February 15, 1864---The Wade-Davis Bill and The Ironclad Oath

FEBRUARY 15, 1864:          

The Wade-Davis Bill is introduced into the House of Representatives by Radical Republicans Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Henry Winter Davis of Maryland. This Congressional plan for Reconstruction imposes far more harsh conditions upon the rebellious States than President Lincoln’s “Ten Percent Plan” which is already in effect in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The Wade-Davis Bill requires that a majority of State residents take an “Ironclad Oath” to the United States before readmission. It strips of their rights any and all officials who worked under the Confederate governments of the southern States. Most importantly, it strips the President of any power over Reconstruction. For all these reasons, and because the language of the Bill treats the South as a foreign and hostile power, President Lincoln objects to it. Although the Bill passes both Houses of Congress, President Lincoln treats it to a pocket veto.

  

 

   

 

The Ironclad Oath

"I, ________________ do solemnly affirm that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any authority or pretended authority in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. And I do further affirm that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God."

February 14, 1864---The Battle of Meridian, Mississippi

FEBRUARY 14, 1864:          

The Battle of Meridian, Mississippi. General William Tecumseh Sherman and his force of 20,000 have been on the march from Vicksburg since February 3^rd. Their objective is the small city of Meridian, Mississippi, an important rail hub and arsenal for the Confederacy. Having learned an important lesson at the Battle of Collierville on October 11, 1863, Sherman disdains the rail lines in favor of the power of human feet and living off the land. In the eleven days since they set out from Vicksburg, Sherman’s men, like a horde of locusts, have carved a swath of devastation across the entire width of the State.

Although Confederate President Jefferson Davis has ordered troops from scattered commands to unify in order to block Sherman’s advance, General Leonidas Polk betrays the memory of his namesake, and refuses to engage Sherman’s force or the Union auxiliary forces under General William Sooy Smith traveling down the Mobile & Ohio Railroad.

Convincing himself that Sherman and Smith will bypass Meridian in order to link up with General Nathaniel Banks and seize Mobile, Alabama, Polk abandons Meridian completely. 

Although Smith’s force faces stiff resistance from forces under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest, and never reaches Meridian, Sherman takes the undefended city in a cakewalk. While waiting for Smith, whom he does not realize has been stopped cold by Forrest, Sherman gives orders "to wipe the appointed meeting place off the map."

The city center is burned to the ground, and the rail depot destroyed along with 115 miles of track, 61 connecting bridges, over a mile of trestles, 20 locomotives, rolling stock, and machine shops. The city’s food stocks are seized and carried off, leaving the residents destitute. However, Sherman does not tolerate the destruction of private homes nor the harassment of the citizenry. All the same, Sherman reports to Headquarters: "Meridian . . . no longer exists.”  Sherman’s men leave the ruined city on the 20^th.

After destroying Meridian, Sherman does not go on to Mobile, but returns to Vicksburg by another route, leaving a second trail of ruin across Mississippi.  When Jefferson Davis hears of the destruction of Meridian he brands Sherman a war criminal.