Today in History: A Lincoln Pardon (And, You Know, That Whole Surrender at Appomattox Thing)

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Major & Knapp Print, Library of Congress.

On April 12, 1865, Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met, and Lee formally accepted the surrender terms drawn up on April 9th, and disbanded the Army of Northern Virginia. Several small battles took place after Lee's surrender, but the war was effectively over. For thousands of troops, the fighting was now done.

George Maynard's Letter to His Uncle. From the Compiled Military Service Records, US National Archives

For one Union soldier, however, this date held even more significance.  Private George A. Maynard of the 46th New York Infantry was arrested September 18, 1864, as a deserter, only 15 days after enlisting, and taken to Fort Monroe. He was charged with the even more serious crime of deserting to join the opposition. At trial, Maynard was found guilty on February 14, 1865, and sentenced "to be hung by the neck until dead."  

Telegraph from Lincoln to Grant, Dated February 23, 1865. From the Compiled Military Service Records, US National Archives

The soldier sent a message to his uncle, Harrison Maynard, of St. Albans, VT, entreating for help.  Uncle Harrison must have been well connected, because less than ten days later on February 23rd, President Abraham Lincoln telegraphed General Grant, ordering him to suspend Maynard's sentence until his case could be further reviewed.  Lincoln, in spite of the Herculean burden of running a country at war with itself, reviewed the cases of hundreds of individual soldiers, converting sentences and pardoning many. Entreaties on behalf of soldiers came from those in high positions of power--governors, congressmen--and regular, everyday people, if they could get their request to him. The President treated each request, once received, the same. Lincoln's mercy became a sore subject with his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton,  who wished the President would remember that the Army needed harsh consequences at times to keep the troops in line.

 On April 12, 1865, Lincoln officially pardoned George A. Maynard, and ordered he be returned to his regiment.  Two days later, Lincoln would be assassinated by John Wilkes Booth; so Maynard was lucky in more ways than one. The official order pardoning Maynard was published on April 24th, and sent out to General George G. Meade and the Army of the Potomac. Meade in turn sent the order back, explaining that the 46th New York Infantry was no longer serving with his outfit. Maynard finally returned to his regiment on June 5, 1865, and was mustered out with the rest of the 46th at the end of July. We'd call his army tenure a short, but storied career.

This Day In History: "Dump the Tea Into the Sea!"

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W.D. Cooper. "Boston Tea Party.", The History of North America. London: E. Newberry, 1789. Engraving. Plate opposite p. 58. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress.

The Boston Tea Party, initially referred to by John Adams with the less catchy title: “The Destruction of The Tea in Boston,” was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty (a “secret society” created to protect the rights of colonists and protest taxation by the British) in Boston, MA, on this day in 1773.  The colonists were unhappy about the passage of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, as they believed it violated their rights as British citizens to “no taxation without representation.” 

On the evening of December 16th, 30 to 130 men boarded three ships in Boston Harbor, some disguised as Mohawk warriors. Over the course of three hours, they dumped all 342 chests of tea into the water—a shipment worth £9,000 at the time, or $1.7 million in American currency today.  This event is seen as a major catalyst leading up to the American Revolution.

This iconic 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase "Boston Tea Party" had not yet become standard. Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Native Americans. Image. Library of Congress

This notice from the "Chairman of the Committee for Tarring and Feathering” in Boston denounced the tea consignees as "traitors to their country." Image, Library of Congress.

Parliament responded to the Tea Party with the Coercive Acts, known as the Intolerable Acts in the Colonies, in 1774, which ended local self government in Massachusetts and closed all of Boston’s commerce.  This did not sit well with citizens in all 13 colonies, who not only continued to protest, but then convened the first Continental Congress which petitioned the Monarchy to repeal the acts and provide representation for the colonists. 

It is thought that coffee jumped to Americans' preferred drink after the Tea Party, as John Adams and many other Americans believed drinking tea to be unpatriotic! This is a key example of the better choices Americans make (don't tell us about how tea has as much caffeine as coffee, ugh), and why we needed to separate from the English tyrants.

The Boston Tea Party Museum

Today, you can visit the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum which is located on Congress Street in Boston, MA.  Alex enjoyed a very memorable 3rd grade field trip there where you can see two replica ships, one of the tea chests from the original event, and even take a turn throwing a chest into the harbor while yelling “dump the tea into the sea!”