"Keep in mind the twentieth of next month," added Chase.
"Mr. Greeley and certain others seldom let me forget it."
But the waspy words went unheard as Chase roared ahead: "We must crush Davis and his crowd before they assert their legitimacy to France and Great Britain. We must crush them utterly. I agree with Congressman Stevens, from your own state. If the rebels won't give up and return to the fold —"
"They won't." Scott handed down the word from on high. "I know Virginians. I know Southerners."
Chase went right on: "— we should follow Thad Stevens's advice to the letter. Reduce the South to a mudhole."
At that, the Chief Executive cleared his throat.
It was a modest sound, but it happened to fall during a pause, and no one could ignore it without being rude. Lincoln rose, thrusting hands in his side pockets, which merely emphasized how gangly he looked. Gangly and exhausted. Yet he was only in his early fifties. From Ward Lamon, a presidential crony, Stanley had heard that Lincoln believed he would never return to Springfield. Anonymous letters threatening his murder came to his office every day.
"Well —" Lincoln said. Then he spoke quickly; not with volume but with definite authority. "I wouldn't say I agree with the Stevens response to the insurrection. I have been anxious and careful that the policy of this government doesn't degenerate into some violent, remorseless struggle. Some social revolution which would leave the Union permanently torn. I want it back together, and for that reason, none other, I would hope for a quick capitulation by the temporary government in Richmond. Not," he emphasized, "to satisfy Mr. Greeley, mind. To get this over with and find some accommodation to end slavery."
Except in the border states, Stanley thought with cynicism. There, the President left the institution untouched, fearing those states would defect to the South.
To Cameron, he said, "I leave purchasing methods in your hands, Mr. Secretary. But I want there to be sufficient arms to equip General McDowell's army and the camps of instruction and the forces protecting our borders."
They all understood the last reference: Kentucky and the West. Lincoln refused to risk a chance misunderstanding. "Look into European purchasing a little more aggressively. Let Mr. Chase mind the dollars."
Spots of color rose in Cameron's shriveled cheeks. "Very well, Mr. President." He wrote several words on the grimy paper and stuffed the scrap in a side pocket. God knew whether he'd ever retrieve it again.
The meeting ended with Cameron promising to assign an assistant secretary to contact agents of foreign arms makers immediately.
"And confer when appropriate with Colonel Ripley," the President said as he left. He referred to the chief of the Army Ordnance Department headquartered in the Winder Building; like Scott, Ripley was an antique left over from the 1812 war.
Chase and Scott left, each in a better mood because of Cameron's pretense of pliability. Also, the news from western Virginia was good lately. George McClellan had whipped Robert Lee out there early in June.
The men who had convened today represented two different theories of victory. Scott, who could be seen wincing and growling from the pain of gout induced by his gluttony, some weeks ago had proposed a grand scheme to blockade the entire Confederate coastline, then send gunboats and a large army straight down the Mississippi to capture New Orleans and control the gulf. It was Scott's intention to isolate the South from the rest of the world. Cut off its supply of essential goods that it couldn't produce for itself. Surrender would follow quickly and inevitably. Scott capped his argument by promising that his strategy would assure victory with minimum bloodshed.
Lincoln had liked some sections of the design; the blockade had become a reality in April. But the complete plan, which the press had somehow learned about and christened "Scott's Anaconda," drew sharp fire from radicals like Chase — they were numerous in the Republican party — who favored a swift, single-stroke triumph. The kind summed up in "Forward to Richmond!" — the slogan heard everywhere, from church pulpits to brothels, or so Stanley was told. Although he constantly craved sex and his wife seldom granted it to him, he was too timid to visit brothels.
Would the Union press on to the Confederate capital? Stanley had little time to speculate because Cameron returned quickly after seeing his visitors out. He gathered Stanley and four other assistants around him and began pulling oddly shaped little papers out of every pocket and rattling off orders. The scrap on which the secretary had jotted the President's firm command fluttered to the floor unseen.
"And you, Stanley —" Cameron fixed him with those eyes gray as the winter hills his Scottish forebears trod — "we have that meeting late today. The one in regard to uniforms."
"Yes, Mr. Secretary."
"We're to meet that fellow at — let's see —" He patted his hopsack jacket, hunting another informative scrap.
"Willard's, sir. The saloon bar. Six p.m. is the time you set."
"Yes, six. I don't have the head for so many details." His vinegar smile said he wasn't excessively concerned.
Shortly before six, Stanley and the secretary left the War Department and crossed to the better side of the avenue. Yesterday's rain had changed the street to a mud pit again. Though he tried to walk carefully, Stanley still got a few spatters on his fawn trousers, which displeased him. In Washington, appearances counted for more than the reality beneath. His wife had taught him that, just as she'd propounded so many other valuable lessons during their married life. Without Isabel, Stanley well knew, he'd be nothing but a mat for his younger brother George to step on whenever he pleased.
The secretary swung his walking stick in a jaunty circle. In the amber of the late afternoon, the shadows of the strollers stretched out ahead. Three boisterous Zouaves, each in scarlet fez and baggy trousers, passed them, trailing beer fumes. One of the Zouaves was a mere boy, who reminded Stanley of his twin sons, Laban and Levi. Fourteen now, they were more than he could handle. Thank God for Isabel.
"— dictated a telegraph message after our meeting this morning," he heard Cameron say.
"Oh, is that right, sir? To whom?"
"Your brother George. We could use a man of his background in the Ordnance Department. If he will, I'd like him to come to Washington."
5
Stanley felt as though he'd been kicked. "You telegraphed — ? You want — ? My brother George — ?"
"To work for the War Department," the secretary said with a trace of a smirk. "Been mulling the notion for weeks. That drubbing I took this morning settled it. Your brother is one of the big dogs in our state, Stanley. Top of his field — I know the iron and steel trade, don't forget. Your brother makes things happen. Likes new ideas. He's the kind who can pump some fresh air into Ordnance. Ripley can't; he's a mummy. And his assistant, that other officer — "
"Maynadier," Stanley whispered with immense effort.
"Yes — well, thanks to them, the President's handing me poor marks. Those two say no to everything. Lincoln's interested in rifled shoulder weapons, but Ripley says they're no good. You know why? Because he's got nothing stored in his warehouses except a lot of smoothbores."
Though Cameron often resisted new ideas as strongly as Colonel Ripley did, Stanley was accustomed to his mentor artfully shifting blame. Pennsylvania politics had made him a master at it. Stanley quickly screwed up his nerve to challenge Cameron from another direction. "Mr. Secretary, I admit there's a need to bring in new people. But why did you telegraph — ? That is, we never discussed —"
A sharp glance stopped him. "Come on, my boy. I don't need your permission to do anything. And I already knew what your reaction would be. Your brother grabbed control of Hazard Iron — took it clean away from you — and it's galled you ever since."