exodus of southern society from the federal city
in the winter of ’9 and ’0 it became obvious to everyone that gaiety at the capital was waning. aside from public receptions, now become palpably perfunctory, only an occasional wedding served to give social zest to the rapidly sobering congressional circles. ordinary “at-homes” were slighted. women went daily to the senate gallery to listen to the angry debates on the floor below. when belles met they no longer discussed furbelows and flounces, but talked of forts and fusillades. the weddings of my cousin, miss hilliard, in 1859, and of miss parker, in 1860, already described, were the most notable matrimonial events of those closing days of washington’s splendour.
to miss hilliard’s marriage to mr. hamilton glentworth, of new york, which occurred at mid-day at old st. john’s, and to the reception that followed, came many of the senatorial body and dignitaries of the capital. a procession of carriages drawn by white horses accompanied the bridal party to the church, where the celebrated bishop doane, of new jersey, performed the ceremony. the bride’s gown and that of one of the bridesmaids were “gophered,” this being the first appearance of the new french style of trimming in the capital. one of the bridesmaids, i remember, was gowned in pink crêpe, which was looped back with coral, then a most fashionable garniture; the costume of another was of embroidered tulle caught up with bunches of grapes; and each of the 139accompanying ushers—such were the fashions of the day—wore inner vests of satin, embroidered in colour to match the gown of the bridesmaid allotted to his charge.
notable artists appeared in the capital, among them charlotte cushman, and there were stately, not to say stiff and formal, dinners at the british embassy, now presided over by lord lyons. this minister’s arrival was looked upon as a great event. much gossip had preceded it, and all the world was agog to know if it were true that feminine-kind was debarred from his menage. it was said that his personally chartered vessel had conveyed to our shores not only the personages comprising his household, but also his domestics and skilful gardeners, and even the growing plants for his conservatory. it was whispered that when his lordship entertained ladies his dinner-service was to be of solid gold; that when gentlemen were his guests they were to dine from the costliest of silver plate. moreover, the gossips at once set about predicting that the new-comer would capitulate to the charms of some american woman, and speculation was already rife as to who would be the probable bride.
lord lyons began his american career by entertaining at dinner the diplomatic corps, and afterward the officials of our country, in the established order of precedence, the supreme court, the cabinet, and senate circles leading, according to custom. his lordship’s invitations being sent out alphabetically, senator clay and i received a foreign and formidable card to the first senatorial dinner given by the newly arrived diplomat. my husband’s appearance at this function, i remember, was particularly distinguished. he was clad in conventional black, and wore with it a cream-coloured vest of brocaded velvet; yet, notwithstanding my wifely pride in him, we had what almost amounted to a disagreement 140on our way to the famous feast. we drove to lord lyons’s domicile with senator and mrs. crittenden, and my perturbation furnished them with much amusement. for some reason or for lack of one i was obsessed by a suspicion that the new minister, probably being unaware of the state of feeling which continually manifested itself between northern and southern people in the capital, might assign to me, as my escort to table, some pronounced republican.
“what would you do in that event?” asked senator clay.
“do?” i asked, hotly and promptly. “i would refuse to accept him!”
my husband’s voice was grave as he said, “i hope there will be no need!”
arriving at the embassy, i soon discovered that, as had been rumoured, the maid ordinarily at hand to assist women guests had been replaced by a fair young english serving-man, who took charge of my wraps, and knelt to remove my overshoes with all the deftness of a practised femme de chambre. these preliminaries over, i rejoined my husband in the corridor, and together we proceeded to our host, and, having greeted him, turned aside to speak to other friends.
presently senator brown, mr. davis’s confrère from mississippi, made his way to me. senator brown was one of the brightest men in congress. as he approached, my misgivings vanished and i smiled as i said, “ah! you are to be my gallant this evening!”
“not so,” replied he. “i’m to go in with mme. ——, and shall be compelled to smell ‘camphired’ cleaned gloves for hours!”
lord lyons
british ambassador to the united states
141he left my side. presently he was replaced by mr. eames, ex-minister to venezuela. again i conjectured him to be the man who was destined to escort me; but, after the exchange of a few words, he, too, excused himself, and i saw him take his place at the side of his rightful partner. in this way several others came and went, and still i stood alone. i wondered what it all meant, and gave a despairing look at my husband, who, i knew, was rapidly becoming as perturbed as was i. presently the massive doors slid apart, and a voice proclaimed, “dinner, my lord!” now my consternation gave way to overwhelming surprise and confusion, for our host, glancing inquiringly around the circle, stepped to my side, and, bowing profoundly, offered his arm with, “i have the honour, madam!” once at the table, i quickly regained my composure, assisted, perhaps, to this desirable state, by a feeling of triumph as i caught from across the table the amused glance of my erstwhile companion, mrs. crittenden.
lord lyons’s manner was so unconstrained and easy that i soon became emboldened to the point of suggesting to him the possibility of some lovely american consenting to become “lyonised.” his lordship’s prompt rejoinder and quizzical look quite abashed me, and brought me swiftly to the conclusion that i would best let this old lion alone; for he said, “ah, madam! do you remember what uncle toby said to his nephew when he informed him of his intended marriage?” then, without waiting for my assent, he added, “alas! alas! quoth my uncle toby, you will never sleep slantindicularly in your bed more!”
i had an adventure at a ball in 1859, which, though unimportant in itself, turns a pleasing side-light upon one of the more courteous of our political opponents. a dance had been announced, the music had begun, and the dancers had already taken their places, when my partner was called aside suddenly. something occurred to detain him longer than he had expected, and the time for us to lead having arrived, there was a call for the missing gallant, who was nowhere to be seen. i looked about helplessly, 142wondering what i was to do, when anson burlingame, who was standing near, seeing my dilemma, stepped promptly forward, and, taking my hand in most courtly manner, he said, “pardon me, madam!” and led me, bewildered, through the first steps of the dance!
lost in amazement at his courtesy, i had no time to demur, and, when we returned to my place, the delinquent had reappeared. bowing politely, mr. burlingame withdrew. the circumstance caused quite a ripple among those who witnessed it. those who knew me best were amused at my docility in allowing myself thus to be led through the dance by a rank abolitionist; but many were the comments made upon “mr. burlingame’s audacity in daring to speak to mrs. clement clay!”
such were the scenes, both grave and gay, that preceded what was surely the saddest day of my life—january 21, 1861—when, after years of augmenting dissension between the sections, i saw my husband take his portfolio under his arm and leave the united states senate chamber in company with other no less earnest southern senators. for weeks the pretense of amity between parties had ceased, and social formalities no longer concealed the gaping chasm that divided them. when the members of each met, save for a glare of defiance or contempt, each ignored the other, or, if they spoke, it was by way of a taunt or a challenge. every sentence uttered in senate or house was full of hot feeling born of many wrongs and long-sustained struggle. for weeks, men would not leave their seats by day or by night, lest they might lose their votes on the vital questions of the times. at the elbows of senators, drowsy with long vigils, pages stood, ready to waken them at the calling of the roll.
not a southern woman but felt, with her husband, the stress of that session, the sting of the wrongs the southern faction of that great body was struggling to right. for 143forty years the north and the south had striven for the balance of power, and the admission of each new state was become the subject of bitter contention. there was, on the part of the north, a palpable envy of the hold the south had retained so long upon the federal city, whether in politics or society, and the resolution to quell us, by physical force, was everywhere obvious. the face of the city was lowering, and some of the north agreed with us of the south that a nation’s suicide was about to be precipitated.
senator clay, than whom the south has borne no more self-sacrificing son, nor the nation a truer patriot, was an ill man as that “winter of national agony and shame” (vide the northern witness, judge hoar) progressed. the incertitude of president buchanan was alarming; but the courage of our people to enter upon what they knew must be a defense of everything they held dear in state and family institution rose higher and higher to meet each advancing danger. the seizure by south carolina of united states forts that lay, a menace, within her very doorway, acted like a spur upon the courage of the south.
“we have been hard at work all day,” wrote a defender of our cause from morris island, january 17, 1861, “helping to make, with our own hands, a battery, and moving into place some of the biggest guns you ever saw, and all immediately under the guns of old anderson.[16] he fired a shell down the bay this afternoon to let us know what he could do. but he had a little idea what we can do from his observation of our firing the other morning,[17] at the ‘star of the west,’ all of which he saw, and he thought we had ruined the ship, as lieutenant hall represented in the city that morning.... we learn to-day that in washington they are trying to 144procrastinate. that does not stop our most earnest preparation, for we are going to work all night to receive from the steamboat three more enormous guns and place them ready to batter down fort sumter, and we can do it. we hope the other points are as forward in their preparations as we are. if so, we can smoke him out in a week. we are nearest to him, and he may fire on us to-night, but if he were to kill everybody in the state, and only one woman was left, and she should bear a child, that child would be a secessionist. our women are even more spirited than we are, though, bless the dear creatures, i have not seen one in a long time.”
yet, despite these buoyant preparations for defense, there was a lingering sentiment among us that caused us to deplore the necessity that urged our men to arms. my husband was exceedingly depressed at the futility of the peace commission, for he foresaw that the impending conflict would be bloody and ruinous. one incident that followed the dissolution of that body impressed itself ineradicably upon my mind. just after its close ex-president tyler came to our home. he was now an old man and very attenuated. he was completely undone at the failure of the peace men, and tears trickled down his cheeks as he said to senator clay, with indescribable sadness, “clay, the end has come!”
in those days men eyed each other warily and spoke guardedly, save to the most tried and proved friend. one evening early in 1861, commander semmes, u. s. n., called upon us, and happened to arrive just as another naval officer, whose name i have now forgotten, was announced. the surprise that spread over the faces of our visitors when they beheld each other was great, but senator clay’s and my own was greater, as hour after hour was consumed in obvious constraint. neither of the officers appeared to be at ease, yet for hours neither seemed to desire to relieve the situation by taking his 145departure. midnight had arrived ere our now forgotten guest rose and bade us “good night.” then commander semmes hastened to unbosom himself. he had resolved to out-sit the other gentleman if it took all night.
“as my senator, mr. clay,” he said, “i want to report to you my decision on an important matter. i have resolved to hand in my resignation to the united states government, and tender my services to that of the confederate states. i don’t know what the intention of my brother officer is, but i could take no risk with him,” he added. many a scene as secret, as grave, and as “treasonable,” took place in those last lowering weeks.
i have often mused upon the impression held by the younger generation of those who were adverse to the south, viz.: that she “was prepared for the war” into which we were precipitated practically by the admission of kansas; that our men, with treasonable foresight, had armed themselves individually and collectively for resistance to our guileless and unsuspicious oppressors. had this been true, the result of that terrible civil strife would surely have been two nations where now we have one. to the last, alas! too few of our people realised that war was inevitable. even our provisional secretary of war for the confederate states,[18] early in ’1, publicly prophesied that, should fighting actually begin, it would be over in three months! it must be apparent to thinkers that such gay dreamers do not form deep or “deadly plots.”
personally i knew of but one man whose ferocity led him to collect and secrete weapons of warfare. he was edmund ruffin, of virginia, with whom i entered into collusion. for months my parlour was made an arsenal for the storing of a dozen lengthy spears. they were handsome weapons, made, i suspect, for some decorative purpose, but i never knew their origin nor learned of 146their destination. on them were engraved these revolutionary words:
“out of this nettle, danger, we pluck the flower of safety.”
as senator clay’s unequivocal position as a southern man was everywhere understood, our parlours were frequently the gathering-place of statesmen from our own section and such others as were friendly to our people and believed in our right to defend the principles we had maintained since the administration of the first president of the united states. among the last mentioned were senators pendleton and pugh, and the ardent member of congress from ohio, mr. vallandigham. often the “dread arms” deposited by mr. ruffin proved a subject of conjecture and mirth, with which closed some weightier conversation. as the day drew near, however, for the agreed upon withdrawal of our senators, the tension under which all laboured made jests impossible, and keyed every heart to the utmost solemnity. monday, january 21st, was the day privately agreed upon by a number of senators for their public declaration of secession; but, as an example of the uncertainty which hobbled our men, until within a day or two of the appointed time several still awaited the instructions from their states by which their final act must be governed. early on sunday morning, january 20th, my husband received from a distinguished colleague the following letter:
“washington, saturday night, january 19, 1861.
“my dear clay: by telegraph i am informed that the copy of the ordinance of secession of my state was sent by mail to-day, one to each of two branches of representation, and that my immediate presence at —— is required. it thus appears that —— was expected to present the paper in the senate and some one of the members to do so in the house. all have gone save me, i, alone, and i am called away. we have piped and they would not dance, and now the devil may care.
147“i am grieved to hear that you are sick, the more so that i cannot go to you. god grant your attack may be slight.”
and now the morning dawned of what all knew would be a day of awful import. i accompanied my husband to the senate, and everywhere the greeting or gaze of absorbed, unrecognising men and women was serious and full of trouble. the galleries of the senate, which hold, it is estimated, one thousand people, were packed densely, principally with women, who, trembling with excitement, awaited the denouement of the day. as, one by one, senators david yulee, stephen k. mallory, clement c. clay, benjamin fitzpatrick, and jefferson davis rose, the emotion of their brother senators and of us in the galleries increased; and, when i heard the voice of my husband, steady and clear, notwithstanding his illness, declare in that council chamber:
“mr. president, i rise to announce that the people of alabama have adopted an ordinance whereby they withdraw from the union, formed under a compact styled the united states, resume the powers delegated to it, and assume their separate station as a sovereign and independent people,” it seemed as if the blood within me congealed.
as each senator, speaking for his state, concluded his solemn renunciation of allegiance to the united states, women grew hysterical and waved their handkerchiefs, encouraging them with cries of sympathy and admiration. men wept and embraced each other mournfully. at times the murmurs among the onlookers grew so deep that the sergeant-at-arms was ordered to clear the galleries; and, as each speaker took up his portfolio and gravely left the senate chamber, sympathetic shouts rang from the assemblage above. scarcely a member of that senatorial body but was pale with the terrible significance of the hour. there was everywhere a feeling of suspense, as if, visibly, the pillars of the temple were 148being withdrawn and the great government structure was tottering; nor was there a patriot on either side who did not deplore and whiten before the evil that brooded so low over the nation.
when senator clay concluded his speech, many of his colleagues, among them several from republican ranks, came forward to shake hands with him. for months his illness had been a theme of public regret and apprehension among our friends. “a painful rumour reached me this morning,” wrote joseph holt to me late in 1860, “in relation to the health of your excellent husband.... while i hope sincerely this is an exaggeration, yet the apprehensions awakened are so distressing, that i cannot resist the impulse of my heart to write you in the trust that your reply will relieve me from all anxiety. it is my earnest prayer that a life adorned by so many graces may be long spared to yourself, so worthy of its devotion, and to our country, whose councils so need its genius and patriotism.... believe me most sincerely your friend, joseph holt.”
in fact, the news of senator clay’s physical sufferings had been telegraphed far and near, and, merged with the fear for our country, there was, in my own heart, great anxiety and sadness for him. our mail was full of inquiries as to his welfare, many from kindly strangers and even from states that were bitterly inimical to our cause. one of these came from the far north, from one who signed himself, “a plain new hampshire minister, henry e. parker.” nor can i refrain from quoting a portion of his letter, which bears the never-to-be-forgotten date of january 21st, 1861. he wrote as follows:
“i am utterly appalled at this projected dissolution of our government. to lose, to throw away our place and name among the nations of the earth, seems not merely like the madness of suicide, but the very blackness of annihilation. if this thing shall be accomplished, it will be, to my view, the crime of the nineteenth century; the partition of poland will be nothing in comparison....
clement c. clay, jr.
united states senator, 1853–61
149“born and educated as we are at the north, sensible men at the south cannot wonder at the views we entertain, nor do sensible men at the north think it strange that, born and educated as the southerner is, he should feel very differently from the northerner in some things; but why should not all these difficulties sink before our common love for our common country?”
why, indeed! yet the cry of “disunion” had been heard for forty years[19] and still our southern men had forborne, until the party belligerents, whose encroachments had now, at last, become unbearable, had begun to look upon our protests as it were a mere cry of “wolf.” of those crucial times, and of that dramatic scene in the united states senate, no southern pen has written in permanent words; and such northern historians as messrs. nicolay and hay elide, as if their purpose were to obscure, the deliberate and public withdrawal of those representatives, our martyrs to their convictions, their institutions and their children’s heritages; and would so bury them under the sweeping charges of “conspiracy” and “treason” that the casual reader of the future is not likely to realise with what candour to their opponents, with what dignity to themselves, out of what loyalty to their states, and yet again with what grief for the nation and sacrifice of life-time associations, the various seceding senators went out at last from that august body!
for months the struggle of decades had been swiftly approximating to its bloody culmination. our physical prosperity, no less than the social security we enjoyed, had caused us to become objects of envy to the rough elements 150in the new settlements, especially of the northwest.[20] so inimical was the north to us that though the south was the treasury of the nation; though she had contributed from her territory the very land upon which the federal city was built; though her sons ranked among the most brilliant of whom the young republic could boast—it was impossible for the south to get an appropriation of even a few hundred thousand dollars, to provide for the building of a lighthouse on that most dangerous portion of the atlantic coast, the shore of north carolina!
an era of discovery and expansion preceded the outbreak of the war. by means of costly embassies to the eastern countries, new avenues of commerce had been opened. the acquisition of cuba and of the mexican states became an ambition on the part of mr. buchanan, who was anxious to repeat during his administration the successes of his predecessors, presidents fillmore and pierce. so long ago as ’5, the question of the purchase of the island of st. thomas from the danish government was a subject that called for earnest diplomacy on the part of mr. raasloff, the danish minister; and the gold fever which made northern adventurers mad carried many to rifle the distant pacific coast of its treasures. by this time the cotton gin had demonstrated its great worth, and the greed of acquisition saw in our cotton fields a new source of envy, for we had no need to dig or to delve—we shook our cotton plants and golden dollars dropped from them. had the gathering of riches been our object in life, men of the south had it in their power to have rivalled the wealth of the fabled midas; but, as was early observed by a statesman who never was partisan, the “southern statesmen went for the honours and the northern for the benefits.” in consequence, wrote mr. benton (1839), 151“the north has become rich upon the benefits of the government; the south has grown lean upon its honours.”
from the hour of this exodus of senators from the official body, all washington seemed to change. imagination can scarcely conjure up an atmosphere at once so ominous and so sad. each step preparatory to our departure was a pang. carriages and messengers dashed through the streets excitedly. farewells were to be spoken, and many, we knew, would be final. vehicles lumbered on their way to wharf or station filled with the baggage of departing senators and members. the brows of hotel-keepers darkened with misgivings, for the disappearance from the federal city of the families of congressional representatives from the fifteen slave-holding states made a terrible thinning out of its population; and, in the strange persons of the politicians, already beginning to press into the capital, there was little indication that these might prove satisfactory substitutes for us who were withdrawing.
“how shall i commence my letter to you?” wrote the wife of colonel philip phillips to me a month or two after we had left washington. “what can i tell you, but of despair, of broken hearts, of ruined fortunes, the sobs of women, and sighs of men!... i am still in this horrible city ... but, distracted as i am at the idea of being forced to remain, we feel the hard necessity of keeping quiet.... for days i saw nothing but despairing women leaving [washington] suddenly, their husbands having resigned and sacrificed their all for their beloved states. you would not know this god-forsaken city, our beautiful capital, with all its artistic wealth, desecrated, disgraced with lincoln’s low soldiery. the respectable part [of the soldiers] view it also in the same spirit, for one of the seventh regiment told me that never in his life had he seen such ruin going on as is now enacted in the halls of our once honoured capitol! i cannot but 152think that the presentiment that the south would wish to keep washington must have induced this desecration of all that should have been respected by the mob in power.... the gwins are the only ones left of our intimates, and mrs. g—— is packed up ready to leave. poor thing! her eyes are never without tears.... there are 30,000 troops here. think of it! they go about the avenue insulting women and taking property without paying for it.... such are the men waged to subjugate us of the south.... we hear constantly from montgomery. everything betokens a deep, abiding faith in the cause.
“i was told that those giant intellects, the blairs, who are acting under the idea of being second jacksons, wishing to get a good officer to do some of their dirty work (destroying public property), wished colonel lee sent for. ‘why, he has resigned!’ ‘then tell magruder!’ ‘he has resigned, too.’ ‘general joe johnston, then!’—‘he, too, has gone out!’ ‘smith lee?’ ditto!
“‘good god!’ said blair. ‘have all our good officers left us?’
“i hear these blairs are at the bottom of all this war policy. old blair’s country place was threatened, and his family, including the fanatical mrs. lee, had to fly into the city. this lady was the one who said to me that ‘she wished the north to be deluged with the blood of the south ere lincoln should yield one iota!’
“do not believe all you hear about the northern sympathy for lincoln. the democrats still feel for the south. if congress does not denounce lincoln for his unlawful and unconstitutional proceedings, i shall begin to think we have no country!”
