Presidential Election – Black Soldiers
Black Soldiers, 1863. In the early years of the war, African Americans were considered unreliable but after continual experiences showing the contrary (particularly exemplified by the bravery of 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment) they were given more opportunity to fight. It was the outstanding courage of the black soldiers in the 54th that convinced many politicians and army officers to enlist many more black soldiers. Source: Library of Congress. Photos and Documents Division http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpb.04294
In this letter from 1864-11-08 Thomas Jackson is clearly obsessed with the forthcoming election for President of the USA. His hero, Abraham Lincoln, is standing against the democratic nominee George McClellan, the ex-war leader. McClellan was now presenting himself as wanting to restore the union by negotiation on the grounds that “the war has been a failure and that the north must compromise and accept terms from the south”.
However, to combat this inaccurate case, TJ gives a clear rundown on the state of the war after 3 ½ years of battle.
Richmond of course still remains the political center of the confederacy but the tide appears to have turned in favor of the northern forces including the “two hundred and fifty thousand brave black fellows in the field” that he writes about with obvious pride.
But he clearly fears for his life if Lincoln does not get elected. He is prepared to be challenged by those who disagree with him.
“Now I have been known as a thorough antislavery man, a full blood abolitionist, for over 30 years, and have been often threatened, for freely speaking my own sentiments against the vile, devilish, damnable institution of American slavery. So you may know what my fate would be here if these blood thirsty villains get into power.”
“Every man here from England, Scotland & Wales with that who has a vote will vote for Lincoln, Union & freedom for all men. Myself, both my sons and my son in law shall all vote this freedom ticket today, and will do it if we put in our vote with one hand and have to hold a revolver in the other.”
Reading November 8. 1864. 4 O’clock. A.M. (extract)
Dear Cousin,
This is the day we vote, all over the loyal states, for a president of the United States for the next 4 years, whether there is, or ever will be again, a united states or not. The candidates are Abm Lincoln, with a declaration that the policy of him & his party is to restore the union by perseverance in a vigorous war to crush the rebellion, abolish slavery the cause of it, and punish the instigators and leaders of this infernal rebellion treason as they deserve. The other in this policy we have persevered for 3½ years and have planted the old flag permanently in every one of the 11 rebel states and now hold possession of full two thirds of the rebel territory. We have a finer fleet of blockading vessels than we ever had and have every rebel port sealed shut but one (Wilmington North Carolina) and in six months more we will have that shut also.
We have far larger and better disciplined armies in the field than we ever had. The main rebel army is hemmed in at Richmond, to save for a short time the rebel capital. Their next best army has been driven away back into the heart of the confederacy, defeated and re-defeated and is being driven about from pillow to post and dwindling fast away. Their army in Northern Virginia in the Shenandoah valley has just met a crushing defeat and lost very nearly all its artillery, camp equipage, army wagons stores and ammunition.
Wherever the rebels show any force of any account, they are met by a superior union force and driven back. Their power of resistance is fast diminishing and becoming beautifully less every day. They have got every white man between 15 & 60 at all fit for a soldier in the field, and are now, in their despair, as a last resort, going to arm three hundred thousand negroes (nearly every able bodied slave they have) while we have lots of white men left yet.
The population of Berks county, where I live, is about a hundred thousand. This gives a proportion of at least fifteen thousand men able to fight. Our quota in the last draft for five hundred thousand men, was only eighteen hundred and eighty six men. Only one eighth. So you see we have plenty of white men to wear out the rebels entirely if we had never armed any blacks.
But we have now two hundred and fifty thousand brave black fellows in the field, and when the rebels bring their three hundred thousand slaves against our black warriors we shall soon have three hundred thousand more, for negroes in slavery are not at all likely to willingly fight negroes in freedom if they have any chance at all to join them and enjoy the same freedom. And then down goes the last shadow of hope for Jeff Davis or any of his infernal crew.
Part of a recruitment posted repeating Lincoln’s decree that “Over 3 million slaves” had been proclaimed free as from January 1st, 1863 and those who joined the union troops would be protected “by all the power of the nation.” Lincoln is quoted, “if the enemy shall sell or enslave anyone because of his color, the offense shall be punished by retaliation upon the enemy’s prisoners in our possession.” Source: Library of Congress. Photos and Documents Division.
Such is the position and the prospects of the United states government today, if we can reelect Abm Lincoln.
But the Democrats (Develocrats would be a far more appropriate name) have nominated General George B. McClellan, a rank proslavery aristocrat, and are trying to elect him as a war man on a peace platform, the first resolution of which declares the war for the suppression of this infamous slave drivers rebellion to be a failure. Entirely a failure. And that we must have an armistice, and the cessation of hostilities and restore the Union by negotiation, and that a restoration of the Union, simply a restoration of the Union, is all they ask & the rebels may name what conditions so ever they please. Nay they offer to lay down blank sheets of paper and let Jeff Davis and Company write out the conditions and impose upon us what ever they please.
Reconstruct the Union as they please. Now what those conditions would be for the black man, we all know. Death for many a brave black that fought for our freedom and his own, and life long slavery for every negroe that has been in the Union service. That we well know, for the Democrats of the north, to day, despise and hate the “niggers” worse than the rebels do themselves by far. And many thousands of native born Irish and Germans, who have fled here from oppression at home belong to that hellish party. But thank God very very few of British birth belong to them.
As far as I can find out out every man here from England, Scotland & Wales with that who has a vote will vote for Lincoln, Union & freedom for all men. Myself, both my sons and my son in law shall all vote this freedom ticket to day, and will do it if we put in our vote with one hand and have to hold a revolver in the other.
We expect no disturbance here, but there will be terrible times in some places, especially in New York and Baltimore. The former is full of fraudulent soldier’s copperhead proxy votes, and the Copperhead bullies swear vengeance and blood if they are not allowed to put them in.
Maryland has some thousands of voters who have been in the rebel armies or aided the rebels in some way or another. Every man there, at all suspected, will be required to take a very severe test oath before he can vote, and the “Democrats” swear all manner of ugly things sooner than their friends shall submit to that. A similar state of affairs exists in Kentucky the states of Kentucky & Missouri. Well, if this blackguard, bullying treason loving party should beat us you may and get the national government into their hands, the rebels consent to take the blank paper and write their own terms of reconstruction of the union; what those terms would be you may judge by the following from the “Richmond Whig (newspaper of October 31. 1864. [sic] Only seven days ago.
“Talking of reconstruction, there is but one means for a thorough reunion, and that is by a combination between the confederates and the Northern conservatives, cemented by the blood of the Black Republicans. If the Northern conservatives would at once and actively co-operate with us on this basis, there might be hopes of a happy and permanent reunion. But nothing short of the blood – the extermination of the monsters who have made this war will suffice.”
By confederates they mean themselves. The southern slave holders, rebel armies, and all who are in open rebellion against the United States government. By “Northern conservatives” they mean the great proslavery negro-hating copperhead democratic party of the free states and the four slave states, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri that did not secede.
By Black republicans they don’t mean the negroes, they would want to enslave all them that they did not hang or shoot. They mean the Republican antislavery extension party who elected Mr Lincoln and prevented their spreading slavery over our territories now free, and by so doing, they say, we caused them to rebel, drove them into rebellion because we would not allow slavery to rule America, and thus caused, they say, “have made this war”. And more especially do they mean those who were known as antislavery men, “abolitionists”, long before this war began.
Now I have been known as a thorough antislavery man, a full blood abolitionist, for over 30 years, and have been often threatened, many years ago, for freely speaking my own sentiments against the vile, develish, damnable institution of american slavery. So you may know what my fate would be here if these blood thirsty villains get into power .
Now you may think this an excited exaggeration of the danger. But there are in the north thousands of murderous scoundrels who would gladly lynch and hang every abolitionist they could catch if it would restore the union with slavery as it was five years ago. and as to what the southerners themselves would do, let the story of their midnight murders and broad day butcheries of southern union and antislavery men who were unfortunately in their power, tell.
To show you still more plainly what these southern devils really are, I will tell you of a fact I know to be entirely true, for I have it direct from an old friend of mine who is an officer now in the Union army & has been in it ever since the 16th april 1861 when the first men started from here to defend the capital at Washington. Since then he has been in a many battles and skirmishes. He says that during the last two years, when ever the rebels could get hold of any of the killed, (or wounded that they could not make prisoners) they always stripped them stark naked and very often horribly mutilate and murder the wounded and hideously mutilate the dead. Chop off the limbs and the head or cut the throat from ear to ear, and cut off the privates and stick it in the dead man’s mouth.
Such are the incarnate devils we are at war with. Such fiends in human form are fit champions of human slavery. Such are the hell hounds with whom your British tories so strongly sympathize, and to whom they lend their powerful aid by millions worth of arms, ammunition, and material of war, and every “neutral” encouragement they can give them, to go on and fight to the bitter end and establish over the greatest and finest portion of this continent, vast as it is, a hideous despotism founded entirely on the infernally barbarous institution of human bondage with all its accompanying cruelties, horrors and depravities.
Such is the melancholy fate that hangs over & so fearfully threatens free America to day, and it is only a wise and good and merciful God, through the great Union antislavery party, that can avert it and save the cause of liberty on this continent. And we have a fearful battle to fight today.
We have the rebels south to fight, openly and directly, and indirectly backed up by all the wealth and influence of the tories of Europe. We have the rebels and rebel sympathizers by thousands who escaped to Canada on the the north and will to day come over the line in gangs and attempt to vote the rebel slaveholders ticket, McClellan & Pendleton, negotiation & submission to the slave drivers rule. And then we have to contend against the awful amount of avarice, ignorance, prejudice, pride of opinion, party bigotry and white livered cowardice we have among us everywhere.
A poster that surrounds the candidates with pictures of the previous presidents and includes a map that, in the original, showed the states in different colors according to if they were still loyal, held by the rebels or newly taken back by the union forces. Source: Library of Congress. Photos and Documents Division http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
I must close now. remember me kindly to all. especially to your parents.
Today decides our fate
God save the republic
Yours affectionately
Thomas Jackson
Letter from Reading November 8. 1864. 4 O’clock. A.M. (extract)
