A Military Genius Part 19

CHAPTER VIII.

MISS CARROLL BEFORE CONGRESS.

Miss Carroll's first memorial was brought before Congress March 31, 1870. It was simple and short, with a copy of the plan of campaign appended.

A Military Committee, with General Jacob M. Howard as chairman, was appointed to consider it. Thomas A. Scott wrote twice to the Military Committee endorsing the claim. Mr. Wade, Judge Evans, etc., made their statements on affidavit.

The evidence being thorough and incontrovertible, Mr. Howard reported accordingly on February 2, 1871. He recapitulates the letters and evidence received; gives Mr. Wade's testimony; states that a copy of Miss Carroll's paper was shown him immediately after the success of the campaign, by the late Hon. Elisha Whittlesey,[35] of Ohio (Mr.

Whittlesey had asked Miss Carroll for a copy that he might leave it in his family as an heirloom); notes Miss Carroll's statement that no military man had ever controverted her claim to having originated the campaign, and concludes:

"From the high social position of this lady and her established ability as a writer and thinker, she was prepared at the inception of the rebellion to exercise a strong influence in behalf of liberty and the Union; that it was felt and respected in Maryland during the darkest hours in that State's history, there can be no question. Her publications throughout the struggle were eloquently and ably written and widely circulated, and did much to arouse and invigorate the sentiment of loyalty in Maryland and other border States. It is not too much to say that they were among the very ablest publications of the time and exerted a powerful influence upon the hearts of the people. Some of these publications were prepared under the auspices of the War Department, and for these Miss Carroll preferred a claim to reimburse her for the expenses incurred in their publication, which ought to have been paid; and, as evidence of this, we subjoin the following statement from the a.s.sistant Secretary of War:--

"'PHILADELPHIA, _January 28, 1863_.

"'All my interviews with Miss Carroll were in my official capacity as a.s.sistant Secretary of War. The pamphlets published were, to a certain extent, under a general authority then exercised by me in the discharge of public duties as a.s.sistant Secretary of War. No price was fixed, but it was understood that the Government would 'treat her with sufficient liberality to compensate her for any service she might render.'"

[Footnote 35: Elisha Whittlesey was Comptroller of the Treasury at the time of his death, a very distinguished lawyer in Ohio, and for many terms a Representative in Congress.]

On the fifteenth of June, 1870, Hon. Thomas A. Scott addressed a letter to Hon. J. M. Howard, U. S. Senate, in which he says:

"'I learn from Miss Carroll that she has a claim before Congress for services rendered in the year 1861 in aid of the Government.

I believe now that the Government ought to reward her liberally for the efforts she made in its behalf to rouse the people against the rebellious action of the South. I hope you will pa.s.s some measure that will give Miss Carroll what she is certainly ent.i.tled to.

"'THOS. A. SCOTT.'"

"In view, therefore, of the highly meritorious services of Miss Carroll during the whole period of our National troubles, and especially at that epoch of the war to which her memorial makes reference, and in consideration of the further fact that all the expenses incident to this service were borne by herself, the committee believe her claim to be just, and that it ought to be recognized by Congress, and consequently report a bill for her relief."

An accompanying bill was sent in, leaving the amount of compensation blank for Congress to determine, but the committee agreeing that the bill ought to be pa.s.sed in some manner that should recognize the remarkable and invaluable nature of the services rendered.

Congress having thus received the report made by their own Military Committee appointed for the purpose, for reasons plainly given by Mr.

Wade and others, at once ignored it, tossing it over to the Court of Claims, who would have nothing to do with it, and so that Congress adjourned.

Then followed that singular and disheartening feature of congressional committees.

Action having been taken, a Military Committee appointed, and a conclusive report made, Congress could utterly neglect it, and at the following Congress the previous action would count for nothing, and the whole wearisome proceeding of a new memorial, a new effort to procure attention, a new examination of evidence, a new report, a new bill, and again utter neglect. But the brave woman continued. She was really fighting alone and at terrible odds another Tennessee campaign for the rightful recognition of woman's work.

Accordingly, the following year another memorial was sent in, another committee appointed, renewed testimony given by Scott, Wade, Evans, and others. Mr. Wilson testified that the claim was "incontestably established," referred to the evidence given in Miss Carroll's own memorial, but for want of time made no regular report, apparently, except this:

_Report._

"Mr. Wilson, on behalf of the Committee on Military Affairs, laid before the Senate the memorial of Anna Ella Carroll, of Maryland, setting forth certain valuable military information given to the Government by her during the war and asking compensation therefor, which was ordered to be printed, together with a bill rewarding her for military and literary services"--twice read in United States Senate--amount left $----, to be filled by this body. Then Congress again quietly dropped a recognition that might interfere with party plans, and so _that_ Congress adjourned.

And so the weary work went on of presenting new memorials and meeting with the same neglect, Congress never denying the claim and none of the military commanders making any claim or denying the facts.

Miss Carroll gave extracts from every known historical work showing the surmises made, endeavoring to attribute the plan to one and another, and no evidence found to establish such surmises.

Miss Carroll wrote to Hon. J. T. Headley, the distinguished historian of the Civil War, and received the following letter:

NEWBURGH, N. Y., _February 6, 1873_.

My Dear Madam:

I am much obliged for the pamphlet you sent me. I never knew before with whom the plan of the campaign up the Tennessee river originated. There seemed to be a mystery attached to it that I could not solve. Though General Buell sent me an immense amount of doc.u.ments relating to this campaign I could find no reference to the origin of the change of plan. Afterwards I saw it attributed to Halleck, which I knew to be false, and I noticed that he never corroborated it. It is strange that after all my research it has rested with you to enlighten me.

Money cannot pay for the plan of that campaign. I doubt not Congress will show not liberality but some justice in the matter.

Yours very sincerely,

J. T. HEADLEY.

So matters went on. New memorials presented for the most part met with "leave to withdraw." Then Miss Carroll gathered herself up for a supreme effort, presented fresh testimony, and in 1878 sent in a memorial that is a mine of wealth and the most interesting memorial she has ever presented. It is labeled--

45th Congress, House of Representatives / Miss. Doc.

2d Session / No. 58

Being a doc.u.ment of the first importance and containing some singular evidence, it has been systematically excluded from every Congressional index, though published by order of Congress and included in the bound volumes.

Miss Carroll having made in 1878 this very notable memorial, on February 18, 1879--

45th Congress, Senate /Report 3d Session. / No. 775.

Mr. c.o.c.krell made a report entered on the Congressional lists as _adverse_, but really an additional evidence of the incontrovertible nature of the facts and the testimony of the case, the report being only adverse as to compensation. The report admits the services, both literary and military, and even concedes the proposition that "_the transfer of the national armies from the banks of the Ohio up the Tennessee river to the decisive position in Mississippi was the greatest military event in the interest of the human race known to modern ages, and will ever rank among the very few strategic movements in the world's history that have decided the fate of empires and peoples_," and that "_no true history can be written that does not a.s.sign to the memorialist the credit of the conception_."

The report thereupon proceeds to state the opinion of the committee, that with all the evidence before them every subsequent Congress having failed to make an award they must have had some unknown reasons for the omission, and that the claim, having been so long neglected, may as well be indefinitely postponed--a surprising mode of reasoning and manner of disposition of a claim.

The report supposes the neglect was due to the fact that the services were rendered to the Secret Service Commission and inclines to think that the two thousand dollars received was considered a sufficient remuneration for the literary work.

"The committee have not been able to find a precedent for payment of claims of this character." * * * "But it would destroy much of the poetry and grandeur of n.o.ble deeds were a price demanded for kindred services, and achievements of this nature huckstered in the market as commodities of barter." _And that is all a report intended to be adverse can say against the claim._

One might remark that it is not wholly unprecedented for honorable gentlemen to receive remuneration from the Government for services rendered, or even to ask for their traveling expenses. But this looks somewhat like a sneer.

Was it directed against the n.o.ble invalid who had devoted her life and strength, her great ability, and her private fortune to the service of her country for years, with such lavish prodigality and such brilliant success, and had left a fitting award wholly to the determination of Congress, asking only that it should be made in some way that should mark the unusual and distinctive nature of the services rendered?

No; surely it must have been directed against the Government agent who wanted Miss Carroll, for the consideration of $750, to give a receipt in full for a bill of $5,000 remaining--a bill certified by the highest authorities to be sufficiently low or altogether _too_ low for the literary work performed. (No wonder if _such_ huckstering moved Mr. c.o.c.krell's righteous soul.) His remarks also were exceedingly applicable to a liberal-minded person who shortly after sent in a bill recommending that after all these years Congress would kindly allow Miss Carroll a pension of _$50 a month_ for "the important military services rendered the country by her during the late civil war." If any more $50 miseries are proposed we would commend to the committees Mr. c.o.c.krell on "huckstering."

The true description of such a report would be "admission of the incontestable nature of the services rendered."

Then followed the report of the Military Committee of 1881--the last report, so far as I have been able to ascertain, "printed by order of Congress."

It is as follows, verbatim:

46th Congress, House of Representatives. / Report 3d Session. / No. 386