Petition Letters For/Against Pardoning Jefferson Davis

The five mystery boxes in Record Group 94 (which were much easier to find this time compared to last) that contain the petition letters sent to Andrew Johnson arguing for or against the pardoning of Jefferson Davis are absolutely fascinating. I find myself becoming so immersed in the letters and reading/deciphering them that it takes me a few hours to go through only a few folders. However, doing so and spending an incredible amount of time sifting through the letters has proven to be such a rewarding experience. In this blog, I will highlight the general conclusions I have drawn after reading the petition letters, and then in the next blog I will focus on a few specific letters that I found to be the most intriguing and representative of the sentiment felt by Northerners to the ex-president.

The five box collection was divided into petition letters urging Johnson to pardon Davis and those arguing to follow through on the trial and possible execution. The former was contained in three boxes, all divided up by state, and the latter was contained in two boxes, also divided up by state.

The letters sent to Johnson advocating Davis’ pardoning and release from jail were primarily focused around a theme I had never given much thought to: religion. Surprisingly, almost all of the letters contained religious overtones and appealed to Johnson’s moral side in granting Davis clemency and mercy. “The high privilege which God has given you… be merciful,” wrote a George McClellan from Florida. “Mr. Johnson, be like your God, “full of compassion and gracious long sufferings plenteous in Mercy,”” pleaded Mrs. M.S. Kimbrough from Georgia. A Mrs. M.A. Foard from Delaware penned a letter to Johnson claiming Davis was  “great” man, so “noble and righteous,” and that he is not to blame for any Southern ‘crimes.’ “Will you deal unmercifully, unrighteous with him for just one error? God forbid. Is not cruelty the greatest of all crimes?” she wrote. An anonymous citizen from Aiden, Ohio pleaded with Johnson, writing “I appeal to you as a Christian… May God in his infinite mercy, carry my appeal to your heart and may you in tender compassion, at once grant one.”

The letters sent to Johnson in favoring of not pardoning Davis took a more drastic turn than I initially anticipated. I expected all Northerners, citizens and veterans alike, to be calling for Davis’ trial and execution, or at least suggesting life in prison. While that was the case in a great deal of the letters, it was not the case for a surprising number of them. (This was a difference that I will talk more extensively about in the next blog). What I did find were solutions to the “Davis problem,” ways to not only punish Davis and humiliate him, but to put his imprisonment to good use for the nation. “Don[t] hang Jeff Davis now, but put him in a strong iron cage, … conduct him then [around] the states with the same dress he was taken in at one dollar the sight and give the same to all injured soldiers both north and south of which they so much need the debt…” wrote a man on May 19, 1865, in Washington, D.C. A resident of Illinois, J.H. Cheeseman penned Johnson in May 1865, with the request to take Davis on an “expedition through the Northern States, just as he was capture[d], in female attire, it [would] raise the funds to pay the National debt, for most every one would pay fifty cents or a dollar to see him.” Women, even, were voicing their opinions on what to do with “Old Jeff.” “Many others of the Northern Ladies would be mighty gratified to have Old Jeff put into an iron safe and exhibited through the country to help pay the public debt…” wrote a Mrs. B.S. May from South Boston, Massachusetts on May 19, 1865. One man from Ohio asserted that the national debt would be paid in a “short time” if Davis were to be “cage[d] up” and shipped around the North.

Similar language and sentiment regarding locking Davis up in a cage and sending him around the North to accrue money for the National debt was found in a surprising number of letters. I found it especially intriguing that these citizens were creating practical uses for Davis while he was still in Federal custody. Their ingenuity amazed me, and certainly adds another layer on determining what, exactly, to do with Traitor Jeff.

These brief excerpts from these various letters, from both the North and the South, give a glimpse into the religious imagery that citizens evoked when trying to push Johnson along to pardoning Davis, and also into other solutions for Davis that strike a balance (somewhat) between healing and justice. As I mentioned above, the next blog will focus on the “juicier” letters I found, ones that really accentuate this religious theme I identified and the letters from Union veterans pushing for Davis to hang from the gallows.

Until next time…

The Trials and Rewards of Research…

Such a great day at the National Archives!! I went to look through Record Group 94, which contains in the Records of the Adjutant General the Amnesty Papers, pardoning letters that former Confederates sent to President Andrew Johnson after the war ended to resume their status as citizens. An additional part of this section of the Record Group contains petition letters sent to Johnson from American citizens writing in regards to Davis and his presumed punishment. Virtually neglected by majority of historians minus a select few, these records will give me exciting and crucial insight into the hearts and minds of Northerners immediately after the war. But, before I could actually begin, I had to locate the petitions, which proved to be difficult, not only for me but for the archivists themselves! After thumbing through the finding aid for RG 94, I went to the microfilm room to view the Amnesty Papers (all of them had been put on microfilm), but the worker referred me back to the consultation room because the list of former rebel letters writing to Johnson in the collection did not contain any from Davis or regarding Davis. Back I went. After explaining the situation to a different archivist, he took me back to the microfilm room and looked through a different type of finding aid for the microfilm set. In bold letters, it said at the beginning of the aid that it contained petitions sent to Johnson from citizens arguing for or against the pardon of Davis. But apparently, the microfilm did not contain the petitions. I was confused, and the archivist even more so then me. Back we went to the consultation room.

The initial searching for the petition papers…

At this point, there were about three archivists trying to locate where these petitions were hiding. They were going through all of the possible finding aids and lists of items in Record Group 94 to find these petition letters and were still coming up empty handed. I couldn’t help but stand aside and watch them try and solve this mystery. Sensing disarray in the room, three more archivists came to see what was going on and offer their help. Now I had six archivists working to find these records! After about an hour and a half and incredible amounts of frustration, they told me that the petitions must have been entered under the specific names of the former Confederates, and were therefore dispersed among the microfilm and there was no way of finding out the names of the authors unless I sifted through the entire microfilm collection. I was incredibly disappointed. I knew the records existed, had seen them referred to in secondary material, and was so close to reading them to be told I couldn’t.

More searching

So, I did what any good historian would do. I looked at the reference notes in William Blair’s newest book, With Malice Towards Some: Treason and Loyalty in the Civil War Era, who had cited the petition letters, to see where exactly they could be found. I called over the remaining archivists in the room, and they looked at the citation, which pinpointed Box 250 of the Amnesty Papers as the source. They all looked confused. They were under the assumption that the entire collection of Amnesty Papers had been put on microfilm. I was told, yet again, to wait a few minutes, as they all dispersed to find this mysterious Box 250. Ten minutes passed, and they returned with smiles on their faces.

Utter confusion. About four archivists in the room at this time. Fifteen minutes after this, the petitions were found!!

 

Two hours and six archivists later, the box had been found! Even better, there were five boxes of petition letters sent to Andrew Johnson that were not microfilmed and had not been entered into the finding aid. I was so so happy!! I only expected one box of petition letters, not five. Needless to say, I was ecstatic, and thoroughly enjoyed reading some of the letters in the first box this afternoon. I will post another blog after I finish the petition letters, but here is a preview of what I looked at today. Until next time…

This picture, coupled with the letter on the right, is a sketch of the gallows a carpenter offered to build to hang Davis with.

Craven Papers and the Beginnings of the Bourne Papers

During another trip to the Library of Congress, I found myself looking through the papers of John Joseph Craven, the physician who tended to Jefferson Davis for about a year of his imprisonment in Fortress Monroe. It was a rather small collection, majority of the documents in it being letters sent from Craven to his wife in the late 1850s. There were, however, a few hidden gems that were just waiting for me to find.

The first three fragments worth mentioning came from Craven’s Fort Monroe Diary. The documents were torn pieces of paper that appeared to be ripped out of the diary. Nonetheless, they contained small pieces of interesting information. The first was dated the 24^th, no month or year, and read as follows:

“I found this morning on entering Mr. Davis’s cell the ground had been removed, and for the first he was eating alone he was eating his breakfast. He expressed himself pleased with the change and remarked that he had passed a delightfull night without disturbance. He complained of his eyes and a throbbing pain off to the back of his head and neck and said he wished me to give it particular attention for he had the same [headache] last year at Richmond and it was followed by a very severe illness.”

The second, also dated the 24^th, no month or year, reads as follows:

“Major General Miles came in … and announced to Mr. D. that we was to be allowed one hour each day in the open air and miscellaneous reading.”

The third, dated June 9, detailed a conversation between Davis and Craven about oysters (of all things!). This particular document was especially difficult to read; Craven’s handwriting was so sloppy that even the handy Cam Scanner could not make some of the words clearer to read.

Dr. John Joseph Craven, courtesy of the Library of Congress

 

Another rather interesting find I discovered, coupled with the Confederate one dollar bill that was featured in the previous post, was a letter from Clement Clay to Craven on April 7, 1866, with the header “In prison, Fort Monroe.” The letter reads as follows:

“My dear sir, this will in honor my friend, Dr. J.J. Craven of New Jersey, M.D., who was my physician during the first [few] months of my imprisonment here. He is a gentleman and I am indebted to him for many kindnesses and courtesies. I commend him to your favorable consideration.”

This especially stuck out to me. Clement Clay was a name that kept appearing in almost every secondary source on the Davis imprisonment and trial. More to come on Clay in the next blog!

 

The last intriguing piece I found in the Craven papers was a letter written to him from friends of Davis, dated 6 February 1866:

“Dear Sir, A report has reached us that you are about the exchange the position you now hold in the Fortress for another medical office in connection with the Freedman’s Bureau. As friends of Mr. Davis personally, feeling a deep solicitude for his welfare and comfort, and gratefully appreciating the kindness and attention extended to him by yourself whenever consistent with your official position and duty, we would respectfully solicit your good offices to secure for Mr D. from your successor (in the event of your removal a continuation of the courtesies he has received at your hands.) We are also extremely desirous of doing whatever may be permitted us to alleviate his condition …. We are ignorant of the nature and extent of the restrictions imposed on his case, and will be glad to be informed whether articles intended for his comfort or convenience will be permitted to reach him from his friends.”

Though a very small collection, I was extremely happy with what I found!

To wrap up my days at the Library of Congress, I began sifting through the William Oland Bourne papers. Bourne, through his publication The Soldier’s Friend, sought to aid disabled veterans by offering prizes to those who had lost their right arm during the war and learned to write with their left hands. I went through the first two folders of Series 1 and pinpointed two essays that were especially fascinating to me. The first was written by William Penn Sands, dated 15 August 1865:

“The sudden disbanding of our mighty army, has also tested the value of Republican Institutions. Many a patriotic heart was fearful, that the [paltering] of so many myriads of men, unused for years to the routine of citizen life, might result in turmoil and commotions, at home. But the intelligence of our Army has been equal to the emergency. And the quietude with which a million of veteran soliders, have laid aside their arms, and renewed the peaceful vocations of life, causes a new wonder …. This great work, together with the reconstruction of the disorganized states, will demand the most earnest, and devoted, attention of our legislators. The transition state through which we are passing, is fraught with many dangers, and we should see that the ship of State is manned only, with true and tried officers.”

The second essay was written by Ezra D. Hiltz, dated 26 August 1865:

“Let the people of the South learn from the “error of their way” and swear allegiance to the government and we will extend to them the “right hand of fellowship” and welcome them back beneath the folds of the old Flag. But I would not pardon rebels, especially the leaders, until they should first kneel in the dust of humiliation and show by their deeds that they sincerely repent. I fear our President is too lenient. Justice should be done to the perpetrators and leaders of the wicked rebellion. The tens of thousands of our brothers who were starved in Andersonville and other prison pens in the South cry from the ground for justice. Our work is not yet finished. We must build schoolhouses and educate the masses in the principle of eternal truth and liberty, and this will form a basis of our government as from as the everlasting hills. We must elect loyal men to fill places of trust: our public men – our rulers must be men who will work for the good of the whole country, and the interest of the people instead of working to gratify their own selfish ambitions. They must possess wisdom, honesty and decision. Then will the nation continue to prosper and be exalted for truly “righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

 

I only scratched the surface with the soldier essays in the Bourne papers, and will continue to pour over them on my next research visit to the Library of Congress!

A Cool Find in the John Joseph Craven Papers…

This note on the back of a Confederate one dollar bill, addressed to Dr. Craven, appears to be signed by Clement C. Clay, another Confederate who was imprisoned in Fortress Monroe with Jefferson Davis and cared for by Dr. Craven.