476 INDIAN LOYALISTS OVERPOWERED. earnestly urged them to observe a strict neutrality, and to maintain a trust that God would not only keep from their borders the desolation of war, but stay its "ravages among the brotherhood of States." But Ross and his loyal adherents among the Cherokees and Creeks were overborne by the tide of rebellion, and were swept on, powerless, by its JOHN ROSS. tremendous current. The forts on the frontier of Texas (Gibson, Arbuckle, and Washita), used for their defense, had, as we have observed, been abandoned by United States troops, in consequence of the treason of Twiggs, and the Indians were threatened by an invasion from that State. Fort Smith, on the boundary-line between Arkansas and the Indian Territory,' had also been evacuated, and was now in possession of the insurgents. Their immediate neighbors, the Choctaws and Chickasaws, with wild tribes westward of them, were rallying to the standard of the conspirators; and the National troops in Missouri were unable to check the rising rebellion there. Isolated and weak, and perceiving no hope for relief by their Government, the chief men of the Cherokees held a mass meeting at Tahlequah in August," and with great unanimity declared their allegiance to the "Confederate States." Ross still held out, but, finally yielding to the force of circumstances and the teachings of expediency, he called on the Council of the Cherokee Nation to assemble at Tahlequah on the 20th of the same month, when he sent in a message, recommending the severance of their connection with the National Government, and an alliance with the "Confederates." Four days afterward,' he sent a note to an August 24. officer of the insurgent forces, covering dispatches to Ben McCulloch, under whom the Indians and some Texan troops were to act, informing him that the Cherokee Nation had espoused the cause of the conspirators. The wife of Ross, a young and well-educated woman, still held out; and when an attempt was made to raise a Confederate" flag over the Council a August 2, 1861. 1 The boundary-line runs through the fort. It is at the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers, and near it is the city of Fort Smith, at which an immense trade with the Indians and New Mexicans was carried on before the war. It was next to Little Rock, the capital of the State, in population. 2 The following is a copy of Ross's note: "To Major G. W. CLARK, A. Q. M., C. S. A.: EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, "SIR:-I herewith forward to your care dispatches for General McCulloch, C. S. A.. which I have the honor to request you will cause to be forwarded to him by earliest express. At a mass meeting of about four thousand Cherokees, at Tahlequah, on the 21st inst., the Cherokees, with marked unanimity, declared their allegiance to the Confederate States, and have given their authorities power to negotiate an alliance with them. In view of this action, a regiment of mounted men will be immediately raised, and placed under command of Colonel John Drew, to meet any emergency that may come. The dispatches to General McCulloch relate to the subject, and contain a tender from Colonel Drew of his regiment, for service on our northern border. Having espoused the cause of the Confederate States, we hope to render efficient service in the protracted war which now threatens the country, and to win the liberal confidence of the Confederate States. "I have the honor to be, Sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN Ross, "Principal Chief Cherokee Nation." PRINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE CHEROKEES. 477 House, she opposed the act with so much spirit, that the insurgents desisted. Equally spirited was the head Chief of the Creeks. After fighting the insurgents in the field, he was driven into Kansas, where he died in 1864. During the civil war, the Cherokees suffered terribly, at times, from the depredations of guerrilla bands of rebels, who infested the western borders of Missouri and Arkansas and Upper Texas, roaming through the Indian country, and committing violence and robberies every where. Three of the most noted of the leaders of these robber bands were named, respectively, Taylor, Anderson, and Tod, who gave to the bravest of their followers a silver badge, star-shaped, and bearing their names. The secessionists would not trust Chief Ross. Indeed, his loyalty to his country was so obvious that they were about to arrest him, when he fled to the North with some National troops who penetrated the Cherokee country in 1862. About fifty of his relations escaped with him. During the remainder of the war he and his family resided in Philadelphia, where the writer had a long and interesting interview with him early in 1865. Mr. Ross had in his possession one of the guerrilla badges just mentioned, of which an engraving, the size of the original, is given below. He was then seventy-four years of age. He was of medium hight, compactly built, with abundant white hair, and having only one-eighth of Indian blood in his veins, he had every appearance of a purely white man. His life, as principal Chief of the Cherokees during their emergence from Paganism, their persecutions and sufferings while eastward of the Mississippi, and their settlement and advancement in their new homes westward of the Father of Waters, had been an exceedingly interesting one. Taylor 478 UPRISING OF THE SOUTHERN PEOPLE. CHAPTER XX. COMMENCEMENT OF CIVIL WAR. • 1861. T the close of April, Jefferson Davis and his confederates were satisfied that the Government and the loyal people of the country were resolved to maintain the nationality of the Republic at all hazards, and they put forth extraordinary efforts to strike a deadly blow before it should be too late. The possession of Washington City being the chief object to be first obtained, troops were hurried toward it, as we have seen, from all points of the Slave-labor States, with the greatest possible haste and in the greatest possible numbers. At the beginning of May there were sixteen thousand of them on their way to Virginia or within its borders, and, with the local troops of that Commonwealth, were pressing on toward Washington, or to important points of communication with it. At the same time measures were on foot at Montgomery for organizing an army of one hundred thousand men.' The enthusiasm among the young men of the ruling class in the South was equal to that of the young men of the North. Notwithstanding the proclamation of the President, calling for seventy-five thousand men, was read by crowds, "on the bulletin-boards of the telegraph-offices in every town, with roars of laughter and derision, and cheers for the great rail-splitter Abraham," as one of their chroniclers avers, and few believed that there would be war, "companies were formed on the spot, from among the wealthiest of the youths, and thousands of dollars were spent on their organization, drill, and equipment; indeed, had Jefferson Davis so desired, he could have had two hundred thousand volunteers within a month for any term of service." The enthusiasm of the young men was shared by the other sex. "Banners of costly material," says the same writer, "were made by clubs of patriotic young ladies, and delivered to the companies with appropriate speeches-the men, on such occasions, swearing that they would perish rather than desert the flag thus consecrated. Subscriptions for arms and accouterments poured in, and an emissary was dispatched northward, post-haste, to get the requisites." Regarding the whole matter as a lively pastime in prospect, many of the companies prepared to dress in costly attire, and bear the most expensive rifles; but those who knew better than they what kind of an entertainment the Southern youth were invited to, gave them some sound lessons at the beginning. "The young gentlemen of your company," wrote Jefferson 1 "Message" of Jefferson Davis to the "Congress of the Confederate States of America," April 29, 1861. 2 Battle-Fields of the South: by an English Combatant. Page 4. CHARACTER OF THE EARLY VOLUNTEERS. 479 Davis to a Mississippi captain, "must be thoroughly infused with the idea that their services will prove to be in hardships and dangers; the commonest material, therefore, will be the most desirable; and as for arms, we must be content with what we have; the enemy will come superabundantly provided with all things that money and ingenuity can devise. We must learn to supply ourselves from them." He recommended that all volunteers should be dressed in gray flannels and light blue cotton pantaloons.' The grand rallying-place of the "Confeder preparatory to a march on the Capital, was Manassas Junction, a point on the Orange and Alexandria Railway, where another joins it from Manassas Gap in the Blue Ridge, about twentyfive miles west from Alexandria, and thirty in a direct line from Washington City. This was a most important strategic point in the plans of the conspirators, as it commanded the grand Southern railway route, connecting Washington and Richmond, and another leading to the fertile valley of the Shenandoah, beyond the Blue Ridge. General Butler had already suggested to General Scott the propriety of sending National troops to occupy that very position before a "Confederate" soldier had appeared, knowing that Washington City could be more easily defended at that distance from it, than by troops and batteries on Arlington Hights, just across the Potomac, within cannon-shot of the Capital. The Generalin-chief disagreed with Butler; and while the veteran soldier was slowly MISSISSIPPI RIFLEMAN.2 'Battle-Fields of the South, page 5.-This writer, speaking of the company to which he was attached. says:-"The ambition of all was to bear a musket in the holy war for independence," and added, "that his company was composed of men representing property, in the aggregate, of not less than twenty millions of dollars." Then, "to show the spirit of those about to fight for the freedom of their country," he says:-" A commissioned (company) officer, having donned his gray uniform and gilded shoulder-straps, began to strut about camp and assume airs,' eager to show his little brief authority' on all occasions. This unfortunate fellow disgusted those who elected him; and although the men were desirous of learning their duty thoroughly and expeditiously, he seized upon every opportunity to 'blackguard' his former associates. He was frequently told how obnoxions his assuming manner was; but, not heeding the admonition, several threatened to take him out and whale' him. Laughing at these suppressed remarks, he dared to lift his sword to slap one of the men when on parade: he was told what the immediate consequence would be, but foolishly raised the weapon again, and slapped one across the shoulders; when, in an instant, the rifle was dropped, a bowie-knife flashed, and the officer lay dead on the turf, stabbed five or six times in as many seconds. The company did not stir, but looked on and applauded; the culprit quietly wiped his knife, resumed his place in the ranks, and dress-parade proceeded as if nothing had happened. Courts-martial could not-or at all events did not-attempt to exercise any jurisdiction in this or similar cases; they were reckoned affairs of self-defense, or 'honor."" 2 The Mississippi Riflemen were renowned as destructive sharp-shooters during the war. In addition to their rifle, they carried a sheath-knife, known as the bowie-knife, in their belt. This is a formidable weapon in a hand-to-hand fight, when wielded by men expert in its use, as many were in the Southwestern States, where it was generally seen in murderous frays in the streets and bar-rooms. Its origin is connected with an incident in the life of Colonel Bowie, who was engaged in the revolt of Texas against Mexico, in 1835 and 1836. His sword-blade was broken in an encounter, when he converted the remainder into a stout sharp-pointed knife, and the weapon became very popular. See note 2, page 266. 3 Parton's Butler in New Orleans, page 105. BOWIE-KNIFE AND SHEATH. 480 THE INSURGENTS ON ARLINGTON HIGHTS. preparing for a defensive campaign, the enemies of the Government, moving aggressively and quickly, had taken full possession, unopposed, of one of the most important positions for the accomplishment of their object. They attempted to do more. Under Colonel Lee, the late occupant of Arlington House, they were preparing to fortify Arlington Hights, where heavy siegeguns would absolutely command the cities of Washington and Georgetown. Fortunately for the country, this movement was discovered in time to defeat its object. That discovery revealed the necessity of an immediate advance of National forces beyond the Potomac. The advantages gained by the insurgents in having possession of the railways in that region was painfully apparent. Already "Confederate" pickets were occupying Arlington Hights and the Virginia shore of the Long Bridge, which spans the Potomac at Washington City; and engineers had been seen on those hights selecting eligible positions for batteries.' a May 23, 1561. 2 A crisis was evidently at hand, and the General-in-chief was now persuaded to allow an immediate invasion of Virginia. Orders were at once issued for the occupation of the shores of the Potomac opposite, and also the city of Alexandria, nine miles below, by National troops. General Mansfield was in command of about thirteen thousand men at the Capital. Toward midnight, these forces in and around Washington were put in motion for the passage of the river, at three different points. One column was to cross at the Aqueduct Bridge, at Georgetown; another at the Long Bridge, at Washington; and a third was to proceed in vessels, and seize the city of Alexandria.. The three invading columns moved almost simultaneously. The one at Georgetown was commanded by General Irvin McDowell. Some local volunteers crossed first, and drove the insurgent pickets from the Virginia end of the Aqueduct Bridge. These were followed by the Fifth Massachusetts; the Twenty-eighth New York, from Brooklyn; Company B of the United States Cavalry; and the Sixty-ninth New York, which was an Irish regiment, under Colonel Michael Corcoran. Their march across that lofty structure, in the bright light of a full moon, was a beautiful spectacle. Thousands of anxious men and women saw the gleaming of their bayonets and the waving of their 1 James D. Gay, mentioned in note 1, page 418, visited the steamship Monticello on the 23d of May, then discharging Government stores at Georgetown, and while viewing Arlington Hights, not far from the Aqueduct Bridge, through a telescope, discovered Lee (according to his description) and some subordinate officers, apparently engaged, in the partial concealment of bushes and irregularities of the ground, in laying ont fortifica tions. After satisfying himself that preparations were being made by the insurgents to plant batteries on Arlington Hights, Gay hastened to the head-quarters of General Mansfield and told him what he had seen, in detail. The General, not doubting that a battery would be built on Arlington Hights that night, went imme. diately to the War Department with his information. The order went out at once for the troops to move into Virginia and occupy Arlington Hights before the insurgents should gain absolute possession there. The suecess of the National troops on that occasion was a very severe blow to the conspirators. The loss of that opportunity to gain a position that would doubtless have secured their possession of Washington City, was at the time, and frequently afterward, spoken of in the Richmond press as one of the greatest of misfortunes. 2 On the previous day (May 22) a large National flag, purchased by the clerks of the Post-Office Department. in testimony of their loyalty, was raised over the General Post-Office, in Washington City, by the hand of President Lincoln. The air was almost motionless, and the banner clung ominously sullen to the staff and the halliards. In a few moments a gentle breeze came from the North, and displayed the Stripes and Stars in all their beauty and significance to the assembled crowd. "I had not thought to say a word," said the President when he observed the incident, "but it has occurred to me that a few weeks ago the 'Stars and Stripes' hung rather languidly about the staff, all over the nation. So too with this flag, when it was clevated to its place. At first it hung rather languidly, but the glorious breeze from the North came, and it now floats as it should. And we hope that the same breeze is swelling the glorious flag throughout the whole Union |
