Secrets of the Late Rebellion

What sets the roaring rabble's heel
On the old star-spangled pennon?
What breaks the oath
Of the men o' the South?
What whets the knife
For the Union's life? —
Hark to the answer: Slavery!

"Then waste no blows on lesser foes,
In strife unworthy freemen;
God lifts to-day the veil, and shows
The features of the demon'
O North and South*
Its victims both,
Can ye not cry,
'Let Slavery die!'
And Union find in freedom?

"What though the cast-out spirit tear
The nation in his going?
We who have shared the guilt must share
The pang of his o'erthrowing!
Whate'er the loss,
Whate'er the cross,
Shall they complain
Of present pain,
Who trust in God's hereafter?

"For who that leans on his right arm
Was ever yet forsaken?
What righteous cause can suffer harm,
If He its part has taken?
Though wild and loud,
And dark the cloud,
Behind its folds
His hand upholds
The calm sky of to-morrow!

"Above the maddening cry for blood,
Above the wild war-drumming,
Let Freedom's voice be heard, with good
The evil overcoming.
Give prayer and purse
To stay The Curse,
Whose wrong we share,
Whose shame we bear,
Whose end shall gladden Heaven!

"In vain the bells of war shall ring
Of triumphs and revenges,
While still is spared the evil thing
That severs and estranges.
But blest the ear
That yet shall hear
The jubilant bell
That rings the knell
Of Slavery forever! -
"Then let the selfish lip be dumb,
And hushed the breath of sighing;
Before the joy of peace must come
The pains of purifying.
God give us grace,
Each in his place
To bear his lot,
And, murmuring not,
Endure, and wait, and labor!"

To this was added another of Whittier's poems, called The Crisis, as follows:

"The crisis presses on us; face to face with us it stands,
With solemn lips of question, like the Sphinx in Egypt's sands!
'This day we fashion Destiny, our web of fate we spin;
This day for all hereafter choose we holiness or sin;
Even now from starry Gerizim, or Ebal's cloudy crown,
We call the dews of blessing, or the bolts of cursing down!

"By all for which the martyrs bore their agony and shame;
By all the warning words of truth with which the prophets came;
'By the future which awaits us; by all the hopes which cast
'Their faint and trembling beams across the blackness of the past,
'And in the awful name of Him who for earth's freedom died;
O ye people, O my brothers! let us choose the righteous side!

"So shall the Northern pioneer go joyfully on his way,
To wed Penobscot's waters to San Francisco's bay;
To make the rugged places smooth, and sow the vales with grain,
'And bear, with Liberty and Law, the Bible in his train;
The mighty West shall bless the East, and sea shall answer sea;
'And mountain unto mountain call: Praise God, for we are free!"

Though the regiments to which they sang were made up principally of anti-slavery men, yet there were a few proslavery men among them, and these objected, loudly and vehemently, to introducing or stimulating anti-slavery sentiments among the soldiers. Especially did they object to those lines by Whittier. This caused considerable discussion among both officers and men, which, through one of the pro-slavery officers, finally reached the ears of General McClellan, then in command of the forces south of the Potomac. The General, for reasons best known to himself, thereupon issued an order to the "Hutchinson Family" to sing no more in the camps, and retire at once.

In obedience to this order, the "Family" left the camps and came to Alexandria, on their way to Washington. The reason for their leaving the camps had reached Alexandria before the coming of themselves, and had produced a very strong feeling among the Union men of the city against General McClellan, and in favor of the Hutchinsons.

On reaching there, they were called upon by a number of leading citizens, among whom was Hon. Louis McKenzie, afterwards a member of Congress from that district, and then and always a consistent Union man. They requested the Hutchinsons to give a concert in the city before leaving, and promised them a large and sympathizing audience. The Hutchinsons were entirely willing to give a concert, provided they could be assured of protection; but, having just been ordered by General McClellan to leave his command, they feared to sing again south of the Potomac, unless they had permission, and promise of protection, from the local authorities. This the callers promised to procure, and at once went to the general headquarters for that purpose.

They at first called upon General Montgomery. He, while entirely sympathizing with their wishes, hesitated about giving such formal permission, or promising any such protection, for the reason, that, being within General McClellan's command, the General might regard it as a contempt of his order to the Hutchinsons; nevertheless he would impose no objections of any kind, and recommended the applicants to see Judge Freese about it. General Montgomery really desired to do all that the committee requested; but, for the reasons above stated, preferred that Judge Freese should do it, by virtue of his milito-civic authority as judge of the provost-court.

The committee next called upon the Provost-Judge and laid all the facts before him, stating that General Montgomery had suggested that they call upon him. They urgently requested Judge Freese to grant the needed permission, with promise of personal protection. The Judge did not hesitate a moment to grant both requests. He told the committee that if the court, backed by the provost-guard, was not strong enough to protect peaceable citizens in the giving of a concert, no matter what was sung, the sooner the people knew it the better, and he was ready to test the matter at once. As to General McClellan's order, he regarded it as wholly unreasonable, and the army regulations required no officer to obey an "unreasonable" order. While he had a very high regard personally for General McClellan, he thought, in this matter, he had given too much heed to the enemies, and too little heed to the friends, of the government; and, whatever might be the consequences to himself, he had no hesitancy in granting the asked-for permission and promise of protection, even though General McClellan or his friends should regard it in direct contumacy of his order to the Hutchinsons. The Judge further said to the committee, that he "particularly desired Whittier's great poem to be sung, nor need the singers hesitate to introduce other war lyrics of like character – the more the better."