Cherokee Weekly Messenger. (Cherokee, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 27, 1915 Page: 2 of 8
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THE WEEKLY MESSENGER CHEROKEE OKLAHOMA
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people who will take part In the strew-
ing of flowers on soldiers’ graves are
not veterans who fought in the Civil
war To those who are old enough to
remember the war its memories have
softened and grown calm its material
evidences have about all faded from
sight To those who are not old enough
to remember the war its events are
only matters of history But to the
old soldier Memorial day Is a day of
reflection and meditation He will be
thinking of events of those “stirring
times" as living realities Some thir-
tieth of May in the Civil war in all
probability was to him ' an eventful
day Possibly he may remember some
event that took place on each thirtieth
of May in the war Go back with him
in his reflection as he fancies himself
back in those old days and begin with
the first thirtieth of May in the Civil
war It was 54 years ago
The thirtieth of May in 1861 was a
sort of calm before the storm No great
battle bad as yet been fought Just
48 days bad passed since the flnog
upon the Stars and Stripes at Fort
Sumter The battle of Bull Run did
not take place until 52 days later Peo-
ple this thirtieth of May must have
felt that there would be a conflict soon- but
when or where no one could foretell It was a
day of suspense
Lincoln at the time had not served three
months as president Between the time of his
election and his inauguration seven of the south-
ern states had seceded Soon after his inaugura-
tion Virginia had seceded and before this thir-
tieth of May Arkansas and North Carolina had
followed the example of Virginia Immediately
after the fall of Fort Sumter Lincoln had issued
his call for 75000 troops Most of the northern
states In loyal obedience to this cal! had sent
troops to Washington: but manf of the states
near the border line between the North and the
South had defied the call Some of the questions
asked by the people of the North on this day
must have been: “Will these states too secede T“
“Can President Lincoln hold them in the Union 7“
But a question more momentous than these
which must have been asked by these people’
was: “Can our troops at Washington defend the
city? For it must be remembered that It was
only 11 days before this thirtieth of May when
northern troops had been fired upon by a mob
while they were passing through Baltimore on
their way to Washington
Many people at the time Interpreted this act
to mean that Maryland too was about to secede
True the Union soldiers at Washington seemed
at this time to be successfully defending the
city a band of troops six days before this thir-
tieth of May had crossed the Potomac and had
token possession of Alexandria This had made
the Union people hopeful but they were by no
means confident for at this time they had lust
received news from abroad about the expressions
of Joy which had Just been made by certain Eu-
ropeans who were predicting the immediate
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had the best of reasons for being hopeful and
confident Their president was a trained soldier
lie had studied at West Point and had had ex-
perience both in the army and in the war de-
partment Above all things he had the confi-
dence of his aeople —
It is n wonder that the people of the South
received the announcement of Lincoln’s call for
L the American republic Then too —75000 troops with derisive laughter and cheera
many of the news items about events of the This wsb on the third of April By the thirtieth
war which were appearing in the daily news-
papers indicated that there might be some foun-
dation for the prediction of the people in Europe
Here are some the news items that the people
of the North were reading in their home papers
The Boston Journal for this thirtieth of May con-
tained tie following telegraphic dispatches:
“The report of the surrender of the United
States troops in Texas under command of Lieu-
tenant Colonel Reeve the Confederate fbree
under command of Colonel Van Dorn is fully
confirmed”
“General McDowell nas been informed that
General Lee with 25000 rebels is advancing on-
Alexandria" The New York Tribune for the same date waa
to its northern readers somewhat more bopefuL
Here are some of its headlines:
“Frank Blair Ordered to Fortress Monroe" -“Harpers
Ferry Threatened The Rebels Like-
ly to Be Currounded"
“30000 Troops to Rendezvous at Cairo”
These news items takuj from northern news-
papers reflect the general mood and spirit of the
people in the North who were at the time read-
ing the papers Among them there was a spirit
of uncertainty and doubt They were uncertain
as to the ctrengtb and purpose of the South
They doubted the ability of Lincoln who bad re-
cently been elected by a new and untried po-
litical party They were uncertain as to whether
he would yield to the demands of political bosses
Lincoln was not a trained soldier They were
uncertain as to whether be could succeed in the
management of his army
But the people of the South on this thirtieth
of May were hopeful ' and confident Loyalty
from thejr point of view meant allegiance to
their stas They held that the general govern
ment had no right to interfere with their forma-
tion of a new government Their loyalty lo
ths'r caui gimost amounted to enthusiasm They
of May their loyalty to their cause had become
more enthusiastic ThiB was especially true of
their younger men The military drill Incident
to theto-preparation for war with them was a
pleasant pastime There was no need of a call
for troops Thousands of them were ready and
Bnxlous to enlist Manassas Junction Va had '
been selectedeaa the rallying place for the Con-
federates and volunteers were gathering there
Such waa the situation t'10 thirtieth of May In
1S61 A calm before the atom Fifty-two days
later the battle of Bull Run!
The truthfulness of the old saying "Coming
events cast their shadows before" must have
been realized by the people both In the North
and in the South the thirtieth of May in 1863 for
at that time there were pending two events eith-
er of which these people must have realized
might prove to be the turning point of the war
One of these they knew would happen soon at
Vicksburg the other somewhere in the East but
at what place no one could at this time foretelL
“Any news from Vicksburg?” must have been
the question which was asked hundreds of times
on this day when neighbor met neighbor The
people of the north were hoping that their sol-
diers would soon succeed in capturing this
stronghold of the Confederacy but there were
doubts in their minds Grant had not as yet
gained the confidence of the Union people
Within the three weeks immediately preceding -this
thirtieth of May the Union forces had been
gaining a series of victories near Vicksburg
Grant bad defeated “Joe” Johnston at Jackson
and bad placed Union troops In charge of that
city He had defeated Pemberton both at Cbam-
qrrizX-&&s
aiege So on this thirtieth of May the
inhabitants were Just beginning to bo
subjected to the horrible experiences
of continual bombardment and starva-
tion which lasted until the Fourth of
July when the city surrendered Cavet
were dug in the ground for the proteo
tion of the women and children and
food became so scarce that rats were
sold in the butchers’ shops
While on this thirtieth of May the
people throughout the country were
watching with interest the develop-
ments of the aiege at Vicksburg their
chief interest must have been centered
on the movements of the armies in
Maryland and Virginia Since tbe last
thirtieth of May these armies bad met
at Antletam at Fredericksburg and at
Chancelloravflle Thousands of soldiers
from both the North and the Screth had
fallen In these battles Only 25 days
bad passed since tbe battle at Chancel-
loravllle Stonewall Jackson the Idol
of the southern soldiers who followed
him had fallen in this battle but the
spirit of his name remained his faith-
ful followers were still ready to stand
“like a stone wall'' against their toe as
they had done while under his leader-
ship Tbe sitnatlon In the East gave hope
and confidence to tbe
people In the South
but discouragement to
tbe people of the North
Many northern people
were demanding that
Ince Hooker bad
failed in the last two
battles a new com-
mander In chief be ap-
pointed McClellan was
called for bnt Lincoln
appointed Meade Since
the Confederate vic-
tory at Chancelloraville
Lee’s army bad been
ateadily growing until
it now numbered 76-
000 men — men who
were still elated over
tbe last two victories
Taking advantage of
the confusion at Wash-
ington occasioned by
the changing of com-
manders of the Army
of the Potomac Lee
with hia entire army
slipped Into the Shen-
andoah valley and
marched northward
with the Intention of
Invading Maryland and
Pennsylvania Meade
with 88000 men fol-
lowed him Would they
meet? 1? o where?
The people both In the
North and in the South on this thirtieth of
May not knowing what would happen nex w®re
waiting and watching Gettysburg had not yet
become a realisation
Twenty years after the Civil war Grant while
on his dying bed said: “The greatest general
who ever lived was Robert Ev Le” It did not
take Grant twenty years to realize tbe greatneas
of Lee he had bean brousht to a full realization
of this fact early In May 1864 when their arrniea
met In the Wilderness
On the thirtieth of May in 1864 the attention
of the people both in the North and the South
waa centered on this one man Note the situa-
tion or rather the events of the preceding year
which had led up to this situation On the thir-
tieth of May W63 the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia under command of Lee was on its march
to invade Pennsylvania A few days later the
Union soldiers gained two of the moat important
victories of the war one at Vicksburg one at
Gettysburg
On this thirtieth of May we find Lee still keep-
ing guard of Richmond Grant who Boon after
his victory at Vicksburg bad been called to
Washington had been appointed lieutenant gen-
eral of the Union army “On to Richmond!” had
at once become the war cry of bis soldiers With-
in the month of May Grant’s army had been re-
pulsed three times by tbe Army of Northern Vir-
ginia— at the Wilderness Spotsylvania North
Anna Four days later Cold Harbor! The same
result Lee still keeping guard Tbe word re-
ceived at Washington was “Victory” But victory
at such a cost! Thousands of the Union’s best
soldiers lost!
Such was the Situation on this day in 1861
No other thirtieth of May bad been as serious as
this one At tbe “White House of the Confed-
eracy" Richmond there was a feeling of tem-
porary security Id Washington there was dis-
couragement On the thirtieth of May in 1S65 tbe war for
Union bad ended Tbe day before President
Johnson bad issued bis proclamation of amnesty
in which be pardoned all who bad taken part in
pion’s Hill and at Big Black river Pemberton — tbe rebellion onondition that they would sub-
now cut olf from communication with Johnston
bad retired within tbe defenses at Vicksburg
Eight days before this thirtieth of May Grant
bad tried to take these defenses by assault but
being repulsed be had taken up bis position on
tbe heights north of ti city tad had berun his
scribe to an oatb of allegiance to tbe United
States and accept tbe results of the war includ-
ing the emancipation of :be slaves Tbe signing
of this oath by Confederate soldiers on this day
was the first formal step In tbe reuniting of tbe
states of the Union-
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treten toeil fein 9'angel an alten:
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toiirben bei bem betoaljrtcn Dpfcrfinit
bet SOeDolfcrung befonbcrl aucb bie-
minberbeguterten Rreife toetteiferu
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Wilson, C. L. Cherokee Weekly Messenger. (Cherokee, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 27, 1915, newspaper, May 27, 1915; Cherokee, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1716126/m1/2/: accessed June 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.