USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York, Vol. II > Part 21
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The campaign of 1862 opened brilliantly. Signal victories followed each other for month after month : in the West the fall of Forts Donelson and Henry, Nash-
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HISTORY OF THE
ville, Memphis and Corinth, and the battle of Pittsburg Landing ; on the coast, the successful expedition of Burnside ; and at the South, the capture of New Orleans, inspired the public with a belief that the war was fast advancing to a happy termination. Under the lead of her patriotic mayor, New York continued her contri- butions of men and money without stint, and by re- peated demonstrations manifested her fidelity to the Union cause. On the 14th of February, 1862, Mayor Opdyke issued a proclamation of congratulation on General Burnside's victory at Roanoke Island, and the other triumphs of the Union arms, and recommended that on the following day a hundred guns should be fired from the Battery and Madison Square, and the national flag displayed on the public and private build- ings. In accordance with the spirit of the times, the 22d of February was celebrated with unusual solenmity, and a mass meeting was held at the Cooper Institute.
On the 11th of April the mayor also issued a procla- mation of thanksgiving for the victory at Pittsburg Landing. Meanwhile the city exerted itself to aid the sick and wounded, and to provide for the families of the volunteers. An appropriation was made for a company of loyal refugees from Florida, who had been driven from their homes and reduced to utter destitu- tion. On the 2d of May, 1862, a Home for Sick and Wounded Soldiers, capable of accommodating four or five hundred patients, was opened by an association of ladies, headed by Mrs. Valentine Mott, in the building on the corner of Lexington Avenue and Fifty-first street, erected a few years before for an Infants' Home. Other similar institutions were opened ; among others.
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CITY OF NEW YORK.
Mount St. Vincent, in the Central Park. On the 18th of June the Common Council passed an ordinance appropriating five hundred thousand dollars for the relief of the families of volunteers.
After half a year of uninterrupted victory, the sea- son of reverses began. General MeClellan's campaign against Richmond, at the head of the Grand Army of the Potomac, from which so much had been expected, proved a failure, and the country was overshadowed with gloom. At this juncture, the Chamber of Com- merce met on the 7th of July, and passed an unani- mous resolution that a committee of five should be appointed, to meet similar committees from the Union Defence Committee and other loyal organizations, for the purpose of devising measures to sustain the Na- tional Government. This resolution was transmitted to the Common Council by Mayor Opdyke, with the recommendation that it should also pledge the people of the metropolis to the support of the government in the prosecution of the war and the maintenance of the national honor, and that a public meeting should be called, without distinction of party, to express the un- diminished confidence of the citizens in the justice of their cause, and their inflexible purpose to maintain it to the end, and to proffer to the government all the aid it might need, to the extent of their resources.
In August, General Corcoran was released from his thirteen months' imprisonment by the Richmond au- thorities, and was received with great enthusiasm, on the 22d of August, at Castle Garden, where he was met by the municipal authorities and addressed by the mayor. The rank of brigadier-general had been con-
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ferred on him by President Lincoln, in appreciation of his valor and sufferings. On the 27th inst. a great war-meeting was held in the City Hall Park, which was thronged to overflowing. Speeches were made by Mayor Opdyke, General Corcoran, and others, and it was resolved, as far as practicable, to close all places of business at 3 P. M. until the 13th of the ensuing September, in order to enable loyal citizens to carry forward volunteering, and to perfect themselves in mili- tary drill. To further this work, the Common Council passed an ordinance, which was approved by the mayor, offering fifty dollars bounty to each volunteer.#
This was an exciting epoch of the war. General Pope had concentrated a large force about Washington, and a decisive engagement was hourly expected. The crisis came ; and on the 30th of August the second disastrous battle of Bull Run was fought, followed shortly after by the Confederate advance into Mary- land. The battles of South Mountain and Antietam repelled the invaders, and another campaign against Richmond was undertaken, again without success. The battle of Fredericksburg closed the year disastrously. Yet, if less had been gained than the public had hoped,
* The following New York City Militia Regiments served for three months in 1862. See Report of County Volunteer Committee.
Regiments.
Commanders.
Left New York | No. of Men.
Seventh .
Col. Marshall Lefferts
May- 26
700
Eighth
" J. M. V.inn
=
29
820
Eleventh
" J.alem Maidhoff
28
630
Twelfth .
.:
Win. G. Ward
June 6
805
Thirty-seventh
" Chas. Roome .
May 29
600
Siviv-ninth .
James Bagley
30
1,000
Seventy-first
Henry P. Martin
.. 28
830
5,385
1
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CITY OF NEW YORK.
little had been lost. The whole coast, from Cape Henry to the Rio Grande, was occupied by the Union forces, with the exception of Charleston, Mobile, Savannah, and Wilmington, and a few unimportant places ; and the Northern Army was closing in upon the insurgent territory. During the year, New York City appropri- ated a million and a half of dollars for the relief of the families of volunteers. It was estimated that dur- ing the first two years of the war the people of the city had contributed to its support, in taxes, gratuities and loans to the government, not less than three hundred millions of dollars, and had furnished over eighty thou- sand volunteers .***
Yet the great metropolis did not flag beneath this heavy burden, but bore the load cheerfully and without complaint ; and on viewing the sacrifices which she readily imposed on herself-heavier, far, than were endured by any other city in the Union-we marvel that any one should dare to impugn her loyalty, or to judge her by the irresponsible masses that too often rule her elections.
The year 1863 was the turning-point of the conflict, and also the most eventful, if we except the brilliant succession of victories which marked its termination. The season opened gloomily ; although the area of the rebellion had been reduced, its spirit seemed more defiant than ever. The first great event of the year was the emancipation proclamation, which took effect on the 1st of January, and virtually blotted slavery from the soil of the republic. Some believed, and others doubted, in the efficacy of this act, which was not
* See Mayor Opdyke's Manual Message, January 1, 1803.
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HISTORY OF THE
at first followed by any brilliant results. The unanimity which had characterized the conflict in the beginning no longer prevailed ; a large party had been formed in the North which was anxious for peace at any price. This party exerted a powerful influence in New York City, which had become the centre of Southern immi- gration. It was confidently predicted that this city, the political complexion of which was so strongly dem- ocratie, would refuse to assist longer in prosecuting the war, and would openly declare in favor of peace. As the season waned, even the most stout-hearted lost courage, and wavered in their faith of ultimate success. The last State election had resulted in a triumph of the democratic party, and the governor was notoriously opposed to the war. Under these influences, a great mass meeting was held in New York, on the 3d of June, consisting of deputies from all parts of the State, where resolutions were passed denouncing the adminis- tration, and counselling compromises in order to obtain peace. This was not, however, the prevailing spirit among the citizens, who, in contradistinction, held war meetings, formed patriotic organizations, and left noth- ing undone to support the administration. Foremost among these was the Union League Club, which was formed on the broad basis of unqualified loyalty to the government of the country, and unswerving support of its efforts for the suppression of the rebellion, and which embraced in its ranks almost every prominent loyalist in the city. The history of the Union League Club is the history of New York patriotism. We shall have occasion to recur again to this great institution; it suffices to say here that from its organization in 1863,
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CITY OF NEW YORK.
to the present time, it has been untiring in its efforts to secure the triumph of the right, and to uproot the causes of strife.
One of the most remarkable outgrowths of the Union League Club was the Loyal Publication Society, which played so important a part in the great struggle, that a sketch of its rise and progress will not be inappropriate in this connection.
As we have already said, the year 1863 opened gloomy and beset with difficulties. It is now an ad- mitted historical fact, that a vast conspiracy-" The " Knights of the Golden Circle " -- was laboring in the West to carry the people of that mighty region into the rebellion of the South. In the East a powerful faction poisoned the public mind, not only by the regular action of the press, but also by the working of a society, organized at New York, which, under the euphonious name of "The Society for the Diffusion of Political "Knowledge," preached disloyalty and hostility to all the measures of the goverment.
It was under these circumstances that William T. Blodgett, one of the most zealous patriots of New York, met at Washington, in the beginning of February, the secretaries of war and of the navy, the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton and the Hon. Gideon Welles, as well as the speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Schuyler Colfax. These gentlemen consulted about the means of counteracting the efforts made by the Northern allies of the Southern goverment. Immedi- ately after his return to New York, Mr. Blodgett invited a mumber of loyal and devoted citizens to a consultation about the organization of a society such as
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HISTORY OF THE
had been suggested in the interview which had taken place at Washington. This initiatory step speedily led to the wished-for result. On the evening of the 14th of February, 1863, at a meeting held at the house of Charles Butler, the Loyal Publication Society was or- ganized.
Charles King was unanimously elected permanent president, and John Austin Stevens, Jr., permanent secretary.
The following resolution was unanimously adopted as the fundamental law :
" Resolved, That the object of this organization is "and shall be confined to the distribution of journals and "documents of unquestionable and unconditional loyalty "throughout the United States, and particularly in the "armies now engaged in the suppression of the rebellion, "and to counteract, as far as practicable, the efforts now "being made by the enemies of the government and the "advocates of a disgraceful Peace, to circulate journals "and documents of a disloyal character."
Eighty prominent citizens subscribed for the neces- sary funds, and the Society at once began its patriotic work. The number of subscribers rapidly increased to 171, and the money contributed in the second year amounted to $11,620.94.
The Society held its first anniversary meeting on February 13, 1864. Mr. King resigned as president on account of continued ill-health, and Dr. Francis Lieber was unanimously elected in his place. Mr. John Austin Stevens had tendered his resignation as permanent secretary, but was unanimously re-elected. Both these gentlemen were continued in their functions until the
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CITY OF NEW YORK.
final dissolution of the Society. Among the most active members of the Society are to be mentioned Messrs. Morris Ketchum, Charles Butler, George Griswold, Charles HI. Marshall, James McKaye, Jackson S. Schultz, C. G. Detmold, T. B. Coddington, LeGrand B. Cannon, George P. Putnam, Wm. P. Blodgett, Sinclair Tousey, George Cabot Ward, T. Butler Wright, Grosvenor Lowrey, Fred. Schutz, W. C. Church and Charles Astor Bristed.
The Society published in the first year 43 pamphlets, containing 720 pages of printed matter. The total number of the documents was 400,000, at a cost of $10,211.46. The pamphlets published by the Society were distributed in every accessible State. Between the 23d of February and the 4th of April, 1863, there were sent to Washington, for distribution to the Army of the Rappahammock, 36,000 journals and publications. Mr. Robert Dale Owen's "Future of the Northwest" was the powerful and effective reply to the insidious efforts of the conspirators of the "Golden Circle."
In April, 1863, a plan was submitted to the Society to aid in the establishment of an "Army and Navy "Journal " on principles of unconditional loyalty. Under the auspices of the Loyal Publication Society of New York, aided by that of New England, and the Union League Club of Philadelphia. this well-known and de- serving journal was established in New York, under the direction of Captain W. C. Church. Soon there came from many parts of the country the warmest expres- sions of thanks to the Loyal Publication Society for the great service rendered to the cause of the Union and Liberty.
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HISTORY OF THE
During the second year the Society published 33 pamphlets, containing 637 pages of printed matter, and distributed them all over the country and to the armies, in 470,000 copies. A great number of them was sent to England, France, and other European countries, where they helped the noble friends of our cause to dispel the clouds of errors, prejudices and evil passions raised by the emissaries of the Confederate govern- ment and its aiders and abettors.
On the second anniversary meeting of the Society the following addition was made to the declaration of the object of the Loyal Publication Society :
"By the dissemination, North and South, of well- "considered information and principles, to aid the "national government in the suppression and final ex- "tinction of slavery, by amendment to the Constitution " of the United States, to reconcile the master and slave "to their new and changed conditions, and so to adjust "their interests that peace and harmony may soon pre- "vail, and the nation, repairing the ravages of war, "enter upon a new, unbroken career of liberty, justice "and prosperity."
During the third year of its operation the Loyal Publication Society issued only ten pamphlets, but these formed a substantial volume of 526 pages.
The complete overthrow of the rebellion led several of the most active and influential members of the Society to think the mission of that organization fulfilled. Hence at the third anniversary meeting, held on February 27, 1866, at the rooms of the Society, the following motion was made and unanimously adopted : " In the opinion of this Society, the condition of the
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CITY OF NEW YORK.
"country no longer calls for the active labors of this "Society as an independent organization."
The president, Dr. Francis Lieber, addressed some deeply felt and impressive remarks to the members present, and adjourned the Society sine die, with the words : God save the Great Republic! God protect our Country !
The property, stereotype plates and effects of the Loyal Publication Society were transferred to the Union League Club of New York.
The Loyal Publication Society of New York has been the worthy twin-sister of the Sanitary Commission ; the latter took care of the bodies of our patriotic soldiers, the former administered salutary remedies to many an infected mind.
The documents published by that patriotic Society are now eagerly sought for by historians and public libraries .*
* The following list of the publications issued by the Loyal Publication Society during its existence will indicato its scope and spirit, and is a valuable historical record:
No. 1. Future of the Northwest. By Robert Dule Owen.
2. Echo from the Army. Extracts from Letters of Soldiers.
3. Union Mass Meeting, Cooper Institute, March 6, 1863. Speeches of Brady, Van Buren, &a.
4. Three Voices: the Soldier, Farmer and Poet.
5. Voices from the Army. Letters and Resolutions of Soldiers.
6. Northern True Men. Addresses of Connecticut Soldiers-Extraets from Richmond Journals.
7. Speech of Major-General Butler. Academy of Music, New York, April 2, 1863.
8. Separation; War without End. Edl. Laboulaye.
9. The Venom and the Antidote. Copperhead Declarations. Soldiers' Letters.
10. A few Words in Behalf of the Loyal Women of the United States. By One of Themselves. Mrs. C. M. Kirkland.
11. No Failure for the North. Atlantic Monthly.
12. Address to King Cotton .. Eugene Pelletan ..
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HISTORY OF THE
Most of the great national benevolent organizations, indeed, had their rise in New York City. The United States Sanitary Commission, that noble instrument of good, was in some sort an outgrowth, as we have already stated, of the Woman's Central Relief Association, formed in New York in April, 1861, and was first sug-
No. 13. How a Free People conduct a long War. Stille.
14. The Preservation of the Union a National Economic Necessity.
15. Elements of Discord in Secessia. By William Alexander, Esq., of Texas.
16. No Party now, but all for our Country. Francis Lieber.
17. The Cause of the War .. Col. Charles Anderson.
18. Opinions of the early Presidents and of the Fathers of the Republic upon Slavery, and upon Negroes as Men and Soldiers.
19. Ginbeit und Freiheit, von Dermann Hafter.
20. Military Despotism! Suspension of the Ilabeas Corpus! &c.
21. Letter addressed to the Opera-llouse Meeting, Cincinnati. By Col. Charles Anderson.
22. Emancipation is Peace, By Robert Dule Owen.
23. Letter of Peter Cooper on Slave Emancipation.
24. Patriotismn. Sermon by the Rev. Jos. Fransiola, of St. Peter's (Catholic) Church, Brooklyn.
25. The Conditions of Reconstruction. By Robert Dale Owen.
26. Letter to the President. By Gen. A. J. Hamilton, of Texas.
27. Nullification and Compromise: a Retrospective View. By John Mason Williams,
28. The Death of Slavery. Letter from Peter Cooper to Gov. Seymour.
29. Slavery Plantations und tho Yeomanry. Francis Lieber.
30. Rebel Conditions of Peace. Extracts from Richmond Journals.
31. Address of the Loyal Leagues, Utica, October 20, 1863.
32. War Power of the President-Summary Imprisonment. By J. Heermans.
33. The Two Ways of Treason.
34. The Monroe Doctrine. By Edward Everett, &c.
35 The Arguments of Secessionists. Francis Lieber.
36. Prophecy and Fulfilment. Letter of A. H. Stephens-Address of E. W. Gantt.
37. How the South Rejected Compromise, &c. Speech of Mr. Chase in Peace Conference of 1861.
38. Letters on our National Struggle. By Brigadier-General Thomas Francis Meagher.
39. Bible View of Slavery, by John II. Hopkins, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Vermont. . Examined by Henry Drisler.
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CITY OF NEW YORK.
gested by Henry W. Bellows, D.D., W. H. Van Buren, M.D., and Jacob Harsen, M.D., all representatives of this and kindred associations of New York, who, on the 18th of May, 1861, addressed the secretary of war, recommending the formation of an organization of this kind. The Commission was duly authorized on the 9th
No. 40. The Conscription Act: a Series of Articles. By Geo. B. Butler, N. Y.
41. Réponse de MM. De Gasparin, Laboulaye, &c.
42. Reply of Messrs. Gasparin, Laboulaye, and others.
43. Antwort ber Derren De Gasparin, Laboulaye, Martin, Cochin, an bie Loyal National League.
44. Proceedings of First Anniversary Meeting of the Loyal Publication Society, February 13, 1864.
45. Finances and Resources of the United States. By II. G. Stebbins.
46. Ilow the War Commenced. From Cincinnati Duily Commercial.
47. Result of Serf Emancipation in Russia.
48. Resources of the United States. By S. B. Ruggles.
49. Patriotic Songs. A collection by G. P. Putnam.
50. The Constitution Vindicated. James A. Hamilton.
51. No Property in Man. Charles Sumner.
52. Rebellion, Slavery and Peace. N. G. Upham.
53. How the War Commeneed. (German Translation for the South.) By Dr. F. Schutz.
54. Our Burden and Our Strength. David A. Wells.
55. Emancipated Slave and His Master. (German Translation.) By Dr. F. Schulz, for the Society.
56. The Assertions of'n Secessionist. Alex. H. Stephens.
57. Growler's Income Tax. By T. S. Arthur, Philadelphia.
58. Emancipated Slave and his Master. James McKaye, L. P. S.
59. Lincoln or Mcclellan. (German.) By Francis Lieber.
60. Peace through Victory. (Sermon.) By Rev. J. P. Thompson.
61. Sherman vs. Hood. Broadside. By the Secretary.
62. The War for the Union. By William Swinton.
63. Letter on MeClellan's Nomination. Hon. Gerrit Smith.
64. Letters of Loyal Soldiers. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4. By the Secretary.
65. Submissionists and their Record. Parts I and 2. By the Secretary.
66. Coercion Completed, or Ticason Triumphant. By John C. Hamilton. 67. Lincoln or MeClelian. (English.) By Francis Lieber.
08. The Cowaras' Convention. By Charles Astor Bristed.
69. WLom do the English with Elected? By Frederick Milne Edge.
70. Collection of Letters from Europe. By G. P. Putnam, L. P. S.
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of June, 1861, with the Rev. Dr. Bellows as president. It speedily extended its ramifications over the whole country, and proved an indescribable blessing to the soldiers.
The United States Christian Commission was also organized in New York, at a Convention of the Young Men's Christian Associations, held on the 16th Novem- ber, 1861. This association, which was designed to promote the physical comfort and spiritual welfare of the soldiers, was an instrument of great usefulness dur- ing the war. Another most important organization was the United States Union Commission, which was organ- ized in 1864, under the auspices of the Rev. Dr. Joseph P. Thompson, of New York, for the purpose of reliev- ing the necessities of the destitute refugees from the South, and which has since united with the Freedmen's Commission. Besides these great national organiza-
No. 71. Lincoln or MeClellan. (Dutch Translation.)
72. Address of Dr. Schutz, at Philadelphia, October 5, 1865.
73. Address of N. G. Taylor on Loyalty and Sufferings of East Tennessee.
74. The Slave Power. By J. C. Hamilton.
75. The Great Issue. Address by John Jay.
76. Narrative of Sufferings of U. S. Prisoners of War in the hands of Rebel Authorities. By U. S. Sanitary Commission.
77. Address on Secession Delivered by Dr. Licher in South Carolina in 1851.
78. Report of the Society.
79. Letter on Amendments of the Constitution. By Francis Lieber.
80. America for Free Working Men. By C. Nordhoff.
81. General MeClellan's Campaign. By F. J1. Edge.
82. Speech ou Reconstruction By Hon. Win. D. Kelley.
83. Amendments of the Constitution By Francis Lieber.
84. Crimes of the South. By W. W. Broom ..
85. Lineolu's Life and its Lessous. By Reo. J. P. Thompson, D. D.
86. National Systemo of Education. Dy Rev .. Charles Brooks.
87. Gasparin's Letter to President Johnson, Translated by Mary. L. Booth.
83. Memorial Service for Three Hundred Thousand Union Soldiers, with : Communerative Discourse. By J s. l. Thompson, D. D.
.
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CITY OF NEW YORK.
tions, numberless minor associations were formed for the relief of the soldiers. In July, 1863, a State Sol- diers' Depot was established in Howard street, which was endowed by the State, and which combined a sol- diers' home, hospital, and reading-room. This institu- tion had agents on all the railroad trains, whose duty it was to protect the soldiers from wrong, and to look after the sick and wounded. A Soldiers' Rest was established in Fourth Avenue, near the railroad depots on the corner of Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh streets, under the auspices of the Union League Club, where soldiers arriving in and leaving the city were provided for during their temporary stay. At No. 194 Broadway were the rooms of the New England Soldiers' Relief Association, which was organized in 1862 for the especial benefit of the soldiers from New England, but which opened its doors to all without distinction. But even to catalogue all the noble associations that sprung up in New York City through public and private enter- prise, would fill a volume ; and as we have before remarked, we cannot in this brief sketch undertake to do justice to the patriotism of New York City, but only to chronicle some of the most striking examples thereof. We should not omit mention, however, of a movement which was set on foot about the same time to discour- age the importation of goods during the war, and thus prevent specie from leaving the country. For this end, a large meeting of the women of New York was held at the Cooper Institute, where great numbers pledged themselves to purchase no articles except those of home manufacture, save in cases of absolute necessity, until peace should be declared.
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