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Chapter 2:
ON the 4th of July, 1861, the anniversary of the foundation of the
United States, an extra session of the new Congress which had been elected a few months before was convened by
Mr. Lincoln, and assembled in the
Capitol at
Washington.
Never had the representatives of the nation met under such grave circumstances.
Four months had elapsed since
Mr. Lincoln had taken the constitutional oath in that same edifice, and the sad forebodings which at that time alarmed all true patriots had been realized.
The insurgents had fired the first shot; they had carried with them nearly all the slave States; their sentinels, stationed in the woods adjoining the
Potomac, watched the capital; war had commenced, and it imposed upon the
Federal government the colossal task of reconquering one-third of the national territory.
But, on the other hand, the States loyal to the
Union had not been shaken either by the solicitations of the insurgents or by their constitutional theories; they had displayed a determination to undergo every sacrifice in defence of the
Republic, and had already raised 300,000 men for that object; they had found a chief who loyally represented their sentiments, and whose only care was to perform the duties incumbent upon him with firmness.
Mr. Lincoln had shown no weakness when treason surrounded him on every side.
Having measured the magnitude of the danger, he had taken extraordinary steps to avert it; he had issued two calls for volunteers, and had authorized expenses for their equipment which the budget had not contemplated; he had, in short, yielded to the necessity of suspending the ordinary guarantees of personal liberty in order to maintain his authority in cities like
Baltimore and
St. Louis, where it had been assailed by armed force.
Owing to these measures, the insurrection had been limited and deprived of some of the most important strategic positions.
