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Alexander Stephens

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Alexander Hamilton Stephens: February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883

“A little, slim, pale-faced consumptive man just concluded the very best speech of an hour’s length I ever heard.”
–Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln describing Alexander Hamilton Stephens of Georgia after Stephens completed a speech to Congress. Lincoln and Stephens became friends while they served in Congress before the Civil War, but later slavery ended their friendship. During the Civil War, Stephens was the vice president of the Confederacy.

Little Aleck

Alexander Stephens

Alexander Stephens

Alexander Stephens was never a picture of health. He was 5′ 7″, a height in line with the norms of the 19th century, but only carried about ninety-pounds on his frame, he was pale and sickly. From birth, he was small, and during his childhood was given the nickname of “Little Aleck.” Stephens suffered many maladies including angina, bladder stones, colitis, migraine headaches, pneumonia, pruritus, arthritis, and sciatica. The word cadaverous would come to mind when seeing Alexander Stephens. He clothed himself layer upon layer trying to stay warm, and once defined his idea of happiness as; “To be warm.”

Despite Stephens’s sickly body, behind his dark eyes he was blessed with a brilliant mind. His childhood was a difficult one, Stephens’s mother died soon after he was born, then his farmer and schoolteacher father died when Little Aleck was 14-years-old. Fortunately, a few benevolent mentors realized the potential of the highly intelligent young Stephens and funded his education at Franklin College (later to become the University of Georgia). Alexander Stephens finished at the top of his class at Franklin College.

Stephens became a lawyer and owned a plantation named Liberty Hall. If there can be such as thing as a good master, then perhaps Stephens was. He never beat or whipped his slaves, and he never split slave families apart. None of his slaves tried to escape, perhaps a testament of his care for them. Nonetheless, Stephens held human beings captive as slaves on his Georgia plantation and profited from their bondage.

Congressman

Alexander Stephens served in the United States Congress for 17 years and became an authority on the Constitution. Though he had an odd, girl-like, high voice, his brightness brought him fame as an orator. Stephens was a moderate Unionist and voted against Georgia’s secession. When Georgia did leave the Union, out of honor Stephens chose the South.

The new Confederate Congress met in Montgomery, Alabama (later Richmond, Virginia became the Confederate Capital) in February, 1861 to establish the foundation of the Southern country. Although he at first was opposed to disunion, Alexander Stephens was a favorite to become the president, but he lost that position to Jefferson Davis. Instead, Stephens became the vice president of the Confederate States of America.

On December 22, 1860 Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter marked as “For Your Eyes Only” to Georgia Congressman Alexander Stephens. In this letter Lincoln, before taking office, is telling Confederate Vice President Stephens in a private, personal letter, that he has no plans for his Republican administration to interfere with slavery:

“The South would be in no more danger in this respect, than it was in the days of Washington. I suppose, however, this does not meet the case. You think slavery is right and ought to be extended; while I think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the rub.”

Stephens had been a Unionist, but he was also loyal to the South. A moderate, he was a supporter of a peaceful resolution between the North and the South, he hoped to avoid war. Seeing that it was inevitable, he became a supporter of secession.

As the South formed its government at the Montgomery Convention, Alexander Stephens contributed significantly to the creation of the Confederate Constitution. He chaired the Rules Committee and also the Committee on the Executive Departments.

Cornerstone Speech

Stephens gave what is known as his Cornerstone Speech on March 21, 1861 at Savannah, Georgia. This speech is probably what Stephens is best known for. In this speech, Stephens fundamentally lays out what the conflict between the North and the South is all about. One sentence (that gives the speech its name) of this extemporaneous speech stands out as the definition of the Confederate cause and what its government stood for:

“Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.”
— Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Hamilton Stephens.

With these words from his Cornerstone Speech, Alexander Stephens is stating in a nutshell the reason for secession … slavery. In our modern world of today, these words by Stephens are shocking and ugly. His words are so contrary to our times, that it may be necessary to read them twice, to see if what you thought he said, is really what he said. Stephens’s words show the way it was back in Civil War times. Because of this cornerstone difference between the North and the South, a brutal war of brother against brother was fought.

Soon there was conflict between Vice President Stephens and President Jefferson Davis. As Stephens was a moderate, he disagreed with Davis over various topics. The two Confederate leaders did not get along. Stephens refused to go on several missions that Davis wanted him to make. Finally, Davis had to order Stephens to go to the still independent state of Virginia as a Confederate commissioner.

Stephens remained a strong supporter of state sovereignty, so he disagreed with Davis over the Confederate draft and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Alexander Stephens continued to support negotiated peace, this gave Davis an edge in weakening Stephens’s strength within the Confederate government. Stephens’s role in the Davis administration was minimal and he felt that Davis ignored whatever advice or council he offered. For months at a time, Little Aleck was absent from Richmond, he would be at his Liberty Hall plantation in Georgia, avoiding the problems and cares of the Confederate government.

Peace Missions

Davis was able to get Stephens out of Georgia long enough to send him on a peace mission to Washington to meet with President Lincoln in 1863. It was Stephens’s idea that by June, 1863, with the success of Southern armies, and the “failure of Hooker and Grant,” (in Stephens’s words) that the timing was right for peace negotiations. Alexander Stephens offered to meet with President Lincoln, his old pre-war friend from their days in Congress, under a flag of truce to talk about prisoner-of-war exchanges. It was hoped that this tact of approach might lead to discussion of peace. Jefferson Davis liked the idea and gave Stephens instructions that limited his powers to prisoner exchanges.

On July 3, 1863 Stephens took a boat down the James River, on his way to Washington to meet with President Abraham Lincoln and to hopefully discuss peace. Also on that July 3 day, at a town named Gettysburg, the Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee suffered a climatic loss to General George G. Meade’s Army of the Potomac.

President Jefferson Davis was expecting a Confederate victory at Gettysburg and thought that as the Army of Northern Virginia was approaching Washington from the north, that Vice President Stephens would be approaching from the south … and with good timing, they both might arrive at the same time. President Lincoln would then have a choice (and either way, the Union loses), discuss peace negotiations with Stephens, or suffer conquest by Robert E. Lee.

Things flip-flopped fast. The Union won at Gettysburg, President Lincoln got word at the same time of the Union battlefield victory, and that Confederate Vice President Stephens was coming to Washington on a mission. Lincoln sent word that refused a request of Stephens’s to pass through the lines under a flag of truce. Lincoln thought if the Confederacy wanted to discuss prisoner-of-war exchanges, then there were military ways for that. The fortunes of war had changed and Stephens’s mission was for naught.

Alexander Stephens met with President Lincoln in another peace attempt, at the Hampton Roads Peace Conference on February 3, 1865 as the Civil War was soon coming to an end. Confederates Stephens, Senator Robert M. T. Hunter, and Judge John A. Campbell met with Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward on board the steamer River Queen in Hampton Roads.

The three Confederates wanted Southern independence, Lincoln and Seward refused any plan that continued slavery. For Little Aleck, this meeting proved to be a total failure. Jefferson Davis knew that this meeting would prove fruitless for Alexander Stephens, and humiliate him. Stephens had to return to Richmond for a report of the meeting’s failure to the Confederate Congress, thus proving that Stephens’s interests in a negotiated peace were impossible.

Postbellum

At the end of the Civil War, Stephens was imprisoned at Boston’s Fort Warren. The year after being released from prison he was elected as a United States Senator of Georgia, but was denied his seat in Washington. Afterwards, Little Aleck bought the Atlanta Southern Sun, and wrote A Constitutional View of the Late War, in this 2 volume book he was critical of Jefferson Davis.

Stephens’s public service was not yet complete, he returned to the United States House of Representatives from 1873 to 1882. He was elected as governor of Georgia, but died within only a few months of taking office.

Alexander Hamilton Stephens is buried at his Liberty Hall plantation near Crawfordville, Georgia.

Alexander Stephens Quotes:

“We are without doubt on the verge, on the brink of an abyss into which I do not wish to look.”
–Alexander Stephens, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November 6, 1860.

“This step, secession, once taken, can never be recalled. We and our posterity shall see our lovely South desolated by the demon of war.”
–Alexander Stephens, January 18, 1861.

“It will probably end the war.”
–Alexander Stephens, regarding the secession of Virginia from the Union on April 17, 1861.

“We shall be in one of the bloodiest civil wars that history has recorded.”
–Alexander Stephens after Fort Sumter.

“War I look for as almost certain … Revolutions are much easier started than controlled, and the men who begin them … themselves become the victims.”
–Alexander Stephens, 1861.

Gettysburg, The Second Day

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“The Enemy Is There, And I Am Going To Attack Him There”

July 2, 1863

The Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg

During the night of July 1, the Confederate and Union armies continued to arrive at the crossroads town of Gettysburg.

As dawn came on July 2, approximately 65,000 Rebels and 85,000 Yankees faced each other over Gettysburg’s terrain. The Union held the high ground with a fishhook-shaped line stretching along Cemetery Ridge. At each end of the Union line there were hills. Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill on the right end, Little Round Top and Big Round Top on the left.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee wanted the high ground taken from the Federals. In a discussion with his “Old War Horse” General James Longstreet, Lee explained as he pointed towards Cemetery Hill:

“The enemy is there, and I am going to attack him there.”

James Longstreet Disagrees With Lee’s Plan

James Longstreet

James Longstreet

James Longstreet had doubts about attacking the Yankees at Gettysburg on the second day. Longstreet did not think attacking the enemy on their high ground was the wisest thing to do. “Old War Horse” James Longstreet preferred another plan.

Longstreet’s idea was for the Army of Northern Virginia to turn the Union’s south flank and position itself between the Army of the Potomac and Washington. Longstreet’s plan would compel General Meade and his troops to attack on ground chosen by the Confederates to their advantage. Longstreet thought the tactical defensive position was best, but General Lee preferred aggressive offensive movements. The Army of Northern Virginia would follow General Robert E. Lee’s plan, not Longstreet’s.

This is one of the great questions for debate of the Civil War… what if the Confederates had followed Longstreet’s plan instead of Lee’s on the second day of battle at Gettysburg?

Lee’s strategy was for Longstreet to attack the Union’s left flank at Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Meade would have to send troops to the left flank to answer Longstreet’s attack. General Ewell would attack the Union right flank at Culp’s Hill. If this plan worked, the Confederates would overtake both of the Union flanks, gain the high ground, and win the battle… and maybe the war.

Lee wanted Longstreet to begin his attack as soon as possible on the morning of July 2. Due to various reasons (In light of Longstreet’s disagreement with Lee over the Gettysburg battle plans, some historians question Longstreet’s diligence in proceeding with his attack on the Union left flank, that perhaps Longstreet was purposely stalling. This is speculation, and there are factors that should be studied carefully before this conclusion is made. This is a fun topic of debate for Civil War students.) Longstreet did not have his troops into position until 4:00 in the afternoon.

Part of the problem Longstreet had getting his men into position, was that the Yankees were not where they were supposed to be on their left flank. Union General Dan Sickles and the 3rd Corps were supposed to be in position to hold the Union left flank.

Dan Sickles

Dan Sickles is an interesting character and he deserves some attention.

Dan Sickles shoots and kills Philip Barton Key II

Dan Sickles shoots and kills Philip Barton Key II

Before the Civil War, Daniel Edgar Sickles was a lawyer and a legislator. From 1853 to 1855 he served as President Franklin Pierce’s London Legation (at the time, the United States did not yet have formal embassies). Sickles was elected to the New York Senate, then served as a Democrat in the United States Congress from 1857 to 1861.

In 1859 while serving in the United States Congress, Dan Sickles shot and killed Philip Barton Key at LaFayette Park, which was located across the street from Sickles’ home and the White House. Key was having an affair with Mrs. Sickles, so Sickles killed him. Philip Barton Key was the son of Francis Scott Key, the composer of “The Star Spangled Banner”.

Temporary Insanity

For the following trial, Sickles chose Edwin Stanton as his defense attorney (Stanton would later serve as Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War). Stanton used a unique and new tactic to defend Sickles. Stanton claimed Sickles was innocent of murder because he was temporarily insane when he killed his wife’s lover. The jury agreed and Congressman Sickles was found innocent.

After killing her paramour, Sickles publicly forgave his wife and took her back. This outraged the public. It seems the public understood the business of an outraged husband shooting and killing his cheating wife’s lover (Sickles had the public’s understanding and sympathy during all this drama), but for the husband to then forgive his wife and take her back, well, that was just too much for people to stomach in 19th century America. With the loss of voter support, Sickles’ political career ended.

Dan Sickles

Dan Sickles

At the start of the Civil War, Dan Sickles saw opportunity and a fresh start for himself. After all, there is nothing like a war to help turn your life around.

Sickles raised the Excelsior Brigade of New York City and later in June of 1861, he was commissioned as Colonel Sickles of the 20th New York. The politician Sickles new military career was now successfully underway. Perhaps the former congressman (and also formally temporarily insane) Dan Sickles went off to war humming the “The Star Spangled Banner” to himself… fighting as he was to save the Union. Nevertheless, Sickles was now back on both of his feet. Would he be able to hang onto both of the legs those feet were attached to?

On July 2, 1863, Dan Sickles was at Gettysburg as the General of the 3rd Corps. As fate would have it, it was Sickles who had the duty of holding the crucial left flank of the Union line. The terrain at the south end of Cemetery Ridge concerned the politician General Dan Sickles. It was low and exposed ground.

Sickles’ Unauthorized Move

General Dan Sickles took it upon himself to make an unauthorized movement of his two divisions half of a mile forward to ground that was higher and along a road running from Gettysburg. Now his troops were positioned at the Peach Orchard and in an area congested with rocks and large boulders below Little Round Top. This rocky area was Devil’s Den.

Sickles unauthorized move had provided his troops and himself with better ground as it was higher and easier to defend, but now his troops were no longer connected with the rest of the Union’s line. More importantly, the Union crucial positions of Little Round Top, Big Round Top, and the Union left flank, were now all completely undefended.

General Meade was furious when he learned what Sickles had done. Meade ordered Sickles back to his original position, but Sickles had no time to follow Meade’s orders. At 4:00 in the afternoon “Old War Horse” James Longstreet finally (Lee had wanted Longstreet to make this attack as early as possible on the 2nd) began his attack on the Union left.

The Round Tops

Little Round Top Must Be Held At All Hazards

Gettysburg Day Two Overview. Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com.

Gettysburg Day Two Overview. Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com.

The Confederate troops advanced on the Yankees. Colonel William C. Oates and the 15th Alabama made their way to the top of Big Round Top. From three hundred feet above the field of action, Oates could see that if artillery were moved to the heights of Little Round Top, then he could tear the Federal lines apart with cannon fire. Only a Union signal station occupied Little Round Top, so there was opportunity for the rebels, a brigade of Alabamians advanced on the smaller of the Round Tops. General Meade had sent General Gouverneur K. Warren, the chief topographical engineer for the Army of the Potomac, and a young lieutenant named Washington Robeling to Little Round Top to scout out the situation.

Warren and Robeling quickly realized the dire circumstances for the Union at Little Round Top. Dan Sickles and his men had their hands full fighting the advancing Confederates in the Peach Orchard, and even as Warren and Robeling surveyed the situation Hood’s Texan troops were busy advancing up the rocky ravine between Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Warren called for reinforcements and four regiments were sent from the Union 5th Corps. One of these regiments was the 20th Maine, led by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

These Union 5th Corps troops were desperately needed to hold Little Round Top secure. If Little Round Top fell to the Confederates, then the entire control of the Union lines would be lost, and probably so too, the Battle of Gettysburg.

Chamberlain was ordered to hold Little Round Top “at all hazards.”

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and The 20th Maine

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

The 350 men of the 20th Maine double-timed up Little Round Top and took positions behind boulders and whatever cover they could find. With no time to spare, Chamberlain sent troops from his Company B to between the two Round Tops to cover the left flank.

Soon… very soon, Colonel Oates and his Alabamians came on Chamberlain’s men and for almost two hours the men from Maine and Alabama fought it out in deadly fighting. The Confederates made repeated assaults and finally one-third of Chamberlain’s men were either injured or killed, and the rest were completely or nearly out of ammunition. The Confederates were now preparing for another assault. Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th Maine, and the Union left flank, were in very serious trouble. With quick thinking, Chamberlain ordered part of his remaining line to drop back until it formed a right angle with the rest of the Union line.

Fix Bayonets

Chamberlain had two choices, either advance or retreat. He chose to advance and ordered his men to fix bayonets. The right of the Maine regiment held its position while the left side made a running advance down the hillside of Little Round Top towards the Alabamians. The Union advance wheeled to its right during this advance, “like a great gate upon a post“ according to a witness.

The Confederates were shocked and taken by surprise with this bold movement, some surrendered and others ran. As the Confederates ran they took more fire from Chamberlain’s Company B, which had taken cover behind a stone wall. The Alabamians were now caught in crossfire.

Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th Maine had held Little Round Top for the Union. The left flank of the Yankee line was secure. Later, Chamberlain would receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg.

The Peach Orchard

Sickles Loses A Leg To Stand On

General Sickles and his troops were still fighting the Confederates in the Peach Orchard and they were in bad shape. The rebels were giving them hell.

Soon Sickles himself would personally be in bad shape too. Confederate artillery was tearing into Sickles’ men and they were giving up ground as they fought in places called the Wheat Field, Devil’s Den, and the Valley of Death.

Dan Sickles without leg and with his staff.

Dan Sickles without leg and with his staff.

During all this, General Dan Sickles’ right leg was blown off below the knee.

Sickles was carried from the field calmly smoking a cigar. He would survive his wound, but never again would he stand on both of his own two legs. Sickles donated his amputated right leg to an army medical museum and in the years after the Civil War he would occasionally stop by the museum to visit with his right leg.

A Gap In The Union Line

Union reinforcements from Cemetery Ridge had hurried to the Wheat Field and this opened a gap in the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Now, an Alabama brigade saw the weakness in the center of the Union line and rushed to take advantage of it. The 1st Minnesota was only a small regiment and General Winfield Scott Hancock orderd it to meet the advancing Confederates. With only 262 men in its force, the 1st Minnesota charged down a slope toward 1,600 advancing Confederates. Of the 262 Minnesotans, only 47 of them were not hurt or killed. The 1st Minnesota had 82 percent of its men fall within the first five minutes of their fight. The casualties suffered by the 1st Minnesota was the highest taken by a Union regiment in the entire Civil War. The Minnesotans were successful despite their severe losses, they had filled the gap in the center of the Union line.

Ewell Attacks The Union Right

Just before dark, Confederate General Ewell staged an attack on the right flank of the Union line. Ewell’s attack had been delayed for various reasons, this action was supposed to be coordinated with Longstreet’s advance upon the Union left flank… which itself occurred later than planned. Ewell’s attacks on Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill were repulsed.

Night came on Gettysburg’s second day of battle.

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