USA > New Jersey > Cumberland County > Historic days in Cumberland County, New Jersey, 1855-1865 : political and war time reminiscences > Part 1
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PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND " TAD " READING THE SCRIPTURES-INCHI
.
HISTORIC DAYS
Cumberland County, New Jersey IN
1855-1865
POLITICAL AND WAR TIME REMINISCENCES
BY ISAAC T. NICHOLS
Copy 2
-142 .CONG Expy-
LIBRARY Of CONGRESS
The sun received APF 1/ 1907
Heb. 2. 1907 CLASS A MENO, 167493 COPY A
COPYRIGHTED. 1907
ISAAC T. NICHOLS
The story of the Civil War and the early days of a great political movement in Cumberland County is a theme of interest to the descendants of the noble men who gave their lives for the Union and those who stood at the cradle of the party of human liberty at a crucial hour in our Na- tional history. It appeared to the writer that it was worthy of preservation.
To the memory of those who organized the Republican Party in Cumberland County in 1855, and the heroic sons of old Cumberland who volunteered in the war for the pres- ervation of the Federal Union-1861-1865-many of whom lie in nameless graves on battlefields once red with patriotic blood, this volume is affectionately dedicated.
ISAAC T. NICHOLS.
Bridgeton, New Jersey, January 1, 1907.
THE PRIVATE.
llere is a song for the private, the gallant and true; Though others may plan, he is the one that must do; The world may the deeds of the leaders proclaim. Here is a wreath for his brow, a song for his fame.
1 learn from the telegraph, hear by the train, Of the glory some general by valor has gained, Of the "wing he's outflanked." "the fort overthrown." .And the poem is sung to the leader alone.
But tell me. oh, tell me, where would he have been, Ilad the private not been there the play to begin ? Hlad he sheltered his breast from the steel or the fire, Or dared on the march to faint or to tire?
I have heard the debt the nation will owe The heroes that over the despot shall throw, And only petition that this be its care- The private shall have a Benjamin's share.
Is a fort to be stormed, a charge to be made, A mountain to climb, a river to wade, A rampart to scale, a breach to repair, Neath the blaze of artillery-the private is there.
He might tell what he suffered in cold and in pain, How he lay all night with the wounded and slain, Or left with his blood his tracks on the snow, But never from him the story you'll know.
He fights not for glory, for well does he know The road to promotion is weary and slow; 11is highest ambition is for freedom to fight, To conquer the foe or die for the right.
Should he fall, perchance, to-day and to-morrow His messmates will sigh at evening in sorrow ; But onward they march, far, far from the spot, And the name of the private is lost or forgot.
But oh! on his struggle the pale stars of even Look down from the glittering pathways of heaven, And angels descend to take his death sigh, And the name of the brave is emblazoned on high.
Then here is a song for the brave and the true ; Though others may plan, it is he that must do ; The world may the deeds of the leaders proclaim, Here is a wreath for the private-a song for his fame.
Found on a dead Confederate officer at Hatcher's Run. Va., after the battle. by J. L. Smith, of the 118th Pa. Inf. Vols.
HE Republican party had organized in New York State. Michigan and in Pittsburg, in the year 1854. but did not make much progress in New Jersey prior to 1855. In the Fall of the latter year a number of citizens who had made the slavery ques- tion a matter of conscience, but who had previously been identified with the Whig, Democratic and Na- tive American parties, resolved to inaugurate a move- ment looking toward the organization of a new political party in Cumberland County. They met at the courthouse in Bridgeton, as near as can be ascertained, some time dur- ing the month of September. The gathering was informal. No resolutions were passed or ticket formed. It was a conference of good men for the purpose of talking over the situation of the country with a view to future action when the hour should be ripe.
The following were present :- Dr. William Elmer, James B. Potter, Jas. M. Riley, Johnson Reeves, David P. Mulford, of Bridgeton: Isaac B. Mulford. Aaron Westcott, of Millville: Dr. Enoch Fithian, of Greenwich: Philip Fithian. Lewis Howell. Isaac Elwell, of Stow Creek : Robert More. George W. Moore, Isaac West. Isaac D. Titsworth, Parnell Rainear, John S. Bonham. Archibald Minch, of Hopewell : Elwell Nichols, Philip Souder, of Deerfield: Dr. B. Rush Bateman, of Fairfield.
Dr. Bateman was chosen chairman of the meeting, after which there was a quiet. but firm discussion of the political situation of the country because of the presence under our flag of the growing and pernicious system of human slavery then threatening the destruction of the Union.
This meeting was the first Republican gathering held in Cumberland County, and the forerunner of that which was soon to follow in the building up in South Jersey of a great political party which was hereafter to become famous as the party of humanity and the people.
HISTORIE DAYS
The following year. August 16, 1856, the appended notice appeared in the Bridgeton papers, at that time known as the "Chronicle" and the "West Jersey Pioneer :"
"We are requested to say that there will be a meeting of those favorable to the Republican party at the Session Room at Shiloh. on Monday next, 18th inst. The object of the meeting is to organize. appoint committees, and make arrangements for the Presidency campaign. A mass inect- ing at an early date is talked of by the party."
The call for this meeting was signed by thirty-five per- sons of Shiloh and vicinity. As the papers gave no pub- lication of the names of those present it is impossible to learn who were there beyond the fact that Lewis Howell was elected chairman, and Albert R. Jones, secretary, with a committee on resolutions consisting of W. B. Davis, G. H. Leeds and .A. R. Jones.
Hon. James Hampton, a former Representative in Con- gress on the Whig ticket from the First District, then a resi- dent of Bridgeton, was present and made a powerful speech. Mr. Hampton was one of the most eloquent and convincing speakers of his day, and his speech to the heroic men at Shiloh was a very remarkable presentation of the evils of human slavery with reasons why it should be eradicated. Tlis remarks aroused the meeting to a high plane of en- thusiasm and were the opening gun of the party of liberty in Cumberland County.
The committee on resolutions reported the following which were adopted as the views of the meeting :
"Whereas, the monster, slavery, has ever been stealthily coiling its slimy folds around the dearest insti- tutions of our country, corrupting the very fountain head. and rendering every stream that emanates from it foul and impure ; and that we view the passage of the Nebraska bill, the consequent violation of a sacred compact-Missouri Compromise-the brutal, barbarian and cowardly act of knocking down a Senator in the National Legislature ; the border ruffian outrages in Kansas, murdering of the citi- zens, violating their wives and daughters, burning their
1
CUMBERLAND COUNTY COURT HOUSE Bridgeton, New Jersey-1-55-1-65
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HISTORIC DAYS
homes and printing presses ; the unlawful closing up of a highway ( Missouri) against the citizens of the United States : the present cruel confinement of Free State men near Lecompton, each so many aggressions of a slave oligarchy ; therefore.
"Resolved, that it is the duty of every good citizen to resist by all just means the further extension of slavery.
"Resolved, that intriguing, unscrupulous demagogues, among whom we regard Stephen A. Douglass as the leader. have by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, involved the Union in difficulty, arrayed one section against the other, and they thereby have rendered themselves unworthy the confidence of honest men.
"Resolved, that the affairs of our country are approach- ing a crisis which has been hastened on by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise ; that the fate of Kansas and millions of unborn freemen must be decided by the next administra- tion it behooves every lover of his country to be on the alert, and examine with jealous care the platform and past conduct of the candidates, who are now before us for the highest office in the gift of the American people.
"Resolved. that the candidate, James Buchanan, in swallowing the abominable platform of the Cincinnati Con- vention, thereby endorsing squatter sovereignty, filibustering and in fact every act of the present administration, has for- feited the support of every true patriot.
"Resolved, that in the Republican platform and in the people's candidates John C. Fremont and William L. Day- ton, we have the guarantee that Freedom shall be national and Slavery sectional, and as the evidence is clear and satis- factory that it was the design of the framers of our govern- ment that Slavery should extend no farther, but they suf- fered it where it was that it might in time be removed with the least possible disadvantage to all, as all parties admit that Slavery is a great evil, it is no injustice for the millions of freemen to say to the few hundred thousand slave holders, 'you may come and possess the public domain on equal
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IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
terms with ourselves, but we cannot allow you to curse it with Slavery.'
"Resolved, that we pledge them our hearty support, believing that they will carry out the original design of the Constitution, and we earnestly ask all to wisely retlect 'ere they cast another vote for a Slavery propagandist.
"Resolved, that it is the great doctrine of Jefferson that we advocate the non-extension of Slavery. We wish to be understood, that we do not interfere with Slavery in the States where it already exists, but we do firmly insist upon having no more Slave States from territory now free."
These resolutions caused considerable debate among the voters of the county and the men who took part in the meeting were denounced as "woolly heads," "negro lovers," etc. During the ensuing four years the doings of . the Abolitionists at Shiloh attracted great attention and as late as the Fall of 1860 when the country was excited because of the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency. Caleb Henry Sheppard, of Stow Creek, afterwards a Mem- ber of Assembly and Senator from Cumberland County, en- gaged in a newspaper controversy with several advocates and defenders of the pro-slavery contention in the columns of one of the Bridgeton papers. Mr. Sheppard was a scholarly writer and a man of intensely radical views, stand- ing with Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison and other early, out-spoken abolitionists. His pen was sharp and he stirred up his opponents to the point of anger. Far in ad- vance of the Republicans as a party he did not hesitate to declare his opinion that they were timid in the presence of the great overshadowing peril. Slavery. Joseph H. C. Appelgate. then a resident of the Friesburg neighborhood. near Cohansey, took up the cudgel and lampooned the Shiloh man with a sarcasm that tickled the Democrats im- mensely. He was a gifted writer and in one of his com- munications said: "You preach the abominable doctrine of amalgamation, and urge free negro suffrage." Finally, Mr. Appelgate declared that he was done and desired no further debate as he believed he could not continue "witli-
HISTORIC DAY'S
out suffering further contact with a negro worshipper," but desired in conclusion that Mr. Sheppard should answer one question, to wit : "Did you, last Tuesday, November 6, 1860. vote for Abraham Lincoln? Please answer yes or no?"
This ended the writing. all of which grew out of the fact that the radicals at Shiloh had promulgated certain doctrines which were repugnant to the Democrats and many Native Americans. Mr. Appelgate was a product of Salem County and up to the election of Mr. Lincoln he had not got away from his earlier training. Strange to say, how- ever. within two years afterward he took his gun. enlisted in the 24th New Jersey Regiment and went South. taking part in several bloody battles for the preservation of the Union and the freedom of the slave. He bore an honor- able part in his country's service.
At the hour of 10 o'clock. Friday, October 24. 1856. a number of gentlemen gathered in the Court House at Bridgeton, and nominated a straight Republican ticket to be voted for in November. No record of this convention appears in the Bridgeton papers other than a paragraph stating that a Republican ticket was nominated consisting of the following :
For Senator-Benjamin Rush Bateman. of Fairfield.
For Assembly- First District. Robert More, of Hope- well: Second District, Philip Sonder, of Deerfield.
For Coroners-James M. Riley, of Bridgeton; Syl- vanus Tubman, of Downe: Thomas Corson, of Millville.
The call for the convention was signed by James Hampton, James M. Riley, G. Il. Leeds. It is presumed that the men who met in the court house in 1855 and those who met in the Sessions Room at Shiloh, August 18. 1856, were self-constituted delegates to this convention. The editors of the two Bridgeton papers were on the fence, and for fear that they might lose a little advertising or other local patronage they carefully avoided publication of the resolutions or proceedings of the convention.
In the afternoon at 2 o'clock, George William Curtis,
,10)
GROUP OF FOUNDERS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY /1)
Hon. Benjamin Rush Bateman Archibald Minch
Dr. William Elmer Isaac Elwell John S. Bonham ( 11 )
David P. Mulford Dr. Enoch Fithian
12
1HISTORIC DAYS
of New York, afterward editor of Harper's Weekly, ad- dressed a mass-meeting in behalf of the principles of the newly organized party. He was an able speaker, and stirred the hearts of his hearers by his pungent references to the slave power.
The campaign was short but enthusiastic, and the Democrats were at their wits' end to circumvent the argu- ments of the "woolly heads" as they continued to term the followers of Fremont and Dayton.
On the day the nominations were made a parade was formed and marched through the streets of Bridgeton. It contained a large wagon in which were thirty-two young ladies dressed in white, one for each State of the Union and one for the territory of Kansas, then struggling for admis- sion and over which so much bitterness had appeared in Congress.
Hugh Runyon Merseilles, a man of note and ability in Bridgeton, later on surrogate on the Republican ticket, planted a pole in front of his office located in an old frame building on Commerce street, near Pearl, and hoisted a Fremont and Dayton flag. "Runyon" as he was termed, was small in stature but a fighter for principle. The Den- ocrats made him a target, so much so that even the small boy when passing his place would yell. "Woolly head." On the night of the election, when it was learned that James Buchanan was chosen President, a prominent Democrat, cabinet-maker by trade. manufactured a small coffin and hoisted it to the top of "Runyon's" pole. When "Runyon" came down to the office on the morning after election he found the coffin swinging from the halyards, and of course was somewhat chagrined, but he lived to see the party which the coffin was supposed to have buried rise to splendid heights of national supremacy.
Meetings to forward the cause of Republicanism in Cumberland County were held previous to election at the following places: Millville, Port Elizabeth. Mauricetown. Dividing Creek, Cedarville, addressed by E. H. Coates, of Pennsylvania.
13
IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
The new party made a gallant fight, and an especially good one, when it is remembered, that the most talented men in the county and the best politicians were battling in the ranks of the Democratic and Native American parties. John T. Nixon, in a few brief years to be sent to Congress on the tidal wave of the Union-Republican votes, was yet a Native American and their ablest leader. Ile ad- dressed a meeting at Heislerville, for Millard Filmore. Providence Ludlam, soon to be the beloved Senator and leader of the Republican party in Cumberland County, per- haps the most popular man of his day in Southern New Jersey, was a candidate on the Native American ticket for Assembly and was defeated by his Democratie opponent.
The result of the election astounded even the Republi- cans. By a fusion of the Republicans and Native Americans on Governor and Congress, William AA. Newell, of Mon- month, and Isaiah D. Clawson, of Salem, carried the county by 293 majority. The straight Republican ticket for Elec- tors and the Legislature polled a vote as follows :
The Presidential electors, of whom Hon. Lewis Ho- well, of Stow Creek, was one, 642; Benj. Rush Bateman, for State Senator, 602: Robert More, Assembly, First Dis- trict, 471 ; Philip Souder. Assembly, Second District, 216. Thus did the youthful Republicans, like David of oldl. sling the shot which eventually felled the Goliath of Slavery.
The six hundred odd voters who faced the torrent of abuse and went gallantly to the polls in a forlorn hope were men of high character and principle. They were not par- ticipants for the spoils of office or seekers of public applause. On the contrary, they were men who loved their country and hated human slavery. With Lincoln they believed that this nation could no longer remain half slave and half free. It must either be all slave or all free. And they faced to the front, and took up a new march for liberty.
Previous to the November election of 1857. the Re- publicans again met at the courthouse in Bridgeton and nominated a ticket which was elected. Robert More, of
HISTORIC DASS
Hopewell, was successful for Assembly in the First Dis- triet by a majority of 219 over Jonathan Richman, Dem- ocrat. Elwell Nichols, of Deerfield, was chosen over Frank F. Patterson, then editor of the Bridgeton Chronicle, Dem- ocrat. Second District, by 14 majority.
This was the beginning of Republican victory in Cum- berland County, which, with rare intervals, has continued to this day.
llon. Robert More, the newly elected Assemblyman from the First District. served five terms in the House of Assembly at Trenton. He was present when Abraham Lin- coln addressed the Legislature in 1861, when that great President was on his way to take the chair as the nation's Chief Executive in Washington. Ile afterward saw Mr. Lincoln standing in the presence of the two Houses. Tall. homely in appearance, and of serious countenance, yet when he warmed up in his speech Mr. Lincoln's eyes shone and his face appeared positively beautiful. It was a picture never to be forgotten. .At the death of Mr. Lincoln, Mr. More was the author of a series of resolutions whereby the portrait of Abraham Lincoln, which now hangs in the Assembly Chamber at Trenton, became the property of the State. It was purchased. and he was one of the committee that se- cured it. On the ratification of the constitutional amend- ment prohibiting slavery Mr. More delivered an able and eloquent address in the Assembly in reply to remarks of Leon Abbett. afterward Governor of the State, and other Democrats, who were opposing the adoption of this impor- tant measure.
Robert More came of distinguished ancestry. His grandfather. John T. More, was a captain in the Army of the American Revolution and fought in the battle of Red Bank. ITis brother, Captain Enoch More ran a Government transport during the Civil War, and carried the private dis- patches of President Lincoln. Captain More brought Jef- ferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. and Alexander H. Stevens, Vice President, together with the Confederate Cabinet to Fortress Monroe on his transport after their
CUMBERLAND COUNTY NOTABLES -18555-1-65
Hon. Providence Ludlam, First Republican Senator
Hon. Robert More Hon. Elwell Nichols First Republican Members of Assembly
Hon. Philip Souder, First Republican Assembly Candidate
(15)
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HISTORIC DAYS
capture at the close of the war. This same brother also served under Colonel John C. Fremont during his journey- ings through the heart of the Rocky Mountains and across the continent in the '50's. His great ancestor John More, came to this country with Fenwick's colony from England and the log house in which he lived with his family is shown in a wood cut in Thomas Shourd's History of Lord Fen- wick and the families which accompanied him to America.
From the small beginning in '55 he lived to see the magnificent results of the great Republican policy, which emancipated the slave, restored the Union, and made of the United States of America the most enlightened and prosperous nation of the earth.
Ilon. Elwell Nichols, elected on the Republican ticket with Mr. More, as Assemblyman from the Second District, was also a scion of Revolutionary stock, and a man of strong convictions of duty. He was quiet in his demeanor, but a man of ability. . At the election in 1857 he succeeded in se- curing a majority in his native township of Deerfield, a remarkable feat considering the rock-ribbed Jacksonian Democracy of that community. Mr. Nichols was a Com- mon Pleas Judge of the Cumberland Courts one term, and for years previous to his death was annually chosen . Assessor of his township, and enjoyed a rare popularity. Judge Nichols was a stalwart Republican to the end. and as one of the founders of the party in Cumberland County his memory is highly cherished by many relatives, among whom is the writer.
The campaign of 1857, which closed with the election of Robert More and Elwell Nichols to the House of Assem- bly as the first persons ever chosen to office in Cumberland County, on the Republican ticket, also witnessed the election of Providence Ludlam as county clerk, H. R. Merseilles as surrogate and Jonathan Fithian as sheriff, by a fusion of the Native American and Republican votes. Ludlam had 336 majority over his Democratic opponent: Fithian had 313 majority, and Merseilles 38 majority.
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IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
When the canvass of 1858 opened the young Repub- lican party found itself practically in possession of all the county offices save that of State Senator. The native Amer- icans were still in existence but the seeds of disintegration were fast decimating their numbers. Few persons at this day are aware of the fact that the Native American party was at one time a very powerful political organization. It carried several important States of the Union and was a power to be reckoned with. AAmong its adherents were many of the best and most intelligent citizens of the country and especially was this true of Cumberland County. The party stronghold was found in the secret meetings of lodges known as the "Know Nothings." whose members were bound by solemn oaths to support only native born Amer- icans for public office. The Whig and Temperance parties in the decade preceding the formation of the Native Amer- ican party had dissolved into chaos, remnants of the two going back to the Democratic party, others halting between opinions waiting for the dawn of that day when they could unite with an organization which should take up the fight against the further extension of slavery which thoughtful men knew must soon occupy the field of political conten- tion. Previous to its demise, however, the Native American party made a final effort for success. By a fusion with the Republicans in a convention held at the Court House in Bridgeton, October 2d, 1858, Robert More, of Hopewell, was nominated for Assembly in the First District, and Aaron S. Westcott, of Millville, for Assembly in the Second District. Mr. More was re-elected Assemblyman by a ma- jority of 386 over D. H. Hawkins, Democrat. Mr. West- cott was elected Assemblyman by a majority of 157 over Benjamin F. Lee. Democrat. In this exciting campaign John T. Nixon, of Bridgeton, became the Republican and American candidate for Congress in the First District and was chosen by 3300 majority. Cumberland County gave Nixon 763 majority over George A. Walker, Democrat ; John H. Jones, of Camden, polling 414 votes as a straight- out Native American candidate in the county.
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IHISTORIE DAYS
On the night of the election of 1858 a great crowd of men and boys paraded Commerce street in honor of their fellow citizen whom the returns had decided was to sit in the Congress of the United States. The procession halted in front of Mr. Nixon's residence at the corner of Commerce and Orange streets, and sent up a series of cheers for the Republican party and its successful candidate for Congress. Barrels of tar were rolled into the street in front of the house which lit the skies with lurid flames, while the air was redolent with martial music. Mr. Nixon appeared upon the veranda and delivered an eloquent speech of thanks for the honor conferred upon him. He defined the course he should pursue, Providence permitting, in the troubled arena of legislation at Washington. His remarks were received with tremendous cheering. The new Congressman was a man of remarkable talents. Of distinguished personal ap- pearance, learned and cultured, he soon attained a high place in the hall of the House of Representatives. Before him was a great career to end as a member of our highest judiciary. Judge of the United States District Court in Trenton by appointment of President Grant.
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