Evening star., 1915-02-07
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THB STAR

IN THE STAR
Half a century ago a tentative peace
conference was held in the roadstead
of Fort Monroe, which,
Conference though 1t came to
m p.ec. naught. nevertheless in
Va ! eose' dicated the steady trend
Of events toward the cessation of hos
tilities between the north and the
south. The first word Of the projected
conference came in The Star of Janu-
afy 81. 1855. in a dispatch from Bal
timore. as follows:
The American has a special dispatch
from Annapolis this morning which
says Col Taylor Of the "a Maryland.
who arrived hero this morning, says
that on Sunday Alexander H Stephens,
r. M. T. Hunter and two others reached
our lines and requested permission to
come within them. near Fort He'll. but
were refused and were awaiting per-
mission from Gen. Grant, who was then
absent"
An explanation Of this visitation was
conveyed in The Star Of February 1.
1865. which in a late edition under the
heading. ''Deputation to Washington"
says:
Under the above head the Richmond
Sentinel (Jen Davis orean) OF Mon
day says:
"'Messrs. A. H Stephens. r. NJ. T.
Hunter and John A. Campbell left
Richmond yesterday morning on their
way to Washington to confer with
President Lincoln on the subject Of
putting an end to the war. IL possible
The Sentinel says that on Mr.. Blairs
second visit to Richmond he brought
the consent of Mr.. Lincoln to receive
and confer with any agents informally
sent. with view to the restoration of
peace. The three gentlemen who left
yesterday were, therefore. selected by
gone without formal credentials and
merely as informal agents to see
whether it be possible to place con-
may 1ayss serve 1S' Tor t attaining so % desirable
results. The Sentinel intfmates that
If the mission should prove fruitless it
will serve at least one good end for
the Confederate cause. that 1t allays
all discordant counsels.
To-day at II O'clock" says The Star
Of February 2. 1855, President Lincoln
left Washington by
President Leaves special train for
eoe Annapolis for the
lot conference. purpose, it is un-
derstood, to join Secretary Seward at
Fort Monroe or City Point, to hold
an interview with the rebel 'deputa-
tion,' Messrs A. H. Stephens. R. NJ. T.
Hunter and John A. Campbell. The
President took his departure In a spe-
cial car. drawn by engine No. 1s. and
placed upon the road in a few moments
notice by the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road Company. The President was ac-
companied only by one of the attaches
of the White House. Secretary Seward
left here in the early train yesterday
morning, accompanied by Mr.. Robert s.
Chew of the State Department When
the Secretary left here the commission
ers had not arrived within our lines
and his destination was Annapolis.
'It is believed that the rebel deputa-
tion will be required. as preliminary
to any discussion of peace propositions.
to show that they have authority. or
the color of authority, to present as a
basis of negotiations some proposition
less inadmissible than that of Con-
federate independence. Our govern
ment, we take it. has much too serious
work on hand to be able to waste any
time in the discussion Of any such idle
proposition. and as the Richmond SEN
tinel, the organ of JEFF Davis. intimates
that the deputation has nothing more
satisfactory to offer, we must not In
dulge too sangu1ne expectations as 70
practical results from the visits OF
these distinguished rebels to our lines.
The conference failed of results. In
The Star of February 4, 1865. are two
items which describe
No Results the return of the Presi-
dent and the Secretary
0cAleseu' of State. with the state
ment that talk Of four hours "re-
either of the government or of the
rebels" The longer item reads:
president Lincoln and Secretary
Seward arrived in Washington at 9:25
this morning by special train from
Annapolis. on their return from Fort
Monroe. The President. who left here
Thursday at 11:15 o'clock. accom-
panied by Mr. George 8. Koontz, the
agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road Company, arrived at Annapolis at
1:15 and. in company with Mr.. K. pro-
ceeded to the Naval Academy. where
| the steamer Collyer had steam I'D,
anu Ou SOIUS Ou UOdTu leII lI1mcQldLely
and arrived at Fort Monroe at an
early hour yesterday morning, and dur
ing yesterday morning the two boats.
the Mary Martin, bearing the rebel
deputation to Fort Monroe, and the
| River Queen, on which Mr.. Seward went
down. were lashed side by side, during
| which time the President and Secretary
of State and the rebel deputation had q
protracted interview. The boats sepa-
rated about dusk, and the River Queen
Immediately started for Annapolis,
where she arrived early this morning
The parties were in conference sew
| eral hours, and just before the boats
parted company friendly leave-takings
were exchanged between the officials
| and the rebel deputation.
In the same issue The Star says:
The President, by his Journey to
Fort Monroe and the patient hear
ing he has given to the rebel deputa-
tion, has afforded to the country the
best evidence of his disposition to do
all that may be done consistent with
the national honor to put stop to the
further effusion of blood. The result
of the interview was as we anticipated
| The rebels, or their leaders at least, are
| not yet prepared to accept the only
! terms Ue can offer m 1av douyn