voting with the Opposition. The President's signature, five days thereafter, made it a law of the land, abolishing for ever the least creditable and most disagreeable function of the marshals of our Federal Courts.

soon reported" his bill, with ample | Winkle and Willey, of West Va., reasons for its passage-Mr. Buckalew, of Pa., making a minority report in opposition. Mr. Sumner persistently and successfully pressed the consideration of his bill, offering not to debate it; and, after some discussion, the Senate adopted" an amendment proposed by Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, excepting the act of 1793 from the contemplated repeal: Yeas 24; Nays 17. The debate was still further continued; but no final action was had on the bill.

*

Mr. Morris, of N. Y., reported" from the Judiciary Committee a bill repealing all acts and parts of acts contemplating the rendition of fugitive slaves; which was debated with great spirit by a score of membersMessrs. Mallory, of Ky., Cox, of Ohio, and others, opposing it as equivalent to annulling the Constitution. Mr. Mallory observed that the majority had already crushed out the Unionism of the revolted States, and were now extending the process to that of the Border Slave States, and impressively warned the House to forbear. Finally, after having once moved and withdrawn the Previous Question, Mr. Morris moved it again; when it prevailed, and the bill passed under it: Yeas 88; Nays 57.

88

Mr. Sumner demanded" the consideration of this bill in Senate; and it was, after a fiery debate, ordered: Yeas 25; Nays 17. Mr. Johnson, of Md., endeavored to save the act of 1793; but the Senate refused: Yeas 17; Nays 22. The bill, after being laid over one day to enable Mr. Davis, of Ky., to make a speech against it, was passed:" Yeas 27; Nays 12 -Messrs. Cowan, of Pa., and Van

The District of Columbia had been governed mainly by the laws of the States which ceded it; and those laws were framed in the interest of slave-holding. They presumed every colored person a slave who could not produce White evidence of his freedom; and there had grown up in Washington a practice, highly lucrative to her Federal Marshal, but most disgraceful to the city and Nation, of seizing Blacks on the streets, immuring them in the jail, advertising them, and waiting for masters to appear, prove property, pay charges, and take the human chattels away. Mr. Lincoln's Marshal, Col. Ward H. Lamon, came with him from Illinois, but was a Virginian by birth, and did not revolt at the abundant and profitable custom brought to his shop by the practice just depicted. Gen. Wilson, of Mass., early" called the attention of the Senate to this painful subject; saying that he had "visited the jail; and such a scene of degradation and inhumanity he had never witnessed. There were persons almost entirely naked; some of them without a shirt. Some of those persons were free; most of them had run away from disloyal masters, or had been sent there by disloyal persons, for safe keeping until the war is over." He thereupon proposed a discharge by joint resolve of all persons confined in the District jail

85 Feb. 29. Mar. 19. 87 June 6. 88 June 13. 89 June 21. 90 June 23, 1864. 91 Dec. 4, 1861.

NO SLAVE-TRADE-LAW OF EVIDENCE.

269

as fugitive slaves. In the debate | after, all such persons now in his jail. which ensued, Mr. Wilson stated This put a stop to one of the most that the French legation had recent- flagrant and glaring iniquities habitly taken to that jail gentlemen who ually perpetrated in a Christian and had traversed the world inspecting civilized community. prisons, with a view to their improvement; and that, after examining this, they observed to the jailer that they had never before seen but one so bad; and that was in Austria. Mr. Grimes, of Iowa, remarked that he believed there was never a jail so bad as this, save the French Bastile, and some of the dungeons of Venice. When he visited it, a few days before, he found among the prisoners a boy who claimed to be free-born, yet who had been confined there thirteen months and four days on suspicion of being a runaway slave. He further stated that Marshal Lamon had forbidden Members of Congress access to the prison without his written permission.

Messrs. Powell, of Kentucky, Pearce, of Maryland, and Carlile, of Virginia, opposed the resolve; but it was warmly supported and passed:" Yeas 31; Nays 4.

94

93

A bill reported" by Mr. Sumner, from the Select Committee on Slavery and Freedom, to prohibit the holding of slaves on National vessels, and also the coastwise Slave-Trade, was lost "Yeas 13; Nays 20-but he again moved a prohibition of the coastwise Slave-Trade, and of all laws sanctioning and regulating the same, as an amendment to the Civil Appropriation bill; and it was adopted: Yeas 23; Nays 14. Thus fastened to a necessary measure, the proposition was duly enacted, and received the President's signature on the 2d of July, 1864.

97

Mr. Sumner proposed " another Amendment to this bill, providing that "in the Courts of the United States, there shall be no exclusion of any witness on account of color." Mr. Buckalew moved to add, "or because he is a party to or interested in the issue tried." This was agreed to; and Mr. Sumner's amendment, thus amended, was adopted: Yeas 22; Nays 16; and the bill passed, as already stated; making it the law of the land that no person shall henceforth be precluded from giving testimony either because of his color or because he is interested in the pend

A similar resolve had already " been submitted to the House. No action was taken, however, upon this, nor upon the Senate's kindred measure; because the President, through Secretary Seward, addressed an order to Marshal Lamon, directing him not to receive into custody any persons caught up as fugitives from Slavery, but to discharge, ten days there-ing issue. 92 Jan. 14, 1862. 93 Dec. 9, 1861. 94 Jan. 25, 1862. 95 March 23, 1864. 96 June 24. 97 June 25.

XIII.

ROSECRANS'S WINTER CAMPAIGN.

GEN. ROSECRANS, on assuming' Tennessee-our army was clustered command of Buell's Army of the around Bowling Green, whence it Ohio, found it seriously depleted could advance only so fast as the reand demoralized by the exhaustive pair of its sole line of supply should marches and indecisive conflicts of be perfected. Its designation had the last six months. With a strength been changed to "Fourteenth Army fully adequate to the rout and de- Corps ;" the Department having been struction of all the forces led into curtailed, and rechristened that of Kentucky by Bragg and Kirby the Cumberland. It was now orSmith, it had seen that State ravaged ganized into three grand divisions: throughout by that locust horde, the Right, under Maj.-Gen. McCook, which had in due time rëcrossed the with Brig.-Gens. J. W. Sill, Phil. H. Cumberland Mountains unassailed, Sheridan, and Col. W. E. Woodruff returning to East Tennessee as if in at the head of its subordinate divitriumph. Of the 100,000 men for- sions respectively; the Center, under merly borne on its muster-rolls, he Maj.-Gen. Geo. H. Thomas, with its found, on examination, no less than subordinate divisions led by Maj.26,482 "absent by authority"-most, Gen. L. H. Rousseau, Brig.-Gens. but not nearly all of them, doubtless, Negley, Palmer, Dumont, and Fry; in hospitals-sick or wounded; while whereof Dumont and Fry were soon 6,484 more were "absent without relieved, and Palmer transferred to authority"-in other words, had de- the Left Wing, of which Maj.-Gen. serted. His effective force was thus T. L. Crittenden had command, and reduced to about 65,000 men; while which consisted of the sub-divisions his cavalry was so inferior in num- of Brig.-Gens. T. J. Wood, H. P. bers and efficiency that the troopers Van Cleve, and W. S. Smith. Roseof Forrest and John Morgan rode crans assigned the chief command of around us at will, striking at posts his dilapidated cavalry to Maj.-Gen. and supply trains, and compelling D. S. Stanley; while Lt.-Col. Julius enormous and constantly increasing, P. Garesché-an officer of rare capaexhausting details to keep open our city and merit-was placed at the communications and preserve our head of his staff, with Capt. J. St. army from starvation. Clair Morton as Chief Engineer, and Col. Wm. Truesdail as Chief of Army Police.

The railroad from Louisville to Nashville had been reopened to and across Green river; so that, though there was no considerable force of the enemy in its front-Bragg's army being still on its tedious, toilsome, circuitous retreat through East

1 Oct. 30, 1862.

MOORE'S DISGRACE AT HARTSVILLE.

271

and a small squad of Morgan's men ; bringing in their arms and horses. A Rebel force having, about this time, dashed across the Cumberland near Hartsville, capturing a forage train and its escort, Major Hill, 2d Indiana, chased the captors 18 miles, recovering all we had lost, and killing some 18 or 20 Rebels-for which he was publicly complimented by Rosecrans; who, finding that some of his soldiers were base enough to surrender wantonly to the enemy, in order to be paroled and sent home, had fifty of the caitiffs dressed up in ridiculous night-caps, and thus paraded, before their jeering comrades, through Nashville, to the music of the Rogue's March; after which, they were forwarded to the parole camp in Indiana. The lesson did not require repetition.

6

commanded by Gen. Negley, he re- | prised and captured Capt. Portch viewed next day. His divisions, as they arrived, were thrown out in front of the city, covering the roads leading southward; the command of the Right here devolving on Gen. Jeff. C. Davis; Gen. R. B. Mitchell relieved Negley as commandant at Nashville, enabling him to go to the front; while Dumont's division was merged a new one being created, and Brig.-Gen. J. J. Reynolds assigned to its command. Until the railroad was fully reopened' hence to Louisville, our men only lived from hand to mouth, rendering a farther advance impossible; so that Bragg's army had time to conclude its long march and reappear in our front at MURFREESBOROUGH, before Rosecrans was prepared to assume the offensive. Meantime, Morgan had been exhibiting his audacity and vigor as a leader of cavalry. Several daring dashes on our supply trains below Mitchellsville had resulted in the capture of a number of our wagons and at least 150 men; Lt. Beals and 20 men of the 4th Michigan cavalry had been picked up near Stone river; but Gen. Stanley, reporting for duty about this time, soon drove the Rebel raiders from our rear; and, in several partisan affairs occurring directly afterward, the advantage was with us-a Texas regiment being chased by Col. L. M. Kennett some 15 miles down the Franklin turnpike; while Brig.-Gen. E. N. Kirk that day drove Wheeler out of Lavergne-Wheeler himself being wounded. Phil. Sheridan, on another road, pressed the enemy back to Nolensville, without loss on our part; and Col. Roberts, 42d Illinois, sur

*Nov. 26.

5

Gen. Thomas having thrown forward on our left a brigade-nearly 2,000 strong-to Hartsville, its command fell to Col. A. B. Moore, 104th Illinois, who allowed himself to be surprised' by Morgan, at the head of 1,500 cavalry and mounted infantry, and most disgracefully captured; though the residue of Gen. Dumont's division was at Castilian Springs, only nine miles distant. Moore had neglected to fortify or even intrench himself; his vedettes were surprised and picked up; Morgan advanced on him at 7 A. M., in broad daylight, having previously gained his rear without exciting an alarm; when Moore, who had hastily taken post on a hill, and who soon contrived to evince every species of incapacity, cowardice inclusive, surrendered, and was hurried off with about 1,500

。 Nov. 27.