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Chapter 3:
Preparations for the strife.
IN the midst of the excitement that prevailed in
Washington on the mournful day of July 22d, Congress set an example of courage to the
American people.
While the remnants of the army defeated on the previous day were beginning to crowd the streets of the capital, and everybody looked at
Arlington Heights with a feeling of uneasiness, expecting to see the enemy's artillery make its appearance, and while the military chiefs were endeavoring to reorganize their respective forces, the two Houses assembled at the
Capitol.
Grief was portrayed on every countenance, but it had not destroyed the determination of those who supported the
President's policy.
A few days before they had responded to his call for a levy of 400,000 volunteers and the issue of four hundred million dollars for their support, by a resolution increasing both these numbers and authorizing the enlistment of 500,000 volunteers and an expenditure of five hundred million dollars. This resolution was first presented in the Senate on the 10th of July, and on the 13th in the House of Representatives.
But the amendments introduced by the partisans of peace-at-any-price, who were allowed a perfect freedom of speech, and who desired to prevent the
President from employing these resources to put down the rebellion, had delayed the final vote on the resolution.
By a singular coincidence, this debate had been fixed for the 22d of July, when the impending disaster was scarcely contemplated.
This disaster, so far from embarrassing the debate, only served to impart to it a peculiar solemnity, and the eagerness with which the resolution was passed showed that the representatives of the
American people fully appreciated the duties devolved upon them by such grave circumstances.
The Federal Congress had often been the hot-bed of miserable
