by John McElroy
CHAPTER VI.
"K. G. C."--ORGANIZATION OF THE ENEMIES OF THE UNION IN THE NORTH--PLOTTING EVERYWHERE--OBJECTS OF THE TRAITOROUS LEAGUE.
"The bay trees in our country are all withered, And meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven-- The pale faced moon looks bloody on the earth, And lean-looked prophets whisper fearful change, Rich men look sad, and ruffians dance and leap." --Shakespeare.
"The loss of little Sarah had spread such a gloom over our householdthat I felt a desire to be out at David's farm, away from the house, asmuch as possible. Peter also seemed much depressed and showed a greatdesire to return to his regiment. On one occasion, when Ham and Ireturned in the evening, the conversation drifted in the direction ofthe absent ones in the army, and to Harvey, who fell at the battle ofthe Gaps. My wife at once alluded to her dream, which seemed to bepreying upon her mind almost constantly. Peter was silent, but I noticedthat he dropped a tear. After a moment he said:
"'Mother, you should not be constantly thinking of your strange dream.You will become morbid on the subject, unless you drive it from yourmind. There is nothing in it that worrying will or can change. There canbe nothing sure in dreams, and if there is, you can only discover it inthe future. The war will reveal it all to you should there be anythingin it."
"Ham must speak; it was thought by him to be his time.
"'Yes, missus, de wah 'splain it all. Massa Peter and me talk 'bout dat.No danger come out of dreams, you know.'
"'Why, Ham,' said Aunt Sarah, 'I thought you dreamed about Peter, andsaid he was all right. You assured us of it; and you said that youalways knew by your dreams when matters were all right.'
"'Yeas, yeas, missus; but, you see, I be fool on dat. You see, MassaPeter come back wid a so' foot, shot up putty bad. I got fool on datdream. You see, Marfa allers tells me 'bout de dreams. So you see, Ijes' thought I could tell, too. I miss it. Yeas, I miss him dat time.Marfa, she know, she do. She tell you all 'bout dem when she comed.'
"Then he laughed a regular darky laugh, as I found he was sure to do, ifhe concluded he had drawn you off on a 'false scent,' or heard anythingthat pleased him.
"Aunt Sarah was relieved. The fact that Ham admitted that he washumbugged by his own dream seemed to quiet her nerves; so she did notallude to her dream again for a great while. But I could see plainlythat Peter was very much depressed whenever allusion was made to it. O,it was prophetic, 'twas a revelation of dire calamities to follow, oneafter another.
"I could see it all when time unfolded the mystery, as it did, inregular order. It was a warning so strangely imparted. But why, why thiswarning, and why the calamities? That is the question which has beendemanding an answer so long; and yet no answer comes that seems tosatisfy my mind. Well, well, let that pass for the present.
"The next morning I sent Ham to the farm on horseback to bring somevegetables. Early in the forenoon we heard a noise as if the runningof a horse down the street, and looking out saw Ham coming under heavypressure, with sails spread. I ran out on the porch, and Ham pulled inopposite the little yard gate. I called to him, and asked what was thetrouble. The old darky was so scared that he stammered and made motions,but I could get nothing of an intelligent character from him. I made himdismount, tie up his horse, and come in. By this time the family wereall out inquiring into the trouble. Ham sat down on the edge of theporch near the entrance and fanned himself with his hat. Great dropsof perspiration were rolling down his face. He seemed to be in muchdistress. Finally Jennie said to him:
"'Ham, where is the lettuce, the asparagus, and the butter we sent youafter?'
"Ham, finding by this time that he was not dead, essayed to speak. Heraised himself to his full height.
"'W'y! W'y! Yeas! Yeas! De--de--de--dey done gone!'
"'Gone where?' asked Jennie.
"'Dey done gone on de road, missus. I jes' tell you-uns dey's Sesh inheah. 'Spec dey got dem, dey eat dem for dey dinner. Dey got dem, sho.'
"'Well, what about the "Sesh," as you call them?
"'O, I tole you all 'bout dem. 'Pore de Laud, I mus' rest fust. I ispowerful tired, missis--I is.'
"'Well, Ham, put up your horse and get over your fright, and thenperhaps you can explain more satisfactorily what has happened to you.'
"'Yeas, missus, I 'spect dat am de bes' way.'
"So, when Ham had cooled off, we had him give us his experience. Hesaid:
"'Well, Massa Daniel, I jes' go to de farm and dar seed Massa JosephDent. He fix up de littis, de 'sparagrass, and de eggs; and when dey allfix up I get ready to come home. He says, "Ham, you see dem fellows downde road dar?" I looked and seed 'em, and say "Yes, sah." Den he say,"Dey bad man's dey is; kase dey's done bin heah all de mornin' lookin'round like dey wants sumfin, and I watch 'em close; if dey boddersmedey ketch it, sho;" dat's what he say! I done told Massa Dent dat I notfeared. But dat was a story, kase me was some skea'd. I gits on de hossand corned right on jes' like I wa'n't skea'd at all. I rides slow doe,kase as how I wa'n't sho' 'bout dem mans. So I gits 'bout half way downthe road home, and dem mans--dar war free of dem; dar war free, sho',dey jes' steps right in de road afore me and de hoss. I say "Goodmornin," and takes off my hat like a gemman. Dey say "Whar you goin',nigga?" Den I know'd who dey is. When dey say "nigga," dat's nufffor dis child. I know'd dey be "Sesh." Dat's what "Sesh" all callus--"niggas." I tells you, den I's ska'd. One ob dem say, "What you gotdar, nigga?" I say "wegetables for de house." Ben dey say "Who house?'I told dem Massa Daniel. Den dey say, "Dat ole Lyon? Dat ole Ablishner?Dat ole scoun'el what want to whip de Souf? To free de niggas 'mongstus?" I say, "Don' know 'bout dat. Massa Lyon not say nuffin to me 'boutdat." Den dey sajr, "Whar you come from, anyhow?" I tole 'em I comedfrom up in de State whar Massa Daniel comed from. Den dey swar dat I aliar; dat dey know'd Massa Daniel; dat he fetched no niggas hyar from'Hio. Den when dey say "'Hio," golly, I be glad; kase I could't smellout de name afore; forgot him clar, sho'. Den I say I comed from 'Hioawhile ago, an' stay wid you, kase I know'd you back dar in 'Hio. Dendey ax me w'at town I comed from. Den dey get me. I skea'd den. One ofdem say, "O, he a d----d fool; he not know nuffin." I say, "Yes, sah,sho'; dat's fac. I doesn't know nuffin'bout dem matters what you say."Den dey laff. Yes, sah, dey laff. I start on. Den dey say, "Nigga, stopdat hoss." De hoss stop. Yes, sah, den I be orful skea'd. O, dey was demos' wostest lookin' disciplinous "Sesh" you eber did see wid yo' eyes.Dey had ole brown jeans coat an' britches. Dey look like de "Sesh" whatI seed when dey lef Col. Tom at my cabin.'
"'Well, said Peter, 'they were escaped prisoners, I have no doubt, fromsome place, and are hunting their way South.'
"'Yes, sah,' said Ham; 'dat's it; dey 'scape and is gwine back to dereb's army, sho': dat's who dey is. I know'd dey was "Sesh."'
"'Well, go on, Ham; tell us the rest,' said Aunt Sarah. I was so muchamused at Ham's story that I kept rather quiet.
"'Well,' said Ham, 'den dey took de hoss by de bridle and made me gitoff. I s'posed dey was gwine to take de hoss, but dey looked de hossober, and say he no good, and gib de hoss back. I got on and dey allpull out pistols and tell me to "git;" dat's wa't dey say, and sho' youbo'n, I git--an' de lettice go one way, de 'sparagrass go anoder way,and eggs go de Lord knows whar--to smash, I reckon. Dey all gone, sho,'an' I's hyar. Dey shoot when I go. I 'spect I be kill; but I'm hyar,sho'; dis is ole Ham; he 'scape.'
Ham Encounters the Rebels 097]
"We all laughed--in fact, could not help it. I told Ham that I wouldgo out with him the next day and we would see about this matter. Hamwithdrew, scratching his head and looking very serious.
"The next day I had the horses hitched to the wagon, and Peter feelingthat he had so far recovered that he could stand the ride, we wentout together. When we came to the place where Ham had met his threesuspicious looking friends we examined the spot, found Ham's lettuce,etc., scattered somewhat over the ground, but could not see muchevidence of anything else.
"Ham said but little. Finally, I asked him whi
ch direction his friendshad gone from here. He at once pointed the way, saying, 'Doesn't you seede track? Dar he go, Turn 'roun' and go back de same way he come.'
"We could see some indications that Ham's story might be true, but notenough to be very satisfactory. However, we went along. When we arrivedat the farm and found Joseph Dent we had Ham relate his experience.Joseph Dent said to come in the house. When we had all been seated,Joseph said:
"'Well, I have no doubt as to the truth of what Ham says. The same threemen (at least, I suppose them to be, from the description), came herelast night and forced me to let them stay in the house. I was not veryfearful of their doing me any harm, as I was watchful. My partner andmyself could have handled them if they had made any demonstration. Wegave them their suppers and a mug of ale and got them going, andfound that they were escaped rebels, who had been in prison campat Indianapolis. They told us that there was a plot to let all theprisoners loose and to raise an army out of their friends North tocommence war here, and in that way to have the rebellion succeed.'
"Peter inquired how they came to tell so much about their plans.
"Joseph answered that he and his partner pretended to them that theywere in full sympathy with the rebellion, and were staying here only tohave the influence of Col. David to keep them out of the Union army, andthat if compelled at any time to join either army they would join therebels.
"'Where have they gone?' inquired Peter.
"'They have gone into the country some twenty miles, to Collins Grove.There is to be a political meeting there to-morrow, and they expect, asthey told us, that Thomas A. Strider, of Indianapolis, and Dan Bowen,also of Indiana, were to be there, and through one of them they thoughtthey could obtain aid; that while in prison they had been initiatedinto a society called the "Knights of the Golden Circle," which wasa secession organization, intended as an auxiliary force to therebel army; that Dan Bowen was one of their main men, and so called"Agitator"; that Thomas A. Strider was Chief Counselor to theorganization in Indiana; was to be in Washington most of the time to"watch things" and to defend them at all times when any of their ordershould be arrested or in any danger.'
"Peter and I went out to the barn and talked the matter over, andthought that in such a case as this we would be justified in resortingto any means or strategy to discover this secret organization andascertain the designs of its members. We concluded to get Joseph Dent,who was an old soldier, and very bright, with an excellent memory, tojoin it and find out all that he could about the organization. Agreeingto this, Peter hobbled back on his crutches. He being a soldier made theproposition to Dent, which he readily acceded to, saying:
"'I had thought of that myself, but feared that you might take me to betoo intimate with these people. I call them Secessionists and rebels. Ithink, that if you agree, I will go down to this meeting to-morrow, andwhen I come back will come to Allentown, as they might keep a watch onme here.'
"With this understanding we returned, instructing Joseph Dent to stay aslong as might become necessary, in order to learn all that he could asto the design of these people. After getting our supplies in the wagonwe returned home. On arriving we found all feeling very joyful over thefact that Col. Anderson would be home in the course of a week. He hadso written to me. Aunt Sarah had opened and read the letter. LittleMary was so delighted that she ran out and tried to tell us all that herfather had written. She would talk and stammer and draw a long breath,and then commence again, and repeat until I had to tell her to restand begin slowly. When we got in we heard all. The two children weredelighted at the prospect of seeing Aunt Martha almost as much as seeingthe Colonel and his brave wife. Peter and I had to keep quiet about ourprogram with Joseph Dent, and therefore discussed other matters. Duringthe evening Peter concluded that he would not attempt returning to hisregiment until Col. Tom should arrive, so that he could arrange aboutthe command and take some word back to Col. Rice. (I said not one wordabout Tom's commission as Brigadier, but continued the suggestion thatCol. Rice could not think of doing otherwise than turning over thecommand to Col. Anderson.) Just then the post-boy came again with aletter. I opened it and found it to be from my son Jackson, at St. Paul,Minn., (where he resided and was engaged in railroad building,) statingthat he considered it his duty to enter the service of his country.Being young and healthy, he said, no patriot in this crisis, blessedwith good health, could afford to remain out of the army; that the daywould come when the question would be asked of all such persons, 'Whydid you not go to the war and fight for your country?' Poor boy, if hewere living now he would ask himself the queston: 'Why did I go; forwhat did I peril my life?' Yes! yes!
"Well, I kept this from my wife, Aunt Sarah, for the time. She was soworried about our family that I thought best to wait for a day or so,inasmuch as she did not see me get the letter. A couple of days passedand Joseph Dent came to our house. After seeing and speaking to Jennieabout the farm and her interest generally, and telling Aunt Sarah aboutHam's scare and joking him somewhat, he spoke to Peter and myself, andsaid that he wanted to see us alone.
"We all went out to the barn, and there he told us all that he had heardand seen--that he had gone to Collins' Grove; that there was a largepolitical meeting there; that Dan Bowen spoke in the most excited mannerof the wrongs and outrages, as he termed them, of the vile abolitionadminstration; that the Union soldiers were mere hirelings; that hehoped none of his party would join the Abolition army to assist inrobbing and murdering our brethren down South. (Dent had noted thesesayings in his memorandum; he was a man of fair education and a closeobserver.) Bowen was vociferously applauded during his remarks. Thos. A.Strider spoke also; but he was not so vehement and abusive as Bowen, butwas equally strong against the war for the Union. Strider spoke of itas an unholy war on our part, and all the acts of Congress and thePresident being 'unauthorized and unconstitutional,' and that thewar would be a failure and ought to be; that he would not see moneyappropriated, if in his power to prevent, to carry it on; that if theGovernment undertook to draft his friends in Indiana as soldiers,he would defend any of them (free of charge) that resisted such anunconstitutional proceeding. He continued in this vein for an hour.These utterances were loudly applauded by the majority of the audience.But, continuing, he stated that on that day he came across the threeescaped prisoners heretofore mentioned, and staid with them during thespeeches and agreed to all that was said, so as to satisfy them of hisstrict adherence to their principles.
"They said to him that if he would remain that night they would initiatehim into their mysterious organization. He acceded to their propositionwithout hesitation, and remained--not leaving them for an instant. Inthe evening, shortly after dark, they were all conducted to a largeempty barn near by, and on entering it Dent found Thos. A. Striderpresiding, and Bowen lecturing on the designs and purposes of theKnights of the Golden Circle.
"After he had explained the objects of the organization, an obligationwas administered to all who had not before been admitted and obligated.Dent, being one who had not before joined, with others took theobligation, and was then instructed in the signs, grips and passwords.He said that he played it pretty well, so that he was thoroughlyinstructed, and kept repeating them to himself, so that he might notforget any part. The obligation pledged them to use all possible meansin their power to aid the rebels to gain their independence; to aid andassist prisoners to escape; to vote for no one for office who was notopposed to the further prosecution of the war, to encourage desertionsfrom the Union army; to protect the rebels in all things necessary tocarry out their designs, even to the burning and destroying of towns andcities, if necessary, in order to produce the desired result. They werealso directed to give information at all times of any knowledge theymight have of the movements of our armies, and of the coming of soldiersto their homes; to use their influence to prevent their return to thearmy. They were not even to disclose the murder of any returned soldieror Union man, if done by any one belonging to this organization. Theywere told in th
e instructions that men were sent into our prisons toobligate and instruct all prisoners, so that they could make themselvesknown in traveling, should they escape; also, that the organizationextended into Canada, as well as every State in the North; that menin our army belonged to it, who would retreat in battle, or surrenderwhenever they could do so; they could always make themselves known tothe rebel commanders; that the members were in every way possibleto foment jealousies and ill-feeling between the Eastern and Westerntroops, and especially between the commanding Generals of the twosections; they were to encourage the Western volunteers not to allowthemselves to be commanded by Eastern officers, and especially werethey to tickle the fancy and pride of the Eastern officers and men, byencouraging them not to allow themselves to be subjected to the controlof the uneducated men of the West--in short, every kind and characterof argument was to be resorted to. In the event of failure, any othermeans, no matter what, was to be employed to cause failure on our partand success on theirs.
Knights of the Golden Circle meeting in a barn 103]
"Peter wrote down every word told us by Dent, being very careful aboutthe signs and passwords. This being done, we cautioned-Dent to beextremely careful in his conversations with others, and never to speakof this organization to any one, for fear that he might get into troubleor suffer in some way from its members. Dent bade us good day andleft for home. We returned to the house and there read over Peter'smemorandum carefully, and studied the signs and passwords so as to fullycomprehend them. This, to us, was a serious question. Peter felt asthough there was much in this to cause our country great trouble inaddition to what was already upon us. I said to Peter that I would atonce write to the President and send him all the statements as they weremade to us by Dent, as well as suggest to him the necessity of havingthis conspiracy (as it was nothing less) ferreted out at once, which Idid that day, and also suggested the arrest and trial of all that couldbe found who were engaged in getting up these organizations. I soonreceived a letter, not from the President, but from another, whichsatisfied me that my letter had been received by the one for whom it wasintended.
"Very soon the whisperings and newspaper gossip showed plainly thatthere were jealousies in the Army of the East as well as in the Armyof the Center. Officers were complaining of each other, and some werecharging ill-treatment on the part of the Administration, showingclearly that there were influences silently at work. About this time Ireceived a note from Washington requesting me to come to that city. Iprepared for the trip. Bidding good-by to our family, and requestingPeter not to leave until I should return, I was off, no one but Peterand my wife holding the secret of my leaving home at this time. When Iarrived at Washington I proceeded to the Executive Mansion, sent in myname, and was at once admitted. The President met me most cordially, andasked me to be seated. He wrote a note and sent it out by a messenger,then turned to me and entered into conversation about the health of ourpeople, the crops of the country, and the sentiments I found generallyheld among the people of the West in reference to the war. I said to himthat among the Union people there was but one sentiment, and that wasthat the last man and last dollar must be exhausted, if necessary, toput down the rebellion. He grasped me by the hand warmly and said:
"'Lyon, my good friend, I am exceedingly glad to know that. I have beenhearing curious stories about your part of Indiana. The Governor of yourState seems to fear trouble from some cause.'
"'My dear Mr. President,' I said, 'do not misunderstand me. I do notmean to say our people are united; it is only the Union people I hadreference to. There is a strong party in the State who are utterlyopposed to the prosecution of the war, and they are led on by verystrong and influential men.'
"'Yes,' said the President, 'this man Strider is at the head of thatparty. He is a smooth-talking fellow--rather an "Oily Gammon," veryshrewd, and hard to catch at any open or overt act. He has a wayof setting others on and keeping out himself. At least, I should soconclude from what I have seen and know of him.'
"'Yes, Mr. President, you have estimated the man correctly,' was myreply.
"'Just at this point in the conversation, the Secretary of War came in.The President was going to introduce me.
"'No introduction is necessary, Mr. President,' said the Secretary;'this is one of my old neighbors and friends.'
"'Our meeting was full of warmth and friendly greetings, having beenfriends for many years in Ohio prior to my leaving the State. We wereall seated, and after some general conversation between the Secretaryand myself, the President remarked that he had sent for me, and on mypresenting myself he had sent for the Secretary of War for the purposeof having a full conference in reference to the situation in the rear ofthe army out West, and that from my letter to him he did not know of anyone who could give him that information better than myself.
"'By the way,' said he, 'what about your nephew, Anderson? He must bea glorious fellow and a good soldier. Of course, you have received thecommission that the Secretary and I sent you for him?'
"'Yes I thanks to you, Mr. President. He is improving very fast. Hiswound will soon be well, and he will then be ready for the field again.'
"'Tell him,' said the President, 'that I will watch his career withgreat interest. Coming from where he does, he must have good metal inhim to face his friends and relatives in taking the stand he has.'
"'Yes, sir,' said I;'he is a true man, and his wife, though a Southernwoman, is one of the noblest of her sex, and as true a patriot as everlived.'
"'Your family are nearly all soldiers, I believe, Mr. Lyon,' said theSecretary.
"'Yes, Mr. Secretary; I had seven sons--five are in the army, one waskilled at the battle of the Gaps, and the seventh is on his way from St.Paul to join it. God knows I have some interest in our success, and Iwill go myself at any time should it be necessary.'
"'The President here interrupted:
"'No, Mr. Lyon, you must not. You have done enough. If this Governmentcannot be saved without the eighth one of your family putting hislife in peril at your age, it cannot be saved. We will accept no morerecruits from the Lyon family.'
"'The President then asked me to give to the Secretary and himself thesituation in the West as nearly as I could, and especially in Indiana.
"I proceeded to state the situation--the bitterness of the opposition tothe Administration, as well as to the war, then being manifested bythe anti-war party, or, in other words, by the Democratic party as anorganization; the organized lodges of the Golden Circle, their objectsand designs, the influence they were to bring to bear, how they wereto operate and in what directions, the jealousies they were to engenderbetween the officers of the East and the West; the fact that they wereto release prisoners and to destroy towns and cities in the North,should it become necessary.
"The President and Secretary both listened with grave attention, andseemed to fully comprehend the situation.
"The President finally said:
"'Mr. Secretary, this is a very serious matter, and is becoming more soevery day.'
"'Yes,' replied the Secretary; 'you know, Mr. President, that we havetalked this over heretofore, but this revelation seems startling. I canbegin to see where the influence partly comes from which gives us somuch trouble with some of the officers of the Eastern army. At first Iwas induced to believe that they were jealous of each other, but I ambeginning to think it comes from political influences in oppositionto the Administration, having a desire to change the policy of theGovernment in reference to the war. Several of the senior officers indifferent commands act as though they thought more of promotion andbeing assigned to large commands than the success of our cause. Theywill not serve under any but their own selection of commanders--atleast, make opposition to doing so. There seems to be a little coteriewho think no one is suitable to command except themselves. They have notbeen very successful so far, and act as though they were determinedthat no one else should be. We have relieved their chief and brought anew man to the field, and I do believe that
some of these men willnot give him a cordial support. We must wait, quietly, however, fordevelopments. One thing is strange to me, and that is that I find thesecomplaining gentlemen all have been and now are in sympathy with theparty which is found in a great degree opposing the war. I do not meanby this to impeach their patriotism, but to suggest that the influenceswhich operate upon them and flatter their vanity by suggestions ofpresidency, cabinets, head of the army, future power, greatness,etc., are not coming from the people or party in full accord with theAdministration and in favor of such a prosecution of the war as willinsure ultimate success.'
"'Well,' said the President, 'we are in their power at the present, andtheir demands upon the Administration are of a character to induce thebelief that they are preparing the road to an ultimate recognition ofthe so-called Confederacy; but, gentlemen, they will not succeed.' (Thishe said with much warmth.) 'I will not let them succeed. The Lord, inhis own good time, will raise up and develop some man of great genius asa commander, and I am now patiently waiting for that time. I cannot putthese men aside now. The country would sympathize with them and feelthat I do not know as much about war as they do; but they will tell thetale on themselves very soon, and then we will be completely justifiedin getting rid of them. This war must go on for some time yet if theUnion is to be restored, and I have faith that it will be; but I am justnow bothered more about the condition in the rear than in the front;that will come out all right in time. But if these Golden Circleorganizations spread, as they seem to be doing, in the West, where agreat portion of our troops must come from, and the people should onceget the idea fixed in their minds that the war must be a failure, and afire in the rear is started of great proportions, then what? Then willcome the serious question. And should the people pronounce at the nextelection against a further prosecution of the war, there will be asecret understanding with those who come into power that the so-calledConfederacy is to be recognized, and that will be the end.'
"'But, Mr. President, do you look for such a result?' I asked.
"'No, sir,' responded the President; 'I was only putting the worst sideof the case--just as I would look at the worst side of a client's casein court. The people of this country love this republic too well to seeit go down marred and destroyed merely for the purpose of upholding thecrime and infamy of slavery. No, gentlemen, this Union will be restored.All the rebels of the South, and all the sympathizers and Golden Circlesof the North cannot destroy it so long as there is one patriot leftqualified to lead an army. They will have to burn every city andassassinate every leading man who is able to be a leader before our flagwill go down in gloom and disgrace. This they may try. God only knowswhat desperate men will do to uphold an unholy cause.'"
"How prophetic this thought was," said Dr. Adams.
"Yes, it was really so. The very things mentioned were attempted, andan organization completed for the purpose. They accomplished a partof their hellish design, but they did not succeed to the extentcontemplated.
"But to return to the conversation with the President and Secretary:
"The President then asked me if I would, in my own way, further ferretout what was being done by this organization in the West and post him byreports in writing as often as I could conveniently do so.
"I responded that I could not go into the lodges myself, but I would, inevery way that I could consistently, through others, obtain informationand send him.
"'This,' he said, 'was all that he could ask me to do, situated as Iwas.'
"This being all that was desired, the Secretary of War made out a passauthorizing me to enter any and all of our lines or camps of prisoners,to visit any and all hospitals--in fact, to go to and pass through allplaces under military control in the United States. With this pass in mypocket I bade good-by to the President and Secretary and left for home.
"When I returned I found that Col. Tom Anderson, his wife, and oldAunt Martha had arrived. The family had a joyful meeting and had becomesettled down. All were glad to see me. Col. Tom, his wife, and AuntMartha had many pleasant things to relate--how Tom recovered so rapidly;how kind Col. Harden had been; what a good man Surg. Long was; how aband of rebels came down the river to old George's farm, where Tomhad been so long; how they were surprised and captured by one of Col.Harden's reconnoitering parties, and that they said they were sent totake Mr. George's property away and to bring with them old Ham and AuntMartha.
"Old Ham, being present, broke out in one of his characteristic laughs.
"'Ah! He-ogh. Fo' de good Laud, dat's de time dey miss der cotch. Disdarky was done gone when dey comed. I know'd dey'd be dar sometime fordis cat, and Marfa, too. I tells you, dey want her, dey do. She know howto cook and do things, she do. Be a cole day when dey gits dis cat agin,sho's you born'd.'
"Aunt Martha came in and said to Ham:
"'What you doin' heah, Ham?'
"'I's sympensizen wid dem "Sesh" what comed down to ole Massa George'splace back yonder for to fotch me and you back to de Missip. De cat donegone. He-ah! he-ah!'
"'Yes; but you ole fool, dey'd got you if it had not bin for me. I begyou afore you goes to go wid Massa Daniel, you knows I did.'
"'Yes, Marfa, dat's so. I tole dem all de time dat you knows de bes'.Don't I, Massa Daniel?'
"'Oh, yes, Ham,' I said. 'You always speak well of Martha, and what sheknows.'
"'Deed I do, Marfa; dat's so; I does, all de time.'
"'Dat's all right den, Ham. I forgib you all what you do, so you jes'git out in de kitchen; dar's whar you blong. Dese folks spile you ef deydon't mind deyselves.
"The family, or a considerable portion of them, again being together, wenaturally drifted in our conversation as to the war, it being uppermostin everybody's mind at that time; so I found an opportunity to tell Col.Anderson and Peter all about my trip, what had occurred, and what I hadpromised to do. Peter said that I would have to be very cautious, andthat the first thing was to understand whether or not the Postmasterhere could be trusted. Should he allow it to be known that I wasfrequently communicating with the President, the enemies at Allentownwould manage in some way to discover my communications, and thereby mylife would be in danger.
"I knew the Postmaster, however, and that he could be trusted; so thatpart of the matter was settled.
"Colonel Anderson suggested that there should be no haste in settlingthe arrangements; that it was of such importance that a littlereflection would do no harm; so we laid the matter over for thepresent."
"Uncle Daniel," said Col. Bush, "we who were in the army felt theinfluence of the Knights of the Golden Circle. There was one time duringthe war when we would have hundreds of desertions in a night; nor couldwe stop it for a considerable length of time. We finally discoveredthat the people opposed to the war were engaged in every possible wayin influencing the relatives of the soldiers. They would sometimes gettheir wives to write about their sufferings, sickness in their families,and in every way that it could be done they were rendered dissatisfied."
"Yes," said Maj. Clymer, "that is true in every respect. Part of mycommand deserted, and I have found since the war that they were inducedto do so by these very influences."
"The situation at that time was very critical," said Dr. Adams. "Iremember well when mobs were organized and when soldiers were shot downon the road in this vicinity while returning to their commands afterbeing home on a leave of absence.
"O, yes, those were perilous times for all who were in favor of theircountry's success. Returning, however, to family matters:
"On the morning of the next day, after Peter, Col. Anderson and myselfhad talked over the matter of my Washington trip, and sat down tobreakfast, Col. Anderson found a paper under his plate. All eyes wereupon him, and he turned his upon the paper. He read it, and looked atme as though he understood it all, yet it was evidently a very happysurprise; he said not one word, but handed it to his wife, supposingthat the rest knew of it. She jumped up from the table and threw herarms around my neck and wept for joy. This proc
edure seemed to puzzlethe rest of the family, as they were totally ignorant of the contents ofthe paper.
"'Mother,' exclaimed Peter, 'what is all this?'
"Col. Anderson said: 'Aunt, do you not know what it is?'
"'No, indeed,' she replied.
"I then revealed the secret of my keeping the fact quiet about Tomhaving been commissioned as a Brigadier-General
"Peter at once said: 'Well, that settles the question in our regiment;and I am truly glad, for two reasons: first, that Col. Anderson has beenpromoted, and, second, that it leaves our regiment intact.'
"All congratulated the Colonel and were happy over it. Old Aunt Marthawho was waiting on the table that morning shouted out 'Glory! Dat's jes'what I sed; dat de good Laud was gwine to keep Massa Tom for some bigthing, so he do good. I know'd it.'
"We all felt that it was due him and all were glad. Upon looking up Idiscerned tears in Jennie's eyes, I knew in a moment her thoughts, butsaid not a word. Her darling child, Sarah, had died, and of courseshe was sensitive and easily touched. After breakfast I took the firstopportunity to say to her: 'My dear child, don't feel badly; yourhusband's promotion will come very soon.'
"This seemed to cheer her up, and all went on well and pleasantly. Noone seemed to understand Jennie's tears but myself, and I was veryquiet on the subject. Sure enough, the very next day she got a letterfrom David, telling her that he had been promoted and assigned to thecommand of a brigade. This made us all doubly happy, and caused us toforget our grief for a time. The two children did not quite understandall this. But Aunt Martha, to whom the children had become quitedevoted, was in her very peculiar way explaining it all to the children,and yet she knew but little more about it than they did, and between herexplanations and their understanding of it, made it very amusing indeed.
"Two days afterwards Peter left for his command, which was stillencamped on the battle-field of Pittskill Landing. He felt as though hecould do camp duty if no more. He wore the same sad countenance that hadbecome fastened upon him since he had been pondering over his mother'sdream.
"Col. Anderson was still very weak, but was nervous about the futureand extremely anxious to recover sufficiently to take the field. Hisbloodless face and trembling motion showed that he couldn't performfield duty for some time to come. He made a request, however, forthe detail of Capt. Day, of Col. Harden's regiment, as one of hisaides-de-camp. The order for the detail, in accordance with his wishes,he soon received, but delayed sending it forward, leaving Capt. Day withCol. Harden until such time as he should be able to be assigned to duty.In talking over with Gen. Anderson the situation and the mission I hadto perform, we concluded, inasmuch as he was only slightly known throughthe West, that he could travel through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois on aprospecting tour and be less liable to suspicion than myself, known as Iwas in many parts of the country, and that the journey was just what heneeded to give him strength.
"Preparatory to his undertaking the expedition we thought proper tovisit Joseph Dent on the farm, and have the General more fully postedin the mysteries of the Golden Circle. We at once repaired to the farm.While there Dent instructed him thoroughly, he having it at histongue's end, as he had been meeting with the Circle frequently inthe neighborhood, under the advice of Peter and myself. Gen. Andersoncarefully wrote down everything in his pocket memorandum book, and afterfrequently going over the signs, manipulations, passwords, etc., withDent, we left for home. All the preliminaries were then arranged,so that the General was to start as soon as he considered himselfsufficiently strong to undergo the fatigues of the journey.
"Late in the evening the form of a tall, well-proportioned man appearedat the door and rapped. I said 'Come.' He entered, saying, 'Father, howare you?' I saw it was my son Jackson, from St. Paul, Minn. After heartygreetings, I introduced him to Gen. Anderson and wife. Aunt Sarahsoon entered the room, and the meeting between mother and son was mosttouching. In the conversation that ensued Jackson soon disclosed thefact that he was on his way to join the army somewhere, not entirelydefined in his own mind; but came by to pay a visit to us first.
"Gen. Anderson seemed at once to take a fancy to Jack son, and proposedthat he make application for a Captaincy in the Regular Army and beassigned to him as one of his staff officers. This was readily accededto by my son. The papers were made out, and Jackson started forWashington the next morning to make the request of the President, theunderstanding being that he was to return to my house and awaitthe future movements of Gen. Anderson. His mother, hearing of thisarrangement, was better satisfied with it than she would have been ifhe had started out in some regiment; but she wept bitter tears at thethought of all her sons endangering their lives.
"She said to me:
"'Daniel, if our whole family, or a greater part of them should be lost,who will remember it to our honor, and where will sympathy for us comefrom? You know the youth who fired the Ephesian Dome is remembered,while the builder is forgotten.'
"These words of my good wife are constantly ringing in my ears. Howtrue! how true!"