers  are  con- 
cerned. 

But  a  brief  review  can  do  no  justice  to  this  valuable  con- 
tribution to  American  history ;  it  must  be  read,  to  be  ap- 
preciated.— Edward  L.  Wells. 

The  Recent  Past  ]?rom  a  Southern  Standpoint, 
Reminiscences  op  a  Grandeather.  By  Richard  H.  Wil- 
mer,  Bishop  of  Alabama.  New  York :  Thomas  Whittaker, 
1900,  pp.  294,  illus.,  8vo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

When  men  of  the  character,  experience  and  ability  of 
the  late  Bishop  of  Alabama,  write  books,  we  may  be  sure 
that  they  have  something  to  write  of  worth  writing  and 
worth  reading. 

The  Bishop's  life  was  a  long  one,  and  embraced  the 
most  impressive,  the  most  serious,  the  most  distressing, 
and  in  all  respects,  the  most  intensely  interesting  period 
of  our  history.  The  long  and  bitter  struggle  in  Congress, 
and  the  constantly  increasing  agitation  throughout  our 
whole  country,  upon  the  great  questions  of  constitutional 
right,  and  duty,  which  divided  the  United  States  into 
North  and  South,  were  questions  in  which  a  man  of  his 
earnest  nature  and  strong  intelligence  would  naturally 
take  a  deep  interest.  This  interest  everywhere  appears 
in  his  book,  but  it  is  always  expressed  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Christian,  as  well  as  in  the  absolute  candor  which  always 
characterized  the  utterances  of  Bishop  Wilmer. 

The   Bishop  writes  for  his   grandchildren,  and  writes 


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41 8  Southern  History  Association, 

with  the  freedom  ot  a  father  writing  to  his  family.  He 
writes  about  his  own  experiences;  he  gives  his  own  re- 
flections; he  makes  his  own  judgments^  and  states  facts 
just  as  he  knew  them,  or  as  he  saw  them.  The  Bishop's 
personality  is  stamped  all  through  his  book.  To  those 
of  us  who  knew  him,  the  reading  of  his  book  seems  almost 
like  conversing  with  him.  Whoever  reads  this  book,  may 
be  sure  that  they  are  reading  the  book  of  a  high,  true, 
representative  man,  whose  word  was  his  bond,  and  whose 
bond  was  his  noble  pfersonality  and  character. 

The  book  discusses  the  burning  questions  of  the  con- 
stitutional rights  of  the  States,  as  the  Southern  people  re- 
garded them;  it  gives  a  true  and  faithful  picture  of  do- 
mestic slavery  in  the  South ;  and  his  reminiscences  of  the 
Confederate  War,  are  true  to  the  life.  Then  the  Bishop 
states  the  Church  question ;  tells  us  how  the  Church  was 
planted  in  America;  gives  a  beautiful  sketch  of  his  early 
ministry,  and  of  that  prince  amongst  Christian  laymen, 
Mr.  John  Stewart,  of  Virginia ;  he  writes  about  the  differ- 
ent religious  bodies  in  the  United  States,  and  speaks  in  no 
qualified  strain  about  the  pretensions  and  assumptions  of 
the  Latin  Church,  and  about  our  brethren  of  the  different 
denominational  communions.  The  chapter  on  scepticism, 
rationalism  and  scientism,  is  like  Bishop  Wilmer,  and  is 
worth  reading.  As  a  book  of  historical  interest,  it  is  most 
valuable.  His  post  bellum  reminiscences,  his  account  of 
the  reunion  of  the  Church,  North  and  South  after  the 
war;  and  above  all,  the  sketches  of  Bishop  Elliott,  of 
Georgia ;  Bishop  Joseph  Wilmer,  of  Louisiana,  and  Bishop 
Cobbs,  of  Alabama,  are  true  pictures  of  noble  men,  men 
of  God  and  of  His  Church,  drawn  by  the  skilful,  able  and 
often  eloquent  pen,  of  an  appreciative  brother  and  friend. 

The  closing  chapter  on  manliness,  may  well  be  read  by 
all  of  our  boys.  There  are  touches  of  Bishop  Wilmer's 
real  genius  in  this  chapter,  and  always  in  his  sentiments 
and  in  his  descriptions  the  reproduction  of  the  real  man- 


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Book  Reviews.  419 

liness,  which  every  reader  of  the  book,  who  knew  its  au- 
thor, will  recognize  as  pre-eminently  his  characteristic. 

Of  course,  in  a  book  like  this,  there  is  the  glow,  every- 
where, of  the  Bishop's  genial  humor,  and  now  and  again 
the  sparkle  of  his  genuine  wit ;  which  adds  a  special  charm, 
and  makes  the  book,  in  our  judgment,  one  of  the  most 
charming  to  read  to  the  family  of  an  evening,  that  we 
know  of. 

Eluson  Capers. 

Bishop's  House,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

Thomas  Jefferson.  By  Thomas  E.  Watson.  Boston : 
Small,  Maynawi  &  Co.,  1900,  i8mo,  pp  xviii.+i5o,  portrait, 
cloth,  75  cents.  Beacon  Biographic  series,  edited  by  .M. 
A.  DeWolfe  Howe. 

Within  the  narrow  limits  set  for  him,  Mr.  Watson  has 
given  us  a  very  interesting  view  of  Jefferson,  and  a  valu- 
able condensation  of  the  main  events  in  his  long  life,  neces- 
sarily though  confining  himself  to  "the  plain  road  of  fact." 
It  is  not,  however,  a  mere  colorless  photograph  that  is 
placed  before  us,  but  a  living  portrait.  A  man  of  Mr. 
Watson's  strong  individuality  would  unconsciously  make 
us  look  through  his  glasses,  even  though  he  should  be 
exceeding  careful  not  to  distort  the  image.  Very  prop- 
erly this  is  done  with  every  good,  readable  biography. 

We  see  Jefferson  as  he  impresses  Watson,  fair  and 
favorable,  but  Mr.  Watson,  while  in  fullest  sympathy  with 
his  subject,  does  not  allow  his  judgment  to  be  blinded 
to  defects  as  his  humorous  comments  on  Jefferson's  va- 
garies will  show. 

There  is  nothing  of  the  conventional  historical  style  in 
these  pages.  In  the  preface  we  find  "trashpile"  and 
"chicken  coop"  as  applied  to  some  views  of  Jefferson's 
work  and  capacities.  Throughout  are  phrases  and  turns 
of  expression  taken  from  the  free  colloquial  usage  of  to- 


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420  Southern  History  Association, 

day.    Especially  lively  are  the  sarcastic  references  to  the 
"austere  dig^ty"  of  Washington. 

All  the  better  that  Mr.  Watson  does  thus  boldly  break 
away  from  the  hoary  traditions  of  taste.  His  pen  moves 
more  easily  and  naturally  and  traces  for  us  a  charming 
narrative,  rising  often  to  delightful  heights,  as  the  ex- 
quisite paragraph  (p.  26),  describing  one  of  JeflFerson's 
early  dreams  and  its  realization.  Occasionally  the  rhetoric 
is  a  little  lurid,  as  the  sneer  over  "the  greed  for  gold,''  and 
the  digression  (pp.  81-84),  to  lambaste  Hamilton  and  to 
paint  the  "spoilation"  of  "the  masses''  by  "the  classes"  in 
England. 

• 

History  of  Spartanburg  County,  S.  C.  By  Dr.  J. 
B.  O.  Landrum.  Atlanta  Ga. :  The  Franklin  Printing  and 
Publishing  Company,  1900,  8vo,  pp.  739,  cloth,  illustra- 
tions. 

This  is  unquestionably  a  work  of  great  historical  value 
and  research,  not  only  in  one  respect,  but  in  many,  and  as 
a  contribution  to  a  county  genealogy  it  is  one  of  the  most 
complete  volumes  relating  to  South  Carolina  ever  pub- 
lished. It  is  an  historical  sequel  to  the  "Colonial  and 
Revolutionary  History  of  Upper  South  Carolina,"  by  the 
same  writer.  In  the  introduction  to  the  present  volume 
we  have  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  county,  which  is 
followed  by  an  account  of  the  early  courts,  with  jury  lists. 
One  of  the  first  chapters  is  devoted  to  a  sketch  of  Spar- 
tanburg City,  which  is  not  only  interesting,  but  would 
prove  a  very  useful  advertising  circular  if  published  in 
pamphlet  form.  After  this  sketch,  we  have  one  relating  to 
education  in  the  county,  which  is  an  exhaustive  article.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  it  is  at  Spartanburg  where  Wof- 
ford  College  is  located.  This  is  one  of  the  leading  educa- 
tional institutions  in  the  South,  and  its  honored  President, 
Dr.  James  H.  Carlisle  (of  whom  a  sketch  and  likeness  are 
given),  is  not  only  a  leading  educator  of  South  Carolina, 


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Book  Reviews.  421 

but  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  term,  is  a  great  man.  An- 
other prominent  educational  institution  of  the  city  is  Con- 
verse College,  which  was  founded  by  D.  E.  Converse,  of 
whom  we  also  have  a  likeness  and  sketch.  We  cannot 
stop  to  fully  review  this  part  of  Dr.  Landrum's  work,  but 
will  say  that  the  S.  C.  Institution  for  the  Education  of  the 
Deaf  and  Blind  is  located  in  this  county  and  in  connection 
with  the  sketch  of  the  same,  we  have  an  account  of  the 
Walkers,  a  prominent  educational  family  of  South  Caro- 
lina, who  are  associated  with  this  important  institution 
and  one  of  whom  was  its  founder.  Two  of  their  like- 
nesses are  given.  After  this  educational  sketch  comes  a 
general  review  of  the  religious  progress  of  the  county 
during  the  nineteenth  century,  and  in  this  account  statis- 
tics are  given  of  religious  affairs  among  both  races  at  the 
present  time.  We  have  an  account  of  the  temperance  pro- 
gress in  the  county  from  time  to  time,  which  is  followed 
by  a  very  full  sketch  of  political  affairs  from  1830  to  i860. 

Spartanburg  is  not  only  a  leading  educational  county 
of  South  Carolina,  but  it  is  also  one  of  the  leading  manu- 
facturing counties  of  the  State,  and  a  carefully  prepared 
sketch  of  its  manufacturing  enterprises  during  the  last 
century  is  given. 

We  now  get  into  the  biographical  and  genealogical  part 
of  the  volume,  and  it  is  largely  a  genealogical  work.  First 
we  have  sketches  of  Revolutionary  worthies  and  among 
the  sketches  of  families  may  be  mentioned  the  following: 
Moore  (one  of  whom  is  now  a  professor  at  the  S.  C.  Col- 
lege) ;  Barry,  Wofford  (one  of  whom — the  Rev.  Benjamin 
Wofford — made  a  monument  for  himself  in  the  educa- 
tional history  of  South  Carolina  by  founding  Wofford  Col- 
lege); Hampton,  Earle,  Anderson,  Forster,  Montgomery, 
Dean,  Woodruff,  Bomar,  Lipscomb,  Duncan,  Ballanger, 
Wingo,  Archer,  besides  numerous  biographical  sketches, 
one  of  which  is  of  the  Rev.  John  Gill  Landrum,  a  promi- 


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422  Southern  History  Association. 

nent  Baptist  clergyman  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  father 
of  the  writer  of  the  history  which  we  are  reviewing. 

The  Hamptons  and  Earles  mentioned  above  are  among 
the  most  prominent  families  of  South  Carolina  and  the 
name  of  the  former  is  of  national  renown.  Anthony 
Hampton  (great-grandfather  of  the  present  distinguished 
Gen.  Wade  Hampton),  and  a  part  of  his  family,  were  mas- 
sacred by  the  Indians  in  what  is  now  Spartanburg  county 
during  the  summer  of  1776. 

Dr.  Landrum  gives  a  sketch  of  Glenn  Springs,  famous 
in  South  Carolina  as  a  summer  resort. 

A  list  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  from  the 
county  in  the  State  legislature  from  1786  to  1900  is  given, 
also  a  document  of  unique  interest  in  the  shape  of  a  list 
of  the  heads  of  families  taken  in  the  first  census. 

The  volume  closes  by  devoting  over  50  pages  to  a  suc- 
cinct account  of  the  Confederate  soldiers  from  Spartan- 
burg county.  This  account  will  prove  of  almost  priceless 
value  to  the  Confederate  historians  of  the  future  who  wish 
to  gather  information  in  regard  to  the  Spartanburg  sol- 
diers and  it  can  safely  be  said  that  it  is  without  doubt  one 
of  the  most  complete  accounts  of  the  Confederate  soldiers 
of  any  one  Southern  county  ever  published. 

This  volume  is  a  most  comprehensive  one  and  displays 
a  painstaking  care  on  the  part  of  the  writer.  As  we  be- 
fore said,  it  is  a  work  of  great  historical  value  and  in  re- 
gard to  the  genealogical  and  Confederate  history  of  Spar- 
tanburg county  it  will  always  remain  a  standard  author- 
ity. 

McDonald  Furman. 

Privateer,  S.  C. 

Northwestern  Indiana,  from  1800  to  1900.  By  T.  H. 
Ball.  Crown  Point,  Ind.:  1900,  pp.  570,  cloth,  portrait, 
maps,  index. 

Taking  a  section  about  72  miles  long  and  55  wide,  or 


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Book  Reviews.  423 

3,960  square  miles,  covering  seven  counties  in  whole  and 
two  in  part,  our  author  aims  "to  give  the  history  of  the 
region  as  a  whole,  to  show  its  early  settlement,  its  growth 
and  what  it  now  is,,  by  treating  in  separate  chapters,  as 
topics  or  subjects  of  interest,  the  various  particulars  which 
belong  to  its  topography,  its  physical  features,  and  its 
general  history/'  He  tabulates  his  authorities,  sizing 
some  of  them  up  with  quaint,  gentle  humor  by  their 
avoirdupois,  as  weighing  "four  and  half  pounds,"  in  one 
instance.  But  his  long  residence  in  the  locality,  since 
1837,  his  habits  of  observation  and  recording,  his  secretary- 
ship of  a  historical  association,  constitute  himself  as  one 
of  his  best  sources  of  information. 

According  to  his  promise  he  has  most  interestingly  and 
carefully  considered  a  great  variety  of  topics ;  as  Indians, 
pioneer  life,  economic  development,  religious  history,  edu- 
cation, etc. 

It  is  evident  all  through  his  pages  that  he  had  made 
the  hardest  effort  to  be  accurate.  It  is  really  refreshing, 
in  distinction  from  the  swinging  style  of  so  many  of  the 
average  county  histories,  to  come  across  a  sharp  rap  like 
this :  "It  is  risky  to  make  sweeping  statements,  especially 
where  the  statement  implies  more  knowledge  than  most 
men  have  or  can  have''  (p.  491).  All  the  more  confidence 
do  we  have  in  the  writer  when  he  follows  up  this  indict- 
ment by  specific  examples  from  loose  pens  that  he  crush- 
ingly  refutes.  In  consequence  of  such  striving  for  excell- 
ence we  have  not  only  a  very  entertaining  account  but  one 
that  we  can  rely  on  of  a  corner  of  a  great  valley  State. 

W.  E.  Connelley  is  the  author  of  John  Brown,  a  new 
life  of  that  abolition  leader  who  made  the  Harper's  Ferry 
raid  in  1859  (Topeka,  Kan.:  Crane  &  Co.,  1900,  i2mo,  2 
vols.,  total  pages  of  283,  paper). 

It  appears  in  the  series  of  Twentieth  Century  Classics, 
put  forth  by  this  firm  "under  the  editorial  supervision  of 


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424  Southern  History  Association. 

W.  M.  Davidson,"  school  superintendent  of  Topeka;  the 
object  being  "to  furnish  special  reading  of  a  high  order'* 
for  schools  and  teachers.  Mr.  Connelley  does  not  aim 
to  add  anything  to  our  knowledge  pf  John  Brown,  but 
seeks  to  restate  his  career  and  what  it  stands  for.  But 
his  work  is  so  far  removed  from  the  approved  methods 
of  historical  study  and  writing  now  taught  in  all  leading 
universities  over  the  land,  and  of  course  in  iCansas,  that 
it  is  hard  to  believe  it  was  brought  forth  almost  under  the 
shadow  of  the  great  State  University.  Still  more  incom- 
prehensible is  it  that  this  turgid  rhetoric  and  these  bald 
sweeping  statements  are  indorsed  as  a  "classic"  by  the 
educational  head  of  a  large  city  system. 

Autobiography  of  Col.  Richard  Malcolm  Johns- 
ton. Washington:  The  Neale  Co.,  1900,  pp.  190,  cloth, 
portrait,  2d  edition. 

This  is  the  book  form  of  the  serial  that  appeared  in  the 
Conservative  Review  last  year,  and  was  reviewed  in  these 
Publications,  pp.  169-170,  of  the  present  volume.  It  is  a 
beautiful  picture  of  the  Old  South,  an  exquisite  record  of 
a  noble  nature.  There  are  many  men  who  saw  the  tran- 
sition from  the  former  to  the  latter  days,  but  exceeding 
few  of  the  literary  skill  and  power  of  Col.  Johnston,  and 
still  fewer  who  in  the  present  could  look  back  with  such 
playful  humor,  such  delicate  poise,  such  manly  modera- 
tion, such  well-balanced  judgment.  The  man  himself,  his 
deeds,  his  trials,  his  words,  his  reflections,  all  told  by  his 
pen,  is  a  shaft  of  light  on  the  momentous  era  in  which  he 
lived. 

He  was  a  warm  friend  with  the  great  political  leaders  of 
Georgia,  who  were  also  prominent  in  national  affairs. 
His  testimony,  though  negative,  as  to  what  Lincoln  of- 
fered at  the  Hampton  Roads  Conference  is  very  pertinent 
now  when  there  is  a  discussion,  in  which  Hon.  John  H. 
Reagan  largely  figures,  as  to  what  Lincoln  said  to  Steph- 


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Book  Reviews,  425 

ens  and  the  other  Confederate  Commissioners.  Col. 
Johnston  says:  "I  have  seen  it  stated  that  he  [Lincoln] 
proposed  to  the  commissioners  that,  after  writing  upon 
a  blank  page  the  word  'Reunion*  they  might  insert  the 
rest.  I  have  no  idea  that  this  is  true.  Nothing  like  it 
was  said  by  Stephens  to  me,  with  whom  he  held  closest 
intimacy"  (p.  176). 

A  clear  summary  of  the  imprisonment  and  trial  of  Jef- 
ferson Davis  by  a  fair-minded  lawyer,  from  the  official 
sources  chiefly,  is  Charles  M.  Blackford's  The  Trials  and 
Trial  o:f  Jefferson  Davis,  read  before  the  Virginia 
State  Bar  Association  at  the  12th  annual  meeting,  at  Old 
Point  Comfort,  July  17-19,  1900  (Richmond,  John  T. 
West,  printer,  1900,  paper,  pp.  46).  It  is  a  wonderful  con- 
trast the  extracts  from  authoritative  records  show,  be- 
tween the  pettiness  and  shortsightedness  of  some  of  the 
minor  actors  in  that  mighty  drama  of  a  third  of  a  century 
ago,  and  the  grandeur  and  breadth  of  Lincoln,  Chase  and 
others  like  them,  who  rose  above  the  squabblings  and 
passions  of  the  hour  and  looked  to  the  future  unification 
of  the  land.  Although  Mr.  Lincoln  does  not  appear  in 
these  pages,  the  part  he  had  chosen  for  himself  is  uncon- 
sciously marked  out  with  clear  distinctness  from  that  of 
so  many  smaller  men  clamoring  for  the  wrong  way. 

Rev.  Robert  F.  Campbell,  Asheville,  N.  C,  continues 
his  scholarly  researches  on  the  mountain  whites  of  the 
South  in  his  Classification  of  Mountain  Whites  re- 
printed from  The  Southern  Workman  (paper,  pp.  8,  large 
8vo).  It  is  a  surprise  to  many  to  know  that  this  term 
really  covers  a  space  500  miles  long  by  250  wide,  some  200 
counties,  with  an  area  nearly  as  great  as  Germany  and  a 
population  of  some  three  millions.  Dr.  Campbell  finds 
three  strata,  corresponding,  one  might  say,  to  three  dif- 
ferent heights  above  sea  level ;  the  first  "in  the  broad,  rich 


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426  Southern  History  Association, 

valleys,  or  on  extensive  plateaus;"  the  second  on  and 
around  the  lower  mountain  ranges ;  the  third  "haunt  the 
fringes  of  the  better  communities  in  narrow  coves,  or  far 
up  on  the  mountain  sides."  It  is  the  last  grade  counting 
up  about  200,000,  or  one-fifteenth  of  the  whole,  that  fur- 
nishes the  chief  part  of  the  sociological  problem  of  these 
mountain  dwellers,  and  they  are  really  the  "slums"  of  the 
region,  for  as  Dr.  Campbell  remarks  these  sparse  settle- 
ments have  their  slums  just  as  the  cities  have.  As  to  the 
racial  origin  of  this  "submerged  tenth,"  Dr.  Campbell  re- 
jects the  "tory"  theory,  the  "bound  servant"  theory,  the 
"European  scum"  theory,  and  declares  that  they  "are  the 
driftwood  from  the  tides  of  population  flowing  along  the 
bases  and  over  the  Appalachian  mountains."  "In  other 
words  this  class  is  made  up  of  the  degenerates  of  the  same 
races  that  constitute"  the  other  two  higher  grades,  which 
are  of  English,  German,  Dutch  and  Scotch-Irish  descent. 
Dr.  Campbell  writes  of  his  subject  with  heartfelt  interest 
as  he  is  a  Mountain  White  himself,  so  he  says. 

In  the  College-Bred  Negro  (Atlanta  University  Publi- 
cations, No.  5, 1900,  pp.  116,  paper,  25  cents),  Dr.  W.  E.  B. 
DuBois  has  given  us  another  of  his  most  admirable  inves- 
tigations into  this  vast  ethnic  problem.  Through  the  co- 
operation of  college  graduates  and  prominent  Negroes  a 
mass  of  facts  was  gathered  on  this  particular  phase.  Lists 
of  questions  were  sent  out  to  some  2,500  persons,  both 
men  and  women,  about  one-half  of  whom  replied.  From 
the  voluminous  details  contained  in  the  answers  Dr.  Du- 
Bois feels  justified  in  drawing  this  conclusion :  "The  cen- 
tral truth  which  this  study  teaches  to  the  candid  mind  is 
the  success  of  higher  education  under  the  limitations  and 
difficulties  of  the  past.  In  a  scheme  such  as  I  have  out- 
lined, providing  the  rudiments  of  an  education  for  all,  in- 
dustrial training  for  the  many,  and  a  college  course  for  the 
talented  few,  I  fail  to  see  anything  contradictory  or  an- 


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tagonistic."  He  thinks  that  some  ten  of  the  higher  insti- 
tutions already  established  would  be  sufficient,  and  that 
some  twenty  of  so-called  colleges  should  close  up  their 
collegiate  courses.  On  the  crucial  point  of  all  education, 
the  material  side,  ability  to  earn  a  living,  over  500  of  the 
1,252,  made  returns  as  to  their  property.  From  this  data, 
Dr.  DuBois  cautiously  estimates  the  average  individual 
accumulations  as  about  $5,000,  a  figure  that  would 
strengthen  his  views  as  to  the  value  and  importance  of  ad- 
vanced culture. 

With  sadness  it  is  to  be  confessed  that  the  hand  of  the  • 
historical  e^iitor  of  the  Charleston  Year  Book  for  1900 
(Charleston,  S.  C,  1901,  pp.  xxi+337+205,  8vo.,  cloth)  has 
at  last  lost  its  cunning.  Instead  of  following  his  custom  of 
giving  us  important  original  material  bearing  almost  en- 
tirely on  the  locality,  we  have  a  reprint  of  64  pages,  *The 
Historical  Status  of  the  Negro  in  Connecticut,'*  that  saw 
the  light  of  day  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 
The  second  selection,  covering  17  pages,  is  entitled  "Some 
Brief  Remarks  on  the  Address  of  Hon.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,"  which  was  delivered  last  October,  19th,  at  Mad- 
ison, Wis.,  on  the  dedication  there  of  the  new  library  build- 
ing for  the  State  Historical  Society.  Over  half  of  the  sev- 
enteen pages  are  Mr.  Adams's  words  which  were  printed 
in  full  months  ago.  The  comments  on  them  are  a  re- 
threshing  of  straw  that  was  long  since  beaten  to  bits. 

These  two  articles  comprise  the  concessions  to  histori- 
cal study  in  this  annual  collection  of  municipal  reports. 
Neither  one  makes  any  addition  to  the  sum  of  knowledge 
and  the  81  pages  of  valuable  space  are  practically  thrown 
away. 

The  second  of  the  James  Sprunt  Historicai.  Mono- 
graphs published  by  the  University  of  J^orth  Carolina, 
deals  with  Nathaniel  Macon  (Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  1900,  O. 


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428  Southern  History  Association. 

pp.  2l.+ii5+[i]).  The  first  part  is  a  study  of  the  Con- 
gressional career  of  Macon  (pp.  1-37)  by  Edwin  Mood  Wil- 
son, A.  M.  The  second  part  is  made  up  of  letters  written 
by  Macon  to  Bartlett  Yancey,  with  one  from  Willie  P. 
Mangum  to  Yancey  in  which  Macon  is  mentioned,  the 
whole  being  annotated  with  excellent  notes,  historical,  bio- 
graphical and  genealogical,  by  Professor  Kemp  P.  Battle. 
Mr.  Wilson  g^ves  little  space  to  the  private  life  of  his  sub- 
ject, but  as  Macon  entered  the  lower  house  of  Congress 
in  1791  and  served  continuously  until  1828,  the  monograph 
covers  by  far  the  greater  part  of  his  active  career.  The 
treatment  is  temperate  and  judicial  in  tone  and  the  final 
estimate  of  Macon  is  much  saner  than  could  have  been 
hoped  for  from  most  North  Carolina  writers.    He  says: 

'In  his  life  we  have  the  example  of  a  man  of  mediocre 
abilities  and  meager  education  rising  to  occupy  the  high- 
est position  of  trust  and  honor  that  the  people  of  his 
State  could  bestow.  Judged  by  a  standard  of  tireless  en- 
deavor and  unswerving  conception  of  duty,  his  was  a  ca- 
reer successful  in  the  highest  degree.  Judged  by  a  stand- 
ard of  great  personal  achievement,  it  was  a  success  neither 
brilliant  nor  remarkable.  Mr.  Macon  can  never  be  called 
a  great  man  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term.  He  was  not 
a  leader,  he  was  not  a  statesman  in  all  respects ;  but  he  was 
an  ideal  representative.  Lacking  the  personal  influence, 
the  subtle  and  almost  indefinable  charm  of  manner,  *  * 
*  he  was  not  a  great  statesman,  either  in  the  originality 
of  his  view  of  politics  or  in  the  practicability  of  his  theories 
of  government."  This  sane  and  sober  judgment  will  be  a 
shock  to  some  newspapers  in  the  State  that  for  political 
purposes  are  parading  Macon  as  the  greatest  man  that  the 
State  has  ever  produced. 

The  letters  printed  were  written  mostly  between  1818 
and  1828  and  deal  with  the  political  affairs  of  the  time. 
The  annotations  and  notes  by  Dr.   Battle  are   such  as 


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to  supply  the  wants  of  readers  who  are  without  works 
of  reference  and  incidentally  preserve  many  valuable  bits 
of  local  history. 

Mr.  D.  A.  Tompkins,  Charlotte,  N.  C,  has  reprinted 
from  Cotton  and  Cotton  Oil,  a  work  now  in  preparation 
by  him,  chapter  2,  entitled  The  Cotton  Gin,  The  history 
of  its  invention.  (Charlotte,  N.  C:  The  Author.  1901. 
O.  pp.  62,  25  cents).  It  reviews  the  claims  of  Whitney 
and  others  to  this  invention;  gives  copies  of  the  original 
patent  specifications  and  drawings  from  the  Patent  Office 
records  and  makes  a  synopsis  of  the  testimony  in  the  27 
law  suits  relating  to  infringements  in  Georgia,  1796  to 
1805,  as  found  in  the  United  States  Court  records  in  Sa- 
vannah, Ga.  The  monograph  is  illustrated  by  original 
drawings  and  is  done  in  a  most  thorough  and  scholarly 
fashion.  The  conclusions  of  Mr.  Tompkins  as  to  honors 
are  (p.  20) :  Whitney  invented  a  cotton  gin  consisting  of 
spikes  driven  into  a  wooden  cylinder,  with  a  slotted  bar 
through  which  these  spike  teeth  passed  and  a  brush  to 
clear  the  spikes ;  (2)  Hodgen  Holmes,  of  Georgia,  invented 
an  improved  gin,  using  circular  saws  properly  spaced, 
passing  through  spaces  between  ribs ;  (3)  Whitney's  inven- 
tion was  fundamental ;  (4)  the  practical  application  of  the 
fundamental  idea  was  Holmes'  invention  of  the  saw  gin; 
(5)  Whitney  received  at  least  $90,000  in  royalties  from 
South  Carolina,  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee;  (6)  in 
Georgia  Whitney's  firm  tried  to  monopolize  the  ginning 
business,  they  failed  and  got  into  law  suits. 

The  North  Carolina  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, with  Miss  Martha  Helen  Haywood  and  Mrs.  Hu- 
bert Haywood  as  editors,  began  on  May  loth  the  publica- 
tion of  The  North  Carolina  Booklet,  a  monthly  periodical 
devoted  to  a  presentation  in  popular  style,  without  foot 
notes,  bibliographies  or  other  scholarly  paraphernalia,  of 


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430  Southern  History  Association. 

various  important  events  in  the  history  of  the  State.  The 
first  three  numbers  have  appeared.  The  contents  for  the 
first  year  will  be:  ''Virginia  Dare,"  by  Maj.  Graham 
Daves;  "Colonial  Newbern/^  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Beaumont 
Kennedy;  "Liberty,  Property  and  No  Stamp  Duty,"  by 
Col.  A.  M.  Waddell ;  "Edenton  Tea  Party,"  by  Dr.  Rich- 
ard Dillard;  "Betsey  Dowdy's  Ride,"  by  Col.  R.  B.  Creecy ; 
"The  Hornets'  Nest,"  by  Mr.  Heriot  Clarkson ;  "Greene's 
Retreat,"  by  Prof.  D.  H.  Hill ;  "Monsier  Le  Marquis  de 
Lafayette,"  by  Maj.  E.  J.  Hale;  "An  Admiral  and  His 
Daughters,"  by  Dr.  Kemp  P.  Battle;  "Pettigrew's 
Charge,'*  by  Capt.  S.  A.  Ashe ;  "Reminiscences  of  a  Block- 
ade Runner,"  by  British  Vice  Consul  James  Sprunt ;  "Ku- 
Klux,"  by  Mrs.  T.  J.  Jarvis.  (Raleigh:  Capital  Printing 
Company.     lo  cents  a  number,  $i.oo  a  year). 

As  the  initial  number  of  their  series  "designed  to  serve 
as  a  means  for  the  publication  of  a  selection  of  the  best 
work  done  in  all  lines  of  research  conducted  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Missouri,"  we  have  the  well-printed  Contribu- 
tions TO  A  Psychological  Theory  o?  Music,  by  Max 
Meyer  (pap.,  pp.  80,  large  8vo.,  75  cents). 

At  the  request  of  the  Lodge,  Hon.  John  Nichols  has  pre- 
pared and  published  a  History  of  Hiram  Masonic 
Lodge,  No.  40,  Raleigh,  N.  C,  from  1800  to  1900.  (n.  d., 
n.  p.  [Raleign?  1901]-  O.  pp.  56).  There  are  also  sketches 
of  individual  members  and  a  portrait  of  the  author. 

The  Minutes  of  the  Fourth  Annual  Meeting  of 
THE  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  North 
Carolina  Division,  for  1900  have  been  published  (Ra- 
leigh: Capital  Printing  Company.  1901.  O.  pp.  155). 
It  contains  the  proceedings  of  the  annual  meeting,  reports 
on  the  organization  and  work  of  the  various  chapters,  and 
the  address  delivered  before  the  society  by  Capt.  C.  B. 


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Book  Reviews,  431 

Denson,  on  the  character  of  Jefferson  Davis.  The  object^ 
of  the  organization  are  historical,  educational,  memorial, 
benevolent  and  social,  and  it  is  affiliated  with  the  general 
Society  of  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy. 
Miss  Lida  Tunstall  Rodman,  of  Washington,  N.  C,  is 
president,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  H.  Overman,  Salisbury,  N.  C, 
secretary. 

It  is  announced  that  the  Diary  kept  by  Colonel  Charles 
C.  Blacknall,  of  the  23d  N.  C.  Regiment,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  up  to  his  death  at  Winchester,  Va.,  Novem- 
ber 6,  1864,  and  the  letters  written  by  him  during  that 
time,  which  after  being  lost  for  seventeen  years  have  been 
recovered,  will  both  soon  be  printed  in  a  memoir  to  be  is- 
sued by  his  family  for  private  distribution.  The  publica- 
tion will  be  under  the  care  of  Col.  O.  W.  Blacknall,  Kittrell, 
N.  C,  who  has  done  much  towards  preserving  the  records 
of  the  Confederacy.  A  short  sketch  of  Col.  C.  C.  Black- 
nall, with  portrait,  appears  in  The  Southland  for  May. 

The  Love  o?  Landry.  By  Paul  Laurence  Dunbar. 
New  York:  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  1900,  i2mo.,  pp.  200, 
cloth,  $1.25. 

The  latest  novel  by  Paul  Lawrence  Dunbar  brings 
prominently  forward  the  versatility  of  this  Negro  author. 
The  author  ranks  high  as  a  lyrical  poet  and  has  won 
special  laurels  for  his  works  in  Negro  dialect.  He  stands 
well  as  a  novelist,  but  most  of  his  works  in  fiction  have 
dealt  with  Negro  life.  His  LovE  o?  Landry  is  a  decided 
departure,  all  the  characters  being  Anglo-Saxons  of 
wealth,  and  the  scenes  being  laid  in  New  York  and  on  a 
ranch  in  Colorado.  Mildred  Osborn,  predisposed  to  con- 
sumption, the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  New  Yorker,  is  ad- 
vised by  her  physician  to  go  to  Colorado  for  her  health. 
She  is  met  by  Landry  and  becomes  interested  in  him  from 
the  first — possibly  because  he  dressed  like  a  cowboy  and 

6 


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432  Southern  History  Association. 

talked  like  a  Harvard  graduate.  His  position  is  decidedly 
peculiar  and  Mildred  finds  it  hard  to  locate  him.  The  mys- 
tery which  surrounds  him,  is  kept  up  until  there  occurs  a 
round-up.  Mildred  in  trying  to  serve  him  is  wounded  and 
the  whole  history  of  his  life  is  told,  and  the*  story  of  their 
love  follows.  The  character  of  the  mysterious  Landry  is 
well  drawn,  and  there  is  a  charm  about  the  whole  work 
which  holds  our  interest. 

The  coloring  and  setting  of  the  story  are  excellent,  and 
the  development  of  the  plot  good.  The  inductive  por- 
trayal of  character  shows  the  author  as  a  student  of  human 
nature.  We  believe,  however,  from  an  artistic  standpoint, 
Mr.  Dunbar's  best  talent  is  in  poetry,  and  we  deplore  the 
conditions  which  make  it  necessary  for  a  writer  to  leave 
the  field  wherein  he  can  do  his  best  work,  in  order  to 
write  books  that  will  sell,  but  which  are  inferior  to  what  he 
can  do  in  another  line.  Mr.  Dunbar  easily  ranks  among 
the  best  poets,  including  all  races  and  countries;  but  he 
might  not  be  so  classed  among  novelists.  From  a  socio- 
logical standpoint,  in  spite  of  the  fact,  that  shifting  the 
scene  shows  great  versatility,  we  believe  that  more  good 
would  come  to  the  Negro  race,  if  the  Negro  writers  would 
continue  to  bring  the  Negro's  home  life  and  best  charac- 
teristics before  the  public  in  strong  but  true  light  as  did, 
"Majors  and  Minors,"  and  "Lyrics  from  Lowly  Life." 

W.   H.    COUNCILL. 

The  House  Behind  the  Cedars.  By  Charles  W.  Ches- 
nutt.  Boston  and  New  York :  Houghton,  MifHin  &  Co., 
1901,  O.  pp.  2I+294,  $1.50. 

An  interesting  but  impossible  tale  this !  The  story  opens 
in  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  for  such  is  Patesville.  The  hero  and 
heroine,  John  and  Rowena  Walden  (or  Warwick),  are  two 
mulatto  youth,  brother  and  sister,  the  illegitimate  children 
of  a  man  of  fortune  and  social  position.  Their  mother  is  a 
free  colored  woman  of  the  old  issue.     The  father  dies. 


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The  son  is  ambitious;  goes  to  South  Carolina;  becomes 
a  lawyer  and  through  the  overturning  and  leveling  in- 
fluence of  the  war  rises  to  wealth  and  position  and  mar- 
ries into  an  aristocratic  family.  He  seeks  to  raise  his  sis- 
ter to  the  position  he  now  occupies.  He  educates  her  and 
introduces  her  to  the  best  society.  She  is  beautiful,  culti- 
vated and  of  finer  mould  than  her  brother.  She  meets 
George  Tryon,  a  young  North  Carolinian  of  the  highest 
social  position.  They  fall  in  love  and  become  engaged. 
But  the  secret  of  their  servile  origin  haunts  her.  She  dis- 
cusses it  with  her  brother.  But  he  is  a  cool  calculating 
lawyer,  aggressive  and  cunning,  with  ambitions  to  be 
"white"  and  little  regard  for  the  rights  of  others  when 
those  rights  come  into  conflict  with  his  own  wishes.  But 
the  story  will  out ;  Rowena  goes  to  Patesville  to  visit  her 
mother.  Tryon  goes  there  on  business  and  the  secret  of 
her  servile  origin  is  revealed. 

Now  comes  the  trial ;  Tryon  deserts  her  and  leaves  the 
city;  he  tries  to  put  pride  of  family  and  of  race  above 
what  he  still  calls  "love;"  he  returns  to  Patesville;  sees 
his  adored  one  dancing  in  the  arms  of  a  grinning  mulatto 
and  is  again  saved  from  himself.  Rowena  goes  to  teach  a 
negro  school  in  Tryon's  neighborhood ;  a  rival  appears  in 
the  person  of  the  grinning  mulatto.  Tryon  seeks  an  in- 
terview; Rowena's  efforts  to  escape  from  both  bring  on 
consequences  that  cause  her  death. 

The  story  is  impossible.  Had  the  plot  been  laid  in  Ohio 
and  had  Rowena  married  her  Yankee  lover  the  poetic 
proprieties  would  have  been  maintained,  but  in  the  South 
never.  And  just  here  the  author  betrays  his  ignorance  of 
Southern  manners  and  society;  had  Tryon  been  of  the 
social  position  to  which  he  is  accredited  he  would  never 
have  thought  of  marrying  a  woman  whose  antecedents 
were  so  wholly  unknown  to  him,  while  his  vacillation  after 
the  discovery  marks  him  as  a  plain  fool. 

Topographically  the  story  is  correct;  much  of  it  is  in 


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434  Southern  History  Association. 

dialect,  or  in  what  purports  to  be  dialect,  but  which  is 
really  only  the  phonographic  representation  of  the  English 
of  tlie  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  which  has  sur- 
vived in  the  South  and  which  makes  the  language  of  many 
sections  the  purest  English  that  is  spoken  to-day.  The 
remarks  on  slavery  would  be  irritating  were  they  not 
amusing.  Apropos  of  the  debasement  of  slavery  with 
which  the  author  begins  it  might  be  appropriate  to  ask 
whether  without  this  "debasement,"  Mr.  Chesnutt  would 
have  been  engaged  at  this  time  in  writing  interesting  but 
impossible  novels  or  in  dining — either  in  an  active  or  pas- 
sive sense — his  African  neighbors.  The  American  Negro 
is  the  last  to  write  against  slavery  if  he  knows  aught  of 
history. 

Stringtown  on  the  Pike,  a  tale  of  Northernmost  Ken- 
tucky. By  John  Uri  Lloyd,  New  York:  Dodd,  Mead  & 
Co.,  1901,  pp.  viii-l-414,  8vo.,  illus.,  cloth,  $1.50. 

This  story,  which  first  appeared  as  a  serial  in  The  Book- 
man during  the  past  year,  has  been  received  with  marked 
favor,  particularly  in  Kentucky.  The  author  is  a  native  of 
this  State,  though  now  living  in  Cincinnati,  where  he  is 
Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College. 
It  is  generally  understood  that  Stringtown  on  the  Pike  is 
the  village  of  Florence  in  Boone  county,  Kentucky,  a  short 
distance  southeast  of  Covington.  Here  on  the  white  old 
pike  the  scene  is  laid,  the  Stringtown  grocery,  where  the 
village  circle  met  every  Saturday  night,  being  the  centre- 
piece of  this  dramatic  story.  On  its  broad  porch  weekly 
gather  the  parson,  the  judge,  the  school  teacher,  the  Vir- 
ginia colonel,  the  doctor,  and  the  tobacco-chewing  old 
Kentucky  gentlemen  to  discuss  questions  political,  re- 
ligious, philosophical,  sociological,  and  local.  Still  the 
story  is  not  provincial,  for  many  of  the  scenes  and  cer- 
tainly most  of  the  personages  are  essentially  typical  of  old 
southern  life.    Though  cast  in  the  war  times  of  '63  and  '64 


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most  of  the  interest  centres  about  episodes  of  neighbor- 
hood life — court-room  scenes,  division  of  estates,  folk-lore 
legends,  negro  superstitions,  family  feuds,  and  disap- 
pointed love. 

The  real  hero  of  the  book  is  old  Cupe  (short  for  Cupid), 
a  faithful  negro  slave,  a  descendant  of  an  ancient  African 
king,  whose  knowledge  of  the  weird  symbolism  of  his  an- 
cestors is  applied  successfully  with  fanatical  zeal  to  the 
liferproblems  of  his  master,  mistress,  their  children,  and  all 
their  earthly  relationships. 

The  book  is  intensely  dramatic ;  the  movement  is  rapid ; 
and  Mr.  Lloyd  knows  the  negro  dialect  and  understands 
village  life.  But  there  is  a  weirdness  about  the  action  and 
the  supernatural  business  would  seem  somewhat  overdone. 
The  style  is  vigorous  and  straightforward.  The  several 
climaxes  in  the  story,  such  as  the  murder  scene  in  the 
grocery,  the  death  of  the  Corn  Bug,  the  trial  of  Cupe  and 
of  Red  Head,  are  cleverly  managed — indeed,  they  are  in- 
tensely thrilling.  The  story  varies  in  many  respects  from 
the  conventional  novel,  showing  considerable  originality 
both  in  motif  and  technique.  It  is  a  distinct  contribution 
to  the  study  of  Southern  local  color.  It  also  indicates  a 
field  for  literary  cultivation,  the  old  southern  village  com- 
munity. 

J.  C.  Metcai^f. 

Georgetown  College,  Ky. 

JuLETTY.  A  Story  of  Old  Kentucky.  By  Lucy  Cleaver 
McElroy.  New  York:  Thomas  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  1901, 
8vo.,  pp.  280,  illus.,  cloth. 

If  one  desired  additional  and  decisive  proof  of  the  skill  of 
the  Kentuckian  as  a  raconteur,  he  would  find  it  in  every 
page  of  this  delightful  book.  It  is  not  one  story,  but  many 
stories  ingeniously  linked  in  the  telling  and  each  con- 
tributing to  the  development  of  the  plot.  The  author  of 
"Juletty"  tells  her  story  with  a  masculine  vigor  of  expres- 


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43^  Southern  History  Association. 

sion  and  a  practised  firmness  of  touch,  that,  but  for  the 
frank  avowal  of  the  title  page,  might  leave  some  doubt  as 
to  the  gifted  writer's  sex. 

Many  years  before  the  opening  of  our  great  Civil  War, 
Edgar  A.  Poe  made  reference  in  one  of  his  private  letters, 
to  the  wealth  of  literary  culture  lying  perdue  and  utterly 
passive  in  the  plantations  of  the  South.  It  would  seem 
that,  in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  this  lurking  and  long-sup- 
pressed aptitude  for  literary  expression  has  been  notably 
developed  by  events.  What  Mr.  Fox  has  done  for  the 
"Mountains ;"  what  Mr.  Allen  and  Miss  Higbee  and  Miss 
Kinkead  have  done  for  the  "Blue  Grass,"  the  accomplished 
author  of  "Juletty"  has  done  for  the  long-neglected  "Pen- 
nyrile."  It  is  a  story  aglow  with  life  and  racy  of  the  soiL 
As  bits  of  thrilling  or  aflFecting  description,  the  rescue  of 
the  grey  mare  by  Buddy,  the  wreck  of  Al.  Sincque's  cabin 
by  the  midnight  flood,  and  the  death  of  young  Tom  Mor- 
gan and  the  great  partisan  leader's  wild  agony  of  grief, 
are  passages  hard  to  match  in  the  pages  of  modem  ro- 
mance. Here  are  scenes  and  situations  which  only  a  bom 
story-teller — ^apt  in  word-craft  by  instinct  and  by  art — 
could  vividly  and  sympathetically  reproduce;  and,  as  we 
follow  these  fascinating  pages,  reflecting,  as  in  a  mirror, 
the  salient  characteristics  of  the  strange  environment,  our 
memory  reverts  to  an  old-time  summer  outing  with  con- 
genial friends  in  that  quaint,  provincial  region  of  mystery 
and  charm — ^a  land  of  soft  sunshine ;  of  broad  and  fertile 
ranges;  of  noble  woodlands;  of  soft-flowing  waters,  of 
dewy  meadows ;  of  fields  of  maize,  and  gardens  of  fruits 
and  flowers;  of  great  silent  streams  mirroring  the  slow 
raft  or  the  swift  canoe ;  of  strange  relics  of  vanished  races 
known  only  by  their  entombed  remains ;  of  mighty  caverns 
patiently  wrought  by  crude  cosmical  agencies  into  cham- 
bers and  corridors  of  sculpturesque  finish  and  grace;  of 
mysterious  rivers,  untouched  by  human  traffic,  flowing 


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Book  Reviews,  437 

ceaselessly,  in  subterranean  silence,  like  Alph,  the  sacred 
river,  "down  to  a  sunless  sea." 

It  is  here — in  this  weird,  sequestered  nook  of  the  mighty 
world — that  the  scene  of  this  strange  romance  is  laid. 
The  central  figure  of  the  story  is  the  subtle,  audacious, 
amber-eyed  "Juletty."  There  is  a  fascinating  touch  of 
diablerie  in  her  character  and  disposition  which  curiously 
accords  with  the  unique  setting  in  which  she  is  placed,  and 
imparts  a  sinister  interest  to  every  page  of  the  absorbing 
tale. 

T.  E.  Pickett. 


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i 


PERIODICAL  LITERATURE. 

With  a  paper  showing  such  mastery  of  his  subject,  and 
such  acquaintance  with  the  sources  as  Mr.  Thomas  T.  Up- 
shur's address  on  Eastern  Shore  History,  June  19,  1900, 
the  editor  of  the  Virginia  Magazine  oi^  History  and 
Biography  ought  not  to  feel  called  on  to  apologize  for 
making  an  exception  to  his  general  rule  of  publishing  only 
original  documents.  With  his  vast  and  accurate  knowl- 
edge, Mr.  Upshur,  without  falsifying,  exaggerating  or 
even  imagining,  has  given  us  an  exceedingly  interesting 
contribution  and  a  scholarly  sketch  of  the  local  history 
from  the  beginning  of  white  men's  habitation  there.  He 
sticks  to  the  truth  and  yet  makes  "the  hard  cold  facts"  of 
history  smile  and  laugh.  A  very  striking  conclusion  he 
reaches  is  that  "the  purest  Anglo-Saxon  blood  in  the 
world  is  doubtless  to  be  found  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Vir- 
ginia," due  to  the  constant  intermarrying. 

Of  course  the  bulk  of  the  issue  is  taken  ^  up  with  the 
usual  documentary  material,  giving  us  a  continuation  of 
the  annotated  lists  of  Virginia  newspapers  in  the  Library 
of  Congress ;  lists  of  patriots  in  Henry  county  who  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  in  1777;  the 
petty  squabbling  between  Nicholson  and  Blair  over  the 
management  of  the  William  and  Mary  College  in  1705; 
side  light  on  the  Protestant  insurrection  in  Maryland,  in 
1689 ;  collection  of  taxes  and  quit  rents ;  names  of  muti- 
neers sent  to  England  in  1636;  a  significant  item  at  pres- 
ent, relating  to  apprehension  of  "a  negro  who  had  rav- 
ished a  white  woman,"  appearing  in  court  records  in  1677 ; 
acts  of  Virginia  Assembly  of  1641,  showing  that  then  as 
now  a  large  part  of  legislation  consisted  in  repealing  bad 
measures ;  life  in  revolutionary  Virginia  as  pictured  in  the 
Bland  papers  which  are  a  part  of  the  collection  donated 


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Periodical  Literature,  439 

to  the  society,  1848-49,  by  Charles  Campbell,  a  noted  his- 
torian of  Colonial  Virginia ;  accounts  of  Virginia  militia  in 
the  revolution ;  Byrd  letters  and  will,  and  genealogy  of  the 
Fitzhugh  family  and  "Wilson  Cary  of  Ceely's,  and  his 
family/' 

The  American  Monthly  Magazine  (D.  A.  R.  organ, 
Washington,  D.  C.)  for  July  has  some  eight  pages  of 
original  material  on  the  Revolutionary  War,  but  the  bulk 
of  the  number  is  taken  up  with  a  very  gushy  account  of 
the  Daughters'  celebration  of  Flag  Day  at  BuflFalo,  June 
14,  the  "Work  of  the  Chapters,"  and  official  matters.  The 
reports  from  the  local  units  all  over  the  land  show  a  great 
variety  of  means  to  stimulate  interest  in  the  meetings. 
They  also  indicate  that  with  many  of  these  good  ladies  the 
historic  and  patriotic  element  is  only  an  occasion  for  so- 
cial cultivation. 

Three  entertaining  historical  essays,  intended  for  the 
general  reader,  are  contained  in  the  April  Sevvanee  Re- 
view (Sewanee,  Tenn.) :  "John  Marshall,"  by  B.  J.  Ram- 
age;  "Joseph  G.  Baldwin,"  by  G.  F.  Mellen,  and  "The 
Functions  of  a  State  History,"  by  F.  W.  Moore.  A  fourth 
paper,  rigidly  scientific  and  scholarly,  aimed  for  a  more 
restricted  audience  than  the  others,  is  F.  R.  Lassiter's 
"Arnold's  Invasion  of  Virginia,"  which  is  concluded  in 
this  number  from  the  preceding  one. 

The  Confederate  Veteran  (Nashville,  Tenn.)  for 
April  prints  the  letter  from  Gen.  Geo.  H.  Thomas,  of 
March  12,  1861,  to  Governor  Letcher,  of  Virginia,  stating 
that  "as  long  as  my  native  State  (Virginia)  remains  in  the 
Union,  it  is  my  purpose  to  remain  in  the  army"  (U.  S.). 
The  letter  was  found  by  the  Virginia  Secretary  of  State. 
This  number  has  a  continuation  of  the  controversy  as  to 
the  kind  of  treatment  Confederate  prisoners  received  on 


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440  Southern  History  Association, 

Johnson's  Island.  There  is  also  a  communication  from 
Hon.  John  H.  Reagan  restating  what  he  has  often  argued, 
that  President  Lincoln  did  not  oflFer  at  th^  Hampton 
Roads  Conference  to  pay  for  the  negroes  if  the  South  re- 
turned to  the  Union. 

The  June  issue  very  properly  gives  considerable  space 
to  an  account  of  the  Confederate  reunion  at  Memphis,  but 
it  is  to  be  feared  the  historical  student  of  the  future  will 
find  it  rather  scrappy  and  meager.  There  is  considerable 
new  material  on  the  Sam  Davis  incident,  showing  how  he 
was  aided  by  a  woman  in  getting  information  when  he  was 
playing  the  spy.  The  total  contributions  for  a  monument 
to  him  are  nearly  $3,000. 

With  the  numbers  for  July  and  October,  1900,  the 
North  Carolina  Historical  and  Genealogical  Reg- 
ister completes  its  first  volume  (Edenton,  N.  C. :  J.  R.  B. 
Hathaway,  Editor.  O.  pp.  640,  $3).  The  contents  of  the 
third  and  fourth  numbers  are  similar  in  character  to  the 
first  and  second.  The  abstract  of  wills  probated  prior  to 
1760  and  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  in 
Raleigh  is  continued;  abstract  of  marriage  bonds  of 
Chowan  county,  1801-1838;  register  of  officers  of  the  N, 
C.  Continental  Line  (July)  which  has  been  printed  several 
times  before ;  merchant  marine  of  Roanoke  (July) ;  items 
relating  to  the  Indian  war  of  1711-12  (July);  abstract  of 
wills  filed  in  Chowan  county  (Oct.);  Whitfield  Record,  a 
genealogy  without  known  author,  order,  system,  superior 
figures  to  indicate  generations,  dates  or  authorities  (Oct.) ; 
Bryan  Record  to  which  the  same  criticisms  apply;  a  dis- 
cussion as  to  the  time  the  present  St.  Paul's  church,  Eden- 
ton, was  built,  with  various  miscellaneous  notes  and  quer- 
ies, mostly  genealogical  in  character. 

There  is  some  improvement  in  the  typographical  ap- 
pearance of  the  Register  over  the  first  numbers.  A  peru- 
sal of  its  pages  impresses  one  very  greatly  with  the  per- 


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Periodical  Ltierature,  441 

manence  of  population  in  Eastern  North  Carolina.  There 
has  been  an  exceedingly  large  emigration  from  that  sec- 
tion, but  almost  no  immigration  into  it.  There  is  perhaps 
no  other  part  of  the  country  where  a  larger  per  cent,  of 
the  white  population  can  trace  its  ancestry  to  early  colon- 
ial days,  and  as  these  first  settlers  were  almost  entirely 
Englishmen  from  lower  Virginia  their  descendants  are 
still  very  largely  unmixed  with  any  other  race.  They  are 
by  training  and  surroundings  conservative,  honest  and 
law  abiding,  but  isolation  has  made  thftn  narrow  and  less 
progressive  than  other  sections  of  the  State. 

A  masterly  summary  of  economic  statistics  and  a  glow- 
ing future  for  the  section,  does  Mr.  R.  H.  Edmunds  give 
us  in  his  article,  "Industrial  potentialities  of  the  South"  in 
Manufacturers'  Record  (Baltimore,  Md.)  for  June  27, 
1901.  He  claims  that  from  present  results  "we  have  dem- 
onstrated that  the  South  is  to  be  the  dominating  cotton- 
mill  center  of  America,  if  not  of  the  world."  Similar  lead- 
ership he  believes  possible  in  all  the  great  avenues  of  ma- 
terial development  within  that  belt. 

In  the  issue  for  July  4,  1901,  Mr.  Edward  Ingle  briefly 
sketches  the  career  of  Daniel  Pratt,  who  started  a  cotton 
factory  in  Alabama  before  1850.  He  extracts  an  essence 
from  Pratt's  life :  "One  man  like  Daniel  Pratt  was  worth 
more  to  Alabama  than  a  thousand  politicians.  Pratt  did 
things.  *  *  *  Politicians  talked."  In  the  issue  for  June 
20,  1901,  he  has  a  very  luminous  article  on  Lincoln's  views 
about  negro  colonization. 

It  is  very  significant  and  gratifying  to  see  such  papers 
in  a  journal  of  the  aims  and  standing  of  the  Record. 

Col.  Robert  Bingham,  superintendent  of  the  Bingham 
School,  Asheville,  N.  C,  has  reprinted  from  the  European 
edition  of  Harper's  Magazine  an  article  on  the  race  prob- 
lem which  he  calls  "An  ex-Slaveholder's  View  of  the 


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442  Southern  History  Association. 

Negro  Question  in  the  South."  He  shows  clearly  that  the 
Civil  War  was  in  reality  a  race  war — "of  the  free  laborer 
of  the  North  against  the  slave  laborer  of  the  South,  *  * 
*  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  slave  labor  from  the  Ter- 
ritories/' There  seem  to  Colonel  Bingham  but  three  solu- 
tions to  the  problem :  Amalgamation ;  slavery  or  at  least 
political  subjection;  extinction.  The  first  of  these  is  re- 
pulsive to  Anglo-Saxon  instincts  and  always  has  been; 
slavery  is  impossible.  The  history  of  English  speaking 
peoples  in  their  dealings  with  inferior  races  make  it  neces- 
sary that  the  friends  of  the  negro  "reckon  distinctly  with 
the  question  of  his  gradual  extinction."  Education  seems 
to  him  to  have  produced  slight  results ;  industrial  training 
will  hardly  do  much  good  for  the  race,  for  "the  negro 
lacks  mechanical  talent."  Other  remedies  are  considered, 
as  well  as  his  criminal  tendencies,  especially  that  of  the 
younger  negro  men  for  assaulting  white  women. 

The  address  of  Dr.  George  T.  Winston,  president  of  the 
N.  C.  A.  and  M.  College,  before  the  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science  in  April  is  essentially  along 
the  same  lines.  He  thinks  the  needs  of  the  negro  to-day 
are  his  withdrawal  from  politics  and  his  increased  effi- 
ciency as  a  laborer. 

A  detailed  and,  most  likely  careful,  investigation  of  ad- 
ministrative conditions  in  that  locality  is  J.  W.  Garner's 
"Mississippi  During  the  Civil  War,"  in  the  June  (1901) 
PoiviTiCAL  Science  Quarterly  (Columbia  University). 
He  describes  the  changes  in  legislation,  in  the  judicial  ma- 
chinery, in  social,  political  and  economic  relations,  fur- 
nishing a  wealth  of  facts  that  will  be  a  boon  to  some  gen- 
eralizing historian  of  the  future.  The  great  universities 
could  do  no  better  work  than  to  encourage  the  prepara- 
tion of  such  monographs  that  will  serve  as  foundation  for 
the  comprehensive  popular  history,  if  care  is  exercised  in 
putting  young  students  to  labor  in  fields  not  too  difficult 
for  them  to  cultivate. 


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Periodical  Literature.  443 

The  American  Historicai.  Review  prints  in  its  issue 
for  July  among  its  documents  ten  letters  from  the  celebrat- 
ed Dr.  Thomas  Cooper,  president  of  the  South  Carolina 
College,  addressed  to  friends  in  Congress  between  1825 
and  1832.  They  deal  mainly  with  attempts  to  collect  a 
claim  against  the  United  States  for  imprisonment  under 
the  alien  and  sedition  laws  .in  1800,  but  have  much  also  on 
political  conditions  and  show  everywhere  the  vigorous  and 
independent  thinking,  as  well  as  the  biting  sarcasm  of 
which  Cooper  was  master.  The  tenth  letter  seems  to  be 
characteristic. 

The  same  number  of  the  Review  prints  twenty-four  let- 
ters on  political  aflFairs  by  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  James  Hamil- 
ton, Jr.,  and  James  H.  Hammond,  1830-32,  together  with 
a  memorandum  of  a  conversg,tion  with  John  C.  Calhoun 
and  the  circular  of  the  South  Carolina  Union  Party's  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence  on  the  attitude  of  their  party  to- 
wards the  Nullification  Convention.  These  letters  give  an 
idea  of  the  character  and  extent  of  the  resistance  planned ; 
the  unpreparednessof  South  Carolina  is  laid  bare  and  some 
idea  is  given  of  the  extent  and  influence  of  the  Union 
Party.  Other  papers  on  the  same  subject  are  promised 
for  October.  With  this  issue  the  duties  of  managing 
editor  pass  from  Professor  J.  Franklin  Jameson  to  Pro- 
fessor Andrew  C.  McLaughlin,  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan. 

The  June  Lost  Cause  (Louisville,  Ky.)  is  filled  with  the 
Confederate  Reunion  at  Memphis  the  latter  part  of  May. 
Very  highly  to  be  indorsed  is  the  printing  in  full  of  Col- 
onel B.  H.  Young's  eloquent  oration,  a  splendid  summary 
of  the  work  of  the  Southern  soldiers  in  the  West  during 
the  Civil  War. 

In  the  Journal  (New  Bern,  N.  C.)  for  June  21,  1901, 
Major  Graham  Daves  has  a  very  appreciative  review  of 
a  highly  commendable  piece  of  historical  work,  the  first 


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444  Southern  History  Associatiofi. 

volume  of  the  North  Carolina  State  History  of  the  Civil 
War. 

A.  M.  Waddell  has  a  good  summary  of  J.  B.  Avirett's 
Thk  Old  Plantation  in  the  morning  Star  (Wilmington, 
N.  C.)  for  June  20,  1901. 

In  the  Southern  Farm  Magazine  for  July,  1901  (Balti- 
more, Md.),  is  a  humorous  and  sympathetic  reference  to  a 
Negro  poet,  George  Moses  Horton,  whose  life  is  sketched 
in  the  North  Carolina  University  Magazine  in  i860.  He 
wrote  one  or  more  volumes,  and  a  number  of  pieces  for 
the  students. 

In  the  Nation  for  May  30,  1901,  Prof.  Geo.  P.  Garrison, 
of  the  University  of  Texas,  describes  the  vast  collection  of 
the  archives  of  Mexico,  showing  that  any  one  who  follows 
the  H.  H.  Bancroft  account  is  sadly  misled,  as  instead  of 
32  manuscript  volumes  there  is  "material  enough  to  make 
70,000  volumes." 

The  Methodist  Review  for  July-August  (Nashville, 
Tenn.)  departs  from  its  usual  custom  in  having  no  histor- 
ical paper,  though  it  has  a  number  of  very  learned  articles 
on  philosophy,  theology,  and  religious  and  social  ques- 
tions. 

Southern  Pictures  and  Pencillings,  edited  at  Ashe- 
ville,  N.  C.  by  A.  H.  McQuilkin,  has  been  enlarged  in  form 
and  scope  and  rebaptized  as  The  Southland.  The  first 
number  appeared  at  Asheyille  for  May.  In  its  earlier 
form  it  did  much  toward  securing  legislative  aid  in  estab- 
lishing a  national  park  in  the  Southern  Appalachians.  In 
its  new  form  it  will  be  devoted  to  the  industries,  com- 
merce and  resorts  of  the  South.  The  May  number  has  a 
write-up  of  Asheville. 

In  the  Sunday  News  (Charleston,  S.  C.)  for  July  14,  Mr. 
A.  S.  Salley,  Jr.,  has  a  sketch  of  the  artistic^labors  of  John 
S.  Cogdell  (1778-1847),  who  was  also  a  leading  profes- 
sional and  business  man  in  the  locality.    He  produced  a 


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Periodical  Literature.  445 

number  of  paintings  and  sculptures  largely  preserved  in 
the  city. 

The  Atlanta  Constitution  in  its  Sunday  issue  has  been 
conducting  a  genealogical  department  under  the  charge  of 
the  local  chapter  of  the  D.  A.  R.,  consisting  chiefly  of 
queries  and  answers  which  are  gathered  into  a  volume  at 
the  end  of  the  year.  One  volume,  that  of  last  year,  has  ap- 
peared, containing  600  pedigrees  and  mentioning  5,000 
families,  price  $1.00. 

The  greatest  of  American  poets  seems  a  perennial 
source  of  interest  to  lovers  of  literature.  In  the  Wash- 
ington Post  (July  i,  1901),  E.  A.  Oldham  calls  attention  to 
the  translation  (previously  in  North  American  Review)  of 
a  Chinese  poem  that  goes  back  to  200  B.  C,  that  is  very 
similar  to  Poe's  celebrated  "Raven."  In  the  same  paper, 
a  few  (lays  previous,  was  a  review  of  J.  A.  Joyce's  work 
on  Poe,  in  which  was  pointed  out  an  Italian  anticipation  of 
Poe  in  1809. 


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NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

The  Southern  Industrial  Association  held  a  regular 
convention  in  Philadelphia,  June  11-14,  the  fourth  one. 
There  were  some  200  delegates  from  Virginia,  West  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Texas,  Tennessee,  Mis- 
souri, Arkansas,  and  Mexico  and  Pennsylvania. 

Aside  from  the  formal  words  of  welcome  and  response, 
among  the  more  notable  addresses  were  those  of  Hon. 
Hoke  Smith,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  on  general  Southern  develop- 
ment ;  Mr.  Robt.  C.  Ogden,  of  New  York,  on  education  in 
the  South;  and  Mr.  Wu  Ting-fang,  Chinese  Minister  to 
this  country,  on  trade  with  the  Orient.  The  material  at- 
tractions of  the  various  Southern  States  for  the  invest- 
ment of  capital  were  set  forth  by  some  chosen  champion. 

A  number  of  resolutions  were  adopted,  endorsing  the 
Isthmian  Canal,  the  improvement  of  rivers  and  harbors, 
the  movement  for  good  roads,  and  other  means  of  pro- 
gress. There  were  none  of  the  lively  debates  that  had 
been  promised,  though  there  was  some  discussion  as  to  the 
amount  of  illiteracy  in  the  South.  A  number  of  the  speak- 
ers and  representatives  expected  failed  to  attend,  due  in 
part  at  least,  it  was  said,  to  the  short  time-limit  that  the 
railroads  made  on  their  tickets.  The  president  of  the  as- 
sociation, Mr.  H:  H.  Hargrove,  passed  some  strictures  on 
the  people  of  Philadelphia  for  their  sparse  attendance  on 
the  sessions,  but  it  was  pointed  out  that  they  were  at 
their  business  though  they  kept  up  with  all  the  proceed- 
ings. 

On  one  point  there  was  cordial  unanimity,  the  hospital- 
ity of  the  host.  Every  day  there  were  receptions  and  ex- 
cursions, winding  up  with  one  to  Atlantic  City  after  the 


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Notes  and  Queries.  447 

close.  The  daily  press  were  especially  hearty  on  the  oc- 
casion, printing  the  fullest  and  most  sympathetic  reports, 
illustrated  with  frequent  likenesses  of  the  members. 

It  was  considered  very  fortunate  to  hold  this  gathering 
in  a  northern  city  as  there  was  chance  to  broaden  views 
and  form  business  acquaintances.  One  selection  on  the 
program  is  said  to  have  called  forth  several  inquiries  from 
local  merchants.  One  result  also  was  thought  to  be  the 
establishment  of  a  steamboat  line  from  Philadelphia  to 
Charleston,  S.  C.  On  the  other  hand  some  sharp  crit- 
icisms have  been  heard  that  nothing  new  was  said,  nothing 
definite  for  the  advance  of  the  section  was  urged,  that  it 
was  a  string  of  talk,  largely  interesting  and  well  put,  but 
without  purpose. 

All  the  proceedings  are  to  appear  in  a  volume.  The 
next  meeting  will  be  at  Memphis,  Tenn.  The  chief  execu- 
tive officer  is  Mr.  N.  F.  Thompson,  Huntsville,  Ala. 

The  Miller  School. — Under  the  direction  of  the  su- 
perintendent. Captain  Charles  E.  Vawter,  Mr.  J.  A.  Shep- 
herd has  compiled  an  account  of  the  Miller  Manual  Labor 
School,  of  Albemarle  county,  Virginia,  sketching  the 
founder,  Samuel  Miller,  and  setting  forth  the  work  of  the 
institution.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  trust  has  ever  been 
more  wisely  administered  than  the  endowment  left  by  this 
eccentric  Virginian.  He  conceived  the  notion  of  a  school 
for  poor  children  when  he  was  himself  a  penniless  boy 
picking  blackberries  on  top  of  one  of  the  Ragged  Moun- 
tains where  his  log  cabin  home  stood.  He  died  in  1869 
leaving  property  of  the  value  of  one  million  dollars  to 
carry  out  his  purpose.  The  Board  of  Trust  consists  of 
four  State  officials,  and  so  well  have  they  managed  affairs, 
that  they  have  put  over  $600,000  into  buildings  and  equip- 
ment, have  spent  $1,000,000  on  running  expenses,  and 
have  besides  increased  the  original  fund  by  nearly  fifty  per 
cent.,  having  now  in  round  number,  $1,500,000,  yielding 
over  $70,000  yearly.     All  this  has  been  done  within  22 


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44^  Southern  History  Association, 

years,  litigation  holding  the  estate  in  doubt  for  several 
years  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Miller.  By  a  curious  provi- 
sion in  the  donation  those  who  look  after  the  finances  do 
not  exercise  any  control  over  the  school,  but  this  duty  of 
general  oversight  devolves  upon  the  county  court  that 
acts  through  a  Board  of  Visitors  composed  of  two.  Such 
a  double-headed  arrangement  might  be  expected  to  evolve 
endless  friction,  but  the  pedagogical  side  seems  to  have 
been  even  more  successful  than  the  financial.  Very  luckily 
the  first  board  had  the  good  fortune  to  choose  just  the 
right  man  for  the  place,  and  the  others  have  had  the  good 
sense  to  keep  him  there.  The  600  boys  who  have  gone 
out  from  the  school  are  earning  an  average  income  of 
nearly  $300  annually,  many  of  them  filling  positions  of 
profit  and  responsibility.  Of  the  160  girls,  "about  two- 
thirds  are  engaged  in  woman's  highest  work — ^the  work 
of  making  the  home  brighter  and  happier"^-over  half  of 
these  being  married,  and  the  others  with  their  parents. 

The  Greatest  Southern  University,  if  we  under- 
stand by  that  term  an  institution  devoting  a  large  part  of 
its  strength  to  post  graduate  instruction,  is  beyond  all 
question  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  in  Baltimore.  For 
several  years  after  its  opening  in  1876,  the  proportion  of 
patronage  from  that  region  was  not  so  marked,  but  as  its 
advantages  became  more  and  more  apparent  it  has  at- 
tracted more  and  more  young  men  from  that  quarter.  If, 
as  usually  done,  we  class  Maryland  and  the  District  of 
Columbia  with  that  section,  the  South  during  the  last  ses- 
sion furnished  400  students  of  the  total  of  651 ;  and  16  of 
the  Doctors  of  Philosophy,  of  the  total  of  26  that  re- 
ceived their  degrees  in  June  and  10  of  the  total  of  20  Fel- 
lows for  the  coming  year. 

The  Transalleghany  Historical  Society  was  organ- 
ized as  an  adjunct  of  the  extension  teaching  of  the  State 
University,  at  Morgantown,  June  19,  1901,  in  pursuance  of 
a  call  with  some  ninety  signatures.    It  is  hoped  by  the  pro- 


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Notes  and  Queries.  449 

meters  that  a  membership  of  5c»  or  more  can  be  secured 
within  a  few  weeks.  It  is  the  aim  to  carry  on  the  lines  of 
work  usual  to  historical  associations,  and  to  publish  a 
magazine.  The  annual  fee  is  fixed  at  $2.00.  This  makes 
two  historical  societies  in  one  State.  The  other  one,  as 
well  known,  is  the  West  Virginia  Historical  and  Antiquar- 
ian Society,  at  Charleston,  where  it  was  founded  in  1890. 
It  has  a  collection  of  historical  material,  and  has  begun 
the  issue  of  a  Quarterly,  two  numbers  having  appeared. 
Before  1890  there  had  been  the  West  Virginia  Historical 
Society,  organized  September  30,  1869,  at  the  State  Uni- 
versity, at  Morgantown,  holding  fourteen  annual  meet- 
ings, the  last  in  1884.  The  institution  at  Charleston  "never 
had  any  connection''  with  this  society  of  a  similar  name  at 
the  University  in  Morgantown.  But  the  Transalleghany 
is  a  revival  of  this  old  West  Virginia  Historical  Society  at 
Morgantown. 

Jamestown  Excavation. — In  the  Washington  Times  of 
June  25  was  a  press  dispatch  from  Richmond,  Va.,  de- 
scribing the  discovery  of  the  foundations  of  two  buildings 
during  the  excavations  conducted  at  Jamestown  by  the 
Association  for  the  Preservation  of  Virginia  Antiquities. 
The  most  reasonable  conclusion  is  that  the  older  church 
having  been  destroyed  by  fire,  another  one  was  reared  on 
the  spot,  but  not  on  the  original  foundation  walls.  This 
one,  of  brick,  was  afterwards  razed  to  the  ground  for  the 
material  to  be  used  elsewhere. 


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PUBLICATIONS 

OF 

Southern  History  Association, 


WASHINGTON.  D.  C. 


VOLUME  I,  1897,  pp.  336.  (Out  of  Print). 


HiSTORiCAi^  Sketch  of  the  Association-— Historicai,  Studies  in 
THE  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks-— The  Planter  of  the  Oi,d  South, 
Richard  Malcolm  Johnston— Two  Southern  Magazines,  Edward  Ingle 
—David  Crockett,  Marcus  J.  Wright— Bibuography  of  the  Statute 
Law  of  the  Southern  States,  Theodore  L.  Cole  -John  Owen's  Jour- 
nai,  in  i8i8— Bishop  Spangenberg's  Journai,  on  North  Carowna— 
Bryant  Lester  and  Descendants,  Thomas  M.  Owen— John  Brown's 
Raid,  Andrew  Hunter— A  Bibi^iography  of  John  Brown,  Thomas^ 
Featherstonhaugh— Thomas  Lamar  and  Some  Descendants,  W.  H. 
Lamar— Huck's  Defeat,  Marcus  J.  Wright— A  Question  OF  Fact,  C. 
C.  Pinckney— JouRNAi,  of  the  Siege  of  Savannah  in  1779,  General 
Prcvost — A  BiBWOGRAPHY  OF  W11.WAM  GiLMORE  SiMMS,  A.  S.  Sallcy, 
Jr.— Book  Notes— Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  II,  1898,  pp,  390,  JJ5J.00  UNBOUND. 


Report  of  Second  Annuai,  Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  Sec^y, — 
Unpublished  Letters  of  Andrew  Jackson-Transfer  of  Louisiana, 
Marcus  J.  Wright— SOCIETY  OF  THE  CINCINNATI  IN  THE  SouTH,  Charles 
L.  Davis— Dismemberment  of  Virginia,  William  Baird — Anti-Sla- 
very Sentiment  in  the  South,  Stephen  B.  Weeks — Pelatiah  Webs- 
ter's Journal,  Thomas  P.  Harrison— William  Strother  and  Des- 
cendants, Thomas  M.  Owen — Richard  Winn,  J.  L.  M.  Curry — Mary- 
land's Greatest  Politician,  Edward  Ingle— Christopher  Gadsden, 
E.  I.  Renick— Virginia  Women  and  thr  Civil  War,  B.  W.  Arnold— 
Early  Southern  Institutions,  Peter  J.  Hamilton— Button  Gwin- 
nett's Commission— Richard  Malcolm  Johnston,  Edmund  Clarence 
Stedman  and  Stephen  6.  Weeks — Sir  Richard  Everard,  Marshall  De 
Lancey  Haywood— Mount  Vernon,  Alabama,  T.  H.  Ball— Monroe's 
Poverty,  Thomas  M.  Owen— Social  Affairs  in  1760— Book  Notes — 
Notes  and  Queries— Index. 


VOLUME  III,  1899,  PP-  384,  ^3.00  UNBOUND. 


The  Florida  Mound-Builders,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh — Ed- 
ward MosELEY,  James  Franklin  Shinn— Jacob  Ammonet,  of  Virginia, 
Clifton  Wood  Bransford— Some  Difficulties  of  a  Texas  Empresario, 
Lester  G.  Bus:bee — The  Texan  Expedition  Against  Mier,  Thomas  J. 
Green— Personnel  of  the  North  Carolina  Convention  op  1788— 
A  Confederate  Incident,  J.  L.  M.  Curry— Report  of  Third  Annual 
Meeting,  Colyer  Meriwether,  wSVr>.— Sidney  Lanier,  George  S.  Wills 

— NULUFICATION  RESOLUTIONS,  A.  S.  Salley— THE  ReNICK  FAMILY  OF 

Virginia,  E.  I.  Renick— Henry  Timrod,  Henry  E.  Shepherd  and  A. 
S.  Salley— John  Brown,  Thomas  Featherstonhaugh— Salisbury  (N. 
C.)  Confederate  Prison,  A.  W.  M^ngum— Book  Notes— Notes  and 
Queries— Index. 


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VOLUME  IV,  1900.  pp.  ?2^ 


WASinxi;iTjK  wiy  rut:  C*.*H.ViVT 'rrny\ 

0 
C' 

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SOJI  rHHWN   - 


ME  v.,   1901,   5J-00.  UNBOUND, 
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iir  tim  CowTKOiUtATJi  Tftiusoftv  (CtinUaoedh  .  .  H. 

Nonot  A  .^  if  UO  IMiil^i . 


No.  2,  MAhCH.  iiyjl. 


Wi.  ,  -  ■   *■ 


IJinto^ 

Notice  a>' b  i> u pr i r. 


Na.  I,  MAY,  igoi. 


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EXTRA  VOLUME  L 


IKOEK  HI  Meiiae'fi  i 

(snimpl  aD*l  ttady  ft- 

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kQOWti  ttiaboriiy  00  Virgidt*  hbtor 
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p.  O.  Buz  <i5. 


r»uvj  Hint'*   tiv 


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Vol.  V.  NOVEMBER,  1901.  No.  6. 


PUBLICATIONS 


OP  THE 


Southern  History  Association. 


ISSUED  BI-MONTHLY. 


CONTENTS : 

PAOB 

Thb  Organization  of  th«  Texas  Revoi,dtion,  .  .  Eugene  C.  Barker.  451 
Henry  Baker  and  Descendants  (Concluded),   ....  Miles  White,  Jr.  477 

Canada's  Work  for  History, 497 

Herbert  Baxter  Adams, 500 

The  Strdggi,e  of  the  Confederacy J.  I*.  M.  Curry.  504 

Reviews  AND  Notices,     ...   512 

Periodical  Literature, 530 

Notes  and  Queries, 541 

In  Mbmoriam 548 

Index, S5i 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Published  by  the  Association. 

November,  1901. 


•3.00  per  aBAami  91«tNI  per  AwntlMr. 

No  responsibility  UHumed  for  opiaioiu  of  cvatributort. 


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OFFICERS,  1901. 


PRESIDENT: 
Dr.  J.  L.  M.  CURRV. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS: 

General  M.  C.  finiXBR.  Mr.  Thomas  Nri^son  Pagb. 

General  M.  J.  Wright.  Professor  Woodrow  W1130N. 

Colonel  Grorgr  A.  Portbrfisu).        Senator  S.  Pasco. 

SECRETARY  AND  TREASURER: 
Coi^YRR  Mkriwkther,  Ph.  D.,  Wasking^ton^  D,  C, 

ADMINISTRATIVE  COUNCIL: 
(In  addition  to  the  aboveniamed  Officers): 

Professor  Kbmp  P.  Batti,r.  Stephen  B.  Weeks,  Ph.  D. 

Colonel  R.  A.  Brock.  Professor  H.  Schoenfbi«d. 

Mr.  T.  Irf.  Coui.  *  Professor  Ldcian  Johnston. 

Professor  R.  Heath  Dabney.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Oulrk. 

Professor  John  R.  Ficklen.  Mr.  Ai«exander  Summers. 

Professor  Chas.  Lee  Smith.  President  Geo.  T.  Winston. 

Professor  W.  C.  Stdbbs.  J.  B.  Kili^ebrew,  Ph.  D. 

PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE: 

Gen.  M.  J.  Wright.  Mr.  T.  L.  Cole. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Clark.  Dr.  Stephen  B.  Weeks. 

Mr.  John  B.  Brownlow.  Dr.  COlyer  Meriwether. 


Pursuant  to  a  call  signed  by  nearly  a  hundred  representative  persons  of 
the  South,  the  Southern  History  Association  was  organized  at  the  Columbiaa 
University,  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  evening  of  April  24,  1896,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  history  of  the  Southern  States.  In  carrying  out  this  aim 
an  annual  meeting  is  held,  and  a  Bi-monthly  Publication  issued.  The  Associ 
ation  also  desires  contributions  of  journals,  letters,  manuscripts  and  other  ma- 
terial towards  the  beginning  of  a  collection  of  historical  sources.  It  will  gladly 
accept  papers  based  on  research  and  documents  ou  all  subjects  touching  the 
South. 

All  persons,  as  well  as  libraries,  interested  in  the  work  are  eligible  for 
membership,  without  initiation  fee ;  annual  dues  $3.00,  life  dues  $30.00.  There 
is  no  other  expense  to  members,  who  receive  all  current  publications  of  the 
Association  free  of  charge. 

The  Publici»tions  alone  cau  be  had,  postpaid,  at  I3.00  per  volume,  un- 
bound, or  $1.00  per  number. 

All  communications  should  be  addressed  to 

COLYER  MERIWETHER,  Secretary, 
P.  O.  Box  65.  Washington,  D.  C. 


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SOUTHERN  HISTORY  ASSOCIATION. 


Vol.  V.  November,  1901.  No.  6. 


THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  TEXAS  REVOLU- 

TION.^* 

By  Eugene  C.  Barker. 

As  ethnic  ties  are  stronger  than  political  boundaries,  it 
is  probable  that  when  Stephen  F.  Austin  settled  his  first 
family  of  Anglo-Americans  on  the  banks  of  the  Brazos, 
Fate  issued  her  fiat  that  in  the  end  Texas  must  belong  to 
the  United  States;  but  there  can  be  little  question  that, 
save  for  the  rash  and  impatient  policy  of  Santa  Anna,  the 
breach  with  Mexico  might  have  been  indefinitely  delayed. 
For  though  it  is  doubtless  true  that  some  of  those  who 

^The  published  works  used  in  the  preparation  of  this  paper 
are:  A  History  of  Texas,  by  D.  B.  Edward,  Cincinnati,  1836;  A 
History  of  Texas,  by  John  Henry  Brown,  St.  Louis;  Texas,  by 
William  Kennedy,  London,  1841;  North  Mexican  States  and 
Texas,  by  H.  H.  Bancroft,  San  Francisco,  i88j);  and  A  Compre- 
hensive History  of  Texas,  edited  by  Dudley  G.  Wootcn,  Dallas, 
1898.  The  last  is  a  reprint  of  Yoakum's  History  of  Texas,  with 
the  addition  of  numerous  monographs.  For  the  sake  of  con- 
venience, references,  except  to  the  last,  are  made  by  the  name 
of  the  author  rather  than  by  the  title  of  the  book. 

The  documents,  from  which  this  paper  is  mainly  written,  are 
to  be  found  in:  The  Austin  Papers,  deposited  temporarily  in  the 
State  Library;  the  Nacogdoches  Archives,  in  the  vaults  of  the 
State  Library;  and  the  Bexar  Archives,  in  the  University  of 
Texas.  The  newspapers  referred  to  belong  exclusively  to  the 
Austin  collection. 


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452  Southern  Histery  Association, 

took  advantage  of  Mexico's  liberal  colonization  oflFers  did 
so  with  the  intention  of  seizing  the  first  opportunity  for 
separation,  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  bulk  of  the 
settlers,  especially  in  Austin's  territory,  were  animated 
by  a  sincere  desire  to  establish  their  loyalty  to  the  Mexi- 
can government.  But  the  turn  given  to  Mexican  affairs 
by  Santa  Anna  between  1833  ^^^  ^835  clashed  too  rudely 
with  Texan  hereditary  democracy.  An  independence  or 
war  party  arose — small,  but  clamorous — ^fiercely  opposed 
by  the  peace  party ;  and  then,  loyalty  becoming  gradually 
silent,  was  finally  forced  into  active,  organized  opposition, 
and  the  revolution  began. 

But  although  the  majority  of  the  Texans  were  to  the 
last  honorably  faithful  to  Mexico,  there  had  been  as  early 
as  1832  widespread  discontent  with  the  enforced  legislative 
and  administrative  union  between  Texas  and  Coahuila; 
and  at  the  convention  held  at  San  Felipe  in  October  of 
that  year  a  committee,  of  which  Stephen  F.  Austin  was  a 
member,  prepared  a  memorial  praying  the  national  con- 
gress for  their  separation,  and  the  elevation  of  Texas  into 
a  state  of  the  Republic.  The  petitions  prepared  by  this 
body  were  never  presented  to  the  authorities ;  but  a  second 
convention  having  been  called  in  April,  1833,  ^^e  work  of 
the  first  was  practically  duplicated  and  enlarged,  and  Aus- 
tin was  sent  to  Mexico  to  lay  the  memorial  before  con- 
gress. The  neglect  of  these  proposals,  the  imprisonment 
of  Austin,  the  disturbed  condition  of  national  politics,  the 
disorderly  struggle  between  the  rival  legislatures  of  Sal- 
tillo  and  Monclova,  and  the  fear  that  Texas  would  be  or- 
ganized as  a  territory,  encouraged  the  more  radical  separ- 
atists in  October,  1834,  to  propose  through  their  head  and 
mouthpiece,  the  Political  Chief  of  the  Brazos,  Henry 
Smith,  that  Texas  should  consider  her  connection  with 
Coahuila  de  facto  dissolved  and  should  proceed  to  organize 
herself  into  a  Mexican  State  under  the  constitution  of 


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The  Texas  Revolution. — Barker.  453 

1824.^  But  the  "Grand  Central  Committee"'  doubtless 
voiced  the  popular  mind  in  its  protest*  against  the  uncon- 
stitutionality of  such  a  course ;  for  the  Texans  still  felt  a 
good  deal  of  confidence  in  the  republican  character  of 
Santa  Anna,  and  Austin's  letters  were  all  reassuring.  At 
any  rate,  the  matter  was  quietly  dropped. 

PouTiCAL  Conditions. 

By  the  spring  of  1835,  however,  Santa  Anna  had 
gathered  the  reins  of  government  firmly  in  his  own  hands, 
and  to  secure  himself  from  opposition,  a  decree  was  passed 
through  his  pliant  congress  ordering  a  reduction  of  the 
militia  to  one  soldier  for  every  five  hundred  inhabitants, 
the  others  to  be  disarmed.  The  legislature  of  Coahuila 
and  Texas  protested,  and  was  disbanded — avowedly  for 
the  fraudulent  sale  of  Texas  public  land,  but  really  for  the 
purpose  of  replacing  it  with  representatives  favorable  to 
centralism.  Governor  Viesca  was  deposed,  and  the  admin- 
istration of  the  state  fell,  after  a  short  interval,  into  the 
hands  of  the  military  commandant.  General  Cos. 

All  this  was  naturally  somewhat  disconcerting,  but  there 
seems  to  have  been  little  downright  hostility  aroused  by 
the  action.  There  was  still  a  hope  that  the  general  govern- 
ment would  grant  the  Texans  their  desires ;  while  all  sym- 
pathy with  Coahuila  had  disappeared  in  the  intense  long- 
ing of  Texas  for  separate  statehood.  An  attempt  was 
made,  indeed,  to  make  capital  out  of  Governor  Viesca's 
inaugural  address*,  and  his  appeal  to  each  of  the  three 
departments  of  Texas  to  aid  him  with  one  hundred  armed 
men  in  sustaining  the  civil  authority  against  the  military : 
the  translator  of  the  address,  under  the  name  of  CoahuU- 
texanus,  making  a  few  gratuitous  remarks  of  his  own,  by 
way  of  assuring  the  people  that  it  was  the  aim  of  Mexico 

'  Edward,  222-24. 
•  Edward,  225-31. 
•Texas  Republican.  May  9,  1835. — ^Austin  Papers. 


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454  Southern  History  Association. 

to  separate  them  from  Coahuila,  organize  Texas  as  a  ter- 
ritory, and  then,  by  repeated  insults,  to  force  them  into  a 
struggle  in  which  they  should  either  be  exterminated  or 
driven  from  the  state,  advised  them  to  cling  to  Coahuila 
and  resist  any  attempt  at  separation.*  But  both  the  ad- 
dress and  the  translator's  appeal  fell  flat.  The  Political 
Chief  of  the  Brazos  coldly  informed  the  governor  that  the 
late  land  deal  had  smothered  any  enthusiasm  that  the  peo- 
ple might  have  had  for  a  states'  right  conflict* ;  and  Henry 
Austin  printed  an  article  cautioning  the  people  against  the 
inflammatory  sentiments  of  Coahuiltexanus,  and  quoted 
extracts  from  Stephen  F.  Austin's  latest  letter  from  Mex- 
ico to  show  that  the  disposition  of  the  general  government 
was  favorable  to  Texas.*  And  though  the  views  prompt- 
ing Henry  Austin's  advice  could  well  have  been  influenced 
by  personal  interest^,  it  is  quite  certain  that  many  believed 
as  he  did. 

For  there  were  now  three  parties  in  Texas :  The  first, 
composed  of  men  who  believed  like  Austin  in  the  good 
faith  of  Mexico,  was  preeminently  a  peace  party;  the  sec- 
ond, composed  of  those  who  had  gradually  assumed  the 
attitude  of  indifferent  spectators,  determined  to  take  no 
active  part  in  the  family  quarrels  of  Mexico,  but  standing 
on  the  defensive,  was  a  conservative  party ;  and  the  third, 
made  up  of  those  who  believed  that  Texas  could  no  longer 
hope  for  anything  save  injustice  and  oppression  from  the 
Mexican  government,  was  the  independence  or  war  party. 
The  first  was  comparatively  small ;  the  third  was  of  about 
the  same  size,  but  much  more  active;  while  the  second 
contained  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants.  The  feeling  be- 
tween the  two  extreme  parties  was  very  bitter,  and  it  was 
rather  fortunate  than  otherwise  that  the  Indians,  threat- 

•  Texas  Republican,  May  9,  1835. 

•  Texas  Republican,  May  9,  1835. 

•  Texas  Republican,  May  9,  1835. 

'  Henry  Austin  to  J.  F.  Perry,  May  5,  1835. — Austin  Papers,  in 
the  collection  of  Hon.  Guy  M.  Bryan,  Austin,  Texas. 


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The  Texas  Revolution. — Barker.  455 

ening  a  renewal  of  their  depredations  along  the  frontiers, 
drew  them  closer  together  and  forced  the  conservatives 
into  action  with  them. 

Danger  from  this  source  could  be  understood  by  all, 
and  gave  no  chance  for  division  of  opinion.  Protective 
measures  had  to  be  adopted  immediately;  and  no  assist- 
ance could  be  expected  from  the  government,  even  had  it 
been  desired,  Santa  Anna  being  engaged  at  that  time  in 
the  reduction  of  Zacatecas.  The  colonists  were  dependent 
upon  themselves  alone. 

Organizing  for  Rhsistancb. 

And  so,  Mina,  situated  on  the  frontier  where  the  danger 
was  most  pressing,  took  the  first  step  toward  securing  or- 
ganized resistance  by  appointing  on  May  8,  1835,  a  com- 
mittee of  Safety  and  Correspondence  for  the  general  dif- 
fusion of  information.'  This  committee  was  increased  at 
a  meeting  held  on  May  17*  by  the  addition  of  Edward 
Burleson  and  Samuel  Wolfenbarger.  And  on  the  same 
day  the  citizens  of  Gonzales  and  Viesca,  two  other  exposed 
settlements,  held  meetings  and  appointed  committees  of 
safety  and  correspondence.*®  It  is  probable  that  the  two 
latter  places  had  heard  of  Mina's  action  of  the  8th,  and  the 
coincidence  that  they  should  both  hold  meetings  on  the 
same  day  that  Mina  had  her  second  meeting  will  not  seem 
strange  when  one  knows  that  May  17  fell  on  Sunday  and 
remembers  that  Sunday  was  Mexico's  official  day  for  pub- 
lic business.  The  observation  should  be  made  here,  too, 
that  in  the  beginning  the  object  of  these  committees  was 
solely  to  facilitate  concerted  movement  against  the  In- 
dians, and  this  they  accomplished;  but  a  more  valuable 
though  incidental  service  performed  by  them  was  the  re- 
storation to  some  extent  of  the  mutual  confidence  of  the 

•  Brown,  I,  290. 

•  Brown,  I,  290.  Burnet,  in  "A  Compendium  of  Texas  History," 
Texas  Almanac,  1859,  "Si  gives  May  15  for  this  date. 

*•  Brown,  I,  290. 


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45^  Southern  History  Association. 

people.  For  while  the  bitterness  between  the  war  party 
and  the  peace  party  was  still  great,  there  doubtless  grew 
up  in  each  a  respect  for  the  other  and  the  feeling  that  all 
could  be  depended  on  to  defend  their  country  where  the 
danger  was  dearly  perceived. 

Though  there  is  no  available  record  of  their  organiza- 
tion, it  is  evident  that  committees  of  safety  and  correspond- 
ence spread  rapidly,  and  that  by  the  latter  part  of  June 
they  existed  in  many  of  the  interior  towns  and  settlements. 
The  natural  explanation  of  their  popularity  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  they  were  more  or  less  familiar  machinery  to  the 
colonists:  the  convention  of  1832  had  created  a  central 
committee  and  an  elaborate  system  of  sub-committees^^, 
and  it  was  through  these  that  the  convention  of  1833  ^^^ 
called".  They  were  continued  by  this  second  assembly, 
and  though  the  sub-committees  seem  to  have  soon  disap- 
peared, the  central  committee  continued  in  existence  until 
November  3,  1835,  when  it  was  superseded  by  a  quorum  of 
the  consultation. 

Friction  over  Customs. 

In  the  meantime,  although  so  busily  engaged  at  home, 
Santa  Anna  was  not  unmindful  of  the  value  of  holding  on 
to  Texas,  and,  besides  his  diplomatic  dalliance  with  Austin, 
he  dispatched  a  small  company  of  soldiers  in  January, 
1835,"  to  take  charge  of  the  custom  houses  at  Anahuac 
and  Galveston— doubtless  with  a  view  rather  to  keeping 
alive  the  idea  of  general  Mexican  control  than  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  revenue  to  be  obtained.  And  in  one  sense 
his  scheme  was  successful:  the  majority  of  the  people 
acknowledged  the  legality  of  the  measure  and  determined 

"  Proceedings  of  the  General  Convention,  22-23;  Gammel's 
Laws  of  Texas,  I,  496-97. 

"  Brown,  I,  231. 

^  Captain  Tenorio  to  the  Commandant  of  Coahuila  and  Texas, 
January  31,  1835. — Bexar  Archives.  Edward  (235)  says  this  was 
done  in  the  fall  of  1834. 


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The  Texas  Revolution. — Barker.  457 

to  protect  and  assist  the  collectors  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties ;  but  in  another  sense  this  was  the  step  out  of  which 
the  rupture  with  Mexico  immediately  developed,  for  the 
citizens  of  Anahuac  seem  to  have  imagined  that  theirs  was 
the  only  port  at  which  duties  were  collected — though  there 
was  certainly  a  customs  officer  at  Matagorda,^*  and  prob- 
ably one  at  Velasco, — and  the  belief  that  they  were  suflFer- 
ing  a  hardship  from  which  the  rest  of  Texas  was  free, 
aroused  in  them  a  feeling  of  injustice  and  injury  which  was 
eagerly  nursed  by  the  war  party. 

There  had  in  fact  been  no  attempt  to  collect  customs  at 
Anahuac  since  the  expulsion  of  Bradburn  in  1832,  and  the 
path  of  the  new  collector  was  from  the  beginning  an  un- 
pleasant one,  strewn  with  some  real  difficulties  and  many 
petty  annoyances.  Within  less  than  three  months  of  the 
establishment  of  the  custom  house,  on  April  17,  1835,  the 
Ayuntamiento  of  Liberty  found  it  necessary  to  issue  a 
manifesto,  urging  the  people  to  strict  obedience  to  the 
revenue  laws  until  they  could  be  reformed  in  a  constitu- 
tional manner,  and  declaring  their  intention  to  sustain  the 
collectors.*"  This  was  probably  encouraging  to  the  offi- 
cers, but  any  hopes  built  thereon  must  have  crumbled  to 
earth  when  the  citizens  of  Anahuac  met,  on  May  4,  and  re- 
solved, "That  the  proceedings  of  the  individuals  claiming 
to  be  Custom  House  officers  at  this  place  have  neither  been 

"  Ugartechca  to  Cos,  July  25,  1835. — Bexar  Archives. 

"  Texas  Republican,  May  30,  1835.  Edward  (235-238)  prints  this 
document  under  the  date  of  June  i,  and  all  succeeding  historians 
have  followed  him.  Yoakum  (A  Comprehensive  History  of  Texas,' 
168)  slips  into  a  strange  anachronism  by  declaring  that  the  pro- 
clamation was  issued  m  denunciation  of  the  party  that  expelled 
Tenorio  from  Anahuac,  though  the  uniformly  accepted  date  of 
that  act  is  June  30— and  refers  to  Edward  (235)  as  his  authority. 
Bancroft  understood  that  this  proclamation  was  not  issued  against 
Travis,  but  says  later  (North  Mexican  States  and  Texas,  II,  156) 
that  the  Ayuntamiento  of  Liberty  did  condemn  him,  and  carelessly 
following  Yoakum  in  his  reference,  cites  for  confirmation  Edward, 
235-38,  where  this  document  is  printed. 


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458  Southern  History  Associdtion. 

reasonable,  just,  or  regularly  legal  ;"^*  and  followed  this 
declaration  by  a  memorial  to  the  governor  of  Coahuila  and 
Texas  setting  forth  the  unjust  incidence  of  the  tariflf,  and 
asking  him  to  use  his  influence  with  the  general  govern- 
ment to  secure  speedy  relief.  Another  resolution  passed  at 
the  same  time  characteristically  declared  that  until  this  ob- 
ject was  accomplished  "no  duties  should  be  collected  in 
this  port,  unless  the  collection  is  also  enforced  equally 
throughout  the  province,  nor  until  then  will  we  pay  any 
duties  upon  importations  into  this  port." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  neither  memorial  nor 
resolutions  ever  reached  their  destination,  for  the  chair- 
man, General  William  Hardin,  having  departed  for  the 
United  States  before  afiixing  his  official  signature  to  the 
proceedings,  they  seem  to  have  been  considered  invalidat- 
ed.^^ But  reports  of  the  independent  attitude  of  the  dis- 
trict having  reached  General  Cos  at  Matamoras,  he  wrote, 
on  May  26,  to  inform  the  commander  of  the  garrison  at 
Anahuac  that  the  battalion  of  Morelos  would  be  embarked 
immediately  for  Copano,  whence  they  might  be  distributed 
through  Texas  wherever  needed,  and  that  he  had  urged  the 
general  government  to  send  additional  re-enforcements  im- 
mediately. In  closing  he  said :  "You  will  operate  in  every 
case  with  extreme  prudence,  but  if  by  any  fatality  the  pub- 
lic order  should  be  overturned,  you  are  to  proceed  without 
any  contemplation  against  whomsoever  may  occasion  it, 
without  permitting  for  any  cause  the  national  arms  and 
decorum  to  be  tarnished.""  This  note  was  not  dispatched 
until  the  middle  of  June,  and  the  express  who  carried  it 
bore  also  a  letter  to  the  Political  Chief  of  the  Brazos, 
which,  after  recounting  and  deploring  the  necessities  that 

'•  Texas  Republican,  August  8,  1835. 

"Texas  Republican,  August  8,  1835.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  I.  N.  Moreland,  the  Secretary  of  the  Ayuntamiento  of  Liberty 
which  had  so  loyally  exhorted  "all  good  citizens"  some  three 
weeks  before  to  support  the  revenue  collectors,  was  also  secretary 
of  this  meeting. 

"Texas  Republican,  July  4,  1835. 


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The  Texas  Revolution, — Barker.  459 

had  demanded  Governor  Viesca's  deposition  and  imprison- 
ment^ appointed  him  to  "take  special  care  of  the  adminis- 
tration and  interior  order  of  the  Department"  under  his 
charge,  until  the  general  government  should  appoint  new 
authorities.*'  Neither  of  these  papers  indicates  any  desire 
to  oppress  the  Texans  unduly,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that 
Cos  had  no  other  intention  than  the  preservation  of  order 
by  the  enforcement  of  the  law. 

The  friends  of  the  Anahuac  commandant,  Don  Antonio 
Tenorio,  seized  the  opportunity,  however,  to  send  him  con- 
gratulatory missives  upon  his  approaching  deliverance,  and 
when  the  messenger  arrived  at  Bexar  on  June  20  he  was 
entrusted  with  another  from  Colonel  Ugartechea,  inform- 
ing Tenorio  that  the  government  had  ordered  the  advance 
from  Saltillo  of  the  troops  that  had  been  used  against 
Zacatecas,  and  expressing  the  belief  that  "these  Revolu- 
tionists will  be  ground  down."  All  of  which  would  doubt- 
less have  proved  comforting  to  Senor  Tenorio.  But  it  was 
the  courier's  ill  luck  on  reaching  San  Felipe,  June  21,  to 
fall  in  with  a  contingent  of  the  war  party ;  and  though  he 
tried  to  save  his  dispatches  by  passing  them  quickly  to  a 
friendly  American,  he  was  detected,**  and  his  captors  were 
soon  in  posession  not  only  of  the  letter  to  the  Political 
Chief  but  also  of  the  messages  to  Tenorio. 

Efforts  of  the  War  Party. 

Now,  the  news  of  Viesca's  deposition  had  arrived  some 
time  before  and  had  thrown  Texas  into  the  greatest  con- 
fusion. The  war  party  proposed  that  the  people  should 
arm  themselves  and  march  to  his  assistance,  or,  if  this  were 
impracticable,  that  they  should  install  as  governor  the  "ex- 
vice  governor,"  Ramon  Musquiz,  of  Bexar.  The  peace 
party  and  conservatives,  on  the  other  hand,  were  opposed 

"  Texas  Republican,  July  4,  1835. 

■•  Gritten  to  Ugartechea,  July  5,  i83S.~Bexar  Archives. 


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460  Southern  History  Association. 

to  any  interference  whatever,  and  on  account  of  the  diflEer- 
ences  of  opinion  the  Political  Chief,  J.  B.  Miller,  had  re- 
quested each  municipality  of  his  department  to  send  five 
representatives  to  San  Felipe  on  June  22  to  consult  with 
the  central  committee  on  the  position  that  Texas  should 
assume.*^  But  in  San  Felipe  the  war  party  was  the 
strongest — officially  at  any  rate.  The  Political  Chief  be- 
longed to  them,**  while  the  Ayuntamiento  endorsed  the 
plan  to  install  Musquiz  and  had  undertaken  to  gain  for  it 
the  support  of  the  central  committee.**  The  war  party, 
therefore,  were  jubilant,  believing  that  the  information 
contained  in  the  captured  dispatches  would  turn  popular 
favor  in  their  direction.  Miller,  indeed,  without  waiting  to 
learn  the  opinion  of  the  meeting  that  he  had  called  for  the 
next  day,  issued  an  inflammatory  address  to  the  people,  or- 
dering them  to  arm  and  march  to  San  Felipe  preparatory 
to  an  advance  on  Bexar." 

In  the  general  meeting,  however,  over  which  Robert  M. 
Williamson  presided  on  the  next  day*"  these  hopes  were 
blasted.  Several  of  the  municipalities  represented  were 
favorable  to  the  San  Antonio  expedition,  but  the  majority 
were  inclined  to  vote  against  it.  Disappointed  and  angry, 
therefore,  but  still  determined,  the  war  party  managed  to 
break  up  the  meeting  before  any  decisive  action  had  been 
taken  against  the  project ;  and  then,  re-assembling  later  in 
the  day,  they  held,  according  to  Edward,  a  secret  meeting 
of  their  own,**  with  the  Political  Chief  in  the  chair.*^ 
Their  most  important  measure  was  the  authorization  of 
W.  B.  Travis  to  collect  a  force  and  expel  the  garrison  at 

"Edward,  238. 

"Texas  Republican,  August  8,  1835. 
"Edward,  238. 

"Texas  Republican,  June  27,  1835. 

"Williamson  to  the  People  of  Texas  (a  circular),  July  4,  1835. 
"  Edward,  238. 

"Texas  Republican,  August  8,  and  September  26,  1835 ;  Cos  to 
Ayuntamiento  of  Columbia,  August  i,  1835. — ^Austin  Papers. 


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The  Texas  Revolution, — Barker.  461 

Anahuac  before  the  coming  of  the  re-enforcements,'*  a 
commission  that  was  the  more  cheerfully  received  by 
Travis  perhaps,  because,  as  he  said,  he  had  already  been 
invited  there  for  the  same  purpose  by  some  of  his  friends 
who  were  "the  principal  citizens"  of  the  place,  and  who 
"were  suffering  under  the  despotic  rule  of  the  military/'** 
He  accordingly  appeared  before  the  fort  with  about  thirty 
volunteers  late  in  the  afternoon  of  June  29,  and  Captain 
Tenorio  having  abandoned  the  fort  as  untenable  retreated 
to  the  woods,  where  he  held  a  council  of  war  and  decided 
that  "in  view  of  the  difficulty  and  uselessness  of  making  a 
defense,  a  capitulation  should  be  made."**  This  was  done 
the  next  morning,  and  he  and  all  his  men,  save  twelve, 
were  disarmed  and  taken  to  Harrisburg,  whence  they  soon 
made  their  way  to  San  Felipe  and  thence  finally  to  San 
Antonio.  This  act  was  deprecated  throughout  Texas  ex- 
cept by  the  extreme  advocates  of  independence,*^  and  its 
immediate  eflFect  was  to  draw  the  conservatives  and  the 
peace  party  closer  together,  while  it  cast  the  war  party 
into  considerable  disfavor.  A  little  tact  on  the  part  of 
Mexico  at  this  time  would  have  saved  Texas;  but  Cos 
could  hardly  be  expected  to  have  known  this,  and  being 
already  suspicious  of  the  colonists,  he  heard  that  the  Poli- 
tical Chief  presided  at  the  meeting  which  authorized  the 
outrage  and  concluding — with  sufficient  reason,  perhaps — 
that  it  was  simply  the  expression  of  the  popular  will,  de- 
termined to  overwhelm  the  country.  When  he  became  in- 
formed of  the  true  state  of  public  feeling  his  dogged  in- 
sistence— and  he  was  but  the  agent  of  Santa  Anna — on  the 

"Texas  Republican,  September  26,  1835;  Brown,  I.,  292;  Travis 
to  Henry  Smith,  July  6,  1835  (Quarterly  of  the  Texas  State  His- 
torical Association,  II.,  24). 

•  Quarterly,  II.,  24. 

■•Tenorio  to  Ugartechea,  July  7,  1835. — Bexar  Archives. 

"  J.  H.  C.  Miller  to  T.  J.  Chambers,  July  4,  1835 —Bexar  Arch- 
ives; Kennedy,  II.,  92;  A  Comprehensive  History  of  Texas,  I., 
166;  Texas  Almanac,  1859,  112. 


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462  SoxUhem  History  Association, 

removal  of  the  leaders  of  the  war  party  to  Mexico  for  trial 
finally  forced  all  parties  into  opposition. 

Public  Meeting  at  Columbia. 

In  the  meantime,  on  June  22,  Miller's  hasty  proclama- 
tion of  the  2 1  St  reached  Columbia,  and  a  town  meeting 
was  called  for  the  next  day.  Upon  its  receipt,  the  local 
war  party  immediately  held  a  caucus  and  prepared  a  set 
of  resolutions  of  the  same  tone,  which  they  presented  to 
the  meeting  next  morning  with  the  suggestion  that  they 
be  officially  passed.  Henry  Austin  proposed  as  an  amend- 
ment that  all  action  should  be  postponed  until  a  meeting  of 
the  whole  jurisdiction  could  be  convened;  but  this  was 
obstinately  refused,  and  the  resolutions  having  been  sub- 
mitted to  a  vote,  were  defeated.  They  then  selected  Sun- 
day, the  28th,  for  a  general  meeting,  and  appointing  a 
committee  to  prepare  a  report  for  it,  adjourned.** 

The  people  having  duly  met  in  accordance  with  this  call, 
elected  W.  D.  C.  Hall  chairman  and  Byrd  B.  Waller  secre- 
tary; and,  after  reading  a  letter  from  the  Political  Chief 
and  the  papers  captured  from  the  unfortunate  courier  the 
week  before,  appointed  a  committee  of  fifteen'*  to  draw  up 
resolutions  for  the  consideration  of  the  meeting.  In  their 
report  the  committee  advised  "union,  moderation,  organ- 
ization, and  a  strict  obedience  to  the  laws  and  constitution 
of  the  land ;"  protested  against  the  "acts  of  any  set  of  in- 
dividuals (less  than  a  majority)  calculated  to  involve  the 
citizens  of  Texas  in  a  conflict  with  the  Federal  Government 
of  Mexico;*'  and  censured  particularly  the  "proceedings 
of  those  persons  at  Anahuac  who  gave  the  collector  of  cus- 
toms, Don  Jose  Gonzalez,  a  series  of  resolutions  declaring 
that  they  would  not  obey  the  revenue  laws  of  Mexico." 
These  persons  they  denounced  as  "foreigners,"  and  de- 

"  Henry  Austin  to  J.  F.  Perry,  June  24,  1835. — ^Austin  Papers,  J., 
3;   Texas  Republican,  June  27,  1835. 

"  Texas  Republican,  July  4,  1835.  Brown  (I.,  293)  in  enumerat- 
ing this  committee  omits  the  name  of  F.  Bingham. 


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The  Texas  Revolution, — Barker.  463 

clared  themselves  the  "faithful  and  loyal  citizens  of  Mexico, 
disposed  and  desirous  to  discharge  their  duty  as  such;" 
and  they  resolved  "that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  citizens  of 
Texas  to  unite  in  the  support  of  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  their  adopted  land."  And  Texas  being  in  such  a  state 
of  anarchy,  "without  governor,  vice-governor,  or  council/' 
they  proposed  to  "recognize  the  Political  Chief  as  the 
highest  executive  officer." 

This  committee  is  also  responsible  for  the  first  sugges- 
tion of  a  general  convention;  they  proposed  that  the 
Political  Chief  '*be  requested  to  correspond  with  the 
other  Chiefs  of  department  in  Texas,  and  request  them 
to  co-operate  with  him  in  electing  three  deputies  from 

each  jurisdiction to  meet  the  Chiefs  of 

departments  in  council,  with  full  powers  to  form  for 
Texas  a  Provisional  Government,  on  the  principles  of  the 
constitution,  during  the  reign  of  anarchy  in  the  state  and 
that  they  meet  as  soon  as  circumstances  will  possibly  per- 
mit.'' The  Political  Chief  was  also  to  be  requested  to  in- 
form the  Mexican  government  of  "their  peaceable  and 
loyal  disposition,  and  their  great  desire  to  remain  attached 
to  the  Federal  government ;"  and  to  command  the  citizens 
of  his  department  "to  adhere  strictly  to  the  laws  and  con- 
stitution of  the  land."" 

W.  D.  C.  Hall,  J.  A.  Wharton,  W.  H.  Jack,  J.  G.  Mc- 
Neel,  and  G.  B.  McKinstry  were  appointed  to  wait  upon 
the  Political  Chief  with  the  views  of  the  meeting ;  and  this 
duty  performed,  they  were  to  remain  a  permanent  com- 
mittee of  safety  and  correspondence.  They  communicated 
with  Miller  in  writing,  and  advised  him  to  send  a  commis- 
sion to  Cos  and  Ugartechea  assuring  them  of  the  peaceful 

•*  Texas  Republican,  July  4,  1835.  Brown  (I.,  293)  asserts  that  a 
majority  of  the  committee  drafting  these  resolutions  were  in  favor 
of  independence,  but  that  they  sacrificed  their  real  sentiments  out 
of  deference  to  the  conservatives.  An  examination  of  their  full 
report  will,  I  think,  convince  one  that  their  sacrifice,  if  such  it 
were,  was  very  complete. 


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464  Southern  History  Association. 

inclinations  of  the  Texans;  while  at  the  same  time  the 
promptest  steps  should  be  taken  to  organize  the  militia. 
This,  of  course,  was  according  to  the  instructions  of  the 
meeting,  but  they  apparently  went  beyond  the  officially  ex- 
pressed will  of  that  body  in  recommending  that  persons  be 
appointed  to  "obtain  subscriptions  and  receive  money  for 
the  purpose  of  purchasing  arms  and  other  munitions  of 
war;"  and  in  requesting  him  to  inform  Miisquiz  that  the 
people  of  the  Brazos  department  would  rally  round  and 
support  him,  if  he  would  undertake  the  administration  of 
the  state  government.'*  The  Political  Chief  replied  that 
he  fully  endorsed  all  their  recommendations,  save  one — 
that  communication  be  opened  with  Cos  and  Ugartechea ; 
but  that  he  would  do  that,  too,  if  the  majority  of  the  people 
of  his  department  desired  it.'*  Nevertheless,  in  a  clipping 
of  the  Texas  Republican,  I  have  found  a  letter  $iated  July 
2 — ^just  the  day  before  this — in  which  he  informs  Cos  that 
the  bearer  of  his  dispatches  to  the  Anahuac  commandant 
"was  by  a  few  individuals  examined  and  the  communica- 
tions opened;"  but  he  encloses  him  a  copy  of  the  resolu- 
tions adopted  by  a  large  meeting  in  his  department — ^very 
probably  the  Columbia  meeting  of  June  28, — "which  evince 
the  feeling  of  a  large  majority  of  the  people,"  and  promis- 
ing to  send  in  a  few  days  a  special  commissioner  with  full 
particulars,  he  closed  with  the  assurance  that  he  would  do 
all  in  his  power  "to  i)reserve  the  public  order  and  tran- 
quility." 

Desire  for  a  Representative  Convention. 

By  this  time,  though  the  most  of  the  people  were  still 
faithful  to  Mexico,  there  was  a  general  feeling  of  appre- 
hensiveness,  and  the  necessity  for  a  convention  was  ap- 
preciated by  all.  On  July  4,  the  committee  of  safety  at 
Mina  issued  an  address  to  the  Ayuntamientos  of  the  de- 

"  Texas  Republican,  July  18,  18^5. 
••Texas  Republican,  July  18.  183S. 


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The  Texas  Revolution. — Barker.  465 

partment  of  Brazos  deploring  "the  evils  that  might  result 
from  the  schisms  that  had  taken  place ;"  declaring  that  the 
mutual  "confidence  as  well  as  the  mutual  respect  between 
them  and  their  fellow-citizens  of  the  Mexican  republic"  had 
been  destroyed  by  the  "misconduct  of  a  few  designing 
men ;"  and  urging  the  immediate  call  of  a  consultation  "at 
San  Felipe,  or  some  other  central  place.'^*^  And  curiously 
enough,  on  this  same  day  the  committee  of  safety  at 
Gonzales  was  writing  to  the  Mina  committee,  and  while 
assuring  it  of  their  utmost  confidence  in  the  good  will  of 
Mexico,  they  considered  it  as  "of  vital  importance  that  a 
Convention  be  immediately  called,"  and  were  of  the 
opinion  that  the  place  of  its  meeting  "should  be  without 
the  bounds  of  the  San  Felipe  Junto."**  An  editorial  notice 
in  the  Texas  Republican  of  the  same  date  says,  "we  think 
every  honorable  means  should  be  resorted  to  in  order  to 
avert  the  impending  storm." 

Now,  in  addition  to  the  pacific  recommendations  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  Columbia  on  June  28,  the  Ayuntamiento  of 
that  town  held  a  meeting  on  July  11  and  resolved  that  "it 
is  deemed  expedient  by  this  body  to  take  prompt  and 
efficient  measures  to  open  an  immediate  correspondence 
with  the  Mexican  authorities,  that  they  be  informed  of  the 
true  sentiments  of  a  great  majority  of  the  people  of  this 
Department  and  as  soon  as  practicable  that  of  all  Texas." 
And  a  committee  consisting  of  John  A.  Wharton,  James 
F.  Perry,  Josiah  H.  Bell,  Sterling  McNeal,  and  James 
Knight  was  selected  to  lay  the  views  of  the  Ayuntamiento 
before  the  "chairman  of  a  public  meeting"  to  be  held  at 
San  Felipe  "on  Tuesday  the  14th."  They  were  convinced 
that  order  could  not  be  restored  without  a  consultation  of 
representatives  from  all  Texas,  and  the  committee  was  in- 
structed to  insist  that  this  be  brought  about  with  the 
"utmost  expedition."     In  their  letter  to  the  chairman  of 

"Texas  Republican,  July  18,  1835. 
"  Texas  Republican,  July  18,  1835. 


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this  meeting  the  Ayuntamiento  professed  themselves  and 
the  citizens  of  their  jurisdiction  to  be  '*true,  faithful,  loyal, 
and  unoffending  Mexican  citizens ;"  they  did  not  break  the 
laws  and  constitution  themselves,  and  would  not  counten- 
ance others  in  doing  so.'* 

At  about  the  same  time — ^July  12 — ^Cos,  who  had  not  yet 
heard  of  the  expulsion  of  Tenorio,  issued  a  general  circular 
to  the  three  departments  of  Texas  in  which  he  warned  the 
people  against  being  led  into  hasty  action  against  the  gov- 
ernment by  the  falsehoods  of  "turbulent  foreigners."  He 
reminded  them  of  the  liberal  concessions  that  had  been 
made  to  Texas,  and  explained  that,  if  the  government  in- 
troduced more  troops  into  Texas,  it  would  simply  be  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  the  custom  houses.*^ 

The  San  Felipe  meeting  of  July  14  passed  resolutions 
entirely  consistent  with  those  already  adopted  by  the 
Columbia  meeting  on  June  28  and  the  Columbia  Ayunta- 
miento on  July  II.  They  "disapprobated  all  hostile  pro- 
ceedings that  may  have  been  made  for  offensive  operations 
against  the  government,*'  avowed  an  earnest  desire  for 
peace,  and  recommended  a  quiet  submission  to  the  "con- 
stitution, laws,  and  proper  authorities  of  the  country." 
They  agreed  in  the  necessity  for  a  consultation,  and  ap- 
pointed J.  R.  Jones,  J.  W.  McKinney,  and  A.  Somervill  a 
committee  to  confer  with  the  delegates  from  Columbia,  "& 
all  other  committees,  with  full  power  to  call  a  meeting 
of  all  the  citizens  of  Texas."*^  This  joint  committee  met 
the  next  day,  and  thinking  it  advisable  to^wait  for  the  ar- 
rival of  other  delegates  before  any  decisive  step  was  taken 
toward  the  calling  of  a  convention,  they  issued  a  circular, 
saying  that  they  believed  there  was  "no  just  cause  to  ex- 
pect an  invasion  of  Texas  from  the  Federal  forces ;"   and 

"Texas  Republican,  Tuly  18,  1835. 

*•  Texas  Republican,  August  22.  1835. 

"  Texas  Republican,  July  18,  1835.  Brown  (I.,  295-96)  prints  a 
set  of  proceedings  for  this  meeting,  which,  while  ag^reeing  to  some 
extent  with  these,  are  evidently  drawn  from  an  entirely  different 
source. 


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chat  when  they  were  joined  in  a  few  days  by  other  commit- 
tees they  would  make  a  full  exposition  of  affairs.** 

In  the  meantime  while  these  two  delegations  were  await- 
ing the  arrival  of  others,  the  Political  Chief,  J.  B.  Miller, 
was  adding  his  efforts  to  theirs  to  reassure  both  the 
Texans  and  the  Mexicans.  He  circulated  a  proclamation 
"commanding  and  exhorting  all  good  citizens to  re- 
main strictly  obedient  to  the  constitution  and  laws, 

and  to  engage  in  no  popular  excitement."*'  And  then 
feeling,  doubtless,  that  his  advice  was  inconsistent  with  his 
proclamation  of  June  21,  and  with  some  of  his  later  im- 
prudent actions,  he  frankly  admitted  that  he  had  then  too 
hastily  yielded  to  the  influence  of  his  friends.**  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  his  letter  to  Colonel  Ugartechea,  on 
July  16,  will  show  that  the  Mexicans  did  not  enjoy  a 
monopoly  in  the  use  of  diplomatic  flattery:  He  says,  "I 
have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  com- 
munication under  date  of  the  7th  of  July,  which  I  received 
with  great  pleasure.    I  have  caused  it  to  be  printed  and 

published  throughout  my  department I am 

happy  to  inform  you  that  this  department  is  perfectly  tran- 
quil, and  I  pledge  myself  that  it  shall  remain  so.  Your 
esteemed  communication  has  satisfied  every  person  and 
has  enabled  me  to  tranquilize  my  department."** 

Miller  finally  wound  up  his  contradictory  career  by  re- 
signing, on  July  19,  in  favor  of  Wily  Martin,  the  Alcalde 
having,  as  he  said,  refused  to  serve  as  Political  Chief.** 

*■  Texas  Republican,  July  18,  1835. 

•Newspaper  Clipping. — ^Austin  Papers.  The  proclamation  is 
dated  simply  "July,  1835,"  but  must  have  been  issued  about  the 
same  time  as  his  letter  to  Ugartechea, — ^July  16 

**  Texas  Republican,  August  8,  1835. 

*•  Newspaper  Clipping. — Austin  Papers. 

*•  Newspaper  Clipping. — Austin  Papers.  An  anonymous  writer 
in  the  Texas  Republican  of  September  26,  183^,  fiercely  denounced 
Miller's  whole  course,  and  this  action  in  particular;  claiming  that 
the  Alcalde  had  no  constitutional  right  to  refuse  to  serve,  but  that 
even  then  Martin,  who  was  only  fourth  Regidor,  could  have  suc- 
ceeded to  the  office  only  after  it  had  been  refused  by  the  first  three 
Regidors. 


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468  Southern  History  Association, 

On  July  17,  D.  C.  Barrett  arrived  at  San  Felipe  to  repre- 
sent Mina  in  the  joint  committee  conference,  and  he,  with 
the  committees  from  Colimibia  and  San  Felipe,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  latter  having  been  increased  to  five,  entered 
into  a  four  days'  session.*^  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
Columbia  delegation  had  been  instructed  to  urge  the 
speedy  call  of  a  convention,  and  that  the  original  San 
Felipe  committee  had  been  appointed  for  that  purpose  with 
full  powers  to  act.  When  John  A.  Wharton  moved  the 
call  of  a  convention,  however,  this  motion  was  defeated, 
because  it  was  thought  that  such  an  act  would  be  regarded 
by, the  authorities  as  preliminary  to  a  rebellion.**  They  at- 
tempted to  fulfill  their  promise  of  making  an  exposition  of 
the  affairs  of  Texas,  but  failed  for  want  of  facts;**  and 
then  united  in  dispatching  to  Cos,  at  Matamoras,  D.  C. 
Barrett  and  Edward  Gritten  with  conciliatory  letters. 
They  also  drew  up  a  kind  of  resume  of  the  late  disturb- 
ances, and  called  upon  all  honest  citizens  to  observe  the 
laws  and  constitution.  This  was  somewhat  tardily  issued 
as  a  proclamation  by  the  chairman  and  acting  Political 
Chief,  Wily  Martin,  on  August  15.*^® 

Mexican  Blunders. 

But  just  when  events  in  Texas  seemed  now  in  a  train  for 
peace,  the  government  took  the  step  which  antagonized 
every  citizen.  On  July  24,  Tenorio,  who  had  received  the 
order  from  Santa  Anna  through  Cos  and  Ugartechea,  ap- 
plied to  the  Political  Chief  for  the  arrest  of  Lorenzo  de 
Zavala,  a  political  refugee  who  had  arrived  in  Texas  during 
the  early  part  of  the  month.  Martin  declined  to  make  the 
arrest  on  the  ground  that  he  lacked  authority;   but  the 

*'  For  the  names  of  all  these  delegates  sec  Brown,  I.,  30a 

*•  Bancroft,  North  Mexican  States  and  Texas,  II.,  162. 

*•  A  Comprehensive  History  of  Texas,  I.,  16&-69. 

■•Edward,  239-45.  It  is  possible  that  these  proceedings  were 
published  earlier  and  that  Martin  re-issued  them  on  August  15  to 
influence  the  meeting  that  assembled  on  that  date. 


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general  attitude  was  so  quiet  and  peaceful  that  Dr.  J.  H. 
C.  Miller  was  deceived  into  thinking  that  by  a  slight  show 
of  firmness  the  authorities  could  gain  all  that  they  desired. 
He  wrote  therefore,  on  July  25,  to  John  W.  Smith  of 
Bexar,  and  requesting  him  to  show  the  letter  to 
Ugartechea,  said  that  if  the  demand  were  insisted  upon  at 
this  time,  the  Texans  would  surrender  not  only  Zavala,  but 
the  leaders  of  the  war  party,  Johnson,  Williamson,  and 
Travis  also;  as  well  as  Samuel  Williams  who  was  at  this 
time  obnoxious  to  Texans  and  Mexicans  aUke  as  the  re- 
puted leader  of  the  great  land  speculation.*^  Ugartechea 
acted  on  the  suggestion,  and,  on  July  31,  dispatched  a 
circular  to  the  different  Alcaldes  of  the  departments  of 
Nacogdoches  and  Brazos,  commanding  them  to  arrest 
these  parties  and  turn  them  over  to  Tenorio,  who  was  still 
at  San  Felipe.  The  express  bearing  these  orders  was  met 
by  the  peace  commissioners,  Barrett  and  Gritten,  at 
Gonzales  on  August  i,  and  realizing  immediately  how  the 
demand  would  be  received  by  the  people,  they  detained 
him  until  Gritten  could  hasten  on  to  San  Antonio  and 
vainly  try  to  persuade  Ugartechea  to  countermand  or 
modify  his  orders.**  The  worthy  Colonel,  indeed,  had 
little  option  in  the  matter ;  at  least,  in  so  far  as  it  concern- 
ed Zavala  and  Travis:  for  His  Excellency  the  President 
had  ordered  the  arrest  of  the  former,  and  the  order  was 
re-issued  to  Ugarteachea  by  Cos  on  August  8,  with  in- 
structions to  execute  it  even  "at  the  risk  of  losing  all  his 
cavalry;"**  while,  on  August  i,  Cos  had  urged  the 
Ayuntamiento  of  Columbia  to  secure  the  "apprehension 
of  that  ungrateful  and  bad  citizen  W.  B.  Travis,"  in  order 
that  he  might  be  taken  to  Bexar  and  punished  according  to 
the  law.**    The  two  commissioners  delayed  in  San  Antonio 

•*  A  Comprehensive  History  of  Texas,  I.,  170-71. 
"  A  Comprehensive  History  of  Texas,  L,  171. 
"  Newspaper  Clipping. — Austin  Papers. 

**Cos  to  Ayuntamiento  of  Columbia,  August  I,  1835. — ^Austin 
Papers* 


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for  some  time,  while  Gritten  could  return  to  San  Felipe 
for  enlarged  powers  to  treat  with  Cos.  On  August  9,  they 
forwarded  a  letter  to  the  general,  explaining  their  delay, 
and  expressing  the  hope  that  he  would  receive  them  favor- 
ably;*" but  a  notice  soon  arrived  from  him  that  he  would 
listen  to  no  negotiations  from  the  Texans  until  they  sur- 
rendered to  him  the  men  that  he  desired,  and  so,  under 
these  circumstances,  Barrett  and  Gritten  did  not  proceed 
to  Matamoras. 

In  addition,  moreover,  to  the  irritation  caused  by  the 
demand  for  these  arrests.  Captain  T.  M.  Thompson,  of  the 
schooner  Correo,  who  had  been  sent  by  Cos  to  make  in- 
vestigations at  Anahuac,  was  acting  very  imprudently. 
He  declared  himself  commandant  of  all  the  ports  be- 
tween Matamoras  and  the  Sabine  river,  and  by  confining 
his  operations  chiefly  to  the  shores  of  Galveston  Bay,  in- 
terfered extensively  in  the  private  affairs  of  the  citizens.** 
And  though,  in  reply  to  the  San  Felipe  conference  of  July 
17th,  General  Cos  might  write  that  the  Supreme  Govern- 
ment had  always  made  a  distinction  between  the  "faithful" 
and  the  "faithless,"  it  was  being  gradually  forced  upon  the 
consciousness  of  the  Texans  that  in  practice  the  annoy- 
ances of  Mexico's  petty  officials  fell  upon  all  alike. 

Beginning  o^  Opposition. 

On  July  14th,  indeed,  the  citizens  of  Harrisburg  had 
met,  and  while  declaring  themselves  loyal  Mexicans,  they 
resolved  that  the  constitution  was  about  to  be  overthrown 
"by  the  power  of  General  Santa  Anna,"  and  invited  all  the 
republicans  of  Mexico  to  help  them  gather  up  the  "scat- 
tered fragments  of  that  constitution  which  had  been  the 
boast  of  one  of  the  proudest  nations  of  the  earth.""    And 

••  Barrett  and  Gritten  to  Cos,  August  9,  1835. — Bexar  Archives. 

••Texas  Republican,  September  19,  1835. 

"Texas  Republican,  August  22,  1835.  One  patriotic  resolution 
of  this  meeting  was,  "That  if  any  citizen  leave  Texas  during  her 
struggle,  his  property  shall  be  confiscated  for  the  public  good." 


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The  Texas  Revolution. — Barker.  471 

three  days  later  the  people  living  along  the  Lavaca  and 
Navidad  rivers  assembled,  and  after  voting  a  lack  of  con- 
fidence in  the  republicanism  of  Santa  Anna,  declared  that 
they  would  "oppose  any  force  that  might  be  introduced 
into  Texas  for  any  other  than  constitutional  purposes." 
They  recommended  that  the  reinforcements  expected  at 
Bexar  be  intercepted,  and  ordered  the  militia  to  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  march  on  the  shortest  notice."' 

At  about  this  time,  too,  the  war  party  seem  to  have 
extended  their  agitations  to  the  United  States :  an  article 
in  a  Louisiana  paper  of  July  25th  announces  positively 
that  Santa  Anna  "is  now  about  to  enter  Texas  with  an 
army,  to  murder,  destroy,  and  drive  from  that  country 
those  who  were  invited  there,  and  who  raised  from  a  wil- 
derness that  which  is  now  a  flourishing,  happy,  and  con- 
tented people."  Several  "highly  respectable  citizens  of 
Texas"  were  said  to  be  already  in  the  city,  and  upon  the 
arrival  of  others,  who  were  "hourly  expected,"  a  general 
meeting  was  to  consider  "the  dreadful  state  of  our  friends, 
relations,  and  once  fellow-citizens,  and  adopt  such  meas- 
ures for  their  relief  in  the  present  emergency  as  affection 
may  dictate  and  justice  require."" 

To  the  observer  of  to-day  it  is  evident  that  by  this  time  a 
conflict  was  almost  inevitable.  The  demands  for  the  sur- 
render of  Zavala  and  the  leaders  of  the  hostile  party,  with 
rumors  of  the  steps  that  would  be  taken  to  enforce  the 
demands,  together  with  accounts  of  Thompson's  overbear- 
ing behavior  at  Anahuac,  were  assiduously  circulated  by 

"  Brown,  I.,  297-99.  These  resolutions  seem  to  indicate  a  good 
deal  of  hostility  to  Mexico,  but  it  is  possible  that,  were  the  pro- 
ceedings read  in  full,  this  would  be  considerably  softened.  James 
Kerr,  writing  to  T.  J.  Chambers,  July  5,  1835  (Bexar  Archives), 
says:  "The  inhabitants  of  La  Vaca  and  Navidad  are  inclined  to 
attend  to  their  ranches  and  estates,  and  they  say  that  if  the  gov- 
ernment wishes  to  seize  those  criminals  and  collect  the  legal  du- 
ties in  the  custom  houses,  it  may  do  so."  Yoakum  dates  this 
meeting  July  19. 

••Texas  Republican,  August  22,  1835. 


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472  Southern  History  Association. 

the  war  party;  and  exaggerated  reports  of  this  activity 
reaching  General  Cos  in  turn,  increased  the  uneasiness  of 
the  authorities.  And  though  it  is  almost  certain  that  even 
yet  the  majority  were  opposed  to  any  radical  measures,** 
the  preaching  of  the  war  party  had  made  them  suspicious 
and  prepared  them  to  misinterpret  anjrthing  that  Mexico 
might  do.  Under  these  circumstances,  therefore,  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  see  how  war  could  have  been  averted  by  any  save 
an  omniscient  tactician. 

A  Scholarly  Appeal  for  Moderation. 

Nevertheless,  the  undoubted  exigencies  of  the  time  now 
brought  forth  the  most  scholarly  appeal  to  the  reason  and 
loyalty  of  the  colonists  that  appeared  throughout  this  year 
of  manifold  resolutions.  In  reading  the  proceedings  of 
too  many  of  the  public  meetings  one  is  painfully  struck  by 
the  labored  efforts  of  the  people  to  cast  their  resolutions  in 
dignified,  formal  phraseology;  but  the  resolutions  pre- 
pared for  the  San  Jacinto  meeting,  of  August  8th,  by 
David  G.  Burnet,  show  none  of  this  awkward  pursuit  of 
form.  After  reviewing  and  accepting  as  true  the  reports 
that  the  federal  government  was  subverted,  they  still  ex- 
pressed "a  cheering  confidence  in  the  distinguished  citi- 
zens of  our  adopted  country,  *  *  *  *  That  they  will  organ- 
ize a  system  of  government  in  accordance  with  the  spirit 
of  the  19th  century,  *  *  *  *  with  such  a  distribution  of  the 
three  cardinal  powers  as  will  assure  to  each  individual  all 
the  guarantees  necessary  to  rational  political  liberty.'^ 
They  declared  that  they  had  always  considered  Mexico 
the  rightful  sovereign  of  the  territory  of  Texas,  and  while 
believing  it  a  duty  to  guard  their  rights  from  all  Infringe- 
ment, they  also  felt  themselves  under  "a  sacred  obligation 
to  preserve  our  names  untarnished  by  the  imputation  of 
parricidal  ingratitude."  They  considered  "names  as  the 
mere  signification  of  things/'  and  said  that  they  were  not 

••Grittcn  to  Ugartcchca,  July  5,  1835. — Bexar  Archives. 


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The  Texas  Revolution. — Barker.  473 

"so  obstinately  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the  term  'federal 
republic'  as  *  *  *  *  to  reject  another  government  purely 
because  it  has.  assumed  a  different  external  sign  or  de- 
nomination." And  they  resolved  "That  although  the  citi- 
zens may  have  the  political  right  to  reject  the  new  Govern- 
ment of  Mexico,  *  *  *  *  we  do  very  seriously  question  the 
policy  of  doing  so,,  unless  constrained  by  imperious  cir- 
cumstances, such  as,  we  trust,  do  not  and  will  not  exist." 
But  recognizing  the  necessity  of  united  action  upon  the 
part  of  the  colonists,  they  recommended  the  immediate 
calling  of  a  convention  at  San  Felipe.** 

The  Call  ^or  a  Convention. 

This,  in  fact,  was  the  one  thing  upon  which  all  Texas 
was  now  agreed.  It  is  said  that  by  the  middle  of  August 
every  municipality  had  elected  a  committee  of  safety  and 
correspondence,  and  that  each  was  pledged  to  urge  the 
calling  of  a  consultation.**  A  meeting  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  Columbia  had  been  called  on  July  30th  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  this  about,  and  when  it  adjourned  until  August 
1 6th  without  doing  anything,  general  dissatisfaction  was 
prevalent  at  the  delay.** 

But  when  this  adjourned  meeting  reassembled  on  Satur- 
day, August  15th,  instead  of  Sunday,  the  sixteenth,  as  was 
originally  intended,  the  convention  was  assured.  They 
resolved  that  they  would  "not  give  up  any  individual  to 
the  military  authorities,"  and  appointed  a  committee  of 
fifteen,  with  B.  T.  Archer  at  its  head,  to  prepare  an  address 
to  the  different  committees  of  safety,  asking  them  to  con- 
cur in  the  call  for  a  convention.  This  committee  went  into 
a  session  at  Velasco  on  August  i8th,  and  two  days  later 
issued  its  address  to  the  people.  No  direct  suggestion  of 
independence  was  offered.     On  the  contrary,  they  pro- 

"  Texas  Republican,  September  19,  1835. 

"  Brown,  I.,  304. 

•  Texas  Republican,  July  25,  and  August  8,  1835. 


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474  Southern  History  AssocicUion. 

fessed  a  sincere  desire  to  remain  attached  to  the  Mexican 
government,  if  that  were  possible  upon  constitutional 
terms ;  but  at  the  same  time  they  frankly  intimated  their 
opinion  that  there  was  little  hope  of  such  a  possibility.  In 
any  event,  they  said,  the  desirability  of  united  action  was 
obvious,  and  since  this  could  be  obtained  in  no  other  way, 
they  proposed  that  the  committees  of  each  municipality 
should  order  the  election  on  October  5th  of  five  delegates 
to  represent  them  in  a  consultation  to  be  convened  at  San 
Felipe  on  the  15th  of  the  same  month. 

This  address,  issued  in  the  form  of  a  circular,  was  ac- 
companied by  several  anonymous  letters,  giving  informa- 
tion, for  the  truth  of  which  the  committee  vouched,  of  the 
arrival  of  Mexican  troops  at  Goliad  and  Bexar,  and  pur- 
porting to  reveal  Santa  Anna's  plan  of  invasion.  It  was 
said  that  his  first  plan  had  been  to  introduce  the  troops 
slowly  into  Texas  "for  the  Express  Purpose  of  enforcing 
the  revenue  laws ;"  and  that  five  hundred  soldiers  had  ac- 
tually embarked  at  Tampico  in  May,  when  the  rebellion 
of  Zacatecas  broke  out  and  they  were  recalled.  But  Zaca- 
tecas  being  now  reduced,  Santa  Anna  had  grown  impatient 
and  had  determined  to  overwhelm  Texas  with  a  force  of 
ten  thousand  men  and  drive  every  Anglo-American  across 
the  Sabine.** 

It  has  already  been  seen,  however,  that  information 
such  as  this,  though  it  doubtless  increased  the  popular 
anxiety,  was  not  necessary  to  the  securing  of  the  conven- 
tion. For  a  long  time  nothing  had  been  needed  but  a 
self-constituted  leader,  and  so,  therd  was  now  a  general 
endorsement  of  Columbia's  proposals;  the  only  amend- 
ment, in  fact,  being  offered  by  the  Nacogdoches  commit- 
tee, that  the  number  of  representatives  be  raised  from  five 
to  seven.*' 

•*  Circular  issued  by  the  Committee;  Texas  Republican,  August 
22  and  29,  1835.  Also  letter,  Milam  to  Johnson,  July  5,  1835. — 
Austin  Papers. 

•*  Texas  Republican,  September  26,  1835. 


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The  Texas  Revolution, — Barker.  475 

Austin  Despairs  of  Peaceful  Adjustment. 

Any  hope  that  still  existed  of  a  peaceful  adjustment  be- 
tween Texas  and  Mexico  was  knocked  flat  when  the  loyal 
Austin,  just  arrived  from  his  long  imprisonment,  held  out 
to  it  no  encouragement.  In  a  speech  delivered  at  a  bar- 
becue in  Brazoria,  on  September  8th,  he  reviewed  the  his- 
tory of  Texas  from  the  beginning  of  its  Anglo-American 
colonization;  and  while  repeating  to  the  people  Santa 
Anna's  protestations  of  unalterable  respect  and  esteem,  he 
plainly  intimated  that  little  reliance  could  be  placed  in 
them.  Santa  Anna's  plan,  he  thought,  was  unquestionably 
the  formation  of  a  centralized  government,  and,  as  faithful 
Mexican  citizens,  it  was  their  duty  to  resist  his  wanton 
destruction  of  the  republican  constitution  of  i824.** 

Four  days  later  a  meeting  was  held  at  San  Felipe,  and 
resolutions  having  been  adopted  pledging  the  people  of 
that  jurisdiction  to  support  the  constitution  of  1824,  a  new 
committee  of  safety  was  appointed  with  Stephen  F.  Austin 
for  its  chairman.'^  Henceforth  the  San  Felipe  committee 
seems  to  have  assumed  by  tacit  consent  of  all  the  inhabit- 
ants the  direction  of  Texas  affairs,  and  the  committee  but 
voiced  the  counsel  of  Austin.  Communication  was  estab- 
lished with  every  part  of  Texas,  and  information  transmit- 
ted almost  daily.  A  circular  of  September  i8th  informed 
the  people  that  all  hope  of  conciliation  was  gone,  and  that 
war  was  the  only  resource  ;•*  and  this  was  followed  by 
another  on  the  22d,  vouching  for  the  information  that 
General  Cos  had  landed  at  Copano  with  four  hundred 
troops,  and  urging  the  inhabitants  to  arm  themselves  and 
gather  at  the  Colorado  on  the  28th.**  And  in  order  that 
this  might  not  interfere  with  the  election  of  delegates  to 
the  consultation,  it  was  advised  that  the  polls  be  opened 

•Texas  Republican,  September  19,  1835. 
•'Texas  Republican,  September  19,  1835. 
•Texas  Republican,  September  18,  1835. 
•Texas  Republican,  September  26,  1835. 


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476  Southern  History  Association. 

on  September  27th  as  well  as  on  October  sth,  the  date 
originally  fixed  for  the  election. 

All  this  was  accordingly  done,  but  while  the  Texans 
were  marching  to  the  Colorado  the  Mexicans  had  already 
arrived  at  the  Guadalupe,  and  ordered  the  citizens  of  Gon- 
zales to  surrender  their  cannon.  The  events  that  followed 
are  well  known.  The  cannon  was  refused;  the  Mexicans 
fell  back  to  wait  for  reinforcements,  and  on  the  morning 
of  October  2d  the  Texans  crossed  the  river  and  surprised 
and  put  them  to  flight.  Though  many  of  the  foremost 
men  of  Texas  still  shrank  from  the  suggestion  of  inde- 
pendence, and  declared  that  they  were  attempting  only  to 
uphold  the  Mexican  republican  constitution  of  1824,  the 
revolution  had  begun. 

And  so,  the  consultation  which  met  on  October  15th  and 
adjourned  till  November  3d,  had  not  before  it  the  task  of 
uniting  the  people  upon  a  single  line  of  action — ^the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  was  called — ^but  of  providing  a  temporary 
government  for  a  united  people,  and  supplies  for  an  en- 
thusiastic army. 

Note. — ^Through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Barker,  the  Association  has 
a  collection  of  unprinted  documents  bearing  on  this  paper  that  it 
is  the  aim  to  publish  as  soon  as  possible. 


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HENRY  BAKER  AND  SOME  OF  HIS  DESCEND-. 
ANTS.    (Second  and  concluding  part.) 

By  Miles  White,  Jr. 

In  an  account  of  Henry  Baker  in  the  JoUiffe,  Neill  and 
Janney  Families  it  is  stated  that" 

"Thomas  Canby.  who  came  over  as  his  indentured  servant,  was 
a  son  of  Benjamin  Canby,  of  Thorn,  Yorkshire,  England.  He 
was  compelled  to  serve  four  years'  time  to  pay  his  passage,  which 
then  amounted  to  the  sum  of  four  pounds,  five  shillings  for  all 
persons  over  the  age  of  twelve  years.  He  was  a  nephew  of 
Henry  Baker." 

Dr.  John  Watson  in  his  account  of  the  first  settlement  of 

Buckingham  and  Solebury  says:** 

"Thomas  Canby  for  several  reasons  appears  to  deserve  especial 
notice.  His  mother's  brother,  Samuel  Baker,**  was  one  of  the 
early  adventurers;  and  soon  after,  returning  to  England,  brought 
his  nephew  Thomas  Canby,  then  a  lad,  over  with  him.  Bemg 
an  orphan,  his  uncle  became  his  gruardian.  He  was  bound  bv  in- 
denture to  serve  with  him;  in  which  they  took  the  advice  of  the 
Quarterly  meeting.  After  he  was  free  he  married  and  settled 
near  Robert  Fletcher's  in  Abington." 

Thomas  Canby*^  married  three  times,  ist,  at  Philadel- 
phia Mo.  Mtg.,  8  mo.  27,  1693,  Sarah  Jarvis ;  2ly.,  2  mo.  4, 
1709,  Mary  Oliver,  dau.  of  Evan  and  Jane ;  3ly.,  at  Buck- 
ingham Mtg.,  8  mo.  9,  1722,  Jane  Preston.  He  is  said*'  tc^ 
have  had  6  daughters  and  2  sons  by  his  first  wife,  and  5 
daughters  and  2  sons  by  his  second. 

The  Minutes  of  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  show  that  in  1695, 
Thomas  Canby's  house  was  destroyed  by  fire,**  and  that 

"P.  163. 

"^Memoirs  Pa.  Hist.  Soc,  1826,  Vol.  I,  p.  ogg. 

**  Evidently  should  be  Henry,  instead  of  Samuel. 

'  See  Eastburn  Reeder's  Early  Settlers  of  Solebury  for  marriages 
of  various  Canby  descendants. 

*•  Buck's  Hist.  Bucks  Co>,  p.  loi. 

*•  Davis,  p.  106,  erroneously  states  that  it  was  Thos.  Janney's 
house  that  was  burned.  I  called  his  attention  to  the  error,  and  in 
his  new  edition  it  will  doubtless  be  corrected. 


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478  Sottthem  History  Association.^ 

4g£.  los.  was  collected  for  him.  He  was  chosen  Clerk  of 
Buckingham  Mo.  Mtg.  9  mo.  24,  1720. 

II.  Samuel  Baker<^>  (Henry^^^),  as  heretofore  stated,  was 
born  at  West  Derbye,  Lancashire,  England,  8  mo.  i,  1676, 
and  came  to  America  with  his  parents,  arriving  at  Phila- 
delphia 7  mo.  17,  1648.  He  settled  in  Bucks  County  and 
became  an  extensive  landed  proprietor  and  prominent 
man ;  he  bought  of  the  London  Company  552  acres  of  land 
in  Makefield,  Bucks  Co.,  so  late  as  17*22.** 

The  Records  of  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  show  that  in  8  mo.  1703, 
Samuel  Baker  and  Rachel  Warder  announced  for  the  sec- 
ond time  their  intentions  of  marriage  and  were  given  lib- 
erty to  proceed  therewith.  Their  marriage  certificate 
states  that  Samuel  Baker  of  Makefield  twp.  Bucks  Co, 
Yeoman  and  Rachel  Warder  of  Falls  twp.  Bucks  Co., 
Spinster  daughter  of  Willoughby  Warder  were  married  at 
Falls  Mtg.  9  mo.  4,  1703.  Among  the  58  witnesses  were 
Abel  Janney,  Sarah  Canby  and  William  Biles. 

Samuel  Baker(*>  held  various  public  offices,  having  been 
commissioned  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  March  6,  1708,  and 
March  3,  1710,  and  elected"  to  the  Assembly  in  1710  and 
171 1 ;  in  1722  he  was  Commissioner.*^ 

C.  W.  Smith  in  his  History  of  early  settlement  of 
Wrightstown  gives  the  number  of  votes  cast  at  several 
elections  for  county  officers,  from  which  it  appears  that 
Oct.  I,  1725,  Samuel  Baker  received  95  votes  for  Coroner, 
and  Oct.  i,  1730,  he  received  168  votes  for  Assessor;  these 
votes,  however,  may  have  been  for  his  son  Samuel.^  The 
same  author  tells  us  that*' 

"By  virtue  of  a  grant  from  Wm.  Pcnn  to  James  Harrison  for 
5,000  acres  to  be  laid  out,  James  Harrison  grants  to  Henry  Baker, 
of  Makefield,  400  acres  a  part  thereof,  to  be  located  in  Wrights- 

•  Jolliffe  NeiU  and  Janney  Families,  p.  163. 

"^Pa.  Archives,  id  Series,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  744-Si  755;    Proud's  Hist. 
Pa.,  Vol.  II,  p.  54. 
*"  Battle's  Hist.  Bucks  Co.,  p.  690. 

•  P.  15.    See  also  Davis'  Mist.  Bucks  Co.,  p.  255. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants, — ^White.  479 

town,  which  was  secured  to  Samuel  Baker,  eldest  son  and  heir  of 
Henry  Baker,  dec'd,  by  Deed  granted  by  Wm.  Penn's  Commis- 
sioners dated  28  Oct.,  1701,  and  which  upon  resurvey  was  found 
to  contain  494  acres,  56  of  which  was  included  in  the  Park. 
Samuel  Baker  sold  this  tract  to  Robert  Shaw  for  £100  by  Deed 
Oct.  31,  1707." 

Cutler's  map  of  the  resurvey  of  1702  shows  that  Samuel 
Baker  then  held  a  tract  of  438  acres  in  Wrightstown.*® 

The  Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Property  of  Pa.  state'®  that 
Patents  for  various  tracts  of  land  were  issued  to  Samuel 
Baker,  some  in  his  own  right  and  some  as  heir  to  his 
father ;  a  part  of  this  land  was  in  the  Proprietor's  Mannor 
of  Highlands,  and  therefore  there  was  some  delay  in  issu- 
ing the  Patent,  and  in  the  meanwhile  Samuel  made  large 
Improvements  on  same,  and  it  was  decided  by  the  Secre- 
tary right  that  the  Patent  should  be  issued,  which  was 
done  6  of  10  mo.  1715,'^  for  £10. 

Samuel  Baker's  other  land  transactions  need  not  be 
further  mentioned  than  to  state  that  he  was  one  of  the 
persons  to  whom  Abel  Janney  deeded*^  in  Trust  for  Falls 
Mo.  Mtg.  in  1721,  part  of  the  land  patented  to  him  in  1701. 

The  Minutes  of  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  show  that  in  9  mo.  1703 
it  was  agreed  to  hold  meetings  at  Samuel  Baker's  for  one 
or  two  weeks,  and  Davis  says'*  that  "in  1719  the  'upper 
parts'  of  Makefield  asked  permission  of  Falls  to  have  a 
meeting  on  First  Days,  for  the  Winter  season  at  Samuel 
Baker's,  John  Baldwin's  and  Thomas  Atkinson's,  which 
was  allowed." 

Even  after  the  meeting  house  had  been  built  the  houses 
of  Samuel  Baker  and  other  Friends  were  used  for  meet- 
ings in  which  marriages  were  solemnized,  for  we  find  that 
George  Clough  and  Pleasant  Haige,  of  Hopewell,  Burling- 


*•  Davis'  Hist.  Bucks  Co.,  p.  194 
"•Pa.  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  XIX, 


'/Wtf,  pp.  594,  611. 


pp.  231,  271,  318,  375,  482.  594 


'  Bucks  Co.  Deeds,  Liber.,  10  fol,  184. 
■  Hist.  Bucks  Co.,  p.  121. 


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^So  Southern  History  AssockUion. 

ton  Co.,  N.  J.,  widow  of  Francis  Haige,  were  married  at 
Samuel  Baker's,  9  mo.  13,  1712." 

The  date  of  Samuel  Baker's  death  is  not  known :  He  left 
no  Will,  but  as  he  is  not  mentioned  in  his  Wife's  Will,  exe- 
cuted in  1760,  he  evidently  had  died  before  then. 

The  Records  of  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  contain  the  names  and 
dates  of  birth  of  ten  children  of  Samuel  Baker.  He  must 
have  had  at  least  one  more  child,  as  the  Will  of  his  wife, 
Rachel  Baker,  mentions  a  daii.  Margaret,  whose  birth  is 
not  recorded  in  meeting  Records. 

Children:" 

1.  Ann  Mary,  b,  4  mo.  16,  1704,  m.  1729,  Charles  Biles,  son  of 
Wm.  Biles,  Jr.,  and  Sarah  Langhorne.  They  married  out  of  meet- 
ing and  were  disowned  12  mo.  3,  1730;  he  appealed  to  the  QtL 
Mtg.  and  was  4  mo.  2,  1731,  reinstated  for  informality  of  Falls  Mo. 
Mtg's  action.  He  sent  7  mo.  i,  1731,  a  satisfactory  paper  and  was 
reinstated.  On  3  mo.  3,  1732,  a  certificate  of  removal  to  Buck- 
ingham Mo.  Mtg.  was  issued  to  Charles  and  wife,  which  was  pre- 
sented and  accepted  7  mo.  4,  1733. 

2.  Samuel,  b,  4  mo.  28,  1706,  tn.  about  1742 .    Minutes  of  Falls 

Mo.  Mtg.  12  mo.  2,  1742,  state  he  married  out  of  meeting.  His 
Will  probated  in  1760  (feucks  Co.  Wills,  Liber.  3,  fol.  29)  does  not 
show  the  names  or  numbers  of  his  children,  but  shows  his  wife's 
name  to  have  been  Elizabeth;  surname  not  ascertained.  In  1777 
Fairfax  Mo.  Mtg.,  Va.,  admitted  to  membership  Elizabeth  Baker 
and  children,  Nathan,  Betty  and  Rachel.  These  tnay  have  been 
widow  and  children  of  Samuel 

3.  Henry,  b.  4  mo.  5,  1708,  m.  about  1755  out  of  meeting,  and 
9  mo.  3,  1755,  gave  satisfaction  and  was  reinstated.  His  Will 
probated  in  17(55  (Bucks  Co.  Wills,  Liber.  3,  fol.  125)  mentions  his 
five  daughters,  names  not  given,  and  shows  his  wife's  name  to 
have  been  Mary.  She  may  have  been  a  widow  Matthews,  as 
Henry  mentions  a  dau.  in  law  (no  doubt  step  dau.)  Hannah 
Matthews.  From  the  settlement  of  his  estate  it  appears  that  his 
five  daughters  were  Rachel  Stack,  Letitia  Baker,  Mary  Canby, 
Phebe  Dunlap,  and  Lydia  Sutphin. 

4.  Nathan,  b.  i  mo.  28,  1710,  d.  y.  prior  to  7  mo.,  1715. 

5.  Sarah,  b.  10  mo.  9,  1712,  alive  as  late  as  1778,  m.  8  mo,  2,  1733, 
at  Falls  Mtg.  House,  Abel  JanneyC^,  d.  1774,  son  of  JosephC*) 
Janney  and  KebeckahC*)  Biles* 

In  his  marriage  certificate  Abel  is  described  as  of  Makefield,  in 
the  County  of  bucks  &  Province  of  Pensilvania.  Francis  Hague, 
Eliz.  Warder  and  Rachel  Bunting  were  among  the  68  witnesses. 
Minutes  of  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  show  that  on  7  mo.  i,  1752,  a  certificate 

**Pa.  Mag.  Hist,  and  Biog.,  Vol.  XXIV,  p.  98. 
"  Names  and  dates  of  birth  of  Nos.  i-io,  as  given  in  Falls  Mo. 
Mtg.  Records. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants, — ^White.  481 

of  removal  was  signed  for  /(bel  Janney,  wife  and  children  to  Fair- 
fax Mo.  Mtg.,  Va.    This  certificate  was  presented  at  Fairfax  Mtg. 

8  mo.  20,  1752.  The  Land  Records  of  Fairfax  Co.,  Va.  (Liber.  C, 
No.  I,  fol.  834),  show  that  Catesby  Cocke  30  Apr.,  1754,  deeded  to 
Abell  Janney  i,^  acres  on  small  drain  or  branch  of  Kittoctin 
Creek.  The  JoUine  Neill  and  Janney  Families  (pp.  170,  182)  con- 
tains an  account  of  Abel  and  Sarah  (Baker)  Janney,  in  which  it  is 
said  that  they  took  a  certificate  of  removal  in  1746  from  Middle- 
town  Mtg.,  ra.,  to  Fairfax  Mtg.,  Va.,  and  in  1741  purchased  land 
on  Goose  Creek,  Va.  These  statements  do  not  refer  to  this  Abel, 
however.  It  was  his  cousin  AbelC*),  son  of  ThomasO  and 
RachelO  (Pownall)  Janney,  who  went  to  Va.  in  5  mo.,  1746,  and 
4  mo.  25,  1748,  took  a  certificate  of  removal  to  Middletown  Mo. 
Mtg.  but  died  before  it  was  presented  9  mo.  3,  1748. 

Sarah  (Baker)  Janney,  while  a  member  of  Falls  Mtg.,  was  ap- 
pointed on  several  committees,  and  after  her  removal  to  Va.  was 
given  various  appointments  By  Fairfax  meeting,  being  Clerk  of 
Women's  meeting  from  i  mo.  31,  1761,  to  11  mo.  28,  1765. 

Abel  Janney's  Will,  dated  12  mo.  26,  1770,  was  proven  14  Nov.. 
1774  (Loudoun  Co.,  Va.,  Wills  Liber,  B,  fol,  98-100),  in  it  he  be- 
queathed to  his  son  Joseph  Janney,  10  s  over  that  already  con- 
veyed to  him;  to  son  Samuel,  the  same;  to  son  in  law  Joseph 
Hutton  and  Sarah,  his  wife,  the  same;  to  son  Amos,  mansion 
house  and  plantation  with  200  acres;  to  son  John,  200  acres;  bal- 
ance 400  acres  to  be  sold  and  equally  divided  between  son  Abel 
and  son  in  law  Wm.  Baker"  and  Mary,  his  wife,  and  testators  daus. 
Rebecca,  Rachel  and  Ruth.  Son  Amos  to  pay  all  testator's  just 
debts,  as  he  is  provided  for  above  other  children;  To  sons  Amos 
and  John  each  2  best  horses,  wagon,  plows  and  harness;  to  wife 
Sarah,  all  remaining  property.  Son  Abel  and  son-in-law  Wm. 
Baker,  Executors,  bro.-in-law  John  Hough  assistant  in  division 
of  land.  Inventory  of  his  property  returned  Apr.  10,  1775, 
amounted  to  £225,  16  s\   wheat  and  rye  additional  £38,  9  j,  6d. 

His  son  Joseph(*)  Janney.  of  Loudoun  Co.,  Va.,  Merchant,  b, 
Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  d.  Loudoun  Co.,  Va.,  1793,  m,  Horsham  Mtg..  Pa., 

9  mo.  28,  1764,  Hannah (*)  Jones,  b,  11  mo.  30,  1742,  dau.  of  John(0 
and  RebeccaO  (Head)"  Jones,  of  Warrington,  Bucks  Co.,  Penna. 
Joseph  and  Hannah  (Jones)  Janney  were  the  grandparents  of 
Johns  Hopkins,  their  dau.  Hannah(*)  Janney,  b.  5  mo.  19,  1774,  d, 
II  mo.  25,  1846,  being  his  mother.  (Publications  So.  Hist.  Assoc, 
Vol.  IV,  pp.  440-441). 

6.  John,  b,  7  mo.  25,  17x5,  d.  i  mo.  6,  1759.  Register  Phila.  Mo. 
Mtg.  shows  deaths  of  Rebecca  Baker,  dau.  of  John,  6  mo.  5.  1752; 
and  of  Sarah  Baker,  wife  of  John,  2  mo.  25.  1756.    The  Will  of 

}ohn  Baker,  of  Phila.,  shipwright;    dated  a  (Dct.,  1756,  proven  11 
any.,  1759  (Phila.  Wills,  Liber.  L,  fol,  206),  leaves  his  estate  to 

••  Friends*  Records  do  not  show  whether  Wm.  Baker  was  a 
descendant  of  Henry  or  not  Minutes  of  Phila.  Mo.  Mtg.  show 
that  4  mo.  21,  1761,  "application  was  made  for  a  certificate  for 
William  Baker  to  Fairfax,  in  Virginia,  to  which  place  he  some 
years  since  removed;"  and  that  on  10  mo.  29,  1762,  it  was  issued. 

"  For  account  of  the  homely  arrival  of  John  Head  and  family 
see  Colonial  Days  and  DameSy  p.  69. 


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482  Southern  History  Association, 

dau.  Sarah;  names  bro.  Joseph  Baker  Executor,  with  a  devise  in 
case  of  death  of  dau.  to  nephew  John  Baker,  son  of  Joseph. 

7.  Nathan,  b.  7  mo.  27,  1715,  alive  in  1760.  Falls  Records  give 
dates  of  birth  of  John  and  Nathan  as  here  stated,  whether  these 
dates  are  correct,  or  both  should  be  the  same  is  not  now  known. 
7  mo.  21  174s,  Nathan  presented  to  Nottingham  Mo.  Mtg.  a  cer- 
tificate from  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.,  dated  3  mo.  i,  1745 ;  and  12  mo.  17th, 
1749,  having  removed  to  rhiladelphia  requested  a  certificate  to 
that  meeting  which  was  granted  2  mo.  21,  1750.  In  both  of  these 
certificates  he  was  said  to  be  clear  of  marriage  engagements. 
Minutes  of  Phila.  Mo.  Mtg.  show  that  5  mo.  30,  1755,  the  Over- 
seers reported  they  had  frequently  dealt  with  Nathan  on  ac- 
count of  his  habits  and  conduct  without  result,  also  that  he  had 
been  married  by  a  priest.  6  mo.  27,  1755,  the  committee  appointed 
to  treat  with  him  reported  that  he  had  removed  into  Maryland, 
and  they  were  directed  to  write  to  him.  After  the  case  had  been 
in  their  hands  many  months  a  testimony  of  disownment  was 
issued  6  mo.  24,  1757.  The  names  of  his  wife  and  children  have 
not  been  ascertained. 

8.  Joseph,  b.  i  mo.  i,  1719,  m.  Phila.  Mo.  Mtg.  2  mo.  18,  1749. 
Esther  Head,  bur,  9  mo.  5,  1804,  aged  79,  dau.  of  John  and  Re- 
becca (Mase)  Head.  Rachel,  Henry,  John  and  Margaret  Baker 
were  among  the  witnesses.  The  Minutes  of  Phila.  Mo.  Mtg.  of  4 
mo.  27,  1759,  show  that  Joseph  made  the  following  acknowledg- 
ment in  regard  to  the  sale  of  a  negro,  "it  was  the  desire  of  my 
brother  John  Baker  the  morning  before  he  died  that  John  Par- 
rock  should  have  the  ne^o  man  I  was  concerned  in  selling,  which 
with  knowing  the  disposition  of  the  negro  engaged  me  to  sell  him 
the  sooner  but  am  sorry  I  was  concerned  in  a  practice  I  have  no 
unity  in  and  give  my  friends  concern  and  hope  for  the  future  I 
shall  discourage  the  practice."  The  Register  does  not  contain 
entries  of  the  births  of  Joseph's  children,  but  shows  the  deaths 
of  three  of  them,  viz:  Susanna,  d.  12  mo.  21,  1756;  Joseph,  d- 
1  mo.  6.  1759;  Joseph,  bur.  6  mo.  5,  1772,  aged  6  years. 

The  Will  of  Joseph  Baker,  of  Phila.,  Hatter,  dated  7-,  6-,  1794- 
and  a  Codicil,  dated  5-,  4-,  1795,  were  proven  7-,  6-,  1799  (Phila. 
Wills,  Liber.  Y,  fol.  199),  in  which  mention  is  made  of  his  wife 
Esther;  his  dau.  Rachel,  wife  of  David  Shoemaker;  his  dau. 
Sarah,  wife  of  Joseph  Dunn;  his  dau.  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Jacob 
Coats;  his  dau.  Esther  Deitch;  his  son  Richard  Mace  Baker,  his 
son  Samuel  Baker;  Sarah,  wife  of  Lewis  Taylor;  his  gd.  sons 
Toseph  Baker  Dunn,  Richard  Deitch,  and  Joseph  Baker  Deitch; 
his  sister  Margaret  Tomlinson;  Anne  Baker*  a  dau.  of  his  son 
John  Head  Baker,  dec'd;  and  the  children  of  Sarah  Dunn. 

Chief  Justice  Sharswood,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Penna,  was 
a  descendant  of  Joseph  Baker. 

9.  Benjamin,  b.  2  mo.  16,  1723.  probably  d.  u.  prior  to  1760. 

10.  Lydia,  b.  10  mo.  5,  1724,  alive  in  1760,  m. ,  John  Bur- 
roughs. 

11.  Margaret,  b. ,  alive  in  1760,  m.  , Tomlin- 
son. 

The  Will  of  Rachel  Baker,  of  Upper  Makefield  twp. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants, — ^White.  483 

dated  26  of  i  mo.,  1760,  was  proven  16  Feby.,  1760,'®  and 
in  it  mention  is  made  of 

Her  eldest  son,  Samuel;  son  Henry;  son  Nathan;  son  Joseph; 
Joseph;  dau.  Anna  Maria  Biles;  dau.  Sarah  Janney;  dau.  Lydia 
Burroughs;  dau.  Margaret  Tomlinson;  gd.dau.  Hannah  Bur- 
roughs, and  Friends  of  Upper  Makefield  Meeting  (£5);  the  exe- 
cutors were  her  son  Henry  and  son  in  law  John  Burroughs. 

In  the  Jolliffe,  Neill  and  Janney  Families  the  author  says  :** 
**I  believe  the  above  William  Warder,  who  was  a  first 
Councillor,  August  3,  1681,  was  the  father  of  Willoughby 
Warder,  Sr.,  and  therefore  the  grandfather  of  Rachel 
(Warder)  Baker."  This  first  Councillor  was,  however, 
named  William  Warner®^  and  not  Warder ;  and  it  is.  be- 
lieved that  Rachel  Baker's  grandfather  Warder  never 
came  to  America. 

In  one  of  the  copies  of  Bucks  Co.  Mtg.  Registers  in  the 
Penna.  Historical  Society  is  the  following  manuscript: 

"Memorandum  relative  to  Solomon  Warder,  by  George 

Vaux. 

Solomon  Warder  was  born  in  England,  probably  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight.  He  emigrated  to  America  in  1699  and  was  married  in 
Philadelphia  to  Elizabeth  Howell  (who  came  in  the  same  vessel 
with  him)  toward  the  close  of  that  year,  having  previously  passed 
meeting  with  her  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  He  was  son  of  Willoughby 
Warder  and  grandson  of  William  Warder,  both  of  Nunwell,  Parish 
of  Brading,  Isle  of  Wight. 

Willoughby  Warder  also  emigrated  to  America  about  1699  and 
settled  in  Falls  Twp.,  Bucks  Co.  He  died  in  the  year  1725  at  an 
advanced  age. 

Solomon  Warder  had  a  sister  Rachel,  who  married  Samuel 
Baker,  and  a  brother  Willoughby  Warder,  Jr.,  who  married  Sarah, 
dau.  of  John  Bowyer,  April  13,  1710.  This  last  Willoughby  was 
father  of  Jeremiah  Warder,  an  eminent  merchant  in  Philadelphia 
during  the  last  Century,  and  ancestor  of  most  of  the  persons 
bearing  the  name  of  Warder  in  this  city. 

William  Warder,  the  common  ancestor  of  all  the  above,  docs 
not  appear  to  have  ever  been  in  America.  He  was  probably  the 
same  person  mentioned  in  Besse's  Sufferings  of  the  Quakers,  as  one 
of  37  Friends  sent  to  prison  in  May,  1684,  for  meeting  together 
at  Park  Southwark,  London." 

••  Bucks  Co.  Wills,  Liber.  3.  fol  5 
"P.  164. 

^  Hazard^ s  Annals,  p.  525;  Pa,  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  IX,  p. 
617;   Hist.  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  pp.  18,  364.    Battle's  Bucks  Co.,  p.  175. 

3 


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484  Southern  History  Association. 

Mr.  George  Vaux,  Jr.,  has  sent  me  the  following  addi- 
tional information: 

"Willoughby  Warder,  the  elder,  was  son  of  William  Warder,  of 
Nunwell  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  He  was  twice  married,  but  I  never 
could  ascertain  who  his  first  wife  was.  She  was  mother  of  Rachel, 
who  m.  Samuel  Baker,  and  appears  to  have  died  in  England  before 
her  husband  emigrated.  My  record  states  that  Rachel  is  supposed 
to  have  accompanied  her  father  when  he  emigrated.  Willoughby's 
second  wife  was  Mary  Howell,  widow**  of  John  Howell,  m.  at 
Devonshire  House,  London,  4  mo.  11,  i6g6.  The  second  wife  was 
still  living  in  1736,  then  aged  92,  and  is  referred  to  in  Thomas 
Chalkley's  Journal.    He  visited  her  in  that  year  in  Bucks  Co." 

The  Minutes  of  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  state  4  mo.  2,  1736,  that 
Mary  Warder  being  an  antient  Friend  &  not  capable  to 
come  to  meeting  Requested  to  have  a  meeting  once  a 
month  at  her  house,  which  was  agreed  to. 

Willoughby  Warder  was  commissioned  four  times  as 
Justice  of  the  Peace  for  Bucks  Co.,"  viz:  March  6,  1708; 
March  3,  1710;  Dec.  30,  1715,  and  May  13,  1715.  He 
bought  Mch  16,  1 710,  of  John  Fisher  and  Mary,  his  wife 
(late  wife  of  Jacob  Janney)  as  Executors  of  the  Will  of 
Jacob  Janney  72^  acres  in  Bristol  Twp.*'  that  Solomon 
Warder  had  sold  Sept.  8,  1703,  to  Jacob  Janney;  and  also 
bought  "Grove  Place,"**  which  had  belonged  to  Phineis 
Pemberton. 

III.  Nathan  BakerW(//enr3;^i)),was  born  at  West  Derby, 
Co.  Lancashire,  England,  i  mo.  8,  1684,  and  came  with  his 
parents  to  America,  arriving  at  Philadelphia,  7  mo.  17, 
1684.    They  settled  in  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  where  he  resided 

"  Isaac  Sharp,  who  has  charge  of  Friends'  Records  at  Devon- 
shire House,  London,  states  that  Willoughby  Warder's  2d  wife, 
the  widow  Howell,  was  Mary  Gibbs,  of  White  Cross  Street, 
London.  She  was  married  to  John  Howell,  Cloth  Worker  at  the 
Bull  &  Mouth,  3  mo.  i,  1673.  Isaac  Sharp  was  unable  to  find 
any  record  of  Willoughby's  first  marriage  and  states  that  the 
Dorset  and  Hampshire  Registers,  which  include  the  Isle  of  Wij^ht, 
contain  no  trace  of  the  Warder  family  He  noticed  the  marriage 
of  a  brother  of  Willoughby. 

"  Pa.  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  744,  745,  746. 

•■  Bucks  Co.  Deeds,  Liber.  4,  fol.  162. 

•*  Battle's  Bucks  Co.,  p.  371. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants, — ^White.  485 

during  his  father's  life,  removing  to  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  in 
1703.  His  brother-in-taw,  Thomas  Yardley,  of  Bristol, 
Bucks  Co.,  executed  his  Will  11  mo.  27,  1702/3,  and  Na- 
than Baker,  William  Yardley  and  Rachel  Bunting  were  the 
witnesses. 

The  Minutes  of  Falls  Mo.  Mtg.  show  that  on  4  mo.  2, 
1703,  "Richard  Hough  on  behalf  of  Nathan  Baker  re- 
quested a  Certificate  of  his  conversation  while  amongst  us, 
therefore  it's  desired  that  Richard  Hough  &  John  Watson 
do  make  inquiry  concerning  him,"  and  that  no  report 
having  been  made  in  5th  or  6th  mo.,  on  7  mo.  i,  1703, 
"Nathan  Baker  appeared  and  desired  a  certificate  of  his 
conversation,  and  this  meeting  being  satisfied  concerning 
him  doth  order  that  he  shall  have  a  certificate  signed  by 
William  Biles,  Joseph  Kirkbride  and  Richard  Hough  on 
the  behalf  of  the  meeting." 

The  Minutes  of  Concord  Mo.  Mtg.,  Chester  Co.,  Pa., 
show  that  Nathan  Baker  produced  his  certificate  8  mo.  11, 
1703,  after  which  time  they  make  no  further  mention  of 
him. 

He  was  married  May  15,  1705,  to  Sarah  Collet,  by  the 
Episcopal  minister,  according  to  the  Parish  Records  of  St. 
Paul's  Church,  Chester,  perhaps  at  St.  Martin's  Church, 
Marcus  Hook,  as  St.  Paul's  rector  officiated  there  also; 
after  which  time  he  probably  had  no  further  connection 
with  Friends. 

Gilbert  Cope,  the  historian  of  Chester  Co.,  states  that  "a  deed 
recorded  in  Book  Z,  p.  317,  recites  that  Jeremiah  Collett  and  son 
Jeremiah  conveyed  200  acres  in  Concord  to  William  Smith,  March 
30,  1700  and  Smith  to  Job  Bunting  12  mo.  19,  170%,  subject  to 
mortgage  to  Smith.  Job  Bunting  by  will  Nov.  14,  1702,  directed 
his  lands  to  be  sold  by  his  executrix,  Rachel  Bunting,  who  married 
John  Cowgill.  They,  with  William  Smith,  then  of  Maryland, 
yeoman,  conveyed  the  same  lands  with  messuage  and  plantation 
thereon  to  Nathan  Baker,  3  mo.  (May)  ist,  1708;  who  with  Sarah 
his  wife,  of  Concord,  conveyed  170  acres  thereof  4  mo.  16,  1711, 
to  Robert  Pyle,  of  Bethel,  yeoman  for  £100.  What  became  of 
the  remaining  30  acres  I  have  not  noticed,  nor  the  date  of  Baker's 
removal  to  Maryland,  which  must  have  been  before  1715." 


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486  Southern  History  Association. 

A  Joseph  Baker  and  wife  Mary  arrived  in  Pennsylvania 
as  early  as  1685,  settled  at  Edgmont,  Chester  Co.,  and  at 
that  time  had  several  children.  They  came  from  Edge- 
mont  in  Shropshire,**^  England,  and  were  prominent  in 
Chester  Co.  No  evidence  of  relationship  between  them 
and  Henry  Baker's  family  has  been  seen. 

Nathan  Baker  appears  to  have  been  a  miller,  after  he 
settled  in  Maryland,  for  the  Land  records  of  Cecil  Co.** 
show  that  Nathan  Baker  and  wife  Sarah,  conveyed  by  deed 
to  Gee  and  others,  12  Apr.,  1722,  a  tract  of  20  acres  on 
Back  Creek  with  a  mill.  This  conveyance  was  evidently 
made  on  the  eve  of  his  taking  a  voyage  to  Barbadoes,  after 
which  no  record  of  him  has  been  seen. 

The  dates  of  the  deaths  of  Nathan  and  Sarah  Baker  are 
not  known.  His  Will  dated  12  April,  1722,  and  witnessed 
by  Francis  Mauldin  and  Edward  Jackson,  was  proven  5 
April,  1729.*" 

In  it  he  states  that  he  is  "Bound  for  Barbadoes,"  and  he  left 
to  his  sons  Henry,  Jeremiah  and  Nathan  five  pounds  each,  when 
21  years  of  age;  to  his  Dafter  Mary  Baker,  at  16  or  marriage,  a 
mulatto  Wench,  Hannah,  or  thirty  pounds;  "And  the  Rest  of  my 
children's  Portions  I  lefe  to  ye  good  Will  &  pleser  of  there 
deare  Mother,  my  loving  virtuous  Wife  Sarah  Baker  who  I  make 
my  whole  and  sole  Executrix.  I  do  give  my  loving  Wife  full 
power  to  sell  all  my  Rale  and  personall  Estate  or  to  ceepe  all  or 
any  Part  of  my  reale  or  personal  Estate,  according  to  her  good 
Will  and  Disposition." 

How  many  more  children  than  the  four  mentioned  in 
his  Will,  Nathan  and  Sarah  Baker  had  is  uncertain;  the 
Register  of  St.  Mary  Ann's  Parish,  Cecil  Co.,  Md.,  shows 
the  marriages  of  three  Bakers  between  1732  and  1737, 
after  which  there  are  no  Baker  entries  till  1763.  These 
three  entries  are  as  follows : 

Oct.  15,  1732,  Then  marryed  Robert  Cummins  to  Eliza- 
beth Baker. 

*  Smith's  Hist.  Delaware  Co.,  Pa.,  p.  442,  Futhey  &  Cope's  Hist. 
Chester  Co.,  p.  469-70. 
*^  Liber.  3,  fol,  4JS2. 
"  Cecil  Co.  Wills,  Ubei.,  A.  A.,  No.  i,  fol,  203. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants, — ^White.  487 

1735  July  6.  Then  marryed  Job  Ruston  to  Mary  Baker. 

1736/7  Jany  12.  Then  was  married  Nathan  Baker  to 
Joyce  Yardley. 

All  of  these  three  persons  were  probably  Nathan's  chil- 
dren. Nothing  further  has  been  seen  regarding  fiis  son 
Jeremiah,  nor  his  dau.  Mary  Ruston,  unless  the  entry  in 
Register  of  Christ  Church,  Phila.,  of  marriage  of  Jeremiah 
Bak^r  and  Ruth  Bonham  Aug.  9,  1758,  refers  to  the  for- 
mer. A  letter  from  Job  Ruston,  beginning  "Brother 
Baker,"  dated  Nov.  12,  1750,  and  addressed  to  Mr.  Henry 
Baker,  or  to  Mr.  Nathan  Baker,  and  authorizing  tKem  to 
collect  witness  fees  of  his  servant,  in  a  law  suit,  is  re- 
corded.'* 

St.  Mary  Ann's  Parish  Register  contains  the  following 
two  entries  concerning  children  of  Elizabeth  Baker, 

"1736  May  18.  Then  was  born  James  Cummings  the  son 
of  Robert  Cummings  and  Elizabeth  his  wife. 

Francis  Rock  was  marryed  to  Mary  Pryor,  widow, 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Cummings  of  North 
East,  27  July,  1759." 

Further  mention  of  Nathan's  sons  Henry  and  Nathan 
will  be  given  hereinafter. 

The  Register  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Chester,  shows  the 
marriage  on  May  8, 1730,  of  Sarah  Baker  and  Philip  Ottey. 
Whether  Sarah  was  the  widow  or  daughter  of  Nathan  does 
not  appear. 

Sarah  Collet,  whom  Nathan  Baker  married,  was  the 
daughter  of  Jeremiah,  or  as  he  was  sometimes  also  called 
Jeremy  Collet,  of  whom  Smith  in  his  History  of  Delaware 
Co.,  Pa.,  says,'* 

He  "was  settled  in  Chichester  before  the  arrival  of  William 
Penn.  In  1685  he  owned  and  occupied  a  tract  of  land  a  little 
north  of  Marcus  Hook.  In  1684  he  served  the  office  of  SheriflF  for 
Chester  County.  In  religious  profession  he  was  doubtless  an 
Episcopalian,  as  he  bequeathed  £50  for  the  'better  support  of  the 

"  Cecil  Co.  Deeds,  Liber,  4,  fol.  523. 
"  P.  454. 


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488  Southern  History  Association. 

minister  officiating  in  the  Chaper — now  St.  Martin's  Church  at 
Marcus  Hook.    He  died  about  the  year  1725"  [1706.] 

Jeremiah  Collet  occupied  a  position  of  prominence  in 
Chester  Co.  He  was  twice  commissioned  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  viz:  May  13,  1693,  ^tnd  Sept.  25,  1703/®  and  the 
History  of  Chester  Co,,  Pa.,  makes  frequent  mention  of  him, 
stating^^  among  other  things  that  his  name  appears  in  the 
records  of  the  Court  held  June  13,  1682;  and  that  at  the 
first  Court  at  Chester  after  Penn's  arrival,  which  met  flFebr. 
14,  1682,  &  adjourned  unto  ye  27th  of  ye  same  month, 
Jeremiah  was  on  the  Jury;  that  5  mo.  i,  1684,  the  Court 
appointed  Collectors,  and  Appraisers,  of  the  former  were 
for  Chichester,  Thomas  Usher  and  Jeremy  Collett,  and  of 
the  latter  were  for  the  County,  Thomas  Usher,  Jeremy 
Collett  and  Joshua  Hastings ;  that  among  the  Landholders 
in  1689  appear  the  names  of  Jerem.  Collett,  Wm.  Collett 
and  Richard  Collett;  that  among  the  list  of  Taxables  in 
1693  appear  the  name  of  Jeremiah  Collett  for  cSs.  04d; 

That  in  March,  1694-5  the  grand  inquest  "having  examined 
Jeremiah  Collet's  [the  Treasurer's]  accounts  finds  them  to  be 
true  accounts  and  finds  him  to  be  indebted  to  the  County  the  sum 
of  eighteen  shillings  and  eleven  pence;"  and  further  that  on  Feby. 
25,  1706-7,  "Jeremiah  Collett,  constable  of  Chichester,  being  pre- 
sented by  ye  Grand  Jury  for  ye  neglect  of  his  Duty  as  a  constable 
for  that  he  did  not  prevent  Mordecay  Howel  for  working  and 
suffering  his  servants  or  children  to  work  and  do  servill  Labour 
on  ye  first  day  of  the  week  altho'  requested  by  John  Neals  so  to 
do,^omes  here  and  cant  gainsay  the  same  but  acknowledges 
himself  to  be  thereof  guilty.  Therefore  it  is  considered  that  ye 
sd.  Jeremiah  shall  pay  a  fine  of  five  shillings  &  his  fees  and  then 
shall  go  quitt." 

The  Records  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Chester,  show  that 
Jeremiah  was  one  of  the  first  Vestrymen  of  that  Church, 
being  elected  April  18,  1704,  and  served  till  his  death.  The 
Register  contains  the  following  entries : 

Anne  Collet — ^buried  July  nth,  1705.    Wife  of  Jer:  Col- 

^Pa.  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  IX,  p.  676.    Hist.  Chester  Co.,  Pa-, 
p.  364. 
^Pp.  20,  24.  26,  31,  33.  35,  38. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants, — White.  489 

let — died  ye  fifteenth  of  OctobV,  1704,  and  was  buried  ye 
nth  of  July,  1705. 

John  Collet — son  of  Jeremiah — buried  July  5th,  1705. 

Jeremiah  Collet — ^Vestryman — November  loth,  1706. 

Letters  of  administration  on  the  estate  of  Jeremiah 
Collet,  late  of  Chichester,  were  granted  at  Philadelphia 
Dec.  2,  1706,  to  Weyntie  Collet,  his  widow,  the  record 
stating'^  that  the  said  Jeremiah  Collet  "did  make  his  Last 
Will  &  Testam't  &  thereof  appointed  Nathan  Baker  Ex'r 
as  is  said,  who  for  reasons  unknown  has  hitherto  refused 
to  produce  ye  sd  Will  to  be  proved  according  to  Law." 

Weyntie  Collet,  widow  of  Jeremiah,  renounced  her  right 
of  administration  Jan'y  20,  1706/7,  in  favor  of  Jeremiah 
Collet,  son  of  her  late  husband.  Witnesses,  Edward  Bezer, 
Richard  Armitt." 

Letters  were  accordingly  granted  to  Jeremiah  Collet,^* 
Gentleman,  4  March,  1706/7.  Sureties,  Wa :  Marten,  Tho : 
Withers.    Witnesses,  Saml.  Weaver,  John  Joyce. 

No  evidence  that  the  Will  was  produced  or  recorded  has 
been  seen,  and  most  of  its  contents  are  now  unknown. 
The  Will  of  Jeremiah's  son-in-law,  Thomas  Withers,  of 
Chichester  twp.,  Chester  Co.,  dated  March  29,  1720, 
proven  2  mo.  15,  1720,^"  mentions  his  wife  Jane  or  Joan 
and  five  children,  Robert,  Ralph,  Mary  Hughs,  Jane 
and  Elizabeth  Withers,  and  states  that  Jeremiah  Collett, 
Sr.,  late  of  Chichester,  devised  to  his  five  grandchildren 
above  named  £15  each,  which  had  not  been  paid. 

Smith's  History  of  Delaware  Co.  as  herebefore  stated, 
says  he  bequeathed  £50  to  the  Chapel  at  Marcus  Hook, 
giving  the  date  of  his  death  as  1725;  and  Mr.  Wm.  Shales 
Johnson  sent  me  the  following  extract  from  his  unpub- 
lished history  of  St.  Paul's  Parish. 

"  Phila.  Administrations,  Book  B,  p.  51. 
"  Ibid,  p.  54. 

"  Will  of  Jeremiah  Collett,  of  Upper  Chichester,  dated  June  8, 
1752,  was  proven  Aug.  8,  1752.    Chester  Co.  Wills,  Liber.  C.  hi.  352. 
*  Chester  Co.  Wills,  Liber.  A,  fol  90. 


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490  Southern  History  Assoctation, 

"In  1701  the  'Anabaptist  Association'  was  dissolved  but  was  re- 
vived again  in  1715,  when  it  took  the  name  of  "The  Baptized 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ;*  and  exists  to-day  as  the  Birmingrham 
Baptist  Church.  Many  of  the  baptisms  took  place  in  Crum  and 
Ridley  Creeks  and  in  1715  we  find  the  name  of  Jeremiah  Collet  as 
having  been  baptized  May  4th  of  that  year. 

Jeremiah  Collet,  Sr.,  was  a  churchman  and  died  in  1706.  being 
buried  in  St.  Paul's  churchyard.  Jeremiah  Collet,  of  Chichester, 
was  also  at  the  time  of  his  death,  a  churchman  and  left  a  legacy  of 
Fifty  Pounds  to  St  Martin's  Church,  Marcus  Hook,  the  interest 
of  which  was  to  be  used  to  provide  for  at  least  four  services  an- 
nually in  that  Church.  Who  the  Jeremiah  Collet  was  who  aided 
in  the  reorganization  of  the  'Anabaptist  Association*  is  not  cer- 
tain. He  may  possibly  have  been  the  Chichester  Collet,  but  if  so 
he  died  a  churchman  ten  years  after." 

No  Will  of  any  Jeremiah  Collet  has  been  found  to  have 
been  proven  in  1725,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  above  be- 
quest, though  paid  in  1725,  was  authorized  by  the  Will  of 
1706. 

From  the  Records  of  St.  Paul's  Parish  and  the  Philadel- 
phia Administration  accounts  above  quoted,  it  seems  prob- 
able that  Jeremiah  Collet  was  twice  married.  Anne  Collet, 
who  died  in  1704,  and  was  reinterred  (?)  at  St.  Paul's  in 
1705,  having  been  his  first  wife  and  mother  of  his  children ; 
and  Weyntie  Collet,  who  survived  him,  having  been  his 
second.  If  so  his  second  marriage  was  not  solemnized  in 
St.  Paul's  Parish,  as  his  daughter  Sarah  is  the  only  Collet, 
whose   marriage    there   is    recorded   between    1704   and 

1733." 

No  record  has  been  seen  of  the  parentage  or  place  of 
nativity  of  Jeremiah  Collet.  He  may  have  been  related  to, 
though  probably  not  the  son  of  George  Collet,  of  Clon- 
mell,  CO.  Tipperary,  Ireland,^'  who  at  an  early  date  bought 
a  large  tract  of  land  in  Pennsylvania,  and  whose  daughter 
Mary  Collet  married  Christopher  Pennock,  in  Ireland, 
prior  to  1675,  and  whose  son  George  Collet,  died  in 
Penna.,  8  mo.  2,  1687,  and  devised  his  property,  by  a  Nun- 

^Pa.  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  594. 

"  Futhey  &  Cope's  Hist,  Chester  Co..  Pa.,  p.  680;  see  also  Pen- 
nock Family  Tree;  Pa.  Archives,  2d  Series,  Vol.  XIX.,  pp.  28,  363, 
545,  549. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants. — ^White.  491 

cupative  Will  to  his  nephew,  or  as  he  styled  him  his 
"Cousin"  NathanieJ  Pennock. 

Nathan  Baker/')  son  of  NathanC^)  and  Sarah(^)  (Collet) 
Baker,  married  in  St.  Mary  Ann's  Parish,  Cecil  Co.,  Md., 
Jan'y  12,  1736/7  Joyce  Yardley,  and  appears  to  have  lived 
at  one  time  at  North  East  and  later  at  Charlestown,  both 
in  Cecil  Co.,  and  to  have  been  a  miller  by  trade. 

The  Genealogy  of  the  Yardley  Family  gives  a  list  of  the 
children  of  Thomas  and  Ann  (Biles)  Yardley,  in  which  is 
the  following  entry  in  regard  to  their  dau.  Joyce  :^' 

"Joyce,  b.  10  mo.  3, 1714;  never  married." 

That  this  is  an  error,  and  that  it  was  she  whom  Nathan 
Baker  married,  is  shown  by  a  deed  dated  8  May,  1759,  ^^^ 
recorded  in  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,^*  in  1761,  by  which  Wm.  Yard- 
ley  and  Thos.  Yardley,  of  Lower  Makefield  Twp.,  Gents. ; 
Mary  Jenney,  of  Truro  Twp.,  Loudoun  Co.,  Va.,  widow; 
Francis  Hague,  of  Truro  Twp.,  Planter,  and  Jane  his  wife ; 
David  Kinsey,  of  Solebury,  Yeoman  and  Sarah  his  wife; 
Nathan  Baker,  of  North  East  in  Cecil  Co.,  Md.,  Miller,  and 
Joyce  his  wife ;  (said  Wm.,  Thps.,  Mary,  Jane,  Sarah  and 
Joyce  being  only  surviving  issue,  representatives  and  heirs 
of  Thomas  Yeardley,  late  of  Makefield,  Yeoman,  de- 
ceased) convey  to  Thomas  Yeardley,  son  of  Richard,  cer- 
tain lands  which  Francis  Hague  Apr.  14, 1742,  conveyed  to 
Thos.  Yardley,  who  Dec.  9,  1749,  agreed  to  convey  same 
to  Richard  Yardley,  but  died  before  it  was  done. 

The  Records  of  Cecil  Co.  show  that  Nathan  Baker,  of 
Charlestown,  and  Joyce  his  wife,  in  consideration  of  io6i, 
J2S,  yd,  current  money,  conveyed  to  Andrew  Barrett  6 
Jan'y,  1775,'*  one-fourth  part  of  Lot  82  in  Charlestown. 

No  further  information  has  been  found  regarding  Na- 
than and  Joyce  Baker ;  and  the  dates  of  their  deaths,  and 
the  names  and  number  of  their  children  are  unknown. 

•  P.  21. 


^  Liber,  10,  fol.  279. 
••  Liber,  14,  fol.  38. 


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492  Southern  History  Association, 

The  Register  of  St.  Mary  Ann's  Parish  shows  the  mar- 
riage of  Thomas  Baker  in  1763,  to  Ma^gret  Pheland ;  and 
the  birth  of  their  dau.  Hannah  Yeardley  Baker,  Sept.  17, 
1764.  Also  the  marriage  of  Jeremiah  Baker  and  Hannah 
Thackey,  14  Dec,  1769;  and  the  births  of  their  four  chU- 
dren,  Marcy,  b.  20  Sept.,  1771 ;  Francis,  b,  17  July,  1774; 
Elizabeth,  b.  17  Aug.,  1776;  Sarah,  b,  25  March,  1778. 

Thomas  Baker  evidently  was  a  son  of  Nathan ;  Jeremiah 
may  have  been  a  son  or  a  nephew. 

Henry  Baker,<*>  the  remaining  son  of  Nathan<*>  and 
Sarah<*>  (Collet)  Baker,  was  probably  their  eldest  son.  Very 
little  is  known  regarding  him.  The  Records  of  Cecil  Co. 
show  that  he  bought  of  John  Taylor  on  28  May,  1759,®^  cer- 
tain cattle.  He  must  during  his  life  have  owned  a  good  deal 
of  land,  as  his  name  occupies  about  two  pages  of  the  Index 
to  the  County  Land  records.  In  1740  he  purchased  a  large 
tract  called  "Kennedy's  Adventure,"  parts  of  which  he  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth  deeded  to  James  Crumley,  3  Feby,  1742 ; 
to  Edw.  Oldham,  26  Aug.,  1750;  and  to  Robert  Lasley, 
yeoman,  12  Jan'y,  1758.'*  Crumley  and  Oldham  being 
residents  of  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  and  Lasley,  of  Cecil  Co.,  Md. 
And  from  his  Will  and  that  of  his  son  Jethro  it  appears 
that  he  owned  "Van  Bibber's  Forest,"  and  land  in  the 
Manor,  on  the  latter  of  which  he  lived.  Both  these  tracts 
at  one  time  belonged  to  Matthias  Van  Bibber,  concerning 
whom  George  Johnston  in  his  History  of  Cecil  Co.,  Md., 
says  :*• 

"Prominent  among  the  early  settlers  of  Bohemia  Manor  were 
two  brothers,  Isaac  and  Matthias  Van  Bibber.  Their  father, 
Jacob  Isaacs  Van  Bibber,  was  a  Hollander  and  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Germantown.  His  sons,  the  two  brothers  before 
mentioned,  were  natives  of  Holland,  and  were  naturalized  in 
Maryland  in  1702.  Previous  to  coming  to  Maryland  they  had  been 
engaged  in  merchandizing  in  Philadelphia.  *  *  *  *  *  Matthias 
Van  Bibber  appears  to  have  been  fond  of  the  acquisition  of  land, 
for  in  1714  he  purchased  Augustine  Manor  of  Ephraim  Augrustine 

■*  Liber.  9,  fol.  91. 

**  Liber.  6.  fol  227;   Liber.  8,  fol.  209;   Liber.  9,  fol.  5. 

"Pp.  186-8. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants, — ^White.  493 

Hermcn  for  £300.  This  Manor  was  directly  east  of  Bohemia 
Manor.  *****  Matthias  Van  Bibber  also  became  the  pro- 
prietor of  Van  Bibber's  Forest,  which  was  patented  to  him  in  1720. 
This  was  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  Third  district  near  Mechanics' 
Valley,  containing  850  acres  *  *  *  *  Matthias  Van  Bibber  was 
for  a  long  time  chief  justice  of  the  county  and  occupied  that  re- 
sponsible position  when  the  court  house  was  built  at  Court  House 
Foint.  *  *  *  *  Matthias  Van  Bibber's  will  was  proved  in  1739.** 
He  left  *  *  ♦  his  part  of  St.  Augustine  Manor  to  his  daughters, 
Sarah  and  Rebecca.' 

The  Register  of  St.  Stephen's  Parish  shows  that  "Matthias  Van 
Bebber  and  Haramontie,  the  daughter  of  Adam  Peterson,  of  New- 
castle Coty.,  in  the  Territories  of  Pensilvania,  were  marryed  by 
Lycense  the  seventeenth  day  of  Novr.,  MDCCV. 

Jacob  Van  Bebber,  sonn  of  Matthias  Van  Bebber  &  Haraman- 
tia,  his  wife,  was  born  the  2  of  Feby.,  MDCCVI.  Matthias  Van- 
bebber,  son  of  Matts.  V.  Bebber  and  Arriamanca,  his  wife,  was 
born  the  30th  day  of  September,  1729.  Henry  Vanbebber,  son  of 
Do.,  born  13th  January,  1730-1." 

I  do  not  know  whether  Henry  Baker  obtained  the  two 
tracts  of  the  "Forest"  and  the  "Manor'^  directly  from  the 
Van  Bibber  family  or  from  some  subsequent  owner.  No 
deed  to  him  from  Matthias,  Sarah  or  Rebecca  Van  Bibber 
is  recorded  at  Elkton.  It  is  possible  that  the  Land  Office 
at  Annapolis  contains  such  a  conveyance.  Henry  Baker 
may  possibly  have  married  either  Sarah  or  Rebecca  Van 
Bibber.  If  so  it  was  his  second  marriage  and  occurred 
during  the  last  decade  of  his  life,  as  his  wife  Elizabeth  was 
living  as  late  as  1758.  Such  a  second  marriage  seems 
improbable,  as  Henry  in  his  Will  speaks  of  his  widow  as  th^ 
mother  of  his  son  Jeremiah,  and  the  latter  was  old  enough 
to  be  his  executor.  What  Elizabeth's  surname  was  does 
not  appear ;  if  the  Register  of  St.  Augustine's  Parish  could 
be  found  perhaps  a  record  of  Henry's  marriage  might  be 
seen. 

••  The  will  of  Matthias  van  Bebber,  of  Cecil  County,  Gent,  dated 
3  Aug.,  1739,  proven  Oct.  i,  1739  (Uber.  A.  A.,  No.  i,  fd,  369), 
mentions  wife  Hermana;  son  Jacob;  son  Adam;  "to  my  two 
Daughters  Sarah  &  Rebecca  all  my  Ri^ht  &  Title  &  Share  in  St. 
Augustine's  Mannor  to  be  equally  divided  between  them;"  sons 
Matthias  and  Henry;  daus.  Christian  and  Hester.  "Wife  to  en- 
joy legacies  and  bequests  to  my  four  youngest  children,  Sarah, 
Rebecca,  Matthias  &  Henry  untill  they  severally  arrive  at  age  of 
one  and  twenty."    Wife  Hermana  sole  Executrix. 


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494  Southern  History  Association. 

Henry  Baker  died  in  1768,  and  his  Will  dated  24  June, 
1768,  was  proven  12  July,  1768,"    In  it  he  says: 

"As  Death  is  certain  and  the  Continuance  of  Life  uncertain  and 
as  cool  Deliberation  in  perfect  Health  and  sound  Composure  of 
mind  is  the  best  and  most  convenient  Time  to  set  one's  House  in 
order  to  leave  this  Stage  of  Life,  I,  Henry  Baker,  have  thought 
proper  under  such  Circumstances  as  above  to  leave  these  Lines  as 
my  testament  and  last  Will  as  I  have  faith  in  our  blessed  Re- 
deemer my  hope  is  in  and  thro  him  to  see  a  joyfuU  Resurrection 
of  Soul  and  Body.    But  as  to  the  I^emains  of  my  Body  I  desire 
it  may  be  buried  in  a  common  decent  manner  without  Pomp  or 
Ceremony  in  a  plain  coffin  without  any  funeral  Sermon  or  strong 
Drink  in  the  nearest  Church  of  England  Church  Yard  to  the  place 
where  I  make  my  Demise  in  Lieu  of  funeral  Expence  I  order  that 
five  pounds  Sf  be  g^iven  to  the  poor  of  this  Parish  divided  amongst 
any  number  under  Twenty  that  will  or  may  apply  for  the  Dividcnt 
thereof  and  after  all  such  Expence  and  my  just  Debts  being  paid 
I  order  that  my  moveable  Estate  be  equally  divided  between  my 
sons  Jeremiah  Baker  and  Henry  Baker  and  my  Grand  son  Samuel 
Baker  son  of  Francis  Baker  in  Lieu  of  part  of  his  Father's  share 
after  Payment  also  of  such  other  Legacies  as  I  shall  hereafter 
mention  my  will  is  that  notwithstanding  the  irregular  proceedings 
of  my  wife  that  she  be  paid  the  sum  of  30  pounds  p  year  common 
money  during  her  natural  life  and  during  her  widowhood  to  have 
one  sufficient  room  in  my  present  dwelling  house  with  bed  and 
furniture  and  a  sufficiency  of  all  necessary  eatables  for  her  main- 
tenance &  horse  &  saddle  at  her  disposal  or  use  &  a  negro  girl 
to  wait  on  her  &  firewood  always  provided  for  her  at  the  Door 
in  full  of  her  Thirds  of  my  Estate." 

He  bequeathed  to  his  sons  Jethro  and  Jeremiah  tracts  of  land; 
to  the  former  part  of  "Van  Bibbers  Forest,"  to  the  latter  "Clay 
Fall,  he  to  pay  to  his  mother  £30  per  annum;  to  son  Henry 
"dwelling  plantation  whereon  I  now  live,"  and  grist  mill,  also 
"Smiths  Addition"  and  "Browning's  Neglect,"  he  to  pay  Elizabeth. 
Dau.  of  Nathan  Baker  five  pounds  current  money  during  her 
chaste  and  single  life;  to  grand  son  Samuel  son  of  Francis  land, 
if  he  survive  his  brother  Henry;  to  son  Francis  Red  Lion  Tavern 
in  Charlestown;  to  dau.  in  law  Evey  Baker,  a  negro  Girl  called 
Hannah,  or  £50;  the  balance  of  estate  to  be  equally  divided  be- 
tween gd.  son  Samuel  Baker  and  sons  Jeremiah  and  Henry,  except 
a  negro  boy  to  Jethro.  Son  Jeremiah  Sole  Executor,  Book  3, 
1760-1776,  p  199  shows  that  Francis  Baker  Administrator  with  Will 
annexed  filed  Inventory  of  Henry  Baker's  personal  Estate  amount- 
ing to  £606. i8s.    No  final  distribution  appears  of  record. 

Jethro  Baker(*>  was  a  farmer  of  Cecil  Co.,  Md.,  and  lived 
upon  a  tract  of  land  which  was  a  part  of  Van  Bibber's 
Forest,  and  a  part  of  which  he  inherited  from  his  father, 
Henry  Baker.('>    On  this  tract  of  land,  we  learn  from  an 

*  Cecil  Co.  Wills,  Liber.  B.  B.,  No.  2,  foi  300. 


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Henry  Baker  and  Some  of  His  Descendants. — ^White.  495 

account  of  Hon.  James  McCauley,  Chief  Judge  of  the  Or- 
phans' Court  for  Cecil  Co.,  Md.,  which  appeared  in  The 
Cecil  Whdg,^'' 

there  stood  a  stone  house  known  in  later  vears  as  John  William- 
son's, and  later  as  Lowry's,  and  in  which  Methodist  meetings  on 
Cecil  circuit  were  held  until  the  building  of  the  Union  Church  in 
1822.  That  house  was  built  by  Jethro  Baker  (who  owned  the 
greater  part  of  the  ''Forest"  of  800  acres)  during  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  and  in  a  very  cold  winter  during  that  war  Mr.  Baker 
was  appointed  to  gather  blankets  for  the  army,  and  from  them 
took  small  pox  and  died."  He  left  two  daughters,  Lydia  and 
Francina.  Lydia  married  Robert  Leslie,  a  native  of  Cecil  county, 
and  was  the  mother  of  Charles  R.  Leslie,  the  artist,  Thomas  J. 
Leslie,  who  was  paymaster  of  the  U.  S.  army  for  fifty  years,  and 
of  Eliza  Leslie,  the  authoress,  whose  cook  book  passed  through 
fifty-six  editions,  and  of  Patty  Leslie  who  married  Henry  C.  Carey 
of  Philadelphia.  Francina,  the  other  daughter  of  Jethro  Baker 
married  Daniel  McCauley. 

The  Will  of  Jethro  Baker,  of  Mfllford  Hundred,  Cecil 
Co.,  dated  2  June,  1777,  was  proven  30  June,  1777,®*  he  be- 
queathed to  his  wife  Ann 

one  third  of  all  his  estate  real  and  personal,  after  payment  of  his 
debts;  to  oldest  son  Nathan  350  acres,  lower  end  of  tract  of  Van 
Bibber's  Forest,  "I  now  live  on;*'  to  second  son  Jethro  "all  that 
land  my  father  Henry  Baker  lived  on  in  Manor  in  Cecil  County;" 
to  two  daus.  Siney  and  Lydia  when  18,  two  hundred  pounds  cur- 
rent money  each;  "I  order  and  allow  150  acres  of  land  off  the 
upper  end  of  tract  I  now  live  on  called  Vanbebers  Forest  to  be 
sold  at  public  Vandue."  The  executors  were  James  Orrack  and 
wife  Ann  Baker. 

The  maiden  name  of  Ann  Baker,  the  wife  of  Jethro,  was 
probably  Gonsen,  for  Miss  Eliza  Leslie  wrote*®  "both  my 
parents  were  natives  of  Cecil  County,  Md.,  also  the  birth- 
place of  my  grandfather  and  grandmother,  on  each  side. 
My  great-grandfather,  Robert  Leslie,  was  a  Scotchman. 
He  cante  to  settle  in  America  about  the  year  1745  or  '46, 

"July  28,  1894. 

"  See  also,  Early  Settlers  in  Cecil.  The  Leshe-Baker  Family.— 
CecU  Whig,  Feb.  25,  1899. 

"•  For  accounts  of  children  of  Robert  and  Lydia  Leslie,  see  Ap- 
pleton's  Cyclop.  Amer,  Biog.,  Ill,  696;    I,  524. 

*  Cecil  Co.  Wills.  Liber.  C  C,  No.  3,  fol  7. 

**Godey's  Lady's  Book,  1858;   Vol.  LVI,  p.  347- 


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49^  Southern  History  Association. 

and  bought  a  farm  on  Northeast  River,  nearly  opposite  to 
the  insulated  hill  called  Maiden's  Mountain.  My  maternal 
great-grandfather  was  a  Swede  named  Gonsen,  so  that  I 
have  no  English  blood  in  me." 

Whether  the  Spirit  of  1776,  or  the  memories  of  18 12  and 
1814,  or  the  fact  that  many  Scotch  and  Irish  patriots  were 
expatriated  and  sent  to  America,  caused  Miss  Leslie  to 
disavow  having  any  English  blood  in  her,  I  know  not,  but 
it  is  certain  that  her  claim  is  not  substantiated  by  facts. 

Her  great-grandfather  Robert  Lesfie,  or  Lashley,  the 
Scotch  immigrant,  married  before  i  mo.  15,  1740,   De- 
borah,*^ the  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Magdalen  Janney; 
their  son  William  Leslie,  her  grandfather,  married  Christi- 
ana,   daughter    of    George    and    Sarah    (Hoopes)    Hall. 
George  Hall  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Hall,  and  Sarah  was 
the  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Jane  Hoopes.'*     Robert  Leslie, 
the  son  of  William  and  Christiana,  and  father  of  Miss  Les- 
lie, married  Decem.  13,  1785,  Lydia  Baker.    Thomas  Jan- 
ney came  from  Cheshire,  and  Nathan  Baker  from  Lan- 
cashire, the  Halls  and  Hoopes  were  of  English  descent, 
and  therefore  Miss  Leslie  probably  had  in  her  more  Eng- 
lish blood  than  that  of  any  other  nationality ;  and  through 
the  irony  of  fate,  at  the  present  time,  all  the  descendants 
of  her  father,  with  one  exception,  are  English  subjects, 
and  most  of  them  live  in  England ! 

•*  Ms.  Records  Nottingham  mo.  Mtg.  of  Friends. 

"  Futhey  &  Cope's  Hist.  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  pp.  585,  627. 


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AN  EXAMPLE— CANADA'S  WORK  FOR 
HISTORY. 

Our  governments  may  justly  be  called  liberal  to  science 
and  libraries.  At  public  expense  we  have  built  numerous 
deposits  for  books  and  established  bureaus  of  geology, 
biology,  bacteriology,  laboratories  of  chemistry  and  phy- 
sics, and  set  up  meteorological  and  astronomical  observa- 
tories. We  have  not  been  near  so  lavish  to  history, 
except  in  a  few  instances.  Some  of  the  states  and  cities 
have  aided  research.  Congress  has  been  almost  prodigal 
in  appropriations  for  gathering  and  publishing  the  records 
of  the  Civil  War.  A  helping  hand  has  been  extended  in 
other  directions. 

But  there  remains  a  vast  field  neglected,  not  only  in 
Washington  but  in  the  country  at  large.  Only  a  small 
number  of  the  local  units  have  published  their  older 
records,  many  of  them  have  not  arranged  or  classified 
them,  only  a  fraction  have  them  in  shape  easily  accessible 
to  research.  These  storehouses  are  scattered  and  seclud- 
ed without  a  master  key  to  fit  them.  There  is  imperative 
need  for  a  central  agency  of  information,  if  not  of  reposit- 
ory, to  save  the  student  wearisome  toil  and  delay. 

It  would  be  no  untried  path  to  furnish  such  facility.  A 
fine  model  lies  just  to  the  North  of  us,  of  our  own  race 
and  speech.  For  just  thirty  years  has  Canada  provided 
this  inestimable  boon,  and  that  too  with  unqualified  suc- 
cess. 

The  official  papers  of  Canada  were  dispersed  and  chaotic. 
Owing  to  frequent  change  of  the  seat  of  government  of  the 
old  colony,  and  to  subsequent  division  of  archives  after  the 
formation  of  the  federated  branches,  documents  were  par- 
celed out  in  many  places.  There  was  demand  for 
systematic  effort,  when,  in  1871,  a  long  petition  came  to 


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49^  Southern  History  Association. 

the  Dominion  Parliament  asking  that  steps  be  taken  to 
bring  order  out  of  the  confusion. 

A  small  appropriation  was  made,  chiefly  for  a  salary,  but 
more  happily  than  this,  the  right  man  was  chosen  for  the 
task,  Mr.  Douglas  Brymner,  under  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  which  also  includes  Arts  and  Statistics.  This 
indefatigable  investigator  set  to  work,  being  equipped  with 
*'three  empty  rooms  and  very  vague  instructions."  As  a 
preliminary  survey  he  visited  all  the  provincial  capitals, 
noting  what  was  contained  in  each.  He  has  since  several 
times  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  London,  to  delve  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  in  all  the  government  offices  and 
other  English  collections  likely  to  contain  anything  bear- 
ing on  the  subject.  He  also  had  a  full  examination  made 
of  material  in  Paris  so  as  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  French 
colonization  in  his  field. 

In  the  meantime  his  energy  did  not  overlook  the  home 
material.  By  active  negotiation  he  stopped  the  shipment 
of  some  eight  tons  of  military  correspondence  that  had 
been  boxed  up,  and  was  on  its  way  to  London.  He 
especially  looked  after  the  Provincial  (or  State)  sources  of 
information.  He  gathered  pamphlets,  fly  sheets,  journals, 
sessional  papers,  reports,  official  documents  and  rare  ma- 
terial of  all  kinds,  printed  and  manuscript,  relating  to  the 
locality.  He  searched  every  avenue  of  the  past,  and  has 
brought  back  knowledge  on  all  important  events  and 
phases  of  that  existence.  He  has  covered  early  settle- 
ments, Indian  relations,  French  communities,  the  death 
grapple  between  Latin  and  Teuton  for  the  soil  of  this  con- 
tinent, our  Revolutionary  War  and  invasion  of  Canada, 
the  Canadian  Rebellion  of  1837;  industrial  and  economic 
development  has  also  been  traced,  building  of  railroads, 
digging  of  canals,  growth  of  manufacturing.  The  more 
human,  or  individual  side  is  also  remembered,  and  memori- 
als for  the  antiquarian  and  evidence  for  the  genealogist 
take  their  place  on  the  shelves. 


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Canada's  Work  for  History.  499 

A  most  worthy  stimulus  does  he  impart  to  impulse  in 
his  modest,  but  comprehensive  summary: 

"We  have,  also,  a  variety  of  family  papers  of  various  periods; 
numerous  documents  relating  to  the  refugee  loyalists,  inaccessible 
to  Sabine  and  others  who  have  hitherto  written  on  that  subject; 
copies  of  old  parish  registers  from  Acadia  and  the  Lower  St. 
Lawrence,  from  the  Illinois,  Detroit,  &c.,  besides  notarial  regis- 
ters, originals  and  copies  from  the  latter  named  place.  More  of 
these  registers  would  have  been  copied  had  means  permitted. 
There  are  miscellaneous  documents  of  general  interest  as  well  as 
those  local  to  Canada;  a  very  valuable  collection  of  printed  his- 
torical works  and  pamphlets  old  and  new;  county  histories,  manu- 
script and  printed,  and,  as  I  have  already  said,  original  accounts  of 
many  of  the  early  settlements;  the  valuable  collections  of  the 
publications  of  the  Public  Record  Office,  London,  numbering  now 
upwards  of  400  volumes,  which  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  obtain 
as  a  g^ft  from  the  British  Government.  The  new  volumes  of 
these  are  sent  as  issued,  besides  the  important  and  valuable  re- 
ports of  the  Historical  Manuscripts  Commission,  which  is  bring- 
ing to  light  the  treasures  hitherto  concealed  in  the  muniment 
rooms  of  the  old  British  families. 

"My  ambition  aims  at  the  establishment  of  a  great  storehouse 
of  the  history  of  the  colonies  and  colonists  in  their  political, 
ecclesiastical,  industrial,  domestic — in  a  word — in  every  aspect  of 
their  lives  as  communities.  Included  in  this  should  be  the  history 
of  the  old  French  rcg^ime  in  Acadia,  Canada,  Louisiana  and  the 
westward;  of  all  the  British  Colonies  in  America  from  their  begin- 
ning down  at  least  to  1796,  when  the  last  of  the  frontier  posts 
were  transferred  to  the  United  States.  The  fortunes  of  all  were 
so  intertwined  that  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the  records  of 
them  without  injury.  It  may  be  a  dream,  but  it  is  a  noble  dream. 
It  has  often  spurred  me  to  renewed  effort,  when  the  daily  drudgery 
— for  it  was  drudgery — ^was  telling  on  mind  and  body.  It  might 
be  accomplished,  and  Ottawa  might  become  on  this  continent  the 
Mecca  to  which  historical  investigators  would  turn  their  eyes  and 
direct  their  steps." 

When  we  see  these  wonderful  results,  we  are  amazed  to 
learn  at  what  slight  outlay  of  public  treasure  all  this  has 
been  done.  At  the  start  the  total  cost  was  a  moderate 
salary  only.  Later,  additions  were  made  for  assistants 
the  copyists,  but  for  nearly  twenty  years  the  annual 
amount  voted  by  Parliament  never  exceeded  $6,000. 
This  has  gradually  increased,  but  even  now  the  total  ex- 
pense is  only  $12,000,  of  which  only  about  one-third  is  for 
regular  personal  compensation.  This  would  scarcely  be  a 
drop  in  the  financial  stream  that  yearly  pours  from  the 
treasur}'  of  the  United  States. 

4 


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HERBERT     BAXTER     ADAMS     (1850-1901):      HIS 
WORK  FOR  SOUTHERN  HISTORY. 

Professor  H.  B.  Adams,  who  died  in  Amherst,  Mass., 
on  July  30,  1901,  had  trained  more  men  in  scientific 
methods  of  historical  research,  than  any  man  now  living, 
perhaps.  The  list  of  his  pupils  includes  H.  C.  Adams,  J. 
Franklin  Jameson,  Woodrow  Wilson,  A.  W.  Small,  F.  J. 
Turner,  C.  M.  Andrews,  F.  W.  Blackmar,  Albert  Shaw, 
Wm.  P.  Trent  and  many  others. 

Doctor  Adams's  strength  lay  in  two  things :  His  ability 
an  an  organizer  and  as  a  judge  of  men;  his  skill  in  impart- 
ing his  own  enthusiasm  to  others  and  in  getting  the  most 
and  best  work  out  of  his  students.  Many  of  his  students 
considered  his  lectures  of  secondary  importance.  They 
were  made  up  from  the  best  authorities  to  whom  the  stu- 
dent was  constantly  referred  and  with  which  he  was  pre- 
sumably familiar.  As  a  teacher  he  did  not  profess  to  ex- 
haust his  subject,  but,  like  Confucius,  was  accustomed  to 
say  that  he  lifted  the  veil  from  one  corner  it  was  sufficient 
since  the  student  could  then  enter  for  himself.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  his  lecture  it  was  his  custom  to  spend  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  in  discussing  recent  happenings  as  recorded  in 
the  daily  press  and  in  correlating  these  events  with  the 
historical  questions  which  he  was  a  little  later  to  discuss 
in  his  lecture,  or  in  showing  the  relation  of  these  events 
to  the  past  for  he  was  very  fond  of  discovering  survivals. 

He  was  a  man  of  boundless  enthusiasm  and  limitless 
capacity  for  work.  He  could  impart  to  his  students  his 
own  joy  of  battle  and  seldom  failed  to  secure  from  them 
the  most  and  the  best  work  of  which  they  were  capable. 
He  was  eager  always  to  advance  them  into  positions  of  re- 
sponsibility as  executives,  teachers  or  scholars;  his  work 
was  positive  and  constructive ;  he  was  full  of  suggestions 


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Herbert  Baxter  Adams.  501 

leading  to  the  betterment  of  historical  work;  he  had  in- 
ventiveness and  great  boldness  in  execution. 

Doctor  Adams  came  to  the  Johns  Hopkins  University 
as  fellow:  later  he  became  associate,  then  associate  pro- 
fessor and  from  1893  was  professor  of  American  and  con- 
stitutional history.  The  fact  that  the  Johns  Hopkins  was 
located  in  a  Southern  city,  that  the  founder  had  provided 
special  facilities  for  students  from  three  Southern  States 
and  that  special  eflForts  were  made  to  attract  men  from  the 
South  made  the  representation  there  from  that  section 
more  cosmopolitan,  if  not  larger,  than  was  to  be  found 
in  any  State  institution.  The  Johns  Hopkins  was  a  uni- 
versity as  contradistinguished  from  a  State  College.  The 
men  who  visited  it  were  also  more  mature,  more  ambitious 
and  more  ready  to  be  emancipated  from  local  ideas,  pre- 
judices and  environments  and  so  went  forth  to  battle  for  a 
higher  standard  of  truth  and  accuracy,  often  at  the  cost  of 
popularity,  if  no  greater  penalty,  in  their  old  homes. 

Doctor  Adams  sought  to  gather  into  the  library  of  the 
University  all  materials  obtainable  bearing  on  South- 
ern history.  While  the  resources  of  the  University 
forbade  large  purchases  the  gift  of  the  Birney  Collection 
of  books  on  slavery  and  that  of  the  late  Col.  J.  Thomas 
Scharf  covering  the  whole  field  of  Southern  endeavor,  to- 
gether with  other  minor  gifts,  made  the  Southern  Alcove 
of  the  Historical  Seminary  most  attractive  and  placed  the 
library  among  the  few  that  can  with  any  truth  boast  of  a 
collection  of  materials  on  Southern  history. 

In  the  field  of  Southern  historical  writing  it  would  not 
be  far  from  accurate  to  say  that  Doctor  Adams  gave  that 
great  and  greatly  neglected  subject  almost  the  first  well 
directed  impulse  that  it  had  ever  received.  This  does  not 
mean  that  there  had  not  been  historical  work  done  in  the 
South  and  histories  published  before  his  day.  Books  had 
frequently  appeared  treating  various  phases  of  this  broad 
subject,  but  most  of  them  were  lacking  in  most  of  the 


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502  Southern  History  Association. 

critical  apparatus  that  marks  the  scholar.  They  had  been 
prepared  with  industry  and  care  by  earnest  and  painstak- 
ing men  who  had  brought  good  natural  ability  to  bear  on 
their  subject,  but  these  men  had  been  trained  as  lawyers, 
doctors,  preachers,  politicians,  orators,  statesmen,  or  had 
received  no  special  training  at  all.  They  brought  to  their 
task  all  sorts  of  training  except  an  exact  and  thoroug^h 
knowledge  of  what  constitutes  history  and  what  are  the  re- 
quirements of  historical  writing.  History  has,  unfortunate- 
ly, few  technical  terms  of  its  own ;  for  this  reason  good  men 
and  true,  while  carefully  eschewing  the  field  of  the  legal  ad- 
vocate, the  physician,  the  divine  and  the  chemist,  have  bold- 
ly essayed  the  duties  of  the  historian,  and  their  crude,  in- 
accurate, ill  digested  performances  have  been  heralded  by 
a  local  press,  still  more  ignorant  than  themselves,  as  the 
work  of  genius  while  this  same  crowd  have  passed  by  un- 
noticed the  work  of  scholars  for  the  reason  their  work  had 
the  historical  qualities  that  the  former  wanted  and  lacked 
the  weaknesses  of  the  local  writers. 

While  this  condition  has  not  yet  disappeared  there  is 
now  evidence  of  a  saner  sense,  surer  criticism,  and  truer 
grasp  of  subject  among  the  writers  who  have  appeared  in 
the  Southern  field  in  the  last  ten  years. 

Coming  from  a  long  line  of  lawyers  and  publicists 
Southern  students  found  a  congenial  atmosphere  at  the 
Johns  Hopkins  University  and  readily  took  to  the  work 
of  the  Historical  Department.  Each  was  encouraged  to 
work  in  what  might  be  termed  his  home  field,  to  master 
thoroughly  his  materials  and  so  become  an  authority  on 
his  subject.  At  the  end  of  twenty  years  the  Johns  Hopkins 
is  now  able  to  point  to  its  students  or  graduates  who  are 
the  recognized  authority  on  the  Southern  States:  Hol- 
lander for  Baltimore :  Steiner  and  Ingle  for  Maryland ;  Ar- 
nold and  Mcllwaine  for  Virginia ;  Weeks  and  Bassett  for 
North  Carolina;  Meriwether  for  South  Carolina;  C.  E. 
Jones  and  McPherson  for  Georgfia ;  Riley  and  Brough  for 


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Herbert  Baxter  Adams,  503 

Mississippi;  Fay  for  Louisiana;  Lewis  for  Kentucky;  the 
late  Dr.  Merriam  for  Tennessee ;  Smith  for  Missouri. 

Much  of  the  work  done  by  these  scholars  has  appeared 
in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in  Historical  and 
Political  Science ;  in  the  series  of  Contributions  to  Ameri- 
-can  Educational  History  edited  by  Dr.  Adams  for  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education;  and  in  the  Papers 
and  Reports  of  the  American  Historical  Association  which 
society  Doctor  Adams  organized  and  of  which  he  was  the 
efficient  executive  head  until  last  year. 

The  series  of  Bibliographies  of  the  various  Southern 
States  that  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  Re- 
ports of  the  American  Historical  Association,  the  Publi- 
cations of  the  Southern  History  Association,  the  Publi- 
cations of  the  Mississippi  Historical  Association,  the 
Sewanee  Review  all  bear  testimony  to  the  energy  and  en- 
thusiasm of  Doctor  Adams  as  a  creative  factor  in  their  or- 
ganization. ( 


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THE  STRUGGLE  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY.^ 
By  J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

The  writing  of  Confederate  History  passes  through 
stages  or  cycles,  and  many  years  will  elapse  before  the  last 
word  is  said.  Naturally,  the  military  history  first  claimed 
attention,  and  among  the  best  and  most  conclusive  books 
on  that  aspect  of  the  subject  are  Henderson's  Jackson  and 
Wyeth*s  Forrest.  Besides  Davis,  Stephens,  Bledsoe  and 
"The  Southern  States  in  their  Relations  to  the  Constitution 
and  the  Resulting  Union,"  the  civil  side  has*  elicited  The 
Civil  History  of  the  Confederate  States,  reviewed  in  this 
magazine  for  Sept.,  1901,  Smith's  History  of  the  Con- 
federate Treasury,*  and  Callahan's  Diplomatic  History  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  Dr.  Schwab,  turning  aside 
from  tactical  and  technical  problems  in  warfare  and  partial- 
ly from  the  political  aspects,'  considers  financial  and  in- 
dustrial phenomena,  as  a  study  of  economic  history  under 
the  abnormal  conditions  of  war.  Before  going  further, 
it  gives  us  pleasure  to  say  that  the  author  has  shown  a 
historic  spirit,  consulting  and  well  using  many  authorities 
not  generally  accessible,  presenting  by  far,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Prof.  Smith,  the  most  complete  account  of  the 
fiscal  history  of  the  Confederacy,  and  showing  himself  fre- 
quently far  above  the  incompleteness  and  prejudices  which 
disfigure  so  many  works  on  the  Confederacy.  Contem- 
. < 

*  The  Conpederate  States  oi^  America,  1861-1865.  A  Financial 
and  Industrial  History  of  the  South  during  the  Civil  War.  By 
John  Christopher  Schwab.  New  York;  Charles  Scribncr's  Sons. 
1901,  pp.  XI-[-332.  index,  cloth,  $2.50. 

*  Professor  Smith's  study  of  the  Confederate  Treasury,  appear- 
ing in  these  Pubucations  for  Jan.,  Mar.  and  May,  1901,  is  the 
fullest  investigation  of  the  subject  in  existence. 

•When  the  author  ventures  upon  political  statements,  he 
stumbles  grievously.— See  pp.  189,  212,  &c. 


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The  Struggle  of  the  Confederacy. — Curry.  505 

porary  records  are  scarce  and  fragmentary,  but  Dr. 
Schwab  has  been  industrious  in  hunting  them  up  and  skil- 
ful in  using  them.  The  harshest  criticism  which  can  justly 
be  made  is  that  he  uses  trustworthy  and  untrustworthy 
material  with  equal  freedom  and  confidence  and  from  lack 
of  personal  knowledge  of  some  of  the  authorities  attaches 
undue  importance  to  writers  who  never  saw  any  thing 
pertaining  to  the  Confederacy  except  through  jaundiced 
eyes.  No  practical  good  would  result  from  an  exposure 
of  these  authorities,  which  any  one  familiar  with  the  men 
and  events  of  the  war  between  the  States  would  reject  as 
utterly  unreliable. 

The  difficulties  and  obstacles  encountered  by  the  Con- 
federacy were  unavoidable  and  insurmountable  in  conse- 
quence of  the  length,  magnitude  and  exhausting  character 
of  the  war.  Chiefest  among  these  was  the  currency, 
essential  to  the  government  in  its  varied  and  imperative 
needs,  to  the  people  in  their  ordinary  pursuits,  and  needed 
in  all  industrial  enterprises.  The  war  was  undesired,  unan- 
ticipated, unprovided  for,  by  the  South,  and  that  section,  in 
men,  resources,  accumulated  capital,  banking  facilities, 
transportation,  manufactures,  all  industries,  was  far  in- 
ferior to  its  adversary.  Mr.  Memminger,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  President  Davis,  it  may  now  be  con- 
ceded, were  not  capable  financiers,  but  the  circumstances 
were  such  that  Morris,  Turgot,  Colbert,  Gladstone,  would 
have  found  themselves  amid  **a  sea  of  troubles."  No  ex- 
perience, skill,  ability,  could  have  kept  the  very  limited 
amount  of  specie  in  the  country,  or  made  rapidly  increas- 
ing bonds,  treasury  notes,  bank  notes,  promissory  notes, 
equal  in  value  to,  or  convertible  into,  gold  and  silver.  As 
the  war  went  on  and  armies  were  increased  and  blockade 
of  coasts  became  more  effective  and  area  of  unoccupied 
country  contracted  and  government  necessities  grew  to 
more  enormous  proportions,  and  facilities  of  internal  com- 
munication were  lessened,  the  circulating  medium  perform- 


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5o6  Southern  History  Association. 

ed  its  functions  less  satisfactorily  and  with  hastening  and 
unimpedible  depreciation.  Bonds,  treasury  notes,  call 
certificates,  exports  and  imports  were  less  and  less  avail- 
able to  meet  the  illimitable  expenditures.  Persons,  at 
home  and  abroad,  willing  to  advance  money  in  exchange 
for  interest-bearing  bonds  were  not  to  be  found.  **The 
government's  hopes  that  the  redundancy  of  the  currency 
would  be  corrected  by  their  absorption  in  bonds  proved  as 
groundless  as  similar  hopes  in  the  North."  Army  requi- 
sitions ran  up  from  59^  millions  in  1861  to  670  millions  in 
1864,  and  the  estimates  during  the  year  1864  called  for 
1,500  millions  (Schwab,  55,56).  The  domestic  public  debt 
in  Oct.,  1864,  amounted  to  1,371  millions  (p.  76).  During 
the  last  year  of  the  war  the  government  was  irretrievably 
bankrupt.  Huge  floating  debts  accumulated,  unpaid  war- 
rants, &c.,  were  ghosts  that  would  not  "down"  at  any  bid- 
ding of  Congress  or  the  Treasury  Department. 

It  would  be  "love's  labor  lost"  to  try  to  excuse  or  vin- 
dicate the  failure  of  the  financial  policy  of  the  Confederacy. 
The  stubborn  facts  are  before  us  and  refuse  to  accept  ex- 
planation. Let  us  concede  frankly  that  they  are  to  be 
admitted  in  their  baldness.  It  is  no  palliative  of  our  re- 
gret that  Dr.  Schwab  and  Dr.  Sumner,  with  their  great 
learning  and  ability,  and  all  other  writers,  English  and 
American,  while  condemning  the  Confederate  finances, 
have  never  been  able  to  suggest  what  would  have  been 
a  safer  policy,  or  what  would,  or  could,  have  prevented  a 
redundant  or  depreciated  currency,  or  fluctuation  and  ex- 
cess in  prices,  or  supplied  the  government  with  available 
credit  or  money. 

In  all  revolutionary  crises,  demanding  large  and  unex- 
pected uses  of  money,  or  its  representatives,  governments 
and  people  have  sustained  heavy  losses  and  repeated  the 
experiences  of  the  Confederacy.  Dr.  Schwab  with  candor 
mentions  not  a  few  parallel  instances  as  occurring  in  the 
North,  in  Prance,  in  Austria,  in  Italy  and  during  our  Revo- 


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The  Struggle  of  the  Confederacy. — Curry.  507 

lutionary  struggle.  Under  Secretary  Chase's  financial 
regimey  the  Northern  banks  lost,  as  did  the  Southern,  a 
large  part  of  their  specie  to  the  government.  The  North, 
the  South,  France,  shared  in  the  same  illusion  that  interest- 
bearing  notes  would  be  held  for  investment  and  so  pre- 
vent redundancy  (89).  The  Confederate  Government 
elaborated  financial  transactions  with  foreign  houses  on 
the  security  of  exports  of  highly-prized  products,  and 
Hamilton  in  1779  urged  a  foreign  loan  as  a  remedy  for  the 
disturbed  state  of  the  currency.  During  the  Revolution, 
financial  distress  compelled  the  government  to  obtain  for- 
eign supplies  by  placing  loans  on  the  security  of  American 
products.  Both  governments  suffered  from  wastefulness 
in  securing  the  supplies  (28,  29).  The  funding  of  the  Con- 
federate debt,  a  kind  of  repudiation  which  proved  decep- 
tive in  correcting  the  redundancy  of  the  currency  and  in 
helping  the  national  credit  and  which  was  the  sure  precur- 
sor of  the  wreck  of  Confederate  finances,  was  a  copy  of  the 
devices  adopted  during  the  French  and  American  Revolu- 
tions (46,  59). 

The  reviewer  has  an  interesting  collection  of  "shin- 
plasters,"  issued  during  the  "hard  times"  of  1837-1840,  and 
so  in  the  North  as  well  as  in  the  South,  during  the  war, 
States,  municipalities,  merchants,  innkeepers,  &c.,  issued 
their  promissory  notes  making  them  redeemable  in  goods 
or  services,  or  when  a  larger  sum  was  presented  for  pay- 
ment. 

A  favorite  mode  of  bolstering  different  forms  of  paper 
currency  has  been  to  make  them  a  legal  tender,  and  the 
United  States  Congress  passed  its  first  Legal  Tender  Act, 
25  Feb.,  1862.  Treasury  notes  to  the  amount  of  $150,- 
000,000  were  authorized,  receivable  in  payment  of  all  debts, 
except  duties  and  interest  due  to  and  from  the  Federal 
Government.  This  compulsory  scheme  was  favored  by 
Secretary  Chase  although  as  Chief  Justice  he  declared 
against  its  constitutionality,  and  it  became  necessary  after- 


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5o8  Southern  History  Association. 

wards,  as  the  Court  was  equally  divided,  to  appoint  an  ad- 
ditional judge  known  to  be  favorable  to  the  strained  con- 
struction of  the  Constitution.  In  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress bills  to  make  treasury  notes  a  legal  tender  were 
often  introduced  and  as  often  successfully  resisted.  The 
reviewer  has  the  notes  of  a  speech  made  in  the  Congress 
in  opposition  to  this  effort,  in  which  Tie  urged  that  such  a 
compulsory  method  of  imparting  an  artificial  value  to 
money  or  government  credit  had  universally  proved  a  fail- 
ure ;  that  it  was  an  impairment  of  contracts ;  that  the  injec- 
tion into  the  Constitution  of  a  power  not  specifically 
granted,  but  intentionally  omitted,  was  an  utter  departure 
from  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  government  which 
was  intended  to  guard  against  the  assumption  of  powers 
not  granted,  &c.,  and  that  on  the  grounds  of  expediency 
the  remedy  for  the  evil  was  a  foredoomed  failure.  The 
story  of  the  Continental  currency  and  of  French  assigncUs 
was  cited  as  conclusive  against  the  measure. 

As  auxiliary  to  remedial  legislation  and  to  help  debtors 
in  their  distress;  the  States  passed  stay-laws,  relaxed  col- 
lection laws  and  tried  many  measures  to  limit  the  rights 
of  creditors.  These  measures  grew  out  of  the  stringency 
of  the  times,  the  diminution  of  means  wherewith  to  pay 
debts,  and  the  worthlessness  of  the  "money."  They  may 
be,  doubtless  are,  indefensible,  but  they  are  the  common 
resort  of  all  countries  controlled  by  public  opinion,  when 
panics  and  bank  suspensions  occur. 

The  Confederate  Government  in  its  sore  trials  and  in- 
ability to  reap  benefits  from  bonds  and  fiat  money  and  the 
impossibility  of  filling  coffers  by  duties  on  imports  or 
by  direct  taxation  resorted  to  a  tax  in  kind,  largely  at  the 
suggestion  and  on  the  advocacy  of  Senator  Hunter,  who 
had  been  Chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  resorted  to  impress- 
ments which  produced  much  discontent  and  aroused  no 
little  of  the  opposition  to  the  continuance  of  the  war.    The 


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The  Struggle  of  the  Confederacy, — Curry.  509 

aggravations  of  burdens,  already  too  heavy  to  be  borne> 
found  no  comfort  or  defence  in  the  fact  that,  under  similar 
conditions  and  with  like  complaints,  impressments  were  re- 
sorted to  during  the  French  Revolution  and  our  Revo- 
lutionary War.  The  policies  of  the  Confederate  and  of  the 
Continental  Congress  also  "ran  strikingly  parallel  in  their 
restricting  foreign  trade  and  also  in  engaging  in  it"  (256, 
266,  265). 

These  illustrations  might  be  multiplied  as  showing  that 
counterparts  of  our  action  are  easily  found  elsewhere  and 
that  our  conditions  made  a  sound  currency  and  the  col- 
lection of  sufficient  revenue  by  taxation  and  the  ordinary 
peace  methods  an  impossibility.  Only  the  survivors  of  the 
war  can  know  the  privations  and  sufferings,  physical 
and  mental,  of  that  terrible  period,  when  salt  was  often 
procured  by  digging  up  and  boiling  the  saturated  earth 
of  the  smoke  houses;  when  coffee  was  unobtainable, 
sassafras  was  the  substitute  for  tea,  sorghum  for  sugar 
and  molasses,  medicines  were  not  to  be  had,  a  pair  of 
shoes  cost  $100.00,  a  barrel  of  flour,  $900,  hats  and  cloth- 
ing were  made  at  home  with  rudest  implements,  railways, 
in  bridges  and  rolling  stock,  were  in  a  dismantled  condi- 
tion, prices  for  the  commonest  necessaries  were  fabulous, 
and,  as  our  industries  were  almost  exclusively  agricultural, 
attempts  to  secure  material  means  to  carry  on  the  war  or 
enjoy  former  home  comforts  were  hindered  on  every  side. 

Dr.  Schwab  expresses  the  simple  but  generally  unac- 
knowledged truth  that  "it  was  the  blockade  rather  than  the 
ravages  of  the  army  that  sapped  the  industrial  strength  ot 
the  Confederacy"  (236).  It  destroyed  imports  and  exports 
as  a  basis  for  revenue  and  as  a  stimulus  to  production; 
it  made  legislation  on  trade  impotent;  it  surrounded  the 
South  with  a  Chinese  wall;  it  perpetuated  original  in- 
equalities in  manufactures  and  various  industries ;  it  made 
each  day  darker  and  more  ominous  by  the  helplessness  of 
industrial  improvement. 


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5IO  Southern  History  Association. 

Chapter  X  on  the  Military  Despotism  of  the  Confeder- 
ate Government  is  less  just  to  the  South  than  other  chap- 
ters and  more  partial  to  the  North,  and  relies  more  im- 
plicitly on  authorities  that  we  know  to  be  prejudiced  and 
persistently  unfavorable  to  the  Confederacy.  We  may  as 
well  admit  the  historic  truth  that  war  and  a  limited  con- 
stitution are  irreconcilable  and  that  restrictions  intended 
for  peace  are  trammels  which  like  the  fetters  on  Samson 
will  be  torn  asunder  in  a  conflict  of  life  and  death.  De- 
spotism in  an  army  seems  to  be  a  necessary  outgrowth  of 
a  protracted  and  formidable  war.  Hence  both  govern- 
ments— ^the  Confederate  and  the  Federal — ^recruited  their 
forces  by  conscription,  which  tyrannous  exercise  of  power 
was  less  excusable  in  the  North  with  a  largely  preponder- 
ant population  and  with  access  to  foreign  enlistments  which 
supplied  720,000  men  to  her  army.  The  suspension  of  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  by  the  Confederate  Congress  was  from 
February  27,  1862,  to  August  i,  1864,  but  in  many  parts 
of  the  country  it  was  a  dead  letter.  Dr.  Schwab  (190)  uses 
this  decisive  language:  *The  Confederate  Government, 
in  suspending  the  functions  of  the  civil  authorities  at 
various  times  and  places  during  the  war,  did  not  employ 
this  extreme  war  measure  with  the  stringency  character- 
istic of  the  similar  line  of  policy  adopted  by  the  Federal 
Government.  In  the  North  the  relentless  declaration  of 
martial  law  was  much  more  eflfectively  and  harshly  used 
as  a  means  of  cowing  the  opposition  and  restraining  the 
disloyal,  &c."  Senator  Hoar,  in  the  Senate,  in  June  last, 
said:  "The  courts-martial  during  the  Civil  War  were  a 
scandal  to  the  civilized  world." 

Dr.  Schwab  is  satirical  in  contrasting  the  religious  re- 
vivals in  the  Southern  army  with  "the  revolting  picture 
of  moral  decadence"  which  he  finds  to  have  existed  in  the 
South.  A  distinguished  General  in  the  Union  army,  who 
illustrated  with  terrible  reality  the  aphorism,  said:  "War 
is  hell."     War  is  not  favorable  to  the  gentler  virtues,  but. 


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The  Struggle  of  the  Confederacy. — Curry.  511 

altho  my  testimony  may  be  discredited,  I  wish  to  affirm 
that  morality  in  the  South  did  not  suffer  the  decadence 
which  is  charged.  In  the  cities  there  was  some  repre- 
hensible laxity  but  in  the  villages  and  rural  districts  the 
departure  from  the  usual  correct  standard  was  not  so 
marked  as  to  distinguish  from  former  days. 

Amid  the  severities  and  sufferings  consequent  on  a  war 
of  invasion,  aggravated  and  intensified  by  unusual  condi- 
tions, the  patriotism  of  the  Southern  States  and  people 
stands  out  in  inextinguishable  glory.  Men  and  women 
never  exhibited  greater  patience,  endurance,  courage. 
"The  Southern  cause  evoked  as  much  devoted  loyalty  as 
has  been  called  forth  by  any  cause  in  history;  and  that 
cause  was  supported  at  a  cost  greater  than  in  any  similar 
conflict.  The  Southerners*  sacrifices  far  exceeded  those 
of  the  Revolutionary  patriots"  (312).  The  unconquerable 
devotion  to  principle  and  country  makes  a  sublime  record 
that  the  history  of  ages  will  not  surpass.  While  disinte- 
grating forces  within  were  incessant  and  irresistible,  cour- 
age and  hope  remained  until  the  tragedy  closed  at  Appo- 
matox. 

Notwithstanding,  rather  because  of  the  mild  criticism  we 
have  found  it  necessary  to  make,  we  wish  to  commend 
this  book  as  a  real  contribution  to  history  and  as  a  praise- 
worthy instance  of  how  the  asperities  of  war  have  been 
softened.  "To  the  student  of  our  country's  history  that 
of  the  Confederate  States  is  the  story  of  a  fierce  struggle 
against  overwhelming  odds,  the  culmination  of  an  inevit- 
able conflict  the  foundations  of  which  were  laid  in  an 
earlier  period.  *  *  To  the  economist  the  war  does  not 
centre  about  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  South  to  resist  the 
strategy  of  the  Northern  generals,  but  it  centres  about 
the  picture  it  presents  of  the  negation  of  normal  ecenomic 
forces'*  (310). 


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BOOK  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES. 

The  Old  Plantation.  How  We  Lived  in  Great  House 
and  Cabin  before  the  War.  By  James  Battle  Avirett.  F. 
Tennyson  Neely  Co.,  New  York,  Chicago,  London,  copyr. 
1901,  D,  pp.  X.+220,  port,  of  author  and  of  Dr.  Hunter 
McGuire,  $1.50. 

This  work  belongs  to  a  class  of  memoirs  dealing  with 
the  part  of  Southern  life  of  which  we  have  had  unfor- 
tunately too  few.  It  is  a  conservative,  unexaggerated  ac- 
count of  plantation  life  in  the  South  under  the  old  regime 
by  one  who  was  reared  on  the  plantation,  and  who  knew 
all  fli  the  ins  and  outs,  the  cares  and  vexations  of  the 
planter's  life,  and  who  is  therefore  able  to  write  of  such 
things  with  all  of  the  devotion  due  to  treasured  memories. 
Mr.  Avirett,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, bred  to  the  law,  chaplain  on  the  staff  of  Turner  Ashby, 
author  of  a  work  on  Ashby  and  his  compeers,  and  for 
many  years  a  clergyman  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  takes  as  the  subject  of  his  volume  the  plantation 
and  home  life  of  his  own  parents,  and  writes  of  scenes  and 
surroundings  with  which  he  was  eminently  familiar.  This 
plantation,  one  of  the  largest  in  the  South,  was  situated  in 
Onslow  county,  N.  C.  The  daily  life  of  the  slaves  and  of 
their  master  and  mistress,  in  seed  time  and  harvest,  in 
winter  and  summer,  on  work  day  and  holiday,  at  com 
shucking  and  coon  hunting,  and  above  all  at  Christmas 
time,  is  told.  The  watchfulness  which  these  servants  re- 
ceived in  clothing,  food,  medical  attention,  houses  and  in 
all  of  those  elements  which  relieved  them  from  carking 
care,  and  the  lack  of  which  to-day  makes  the  life  of  the 
freedman  a  burden  and  his  body  a  prey  to  disease,  are  all 
recounted  in  a  simple  and  unaffected  way,  but  with  a  large 
vein  of  humor.    There  is  no  defense  of  the  Southern  plan- 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  513 

ter,  nor  of  his  system,  nor  of  his  home  life,  for  no  defense 
is  needed.  A  true  story  of  that  life  as  that  here  given  is  its 
best  defense.  The  master  and  mistress,  the  directors  of 
this  patriarchal  domain,  where  commercialism  was  never 
known  to  enter,  were  the  only  real  slaves  on  the  estate. 
They  were  the  ones  who  felt  the  weight  of  responsibility 
and  the  burden  of  care.  They  and  their  equals  were  the 
ones  to  whom  the  armies  of  the  United  States  brought 
real  freedom  in  1865. 

While  the  scene  of  these  memorials  is  laid  in  North 
Carolina,  the  pictures  given  are  in  no  sense  peculiar  to  the 
State.  They  were  reproduced  on  hundreds  of  estates 
throughout  the  South,  and  Uncle  Amos,  Daddy  Cain, 
Uncle  Philip  and  Buck  and  Handy  are  national  characters 
to  a  man  born  in  the  South.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
an  author  who  grew  up  with  such  surroundings  would  use 
the  negro  dialect  to  perfection,  while  such  strong  words  as 
"tote,"  "gallavanting,"  "cuirisum"  and  *'progecing'^  betray 
his  nativity.  There  are  many  references  to  the  prominent 
men  of  the  State,  both  living  and  dead ;  many  side  lights 
on  the  politics  of  the  times,  and  many  contributions  to  the 
culture  history  of  the  South. 

In  form  the  book  is  a  twelve  mo,  set  solid.  An  octavo 
form  with  leaded  type  would  have  greatly  improved  its  ap- 
pearance. There  is  no  table  of  contents,  no  chapter  head- 
ings, no  running  headlines  and  no  index.  There  are 
numerous  slips  in  proper  names  and  some  in  historical 
facts.  The-  introduction  by  Dr.  Hunter  McGuire  adds 
nothing  to  the  value  of  the  work,  which  is  in  itself  one 
of  the  most  faithful  and  accurate  presentations  of  the  life 
of  the  Southern  planter — a  phase  of  English  civilization 
transplanted  to  America,  and  which  no  longer  is — that 
exists  in  our  literature.  On  such  memorials  the  novelist 
of  the  future  will  base  a  story  that  will  be  an  everlasting 
answer  to  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin. 


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514  Southern  History  Association, 

Selections  from  the  Southern  Poets.  Selected  and 
edited  by  William  Lander  Weber.  New  York :  The  Mac- 
millan  Company,  1901,  16°,  pp.  L.+221,  levanteen,  25 
cents. 

Professor  Weber  says  that  this  book  is  intended  pri- 
marily to  meet  the  recommendation  of  the  Georgia  Teach- 
ers' Association  that  applicants  for  admission  into  Georgia 
colleges  be  examined  on  selections  from  Southern  poets. 
The  anthology  presents  64  selections  from  25  poets.  The 
introduction  gives  a  condensed  sketch  of  the  life  of  each 
with  "appreciations,"  illuminations,  as  we  would  say  his- 
torically, on  their  work.  There  is  a  short  bibliography, 
principally  of  sources.  There  are  notes,  literary,  critical 
and  historical.  The  selections  represent  the  best  work  of 
their  respective  authors  and  the  volume  will  serve  a  useful 
purpose  in  introducing  these  poets  to  their  own  people. 
It  is  desirable  that  the  recommendation  of  the  Georgia 
teachers  be  put  into  force  in  every  State  in  the  South. 

The  History  of  South  Carolina  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, 1775-1780.  By  Edward  McCrady.  New  York:  The 
Macmillan  Company,  1901,  pp.  xxxiii.-|-899,  maps  and 
plans,  cloth,  $3.50. 

This  book  is  really  the  third  volume  of  the  magnificent 
series  that  General  McCrady  planned  as  the  history  of 
South  Carolina,  the  two  previous  ones  covering  the  Pro- 
prietary and  the  Royal  periods.  It  shows  the  same  thor- 
oughness of  research,  the  same  grasp  of  details,  and  the 
same  comprehensiveness  of  treatment,  but  to  the  general 
reader  it  is  far  more  interesting  because  the  very  nature 
of  the  subject,  with  the  burst  of  angry  passions  and  the 
stirring  events  of  the  war,  gave  much  wider  scope  for  the 
author's  descriptive  pen  and  philosophical  breadth  and 
powers  of  summarizing. 

After  a  few  thoughtful  reflections  on  the  beginning  of 
the  struggle,  and  its  progress  in  the  Northern  colonies. 


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we  have  a  full  narration  of  all  the  movements  in  South 
Carolina,  including  both  the  civil  and  military  sides,  the 
disgraceful  squabblings  and  petty  jealousies  among  the 
patriots  not  being  spared  a  plain  exposition.  With  the 
accounts  of  the  local  uprising  we  have  sufficient  temperate 
comments  on  the  general  course  of  affairs  for  us  to  under- 
stand the  entire  mighty  upheaval  in  America.  It  is  no 
mere  dry  chronicle  that  we  have.  Indeed,  with  a  writer 
of  Gen.  McCrady's  insight  and  varied  experience,  it  is 
only  a  necessary  result  that  we  are  made  to  see  the  close 
connection  between  the  parts  and  the  whole,  and  to  realize 
what  important  bearings  these  isolated  military  successes 
in  South  Carolina  had  on  the  fate  of  liberty.  Throughout 
we  are  impressed  with  the  great,  priceless  contribution  this 
little  triangular  space  made  to  the  common  cause.  No- 
where else  has  it  ever  been  set  forth  with  such  lucidity  and 
strength,  the  frightful  sacrifices  of  the  common  folk,  and 
the  value  and  magnitude  of  the  achievements  of  the  irregu- 
lar commands  under  Sumter,  Marion  and  others.  Still 
more  remarkable  does  this  appear  when  we  compare  the 
operations  of  the  volunteers  and  the  drilled  troops  sent 
down  from  higher  latitudes.  During  1780  "the  regularly 
organized  armies  under  the  Continental  generals,  Lincoln 
and  Gates,"  in  eight  engagements  suffered  casualties  of 
8,377, 2is  against  a  British  casualty  of  only  647.  But  in  five 
months  of  that  year  "the  partisan  bands  in  South  Carolina 
under  their  own  chosen  leaders  had  fought  twenty-six 
battles,"  inflicting  a  total  loss  on  the  British  of  2,486,  at  a 
loss  to  themselves  of  only  817.  It  was  the  activity  of 
these  small  volunteer  forces  that  broke  up  the  British  plan 
of  campaign  which  was  so  much  like  the  decisive  incursion 
in  the  Civil  War.  Cornwallis  intended  to  advance  north- 
ward and  crush  Washington  between  himself  and  Clinton, 
just  as  Sherman  really  acted  with  Lee. 

A  most  instructive  and  entertaining  feature  of  the  book 
are  the  glimpses  we  catch  of  the  parallelism  that  seems  to 

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5i6  Southern  History  Association, 

run  constantly  in  the  author's  mind  between  revolution 
and  "Secession"  days.  Especially  does  he  point  out  the 
difference  in  spirit  of  those  who  took  up  arms  to  defend 
their  views.  In  the  first  contest  democracy  had  not  yet 
worked  its  leaven ;  the  ranks  had  largely  to  be  filled  with 
mercenaries,  hirelings,  deserters,  while  the  better  element 
were  coolly  content  to  serve  as  officers.  In  the  latter 
shock,  the  flower  of  the  land  rushed  to  the  standards  as 
privates  and  "served  throughout  it  (the  war)  regardless 
of  the  amount  of  their  pay.^' 

It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  the  closing  words  of  the 
task  promise  another  volume,  to  complete  the  story  of  the 
Revolution,  in  which  Gen.  McCrady  indicates  he  will  not 
be  a  blind  eulogist  of  Greene.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the 
mass  of  manuscript  material  from  Greene  is  not  in  print, 
so  that  Gen.  McCrady  could  have  the  evidence  from  both 
sides  to  aid  him  in  preserving  an  impartial  poise. 

History  of  Maryland.  By  L.  Magruder  Passano. 
Baltimore:  William  J.  C.  Dulany  Co.,  1900,  i2mo,  pp.  245, 
cloth,  many  illustrations,  index. 

The  history  of  Maryland,  like  that  of  most  of  the  coun- 
try, is  yet  to  be  written.  New  material  is  coming  to  light, 
long-held  views  are  yielding  to  investigation  and  to  the 
handling  of  authoritative  documents  in  a  scientific  spirit, 
and  scholarship  is  teaching  men  that  the  writing  of  history 
is  something  more  than  the  compilation  of  facts  or  a  re- 
cording in  pleasing  style  of  episodes  in  the  life  of  a  people. 
Mr.  Passano  has  evidently  recognized  changed  conditions, 
and  has  endeavored  to  place  himself  in  harmony  with  them. 
His  book,  though,  written  especially  for  use  in  public  and 
private  schools,  places  limitations  upon  him.  Naturally  it 
must  be  rather  elementary,  much  must  be  said  in  little 
space  and  the  student  must  be  given  a  broad  sketch  rather 
than  a  detailed  survey  of  the  events  of  nearly  three  hun- 
dred years,  their  causes  and  their  results.    To  meet  such 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  517 

requirements  is  a  difficult  task.  But  Mr.  Passano  has  es- 
sayed it  quite  successfully.  His  best  work  has  been  done 
in  the  colonial  period,  which  is  more  or  less  familiar 
ground.  In  dealing  with  the  post-revolutionary  times  he 
has,  however,  given  rather  too  much  attention  to  political 
events  to  the  neglect  of  the  material  progress  of  the  State. 
That  field  in  Maryland  history  has  hardly  been  touched 
as  it  should  be  by  any  writer.  Its  study  is  of  far  more 
value  to  a  child  than  that  of  the  doings  of  politicians  and 
warriors,  though  it  may  not  at  first  be  quite  as  entertain- 
ing. In  spite  of  his  undoubted  ability  to  think  for  himself 
and  to  maintain  a  judicial  pose  in  his  writing,  Mr.  Passano 
has  not  escaped  from  the  incubus  placed  upon  Maryland 
history  by  earlier  writers.  For  instance,  referring  to  the 
troubles  here  in  the  days  of  the  English  Revolution,  he 
writes:  "Claiborne,  however,  bided  his  time.  Six  years 
later  joining  one  Richard  Ingle,  a  tobacco  trader  and  prob- 
ably a  pirate,  he  invaded  Maryland  and  captured  Kent  Is- 
land, while  Ingle  took  St.  Mary's.  Ingle  afid  his  followers 
for  the  next  two  years  roamed  about  seizing  com  and 
tobacco,  cattle,  and  in  fact  everything  they  could  lay  their 
hands  on."  Why  "probably  a  pirate  ?"  Why  has  Mr.  Pas- 
sano not  consulted  printed  material  bearing  upon  that 
episode  and  throwing  it  into  a  light  radically  diflferent 
from  the  one  in  which  it  was  originally  placed  for  a  prac- 
tical purpose  ?  Why  will  the  intelligent  young  Sinbads  of 
Maryland  history  continue  to  permit  the  Old  Man  of  the 
Sea,  Tradition,  to  bestride  their  shoulders  ? 

Edward  Ingi<e. 

North  Carolina  History  Stories.  By  W.  C.  Allen. 
Richmond:  B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing  Company.  In  five 
books.    D.  pp.  45+47+48+48+45,  10  cents  each. 

Book  one  deals  with  the  Roanoke  colony ;  Book  two  with 
Lawson,  the  Cary  rebellion  and  the  Tuscarora  war ;  the  last 
three  relate  principally  to  detached  incidents  in  the  war  of 


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5i8  Southern  History  Association. 

the  Revolution.  The  stories  are  told  in  simple,  child-like 
language  and  will  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  putting  before 
the  infantile  mind  the  most  picturesque  events  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  State.  They  will  do  this  so  far  as  they  are 
accurate,  but  their  inaccuracy  is  amazing.  Nearly  all  the 
canons  of  historical  scholarship  have  been  violated.  Names 
are  wrong,  dates  are  wrong,  things  are  given  as  cold  facts 
that  we  can  only  reason  to  be  true  and  the  picture  on 
cover  is  imaginary.  Further,  in  many  cases  the  author  has 
failed  utterly  to  grasp  the  real  meaning  of  the  events  he 
describes.  This  is  notably  true  in  his  account  of  the  Gary 
rebellion  and  of  the  career  of  John  Porter.  He  even 
makes  the  latter  responsible  for  the  Tuscarora  war !  Why 
does  not  this  writer  base  his  story  on  the  sources  and  not 
on  Hawks  ?  Had  he  done  this  he  could  have  told  also  why 
Barnwell  was  so  willing  to  accept  the  surrender  of  the 
Tuscarora  fort.  Nothing  is  so  hard  to  kill  as  an  historical 
error.  Barnwell  waited  for  170  years  for  his  reason  to  be- 
come known;  "perhaps  in  170  years  more  it  may  have 
filtered  down  through  the  heads  of  stupid  pedagogues  into 
the  school  histories. 

History  of  South  Fork  Baptist  Association.  By 
Maj.  W.  A.  Graham.  Lincolnton,  N.  C. :  The  Journal  Print- 
ing Company,  1901,  O.,  pp.  200,  port,  of  author.  To  be 
had  of  the  author,  Machpelah,  N.  C,  price  75  cents. 

This  study  deals  with  the  history  of  the  Baptist  churches 
in  Lincoln,  Catawba  and  Gaston  counties,  N.  C,  during 
the  19th  century.  It  is  based  largely  on  the  unprinted 
records  of  the  various  congregations  and  contains  a  map 
of  the  territory  embraced  in  the  Association.  The  South 
Fork  Association  itself  dates  only  from  1878.  It  sprang 
from  the  Catawba  River  Association,  1827-1878,  which  dis- 
appeared in  the  organization  of  the  new.  The  Catawba 
came  mainly  from  the  Broad  River  Association,  and  this 
was  the  result  of  the  work  of  missionaries  who  came  into 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  5 1 9 

this  country  from  Charleston,  for  these  people  looked  to  the 
South  Carolina  metropolis  as  their  trade  center,  and  then, 
as  now,  religious  work  followed  business  routes,  the  Ca- 
tawba River  being  in  general  the  dividing  line  between  the 
missionary  work  of  the  Charleston,  S.  C,  Association  and 
that  of  Sandy  Creek,  N.  C.  Broad  River  Association  was 
organized  in  1800,  and  was  the  first  in  that  section  of  the 
State. 

Major  Graham  has  sketched  briefly  the  career  of  the 
parent  associations  as  an  introduction  to  that  of  South 
Fork.  He  has  investigated  and  written  of  the  history  of 
individual  churches  and  has  added  many  biographical 
sketches  of  ministers,  and,  being  a  layman,  has  frequently 
criticised  them  and  pointed  out  their  weaknesses — some- 
thing very  unusual  in  church  historians,  who  are  too  much 
prone  to  exalt  and  magnify  all  things  with  which  they  deal. 
A  list  of  delegates  to  associations  and  an  index  are  added. 

Major  Graham  has  also  in  press  a  Life  of  his  grandfather, 
General  Joseph  Graham,  and  an  address  on  the  Life  and 
Character  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene,  with  a  recapitula- 
tion of  the  services  of  North  Carolina  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  delivered  in  Greensboro,  N.  C,  in  i860,  by  his 
father,  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Graham. 

Reminiscences  of  a  Southern  Woman.  By  Mrs. 
George  Bryan  Conrad.  Published  by  Hampton  Institute 
Press,  Hampton,  Va. 

Up  to  1861  there  lived,  not  far  from  the  coast,  on  the 
rivers  of  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas,  a  class  of  rice-plant- 
ers, who  were  even  then  unique,  and  the  like  of  whom  will 
certainly  never  be  seen  again.  They  were  usually  large 
land-owners,  nearly  all  of  them  prosperous,  and  many 
wealthy,  according  to  the  scale  of  those  days.  Their  lives 
were  generally  very  far  from  idle,  busied  with  the  care  of 
large  estates  and  hundreds  of  negroes.  The  lady  of  the 
house  frequently  not  only  presided  over  a  large  establish- 


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520  Southern  History  Association. 

ment,  but  also  looked  after  the  physical  and  moral  welfare 
of  the  "settlement,"  or  negro  village.  Yet  time  was  found 
for  social  amenities — an  atmosphere  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment pervaded  these  homes.  Warm-hearted,  unostenta- 
tious hospitality  was  general — ^more  ideal  hosts  and  host- 
esses could  not  have  existed.  The  guest  was  never  con- 
scious of  being  "entertained,"  but  was  left  to  himself  to  do 
what  he  pleased,  but  whatever  he  preferred  to  do  somehow 
always  turned  out  to  be  ready  to  his  hand.  At  dinner  the 
happenings  of  the  pleasant  days  would  be  talked  over — 
how  well  hounds  had  run,  and  riders  followed — wonderful 
work  of  setters,  or  pointers — or  perhaps  some  recently 
published  book  would  be  discussed  with  trained  and  dis- 
criminating taste.  Then,  when  the  ladies  had  retired  from 
table,  and  the  men  sat  over  the  wine  would  come  through 
the  open  windows  air  fragrant  from  the  flowers  outside, 
mingling  with  the  aroma  from  madeira  and  claret — ^the  set- 
ting sun — ^nowhere  more  beautiful  than  on  those  rivers — 
would  glint  through  the  bright  green  leaves  of  the  live- 
oaks,  gray-bearded  with  Spanish  moss ;  from  the  drawing- 
room  came  faintly  heard  refined  restful  voices,  or  it  may 
be  from  the  lawn  a  ripple  of  girlish  laughter  as  the  petted 
blooded  colts  received  their  daily  lumps  of  sugar.  These 
men,  when  the  time  came,  turned  their  plough-shares  into 
swords  and  fought  the  most  gallant  fight  for  representa- 
tive government  ever  made,  until  the  present  war  in  South 
Africa.  And  these  were  the  women,  who,  dressed  in 
homespun,  living  on  scanty  hard  food,  refugeeing  in  log 
cabins,  when  their  homes  were  burned,  superintended  plan- 
tations and  farms  in  the  absence  of  the  men,  and  worked 
their  fingers  to  the  bone  in  sewing  rough  clothing  for 
them — it  was  their  hands  which  ministered  in  hospitals, 
and  it  was  their  hearts  which  during  the  inferno  of  "recon- 
struction" saved  life  from  being  unendurable.  The  negroes 
— "servants"  expresses  their  status  much  more  fitly  than 
"slaves" — showed  remarkable  fidelity  during  this  war,  and 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  521 

all  honor  to  them  for  it,  but  it  was  also  a  splendid  proof  of 
the  fostering  care  and  love  of  the  masters  and  mistresses, 
and  the  success  of  that  regime. 

It  is  the  reminiscences  of  her  childhood  in  one  of  these 
communities,  which  the  author  has  so  charmingly  pre- 
served. Originally  intended  only  for  her  children,  the 
larger  interest  of  the  narrative  has  resulted  in  its  being 
given  to  the  public,  whose  only  regret  will  be  that  it  is  not 
longer.  These  experiences  were  had  chiefly  on  the  Alta- 
maha  River,  in  southern  Georgia,  in  one  of  the  most  de- 
lightful of  the  rice-planting  neighborhoods  referred  to, 
where  the  winters  were  usually  so  mild,  that  by  February 
the  woods  were  golden  with  the  yellow  jessamine,  and  the 
soft  air  filled  with  its  perfume,  close  to  "The  range  of 
the  marshes,  the  liberal  marshes  of  Glynn,"  of  which  La- 
nier sings. 

The  dedication  best  gives  the  key-note  to  the  book: 
"This  little  book  is  dedicated  to  my  children  in  the  hope 
that  it  may  give  them  some  slight  idea  of  the  relations  that 
existed  between  master  and  slave  when  I  was  a  child.  The 
confidence  bestowed  upon  the  latter  by  the  former  was  so 
great  that  many  a  front-door  was  never  even  closed,  until 
emancipation  came  alienating  the  races  and  changing  trust 
into  suspicion." 

"Reconstruction"  is  now  admitted  to  have  been  "a  po- 
litical mistake,"  because  it  did  not  permanently  put  in 
bondage  the  thinking,  ( ?)  voting  power  of  the  South,  but 
one  rises  from  reading  this  narrative  so  gently  told  with 
the  conviction  that  "reconstruction"  was  far  more  than 
this — that  it  was  an  atrocious  crime — ^and  not  least  against 
the  negro  himself. 

Edward  L.  Wells. 

A  Summer  Hymnal,  a  Romance  of  Tennessee.  By 
John  Trotwood  Moore.  Philadelphia:  Henry  T.  Coates 
&  Co.,  1901,  pp.  vi+332,  12  mo,  5  illus.,  cloth,  $1.25. 


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522  Southern  History  Association. 

In  this  romance  of  Middle  Tennessee,  the  author  follows 
the  lead  of  James  Lane  Allen  in  hanging  a  bit  of  idyllic  life 
upon  a  commonplace  love  story.  If  Mr.  Moore's  admirers 
had  not  so  frequently  compared  him  to  Mr.  Allen,  a  com- 
parison in  this  instance  would  be  ungracious;  for  the 
Tennessee  author  suffers  by  it.  He  lacks  the  naturalness, 
and  so,  the  unaflFectedness  of  Mr.  Allen.  Unlike  the  latter, 
he  seems  deliberately  to  have  chosen  to  be  a  student  and 
lover  of  out-of-door  life,  and  that  in  order  to  find  texts 
for  trite  philosophy  and  platitudinous  preaching.  That 
which  relates  to  men  and  women  he  subordinates  to  na- 
ture; and  nature  he  subordinates  to  the  philosophy  and 
the  preaching. 

The  men  and  women  generally  of  the  story  are  as  unreal 
as  are  the  wax  figures  in  the  windows  of  a  clothing  store. 
The  Blind  Man  and  Old  Wash  may  be  regarded  as  the 
most  nearly  alive.  The  philosophy  is  forced  and  the  mor- 
alizing is  cant — the  product,  not  of  a  spontaneous  philos- 
opher, but  of  one  who  goes  out  of  his  way  to  find  lessons 
in  that  which  is  about  him.  This  lack  of  spontaneity  be- 
comes most  unnatural  in  the  description  of  the  ride  to 
Nashville,  when  the  hero,  in  order  to  rescue  the  woman 
whom  he  loves  from  the  villain  who  is  to  be  forced  upon 
her,  must  drive  his  favorite  horse  forty  miles  in  two  hours. 
Such  a  drive  can  be  made  to  seem  probable;  but,  from 
start  to  finish,  it  must  be  a  thrilling  rush,  with  no  time 
for  thought.  Instead  of  this,  the  author  makes  the  hero, 
as  he  follows  the  route  from  the  neighborhood  of  Colum- 
bia to  Nashville,  reflect  deliberately  and  at  length  upon 
the  events  of  the  Civil  War,  when  every  inch  of  this 
ground  was  contended  for  by  the  Federal  and  Confederate 
armies.  A  man  driving  twenty  miles  an  hour  cannot  in- 
dulge in  reverie. 

The  story  as  a  literary  product  must  be  condemned; 
but  it  can  be  commended  for  its  clean,  wholesome  atmos- 
phere, for  the  author's  serious  attempt    to    do   his   best 


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work,  and  for  his  simple  style.  Readers  who  know  Ten- 
nessee south  of  Nashville  will  recognize  most  of  the  local 
references. 

George  S.  Wili<s. 

When  the  Gates  Lift  Up  Their  Heads.  By  Payne 
Erskine.  Boston:  Little,  Brown  &  Company,  1901,  O. 
pp.  vi+445,  cloth,  $1.50. 

This  is. a  story  of  the  seventies  and  the  scene  is  laid 
in  Western  North  Carolina.  The  heroine  is  Portia  Van 
Ostade,  a  Northern  girl,  who  comes  South  for  her 
mother's  health  and  with  her  head  full  of  social  equality 
and  the  inherent  excellence  of  the  negro.  The  hero  is 
John  Marshall,  son  of  a  Southern  gentleman,  who  fell  in 
the  Confederate  War.  He  had  received  the  best  educa- 
tional advantages,  had  traveled  much  and  now  returns  to 
his  ancestral  estates  seeking  to  redeem  them  from  the 
ravages  of  war.  His  reputed  mother  is  a  haughty  Cuban 
Woman,  of  Spanish  descent,  who  despises  Yankees  and 
negroes  with  equal  impartiality.  There  are  many  negroes 
in  the  story  who  jabber  in  almost  unintelligible  dialect; 
there  are  carpetbaggers,  Ku  Klux,  low  whites,  strangers 
and  foreigners;  discussions  on  the  status  of  the  negro, 
socially,  intellectually,  morally;  theories  fine  spun  by  the 
heroine  as  to  the  brotherhood  of  the  race  which  prepare 
the  reader  for  the  denouement.  There  are  moonshiners, 
lovers  saved  by  lovers,  white  cappings,  Ku  Klux  execu- 
tions, parties  and  socials,  some  of  the  new  industrial 
spirit,  much  small  talk  and  trivialties,  negro  sermons  and 
such  stuff  ad  libitum.  There  is  no  Southern  gentlemen; 
Mrs.  Wells  and  her  daughter  are  the  only  Southern  char- 
acters of  the  better  class  in  the  story.  With  exception  of 
these  two  all  the  actors  are  strangers  or  inferiors.  But 
the  action  is  rapid;  the  attention  is  held  closely  and  the 
denouement  is  terrible  and  disgusting.  Considering  how- 
ever the  training  and  feeling  of  the  heroine,  her  belief  in 


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524  Southern  History  Association. 

the  social  equality  of  the  races  and  her  enthusiasm  for 
uplifting  the  negro,  it  must  be  confessed  that  she  nobly 
lives  up  to  her  theories,  and  that  poetic  justice  is  done. 
But  from  the  view  point  of  art  the  story  is  a  failure  and  its 
social  lesson  can  give  only  disgust  to  men  who  believe  the 
Anglo-Saxon  blood  of  the  South  the  best  and  to  whom 
amalgamation  is  the  greatest  of  crimes. 

JoscELYN  Cheshire.  A  story  of  Revolutionary  days  in 
the  Carolinas.  By  Sara  Beaumont  Kennedy.  New  York : 
Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  1901,  O,  pp.  viii+i  leaf +338,  6 
ills,  by  H.  C.  Edwards,  $1.50. 

Joscelyn  Cheshire  is  a  pure  and  wholesome  love  novel 
of  Revolutionary  days  with  the  principal  scenes  laid  in 
the  quaint  old  town  of  Hillsboro,  N.  C.  It  may  be  called 
an  international  love  novel,  for  while  Richard  Clevering, 
the  hero,  is  an  ardent  Whig  and  Continental  soldier, 
Joscelyn,  the  heroine,  is  no  less  ardent  as  a  Tory  and  to 
complicate  politics  and  love  still  more  in  those  days  of 
bitterness  and  estrangement  his  sister,  Betty,  has  a  Tory 
sweetheart  who  is  an  aide  on  Cornwallis's  staff.  There  is 
an  excursion  with  Richard  to  the  North  where  he  serves 
with  Washington,  acts  as  spy  in  Philadelphia,  fights  at 
Monmouth  and  is  taken  prisoner.  His  confinement  on  the 
dreaded  prison  ships  in  Wallabout  Bay,  his  suffering,  the 
heartless  cruelty  of  his  jailors,  his  daring  escape  by  pre- 
tending death,  are  vivid  and  dramatic. 

But  most  interest  centers  in  the  heroine,  who,  in  her 
distant  home,  watches  his  career  with  a  curious  interest. 
She  is  an  uncommon  type  of  heroine  for  she  is  uncon- 
scious of  her  love  and  has  been  often  driven  into  open 
hostility  by  Richard's  easy  and  arrogant  assumption  of  the 
certainty  of  his  conquest.  Her  Tory  wit  and  biting  tongue 
are  more  than  a  match  for  all  her  Whig  detractors,  but 
a  day  came,  after  Cornwallis  pitched  his  camp  in  Hillsboro 
when  he  had  turned  back  from  Virginia  in  his  useless  pur- 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices,  525 

suit  of  Greene,  that  all  her  powers  of  entertainment,  all 
her  nimbleness  of  wit,  all  her  skill  at  repartee,  all  her 
blandishments  were  needed  to  meet  the  cold  and  impassive 
Tarleton  and  so  prevent  the  capture  of  a  Continental  spy 
concealed  in  her  house.  And  all  of  this  seemingly  in  pure 
wantonness —  for  mere  zest  of  danger — for  mere  love  of 
the  contrary,  since  the  spy  goes  with  never  a  word  or  a 
look  that  she  could  interpret  as  meaning  love.  But  it  was 
not  so  with  the  dashing  British  captain — had  Barry  lived 
the  sequel  of  the  story  would  have  been  different,  but 
Barry  fell  at  Yorktown  and  Richard  came  home  a  cripple 
for  life.  Not  even  then  is  he  accepted,  his  persistent 
watchfulness,  his  protection  to  her  count  for  nothing; 
nothing  avails  until  he  loses  his  old  arrogance,  his  self- 
confidence  and  will  power,  not  until  he  is  all  humility  and 
self  distrust,  not  until  he  loses  courage  and  begins  to  whine 
does  the  haughty  Tory  beauty  surrender.  Query:  Was 
the  love  of  a  woman  who  was  so  long  unconscious  of  her 
own  heart  worth  the  having?  Should  a  man  woo  as  a  man 
conscious  of  his  own  dignity  and  self  respect  or  as  a  grov- 
elling craven  looking  up  to  a  superior  order  of  being? 

Spanish  Simplified,  By  Augustin  Knoflack.  New 
York:   University  Pub.  Co. 

This  is  a  small  book  of  less  than  two  hundred  pages, 
but  will  be  found  a  most  excellent  guide  for  persons  study- 
ing the  Spanish  language.  Its  treatise  on  pronunciation 
is  very  plain,  consisting  of  graded  exercises,  after  each 
group  of  letters,  and  the  adoption  of  familiar  marks  used 
in  dictionaries  and  readers.  The  sentences  composing  the 
exercises  are  taken  from  the  conversations  of  everyday 
life,  and  furnish  illustrations  to  grammatical  rules,  and 
supply  at  the  same  time  a  full  equipment  of  all  those  ex- 
pressions that  are  most  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  busi- 
ness or  travel,  so  that  the  book  is  something  of  a  manual 
of  conversation. 


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526  Southern  History  Association, 

In  their  Transactions,  No.  8  (Charleston,  S.  C,  1901, 
paper,  pp.  34),  the  Huguenot  Society  of  South  Carolina 
contribute  two  documents  to  historical  material;  a  let- 
ter of  March  15,  1863,  from  Alfred  Huger,  paying  a  tribute 
to  James  L.  Petigru,  his  friend,  who  had  just  died;  and 
a  personal  narrative,  in  applying  for  a  Revolutionary  War 
pension,  by  F.  G.  DeLieseline,  covering  his  services  for 
the  cause  of  liberty.  Of  the  three  hundred  members  of 
the  Society,  only  two  are  put  down  as  **Huguenots  of  the 
pure  blood  after  two  and  a  quarter  centuries."  Official 
lists  and  reports  conclude  the  issue.  It  was  an  oversight 
not  to  have  table  of  contents  or  running  heads,  or  index, 
or  some  other  guide  for  the  reader. 

A  strong  beautiful  tribute  to  a  great  teacher  and  robust 
nature  is  Professor  W.  M.  Thornton's  Charles  Scott 
Venable  (4to,  15  pp.,  portrait,  n.  p.,  n,  d.).  Born  and 
reared  in  Virginia,  of  a  well  known  Virginia  family.  Pro- 
fessor Venable  had  an  unusual  career  for  one  of  quiet, 
academic  pursuits.  He  had  served  in  three  Southern  col- 
leges up  to  the  commencement  of  the  Civil  War.  Imme- 
diately volunteering,  he  went  through  that  strife  to  Ap- 
pomattox, having  become  a  member  of  General  Lee's 
staff.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  he  resumed  his  peda- 
gogical calling,  in  the  Chair  of  Mathematics  at  the  Vir- 
ginia University  that  he  had  studied  so  ardently  at  in  his 
earlier  days.  For  three  years  he  was  chairman  of  faculty, 
but  during  his  entire  connection,  he  "was  foremost"  in 
working  for  the  development  of  the  institution.  To  him 
"the  University  stands  to-day  indebted  in  large  measure 
to  his  foresight  and  zeal  for  an  increase  of  $130,000  in  her 
equipment,  of  $275,000  in  her  endowment,  and  of  $25,000 
in  her  annual  income — a  capitalized  total  of  over  $1,000,- 
000."  He  was  also  declared  by  a  colleague  to  be  "the 
founder  of  the  wonderful  Miller  Manual  Labor  School, 
next  to  Miller  himself."    It  is  sufficient  proof  of  Venable's 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices.  527 

sense  and  sagacity  with  regard  to  this  school  to  say  that 
he  was  one  of  the  two  men  who  selected  the  efficient  su- 
perintendent, Captain  Charles  E.  Vawter.  In  1896,  just  a 
half  century  after  he  had  beg^n  to  instruct  young  men,  he 
laid  down  his  work,  as  he  felt  his 'age  kept  him  from  full 
discharge  of  duties.  He  died  four  years  later,  August  11, 
1900.  A  query  arises  in  the  mind  whether  a  man  of  such 
energy,  usefulness,  and  wide  influence  does  not  deserve  a 
volume  biography,  especially  when  there  is  such  an  appre- 
ciative and  capable  pen  as  Professor  Thornton's  to  under- 
take the  task.  President  Oilman  honored  a  Yale  profes- 
sor, Dana,  with  more  than  that. 

Dr.  T.  E.  Pickett's  Soulier  of  the  Civil  War  (paper, 
pp.  63)  already  noticed  in  these  Publications  (p.  372)  has 
been  very  favorably  noted  by  competent  authorities  on 
both  sides  of  that  conflict  in  which  General  George  E. 
Pickett  (the  "Soldier")  played  so  prominent  a  part.  Be- 
sides endorsement  through  the  South,  there  was  praise 
for  it  in  the  Alumni  Register  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  it  passed  the  critical  eye  of  the  "Reading 
Committee"  of  the  Boston  Public  Library.  Professor  Bar- 
rett Wendell,  of  Harvard,  who  has  lately  published  a  preg- 
nant history  of  American  literature,  voluntarily  writes  the 
publishers:  "It  is  such  work  as  this  that  is  making  the 
Civil  War  a  heroic  memory,  treasured  alike  by  all  Ameri- 
cans." Especially  commendable  have  been  found  the  fair- 
ness and  accuracy.  It  is  unusual  for  such  facility  of  ex- 
pression, such  vividness  of  style,  such  a  wealth  of  historical 
illustration  and  literary  allusion  to  be  developed  amid  the 
demands  of  the  exacting  profession  of  medicine. 

It  will  be  a  pleasure  to  all  students  of  our  industrial  his- 
tory to  learn  that  Professor  John  R,  Ficklen,  Tulane  Uni- 
versity, New  Orleans,  by  request  of  the  author,  is  trans- 
lating into  English  the  first  volume  of  Professor  Ernst 
von  Halle's  work  on  Cotton  Production  and  Plantation 


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528  Southern  History  Association, 

Management  in  the  South.  It  is  presumable  he  will  do  the 
same  with  the  second  volume  when  that  appears.  Dr.  von 
Halle  in  his  capacity  of  Professor  of  Political  Economy  of 
the  University  of  Berlin  and  Economic  Adviser  to  the  Ger- 
man Admiralty  has  been  a  prolific  writer.  By  mistake  it 
was  stated  on  p.  332  of  present  volume  of  these  Publica- 
tions that  none  of  his  labors  had  been  put  into  English 
dress.  On  the  contrary,  through  the  kindness  of  careful 
students,  it  had  been  discovered  that  one  of  his  investiga- 
tions, on  "Trusts,"  was  composed  in  English. 

The  Association  for  the  Preservation  of  Virginia  An- 
tiquities have  put  on  sale  their  Year  Book,  which  con- 
tains much  valuable  antiquarian  and  genealogical  informa- 
tion about  Virginia,  especially  the  locality  of  Jamestown, 
embellished  with  a  dozen  illustrations.  The  organization 
has  been  maintained  chiefly  by  a  few  Virginia  women,  who 
hope  to  awaken  an  active  outside  interest.  Annual  mem- 
bership fee  is  $1.00;  life  fee,  $10,00.  All  communications 
may  be  addressed  to  the  Secretary,  Mrs.  J.  Enders  Robin- 
son, 113  Third  street,  South,  Richmond,  Va. 

Hon.  Walter  Clark  has  printed  his  address  before  the 
North  Carolina  Teachers'  Assembly  on  "How  can  inter- 
est BE  AROUSEP  IN  THE  STUDY  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  NoRTH 

Carolina?''  (Goldsboro:  Nash  Brothers  [1901].  O.  pp. 
16).  He  reviews  the  general  condition  of  the  public 
schools,  emphasizes  the  need  of  more  money  and  suggests 
possible  sources  of  revenue.  The  interest;  in  history  itself 
must  be  encouraged  by  plain,  simple  narratives,  brief  and 
striking,  of  heroic  deeds,  many  of  which  are  here  men- 
tioned, by  paintings,  engravings  and  monuments,  and  by 
the  use  of  text-books  that  are  more  than  mere  tables  of 
names. 

From  Major  Thos.  L.  Broun  we  have  a  broadside  of 
four  pages  entitled  Archibald  Brown's  Pedigree,  "sent 
by  his  son,  A.  G.  T.  Brown,  of  Sherburn,  Minnesota,  in 
June,  1901,  to  Thomas  L.  Broun,  of  Charleston,  W.  Va.," 


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Book  Reviews  and  Notices,  529 

noticing  persons  of  that  name  back  to  1376.  Major 
Broun's  family  connections  are  scattered  all  through  the 
Southern  States,  and  information  is  desired  "respecting 
the  ancestry  of  the  parents  of  George  and  Margaret 
Broun,  of  Scotland." 

Mr.  Marshall  DeLancey  Haywood  has  printed  his  ad- 
dress on  the  career  of  CoIvONEL  Edward  Buncombe,  of 
the  fifth  N.  C.  Continental  Regiment,  delivered  before  the 
N.  C.  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  in  Hillsboro,  N.  C,  July  4, 
1901.  Colonel  Buncombe  was  born  in  St.  Christopher's, 
W.  I.,  in  1742,  and  died  in  Philadelphia  in  1778  from  the 
effects  of  wounds  received  at  Germantown.  (Raleigh :  Al- 
ford,  Bynum  and  Christophers,  1901.    O.  pp.  20). 

In  the  American  Journal  of  Sociology  for  July,  1901 
(University  of  Chicago  Press),  appears  S.  S.  MacClin- 
tock's  "The  Kentucky  Mountaineers  and  their  feuds,"  a 
descriptive  article  that  increases  the  puzzle  as  to  what  is 
meant  by  Sociology.  It  is  not  scholarly  in  conception,  as 
it  adds  nothing  whatever  to  our  knowledge,  giving  neither 
new  material  nor  a  new  handling  of  old  material.  It  is  not 
popular,  as  the  writer  seems  to  have  no  command  of  style, 
although  it  is  a  theme  that  is  widely  liked,  and  that  allows 
considerable  latitude  of  expression.  Perhaps  his  next  in- 
stalment may  remove  our  doubts. 

Under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Henderson  Presnell,  li- 
brarian of  the  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington,  D.  C,  a 
bibliography  of  Negro  literature  is  being  prepared,  with 
the  aim  of  including  not  only  works  by  the  members  of 
that  race,  but  of  works  about  them.  It  is  intended  to  be 
much  fuller  than  the  exhibit  by  the  Library  of  Congress 
at  Paris. 


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PERIODICAL  LITERATURE. 

A  very  amusing  paper  and  very  instructive  one  on  the 
military  discipline  of  1813  is  the  publication  of  an  old  manu- 
script describing  courts-martial  in  the  Creek  war,  under 
Andrew  Jackson,  in  the  American  Historicai<  Magazine 
(Nashville,  Tenn.),  for  July,  1901.  It  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  although  some  grave  breaches  of  military  regulations 
were  proved  such  as  open  insubordination  and  desertion, 
no  death  penalty  was  inflicted.  In  fact  the  punishments 
were  not  severe,  and  seemed  designed  to  apply  correctives 
through  ridicule  more  than  otherwise.  One  man  guilty  of 
disobedience  to  orders  was  sentenced  "to  ride  a  wooden 
horse  twenty  minutes  on  two  succeeding  days  between  the 
hours  of  ten  and  one  o'clock,  with  ten  pounds  weight  at- 
tached to  each  of  his  feet,*'  also  to  be  confined  in  stocks. 
A  captain,  failing  to  get  regular  rations,  had  shot  a  hog 
within  camp  limits,  but  he  was  only  reprimanded.  Some 
cavalrymen,  for  desertion,  were  sentenced  "to  be  sus- 
pended by  one  arm  one  minute  at  a  time  a  day  for  three 
days  without  anything  to  rest  either  foot  upon,  except  one 
pin  sharpened  at  the  end  to  a  point,"  and  were  also  forced 
to  give  up  their  horses,  and  were  to  wear  their  "outside 
dress  with  the  wrong  side  out  for  two  weeks  with  deser- 
tion written  on  the  back."  One  was  to  be  shot,  but  Jack- 
son commuted  that  to  a  "solemn  admonition." 

The  "papers  of  Gen.  Daniel  Smith,"  an  early  surveyor 
of  Tennessee  (1748-1818),  consist  of  letters  to  him,  chiefly 
from  William  Blount,  with  one  or  two  from  Jackson,  bear- 
ing mostly  on  Indian  relations,  local  politics,  appointments 
to  office.  One  from  Jackson  shows  considerable  sym- 
pathy over  the  death  of  "Jackey  Donelson." 

That  close  student  of  Tennessee  history.  Dr.  R.  L.  C. 
White,  has  a  very  detailed  account  of  the  origin  of  the 


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Periodical  Literature,  531 

State  seal,  largely  in  criticism  of  the  position  of  W.  A. 
Henderson,  of  Knoxville,  who  had  urged  the  theory  of  the 
"cymling  seal,"  that  the  first  seal  was  cut  on  lead  molded 
in  the  half  of  a  cymling  shell.  This  conclusion  Dr.  White 
demolishes  by  reference  to  documentary  sources,  at  the 
same- time  advancing  the  hypothesis  that  it  took  its  start 
from  a  tradition  which  Dr.  J.  G.  M.  Ramsey  through  weak- 
ness of  memory,  indorsed  in  later  life. 

The  remainder  of  the  number  consists  of  Gen.  G.  P. 
Thruston's  statement  on  reconstruction  before  a  commit- 
tee of  Congress  in  1870 ;  Davidson  County  land  warrants ; 
early  North  Carolina  legislation  on  marriages,  church  and 
road  building,  salt  making,  attorneys ;  memorials  of  1824 
relating  to  claims  to  Tennessee  lands  by  the  University  of 
North  Carolina;  and  Washington  County  records  (con- 
tinued). 

The  Quarterly  of  the  Texas  State  Historical  As- 
sociation, July,  1901  (Austin,  Texas),  contains  two  good 
instances  of  the  use  of  historical  evidence  on  matters  of 
dispute. 

W.  P.  Zuber  sums  up  the  points  to  show  that  one  man 
escaped  from  the  Alamo,  on  March  3,  1836,  when  it  was 
apparent  to  all  that  the  garrison  was  doomed.  He  holds 
that  J.  M.  Rose,  of  whom  not  much. is  known,  refusing  to 
enter  a  covenant  to  remain  with  the  leader,  Travis, 
climbed  over  the  ramparts  and  after  many  dangers  reached 
a  place  of  safety.  Although  this  story  was  published  in 
1873,  '^  has  generally  been  claimed  as  the  special  glory  of 
the  Alamo  that  not  a  soul  escaped,  in  distinction  from 
Thermopylae  that  had  one  survivor. 

Z.  T.  Fulmore  marshals  a  mass  of  details  to  combat  the 
generally  accepted  notion  as  to  the  annexation  of  Texas 
and  the  Mexican  war.  He  firmly  believes  that  when  "the 
many  errors  in  fact  and  still  more  in  conclusion  *  *  *  * 
are  sifted  out  and  weighed,  it  will  clearly  appear  that  the 

6 


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532  Southern  History  Association. 

origin,  growth,  and  development  of  Texas  into  a  republic 
and  her  subsequent  annexation  to  the  United  States  was 
neither  a  Northern,  nor  a  Southern,  but  a  purely  Western 
movement,  neither  long  retarded  by  the  abolitionist  nor 
hastened  by  the  slaveholder,  nor  seriously  affected  by  the 
political  storms  of  the  East;  but  a  movement  having  its 
inspiration  in  the  minds  of  a  class  which  before  the  beg^- 
ning  of  the  last  century  crossed  the  AUeghenies  and  gave 
to  civilization  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Mississippi."  "The 
sole  cause"  of  the  Mexican  war,  he  argues,  was  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas  to  the  United  States.  He  predicts  that 
"when  the  final  verdict  of  history  is  reached,  and  the  parti- 
san excrescences  that  now  disfigure  its  pages  are  pruned 
away  *  *  *  ♦  the  memories  of  Houston,  Jackson,  Calhoun, 
and  Polk,  ♦  *  ♦  ♦  will  be  cherished  by  all  true  Americans." 

The  hardships  of  pioneer  life  are  realistically  set  forth  in 
the  narrative  of  Capt.  Jesse  Bumam,  who  emigrated  to 
Texas  from  Kentucky  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago.  Cold, 
himger,  semi-starvation,  and  incessant  conflicts  and  rows 
with  the  Indians  are  detailed  in  all  the  bareness  of  truth. 

With  reviews  and  notes,  two  biographical  papers  com- 
plete this  issue:  Mrs.  A.  B.  Looscan  sketches  Captain 
Joseph  Daniels  (1809-1886),  a  native  of  Boston,  but  a  prom- 
inent citizen  of  Texas  after  manhood ;  Harry  Haynes  gives 
a  very  sympathetic  and  interesting  account  of  the  untiring 
labors  of  Rufus  C.  Burleson  (1823-1901),  who,  born  in  Ala- 
bama, devoted  his  days  to  the  Baptist  ministry  and  educa- 
tion in  Texas,  in  fact  founding  both  Baylor  and  Waco 
Universities. 

According  to  the  tenor  of  a  number  of  letters  from 
prominent  Virginians  in  1819-1820  to  one  of  the  U.  S. 
Senators,  James  Barbour,  printed  in  Wiluam  and  Mary 
College  Quarterly  for  July,  1901  (Williamsburg,  Va., 
pp.  72),  that  State  in  1820  took  the  lead  among  the  South- 
ern States  on  the  slavery  question  that  South  Carolina 


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Periodical  Literature.  533 

had  in  1861.  These  correspondents  planted  themselves 
pretty  strongly  on  the  ground  that  the  question  of  slavery 
was  a  matter  of  State  right,  and  hence  Virginia  was  op- 
posed to  the  Missouri  Compromise.  It  is  a  fair  inference 
that  the  people  of  Virginia  would  have  favored  "a  fight  to 
the  finish*'  then  and  there  on  the  slavery  question.  There 
is  very  open  talk  in  these  missives  of  "war,"  "disunion," 
"dissolution  of  the  Union,"  etc. 

A  short  illustrated  paper  by  the  Editor  fixes  the  situa- 
tion of  Werowocomoco,  the  scene  of  Pocahontas's  exploit 
in  saving  Smith's  life.  Following  the  learned  historian, 
Alexander  Brown,  he  finds  it  to  be  Portan  Bay  on  the 
York  River,  twelve  miles  above  West  Point. 

AnQther  contribution  of  more  general  appeal  is  the  chap- 
ter reprinted  from  Edward  Johnson's  Wonder  Working 
Providence  of  Sions  Savior,  covering  a  period  of  Virginia 
history  in  which  her  own  records  are  defective.  It  is  of 
interest  though  this  puritan  really  gloried  over  the  masL- 
sacre  by  Indians  of  "the  ungodly"  whites  in  the  Virginia 
Colony. 

Nearly  half  the  issue  is  genealogical,  bearing  on  the 
Churchill,  Woodson,  Lewis,  Clopton,  Wyatt  (Wiatt),  Tal- 
bot and  Alexander  families.  There  are  half  a  dozen  pages 
of  book  reviews  and  notes. 

The  West  Virginia  Historical  Magazine  (Charles- 
ton, W.  Va.,  Quarterly,  July,  1901,  pp.  69,  $1.00  per  year) 
has  as  its  longest  article  the  "Pre-historic  Kanawha  Val- 
ley," by  the  editor,  John  P.  Hale.  It  is  a  very  detailed 
discussion  of  the  mound  builders  of  that  locality.  A  part 
of  it  was  printed  several  years  ago,  and  another  part  is 
from  the  investigations  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

W.  S.  Laidley  attempts  to  decide  which  is  the  oldest 
town  in  the  State,  the  honor  lying  between  Romney  and 
Shepherdstown,  with  choice  finally  going  to  the  former. 


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534  Southern  History  Association. 

There  are  three  biographical  sketches :  Joseph  Ruffner, 
by  W.  H.  Ruffner;  Col.  Andrew  Donnally,  by  Mrs.  M.  W. 
Donnally,  and  Henry  McWhorter,  by  L.  V.  McWhorter— 
none  of  them  in  the  approved  historical  methods  of  the 
present,  as  not  one  has  foot  notes,  or  indicates  the  sources 
of  information,  though  all  are  interesting  reading. 

The  copy  of  a  quaint  inscription  on  an  old  tombstone  in 
Charleston,  and  the  reprint  from  Congressional  records 
of  the  proceedings  at  the  presentation  to  the  U.  S.  Govt., 
in  1843,  of  the  sword  of  Washington  and  Staff  of  Franklin, 
by  Samuel  T.  Washington,  complete  the  issue,  with  some 
minor  Association  matters. 

The  number  of  typographical  errors  chargeable  solely 
to  the  printer  are  inexcusable.  Running  page  headings 
would  also  be  a  wonderful  improvement. 

The  South  Carolina  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Magazine  (Charleston,  S.  C,  July,  1901,  pp.  167-258).  Mr. 
Worthington  C.  Ford  contributes  several  letters  of  Ralph 
Izard  to  Thomas  JeflFerson,  of  dates  1784- 1789,  chiefly  on 
matters  of  diplomacy  and  politics,  though  there  are  some 
interesting  passages  on  farming.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  editorial  reviser  cut  out  some  parts  from  the  let- 
ter of  April  24,  1784,  as  bearing  on  this  subject.  Mr.  Izard 
was  strongly  tinctured  with  aristocracy  as  he  bewails  the 
drift  in  the  State  in  1785:  "Our  government  tends  too 
much  to  democracy.  A  handicraftsman  thinks  an  ap- 
prenticeship necessary  to  make  him  acquainted  with  his 
business.  But  our  back  countrymen  are  of  opinion  that  a 
politician  may  be  born  such  (sic)  as  well  as  a  poet." 

The  papers  of  the  First  Council  of  Safety,  1775,  are  con- 
tinued, consisting  mainly  of  the  returns  of  Colonel  William 
Thomson's  Regiment  of  Rangers.  A  genealogy,  "Izard  of 
South  Carolina,"  "Notes  and  Queries,"  with  aflFairs  of  the 
S.  C.  Historical  Society,  complete  the  issue. 


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Periodical  Literature.  535 

Confederate  Veteran  (Nashville,  Tenn.,  July,  pp,  291- 
330).  With  unusual  literary  skill  does  Col.  Bennett  H. 
Young  reproduce  for  us  the  spirit  and  atmosphere  of  war 
and  its  battles  and  raids  and  the  dash  and  endurance  of 
men,  in  his  oration  at  the  Memphis  reunion,  when  he  de- 
scribes some  of  the  wonderful  deeds  of  Forrest  and  Mor- 
gan and  other  leaders  in  the  West  during  the  Civil  War. 
Right  he  must  be  when  he  says  "the  true  story  of  the  con- 
flicts of  the  Army  of  Tennessee  has  never  been  written." 
Most  properly  did  a  Confederate  Camp,  Frank  Cheatham, 
at  Nashville,  thank  the  orator  for  his  thrilling  words.  They 
ought  to  go  one  step  further  and  ask  him  to  tell  the  story 
of  that  army,  a  task  that  he  is  perhaps  the  best  fitted  of 
men  to  do.  It  must  be  remembered  that  only  the  actors 
in  that  drama  can  reproduce  those  scenes  with  the  flavor 
and  vividness  of  actuality.  In  a  very  few  years  none  of 
these  will  be  left  and  descendants  of  those  men  will  have 
to  fall  back  on  the  cold,  critical  language  of  the  mere  book 
historian. 

A  beautiful  tribute  to  a  noble  woman  is  the  "Work  of  a 
Confederate  Woman,"  a  sketch  of  the  wife  of  Gen.  Brad- 
ley T.  Johnson.  She  was  an  indefatigable  "rebel,"  and  was 
equally  untiring  after  the  close  of  hostilities  in  toiling  for 
helpless,  dependent  Confederates. 

There  are  several  pages  of  tributes  to  the  editor's  son, 
P.  D.  Cunningham,  who  was  drowned  in  the  Rio  Grande, 
July  13th,  while  serving  as  Consulting  Engineer  of  the 
International  Boundary  Commission. 

A  sketch  of  Transylvania  University  (Ky.),  news  from 
various  memorial  organizations,  and  numerous  war  inci- 
dents complete  this  number. 

August  (pp.  339-380),  has  a  pathetic  story,  all  the  sadder 
because  true,  by  B.  L.  Ridley,  of  the  love  of  a  young  girl 
in  the  Cumberland  mountains  for  a  Union  lad  who  was 
killed  by  Confederates  just  as  she  dashed  into  their  midst 
to  snatch  a  pistol  from  her  dead  hero's  hand,  and,  after 


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53^  Southern  History  Association. 

shooting  several  of  his  enemies,  to  become  a  maniac  her- 
self, finally  buried  by  the  side  of  her  heart's  choice.  The 
most  of  the  remainder  of  the  issue  is  taken  up  with  ac- 
counts of  the  various  Confederate  memorial  societies,  a 
list  of  the  1,351  Confederate  Veteran  Camps,  a  sketch  of 
General  Patton  Anderson,  incidents  of  the  War,  and  no- 
tices of  comrades  who  have  answered  the  last  call.  A  com- 
munication and  an  editorial  urge  better  business  methods 
in  the  sessions  at  annual  reunions,  and  also  a  change  in 
the  office  of  commander-in-chief. 

The  Lost  Cause  (Louisville,  Ky.),  for  July  (14  pp.), 
contains  a  very  thrilling  story  of  adventure,  the  details  of 
the  capture  by  two  Confederate  spies  of  several  horses  in 
Louisville,  and  their  escape  to  the  South,  all  done  in  mid- 
day in  the  early  months  of  1865.  Another  interesting- 
story  tells  how  Sheridan  received  information  as  to  Early's 
forces  from  Miss  Wright  (Mrs  Bonsai),  a  Quaker  sjrm- 
pathizer  of  the  Northern  side,  living  at  Winchester,  and 
how  on  the  strength  of  a  note  from  her,  he  decided  to 
attack.  Thus  occurred  the  Battle  of  Winchester,  Sheridan 
acknowledging  his  obligation  to  her.  The  first  chapter  in 
the  history  of  torpedoes  is  claimed  to  be  found  in  the  use 
of  them  by  the  Confederates,  and  Mr.  Ben  La  Bree  has  a 
detailed  description,  with  drawings,  of  the  different  kinds 
used,  and  a  list  of  vessels,  counting  up  31  destroyed,  and 
9  injured. 

August  contains  an  account  of  Early's  campaign  in 
Maryland  and  the  Valley  of  Virginia  in  1864-65,  by  his 
Chief  of  Artillery,  A.  L.  Long,  who  gently  tempers  Early's 
overwhelming  defeat  and  the  dispersion  of  his  command 
in  this  mild  language :  **Sheridan,  having  now  removed  all 
opposition  ♦  *  *  ♦  formed  a  junction  with  Grant  al- 
most without  interruption." 

A  very  readable  description  is  given  ol  the  historic 
cemetery  at  Winchester,  Va.,  where  so  many  Confederate 


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Periodical  Literature,  537 

monuments  have  been  erected.  There  are  several  pages 
of  notes  on  work  of  memorial  organizations  in  the  South, 
indicating  very  healthy  activity,  especially  among  the 
"Sons"  and  "Daughffers"  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  Sewanee  Review  for  July  1901  (Sewanee,  Tenn.), 
has  an  estimate  of  Lee  by  "a  New  York  lawyer  who  is 
both  the  son  of  a  Union  soldier  and  a  Republican  party 
worker/*  Mr.  F.  H.  Cox.  The  tone  of  it  is  happily  sum- 
med up  in 

"It  was  Robert  E.  Lee  who,  as  a  great  educator  in  the 
South,  was  a  great  reconciliator  of  the  Union.  The  Union 
has  become  a  nation.  It  was  Lee  who  led  in  making  it  a 
reconciled  nation.  *  *  *  He  belongs,  therefore,  not 
to  Virginia  and  the  South  alone.  He  belongs  to  the  whole 
United  States." 

The  other  articles  in  this  issue  are  literary  and  educa- 
tional. In  the  latter  are  two  exceedingly  broad  assertions. 
It  is  stated  that  students  at  Harvard  above  the  Freshman 
class  "have  the  utmost  freedom  of  choice"  among  the 
courses  offered.  A  perusal  of  the  catalogue  will  show  that 
the  young  men  there  are  limited  in  nearly  every  direction 
when  they  come  to  mark  out  a  path.  Again  it  is  said  that 
"so  far  as  the  Southern  States  are  concerned,  one  might  al- 
most say  that  their  educational  history  for  the  past  quarter 
of  a  century  has  been  largely  that  of  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University."  Surely  such  a  claim  cannot  apply  to  any  of 
Southern  pedagogics  except  the  colleges,  and  to  them  only 
for  the  past  ten  years. 

The  American  Monthly  Magazine  (organ  of  D.  A.  R., 
Washington,  D.  C,  Aug.,  1901,  pp.  139-243)  has  some  ten 
pages  of  original  material  on  the  revolutionary  war,  names 
of  men  who  enlisted  for  service,  and  continuation  of  David 
Avery's  diary.  There  are  the  usual  reports  from  the  Chap- 
ters, many  of  them  indicating  a  very  lively  interest  in  the 


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53^  Southern  History  Association, 

present  as  well  as  in  the  past.  One  describes  the  efforts  to 
study  forestry,  another  speaks  of  erecting  a  library,  and 
numerous  ones  dwell  on  the  social  features.  In  this  issue 
begins  the  publication  of  the  minutes  of  the  National 
Board  meetings  held  before  the  foundation  of  the  Maga- 
zine. A  genealogy,  "The  Harrisons  of  Berkeley,"  the 
"Young  People's  Department,"  two  or  three  essays  and 
poems,  notes  and  queries,  necrology,  complete  the  number. 
September  (pp.  245-353)  continues  the  valuable  revo- 
lutionary records,  the  diary  of  David  Avery  touching  bat- 
tle of  Princeton,  and  names  of  revolutionary  soldiers 
buried  in  Kentucky  and  Connecticut,  with  pay-roll  of  a 
company  from  Pennsylvania  and  one  from  Virginia.  Three 
historical  essays:  "The  story  of  Jane  MacRae,"  "Ann 
Whitairs  Duty,"  and  "Rosannah  Waters  Farrow,"  with 
many  details  of  the  members  and  work  of  the  organization, 
finish  the  issue. 

In  the  Methodist  Review  (Nashville,  Tenn.),  for  Sep- 
tember, is  an  estimate  of  Lowell  by  Prof.  E.  W.  Bowen, 
who  concludes  that  he  was  a  "poet  who  is  our  most  brfl- 
liant  and  learned  critic,  and  who  has  given  us  our  best 
native  idyl,  our  best  and  most  complete  work  in  dialectic 
verse,  and  the  noblest  heroic  ode  that  America  has  pro- 
duced— each  and  all  ranking  with  the  first  of  their  kind  in 
English  literature  of  the  modem  time." 

The  Florida  Magazine  (Jacksonville,  Fla.,  Aug.,  1901, 
pp.  67-125)  is  now  in  its  third  year.  It  is  a  monthly  "of 
and  for  Florida  and  all  those  interested  in  its  future  pros- 
perity and  development."  The  August  number  carries  out 
this  idea,  being  mainly  filled  with  descriptive  articles  of 
that  locality,  with  short  stories  and  poems  touching  that 
land.  A  serial,  "A  Converted  Abolitionist,"  as  its  name 
implies,  is  filled  with  slavery,  politics  and  discussions. 

The  September  issue  (pp.   131-190)  contains  two  his- 


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Periodical  Literature,  539 

torical  papers  touching  the  South:  "The  first  Governor 
of  Florida"  (i  page) ;  and  "The  General"  (5  pages),  an  ac- 
count of  the  daring  attempt  of  a  squad  of  disguised  North- 
ern soldiers  during  the  Civil  War  to  destroy  a  railroad  in 
Georgia  by  the  use  of  an  engine  they  had  boldly  stolen. 
Nothing  new  is  added  to  our  knowledge  of  this  famous 
event,  described  many  times,  but  perhaps  with  most  liter- 
ary skill  by  J.  C.  Harris  in  his  Georgia  history  stories. 

The  Transactions  of  the  Texas  Academy  of  Science  for 
1900  (Austin,  Tex.,  1901,  pp.  102,  paper,  8vo)  has  a  de- 
tailed sketch,  by  R.  A.  Thompson,  of  the  development  of 
the  railway  system  of  the  State.  There  is  now  great  ac- 
tivity in  building  new  lines,  but  according  to  area  the  local- 
ity is  far  behind  the  leading  States.  As  compared  with 
Kansas,  for  instance,  with  its  11  miles  per  100  square  miles 
of  surface,  Texas  has  less  than  4  miles.  With  regard  to 
population  though,  Texas  stands  about  third  from  the 
highest,  having  37  miles  per  10,000  inhabitants,  Kansas 
leading  the  column  with  53  miles. 

J.  C.  Nagle  makes  a  very  readable  contribution  on  sani- 
tary engineering,  especially  describing  methods  of  filtra- 
tion. The  annual  address,  by  the  President,  H.  W.  Har- 
per, deals  with  inoculation  and  immunity  from  disease. 
Some  geological  notes  and  a  paper  on  preservation  of 
wood  complete  the  number. 

A  sound  trouncing  does  the  Manufacturers'  Record 
(Baltimore),  of  September  12,  bestow  on  Gunton's  Maga- 
zine for  the  attempt  of  the  latter  to  revive  sectional  feeling 
by  urging  Congress  to  pass  a  law  for  uniform  hours  of  labor 
in  competing  industries.  Right  joyfully  does  the  Record 
for  once  indulge  in  "sectionalism"  on  its  own  account. 
Lusty  whacks  falls  on  that  old  spirit  of  prejudice  that  en- 
gendered strife  and  kindled  the  flames  of  war.     For  an 


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S^o  Southern  History  Association. 

appeal  to  those  bygone  passions  does  Gunton  get  his  back 
basted. 

A  favorable  sign  of  the  growth  of  interest  in  historical 
and  genealogical  study  is  the  space  given  up  to  those  sub- 
jects by  the  Montgomery  Advertiser,  the  management  ^ 
of  the  department  being  in  the  hands  of  the  D.  A.  R.,  or  ^ 
practically  their  historian,  Mrs.  P.  H.  Mell,  of  Auburn. 
The  issue  of  September  i  has  three  columns  of  letters, 
queries  and  answers. 

The  generally  accepted  view  among  economists  that  the 
Confederate  finances  were  poorly  managed  is  vigorously 
combatted  in  Charleston  News  (September  i),  by  G.  M. 
Pinckney,  who  argues  that  Mr.  Memminger  showed  con- 
siderable ability  in  conducting  treasury  operations. 


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NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

McKiNLXY  AND  Confederate  Graves. — In  the  Wash- 
ington Post  of  September  25,  1901,  McKinley's  offer  in 
his  Atlanta  address  of  December  14,  1898,  to  help  care  for 
Confederate  graves,  is  traced  to  its  origin  years  ago  in 
the  spontaneous  prompting  of  his  own  mind  and  heart 
when,  as  a  congressman,  at  an  army  reunion  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  he  observed  the  neglected  condition  of  the  Con- 
federate cemetery  as  compared  with  the  Federal  one 
alongside.  Not  until  he  became  President  did  he  think 
any  utterance  from  him  on  the  subject  would  carry  much 
weight  and  then  he  did  so  chiefly  at  the  inspiration  of 
Captain  E.  P.  Howell,  who  wrote  the  passage  that  Mc- 
Kinley  afterwards  expanded.  The  original  draft  is  in  the 
possession  of  Dr.  Henry  C.  McCook,  of  Philadelphia. 

President  Roosevelt  Half  a  "Rebel." — Since  his  en- 
trance into  the  White  House,  much  stress  has  been  laid 
on  President  Roosevelt's  Southern  ancestry.  His  mother 
was  Miss  Martha  Bullock,  of  a  historic  family  that  came 
to  Georgia  from  South  Carolina,  and  furnished  some 
members  of  renown  in  Revolutionary  days.  They  were 
also  active  and  well  known  in  the  Civil  War,  and  the  Pres- 
ident is  said  to  be  rather  proud  of  the  fact  that  one  of  his 
uncles  helped  to  build  the  Alabama  and  another  fired  the 
last  shot  from  her.  He  is  a  member  of  a  patriotic  society 
in  Georgia,  his  eligibility  being  established  on  the  maternal 
side. 

A  Confederate  Home  will  likely  be  established  by  the 
State  of  South  Carolina  for  needy  Confederate  soldiers 
within  her  borders.  For  a  time  it  was  thought  better  to 
divide  whatever  the  legislature  might  give  among  the  de- 
serving, leaving  them  at  home  to  be  further  assisted 
by   their   families    and   friends,   but    of   late   the  organi- 


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542  Southern  History  Association. 

zation  of  Confederate  Veterans  has  favored  a  home,  and 
their  wishes  will  very  likely  prevail.  At  present  there  are 
6,503  on  the  rolls,  in  three  classes:  A,  36  pensioners, 
drawing  $96  each;  B,  200  pensioners,  at  $19.60  each;  and 
C,  6,267  pensioners,  at  $14.70  each.  The  total  appropria- 
tion is  $100,000,  though  a  special  act  provided  for  $150,- 
000  at  the  last  legislative  session.  This  seems  a  small  sum 
but  there  is  a  strong  sentiment  in  the  younger  element  of 
voters  to  increase  it  materially. 

Davis's  Name  on  Cabin  John  Bridge. — ^As  well 
known,  during  the  heat  and  passion  of  the  Civil  War,  Jef- 
ferson Davis's  name  was  erased  from  the  memorial  tablet 
on  this  famous  stone  arch — the  longest  of  the  kind  in  the 
world  then — ^spanning  a  deep  ravine  a  few  miles  from 
Washington.  Some  worthy  gentleman,  C.  B.  Smith,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior,  thought  to  obliterate  Davis's  connec- 
tion with  the  work  by  blotting  out  his  name.  If  he  had 
studied  more,  history,  and  had  more  closely  observed  hu- 
man nature  he  would  have  known  that  he  was  doing  the 
best  thing  to  perpetuate  the  memory  that  he  aimed  to 
destroy,  because  nearly  every  one  that  sees  the  blank 
space  inquires  why  it  is  there.  Now,  when  that  conflict 
is  only  a  hallowed  memory,  an  effort  is  being  made  to  re- 
store the  letters  chiseled  off,  and  to  give  proper  credit  to 
Davis  as  the  structure  was  begun  under  him  when  he  was 
Secretary  of  War,  in  1853.  According  to  an  article  by  W. 
A.  Page,  in  Washington  Post  (September  8,  1901,),  there 
is  no  record  in  the  War  Department  of  the  mutilation,  but 
William  R.  Hutton,  who  was  chief  engineer  of  the  aque- 
duct at  the  time,  is  quoted  to  the  effect  that  it  was  done  by 
the  contractor,  Robert  Mclntyre,  on  a  verbal  order  from 
Mr.  Smith,  to  whose  Department  the  construction  had 
been  transferred.  Hon.  John  Barrett,  formerly  Minister 
to  Siam,  is  active  in  the  movement  to  return  Davis's  name 
to  its  original  place. 

The  Washington  Manor  Association,  with  headquar- 


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Notes  and  Queries.  543 

ters  in  Philadelphia,  has  been  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  the  Harewood  house,  built  by  General  George 
Washington,  in  1752- 1756,  for  the  use  of  the  family  of 
one  of  his  brothers..  He  also  afterwards  had  the  manage- 
ment of  the  estate  there  for  a  number  of  years  during  the 
minority  of  one  of  the  heirs.  It  is  situated  in  the  famous 
Valley  of  Virginia,  twelve  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Shenandoah.  On  the  Board  of  Regents  are  Ex-President 
Cleveland,  Admiral  Dewey,  General  Miles,  President  Seth 
Low,  and  a  number  of  other  prominent  men. 

A  Memorial  to  Captain  John  Smith  is  the  aim  of  the 
Association  for  the  Preservation  of  Virginia  Antiquities, 
to  take  the  form  of  "a  bronze  statue  of  heroic  size"  to  be 
dedicated  at  Jamestown  in  1907,  the  ter-centenary  of  the 
first  settlement  at  that  point.  Contributions  are  asked  of 
all  "who  revere  the  heroism  of  Captain  Smith  and  who 
enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  foundation  of  English  civilization 
and  liberty  on  this  continent."  Donations  may  be  sent 
to  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Coleman,  Williamsburg,  Va.,  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee.  This  commemoration  is  a  part  of 
the  general  plan  inaugurated  by  the  citizens  of  Williams- 
burg, September  7,  1900,  for  a  national  celebration  at 
Jamestown,  on  May  13,  1907.  President  Lyon  G.  Tyler 
is  the  head  of  the  general  committee  and  much  encourage- 
ment has  been  received  for  the  scheme.  It  is  proposed 
to  have  a  gjeat  civic  and  naval  demonstration. 

Stephen  F.  Austin,  the  "Father  oiE  Texas,"  is  to  be 
honored  with  a  marble  statue  in  Statuary  Hall,  in  the  •Cap- 
itol at  Washington,  if  the  Daughters  of  the  Republic  of 
Texas  can  raise  the  necessary  sum  of  a  little  over  $4,000. 
His  partner  in  that  repository  of  fame  is  to  be  Sam.  Hous- 
ton, the  funds  for  this  the  State  Legislature  is  expected 
to  appropriate,  but  the  good  ladies  are  appealing  to  the 
public  for  the  Austin  memorial. 

An  Example,  the  Hale  School  House.  Through  the 
labors  of  the  Connecticut    Society    of   the    Sons    of  the 


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544  Southern  History  Association, 

American  Revolution,  assisted  by  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  the  school  house  that  this  Revolu- 
tionary martyr  left  when  he  started  on  the  mission  that 
ended  in  his  execution  as  a  spy,  has  been  bought,  restored 
and  set  aside  as  a  memorial  to  this  heroic  Hfe,  the  exer- 
cises of  June  17  being  described  in  the  American  Monthly 
Magazine  for  September.  Such  an  effort  is  a  model  for 
emulation  everywhere,  especially  in  the  South  that  has  so 
many  instances  of  worthy  men  that  have  gone  unheralded. 

Darlingion  County  Historical  Society  (S.  C),  aux- 
iliary to  the  State  Historical  Society,  was  formed  at  Dar- 
lington, September  13,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the 
local  history.  W.  C.  Coker  was  chosen  president,  John  J. 
Dargan,  vice  president,  George  E.  Dargan,  secretary  and 
treasurer,  with  an  executive  committee,  consisting  of  E.  R. 
Mclver,  R.  K.  Charles  and  E.  O.  Woods.  Valuable  work 
can  be  done  by  such  an  organization,  but  very  seldom  is, 
if  the  members  will  adopt  some  definite  means  for  showing 
results.  Ordinarily  there  are  but  two  paths,  and  for  the 
average  society  only  one  can  be  followed ;  either  to  form 
a  collection  as  a  museum  of  books  and  relics,  or  to  issue 
periodical  publications  of  material  that  has  never  before 
seen  the  Hght.  The  former  is  more  expensive,  but  ap- 
peals the  more  strongly  to  the  bulk  of  people,  the  latter 
is  the  more  endurable,  and  far  more  appreciated  by  the 
few  of  the  studious  class. 

The  Alabama  Department  of  Archives  and  His- 
tory, under  the  alert  and  efficient  director,  Mr.  Thomas 
M.  Owen,  is  rapidly  and  worthily  expanding.  In  the 
Montgomery  Advertiser  for  July  28  is  a  long  list  of  his- 
torical material  and  relics  lately  acquired,  including  books, 
old  newspaper  files,  manuscripts,  documents,  war  records, 
pictures,  and  other  objects  of  value  and  interest.  The  is- 
sue of  September  i  contains  two  columns  of  the  list  of 
donations  during  August.  A  large  part  is  the  McLemore 
collection,  chiefly  of  Civil  War  relics,  that  are  to  be  kept 


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Notes  and  Queries.  545 

separate  on  deposit  for  study  and  examination.  Through 
the  generosity  of  publishers,  nearly  all  of  the  issues  of  the 
periodical  press  of  the  State  are  regularly  received  for 
binding  and  preservation.  If  legislative  appreciation  con- 
tinues to  grow,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  Alabama  will  soon 
be  in  the  front  rank  of  historical  State  collections. 

Professor  L.  G.  Bugbee,  University  of  Texas,  much 
to  the  regret  of  all  lovers  of  historic  study,  has  been  forced 
by  ill  health  to  secure  leave  of  absence^  so  as  to  spend 
some  time  in  New  Mexico. 

A  Rare  Poet,  J.  Gordon  Coogler. — Less  than  half  a 
dozen  years  ago  Mr.  Coogler  came  into  notice  as  a  writer 
of  very  peculiar  verse  that  had  strikingly  different  effects 
on  different  readers.  Some  admired  it,  others  lampooned 
it,  the  bulk  simply  laughed.  It  was  a  target  for  funny  par- 
agraphers  in  the  daily  press,  and  a  butt  for  editorial  hu- 
morists. But  it  sold  and  Mr.  Coogler  continued  to  grind 
it  out.  "Purely  Original  Verse"  he  dubbed  it,  and  many 
of  his  critics  agreed  with  him,  in  that  nothing  else  so  poor 
and  foolish  could  be  found.  But  it  turned  out  since  his 
death,  September  9,  that  hfs  career  was  remarkable  and 
he  had  an  unusual  combination  of  qualities.  According  to 
a  dispatch  in  the  News  and  Courier  (Charleston,  Septem- 
ber 10,)  he  was  highly  regarded  at  his  home,  Columbia, 
being  known  as  a  very  sensible  hard  working  printer,  quite 
successful  in  running  a  job  office  of  his  own.  He  com- 
posed, set  up,  printed,  and  disposed  of  his  productions  him- 
self, having  recently  struck  off  the  sixth  edition  of  his 
work.  Such  a  linking  of  literary  capacity,  business  judg- 
ment and  material  success,  ought  to  make  him  envied  by 
the  shades  of  many  bards  who  are  enrolled  immeasurably 
higher  in  the  hall  of  fame. 

Mr.  Clayton  Torrence,  700  Piedmont  Avenue,  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  is  preparing  a  genealogy  of  the  Alston-Lillington- 
Cain  Families,  and  will  be  glad  to  communicate  with  any 
representatives.    The  Alston  family  descends  from  John 


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54^  Southern  History  Association. 

Alston,  of  Chowan  county,  N.  C,  formerly  of  Virginia; 
he  died  in  1758,  aged  about  85.  He  patented  lands  in  Ber- 
tie, Craven  and  Edgecombe  counties,  N.  C. ;  was  grand 
juror  1721-25;  asst.  jus.  Supreme  Court,  N.  C,  1729  and 
earlier;  Sheriff  Chowan  Co.,  1746;  member  court,  1748; 
vestryman  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  Edenton.  He 
married  Mary  Qark.  His  will  is  dated  Feb.  20,  1755,  pro- 
bated Dec.  2,  1758.    Issue: 

I.  Solomon,  m.  Ann  Hinton ;  H.  William ;  HI.  Philip,  m. 
Winifred  Whitmell;  IV.  Mary,  m.  i.  Henry  Gustan;  2.  Wm. 
Seward;  V.  Elizabeth,  m.  Wm.  Williams;  VI.  Sarah,  m. 
Philip  Kearney;  VII.  Charity,  m.  John  Danson;  VIII. 
James,   m.   Christian   Lillington;   IX.   Joseph    John,   m. 


James  Alston,  his  son,  lived  on  Ellerbee's  Creek,  Orange 
Co.,  North  Carolina.  He  was  sole  executor  upon  the  will 
of  his  father;  married  Christian  Lillington;  he  died  in 
1 761 ;  his  will  is  recorded  in  Orange  Co.,  N.  C,  and  is 
dated  Feb.  28,  1761 ;  mentions  son  James  Alston;  son  John 
Alston,  daughters  Mary,  Charity  and  Sarah ;  wife  Christian 
Lillington. 

James  Alston's  daughter  Sarah  (or  Sallie,  as  she  is  com- 
monly called),  married  i.  Thomas  Dudley,  of  North  Caro- 
lina (probably  a  descendant  of  Christopher  Dudley,  of 
Onslow  county,  N.  C,  although  there  is  a  tradition,  most 
probably  worthless,  that  makes  him  an  "English  Lord"); 
2.  William  Cain,  of  Orange  Co.,  N.  C.  (son  of  William 

Cain,  of  Orange   Co.,  and  Elizabeth  ).     Sallie 

Alston's  issue  by  her  first  marriage  included  John  Alston 
Dudley,  who  removed  to  Alabama  and  m.  Mary  Robinson. 
By  her  marriage  with  William  Cain  she  had:  i.  Charity 
Alston  (1795-1873),  m.  Senator  Willie  P.  Mangum ;  2.  Wil- 
liam, m. ;  3.  Mary  Alston  (d.  1874),  m. 

Sutherland,  and  2d,  Dr.  White ;  4.  Anna  Linning- 

ton,  (b.  March  17,  1797,  d.  Oakland,  Cal.,  Nov.  7,  1877);  m. 
Edward  Davis,  of  Mecklenburg  Co.,  Va.  (son  of  Edward 


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Notes  and  Queries.  547 

Davis  and  his  wife  Mary  Paine,  and  b.  Dec.  3,  1796),  and 
was  gr.  m.  of  Samuel  Bell  McKee,  of  Oakland,  California. 
The  Lillingtons  (or  Linnington,  for  the  name  is  spelled 
both  ways,  and  there  is  doubt  as  to  the  correct  form),  are 
traced  to  Edward  Lillington,  of  Neuse  River,  Craven  Co., 
N.  C,  whose  will  of  July  9,  1736,  is  of  record.    He  married 

,  and  had  George  Lillington,  of  Craven 

Co.,  N.  C,  will  executed  1741/42,  probated  July  16,  1742; 
m.  Hannah,  or  Anna,  Hutchinson  (?),  issue  Christian  Lil- 
lington, who  married  James  Alston,  of  Ellerbee's  Creek, 
Orange  Co.,  N.  C.  Query,  were  these  Lillingtons  of  the 
family  of  Maj.  Alexander  Lillington,  of  Cape  Fear,  and 
whence  the  form  Linnington? 


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54^  '      Southern  History  Associatian. 


James  William  Stokes,  a  member  of  the  Southern  His- 
tory Association,  died  at  his  home,  near  Orangeburg,  S. 
C,  Saturday,  July  6,  1901.  He  was  born  near  this  place, 
on  a  farm,  December  12,  1853.  After  attending  the  com- 
mon schools  he  graduated  at  Washington  and  Lee  Uni- 
versity in  1876,  and  afterwards  in  metlicine  at  Vanderbilt 
University.  Having  taught  for  twelve  years  he  returned 
to  the  farm,  entered  politics,  assisted  in  organizing  the 
farmers,  became  president  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  was 
chosen  a  State  Senator  in  1890,  a  Presidential  elector  in 
1892,  was  elected  to*  the  54th,  55th,  56th  and  57th  Con- 
gresses.'  On  December  29,  i88r,  he  married  Miss  E.  L. 
Landess.  In  April,  1900,  he  fathered  a  noble  plan  for  the 
advancement  of  historical  study  in  this  country  by  the  in- 
troduction of  a  bill  looking  to  an  appropriation  finally  to 
provide  for  the  classification  and  preservation  of  the  mass 
of  hietorical  material  in  the  possession  of  the  different 
States.  The  measure  was  not  passed,  but  he  has  given 
a  stimulus  that  will  likely  end  in  substantial  good. 


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Southern  History  Association:  549 


Calderon  Carlisle,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  a  member  oi 
the  Southern  History  Association,  died  at  Asheville,  N.  C, 
September  16,  1901,  where  he  was  spending  the  summer. 
He  was  born  in  Washington  in  1853,  ^"^  was  educated 
there  till  he  entered  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  Md., 
as  a  Sophomore  in  1868.  Three  years  later,  July,  187 1, 
he  graduated  with  high  honors.  After  spending  a  year  or 
so  in  Europe,  he  studied  law  and  became  eminent  in  that 
profession.  He  served  as  Counsel  for  the  British  and 
other  embassies,  and  often  appeared  before  the  Claims 
Commissions.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Metropolitan 
Club,  and  one  of  its  Board  of  Governors  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  married  Miss  Kate  Thomas,  of  Richmond,  Va., 
and  leaves  two  children.  He  was  distinguished  for  literary 
culture.  One  competent  to  judge,  who  knew  him  inti- 
mately, paid  him  the  high  compliment  of  being  a  perfect 
gentleman.  His  father  was  James  Mandeville  Carlisle,  a 
distinguished  lawyer,  in  Washington.  The  Hon.  Richmond 
Pearson  and  the  Hon.  J.  L.  M.  Curry  were  his  brothers-in- 
law. 


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INDEX. 


Abbatt,  W.,  84. 

Adams,  H.  B.,  500-503 

Adams,  Henry,  on  La.  Purchase, 

351,  381-384. 
Adams,  J.  Q.,  on  La.  Purchase, 
^    367-371. 
Address,  by  Porter,  review,  243- 

244. 
Alabama,  Brown  hist,  of,  review, 
240-241. 
Hist.  Dept.  of,  178-179,  544. 
Hist.  Soc.  of,  87^89. 
industries  of.  review,  332. 
Owen  on  hist.,  review,  331. 
Sanford  in,  review,  80-81. 
Allan,  121. 
Allan,  T.,  26,  117. 
Allen,  J.  L.,  review,  53-5^. 
Allen,  W.  C,  review,  517-518. 
Alston-Lillington-Cain  gen..  545- 

547. 
American  Hist,  Mag.,  review,  253- 

254,  530-531. 
Amer.  hist.  Rev.,  review,  82-83. 

257-258,  341-342,  443. 
American  History,  Chambers  on, 

general,  lit.  on,  232-237. 

American  Mo.  Mag.,  review,  78-80, 
^     257,  335-336.  439.  538. 

American   Reference    Library,    re- 
view, 232-233. 

American    Slave    Trade,    review, 
304-309. 

Annual    Meeting    of    So.    Hist. 
Assoc,  95-98. 

Armitt,  Richard,  489. 

Armstrong,  Ida  W.,  336. 

Army  of  Tennessee,  review,  535. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  257,  439. 

Association  for  Preservation  of 
Va.  Antiqui.,  449. 

Atkinson,  Thos.,  479. 

Atkinson,  William,  398. 

Augusta  Convention,  138,  140. 

Austin,  H.,  462. 

Austin,  S.  F.,  Memorial  to,  543. 
Texas  Revolution,  454. 


Autihiograpky  of  Col.  Richard 
Malcolm  Johnston,  review,  424- 
425. 

Avery,  D.,  rev.,  257. 

Avery,  E.  M.,  336. 

Avirett,  J.  B.,  review,  512-513. 

Baker,  Ales.,  children  of,  390. 
Baker,  Benj.,  482. 
Baker,  Boiling,  4. 
Baker,  Elizabeth,  486-487. 
Baker,  Evy,  494. 
Baker,  H.  Y.,  492. 
Baker,  Henry,  478,  480,  492,  493, 
494. 

certificate  of,  392. 

children  of,  390. 

genealogy  of  388-400. 

property  of,  393,  397- 

public  service  of,  394. 

will  of,  494. 
Baker,  Henry,  and  some  of  his 

descendants,  477-496. 
Baker,  Jeremiah,  492. 
Baker,  Jethro,  494. 
Baker,  John,  481,  482. 
Baker,  Joseph,  482. 
Baker,  Joyce,  491. 
Baker,  Letitia,  480. 
Baker,  Lydia,  482. 
Baker,  Margaret,  388,  482. 
Baker,  Nathan,  480,  482,  484,  491. 
Baker,  Richard,  390. 
Baker,  Roger,  390. 
Baker,  S.,  477,  478,  479,  480-481. 
Baker,  Sarah,  480. 
Baker,  Thos.,  492. 
Baldwin,  John,  479. 
Ball,  Manr,  248. 
Ball,  T.  H..  review,  422-423. 
Bancroft,  G.,  centennial,  92. 
Bancroft,    H.    H.,   on    La.    Pur- 
chase, 380. 
Bankers*  Convention,  138. 
Baptists,  Graham  on,  review,  518- 
519. 

in  N.  C,  review,  82. 


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552 


Index. 


Barker,  E.  C,  art.  by,  451-  476. 

review,  254,  337. 
Barringer,  P.  B.,  171. 
Barton,  R.,  review,  78. 
Bassett,  J.  S.,  24& 
Battle,  K.  P.,  96. 
Battle,  R.  H.,  review,  74. 
Bayless,  B.,  79. 
Baylor,  Geo.,  266,  267,  2O9, 
Baylor,  W.,  263. 
Becket,  Eleanor,  399. 
Becket,  Mary,  390,  398. 
Bennett,  J.  S.  K.,  105. 
Benson,  B.  K.,  review,  62-63. 
Beyer,  E.,  489. 

Bibliography,  D.  C,  review,  167- 
168. 
hist.  Confed.  Treas.,  226-227. 
La.  Purchase,  386-387. 
Miss.,  review,  242-243. 
Biles,  A.  M.,  483. 
Biles,  R.,  4^. 
Biles,  C,  4fio. 

Biles,  William,  391,  480,  485. 
Billion  dollar  loan  plan,  141. 
Bingham,  Robert,  review,  441. 
Bittinger,  L.  R,  review,  323-324- 
Black  Hills,  geology  of,  review, 

72. 
Blackford,  C.  M.,  review,  425. 
Blacknall,  C.  C,  431. 

O.  W.,  78,  431. 
Blockade  running,  Confed.,  193. 
Bonds,  Confed.,  224-225. 
Bonham,  Ruth,  487. 
Bookworm,  review,  248. 
Booth,  Deborah,  391. 
Botddin,   Johanna   and   children, 

230. 
Bourne,  E.  G.,  review,  257-258. 
Bouve,  P.  C,  review,  64-05. 
Bowyer.  John,  483. 
Boycc,  J.  P.,  III. 
Boynton,  H.  V.,  i79- 
Bradley,  Margaret,  ^i. 
Bradshaw,  S.  E.,  review,  313-316. 
Breckenridge,  C.  R.,  171. 
Brigham,  W.  I.  T.,  review,  247. 
Bright  Side  of  Humanity,  review. 

164-167. 
Broadus,  J.  A.,  Curry  on,  review, 
310-312. 


Brock,  R.  A.,  70,  96. 

review,  237-238,  409-411- 
Brown,  Governor,  148. 
Brown,  John,   Connelly  on,   re- 
view, 423-424. 
Brown,  T.  L.,  528. 
Brown,  W.  G.,  review,  240-241. 
Browne,  W.,  J.,  398. 
Brownlow,  J.  B.,  96,  342. 
Brownlow,  W.  G.,  412. 
Bryan,  Mrs.  Jos.,  3^46. 
Br)ran,  W.  B.,  review,  167. 
Brjrmner,  Douglas,  498. 
Buford,  J.,  review,  83. 
Bugbee,  L.  G.,  545- 
Buncombe,  E.,  review,  529. 
Bunting,  Job,  485. 
Bunting,  Rachel,  397,  480,  485. 
Bunting,  Robert,  398. 
Burleson,  E.,  455. 
Burr,  G.  L.,  review,  341. 
Burroughs,  Hannah.  483. 
Burroughs,  John,  482,  483. 
Burroughs,  Lydia,  483. 
Busey,  S.  C,  169. 
Butler,  M.  C,  95, 
Byrd,  William,  24a 

Cabell,  Grattan  and  children,  23a 
Cabell,  Louisa,  229. 
Cabell,  Pauline  and  children,  230. 
Calhoun,  J.  C,  Curry  on,  159-163. 
Callahan,  J.  M.,  review,  413-415. 
Calloway,  T.  J.,  review,  83. 
Campbell,  C.  N.,  265. 
Campbell,  Judge,  85. 
Campbell,   R.   F.,   review.   56-57, 

425-426. 
Canada's  Work  for  History,  497- 

499. 
Canby.  B.  M.,  S„  T..  391.  397,  3<A 

477.  480. 
Cannon,  J.  P.,  review,  327. 
Capers,  Ellison,  review  by.  417- 

419. 
Capers,  Henry  D..  3. 
Carey.  H.  C,  495- 
Carlisle.  CaHeron.  549. 
Carolina  Cavalier,  review,  318-319. 
Carrinffton,  Agnes  and  children. 

2.V). 
Carrington.  Bessie  and  children. 

230. 


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Index. 


553 


Carrington,  Cullen  and  children, 
231. 

Carrington,  Edmonia  and  chil- 
dren, 230. 

Carrington,  Elizabeth  and  chil- 
dren, 230. 

Carrington,  Emma  and  children, 
230. 

Carrington,  Florence  and  chil- 
dren, 231. 

Carrington,  Henry  and  children, 
229,  230. 

Carrington,  Jane  and  children, 
230. 

Carrington,  John,  230. 

Carrington,  Lettice  and  children, 
230. 

Carrington  Louise  and  children, 
231. 

Carrington,  Otelia  and  children, 
231. 

Carrington,  Paul,  230. 

Carrington,  Randolph  and  chil- 
dren, 231. 

Carrington,  Robert  and  children, 
230. 

Carrington,  T.  and  children,  230. 

Carrington,  William,  230. 

Carrington  genealogy,  22S-231. 

Carter,  M.  N.,  review,  68-69. 

Catalogue,  Va.  Soc.  Mss.,  review, 
250. 

Chalkley,  Thos.,  484. 

Chamberlain,  D.  H.,  174. 

Chambers,  H.  E.,  review,  233-237. 

Channing,  E.,  on  La.  Purchase, 

^     351,  380-381. 

Chapman  Paintings,  346. 

Charleston,  Washington  Tablet 
in,  348. 

CJjarleston  Exposition,  176-177, 
262. 

Charleston  Year  Book,  review,  427. 

Chase  and  Memminger,  209. 

Chestnutt,  C.  W.,  review,  432- 
434. 

Chickens  Come  Home  to  Roost,  re- 
view, 238-239. 

Christian,  R.  A.,  268. 

Cincinnati  Soc,  74, 

Civil  History  of  Government  of  the 
Confederacy,  review,  407-409. 


Civil  War,  Benson  on,  review  of, 
62-63. 

Cannon  on,  review,  327. 

Conted  i^et.  on,  review,  77-78. 

Haines  on,  review,  73-74. 

Lost  Cause  on,  review,  b2. 

Lee  in,  review,  75. 

Pickett  in,  rev.,  327. 
see  Olticial  Records, 
see  So.  Hist.  Soc.  Papers, 
Clacius,  b,,  review,  259. 
Claiborne,  review,  238. 
Clarendon  Co.  (S.  C.)  Directory, 

review,  72. 
Clark,  David,  228. 
Clark,  M.  H.,  297. 
Clark,  T.  H.,  96. 
Clark,  Walter,  528. 
Classmcaiion  of  Mountain  Whites, 

review,  425-426. 
Claxton,  P.  P.,  339. 
Clayton,  P.,  3. 
Climatology,  New  Mexico,  review, 

72. 
Clephane,  W.  C,  169. 
Cleveland,    Grover,    on    Wilson, 

289. 
Clitherall,  A.  B.,  4. 
Clough,  Geo.,  479. 
Clows,  Margery,  398. 
Coats,  Jacob,  482. 
Cobb,  H.,  5. 
Cochran^  W.  B.,  171. 
Cocke,  Catesby,  481. 
CogdelL  John  S.,  444. 
Coin,    Confed.,    impressment   of, 

199. 
Cole,  T.  L.,  95,  96,  98. 
Coles,  Agnes  and  children,  230. 
Coles,  Mildred  and  children,  230. 
Coles,  Walter  and  children,  230. 
College-Bred  Negro,    review,   426- 

427. 
Collet,  Anne,  488,  490. 
Collet,  George,  490. 
Collet,   Jeremiah,   485,   487,   488. 

489,  490. 
Collet,  John,  489. 

Collet,  Sarah,  398,  485.  487,  488, 

490.  491. 

Collet,  Weyntie,  489,  490. 
Colquitt,  A.  H.,  Johnston  on,  170. 
Columbia,    burning    of,    review. 
259. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


554 


Index. 


Columbia  Hist.  Soc.  review,  167- 
168,  337.     ^ 
state  of,  169. 
Confederacy. 

bank  suspensions  in,  6. 

Blacknall  on,  431. 

Callahan  on,  review,  413-415. 

Congr.  survivals  of,  85-80. 

Curry  on,  rev.,  407-409»  504-5"- 

Daves  on,  review,  342. 

Davis  in,  291-299,  425. 

Kershaw's     Brigade,     review, 

Livermorc  on,  review,  409-411. 

Pinckney  on,  540. 

Pickett  on,  review,  372,  527. 

Porter  on,  review,  243-244. 

Provis.  Congr.  of,  2. 

Schwab  on,  review,  504-511. 

So.  Hist.  Soc.   Paps,   on,  237- 
238. 

Temple  on,  review,  411 -413. 

U.  D.  C,  review,  430-431. 

von  Halle  on,  332. 

see  Confed.  Vet.  and  Lost  Cause 
and     Confed.     Treas.,     Civil 
War,  South,  dif.  States. 
Confederate  Dead 

at  Arlington,  346. 

McKinley  on,  346,  541. 
Confederate    Diplomacy,    Polig- 

nac,  review,  342. 
Confederate  Monuments. 

Lexington,  261. 

Owensboro,  92. 
Confederate  note  printing,   14. 
Confederate  Records  in  Md.,  176. 
Confederate  Home  in  S.  C,  541. 
Confederate  States  of  Afnerica,  re- 
view, 504-511. 
Confederate  Treasury,  history  of, 
i-34»  99-150,  188-227. 

act  of  April,  1863,  114-121. 

act  of  Feb.,  1864,  123-125. 

and  banks,  11,  17 • 

basis  for  notes,  11,  12. 

bibliography,  226-227. 

bonds  of,  9. 

and  cotton,  19,  33»  104-107,  118- 
119. 

crop  basis  for,  18. 

and  currency,  lo-ii,  27. 

delayed  collections,  25. 


early  customs  revenues,  4-5. 

Erlanger  loan,  107-110. 

fifteen  mill.  dol.  loan,  6. 

first  fin.  leg^s.,  5- 13. 

funding,  1863,  10,  130-131. 

income  tax,  99-101. 

legal  tender,  27,  100-102. 

note  printing,  14. 

mill.  dols.  notes,  5. 

organization  of,  3-4. 

paper  money  of,  30. 

policy  of,  7,  23. 

price  commissions  of,  120. 

prices,  32. 

printing  notes,  31. 

produce  as  basis,  102-104. 

and  tariff,  4,  9. 

tax  in  kind,  118- 11 9. 

and    taxation,    8,    23,    112-114, 
122-123. 

Trans-Miss,  dept,  194. 
Confederate  Veteran^  review,  77-78, 

255-256,  340,  439-440,  535. 
Confederate  Veterans,  Jones  on, 
review,  330. 

Memphis  Reunion,  344-346. 
Congressional  Centennial,  91. 
Connelly,  W.  E.,  review,, 423-424. 
Conrad,  G.  B.,  review,  519-521 
Conservative  Rev.,  rev.,  169-170. 
Contributions    to    a    Psychological 

Theory  of  Music,  rev..  430. 
Coogler,  J.  G.,  545- 
Cooke,  Nathaniel,  229. 
Cooper,  Thos.,  review,  443. 
Cope,  Gilbert,  485. 
Cotten,  S.  S.,  review,  401-406. 
Cotton,  blockade  running,  21. 

bonds,  136. 

Edmonds  on,  rev.,  441. 

financiering  on,  19,  21,  199. 

von  Halle  on,  527. 

Tompkins  on,  review,  429. 
Cotton  Gin,  review,  429. 
Council,  W.  H.,  review,  247,  431- 

432. 
Counterfeiting    in    Confederacy, 

33. 
Cowgill.  John.  485. 
Craddock.  John  and  children,  231. 
Crops  as  financial  basis,  iS. 
Crossfield.  J.  D.,  389. 
Crumley,  James,  492. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Index. 


555 


Culberson,  Senator,  on  La.  Pur- 
chase, 366-367. 
Cullen,  Lottie  and  children,  230. 
Cumberland  Vendetta^  review,  58- 

61. 
Cummings,  James,  487. 
Cummins,  Robert,  486. 
Cunningham,  John  and  children, 

231. 
Curry,  J.  L.  M.,  address  by,  re- 
view, 340. 
Amer.  Hist.,  review,  233. 
Broadus,  review,  310-312. 
Calhoun  review  by,  159-163. 
Confed.   Hist,  of,  review,  407- 

409. 
Confed.  Congr.,  85. 
at  Montgomery,  171. 
Nat  £duc.  Com.,  339. 
Presdt.  of  Assoc,  95. 
report  of,  review,  71. 
at  Salem,  260. 
Schwab  review  by,  504-511. 
"South  in  Olden  Time,"  35-48. 
Customs    revenues    of    Confed. 
treas.,  4-5. 

Dabney,  C.  W.,  339. 

Dabney,  R.  H.,  96. 

Dabuly,  Maria,  230. 

Daniels,  Josephus,  review,  328. 

Darlington  Co.   Hist.  Soc,  544. 

D.  A.  R.,  540. 

Georgia  work  of,  445. 

Patriotic  Review,  rev.,  84. 

report  of,  rev.,  79-80. 

and  race  issue,  347. 

see  Amer.  Mon.  Mag. 
Daves,  Graham,  74,  179. 

review,  77,  342,  443,  401-406. 
Davidson,  W.  M.,  424. 
Davis,   JeflFerson,    Blackford   on, 
rev.,  425. 

Cabin  John  Bridge,  542. 

on  Confed.  finances,  21,  111-112. 

holiday,  92. 

last  official  meeting  of,  291-299. 
Davis,  Sam,  440. 
De  Bow,  J.  E.  B.,  18,  105,  106. 
Deitch,  E.  J.  B.,  R..  11,  482. 
Demlope,   James    N.,    and    chil- 
dren, 230. 
Denegree,  J.  D.,  6,  11,  17,  20.  31. 


Department  of  Archives  and  His- 
tory  in  Ala.,    178-179. 

Depositories,  Conffc,,  I33-I34- 

Dickert,  D.  A.,  review,  327. 

Dienst,  A.,  review,  77. 

Diplomatic  History  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  review,  413-415. 

Direct  taxation,  Confed.,  122. 

District  of  Columbia,  Bryan  on, 
167,  see  Col.   Hist.   Soc. 

Dreher,  J.  D.,  171. 

'DuBois,  W.  E.  B.,  review,  83, 
172,  426-427. 

Dunbar,  P.  L.,  review,  56-57,  43i. 

Dunlap,  Phebe,  480. 

Dunn,  J.  B.,  482. 

Easley,  Holt,  and  children,  231. 
East  Tennessee  and  the  Civil  War, 

review,  411-413. 
Eaves,    H.,   389. 
Edmonds,  R.  H.,  review,  441. 
Edmunds,   Henry,  and  chiMren, 

231. 
Edmunds,  P.  F.,  review,  340. 
Eggleston,  Edward,  review,  249- 

250. 
Eggleston,    G.    C,    review,   318- 

319- 

Elements  of  the  Geology  of  Ten- 
nessee, review,  239-240. 

Ellam,  John,   390. 

Elmore,   E.  C,  4. 

Emancipation,  Curry  on,  35. 

Erskine,  P.,  review,  523-524. 

Ethnology,  American,  325-326. 

Evans,  L.  B.,  review,  241-242. 

Ezekiel,  Moses,  261. 

Faulkner,  C.  J.,  269. 
Feoror,  Joseph,  391. 
Fewkes,  J.  W.,  review,  326. 
Ffisher,  Thos.,  391. 
Ficklen.  J.  R.,  96.  527. 
art.  by,  351-387. 
review,  320-322. 
Finances,    Confederate,     141-146, 
188,  200-207,  224-226. 
Confed.     and     Revolutionary, 

200-207. 
ignorance  of  principles  of.  217- 

218. 
impressment  for.  205-206. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


556 


Index. 


North  and  South,  208,  212-213, 
see  Con^d.   Treas. 

Fingal,  ship,  21. 

Fisher,  John,   Mary,  484. 

Flecming,  ,   390. 

Fleming,  W.  L.,  review,  83. 

Fletcher,   Robt.,  477- 

Florida  Magasine,  review,  538. 

Flourney,  Stanhope,  and  chil- 
dren,  230. 

Floyd,  J.  W.,  review,  326. 

Foreign  loans,  206. 

Fortier,  A.,  89. 

Fox,  John,  review,  58-61. 

Frazer,  John,   21. 

Frissell,  H.  B.,  171. 

Funding,  Compulsory,  142,  146. 
149. 

Furman,  McDonald,  review  by, 
61-62,  92,  327,  420-422. 

Gadsden,  C,  Renick  on^  51. 
GammeVs    Reprint,    review,    244- 

245. 
Garland,  A.  H.,  17. 
Garner,  J.  W.,  review,  442. 
Garrett,  W.  R.,  review,  254. 
Garrison,  G.  P.,  review,  342,  444. 
Gartrell,   L.  J.,  27. 
Gatschet,  A.  S.,  75. 
Germans,    Bittinger  on,   review, 

323-324. 
Genealogy,        Alston-Lillington- 
Cain,  545-547. 

Baker,  Henry,  388-400,  477-496. 

Brown,  review,  528. 

Carrington,  228-231. 

Colleton  family,  81. 

Kinsey  family,  300-304. 

Watson  on,  332.   See  different 
hist.  mags. 
Geography,  Maury's,  review.  242. 
Geology,  Texas,  review,  245-246. 

Tennessee,  review,  239-240. 
Georgia,  D.  A.  R.  in,  445. 

Evans  on,  review,  241-242. 

Travel,  libraries  in,  175. 
Germans  in  Colonial  Times,   rev.. 

323-324. 
Gibbes,  J.  A.,  178. 
Gilmer,  George.  231. 
Gilmer,   Geo.   H.,   and   children, 

230. 


Gilmer,  Louisa,  and  children,  231. 
Gilmer,    Peachy,    and    children, 

231. 
Goodlett,  M.  C,  78. 
Gold  prices,  225-226. 

Gonsen, y  496. 

Gordon,  Ella,  and  children,  231. 
Graham,  W.  A.,  review,  518-519. 
Gray,  Harrison,  249. 
Gray,  P.  W.,  194. 
Greene,  Nath.,  348. 
Gresham,  W.  G.,  and  Renick,  49. 
Guerard,  B.,  review,  81. 
Gusham,  G.  T.,  review,  72. 

Hague,  F.,  480,  4Q1. 

Haige,  F.,  480. 

Haige,  Pleasant,  479. 

Haines,  Z.  T.,  review,  73. 

Hale,  J.  P.,  334-335. 

Hale  School  House,  543-544- 

von  Halle,  £.,  332,  527. 

Hamilton,  P.  J.,  87. 

Hampton,  W.,  75- 

Hanks,  N.,  review,  81. 

Hannah,  Mary,  and  children,  231. 

Hardie,  W.  W.,  20. 

Hardiman,  see  Hardman. 

Hardin,  W.,  458. 

Hardman,  Henry,  388 

Hardman,  John,  388,  389. 

Harris,  D.,  review,  76. 

Harris,  F.  S.,  review,  77, 

Harrison,  J.,  478. 

narrower,  John,  review,  82-83. 

Hastings,  Joshua,  488. 

Hatfield.  "Devil  Anse,"  77^ 

Haydock,  Roger,  391,  399. 

Hasrwood,  M.  D.,  2^. 

Haywood,  M.  H.,  429. 

Henry  Baker  and  some  of  his 
descendants,  388-400,  477*496. 

Herbert,  H.  A.,  171,  174. 

Hermann,  B..  review,  320-322. 

Hermen,  E.  A.,  493. 

Hewes.  Mary,  248. 

Hey,  Robert,  390. 

Hisrcrins.  Charlotte,  153. 

Higher  History  of  the  United  States 
for  Schools  and  Academies,  re- 
viewed, 233-237. 

Hillcs,  L.  B.,  review,  238-239. 

Hill,  R.  T.,  review,  246. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Index. 


557 


Historians  on  La.  Purchase,  380- 
384, 

Historical  Roster  and  Itinerary  of 
S.  C.  Volunteer  Troops,  re- 
view, 326. 

Historical  Sketch  of  Polar  Tent 
Church,  review,  329. 

Historical  Sketches  and  Reminis- 
cences of  an  Octogenarian,  re- 
view, 65-68. 

Histories,  School,  179. 

History,  Ala.  Aid  to,  178-179. 
Md.  Aid  to,  176. 

History  of  Alabama,  by  Pickett, 
review,  331. 

History  of  Maryland,  review,  516- 

517. 

History  of  the  Confederate 
Treasury  see  Confed.  Treas. 

History  of  Hiram  Masonic  Lodge, 
review,  430. 

History  of  Kershaw's  Brigade,  re- 
view, 327. 

History  of  Slavery,  304-309. 

History  of  South  Carolina,  review, 
514-516. 

History  of  South  Fork  Baptist  As- 
sociation, review,  518-519. 

History  of  Spartanburg  County,  re- 
view, 420-422. 

Holmes,  Hodgen,  review,  429. 

Hood,  T.  F.,  338. 

Hook,  Marcus,  485,  488,  489,  490. 

Hoopes,  family  of,  496. 

Hopkins,  Johns,  3^,^i. 

Hopkins,  Samuel,  388. 

Horton,  G.  M.,  444. 

Hospitality,  Southern,  41. 

Hough,  John,  481. 

Hough,  Oliver,  396. 

Hough,  Richard,  398,  485. 

Houghton,  Henry,  390. 

House  behind  the  Cedars,  review, 
432-434. 

Howe,  M.  A.  D.,  419 

Howel,  Mordecay,  484. 

Howell,  John,  Mary,  484. 

Hoyer,  14, 

Hoyer  &  Ludwig,  32,  33. 

Hufham.  J.  D.,  82. 

Humphreys,  Mary,  300. 

Hunt,  G.  Renick,  sketch  by,  49- 
52. 


Hunter,  Mr.,  144. 
Huntington,  A.  J.,  269. 
Hurley,  J.  F.,  review,  329. 
Hurst,   John,   391. 
Hutton,  Joseph,  481. 

In  and  Around  the  Grand  Canyon, 

review,  324-325. 
Indians,  Catawba,  review,  75. 

Navajo,  review,  325-326. 
Ingle,  Edward,  review,  441,  502, 

516-517. 

Inside  of  Rebeldom,  review,  327. 

International  Law  and  La.  Pur- 
chase, 371-379. 

Ivey,  T.  N.,  review,  256. 

Jackson,  Edward,  486. 

James,  G.  W.,  review,  324-325. 

James    Sprunt    Historical    Mono^ 

ographs,  review,  427-428. 
Jameson,  J.  F.,  review,  159,  232, 

246,  443. 
Jamestown  Excavations,  449. 
Jamison,  S.  G.,  33. 
Janney,   Abel,  Joseph,   479,  480, 

481. 
Janney,  Jacob,  484. 
Janney,  Sarah,  483. 
Janney,  Thos.,  496. 
Jarvis,  Sarah,  477. 
Jefferson,   Thomas,  Watson  on, 

review,  419-420. 
Jenney,  Mary,  491  . 
"John  A.  Broadus,"  310-312. 
John  Brown,  review,  423-424. 
John  Vytal,  review,  401-406. 
Johns  Hopkins  Univ.,  448,  537. 
Johnson,  B.  F.  Co.,  1G7. 
Johnson.  B.  T.,  78. 
Johnson,  W.  S.,  489. 
Johnson's  Physical  Culture  Primary 

Book,  review,  69-70. 
Johnston,  Geo.,  402. 
Johnston,  L.,  96. 
Johnston,    R.    M.,    review,    169- 

170,  424-425. 
Johnson,  W.,   139. 
Johnson,  William,   139. 
Jones,  C.  E.,  review,  330. 
Jones,  C.  T.,  3. 
Jones.  R.  H.,  481. 


Digitized  by 


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558 


Index. 


Jones,  Robert,  251. 

Jordan,    Lavinia    and    Children, 

230. 
Joscelyn    Cheshire,     review,     524- 

525. 

Journal,  (New  Bern),  review,  443. 

Journal   of   So.    Ed.    Assoc,    re- 
view, 338-339- 

Joyce,  J.  A.,  review,  445,  489. 

Jovnes,  E.  S.,  review,  238. 

Juietty,  review,  435-437. 

Karnes,  75. 
Keatmges,  Ball,  32. 
Keitn,  George,  395. 
Kennedy,  S.  b.,  review,  524-525. 
Kenner,  99-100. 
Kent,  C.  W.,  313. 
Kentucky,  Allen  on,  review,  53- 
56. 

Mch.lroy  on,  review,  435-437. 
Kershaw's   brtgadey    hist,    of,    re- 
view, 327. 
Key,  Francis  Scott,  261. 
Key  West  Mon.,  92. 
Killebrcw,  J.  B.,  96. 

art.  by,  228-231. 

review,  239-240,  248. 
King's  Mo.,  battle  of,  review,  79. 
Kinsey,  David,  491. 
'*Kinsey  Family, '  300-303. 
Kirkbride,  Joseph,  485. 
Knoflack,  A.,  review,  525. 

Lamar,  G.  B.,  140. 

Lancaster,    John    and    children, 

230. 
Lancaster,  Robert,  and  children, 

230. 
Land  Records  in  S.  C,  177. 
Landrum,  J.  B.  O.,  review,  420- 

422. 
Langhornc,  Sarah,  480. 
La  Salle,  354-358. 
Lasley,  Robt.,  492. 
Lassiter,  F.  R.,  review,  257. 
Law,  Thomas,  338. 
Lawler,  L  .W.,  105. 
Lawton,  Guilielmo  and  child,  230. 
Lee,  R.  E.,  537- 
Cox  on,  review,  537. 
Hampton  on,  75. 


Joynes  on,  rev.,  238. 
Washington  relics  of,  348. 
Leftwick,  G.  J.,  review,  256. 
Legal    tender.    Confederate,  27, 

132. 
Leigh,  William  and  children,  231. 
Lert,  Joshua,  391. 
Leslie,  C.  R.,  388. 
Leslie,  family  of,  496. 
Leslie,  Robert,  and  children,  495. 
Lewis,  W.,  review,  80. 
Libraries,  traveling,  see  Traveling 

Libs. 
Life     and      Times     of      William 

Lowndes,    review,   415-417. 
Ligon,  Joseph,  229. 
Link,  S.  A.,  review,  256. 
Livermore,   T.    R.,   review,   409- 

411. 
Lloyd,  J.  U..  review,  434-435- 
Loans,  Confed.,  disaster  of,  219- 

220. 
coniparative  view,  210. 
Lost  Cause,  review,  82,  259,  340, 

443,  536-537.  „ 
Lost  Colony  of  Roanoke,   review, 

401-406. 
Louisiana,  Hist.  Soc.  of,  89. 
Louisiana    Purchase,    article  on, 

351-387. 
bibliography  of,  386-387. 
conclusion,  384-387. 
diplomacy  on,  366-371. 
historians  on,  380-384. 
hist,   sketch,   353-36o. 
international  law  on,  371-379- 
testimony    of    the    maps,    363- 
366. 
Louisiana  Purchase,    review,   320- 

322. 
Lowell,  J.  R.,  review,  538. 
Lowndes,  C.  T.,  19. 
Lowndes,   William,   review,  415- 

417. 
Love  of  Landry,  review,  431-432. 

Ludwig, ,  14. 

Lyne,  Lucy,  Mary,  264. 

McCauley,  James,  495- 
McCrady,  Edward,  review,  259. 
McElroy,  L.  C  review,  435-4.^7- 
Mcllwaine.  H.  R.,  review  by,  65- 
68. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Index. 


559 


McKee,  A.  W.,  io6. 

McKinley,  William,  and  Confed. 

Dead,  346,  54i- 
McLaughlin,  A.  C,  443. 
Macon,    Nathaniel,    review,   427- 

428. 
McRae,  C.  J.,  108,  190. 
Magazine  of  American  History y  re- 
view, 84. 
Manufacturers'     Record,     review, 

441,  539-540. 
Marshall,  Joel,  and  children,  230. 
Marten,  Wa.,  489. 
Martin,  John  and  child,  230. 
Martin,  M.  M.,  and  children,  230. 
Maryland,  aid  to  hist,  by,  176. 

Confed,  Records  in,  176. 

Passano  on,  review,  516-517. 
Maryland  Society  (N.  Y.),  91 
Mason,  J.  M.,  107. 
Masons,  order  of,  review,  430. 
Matthews,  M.  H.,  480. 
Mauldin,  Francis,  486. 
Maury's    Elementary     Geography, 

reviewed,  242. 
May,   Humphrey,  228. 
May,   Lettice,  228,  229. 
Mell,  Mrs.   P.  H.,  540. 
Mellen,  G.  F.,  review,  80. 
Memminger,  C.  G.,  alarm  of,  31. 

appeal  to  banks,  10. 

Augusta  Convention,  139. 

bond  payments,  16. 

censure  of,  222. 

and  Chase,  209. 

confidence  of,  135-136. 

on   cotton  purchase,  20. 

difficulties  faced  137-138. 

effort  for  taxation,  223. 

fifteen  mill.  dol.  loan,  6. 

fin.  statement  4th  Cong.,  140. 

friction  with  Congress,  125. 

funding  plan,  1863,  130-131. 

and  Morris.  206-207. 

Pinckney's  defence  of,  540. 

anH  redundancy,  15. 

resignation    of,   192. 

sketch   of,   2-3. 

State   fin.    aid   urged,    iio-iii. 

on  use  of  treas.  notes,  13.  22. 
28-29. 

views  on  taxation.  8-9. 
Memphis  Reunion,  review,  261. 


Meriwether,  C,  report  of,  95-98.' 
Metcalf,  J.  C,  review,  434-435- 
Methodist  Review,    review,   80-81, 

256,  341,  444,  538. 
Mexican  War,  review,  531-532. 
Mexico,  archives  of,  review,  444. 
Meyer,  Max,  review,  430. 
Miller,  J.   B.,  460,  467. 
Miller  School,  447-448. 
Milner,  Saran,  392. 
Mina,  455- 

Mindeleff,  Cosmos,  rev.,  325-326. 
Minutes  of  U.  D.  C.  of  N.  C,  re- 
view, 430-431. 
Mississippi,    bibliogy.    of    Owen, 
review,  242-243. 
Garner  on,  review,  442. 
Hist.  Com.  of,  89. 
Missouri  Univ.,  430. 
Moale,  John,  50. 
Montgomery  Negro  Conf.,   170- 

172. 
Monuments,  Confed.  at  Lexing- 
ton, 261. 
Confed.,     Montgomery,     rev., 

332. 
Confed.,  Owensboro,  92. 
Confed.,  Paris,  review,  243-244. 
to  Maine  at  Key  West,  92. 
N.   Y   at    Gettysburg,   review, 

330. 
Oglethorpe,  91. 
S.  C.  Confed.  at  Chickamauga, 

346. 
Timrod,  262. 
Moore,  E.,  264. 
Moore,  J.  T.,  review,.  521-523- 
Morris  and  Memminger,  206. 
Morris,  L.,  review,  77. 
Mountain  Whites,  Campbell,  re- 
view, 425-426. 
Carter  on.  review,  68-69. 
Fox  on,  58-61. 
McClintock  on,  529. 
Muhlenberg,  F.  A.  C.  182. 
Muhlenberg,  H.  M.,  182. 
Muhlenberg,    J.   P.    G.,    sketch, 

181-187. 
Multiple  standard,   Confed.,   196. 
Murphy,  E.  G..  171. 
Murray,  W.  V.,  sketch  of,   151- 
158. 
'    Murray,  William.  151. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


56o 


Index. 


Neals,  John,  488. 

Negro,  Avirett  on,  review,  512- 

513. 
Bingham  on,  review,  441-442. 
Bouvc  on,  review,  64-65. 
business     ability     of,     review, 

172. 
Chcstnutt  on,  review,  432-434- 
Conrad  on,  review,  519-521. 
Council  on,  review,  173,  247. 
and  D.  A.  R.,  347- 
Du  Bois  on,  review,  83-84,  172. 

426-427.       ^ 
Dunbar  on,  56-57- 
Lloyd  on,  review,  434-435- 
Montgomery    Conference    on, 

170-171.  ^      _ 

Pell  on,  review,  165-100. 

Presnell  on,  529. 

Slater  fund,  340. 

suffrage,  Curry  on,  46. 

Winston  on,  258-259. 

see  slavery. 

see  Peabody  Reports. 
Negro  in  business,  review,  172. 
New  Mexico,  Climatology  of,  re- 
view, 72. 
New    Orleans,    relative    decline, 

77- 
Nichols,  John,  review,  430. 
North    Carolina,   Allen    on,    re- 
view, 517-518. 

Baptists,  review,  82. 

Bar  assoc,  329- 

Booklet  of,  review,  429-430- 

Carter  on,  review,  68-69. 

Cin.  Soc.  of,  74- 

Clark  on,  528. 

Daniels  on,  review,  328. 

Erskine  on,  523-524. 

Graham  on,  review,  518-519. 

Haines  on,  review.  73-74- 

Haywood  on,  review,  529. 

Hiram    Masonic    Lodge,    re- 
view, 430. 

hist.  mag.  of,  review,  440-441- 

Kennedy  on,  review,  524-525- 

Lit.  and  Hist.  Soc.  of,  90. 

Raney  Library,  347- 

Raper  on  hist,  of,  72-73- 

Revolutionary  Records,  74. 

secession  vote  on,  review,  77, 


Spanish-American     War,     re- 
view, 73. 
tea  in,  179. 

U.  D.  C,  review,  430-431. 
Vance  mon  in,  review,  74, 

North  Carolina  Baptist  Hist,  Pa- 
pers, review,  82. 

North  Carolina  Booklet,  review, 
429-430. 

North  Carolina  Hist,  and  Gen. 
Reg.,  review,  440-441. 

North  Carolina  History  stories,  re- 
view, S17-518. 

North  Carolina  Sketches,  review, 
68-69. 

North  Carolina  Year  Book,  review, 
328. 

Northrup,  A.  J.,  review,  304-309. 

Northwestern  Indiana,  review,  422- 
423. 

Notes,  Confed.,  I32-I33»  189. 

Novels,  (see  So.  Novels.) 

Numbers  and  Losses  in  the  Civil 
War  in  America,  review,  409- 
411. 

Oackell,  Peter,  3po. 

Official  Records  of  Union  and  Con- 

federate  Navies,  review,  71 
Oglethorpe,  J.,  monument  to,  91. 
OW  Plantation,  review,  512-513. 
Old   South,   Avirett  on,   review, 
512-513- 

Conrad  on,  review,  519-521. 

Curry  on,  35-48. 

Johnston  on,  169-170. 

Wilmer  on,  review,  417-419. 
Oldham,  Edward,  492. 
Olivia  Raney  Free  Library,  347. 
On  Southern  Poetry  Prior  to  i860, 

review,  313-316. 
Onis,  362-371. 

"Organization  of  the  Texas 
Revolution."  451-476. 

political  conditions,  453- 

steps  for  resistance,  455. 

friction  over  customs,  456. 

efforts  of  war  party,  4?9. 

public    meeting    at    Columbia. 
462. 

desire  for  reps,  con.,  464. 

Mexican  blunders,  46J8. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Index. 


561 


beginning  of  opposition,  470. 
appeal  for  moderation,  472. 
call  for  Convention,  473. 
despair  of  peaceful  adjustment, 

475. 
Oliver,  Mary,  Evan,  Jane,  477. 
Orrack,  James,  495. 
Osborne,  J.  B.,  169. 
Ottey,  Philip,  487. 
Owen,  Goronwy,  251. 
Owen,  T.  M.,  87,  88,  179.  544- 

review,  242-243,  246,  331. 
Owens,  W.  G.,  251. 
Owensboro  Confed.  mon.,  92. 

Page,  T.  N.,  95,  174- 
Panic,  financial,  148. 
Paper    money.    Confederate,    30, 
32. 

no  new  lesson  from,  223-224. 

and  revolutionary,  200-201. 

security  for,  2i(f-2i7. 
Park,  E.  H.,  79. 
Parrock,  John,  482. 
Pasco,  S.,  06. 
Pasco,  W.  D..  93. 
Passano,  L.  M.,  review.  516-517. 
Patterson.  S.  S.  P.,  review,  257. 
Patriotic  Review,  review,  84. 
Patton,  C.  L.,  237. 
Patton,  Ren  a,  231. 
Payne,  E.  J.,  rev.,  401-406. 
Payson,  W.  F.,  review.  401-406. 
Peabody    fund    Proceedings,    re- 
view, 71. 
Pell,  E.  L.,  review,  164-167. 
Pemberton,  Phineas,  391,  399. 
Penn,  W.,  478,  479-  487. 
Pennock,  Christopher,  490. 
Pennock,  Nathaniel,  491. 
Peterson,   Adam,  493. 
Petigru,  J.  L.,  526. 
Pemberton,  Phineas,  484. 
Pheland,  Margaret,  492. 
Pickett,  J.  A.,  review,  331. 
Pickett,   T.    E.,   review,   435-437, 

527. 
Pictures    and    Pencilings,    review, 

444. 
Pierce,  G.  F.,  Lewis  on,  80. 
Pierce.  Mary,  230. 
Pike,  Louise,  review,  61-62. 
Pinkerton,  S.  J.,  review,  315-316. 


Pittman,  T.  M.,  82. 

Poe,  E.  A.,  Oldham  on,  review, 

445. 
Polignac,  C.  J.,  review,  342. 
Political  purity  in  South,  38-40. 
Pol.  Sci,  Quarterly,  review,  442. 
Porter,  J.  D.,  review,  243-244. 
Porterfield,  G.  A.,  96. 
Potter,  R.  M.,  75. 
Preeson,  W.,  390. 
Presbyterians,  in  N.  C,  review, 

329. 
Presnell,  H.,  529. 
Preston,  Jane,  477. 
Preston,  T.  L.,  review,  05-O8.       ^ 
Price  Commissions,  Confed.,  120. 
Prices,  Confederate,  134,  137,  141, 

148. 
Printing  notes.  Confederate,  31. 
Proceedings   of    Slater    Trustees, 
^     rev.,  339. 
Provisional  Congress  of  Confed., 

2. 
Pryor,  Mary,  487. 
Pyle,  Robert,  485. 

Quartes,  J.  A.,  review,  256-257. 

on  Wilson,  286-287. 
Quarterly,  of  Tex.   Hist.  Assoc, 
rev.,  254-255,  337,  531-532. 

Race  prejudice,  47. 

Radcliffc,    James    and    children, 

396. 
Radcliff,  Mary,  395. 
Randolph,  Edmund,  154, 
Raper,  C.  L.,  rev.,  68-60,  72. 
Ravenel,  Mrs.  St.  Julien,  review, 
^     415-417. 
Rawsthormes,  396. 
Read,  Abram  and  child,  230. 
Read,  Agnes  and  children,  230. 
Read,  Edmonia  and  children,  230. 
Read,  Howard,  230. 
Read,  Isaac  and  children,  ^o. 
Read,  Louisa  and  children,  230. 
Read,  Maria  and  children,  230. 
Read,  Sara  and  child,  230. 
Read,  Thomas,  229. 
Read,  William  and  children,  230. 
Reagan,  J.  H.,  85.  424,  440. 
Recent  Past  from  a  Southern  Stand- 

point,  review,  417-419. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


56-2 


Index. 


Records  of  Col.  Hist  Soc,  re- 
view, 337-338. 

Red  Blood  and  Blue,  review,  316. 

Reed,  T.  B.,  on  Wilson>  290. 

Reign  of  Law,  review,  53-56. 

Reiley,  John  W.  and  children, 
230. 

Reiley,  Louisa  and  children,  231. 

Reminiscences  of  a  Southern 
Woman,  review,  519-521. 

Renick,  E.  I.,  sketch  of,  49-52. 

Renick.  W.  H.,  50. 

Report,  Amer.  Hist.  Assoc,  re- 
view, 246-247. 

Report,  Tyler  Family  Gathering, 
review,  247. 

Reprint  of  Satula  and  Other 
Poems,  review,  315-316. 

Repudiation,  201. 

Resources,  North  and  South, 
215-216. 

Review  of  Reviews,  review,  258- 

259.  ,         .     . 

Revolutionary   financiering,   200- 

207. 
Revolutionary  Records, 

in  A.  M.  Mag.,  review,  78-80. 

North  Carolina,  review,  74. 

in  S.  C,  review,  81-82. 
Revolutionary    War,    Eggleston 

Novel  on,  review,  318-319. 
Roane,  104. 
Roane,  A.,  19. 

Roanoke,  lost  colony  of,  401-406. 
Robertson,   A.   T..   review,    310- 

312. 
Robertson,      Harrison,     review, 

316-318. 
Robertson,  J.  J..  293. 
Robertson,  M.  E.,  art.  by,  291- 

299. 
Robins,  S.  N.,  review,  83. 
Robinson,  J.  E.,  528. 
Robinson,  J.  H.,  quoted,  234. 
Rock.  Francis,  487. 
Rocky  Mo.  Plateau.  Climatology, 

review,  72. 
Roosevelt,   Presdt.,   ^41. 
Rush,  Albert  and  children,  230. 
Ruston,  Job,  487. 

SaflFord,  J.  M..  review.  239-240. 
St.  Denis,  358-359- 


St.  Louis  Exposition,  262. 
Salley,  A.  S.,  review,  81,  259,  318- 

319,  444. 
Sanborn,  J.  B.,  review,  83. 
Sandys,  251. 
Sanford,  T.,  review,  80. 
San   Jacinto    Campaign,    review, 

337. 
Schmidt,  S.,  14. 
Schoenfeld,  H.,  96. 
School  Histories,  179. 

Ala.,  Broun,  review,  240-241. 

general,  W.    S.    Chambers,  re- 
view, 233-237. 

Ga.,  by  Evans,  review,  241-242. 
Schouler,  on  La.  Purchase,  380. 
Schwab,  J.  C,  review,  504-511. 
Secretary's  Report,  96-97. 
Seddon,  J.  A.,  17. 
Selections    from    Southern    Poets, 

review,  514. 
Semple,  R.  B.,  263. 
Sewanee  Review,  review.  256-257, 
^      439,  537. 

Sharswood,  Chief  Justice,  482. 
Shaw,  Robt.,  479. 
Shepherd,  A.  R.,  168. 
Shepard,  C.  U.,  review.  258. 
Shinplasters,  44. 
Shoemaker,  David,  482. 
Siddell,  Henry.  391. 
Siddell,  John,  390. 
SimonHs,  F.  W..  review,  245-246. 
Sims,  Betsey.  228. 
Sims,  David,  228. 
Sims,  David,  Jr.,  229. 
Sims,  John,  228. 
Sims,  Priscilla,  228,  229. 
Slavery.  Curry  on,  35-48. 

hist,  of,  304-309. 

North rup  on.  review,  304-309. 

Soears  on.  rev..  304-309. 

in  Va.,  review.  532-533. 
Slavery  in  New  York,  review.  304- 

."^09. 
Smith,  C.  L..  96.  «W)3. 
Smith,  C.  W.,  478. 
Smith.    E.    A.,    hist,    of   Confe^l. 
treasury  by.  1-34,  95-150.  188- 
227.  262.  504. 
Smith,    Hoke,    aid   to    libraries, 
^      ^75. 
Smith.  John,  543. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Index. 


563 


Smith,  K.,  134. 

Smith,  Larkin,  118. 

Smith,  J.  H.,  337- 

Smith,  William,  485. 

Snake-head  railroads,  43. 

Snowden,  Yates,  348. 

Soldier  of  the  Civtl  War,  review, 

327,  527. 
Soldiers  of  1812,  262. 
Sons  American  Revolution,  181. 
South,    the,    Adam's    work    for, 

^500-503. 

Curry  on,  35-48. 

education,  260. 

greatest  Univ.  of,  448. 

Indust  Convention,  86-87. 

Johns  Hop.  Univ.,  537. 

Killebrew  on,  review,  247. 

poetry   of,   Bradshaw,   review, 
313-316. 

Poets   of,   Weber   on,   review, 

514. 
see  Negro. 
see  Old  South. 
"South     in     Olden    Time,"     by 

Curry,  35-48. 
South  Carolina,  Charleston  Ex. 

in,  176-177. 
Charleston    hist.,    in,    review, 

259- 
Clarendon  Co.  Directory.  72, 
Columbia  burning,  review,  259. 
Confed.  home  in,  541. 
Darlington  hist.  Soc,  544. 
Eggleston  on,  review,  318-319. 
hist.    Mag.    of,    review,   81-82. 

250-251,  534-535. 
Huguenots,  526. 
Irish  in,  review,  259. 
land  records  of,  177. 
Landrum  on,  420^422. 
Lowndes  in,  review,  415-417. 
McCrady's  Hist.,  review,  514- 

516. 
Mon.  at  Chickamauga,  346. 
in  Spanish-Amer.  War,  review, 

220. 

5.   u   Hist,  and  Gen.  Magazine, 
review,   81-82,    250-251,    534- 

535. 
South    Carolina    Interstate    and 
West  Indian  Exposition,  176- 
177.   . 


South  Dakota  School  of  Mines 
Bulletin,  review,  72. 

Southern  Echoes,  review,  61-62. 

Southern    Educational    Associa- 
tion, review,  33^-339. 

Southern     Educational     Confer- 
ence, Salem  meeting,  260. 

Southern  Farm  Mag.,  review,  444. 

Southern  Historical  Society  Papers, 
review,  70,  237-238. 

Southern  Hist.,  lit.  on,  237-238. 
Smith  lectures  on.  262. 

Southern  Industrial  Assoc,  446- 

^     447. 

Southern  Libraries,  Raney,  347. 

Southern    Memorial    Assoc,    at 
Memphis  Reunion,  344-346. 

Southern  Novels,  review  of,  Al- 
len, 53-56. 
Benson,  62-63. 
Bouve,  64-65. 
Carter,  68-69. 
Dunbar,  56-57. 
Fox,  58-61. 

Hilles,  review,  238-239. 
Pike,  61-62. 

Southland,  review,  444. 

Spanish-American    War,     Floyd 
on,  326. 

Spanish-American    War    Roster, 
(N.  C.)  review,  73. 

Spanish  Simplified,  review,  525. 

Spears,  I.  R.,  rev.,  304-309. 

Sprunt,  James,  review,  427-428. 

Stack,  R.,  480. 

Stedman,  John,  391. 

Stephens,    Alex.    Johnston    on, 
170. 

Stephens,   Linton,   Johnston  on, 
170. 

Stewardson,  T.,  389. 

Stevens,  Sydney,  231. 

Stockard.  S.  W.,  174. 

Stokes,  J.  W.,  97,  548. 

Stone,  W.  L.,  84. 

Strength     of    Gtdeon    and    other 
stories,  review,  56-57. 

Stringtown  on   the   Pike,    review, 
434-435. 

Struggle  of  the  Confederacy.  504- 
5". 

Stubbs,  W.  C,  96. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


5^4 


Index. 


Sullivane,  Clement,  art  on  Mur- 
ray, 151-158. 
Summers,  A.,  96 
Summer  Hymnal,  review,  521-523. 
Sutphin,  Lydia,  480 

Taxation,  Confederate,  23,  141, 
211,  212. 

inefficient,  203-205. 

landed  opposition  to,  220-221. 

Trenholm  on,  198. 
Taylor,  John,  390. 
Taylor,  Lewis,  482. 
Taylor,  Tom.  388. 
Taylor,  W.  H.  S.,  3. 
Tea. 

N.  C„  179. 

Southern,  258. 

Teal  ,  75. 

Temple,  O.  P.,  review,  411-413. 
Tennessee,  geology,  review,  239- 
240. 

Moore  on.  review,  521-523. 

see  Am.  Hist.  Mag. 
Texas,  Acad,  of  Science  of,  re- 
view, 245-246,  539. 
Barker  on,  451-476. 

Gammel's     Reprints,     review, 

244-245. 
geology  of,  review,  245-246. 
and  La.  Purchase.  351-387- 
and  Mexicans,  review.  75-77- 
see    Quarterly    of    Texas    Hist. 
Assoc. 
Thackey,   Hannah   and  children, 

492. 
Their  Shadows  Before,  review.  64- 

65. 

Thomas  lefFerson,  review,  419-420. 

Thompson.  John.  229. 

Thompson.  N.  F.,  447. 

Thornton,  W.  M.,  review,  526. 

Timrod.  Henry.  262. 

Tindall,  W.,  168. 

Tomlinson,  George.  390. 

Tomlinson.  Margaret,  482.  483. 

Tompkins.  D.  A.,  rev..  429-430. 

Toombs,  Robert,  Johnston  on, 
170. 

Torpedoes,  Confed.,  review,  536. 

Transactions  of  Huguenot  So- 
ciety, review,  526. 

Transactions.  Tex.  Acad.,  review, 


245-246,  539. 
Transalleghany  Hist.  Assoc.  448- 

449. 
Travis,  W.  B.,  460. 
Treasurer's  Report,  97-98, 
Trenholm,    G.   A.,    15,    126,    127, 
_     138,  195. 
Trials     and     Trial    of    Jefferson 

Davis,  review,  425. 
Tribble,  J.  L.,  review,  81. 
Troth,  S.,  300-301. 
Tunnell,  H.,  77- 
Tupper,  Frederick,  review,  58-61, 

316. 
Turner,  Nat,  review,  64 

United  Daughters  of  Confed- 
eracy, review,  82,  90. 

University  of  Missouri,  publica- 
tion of.  review,  430. 

Upshur,  T.  T.,  438. 

Urrea,  General,  75. 

Usher,  Thos.,  488. 

Van  Bebber,  see  Van  Bibber. 
Van  Bibber,  family  of,  492. 
Van  Bibber,  M.  and  family,  492, 

493. 
Vance,  Z.  B.,  Battle  on,  rev.,  74. 

Monument  to,  74. 
Vaux,  Geo.,  483,  484. 
Vawter,  C.  E..  447,  527. 
Venable,  C.  S.,  review,  526. 
Virginia,  Antiquities  of,  review. 
449,  528. 
Jamestown,  449. 
Preston  on,  review,  65-68. 
Military  Institute,  mon.  at.  261. 
see    Wm.    an^i    Mary    College 
Quarterly,  and  Va.  Mag.  Hist, 
and  Biog. 
Virginia  Dare,  review,  401-406. 
Va.  Mag.  of  Hist,  and  Biog.,  re- 
view, 248-250,  438-439. 
Voyages  of  Elisabethan  Seamen  to 
America,  rev,,  401-406. 

Withers.  Thos..  489. 
Waddell,  A,  M..  171.  444- 
Warder,  E..  480. 
Warder,  Jeremiah,  483. 
Warder,  R.,  W..  .398,  478- 
Warder,  Solomon,  483. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Index. 


565 


Warder,  W.,  483,  484. 
Warner,  Wm.,  483. 
IVas  Texas  Included  in  the  Louis- 
iana Purchase?  351-387. 
Washington,   Geo.,  close  of  his 

administration,  156. 
Charleston  Tablet  to,  348. 
and  Lafayette,  158. 
on  Randolph,  154. 
Relics  of,  348. 
Washington,  Martha,  tea  party, 

156. 
Washington  Manor  Assoc.  542. 
Watkins,  Thomas  and  children. 

230. 
Watson,  A.  R..  332. 
Watson,  John,  391,  477.  485. 
Watson,   Thos.   E.,  review,  419- 

420. 
Waul,  Gen.,  85. 
Weaver,  Saml.,  489. 
Weber,  W.  L.,  review,  80,  514. 
Weeks,  S.  B.,  96,  401-406,  502. 
Wells,  E.   L.,  review,  by,  62-63, 

415-417,  S19-521. 
Welsh.  Herbert.  171. 
West  Virginia  Historical  Magazine 

Quarterly,     review,     334-335, 

When  the  Gates  lift  up  their  Heads, 

review,  523-524. 
White  Doe,  review,  401-406. 
White,   Miles,   Jr..   art.  by,  300- 

303,  388-400,  477,  496. 
White,  R.  L.  C,  review.  530. 
Whitehead,  Elizabeth,  John.  390 
Whitman  myth,  review,  257-258. 
Whitney.  Eli.  review,  429. 
Who  Goes  There?  review,  62-63. 
Willford,  Rebecca.  397. 
William  and  Mary  Coll.  Quarterly, 

review,  251-252,  532-533- 


Williamson,  John,  495. 

Wills,  G.  S.,  review  by,  53-56,  316, 

521-523. 
Wilmcr,  R.  H.,  review,  417-419. 
Wilsford,  John,  398. 
Wilson,  B.,  263. 
Wilson,  E.  M.,  review,  428. 
Wilson,  Mary  Ljme,  263. 
Wilson,  Sarah,  397. 
Wilson,  Stephen,  398. 
Wilson,  W.,  review,  84,  173,  500. 
Wilson,  W.  H.,  a^.  by,  203-290. 
Wilson,  W.  L.,  95. 

Cleveland  on,  289. 

death  of,  97. 

Quarles  on.  256-257,  286-287. 

Reed  on,  290. 

sketch  of,  263-290. 

Slater  Trustees  on.  340. 
Wiltshire,  J.  G.,  review,  238. 
Winston,  G.  T.,  96,  258.  442. 
Wis.  State  Hist.  Soc,  90-91. 
Withers,  Thos.,  489. 
Wolfenbarger,  S.,  455. 
Woodward,  A.  B.,  338. 
Wright.  M.  J.,  95. 

art.  on  Muhlenberg,  181 -187. 

and  Polignac,  342. 

review,  232,  233,  240-241. 

Yaupon  tea,  179. 

Yardley,  Enock,  307. 

Yardley,  Joyce,  487. 

Yardley,  A.,  T.,  W..  J.,  398.  485. 
491. 

Yates,  James.  391. 

Year  Book,  Charleston,  4^. 

Year  Book,  Va.  antiquities,  re- 
view, 528. 

Yoakum  and  La.  Purchase,  380. 

Young,  B.  H.,  443,  535. 


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History  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  (Continued),  ,  .  E.  A.  Smith,      i 

The  South  IN  Olden  Times, J.  L.  M.  Curry.    35 

Edward  Ireland  Renick,  ...  Gaillard  Hunt.  49 

Reviews  and  Notices,  ...  53 

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No.  2,  MARCH,  1901. 

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No.  j,  may,  1901. 

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Periodical  Literature, •  •   •  •   334 

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No.  S.SEPTEMBER,  1901. 

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Henry  Baker  and  Descendants Miles  White,  Jr.  388 

Lost  Colony  of  Roanoke,     .      ....   401 

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Notes  and  Queries 446 

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