The Great North-Western Conspiracy in All Its Startling Details Part 6

McCurdy, Joseph Hogan.

FOURTEENTH WARD.

President, Joseph Kuhn; Vice-President, P. Stech; Treasurer, John Schierer; Secretary, J.B. Winkelman; Executive Committee, B. Docter, Fred. Licht, N. Gerten.

The _Times_ adds:

"The above list gives all the names that have ever been published.

In some of the wards there are two clubs, and yet the permanent organization of either has never been given. In some other wards they have no permanent organization, but elect officers at each weekly meeting. In the other wards clubs will be formed within a few days.

It should be borne in mind that the above clubs are independent of the Invincible Club, which is not a mere ward organization, but represents the whole city."

CHAP. XVII.

PLOT TO a.s.sa.s.sINATE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES--THE CONSUMMATION OF THE INFERNAL PLOT--DEATH OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND DEADLY a.s.sAULT UPON SECRETARY SEWARD--RESOLUTIONS OF THE CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE.

During the autumn of 1864, at a meeting of the Sons of Liberty, in Chicago, a proposition was introduced which contemplated the raising of a fund of fifty thousand dollars, which was to be expended in payment of the services of some person who would undertake to a.s.sa.s.sinate the President of the United States. This was an informal proceeding, the meeting having just adjourned, but it was discussed by several of the leading members, who declared that the "extermination of tyrants was obedience to G.o.d."

What say you, citizens of Chicago, concerning the band of traitors in your midst, who meditate and discuss such crimes as make the soul sicken, and the face blanch with horror; would not any honest man deliver this department of Jeff Davis' most efficient allies into the hands of the United States Government, by any means Heaven might place in his power? If there is a man so fastidious of propriety, so mindful of selfish considerations, that he would not, then, in our opinion, that man is a coward, a traitor, an imbecile too weak to punish, and deserving the scorn and contumely of his countrymen, for all coming time. This proposition was the next day reported in a dispatch to Col.

Sweet, and is now on file in his office. It may be that the persons who discussed the proposition, would not themselves have undertaken the accomplishment of the deed, but the animus of the party was thus rendered apparent, and the proposition was gravely considered and discussed. This occurred soon after an interview, by the writer, with Maj. Gen. Hooker, at the Tremont House, in Chicago, in October. It had been often said that in case Lincoln was elected, he should never be inaugurated, implying that his life would be terminated before that event. Some of the very parties who made these threats, have since been prisoners in Camp Douglas, but are now at large. On the night of the 14th of April, 1865, a.s.sa.s.sins, who were, doubtless, members of the Sons of Liberty, in accordance with the same spirit in which that Order came into existence, and was conducted from first to last, consummated their h.e.l.lish designs by shooting President Lincoln, and stabbing Secretary Seward. The nation now mourns the loss of the n.o.ble martyr of freedom, the truest heart, the most devoted patriot, the sincere advocate of republican inst.i.tutions, and the friend of the people. In every city, town, and village, and hamlet of the land, is sincere mourning; deepest grief swells the hearts and dim the eyes of all who have hearts to feel, and fountains of tears, for the greatest bereavement that has ever befallen our nation. The emblems of mourning, the solemn tolling of bells, the universal gloom which overshadows our land, all impress upon our hearts the terrible affliction that has come upon us, and while we would bow reverently before Him who doeth all things well, and whose wise purpose in this chastening of our already sorrowing people may not now be apparent, we cannot repress the just indignation of our souls that moves us to the enactment of that stern justice which is uncompromising, and which cries to Heaven for vengeance, which nerves our hearts and hands to deeds, the generous, n.o.ble, President of the nation, now silent in the tomb, would have softened or averted. Villains have slain the man whose heart was large enough to take into his affections and paternal love, the whole country,--the man who knew no North, no South, no East, no West, but whose devotion to the best good of the people, was the ruling motive of a life so full of honors and usefulness. The North had no friend like Lincoln! The South had no friend like Lincoln! And, as our n.o.ble armies now march onward to victory, and crush out beneath their iron heel, the last vestige of treason, the memory of Lincoln will prove a watch-word of magic power; soldiers will remember the entreaties, the offers of pardon, the paternal affection of the n.o.ble Lincoln, and the base ingrat.i.tude of the demon who consigned him to the tomb; they who have commended his magnanimity, his humanity, his hopefulness, his reluctance to deal out stern justice, which required hard blows--such of our fellow-citizens will now, with holy indignation, rise in their might, and sweep from the land those whose treason is heard, and whose b.l.o.o.d.y hand is uplifted, aye, and those who devise their h.e.l.lish schemes in secret chambers and hiding places in our own cities and towns. "Remember Lincoln," will be the battle-cry of our boys as they encounter armed treason in the field, and "Remember Lincoln," should be the watchword of friends of freedom at home, when hesitating in clemency, to strike down Copperheads who seek to embarra.s.s the government, and hope for, prophecy and delight in its reverses upon the field of contest. Remember Lincoln and Seward ye men who would now compromise by any and all sacrifices, with a people who have sought to destroy our country, and have stricken down the pride of our nation, the n.o.blest of our land, and the champion of liberty. The Chicago Board of Trade a.s.sembled upon the morning of the 15th of April, and adopted the following resolutions:

_Resolved_, That this Board has heard with mingled sentiments of grief and horror of the foul a.s.sa.s.sination, by accursed traitors, of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States.

_Resolved_, That we mourn in the deepest sorrow his loss as a national calamity. His persevering and devoted patriotism through the dark days of the Republic; his wisdom alike in the hour of trial and triumph, have embalmed his memory in the hearts of his countrymen, and encircled his fame with a glory which time can never tarnish.

_Resolved_, That in this infernal act we see but another instance of the demoniac hate of the slave power, arrested by the strong arm of the government, under the heaven inspired leadership of Abraham Lincoln, in its career of treason, murder and despotism; and we are admonished anew to insist upon no compromise with the infamy, and upon the condign punishment by the mailed hand of power, and the strong arm of the law, of treason and its abettors, wherever found.

_Resolved_, That in our capacity of business men and citizens, we vow eternal hate to the treachery and treason of the rebellion, which, in addition to its before unnumbered crimes, has added the cowardly a.s.sa.s.sination of Abraham Lincoln in the vain hope of destroying this Republic.

_Resolved_, That in deep humiliation, we bow before the G.o.d of battles and of Nations, and, in this hour of our grand triumph and overwhelming sorrow, we reverently consign to His all-guiding wisdom the destiny of this Republic, and pray Him still to have it in His holy keeping.

_Resolved_, That the members of this Board, who have, from the war's beginning, felt it their duty, as it has been their privilege and their pride, to stand by the nation and its President and all its const.i.tuted leaders, loyally aiding and encouraging, as they could, the Cabinet and the Army in the gigantic struggle of the past four years, do now solemnly, unitedly, in the presence of Almighty G.o.d, and in humble reliance on the Divine help, pledge our full, unreserved, and trusting support to the Government of these United States, and to the men who now const.i.tutionally succeed to the authority and powers, now laid down by the great and good man, who has fallen a precious and holy sacrifice on the altar of his country. And the members of this Board, in making this solemn pledge, do the same, not for themselves only, but in behalf of the loyal and patriotic people of the North-west, who have freely offered their first-born, and best beloved for their country's existence, security and honor.

_Resolved_, That the members of this Board express their profound and respectful sympathy with the bereaved family of the deceased, and with the a.s.sociates of the departed in the Cabinet, as well as all the members of the national councils, in the tragic and deplorable events in which they share so largely.

CHAP. XVIII.

HYPOCRISY OF COPPERHEAD NEWSPAPERS--COMPLICITY WITH a.s.sa.s.sINATION--THE LEADERS AND THEIR VICTIMS.

During the month of February, by Executive clemency, a number of Copperheads were released from confinement in Washington, where they had been placed as a measure of public safety. The _Times_ published, and other Copperhead papers echoed the following. That paper now, in a very pious spirit, piteously urges, and the prints of like character also echo it, that "there should be no more party strife," "no more rancor,"

that it has not stabbed the President since he was shot, and the office is now draped with deep mourning. Aminadab Sleek is going to them as a comforter, and as tears mitigate woe, he bears with him an onion. The _Times_ says:

"We submit that this fact should d.a.m.n this Administration, not only for all time, but, if there be justice hereafter, to all eternity. There is not a single civilized government in existence to-day, against which can be charged a similar display of tyranny. With the t.i.tle of being the freest government of modern ages, we have shown ourselves to be one whose disregard of right and whose outrageous a.s.sumptions of power are only paralleled in the reign of despots.

The liberty of fifty men may seem a small affair; but the matter has not so much reference to the magnitude of the offence as it has to the principle which underlies it. The moment Mr. Lincoln, or Mr. Seward, or any other man, dares to deprive one person of his liberty without due process of law, that moment has the government been changed from one of the people to an autocracy--a tyranny. If any man to-day is free in this country, it is not because he is a good citizen, surrounded by the protection of the laws, but simply because Seward or Lincoln has not chosen to order his incarceration.

The epitaph of posterity upon this people is easily antic.i.p.ated. It will be--died 24,000,000 of whites, who lost their liberties and lives in an attempt to give a fict.i.tious freedom to 4,000,000 negroes."

_"Sic semper tyrannis!"_ exclaims Booth, who has read the above article, and the mission of the _Times_ is accomplished, and it now wants "no more party rancor."

"Out of my sight thou serpent! That name best Befits thee with him leagu'd, thyself as false!"

The palpable HYPOCRISY of rebel sympathizers, can now only excite contempt. Who that read the evidence of Clement L. Vallandigham, before the military commission in Cincinnati, gave him credit for sincerity when he said substantially had he supposed there was a plot against the Government, he would have been the first to oppose or expose it.

Have the people forgotten Mr. Vallandigham's record? Have his Dayton neighbors forgotten his cry of "Oc.o.o.n," the cry of distress of the Order to which he belonged, and which was to summon Sons of Liberty to his rescue, when arrested by the Government? Have they forgotten Vallandigham's visit to Fulton county, Illinois, during the autumn of 1864, and its consequences? This county was the stamping ground of the leaders of the treasonable organization, which has been dissected, and whose head and heart are now in a state of decomposition. In that county a.s.sistant Provost Marshal Phelps was shot, there too enrolling officer Criss was shot; in that county is Lewiston, where resides S. Corning Judd, Esq., the Grand Commander of the Sons of Liberty in the State of Illinois. C.L. Vallandigham was the Supreme Commander of the Order in the United States. This Order inaugurated the new warfare at the instance of the Southern rebel leaders--inaugurated a.s.sa.s.sination. This order began with Provost Marshals and enrolling officers, and ended--if indeed the loyal people _will_ it to have ended--with the a.s.sa.s.sination of the best, the wisest, the most deeply loved President since the immortal Washington. It is the education of Copperhead prints, and Copperhead secret societies that has fitted the instruments of death, and our indulgence which has fostered them.

Vallandigham's party had been defeated, his greatness had departed, and to wheel into line and "keep step to the music of the Union," was not for him, and as Milton's creation once exclaimed, so might he have uttered:

"And in my choice To reign is worth ambition, though in h.e.l.l; Better to reign in h.e.l.l than serve in heaven.

But wherefore let me then our faithful friends, The a.s.sociates and co-partners of our loss, Lie thus astonished on the oblivion pool, And call them not to share with us their part In this unhappy mansion; or once more With rallied arms to try what may be yet Regained in heaven, or what more lost in h.e.l.l."

And so Clement L. Vallandigham became Supreme Commander of the Sons of Liberty.

Who is S. Corning Judd, who testifies before the Commission that _"the organization_ (Sons of Liberty) _was being used in Indiana and Missouri for improper purposes"?_ Who is he that says the organization in Chicago "was looked upon by many of the leaders with great distrust; many of those connected with the order in Chicago were radical, extreme men, and understood to be men of little standing or character"? that one of the delegates from Missouri stated his belief that the order in that State was in favor of "giving aid and comfort to the Confederates"? When Judd made these statements upon the stand, all loyal papers, with one accord, declared that the evidence fully warranted the arrests, in the manner and at the time they were made. No fair-minded man _then_ could come to any other conclusion. Who, we ask, is S. Corning Judd? Stump-speakers, last fall, would have said that he was the "Democratic" candidate for Lieutenant Governor--and so he was. The Gubernatorial ticket bore the name of James C. Robinson for Governor, and S. Corning Judd for Lieutenant Governor--the former a man who, in Congress, voted against "fighting, crushing, and destroying" the rebellion. Both Robinson and Judd were Sons of Liberty, and to them Copperheads fondly turned, and had they carried the State, anarchy and bloodshed would have been the consequence; and, indeed, in the expressed opinion of Judge Morris, "had they carried the State, he cared not who might be President, for they would possess the reins of the General Government." S. Corning Judd sought to serve his own ends by controlling the Sons of Liberty, and failing in this, he gave the cold-shoulder to his Brig.-General (Walsh), when, in consequence of executing the edicts of the order, he found himself a close prisoner for the horrid doctrine of secession; _he_ must be tried and convicted, but the Grand Commander, S. Corning Judd, and the Supreme Commander, C.L. Vallandigham, and the Past Grand Commander, or Major-General, Amos Green, each, severally appear upon the stand against him, and they permitted to go scott free. O, cursed doctrine of secession!

"So stretch'd out huge in length the arch-fiend lay, Chain'd on the burning lake; nor ever thence Had risen or heaved his head, but that the will And high permission of All-ruling Heaven Left him at large to his own dark designs; That with reiterated crimes he might Heap on himself d.a.m.nation, while he sought Evil to others."

If Vallandigham, if Judd, if Green, if Barrett, and if the many equally guilty persons released from custody go unpunished, then "Justice, thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason." Not that we would contradict Judd in the least in aught that he has said against the Chicago temple, but we would tell him that we know the Chicago temple, so far from taking the lead in radicalism, was behind the order in Peoria, in Bloomington, in Dubuque, in St. Louis, Louisville, and many other places. Give the devil his due. In some places the boldness of Copperheadism induced prominent members of the Sons of Liberty to approach members of Congress, with their base proposals to enter the order.

CHAP. XIX.

EXTINCTION OF SLAVERY--NO CONCILIATION WITH TRAITORS--DOWN WITH COPPERHEADS AT HOME.

In a publication of this character, it will not be expected we should review either the causes which led to the great rebellion, with its hydra heads and its sad consequences; but in closing, and especially in view of the terrible tragedy which has plunged a nation in deepest grief, we cannot refrain from saying, that the last most diabolical deed was not the act of individual madness, of personal hate and pa.s.sion, it was the culmination of the hatred by the slave power of the principle of liberty, and the champion of freedom. It was not because the a.s.sa.s.sin felt in his heart a hatred of Abraham Lincoln, but because he, and the people at whose instigation he acted, hated the apostle of liberty, and the instrument in the hand of G.o.d for the accomplishment of a great and mighty work. Although it was the purpose of this band of murderers to a.s.sa.s.sinate the President and the whole Cabinet, it was not from personal malice against them as men, but the enemy sought by the destruction of the exponents of a free government, to give new life to the expiring representation of the slave power. So antagonistic was freedom to slavery that it was impossible to permanently embody the representatives of these principles with a republican government, which should be perfect in its formation, wise and just in its action, the hope of the liberty loving people throughout the world, and the pride and glory of American citizens. Every year since the adoption of the old Const.i.tution, have discordant elements cropped out, and incidents transpired, which demonstrated to every rational mind, that as time rolled on, the acc.u.mulation of combustible elements would ultimately explode, and shake the civilized world to its center.

The facts that Northern teachers, Northern clergymen, Northern mercantile agents, Northern men upon business or pleasure, travelling at the South, and unwilling to stultify themselves, or become pa.s.sive approvers and admirers of the "peculiar inst.i.tution," were treated with all possible indignities, and might count themselves fortunate if they escaped with their lives. So complete was the universal devotion to slavery in all sections of the South, and so baneful its effects upon the people, that all other considerations were made subservient to this.

For slavery, friends were alienated, hatred established, so bitter in its extent that only death could appease it. It demoralized the entire people; it found its way with all its horrid moral deformities, into the very capitol; it caused the murderous a.s.sault of Brooks upon Charles Sumner in the Senate, and the many altercations and bitter harangues which have from time to time disgraced our National Congress; it was its cropping out that caused the fearless and n.o.ble President Andy Johnson, to threaten to hang Jeff. Davis--and which he may yet be called upon to perform;--it was slavery that devised the doctrine of secession; that has led to the deadly conflict upon hundreds of battle fields, and has spilled the best blood of our nation, and caused mourning and gloom all over the face of our once happy land. What wonder then, that the n.o.ble Lincoln, who, in the sincerity of his heart, and in the dictates of superior wisdom, who, seeing and appreciating the encroachments and horrors of slavery, not only to the people in bondage, but to the citizens of our country in every section--who wonders that Lincoln, whose name is immortal, especially for his extirpation of this curse, should be singled out by the demon of slavery, and a.s.signed by Davis, his prophet, for a violent death. Thank G.o.d, the cancer is extirpated so thoroughly, that its fibres of death can never again form to threaten destruction to our land. True, the operation has been most painful, and no anesthetic agent has been employed; the suffering has been fearful, and the country has, to its extremities, trembled with anguish; but it is over now.

The a.s.sa.s.sination of the President was the will of Jeff. Davis, whispered in the temples of the Sons of Liberty or American Knights, into the ears of those of the members of the Orders, who had made the most proficiency in their teachings, and these beings, true to their _oaths_, went forth upon their mission of blood.

The following "gems," from the debates in the Democratic National Convention, will be read with interest now and in future time: