THE MAGAZINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. CONTENTS FOR PART OF THE YEAR 1885. VOLUME XIV JULY. Washington in March and April, 1861. Illus. Lieut.-Gen. CHARLES P. STONE. Beginnings of the Civil War in America. General THOMAS JORDAN, C.S.A. Military Affairs of New York State in 1861. Some Experiences and Impressions. General MEREDITH READ, Adj.-Gen. of N. Y. in 1861. The Seizure and Reduction of Fort Pulaski. Colonel CHARLES C. Jones, Jr., LL.D., C.S.A. March of the New York Seventh Regiment. The Great Uprising in New York City, 1861. Illus. THE EDITOR. The Seventh Regiment at the Capital in 1861. "The Daylight Contingent." Illustrated. Brig.-Gen. EGBERT L. VIELE. Wall Street in the Civil War. GEORGE Rutledge Gibson. AUGUST. Portrait in steel of Maj.-Gen. John A. Dix. (Frontispiece.) Beginnings of the Civil War in America. II. Illus. General THOMAS JORDAN, C.S.A. Cincinnati with the War Fever. Illustrated. General HENRY M. CIST. The Charleston Convention. SEPTEMBER. Portrait in steel of General Grant. (Frontispiece.) General Grant's Resting Place. Its Historical Associations. Illustrated. Mrs. MARTHA J. LAMB. Washington's First Public Service. T. J. CHAPMAN, A. M. The Closing Days of Louis XIV. Hon. JAMES W. GERARD. Tributes to General Grant. From Hon. HAMILTON FISH, Rev. O. H. TIFFANY, D.D.; Hon. JAMES G. BLAINE, and Canon FARRAR, in Westminster Abbey. Baltimore in 1861. Illustrated. Major-Gen. JOHN C. ROBINSON. Beginnings of the Civil War in America. The Confederates take the Offensive. (Third Paper.) Illus. General THOMAS JORDAN, C.S.A. Military Affairs of New York State in 1861. Some Experiences and Impressions. (Second Paper.) Illustrated. Gen. MEREDITH READ, Adj. Gen. of N. Y. in 1861. Rev. W. M. BEAUCHAMP. A Glastonbury Medal. Illus. H. W. RICHARDSON. Minor Topics.-A Critical Notice, by HENRY H. HURLBUT-Escape from Prison Life, an Incident in the late Civil War, by General J. MADISON DRAKE A Revolutionary Relic, by CLARK JILLSON, Esq. -An Interesting Discovery, London Times. NOVEMBER. Portrait of James Wadsworth. (Frontispiece.) The Wadsworth House at Geneseo. Illustrated. FREDERIC C. MATHER. The Burning of Washington in 1814. Hon. HORATIO KING. Witchcraft in Illinois. JOHN H. GUNN. The Campaign of 1861-1862 in Kentucky. Unfolded through the Correspondence of its Leaders. (Second Paper.) Gen. WM. FARRAR (“BALDY") SMITH. A Ride with Sheridan. A. D. ROCKWELL, M.D. Bombardments and Capture of Fort McAllister. Colonel CHARLES Č. JONES, JR., LL.D., C.S.A. DECEMBER. Portrait of Gen. Geo. B. McClellan. (Frontispiece.) General E. PARKER SCAMMON. The Campaign of 1861-1862 in Kentucky. Unfolded through the Correspondence of its Leaders. (Third Paper.) Gen. WM. FARRAR (“ BALDY ") SMITH. How We Ran the Vicksburg Batteries. Illus. W. S. WARD. Tribute to General George B. McClellan. Senator Anthony's Gift to Brown University. THE EDITOR. Rev. J. C. STOCKBRIDGE. Hon. LUTHER R. MARSH. Niagara Falls. MAGAZINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY VOL. XVI FE SEPTEMBER, 1886 AN ILLUSTRATED CHAPTER OF BEGINNINGS THE FOUNDER, PRESIDENTS, HOMES, AND TREASURES No. 3 EW subjects as important are less familiar to the average American citizen of to-day than the origin and devolopment of historical societies in this country. These peculiar institutions have multiplied with marvelous rapidity during the past few years, and now exist in nearly every State and chief city of the Union, in many of the counties and towns, at the principal seats of learning, in the colleges and some of the schools, and in clubs and social circles throughout the land. Yet how many are there in any of our intelligent communities who can define the source from which they originally sprung? It is well known that the awakening of general interest in historic inquiry is of comparatively recent date. Formerly, men only of exceptional learning and large wealth worked, or could afford to work, for the preservation of historic material. Whatever was rich and rare and delightful fell into the superb collections of the few. The general public were treated to the crumbs, and professional writers, without time or opportunity for research, went on from year to year repeating each other's errors, and furnishing misinformation greatly in excess of the demand. But the movement of the human mind, taken collectively, is invariably toward something better. The gems of private collections gradually drifted into these historical museums, of which the world knew so little, and which, with magnificent accumulations of instructive material, are now made accessible to all students of history. Authors of every grade have thus found their possibilities enlarged, and inspiration has been given to a new race of historians. The present of any period illustrates nothing of its own significance-any more than the individual brick shows the architecture of the house of which it is a part. It has become the fashion to be wise, and yet no wisdom is satisfactory without familiarity with past events. The old-time notion that America has no history worth bothering about disappears in the fresh, clear light. The scholar must understand his own country. There is no longer any pardon for him if he does not. And as to the journalist who would guide *COPYRIGHT, 1886, BY MRS. MARTHA J. LAMB. VOL. XVI.-No. 3.-15. public opinion, a thorough knowledge of American history has become absolutely essential in discussing the principal topics of the hour. The truth is, and it is more and more appreciated with each rolling year, that no country, however old, presents more of the picturesque and romantic in its background than our own. It is an interesting and notable fact that these institutions, which have done so much toward educating the public taste, can be traced for their primary impulse and origin to one individual. The world has never heard much of John Pintard, but through his genius and persistence we have a priceless inheritance. He is the acknowledged founder of historical societies in America. He was a bright, handsome, energetic young man of twenty in 1779, a New Yorker by birth, and a French Huguenot by descent, who had enjoyed the special friendship of Dr. Witherspoon at Princeton College, and otherwise secured many distinguished friends. His uncle, Louis Pintard, was commissary for American prisoners during the Revolution, and John was his secretary for three of those exciting years. It was while in this employ that he first became distressed with the want of some repository for the safe preservation of records of passing events. When the war ended, and for two full decades thereafter, he constantly pressed his views concerning this great need upon the attention of others. He was a close student of public men and measures, and in addition to classical acquirements and familiarity with elegant literature, he possessed a rich fund of historical, geographical, legal, and didactic information. One of his eminent contemporaries said: "You could scarcely approach him without having something of Doctor Johnson thrust upon you; he was versed in theological and polemical divinity, and there were periods in his life in which he gave every unappropriated moment to philological inquiry, and it was curious to see him ransacking his formidable pile of dictionaries for radicals and synonyms with an earnestness that would have done honor to the most eminent student in the republic of letters." He was a stirring man and journeyed extensively through the country, and at a time when steam-boats and railroads were unknown. His ideas in regard to the formation of historical societies were never allowed to slumber, but they first took shape and effect in Boston. On the 10th of August, 1789, the celebrated Rev. Jeremy Belknap wrote from Boston to Postmaster-General Hazard in New York, saying: "This day Mr. Pintard called to see me. He says he is an acquaintance of yours, and wants to form a society of antiquaries, etc. He seems to have a literary taste." Postmaster Hazard, in his reply, said: "Mr. Pintard has mentioned to me his thoughts about an American Antiquarian Society. The idea pleases me much. Mr. |