USA > New York > New York City > The Memorial History of the City of New York: From Its First Settlement to the Year 1892, Volume III > Part 52
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1 This superb mansion, on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-fourth street, at the foot of Murray Hill, was erected by Alexander T. Stewart, the millionaire New-York merchant. It is built of white marble, and is inclosed by a heavy coping and railing of the same material. The first story has marble floors, and an extension on the
north side was used as a picture-gallery. The staircases are also of marble, and the ceilings are very lofty. At the time of its erection it was the fin- est private residence in the country. Mr. Stewart lived here until his death, April 10, 1876, and the property was finally sold in 1891 to the Manhat. tan Club, which now occupies it. EDITOR.
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NEW-YORK IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION
a government that would protect the rights and foster healthy progress; they provided for frequent elections and a legal method of amending the Constitution, thereby ren- dering resistance to the laws, or revolution against the Government, not only unne- cessary, but morally and legally criminal. Notwithstanding this wise and equitable method of correcting mistakes in policy, improving the laws, or altering the compact by peaceful means, misguided men have fomented passion and prejudice to such a de- gree that it has ripened into treason and rebellion, so that our once prosperous nation trembles to its center. The delusion, dream, and empty hope that the war clouds that skirted the southern horizon might pass away has failed, and the dreaded catastrophe of an armed conflict is upon us. The time has come when political differences should give way to a patriotism which knows no party but our country, recognizes no revolu- tion but through the ballot-box, and acknowledges no man as brother who refuses allegiance to the Government. All good citizens who prize liberty with order, over usurpation and anarchy, are invited to assemble in mass convention, to give expres- sion to the views of the City of New-York in the present emergency.
That the government was fully altve to the gravity of the situation may be seen from the language of Mr. Stanton in a letter to General Dix : " If there be any remedy,-any shadow of hope to preserve this government from utter and hopeless extinction,-it must come from New-York without delay."
On Saturday, April 20, at three o'clock P. M., with the peril of the nation fresh in their minds, more than one hundred thousand people assembled in "mass convention" at Union Square. The meet- ing was presided over by the Hon. John A. Dix, with eighty-seven vice- presidents selected from the solid men of the community.1 Burning words by great orators sank deep into the hearts of the people. The heroes of Sumter appeared for a moment at each of the several stands, and were received with shouts of welcome. Among those who exhorted
1 Vice-presidents of the mass meeting, April 20, 1861:
Peter Cooper
S. Livingston W. W. DeForest
A. B. Baylis Frederick Kapp
E. D. Morgan
George Bancroft
Daniel Leroy
Andrew Carrigan
John Lloyd Benjamin L. Swan
Henry Grinnell
Charles A. Secor
William Chauncey
Robert J. Taylor John Ewen
W. E. Dodge
Luther Bradish
A. S. Hewitt
Erastus Brooks William C. Bryce
L. G. B. Cannon Frederick Bronson D. H. Arnold R. H. M'Curdy
Greene C. Bronson
W. H. Osborn Anson Herrick
Alexander Duncan
Wyllis Blackstone
John J. Phelps
J. B. Varnum
H. B. Claflin
John C. Jones
Moses Taylor Watts Sherman
John T. Hoffman Fernando Wood
S. B. Althause
Isaac N. Phelps
John D. Wolfe
Jonathan Sturgis
Joseph Seligman
James A. Briggs
F. A. Conkling
William B. Astor Pelatiah Perit James Boorman
Theodore Fowler Augustus Schell William Hall
George Folsom
Nathaniel Hayden
R. B. Minturn
Isaac Ferris
Robert Ray
Hamilton Fish
D. R. Martin
David Headley
O. D. F. Grant Edwin Croswell
A. T. Stewart
William Bryce
James Low
Seth B. Hunt
John J. Astor
Peter Lorillard
John D. Jones
A. T. Williamson
Secretaries :
J. Smith Homans George A. Vogel
Sheppard Gandy J. T. Johnson
Charles B. Norton C. H. Marshall, Jr. Fletcher Westray
James G. DeForest Daniel D. Lord
John Bigelow
.
Joseph Stuart
W. M. Evarts
Stewart Brown
Charles Christmas
J. Auchincloss
Elnathan Thorne
W. C. Bryant
John A. King
S. L. Mitchill
A. C. Kingsland M. Franklin
Chas. H. Russell
W. Z. Maclay
Edwin Dobbs Joseph W. Alsop
A. A. Vanderpool
Henry S. Vail
Morris Ketchum
488
HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
the people to gird up their loins for the coming struggle was a sena- tor from the Pacific coast, whose eloquence was only equaled by his fame as a soldier. The gallant Baker- the Patrick Henry of his day - spoke as one who had the courage of his convictions. He had led a New-York regiment to the gates of the city of Mexico, and within a few weeks was destined to fall in action upon the bloody and disas- trous field of Ball's Bluff. But in 1861 there was but little thought of the morrow. Every other man was about to become a soldier, with a soldier's light-heartedness, satisfaction with the present, and hope- fulness for the future. And so the "darling Seventh," the " steady Twelfth," the "gay Seventy-first," "the Highlanders," and " the rol- licking Sixty-ninth" marched down Broadway, amid volleys of applause and miles of waving flags, to save the country.
If the impending calamity of civil war found the government of the United States in a state of transition as regarded its personnel, it was met by New-York with all the firmness and ability of a substantial State administration and the strength of a patriotic majority in the city. At Albany that sterling citizen, Governor Edwin D. Morgan, stood ready to second the new president; he was aided in matters of detail by an efficient staff, of which Chester A. Arthur-the future chief magistrate-was an excellent type. In the metropolis municipal affairs were directed partly by officials who could not grasp great na- tional issues, but contented themselves with the preservation of local order.1 The men of power and influence in the community, with true public spirit and patriotic impulse, rose en masse, and, exercising a characteristic American talent for organization, put themselves di- rectly in touch with the federal executive. Through the channels of trade, manufactures, and the learned professions, popular subscrip- tions were made to a fund for the equipment and temporary subsis- tence of troops hastening to the defense of the capital. In an incon- ceivably short time an immense sum of money was placed at the government's disposal, and the tramp of the Union legions was heard from Maine to California .? Among individuals who devoted them-
1 MAYOR'S OFFICE, NEW-YORK, April 15, 1861. To the People of the City of New- York : As Chief Magistrate, representing the whole people, I feel compelled at this crisis to call upon them to avoid excitement and turbulence. Whatever may be or may have been individual positions or opin- ion on questions of public policy, let us remember that our country now trembles upon the brink of a precipice, and that it requires a patriotic and honest effort to prevent its final destruction. Let us ignore the past, rising superior to partizan considerations, and rally to the restoration of the Constitution and the Union as they existed in the days and in the spirit of our fathers. Whether this is to be accomplished by fratricidal warfare or by concession, conciliation, and sacrifice, men
may differ, but all will admit that here at least harmony and peace should prevail. Thus may we, under the guidance of Divine Providence, set an example of peace and good will throughout our extended country. In this spirit and with this view, I call upon the people of New-York, irrespective of all other considerations or preju- dices, to unite in obedience to the laws, in sup- port of the public peace, in the preservation of order, and in the protection of property.
(Signed) FERNANDO WOOD, Mayor.
" The "New-York Herald," April 29, 1861, makes up a table of voluntary contributions by cities, counties, and individuals in the North, "all $1000 or over, which sum up to $11,230,000, of which New-York city gives $2,155,000, and the New-York
489
NEW-YORK IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION
selves faithfully to the Union cause was the well-known Thurlow Weed. Famous as a political leader, he now came to the front as a philanthropist and counselor. He has left behind him interesting memoirs of the war time, which show how important were the ser- vices of men like Weed, Simeon Draper, and Henry W. Bellows, who, without glittering insignia or martial title, labored early and late for the cause, furnishing "Vic- tuals," "Armour," and the "Sinewes of Warre." An example may here be related. Mr. Weed was summoned to the White House from New-York by a telegram dated February 18, 1863. On the following day he called on President Lincoln, who said: "Mr. Weed, we are in a tight place. Money for legitimate purposes is needed im- mediately; but there is no appropria- tion from which it can be lawfully taken. I did n't know how to raise it, and so I sent for you." "How much is required ?" asked Mr. Weed. "Fifteen thousand dollars," said the Julia & Tyler President. "Can you get it ?" "If you must have it at once, give me two lines to that effect." Mr. Lincoln turned to his desk and wrote a few lines on a slip of paper. Handing it to Mr. Weed, he said, " Will that do ?" "It will," said Mr. Weed; "the money will be at your disposal to-morrow morning." On the next train Mr. Weed left Washington, and before five o'clock that
State legislature $3,000,000 more. And all this has been subscribed since the fifteenth of April. "Of sums below a thousand dollars subscribed by private individuals, and of which no mention is made in this statement, it is no exaggeration to set down the aggregate at $5,000,000. If we take the average expenditure of each volunteer of the 250,000 men who are now drilling and under arms in the free States at $10, it will give us a further amount of $2,500,000. Besides these suis we may put down $5,000,000 more for the contributions made by families toward the more comfortable outfit and equipment of such of their members as have taken up arms in defense of the national flag, and of casual sums given on the spur of the moment to applicants needing aid, in rifles, money, or clothing, and of which no notice has been taken, the total is probably not far short of another $5,000,000. These different sums foot up: Contributions of $1000 and upward, $11,230,000; contributions below $1000, $5,000,000; expenditure of volunteers ($10 each), $2,500,000; contributions of families to outfit, $5,000,000; casual contribu- tions in money and clothing, $5,000,000; total,
$28,730,000, making an aggregate of nearly $29,- 000,000 spontaneously donated to the government in less than a fortnight.
"Thirteen banks of the city of New-York con- tributed nearly half a million of dollars for the de- fense of the government. Added to the previous subscription of $250,000 by the Broadway Bank, these contributions amount, thus far, to $715,000, divided as follows : Bank of Commerce, T. A. Stevens, president, $100,000; New-York Exchange Bank, S. Van Duzer, president, $10,000; Mechan- ics' Bank, S. Knapp, president, $25,000; National Bank, J. Gallatin, president, $25,000 ; Merchants' Bank, A. E. Silliman, president, $25,000; Man- hattan Bank, J. M. Morrison, president, $25,000; Bank of the Republic, E. H. Lowry, cashier, $60,000; Phoenix Bank, M. P. Bryson, cashier, $25,000; Bank of New-York, A. P. Halsey, presi- dent, $50,000; Bank of North America, J. Sey- mour, president, $20,000; Bank of America, J. Punnell, president, $50,000; Bank of the State of New-York, R. Withers, president, $25,000; Shoe and Leather Bank, A. V. Stone, president, $25,000; Broadway Bank, $250,000; total, $715,000."
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
afternoon the slip of paper which he carried in his pocket presented this appearance :
WASHINGTON, February 19, 1863.
Mr. Weed -The matters I spoke to you about are important. I hope you will not neglect them. Truly yours, A. LINCOLN.
Charles Knapp.
$1000.
Novelty Iron Works, Horace Allen,
Marshall O. Roberts
1000.
Pres't. . 1000.
Alexander T. Stewart.
1000.
James I. Sanford 1000.
Isaac Bell
1000.
Spofford & Tileston
1000.
William H. Aspinwall 1000.
John F. Winslow.
1000.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
1000.
Secor & Co. 1000.
James Mitchell
1000.
P. S. Forbes. 1000.
H. B. Cromwell
1000. Russell Sturgis and H. W. Hubbell. 1000.
One of the most important and immediate results of the popular agitation following the fall of Sumter was the organization of the "Union Defense Committee of the City of New-York." It comprised some of the most prominent men in trade and the learned profes- sions.1 It became the almoner of the municipality for the emergency, and a veritable Aladdin's lamp through which, at a touch, regiments were armed, equipped, and transported to the nearest rendezvous; steamers of the largest size were chartered as transports, or, in some cases, as additions to the naval forces of the United States. The local facilities, the business training, and the unlimited credit of the com- mittee, combined with a loyal enthusiasm, accomplished wonders. Nor was this patriotic zeal without its embarrassments. The committee, having turned on the stream of aid and comfort, undertook, in some cases, to direct the war department in its use, to urge the president to greater haste in crushing the rebellion, and inadvertently to usurp the executive functions of the governor. The federal authorities de- clined to move with undue haste, but their determination was con- veyed to the committee in a way to strengthen rather than to impair the good feeling which it was important to maintain between the Union people and the government. Thenceforward their relations were mutually satisfactory.2 The Union Defense Committee was or-
1 The original members of the Union Defense Committee were: John A. Dix, chairman; Simeon Draper, vice chairman ; William M. Evarts, secre- tary ; Theodore Dehon, treasurer; Moses Taylor, Richard M. Blatchford, Edwards Pierrepont, Alex- ander T. Stewart, Samuel Sloan, John Jacob As- tor, John J. Cisco, James S. Wadsworth, Isaac Bell, James Boorman, Charles H. Marshall, Robert H. M'Curdy, Moses H. Grinnell, Royal Phelps, William E. Dodge, Greene C. Bronson, Hamilton Fish, William F. Havemeyer, Charles H. Russell, James T. Brady, Rudolph A. Witthaus, Abiel A. Low, Prosper M. Wetmore, A. C. Richards; the Mayor, the Comptroller, the Presidents of the Boards of Aldermen and Councilmen.
2 "With a generous frankness, which confers honor upon the stations which they fill, the chief executive officers of the national government and the distinguished commanding general of the army have been pleased to say that the safety of the national capital and the preservation of the archives of the government at a moment when both were seriously menaced, may fairly be attrib- uted to the prompt and efficient action of the State and City of New-York, united with the vig- orous efforts of the noble Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts, devoted to the same patriotic objects." Report of Simeon Draper to Union Defense Com- mittee.
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NEW-YORK IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION
ganized April 22, 1861, and adjourned sine die April 30, 1862. During that period it disbursed more than a million dollars for the benefit of New-York volunteers and the support of soldiers' widows and orphans.
Soon after General Scott's retirement from active service, a delega- tion from the Union Defense Committee, headed by the Hon. Hamil- ton Fish, called upon the old hero at the Brevoort House to present an address embodying the sentiments of love and respect which all Americans, and especially the citizens of New-York, entertained for him. Judge Edwards Pierrepont also made appropriate remarks, comprising this extract: "The advents of true patriots and great men are always separated by long intervals of years; but few have ever appeared; and in the whole circuit of the sun, scarce one who had the courage to resign his power until death called for his crown, his scepter, or his sword. It will be the crowning glory of your hon- ored life, that after remaining at the soldier's post until all imminent danger was over, . . . you had the wisdom from on high to retire at the fitting hour, and thus to make the glories of your setting sun ineffably more bright for the radiant luster which they shed upon the young and dawning hope of your beloved land. .. . "
On the seventeenth of April, Major-General Sandford, commanding the First Division N. G. S. N. Y., received orders from Albany "to de- tail one regiment of eight hundred men, or two regiments amounting to the same number, for immediate service." The detail fell to the Seventh Regiment, and on Friday, the nineteenth, at 3 P. M., it marched down Broadway with nine hundred and ninety-one men, bound for the capital of the nation. More than three months pre- viously the regimental board of officers had "resolved that, should the exigency arise, we feel confident in having the Commandant ex- press to the Governor of the State the desire of this regiment to perform such duty as he may prescribe."1
The march to Cortlandt street was in the nature of a triumphal pageant. The entire city was present to wish the first regiment of the first city in the land God-speed. One who marched with the Seventh that day' afterward wrote, "Was there ever such an ovation ? When Trajan returned conqueror, dragging barbaric kings at his chariot wheels, Rome vomited its people into the streets, and that glorious column that will ever be immortal was raised. But what greeted the Emperor at his outset? The marble walls of Broadway were never before rent with such cheers as greeted us when we passed. The facades of the buildings were so thick with people that
1 General Scott wrote from Washington, Jan- uary 19, 1861, to Major-General Sandford, with regard to this resolution : " Perhaps no regiment or company can be brought here from a distance without producing hurtful jealousies in this vi-
cinity. If there be an exception, it is the Seventh Infantry of the City of New-York, which has be- come somewhat national, and is held, deservedly, in the highest respect."
2 Fitz-James O'Brien.
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
it seemed as if an army of black ants were marching, after their re- sistless fashion, through the city, and had scaled the houses. Hand- kerchiefs fluttered in the air like myriads of white butterflies. An avenue of brave, honest faces smiled upon us as we passed, and sent a sunshine into our hearts that lives there still."
If in these days of militia reform the Seventh maintains its su- premacy, in those times of local train-bands, when military efficiency of State troops was the exception, the regiment was, indeed, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of its countrymen. Its suc- cessful movement to the defense of Washington, by way of Anna- polis, under the wise leadership of Colonel Lefferts, is a matter of history. It will, perhaps, never be known how much those "one thousand of the flower of the city of New-York " contributed by their presence to save the capital from hostile occupation. It was suffi- cient that President Lincoln could Ach London announce that "the Seventh Regi- ment and the Massachusetts Regi- ment are now in Washington. There was great need of re-enforce- ments, but Washington may be considered safe for the country and the Constitution." 1
While the Seventh was setting out on its mission of succor, other regiments were busily engaged in preparation for the march. The next day the Sixth, Twelfth, and Seventy-first regiments of the militia embarked for Fortress Monroe, and on April 23, the Eighth, Thirteenth, Twenty-eighth, and Sixty-ninth2 took up the route for Washington. 1 WAR DEPARTMENT, A. G. O., S. O. 36: WASHINGTON, May 30, 1861.
The commanding officer of the Seventh Regi- ment of New-York Militia will proceed with his regiment to the city of New-York, where it will be mustered out of the service of the United States by Lieutenant Milton Cogswell, Eighth Infantry. It is the desire of the War Depart- ment, in relinquishing the services of this gallant regiment, to make known the satisfaction that is felt at the prompt and patriotic manner in which it responded to the call for men to defend the Capital when it was believed to have been in peril, and to acknowledge the important service it ren- dered by appearing here in an hour of dark and trying necessity. The time for which it had en- gaged to serve has now expired. The service which it was expected to perform has been handsomely
accomplished, and its members may return to their native city with the assurance that its services are gratefully appreciated by all good and loyal citi- zens, while the Government is equally confident that when the country again calls upon them, its appeal will not be made in vain to the young men of New-York. By order, L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General.
To COLONEL LEFFERTS, Commanding 7th Regt., Camp Cameron.
2 " The N. Y. Sixty-ninth (Irish) regiment, for re- fusing to turn out on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales, was deprived of its colors. Though never actually disbanded, it had not since been doing duty. While occupied in getting other regiments off, Colonel Michael Corcoran brought me a letter of introduction from Archbishop
493
NEW-YORK IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION
All were escorted to the transports by throngs of excited citizens, many of whom were sending their sons to battle for the right as they saw it. Everywhere in the North there was a grim determination to uphold "the old flag" and support the president to that end. Never- theless, the course of the federal authorities in not at once opening the usual route, by way of Baltimore, brought out an indignant re- monstrance from certain impatient patriots. Their views were set forth in an "open letter" addressed to the president and signed by George Law, a wealthy contractor and ship-owner. It read as follows:
The public mind is already excited to the highest point that this state of affairs has been so long tolerated; and the people are determined that free and uninter- rupted communication with the seat of government shall be immediately estab- lished, not by circuitous routes, but by the direct lines of communication that they have heretofore traveled over, and it is demanded of the government that they at once take measures to open and establish those lines of communication, and that they protect and preserve them from any further interruption. Unless this is done, the people will be compelled to take it into their own hands, let the consequences be what they may, and let them fall where they will. It is certainly most desirable that this be done through the regularly constituted authorities at Washington; and the gov- ernment is earnestly requested to act without delay.
The Union Defense Committee also advised the president (April 21) that -"On behalf of the Committee of the Citizens charged with the due attention to public interests, and invested with this power by the mass meeting of Saturday, we take leave respectfully to represent to the Government at Washington that intense solicitude prevails here for the safety of the city of Washington, and that there is an earnest demand that a safe and speedy communication should be kept open between the seat of government and the loyal States. Whatever force of men or supply of means is needed to occupy and control the necessary points in the State of Maryland can be fur- nished from or through New-York. The energy, the enthusiasm, the power in every form of our people it is impossible to overrate. But their demands upon the action of all the public authorities are pro- portionate. The absolute obliteration of all party lines among our whole population, and their perfect union in enthusiastic patriotism, make it in our judgment highly expedient that there should be pres- ent in this city persons who can, in case of emergency, represent the
Hughes. The Colonel said that the murder of Massachusetts men in the streets of Baltimore had greatly excited his men, and if the colors of the Sixty-ninth were restored and the services of the regiment accepted, he would be ready to march, with one thousand rank and file, in twenty-four hours. I informed Governor Morgan, at Albany, by telegraph, that the Sixty-ninth regiment, if re- stored to its former status, would immediately take the field. A few hours brought me a despatch
accepting the services of the Sixty-ninth, and warmly thanking Colonel Corcoran, his officers and men, for their promptitude and patriotism. The Governor's despatch was read in the evening to the regiment, and received with great enthu- siasm. True to his promise, Colonel Corcoran marched through Broadway, amid enthusiastic acclamations, on the following day to embark for Annapolis." Thurlow Weed, in "The Galaxy." IX. 834.
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HISTORY OF NEW-YORK
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