ANDREW GREGG CURTIN, GOVERNOR of PENNSYLVANIA Rebecca Gifford Albright Chapter 1 Ante-Bellum Years

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THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN, GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA Rebecca Gifford Albright Chapter 1 Ante-Bellum Years

gregg curtin assumed the governorship of Pennsyl- vania in 1861, as the political forces which had been taking Andrewshape during the preceding decade were rising to a climax. The decade of the 185O's in Pennsylvania was marked by Democratic leadership, financial panic, and a vigorous struggle over the extension of slavery into the new territories. The interrelationship of these three factors gave impetus to the formation of the Republican Party, which elected Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency and Andrew Curtin to the Pennsylvania governorship in 1860. The Curtin inaugural address of 15 January 1861 preceded the inauguration of Lincoln by two months, and Curtin asked the advice of the President-elect in preparing the address. Lincoln advised Curtin to declare his intention of maintaining the Union at all costs and to obtain the co-operation of the State Legislature in support of the Union. The inaugural address which resulted from Lincoln's advice placed Pennsylvania's governor clearly within the Union camp :"No part of the people, no State, nor combination of States, can voluntarily secede from the Union, nor absolve themselves from the obli- gations of it."l The issue to which Curtin referred inhis inaugural had developed Miss Albright, now Mrs. WilliamMcLay, a member of the faculty of the Ellis School, prepared this study as part of a tutorial in history at Chatham College in1963.—Ed. 1 Reed, ed., The Pennsylvania Archives, Ser. 4, VIII(Harrisburg: 1902), 336; A. McClure, Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: 1905), I, 448; The New York Tribune, 16 Jan. 1861, 8; W. H. Russell, "A Biography of Alexander K. McClure" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, 1954), 221; R. P. Basler, ed., Abraham Lincoln Collected Works (New Brunswick, 1953), IV, 158; Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln, the War Years (New York, 1939), I, 53; W. S. Hesseltine, Lincoln and the War Governors (New York: 1948), 122-123. While the passage quoted appears to be a decisive commitment, at least two historians, WilliamHesseltine and WilliamRussell, have criticized Curtin's address as ambiguous. 324 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER into a national controversy during the decade of the 185O's. During this period, Pennsylvania experienced the phenomena which led to the separation of the Union:2 intensification of the slavery issue and the growth of economic sectionalism. Pennsylvania politics in the late 1850's were closely related to national politics, particularly during the administration of Pennsylvania's only President, Democrat James Buchanan. When Buchanan was elected in 1856, he received Pennsylvania's twenty-seven electoral votes and was admired and respected in his home state. 3 Unfortunately for the Democrats, however, the Buchanan administration fellheir to increasing dissatisfaction with the Kansas- Nebraska Act, passed during the administration of Franklin Pierce (1853-1857). The issue of extending slavery into the territories gave rise to a new political movement which was destined to defeat the Democratic Party, not only in Pennsylvania elections, but in national elections as well. The national Republican Party, founded in Jackson, Michigan, in 1854, began as a loose coalition of diverse elements, united only intheir opposition to the extension of slavery into the territories. 4 As strong enemies of disunion, the Republicans did not wish to alienate the South by advocating abolition. Inthe 1850's, loyalty to a national Republican movement was not as pronounced as loyalty to state organizations based on "free principles." In fact, the name "Republican" was not adopted by several of the state groups, including the Pennsylvania Union Party. The Pennsylvanians hesitated throughout the War to assign the name "Republican" to their party and alternated between "Union Party" and "People's Party" when speaking of the Pennsyl- vania Republicans. Like the national Republican Party, the Union Party of Pennsylvania encompassed a number of diverse political elements: Whigs, Anti-Masons, Know-Nothings, Free-Soilers, and dissatisfied Democrats. 5 2 J. G. Randall and D. Donald, Civil War and Reconstruction (Boston, 1961), 79. 3 R. F.Nichols, The Disruption of American Democracy (New York, 1948), 47; W. F.Dunaway, A History of Pennsylvania (New York, 1946), 489. 4 E. B. Cale, "Editorial Sentiment in Pennsylvania in the Campaign of 1860," Pennsylvania History, IV (Oct. 1937), 231; A. C. Cole, The Irrepressible Conflict, 1850-1865 (New York, 1934), 273; C. Rossiter, Parties and Politics in America (Ithaca: 1960), 78, 142; A. K. McClure, Life and Services of Andrew G. Curtin (Harrisburg, 1895), 12. 5 S. L.Davis, Pennsylvania Politics, 1860-1863 (Cleveland, 1935), 19; Dun- away, 484, 490 ;T. S. Goas, "The Contribution of Andrew Gregg Curtin to the Union Cause inthe CivilWar" (unpublished M.A. thesis, Pennsylvania State College, 1933), 7; R. H. Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise 1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 325

Pennsylvanians officially entered the Republican movement by joining Republicans from most of the Northern states inPittsburgh on 22 February 1856. The Pittsburgh Convention resulted in the organization of a national party and the calling of a nominating convention in June, to be held in Philadelphia. 6 When the Republicans met in Philadelphia, they decided upon John C. Fremont as their presidential candidate. Among those who left the Democratic Party at this time were Pennsylvania's leading congressmen, David Wilmot and Galusha Grow.7 Despite the Republican efforts to winthe votes of Pennsylvania through buying the support of her newspapers, 8 Pennsylvania went for Buchanan in 1856. The defeat of 1856 taught the Republicans a valuable lesson in organization, however, and they approached the 1860 presidential elections withgrowing confidence. 9 An increase in economic sectionalism was apparent in Pennsyl- vania in the period of the 1850's. The state was divided into eastern, central, and western sections on the basis of both social and economic interests. 10 The population of nearly three million included such groups as the Quakers and the Pennsylvania Germans, who opposed the use of coercion almost as much as they objected to slavery. Eco- nomically, Pennsylvania was divided into agricultural, transportation, and manufacturing interests, each of which made demands on the state and national administrations. As the Ante-Bellum period reached its climax, Pennsylvania Democrats split between President James Buchanan and Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas. In 1858, Buchanan submitted to Congress the Lecompton Constitution calling for the admission of Kansas as a slave state. The Act precipitated a feud with Douglas and his supporters which was to cost the Democratic Party its unity in the coming presidential election. The split of Pennsylvania Democrats between

to the Presidency," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LXVII(Jan. 1943), 62. 6 Hesseltine, 9; McClure, Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania, I, 247; R. H. Luthin, "Abraham Lincoln Becomes a Republican," Political Science Quarterly, LIX (Sept. 1944), 428. Although there was no regular Republican organization in Pennsylvania before 1856, a local Republican movement had begun in the counties to the west and north of Philadelphia as early as November, 1854. Davis, 18; Dunaway, 483. 7 Dunaway, 483-484. 8 R. F. Nichols, "Some Problems of the First Republican Presidential Cam- paign," American Historical Review, XXVIII(Apr. 1923), 495. 9 Davis, 32;Hesseltine, 10. 10 Nichols, Disruption of American Democracy, 85. 326 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER

Buchanan and Douglas weakened the force of the Democrats and gave strength to the Republican movement. 11 The breakdown of Democratic Party strength was hastened by the financial panic of 1857, which bore heavily on the Pennsylvania manufacturers. The Republican Party benefited from the dissatisfaction with the Buchanan administration, which was blamed for the panic by the unemployed iron workers. The owners of the iron and coal in- dustries in Pennsylvania began to look to a protective tariff to bring them out of their troubles and were thus drawn to the high-tariff Republican camp. 12 Although the Democratic Party continued to lose ground in Pennsylvania after 1857, the Republican standard-bearer, David Wilmot, was defeated by William F.Packer in the 1857 gubernatorial election. Wilmot's candidacy in 1857 was regarded as a necessary sacrifice of immediate victory in the hope of winningin 1860. Wilmot's selection clearly indicated the anti-slavery sentiments of his party, as against the pro-slavery position of the Democrats. Itwas not Wilmot's position on slavery, but rather his record in favor of the low tariff of 1846 which lost the election in 1857. But at least the slavery issue had been placed before Pennsylvania voters by the Republican Party.13 The Pennsylvania election results of 1858 and 1859 foreshadowed the downfall of the Democrats in 1860. In 1858, all but a handful of the Democratic candidates for Congress were defeated by the Union Party. In addition, the Union or People's Party elected a Supreme Court judge, a canal commissioner, and a majority of the state House of Representatives. 14 In 1859, the People's Party in Pennsylvania won a sweeping victory after agreeing to postpone their differences in uniting against the Democratic candidates. 15 The climax of the political and economic developments of the 1850's placed Andrew Gregg Curtin at the head of the People's Party inPennsylvania in the election of 1860. As Governor of Pennsylvania, 11 W.H. Egle, ed., Andrew Gregg Curtin :His Life and Services (Philadelphia : 1895), 35; Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency," 62 ;Goas, 7 ;Randall and Donald, 102. 12 Hesseltine, 12; Cole, 33, 277; Nichols, Disruption of American Democracy, 204, 345. 13 Hesseltine, loc. cit.; McClure, Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania, I, 301. 14 McClure, Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania, I, 345-346, 352. Nichols says four of fifteen Democrats were elected, Cole writes that all but three Democrats were defeated. Nichols, Disruption of American Democracy, 219; Cole, 277. 15 Davis, 15. 1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 327

Andrew Curtin guided the Keystone State through one of the most critical periods of her history. The firstof seven children, Andrew Curtin was born inBellefonte, Pennsylvania, on 22 April1815, to Roland Curtin and his wife, Jane Gregg. 16 Roland Curtin, an Irish immigrant, had settled in the Bald Eagle Valley of Pennsylvania around 1800 and had become a well-to- do iron manufacturer within a few years. His second wife, Jane Gregg, was the daughter of Andrew Gregg, prominent Pennsylvania politician and Federalist nominee for governor in 1823. The education of Andrew Curtin was begun under a number of teachers, including a Mr.Brown17 of Bellefonte, John M. Keagy of Harrisburg, and the Rev. Dr.David Kirkpatrick of Milton Academy. Curtin entered the law office of William W. Potter, of Bellefonte, and furthered his legal training under Judge John Reed of Dickinson Law School. Although Curtin's biographers cite these educational experi- ences of Curtin, no indication that he received a degree from any of them has been found. Once again in Bellefonte, Andrew G. Curtin became a partner of John Blanchard and was admitted to the Centre County Bar in1839. 18 In May 1844, Curtin married Catherine Irvine Wilson, daughter of a prominent Centre County doctor, William J. Wilson. The Curtins had four daughters, Mary, Jane, Martha, and Catherine, and one son, William. Littlehas been written of the private life of the Curtin family, although itis known that the children accompanied their par- ents when Andrew Curtin was minister to Russia in 1868. When the Curtins were not in Harrisburg or Russia, they lived in an imposing house on the main street of Bellefonte. Apparently the Curtin financial holdings were substantial. Although his father's estate had been divided among seven children, Andrew Cur tin's estate in 1893 was esti-

16 J. B. Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania (Phila- delphia, 1883), 187. Linn says Curtin was one of five children of Roland Curtin's second marriage. The Pittsburgh Post, 8 Oct. 1894, 1, as well as other obituaries, says Curtin was one of seven children. In any case, the number of children fathered by Roland Curtin has been open to question. Hugh Manchester, Bellefonte historian, in a personal interview with the author, 18 Aug. 1962. Of the two dates usually given for Curtin's birth, 23 April 1817, and 23 April 1815, the author has chosen the latter on the basis of the inscription on Curtin's tombstone. 17 Mr.Brown's first name has not been found. 18 Little is known of the details of Curtin's law career. He has been described as a "modest lawyer inBellefonte" in Twentieth Century Bench and Bar of Pennsylvania (Chicago, 1903), II, 1023. Dunaway, 495, writes that Curtin rose rapidly inhis profession and was regarded as one of the leading members of the Pennsylvania Bar. 328 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER mated at about $250,000. His business interests included two banks, the First National Bank of Bellefonte and the local firm of Humes, McAllister,Hale and Company. The Bald Eagle Valley Railroad was another of his business investments. On his return from Russia in 1872, Curtin attended the Pennsyl- vania Constitutional Convention of 1872. His party allegiance changed between 1872 and 1878, when he declared himself a Democrat, proba- bly because of his disapproval of the policies of the Grant administration. Curtin's last term in public office was as a member of the U. S. Congress from 1881 to 1887. Death came to the War Governor on 7 October 1894. 19 Andrew Curtin was not a newcomer to Pennsylvania politics in 1860. As early as 1840, the Whig Party had enlisted the help of the young Bellefonte lawyer, who stumped the state on public speaking trips in1840 in behalf of William Henry Harrison, and again in 1844 in behalf of Henry Clay. In the 1844 campaign, Curtin spoke in nearly every county for Clay. The electoral tickets of 1848 and 1852 carried the name of Andrew Curtin, who spoke throughout the state for Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. 20 Curtin's speaking experience was to prove beneficial in later campaigns, for the lawyer from Bellefonte became known throughout the state for his effectiveness as a campaigner, his genial personality, and his organizational ability.21 Despite his defeat by William F. Packer for the State Senate in 1849, Andrew Curtin continued to gain political prominence. The gubernatorial campaign of 1854 afforded further opportunity for Curtin to display his organizational ability. Having declined to seek the nomination, Curtin served as campaign manager for the Whig candidate, James Pollock. Appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth under Pollock,22 Curtin made one of his most lasting contributions to 19 Most of the biographical data about Curtin is drawn from the following sources :Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph, 8 Oct. 1894, 1;Pittsburgh Dis- patch, 8 Oct. 1894, 1; Pittsburgh Post, 8 Oct. 1894, 1; Egle, 23-28; Mc- Clure, Life and Services of Andrew Gregg Curtin, 21-22; Linn, 173, 187; "A.G. Curtin," Encyclopedia of Contemporary Biography of Pennsylvania, III,12-16 ;"Andrew G. Curtin," National Cyclopedia of American Biogra- phy, XXIV,412-413 ; "Andrew Gregg Curtin," A Biographical Alburn^ of Prominent Pennsylvanians, Ser. I, Vol.I, 61-67; "Andrew Gregg Curtin," Dictionary of American Biography, IV,606-608. 20 W. C. Armor, Lives of the Governors of Pennsylvania from 1609 to 1873 (Philadelphia, 1873), 452; Dunaway, 472-473, 497; Egle, 28-29; National Cyclopedia of American Biography, XXIV,412. 21 Davis, 54;Hesseltine, 32. 22 Egle, 29; McClure, The Life and Services of Andrew G. Curtin, 11;V. M. Dimmick, Jr., "The Life and Political Evolution of a Governor" (under- graduate thesis at Albright College), reprinted in the Centre Daily Times, May 16, 1962. 1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 329

Pennsylvania, the establishment of the Normal School System. Curtin was assisted by his deputy secretary, Henry C. Hickock, who contributed much to the improvement of Pennsylvania's public school system. 23 The years 1854-55 witnessed a bitter political struggle between Andrew Curtin and Simon Cameron for the U.S. Senate. Cameron, an anti-slavery Democrat, had entered the U.S. Senate in 1845 but was defeated for re-election in 1849. Before the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, the State Legislature was responsi- ble for the election of U. S. Senators. Curtin had been urged to run against Cameron for the Senate during the 1854 legislative session, which ended in a stalemate and adjourned sine die. 24 When the American Party caucus met again in February, 1855, Cameron was selected over Curtin on the sixth ballot. 25 Although little is known of the reasons for the bitterness engendered in the 1855 contest, the antagonism created in the course of the election divided Pennsylvania politics for a generation. 26 The bitterness of the Cameron and Curtin factions was particular- lynoticeable in the gubernatorial and presidential campaigns of 1860 ; Curtin's candidacy for the People's Party gubernatorial nomination was opposed by Cameron, while Cameron's candidacy for the Republi- can presidential nomination was opposed by Curtin. In the months preceding the People's Party convention, the Cameron forces were working feverishly to secure the nomination of "Honest John" Covode, the Westmoreland County Congressman who had gained widespread recognition as the author of the report of an investigation of the movement against a free Kansas. That Covode had the backing of at least three Pennsylvania newspapers in 1860 can be seen in the letters sent to Covode from newspaper editors. Russell Errett of the Pittsburgh Gazette wrote to Covode from Harrisburg : Had you not better show Gen. Cameron that letter you had with you when in Pittsburgh about that secret arrangement for nominating Curtin? The Gen. has been told of it but does not seem to believe it.27

23 Ibid. 24 Davis, 16; A.H. Meneely, War Department: 1861 (New York, 1928), 81. 25 L.F. Crippen, Simon Cameron, Ante-Bellum Years (Oxford, O., 1942), 140. "Simon Cameron," Dictionary of American Biography, III,438. The author writes that Cameron failed to be elected to the Senate in 1855 but was returned to the Senate in1857. 26 Ibid., 141;Hesseltine, 31;Egle, 31. 27 Russell Errett, Harrisburg, 8 Jan. 1860, letter to John Covode. John Covode mss., Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. 330 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER

James Brisbin, the owner of three Centre County papers, was working for Covode in Curtin's own county and wrote several letters to Covode prior to the state People's Convention. In one such letter, Brisbin wrote: "The Democrat [Centre Democrat] willbe all right for Covode provided he acts the man with the proprietor." 28 Covode had stillanother journalist on his side in 1860. Even after Curtin had won the nomination, William H. Painter of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote to Covode, inviting him to speak in Philadelphia. Painter's activity in Covode's behalf became even more vigorous in the 1863 campaign. 29 The People's Party of Pennsylvania convened in Harrisburg on 22 February 1860. From the beginning, two factions were evident: the Cameron forces and their Curtin rivals. The two groups first locked horns over the selection of a presiding officer and the appointment of committees. Another problem arose over the selection of delegates to the Chicago Convention. Cameron wanted a united delegation to support him for the presidential nomination at Chicago and argued that all Pennsylvania's delegates should be chosen at the Harrisburg Convention. Curtin's close friend and political adviser, journalist and State Senator Alexander McClure, wanted to let each district select its own delegates but recommend that they support Cameron. The two forces reached a compromise, whereby the Harris- burg delegates were to decide whether to have the convention de- termine the delegates or to let the people of each district select them. 30 This compromise resulted in a divided delegation when the Pennsyl- vanians met in Chicago. The nomination of a gubernatorial candidate was the next order of business for the Harrisburg gathering. Curtin had the pledged support of about eighty of the convention's one hundred thirty-three delegates, but the Cameron-Covode men had won over a number of Curtin's supporters. Only after compromising on the selection of delegates to Chicago did Curtin win the nomination on the second ballot. 31 The convention at Harrisburg resolved to support Cameron at Chicago and adopted a platform denouncing the Buchanan administra- 28 James W. Brisbin, Bellefonte, 28 Nov. 1859, letter to John Covode. Ibid. 29 William H. Painter, West Chester, 21 Aug. 1860, letter to John Covode. 30 Russell, 149; McClure, Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania, I, 395-396; New York Tribune, 23 Feb. 1860, 5; Ibid., 24 Feb. 1860, 5. 31 Hesseltine, 32; Crippen, 201; Davis, 54, 56; McClure, Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania, I, 392, 398. The New York Tribune reported that Curtin won on the third ballot. McClure did not like the Tribune account of the convention, so he wrote his own account, published inthe Tribune onMarch 7, 1860. The New York Tribune, 24 Feb. 1860, 5 (Russell, 151). 1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 331

tion, opposing the institution of slavery, sustaining states' rights, and advocating the Homestead Act.32 The Republican National Convention assembled in May 1860, in Chicago. Neither Curtin nor McClure was a delegate, but both attended as non-voting participants. As chairman of the State Committee and Curtin's campaign manager, McClure was vitally interested in the Chicago proceedings. The Chicago delegates seemed to favor William H.Seward of New York,but neither Curtin nor Indiana's candidate for governor, Henry Lane, wanted to see Seward win the nomination. Curtin especially feared that Seward's conciliatory attitude toward parochial schools in New York would alienate Pennsylvania's anti- Catholic Americans. 33 Not only did Curtin oppose Simon Cameron for President ;there was little enthusiasm for Cameron outside the Pennsylvania delegation. Itwas felt that Cameron did not reflect the majority opinion on the extension of slavery, while his stand on the tariff was important only to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 34 After giving Cameron a token vote on the first ballot, Pennsylvania's delegation threw its support to the Illinois lawyer, Abraham Lincoln. 35 Just how much Andrew Curtin himself had to do with Lincoln's nomination is uncertain. It was generally agreed that the nominee would have to carry Pennsylvania in November, 36 and because Curtin and Lane were convinced that if Seward were nominated the Republi- cans would lose both state and national elections, they threw their weight to Lincoln. 37 32 The New York Tribune, 24 Feb. 1860, 5. 33 Russell, 161; Hesseltine, 57; Goas, 8; New York Tribune, 18 May 1860, 4; Egle, 36-37; Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presi- dency," 68. 34 Ibid., 67. 35 Davis, 103. Most historians agree that Cameron was promised a cabinet position ifLincoln were elected, but McClure denies that this was a factor in Pennsylvania's vote for Lincoln. Russell, 162; Hesseltine, 58; Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency," 70. 36 Nichols, 341; J. G. Randall, Lincoln the President (New York, 1945-55) I,159-160. 37 Davis, 103; A. K. McClure, Abraham Lincoln and Men of War Times (Philadelphia, 1892), 251; Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency," 68-69; New York Tribune, 17 May 1860, 5; Ibid., 22 May 1860, 4. Horace Greeley, who also opposed Seward, wrote :"Ifyou had seen the Pennsylvania delegation and known how much money Weed had inhand, you would not have believed we could do so well. Give Curtin thanks for that." Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presi- dency," as quoted from Pike, The First Blows of the Civil War, 520. Lincoln's biographers indicate that Curtin played an active role in blocking Lincoln's rivals, but neither the extent nor the nature of his methods has been ascertained. 332 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER

The 1860 Republican Platform denounced slavery, called for free lands in the West and a Pacific railroad, and advocated an agricultural education act. 38 To woo Pennsylvania manufacturers, the Republicans inserted a plank calling for a high protective tariff.39 The 1860 campaign in the Keystone State was characterized by factionalism within Republican ranks. The Douglas and Breckinridge Democrats had united long enough to nominate Henry D. Foster, one of Pennsylvania's best trial lawyers, for governor, but the Republicans continued to feud.40 People's Party chairman Alexander McClure sought financial aid from Philadelphia and New York. Unfortunately for Curtin, the moneyed interests who feared loss of markets and repudiation of Southern debts in the event of war declined to contribute, as did Weed and Seward's New York organization, still smarting from their rebuff at Chicago. 41 In addition to Curtin's strenuous speaking tour of the state, 42 the People's Party enlisted the aid of lecturers Bayard Taylor 43 and Carl Schurz. Schurz, a leading German campaigner for Lincoln,may have been expected to attract the Pennsylvania German vote. What the People's Party had not counted on, however, was Schurz's billfor $600 in payment for his appearances. 4K The gubernatorial contest in Pennsylvania was fought chiefly on national rather than local issues. 45 While the Republican tariff plank was exploited to the fullest, the issue of slavery was only secondary in Pennsylvania. Although the majority of Pennsylvanians opposed slavery, they maintained a cautious attitude toward abolition. 46 Most historians agree that the Republican tariff stand won the

38 New York Tribune, 18 May 1860, 5 ;Hesseltine, 56. 39 Davis, 106; Luthin, "Abraham Lincoln and the Tariff/* American Historical Review, XLIX (July 1944), 613; Hesseltine, 63. 40 Ibid., 88; Russell, 168-170; Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency," 73; Davis, 115. 41 Davis, 115, 117. New York did give $5,000 to aid congressional candidates. Russell, 163 ;Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency," 78; Hesseltine, 87, 89-90. Egle disagreed with the above view: "There seems to be little if any foundation for McClure's claim that he received no aid from the Republican National Committee." Egle, 106. 42 Hesseltine, 90; Russell, 181; Egle, 38. 43 G. A. Cardwell, "Bayard Taylor Campaigns for Lincoln," Pennsylvania History, XXVIII(Oct. 1951), 307. 44 Russell, 172; Crippen, 222; Joseph Shafer, "Who Elected Lincoln?", Ameri- can HistoricalReview, XLVII(Oct. 1941), 51. 45 M. R. Eiselin, The Rise of Pennsylvania Protectionism (Philadelphia, 1932), 263. 46 Dunaway, 474, 494; Davis, 9. 1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 333

Pennsylvania election. 47 Curtin, himself closely associated with the iron industry, spoke most frequently about the tariff,48 appealing to the traditionally protectionist Pennsylvanians. Outside Pennsylvania, the tariff was less important as a campaign issue, and between the state elections in October and the national election in November, the tariff was less hotly debated. 49 Pennsylvania, one of the "October states," chose its governor a month before the presidential election. As the trend of the October election in Pennsylvania was usually an index to the November results, Lincoln watched the Keystone State carefully. Curtin's margin of 32,000 over Foster placed Pennsylvania in the Republican column for November and was seen as a triumph for Lincoln and for protection. 50 Pennsylvania gave Lincoln a majority of 60,000 in November, assuring him its crucial twenty-seven electoral votes. As to the im- portance of the Keystone State in 1860, Luthin writes :"Pennsylvania's action did more than any single thing to tip the scales in favor of Lincoln." 5 1 Luthin's view is shared by Allan Nevins, who writes : To a great degree, the state campaigns carried the national ticket, and the combined effort of the future governors made Lincoln President. 52

Chapter 2 Pennsylvania's Politicos Andrew Gregg Curtin's record as Pennsylvania's "War Gover- nor" is one of outstanding achievement in civil as well as military

47 Dunaway, 484-485; Hesseltine, 94; Luthin, "Abraham Lincoln and the Tariff" 613, 620, 622; R. Hofstadter, "The Tariff and the Civil War," American Historical Review, XLIV (Oct. 1938), 50; Davis, 4; Cale, 220-221. 48 Luthin, "Abraham Lincoln and the Tariff," 621;Davis, 3 ;Luthin, "Penn- sylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency," 78. 49 Cale, 231n; Hofstadter, 54. 50 Eiselin, 264. 51 Luthin, "Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency," 71. 52 A.Nevins, The Emergence of Lincoln (New York, 1950), II,299. 334 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER activity. 1 However, itis doubtful that Curtin could have achieved dis- tinction as Pennsylvania's great wartime administrator without the aid of a competent staff of civiland military personnel. Inaddition, political circumstances required that the Governor have at his disposal a few trusted persons on whom he could rely not only for advice, but also for effective political action. Andrew Curtin wisely utilized the talents of such men and was perhaps more dependent on his official staff and political friends than were other governors, for two reasons. First, Curtin suffered a severe physical breakdown near the end of his first term of office. Throughout his second term (1862-67), the Governor was obliged to take leave of his executive duties for the restoration of his health. These absences increased the burdens of the Governor's staff, who appear to have carried them efficiently.2 The second reason for Curtin's reliance on sound advice and effective political activity was the twofold political opposition which confronted him. Not only did the Curtin forces have to combat the Cameron faction of Pennsylvania Republicans ;they were also placed in a difficult position in the rise of Democratic strength following the 1862 elections. 3 For these reasons, the talents of persuasive speakers with wide political experience were needed to carry the Governor's program through the state and national legislative bodies. Such a person was Alexander K. McClure. Colonel McClure is outstanding for his role in establishing the political contacts which enabled Andrew Curtin to realize his political ambitions. Having successfully managed the 1860 People's Party Campaign inPennsylvania, 4 McClure returned to his seat in the State Senate, where he became the leading advocate of the Curtin program. 5 Inaddition to his role as one of the Senate's most outspoken members, McClure served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, was a member of the Committee of Public Printing and Militia,and in 1862 was supervisor of the state draft.6 Perhaps even 1 See chapter four, infra., for discussion of Curtin's efforts in behalf of the Union Army ingeneral and Pennsylvania soldiers in particular. 2 W. H. Russell, "A Biography of Alexander K. McClure" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1954) , 243 ; A. K.McClure, Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1905), I, 442. 3 For a discussion of political campaigns and election results, see chapter three, infra. 4 Supra., 13. 5 "Alexander Kelly McClure," Dictionary of American Biography, XI, 593. 6 Infra.; Ibid.; Russell, 152-3; T. S. Goas, "The Contribution of Andrew Gregg Curtin to the Union Cause in the Civil War" (unpublished M.A. thesis, Pennsylvania State College, 1933), 24; "A. K. McClure," Prominent and Progressive Pennsylvanians of the Nineteenth Century, I, \NDRKW GREGG CURTIX I860

1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 335 more important than these official roles was his unofficial position as liaison between Andrew Curtin and the Lincoln administration. McClure apparently had a knack for establishing direct channels, often conferring with the President and key public officials. The fact that McClure had a controlling interest in the Franklin Repository, a weekly newspaper printed in Chambersburg, explains that newspaper's position as the mouthpiece of the Curtin administration. 7 Finally, the key role played by Alexander McClure in the political activity of Andrew Curtin may be both a cause and a result of his close personal friendship with the Governor. McClure not only accompanied Curtin on his numerous trips to Washington; he also joined his friend Andy on unofficial journeys such as the one to New York which the latter was obliged to take for medical reasons. 8 Another of Curtin's staff members was Matthew S. Quay, destined to become one of Pennsylvania's most powerful politicians. At Curtin's urging, Governor Pollock had appointed Quay prothono- tary ofBeaver County in1855. Having won Curtin's confidence by his activity in the 1860 gubernatorial campaign, Quay was appointed personal secretary to Curtin in 1861. In this position, he demonstrated unusual efficiency in answering all of the Governor's correspondence and issuing military commissions. Eager to participate in the fighting, Quay resigned his desk position to join McClellan's Army as Colonel of the 134th Pennsylvania inAugust 1862. Typhoid fever struck down the young colonel after the Battle of Antietam in September, but he believed himself well enough to participate inthe Battle of Fredericks- burg inDecember 1862, saying, "I'drather die like a fool than live like a coward." 9 For his action at Fredericksburg, Quay was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. From Fredericksburg, Matthew Quay went to Washington to serve as Pennsylvania's State Military Agent. While in Washington, the scholarly ex-soldier performed a vital function as Curtin's representative to the soldiers whose grievances he tried to remove. Near the end of the War, Curtin recalled Quay to 322; J. C. Andrews, "Pennsylvania Civil War Press," Pennsylvania History, IX (Jan. 1942), 25. 7 Russell, 295 ;Andrews, 24-25. 8 Russell, 283-284, 249. Evidence ofMcClure's high regard for Curtin is to be found inthe dedications to Curtin of several of McClure's publications, and in his tributes to the Governor in all of these works. 9 J. W. Oliver, "Matthew Stanley Quay," The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, XVII(Mar. 1934), 1-12. Ina letter published in the Harrisburg Telegraph, 10 Feb. 1863, 2, Quay's commanding officer at Fredericksburg, E. B. Tyler, praised Quay's "prompt and unceasing efforts coupled with a cool determination." 336 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER

Harrisburg as military secretary and master of transportation and telegraphing, an appointment to which Quay apparently objected. After the war, Quay endorsed Cameron over Curtin for the Senate, but he did not hesitate to call on the War Governor for help in advancing his own political career in Pennsylvania. 10 Inselecting his cabinet, 11 the Governor was obliged to compromise with the Cameron faction in the appointment of an Attorney General. Unable to appoint his choice, Darwin Finney, until the conclusion of Finney's term in the Senate, Curtin accepted a compromise solution. Samuel A.Purviance, a Cameronite, was appointed Attorney General with the understanding that he would resign infavor of Senator Finney at the end of one year. 12 When the time arrived for the Attorney General's resignation, Purviance refused to give up his job, partly because the law partnership he had hoped to enter had failed to materialize, and he had no position to assume. When Curtin demanded a resignation, Purviance responded with an unexpected notice in the Harrisburg Evening Telegraph, the Cameron organ, saying that he was resigning to preserve his self-respect, thereby implying corruption in the administration. This incident, coming at a critical time in the War, could have been costly for Curtin,13 who was persuaded by Finney (his own choice) and others to seek the services of the highly respected lawyer, William M.Meredith. Meredith accepted reluctant- 10 Ibid., 2-3, 10; McClure, I, 456-460; Williamson, I,26-28; "Matthew Stanley Quay," Dictionary of American Biography, XV,296-298; Dr. James Kehl, Assistant Dean of Social Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, personal interview with the author, University of Pittsburgh, 26 Feb. 1963. Dean Kehl believes Quay was among the most important of Curtin's staff, as he was "on the firing line" between Curtin and the soldiers. Dr. Kehl has the Quay mss., which contain several telegrams from Curtin. 11 The state government of1861-65 was still functioning under the Constitution of 1838, which specifies only three executive offices : Governor, State Treasurer (elected by the legislature) and Secretary of the Common- wealth (appointed by the governor). According to the 1857 amendment, all officers not provided for in the Constitution were to be elected or appointed as directed by law. Apparently, this amendment provided the authority for Curtin's other appointments. 12 The compromise, suggested by Titian J. Coffey, would have given prestige to a proposed law partnership between Coffey and Purviance, but Coffey pulled out before the firmmaterialized. McClure, I,436-437, 514-521. 13 Ibid., L. F. Crippen, Simon Cameron, Ante-Bellum Years (Oxford, O.: Mississippi Valley Press, 1942), 224. Among the mss. of Curtin's Secretary of the Commonwealth, Eli Slifer, is a letter from a Jacob B. Frick, in which the author enclosed clippings from the [Pottsville] Miner's Journal and the Sunbury American, criticizing the Curtin administration. Frick writes:"The resignation of Purviance certainly, our people think, gives color to these charges." Jacob B. Frick, 27 May 1861, letter to EliSlifer. Slifer-DillPapers, available on microfilmfrom the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, originals in Dickinsonia Collection, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 337 ly,but once in the Attorney General's office, he served until 1867 and saved Curtin from further criticism. 14 A happier cabinet choice for Curtin was that of Eli Slifer, former State Treasurer, as Secretary of the Commonwealth. The papers of Eli Slifer contain extensive correspondence from leading Pennsylvania politicians, especially from 1850-1870. Slifer appears to have been a personal friend of both Alexander McClure and Andrew Curtin, as well as an energetic commonwealth secretary and an effective politician. The nature of the correspondence in the Slifer Mss. indicates that Slifer and McClure may have been the authors of Curtin's political strategy, and that Slifer assumed a major part of Curtin's responsibilities during the Governor's many absences from Harrisburg. In the opinion of Slifer's friend, McClure, "He was just the man to temper the impulsive qualities of Governor Curtin .... to no man was Curtin so much indebted for the eminent success of his two administrations as to Eli Slifer." 15 Although backed by a good staff of military and political advisers, Governor Curtin was faced with the difficult task of dealing with a strong-willed state legislature. Inasmuch as the People's Party had been a loosely knit group of Curtin or Cameron Republicans, former Whigs, dissatisfied Democrats, and Americans, there was little hope of commanding strict Republican Party discipline in meeting the Democratic challenge. This hope was practically extinguished in the Democratic victories of 1862. 16 Much of the legislation proposed by Curtin was enacted, either in the State Legislature or in Congress, but seldom without a struggle. The Legislature passed numerous bills in support of the Union Army and enacted welfare measures for soldiers and their families. 17 The common school system was maintained, if not greatly improved, and Curtin was gratified on the protective tariff issue by the Congressional Tariff Act of 5 August 1862. The problem of general corporation laws annoyed Curtin throughout his administration. 18 14 Ibid., 521. McClure gives this rather unusual compliment to Meredith : "...when an emergency arose requiring irregular methods to reach indis- pensable results .... he could be confidently trusted ... ." 15 Ibid., 442. It is difficult to pin down exactly how Slifer contributed to Curtin's administration. As in the case of Curtin's term in this office under Pollock, the role of Secretary of the Commonwealth appears to have been what the man chose to make of it. The actual constitutional duties of the office were little more than clerical. See Slifer-DiilPapers. 16 S. L.Davis, Pennsylvania Politics, 1860-1863 (Cleveland, Ohio, 1935), 201. 17 Chapter four, infra. 18 Curtin's official papers in the Pennsylvania Archives contain numerous messages to the legislature vetoing legislation granting charters to individual companies. 338 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER

One of the most difficult legislative struggles of the Curtin administration in 1861 was the proposed repeal of the 1846 Tonnage Tax imposed on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The tax of five mills per ton per mile was imposed on all freight carried by the Pennsylvania Railroad during the navigable seasons of the Pennsylvania Canal, and was originally intended to protect that system from the competition of the Pennsylvania Railroad. When the Pennsylvania Railroad bought the State Works in 1857, however, the tax was retained. Curtin favored repeal of the tax, but opposition to repeal was widespread. 19 Defenders of the tax argued that its repeal favored corporations, while its opponents claimed that in the end the tax burden fell upon individuals and hindered the progress of the state. After a bitter Senate debate, which ranged the Curtin forces (chiefly McClure) against the able minority group led by Senators John P. Penney and Hiester Clymer, the Senate voted to repeal the tax by a vote of eighteen to fifteen. About three-fourths of the House voted for repeal. McClure emphasizes that the repeal of the Tonnage Tax operated in favor of the individual,and that the P.R.R. would gain nothing by the repeal, but the public believed that the bill would enrich the railroad by three to four hundred thousand dollars annually. 20 The opponents of the repeal legislation rallied around William Hopkins, who was seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, and Thomas Williams in the 1862 legislative session. These two representatives charged the McClure group with corruption in passing the act, and demanded an investigation by a committee of seven, including themselves. House Speaker John Rowe, a War Democrat elected from Franklin and a friend of Curtin, appointed five other members from a list of twelve submitted to him by the P.R.R. Vice-President, Thomas A. Scott. With railroad interests well represented on the committee, the white- wash operation of McClure and Scott which occurred was practically insured. The committee's report was a summary of testimony and a condemnation of corrupt practices in legislation, but no individuals were implicated. McClure admits that "... more than questionable methods had been employed in the passage of the bill,simply because the billcould be passed inno other way." 21 As Curtin's representative 19 Curtin's own interests in manufacturing doubtless influenced his opinion as well as his association withP.R.R. Vice-President Thomas Scott. Russell, 227; Egle, 454-458; McClure, I, 485; S. R. Kamm, The Civil War Career of Thomas A. Scott (Philadelphia, 1940), 185. 20 Ibid., 485. 21Ibid., 507. McClure's account of the tactics employed by his group inavoiding testimony are interesting ifsomewhat incredible. Kamm, 185. 1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 339 in the Senate, McClure's actions may be said to speak for the Governor. Itis known that Curtin favored the bill,but how active he was in bargaining for its passage is uncertain. McClure's justification for the questionable tactics was that the Republicans involved inpass- ing the repeal could not be exposed without engendering more popular criticism of the entire Republican administration at a time when Lincoln needed all the support he could muster. Another struggle of the State Legislature was the Senate deadlock of 1864. Although the Legislature was in a position to push through bills without the veto of Curtin (who was restoring his health in Cuba), little action was taken because the Senate split, having sixteen Democrats and sixteen Republicans. The thirty-third senator, Harry White, was being held in Libby Prison. Thus, the Senate was unable to agree on a Speaker until the deadlock was broken by White's resignation and the election of a Republican successor. On his return from Cuba, Curtin was able to obtain passage of two important bills. One authorized the Governor to spend $50,000 for the establishment of homes and schools for soldiers' orphans. 22 The other billamended the State Constitution to permit absentee voting (thereby including the votes of soldiers) in all Pennsylvania elections. 23 The billproviding for the soldiers' orphans was less than Curtin wanted, but he had fought hard for this much and was lucky to get it. Although much of the Governor's legislative program dealt with military matters, these civil enactments testify to the ability of the Curtin forces in bringing the strong-willed Legislature into line. Curtin's problems in dealing with several political factions were not limited to the State Legislature ;Pennsylvania's delegation in the U.S. Congress also contained men whose political ambitions ran counter to those of the War Governor. Among the most powerful Pennsylvanians in the House were Representatives Thaddeus Stevens, William D. Kelley, John Covode, and Galusha Grow. In the Senate, Edgar Cowan and David Wilmot of Pennsylvania were among the most active members. 24 Of these leading figures, only Grow and Wilmot could be enlisted on Curtin's side. 25 22 The $50,000 was a grant from the P.R.R., possibly in return for the repeal of the Tonnage Tax. 23 Chapter three, infra. 24 J. G. Randall, Civil War and Reconstruction (New York, 1937), 362; A. Nevins, War Becomes Revolution, Vol. IIof The War for the Union (New York, 1960), 190. 25 "David Wilmot," Dictionary of American Biography, XX, 317; "Galusha Aaron Grow," Dictionary of American Biography, VIII,30-31 ;A.Nevins, 340 REBECCA GIFFORD ALBRIGHT OCTOBER

Andrew Curtin wanted two things from Congress: a protective tariff and wholehearted support of President Lincoln. Congress gave Pennsylvania its high tariff in the Act of 5 August 1861. 26 Two addi- tional acts,. the MorrillAct of 1862 and the Homestead Act (fathered by Pennsylvania's Galusha Grow), were not repugnant to the Governor. On the issue of the —Lincoln administration of the War, however, three Pennsylvanians— Thaddeus Stevens, Edgar Cowan and John Covode frustrated Curtin's desire to insure moderation in the conduct of the War. Thaddeus Stevens wielded tremendous power as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. A member of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Stevens was sharply critical of Lincoln's policies. As a bitter antagonist of the South, Stevens advocated confiscation of rebel property, emancipation of their slaves and drastic punishment of treason. 27 John Covode, who had lost the People's Party nomination to Curtin in 1861, was also a member of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War until the expiration of his term in 1863. Covode, too, was critical of Lincoln's policy, but there is some disagreement as to the extent of his radical- ism.28 The Cameron forces of the Pennsylvania Legislature had suc- ceeded in electing Edgar Cowan of Westmoreland County to fillthe Senate seat vacated by William Bigler in 1861. 29 Although a radical Republican, 30 Cowan defended Senator Jesse Bright of Indiana in defiance of the instruction of the Pennsylvania Senate to vote for the expulsion of Bright on charges of disloyalty to the Union.31 Although

The Improvised War, Vol. Iof The War for the Union (New York, 1960), 180. Stanton Davis, 163, speaks of Wilmot as a radical but a Curtin man. Wilmot assumed the seat vacated by Simon Cameron, serving the short term 1861-63. Grow, Wilmot's law partner, was Speaker of the House in1861, but his district defeated him in1862. 26 Randall, 376. 27 Nevins, The Improvised War of The War for the Union, I, 182; Nevins, War Becomes Revolution, 204; Randall, 371; Margaret Leech, Reveille in Washington (New York, 1941), 87, 169, 249, 454; J. A. Woodburn, "The Attitude of Thaddeus Stevens Toward the Conduct of the Civil War," American Historical Review, XII(Apr. 1907), 567-583. 28 A. J. Dodds, "Honest John Covode" (unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 1933), 32. Dodds describes Covode as a radical, but R. B. Cotterill in "John Covode," Dictionary of American Biography, IV, 470, characterizes Covode as a strong supporter of Lincoln. 29 At the time of the election, Cowan ran against Wilmot but Cameron's resignation created a second vacancy. 30 Stanton Davis, 163 ;McClure, I, 443. 31 "Edgar Cowan," Dictionary of American Biography, IV, 471; Clifford Garrett Dickson, "Edgar Cowan" (unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 1936), 31. 1964 THE CIVIL WAR CAREER OF ANDREW GREGG CURTIN 341

Curtin doubtless exerted influence on some of Pennsylvania's Con- gressional delegation, 32 he seems to have been powerless to curb the defiant Pennsylvanians — Stevens, Cowan and Covode.

[To be continued]

32 Russell, 230, indicates that Curtin and McClure wrote to Congressmen Mc- Pherson and Fessenden, urging them to vote for the tariff in 1861.