The American Civil War, fought between 1861 and 1865, is by far the most traumatic event in that country’s history.
There were also major repercussions for Canada and Wellington County: effects on agricultural markets, enlistments by Canadians, and fears that Canada might be drawn into the conflict.
Eventually, at the end of the war, the size of the Union Army and the pronouncements of American expansionists were factors in the push for Confederation.
The war caused major disruptions in commodity markets. Wheat was then the centre of the economy in Wellington County, and prices fluctuated during the war years between 80 cents and $1.25 per bushel. That was well above the price level of the late 1850s, when depression gripped the economy. Even at the lower end of that range, grain growing was profitable.
The acreage devoted to grain increased dramatically in the early 1860s as Wellington County farmers cleared more of their land. Many farmers solidified their financial standing with the good markets during those war years.
Another factor impacting local agriculture was the presence of horse buyers. The Union Army required a seemingly limitless quantity of horses, some for cavalry, but most for the less glamorous task of moving men and equipment from one battle scene to another, and hauling supplies to encampments. Farmers with extra horses profited greatly, while those in the market for more had to deal with ever higher prices.
There was also a demand for men to serve in the armies. Hundreds of Canadians volunteered for service in the war. There was a surprisingly strong sympathy for the Southern cause in Canada. Figures are unreliable and sketchy, but it appears that about 20% of Canadians who took part in the war did so on the side of the Confederacy.
There are several reasons for that sympathy for the South. Some of the volunteers had family ties with southern states. Others feared the expansionist rhetoric from some of the northern leaders. They suspected that a Northern victory would mean the annexation of Canada.
The majority of Canadians, though, sided with the Union cause. Canada had been the prime destination for escaped slaves since the 1830s, and especially so after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, which compelled states without slavery to return escaped slaves to their owners in the south. As well, many Canadians had family ties with residents of the northern states.
A handful of Southern operatives were active in Canada, particularly in the cities. They hoped to stir resistance to the Union cause in Canada, and if possible, mount military action from Canada, in effect opening a second front.
The spies and agitators had no success in their efforts, but their activities made many people nervous over the possibility of a pre-emptive strike by the Union Army into Canada.
Perhaps the most active Southern sympathizer in Wellington County was Adam Robertson, operator of a foundry in Guelph. In co-operation with Confederate agents, he devised a plan to make arms for the south and smuggle them through Indiana to the Southern army.
For its part, the Canadian government wished to stay out of the conflict. Officials discouraged recruiters from activity in Canada, and outlawed the paying of bonuses to men to sign up for service. As the war dragged on, the Lincoln administration encountered increasing difficulty in attracting volunteers. The American government instituted a very unpopular military draft. One of its provisions allowed wealthy men to hire someone else in their place. There were also signing bonuses for volunteers: significant cash payments for those who volunteered, and payments to other men who acted as recruiters. Some of those recruiters operated in Canada on the assumption that the signing bonuses would be attractive to unemployed and underemployed young men.
One man who was drawn by the apparent easy money to be earned as a recruiter was a fellow named Sam Duckey. During the 1860s, he worked as a delivery man, hauling tombstones for the firm of Hurd & Robinson, of Guelph. Those duties took him all over the centre and northern part of Wellington.
On the afternoon of Jan. 12, 1864, Duckey met a young man named John White at Alexander’s Hotel, in Alma. Duckey suggested that he could enlist White in the U.S. Army, and that White would collect $150 for volunteering: 50 cents immediately, some more at Guelph, and the balance when he signed up across the border.
White would find army life easy, claimed Duckey. He would spend at least half his time lounging in camp. Duckey even offered to loan White a few dollars to cover his travel expenses.
Late in the afternoon Duckey and White set out for Guelph in the former’s cutter. They had not gone far when someone hailed them from behind. Duckey stopped, and told White to say nothing of their mission or destination.
A local resident, John Cunningham soon pulled up, and engaged Duckey in a conversation about joining the Union Army, requesting that Duckey help him enlist. He replied that Cunningham should get into his cutter, and they could sort out the arrangements when they reached Elora.
Just then, Alex McCrae, of Alma, pulled up. He was a Justice of the Peace and he ordered Cunningham to arrest Duckey for illegally recruiting for the Union Army.
The preliminary hearing convened the next day before three justices of the peace: Charles Clarke, of Elora; Alexander McCrae, of Alma; and Robert Cromar, of Pilkington. Before the court session, McCrae had convinced White to lay charges against Duckey for illegally recruiting him.
John White was the lead witness. He related what had transpired at Alexander’s Hotel and on the road when John Cunningham pulled up to Duckey’s cutter. Sam Duckey acted as his own counsel. He contradicted some of White’s evidence, and forced him to admit that the 50-cent payment was to cover White’s dinner and was not a pre-payment of the bounty.
John Cunningham’s testimony described his efforts to get Duckey to enlist him. He stated he had approached Duckey with the intention of arresting him, and that Duckey was very reluctant to do so because Cunningham had a wife and young family.
Hotel keeper John Alexander had nothing additional to offer the session. He said he recalled Duckey and White in his hotel, but had been too busy behind the bar to pay much attention to them. He concluded by saying that he never heard Duckey, who had been a regular patron at his hotel, say anything about recruiting men for the Union Army.
The last witness added confusion to the case. John Stewart was a salesman for the D.M. Potter foundry in Elora, and frequently stopped at Alexander’s Hotel on his travels. He told the magistrates he had overheard Duckey saying he had hired White to work on his father’s farm in New York State, with an advance payment of $200.
Later, he said he had eaten dinner with White, and that White had said that he planned to join the Union Army.
The magistrates recalled John White, and he denied ever seeing Stewart before the court session, and said he neither had dinner with him nor spoken with him about enlisting.
The three magistrates believed there was sufficient evidence to hold Duckey for trial, but it appears that a trial never took place.
The incident was certainly a curious one, particularly the zeal with which John Cunningham and Alex McCrae pursued and entrapped Duckey. Perhaps Duckey had already been successful in recruiting others. Perhaps it was merely some sort of personal dispute with him.
As with so much of our history, Duckey’s hearing raises far more questions than answers.
No one, it appears, has ever compiled a list of Wellington County men who served in the Confederate and Union Armies during the American Civil War.
This is yet another part of our history that deserves study.