Evening star., 1927-05-29
MEMOIRS OF UNCLE JOE CANNON
WHITE BUSBEY His Confidential Secretary for Many Years
CHAPTER XVIII.


rences I ever saw" said Uncle Joe,
i'm talking of the Civil War. The
town and vicinity were seething with
coming trouble. when, in 1864, Gen.
Richard Oglesby heard of it and I'M
mediately announced he was coming
to Charleston to make a Union
speech. Oglesby was the Union can
didate for governor. He had won
great reputation as soldier and had
been wounded. When his intention
to face the copperheads OF Charles
ton became known. threats were
openly made that he would never
leave the place alive. The threats
only made him more determined. He
met them by ordering that his meet
ing should be held in the courthouse
yard where the soldiers had been
nassacred.
"a good many soldiers home on
furlough insisted on accompanying
the general to Charleston to protect
him in case of attack. AS States
attorney it was my duty to be there,
but / would have gone anyway.
There was a large crowd, apparently
pretty evenly divided politically.
MANY men were armed, and | eX-
pected trouble, as / am confident
there would have been but for the
dramatic introduction of Oglesby.
He introduced himself. There was
no chairman and nobody on the little
platform with him. He stepped up
on this small stand, about the size
Of a dry goods box, threw back MS
head, dilated his nostrils. inhal1nS the
mir. and then shouted, L smell blood.
7 smell the blood of Union soldiers.
I smell the blood of DR.. York, here
foully murdered by traitors to their
country, your neighbors and mine,
noble man, soldier and citizen, shot In
the back by as damnable towards as
ever wore the form of human beings!
Then uplifting his hands as though III
supplication and speaking in solemn
and reverent tones, he uttered words
most terrific:
"'May God Almighty damn the
souls of those cowardly murderers
who committed that hellish crime here
in the shadow of the temple of justice!
NJay God eternally damn the souls OF
The damned towards who stood by ana
saw without protest that foul murder
of Union soldiersi May God in HIS
infinite wisdom eternally damn In ever
lasting hell all the cowardly consplra-
tors who have plotted against the
Government and murdered its defend
ers here in Illinois, the home or Lin
coin.
Greeted by "Amens.
$50 startling was this language ana
vet so truly did it represent the sehtt
ments of many men in that audience
that some of the older Methodist ana
Baptist preachers gave in their sane
tion by feverently shouting Amen
while others gave vent to their pent-
I'D feelings with expressions similar 70
those of the general. His opponents
were so amazed by the Old Testament
arraignment that they were literally
stricken dumb and did not recover
their powers of speech until the close
of the meeting, and then they retlreo
without attempting to create disoruer.
..Oglesby spoke for two hours. re
carried his audience with him. Hau
any man attempted an assault or an
his life would not have
been worth much, so completely was
the crowd under Oglesby's spell ana
moved by his patriotism. He carried
the State for Lincoln and the wnoie
Union ticket Oglesby stamped out
treason and became the idol or the
people of Illinois without regard TO
party. Three times he was elected
governor and sent to the tnlteo
States Senate. While Democrats
voted for their own candidates. they
idolized old Dick as he was famii'
iarly and affectionately called to the
day of his death. Courage in politics
is as effective as in war, and Oglesby
never showed the white feather IN
either. A man who is honest, but
coward, is unfit to govern.
.If the copperheads had fought
openly one might have had some re-
spect for them, but their attacks were
always made under cover, they lurked
in the dark and when they could not
strike at Lincoln directly they sought
to wound him in other ways The
lengths to which they went in try
ing to bring the Presidents name
1NLO dlSIcpulC yOu NoiI 6oSS' - 49, ~'~
story I am gonig to tell you now.
Relations Unusual.
'"The relations between Lincoln and
his stepmother were of the most un-
usual character. He was nine years
old when his father married for the
second time, and from that moment
she had the love and affection for
him a mother has for the child whom
she has brought into the world. She
was his mother, in all except the
accident of birth. She nursed and
cared for him; she soothed and en-
couraged him. A woman of strong
qualities, she had much to do in
forming Lincoln and making him
what he was. He had for her the
most tender respect and veneration
1t was this woman who was always
first in his thoughts.
Mrs. Lincoln was honored by her
neighbors and the loyal people Of the
State not only as the mother of the
President (and nearly every one re-
garded her as such and forgot that
h. cfonp,o+bo,h h,,t also he.