USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Centennial history of the city of Washington, D. C. With full outline of the natural advantages, accounts of the Indian tribes, selection of the site, founding of the city to the present time > Part 28
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Alderman Sargent then offered a resolution to the effect that there were two classes of people in this eity, the loyal and the disloyal; and "that we owe it to ourselves to ferret out the disloyal and send them to their friends in Richmond." All the resolutions
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were unanimously adopted. Hon. Green Adams then addressed the meeting, as did also Admiral Foote, Chief Justice D. K. Cartter, Hon. Horace Maynard, Hon. Andrew Johnson, and General E. C. Carring- ton. In the Senate chamber Ex-Governor Bebb offered the same series of resolutions offered in the House of Representatives, and speeches were made by General Martindale, then Military Governor of the District of Columbia, Admiral Foote, Rev. Mr. Phillips of New York, L. E. Chittenden, Register of the Treasury, L. A. Whitely of Maryland, Horace Maynard, Governor Bashford of Wisconsin, and Dr. Daily of Indiana.
In June, 1863, in consequence of reduction in the size of its com- panies, the First District Regiment was consolidated into a battalion of four companies. Upon this consolidation the officers mustered ont were: Colonel James A. Tait; Captains Il. M. Knight, James Cole- man, James Fisher, P. E. Rodier, and Joseph Mundell; First Lieu- tenants C. P. Wroe, R. W. Barnaclo, C. T. Barrett, and Joseph Ven- able; Second Lieutenants Jerome Callahan, P. McChesney, W. E. Morgan, and Edward Carroll. Those retained were: Lieutenant-Col- onel Lemuel Towers, and staff officers; Captains E. S. Allen, Robert Boyd, Robert Clark, and M. P. Fisher; First Lieutenants John Donn, B. F. McGrew, C. W. Sherwood, and W. W. Winship; Second Lieu- tenants William Young, Walter Dobson, J. W. Atwell, and D. F. Stiles.
Toward the latter part of this month, when it was learned that the rebel General Lee was marching northward into Pennsylvania, orders were issued by Provost-Marshal-General James B. Fry to Major-General George C. Thomas, then in command of the District of Columbia militia, that eight regiments of the militia infantry of the District be called into immediate service for sixty days, and pro- viding that if the volunteer cavalry and infantry of the District should tender their services they would be accepted. Major-General Thomas thereupon issued the orders necessary for calling out and enrolling the eight regiments. On the morning of July 6, the various regiments composing the District militia assembled on their parade grounds, and were informed that as General Lee had been defeated at the great battle of Gettysburg, and was compelled to retreat back into Virginia, their services would not be needed. On Tuesday, July 7, there was great rejoicing in Washington over the victories of General Meade in Pennsylvania, of General Grant at Vicksburg, and of General Rosecrans in Tennessee. A large number of citizens of Washington, headed by the band of the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts
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Regiment, marched to the Executive Mansion and serenaded the President, who made to them a speech, paying glowing tribute to the brave men in the armies, but declining to mention any soldier by name, for fear of omitting some who were equally meritorious with those whom he might name, should he name any of them. Secretary Stanton and General Halleck, and also Senators Wilson, Wilkinson, and Lane, and Hons. E. B. Washburn, Isaac Arnold, and General Martindale, made speeches.
Under the President's call for 500,000 men, July 18, 1864, there was a draft in the District of Columbia for her quota. The District was divided into twelve districts, of which each of the seven wards of the city of Washington was one; that part of Georgetown cast of Iligh Street was the eighth; that part west of High Street the ninth; that part of the county west of Rock Creek the tenth; that part between Rock Creek and the Eastern Branch the eleventh, and that part south and east of the Eastern Branch the twelfth. Captain Sheetz, who was provost-marshal under the Conscription Act, made a return of the names enrolled for the first class toward the latter part of July, as follows: First Ward of Washington, 4,000; Second Ward, 2,500; Third Ward, 2,000; Fourth Ward, 3,000; Fifth Ward, 1,700; Sixth Ward, 1,200; Seventh Ward, 2,400; eighth district, 800; ninth district, 700; tenth district, 400; eleventh district, 500; twelfth district, 300; total, nearly 20,000; or, to be exact, 19,327; of which number there were 14,242 whites, and 5,085 blacks. The apportionment of the District was 3,865, to which was added fifty per cent. to allow a margin for exemptions; or, in all, 5,798. The draft commenced on Monday, August 3, with the First Ward. . The number to be drawn from each subdistrict was as follows: First Ward, 1,180; Second Ward, 741; Third Ward, 607; Fourth Ward, 896; Fifth Ward, 513; Sixth Ward, 337; Seventh Ward, 719; eighth district, 239; ninth district, 216; tenth district, 116; eleventh district, 155, and twelfth district, 79; total, 5,798. The drawing commenced at 9:00 A. M., a blind man named Thomas C. Burns drawing the names from the box. The drawing for the First Ward closed at 2:00 P. M. Of the persons drawn, 874 were white and 306 black. The drawing for the Second Ward was completed the same day, and of the number drawn 494 were white and 247 black. The drawing for the Third Ward came off on the 4th, resulting in 502 whites being drawn, and 105 blacks. There were drawn in the Fourth Ward 736 whites and 160 blacks; in the Fifth Ward, 344 whites and 169 blacks; in the Sixth Ward, 286 whites and 51 blacks; in the Seventh Ward, 684 whites and 235 blacks;
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in the eighth and ninth districts, 390 whites and 65 blacks, and in the rest of the county 350 persons in all. The board of enrollment met on August 10, to hear applications for exemptions.
The result of the draft in the District of Columbia was reached September 30, the work of the board of enrollment closing on that evening. This result was as follows: Total number drawn, 5,784; quota, 3,863; number of drafted men who reported, 4,115; number failing to report, 1,679; number accepted, 285; number of substitutes, 675; number paying commutation, 212; number exempted, 2,943. Of the number of soldiers obtained by means of the draft (960), there were 336 negroes.
In October, the President called for another 300,000 men. Under this call the District of Columbia, with the rest of the country, was called on for its quota. On November 6, there was a meeting at the City Hall, preliminary to a large mass meeting which was held August 6, for the purpose of aiding enlistments, so that if possible there might be no necessity for another draft. The quota of the District under this call was 2,730-from Washington and the county, 2,516, and from Georgetown, 214. At this meeting a committee was appointed to solicit funds with which to assist the families of soldiers of the District serving in any of the armies of the Union. The committee consisted of B. B. French, Henry Addison, Richard Wallach, Samuel E. Douglass, George H. Plant, Hudson Taylor, Frank Taylor, John M. Brodhead, George R. Wilson, John H. Semmes, E. J. Middleton, William B. Todd, William J. Murtagh, Joseph F. Brown, Judson Mitchell, William H. Tenney, John Marbury, Jr., George W. Beall, and Henry D. Cooke. The subscriptions very quickly amounted to $20,745, $18,726 of which was distributed among the families of the soldiers, the rest, $2,019, being retained to commence operations for the winter.
On July 24, 1863, Judge Wylie, of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, made a decision under the Confiscation Act with reference to the property of Dr. A. Y. P. Garnett, which was before the Court for condemnation, and which was the first case argned before the Court. The Judge, in making his decision, said that it was a most important case. The confiscation did not, as was generally supposed, treat the inhabitants of the so-called Con- federate States as traitors, but as alien enemies, and in that point of view their property of every description was liable to absolute forfeiture and alienation to the use of the Government. There was no distinction between real estate and personal property. Nor did the
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Constitution forbid this absolute forfeiture of real estate. But the joint resolution of Congress, passed on the same day as the Confisca- tion Act, under the provisions of which the property in question was sought to be confiscated, was a declaration by them that, in a spirit of kindness, they would confiscate the real estate of rebel owners only during their lifetime. The Judge was, he said, bound by the joint resolution, and therefore he condemned the real estate only during the lifetime of the owner, and the personal estate absolutely. Judge Wylie referred to a number of authorities, among them the legislatures of Maryland and Pennsylvania, confiscating absolutely the property of Americans who remained loyal to England during the Revolutionary War.
The decree of condemnation was then ordered against the property of Thomas D. Allen, Francis Hanna, E. A. Pollard, Charles S. Wal- lach, Cornelius Boyle, French Forrest, J. N. Maflit, C. W. C. Dun- nington, Martin L. Smith, Daniel and Mary F. Radcliffe, E. M. Clark, Samuel Lee, Henry B. Tyler, William F. Phillips, C. W. Havenner, Lavinia Boyle, and Samuel L. Lewis.
In August, 1863, the marshal of the District of Columbia, by direction of the attorney for the District, made seizure of the follow- ing property :
Two two-story frame houses of Craven Ashford, formerly a justice of the peace in Washington, but then in the South; lots 1 to 12, inclusive, of George S. Houston, formerly a member of Congress from Alabama, and of Governor Letcher, of Virginia, on Capitol Hill; lot improved by a four-story dwelling, on E Street, between Second and Third streets, northwest, in the name of W. H. Thomas, then in the Confederate Army; lot at the corner of Vermont Avenne and K Street, improved by a two-story house, in the name of HI. H. Lewis, of Virginia; lot near the corner of the canal and South Capitol Street, in the name of Oscar R. Hough, formerly of the National Rifles, but then connected with the provost-marshal's office at Rich- mond; subdivision of lots near the Baltimore and Ohio Depot, and several lots on South Capitol Street, near N Street, used as a brick yard, in the name of David A. Windsor. While there was consider- able other property confiscated, yet it is probable that enough detail has been here given.
The Ladies' Relief Association, for the relief of the soldiers of the District of Columbia, held a meeting December 21, 1863, at the residence of Ilon. Sayles J. Bowen, to elect officers. Major B. B. French was chosen president, Henry D. Cooke vice-president, Selah
18
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Squires secretary, and Mrs. L. E. Chittenden treasurer. A committee of arrangements for a fair, which was then in contemplation, was appointed, consisting of four gentlemen and seven ladies; also, an executive committee, a finance committee, a committee for each ward, as well as a committee for Georgetown, a committee at large, and a committee for each of the twenty-three of the loyal States. The great hall of the north front of the Patent Office was offered by Hon. J. P. Usher, and accepted by the association, for the purposes of the fair. The ladies of the association made application to the proprietor of Canterbury Hall for assistance in this work, and in response to this appeal Mr. William E. Sinn offered either $25 in money or a benefit at his establishment, the ladies choosing the latter, to be given January 8, 1864. Jay Cooke & Company, bankers in Washington, donated $1,000 toward the objects of the fair. January 18, a committee, on behalf of the association, requested Mr. Leonard Grover, proprietor of the New National Theater, to give a benefit, with which request Mr. Grover complied, fixing upon January 23 as the date for the benefit, which netted to the association $437.15. On the 22d of the same month, a benefit performance was given at the Variety Theater, on Pennsylvania Avenue and Ninth Street, of which Messrs. Hamblin & Company were the proprietors. The fair opened in the Patent Office building February 22, 1864, upward of one thousand tickets being disposed of at the door that evening, a large number having been sold throughout the District during the preceding three weeks. Contributions to the fair came from many of the loyal States, as well as from the District of Columbia. This fair yielded a net sum of $12,721.35, and from individual subscriptions and from other sources there was received the sum of $2,588.69, making $15,310.04. To this sum there was added the $2,027.25 mentioned above as being left over from other subscriptions, making a fund of $17,337.29, available for the relief of the families of soldiers of the District.
There was another fund, of which John H. Semmes was the treasurer, named the Volunteer Fund. By December 31, 1863, this fund amounted to $3,597.50, and Mr. Semmes had paid out for bounties the sum of $4,800; for premiums, $480; for recruiting expenses, $130.72; in all, $5,410.72, and was creditor to the fund to the amount of $1,813.22. By February 17, 1864, Mr. Semmes reported that there had been obtained 404 recruits, exclusive of the 300 obtained by Cap- tain Sheetz. All that was needed, he said, to enable the District to avoid the draft, was money. On March 7, Mr. Semmes reported that the amount of money received into this fund was $53,938; the
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amount expended-$47,000 for bounties; for premiums, $5,865; for printing, $516; total amount expended, $53,381. The whole number of recruits up to March 5 was 598, costing on the average $89.16 each. By the 16th of that month 99 more recruits had been obtained, and at the same time about 150 soldiers of the First District Regiment had reenlisted, and about 600 of the Second District Regiment. The quota of the District under the call that was then being complied with was 820, and by May 1, 1864, Mr. Semmes reported that 893 had been obtained, 73 more than enough.
In July, 1864, when General Grant was besieging Petersburg, a diversion was made by General Lee, in the hope of dirceting Grant's attention to the safety of the city of Washington, by sending General Early on a raid into Maryland with about twenty thousand men, and menacing Washington from the north. On July 7, there was a battle at Frederick, Maryland, and on the 10th there was a great battle at the Monocacy, lasting from nine o'clock in the morning until 5:00 P. M. In the evening of this same day, a body of rebels made a dash through Rockville, and on Monday morning there was a skirmish between them and Colonel Lowell's cavalry force in the vicinity of Rabbitt's Creek Post Office, between Rock Creek and Tennallytown. About noon on Monday, the rebels were in the vicinity of the Claggett farm, on the Seventh Street turnpike, and the residence of Francis P. Blair. In consequence of what appeared to be, on the part of the rebels, a determination to make an attack upon Washington, the District militia was called out on the 11th for sixty days by Major- General George C. Thomas, the details of their organization being placed in the hands of Brigadier-General Peter F. Bacon. On the 12th, the rebels destroyed communication by both rail and telegraph between Washington and Baltimore. In the vicinity of Fort Stevens, formerly Fort Massachusetts, out on Seventh Street, there was a skirmish between the rebel and Union forces, and some houses which the former had used for protection in firing upon the fort were destroyed by the latter. The houses thus burnt belonged to Richard Butts, W. Bell, J. H. McChesney, Abner Shoemaker, and W. M. Mor- rison. On Tuesday, the 12th, there was some skirmishing between Fort Stevens and Fort De Russy, in the Widow Carberry's woods, but on the 13th the Michigan infantry threw a few shells into the woods, when the rebels worked around to the right, making an attempt to get in between Fort Stevens and Fort Slocum. The Confederate forces in front were those of General Rhoad, General Ramser, and General Gordon, all under the command of General John C. Breckinridge.
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Laurel Bridge was destroyed by the rebels. On account of the near approach to Washington of the rebel forces, and its apparent danger, the Union Leagues of the city tendered their services to General HIalleek for its defense, and these were accepted, Major - General Doubleday being assigned to the command. The National Rifles also offered their services. On Tuesday evening, General MeCook deter- mined to dislodge the rebel sharpshooters at the Carberry place, and especially from the house of Mr. Lay, on Rock Creek, to the left of Fort Stevens. A shell was sent out from the fort which exploded in the house, throwing the brick and woodwork in all directions, and setting fire to the house, causing the rebels to retreat. A charge was then made by the Sixth Corps, and the rebels retired a mile or more, the Union line advancing beyond the house of Francis P. Blair. The loss of the Union forces in this charge was about three hundred in killed and wounded, and the rebels left one hundred wounded at the house of Mr. Blair.
While the volunteers and militia of the District in considerable numbers were mustered into the service on Wednesday, the 13th, yet there were not enough of them to warrant the Government in accept- ing their services; but the clerks in the various departments appeared in such strength that they were taken into the service, and the National Rifles were mustered in as an independent company. The Union Leagues were represented by several well-filled companies, and were mustered in. The Navy Yard employees formed a regiment about eight hundred strong. But notwithstanding the readiness of . these forces to defend the city, they were all mustered out on Wednes- day evening, after serving one day, the enemy having retired from the vicinity of the city. On their way out, however, they burned the country seat of Postmaster-General Blair and rifled that of his father, Francis P. Blair. After the danger had passed and there was time to reflect upon the conduct of the citizens and of the volunteers and militia of the District, Major-General George C. Thomas published a card, thanking Colonel W. W. Daniels, of Louisiana, and James C. Welling, S. A. Peugh, J. II. Leavenworth, C. S. Noyes, Tyler Southall, Charles II. Armes, Captain John B. Tanner, Charles W. Morris, II. A. Goldsborough, Colonel Lemuel Towers, Lieutenant S. S. Bach, Charles W. Boteler, Jr., B. B. French, Jr., Selden Hetzel, Alpheus N. Brown, and several officers of the Seventy-first New York Volunteers.
Under the call of the President, of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men, the quota of the District of Columbia was 2,910. For the
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purpose of raising the quota Mayor Wallach appointed as recruiting agents, Arthur Shepherd for Eastern Virginia, George T. Finnegan for North Carolina, William Finley for Mississippi, C. E. Green for Georgia and Alabama, and George II. Mitchell for South Carolina and Florida. Applicants for substitutes were required to leave their names and $300 at the Bank of Washington. The provost-marshal at the time was Captain J. C. Putnam. From advance enlistments the quota of 2,910 was reduced to 2,225, and this latter number was divided among the several districts as follows:
Enrollment.
Whites.
Blacks.
Quota.
First Ward.
3,890
2,950
940
415
Second Ward
2,890
1,920
970
232
Third Ward.
2,100
1,760
340
200
Fourth Ward
4,060
3,180
880
355
Fifth Ward.
1,880
1,290
590
170
Sixth Ward
1,420
1,160
260
135
Seventh Ward
2,700
1,800
900
246
Georgetown, Eighth and Ninth Distriets
1,631
1,068
562
142
Giesboro, Tenth District
275
166
109
25
Eleventh District
1,260
620
640
136
Twelfth District
1,500
990
510
169
Total
23,606
16,904
6,702
2,225
At the time the draft commenced, to fill this quota, the District had received a credit of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, leaving a deficiency of one thousand one hundred and twenty-six to be made good by the draft, which began on September 19. On the 26th of the month, the Councils of the city passed an act authorizing the Mayor to anticipate the revenue of the corporation to an amount not exceeding $50,000, to enable the corporation to pay bounties to volunteers, and to purchase substitutes for those who had been or might be drafted, the money to be paid out only to such bona fide residents of Washington as were registered as voters on the 31st of December, 1863. The draft was closed in Washington September 30,
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
and in Georgetown, October 1, 1864; but as many of the men drafted did not report, the number required was not forthcoming. An effort was then made by many of the prominent citizens to have the quota reduced because of the alleged fact that a large number of persons in the employ of the General Government had been enrolled as citi- zens of the District who were but temporarily resident therein, and that by this means the enrollment of the District was greatly increased beyond what it should be. Provost-Marshal-General Fry, however, declined to make the desired reduction.
Under the call of the President for 300,000 men, December 19, 1864, the quota of the District was 3,019, apportioned among the several districts as follows: First Ward, 575; Second Ward, 348; Third Ward, 111; Fourth Ward, 490; Fifth Ward, 213; Sixth Ward, 224; Seventh Ward, 355; eighth district, 71; ninth district, 105; tenth district, 24; eleventh district, 219; twelfth district, 284. While there was a general conviction that this quota was excessive, strengthened when taking into account the fact that under the former call for 500,000 the quota was only 2,910, yet there was manifested on the part of the people a determination to see that the quota was filled, while at the same time there was a determination to secure, if possible, a correction of the list. Meetings were held in all the districts for both purposes, and at length a reduction was secured in the quota, so that the number required was only 2,222. Lieutenant Knox was, at that time, commissioner of the board of enrollment, but on February 13 he was succeeded by the appointment of H. A. Jones, in order that there might be a permanent officer in this position. The draft for the filling of the quota of the District under the call for 300,000 began February 21, 1865. But this draft was not completed, as, before sufficient time had elapsed for this, it became so clearly evident that the Rebellion could not last, that efforts were relaxed.
On Monday, April 3, 1865, the joyful news reached the Capital that both Petersburg and Richmond had been evacuated by General Lee, who was in full retreat. It would be impossible to adequately describe the feelings of the people of this city when this news flashed over the telegraphie wires. No such attempt will therefore be made. All were fully conscious that the war which had devastated the country for four years was at last near its close. The religiously inclined gave "Thanks to God, who giveth us the victory," " and that victory which had been long hoped for and impatiently waited for was to emancipate not only those to whom the Proclamation of Emancipation applied, but also all the rest of the black race, and
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many loyal and Union loving people of the Southern States, from a military despotism such as the world had never seen, as well as from the despotism of political errors as powerful and cruel in its influence on the public mind as the military despotism had been on the persons of the Southern people, many of whom, if not the majority, never wanted war. In the streets of Washington all men, young and old, greeted each other most ardently; ladies flung to the winds their miniature flags, and the judges of the courts deserted the hall of justice, satisfied that for a time at least the blind goddess would not note their absence. The public schools dismissed their scholars, busi- ness was deserted on all hands, and all repaired to the vicinity of the public buildings to acquire a fuller knowledge of the incidents of the three days' terrible fighting which immediately preceded the fall of the two cities, the fate of which had so long been linked together. A scene of wild excitement was presented at the Patent Office when the news of the fall of Petersburg was received, and a few hours later, when the news of the fall of Richmond came, it was evident everywhere that a great weight of anxiety had been lifted from the public mind. Patriotic exercises were immediately extemporized in the open air in front of the Patent Office building. A gentleman named Thompson began to sing "Rally Round the Flag," the crowd joining in the chorus. Mr. Holloway, Commissioner of Patents, then addressed the assemblage, and was followed by Hon. J. P. Usher, who alluded to the evacuation, when some one in the crowd suggested that the Interior Department be evacuated, and at once the entire crowd took up its line of march for the Department of State, where they were felicitously addressed by the Secretary of State, who still pre- dicted, as he had continued to do from the beginning, that the war would end in ninety days. The Hon. Preston King, Hon. J. W. Nye, and others spoke after the Secretary, and at length came the turn of the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, whose remarks were characterized by a deep feeling of patriotism and religion. At the close of his remarks he presented to the assemblage the boy Willie Kettles, four- teen years old, an operator in the military telegraph office, who had received the dispatch announcing the fall of Richmond at 8:15 A. M. that morning, April 3. From the residence of Francis P. Blair, Vice-President Andrew Johnson made an eloquent speech, and from the balconies of all the hotels poured forth a chorus of patriotic music and oratory. Hon. Richard Yates spoke from the steps of the National Hotel and Major-General Butler from in front of Willard's. General Butler said that the God of Justice works by means, and
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