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Gc 975.6 SŁ52n 1737707
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02378 9578
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/northcarolinainw00sloa
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your off, hors John. W. Ellio
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NORTH CAROLINA.
IN THE
WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 2
BY JOHN A. SLOAN,
LATE CAPTAIN OF CO. B, 27TH NORTH CAROLINA REGIMENT, ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
"Grand old State. fair land ! thy dead died bravely for the right ; The foldled fag is stainless still, the broken sword is bright ; No blot is on thy record found, no treason soils thy fame, Nor can disaster ever dim the lustre of thy name."
WASHINGTON : RUFUS H. DARBY, PUBLISHER. 1883.
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1000
Price 50 Cts.
NORTH CAROLINA
1737707
War Between the States
JOHN A. SLOAN,
LATE CAFTALE ONEO. B. PTTH NORTH { ARCLINA REGIMENT, ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA.
WASHINGTON . RTFL. IL. DARBY, PUBLISHER.
TO
THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE SONS OF NORTH CAROLINA, WHO FELL IN THE STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR PER- SONAL RIGHTS AND THE BLESSINGS OF CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY : AS A TOKEN OF RESPECT TO THE GALLANTRY AND PATRIOTISM OF THE SURVIVORS, WHO LOST ALL BUT LIFE AND HONOR, IN THE UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORT : AND, AS A FEEBLE TRIBUTE TO THE NOBLE WOMEN OF THE STATE, WHO SUSTAINED THE COURAGE, AND MINIS- TERED TO THE WANTS OF THE SOLDIERS IN THE FIELD : THESE PAGES ARE LOVINGLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
The history of the part performed by North Carolina, in the War between the States, has not heretofore been attempt- ed. Many valuable contributions, indeed, have been made, and there is also much material for such a history in exist- ence, which has never been given to the public.
In the present work it has been the aim of the author, first, to collect all important and reliable matter, which has been made public ; next, to examine all official records bear- ing upon the subject, which have not appeared in print; and lastly, to gather all that could be obtained from the surviving actors in those eventful scenes. With what success these efforts have been attended will best appear from the work itself.
It may be stated, however, that pretty much everything that has appeared in books and magazines has been considered. With regard to unpublished official documents, the author has had every facility extended to him by Mr. Lincoln, Sec- retary of War; Col. R. N. Scott, and Gen. Marcus J. Wright, of the War Records Office; Governor Jarvis and Adjutant General Johnstone Jones. Some interesting in- formation has also been voluntarily contributed by private individuals.
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PREFACE.
It has been the purpose of the author to present a record of what North Carolina accomplished in the war for South- ern independence .. .
Such a record should be systematic, accurate, and com- plete. It should give the facts in their regular order and connection, and show their mutual dependence upon each other; nothing of doubtful certainty should have even a mo- ment's consideration ; and finally, the statement should be exhaustive, embracing all the facts.
Such has been the aim. Of course such an aim can only be approximated. To reach it would be historie perfection. How near to it the author has been able to come the thought- ful reader will judge.
An unimbellished narrative of North Carolina's efforts in the great struggle to maintain constitutional rights would be the highest eulogy that could be pronounced upon the people of the State. Justice demands that such a narrative should be attempted. The author has only to regret that the work has not fallen into more competent hands.
If he has overestimated his own powers or underestimated the requirements necessary to the successful execution of the task he has undertaken, he begs the reader to attribute his error to the interest he feels in seeing North Carolina placed in the front, in the general history of the war, instead of oc- cupying a position in the background, as she has done here- tofore.
The causes which led to a war so bloody and prolonged must of necessity have been deeply laid and long existing. It is part of the history to show what the causes were. We believe we were right. It follows, then, that we believe that the North was wrong. To justify ourselves before the world
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PREFACE.
and posterity it is therefore necessary that it should be shown what were those wrongs and oppressions which were resisted to the bitter end.
It would be a matter of regret if the statement of these wrongs should give offense in quarters where prudential con- siderations prescribe the rules which must govern historie statement.
The author, however, has nevertheless felt it to be part of his duty to set forth in the introductory chapter an account of the causes which led to the war, in order to show that North Carolina was not only justified, but compelled, by every motive of safety and self-respect, to act as she did act.
Finally, while the author has not hesitated to speak out with reference to the barbarities committed by Federal com- manders, and the outrages sanctioned by the United States Government, it is hardly necessary to add, that for the true soldier, who wore the blue, and fought from a sense of duty, no one can entertain a higher regard and more just respect.
GEORGETOWN, D. C., July 15, 1883.
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INTRODUCTORY.
In the individual State, considered as a unit, there are two extreme and opposing principles of political organization. The one is absolute despotism, the other is pure democracy. Both of these principles appear in history, and between these points the governmental systems of all the modern civilized nations perpetually oscillate, whatever may be the form in which the idea of the State may make itself visibly manifest.
As the essence of a triangle consists in three straight lines enclosing a space, so the essence of a State consists in sover- eignty, and in sovereignty alone. Given sovereignty, and every conceivable function of the State is given in it. The old notion of divine right is just when applied to the State. Sovereignty can do no wrong. Sovereignty is absolute political power. It exists in immediate and direct relation to the in- dividual citizen. It places its hand upon him and deprives him of property, of liberty, and of life, according to its own good will and pleasure.
This power exists without restraint, without control, with- out limitation. It is paramount. It is the highest thing on earth, and is responsible to God, and to God alone.
Such is the true conception of the State. Thus it was con- ceived in the rise of the first civil communities, however rude and barbarous, and so far back that their history dims into twilight.
Absolute sovereignty in a State is a law of nature. This
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INTRODUCTORY.
is a self-evident proposition; because, it is a law of nature that man should exist in a state of society, and the very con- dition of the existence of society is, that there should be ab- solute control over the individual. But this sovereign power may deem it expedient to place restrictions upon itself, either by custom, by a written constitution, or it may shape its action with a view to avoid revolution. Still the power that made can unmake. The Constitution may be annulled, the custom may be abrogated, and revolution may be defied.
In practical polities the first question to be settled is, Where does the sovereign power reside? The second is, Towards what end should the sovereign power be exercised ? or, in other words, What is the function of the State in re- spect to its individual members? While neither of these ques- ~ tions will have any bearing upon our subject, still it was nec- essary to first show, briefly, what a sovereign State is; for it is a political axiom that only sovereign States can become parties to a federal compact.
A federal compact may be defined to be an agreement between two or more sovereign States to do and to refrain from doing certain things, upon the supposition that such agreement will promote the welfare of all the contracting States. Such a compact has two guarantees that it shall be faithfully performed. The first is moral and legitimate, viz .: the advantage accruing to the individual State in virtue of the compact; the second is violent and illegitimate, viz .: the employment of coercive measures against the alleged delin- quent; and in the event of controversy there can be, in the nature of things, but one mode of trial-the wager of battle.
These federal compacts vary in character, from extreme simplicity, embracing but one particular object and definitely limited in duration, to great complexity, combining many general objeets with a multitude of subordinate provisions. The confederation of Abraham with the neighboring kings, to recapture the spoil which the seven confederate kings had carried away, would be an example of the first class. The
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INTRODUCTORY.
old Germanic confederation and the compact under the Consti- tution of the United States of America are examples of the second class. Nor is the widest difference in the forms of government among the contracting States any obstacle to their perfect union under a confederation.
. The several States may be monarchical, aristocratical, or republican; their institutions may differ in the most essen- tial respects; yet, this does not conflict with the common purposes which the federation was created to accomplish. It is destructive of the very principle of federation itself to maintain that the federation requires a homogeneity of in- stitutions in the several sovereignties which compose it.
The Federal Principle is discerned both by reason and ex- perience. A State has two well defined spheres of action. In the one sphere, the effect of its action is confined to its own citizens. In this respect it is as autonomous as the individual in his thought and conscience. In the other sphere of its action it comes in contact with other States, and here it ceases to be autonomous; as a man may not enjoy absolute freedom of action, while perfectly free in thought and con- science. But it is impossible for a State to exist without re- lations to other States ; hence, federation or war results as a necessary consequence.
In the most remote ages we find that vast and powerful empires existed in Asia, in which towns or cities possessed no political significance. But these nations have remained stationary-as China, which is still the China of two thousand years ago-and have no influence in the growth of civiliza- tion. They are immense stagnant seas, in which human beings rise, rot, and remain the same. History takes no further observations of them than to note this fact.
What history does notice, and what is of interest to the political thinker, is the city, the town, the hamlet, the pagus. These were centres of light in the surrounding darkness, and here the seeds of civilization first took root. Here men first aggregated themselves and organized civic communities,
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INTRODUCTORY.
established laws and executed justice "in the gates," strength- ened and defined more clearly the rights to private property, invented letters, wrought in brass and iron, abandoned skins for woolen cloths, and laid the foundations of trade and com- merce.
Around the city of Jerusalem clustered in many cities a people which still retains its identity. It was Tyre that colo- nized the coasts of the Mediterranean and breathed the breath of new life into their slumbering populations. Athens, Sparta, Thebes and other cities gave to Greece its renown in letters, arts and arms, and in the science of government. It was against the strength of these Grecian cities that Xerxes hurled his countless Asiatic hordes to his own destruction. It was these cities that formed the barrier to the westward ad- vance of Asiatic despotism. When Greece went down it was before a city that it succumbed-Rome; and the terrible rival of Rome that disputed with her the empire of the West. was Carthage.
In these cities first flourished liberty regulated by law. Here philosophy was born, here science emancipated the human mind from superstition, and here beauty found its noblest expression and soared to a height which it has not since attained.
The first civic community is that of the tribe, the tie of which is blood. Next follows the city, which is an associa- tion of families gathered together for the purposes of mutual protection and exchange of commodities. Then follows fed- eration between different cities, for the purposes of trade and commerce.
The city is a complete and independent organization. It is a State. It has its own form of government, its own laws and administration, its own finances, and its own army. Here in this small domain the citizen felt himself to be a part of the State. The operation of the government was a matter of personal observation, the public buildings were daily before his eyes, the features of the magistrates were familiar, the
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INTRODUCTORY.
publie fetes and holidays made up the happiest portion of his life. The city had been his cradle; here lived all the loved ones ; here he had wooed and wed, and had children born ; here he would be laid to rest, and his children would after- wards lie by his side. The State ceased to be an abstraction, it was a reality, and the citizen was attached to his city with a warinth of affection which we are at a loss to understand. To preserve the independence of his city was his first, last, and highest duty.
If the city had been able to exist entirely in and of itself, it never would have entered into a federation with another city. But a law of nature renders this an impossibility. As indi- viduals must live in relation with each other, so too must States. Gradually the production and consumption of the city will become disproportioned. There are some articles it wishes to sell. and some it wishes to buy. Thus commu- nications between city and city must be established and reg- ulated. A new class of laws must be devised. Rights of pastures, the rights to waters, and the defining of frontiers are among the questions which must be settled.
Sometimes these questions have been decided by the strong hand, but more frequently by federation. History abounds with examples of these federations. The twelve tribes of Israel were confederated. The Phoenician cities on the north- ern coast of Africa were confederated, and their representa- tives held their assemblies at Tripoli. In Greece there existed the Botian. the Aetolian, and the Achaan Leagues. This latter confederation, originating around the Gulf of Corinth, consisted of twelve cities, and gradually extended itself until it embraced nearly the whole Peloponnesus.
The Greek historian Polybius says that, in his time the confederates had become so assimilated that they had the sme magistrates, senators and judges, the same laws, weights, measures, and money. He says further, that the Pelopon- nesus was like a single town, lacking only a wall to surround it. This confederation had a long and prosperous existence,
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INTRODUCTORY.
and was the last bulwark of Grecian liberty against Romas, domination.
In Italy, around the Gulf of Tarentum, was another Achæan League, modeled after the older one, which attained a high degree of prosperity: also the confederacies of the Latins, the Samnites and the Etruscans, all well known. That of Latium was composed of thirty cities. Alba was the capital, and here annually the delegates from all the cities assembled to sacrifice a bull to their gods. At the fountain Tarentiva they held their councils and deliberated upon the general affairs of the republic. That of Samnium was strong enough to contest with Rome for the supremacy, and Niebuhr shows that the contest was not an unequal one. The Etruscan confederation was composed of three subordi- nate confederations, viz .: that of the Po, of Etruria, and of Campania. Each of the three confederations consisted of twelve cities, and had its capital, while the central power had its seat at Bolsena. It surpassed the other leagues in riches and in civilization, and succeeded Greece in the domin- ion of Italy. There was probably not an isolated city in Italy when Rome undertook the conquest of the Peninsula. Spain, France, Switzerland, and Germany were divided among similar confederations: in fact, when Rome began her career of conquest the confederate form of government was universal in Europe. The " Nation," as we conceive it, was then unknown. The Amphictyonie Council was a futile and premature attempt to establish one.
Rome destroyed the federal system and established, the provincial system and the government by her proconsuls. The Northern swarms who overran the Roman empire insti- tuted the feudal system. By degrees trade and commerce began to revive from their ruins, and the cities began to rise in importance. The Hanseatic League was constituted, but the confederate system had well-nigh entirely disappeared, having succumbed to feudalism. The history of feudalism is briefly told. The greater barons swallowed up the smaller
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INTRODUCTORY.
feudatories and their weaker peers, to be in turn devoured by the crown. Now for the first time the nation makes it appearance. Trade and commerce destroyed feudalism, and with its destruction reappears the federal principle.
Now rises the German and Swiss confederation, and later the confederated States of Holland, the confederations of South America, and most important, the United States of America, under the Constitution or Federal Compaet of 1789.
There is one class of political philosophers who maintain that the federal principle has but a limited value, that it is only adapted to small and weak communities, that it is essen- tially temporary in its nature, and that it is to be shaken off when the States have arrived at vigor and maturity. They say that the proof of this lies in the fact that the pure con- federate governments have all passed away. Admitting this fact, it proves nothing. Different systems of polity have ap- peared and disappeared. The better has not always suc- ceeded the worse. The race does not move in a straight line of progress. The destruction of the old Greek civilization was probably not a blessing to mankind. Roman jurispru- dence was not improved upon by the laws and customs intro- duced by the Northern barbarians. All the modern legal reforms are substantially a return to the methods of old Rome. Divine Providence has so ordered that there are long steps backward in history. It will be admitted that in respect to grandeur, wealth, power, and in extent of terri- tory, the consolidated nation surpasses the confederate re- publie. It is only in the great nations that the enormous accumulations of private wealth, aggregating hundreds of millions in the hands of individuals, is possible : but it is there too that the deep and smothered growl of revolution is now and then heard from the oppressed masses below.
In the confederation of small and independent States there is, from the nature of things, less private wealth, but infinitely less of poverty and human suffering. Under the confederate system there would be no consolidations of railroads and
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INTRODUCTORY.
telegraphs, nor could bankers hire the law-making power to inflate and diminish values, that they, the employers, might reap a golden harvest from the sufferings of those whom their greed would pick to pauperism. Under the confeder- ate system, administered according to the compact, there could have been no bounties and protective tariffs to rob the peo- ple of the South, that the North might become rich and pow- erful.
The social question is the problem of the day, and we may well inquire whether the first step towards abating intoler- able existing wrongs be not a return to the strict confeder- ate system.
In the first Congress of the colonies, which assembled in Philadelphia, to resist the aggressions of Great Britain, the colonies recognized each other as distinct and independent. The notion of an "American people " was not even dreamed of. In that important paper, the Declaration of Independ- ence, it was expressly declared that the colonies were "free and independent States." The term "States," was employed in its technical, political sense. No perverse ingenuity had yet tortured the meaning into geographical divisions.
Under the first confederation the States united themselves "severally into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to as- sist each other against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereign- ty, trade, or any other pretense whatever."* It was agreed that "each State retain its sovereignty, freedom, and inde- pendence, and every power. jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled." +
It is necessary to anticipate here, and to observe that these fundamental principles of the confederation are essentially
* Articles of Confederation, Art. III.
+ Articles of Confederation, Art. II.
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INTRODUCTORY.
the same as those in the Constitution. In both, the States combined for the common defense and for the general wel- fare, powers not delegated were reserved, and the expres- sion, " the United States," is employed in the one as in the other. No one has ever dared deny that the term " United States" in the old articles meant anything other than a union of independent States; nor has it ever been shown that the same language was employed in the Constitution, a few years afterwards, in any different sense.
The Convention which was called by Congress, and which . assembled in Philadelphia, in May, 1787, was called for the sole purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. In this convention the special point of controversy was the question of representation. The great States insisted upon a larger share, while the smaller States demanded that represen- tation should be equal. After long debate it was finally agreed that, in addition to equality of representation in the Senate, each State should be entitled to be represented ac- cording to its population in the House of Representatives The representation in the House was as much a representa. tion of States as that in the Senate.
The doctrine of a representation of the entire people of the country as an aggregate unit was an after-thought, to secure power and protective tariff's to the North. It was a subterfuge, designed and intended to subvert and destroy the independ- ence of the States. Hamilton and his party viewed the Constitution as a mere revision of the old articles, and re- garded it as a mere league, compact, or union of sovereign States. This they openly avowed. and then set to work, covertly and under plausible pretexts, to consolidate the government by means of a "liberal" construction of the Constitution.
It would be interesting to trace the history of these " con- structions," from the first cautious and insidious beginnings down to the present, when the union has become a " a na- tion," and the States are shadows, while the agent, or General Government, is the " all and in all." 2
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INTRODUCTORY,
The government of Great Britain recognized the sover- eignty of each State, and in the treaty of peace each particu- lar State was recognized by its name to be independent. New York, Virginia, and Rhode Island provided, in the most explicit language, when they acceded to the Federal Union, that they retained the right to withdraw from the compact or union whenever in their judgment their welfare might demand it. Massachusetts, upon four separate occa- sions, threatened to exercise the same right. At the time of the adoption of the Federal Constitution the right of seces- sion was an undisputed and admitted fact, and was formally embodied in the famous Virginia and Kentucky resolutions drafted by Jefferson and Madison in 1798.
Slavery, as a moral or social question, was never considered in the Convention which framed the Constitution. The New England States were engaged in three principal pursuits: the fisheries, the slave trade, and the manufacture and sale of rum. These three pillars constitute the foundations of their present wealth and power. The only protest against slavery, per se, came from Virginia, and Mr. Jefferson charged as a grievance against Great Britain that she sold African slaves to Virginia.
Immediately after the adoption of the Constitution. and while New England was reaping a harvest from the trade in African slaves. all the Southern States passed laws prohibit- ing the traffic. In 1784 Virginia ceded to the United States the vast region of the northwestern territory, and out of this magnificent domain- voluntarily granted to the United States by the patriotism of that noble State-were carved the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wis- cousin, and part of Minnesota. In the act of cession Vir- ginia stipulated expressly that involuntary servitude, except for crime, should be prohibited throughout this vast domain, and it was so provided. In 1807 the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Indiana territory-part of the region coded by Virginia-unanimously adopted a reso-
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