Across the Divide by Steven J. Ramold

Author:Steven J. Ramold
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NYU Press
Published: 2013-02-23T16:00:00+00:00

5

“The Ranting of the Black-Hearted Villains”

Soldiers and the Anti-War Movement

In March 1863, Henry Haven, a former Captain in the 23rd Ohio and resident of Bedford, Ohio, wrote to the local Provost Marshal: “Sir, I have the honor to inform you that an organization for the purpose of resisting the Conscription has recently been formed in this place.” Describing meetings where residents announced their support for the Confederacy and determination to resist federal law, Haven inquired “Cannot such men be arrested and punished?” Responding to Haven’s letter, the Provost Marshal’s office in Cincinnati shared his concern, but admitted “there is no act . . . providing for the suppression of such organization by the Civil Authority,” and he could not move proactively on the claim of an anti-conscription conspiracy because “no draft or enrollment has of yet been attempted by the Government” in that part of Ohio.1 The note is unique not because it represented the typical response of the Union Army to reports of suspected disloyalty, but rather as one of the few times the army acted with restraint against those who did not share the army’s conviction of a just war to save the Union. Convinced that ‘Copperheads,’ opponents of the war who identified themselves by wearing copper pennies on their lapels, proposed to harm the nation by defying the will of the people, the laws of the government, and goals of the army, soldiers came to despise those who espoused peace at any cost. In addition to anti-war activism, the Union Army also believed hidden elements conspired with the Confederacy to undermine the Union Army and government from within. Although clearly separate groups, soldiers made little attempt to separate political anti-war support from nefarious conspiracy, and conveniently lumped all who opposed their dedication to the conflict under the Copperhead banner.

The Copperhead movement was a prime example of the communication divide between soldiers and home. Relying upon letters and newspapers from home instead of personal experiences to shape their views, soldiers accepted the idea of menacing plots against the government as no other means existed to disprove them. Like all conspiracy theories, the Copperhead threat rested upon innuendo, incomplete information, and suspicions that proved easy to manufacture into a conspiracy and virtually impossible to entirely disprove. It is also an instance where the political divide became obvious. As disparate events took on sinister intent over the course of the war, soldiers found enemies among members of Congress, within their state governments, and even in their own families. As treasonous adversaries often accused of acting in concert with the Confederate foe, the anti-war movement became, at least in the eyes of Union soldiers, unworthy of the political and legal protections granted to loyal citizens. This position further radicalized the political system with soldiers rallying to the defense of the President and the Republicans in large numbers and disparaging the Democratic opposition as partners in secession. In the process, reasonable political protest lost its legitimacy, as lawful protest became an act

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