Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 5

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

Wednesday, May 8th, 1861

The awaking of the country after the Fort Sumter affair has been one of the noblest spectacles of the age. For a few days Washington was considered in danger, but regiment after regiment poured in from the north for its defense, – Massachusetts doing her part among the first, and with a remarkable exhibition of the ability of her soldiers to meet every emergency. The sixth regiment was attacked by a mob in Baltimore; but forced their way through, though with the loss of three lives. The bodies of the martyred soldiers have since been received and reverently buried. This occurrence led to the selection of the route through Annapolis, – the discontinuance of travel through Baltimore, – much talk in Maryland and much wrath both in and against it. But the state and city seem to succumb to the necessity of the case. Meantime Washington is safe; the armory at Harper’s Ferry and the Navy Yard at Norfolk have been destroyed to baffle the approaching enemy, – 80,000 more soldiers and sailors, for a longer term, have been called out, – the administration is firm, and our hopes of an eventually happy if not a bloodless solution of the difficulty are increasing.

Our ladies have been working to make clothing for the soldiers. A few of our Dorchester youths have joined a Roxbury company, now expecting to march; and two companies are nearly formed in this town. A large subscription by individuals, & a liberal appropriation ($20,000) by the Town, have been made to encourage them.

My nephew C. F. B. has volunteered, but I do not yet know whether he will be ordered off.

Next week look for SGB’s June 1861 entry.  He discusses early troop movements and skirmishes, the economic impact of the war, and his hopes for a quick end to the conflict.

 

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch Diary, Post 4

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

Tuesday, 16 April 1861

Our country is engaged in civil war. I have made no entry for three months past; but during that time the evil has been growing to a head. By the criminal neglect of the late administration, the secessionists have been encouraged, and the government handed over to the present ruler in an almost powerless condition. It is but justice however to exempt from this blame, Secretaries Holt and Dix, and to say that Mr. Buchanan seems at last to have tried to do something like his duty.

Mr. Lincoln’s prudence and conciliatory demeanor, – his unexpected passage through Baltimore, disappointing those who were preparing insults if not assassination, – his inauguration, with his excellent address, – the formation meantime of a provisional gov’t at the South, – the much talk & little done in the ‘Peace Convention’ and various other conventions, – the many rumors about Fort Sumter, – the desertion of Gen. Twiggs & other officers, – are now all matters of history. Last week brought on the crisis. On Saturday, Fort Sumter surrendered to the overwhelming force of the Southerners, – its battered ruins alone left; and Yesterday morning appeared President Lincoln’s proclamation, calling on the states for their quotas of troops, to the number of 75000 men, and convening Congress on the 4th of July next. The country is already responding nobly to the call. New York passed the necessary bill the same day; & two regiments, it is stated, of Mass. militia leave Boston for Washington to-day. Pennsylvania troops are probably already there, or on their way. The Democratic and ‘Bell & Everett’ papers are falling in with the national feeling.

I understand that I displeased some friends by a sermon Sunday before last, being the Sunday after the state fast. I regret their displeasure, but do not feel that I did wrong. The main sentiment for us all to feel now is to stand by the flag and the government of our country. God defend the right!

 

Next week look for SGB’s 8 May 1861 entry.  He discusses Massachuetts’ quick response to Lincoln’s call for troops, the attack on the Sixth Massachusetts in Baltimore, Maryland, and the organization of companies of soldiers from Dorchester.

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch Diary, Post 3

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

Monday, 14 January 1861

Instead of three of the cabinet, one alone, Mr. Floyd of Virginia, Sec. of War, resigned just previous to my last date; Mr. Cass having honorably retired before. Mr. Floyd lies under heavy suspicions of having betrayed to the secessionists the national forts and arms. Since then, Mississippi, Florida, & I think Alabama have passed secession ordinances; – a collision has been with difficulty avoided at Charleston by the prudence & manliness of Major Anderson, the state forces having fired on a steamer with troops & provisions for his relief. His conduct in protecting instead of fighting seems to have showed the violence of the rebels; and they appear to be negotiating. Meanwhile, Senator Seward, the destined Secretary of State of the next President, has made a noble, conciliatory speech, and brought forward a proposition which I hope may relieve the distracted country. The President appears to act more energetically, and another secessionist has left the cabinet, – Mr. Thoussour, Sec. of the Interior. This makes the fourth of that board who has left his place; – three of them, Cobb, Floyd, and Thompson, “for their country’s good.”

Next week look for SGB’s entry, dated 16 April 1861.  There he declares “Our country is engaged in civil war” and summarizes the events that had transpired over the course of this three month absence from his diary. 

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch Diary, Post 2

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

Monday, 31 December 1860

I have much to record at the close of the year; and my record must be a sad one, in regard to public and private affairs alike, though hope looks through where faith points.

First of public affairs. South Carolina precipitately declared herself independent. The President, weakly listening to a cabinet whom charity can hardly acquit of treachery, refused to reinforce the week garrison, (less than 10 men) of Fort Moultrie, and pledged himself not to do so, on certain promises from the secessionists not to attack the fort. Gen. Cass, Sec. of State resigned in disgust at such conduct. Mr. Cobb, Sec. of Treasury resigned, leaving the Treasury empty, and went South to preach secession. Major Anderson, the Commander at Fort Moultrie, bravely took the responsibility of evacuating it, to place himself in the stronger Fort Sumter. S. C. demands that he be censured for this. I hear today that the President, after hesitation, has refused to obey this order, that three members of the Cabinet have resigned in consequence, a good riddance, and that Carolina which had already occupied Forts Moultrie and Pickney, has taken a revenue cutter of the U.S. If so, the new year must begin with a Civil War; an awful necessity, but ‘from this nettle, danger, we must pluck this flower, safety.’ God defend the right!

Meantime in Congress a conciliatory proposition has been made by Mr. Charles Francis Adams, and seems likely to be accepted generally. I hope, more than I did yesterday, for our greatest danger seemed to me to be from imbecility if not treachery at Washington, which would encourage state after state to commit itself to extreme measures. Yesterday, I kept by anticipation, in my afternoon services, the fast which the president had appointed for Friday next.

Be sure to check back next week for SGB’s next post, dated 14 January 1861, in which he corrects facts mistated in this post and reflects on the growing seccession crises.

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The Civil War and Citizenship @ Fort Warren

By Kathleen Barker

On 13 August 2011, members of the Education Department spent a beautiful day on Georges Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Our day began with an exploration of Fort Warren, a National Historic Landmark built between 1834 and 1860.  Thanks to its strategic location overlooking the shipping channel into Boston’s inner harbor, the fort became a crucial part of Boston’s coastal defense plan during the Civil War. Fort Warren also served as a recruiting and training camp for Massachusetts regiments of the Union Army, as well as a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. The first prisoners of war, including 155 political prisoners and over 600 military prisoners, arrived in October 1861. Perhaps the most famous Civil War prisoner held at Fort Warren was Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy, who was held there from 25 May – 13 October 1865. Enthusiastic visitors can still take a peek into the cell occupied by Stephens during his stay on the island.  Other interesting nooks and crannies to explore include the fort’s bakery, the old hospital, and a powder magazine. Brave souls can also explore the dark arch (Bastion A), a former storage area and recreation hall full of mysterious rooms and dim corners best explored by flashlight!

In addition to roaming the fort, we also enjoyed a fantastic talk by Dr. Christian Samito, a practicing lawyer and a faculty member at Boston University School of Law, where he teaches courses on the legal history of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Education staff members have been working with Chris throughout the summer on a series of public programs and teacher workshops related to issues of citizenship and Civil War military service. During this particular talk, which was co-sponsored by the MHS, Chris discussed how African American and Irish American soldiers influenced the modern vision of national citizenship that developed during the Civil War era. By serving in the Union Army, African Americans and Irish Americans demonstrated their loyalty to the United States and strengthened their American identity. While their experiences differed greatly, both groups cited their participation in Union efforts as they advocated for the expansion of citizenship rights after 1865. In the years following the war’s end, African Americans gained access to legal and political processes from which they had previously been excluded on the basis of race, and Irish Americans helped to cement recognition of their full citizenship through naturalization. For more information about this topic, pick up a copy of Chris’s recent book, Becoming American under Fire: Irish Americans, African Americans, and the Politics of Citizenship during the Civil War Era, published by Cornell University Press.

To learn more about Boston and Fort Warren’s role as a site of diplomatic intrigue, join MHS staff members on Georges Island at 1:45 P.M. on Saturday, September 17th, when we present “The Trent Affair.” In the fall of 1861, Jefferson Davis sent diplomats James Mason of Virginia and John Slidell of Louisiana to Europe seeking support and recognition for the Confederacy. Eluding the Union blockade, the Southerners reached Cuba, where they boarded a British mail steamer, the Trent, for passage across the Atlantic Ocean. On 8 November 1861, the ship was seized and its Confederate diplomats imprisoned at Fort Warren.  MHS Education and Library staff members will discuss the details of the event; Mason, Slidell and prisoner life at Fort Warren; and the important role the Trent Affair played in Anglo-American relations. We hope to see you there!

This event will take place on Georges Island. For information about ferry tickets and schedules, please visit the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership website.

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch Diary, Post 1

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpts are from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. 

Sunday, 11 November 1860

The great event, for which preparations have been making by the different parties, has at length taken place. On Tuesday last, it was decided by the election of a large majority of Presidential electors, that Abraham Lincoln was the choice of the people for President. I receive the decision, as thousands do, with gratitude to God, that now the direction of our country is right; not that we wish to interfere with slavery where it exists, otherwise than by moral & friendly influence, but that our country has avowed the preference of liberty to slavery, that the reviving slave trade will be suppressed, no more slave territory added, & the prestige of the government be in favor of progress.

There is great excitement at the South, but this, I think, will subside; and when our brethren there find that no wrong is intended them, they will bow to the republican principle that the majority must govern.

Monday, 19 November 1860

The excitement at the South continues; but N. Carolina, Tennessee etc. declare manfully their adhesion to the union.

Be sure to check back next week for the 31 December entry where SGB reflects on the secession crisis and the growing national conflict.

 

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Diary Offers a Unique Glimpse of the Civil War

By Zach Reisch, Intern

Searching for material to include in the Civil War Monthly Document feature on the MHS website, I came across the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. Within this extensive diary–described in more detail below–Bulfinch gives an (almost) month-by-month account of the Civil War. Sometimes spending just a few lines on the national conflict, sometimes dedicating an entire entry, Bulfinch provides commentary on many of the most important events in “public affairs” from the divisive election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 to the status of reconstruction after the war. 

Discussing the diary with Elaine Grublin, who oversees the Civil War Monthly Document project, we concluded it would be too difficult to choose just one entry from this rich diary to include in that project.  Instead we decided to share all of Bulfinch’s Civil War entries through the Beehive. These snippets from Bulfinch’s larger diary entries offer a unique perspective on the war.  By both reporting and reflecting on events Bulfinch provides his views on themes such as the conflict’s division of families, the role of women and children in the war, public opinion as events unfolded, religious leaders going into battle, and the cost of war — in human life — felt by his own neighborhood.

Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch was born on 18 June 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts to architect Charles Bulfinch and his wife Hannah Apthorp. The youngest of seven children, Bulfinch graduated from Columbian College in Washington, D.C., and Harvard Divinity School.  He proceeded from there to preach as a Unitarian minister. He was married twice, first to Maria Howard, who died in childbirth, and later to Caroline Phelps.

The MHS holds two volumes of Bulfinch’s diaries in the Bulfinch Family Papers. The first volume contains intermittent descriptions of the Bulfinch’s travels between 1827 and 1830. The second volume covers of his settled life in Massachusetts,  containing entries from 23 December 1856 to 31 December 1865, with some gaps. This volume details various familial events such as the death of his brother Charles and his constant worry about his sickly daughter, Maria. Bulfinch also discusses his struggles with the Unitarian Church’s doctrine and his resignation from his preaching position after concluding that he believes in the Holy Trinity. The diary then turns to Bulfinch’s attempts to find work, as well as his renewed passion for completing a work of fiction he had previously started.  He sees this work, Honor, or the Slave-dealer’s Daughter published in 1864.

Transcriptions of the Civil War focused diary entries will be published to the Beehive providing both an objective timeline of the Civil War and offering a unique perspective on the events as seen through a civilian’s eyes.  Starting with a number of entries in quick succession to bring Beehive readers up to September 1861, in September we will add a post the first of each month, so be sure to follow the Civil War series to stay current with Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch’s diary. 

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