General Scott Part 19

"On reviewing the whole case, it will be seen that the points on which the conduct of General Pillow has been disapproved by the court are his claiming in certain pa.s.sages of the paper No. 1" (the letter he gave Mr. Freuner, correspondent of the New Orleans Delta, and which had been p.r.o.nounced a twin brother to the "Leonidas letter"), "and in his official report of the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, a larger degree of partic.i.p.ation in the merit of the movements appertaining to the battle of Contreras than is substantiated by the evidence, or he is ent.i.tled to, and also the language above quoted, in which that claim is referred to in the letter to General Scott.

"But as the movements actually ordered by General Pillow at Contreras on the 19th were emphatically approved by General Scott at the time, and as the conduct of General Pillow in the brilliant series of military operations carried on to such triumphant issue by General Scott in the Valley of Mexico appears by the several official reports of the latter, and otherwise, to have been highly meritorious, from these and other considerations the court is of the opinion that no further proceedings against General Pillow in this case are called for by the interests of the public."

On July 7, 1848, the President, through the Secretary of War, issued an order approving the findings of the court of inquiry, and adds:

"The President, finding, on a careful review of the whole evidence, that there is nothing established to sustain the charge of 'a violation of the general regulation or standing order of the army,'

nothing in the conduct of General Pillow, nor in his correspondence with the general in chief of the army, 'unbecoming an officer and a gentleman,' concurs with the court in their conclusion that 'no further proceedings against General Pillow in the case are called for by the interests of the public service,' and he accordingly directs that no further proceedings be had in the case."

As has been seen, General Scott had defied his enemies, whoever they were, to do their worst. The charges against him were withdrawn, and the court only investigated the charges against General Pillow, with the result as given above. The court was then dissolved. It is probably fortunate for all the parties against whom General Scott had brought charges that a peace had been consummated, after a campaign in which all partic.i.p.ants from the highest in rank to the private had borne such a brilliant part.

When General Scott arrived at Vera Cruz on his journey home he found several fast steamers in port, any one of which he could have taken pa.s.sage in, but, with a consideration for the comfort of his men, which throughout his career he never failed to evince, he left them for the troops soon to embark, and taking a small sailing brig, loaded down with guns, mortars, and ordnance stores, started on his voyage to New York. On Sunday morning, May 20th, at daylight, the health officer boarded the brig, and the general landed and proceeded to Elizabeth, N.J., to join his family. He had the Mexican disease (diarrhoea) upon him, and required rest and good nursing. He was not long permitted to enjoy his much-needed repose, for deputations from New York tendered him one of the most magnificent civic and military receptions ever extended to any hero in this country up to that time.

CHAPTER XIII.

General Taylor nominated for the presidency--Thanks of Congress to Scott, and a gold medal voted--Movement to revive and confer upon Scott the brevet rank of lieutenant general--Scott's views as to the annexation of Canada--Candidate for President in 1852 and defeated--Scott's diplomatic mission to Canada in 1859--Mutterings of civil war--Letters and notes to President Buchanan--Arrives in Washington, December 12, 1861--Note to the Secretary of War--"Wayward sisters" letter--Events preceding inauguration of Mr.

Lincoln--Preparation for the defense of Washington--Scott's loyalty--Battle of Bull Run--Scott and McClellan--Free navigation of the Mississippi River--Retirement of General Scott and affecting incidents connected therewith--Message of President Lincoln--McClellan on Scott--Mount Vernon--Scott sails for Europe--Anecdote of the day preceding the battle of Chippewa--The Confederate cruiser Nashville--Incident between Scott and Grant--Soldiers' Home--Last days of Scott--His opinion of noncombatants.

General Taylor had been nominated by the Whigs as their candidate for President, and at the instance of General Scott he [Scott] was put in command of the Eastern Department and the former the Western Department. This was considered a compliment to General Taylor. March 9, 1848, the following joint resolution, unanimously pa.s.sed by Congress, was approved by the President:

"1. That the thanks of Congress be and they are hereby presented to Winfield Scott, major general commanding in chief the army in Mexico, and through him to the officers and men of the regular and volunteer corps under him, for their uniform gallantry and good conduct, conspicuously displayed at the siege and capture of the city of Vera Cruz and castle of San Juan de Ulloa, March 29, 1847; and in the successive battles of Cerro Gordo, April 18th; Contreras, San Antonio, and Churubusco, August 19th and 20th; and for the victories achieved in front of the City of Mexico, September 8th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, and the capture of the metropolis, September 14, 1847, in which the Mexican troops, greatly superior in numbers and with every advantage of position, were in every conflict signally defeated by the American arms.

"2. That the President of the United States be and he is hereby requested to cause to be struck a gold medal with devices emblematical of the series of brilliant victories achieved by the army, and presented to Major-General Winfield Scott, as a testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his valor, skill, and judicious conduct in the memorable campaign of 1847.

"3. That the President of the United States be requested to cause the foregoing resolutions to be communicated to Major-General Scott in such terms as he may deem best calculated to give effect to the objects thereof."

On February 24, 1849, a joint resolution was offered in the United States Senate to confer upon General Scott the brevet rank of lieutenant general, which went only to its second reading, an objection being interposed to a third reading and pa.s.sage of the resolution. On July 29, 1850, Mr. Jere Clemens, of Alabama, submitted a resolution instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the expediency of conferring by law the brevet rank of lieutenant general on Major-General Scott, "with such additional pay and allowances as might be deemed proper, in consideration of the distinguished services rendered to the republic by that officer during the late war with Mexico." The resolution was eight days after referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

On September 30, 1850, Senator Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, Chairman of the Military Committee, reported a resolution requesting the President to refer to a board of officers, to be designated by him, the following questions:

"Is it expedient or necessary to provide for additional grades of commissioned officers in the army of the United States; and, if so, what grades, in addition to the present organization, should be created?"

Mr. Davis's opposition to conferring the brevet rank of lieutenant general upon General Scott was well known at the time. In pursuance of this request by the Senate, the following officers were appointed on the board: Generals Jesup, president, Wool, Gibson, Totten, Talcott, Hitchc.o.c.k, and Colonel Crane. The unanimous report was:

"Under the first inquiry referred to it, the board is of opinion that it is expedient to create by law for the army the additional grade of lieutenant general, and that when, in the opinion of the President and Senate, it shall be deemed proper to acknowledge eminent services of officers of the army, and in the mode already provided for in subordinate grades, it is expedient and proper that the grade of lieutenant general may be conferred by brevet."

Several efforts were subsequently made to pa.s.s joint resolutions similar in purport to those quoted and referred to, but it was not until 1852 that the joint resolution was pa.s.sed creating the brevet rank of lieutenant general, and General Scott succeeded to that dignity in the army. The law did not in terms carry with it the pay and emoluments of the brevet rank, and Mr. Davis, who had become Secretary of War under President Pierce, referred the question to the Attorney-General, Mr. Caleb Cushing; but before that officer rendered an opinion Congress inserted a declaratory provision in the military appropriation bill, which, becoming a law, gave the pay proper and all that went with it to a veteran who had by his services well earned it.

General Scott was thenceforward until he died the second officer of the American army (General Washington being the first) who held the office of lieutenant general.

After the inauguration of General Taylor as President, General Scott, between whom and the President there was no very good feeling, continued his headquarters in New York; but when President Fillmore succeeded, in 1850, he removed to Washington, and continued to reside in the latter city until the accession of President Pierce, when, by General Scott's request, there was another change back to New York, where until 1861--with the exception of ten months of hard duty--he remained and maintained headquarters of the army.

In 1849 there were evidences of discontent which almost a.s.sumed the att.i.tude of threats in the Canadas growing out of political agitation, and General Scott was interrogated on the question of the advisability of annexation by John C. Hamilton, Esq., of New York. General Scott replied from West Point, June 29, 1849, in which he expressed the opinion that the news from the British Parliament would increase the discontent of the Canadas, and that those discontents might in a few years lead to a separation of the Canadas, New Brunswick, etc., from England. He thought that, instead of those provinces forming themselves into an independent nation, they would seek a connection with our Union, and that thereby the interests of both sides would be promoted, the provinces coming into the Union on equal terms with the States. This would secure the free navigation of the St. Lawrence River, which would be of immense importance to at least one third of our population, and of great value to the remainder. Although opposed to incorporating with us any district densely populated with the _Mexican_ race, he would be most happy to fraternize with our Northern and Northeastern neighbors.

In 1852 General Scott became a candidate a second time for the presidency, having been nominated by the Whig Convention that met at Baltimore in June of that year, his compet.i.tors being Mr. Webster, and Mr. Fillmore, who succeeded President Taylor. William A. Graham, Mr.

Fillmore's Secretary of the Navy, was put on the ticket for Vice-President. General Franklin Pierce and William R. King, a Senator from Alabama, were respectively put forward for President and Vice-President by the Democrats. The campaign was a heated one. The Democratic orators, however, on all occasions accorded to the Whig candidate that meed of praise for his gallantry as an army officer and commander to which his services to the country had ent.i.tled him, and accorded with the universal sentiment that his services to the country had been of inestimable benefit and shed ineffaceable l.u.s.ter on the American arms in the wars since 1800; but still, being in all essentials but a military man, it was contended he was not fit to be intrusted with the exalted office of President. These speakers had doubtless never read, or had forgotten, the orders published by General Scott upon his capturing the City of Mexico, which show a wonderful insight into civil as well as military command. It was left to the lower portion of the opposition to indulge in caricature, and garbled and distorted paragraphs in reports and published letters, such as a "hasty plate of soup" already mentioned, and his reference to "a fire in the rear," which had reference to the weak sympathy and support he had experienced from the Administration during the war with Mexico. The Democratic candidate was overwhelmingly elected, only four States--Ma.s.sachusetts, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee--casting their votes for Scott. In his autobiography General Scott thanks G.o.d for his political defeats. It detracted none from his reputation that the people chose some one else for the chief Executive.

The expedition set on foot in 1857 to bring the hostile Mormons to terms met with General Scott's censure, and he made no concealment of his belief that it was a scheme got up for the benefit of army contractors, whose peculations would involve the country in great expense. It is true the cost in hardship and privation to the army, as well as the money involved, was very great, but the results were very beneficial. During the late civil war the inhabitants of Utah had it in their power to greatly embarra.s.s the Federal Government, but they did not, as a people, commit one disloyal act. At the time of the expedition they had put themselves in such defiance of the Federal Government that it was necessary that strong measures should be resorted to, and the result was as has been stated.

In 1859 General Scott was again called upon to exercise his powers as a diplomat. Commissioners were at that time engaged in running the boundary line between the British possessions and the United States.

Differences sprang up as to which of the two countries the San Juan Island in Puget Sound belonged to. This question should have been referred to the two Governments for amicable settlement. General Harvey, an impetuous officer then in command of the United States forces in that country, took forcible possession of the island, endangering the friendly relations between the two countries. The situation was critical, but President Buchanan requested General Scott to go to the scene of operations and settle the matter without conflict, if possible. The general had recently been crippled from a fall, but, suffering as he was, he sailed September 20, 1859, from New York in the Star of the West for Panama, and thence to his destination. The British governor was at Victoria. The few friendly notes that pa.s.sed between General Scott and the governor restored the island to its former condition, the joint possession of both parties, and thus averting what might have led to great and serious complications.

Nothing of particular public importance attracted the attention of the general until the mutterings of civil war gave utterance to sound.

That he knew the feeling and determination of the Southern people better than those in high authority is shown by his suggestions to prevent, if possible, the secession of the Southern States. He was a native of Virginia, and every effort was made by persuasion to induce him to link his fortunes with his State, but without avail. Even his old friends--the friends of his early youth and manhood, to say nothing of those of maturer years--brought to bear upon him every argument to swerve him, but to no purpose. He remained true to the Government he had served and that had honored him, and if his suggestion had been carried out, the war would not perhaps have attained the proportions it did.

On October 29, 1860, General Scott addressed the following note to the President [Buchanan]: "The excitement that threatens secession is caused by the near approach of a Republican's election to the presidency. From a sense of propriety as a soldier, I have taken no part in the pending canva.s.s, and, as always heretofore, mean to stay away from the polls. My sympathies, however, are with the Bell and Everett ticket. With Mr. Lincoln I have no communication whatever, direct or indirect, and have no recollection of ever having seen his person; but can not believe any unconst.i.tutional violence or breach of law is to be apprehended from his administration of the Federal Government.

"From a knowledge of our Southern population, it is my solemn conviction that there is some danger of an early act of secession, viz.: The seizure of some or all of the following posts: Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi below New Orleans, both without garrisons; Fort Morgan, below Mobile, without garrison; Forts Pickens and McKee, Pensacola Harbor, with an insufficient garrison for one; Fort Pulaski, below Savannah, without a garrison; Forts Moultrie and Sumter, Charleston Harbor, the former with an insufficient garrison and the latter without any; and Fort Monroe, Hampton Roads, without a sufficient garrison. In my opinion, all these works should be immediately so garrisoned as to make any attempt to take any one of them by surprise or _coup de main_ ridiculous.

"With the army faithful to its allegiance and the navy probably equally so, and a Federal Executive for the next twelve months of firmness and moderation, which the whole country has a right to expect--_moderation_ being an element of power not less than _firmness_--there is good reason to hope that the danger of secession may be made to pa.s.s away without one conflict of arms, one execution, or one arrest for treason. In the meantime it is suggested that exports might be left perfectly free, and, to avoid conflicts, all duties on imports be collected outside of the cities in forts or ships of war."

Again, October 31st, the general suggested to the Secretary of War that a circular should be sent at once to such of those forts as had garrisons to be on the alert against surprises and sudden a.s.saults; but no notice seems to have been taken of the judicious and wise suggestion.

On December 12th General Scott arrived in Washington. He had been confined to his bed for a long time and was physically very much depleted. He again personally urged upon the Secretary of War the views expressed in his note from West Point of October 29th as to strengthening the forts in Charleston Harbor, Pensacola, Mobile, and the Mississippi River below New Orleans. The Secretary did not concur in these views. Finally General Scott called on the President, on December 15th, in company with the Secretary, and urged upon the chief Executive the importance of re-enforcing the forts mentioned; but no action was taken. After the Secretary of War [Floyd] had resigned his position in the Cabinet he was given a reception in Richmond, which called out the remark from the Examiner, of that city, that if the plan invented by General Scott to stop secession had been carried out, and the a.r.s.enals and forts put in the condition he wanted them to be, "the Southern Confederacy would not now exist."

On December 28th he wrote a note to the Secretary expressing the hope: 1. That orders may not be given for the evacuation of Fort Sumter [this was after Major Anderson had withdrawn his forces from Fort Moultrie and concentrated at Sumter]. 2. That one hundred and fifty recruits may be instantly sent from Governor's Island to re-enforce that garrison, with ample supplies of ammunition and subsistence, including fresh vegetables, as potatoes, onions, turnips, etc. 3. That one or two armed vessels be sent to support the said fort. In the same communication he calls the Secretary's attention to Forts Jefferson (Tortugas) and Taylor (Key West). On December 30th he addressed the President and asked permission, "without reference to the War Department, and otherwise as secretly as possible, to send two hundred and fifty recruits from New York Harbor to re-enforce Fort Sumter, together with some extra muskets or rifles, ammunition, and subsistence," and asked that a sloop of war and cutter might be ordered for the same purpose as early as the next day. The doc.u.ments show that from General Scott's first note, referred to and quoted herein, down to the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, he was persistent in his efforts to have the Southern forts, or as many of them as the means at hand would permit, re-enforced and garrisoned against surprise and capture; but little heed was paid to his importunities.

On the day before the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln General Scott addressed William H. Seward, who, it was known, would become Secretary of State in Lincoln's Cabinet, what is called the "Wayward sisters"

letter, and which is quoted in full:

"WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1861_.

"DEAR SIR: Hoping that in a day or two the new President will have happily pa.s.sed through all personal dangers and find himself installed an honored successor of the great Washington, with you as the chief of his Cabinet, I beg leave to repeat in writing what I have before said to you orally, this supplement to my printed 'Views' (dated in October last) on the highly disordered condition of our (so late) happy and glorious Union.

"To meet the extraordinary exigencies of the times, it seems to me that I am guilty of no arrogance in limiting the President's field of selection to one of the four plans of procedure subjoined:

"I. Throw off the old and a.s.sume the new designation, the Union party; adopt the conciliatory measures proposed by Mr. Crittenden or the Peace Convention, and my life upon it, we shall have no new case of secession; but, on the contrary, an early return of many, if not of all, the States which have already broken off from the Union.

Without some equally benign measure the remaining slaveholding States will probably join the Montgomery Confederacy in less than sixty days, when this city, being included in a foreign country, would require a permanent garrison of at least thirty-five thousand troops to protect the Government within it.

"II. Collect the duties on foreign goods outside the ports of which the Government has lost the command, or close such ports by act of Congress and blockade them.

"III. Conquer the seceded States by invading armies. No doubt this might be done in two or three years by a young and able general--a Wolfe, a Desaix, a Hoche--with three hundred thousand disciplined men, estimating a third for garrisons and the loss of a yet greater number by skirmishes, sieges, battles, and Southern fevers. The destruction of life and property on the other side would be frightful, however perfect the moral discipline of the invaders.

"The conquest completed at the enormous waste of human life to the North and Northwest, with at least $250,000,000 added thereto, and _cui bono_? Fifteen devastated provinces! not to be brought into harmony with their conquerors, but to be held for generations by heavy garrisons at an expense quadruple the net duties or taxes, which it would be possible to extort from them, followed by a protector or emperor.

"IV. Say to the seceded States: 'Wayward sisters, depart in peace.'

"In haste, I remain very truly yours,

"WINFIELD SCOTT."

The two months preceding the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln were fraught with great responsibility to General Scott. He had moved his headquarters to Washington, as he thought, temporarily; but from the threatening aspect of the political troubles it soon became apparent that his stay there would be, if not permanent, prolonged a greater length of time than was at first expected. As March 4th approached, rumors thick and fast filled the atmosphere of attempts to resist Mr.

Lincoln's taking the oath. It was said that bodies of men were drilling in Maryland, Virginia, and even in the District of Columbia, for that purpose. There is no doubt men were being put through military exercise within a few miles of the capital, which was known at the War Department; but if the object was violence of any kind it never developed. Great apprehension was felt, and not without reason, for the general's daily mail contained letters--mostly anonymous, a few signed doubtless with fict.i.tious names--threatening him and Mr.

Lincoln with a.s.sa.s.sination if the latter should attempt to be inaugurated. Some idea of the difficulty may be gathered when it is known that the militia of the District was but poorly equipped either in officers or otherwise to cope successfully with the situation should an outbreak or invasion of armed men from Maryland or Virginia be attempted. The military force of the District showed large _on paper_, but the actual force consisted of two or three companies tolerably well drilled. In this emergency Captain (afterward Brigadier-General) Charles P. Stone, a graduate from West Point, offered his services, which were accepted, and about January 1, 1861, he was mustered into the United States service as colonel and inspector general of the militia of the District of Columbia, and a.s.signed to the command of the District, with authority to organize volunteers. Some members of the companies already in existence left the ranks, but Colonel Stone soon succeeded in organizing a small compact force with those that remained loyal, and a number of recruits, which did good service. In addition to these, a light battery, under Captain John B. Magruder, First Artillery; Captain (afterward General) William Farquhar, Barry's Battery of the Second Artillery; and a battery made up at West Point and commanded by Captain (afterward General) Charles Griffin, arrived. With these, some infantry ordered from distant points, and the District militia, which had been very much increased in numbers, General Scott had about three thousand men under his command for the defense of Washington, the preservation of order, and to guard the approaches to the city. It is but due to the citizens of Washington to state that, when trouble was apprehended and an intimation went out that there was a possibility of trouble, they came in great numbers to offer their services in defense of their city and the Government. Companies were organized, and persons in all positions and callings, from the highest in social life to the humblest resident, were not backward in a.s.serting their allegiance and giving proof of it by entering the ranks. By marching and maneuvering the men on the streets frequently they made the impression that a greater force was present than really was.