war is proclaimed
upon leaving the federal capital we proceeded to the home of senator clay’s cousin, doctor thomas withers, at petersburg, va. my husband’s health, already feeble, had suffered greatly from the months of strife which culminated in the scenes through which we had just passed, and we had scarcely arrived in petersburg when a serious collapse occurred. mr. clay now became so weakened that fears were reiterated by all who saw him that he could not survive. i was urged to take him at once to minnesota, the attending physicians all agreeing that this was the one experiment in which lay a chance for prolonging his life. in those days the air of that far western state was supposed to have a phenomenally curative effect upon the victims of asthma, from which for years mr. clay had suffered an almost “daily death.” in the present acute attack, his body sick and his heart sore from our late ordeals, fearful of the danger of delay, i at once put into execution plans for the northward trip in which lay even a slender hope for his recovery. no one who had witnessed my husband’s dignified withdrawal from the senate, who had heard his firm utterance of what was at once a challenge to arms and a warning that alabama would defend her decision to stand alone, would have recognised the invalid now struggling for his life against the dread disease. he was extremely emaciated.
“when i last saw you,” wrote john t. morgan[21] from 154camp, some months later, “your health scarcely justified the hope that you would become one of the first senators in a new confederacy. i was grieved that when we came to meet the great struggle in alabama you were not permitted to aid us further than by your counsels and recorded opinions. i rejoice that you are again our representative in a senate where the south is not to be defended against foes within her own bosom, but to reap the advantage of the wisdom and experience of her own statesmen.”
my brother-in-law, hugh lawson clay, afterward colonel on the staff of our friend, general e. kirby smith, hurried, therefore, from alabama to accompany us upon the slow journey made necessary by mr. clay’s extreme weakness.
in due time we arrived at the international hotel, st. paul. here, though our stay was short, we had an unpleasant experience, a single one, due to sectional feeling. having safely bestowed mr. clay in his room, our brother made his way to the drug-store, which, as we entered, we had observed was below the hotel, to purchase a necessary restorative for my husband. while waiting there for the wrapping of the medicine, two young men entering met, and one exclaimed to the other:
“here’s a good chance! clay, the fire-eating senator from alabama, is in this house. let’s mob him!”
my brother, both indignant and surprised, was also fearful lest they should carry out their threat and thereby work incalculable evil to our invalid. he turned promptly and addressed them:
“mr. clay, of whom you speak,” he said, “is my brother, and, it may be, a hopeless invalid. he is here seeking health. you can molest him only through me!”
but now a second surprise met him, for the two youths began a very duet of apology, declaring they “had only been joking.” they meant no offense, they said, and, 155in fact, themselves were democrats. feeling, they continued, was at high tide, and it was the fashion of the times to denounce the south. upon this frank acknowledgment the trio shook hands and parted, nor did senator clay and i hear of the altercation until the next day, when it was repeated to us by a kind friend, mr. george culver, at whose home, in st. paul, we lingered for several weeks. here the wonderful climate appreciably restored the invalid, and mr. clay was soon able to move about, and added to his weight almost visibly.
in the meantime, the news of the gathering together of armies, both north and south, came more and more frequently. everywhere around us preparations were making for conflict. the news from the seceding states was inspiring. my husband’s impatience to return to alabama increased daily, stimulated, as it was, by the ardour of our many correspondents from montgomery and huntsville, civil and military.
“i was improving continuously and rapidly,” he wrote to our friend e. d. tracy, “when lincoln’s proclamation and that of the governor of minnesota reached me, and i think i should have been entirely restored to health in a month or two had i remained there with an easy conscience and a quiet mind. but after those bulletins, the demonstrations against the “rebels” were so offensive as to become intolerable. so we left on the 22d [april], much to the regret of the few real friends we found or made. many, with exceeding frankness, expressed their deep sorrow at our departure, since i was improving so rapidly; but, while appreciating their solicitude for me, i told them i preferred dying in my own country to living among her enemies.”
shortly after the breaking up of the ice in lake minnetonka, we bade farewell to the good samaritans at st. paul and took passage on the grey eagle. she was a celebrated boat of that day, and annually took the prize 156for being the first to cut through the frozen waters. i have never forgotten the wonders and beauties of that trip, beginning in the still partially ice-locked lake, and progressing gradually until the emerald glories of late april met us in the south! it was on this journey that we caught the first real echoes of the booming guns of fort sumter. the passengers on board the grey eagle discussed the outlook with gravity. to a friendly lady, whose sympathies were aroused on behalf of my husband, still pale and obviously an invalid, i remember expressing my sorrows and fears. i think i wept, for it was a time to start the tears; but her reply checked my complainings.
“ah, mrs. clay!” she said, “think how my heart is riven! i was born in new orleans and live in new york. one of my sons is in the seventh new york regiment, and another in the new orleans zouaves!”
at cairo, already a great centre of military activity for the federals, we caught a first gleam of the muskets of united states soldiery. a company was drawn up in line on the river bank, for what purpose we did not know, but we heard a rumour that it had to do with the presence on the boat of the southern senator clay, and i remember i was requested by an oficer of the grey eagle to place in my trunk my husband’s fine maynard rifle, which had been much admired by our fellow-passengers, and which once had been shot off during the trip, to show its wonderful carrying power. needless to say, the possibly offending firearm was promptly put away. after a short colloquy between the captain of the vessel and the military officer, who appeared to catechise him, the grey eagle again swung out on the broad, muddy river, and turned her nose toward memphis. now, as we proceeded down the important water-course, at many a point were multiplying evidences that the fratricidal war had begun.
157memphis, at which we soon arrived, and which was destined within a year to be taken and held by our enemy, was now beautiful with blossoms. spirea and bridal wreaths whitened the bushes, and roses everywhere shaking their fragrance to the breezes made the world appear to smile. my heart was filled with gratitude and joy to find myself once more among the witchery and wonders of my “ain countree”; where again i might hear the delightful mockery of that “yorick of the glade,” whose bubbling melody is only to be heard in the south land! it was a wonderful home-coming for our invalid, too eager by much to assume his share of the responsibilities that now rested upon the shoulders of our men of the south. a period of complete physical weakness followed our arrival in mr. clay’s native city, a busy political and military centre in those early days.
we spent our summer in “cosy cot,” our mountain home, set upon the crest of monte sano, which overlooks the town of huntsville below, distant about three miles; nor, save in the making of comparatively short trips, did we again leave this vicinity until mr. clay, his health improved, was called to take his seat in the senate of the new confederate government, at richmond, late in the following autumn. in the meantime senator clay had declined the office of secretary of war in mr. davis’s cabinet, privately proffered, believing his physical condition to be such as to render his assumption of the duties of that department an impossibility. in his stead he had urged the appointment of leroy pope walker, our fellow-townsman and long-time friend, though often a legal and political opponent of my husband.
now, at the time of our return, secretary walker was at the side of our executive head, deep in the problems of the military control of our forces. communications between huntsville and montgomery, where the provisional government temporarily was established, were 158frequent. a special session of congress was sitting, and every one identified with our newly formed legislature at the little capital was alert and eager in perfecting our plans for defense. we were given a side glimpse of our president’s personal activity in the following letter received a few days after our return to alabama:
“montgomery, alabama, may 10, 1861.
“... mr. davis seems just now only conscious of things left undone, and to ignore the much which has been achieved. consequently, his time seems all taken up with the cabinet, planning (i presume) future operations.... sometimes the cabinet depart surreptitiously, one at a time, and mr. davis, while making things as plain as did the preacher the virtues of the baptismal, finds his demonstrations made to one weak, weary man, who has no vim to contend. to make a long story short, he overworks himself and all the rest of mankind, but is so far quite well, though not fleshily inclined.
“there is a good deal of talk here of his going to richmond as commander of the forces. i hope it may be done, for to him military command is a perfect system of hygiene.... there have been some here who thought, with a view to the sanitary condition, that the government had better be moved to richmond, and also that it would strengthen the weak-fleshed but willing-spirited border states.... this is a very pretty place, and, were not the climate as warm as is the temperament of the people, it would be pleasant; but nearly all my patriotism oozes out, not unlike bob acres’ courage, at the pores, and i have come to the conclusion that roman matrons performed their patriotism and such like duties in the winter. i wish your health would suffice for you to come and see the congress. they are the finest-looking set of men i have ever seen collected together—grave, quiet and thoughtful-looking men, with an air of refinement which makes my mind’s picture gallery a gratifying pendant to hamlin, durkee, doolittle, chandler, etc....
“the market is forlorn, but then we give our best and a warm welcome. if you are able to come and make us a visit, we will have the concordances of washington and montgomery.... mrs. mallory is in town on a short visit, mrs. fitzpatrick and the governor, mrs. memminger, constitution 159brown and his wife, mr. and mrs. toombs (the latter is the only person who has a house). i could gossip on ad infinitum....”
in huntsville a feeling of diligence in preparation was everywhere evident. our historic little town was not only in the direct line of travel between larger cities, and therefore a natural stopping place for travellers; but, by reason of the many legal and political lights residing there, and because of its being the county seat of one of the most affluent counties in northern alabama, was, and is, a town of general interest throughout the state. almost in an unbroken line, the united states senators of northern alabama have been citizens of my husband’s native town.
situate among the low hills that separate the higher points of the cumberland range, huntsville smiles up at the sky from a rare amphitheatre, hollowed in the cedar-covered mountains. it is in the heart of one of the most fertile portions of the tennessee valley. within an hour’s swift ride, the tennessee flood rolls on its romantic way, and as near in another direction is the forked flint river, every bend along its leafy edges a place of beauty. up hill and down dale, ride wherever one will, may be seen the hazy tops of mountains, disappearing in the blue ether, and intervening valleys yellow with corn or white with cotton, or green with the just risen grain. in the summer the sweetness of magnolia and jasmine, of honeysuckle and mimosa, scents the shady avenues along which are seen, beyond gardens and magnolia trees, the commodious town houses of the prosperous planters. among these affluent surroundings a high public spirit had been nourished. here the first state legislature of alabama was convened and that body met which formed the state constitution. the simple structure in which those early statesmen gathered (being, in general, representatives from the families of 160virginia and the carolinas) stood yet intact in the early part of 1903. the first newspaper printed in alabama, yclept the madison gazette, was published in huntsville, and green academy (taking its name from the rich sward that surrounded it), a renowned institution of learning, was long a famous feature of twickenham town, by which name huntsville was once known.
in the early days of the township’s existence, a hot contest continued for years to wage between the followers of two of its richest settlers as to the future appellation of the pretty place. the friends of colonel pope, who had contributed from the very centre of his plantation the square upon which was built the county court house, for a time overbore the opposing parties and named the town in honour of the birthplace of the immortal poet; but, though this choice was ratified by legislative act, the adherents of the pioneer, john hunt, refused to yield their wishes. mr. hunt had discovered the site of the town while still the valley was part of the territory of mississippi. lured by the deer he was stalking, he had come upon the big spring, gushing with limpid waters. here he pitched his tent, and, gathering others about him, he fostered the building of the town which, until the contest that arose with the aristocratic colonel pope, was known as huntsville. for two years, until the original name was restored by a second act of legislature, the little city was known as “twickingham town,” and to many of its old families this name remains so dear that among themselves it still continues to be affectionately applied.
half the youth of alabama in that early day delved in the classics under the guidance of the studious professors of green academy. it was situated in a large plot of ground which commanded a view of the mountain. its site was given to the town by judge william smith (the warm friend of andrew jackson) on the condition that it should be used only for a building for educational 161purposes forever. this distinguished judge was, i think, the only man until roscoe conkling to refuse a seat on the supreme court bench of the united states.[22]
the charms and fascinations and general winsomeness of the girls of the lovely vale, even in that early period, in a measure may be imagined from the references to them in the following letter, written to clement c. clay, jr., by this time entered at the state university at tuscaloosa:
“february 2, 1833.
“my dear clement: richard peete, jere clemens, richard perkins, withers clay, john e. moore[23] and myself are in a class reading horace and graeca majora. clio is nearly broken up, and i fear it will never be revived, as the members do nothing but walk with the girls, nor do they appear to think of anything else. the girls in this town are the most jealous little vixens that ever breathed. i would advise you as a friend (for i have gone through the fiery ordeal, and should know something of the character of woman) to keep a respectful distance from the fair ones; for, if you mingle with them at all, you will be persuaded to mingle with them more and more. how much i would give if they would never harass me more!”
the roll of huntsville’s prominent men includes a peculiarly large number of names that have been potent in state and national capitals, in civil and in military life. scarcely a stone in its picturesque “god’s acre” but bears a name familiar to the southern ear. from under the low hill on which the columned court house and historic national bank building stand, the big spring gushe, which has had its part in swelling the city’s 162fame. where its source lies none can say, though myths are plenty that tell of subterranean caves through which it passes, and which gleam with stalactite glories. trickling freely from the sides of the mountain beyond are numerous medicinal springs, and silver streams thread their way among the valleys; but nowhere within the tennessee region exists a flow that at all may be compared with huntsville’s “big spring.” if hygeia still exercises her functions, her modern home is surely here. the flow of clear limestone water as it issues from the rocks is wonderfully full and seemingly boundless. since the founding of the town the spring has supplied all the needs of the residents, and that of armies camped about it. so late as 1898 its splendid daily yield of twenty-four million gallons influenced the present government to locate in and about the pretty city, while awaiting the development of the cuban war, an army of twenty thousand men.
in the sixties the spring was already famous. from time immemorial the pool below it had served the same purpose for the negroes about as did the river jordan for the earlier christians, and a baptism at the big spring, both impressive and ludicrous, was a sight never to be forgotten. the negroes came down the hill, marching with solemn steps to weird strains of their own composing, until they reached the edge of the stream that forms below the spring. here the eager candidates for immersion were led into the water, when, doused for a moment, they would come up again shrieking shrilly a fervent hallelujah! as a rule, two companions were stationed near to seize the person of the baptised one as it rose, lest in a paroxysm of religious fervour he should harm himself or others. as the baptisms, always numerous, continued, the ardour of the crowd of participants and onlookers was sure to augment, until a maniacal mingling of voices followed, that verged toward 163pandemonium. the ceremony was as strange and blood-curdling as any rite that might be imagined in the interior of the dark continent.
once, upon the occasion of a visit of two new york friends, one candidate for baptism, a black man, a veritable goliath, broke loose from those who tried to hold him and ran up the hill in his ecstasy, bellowing like a wounded buffalo. the sounds were enough to excite unmixed horror in the unaccustomed listener, but the appearance of the enthusiast to me was more comical than terrifying; for, being in his stockings, and these conspicuous by reason of their enormous holes, his heels, revealed at every step, appeared as they flashed up the acclivity like the spots on a bull-bat’s wings. when this sable son of anak took the field, the spectators scattering right and left, my friends turned toward me as if panic-stricken. they paused but a brief moment, then, “standing not upon the order of their going,” they, too, fled from the possible charge of the half-crazed enthusiast. it was no uncommon thing at such baptisms for the candidates to suffer from an attack of “jerks,” a kind of spasm which resulted from their excited imaginations. i have seen the strength of four stout men tested to its utmost to hold down one seemingly delicate negress, who, fired by the “glory in her soul,” was now become its victim, jerking and screaming in a manner altogether horrible to witness.
above the spring and about the picturesque square and court house, in the spring and early summer of ’1, the gay-hearted youth of madison county, thronging to the county seat, met in companies to drill and prepare themselves for service in the war now upon us. already, by the early part of june, alabama had “contributed to the confederacy about 20,000 muskets and rifles,” though she retained of these, “for her own immediate protection and defense, only four thousand! i hope,” 164wrote governor a. b. moore, in sending this information to mr. clay, “that volunteer companies throughout the state will put the rifles and double-barrelled shot-guns in order, and drill them until called into actual service.”
the youths and men of madison county needed small urging. they were heart and soul for the conflict that at last must be waged to preserve the homes of their fathers, the heritages that were to be theirs, and their right to independent government. these were the incentives of our soldiers, allied to each other, regiment by regiment, by blood and long association. there was no need for alien hirelings to swell our ranks. the questions at issue were vital, and every southern man who could bear arms sprang eagerly to assume them.
upon our arrival in huntsville we found the city alive with preparations for defense, our mail heavy with reports from every quarter of the south, of friends and kinsmen who had entered the army, and many exhilarated by the battles already won. an idea may be gathered of the confluent interests that bound together our southern army, by a mention, as an example, by no means unique, of the ramifications of the two families represented by senator clay and myself. my husband’s uncle, general withers, was already in command at mobile; his brother, hugh lawson clay, was in lynchburg, recruiting; his cousin, eli s. shorter, was enrolled as colonel in the c. s. a., besides whom there were enlisted numerous cousins of the withers, comer, and clayton families. thirty-nine cousins of my own, bearing the name of williams, were in the field at one time, and innumerable arlingtons, drakes and boddies, hilliards, tunstalls and battles served the beloved cause in various capacities in civil and military life.
l. q. c. lamar
1862
165these conditions knit neighbourhoods as well as regiments very closely together, and largely go to furnish an explanation of our long struggle against the numerically superior armies of our invaders. our victories in those early days were great, though the blood spilled to gain them was precious; but the sound of mourning was stilled before the greater need for encouragement to the living. “beauregard and johnston have given the fanatics something to meditate upon,” wrote a cousin in july of ’1. “a despatch says that our loss was three thousand, theirs seven thousand. steady beauregard and brave johnston! we owe them our gratitude!”
yes! we owed them gratitude and we gave it to them and to every man in the ranks. the women at home knitted and sewed, sacrificed and prayed, and wept, too, especially the aged, as they packed away the socks and underwear and such comforts for the young men in the field as might be pressed into a soldier’s knapsack. “i met mr. lamar’s mother,” wrote my sister from macon, late in may, “and spoke to her of her son’s having gone to montgomery. she had not heard of it before and burst into tears! this is her fourth and last son gone to the war!”
from huntsville had gone out the gallant e. d. tracy, who, now at harper’s ferry, wrote back most thrilling accounts of military proceedings in that important section of our confederate states:
“i continue entirely well,” began a letter dated from camp, near harper’s ferry, june 8, 1861: “and, while i perfectly agree with, since conversing with, general smith, in regard to our situation, am in good spirits. i trust i am ready to die when my hour comes, as becomes a christian soldier and gentleman; until that hour, i am proof against shell and shot. if the enemy attacks us ‘we’ll memorise another golgotha’ and achieve a victory, or martyrdom. our men believe the post to be impregnable and are anxious for fight; if they were better informed, i have no idea that their courage would be in the least abated.
166“from the arrival of troops during the last few days, i conclude that it is the purpose of government to hold harper’s ferry. at one time i think that point was undecided, and am glad to believe that it is now settled as stated. the moral effect of an evacuation of a place believed to be a gibraltar would be terribly disastrous to our cause; it would encourage our enemies, depress our troops, and disappoint the expectation of the world. better that we perish in making a gallant defense than that such consequences should be risked.”
my sister, mrs. hugh lawson clay, who had joined her husband in lynchburg, wrote buoyantly, yet gravely, from that troubled centre: “i wrote you a long, long letter last saturday,” begins one epistle from her, “but mr. clay would not let me send it, because, he said, i told too much. he was afraid it might be read by other eyes than yours.... i look hourly to hear the result of an awful battle. i cannot but fear, for we cannot hope to gain such victories often as the one at bethel church.... here we hear everything, for there are persons passing all the time to and from winchester and manassas junction. so many men from this place are stationed there that mothers and sisters manage to hear every day. mr. tracy wrote in his last that he fully expected to be in a big battle. his men were eager for the fight, and he would be sure to write as to the result, if it did not result in a termination of his life’s candle!”
mrs. philip phillips
of washington, d. c.
167as the time drew near for the opening of congress in richmond, mr. clay’s health, spurred to a better state by an eager patriotism, eager to express itself in the forum if debarred from the field, became appreciably restored, and preparations were begun for an absence of a few months from huntsville. anxious as everyone was throughout the south, and feeling the strain even of victory, now flowing toward us and again ebbing to our enemies, my husband and i had few misgivings concerning the safety of the home we were leaving. a hundred greater dangers surrounded richmond (as it was thought), that lay so near to the federal lines and was the prize above all others which we looked to see grappled for. yet our field lay there, and, in anticipation, it seemed a pleasant and an active one, for already it was peopled with throngs of our former friends.
“i almost imagined myself in washington,” wrote mrs. philip phillips, now returning from the federal capital, where for months she had been a prisoner. “there are so many dear, old friends [in richmond]—mrs. mallory, mrs. joe johnston, and others—awaited us at the spottswood hotel. i spent an evening with mrs. davis, who received me with great feeling.... we have a terrible struggle before us. the resources of lincoln’s army are great, and a defensive war will prove our greatest safeguard, but, it is presumption in speaking thus; only, having come so recently from the seat of war, my ideas, founded upon practical knowledge of what is going on at the north, may derive some value. i brought on from washington, sewed in my corsets, a programme of the war sent to me by a federal officer, many of whom are disaffected. the capitalists of the north demand a decisive blow, else they will not back the government.”
