Slaves were “prop-er-ty” and as prop-er-ty was to be seized, slaves, of course, could be tak-en. They were at that time at work as team-sters and on forts. Why, then, would it not be a good time to give them their free-dom? With this ques-tion in his mind, the Pres-i-dent went to his desk and took from it a pa-per which he then read to his “cab-i-net.” It said; “On and af-ter the first day of Jan-u-a-ry, 1863, all slaves with-in a-ny state or states where the con-sti-tu-tion-al au-thor-i-ty of the U-ni-ted States shall not be re-cog-nized, sub-mit-ted to, and main-tained, shall thence-for-ward and for-ev-er be free.”
The Pres-i-dent told those to whom he had read his “draft” that he had not called them to ask their ad-vice but to place the mat-ter be-fore them.
The wise Se-cret-a-ry Sew-ard said that though he was in fa-vor of such a draft, he thought the time was not ripe for it. He thought it would be best to wait un-til the troops had won more fights. It was then de-cid-ed that at least some months should go by ere this “draft” should be made known.
It is true that while good strokes were made in the West, the East did not do her part to put down the foe as soon as she might have done, and this was laid to lead-ers, for the troops were brave and read-y to fight when they had a chance.
What was called “The Pen-in-su-lar Cam-paign” made a start ’twixt the York Riv-er and the James Riv-er, on land which forms a pen-in-su-la.
Here through the spring and sum-mer of 1862, Mc-Clel-lan held large for-ces. There was much fight-ing, and at one time the Un-ion for-ces were with-in eight miles of Rich-mond, but in the end they had to fall back and with-draw from the Pen-in-su-la.
Pres-i-dent Lin-coln at length felt that Mc-Clel-lan was no match for the Con-fed-er-ate Gen-er-als, Lee and “Stone-wall” Jack-son. So he had to put a new man at the head of the ar-my in the East. This man was Gen. Pope who had done well in the West.
Then came the sec-ond Bull Run fight, Au-gust 29 and 30, 1862. The foe won. Lin-coln found Pope “not up to the mark,” as a lead-er, and so put Mc-Clel-lan back once more.
It was on the 16th and 17th of Sept. 1862, that Mc-Clel-lan and Lee fought at An-tie-tam Creek, near Sharps-burg, in Ma-ry-land. This was one of the most se-vere bat-tles of the war. On Sept. 18, Lee with-drew a-cross the Po-to-mac, and Mc-Clel-lan slow-ly went af-ter him.