History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 79

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Ohio > Sandusky County > History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers > Part 79

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There are few instances and none of importance set down in these early journals. What distinguishes them from other collegian diaries and gives them peculiar value in any study of the man, is the evidence they unfold of his life-long habit of rigid self-account- ability and of close, shrewd study of character in others. At the end of the third year he puts in writing his estimate of the traits, talents and prospects of his fellow-students; and in a diary opened at the same time he begins those searching examinations of his own motives, purposes, ideas, and aspirations, with- out which no man can know other men. These in- quiries are not made by the young fellow of nineteen any spirit of dreamy or fond introspection. Himself interests himself, of course, but he is not going to give himself any quarter on that account. He has

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got to stand up before his own conscience, and be judged for his suspected self-conceit, for his pro- crastinations, for his neglect of several respectable but disagreeable branches of learning; for his ten- dency to make game of a certain young college poet, who supposes himself to look like Byron, for his fond- ness, in fine, of trying the edge of his wit on all the peo- ple about him. Upon consideration he concludes that he is not a person of genius, and if he is to succeed, he must work hard and make the very most of the fair abilities with which he accredits himself. He has already chosen his profession and is troubled about his slipshod style and his unreadiness of speech, which will never do for an orator. He is going to look carefully to his literature, and takes an active interest in the college literary societies. He has to accuse himself, at the age of nineteen, of be- ing a boy in many things. Even after he is legally a man, he shrewdly suspects that the law will have deceived itself with regard to him. He also finds that he is painfully bashful in society, but that great relief may be found by making fun of his own em- barrassments. It'is a frank, simple, generous record, unconscious even in its consciousness, and full of the most charming qualities both of heart and mind.

While at college, Mr. Hayes, with all his introspection, did not foresee the course of his life. He resolved to devote to law his exclusive attention. "But a little later," runs the biography from which we have already quoted, "we find that he has as- pirations which he would not conceal from himself, and of which one may readily in- fer the political nature from what follows. But what follows is more important for the relation it bears to his whole career than the light it throws on any part of it. 'The reputation I desire is not that momentary eminence which is gained without merit and lost without regret,' he says, with a collegian's swelling antithesis; and then solidly places himself in the attitude from which he has never since faltered: 'Give me the popularity which runs after, not that which is sought for.' So early was the principle of his political life fixed and formulated. Every office he has had has sought him; at every step of his advance- ment, popularity, the only sort he has cared to have, has followed him. He is and has always been a leader of the pec-

ple's unprompted choice."

Mr. Hayes graduated in the class of 1842, and began reading law the same year in the office of Thomas Sparrow, of Co- lumbus, a contemporary of Thomas Ewing, Thomas Corwin, and William Allen. He afterwards attended the law school of Har- vard college, from which he graduated in 1845, and was admitted to the bar at Ma- rietta. Returning to the home of his uncle in Fremont, he formed a partner- ship with R. P. Buckland for the practice of law. This partnership continued two years. Mr. Hayes then accompanied his uncle Birchard to the South, the trip hav- ing for its object the recovery of the lat- ter's health. In 1849 the young lawyer opened an office in Cincinnati, and for some time had the experience of most young professional men in a city. He was all the while, however, by diligent reading, preparing for future emergencies. He had, in fact, always been a close stu- dent, going through book after book, seek- ing to know the facts and ideas contained in them rather than paying attention to the author's art and style of composition. He read pretty much everything of in- portance in current general literature. He has carried this habit of reading through life, except during these periods too fully occupied by public duties.

It was through a circumstance of ex- ceptional good fortune that Mr. Hayes was given an opportunity to show his powers as a lawyer, and to earn standing as a practitioner. His first case in Cincinnati was his defence of an idiot girl, who had been arraigned for murder. The half-daft creature was brought into court to answer to the charge, and, being without money or friends, had made no provision for an at- torney to defend her. · Judge Warden was then common pleas judge, and was on the bench when the case was called. The . case was such an undesirable one, and the

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accused such an unprepossessing client that none of the attorneys present were anxious to undertake the defence. The judge, finding the poor girl had no coun- sel, asked the bar who should be appointed to defend her. Mr. Hayes, then almost a stranger in the court room, was singled out as a proper person to undertake the . undesirable case. After making some in- quiry concerning the character and fitness of the young barrister, the appointment was made, and after a short preparation on the part of the defence, the trial pro- ceeded. The case was tried with vigor on both sides. Mr. Hayes' argument was particularly strong, and at once gave him a reputation as a lawyer. From that time he enjoyed a remunerative practice. In 1856 he declined a nomination for judge of the Hamilton county Court of Common Pleas. Two years later he became a can- didate, and was elected to the office of city solicitor of Cincinnati, to which, on the expiration of his term, he was re- elected.

In 1861, when the first call for troops was made, Mr. Hayes offered his services, which were at once accepted by the Gov- ernor, and when the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized, in June, he was commissioned major. He served under Rosecrans in West Virginia, during the summer and fall, part of the time being judge advocate on the Gen- eral's staff. He was appointed lieuten- ant colonel November 4, 1861, and took formal command of the regiment at the opening of the campaign of 1862. The first great battle in which the Twenty- third participated was South Mountain, culminating in the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. The summer had been occupied in . skirmishes and forced marches until August, when the regiment was transferred to McClellan's command. The enemy was driven from Frederick

City, Maryland, and on September 13 Middletown was reached. Here began the battle of South Mountain, in which Lieutenant-Colonel Hayes, in command of the Twenty-third, led the advance. It was ordered at an early hour to advance by an unfrequented road, leading up the moun- tain, and to attack the enemy. The enemy, posted behind stone walls, poured a destructive fire of musketry and grape into the advancing column. Lieutenant- Colonel Hayes, Captain Skiles, and Lieu- tenants Hood, Ritter, and Smith were each badly wounded. Colonel Hayes' arm was broken. Out of the three hundred and fifty who engaged in the action, more than one hundred lay dead and wounded upon the field. The command now de- , olved upon Major Comly, and remained with him from that time forward. The enemy charged from the left and the regiment changed front on the first com- pany. Colonel Hayes, with his wound half dressed and against the remonstrances of his whole command, again came on to the field and fought until carried off. Soon after the remainder of the brigade came up, a gallant charge was made up the hill, and the enemy was dislodged and driven into the woods beyond. Three bayonet charges were made during the day, in each of which the enemy were driven with heavy loss. The Twenty- third participated actively in the battle of Antietam, which followed, being under command of Major Comly. In October the Twenty-third was ordered back to West Virginia, and on the 15th of that month Lieutenant-Colonel Hayes was ap- pointed colonel, in place of Scammon, promoted to a brigadier generalship. In December of that year Colonel Hayes was placed in command of the First brigade of the Kanawha division. Dur- ing all that toilsome West Virginia service of more than a year, Colonel Hayes won,

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not only the respect, but hearty friendship of his command. He exerted himself to make camp life agreeable and to relieve laborious marches, so far as possible, of hardships. The affection of members of the Twenty-third for their colonel is mani- fested yet at regimental reunions. In the battle of Winchester Colonel Hayes, com- manding a brigade, took a conspicuous and important part. In this battle he ex- hibited rare personal bravery, which is a characteristic of the man and an import- ant element of his success. He never hesitated, either on the field or in politics, to do what occasion seemed to require. At North Mountain, Colonel Hayes took command of the whole Kanawha division, and at Cedar Creek, where a horse was shot under him, his conduct was highly meritorious. Immediately after this bat- tle Colonel Hayes, "for gallant and mer- itorious services in the battles of Winches- ter, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek," was appointed brigadier-general, to take rank from October 19, the date of the last named battle. General Hayes was given command, in the spring of 1865, of an expedition against Lynchburg, and was making active preparations when the war closed. He was breveted major- general at the close of the war to date from March 13, 1865, for gallantry and distinguished services in West Virginia in 1864, and at the battles of Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. He was engaged in much severe service and participated in many battles. He had three horses shot under him, and was four times wounded.

In the spring of 1865 there was a lull in the campaign in West Virginia, and many of the leading officers sought retirement from the service, which to them was be- coming wearisome. Several of the mili- tary friends of General Hayes desired that he should have a furlough or be advanced to a civil position of honor. A meeting was

called at Winchester in May, 1865, over which Colonel Devol, of the Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, presided. A resolution was unanimously and enthusi- astically passed, declaring that: "Gen- Hayes, in addition to possessing the ability and statesmanship necessary to qualify him in an eminent degree for chief magistrate of the State of Ohio, is a soldier unsurpassed in patriotism and bravery, he having served four years in the army, earning his promotion from major in one of the Ohio regiments to his present position."

This was the first suggestion of his name for Governor, and while the propo- sition was received with enthusiasm by the army, it met with earnest protest from him. General Hayes had previously, in Octo- ber, 1864, been elected to Congress from the Cincinnati district. He had also pro- tested against this nomination, and when informed of the unsolicited honor, he re- plied in a letter, since several times repro- duced in political campaigns, in which he said: "I have other business just now. Any man who would leave the army at this time to electioneer for Congress ought to be scalped." Despite this protest, however, General Hayes was triumph- antly elected by enty-five hundred majority over Joseph C. Butler, a popu- lar business man of the city. In 1866 he was re-elected by about the same majority over Theodore Cook. General Hayes was prominent in Congress rather for his usefulness then for the display of brilliancy. He was unobtrusive, and sel- dom took up the time of the House, even with a short speech. He was not ambi- tious to display oratorical ability, but his congressional career is worthy of great re- spect for the interest he took in the ques- tions which at that time agitated Congress.

The Republican State Convention of 1867 met in Columbus in June. The

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importance of having a strong candidate was deeply felt throughout the State, and the country looked upon the approaching contest with interest. The Republican party proposed a suffrage measure, which, owing to race prejudice, accrued wholly to the benefit of the Democrats. Further than this, Mr. Pendleton had announced . plausible and popular currency theories, then new to the people and well calcu- lated to attract votes. The Republican convention made General Hayes its spon- taneous choice for the head of the ticket, wholly without his solicitation. The Democrats further increased their strength which the popular side of two great issues gave them, by selecting for their candi- date Allen G. Thurman. The canvass was vigorous on both sides. The Demo- crats were on the offensive and pushed prominently the proposition to pay the bonded debt in non-interest bearing green- backs. Mr. Hayes resigned his seat in Con- gress, and early in August entered zeal- ously into the canvass. He spoke in nearly every one of the eighty-eight counties of the State, opposing with all his force the position of his opponents with regard to the currency, and supporting with the same fervor the stand taken by his own party for equal suffrage. General Hayes is a cam- paign speaker of peculiar force and in- fluence. He is not what is generally known as an eloquent speaker, yet he has canvassed this State several times, and drawn large audiences in the same towns at each campaign. His power lies in clear, bold, pungent statement, and he inspires an audience with confidence in the sincerity of his convictions. As a campaigner he belonged to that class who appeal to the reason of the wavering and doubtful. He fought a political battle on the issues rather than by working upon prejudice or inspiring faithful partisans with confidence of victory. In a cam-

paign without an issue General Hayes would have been out of place. The con- test in Ohio in 1867 was a pivotal one with reference to the disposition of the National debt and the question of negro suffrage. The Republicans lost the Legis- lature, but General Hayes and the rest of his ticket were elected. The suffrage amendment was defeated, owing to its unnecessary disfranchising clause, but the principle had developed popular strength and subsequent triumph was assured.

Governor Hayes' administration com- manded the respect of the people of the State, and a second nomination was con- ceded long before the convention met in 1869. The Democrats adopted an ultra platform and nominated General Rose- crans for Governor. General Rosecrans, who was in California at the time, de- clined the position, and Hon. George H. Pendleton was selected as the opposing standard-bearer. The campaign was fought on issues growing out of the re- construction measures of the Republican Congress, and attracted National atten- tion. Governor Hayes was re-elected by a largely increased majority. His second administration was liberal and popular, as the first had been. As Governor he was eulogized by the leaders of both political parties.

General Hayes met his first political defeat in 1872, but it was a party and not a personal defeat. On the 31st of July a large number of Cincinnati Republicans united in the following letter :

Hon. R. B. Hayes :

Believing that it is the desire of the Republicans generally of the Second Congressional District, that you be a candidate for the nomination, and feeling that you would receive a larger vote from the dis- trict than any other person that could be agreed up- on, we unite in respectfully asking that you accept a nomination for Congress.

General Hayes positively and unequivo- cally declined allowing his name to be

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used in connection with the candidacy, but in the face of protestation he was nominated, and to prevent dissension in the party accepted. He foresaw defeat from the start, but made a good canvass, and carried a much larger vote in his dis- trict than General Grant's vote for Presi- dent a month later. Hamilton county was carried for the Democrats that year by five thousand majority.

In 1873 General Hayes was unexpect- edly nominated by the President for As- sistant Treasurer at Cincinnati, but de- clined the office, being desirous to re- turn to his home at Fremont. He resumed his residence here in the summer of that year, and naturally enjoyed relief from more than twelve years of official care. The two sebsequent years of his life were passed quietly and contentedly. But his party in Ohio was approaching an important political crisis. The October campaign in Ohio in 1875 was looked up- on as the preliminary battle of the Na- tional contest of 1876. Far more import- ant interests than mere partisan advantage were at stake. Upon the issue of the con- test depended, in an important measure, the character of legislation on the currency question. The question was similar to the one which General Hayes, eight years before, had been called from his seat in Congress to champion. Republicans of the State felt the weight of great respon- sibility, and discussed, with solicitude, the choice of a standard-bearer. The Demo- crats, two years before, had elected their candidate for Governor, and the year be- fore carried the State by seventeen thou- sand majority. Business failures and gen- eral industrial depression made the theory of expanding the paper currency of the country extremely popular. In addition to this, discontent with the National Admin- istration made Republicans indifferent. Seventeen thousand majority, the unpopu-

lar side of an all-absorbing issue, and an Administration at Washington generally unpopular, all these obstacles in the way of victory had to be overcome, and who should be chosen to lead in the unequal contest? General Hayes, as in 1864 he had been sought out of the army to be chosen to Congress; as in 1867 he had been recalled from Congress to lead in a doubtful State campaign, against his will and solemn protest, was in 1875 forced from his pleasant and quiet home to lead in a campaign which was to de- cide, not only the immediate destiny of parties, but to formulate important Na- tional legislation. General Hayes was the spontaneous choice of the rank and file of the Republican party in that great political emergency. There were grave doubts, however, as to whether he would accept the nomination, and they were not without reason. To all who had ap- proached him on the subject he had ex- pressed extreme disinclination, and he discouraged, at every opportunity, the use of his name. Nevertheless Republican sentiment asserted itself, and grew in volume until, by the time the State Conven- tion met, it was simply overwhelming. The only other name proposed was that of Judge Taft, of Cincinnati, whose high standing and ability were beyond question. When the convention assembled Judge Taft was presented as a candidate. There was also placed before the convention a dispatch from General Hayes positively declining to be a candidate. He sincerely desired relief from public life, and on convention day confidently supposed that he had set at rest the movement toward his own nomination. While the convention was assembling at Columbus, General Hayes, at Fremont, was quietly directing some farm work. The feeling of the conven- tion was unmistakable, and its demands irresistible. Mr. Hayes did not realize

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the situation on that day until a bundle of sixteen dispatches was delivered to him imploring a withdrawal of his positive declination, and another dispatch, re- ceived soon after, notified him of his nomination by a vote of more than three- fourths of the delegates. Judge Taft, by his representative, moved to make the · nomination unanimous, and General Hayes, after consultation with his friends here, telegraphed : "In obedience to the wishes of the convention I yield my pref- erences and accept the nomination."

pivotal States gave assurance of success in the approaching Presidential contest, and it was about this time that Governor Hayes' nomination for the Presidency became a subject of serious discussion. The Gov- ernor himself, though plainly seeing the possibility of his nomination, was free from that intense ambition which led some other candidates to push themselves to the front. Therein was a secret of his suc- cess. If he was to be the standard-bearer of his party, the nomination had to be offered to him. He did not seek the high honor, and by not seeking, antago- nized the ardent partisans of none of those who were candidates in the full sense of the term.

General Hayes entered that campaign with all his force, fighting not Allen and Cary but the theory of finance which their party advanced, and which he believed to be pernicious. Few Ohio campaigns have When the National Republican conven- tion assembled in Cincinnati, Governor Hayes' eligibility as a candidate was uni- versally recognized, although his delegate support outside of his own State was small. But six ineffectual ballots ex- hausted personal enthusiasm, and on the seventh the man whose fitness was uni- versally recognized, was nominated. been so free from personality. The candi- dates of both parties were men of the highest integrity, and with honorable rec- ords. The contest was not for the Governorship but for the triumph of a principle which had an intimate relation to the Nation's most vital interests. General Hayes was master of the campaign which he led, having at the outset, in a speech The result of the convention was most gratifying to the people of this county, ir- respective of party differences. This was shown by the brilliant reception tendered Governor Hayes on the occasion of his visit home, June 24. For three days the city was alive with the excitement of prep- aration. Dwellings, business houses, and public buildings were tastefully decorated and brilliantly illuminated. The recep- tion was held in the evening, and partici- pated in by fifteen thousand people. The event was a most fitting tribute of respect to a fellow-citizen who had been desig- nated by the dominant party for the first place in the Government. before the central committee, conspicuous for clearness, defined the issues which he desired to have placed before the people. That speech, occupying less than five minutes in its delivery, was the Republican key-note, on which the campaign was fought, the result of which brought its author prominently into the circle of Presidential candidates. The Ohio elec- tion of 1875 was the turning point in the cousse of party destiny. The political revolution of the previous two years was brought to a stand-still, and restored to Republicans all over the country confi- dence in their ability to maintain ascend- ency in the affairs of the Nation. Penn- General Hayes' letter accepting the nomination for the Presidency, was char- acteristically strong and clear. If there had sylvania, largely influenced by Ohio, was a month later carried by the Republicans. The results in these two powerful and | been any doubt in the public mind as to his

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courage, it was dispelled by the bold and advanced ground upon which the candi- date placed himself at the opening of the campaign. His position on the then great questions then occupying the attention of the whole country-reform in the civil ser- vice, resumption of specie payments and restoration of fraternity throughout the Union-was especially pronounced and emphatic. With respect to the system of inaking official appointments, he an- nounced that the "reform should be thor- ough, radical, and complete." On the currency question then uppermost among business men, he said :

I regard all the laws of the United States relat- ing to the payment of the public indebtedness, the legal tender notes included, as constituting a pledge and moral obligation of the Government, which must in good faith be kept.

His attitude toward the South was equally assuring: "What the South needs is peace, and peace depends upon the supremacy of law." In the last paragraph of the letter is summed up the Republican candidate's pledge to the country.

Let me assure my countrymen of the Southern States that if I shall be charged with the duty of or- ganizing an administration, it will be one which will regard and cherish their truest interests-the interests of the white and the colored people both and equally, which will put forth its best efforts in behalf of a civil policy which will wipe out forever the distinction be- tween North and South in our common country. With a civil service organized upon a system which will secure purity, experience, efficiency, and econo- my, a strict regard for the public welfare solely in appointments, and the speedy, thorough, and un- sparing prosecution and punishment of all public officers who betray official trusts; with a sound cur- rency; with education unsectarian and free to all; with simplicity and frugality in public and private affairs, and with a fraternal spirit of harmony per- vading the people of all sections and classes, we may reasonably hope that the second century of our ex- istence as a Nation will, by the blessing of God, be pre-eminent as an era of good feeling and a period of progress, prosperity, and happiness.

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History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 79

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams Number of Pages: 1040

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams
Number of Pages: 1040