, 1864-11-04
Speech of Leslie Coombs of Kentucky at
the Chicago Convention.


the Chicago Convention.
The speech of the occasion was made by Gen.
Leslie Coombs, of Kentucky. Being introduced,
he said -
Felow-citizens-I hope for few moments
only to have your attention. An old soldier
asks it of you in good cause, for think have
a right to call myself old soldier. | have
net spoken here since years ago, when the la
mented Douglas was here, and the Mayor of
Cincinnati was here and | said then what
say now, that was here first in my boyhood,
when the State of Ohio was frontier State,
when the Territories Northwest were border
Territories; and your Chicago creek, remem-
ber-it is a river now--and a few buildings
were in the place of your city. 1t was when
our boys for the first time crossed the Ohio
River, and came to the relief of the men of Ohio,
Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. So distinct are
my recolections of these days, that it seems al
most that am speaking of somebody else, or
that am still a boy.
| saw this country when there were but few
a settlement here and there-and now | come
and behold 'the city fulp'-The Queen of
the West on the Father of Waters-and this,
believe, they call it, the Queen of the Lakes
Having seen these things, my fellow citizens,
you can imagine how it weighs upon my heart
when | turn me to contemplate tonight those
dark scenes of strife and bloodshed that now
shroud our whole country in gloom. Alas, that
| should live to see these evil days to think
that our Southern brethren should draw the
sword l told them in the beginning of this
strife of sections, that they were throwing fire.
balls to ambitious devils that would turn them
on our own house, and that they would not care
a d-n if it were set on fire.
But, sir, allow me to say shall live-old as
AMI shall live to see this strife ended; shall
live to the bonds of national fraternity again
united | shall live to see this paper money
abated; this gunpowder currency, which
would not use for waddng to kill a prairie
chicken, abated and turned into gold and sill
yer. (Applause.) And that can be done only
by removing this abominable administration.
l state fact: when Mr.. Lincoln entered upon
his high official duties, went to him and told
him this Mr. Lincoln, you were born in the
State of Kentucky, and Mrs. Lincoln also, be-
lieve, and you cannot be Indifferent to the pros
perity of Kentucky, and that of the whole cOun-
try, and if you will proceed to administer the
Government upon the principles of the fathers
upon the principles of the Constitution, and for
the prosperity of the whole country, l will sup.
port your administration. He told me he would
do so. But what followed? 1os
| was in Washington at the time of the first
Bull Run fight. There was the call for $4,000
men-then for the great armies. Then rivers of
blood did flow, and have been flowing ever
since. Hundreds of thousands have fallen. AL.
most every house in the land is in mourning,
and yet there is no prospect of ending the sad.
strife. Has not blood enough been shed? /
have furnished, from my own family, two; one
has had two horses shot from under him, and
the other commanded at Shiloh have fur
nished my full share of help, and now pray to
God that this may terminate / am tired of
this war. | am tired of the lamentations in my
ears all around me.
tell you, gentlemen, you know nothing of
the horrors of this war here. If you could see
the guerrillas pouring into your villages and ey-
cry part of the State, and citizens flying, as
have seen them in my town, Lexington, you
would know something of the horrors of this
war. And when | but just now left my house,
my town guarded by negroes, no white man
left with the privilege of gun in his hand. l
am not stakeholder, Eight years ago | set
mine free. | emancipated them myself, for
did not intend to let any other man emancipate
them. (Applause.) So left my family in the
hands of emancipated slaves, for my negroes
would not leave me. | tell you, | have seen
those guerilas charging down through town
when it was rather delicate looking out of the
windows, because you could not know where a
bullet might be coming. l left my family under
commanders that think the negro little better
than the white man, and they account all dis