USA > New York > New York City > The Union defence committee of the city of New York. Minutes, reports, and correspondence; with an historical introduction > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
c 74.702 422neu 744315
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
C
3 1833 01150 2892
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/uniondefencecomm00newy_0
THE
UNION DEFENCE COMMITTEE
OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK
MINUTES, REPORTS, AND CORRESPONDENCE
WITH AN HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
BY
JOHN AUSTIN STEVENS
1
PUBLISHED BY THE UNION DEFENCE COMMITTEE 1885
840
1744315
L
S
-
11
UNION DEFENCE COMMITTEE, 1861.
JOHN A. DIX, Chairman.
SIMEON DRAPER, Vice-Chairman, *WILLIAM MI. EVARTS, Secretary, THEODORE DEHON, Treasurer, MOSES TAYLOR, RICHARD M. BLATCHFORD,
*EDWARDS PIERREPONT,
ALEX. T. STEWART,
*SAMUEL SLOAN, *JOHN JACOB ASTOR, JR., JOHN J. CISCO,
CHARLES H. RUSSELL, JAMES T. BRADY,
RUDOLPH A. WITTHAUS,
JAMES S. WADSWORTH, *ISAAC BELL,
*ABIEL A. Low,
PROSPER M. WETMORE, *A. C. RICHARDS,
JAMES BOORMAN,
CHARLES H. MARSHALL, ROBERT H. MCCURDY, MOSES H. GRINNELL, ROYAL PHELPS, WILLIAM E. DODGE, GREENE C. BRONSON, *HAMILTON FISH, WILLIAM F. HAVEMEYER,
THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF COUNCILMEN.
* Surviving, January 1, 1885.
.
EDITOR'S NOTE
THE active labor of the Union Defence Committee, which was raised for a special emergency, ended in the spring of 1862; but the organization was maintained to recover from the Gov- ernment such part of the sum subscribed by the citizens of New York as was a just charge against it. Later the Committee organized several public movements in encouragement of the national authorities.
In the spring of 1864 the Committee definitely adjourned, leaving to their Finance Committee the disposition of the small remainder of the Citizens' Fund ; the public fund, appropriated by the city, having been already accounted for and closed. Order was given that a full report of the action of the Com- mittee be published, and their Secretary, the late Prosper M. Wetmore, was charged with its preparation. Death interrupted him in this work, and until quite recently the scattered docu- ments of the Committee could not be gathered. When, after much labor and delay, the various Minutes, Reports and Correspondence were collected, the surviving members of the Committee intrusted them to the editor of these pages. The his- torical introduction, mainly drawn from contemporaneous publi- cations, aims to present a succinct, impartial narrative of the events which gave rise to the Committee and of those in which it itself took a part-second in importance to that of no civil body in the loyal States.
NEW YORK, January 1, 1885.
UNION DEFENCE COMMITTEE
HISTORY
THE news of the capitulation of Fort Sumter, on the even- ing of Saturday, the 13th April, 1861, and of its surrender by Major Robert Anderson, U. S. A., to the Confederate authorities, the following day, reached Washington Sunday morning, the 14th, and was announced in New York in the evening. The details of the gallant defence of the fort were published in the newspapers of Monday, the 15th, and the same morning a proclamation of the President was issued calling forth the militia of the States, to the amount of 75,000, and 'appealing to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government, and to redress wrong already long enough endured.' In response to this call, Governor Morgan issued a proclamation, under date of Thursday, the 18th April, announcing "a formal requisition by the President upon the State of New York 'for a quota of seventeen regiments of seven hundred and eighty men each,' to be immediately detached from the militia of this State, to serve as infantry or riflemen for a period of three months, unless sooner discharged," and in conformity thereto the Governor called for the aforesaid quota, consisting of six hundred and forty-nine officers and twelve thousand six hundred and thirty- one men, forming an aggregate force of thirteen thousand two hundred and eighty men.
The first troops who marched in response to the call of the President were the four regiments of the Massachusetts quota ;
1
2
of these the Sixth Regiment, Colonel Jones, left Boston on the 17th, reached New York the following morning, and left a few hours later for Washington.
Orders (General Order, 'No. 15) were issued from the General Headquarters at Albany on the 17th April, by Adjutant-General J. Meredith Read, Jr., directing Major- General Sandford, " commanding the First Division N. Y. S. M., to detail one regiment of eight hundred men, or two regiments amounting to the same number, for immediate service." In ac- cordance with this order, General Sandford instantly ordered out the Seventli Regiment, and telegraphed to Lieutenant-General Scott the same day, April 17th, that they were ready to march, and waiting orders. The ranks were immediately filled, and the regiment marched, 991 strong, Friday, April 19th, at three o'clock in the afternoon. The subscription of merchants of the City made at the Chamber of Commerce, on the 17th of April, to the amount of sixty-one hundred and forty dollars hastened the perfect equipment of this favorite corps.
The other regiments of the First Division N. Y. S. M. dis- played the same patriotic alacrity, and impatiently awaited marching orders. On the 19th General Sandford ordered the 6th, 12th, and 71st Regiments to assemble at their armories the following day, Saturday, at three o'clock, armed and equipped for embarkation.
These Regiments, it will be remembered, all belonged to the New York State Militia, and their services were understood to be provisional until volunteer regiments could be recruited and organized to fill their places. On the 16th the Legislature passed an act " authorizing the embodying and equipment of a volunteer militia, and to provide for the public defence," and on the 18th, the Adjutant-General of the State issued a general order directing the organization and enrollment of the quota, the force to be divided into two divisions, four brigades, and seventeen regiments. The force volunteering under the pro-
3
visions of the act to be enrolled for a term of two years unless sooner discharged. The requisite clothing, arms and accouter- ments to be furnished at the expense of the State or the United States.
The danger with which the capital was menaced did not admit of a moment's delay.
Ou the morning of Saturday, April the 20th, the entire city was agitated by the news of the attack of the mob upon the Massachusetts troops on their march through the streets of Baltimore the previous day. The anxiety concerning the fate of the New York Seventh was great, but its experience in deal- ing with rioters inspired confidence in their ability to force their way through all obstructions. It was also announced that the Northern Central Railroad Company would transport no more troops over its line to Washington, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad having adopted the same course. The safety of the capital depended upon the activity of the seaboard cities. Thousands were daily offering their services and signing their names, and there was great complaint against the delay in the receipt of the enlistment rolls. Governor Morgan was repeatedly urged by telegram to send forward large bodies of men. The authorities at Washington, however, better aware of the pre- cise situation, had requested him to await further directions.
The proclamation of the President appealed directly to the citizens, and was instantly answered. On the morning of Mon- day, the 15th April, the Tribune published a call for a patriotic mass meeting, which was circulated for signature during the day. At two o'clock on the afternoon of the same day, a num- ber of prominent citizens, who are described as the 'solid men of Wall Street,' met at No. 30 Pine Street. Mr. Christopher R. Robert was called to the chair, and Mr. Simeon B. Chitten- den acted as secretary. A committee of ten was formed, of which Mr. Charles H. Marshall was chairman, to call together a meeting of citizens without delay, and a resolution expressing
1
the sense of the meeting that, before the Legislature adjourn, action should be taken to put the militia of the State on a war footing was telegraphed to the Governor. The committee adjourned to the evening at the house of Mr. Robert H. MeCurdy, No. 36 East Fourteenth Street, to prepare a call, draft reso- Intions, and procure speakers for the proposed meeting. The committee met again Tuesday morning at ten o'clock at the Chamber of Commerce, and reported a call for the meeting, invit- ing the citizens of New York and its vicinity, without regard to previous political opinions or associations, to meet on Friday evening at a place to be later named. A sub-committee, of which Mr. John A. Dix was chairman, was appointed to draft resolutions and choose speakers. These proceedings were re- ported to a committee of two hundred merchants and others, who met at the Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday at noon. Mr. Charles H. Marshall presided, and Mr. Seth B. Hunt acted as secretary. A committee appeared from the Stock Exchange, and a delegation on behalf of the gentlemen who had circulated the call published in the Tribune of Mon- day. They were cordially received and took part in the councils. At the suggestion of Mr. Chittenden, the plan for a mass meeting on Friday evening was abandoned, and it was unanimously resolved to hold the meeting on Union Square, around the statue of Washington, at three o'clock. The citizens were invited to close their places of business at two o'clock. Upon a statement that the Seventh Regiment New York State Militia might be needed in Washington before Saturday, a subscription was opened and immediately re- sponded to. A resolution was also adopted thanking the Governor for the prompt response to the call of the President.
The executive committee met on Thursday, at the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. R. H. MeCurdy presided, and Mr. J. Smith Homans acted as secretary. It was resolved to re- quest the Hon. John A. Dix to preside at the meeting, and a
5
committee was appointed to invite the attendance of Major Robert Anderson, his officers and men, who had arrived from Fort Sumter on the steamship Baltic on the day previous.
On Thursday evening the Committee on Resolutions and Speakers met at the house of Mr. Dix, No. 3 West Twenty-first Street, and issued invitations to prominent speakers of all politi- cal parties. On Tuesday morning the call appeared, signed by seventy-three gentlemen, of whom the Hon. John A. Dix was the first. The call bore date of the 16th of April.
At one o'clock the Chamber of Commerce held a special meeting, in response to the proclamation of the President. The rooms were thronged. Patriotic resolutions were adopted, and a committee was formed to raise funds in aid of the volun- teers of the city and their families. This committee, of which Mr. William E. Dodge was chairman, was the first organized for this purpose. Twenty-one thousand dollars was subscribed
on the spot. A committee of influential capitalists was also appointed to secure the immediate taking of the remaining nine millions of the Government loan. A resolution was passed recommending the Government to blockade the Southern ports. The Committee on Resolutions met at the house of the Hon. John A. Dix in the evening, and perfected the resolutions for the mass meeting.
THE UNION SQUARE MEETING OF SATURDAY, APRIL THE 20TH
From the early morning, all business except of the most imperative nature was absolutely suspended, the streets were thronged with a surging mass of people, and the national colors waved from every building. The inhabitants, with scarcely an exception, wore the national colors in some form-rosettes, badges, or improvised cockades. Union Square was a red, white and blue wonder; not only the adjacent hotels, the Clarendon, the Everett, the Union Place, and the Monument House, displayed national colors in profusion, but from nearly
6
every private house, from Spingler Institute, and from the Church of the Puritans, the flag of our Union waved proudly. Here, at three o'clock, more than one hundred thousand people gathered in the largest meeting ever held on this continent. Five stands had been erected under the direction of the gen- eral committee of citizens.
The Hon. John A. Dix presided over the vast assemblage, assisted by the following gentlemen :
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
Peter Cooper,
Greene C. Bronson,
W. B. Astor,
W. M. Evarts,
W. C. Bryant,
Pelatiah Perit,
George Bancroft,
John A. King,
James Boorman,
Stewart Brown,
John J. Phelps,
R. B. Minturn,
Henry Grinnell,
Moses Taylor,
O. D. F. Grant, Edwin Croswell,
L. G. B. C'annon,
Jno. D. Wolfe, Seth B. Hunt,
Frederick Bronson,
F. A. Conkling,
A. J. Williamson,
D. H. Arnold,
Edwin Dobbs,
Joseph Stuart,
R. H. McCurdy,
Jos. W. Alsop,
E. E. Morgan,
Wyllis Blackstone,
Nath. Hayden,
Chas. H. Russell,
Robert Ray,
John Lloyd, Benj. L. Swan,
Jno. C. Jones,
David Hoadley,
Robert J. Taylor, John Ewen,
Jas. A. Briggs,
Jolın D. Jones,
William C. Bryce,
Henry F. Vail,
A. B. Baylis,
Elnathan Thorn,
W. B. Maclay,
Fred Kapp,
Alexander Duncan,
George Folsom,
Andrew Carrigan,
A. C. Kingsland,
Isaac Ferris,
J. Auchincloss,
M. Franklin,
D. R. Martin,
Wm. Chauncey,
H. B. Claflin,
William Bryce,
A. S. Hewitt,
Peter Lorillard,
Erastus Brooks.
S. Livingston,
W. H. Osborn,
W. W. De Forest,
Anson Herrick,
Daniel Leroy,
S. L. Mitchill,
Chas. Christmas,
Charles A. Secor,
John T. Hoffman,
Luther Bradish,
Fernando Wood,
A. T. Stewart,
Morris Ketchum,
Jonathan Sturges,
S. B. Althause, Joseph Seligman, A. A. Vanderpoel, Theodore Fowler, Augustus Schell, William Hall, Hamilton Fish,
J. B. Varnum,
J. J. Astor.
W. E. Dodge,
Watts Sherman,
I. N. Phelps,
James Low,
7
SECRETARIES.
J. Smith Homans, J. T. Johnston,
D. D. Lord,
George A. Vogel,
Chas. B. Norton,
John Bigelow,
Sheppard Gandy,
C. H. Marshall, Jr.,
Fletcher Westray,
Jas. G. De Forest.
Stand No. 1 fronted the equestrian statue of Washington, on the eastern side of the park, and was in charge of Mr. R. H. MeCurdy.
Mr. Dix was accompanied by Major Robert Anderson, Sur- geon Crawford, Captains Doubleday and Foster, and Lieuten- ant Hall, who had arrived from Fort Sumter in the city the day before on the Baltic.
The Rev. Dr. Gardiner Spring, the venerable pastor of the Brick Church, opened the meeting with prayer. Mr. R. H. McCurdy introduced Mr. Dis as chairman, and nominated the vice-presidents and secretaries, whose names had been agreed upon by the general committee. After an address by Mr. Dix, the resolutions were read by Mr. McCurdy and unani- mously adopted. Speeches followed from the Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson, Senator Edward D. Baker, of Oregon, and the Hon. Robert J. Walker. A letter was read from Archbishop Hughes. Speeches followed from the Hon. Fernando Wood, Mayor of the city, ex-Governor Hunt, the Hon. R. C. Schenck, of Ohio, William M. Evarts, Simeon B. Chittenden, and Caleb Lyon, of Lyonsdale.
Stand No. 2 was in front of the Everett House, and in charge of Mr. Samuel Sloan. The proceedings were here opened with a prayer by the Rev. Dr. Vinton, of Trinity Church. The Hon. Hamilton Fish presided. The resolutions were read by Mr. William E. Dodge. Speeches were made by the Hon. John Cochrane, Mr. Wm. Ketchum, the Hon. Henry J. Raymond, Richard O'Gorman, Gen. Ira P. Davis, Professor Mitchell, Samuel Hotaling and Samuel Hallett.
Stand No. 3 was on the Broadway side of the Square, near
-
8
Seventeenth Street, and in charge of Mr. James A. Harrington. The Hon. Wm. F. Havemeyer presided. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Preston. Mr. Richard Warren read the list of vice-presidents and secretaries, and Mr. John C. Hamilton the resolutions. Speeches were made by David S. Codding- ton, Oswald Ottendorfer, Frederick Kapp, Ignatz Koch, Otto Sackersdorff, Gustav Schwab, Hugo Wesendonck and D. Snodgrass.
Stand No. 4 was on the Broadway side of the Square, facing Plymouth Church at Fifteenth Street, and in charge of Mr. Royal Phelps. Mr. Moses H. Grinnell presided. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Vermilye of the Collegiate Reformed Church. Mr. Edwards Pierrepont read the resolu- tions, and speeches were made by William Curtis Noyes, Sen- alor Spinola, David Dudley Field, W. J. A. Fuller and Theodore Tilton.
Stand No. 5 was on the eastern side of the Square, midway between the Washington Statue and the Everett House. Ex- Alderman Benson presided, and speeches were made by Col. Jos. B. Simpson and Messrs. Abbott Perkins, J. K. Furlong, H. S. Chittenden of Ohio, C. B. Hulshart and Edmond Blankman. During the progress of the meeting a telegraphic dispatch was read from Governor Morgan announcing that he had been en- abled to respond without delay to the requisition of the War Department and was prepared to meet further demands from the present organized military forces, at least until the volunteers could be got ready ; that he was in communication with the Sec- retary of War, and this enabled him to act in accordance with the wishes of the Federal authorities. A second dispatch from the Governor announced that orders had been received for four additional organized regiments and two of volunteers to proceed without delay and that Gen. Sandford had authority to charter the necessary steamers for that purpose. Major Anderson was escorted from stand to stand, and at each was received with
.
9
the greatest enthusiasm. A committee was appointed to re- crise funds in support of the public authorities. The assem- Mage did not disperse until nightfall.
On Sunday, April 21st, the three regiments to whom march- ing orders had been issued by General Sandford embarked on Heamers chartered for their conveyance to Washington. The attack on the Massachusetts troops and the burning of the bridges on the Baltimore road on the night of Friday, the 19th had determined the authorities at Washington upon a line of water transportation. The Sixth Regiment, Col. Pinckney, went on board the Ariel ; the Twelfth, Col. Butterfield, upon the Baltic, and the Seventy-first Regiment, Col. Vosburgh, on board the R. R. Cuyler. These, and numerous other vessels for the trans- portation of troops and material of war, had been chartered by a commissioner of the Federal Government. Fourteen were already provisioned and waiting orders. Each of these regi- ments was recruited to its full standard. All were fully armed, but less than one-half were uniformed, the ranks having been filled up by fresh recruits.
Governor Morgan, anxious for the safety of the national cap- ital, arrived in New York city early Monday morning to hasten the general movement. General Chester A. Arthur, of the Gov- ernor's staff, was appointed Assistant Quartermaster-General, established his quarters at the corner of White and Elm Streets on Monday morning, and was at once busily engaged with the nec- essary arrangements for the clothing, quartering, and provision- ing of the men. Four depots were opened for this service by this energetic officer. The general depot was in command of Brig .- General Charles Yates. A special order being issued by the Adjutant-General that one regiment of the First Division be en- camped on the Battery, to be followed by others in succession, General Sandford directed the Fifth Regiment to take post at that place, and authorized a requisition for ammunition. Dur- ing the day it was announced that New York city, besides being
10
the headquarters of the regular army of the United States, had also been designated as the headquarters of the Department of the East, and that Major-General John E. Wool, second in rank to Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, would take command. This department comprised all the country east of the Missis- sippi River. The general arrived in the city in the evening and took quarters at the St. Nicholas Hotel.
At ten o'clock (Monday) the Committee of Twenty-one, ordered by the great mass meeting held on Union Square on the 20th, met at the Chamber of Commerce and organized with the appointment of the Hon. John A. Dix as president, of Sim- eon Draper as vice-president, and Mr. William M. Evarts as secretary. The Mayor, the Comptroller, the President of the Board of Aldermen and the President of the Board of Council- men were added to the Committee. Messrs. Theodore Dehon and Augustus C. Richards, members of the original commit- tee appointed by the Chamber of Commerce to collect subscrip- tions, were also added. After selecting a sub-committee on organization, adjournment was made to the house of Mr., Dix at eight in the evening, when sub-committees were named. These were four in number-viz., an Executive Committee, a Committee on Correspondence and Publications, a Finance Committee, and a Committee on Collection and Subscription. At this meeting official communication was received from the Select Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, of which Mr. Prosper M. Wetmore was Secretary, declaring its intention, after completing the business before them, to merge itself in the Gen- eral Committee of Twenty-six.
The activity displayed by the Select Committee of the Cham- ber of Commerce appears in the record of the official proceed- ings of that body on the 2d May ; the next meeting: " Mr. Theodore Dehon, the Treasurer appointed to raise funds for the equipment of troops, reported that he had received .$115,853 ; of this sum $92,834 had been expended as directed, leaving a bal-
11
ance of $22,969, which had been transferred to the treasurer of the U'hion Defence Committee."
The Board of Aldermen and the Board of . Councilmen met on the evening of Monday, the 22d of April. Patriotic resolu- tions were adopted by the Board of Aldermen, and the sum of five hundred thousand dollars was appropriated for the relief of the families of volunteers to be expended under the direction of the Committee appointed at the Union Square meeting. The State authorities were authorized to erect barracks in the City Hall Park. The heads of departments and bureaus were authorized to continue on their pay-rolls all persons belonging to existing military organizations or volunteering for the de- fence of the country. A message was later laid before the Board of Aldermen from the Mayor, Fernando Wood, urging the im- mediate appropriation of one million dollars for the equipment and support of the volunteers, and suggesting that a tax be levied for the purpose.
The Board of Councilmen passed an ordinance appropriat- ing one million dollars for the equipment and outfit of the mili- tary force, to be paid by the Comptroller upon vouchers to be approved by a committee to be known as the " Union Defence Committee of the City of New York," consisting of the Mayor, Comptroller, Presidents of the Boards of the Common Council and the gentlemen appointed at the great Union meeting; bonds to be issued for the sums required to be designated " Un- ion Defence Fund Bonds of the City of New York."
The Aldermen's room was tendered for the sessions of the Committee.
By the foregoing it appears that it was by the letter of the ordinance which was adopted by the Board of Councilmen that the Committee of Twenty-six appointed at the Union Square Meeting of the 20th April, with the addition of the city authorities, received the name of " The Union Defence Com- mittee of the City of New York," a name and style adopted by
12
resolution of all the gentlemen named, on Tuesday the 23d instant.
Thus officially recognized the Committee entered carnestly upon its work. A circular was issued on the 24th by the Sub- Committee on Correspondence inviting co-operation from other organizations having a similar end in view, and information, advice or suggestions to advance the public interests. On the 25th notice was given of the organization of the Committee and of the establishment of permanent offices at No. 30 Pine Street. The Committee met daily at 12 M .; the offices were open from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. In addition the Executive Committee met daily at the Fifth Avenue Hotel at 8 P.M.
The State militia were rapidly moved forward by General Sandford. On Tuesday, the 23d April, the Sth Regiment, Colonel Lyons, and the 69th, Colonel Corcoran, sailed on the James Adger, this making six regiments of the First Division N. Y. S. M., all from New York City, dispatched since the receipt of the requisition from Washington. The same day the Marion sailed with the 13th N. Y. S. M., Col. Smith, and the 28th N. Y. S. M., Col. Bennett, both Brooklyn regiments. The same day, also, the 25th N. Y. S. M., from Albany, which had reached the city the day previous, was embarked on. the Parkersburg. The 5th N. Y. S. M., Colonel Schwarzwalder, was ordered to encamp on the Battery on the 25th. This regi- ment was essentially composed of Germans. The sum of $9,300 was already contributed by private subscription for their outfit and the support of their families. All these regi- ments except the 7th were mustered for three months' service. Meanwhile the enrollment of volunteers proceeded with activity. The 2d, 9th, 14th and 79th, all State regiments, volunteered for the war. Of these the 2d, Colonel Tompkins; the 9th, Colonel Stiles, and the 79th, Colonel Cameron, were New York City regiments and belonged to the First Division N. Y. S. M. The 14th, Colonel Wood, was a Brooklyn regiment and part of the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.