The National crisis.
correspondence between Judge Robertson and the South Carolina authorities --the arrival of the storeship Supply at New York — farewell of Senator Benjamin --position of Senator Cameron, &c., &c.
Charleston, Jan. 29, 1861.
To His
Excellency, the
Governor of
South Carolina:
Sir:
The intelligence of the sailing of the
Brooklyn from
Hampton Roads, received here on the 25th inst., determined me at once not to press an immediate reply to my note of that date, communicating the mediatorial propositions of the General Assembly of
Virginia.
It was arranged between
Ex-President Tyler and myself, previous to our departure from
Richmond, that we would endeavor to obtain from the
Government at
Washington and the authorities of the seceded States mutual assurances of abstinence from acts calculated to produce hostile collision during the period designated by the General Assembly, which assurances being interchanged, would be reciprocally binding.
Last evening, I received a dispatch from
Mr. Tyler, informing me that the
President declines to give a written pledge.
I do not understand that he has given, or proposes to give, a verbal one.
Under these circumstances — informed, moreover, that
South Carolina does not consent to send Commissioners to
Washington, as proposed by
Virginia — it seems wholly unnecessary, if not unreasonable, to ask from the authorities of your State assurances of the character contemplated, which the
Government at
Washington, on its part, declines to give.
At the same time, though regarding my mission as terminated, it will afford me sincere pleasure to be the bearer of any response which the authorities of
South Carolina may think proper to make through me, to the friendly interposition of the
State I have the honor to represent.
Permit me, in conclusion, to express my grateful sense of the courtesy and kindness extended to me by the authorities and citizens of
South Carolina, during my brief sojourn among them.
[Rep'y. Of the Governor, through the State Department, to Hon. John Robertson.]
State of South Carolina, Executive Office, State Department. Charleston, Jan. 29, 1861.
Sir:
The Governor of the
State of South Carolina directs me to acknowledge his reception of your letter of this date, and to communicate to you the great satisfaction which he has derived from your visit to this State.
To the General Assembly of this State, the
Governor has transmitted the ‘"Preamble and Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of
Virginia, January the 19th, 1861,"’ with an accompanying Message.
In the General Assembly certain resolutions were adopted; copies of which, with the Message of the
Governor, are herewith enclosed.
The Governor is able to inform you, that the dispatch from
Mr. Tyler to you, in which he communicated to you that the
President refused to give the written pledge which was asked, contained the renewed expression of the refusal of the
President to the same pledge, proposed to him by the
Senators of the several seceding States.
The refusal of the
President to give this pledge — a refusal, in fact, to abstain from the commission of acts of hostility — was not unexpected by the
Governor.
But it has been gratifying to him that you should have become possessed of this information while you were in this State, from source which, in affording you that information, enabled you thoroughly to understand the motives of the authorities of this State in not having relied upon assurances which, hitherto, to your honored Commonwealth, may have seemed sufficient to have justified and demanded, perhaps, confidence in the sources by which they were made.
With the evidence you now have of the purposes of the
Government of the
United States, it is unnecessary for the
Governor to add to it anything, from the more than sufficient testimony which has for some time led him to the conclusion which you have reached.
The Governor is well satisfied that the ancient Commonwealth, whose honored envoy you are, will receive the report of your mission with the spirit which has given to its name the respect which it everywhere receives.
You carry with you to
Virginia, from the General Assembly of this State, ‘"the assurances of their cordial respect and esteem."’--In this, the
Governor requests me to say he heartily concurs.
And with equal pleasure does he unite with the General Assembly in the expression of its ‘"high consideration"’ for you.
The arrival of the storeship Supply at New
York.
The telegram announcing the arrival of the U. S. storeship Supply,
Capt. Walke, at New York, with
Lieut. Slemmer, was a mistake.--The
Slemmer was
Mrs. Lieutenant, and not the officer himself.
The following is the list of passengers who went from the
Warrington Navy-Yard on the
Supply:
‘
Mrs. Lieut. Slemmer, U. S. A., servant and child;
Mrs. J. H. Gilman, U. S. A., servant and child;
John Irwin,
Lieutenant U. S. A., lady and two children;
Mrs. Samuel;
Robert Dixon, U. S. N., lady and two children;
Jas. Cooper, U. S. N., lady and four children;
Miss Cooper;
Robert Hunter, U. S. N.;
Lewis Holmes, U. S. N.;
John Milan, lady and child;
Wm. C. Knowles,
John Tyler,
Spencer Clarke; also,
John J. Flarety, Dan'l.
E. Jameson,
John Gallagher,
Wm. J. Lodge,
J. W. Barker,
T. Massey, employees of the
Warrington Navy-Yard; also, nine invalids from Naval Hospital,
Warrington; twenty-seven ordinary men from do. do., and thirty-four marines from the
Marine Barracks.
The above were released on parole and taken off under a flag of truce.
’
The wives and children of the command at
Fort Pickens were placed on board the
Supply to-day, before the surrender of the
Navy-Yard.
On the following day the storeship, under a flag of truce, proceeded to the wharf of the
Navy-Yard, where the laborers and marines were taken on board,
Captain Walke having given his parole that they should be landed north of
Mason &
Dixon's line.
Overtures had been made to the marines to join the secessionist forces, with the alternative of expulsion in case of a refusal.
The personal property of the force at
Fort Pickens, furniture, carpets, pianos belonging to the officers' wives, books, clothing, &c., were, under the flag of truce, conveyed on board the
Supply.
The steamer
Wyandot has been cruising in the bay, rendering assistance in many different ways to the force under
Lieutenant Slemmer's command at
Fort Pickens.
Captain (commanding)
Berryman is at present assisted in the officer corps by only two engineers, all the other officers having resigned.
His guard of sixteen marines he transferred to
Fort Pickens, increasing the force there to about eighty men. The
Wyandot will cruise in the neighborhood of the fort until reinforcements arrive, or until its possessors are compelled by an attack to abandon it. In the latter event the guns of the fort will be spiked and the fort itself blown up, while the garrison by means of boats can escape from the beach to the steamer.
The exodus from the
Barrancas Fort was made necessarily in much haste, there being little time except to hurriedly pack up the most valuable of their articles of furniture and wardrobe.
No personal violence was offered to these retreating women and children, but the sudden and peaceable breaking up of so many peaceful households, and the violent separation of family ties, were cause of great distress.
To many the parting of husband and wife was as if for the last time, and tears bedewed many a hardy cheek when the last ‘"good by"’ was spoken.
The excitement produced upon the officers when they saw their flag at the
Navy-Yard hauled down,
Mrs. Slemmer says, was most intense.
It was a sight they never expected to see, and they had never conceived of the deep feeling of humiliation and vexation that the spectacle existed in every breast.
During the day and night of the evacuation of
Barrancas, and the transfer of the garrison to
Fort Pickens, every person, men, and officers, and their wives, performed prodigies of labor, and never obtained a wink of sleep for nearly twenty-four hours; and the hard work fell about equally upon all, without regard to rank or sex. The ladies cheerfully performed their part throughout the trying ordeal.
On the day following the embarkation of the families on board of the
Supply,
Mrs. Gilman and
Mrs. Slemmer, accompanied by officers from the storeship, went on shore under a flag of truce, to obtain a last interview with their husbands.
Every step of their progress was met by armed officials.
They were obliged, first, to obtain permission from the new Commandant of the
Navy-Yard —
Randolph, who ten days before had resigned his commission in the Navy.
This was very reluctantly granted, after appeals had been made to him as a husband and father.
They then had to pass the Barrancas forts, whose commander, after
some hesitation, allowed them to pass.
In this place, so lately deserted by these peaceful and happy families, all was now confusion.--The undisciplined soldiers or understrappers had broken open some of the trunks and boxes containing the wardrobes, and household relies of
Col. Winder, late
Commander, probably in pursuit of clothing for their own use, and they saw ladies' dresses, and family daguerreotypes, scattered about with little regard to their vaunted respect for the rights of personal property.
In justice to the officers, these ladies wished to exonerate them, personally, from these acts of vandalism, and believe they were done by the baser, sort upon whom discipline had as yet exerted no control.
Lieut. Slemmer asserted that he could hold the place against five thousand men, and declared he would do it. It is needless to say that both these ladies exhorted their husbands to stand by their country's flag to the last, and never haul it down, except to an overpowering force.
All the prisoners in the
Navy-Yard were permitted to leave after giving their parole, and those who could get away left.
Such as decided to remain were compelled to take the oath of allegiance to serve the
State of Florida.
Senator Benjamin, of
Louisiana, with
Mr. Slidell, his colleague, bade farewell to the U. S. Senate on Monday.
Mr. Benjamin said that after the
Southern Senators had left there would be still voices raised on that side of the chamber in opposition to force bills — to bills for raising armies and navies for the desolution of the
South.
Mr. Benjamin concluded as follows:
‘
And now to you,
Mr. President, and to my brother Senators on all sides of this chamber, I bid a respectful farewell.
With many of those from whom I have been radically separated in political sentiment, my personal relations have been kindly, and have inspired me with a respect and esteem that I shall not willingly forget.
’
With those around me from the
Southern States, I part as men part from brothers on the eve of a temporary absence, with a cordial pressure of the hand and a smiling assurance of the speedy renewal of sweet intercourse around the family hearth.
But to you, noble and generous friends, who bow beneath other skies, possess hearts that beat in sympathy with ours — to you who solicited and assailed by motives the most powerful that could appeal to selfish natures and nobly spurned them all — to you who on our behalf have bared your breast to the fierce beatings of the storm and made willing sacrifice of life's most glittering prizes in your devotion to constitutional liberty — to you who have made our cause your cause, and from many of whom I now feel that I part forever, what shall I say?
Naught I know and feel is needed for myself; but this I will say for the people in whose name I speak to-day:
‘
Whether prosperous or adverse fortunes await you, one priceless treasure is yours — the assurance that an entire people have your names and hold them in grateful and affectionate memory.
But with still sweeter and more touching return, shall your unselfish devotion be rewarded.
When in after days the story of the present shall be written; when history shall have passed her stern sentence on the erring men who have driven unoffending brethren from the shelter of their common home, your names shall derive fresh lustre from the contrast; and when your children shall hear, oft-repeated, the familiar tale, it will be with glowing cheek and kindling eye; their very souls will stand a tip-toe as their sires are named; and they will glory in their lineage from men, of spirits as generous and of patriotism as high-hearted as ever illustrated or adorned the American Senate.
Good friends, farewell.
’
[
Mr. Benjamin was frequently greeted with applause, particularly at the close.
A great number of
Senators and others bid the
Louisiana Senator farewell, and the scene was highly impressive.
The galleries were crowded.]
The Committee of New York Merchants, who presented to Congress the memorial of forty thousand citizens, urging the adoption of the
Border State Compromise, before leaving the
Capital, assembled the
Republican members of Congress at an entertainment given at Willard's Hotel.
Senator Cameron, who is to be a member of
Lincoln's Cabinet, made a speech.
He said:
‘
I have heard that New York is a generous city, but I do not know whether this calling on me for a speech be any evidence of the fact; for they ask me to speak before I have half finished my supper.
Only the other day, after making, in the Senate, a speech which I honestly believed the crisis and the country demanded, I was declared a rebel to my party.
But I find that I am not the only rebel.
John Sherman is a rebel, too, judged by the same rule of construction; so is my friend,
Judge Hale; so is my young friend
Killinger, who made, to-night, a conservative speech in the
House; so is my friend
Mr. Curtis, of
Iowa; and it seems we all have to be read out of the party.
These are clear indications, evident that the love of the country is above all considerations of party.
[Cheers.] We have reached a crisis that no one anticipated.
This is no time for party.
It is a question of country.
Everybody is anxious and desirous to do something, but no one knows what will do good.
It is the rebels at the
South who have been laboring long to dissever this Government.
There has been no time, since Congress met, that this whole question could not have been settled, if the
South had only come forward generously, and met the question fairly.
The plot of secession has been meditated for thirty years, and now the political leaders of the
South are bound hand and foot to the disorganizing mob at home, who have really no interest at stake in the present crisis.
There is no plan of settlement, that is honorable, that I am not fully prepared to accept.
[Cheers.]
’
Mr. McKnight stated that he believed he represented the district which gave the largest Republican majority in the Presidential canvass — a majority of ten thousand over fusion and nine thousand over all the mongrel elements combined.
He was not prepared to say, as had been remarked, that he had a crowbar down his back when the interest of his country was at stake.
He was prepared to vote for most, if not all, of the propositions reported by the
Committee of Thirty-three.
In conclusion, he proposed the health of the hero of
Charleston harbor, the patriotic
Robert Anderson.
The toast was received by a perfect burst of applause, which did not subside for several minutes.
Senator Cameron again spoke, in response to the remarks of
Mr. McKnight; " I have been denounced by all the journals throughout the honorable member's district for the course which I have taken.
I am glad to hear now from my honorable friend that he is even willing to go further than I, and to vote to make slave territory out of territory now free.
I am willing, however, to take the distinguished member from
Pennsylvania as captain of the host, and to follow him modestly as an humble follower.
The officers of the home Squadron.
A letter from
Lieut. Porcher, of
South Carolina, on board the
United steamer Powhatan, at
Vera Cruz, gives the following account of the difficulties experienced by Southern officers in leaving their ships there:
‘
Some hours after the arrival of the mail, when I had fully digested the news, I had a friendly, unofficial talk with the
Captain; told him my intention was to hand in my resignation the next day, (yesterday,) and requested him to aid me in my endeavors to return immediately.
He said he would, but that he felt certain the
Flag-Officer would not grant his request.
I told him I wanted it understood, that if kept on board I would not serve in any capacity against any Southern city or State.
Yesterday three of us from
South Carolina went in and saw the
Flag-Officer.--He refused to allow us to leave until he hears from the
Secretary, on the ground that if we go, others might assume the same position.--We exhausted all argument, and wound up by giving him to understand that we would not serve either to collect revenues, or in any other way harass or annoy any Southern city.
His further reply was, that for the present the ship would remain here.
We were particular in thus defining our position, as the frigate
Sabine and sloop
St. Louis are ordered to
Pensacola.
’
Capt. Ingraham, of Kosta celebrity, tendered his written resignation on Friday to
Secretary Toucey, who declined receiving it, and begged him to reconsider.
He agreed to withhold it for a short time, but will insist on its acceptance.
The rumor current that he had resigned was untrue.
