USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Concord > History of Concord, New Hampshire, from the original grant in seventeen hundred and twenty-five to the opening of the twentieth century, Volume II > Part 46
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One of the features of the Pierce campaign was the famous barba-
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cue at Hillsborough, Thursday, August 19th, 1852. The occasion partook of the nature of a migration of Democrats from all parts of the country to the birthplace of their standard bearer. Concord, be- ing directly on the line of invasion, entertained a large number of visiting strangers who, during their brief stay, made the town exceed- ingly lively. On Wednesday Concord presented the appearance of a holiday. Those who remember the event, and attempt to describe it, agree in saying that Concord never witnessed the like before nor since. The Granite club, Concord's Democratic organization, found its hospitality utterly inadequate, but everyone was good-natured, and as long as hunger and thirst were appeased lodging was of little moment. The rooms of the club were inconvenient for the recep- tion of the legions that had made Concord their temporary resting- place; so with bands of music discoursing the liveliest airs the mem- bers of the club, led by the president, Anson S. Marshall, arm in arm with Isaiah Rynders, president of the famous Empire club of New York, marched to the state house park, which was immediately con- verted into a place of entertainment, and amidst the flare of torches and headlights, congratulations and oratory extended into the night. If Concord lacked a cosmopolitan experienee np to that moment, the want was liberally supplied by Captain Rynders and his exuberant followers. The captain was a well known politieal character of the epoch, one whose peculiar characteristics were more adapted to the eity wards of New York than to the quiet shades of Concord. The Patriot ealled him a plain-spoken man who did not hesitate long in selecting his words, and who had the faculty of getting off a great many homely truths in relation to the Whig party in a very short time. There is no doubt that he acted his part that night with a richness of language thoroughly in keeping with his reputation. Among the speakers of the evening were Charles Levi Woodbury, and others known to political fame. The next morning saw the departure of the crowd for Hillsborough.
The autumn of 1852 was not wanting in interest to Concord people. National attention was foeused here, and men of national reputation were constant visitors. At length election day arrived, and early evening brought the tidings of Mr. Pierce's victory. Polit- ically, Coneord was nearing a change in its sentiments, yet so popular was its favored townsman that Mr. Pierce's vote showed a consider- able gain over the Democratic vote of the preceding Mareh.
In February Mr. Pierce bade good-by to Coneord and turned his face towards Washington, there to remain his full term with but a single visit to the old friends and familiar scenes of his home. From the day Mr. Pierce left Concord to assume the duties of his high
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office more than three years were to elapse before he again met his fellow-citizens. During that time there had arisen the gravest pub- lic questions, whose influence throughout the country divided politi- cal parties and caused a bitterness among the people. In no state were these questions discussed with more earnestness or with sharper personal tone than in New Hampshire. Here a revolution in public opinion had taken place, and for the first time, with a single excep- tion, the long dominant party of the president found itself in a minor- ity. Departing on his inaugural journey with the sincerest wishes of his neighbors, Mr. Pierce returned in October, 1856, to find the polit- ical and social atmosphere chilled and uncomfortable. The repeal of the Missouri Compromise was having its effect. Mindful, however, of the occasion, his friends made elaborate preparations for his recep- tion, and the day has passed into local annals as one of Concord's famous events. The reception took place in the midst of the excit- ing Buchanan-Fremont campaign, when the streets were bright with banners and bunting. Early in the day visitors began pouring into the city, and delegations from different towns, accompanied by bands of music and drum corps, paraded the streets. Notwithstanding the lack of spontaneity, Concord presented a gay and animated sight. From Boston and other cities in Massachusetts came campaign com- panies and party delegations, one of the features being the celebrated Boston Brigade band, whose excellent music contributed greatly to the public enjoyment.
A spirited rivalry for decorative effects impelled the citizens to contribute many pleasing features to the holiday. Many buildings along Main street, near the state house, were heavily hung with flags and banners, many of them bearing mottoes. Across the street, opposite the Eagle hotel, a handsome arch was erceted, trimmed with evergreen, bearing on one side the motto, " Welcome the President of the Thirty-one States," and on the other, " New Hampshire wel- comes home her Favorite and Honored Son." On the top were two large eagles, with miniature flags in their beaks. Pendant from the center was a portrait of the president. In front of the American House was a white flag, tastefully trimmed with evergreen, on which was inscribed, "The Ladies of the Granite State welcome the Pres- ident to the Capital." The Patriot building, now Sanborn's block, was covered with flags, banners, and mottoes, while from the eupola of the state house floated the stars and stripes, with streamers stretch- ing to the ground. The American House, brilliant with decorations and flags, presented a beautiful picture of the decorator's art, as did the Eagle hotel, the temporary headquarters of the president during his brief stay in Concord. Many private residences were trimmed
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with bunting and evergreen, interspersed with mottoes of patriotic and flattering meaning.
At noon the president, accompanied by his private secretary, Sidney Webster, J. D. Hoover, marshal of the District of Columbia, and Gen- eral Anderson of Tennessee, arrived amidst the firing of cannon. He was received with enthusiasm, and the erowd pressing in on all sides gave expression to their feelings in loud cheering and the waving of hats and banners. Every one seemed eager to grasp Mr. Pierce by the hand, or failing in that, to secure a near sight of his well-remem- bered face. But when he mounted the horse provided for his use, for the president was a superb horseman, hearty and approving cheers broke from the thousands of devoted friends who had assembled to do him honor. So dense was the crowd that it required persistent effort on the part of the marshals to clear a passage so that the pres- ident might take his place in the procession.
As every company and delegation carried one or more banners covered with party mottoes, the effect of the long procession was indeed picturesque. During the march bells were rung and the cannon boomed a lively welcome. The streets were crowded and so were the windows and housetops, and every spot from which a sight could be obtained. The carriages were handsomely decorated with flowers and bouquets ; the one occupied by the president's suite was a barouche drawn by six matched horses furnished by Prescott & Grover. Among the conveyances were the American and Eagle coaches, Frye's omnibus, and Hutchinson and Elliott's hacks, each drawn by four horses with gaily bedecked harnesses. The march occupied an hour and a half, the head of the parade reaching the state house park about 2 o'clock. A platform had been erected for the speaking, but long before the procession arrived the area in front of the stand was crowded with people eagerly waiting the president.
As the procession halted at the state house, lines of militiamen were formed from the center gateway to the platform, through which the president and the committee of arrangements marched to their scats. When the acclamations and noise had subsided, the chief mar- shal called for silence, whercupon the president was formally wel- comed home by John H. George, the president responding in his . exquisitely felicitous manner, which was wont to make every one his friend and confidant. With speeches and a reception the afternoon was far spent, and the next day, the president having taken his de- parture, Concord resumed its usual quiet.
One of the famous old-fashioned election days was observed on the occasion of Ichabod Goodwin's inauguration as governor in June, 1857.
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Great efforts were made to give the day an especial renown, and when night came all agreed that the plans had been in every respect success- ful. Concord, at that time, had a set of enterprising young men who took interest in public affairs, and they determined to give the new governor a reception in keeping with the traditions of the day. It was not because greater popularity attached to Mr. Gooodwin than to his predecessors, but because of a desire to invest the day with more dignity and attraction, and to afford pleasure to the large number of out-of-town people who came yearly to the capital to witness the cer- emonies. The citizens, appreciating the occasion, decorated their res- idences and business places ; and the city and the state officials flung out flags and weaved streamers and bunting on the public buildings. Phenix hotel, which in those days was the meeting place for Repub- licans, was gaily festooned ; while along the route of the procession nearly every house had flags or garlands of flowers.
Soon after noon Governor Haile, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house, with Senators Hale and Clark, and Congress- men Tappan, Cragin, and Marston, were driven to the lower end of Main street, where the procession was formed. At 1 o'clock the train from Portsmouth, bearing the governor-eleet and a large number of people, came to a stop near West street. After an exchange of cour- tesies Mr. Goodwin was escorted to his carriage, and the command to start was given.
The procession was long and interesting, and its diversified char- acter elicited the applause of the people gathered along the line of march. The fire companies were objects of peculiar interest, for Concord's recent fire record was everywhere known throughout the state; so when the flower bedecked and picturesque little engines rumbled through the street drawn by long lines of stalwart red-shirts, loud cheers greeted them. Main street, from Pleasant to Free Bridge road, was full of people slowly edging their way, pausing before the blockades caused by some grotesque peddler or sharp-witted fellow with jewelry to sell, or perchance medicine warranted to cure every ill; then streaming on in the direction of the state house park, where booths and tents allured the hungry and the dry. That gala day proved to be one of the last of those election day celebrations that lent so keen a seasoning to the life of the town. By nightfall the crowd had departed, the hawkers and peddlers had packed their wares, the booths were deserted, the show canvas rolled up, and over the seene fell a stillness in strange contrast to the variety and turmoil of a few hours before.
Pending the state election in March, 1860, a distinguished citizen of the West journeying to New Hampshire to see his son, then a
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student at Phillips academy, Exeter, was persuaded to make a few political speeches in the state, one of which was allotted to Con- cord. He was a stranger only in person,-his name was known and his leadership recognized,-but few had ever seen him up to the moment when Edward H. Rollins introduced him to the crowd in Phenix hall as Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. The weather was excre- ble, and, moreover, the meeting had been but slightly advertised, yet so great was the desire to see and hear this champion of the West that the hall was filled to its eapaeity. For more than an hour Mr. Lincoln spoke as few men had ever spoken on the issues of the day, captivating his audienee by the exuberant felicity of his phraseology and the surpassing power of his logic. That this speech made a deep impression was evident, and when the future president bade Concord farewell, as he took the afternoon train for Manchester, men who had listened to more than a generation of Concord oratory were agreed that the speech of Abraham Lincoln was a masterpiece.
Later in that eventful year, 1860, Concord weleomed another dis- tinguished citizen of the West, the rival of Lincoln in politics, and his antithesis as well,-Stephen A. Douglas. His coming had been heralded, and elaborate preparations were made for his reception. Thursday, the last day of July, was an ideal one, and, true to the hos- pitable nature of the people, party lines were. put aside, and every one did something to make the oceasion a success. From Abbot's shops to the Old North, Main street was radiant with banners and streamers, with festooned houses and bloeks, while hanging from the shade trees along the streets were flags without number.
This visit took place during the exciting political campaign in which Mr. Douglas himself was a candidate for the presidency. Main street had seldom presented a more pleasing effect of flags and decorations. Floating above his head Senator Douglas beheld the national ensign bearing the names of his competitors in the great contest,-Lincoln and Hamlin, Breckinridge and Lane, Bell and Everett,-and there, too, he read his own name coupled with that of Johnson. In those times a lofty and sturdy flagpole stood near the corner of Park street in front of the state house, from whose peak on that day depended long streamers and countless little flags and pennants, all gracefully swaying in the breeze.
Boston had sent its best deeorator, and the transformation was complete wherever he applied his art, but nowhere did he exercise that art in more tasteful and charming profusion than in and about the city hall. Opposite was the mansion of Oliver L. Sanborn, after- wards the residence of George G. Fogg,1 where the distinguished
1 Now that of Henry Robinson.
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statesman was to be entertained during his visit, and there, naturally, the decorator had arranged his choicest effects.
The train from the north bearing Mr. Douglas and Mrs. Douglas reached the station at noon, where they were received by the appro- priate committees. The crowd in Railroad square was dense and un- governable, and wanting as Concord then was in police regulations, the marshals having the reception in charge were well-nigh power- less to make headway against the throng. The carriage containing Mr. Douglas could with difficulty be stirred, so closely wedged was the good-natured crowd, but after repeated efforts the little procession moved to Main street. Cheers greeted the visitor, who responded by bowing right and left along the route, which comprised Washing- ton, State, and School streets. At the state house Mr. Douglas alight- ed, and arm in arm with Henry P. Rolfe, chairman of the day, made his way to a stand erected over the steps of the center door of the old capitol. Senator Douglas looked down upon fully five thousand up- turned faces. For more than an hour he spoke with an earnestness and intellectual vigor all his own, demonstrating beyond contradiction his right to the name of "the little giant," yet a twelvemonth had not passed when his lips were ashes. In the evening the grounds around the city hall-where a reception was held-were bright with Chinese lanterns and reflectors. With fireworks and screnades the day closed, and the following morning the distinguished statesman again resumed his famous journey.
As the capital of the state and its political center Concord was not unprepared for the outburst following the election of Abraham Lin- coln, nor did the firing on Sumter find Concord people unresponsive to the duties of the hour.
The first week of war was an experience never to be forgotten by those then living in Concord. The realities of the hour had quickly transformed a quiet community into an active camp. Public meet- ings were called, and the people listened to the words of leading cit- izens, for in the beginning partisanship was paralyzed by the common shock, and every lip pronounced a resolve to sustain the government and preserve the Union. An enthusiastic inceting assembled in city hall on Friday evening, April 19th,-in response to a call hurriedly sent forth by prominent men,-at which specches were made and a resolution couched in these terms was unanimously adopted : "That we, as American citizens and as citizens of the State of New Hamp- shire, acknowledge our fealty to our National and State goverments, to the Constitution of the United States, and to the State of New Hampshire, and that we will support them in every required capac- ity."
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Of the two score or more that signed the call for that meeting all are dead 1 save Judge Sylvester Dana, while of those that spoke that evening Joseph B. Walker alone survives.
The summer of 1863 was the perilous period of the Civil War, and Coneord was not alone in apprehensions as to the future of the republie. Party lines had at this time become rigidly defined, adding bitterness to local affairs and imparting a harshness to social inter- coursc. Feelings occasioned by the conduct of the administration at Washington disturbed even church relations during that gloomy season.
Concord was the meeting place for all shades of opinion, and as such it beeamc the seene of two political mass conventions during that eventful year 1863. The Republicans ehosc the 17th of June as the date of their great meeting, while the Demoerats took the 4th of July as the day in all the year most fitting their purposes. At the first convention the crowd in attendance completely overflowed the state house park, where a platform had been built, from which such distinguished public men as Benjamin F. Butler and Montgom- ery Blair addressed the assemblage. The day passed off pleasantly, being voted a success by half the people throughout the state and a failure by not quite the other half, so marked were the personal politics of the epoch. But by far the more important meeting histor- ieally was that organized by the Democrats. Great preparations had been made to ensure success ; special trains were run, hospitality of the olden tiine was generously promised, while the oratory was to be delivered by Daniel W. Voorhees, Governor Joel Parker of New Jer- sey, Samuel S. Cox, Horatio Seymour, and cx-President Pierce, whose voiee had not been heard on war questions since that evening in April, 1861, when he spoke from the baleony of the Eagle hotel.
To this demonstration not only New Hampshire but the whole North and even the South gave attention, for it was to be a field day of political poliey as well as prophesy. For at Concord, in the heart of one of the staunehest Union states, was to be discussed the gravest of publie questions by the most illustrious of Democrats. Private purses contributed to make the day a successful one, and never, per- haps, had Concord been more gaily dressed than on that 4th of July. Dceorations were plentifully displayed, public and private buildings were bright with flags and bunting, while the state house was almost eonccaled behind a mass of holiday attirc.
Over the main entrance to the capitol was an areh decorated with shields and miniature flags, while overhead the facade was gracefully festooned with streamers drooping from the cornices to the pavement.
1 1903.
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Over the eastern gateway to the capitol grounds, through which the speakers and music were to pass, was erected a triumphal arch, with the silver lettered motto, "Constitutional Liberty." Above was a large eagle holding a profusion of radiating flags, while depending from the arch were folds of rich damask drapery, embroidered with spangles of silver. The supporting columns represented knights clad in armor, designated "Scott " and " Mcclellan." On the supports of the arch were mottoes, very significant, as it subsequently turned out, such as, " The People will save the Republic," " Ohio, Indiana, Penn- sylvania and Iowa have set us an example; we will profit by it."
The American House, the old headquarters of the Democracy, was appropriately decorated, its pillars and columns being neatly draped with folds of red, white, and blue. On the Main street front was the motto, " Liberty and Independence, July 4, 1776." On the Park street side of the building hung a portrait of Daniel Webster, encircled with the words " I still live."
Many stores and blocks, as well as private residences, were pro- fusely and handsomely adorned with flags, mottoes, and transparen- cies. Among the more attractive were the stores in the Athenian building, and the residences of Oliver L. Sanborn, J. Stephens Abbot, John F. Brown, Ira A. Eastman, and William P. Foster.
The day proved to be bright, the attendance large, and the meet- ing successful. Some of the orators, unable to be present, sent letters to be read by the presiding officer, but Mr. Voorhees and Governor Parker addressed the crowd, while cx-President Pierce delivered a carefully prepared oration. This oration, celebrated as the "Mauso- leum of Hearts " speech, concluded as follows :
Then, all efforts, whether of war or peace, having failed, my reply is, you will take care of yourselves ; with or without arms, with or without leaders, we will, at least, in the effort to defend our rights as a free people, build up a great mausoleum of hearts, to which men who yearn for liberty will in after years, with bowed heads and rev- erently, resort as Christian pilgrims to the sacred shrines of the Holy Land.
Scarcely had the meeting ended when gladsome tidings burst upon the community, rendering the words of the recent orators flippant and idle, and reinforcing as never before the loyal courage of the North. Swiftly over the wires came the glorious despatch telling of Lee's defeat at Gettysburg and Grant's triumph at Vicksburg. The city went wild with joy, for Concord then realized that the war was not a failure and that the Union still lived.
The state house had been built nearly half a century, yet during that period no material changes had been made in its interior ; con-
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sequently the conveniences and accommodations satisfactory in 1816 were suffered to continue until the increase in legislative mem- bership and the rapidly growing business of the state government began to demand a remedy. At the time the state house was built the number of representatives did not much exceed two hundred, but in 1864 the membership had risen to about three hundred and twenty- five. Besides this it must be borne in mind that the routine busi- ness of the departments had grown gradually during these years, until the legislative halls and state offices became wretchedly ill adapted for public business. As one views the old state house in ancient prints, the real inconveniences of the building do not appear, but they existed, causing comment and criticism. The citizens of Con- cord were not ignorant of these facts, but they had never considered the state house as their property, notwithstanding their ancestors had cheerfully complied with the conditions that made Concord the capi- tal. Moreover, the time for public expenditure on matters not im- perative was surely not in that dark period of debt created by the Rebellion, when every community was striving its utmost to meet the burdensome taxes imposed by war. During several sessions rumors and murmurs had been heard respecting the contracted ac- commodations and unsanitary condition of the state house, but noth- ing definite took place until 1863, when the legislature passed a resolution setting forth the needs of an enlarged state house. An important feature of the resolution was this clause: "The benefits and advantages to be derived from the location of the capitol at Con- cord are such that it is just and reasonable that the city of Concord should contribute materially toward the enlargement of the capitol building, . that this resolution be furnished to the proper officers of the city of Concord with the request that the city take suitable and seasonable action, and that any city or town having the necessary railroad facilities desirous of having the state house situated therein may make propositions to that effect." As the June session of 1864 drew near, the excitement among Concord peo- ple increased, for the realization of what might happen dawned upon them. The Concord delegation in the legislature of 1864 was com- posed of good men, but aside from William E. Chandler and Henry P. Rolfe, they had no especial capacity for the business before them. The whole town was thoroughly moved in this contest, more particu- larly the central wards, because upon them would fall the heaviest loss or the largest gain according to the outcome. Meanwhile, not a Concord man or woman or any friend of Concord could look upon the threatening state house question with feelings other than those of uneasiness and apprehension.
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