Special Committee of Thirteen

Authorized Dec. 18, 1860, as a committee to which was referred "so much of the President's message as relates to the present agitated and distracted condition of the country, and the grievances between the slaveholding and the non-slaveholding States." The committee was instructed "to inquire into the present condition of the country, and report by bill or otherwise." To it were appointed, on Dec. 20, 1860, Lazarus W. Powell (Ky.), Robert M. T. Hunter (Va.), John J. Crittenden (Ky.), William H. Seward (N. Y.), Robert Toombs (Ga.), Stephen A. Douglas (Ill.), Jacob Collamer (Vt.), Jefferson Davis (Miss.), Benjamin F. Wade (Ohio), William Bigler (Pa.), Henry M. Rice (Minn.), James R. Doolittle (Wis.), and James W. Grimes (Iowa). On Dec. 31, 1860, the committee reported that it had not been able to agree upon any general plan of adjustment. Its journal is printed as S. Rept. 288, 36 Cong., 2 sess., Serial 1090.

There are no papers of the committee as such, but the original of its journal, which constituted its report, is available (36A-D1).

Select Committee on Payment of Outstanding Treasury Notes, etc.

Authorized Jan. 23, 1861, to report on a bill (H. R. 338) "to provide for the payment of outstanding treasury notes, to authorize a loan, to regulate and fix the duties on imports, and for other purposes"; appointed Jan. 24, 1861, to consist of James F. Simmons (R. I.), Robert M. T. Hunter (Va.), William Bigler (Pa.), Jacob Collamer (Vt.), and William M. Gwin (Calif.). The committee reported the bill on Feb. 1, 1861.

C1).

Records. --Copies of the House bill in question and related papers (36A

Select Committee on Certain Amendments Proposed to the Constitution by the Convention Held in Washington ("Peace Conference")

Authorized and appointed Feb. 27, 1861, to consider and report on a communication of that day from former President John Tyler, president of a convention held in Washington composed of commissioners appointed by 21 of the States "to deliberate upon the present unhappy condition of the country." (See S. Misc. Doc. 20, 36 Cong., 2 sess., Serial 1089). On the next day the committee reported a joint resolution (S. 70) proposing certain amendments to the Constitution. This "Peace Conference," held at the invitation of the State of Virginia "to adjust the unhappy differences which now disturb the peace of the Union and threaten its continuance," met in Washington, Feb. 4-27, 1861. The committee consisted of John J. Crittenden (Ky.), William Bigler (Pa.), John R. Thomson (N. J.), William H. Seward (N. Y.), and Lyman Trumbull (Ill. ).

No reports or other records of the Select Committee on Inauguration of the President (appointed Feb. 14, 1861) and the Select Committee on Preservation of Order in the Galleries (appointed Mar. 8, 1861) appear to be extant.

37TH CONGRESS

Select Committee on the Construction of a Pacific Railroad

Authorized and appointed July 16, 1861, as a committee to which was referred a resolution of July 12, "That a railway from the terminus of railway communication west of the Mississippi to the Pacific Coast is at the present time demanded as a military work, and also from political considerations growing out of our present disturbances." (Both of the leading political parties in their 1860 platforms had declared in favor of building a railroad to complete rail connections between the East and the West; and the outbreak of the Civil War, bringing the necessity for closer military communication, aided the movement.) The committee consisted originally of James A. McDougall (Calif.), Samuel C. Pomeroy (Kans.), Daniel Clark (N. H.), Trusten Polk (Mo.), and Edgar Cowan (Pa.). Its continuation was authorized on Dec. 9, 1861. In the 3d session of the 37th Congress the committee was renewed and to it was referred a bill (S. 439) to amend an act of July 1, 1862 (12 Stat. 489), "to aid in the Construction of a Railroad and Telegraph Line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the Use of the same for Postal, Military, and Other Purposes." Its chairman, James A. McDougall (Calif.), served as first chairman of the successor standing committee authorized on Dec. 22, 1863. There are no papers of the committee as such, but the original of the referred bill, with committee notations, is available (37A-B1).

Select Committee on the Surrender of the Pensacola Navy Yard and the Destruction of Public Property at the Norfolk Navy Yard and at the Harper's Ferry Armory

Authorized July 25, 1861; appointed July 29, to consist of John P. Hale (N. H.), Andrew Johnson (Tenn.), and James W. Grimes (Iowa); continuation authorized on Dec. 9, 1861. The committee's proceedings and the evidence taken are appended to its report (S. Rept. 37, 37 Cong., 2 sess., Serial 1125); these include papers submitted by Gideon Welles concerning the Norfolk Navy Yard and the proceedings of the naval court-martial, Mar. 12, 1861, of Capt. James Armstrong, commandant of the navy yard at Warrington, Fla., at the time of its surrender.

There are no manuscript records of the committee. Its report was printed as S. Rept. 37, 37 Cong., 2 sess., Serial 1125.

Select Committee to Investigate the Charges Preferred Against Benjamin Stark

Authorized and appointed Mar. 18, 1862, to investigate the loyalty of Senator Stark of Oregon. The committee consisted of Daniel Clark (N. H.), Jacob M. Howard (Mich.), Joseph A. Wright (Ind.), Waitman T. Willey (Va.), and John Sherman (Ohio).

There are no papers of the committee as such, but the original of its report (printed as S. Rept. 38, 37 Cong., 2 sess., Serial 1125), with related papers, is available (37A-D1).

Select Committee on the National Armory and Foundry

Authorized and appointed Mar. 21, 1862, to consider a bill (S. 196) "for the establishment of a national foundry and furnace for the fabrication of cannon and projectiles for the government. " Committee members were James W. Grimes (Iowa), Preston King (N. Y.), Edgar Cowan (Pa.), James Dixon (Conn.), and John B. Henderson (Mo.).

Records. --Petitions, memorials, etc., referred to the committee, urging the selection of particular sites for the armory and foundry (37A-E14, 37A-H16). These describe favorable local conditions such as available power, healthfulness, military security, and transportation facilities.

Select Committee on a Bill to Confiscate the Property and Free the Slaves of Rebels

Authorized May 6, 1862, to consider S. 151; appointed May 7, to consist of Daniel Clark (N. H.), Jacob Collamer (Vt.), Lyman Trumbull (Ill.), Edgar Cowan (Pa.), Henry Wilson (Mass.), Ira Harris (N. Y.), John Sherman (Ohio), John B. Henderson (Mo.), and Waitman T. Willey (Va.). On May 14 the committee reported a bill (S. 310) and was discharged.

No records of this committee have been found, but the originals of the resolution referred to the committee and of the bill reported are available (37A-B6, 37A-B2).

Select Committee on the Message of the H. of R. Regarding the Impeachment of West H. Humphreys

Authorized and appointed May 8, 1862, to consist of Lafayette S. Foster (Conn.), Garrett Davis (Ky.) and James R. Doolittle (Wis.). Humphreys, judge of the U. S. District Court for the several districts of Tennessee, was charged with high crimes and misdemeanors in office.

There are no records of the committee as such, but the original of its resolution of May 9, 1862, is available (37A-B6) and the journal of the impeachment proceedings and other papers are among the records of the Clerk of the Senate (see above). The record of the trial is appended to S. Journal, 37 Cong., 2 sess. (Serial 1116, p. 889-904).

Select Committee to Inquire Into the Chartering of Transport Vessels for the Banks Expedition

Under Senate resolutions of Dec. 22 and 23, 1862, a select committee of three was appointed "to inquire into and report to the Senate the facts, including brokerage, in regard to the chartering of transport vessels for the Banks expedition, the sea-worthiness of such vessels, and the character of the men employed to navigate them," and also "into the manner of the employment of transports generally by the quartermasters of the army, or by the agents of the War Department, the rates at which they were engaged, by whom, for what purpose, and for how long time. " The committee consisted of James W. Grimes (Iowa), Lot M. Morrill (Maine), and Anthony Kennedy (Md.). A preliminary report (Jan. 15, 1863), with testimony, was printed as S. Rept. 75, 37 Cong., 3 sess., Serial 1151; and the final report (Feb. 9, 1863), also with testimony, as S. Rept. 84, 37 Cong., 3 sess., Serial 1151. These show the business relations of Charles Coblens of Baltimore with the

Government; the connection of Amasa C. Hall of Baltimore and Capt. Richard F. Loper of Philadelphia with chartering transport vessels; and the same with respect to Col. James Belger, quartermaster at Baltimore, and to Asst. Secretary of War John Tucker. These and other findings relate to the steamer Cecil and the steamer George Washington, "alias" Constitution, which had been selected and chartered under the authority of the Secretary of War by Cornelius Vanderbilt.

There are no papers of the committee as such, but its original reports are available (37A-D1).

Select Committee on a Commission on Military Claims Originating in the State of Virginia

Authorized and appointed Feb. 5, 1863, as a committee to which was referred a bill (S. 431) "providing for the appointment of a commission to examine and decide upon military claims originating during the present rebellion in the State of Virginia, west of the Blue Ridge, prior to the 30th of September, 1862." The committee consisted of Garrett Davis (Ky.), Daniel Clark (N. H.), John Sherman (Ohio), John S. Carlile (Va.), and John C. Ten Eyck (N. J.).

There are no papers of the committee as such, but the original of the bill upon which it reported is available (37A-B1).

Other Committees

Some Senate select committees of the 37th Congress do not appear to have reported or otherwise to have been active. These were the Committees to Consider a Bill to Promote the Efficiency of the Army (appointed July 6, 1861); on Altering and Changing the Construction of the Chamber for the Use of the Senate (appointed July 6, 1861); on a Railroad to Connect the Loyal Portions of Tennessee and North Carolina With Kentucky (appointed Dec. 23, 1861); on Submarine Cables to Connect Coastal Military and Naval Stations (appointed Dec. 23, 1861); and on the Ventilation of the Senate Chamber (appointed June 5, 1862).

38TH CONGRESS

Select Committee on Slavery and the Treatment of Freedmen

Authorized Jan. 13, 1864, "to take into consideration all propositions and papers concerning slavery and the treatment of freedmen"; appointed Jan. 14, to consist of Charles Sumner (Mass.), Jacob M. Howard (Mich.), John S. Carlile (Va.), Samuel C. Pomeroy (Kans.), Charles R. Buckalew (Pa.), Benjamin Gratz Brown (Mo.), and John Conness (Calif.). James W. Nye (Nev.) replaced Conness on Feb. 2, 1865. To the committee were referred petitions for the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Act and of all other acts for the rendition of fugitive slaves. Its report (S. Rept. 24, 38 Cong., 1 sess., Serial 1178) contains an analysis of the "fugitive clause" (Art. IV, sec. 2) of the Constitution. It reported also (S. Rept. 25, 38 Cong., 1 sess., Serial 1178) on a bill (S. 99) "to secure equality before the law in the courts of the United States. "

Records. --Most of the very numerous memorials and petitions to the Senate on the general subject of slavery in the 36th and 37th Congresses

were ordered "to lie on the table, "but some of them were referred to committees, including the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Territories, and the Select Committee of Thirteen. During the 38th Congress memorials of this character were referred to the Select Committee on Slavery and the Treatment of Freedmen. They are all described collectively here.

These memorials concern the several major aspects of the slavery question (including the liberating of slaves in the seceded States, the abolition of slavery throughout the United States, the suppression or the reopening of the African slave trade, legislation for the protection of slavery, the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Act, advice to "drop the Negro question and attend to the business of the country" and to "dispense with all further agitation of the slavery question," and the extension of the right of suffrage to freed slaves). They relate also to the Crittenden resolutions, the disturbed state of the country, and the "suppression of the rebellion." These memorials came from individuals and from mass conventions, religious communities and associations, and citizens' groups often formed for petitioning purposes; from State legislative bodies and State political party conventions; and from many other groups, including even representatives of the leading railway companies. Among the memorials are not only letters or handwritten preambles to which signatures are affixed but also scrolls many feet long bearing thousands of signatures, often with the occupations or addresses of signers.

Among the memorials may be mentioned--as either representative or unusually interesting--the following: that presented by Emma Willard in the name of 14, 000 American women of several States in the East "not to allow party or sectional prejudices to prevail over the spirit of mutual conciliation"; that of members of Union Fire Company No. 1, Lancaster, Pa., inscribed upon a colored design of the American flag, urging the passage of the Crittenden or Bigler resolutions; that signed by Susan B. Anthony and Elias Doty and 37 other citizens of Monroe County, N. Y., for the abolition of slavery; that of the Emancipation League of Boston asking the establishment of a "bureau of emancipation," signed by S. E. Sewall, president, and nine others including George L. Stearns and S. G. Howe, Dec. 12, 1862 (printed as S. Misc. Doc. 10, 37 Cong., 3 sess., Serial 1150); that of Henry Ward Beecher "and 3, 000 other citizens of the State of New York"; and that of certain "colored men" (presented by Israel Lyceum, Washington, D. C.)-"an appeal in behalf of the elective franchise to colored people."

The materials described are filed chronologically for the 36th and 37th Congresses (36A-H13, 37A-H25) and in part chronologically and in part by State or Territory for the 38th Congress (38A-H20, 38A-H21, 38A-H22). Also available are the incomplete original of one of the committee's reports (38A-D1) and some petitions for the confiscation of "rebel lands" and their donation to men in the Union service (38A-H7).

Select Committee on Naval Supplies

Authorized and appointed Jan. 25, 1861, "to investigate the subject of naval supplies." The committee was composed of John P. Hale (N. H.), James W. Grimes (Iowa), and Charles R. Buckalew (Pa.). It confined itself to "recent occurrences" and was satisfied "beyond a doubt that, in the matter of naval supplies last year, the government has been grossly defrauded. " There are no papers of the committee as such, but the damaged original