University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER VII

THE CAMPAIGN OF 1869 AND THE RESTORATION
OF VIRGINIA

While it appeared that the New Movement had divided
the Conservatives into two factions during the early part of
1869, a serious division had occurred in the ranks of their
opponents. This schism was due in a great part to the unfortunate
personality and ultra-radicalism of the Radical candidate
for governor, H. H. Wells. His political record was not
above reproach, and he had made some very powerful enemies
in his party. His sudden elevation to the highest office in the
State and to the leadership of the Republican party, which
went with that position, had brought upon him the jealousy
and dislike of such men as Hunnicutt and Hawxhurst, who
were openly aspiring to that preeminence themselves. Through
his dishonesty, he had incurred the enmity of General Mahone,
the leading railroad man of the State, a man of doubtful party
leanings but of great influence as a politician. Wells had
alienated the more moderate members of his party by his
extreme views and by some rather questionable political acts.[1]
He had been one of the first of the Republicans to advocate
the universal enfranchisement of the negroes and the disfranchisement
of the whites. As early as June, 1865, he had accused
the white people of Virginia of perjury and had advocated
very extreme measures against them. His views[2] are
stated in a letter of June 21, 1865, to S. Ferguson Beach,
president of the Virginia Union Association. This letter was
widely used as a political document at the time. After stating

that "loyal" men, both white and colored, were not receiving
sufficient protection, and that a remedy was necessary, he said,
"And what is that remedy? It is, in my judgment, to establish
a military provisional government, to locate a sufficient military
force to preserve peace, command respect, and secure
order; in other words, to vindicate the supremacy of the law.
Then disfranchise those who are not loyal; make loyal acts,
and not a paper oath, the test of loyalty. This done, create a
perpetual balance of power, which will at all times secure you
from a political danger; or more plainly, let the negro vote."

In 1868 Wells urged the Reconstruction Committee in Congress
to disfranchise 25,000 Virginians who had not been
disfranchised by the Reconstruction Acts, in order to make
secure the political position of his party. In 1868, he advocated
the Underwood Constitution without reservation. And
in 1869, he again appeared before the Reconstruction Committee
and opposed the submission of the objectionable
clauses of the constitution to a separate vote because it would
mean the defeat of the Republican party in the State. In spite
of all this, in May, 1869, Wells declared himself in favor of
the omission of the offensive clauses in the Underwood Constitution.[3] This move was taken by him after it was evident
that his former position was making him unpopular with the
best men in the Republican party. But he did not advocate
in his public speeches the defeat of the clauses, and his followers,
both white and colored, continued to support the constitution
as a whole. It was generally believed, and with good
reason, that he was still working secretly with his followers
for the objectional clauses.[4]

The unpopularity of Governor Wells had made such discord
in the Republican ranks that the state executive committee
of the party decided to set aside all the nominations
of 1868 and to call a new convention to put other candidates
in the field. The convention met at Petersburg March 9 and

10, 1869. It was one of the most turbulent of the many disorderly
Radical conventions of the period.

The insurgents, who composed the more moderate wing of
the Republican party, desired the nomination of James H.
Clements for governor. The negroes, who made up the rank
and file of the opposing wing, supported the candidacy of
Wells almost unanimously. The contest between the two
factions over the election of a chairman of the convention was
very stormy. When the Clements faction claimed the victory,
the Wells followers started a riot. Order was restored only
after the police had made an unsuccessful effort to restore
peace, and the mayor of Petersburg had threatened to call in
Federal troops. As a result of this disorder, the Conservative
faction was overpowered. The Radicals, now in possession of
the field, elected from among their number the permanent officers
and appointed a new state central committee. Six negroes
were members of this newly appointed committee
of the party. Wells received the nomination for governor.
The leading white Radicals had expected to nominate for
lieutenant-governor, Dr. W. C. Douglas, of Richmond County,
but a colored delegate, Lewis Lindsay,[5] nominated Dr. J. D.
Harris, a negro, of Hampton, Virginia. Edgar Allen, in order
to further discredit the Wells ticket in the eyes of the people
of the State, helped to win the nomination for Harris by an
eloquent speech, which completely won over the negro delegates.[6] Resolutions were adopted by the convention advocating
the early restoration of Virginia under the new constitution
without any changes or amendments; an early election, in
order to insure a Radical victory; the right of the "real"
Republican party to dictate the manner of restoring the State
to the Union as well as the constitution and laws under which
the State should be restored; and the disfranchisement of,

and the refusal of amnesty to, the great body of the white people
of Virginia.

After the adjournment of the convention, the more moderate
Republicans met and drew up resolutions to the effect
that it was their opinion that the large majority of the intelligent
people of Virginia were willing to carry out in good
faith the measures proposed by Congress for the reconstruction
of the Southern States. "We believe," continued the
resolutions, "that they will cheerfully support true and well-known
Republicans for State officers; and to afford them an
opportunity to do this we respectfully recommend: for Governor,
G. C. Walker, of Norfolk city; for Lieutenant-Governor,
John F. Lewis, of Rockingham County; and for
Attorney-General, J. C. Taylor, of Montgomery County."[7]
These resolutions were signed by over one hundred and fifty
of the most intelligent and respectable members of the Republican
party in the State and show clearly the influence of the
Committee of Nine. In fact, those who had been mainly instrumental
in drawing up the resolutions were members of the
conservative Republican committee that had assisted Mr.
Stuart's Committee of Nine in Washington during the month
of January.

The Committee of Nine had suggested that a conservative
ticket be put in the field against Wells, regardless of party
lines. It had even suggested that in case the conservative faction
of the Republican party was unable to defeat the nomination
of Wells in the coming election, that they withdraw
from the convention and nominate candidates of their own,
and thus defeat the Wells ticket by dividing the party. But
no definite arrangement had been made with the moderate
Republicans.[8] It is probable that the allied factions saw at an
early date the necessity of supporting a conservative, or moderate,
Republican ticket in order to defeat the Wells faction,
but wisely kept their plan to themselves until public opinion

was ready for its adoption. At any rate it was adopted
in April, 1869, by the Conservatives and the moderate
Republicans.

On the twenty-eighth of that month a convention of the
Conservative party met in Richmond at the Exchange Hotel,
the political rendezvous of that day.[9] The attitude of the people
in regard to the New Movement had changed. After the
first heat of bitter protest had passed away, they had recovered
their good judgment and self control and were determined
to save, if possible, the remainder of their political fortunes.
Resolutions were adopted urging the voters to defeat the
objectionable clauses of the constitution. The candidates who
had been nominated by the Conservatives about twelve months
before withdrew in order to give the party a free hand in this
crisis. A few days later the state central committee urged the
people to support the conservative Republican candidates.
The Conservative party could probably have won by an honest
count; but since the choice would have lain between Withers,
a "red-handed Confederate Colonel," and Wells, a "loyal"
Republican, the latter might have been "counted in" by the
election officials.[10]

Such was the party alignment when, on May 4, 1869, President
Grant named July 6, 1869, as the time of the election in
Virginia and proclaimed that a separate vote should be taken
on the disfranchising and test oath clauses. Notwithstanding
the disappointment of the Conservatives because the county
organization clause was not submitted to a separate vote, the
campaign, which had already been inaugurated, was conducted
with energy. Walker was greeted with enthusiasm by
Conservatives in all parts of the State. Wells also conducted
an efficient campaign, mostly among the negroes.

The Conservatives were beginning to feel confident of victory,
when it became known, just before the election, that General
Canby, who had succeeded General Stoneman as

commanding general of the District in March, 1869, was determined
to administer the "iron clad" oath to the officers-elect.
Should this be done, the candidate having the next highest vote
would be counted in. Only Radicals would then be elected, and
it would have meant disaster to the Conservatives and to the
State. Upon hearing of this through Mr. Stuart, the President
issued an order preventing General Canby from carrying his
designs into effect.[11]

The attitude of the conservative whites towards the negroes
in this campaign is very interesting. The Conservative
party had organized as a white man's party after the bitter
campaign of 1867, but the new organization, which included
the moderate Republicans, sought the aid of the conservative
negroes just as the Conservative party had done in the election
of 1867. Most of the political shortcomings of the negroes were
charged to their white Radical advisers, who were cordially
hated during their stay in Virginia. The negroes themselves,
if moderate, were preferred as candidates to these men. The
Richmond Dispatch, a Conservative paper, in commenting on
the election, said, "Dr. Norton [colored] of Williamsburg,
will be no doubt elected in the First District. He is, we believe,
conservative, and opposes Ayer, the bitter Radical from the
North. We shall consider Norton's election a victory."[12] In
several counties the white Conservatives nominated negroes
for office. Three of these were elected to the General Assembly.[13] Some of the most substantial negroes aided the Conservatives
in this campaign as they had done in 1867.

About a week before the election, some two hundred and
fifty Conservative negroes of Richmond, at the risk of personal
violence from the colored Radicals, arranged a barbecue
for their men and invited a number of prominent white Conservatives.
The speeches on both sides were harmonious and
good feeling prevailed. The hosts displayed a banner upon

which was a picture of a white man and a colored man shaking
hands. Under the picture was written, "United we stand;
divided we fall." By an unhappy coincidence a nearby bridge
fell soon after the appearance of this banner, carrying with
it a crowd of people. Many were injured and several killed.[14]
Among those who were killed was Colonel James R. Branch,
a prominent white Conservative, of Richmond.

The Radicals encouraged the superstitious negroes in believing
that this accident was an evil omen against the affiliating
of members of their race with the Conservative party.
The Radical newspapers attributed much importance to the
providential warning, as they interpreted it, to the negroes.
One of them, the Richmond Evening Journal, of July 3, 1869,
said of the accident, "That colored vote of ours is a power.
It is directed by a religious sentiment. The hand of God is
in it to curse those who apostasize, and to bless and guide
those who go faithfully to the polls and vote for the Republican
ticket. * * * There has been no `colored Conservative barbecue'
and there will be none. An awful fiat has forbidden, and
that finger will not again be tempted to be uplifted against
colored apostasy."[15]

During this campaign most of the negroes were completely
under the influence of the Union League.[16] Some of them were
persuaded by the anti-Wells Republicans to follow them into
the Conservative ranks. Others had been persuaded to abandon
the League by the farmers, who in some cases refused to
employ a member.

As the day of the election drew near the negroes showed a
growing tendency to nominate men of their own color as candidates
for election to the General Assembly and to Congress.
On May 24, the first unmixed negro state convention ever held

Eastern Shore Potato Scene

in Virginia met in Petersburg in answer to a call issued by the
colored people of that city. The object of the convention, as
expressed by Dr. Bayne, was to bring it about that the State
would have no peace while all of its offices were filled with
white men. The convention endorsed the whole Underwood
Constitution and the Wells ticket.[17]

In a number of counties in the State the negroes put candidates
of their own race in the field against those of both the
Walker and the Wells tickets. In Norfolk city they had two
colored candidates for the State Senate and three for the
House of Delegates. In six Congressional districts they had
candidates for the House of Representatives.

The vote in the election of 1869 was perhaps the largest
that had ever been cast in the history of the State. The returns
are very interesting since they show the vote by race
as well as by party. They were as follows:[18]

                                                     

Total Number of Registered Voters:
White	149,781
Colored	120,103
Number of Votes Cast:
White	125,114
Colored	97,205
The Constitution:
For	210,585
Against	9,136
4th Clause, Sec. 1, Art. III, of Constitution:
For	84,410
Against	124,360
7th Section, Article III:
For	83,458
Against	124,715
Not Voting:
White	24,637
Colored	22,898
For Governor:
Walker	119,535
Wells	101,204
For Lieutenant-Governor:
Lewis	120,068
Harris	99,600
For Attorney-General:
Taylor	119,446
Bowden	101,129

The color line in this election was drawn more sharply than
in the previous election. That part of the constitution, not
including the two parts that were voted on separately, was
accepted by both sides almost unanimously. Walker was
elected governor by a majority of 18,331 out of 220,739 votes.
The Conservatives, Lewis and Taylor, were also elected
lieutenant-governor and attorney-general, respectively. Of the
six candidates for the three highest state offices, Taylor received
the greatest number of votes and Harris, his colored
opponent, the smallest. Evidently some of the Radicals did
not support their colored candidate. The most interesting
and significant feature of the election was the vote on the
clauses that were submitted separately. The negroes voted
almost unanimously for these clauses, which, if adopted, would
have disfranchised thousands of white men and disqualified
from holding office practically all the white men of the State.
The efforts to break the hold of the Union League on the
negroes had been successful only to a very small degree, and
the negroes voted as they had been instructed by their Radical
leaders.

Of the 43 senators elected to the General Assembly, 30
were Conservative and 13, Radical. Of the 138 delegates
elected, 96 were Conservative and 42, Radical. There were
6 negro Radicals among the senators elected, and 18 negro
Radicals and 3 negro Conservatives among the delegates. The

Gilbert C. Walker

Governor, 1870-1874

Conservative candidates won 5 out of the 9 Congressional
districts.

To the country at large this seemed like a victory of the
moderate faction of the Republican party, but it was really
a victory of the old Conservative party. It meant that the
State had passed directly from under a fairly efficient military
government to one under Conservative control, and that
Virginia was thereby spared several painful years of carpet-bag-negro
rule, such as existed in most of the other Southern
states. There remained, however, from Reconstruction a
new and cumbersome government, the provision for an expensive
public school system, a large public debt, and other new
and fearful problems—social, political, and racial. These
problems had to be faced and solved by a poverty-stricken
state, carrying a heavy debt and a burden of about one hundred
and fifty thousand newly enfranchised freedmen, who were
densely ignorant and well organized under unscrupulous
leaders, politically hostile to the white people.

The election had been a quiet one in spite of the bitterness
of the campaign that had preceded it.[19] The general apprehension
that had been felt over this feature of the election is
shown in the frequent comment, "No disturbance," "All
quiet," or other similar laconic phrases in the telegraphic
reports to the newspapers of the elections in the black counties
of the State. In a few of the reports, mention was made
of the fact that some negroes had voted with the whites for
Walker.[20]

There was great rejoicing among the Conservatives over
the results of the election. The Norfolk correspondent of a
Richmond paper said, "While I write, bonfires are burning,
music playing, and other demonstrations of a rejoicing people"
are in progress. There were similar celebrations throughout
the State. The exodus of the carpetbaggers was anticipated
with keen pleasure. "Thank God," writes the editor of

the Richmond Dispatch, "they must soon depart or take to
some honest livelihood."

In September, 1869, after the Radical defeat, the provisional
Governor, Wells, resigned, and the governor-elect,
Walker, was appointed by General Canby to the office. A few
days later, October 5, 1869, the first General Assembly that
had met in three years, and the first in ten years to receive
the unqualified recognition of the Federal government, convened
in Richmond. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments
were submitted to the Assembly by Governor Walker
on the third day of its session. The former amendment was
ratified in the Senate by a vote of 36 to 4, and in the House
of Delegates by a vote of 126 to 6. The latter amendment was
ratified in the Senate by a vote of 40 to 2, and in the House by
a unanimous vote. The virtual unanimity with which the
amendments were ratified is interesting in view of the fact
that before the Assembly had been able to effect a permanent
organization and proceed with its work, the Radical members
had attempted to have the test oath required of all the members,
and followed this vain attempt by a protest against the
loyalty and legality of the Assembly.

The Radical party expressed its disapproval of the July
elections in resolutions adopted by its state convention which
met in Richmond on November 24, 1869. It was therein declared
that "the election held in this State on the 6th of July,
last, resulted in a Confederate triumph, which we unhesitatingly
assert was achieved by artifice, intimidation and
fraud."[21]

"We believe," continued the resolutions, "that the secret
of our defeat can be found in the unfortunate submission to
a separate vote of the test-oath and disfranchising clauses

of the state constitution, in direct opposition to the deliberate
opinion of the rank and file of the Republican party in Virginia."
An appeal was made to Congress to "guarantee to
Virginia a republican form of government" by either requiring
the test-oath of those elected, and upon their refusal to
take it, to count in the candidate having the next highest vote,
or by requiring a new election in order to have a vote taken on
the constitution as a whole. "In event of a new election,"
continued the appeal, "we would ask for a military force sufficient
to protect us in our political and civil rights. * * *
This is perhaps our last contest. On your decision, loyalty in
Virginia lives or dies. If you decide against us, no one will
dare avow his Republicanism. The pernicious example set
here will extend to other Southern States; the colored people
will again be at the mercy of their former masters; the
national debt will be repudiated; and the rebel Democratic
yoke may be placed on the necks of the American people in
1872."[22]

These resolutions are sufficient to show the character and
the methods of the "rank and file of the Republican party in
Virginia," and to explain, in part at least, the solidarity of
the opposition to that party in the Commonwealth since 1867.

Fortunately for the State, Congress did not heed the cry of
the Radicals, and Virginia took her place in the Union by an
act of Congress of January 26, 1870.

Riverside Cotton Mills, Danville