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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 20, 1963)
MONDAY. MAY 20. 1963 8 B agS WAS TEE! The Fate of a 'Peace Democrat' MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON jL V J. JJ 1 V V ji I w J! By MERTON T. AKERS UPI Corroipondent The war correspondents stood by and took notes as Union Maj. Gen. William s. Roseorans and Clement L. VallandiKham coni rontcd each other at Murfrcesboro, Tenn., one day in May, 1863. Vallandigham recorded their conversations like this: Rosecrans (ending a lec ture): "Why sir, do you know that unless I protect you with a guard my soldiers will tear you to peices in an instant?" Vallandigham: "That sir, is because they are Just as ig norant of my character, as yourself. But, General, I have a proposition to make. Draw your soldiers up in a hollow snuare tomorrow morning, and announce to them that Vallindigham desires to vin dicate himself, and I will guarantee that when they have heard me through they will be no more willing to tear Lincoln or yourself to peices than they will Vallan digham." Hanging Threatened . . . The correspondents report ed that Roriecrans added at this point: "Vallandigham,' don't you ; ever come back here. If you do, Vallandigham, I'll be God damned, and may God for give me for the expression -I'll be God damned If I don't hang you." The correspondents added a line of their own. "The general claims he 'never blasphemes, but some times swears.' " The next morning a squad of Union soldiers escorted Vallandigham to the Confed erate lines. They galloped away as the Confederate pick et - a private - hesitated about what to do with his un usual prisoner. Turning Vallundigham over to the reluctant Confederates was President Lincoln's solu. tion to a problem that was getting too hot to handle. Vallandigham was a Demo, crat - an especially vocifer ous member of the Peace wing of the party. His faction wanted to end the Civil War at almost any price, even if It meant giving the Confeder acy its freedom. In 1863 and thereafter for the rest of the war the Peace Democrats skated close to treason, with Vallandigham in the forefront. He had been a member of the U. S. House of Repre sentatives from Ohio and a leader of the opposition to Lincoln and the. administra tion but had been defeated in the elections of 1 802. Defeat slowed him down not a whit. In the lame duck Congress early in 1863 he told the House that rather than aid the Northern war effort "I had rather my right arm were plucked from, its socket, and cast into eternal burnings.". Most Theatrical Vallandigham was the most theatrical of the Peace Dem ocrats and commanded a small but noisy following. In 1863 he was 43 years old. handsome and a speaker of considerable power. In Con gress he refused to vote mon ey or men for the war, claim ing coercing a state back into the Union was unconstitution al. The Emancipation procla mation was the last straw I for the Ohioan. Now the war was being waged solely to free the slaves, he contended After a speech-making tour on the way home from Con gress, he scheduled an address for May 1 in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, were the Peace Demo, crats were strong. "It was a proud and glori ous day for the faithful and unconquerable Democracy of old Knox (county)," the Mt. Vernon Democratic Banner reported. "... a profusion of butternuts and Liberty copperhead pins, Union badges, and other appropri ate emblems of Liberty and Union also were distinguish able." (Copperhead pins were the Liberty emblem cut from copper cents and worn in the lapel by Peace Democrats and other opponents of the war. - from that came the name Copperhead which was applied to all opponents of the war, Democrats or not. The venomous snake of the same name did not figure in the orgin of the term but soon was applied to wearers of the pin). Preceded by Parade The speechmaking was pre ceded by a parade "four to five miles in length, and was over tw hours passing any one point," the newspaper re ported. . ( "One of the most noticeable and pleasing incidents of the procession and meeting, was a very large wagon drawn by six horses '. . . containing thirty - four young ladies rep resenting the thirty - four states of the Union. The wa gon was tastefully shaded with evergreens ..." Vallandigham outdid him- ft. U W.'-f 1ST: A lm i it re mhv1i-v- if' i POLITICAL LEADER ARRESTED - Clem ent L. Vallandigham was a member of the Peace Wing of the Democratic Party who had been defeated in the elections of 1862. He and his group came to favor at the end of the Civil War, even if it meant recogniz ing the Confederacy. On May 5, 1863, to back up an order by Gen, Ambrose Burn side, Vallandigham was arrested in his home at Dayton, Ohio. He was tried and sentenced to imprisonment for the duration of the war, but because: of loud protests from certain Democrats, President Lincoln had him removed from prison and turned over to the Confederates. His reception was chilly, and Vallandigham later went to Canada. He would be heard from again be fore the war was over., In this drawing, from the Library of Congress collection, the arrest of Vallandigham is depicted. (UPI) self In a two-hour oration.' He called the Washington gov. ernment despotic, charged it had rejected peace offers from the South, that is was waging war to free Negroes and enslave white men, that the President was "King Lin coln," and that no free man would submit to conscription. The crowds, described as 'acres and acres," applauded generously. Captains Took Notes Three Union army captains in plain clothing took notes and reported to. Maj.. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, now the commander of the Depart ment of Ohio since his remov al from . command of ' the Army of the Potomac after the battle of Fredericksburg. Two weeks before Burnside has issued General Order No. 38 which said "... hereafter all persons found within our lines who commit acts for the benefit of the enimies of our country will be tried as spies or traitors and if con victed will suffer death. . . treason, expressed or implied, will not be tolerated ..." About 2:30 in the morning of May ii Burnside sent a company of soldiers to Day ton, Vallandigham's home town, broke down a door of his house and arrested him. He' was quickly put on a wait ing train, sent to Cincinnati and put into military prison. . . By noon Dayton was seeth ing with Vallandigham's fol lowers. About dusk a mob of 500 to 600 attacked the offi ces o the Dayton Daily Jour nal, a Republican newspaper, shot out the windows and set it afire. The blaze spread to Leobold's . hat shop, Born- sten's Segar Store, the Gospel Herald office and Wild's liv ery stable. The mob cut fire hose: and disabled engines to slow up efforts to put out the blaze. Burnside sent more troops. They restored order and put out the fires. Vallandigham was tried by a military commission' and convicted May 16 of "public ly expressing, in violation of General Order No. 38, syma thy with those in arms against the Government of the United States, and declaring disloyal sentiments and opinions, with the object and purpose of weakening the power of the Government in its efforts to suppress an unlawful rebel lion.?' . "i ;," Writ Refused The commission .sentenced him to imprisonment for the duration of the war. His- law yers applied for a writ of hab- Robert Price Receives Pin for 50-Mile Swim Mrs. Lanell Wilkes, Jack son county Red Cross water safety chairman, was at the Medford YMCA last week to present a pin and card to Robert D. Price, Medford, for being the first to complete the 50-mile "Swim and Stay Fit" program currently being conducted at the Y, Price started the program December 12, . 1962, and reached his 50-mile goal April 13. He started his swim in quarter mile stretches, but soon increased his endurance to the point where he was swimming three-quarters of a mile to a mile each day during his'lunch hour. The program consists of a 50-mile swim to be completed in quarter mile stretches over an indefinite period of time. Each participant sets his or her own pace. The initial three' miles are done in quar ter mile laps, although they do not have to be completed non-stop. Progress is registered on charts in the swimming area and individual cards are kept by participants. Progressive cards are issued by the Red Cross as the swimmers pass the 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mile marks. The program was designed by the American Red Cross in response to the President's re quest for more stress on physical fitness, and has been used extensively throughout the United States. The I.Ied ford YMCA introduced the program locally Dec. 1, 1952. Currently there are about 60 Y members participating in the "Swim and Stay Fit" 50-mile swim. YMCA officials have an nounced that time will be pro vided throughout the summer for swimmers engaged in the program and newcomers arc urged to join in the progrjm. Additional information may be obtained by telephoning the Medford YMCA at 772-6295. SATELLITE FIRED Vandenberg Air Forcft Base, Calif. - 'I'Pli - A secret satellite, believed to be a Discoveror on a space explor ation mission, was fired to ward a polar orbit Saturday from this Pacific missile range base. eas corpus but it was refused by , a Democratic Federal judge. Lincoln had been watching the case but not interfering. Now with Democratic op position mounting in the North with mass meetings of denouncing the arrest, trial and sentencing of Vallandig ham, Lincoln commuted the sentence on May 19 and or dered Vallandigham sent across the lines to "his friends." After Rosecrans gave Val landigham to the embarrassed Confederates the Ohioan went to Richmond to a chilly re ception and eventually was paroled. Later he went to Canada. He would be heard from again before the war was over. Many Policies Include Retirement Coverage New York OJPB A sharp increase has been reported in the trend in group health in surance polices to provide I workers with coverage after retirement. The Health Insurance insti tute reports that in group pol icies written last year by in surance companies, four of every five workers had the right to retain their coverage on retiring. The year before, two of three workers had this right. In 1959, the proportion was little more than half. Sleep Like Log Slip SMiidi Gat 3 Tirass Faster Take Bell-ans tiblett with hot water at be! time. Read in bed until eye! shut. Bell-ans tablet! relieve stomach gas due to eicess stomach acid. No harmful drugs. Get Bell-ans today. 35c at druggists. Send postal to Bell-ans. Orangeburg, N. Y. for liberal fret samu!' That's what parents often say when told about the decline in our children's physical fitness. To be sure, parents can't as sumefull responsibility for this problem. But parents should see to it that their children get proper health care and that physical fitness isn't neglected in schools. Urge your local school officials to provide a physical education program that calls for at least 15 minutes of vigorous activity every day for all girls and boys. A basic program has been do veloped tliat is improving the fitness of cur children. It is easy to administer in any school. It costs little to get it started. It can improve any child's physi cal fitness. 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