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.
If you'd like to know mora
about this prog ram, write to The
President's Council on Physical
Fitness, Washington 25, D. C.
PuNished as a public IwrntCT-
service in ccocere!
wilh the AOverti
Council and the News-
parjer Advertising Ev
ecutives Association,
Fresh Ground
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