St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1914-04-29
HOW THE CIVIL WAR BEGAN
Vermont's Part in the IrrepressibIe
Conflict
BY Arthur r. Stone


the Athenaeum a few years ago by
Mrs. c. M. Stone, he would not lay
the volume down in a hurry The
paper gives a very comprehensive his
tory of those stirring times, on seve-
raj occasions giving up more than
half of the paper to national affairs
In its issue of January 4, 1861, the
editor apologies for giving up so
much space by saying editorialIy:
I'VE have endeavored to print all
that has come to hand of Importance,
to the exclusion of our general varie-
ty'
1t may not be generally known that
there were two Fast Days in 1861,
Gov. Fairbanks calling the first one
for January 4 and the second on
April 4. Before the year opened
South Carolina had seeded and Ma
jor Anderson had evacuated Fort
Moultrie, retiring with his small force
to Fort Sumter. Friday, January 4 !,
1851, was appointed a day of fasting
and prayer by Gov. Fairbanks, 'i0
view of the present critical condition
of our common country" The issue
of the Caledonian that printed the
Fast Day proclamation also contained
a poem, ''The Crisis" by f. B. Gage,
JIG VI IAC OtdIS p1OAG0I puOLORTdDu-
ers and poet of considerable talent.
He was longtime resident of St.
Johnsbury and the present superfn-
tendent of the st. Johnsbury Electric
Company is one of his sons.
In its issue of January Is. 1861.
the Caledonian said editorially:
eve understand that the Cover
nor, by virtue of the authority vested
in him, will, on the requisition of
the President, call into service the
uniformed militia; and also call for
and accept and organize, as militia,
any required number of volunteers,
without waiting for the action of the
Legislature. Meantime, should any
exigency arise, rendering an extra
session of the General Assembly nee
essary or expedient, in view of the
national crisis, he will not shrink
from the responsibility of converting
it,
That everybody thought war was
impending is evidenced by a column
editorial in the same issue entitled
THE Progress of the Revolution, :"
while in the issue of the week follow
ing were two columns of news bear
ing the significant heading ''Disunion
Notes."
This editorial must have been
widely copied by the state press for
it ELECTED an unpatriotic letter in the
Rutland Herald from a militiaman,
laughing at the idea of the Governor
Calling into service the uniformed
militia without waiting for the ac-
ton of the Legislature He further
declared that the State troops were
in no condition to be put into active
G wiz IN Il
ton there were not 500 muskets fit
for use, and not a single piece of
ordnance.
This was not exactly true, though
there was more truth than fiction
in it, for in 1856 the State militia
bill was passed and on August 80,
1850, Gov. Hiland Hall ordered a
brigade muster at Montpelier Four
teen out of the II companies that
had been organized since 1856 drew
their pay from the state for attend
ing muster, and 900 officers and men
had their first experience in camp
life, little realizing it was a prepara-
ton for much severer test a few
months later. But the military equip
ment of the State could not be called
frst-class when the Quartermaster-
General reported to the Governor that
the 500 Colts pistols were "of no
practical use whatever" And the
rest of the equipment consisted of
957 muskets, 1O4 tents and seven six
FOUNDER field pieces.
The following week our Vermont
delegation in Congress took an active
part in the discussions of the day.
On Jan. %, Senator Collamer. in
troduced in the Senate the only
practical measure of resistance pro-
posed in that Congress- bill au-
thorizing the President to close the
ports of the seeded states and sus-
pend in those state the United States
mail service. A few days later Con-
gresham Walton said on the floor
of the House that "to compromise
with secession was to license rebel
lion for all further time, and that it
would be more dangerous to surrend-
er to rebellionsthan to resist it. And
Hon. Justin S. Morrill, declared he
would do nothing to admit the right
of secession, or to commit the Repub-
lie ''to the crumbling processes of
mutiny and decay"
In the meantime Gov. Fairbanks
had not been idle and on Jan. &c APP
peared an executive order, dated Jan.
81, directing the Adjutant and In
spector General to ask the town
clerks and listers who had failed, as
most of them had done, to make re-
turns of the number of persons liable
to serve in the militia to make re-
turns at once. Even then the re-
Spouse was very slow. General Or
der No. 10 Enormously printed Nov.
10 in Miss Hemenway's Gazetteer)
sounded the first note of war prepara-
lions. This called on the officers of
the militia companies to ascertain at
once if any of the members we're in
disposed or unable to respond to the
orders of the Commander-in-chie to
aid in maintaining peace, in order
that such men might be discharged
and their places filled by men ready
for service. 1t was about this time
that one of the captains resigned, and
the news of his resignation having
been made public he was called out
to a well-attended gathering and
publicly presented with wooden