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16	The	Journal of Mississippi History
men who drew the sword against their countrymen, and waged upon them a savage and relentless war. But the same sentence should not be pronounced on those whose sense of loyalty and of duty forbade them to fight. .. but rather than stain their hands with kindred blood, renounced home, comfort, society and position. . . . The right of conscience and of opinion is sacred, and at this distance of time these men, once generally condemned, may be properly appreciated.64
On July 26, 1865, Claiborne took the amnesty oath, professing his allegiance to the United States,55 and for all practical purposes, he became closely aligned with the carpetbag government in his state. In 1869, when L. C. Nowell, the Republican political boss at Pass Christian, nominated Claiborne on a fusion ticket,86 the historian declined the nomination in an open letter to the Handsboro Democrat, saying, ?I stand without a party?owing allegiance to none; in fellowship with none; asking favors of none; under obligation to none; and I can bring no strength to those who wish me to unfurl their standard.?57 But despite his protestations of political independence, he advocated the candidacy of General Ulysses S. Grant. Of President Andrew Johnson, Claiborne said, ?I doubt not he was met at the bar of God by the accusing spirit of Mrs. Suratt, and is now suffering the penalty of his crimes.?58 Claiborne became a favorite of Adelbert Ames, the carpetbag governor and senator from Mississippi. Ames worked to secure the payment by the federal government of Claiborne?s claims for damages suffered at ?Laurel Wood? during the war,59 and Claiborne reciprocated, according to Ames, by writing ?articles in defense of Genl. Grant at a time when such articles were, if not necessary, at least
54	J. F. H. Claiborne, Mississippi, as a Province, Territory and State, with Biographical Notices of Eminent Citizens (Jackson, 1880), I, 103.
55	Certificate dated July 26, 1865, Claiborne Papers (Library of Con-gTess).
r>8 L. C. Nowell, Pass Christian, to Claiborne, July 27, 1869, ibid.
57 Handsboro Democrat, August 10, 1869.
r'8 J. F. H. Claiborne, Natchez, to General R. Lowry, September 13, 1878, Claiborne Papers (University of North Carolina).
r.9 AHplhort. Ames. Washington, to Claiborne, February 21, 1873, ibid.
J. F. H. Claiborne at ?Laurel Wood? Plantation, 1853-1870	17
very gratifying to the General.?00 Under the pseudonym ?Moderator,? Claiborne prepared letters for the editor of the New Orleans Pilot calling for a third term for President Grant.61
Claiborne remained at ?Laurel Wood? for five years after the end of the war. In 1870, on the death of his mother-in-law, Martha W. Dunbar, he inherited ?Dunbarton? plantation and moved to Natchez.62 Claiborne continued to hold his Gulf Coast lands, but after 1870 his visits to ?Laurel Wood? gradually became less frequent. His last prolonged visit to the coast occurred in 1876, when he was invited to speak at Bay St. Louis during the centennial celebration on July 4, 1876. He addressed his former neighbors,63 concluding his talk, fittingly, with a poignant pleajor national unity and for an end to sectional animosities. This visit rekindled his interest in the Gulf Coast and stimulated him to compose his reminiscences of ?Laurel Wood? during ante-bellum days.64 The remaining few years of his life Claiborne spent at Natchez writing his monumental history of Mississippi.
60 Adelbert Ames, Breckville, to Mr. Casey, July 19, 1873, ibid.
81 John M. A. Parker, surveyor of customs, New Orleans, to Claiborne, July 25, 1874, ibid.
62	Memorandum prepared for Franklin L. Riley by M. C. Garrett, Claiborne Papers (Library of Congress).
63	The address was published as J. F. H. Claiborne, Historical Account of Hancock County and the Sea Board of Mississippi (New Orleans, 1876).
64	Claiborne, ?The Pine District of Mississippi,? Jackson Weekly Clarion, December 27, 1876.