Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-03-14
THE CHANDLER CONSPIRACY

William NJ. Stewart, of Nevada,
gives some of his personal recollec-
tions of the Civil War period.
In one of these articles recently
published the senator recalls an in
cident kaown to but few of the
present generation, in which Sen
atOr Zach Chandler, of Michigan
who was a commanding figure in
national affairs of those days,
was the leader of a moveme MT
for the United States to seize
Canada as an act of retaliation
upon England for her assistance
rendered to the Confederate cause,
in furnishing vessels to destroy our
Merchant Marine. Believing that
the story will be of interest to Her.
AID readers we reproduce it here
with:
During the latter part of Feb
ruary, 1866" says Senator Stewart
1T became evident that the Civil
War was drawing to close, and
there was great joy in Washington,
and intense relief left among the
officers at the helm of government,
when the surrender at Appomattox
terminated the frightful struggle.
England had wiped our COM
smerce from the seas by building the
alabama and the Shenandoah, and
other swift privateers for the Con-
federates, which were let loose up
on the shipping of the United
States. There is no doubt that this
country had ample cause for war
with Great Britain, and there was
a strong undercurrent of sentiment
in favor of it.
"a man of wealth and patriotism.
Senator Zach Chandler, of Michigan,
was one Of the leaders Of the
Senate. No Senator contributed
more in brains and action to assist
the Union cause than he. He wished
to see the speedy restoration of the
Southern States, and was anxious to
smite the British lionfortbe destruc-
ton of our commerce. He inaugural
ed movement which secretly
spread with great rapidity, and
brought us almost to rupture with
England
SAT that time cur ships of trade
had been obliteraUed from every
ocean, and the American flag, which
once had been carried by our fast
sailing ships to every port, had
disappeared. We had no navy, but
practically every harbor was pro-
tected by the ironclads, called
monitors, which had been invented
and built during the war. Our big
seacoast cities were so thoroughly
defended, therefore, that no foreign
enemy could have made a successful
assault upon us by sea. There were
no other ironcIads in the world
We had a monopoly, and not a
wooden ship on earth-and all the
european nav1es were wooden
would have had show against
them.
This started Senator Chandler
thinking, and he evolved daring
scheme. HIS bitterness against
England seemed to increase after
the war had been terminated. One
day he drew me aside in the Senate
cloakroom and unfolded his plan.
He said:
Il propose that we take an ap-
peal to President Lincoln, signed by
influential men, to call an extra
session of Congress, and send two
hundred thousand trained veterans
into the British possessions north OF
us; one hundred thousand picked
troops from the Federal army, and
the same number from the flower
of Lees army. I have thought OF
this seriously for weeks, and 1 shall
make every effort to bring it about.
He was intensely in earnest, and
knew that he wOuld hack his Dlar
CD with all the brains and energy
at his command.
"'We have confronting u.s." he
continued, "a great problem. Oul
country IS rent in twain. If we
could march into Canada an army
composed of men who have worn
the gray side by side with the mer
who have worn the blue to fight
against common hereditary enemy
r-o,,I1 -