Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1915-05-26
~oro9y
FRANK
ToURkieR

pie this thirtteth of May must have
Y felt that there would be a conflict soon: but
q day Of suspense. ST.% %g$>~ -
$s Lincoln, at the time, had not served three
q months as president. Between the time of his
election and his Inauguration seven Of the south
{ ern states had seeded. Soon after his Inaugural
b ton Virginia had seeded and before this thir-
4 tieth Of May Arkansas and North Carolina had
y followed the example of Virginia. Immediately
after the fall OF Fort Sumter Lincoln had issued
his call for $4,000 troops. Most of the northern
states, in loyal obedience to this call, had sent
& troops to Washington but many Of the states
near the border line between the North and the
s South had defed the call Some Of the questions
asked by the people Of the North on this day
must have been: will these states, too secede?"
"Can President Lincoln hold them in the Union p"
But question, more momentous than these,
/ which must have been asked by these people,
was: Can our troops at Washington defend the
\ city ~ For it must be remembered that it was
only IL days before this thirtieth OF May when
northern troops had been fired upon by mob
while they were passing through Baltimore on
i their way to Washington hid tssa
Many people, at the time, interpreted this act
to mean that Maryland too was about to secede.
I True the Union soldiers at Washington seemed
at this time Ito be successfully defending the
Z city; band OF troops six days before this thir-
Geth Of May had crossed the Potomac and had
taken possession Of Alexandria. This had made
the Union people hopeful, but they were by no
means confident, for at this. time, they had just
received news from abroad about the expressions
( of joy which had just been made by certain Eu-
ropeans who were predicting the immediate
downfall Of the American republic. Then, too,
many Of the news items about events of the
war which were appearing in the daily news
papers indicated that there might be some foun-
dation for the prediction Of the people in Europe
Here are some the news items that the people
of the North were reading; in their home papers 4
The Boston journal for this thirteth of May con-
tanned the following telegraphic dispatches:
THE report of the surrender of the United
states troops in Texas, under command Of Lieu.
tenant Colonel Reeve, t. the Confederate force,
under command of Colonel Van Dorm, is fully
confirmed. - s%&
General Mcdowell has been informed that
General Lee, with $4,000 rebels, is advancing on
Alexandria"
The New York Tribune for the same date was
to its northern readers somewhat more hopeful
Here are some of its headlines: E+.5S
Frank Blair Ordered to Fortress Monroe"
b "Harpers Ferry Threatened. The Rebels Like
~ to Be Surrounded" 5t t >55 ia: 3.*E 5..lg
$50, 900 Troops to Rendezvous at Cairo
d, These news items, taken from northern news
papers, reflect the general mood and spirit Of the
people In the North who were at the time read
ing the papers Among them there was spirit
of uncertainty and doubt They were uncertain
as to the strength and purpose of the South.
They doubted the ability Of Lincoln who had re-
Gently been elected by a new and untried po-
litical party. They were uncertain as to whether
he would yield to the demands of political bosses.
Lincoln was not a trained soldier. They were
uncertain as to whether he could succeed in the
management of his army. -. IL .:lg +}::
. But the people Of the South, on this thirtieth
OF May, were hopeful and confident. Loyalty
from their point Of view meant allegiance to
their states. They held that the general govern
ment had no right to interfere with their forma
ton Of a new government, Their loyalty 10
their cause almost amounted to enthusiasm They