Our Civil War ancestors in New Hampshire had a cure for cabin fever. Each February they held a campaign for governor and Congress and sent speakers all over the state to entertain and arouse the populace.
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| Anna E. Dickinson mesmerized audiences. |
Perhaps no gubernatorial election was as hard-fought or
consequential as the one in 1863. I tell the story in Our War, pegging it to March 10, town meeting day, when qualified
males cast their votes in the statewide election. But the campaign raged in February.
New Hampshire was at war, of course, and the White House was
desperate to keep a Republican in the governor’s office. The public ardor for
war had cooled. The draft, the Emancipation Proclamation, Union battlefield
debacles, long casualty lists and the sight of women in black gave heart to antiwar
Democrats – Copperheads. Their man, Ira Eastman, seemed likely to win.
The Republicans took desperate steps, even pushing behind
the scenes for a third-party candidate to siphon votes away from Eastman. He
was Col. Walter Harriman, a pro-war Democratic Unionist from Warner.
Another big decision the Republicans made was to advocate the abolition
of slavery as a war aim, in effect embracing the Emancipation Proclamation. This
they did not through their gubernatorial candidate, Joseph Gilmore, but through
speakers sent to towns and cities throughout the state. Many of these were famous
lecturers or colorful party figures. Craving social opportunities and entertainment
on cold February nights, citizens of all political stripes turned out to hear
them.
The job of hiring, scheduling and paying these speakers fell
to Benjamin Prescott, the state party secretary. In researching and writing my
chapter on the 1863 election, I had the privilege of reading Prescott’s letters
to Anna E. Dickinson, who became his star lecturer. Dickinson, a Philadelphia
Quaker, was just 20 years old, but her abolitionist talks mesmerized audiences.
Prescott, who turned 30 that February, acted as Dickinson's head cheerleader. During these worrisome weeks for Republicans, Prescott was just the person for the job. His
letters to her brimmed with optimism. (They are in the Dickinson papers at the
Library of Congress.) Here are a few excerpts:
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| Prescott later served as governor (1877-79). |
On Feb. 18, Prescott wrote Dickinson that he was glad to
hear that many Democrats were turning out for her lectures. He also explained Harriman’s nomination by so-called Union Democrats as the
latest move against the Copperheads.
“We shall whip them handsomely. A third candidate was
nominated by the Convention at Manchester on Tuesday [Feb. 17] for Governor. By
this movement many votes will be taken from the Democratic Party for they do
not want to vote for Eastman. Some few who do not want to vote for Gilmore will
also find a refuge. They will all vote for our members of Congress and most of
our other Ticket. We think we know how to play our cards as well as the
‘Copperheads’ if we do not we will throw up the game. There is a visable
reaction going on among the people in the state and the Democracy already feel
it. Their courage is broken and they hardly know what to do.
“Everything now is working in our favor. I have always felt
confident and cheerful. I believe we shall succeed in this state at the coming
election. I believe we shall succeed in our struggle with the rebellion. I have
faith that this country is to be purified, and that it will stand before the
world ere long a truly free country.
My prayer is that I may be permitted to see the joyful day when every man can
stand up and say that I am free. Until that day shall come, this contest will
never be ended. How few there are that look at the real issues now at stake in
this struggle. The day is coming when they will see it . . .
“Persevere in your good work.”
Two days later, Prescott wrote to share glowing
reports about Dickinson’s lecture in Dover and to tell her about other speakers
he had deployed. He himself had gone the previous night – 150 years ago today –
to hear Andrew Jackson Hamilton, the former attorney general of Texas, speak in
Concord. Hamilton was a handsome man who appeaered in full uniform. “He looked like a
hero, or he is, though he has not fought many battles,” Prescott wrote.
He closed with his typical cheer: “We are going to whip the
Rebel in this State. Our people are thoroughly aroused.”
What is striking about Prescott’s letters to Dickinson is
how sunny he remained at this dark hour for the Union cause. And more bad news –
Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s defeat at Chancellorsville and Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North – lay just months ahead.
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