"Resolved. That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the Southern States, now in revolt against the Constitutional Government, and in arms around the capital; that in this national emergency, Congress, banishing all feeling of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that this war is not prosecuted upon our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor for the purpose of authorizing or interfering with the rights or established institutions. of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof; and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States, unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are accomplished, the war ought to cease."

This was passed after a long debate, by a vote of thirty to five.

On the 31st of January, 1862, he made a determined speech on the conduct of Senator Bright, and voted for expelling the man who, four years before, had administered to him the senatorial oath.

From the outset of the rebellion, the course of Mr. Johnson did not please the secessionists of Tennessee or of the whole South. Mob law prevailed, and ruffians, full of malice, and with the ferocity of brutes, had inaugurated a reign of terror, and citizens who remained loyal to the Union were subjected to every possible indignity

and persecution. He left Washington in April, 1861, at the close of the session of Congress, and on the 21st of that month he suffered personal peril at Lynchburg, Virginia, and at various places along his route. A price was set upon his head, and personal violence threatened if he remained in Tennessee. Such seeming indignities were the more honorable to him, inasmuch as they arose from his noble devotion to principle, when strong men failed and yielded to what they feebly claimed to be the real "sentiment" of their State in reference to secession.

On the 19th of June, 1861, while on his way to Washington to attend the special session of Congress, he was the recipient of a warm public welcome from the loyal people of Cincinnati. On that occasion he delivered an able address, defining his position, from which we will give a short extract, not having space for the entire speech:

"So far as I am concerned, I am willing to say in this connection, that I am proud to stand here among you as one of the humble upholders and supporters of the stars and stripes that have been borne by Washington through a seven years' revolution—a bold and manly struggle for our independence, and separation from the mother country. That is my flag-that flag was borne by Washington in triumph. Under it I want to live, and under no other. It is that flag that has been borne in triumph by the revolu

tionary fathers over every battle-field, when our brave men, after toil and danger, laid down and slept on the cold ground, with no covering but the inclement sky, and arose in the morning and renewed their march over the frozen ground, as the blood trickled from their feet-all to protect that banner and bear it aloft triumphantly."

While in Washington, he urged upon the President and Secretary of War the importance and the justice of aiding and protecting the Unionists of East Tennessee, that Switzerland of America. Meanwhile, in the eastern portion of that State, Confederates confiscated Mr. Johnson's slaves; went to his home, drove his sick wife, with her child, into the street; and turned their house, built by his own hands, into a hospital and barracks.

In February, 1862, General Grant entered Tennessee, and won the great victories of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. The subsequent advance of General Buell's forces compelled the withdrawal of the main body of the insurgents from Western and Middle Tennessee, and Nashville was rendered indefensible. The Confederate government of the State was therefore removed to Memphis. The larger portion of the State having been thus recovered, and in the occupation of the Federal forces, President Lincoln appointed Andrew Johnson military governor, with the rank of brigadier-general of volunteers. On the 5th of March, 1862, the Senate confirmed the

appointment, and Governor Johnson left his seat in that body to enter upon the duties of his new position.

We cannot conceive of a more fitting appointment than this. He had borne many personal indignities; his family had been mercilessly persecuted but threats could not intimidate him. He promised that the rights of the people should be respected, and their wrongs redressed; that the loyal should be honored, and the erring and misguided should be welcomed on their return ; intelligent and conscious treason should be punished-boldly proclaiming that traitors should be hung. Dauntless but just, determined but compassionate, he was the man of all men to rule with firmness in such times. The man who uttered words like these in a border State, amidst anarchy and a fierce civil war, and set to work in right earnest to verify his prediction, is assuredly no common man. Mr. Johnson, with the inspiration of a true man of genius, believed in his own powers, and felt they must ultimately prevail. He reached Nashville on the 12th of March, in company with Horace Maynard, Emerson Etheridge, and others who had been political exiles. He was enthusiastically received by the long suffering Unionists; and in response to a serenade, addressed the assemblage, which address he afterwards published as "An appeal to the people of Tennessee." In this address he sketched the history of the secession movement,

and showed how the government of the Commonwealth had been wrecked for the time by its leaders. He said that the Government of the United States could do no less than guarantee Tennessee a republican form of government, and that his work was to accomplish that purpose. Later in March, Governor Johnson ordered the mayor and city council of Nashville to take the oath of allegiance. Upon their refusing so to do, their places were proclaimed vacant, and other officials were appointed. It was soon understood that spoken or written disunionism would subject the transgressors to similar justice; which was carried out by incarcerating Turner S. Foster, a well-known secessionist, who had been recently chosen judge of the Circuit Court of Nashville. The clergymen of the city, who, with the exception of the Catholic, not only entertained disunion sentiments, but boldly preached them from their pulpits, were requested by the governor to take the oath of allegiance. They obeyed the summons so far as to appear before Governor Johnson, who, perfectly composed, entered the room, shaking hands familiarly with two or three of them, and said: "Well, gentlemen, what is your desire?" They requested a few days to consider the subject of signing the paper. The governor granted them a week, and said to them: "It seems to me that there should be but little hesitation among you, gentlemen, about the matter. All that is required of you is to sign the oath of allegiance.