New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-08-15
The Rebellion i'm the North.

The archives of the State Department oil
! the rebel government, recently sold to the
| United STATES authorities by one Col. Pickett,
! an ex-Confederate official, and now a lawyer
in Richmond, have a curious history, and
! make some startling revelations. They were.
according to Pickett's statement, sent from
Richmond to Canada when Richmond was
about to be abandoned by the Confederates.
| Pickett heard Of them, and purchased an in
| terest in them as a speculation. They were
| offered for sale to President JOhnsOns adj
! mnistratiOn, but the negotiation was without
result. About year ago parties repre-
senting themselves as acting by authority of
| high functionares' made advances for their
| purchase. A Government officer was sent to
Canada and examined them, and finally the
four trunks full of papers were purchased by
! the United States Government.
| Pickett, in his letter, declares that although
the documents have a historical value, and
may be of service in disproving the preten-
sions of constant loyalty put forward by some
people now seeking recompense for war losses
from the National Treasury, they have mo
political significance whatever" But there
is one document which he expresses regret
and apprehension concerning, and which will
cause considerable uneasiness also, to many
Northern Democrats, as it contains evidence
of their completely with the rebel leaders in
a conspiracy for Northern uprising against
the Government during tho war, as well as
confirmation of the alleged diabolical plots
of the rebel leaders for the burning Of North
ern cities.
This document is lon. letter from Jacob
Thompson, Of Mississippi, who was Secretary
of the Interior under President Buchanan,
and during the rebellion secret agent of the
Confederacy in Canada, to Judah Z. Benia-
min, Confederate Secretary Of State, dated
December 3, 1864, and endorsed by Bcnia-
min as having been received February l3,
1865. 1t gives history Of tho plot for the
capture of the steamer Michigan and the re-
lease of tho rebel prisoners at Johnson's
Island, which corroborates in almost every
detail tho account recently published in this
paper. 1t also gives history of tho "Scns
of Liberty organization in the North, and
| its plots for Northern rising against the
| Government and also of the Confederate
schemes for tho destruction of Northern
cities. The following extracts detail some
| of tho operations for this purpose
| "Soon after i reached Canada Il Mr.. Mi
nor Major visited mo and represented HIM
self as an accredited agent of the Confeder-
| ate States to destroy steamboats, on the Mis-
sissippi river, and that his operations were
suspended for want of means. l advanced
him 5000 in Federal currency, and soon after
|
yolving an immense loss of property to the
enemy. He became suspected, as he repre-
scented to me, of being the author of this
burning, and from that time both he and his
men have been hiding, and consequently
have done nothing. Money has been adj
vanced to Mr.. Churchill, of Cincinnati, to or
ganize a corps for the purpose of incendiarism
in that city. / consider him q true man, and
although as yet he has effected but little, l
am in constant expectation of hearing of eff
fcctivo work in that quarter
Having nothing else on
hand, Col. Martin expressed a wish to or
ganize corps to burn New York city. He
was allowed to do so, and a most daring at
| tempt has been made to fire that city, but
their reliance on the Greek fire has proved a
misfortune. 1t cannot be depended on as an
agent in such work. 1 have no faith what
ever in it, and no attempt shall hereafter be
made under my general direction, with any
such materials. For
the future, discarding all dependence on the
organizations in xhe Northern States, our
efforts, in my judgment, should be directed
to inducing those who are conscrptcd in the
North, and who utterly refuse to join the
army to fight against the Confederate States
to make their way South to join our service.
It is believed by many that at least number
sufficient to make up a division may be Sc
cured in this way for our service before spring,
especially if our army open up road to the
Ohio. Some are now on their way to Corinth,
which at present is the point of rendezvous.
Also to operate on their railroads and force
the enemy to keep up guard on all their
roads, which will require large standing
army at home and to burn whenever it is
practicable, and thus make the men of prop
erty feel their insecurity, and tire them out
with the war;"
The letter also gives an account of the
plots to release the rebel prisoners at Camp
Douglass, Camp Chase, and other places
where they were confined, of the st. Adams
raid, and of the purchase of the steamer
Georgian, Of which it gives the following ac-
count:
81 aided Dr. James T. Bates, Of Kentucky,
an old steamboat captain, in the purchase OF
the steamer Georgian. She had scarcely
been transferred, when the story went abroad
that she had been purchased and armed for
the purpose Of sinking the Michigan, releas-
ing the prisoners on Johnson's Island, and
destroying the shipping on the lakes and the
| cities on their margin. The widest conster-
nation prevailed in all the border cities. At
Buffalo two tugs had cannon placed on board +;
four regiments Of soldiers were sent there,
two of them represented to have been drawn
from the Army of Virginia. Bells were rung
| at Detroit, and churches broken up on SIM
day. The whole lake shore was q scene OF
wild excitement. Boats were sent out which
boarded the Georgian, and found nothing
contraband on board, but still tho people
were incredulous."
One of the most interesting portions Of the
document is the account Of the conspiracy OF
the Democratic organization called the "oons
of Liberty" Its objects were political; its
organization was military. In June, Lin
coins reelection was thought by these con
spirators to be sure, and there was no hope
of preventing it but by force. The plan was
by a bold and concerted movement to seize
and hold Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, after
which Missouri and Kentucky could be lifted
up and placed on their feet, and in sixty days
the war ended. Everything was moving
; smoothly to this end. The first interruption
was the postponement of the Democratic
National Convention from July to August
%, but preparations went on, and in ont
State July 20 was fixed upon as the date o
, the instruction. Afterwards, upon coun
selling with other States, the date was post
poned and August l6 fixed upon for genera
uprising. Meetings were appointed to pre-
pare the public mind. One was held il
: Peoria, for which Thompson supplied tn
: ! panSfi,l popev and WAS every WAY Succcss