But the year 1861 was to close with a further vexation
that must be related. Secretary Cameron proved
incapable on the business side of war administration.
Waste and alleged corruption called down upon him
a searching investigation by a committee of the House
of Representatives. He had not added to his
own considerable riches, but his political henchmen
had grown fat. The displeasure with the whole
Administration was the greater because the war was
not progressing favourably, or at all. There
were complaints of the Naval Department also, but
politicians testified their belief in the honesty of
Welles without saying a word for Cameron. There
is every reason to think he was not personally dishonourable.
Lincoln believed in his complete integrity, and so
also did sterner critics, Chase, an apostle of economy
and uprightness, and Senator Sumner. But he had
to go. He opened the door for his removal by
a circular to generals on the subject of slaves, which
was comparable to Fremont’s Proclamation and
of which Lincoln had to forbid the issue. He
accepted the appointment of Minister to Russia, and
when, before long, he returned, he justified himself
and Lincoln’s judgment by his disinterested friendship
and support. He was removed from the War Office
at the end of December and a remarkable incident followed.
While Lincoln’s heart was still set on his
law practice, the prospect of appearing as something
more than a backwoods attorney smiled for a single
moment on him. He was briefed to appear in an
important case outside Illinois with an eminent lawyer
from the East, Edwin M.
Stanton; but he was not allowed
to open his mouth, for Stanton snuffed him out with
supreme contempt, and he returned home crestfallen.
Stanton before the war was a strong Democrat, but
hated slavery. In the last days of Buchanan’s
Presidency he was made Attorney-General and helped
much to restore the lost credit of that Administration.
He was now in Washington, criticising the slow conduct
of the war with that explosive fury and scorn which
led him to commit frequent injustice (at the very
end of the war he publicly and monstrously accused
Sherman of being bribed into terms of peace by Southern
gold), which concealed from most eyes his real kindness
and a lurking tenderness of heart, but which made
him a vigorous administrator intolerant of dishonesty
and inefficiency. He was more contemptuous of
Lincoln than ever, he would constantly be denouncing
his imbecility, and it is incredible that kind friends
were wanting to convey his opinion to Lincoln.
Lincoln made him Secretary of War.
Since the summer, to the impatient bewilderment of
the Northern people, of Congress, now again in session,
and of the President himself, their armies in the
field were accomplishing just nothing at all, and,
as this agitating year, 1861, closed, a deep gloom
settled on the North, to be broken after a while by
the glare of recurrent disaster.
CHAPTER IX
Copyrights
Abraham Lincoln from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
