The of the Civil War no statesman stood ! higher in the estimation of the intelli gent than he. None had more to hope for in the way of political preferment, and none made greater sacrifices for the cause he embraced. With the fall of the Confederacy his public career closed. His last days were spent at his beautiful country home, Beauvoir, in southern Mis: issippi, near the gulf shore. Here a number of works of great literary and historic value were produced by him. Upon a journey to another part of the state he was stricken with his last illness, and was brought to New Orleans, where he died (December 6, 1889). His last words were " Pray excuse me." news of his death was received with profound sorrow. All realized that a man whose life and character were spotless had passed away. His funeral was attended by large delegations of leading citizens from every Southern State, and while the remain reposed in state in the City Hall of New Orleans, they were viewed by more than one hundred thousand who had assembled from far and near to obtain a last look at the dead chieftain. Respected by the aged and reverenced by the youth of that South whose past is linked with his, and whose future he and his generation have filled with memories undying, he was laid at rest. With his death the last link binding the South of to-day with the conflict of the past is severed. eracy (March 2). Meanwhile the authoritics of the seceded States had been taking possession of forts, arsenals, and government property within their limits. The garrisons of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, and Fort Pickens, near Pensacola, Florida, however, refused to give up these fortifications when the demand was made. The former was commanded by MAJOR ANDERSON; the latter by LIEUTENANT SLEMMER. The refusal of Anderson to surrender Fort Sumter placed South Carolina in the position of having, without her consent, a foreign power domiciled within her borders, and within threatening distance city. It was therefore determined to insist upon a withdrawal of the United States troops. Batteries were erected at various points, and GENERAL P. G. T. BEAUREGARD assumed command. The steamer STAR OF THE WEST arriving with supplies for the garrison, was fired upon by these batteries and compelled to return. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. BOMBARDMENT OF FORT SUMTER. Expecting reinforcements, Anderson persisted in his refusal to surrender. The authorities at Washington had given a verbal pledge that reinforcements would not be sent, and that the troops would be withdrawn from Fort Sumter. As long as the pledge was kept there was nothing done by the besiegers in the way of offensive military operations. The Washington authorities, however, soon changed their mind, and dispatched troops by sea to the assistance of the fort. Upon the approach of these it became ecessary for Beauregard to War Preparations. The secession of the Southern States was differently regarded in the North. There were some who, in preference to an armed controversy, were willing to let the Southern States go in peace. There were others who denied the right of a State to secede, but who held that the United States Government had not the right to coerce a State back into the Union. Of this number was Buchanan. But by far the greater number believed that the Union should be preserved at any cost, and as the time to inaugurate Lincoln drew near, it soon became evident that a determination of this kind was forming. In anticipation of the use of force, the Confederate States began to prepare for resistance. Several efforts were made by commissions and peace congresses to bring about an amicable adjustment of affairs between the two governments; but the authorities at Washington held the people of the Southern States to be in rebellion, and would extend no official recognition to the Confederate Government. Events therefore hastened on to an armed conflict. take prompt action. A bombardment was begun. At 4:30 A. M., April 12, 1861, the first gun was fired from the battery on James Island. This proved to be the first gun of the great Civil War that was to continue for four years. For thirty-four hours the bombardment continued, the garrison making a defense so gallant as to win the respect and admiration of their assailants. At length Anderson was compelled to surrender, and, without the loss of a single man on either side, the contest ended (April 14, 1861). QUESTIONS. What was the avowed purpose of the political party called into organization by the anti-slavery feeling? What candidates did this party put forth for President and Vice-President? What occasioned a division in the Democratic party? What candidates were nominated by cach division? Who were the candidates proposed by the Constitutional Union party? What do you know of Lincoln's election? What action did the Southern States take upon Lincoln's election? Why? What State first seceded? When? How? What five States followed? When did Texas join the Confederacy? What do you know of the organization of the Confederate Government? Who were its officers? How was the secession of the Southern States regarded in the North? How did the authorities at Washington regard it? Why did South Carolina insist upon the surrender of Fort Sumter? What followed Major Anderson's refusal to withdraw? Why was Fort Sumter bombarded? When was the first gun fired? What do you know of Anderson's surrender? What do you know of John Brown's raid? The cause of Southern secession? CHAPTER II. The Advance on Richmond. The fall of Fort Sumter occasioned intense excitement throughout the country. Congress not being in session at the time, President Lincoln, impelled by the rapidly rising war feeling of the North, took immediate steps to assert by force the power of the Union. A call for seventyfive thousand men was issued by him, and to this call the governors of the Northern States promptly responded, raising, equipping, and sending forward their quotas of men to Washington with rapidity. As soon as it became evident that force was to be employed to bring the Gulf States back to the Union, four more States seceded and cast their destinies with the Confederacy. These were Virginia (April 17), Arkansas (May 6), Tennessee (June 8), and North Carolina (May 20). The people of Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri were divided in their sympathies, and prompt action upon the part of the Federal authorities prevented these three States from following the examples of the other four. The Confederate capital was now removed from Montgomery to The Call for Troops. The call for troops met with a differ ent re ponse from the Southern States that still remained in the Union, These States recognized the right of any State to secede, and denied the right of the general government to | coerce. GOVERNOR RECTOR of Arkansas, GoVERNOR HARRIS of Tennessee, GOVERNOR MAGOFFIN of Kentucky, GOVERNOR ELLIS of North Carolina, GOVERNOR LETCHER of Virginia, and GOVERNOR JACKSON of Missouri declined to furnish troops. Their refusals showed the general opinion held in the South relative to the right of a State to leave the Umon; for, after all that may be said, the contention for this right on the part of the South was the direct cause of the Civil War, and not slavery, as has been frequently and erroneously given. Slavery and tarit agitation were incidental to that sectional antagonism whose steady development rendered po sible the settlement of differences only by armed conflict, and not by pacific measures and compromises, as in the past. Richmond, where the perma nent organization of the Confederate Government was completed. The Confederate authorities were soon as busy preparing for war as the Federal. Had the American people foreseen the horrors, strife, and waste. of resources that were to follow in the approaching conflict, they might well have paused before meeting one another upon the first battlefield in fratricidal strife. the destiny of the nation had to be fulfilled. The causes had long been sown, and the reaping of the effects was to inevitably follow. The old But American spirit of resistance was now born again. North and South, divided in their opinion as to what was right, were ready to fight for it as their forefathers had done. The patriotism of the Southern people impelled them to contend for the principles of local self-government and to defend their States. The people of the North were as earnest in their desire to rally to the assistance of the government held by them to be superior to that of the States, and to preserve the Union. There can be no questioning of the motives of either without impeaching the integrity of a now 'united people. |