Lincoln Sneezed

by Brian Boyington

  Lee then spoke again: “I realize this is hard to comprehend, but I was with Lincoln all that day and had breakfast with him the next morning. I was able to take the measure of the man. I believe his olive branch is sincere. However, if we reject it, the consequences could be harsh. We need to be united in this. If some of the states refuse, others will accept. If we are divided, we will have little influence in the future and disharmony will rule for generations.”

  After much discussion, some of it contentious, there was general agreement that Lincoln’s olive branch offered the best way forward. They all agreed to extend their support. The general expectation was that with Marse Robert leading, the rest of the South would follow.

  Vicksburg, Mississippi

  The train arrived mid-afternoon, and the Davis family boarded a carriage hired by the Pinkerton’s. The carriage took them to the newly renovated Cedar Grove Mansion. The owners, the Klein family, had placed Cedar Grove up for sale. They were no longer welcome in Vicksburg, as Mrs. Klein was a niece of William Tecumseth Sherman. The Klein’s were grateful that the Davis family would be renting their home.

  Vicksburg was a hotbed of resentment against the Union. Realizing the Pinkerton’s would easily stand out, Davis dismissed them with his profound thanks. The next day, Jefferson, Varina and a contractor known by Davis took the carriage to Brierfield, to look at the condition of the plantation and the house. The fields were overgrown, and the house was needing repairs. The contractor assured them he could get started immediately on the repairs.

  Realizing Lincoln’s plan would not have a welcome reception in Vicksburg, Davis left Varina and the children at Cedar Grove and journeyed to the state capitol in Jackson. There he met with his friends in the disbanded state legislature and other prior government officials. He explained his and General Lee’s meeting with Lincoln and the President’s proposal.

  Davis emphasized the current military occupation would disappear if the southern states ratified the 13th Amendment, but expressed a dire prediction of a long term occupation if the South resisted. The bonus would be that the leaders would regain their citizenship by signing a loyalty oath. With citizenship rights, they would be able to vote and hold public office. The leaders of Mississippi agreed to hold a convention in Jackson to discuss the issues.

  Lee traveled extensively in Virginia, and his generals traveled throughout North and South Carolina and Georgia. They met with other former military generals, previous legislatures, and governors. Jefferson Davis journeyed in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas. The message was the same, and they enlisted allies wherever they went.

  September 5, 1865.

  The Southern States held their convention. Before the conference, all the state legislatures met to amend their state constitutions to abolish slavery. That debate was very acrimonious. Many legislators were angry over the Confederate defeat, others upset over losing the slave labor, which had fueled the Southern agricultural economy. Others viewed the destruction around them and blamed the North. In their opinion, it was a War of Yankee Aggression, and that war was fought almost entirely in the South.

  In the end, the lobbying of Davis and Lee won the day. They were the most respected leaders in the South. Their honest appraisal of the effects of a military occupation was dire. Their conclusion was that such an occupation would poison the atmosphere for 100 years and the South would eventually be forced ban slavery and ratify the 13th amendment. They pointed out that Lincoln’s Olive Branch was unprecedented for a victorious leader. “Take the deal,” they said. “We will be back in Washington, where we can fight our political battles.” The influential state leaders were encouraged by the improving economic conditions, which after several months were very noticeable. One by one, reluctantly at first the state legislatures agreed. The Convention of Southern States unanimously voted to ratify the 13th Amendment and requested to be re-admitted to the Union.

  October 1, 1865

  A special joint session of the US Congress met to vote on the bill for re-admission. Political alliances were upended. The Northern Democrats were 100% behind Lincoln. The Radical Republicans were opposed, as they wanted to punish the South, as almost 600,000 had died in the war. In preparation for the vote, Lincoln repeated his efforts to win ratification of the 13th Amendment. He twisted arms and made political appointments.

  The Radical Republicans counted heads, realized Lincoln had 75% of the votes, more than the required 67% and conceded. They also realized that the nation was weary of the debate and demanded a resolution. The Southern states were re-admitted by acclimation. The bill also restored full United States citizenship rights to former leaders of the Confederate States of America, provided they signed a loyalty oath.

  November 10, 1865

  Special elections took place in the South for local and statewide offices, and to elect a full slate of US Congressmen from their respective state districts. Southern representation would begin to grow. During the next census, the former slaves would fully count. Previously, the calculations only included three-fifths of the former slave population. Jefferson Davis was selected by the newly elected state legislature as the senior of the two United States Senators from Mississippi.

  Robert E Lee was appointed by Lincoln to be Superintendent of West Point. Lee’s plantation in Arlington was now Arlington National Cemetery. Lincoln insisted that Lee should accept the fair value of the land as compensation. Lee agreed and purchased a small estate in Arlington, Virginia.

  All the newly selected Senators and elected Representatives were sworn in on Dec 5, 1865. The Union had been reunited, and the Stars and Stripes flew across the land. A United, militarized country was ripe for “Manifest Destiny.”

  Chapter 3

  During his State of the Union, Lincoln outlined a plan for resolving issues about the former slaves. The plan was to assist all who wanted to leave, to migrate to Liberia. Currently, many of them were living on the same plantations as sharecroppers. The war had devastated much of the agricultural infrastructure and hunger was widespread among the former slaves. Those who were not on sharecrop farms were migrating north to find jobs. Racial tensions were mounting.

  Liberia was created by the US government in 1821 for freed slaves from the USA. The USA had supervised this colony until 1846 when Liberia declared its’ independence. After independence, Liberia continued as an American Protectorate. It had a tropical environment along the coastal rain forest, but with dryer interior uplands suitable for farming. The capital, Monrovia had a deep water harbor where ships could actively trade.

  Liberia was a troubled country. The native tribes often revolted and had to be suppressed by the US Marines. Liberian territory was never officially recognized by France and Great Britain; and was also being encroached by them, with demands for economic concessions. Britain had its colony of Sierra Leone to the north, and France had Ivory Coast to the south. France was also making moves into the interior east of Liberia. During the Civil War, Liberia had been ignored by the USA, and the British & French encroachments had increased. After the war, Lincoln had sent a naval flotilla to Monrovia, and the intrusions stopped.

  For the previous eight months, Lincoln had been in secret negotiations, through the United States Ambassador Says, with the Liberian President Daniel Warner. In the negotiations, he requested that President Warner receives a new wave of a freed slave migration. Included in the migration would be thousands of colored Civil War veterans, which could augment the Liberian army. These were seasoned veterans and “blooded” in numerous engagements. A promise of financial aid and loans had sweetened the pot. When the British Consul “requested” mineral concessions in the interior, Warner concluded that Lincoln’s proposal was his best option.

  Lincoln had devised a masterful plan to convince the former slaves that it was in their best interest to migrate. The first was a propaganda campaign extolling Liberia as a paradise, with enough rich & fertile land for all. Newspapers eagerly carried the stories. The Freema
n community shared the newspapers and talked about the possibility.

  The 2nd prong was to enlist various colored speakers to speak of the nostalgia of a homecoming to Africa, the land of our ancestors. These speakers attracted huge crowds at local colored churches. With the hard economic times in many portions of the country, those speeches convinced tens of thousands to migrate. Swept up in the enthusiasm were thousands of the veterans. The clincher for many was that those who enlisted in the Liberian Army would receive title to 50 acres of farmland per family. Soon, the gathering enthusiasm had convinced more than 100,000 to migrate. Included in those, were the families of Obadiah Driver, Jeremiah Smith, and Malachi Smith.

  The Drivers:

  Obadiah and his jump the broom wife Emily had escaped from Virginia through the Underground Railroad in 1852. They settled in the Town of Chelsea, which is a suburb of Boston. Obadiah, a hard worker, found a job as a livery driver, which became his surname. Obadiah and Emily found acceptance in a community of “Freemen” which had the support of abolitionists from the Methodist Church. The abolitionists insisted that they both learn to read and write. Their family grew with two boys Jonah 1n 1853, Josiah in 1854 and two girls, Ruth in 1855 and Deborah in 1857. The children received their education in the church school. As the freemen grew in number, they were allowed to build their church called AME Church. Obadiah was one of the first Deacons. As attendance grew with more freemen families moving into Chelsea, they were encouraged to open their church school. Teachers came from the Methodist Church.

  Emily obtained a job at the local textile mill. She developed a reputation for being a talented seamstress. Her fame quickly grew, and soon she was making clothes for many families in the local community. Abigail Treat, one of the leading matriarchs of the abolitionists, noticed Emily’s talents. Abigail hired her to make Easter dresses for her granddaughters. When the Treats promenaded along the harborside boardwalk, many asked Abigail who made the beautiful dresses. Abigail told them the Freeman woman, Emily Driver. Emily was soon deluged with orders and was able to open up her seamstress shop next to the textile mill’s company store.

  The Smiths:

  Jeremiah’s father Ezekiel was a slave to a Baltimore gunsmith. His duties were to work the forge to melt and temper the iron before forging it into rifle and pistol barrels. Jeremiah, aged 16 and his brother Malachi, who was 14, grew up working by their father’s side. Jeremiah became skilled working the lathe to rifle the barrels. The grooves allowed the bullet to spin, allowing for accuracy. Malachi became a talented wood carver and created ornate rifle stocks and pistol grips. Buyers sought after the gunsmith’s rifles and pistols, which he sold at major gun shows. In 1857, he took Ezekiel, Jeremiah & Malachi New York City to display his weapons at a show in Battery Park. They set up a makeshift gunsmith shop to custom make the weapons. While there, they saw many Freeman families walking around openly, with no one asking them for passes. A yearning for freedom was born.

  Several weeks later Ezekiel was working the forge, and Jeremiah & Malachi were working their trade a dozen feet away. Prospective customers and other onlookers were watching as the guns took shape. As Ezekiel pumped the bellows, he suddenly grabbed his chest, staggered and knocked over the forge before collapsing into the pile of coal. The molten metal spilled into the coals, which exploded sending jagged pieces of coal flying everywhere. Ezekiel died instantly, and the explosion killed several onlookers. Dozens of others were seriously injured. Panic ensued, with people running in all directions. The slave master came running, saw the disaster and fearing blame also ran away. Jeremiah and Malachi, seeing their opportunity, melted into the crowd. The freemen saw them, instructed them to follow and spirited them away. The grieving boys wept for their father but knew there was nothing they could have done to save him.

  Jeremiah and Malachi stayed with Freeman families in New York for several weeks. Then word came that the bounty hunters were looking for them. In 1857 the Dred-Scott Decision by the US Supreme Court affirmed the Fugitive Slave Act. That decision decreed that slaves were the property, to their rightful owners; even if they were in the Free States. The Underground Railroad moved the brothers to Boston.

  There, the abolitionist fever kept the bounty hunters away, particularly after several of them were tarred & feathered. Hearing of the Freeman community in Chelsea, Jeremiah and Malachi moved there and were immediately accepted. Obadiah & Emily brought them into their household and Emily taught them how to read and write. Jeremiah soon found a job with a local gunsmith and Malachi was the smith’s helper. The brothers were soon considered to be the Smiths. The foundry conveniently located next to the textile mill was only a short walks from what was called Freeman’s Village.

  For the next five years, the Smith’s and the Driver’s prospered. Obadiah saved enough to open his livery stable. As his reputation for honest hard work grew so did his business. He hired on more drivers and soon had six wagons delivering goods in an area including Chelsea, Charleston, Everett, and Malden.

  Jeremiah continued to work for the gunsmith and was promoted to be the foreman of 4 apprentices. He fell in love with a freeman’s daughter Hannah, and they married in the AME Church. Hannah gave birth to a son who they named Ezekiel.

  Malachi opened a furniture business in the same mill. He used his skills as a wood carver to produce ornately decorated furniture. His work was soon in demand, and he hired two other freemen as assistants.

  On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Lincoln signed on Sept 22, 1862, became effective. The Proclamation freed the slaves in the Confederate States and provided for the formation of colored regiments. Massachusetts Governor John Andrew created the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, under the command of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw; who was the son of prominent abolitionists. With the help of the abolitionists, an active recruiting program enticed several thousand freemen and former slaves to volunteer. As the regiment would contain 1,100 soldiers, only the best and the strongest were selected. Obadiah, Jeremiah, and Malachi were among those selected.

  After three months of training, Obadiah received a promotion to Sergeant and Jeremiah to Corporal. With great fanfare, the regiment boarded transports in Boston and sailed to Beaufort South Carolina. The 54th fought in several campaigns in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. The regiment received numerous unit citations for courage and tenacity under fire. The Regiment was most famous for leading the assault on Fort Wagner, a Confederate bastion defending the southern approaches to Charleston South Carolina. As the naval bombardment of the fort was ending, the Union Army, with the 54th Massachusetts in the lead attacked across the narrow beach.

  The Confederate defenders emerged from their bombproof shelters and directed heavy fire into the attackers. The 54th while sustaining heavy casualties swarmed up scaling ladders and were overrunning one of the bastions. After capturing two cannons, Obadiah’s squad turned the guns around to fire into the Confederates who were mounting a counter attack. Each gun fired two loads of canister, which drove the gathering Confederates to cover. Confederate defenders targeted them with several other Confederate cannons. The incoming round and explosive shot blew Obadiah, Jeremiah, and Malachi over the wall and landed them unconscious onto the sand below.

  The Confederate counter-attack was successful in pushing the Union forces out of the fort. Colonel Shaw and over 100 men from the 54th Massachusetts died in combat, and a like number were wounded. Dazed by the concussion and injured by shrapnel, Obadiah, Malachi and Jeremiah managed to crawl to safety. In the aftermath of the battle, the 54th was temporarily taken out of action waiting for replacements.

  During the next eighteen months, the 54th again participated in campaigns from Florida to North Carolina. They distinguished themselves again at the Battle of Olustee, 40 miles west of Jacksonville, Florida. There they performed as rear guard, pushing back several Confederate attacks on the retreating Union Army. They were also assigned to rescue the train carrying the Union wo
unded, which was in danger of capture; as the train engine was damaged. The regiment, hearing gunfire ahead, double-timed towards the train. When they arrived, the train escort, the 35th United States Colored Troops were in danger of being overrun by Confederates. Charging forward, two companies of the 54th drove off the Confederates with heavy losses.

  The 54th attached ropes to the engine and pulled it by foot power 10 miles until horses could be assembled to pull it back to Jacksonville. Obadiah, Jeremiah & Malachi were part of the two companies which arrived in time to drive back Confederate attacks. The assault prevented a further atrocity, as the pursuing Confederates were executing captured and wounded colored Union soldiers.

  In April 1865, the 54th participated in the last battles in North Carolina, just before the surrender of General Joseph Johnston. By the end of the war, Obadiah was a Sergeant Major, the highest rank a colored soldier could attain. Jeremiah was a Sergeant, and Malachi was a Corporal. The regiment boarded transports and sailed back to Boston. There they paraded up to the State House on Beacon Hill, where they presented arms, rolled up the unit flags and were disbanded.

  During the next 10-months, life for the Drivers and Smiths was very active. Obadiah resumed control of his business and quickly expanded into new delivery areas. Seeing an opportunity to expand his storage capacity, he sold his original building and purchased the vacant warehouse next to the mill.

  Jeremiah returned to his job as the foreman at the gunsmith and as the business expanded he soon was supervising a foreman and six apprentices. Hannah became pregnant again but lost the baby after contracting influenza.

  Malachi fell in love with Betsy, the 16-year-old daughter of a freeman who had grown up while he was away in the army. In January 1866 they were married and moved into their apartment.