I got the Secretary some covering, and he sat down and right then and there wrote (out) the proclamation for the President.

At five o'clock that same morning-Sunday, May 11th, 1862we started on a gunboat for Norfolk. We took President Lincoln, Secretary Chase, Secretary Stanton, and Admiral Goldsborough, who came on board. But we knew the Merrimac was there yet, and whether or not we could get to Norfolk we did not know. We had gone but a short distance when we heard a tremendous explosion. Looking in its direction, we saw it was in the Elizabeth River. It proved to be the destruction of the Merrimac, which the rebels had blown up. Later, as we were going in, we passed over her wreckage.

Soon after breakfast we arrived at Norfolk, and found our troops in possession of the city. I mentioned to Secretary Chase on the way, that it was most important to make a strong political point there. At Norfolk were large numbers of poor people and negroes, and a vast amount of property at the Navy Yard that ought to be preserved; and I suggested that the military command should pursue a policy which would operate to cause dissension among the southern people. Employment should be given to these poor people; they should be taken into the service of the United States; this would naturally beget jealousy between them and the people of wealth, who were insignificant in numbers.

Furthermore, we should pursue the same policy with the negroes that we had adopted at Fort Monroe. Secretary Chase talked earnestly with me about the matter, and then went and talked with the President. Then he came back to me and said: "The President wants to make you Military Governor of Norfolk. We will speak to General Wool if you assent to it; and no doubt he will readily endorse the proposition."

"It is impossible," I said, "my health is impaired and furthermore, my duties are almost entirely advisory, executive rather than military."

"That is what we want more than anything else, in the army," said the Secretary; "and the President wants you to take this post.

But I utterly refused the offer. Later, when I went to Washington with the President and Secretaries, Chase again urged the matter on me.

I said "I must go home to my family, some of whom are ill."

"Well, bring your family here and take up your quarters at Fort Norfolk* " he said. It was, he urged, the first place where we could impress upon the people of the South that if they wanted Union protection they must recognize the National authority. Finally, to get rid of their importunity, I said I would go home, take the matter under consideration, and advise them of my decision. Secretary Chase said:

"If you will take this position, and should find that you have occasion to go home temporarily, I will come down myself and relieve you of the command until you return. I particularly desire that you should accept it, because of its great importance and because of our perfect accord in regard to the position."

I returned to New York-but having suffered from malaria for some time and being then far from well, I was influenced by my family and my physician to decline the proffered post, and to tender my resignation from the Service-which was accepted on June 11th, 1862. LEGRAND B. CANNON

*So in the original-possibly a slip for Fortress Monroe.

(To be continued)

GENERAL RENO AT FREDERICK, BARBARA FRITCHIE

I

AND HER FLAG

n October, 1863, about thirteen months after the incident referred to occurred, John Greenleaf Whittier published his "Barbara Frietchie." The poem immediately attracted wide attention, and immortalized not only Barbara Frietchie, but the town of Frederick, Maryland. The opening stanzas depict a beautiful and fertile country with "meadows rich with corn" and with "apple and peach tree fruited deep," as "fair as a garden of the Lord." The poem is most remarkable for its lofty patriotism and for its heroic action.

Mr. Whittier's information of the incident was derived from Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, the novelist, who was then residing in Georgetown, D. C. Mrs. Southworth heard the story from friends who were in Frederick at the time, and from Mr. C. S. Bramsburg, a neighbor of hers who was a connection of Barbara Frietchie, and from Samuel Tyler, a lawyer of Maryland who afterward wrote a life of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Mr. Whittier received Mrs. Southworth's letter at Amesbury, in August, 1863, and within two weeks afterward he wrote his stirring ballad. It was sent to Mr. James T. Fields for publication in the Atlantic Monthly, and on August 24, 1863, Mr. Fields sent a note to Mr. Whittier expressing his great appreciation of the poem. ""Barbara' is most welcome," he wrote, "and I will find room for it in the October number, most certainly.... You were right in thinking I should like it, for so I do, as I like few things in this world. The piece must go into your book, of course.' ...

Mr. Fields's opinion of the literary excellence of the poem has held its place in the world of letters, and his estimate seems none too high. Though written by one without military training, the ballad is replete with the spirit of army life; with the tread of marching soldiers; with the officers' orders, short and sharp; and with the quick fire of rifles.

This and other poems relating to the Civil War entitled Mr. Whittier to the warm regard of the Union Army. On April 9, 1890,

-Read before the Massachusetts Loyal Legion.

he was accordingly elected by the Massachusetts Commandery, a third-class member of the Loyal Legion of the United States, an honor which has been bestowed upon very few civilians.

The poem represents one of the favorite generals of the South, "Stonewall" Jackson, in a dishonorable light, and for this reason immediately aroused violent protests from the Confederates, and many denials of all sorts. The charge was made and believed by many that no such person as Barbara Fritchie ever lived in Frederick; that there was no such house in Frederick as the one occupied by Barbara Fritchie; that she was blind and bedridden in September, 1862; and that her sympathies were with the South, and that if she had waved any flag at all, it would have been the Confederate flag.

Some persons have said that her flag was buried with Barbara Fritchie's body, and still others have said that after her death the flag was purchased by a Confederate and destroyed as a matter of spite and

revenge.

Writing to the editor of the Century under date of June 10, 1886, Mr. Whittier said:

"The poem 'Barbara Frietchie' was written in good faith. The story was no invention of mine. It came to me from sources which I regarded as entirely reliable; it had been published in newspapers, and had gained public credence in Washington and Maryland before my poem was written. I had no reason to doubt its accuracy then, and I am still constrained to believe that it had foundation in fact. If I thought otherwise I should not hesitate to express it. I have no pride of authorship to interfere with my allegiance to truth."

In a later letter to the editor of the Century dated March 7, 1888, Mr. Whittier stated that he had

"Also received letters from several other responsible persons, wholly or partially confirming the story, among whom was the late Dorothea L. Dix."

Barbara Fritchie was born at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1766. She was a daughter of Niclaus Hauer, who left Germany on May 11th, 1754, and arrived in Pennsylvania on October 1st, 1754. She lived the early years of her life in Pennsylvania, and com

pleted her education in Baltimore, Maryland. Her grand-niece, Mrs. Julia M. Abbott, wife of John H. Abbott of Frederick, Maryland, states that her education was the best that could be obtained in her day. She was not only able to read and write, but was a thoroughly well-read woman. Even up to her ninety-second year she attended to business matters and signed business papers. It is not certain precisely what time the family removed to Frederick, Maryland, but it does appear that on May 6th, 1806, Barbara Hauer was married to John Casper Fritchie at Frederick City, by the Reverend Mr. Wagner of the German Reformed Church, and that she lived in Frederick from that time until her death. Her husband was a well-known glove-maker, and carried on that business in Frederick until his death, which occurred November 10th, 1849.

Barbara Fritchie never had any children, and at the time of her death her nearest relative was Mrs. Hanshew, a niece, who was the only child of Mrs. Fritchie's sister, and had lived with Mrs. Fritchie

many years.

Her personal appearance has been described by her old friend Henry M. Nixdorff, of Frederick, as being slight in figure and scarcely of medium height, weighing not over one hundred and fifteen pounds, with eyes that were small but penetrating and keen; with hair that was dark in early life, but gray towards its end. She generally wore, when not at work, a black satin gown with a clear starched muslin kerchief crossed over her breast, and a close white cap such as the old New England grandmother usually wore. The likeness of her which has become commonly known was taken when Barbara Fritchie was about seventy-six years old.

In character she was firm and decisive when she believed herself right, but at the same time was gentle and sympathetic when the occasion required. Her grand-niece writes that "as children we knew we must obey her, but loved her for her kindness."

Barbara Fritchie died on December 18th, 1862, and was buried beside her husband in the cemetery of the Evangelical Reformed Church at Frederick.

The charge that she was bedridden during the occupation of the town by the Confederates, and was therefore unable to perform any