Part 20 (1/2)
As the time passed I became somewhat anxious over the delay in Mr
Gouverneur's return to this country It see it, ere upon the sea at the sae was made by the way of the Isthmus of Suez and Marseilles For a while it seemed difficult for either of us to realize that ere in our own country onceand everybody topsy turvy When we left the country, party anih key, but the possibility of a gigantic civil war as a solution of political problearded as preposterous On our return, however, the country ith excitenitude of which no one had yet drea in our vicinity for the seat of war, the national ensign and other emblems of loyalty were displayed on every hand and a martial spirit pervaded the very atmosphere The as the one important topic of conversation at homes, in the streets and in places of business The passions of the people were so thoroughly aroused that they were frequently expressed in severe denunciation of any who presumed to entertain conservative views of the situation of affairs and who still hoped for conciliation and peace Suspicions were often created by trivial but well-intended acts or remarks that were susceptible of a double construction, and loyal sentiment was often so pronounced in its denunciation of the South that no word or remark could be tolerated that by any possibility could be construed as a criticism of the administration, a disapproval of the war or of any detail relating to its conduct For exa after our return froone day a newly equipped regi her residence _en route_ for the seat of hen Mr Eaihly loyal to the cause of the Union, but whosehad made hiular troops, replied: ”They need training,”
when Mr Ea, exclaimed: ”You are a secessionist, sir!”
That, however, represented but acompared with that sometimes entertained between those ere loyal to the Union and others who sympathized with the South I recall one conspicuous instance where such antagonistic views resulted in personal ani When I left the country a lifelong intiranddaughter of Robert Morris, the great financier of the Revolution, and Mrs George Gibbs, granddaughter of the Connecticut statesman, Oliver Wolcott; but after the outbreak of the war these two elderly wo the conflict that, for a period, their personal relations were severed The spirit of toleration was so utterly lacking in both the North and the South that even those allied by ties of blood were estranged, and a spirit of bitter resentment and cri, under the circumstances, was doubtless inevitable, but it e else, except bloodshed itself, the truth of General Sherman's declaration that ”War is hell!”
The aniendered by the war ruptured family ties and familiar associations in Maryland much more completely than in the North One of the Needwood fae Horsey, as a pronounced Southern sympathizer, while not far away at Mount O'Donnell, a superb old estate, lived General Columbus O'Donnell, who ardently espoused the cause of the Union Mr Horsey had a son born just after a Southern victory whom he named Robert Victor Lee; but later, after a Confederate defeat, General O'Donnell suggested that the naed to Robert ”Skedaddle” Lee, whereupon Mr Horsey retorted that he thought the naht appropriately be changed to George ”Retreat” McClellan Of Charles Oliver O'Donnell, one of the General's sons, I retain the pleasantest enial nature His first as Lucinia de Sodre, daughter of Luis Pereira de Sodre, who at the tie was the Brazilian Minister in Washi+ngton Mr
O'Donnell's second as Miss Helen Sophia Carroll of Balti a few ton, we visited Mr Gouverneur's father, as still living at Needwood in Maryland Here we found a radical change of scene, for ere now in close proximity to the seat of war On our journey southere somewhat delayed by the ru it necessary for us to procure passes, which was accoh the courtesy of General Edward Shriver, a native of Frederick, who held at the tiht e arrived in New York that public feeling ran high, but it was mild compared with our observations and experiences in Maryland, and we never dared to predict what a day would bring forth Mr Gouverneur's father was a pronounced Northern hbors, sympathized with the South Soon after the outbreak of the hile ere yet in China, and at the period when Maryland avering between the North and South, and to anxious spectators secession seemed almost inevitable, my father-in-law and ex-Governor Philip F Tho on a hurried trip to Frederick, where the State Legislature was convened in special session, instead of at the State Capitol in Annapolis, which was then occupied by Union troops A report had reached theislature would probably declare for secession and call a convention to take into consideration an ordinance for the accomplishment of that end, and they desired to exert whatever influence they could command to retain the State in the Union The national administration, however, was equally alert, and a measure much more effective, in this instance, than moral suasion was employed to defeat the adherents of the Southern cause General John A Dix arrested ten islature, the ressman and two editors; while in Frederick, General Nathaniel P Banks took into custody nine other members who, under the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, were confined for a time either in Fort Lafayette in New York or in Fort Warren in Boston I well remember that one of these was Severn Teackle Wallis of Baltimore, a lawyer of exceptional prominence and ability and a universal favorite in society
Shortly before the battle of Gettysburg, when Frederick County was occupied by the Union troops, many of the officers dined at Needwood A little later, although over forty ress, as we distinctly heard the steady firing of heavy artillery The news of the great Union victory finally reached us and I listened in silent sy of the Unionists and heard the lamentations of the sympathizers with the Southern cause
After the battle of Gettysburg, the disorganized Southern arh Maryland, their objective point being Harper's Ferry; while General George G Meade with his troops was on South Mountain, within sight of the forht there arose one of the most violent storms I have ever known, and we naturally supposed that it would render the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, which es had, of course, been destroyed The storo to bed Mr Gouverneur and I were elated because we believed it meant the end of hostilities and the Union restored; for in our opinion, it sees to successfully contend with the eleuns It would therefore be difficult to describe our surprise e learned the nextthat Lee's troops had safely crossed the Potoinia
Several days later Mr Gouverneur and I were driving on the national turnpike, coerstown pike, e encountered the Union army Our destination was the country seat of ex-Governor Philip F Thomas, two miles from Frederick and within the shadow of Catoctinas a future home Our travel was not iard to our political sentiments, as the Northern army was prone to believe that every sojourner in Maryland at this time was an adherent of the South This national turnpike, which has been and still is a well-traveled thoroughfare, was constructed at a cost of several ance of John Adains at Georgetown, DC, and crosses the mountains into Kentucky, Henry Clay once re ”the Valley of the Shenandoah, Harper's Ferry, and the still more beautiful Middletown valley”
We were so favorably impressed by the Thomas place that we decided to purchase it and in a short time found ourselves pered the na_,” which was the na the children and myself comfortably established in our new hoive his services to the country for which he had so valiantly fought during the Mexican War As he was still in exceedingly delicate health, active service in the field with all the exposures of camp life was entirely out of the question but, desirous of rendering such services as he could, he wrote the following letter to Major General Henry W
Halleck, Commander in Chief of our Army:--
On my return from China, where I held the office of Consul of the US, in the early part of May last I had the honor, through the Honorable Secretary of State, to offer my services to the President of the United States in any capacity in which ht enable me to serve my country in its present hour of peril
To my communication to this effect I have received no reply
I have the honour now to tender to you my services on your staff in some position wherein they may prove most available
The record of my former services in Mexico is on the files of the War Department, and I am without vanity led to believe that the historical associations which place ive a prestige in our cause not wholly valueless In conclusion I beg to add that the subject of compensation with me would be a matter of indifference
General Halleck replied as follows:--
Washi+ngton, July 30, 1863
Samuel L Gouverneur Jr
New York
Sir,
The law authorizing the appointment of additional aides has been repealed Moreover, I have long since refused to nouished or meritorious military services It is true that so rendered any service at all, but they were not noal
Yours &c,
H W HALLECK, Major General Conorant of the fact that the chief requisite for serving upon his staff was not wanting in the case of allantry and meritorious conduct at the battles of Contreras and Churubusco in the Mexican War
Halleck's reply was a bitter disappointment to Mr Gouverneur but a tremendous relief to me, as I kneas not in the condition of health to serve even as a staff-officer When he originally broached the subject to me I did not try to dissuade hiht to interfere with his ideas of duty to his country The Halleck letter, therefore, brought about a state of affairs in our household uine anticipations