The Civil War: Spoken Thoughts of War

Quotes II (1864-1865)

1860-1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 Quotes I (1861-1863)
Quotes II (1864-1865) Songs Poems

1864

Henry Hernbaker, a Union soldier captured at Gettysburg and a prisoner at both Belle Isle Prison on the James River near Richmond and Andersonville:
"I was now taken to Andersonville, where I remained about seven months, and the horrors I met there it is useless for me to attempt to describe... The sun was scorching hot, and having nothing to protect us from its burning rays, the whole upper surface of our feet would become blistered, and then would break, leaving the flesh exposed, and having nothing to dress it or protect it in any way, gangrene would follow, and some would lose their feet, and part of a limb, and death would soon follow" (Davis, 1996, p. 351-353).
Victoria V. Clayton, the wife of Confederate General Henry D. Clayton of Alabama, wrote of the changes southern women were facing as the war closed in on them:
"We were blockaded on every side, could get nothing from without, so had to make everything at home; and having been heretofore only an agricultural people, it became necessary for every home to be supplied with spinning wheels and the old-fashioned loom, in order to manufacture clothing for the members of the family. My duties...were numerous and often laborious; the family on the increase continually, and every one added increased labor and responsibility. And this was the case with the typical Southern woman" (Davis, 1996, p. 368-369).
August: President Lincoln:
"This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguaration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards" (Davis, 1996, p. 374).
November 15: An aide to William T. Sherman on the burning of Atlanta:
"A grand and awful spectacle is presented to the beholder in this beautiful city, now in flames. By order, the chief engineer had destroyed by powder and fire all the store-houses, depot buildings and machine-shops. The heaven is one expanse of lurid fire; the air is filled with flying, burning cinders; buildings covering two hundred acres are in ruins or in flames; every instant there is the sharp detonation or the smothered booming sound of exploding shells and powder concealed in the buildings, and then the sparks and flame shoot away up into the black and red roof, scattering cinders far and wide. The city, which next to Richmond, has furnished more material for prosecuting the war than any other in the South, exists no more as a means for injury to be used by enemies of the Union" (Davis, 1996, p. 376-377).
December 22: After capturing Savannah, William T. Sherman wired a message to President Lincoln:
"I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition; also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton" (Davis, 1996, p. 388).

1865

William T. Sherman: Moving on to South Carolina:
"The truth is the whole army is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak vengeance upon South Carolina. I almost tremble at her fate, but feel she deserves all that seems in store for her" (Davis, 1996, p. 393).
March 4: Excerpt from President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address:
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations" (Davis, 1996, p. 395).
April 10: From General Order Number 9, Robert E. Lee's final order to his army after surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant:
"I have determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a Merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection. With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your Country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell" (Davis, 1996, p. 405).
April 15: Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles regarding the assassination of President Lincoln :
"...About 6 A.M. It was a dark and gloomy morning, and rain set in. Large groups of people were gathered every few rods, all anxious and solicitous. Some one or more from each group stepped forward as I passed, to inquire into the condition of the President, and to ask if there was no hope. Intense grief was on every countenance when I replied that the President could survive but a short time. ...A little before seven, I went into the room where the dying President was rapidly drawing near the closing moments. His wife soon after made her last visit to him. The death struggle had begun. Robert, his son, stood with several others at the head of the bed. He bore himself well, but on two occasions gave way to overpowering grief and sobbed aloud, turning his head and leaning on the shoulder of Senator Sumner" (Davis, 1996, p. 416-417).
October 1: Sojourner Truth, a former slave and an abolitionist and women's rights pioneer, wrote about postwar racial attitudes in Washington, D.C.:
"I was in company of another friend, Laura S. Haviland of Michigan. As I ascended the platform of the [street] car, the conductor pushed me, saying "Go back-get off here." I told him I was not going off, then "I'll put you off" said he furiously, clenching my right arm with both hands, using such violence that he seemed about to succeed, when Mrs. Haviland told him he was not going to put me off. "Does she belong to you?" said he in a hurried angry tone. She replied, "She does not belong to me, but she belongs to humanity." I had him arrested and the case tried before Justice Thompson. My shoulder was very lame and swollen, but it is better. It is hard for the old slaveholding spirit to die. But die it must." (Davis, 1996, p. 428-429).