CHAPTER XII.

THE WAR OF NORTH AND SOUTH.

Once more the talk on free States and slave States was heard on all sides, and Hen-ry Clay had made more than one great speech to try and keep the peace. Cal-i-for-nia came in as a free State; but a bill went in force which made it a crime to help or keep a slave who had run off from his home. A man could go in to a free State and take back his slave by force, and no court or Judge in the land could stop him. In fact, they were bound to help him. This was thought harsh and wrong by most of the men at the North; but it was made a law. This law made more stir than aught else had done till this time. Men would help the slaves, spite of the law; and in some States they made laws of their own, that no one could claim a slave if he did not bring the case in to court, that they might see if he had a just claim.

When Pierce was made Pres-i-dent, the strife still went on; and this was made worse by a wish on the part of those who held slaves to bring them North of the line, in to a great tract of land--so large that two States could be made out of it--Kan-sas and Ne-bras-ka.

The South said all they would ask, would be that those who had their homes on the soil should say how they would like things to be, and put it to vote. Con-gress did at last pass a bill to give them their own choice, to be free or slave States. But this did not bring peace; for they had fights when they went to vote. At last they were all at war, and would burn a town or sack a house, or steal the cows and goods of those they thought foes. The whole land was a scene of blood, but in the end Kan-sas was brought in as a free State.

In the time of Pierce a great tract of land was bought from Mexico. It is now known as New Mex-i-co. In his time, too, trade with Japan was first made free to our ships.

When Bu-chan-an came to take the place of chief in our land, the talk on the slaves was by no means at rest. In the great Court of our land, the "Dred Scott" case was brought up in the first year of his rule, and it was said that those who held slaves had the right to take them with them where they chose, through all the free States. Then came John Brown's raid, which was like a fire brand in all the slave States.

John Brown was a man who had fought on the side of the Free Soil men in Kan-sas, and now all was at peace there. He had a plan to go in to the slave States and free the slaves. He had been in Vir-gin-ia when he was a boy, and knew there were strong holds in the hills, where he thought the slaves could make a stand and fight till they were free. He got a small band of men and went to a place by the name of Har-per's Fer-ry, and took the town. Those who had their homes there fled in fright; so he took the great place where arms were made for our troops. He thought he would give these arms to the black men, whom he had no doubt would flock to his side. He had a small force, but fear made all think it was a great one. The news of the raid went like a flash on the wires to all parts of the States, and men were sent to fight him and take him. His small force were brave, and did not give up till death or wounds made them do so.

It is said by those who held him as their foe, that John Brown was cool and firm in the face of death. With one son dead by his side, and one shot through, he felt the pulse of the son so near to death with one hand, but held fast to his gun, and spoke words of cheer to his men. He fell at last with six wounds, but did not die of them. He was brought in to Court, and they set to work to try him. The head man of Vir-gin-ia, by the name of Wise, said, "Those who think John Brown is a mad man, do not know him. He is a man of clear head and a brave heart. I would trust him to be a man of truth."

But he was led out to be hung. On his way there, his last act was to kiss a slave child. Six of his friends were hung on the same spot. Some few of the band got off to the free States. All this made the talk of North and South on the slave trade more and more fierce; and when a new man was to be made Pres-i-dent, those who went for free soil, that is, no slaves, chose their own man, and he got the most votes. These Free Soil men had grown to be a large throng, and they had a new name. The man they chose was A-bra-ham Lin-coln. He was a man who would have been glad to have kept the peace; but the South would not have it so. They were in a rage, and said they would go out of the band of States. They thought a State had the right to go out if it chose to do so. This was "States Rights" to their mind.

"States Rights" had long been held as the creed of the South; so there were six States that put it to vote, and said they would go out of the U-nion. South Car-o-li-na was the one to lead the way. They said they would make a new band of States, where it would be right to hold slaves; and they took one of our forts.

Troops were sent in a boat, by name, "The Star of the West," but they were met by a fire from the fort. Then they took their stand on the shore by Fort Sum-ter, which was held by a few men. For two days the fire went on, and at last the brave man who held the fort had to give it up. His men were worn out, the place was on fire, and they had no more food for their guns. So they went out with the beat of drums and their flags flung out on the air.

The sound of the first gun at Fort Sum-ter was a shock to all the land. Most of those at the North, who had not felt the slave trade to be wrong, now took sides with those who had been its foes from the first. All the States at the South took one side, but the slaves were for those who had the wish to make them free.

In the first of this storm the end came of Bu-chan-an's term. Three States came in at this time. Or-e-gon, Min-ne-so-ta, and Kan-sas. The last two bear the name the red men gave two streams that flow through them. The name Or-e-gon is said to mean "wild rice."

Up to the time of the first gun fired at Fort Sum-ter, men had felt that the South could be brought back. Few at the North thought there would be war; but at the South it had been thought of for a long time. The young men had met for drill, and arms had been hid where they could be found. Lin-coln found but a small band of troops, but he sent out a call for more. As these men were on their march through the streets of Bal-ti-more, the mob threw stones at them, and three of them fell dead. Then the troops let fire on the mob, and nine men fell. This made a great stir at the North, for they thought it went to show the hate in the hearts of the men at the South.

The next time the troops were sent, they did not march through Bal-ti-more. They found the rails torn up by the way, and had to mend them as they went on. Once when they saw a car that was a wreck by the way side, some one was heard to ask if one could be found in the ranks who could mend it. "I can," said a man who stood by it, "for I built it."

So you see the troops were made up of men from all trades, who had left their work to fight for their land. In the course of time, troops went in peace through the streets of Bal-ti-more.

Men came in to the ranks on all sides when they heard the call; but they found that arms were scarce, most had been sent South. So the North had to buy or make these in as short a time as they could. There had to be clothes made, too, for the troops, and food found for stores, and carts to draw it, and drugs for the sick. All must be done at once, and all in such a way that there must be no waste or want. Lin-coln at this time made a law that no ships should go in or out of the ports of the South.

The war soon made a stand in both East and West Vir-gin-ia. In the west of this State there were men who did not wish to fight on the side of the South; but they had to do so or leave the State. There was a move made to march on Rich-mond; but the troops had to go back, and lost the day at the fight of Bull Run. It was a sad rout for the troops of the North, as they made haste back to Wash-ing-ton, with a fear that the foe might come and take that place.

At the end of this year Gen-er-al Scott gave up his place at the head of all the troops to Gen-er-al Mc-Clel-lan.

When this war broke out, we had but four ships in a good state to take part in it. Yet we were in need of a force that could block up the ports of the South. Eng-land and France gave help to the South, for they let them fit out ships in their ports, and all through the war the South was kept up by the hope of aid from these lands.

A great fight took place at An-tie-tam, where the troops of Gen-er-al Mc-Clel-lan met those of Lee. This was one of the worst fights of the war, and there was great loss of life on both sides. The North won the day, and Lee drew off his troops. It was thought by some that a move in the right way would have cut short this flight, and they said Mc-Clel-lan ought to have made such a move. So Gen-er-al Burn-side took his place at the head of the troops, and he took the town of Fred-er-icks-burg. In the mean time there was a ship fight, in which the South for a time did good work. She had a ship which she had made strong with iron plates and hard wood, and a bow of steel. This ship set sail in the bay to fight the whole U-nion fleet. The ships of wood could make no stand. In vain did they pour out fire and balls. It was said the balls would strike and glance off, and did no more harm than peas from a pop gun. At nine that night two of our ships had gone down in fire and smoke, and one was run on the ground.

All at once a small queer thing came in sight. Some one said it was like a cheese box on a raft. This was the Mon-i-tor. When dawn came it bore down on the Mer-ri-mac and sent out a fire. The ram gave the fire back. For two hours the fire was kept up; till at last the Mon-i-tor sent a shel through the port hole of the foe. This fell right in the midst of her crew. So those in the Mer-ri-mac thought it would be wise to get out of the way of more such shells, and it left the coast clear. There was great joy felt at the North when the news came that they had won this fight; for all had felt that if this ship, with its hard sides and bow of steel, had been left free to sail in to New York bay, all the ships of wood in our port would have gone down in her path. From the time of this fight, a great change has been made in the way they have built ships.

Gen-er-al Grant fought in this war, and led our troops to win the day in more than one fight. One of the great moves of the war was made on New Or-leans by Far-ra-gut in ships, and Gen-er-al But-ler with a land force.

This town had two strong forts, and there was a long chain with earth works at each end. There were fire rafts full of stuff that they could set on fire, and gun boats, and one of the kind we know as a ram.

Far-ra-gut sent fire in to the forts in vain. His boats took fire from the rafts, and he had to put out each as it went by. At last, he thought he would try and run by the forts with his fleet, and he did so. The forts, the steam boats, and the ram, kept up a hot fire, but in the midst of shot and ball, he made his way up the stream. The next day at dawn, he was in New Or-leans, and in a day more the fleets and forts were in his hands, and Gen-er-al But-ler, with a land force, came in to the town.

In this year, 1862, Lin-coln sent out a bill that said "the slaves should be free then, and for all time."

And it was then thought that it would be a good thing for the black man to help in this war that had made him free. So there came to be black troops made up of the free slaves. By this time the cost of the war had grown great, and the U-nion side felt that it was time to bring things to a close.

The South took heart and came with their troops in to a free State; and a great fight took place near a town by the name of Get-tys-burg. There was great loss on both sides. But Lee had to fly with his men, and this fight put an end to the hopes of the South. At the time of the last shot in fight, Gen-er-al Grant, far off in Vicks-burg, brought the foe to terms. Vicks-burg was a place on high bluffs, and it had guns on all sides to stop our ships on their way up the stream. It stood a long siege of more than a month, but at last it fell.

But as time went on, it grew more and more hard to get men for the war. There had to be a draft, and the folks did not like that. In a draft, one has to draw a lot, and no one knew on whom the lot would fall. In New York there were some who felt a sort of spite at the black folks, as they held them to be the cause of the war, and there was a mob that set on them in the streets. It went on for three days, and some black men fell struck by stones from the mob. But at last it was brought to an end.

The next year Grant made some good moves, and, on the whole, the sky grew more clear. Lin-coln said, "Peace does not seem so far off as it did. I hope it will come soon and come to stay, and come so that it will be worth all we have done for it."

In 1864, Gen-er-al Grant was put at the head of all the troops. He had shown that he knew a great deal of war, and he had done good work. He soon made a plan of two great moves that should go on at the same time. One of these was to march on Rich-mond with one branch of the troops, while Gen-er-al Sher-man should take one branch through the States of the South, from mount to sea.

Gen-er-al Grant did not swerve from the course he had laid out. He said, "I will fight it out on this line," and he did, spite of all loss. He laid siege to Rich-mond, but for a time they held out. At sea the ships of the South at first won on all sides. They drove our ships out, and got off with no harm, till the time that the Al-a-ba-ma was sunk. One more grand fight with ships took place in Mo-bile Bay.

This bay was a great place for boats to run in with food and stores to the foe. Our ships could not make their way there, for there were two forts, a ram of great strength, and shells that would blow them up set in the way. Far-ra-gut put false bows on his ships, so that they might charge the ram, and at last it was sunk.

Sher-man had a hard work to do; for he must take his troops through the land of the foe, by their strong forts, through hill and dale and pass. He meant to cut off their chance to get food, and to break up the rail roads. He first took the town of At-lan-ta, and from that point set out on the "March to the Sea," which has won him so much fame. He had to feed his troops for the most part on what he could find in the land he went through. He took Sa-van-nah and wrote to Lin-coln, "I beg to give you the gift of the town of Sa-van-nah, with all its guns and stores."

Then he took up his march once more through swamp and bog, or up the high steep hills and rocks. The cold days had come, but on they went, through storms of sleet and snow, or in the face of floods of rain, with a foe on all sides. Such a march had not been known in all the wars of the past. Long will the fame of that March to the Sea live in our land. He had found, as he said, that all the men in the South had been drawn out to aid the troops, and that there were no more left, and the land was a "mere shell."

Charles-ton gave up at the end of a long siege; but it was set on fire in all parts by its own folk, so that it might not be worth much when it fell in our hands.

The last move was made by Grant on Rich-mond. He felt that one more blow would bring the war to a close. He sent out word to Sher-i-dan, "When day dawns push round the foe, and get to his rear." Two days more our troops were in the streets of Rich-mond. When Lee found he could not hold his place, he sent word by the wires to Jef-fer-son Da-vis at Rich-mond. Da-vis was the man the South had made their chief, and he was in church when the news came to him. He read these words: "My lines are cut at three points. Rich-mond must be left to night."

Da-vis left the church, and the news spread at once that the town was lost. There was fright on all sides, and the streets were soon full of men who knew not what to do. The means for flight were small, and a poor cart and horse would have brought a large sum of gold. The ships were set on fire or blown up, and some of the stores of the town were in a blaze. Oh, what a night! All sought to fly, but few had means to go.

The next day some black troops were the first to march in the town. This was the real end of the war. Gen-er-al Lee did all he could to save his men; but they were so faint with want of food that they could not march, and so weak they could not hold their guns. So he gave up all at last to Gen-er-al Grant, and the whole South had to yield.

This war had cost the land more than you could count in gold and lives. But it had made the slave free; and we know that we shall have the curse of the slave trade in our land no more. And it had shown that the creed of States Rights was not the best one, for if we were cut up in parts we would be weak, while if we stay as one, we will be strong. Our true strength, then, is to hold fast the bond that binds all the States, North and South, East and West, in one.

There was great joy, and all gave thanks at the North when the news that the war had come to an end was borne on the wires. Lin-coln had held his course in a firm, brave way. He had said in a speech in New York, when he was on his way to take his place, "When the time comes for me to speak, I shall then take the ground that I think is right--right for the North, for the South, for the East, for the West, for all our land."

And so he had done. The war was a grief to him. He said, "We did not think this war would last so long. Both sides read the same Word of God, and both pray to Him to aid in a war on those who are bound to them by near ties. We hope, we pray, that this scourge of war may soon pass. But if God wills it should stay till each drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid with one drawn with the sword, it must be said, 'Shall not the Judge of all the world do right?'"

Five days from the time that the news of joy came in a flash on the wires, Lin-coln was dead. He had been shot while he sat in his box, at the play, by a man of the name of Wilkes Booth. This man had by some means got in the box and made the door fast. When he had shot Lin-coln, he sprang from the box to the stage, but caught his foot in one of our flags, and broke his leg. He had a horse at the door, and got off; but was at last found in a barn, where he stood at bay. They set the barn on fire to drive him out; but he still stood his ground, and fought till the last, when he fell, shot by one of our men.

Those who stood by the bed side of Lin-coln saw that there was no hope. All the land was full of gloom, when the sad news came. As his corpse was borne in a train to his old home, the towns were hung with black on the whole route, and most men wore the badge of grief. Those who had not been warm friends of Lin-coln in his life, felt a shock at his death, for they knew a brave, true man had gone.