CH. XIII] BATTLE OF NASHVILLE 411 order to this effect he telegraphed to Thomas on December 11, "Let there be no further delay." Meanwhile a storm of sleet had converted the hills about Nashville into slopes of slippery ice rendering any movement impossible until there should be a thaw this was reported to Grant, who appeared to see in the intelligence only a further excuse for delay. In his unreasonable mood, he ordered General Logan to proceed to Nashville for the purpose of superseding Thomas in command of the Army of the Cumberland;1 then, growing still more anxious, he decided to go thither himself and had reached Washington on the way when he received word that Thomas had made the attack. Grant had been unjust to Thomas, looking at only one side of his character. While Thomas was deliberate unto slowness he had the situation well in hand after the battle of Franklin and was admirably fitted to cope with an impetuous general like Hood. This Sherman had divined. when placing upon him such a weight of responsibility. Moreover, he had the confidence and devotion of his soldiers. In whatever way the circumstances may be regarded there was no justification for superseding him by Schofield or Logan; and the sequel showed that he was abundantly equal to the demands made upon him. On December 15 Thomas attacked Hood and in the course of that day and the next struck him a crushing blow. When in the spring of 1864, Grant took command of all the armies of the United States, the two salient features of his plan were the destruction or capture of Lee's army and the crushing of the Confederate force in the Southwest. Before the close of the year one-half of the work had been accomplished. Hood's army was disintegrated. Not all, 1 This and the Army of the Ohio (Schofield's) made up Thomas's command. 412 RUIN OF HOOD'S ARMY [1864 to be sure, of that compact and well-disciplined force of 53,000 with which Johnston had begun to resist Sherman's advance in May had been killed, wounded or made prisoners, but through casualties, desertions and forced furloughs, practically none of it was left as a fighting body. As an army it is no longer known in the annals of the war, although two detachments of it appear to recall to us its wrecked fortunes. Nine thousand of these discouraged and partially equipped soldiers turned up under Johnston in North Carolina and 1692 went to Mobile. Jefferson Davis had unwittingly helped to bring about the destruction of the Confederate force in the Southwest by removing Joseph E. Johnston and placing Hood in command. Sherman began the ruin of Hood's army about Atlanta; Schofield gave it a severe blow at Franklin ; Thomas completed the work at Nashville. There was good generalship; there were brave, devoted and energetic officers and men. Of course Sherman's successful march to the sea would have been a bitter disappointment to the North without Thomas's victory at Nashville; but the two together formed an important part of the grand scheme which broke down the military resistance of the South. The great achievement, the capture of Lee's army, still remained. While the people were rejoicing in the merriest season of the year over the success of Sherman and of Thomas, the President, Grant and Sherman were evolving the plan which should end the Civil War.1 The President earnestly desired the adoption of a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery in the United States forever. Such an amendment had passed the Senate at 1 Authorities: O. R., XXXIX, Pt. 3; XLIV; XLV, Pts. 1, 2; V; Wilson's Under the Old Flag. CH. XIII] THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT 413 the previous session but it had failed to secure the requisite two-thirds vote in the House. It was still the same House of Representatives but the President pointed out that the voice of the people as manifested in the national election was for the amendment and that the House, which should come into being on March 4, 1865, would certainly pass it: therefore, as it is certain to go to the States for their action, 'may we not agree that the sooner the better." He recommended the reconsideration and passage of the amendment.1 On January 31, 1865, his ardent wish was gratified. When X the Speaker announced that the constitutional majority of two-thirds had voted in the affirmative, there was great enthusiasm. "In honor of the immortal and sublime event," the House adjourned.2 This amendment, which is now known as the Thirteenth, was in due time ratified by three-fourths of the States. To contrast the amendment, which Congress intended in March, 1861, to have numbered XIII, with the existing addition to our organic act is to comprehend the mighty revolution of four years. That of 1861 reads: "No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere within any State with the domestic institutions thereof including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State." That of 1865, which is a part of our Constitution: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The South South was approaching exhaustion. Sherman's march through Georgia and Hood's defeat at Nashville had bred a feeling of despondency far and wide. Lee called attention to the "alarming frequency of desertions" from 1 Lincoln, C. W., II, 613. 2 Globe, 531. 414 DISTRESS IN THE CONFEDERACY 1 [1865 his army which were due mainly to the "insufficiency of food and non-payment of the troops." Even the Confederate paper money was not to be had, although this was fast losing value. Sixty dollars of it were needed to buy one dollar in gold. Beef sold for $6 a pound and flour for $1000 a barrel. The weather was cold and fuel scarce. Jones makes a record of the mercury at zero and wood selling at $5 a stick.2 In the midst of this distress came the news that Fort Fisher had fallen.3 This closed Wilmington, North Carolina, the last open port of the Confederacy. Blockade-running was now at an end. The trade with Europe of cotton and tobacco for needed supplies, on which the South had lived and carried on the war, must now cease. As the existence of the Confederacy depended on Lee's army, the most serious feature of a very grave situation was the lack of food for his soldiers. Sherman's march had cut off the supplies from Georgia, but meat and corn could be obtained from southwest Virginia and the Carolinas. The permanent way, however, of the Richmond and Danville Railroad, on which the transportation of this food depended, had not been kept up; the locomotives, cars and machinery generally were out of repair so that the daily wants of the commissariat could hardly be met. Lee reported that the whole country within reach of his army had been "swept clear." The Commissary-General wrote that for several months the Army of Northern Virginia had been "living literally from hand to mouth." The overpowering difficulty was the lack of money. In North Carolina producers refused to sell, as they feared the Government would not pay. In a number 4 1 Jan. 27, O. R., XLVI, Pt. 2, 1143. 2 Jan. 11, 13, 14, 27. Jones, II, 383, 384, 386, 400. * Jan. 16. CH. XIII] DESPONDENCY AND DISCONTENT 415 of Virginia counties along the Potomac the people, who had formerly held that patriotism required them to take Confederate money and refuse greenbacks, would now sell their cattle and hogs only for United States currency, cotton or gold. In Virginia generally gold or greenbacks were necessary to obtain horses. The value of the paper currency of a nation is a symptom of the nation's stability, and men had it thus brought home to them in the common operations of life, that the financial system of the Confederacy had broken down while the enemy's money was eagerly sought for within its borders. A natural step in reasoning led to a distrust of the whole Southern enterprise. Traffic across the lines with country under control of the Union forces was an important source of supply for Lee's army. This traffic, which consisted in the exchange of cotton for subsistence stores, was carried on largely by agents of the Confederate government. Despondency and discontent filled the public mind. President Davis was discontented with his Congress and Congress was equally discontented with him; and many people were dissatisfied with both. The General Assembly of Virginia by a unanimous vote expressed the opinion that Lee's appointment to the command of all the armies "would promote their efficiency" and "reanimate the spirit" of both soldiers and people. This was communicated deferentially and in confidence to Davis who, with ready sympathy, replied that he fully agreed with the Assembly; shortly afterwards he appointed Lee General-in-chief.1 It is significant that all men, no matter how they might differ in other respects, turned with one accord to Lee as their saviour if indeed salvation were to be had. His personal influence | is illustrated by a circumstance occurring at this time. Heavy 1 Jan. 17, 18, O. R., XLVI, Pt. 2, 1084, 1091. |