Political Intrigue#

The letters of James and William Wade reveal not only battlefield realities but also the political tensions, manipulations, and moral conflicts that shaped the Union war effort. Below are selected passages where the brothers confronted politics in the army and the nation, with commentary on each.

1. “General Wool is showing great energy in the Department. Every vessel is stopped and everybody must give an account of himself.”#

—from Letter from James to Parents, August 10, 1862

James reports the wartime crackdown on travel and money movement in Baltimore under General John E. Wool. This reflected Union fears of espionage and Confederate sympathizers in border states. The strict military control he describes shows how civil liberties were curtailed in occupied areas.

2. “The Colonel and the Lieutenant-Colonel and most of the officers have had very little experience in Military duties. Our Major talks of resigning.”#

—from Partial letter from Willie to Parents, October 26, 1862

Willie criticizes his regiment’s leadership, exposing how political appointments and inexperience plagued early Union forces. Such remarks hint at internal disorganization within volunteer regiments where rank was often bought or granted through political patronage.

3. “They are all secessionists about here, although they have taken the Oath of Allegiance, yet are Rebels at heart.”#

—from Letter from Willie to Parents, March 13, 1863

Stationed in Louisiana, Willie recognizes the political façade of loyalty in the occupied South. Locals swore allegiance to avoid punishment, but Union troops could sense the resentment. His comment captures the uneasy governance of conquered Confederate territory.

4. “I got out at Terre Bonne Station and went into the first plantation and demanded a good horse and saddle… I remembered my suffering some two months previous in the country and got wroth and told them I did not want any argument.”#

—from Letter from James to Mother, September 1, 1863

James’s story of “bullying the planters” while recruiting for the 16th Corps d’Afrique shows how power shifted during occupation. Former slaves were now soldiers under his command, while their ex-masters were forced to obey. His tone mixes satisfaction and vengeance, reflecting the personal and political inversion of Southern hierarchy.

5. “It looks as if we are to have war for years as France is poking her nose in… If France should interfere I think it would bring on a universal war.”#

—from Letter from Willie to Mother, September 21, 1863

Willie speculates on foreign intervention—particularly Napoleon III’s designs in Mexico and possible conflict with Britain and Russia. His analysis shows how common soldiers followed global politics and feared European involvement that could prolong the Civil War.

6. “It appears that the Major of our Regiment is taking advantage… trying to hold the men for the rest of their time… Letters have been written to parties in New York to lay the case before the Governor.”#

—from Letter from Willie, September 4, 1863

This dispute over enlistment terms reflects the manipulation and bureaucratic deceit often faced by volunteers. The soldiers’ appeal to the governor demonstrates how ordinary men tried to navigate military power through political channels.

7. “Three of us officers were offered $4,000… if we would let them alone… It was a strong temptation, but what was the use, we would have been cashiered.”#

—from Letter from James to Parents, April 13, 1864

James recounts an attempted bribe to ignore illegal Confederate cotton smuggling on the Mexican border. His refusal underscores the corruption rampant in Gulf commerce, where wartime trade blurred loyalty and profit.

8. “You will remember I told you… that there would probably be another call for troops… It will keep the public up to the fighting point.”#

—from Letter from James to Mother, September 3, 1864

By 1864 James had become cynical about political rhetoric and propaganda. He recognizes that patriotic journalism was often a mechanism to maintain support for continued bloodshed—a soldier’s weary realism about the politics of morale.

These excerpts trace a quiet but revealing thread through the Wade correspondence: the realization that war was not only fought with rifles, but also with politics, ambition, and manipulation—from the halls of Washington to the camps of Louisiana and Texas.