"Your correspondence with Lord Russell," wrote the Secretary, "shows with what scant courtesy you have been treated, and exhibits a marked contrast between the conduct of the English and French statesmen now in office, in their intercourse with foreign agents, eminently discreditable to the former. It is lamentable that at this late period of the nineteenth century, a nation so enlightened as Great Britain should have failed yet to discover that a principal cause of the dislike and hatred towards England, of which complaints are rife, in her Parliament and press, is the offensive arrogance of some of her public men. The contrast is striking between the polished courtesy of M. Thouvenal and the rude incivility of Lord Russell."Your determination to submit to these annoyances in the service of your country, and to overlook personal slights, while hope remains that your continued presence in England may benefit our cause, cannot fail to command the approval of your government."[99]
"Your correspondence with Lord Russell," wrote the Secretary, "shows with what scant courtesy you have been treated, and exhibits a marked contrast between the conduct of the English and French statesmen now in office, in their intercourse with foreign agents, eminently discreditable to the former. It is lamentable that at this late period of the nineteenth century, a nation so enlightened as Great Britain should have failed yet to discover that a principal cause of the dislike and hatred towards England, of which complaints are rife, in her Parliament and press, is the offensive arrogance of some of her public men. The contrast is striking between the polished courtesy of M. Thouvenal and the rude incivility of Lord Russell.
"Your determination to submit to these annoyances in the service of your country, and to overlook personal slights, while hope remains that your continued presence in England may benefit our cause, cannot fail to command the approval of your government."[99]
Englishmen wanted to see the great republic broken to pieces, but there were repulsive features in that system of civilization which the South was attempting to establish. The Union dead were mangled at Manassas; their bones were carved into charms and amulets. Among the mountains of Tennessee old men were dragged from their beds at midnight, and hung without judge or jury, because they loved the flag of their country. In Missouri bridges were burned at night, and men, women, and children upon railroad trains were precipitated into yawning gulfs by their neighbors! This was the work of the "master race," too "refined," "chivalric," and "gentlemanly" to associate with the laboring men of the North. Were the workingmen of Old England any more worthy than they of New England to associate with the slave-masters of the South? British operatives and mechanics understood the question,—that it was a conflict between two systems of labor,—and they rejected with disdain all overtures from the South.
The intervention of England and France was necessary to insure the success of the Rebel cause, and English and Europeanpublic sentiment must be brought round to the Southern side by the power of the press. Mr. Edwin De Leon therefore was made an agent of the Confederacy to subsidize the press of Europe. The wires were pulled by Mr. Benjamin, who wrote thus to Mr. De Leon:—
"I will take measures to forward you additional means to enable you to extend the field of your operations, and to embrace, if possible, the press of Central Europe in your campaign. Austria and Prussia, as well as the smaller Germanic powers, seem to require intelligence of the true condition of our affairs, and the nature of our struggle; and it is to be hoped that you may find means to act with efficiency in moulding public opinion in those countries."[100]
That this scheme of bribery was successful will appear further on. The British government having with precipitate haste recognized the Rebels as belligerents, English merchants were quick to follow in the track of Palmerston and Russell. Merchants, bankers, admirals of the navy, officers of the army, speculators, spendthrifts, adventurers from the slums and stews of London and Liverpool, in common with members of Parliament and peers of the realm, engaged in blockade-running, not only to enrich themselves, but to aid in establishing a government based on human slavery. The agents of the Confederacy in England found hearty welcome from all classes, especially the ship-builders.
Captain Winslow and the Kearsarge.
Captain Winslow and the Kearsarge.
Soon after the attack upon Sumter Mr. Mallory, Secretary of the Confederate Navy, sent Captain Bullock of Savannah to England, to engage ship-builders to fit out privateers. He found W. C. Miller & Son of Liverpool, and the Lairds of Birkenhead, ready to engage in the work of destroying American commerce. He contracted with the first for the building of the Oreto, or Florida, and with the Lairds for the "290," or Alabama. He also found warm welcome from Roebuck, Gregory, and other members of Parliament, and from capitalists, who subscribed liberally in aid of the enterprise.
Admiral Farragut.
Admiral Farragut.
Funds were needed for the payment of Rebel debts in England, and the Confederate Congress passed a bill in April, 1862, authorizing the exchange of bonds for articles in kind,and Mr. Benjamin thereupon wrote to Mr. Mason, advising him of the financial arrangements which had been made.
"At your suggestion," said Mr. Benjamin, "I have appointed Mr. James Spence of Liverpool financial agent, and have requested him to negotiate for the sale of five million dollars of our eight per cent bonds, if he can realize fifty per cent on them. I have already sent over two millions of bonds, and will send another million in a week or ten days. Mr. Spence is directed to confer with Messrs. Fraser, Trenholm & Co. who had previously been made our depositaries at Liverpool.... I have also directed Mr. Spence to endeavor to negotiate for the application of two and a half millions of coin, which I have here, for the purchase of supplies and munitions for our army. I hope that this coin will be accepted by British houses in payment at the rate of sterling in England, less freight and insurance. It seems to me that upon its transfer to British owners, they could obtain transportation for it on their vessels of war from any Confederate port, inasmuch as it would bebona fideBritish property, and in any event the holder of the transfer would have a certain security."[101]
This scheme of an alliance between British naval officers and the Rebel government was carried out, and a portion of the coin shipped in a British man-of-war, the Vesuvius, from Bahama, by the English consul.[102]
The bonds referred to by Mr. Benjamin were the regularly issued bonds of the Confederacy. Cotton certificates were also issued; but in addition to these means, the Rebel government deemed it advisable to bring out a loan based exclusively on cotton.
The proposition came from Mr. Slidell, who was in Paris, envoy to the Court of France, but who, instead of attending the receptions of the Emperor at the Tuileries, was endeavoring to obtain social and political recognition by giving luxurious entertainments. Napoleon was ready to recognize the Confederacy, but Palmerston and Russell hesitated, and he was not quite prepared to move alone in the matter.
He was anxious to see the great republic broken up, not that he particularly desired the establishment of the Confederacy, but for the furtherance of his own designs in Mexico.While professing to Mr. Slidell good-will, and a readiness to give substantial aid to the Rebellion, his agents, M. de Saligny, French minister in Mexico, M. Théron, French consul at Galveston, and M. Tabouelle, French vice-consul at Richmond, were intriguing to dismember Texas from the Confederacy.
"The Emperor of the French," wrote Mr. Benjamin to Mr. Slidell, "has determined to conquer and hold Mexico as a colony, and is desirous of interposing a weak power between his new colony and the Confederate States, in order that he may feel secure against interference with his designs on Mexico.... The evidence thus afforded of a disposition on the part of France to seize on this crisis of our fate as her occasion for the promotion of selfish interests, and this too after the assurances of friendly disposition, or, at worst, impartial neutrality, which you have received from the leading public men of France, cannot but awaken solicitude."[103]
The French consuls at Galveston and Richmond were dismissed by Jeff Davis, but that did not outwardly ruffle the temper of the Emperor, nor stop the cotton loan, as will presently be seen. The Rebel congressmen looked upon Slidell's scheme with distrust, but the bill was eventually passed in secret session. The finances of the Confederacy were going to wreck. There were heavy debts in Europe, and, unless the bills were promptly paid, there would be an end of supplies. England was suffering for cotton, and the time had come for the successful negotiation of a loan, based on cotton, with great apparent advantages to the subscribers. The mill-owners of Manchester were ready to enter upon any speculation which would start their machinery; the aristocracy would subscribe out of sympathy for the slaveholders; the Liverpool shippers would take stock, as it would give employment to their blockade-runners; while the unusual risks and great chances of profit would make it attractive to the multitude with whom the Derby is the whitest day of the year.
Mr. Slidell had made the acquaintance of Baron Ermile d'Erlanger of Paris, a Jewish banker, who had a branch house in Frankfort conducted by his brother, Raphael d'Erlanger.This firm was recommended by Slidell as a suitable agency for bringing out the loan, and the contract was given them by Mr. Memminger. D'Erlanger began preparations for putting it on the market in February, 1863. He desired to issue it in England, France, Holland, and Germany at the same time, to bring to the Confederacy the financial support of Europe. The considerations were political as well as financial. He found some difficulty, however, in obtaining English agents. The Barings and Rothschilds stood aloof. He offered the London management to Messrs. John H. Gilliat & Co., but that firm declined having anything to do with it. It was offered to other bankers, but refused. He found willing agents at last in Messrs. John Henry Schroeder & Co., and the firm of Messrs. Lawrence, Son, and Pearce. In Liverpool Messrs. Frazer, Trenholm, & Co. had been acting as agents of the Confederacy, and the management was placed in their hands. Schroeder's agents in Amsterdam managed it there, while D'Erlanger's branch house in Frankfort brought it out in that city. D'Erlanger himself manipulated it in Paris.
D'Erlanger and Mr. Beer, of his firm, visited England, and arranged matters with Mason and Spence, and with Frazer, Trenholm, & Co., all of whom were acting as agents of the Confederacy. A special agent had been appointed by the Rebel government to take charge of the loan,—General C. J. McRae,—who was on his way from Richmond to Paris; but as the needs of the Confederacy were urgent, the loan was opened before his arrival.
The support of the press was secured,—all but two or three papers being brought, through the agency of Mr. De Leon, Mr. Mason, and Mr. Spence, to praise the Confederacy, cry down the Union, and urge recognition by France and England as the surest way to put an end to the war.
The correspondence in my possession between the parties opens on the 1st of March. Mr. Spence, sitting in his parlor in the Burlington Hotel, Old Burlington Street, London, writes to Baron d'Erlanger, who is in Paris, asking for a copy of the contract.
D'Erlanger did not place a very high estimate on the ability of Mr. Spence as a financial manager; but as he was the correspondentof theTimes, and commercial agent of the Confederacy, thought best not to offend him. Spence, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to make money. A week later, on the 6th of March, he wrote thus to D'Erlanger:—
"You said something in the last interview of £50,000 of the stock. If it had occurred to you to put down to me that quantity at the gross price of seventy-seven, I should be disposed to consider it, looking to the advantage to all concerned of having a common interest."
As the loan was issued at 90, this proposal of Mr. Spence to take it at 77,—giving him a margin of 13 per cent under the contract price,—was, in the language of bankers, "a shave" for his services as correspondent of theTimes,—a transaction upon which more light will be thrown further on in this history.
The loan was put upon the market on the 19th of March. Fifteen per cent was to be paid at the time of subscribing. The stock was limited to three million pounds sterling ($15,000,000); but so desirous were Englishmen to take it, the applications were for £9,000,000 ($45,000,000).
On the evening of the 19th Mr. Spence wrote to D'Erlanger of its success in Liverpool:—
"All goes well here. The cotton trade take it up with strong interest, and it will come out for large sums. I applied very early for £20,000, and thought I should have been first, but found P—-- was before me, with his £100,000. You will have a lot of applications in London from the storgs,—that is, those who join to sell at the premium. Here we have no class of that kind, and our applicants, as in Manchester, being morebona fide, will, as a rule, take a day or two to digest its merits. The market closed here at 4-1/4,—quite high enough for the first day."
On the next day, the 20th, Mr. Spence writes:—
"We shall very much exceed a million here, I think, by noon to-morrow. The political effect will be enormous. It is the recognition of the South by the intelligence of Europe."
On the 21st, congratulations were received by D'Erlanger from Slidell, who was in London.
"Allow me to congratulate you," said he, "on yourmagnificsuccess. Apart from the direct advantages of the affair, it cannot fail to give great prestige to your house."
"The Emperor himself, through the medium of his Chef de Cabinet," wrote D'Erlanger to Memminger, "complimented us upon the great success; a proof with what interest the operation had been received by all friends of the South."
Notwithstanding the "intelligence of Europe" had rushed to secure it, bankers of respectability—men who prized honor and integrity above pounds and pence—stood aloof, for they remembered that Mr. Jefferson Davis, President of the slaveholding Confederacy, was a repudiator. No allegation against him had been made through the press, but theTimescame to the rescue before the attack. On the 19th, the day on which the loan was issued, Mr. Sampson, editor of the city article, said:—
"Those among the English people who are still suffering from Mississippi repudiation will perhaps view with wonder and regret the negotiation of a loan for a government of which Mr. Jefferson Davis, by whom that repudiation was defended in his place in Congress, is the head. But the Southern Confederacy includes Virginia, Georgia, and other honorable States, and it is by the prospect of what the Confederacy will do as a whole that people will make their calculation. The reasoning that would exclude the South from a loan on account of the conduct of Mississippi, would apply equally to the North, since the North embraces Michigan. It would also have applied to the United States loans negotiated while Mississippi was a State of the Union, and especially while Mr. Jefferson Davis was an influential member of the Federal government, and regarded with high favor by all the Northern population, by whom the remarks of theTimeson his financial views were then declared to be nothing but the outpourings of British rancor."[104]
Turning to theTimesof July 13th, of 1849, we find a letter written by Jeff Davis, copied from the WashingtonUnion, in which the repudiator says:—
"The crocodile tears which have been shed over ruined creditors are on a par with the lawless denunciations which have been heaped upon that State."
To this theTimesreplied:—
"Taking its principles and its tone together, it is a doctrine which has never been paralleled. Let it circulate throughout Europe, that amember of the United States Senate in 1849 has openly proclaimed that at a recent period the Governor and Legislative assemblies of his own State deliberately issued fraudulent bonds for five million dollars to sustain the credit of a rickety bank, that the bonds in question having been hypothecated abroad to innocent holders, such holders have not only no claim against the community by whose Executive and Representatives this act was committed, but that they are to be taunted for appealing to the verdict of the civilized world, rather than to the judgment of the legal officers of the State by whose functionaries they have been robbed, and that the ruin of toil-worn men, of women and of children, and the crocodile tears which that ruin has occasioned, is a subject of jest on the part of those by whom it has been accomplished, and then let it be asked if any foreigner ever penned a libel on the American character equal to that against the people of Mississippi by their own Senator."[105]
Mr. Davis published a rejoinder, dated at Briarfield, Miss., August 29, 1849, addressed to the editor of theMississippian. "It is a foreigner's slander," said he, "against the government, the judiciary, and the people of the Mississippi. It is an attack upon our republican government, the hypocritical cant of stock-jobbers and pensioned presses,—by the hired advocates of theinnocentstock dealers of London change. It is a calumnious imputation."
The State of Mississippi had obtained the money in London on the solemn pledge of the faith of the State, and loaned it to the citizens; but the State had broken its pledge, repudiated the debt, and Mr. Jeff Davis eulogized the proceeding! The courts of the State decreed in 1842 that the debt was valid, and the decision was reaffirmed in 1853. Jeff Davis was then Secretary of War, and through his efforts and influence the State continued to repudiate the claims of the British bondholders. In 1863 Mississippi was indebted to Englishmen not only for the principal, $5,000,000, but for twenty-five years of unpaid interest; yet, notwithstanding this, theTimes, eating its words of other days, came before the English people with a certificate of character for the repudiator, also publishing one from Slidell. "I am inclined to think," wrote Slidell, "that the people in London confound Mr. Reuben Davis, whom Ihave always understood to have taken the lead on the question of repudiation, with President Jefferson Davis. I am not aware that the latter was ever identified with the question."
TheTimes, commenting upon Slidell's letter, said:—
"It is satisfactory to find that the friends of the President of the Confederate States are anxious to free him from the charge of having been an advocate of the repudiation which has now been practised for exactly a quarter of a century by the State of Mississippi...."Should it turn out that there has been a mistake, the announcement will be hailed with warm gratification,—not from any idle feeling of partisanship for the South, on the one hand, or the merely sordid consideration of the prospects of the bondholders on the other, but because there can be no question, whether his course be judged by Northerners or Southerners, that in his conduct of the existing war Mr. Jefferson Davis has displayed such qualities as to give the world an interest in wishing that the dishonorable classes who are to be found in every nation should not, either now or in the future, be able to point to him as an instance of the possibility of a heartless disregard of pecuniary rights being compatible with real greatness of character. It is to be apprehended, however, that the solution will not come in the manner contemplated. Nevertheless, in another way it is not out of reach, and the best probability is that the unhappy blot upon Mr. Davis's reputation was caused by the influence of an unscrupulous community upon a then young and aspiring politician, deriving his views, perhaps, from the sophistical perversions of fraudulent lawyers, and that he has since discovered his mistake, and learnt to feel and acknowledge that if he had again to act in the matter, it would be in a very different spirit."[106]
"It is satisfactory to find that the friends of the President of the Confederate States are anxious to free him from the charge of having been an advocate of the repudiation which has now been practised for exactly a quarter of a century by the State of Mississippi....
"Should it turn out that there has been a mistake, the announcement will be hailed with warm gratification,—not from any idle feeling of partisanship for the South, on the one hand, or the merely sordid consideration of the prospects of the bondholders on the other, but because there can be no question, whether his course be judged by Northerners or Southerners, that in his conduct of the existing war Mr. Jefferson Davis has displayed such qualities as to give the world an interest in wishing that the dishonorable classes who are to be found in every nation should not, either now or in the future, be able to point to him as an instance of the possibility of a heartless disregard of pecuniary rights being compatible with real greatness of character. It is to be apprehended, however, that the solution will not come in the manner contemplated. Nevertheless, in another way it is not out of reach, and the best probability is that the unhappy blot upon Mr. Davis's reputation was caused by the influence of an unscrupulous community upon a then young and aspiring politician, deriving his views, perhaps, from the sophistical perversions of fraudulent lawyers, and that he has since discovered his mistake, and learnt to feel and acknowledge that if he had again to act in the matter, it would be in a very different spirit."[106]
It was necessary, for the success of the loan, to show that the South was sure of obtaining its independence, and while the editor of the city article was whitewashing Jeff Davis, the editor in chief was assuring the public that the Union was forever broken up.
Thus wrote Mr. Delaine, the editor in chief, on the 19th:—
"So far as it is concerned, the once United States are a mere heap of loose materials, a caldron of molten stuff, ready to receive whatever form fortune may determine. In that vastmêléeare two centres, which severally strive to give law and order to the whole. AtWashington a body of men, not without courage, ability, and enterprise, are laboring, not to restore the Union,—they might as well try to restore the Heptarchy,—but to reconquer what has been lost, and, let the worst come to worst, to establish a military power."
On the 27th another leader was given to American affairs. Said the editor:—
"As to the final issue of the war, all the world, except some politicians, soldiers, and contractors at Washington and New York, have made up their minds, ... excepting a few disappointed gentlemen of Republican tendencies, we all expect, we nearly all wish, success to the Confederate cause."
And again, on the 28th:—
"There was room enough for two states on one continent, could the Americans but have believed it. We do not affect to be surprised at the course they have taken. It was natural that a blow should be struck for the Union; but all Europe has long seen that the Union could never be restored."
That men act from motives is a fundamental truth of moral philosophy. Why theTimesgave such earnest advocacy to the slaveholders may be inferred from what follows. Opening now the correspondence of D'Erlanger with the Rebel Secretary of the Treasury, we read, under date of June 6, 1863:—
"A great margin had to be given to interest the newspapers, pay commissions, and captivate the opinions of those who treated the loan and its support as a question of profit and loss."
And further on, in the same letter:—
"Thanks to great pecuniary sacrifices made,AND THE SUPPORT OF ALL THE NEWSPAPERS, the subscriptions for the loan surpassed our own expectations. It reached five times the amount of the loan, and success made everybody friends."
At a later date, J. Henry Schroeder & Co., in a note marked "private," writes to D'Erlanger:—
"For the advertisements in theTimes, through Mr. Sampson, and later on in theIndex, concerning the payment of the coupons,we shall do the needful."
Thus we learn, from the statement of D'Erlanger, that theTimes, upon which John Bull pins his faith, was not only by sympathy, but through interest, the advocate of the loan andof the slave-lords' Confederacy. Its financial articles and its leaders were written to the order of D'Erlanger. By the aid of theTimes, a Parisian Jew, taking advantage of the sympathy expressed for the South by lords, members of Parliament, bankers, business men, and adventurers, and of the general gullibility of the British public, was able to secure a subscription of forty-five million dollars,—or thirty million in excess of the loan! On page 532 we have seen that the Liverpool correspondent of theTimeshad been quieted by a commission of £6,500 ($30,000), not for services rendered, but to secure his interest, as explained in D'Erlanger's letter to Memminger, written on the 8th of July, 1863. The banker says:—
"When our loan contract was coming back from America, this gentleman [Mr. Spence] wanted to interfere in the matter, by all means, and claimed a partnership to the contract of one sixth, under the pretence that he was the financial agent of the Confederate government in England, and that our making the loan had put him out of business which he might otherwise have transacted for the South. We knew that Mr. Spence wrote frequently for theTimes, that as a public writer he could do a great deal of harm if not any good. We succeeded in escaping his intrusion, and when I had made arrangements to bring out the loan in England, I followed his invitation to arrange matters with him in Liverpool, and went down there myself. I gave him £50,000 of the loan at seventy-seven, taking them back at ninety, which gave him a commission as profit of £6,500."
These extracts from D'Erlanger's correspondence will serve to show the American people that the LondonTimeswas in the service and pay of Jeff Davis during the Rebellion.
On the evening of the 23d Lord Campbell called up the American question in Parliament, making a speech in favor of recognizing the Confederacy. He spoke of the remarkable success of the loan as a proof that the English public were ready to aid the South. The loan being thus bolstered up rose to four and a half per cent premium.
Mr. McRae having arrived in France, there was a meeting of distinguished Rebels in Paris on the 4th of June, at D'Erlanger's banking-house. Mason, Slidell, and L. J. C. Lamar, who had been purchasing supplies in London for the Confederacy,—and McRae were present. The object of the meetingwas to consider the financial condition of the Confederate government in Europe. The indebtedness of the Confederacy abroad, for cannon, arms, ships, and supplies, at that time, was put down at £1,741,000 ($8,705,000). "At the same time," reads the correspondence, "Ermile d'Erlanger & Co. furnished the meeting with a full statement concerning the loan. According to which, £1,850,000 ($9,250,000) of the loan is in circulation; a part of which is full paid, having been subscribed for by the creditors of the government."
The balance of £1,150,000 was in the hands of D'Erlanger for disposal. In a letter written two days later, on the 6th, by D'Erlanger to Memminger, we learn how there happened to be so large an amount of the stock on hand. Unfavorable news from America caused a feeling of uneasiness, and speculative holders began to sell at depreciated rates.
"An arrangement," says D'Erlanger, "was thereupon entered into with Mr. Mason, and heartily approved by Mr. Slidell, which enabled us to buy for the government £1,000,000 of the stock; but so eager was the speculation, that this did not suffice, and the sum had to be extended to £1,500,000. This operation had its effect, and better tidings helped the market."
Upon this amount purchased by D'Erlanger to sustain the price of the loan, 35 per cent had been paid in by the subscribers.
"We would not," writes the banker, "have recommended the course of buying back part of the loan for the government, but for its peculiar character. The first Confederate loan was as much a political as a commercial transaction, and we have done everything that it may be regarded in both ways.... We, as well as our friends Messrs. Schroeder, are happy to have been able to lend our names and credit to the first financial operation of the South."
On the 13th of June McRae wrote to D'Erlanger a sharp letter, charging him with "unauthorized proceedings." D'Erlanger was playing a good game for himself.
"These important modifications of the contract," wrote McRae, "have in every case inured to the benefit of the contractors."
D'Erlanger replied on the same day, saying, "The operation[the repurchase of the stock] was not conducted on any selfish ground, but for the political feeling attached to the loan." It made no difference to D'Erlanger whether he bought or sold on government account, so long as he received his commissions. He objected, however, to receiving the full amount of his commission in bonds; he must have part cash.
"We should," wrote he, "be under too heavy an outlay if we had to take the £150,000 commission in bonds." This commission, therefore, up to the 15th of June, 1863, had reached the nice little sum of $750,000!
D'Erlanger having disposed of the stock to good advantage, was anxious to bring out a second loan on the same terms. In a letter written to Memminger on the 8th of July we discover what those terms were.
"We are ready," said he, "to make a new loan contract, taking exactly the terms of the old contract, and engaging to divide with the government the profits to be realized, between the rate of 77 and the issue price."
The loan then on the market was issued at 90, which gave D'Erlanger a commission of 6-1/2 per cent,—a portion of which doubtless went into the pocket of Slidell. D'Erlanger was fearful that the success of the loan would bring proposals from other banking-houses. "We wish," said he, "that the circumstance of our names being the first connected with a large financial transaction for the government in Europe shall tell in our favor, and that a preference shall be granted to us, which we are quite ready to merit, by making better terms to the government than any other respectable house may offer."
This proposition was indorsed by McRae, who the following week accompanied D'Erlanger to Rippaldson, where "a charming company" had gathered, and "an agreeable week was passed in the society of Madame Caroline and Miss Theresa." McRae, in a letter written on the 17th, urges a new loan, but the news from Gettysburg and Vicksburg had "lessened the appetite," and we hear no more of the proposition for a second loan.
At a later date, in December, the correspondence is in regard to the purchase of boats for the government, in which the Paris banker takes the part of Shylock:—
"Well then, it now appears you need my help:Go to then; you come to me, and you say,Shylock, we would have moneys."
McRae wanted £200,000 on government account, and applied to D'Erlanger, whose terms will be seen from the following extract from McRae's letter:—
"Your proposition amounts to this: That the government should pay 100 per cent for the use of £200,000, for probably less than six months, with no risk on the part of the lenders, as the £650,000 of bonds deposited, and the lien on the boats purchased with the sum lent, would protect them against loss in any event. My proposition was to pay 33-1/3 for £200,000, for a period of probably ten or twelve months. This I considered sufficiently favorable for the lenders, as they would have been secured by the deposit of £333,333 of bonds, and a lien on the boats."
The American people, doubtless, care very little who among Rebel agents and manipulators of the loan, or who of the bondholders, made or lost money, and I pass over the details of the interesting correspondence. That D'Erlanger managed it shrewdly for his own benefit is very evident. He charged interest, commission, and exchange on all the stock passing through his hands. In the transaction £140,000, raised from the sale of bonds, was set aside as "caution money" by Mason and Slidell, who wished, for political considerations, to keep the stock at par. D'Erlanger charged commission on the repurchase of this stock, although he held it in his own name, and received interest on the same! McRae was not then in Europe, but upon arriving he refused to ratify the act of Mason and Slidell, but made a proposition to D'Erlanger that the banker should place £704,000 of unsold stock. It is not stated what commission he was to receive. The agreement was verbal, and D'Erlanger was to forfeit £140,000 if the stock was not placed at the end of six months. The months rolled away, and the stock was not placed, and D'Erlanger, instead of paying his forfeiture, held on to the £140,000 of caution money, and helped himself to the interest from government funds in his hands! McRae had no redress except to appeal to Memminger. D'Erlanger wrote a honeyed letter to the Rebel Secretary of Treasury, and offered to "compromise"by giving up one half! McRae finally accepted terms from D'Erlanger; what they were is not stated, but McRae writes a doleful letter to the banker, saying that he is afraid Memminger and Davis will censure him. D'Erlanger seems to have wound McRae round his finger at will.
Schroeder & Co. were in the "ring" with D'Erlanger, and received commission and brokerage on the entire amount of the loan, £3,000,000. D'Erlanger, Schroeder, and McRae each took £50,000 of stock in the "Franco-English Steam Navigation Company," which was to bring out cotton on government account. D'Erlanger fixed the date of issuing the bonds, and thus brought advantage to himself. Among the payments made through Mr. Mason were £55,000 to Captain Crenshaw, £26,000 to Captain North, £38,000 to Captain Maury, £31,000 to Captain Bullock and Mr. Spence. A portion of these sums went into the hands of the Lairds for the rams which they were building. Isaac Campbell & Co. received £515,000 ($2,575,000). This firm took £150,000 of the loan. Bonds to the amount of £117,000 were converted into cotton. It appears that D'Erlanger endeavored to sweep these into his drag-net, and obtain commission and brokerage wholly unauthorized.
Since the close of the war the British holders of the loan have called upon D'Erlanger for an account of his operations, but can obtain no satisfaction. They have despatched an agent to the United States, appealing to the magnanimity of the Federal government for an adjustment and payment of their claims! Such insolent audacity has been promptly rebuked by Mr. Seward. Marvellous their stupidity and effrontery,—to ask pay for the coals on which they sought to roast us, for the rope that was to strangle the young giant of the West, whose growth they had beheld with alarm, and whose power they feared! As is evident from the correspondence in my possession, the whole scheme was well contrived and manipulated by Slidell and D'Erlanger for the benefit of themselves, and also of Campbell & Co., Schroeder & Co., Spence, the Lairds, and McRae, who, by the aid of the LondonTimes, and "all thepapers," were able to fleece the English aristocracy out of fifteen million dollars.
From mercenary motives they enlisted in the cause of slavery to destroy a friendly republican government. They had persistently asserted that a constitutional democracy like ours must ultimately fail to secure the rights and liberties of the people,—that internal war would crumble it into ruins like the ancient republics; and now they thought the fulfilment of their prophecy so near at hand it was unnecessary longer to disguise their hatred, and openly gave their "aid and comfort" to the enemy, jeering at our efforts and denouncing our measures to maintain our existence among the nations. They ventured their money on the doubtful issue and lost, and now so lugubriously bewail their folly as to make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of the world, and the laughing-stock of the American people.
Patriot orphan home, flushing, L. I.
Patriot orphan home, flushing, L. I.
April, 1865.
At three o'clock Monday morning, April 3d, Wilcox's division of the Ninth Corps entered Petersburg just in season to see the rear guard of Lee's army disappear over the hills on the north bank of the Appomattox, having burned the bridges and destroyed all the supplies which could not be transported. Lee's army was divided,—Longstreet, Pickett, and Johnson being south of the stream, fifteen miles west of the city. Gordon, Mahone, Ewell, and Elzy, with the immense trains of supplies and batteries from Richmond, were north of the river,—all moving southwest, towards Danville, with the intention of joining Johnston in North Carolina.
"Good by, boys," said the women of Petersburg, some sorrowfully; others more joyful cried, "We'll drink pure coffee, with sugar in it, to-morrow. No more hard times."[107]They were weary of war. The troops passed through the town in silence and dejection. It was a sorrowful march. The successive disasters of Sunday, the sudden breaking up, the destruction of property, the scenes of the night, soon had their effect upon the spirits of the army. Soldiers slipped from the ranks, disappeared in the woods, and threw away their muskets, sick at heart, and disgusted with war. Virginia soldiers had little inclination to abandon the Old Dominion and fight in North Carolina. They were State-rights men,—each State for itself. If Secession could cut loose from the Union, why not from the Confederacy?
Before noon the troops moving from Petersburg, and those retreating from Richmond, with all the baggage-trains and flying citizens, came together on the Chesterfield road, producing confusion and delay. Had Lee thrown his supply trains uponthe Lynchburg road, and made a day's march farther west with his army, instead of taking the nearest road to Danville, he probably would have escaped; but his progress was very slow. The roads were soft, the wagons overloaded. The stalling of a single horse in the advance delayed the whole army.
The teamsters were quite as unwilling to go south as the soldiers. They were expecting every moment to hear the ringing shouts of Sheridan's men charging upon their flank or rear. There were frequent panics, which set them into a fever of excitement, and added to the confusion.
Grant determined to prevent Lee's escape if possible. The Ninth Corps was detailed to hold the town, guard the railroad, reconstruct it, and follow the other corps as a reserve. The Second, Fifth, and Sixth Corps, instead of crossing the river were sent upon the double-quick along the road which runs between the Appomattox and the South Side Railroad.
Ord, with the divisions of the Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Corps, marched for Burkesville Junction. Sheridan, being in advance with the cavalry, reached Jettersville, on the Richmond and Danville road, forty-four miles from Richmond, on the 4th, tore up the track, intrenched his position, and waited for the infantry. Meade joined him on the morning of the 5th, while Ord, by a forced march, reached Burkesville, south of Sheridan.
Lee crossed the Appomattox at Clemenstown, moved southwest to Amelia Court-House, where he was joined by Longstreet's, Pickett's, and Johnson's troops. The Appomattox has its rise in Prince Edward county, runs northeast, approaching within fifteen miles of the James, then turns southeast, and joins the James at Petersburg.
Surrender of General Lee.
Surrender of General Lee.
The bridge at Clemenstown, on which Lee crossed was narrow and unsafe, and the army was much hindered. Had he not crossed at all, but marched round the bend instead, he might have slipped past Sheridan while that officer was waiting at Jettersville for Meade to join him. On the 5th Meade, finding that he was ahead of Lee, instead of marching west, turned northeast, and swept up the railroad toward Amelia, with the Fifth Corps on the right, the Second in the centre, and the Sixth on the left with the cavalry. Lee, seeing that he couldnot go down the railroad, instead of marching southwest, as he had done the day before, moved directly west, to give Meade the slip if possible. He abandoned wagons, caissons, and forage, and everything that impeded his march.
The Rebels had reached their Bull Run. The trains from Richmond were crossing the bridge when a panic set in. "While we were gazing," says a Rebel writer, "at the wagons moving up from the bridge and entering the road leading to the Court-House, our ears caught the sound of five or six shots in succession; and, looking in the direction whence the sound came, we perceived two or three horsemen emerge from a wood about half a mile distant, and as quickly retire. We could not discern their uniform, but the supposition was, of course, that they were a part of Sheridan's cavalry. There was a slight confusion at the head of the train, and then a halt. 'The Yankees! Sheridan!' As the cry echoed from man to man, the teamsters began to turn their mules towards the river, many involving themselves with those in their rear, while others dismounted and sought the nearest wood. In five minutes the scene had been changed from quiet to the utmost disorder. The wagons were turned back with astonishing rapidity, each teamster unmercifully lashing his jaded animals, as anxious to reach the other side as an hour before he had been to get to this. The cavalry, who had been scattered over the fields cooking or eating their breakfasts, now caught the alarm, and leaving their rations grasped their bridles, mounted, and spurred their horses towards the bridge. For this point all were aiming, and the foot-sore infantry now seemed to have but a poor chance of life in the road now jammed with wagons, mules, and mounted men. The narrow defile, bounded on either side by tall rocks, was filled with horses, wagons, and men, all unable to advance a foot toward the desired point.... Upon the other side (north) the panic was even greater, the rumor prevailing that five hundred Yankees were in our front, and that a large number of our wagons had been captured and burned. Vainly plunging their sharp spurs into the steaming flanks of the poor mules, and still unable to make them trot through the mud and up the steep hills, the teamsters cut loose the traces, and remounting would gallop away,flourishing their long whips, yelling, and urging their horses to the utmost speed. Forsaking the road, they leaped the fences, thronged the fields, and sought the wood for hiding-places.... Scores of broken-down and wrecked wagons and ambulances were overturned and abandoned, their contents being strewed over the road; corn and oats, meal and flour covered the ground, while quartermaster's papers were scattered in every direction. Clothing and even medicinal stores had been in like manner thrown away."[108]
When General Meade discovered Lee's new movement, he wheeled toward the left, and faced the Second and Fifth Corps northwest. The Fifth Corps moved up to Painesville, which is northwest of Amelia; but Griffin, commanding, was too late to strike Lee, whose rear-guard had passed that point. The Second Corps moved through Deatonville, which is five miles west of Jettersville, while the Sixth Corps, moving southwest, came upon the Rebels on Little Sailor's Creek, a small tributary of the Appomattox, running north. The Twenty-Fourth Corps meanwhile, marching from Burkesville up the railroad, joined the Sixth Corps at the head of the creek.
Early in the morning of the 6th General Ord directed that the Petersburg and Lynchburg Railroad bridge across the Appomattox be seized and held if possible; if not able to hold it, the troops were to destroy it. The Fifty-Fourth Pennsylvania and One Hundred and Twenty-Third Ohio were sent to do the work. They moved toward the river, but suddenly found themselves on the right flank of Lee's army, which, was in line of battle, between Sailor's Creek and the Appomattox.
Lee made a stand at this point to save his trains. He was still hoping to reach Danville. If he could fight a successful battle, his wagons would have time to slip away from Sheridan. He had already been forced ten miles out of his direct line of march, and if he failed here he must give up all expectation of reaching Danville, and strike west towards Lynchburg.
His army stood on the west bank of Sailors' Creek, facing east and southeast, behind intrenchments, with the Appomattox, which here runs northeast, behind him.
Walking along the Union lines we see that the Fifth Corps is not yet up from its longdétournorth toward Painesville, but the Second Corps is approaching the creek four miles above its junction with the Appomattox. One division of cavalry is on its right flank, reaching down to the river. The Sixth Corps is on the left of the Second, facing west. There is a break in the line as we go towards Ord's command, which is near Burkesville, facing northwest, with Sheridan's cavalry on both flanks.
The forenoon was passed in skirmishing on the part of the Union troops. The regiments sent to seize the bridge were not able to accomplish the task, and were driven with severe loss. But now the Second Corps came up, a foothold was gained across the creek, and Lee's left flank was forced towards the river.
It was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon before the Sixth Corps came up with the Rebels. This corps had been marching southwest; but when the skirmishers discovered the enemy, Wright halted Seymour's division, which was in advance, faced it west, while Wheaton's division filed past Seymour's and took position on the left. The third division was in reserve. The cavalry was on the left of Wheaton. Sheridan found himself confronted by Ewell's and Kershaw's divisions, which were strongly intrenched.
Seymour and Wheaton moved from the road west, went down the steep declivity into the ravine, receiving the fire of the Rebels without flinching, crossed the creek, ascended the other bank, and dashed upon the intrenchments. At the same moment Custar's division of cavalry advanced with sabres drawn, their horses upon the run, goaded with spur and quickened by shout, till they caught the wild enthusiasm of their riders, and horses and men unitedly became as fiery Centaurs, the earth trembling beneath the tread of the thousands of hoofs, the air resounding with bugle-blasts and thrilling cheers!
The charge of this division was heroic. The Rebel artillery opened with shells, followed by canister. The infantry, protected by breastworks, were able to give a galling fire, but the squadrons swept everything before them, leaping the intrenchments, sabring all who resisted, crushing the whole of Lee'sright wing by a single blow, gathering up thousands of prisoners, who stood as if paralyzed by the tremendous shock.
Entire regiments threw down their arms. Miles of wagons, caissons, ambulances, forges, arms, ammunition,—all that belonged to that portion of the line, was lost to Lee in a moment. Generals Ewell, Kershaw, Defoe, Barton, Custis Lee, Borden, and Corse were prisoners almost before they knew it.
"Further fighting is useless; it will be a waste of life," said Ewell to Custar.
"Bravely done, Custar," said Sheridan, riding up, and complimenting his lieutenant in the presence of the whole division.
It was through the co-operation of the other cavalry divisions, Crook's and Devens's and Merritt's, and of the Sixth Corps, that Custar was enabled to strike such a crushing blow. Honor is due to all. Custar had his horse killed; Lieutenant Harwell, Captain Barnhart, Lieutenant Narvall, Lieutenant Main, and Lieutenant Custar, all belonging to his staff, also had their horses shot in the splendid charge, which of itself proves that it was gallant and desperate. Officers and men alike rushed upon the enemy, rivalling each other in deeds of daring.
After receiving this paralyzing blow Lee gave up all hope of reaching Danville. He could move only in the direction of Lynchburg. Caissons, wagons, and ambulances were burned, cannon abandoned, commissary supplies left by the roadside.
It was a day of jubilee to the colored people, who swarmed out from their cabins and appropriated the plunder.
"'Pears like as if we were spiling the Egyptians," said an old man who had gathered an immense pile of blankets and coats.
There was a skirmish at Farmville the next morning, between the cavalry and the left wing of Lee's army. The centre, and what remained of the right wing, crossed the Appomattox ten miles above Farmville,—both columns moving to Appomattox Court-House, where Lee hoped to unite his scattered forces.
Grant and Meade, with the Second and Sixth Corps, crossed at Farmville, and followed Lee along the Petersburg and Lynchburg turnpike. Ord, joined by the Fifth, starting from Burkesville, took the shortest road to Appomattox Court-House, nearlyfifty miles distant, while Sheridan, with the main body of the cavalry, made a rapid movement southwest to cut off Lee's retreat. The pursuit from Sailors' Creek commenced on Friday morning, and Lee was brought to bay Saturday noon.
It was an exciting race. There were frequent interchanges of shots between the cavalry, hovering like a cloud upon Lee's flank, also captures of abandoned wagons, ambulances, caissons, pieces of artillery, and picking up of stragglers. Glimpses of the Rebel forces were sometimes had across the ravines. As a sight of the flying deer quickens the pursuit of the hound, so an occasional view of the flying enemy roused the soldiers to a wild and irrepressible enthusiasm, and their shouts and cheers rang long and loud through the surrounding woodlands.
Appomattox Court-House is at the head-waters of the Appomattox River, on the table-land between the rivulets which give rise to that stream and the James River, which makes its great southern bend at Lynchburg. The place is sometimes called Clover Hill. It is a small village,—such as are to be seen throughout the Old Dominion,—one or two good, substantial houses, surrounded by a dozen or twenty miserable cabins.
Lee succeeded in reuniting his troops, numbering not more than a division, such as once marched under his direction up the heights of Gettysburg, or moved into the fight in the Wilderness; but when reunited and ready to move upon Lynchburg, he found the cloud which had hung upon his flank and rear now enveloping him on the north, the east, the south, the west. Sheridan had swung past him, Ord and Griffin were south of him, holding the road leading to Danville, while Wright and Humphrey, east and north, were preparing to drive him over against Sheridan, who in turn would toss him down towards Ord and Griffin.
Great was the consternation in the Rebel ranks when, on Saturday morning, the Rebels discovered that Sheridan was cutting off their retreat to Lynchburg.
"Yankees at Appomattox! Sheridan!"[109]was the cry of a party of Rebel officers on a locomotive, hastening to Lynchburg in season to escape the Union cavalrymen then advancing totear up the rails. Sheridan pounced upon the artillery, and on the afternoon of the 8th captured twenty-five pieces. Meade at the same time came upon the rear of the Rebels a mile east of the Court-House, and captured a battery. Lee's men were melting away, worn down by hard marching and fighting, and discouraged by defeat and disaster. His provisions were getting low, as the larger part of the supplies had been abandoned. His condition was critical.
It was a gloomy night. A courier brought intelligence that Sheridan had possession of Concord Station.
"We all felt," says a Rebel writer, "our hearts chilled by this new rumor. Concord Station was between us and Lynchburg, and we had no knowledge of any other road to that place than that which we were pursuing. Turning back, our capture was inevitable. The generals withdrew to consult, the staff officers conversed in low tones, while the soldiers, teamsters, the cause being unknown, did not hesitate to declare their impatience at the delay."[110]
Lee called his last council of war, summoning Longstreet, Pickett, Gordon, and Hill. The condition of affairs was discussed. It was a sad hour. Lee was much depressed. He did not know that the infantry under Ord and Griffin were south of him, but supposed that his way was disputed only by Sheridan. It was decided to force a passage. The attack was made; but the volleys of musketry and the vigor of the cannonade, and the long lines of men in blue, convinced him that he had little chance of escaping. The skirmishing was kept up through the day,—both parties too wearied and exhausted to fight a general battle,—yet each moment of delay made Lee's condition more hopeless.
Grant had despatched a letter to Lee on the 7th, from Farmville, asking the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia.
Lee replied the same day, asking for terms.
On the 8th Grant sent a second letter, insisting upon one condition only: "That the men and officers shall be disqualified for taking up arms against the United States until properly exchanged."
"I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this army," Lee answered; but at the same time asked for an interview at ten o'clock next morning. Sheridan had not closed all the roads to Lynchburg, but was in such a position that it was impossible for Lee to get away with his army. Breckenridge, with a large number of officers and many thousands of privates, struck northwest, through by-roads and fields, crossed James River, reached Lynchburg and passed into North Carolina.
The Second Corps was in position on Sunday morning, waiting the order to advance, when a flag of truce was displayed in front of Miles's division. Captain J. D. Cook, of General Miles's staff, was sent to receive it. He was met by Colonel Taylor, of Lee's staff, who brought a note from Lee, wishing for a suspension of hostilities to take into consideration the terms offered by General Grant on Saturday. General Meade signified by note that he had no authority to enter into an armistice, but would wait two hours before making an attack, and would communicate with General Grant.
Before the expiration of the time General Grant arrived, and a correspondence with Lee followed, which resulted in the appointment of a place of meeting for a more full consideration of the terms proposed by General Grant.
In the little village of Appomattox Court-House there is a large, square brick house, with a portico in front, the residence of Wilmer McLean. Roses were budding in the garden on that Sabbath morning, violets and daffodils were already in bloom, and the trees which shaded the dwelling were green with the verdure of spring. General Lee designated it as the place for meeting General Grant. It was a little past two o'clock in the afternoon when General Lee, accompanied by General Marshall, his chief of staff, entered the house. A few minutes later General Grant arrived, accompanied only by Colonel Parker, of his staff, chief of the Six Nations.
The meeting was in the parlor,—a square room, carpeted, furnished with a sofa and centre-table. Lee, dressed in a suit of gray, was sitting by the table when Grant entered. Time had silvered his hair and beard. He wore an elegant sword, a gift from his friends.
General Grant had left his sword behind, and appeared in the same suit he had worn in the field through the eventful days,—a plain blue frock, with double row of buttons, and shoulder-straps bearing the three silver stars, the insignia of his rank as Lieutenant-General.
The meeting was cordial. After salutations the two commanders sat down, placed their hats on the table, and conversed as freely as in other days when both were in the service of the United States. General Lee alluded to the correspondence which had passed between them.
"General, I have requested this interview, to know more fully the terms which you propose," said General Lee.
General Grant replied that he would grant a parole to officers and men, and that the officers might retain their side-arms and their personal effects. General Lee assented to the proposition, and did not ask for any modification of the terms, which were then engrossed. The paper was signed by General Lee at half past three o'clock.
After he had affixed his signature, General Lee asked for General Grant's understanding of the term "personal effects" which had been used in the instrument.
"Many of my cavalrymen own their horses," he said.
"I think that the horses must be turned over to the United States," was the reply.
"I coincide in that opinion," was Lee's rejoinder.
"But," said General Grant, "I will instruct the officers who are appointed to carry out the capitulation to allow those who own horses to take them home. They will need them to do their spring ploughing and to till their farms."
"Allow me to express my thanks for such consideration and generosity on your part. It cannot fail of having a good effect," General Lee replied with emotion.
After further conversation General Lee expressed a hope that each soldier of his army might be furnished with a certificate, or some other evidence of parole, to prevent them from being forced into further service by Confederate conscripting officers.